bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anti-atrial Fibrillation Effects of Pulmonary Vein Isolation With or Without Ablation Gaps: A Computational Modeling Study
Authors: Jin Ze , Hwang Inseok , Lim Byounghyun , Kwon Oh-Seok , Park Je-Wook , Yu Hee-Tae , Kim Tae-Hoon , Joung Boyoung , Lee Moon-Hyoung , Pak Hui-Nam
Published: March 2022

Background

Although pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) gaps contribute to recurrence after atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation, the mechanism is unclear. We used realistic computational human AF modeling to explore the AF wave-dynamic changes of PVI with gaps (PVI-gaps).

Methods

We included 40 patients (80% male, 61.0 ± 9.8 years old, 92.5% persistent AF) who underwent AF catheter ablation to develop our realistic computational AF model. We compared the effects of a complete PVI (CPVI) and PVI-gap (2-mm × 4) on the AF wave-dynamics by evaluating the dominant frequency (DF), spatial change of DF, maximal slope of the action potential duration restitution curve (Smax), and AF defragmentation rate (termination or change to atrial tachycardia), and tested the effects of additional virtual interventions and flecainide on ongoing AF with PVI-gaps.

Results

Compared with the baseline AF, CPVIs significantly reduced extra-PV DFs (p < 0.001), but PVI-gaps did not. COV-DFs were greater after CPVIs than PVI-gaps (p < 0.001). Neither CPVIs nor PVI-gaps changed the mean Smax. CPVIs resulted in higher AF defragmentation rates (80%) than PVI-gaps (12.5%, p < 0.001). In ongoing AF after PVI-gaps, the AF defragmentation rates after a wave-breaking gap ablation, extra-PV DF ablation, or flecainide were 60.0, 34.3, and 25.7%, respectively (p = 0.010).

Conclusion

CPVIs effectively reduced the DF, increased its spatial heterogeneity in extra-PV areas, and offered better anti-AF effects than extra-PV DF ablation or additional flecainide in PVI-gap conditions.
Molecular Characterization and RNA Interference Analysis of SLC26A10 From Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)
Authors: Zhang Ruijuan , Ji Jinliang , Li Yabin , Yu Jianbin , Yu Xiaoping , Xu Yipeng
Published: March 2022

SLC26A10 is a member of the SLC26 gene family, but its role in insects is still unclear. We cloned the SLC26A10 gene of Nilaparvata lugens (NlSLC26A10) and found NlSLC26A10 contained 11 transmembrane regions and a STAS domain. Expression pattern analysis showed NlSLC26A10 expression was more upregulated in adults than in nymphs, highest in the ovary. After injection of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) of NlSLC26A10, the mRNA level of NlSLC26A10 significantly decreased and, consequently, the ovarian development of adult females was hindered; the amount and the hatchability of eggs and yeast-like symbionts in mature oocytes decreased. Further study showed that NlSLC26A10 might result in decreased juvenile hormone level and vitellogenin expression. These results indicate that NlSLC26A10 plays an essential role in the reproduction of N. lugens.
Assessment of Choroidal Vascularity and Choriocapillaris Blood Perfusion After Accommodation in Myopia, Emmetropia, and Hyperopia Groups Among Children
Authors: Chang Xuejiao , Li Mu , Lv Liang , Yan Xiaoqin , Liu Ying , Zhu Mengxia , Wang Junming , Wang Ping , Xiang Yan
Published: March 2022

Purpose

To investigate choroidal vascularity (CV) and choriocapillaris blood perfusion before and after accommodation in myopia, emmetropia, and hyperopia groups among children.

Methods

This study included 39 myopic eyes from 22 subjects, 17 emmetropic eyes from 11 subjects, and 18 hyperopic eyes from 10 subjects. All subjects were children. Choroidal thickness (CT) and CV, including total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), and stromal area (SA) were measured using swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Choriocapillaris luminal area (CLA) was measured using SS-OCT-angiography before and after accommodation (near reading with an additional −3 diopter lens).

Results

For baseline results, except horizontal CV (showing no significant differences between myopia and emmetropia groups), both horizontal and vertical CT and CV were significantly smaller in the myopia group than in the emmetropia or hyperopia groups. In terms of CLA, no significant differences were observed among the myopia, emmetropia, and hyperopia groups. In addition, only myopic eyes showed significant decreases in CT and CV, whereas most CT and CV of emmetropic and hyperopic eyes showed non-significant decreases after accommodation. Furthermore, accommodation induced no significant changes in CLA in the myopia, emmetropia, or hyperopia groups.

