bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analisis Hambatan Dalam Perkuliahan E-Learning Berbasis Android Di Prodi Tadris Matematika Pada Pandemi Covid-19
Authors: Patri Ayu  , Fevi Rahmadeni  , Mutia
Published: October 2022

The purpose of the study was to determine the process, obstacles (internal and external) and efforts to overcome obstacles to android-based E-Learning lectures in the TMM Study Program during the Covid-19 pandemic. This type of descriptive qualitative research. Data collection technique; Observation, interview and documentation. The research subjects were lecturers and students (16 people) who took the Differential Calculus course. Data analysis techniques: data reduction, data presentation and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the E-Learning lecture process used the WhatsApp Group and Google Classroom applications. Barriers to E-Learning lectures, namely, internal factors (1) student health conditions. (2) learning equipment or learning media that are incomplete. Barriers from external factors, (1) the implementation time of the learning process that is less disciplined. (2) the surrounding environment is not conducive. (3) students' motivation and interest in learning are lacking because lectures are individual. Efforts to overcome obstacles to E-Learning lectures, namely: quota assistance from the government; Lectures using Zoom and Google Meet; The internet network is evenly distributed in every area; Increase self-motivation and interest; Presentation of concise material in the form of video; Discipline in college time; using web-based E-Learning; based learning; The assignment is in the form of making videos to practice creativity and presentations to see student activity and creativity.
ANALISIS KEMAMPUAN PEMECAHAN MASALAH SISWA DALAM MENYELESAIKAN SOAL MATERI SISTEM PERSAMAAN LINIER DUA VARIABEL DI MTS MIDANUTTA’LIM
Authors: Alawiyah Tutun , Sari Saraswati
Published: October 2022

Salah satu kemampuan yang wajib dimiliki oleh siswa ialah kemampuan pemecahan masalah (problem solving). Dikarenakan pemecahan masalah yang berarti kegiatan yang penting dalam pembelajaran matematika. Oleh sebab itu, keterampilan yang harus dikuasai pada abad 21 yaitu problem solving. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan kemampuan pemecahan masalah tahapan Polya dalam menyelesaikan soal materi sistem persamaan linier dua variabel. kaitannya dengan tahapan pemecahan masalah Polya. Jenis penelitian ini ialah penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Teknik pemilihan subjek yang dianalisis dan wawancara menggunakan teknik purposive sumpling. Subjek penelitian ini diambil 6 subjek berdasarkan nilai PTS (Penilaian Tengah Semester) dari 29 siswa kelas VIII-C di MTs Midanutta’lim. Kemudian Subjek terbagi atas siswa berkemampuan kategori rendah, sedang, dan tinggi. Tes, wawancara, dan dokumentasi merupakan teknik pengumpulan data dalam tinjauan ini. Kemudian untuk menganalisis data, peneliti menggunakan reduksi data, penyajian data, menarik kesimpulan serta verifikasi. Hasil analisis data dipaparkan bahwa siswa berkemampuan tinggi mencapai tahapan memahami persoalan, membuat rencana, mengimplementasikan rencana penyelesaian, tetapi tidak dapat meninjau kembali. Siswa berkemampuan sedang memiliki kemampuan memahami masalah sedangkan tahap lainnya seperti membuat rencana, mengimplementasikan rancangan penyelesaian, dan meninjau kembali siswa tidak melaksanakannya. Sedangkan siswa berkemampuan rendah belum memunculkan tahap-tahap pemecahan masalah Polya.
On Epistemic Contextualism and the Relationship Between Being and Form
Authors: Kader Thomas
Published: October 2022

Heraclitus' philosophy states that all things are in a state of becoming and implies that nature is the source of knowledge. While this theory is true for explaining the natural processes on Earth, it cannot show why the mind is not an inanimate object. The forms are rational objects that exist as processes because they unfold through the relationship of thought to time. Knowing does not only apply to space in this way since dreaming is external to the laws of physics. Saying "I know" means "I am certain" in contexts containing processes the agent observes. Cartesianism turned "reality" systems into "concepts" that contained possibility. For instance, "I know that I exist " must be confident on the grounds of being. The definition of a form manifests in the logic of its existence.
Imitation Gold Made From Cornflowers
Authors: Ali Nabil
Published: October 2022

