bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma GAS6 Predicts Mortality Risk in Acute Heart Failure Patients: Insights from the DRAGON-HF trial
Authors: Ma Teng , Huang Rongrong , Lv Yangbo , Liu Yifan , Pan Xin , Dong Jia , Gao Di , Wang Zeyu , Zhang Fenglei , Yan Chunxi , Ong Sang-Bing , Su Yang , Xu Dachun
Published: August 2022

Background: Growth arrest-specific 6 (GAS6) is a biomarker related to inflammation, fibrosis, as well as platelet function. Knockout of GAS6 in mice subjected to pressure overloading protects against cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction. Nonetheless, the association between plasma GAS6 levels and acute heart failure (AHF) in patients is still unknown. Methods: We measured GAS6 concentrations in 1039 patients with AHF who were enrolled in the DRAGON-HF trial. We followed them and examine future clinical events. Results: In total, there were 195 primary endpoints of all-cause mortality and 135 secondary endpoints of cardiovascular death during the median follow-up period of 889 days. The higher level of GAS6 was associated with higher rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (P<0.05). Baseline plasma GAS6 levels were still strongly correlated with clinical outcomes in different models after adjustment for clinical factors and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP, P<0.05). GAS6 could further distinguish the risks of clinical outcomes based on the NT-proBNP measurement. Conclusion: We demonstrated that elevated plasma GAS6 levels were associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death in patients with AHF. Registration Number: NCT03727828 (DRAGON-HF trial) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03727828?term=NCT03727828&draw=2&rank=1.
Frictionless vs. frictional contact in numerical wear predictions of conformal and non-conformal sliding couplings
Authors: Mattei Lorenza , Puccio Francesca Di
Published: August 2022

The role of friction on wear evolution is manifold since it interplays with lubrication regime, nominal contact point and contact pressure distribution. Nevertheless, in the literature many wear models simulate wear assuming frictionless contact conditions to simplify the analyses. That assumption, physically not realistic, often appears as contradiction, permitted in numerical simulations where friction and wear can be considered independent phenomena. This study aims to validate the frictionless assumption in wear models with steady nominal contact point, such us common configurations, e.g. pin-on-plate/pin-on-disc. Wear was simulated according to the Archard wear law for both non-conformal and conformal pin-on-plate contact pairs in reciprocating motion, assuming frictionless and frictional contact conditions, varying the coefficient of friction f in the range 0-0.4. Finite Element wear models were developed in Ansys® both with implicit and explicit kinematics. Results demonstrate that the effect of friction on contact pressure distribution and worn profiles, and on their evolution is negligible (differences lower than 0.05%). Thus, wear can be predicted using models in frictionless conditions which allow to extremely reduce the computational costs, that represent a limit of FE wear simulations. Additionally, a procedure with implicit kinematics was compared to the explicit one resulting valid and computationally convenient, especially in case of non-conformal contact.
Prognostic value of postoperative radiotherapy in patients with vulvar squamous carcinoma: findings based on the SEER database
Authors: Li Miaomiao , Li Jing , Wang Zanhong
Published: August 2022

Introduction: The role of postoperative radiotherapy in treating squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva remains controversial. This study evaluated the effect of radiotherapy on the survival of patients with postoperative squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.Methods： Clinical and prognostic information on patients diagnosed with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma from 2010 to 2015 was collected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Prognosis (SEER) database. A propensity score matching (PSM) approach was used to balance the differences in clinicopathological characteristics between groups. The impact of postoperative radiotherapy on overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) was assessed.Results： The study included 3629 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva, of whom 767 (21.1%) underwent postoperative radiotherapy. After propensity score matching, multivariate analysis showed that Age, M stage, tumor size, and lymph node surgery were independent prognostic factors affecting patient survival. Postoperative radiotherapy improved patients' overall survival and disease-specific survival. Further subgroup survival analysis showed that overall survival was significantly improved among patients who received radiotherapy in patients with Grade III, IV, AJCC stage III, N1, lymph node metastasis, large tumor diameter, and those who received chemotherapy.Conclusion: Postoperative radiotherapy may provide a survival benefit for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva, especially for AJCC stage III, lymph node metastases, large tumor diameter, and those receiving postoperative chemotherapy.
SSD with Multi-scale feature Fusion and Attention mechanism
Authors: Zeng Zhigao , Dong Lijun , Liu Qiang , Zhu Wenqiu , Zhu Yanhui , Meng Chen
Published: August 2022

In the Internet of Things, image acquisition equipment is very important, which will generate lots of invalid data when monitoring in real time. Analyzing the data collected from the terminal directly by edge calculation can remove invalid frames and improve the accuracy of system detection. SSD algorithm model is relatively light and fast detection speed. However, SSD algorithms don't take full advantage of both shallow and deep information, a multiscale feature fusion attention mechanism structure based on SSD algorithm was proposed in this paper, which combines the idea of multiscale feature fusion and attention mechanism. Improve the feature information expression ability by fusing adjacent feature layers for each detection layer. Then, add the attention mechanism to to improve the algorithm's attention to the feature map channels. The results of the experiment show that the optimized model detection accuracy is improved, which will greatly improve the reliability of edge calculation.
Removal of hexavalent chromium from simulated wastewater by Polyethylene glycol modified D201 resin supported nanoscale zero-valent iron
Authors: Wang Shuang , Zhong Dengjie , Xu Yunlan , Zhong Nianbing
Published: August 2022

