bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Malaria in Eswatini, 2012-2019: A Case Study of the Elimination Effort.
Authors: Nkya Theresia Estomih , Fillinger Ulrike , Dlamini Makhoselive , Sangoro Onyango P. , Marubu Rose , Zulu Zulisile , Chanda Emmanuel , Mutero Clifford Maina , Dlamini Quinton
Published: December 2020

Eswatini was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to pass a National Malaria Elimination Policy in 2011 and later set a target for elimination by the year 2020. This case study aimed to review Eswatini’s progress towards malaria elimination by 2020. Coverage of indoor residual spraying (IRS) for vector control and data on malaria cases were provided by the National Malaria Programme (NMP) of Eswatini. The data included all cases treated for malaria in all health facilities. The data was analysed descriptively. Over the eight-year period, a total of 5,511 patients reported to the health facilities with malaria symptoms. Case investigation rate through the routine surveillance system increased from 50% in 2012 to 84% in 2019. Incidence per 1000 population at risk fluctuated between the years but in general increased from 0.70 in 2012 to 1.65 in 2019 with highest incidence of 3.19 reported in 2017. IRS data showed inconsistency in spraying over the eight-year period. Eswatini has fallen short of achieving malaria elimination by 2020. Malaria cases are still consistently reported, albeit at low rates, with occasional localised outbreaks. To achieve elimination, it is critical to optimise timely and well-targeted IRS and to consider rational expansion of tools for an integrated malaria control approach in Eswatini by including tools such as larval source management, long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), screening of mosquito house entry points and chemoprophylaxis. The establishment of rigorous routine entomological surveillance should be among the priorities in order to determine the local malaria vectors’ ecology, potential species diversity and the role of secondary vectors and insecticide resistance.
Increased Serum Procollagen type I C-terminal Propeptide Levels are Associated with Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients Treated with Anthracycline-based Cancer Chemotherapy
Authors: Fuente Ana de la , Santisteban Marta , Lupón Josep , Aramendía José Manuel , Díaz Agnes , Cediel Germán , López Begoña , Picazo José María López , Rábago Gregorio , Díez Javier , González Arantxa , Bayés-Genís Antoni , Ravassa Susana
Published: December 2020

Background Anthracycline-based cancer chemotherapy (ACC) has been related to myocardial interstitial fibrosis (MIF), a lesion contributing to left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). We investigated whether biomarker-assessed MIF was associated with LVD in patients with breast cancer receiving ACC and in patients with ACC-induced heart failure (ACC-HF). Moreover, chemotherapy agent’s pro-fibrotic activity was evaluated in human cardiac fibroblasts (HCFs). Methods Echocardiography, serum biomarkers of collagen deposition (procollagen type-I C-terminal-propeptide [PICP]) and crosslinking (collagen type-I C-terminal-telopeptide/matrix metalloproteinase-1 ratio), and biomarkers of myocardial and vascular stress (galectin-3, sST2, amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide [NT-proBNP], hs-troponin-T and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 [VCAM-1]) were assessed in 70 breast cancer patients at baseline, and during ACC at 3 and 6 months. Subclinical cardiotoxicity was defined as a global longitudinal strain (GLS) relative reduction>15%. In addition, PICP and NT-proBNP were determined in 347 patients with different HF etiologies, 37 with ACC-HF of whom 33 had 12-month-follow-up LVEF assessment. HCF activation was examined after incubation with chemotherapy agents for 24 hours. Results In breast cancer patients, six-months-ACC reduced GLS and upregulated PICP, hs-troponin-T, NT-proBNP and VCAM-1 (P<0.01) versus baseline. At 6 months, elevation of PICP was higher in patients with subclinical cardiotoxicity versus the remaining patients (P for interaction<0.001). PICP levels were directly associated with a relative reduction in GLS (P<0.001). In ACC-HF patients, baseline LVEF was inversely associated with PICP and NT-proBNP (P<0.01). After 12 months, LVEF did not change in patients with higher basal PICP (3rd tertile) but improved in the remaining patients (P<0.001). Doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and trastuzumab stimulated collagen synthesis in HCFs, including PICP extracellular cleavage. Conclusion These results indicate that increased levels of PICP, a biomarker related to MIF, are associated with early LVD in ACC-treated patients with breast cancer and with established LVD in ACC-HF patients, hindering LV functional improvement after 12 months. Chemotherapy can directly activate collagen metabolism and increase PICP extracellular presence in HCFs. Therefore, PICP emerges as a promising biomarker of ACC-induced cardiotoxicity.
WITHDRAWN: A Bioinformatics-Based Screening and Analysis of Key Genes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Wei Yanfei , Wang Shengshan , Chen Wanjun , Lin Yuning , Zhang Qi , Huang Delun
Published: December 2020

