bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of global socio-economic changes on the regional role of universities
Authors:   Széchenyi István University, Pupp Zsuzsanna , Filep Bálint ,   Széchenyi István University
Published: January 2022

Economic and regional development and rapid, often unpredictable changes across the globe in technical fields have an effect on everything, including universities, training, research and services as well. Universities must find their place in this continuously changing environment, they need to continuously reinterpret themselves and their own roles, whilst ensuring that education and knowledge transfer take priority. The pace of change is increasingly accelerating with technological novelties and innovations by high-tech industries surpassing themselves at an astounding rate. Therefore, knowledge, as the facilitator and creator of these results, plays an increasingly important role for those who wish to rank among the winners of the competition both locally and globally. Today, the primary creators of knowledge are still educational institutions, and universities are the fundamental platforms of research. However, it is not enough to be «only» a university, they must educate and research and become part of the developed world alongside participants who would like to provide scientific answers to practical problems. In our paper we address the question of breaking points along which the role of universities can be transformed in order to remain open to the needs of both their narrower and wider environment while maintaining their fundamental mission, thus becoming successful players on the global stage. The development of high-tech industries has resulted in a science-driven period when economic development is unimaginable without the scientific results and the interconnection of individual disciplines. This development will presumably lead to the deterioration of certain individual knowledge and the deepening of others. Higher education must also adapt to this with the development of an education system that strengthens digital skills and serves regional expectations. Nowadays entrepreneurial universities have emerged, which are able to operate with an entrepreneurial approach, thereby responding independently to challenges from outside. The ability to co-operate must be a key aspect of university existence, and the deepening of educational, research and business partnerships is a prerequisite for success. In order to spread management approach and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem, successful R&D work and innovation, it is also necessary to involve external, tender resources and grants, besides own resources. However, these resources need to be used well, but the lack of a pre-planned, conscious strategy results in less efficient use. Regional cooperation, common thinking, training and innovation, science workshops and science parks all contribute to the development of institutions and related regions.
Sustainability aspects of distance learning in higher education during the COVID-19 epidemic in a Hungarian University
Authors:   Corvinus University of Budapest, Pinter Eva , Fenyvesi Eva ,   Budapest Business School, Pinter Tibor ,   Budapest Business School
Published: January 2022

Our paper explores the impacts and sustainability of remote and online education framework introduced as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic in the case of two subjects (Macroeconomics and International Economics) taught at the Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism, Budapest Business School. In our study we focused on specific aspects of shifting from traditional in-class learning to online education at our university. The most important pillars of the shift were the online implementation of all lessons, communication and examinations. We analyzed the measures of the education change, the effects of the change on the final results of the students and introduced the experiences of our students and teachers in this period, reflecting on the principles of sustainability. The primary data required for the analysis were diaries maintained by teachers and information available through the electronic study systems supporting online learning (CooSpace, Neptun), as well as student and teacher questionnaires and teacher interviews. The results for both subjects show that, despite the unmodified difficulty level of the exam questions, student performance improved during the remote learning period, that is, the learning process complies with the principles of sustainability. The implications of the study are therefore as follows: the coronavirus changed the educational framework of our university; the performance of students improved on both subjects; preparation time for teachers has increased, exam preparation time for students has also increased; consequently, online solutions used in distance learning period have changed the attitudes of the students and teachers as well. In the absence of personal feedback opportunities, regular monitoring tools were positively received by students, however, digital inequalities and previously less common tasks were more challenging for them. The experiences of the first semester affected by the epidemic were and can be utilized in later semesters as well.
Macroeconomic indicators and student mobility: a case study of the African countries most actively involved in FAO student mobility
Authors:   Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Janik Henrietta , Tóth-Naár Zsuzsanna ,   Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)
Published: January 2022

The internationalization of higher education is one of the most current topics related to education today. The number of foreign students in major higher education institutions is increasing, and international collaborations in the field of education and research are becoming more frequent. Even though the topic is so tangible in proximity, still little is known about the process of internationalization of higher education and the factors that support and hinder the phenomenon. The theoretical significance of this study is the regression analysis of the revealed literature and statistical data, while the practical significance is the possible comparative study of the research carried out in the international context depending on the number of FAO scholarship students coming to Hungary from African countries. The study covers 12 years of mobilities from 2008 to 2020. The study presents the distribution of FAO scholarship students arriving in Hungary from African countries and analyses a correlation between macroeconomic indicators, student mobility and the likelihood of international migration regarding sending African countries, using linear regression analysis and SPSS as a statistical method. For this analysis the data from the ILOSTAT Database has been used. The result of the study is that there are correlations between indicators in only a few cases, such as the HDI and MPI index of the African countries and GDP per capita. The GDP per capita has really strong positive correlation with the HDI index. There is a medium correlation between agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) and the employment in agriculture in the examined African countries. Also, our results suggest there is a moderately strong negative correlation between MPI index and GDP per capita.
Relationship between the leadership style and organizational performance in Hungary
Authors:   J. Selye University, Karacsony Peter
Published: January 2022