Conclusion

Myopia had thinner baseline choroid and lower baseline choroidal blood perfusion. Furthermore, myopic eyes were more prone to choroidal thinning and blood perfusion decreases after accommodation.
Inositol Improves Cold Tolerance Through Inhibiting CBL1 and Increasing Ca2+ Influx in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)
Authors: Yan Lei , Zeng Liu , Raza Ali , Lv Yan , Ding Xiaoyu , Cheng Yong , Zou Xiling
Published: March 2022

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important oilseed crop worldwide. However, its productivity is significantly affected by various abiotic stresses, including cold stress. Among various stresses, cold stress is an important abiotic factor affecting plant growth, yield, and quality. The calcium channels are regarded as key pathways affecting cold tolerance in plants. Thus, improvement in cold tolerance is of great significance for crop improvement. The current study was designed to examine the beneficial role of exogenous inositol in improving cold stress tolerance in rapeseed. From the RNA-seq results, we identified 35 differently expressed genes encoding different inositol enzymes. The results show that inositol (a cyclic polyol) positively regulated cold tolerance by increasing calcium ion (Ca2+) influx in rapeseed. Furthermore, we found that the expression of calcineurin B-like (CBL1) gene was inhibited by inositol. On the other hand, overexpressed plant mediated the Ca2+ flux under cold stress suggesting the key role of inositol-Ca2+ pathway in cold tolerance. Moreover, the overexpression of BnCBL1-2 in Arabidopsis represented that transgenic plants mediated the Ca2+ flux highlighting the vital role of the inositol-Ca2+ pathway in conferring cold stress. Our study provides new insights into rapeseed cold tolerance mechanism and introduces a feasible method to improve the cold tolerance of rapeseed quickly.
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals a Gene Expression Pattern That Contributes to Sugarcane Bud Propagation Induced by Indole-3-Butyric Acid
Authors: Xu Lin , Deng Zhi-Nian , Wu Kai-Chao , Malviya Mukesh Kumar , Solanki Manoj Kumar , Verma Krishan K. , Pang Tian , Li Yi-Jie , Liu Xiao-Yan , Kashyap Brijendra Kumar , Dessoky Eldessoky S. , Wang Wei-Zan , Huang Hai-Rong
Published: March 2022

Sugarcane is a cash crop that plays an integral part in the sugar industry. The Sustainable Sugarcane Initiative (SSI) has been adopted globally, ensuring enough and aiming for more yield, helping increase disease-free sugarcane cultivation. Single-bud seeds could be the best approach for sugarcane cultivation. Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) is a rooting agent utilized significantly in seedling propagation. Greenhouse experiment results discovered the significant growth promotion in sugarcane seedlings and accumulation of plant hormones at 100 ppm IBA. Next, we performed transcriptomic analysis of sugarcane buds using RNA sequencing and compared their gene expression during root development due to affect of IBA (100 ppm). A total of 113,475 unigenes were annotated with an average length of 836 bp (N50 = 1,536). The comparative RNA-seq study between the control (CK) and IBA-treated (T) buds showed significant differentially expressed unigenes (494 upregulated and 2086 downregulated). The IBA influenced major biological processes including metabolic process, the cellular process, and single-organism process. For cellular component category, cell, cell part, organelle, membrane, and organelle part were mainly affected. In addition, catalytic activity and binding were primarily affected in the molecular function categories. Furthermore, the expression of genes related to plant hormones and signaling pathways was analyzed by qRT-PCR, which was consistent with the RNA-seq expression profile. This study provides new insights into the IBA response to the bud sprouting in sugarcane based on RNA sequencing, and generated information could help further research on breeding improvement of sugarcane.
Post-anthesis Relationships Between Nitrogen Isotope Discrimination and Yield of Spring Wheat Under Different Nitrogen Levels
Authors: Effah Zechariah , Li Lingling , Xie Junhong , Karikari Benjamin , Wang Jinbin , Zeng Min , Wang Linlin , Boamah Solomon , Padma Shanthi Jagadabhi
Published: March 2022

Wheat grain yield and nitrogen (N) content are influenced by the amount of N remobilized to the grain, together with pre-anthesis and post-anthesis N uptake. Isotopic techniques in farmed areas may provide insight into the mechanism underlying the N cycle. 15N-labeled urea was applied to microplots within five different fertilized treatments 0 kg ha–1 (N1), 52.5 kg ha–1 (N2), 105 kg ha–1 (N3), 157.5 kg ha–1 (N4), and 210 kg ha–1 (N5) of a long-term field trial (2003–2021) in a rainfed wheat field in the semi-arid loess Plateau, China, to determine post-anthesis N uptake and remobilization into the grain, as well as the variability of 15N enrichment in aboveground parts. Total N uptake was between 7.88 and 29.27 kg ha–1 for straw and 41.85 and 95.27 kg ha–1 for grain. In comparison to N1, N fertilization increased straw and grain N uptake by 73.1 and 56.1%, respectively. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and harvest index were altered by N application rates. The average NUE at maturity was 19.9% in 2020 and 20.01% in 2021; however, it was usually higher under the control and low N conditions. The amount of 15N excess increased as the N rate increased: N5 had the highest 15N excess at the maturity stage in the upper (2.28 ± 0.36%), the middle (1.77 ± 0.28%), and the lower portion (1.68 ± 1.01%). Compared to N1, N fertilization (N2–N5) increased 15N excess in the various shoot portions by 50, 38, and 35% at maturity for upper, middle, and lower portions, respectively. At maturity, the 15N excess remobilized to the grain under N1–N5 was between 5 and 8%. Our findings revealed that N had a significant impact on yield and N isotope discrimination in spring wheat that these two parameters can interact, and that future research on the relationship between yield and N isotope discrimination in spring wheat should take these factors into account.
Developing a State University System Model to Diversify Faculty in the Biomedical Sciences
Authors: Cresiski Robin Herlands , Ghent Cynthia Anne , Rutledge Janet C. , Carter-Veale Wendy Y. , Aumiller Jennifer , Bertot John Carlo , Enekwe Blessing , Golembewski Erin , Medina Yarazeth , Scott Michael S.
Published: March 2022

