bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Service Process Factors Affecting Patients’ and Clinicians’ Experiences on Rapid Teleconsultation Implementation in Out-patient Neurology Services during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review
Authors: Meng Guangxia , McAiney Carrie , Perlman Christopher M. , McKillop Ian , Tisseverasinghe Therese , Chen Helen H.
Published: March 2022

BackgroundPrior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the adoption of teleconsultation for outpatient neurology services was limited. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many outpatient neurology services have rapidly switched to teleconsultation worldwide. However, it remains unclear how this change has impacted patients' and clinicians' perceptions of service quality. The purpose of this scoping review is to identify process factors that influence patients' and clinicians' experiences of outpatient teleconsultation services during COVID-19.MethodsArksey and O’Malley scoping review framework was used to search PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycInfo for original peer-reviewed research studies that examined the experiences of synchronous teleconsultation between a clinician and patient in a home-setting since the World Health organization announced the COVID-19 global pandemic. The service quality model SERVQUAL was used to conduct a deductive thematic analysis to identify the key factors that impacted the patients’ and clinicians’’ perception of teleconsultation services. Results A total of nineteen studies published between January 1, 2020, and April 17, 2021, were identified. The most common service process factors affecting the patients' and clinicians' experiences of teleconsultation were technical issues, addressing logistical needs, communication, ability to perform clinical activities, appropriate triage, and administrative support. Conclusions Our findings identified six key service process factors affecting the patients' and clinicians' teleconsultation experiences in outpatient neurology services. The need for a new triage system and standardizing administrative virtual care workflow are identified as important steps to improve patients and clinicians’ teleconsultation experiences compared to pre-COVID. More research is needed to assess outpatient neurology teleconsultation service quality from patients' and clinicians' perspectives.
COVID-19’s intersectional impact on work life, home life and wellbeing: A mixed-methods analysis of Georgia women’s experiences during the pandemic
Authors: McCool-Myers Megan , Grasso Damion , Kozlowski Debra , Cordes Sarah , Jean Valerie , Gold Heather , Goedken Peggy
Published: March 2022

Background: Women have been especially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to characterize women's adverse experiences related to their work lives, home lives and wellbeing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and to describe demographic differences of those lived experiences. Methods: Using the validated Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory, we collected data from reproductive-aged women in the state of Georgia about their exposure to adverse events during the pandemic. A latent class analysis (LCA) was performed to identify subgroups of women with similar endorsement of adverse experiences and describe their sociodemographic/economic characteristics. An optional open-ended question yielded qualitative data that were analyzed and combined with subgroup findings. Data were collected from September 2020 to January 2021. Results: 423 women aged 18-49 completed the survey, with 314 (74.2%) providing qualitative responses. The LCA yielded 4 subgroups: (1) the largest subgroup (n=150, 35.5%) was characterized by relatively low probability of adverse experiences but high probability of negative changes in mental health and lifestyle; (2) a “caregiving stress” subgroup (n=104, 24.6%) had a high probability of challenges with home and work life, including increased conflict with a partner; (3) a “high exposure” subgroup (n=46, 10.9%) with high probability of experiencing multiple adversities across domains (e.g., financial insecurity, health challenges, barriers to access to healthcare, intimate partner violence (IPV), and loss of loved ones) and more likely to be racial/ethnic or sexual minority women; and (4) a “low exposure” subgroup (n=123, 29.1%) with relatively low probability of adverse experiences across domains. Individuals in subgroups 1 and 4, which had low probabilities of adverse experiences, were significantly more likely to be non-Hispanic white. Qualitative insights expanding upon experiences and provided greater context for pandemic-related adversity with dominant themes reflecting stress, family, mental health, financial impact, and adaptation/resilience. Conclusions: Though many individuals in our sample experienced hardship, minority populations were most impacted by pandemic-related adverse experiences in work life, home life, and wellbeing. Recovery and future emergency preparedness efforts in Georgia must incorporate support mechanisms for mental health and IPV, focusing especially on the complex needs of racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities.
Efficient production of protein complexes in mammalian cells using a poxvirus vector
Authors: Drillien Robert , Pradeau-Aubreton Karine , Batisse Julien , Mezher Joëlle , Schenckbecher Emma , Marguin Justine , Ennifar Eric , Ruff Marc
Published: March 2022

