bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Activation of Adaptive Immune Cells is an Early Response to Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy Treatment in Ovarian Cancer
Authors: Reizes Ofer , Alban Tyler , Horowitz Max , Chau Danielle , Alali Zahraa , Esakov Emily , Dey Goutam , Hong Changjin , Hwang Tae Hyun , Makarov Vladimir , Lathia Justin , Qi Peng , Yu Jennifer , Michener Chad , Chan Timothy , DeBernardo Robert
Published: August 2021

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has significantly increased the survival of epithelial ovarian (EOC) patients and is being adopted as a standard clinical approach for managing these tumors. However, while the clinical results are encouraging, there is a need to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the HIPEC response to develop biomarkers and new therapeutic strategies to extend overall patient survival. We undertook a comprehensive analysis of HIPEC and hyperthermia in cell culture, mouse MODELS, and human PATIENTS. Ovarian cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenografts treated with heat and cisplatin revealed increased cisplatin adducts and DNA damage with limited increase in cisplatin sensitivity. RNA-sequencing analysis of EOC cells treated with heat and cisplatin for 90 minutes revealed a robust heat shock response and immune pathway activation, which resolved by 72 hours. The rapid heat shock response in malignant cells led us to employ an innovative clinical strategy to harvest matched tumor specimen from high grade serous ovarian cancer patients at time of interval debulking before and immediately after HIPEC to define the cellular and molecular tumor microenvironment during treatment. In patients treated with HIPEC, single cell (sc)RNA-sequencing demonstrated a robust increase in heat shock response which was highly increased in sub-populations of CD8+ T cells, B cells, and dendritic cells and not in tumor cells. Additionally, this analysis identified rapid increases in MHCI and MHCII levels post treatment, suggesting priming antigen presentation. Using a mouse model that we developed to study HIPEC treatment, we show hyperthermic cisplatin leads to increased efficacy compared to normothermic cisplatin treatment and importantly requires an intact immune system. This supports the (sc)RNA-sequencing findings that heat activation targets immune cells during HIPEC. Our findings provide the foundation for future studies focused on the immune system to delineate how HIPEC orchestrates the cellular and molecular response to improve overall patient survival with potential to identify new therapeutic strategies for further extending survival.
Association Between Exposure To Air Pollutants and The Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Visits
Authors: Ding Siwen , Sun Shu , Ding Rui , Song Shasha , Cao Yi , Zhang Lijiu
Published: August 2021

Background
The topic of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has attracted more and more attentions. Accumulating evidence suggests that exposure to air pollutants is associated with IBD, yet the results are inconsistent and study about daily exposure is few. This study evaluated the association between daily air pollution and IBD in Hefei, China.
Methods
Daily IBD admission data were obtained from two hospitals in Hefei from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Daily concentrations of major air pollutants were provided by the Hefei Environmental Protection Bureau. Meteorological data were collected from China Meteorological Data Network. Distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) considering both the lag effects of exposure factors and nonlinear relationship of exposure-reaction was used to assess the effect of daily air pollutants exposure on IBD admission.
Results
During the study period, totally 886 cases of IBD were recruited, including 313 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC) and 573 cases of Crohn's disease (CD). The findings showed PM2.5, O3 and CO exposure significantly increased the risk of IBD. Mean concentrations of PM2.5, O3 and CO in Hefei were 43.85ug/m³, 100.78ug/m³, and 0.76mg/m³, respectively. Each increase of 10mg/m³ in PM2.5/ O3 and 0.1mg/m³ in CO increased the risk of IBD. The strongest effects of these three pollutants on IBD were observed in lag2-lag3 (RR = 1.037, 95% CI: 1.005–1.070%), lag3 (RR = 1.020, 95% CI: 1.002–1.038%) and lag2 (RR = 1.036, 95% CI: 1.003–1.071%), respectively. In warm seasons, PM2.5, O3 and CO had a stronger effect increased the risk of IBD, which were observed in lag2 (RR = 1.104, 95% CI: 1.032–1.181%), lag2 and lag5 (RR = 1.023, 95% CI: 1.002–1.044%; RR = 1.036, 95% CI: 1.004–1.069%) and lag2 (RR = 1.071, 95% CI: 1.012–1.133%), respectively.
Conclusions
Air pollutants (PM2.5, O3 and CO) exposure could increase the risk of IBD, while the most susceptibility seasons for the exposure were mainly in warm seasons. This study contributes to the knowledge of the association between air pollution and IBD, but the associations need to be verified by further studies.
Results of Classification of Korean Triage And Acute Scale of Patients Visiting The Emergency Department
Authors: Jang Kyeongmin , Kim Sung Hwan
Published: August 2021