Amid increasing demands from students and the public, universities have recently reinvigorated their efforts to increase the number of faculty from underrepresented populations. Although a myriad of piecemeal programs targeting individual recruitment and development have been piloted at several institutions, overall growth in faculty diversity remains almost negligible and highly localized. To bring about genuine change, we hypothesize a consortia approach that links individuals to hiring opportunities within a state university system might be more effective. Here we present a case study describing the progress of the NSF-funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) PROMISE Academy Alliance, a consortium within the University System of Maryland (USM) collaborating to develop, implement, self-study, evaluate, and disseminate a unique postdoc-to-faculty conversion model in the biomedical sciences. The initiative centers on diversifying faculty across five institutions in the USM, including teaching-focused institutions, comprehensive universities, research institutions, and professional schools. Components of this approach include (1) enhanced recruiting and hiring practices to attract outstanding postdoctoral scholars from underrepresented backgrounds, (2) multi-institutional networking and professional development, and (3) facilitated processes to transition (or “convert”) postdocs into tenure-track positions at their postdoctoral institution or another institution in the state system. This model is distinct from more deficit-based approaches because it goes beyond focusing on building the individual’s skills to enter the professoriate. This program restructures the traditionally short-term nature of postdoctoral employment and incorporates a pathway to a tenure-track professorship at the same institution or within the same statewide system where the postdoc is trained. This multi-institutional model leverages collaboration and distinct institutional strengths to create cross-institutional support, advocacy, and policy. Importantly, it uses a decentralized financial structure that makes this approach distinctly replicable. Recognizing the immediate need for more collaborative approaches to diversify faculty and a lack of literature about such approaches, this case study describes the development of, and potential benefits of, a state university system, as well as the qualitative lessons learned from self-study, internal evaluation, external evaluation, and NSF site visits. The AGEP PROMISE Academy can serve as a model for replication at other university systems hoping to diversify their faculty.
Building the Positive Emotion-Resilience-Coping Efficacy Model for COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Ke Guek Nee , Grajfoner Dasha , Wong Rachel Mei Ming , Carter Stephen , Khairudin Rozainee , Lau Wee Yeap , Kamal Khalil Anwar , Lee Shen Chieng
Published: March 2022

The world faces unprecedented challenges because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Existing theories of human flourishing and coping efficacy are too broad and general to address COVID-19 unprecedented mental health challenges. This study examined two main objectives, first the associations between psychological outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) and psychological wellbeing of this phenomenon, and second, moderating and mediating factors emotions, resilience and coping self-efficacy. A nationwide survey was carried out on a Malaysian sample (n = 920). Participants completed an on-line survey that assessed psychological outcomes, psychological wellbeing, positive–negative emotions, resilience, and coping self-efficacy. The relationship between psychological states and psychological wellbeing was successfully mediated by coping self-efficacy (direct effects of −0.31 to −0.46 atp < 0.01) and resilience (direct effects of −0.06 to −0.26 atp < 0.01). Moreover, positive emotion significantly moderated depression (b = −0.02,p < 0.01) and anxiety (b = −0.14,p = 0.05) with psychological wellbeing. Findings highlighted the importance of these factors in developing a dedicated model to be built into the recovery plan to ameliorate the negative impact of COVID-19 on psychological wellbeing. Hence, the Positive Emotion-Resilience-Coping Efficacy Model was developed.
The Influence of Teacher–Student Interaction on the Effects of Online Learning: Based on a Serial Mediating Model
Authors: Sun Hai-Long , Sun Ting , Sha Feng-Yi , Gu Xiao-Yu , Hou Xin-Ru , Zhu Fei-Yan , Fang Pei-Tao
Published: March 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online education has become an important approach to learning in the information era and an important research topic in the field of educational technology as well as that of education in general. Teacher–student interaction in online education is an important factor affecting students’ learning performance. This study employed a questionnaire survey to explore the influence of teacher–student interaction on learning effects in online education as well as the mediating role of psychological atmosphere and learning engagement. The study involved 398 college students studying at Chinese universities as the research object. Participants filled out a self-report questionnaire. The study found that (1) the level of teacher–student interaction positively affected students’ learning effects (r = 0.649, p < 0.01). (2) The psychological atmosphere mediated the positive effect of the level of teacher–student interaction on learning effects with mediating effect value of 0.1248. (3) Learning engagement mediated the positive effect of teacher–student interaction on learning effects with a mediating effect value of 0.1539. (4) The psychological atmosphere and learning engagement play a chain-mediating role in the mechanism of teacher–student interaction affecting students’ learning effects; that is, teacher–student interaction promotes students’ learning engagement by creating a good psychological atmosphere, which, in turn, influences learning effects. The mediating effect value was 0.0403. The results indicate that teacher–student interaction not only directly affects students’ learning effects but also influences students’ learning effects through the mediating effect of the psychological atmosphere and learning engagement.
What Drives Internet Entrepreneurial Intention to Use Technology Products? An Investigation of Technology Product Imagination Disposition, Social Support, and Motivation
Authors: Huang Tien-Chi , Wang Yi-Jin , Lai Hui-Min
Published: March 2022

