bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Vitamin D Intervention and outdoor activity on serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D among children in North China: an observational study
Authors: Zhang Xuguang , Chen Yanping , Jin Shanshan , Bi Xinxin , Chen Dongkai , Zhang Dongmei , Liu Li , Jing Hong , Na Lixin
Published: November 2020

Background: Living at high latitudes is one of the risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in children. However, evidence on vitamin D improvement for this pediatric population to date is limited. This study aims at evaluating the association of different vitamin D intervention methods and outdoor activity on the vitamin D status of children in North China. Methods: In this observational study, a total of 55,925 children aged 1 month to 18 years old were recruited from pediatric outpatient departments from July 2016 to June 2017. Data on demographics, anthropometric measurements, vitamin D intervention (either prescribed by physicians or given by parents) and outdoor activity were recorded. The serum levels of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D) were determined by high performance liquid chromatography tandem–mass spectrometry. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of vitamin D intervention or outdoor activity with blood vitamin D status, adjusted for age, gender, BMI for age, and seasons.Results: The overall rate of hypovitaminosis D was 65.60%. Of the children’s outdoor activity, 35.63%, 31.95%, and 32.42% were below 30min/d, 30-60 min/d and over 60min/d, respectively. Furthermore, the proportion of therapeutic intervention, supplementation intervention and no vitamin D intervention among the children was 16.48%, 32.87%, and 50.65%, respectively. After adjusted for confounding factors, vitamin D intervention was associated with a lower risk of hypovitaminosis D, with OR (95% CI) of 0.191 (0.180, 0.202) in children with therapeutic doses and 0.423 (0.404, 0.443) in those with supplementation doses, compared with children without vitamin D intervention. In addition, longer outdoor time was associated with a lower risk of hypovitaminosis D [0.479 (0.456, 0.504) for 60 min/d, 0.737 (0.701, 0.776) for 30–60 min/d], independent of vitamin D intervention. Conclusions: High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was found in children living at high latitudes. Vitamin D intervention and outdoor activity are all negatively associated with children’s vitamin D deficiency. Routine vitamin D intervention combined with increased outdoor time might be an effective approach to prevent hypovitaminosis D among children, especially those at school, living at high latitudes.
Polymorphisms in the airway epithelium related genes CDHR3 and EMSY are associated with asthma susceptibility
Authors: Zhang Miao-miao , Chen Guo , Wang Yu , Wu Shou quan , Sandford Andrew J , He Jian-Qing
Published: November 2020

Background: As a main line of defense of the respiratory tract, the airway epithelium plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. CDHR3 and EMSY were reported to be expressed in the human airway epithelium. Although previous genome-wide association studies found that the two genes were associated with asthma susceptibility, similar observations have not been made in the Chinese Han population. Methods: A total of 300 asthma patients and 418 healthy controls unrelated Chinese Han individuals were enrolled. Tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms (Tag-SNPs) were genotyped and the associations between SNPs and asthma risk were analyzed by binary logistic regression analysis. Results: After adjusting for confounding factors, the A allele of rs3847076 in CDHR3 was associated with increased susceptibility to asthma (OR = 1.407, 95% CI: 1.030-1.923). For the EMSY gene, the T alleles of both rs2508746 and rs12278256 were related with decreased susceptibility to asthma (additive model: OR = 0.718, 95% CI: 0.536-0.961; OR = 0.558, 95% CI: 0.332-0.937, respectively). In addition, the GG genotype of rs1892953 showed an association with increased asthma risk under the recessive model (OR = 1.667, 95% CI: 1.104-2.518) and the GATCTGAGT haplotype in EMSY was associated with reduced asthma risk ( P = 0.037). Conclusions: This study identified novel associations of rs3847076 in CDHR3 , as well as rs1892953, rs2508746 and rs12278256 in EMSY with adult asthma susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. Our observations suggest that CDHR3 and EMSY may play important roles in the pathogenesis of asthma in Chinese individuals. Further study with larger sample size is needed.
A method for estimating neighborhood characterization in the association with availability of sit-down restaurants and supermarkets
Authors: Peng Ke , Rodriguez Daniel A. , Hirsch Jana A. , Gordon-Larsen Penny
Published: November 2020

ABSTRACT

Background : Although neighborhood-level access to food differs by sociodemographic factors, almost all research on neighborhoods and food access has used a single construct of neighborhood context, such as income or race. Neighborhoods possess many interrelated built environment and sociodemographic characteristics, a condition that obscures relationships between neighborhood factors and food access.

Methods : The objective of this study is to examine the association between neighborhood characterization and neighborhood food availability while accounting for the effects of many interrelated aspects of neighborhoods associated with food access. We used cluster analyses method that used multiple measures (e.g., population density, mix of land use, and sociodemographic factors) that are easy to obtain to define six neighborhood types in 1993 in the Twin Cities Region, Minnesota. We then used mixed effects regression models to estimate the differences in the relative availability of sit-down restaurants and supermarkets in 1993, 2001, and 2011 across the six neighborhood types.

