bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nonsurgical Management of Combined Occipitocervical and Atlantoaxial Distraction Injuries
Authors: Kolz Joshua M. , Christensen Tyson C. , Diehn Felix E. , Sebastian Arjun S. , Currier Bradford L. , Nassr Ahmad N.
Published: January 2021

Case:

A 41-year-old man sustained occipitocervical dislocation (OCD) and atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD) injuries in a motor vehicle collision. These injuries were treated nonoperatively with a hard cervical collar and activity restrictions with an excellent result at 4-year follow-up.

Conclusion:

OCD and AAD injuries require prompt diagnosis and immobilization. Standard of care for coexisting injuries is occipitocervical fusion; however, some patients have coexisting injuries which may prevent operative treatment. These polytrauma patients require a creative nonoperative approach with close follow-up to avoid neurologic decline.
Operative Management of a Nonunion at the Superior Angle of the Scapula
Authors: Carlson Tim A. , Ogunleye Temi D. , Barei David P. , Cole Peter A.
Published: January 2021

Case:

We present the case of a 40-year-old man with a fracture to the superior angle of the scapula who was treated nonoperatively for 10 months—leading to a symptomatic nonunion. The patient underwent reconstruction of the nonunion for a painful shoulder and was followed clinically for 3 years. He demonstrated major improvement in function and symptoms.

Conclusion:

Nonunions of the scapular superior angle can be effectively managed with surgical reconstruction.
Staged Management of Cervicothoracic Lordosis and Scoliosis in an Emery-Dreifuss VI Muscular Dystrophy Patient
Authors: Devkumar Devan , Sucato Daniel J. , Ramo Brandon A.
Published: January 2021

Case:

We report the case of an 18-year-old man with extreme cervicothoracic lordosis and a progressive scoliosis secondary to Emery-Dreifuss Type VI muscular dystrophy. In a staged fashion, the patient underwent posterior cervical muscle release, halo-gravity traction, and posterior instrumented spinal fusion from C3-L4 with multiple posterior column osteotomies. The patient was followed over 2 years postoperatively with restoration of normal spinal alignment in both the coronal and sagittal profiles.

Conclusion:

This is the first reported case illustrating the gradual correction of severe lordoscoliosis in this patient population.
Injury to the Medial Superior Genicular Artery After Isolated Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Authors: Panagopoulos Andreas , Solou Konstantina , Kitrou Panagiotis M. , Kouzelis Antonis , Kokkalis Zinon T. , Triantafyllopoulos Ioannis K.
Published: January 2021

Case:

A 19-year-old male patient with isolated posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) rupture underwent arthroscopic reconstruction using reinforced synthetic ligament (LARS system). Three weeks postoperatively, he presented with active bleeding from the medial side of his knee, near the proximal interference screw. An angiogram revealed extravasation from the medial superior genicular artery which was successfully embolized. One week later, he returned with active bleeding from the same area, located just under the initial coiling; a second embolization during superselective angiography was successful.

Conclusion:

Although rare, minor vascular injuries are a risk inherent to PCL surgery.
A protocol for exosome detection via the ultrafast-isolation system (EXODUS)
Authors: Chen Yuchao , Zhu Qingfu , Lee Luke P. , Liu Fei
Published: January 2021

Here we present a protocol for isolation and purification of exosomes using exosome detection via the ultrafast-isolation system (EXODUS). This protocol is associated with our Nature Methods paper: Exosome Detection via the Ultrafast-isolation System: EXODUS.
CaRBoKem: A Biofilter to Treat Heavy Metals by using the Household Waste Products
Authors: Sajeev Milan Maria , Krishnakumar Uma , John Merrin , Raj Amal , Thomas Hanna
Published: January 2021

Environmental toxic waste from heavy metals along with minerals within the waste matter is one of the most significant issues in an Asian country. The activities like industrial operations particularly mining, agricultural processes, and disposal of industrial waste materials; their concentration has redoubled to hazardous levels. Major metals in industrial sewage represent Cu, Cr3+and Pb, etc. So far, varieties of inexpensive strategies are reviewed for the removal of these metals. The various processes include chemical precipitation, reverse diffusion, electro qualitative analysis, nanofiltration, and floatation. But these strategies have many disadvantages like high chemical agent demand, unpredictable metal particle elimination, and production of unhealthful sludge. Surface absorption method being terribly straightforward, economical, effective, and versatile has become the most popular strategies for removal of unhealthful contaminants from waste matter. This paper gives a new idea for the utilization of natural materials as adsorbents for significant metal removal from industrial wastewater. The components used are mustard plant roots, human hair, and some common household waste products such as eggshells and coconut shells. Efficiently utilizing their adsorbent properties, it can be used to filter industrial heavy metals that cause pollution.
Exploration of Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Tuina Therapy for Insomnia by Proteomics Analysis
Authors: Zhou Jing , Cao Biwei , Wei Meng , Xiong Yuan , Liu Wan , Zhu Li , Zhao Yan
Published: January 2021