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered as the leading killer disease in the world. So far most of the diagnosis of HCC is mainly established on imaging and biopsy. As sequencing technology is developing quite fast, and it has already been widely applied in the medical area, such as cancer diagnosis. In this article, GSE121248, GSE76427 and GSE60502 datasets were chosen to analyze and screen key genes which could affect the development of liver cancer through the bioinformatics method. The results showed up regulated genes mainly reside in cell division, nucleus, protein binding pathway, and down regulated genes are mostly located in the Oxidation-reduction process, Extracellular region, Heme binding, Metabolic pathway. Secondly, hub gene analysis indicated there were twelve critical hub genes found: RFC4, RACGAP1, CCNB2, CDC20, UBE2C, PTTG1, AURKA, PRC1, NCAPG, CDKN3, TOP2A, KIF20A, AURKA and CDKN3. By applying bioinformatic measures , the genes associated with hepatocellular carcinoma can be efficiently analyzed, that would provide invaluable information for translational studies.
Overexpression of NPTX2 Promotes Malignant Phenotypeof Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma via IL6-JAK2/STAT3 Signaling Pathway Under Hypoxia
Authors: Han Xiaotian , Lu Yechen , Li Xiaoqi , Xia Lingfang , Wen Hao , Feng Zheng , Ju Xingzhu , Chen Xiaojun , Wu Xiaohua
Published: December 2020

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer(EOC) is the main subtype of ovarian cancer and shows an aggressive phenotype and poor prognosis. Neuronal pentraxin II (NPTX2)is a member of the neuronal pentraxin family and plays a contradictory role in different tumors. However, there has been no report about the possible role and effect of NPTX2 in EOC.Methods: Bioinformatics analysis, qPCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of NPTX2 in EOC. Lentivirus-based transfection for NPTX2 overexpression or knockdown was performed on the EOC cell lines A2780, HEY, SKOV3 and OVCAR-3. The effect of NPTX2 on the malignant phenotype of EOC was examined through methods of MTS assay, Edu assay, transwell assay, western blotting analysis, qPCR analysis, luciferase reporter assay and xenograft experiment.Results: EOC tissues showed higher NPTX2 expression than the normal tissues with poor prognosis. NPTX2 overexpression can promote the proliferation, invasion, migration and tumorigenesis of EOC via IL6-JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, hypoxia-inducible factor-1(HIF-1) can promote the transcription and expression of NPTX2 under the hypoxic environment.Conclusions: The above results suggest that NPTX2 may play a novel role in ovarian cancer's malignant phenotype and act asa promising treatment target for EOC moleculartherapy.
Survival in Severe Pulmonary Hypertension Due to Chronic Lung Disease: Influence of In-Hospital Platelet Distribution Width
Authors: Wang Lan , Shen Li , Zhao Ya-Lin , Pudasaini Bigyan , Zhao Qin-Hua , Gong Su-Gang , Zhang Rui , Yuan Ping , He Jing , Luo Ci-Jun , Qiu Hong-Ling , Liu Jin-Ming , Jiang Rong
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND: Platelet distribution width (PDW) has been recognized as risk predictors of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension. This study aims to investigate whether in-hospital PDW would be useful to predict all-cause death in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension due to chronic lung diseases (CLD-PH).METHODS: Early in-hospital PDW was measured in 67 severe CLD-PH patients who were confirmed by right heart catheterization and followed up. Event-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method and analyzed with the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to determine the association between the PDW level and all-cause death.RESULTS: Pulmonary function test and echocardiography parameters were different among patients divided by 17% (the upper reference range of the PDW). There were no significant differences in both clinical variables and RHC parameters among patients with PDW ≥ or < 17%. During median of 2.4 (2.5, 3.7) years of follow-up, 44 patients died. A significant association was noted between in-hospital PDW level and the adjusted risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.245; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.099-1.409). Compared with those with PDW < 17%, the HR for all-cause death increased to 5.067 (95% CI: 2.420-10.609, P < 0.001) among patients with PDW ≥ 17 %. Higher levels of PDW were also associated with increased risk of all-cause death.CONCLUSIONS: In-hospital PDW was independently associated with all-cause death in patients with severe CLD-PH. This potentially could be used to estimate the severity of severe CLD-PH.
Parkinson’s disease‒associated VPS35 mutant reduces mitochondrial membrane potential and impairs PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy
Authors: Ma Kai Yu , Fokkens Michiel R , Reggiori Fulvio , Mari Muriel , Verbeek Dineke S
Published: December 2020

Background:Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), and several genes linked to familial PD, including PINK1 and PARK2, are directly involved in processes such as mitophagy that maintain mitochondrial health. The dominant p.D620N variant in VPS35 has also been associated to familial PD but has not been functionally connected to PINK1 and PARK2. Methods: To better mimic and study the patient situation, we used CRISPR-Cas9 to generate heterozygous human SH-SY5Y cells carrying the PD-associated D620N variant in VPS35. These cells were treated with the protonophore CCCP to induce PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy, which was assessed using biochemical and microscopy approaches. Results:Mitochondria in VPS35-D620N cells exhibited reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and appeared to already be damaged at steady state. As a result, the mitochondria of these cells were desensitized to CCCP-induced collapse in mitochondrial potential, as they displayed altered fragmentation and were unable to accumulate PINK1 at their surface upon this insult. Consequently, Parkin recruitment to the cell surface was inhibited and initiation of PINK1/Parkin-dependent mitophagy is impaired. Conclusion:Our findings extend the pool of evidence that the p.D620N mutant VPS35 causes mitochondrial dysfunction and suggest a converging pathogenic mechanism between VPS35, PINK1 and Parkin in PD.
Dynamic Evaluation of the Contractile Function of Lumbodorsal Muscles During the Locust Pose in Yoga by Real-Time Ultrasound
Authors: Liu Wenfen , Li Jiachun , zhou xiang , Chen Ningning , Ouyang Hui , Xu Zuofeng , Zhu Yongsheng
Published: December 2020

