bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the correlation between serum autoantibodies against aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 and thyrotropin receptor in patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy
Authors: Lin Chia-Ching , Chiu Li-Wen , Lee Po Yen , Chen Kuo-Jen , Cheng Kai
Published: January 2023

Objectives: Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by orbital inflammation related to Graves’ disease. Identifying the titers of potential autoimmune target such as thyrotropin receptor autoantibody (TRAb) and anti-aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) antibody could be valuable and convenient in evaluating clinical activity and severity of GO to provide necessary treatment. This study aims to investigate the correlations among serum titers of anti-ALDH2 antibody and TRAb, thyroid function and clinical activity of GO.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of fifty GO patients to identify the correlation coefficients between anti-ALDH2 antibody and the Clinical Activity Score (CAS); anti-ALDH2 antibody and TRAb; and TRAb and thyroid-related biochemical parameters using Pearson’s correlation.
Results: After the analysis, there was a positive significant association between anti-ALDH2 antibody and CAS (r=0.301, P=0.033); however, no relationship was found between anti-ALDH2 antibody and TRAb (r=0.109, P=0.452). Additionally, TRAb was correlated with T3 (r=0.333, P=0.018), free-T4 (r=0.336, P=0.017) and TSH (r=-0.315, P=0.026), yet not associated with CAS (r=-0.009, P=0.948) as well.
Conclusions: Anti-ALDH2 antibody could be a suitable assessment tool to evaluate the clinical activity of GO for providing patients with necessary treatment. The significant correlation between anti-ALDH2 antibody and CAS indicated that it might be more specific to the orbital tissues in GO patients compared to TRAb, which is instead more specific to the thyroid function.
Imaging features of Color Doppler Ultrasound, computed tomography and computed tomography dacryocystography in lacrimal sac space-occupying lesions
Authors: Qian Zhenbin , Yu Bo , Yang Ye , Wei Fang , Dong Jianli , Wei Liqing
Published: January 2023

Purpose: Lacrimal sac space-occupying lesions (SOLs) are rare and sometimes life-threatening disorders, often misdiagnosed in clinical practices. This study aimed to observe the imaging features of Color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) and computed tomography (CT) or computed tomography dacryocystography (CT-DCG) in different types of lacrimal sac SOLs.
Methods: This retrospective case series study included 21 patients with lacrimal sac SOLs who underwent lacrimal sac surgery between January 2018 and March 2022. The imaging features of CDU and CT or CT-DCG in these patients extracted from the examination cloud system were observed and analyzed.
Results: 21 patients with lacrimal sac SOLs completed preoperative CDU and CT or CT-DCG examination. CDU showed abnormal lacrimal sac imaging in all cases of SOLs (21/21, 100%), while CT or CT-DCG showed abnormal imaging in 20 cases (20/21, 95.2%). CDU could detect the blood flow signals in all types of space-occupying lesions except mucocele and mucopeptide concretion. Among them, polyps had characteristic imaging changes on CDU and CT-DCG. The mucoceles and mucopeptide concretions had characteristic imaging changes on CDU, which could provide more information for differential diagnosis.
Conclusions: CDU can observe the morphology and internal blood flow signals of lacrimal sac SOLs. CT or CT-DCG has advantages in observing structural damage around the lacrimal sac mass. Therefore, CDU may be used as a routine examination to exclude lacrimal sac SOLs before DCR in the absence of preoperative CT or CT-DCG.
Variable-order topological insulators
Authors: Yang Yating , Sun Handa , Lu Jiuyang , Huang Xueqin , Deng Weiyin , Liu Zhengyou
Published: January 2023

Topological insulators, either the first-order or the higher-order, experience generally a transition to a trivial phase or a topological one of the same order through the gap closing and reopening procedure. Here amazingly, we report a topological insulator, which switches directly between the first and higher orders, with only varying the hoppings and without breaking the symmetry. The phase transition of the first and higher orders is originated from a competition mechanism between the nearest and second-nearest neighbor interactions. This variable-order topological insulator is implemented in a two-dimensional phononic crystal, and the one-dimensional helical edge states, which signal the first-order phase, and the zero-dimensional corner states, which signal the second-order one, are demonstrated in the simulations and experiments. Our study gives deep insight to the topological states of different orders.
Histological and Immunohistochemical Study on the Effect of Cyanoacrylate Topical Adhesive on Healing of Skin Wound Versus Vicryl Suture Among Rabbits
Authors: Selim Manar A. , Hamed Ghada Mohammed
Published: January 2023