Insomnia, one of the most common mental disorder, not only affects the quality of life, but also damages physical and mental health. Therefore, it is very necessary to explore the molecular mechanism of insomnia and find some suitable treatments. At present, methods of using drugs to treat insomnia is not satisfactory due to lack of evidences and side effects. Hence, development of non-drug treatments is particularly important. Tuina, a Chinese massage method, has achieved certain therapeutic effects on injuries, rheumatism, neurological diseases and other types of diseases. We have treated patient with insomnia by Tuina, and obtained therapeutic effects indeed. In the current study, we used iTRAQ (isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation) quantitative proteomics to analyze plasma samples taken from the healthy control (HC) group, insomnia patients group (before Tuina treatment, BTT) and insomnia-therapy group (after Tuina treatment, ATT) to identify the molecular correlation of insomnia. In BTT vs HC, we found that the expression of many immune-related and stress-related proteins were out of control, and it revealed that Tuina had the capacities to regulate expression of immune-related and stress-related proteins in ATT vs BTT, suggesting that Tuina may improve insomnia by regulating immune-related and stress-related proteins. The proteomics verification results had been verified by commercial ELISA(Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. All in all,Our study not only found a good way to treat insomnia, but also provided a research foundation for improving insomnia.
Evolution of COVID-19 patients treated with ImmunoFormulation, a combination of nutraceuticals to reduce symptomatology and improve prognosis: a multi-centred, retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hernández Mariana , Urrea Jully , Bascoy Luciano
Published: January 2021

Background Although a vast knowledge has already been gathered on the pathophysiology of COVID-19, there are still limited, non-optimal treatment options. In this context, agents that can act on prophylaxis or as adjuvants to the therapies are of high value.Methods In this paper, we describe a multicentre, retrospective, observational study to describe the course of SARS-CoV-2 disease in patients treated with ImmunoFormulation (IF), an add-on therapy developed to decrease duration of clinical symptoms. In parallel, a group of patients that did not receive IF was used for comparison (using standard of care treatment). A total of 39 patients were evaluated for their recovery rate, general symptoms and their severity, and adverse reactions.Results Throughout the observational period, 90% of patients recovered in the IF cohort and 47.4% in the Control cohort (p=0.0057). From the symptoms with statistically significant differences, the duration of symptoms (i.e., the time to recover from it) was shorter in the IF cohort than in control cohort (in days, average), especially for fever (2.25 x 21.78), dry cough (4.38 x 24.00), dyspnoea (3.67 x 20.00), headache (2.00 x 26.50), diarrhoea (5.25 x 25.25), and weakness (1.92 x 23.30).Conclusions This demonstrates a potential promising role of IF as adjuvant therapy on the evolution of symptomatology to COVID-19 patients.
CMM-Net: Contextual Multi-Scale Multi-Level Network for Efficient Biomedical Image Segmentation
Authors: Al-masni Mohammed , Kim Dong-Hyun
Published: January 2021

Medical image segmentation of tissue abnormalities, key organs, or blood vascular system is of great significance for any computerized diagnostic system. However, automatic segmentation in medical image analysis is a challenging task since it requires sophisticated knowledge of the target organ anatomy. This paper develops an end-to-end deep learning segmentation method called Contextual Multi-Scale Multi-Level Network (CMM-Net). The main idea is to fuse the global contextual features of multiple spatial scales at every contracting convolutional network level in the U-Net. Also, we re-exploit the dilated convolution module that enables an expansion of the receptive field with different rates depending on the size of feature maps throughout the networks. In addition, an augmented testing scheme referred to as Inversion Recovery (IR) which uses logical “OR” and “AND” operators is developed. The proposed segmentation network is evaluated on three medical imaging datasets, namely ISIC 2017 for skin lesions segmentation from dermoscopy images, DRIVE for retinal blood vessels segmentation from fundus images, and BraTS 2018 for brain gliomas segmentation from MR scans. The experimental results showed superior state-of-the-art performance with overall dice similarity coefficients of 85.78%, 80.27%, and 88.96% on the segmentation of skin lesions, retinal blood vessels, and brain tumors, respectively. The proposed CMM-Net is inherently general and could be efficiently applied as a robust tool for various medical image segmentations.
Cadmium in Herbal Weight Loss Products as a Health Risk Factor for Consumers
Authors: Dziubanek Grzegorz , Dawid Konwant , Danuta Rogala , Joanna Domagalska
Published: January 2021

Herbal weight loss remedies are produced on the basis of various plant species which could accumulate heavy metals from the environment. The consumption of contaminated herbal preparations could be a source of consumer exposure to toxic metals. The aim of the study was to evaluate the content of cadmium in selected herbal weight loss products available on the Polish market in terms of exposure of consumers to the heavy metal included in herbal infusions prepared from the studied products and the related health risk. The study included 29 herbal weight loss products available on the Polish market. The content of cadmium in the analyzed dried herbs and herbal infusions was analyzed. On the basis of the obtained results, the exposure of consumers to cadmium and related health risk were estimated. Cadmium concentration in dried herbs did not exceed the maximum allowable concentration. The exposure of consumers of the most contaminated herbal infusions to cadmium could be even equal to half of the reference dose, which is an acceptable exposure threshold. The total health risk of consumers resulting from the dietary exposure to cadmium could be high because the analyzed herbal products are not the essential part of the total diet.
Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Bacterial Profile and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care (Anc) Clinic of Assosa General Hospital, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Western Ethiopia
Authors: Tusuna Duresa Abu
Published: January 2021

