bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dynamic and Static Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation Is a Potential Biomarker for Predicting Prognosis of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Patients: A Preliminary Resting-State fMRI Study
Authors: Fan Ningjian , Zhao Bing , Liu LiYun , Yang WeiZhen , Chen Xian , Lu ZhanBin
Published: April 2022

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the clinical value of the static amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (sALFF) and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (dALFF) in the identification of brain functional alterations in degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) patients.

Methods

Voxel-wise sALFF and dALFF of 47 DCM patients and 44 healthy controls were calculated using resting-state fMRI data, and an intergroup comparison was performed. The mean of sALFF or dALFF data were extracted within the resultant clusters and the correlation analysis of these data with the clinical measures was performed. Furthermore, whole-brain-wise and region-wise multivariate pattern analyses (MVPAs) were performed to classify DCM patients and healthy controls. sALFF and dALFF were used to predict the prognosis of DCM patients.

Results

The findings showed that (1) DCM patients exhibited higher sALFF within the left thalamus and putamen compared with that of the healthy controls. DCM patients also exhibited lower dALFF within bilateral postcentral gyrus compared with the healthy controls; (2) No significant correlations were observed between brain alterations and clinical measures through univariate correlation analysis; (3) sALFF (91%) and dALFF (95%) exhibited high accuracy in classifying the DCM patients and healthy controls; (4) Region-wise MVPA further revealed brain regions in which functional patterns were associated with prognosis in DCM patients. These regions were mainly located at the frontal lobe and temporal lobe.

Conclusion

In summary, sALFF and dALFF can be used to accurately reveal brain functional alterations in DCM patients. Furthermore, the multivariate approach is a more sensitive method in exploring neuropathology and establishing a prognostic biomarker for DCM compared with the conventional univariate method.
Selective Electrical Surface Stimulation to Support Functional Recovery in the Early Phase After Unilateral Acute Facial Nerve or Vocal Fold Paralysis
Authors: Kurz Annabella , Volk Gerd Fabian , Arnold Dirk , Schneider-Stickler Berit , Mayr Winfried , Guntinas-Lichius Orlando
Published: April 2022

This article addresses the potential clinical value of surface electrical stimulation in the acute phase of denervation after the onset of facial nerve or recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. These two nerve lesions are the most frequent head and neck nerve lesions. In this review, we will work out several similarities concerning the pathophysiology features and the clinical scenario between both nerve lesions, which allow to develop some general rules for surface electrical stimulation applicable for both nerve lesions. The focus is on electrical stimulation in the phase between denervation and reinnervation of the target muscles. The aim of electrostimulation in this phase of denervation is to bridge the time until reinnervation is complete and to maintain facial or laryngeal function. In this phase, electrostimulation has to stimulate directly the denervated muscles, i.e. muscle stimulation and not nerve stimulation. There is preliminary data that early electrostimulation might also improve the functional outcome. Because there are still caveats against the use of electrostimulation, the neurophysiology of denervated facial and laryngeal muscles in comparison to innervated muscles is explained in detail. This is necessary to understand why the negative results published in several studies that used stimulation parameters are not suitable for denervated muscle fibers. Juxtaposed are studies using parameters adapted for the stimulation of denervated facial or laryngeal muscles. These studies used standardized outcome measure and show that an effective and tolerable electrostimulation of facial and laryngeal muscles without side effects in the early phase after onset of the lesions is feasible, does not hinder nerve regeneration and might even be able to improve the functional outcome. This has now to be proven in larger controlled trials. In our view, surface electrical stimulation has an unexploited potential to enrich the early therapy concepts for patients with unilateral facial or vocal fold paralysis.
Magnitude and Determinants of Under-Nutrition Among Late Adolescent Girls in East Africa: Evidence From Demographic and Health Surveys (2010–2016)
Authors: Raru Temam Beshir , Ayana Galana Mamo , Kure Mohammed Abdurke , Merga Bedasa Taye , Yuya Mohammed , Rob Kedir Teji
Published: April 2022

Background

Adolescent girls are vulnerable to undernutrition owing to their increased nutrition demand for growth and development, including sexual development and maturation. Despite its public health importance, undernutrition among late adolescent girls has received little attention in health and nutrition policies. Although undernutrition in adolescent girls has been investigated, most of the previous study reports were based on small sample sizes and limited geographic settings. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and determinants of undernutrition among late adolescent girls in East Africa.

Methods

Secondary data analysis was conducted among 10 East African countries using the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) reports. A total of 21,779 adolescent girls aged 15–19 years were included in this study. Descriptive statistics were conducted to describe the study population. The binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify the determinants of undernutrition among late adolescent girls. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 in the multivariate analysis were identified as statistically significant determinants of undernutrition.

