bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CEM and MR Radiomics-based Biomarkers to Predict Immunohistochemistry Breast Cancer Subtypes: A comparative study
Authors: Iquebal Ashif , Zhou Siqiong , Pfeiffer Nicholaus , Ranjbar Sara , Banerjee Imon , Swanson Kristin , Batalini Felipe , Anderson Karen S. , Murtaza Muhammad , Pockaj Barbara A. , Patel Bhavika K.
Published: November 2022

Purpose Accurately predicting the clinical breast cancer subtypes could be extremely helpful for radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, and clinicians and inform future treatment prediction algorithms. Therefore, we evaluate and compare the accuracy of radiomic features extracted from contrast enhanced mammography (CEM) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to make predictions to subtypes of breast cancer.
Methods This HIPAA-compliant prospective single institution study was approved by the local institutional review board with written informed consent. Women with breast tumors 2 cm or larger underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and/or CEM for surgical staging. Semi-manual regions of interest were drawn by radiologist using Cancer Imaging Phenomics Toolkit (CaPTk). Radiomic features were obtained using PyRadiomics and MR- and CEM- based classification models were built on a low-dimensional representation of the features obtained via kernel principal component analysis. We subscribed to an ensemble tree-based learning approach called extremely randomized trees (ERT) to predict cancer subtypes captured via immunohistochemistry markers.
Results For MRI analysis, 124 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were included in the analysis comprising 49 HR+HER2-, 37 HR+HER2+, 11 HR-HER2+, and 27 HR-HER2- cases. For CEM analysis, models were built using data from 170 female patients including 74 HR+HER2-, 41 HR+HER2+, 14 HR-HER2+, and 43 HR-HER2-. CEM based model resulted in accuracies of 55%, 72%, 88%, and 71% respectively for HR+HER2-, HR+HER2+, HR-HER2+, and HR-HER2- whereas MRI based model alone led to accuracies of 54%, 62%, 89%, and 76% respectively for HR+HER2-, HR+HER2+, HR-HER2+, and HR-HER2-.
Conclusions Radiomic features extracted from CEM and MR were strong predictors of breast cancer subtypes with CEM-based radiomic features performing slightly better, though not statistically significantly better (p = 0.82), than its MRI counterpart.
An Activity Concentration-Based Proposal for Radon Management in Workplaces Involving NORM
Authors: Chen Jing , Quayle Debora
Published: November 2022

The Canadian Guidelines for the Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) have been developed to manage radiation doses received from NORM in workplaces involving NORM, such as mineral extraction and processing, oil and gas production, metal recycling or water treatment facilities. This management strategy works well for most naturally occurring radioactive materials in workplaces, with the exception of radon. Because background radon cannot be distinguished from radon generated by a practice, the need for radon management programs cannot be decided using thresholds based on incremental dose. Drawing from lessons learned through implementing the current NORM Guidelines, we propose decoupling the decision thresholds for NORM management (excluding radon) and radon management so that the two are considered separately, and quantifying decision-points for managing occupational radon exposure as average annual activity concentrations, with no requirement for dose calculations. Proposed application of this approach in the updated Canadian NORM Guidelines is described.
On the exact regions determined by Kendall's tau and other concordance measures
Authors: Stopar Nik , Bukovšek Damjana Kokol
Published: November 2022

We determine the upper and lower bound for possible values of Kendall's tau of a bivariate copula given that the value of its Spearman's footrule or Gini's gamma is known, and show that these bounds are always attained.
Mathematics Subject Classification (2020). 62H20, 62H05, 60E05.
The Cost of Freshwater Charging in Brazil: suppliers’ main alternatives
Authors: Teixeira Telma , Veiga Karine , Julien Denis , Souza João Paulo , Pavan Frank
Published: November 2022

Charging for freshwater use raises debate on water suppliers' financial sustainability and, social and operational sector efficiency problems. The issue stands out when suppliers' income flows are insufficient to cover production costs or household revenues are low, making it difficult for tariffs to increase. Moreover, it is even worse with the combination of these factors in watersheds with water scarcity. The present work analyzes the freshwater use charging from the perspective of cost increment destination in the sanitation sector. We compared a scenario of cost absorption with the possibility of transfer to final consumers in the first block tariff, fixed by volume ( #2a), and the second block tariff charged by additional m3 consumed (#2b). Results show that scenario #1 reduces resource availability for investments, compromising infrastructure maintenance and service expansion. Alternatively, as a natural monopoly sector, the pass-through to consumers is the most likely. Both #2a and #2b scenarios nullify the encouragement of rational use and operational efficiency, add risk to environmental sustainability, and compromise basin committee plans. However, in the #2b scenario, the possibility of minor water consumption by households, changing for the first block tariff, brings back the #1 scenario possibilities. Scenario #2a, as a plausible choice, demands an accurate discussion of governance in freshwater charging.
Women’s Expectations About Birth, Requests for Pain Relief in Labor and the Subsequent Development of Birth Dissonance and Trauma
Authors: Sutton Elizabeth , Detering Karen , East Christine , Whittaker Andrea
Published: November 2022