Background: ASB is a common problem in pregnant women. About 40% of women with untreated asymptomatic bacteriuria during pregnancy develop pyelonephritis, this has the possibility of leading to low birth weight, preterm, premature rupture of membranes and preterm labour. This study is aimed to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern isolating among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinical care of Assosa General Hospital in western Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2019. Well-mixed and uncentrifuged urine specimens obtained from the pregnant women were directly inoculated on cystine lactose electrolyte deficient agar (CLED) (Oxoid, Ltd, England) media by streak plate method. Bacterial isolates were identified as per the standard bacteriological procedure using colony characteristics, gram-staining, and series of biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out by Kirby- Bauer disk diffusion technique on Muller-Hinton agar medium and the diameter of zone of inhibition was interpreted according to Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) guidelinesResult: The overall prevalence of ASB among pregnant women in this study was 14.85%. E-coli was the most predominant isolate (50 %,) followed by K. pneumoniae (16.7%,), S. aureus (14.3%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CONS) (11.9%), and group B streptococci (GBS) (7.1%). Gram-negative bacteria were highly resistant for tetracycline (96.4%), ampicillin. Gram-positive bacteria were 100% sensitive for ceftazidime. Conclusion: Significant bacteriuria was observed in asymptomatic pregnant women. Therefore, routine laboratory diagnosis of ASB in pregnant women in addition to providing appropriate treatment should be needed to reduce its complications.
Mediation Analysis in Sibling Designs: An Application to the Effect of Prenatal Antidepressant Exposure on Toddler Depression Mediated by Gestational Age at Birth
Authors: Wood Mollie , Eilertsen Espen , Ystrom Eivind , Nordeng Hedvig , Hernandez-Diaz Sonia
Published: January 2021

Background: Mediation analysis requires strong assumptions of no unmeasured confounding. Sibling designs offer a method for controlling confounding shared within families, but no previous research has done mediation analysis using sibling models. Methods: We demonstrate the validity of the sibling mediation approach using simulation, and show its application using the example of prenatal antidepressant exposure and toddler anxiety and depression, with gestational age at birth as a mediator. We used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, a cohort comprising 41% of births in Norway between 1999 and 2008 to identify 91,333 pregnancies, of which 25,776 were part of sibling groups. Results: In simulations, sibling models were less biased than cohort models in cases where non-shared confounding was weaker than shared confounding, and when stronger non-shared confounding was controlled, but more biased otherwise. In the full cohort, the estimated mean difference in depression/anxiety scale z-scores for natural direct effects (NDE) were 0.31 (95% confidence interval 0.23 to 0.39) and 0.14 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.24), without and with adjustment for non-shared confounders, respectively. The natural indirect effect was 0.01 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.02) after adjustment. Adjustment for shared and non-shared confounding showed similar point estimates with wider confidence intervals (NDE 0.18, 95% CI -0.21 to 0.47; NIE -0.01, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.06).Conclusions: Findings suggest that the modest association between prenatal antidepressant exposure and anxiety/depression is not mediated by gestational age and is likely explained by both shared confounders and non-shared confounders, and chance.
Chest Wall Resection and Reconstruction for Locally Recurrent Breast Cancer : An Experience Over a 5-Year Period
Authors: Sun Qiang , Wang Yu-xin , Jin Shi-feng , Wang Chen-chao , Zhou You , Guo Shu
Published: January 2021

BackgroundExpanded local resection is suitable for recurrent breast cancer patients who have isolated local lesion and have not metastasized. The extend of chest wall resection must be overall radical resection of the tumors diagnosed by pathology. However, surgery often leads to huge defects, even full-thickness defects, and these defects are difficult to repair. MethodsChest wall resection was performed in 5 patients with locally recurrent breast cancer, followed by chest wall reconstruction with a pedicled rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap or a pedicled latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap and, if necessary, a piece of titanium mesh. ResultsChest wall resection and reconstruction were successfully achieved in all 5 patients. No complication and recurrence were observed, except one patient died of late lymphatic metastasis. Other patients reported good quality of life.ConclusionsFor locally recurrent breast cancer, complete tumor resection is complete tumor resection is essential and ensures no recurrence. Appropriate material and the blood-rich flap or myocutaneous flap should be used to reconstruct the chest wall defect as an effective treatment for surgical procedure.
Evolution of core archetypal phenotypes in progressive high grade serous ovarian cancer
Authors: Nath Aritro , Cosgrove Patrick A. , Copeland Benjamin , Mirsafian Hoda , Christie Elizabeth L. , Pflieger Lance , Majumdar Sumana , Cristea Mihaela C. , Han Ernest S. , Lee Stephen J. , Wang Edward W. , Fereday Sian , Traficante Nadia , Salgia Ravi , Werner Theresa , Cohen Adam L. , Moos Philip , Chang Jeffrey T. , Bowtell David D. L. , Bild Andrea H.
Published: January 2021