Background and Purpose: The purpose was to observe the changes in the thickness of lumbodorsal muscles that occur during the locust pose in yoga and how these changes occur. From the changes in muscle thickness that occur in the locust pose, the contractile function of lumbodorsal muscles can be evaluated.Methods: The changes in the thickness of the lumbodorsal muscles in the relaxed and contracted states were dynamically observed by real-time ultrasound when subjects were performing the locust yoga pose. Then, the thicknesses of the muscles during the two states were measured to calculate the ratio of contraction of each muscle and determine the statistical significance of the change in thickness of each muscle.Results: The mean thicknesses of the lumbodorsal muscles, including the multifidus, longissimus, iliocostalis, and quadratus lumborum, obviously differed between the relaxed and contracted states (P<0.005). The the mean C/R of the longissimus was 1.39±0.14 on the left and 1.40±0.16 on the right. The multifidus and iliocostalis had the second highest C/R. The mean C/R of the multifidus was 1.23±0.12 on the left and 1.24±0.15 on the right, and the mean C/R of the iliocostalis was 1.25±0.12 on the left and 1.24±0.14 on the right. The quadratus lumborum had the lowest C/R, and the mean C/R of the quadratus lumborum was 1.17±0.10 on the left and 1.19±0.11 on the right. Conclusions: The contractile activity of the lumbar muscles can be observed by ultrasound to evaluate the contractile function of the lumbar muscles.
Infant Rhesus Macaques as a Nonhuman Primate Model of Bordetella Pertussis
Authors: Shi Li , Jiang Wenwen , Wei Chen , Mou Dachao , Zuo Weilun , Liang Jiangli , Ma Xiao , Wang Lichan , Gao Na , Gu Qin , Luo peng , Ma Yan , Li Jingyan , Liu Shuyuan , Sun Mingbo
Published: December 2020

Background: The prevalent resurgence of pertussis recently creates a vital public health problem worldwide. To understand the pertussis pathogenesis and host response to both pathogen and vaccine, a suitable pertussis animal model, particularly a non-human primate model, is necessary. Recently, a successful non-human primate pertussis model of baboons have been established. However, though the rhesus macaques have been proven to be ideal animal models for several infectious diseases, the infectious model of pertussis has not been established on it. The previous studies on rhesus macaque models of pertussis were performed in 1920s-1930s with limited experimental details. Recent monkey pertussis models failed to be established because the typical clinic syndrome and transmission were not investigated.Methods: In the present study, infant rhesus macaques were challenged with Bordetella pertussis (B.p) using the aerosol method to evaluate the feasibility of using it as an animal model of pertussis infection.Results: Upon aerosol infection, monkeys infected with the recent clinically isolated B.p strain 2016-CY-41 developed typical whooping cough, leukocytosis, bacteria-positive nasopharyngeal wash (NPW), and inter-animal transmission. Both humoral and cellular immune responses were induced by B.pertussis.Conclusion: These results demonstrate that a model of pertussis infection was successfully established in infant rhesus macaques, which provides a valuable platform to study pertussis pathogenesis and evaluate vaccine candidates.
Income Losses and Subjective Well-Being: Gender and Ethnic Inequalities during the Covid-19 Lockdown Period in the UK
Authors: Giovanis Eleftherios , Ozdamar Oznur
Published: December 2020

COVID-19 has become a global health pandemic forcing governments introducing unprecedented steps to contain the spread of the virus. On the 23rd of March, 2020, the UK government addressed the nation to announce extraordinary measures as a response to slow down the spread of the coronavirus, which have influenced the well-being and finances of millions of people. As a result people had to make difficult adjustments and to follow different coping strategies in order to respond to income losses. The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of various coping strategies, due to the lockdown measures, on the respondents’ subjective well-being by gender and ethnic background. We apply a difference-in-differences framework using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) combined with the UKHLS COVID-19 survey conducted in April 2020. Furthermore, using the Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA), we estimate the well-being costs of the coping strategies adopted that denote the amount required to revert individual’s well-being into the levels were before Covid-19 period. The results show that coping strategies with the earning losses have a significant detrimental impact on well-being and the related costs range between £250-3,500, which are significantly varied by gender and ethnic group. JEL Classification: C1, I14, I31
Voxel-based correlation of 18F-THK5351 accumulation with gray matter structural networks in cognitively normal older adults
Authors: Shigemoto Yoko , Sone Daichi , Maikusa Norihide , Kimura Yukio , Suzuki Fumio , Fujii Hiroyuki , Sato Noriko , Matsuda Hiroshi
Published: December 2020

Background

No previous studies have examined the correlations between tau and gray matter network alterations in cognitively normal (CN) older adults. Here, we investigated the correlations between 18F-THK5351 and local network measures at the voxel level.
Material and methods