Background
Birth is a significant event in women’s lives. Many women aim for a birth that avoids pharmacological pain relief because they are advised it is better for them and their baby. For women having their first baby, this may not be realistic as 3/4 of primiparous women in Australia will use pharmacological pain relief. This study examines the expectations that a group of women had regarding pain relief, how these expectations developed and what happened to their requests for pain relief in labour.
Methods
A longitudinal prospective study design was used to recruit 15 women who were having their first baby. Women having low risk pregnancies, hoping for a ‘natural birth’ (vaginal, no/minimal pharmacological pain relief) were eligible. A semi-structured interview tool was used across all three interviews that asked women about their expectations, then actual labour experience, pain management requests and how these were responded to by carers. Women were interviewed three times – at 36 weeks gestation; as soon after delivery of their baby as possible, then six months post-delivery (N = 43 interviews). Interviews were recorded and transcribed and coded by ES using NVivo software with hierarchical thematic analysis used.
Results
The study found that women appear to experience a mismatch between expectations they have developed pre-birth, versus actual experience. This appears to cause a specific form of dissonance – which we have termed ‘birth dissonance’ leaving them feeling traumatised post birth. This is because what women expected to happen in birth was often not realised. In particular, when women request pain relief in birth and that request is not responded to as hoped, women are more likely to develop post-birth trauma as a result of this dissonance arising from their expectations about birth being able to be done without significant pain relief. Interventions and technology may also contribute to this sense of mismatch and post-birth trauma.
Conclusions
Low risk birthing women delivering in a hospital may have to engage with higher levels of technology, intervention and pain relief than that which they expected pre-birth. This could possibly be avoided with four simple changes. Firstly, better pre-birth education for women about how painful labor is likely to be. Secondly, pre-birth education which includes a detailed explanation of the utility of pain relief and that new evidence shows epidurals do not lead to higher rates of interventions or surgical births. Thirdly, more egalitarian decision-making during labour, and finally delivering upon women’s requests for pain relief in labor, at the time that they ask for it. Further research is required to determine the extent of birth dissonance and how women making the transition to motherhood can avoid it.
The distribution of vertebrate roadkill varies by season, surrounding environment and animal class
Authors: Arca-Rubio Jesús , Moreno-Rueda Gregorio , Ortega Zaida
Published: November 2022

Due to rapid human expansion in the last century, wildlife roadkill is becoming a concerning threat to biodiversity and human safety. The frequency of roadkill events depends on factors related to specific traits of the road –fencing, tortuosity, or type of habitat, among others– and the animal ecology –such as activity patterns, reproductive season, thermoregulation– which, in turn, are related to environmental factors (with seasonal variations). Here we assessed roadkill mortality of terrestrial vertebrates over the year. To do this, we sampled 10 road sections (of 3 km, by walk) in the south of Spain for a full year, registering the carcasses of run-over vertebrates. Then, we analysed the spatiotemporal patterns of roadkill events for the four vertebrates’ classes and the effects of road traits (presence of fence, tortuosity, distance to water body) and environmental variables (mean temperature and precipitation). Mammals suffered the highest mortality by roadkill (45.72%). Tortuosity of the road section and precipitation were not related to the number of collisions, while the presence of fences was related to an increase in roadkill events, and mean temperature significantly increased the probability of collision of mammals, birds, and reptiles. There was a seasonal effect in the number of collisions, which spatial pattern depended on the class of vertebrates. All this leads us to conclude that, to reduce the impact caused by roadkill mortality on the wildlife we need specific measures to be taken in each critical place for each vertebrate group.
Duplex Baseband Signal Transmission Over Free Space Optical Link Employing Carrier Reuse
Authors: Shamsi Zaheer
Published: November 2022

With increasing IoT and a plethora of multimedia applications being used, there is an ever-increasing demand for bandwidth-intensive applications. Communication networks employing optical fiber had been the de facto standard for such communication systems. The Optical Fiber network's high cost and man-hours required for laying demand wireless solutions. Therefore, an optimum and cost-effective duplex optical link for two channels baseband signal data transmission has been designed and validated using a single laser source. An optical link for 20 Gbps duplex data transmission is designed based upon single laser source utilization. A cost-efficient and simple design have been accomplished with a transmission distance of 1.5 km by utilizing Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (DQPSK) and On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation techniques. The design allowed us to recycle the downlink signal in uplink transmission over free Space, thus eradicating the requirement for a separate laser at the other end. Each channel's transmission data rate was 10 Gb/sec. At the former end, the DQPSK technique was employed for data modulation and the data was transmitted into free space. The data was then split at the latter end for downlink reception along with reusing the downlink received signal for uplink transmission to the former end utilizing the OOK modulation technique. The received data was compared with the transmitted one to verify and validate the system's accuracy through signal waveforms and BER (Bit Error Rate). The eye diagrams and the Bit error rate (BER) graphs of the received downlink and uplink signals over a duplex Free Space Optical (FSO) transmission link are discussed and presented.
ECU-Net: an efficient cascade U-Net for retinal vessel segmentation
Authors: Yang Xin , Li Zhiqiang , Guo Yingqing , Zhou Dake , Li Tao
Published: November 2022