Results

The overall magnitude of undernutrition among late adolescent girls in East Africa was 16.50% (95% CI: 16.00–17.00), whereas the overall magnitude of obesity among late adolescent girls in East Africa was 2.41% (95% CI: 2.21–2.62). In the final model of the multivariate analysis, adolescent girls aged 18–19 years [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.51–0.60], having secondary education (AOR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.68–0.93), being from a rich wealth index family (AOR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.56–0.69), and being from a medium wealth index family (AOR = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.72–0.89) were negatively and statistically associated with undernutrition. Likewise, having more than seven household members (AOR = 1.36; 95% CI: 1.10–1.67), walking more than 30 min to a water source (AOR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.01–1.20), and living in Ethiopia (AOR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.51–2.03) were positive determinants of undernutrition among late adolescent girls.

Conclusion

In this study, undernutrition in late adolescent girls remains a considerable public health problem in East Africa. Age group, educational status, marital status, family wealth index, family size, time taken to reach a water source, media exposure, and country of resident were significant determinants of undernutrition. Therefore, devising strategies that improve the socioeconomic status of households and/or adolescents would help to reduce the risks of undernutrition in late adolescents.
Radical Scavenging Mechanisms of Phenolic Compounds: A Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) Study
Authors: Platzer Melanie , Kiese Sandra , Tybussek Thorsten , Herfellner Thomas , Schneider Franziska , Schweiggert-Weisz Ute , Eisner Peter
Published: April 2022

Due to their antioxidant properties, secondary plant metabolites can scavenge free radicals such as reactive oxygen species and protect foods from oxidation processes. Our aim was to study structural influences, like basic structure, number of hydroxyl groups and number of Bors criteria on the outcome of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. Furthermore, similarities and differences to otherin vitroantioxidant assays were analyzed by principal component analysis. Our studies confirmed that the antioxidant behavior in the ORAC assay is dominated by the number and types of substituents and not by the Bors criteria, as long as no steric hindrance occurs. For example, morin (MOR) with five hydroxyl groups and two Bors criteria reached an area under the curve of (3.64 ± 0.08) × 105, which was significantly higher than quercetin-7-D-glucoside (QGU7) (P< 0.001), and thus the highest result. Principal component analysis showed different dependencies regarding structural properties of Folin-Ciocalteu (FC)- and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-assays or 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS)- and ORAC-assays, respectively. Therefore, we conclude that they are based on different reaction mechanisms. The number of hydroxyl groups showed a stronger influence on the antioxidant activity than the Bors criteria. Due to these differences, the correlation of these rapid tests to specific applications should be validated.
Effects of Endoscopic Submucosal Excavation With Non-Submucosal Injection on Stromal Tumors in Stomach
Authors: Huang Liang , Jia Yi-Xin , Lyu Bin , Meng Li-Na , Jin Hai-Feng
Published: April 2022

Background and Aim

Endoscopic submucosal excavation (ESE) is commonly used to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), especially for tumor sizes within 2 cm; compared with the conventical ESE, the efficacy and safety of the no-submucosal injection (NSI) ESE remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of NSI-ESE for gastric stromal tumors.

Methods

ESE was performed in 102 patients at our hospital between January 2018 and January 2020, and the clinical features, surgical outcomes, complications, cost of performance, pathological diagnosis, and risk classification were evaluated.

Results

All tumors were completely resected by endoscopic resection (ER), with a complete resection rate of 100%. It was achieved by ESE/EFTR (endoscopic full-thickness resection) in 49 cases with submucosal injection, and by ESE/EFTR in 53 cases with NSI-ESE. The mean surgical time in cases with submucosal injection was 25.86 ± 4.45 min, compared to the cases without submucosal injection (17.23 ± 3.47 min), and the difference was significant (p < 0.001); the exposure time of tumor, the time of complete excavation of tumor, procedure cost, and hospital stay in the NSI-ESE group were all lower than those cases with submucosal injection (p < 0.05). In the risk classification, 95 (93.1%) cases had a very low risk, 4 (4.0%) cases had a low risk, and 2 (2.0%) cases had a high risk. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period of 18 ± 6 months (range: 13–25 months).

Conclusions

NSI-ESE is a feasible, effective, and safe treatment for gastric GISTs; compared to the conventional ESE, NSI-ESE has the following advantages: it decreases procedure time, it lowers the risk of perforation, and it is cost-effective.
Development and Validation of Ferroptosis- and Immune-Related lncRNAs Signatures for Breast Infiltrating Duct and Lobular Carcinoma
Authors: Wei Tao , Zhu Ning , Jiang Weihua , Xing Xiao-Liang
Published: April 2022

Background

Heterogeneity of breast cancer (BRCA) is significantly correlated with its prognosis. Target therapy for ferroptosis and immunity is a new cancer treatment option discovered in recent years. In the present study, we aimed to identify ferroptosis- and immune-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) to accurately predict the prognosis and diagnosis of patients with breast infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma by integrated analyses.

Methods

The corresponding data for the patients with breast infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma by integrated analyses were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Analyses of univariate and multivariate Cox regressions were used to identify the suitable candidate biomarkers.