We recruited 47 amyloid-negative CN older adults (65.0 ± 7.9 years, 55% women). All participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 11C-Pittsburgh compound-B and 18F-THK5351 positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Single-subject gray matter networks extracted from T1-weighted MRI data based on cortical similarities were analyzed using the graph theoretical approach. The 18F-THK5351 PET and four local network measures (betweenness centrality, clustering coefficient, characteristic path length, and degree) were evaluated to calculate voxel-wise correlations among the imaging modalities.
Result

Significant positive correlations between 18F-THK5351 and local network measures were detected in the bilateral caudate.
Conclusion

Our findings suggest that tau and neuroinflammation in CN older adults may influence local gray matter network in the caudate.
LPWAN-Based Hybrid Backhaul Communication for Intelligent Transportation Systems: Architecture and Performance Evaluation
Authors: Shahgholi Taghi , Sheikhahmadi Amir , Khamforoosh Keyhan , Azizi Sadoon
Published: December 2020

Increased number of the vehicles on the streets around the world has led to several problems including traﬃc congestion in many regions. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) are a viable solution for this problem by implementing eﬃcient use of the current infrastructures. In this paper, the possibility of using cellular-based Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) communications, LTE-M and NB-IoT, for ITS applications has been investigated. LTE-M and NB-IoT are designed to provide wide-range, low power and low cost communication infrastructures and can be a promising option which has the potential to be employed immediately in real systems. In order to to understand the feasibility of using LPWAN for ITS, two applications with low and high delay requirements have been examined: road traﬃc monitoring and emergency vehicle management. Then, the performance of using LTE-M and NB-IoT for providing backhaul communication infrastructure has been evaluated in a realistic simulation environment and compared for these two scenarios in terms of end to end delay per user. Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) has been used for realistic traﬃc generation and a Python-based program has been developed. This program has the ability to exchange live data with SUMO for communication performance evaluation. The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of using LPWAN for ITS backhaul infrastructure mostly in favor of the LTE-M over NB-IoT.
Nutrient-imbalanced conditions shift the interplay between zooplankton and gut microbiota
Authors: Li Yingdong , Xu Zhimeng , Liu Hongbin
Published: December 2020

BackgroundNutrient stoichiometry of phytoplankton frequently changes with aquatic ambient nutrient concentrations, which is mainly influenced by anthropogenic water treatment and the ecosystem dynamics. Consequently, the stoichiometry of phytoplankton can markedly alter the metabolism and growth of zooplankton. However, the effects of nutrient-imbalanced prey on the interplay between zooplankton and their gut microbiota remain unknown. Using metatranscriptome, a 16s rRNA amplicon-based neutral community model (NCM) and experimental validation, we investigated the interactions between Daphnia magna and its gut microbiota in a nutrient-imbalanced algal diet.ResultsOur results showed that in nutrient-depleted water, the nutrient-enriched zooplankton gut stimulated the accumulation of microbial polyphosphate in fecal pellets under phosphorus limitation and the microbial assimilation of ammonia under nitrogen limitation. Compared with the nutrient replete group, both N and P limitation markedly promoted the gene expression of the gut microbiome for organic matter degradation but repressed that for anaerobic metabolisms. In the nutrient limited diet, the gut microbial community exhibited a higher fit to NCM (R2=0.624 and 0.781, for N- and P-limitation, respectively) when compared with the Control group (R2=0.542), suggesting increased ambient-gut exchange process favored by compensatory feeding. Further, an additional axenic grazing experiment revealed that the growth of D. magna can still benefit from gut microbiota under a nutrient-imbalanced diet.ConclusionsTogether, these results demonstrated that under a nutrient-imbalanced diet, the microbes not only benefit themselves by absorbing excess nutrients inside the zooplankton gut but also help zooplankton to survive during nutrient limitation.
Site of Relapse of Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas Affects Survival after Multimodal Therapy
Authors: Safi Sami Alexander , Lehwald Nadja , Rehders Alexander , Fluegen Georg , Haeberle Lena Julia , Keitel Verena , Knoefel Wolfram Trudo
Published: December 2020

Background: Ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies. To date, no guidelines exists for isolated resectable metachronous disease. It is still unknown, which patients may benefit from relapse surgery. The aim of our study was to compare disease free survival (DFS) and post relapse survival (PRS) in patients with isolated local recurrence, metachronous hepatic or pulmonary metastases.Methods: Patients with isolated resectable local recurrence, metachronous hepatic or pulmonary metastases were included for survival analyses. PRS of surgically treated patients (local (n=11), hepatic (n=6) and pulmonary metastases (n=9)) was compared to conservatively treated patients (local (n=17), hepatic (n=37) and pulmonary metastases (n=8)).Results: Resected PDAC patients suffering from isolated metachronous hepatic metastases initially had a higher T-stage and venous invasion (V1) compared to the other patients. DFS in the metachronous pulmonary metastases group was longer compared to DFS of the hepatic metastases and local recurrence groups. Surgical resection significantly improved PRS in patients with local recurrence and pulmonary metastases, when compared to patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Very-long term survivors (>5 years) were detected following secondary resection of local recurrence and 45% of these patients were still alive at the end of our study period.Conclusion: Although DFS in PDAC patients suffering from isolated local recurrence was dismal and comparable to that of patients with isolated hepatic metastases, very-long term survivors were present only in this group. These results indicate that a surgical approach for isolated local recurrence, if anatomically possible, should be considered.
Left hemispheric deficit in the sustained neuromagnetic response to periodic click trains in children with ASD.
Authors: Stroganova Tatiana A , Komarov Kirill S , Sysoeva Olga V , Goiaeva Dzerasa E , Obukhova Tatiana S , Ovsiannikova Tatiana M , Prokofiev Andrey O , Orekhova Elena V
Published: December 2020

