bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cost-Effectiveness of Cement Augmentation Versus No Augmentation for the Fixation of Unstable Trochanteric Fractures
Authors: Joeris Alexander , Kabiri Mina , Galvain Thibaut , Vanderkarr Mollie , Holy Chantal E. , Plaza Javier Quintana , Tien Stephanie , Schneller Julia , Kammerlander Christian
Published: September 2022

Background:

A previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated a trend toward a reduced risk of implant-related revision surgery following fixation with use of a Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation (PFNA) with TRAUMACEM V+ Injectable Bone Cement augmentation versus no augmentation in patients with unstable trochanteric fractures. To determine whether this reduced risk may result in long-term cost savings, the present study assessed the cost-effectiveness of TRAUMACEM V+ cement augmentation versus no augmentation for the fixation of unstable trochanteric fractures from the German health-care payer’s perspective.

Methods:

The cost-effectiveness model comprised 2 stages: a decision tree simulating clinical events, costs, and utilities during the first year after the index procedure and a Markov model extrapolating clinical events, costs, and utilities over the patient’s lifetime. Sources of model parameters included the previous RCT, current literature, and administrative claims data. Outcome measures were incremental costs (in 2020 Euros), incremental quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Model uncertainty was assessed with deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses.

Results:

The base-case analysis showed that fixation with cement augmentation was the dominant strategy as it was associated with cost savings (€50.3/patient) and QALY gains (0.01 QALY/patient). Major influential parameters for the ICER were the utility of revision, rates of revision surgery within the first year after fixation surgery, and the costs of augmentation and revision surgery. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses demonstrated that estimates of cost savings were more robust than those of increased QALYs (66.4% versus 52.7% of the simulations). For a range of willingness-to-pay thresholds from €0 to €50,000, the probability of fixation with cement augmentation being cost-effective versus no augmentation remained above 50%.

Conclusions:

Fixation with use of cement augmentation dominated fixation with no augmentation for unstable trochanteric fractures, resulting in cost savings and QALY gains. Given the input parameter uncertainties, future analyses are warranted when long-term costs and effectiveness data for cement augmentation are available.

Level of Evidence:

Economic and Decision Analysis Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Study on the Key Issue in the Application of Nanoemulsions in Preflush Spacer: Contamination of Cement Slurry by Nanoemulsions
Authors: Wang Chengwen , Meng Renzhou , Chen Zehua , Yang Shengjian , Chen Shunli , Yu Yongjin , Jin Jianzhou
Published: September 2022

Nanoemulsions have the potential to efficiently remove oil-based drilling fluids (OBDFs) due to their particular structure and properties. However, the oil phase in nanoemulsions is not compatible with cement slurries. Whether this will cause contamination of cement slurry is an issue worth discussing. In this paper, the potential contamination of cement slurry by nanoemulsions and the corresponding mechanism are discussed. The results show that the addition of nanoemulsion will not cause the thickening of cement slurry but will slightly affect the mechanical properties of hardened cement. When the cement slurry is mixed with 6.375 wt% nanoemulsion, the compressive strength and elastic modulus of hardened cement decrease by 8.9 and 14.9%, while the permeability increases by 11.8%. The mixing of nanoemulsions does not affect the hydration of cement slurry, but the oil droplets in the emulsions will lead to the formation of tiny pores in the hardened cement, which would adversely affect the mechanical properties of hardened cement. The oil droplets in nanoemulsion are coated by surfactants, so it does not affect cement hydration. The oil droplets are small and evenly distributed, which can reduce the influence of nanoemulsion on the microstructure of hardened cement. The stability of emulsion droplet in cement slurry is important but easy to be ignored. The possibility of incompatibility between nanoemulsion and cement slurry can be reduced by reducing the adsorption of surfactants. Nanoemulsions would maintain good stability under the function of surfactant interfacial film and yield stress of cement slurry.
Assessment of adverse events following vaccination with AstraZeneca Coronavirus Disease 2019 vaccine in Greater Kampala, Uganda, March-April 2021
Authors: Komakech Allan
Published: September 2022

Background
Tracking of adverse events following vaccination is important for evaluating vaccine safety. During March 2021, Uganda began COVID-19 vaccination using the Astra-Zeneca vaccine targeting teachers, health workers, security personnel, and the elderly. We assessed adverse events following AstraZeneca vaccination in Greater Kampala, Uganda to track the safety of the vaccine.
Methods
We used vaccination registers to identify persons who received ≥ 1 dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine during March 10–April 30, 2021. Adverse events following vaccination were defined as an untoward medical occurrence after vaccination (not necessarily causally related to the vaccine). Serious adverse events were defined as any event considered life-threatening, resulting in hospitalization, persistent disability ˃28 days, death, or congenital anomaly. We extracted telephone contacts for a systematic random sample of vaccinated individuals and their next of kin where necessary. We then conducted phone interviews to collect data on demographics and details of adverse events where they occurred. We used logistic regression analysis to establish relationships between variables and our outcome of interest (developing an adverse event following vaccination).
Results
Among 374 subjects interviewed, mean age was 41 years; range 20–85 years; 176 (47%) were female. Of these, 235 (63%) received only one dose and 139 (37%) received two doses. In total, 516 adverse events occurred in 286 (77%) individuals, including in 255 (68%) individuals after the first dose and in 45 (32%) individuals after the second. The most common adverse events were redness/pain/itching at the injection site (34%) and headache (32%). None of the events were classified as serious. Persons aged 20–29 years (AOR 4.7; 95% CI: 2.0–10.2), 30–39 years (AOR 3.7; 95% CI: 1.8–7.4) and 40–49 years (AOR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3–5.0) were more likely to develop adverse events than those aged ≥ 50 years.
Conclusion
Most individuals experienced ≥ 1 adverse event. No serious adverse events were reported. Younger age (˂50 years) was associated with adverse event. We recommend use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Uganda based on its safety.
Numerical Study on the Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Sandwich Panels (RCSPs) under Blast Load
Authors: Yousafzai Mehran A. , Khan Amir Hamza , Alam Jehangeer , Ghani Abdul
Published: September 2022