Background: The production of full length, biologically active proteins in mammalian cells is critical for a wide variety of purposes ranging from structural studies to preparation of subunit vaccines. Prior research has shown that Modified vaccinia virus Ankara encoding the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (MVA-T7) is particularly suitable for high level expression of proteins upon infection of mammalian cells. The expression system is safe for users and 10-50 mg of full length, biologically active proteins may be obtained in their native state, from a few litres of infected cell cultures. Results: Here we report further improvements which allow an increase in the ease and speed of recombinant virus isolation, the scale-up of protein production and the simultaneous synthesis of several polypeptides belonging to a protein complex using a single virus vector. Isolation of MVA-T7 viruses encoding foreign proteins was simplified by combining positive selection for virus recombinants and negative selection against parental virus, a process which eliminated the need for tedious plaque purification. Scale-up of protein production was achieved by infecting a BHK 21 suspension cell line and inducing protein expression with previously infected cells instead of virus, thus saving time and effort in handling virus stocks. Protein complexes were produced from infected cells by concatenating the Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) N1A protease sequence with each of the genes of the complex into a single ORF, each gene being separated from the other by twin TEV protease cleavage sites. We report the application of these methods to the production of a complex formed on the one hand between the HIV-1 integrase and its cell partner LEDGF and on the other between the HIV-1 VIF protein and its cell partners APOBEC3G, CBFβ, Elo B and Elo C. Conclusions: The strategies developed in this study should be valuable for the overexpression and subsequent purification of numerous protein complexes.
Definitive hemostasis versus damage control laparotomy for traumatic massive hemoperitoneum with hemodynamic instability: A single-center, propensity score-matched analysis
Authors: Matsuda Masaki , Sawano Makoto
Published: March 2022

BackgroundCurrently, damage control laparotomy (DCL) is a standard operative approach for traumatic massive hemoperitoneum with hemodynamic instability. However, we have often observed unsatisfactory hemostatic effects of DCL for severe abdominal traumas, requiring definitive hemostasis (DH). We hypothesized that primary DH could improve the outcomes of hemodynamically unstable patients with traumatic massive hemoperitoneum compared with DCL.MethodsThis retrospective, single-center, observational study evaluated hemodynamically unstable patients with traumatic massive hemoperitoneum requiring surgical intervention between 2005 and 2020. The patient population was divided into two groups: a DH group and a DCL group. Propensity score matching was used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics in the two groups, a one-to-one matched analysis using nearest-neighbor matching was performed based on the estimated propensity score of each group. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were 48-hour mortality and 28-day mortality.ResultsA total of 170 patients met the inclusion criteria; 141 patients underwent primary DH, and 29 underwent DCL. In the propensity-matched analysis with 27 pairs, the DH group had significantly lower in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 0.154; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.035 to 0.682) and 28-day mortality (OR 0.200; 95% CI 0.044 to 0.913) than the DCL group, but the 48-hour mortality did not differ significantly between the two groups (25.9% vs. 44.4%; OR 0.375; 95% CI 0.099-1.414). ConclusionsPrimary DH is an effective surgical procedure for traumatic massive hemoperitoneum with hemodynamic instability. Primary DH can be the standard surgical intervention for severe abdominal trauma.
Optimization of storage conditions of Radish leaves at different maturity stage
Authors: Kaur Jasleen , Sharma Poorva , Gupta Prerna , Kumar Vikas
Published: March 2022

Research on waste valorization and utilization of food by-products are increasing day-by-day. This trend not only protect the environment from pollution but also gives good value of food industries wastes and by-products. In this study, optimization of harvesting stage and storage conditions of radish leaves has been done by using response surface methodology. Different packaging materials such as paper, cling film and LDPE were tried for storage. Among all, better retention of all quality parameters was observed in the leaves stored in LDPE. Maximum quality retention in terms of moisture content, ascorbic acid, DPPH scavenging activity, total phenols, total flavonoids and chlorophyll was observed with 9.55 cm length of leaves and 4℃ storage temperature on 0th day. The applied model was found suitable for current study with 94% of anticipated values.
A structural state model for interpreting residual strength transition behavior of land-sliding soils with different clay fractions
Authors: Akhtar Sohail , Li Biao
Published: March 2022

Residual friction angles of soils are commonly determined by laboratory tests, which are time-consuming and costly. It is more desirable to find practical means of estimating the residual strength of soils in the slip zones. Previous researchers attempted to correlate the soil residual strength with clay fraction or Atterberg limits using empirical equations. A large amount of laboratory data demonstrate that the magnitude of residual strength decreases with the increase in the clay content. However, the physical mechanisms of such correlation are not well interpreted. In addition, the decreasing trend has never been modeled with a unique empirical or semi-empirical equation because of the variety of influencing factors such as the clay mineralogy and the applied normal stress. In this study, a new approach is proposed to estimate the residual friction angles of land-sliding soils. The residual friction angle of soils is derived as a weighted average result of the friction angles of nonclay minerals and clay matrix. A structural state coefficient is used as the weight function, and the plasticity index is used to consider the difference in clay mineralogy. The percolation theory is used to physically explain and illustrate the structural state transitional behavior of soils with different clay fractions. The results demonstrate that the semi-empirical approach can be used for predicting residual friction angles of a wide range of soils that differ in geology, soil type, mineralogical properties, and shear strength. The effects of applied normal stress, pore fluid salinity, and particle size on the estimations are also discussed.
Performance and potential clinical impact of D 2 O-labeled single-cell Raman spectroscopy for direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Klebsiella pneumoniae
Authors: Liang Dong-yu , Shen Lijuan , Wang Fei , Song Yizhi , Chang Qing
Published: March 2022