BackgroundNot much is known about the results of the severity classification according to the time of visit to the emergency department and the appropriateness of using a public ambulance when visiting the emergency department.MethodsThis descriptive research study retrospectively reviewed and analyzed the medical records of patients who visited the emergency department of the B general hospital in Seoul from January to December 2019.ResultsA total of 54,297 patients were included in the analysis. Of the total, 34,629 (63.8%) patients visited directly while 14,065 (25.9%) visited through public ambulances, and 10,328 (73.4%) of patients using public ambulances were discharged home. The numbers of daytime and nighttime patients were 24,891 (45.8%) and 29,406 (54.2%), respectively. The mean length of emergency department stay (LoS) of patients classified as emergency was 326 minutes, while that of non-emergency patients was 159 minutes. In addition, the mean LoS of patients classified as Korean triage and acuity scale levels 1 and 2 was 427 min and 430 min, respectively, which was longer than the total of 236 minutes.ConclusionWe confirmed that patients who visited the emergency department using public ambulances accounted for about 25% of all emergency department visits, and of which 70% were discharged home. In addition, patients with high severity showed a longer mean LoS, and daytime showed higher severity and more patients than nighttime.
g-C3N4 Homophase Junction With High Crystallinity Using MoS2 as Cocatalyst For Robust Visible-Light-Driven Photocataly Tic Pollutant Degradation
Authors: Liu Ying , Han Jun , Zeng Xianpeng , Tian Zongju , Yu Feifan , Sun Xiyin , Wang Wei , Liu Qinghua
Published: August 2021

g-C3N4 photocatalyst has attracted great attention in environmental pollution control, but how to further improve its photoactivity is still a huge challenge. Herein, we have developed a simple strategy, by simultaneously improving the photocatalytic performance of g-C3N4 itself by recrystallization method, introducing the promoter MoS2 to form a g-C3N4/g-C3N4/MoS2 composite photocatalyst. Various characterization results show that the homophase junction g-C3N4 prepared by the double-precursor recrystallization treatment improves the crystallinity of the catalyst, and the cocatalyst MoS2 is introduced into the interlayer of g-C3N4 by the ultrasonic-assisted oil bath method to form a stable composite photocatalyst, and the closely contacting interface effectively promotes charge transfer. The optimized photocatalyst g-C3N4/g-C3N4/MoS2 displayed excellent photodegradation performance for methyl orange (k=0.08700 min-1), it shows 6.03 times enhancement of photocatalytic activity for degradation rate compared to homophase junction g-C3N4. In order to test its superior photocatalytic performance, g-C3N4/g-C3N4/MoS2 can be used to degrade other organic pollutants, all of which can show high photocatalytic degradation ability (rhodamine B (k=0.38963 min-1)). This research highlights a feasible strategy for the introduction of co-catalyst engineering to develop excellent photocatalysts.
Iterative Standard Strategy for Non-Linear Optimization in Melting Furnace Charge Calculations
Authors: Jafari-Ramiani Amin , Yousefi Dorsa , Mohajeri Mahdiyeh
Published: August 2021

This paper describes an approach to furnace charge calculation for melting processes. Some complexities of the problem, including non-homogeneous element loss, non-metal contaminations, and, melt correction have been considered in the model. The contribution of the model is that it examines a rearrangement of the non-linear complexities into an iterative standard linear programming framework. The performance of the model was evaluated and demonstrated on an industrial scale test problem. The results revealed that the non-linear phenomenological complexities can be effectively fitted in the framework of an iterative standard LP model. This feature provides a backbone for reliable and fast optimization in melting which is of significant benefit for industrial automation.
A Hybrid Approach to Three-Way Conversational Recommendation
Authors: Xu Yuan-Yuan , Gu Shen-Ming , Li Hua-Xiong , Min Fan
Published: August 2021

Conversational recommendation is ubiquitous in e-commerce, while three-way recommendation provides friendly choices for service providers and users. However, their combination has not been studied yet. In this paper, we introduce the three-way conversational recommendation problem, and design the hybrid conversational recommendation (HTCR) algorithm to address it. First, a new recommendation problem is defined by considering the man-machine interaction as well as the misclassification and promotion costs. The optimization objective of the problem is to minimize the total cost. Second, a popularity-based technique is designed for user cold-start recommendation, where the user maturity is responsible for deciding when HTCR turns to the second technique. Third, an incremental matrix factorization technique is designed for regular recommendation. It is efficient since only a few rounds of training are needed for newly acquired user feedback. Experiments were undertaken on three well-known datasets, including Jester, MovieLens 100K, and MovieLens 1M. Results demonstrated that our algorithm outperformed state-of-the-art ones in terms of average cost.
Diversity of Resident Plant Communities Weakens Their Allelopathic Resistance Against Alien and Native Invaders
Authors: Yuan Ling , Li Junmin , Kleunen Mark van
Published: August 2021

Elton’s classic diversity-invasibility hypothesis posits that diversity of resident communities increases resistance against invaders. We tested whether the diversity-invasibility relationsip might be mediated by allelopathic effects of the resident species. In a large germination experiment, we exposed seeds of six alien and six native test species to leachates of one, three, six or twelve species. The leachates tended to slightly delay germination, and almost all single-species leachates reduced the proportion of germinated seeds. Nevertheless, the overall effect of the plant leachate mixtures on the proportion of germinated seeds was not significant. This was because a higher diversity of the leachates increased the proportion of germinated seeds, particularly for native test species. Among the six alien test species, it was only the most invasive one that benefited from increased diversity of the leachates, just like the natives did. Overall, our findings suggest that allelopathy of diverse communities does not provide resistance but could actually facilitate the germination of invaders.
Competition in a Mixed-Species Planting With Four Contrasting Species
Authors: Vanclay Jerome K , Gregorio Nestor O , Herbohn John L.
Published: August 2021