Results

We found that seven ferroptosis- and immune-related differentially expressed lncRNAs (FI-DELs) (AC007686.3, AC078883.1, ADAMTS9-AS1, AL035661.1, CBR3-AS1, FTX, and TMEM105) were correlated with the overall survival of patients with breast infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCs) value of the prognosis model were all over 0.6 in training, validation, and entire groups. The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis model was 87.84% and 97.06%, respectively.

Conclusions

Through a series of bioinformatics analyses, we found that the seven FI-DELs could serve as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers for patients with breast infiltrating duct and lobular carcinoma. However, whether these seven biomarkers could be really applied to the clinic requires further investigations.
Case Report: Prompt Response to Savolitinib in a Case of Advanced Gastric Cancer With Bone Marrow Invasion and MET Abnormalities
Authors: Ye Wen , He Liping , Su Lei , Zheng Zhousan , Ding Meilin , Ye Sheng
Published: April 2022

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors and patients show a short survival, those combined with bone marrow invasion have a median survival of only 37 days. Here we reported the treatment of a 47-year-old male with advanced gastric cancer and complicated with bone marrow invasion and extensive metastases, who did not tolerate chemotherapy, under monotherapy with savolitinib, a MET receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Before treatment, the patient was in severe pain and presented with thrombocytopenia and hemorrhagic anemia. Savolitinib was given based on amplification and rearrangement of the MET gene in his tumor. After savolitinib treatment, the patient’s condition promptly improved, efficacy evaluation indicated partial remission, and the patient was alive and remained progression-free at 15 weeks at the time of reporting. No obvious adverse reactions occurred. Besides, another case of a female gastric cancer patient with MET amplification who received savolitinib monotherapy as a third-line treatment that remained progression-free at 12 weeks was also reported. This report provides a new reference for understanding MET abnormalities in gastric cancer and offers a possibility for future application of MET tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the therapy of gastric cancer with MET abnormalities. Also, it suggests that sequencing of MET can be considered a routine target in advanced gastric cancer patients.
Outcomes of Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Small and Moderate-Sized Brain Metastases: A Single-Institution Analysis
Authors: Yan Michael , Zalay Osbert , Kennedy Thomas , Owen Timothy E. , Purzner James , Taslimi Shervin , Purzner Teresa , Alkins Ryan , Moideen Nikitha , Fung Andrea S. , Moraes Fabio Y.
Published: April 2022

Background

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the standard treatment for limited intracranial metastases. With the advent of frameless treatment delivery, fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) has become more commonly implemented given superior control and toxicity rates for larger lesions. We reviewed our institutional experience of FSRT to brain metastases without size restriction.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of our institutional database of patients treated with FSRT for brain metastases. Clinical and dosimetric details were abstracted. All patients were treated in 3 or 5 fractions using LINAC-based FSRT, did not receive prior cranial radiotherapy, and had at least 6 months of MRI follow-up. Overall survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method. Local failure and radionecrosis cumulative incidence rates were estimated using a competing risks model with death as the competing risk. Univariable and multivariable analyses using Fine and Gray’s proportional subdistribution hazards regression model were performed to determine covariates predictive of local failure and radionecrosis.

Results

We identified 60 patients and 133 brain metastases treated at our institution from 2016 to 2020. The most common histologies were lung (53%) and melanoma (25%). Most lesions were >1 cm in diameter (84.2%) and did not have previous surgical resection (88%). The median duration of imaging follow-up was 9.8 months. The median survival for the whole cohort was 20.5 months. The local failure at 12 months was 17.8% for all lesions, 22.1% for lesions >1 cm, and 13.7% for lesions ≤1 cm (p = 0.36). The risk of radionecrosis at 12 months was 7.1% for all lesions, 13.2% for lesions >1 cm, and 3.2% for lesions ≤1 cm (p = 0.15).

Conclusions

FSRT is safe and effective in the treatment of brain metastases of any size with excellent local control and toxicity outcomes. Prospective evaluation against single-fraction SRS is warranted for all lesion sizes.
Risk Factors and Neurologic Outcomes Associated With Resuscitation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Authors: Lee En-Pei , Chan Oi-Wa , Lin Jainn-Jim , Hsia Shao-Hsuan , Wu Han-Ping
Published: April 2022

In the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), cardiac arrest (CA) is rare but results in high rates of morbidity and mortality. A retrospective chart review of 223 patients who suffered from in-PICU CA was analyzed from January 2017 to December 2020. Outcomes at discharge were evaluated using pediatric cerebral performance category (PCPC). Return of spontaneous circulation was attained by 167 (74.8%) patients. In total, only 58 (25%) patients survived to hospital discharge, and 49 (21.9%) of the cohort had good neurologic outcomes. Based on multivariate logistic regression analysis, vasoactive–inotropic drug usage before CA, previous PCPC scale >2, underlying hemato-oncologic disease, and total time of CPR were risk factors associated with poor outcomes. Furthermore, we determined the cutoff value of duration of CPR in predicting poor neurologic outcomes and in-hospital mortality in patients caused by in-PICU CA as 17 and 23.5 min respectively.
Nanoscale Diamond-Based Formulation as an Immunomodulator and Potential Therapeutic for Lymphoma
Authors: Paladhi Ankush , Rej Abhinandan , Sarkar Debanjan , Singh Ranjeet , Bhattacharyya Sankar , Sarkar Prasanta Kumar , Kar Pulak Kanti , Manna Partha Pratim , Hira Sumit Kumar
Published: April 2022