Effective leadership is one of the most essential tools for an organization to sustain its business in the face of problems caused by the global economic environment. Successful managers can influence their employees and motivate them for strengthening organizational performance. The effective leadership style as a unique way of integrating employees with the organization to achieve its vision or goals. The current study provides a deeper insight into the factors of effective leadership style of organizations. The research paper is seeking to examine the relationship of leadership style and organizational performance by quantitative analysis of 376 participants in Hungary. The results showed a correlation between the dimensions of leadership style and organizational performance. It was also found that leadership style predicted organizational performance, which meant a 29% variance in performance. The findings of this study may assist current and future managers who are seeking to improve organizational effectiveness.
Certain issues of the sustainability of public services in municipalities on macro and micro levels, with special regard to the period of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in Hungary
Authors:   University of Public Service, Lentner Csaba , Hegedűs Szilárd ,   Budapest Business School
Published: January 2022

The study examines the task performance and the financial management by Hungarian municipalities in two dimensions between 2011 and 2021. On the one hand, the revenues and expenditures, their composition and the debt of Hungarian municipalities are analysed from a macro-financial perspective and in the context of the European Union. On the other hand, in our analysis conducted with a microeconomic approach, we are seeking an answer for the question as to how local governments assess the quality of their own task performance and the changes in their revenues between 2018 and 2021 during a pandemic crisis that has «arrived» at a stabilised status. In the periods of two years before and after the pandemic, we aim to expose substantial effects and their abrupt changes through pieces of empirical research. In our study, we have set up two hypotheses. First, the economic crisis arising in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impaired the municipalities’ task performance and their revenue-earning potential. Our other hypothesis is that the pandemic has had a more dramatic economic impact on larger municipalities. We carried out the macro-financial examination with time series analysis, while the microeconomic analysis was based on a survey, which was mainly assessed with descriptive statistical methods and with the help of variance analysis as a multivariate method. The most important conclusion of the study is that a strong centralisation of a Hungarian type was capable of managing and consolidating the fiscal overspending before 2010 and the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 simultaneously, but in the case of an exogenic crisis it considerably decreases the responsiveness and resilience of municipalities.
Industry 4.0 and human resource in Indonesia: a systematic literature review
Authors:   University of Debrecen, Tuegeh Octavia Diana Monica , Harangi-Rákos Mónika ,   University of Debrecen, Nagy Adrian Szilárd ,   University of Debrecen
Published: January 2022

There are concerns about the impact of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and challenges on the job market. This research purpose is to analyze the impact of the 4.0 industrial revolution on the labor market related to its consequences for higher education. Based on the Systematic Literature Review using VOSview, this research found the challenges of Industry 4.0 on the job market in Indonesia. Based on the challenges, this research purpose competencies and skill acquired and how the need for higher education to change to answer these challenges.
Doppler flow phantom failure detection by combining empirical mode decomposition and independent component analysis with short time Fourier transform
Authors: Fiori Giorgia , Fuiano Fabio , Scorza Andrea , Schmid Maurizio , Conforto Silvia , Sciuto Salvatore Andrea
Published: January 2022

Nowadays, objective protocols and criteria for the monitoring of phantoms failures are still lacking in literature, despite their technical limitations. In such a context, the present work aims at providing an improvement of a previously proposed method for the Doppler flow phantom failures detection. Such failures were classified as low frequency oscillations, high velocity pulses and velocity drifts. The novel objective method, named EMoDICA-STFT, is based on the combined application of the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) techniques on Pulsed Wave (PW) Doppler spectrograms. After a first series of simulations and the determination of adaptive thresholds, phantom failures were detected on real PW spectrograms through the EMoDICA-STFT method. Data were acquired from two flow phantom models set at five flow regimes, through a single ultrasound (US) diagnostic system equipped with a linear, a convex and a phased array probe, as well as with two configuration settings. Despite the promising outcomes, further studies should be carried out on a greater number of Doppler phantoms and US systems as well as including an in-depth investigation of the proposed method uncertainty.
Development and characterisation of a self-powered measurement buoy prototype by means of piezoelectric energy harvester for monitoring activities in a marine environment
Authors: Alizzio Damiano , Quattrocchi Antonino , Montanini Roberto
Published: January 2022