In view of the increasingly prominent heavy metal pollution problem in water, polyethylene glycol modified D201 resin supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (PEG-nZVI/D201) was fabricated to remove Cr(VI) in wastewater. PEG-nZVI/D201 can overcome the agglomeration and oxidation drawbacks of nZVI effectively, and improve the removal efficiency of Cr(VI). Its Cr(VI) removal rate was 33.6% higher than that of bare nZVI when the dosage of PEG-nZVI/D201 was 1.0 g·L− 1, the Cr(VI) concentration was 50 mg·L− 1 and initial pH was 5.0. The Langmuir model better describes the adsorption of Cr(VI) on PEG-nZVI/D201. Thermodynamic parameters show that adsorption is spontaneous and endothermic. The mechanism of Cr(VI) removal by PEG-nZVI/D201 is as follows: firstly, protonated PEG-nZVI/D201 adsorbs Cr(VI) by electrostatic attraction, then nZVI reduces most of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) through its strong reducibility, and finally Cr(III) can form CrXFe1−X(OH)3 co-precipitation with Fe(III) produced by oxidation of nZVI.
Activation of CREB-BDNF pathway in pyramidal neurons in hippocampus improves the neurological outcome of mice with ischemic stroke
Authors: Jiang Yingying , Liu Qingying , Zhao Yumei , Wang Chunyang , Sun Ming
Published: August 2022

Cerebral ischemia is characterized by several pathological reaction evolving over time. Hyperactivation of glutamatergic neurons is the main factor leading to excitotoxicity which potentiates oxidative stress and triggers the mechanisms of neural apoptosis after cerebral ischemia. However, it is unclear whether glutamate in the ventral hippocampal Cornus Ammonis 1 (vCA1) acts a part in neurological deficits, pain perception, anxiety and depression induced by ischemic-stroke. We investigated the effects of chemogenetic inhibition or activation of vCA1 pyramidal neurons which are mainly glutamatergic neurons on sequelae induced by cerebral ischemia. Our results revealed that inhibition of vCA1 pyramidal neurons by chemogenetics alleviated neurological deficits, pain perception, anxiety and depression caused by cerebral ischemia in mice, but activation of vCA1 pyramidal neurons had limited effects. Moreover, we found that stroke was accompanied by decreased levels of cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in vCA1, which are modulated by glutamate. In this study, overexpression of CREB protein in pyramidal neurons in vCA1 by AAV virus significantly upregulated the content of BDNF and ameliorated the dysfunction induced by ischemic-stroke. Our results demonstrated activation of CREB-BDNF pathway in vCA1 pyramidal neurons significantly improved neurological deficits, pain perception, anxiety and depression induced by ischemic-stroke.
Predicting Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Lesser Zab River Catchment/Iraq through CA-Markov Synergy Model
Authors: Mahdi Zahra Ali , Mohammed Ruqayah Kadhim
Published: August 2022

Land use/land cover is measured as one of the utmost dynamic constituents of the atmosphere that has been altering abnormally from the time when after the industrial revolution at different measures. A well understanding of the drive and strength of environments needs regular monitoring and quantifying for land use/land cover alteration changing aspects. The current research targets to predict the prospect land use/land cover (LU/LC) alterations, for the Lesser Zab catchment in the Northern part of Iraq, applying the synergy Cellular Automata-Markov simulation. Three sequential year Landsat images (1999, 2010, and 2021) were categorized by the Maximum Likelihood method. Then, three LU/LC images with numerous class classifications were created and an alteration identification examination was performed. With the categorized (1999–2010) as well as (2010–2021) LU/LC maps in the hybrid model, the corresponded LU/LC maps for 2021 and 2041 were modeled, correspondingly. The classified 2021 LU/LC map was considered to validate model output 2021. The agreement accuracy between the categorised and the modeled images were Kno = 0.864, Klocation = 0.854, Kstandard = 0.785, in that order. Prospect likelihoods validate that between 2021 and 2041, the urban area would rise by 78% (from 1118 to 5200 km2). However, bare lands/light, agricultural lands, water bodies, bare lands/dark, and forest lands would decrease by 3% (from 6983 to 6736 km2), 12% (from 7992 to 7036 km2), 15% (from 141.03 to 119.86 km2), 30% (from 7 to 4 km2), and 76% (from 3810 to 904 km2), correspondingly. This study’s conclusions are priceless for policymakers, urban managers, and ecological researchers.
Transcriptomic mapping of key reproductive and metabolic tissues and oocytes in mouse models of polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Deng Qiaolin , Pei Yu , Risal Sanjiv , Jiang Hong , Lu Jiang , Lindgren Eva , Stener-Victorin Elisabet
Published: August 2022