Results : We observed a higher relative availability of sit-down restaurants in inner city neighborhoods than in urban, aging suburbs, high-income suburbs, or suburban edge neighborhoods for 2011; we did not observe these same patterns for 1993 or 2001. Using classification of neighborhood type based on sociodemographic and built environment characteristics, we found a complex and increasingly varied distribution of restaurants and food stores.

Conclusions : The temporal increase in the relative availability of sit-down restaurants in inner cities after accounting for all restaurants might be associated with a higher proportion of residents who eat-away-from-home, which is associated with higher calorie and fat intake.

Keywords: built environment, sociodemographic, food stores, urbanization
Climatic and topographic changes since the Miocene influenced the diversification and biogeography of the tent tortoise (Psammobates tentorius) species complex in Southern Africa
Authors: Zhao Zhongning , Heideman Neil , Bester Phillip , Jordaan Adriaan , Hofmeyr Margaretha D.
Published: November 2020

Background: Climatic and topographic changes function as key drivers in shaping genetic structure and cladogenic radiation in many organisms. Southern Africa has an exceptionally diverse tortoise fauna, harbouring one-third of the world’s tortoise genera. The distribution of Psammobates tentorius (Kuhl, 1820) covers two of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world, the Succulent Karoo and Cape Floristic Region. The highly diverged P. tentorius represents an excellent model species for exploring biogeographic and radiation patterns of reptiles in Southern Africa.Results: We investigated genetic structure and radiation patterns against temporal and spatial dimensions since the Miocene in the Psammobates tentorius species complex, using multiple types of DNA markers and niche modelling analyses. Cladogenesis in P. tentorius started in the late Miocene (11.63–5.33 Ma) when populations dispersed from north to south to form two geographically isolated groups. The northern group diverged into a clade north of the Orange River (OR), followed by the splitting of the group south of the OR into a western and an interior clade. The latter divergence corresponded to the intensification of the cold Benguela current, which caused western aridification and rainfall seasonality. In the south, tectonic uplift and subsequent exhumation, together with climatic fluctuations seemed responsible for radiations among the four southern clades since the late Miocene. We found that each clade occurred in a habitat shaped by different climatic parameters, and that the niches differed substantially among the clades of the northern group but were similar among clades of the southern group. Conclusion: Climatic shifts, and biome and geographic changes were possibly the three major driving forces shaping cladogenesis and genetic structure in Southern African tortoise species. Our results revealed that the cladogenesis of the P. tentorius species complex was probably shaped by environmental cooling, biome shifts and topographic uplift in Southern Africa since the late Miocene. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) may have impacted the distribution of P. tentorius substantially. We found the taxonomic diversify of the P. tentorius species complex to be highest in the Greater Cape Floristic Region. All seven clades discovered warrant conservation attention, particularly Ptt-B–Ptr, Ptt-A and Pv-A.
Genetic relatedness of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from humans, chickens and poultry environments
Authors: AWORH MABEL KAMWELI , Kwaga Jacob K. P. , Hendriksen Rene S. , Okolocha Emmanuel C. , Thakur Siddhartha
Published: November 2020

Background: Inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents in animal production has led to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in foodborne pathogens. Transmission of AMR foodborne pathogens from reservoirs, particularly chickens to the human population do occur. Recently, we reported that occupational exposure was a risk factor for multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli (E. coli) among poultry-workers. Here we determined the prevalence and genetic relatedness among MDR E. coli isolated from poultry-workers, chickens, and poultry environments in Abuja, Nigeria. This study was conducted to address the gaps identified by the Nigerian AMR situation analysis.Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among poultry-workers, chickens, and poultry farm/live bird market (LBM) environments. The isolates were tested phenotypically for their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, genotypically characterized using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and in silico multilocus sequence types (MLST). We conducted a phylogenetic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) analysis to determine relatedness and clonality among the isolates.Results: A total of 115 (26.8%) out of 429 samples were positive for E. coli. Of these, 110 isolates were viable for phenotypic and genotypic characterization. The selection comprised 47 (42.7%) isolates from poultry-workers, 36 (32.7%) from chickens, and 27 (24.5%) from poultry-farm or LBM environments. Overall, 101 (91.8%) isolates were determined MDR conferring resistance to at least three drug classes. High frequency of resistance were observed for tetracycline (n = 102; 92.7%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (n = 93; 84.5%), streptomycin (n = 87; 79.1%) and ampicillin (n = 88; 80%). Two plasmid-mediated colistin genes – mcr-1.1 harboured on IncX4 plasmids were detected in environmental isolates. The most prevalent sequence types (ST) were ST-155 (n = 8), ST-48 (n = 8) and ST-10 (n = 6). Two isolates of human and environmental sources with a SNPs difference of 6161 originating from the same farm shared a novel ST. The isolates had similar AMR genes and plasmid replicons.Conclusion: MDR E.coli isolates were prevalent amongst poultry-workers, poultry, and the poultry farm/LBM environment. The emergence of MDR E. coli with novel ST in two isolates may be plasmid-mediated. Competent authorities should enforce AMR regulations to ensure prudent use of antimicrobials to limit the risk of transmission along the food chain.
Clinical features and genotypes of Laing distal myopathy in a group of Chinese patients, with in-frame deletions of MYH7 as common mutations
Authors: Yu Meng , Zhu Ying , Lu Yuanyuan , Lv He , Zhang Wei , Yuan Yun , Wang Zhaoxia
Published: November 2020