In the interest of our society, for example in Smart City but also in other specific backgrounds, environmental monitoring is an essential activity to measure the quality of different ecosystems. In fact, the need to obtain accurate and extended measurements in space and time has considerably become relevant. In very large environments, such as marine ones, technological solutions are required for the use of smart, automatic, and self-powered devices in order to reduce human maintenance service. This work presents a simple and innovative layout for a small self-powered floating buoy, with the aim of measuring and transmitting the detected data for visualization, storage and/or elaboration. The power supply was obtained using a cantilever harvester, based on piezoelectric patches, converting the motion of ripple waves. Such type of waves is characterized by frequencies between 1.50 Hz and 2.50 Hz with oscillation between 5.0 ° and 7.0 °. Specifically, a dedicated experimental setup was created to simulate the motion of ripple waves and to evaluate the suitability of the proposed design and the performance of the used harvester. Furthermore, a dynamic analytical model for the harvester has been defined and the uncertainty correlated to the harvested power has been evaluated. Finally, the harvested voltage and power have shown how the presented buoy behaves like a frequency transformer. Hence, although the used cantilever harvester does not work in its resonant frequency, the harvested electricity undergoes a significant increase.
Continuous measurement of stress levels in naturalistic settings using heart rate variability: An experience-sampling study driving a machine learning approach
Authors: Cipresso Pietro , Serino Silvia , Borghesi Francesca , Tartarisco Gennaro , Riva Giuseppe , Pioggia Giovanni , Gaggioli Andrea
Published: January 2022

Developing automatic methods to measure psychological stress in everyday life has become an important research challenge. Here, we describe the design and implementation of a personalized mobile system for the detection of psychological stress episodes based on Heart-Rate Variability (HRV) indices. The system’s architecture consists of three main modules: a mobile acquisition module; an analysis-decision module; and a visualization-reporting module. Once the stress level is calculated by the mobile system, the visualization-reporting module of the mobile application displays the current stress level of the user. We carried out an experience-sampling study, involving 15 participants, monitored longitudinally, for a total of 561 ECG analyzed, to select the HRV features which best correlate with self-reported stress levels. Drawing on these results, a personalized classification system is able to automatically detect stress events from those HRV features, after a training phase in which the system learns from the subjective responses given by the user. Finally, the performance of the classification task was evaluated on the empirical dataset using the leave one out cross-validation process. Preliminary findings suggest that incorporating self-reported psychological data in the system’s knowledge base allows for a more accurate and personalized definition of the stress response measured by HRV indices.
A virtual platform for real-time performance analysis of electromagnetic tracking systems for surgical navigation
Authors: Ragolia Mattia Alessandro , Attivissimo Filippo , Di Nisio Attilio , Lanzolla Anna Maria Lucia , Scarpetta Marco
Published: January 2022

Electromagnetic Tracking Systems (EMTSs) are widely used in surgical navigation, allowing to improve the outcome of diagnosis and surgical interventions, by providing the surgeon with real-time position of surgical instruments during medical procedures. However, particular effort was dedicated to the development of efficient and robust algorithms, to obtain an accurate estimation of the instrument position for distances from the magnetic field generator beyond 0.5 m. Indeed, the main goal is to improve the limited range of current commercial systems, which strongly affects the freedom of movement of the medical team. Studies are currently being conducted to optimize the magnetic field generator configuration (both geometrical arrangements and electrical properties) since it affects tracking accuracy. In this paper, we propose a virtual platform for assessing the performance of EMTSs for surgical navigation, providing real-time results and statistics, and allowing to track instruments both in real and simulated environments. Simulations and experimental tests are performed to validate the proposed virtual platform, by employing it to assess the performance of a real EMTS. The platform offers a real-time tool to analyze EMTS components and field generator configurations, for a deeper understanding of EMTS technology, thus supporting engineers during system design and characterization.
A Comparison of Covariate Adjustment Approaches Under Model Misspecification In Individually Randomized Trials
Authors: Tackney Mia S. , Morris Tim , White Ian , Leyrat Clemence , Diaz-Ordaz Karla , Williamson Elizabeth
Published: January 2022

Adjustment for baseline covariates in randomized trials has been shown to lead to gains in power and can protect against chance imbalances in covariates. For continuous covariates, there is a risk that the the form of the relationship between the covariate and outcome is misspecified when taking an adjusted approach. Using a simulation study focusing on small to medium-sized individually randomized trials, we explore whether a range of adjustment methods are robust to misspecification, either in the covariate-outcome relationship or through an omitted covariate-treatment interaction. Specifically, we aim to identify potential settings where G-computation, Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting ( IPTW ), Augmented Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting ( AIPTW ) and Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimation ( TMLE ) offer improvement over the commonly used Analysis of Covariance ( ANCOVA ). Our simulations show that all adjustment methods are generally robust to model misspecification if adjusting for a few covariates, sample size is 100 or larger, and there are no covariate-treatment interactions. When there is a non-linear interaction of treatment with a skewed covariate and sample size is small, all adjustment methods can suffer from bias; however, methods that allow for interactions (such as G-computation with interaction and IPTW ) show improved results compared to ANCOVA . When there are a high number of covariates to adjust for, ANCOVA retains good properties while other methods suffer from under- or over-coverage. An outstanding issue for G-computation, IPTW and AIPTW in small samples is that standard errors are underestimated; development of small sample corrections is needed.
The Effects of Pulsed Electric Field On The Interaction Between SARS-Cov-2 And Human ACE2: Y505 Is A Key Target
Authors: Ji Ming-hui , Xu Jia-hao , Yuan Sha-sha , Liu Ya-wen , Xing Xin-yi , Jiang Chao , Xue Liang , Yang Chuan-kai , Chu Feng-hong , Jiang You-hua
Published: January 2022