Excessive androgen production and obesity are key to Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) pathogenesis. PCOS-like mouse models induced by androgen exposure include the prenatal androgenized (PNA), peripubertal androgenized, and overexpression of nerve growth factor in theca cells (17NF), as well as the effect of diet-induced maternal obesity model on offspring. To reveal the molecular features of these models, we performed transcriptomic profiling of the hypothalamus, adipose tissue, ovary, and MII oocytes. The largest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the ovaries of 17NF and in the adipose tissues of peripubertal androgenized models. In contrast, the hypothalamus is most affected in PNA and maternal obesity models suggesting fetal programming effects. The Ms4a6e gene, membrane-spanning 4-domains subfamily A member 6E, a DEG identified in the adipose tissue in all PCOS-like mouse models is also differently expressed in adipose tissue of women with PCOS women, highlighting a conservative disease mechanism. Our comprehensive transcriptomic mapping of key target tissues of the PCOS pathology provides a unique resource when investigating molecular mechanisms induced by androgen exposure and highlights that there are critical windows for androgen administration and maternal obesity.
A novel systemic inflammatory-nutritional score (INS) and nomogram for the prognostic prediction of adult head and neck soft tissue sarcoma in patients undergoing R0 surgery
Authors: Xu Bushu , Qiu Haibo , Ou Biyi , Chen Shuwei , Du Dingfu , Liu Yuanyuan , Zhang Xing , Liang Yao
Published: August 2022

Background
Head and neck soft tissue sarcoma (HNSTS) comprises a rare group of malignancies with high risks of recurrence and mortality. However, the biomarkers predicting the prognosis of HNSTS patients received R0 resection are limited. Here, we aimed to develop a novel inflammatory-nutritional score (INS) system and a nomogram to explore the prognostic value of preoperative biomarkers in HNSTS patients.
Methods
With a median follow-up time of 134.6 months, 315 patients with HNSTS who underwent R0 resection were enrolled. Clinical characteristics and hematological features were collected. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model was used to select the most significant survival‑associated candidate for constructing the INS. The relationship between the INS groups and clinical features was analyzed. Further, a nomogram based on the INS and clinical features was generated by multivariate Cox analysis, assessed by the concordance index and internally validated by bootstraps.
Results
The five-year overall survival (OS) rate, three-year recurrence-free survival rate and disease-free survival (DFS) rate were 77.3%, 61.0% and 55.4%, respectively. After scoring, the novel INS system was established and divided into 3 groups: Low Risk (INS 0), Medium Risk (INS 1–3) and High Risk (INS 4–7). High INSs were associated with a deep tumor location (p < 0.001), high tumor grade (p < 0.001), and advanced American Joint Committee on Cancer stage (p < 0.001). The Low-Risk group exhibited a higher 5-year OS rate and 3-year DFS rate than the Medium-Risk and High-Risk groups (87.6% versus 81.3%% versus 53.3%, p < 0.001; 62.2% versus 56.9% versus 37.9%, p = 0.007). Moreover, the multivariate analysis demonstrated that the INS (p = 0.023), tumor depth (p < 0.001), pT stage (p = 0.022), pN stage (p < 0.001) and tumor grade (p < 0.001) were independent survival predictors for HNSTS patients. Based on these results, a novel prognostic nomogram for OS was generated, which showed a better performance than the p7TNMG stage alone (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that oncological outcomes among HNSTS patients who underwent R0 resection can be accurately predicted using the INS, therefore, an INS-based specific nomogram provides reliable, individualized prognostic information for patients with HNSTS to guide treatment strategies in clinical practice.
Prevalence of Candida spp. in the oral cavity of patients admitted to the dermatology ward service of a level 3 hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Authors: Cadavid Ana Maria Hoyos , Gimenes Viviane Mazo Favero , Nico Marcello Menta Simonsen , de Freitas Vera Lúcia Teixeira , Cavalcante Sonia Cristina , Lourenço Silvia Vanessa
Published: August 2022

Candida spp. are responsible for most opportunistic fungal infections. The rapid and accurate identification of this type of yeast in hospitalized patients is critical for their effective treatment and prevention of complications arising from resistant strains. Objective: Evaluate the prevalence, as well as factors that are associated with oral candidiasis in 240 patients who were admitted to the dermatology infirmary of a tertiary hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Methods: It is a descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study, in which the clinical condition of each patient was analyzed and a direct mycological examination and culture for fungi were performed. Microorganisms were identified using phenotypic methods and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). Results: The prevalence of Candida spp. was 28.7%. C. albicans was the most common species (84%), followed by C. glabrata (4.34%), C. tropicalis (4.34%), C. parapsilosis (4.34%), C. krusei (1.4%), and C. dubliniensis (1.4%). As discovered by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, such factors as the use of oral prosthesis and immunosuppression increased the risk of candidiasis. Conclusion: Hospitalized patients showed a significant prevalence of oral candidiasis, related to predisposing local and systemic factors, which affected their microbiota. Although C. albicans was the primary microorganism of the infection, other species were identified. Clinical relevance: The techniques that were used in this study identified the precise causative agent of the infection in a short period, allowing us to modify the therapeutic regimen so that, in turn, direct implications on the patient’s health were presented.
Efficient market versus regulatory capture: a political economy assessment of power market reform in China
Authors: Xiang Chenxi , Zheng Xinye , Song Feng , Lin Jiang , Jiang Zhigao
Published: August 2022