The evolution of resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) cells following chemotherapy is only partially understood. To uncover phenotypic changes associated with chemotherapy resistance, we profiled single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) transcriptomes of HGSOC tumors collected longitudinally during patient treatment. Analysis of scRNA-seq data from two independent patient cohorts revealed that HGSOC is driven by three core archetypal phenotypes, defined as oncogenic tasks that describe the majority of the transcriptome variation. A multi-task learning approach to identify the biological tasks of each archetype identified metabolism and proliferation, cellular defense response, and DNA repair signaling. The metabolism and proliferation archetype evolved during treatment and was enriched in cancer cells from patients that received multiple-lines of treatment and had elevated tumor burden indicated by CA-125 levels. The emergence of archetypes was not consistently associated with specific whole-genome driver mutations. However, archetypes were closely associated with subclonal populations at the single-cell level, indicating that subclones within a tumor often specialize in unique biological tasks. Our study reveals the core archetypes found in progressive HGSOC and shows consistent enrichment of subclones with the metabolism archetype as resistance is acquired to multiple lines of therapy.
Paraneoplastic Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis Associated With Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors With Cutaneous Metastasis: a Case Report
Authors: Zhou Jun , Yang Zhen , Yang Cuishun , Lin Hua , Yuan Wanqiong
Published: January 2021

Background: Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is one of most common mesenchymal neoplasms occurring in different areas of the gastrointestinal tract. GISTs with cutaneous metastasis is very rare and its rarity cutaneous GISTs have not been well characterized. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is also rare among paraneoplastic nephritic syndromes (PNS).Case presentation: In this case report, we described a 64-year-old patient with cutaneous metastasis GIST accompanied by nephrotic syndrome as PNS, in whom symptomatic treatment was ineffective, but clinical remission was achieved after surgery. Moreover, the patient has a missense mutation of NPHP4. NPHP4 served as a negative regulator of the Hippo pathway. Hippo signaling pathway is involved in the development and progression of FSGS. NPHP4 is also indeed a driving force for proliferation in tumor cells. Therefore, the mutation of NPHP4 in this patient could explain the occurrence of GIST and FSGS and this was therefore not a random association.Conclusions: This is the first reported case of a GIST with cutaneous metastasis accompanied by nephrotic syndrome as PNS.
Management and Outcome of Patients With Femoral Head Fractures: Injuries and Associated Prognostic Factors
Authors: Shakya Sujan , Chen Jialei , Sun JiaChen , Xiang Zhou
Published: January 2021

Objective: Femoral head fractures are rare injuries that are often associated with poor functional outcome and complications. Fracture management and surgical methods for these fractures are variable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, treatment methods and approaches, complications and functional outcomes of femoral head fractures.Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of fifty patients who sustained femoral head fractures from January 2011- December 2018. There were thirty-seven males and thirteen females with median age of 40 years. A surgical approach and fixation method were recorded. Patients were classified according to the Pipkin Classification system. Clinical results were evaluated for patients with two years or greater follow-up using the Modified Harris Hip Score (MHHS). Results: Eight patients (16%) were managed successfully with closed reduction without surgery and thirty-seven (74%) patients required operative reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of the femoral head and acetabulum, 5 (10%) patients required immediate Total Hip Replacement (THR). Six (12%) developed AVN, four (8%) requiring secondary total hip replacement (THR). Sixteen patients (33%) developed PTA, eight (16%) developed HO and six patients (12 %) had sciatic nerve injury, none requiring operative treatment. Overall functional results, according to modified Harris hip score were excellent in two (4%) patients, good in sixteen (32%) patients, fair in twenty-two (44%) patients, and poor in ten (20%) patients. A statistically significant difference in outcome was observed among four pipkin subtypes. Conclusion: Femoral head fracture are a rare injury that are often associated with poor outcome. In this study we report the functional outcomes and complications of all treatment approaches for femoral head fracture based on Pipkin classification. This study, adds to the growing literature on femoral head fractures and provide reference for the clinical treatment to guide patient management.
Operating on a Stretcher is a Safe Alternative to An Operating Room Table
Authors: Garrett Christopher , Neal James Eric , Lewellyn Brett
Published: January 2021