A novel coronavirus has rapidly spread to almost every country in the world, causing over 233 million confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and over 209,761,242 deaths by late September 2021. Binding the receptor binding domain (RBD) to the host cell surface receptor protein, angiotensin converter enzyme (ACE2), is a key step in virus infection. In this study, we applied a pulsed electric field to the RBD/ACE2 complex based on molecular dynamics simulation and demonstrated that the electric field affects the structure and binding affinity of the complex. Additionally, residue Y505 is the crucial medium for the effects of electric field on the complex. Overall, these results may help apply an external electric field to virus suppression.
LSPR Sensor Chip Fabricated Based on Au Nanoparticles: Effect of Graphene Oxide and Reduced Graphene Oxide
Authors: Ayareh Zohreh , Moradi Mehrdad
Published: January 2022

Nanoparticles of noble metals are well known to display unique optical properties due to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) phenomenon, making them applicable for use as transducers in various LSPR sensor configurations. In order to develop a sensor chip, Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were decorated onto a transparent glass substrate in the form of a uniform, high-density single layer using a self-assembly monolayer (SAM) process. The glass substrate surface was initially modified with amine functional groups using different concentrations of (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), followed by its optimization to reach a uniform monolayer of AuNPs. The optimized substrate was subsequently prepared by functionalization with APTES, while also being immersed into colloidal AuNPs. A uniform layer of Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets were coated on the AuNPs thin films using the dip-coating technique. The AuNPs/GO and rGO hybrid films were employed along with an appropriate optical set up acting as a smart sensor chip for detection of different concentrations of biomaterials. The optimum LSPR sensor (%0.5 APTES immersed in colloidal AuNPs for 12 h) resulted in a chip with %29 absorption and sharper plasmon peak. This appropriate condition remained constant after adding rGO, indicating that Glass/AuNPs/rGO chip will be suitable for sensory applications.
Perception Regarding Live Kidney Donation in the General Population of South Korea
Authors: Kang Eunjeong , Lee Jangwook , Park Sehoon , Kim Yaerim , Kim Hyo Jeong , Kim Yong Chul , Kim Dong Ki , Joo Kwon Wook , Kim Yon Su , Choi Insun , Lee Hajeong
Published: January 2022

This study aimed to know how the general population recognizes live kidney donation in Korea. Participants were randomly selected from the general population after proportional allocation by region, sex, and age. Selected participants received a questionnaire that included demographic information, socioeconomic and marital statuses, prior recognition of live donor KT, expected changes after donation, and the need for support after donor nephrectomy. Among the 1,000 participants from the web-based survey, 83.8% answered they fully understood living donor KT, 81.1% knew about them, and 51.1% were willing to donate. Various complications after nephrectomy and deterioration in health after donation were the most significant reasons for those reluctant to donate. Most agreed that the government should provide social and economic support to living kidney donors, especially after exposure to the description of donor nephrectomy. Financial support, including surgery and regular medical check-up costs, was the most preferred government support. The Korean general population seemed aware of the value and safety of kidney donation, although only half of them were willing to donate due to concerns about possible complications. Most participants agreed on social and economic support for living kidney donors, especially surgery-related costs.
Identification of the Dysregulated Pathways and Key Gene in Prostate Cancer by Transcriptome Analysis and Cell Biology Experiments
Authors: Sun Weiliang , Guo Jing , Cheng Zhen , Zhang Yuting , Gao Yanxiang
Published: January 2022

