bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Vitamin B12 Status with Biochemical Parameters among the Adult Population (30 - 50 Years) of Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat
Authors: Shah Revati , Patel Vinayak , Dave Neeta
Published: October 2022

Vitamin B12 deficiency is known to be very common amongst the vegan population and can cause hyperhomocysteinemia due to various hematologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a global epidemic caused by malabsorption and inadequate consumption. Vitamin B12 deficiency has the greatest impact on the blood and nervous system. Elevated Methylmalonic Acid (MMA) and/or total homocysteine levels are sensitive indications of vitamin B12 deficiency and have been linked to clinical problems. Hematological parameters like erythrocyte count, hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit, Mean Cell Volume (MCV), blood values such as plasma B12 and the metabolite MMA are only a few examples. A total of 398 subjects, aged 30-50 years were selected from Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Gujarat. Fourty two percent of the subjects were suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency. The subjects were screened for their vitamin B12 status and several biochemical parameters like homocysteine, iron, hemoglobin, total RBC, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW. Total RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC levels, and homocysteine concentration of the subjects were found to be significantly (P ? 0.05) associated with the vitamin B12 status of the subjects. A positive and significant (P ? 0.05) relationship was observed between serum vitamin B12 and iron levels (r = 0.127, P ? 0.05) of the subjects. In conclusion, vitamin B12 status was significantly associated with total RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC levels and homocysteine concentration
Differences in Cancer Screening Responses to State Medicaid Expansions by Race and Ethnicity, 2011‒2019
Authors: Friedman Abigail S. , Thomas Sasha , Suttiratana Sakinah C.
Published: October 2022

Objectives. To estimate whether state Medicaid expansions’ relationships to breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening differ by race/ethnicity.

Methods. Analyses conducted in 2021 used 2011–2016 and 2018–2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data on adults aged 40 to 64 years with household incomes below 400% of the federal poverty guideline (FPG; n = 537 250). Triple-difference analyses compared cancer screening in Medicaid expansion versus nonexpansion states, before versus after expansion, among people with incomes above versus below the eligibility cutoff (138% FPG). Race/ethnicity and ethnicity-by-language interaction terms tested for effect modification.

Results. Associations between Medicaid expansions and cancer screening were significant for past-2-year mammograms and past-5-year colorectal screening. Effect modification analyses showed elevated mammography among non-Hispanic Asian women (+9.0 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.2, 14.8) and Hispanic women (+6.0 percentage points; 95% CI = 2.0, 10.1), and Papanicolaou tests among Hispanic women (+4.2 percentage points; 95% CI = 0.1, 8.2). Findings were not limited to English- or Spanish-speaking respondents and were robust to insurance status controls.

Conclusions. Medicaid expansions yielded statistically significant increases in income-eligible Asian and Hispanic women’s mammography and Hispanic women’s Pap testing relative to non-Hispanic White women. Neither language proficiency nor insurance status explained these findings. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(11):1630–1639. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307027 )
Making Vaccines Equitably Available to All Persons in Pima County, Arizona, 2020–2021
Authors: Cullen Theresa , Mullins Jennie , Rambaud Crystal La Tour , Lawlor Pierce , Davis Mary V.
Published: October 2022

We review the Pima County (Arizona) Health Department’s efforts to achieve equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution in a county with a social vulnerability index of 0.88. We expedited vaccine distribution, focusing on equitable distribution, implementing a multi–point of dispensing approach, and using a periurban and rural strategy. Pima County has one of the highest vaccine distribution percentages among the highest social vulnerability index quartiles and is more than 10 percentage points ahead of other large counties in Arizona in vaccine uptake. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(11):1560–1563. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307040 )
Digital Analysis of Tooth Sizes Among Individuals with Classes I and II Malocclusions in the Kosovo Population - A Pilot Study
Authors: Aliu Nora , Reshitaj Albena , Gashi Sanije , Kamberi Blerim
Published: October 2022

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the tooth size discrepancy in patients with different types of malocclusions and compare it with that in patients with normal occlusion, using the three-dimensional (3D) measurement program Maestro Studio. Methods and Results: Patients of both sexes who were aged between 13 and 16 years and who had never received orthodontic treatment were randomly selected. The participants’ mean age was 14.3±1.1 years; 62.0% of patients were girls. Fifty patients were divided into three groups. Group 1 included 16 patients with malocclusion Class I (controls), Group 2 included 19 patients with malocclusion Class II division 1 (II/1), and Group 3 included 15 patients with malocclusion Class II division 2 (II/2). The tooth measurements were made according to the Bolton analysis. Anterior ratio (AR) and overall ratio (OR) were calculated. There was no signiﬁcant difference in the AR between the groups. However, we found a significant difference in the OR between the groups (P=0.0129). Patients with Class II/2 malocclusion had a signiﬁcantly lower OR than patients with Class II/1 malocclusion (P=0.0155). However, there was no signiﬁcant difference in the OR between Class 1 and Class II/1 or Class II/2 malocclusions. Conclusion: Individuals with different malocclusions show different tooth sizes.
Multiscale Pore Structure Evolution of Longmaxi Shale Induced by Acid Treatment
Authors: Xu Sai , Zhou Shangwen , Zhou Junping , Wang Lei , Sheng Mao , Cai Jianchao
Published: October 2022