Integrative medicine practices, such as Ayurveda, are popular in India and many South Asian countries, yet basic research to investigate the concepts, procedures, and medical benefits of ayurvedic products has received little attention and is not fully understood. Here, we report a functional nanodiamond-based traditional Ayurvedic herbomineral formulation, Heerak Bhasma (Ayu_ND), for the treatment of solid tumors called Dalton’s lymphoma generated in CD1 mice. Ayu_ND-mediated immunostimulation significantly reduces tumor cell proliferation and induces apoptosis aided by the active participation of dendritic cells. Immunomodulatory Ayu_ND treatment is highly immunostimulatory and drives dendritic cells to produce TNF-α. Treatment with Ayu_ND significantly reduces the tumor volume, inhibits metastasis in distant vascularized organs, and increases the life span of tumor-bearing animals compared with untreated littermates. These events were associated with elevated serum levels of the protective cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α and downregulated the disease, exacerbating TGF-β. Ayu_ND-mediated therapeutic success was also accompanied by the depletion of regulatory T cells and enhanced vaccine-induced T-cell immunity, guided by the restoration of the memory CD8+ T-cell pool and prevention of PD-1-mediated T cell exhaustion. The results provide a basis for further evaluation of ayurvedic formulations and drug efficacy in treating cancers.
An Overview of the Evidence and Mechanism of Drug–Herb Interactions Between Propolis and Pharmaceutical Drugs
Authors: Hossain Sanowar , Yousaf Muhammad , Liu Yang , Chang Dennis , Zhou Xian
Published: April 2022

With the growing interest in the medicinal use of propolis, numerous studies have reported significant interactions between propolis extract and pharmaceutical drugs which may result in great clinical benefits or risks. The present study aims to review the drug–herb interactions of the full-spectrum propolis extract and main pharmaceutical drugs from the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic aspects and elucidate the underlying pharmacological mechanisms. A literature search was conducted between June 2021 and February 2022 in Google Scholar, PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE databases to include English studies from years 2000 to 2022 that evaluated the interaction of full-spectrum propolis extract and standard pharmaceutical drugs/cytochromes P450s. Studies that looked into geopropolis, propolis fractions, and isolated compounds, or interaction of propolis with foods, bioactive molecules, or receptors other than standard pharmaceutical drugs were excluded. From a pharmacodynamic perspective, propolis extract exhibited positive or synergistic interaction with several chemotherapeutic drugs by enhancing antitumor activity, sensitizing the chemoresistance cell lines, and attenuating multi-organ toxicity. The molecular mechanisms were associated with upregulating the apoptotic signal and immunomodulatory activity and attenuating oxidative damage. Propolis extract also enhanced the anti-bacterial and antifungal activities of many antimicrobial drugs against sensitive and resistant organisms, with an effect against the gram-positive bacteria stronger than that of the gram-negative bacteria. The synergistic action was related to strengthened action on interfering cell wall integrity and protein synthesis. The strong antioxidant activity of propolis also strengthened the therapeutic effect of metformin in attenuating hyperglycemia and pancreatic damage, as well as mitigating oxidative stress in the liver, kidney, and testis. In addition, propolis showed a potential capacity to enhance short-term and long-term memory function together with donepezil and improve motor function with levodopa and parasite killing activity with praziquantel. Pharmacokinetic studies showed inhibitory activities of propolis extracts on several CYP450 enzymesin vitroandin vivo. However, the effects on those CYP450 were deemed insignificant in humans, which may be attributed to the low bioavailability of the contributing bioactive compounds when administered in the body. The enhanced bioactivities of propolis and main pharmaceutical drugs support using propolis in integrative medicine in anti-cancer, anti-microbial, antidiabetic, and neurological disorders, with a low risk of altered pharmacokinetic activities.
Novel Numerical Method Based on the Analog Equation Method for a Class of Anisotropic Convection-Diffusion Problems
Authors: Zhang L , Wang FZ , Zhang J , Wang YY , Nadeem S , Nofal TA
Published: April 2022

In this work, a CMFS method based on the analogy equation method, the radial basis function and the method of fundamental solutions for linear and nonlinear convection-diffusion equations in anisotropic materials is presented. The analog equation method is utilized to transform the linear and nonlinear convection-diffusion equation into an equivalent one. The expressions of the homogeneous solution and particular solution are derived by utilizing the radial basis function approximation and the method of fundamental solutions, respectively. By enforcing the desired solution to satisfy the original convection-diffusion equation with boundary conditions at boundary and internal collocation points yield a nonlinear system of equations, which can be solved by using the Newton-Raphson iteration or the Picard method of iteration. The error convergence curves of the proposed meshless method have been investigated by using different globally supported radial basis functions. Numerical experiments show that the proposed CMFS method is promising for anisotropic convection-diffusion problems with accurate and stable results.
X-Ray Imaging of Immiscible Fluid Fingering Patterns in a Natural High Porosity Rock
Authors: Couture Cyrille , Papazoglou Athanasios , Tengattini Alessandro , Bésuelle Pierre , Viggiani Gioacchino
Published: April 2022

