bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on willingness to adopt healthy dietary habits in China
Authors: Xu Ying , Li Zhi-xue , Yu Wei-jun , Liu Zheng , He Xiang-yang , Ma Yan , Cai Feng-min , Wang De-wang , Guo Yan-Fang , Chen Jialong
Published: June 2020

Background: To investigate impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on willingness to adopt healthy dietary habits in China.Methods: A survey was carried out, and subjective perception of impact due to COVID-19 and willingness to change dietary habits were obtained.Results: A total of 22,459 subjects were derived from China, with an average age of 27.9±7.8 years old. Of them, the mean score of willingness to adopt healthy dietary habits was 2.2 (ranges from -9 to 9). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (epidemic concern, impact of psychology, impact of work or study) are associated with a higher score of willingness to adopt healthy dietary habits among female, the older, on-medical worker, and individuals married or with higher education level, normal BMI.Conclusions: There was a positive improvement to a proper diet, so the changing features of diets should be considered in nutritional interventions for maintaining health, and prevention and control COVID-19 during the pandemic period.
Obtaining and Main Dielectric Properties of Ba0.6Pb0.4TiO3/graphene Oxide Composite
Authors: Skulski Ryszard , Bochenek Dariusz , Brzezińska Dagmara , Stobinski Leszek , Niemiec Przemysław , Dercz Grzegorz , Osińska Katarzyna
Published: June 2020

In this paper there is described the technology of obtaining and results of investigations of microstructure, XRD, SEM, main dielectric properties, electrical conductivity measurements and P-E hysteresis loops of Ba0.6Pb0.4TiO3/graphene oxide composite (abbr. BPT/GO). In the final step of technology, the samples have been sintered using the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) method. Diffraction patterns of BPT/GO composite exhibit lines which can be related with perovskite structure, as well as reveal additional lines that can be derived from the initial component oxides. Investigations of electrical conductivity suggest that the PTCR effect occurs at temperatures up to about 120°C. Dielectric hysteresis loops below 90°C are wide and typical for materials with rather high electrical conductivity. The hysteresis loop obtained at 120°C is more typical for ferroelectrics. The obtained material is interesting, however it is probably possible to find better conditions of obtaining it and/or a better composition.
A robust eleven-genes prognostic model can predict overall survival in bladder cancer patients based on five cohorts
Authors: Lin Jiaxing , Yang Jieping , Xu Xiao , Wang Yutao , Yu Meng , Zhu Yuyan
Published: June 2020

Background: Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the world, but existing biomarkers and prognostic models are limited.Method: In this study, we used four bladder cancer cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases to perform univariate Cox regression analysis to identify common prognostic genes. We used selected genes to construct a prognostic model. Kaplan-Meier analysis, Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, and univariate and multivariate Cox analysis were used to evaluate the prognostic model for the four cohorts. Finally, a co-expression network, CIBERSORT, and ESTIMATE algorithm were used to explore the mechanism related to the model.Results: A total of 11 genes were identified from the four cohorts to construct the prognostic model, including eight risk genes (SERPINE2, PRR11, DSEL, DNM1, COMP, ELOVL4, RTKN, and MAPK12) and three protective genes (FABP6, C16orf74, and TNK1). The model and the 11 genes have excellent performance in predicting overall survival and have been confirmed in 5 cohorts. The model's predictive ability is stronger than other clinical features and has practical significance in clinical application.Through the analysis of the weighted co-expression network, the gene module related to the model was found, and the key genes in this module were mainly enriched in the items related to the tumor microenvironment. When comparing the level of immune cell infiltration in high-risk samples, B cell memory showed low infiltration in high-risk patients. Furthermore, in the case of low B cell memory infiltration and high-risk score, the prognosis of the patients was the worst.Conclusion: The model we developed has strong stability and good performance and can stratify the risk of bladder cancer patients, to achieve individualized treatment.
Haematopoietic Score for the Prognostic Evaluation of Multiple Myeloma Patients Undergoing First-line Treatment With a Bortezomib-based Regimen
Authors: He JingSong , Yue XiaoYan , Han XiaoYan , He DongHua , Zhao Yi , Yang Yang , Zheng GaoFeng , Wu WenJun , Cai Zhen
Published: June 2020