China began implementing market-based economic dispatch through power sector reform in 2015, but the reform has encountered some political and economic challenges. This paper identifies the reform’s efficiency changes and explores and quantifies the influences of market-driven and politically driven mechanisms behind these changes, employing a partial market equilibrium model integrating high-frequency data in southern China. We found the dispatch transition improves the overall efficiency, but regulatory capture in provincial markets limits its full potential. The preference for local enterprises over central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by local governments, in the form of allocated generation quotas, demonstrates the political challenge for market reform. The allocated generation quota protects small coal-fired and natural gas generators owned by local SOEs, lessening their motivation to improve generation efficiency, even after the reform. As a result, nearly half the potential of carbon dioxide emission reduction and social welfare promotions through market reform is not realized.
Offline Fast Modification of Position Loop Gains for Five-Axis Machining
Authors: lyu dun , Ye Xinxin , Zhang Huijie , Liu Hui
Published: August 2022

Servo matching (SM) controls the contour error (CE) by coordinating the tracking error (TE) of each axis, which is a basic strategy of CE control. However, the SM, especially the five-axis SM approach, has not been widely used in engineering due to the long time taken to compute the modification of the position loop gain (PLG). This paper establishes the functional relationship between the five-axis PLG and part CE based on the Jacobian matrix. An offline PLG fast modification approach for part CE in five-axis machining was proposed based on the above criteria. Through this method, the five-axis machine tool could modify the PLG of each axis for specific parts and improve the contour accuracy of the parts. Compared to the traditional approach, the servo control model prediction, forward kinematics transformation (FKT), and tool contour pose are omitted based on the proposed approach. Consequently, the computational burden is greatly reduced, the computing time is reduced by more than 98%, and the average contour accuracy can be improved by more than 54%.
Fusion of spectral and textural data of hyperspectral imaging for glycine content prediction in beef using SFCN algorithms
Authors: Lv Yu , Dong Fujia , Cui Jiarui , Luo Ruiming , Wang Songlei , Rodas-Gonzalez Argenis , Hao Jie , Liu Sijia
Published: August 2022

Glycine, the simplest free amino acid, is one of the most important factors affecting the flavor of beef. In this paper, a fast and non-destructive method combining near-infrared hyperspectral (900–1700 nm) and textural data was first proposed to determine the content and distribution of glycine in beef. On the basis of spectral information pre-processing, spectral features were extracted by the interval Variable Iterative Space Shrinkage Approach, Competitive Adaptive Reweighting algorithm and Uninformative Variable Elimination (UVE). The glycine content prediction models were established by partial least squares regression, least squares support vector machine, and the optimized shallow full convolutional neural network (SFCN). Among them, the UVE-SFCN model obtained better results with prediction set determination coefficient (RP2) of 0.8725). Further, textural features were extracted by the gray level co-occurrence matrix and fused with the spectral information of the best feature band to obtain an optimized UVE-FSCN-fusion model (RP2 = 0.9005, root mean square error = 0.3075, residual predictive deviation = 0.2688). Compared with the full spectrum and characteristic wavelength spectrum models, RP2 was improved by 6.41% and 3.10%. The best fusion model was visualized to visually represent the distribution of glycine in beef. The results showed that the prediction and visualization of glycine content in beef were feasible and effective, and provided a theoretical basis for the hyperspectral study of meat quality monitoring or the establishment of an online platform.
Geometric Blow-up for Folded Limit Cycle Manifolds in Three Time-Scale Systems
Authors: Kuntz Sara-Viola , Jelbart Samuel , Kuehn Christian
Published: August 2022

Geometric singular perturbation theory provides a powerful mathematical framework for the analysis of 'stationary' multiple time-scale systems which possess a critical manifold, i.e. a smooth manifold of steady states for the limiting fast subsystem, particularly when combined with a method of desingularization known as blow-up. The theory for 'oscillatory' multiple time-scale systems which possess a limit cycle manifold instead of (or in addition to) a critical manifold is less developed, particularly in the non-normally hyperbolic regime. We show that the blow-up method can be applied to analyse the global oscillatory transition near a regular folded limit cycle manifold in a class of three time-scale systems with two small parameters. The systems considered behave like oscillatory systems as the smallest perturbation parameter tends to zero, and stationary systems as both perturbation parameters tend to zero. The additional time-scale structure is crucial for the applicability of the blow-up method, which cannot be applied directly to the two time-scale counterpart of the problem. Our methods allow us to describe the asymptotics and strong contractivity of all solutions which traverse a neighbourhood of the global singularity. Our results cover a range of different cases with respect to the relative time-scale of the angular dynamics and the parameter drift.MSC2020: 34D15, 34E10, 34E13, 34E15, 34E20, 34C45, 34C27
Necessity of establishing a background microbial library in different medical institutions for the diagnosis of periprosthetic infection using metagenomic next-generation sequencing: Data-Based Analysis
Authors: Yin Han , Wang Chengtan , Xu Duliang , Li Wei , Pang Feng , Wang Dawei
Published: August 2022