Early detection of retinal vessel lesions by fundus image examination is essential to prevent and screen the related diseases. However, due to retinal vessels’ complex structure, it is time-consuming and laborious to extract retinal vessels manually by professionals. Therefore, retinal vessel automatic segmentation has great application value in modern medicine. In recent years, deep learning technology has achieved remarkable results in medical image segmentation, and the segmentation accuracy and speed are significantly improved compared with traditional methods. In this paper, we propose an efficient retinal vessel segmentation model ECU-Net. In this model, a feature extraction module combining edge attention module and efficient channel attention mechanism is designed to improve the vessel structure’s recognition ability. To improve the fusion efficiency of the texture information in the shallow layers and the semantic information in the deep layers, ECU-Net constructs an up-sampling fusion module. In addition, we design a multi-scale channel attention module to connect U-Net’s subnetwork to achieve efficient feature extraction. Compared with the state-of-the-art models, our ECU-Net has reached the highest level in some classical evaluation criteria and has a certain application value in the medical field.
A Novel Multi Drone Architecture with Cellular Communication for Disaster Management
Authors: Doraswamy Birasalapati , Krishna K. Lokesh , Prasad M. N. Giri
Published: November 2022

Purpose: Usually, the natural disaster has increased hazard rates such as distresses, injuries, and deaths of the living organism. So, recovering activities are digitalized by today’s modern technology called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). However, in some cases, the prediction and communication process of UAVs became insufficient.
Results: To overcome this problem, a novel Wolf-based Power Efficient Information Gathering System (WbPEIGS) was proposed in this article to sense the disaster events with high accuracy rate. Moreover, to enable better communication 5G model is adopted. Hence, the main motive of this research is to predict the traffic scenario like parade, gathering, and stadium, because in this traffic location many people are often available at all times. Moreover, here UAVs with the use of sensing model was adopted to monitor the disaster tragedy.
Conclusions: Initially, the UAVs parameters are activated then types of crowd traffic places are predicted using the fixed distance threshold using WbPEIGS model. Subsequently, the key metrics are validated with other existing schemes and have attained better throughput and disaster sensing accuracy.
Fruit Image Classification using Deep Learning
Authors: Gill Harmandeep Singh , Khehra Baljit Singh
Published: November 2022

Fruit classification is noticed as the one of the looming sectors in computer vision and image classification. A fruit classification may be adopted in the fruit market for consumers to determine the variety and grading of fruits. Fruit quality is a prerequisite property from health view position. Classification systems described so far are not adequate for fruit classification during accuracy and quantitative analysis. Thus, the examination of new proposals for fruit classification is worthwhile. In the present time, automatic fruit classification is though a demanding task.Deep learning is a powerful state of the art approach for image classification [1] This task incorporates deep learning models: Convolution Neural Network (CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) for classification of fruits based on chosen optimal and derived features. As preliminary arises, it has been recognized that the recommended procedure has effective accuracy and quantitative analysis results. Moreover, the comparatively high computational momentum of the proposed scheme will promote in the future for the real time classification operations
Selective Ensemble Learning Algorithm for Imbalanced Dataset
Authors: Hongle Du , Yan Zhang , Gang Ke , Lin Zhang , Yeh-Cheng Chen
Published: November 2022

Under the imbalanced dataset, the performance of the base-classifier, the computingmethod of weight of base-classifier and the selection method of the base-classifier have a great impact on the performance of the ensemble classifier. In order to solve above problem toimprove the generalization performance of ensemble classifier, a selective ensemble learning algorithm based on cluster under-sampling for imbalanced dataset is proposed. First, the proposed algorithm calculates the number K of under-sampling samples according to the relationship between class sample density. Then, we use the improved K-means clustering algorithm to under-sample the majority class samples and obtain K cluster centers. Then, all cluster centers (or the sample of the nearest cluster center) are regarded as new majority samples to construct a new balanced training subset combine with the minority class’s samples. Repeat those processes to generate multiple training subsets and get multiple base-classifiers. However, with the increasing of iterations, the number of base-classifiers increase, and the similarity among the base-classifiers will also increase. Therefore, it is necessary to select some base-classifier with good classification performance and large difference for ensemble. In the stage of selecting base-classifiers, according to the difference and performance of base-classifiers, we use the idea of maximum correlation and minimum redundancy to select base-classifiers. In the ensemble stage, G-mean or F-mean, which is selected to evaluate the classification performance of base-classifier forimbalanced dataset, is selected to compute the weight of each base-classifier, and then the weighted voting method is used for ensemble. Finally, the simulation results on the artificial dataset, UCI dataset and KDDCUP dataset show that the algorithm has good generalization performance on imbalanced dataset, especially on the dataset with high imbalance degree.
RESEARCH ON CHINA'S CROSS-BORDER E-COMMERCE BASED ON THE BACKGROUND OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Zhang Kuan , Pakhnenko O.
Published: November 2022