This paper presents the numerically modelled behavior of reinforced concrete sandwich panels (RCSPs) subjected to blast loads. The RCSPs are made up of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam core having a spray-on reinforced concrete skins, like a ferrocement overlay, on both sides. The experimental study on RCSPs under blast load was previously conducted by Abbas et al. (2019). The authors investigated the physical damage intensity at different scaled distances by using qualitative fragility curves developed through visual inspection. The study was limited to the specific test plan and there is no quantitative record of the research. Experimental work on RCSPs under blasts requires extensive resources and finances. In order to overcome these limitations, the present study investigates the behavior of RCSPs subjected to blast load by utilizing Abaqus software package. The study aims at developing a numerical simulation through finite element analysis (FEA) which can be extended to other geometries and/or loads, facilitating quantitative research for the future. For simulating explosions in Abaqus, the conventional weapons effects programme (CONWEP) model has been used and the analysis is carried out by manipulating explicit dynamic solver. Damage assessment of RCSPs is done by utilizing concrete damage plasticity model. A satisfactory comparison has been drawn between the results of practical damage assessment and that obtained by the FEA. The numerical study is further extended to an RCSPs’ structure which showed satisfactory strength against blast load. It is recommended that RCSPs can be used in buildings as infill walls which provide significant capabilities to absorb and dissipate energy produced by explosions.
Storage of 1650 modes of single photons at telecom wavelength
Authors: Wei Shihai , Jing Bo , Zhang Xueying , Liao Jinyu , Li Hao , You Lixing , Wang Zhen , Wang You , Guang-Wei Deng , Song Haizhi , Oblak Daniel , Guo Guangcan , Zhou Qiang
Published: September 2022

To advance the full potential of quantum networks one should be able to distribute quantum resources over long distances at appreciable rates. As a consequence, all components in the networks need to have large multimode capacity to manipulate photonic quantum states. Towards this end, a multimode photonic quantum memory, especially one operating at telecom wavelength, remains a key challenge. Here we demonstrate a spectro-temporally multiplexed quantum memory at 1532 nm. Multimode quantum storage of telecom-band heralded single photons is realized by employing the atomic frequency comb protocol in a 10-m-long cryogenically cooled erbium doped silica fibre. The multiplexing encompasses five spectral channels - each 10 GHz wide - and in each of these up to 330 temporal modes, resulting in the simultaneous storage of 1650 modes of single photons. Our demonstrations open doors for high-rate quantum networks, which are essential for future quantum internet.
Monosodium glutamate Induces cortical oxidative, apoptotic, and inflammatory challenges in rats: The potential neuroprotective role of apigenin
Authors: Albrakati Ashraf A
Published: September 2022

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is used as a flavor, and a taste enhancer was reported to evoke marked neuronal impairments. This study investigated the neuroprotective ability of flavonoid apigenin against neural damage in MSG-administered rats. Adult male rats were allocated into four groups; control, apigenin (20 mg/kg, orally), MSG (4 g/kg, orally), and apigenin + MSG at the aforementioned doses for 30 days. Regarding the levels of neurotransmitters, our results revealed that apigenin augmented the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) markedly, and levels of brain monoamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) accompanied by lessening the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) as compared to MSG treatment. Moreover, apigenin counteracted the MSG-mediated oxidative stress by decreasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels together with elevating the glutathione (GSH) levels. In addition, pre-treatment with apigenin induced notable increases in the activities of cortical superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione reductase (GR). Further, apigenin attenuated the cortical inflammatory stress as indicated by lower levels of pro-inflammatory mediators as interleukin- 1 b (IL-1b), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and nitric oxide (NO) as well as downregulated inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression levels. Histopathological screening validated the abovementioned results and revealed that apigenin restored the distorted cytoarchitecture of the brain cortex. Thus, the present findings collectively suggest that apigenin exerted significant protection against MSG-induced neurotoxicity by enhancing the cellular antioxidant response and attenuating inflammatory machineries in the rat brain cortex.
The status and related factors of sarcopenia among the elderly in the community in Urumqi: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Che Yajie , Ainiwa Reziwanguli , Zheng Shuangfeng , Jiang Xin , Yang Xuanxuan , Chen Fenghui , Yan Ping
Published: September 2022