Background: Mixed-species systems are well-suited to smallholder and community forestry, but reliable evidence regarding and procedures to assess species performance in such systems is scarce. This study concern a field trial with a pair of clinal plots varying spacing and species composition that offered insights into competition between four species proposed for mixed-species plantings by smallholders for landscape rehabilitation in the Philippines. Results: Use of a size-distance competition index allowed an assessment of the competitive and collaborative influences between four tree species. Within the expected general trend for growth to decline with increasing competition, there were indications that Shorea palosapis is a benign competitor that may stimulate the growth of neighbouring individuals. Paraserianthes falcataria is a strong competitor that is also strongly impacted by competition, especially through antagonistic intraspecific competition. Paraserianthes falcataria appears well suited as a solitary tree in a field or village, whereas Shorea palosapis seems ideal for plantations, in both monoculture and mixed plantings. Conclusion: Pterocarpus indicus exbibits strong intraspecific, but low inter-specific competition, so appears well-suited for polyculture plantings. Of the four species, Swietenia macrophylla appears to be best-suited as a monoculture species as it exhibits the lowest intraspecific competition.
Experiencing deep immersion in computer games is associated with autotelic engagement and leads to addiction
Authors: Mikicin Mirosław
Published: August 2021

Study aimThe aim of this study is to explore the differences and relationships between immersion and autotelic engagement of problem gamers and esports players. Research on addiction to computer games suggests that autotelic engagement in gamers, on the one hand, allows them to experience deep immersion while playing, but on the other hand, autotelic immersion can cause one to lose control over what is not real and lead to computer game addiction.Material and MethodsExperimental group 1 (N = 29) of gaming addicts aged 19–25 years, experimental group 2 (N = 29) of esports players aged 19–25 years, control group (N = 29) of students aged 19–25 years. The respondents completed 3 questionnaires: The FLOW Engagement Questionnaire, the Immersiveness of Games Questionnaire (ING), and the NEO-FFI personality inventory.ResultsTo a greater extent than esports players, problem gamers experienced while playing: interaction with the virtual environment, a sense of control, a balance between ability level and challenge, clear goals, focus on the current task, autotelic experience, and higher levels of agreeableness, while they experienced awareness of the real world to the least extent. Associations between autotelic experience and interaction with the virtual environment (r = 0.699) and sense of control (r = 0.899) revealed the vulnerability of players with autotelic engagement to gaming addiction.ConclusionAutotelic engagement may be a direct facilitator of experiencing deep immersion leading to computer game addiction.
Hydrogels with Gigantic Thermopower for Low-grade Heat Harvesting
Authors: Sun Kuan , He Yongjie , Zhang Qi , Cheng Hanlin , Liu Yang , Shu Yue , Geng Yang , Zheng Yujie , Qin Bo , Zhou Yongli , Chen Shanshan , Li Jing , Li Meng , Odunmbaku George Omololu , Ouyang Jianyong
Published: August 2021

Harvesting energy from the environment to power the self-sustained systems has long been desired1,2. Ionic thermoelectric (i-TE) material with mobile ions as charge carriers has the advantage to generate large thermal voltages at low operating temperatures3-5. Recent works improved the thermopower substantially by modifying the polymer matrix of the i-TE hydrogels6-9. But the mobile ions have not been systematically studied in the context of i-TE hydrogels. This study highlights the role of ions in i-TE hydrogels employing a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer matrix and a number of ion providers, e.g. KOH, KNO3, KCl, KBr, NaI, KI, and CsI. The relationship between the intrinsic physical parameters of the ion and the thermoelectric performance is established, indicating electronegativity of the cation and the ability to influence the hydrogen bond by the anion are two crucial factors. Among these i-TE hydrogels, PVA/CsI hydrogel exhibits the largest ionic Seebeck coefficient, reaching 52.9 mV K-1, which is the greatest of all i-TE materials reported till date. In addition, PVA/NaI hydrogel exhibits excellent TE properties, with a record ZT value of 5.09 at room temperature. This flexible, inexpensive hydrogel that compatible with large-scale manufacturing shows great promise for low-grade thermal energy harvesting.
Retrospective Sub-Seasonal Forecasts of Extreme Precipitation Events In The Arabian Peninsula Using Convective-Permitting Modeling
Authors: Risanto Christoforus Bayu , Chang Hsin-I , Luong Thang M. , Castro Christopher L. , Dasari Hari P. , Hoteit Ibrahim
Published: August 2021