Against the backdrop of economic globalisation and the rapid development of digital technologies, the digital economy, which applies internet-based digital technologies to the production and trade of goods and services, is becoming an increasingly important component of the global economy. E-commerce, on the other hand, is a business activity centred on the exchange of goods using information network technology as a means. So e-commerce is growing with the development of digital technology and is becoming a vehicle for digital technology in business. At the same time, with the evolution of mobile technology and the replacement and spread of electronic products, cross-border e-commerce in China has developed and expanded rapidly, becoming an integral feature of modern business. China's e-commerce market continues to expand, growing from US$0.94 trillion in 2011 to US$5.39 trillion in 2020, with an average growth rate of 47%, China's e-commerce growth rate is already higher than the global average. This research integrates recent data on e-commerce and cross-border e-commerce in China and estimates the fraction of cross-border e-commerce in China's e-commerce, claiming that cross-border e-commerce has become an important part of China's e-commerce.Moreover, this paper employs SWOT analysis to assess and summarize the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of cross-border e-commerce in China, coming to the conclusion that China's cross-border e-commerce platforms are developing rapidly and the country is the world's largest e-commerce market and the third largest cross-border online shopping market in the world, along with policy support from the Chinese government and the establishment of logistics warehouses, but faces many challenges such as lagging cross-border trade services, relatively high logistics costs and contradictory product quality, which are not conducive to development. Finally, suggestions are made to promote the development of cross-border e-commerce in China through the development of independent brands, good market positioning, strengthening quality management and efforts to reduce logistics costs.
FINANCING HOUSING PROGRAMMES AND ITS ROLE IN ENHANCING TRUST IN GOVERNMENT
Authors: Litovtseva V. , Brychko M.
Published: November 2022

The democratic development of society has shown that the growth of the welfare of the overwhelming majority of the population through the implementation of effective social and economic policy in the country positively influences public attitude to the government and increases the level of trust in the public sector. A successful mechanism to address the social needs of citizens is the development of an affordable housing financing system for the population. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of affordable housing financing in Ukraine and determine its relationship to trust in the public sector. The article examines the use of state-administrative mechanisms for realizing the housing rights of Ukrainian citizens. Analysis of the current state of implementation of affordable housing programs is proposed, considering the size of mortgage payments and the volume of housing financing. The analysis highlighted the existence of a housing crisis in Ukrainian society as a result of the extremely low level of funding for the sector. The study provides a comparative analysis of the housing affordability index and the level of trust in government in Europe, according to the Global Value Survey. This has helped determine the place of social housing policy in the system of trust relationships between government, local governments and citizens. According to the sociological monitoring platforms, a dynamic analysis of the balance of trust-distrust of the population of Ukraine to the state apparatus and local government bodies was conducted. Based on a comprehensive and critical assessment of the leading affordable housing programs in the country and trust indicators, this study found that the distribution of powers, incentives, responsibilities, and budget funds within the framework of the decentralization process between the central government and local authorities, contribute to the achievement of the main goals of the state's social policy regarding affordable housing, which positively affects the level of citizens trust in local authorities. As a result, it was determined that during periods of economic and political uncertainty, financing of affordable housing is quite important, because due to such actions the state reduces the level of uncertainty, forms positive expectations of citizens, promotes the increase of stability and trust necessary for sustainable economic and social recovery.
ANALYSIS AND FORECASTING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VOLUNTARY HEALTH INSURANCE MARKET IN UKRAINE
Authors: Zhuravka O. , Bosak I. , Kubakh T. , Mordan Y.
Published: November 2022

The article examines the development trends of the domestic market of the voluntary health insurance. It was determined that in the conditions of insufficient budgetary financing of the health care system as well as the low quality of medical care in Ukraine, the importance of extra- budgetary sources of financing is growing. The health sector needs to be reformed immediately, and alternative funding channels sought to ensure that health services are accessible to all sections of the population and are of a high quality. Based on the analysis of the indicator of the cost of "own pockets" of the population for health care, it was argued that health insurance can be a promising source of additional funding for health care in Ukraine. The further step was to analyze the share of health insurance in the European insurance market, its importance, and the growth of demand in the recent years. The study of the peculiarities of the domestic market of voluntary health insurance was carried out in the following logical sequence: the share of health insurance in the insurance market of Ukraine was considered, the dynamics of insurance premiums and insurance payments in general for health insurance and its varieties. The activity of insurers in the field of voluntary health insurance was also evaluated in the work. It was established that the leaders of the voluntary health insurance market are such insurance companies as: "UNICA", "PROVIDNA", "INGO", "ARX", "ALPHA-INSURANCE". Among the main advantages of these insurers is the variety of health insurance products that are available to different segments of the population and include a large list of insured events. The article also provided a forecast of the main indicators of the voluntary health insurance market of Ukraine for the next three years. Forecasts indicate a positive development of the voluntary health insurance segment in Ukraine and once again point to the prospect of financing medicine through the use of voluntary health insurance. The results of this study can be effective for professionals, economists, scientists in the insurance and the medical fields.
Role of macrophages in the immunopathogenesis of adenomyosis
Authors: Shcherbina Nikolay , Chekhunova Anastasia
Published: November 2022

The aim of the research: to study pathophysiological mechanisms of adenomyosis development by determining the role of macrophages in the uterine microenvironment.