BackgroundThe present study aimed to investigate the prevalence status, physiological, psychological, and social participation status of the elderly with sarcopenia in the Urumqi community and provide a solid foundation for the later development of effective intervention strategies using the theory of healthy aging. MethodsFrom July 2019 to July 2020, a stratified random cluster sampling method was used to investigate the elderly aged 60 and above who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in HongShiYue, RiYue XingGuang, and the leather factory community of Urumqi City, Xinjiang. The sarcopenia was assessed using the Ishii screening scale. The general information questionnaire, MNA nutritional status of the elderly in the community, PHQ-9 depression scale, GAD-7 anxiety scale, and Social Participation Questionnaire of the elderly were investigated.ResultsThe prevalence rate of sarcopenia was 38.8%. We found that nutritional status, depressive symptoms, and social participation status directly affected sarcopenia, with the corresponding effect values being -0.322, -0.096, and 0.093. This was done by creating a structural equation model of the effects of nutritional status, psychological status, and social participation status on sarcopenia.ConclusionCommunity health care professionals should evaluate the early active prevention and intervention of sarcopenia in the elderly. In order to provide psychological and social support for the elderly to achieve healthy aging and improve their quality of life in old age, the public should take more care of the elderly, pay attention to their mental health, and improve their physical condition.
Sentiment Analysis of Arabic Reviews Using a Hybrid Clustering Technique
Authors: Alweshah Mohammed , Alahmed Omar , Alkhalaileh Saleh , Almiani Muder , Bakar Azuraliza Abu , RidzwanYaakub Mohd
Published: September 2022

Sentiment analysis (SA) is the process of assessing the sentiment and attitude of digital audiences toward a range of topics and subjects. The aim of this research is to propose an effective approach for finding good-quality solutions for dialectal Arabic SA problems by addressing inherent challenges in an optimal way. This is achieved by determining the polarities of review texts by using the k-means clustering algorithm in a lexicon-based model and also applying a ML model where necessary in a hybrid approach. In this research, a sentiment lexicon (senti-lexicon) corpus of 3,824 positive and negative words/terms is used in a deep feature extraction process to convert the text into feature vectors. The experimental results showed that the k-means clustering model worked better after separating the observations with relative score values and moving them to be classified using the lexicon-based model. The k-means clustering model part of the hybrid model yielded high-performance results in terms of accuracy, recall, and F1 score metrics, especially in the positive and negative score value features and total score. Each technique has shortcomings, the hybrid model; as the results that are shared will represent; prove that it is an ideal and more flexible solution and approach to conducting SA in an effective and self-improving manner.
University midwifery educators’ capacity to teach Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care within the updated pre-service curriculum in Kenya: Before-After study
Authors: Shikuku Duncan N. , Jebet Joyce , Nandikove Peter , Tallam Edna , Ogoti Evans , Nyaga Lucy , Mutsi Hellen , Bashir Issak , Okoro Dan , Zeev Sarah Bar , Ameh Charles
Published: September 2022

Background
International Confederation of Midwives and World Health Organization recommend core competencies for midwifery educators for effective theory and practical teaching and practice. Deficient curricula and lack of skilled midwifery educators are important factors affecting the quality of graduates from midwifery programmes. The study objective was to assess the capacity of university midwifery educators to deliver the updated competency-based curriculum after the capacity strengthening workshop in Kenya.
Methods
The study used a quasi-experimental (before-after) design. A four-day training to strengthen the capacity of educators to deliver emergency obstetrics and newborn care (EmONC) within the updated curriculum was conducted for 30 midwifery educators from 27 universities in Kenya. Before-after training assessments in knowledge, two EmONC skills and self-perceived confidence in using different teaching methodologies to deliver the competency-based curricula were conducted. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the before-after knowledge and skills mean scores. McNemar test was used to compare differences in the proportion of educators’ self-reported confidence in applying the different teaching pedagogies. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
Findings
Thirty educators (7 males and 23 females) participated, of whom only 11 (37%) had participated in a previous hands-on basic EmONC training – with 10 (91%) having had the training over two years beforehand. Performance mean scores increased significantly for knowledge (60.3% − 88. %), shoulder dystocia management (51.4% – 88.3%), newborn resuscitation (37.9% − 89.1%), and overall skill score (44.7% − 88.7%), p < 0.0001. The proportion of educators with confidence in using different stimulatory participatory teaching methods increased significantly for simulation (36.7% – 70%, p = 0.006), scenarios (53.3% – 80%, p = 0.039) and peer teaching and support (33.3% – 63.3%, p = 0.022). There was improvement in use of lecture method (80% – 90%, p = 0.289), small group discussions (73.3% – 86.7%, p = 0.344) and giving effective feedback (60% – 80%, p = 0.146), although this was not statistically significant.
Conclusion
Training improved midwifery educators’ knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver the updated EmONC-enhanced curriculum. To ensure that midwifery educators maintain their competence, there is need for structured regular mentoring and continuous professional development. Besides, there is need to cascade the capacity strengthening to reach more midwifery educators for a competent midwifery workforce.
Modeling and Prediction of Land use Land Cover Change using Land Change Modeler in Suluh River Basin , Northern Highland of Ethiopia.
Authors: Entahabu Hailay Hagos , Minale Amare Sewnet , Hizikias Emiru Birhane
Published: September 2022