It is recommended that cyanoacrylate tissue glue be used in oral surgery to enhance soft tissue healing and reduce problems (pain, inflammation, and bleeding) related to wound healing. The goal of the study was to examine the healing of skin wounds using vicryl suture (control group) and cyanoacrylate tissue adhesive (study group).The histological results showed that skin specimens of control rabbit stained with hematoxylin and eosin stain two weeks after surgery revealed formation of thin epithelial layer with absence of epithelial ridges associated with degeneration of collagen fibers while the skin of the experimental site revealed increased epithelial thickness with formation of epithelial ridges and increased thickness of collagen fiber.
Skin wounds of control site stained with Masson’s trichrome stain revealed mild positive staining reaction of collagen fibers while skin wounds of the experimental site showed strongly positive staining reaction of collagen fibers for Masson’s trichrome stain.
The immunohistochemical localization of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-b) revealed that examination of skin specimens of control site showed weak positive staining reaction while skin wounds of the experimental site showed strongly positive staining reaction.
Immunohistochemical localization of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) showed that examination of skin specimens of control site showed weak to moderate positive staining reaction while skin wounds of the experimental site showed weak positive staining reaction.
Vitamin D and its effects on cell adhesion molecules: A systematic review
Authors: Monteiro Jessyca , Souza Thamiris , Curioni Cintia , Cople-Rodrigues Claudia , Citelli Marta
Published: January 2023

In order to systematically review the effects of vitamin D supplementation on cell adhesion molecules (CAM), we conducted a systematic search in eletronic databases to identify placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials published through August 2022. The guiding question was: “In diseases whose complications lead to vascular dysfunction and thrombus formation, is vitamin D supplementation associated with CAM concentrations?”. Studies investigating CAM in all age groups of both sexes using any type and dose of vitamin D supplements were included. Of 617 initially obtained articles, 9 met the inclusion criteria. The articles were divided based on clinical outcomes: Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM-II), Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Four articles reported reduced serum CAM concentrations (two with CKD, one with MS and another with DM-II). One of these articles had a two-month interval supplementation protocol (300,000 IU), two had a weekly protocol (50,000 IU), and one had a daily supplementation protocol (2,000 IU). Vitamin D seems to modulate vascular physiology, especially in patients with vitamin D deficiency and CKD. However, the findings of this review do not allow defining appropriate dosages and supplementation models to reduce endothelial dysfunction and CAM concentration.
Exosomal circEZH2_005, an intestinal injury biomarker, alleviates intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury by mediating hnRNPA1/Gprc5a signaling
Authors: Zhang Wenjuan , Zhou Bowei , Yang Xiao , Zhao Jin , Hu Jing Juan , Ding Yuqi , Zhan Shuteng , Yang Yifeng , Chen Jun , Zhang Fu , Zhao Bingcheng , Deng Fan , Lin Ze-Bin , Sun Qi-Shun , Zhang Fangling , Yao Zhiwen , Liu Wei-Feng , Li Cai , Liu Ke-xuan
Published: January 2023

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a severe clinical condition lacking diagnostic markers and has poorly understood molecular mechanisms. Although plasma exosomal circular RNAs (circRNAs) are valuable biomarkers and therapeutic targets for various diseases, their role in intestinal I/R injury remains unknown. This study screens the expression profile of circRNAs in intestinal tissue exosomes collected from intestinal I/R mice and identified circEZH2_005 as a significantly downregulated exosomal circRNA in the plasma of clinical cardiac surgery patients who developed postoperative intestinal I/R injury. The expression of plasma exosomal circEZH2_005 was negatively correlated with the intestinal injury grade. Notably, exosomal circEZH2_005 displayed a significant diagnostic value for intestinal injury induced by I/R. Mechanistically, circEZH2_005 was highly expressed in intestinal crypt cells. CircEZH2_005 upregulation significantly promoted the proliferation of Lgr5+ stem cells by direct interaction with hnRNPA1 and enhanced Gprc5a stability, thereby alleviating I/R-induced intestinal mucosal damage. Hence, exosomal circEZH2_005 may help intestinal I/R injury diagnosis and treatment.
Integration of eQTL and GWAS analysis uncovers a genetic regulation of natural ionomic variation in Arabidopsis
Authors: Xu Chaoqun , Song Ling-Yu , Zhou Ying , Ma Dong-Na , Ding Qian-Su , Guo Ze-Jun , Li Jing , Song Shi-Wei , Zhang Lu-Dan , Zheng Hai-Lei
Published: January 2023

The functional interpretation of traits associated variants by expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis is usually performed in bulk tissue samples. While the regulation of gene expression is context-dependent, such as cell-type-specific manner. In this study, we estimated cell type abundances from 728 bulk tissue samples using single-cell RNA-sequencing dataset, and performed cis-eQTL mapping to identify cell-type interaction eQTL (cis-eQTLs(ci)) in A. thaliana. Also, we performed Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) analyses for 999 accessions to identify the genetic basis of variations in A. thaliana leaf ionome. As a result, a total of 5,664 unique eQTL genes and 15,038 unique cis-eQTLs(ci) were significant. The majority (62.83%) of cis-eQTLs(ci) were cell-type-specific eQTLs. Using colocalization, we uncovered one interested gene AT2G25590 in Phloem cell, encoding a kind of plant Tudor-like protein with possible chromatin-associated functions, which colocalized with the most significant cis-eQTL(ci) of a Mo-related locus (Chr2:10908806:A:C; P = 3.27×10-27). Furthermore, we prioritized eight target genes associated with AT2G25590, which were previously reported in regulating the concentration of Mo element in A. thaliana. This study revealed the genetic regulation of ionomic variations and provided a foundation for further studies on molecular mechanisms of genetic variants controlling the A. thaliana ionome.
Radiofrequency Ablation for Pediatric Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-center Experience
Authors: Long Haiyi , Wu Wenxin , Zhou Luyao , Shen Hui , Xie Xiaoyan , Liu Baoxian
Published: January 2023