Materials and methods: a prospective study has been conducted on 35 women. There were 20 (57.1 %) who had adenomyosis of I degree. The control group consisted of 15 (34.3 %) gynecologically healthy women. The patients underwent general clinical, instrumental (ultrasound, hysteroscopy) examinations. Fragments of the uterine wall obtained by hysterorectoscopy were used for morphological study. The method of immunohistochemical determination of CD68+ and CD163+ macrophages was used to analyze the characteristics of phenotypic equivalents of M1 and M2 macrophages in uterine tissue samples.

Results: The increase in the number of macrophages in the myometrium of patients with adenomyosis revealed in this study, which is found in large numbers in the areas of infiltration of the stroma of myometrial cells in close association with the perivascular region, can be regarded as the basis of the mechanism for the formation of endometrioid heterotopia. Furthermore, distortion of the CD68/CD163 ratio of macrophages is characterized by proinflammatory shift.

Conclusions: The study's main result is an increase in the quantitative indicators of CD68+ macrophages associated with adenomyosis, which indicates an immunopathological process in adenomyosis.
Realitas adalah Berjejaring: Jejaring Allah, Manusia, dan Non-Manusia Melalui Perspektif ANT Latourian pada Sains dan Teologi
Authors: Sukarno Sukarno
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic and its impact through a phenomenological approach have revealed human and non-human networks. The ANT Latourian perspective associates human and non-human networks. The non-human network is revealed in the sub-atomic particle network in the EPR Effect according to science, and the non-human network is also revealed in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit network in the Trinitarian God according to theology. God and sub-atomic particles are non-human, but God is the Creator and sub-atomic particles are creation. God is distinguished from sub-atomic particles. The ANT Latourian perspective reveals the network ofGod, human and non-human. The network of God, human and non-human reveals that reality is a network.

AbstrakPandemi Covid-19 dan dampaknya melalui pendekatan fenomenologis telah mengungkapkan jejaring manusia dan nonmanusia. Perspektif ANT Latourian mengasosiasikan jejaring manusia dan nonmanusia. Jejaring non-manusia terungkap pada jejaring partikel-partikel subatomik di dalam EPR Effect menurut sains, dan jejaring nonmanusia juga terungkap pada jejaring Bapa, Putra dan Roh Kudus di dalam Allah Trinitarian menurut teologi. Allah dan partikel subatomik merupakan nonmanusia, namun Allah adalah Pencipta dan partikel subatomik adalah ciptaan. Allah dibedakan dengan partikel subatomik. Perspektif ANT Latourian mengungkap jejaring Allah, manusia dan nonmanusia. Jejaring Allah, manusia dan nonmanusia mengungkapkanrealitas adalah berjejaring.
Synthesis, Characterization, and Anion Exchange Reactions of Zn2Cr Layered Double Hydroxides Intercalated with Acetate and Chloride
Authors: Sotiles Anne Raquel , Grassi Marco , dos Santos Mayara , Lameu Luis Gustavo , Wypych Fernando
Published: November 2022

Layered double hydroxides (LDH) with the composition Zn2Cr, intercalated with acetate and chloride ions were synthesized by co-precipitation with increasing pH and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The samples synthesized at optimized pH showed XRD patterns with basal diffraction peaks typical of layered structures, with basal distances of 7.88 and 12.69 Å for intercalated chloride (Zn2Cr/Cl) and acetate (Zn2Cr/Ac), respectively. After optimization experiments, exchange reactions were performed with different anions, using an excess of five times the anions to be intercalated. Zn2Cr/Cl was exchanged with CH3COO−, F−, Br−, I−, SO4 2− and NO3−, and Zn2Cr/Ac was exchanged with F−, Cl−, Br−, I−, SO42− and NO3−. Not all reactions were effective, indicating that among the evaluated anions, CH3COO− was preferred for exchange, mainly attributed to the pre-expansion with bigger anions, facilitating the exchange with smaller anions.
Metformin: A Promising Antidiabetic Medication for Cancer Treatment
Authors: Mu Wei , Jiang Yunyun , Liang Guoqiang , Feng Yue , Qu Falin
Published: November 2022

Metformin is a widely used drug in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Metformin in-hibits hepatic gluconeogenesis and increases glucose utilization in peripheral tissues. In recent years, several studies have shown that metformin is a potential therapeutic agent against cancer, alone or combined with other anticancer treatments. Metformin mainly activates the AMPK com-plex and regulates intracellular energy status, inhibiting the mitochondrial respiratory chain com-plex I and reducing the production of reactive oxygen species. Other anticancer targets of metfor-min are specific transcription factors inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis and reducing drug resistance. In addition, metformin modulates tumor cells' response to anticancer treatments, favoring the activity of T cells. In diabetic patients, metformin reduces the occurrence of cancer and improves the prognosis and efficacy of anticancer treatments. In this review, we provided a com-prehensive perspective of metformin as an anticancer drug.
Direct SARS-CoV-2 Detection System Utilizing Simple-to-Use
Capillary Gel Electrophoresis Sample-to-Result
Authors: Yang Neo , Kuo Meya , Liu Jerry , Amirkhanian Varoujan , Tsai Eric
Published: November 2022

Aim:

We present a Direct SARS-CoV-2 Detection System that achieves
sample-to-results in less than two hours in three simple steps.