Background: Laing distal myopathy is a rare autosomal dominant inherited distal myopathy caused by mutations of the MYH7 gene affecting mainly the rod region. We described the clinical features, muscle MRI and pathological changes as well as genetic mutations in a group of Chinese patients with Laing distal myopathy. Results: Six patients with the confirmed diagnoses of Laing distal myopathy were recruited. Ankle dorsiflexion and finger extension weakness, as well as neck flexion weakness were common in our patients. Myopathic as well as neurogenic lesions were suggested by electromyography in different patients. Respiratory abnormality of sleep apnea was detected in two of our patients stressing the necessity of close respiratory monitoring in this disease. Muscle MRIs showed similar features of concentric fatty infiltration of anterior thigh muscles together with early involvement of tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus. However, muscle pathological presentations were varied depending on the biopsied muscles and the severity of the disease. In-frame deletions of the MYH7 gene made up 3/4 of mutations in our patients, suggesting that these are common mutations of Laing distal myopathy. Conclusions: Our study further expanded the phenotypes and genotypes of Laing distal myopathy. In-frame deletions of the MYH7 gene are common causes of Laing distal myopathy.
Group or individual Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE)? A qualitative analysis of acceptability
Authors: Reicherzer Leah , Kramer-Gmeiner Franziska , Labudek Sarah , Jansen Carl-Philipp , Nerz Corinna , Nystrand Malin J. , Becker Clemens , Clemson Lindy , Schwenk Michael
Published: November 2020

Background: The Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE) program is an effective but resource-intensive fall prevention program delivered one-to-one in participants’ homes. A recently developed group-based LiFE (gLiFE) could enhance large-scale implementability and decrease resource intensity. The aim of this qualitative focus group study is to compare participants’ experiences regarding acceptability of gLiFE vs LiFE.Methods: Programs were delivered in seven group sessions (gLiFE) or seven individual home visits (LiFE) within a multi-center, randomized non-inferiority trial. Four structured focus group discussions (90 – 100 minutes duration; one per format and study site) on content, structure, and subjective effects of gLiFE and LiFE were conducted. Qualitative content analysis using the method of inductive category formation by Mayring was applied for data analysis. Coding was managed using NVivo.Results: In both formats, participants (N=30, 22 women, ngLiFE=15, nLiFE=15, mean age 78.5±6.6 years) were positive about content, structure, and support received by trainers. Participants reflected on advantages of both formats: the social aspects of learning the program in a peer group (gLiFE), and benefits of learning the program at home (LiFE). In gLiFE, some difficulties with the implementation of activities were reported. In both formats, the majority of participants reported positive outcomes and successful implementation of new movement habits.Conclusion: This is the first study to examine participants’ views on and experiences with gLiFE and LiFE, revealing strengths and limitations of both formats that can be used for program refinement. Both formats were highly acceptable to participants, suggesting that gLiFE may have similar potential to be adopted by adults aged 70 years and older compared to LiFE.
Exploring wealth-related inequalities in maternal and child health coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean
Authors: Colomé-Hidalgo Manuel , Campos Juan Donado , De Miguel Ángel Gil
Published: November 2020

Background. Maternal and child health have shown important advances in the world in recent years. However, national averages indicators hide large inequalities in access and quality of care in population subgroups. We explore wealth-related inequalities affecting health coverage and interventions in reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in Latin America and the Caribbean.Methods. We analyzed representative national surveys from 15 countries conducted between 2001 and 2016. We estimated maternal-child health coverage gaps using the Composite Coverage Index – a weighted average of interventions that include family planning, maternal and newborn care, immunizations, and treatment of sick children. We measured absolute and relative inequality to assess gaps by wealth quintile. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to test the association between the coverage gap and population attributable risk.Results. The Composite Coverage Index showed patterns of inequality favoring the wealthiest subgroups. In eight countries the national coverage was higher than the global median (78.4%; 95% CI: 73.1-83.6) and increased significantly as inequality decreased (Pearson r = 0.9; p <0.01).Conclusions. There are substantial inequalities between socioeconomic groups. Reducing inequalities will improve coverage indicators for women and children. Additional health policies, programs, and practices are required to promote equity.
DNA methylation abnormalities of imprinted genes in congenital heart disease: A pilot study
Authors: Chang Shaoyan , Wang Yubo , Xin Yu , Wang Shuangxing , Luo Yi , Wang Li , Zhang Hui , Li Jia
Published: November 2020