Purpose:The primary purpose of this study was to compare intraoperative and post-operative complication rates for upper extremity surgical cases performed on a standard operating room (OR) table with similar cases done on a typical hospital stretcher. Secondary measures reviewed included surgical time, turnover time, total OR time, blood loss, tourniquet time, and postoperative complications.Methods:Using our institution’s electronic medical record system, we reviewed 100 consecutive upper extremity cases performed on a stretcher as well as 100 consecutive upper extremity cases done on a standard OR table. All cases were performed by the same board certified, fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon. The cases were performed between February of 2014 and May of 2016 at a level one trauma center and its associated outpatient surgical center. Basic univariate statistical analyses were performed, and the two groups were compared for primary and secondary outcome measures.Results:The data showed no significant increase in intraoperative complication rateswhen operating on a standard hospital stretcher compared to operating on an OR table. There were a total of 6 postoperative complications in the stretcher group and a total of 11 complications in the OR table group. The most common postoperative complication seen in both cohorts was infection. There was one intraoperative complication in the OR table group and none in the stretcher group. With regard to total operating room time, surgical time, and delta time (overall OR room time minus surgical time which was used to calculate the turnover time), we found that the OR table group had shorter times in each category. The total OR time for the OR table group was a mean time of 105 minutes compared to 146 minutes seen in the stretcher group (p= 0.0002). Similarly, there was a shorter mean surgical time for surgeries done on an OR table (73 minutes) when compared to surgeries done on a stretcher (104 minutes) (p = 0.0026). Finally, the average turnover time (delta time) for the OR table group was 32 minutes while the average turnover time for the stretcher group was 42 minutes (p= 0.0002). The average tourniquet time for the OR table group was 36 minutes as compared to 41 in the stretcher group (p=0.467).Conclusion:Operating on a typical hospital stretcher is a safe alternative to operating on a standard operating room table as there was no increased complication rate seen with surgeries performed on a stretcher compared to an OR table.Level of Evidence: Level 3 evidence
Knowledge and Practice of Supporting Health Literacy for Older Adults Among Community Care Workers: A Cross-sectional Study in Community-based Integrated Support Centers
Authors: Aihara Yoko , Ishihara Itsuko
Published: January 2021

Background: Health literacy, as it relates to better decision-making and autonomy of self-care in older adults, is a growing concern. Health and care professionals play key roles in advocating and supporting health literacy of older adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess community care workers’ knowledge and practice of supporting health literacy among their clients. Methods: Structured questionnaires were posted to all community-based integrated support centers in two prefectures in Japan; care managers, nurses, and social workers were requested to participate in the study. Knowledge and practice of health literacy was compared based on professional qualifications. A Chi-square test was used for analyzing the differences of knowledge and practice of supporting health literacy by professional qualifications. A logistic regression was used for identifying factors associated with participants’ health literacy.Results: In total, 453 workers (care managers: 34%; nurses: 31%; and social workers: 35%) responded. Only 9% of the respondents knew the term and definition of health literacy; and nurses were more likely to perceive the importance of improving and practicing to support the health literacy of clients, compared to care managers and social workers. Less than 10% of the respondents always use teach-back methods and visual materials, which are useful communication methods for low health literacy, for communication with clients. Conclusions: The study suggests that knowledge and practice of supporting health literacy differ by professional qualifications. Older adults receive health and care information from a variety of staff in community-based support centers. Therefore, the study suggests the improvement of the communication skills of the community health and care workers, in order to support clients with low health literacy.
Development of digestive enzymatic activity and gene expression during the early ontogeny of Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi)
Authors: Tang Shulin , Liang Xu-Fang , He Shan , Zhang Yanpeng , Peng Di , Feng Hexiong
Published: January 2021

Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi) is one of the economically important freshwater species fish for aquaculture in China. This study aimed to determine the ontogenetic development of the digestive enzyme activity (trypsin, pepsin, amylase, lipase, chymotrypsin and alkaline phosphatase) and related gene expressions of S. chuatsi larvae from hatching to 30 days post-hatching (dph). The larvae were fed with live fry fish twice a day. Results indicated that it was low detection of enzyme activity and gene expression of trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase, amylase and alkaline phosphatase before mouth opened, the last two enzymes showed an activity close to zero. Different from other carnivorous fish, specific activity and gene expression of trypsin, chymotrypsin and lipase in S. chuatsi larvae were not increased after starting the first feeding. Interestingly, the amylase and alkaline phosphatase specific activity progressively increased over development, indicating that the larvae have certain ability to digest carbohydrates. Pepsin activity and gene expression started to sharply increase after 15 dph, other digestive enzyme activity showed downward trends. The development pattern of digestive enzymes may affect the ability of S. chuatsi to digest the zooplankton, which leads to the formation of unique feeding habit of the S. chuatsi larvae. This study also will provide the necessary theoretical basis for the artificial opening diet of the S. chuatsi larvae.
Heritability of familial pancreatic cancer in a Danish national family cohort
Authors: Tan Ming , Brusgaard Klaus , Gerdes Anne-Marie , Mortensen Michael Bau , Detlefsen Sönke , Muckadell Ove B Schaffalitzky de , Joergensen Maiken Thyregod
Published: January 2021