Backgroud: It is very important to evaluate the prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) patients before starting treatment. Although haematopoietic status may have a significant impact on patient survival, it has not received sufficient attention in current clinical practice.Methods:This was a retrospective study of 150 newly diagnosed MM patients treated in one hematonosis treatment centre from May 2013 to June 2016, all of whom received first-line treatment with a bortezomib-based regimen.The effects of haematopoietic factors, including haemoglobin levels (Hgb <100 g/L), mean corpuscular volume (MCV>99.1 fL), and platelet count (<150 × 10E9/L), on the prognosis of the patients were analysed. Each of the above factors was assigned a value of 1 to generate a haematopoietic score.Results: According to the results, 59 (39.3%) patients had a score of 0, 43 (28.7%) had a score of 1, 29 (19.3%) had a score of 2, and 19 (12.7%) had a score of 3. The median PFS times were 43.1, 24.5, 32.6 and 14.2 months, respectively (P<0.001), and the median OS times were NR, 47.1 months, NR and 31.4 months, respectively (P<0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that the R-ISS stage (3 vs 1-2, HR, 1.4), haematopoietic score (3 vs 0-2, HR, 1.91) and plasma cell percentage (>30%, HR, 1.96) are independent prognostic predictors for PFS; age (≤65 years, HR, 0.54), the Durie-Salmon stage (3B vs 1-3a, HR, 2.96), haematopoietic score (3 vs 0-2, HR, 2.53) and the bone marrow plasma cell percentage (>30%, HR, 2.35) are independent prognostic predictors of OS. Conclusion: This study suggests that the haematopoietic score can be used to evaluate the prognosis of newly treated MM patients in the era of new drugs. However, there is still a need to enlarge the number of cases and carry out prospective research to validate this conclusion.
The Age Threshold of the 8th Edition AJCC Classification Is Useful for Indicating Patients with Aggressive Papillary Thyroid Cancer in Clinical Practice .
Authors: Kaliszewski Krzysztof , Diakowska Dorota , Nowak Łukasz , Wojtczak Beata , Rudnicki Jerzy
Published: June 2020

Background: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is unique among cancers in that patient age is a consideration in staging. One of the most important modifications in the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) classification, which was introduced in 2018, was to increase the age cutoff for risk stratification in PTC from 45 to 55 years. However, whether this cutoff is useful in clinical practice remains controversial. In the present study, we assessed how well this new age threshold stratifies patients with aggressive PTC.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological features and overall survival rate of 523 patients with PTC admitted to and surgically treated at a single surgical center. We divided the patients into two groups according to age at PTC diagnosis: ≥55 years and <55 years. Results: We found that the rates of tumor progression, lymph node metastasis (LNM) and distant metastasis were significantly higher in patients ≥55 years than in those <55 years; consequently, TNM stages were significantly higher in older than in younger patients (p<0.05 for all parameters). The risk of tumor progression (T3+T4) was nearly two-fold higher and the risk of LNM (N1) more than four-fold higher in older than in younger patients (p<0.05 for both). No patients <55 years old but 19 patients >55 years old (9.8% of the total group) showed distant metastasis. The rates of microcalcification, vascular and capsular invasion, extrathyroidal extension, irregular tumor shape, multifocality, bilaterality and multiplicity of foci were significantly higher in older than in younger patients (p<0.05 for all). The rate of disease-free survival was significantly lower in older (86.6%) than in younger (98.7%) patients (p<0.0001), and the rate of overall survival was significantly lower in older (90.3%) than in younger (99.4%) patients (p<0.0001).Conclusions: PTC is more aggressive in patients aged ≥ 55 years than in their younger counterparts. This age therefore effectively stratifies PTC patients with a poor prognosis, indicating it is likely to be useful in clinical practice.
Endosomal Dysfunction in iPSC-Derived Neural Cells from Parkinson’s Disease Patients with VPS35 D620N
Authors: Bono Keiko , Miyauchi-Hara Chikako , Sumi Shunsuke , Oka Hisayoshi , Iguchi Yasuyuki , Okano Hirotaka James
Published: June 2020

Mutations in the Vacuolar protein sorting 35 ( VPS35 ) gene have been linked to familial Parkinson’s disease (PD), PARK17. VPS35 is a key component of the retromer complex, which plays a central role in endosomal trafficking. However, whether and how VPS35 deficiency or mutation contributes to PD pathogenesis remain unclear. Here, we analyzed human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons from PD patients with theVPS35D620N mutation and addressed relevant disease mechanisms. In the disease group, dopaminergic (DA) neurons underwent extensive apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, the movement of Rab5a - or Rab7a - positive endosomes was slower , and the endosome fission and fusion frequencies were lower in the PD group than in the healthy control group . Interestingly , vesicles positive for cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor transported by retromers were abnormally localized in glia-like cells derived from patient iPSCs. These results suggest that VPS35 mutation causes endosomal dysfunction in neural cells in PARK17.
Molecular analysis of targeted insecticide resistance gene mutations in field Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito vectors of arboviruses from Saudi Arabia
Authors: Fang Yuan , Ernest Tambo , Xue Jing-Bo , Zhang Yi , Kamal Hany A. , Alzahrani Fahd S. , Alzahrani Mohamed H. , Zhou Xiao-Nong , Khater Emad I.M.
Published: June 2020