This paper is to demonstrate the potential of extreme cool-season precipitation forecasts in the Arabian Peninsula (AP) at sub-seasonal time scales, identify the region and periods of forecast opportunity, and investigate the predictability of synoptic-scale forcing at sub-seasonal time scales. To this end, we simulate 18 extreme precipitation events using the convective-permitting weather research and forecasting (CP-WRF) model with lateral boundary forcing from the European Centre of Medium-range Weather Forecasts sub-seasonal to seasonal reforecasts (ECMWF S2S reforecasts). The simulations are initiated at one-, two-, and three-week lead times. At all lead times, the CP-WRF improved the mean accumulated precipitation in the extratropical synoptic regimes over the west coastal and central AP and the central Red Sea. Based on categorical statistics with a threshold of 20-mm accumulated precipitation over 7 days, the CP-WRF accurately forecasted the precipitation over Jeddah, the west coast of AP, and the central Red Sea up to three weeks lead time. The relative operating characteristic curve reconfirmed the high forecasting skill of the CP-WRF, with an area under the curve above 0.5 in most of the events at all lead times. Finally, the correlation coefficients between the ECMWF and ECMWF reanalysis interim 500-hPa geopotential heights were higher in the events associated with the extratropical synoptic regime than in those associated with the tropical synoptic regime, regardless of lead time. Therefore, the convective-permitting model can potentially improve the accuracy of extreme winter precipitation forecasts at two-and three-week lead times over Jeddah, the west coast of AP, and the central Red Sea in the extratropical synoptic regime.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Protect Against Sepsis-associated Acute Kidney Injury by Inducing Gal-9/Tim-3 to Remodel Immune Homeostasis
Authors: luo congjuan , Luo Feng , Che Lin , Zhang Hui , Zhao Long , zhang wei , Man Xiaofei , Bu Quandong , luan hong , Zhou Bin , Zhou Haiyan , Xu Yan
Published: August 2021

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the specific mechanism by which MSCs protect against SA-AKI.Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice underwent cecal ligation and puncture operation to induce sepsis and then received either normal IgG or MSCs (1* 106 cells intravenously) plus Gal-9 or soluble-Tim-3 3h after surgery. Results: After cecal ligation and puncture operation, injection with Gal-9 or MSCs plus Gal-9 had a higher survival rate than the IgG treatment group. Treatment with MSCs plus Gal-9 decreased serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels and improved recovery of tubular function. Reduce the levels of IL-17, RORγt and induce the expression of IL-10 and FOXP3. Additionly, remodel the balance of TH17/Treg. However, when used soluble Tim-3 to block the Gal-9/Tim-3 pathway, the septic mice developed badly kidney injury and exhibited a higher mortality. Treatment with MSCs plus soluble Tim-3 blunted the therapeutic effect of MSCs, and inhibited the induction of Tregs and suppressed the inhibition of the differentiation to Th17 cells.Conclusion: Treatment with MSCs significantly reversed the TH1/TH2 balance. And the important mechanism for MSCs protection against SA-AKI maybe through the Gal-9/Tim-3 pathway.
Antidepressant-like Effect and Mechanisms of Essential Oils From Citrus Reticulata in Reserpine-induced Depression Model Mice
Authors: Tang Minghui , Ai Yong , Zhu Siyang , Song Ni , Xu Xian , Liang Leyi , Rong Baoshan , Zheng Xiaomin , Zhang Lanyue , He Tinggang
Published: August 2021

Citrus reticulata, has been used for various diseases such as cough. According to previous studies, the essential oil of C. reticulata (CREOs) have been shown to be effectively alleviate depression-like behaviors in mice. This study is aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effect of CREOs in the rapid reserpine-induced depression model mice as well as its possible mechanisms. The experiment was conducted in six groups, each with four mice. The essential oil group and the control group were administered by sniffing (1h/d), while the reserpine group and fluoxetine group by intraperitoneal injection. Body weight, forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) were used to assess depressive behavior. The compositions and contents of CREOs were analyzed by GC-MS. The results indicated that reserpine could reduce the weight of mice and prolong the immobility time of FST and TST. Moreover, the level of 5HT-1A, GR and Nissl bodies in the brain tissue were significantly reduced, while the level of BDNF was increased in reserpine-treated mice. The administration of CREOs could effectively inhibit the weight loss and the prolongation of immobility time caused by reserpine. In addition, the treatment of CREOs has also been shown to reverse the changes in Nissl body, 5-HT, GR and BDNF levels. Limonene was the main active component of CREOs and might be related to the reduction of BDNF. By up-regulating the level of BDNF, CREOs could regulate the hyperexcitability of the HPA axis, thereby increasing the level of neurotransmitters and restoring neurons.
Design And Numerical Verification of Four States Polarization-Independent Grating Coupler Using A Double-Layer Approach For A Single-Photon Source Based On HPW
Authors: Khaleel Farooq Abdulghafoor , Tawfeeq Shelan Khasro
Published: August 2021