Background: Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC) is responsible for up to 10% of all cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Individuals predisposed for FPC have an estimated lifetime risk of 18-38% of developing PDAC. While heritability of PDAC has been estimated to be 36% in a Nordic twin study, no estimate on FPC has been reported. Methods: A national cohort of 27 Danish families with disposition for FPC is currently included in a screening program for PDAC at the Department of Medical Gastroenterology, Odense University Hospital. Familial disposition for FPC is defined by presence of either: A) at least 2 PDAC cases among first degree relatives (FDR) with at least one of the cases debuting <50 years of age, or B) at least 3 PDAC cases among FDRs. Family members included in the screening program were interviewed and the following data were obtained: cases of PDAC among FDRs ( e.g. , familial relation, age at diagnosis of PDAC), number of affected/unaffected siblings. Data were validated and supplemented with pedigrees for each FPC family obtained from the relevant departments of clinical genetics in Denmark. Heritability for FPC in FDRs of the predisposed families was estimated using a generalized mixed effect model, with calculation of an intra class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Among 27 Danish families with predisposition for FPC, 83 cases of PDAC were identified. Eighty-one of the PDAC cases were diagnosed as index cases in the respective families. The median age at diagnosis of PDAC was 66 years, and median time from diagnosis to death was 7.6 months. A total of 344 individuals were found as healthy FDRs of the 81 PDAC cases. The retrieved FDRs included a total of 230 individuals in sibship and 315 individuals in parent-offspring relatedness. We estimated an ICC of 0.25 (95% CI: 0.17-0.33), corresponding to a narrow sense heritability estimate of 0.51 (95% CI: 0.35-0.66) in the FPC family cohort. Conclusion: The estimated heritability of 51% prominently underlines the genetic component of FPC. Our findings serve as a solid basis for conducting molecular genetic studies to look for genetic variations contributing to the development of FPC.
Early Prediction Model of Brain Death in Out-of-hospital Cardiac Arrest Patients: a Single-centre Retrospective and Internal Validation Analysis
Authors: Itagaki Yuki , Hayakawa Mineji , Maekawa Kunihiko , Kodate Akira , Moriki Koyo , Takahashi Yuki , Sageshima Hisako
Published: January 2021

Background A shortage of donor organs amid a high demand for transplantable organs is a worldwide problem, and an increase in organ donation would be welcomed by the global healthcare system. Patients with brain death (BD) are potential organ donors, and early prediction of BD patients may facilitate the process of organ procurement. Therefore, we developed a model for early prediction of BD in patients who survived the initial phase of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods We retrospectively analysed data of patients aged, who were aged < 80 years, experienced OHCA with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), and were admitted to our hospital between 2006 and 2018. We categorised the patients into either a non-BD or BD group. Demographic and laboratory data on emergency department admission were used for stepwise logistic regression. Prediction scores of BD after OHCA were based on β-coefficients of prognostic factors identified in the multivariable logistic model. Results Overall, 419 OHCA patients with ROSC were admitted to our hospital during the study period. Seventy-seven patients showed BD (18.3%). Age and OHCA aetiology were significantly different between the groups. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that age, low-flow time, pH, and aetiology were independent predictors of BD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for this model was 0.831 (95% CI, 0.786–0.876). Conclusion We developed and internally validated a new prediction model for BD after OHCA, which could aid in early identification of potential organ donors for early donor organ procurement.
Vital Protocol for Reliability and Accuracy of PolyWareTM Measurements
Authors: Lee Jong min , Baek Seung-Hoon , Lee Yeon Soo
Published: January 2021

Background: PolyWareTM software (PW) has been exclusively used in most of the polyethylene wear studies of total hip arthroplasty (THA). But, we found that PolyWareTM (PW) measurements can be significantly inaccurate and unrepeatable depending on imaging conditions or subjective manipulation choices. In this regard, this study reveals the required conditions to achieve the best accuracy and reliability of the PW measurements.Methods: The experiment examined the dependency of PW on several measurement conditions. The X-ray images of in-vitro THA prostheses were acquired under a clinical X-ray scanning condition. A liner wear of 6.67 mm, an acetabular lateral inclination of 36.7° and an anteversion of 9.0° were simulated.Results: Among all the imported X-ray images, those with a resolution of 1076×1076 exhibited the best standard deviation in wear measurements as small as 0.01 mm and the least occurrences of blurriness. The edge detection area specified as non-squared and off the femoral head center exhibited the most occurrence of blurriness. At the X-ray scanning moment, an eccentric placement of the femoral head center by 15 cm superior to the X-ray beam center led to an acetabular anteversion error up to 5.3°.Conclusion: The results request researchers to observe following conditions; 1) the original Xray image be 1076×1076 squared X-ray images, 2) the edge detection area be specified as a square with edge lengths of 5 times the diameter of the femoral head centered at the femoral head center, 3) the femoral head center or acetabular center be placed as close to the center line of the X-ray beam as possible, at the X-ray scanning moment.
WITHDRAWN: Epidemiological characterization of Leishmaniasis in the rural area of the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Authors: Pradella Gabriela Döwich , Duarte Claudia Acosta , Escobar Taiane Acunha , Zuravski Luísa , Góss Geórgia Camargo , Skupien Jovito Adiel , Lübeck Irina
Published: January 2021