Background
Land use, land cover change has been known globally as an essential driver of environmental change. The study focuses on modeling and prediction of land use, land cover using land change modeler in Suluh river basin. Landsat images and other ancillary data sources were used to achieve the objectives. Nearest neighbor fuzzy classification was performed in eCognition Developer 9.2 to classify images. Change detection and modeling was performed in IDRISI selva 17.3 software. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.
Result
The finding confirmed that Bar land by 10.6%, built up land by 29.4% and cultivated land by 65.4% were rapidly expanding in the face of an overall decline of the forest land by 97.2%, grazing land by 89.8%, plantation land by 89.1% shrub-bush land by 1.5% and water body by 84.8% during 1990 to 2002. And, if business as usual is continued, land use/land cover changes will be expected to continue in 2028 and 2048 periods.
Conclusion
If the model predictions hold; in the coming 2028 and 2048, bar land, built up land, and cultivated land will be shown an increase on the expense of water body, forest, shrub-bush and plantation land. Rainfall, slope, elevation, distance to rivers, distance to roads, distance towns and population density were identified the prominent LULC change drivers in the study area. This will increase vulnerability of the watershed to soil erosion and soil macro fauna loss of the studied river basin in particular and the Tekeze basin in general. Therefore, suitable and timely management measures must be taken by policy decision makers to enable sustainable development and to protect the river basin in order to reduce the severity of the changes.
A Sentence retrieval generation network guided video captioning
Authors: Ye Ou , Wang Mimi , Yu Zhenhua , Fu Yan , Yi Shun , Deng Jun
Published: September 2022

At present, the video captioning models based on an encoder-decoder mainly rely on a single video input source. The contents of video captioning are limited since few studies employed external corpus information to guide the generation of video captioning, which is not conducive to the accurate description and understanding of video contents. To address this issue, this work proposes a novel video captioning method guided by a sentence retrieval generation network (ED-SRG). First, we integrate a ResNeXt network model, an efficient convolutional network for online video understanding (ECO) model and a long short-term memory (LSTM) network model to construct an encoder-decoder, which are utilized to extract the 2D features, 3D features and object features of video data respectively. These features are decoded to generate textual sentences that conform to video contents for sentence retrieval. Then, a sentence-transformer network model is employed to retrieve different sentences in an external corpus that are semantically similar to the textual sentences, and the candidate sentences are screened out through similarity measurement. Finally, a novel GPT-2 network model is constructed based on GPT-2 network structure. The model introduces a designed random selector to randomly select predicted words with a high probability of appearance in the corpus, which is used to guide and generate textual sentences that are more in line with human natural language expressions. The experiments on common datasets MSVD and MSR-VTT in comparison with some existing works demonstrate that our proposed method can generate sentences with richer semantics and the performance of our method is better than several state-of-the art approaches.
Solubility and Dissolution Study by Applying the Fusion Method of Solid Dispersion, the Hydrophobic Drugs Glimepiride Solubility is Improved
Authors: joshi Poonam , Gairola Nidhi , Jakhmola Vikas , Kothari Sunil , Morris Srishti
Published: September 2022

Glimepiride is a member of the third generation of sulfonylureas used to treat diabetes mellitus. Even though glimepiride has moderate water solubility, its slow rate of dissolution means that it only completely dissolves in the intestines, resulting in subtherapeutic plasma drug levels and, occasionally, an unanticipated clinical reaction. The goal of this research was to enhance the drug's solubility, rate of dissolution, and biological performance. The best glimepiride solid dispersion (SDs) formulation was then employed to create SDs tablets by blending the medication with the water-soluble polymers HPMC, PEG 4000, and GUM KARAYA. The formulations for the capsules were made using the capsule filling process. In addition to FTIR, XRD, and SEM examinations of SDs, there were in vitro dissolving tests. For SDs made with the fusion process, the best dissolving profile was 1:5 ratio of drug to HPMC, PEG 4000, and GUM KARAYA polymer. For capsule formulations, the best dissolving profile was 1:2 ratio of HPMC. Results showed that the promising polymer, HPMC, enhanced glimepiride's solubility. The capsules were produced and then processed according to standard pharmacopeial guidelines. Scientists found no evidence of drug-polymer interaction in stability or FT-IR studies.
A systematic comparison of pan-Trk immunohistochemistry assays across multiple cancer types
Authors: Haberecker Martina , Töpfer Antonia , Malega Francesca , Moch Holger , Pauli Chantal
Published: September 2022