Purpose: To summarize our single-center experience with percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for pediatric recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (RHCC).
Methods: From September 2007 to September 2021, patients under 18 who underwent percutaneous US-guided RFA for RHCC were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Local effectiveness, complications, local tumor progression (LTP), progression free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated.
Results: A total of 10 patients (9 male and 1 female; mean age, 11.7±4 years ; age range, 6-17 years) with 15 intrahepatic RHCC lesions were enrolled in this study. Complete ablation (CA) was achieved in 14 out of 15 lesions (93.3%) after the first RFA. During the follow-up (mean, 63.1±18 months; range, 5.3-123.3 months), LTP did not occur. Five patients died including three with tumor progression and one with liver failure. The accumulative one- and three-year PFS rates were 30% and 10%, respectively. The accumulative one- and three-year OS rates were 77.8 % and 44.4%, respectively.
Conclusions: Our single-center experience suggests the safety and feasibility of percutaneous US-guided RFA for pediatric RHCC.
Construction and application of sponge city resilience evaluation system: A case study in Xi 'an, China
Authors: Li Jiake , Jiang Yishuo , zhai Mengmeng , Gao Jiayu , Yao Yutong , Li Yafang
Published: January 2023

Urban vulnerability is evident when highly complex flood risks overlap with diverse cities, and it is important to enhance the resilience of cities to flood shocks. In this study, a sponge city resilience assessment system is established considering engineering, environmental and social indicators, and the grey relational analysis method(GRA) is used to quantify sponge city resilience. At the same time, a multi-objective optimization model is established based on the three dimensions of water ecological environment, drainage safety, and waterlogging safety. The optimal configuration of grey-green infrastructure is weighed by combining the ideal point method, aiming to ensure that cities effectively reduce flood risk through the optimal configuration scheme. Taking the Xiaozhai area in Xi'an as the study area, the evaluation results show that the grey relational degree(GRD)of the resilience indexes of the original scheme is between 0.390–0.661 under the seven different return periods. While the optimization scheme ranges from 0.648–0.765, with the best sponge city resilience at a return period of 2a. Compared with the original scheme, the optimized sponge city resilience level increases from level II to nearly level I under the low return period and from level IV to level II in the high return period, indicating that city's ability to cope with waterlogging and pollution is enhanced significantly. Besides, the main factor affecting the sponge city resilience is the runoff control rate, followed by pollutant load reduction rate, which can provide a methodological framework for the assessment and improvement of sponge city resilience.
ECMO in paediatric cardiac surgery: 5-year single centre experience
Authors: Bezuska Laurynas , O’Doherty Jonathan P. , Ali Bilal , Harvey Chris , Omeje Ikenna , Mimic Branko
Published: January 2023

Background.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has become an integral part of paediatric cardiac surgery. We report the experience of a well-established ECMO service over a 5-year period.
Methods.
This retrospective study analysed all paediatric patients who required ECMO support following cardiac surgery from April 2015 to March 2020. Inclusion criteria were age less than 18 and post-operative ECMO support. Patients were analysed dividing into groups according to the urgency for ECMO support (extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) and cardiac ECMO) and according to age (neonatal and paediatric ECMO groups). They were followed for 30-day, 6-month mortality, long-term survival, postoperative morbidity and the need for reintervention.
Results.
46 patients were included who had a total of 48 ECMO runs. The 5-year incidence of the need for ECMO after cardiac surgery was 3.3% (48 of the overall 1441 cases recorded). 30-day, 6-month and follow-up survival rate was 85%, 65% and 52% respectively. At the 6-month follow-up, the ECPR group showed a trend towards worse survival compare with the cardiac ECMO group (47% vs 55%) but with no statistical significance (p = 0.35). Furthermore, the survival rates between paediatric (60%) and neonatal (46%) ECMO groups were similar, with no statistical significance (p = 0.45). The rate of acute neurological events was 27% (13/48).
Conclusion.
ECPR and neonatal ECMO groups had higher mortality. ECMO 30-day and 6-month survival rates were better compared with other studies 85% and 65% respectively. Incidence of ECMO and neurological complication rates were in line with other high-volume centres.
Ten-year retrospect of the investigation of proximal limbs metastasis in cancer: A multi-center study on survival outcome, limb function status and surgical procedures analysis
Authors: Zhang Chao , Wang Jun , Wu Haixiao , Lin Yile , Chekhonin Vladimir P. , Peltzer Karl , Bukharov Artem V. , Kaprin Andrey D. , Guo Xu , Liu Zheng
Published: January 2023