Hydraulic fracturing to generate complex fracture networks is essential for shale reservoir development. However, the recovery of shale oil and gas is still low due to various engineering and geological factors. Acid treatment has been approved as a potential approach to enhance stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) by changing petrophysical and mechanical properties. Understanding the multiscale pore structure evolution behind the macro-performance change is critical in the application of acid treatment in shale reservoirs. In this study, cylindrical and powder shale samples from the Longmaxi formation are treated with 15 wt% hydrochloric acid (HCl) for 10 days. Before and after acid treatment, X-ray computed tomography (CT) and N2 adsorption techniques are used to characterize shale pore structure at microscale and nanoscale, respectively. Combined with the determination of variations in chemical compositions of shale samples and acid solutions, the mechanism of multiscale pore structure evolution induced by acid treatment is discussed. The N2 adsorption results uncover a considerable increase in volume and size of nanopores. All the nanopores increase in carbonate-rich shale, whereas the micropores and mesopores undergo a decrease in clay-rich shale. Reconstructed 3D CT images reveal the generation of large volumes of microscale pores and fractures, which leads to an increase in porosity of about 9%. The pore structure evolution in shale due to acid treatment is controlled by both mineralogy and microstructure. These findings demonstrate the promise of acid treatment for enhanced SRV and long-term productivity of shale oil and gas reservoirs in China.
Prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety in patients with functional anorectal pain
Authors: Dong Liping , Sun Ting , Tong Ping , Guo jia , Ke Xiaoyan
Published: October 2022

Purpose Patients with functional anorectal pain (FAP) often experience psychological distress, impaired quality of life, increased healthcare utilisation, and even suicidal tendencies. However, limited data exists on the psychological correlates of FAP in Chinese patients. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and related psychosocial factors in Chinese patients with FAP.
Methods We used a cross-sectional research design and recruited 100 patients with FAP from SuBei Hospital’s multidisciplinary clinic for pelvic floor disorders between January and December 2021. Information on patients’ demographic and disease characteristics was also collected. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire Depression (PHQ-9) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with depression and anxiety.
Results The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among patients with FAP was 55 % and 46 %, respectively. Being a woman, specific marital status (single, divorced, separated, or widowed), longer FAP duration, and sleep disturbance were significantly associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms. Additionally, specific marital status (single, divorced, separated, or widowed), sleep disturbance, and high Visual Analogue Scale scores were associated with anxiety symptoms.
Conclusions Depressive and anxiety symptoms are prevalent in patients with FAP. Several socio-demographic and clinical predictors have been identified. There is a need for psychologists to be involved in the treatment of patients with FAP. Thus, multidisciplinary treatment may be the optimal treatment strategy.
A Prototype For Quantum Database In
Hybrid Quantum
Authors: Chakraborty Sayantan
Published: October 2022

This study proposes a prototypeAnd a possibility to converge both this quantum database and classical database. This report mostly identifies the gap between this classical database and quantum database but it shows no result rather it proposes only the hypothesis and prototype which can be implemented in future products. It is a way that can be used in future industrial product development on hybrid quantum computers. The existing concept used to consider oracle as a black box this study opens up the possibility for the quantum industry to develop the QASAM module so that we can develop a fully quantum database instead of using a classical database as BlackBox. So we will propose a logical design for memory management for the quantum database , security enhancement model automatic storage management model for quantum database.
Lumpy Skin Disease Emerging Problem in Pakistan
Authors: Imran Muhammad , Hashmi Asraf Hussain , Khalique Faisal , Iqbal Muhammad Zahid
Published: October 2022