In this paper, a double-layer approach is proposed to design a compact four states polarization-independent grating coupler (GC). The proposed polarization-independent GC is designed to couple a 700 nm polarized light propagated in a 150 nm Gallium Phosphide (GaP) waveguide to a polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF). The double-layer approach is based on the deposition of GaP gratings designed to couple the transverse magnetic (TM) light over the GaP gratings designed to couple the transverse electric (TE) light. The two layers are separated by a Hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) with an optimum thickness of 20 nm. The proposed method resulted in relatively high coupling efficiencies (CEs) of 39.2%, 31.1%, and 23.3% for the TE, TM, and 45º/-45º linearly polarized light, respectively. The polarization-dependent loss (PDL) is 1 dB, 1.26 dB, and 2.26 dB corresponds to TE-TM, TM-45º/-45º, and TE-45º/-45º, respectively. The performance of the double-layer approach is numerically verified by the two-dimensional (2D) finite element algorithm (FEM) using COMSOL software. The proposed method suggests a novel and simple approach to design a compact four states polarization-independent GC that could be used in integrated (on-chip) photonic communication circuits.
Intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization for the treatment of Poseidon group 3 and unexplained subfertility: A propensity score matching study
Authors: Wu Yixuan , Liu Haiying , Liu Jianqiao
Published: August 2021

Background

Although it is becoming an increasingly significant indication for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), no studies have been done to examine the efficacy of IVF and intrauterine insemination (IUI) for the treatment of young patients with unexplained infertility and low ovarian reserve. The goal of this research was to compare the efficacy of IVF with IUI on Poseidon group 3 patients with unexplained infertility (PG3&UI).
Methods

This was a retrospective analysis of PG3&UI patients who had IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or IUI at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between January 1, 2015, and March 31, 2021. To equalize the baseline characteristics of the IVF and IUI groups, propensity score matching (PSM) was utilized. Intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analyses were used to compare the differences in live births. To discover variations in time to biochemical pregnancy leading to live birth, Kaplan-Meier curves were produced. To evaluate the expenses per live birth between two procedures, a cost-effective analysis was done.
Results

According to ITT analysis, the live birth rate for the IVF group was substantially higher than the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) for the IUI group (22.6% (38/168) vs. 11.3% (19/168), RR 2.00, 95% CI 1.20–3.32, P = 0.006). In the PP analysis, the live birth rate was 23.0% (38/165) in the IVF group and 11.7% (19/162) in the IUI group (RR = 1.96, 95% CI 1.18–3.26, P = 0.007). When censored at 365 days, the Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the IVF group had a higher live birth rate than the IUI group (log-rank test χ²= 6.025; P = 0.014). However, when the two groups were censored at 180 days, the live birth rates were not substantially different (log-rank test χ²= 3.847; P = 0.05). The number of visits per live birth in the IUI group was higher than in the IVF group (85 vs. 48). The overall cost of a live birth was comparable across the two groups (¥132242 vs. ¥131611), while the medical expenses for a live delivery from IVF were higher than those from IUI ((¥118955 vs. ¥108279).
Conclusions

The livebirth rate per IVF cycle with at most one embryo transfer is higher than the CLBR of IUI, with fewer hospital visits and similar expenses.
Wearable Pressure Sensors Based on Carbonized Graphene Coated Waste Paper Aerogel
Authors: Li Ang , Cui Ce , Wang Weijie , Zhang Yue , Zhai Jianyu , Guo Ronghui , Lin Shaojian , Qin Wenfeng , Ren Erhui , Xiao Hongyan , Zhou Mi , Zhang Jinwei
Published: August 2021

Graphene is complexed with cellulose fibers to construct 3D aerogels, which is generally considered to be an environmentally friendly and simple strategy to achieve wide sensing, high sensitivity and low detection of wearable piezoresistive pressure sensors. Here, graphene is incorporated into waste paper fibers with cellulose as the main component to prepare graphene coated waste paper aerogel (GWA) using a simple “filtration-oven drying” method under atmospheric pressure. The GWA was further annealed to obtain the carbonized graphene coated waste paper aerogel (C-GWA) to achieve low density and excellent resilience. The result shows that the C-GWA has a rough outer surface due to the 3D structure formed by interpenetrated fibers and the carbon skeleton with wrinkles. The sensor based on GCA shows low density (25mg/cm3), a wide detection range of 0-132 kPa, an ultra-low detection limit of 2.5 Pa (a green bean, ≈ 53.4 mg), and a high sensitivity of 31.6 kPa− 1. In addition, the sensor based on C-GWA with the excellent performance can be used to detect human motions including the pulse of the human body, cheek blowing and bending of human joints. The result indicates that the sensor based on C-GWA shows great potential for wearable electronic products.
Sustainable management of recycled wastewater – A case study
Authors: rani sudha Pendyala , Naresh Nalla , Gurijala Akhil
Published: August 2021