This paper presents the development of a laboratory scale apparatus and first experimental results on the characterization of fingering patterns of immiscible fluids in a porous rock (Fontainebleau sandstone), using three dimensional full-field measurements from x-ray tomography. The few existing studies that have extended experimental investigation of immiscible fluid flow from 2D to 3D have been primarily interested in the pore scale or performed on idealized porous media. While the heterogeneities inherent to natural rocks are known to play an important role on subsurface fluid flow regimes, a limited number of studies have approached the problem of characterizing the time resolved 3D multiphase flow in these material, at the mesoscale. The series of experiments reported in this paper has been performed at a low viscosity ratio, water invasion into oil as the defending fluid, and different capillary numbers (1.8 orders of magnitude). The results illustrate the qualitative transition in the flow regime, from capillary fingering to viscous fingering. While a full quantitative characterization of geometrical features of fluid fingers will require further technical refinements, a qualitative understanding can be already gathered from the results presented herein.
Verification of Polarization Matching on the Hologram Recording Plane for the Implementation of an Optimized Digital Hologram Printing System
Authors: Hwang Leehwan , Jeong Jongho , Go Cheolyoung , Gentet Philippe , Kim Jungho , Kwon Soonchul , Lee Seunghyun
Published: April 2022

Conventional studies on digital hologram printer have mainly been conducted on image generation and reconstruction such as multi-view image generation method, computer-generated hologram (CGH) and a method of displaying a wave-front for a 3D object. However, There should be a criterion to evaluate the quality of the reconstructed image because hologram printer use photosensitive recording interference patterns in holographic material. For this reason, The evaluation method of the completed hologram using a digital hologram printer is focused on how well it came out without aberration or how high intensity of light has been reconstructed. However polarization has an effect on hologram regeneration efficiency because holography uses a laser that generates electromagnetic waves. Hologram recording method is usually to match linear polarization in the same direction. but digital hologram printer composed of complex optical components that causes a phase shifting due to a setup error. it will be a problem for resulting in unwanted polarization at the final recording plane. In this paper, we analyzed the possible polarization changes and analyze the optimal polarization matching status using values from hologram results and use them as a study to improve the efficiency of hologram result from holographic printer.
Generation of Magnon Orbital Angular Momentum by a Skyrmion-Textured Domain Wall in a Ferromagnetic Nanotube
Authors: Lee Seungho , Kim Se Kwon
Published: April 2022

We develop a theory for the dynamics of a magnon on top of a domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanotube. Due to the geometry of the sample, domain walls are classified by the Skyrmion charge which counts the winding number of magnetic textures. The domain wall with a non-zero Skyrmion charge generates an emergent magnetic field for magnons, which exerts the Lorentz force on moving magnons and thereby deflects their trajectories. This deflection is manifested as the generation of the finite orbital angular momentum of the magnon that traverses the domain wall. We obtain exact solutions for the magnon on top of the Skyrmion-textured domain wall and also their scattering properties with the domain wall with the aid of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We show that there is a critical wavenumber for the total reflection of magnons and it is discretized by the Skyrmion charge of the domain wall. Our results show that the orbital angular momenta of magnetic textures and magnons can be intertwined in a curved geometry.
A New Estimation Method for Rotor Size of UAV Based on Peak Time-Shift Effect in Micro-Doppler Lidar
Authors: Zhang Yong , Li Dongmei , Han Yi , Yang Zhen , Dai Xin , Guo Xinmin , Zhang Jianlong
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study was to solve the problem that the existing identification parameters of rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are few and limited by the detection mode, and an identification method for estimating the rotor blade width based on the peak time-shift effect is proposed for the first time. Taking the width of the rotor blade as the parameter to identify the rotor of UAVs, the time-shift effect and its relationship with rotor blade width are verified by theoretical analysis and simulation. The proposed time-shift method has the characteristics of high-precision extraction of rotor width, and its effectiveness is verified by simulation and experiments. The aspect ratio of the rotor is accurately extracted based on the proposed time-shift method under the condition of an unknown pitch angle. Simulation results show that the estimation accuracy of the width and aspect ratio is up to 98 and 98.4%, respectively. The experimental results show that the relative errors of the width and aspect ratio are less than 7 and 4%, respectively. This study provides the theoretical basis and technical support for the high-accuracy identification of rotorcraft UAVs.
Concurrent Ovarian and Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy After IVF-ET: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Huang Yating , Huang Qin , Liu Jinglan , Guo Mengxi , Liu Yuan , Lai Dongmei
Published: April 2022