Lumpy skin disease is important disease of livestock sector posing a big problem to livestock sector and economy. The virus belongs to the Capripoxvirus genus of the family Poxviridae, which also contains sheep pox virus and goat pox virus. LSD is enzootic in several African countries. Since 2012, the disease has spread rapidly and widely throughout the eastern Europe regions, southern Caucasus and parts of the Russian Federation as well as parts of Asia. It is one of the most serious health issues confronting the global cattle business. In addition to the international trade embargo and animal movement restrictions, the disease causes major economic losses owing to skin damage, reduced meat and milk production, infertility, mastitis, and mortality. Lumpy skin disease spread more rapidly in Province Sindh and some parts of province Punjab. Since March 2022, verifiable epidemiological data has revealed a 33% morbidity rate and a 0.6% mortality rate in Pakistan. The southern Punjab cattles were more affected with lumpy skin diseases as compared to northern Punjab. Mortality and infection rate of lumpy skin disease become double during Eid al Adha. The first LSD outbreak was detected in southern Pakistan in November 2021 and notified by the government on March 4th, 2022. Since 2019, LSD has been detected in India, China, and Iran, all of which share Pakistan's border possibly indicating a transboundary transmission channel from Iran and India, both of which border southern Pakistan. LSD is unquestionably posing a danger to dent Pakistan's livestock sector and business.
Monitoring of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) of Noctiluca scintillans (Macartney) along the Gulf of Mannar, India using in-situ and satellite observations and its impact on wild and maricultured finfishes
Authors: Rameshkumar Palsamy , Thirumalaiselvan Shanmugam , Raman Mini , Remya Lalitha , Jayakumar Rengarajan , Sakthivel Mohammed , Tamilmani Govindan , Sankar Murugesan , Anikuttan Kuravamparambu Kuttan , Menon Nandini Menon , Saravanan Raju , Ravikumar Thimmakkondu Thiyagarajan , Narasimapallavan Gunasekaran Iyyapparaja , Krishnaveni Nataraj , Muniasamy Velliyan , Batcha Sikkander Mohammed , Gopalakrishnan Achamveetil
Published: October 2022

Three incidences of bloom (Noctiluca scintillans) has been recorded in Gulf of Mannar (GOM) during 2019(September) 2020(September& October) and 2021 (October). On 10th September 2019, a deep green bloom started along the coast of Gulf of Mannar stretching from Kunthukkal(9.2579° N, 79.2213° E) to Vedalai (9.2723° N, 79.1040° E) (about 10 kms) and algal crashing started on 11th and 12th September, 2019, resulting in mass mortality of about twenty wild fish groups mostly associated with coral reefs. The ichthyo-diversity affected during the bloom period have been identified and quantified. Noctiluca cell density was high ranging from 1.33 x 103cells/L to 1.24 x106cells /L with slight year to year variations. High chlorophyll concentrations (> 7.5 mg /m3) were measured during the bloom event at the cage site. Remote sensing images acquired from MODIS –Aqua 4 km data during the bloom period indicates very high concentration of chlorophyll in most of the northern areas of GOM indicating the presence of algal bloom. Low concentration of dissolved oxygen (less than 3.5 mg/L) was measured during the bloom in all the three years. Concentration of ammonia in surface and sea bottom waters was quite high 7.54 & 18.86µg-at/L. Wild fishes in the coral reefs and fishes cultured in cages (Cobia and Silver Pompano), were found dead due to acute hypoxia and anoxia. Decay of the bloom led to enormous ammonia production, sudden reduction of dissolved oxygen in the water and, eventually stress, shock and mortality of all fishes.
Ectopic Pregnancy in China during 2011-2020: A Single-Centre Retrospective Study of 9499 Cases
Authors: Xu Haihua , Lin Guan , Xue Lifang , Wu Weifang , Ding Jinlian , Liu Chaobin
Published: October 2022

Background: Previous studies have shown that the incidence of ectopic pregnancy (EP) is increasing in China. It is unclear, however, whether the incidence of EP has changed after the implementation of the universal two-child policy in the context of China's aging population and declining fertility rate.
Methods: Data with respect to EP were collected from the hospital's electronic medical records from January 2011 to December 2020, which included the annual number of delivery, cesarean section rate and ectopic pregnancies, treatment of tubal pregnancy, and averaged costs and length of stay in the hospital. Trends were analyzed and annual percentage change (APC) was calculated using connected point regression analyzes.
Results: A total of 9499 cases of EP were collected, among which cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) account for the second most (6.73%). The EP per 100 deliveries revealed a downward trend, from 7.60% in 2011 to 4.28% in 2020 with an APC of -1.87 (P < 0.05). The maternal age was increased, especially after the implementation of the universal two-child policy. Constituent ratio for the advanced maternal age (≥ 35) and the cesarean section rate, but not the CSP, were also increased. Laparoscopic salpingectomy was the main surgical method, whereas the adoption of laparotomy and laparoscopic salpingostomy was decreasing year by year.
Conclusions: Although the implementation of the universal two-child policy increased the number of births, the proportion of older mothers and cesarean section rate, this policy change seems to be less effective on EP.
Identification of a novel pyroptosis related long noncoding RNA subtypes, development of a prognostic model and characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in gastric cancer
Authors: Qi Yong , Cao Pengwei , Wang Haibo , Wu Wenyong , Cao Feng
Published: October 2022