Technological products such as computer, communication, and consumer electronic products, apps, smart wearables, and streaming services have become inseparable from people’s lives. In technological fields of practice, imagination, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship may influence one another. A vivid imagination can generate creativity and trigger the entrepreneurial intention to “bring new things to the market.” This study aims to understand the formation of internet entrepreneurial intention to use technology products. Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study explores and empirically tests how technology product imagination disposition and social support impact internet entrepreneurial intention to use technology products. Drawing from self-determination theory, this study proposes and examines the mediating role of intrinsic (challenge and enjoyment) and extrinsic motivation (compensation and outward motivation) in the relationship between technology product imagination disposition and internet entrepreneurial intention, as well as the relationship between social support and internet entrepreneurial intention. We conducted a survey of 568 adults in Taiwan and used partial least squares to test our hypotheses. The results show the following: (1) Technology product imagination disposition is positively associated with challenge, enjoyment, compensation, and outward motivation. (2) Social support is positively associated with challenge, enjoyment, compensation, and outward motivation. (3) Challenge, enjoyment, and outward motivation are positively associated with internet entrepreneurial intention to use technology products. (4) Technology product imagination disposition intensifies internet entrepreneurial intention to use technology products by strengthening challenge, enjoyment, and outward motivation. Social support intensifies internet entrepreneurial intention by increasing challenge, enjoyment, and outward motivation. The partial mediation model represents a significant improvement in the total effect over the direct effect. We discuss the implications of these results for research and internet entrepreneurship practices.
The Therapeutic Effect of Exogenous Melatonin on Depressive Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Li Cancan , Ma Dandan , Li Min , Wei Tao , Zhao Xuan , Heng Yuanyuan , Ma Delong , Anto Enoch Odame , Zhang Yanbo , Niu Mingyun , Zhang Wangxin
Published: March 2022

Background

Depression-related mortality and morbidity pose growing public health burdens worldwide. Although the therapeutic effect of exogenous melatonin on depression has been investigated, findings remain inconsistent. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify the effectiveness of melatonin in the treatment of depression, including primary and secondary depression symptoms.

Methods

We searched the online databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for original studies published up to May 2021. We used STATA 14.0 software to synthesize the results of included studies. To evaluate the effectiveness of melatonin, we calculated the standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of depression scores between the melatonin and placebo groups.

Results

Our literature search returned 754 publications, among which 19 studies with 1,178 patients (715 women, 463 men; mean age: 56.77 years) met inclusion criteria. Melatonin dosages ranged from 2 to 25 mg per day; treatment durations were between 10 days and 3.5 years. Our synthesized results showed that melatonin was not found significantly beneficial for alleviating depressive symptoms (SMD = −0.17, 95% CI = [−0.38, 0.05]). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the decrease in depression scores measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was significant (SMD = −0.52, 95% CI = [−0.73, −0.31]).

Conclusions

There is very limited evidence for effects of melatonin on depression.
Risk Profiles of Korean Adolescents in Relations With Contextual Factors: Implications for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support
Authors: Kim Dongil , Lim Jin Hyung
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Although prior studies have supported the effectiveness of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) on addressing social, emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges faced by youth at-risk, educators using MTSS often do not consider contextual factors which may also influence youth at-risk and the interventions targeting them. This study thus aimed to identify youth at-risk who should be referred to targeted instructions within MTSS by examining the risk profiles of Korean adolescents. Based on the identified risk profiles, we also tried to investigate the effect of contextual factors on deciding youth at-risk and confirm whether and/or what contextual factors should be considered when implementing targeted interventions for them.

Method

To accomplish the research goal, a latent profile analysis on risk factors of Korean adolescents was performed, using the first year data of “Korean Children and Youth Panel Study (KCYPS) 2018.”