Ovarian pregnancy (OP) coupled with tubal ectopic pregnancy is rare. We present a case of coexistent ovarian and tubal ectopic pregnancies in the same adnexa resulting from in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) for tubal occlusion. The patient presented with mild vaginal bleeding without abdominal pain. OP was diagnosed via sonographic findings of an ectopic gestational sac (GS) and yolk sac that seemed to be inside her left ovary. Laparoscopic exploration confirmed this diagnosis, and ipsilateral tubal ectopic pregnancy was suspected during surgery. The patient underwent left salpingectomy and resection of the ovarian lesion. A subsequent histopathological examination verified the diagnosis of coexistent ovarian and tubal ectopic pregnancy. Though the mechanism underlying concurrent OP and tubal ectopic pregnancy is still unclear, clinicians should be cautious of potential combined ectopic pregnancy when dealing with patients who have received more than one embryo transfer.
Genome Skimming Contributes to Clarifying Species Limits in Paris Section Axiparis (Melanthiaceae)
Authors: Ji Yunheng , Yang Jin , Landis Jacob B. , Wang Shuying , Jin Lei , Xie Pingxuan , Liu Haiyang , Yang Jun-Bo , Yi Ting-Shuang
Published: April 2022

Paris L. section Axiparis H. Li (Melanthiaceae) is a taxonomically perplexing taxon with considerable confusion regarding species delimitation. Based on the analyses of morphology and geographic distribution of each species currently recognized in the taxon, we propose a revision scheme that reduces the number of species in P. sect. Axiparis from nine to two. To verify this taxonomic proposal, we employed a genome skimming approach to recover the plastid genomes (plastomes) and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) regions of 51 individual plants across the nine described species of P. sect. Axiparis by sampling multiple accessions per species. The species boundaries within P. sect. Axiparis were explored using phylogenetic inference and three different sequence-based species delimitation methods (ABGD, mPTP, and SDP). The mutually reinforcing results indicate that there are two species-level taxonomic units in P. sect. Axiparis (Paris forrestii s.l. and P. vaniotii s.l.) that exhibit morphological uniqueness, non-overlapping distribution, genetic distinctiveness, and potential reproductive isolation, providing strong support to the proposed species delimitation scheme. This study confirms that previous morphology-based taxonomy overemphasized intraspecific and minor morphological differences to delineate species boundaries, therefore resulting in an overestimation of the true species diversity of P. sect. Axiparis. The findings clarify species limits and will facilitate robust taxonomic revision in P. sect. Axiparis.
Effects of Temperature and Nitrogen Application on Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation and Bacterial Community Composition in Apple Rhizosphere Soil
Authors: Zhang Huanhuan , Phillip Fesobi Olumide , Wu Linnan , Zhao Fengyun , Yu Songlin , Yu Kun
Published: April 2022

Malus sieversii grows on the slopes of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang where the difference in daily temperature is significant. In recent years, the rhizosphere soil health of Malus sieversii has been severely impacted by anthropogenic disturbance and pathogenic infestation. The soil nutrient content and soil microorganism diversity are the main components of soil health. Low temperature has negative effects on soil bacterial community structure by inhibiting the accumulation of carbon and nitrogen. However, the effects of temperature and nitrogen application on soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation and the bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere soil of Malus sieversii are unclear. We set two temperature levels, i.e., low temperature (L) and room temperature (R), combined with no nitrogen (N0) and nitrogen application (N1) to explore the response of plant carbon and nitrogen uptake, rhizosphere soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation and bacterial community composition to temperature and nitrogen fertilization. At the same temperature level, plant 13C abundance (P-Atom13C), plant 15N absolute abundance (P-Con15N), soil 15N abundance (S-Atom15N) and soil urease, protease and glutaminase activities were significantly higher under nitrogen application compared with the no-nitrogen application treatment. The bacterial community diversity and richness indices of the apple rhizosphere soil in the N1 treatment were higher than those in the N0 treatment. The relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Rhodopseudomonas, and Bradyrhizobium were higher in the LN1 treatment than in the LN0 treatment. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that plant 13C absolute abundance (P-Con13C) and plant 15N absolute abundance (P-Con15N) were the main factors affecting the soil bacterial community composition. In summary, Nitrogen application can alleviate the effects of low temperature stress on the soil bacterial community and is of benefit for the uptakes of carbon and nitrogen in Malus sieversii plants.
“Here’s Some Money, Your Work’s So Worthy?” A Brief Report on the Validation of the Functional Meaning of Cash Rewards Scale
Authors: Thibault Landry Anaïs , Papachristopoulos Konstantinos , Gradito Dubord Marc-Antoine , Forest Jacques
Published: April 2022