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common cancer in elderly men with the first increasing new cases and the second leading cause of cancer death, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of prostate cancer remain unclear. Methods: Here we mainly used Weight gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), protein to protein interaction (PPI), gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and cell biology experiments to analyze prostate cancer data in GEO and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases and revealed the main dysregulated pathways and key genes in prostate carcinogenesis. Results: We found that the focal adhesion pathway was the main pathway in PCa. FERMT2 was shown to be the key gene for prostate tumorigenesis both in GSE6919 and TCGA datasets. By using WGCNA and GSEA analysis, we found that FERMT2 was related to the focal adhesion pathway and the ECM interaction pathway. Cell biology experiments demonstrated that FERMT2 inhibited tumor cell proliferation and migration. Conclusion: Our findings revel that downregulation of FERMT2 and the focal adhesion pathway are the main characteristics of PCa and FERMT2 might be the potential biomarker or treatment target for PCa.Trial registration: The study is not a clinical trial.
Length-dependent motions of SARS-CoV-2 frameshifting RNA pseudoknot and alternative conformations suggest avenues for frameshifting suppression
Authors: Yan Shuting , Zhu Qiyao , Jain Swati , Schlick Tamar
Published: January 2022

Conserved SARS-CoV-2 RNA regions of critical biological functions define excellent targets for anti-viral therapeutics against Covid-19 variants. One such region is the frameshifting element (FSE), responsible for correct translation of viral polyproteins. Here, we analyze molecular-dynamics motions of three FSE conformations, discovered by graph-theory analysis, and associated mutants designed by graph-based inverse folding: two distinct 3-stem H-type pseudoknots and a 3-way junction. We find that the prevalent H-type pseudoknot in literature adopts ring-like conformations, which in combination with 5′ end threading could promote ribosomal pausing. An inherent shape switch from “L” to linear that may help trigger the frameshifting is suppressed in our designed mutant. The alternative conformation trajectories suggest a stable intermediate structure with mixed stem interactions of all three conformations, pointing to a possible transition pathway during ribosomal translation. These observations provide new insights into anti-viral strategies and frameshifting mechanisms.
Helminths' antigens differentially modulate the activation of SARS-CoV-2-reactive helper and cytotoxic T cells in COVID-19 patients and healthy blood donors.
Authors: Adjobimey Tomabu , Meyer Julia , Terkeš Vedrana , Parcina Marijo , Hoerauf Achim
Published: January 2022

Background

Contrary to the predictions, prevalence and mortality due to COVID-19 have remained moderate on the African continent. Several factors, including age, genetics, vaccines, and co-infections, might impact the course of the pandemic in Africa. Helminths are highly endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and are renowned for their ability to modulate their host immune reactions.
Methods

Here we analyzed in vitro the impact of major helminth antigens on the immune reactivity to SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients using flow cytometry and Luminex.
Results:

We observed that helminth antigens significantly reduced the frequency of SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ T helper cells. In contrast, the expression of SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD8+ T cells was not affected. In addition, stimulation with helminth antigens was associated with increased IL-10 and a reduction of IFNγ and TNFα.
Conclusion:

Our data offer a plausible explanation for the moderate incidence of COVID-19 in Africa and support the hypothesis that helper T cell-mediated immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 are mitigated in the presence of helminth antigens, while virus-specific cytotoxic T cell responses are maintained.
Oscillating paramagnetic Meissner effect and Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ monolayer
Authors: Wang S. Y. , Yu Yijun , Hao Jinxiang , Feng Yang , Zhu Jinjiang , Lin Yishi , Xiang Bingke , Ru Hao , Pan Yinping , Gu Genda , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Qi Yang , Zhang Yuanbo , Wang Yihua
Published: January 2022

Monolayers of a prototypical cuprate high transition-temperature (TC) superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ (Bi2212) was recently found to show TC and other electronic properties similar to those of the bulk. The robustness of superconductivity in an ideal two-dimensional (2D) system was an intriguing fact that defied the Mermin-Wagner theorem. Here, we took advantage of the high sensitivity of scanning SQUID susceptometry to image the phase stiffness throughout the phase transition of Bi2212 in the 2D limit. We found susceptibility oscillated with flux between diamagnetism and paramagnetism in a Fraunhofer-like pattern up till TC. The temperature and sample size-dependence of the modulation period agreed well with our Coulomb gas analogy of a finite 2D system based on Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition. In the multilayers, the susceptibility oscillation differed in a small temperature regime below TC in consistent with a dimensional-crossover led by interlayer coupling. Serving as strong evidence of BKT transition in the bulk, there appeared a sharp superfluid density jump at zero-field and paramagnetism at small fields just below TC. These results unified the phase transitions from the monolayer Bi2212 to the bulk as BKT transition with finite interlayer coupling. This elucidating picture favored the pre-formed pairs scenario for the underdoped cuprates regardless of lattice dimensionality.
Structural Equation Model for Evaluating Factors Affecting Health-related Quality of Life in Adolescents With Moyamoya Disease: Based on Salutogenesis Theory
Authors: Oh Won-oak , Yeom Insun , Lim Sung-Hyun
Published: January 2022