Background: Deficits in perception and production of vocal pitch are often observed in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the neural basis of these abnormalities is unknown. In magnetoencephalogram (MEG), spectrally complex periodic sounds trigger two continuous neural responses – the auditory steady state response (ASSR) and the sustained field (SF). It has been shown that the SF in neurotypical individuals is associated with low-level analysis of pitch in the ‘pitch processing center’ of the Heschl’s gyrus. Therefore, this auditory response may reflect vocal pitch processing abnormalities in ASD. The SF, however, has never been studied in people with this disorder. Methods: We used MEG and individual brain models to investigate the ASSR and SF evoked by monaural 40 Hz click trains in boys with ASD (N=35) and neurotypical (NT) boys (N=35) aged 7-12-years.Results: In agreement with the previous research in adults, the cortical sources of the SF in children were located in the left and right Heschl’s gyri, anterolateral to those of the ASSR. In both groups, the SF and ASSR dominated in the right hemisphere and were higher in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated ear. The ASSR increased with age in both NT and ASD children and did not differ between the groups. The SF amplitude did not significantly change between the ages of 7 and 12 years. It was moderately attenuated in both hemispheres and was markedly delayed and displaced in the left hemisphere in boys with ASD. The SF delay in participants with ASD was present irrespective of their intelligence level and severity of autism symptoms.Limitations: We did not test the language abilities of our participants. Therefore, the link between SF and processing of vocal pitch in children with ASD remains speculative.Conclusion: Children with ASD demonstrate selective left-hemispheric abnormalities at the level of the core auditory cortex when processing spectrally complex periodic sound. The observed neural deficit may contribute to speech perception difficulties experienced by children with ASD, including their poor perception and production of linguistic prosody.
Hypoxic tumour cell-derived exosomal miR-340-5p promotes radioresistance of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma via KLF10
Authors: Chen Fangyu , Xu Bing , Li Jie , Yang Xi , Gu Junjie , Yao Xijuan , Sun Xinchen
Published: December 2020

Background: Radiotherapy resistance is a major obstacle in the treatment of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Hypoxia is a critical cause of radioresistance. However, the communication between hypoxic cells and aerobic cells via exosomes during the transfer of radiation resistance remains unclear. Methods: Exo-miR-340-5p levels were analysed by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. We co-cultured OSCC cells with isolated normoxic and hypoxic exosomes to study their impact on radiosensitivity. We used a specific exo-miR-340-5p mimic and knock-down retrovirus to explore the role of this miRNA in the transfer of radioresistance from hypoxic to normoxic cells. Dual-luciferase reporter and RIP assays were used to verify KLF10 as a putative target of miR-340-5p. Several in vitro assays were conducted and xenograft models were established to investigate the effect of exo-miR-340-5p on OSCC radiosensitivity. The plasma exo-miR-340-5p levels in OSCC patients were analysed to study the clinical value of this parameter.Results: Hypoxic exosomes alleviated radiation-induced apoptosis and accelerated DNA damage repair. miR-340-5p was highly expressed in hypoxic exosomes and was transferred into normoxic cells, where it induced radioresistance. Overexpression of miR-340-5p in normoxic OSCC cells mimicked the radioresistance of cells co-cultured with hypoxic exosomes. Knockdown of miR-340-5p in hypoxic exosomes reversed the radioresistance effect, indicating that exo-miR-340-5p is critical for hypoxic EV-transferred radioresistance. KLF10 was identified as the direct target of miR-340-5p. Moreover, metformin was found to increase the expression of KLF10 and enhance the radiosensitivity of OSCC. Higher levels of miR-340-5p in the plasma exosomes from OSCC patients are related to a poorer radiotherapy response and prognosis. Conclusions: Hypoxic tumour cell-derived exosomal miR-340-5p confers radioresistance in OSCC by targeting KLF10/UVRAG, suggesting that miR-340-5p could be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the enhancement of radiosensitivity in OSCC. Metformin can increase KLF10 expression, which ameliorates the radioresistance induced by exo-miR-340-5p transfer. Therefore, metformin could be further investigated as a therapeutic option for the treatment of OSCC.
Strategi Survival Masyarakat Pesisir dan Pedalaman Sumenep di Tengah Krisis Ekologi dan Industrialisasi
Authors: Umam Shohebul
Published: December 2020

This study discusses poverty, which until now is still a major problem for the Indonesian state. The effort to eradicate poverty becomes a big commitment through the projected Sustainable Development Goal's (SDG's) which are determined to reduce the number of poor people to 50% in the next 2030. Instead of alleviating poverty, SDG's which insinuate welfare are more and more pressed by poverty itself. Global warming which drives climate change is uncertain, causes an ecological crisis on one side, and creates a consumptive culture of society on the other side. This research uses a qualitative method, in which coastal communities and inland farmers become in Sumenep, Madura is the object of this study. due to climate change that is getting worse, fishermen and farmers, must rearrange their survival strategies to meet the needs of family income. The government, in this case, must be encouraged to be a catalyst for change, in order to realize the social welfare of the community through the development of community-based communities that are independent and sustainable. 