Rapid and accurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of bacterial infections can improve patients’ outcome. In this study, 29 Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from sputum specimens from ICU patients at the Jiading Central Hospital were compared using D2O-Raman AST and traditional AST (Vitek 2). The analysis time was 4–4.5 h for a complete D2O-Raman AST result. Compared with the Vitek 2, the results of D2O-Raman spectroscopy showed good agreement for susceptibility and resistance (S/R), with a concordance of 89%. Most discrepant results were observed for intermediate and susceptible categories, as 10% of isolates labeled as intermediate and susceptible by Vitek 2 were almost all categorized as resistant by D2O-Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, discriminant factor analysis of our D2O-Raman results led to successfully discriminating the type of resistance. In addition, we evaluated the behavior of clinicians in adjusting antibiotic therapies according to routine AST results. For 9 out of 10 patients, antibiotic therapy was adjusted after the reporting of AST results. With some improvements, D2O-Raman spectroscopy provides an accurate and rapid preliminary AST result and may have at least a potential clinical benefit for patients.
The Single-Channel SSVEP-based Biometric Approach Using RNN-based Deep Models: A Systematic Comparison
Authors: Gorur Kutlucan , ERASLAN Beyza
Published: March 2022

Biometric technology is the branch of science dealing with identification and verification of individuals, focusing on physiological and behavioral traits. These traits can be reliable, permanent, unique, and capable of distinguishing one person from others. Fingerprints, the iris, and the face are conventionally used in biometric techniques involving ID cards and passwords. However, due to security threats and fraud, these static textures and approaches can be abused. Consequently, biometric studies based on electroencephalography (EEG) have received increasing attention because each individual has a dynamic and unique pattern. However, classic EEG-based biometrics have significant deficiencies, including noise-prone signals, gel-based electrodes, and the need for multi-training/multi-channel acquisition and high mental effort. In contrast, steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP)-based biometrics have the important advantages of low signal-to-noise ratio and untrained usage. The SSVEP signals also embrace a number of other advantages. First, the occipital lobe is the only suitable region for collecting SSVEP signals without obstruction. Second, because elicited dynamic brain responses are a natural subconscious activity, the omnipresent SSVEP signals are the most frequently emitted signals. Anyone can continuously look into flickering lights having distinct frequencies, such as cell phone flashes, without extra physical or mental effort. Few studies involving multi-channel/multi-trial SSVEP-based biometric research are available in the current literature. Moreover, there is a lack of research comparing them to the single-channel single-trial SSVEP-based biometric approach using dry electrode-implemented recurrent neural network (RNN)-based deep learning models. To the best of our knowledge, no prior work has proposed such a biometric comparison of the RNN-based deep learning models and different sized time-series data compiled over raw and discrete wavelet transform (DWT)-based SSVEP signals. By achieving up to 100% accuracy using 11 individuals, the biometric recognition results are promising. This single-channel SSVEP-based biometric approach using RNN-based deep learning models may offer low-cost, user-friendly, and reliable individual identification authentication, leading to significant application domains.
Application and Effect Evaluation of Kangaroo Mother Care in Liping Area, Guizhou Province
Authors: Wu Li , Zhao Yu , Yang Jing
Published: March 2022

Objective To explore the effect of kangaroo nursing on the physical and mental health of newborns in Guizhou ethnic minority areas. Methods A total of 347 cases of parturients who met the criteria were selected and divided into KMC group and control group. Among them, 186 cases were in KMC group and 161 cases were in control group. Neonatal emotions), breastfeeding and neonatal pain were evaluated. Results The average body temperature of newborns in the KMC group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.01), and the average respiratory rate was not statistically different (P>0.05), but the stability of the respiratory rate in the KMC group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.01). The neonatal pain score of the control group was higher than that of the KMC group (P<0.01). The total sleep duration of newborns in the KMC group within 24 hours was longer than that of the control group (P＜0.01), and the cumulative crying time in 24 hours was shorter than that of the control group (P＜0.01). The number of crying and vomiting in the KMC group were less than those in the control group (P<0.01, P<0.01). The first breastfeeding success rate and the exclusive breastfeeding rate before discharge from the KMC group were higher than those of the control group (P＜0.01). The total score of neonatal BAT in the KMC group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P＜0.01). The KMC group achieved the first breastfeeding success. And the time of exclusive breastfeeding before discharge was earlier than that of the control group (P<0.01). Conclusion Kangaroo nursing is helpful for many indicators of newborns, and it is worthy of further promotion in western minority areas.
A Parallel FP-Growth Mining Algorithm with Load Balancing Constraints for Traffic Crash Data
Authors: Yang Yang , Tian Na , Wang Yunpeng , Yuan Zhenzhou
Published: March 2022