Results

Four risk profiles were identified, using low academic motivation, low academic behavior, attention deficit, aggression, social withdrawal, and depression as indicators: the high risk, M-SEB (Moderate-social, emotional, & behavioral) risk, M-ACA (Moderate-academic) risk, and low risk group. The covariates of this study, home and school environmental variables, worked as predictors of adolescents included in the high group.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest students in the high risk group (16.8%) should be given targeted instructions combining academic and SEB support within MTSS so as to prevent negative outcomes in the future among all adolescents. Those instructions need to be planned with consideration of contextual factors accompanied by teacher's careful understanding of social dynamics surrounding each student.
A “Good” Smoke? The Off-Label Use of Cannabidiol to Reduce Cannabis Use
Authors: Fortin Davide , Di Beo Vincent , Massin Sophie , Bisiou Yann , Carrieri Patrizia , Barré Tangui
Published: March 2022

Background

Although cannabis use is common in France, it is still criminalized. Cannabidiol (CBD) products, including CBD-rich cannabis, are legally available. Although previous results suggested that CBD may have benefits for people with cannabis use disorder, there is a lack of data on cannabis users who use CBD to reduce their cannabis consumption. We aimed to identify (i) correlates of this motive, and (ii) factors associated with successful attempts to reduce cannabis use.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey among French-speaking CBD and cannabis users was conducted. Logistic regressions were performed to identify correlates of using CBD to reduce cannabis consumption and correlates of reporting a large reduction.

Results

Eleven percent (n = 105) of our study sample reported they primarily used CBD to reduce cannabis consumption. Associated factors included smoking tobacco cigarettes (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] 2.17 [1.3–3.62], p = 0.003) and drinking alcohol (aOR [95%CI] 1.8 [1.02–3.18], p = 0.042). Of these 105, 83% used CBD-rich cannabis to smoke, and 58.7% reported a large reduction in cannabis consumption. This large reduction was associated with non-daily cannabis use (aOR [95%CI] 7.14 [2.4–20.0], p < 0.001) and daily CBD use (aOR [95%CI] 5.87 [2.09–16.47], p = 0.001). A reduction in cannabis withdrawal symptoms thanks to CBD use was the most-cited effect at play in self-observed cannabis reduction.

Conclusions

Cannabis use reduction is a reported motive for CBD use—especially CBD-rich cannabis to smoke—in France. More studies are needed to explore practices associated with this motive and to accurately assess CBD effectiveness.
Differential Effects of Aripiprazole and Amisulpride on Negative and Cognitive Symptoms in Patients With First-Episode Psychoses
Authors: Nielsen Mette Ødegaard , Kristensen Tina Dam , Borup Bojesen Kirsten , Glenthøj Birte Y. , Lemvigh Cecilie K. , Ebdrup Bjørn H.
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Aripiprazole is hypothesized to have an effect on negative and cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia. Likewise, amisulpride is one of the only second-generation antipsychotics with which an effect on negative symptoms is reported. In the present study, we compare the effect of aripiprazole and amisulpride in initially antipsychotic-naïve patients with first-episode psychoses.

Methods

Psychopathology and cognitive measures from two consecutive cohorts of antipsychotic-naïve first episode psychotic patients were obtained before and after 6 weeks of antipsychotic monotherapy with either aripiprazole or amisulpride. Matched healthy controls were included to account for retest effects on the cognitive measures. Analyses of variance (repeated-measures ANOVA) were performed to detect effect of time and possible cohort*time interactions.

Results

Longitudinal data was obtained from 47 and 48 patients treated for 6 weeks with amisulpride or aripiprazole, respectively. For the Wallwork negative symptom dimension, there was a cohort*time interaction [F(1, 93) = 4.29, p = 0.041] and a significant effect of time [F(1, 93) = 6.03, p = 0.016], which was driven by an improvement in patients treated with aripiprazole [t(47) = 4.1, p < 0.001] and not observed in patients treated with amisulpride (p > 0.5). For the eight cognitive measures, no cohort*time interaction was found and neither was cognitive improvement in any of the cohorts when accounting for retest effect.

Conclusion

Patients treated with aripiprazole improved on negative symptoms, which was not the case for patients treated with amisulpride. This may point to a general effect of a partial D2 receptor agonist on negative symptoms in patients with first-episode psychoses. There was, however, no improvement in cognitive functions.
A Retrospective Study on the Eye-Related Quality of Life, Functional Vision, and Their Determinants Among Children Following Congenital and Developmental Cataracts Surgery and Its Impact on Their Families Using the PedEyeQ
Authors: Gu Siyi , Hu Yiwen , Zhao Yinying , Chen Lulu , Sun Weijie , Chang Pingjun , Wang Dandan , Zhao Yune
Published: March 2022

Objectives

To evaluate the eye-related quality of life (ER-QOL), functional vision, and their determinants in children following congenital and developmental cataract surgery, as the impact on their families, using the Pediatric Eye Questionnaire (PedEyeQ).

Materials and Methods

This was a retrospective cross-sectional study involving 107 children (aged 0–11 years) with congenital and developmental cataracts who had undergone surgery, as well as 59 visually healthy controls (aged 0–11 years). One parent for each child completed either the Proxy 0–4 PedEyeQ, the Proxy 5–11 PedEyeQ, or the Parent PedEyeQ, depending on their child's age. Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were then conducted to compare the differences between groups and to analyze their determinants.