Background Due to the extremely high sensitivity of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) testing, even a small amount of nucleic acid fragments exposed during sampling or testing may lead to false positives, which is one of the biggest challenges in interpreting mNGS testing reports. In this study, for the first time, we experimentally detected and established Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI)-related interfering nucleic acid background microbial libraries (BML) in different medical institutions to clarify Necessity of establishing a BML in different medical institutions for the diagnosis of periprosthetic infection using mNGS. MethodsSamples were taken from 3 different acetabular reamer for hip arthroplasty in 7 different hospitals. The whole process was strictly aseptic, mNGS was performed according to standard operating procedures. The sterility of instruments was confirmed by culture method. The sequencing results of specimens from different hospitals were compared to analyze the difference of background bacteria. Bioinformatics analysis and visualization were presented through R language. ResultsA total of 26 samples were processed by mNGS, including 24 instrument swab samples, 1 blank swab control, and 1 blank water control. 254,314,707 reads were sequenced in all samples. The results showed that 1.13% of Clean Reads can be matched to pathogenic microorganism genomes, of which bacterial sequences account for 87.48%, fungal sequences account for 11.18%, parasite sequences account for 1.26%, and virus sequences account for 0.06%. The results of PCA (Principal Component Analysis) demonstrated that the distribution of bacteria on the surface of instruments was significantly different between medical institutions. Through the Venn diagram, it was found that 465 species of bacteria in all region hospitals, Liaocheng People's Hospital had a maximum of 340 species of bacteria, followed by Guanxian County People's Hospital with 169 species. The clustering heat map illustrated that the distribution of bacterial groups in three different instrument samples in the same hospital was basically the same, and the bacterial genera varied significantly among hospitals. The residual microbial nucleic acid fragments are mainly bacterial DNA and represent differences in different medical institutions.ConclusionsIt is necessary to establish independent BML in different medical institutions to improve the accuracy of mNGS on the diagnosis of PJI.
Molecular formula discovery via bottom-up MS/MS interrogation
Authors: Huan Tao , Xing Shipei , Shen Sam , Xu Banghua
Published: August 2022

A substantial fraction of metabolic features remains undetermined in mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics. Here we present bottom-up tandem MS (MS/MS) interrogation to illuminate the unidentified features via accurate molecular formula annotation. Our approach prioritizes MS/MS-explainable formula candidates, implements machine-learned ranking, and offers false discovery rate estimation. Compared to the existing MS1-initiated formula annotation, our approach shrinks the formula candidate space by 42.8% on average. The superior annotation accuracy of our bottom-up interrogation was demonstrated on reference MS/MS libraries and real metabolomics datasets. Applied on 155,321 annotated recurrent unidentified spectra (ARUS), our approach confidently annotated > 5,000 novel molecular formulae unarchived in chemical databases. Beyond the level of individual metabolic features, we combined bottom-up MS/MS interrogation with global peak annotation. This approach reveals peak interrelationships, allowing the systematic annotation of 37 fatty acid amide molecules in human fecal data, among other applications. All bioinformatics pipelines are available in a standalone software, BUDDY (https://github.com/HuanLab/BUDDY/).
Within-host diversity of SARS-CoV-2 lineages and effect of vaccination
Authors: Poon Leo , Gu Haogao , Quadeer Ahmed Abdul , Krishnan Pavithra , Chang Lydia , Liu Gigi , Ng Daisy , Cheng Samuel , Lam Tommy Tsan-Yuk , Peiris Malik , McKay Matthew
Published: August 2022

Viral and host factors can shape SARS-CoV-2 within-host viral diversity and virus evolution. However, little is known about lineage-specific and vaccination-specific mutations that occur within individuals. Here we analysed deep sequencing data from 2,146 SARS-CoV-2 samples with different viral lineages to describe the patterns of within-host diversity in different conditions, including vaccine-breakthrough infections. Variant of Concern (VOC) Alpha, Delta, and Omicron samples were found to have higher within-host nucleotide diversity while being under weaker purifying selection at full genome level compared to non-VOC SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Breakthrough Delta and Omicron infections in Comirnaty and CoronaVac vaccinated individuals appeared to have higher within-host purifying selection at the full-genome and/or Spike gene levels. Vaccine-induced antibody or T cell responses did not appear to have significant impact on within-host SARS-CoV-2 evolution. Our findings suggest that vaccination does not increase SARS-CoV-2 protein sequence space and may not facilitate emergence of more viral variants.
Real-world data in primary care: validation of diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in primary care electronic medical records and estimated prevalence
Authors: de Burgos-Lunar C , Cura-González I del , Cárdenas-Valladolid J , Gómez-Campelo P , Abánades-Herranz JC , de-Andrés A López , Sotos-Prieto M , Iriarte-Campo V , Salinero-Fort MA
Published: August 2022