Traffic safety is an important part of the roadway in sustainable development. Freeway traffic crashes typically cause serious casualties and property losses, being a serious threat to public safety. Figuring out the potential correlation between various risk factors and revealing their coupling mechanism are of effective ways to explore and identity freeway crash causes. However, the existing association rule mining algorithms still have some limitations in both efficiency and accuracy. Based on this consideration, using the freeway traffic crash data obtained from WDOT (Washington Department of Transportation), this research constructed a multi-dimensional multi-level system for traffic crash analysis. Considering the load balancing, the FP-Growth algorithm was optimized parallelly based on Hadoop platform, to achieve an efficient and accurate association rules mining calculation for massive amounts of traffic crash data; Then, according to the results of the coupling mechanism among the crash precursors, the causes of freeway traffic crashes were identified and revealed. The results show that the parallel FP-growth algorithm with load balancing constraints has a better operating speed than both conventional FP-growth algorithm and parallel FP-growth algorithm towards processing big data. This improved algorithm makes full use of Hadoop cluster resources and is more suitable for traffic crash large data sets mining while retaining the original advantages of conventional association rule mining algorithm. In addition, the mining association rules model with the improvement of multi-dimensional interaction proposed in this research can catch the occurrence mechanism of freeway traffic crash with serious consequences (lower support degree probably) accurately and efficiently.
De novo identification of complex multimorbid conditions by integration of gene regulation and protein interaction networks with genome-wide association studies
Authors: Zaied Roan , Fadason Tayaza , O'Sullivan Justin
Published: March 2022

Network analysis represents a powerful approach for untangling the relationships between complex diseases. Here, we integrated information on physical contacts between common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; MAF≥0.05) and expressed genes (TPM>0.1), with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) data from whole blood to construct a blood-specific spatial gene regulatory network (GRN). Using this GRN, we located the genes that are functionally affected by asthma-associated SNPs to identify the asthma-specific module. We then expanded outwards to identify curated protein-protein interactions occurring 1 to 4 edges away from the asthma module. The eQTLs spatially regulating the identified genes were used to interrogate the GWAS Catalog to identify enriched traits (hypergeometric test; FDR≤0.05) within each of the 4 levels. This led to de novo identification of traits both previously reported (e.g., sarcoidosis and lung cancer) and unreported (e.g., disc-degeneration) to be multimorbid with asthma, and pinpoints the variants and genes bridging asthma to the multimorbidities. Our discovery approach identifies significantly enriched traits in the regulatory space proximal to a disease of interest, in the tissue of interest, without a priori selection of the interacting diseases. The predictions it makes expand our understanding of possible shared therapeutic targets, especially for diseases such as asthma where no cure is currently available.
Prediction of severe pancreatitis in a population with low atmospheric oxygen pressure.
Authors: Londoño-Ruiz Germán , Ramírez-Giraldo Camilo , Vesga-Rosas Andrés , Vargas-Barato Felipe
Published: March 2022

Background
To establish the severity of pancreatitis, there are many scoring systems, the most used are the Marshall and APACHE II systems, each one has advantages and disadvantages; but with good relation regarding mortality and prediction of complications. In populations with low barometric pressures produced by a decrease in atmospheric pressure, there is a decrease in partial pressure of oxygen, in these cases scores which take arterial oxygen partial pressure as one of their variables, may be overestimated.
Methods
A diagnostic trial study was designed to evaluate the performance of APACHE II, Marshall and BISAP in a city 2640 meters above sea level. A ROC analysis was performed to estimate the AUC of each of the scores, to evaluate the performance in predicting unfavorable outcomes and a non-parametric comparison was made between the AUC of each of the scores with the DeLong test.
Results
From January 2018 to December 2019, data from 424 patients living in Bogota, with a diagnosis of gallstone pancreatitis was collected consecutively in a hospital in Bogota, Colombia. The ROC analysis showed AUC for predicting adverse outcomes for APACHE II in 0.738 (95% CI 0.647–0.829), Marshall in 0.650 (95% CI 0.554–0.746), and BISAP in 0.744 (95% CI 0.654–0.835). The non-parametric comparison to assess whether there were differences between the different AUC of the different scores showed that there is a statistically significant difference between Marshall and BISAP AUC to predict unfavorable outcomes (p 0.032). The mortality in the group of patients studied was 5.8%.
Conclusions
We suggest the use of BISAP to predict clinical outcomes in patients with a diagnosis of biliary pancreatitis in populations with decreased atmospheric pressure because it is an easy-to-use tool and does not require arterial oxygen partial pressure for its calculation.
Analysis of neonatal screening and recall of 338,680 neonates in Haidian District in Beijing, China: A retrospective observational study
Authors: Gao Suhong , Zhou Yu , Yuan Quanlian , Zhao Wen , Li Yaping
Published: March 2022

