bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial prescriptions in cats in Switzerland before and after the introduction of an online antimicrobial stewardship tool
Authors: Hubbuch Alina , Schmitt Kira , Lehner Claudia , Hartnack Sonja , Schuller Simone , Schüpbach-Regula Gertraud , Mevissen Meike , Peter Ruth , Müntener Cedric , Naegeli Hanspeter , Willi Barbara
Published: July 2020

Background

Antimicrobial stewardship activities are essential to improve prudent antimicrobial use. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in antimicrobial prescriptions in cats after the introduction of prudent use guidelines promoted by an online antimicrobial stewardship tool (AntibioticScout.ch) in Switzerland. Data from 792 cats presented to two university hospitals and 14 private practices in 2018 were included and compared to 776 cases from 2016. Cats were diagnosed with acute upper respiratory tract disease (aURTD), feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) and abscesses. Clinical history, diagnostic work-up and antimicrobial prescriptions (class, dosage, duration) were assessed. Type and proportions [95% confidence intervals] of antimicrobial prescriptions were compared between the two evaluation periods and a mixed effects logistic regression model was applied to evaluate compliance with Swiss prudent use guidelines.

Results

From 2016 to 2018, the proportion of antimicrobial prescription in all included cases decreased from 75.0% [71.8–78.0] to 66.7% [63.3–69.9]; this decrease was most pronounced for treatments at university hospitals (67.1% [59.5–74.0] to 49.3% [40.9–57.8]) and for cats with FLUTD (60.1% [54.6–65.4] to 48.8% [43.2–54.4]). Use of 3rd generation cephalosporins in private practices declined from 30.7% [26.5–35.1] to 22.1% [18.4–26.2], while overall use of non-potentiated aminopenicillins increased from 19.6% [16.4–23.0] to 27.8% [24.1–31.9]. In cases where antimicrobial therapy was indicated, compliance with guidelines did not increase (33.3% [26.6–40.6] to 33.5% [27.2–40.2]), neither at universities nor in private practices. On the other hand, antimicrobial treatment was more often withheld in cases with no indication for antimicrobial therapy (35.6% [30.1–41.4] to 54.0% [47.6–60.4]); this was found for private practices (26.7% [20.8–33.4] to 46.0% [38.4–53.7]) and for aURTD cases (35.0% [26.5–44.2] to 55.4% [44.7–65.8]).

Conclusions

Overall proportions of antimicrobial prescription, unjustified antimicrobial therapy and, in private practices, use of 3rd generation cephalosporins decreased from 2016 to 2018 for the investigated feline diseases. However, overall compliance with Swiss prudent use guidelines was still low, implying that further efforts are required to foster prudent antimicrobial use in cats.
A programmable CRISPR/Cas9-based phage defense system for Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)
Authors: Liu Li , Zhao Dongdong , Ye Lijun , Zhan Tao , Xiong Bin , Hu Muzi , Bi Changhao , Zhang Xueli
Published: July 2020

Escherichia coli BL21 is arguably the most popular host for industrial production of proteins, and industrial fermentations are often plagued by phage infections. The CRISPR/Cas system is guided by a gRNA to cleave a specific DNA cassette, which can be developed into a highly efficient programable phage defense system. In this work, we constructed a CRISPR/Cas system targeting multiple positions on the genome of T7 phage and found that the system increased the BL21’s defense ability against phage infection. Furthermore, the targeted loci on phage genome played a critical role. For better control of expression of CRISPR/Cas9, various modes were tested, and the OD of the optimized strain BL21(pT7cas9, pT7-3gRNA, prfp) after 4 h of phage infection was significantly improved, reaching 2.0, which was similar to the control culture without phage infection. Although at later time points, the defensive ability of CRISPR/Cas9 systems were not as obvious as that at early time points. The viable cell count of the engineered strain in the presence of phage was only one order of magnitude lower than that of the strain with no infection, which further demonstrated the effectiveness of the CRISPR/Cas9 phage defense system. Finally, the engineered BL21 strain under phage attack expressed RFP protein at about 60% of the un-infected control, which was significantly higher than the parent BL21. In this work, we successfully constructed a programable CRISPR/Cas9 system to increase the ability of E. coli BL21’s to defend against phage infection, and created a resistant protein expression host. This work provides a simple and feasible strategy for protecting industrial E. coli strains against phage infection.
Ex vivo innate responses to particulate matter from livestock farms in asthma patients and healthy individuals
Authors: de Groot Linsey E. S. , Liu Dingyu , Dierdorp Barbara S. , Fens Niki , van de Pol Marianne A. , Sterk Peter J. , Kulik Wim , Gerlofs-Nijland Miriam E. , Cassee Flemming R. , Pinelli Elena , Lutter René
Published: July 2020

Background

Asthma patients suffer from periodic acute worsening of symptoms (i.e. loss of asthma control or exacerbations), triggered by a variety of exogenous stimuli. With the growing awareness that air pollutants impact respiratory diseases, we investigated whether particulate matter (PM) derived from various livestock farms (BioPM) differentially affected innate and oxidative stress responses in asthma and health.