Background:Primary care electronic medical records contain clinical-administrative information on a high percentage of the population. Before this information can be used for epidemiological purposes, its quality must be verified.This study aims to validate diagnoses of atrial fibrillation (AF) recorded in primary care electronic medical records and to estimate the prevalence of AF in the general adult population.Methods:We performed a cross-sectional validation study of all diagnoses of AF recorded in primary care electronic medical records in Madrid (Spain).We also performed simple random sampling of diagnoses of AF (ICPC-2 code K78) registered by 55 physicians and random age- and sex-matched sampling of the records that included a diagnosis of AF. Electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, and hospital discharge or cardiology clinic reports were matched.Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), and overall agreement were calculated using the kappa statistic (κ). The prevalence of AF in the community of Madrid was estimated considering the sensitivity and specificity obtained in the validation. All calculations were performed overall and by sex and age groups.Results:The degree of agreement was very high (κ = 0.952), with a sensitivity of 97.84%, specificity of 97.39%, PPV of 97.37%, and NPV of 97.85%.The prevalence of AF in the population aged over 18 years was 2.41% (95%CI 2.39%-2.42% [2.25% in women and 2.58% in men]). This increased progressively with age, reaching 16.95% in those over 80 years of age (15.5% in women and 19.44% in men).Conclusions:The validation results obtained enable diagnosis of AF recorded in primary care to be used as a tool for epidemiological studies.A high prevalence of AF was found, especially in older patients.
Acute toxicity, risk assessment and exposure of Nile tilapia larvae after stress to sub-lethal concentrations of oxytetracycline
Authors: Takeshita Natalia Akemi , Chiste Bruna Milke , Jonsson Claudio Martin , Mattioli Cristiano Campos , Hisano Hamilton
Published: August 2022

Median lethal concentration (LC50 − 96h), risk assessment, development, and mortality of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus larvae exposed to oxytetracycline (OTC) after stress management were evaluated in this study. Fish (n = 126; 32.25 ± 3.74 mg; 13.01 ± 0.64 mm; 7 larvae/aquarium) were used for LC50 − 96h trial and randomly distributed in 21 aquaria (1 L) with 0.0, 2.01, 2.44, 3.31, 3.65 and 4.59 mg/L of OTC. For acute stress test, fish (n = 180; 33.9 ± 0.73 mg; 13.06 ± 0.72 mm; 10 larvae/aquarium) were submitted to air stress for 5 minutes and posteriorly randomly allocated in 18 aquaria (1 L) and exposed to 0.0, 0.03, 0.82, 1.65, 2.47 and 3.30 of OTC. Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity, total ammonia and total hardness were measured daily. LC50 − 96h of OTC for Nile tilapia larvae was 3.45 mg/L. Weight and length of larvae submitted to graded levels of OTC decrease in both tests. Significant differences was observed for DO over 96h. pH, temperature and DO differ (P < 0.05) in post-stress test. Stress management (exposure to air) potentiates the toxic effects of sub-lethal doses of OTC. Furthermore, based on the risk quotient, OTC has a high risk to Nile tilapia larvae when exposed to therapeutic concentrations.
Nasal Reconstruction for Chinese Patients: A Retrospective Study
Authors: WEI MUQIAN , Bu Xi , Wang Guanhuier , Zhen Yonghuan , Yang Xin , Li Dong , An Yang
Published: August 2022

This article reviewed our experience of Chinese nasal reconstruction over 12 years and evaluated the effect of expanded forehead flap both aesthetically and functionally. The special skin type and other anatomic features of Chinese patients was understood thoroughly during the treatment. This article thus catered for the need of multiracial nasal reconstruction. We analyzed existing clinical data and demonstrated a typical case in detail. The postoperative result supported our strategy which advocated the extensive application of expanded forehead flap, together with flip scar flap as the internal lining. The features of Chinese patients also prompted the use of costal and auricular cartilage. Emerging technology like 3D-printing would benefit nasal reconstruction from more aspects.
Smoothing and Compressing Algorithm of Toolpath with Complex Contour in NC Machining
Authors: Zhang Liang , Lu Juan , Ou Chengyi , Ma Junyan , Liao Xiaoping
Published: August 2022

The continuous short line segment processing method in CNC machining has the defect of frequent fluctuation of feedrate, which affects the quality and efficiency. For this problem, the local and global methods are common solutions. The local method is to insert transition curves at the corners to obtain a smooth toolpath, but this method does not essentially reduce the number of acceleration and deceleration, and it is difficult to insert transition curves between tiny straight sections. Although the global method can obtain smooth tool trajectories, the parametric interpolation method is not suitable for low- and mid-range CNC machines. The article proposes an adaptive tool path generation method with the original part contour as the research object and discrete the NURBS curves into smooth trajectories consisting of large segments of straight lines and circular arcs. The article mimics the crawling characteristics of snakes and designs a double-headed snake algorithm based on the least squares method to implement this process. First, given the start and end points of the curve, two snakeheads search for the maximum linear and circular segments that satisfy the error constraint in the curve direction. The winner will then be selected as the candidate track segment through a competition mechanism. Finally, all trajectory segments are connected to obtain a smooth tool path. Experiments show that the toolpath data of the method in this paper is reduced by 75.56% compared with commercial CAM software when the contour error threshold is the same, and the contour error is reduced by more than one order of magnitude when the number of toolpath segments is equal. In addition, the method in this paper can obtain a smoother machining surface and more stable cutting force, thus achieving a win-win situation of quality and efficiency.
Prediction of the spatiotemporal evolution of vegetation cover in the Huainan mining area and quantitative analysis of driving factors
Authors: Zhang Xuyang , Zhou Yuzhi , Long Linli , Hu Pian , Huang Meiqin , Chen Yongchun , Chen Xiaoyang
Published: August 2022