Objective
To analyze neonatal screening and recall of neonates suspected of having congenital metabolic disorders in Haidian District from 2010 to 2017 with the aim of improving the quality of neonatal screening.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed data on neonates suspected of having congenital metabolic disorders on the basis of findings on neonatal screening in Haidian District from 2010 to 2017. Data on screening findings and recall of affected neonates were drawn from the neonatal screening bulletin in Beijing. The timing of the affected neonates recall was obtained from the Information Management System for Neonatal Disease Screening in Beijing.
Results
From 2010 to 2017, 336,202 neonates from 338,680 live births were screened for abnormalities in Haidian District, the average rate of screening being 99.27%. Of these, 3392 cases were found to have definite abnormalities, 3260(96.11%) of whom were recalled successfully for further testing to establish a diagnosis. Congenital metabolic disorders were diagnosed in 268 of the recalled neonates, 206 of them being found to have congenital hypothyroidism (CH), and 62 phenylketonuria (PKU). The prevalences of CH and PKU were 0.61‰, 0.18‰ respectively. The times toLevel-1 and Level-2 recall decreased over the study period from 28.83 days to 11.33 days and from 51.63 days to 41.92 days, respectively, these differences being statistically significant (P < 0.001).The number of neonates recalled to establish a diagnosis increased in parallel with a decreasing interval between Level-1 recall and sending names to Haidian District (OR = 0.974, 95% CI: 0.951–0.999).
Conclusions
The rates of screening of neonates and recall rates of neonatal with positive screening result in Haidian District increased progressively from 2010 to 2017. Early recall of neonates suspected of having a disorder contributes to a high recall rate, earlier diagnosis, and earlier therapy.
Crop mixtures outperform rotations and landscape mosaics in regulation of wheat pathogens: a simulation study
Authors: Précigout Pierre-Antoine , Renard Delphine , Sanner Jonathan , Claessen David , Robert Corinne
Published: March 2022

Context. Strategies of crop diversification such as crop rotations, within-field mixtures and landscape mosaics including susceptible and resistant crops can limit crop epidemics. Until now, the effects of these strategies have been studied separately, on single pathogen species, and with low environmental variability. Objectives. In this paper, we aim to compare the disease-limitation effect of these three crop diversification strategies on two highly damaging pathogens of wheat Puccinia recondita and Zymoseptoria tritici and under varying weather conditions.Methods. We built a dynamic mathematical model of epidemics at the field scale (based on classical Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed epidemiological models) embedded in a spatially explicit landscape grid framework. We use it to simulate an agricultural landscape in which diversification strategies translate into different proportions of wheat and resistant crops in the landscape.Results. In our simulations, for both pathogens and in all weather conditions, within-field crop mixtures had the greatest impact in limiting epidemics, crop rotations were second-best, while landscape mosaics were the least effective. We also found a threshold in the proportion of wheat in mixtures below which increase in the proportion of resistant plants does not lead to further disease limitation. However, a higher proportion of resistant crop was needed when the weather became favourable for the pathogens, suggesting that higher levels of diversification are needed to limit strong epidemics. Conclusions. Our findings imply that interactions between spatial the scale of crop diversification strategies, pathogen characteristics and weather conditions should be considered in order to maximize benefits from disease-regulation properties of diversified cropping systems under climate change.
Distillery industrial wastewater(DIW) treatment by the combination of sono(US), photo(UV) and electrocoagulation(EC) process
Authors: Asaithambi Perumal , Govindarajan Rajendran
Published: March 2022

The color and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) reduction in distillery industrial effluent (DIW) was investigated utilizing photo (UV), sono (US), electrocoagulation (EC), UV+US, UV+EC, US+EC, and US+UV+EC technologies. The empirical study demonstrated that the UV+US+EC process removed almost 100% of color and 95.63% of COD from DIW while consuming around 6.97 kWh m–3 of electrical energy at the current density of 0.175 A dm–2, COD of 3600 mg L–1, UV power of 32 W, US power of 100 W, electrode pairings of Fe/Fe, inter–electrode distance of 0.75 cm, pH of 7, and reaction time of 4 h, respectively. The values found were much greater than those produced using UV, US, EC, UV+US, UV+EC, and US+EC methods. The influence of various control variables such as treatment time (1–5 h), current density (0.075–2.0 A dm–2), COD (1800–6000 mg L–1), inter-electrode distance (0.75–3.0 cm), electrode pairings (Fe/Fe, Fe/Al, Al/Fe, Al/Al), UV (8–32 W), and US (20–100 W) on the color and COD reduction were investigated to determine the optimum operating conditions. It was observed that, an increase in treatment time, current density, UV and US power, decrease in the COD, and inter-electrode distance with Fe/Fe electrode combination improved the COD removal efficiency. The UV and US+EC processes' synergy index was investigated and reported. The results showed that, the US+UV+EC treatment combination was effective in treating industrial effluent and wastewater.
Effect of pediatric ventilation weaning technique on work of breathing
Authors: Dijk Jefta van , Koopman Alette A , de Langen Limme B , Dijkstra Sandra , Burgerhof Johannes G.M. , Blokpoel Robert G.T. , Kneyber Martin C.J.
Published: March 2022