Results

PedEyeQ scores were found to be lower in postoperative children with congenital and developmental cataracts compared with the control group across all study domains. The PedEyeQ Proxy 0 to 4 years' greatest mean difference was 27 points worse in the Functional Vision domain (95% CI −34 to −19; p < 0.001). We also found that the occurrence of nystagmus (p < 0.005) and strabismus (p < 0.005) were the major factors affecting participants' functional vision. The PedEyeQ Proxy 5 to 11 years' greatest mean difference was 23 points worse in this same domain (95% CI −30 to −15; p < 0.001), with nystagmus (p < 0.05) being the main determinant herein. Parent PedEyeQ 0 to 4 years' greatest difference was 46 points worse on the Worry about their Child's Eye Condition domain (95% CI −57 to −36; p < 0.001). Similarly, parents of children with ophthalmologic abnormalities, including nystagmus (p < 0.001) and strabismus (p < 0.05), were significantly more worried about their children's eye condition. Parent PedEyeQ 5 to 11 years' greatest difference was also found to be 30 points worse on the Worry about their Child's Eye Condition domain (95% CI −43 to −17; p < 0.005).

Conclusions

Children who have undergone congenital and developmental cataract surgery experience a lower quality of life and reduced functional vision. Their families are also significantly and adversely affected herein. Thus, more attention is needed on these groups, with more focused measures being administered to both children and their families.
Spoligotyping of Clinical Isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Species in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia
Authors: Hussien Bedru , Zewude Aboma , Wondale Biniam , Hailu Awraris , Ameni Gobena
Published: March 2022

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia. Investigation of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) species circulating in the Ethiopian population would contribute to the efforts made to control TB in the country. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the MTBC species and spoligo patterns in the Oromia region (central) of Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study design was used to recruit 450 smear positive pulmonary TB (PTB) cases from the Oromia region between September 2017 and August 2018. Mycobacteria were isolated from sputum samples on the Lowenstein Jensen (LJ) medium. Molecular identification of the isolates was performed by spoligotyping. The results of spoligotyping were transferred into a query box in the SITVIT2 database and Run TB-Lineage in the TB Insight website for the identification of spoligo international type (SIT) number and linages of the isolates, respectively. Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 20 was applied for statistical analysis.

Results

Three hundred and fifteen isolates were grouped under 181 different spoligotype patterns. The most dominantly isolated spoligotype pattern was SIT149 and it consisted of 23 isolates. The majority of the isolates were grouped under Euro-American (EA), East-African-Indian (EAI), and Indo-Oceanic (IO) lineages. These lineages consisted of 79.4, 9.8, and 9.8% of the isolates, respectively. One hundred and sixty-five of the isolates were classified under 31 clustered spoligotypes whereas the remaining 150 were singleton types. Furthermore, 91.1% of the total isolates were classified as orphan types. Clustering of spoligotypes was associated (p < 0.001) with EAI lineage.

Conclusion

SIT149 and EA lineage were predominantly isolated from the Oromia region substantiating the findings of the similar studies conducted in other regions of Ethiopia. The observation of significant number of singleton and orphan spoligotypes warrants for additional genetic typing of the isolates using method(s) with a better discriminatory power than spoligotyping.
Exploring and Developing a New Culturally-Appropriate Diabetes Distress Scale in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Ching-Ling , Chang Yao-Tsung , Liu Wen-Cheng , Huang Li-Chi , Tsao Shin-Yi , Chen Yu-Hsin , Chen Ruey-Yu
Published: March 2022

Introduction

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new diabetes distress scale suitable for Chinese and Taiwanese culture.

Methods

This study collected the current diabetes distress measurement tools, re-organized current definitions about the domains of diabetes distress, and then developed a new tool. Three hundred and ninety-five participants from four hospitals in northern Taiwan were recruited by cluster randomized sampling for validity test.

Results

We found the new diabetes distress scale had appropriate reliability and validity, including an acceptable model fit for the 12-item scale.

Conclusions

This new diabetes distress scale might be more directly related to emotional distress issues blood glucose control, improve the clinical conspicuity of diabetes distress, and even benefit the overall care of diabetic patients in Taiwan. Further studies about the validity and reliability of this new tool in a nationwide setting are needed.
Retinal Vessel Extraction via Assisted Multi-Channel Feature Map and U-Net
Authors: Bhatia Surbhi , Alam Shadab , Shuaib Mohammed , Hameed Alhameed Mohammed , Jeribi Fathe , Alsuwailem Razan Ibrahim
Published: March 2022

Early detection of vessels from fundus images can effectively prevent the permanent retinal damages caused by retinopathies such as glaucoma, hyperextension, and diabetes. Concerning the red color of both retinal vessels and background and the vessel's morphological variations, the current vessel detection methodologies fail to segment thin vessels and discriminate them in the regions where permanent retinopathies mainly occur. This research aims to suggest a novel approach to take the benefit of both traditional template-matching methods with recent deep learning (DL) solutions. These two methods are combined in which the response of a Cauchy matched filter is used to replace the noisy red channel of the fundus images. Consequently, a U-shaped fully connected convolutional neural network (U-net) is employed to train end-to-end segmentation of pixels into vessel and background classes. Each preprocessed image is divided into several patches to provide enough training images and speed up the training per each instance. The DRIVE public database has been analyzed to test the proposed method, and metrics such as Accuracy, Precision, Sensitivity and Specificity have been measured for evaluation. The evaluation indicates that the average extraction accuracy of the proposed model is 0.9640 on the employed dataset.
A Decision Support System for Diagnosing Diabetes Using Deep Neural Network
Authors: Rabie Osama , Alghazzawi Daniyal , Asghar Junaid , Saddozai Furqan Khan , Asghar Muhammad Zubair
Published: March 2022