Background Pyroptosis-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) (PRLs) are closely related to gastric cancer (GC). However, However, the mechanism of its role in GC has not been elaborated. This study deeply analyzed the potential role of PRL in GC.
Methods A PRLs coexpression network was constructed via GC data from the TCGA dataset. Cox analysis was used to determine the prognosis related PRLs. QRT–PCR was used for quantitative verification. LASSO analysis and multivariate Cox analysis were used to construct the prognosis model of PRLs and calculate the risk score of each sample. The clinical characteristics, prognosis and tumor microenvironment (TME) of different risk groups were analyzed. Finally, we constructed a ceRNA network of lncRNA miRNA/mRNA and five histone modification modes (H3K27ac, H3K4me1, H3K17me3, H3K4me3, and H3K9me3).
Results We obtained seven PRLs and constructed a prognostic model. In addition, we also drew a highly accurate nomogram to predict the prognosis of GC. The expression of lncRNAs AP000695.1 and AC087301.1 was significantly different between GC tissues and normal tissues. The immune function and TME also changed in different risk groups. We found the sub-networks of miRNAs and target genes related to AP000695.1 and AC243964.3. And we also found that the AC007277.1 enhancer region H3K27ac, H3K4me1, H3K4me3 levels increased.
Conclusion This study revealed the clinical features, prognosis and tumor microenvironment of PRL in gastric cancer, and further explored its potential role in GC. This study revealed the clinical characteristics, prognosis and tumor microenvironment of PRLs in GC. The potential role in GC was discussed, which provided a new theoretical basis and ideas for immunotherapy of GC.
Qualitative Study on Needs of Children in Schools for Special Needs among the Teachers in North Central Nigeria
Authors: Alatishe-Muhammad Bilqis Wuraola , Olubiyi Olubunmi Abiola , Afolayan Munirat Ayoola , Adeyemi Omorola Motunrayo , Ameen Hafsat Abolore , Bolarinwa Oladimeji Akeem , Salaudeen Ganiyu Adekunle , Olubiyi Olufemi Mubo
Published: October 2022

Background: For a long time, the assumption has been that the children found in the classroom all have the same needs including their health needs. However, experience has shown that each child comes from different home background and some may have some special needs to be given special attention. The schools for special needs are specifically designed, resourced and staffed to cater for children with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and intellectual problems. This study assessed the needs of children in schools for special needs among teachers.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in three schools of special needs in north-central states of Nigeria. A total number of forty-two (42) teachers were involved in six sessions of the FGD with seven respondents in each session. The observational checklist was used by the researcher to observe facilities availability and functionality in meeting the needs of the children. Data collected was analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: All the schools had teachers and non-teaching staff comprising of those with/without disability. They all have clinic but only one school is well-equipped. Though they all have health records system in place, but they are not cumulative. The five schools had pipe borne water source, but they practiced open dumping and burning of refuse.
Conclusion:
The students have over the years adapted to their impairment and it doesn’t affect their learning in any way and that the students in schools for special needs have peculiarities and these are understood by the teachers for appropriate teaching of each student.
A prospective randomized study comparing 27-Gauge Vitrectomy to 23-Gauge Vitrectomy for epiretinal membranes and full thickness macular holes.
Authors: Caretti Luigi , Pillon Giulia , Verzola Giacomo , Monterosso Cristina , Formisano Martina
Published: October 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
One-Step Combinatorial Strategy for Optimization of Antibiotics With Plant Extract Against Drug Resistant Clinical Bacteria
Authors: Gideon Mathew , Ladan Zakari
Published: October 2022

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is of global concern, resistance to every antibiotic is not a basic requirement for a bacteria or fungi to be considered dangerous, serious problem can arise by resistance to just one antibiotic. Medicinal plants are major sources of active ingredients in prescription drugs. This current work demonstrate a one-step combinatorial strategy were antibiotics can be optimize using random selectivity of phytochemicals present in aqueous plant extract to be effective against resistant clinical isolates of Streptococcus spp, Salmonella spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella spp and Escherichia coli. Concentrated sulphuric acid and 10% sodium hydroxide were used in combinatorial synthesis of Calotropis procera extract with Amoxicillin and Ampicillin at 1 mg/mL. To validate the positive results obtain in stage one, Piliostigma reticulatum extract were combined with 100 µg/mL of azithromycin and separately with 100 µg/ml of ampicillin varying the volume of the acid. Higher inhibitions zone were observed at 16.7 mm for salmonella spp, 16.4 mm shigella spp, 16.8 mm S. aureus, 21.3 mm E.coli and 22.4 mm streptococus at situations where antibiotics inhibitions zones were 0 mm. The results of this present work proposed a cost effective methods which antibiotics can be enhance to overcome resistance in bacteria using various phytochemicals present in plant extracts, this methods can be explore and applied in different ways to identify novel compounds, isolates and purify their active principles for selectivity, efficacy, safety and their development to clinical trial candidate, it may also be applied in antiviral and anticancer research to overcome enormous scientific challenges.
Study on the Rotation Method for Correcting the Depth of the Kidney to Optimize Renal Dynamic Imaging
Authors: Wei Hua , Han Ke , Wu Jiaojiao , Hu Guang , Wu Zhifang , Wang Hongliang , Guo Xiaoshan , Hou Yansong , Wang Rui , Li Sijin
Published: October 2022