Methods:

The Detection System includes Direct one-step Reverse Transcription PCR
(RT-PCR) reagents (Qexp-MDx kit), a portable
thermal cycler (Qampmini) with a preprogrammed
chip and a simple-to-use Capillary Gel Electrophoresis system (Qsep
Series Bio-Fragment Analyzer) with high fluorescence detection sensitivity to solve the
problems associated with traditional real-time PCR (qPCR) systems which produces
high false positive results.

Results:

The proposed simple-to-use detection platform can provide high detection
sensitivity (identify less than 20 copies) and fast results (less than 120 minutes), which
would be suitable for field testing applications.

Conclusion:

Our high detection sensitivity platform provides fast and accurate results
in 120 minutes without doing DNA/RNA extraction.
Hydroxycoumarins and some Flavonoids from Pistacia atlantica Desf. as Multi-targets Inhibitors for Alzheimer’s Disease: Molecular Docking and ADMET Studies
Authors: Lamrani Meriem , Serseg Talia , Benarous Khedidja , Sifi Ibrahim , Yousfi Mohamed
Published: November 2022

Objective:

The present study aimed to identify new selective inhibitors for acetylcholinesterase, butyrylcholinesterase, monoacylglycerol lipase, beta-secretase, and Asparagine endopeptidase, the targets enzymes in Alzheimer’s disease.

Methods:

The inhibitory effect of P. atlantica Desf. methanol extracts against AChE were determined using Ellman’s method. The molecular docking study is achieved using Autodock Vina. The structures of the molecules 3-methoxycarpachromene, masticadienonic acid, 7-ethoxycoumarin, 3′,5,7- trihydroxy-4′-methoxyflavanone and 5,6,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavonol-3-O-rutinoside and the five enzymes were obtained from the PubChem database and Protein databank. ADMET parameters were checked to confirm their pharmacokinetics using swiss-ADME and ADMET-SAR servers.

Results:

P. atlantica Desf. methanol extracts showed a notable inhibitory effect against AChE (IC50 = 0.26 ± 0.004 mg/ml). The molecular docking results of 3-methoxycarpachromene, masticadienonic acid, 7-ethoxycoumarin, 3′,5,7-trihydroxy-4′-methoxyflavanone and 5,6,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavonol-3-Orutinoside with the five enzymes show significant affinities of these molecules towards Alzheimer disease targets, where they could form several interactions, such as hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with the studied enzymes. The shortest hydrogen bond is 1.7 A° between masticadienonic acid and Arg128 of the active site of BACE, while the lowest free energy is -11.2 of the complex 5,6,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavonol-3-O-rutinoside –HuBchE. To the best of our knowledge, these molecules' potential anti-Alzheimer disease effect is studied in this paper for the first time.

Conclusion:

The docking studies of this work show that 3-methoxycarpachromene and masticadienonic acid, 7-ethoxycoumarin, 3′,5,7-Trihydroxy-4′-methoxyflavanone and 5,6,7,4′-tetrahydroxyflavonol- 3-O-rutinoside have good affinities towards the enzymes involved in Alzheimer pathology, which confirm the ability of these molecules to inhibit the studied enzymes namely: HuAChE, HuBChE, BACE, MAGL, and AEP. These molecules might become drug candidates to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
How to Choose Suitable Reference Electrode and Aqueous Electrolyte to
Avoid Error in Electrochemical Measurements?
Authors: Wang Hui , Wang Min , Wang Jingjing
Published: November 2022

Objective:

To reduce the experimental error, three commonly used reference electrodes
(Hg/HgO, Hg/Hg2Cl2 (SCE), and Ag/AgCl) are investigated to select the appropriate electrode in
different aqueous electrolytes.

Methods:

Besides, the correct electrochemical test method is proposed according to the stability of
the reference electrode. After measuring the potential difference of reference electrode in various
aqueous electrolytes, it is found that Hg/HgO electrode is suitable for alkaline electrolytes, with
minimum deviation in 6 M KOH solution, SCE should be used in acidic electrolytes, with minimum
deviation in H2SO4 solution less than 1 M, and both SCE and Ag/AgCl electrode can be used in neutral
electrolytes.

Results:

Due to the liquid junction potential, the result of using the double salt bridge is more accurate
than that of using the single salt bridge.

Conclusion:

The stability of various reference electrodes in electrolytes is discrepant. Therefore,
calibration is emphasized since the potential of the reference electrode drifts and even becomes invalid
after prolonged use.
Sandwich Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to Quantify
Monoclonal Antibody (B[a]P-13) for Herbal Medicine Products
Authors: Shin Han-Seung , Kim Yong-Yeon
Published: November 2022

Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify monoclonal antibody (B[a]P-13)

Background:

Only a few studies have focused on the analysis using specific antibodies in the sandwich ELISA method to each B[a]P in herbal medicine products. In contrast to the sandwich ELISA method, many competitive ELISA methods using specific antibodies such as benzo[a]pyrene monoclonal antibody (B[a]P-13) and a goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) cross-adsorbed secondary antibody, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were developed.