Methods

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), collected from patients sequentially before and during loss of asthma control and from healthy individuals, were exposed to BioPM collected from chicken, goat and pig farms (1 and 5 μg/ml), with or without pre-treatment with antioxidants. Cytokine release and oxidative stress were assessed.

Results

PBMCs produced IFNγ, IL-1β, IL-10 and TNFα upon stimulation with BioPM, with that from pig farms inducing the highest cytokine levels. Overall, cytokine production was irrespective of the presence or state of disease. However, PBMCs from stable asthma patients upon exposure to the three BioPM showed more extreme TNFα responses than those from healthy subjects. Furthermore, PBMCs obtained during loss of asthma control that were exposed to BioPM from pig farms showed enhanced IFNγ release as well as decreased oxidative stress levels upon pre-treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) compared to stable disease. NAC, but not superoxide dismutase and catalase, also counteracted BioPM-induced cytokine release, indicating the importance of intracellular reactive oxygen species in the production of cytokines.

Conclusions

BioPM triggered enhanced pro-inflammatory responses by PBMCs from both healthy subjects and asthma patients, with those from patients during loss of asthma control showing increased susceptibility to BioPM from pig farms in particular.
Presence of a 34-gene signature is a favorable prognostic marker in squamous non-small cell lung carcinoma
Authors: Theelen W. S. M. E. , Krijgsman O. , Monkhorst K. , Kuilman T. , Peters D. D. G. C. , Cornelissen S. , Ligtenberg M. A. , Willems S. M. , Blaauwgeers J. L. G. , van Noesel C. J. M. , Peeper D. S. , van den Heuvel M. M. , Schulze K.
Published: July 2020

Background

The tumor immune microenvironment is a heterogeneous entity. Gene expression analysis allows us to perform comprehensive immunoprofiling and may assist in dissecting the different components of the immune infiltrate. As gene expression analysis also provides information regarding tumor cells, differences in interactions between the immune system and specific tumor characteristics can also be explored. This study aims to gain further insights in the composition of the tumor immune infiltrate and to correlate these components to histology and overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods

Archival tissues from 530 early stage, resected NSCLC patients with annotated tumor and patient characteristics were analyzed using the NanoString nCounter Analysis system.

Results

Unsupervised clustering of the samples was mainly driven by the overall level of inflammation, which was not correlated with survival in this patient set. Adenocarcinoma (AD) showed a significantly higher degree of immune infiltration compared to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A 34-gene signature, which did not correlate with the overall level of immune infiltration, was identified and showed an OS benefit in SCC. Strikingly, this benefit was not observed in AD. This difference in OS in SCC specifically was confirmed in two independent NSCLC cohorts. The highest correlation between expression of the 34-gene signature and specific immune cell populations was observed for NK cells, but although a plausible mechanism for NK cell intervention in tumor growth could be established in SCC over AD, this could not be translated back to immunohistochemistry, which showed that NK cell infiltration is scarce irrespective of histology.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that the ability of immune cell infiltration and the interaction between tumor and immune cells may be different between AD and SCC histology and that a subgroup of SCC tumors seems more susceptible to Natural Killer cell recognition and killing, whereas this may not occur in AD tumors. A highly sensitive technique like NanoString was able to detect this subgroup based on a 34-gene signature, but further research will be needed to assist in explaining the biological rationale of such low-level expression signatures.
NTCP gene polymorphisms and hepatitis B virus infection status in a Ghanaian population
Authors: Nyarko Eric , Obirikorang Christian , Owiredu W. K. B. A. , Adu Evans Asamoah , Acheampong Emmanuel , Aidoo Freeman , Ofori Emmanuel , Addy Bright Selorm , Asare-Anane Henry
Published: July 2020

Background

SLC10A1 gene codes NTCP, a receptor through which the hepatitis B virus (HBV) gets access into hepatocytes - a stage of the viral cycle necessary for replication. Polymorphism variants of SLC10A1 play roles in HBV infection, viral clearance, treatment outcome, and complications, in diverse ethnic groups and countries. However, no such study has been conducted in the Ghanaian population, a country with HBV endemicity. Therefore, an exploratory study was conducted to investigate the presence of three (3) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SLC10A1 gene (rs2296651, rs61745930, and rs4646287) and assessed the risk of HBV infection among the Ghanaian population.

Method

Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used to determine the presence of the SNPs among 292 participants comprising 146 HBV infected persons as case-subjects and 146 HBV non-infected persons as control-subjects.