Background: The aim of study was to evaluate survival outcome and limb function in cancer patients with proximal limbs metastasis. Associated factors on survival outcome and limb function were identified. The comparative analysis between intramedullary nailing and prosthesis surgery in cancer patients with proximal limb metastasis was performed.
Methods:In this five-center retrospective study, patients diagnosed with limbs metastasis were collected. Descriptive statistics was used and log-rank test was performed to analyze the survival in subgroups. The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to identify the independent prognostic factors. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system was used to evaluate limb function after surgery, and t test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) was utilized in subgroup analysis.
Results:A total of 316 patients with limb metastasis were included with mean age at 61.0 years. The most common primary tumor was breast, followed by renal cancer and lung cancer. The median overall survival was 24.0 months and the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 86.9%, 34.7% and 6.8%, respectively. Primary tumor type, visceral metastasis and chemotherapy were proved to be the independent prognostic factors. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score was 20.5, significant difference was observed in subgroup of solitary/multiple bone metastasis, with/without pathological fracture, and type of surgery.
Conclusion:The present study concluded that primary tumor type, visceral metastasis and chemotherapy were three factors affecting the survival of patients. Compared with intramedullary nailing, the patients underwent prosthesis surgery showed better limb function, this procedure should be encouraged in patients with indication.
Resident Perceptions of Competency-Based Korean Medicine Education: A Qualitative, Content Analysis Study Conducted using Focus Group Interviews
Authors: Hong Jiseong
Published: January 2023

Background
The new educational system emphasizes acquisition of clinical competency by the time of graduation from Korean medicine colleges that allow Korean medicine doctors to immediately perform clinical tasks. This study investigated awareness of competency-based education in Korean medicine hospital residents who must simultaneously undergo training and assist medical students in clinical practice.
Methods
This was a qualitative research that was conducted using focus group interviews (FGIs) to investigate the awareness of demands for improvement in competency-based Korean medicine education in Korean medicine hospital. To apply the principles and procedures of FGIs, a semi-structured questionnaire was developed. Data analysis was conducted using the five steps of framework analysis.
Results
According to contents analysis, first competency-based education that reflects actual clinical practice tasks is needed. Second, sufficient basic skill mastery education must be reinforced. Third, an intermediate curriculum that mediates clinical practice and basic education is needed. Fourth, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination and Clinical Performance Examination must be expanded to prepare for the Korean medicine doctor practical test.
Conclusions
Korean medicine residents reported the gap between clinical practice and use of knowledge and skills acquired in the curriculum while acting as direct observers and educations of clinical clerkship in hospitals. Based on this exploratory study it is necessary to conduct research on the educational competency of Korean medicine residents who play an important role as educational leaders in Korean medicine clinical practice training.
The Speed-Gene study: methods, study design and preliminary results
Authors: Htet Swam , Zannah Miftahul , Moe Thet Hnin , Wongveerakul Pongpanot , Charoenpanich Nongnapas , Saengsirisuwan Vitoon , Papadimitriou Ioannis
Published: January 2023

The Speed-Gene study aims to identify genetic variants that influence athletic performance and human locomotion using motion capture technology. Currently 33 participants have already completed the study and the overall aim is to recruit 100 moderately-trained, healthy South-East Asians (all males 18–45 y, BMI < 30). Participants will undergo biomechanical analysis and genetic testing. A number of analyses will be performed, including (but not limited to) linear and angular kinematic analysis using motion capture technology, force plate dynamometry as well as various anthropometric assessments. Pretesting beverages will be provided and activity history as well as current activity levels will be assessed by a questionnaire. The kinematic and force data will be obtained using a Qualisys Track Manager (QTM) system, and DNA will be isolated from white blood cells using standard procedures. The participants will serve as their own controls. Even though the gene Speed-Gene study is tightly controlled, our preliminary findings still indicate considerable individual variability. More participants and further genetic analysis are required to allow us to investigate potential underlying genetic mechanisms responsible for this individual variability.
Association of Socio-economic and Demographic Factors with Incidence of COVID-19 in Nepal
Authors: Shrestha Ruby Maka , Manadhar Ritu , Thapa Janak Kumar , Shakya Prabin Raj
Published: January 2023

Background
The COVID-19 incidence is assumed to have significant impacts on populations with lower socio- economic background across the world. The risk of transmission and spread of COVID-19 disease is higher at cities with higher population density. However, the number of the evidence remains limited in the South Asian region including Nepal. Therefore, the study aimed to understand the COVID-19 disease pattern across Nepal and determine whether the HDI status and population density has an impact on the incidence of disease.
Methods
The study analyzed geographical distributions of cumulative incidence rate and its association with population density and HDI at district level of Nepal. The spatial autocorrelation between cumulative incidence of COVID-19 and HDI and Population Density were measured using bivariate Moran’s I based on Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA).
Results
The study analyzed the geographic spread and variance of COVID-19 cases reported from 24 March 2020 till 30 November 2021. The lockdown period was categorized into six stages. The geographical distribution of COVID-19 showed strong spatial autocorrelation with global Moran’s for all six stages. The spatial clusters of COVID-19 incidence were reported in the high population density cities and cities in the southern belt connecting with the Indian border.
Conclusion
Government’s strict prevention and control measures including social restriction and social distance in higher population density areas were helpful to reduce the spread of COVID-19 transmission.
Biliary-enteric reconstruction in laparoscopic radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma: A single-center retrospective cohort study
Authors: Liu Wenzheng , Xiong Fei , Wu Guanhua , Wang Qi , Wang Bing , Chen Yongjun
Published: January 2023