Introduction:

The objective of this study was to develop and validate the method for the response of the benzo[a]pyrene monoclonal antibody (B[a]P-13) and goat anti-mouse IgG (H+L) cross-adsorbed secondary antibody (HRP) to prepare the immunogen and its application to detect the benzo[a]pyrene in various herbal medicine products.

Methods:

This research method includes preparation of B[a]P-protein conjugates, sampling and extraction procedure for herbal medicines, sandwich ELISA procedure, evaluation of cross-reactivity for determination, matrix effect of the organic solvents, correlation of benzo[a]pyrene detection ELISA compared to HPLC-FLD in herbal medicine products.

Results:

The sandwich ELISA method for B[a]P was validated in linearity (R2 > 0.99), the limit of detection (LOD) (0.080.19 μg/kg) and limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.240.57 μg/kg), accuracy (95.58117.06 %), and precision (3.8010.26 %). The cross-reactivity (CR) was found for B[a]P (100%), CHR (39%), B[b]F (27%), and B[a]A (41%). As a solvent, acetonitrile (MeCN) was used to express the normalized sandwich ELISA calibration curves with benzo[a]pyrene monoclonal antibody (B[a]P-13). The antigen-antibody binding in sandwich ELISA was decreased about 10 times with increasing the salt content (0.0060.18 mol/L phosphate to 20400 mmol/L). The pH range from 6 to 9 was not considered to affect the performance of the sandwich ELISA. Correlation of B[a]P detection in herbal medicines with ELISA compared to HPLC-FLD expressed good correlation (R2 = 0.991) and the slope of the graph for the ELISA (B[a]P-equivalents μg/kg) value divided by the HPLC-FLD (B[a]P μg/kg) value was 0.7292.

Conclusion:

Therefore, sandwich ELISA method using benzo[a]pyrene monoclonal antibody (B[a]P-13) could be an alternative screening method for detection of B[a]P in herbal medicine products.
Varifocus gevraagd: multinationals en internationale duurzaamheidsstrategieën
Authors: Drogendijk Rian
Published: November 2022

Het belang van een duurzame bedrijfsvoering is groter dan ooit. Bedrijven ervaren een steeds grotere druk, van binnen en buiten, om hier serieus aan te werken. De meeste bedrijven zijn daarom druk bezig met het ontwikkelen van een strategie die niet alleen goed is voor ‘profit’, maar ook voor ‘people’ en ‘planet’. Multinationals zijn bijzondere spelers in dit verband, omdat ze een groot bereik en ook een grote verantwoordelijkheid hebben. Grote verschillen in waarden Door hun internationale activiteiten hebben multinationale ondernemingen te maken met grote verschillen in waarden, normen en voorkeuren in hun directe omgeving. Dit heeft invloed op de strategische keuzes van multinationals, bijvoorbeeld waar ze investeren en hoe, maar ook op de interne organisatie. De diversiteit in normen, waarden en opvattingen bestaat namelijk ook binnen de eigen organisatie. Het is daarom vaak lastig om iedereen op één lijn te krijgen, vooral voor strategische doelstellingen die niet overal op dezelfde manier gewaardeerd worden, zoals doelstellingen ten aanzien van duurzaamheid. Varifocus Voor het doorvoeren van een duurzaamheidsstrategie lijkt een soort varifocus, of gelijktijdige aandacht voor meerdere en soms conflicterende doelstellingen, noodzakelijk. Meer onderzoek is nodig om te begrijpen hoe multinationals zo’n varifocus kunnen ontwikkelen en hoe de diversiteit in het bedrijf en haar omgeving daar een rol in speelt. Hoe kunnen bepaalde communicatiestructuren en procedures bijvoorbeeld gecombineerd worden om zo’n varifocus te faciliteren en stimuleren? En hoe kan samenwerking met partners, bijvoorbeeld NGOs, multinationals helpen om hun duurzaamheidsdoelstellingen te integreren in activiteiten in het buitenland?
Investigating How the Use of Technology Can Reduce Missed Appointments: Quantitative Case Study at a General Practitioner Surgery (Preprint)
Authors: Sides Teresa , Kbaier Dhouha
Published: November 2022

BACKGROUND

SMS texting systems have been considered a potential solution to reduce missed appointments in primary care. Existing research in this area focuses on qualitative studies investigating the attitudes of SMS text users and receivers.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine appointment data from an independent general practitioner (GP) surgery in Wrexham, United Kingdom, with approximately 15,000 patients, to determine the impact of text messaging systems on reducing missed appointments. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the use of text messages can effectively reduce missed appointments.

METHODS

To collect data for the study, SQL reports were run on EMIS Web, the United Kingdom’s most widely used clinical system. The data spanned 10 years, from September 1, 2010, to March 31, 2020. Data accuracy was verified by cross-referencing with appointment diary records. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, chosen for their suitability in comparing groups in nonparametric settings, were conducted in Microsoft Excel due to its accessibility.