Background: Ventilator liberation is one of the most challenging aspects in patients with respiratory failure. Most patients are weaned through a transition from full to partial respiratory support, whereas some advocate using a continuous spontaneous ventilation (CSV). However, there is little scientific evidence supporting the practice of pediatric ventilator liberation, including the timing of onset of and the approach to weaning mode. We sought to explore differences in patient effort between a pressure controlled intermittent mode of ventilation (PC-IMV) with or without pressure support (PS) with a reduced ventilator rate and CSV, and to study changes in patient effort with decreasing PS. Methods: In this prospective physiology cross-over study, we randomized children <5 years to first PC-IMV ± PS with a 25% reduction in ventilator rate, or CSV (continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP] + PS). Patients were then crossed over to the other arm. Patient effort was measured by calculating work of breathing (WOB) using the Campbell diagram (WOBCampbell), and by pressure-rate-product (PRP) and pressure-time-product (PTP). Respiratory inductance plethysmography (RIP) was used to calculate the phase angle. Measurements were obtained at baseline, during PC-IMV ± PS and CPAP + PS, and during decreasing set PS (maximum -6 cmH2O). Results: Thirty-six subjects with a median age of 4.4 (IQR 1.5 – 11.9) months and median ventilation time of 4.9 (IQR 3.4 – 7.0) days were included. Nearly all patients (94.4%) were admitted with primary respiratory failure. WOBCampbell during baseline (0.67 (IQR 0.38 – 1.07) Joules/L) did not differ between CSV (0.49 (IQR 0.17 – 0.83) Joules/L) or PC-IMV ± PS ± PS ±PS (0.47 (IQR 0.17 – 1.15) Joules/L). Neither PRP, PTP, ∆Pes nor phase angle was different between the two ventilator modes. Reducing pressure support resulted in a statistically significant increase in patient effort, albeit that these differences were clinically negligible.Conclusions: Patient effort during pediatric ventilation liberation was not increased when patients were in a CSV mode of ventilation compared to a ventilator mode with a ventilator back-up rate. Reducing the level of PS did not lead to clinically relevant increases in patient effort. These data may aid in a better approach to pediatric ventilation liberation. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov NCT05254691. Registered 24 February 2022
An Integrated Analysis and Comparison of Serum, Saliva and Sebum for COVID-19 Metabolomics
Authors: Spick Matt , Lewis Holly M , Frampas Cecile F , Longman Katie , Costa Catia , Stewart Alexander , Dunn-Walters Deborah , Skene Debra J , Barran Perdita , Wilde Michael J , Evetts George , Greener Danni , Sinclair Eleanor , Bailey Melanie J
Published: March 2022

Non-invasive sampling approaches are desirable in healthcare settings due to the lower burden on patients and clinical staff. In the field of metabolomics, however, most studies have utilised blood serum or plasma. In this work 83 COVID-19 positive and negative hospitalised participants provided serum, saliva and sebum samples for analysis by mass spectrometry. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of correlations between serum metabolites, salivary metabolites and sebum lipids, and consider their relative accuracy in differentiating COVID-19 positive participants from controls. Sebum lipids showed clear correlations to serum metabolites, with widespread changes to the serum-sebum lipid axis in COVID-19 positive participants, evidence of multi-organ dyslipidemia. In the COVID-19 positive cohort, correlations were notably marked between sebum lipids and the immunostimulatory hormone dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate. In terms of diagnostic accuracy, serum performed best by multivariate analysis (sensitivity and specificity of 0.97), with the dominant changes in triglyceride and bile acid levels, concordant with other studies identifying dyslipidemia as a hallmark of COVID-19 infection. Sebum diagnostic accuracy performed well (sensitivity 0.92; specificity 0.84), with saliva offering weaker diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 0.78; specificity 0.83). These findings highlight the potential for integrated biofluid analyses to provide insight into the whole-body atlas of pathophysiological conditions.
Molecular insights into biogenesis of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor proteins
Authors: Xu Yidan , Jia Guowen , Li Tingting , Zhou Zixuan , Luo Yitian , Chao Yulin , Bao Juan , Su Zhaoming , Qu Qianhui , Li Dianfan
Published: March 2022

Eukaryotic cells are coated with an abundance of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor proteins (GPI-APs) that play crucial roles in fertilization, neurogenesis, and immunity. Covalent addition of structurally diverse GPI anchorages at the carboxyl termini of target proteins is catalyzed by an endoplasmic reticulum integral membrane GPI transamidase complex (GPI-T) conserved among all eukaryotes. Despite its important role in developmental and cancer biology, a detailed picture of this intricate multi-component machinery remains elusive. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy (EM) structure of the human GPI-T complex at a global 2.53 Å resolution, revealing an assembly mechanism whereby the catalytic subunit PIGK is optimally positioned to accommodate its characteristic amphipathic substrates. Further, structural and functional characterizations suggest a previously unrecognized composite GPI-binding site formed by PIGU/PIGK/PIGT subunits and rationalize genetic diseases associated with GPI-T point mutations. Our work presents an important step towards the mechanistic understanding of GPI-AP biosynthesis.
The prognostic value of the ratio of standard uptake value of lymph node to primary tumor before treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Chen Yibiao , Lou Yunlong , Chen Dandan , lin zheng , sun jianda , song li , chen wenzhong , zhang ming
Published: March 2022