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is resulted from the interaction of genetic aberration and environmental factors. Imprinted genes, which are regulated by epigenetic modifications, are essential for the normal embryonic development. However, the role of imprinted genes in the etiology of CHD remains unclear. Results: We investigated the alterations of imprinted gene germline differential methylation regions (gDMRs) methylation in patients with CHD. Eighteen imprinted genes that are known to affect early embryonic development were selected and the methylation modification genes were detected by massarray in 27 CHD children and 28 healthy children. Altered gDMR methylation level of 8 imprinted genes was found, including 2 imprinted genes with hypermethylation of GRB10 and MEST and 6 genes with hypomethylation of PEG10, NAP1L5, INPP5F, PLAGL1, NESP and MEG3. Stratified analysis showed that the methylation degree of imprinted genes was different in different types of CHD. Risk analysis showed that 6 imprinted genes, except MEST and NAP1L5, within a specific methylation level range were the risk factors for CHDConclusion: Altered methylation of imprinted genes is associated with CHD and varies in different types of CHD. Further experiments are warranted to identify the methylation characteristics of imprinted genes in different types of CHD and clarify the etiologies of imprinted genes in CHD.
A Digital Twin Framework For Analysing Students’ Behaviours Using Educational Process Mining
Authors: Azeta Ambrose , Agono Frank , Falade Adesola , Azeta ea , Nwaocha Vivian
Published: November 2020

Learning management systems (LMS) logs all actions taken on the system. These logs provide additional data about the activities and behaviour of users. Educational process mining techniques can use these data to unveil useful information to help instructors, educators and administrators accurately monitor, analyze and improve the online learning patterns of students. This research work presents a framework that uses process mining approach to analyse event log data generated within educational information systems, such as LMSs. In this framework, digital twin concept is employed to present a virtual representation of the students’ activities on the LMS. This framework also used inductive and fuzzy miner algorithms to produce a process model which was represented using virtual model of student’s learning patterns. This model was then evaluated for conformance with the activities observed in the log. The analysis conducted during this study showed the disparity between the behaviours of students that passed a particular course and students that failed the course. Findings also showed that the using the inductive and the fuzzy miner algorithms produced better fitness levels for the process model when compared with other previously used algorithms such as the heuristic miner and alpha miner algorithms. This paper concluded by recommending that the development of educational process mining specific tools can help domain experts better understand students’ learning patterns.
Prediction of enhancer-promoter interactions using the cross-cell information and domain adversarial neural network
Authors: Jing Fang , Zhang Shao-Wu , Zhang Shihua
Published: November 2020

Background: Enhancer-promoter interactions (EPIs) play key roles in transcriptional regulation and disease progression. Although several computational methods have been developed to predict such interactions, their performances are not satisfactory when training and testing data from different cell lines. Currently, it is still unclear what extent EPI prediction across cell lines can be made based on sequence-level information. Results: In this work, we present a novel Sequence-based method (called SEPT) to predict the Enhancer-Promoter interactions in the new cell line by using the cross-cell information and Transfer learning. SEPT first learns the features of enhancer and promoter from DNA sequences with convolutional neural network (CNN), then designing the gradient reversal layer of transfer learning to reduce the cell line specific features meanwhile retaining the features associated with EPIs. When the locations of enhancers and promoters are provided in new cell line, SEPT can successfully recognize EPIs in this new cell line based on labeled data of other cell lines. The experiment results show that SEPT can effectively learn the latent import EPIs-related features between cell lines and achieves the best prediction performance in terms of AUC. Conclusion: SEPT is an effective method for predicting EPIs in the new cell line. Domain adversarial architecture of transfer learning used in SEPT can learn the latent EPI features shared among cell lines from all other existing labeled data. It can be expected that SEPT will be of interest to researchers concerned with biological interaction prediction.
CircSOD2 induced epigenetic alteration drives hepatocellular carcinoma progression through activating JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway
Authors: Zhao Zhongwei , Song Jingjing , Tang Bufu , Fang Shiji , Zhang Dengke , Zheng Liyun , Wu Fazong , Gao Yang , Chen Chunmiao , Hu Xianghua , Weng Qiaoyou , Yang Yang , Tu Jianfei , Ji Jiansong
Published: November 2020

Background：Emerging evidence suggests that circular RNAs play critical roles in disease development especially in cancers. Previous genome-wide RNA-seq studies found that a circular RNA derived from SOD2 gene was highly upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, the role of circSOD2 in HCC remains largely unknown. Methods: The expression profiling of circSOD2 and microRNA in HCC patients were assessed by Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). SiRNA or CRISPR-CAS9 were used to silence gene expression. The biological function of circSOD2 in HCC was investigated using in vitro and in vivo studies including, trans-well cell migration, cell apoptosis, cell cycle, CCK8, siRNA interference, western blots, and xenograft mouse model. The underlying molecular mechanism was determined by Chromatin Immunoprecipitation quantitative real time PCR (ChIP-qPCR), bioinformatic analysis, biotin-pull down, RNA immunoprecipitation, 5-mc DNA pulldown and luciferase assays. Results: In accordance with previous sequencing results, here, we demonstrated that circSOD2 was highly expressed in HCC tumor tissues compared with normal liver tissues. Mechanically, we showed that histone writer EP300 and WDR5 bind to circSOD2 promoter and trigger its promoter H3K27ac and H3K4me3 modification, respectively, which further activates circSOD2 expression. SiRNA mediated circSOD2 suppression impaired liver cancer cell growth, cell migration, prohibited cell cycle progression and in vivo tumor growth. By acting as a sponge, circSOD2 inhibits miR-502-5p expression and rescues miR-502-5p target gene DNMT3a expression. As a DNA methyltransferase, upregulated DNMA3a suppresses SOCS3 expression by increasing SOCS3 promoter DNA methylation. This event further accelerates SOCS3 downstream JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway activation. In addition, we also found that activated STAT3 regulates circSOD2 expression in a feedback way. Conclusion: The novel signaling axis circSOD2/miR-502-5p/DNMT3a/JAK2/STAT3/circSOD2 provides a better understanding of HCC tumorigenesis. The molecular mechanism underlying this signaling axis offers new prevention and treatment of HCC.
4-week eicosapentaenoic acid-rich fish oil supplementation partially protects muscular damage following eccentric contractions
Authors: Tsuchiya Yosuke , Ueda Hisashi , Yanagimoto Kenichi , Kato Ayaka , Ochi Eisuke
Published: November 2020