Background and Objective

According to the WHO, diabetes mellitus is a long-term condition marked by high blood sugar levels. The consequences might be far-reaching. According to current increases in mortality, diabetes has risen to number 10 among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. When used to predict diabetes using unbalanced datasets from testing, machine learning (ML) classifiers and established approaches for encoding categorical data have exhibited a broad variety of surprising outcomes. Early studies also made use of an artificial neural network to extract features without obtaining a grasp of the sequence information.

Methods

This study offers a deep learning-based decision support system (DSS), utilizing bidirectional long/short-term memory (BiLSTM), to accurately predict diabetic illness from patient data. In order to predict diabetes, the BiLSTM hybrid model was used after balancing the data set.

Results

Unlike earlier studies, this proposed model's trial findings were promising, with an accuracy of 93.07%, 93% precision, 92% recall, and a 92% F1-score.

Conclusions

Using a BILSTM model for classification outperforms current approaches in the diabetes detection domain.
An Integrated Dynamic Closed Loop Simulation Platform for Elbow Flexion Augmentation Using an Upper Limb Exosuit Model
Authors: Sambhav Ratna , Jena Shreeshan , Chatterjee Ankit , Bhasin Shubhendu , Santapuri Sushma , Kumar Lalan , Muthukrishnan Suriya Prakash , Roy Sitikantha
Published: March 2022

Wearable robotic devices are designed to assist, enhance or restore human muscle performance. Understanding how a wearable robotic device changes human biomechanics through complex interaction is important to guide its proper design, parametric optimization and functional success. The present work develops a human-machine-interaction simulation platform for closed loop dynamic analysis with feedback control and to study the effect of soft-robotic wearables on human physiology. The proposed simulation platform incorporates Computed Muscle Control (CMC) algorithm and is implemented using the MATLAB -OpenSim interface. The framework is generic and will allow incorporation of any advanced control strategy for the wearable devices. As a demonstration, a Gravity Compensation (GC) controller has been implemented on the wearable device and the resulting decrease in the joint moments, muscle activations and metabolic costs during a simple repetitive load lifting task with two different speeds is investigated.
Real-Time Avoidance of Ionising Radiation Using Layered Costmaps for Mobile Robots
Authors: West Andrew , Wright Thomas , Tsitsimpelis Ioannis , Groves Keir , Joyce Malcolm J. , Lennox Barry
Published: March 2022

Humans in hazardous environments take actions to reduce unnecessary risk, including limiting exposure to radioactive materials where ionising radiation can be a threat to human health. Robots can adopt the same approach of risk avoidance to minimise exposure to radiation, therefore limiting damage to electronics and materials. Reducing a robot’s exposure to radiation results in longer operational lifetime and better return on investment for nuclear sector stakeholders. This work achieves radiation avoidance through the use of layered costmaps, to inform path planning algorithms of this additional risk. Interpolation of radiation observations into the configuration space of the robot is accomplished using an inverse distance weighting approach. This technique was successfully demonstrated using an unmanned ground vehicle running the Robot Operating System equipped with compatible gamma radiation sensors, both in simulation and in real-world mock inspection missions, where the vehicle was exposed to radioactive materials in Lancaster University’s Neutron Laboratory. The addition of radiation avoidance functionality was shown to reduce total accumulated dose to background levels in real-world deployment and up to a factor of 10 in simulation.
An Expanded Three Band Model to Monitor Inland Optically Complex Water Using Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI)
Authors: Guo Yulong , Huang Changchun , Li Yunmei , Du Chenggong , Li Yuan , Chen Weiqiang , Shi Lingfei , Ji Guangxing
Published: March 2022

Due to strict spectral band requirements, the three-band (TB) chlorophyll-a concentration (Cchla) estimation algorithm cannot be applied to GOCI image, which has great potential in frequently monitoring inland complex waters. In this study, the TB algorithm was expanded and applied to GOCI data. The GOCI TB algorithm was subsequently calibrated using an in-situ dataset which contains 281 samples collected from 17 inland lakes in China between 2013 and 2020. MERIS TB and GOCI band ratio (BR) models were selected as comparisons to assess the proposed model. The results showed that the proposed GOCI TB model has similar accuracy with MERIS TB model and overperformed GOCI BR model. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the GOCI TB, MERIS TB, and GOCI BR algorithms are 14.212 μg/L, 12.096 μg/L, and 20.504 μg/L, respectively. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) (when Cchla is larger than 10 μg/L) of the three models were 0.377, 0.250, and 0.453, respectively. Similar conclusion could be drawn from a match-up dataset containing 40 samples. Finally, a simulation experiment was carried out to analyze the robustness of the models under various total suspended matter concentration (CTSM) conditions. Both the in-situ validation and simulation experiment indicated that the GOCI TB factor could effectively eliminate the optical influence of CTSM. Furthermore, the broader spectral range requirement of GOCI TB model made it proper for many other multispectral sensors such as Sentinel two Multispectral Instrument (S2 MSI), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (onboard the Terra/Aqua satellite), and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) (onboard the National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite). Compared with the GOCI BR algorithm, the GOCI TB algorithm has stronger stability, better accuracy, and greater potential in practice.
VIPDA: A Visually Driven Point Cloud Denoising Algorithm Based on Anisotropic Point Cloud Filtering
Authors: Cattai Tiziana , Delfino Alessandro , Scarano Gaetano , Colonnese Stefania
Published: March 2022