Background: Leishmaniasis, zoonotic diseases, are in the top ten list of tropical neglected disease globally. The number of contaminated dogs in South America is estimated in millions of animals and correlated to the human’s cases, especially in Brazil. Equines became infected too and can play a role in the epidemiological chain. Thus, the aim of the present study was to evaluate risk factors to leishmaniasis in rural areas of the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil by Leishmania sp. protozoa molecular detection and serological evaluation (ELISA) in equine and canine blood samples. Methods: This work included nine farms around the city of Uruguaiana. It was collected epidemiologic information regarding farm characteristics and biologic material collection of canine and equine, totalizing 113 samples. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to detect Leishmania spp. in biological samples. Variables related to the farm were collected and evaluated through descriptive analysis followed by chi-square test and a logistic regression analysis.Results: Nineteen positive samples (19/113 – 16,81%) were detected, being 18 equines and 1 canine, in six of the nine farms included in the study. No animal showed clinical signs of the disease. According to the variables analyzed, when compared each characteristic separately, the presence of abundant vegetation and poor hygiene demonstrated to be risk factors to Leishmania infection in rural areas. The logistic regression showed that excellent general hygiene, proximity to the weir and trimmed grass were protective factors (p=0.038, p=0.001 and p=0.014, respectively). Having excellent hygiene represents a 70% lower chance of getting contaminated, keeping the grass cut protects the animal by more than 90% and the proximity of the weir represents a protective factor of 96%.Conclusions: The presence of leishmaniasis in the western border region of Rio Grande do Sul was 16,81% and it was influence by farm characteristics. The role of the excellent general hygiene as a protective factor is extremally relevant in the leishmaniosis prevention.
Strength Analysis of Porous YSZ Ceramics With the Same Porosity and Different Pore Structure
Authors: lang ying , dai xin , zhao lin , wei Hong-Kang , wang chang-an
Published: January 2021

Porous YSZ ceramics with different pore structure were prepared by volume limiting foaming technology. Accurate porosity could achieve by this technology[1], so all samples were adjusted to density of 1g/m3 (porosity of about 82.6%). For the same density, the influence of porosity change on the strength was excluded. The effects of different pore structure on mechanical properties (compressive strength, strength-deformation curve and Young's modulus) were studied. The results showed that for porous ceramics with uniform pores the larger the pore size was, the smaller the Young's modulus and the lower the strength was. In addition, for samples with mix pores (large pore and small pore), when the volume fraction of macropores is large, the strength is the same as that of porous ceramics with uniform small pore size structure; when the volume fraction of small pores is large, the strength is the same as that of porous ceramics with uniform large pore size structure.
TCTP Promotes Hu Sheep Rumen Epithelial Development before Weaning
Authors: zheng kaizhi , Wu Jianliang , Guo Liangyong , Ying Yuyang , Li Peng , Cao Yang , Huang Xin , meng chunhua , Jiang Yongqing
Published: January 2021

BackgroundHu Sheep is a world precious breed of sheep. Rumen is the most important digestive organ for ruminant animals. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in rumen development help us design better strategies to improve the production of sheep. Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is a highly conserved protein that involves various cellular processes. However, its role in rumen epithelium development remains unknown.ResultsTCTP was expressed in stratum basale, stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum of rumen epithelium. TCTP mRNA expression was extremely high on the day of birth, it then significantly decreased on day 15 and gradually increased until day 45 of age. TCTP protein expression remained in a relative low level from day 0 to day 15 of age, it then significantly increased on day 30 and gradually decreased until day 60. The ratio of Ki67 positive cell in stratum basale cell followed the similar pattern as the expression of TCTP. The papillae length decreased at first 15 days of postnatal life. Thereafter, the papilla undergo a period of growth from 538.1±17.3μm to 2211.1±56.6μm until 60 days of age. The phosphorylation of AKT is the highest on day 15 of age, then decreased until day 45. The ratio of acetate:propionate in rumen fluid decreased from day 30 to day 60 of age. ConclusionsTCTP participates in rumen papillae growth by promoting rumen stratum basale cell proliferation. We suggest that the translation of TCTP mRNA is regulated by AKT phosphorylation and the development of rumen papillae is associated with acetate:propionate ratio.
The Training Experience and Professional Expectations of Allied Health Workers Students in Angola
Authors: Ferrinho Paulo , Guimarães Nkanga , Freitas Helga
Published: January 2021

BackgroundWe describe the profile of Angolan final year allied health workers (AHW) students: where they come from, their experience of training and expectations regarding professional future. MethodsIt was a questionnaire based observational cross-sectional study applied to final year AHW students in 24 public and private sector , higher and mid-level training institutions in 14 of the 18 provinces of Angola during 2014.ResultsMost AHW students were women, satisfied with their choice of training. Satisfaction with teachers was high but low regarding support systems such as access to library, laboratories and clinical cases.After training AHW students wanted to settle in Angola, preferable in hospital practice, preferably in the public sector and in a national or provincial capital, rather than in the municipal hospitals. ConclusionsThis study highlights some of the issues that will have to be addressed by training institutions in order to contribute to a balanced health workforce in Angola, with AHW in quantity with the quality and distribution necessary to address health system and population needs. It highlights the importance of private education institutions in meeting this need. As training is a significant investment by students or their relatives, training institutions must strive to improve support systems in terms of access to libraries, laboratories, clinical cases, informatic support, canteens, accommodation and leisure activities.
Temporal Dynamics of Teleost Populations During the Pleistocene: A Report from Publicly Available Genome Data
Authors: Li Jia , Bian Chao , Yi Yunhai , Yu Hui , You Xinxin , Shi Qiong
Published: January 2021