NTRK-rearranged tumors are rare but can be successfully treated using anti-TRK–targeted therapies making NTRK testing important for treatment choices in patients with advanced cancers. Pan-Trk immunohistochemistry (IHC) has become a valuable and affordable screening tool, but the choice of antibodies and IHC protocols to investigate biomarkers is not standardized. As NTRK fusion-positive tumors are rare, systematic technical studies are sparse. Pan-Trk IHC has been reported as a fast technique for the identification of NTRK fusion driven tumors, with a reported sensitivity of about 85–90% with differences depending on which NTRK gene is involved. Furthermore, antibody specificity seems to be dependent on tumor type. In this work, we studied the intermethod agreement for four pan-Trk IHC methods, using three different clones: EPR17341 (Abcam and Ventana), EP1058Y (Abcam), A7H6R (Cell Signaling) in 18 molecularly confirmed NTRK-rearranged tumors. We further included NTRK mutated (n = 8) and amplified (N = 15) tumors as well as NTRK wild type tumors driven by other gene fusions such as ALK, ROS1 and BCOR (n = 20) and salivary gland tumors (n = 16). Among 77 tumors, pan-Trk IHC was classified as positive using an H score ≥ 5. The overall sensitivity and specificity to separate NTRK-rearranged tumors from NTRK fusion-negative tumors was 100% and 73.8%, respectively, for clone EPR17341 using an in house and the Ventana protocol. For clone A7H6R (in house protocol) we had 93.8% sensitivity and 80.3% specificity and clone EP1058Y (in house protocol) showed 73.3% sensitivity and 32.8% specificity. EPR17341 (both protocols) and A7H6R clones showed also a good interrater agreement in terms of H-score (κ = from 0.936 to 0.956) but only a moderate agreement against the reference assay (molecular data) considering positive and negative results (κ = from 0.593 to 0.591). We identified clones and assays/protocol that can be reliably used by pathologist for the screening of NTRK rearranged tumors.
Synthesis and initial in vitro evaluation of PSMA-targeted ligands with optimized structural motifs.
Authors: Uspenskaya Anastasia , Nimenko Ekaterina , Shafikov Radik , Zyk Nikolay , Evteev Sergei , Dashkova Natalia , Ivanenkov Yan , Majouga Alexander , Skvortsov Dmitry , Garanina Anastasiia , Beloglazkina Elena , Machulkin Aleksei
Published: September 2022

An improved series of ligands targeting prostatic specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has been reported. Varying compounds and their biological parameters were due to changes in the linker structure. Highly selective compounds with nanomolar IC50 values were obtained. As an example, a conjugate with Sulfo-Cy5 and MMAE was obtained and pre-studied.
IncRNA VIM-AS1 expression is positively correlated with the prognosis and immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Kang Jianhong , Abudurufu Maimaiti , Zhang Shuwei , Jiang Wei , Luo Honghe
Published: September 2022

BackgroundStudies have reported that Long Non-coding RNA Vimentin antisense RNA1(VIM-AS1) is related to progression and prognosis in several cancers. Although the relationship between VIM-AS1 and the clinical features of lung adenocarcinoma has been described, their studies are incomplete. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis was performed to identify the role and potential clinical value of VIM-AS1 in LUAD progression.MethodsThe expression of VIM-AS1 in LUAD was identified based on Cancer Genome Atlas database (TCGA) and genotypic tissue expression (GTEx). Survival analysis and COX regression analysis were performed to evaluate the clinical value of VIM-AS1 in the prognosis of LUAD patients, and to construct a prognostic nomogram. Correlation and COX regression analysis were performed to filter prognosis-related VIM-AS1 co-expression genes, and to construct the correlation column chart and the prognostic risk model. Correlation analysis was also used to explore the relationship between VIM-ASI expression and LUAD immune microenvironment.ResultsVIM-AS1 expression levels were significantly downregulated in LUAD tissues and significantly associated with short OS, DSS, significant PFI, late T and pathological staging, lymph node metastasis, gender male and complete resection in LUAD patients. Decreased expression of VIM-AS1 was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in LUAD patients. VIM-AS1 co-expressed genes SLC15A2, ZNF56, FAM76A, GNG7, UCK2, and ADIPOR2 were significantly associated with OS, DSS, and PFI in LUAD patients. The nomogram and risk models constructed based on VIM- AS1 co-expressed genes were associated with the prognosis of LUAD patients. K-M survival analysis showed that high-risk patients were significantly associated with short OS, DSS, and PFI in LUAD patients. VIM- AS1 expression was related to the estimate, immune and stromal scores, and highly associated with immune cells -TFH, Th1 cells, T cells, Tcm, B cells, T helper cells, cytotoxic cells, macrophages, pDC, iDC, aDC, mast cells, DC, Tem, NK CD56dim cells, Tgd and Th2 cells, and significantly correlated with levels of immune cell markers HLA-DPB1, HLA-DRA, CCR7, and other markers.ConclusionVIM-AS1 was significantly downregulated in LUAD tissues, which was significantly associated with poor prognosis and immune microenvironment in LUAD patients. The nomogram and risk models of VIM-AS1 were expected to be tools to assess the prognosis of LUAD patients.
Environmental Risk Factors and Plasma Concentration of Lead and Copper in Colorectal Cancer Patients in Alexandria
Authors: Mohamed Soha Said , Hussien Mohamed Fakhry , Mostafa Mohamed Farouk , Abdou Mamdouh Hanafy
Published: September 2022