Results

The minor allele frequency (T) of rs2296651 was present in a significantly high proportion of cases compared with the control group (11.6% vs. 3.1%, p < 0.0001). The homozygote recessive variant of rs61745930 was present in 2.7% of the control group and 5.5% of the case group. Moreover, the minor allele frequencies of rs4646287 were 9.3 and 8.2% among the control and the case group, respectively (p = 0.767). Under the dominant (CC) genetic model of inheritance, rs2296651 was found to be protective of HBV infection [OR = 0.18 (0.07–0.44)], whereas under the co-dominant and additive model, rs2296651 was a potential risk factor for HBV infection [OR = 5.2 (95%CI: 2.1–12.8); 3.5 (95%CI: 1.6–7.6], respectively. Variants of rs61745930 and rs4646287 were not associated with HBV infection (p > 0.05). Polymorphisms in SLC10A1, however, did not show any significant association with HBV infectivity (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The study highlights some polymorphism proof that variants rs2296651, rs61745930, and rs4646287 exist in HBV-infected individuals in Ghana. Although variant rs2296651 was found to be associated with HBV infection, this association warrants more studies. Polymorphisms in SLC10A1 were not associated with HBV infectivity among the Ghanaian population. Further investigation is warranted to assess the offensive role of the relationship between rs2296651 and HBV infectivity.
Evaluation of novel precision viticulture tool for canopy biomass estimation and missing plant detection based on 2.5D and 3D approaches using RGB images acquired by UAV platform
Authors: Di Gennaro Salvatore Filippo , Matese Alessandro
Published: July 2020

Background

The knowledge of vine vegetative status within a vineyard plays a key role in canopy management in order to achieve a correct vine balance and reach the final desired yield/quality. Detailed information about canopy architecture and missing plants distribution provides useful support for farmers/winegrowers to optimize canopy management practices and the replanting process, respectively. In the last decade, there has been a progressive diffusion of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) technologies for Precision Viticulture purposes, as fast and accurate methodologies for spatial variability of geometric plant parameters. The aim of this study was to implement an unsupervised and integrated procedure of biomass estimation and missing plants detection, using both the 2.5D-surface and 3D-alphashape methods.

Results

Both methods showed good overall accuracy respect to ground truth biomass measurements with high values of R2 (0.71 and 0.80 for 2.5D and 3D, respectively). The 2.5D method led to an overestimation since it is derived by considering the vine as rectangular cuboid form. On the contrary, the 3D method provided more accurate results as a consequence of the alphashape algorithm, which is capable to detect each single shoot and holes within the canopy. Regarding the missing plants detection, the 3D approach confirmed better performance in cases of hidden conditions by shoots of adjacent plants or sparse canopy with some empty spaces along the row, where the 2.5D method based on the length of section of the row with lower thickness than the threshold used (0.10 m), tended to return false negatives and false positives, respectively.

Conclusions

This paper describes a rapid and objective tool for the farmer to promptly identify canopy management strategies and drive replanting decisions. The 3D approach provided results closer to real canopy volume and higher performance in missing plant detection. However, the dense cloud based analysis required more processing time. In a future perspective, given the continuous technological evolution in terms of computing performance, the overcoming of the current limit represented by the pre- and post-processing phases of the large image dataset should mainstream this methodology.
Causes and characteristics of death in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Ketcham Scott W. , Sedhai Yub Raj , Miller H. Catherine , Bolig Thomas C. , Ludwig Amy , Co Ivan , Claar Dru , McSparron Jakob I. , Prescott Hallie C. , Sjoding Michael W.
Published: July 2020

Background

Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure (AHRF) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are associated with high in-hospital mortality. However, in cohorts of ARDS patients from the 1990s, patients more commonly died from sepsis or multi-organ failure rather than refractory hypoxemia. Given increased attention to lung-protective ventilation and sepsis treatment in the past 25 years, we hypothesized that causes of death may be different among contemporary cohorts. These differences may provide clinicians with insight into targets for future therapeutic interventions.

Methods

We identified adult patients hospitalized at a single tertiary care center (2016–2017) with AHRF, defined as PaO2/FiO2≤ 300 while receiving invasive mechanical ventilation for > 12 h, who died during hospitalization. ARDS was adjudicated by multiple physicians using the Berlin definition. Separate abstractors blinded to ARDS status collected data on organ dysfunction and withdrawal of life support using a standardized tool. The primary cause of death was defined as the organ system that most directly contributed to death or withdrawal of life support.

Results

We identified 385 decedents with AHRF, of whom 127 (33%) had ARDS. The most common primary causes of death were sepsis (26%), pulmonary dysfunction (22%), and neurologic dysfunction (19%). Multi-organ failure was present in 70% at time of death, most commonly due to sepsis (50% of all patients), and 70% were on significant respiratory support at the time of death. Only 2% of patients had insupportable oxygenation or ventilation. Eighty-five percent died following withdrawal of life support. Patients with ARDS more often had pulmonary dysfunction as the primary cause of death (28% vs 19%;p = 0.04) and were also more likely to die while requiring significant respiratory support (82% vs 64%;p <  0.01).