Background: Gene mutations on target sites can be a valuable reference to the status of insecticide resistance. Jeddah, a global commercial and major port-of-entry city, is bearing the most (>70%) dengue disease burden and the population of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti in Saudi Arabia. Culex quinquefasciatus is a second example as one of the major arboviral vectors in the region. However, the status of insecticide resistance and targeted site mutations on the responsible genes are not fully characterized.Methods: We randomly sampled both mosquito species, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus across Jeddah by daily mosquito surveillance in 2016 to detect the resistance-associated target site mutations on the voltage gated sodium channel (VGSC) and acetylcholinesterase 1 (ace-1) genes. Results: Our findings showed that Ae. aegypti resistance-associated VGSC gene mutations revealed polymorphic mutations on the 989, 1016, and 1534 sites. Additionally, we documented two types of introns between exons 20 and 21, however, the I1011M point mutation was undetected. Linkage disequilibrium associations were shown between V1016G with S989P, V1016G with F1534, and V1016G with type A intron. Furthermore, no mutation on ace-1 was identified in Ae. aegypti. In Cx. quinquefasciatus, homozygous L1014F/L1014F (95.23%) on the VGSC and heterozygous G119/G119S (100%) on ace-1 were widely distributed in the samples studied. Analysis of intron sequences obtained in our study and homologous sequences retrieved from GenBank showed that the intron type was significantly associated with 1016 (P = 0.000) allele type, and may reflect the history of insecticide treatment in different continents.Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of the intron types between exons 20 and 21 on VGSC of Ae. aegypti populations, and the first report of insecticide resistance gene mutation being present in field caught Cx. quinquefasciatus in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. High prevalence of insecticide resistance gene mutations in local primary mosquito vector species alert the urgent need to carry out a comprehensive insecticide resistance gene mutation surveillance and monitoring to guide sustained and effective integrated vector management planning and innovative guidelines in local predominate mosquito populations and mosquito-borne disease control and elimination in Saudi Arabia.
Orman Yangın Yönetiminde Etkili Bir Karar Destek Sisteminin Kavramsal Çerçevesi
Authors: COSKUNER Kadir Alperen , BİLGİLİ Ertuğrul
Published: June 2020

Orman yangın organizasyonları, yangınlarla mücadelede başarılı olabilmek için doğru, güncel ve kolaylıkla elde edilebilir bilgilere ihtiyaç duyar. Bu bilgilerin temini, yangın risk ve tehlike potansiyeli ile yangın davranışı hakkında doğru ve hızlı bilgi verebilen kapsamlı bir sistemin varlığı ile mümkün olabilir. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye orman yangın organizasyonu ve yangın yönetim planlamalarında kullanılabilecek bir Karar Destek Sisteminin (KDS) kavramsal çerçevesi, yapısı ve hiyerarşisi belirlenmiştir. KDS tasarımında, bir bütün halinde veya ayrı ayrı çalışabilecek dört alt sistem öngörülmüştür. Bunlar; i) Yangın Bilgi Sistemi; orman yangınları ile ilgili mekânsal, zamansal ve tanımlayıcı bilgilerin depolandığı ve veriler üzerinden akıllı sorgulamaların yapılabildiği alt sistem, ii) Yangın Çıkma İhtimalini Tahmin Sistemi; sabit ve değişken çevre faktörlerini dikkate alan ve belirli bir alan için yangın risk ve tehlike potansiyelini derecelendiren alt sistem, iii) Meteorolojik Yangın İndeksi Sistemi; yanıcı madde nemine bağlı olarak yanıcı maddelerin tutuşabilirliğini belirleyen ve yangının başlaması durumunda potansiyel yangın yayılma oranı ve yangın şiddeti hakkında bilgi veren alt sistem ve iv) Yangın Davranışı Tahmin Sistemi; yangın davranışını farklı hava halleri, topoğrafya ve yanıcı madde özelliklerine bağlı olarak tahmin etmeye çalışan alt sistemidir. Geliştirilen sistem tasarımı uygulamada kullanılabilecek şekilde hazır hale geldiğinde, orman yangınları ile mücadelede yangın yöneticilerine yangın öncesi, yangınla mücadele ve yangın sonrası planlamalarda önemli katkılar sunacak potansiyeldedir.
Financial factors for restraining the underground economy: case of Ukraine
Authors: Pidkhomnyi Oleg , Rubakha Mariya
Published: June 2020

The underground economy in Ukraine is one of the major obstacles on the way to accelerative economic growth and European integration processes. The high level of undergrounding leads to the weakening of the regulatory impact of fiscal and monetary policy instruments on the development of the national economy. Against this background, the financial and economic processes undergrounding is a major challenge and a top priority problem for Ukraine today. The article aims to determine the financial levers to restrict economy’s undergrounding and justify measures to reduce the risk of undergrounding by certain monetary and budgetary parameters regulation. The research methodological basis is the methods of scientific abstraction, induction, deduction, generalization, logical method. For analytical calculations there are used coefficient analysis, mathematical methods, including correlation analysis, comparison and grouping methods, synthesis, tabular and graphical methods. The Ukraine underground economy is selected as the study object example with this methods’ system using. Therefore the study, based on the calculation of the Fechner correlation coefficient, has revealed the presence, closeness and direction of the relationship between monetary indicators (values of changes in monetary aggregates M0, M2 and M3, CPI, changes in the official hryvnia rate to the US dollar), budgetary parameters (changes in intergovernmental transfers, changes in external public debt, taking into account inflation) and the underground economy level. Thus, according to the results of the analysis, the main directions of the relevant regulatory bodies influence on the national economy unshadowing have been determined.
Heterologous Expression and Application of Multicopper Oxidases from Enterococcus spp. for Degradation of Biogenic Amines
Authors: Li Binbin , Wang Yuan , Xue Linlin , Lu Shiling
Published: June 2020

Background:

Biogenic amines are harmful to human health at a certain extent. As a
kind of biogenic amine oxidase, multicopper oxidase can be used to degrade them. Currently, the
literature about enzyme from Enterococcus spp. are limited, and recombinant multicopper oxidase
might be an effective way to degrade biogenic amines.