Background: To evaluate the prognostic value of the ratio of the standard uptake value of the lymph node to the primary tumor before treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Methods: A total of 180 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed pathologically from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018, were selected, and the MEDEX system was used to automatically delineate lymph node metastases SUVmax (LN-SUVmax) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma primary tumor SUVmax (T-SUVmax). In addition, the ratio NTR of LN-SUVmax to T-SUVmx was calculated, and an ROC curve was drawn to obtain the best cut-off value. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression models were used for survival and multivariate analyses, respectively.Results: The median follow-up period of 180 patients was 32 (4–62) months. Univariate analysis showed that age (P = 0.013), LN-SUVmax (P = 0.001), and NTR (P = 0.001) were factors influencing overall survival (OS). Factors affecting local progression-free survival (LPFS) were LN-SUVmax (P = 0.005) and NTR (P = 0.020), while clinical stage (P = 0.023), LN-SUVmax (P = 0.007), and NTR (P = 0.032) were factors affecting Distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). Multivariate analysis showed that NTR was an independent influencing factor of OS (HR = 3.00, 95%CI = 1.06–8.4, P = 0.038), LPFS (HR = 3.08, 95%CI = 1.27–7.50, P = 0.013), and DMFS (HR = 1.84, 95%CI = 0.99–3.42, P = 0.054). Taking OS as the main observation point, the best cut-off point of NTR was 0.95. Kaplan–Meier results showed that the 3-year OS (97.0% vs. 85.4%, c2=11.25, P = 0.001), 3-year LPFS (91.3% vs. 82.1%, c2 = 4.035, P = 0.045), and 3-year DMFS (92.3% vs. 87.9%, c2 = 4.576, P = 0.032) of patients with NTR < 0.95 were higher than those with NTR > 0.95.Conclusions: High NTR before treatment may lead to poor prognosis of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This can serve as a reference value for the reasonable treatment and prognosis monitoring of such patients.
The influence of chamotte on densification and mechanical properties of ceramic membranes made from Gabonese kaolin
Authors: Jiogho Yannick Nongni , Sieliechi Joseph Marie , Cerneaux Sophie , Cretin Marc , Ngassoum Martin Benoît
Published: March 2022

Porous ceramic membranes have been successfully prepared by roll pressing using low cost local raw materials. The porous ceramic membranes were obtained by sintering five ceramic paste formulations containing kaolin, rice husk and chamotte powders at a temperature range of 1100–1300°C. The fired ceramic membranes were characterized by determining their porosity, pore size, flexural strength and microstructure. The porous ceramic produced had a pore volume ranging from 27.3 ± 1.4 to 58.5 ± 0.5%, an average pore diameter from 4.7 ± 2.5 to 14.5 ± 1.3 µm and a mechanical strength from 0.8 ± 0.1 to 10.0 ± 0.6 MPa. The results show that the addition of chamotte increases the structural reorganization temperature of the composite, but does not affect the temperature range of densification and complete mullitization of the material. The random distribution of the inert phase (chamotte and quartz) induces a non-uniform behavior of the porosity, the average pore diameter and the mechanical strength after sintering of the samples. The characteristics of the porous materials obtained at 1300°C are adequate to be used in microfiltration.
Longitudinal Analysis of Influencing Factors of Problematic Smartphone Use in Preteens
Authors: Son Hyunmi , Yun Jungim , Han Gyumin
Published: March 2022

Background: In the socially distanced era triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there has been a surge in online activities across children’s and adolescents’ lives. Increased smartphone use by children and adolescents places them at higher risk of overdependence. Methods: The purpose of this study, using secondary data from the 10th to 11th wave of the Panel Study on Korean Children, was to longitudinally investigate problematic smartphone use in preteens and to comprehensively understand the effects of variability and diversity in preteen development on excessive smartphone use. STATA/BE 17 was used to analyze the panel logit model. Among the 1,286 participants aged 9–10 from the Panel Study on Korean Children, 342 with complete responses (from the parent, child, and school teacher) were selected as the subjects of this study. Results: The size of the risk group for preteens’ problematic smartphone use showed a trend of increasing from 126 in 2017 to 149 in 2018. Factors influencing smartphone overdependence included the authoritative parenting behavior, permissive parenting behavior, child’s externalizing problems, peer communication, and parental supervision. Factors related to parents and peers, as well as their own characteristics, had a complex effect on preteens’ problematic smartphone use. Conclusions: To reduce preteens’ smartphone overuse, it is necessary to avoid permissive parenting behaviors and to increase parental monitoring of this population. Interventions should be conducted that focus on reinforcing parenting behaviors that respect preteen’s opinions and set rules together, and strengthen preteen’s communication with their peers.
Hypoxia-induced Long Non-coding RNA LSAMP-AS1 Regulates ceRNA Network to Predict Prognosis for Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Li Lincheng , Zou Wenbo , Xiao Zhaohui , Deng Zhaoda , Liu Rong
Published: March 2022