Background: We previously showed 8-weeks of fish oil supplementation attenuated muscle damage. However, the effect of a shorter period of fish oil supplementation is unclear. The present study investigated the effect of fish oil, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), for 4 weeks on muscular damage caused by eccentric contractions (ECCs) of the elbow flexors.Methods: Twenty-two untrained men were recruited in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel design study and the subjects were randomly assigned to the EPA and DHA group (EPA and DHA, n = 11) and placebo group (PL, n = 11). They consumed either EPA 600 mg and DHA 260 mg per day or placebo supplement for 4 weeks prior to exercise. Subjects performed 60 ECCs at 100% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) using a dumbbell. Changes in MVC torque, range of motion (ROM), upper arm circumference, muscle soreness, echo intensity, muscle thickness, serum creatine kinase (CK), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were assessed before exercise; immediately after exercise; and 1, 2, 3, and 5 days after exercise.Results: ROM was significantly higher in the EPA and DHA group than in the PL group immediately after performing ECCs (p < 0.05). No differences between groups were observed in terms of MVC torque, upper arm circumference, muscle soreness, echo intensity, and thickness. A significant difference was observed in serum CK 3 days after ECCs (p < 0.05).Conclusion: We concluded that shorter period EPA and DHA supplementation benefits joint flexibility and protection of muscle fiber following ECCs.
Knowledge, Attitude, And Perception of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Specialty Amongst Healthcare Professionals, and the General Public from a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Country
Authors: Kamal Mohammad , Abdulwahab Mohammad , Al-Zaid Ahmed
Published: November 2020

Background: Oral and maxillofacial surgery specialty has grown rapidly in Kuwait in recent years. However, the general public and healthcare professionals remain unaware of its expanding scope of practice. The aim of the study is to assess public and professional (dental and medical) perception of the oral and maxillofacial surgical specialty in Kuwait.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study evaluating responses of dental professionals, medical professionals, and general public in Kuwait toward the oral and maxillofacial surgical specialty using a previously validated survey instrument with 100 participants in each group. Participants were asked to choose the most appropriate specialist to treat certain procedures across 4 disciplines: reconstruction, trauma, pathology, and cosmetic. Statistical comparison was conducted between dentists and medical doctors using Fisher’s exact test with a p-value of < 0.05. Results: Disparities were noted each group’s responses. Oral and maxillofacial surgery was preferred overall for most clinical scenarios in trauma (p < 0.001), pathology (p < 0.001), and reconstructive surgery (p < 0.001). Plastic surgery was preferred for cosmetic surgeries (p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study indicates the need to increase awareness and conduct health campaigns regarding oral and maxillofacial surgery among healthcare professionals, especially medical doctors, and the general public.
A Microfluidic Platform for in situ Investigation of Biofilm Formation and its Treatment under Controlled Conditions
Authors: Straub Hervé , Eberl Leo , Zinn Manfred , Rossi René M , Maniura-Weber Katharina , Ren Qun
Published: November 2020

Background Studying bacterial adhesion and early biofilm development is crucial for understanding the physiology of sessile bacteria and forms the basis for the development of novel antimicrobial biomaterials. Microfluidics technologies can be applied in such studies since they permit dynamic real-time analysis and a more precise control of relevant parameters compared to traditional static and flow chamber assays. In this work, we aimed to establish a microfluidic platform that permits real-time observation of bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation under precisely controlled homogeneous laminar flow conditions. Results Using Escherichia coli as the model bacterial strain, a microfluidic platform was developed to overcome several limitations of conventional microfluidics such as the lack of spatial control over bacterial colonization and allow label-free observation of bacterial proliferation at single-cell resolution. This platform was applied to demonstrate the influence of culture media on bacterial colonization and the consequent eradication of sessile bacteria by antibiotic. As expected, the nutrient-poor medium (modified M9 medium containing 1 g/l of organic nitrogen) was found to promote bacterial adhesion and to enable a higher adhesion rate compared to the nutrient-rich medium (tryptic soy broth containing 20 g/l of organic nitrogen). However, in rich medium the adhered cells colonized the glass surface faster than those in poor medium under otherwise identical conditions. For the first time, this effect was demonstrated to be caused by a higher retention of newly generated bacteria in the rich medium, rather than faster growth especially during the initial adhesion phase. These results also indicate that higher adhesion rate does not necessarily lead to faster biofilm formation. Antibiotic treatment of sessile bacteria with colistin was further monitored by fluorescence microscopy at single-cell resolution, allowing in situ analysis of killing efficacy of antimicrobials.Conclusion The platform established here represents a powerful and versatile tool for studying environmental effects such as medium composition on bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. Our microfluidic setup shows great potential for the in vitro assessment of new antimicrobials and antifouling agents under flow conditions.
Autistic traits are associated with the functional connectivity of between—but not within—attention systems in the general population
Authors: Yoshimura Sayaka , Kobayashi Kei , Ueno Tsukasa , Miyagi Takashi , Oishi Naoya , Murai Toshiya , Fujiwara Hironobu
Published: November 2020