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women. It is thought to result from a complex interaction between several genetic factors and environmental factors. Recognizing these factors that trigger the disease occurrence and progression is essential to apply more effective measures of prevention and risk reduction. Objectives: The main objectives of this study were to detect the plasma levels of lead and copper in colorectal cancer patients and healthy subjects and to estimate the effect of exposure to some environmental risk factors. In addition, a booklet was designed for health education and prevention of colorectal cancer based on the results of the research. Methods: A case control study was performed at the clinical oncology department clinic of Alexandria Main University Hospital. The study sample consisted of 25 colorectal cancer patients, and 25 healthy controls, who matched the cases on age and sex. Data were collected by a pre-designed pre-coded structured interviewing questionnaire; levels of lead and copper of all participants were measured by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. In addition, lead and copper levels in the drinking water by participants were measured to detect whether they were associated with the risk of colorectal cancer.Results: Higher levels of Pb and Cu were detected in colorectal cancer patients compared to healthy subjects, these findings were statistically significant (p<0.05). The multivariate stepwise logistic regression model revealed that four factors had significant association with colorectal cancer , the first rank was lead levels ≥ 0.164 mg/L, Passive smoking, living nearby the solid waste collecting dustbins and old oily wall paints in houses (OR =31.057, 95% CI =1.549-622. 588, OR =32.20, 95%CI =1.529-678.069, OR =83.247, 95%CI =1.279-5419.134, OR =9.354, 95%CI =1.020-85.786, respectively).Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, there was a significant difference in the levels of Pb and Cu levels between healthy subjects and colorectal cancer patients. Therefore, environmental risk factors and chronic exposure to lead sources such as lead in old deteriorating household paints could have a very important role in the elevated lead level due to the high rate of pollution in the environment. However, further studies are needed to enhance our understanding of this relationship between heavy metals and their role in cancer progression
Caffeine and nicotine in a Parkinson’s disease’s animal model: from olfactory improvement to neuroprotection
Authors: Rodrigues Lais Soares , Targa Adriano D.S. , Noseda Ana C. D. , Ilkiw Jessica L. , Fagotti Juliane , Kmita Luana C. , Santos Patricia Dominico dos , Dorieux Flavia W.C. , Silveira Priscilla L. S. , Cóppola-Segovia Valentín , Zanata Silvio Marques , Lima Marcelo M S
Published: September 2022

Parkinson's disease motor disorders are strongly associated with the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons and dopamine depletion in the nigrostriatal pathway. However, earlier, patients may have olfactory disorders. Studies have shown an inverse relationship between the consumption of caffeine or nicotine and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. This study investigated whether the treatment with caffeine and/or nicotine would be able to prevent olfactory impairment in an animal model. Adult male and female Wistar rats received intraperitoneal saline, caffeine and/or nicotine for 7 consecutive days after intranigral injury and were submitted to behavioral tests. The treatment with caffeine and double treatment (caffeine + nicotine) reversed the olfactory impairment caused by rotenone, in male rats.In females, olfactory disturbance was not present.Surprisingly, there was no olfactory bulb (OB)tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) increased phosphorylation by the caffeine administration, present only in a double treatment, for males. In addition, a trend to increased TH phosphorylation of the nicotine rotenone group was observed, indicating a negative influence of dopamine on olfaction, probably due to its action on OB D2 inhibitory receptors, which may explain the olfactory impairment not reversed by nicotine. Besides, nicotine presented dopaminergic neurons restoration for both male and female in the substantia nigra, indicating a neuroprotective effect against rotenone lesion. Caffeine and nicotine presented different benefits in the rotenone model, improving the olfactory disturbance and reducing the neuronal loss within the substantia nigra. Additionally, the intranigral rotenone presented sex differences related to olfactory function, also present in a human population.
The Impact of Positive Emotion Regulation on convergent creativity Evidence from ERP
Authors: Yin Ming , Zhao Yuan , Xing Qiqi , Liu Dianzhi
Published: September 2022

Research on emotion regulation should not be limited to negative emotion regulation, but should also include cognitive activities. This study examined the impact of positive emotion regulation on convergent creativity through an ERP analysis. The study sample comprised 57 undergraduates. They were divided into cognitive reappraisal, expression suppression, and control groups and completed emotional regulation and convergent creativity tasks. The results showed that when undergraduates used different emotion regulation strategies to regulate positive emotions and then completed the convergent creativity tasks, the cognitive reappraisal group performed better. In the early stage (Q-N1), cognitive reappraisal can enhance the sensitivity of individuals to convergent thinking. In the late stage (P350-2000), cognitive reappraisal can help individuals reduce the consumption of attention resources, especially in the P350-650, and the promotion effect of cognitive reappraisal is most obvious. The results suggest that if individuals can remain relatively calm at the early stage of solving the convergent creativity tasks, it will help them to understand the task and improve their performance in convergent creativity.
Enhanced Enzyme Activity of Thermoalkaliphilic Laccase (CtLac) of Caldalkalibacillus thermarum Strain TA2.A1 by Random and Site-directed Mutagenesis and Its Application to Lignin Degradation
Authors: Yang Youri , Ghatge Sunil , Hur Hor-Gil
Published: September 2022