 

Penelitian ini membahas tentang kemiskinan, yang sampai saat ini masih menjadi persoalan utama negara Indonesia. Upaya untuk mengentaskan kemiskinan menjadi komitmen besar melalui proyeksi Sustainable Development Goal’s (SDG’s) yang bertekad untuk menekan jumlah penduduk miskin hingga 50% pada 2030 mendatang. Alih-alih mengentaskan kemiskinan, SDG’s yang meng-insinuasikan kesejahteraan justru samakan terdesak oleh kemiskinan itu sendiri. Global warming yang mendorong perubahan iklim tidak menentu, menyebabkan krisis ekologi pada satu sisi, dan menciptakan budaya konsumtif masyarakat pada sisi yang lainnya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif, di mana masyarakat pesisir dan petani pedalaman menjadi di Sumenep, Madura menjadi objek kajian ini. akibat perubahan iklim yang semakin buruk, nelayan dan petani, harus mengatur kembali strategi survival mereka untuk memenuhi kebutuhan nafkah keluarga. Pemerintah dalam hal ini, mesti didorong untuk menjadi katalisator perubahan, demi mewujudkan kesejahteraan sosial masyarakat melalui pengembangan masyarakat berbasis komunitas yang bersifat mandiri dan berkelanjutan.
Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Dalam Rangka Pencegahan Stunting Sejak Dini di Kecamatan Pagedongan Kabupaten Banjarnegara
Authors: Munawaroh Hidayatu , Syakur Moh , Fitriana Nur , Muntaqo Rifqi
Published: December 2020

This study examines the problem most basic health problem for children in Indonesia today is in their growth and development, in other words, it is a problem of stunting. The government has made various efforts to prevent stunting, one of which is specifically intervening in child nutrition. In order to support government programs, we carry out a community service activity with the aim of detecting and detecting children's nutritional development. The Banjarnegara City Government has detected that 29% of children are still affected by stunting. By involving local health workers totaling 35 cadres in these activities. In the process of implementing the activity, it is divided into 3 terms in one day, while the methods used are counseling, discussion and practice. Based on the results of the activity, the cadres experienced an increase in quality. Previously, knowledge of health cadres was only in the range of 37.14%, but after participating in the activity, there was a significant increase of 80%. Likewise, there was an increase (p = 0.000; α <0.05) since this intervention. The recommendation is that there should be activities like this on an ongoing basis and if necessary, early detection of stunting.

 

­Penelitian ini mengkaji permasalahan kesehatan pada anak di Indonesia yang paling mendasar saat ini adalah pada pertumbuhan dan perkembangannya, dengan kata lain ini adalah masalah stunting. Pemerintah telah melakukan berbagai upaya dalam menangani stunting ini, salah satunya mengintervensi gizi anak secara spesifik. Dalam rangka mendukung program pemerintah, kami melakukan suatu kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat dengan tujuan mendeteksi sekaligus mendeteksi perkembangan gizi anak. Pemerintah Kota Banjarnegara mendeteksi adanya 29 % anak masih terdampak stunting. Dengan melibatkan tenaga kesehatan setempat berjumlah 35 kader dalam kegiatan tersebut. Pada proses pelaksanaan kegiatan terbagi menjadi 3 termin dalam satu hari, adapun metode yang digunakan yakni penyuluhan, diskusi dan praktek. Berdasarkan hasil kegiatan, kader mengalami peningkatan kualitas. Sebelumnya pengetahuan tenaga kesehatan hanya pada kisaran 37,14%, namun setelah mengikuti kegiatan mengalami peningkatan yang signifikan 80%. Begitu juga, terjadi peningkatan (p = 0,000; α < 0,05) semenjak adanya intervensi ini. Rekomendasinya adalah perlu adanya kegiatan seperti ini secara berkelanjutan dan bila perlu adanya pendeteksian stunting sejak dini.
Skirmishing Disconcerting Covid-19 by Drug Reassigning
Authors: Nikam Vikrant , Mangulkar Shubham , Khapare Jyoti
Published: December 2020

Background:

COVID-19 is a most life threatening condition, therefore it is declared a
pandemic by WHO as it has affected the whole world. Even though there are many advanced drug
discoveries, viral afflictions are a broad area for researchers. Unfortunately, to date, no drug can
treat this lethal infection. COVID -19 has raised the death rate crucially; therefore, it needs the reassigning
of drugs for the control of affliction. In some cases, it shows that drug reassigning may
cause adverse reactions. But in some countries, these drugs manifest fruitful effects for COVID patients.
This article focuses on the effective drug moieties found in in-vitro studies. These drug moieties
need further clinical testing based on their in-vitro clinical data. These moieties have shown
hope as promising drugs for treating the deadly infection.