The limited efficacy of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer is thought to be largely influenced by the surrounding cancer microenvironment. The hypoxic microenvironment caused by insufficient local blood supply is very important. However, the method to assess the level of hypoxia in the microenvironment of pancreatic cancer (PC) remains unclear. In our research, we downloaded transcriptomic and clinicopathological data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). A preliminary risk model was developed to reflect the hypoxic environment of pancreatic cancer. We found that high hypoxia risk score indicated poor long-term survival and the presence of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. In addition, based on prognostic hypoxia-related genes, 177 PC samples were divided into two subtypes using a consistent clustering method. Compared with Cluster2, Cluster1 was defined as the "hypoxic subgroup". The infiltration of CD8 T cells, activated memory CD4 T cells, naive B cells, memory B cells, plasma cells, and neutrophils were lower in cluster1, suggesting that there was significant immunosuppression in cluster 1. Then, we constructed a ceRNA regulatory network composed of differentially expressed lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA. Finally, LSAMP-AS1/hsa-miR-129-5p/S100A2 has been identified as a key ceRNA network that regulates the hypoxic environment and the prognosis of PC.
High Tumor Hexokinase-2 Expression Promotes a Pro-tumorigenic Immune Microenvironment by Modulating CD8+/regulatory T-cell Infiltration
Authors: Kim Sehui , Koh Jaemoon , Song Seung Geun , Yim Jeemin , Kim Miso , Keam Bhumsuk , Kim Young Tae , Kim Jihun , Chung Doo Hyun , Jeon Yoon Kyung
Published: March 2022

Background: Relationship between cancer cell glycolysis and the landscape of tumor immune microenvironment in human cancers was investigated. Methods: Forty-one fresh lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) tissues were analyzed using flow cytometry for comprehensive immunoprofiling. Formalin-fixed tissues were immunostained for hexokinase-2 (HK2) to assess cancer cell glycolysis. For validation, formalin-fixed tissues from 375 lung ADC, 118 lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC), 338 colon ADC, and 78 lung cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy were immunostained for HK2, CD8, and FOXP3.Results: Based on immunoprofiling of lung ADC, HK2 tumor expression was associated with the composition of lymphoid cells rather than myeloid cells. High HK2 tumor expression was associated with immunosuppressive/pro-tumorigenic features, especially decreased ratio of CD8+ T-cells to Tregs (rho=-0.415, P=0.012). This correlation was also confirmed in four different cohorts including lung ADC and SqCC, colon ADC, and the immunotherapy cohort (rho=-0.175~-0.335, all P<0.05). A low CD8+ T-cell to Treg ratio was associated with poor progression-free survival and overall survival in lung SqCC patients, and a shorter overall survival in the immunotherapy cohort (all, P<0.05). Conclusions: An increase in HK2 expression may contribute to shaping the immunosuppressive/pro-tumorigenic tumor microenvironment by modulating the CD8+ T-cell to Treg ratio. Targeting tumor HK2 expression might be a potential strategy for enhancing anti-tumor immunity.
Light-Enhanced Electrocaloric Response in Lead-Free Ferroelectric Oxide
Authors: Pal Subhajit , Mohan Manu , Priya K. Shanmuga , Murugavel P.
Published: March 2022

The enhanced electrocaloric (EC) effect in solid-state-based lead-free ferroelectric Ba0.875(Bi0.5Li0.5)0.125TiO3 system is investigated under the light as an external stimulus. The sample exhibits an analogous value of maximum change in entropy at Curie temperature, extracted from the two different measurements process. Notably, the sample depicts maximum value of adiabatic change in temperature (ΔT) as 1.27 K and isothermal entropy change (ΔS) as 2.05 J/K kg along with the EC coefficient value of 0.426 K mm/kV, under dark conditions. In addition, the sample exhibits > 1 K adiabatic temperature change over a broad temperature range (~ 6 K). Remarkably, the EC parameters display ~ 27% enhancement upon 405 nm light illumination. The demonstrated light-enhanced EC effect is found to be in accordance with theoretical formalism. The present work elucidates the light as an additional degree of freedom to widen the potential of solid-state-based technologies for advanced environment-friendly cooling devices.
Optical barcoding using polarisation sensitive plasmonic biosensors for the detection of self-assembled monolayers
Authors: Balaur Eugeniu , Sadatnajafi Catherine , Abbey Brian
Published: March 2022

Periodic subwavelength apertures have the ability to passively detect variations in the dielectric properties of the local sample environment through modification of the plasmon resonances associated with these structures. The resulting resonance peak can effectively provide a ‘fingerprint’ indicative of the dielectric properties of the medium within the near-surface region. Here we report on the use of biomodal silver-based plasmonic colour filters for molecular sensing. Firstly, by characterising the optical properties of these devices as a function of the incident polarisation for a range of different analytes of known refractive index (RI), we were able to both maximise and quantify their sensitivity. We then apply this concept to the real-time monitoring of the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) based on detection of the optical output using a spectrometer. This highlights the potential for bimodal plasmonic devices to be able to dynamically monitor variations in the local environment down to the level of single molecules without the need for specific functionalisation or labelling. Advantages of using this technique include the ability for these devices to be miniaturised and to dynamically tailor their plasmonic properties enabling the analysis of very small sample volumes and optimisation of their dynamic range for specific analytes.