Background: Thermoalkaliphilic laccase, CtLac, has advantageous properties such as high enzyme activity and stability at 70℃ and pH 8.0 in the presence of organic solvents and surfactants, which confers a potential industrial application. Moreover, CtLac depolymerized lignin and produced high-value benzaldehyde chemicals such as vanillin. In the present study, the directed evolution approach using the combination of random and site-directed mutagenesis was performed to enhance the laccase activity of CtLac. Two methods of spectrophotometric assay and real-time oxygen measurement were employed for comparing and evaluating laccase activity among mutants. Results: Random mutagenesis was carried out by error-prone PCR to introduce 6-8 mutations per 1000 bps of CtLac coding gene. Among the 1,300 tested transformants, RM484 with higher laccase activity was selected, and V243 was targeted for site-directed mutagenesis. V243D showed 35% and 25% higher laccase activity than wild-type CtLac from the spectrophotometric assay and the oxygen consumption measurement, respectively. Besides, V243D showed higher catalytic efficiency with the decreased Km and the increased kcat value than wild-type CtLac. Furthermore, V243D showed the enhanced oxidative degradation of lignin under the optimal enzymatic conditions, 70℃ and pH 8.0, with 10% higher GGGE oxidation and 50-95% increased high-value aldehyde production than wild-type CtLac.Conclusions: CtLac was engineered for improved laccase activity through the directed evolution approach involving random and site-directed mutagenesis in the lack of protein structural information. Considering the limitation of the spectrophotometric assay, the real-time measurement of oxygen consumption could be a more accurate method to evaluate oxidation of laccase activity in mutagenesis research.
Assessment of inhaler using technique among adult asthma patients in Bangladesh: a facility-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Rafi Md. Abdur , Hasan Mohammad Jahid , Mily Sabrina Jahan , Tashrik Symom , Bonna Atia Sharmin , Jannat Ferdousy , Tahmin Chowdhury Ibtida , Shrestha Abhigan babu , Seemanta Senjuti , Rashid Afsana , Mahjabeen Mosarrat , Nura Nurunnahar , Shahriar Tasnim , Mahadi Ashrafur Rahaman , Ahmed Kawser , Haque Md. Azizul , Hossain Md. Golam
Published: September 2022

Background: Inhaler using technique has influences on disease control in patients with bronchial asthma. The objective of this study was to assess the inhaler using technique and factors associated with correct technique among adult asthma patients in northern Bangladesh.Methods: A total 357 asthma patients were recruited from medicine outpatient department of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) from November 2020 to January 2021. All patients were stable and using either metered dose inhaler (MDI) with or without spacer or dry powder inhaler (DPI). Demographic and disease details were collected by direct interviewing of the patients and inhaler using technique were also observed. A preformed checklist was used for marking the activities of the patients. Inhaler using technique was defined as incorrect if there was one or more critical error observed during using the prescribed inhaler. Logistic regression model was used to determine the predictors of incorrect inhaler using technique. Results: Almost 77% of the MDI users, 85% of the MDI with spacer users, and 76% of the DPI users had at least one or more critical error in handling their inhaler devices. Most commonly missed critical steps were breathing in adequately during inhalation (40% in MDI and 39% in DPI users) and holding breath after inhalation (54% in MDI and 77% in DPI users). Patients with lower educational attainment (aOR 4.56, 95% CI 1.13-18.37, p<0.05), middle-income family (aOR 6.44, 95% CI 1.73-24.03, p<0.01), self-reported difficulty of inhaler technique (aOR 3.18, 95% CI 1.58-6.41, p<0.01), seeking care from non-qualified practitioners (aOR 2.86, 95% CI 1.42-5.75, p<0.01) and no demonstration of inhaler technique (aOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.71-3.01, p<0.05) or demonstration from non-qualified practitioners (aOR 2.41, 95% CI 1.79-4.36, p<0.05) had higher chance of incorrect inhaler using technique.Conclusion: Majority of the asthma patients included in our study had one or more critical error in their inhaler using technique especially in patients with lack of inhaler using training. Patient counseling and demonstration of inhaler using technique during prescription might increase the proportion of patients practicing right technique of inhaler.
Optimization of hydrodistillation extraction using response surface methodology and Chemical composition of essential oil from Moroccan endemic medicinal plant Ballota hirsuta
Authors: Ou-Ani Omar , Oucheikh Lahcen , Dabbous Axel , Znini Mohamed , Costa Jean , Majidi Lhou
Published: September 2022

The present study describes for the first time the optimization of the extraction by hudrodistillation and chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of Ballota hirsuta aerial parts using Gas chromatography (GC/FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. Single-factor experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD) were used to optimize the EO extraction parameters including drying period (0–21 days), extraction time (60–240 min) and water/plant ratio (5–20 ml/g). The optimum conditions for obtaining the best yield (0.91%) are a drying period of 7 days, an extraction time of 120 min and a water/plant ratio of 10 ml/g. Under these optimum condition, GC/FID and GC/MS enabled the identification of forty-three volatile components representing 82.3% of the total of EO. Germacrene-D (16%), Z-Phytol (7.7%), α- Cadinol (7.3%) and Carvacrol (6.7%) were the main constituents of this EO.
Spatial distribution of Thrips tabaci Lindeman on rabi onion in north western Indian Himalayan regions
Authors: Kaundal Priyanka , SOOD A. K.
Published: September 2022