Objective:

(i) Select and identify strains that can degrade biogenic amines, (ii) overexpress enzyme
from Enterococcus spp., (iii) measure gene expression and probe amine-degradation differences
among strains (native, E. coli DH5α, and L. delbruckii), and (iv) examine the biochemical properties
of recombinant multicopper oxidase, (v) apply the recombinant enzyme into smoked horsemeat
sausage.

Methods:

Reverse transcription PCR and high-performance liquid chromatography were performed
to examine gene expression and amine degradation rate.

Results:

The results demonstrated that target enzymes were successfully overexpressed, accompanied
by increased amine-degrading activity (P <0.05). Gene from E. faecalis M5B was expressed
in L. delbrueckii resulted in degradation rates for phenylethylamine, putrescine, histamine
and tyramine of 54%, 52%, 70% and 40%, respectively, significantly higher than achieved by other
recombinant strains.

Conclusion:

In this work, gene expression levels were higher in recombinant M5B than recombinant
M2B, regardless of host. E. coli is more stable to express multicopper oxidase. Besides, the
amine-degrading ability was markedly increased in the two recombinant strains. After prolonged incubation,
the recombinant enzyme could degrade three amines, and it displayed high alkali resistance
and thermostability.
Formulating SLN and NLC as Innovative Drug Delivery Systems for Non-Invasive Routes of Drug Administration
Authors: Fonseca-Santos Bruno , Silva Patrícia Bento , Rigon Roberta Balansin , Sato Mariana Rillo , Chorilli Marlus
Published: June 2020

Colloidal carriers diverge depending on their composition, ability to incorporate drugs
and applicability, but the common feature is the small average particle size. Among the carriers with
the potential nanostructured drug delivery application there are SLN and NLC. These nanostructured
systems consist of complex lipids and highly purified mixtures of glycerides having varying particle
size. Also, these systems have shown physical stability, protection capacity of unstable drugs, release
control ability, excellent tolerability, possibility of vectorization, and no reported production
problems related to large-scale. Several production procedures can be applied to achieve high association
efficiency between the bioactive and the carrier, depending on the physicochemical properties
of both, as well as on the production procedure applied. The whole set of unique advantages
such as enhanced drug loading capacity, prevention of drug expulsion, leads to more flexibility for
modulation of drug release and makes Lipid-based nanocarriers (LNCs) versatile delivery system
for various routes of administration. The route of administration has a significant impact on the
therapeutic outcome of a drug. Thus, the non-invasive routes, which were of minor importance as
parts of drug delivery in the past, have assumed added importance drugs, proteins, peptides and
biopharmaceuticals drug delivery and these include nasal, buccal, vaginal and transdermal routes.
The objective of this paper is to present the state of the art concerning the application of the lipid
nanocarriers designated for non-invasive routes of administration. In this manner, this review presents
an innovative technological platform to develop nanostructured delivery systems with great
versatility of application in non-invasive routes of administration and targeting drug release.
A Multi-layered Variable Selection Strategy for QSAR Modeling of Butyrylcholinesterase Inhibitors
Authors: Kumar Vinay , De Priyanka , Ojha Probir Kumar , Saha Achintya , Roy Kunal
Published: June 2020

Background:

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurological disorder, is the most common cause
of senile dementia. Butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) enzyme plays a vital role in regulating the brain acetylcholine
(ACh) neurotransmitter, but in the case of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), BuChE activity gradually
increases in patients with a decrease in the acetylcholine (ACh) concentration via hydrolysis. ACh
plays an essential role in regulating learning and memory as the cortex originates from the basal forebrain,
and thus, is involved in memory consolidation in these sites.

Methods:

In this work, we have developed a partial least squares (PLS)-regression based two dimensional
quantitative structure-activity relationship (2D-QSAR) model using 1130 diverse chemical classes
of compounds with defined activity against the BuChE enzyme. Keeping in mind the strict Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines, we have tried to select significant
descriptors from the large initial pool of descriptors using multi-layered variable selection strategy using
stepwise regression followed by genetic algorithm (GA) followed by again stepwise regression technique
and at the end best subset selection prior to development of final model thus reducing noise in the
input. Partial least squares (PLS) regression technique was employed for the development of the final
model while model validation was performed using various stringent validation criteria.