In the present research, we validated a new scale developed from self-determination theory (SDT) to assess the functional meaning of cash rewards offered in the workplace. According to SDT, rewards can take on different meanings based on the way they are perceived by individuals. In a series of three studies in different socioeconomic contexts, we replicated the two-factorial structure of the scale measuring respectively workplace cash rewards’ informative and controlling meanings. In Study 1, we validated the English version of the scale by exploring and then confirming its two-factor structure with two English-speaking employee samples. We further replicated its two-factor structure in a French-speaking employee sample of employees in Study 2 and in a Greek-speaking employee sample in Study 3, allowing us to validate its French and Greek version. Results from our three studies show how distinct meanings attributed to cash rewards, i.e., informative or controlling, relate differently to autonomous and controlled forms of motivation based on SDT. These findings suggest that workplace cash rewards differently influence employees’ motivation depending on whether they are perceived as informative or controlling, thus providing empirical evidence for the theoretical and practical implications of SDT’s concept of functional meaning of cash rewards. Our research contributes to the assessment and understanding of employees’ experience of workplace cash rewards and provides empirical evidence that the concept of the functional meaning of cash rewards is a distinct concept from other money-related concepts such as subjective pay satisfaction, performance-contingent rewards, and financially contingent self-worth.
Prevalence of Visual Impairment in Preschool Children in Southern China
Authors: Wang Hongxi , Qiu Kunliang , Yin Shengjie , Du Yali , Chen Binyao , Jiang Jiao , Deng Dandan , Zhang Mingzhi
Published: April 2022

Purpose

The goal of this study is to assess the prevalence and distribution of visual impairment in preschool children in southern China.

Methods

Preschool children aged 36–83 months were enrolled in a vision screening program in Shantou City. Visual acuity test and non-cycloplegic refraction were conducted. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) guidelines, visual impairment was defined as uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) in either eye <20/50, 20/40, and 20/32 in children aged 36–47, 48–59, and 60–83 months, respectively, as well as an interocular difference (IOD) of ≥ two lines of UCVA.

Results

The UCVA test was successfully performed on 7,880 children (94.6% of the enrolled population). A total of 938 (11.9%; 95% CI 11.2–12.6) children were found to have reduced UCVA in the worse eye, and 393 (5%; 95% CI 4.5–5.5) of the children had an IOD of two or more lines. Combining the reduced UCVA with the IOD criteria identified 1,032 (13.1%; 95% CI 12.4–13.8) children with visual impairment. UCVA in preschool children improves with age naturally and boys have slightly better age-adjusted UCVA than girls. Causes of reduced visual acuity included uncorrected refractive error, amblyopia, congenital cataract, and others. The cylindrical diopter in the right eye of children with reduced vison was higher than that of children with normal vision (1.19 ± 1.05 vs. 0.52 ± 0.49, P < 0.001). A total of 146 (1.9%, 95% CI 1.6–2.2) of the preschool children wore spectacles. The proportion of wearing spectacles increased with age (χ2 = 35.714, P < 0.001), but with IOD increasing by.1 logMAR, the odds of wearing spectacles decreased by 44.8%.

Conclusion

This study provided data on the prevalence of visual impairment in preschool children in China by large-scale school-based vision screening. Further studies should be conducted to verify the benefit from vision screening.
The Effects of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions on COVID-19 Mortality: A Generalized Synthetic Control Approach Across 169 Countries
Authors: Mader Sebastian , Rüttenauer Tobias
Published: April 2022

Importance

Governments have introduced non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in response to the pandemic outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While NPIs aim at preventing fatalities related to COVID-19, the previous literature on their efficacy has focused on infections and on data of the first half of 2020. Still, findings of early NPI studies may be subject to underreporting and missing timeliness of reporting of cases. Moreover, the low variation in treatment timing during the first wave makes identification of robust treatment effects difficult.

Objective

We enhance the literature on the effectiveness of NPIs with respect to the period, the number of countries, and the analytical approach.

Design, Setting, and Participants

To circumvent problems of reporting and treatment variation, we analyse data on daily confirmed COVID-19-related deaths per capita from Our World in Data, and on 10 different NPIs from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) for 169 countries from 1st July 2020 to 1st September 2021. To identify the causal effects of introducing NPIs on COVID-19-related fatalities, we apply the generalized synthetic control (GSC) method to each NPI, while controlling for the remaining NPIs, weather conditions, vaccinations, and NPI-residualized COVID-19 cases. This mitigates the influence of selection into treatment and allows to model flexible post-treatment trajectories.

Results

We do not find substantial and consistent COVID-19-related fatality-reducing effects of any NPI under investigation. We see a tentative change in the trend of COVID-19-related deaths around 30 days after strict stay-at-home rules and to a slighter extent after workplace closings have been implemented. As a proof of concept, our model is able to identify a fatality-reducing effect of COVID-19 vaccinations. Furthermore, our results are robust with respect to various crucial sensitivity checks.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that many implemented NPIs may not have exerted a significant COVID-19-related fatality-reducing effect. However, NPIs might have contributed to mitigate COVID-19-related fatalities by preventing exponential growth in deaths. Moreover, vaccinations were effective in reducing COVID-19-related deaths.
A Machine Learning Based Framework to Identify and Classify Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in a Large-Scale Population
Authors: Ji Weidong , Xue Mingyue , Zhang Yushan , Yao Hua , Wang Yushan
Published: April 2022