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit dysfunction in the three attention systems (i.e., alerting, orienting, and executive control) as well as atypical relationships among these systems. Additionally, other studies have reported that individuals with subclinical but high levels of autistic traits show similar attentional tendencies to those observed in ASD. Based on these findings, it was hypothesized that autistic traits would affect the functions and relationships of the three attention systems in a general population. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in 119 healthy adults to investigate relationships between autistic traits and within- and between-system functional connectivity (FC) among the three attention systems. Twenty-six regions of interest that were defined as components of the three attention systems by a previous task-based fMRI study were examined in terms of within- and between-system FC. We assessed autistic traits using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient.Results: Correlational analyses revealed that autistic traits were significantly correlated with between-system FC, but not with within-system FC.Conclusions: Our results imply that a high autistic trait level, even when subclinical, is associated with the way the three attention systems interact.
Association of serum Cyr61 levels with peripheral arterial disease in subjects with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Bin Feng , Xu Guidong , Sun Kangyun , Duan Kaipeng , Shi Bimin , Zhang Nannan
Published: November 2020

Background: The prevalence of peripheral artery disease (PAD) is obviously increased in patients with diabetes. Existing evidence shows that cysteine-rich angiogenic inducer 61 (Cyr61), a 40-kD secreted protein, plays important roles in regulating cellular physiological processes. Recent studies have demonstrated a significant correlation between serum Cyr61 and atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between Cyr61 levels and PAD in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) remains obscure.Methods:. Data from a total of 306 subjects with T2DM were cross-sectionally analysed. The extent of PAD was determined by using the Fontaine classification, which defines four stages. We measured serum Cyr61 concentrations by ELISA in subjects with and without PAD at Fontaine’s stage II, III, or IV. Logistic regression models were used to examine the independent association of Cyr61 with PAD.Results: Out of the 306 subjects enrolled, 150 were free from PAD, while 156 had clinically significant PAD. In subjects with PAD, the prevalences of Fontaine classification stages II, III and IV were 48.7%, 32.1%, and 19.2%, respectively. Patients with more advanced PAD had significantly higher Cyr61 (P for trend < 0.001). The prevalence of PAD on the basis of severity increased with increasing Cyr61 quartiles (all P values for trends < 0.001), and the severity of PAD was positively correlated with Cyr61 quartiles (r = 0.227, P = 0.006). The association of Cyr61 levels with PAD remained after adjusting for major risk factors in a logistic regression analysis.Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that Cyr61 was significantly increased in PAD patients with T2DM and that Cyr61 levels were positively associated with disease severity. Cyr61 could be a promising biomarker and further studies are needed to assess its clinical utility.
Large-scale, enzyme-based xenobiotic identification for exposomics
Authors: Liu Ken , Lee Choon , Singer Grant , Woodworth Michael , Ziegler Thomas , Kraft Colleen , Miller Gary , Li Shuzhao , Go Young-Mi , Morgan Edward , Jones Dean
Published: November 2020

Advances in genomics have revealed many of the genetic underpinnings of human disease, but exposomics methods are currently inadequate to obtain a similar level of understanding of environmental contributions to human disease. Exposomics methods are limited by low abundance of xenobiotic metabolites and lack of authentic standards, which precludes identification using solely mass spectrometry-based criteria. Here, we develop and validate a method for enzymatic generation of xenobiotic metabolites for use with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for chemical identification. Generated xenobiotic metabolites were used to confirm identities of respective metabolites in mice and human samples based upon accurate mass, retention time and co-occurrence with related xenobiotic metabolites. The results establish a generally applicable enzyme-based identification (EBI) for mass spectrometry identification of xenobiotic metabolites.
Accuracy of Whole-Body Diffusion-Weighted MRI (WB-DWI/MRI) in Diagnosis, Staging and Follow-Up of Gastric Cancer, in Comparison to CT: A Pilot Study. 
Authors: De Vuysere Sofie , Vandecaveye Vincent , De Bruecker Yves , Carton Saskia , Vermeiren Koen , Tollens Tim , De Keyzer Frederik , Dresen Raphaëla Carmen
Published: November 2020