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and quality of biliary-enteric reconstruction(BER) in laparoscopic radical resection of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (LsRRH) versus open surgery and propose technical recommendations.
Methods: Data of 38 LsRRH and 54 radical laparotomy resections of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (LtRRH) cases were collected from our institution. BERwas evaluated via biliary residuals numbers, number of anastomoses, anastomosis manner, suture method, time consumption, and postoperative complication.
Results: In the LsRRH group, patients were relatively younger; Bismuth type Ⅰ had a higher proportion while type Ⅲa and Ⅳ were less and required no revascularization. In LsRRH and LtRRH groups, respectively, the biliary residuals number was 2.54±1.62 and 2.47±1.46 (p>0.05); the number of anastomoses was 2.04±1.27 and 2.57±1.33 (p>0.05); the time of BER was 65.67±21.53 and 42.5±19.77 min (p< 0.05), 15.08±3.64% and 11.76±2.54% of the total operation time (p<0.05); postoperative bile leakage incidence was 15.79% and 16.67% (p>0.05); 14±10.28 and 17±9.73 days for healing (p<0.05); anastomosis stenosis rate was 2.63% and 1.85% (p>0.05). Neither group had a biliary hemorrhage or bile leakage-related death.
Conclusion: The selection bias in LsRRH mainly affects tumor resection than BER. Our cohort study indicates that BER in LsRRH is technically feasible and equals anastomotic quality to open surgery. However, its longer and a more significant proportion of total operation time represent that BER has higher technical requirements and is one of the critical rate-limiting steps affecting the minimal invasiveness of LsRRH.
The Role of Oral and Prenatal Healthcare Providers in the Promotion of Oral Health for Pregnant Women
Authors: Agili Dania E. Al , Khalaf Zeinab I.
Published: January 2023

Background
Hormonal alterations and lowered immunity during pregnancy aggravated by poor oral hygiene increase the risk of pregnant women developing oral diseases. We conducted this study to examine the role of oral and prenatal health providers in promoting dental care for pregnant women attending primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Saudi Arabia.
Methods
We conducted an analysis of women (n=515) who visited a dentist before pregnancy from a population of women who attended prenatal care at PHCs. We examined associations between oral practices of dental and prenatal health providers (exposures) and women’s utilization of dental care during pregnancy (outcome). Covariates included age, education, family income, health insurance, nationality, and presence of dental problems.
Results
Only 30.0% of women were informed by a dentist before pregnancy about the importance of visiting a dentist during pregnancy. Approximately 37.0% of women were asked about oral health, 34.4% were informed about the importance of dental care during pregnancy, and 33.2% had their mouths inspected by prenatal health providers. Women informed by dentists about the importance of dental visits during pregnancy were twice as likely (odds ratio [OR]: 2.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.63-3.60) to visit a dentist during pregnancy. Women who were referred to dentists, had their mouth inspected, or were advised to visit a dentist during pregnancy by prenatal providers were 4.29 (95% CI: 2.67-6.88), 3.79 (95% CI: 2.47-5.82), and 3.37 (95% CI: 2.16-5.27) times as likely to visit a dentist during pregnancy.
Conclusion
The participation of oral and prenatal healthcare providers in evidence-based oral health promotion practices, antenatal-dental collaboration and closing the referral loop increase pregnant women’s access to and utilization of preventive and treatment dental services.
Lung Cancer Risk and Exposure to Air Pollution: A Multicenter North China Case-Control Study Involving 14604 Subjects
Authors: Li Daojuan , Shi Jin , Liang Di , Ren Meng , He Yutong
Published: January 2023