Conclusions

In this contemporary cohort of patients with AHRF, the most common primary causes of death were sepsis and pulmonary dysfunction, but few patients had insupportable oxygenation or ventilation. The vast majority of deaths occurred after withdrawal of life support. ARDS patients were more likely to have pulmonary dysfunction as the primary cause of death and die while requiring significant respiratory support compared to patients without ARDS.
hUMSC transplantation restores ovarian function in POI rats by inhibiting autophagy of theca-interstitial cells via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway
Authors: Lu Xueyan , Bao Hongchu , Cui Linlu , Zhu Wenqian , Zhang Lianshuang , Xu Zheng , Man Xuejing , Chu Yongli , Fu Qiang , Zhang Hongqin
Published: July 2020

Background

Previous studies of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) have focused on granulosa cells (GCs) and ignored the role of theca-interstitial cells (TICs). This study aims to explore the mechanism of the protective effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUMSCs) on ovarian function in POI rats by regulating autophagy of TICs.

Methods

The POI model was established in rats treated with cisplatin (CDDP). The hUMSCs were transplanted into POI rats by tail vein. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and immunohistochemistry were used to measure the protective effects of hUMSCs. The molecular mechanisms of injury and repairment of TICs were assessed by immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscope (TEM), flow cytometry (FCM), western blot, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Results

In vivo, hUMSC transplantation restored the ovarian function and alleviated the apoptosis of TICs in POI rats. In vitro, hUMSCs reduced the autophagy levels of TICs by reducing oxidative stress and regulating AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway, thereby alleviating the apoptosis of TICs.

Conclusion

This study indicates that hUMSCs protected ovarian function in POI by regulating autophagy signaling pathway AMPK/mTOR.
Reduction in depressive symptoms predicts improvement in eating disorder symptoms in interpersonal psychotherapy: results from a naturalistic study
Authors: Bäck Malin , Falkenström Fredrik , Gustafsson Sanna Aila , Andersson Gerhard , Holmqvist Rolf
Published: July 2020

Background

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) can be effective for both Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and co-occurring depression. While changes in symptoms of Eating disorder (ED) and depression have been found to correlate, it is unclear how they interact during treatment and in which order the symptoms decrease.

Methods

Thirty-one patients with BN and depressive symptoms received IPT using the manual IPT-BNm in a naturalistic design. The outcome was measured with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S). Symptom improvement at each session was measured with Repeated Evaluation of Eating Disorder Symptoms (REDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

Results

Significant improvements with large effect sizes were found on both ED symptoms and depression. The rates of change were linear for both BN and depression. A strong correlation between reduction of depressive symptoms and ED symptoms was found. Depressive symptom reduction at one session predicted improvement of ED symptoms at the next session.

Conclusions

IPT-BNm had an effect on both BN and co-occurring depressive symptoms. The analyses indicated that reduction in depressive symptoms preceded reduction in bulimic symptoms.
Long-term survival after hepatectomy for metachronous liver metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a case report
Authors: Tsutsumi Chikanori , Abe Toshiya , Shinkawa Tomohiko , Nishihara Kazuyoshi , Tamiya Sadafumi , Nakano Toru
Published: July 2020

Background

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most aggressive malignancies. The prognosis for recurrence after surgery is extremely unfavorable, and liver metastasis of PDAC confers poor prognosis despite resection.

Case presentation

A 51-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for further examination and treatment, including surgery for a pancreatic tumor. On close inspection, he was suspected to have pancreatic head cancer without enlarged lymph nodes or distant metastasis, and pancreatoduodenectomy with D2 lymph node dissection was performed. A postoperative pathological examination revealed well-differentiated invasive ductal adenocarcinoma with lymph node metastasis (stage IIB; pT2N1M0). Postoperatively, he received adjuvant chemotherapy containing gemcitabine for 1 year. Eight years after the radical surgery, his serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level was elevated, and computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-circumscribed 10-mm mass in liver segment 5. Positron emission tomography/CT also revealed high fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake only in this hepatic tumor. Accordingly, the patient was diagnosed with a solitary liver metastasis of PDAC. As the liver metastasis was isolated and identified long after the initial surgery, we decided to resect it using laparoscopic partial hepatectomy of segment 5. Histopathological examination confirmed liver metastasis of PDAC and the patient received adjuvant chemotherapy containing S-1. No evidence of recurrence has been seen for 11 years since the pancreatoduodenectomy and 3 years since the hepatic resection.

Conclusions

Cases of metachronous liver metastasis of PDAC after radical surgery, in which patients exhibit long-term survival without recurrence after hepatectomy, are extremely rare. Hepatectomy may confer long-term survival, and the time to postoperative recurrence and the number of liver metastases may be useful criteria for deciding whether to perform hepatic resection.
An extremely rare case of rapidly growing mediastinal well-differentiated liposarcoma with a sclerosing variant: a case report
Authors: Iwamoto Naoya , Matsuura Yosuke , Ninomiya Hironori , Ichinose Junji , Nakao Masayuki , Ishikawa Yuichi , Okumura Sakae , Mun Mingyon
Published: July 2020

Background

Liposarcoma arising from the mediastinum is rare, accounting for less than 1% of mediastinal tumors. Furthermore, a rapidly growing well-differentiated liposarcoma is extremely rare. A well-differentiated liposarcoma is usually considered a low-grade malignancy. However, we present an extremely rare case of a sclerosing variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma that grew rapidly within a year.