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the effect and significance of the rotation method corrected for the depth of two kidneys on the determination of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in total and single kidneys by the renal dynamic imaging Gates method.
Methods: Seventy-two patients who underwent dynamic renal imaging by the rotation method and abdominal CT in our hospital were collected in the present study. CT scanning, rotation method, Tonnesen's formula, and Li-Qian's formula were compared in terms of the depth of two kidneys, depth difference between the two kidneys, and the total renal and single GFR obtained by substituting the renal depth values into Gates' formula.
Results: ①GFR and the depth of kidneys: Compared to CT, Tonnesen's formula significantly underestimated the total and single renal GFR and the depth of both kidneys (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in the total and single renal GFR and the depth of both kidneys between Li-Qian's formula and the rotation method (P > 0.05), with a strong agreement and with the least bias in the values measured by the rotation method. ②Renal depth difference: Compared to CT, Tonnesen's formula and Li-Qian's formula underestimated the difference in depth between the two kidneys (P < 0.05). None of the differences were statistically significant based on the rotation method (P > 0.05). The depth difference was positively correlated with the resulting changes in single renal function (|R(CT)-R(Li-Qian)|) and (|R(rotation)-R(Li-Qian)|) (r = 0.881, 0.641, P < 0.001). As the depth difference increased, Li Qian's formula could not visualize changes in single renal function accurately. In contrast, the accuracy of the rotation method in assessing single renal function remains unaffected.
Conclusion: The rotation method obtains an accurate depth and depth difference between the two kidneys without additional CT radiation, enhancing the accuracy of the Gates method for determining total and single renal GFR.
Trial registration: Medical Ethics Committee of First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, 2021BAL0146. Registered 12 January 2021.
Solar thermal textiles for on-body radiative energy collection inspired by polar animals
Authors: Viola Wesley , Zhao Peiyao , Andrew Trisha
Published: October 2022

Humans use textiles for maintaining thermal homeostasis amidst environmental extremes but known textiles have limited thermal windows. There is evidence that polar-dwelling animals have evolved a different mechanism of thermoregulation by controlling radiative energy exchange with the environment using a combination of light-absorbing and heat-retaining materials. Here we design a textile to mimic these adaptations to optimize direct radiative collection on the body. Two ultralightweight fabrics with complementary optical functions, a nylon “absorber” coated with a strongly-colored conjugated polymer and a nonwoven polypropylene “transparent insulator,” perform the same putative function as polar bear skin and hair, respectively. While retaining familiar textile qualities, these layers suppress radiative dissipation of body heat and maximize radiative absorption of visible light. Exposed to a radiance of 650 W/m2, representative of wintertime sunlight at high latitudes, the textile supports thermal homeostasis as low as -28oC. With increasing pressures to adapt to a rapidly changing climate, our work leverages conjugated polymers to evolve one of the oldest and most basic commodities —textiles.
Investigating the Cytokine levels correlation with BMI and FEV1 in cystic fibrosis patients of Iran using ELISA and Real-time PCR
Authors: Movahed Mahtab Ghorban , Ali Ahya Abdi , Ghazanfari Tooba , Modaresi Mohammadreza
Published: October 2022

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the most common autosomal recessive illnesses. Inflammatory responses, a lot of mucus in the respiratory system, and pulmonary and respiratory disorders are just a few of the issues these patients experience. Numerous research has been carried out to investigate cytokines in patients, but to the best of our knowledge, Iran has not provided any information on cytokine changes of CF patients. The purpose of our research was to investigate pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in CF patients and analyzed the correlation of cytokines with each other’s and with FEV1and BMI in different microbial groups. In this study, 42 CF patients and 10 healthy people were examined to measure the levels of IL-10, IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-17, TGF-β, and IL-8 in serum and PBMC samples by ELISA and Real-time PCR methods. In the following, the patient's sputum samples were cultured in specific media and the relationship between cytokines and the microbiota was investigated. The results showed that patients had higher levels of IL-10, IL-4, and IFN-γ and lower levels of IL-17. There was a correlation between IL-10, IL-4, and IFN-γ in patients and by increasing IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-γ were increased. Patients with P. aeruginosa had higher levels of IL-10, IL-4, and IFN-γ, but there was no change in these markers in patients with other bacteria such as S. aureus, Acinetobacter, Citrobacter, Candida, and Klebsiella. TGF-β and IL-17 levels were reduced in patients with P. aeruginosa and other bacteria, respectively. However, in patients with microorganisms other than P. aeruginosa, FEV1 had a positive relationship with IL-8, and with an increase in FEV1, the level of IL-8 increased. This contrasts with the investigation of the relationship between cytokines and FEV and BMI, which did not show any relationship between the factors in patients with P. aeruginosa. Our study's findings revealed that CF patient's cytokines differed from those of the control group. As a result, it is possible to recommend using the studied cytokines as markers for disease modulation.
Incidence of febrile seizures in children with COVID-19
Authors: Han Min Jeong , Heo Jun Ho , Hwang Ji Seong , Jang Young-Taek , Lee Min , Kim Sun Jun
Published: October 2022