The prediction of the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution of vegetation cover in the Huainan mining area and the quantitative evaluation of its driving factors are of great significance for protecting and restoring the ecological environment in this area. This study uses the Landsat time-series data to estimate the vegetation cover using pixel dichotomy and uses the transition matrix to analyze the spatiotemporal transfer of vegetation cover from 1989 to 2004, 2004 to 2021, and 2021 to 2030. In addition, a structural equation model (SEM) was established in this study to assess the driving factors of vegetation cover. The quantitative analysis and the Cellular Automata (CA)-Markov model were performed to predict the future vegetation cover in the Huainan mining area. The results: 1) a significant transfer among various vegetation types over the 1989-2004 period. During this period, the high-cover and medium-cover types revealed the most significant transfer-in and transfer-out, covering total areas of 738.5211 and 527.2884 km2, respectively. Whereas from 2004 to 2021, the high cover types showed the most significant transfer-in and transfer-out, covering total areas of 295.8993 and 205.3845 km2, respectively. The predicted land cover from 2021 to 2030 showed that the high cover type was the most transferred out, covering a total area of 540.7317 km2 and 555.5709 km2, using the CA-Markov and multi-criteria evaluation-CA-Markov (MCE-CA-Markov) models, respectively; 2) among the three dimensions, path coefficients of human activities were -0.11 and -0.39, respectively, while the path coefficients of topographical factors were 0.63 and 0.71 using SEM in 2015 and 2020, respectively. Human activities are the key factors affecting the vegetation growth, while topographical factor is the main factor promoting the vegetation growth; 3) Highly consistent CA-Markov and Multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) predicted results of vegetation cover in 2030 compared to that in 2021. The bare soil and low cover types were mainly concentrated in the mining area, showing connected patches. In addition, the bare soil type revealed a continuous expansion pattern, more particularly in the northwest direction. Large-area bare soil and low-cover patches were observed in the Zijing field, Banji field, and Yangcun exploration areas. The prediction of the spatiotemporal evolution of vegetation cover in the Huainan mining area and the quantitative change in driving factors are of significant importance for the restoration of the ecological environment in mining areas.
Research on the mechanism and process of EDM of polycrystalline diamond
Authors: Jiang Meng , Li Li , Sun Xumin , Wang Wencheng , Liu Zaichao
Published: August 2022

Traditional electric discharge machining (EDM) uses the copper electrode to machine polycrystalline diamond (PCD), and the machining efficiency and machining quality have been poor. To improve the machining efficiency and machining quality, this study uses white copper as the electrode to machine the surface of the PCD workpiece and adds graphene powder to the dielectric for mixed powder EDM. The surface properties and processing mechanism of PCD under different processing methods were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy, and the surface quality and processing efficiency of PCD were analyzed by material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR). The results showed that the MRR of the white copper electrode increased by 65% compared with that of the purple copper electrode at low parameters, and the MRR increased again by 87% after adding graphene, and the SR decreased by 13%. The graphitization of PCD diamond processed by the white copper electrode was greater than that of the purple copper electrode by Raman spectroscopy and XRD analysis, and the addition of graphene increased the graphitization again. The results show that when processing with copper electrode, the way of processing PCD is mainly to remove the binder, and the effect of processing diamond particles is not obvious; when processing with white copper electrode, making diamond graphitization is the main removal method, and after adding graphene in the dielectric, the removal method changes to a combination of diamond graphitization and high discharge energy removal.
Human Mobility and Medical Costs of Lifestyle-related Diseases during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Kato Haruka , Takizawa Atsushi
Published: August 2022

In Japan, increasing medical costs associated with the aging of the population is a significant concern. A large proportion of medical costs are related to lifestyle-related diseases. The pandemic forced people to reduce their mobility and worsened health. This study aims to clarify the correlation between the change in human mobility types and medical costs of lifestyle-related diseases during the pandemic. It was found that increasing walking is essential to reduce the medical cost of lifestyle-related diseases even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In detail, in the metropolitan prefectures, the medical costs decreased by increasing mobility of walking from 60% to 150%. In addition, in the other prefectures, the medical costs decreased by increasing mobility of walking from 70% to 170%. The results were significant because they indicate the target value for each human mobility type in metropolitan and other prefectures. Based on the target values, governments could promote mobility of walking and public transit use.
Willingness-to-pay for shared demand responsive transit service in remote rural areas
Authors: Liang Jyun-Kai , Lu Chung-Cheng
Published: August 2022