BackgroundMoyamoya disease is a cerebrovascular disorder and a significant chronic health concern requiring regular monitoring to control the disease and its related complications.ObjectiveTo develop a structural model based on the salutogenesis theory, and to identify how social support, sense of coherence, and stress contribute to health behaviors, subjective health status, and quality of life in adolescents with moyamoya disease.MethodsWe examined a hypothetical model by integrating the concepts of a structural health-related quality-of-life model based on the salutogenesis theory among 239 adolescents with moyamoya disease in Korea. Data on health-related quality of life of adolescents with moyamoya disease were collected using the following scales: social support rating scale, sense of coherence scale, stress scale, health behavior scale, subjective health status scale, and quality-of-life scale. A structural equation model was used to analyze the data.ResultsThe final model demonstrated goodness-of-fit. A sense of coherence directly influenced quality of life (β = 0.504, p < 0.01) and indirectly influenced quality of life (β = 0.299, p < 0.05) through health behavior. Stress (β = -0.414, p < 0.001) and health behavior (β = -0.085, p < 0.01) directly influenced quality of life. Social support directly influenced health behavior (β = 0.321, p < 0.01) and subjective health status (β = 0.112, p < 0.01).DiscussionSince moyamoya disease, a chronic disease, is progressive, it is very important to identify factors for health promotion.This study found that sense of coherence and social support were significant factors contributing to lower stress, improved health, and quality of life in adolescents with moyamoya disease. This paper is intended to help health experts to develop an intervention strategy based on theory as an approach for chronic disease management.
SIMBA: SIngle-cell eMBedding Along with features
Authors: Chen Huidong , Ryu Jayoung , Vinyard Michael , Lerer Adam , Pinello Luca
Published: January 2022

Recent advances in single-cell omics technologies enable the individual and joint profiling of cellular measurements including gene expression, epigenetic features, chromatin structure and DNA sequences. Currently, most single-cell analysis pipelines are cluster-centric, i.e., they first cluster cells into non-overlapping cellular states and then extract their defining genomic features. These approaches assume that discrete clusters correspond to biologically relevant subpopulations and do not explicitly model the interactions between different feature types. In addition, single-cell methods are generally designed for a particular task as distinct single-cell problems are formulated differently. To address these current shortcomings, we present SIMBA, a graph embedding method that jointly embeds single cells and their defining features, such as genes, chromatin accessible regions, and transcription factor binding sequences into a common latent space. By leveraging the co-embedding of cells and features, SIMBA allows for the study of cellular heterogeneity, clustering-free marker discovery, gene regulation inference, batch effect removal, and omics data integration. SIMBA has been extensively applied to scRNA-seq, scATAC-seq, and dual-omics data. We show that SIMBA provides a single framework that allows diverse single-cell analysis problems to be formulated in a unified way and thus simplifies the development of new analyses and integration of other single-cell modalities.
The STress-And-coping suppoRT Intervention (START) for Chinese Women Undergoing Abortion: a Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol
Authors: Wang Na , Gamble Jenny , Zhang Qiuxiang , Elder Elizabeth , Allen Jyai , Lu Hong , Zhu Xiu , Creedy Debra
Published: January 2022

Background:Undergoing an abortion is stressful. This protocol aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and primary effects of a complex intervention to promote positive coping behaviors and alleviating depression symptoms among Chinese women undergo abortion.Methods:A two-arm randomized controlled trial design will be used. Participants will be recruited at their first appointment with the abortion clinic, those who consent to participate will be randomly allocated to receive either the START intervention (in addition to standard abortion care) or standard care only. All participants will receive survey follow-up until six weeks post-abortion. Ethical has been granted by local and university ethics committees. This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship Discussion:Results will assist refinement and further evaluations of the START intervention, contribute to improved abortion care practices in China, and enrich the literature evidence on improving women’s psychological well-being following abortion in ChinaTrial registration: Registered at the Chinese Clinical Trials.gov: ChiCTR2100046101. Date of registration: May 4, 2021
Prevalence of Major Electrocardiographic Abnormalities in Patients with Hypertension in a Primary Care Clinic in Hong Kong
Authors: Tin Yuen Ying , Chan Lit Ping , Sung Jonathan Gabriel , Leung Shuk Yun , Hui Eric Ming Tung , Leung Maria Kwan Wa
Published: January 2022

Background

Hypertension is strongly associated with cardiovascular events. Studies have shown that electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities were associated with increased risks for cardiovascular events. However local data is limited. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the prevalence of major electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with hypertension in primary care in Hong Kong, and (2) to determine the association of major electrocardiographic abnormalities with patients’ socio-economical background, cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. Subjects were hypertensive patients aged between 18 to 80 who were enrolled in the Risk Assessment and Management Programme (RAMP) in a general outpatient clinic in Hong Kong. Outcome measures were prevalence of probable ischaemic heart disease (IHD), complete left bundle branch block (LBBB), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with hypertension. The Pearson Chi-square test, independent t-test and Mantel-Haenszel test were used to measure the association between socioeconomic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors, and ECG abnormalities.
Results