Case presentation

A 77-year-old man with a giant mass in the left thoracic cavity was referred to our hospital. This mass measured about 10 cm and occupied the left-sided mediastinum on a chest radiography; however, there was no abnormal finding on the previous year’s chest radiography. Chest-enhanced computed tomography revealed a well-circumscribed 11-cm mass in the left-sided anterior mediastinum. Positron emission tomography showed accumulation of fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in this tumor (maximum standard uptake value = 3.3). The radiological findings of computed tomography and positron emission tomography indicated that this tumor was a benign or low-grade malignancy; therefore, the chest radiographic findings were difficult to explain. To explain this discrepancy and establish the diagnosis, tumor resection was performed via left posterolateral thoracotomy. Intraoperatively, the left phrenic nerve and pericardium were adhered tightly to the tumor, so we resected them. The tumor was well-circumscribed and fibrous; therefore, the initial diagnosis was solitary fibrous tumor. However, based on its histopathological and immunohistochemical patterns, the tumor was diagnosed as a sclerosing variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma. Five years postoperatively, the patient remains alive with no evidence of disease recurrence.

Conclusions

A well-differentiated liposarcoma is usually considered a low-grade malignancy. Nevertheless, the giant tumor in the present case appeared within 1 year. Thus, this was an extremely rare case of a sclerosing variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma with rapid growth.
Aberrant expression for microRNA is potential crucial factors of haemorrhoid
Authors: Song Chengkun , Zhou Haikun , Lu Hong , Luo Chunsheng , Wang Chen , Wang Qingming , Peng Yunhua , Xin Yaojie , Liu Te , Yang Wei
Published: July 2020

Background

Haemorrhoids occur commonly and frequently in the human digestive system. There are diverse causes of haemorrhoids and their in-depth pathogenesis is still currently unclear.

Methods

In this study, we explored haemorrhoids from an epigenetics perspective by employing RNA-Seq for comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the differences in microRNA (miRNA) transcripts between haemorrhoidal tissue and normal tissue in 48 patients with Grade II and above haemorrhoids.

Results

The results showed that 9 miRNAs were significantly upregulated (ratio > 3.5 and P-value < 0.01) and 16 miRNAs were significantly downregulated (ratio > 0.6 and P-value < 0.01) in haemorrhoid tissue. Subsequently, target gene prediction results showed that there were 184 potential target genes of significantly upregulated miRNAs (common to both TargetScan7.1 and MirdbV5 databases) and there were 372 potential target genes of significantly downregulated miRNAs. Gene ontology analysis results showed that the target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs in haemorrhoids are involved in regulating “cell composition” and “protein binding”. Lastly, KEGG search found that the differentially expressed miRNAs that are associated with the occurrence of haemorrhoids mainly regulate the activity of endocytosis and the synaptic vesicle cycle.

Conclusions

In summary, the results of high-throughput RNA-Seq screening suggested that the occurrence of haemorrhoids may be intimately associated with aberrant miRNA transcription, resulting in aberrant target gene expression and an imbalance in certain signal transduction pathways.
Parental transgenerational epigenetic inheritance related to dietary crude oil exposure in Danio rerio
Authors: Bautista Naim M. , Crespel Amelie , Crossley Janna , Padilla Pamela , Burggren Warren
Published: July 2020

Transgenerational inheritance from both parental lines can occur by genetic and epigenetic inheritance. Maternal effects substantially influence offspring survival and fitness. However, investigation of the paternal contribution to offspring success has been somewhat neglected. Adult zebrafish were separated into female and male groups exposed for 21-days to either a control diet or to a diet containing water accommodated fractions of crude oil. Four F1 offspring groups were obtained: 1) control (non-exposed parents), 2) paternally-exposed, 3) maternally-exposed, and 4) dual parent-exposed larvae. To determine the maternal and paternal influence on their offspring, we evaluated responses from molecular to whole organismal levels in both generations. Growth rate, hypoxia resistance, and heart rate did not differ among parental groups. However, global DNA-methylation in heart tissue was decreased in oil-exposed fish compared with control parents. This decrease was accompanied by an up-regulation of glycine N-methyltransferase. Unexpectedly, maternal, paternal, and dual exposure all enhanced F1 survival of offspring raised in oiled conditions. Regardless of parental exposure, however, F1 exposed to oil exhibited bradycardia. Compared with offspring from control parents, global DNA-methylation was decreased in the three offspring groups derived from oil-exposed parents. However, no difference between groups was observed in gene regulation involved in methylation transfer, suggesting that the changes observed in the F1 populations may have been inherited from both parental lines. Phenotypic responses during exposure to persistent environmental stressors in F1 offspring appear to be influenced by maternal and paternal exposure, potentially benefitting offspring populations to survive in challenging environments.
Disruption of thermogenic UCP1 predated the divergence of pigs and peccaries
Authors: Fyda Thomas Jacob , Spencer Connor , Jastroch Martin , Gaudry Michael
Published: July 2020

Uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) governs non-shivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. It has been estimated that pigs lost UCP1 ∼20 million years ago (MYA), dictating cold intolerance among piglets. Our current understanding of the root causes of UCP1 loss are, however, incomplete. Thus, examination of additional species can shed light on these fundamental evolutionary questions. Here, we investigated Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri) UCP1, a member of the Tayassuid lineage that diverged from pigs during the Late Eocene-Mid Oligocene. Peccary UCP1 exons 1 and 2 have been deleted while the remaining exons display additional inactivating mutations. A common nonsense mutation in exon 6 reveals UCP1 was pseudogenized in a shared ancestor of pigs and peccaries. Our selection pressure analyses indicate the inactivation occurred much earlier, 36.2-44.3 MYA during the mid-late Eocene, than previously thought. Importantly, pseudogenized UCP1 provides the molecular basis for cold sensitivity and current tropical biogeography of extant peccaries.
Performance of deep learning object detection technology in the detection and diagnosis of maxillary sinus lesions on panoramic radiographs
Authors: Kuwana Ryosuke , Ariji Yoshiko , Fukuda Motoki , Kise Yoshitaka , Nozawa Michihito , Kuwada Chiaki , Muramatsu Chisako , Katsumata Akitoshi , Fujita Hiroshi , Ariji Eiichiro
Published: July 2020

Objective:

The first aim of this study was to determine the performance of a deep learning object detection technique in the detection of maxillary sinuses on panoramic radiographs. The second aim was to clarify the performance in the classification of maxillary sinus lesions compared with healthy maxillary sinuses.

Methods:

The imaging data for healthy maxillary sinuses (587 sinuses, Class 0), inflamed maxillary sinuses (416 sinuses, Class 1), cysts of maxillary sinus regions (171 sinuses, Class 2) were assigned to training, testing 1, and testing 2 data sets. A learning process of 1000 epochs with the training images and labels was performed using DetectNet, and a learning model was created. The testing 1 and testing 2 images were applied to the model, and the detection sensitivities and the false-positive rates per image were calculated. The accuracies, sensitivities and specificities were determined for distinguishing the inflammation group (Class 1) and cyst group (Class 2) with respect to the healthy group (Class 0).

Results:

Detection sensitivities of healthy (Class 0) and inflamed (Class 1) maxillary sinuses were 100% for both testing 1 and testing 2 data sets, whereas they were 98 and 89% for cysts of the maxillary sinus regions (Class 2). False-positive rates per image were nearly 0.00. Accuracies, sensitivities and specificities for diagnosis maxillary sinusitis were 90–91%, 88–85%, and 91–96%, respectively; for cysts of the maxillary sinus regions, these values were 97–100%, 80–100%, and 100–100%, respectively.

Conclusion:

Deep learning could reliably detect the maxillary sinuses and identify maxillary sinusitis and cysts of the maxillary sinus regions.

Advances in knowledge:

This study using a deep leaning object detection technique indicated that the detection sensitivities of maxillary sinuses were high and the performance of maxillary sinus lesion identification was ≧80%. In particular, performance of sinusitis identification was ≧90%.
Features of the Organization of Accounting in Non-Profi t Organizations in the Field of Physical Education and Sports
Authors: Dmitrieva I. , Kharakoz Yu.
Published: July 2020

Th e article examines the features of creating non-profi t organizations in the fi eld of physical culture and sports,

as well as the rules of accounting and formation of accounting (fi nancial) statements of NPOs.
Optical properties of PlatSil SiliGlass tissue-mimicking phantoms: erratum
Authors: Naglič Peter , Zelinskyi Yevhen , Rogelj Luka , Stergar Jošt , Milanič Matija , Novak Jure , Kumperščak Borut , Bürmen Miran
Published: July 2020

We corrected the label of the reduced scattering coefficient in Fig. 11 of our recently published paper (Biomed. Opt. Express 11, 3753 (2020)).
A dinâmica espacial dos destinos turísticos limítrofes da região das Agulhas Negras
Authors: Bantim Natasha , Fratucci Aguinaldo
Published: July 2020

Os resultados apresentados nesse artigo se inserem no contexto da pesquisa de dissertação de mestrado que investigou a gestão pública na região turística das Agulhas Negras. Essa região está localizada no sul do estado do Rio de Janeiro, fazendo limites com os estados de Minas Gerais e São Paulo. Considerando que as decisões do Conselho Regional de Turismo daquela região acabam impactando diversas localidades vizinhas devido à proximidade de seus territórios e à circulação de turistas entre elas, investiga-se se as entidades turísticas desses municípios vizinhos estão, de alguma forma, incluídas nas decisões daquele Conselho Regional. Para tanto, foram realizadas discussões sobre mobilidade e uso da categoria território-rede para compreensão do fenômeno turístico e entrevistas em profundidade com participantes do Conselho utilizando a técnica ‘bola de neve’. Como resultado, tem-se que os entrevistados percebem que o turismo na região ultrapassa as divisas estaduais e que os agentes de um dos municípios vizinhos estão incluídos no Conselho, mas não o consideram representativo. É consenso que, para os turistas, o limite político-administrativo é indiferente e que é possível haver cooperação entre municípios vizinhos.
Imigrantes ou consumidores de intercâmbio? As agências como possíveis facilitadores da imigração de brasileiros para Austrália
Authors: Cruz Eduardo Picanço , Falcão Roberto Pessoa de Queiroz , Paula Fábio de Oliveira
Published: July 2020