Results:

The results obtained from the QSAR model suggested that the quality of the model is acceptable
in terms of both internal (R2= 0.664, Q2= 0.650) and external (R2
Pred= 0.657) validation parameters.
The QSAR studies were analyzed, and the structural features (hydrophobic, ring aromatic and hydrogen
bond acceptor/donor) responsible for enhancement of the activity were identified. The developed model
further suggests that the presence of hydrophobic features like long carbon chain would increase the
BuChE inhibitory activity and presence of amino group and hydrazine fragment promoting the hydrogen
bond interactions would be important for increasing the inhibitory activity against BuChE enzyme.

Conclusion:

Furthermore, molecular docking studies have been carried out to understand the molecular
interactions between the ligand and receptor, and the results are then correlated with the structural features
obtained from the QSAR models. The information obtained from the QSAR models are well corroborated
with the results of the docking study.
Butterfly Structure: A Privileged Scaffold Targeting Tubulin-Colchicine Binding Site
Authors: Wang Yingge , Yao Yongfang , Zhu Hai-Liang , Duan Yongtao
Published: June 2020

:

Butterfly-shaped structure, as a novel scaffold with an attractive and certain shape, has been
widely used in new drug discovery. Tubulin, composing of α- and β-tubulin heterodimers, plays a key
role in mitosis and cell division which are regarded as an excellent target for cancer therapy. Currently, a
series of butterfly shape diaryl heterocyclic compounds have been reported with strong potential against
the tubulin-colchicine binding site. It is with one ring buried in the β subunit, another ring interacts with
the α subunit and the main body is located in the flat pocket. Here, we firstly introduce the concept of
butterfly structure for the tubulin inhibitors, focusing on the latest advancements in a variety of molecules
bearing butterfly structure, and then highlight the challenges and future direction of butterfly structure-
based tubulin-colchicine binding site inhibitors.
Efficacy and Safety of Evolocumab in Reducing Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in Chinese Patients with Non-ST-segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Xu Xiaohan , Chai Meng , Cheng Yujing , Peng Pingan , Liu Xiaoli , Yan Zhenxian , Guo Yonghe , Zhao Yingxin , Zhou Yujie
Published: June 2020

Aims:

This study aims to explore early intensive lipid-lowering therapy in patients with non-
ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS).

Background:

Lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels can reduce cardiovascular
morbidity and mortality in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Due to many reasons,
the need for early intensive lipid-lowering therapy is far from being met in Chinese NSTE-ACS patients
at high risk of recurrent ischaemic events.

Objective:

This study evaluates the feasibility, safety and efficacy of starting evolocumab in hospitals to
lower LDL-C levels in Chinese patients with NSTE-ACS.

Methods:

In this prospective cohort study initiated by researchers, 334 consecutive patients with NSTEACS
who had sub-standard LDL-C levels (LDL-C ≥2.3 mmol/L after regular oral statin treatment for at
least 4 weeks; or LDL-C ≥3.2 mmol/L without regular oral statin treatment) were included. Patients
who agreed to treatment with evolocumab (140 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks, initiated in hospital
and used for 12 weeks after discharge) were enrolled in the evolocumab group (n=96) and others in the
control group (n=238). All enrolled patients received regular statin treatment (atorvastatin 20 mg/day or
rosuvastatin 10 mg/day; doses unchanged throughout the study). The primary endpoint was the change
in LDL-C levels from baseline to week 12.

Results:

Most patients (67.1%) had not received regular statin treatment before. In the evolocumab
group, LDL-C levels decreased significantly at week 4 and remained stable at week 8 and 12 (all
p<0.001). At week 12, the LDL-C percentage change from baseline in the evolocumab group was -
79.2±12.7% (from an average of 3.7 to 0.7 mmol/L), while in the control group, it was -37.4±15.4%
(from an average of 3.3 to 2.0 mmol/L). The mean difference between these 2 groups was -41.8% (95%
CI -45.0 to -38.5%; p<0.001). At week 12, the proportion of patients with LDL-C levels <1.8 mmol/L
and 1.4 mmol/L in the evolocumab group was significantly higher than in the control group (96.8 vs
36.1%; 90.6 vs 7.1%; both p<0.001). The incidences of adverse events and cardiovascular events were
similar in both the groups.

Conclusions:

In this prospective cohort study, we evaluated the early initiation of evolocumab in NSTEACS
patients in China. Evolocumab combined with statins significantly lowered LDL-C levels and
increased the probability of achieving recommended LDL-C levels, with satisfactory safety and good
tolerance.
Microencapsulation: A Prospective to Protect Probiotics
Authors: Zam Wissam
Published: June 2020