Spatial distribution of Thrips tabaci Lindeman on rabi onion was assessed in mid-hill regions of Himachal Pradesh, representing north-western Indian Himalayas. Thrips followed negative binomial distribution in onion. Based on the Lewis index, Index of dispersion, Morisita coefficient of dispersion, Lloyd’s mean crowding and Index of patchiness it was observed that in early stages of crop growth stages of rabi onion, thrips were distributed randomly whereas in later crop stages, thrips distribution was aggregated/ overdispersed/ clumped. Aggregated distribution of thrips was also confirmed by Taylor’s power law and Iwao’s patchiness regression index with the corresponding values of 1.29 and 2.65. For estimation of thrips population in vegetative, bulb initiation and bulb development stage, the mean number of samples needed were 15476, 760 and 270, respectively at P = 0.1 (precision level of 90%). Whereas at 80% (P = 0.2), relatively small number of samples were needed (869, 190 and 68) for corresponding crop stages.
WITHDRAWN: H 2 O AutoML-LIME: an integrated modelling approach for predicting cervical cancer in Women
Authors: Prusty Sashikanta , Patnaik Srikanta , Dash Sujit Kumar
Published: September 2022

Background
Cancer positioning a major disease, particularly for middle-aged people, which remains a global concern that can be developed in the form of abnormal growth of body cells at any place in the human body. Cervical cancer, often known as cervix cancer, is cancer present at the female cervix. In the area where the endocervix (upper two-thirds of the cervix) and ectocervix (lower third of the cervix) meet, the majority of cervical cancers begin.
Objective
Despite an influx of people entering the healthcare industry, the demand for Machine Learning (ML) specialists has recently outpaced the supply. To close the gap, user-friendly application, such as H2O, has made significant progress these days. However, the traditional ML technique handles each stage of the process separately; whereas H2O AutoML can automate a major portion of the ML workflow, such as automatic training and tuning of multiple models within a user-defined timeframe.
Methods
Thus, this work aims at implementing the H2O AutoML-LIME technique, to predict cervical cancer at its early stages. Moreover, this model has capable of training the best model in less amount of time which helps in reducing the human effort over traditional ML techniques. The Stacked Ensembles approach, on the other hand, will be automatically trained H2O models to create a highly predictive ensemble model that will outperform the AutoML Leaderboard in most instances. Additionally, LIME (Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations) has been implemented over the H2O AutoML model, to uncover black boxes and to explain every individual prediction in our model.
Results
After predicting our proposed model with three different probabilities, gives 0.13, 0.05, and 0.13 percent of chances cervical cancer respectively.
Burden of Gender Based Violence in Ethiopia in case of High School Female Students: Systematic review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Mingude Alemu Basazin , Habtegiorgis Samuel Derbie , Dejene Tadesse Mamo
Published: September 2022

Background Gender-based violence (GBV) violates human rights, has terrible repercussions on the educational system, and is remarkably underreported. The primary objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the combined prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) and its determinants among female students in high schools in Ethiopia. Methods Data base search were conducted through PubMed, Science Direct, HINARI. Web of Science,and Cochrane Library. Essential data were extracted using a Microsoft Excel format and analyzed by using STATA Version 17.0. Heterogeneity were checked by using heterogeneity I2test and p-values at (I2 = 98.9%, p < 0.001). To depict publication bias, the funnel plot was utilized, and Egger's and Begg's tests were used to examine it statistically. Subgroup analysis was performed to assess the variation of primary research Result The pooled prevalence of lifetime GBV was 50% (95% CI: 41, 59). The pooled prevalence of life time sexual violence, physical violence and psychological violence were found to be 33% (95% CI: 24, 42), 39% (95% CI: 33, 45), and 30% (95%CI: 14, 46) respectively. Alcohol use (AOR: 3.32; 95% CI, 1.70, 6.46), having boyfriend (AOR: 2.61; 95% CI, 1.01, 6.77), being rural residence (AOR: 1:89; 95% CI, 1.52, 2.35) and smoking cigarette (AOR: 7.88; 95% CI: 5:76, 10.77) were found to be determinants of gender based violence. Conclusion High school students in Ethiopia struggle greatly with gender-based violence. This issue needs to be addressed by both governmental and non-governmental entities.
Structure and Complexation Equilibria of Silver (I) with 2-(4-nitro-benzaldehyde)-benzimidazole-hydrazone
Authors: El-Dossoki F. I. , Belal Arafa A. M. , El-Seify Fathy A.
Published: September 2022

imple and sensitive spectrophotometric determination method of trace amounts of silver(I) ion using 2-(4-nitro-benzaldehyde)-benzimidazole-hydrazone has been devised. Silver(I) react rapidly with this reagent and forms a red stable chelate, in weak acid medium, which obeys Beer’s law at 496 nm with a molar absorptivity 6.9 ⋅ 103 l mol cm-1 and Sandll’s sensitivity 1.56 ⋅ 10− 3 µg cm-3. The stoichiometry and stability constant of silver chelate has determined using spectrophotometric, potentionmetric and conductometric methods. Interferences from various foreign ions were studied. The nature of the solid chelate has also studied.