Purpose
This study aimed to investigate the incidence of febrile seizures (FS) associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children and examine the variation in these incidences after the Omicron surge.
Methods
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases aged below 5 years residing in the Jeonbuk province from January 2020 to June 2022 was obtained from official data released by the Korean government. During the same period, data regarding FS patients with COVID-19 were obtained from all local hospitals capable of FS treatment in Jeonbuk. The data were analyzed retrospectively.
Results
The number of children under 5 years of age in Jeonbuk was 62,772, of which 33,457 (53.2%) were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the study period. Of these, 476 patients (1.4%) required hospitalization and 64 (0.19%, 44 boys: 20 girls) developed FS. Until 2021, before the Omicron surge, 23.4% of the patients (89 of 381) required hospitalization, but no children with COVID-19 were hospitalized for FS. However, after the Omicron surge in 2022, 16.5% of hospitalized children (64 of 387) experienced FS, despite the decline in hospitalization rates among COVID-19 patients (1.2%). Twenty-five patients (39.1%) had complex FS, and one (1.6%) presented with febrile status epilepticus. Forty-two patients (65.6%) experienced first-time FS, with an average of 1.5 convulsive events.
Conclusions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of FS was approximately 0.19%; however, after the emergence of the Omicron variant, FS occurred more frequently and became more complex.
WHOOPH : Whale Optimization based Optimal Placement of Hub Node within a WBAN
Authors: Shukla Shubham , Choudhary Amit , Pandey Saroj Kumar , Sachan Vibhav Kumar , Kumar Pankaj
Published: October 2022

The biosensor nodes of a wireless body area network (WBAN) are implanted in distinct parts of a patient's body to monitor the body’s vital signs. Further, the WBAN nodes transmit the measured physiological data to a hub node. Hence, an optimal location for the placement of hub node turns out to be a crucial factor in determining the minimized node power consumption in data transmission. The currently adopted hub placement techniques are time-consuming as they sequentially place the hub at multiple locations on the patient’s body and estimate link reliability for each location. The best-performing location is selected for hub placement. The engagement of other WBAN nodes in the process of hub placement results in an undesirable loss of network energy too. This paper presents the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) based hub placement scheme that directly gives the optimal hub node location and needs minimal involvement of other WBAN nodes during the process of hub placement. The presented scheme incorporates a population of whale search agents where each whale defines the random hub node coordinates. The fitness of whale search agents is estimated in terms of energy spent by the WBAN nodes in data transmission. The WOA-based model converges into an optimized search agent that determines the optimal location for hub placement. The resultant hub location minimizes the overall amount of energy consumed by the WBAN nodes for data transmission, which ultimately results in an elongated lifespan of WBAN operation. The performance results show that the proposed Hub placement scheme attains a significant increase in network stability and lifetime periods in comparison to the state-of-the-art related WBAN protocols. Additionally, the presented Hub placement scheme offers improved network throughput and latency characteristics.
Correlation between corrected QT interval combined with NLR and MACE events within one year in patients with Chronic Heart Failure
Authors: YU Xiaodong , REN Xiaoyi , LIU Meixia
Published: October 2022

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of corrected QT （QTc）interval and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) within one year.
Methods: Retrospective in January 2018 to June 2021 in Hebei province people's hospital of cardiovascular internal medicine in hospital patients with CHF, MACE grouped according to whether the patients within 1 year, collect patients clinical data, electrocardiogram (ECG) index, other auxiliary examination and medications, for all the patients by telephone, follow-up outpatient care or electronic medical records, The incidence of MACE within 1 year after discharge was followed up. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of MACE events in patients within 1 year. ROC was used to analyze the predictive value of QTc interval NLR and their combination on the occurrence of MACE in patients with CHF within 1 year.
Results: A total of 622 patients were enrolled, including 371 in the MACE group and 251 in the non-MACE group. Compared with the non-MACE group, the MACE group had higher age, proportion of cerebral infarction, QRS duration, QT interval, QTc interval, neutrophil count, NLR, creatinine, treatments with beta-blockers, aldosterone antagonists rate， and lower admission heart rate, ventricular rate, lymphocyte count, and hemoglobin content (P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age, admission heart rate, QTc interval, NLR and beta-blocker use rate are the influencing factors of MACE events(P＜0.05). ROC analysis estimating the performance in predicting the occurrence of MACE within 1 year in patients with showed that the area under curve（AUC）of QTc interval, score was 0.652（95%CI：0.609-0.695，P＜0.001） with 0.624 sensitivity and 0.61 specificity when the optimal cut-off value was determined as 428.5，the AUC of NLR was 0.649（95%CI：0.605-0.692，P＜0.001）with 0.523 sensitivity and 0.738 specificity when the optimal cut-off value was determined as 4.016， and the AUC of QTc interval and NLR was 0.719（95%CI：0.678-0.760，P＜0.001）with 0.679 sensitivity and 0.695 specificity when the optimal cut-off value was determined as 0.583.
Conclusion: Prolongation of QTc interval and elevation of NLR may be independent risk factors for MACE in CHF patients within 1 year, and their combination can be used as predictors of MACE in CHF patients within 1 year.
Analysis of differences in screening results of neonatal ophthalmopathy between Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Mother-infant Room Ward
Authors: Wang Gang , Fan Lu-Bo , Li Nai-Yang
Published: October 2022