Background: Accurate staging of patients with gastric cancer is necessary for selection of the most appropriate and personalized therapy. Computed Tomography (CT) is currently used as primary staging tool, being widely available with a relatively high accuracy for the detection of parenchymal metastases, but with low sensitivity for the detection of peritoneal metastases. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has a very high spatial and contrast resolution, suggesting a higher diagnostic performance in the detection of small peritoneal lesions. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the added value of whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI (WB-DWI/MRI) to CT for detection of peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) and distant metastases in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer.Methods: This retrospective study included thirty-two patients with a suspicion of gastric cancer/recurrence, who underwent WB-DWI/MRI at 1.5 Tesla, in addition to CT of thorax and abdomen. Images were evaluated by two experienced abdominal radiologists in consensus. Histopathology, laparoscopy and/or 1-year follow-up were used as reference standard.Results: For overall tumor detection (n=32), CT sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) was 83.3%, 100%, 100% and 82.4% respectively. For WB-DWI/MRI these values were 100%, 92.9%, 94.7% and 100%, respectively. For staging (n=18) malignant lymph nodes and metastases, CT had a sensitivity, specificity/ PPV/ NPV of 50%/ 100%/ 100%/ 71.4%, and 15.4%/ 100%/ 100%/ 31.3% respectively. For WB-DWI/MRI, all values were 100%, for both malignant lymph nodes and metastases. WB-DWI/MRI was significantly better than CT in detecting tumor infiltration of the mesenteric root, serosal involvement of the small bowel and peritoneal metastases for which WB-DWI/MRI was correct in 100% of these cases, CT 0%.Conclusions: WB-DWI/MRI is highly accurate for diagnosis, staging and follow-up of patients with suspected gastric cancer. These results need to be confirmed in larger studies.
Structural basis for repurposing a 100-years-old drug suramin for treating COVID-19
Authors: Xu H. Eric , Yin Wanchao , Luan Xiaodong , Li Zhihai , Zhang Leike , Zhou Ziwei , Gao Minqi , Wang Xiaoxi , Fulai Zhou , Shi Jingjing , You Erli , Liu Mingliang , Wang Qingxia , Wang Qingxing , Jiang Yi , Jiang Hualiang , Xiao Gengfu , Yu Xuekui , Zhang Shuyang
Published: November 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic by non-stop infections of SARS-CoV-2 has continued to ravage many countries worldwide. Here we report the discovery of suramin, a 100-year-old drug, as a potent inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) through blocking the binding of RNA to the enzyme. In biochemical assays, suramin and its derivatives are at least 20-fold more potent than remdesivir, the currently approved nucleotide drug for COVID-19. The 2.6 Å cryo-EM structure of the viral RdRp bound to suramin reveals two binding sites of suramin, with one site directly blocking the binding of the RNA template strand and the other site clash with the RNA primer strand near the RdRp catalytic active site. Furthermore, suramin potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 duplication in Vero E6 cells. These results provide a structural mechanism for the first non-nucleotide inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp and a rationale for repurposing suramin for treating COVID-19.
Surgical excision of complex lipoma from the foot: a case report 
Authors: Uddin Akram , Flanagan George , Reilly Ian
Published: November 2020

Background: Soft tissue malignant tumours of the foot and ankle are rare. Diagnostic imaging and interventional biopsy are vital to establish the nature and grading of a suspicious tumour prior to surgical intervention. The purpose of the study is to provide an account on how a symptomatic mass to the plantar aspect of the foot warranted a referral to a sarcoma centre, highlighting the importance of having urgent access to diagnostic imaging and a pathway to refer suspected cases to specialist centres. Method: A single patient with a symptomatic soft tissue tumour of the plantar foot was referred from our service to the regional sarcoma centre. It was considered to be benign and therefore open surgical resection was performed under local anaesthesia by our team, and the lesion sent for histopathological examination. Results: Histopathological analysis identified the excised mass as a lipoma to show no atypia or necrosis and mature adipose tissue with fibrous bands. At 2 years postoperatively there was no recurrence and the patient presented an asymptomatic foot. Favourable patient reported outcomes measures were observed. Conclusion: United Kingdom (UK) Guidelines suggest that all soft tissue masses of suspicious nature, greater than 50mm, deep seated irrespective of size, or fast growing should be referred to a sarcoma unit prior to surgical management. European guidance identifies a threshold of 15mm for a mass in the foot. Patients presenting with red flag symptoms irrespective of size of mass should be referred to a sarcoma centre. Advanced imaging and multidisciplinary input to enable appropriate surgical planning is recommended for these soft tissue tumours that present to the foot and ankle surgeon. Level of evidence: V case study.
Nodulation and Plant Growth of Shepherdia ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ Topdressed with Controlled-release Fertilizer
Authors: Chen Ji-Jhong , Kratsch Heidi , Norton Jeanette , Sun Youping , Rupp Larry
Published: November 2020