Point clouds (PCs) provide fundamental tools for digital representation of 3D surfaces, which have a growing interest in recent applications, such as e-health or autonomous means of transport. However, the estimation of 3D coordinates on the surface as well as the signal defined on the surface points (vertices) is affected by noise. The presence of perturbations can jeopardize the application of PCs in real scenarios. Here, we propose a novel visually driven point cloud denoising algorithm (VIPDA) inspired by visually driven filtering approaches. VIPDA leverages recent results on local harmonic angular filters extending image processing tools to the PC domain. In more detail, the VIPDA method applies a harmonic angular analysis of the PC shape so as to associate each vertex of the PC to suit a set of neighbors and to drive the denoising in accordance with the local PC variability. The performance of VIPDA is assessed by numerical simulations on synthetic and real data corrupted by Gaussian noise. We also compare our results with state-of-the-art methods, and we verify that VIPDA outperforms the others in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We demonstrate that our method has strong potential in denoising the point clouds by leveraging a visually driven approach to the analysis of 3D surfaces.
Caenorhabditis elegans Neurotoxicity Testing: Novel Applications in the Adverse Outcome Pathway Framework
Authors: Sammi Shreesh Raj , Jameson Laura E. , Conrow Kendra D. , Leung Maxwell C. K. , Cannon Jason R.
Published: March 2022

Neurological hazard assessment of industrial and pesticidal chemicals demands a substantial amount of time and resources. Caenorhabditis elegans is an established model organism in developmental biology and neuroscience. It presents an ideal test system with relatively fewer neurons (302 in hermaphrodites) versus higher-order species, a transparent body, short lifespan, making it easier to perform neurotoxic assessment in a time and cost-effective manner. Yet, no regulatory testing guidelines have been developed for C. elegans in the field of developmental and adult neurotoxicity. Here, we describe a set of morphological and behavioral assessment protocols to examine neurotoxicity in C. elegans with relevance to cholinergic and dopaminergic systems. We discuss the homology of human genes and associated proteins in these two signaling pathways and evaluate the morphological and behavioral endpoints of C. elegans in the context of published adverse outcome pathways of neurodegenerative diseases. We conclude that C. elegans neurotoxicity testing will not only be instrumental to eliminating mammalian testing in neurological hazard assessment but also lead to new knowledge and mechanistic validation in the adverse outcome pathway framework.
A Novel miRNA Y-56 Targeting IGF-1R Mediates the Proliferation of Porcine Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells Through AKT and ERK Pathways
Authors: Song Jie , Hao Linlin , Zeng Xiangfang , Yang Rui , Qiao Shiyan , Wang Chunli , Yu Hao , Wang Siyao , Jiao Yingying , Jia Hongyao , Liu Songcai , Zhang Ying
Published: March 2022

As a key regulator of gene transcription and post-transcriptional modification, miRNAs play a wide range of roles in skeletal muscle development. Skeletal muscle satellite cells contribute to postnatal growing muscle fibers. Thus, the goal of this study was to explore the effects of novel miRNA Y-56 on porcine skeletal muscle satellite cells (PSCs). We found that Y-56 was highly expressed in porcine muscle tissues, and its expression was higher in Bama Xiang pigs than in Landrace pigs. The EdU assay, cell counting kit-8, and flow cytometry results showed that Y-56 overexpression suppressed cell proliferation and cell cycle, whereas Y-56 inhibition resulted in the opposite consequences. The results of qRT-PCR and Western blot showed that Y-56 remarkably inhibited the expression levels of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and cyclin D1. We identified that IGF-1R was a direct target of Y-56 by dual-luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, IGF-1R overexpression promoted the proliferation and cell cycle process of PSCs and upregulated the expression of CDK4, PCNA, and cyclin D1. Conversely, IGF-1R knockdown had the opposite effect. Furthermore, IGF-1R overexpression partially reversed the inhibition of the cell proliferation and cell cycle process of PSCs and the downregulation of the expression of CDK4, PCNA, and Cyclin D1 caused by Y-56 overexpression. Finally, Y-56 inhibited the protein expression levels of p-AKT and p-ERK. Collectively, our findings suggested that Y-56 represses the proliferation and cell cycle process of PSCs by targeting IGF-1R-mediated AKT and ERK pathways.