Objective:

The current manuscript is prepared with the main objectives of studying the various
drugs and their benefits for the preparation of a vaccine for COVID-19 pandemics and studying the
clinical trial status of drugs that are in the final stage of vaccine development.

Discussion and Conclusion:

The vaccine development process is in progress, and has almost
reached the final stage. There are drug reassignments for suppressing the COVID-19 by using various
drugs such as Remdesivir, Sarilumab, Favipiravir, Tocilizumab, etc.; the whole world suffered
a huge loss due to this pandemic, and the wait for the vaccine will be over shortly.
Pengaruh Pemberian Ekstrak Etanol Biji Pepaya (Carica papaya L.) terhadap Jumlah Sel Epitel Mukosa Tuba Fallopii Tikus Putih Betina (Rattus norvegicus) Galur Wistar
Authors:   Midwifery Program, Universitas Brawijaya, Sutarini Ni Luh Gede Dian , Norahmawati Eviana ,   Departemen Patologi Anatomi, Rumah Sakit Daerah Saiful Anwar Malang, Jannah Miftahul ,   Midwifery Program, Universitas Brawijaya
Published: December 2020

Hormonal pills and injection are popular contraceptive method in Indonesia, with a high number of dropout rate because of the side effects. Papaya seeds are considered to have antifertility compounds as alternative contraceptives with minimum side effect. This research aims to determine the effect of papaya seed ethanol extract on the amount of mucosal epithelial cell of falopiian tube in female white rats. This research was conducted in November 2019 – January 2020 using true experimental design with Random Post Test Only Control Group Design. The research sample use 32 female white rats, divided into 4 groups: control group (without papaya seed extract), group 1 (0,1mg/g BW), group 2 (0,2mg/g BW), and group 3 (0,3mg/g BW). The treatment was given for 20 days. After treatment, sample terminated in the pro estrus phase, then histopathological examination was performed with Hematoxylin-Eosin and observed with the Olympus Dot Slide Microscope BX 51 with 400x magnification using Olyvia Application. The result showed decreased the amount of fallopian tube mucosal epithelial cells in each group as the dose increased. Conclusion of this study was the papaya seed ethanol extract has effect to decrease the structure and amount of mucosal epithelial cells of the fallopian tube with optimal doses in group 3, but statistical analysis not shown a significant difference (p>0.05).
Hubungan antara Frekuensi dan Durasi Diare dengan Kejadian Stunting pada Balita Usia 24-36 Bulan di Desa Kedungrejo Kecamatan Pakis
Authors:   Midwifery Program, Universitas Brawijaya, Choiroh Zakiya Miladya , Windari Era Nurisa ,   Midwifery Program, Universitas Brawijaya, Proborini Astri ,   Midwifery Program, Universitas Brawijaya
Published: December 2020

Stunting is a condition where there a disruption of growth in body length or height that not by age. A history of infectious diseases are one of the direct factors that can cause this condition. Diarrhea is an infectious disease which if occurs continuously can cause a significant decrease in fluid levels in the body, causing interference in the absorption of nutrients. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the frequency and duration of diarrhea with the incidence of stunting in children aged 24-36 months. The study used a case control design with the subjects of the case group was stunting toddlers with their mother while the control group was non-stunting toddlers with their mother in Kedungrejo village, District of Pakis with a total of 24 for each group. Data was collected by anthropometric measurements in toddlers and mothers were interviewed using a diarrhea history questionnaire that had been tested for validity and reliability. The bivariate analysis used Chi-Square test. The results showed that from of 48 subjects, the percentage of toddlers aged 24-36 months who had a history of frequent diarrhea frequency was 14,5% (7 children) and the percentage of toddlers who had a mean duration of long diarrhea was 33,3% (16 children). Statistical test results showed that frequency of diarrhea was not significantly related (p = 1,000) but increased the risk of stunting by 1,4 times, while the duration of diarrhea was significantly related (p = 0,030) and increased the risk of stunting by 5,0 times. It can be suggested that counseling is needed to provide information to the public about the first aid of diarrhea in toddlers as to minimize delays in treatment and reduce the risk of stunting.
Key Factors of Successful Corporate Environmental Practice in Selected Malaysia Public Listed Companies
Authors: Jasni Nur Syuhada , Yusoff Haslinda
Published: December 2020

Today, the issue of corporate environmental practice has been discussed extensively in research and operation because the future of sustainability is at stake. Thus, this paper’s objectives are 1) to understand the corporate environmental practice and 2) to determine the key factors of successful corporate environmental practice. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with representatives from several prominent Public Listed Companies (PLCs) in Malaysia, which are the pioneer in this area. Findings from this study reveal that companies should have clear environmental guidelines, and most importantly enhanced data governance for greater corporate environmental practice. The conclusion discusses the continuous improvement in navigating and planning future research.
Keywords: Corporate environmental practics; Operationalisation, Data governance; Resilience
eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.2421.
Fiscalização das Concessões dos Serviços de Energia Elétrica
Authors: Gatto Hermelino
Published: December 2020