Probiotics are viable microorganisms widely used for their claimed beneficial effects on
the host health. A wide number of researchers proved that the intake of probiotic bacteria has numerous
health benefits which created a big market of probiotic foods worldwide. The biggest challenge
in the development of these products is to maintain the viability of bacterial cells during the storage
of the product as well as throughout the gastrointestinal tract transit after consumption, so that the
claimed health benefits can be delivered to the consumer. Different approaches have been proposed
for increasing the resistance of these sensitive microorganisms, including the selection of resistant
strains, incorporation of micronutrients, and most recently the use of microencapsulation techniques.
Microencapsulation has resulted in enhancing the viability of these microorganisms which allows its
wide use in the food industry. In this review, the most common techniques used for microencapsulation
of probiotics will be presented, as well as the most usual microcapsule shell materials.
An Overview: The Evaluation of Formation Mechanisms, Preparation Techniques and Chemical and Analytical Characterization Methods of the In Situ Forming Implants
Authors: Kilicarslan Muge , Buke Ayse Nur
Published: June 2020

One of the major developments of the last decade is the preparation of in situ implant formulations.
Injectable, biocompatible and/or biodegradable polymer-based in situ implants are classified
differently due to implant formation based on in vivo solid depot or formation mechanisms inducing
liquid form, gel or solid depot. In this review, published studies to date regarding in situ forming implant
systems were compiled and their formation mechanisms, materials and methods used, routes of
administration, chemical and analytical characterizations, quality-control tests and in vitro dissolution
tests were compared in Tables and were evaluated. There are several advantages and disadvantages of
these dosage forms due to the formation mechanism, polymer and solvent type and the ratio used in
formulations and all of these parameters have been discussed separately. In addition, new generation
systems developed to overcome the difficulties encountered in in situ implants have been evaluated.
There are some approved products of in situ implant preparations that can be used for different indications
available on the market and the clinical phase studies nowadays. In vitro and in vivo data obtained
by the analysis of the application of new technologies in many studies evaluated in this review showed
that the number of approved drugs to be used for various indications would increase in the future.
Challenges, Progress and Promises of Impurities Annotation for LCMSIT- TOF
Authors: Özcan Saniye , Levent Serkan , Can Nafiz Öncü
Published: June 2020

:

Analysis of pharmaceutical products, as well as their active and inactive ingredients, and
identification and characterization of potential impurities originating from raw materials and manufacturing
processes is of importance in the field, especially for further assessment of potential positive or
negative effects on the human body. In addition to expected therapeutic effects, unfortunately, some
unwanted or adverse effects were encountered in the past, resulting in dramatic cases sometimes. These
challenges have been overcome with the use of sophisticated and high-end analytical techniques today
by focusing on developing more efficient, more accurate, more accessible, and faster determination
techniques.

:

One of the powerful techniques utilized under the given aim, especially for qualitative purposes, is the
Time of Flight (TOF) based Mass Spectrometry (MS). Among the TOF-MS instruments, liquid chromatography-
mass spectrometry-ion trap-time of flight (LCMS-IT-TOF) has a unique MSn capability,
which is a versatile tool in exact mass prediction and structure elucidation. In this review, LCMS-ITTOF
has been considered taking all aspects to account for its use in qualitative impurity profiling, and
a retrospective view on previous studies was presented in an analytical manner.
Proposed Guidelines for the Management of ESBL in Prosthetic Joint Infections
Authors: Antony Suresh , Khan Ismail , Chowdhury Omer , Heydemann Jacob , Antony Nishaal , Heydemann John , Isaac David
Published: June 2020

The aim of this paper is to establish guidelines for the management of extendedspectrum
beta-lactamases (ESBL) associated prosthetic joint infections (PJI). This study reviewed
21 patients in the literature documented with ESBL associated PJI. Literature suggests that patients
with ESBL PJI are stratified into either early infections (<3 weeks) or late infections (>3
weeks), for which, appropriate laboratory and imaging studies need to be completed. Favorable
outcomes require a two-stage revision with an antibiotic-impregnated spacer and a prolonged
course of intravenous carbapenem antibiotic.
Clinical and Epidemiologic Features of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Children: A 6-year Study from an Iranian Referral Hospital
Authors: Abdolsalehi Mohamadreza , Pourakbari Babak , Mahmoudi Shima , Moradzadeh Mina , Keshavarz Hossein , Mamishi Setareh
Published: June 2020

Background::

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an emerging zoonosis disease that is endemic in the northwestern and southern part of Iran. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and laboratory findings of the children with VL hospitalized at Children Medical Center Hospital (CMC), Tehran, Iran.

Methods::

A retrospective study was performed based on studied medical records of children with a final diagnosis of VL from 2011 to 2016. For each patient’s demographics, clinical laboratory findings and treatment were examined.

Results::

The clinical features of 17 children were examined and the most frequent symptoms were fever (94.1%, n=16), pallor, loss of appetite (76.5%, n=13), splenomegaly (82.4%, n=14) and hepatomegaly (58.8%, n=10). The most frequent laboratory abnormalities were hematological including anemia (94.1%, n=16), leukopenia (52.9%, n=9) and thrombocytopenia (70.5%, n=12). In order to detect anti-Leishmania antibodies, DAT was performed in 11 patients and 82% of them were positive (titers ≥ 1: 3200). In addition, rK39 was used in 9 cases and 7 children (78%) had positive results. Direct parasitology revealed the presence of amastigotes of Leishmania in bone marrow aspirate (BMA) stained by Giemsa stain in 9 patients (69%, among 13 children).