Shared Demand-Responsive Transit Service (SDRTS) is widely promoted around the world to meet mobility needs of remote rural areas with low passenger demand from the sparse and spatially scattered population. This study explored the fare that potential SDRTS users are willing to pay by analyzing empirical evidence from two townships in Taiwan. The potential users included both local residents and tourists. Contingent valuation with triple-bounded dichotomous choices for two scenario designs was used for willingness-to-pay (WTP) assessment. Results obtained revealed that WTP for SDRTS among local residents was influenced by socio-economic factors including gender, age, average income and prior experience. Moreover, those who considered driving safety important are willing to pay more for SDRTS while those with great concern for fare have lower WTP. As for tourists, age and waiting time are more influential factors on their WTP. Prices estimated using linear and interval regression analyses were similar. However, tourists were found willing to pay more for SDRTS than local residents, indicating different fares can be charged for the two user groups. The present findings can serve as reference in SDRTS pricing.
EBV LMP1-C terminal binding affibody molecule downregulates MEK/ERK/p90RSK pathway and inhibits the proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in mouse tumor xenograft models
Authors: Guo Yanru , Kamara Saidu , Zhang Jing , Wen He , Zheng Maolin , Liu Ying , Zhou Luqi , Chen Jun , Zhu Shanli , Zhang Lifang
Published: August 2022

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated malignancy most common in Southern China and Southeast Asia. In southern China, it is one of the major causes of cancer-related death. Despite improvement in radiotherapy and chemotherapy techniques, locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis remains the major causes for failure of treatment in NPC patients. Therefore, finding new specific drug targets for treatment interventions are urgently needed. Here, we report three potential ZLMP1−C affibody molecules (ZLMP1−C15, ZLMP1−C114 and ZLMP1−C277) that showed specific binding interactions for recombinant and native EBV LMP1 as determined by epitope mapping, co-localization and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The ZLMP1−C affibody molecules exhibited high antitumor effects on NPC-positive cell lines and displayed minimal cytotoxicity towards NPC-negative cell line. Moreover, ZLMP1−C277 showed higher antitumor efficacy than ZLMP1−C15 and ZLMP1−C114 affibody molecules. The ability of ZLMP1−C277 decrease the phosphorylation levels of up-stream activator phospho-Raf-1(Ser338), phospho-MEK1/2(Ser217/Ser221), phospho-ERK1/2(Thr202/Thr204), thereby leading to downstream suppression of phospho-p90RSK(Ser380) and transcription factor c-Fos. Importantly, tumor growth was reduced in tumor-bearing mice treated with ZLMP1−C277 and caused no apparent toxicity. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that ZLMP1−C277 as a promising therapeutic agent in EBV-associated NPC.
Bilateral upper eyelid swelling (Hoagland sign) in Epstein-Barr infectious mononucleosis: prospective experience
Authors: Bronz Gabriel , Zanetti Benedetto P. E. S. M. , Bianchetti Mario G. , Milani Gregorio P. , Lava Sebastiano A. G. , Neuhaus Thomas J. , Witschi Anne , Kottanattu Lisa
Published: August 2022

Background: The typical presentation of Epstein-Barr virus infectious mononucleosis includes fever, pharyngitis, measles-like rash, jaundice, and enlarged lymph nodes, liver, or spleen. A painless bilateral swelling of the upper eyelid, sometimes with drooping of the lateral aspect, may also occur. This sign, referred to as Hoagland sign, is not or only marginally mentioned in reviews and textbooks.Methods: Between 2019 and 2021, two of us evaluated all subjects with a positive acute Epstein-Barr virus serology for the typical signs of mononucleosis and for the possible existence of the Hoagland sign.Results: During the mentioned period, the diagnosis of mononucleosis was made in 26 (14 females and 12 males) subjects aged from 9.0 to 33 years. The initial presentation included fever in 24, enlarged cervical lymph nodes in 23, pharyngitis in 21, a palpable liver in seven, a palpable spleen in seven, jaundice in two, and a measles-like rash in two cases. The Hoagland sign was noted in 14 cases. Patients with and without Hoagland sign did not significantly differ with respect to age and sex.Conclusions: The Hoagland sign is an easily identifiable clinical sign that is common and likely helpful early in the course of Epstein-Barr virus infectious mononucleosis. There is a need to expand awareness of this sign among physicians.
A climatology of Black Carbon properties in the Arctic, from a decade of spring and summertime aircraft measurements
Authors: Juranyi Zsofia , Zanatta Marco , Lund Marianne , Samset Bjørn , Skeie Ragnhild , Sharma Sangeeta , Herber Andreas
Published: August 2022

A key driving factor behind rapid Arctic climate change is black carbon (BC), the atmospheric aerosol that most efficiently absorbs sunlight. Our knowledge about BC properties and distribution in the Arctic is scarce, and mainly limited to long-term measurements of a few ground stations and snap-shots by aircraft observations. Here, we combine observations from aircraft campaigns performed over nine years, and present a vertically resolved climatology of average BC properties. Model calculations indicate that these geographically restricted measurements could be well representative for the European and Canadian Arctic. A factor of 4 higher BC mass concentration, and a much higher inter-annual and geographic variability was found in spring compared to the stable situation in summer. Unexpectedly, the BC particle size distributions remain constant between seasons. A comparison between observations and BC concentrations simulated by a global model shows notable discrepancies, highlighting the need for further model developments and intensified measurements.