Waste water reuse is considered as a best solution to climate change adaptation, lack of water service and sanitation in rural areas in particular. The proposed method was the implementation of a real case which describes the benefits of application of treated waste water in Guru Nanak Institution of Technology, Hyderabad for ground water recharge and miscellaneous purposes. The waste water was analyzed for physical and chemical parameters before and after treatment and were compared with WHO, Indian standards and FAO irrigation standards. DO and BOD, Total hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, chlorides and sulphates were found in high concentration as compared to standard values. Hence, infiltration basins filled with filter media were designed and constructed in the campus to recharge ground water. Therefore treated waste water was passed through infiltration beds consisting of Coarse River sand, wood charcoal, 3/4th inch gravel, ¾ inch Granite stones and river boulders. Final analysis was done after filtration. BOD of the filtered water was reduced Ca2+, Mg2+, T.H, Cl and So42− were reduced .The research suggests that the waste water after treatment and filtration could be used for ground water recharge .This study provides an exploratory investigation into advantages of managing recycled waste The paper also provides evidence that an Integrated planning and approach is necessary for the waste water management in a water stressed basin. This work is a challenge for the present and also for the future.
WITHDRAWN: The Impact of Addiction on Academic Performance of Students: the Case of Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia
Authors: Bojago Elias , Wendimu Abenezer
Published: August 2021

Background: The high prevalence of substance use and its association with poor academic performance is a global concern today. Objective: The study was conducted to assess the impact of addiction on the academic performance of students in the case of Wolaita Sodo University. Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out among a total of 421 students selected by using the cluster sampling technique. Data were collected via semistructured questionnaires and interviews and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The results showed that, from the total sample of students, 71.8% of the respondents were involved in addiction while the rest 28.2% were free from any addiction and 73.1% males were more likely to be addicted than females (26.9%). The chi-square result also shows that addiction and academic performance were found to be dependent and addicted students were associated with poor academic achievement than nonaddicted. The regression dummy variable test also showed that the students involved in addiction recorded a lower academic results by 0.587 than addiction free students.Conclusion: Behavioral and physiological addiction to illicit substances and other stimulants is common in Wolaita Sodo University as in other higher education institutions. The common practice of substance use and its association with poor academic performance demand universities to have a good control of the substance and to implement youth friendly activities. The effects of addiction might be better studied through pertinent, vigorous research.
A Modificatory Screening Protocol for ARDS in Patients with Respiratory Support Based on SpO2 and FiO2
Authors: Xia Yan , Xu Qiancheng , Guo Zhiyuan , Zhang Huijuan , Cao Yingya , Qi Yupeng , Chen Qun , Lu Weihua
Published: August 2021

Background: A large number of recent studies have confirmed that the pulse oximetric saturation (SpO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ratio (SFR) correlate well with PaO2/FiO2 ratio (PFR). However, whether SFR can replace PFR for the diagnosis and evaluate the severity of ARDS patients with advanced respiratory support is unclearly. The purpose of this study is to explore potential value of SFR ratio as a new diagnostic tool for ARDS by establishing new processes in patients who require high levels of oxygen support.Methods: 341 patients were included in this study, SFR and PFR values were recorded in the same time. 161 patients were used to establish the model, and 180 patients were used to verify the validity of the model. 161 groups of data were divide into hypoxic group (group H) and non-hypoxic group (group N) according to whether SpO2 was greater than 97%. For group H, the regression equation was established to describe the relationship between SFR and PFR. and calculated the value of SFR when PFR is 300. For group N, the correlation between each observation data andPFR were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the diagnostic value of the index. Finally, a new diagnostic process was established for ARDS based on these results, and the reliability was verified with Berlin definition set as the gold standard for diagnosis and classification. Results: For group H, the diagnostic linear equation is PFR = 0.9162*SFR-21.39 ( R2=0.66 , P<0.0001 ). After calculation, when PFR is 300, SFR is 352. For group N, There is a significant negative correlation between FiO2 and PFR((R= -0.521,P<0.0001)). The AUC of using FiO2 to diagnose ARDS was 0.694 (95%CI 0.571~0.817, P ＜ 0.005). When the cutoff value of FiO2 was 39%, the sensitivity was 0.838 and the specificity was 0.545. Therefore, in this new diagnosis progress, when SpO2≤97%, if SFR≤352, ARDS may exist; when SpO2>97%, if FiO2min>39%, there may be ARDS. The sensitivity, specificity, NPV, PPV, and accuracy of the new diagnosis progress for ARDS were 91.1%, 76.7%, 89.6%, 79.6%, and 83.9%, respectively. Conclusion: There are potential value of SpO2 and FiO2 as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for ARDS by new processes in patients who are already receiving high levels of oxygen support.
Computational Drug Discovery in Patients with Endometriosis-Induced Infertility via Text Mining and Biomedical Databases
Authors: Lin Yingying , Chen Zhiwei , Huang Jianping , Fang Jiaoning , Qi Yuanjie , Xie Li , Chen Li , Li Hua
Published: August 2021