Background:For North Chinese lung cancer patients, there is limited study on the distribution of air pollution and smoking related features based on analyses of large-scale, high-quality population datasets. The aim of the study was to fully analyze risk factors for 14604 Subjects.
Methods: Participants and controls were recruited in 11 cities of North China. Participants’ basic information (sex, age, marital status, occupation, height, and weight), blood type, smoking history, alcohol consumption, history of lung-related diseases and family history of cancer were collected. PM2.5 concentration data for each year in each city of the study area from 2005 to 2018 were extracted based on geocoding of each person's residential address at the time of diagnosis. Demographic variables and risk factors were compared between cases and matched controls using a univariate conditional logistic regression model. Multivariate conditional logistic regression models were applied to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for risk factors in univariate analysis. The nomogram model and the calibration curve were developed to predict lung cancer probability for the probability of lung cancer.
Results: There was a total of 14604 subjects, comprising 7124 lung cancer cases and 7480 healthy controls included in the study. Marital status of unmarried persons, people with a history of lung-related disease, corporate personnel and production /service personnel were protective factors for lung cancer. People younger than 50 years old, people who were smoking and quit smoking, people who had been drinking consistently, people with family history of cancer and PM2.5 exposure were proven to be a risk factor for lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer varied with sex, smoking status and air pollution. Consistent alcohol consumption, persistent smoking and smoking quit were risk factors for lung cancer in men. By smoking status, male was risk factor for lung cancer in never smokers. Consistent alcohol consumption added risk for lung cancer in never smokers. The combined effects of PM2.5 pollution exposure and ever smoking aggravated the incidence of lung cancer. According to air pollution, lung cancer risk factors are completely different in lightly and heavily polluted areas. In lightly polluted areas, a history of lung-related disease was a risk factor for lung cancer. In heavily polluted areas, male, consistent alcohol consumption, a family history of cancer, ever smokers and smoking quit were all risk factors for lung cancer. A nomogram was plotted and the results showed that PM2.5 was the main factor affecting the occurrence of lung cancer.
Conclusions:The large-scale accurate analysis of multiple risk factors in different air quality environments and various populations, provide clear directions and guidance for lung cancer prevention and precise treatment.
Ischemia prediction score (IsPS) in patients with strangulated small bowel obstruction: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Murao Shuhei , Fujino Shiki , Danno Katsuki , Takeda Takashi , Yamamoto Kei , Higashiguchi Mayasya , Noguchi Kozo , Hirao Takafumi , Oka Yoshio
Published: January 2023

Backgrounds: Intestinal ischemia of strangulated small bowel obstruction (SSBO) requires prompt identification and early intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors and develop a prediction model of intestinal ischemia requiring bowel resection in SSBO.
Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients underwent emergency surgery for SSBO from April 2007 to December 2021. Univariate analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for bowel resection in these patients. Two clinical scores (with contrasted computed tomography [CT] and without contrasted CT) were developed to predict intestinal ischemia. The scores were validated in an independent cohort.
Results: A total of 127 patients were included, 100 in the development cohort (DC) and 27 in the validation cohort (VC). Univariate analysis showed that high white blood cell count (WBC), low base excess (BE), ascites and reduced bowel enhancement were significantly associated with bowel resection. The ischemia prediction score (IsPS) comprised 1 point each for WBC ≥ 10000/L, BE ≤ -1.0 mmol/L, ascites, and 2 points for reduced bowel enhancement. The simple IsPS (s-IsPS, without contrasted CT) of 2 or more had a sensitivity of 69.4%, specificity of 65.4%. The modified IsPS (m-IsPS, with contrasted CT) of 3 or more had a sensitivity of 86.7%, specificity of 76.0%. AUC of s-IsPS was 0.716 in DC and 0.812 in VC, and AUC of m-IsPS was 0.838 and 0.814.
Conclusion: IsPS predicted possibility of ischemic intestinal resection with high accuracy and can help in the early identification of intestinal ischemia in SSBO.
Convolutional Encoder-Decoder Networks for Volumetric Computed Tomography Surviews from Single- and Dual-View Topograms
Authors: Shapira Nadav , Bharthulwar Siddharth , Noël Peter B.
Published: January 2023

Computed tomography (CT) is an extensively used imaging modality capable of generating detailed images of a patient’s internal anatomy for diagnostic and interventional procedures. High-resolution volumes are created by measuring and combining information along many radiographic projection angles. In current medical practice, single and dual-view two-dimensional (2D) topograms are utilized for planning the proceeding diagnostic scans and for selecting favorable acquisition parameters, either manually or automatically, as well as for dose modulation calculations. In this study, we develop modified 2D to three-dimensional (3D) encoder-decoder neural network architectures to generate CT-like volumes from single and dual-view topograms. We validate the developed neural networks on synthesized topograms from publicly available thoracic CT datasets. Finally, we assess the viability of the proposed transformational encoder-decoder architecture on both common image similarity metrics and quantitative clinical use case metrics, a first for 2D-to-3D CT reconstruction research. According to our findings, both single-input and dual-input neural networks are able to provide accurate volumetric anatomical estimates. The proposed technology will allow for improved (i) planning of diagnostic CT acquisitions, (ii) input for various dose modulation techniques, and (iii) recommendations for acquisition parameters and/or automatic parameter selection. It may also provide for an accurate attenuation correction map for positron emission tomography (PET) with only a small fraction of the radiation dose utilized.
Improving the efficiency of household insecticide testing against mosquitoes
Authors: Martins Walter Fabricio Silva , Reid Emma , Tomlinson Sean , Evans George , Gibson Jennie , Guy Amy , Donnelly Martin , Weetman David
Published: January 2023