Shepherdia ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ (‘Torrey’ hybrid buffaloberry) is an actinorhizal plant that can fix atmospheric nitrogen (N2) in symbiotic root nodules with Frankia. Actinorhizal plants with N2-fixing capacity are valuable in sustainable nursery production and urban landscape use. However, whether nodule formation occurs in S. ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ and its interaction with nitrogen (N) fertilization remain largely unknown. Increased mineral N in fertilizer or nutrient solution might inhibit nodulation and lead to excessive N leaching. In this study, S. ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ plants inoculated with soils containing Frankia were irrigated with an N-free nutrient solution with or without added 2 mm ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) or with 0.0 to 8.4 g·L−1 controlled-release fertilizer (CRF; 15N–3.9P–10K) to study nodulation and plant morphological and physiological responses. The performance of inoculated plants treated with various amounts of CRF was compared with uninoculated plants treated with the manufacturer’s prescribed rate. Plant growth, gas exchange parameters, and shoot N content increased quadratically or linearly along with increasing CRF application rates (all P < 0.01). No parameters increased significantly at CRF doses greater than 2.1 g·L−1. Furthermore, the number of nodules per plant decreased quadratically (P = 0.0001) with increasing CRF application rates and nodule formation were completely inhibited at 2.9 g·L−1 CRF or by NH4NO3 at 2 mm. According to our results, nodulation of S. ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ was sensitive to N in the nutrient solution or in increasing CRF levels. Furthermore, plant growth, number of shoots, leaf area, leaf dry weight, stem dry weight, root dry weight, and N content of shoots of inoculated S. ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ plants treated with 2.1 g·L−1 CRF were similar to those of uninoculated plants treated with the manufacturer’s prescribed rate. Our results show that S. ×utahensis ‘Torrey’ plants inoculated with soil containing Frankia need less CRF than the prescribed rate to maintain plant quality, promote nodulation for N2 fixation, and reduce N leaching.
Lokus kontrole i tjelesno zdravlje
Authors:   Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište u Rijeci, Rijeka, Kardum Igor , Hudek-Knežević Jasna ,   Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište u Rijeci, Rijeka, Krapić Nada ,   Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište u Rijeci, Rijeka
Published: November 2020

U ovom su radu prikazani efekti lokusa kontrole na tjelesno zdravlje i osnovni mehanizmi putem kojih se ti efekti ostvaruju. U prvom je dijelu rada opisana teorijska osnova lokusa kontrole, prikazani su načini njegova mjerenja i njegov odnos sa sličnim psihologijskim konstruktima, posebno s različitim aspektima percepcije kontrole. Nakon toga navedeni su najvažniji nalazi koji govore o efektima lokusa kontrole na tjelesno zdravlje. Kao osnovni potencijalni mehanizmi putem kojih lokus kontrole može djelovati na tjelesno zdravlje identificirani su njegovo djelovanje na kardiovaskularno i imunološko funkcioniranje te na zdravstvena ponašanja i načine suočavanja sa stresom. Na kraju su navedeni najvažniji teorijski i metodološki problemi prisutni u istraživanjima odnosa između lokusa kontrole i tjelesnog zdravlja. Ključne riječi: lokus kontrole, zdravstveni lokus kontrole, tjelesno zdravlje, zdravstvena ponašanja, suočavanje
KNOWLEDGE OF MOTHERS TOWARD BREASTFEEDING: EFFECT OF COMMUNITY-BASED HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM, KOSTI LOCALITY, SUDAN2020
Authors:   Assistant Professor in Community Health Nursing / University of El Imam El Mahdi Kosti / Sudan., Gibrail Dawood Gamalat , Y. Abdeldafie Selwa ,   Assistant Professor Nursing Department / College of Applied Medical Sciences/ University of HafrAlbatin KSA.
Published: November 2020

Breast feeding is considered as the basic nutrition of the newborn and infant with much benefits for both infant and mother, so it has to be started early and exclusively for 6months then continued with complementary feeding. In the current study, most of the participants found to be in the age group of 20-30years and they are illiterate or with primary level of education. Knowledge of the participants in the interventional group revealed noticeable change in the post interventional phase particularly Knowledge about benefits of breast feeding for children which revealed significant difference between pre interventional phase (44.4% ) and post interventional phase (91.9% ) in the intervention group. Based on this study findings it is concluded that health education programs are needed in the study area to promote under-five childrens health.
RELAÇÕES ENTRE COMPORTAMENTO SEDENTÁRIO E CARACTERÍSTICA DE APLICATIVO PARA SMARTPHONE
Authors: Messetti Christofoletti Ana Elisa , Cerignoni Benites Larissa , Iaochite Roberto Tadeu , Dopp Erik Vinícius de Orlando , Nakamura Priscila Missaki
Published: November 2020

Objetivou-se verificar os fatores sociodemográficos associados ao tempo de uso do smartphone e explorar as características que um aplicativo de smartphone deve conter para redução do Comportamento Sedentário (CS) em adolescentes. Quatrocentos e oitenta e dois adolescentes responderam ao Questionário de CS, Questionário Habitual de Atividade Física para Adolescentes e mensuração de peso e estatura para o cálculo do IMC (kg/m²). Realizou-se o teste de regressão logística para associar as variáveis com o smartphone (p<0,05). Oito indivíduos participaram da entrevista semiestruturada por meio do protocolo ETCI para explorar o que deve conter em um aplicativo de smartphone para diminuir o CS e as análises foram feitas pela codificação simples. A metodologia mista identificou que meninas apresentam maior risco de usarem o smartphone (p=0,002) e de terem alto CS (p=0,000). As entrevistas elucidaram que um aplicativo de smartphone para diminuir o CS de adolescentes deve possuir: relação social, metas, recompensa, mensagens, atualizações e pode ser um jogo.