Background: Endometriosis (EMT) is the most common benign gynecological disease among women of reproductive age, causing infertility and seriously affects women's physical and mental health. However, the current treatment was not always effective. This study was designed to use publicly available data to identify drugs targeting the relevant gene with EMT-induced-infertility using computational tools.Methods: EMT and infertility genes were determined by text mining, and the GeneCodis program was used to analyzed gene ontology of the intersection of the two gene sets. A string database was used to analyze the protein-protein interaction network. The Drug-Gene Interaction database is queried for the rich gene set belonging to the identified pathways to find drug candidates that can be used in EMT-induced infertility.Results: Our analysis identified 550 genes common to both the EMT and infertility by text mining. Gene enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction analysis found 39 genes potentially targetable by a total of 49 drugs that could be formulated for application, which have not been used in EMT-induced infertility. Conclusions: The findings from the present analysis can facilitate the Identification of existing drugs that have the potential of topical administration to improve EMT-induced infertility and present tremendous opportunities to study novel targets pharmacology using in silico text mining and pathway analysis tools.
What is the Importance of Psychological Measures to Determine Readiness to Return to Sports After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?
Authors: Newmarch Tate , Betsch Marcel , Michalik Roman , Dwyer Tim , Whelan Daniel , Chahal Jaskarndip , Theodoropoulos John
Published: August 2021

Background: Recent studies have suggested that psychological factors are important components of successful return to sports (RTS) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The purpose of this study was to survey physicians on their criteria used to determine readiness to RTS after ACLR and understand the significance of psychological factors on RTS.Methods: A survey was designed to understand the practices of clinicians managing rehabilitation after ACLR consisting of 25 questions divided in 3 different sections, including one section about psychological scores and factors affecting RTS. The survey was delivered to three North-American orthopaedic sports medicine organizations.Results: The total number of respondents was 113. 95% of respondents considered psychological tests at least “somewhat important” (33% “important”, 23% selected “very important”). Routine use of psychological tests in practice was only reported by 35% of respondents. The ACL-Return to Sport after Injury Scale was the most frequently used psychological test (23%). Fear of reinjury was considered the most common patient-cited psychological factor affecting RTS. Psychological factors ranked 8th out of 9 outcomes measures in determining readiness to RTS.Conclusion: This study demonstrates a discrepancy between the importance of psychological tests and the frequency of use in practice. Additional education on this topic, web-based applications and a multidisciplinary approach may increase the usage of psychological tests to determine RTS after ACLR.
Safety of Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine Versus Artemether-lumefantrine for the Treatment of Uncomplicated Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria Among Children in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Control Trials
Authors: Assefa Dawit Getachew , Yesmaw Gizachew , Makonnen Eyasu
Published: August 2021

Background: The efficacies of artemisinin based combinations have been excellent in Africa, but little or no attention has been given to their safety. The aim of this review was to synthesize available evidence on the safety of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQ) compared to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) for the treatment of uncomplicated P.falciparum malaria among children in Africa.Method: A systematic literature search was done to identify relevant articles from online databases PubMed/ MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Center for Clinical Trial database (CENTRAL) for retrieving randomized control trials comparing safety of DHA-PQ and AL for treatment of uncomplicated P.falciparum malaria among children in Africa. The search was performed from August 2020 to 30 April 2021. Using Rev-Man software (V5.4.1), the extracted data from eligible studies were pooled as risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI).Result: In this review, 18 studies were included, which involved 10,498 participants were included. Compared to AL, DHA-PQ was associated with a slightly higher frequency of early vomiting (RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.46 to 3.50; participants = 7796; studies = 10; I2 = 0%, high quality of evidence), cough (RR 1.06, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.11; participants = 8013; studies = 13; I2 = 0%, high quality of evidence), and diarrhea (RR 1.16, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.31; participants = 6841; studies = 11; I2 = 8%, high quality of evidence) were more frequent in DHA-PQ treatment arm.Conclusion: From this review, it can be concluded that early vomiting, diarrhea, and cough were significantly more frequent in patients who were treated with the DHA-PQ than that of AL, and both drugs are well tolerated. More studies comparing AL with DHA-PQ are needed to determine the comparative safety of these drugs.
Evaluation Method and Collaborative Study of Sustainable Additive-Manufacturing
Authors: Wu Haishang
Published: August 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Single-incision Non-weight-bearing Area Autologous Osteochondral Transplantation for the Treatment of Osteochondral Lesions of the Talus
Authors: Zhang Yan , Liang Jing-qi , Wen Xiao-dong , Liu Pei-long , Lu Jun , Zhao Hong-mou
Published: August 2021