504 hypertensive patients aged 18 to 80 were recruited in a general outpatient clinic. 6.3% had probable IHD, 0.4% had complete LBBB, 4.0% had LVH and 1.0% had AF. Probable IHD was associated with smoking (P = 0.032), hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.037) and higher 10-year CV risk (P = 0.04). Complete LBBB was associated with smoking (P = 0.021) and hypercholesterolaemia (P = 0.022). LVH was associated with male gender (P = 0.001) and longer duration of hypertension (P = 0.035). AF was not significantly associated with any of the clinical or sociodemographic parameters.
Conclusions

This study showed that a significant proportion of patients with hypertension at the primary care setting in Hong Kong had probable ischaemic heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy and atrial fibrillation. This finding is consistent with both overseas data and historic data in Hong Kong. The detection of electrocardiographic abnormalities is helpful in hypertension management by improving risk stratification.
Knowledge of Family Planning and Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services by Immigrant Youth in Hillbrow, South Africa: A Cross-sectional Study.
Authors: Obisie-Nmehielle Nkechi C. , Kalule-Sabiti Ishmael , Palamuleni Martin
Published: January 2022

Background: For countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially SDG3.7- universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) care services including information and education for family planning, immigrant youth must be ensured access to SRH services. This study examines the determinants of knowledge about family planning (KFP) and access to SRH services by sexually active immigrant youth in Hillbrow, South Africa.Methods: This cross-sectional study of 467 immigrant youth aged 18-34 years used a multistage-sampling technique. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires on socio-demographic, migration, KFP and access to SRH services from government health facilities. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to determine levels of KFP and access to SRH services among 437 sexually active youth. Results: The main sources of information on SRH issues were radio/television (38.7%) and friends (22.8%). Over half of the respondents have adequate KFP, while two out of five indicated a lack of access to SRH services from government health facilities. In the adjusted models, the determinants of having KFP were being a female (AOR= 3.85, CI: 2.33–6.35, belonging to the age groups 25–29 years (AOR=2.13, CI: 1.12–4.04; and 30–34 years (AOR=3.88, CI: 2.00–7.53); belonging to the middle and rich wealth index (AOR=1.84, CI: 1.05–3.20) and (AOR=2.61 (1.34–5.08) respectively. Not having received information about family planning (AOR=0.16, CI=0.09–0.28) and not using a contraceptive at the time of the survey (AOR=0.36, CI: 0.18–0.70) were associated with reduced odds of KFP. The determinants of having access to government health facility for SRH services were being a female (AOR=2.95, CI: 1.87–4.65), being 30–34 years of age (AOR=1.91, CI: 1.08–3.39), and not having received information about family planning (AOR=0.44, CI=0.27–0.73). Conclusion: Majority of the survey respondents lack access to information about family and SRH services provided by government health facilities, which resulted in them depending on unreliable sources of information about SRH issues. There is a need to advocate for universal access to SRH services, inclusive of immigrant youth in South Africa, to curb negative SRH outcomes and to achieve SDG 3.7.
Improving Classification Efficiency of Fake News using Semi-Supervised Method
Authors: Saha Suben Kumer , Hasan Khandaker Tabin
Published: January 2022

Online News media which is more accessible, cheaper, and faster to consume, is also of questionable quality as there is less moderation. Anybody with a computing device and internet connection can take part in creating, contributing, and spreading news in online portals. Social media has intensified the problem further. Due to the high volume, velocity, and veracity, online news content is beyond traditional moderation, also known as moderation through human experts. So different machine learning method is being tested and used to spot fake news. One of the main challenges for fake-news classification is getting labeled instances for this high volume of real-time data. In this study, we examined how semi-supervised machine learning can help to decrease the need for labeled instances with an acceptable drop of accuracy. The accuracy difference between the supervised classifier and the semi-supervised classifier is around 0.05 while using only five percent of label instances of the supervised classifier. We tested with logistic regression, SVM, and random forest classifier to prove our hypothesis.
Outcomes of Patients With Acute Vogt–koyanagi–harada Disease Treated With Intravenous Corticosteroid Pulse Followed by the Slow Tapering of Oral Corticosteroid Therapy
Authors: Fushitsu Rui , Ishibazawa Akihiro , Murono Masataka , Kinouchi Reiko
Published: January 2022