Conclusion::

Leishmaniasis is a regional disease therefore management and control of disease, particularly in an endemic area, as well as detection of new emerging foci are recommended.
Single Time Heated Different Vegetable Oils Use-Impact on the Magnitude of Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) Associated Adverse Effects
Authors: Ambreen Gul , Siddiq Afshan , Hussain Kashif , Baig Sadia G.
Published: June 2020

Background:

In clinical practice, Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN) is standard of care for patients of gastrointestinal tract disorders. TPN therapy is associated with a number of adverse effects like hepatobiliary dysfunction, dyslipidemia, and oxidative stress. Different vegetable oils are used by every individual daily in routine life.

Objective:

This study assessed the magnitude of TPN-associated adverse effects in animals fed on different vegetable oils.

Methods:

Healthy adult rabbits of local strain were divided into 5 groups (n= 8). The study was divided into 2 phases. Phase I: oil feeding; the first set of rabbits served as control and fed on a normal rabbit diet. Four sets of rabbits were treated for 16 weeks with 1 ml/kg/day of single time heated olive (STH-OO), canola (STH-CO), sunflower oils (STH-SO) or a mixture of these oils (STH-MVO). In phase II: TPN was given to each group, including the control group, for 2 weeks. Before and after TPN therapy, body and liver weights were measured. Plasma lipid profile [triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, very-low-density lipoproteins], liver function marker [total-protein, albumin, total and direct bilirubin, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and alkaline phosphatase], oxidative stress and tissue damage parameters [malondialdehyde, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine phosphokinase] of all the groups weremeasured at the end of TPN therapy.

Results:

Significantly (p <0.05) elevated hepatic enzymes, oxidative stress and tissue damage markers along with dyslipidemia were observed in STH-MVO and STH-SO fed groups, in comparison to control. In STH-OO and STH-CO groups, all these parameters were insignificantly different than control after 2 weeks of TPN therapy. The higher plasma levels of, High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL), total protein and albumin and reduced Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, were observed in STH-OO and STH-CO groups than the control.

Conclusion:

This study recommends that high monounsaturated fatty acids containing oils like olive and canola oils, are found to have strong resistance against the hepatic injury and lipid peroxidation. The study also recommends taking the history of oil use by an individual before the initiation of therapeutic agents with known side effects of hepatic toxicity and dyslipidemia.
ADHD in College Students - a Guide for Clinicians and Administrators
Authors: Winkler Aaron , Bohle-Frankel Bettina , White Leigh , Strauss Gordon , Gottlieb Diane
Published: June 2020

ADHD affects 5-6% of all college students. It is a disorder with profound comorbidities
and consequences, including increased mortality. Difficulties and damage accrue synergistically during
the college years, directly affecting academic achievement and graduation rate. It can be reasonably
extrapolated that these students may be at higher risk for sentinel events involving impulsive behavior,
intoxication and self-harm, and that current campus policies aimed at reducing access to
stimulant medication contribute to social injustice by disproportionately affecting already disadvantaged
students. After exploring the large body of observational data, specific recommendations regarding
diagnosis and treatment are made. The gold-standard for diagnosis is a comprehensive clinical
interview informed by reports from others who know the patient. While universities often demand
neuropsychological testing before offering medication, there is a broad agreement among researchers
and clinicians that this is not scientifically justified. The most effective treatments combine
pharmacotherapy with individual and group psychotherapy. Stimulants are very effective. So much
so that starting all patients on non-stimulants solely to prevent diversion is clinically inappropriate.
Rather, effective methods to limit diversion that do not limit access to care for those with the disorder
must be developed. Various psychotherapies have been assessed and have shown benefits. A CBTbased,
comprehensive, multi-modal and manualized intervention has been specifically created and
examined for use with college students. The outcome data are encouraging. By combining appropriate
diagnostics, effective pharmacotherapy, and comprehensive, multi-modal psychotherapy, administrators
and clinicians may join forces to meaningfully improve retention, academic achievement,
graduation rates, and emotional growth for this large and high-risk cohort. Colleges may need to invest
in hiring expert clinicians to deploy this care, as most do not have enough of them currently.
Comparison of the Effect of Different Dosages of Celecoxib on Reducing Pain after Cystocele and Rectocele Repair Surgery
Authors: Vahabi Sepideh , Karimi Arash , Beiranvand Siavash , Moradkhani Mahmoudreza , Hassanvand Khatereh
Published: June 2020

Background:

Administration of celecoxib reduces pain and inflammation and is associated with greater patient satisfaction.

Objective:

This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of two different doses of oral celecoxib for reducing postoperative pain.

Methods:

This randomized clinical trial was performed on 90 patients undergoing cystocele and rectocele repair under spinal anesthesia. Patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: the first group received 200 mg/day celecoxib, the second group received 400 mg/day celecoxib and the third group was placebo. The pain was measured at 8, 16 and 24 hours after surgery using the VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) method. If the pain score was greater than 5, pethidine 1 mg/kg was prescribed. Pain score at 8, 16 and 24 hours, the need for pethidine, side effects and satisfaction score were recorded during the first 24 hours after surgery.