Background: Autologous osteochondral transplantation (AOT) is one of the most effective treatments for osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs). Normally, medial malleolar osteotomy is used to expose posteromedial lesions. However, medial malleolar osteotomy causes additional ankle injuries and a risk of persistent pain in the ankle joint. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a new medial malleolar triplane osteotomy method and the functional outcomes of AOT from a non-weight-bearing area of the talus for OLTs.Methods: Twenty-three patients (23 ankles), including 14 males and 9 females, received AOT with triplane osteotomy of the medial malleolus for symptomatic OLTs between September 2015 and December 2017. The mean age was 35.6 years. The mean size of the lesion area was 141.5 mm2. The visual analog scale (VAS) for pain during walking and the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score were used for the pre- and postoperative evaluations. In addition, the incorporation of the grafts was assessed by computed tomography (CT).Results: All patients had a minimum follow-up of 22 months, with an average of 37.1 months. The mean time from osteotomy to full weight-bearing activity was 8.1±2.3 weeks (range, 5-12 weeks). The VAS score improved from 4.34 preoperatively to 0.53 postoperatively (P <0.01). The AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score improved significantly in all domains (P<0 .01). Twenty-one patients returned to sport at their previous level, and 2 returned at a lower level compared with preinjury (mean return to play, 7.4 months). According to CT, the medial malleolus recovered in all patients, and the graft was incorporated well. One patient suffered from flexor hallucis longus tendon discomfort due to internal fixation screw irritation posteromedial to the ankle. The general complication rate was 4.3% (1/23).Conclusions: AOT combined with medial malleolus triplane osteotomy is a viable option for OLTs. Patients could perform weight-bearing exercise and return to sport as early as possible, with few complications at the osteotomy site and donor site.
Rebound Iritis With a Well-circumscribed Anterior Chamber Fibrin Mass After Uncomplicated Cataract Surgery
Authors: Raval Nilesh , Yao Wen-Jeng , Kim Gene , Kang Joann J.
Published: August 2021

Purpose: To describe a case of bilateral rebound iritis complicated by a subacute, transient, well-circumscribed anterior chamber mass.Methods and Observations: Observational case report of a 59-year-old female with recent ocular history of bilateral cataract surgery and poor post-operative medication compliance who was found to have bilateral rebound iritis and a globular, pedunculated anterior chamber mass attached to the posterior chamber intraocular lens in the right eye. Slit lamp photographs were taken, and after three days of topical steroid administration, the mass resolved with only a mild, residual iritis.Conclusions and Importance: Post-operative fibrinous exudates are occasionally encountered immediately after intraocular surgery, however, there have been no reports in the literature to the best of our knowledge of a subacute anterior chamber mass in such a well-circumscribed configuration as we report. This case study raises awareness of a peculiar structural form in which a subacute, post-operative fibrin clot may present.
Impact of Potential Modifications to Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials in Response to Disruption by COVID-19
Authors: Schneider Lon S , Qiu Yuqi , Thomas Ronald G , Evans Carol , Jacobs Diane M. , Jin Shelia , Kaye Jeffrey A. , LaCroix Andrea Z. , Messer Karen , Salmon David P , Sano Mary , Schafer Kimberly A. , Feldman Howard H.
Published: August 2021

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Alzheimer disease randomized clinical trials (RCTs)forcing investigators to make changes in the conduct of such trials while endeavoring to maintain their validity. Changing ongoing RCTs carries risks for biases and threats to validity. To understand the impact of exigent modifications due to COVID-19 we examined several scenarios in symptomatic and disease modification trials that could be made.MethodsWe identified both symptomatic and disease modification Alzheimer disease RCTs as exemplars of those that would be affected by the pandemic and considered the types of changes that sponsors could make to each. We modeled three scenarios for each of the types of trialsusing existing datasets, adjusting enrollment, follow-ups, and dropouts to examine the potential effects COVID-19-related changes.Simulations were performed that accounted for completion and dropout patterns using linear mixed effects models, modeling time as continuous and categorical. The statistical power of the scenarios was determined.ResultsTruncating both symptomatic and disease modification trials, led to underpowered trials.By contrast, adapting the trials byextending the treatment period, temporarily stopping treatment, delaying outcomes assessments, and performing remote assessment allowed for increased statistical power nearly to the level originally planned.DiscussionThese analyses support the idea that disrupted trials under common scenarios are better continued and extended even in the face of dropouts, treatment disruptions, missing outcomes, and other exigencies, and that adaptations can be made that maintain the trials validity. We suggest some adaptive methods to do this noting that some changes become under-powered to detect theoriginal effect sizes and expected outcomes. These analyses provide insight to better plan trials that are resilient to unexpected changes to the medical, social, and political milieu.
More than a Spacer: The Bacterial Promoter Spacer Modulates Promoter Strength and Timing by Length, Sequence, TG-Motifs and DNA Supercoiling Sensitivity
Authors: Klein Carlo A. , Teufel Marc , Weile Carl J. , Sobetzko Patrick
Published: August 2021

Transcription, the first step to gene expression, is a central coordination process in all living matter. Besides a plethora of regulatory mechanisms, the promoter architecture sets the foundation of expression strength, timing and the potential for further regulatory modulation. In this study, we investigate the effects of promoter spacer length and sequence composition on strength and supercoiling sensitivity in bacteria. Combining transcriptomics data analysis and standardized synthetic promoter libraries, we exclude effects of specific promoter sequence contexts. Analysis of promoter activity shows a strong variance with spacer length and spacer sequence composition. A detailed study of the spacer sequence composition under selective conditions reveals a, RNAP binding enhancing but expression damping, extension to the –10 region. Using physiological changes in DNA supercoiling levels, we link promoter supercoiling sensitivity to overall spacer GC-content. Time-resolved promoter activity screens, only possible with a novel mild treatment approach, reveal strong promoter timing potentials solely based on DNA supercoiling sensitivity in the absence of regulatory sites or alternative sigma factors.