Global climate oscillation, as a selection dynamic, is an ecologically important element resulting in global biodiversity. During the glacial geological periods, most organisms suffered detrimental selection pressures (such as food shortage and habitat loss) and went through population declines. However, during the mild interglacial periods, many species re-flourished. These temporal dynamics of effective population sizes (Ne) provide essential information in understanding and predicting evolutionary outcomes during historical and ongoing global climate changes. Using high-quality genome assemblies and corresponding sequencing data, we applied the Pairwise Sequentially Markovian Coalescent (PSMC) method to quantify Ne changes of fifteen representative teleost species from approximately 10 million years ago (mya) to 10 thousand years ago (kya). The results revealed multiple rounds of population contraction and expansion in most of the examined teleost species during the Neogene and the Quaternary periods. It was found that 67% (10/15) of the examined teleosts had experienced a drastic decline in Ne before the last glacial period (LGP, 110–12 kya), slightly earlier than the reported pattern of Ne changes in 38 avian species. In comparison with the peaks, almost all of the examined teleosts maintained long-term lower Ne values during the last few million years. This is consistent with increasingly dramatic glaciation observed during this period. In summary, these findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the historical Ne changes in teleosts. Results presented here could lead to the development of appropriate strategies to protect species in light of ongoing global climate changes.
Impact on Diabetes Management of the Restrictions of Social Participation to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic at a Single Facility in Japan: A Retrospective, Observational Study
Authors: Kogai Toshiki , Fujibayashi Kazutoshi , Yanagisawa Naotake , Fukui Nobuyuki , Takahashi Akihiko , Naito Toshio , Kuwatsuru Ryohei , Watada Hirotaka
Published: January 2021

Background: The aim of this study was to clarify the impact of limitations of activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic on diabetes management.Methods: To clarify the impacts of the emergency declared on April 7 2020, 345 patients, 1109 patients, and 752 patients whose HbA1c levels were measured in both March and April, May, or June were selected. The patients to be compared were selected from the 2019 data under the same conditions. In 2019, 469 patients, 1315 patients, and 783 patients whose HbA1c levels were measured in both March and April, May, or June were selected. The impact of restricted activity on diabetes management due to the declared emergencies was assessed by comparing HbA1c levels in April, May, and June minus the HbA1c levels in March of both 2019 and 2020. Subjects with a difference in HbA1c levels greater than 0 were defined as “worsened”, and subjects with a difference in HbA1c levels less than or equal to 0 were defined as “improved”. The deterioration rate and the improvement rate of the HbA1c level in 2019 and 2020 were compared by the Chi-squared test. Second, the linear trends of HbA1c from April to June between 2019 and 2020 were calculated by mixed model repeated measures ANOVA.Results: There were more patients with worsening HbA1c levels from March to April in 2020 than in 2019: 122 (26.0%) vs. 137 (39.7%), p<0.01. There were more patients with improved HbA1c levels from March to June in 2020 than in 2019: 478 (61.0%) vs. 512 (68.1%), p<0.01. Patients with improved HbA1c levels between March and May showed no significant difference between 2020 and 2019: 814 (61.9%) vs. 713 (64.3%), p=0.23. Slopes of HbA1c levels from April to June in 2019 and 2020 were -0.0024 (-0.0039, -0.0009) and -0.0099 (-0.0117 -0.0081), respectively. There were significant differences in the slopes -0.0075 (-0.0097, -0.0053), p<0.01) between the years.Conclusions: HbA1c levels did not appear to show persistent deterioration during the observational period in 2020. Meanwhile, some diabetic patients may have shown both improved and worsened diabetes control during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Establishment of Risk Prediction Model of Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula after Pancreatoduodenectomy: 2016 Edition of Definition and Grading System of Pancreatic Fistula
Authors: Yu Jun , Ren Chao-yi , Wang Jun , Cui Wei , Zhang Jin-juan , Wang Yi-jun
Published: January 2021

ObjectiveTo establish a risk prediction model for pancreatic fistula according to the pancreatic fistula standards of the 2016 edition.MethodsClinical data from 182 patients with PD admitted to Tianjin Third Central Hospital from January 2016 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into modeling (01/2016 to 12/2018) and validation (01/2019 to 02/2020) sets according to the time of admission. The risk factors for postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) were screened by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, and a risk prediction model for POPF was established in the modeling set. This score was tested in the validation set.ResultsLogistic regression analysis showed that the main pancreatic duct index and CT value were independent risk factors according to the 2016 pancreatic fistula grading standard, based on which a risk prediction model for POPF was established. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.788 in the modeling set and 0.824 in the validation set.ConclusionThe main pancreatic duct index and CT value of the pancreas are closely related to the occurrence of pancreatic fistula after PD, and the established risk prediction model for pancreatic fistula has good prediction accuracy.