Objective: To compare and analyze the differences in the results of neonatal ocular diseases screening in the Intensive Care Unit, and the Mother-infant ward in the same room of a general hospital.
Methods: The eye screening data of newborns were collected in Zhongshan City People's Hospital, from December 2018 to December 2021, using a digital wide-field fundus imaging system (RetCam3). The neonates were divided into Neonatal Intensive Care Unit group (NICU) and Mother-infant Ward group (Control Group) according to the ward in which the neonates were located. The differences in the results between the two groups were analyzed in the same manner. Results: A total of 7239 neonates completed eye examinations, of which 1200 (16.58%) had abnormal eyes. In the Control Group 5481 cases were screened. The result showed that 1000 cases (18.24%) with ocular abnormalities; 976 cases (17.80%) with retinal hemorrhage; and 24 cases (0.44%) with other abnormalities. 1758 cases in the NICU group were screened. Out of which 200 cases with ocular abnormalities (11.37%), 165 cases (9.38%) of retinal hemorrhage, 19 cases (1.10%) of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), 6 cases of ROP were treated with intravitreal injection, and 16 cases (0.91%) of other abnormalities.
Conclusion: The rate of retinal hemorrhage was significantly lower in the NICU group than in the Control Group, but other congenital ocular abnormalities accounted for greater proportion of children in the NICU group. General newborn screening is conducive to the early detection and treatment of various eye diseases, reducing the missed diagnosis of eye diseases. For high-risk neonates in the NICU group, eye disease screening is more imperative.
Left coronary sinus of Valsalva aneurysm dissecting into interventricular septum: a case report
Authors: Zhang Lei , Ji Donghui , Li Xiaoyun
Published: October 2022

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is extremely rare. The ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm is frequently associated with other congenital defects. If the aneurysm ruptures, it causes acute symptoms of dyspnea. We describe a case of a sinus Valsalva aneurysm originating from the left coronary sinus that ruptured into the interventricular septum, diagnosed with echocardiography and cardiac computed tomography, confirmed by operational findings
First report of genetic relationship and diversity among Moroccan and introduced rapeseed (Brassica napus l.) varieties as revealed by molecular markers
Authors: Houmanat Karim , Nabloussi Abdelghani , Rhazlaoui Yousra , Bahri Hakima , FECHTALI Mohamed EL , CHARAFI Jamal
Published: October 2022

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) crop can be a lever for the development of oilseed sector in Morocco due to its adaptation to local conditions and its major economic and food importance. Breeding is the key to the success of this crop and judicious choice of crossing parents is a prerequisite to the success of the selection program and the development of new varieties that perform better than the old ones. In this regard, genetic variation within the existing germplasm must be explored and characterized. Therefore, the present study was carried out to investigate the genetic diversity among 22 varieties from Morocco as well as other origins, using twenty ISSR primers. The selected primers have generated a total of 319 markers. Polymorphic amplified bands varied from 8 to18, with an average of 13 per primer. The diversity index (PIC) ranged from 0.295 to 0.509, with a mean value of 0.37 per primer, indicating a good genetic diversity level for the primers used. The average similarity coefficient was 0.31, fluctuating between 0.176 and 0.456, and the pairwise comparison of the studied varieties showed a great discriminating power of primers and a large genetic diversity among accessions. Hierarchical classification allowed identifying three groups with some phylogeographic structuring. This is the first report of molecular characterization of rapeseed germplasm in Morocco and Africa. The obtained results have important implications for management of this germplasm to conserve the existing genetic diversity and use it properly in breeding programs in Morocco as well as in other Mediterranean and African countries.
Phylogeographic patterns of Greater cane rat populations from East and West African regions inferred from maternal lineages
Authors: Kilwanila Shadia I. , Lyimo Charles M. , Rija Alfan A.
Published: October 2022