Background
Developing robust, standardized approaches for testing mosquito populations against insecticides is a vital step for understanding the effectiveness of new active ingredients or formulations. Methods for testing mosquito susceptibility against contact insecticides or products, such as those delivered through public health programmes are well-established and standardized. Nevertheless, approaches for testing volatile or aerosolized insecticides used in household products can be challenging to standardize and implement efficiently.
Methods
We adapted WHO guidelines for household insecticides to develop a standardized and higher-throughput methodology for testing aerosolized products in Peet Grady test chamber (PG-chamber) using caged mosquitoes and an efficient decontamination method. The new approach was validated using insecticide resistant and susceptible Aedes and Anopheles mosquito colonies. An added feature is the inclusion of cage-facing cameras to allow real-time quantification of knockdown following insecticide exposure.
Results
The wipe-based decontamination method was highly effective for removing pyrethroids’ aerosolized oil-based residues from chamber surfaces, with < 2% of recorded mortality for susceptible mosquitoes tested directly on the surfaces. There was no spatial heterogeneity for knockdown or mortality of caged mosquitoes within the PG chamber, and the dual-cage approach applied effectively discriminate susceptible and resistant mosquito colonies tested side-by-side.
Conclusions
The dual-cage based assay that we implement yields eight-times the throughput compared to a free-flight protocol and allows simultaneous testing of different mosquito strains.
SARS-CoV-2 virion, debacle humane: An Analytical approach
Authors: Boddu Raja Sarath Kumar
Published: January 2023

World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus diseases COVID-19 is pandemic, as the virus SARS-CoV2, which causes coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) and it variants has spread all over the world. This pandemic disease, COVID-19 is primarily described as an infectious disease-causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Later it transforms into severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virion variant. These virion variants have emerged across the globe with deceptively higher transmissibility and with immunity deteriorate capabilities. In this research paper, it is proposed to compare several ML algorithms to predict the COVID-19 mortality using the various countries data and choose the best performing algorithm as a predictive tool for decision-making. This study aimed to develop a mortality risk prediction for COVID-19 based on ML algorithms that utilize data.
Routing and Congestion Control in Wireless Sensor Networks using the Ant Colony Optimization algorithm and the Tabu search algorithm
Authors: Sefati Seyed Salar , Farkhady Roya Zareh
Published: January 2023

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are a new generation of networks that consist of a enormous number of sensor nodes. These nodes are usually inexpensive and have the ability to communicate wirelessly, compute, and sensing. The main purpose of these networks is to collect information about the environment. These networks' function is that the nodes collect the information, and then this data is sent to the base station. Therefore, data transfer, routing, congestion control are important and challenging issues in this network type. Various protocols have been proposed in this field, considering energy utilization and increasing the network's lifetime are important problems. Our goal in this study is to consider the energy consumption and increase the network lifetime and some of the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters, such as increasing the number of alive nodes and throughput. In this paper, we use an Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm to try the routing send data from a source node to the Cluster Head (CH). Then the routing analysis performed with the Tabu search (TS) algorithm is to found the route that has congestion. If the path has more than a 70% threshold, the path putting up on the congestion route, and the ACO algorithm must find the new path to send data from source to CH. In this research, the proposed method's performance with the Adaptive Cuckoo Search Based Optimal Rate Adjustment (ACSRO) algorithm, Fuzzy based Cross-layer mechanism using Oppositional Artificial Bee Colony (FCOABC) algorithm, and the Flock-based Congestion Control (Flock-CC) algorithm in the same data set has been investigated in the NS3 simulator.
Endophytic colonization of tomato by Beauveria bassiana decreased fitness and altered feeding behavior of whitefly Bemisia tabaci
Authors: Wang Xian , Yuan Qian , Yan Ganwei , Qin Yang , Wang Ziying , Li Guangyun , Liu Huai
Published: January 2023

Whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a polyphagous super pest, which causes serious threat to agricultural production globally. Beauveria bassiana, as entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), can not only directly kill a variety of pests, but also inhibit the occurrence of pests as fungal endophytes within plants. In this study, we explored how the introduction of B. bassiana as endophytes into tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) affected the fitness and feeding behavior of whitefly. The result showed that there was significant difference in the fertility of B. tabaci on tomatoes treated with B. bassiana by root irrigation, B. bassiana by local leaf spray, and 0.05% Tween 80 solution, among which the number of eggs laid was the lowest on tomatoes treated with B. bassiana by root irrigation. Furthermore, B. tabaci fed on tomatoes treated with EPF by root irrigation showed significantly higher mortality rate in each stage than control plants with 0.05% Tween 80, by constructing the age-stage, two-sex life table. In addition, the intrinsic rate of increase (r), the finite rate of increase (λ) and the net reproductive rate (R0) of B. tabaci population on tomatoes treated with EPF by root irrigation were all significantly lower than control. Moreover, tomatoes treated by root irrigation had a significant negative effect on the feeding behavior of B. tabaci, by shortening the watery salivation and phloem ingestion. Our results indicated that B. bassiana effectively inhibited the occurrence of whitefly as endophytes. These findings enhanced our understanding about the inhibition of endophytic EPF on pests.
Higher Toxicity Rates Following Hypofractionated Radiotherapy in Early Glottic Cancer Patients
Authors: Zavdy Ofir , Yosefof Eyal , Shoffel-Havakuk Hagit , Icht Oded , Shilo Dafna Yaacobi , Bachar Gideon , Hamzany Yaniv , Kurman Noga
Published: January 2023