O objetivo do artigo é evidenciar o possível papel das agências de intercâmbio de estudantes como facilitadores de imigração. Visando entender o comportamento de consumo e os fatores que motivam os brasileiros a imigrar para Austrália, os pesquisadores realizaram uma survey com 608 consumidores, ligados a 10 grupos do Facebook, representando comunidades de brasileiros na Austrália. Por meio de um modelo de regressão logística, os pesquisadores escolheram a variável dependente do estudo para ser representada pelo imigrante permanente, sendo atribuído o valor 0 (zero) se os inquiridos não pretendessem viver na Austrália permanentemente ou 1 (um), no caso contrário. As variáveis independentes, representantes de fatores presentes no momento de sua chegada ao país, e que podem afetar a decisão de imigrar permanentemente, foram o gênero, a idade na chegada, a intenção futura de empreender, o visto de estudante e o nível educacional. Os resultados apontam para fatores estatisticamente significativos relacionados à imigração para a Austrália, com base nos perfis sociodemográficos dos respondentes. Também foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com um agente de viagens e residentes brasileiros. Como implicações práticas, o artigo evidencia o comportamento de consumo, motivações para imigração e fatores que levam à contratação de agências de intercâmbio estudantil.
The Cultural Doings and Undoings of the Sydney Taylor Book Award
Authors: Collins Stacy M.
Published: July 2020

The children’s book award is an ideological vehicle that communicates both implicit and explicit values to the wider world. For half a century, the Sydney Taylor Book Award has invoked criteria of literary excellence and authentic portrayals of Jewish experiences and the implicit cultural values that underpin them in its mission to recognize, celebrate, and perpetuate quality Jewish children’s literature. The award upholds and subverts cultural ideas of childhood, literary excellence, and Jewish authenticity in order to resist systems of power and dominant cultural narratives that seek to erase or flatten Jewish representation.
SARS-Corona Virus-2 Origin and Treatment, From Coffee to Coffee: A Double-Edged Sword
Authors: Naghii Mohammad Reza
Published: July 2020

Identifying the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 disease will help to make appropriate decisions and thus control the epidemic. Although many details, such as the source of the virus and its ability to spread between people remain unknown, an increasing number of cases show the signs of human-to-human transmission.

The purpose of this review is to introduce the reservoir hosts, and the possible role of distributions of bat coronaviruses in China, and eventually to aim to predict virus natural hotspots and their cross-species transmission potential. Why bats can maintain coronaviruses long-term without showing clinical symptoms of diseases and what is allowing bats to have a higher tolerance against viral diseases. We need to unveil the mystery of unique bat immunity. Although bats are not in close contact with humans, spillover of viruses from bats to intermediate animal hosts like civet is thought to be the most likely mode to cause human infection. It appears that the coffee beans which are a rich source of chlorogenic acid are acting as a reservoir host and causative agent, and at the same time as a defense agent to create resistance in the consumers (bats and animals). It is assumed that the intake of chlorogenic acid should be capable of protecting human from contamination or severe morbidity.
How Valid are the Reported Cases of People Infected with Covid-19 in the World?
Authors: Isea Raul
Published: July 2020

The goal of this paper is to analyze the registered cases of people who have been infected with Covid-19 registered from throughout the world, using a digital forensic analysis technique that is based on Benford's Law. Twenty-three countries were randomly chosen for this analysis: China, India, Germany, Brazil, Venezuela, Netherlands, Italy, Colombia, Russia, Norway, South Africa, Portugal, Singapore, United Kingdom, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Denmark, Ireland, France, Belgium, Australia and Croatia.. We calculate on the p-values based on Pearson χ2 and Mantissa Arc Test according to the results obtained with the first digit. If any country fails these two tests, a third proof will be carried out based on the Freedman-Watson test. The results indicated that results from Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and Chile are suspicions of data manipulation because the numbers fail the Benford’s Law according to the results obtained until April 30, 2020. However, it is necessary to carry out further studies in these countries in order to ensure that they countries manipulate or altered the information.
Practical Methods to Improve Client Compliance in General Medicine
Authors: Turabian Jose Luis
Published: July 2020

There is a gap between theoretical knowledge about strategies and the techniques or methods to apply in the practice of the consultation to improve compliance. Within the framework of these strategies, a number of techniques to be used in certain situations can be cited: 1) Assessing readiness to change, importance and confidence; 2) Instruments for decision support; 3) Technique of the "pros and cons"; 4) Auto-monitoring techniques; 5) Technique of "information exchange"; 6) Feedback technique; 7) Brainstorming; 8) The “typical day”; and 9) Practical reminder systems for taking medication. A certain technique is not a universal procedure, but it is usually refined by trial and error, based on past experiences, and their choice and design are the responsibility of the general practitioner.
General Doctor's Consultation Work Begins before Entering the Patient and does not End when Patient Comes Out
Authors: Turabian Jose Luis
Published: July 2020