Purpose We investigated the treatment outcomes of patients with acute Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease and assessed the differences between patients with no inflammation worsening and those with persistent or worsening inflammation. Potential factors responsible for eyes with low visual outcomes were also investigated.Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of patients with acute VKH disease who first visited us between 2009 and 2018 and were followed up for >300 days. Clinical characteristics, treatments, and posttreatment conditions were assessed. Patients were classified into no inflammation worsening (acute–resolved [AR]) and inflammation worsening (chronic–recurrent [CR]) groups based on conditions after 6 months from disease onset.Results This study assessed 62 eyes from 31 patients (mean age: 52.8 years). One patient was treated with topical treatment alone and showed poor visual outcomes. In total, 30 patients were treated with methylprednisolone pulse followed by the slow tapering of oral prednisolone; 73% of them developed AR and 27% CR. Although the total prednisolone dose was higher in patients with CR disease, no significant difference was noted in the final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Among the patients receiving systemic steroid, five eyes had a final BCVA of ≤0.5 due to anisometropic amblyopia, diabetic maculopathy, pre-existing macular hole, epiretinal membrane, and ellipsoid zone loss. Conclusions Patients with acute VKH disease treated with corticosteroid pulse followed by the slow tapering of prednisolone appear to demonstrate good visual outcomes, including patients with CR; most eyes with low visual outcomes have pre-existing conditions that explain low vision.
A Hydrotrope Pretreatment for Stabilized Lignin Extraction and High Titer Ethanol Production
Authors: Ji Hairui , Wang Le , Tao Furong , Yao Zhipeng , Li Xuezhi , Dong Cuihua , Pang Zhiqiang
Published: January 2022

The biomass pretreatment strategies using organic acids facilitate lignin removal and enhance the enzymatic digestion of cellulose. However, lignin always suffers a severe and irreversible condensation. The newly generated C-C bonds dramatically affect its further upgrading. In this study, we used a recyclable hydrotrope (p-Toluenessulfonic acid, p-TsOH) to dissolve lignin under mild condition and stabilized lignin with a quenching agent (formaldehyde, FA) during extraction, achieving both value-added lignin extraction and efficient enzymatic saccharification of cellulose. Approximately 63.7% of lignin was dissolved by 80% (wt. %) p-TsOH with 1.5% FA addition at 80 o C, 30 min. The obtained lignin was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, 2D HSQC NMR spectroscopy, and GPC. The results indicated that the extracted lignin exhibited excellent properties, such as light color, a low molecular weight (Mw, 5371 g/mol), and a narrow polydispersity (Mw/Mn, 1.63). The pretreated substrate was converted to ethanol via a quasi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process (Q-SSF). After fermentation of 60 h, the ethanol concentration reached 38.7±3.3 g/L which was equivalent to a theoretical ethanol yield of 82.9±2.2% based on the glucan content, while the residual glucose concentration was only 4.69±1.4 g/L. In short, this pretreatment strategy protected lignin to form new C-C linkages and improved the enzymatic saccharification of glucan for high-titer ethanol production.
Dissection of cellular communication between human primary osteoblasts and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in vivo at single-cell resolution
Authors: Liu Ying , Chen Yan , Li Xiao-Hua , Li Tian-Peng , Cao Chong , Zhang Hui-Xi , Zhou Cui , Chen Yu , Gong Yun , Wang Zun , Qiu Xiang , Yang Jun-Xiao , Cheng Liang , Chen Xiang-Ding , Shen Hui , Xiao Hong-Mei , Tan Li-Jun , Deng Hong-Wen
Published: January 2022

BackgroundOsteoblasts are derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) and play important role in bone remodeling. While our previous studies have investigated the cell subtypes and heterogeneity in osteoblasts and BMMSCs separately, cell-to-cell communications between osteoblasts and BMMSCs in vivo in humans have not been characterized.ResultsIn this study, we performed a systematic integration analysis with our single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) transcriptomes data from BMMSCs and osteoblasts. We successfully identified a novel preosteoblasts subtype which highly expressed ATF3, CCL2, CXCL2 and IRF1. Biological functional annotations of the transcriptomes suggested that the novel preosteoblasts subtype may inhibit osteoblasts differentiation, maintain cells to a less differentiated status and recruit osteoclasts. Ligand-receptor interaction analysis showed strong interaction between mature osteoblasts and BMMSCs. Meanwhile, we found FZD1 was highly expressed in BMMSCs of osteogenic differentiation direction. WIF1 and SFRP4, which were highly expressed in mature osteoblasts were reported to inhibit osteogenic differentiation. We speculated that WIF1 and sFRP4 expressed in mature osteoblasts inhibited the binding of FZD1 to Wnt ligand in BMMSCs, thereby further inhibiting osteogenic differentiation of BMMSCs.ConclusionsAt the single cell level, this study provided insights into the cell-to-cell communications between BMMSCs and osteoblasts and mature osteoblasts may mediate negative feedback regulation of osteogenesis process.