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common serious health problem worldwide, which lacks efficient medical treatment. We aimed to develop and validate the machine learning (ML) models which could be used to the accurate screening of large number of people. This paper included 304,145 adults who have joined in the national physical examination and used their questionnaire and physical measurement parameters as model's candidate covariates. Absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) was used to feature selection from candidate covariates, then four ML algorithms were used to build the screening model for NAFLD, used a classifier with the best performance to output the importance score of the covariate in NAFLD. Among the four ML algorithms, XGBoost owned the best performance (accuracy = 0.880, precision = 0.801, recall = 0.894, F-1 = 0.882, and AUC = 0.951), and the importance ranking of covariates is accordingly BMI, age, waist circumference, gender, type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, smoking, hypertension, dietary status, physical activity, oil-loving and salt-loving. ML classifiers could help medical agencies achieve the early identification and classification of NAFLD, which is particularly useful for areas with poor economy, and the covariates' importance degree will be helpful to the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.
The Development of Healthcare Jobs in the COVID-Pandemic—A New Economic Market
Authors: Bachmann Marta , Enodien Bassey , Frey Daniel M. , Taha-Mehlitz Stephanie , Taha Anas
Published: April 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic commenced in China and has caused the death of numerous people globally. Despite the adverse effects, the outbreak has created room for job opportunities in healthcare, particularly the pharmaceutical domain. The main goal of this study is to examine how the current pandemic has triggered job creation in the healthcare domain and created a new economic market.

Methods

The study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-analyses for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) to structure the manuscript and the subheadings to use. The source used to gather data is the PubMed database.

Results

The study exclusively included fourteen articles, five of which focused on the pharmaceutical sector, three focused on vaccine sales, three on vaccination centers, and three on testing centers.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has created job opportunities in the healthcare sector. Most jobs are in the pharmaceutical sector, vaccination, and testing centers. However, more comprehensive research on the topic is necessary to gather conclusive outcomes on whether these jobs will be relevant after the pandemic.
Remote Fieldwork With African Migrant Women During COVID-19 Pandemic in London: A Reflection
Authors: Madziva Cathrine , Chinouya Martha Judith
Published: April 2022

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic unraveled, state-led preventative restrictions created a “new” normal through remote home-working. A long-planned follow-up qualitative research study on risk perceptions and experiences regarding Clay Ingestion among black African women during pregnancy, in London, was disrupted as England went into lockdown. Against this backdrop, we shifted to remote data collection which raised pertinent concerns around access to technology and participant digital skills. We share our experiences of navigating through remote fieldwork during the pandemic with black African mothers with caring responsibilities as well as the extra burden of homeschooling, the challenges we encountered and how we mitigate these and the lessons learnt. Thus, drawing from our remote qualitative research experiences, we refer to notable examples of challenges, mitigating strategies applied and potential lessons to inform future practice.
Mycorrhizal Mediated Partitioning of Phosphorus: Ectomycorrhizal (Populus x canescens x Paxillus involutus) Potential to Exploit Simultaneously Organic and Mineral Phosphorus Sources
Authors: Schreider Katharina , Hofmann Diana , Boy Jens , Andrino Alberto , Fernandes Figueiredo Aline , Sauheitl Leopold , Guggenberger Georg
Published: April 2022

Many natural and anthropogenic soils are phosphorus (P) limited often due to larger P stocks sequestered in forms of low bioavailability. One of the strategies to overcome this shortage lies in the symbiosis of plants with mycorrhizal fungi, increasing the plant P uptake of these hardly accessible sources. However, little is known about mycorrhizal fungal mediated partitioning of differently available P forms, which could contribute to more efficient use of P by plants and, thereby, reduce competition for soil P. This study aimed to investigate the uptake of P from differently bioavailable P sources by ectomycorrhiza. For that, we conducted a rhizotrone study using Populus x canescens and its compatible ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. Four different P sources [ortho-phosphate (oP), adenosine monophosphate (AMP), hydroxyapatite (HAP), and oP bound to goethite (gP)] or only HAP as 1P control were supplied in separate compartments, where only the fungal partner had access to the P sources. The amount of the specific P sources was increased according to their decreasing bioavailability. In order to distinguish between the P sources, we applied 33P to track its incorporation in plants by a non-destructive analysis via digital autoradiography. Our results show that an ectomycorrhizal plant is able to utilize all provided P sources via its mycorrhizal fungal associate. The acquisition timing was determined by the most bioavailable P sources, with oP and AMP over HAP and gP, and a mixed P pool over a single P source. In contrast, the magnitude was defined by the by the amount of supplied P source provision of additional nitrogen, hence AMP over oP and gP, as well as by P source complexity, with gP as the least favorable P form. Nevertheless, the results of the present study provide evidence that an ectomycorrhiza has the potential to occupy fundamental niches of various P sources differing in their bioavailability, indicating that being a generalist in P nutrition can facilitate adaptation to various nutritional settings in soil.