Context: Toxicity from radiation therapy for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma includes dysphagia, mucositis, laryngeal edema, weight loss and pain. Hypofractionation (HF) regimens shorten the overall treatment time to lower the risk for accelerated repopulation of tumor cells following initiation of radiotherapy (RT) demonstrated improved overall survival and locoregional control.
Objective: To examine the early toxicity of HF to the larynx, compared with standard fractionated (SF) RT.
Methods: Retrospective analysis of 127 laryngeal SCC patients who were treated with RT; Early glottic cancer (50%) received hypofractionation (2.25Gy/fr, 63Gy) only to the glottis while advanced stage disease (50%) received standard fractionation (2Gy/fr, 70Gy) to the glottis and to bilateral neck, with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CRT).
Results: Patients in HF group consumed significantly higher dosages of both Fentanyl (15 mg versus 8 mg) and Oxycodone (2.9 mg versus 2.1) due to increased pain and discomfort (P<0.05). Patients in HF group who were treated with Dexamethasone boluses demonstrated a significantly lower weight loss compared to HF patients not treated with steroids, and even promoted weight gain in some (p<0.005). Patients with advanced-stage cancer who were treated with CRT suffered from greater toxicity, compared to RT alone, leading to higher rates of dehydration events and weight loss.
Conclusions: HF-treated patients tend to consume significantly higher doses of opioids than patients treated with SF, representing higher levels of pain. Treatment regimens for patients undergoing HF should include proper pain management, and when possible, steroids.
Integrative multi-Omics analysis depicts the methylome and hydroxymethylome of recurrent bladder cancers and identifies biomarkers for predicting PD-L1 expression
Authors: Shi Zhen-Duo , Han Xiao-Xiao , Dong Yang , Pang Kun , Dong Bing-zhe , Hao Lin , Liang Qing , Han Cong-hui
Published: January 2023

Background:
Urinary bladder cancer is one of the most common malignancies of the urinary tract; however, the mechanism of its high recurrence and responses to immunotherapy remains unclear, resulting in difficulties in clinical outcome prediction. Epigenetic alterations, especially DNA methylation, play important roles in bladder cancer development and are increasingly investigated as biomarkers for diagnostic or prognostic predictions. However, little is known regarding hydroxymethylation since previous studies based on bisulfite-sequencing approaches could not differentiate between 5mC and 5hmC signals, resulting in entangled methylation results.
Methods:
Here, we used a multi-omics approach to provide the genome, transcriptome, methylome, and hydroxymethylome landscape of both primary and recurrent bladder cancers.
Results:
By whole exome sequencing, we identified driver mutations that are involved in the UBC development, such as FGFR3, KDMTA and KDMT2C. However, few of these driver mutations are associated with the recurrence or the PD-L1 down-regulation in UBC. By integrating RRBS and oxRRBS-seq data, we identified fatty acid oxidation-related genes significantly enriched in 5hmC-associated transcription alterations in recurrent bladder cancers. We also observed a serial of 5mC hypomethylation DMRs in the gene body of NFATC1, a gene that is highly involved in the T-cell immune response, in bladder cancer samples with high expression of PD-L1. And since 5mC and 5hmC alternations are globally anti-correlated, RRBS-seq based markers which combine the 5mC and 5hmC signals, attenuate the cancer-related signals and therefore are not optimal to be used as clinical biomarkers.
Conclusions:
By multi-omics profiling of UBC samples, we showed that epigenetic alternations are more involved than genetic mutations in the recurrence and PD-L1 regulation of UBC. In addition, as a proof of principle, we demonstrated that the combined measurement of 5mC and 5hmC level by bisulfite-based method will compromise the prediction accuracy of epigenetic biomarkers.
An effective model for the detection of pneumonia from chest X-ray images using inner residual inception
Authors: Nasef Mohammed M. , Shehata Aya El-Sayed , Sauber Amr M.
Published: January 2023

Pneumonia is a serious disease that can lead to death if it is not diagnosed in an accurate manner. This paper presents three models for diagnosing pneumonia based on Chest X-Ray images. The first proposed model depends on the combination of inception, residual, and dropout. The second model is based on adding a batch normalization layer to the first model. The third model adds inner residual inception. The inner residual inception block has four branches, each of which has a significantly deeper root than any other known inception block, necessitating the use of residual connections between each branch. Inner residual inception blocks eventually consist of 4 distinct ResNet architectures. Each branch has a building block that is repeated three times with residuals, and then a dropout layer is added on top of that. These models used logistic regression and the Adam optimizer. The metrics used to evaluate the models are accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, AUC, and balanced accuracy. From the results, the third proposed model has achieved the highest accuracy of 96.76%, and the best balance accuracy of 95.08%.