A teoria das funções municipais defendida por Benedicto Silva, sob o critério da contiguidade, conclui que o grupamento das atividades dos três níveis de govêrno — federal, estadual e municipal — deve ser feito, respectivamente, sob três categorias: atividades de importância mediata; atividades de importância próxima; atividades de importância imediata.Como atividades de importância imediata, indicamos aquelas que se relacionam com a satisfação das necessidades básicas do indivíduo, ou as que constituem os serviços de primeira necessidade, tais como abastecimento alimentar., água, esgôto. transporte coletivo, proteção contra incêndios, saneamento, saúde, fôrça, luz e calor, telefone e outros.
Instituto Brasileiro de Bibliografia e Documentação
Authors: Corrêa de Avellar Sylvio
Published: December 2020

Com o objetivo de tornar mais fácil, mais eficiente e mais econômica, a realização do trabalho intelectual; técnico ou científico, vêm sendo organizados, em todo o mundo, centros de documentação, pesquisa bibliográfica e informações, tendo como principais objetivos — pesquisar, selecionar, reunir, classificar, catalogar e divulgar informações bibliográficas e documentar. A palavra de ordem é — organizar os recursos meios para que os técnicos e cientistas possam dedicar-se mais profundamente às atividades afins.
A Economia Francesa Contemporânea através de duas contribuições recentes
Authors: De Rezende Rocha Augusto
Published: December 2020

Tem sido um florescimento de tal natureza que surpreende mesmo em país como a França, que habituou a humanidade a êsses periódicos renascimentos. Pareceu-nos, por isto mesmo, “já tinha soado a hora de serem arquivados certos compêndios dessas disciplinas, cujos serviços vinham prolongando-se desde o século passado. Só mesmo a qualidade literária de alguns desculpava existência tão longa e pertinaz — até certo ponto incompreensível, quando se pensa nas transformações e no reexame crítico por que tinham passado, em outros países, natureza, objeto e problemas básicos de Economia Política e Finanças Públicas”
Maurício de Nassau criou uma Sistemática Administrativa
Authors: Pinto Luiz
Published: December 2020

Houve , na verdade, causas econômicas, sociais, políticas e culturais na administração que o conde João Maurício de Nassau inaugurou na faixa de terra brasileira, conquistada pela Holanda no século XVII. E foram tão evidentes essas causas, tornaram-se tão objetivos os seus atos de govêrno que, hoje, na frieza da exegese social, demonstram uma sistemática administrativa que merece esmiuçada, discutida e apontada aos estudiosos doS problemas brasileiros.
Aplicação Administrativa do Direito
Authors: De Magalhães Celso
Published: December 2020

Base — Para aplicar um texto normativo, necessário se toma, antes de tudo, bem entender sua linguagem; é preciso distinguir, claramente, o que êle está, de fato, dispondo, o que realmente diz. Se o texto legal é norma escrita, claro que a primeira coisa a fazer-se para entendê-lo, será estudar-lhe a respectiva redação, analisar a linguagem que lhe deu forma. E ’ a êsse estudo que se denomina — processo filológico ou gramatical.
Adapting Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) to Assess Clinical Semantic Textual Similarity: Algorithm Development and Validation Study
Authors: Kades Klaus , Sellner Jan , Koehler Gregor , Full Peter M , Lai T Y Emmy , Kleesiek Jens , Maier-Hein Klaus H
Published: December 2020

Background

Natural Language Understanding enables automatic extraction of relevant information from clinical text data, which are acquired every day in hospitals. In 2018, the language model Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) was introduced, generating new state-of-the-art results on several downstream tasks. The National NLP Clinical Challenges (n2c2) is an initiative that strives to tackle such downstream tasks on domain-specific clinical data. In this paper, we present the results of our participation in the 2019 n2c2 and related work completed thereafter.

Objective

The objective of this study was to optimally leverage BERT for the task of assessing the semantic textual similarity of clinical text data.

Methods

We used BERT as an initial baseline and analyzed the results, which we used as a starting point to develop 3 different approaches where we (1) added additional, handcrafted sentence similarity features to the classifier token of BERT and combined the results with more features in multiple regression estimators, (2) incorporated a built-in ensembling method, M-Heads, into BERT by duplicating the regression head and applying an adapted training strategy to facilitate the focus of the heads on different input patterns of the medical sentences, and (3) developed a graph-based similarity approach for medications, which allows extrapolating similarities across known entities from the training set. The approaches were evaluated with the Pearson correlation coefficient between the predicted scores and ground truth of the official training and test dataset.

Results

We improved the performance of BERT on the test dataset from a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.859 to 0.883 using a combination of the M-Heads method and the graph-based similarity approach. We also show differences between the test and training dataset and how the two datasets influenced the results.

Conclusions

We found that using a graph-based similarity approach has the potential to extrapolate domain specific knowledge to unseen sentences. We observed that it is easily possible to obtain deceptive results from the test dataset, especially when the distribution of the data samples is different between training and test datasets.