The African Greater Cane rat (AGC) populations in East and West Africa bear single ancestral origin. However, to date, information is lacking on their genetic differentiation due to long-time geographical isolation and the environmental and anthropogenic pressures the populations face in each region. This gap limits our ability to understanding potential speciation in these populations. We analysed the genetic sequences of cane rat samples from Tanzania and Ghana to characterize the phylogeographic patterns of the two populations based on the mt-DNA. The D-loop sequences used comprised samples collected from two Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania and three agro-ecological zones in Ghana. We found a high nucleotide diversity in AGC population from Tanzania (0.022±0.003) and low nucleotide diversity in Ghana (0.013±0.003). Analysis of Molecular variance (AMOVA) showed significant genetic differentiation between AGC population from Tanzania and Ghana (Fst=0.85938, p<0.00001). Further, analysing the genetic differentiation, we found high variation by 85.94% in AGC populations between Tanzania and Ghana and low variation (14.06%) within any AGC population at individual region. Reconstructing past history of the population in each region based on the neutrality test revealed a positive (0.006) Harpending’s raggedness index for Tanzania and negative (-0.009) for Ghana. Also, Tajima’s D was negative (-0.798) for Tanzania and positive (0.041) for Ghana, indicating that the population of Tanzania is increasing while the Ghanaian is decreasing. This is the first study to compare maternal lineages of the AGC population from two regions in Africa, and provides a basis for future studies.
A Hybrid Particle Whale Optimization Algorithm for Workflow Scheduling in Cloud-Fog-Mobile Computing Environment
Authors: Bansal Sumit , Aggarwal Himanshu
Published: October 2022

Cloud computing is the extensively used technology these days. Due to the usage of smart devices, a huge amount of data is produced. The processing of this data in real time is a big challenge for cloud servers. Fog computing is the solution for this, but fog has its own limitation in form of storage. To overcome, this cloud-fog architecture is preferred. In cloud-fog architecture, workflow scheduling is an open research area but finding an optimal algorithm is a major challenge. Some researchers proposed meta-heuristic algorithms to solve workflow scheduling issues but they are trapped locally and fails to give the global optimal solution. To solve workflow scheduling problems, we propose the PWOA algorithm, a hybrid of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). The goal of this algorithm is to minimize the Total Execution Time (TET) and Total Execution Cost (TEC) of dependent tasks in a cloud-fog-mobile computing environment. Because it uses the features of both the standard PSO and WOA algorithms, the proposed algorithm overcomes the trapping problem also. In this article, the simulation results were compared to standard PSO and WOA algorithms using several benchmarks of four different scientific workflows (Cybershake, Epigenomics, Inspiral, Montage, and Sipht) with different numbers of tasks assigned in the proposed algorithm performed better.
An Affordable and Fully Functional Bionic Claw Using Myoelectric Signals for Physically Challenged
Authors: Shankar Nathan , Bhagavath B Prahal , Avinash N , Raju N Kushal Kumar , Subashini M. Monica
Published: October 2022

For a person who lost their arm or an upper limb, even a simple task becomes cumbersome because of their disability. Prosthetics play an important role in helping these people cope up with the challenges they face. Swift developments in technology have resulted in powered myoelectric hand prosthetics entering the market but are avoided by many for being expensive to purchase and maintain. This paper outlines the development of an economical prosthetic claw that can be controlled by muscle signals. The project primarily aims to bridge the gap between cheap non-functional prosthetics and expensive fully controllable prosthetics by being affordable, durable, and easy to manufacture without sacrificing functionality. The claw and its components have been designed to be easy to modify, repair, and replace, making it a flexible platform for customization as per the user’s need. This translates to an efficient and feasible solution to the ever-growing need for affordable functional upper limb prosthetics for the physically challenged.
Fusion of Cochleogram and Mel Spectrogram Features for Deep Learning Based Speaker Recognition
Authors: Lambamo Wondimu , Srinivasa Ramasamy , Jifara Worku
Published: October 2022

Speaker recognition has crucial application in forensic science, financial areas, access control, surveillance and law enforcement. The performance of speaker recognition get degraded with the noise, speakers physical and behavioral changes. Fusion of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) and Gammatone Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (GFCC) features are used to improve the performance of machine learning based speaker recognition systems in the noisy condition. Deep learning models, especially Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and its hybrid approaches outperform machine learning approaches in speaker recognition. Previous CNN based speaker recognition models has used Mel Spectrogram features as an input. Even though, Mel Spectrogram features show better performance compared to the handcrafted features, its performance get degraded with noise and behavioral changes of speaker. In this work, a CNN based speaker recognition model is developed using fusion of Mel Spectrogram and Cochleogram feature as input. The speaker recognition performance of the fusion of Mel Spectrogram and Cochleogram features is compared with the performance of Mel Spectrogram and Cochleogram features without fusing. The train-clean-100 part of the LibriSpeech dataset, which consists of 251 speakers (126 male and 125 female speakers) and 28,539 utterances is used for the experiment of proposed model. CNN model is trained and evaluated for 20 epochs using training and validation data respectively. Proposed speaker recognition model which uses fusion of Mel Spectrogram and Cochleogram as input for CNN has accuracy of 99.56%. Accuracy of CNN based speaker recognition with Mel Spectrogram is 98.15% and Cochleogram features is 97.43%. The results show that fusion of Mel Spectrogram and Cochleogram features improve the performance of speaker recognition.