Results:

The pain score at postoperative 8 hours was 7.7, 3.9, and 8.1 in the 200 mg/day celecoxib, 400 mg/day celecoxib, and placebo group, respectively (p<0.001). Furthermore, the need for pethidine was significantly less in 400 mg/day group and with the greatest satisfaction score, p<0.01, respectively.

Conclusion:

Our study concludes that 400 mg/day of celecoxib can be effective against postoperative pain, following the cystocele and rectocele repair, as compared to 200 mg/day and placebo groups. Unwanted use of opioids can be avoided with economically cheaper and safer drugs.
Withdrawal Notice: Recent Advances in Big Data Management PART 2
Authors: Ma Kun , Zbakh Mostapha
Published: June 2020

The article has been withdrawn at the request of the author of the journal Recent Advances in Computer Science and
Communications.;

Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused.

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mHealth Interventions to Promote Anti-Retroviral Adherence in HIV: Narrative Review
Authors: Lee Stephen B , Valerius Joanne
Published: June 2020

Background

Antiretrovirals (ARVs) are key in the management of HIV. Although no cure exists, ARVs help patients live healthy lives and prevent transmission to others. Adherence to complex regimens is paramount to outcomes and in avoiding the emergence of drug-resistant viruses. The goal of therapy is to reach an undetectable viral load. However, adherence is a common problem, stemming from issues such as mental health, chaotic home situations, and busy work schedules. Mobile health (mHealth) represents a new approach in improving medication adherence, and multiple studies have been performed in this area.

Objective

This study aims to review the current implementation of mHealth in the management of HIV among different groups of patients.

Methods

We used PubMed, Academic Search Elite, and 1 journal database with various search terms to review the current implementation of mHealth in HIV care.

Results

Titles and abstracts were screened, and 61 papers were identified and fully reviewed. The literature was divided into lower- and higher-income nations, as defined by the United Nations. A total of 20 studies with quantitative results were identified, with 10 being text- and SMS-based interventions (the majority of these being in lower-income countries) and 8 being smartphone-based apps (primarily in higher-income countries). The majority of these studies determined whether there was an effect on adherence or biochemical parameters (viral load and CD4 count). Various qualitative studies have also been conducted, and many have focused on determining the specific design of interventions that were successful (frequency of messaging, types of messages, etc) as well as priorities for patients with regard to mHealth interventions.

Conclusions

There seems to be a role of mHealth in the management of HIV in lower-income nations; however, the optimal design of an intervention needs to be delineated. In higher-income countries, where the 2 significant risk factors were injection drugs and men who have sex with men, the benefit was less clear, and more research is needed.
End-to-End Models to Imitate Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Differentiation in Lung Cancer Diagnosis: Model Development and Validation
Authors: Liu Ziqing , He Haiyang , Yan Shixing , Wang Yong , Yang Tao , Li Guo-Zheng
Published: June 2020

Background

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been shown to be an efficient mode to manage advanced lung cancer, and accurate syndrome differentiation is crucial to treatment. Documented evidence of TCM treatment cases and the progress of artificial intelligence technology are enabling the development of intelligent TCM syndrome differentiation models. This is expected to expand the benefits of TCM to lung cancer patients.

Objective

The objective of this work was to establish end-to-end TCM diagnostic models to imitate lung cancer syndrome differentiation. The proposed models used unstructured medical records as inputs to capitalize on data collected for practical TCM treatment cases by lung cancer experts. The resulting models were expected to be more efficient than approaches that leverage structured TCM datasets.

Methods

We approached lung cancer TCM syndrome differentiation as a multilabel text classification problem. First, entity representation was conducted with Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers and conditional random fields models. Then, five deep learning–based text classification models were applied to the construction of a medical record multilabel classifier, during which two data augmentation strategies were adopted to address overfitting issues. Finally, a fusion model approach was used to elevate the performance of the models.

Results

The F1 score of the recurrent convolutional neural network (RCNN) model with augmentation was 0.8650, a 2.41% improvement over the unaugmented model. The Hamming loss for RCNN with augmentation was 0.0987, which is 1.8% lower than that of the same model without augmentation. Among the models, the text-hierarchical attention network (Text-HAN) model achieved the highest F1 scores of 0.8676 and 0.8751. The mean average precision for the word encoding–based RCNN was 10% higher than that of the character encoding–based representation. A fusion model of the text-convolutional neural network, text-recurrent neural network, and Text-HAN models achieved an F1 score of 0.8884, which showed the best performance among the models.

Conclusions

Medical records could be used more productively by constructing end-to-end models to facilitate TCM diagnosis. With the aid of entity-level representation, data augmentation, and model fusion, deep learning–based multilabel classification approaches can better imitate TCM syndrome differentiation in complex cases such as advanced lung cancer.