The consultation is the activity of meeting and communication between an individual and the doctor for the knowledge and solution of a health problem. In today's busy world of general medicine, constant demands for the general practitioner (GP) arise: she or he should not only make a diagnosis not only should make a differential diagnosis during consultation, but must also establish a good relationship, explore patient ideas, concerns and expectations and negotiate a management plan, taking into account limited resources, the quality framework and results, having Information technology skills, plus, the need to promote health during any consultation. Normally the GP has only 10 minutes to achieve all that, as well as to manage your own emotions, agendas and uncertainty. In this way, novice doctors may find it difficult to move in this situation of complexity, and they can also observe a gap in the literature that really guides them in practice. Rigorous preparation is the key to success for many endeavours. Some tips to perform an efficient and safe consultation work in general medicine are suggested: 1) Focus on the next patient; 2) Preparing the consultation before entering the patient, memorizing the patient's previous history; 3) Establishing a connection with the patient; 4) Remembering the elements that must be in each consultation (the current reason, update other previous processes, chronic diseases and continued attention, "case finding", health promotion); 5) Striking a balance between empathy and assertiveness; 6) Putting in writing and contextualized the clinical record; and 7) Making reflection-safety questions, learning questions, and preparation questions for the next visit. Rigorous preparation is the key to success for the general practitioner in every consultation. Think about these topics of the consultation before doing it, and after it, prepare the next consultation of that patient. All these things are force multipliers.
Care in Chronic Diseases and in "Frail" Patients in General Practice
Authors: Mango Lucio
Published: July 2020

The world of chronicity is an area in progressive growth that involves a considerable commitment of resources, requiring continuity of assistance for long periods of time and a strong integration of health services with social ones and those requiring residential and territorial services often not sufficiently designed and developed. The fundamental aim of the treatment of chronic systems is to keep as much as possible the patient at home and prevent or reduce the risk of institutionalization. GP could put their expertise to good use in the Complex of Primary Care Units and Territorial Functional Aggregations, reducing the costs of the health service.
Reliability and Validity of Scale of Studies of the Perception of Internet Use
Authors: García Lirios Cruz , Bustos Aguayo José Marcos , Juárez Nájera Margarita , Bolivar Mojica Eyder , Quiroz Campas Celia Yaneth
Published: July 2020

The objective of this work was to establish the reliability and validity of an instrument that mea-sured the perception of Internet use. A non-experimental work was carried out with a non-pro-babilistic selection of 340 students from a public university in central Mexico. The results show a total percentage of variance explained by two perceptual dimensions that allude to the search and selection of information, although the type of design limited the results to the research scenario, suggesting the inclusion of factors related to the beliefs of use of Internet and the provisions as determinants of intentions and the use of digital networks.
Concepciones de ingresantes universitarios sobre la multitarea en entornos digitales
Authors: López - Gil Karen Shirley , Ramírez Osorio Luz Stella
Published: July 2020

Este artículo tuvo como objetivos caracterizar las concepciones sobre la multitarea en estudiantes universitarios y describir las prácticas asociadas a ella. Se aplicó un cuestionario en línea a 331 ingresantes de distintas carreras, matriculados en un curso introductorio de lectura y escritura en una universidad privada de la ciudad de Cali, en Colombia. El cuestionario incluía, en su mayoría, preguntas cerradas de opción múltiple sobre las prácticas de multitarea de los jóvenes cuando se enfrentan a actividades académicas, y preguntas abiertas que indagaban sus percepciones respecto de este fenómeno. Los datos se analizaron a partir de técnicas de estadística descriptiva y de análisis de contenido mediante el apoyo del software Atlas.ti 8.0. Entre los resultados destaca que la mayoría de estudiantes tienen prácticas de multitarea en pantallas, aunque esta no es una actividad exclusiva del entorno digital. La multitarea se concibe, por un lado, como una habilidad “innata”, característica de la juventud actual, y por otro, como una respuesta a las exigencias de la sociedad de la información. Para los estudiantes, la multitarea representa una gran ventaja si se regula de forma adecuada.
State Legal Forms of Interaction with Debt Obligations and State Losses
Authors: DMYTRYK Olga O. , KOSTENKO Yuliia O. , MONAIENKO Anton O. , RIADINSKA Valeriia O. , SOLDATENKO Oksana V.
Published: July 2020

Regulation of financial relations in the state is first and foremost based on an understanding of the allowed extent of freedom of financial transactions. In this regard, of relevance becomes the understanding of what is a limitation or expansion of the freedom of economic thought. The novelty of the study is determined by the fact that financial obligations ultimately become the tasks of state financial regulation. The authors demonstrate that the study should include the task of providing the state with a methodology and a toolkit for handling debt obligations within the state. The secondary objective is to build an understanding that legislation should also be aimed at reducing potential losses. Financial violations of a corruption nature are considered as objects of causing losses. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that due to the reduction of problematic situations in the legislation, the socio-economic stability of the state as at large increases.