RESULTS

Statistical analyses were conducted to compare data before and after implementation of the text messaging system. The results revealed a significant 42.8% reduction in missed appointments (before: 5848; after: 3343; P<.001). Further analysis of demographic characteristics revealed interesting trends, with no significant difference in missed appointments between genders, and variations observed across different age groups. The median number of missed appointments was not significantly different between genders (women: 1.55, IQR 1.11-2.16; men: 1.61, IQR 1.08-2.12; P=.73). Despite the prevalence of mobile phone use among young adults aged 20-25 years, the highest rates of missed appointments (848/7256, 11.7%) were noted in this group, whereas the lowest rates were noted in the 75-80 years age group (377/7256; 5.2%; P<.001). Analysis by age and gender indicated inconsistencies: women aged 20-25 years (571/4216) and men aged 35-40 years (306/3040) had the highest rates of missed appointments, whereas women aged 70-75 years (177/4216) and men aged 75-80 years (129/3040) had the lowest rates (P<.001 for both).

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that SMS text messaging in primary care can significantly reduce missed appointments. Implementing technology such as SMS text messaging systems enables patients to cancel appointments on time, leading to improved efficiency in primary care settings.
Effect of amended Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs) on chromium contaminated leachate
Authors: Maurya Sharmila Devi
Published: November 2022

Contamination of heavy metals has a detrimental effect on human health. Facilities for the disposal of municipal solid waste are among the possibilities that contaminate groundwater and the environment the most. Leachate is the term for the fluid that results from the anaerobic oxidation of solid waste in landfills. Depending on the type of waste, leachate comprises organic, inorganic, and heavy metals. The primary problem in developing countries is the leachate-related contamination of ground and surface water. Cr (Chromium), one of the heavy metals contained in the leachate, is one of the majority of heavy metals that are carcinogenic in nature. In the leachate sample, the concentration of Cr was determined to be 0.178 mg/l, more than double the allowed limit of 0.1 mg/l. Reducing the Cr concentration in leachate samples after passing through a modified geosynthetic clay liner is the goal of this study (GCL). The modified geosynthetic clay liner was created by mixing various amounts of Peanut Shell Ash (PSA) with encapsulated Sodium Bentonite (Na-B) in commercial GCL (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, and 50%).
On properties of graded rings and graded modules
Authors: Refai Mashhoor , Abu-Dawwas Rashid
Published: November 2022

Let R be a G-graded ring. In this article, we introduce two new concepts on graded rings, namely, weakly graded rings and invertible graded rings, and we discuss the relations between these concepts and several properties of graded rings. Also, we study the concept of weakly crossed products and study some properties defined on weakly crossed product and give the relationship between this new concept and several properties of graded rings. Moreover, in this article, we give a generalization for the concept of graded essential submodules, and introduce the concept of graded semi-uniform modules which is a generalization for the concept of graded uniform modules.
On local edge antimagic chromatic number of graphs
Authors: Rajkumar S. , Nalliah M.
Published: November 2022

Let G = (V,E) be a graph of order p and size q having no isolated vertices. A bijection f : V → {1, 2, 3, ..., p} is called a local edge antimagic labeling if for any two adjacent edges e = uv and e’ = vw of G, we have w(e) ≠ w(e’), where the edge weight w(e = uv) = f(u)+f(v) and w(e’) = f(v)+f(w). A graph G is local edge antimagic if G has a local edge antimagic labeling. The local edge antimagic chromatic number χ’lea(G) is defined to be the minimum number of colors taken over all colorings of G induced by local edge antimagic labelings of G. In this paper, we determine the local edge antimagic chromatic number for a friendship graph, wheel graph, fan graph, helm graph, flower graph, and closed helm.
Herpetological diversity in Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico: species list with new distribution notes
Authors: Barão-Nóbrega José António L. , Nahuat-Cervera Pedro E. , Avella Ignazio , Capehart Griffin , Garcia Beau , Oakley Joseph , Theodorou Alexandros , Slater Kathy Y.
Published: November 2022

The herpetofauna occurring in the Selva Maya is one of the richest assemblages in the Americas. We herein provide an updated list of herpetofauna species for the Calakmul region, located in the southern Yucatán Peninsula, Campeche, Mexico. This species list was compiled considering the results of herpetological surveys conducted between 2015-2019 in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, information gathered from previous literature, and sighting records from the website iNaturalist. All this information combined resulted in the identification of 109 species, 23 amphibians and 86 reptiles, belonging to 34 families. Furthermore, we hereby present new distribution records for 7 snakes, 2 lizards and 2 frogs not previously observed in the study region. Approximately 38% (n = 41) of the herpetofauna species are listed under a threat category by the environmental Mexican legislation (NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010). The list presented in this study increases to 109 the number of species known to occur in the Calakmul region, and to 135 in Campeche, which therefore becomes the Mexican state of the Yucatán Peninsula with the highest herpetofauna diversity, followed by Quintana Roo with 133 species.