Since antiquity, organic blues processed from various plants have been used to dye cloth; made into a dye pigment for creating a paint source, and historically used as flowers in funerary garlands in ancient civilizations. One such plant is the small cornflower (Centaurea cyaneus) which has been documented in many medieval technical manuals for suggesting making a blue-coloured glaze and paint. This paper demonstrates an alternative perspective for processing the cornflower’s blue petals to produce a convincing imitation gold colourant when applied over silver leaf. This research will explore the effectiveness of hidden colours buried within historical recipes, showing alternative outcomes compared with the original medieval concepts and transcripts. The theory, through material practice, concludes with solid experimental evidence to support the idea of using blue cornflower juice as a gold substitute rather than using this colourant as a blue dye source.
Aloe vera reduces gut inflammation induced by soybean meal in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Authors: Fehrmann-Cartes Karen , Vega Matías , Vera Frank , Enríquez Ricardo , Feijóo Carmen G. , Allende Miguel L. , Hernández Adrián J. , Romero Alex
Published: October 2022

Plant-based protein sources, such as soybean, are widely used in fish nutrition due to their market availability, wide distribution and acceptable nutritional quality. However, in some fish species, soybean meal-based diets cause gut inflammation, decreasing both nutrient absorption and growth rates. A suitable alternative to avoid these problems could be the application of additives with anti-inflammatory activity to the diet. In this study, an Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis Miller, AV) extract was analyzed as a dietary additive to reduce the gut inflammation in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed with soybean meal (SBM) diet. Fish were distributed in four duplicated groups and fed 28 days with fish meal control diet (FM), AV inclusion diet (AV), FM diet supplemented with AV (FM+AV), SBM diet to induce enteritis and SBM+AV. The fish gut response to these treatments was analyzed in distal intestine by histopathological scores, tissue morphometric measurements and immune gene expression parameters. The score results in fish fed with SBM-based diet clearly showed enteritis, meanwhile fish fed with AV supplemented diet significantly reduced the intestinal SBM signs of damage. These findings were associated to reduction of goblet cells number, lamina propria thickness and sub-epithelial mucosa size, with a significant decrease on pro-inflammatory cytokine il-1β to basal levels, similar to those present in fish fed FM diets. In conclusion, the administration of AV in salmon diet showed a protective intestinal activity against the detrimental effects of SBM, opening the possibility to improve its use as a feed additive in aquafeeds.
Integration of multi-omics technologies for crop improvement: Status and prospects
Authors: Zhang Ru , Zhang Cuiping , Yu Chengyu , Dong Jungang , Hu Jihong
Published: October 2022

With the rapid development of next-generation sequencing (NGS), multi-omics techniques have been emerging as effective approaches for crop improvement. Here, we focus mainly on addressing the current status and future perspectives toward omics-related technologies and bioinformatic resources with potential applications in crop breeding. Using a large amount of omics-level data from the functional genome, transcriptome, proteome, epigenome, metabolome, and microbiome, clarifying the interaction between gene and phenotype formation will become possible. The integration of multi-omics datasets with pan-omics platforms and systems biology could predict the complex traits of crops and elucidate the regulatory networks for genetic improvement. Different scales of trait predictions and decision-making models will facilitate crop breeding more intelligent. Potential challenges that integrate the multi-omics data with studies of gene function and their network to efficiently select desirable agronomic traits are discussed by proposing some cutting-edge breeding strategies for crop improvement. Multi-omics-integrated approaches together with other artificial intelligence techniques will contribute to broadening and deepening our knowledge of crop precision breeding, resulting in speeding up the breeding process.
MnO2 coated multi-layer nanoplatform for enhanced sonodynamic therapy and MR imaging of breast cancer
Authors: Xu Yan , Tan Wanlin , Chen Mingyu , Chen Sijie , Tang Kui , Liao Haiqin , Niu Chengcheng
Published: October 2022

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a promising new anti-tumor therapy that inhibits tumor growth by ultrasound activation of sonosensitizers to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). However, the problems of hypoxia in the microenvironment within solid tumors and the effectiveness of SDT will decrease due to the little accumulation of sonosensitizers at the tumor site, as well as tumor cell tolerance, have limited the development of SDT. To overcome these problems, a core-shell structured nanoparticle (IR780/PLGA@MnO2 NPs) loaded with IR780 and manganese dioxide (MnO2) was developed as a nanocarrier to transport the sonosensitizer IR780 and the generated oxygen into the tumor tissue. The MnO2 shell layer of IR780/PLGA@MnO2 NPs can prevent the premature release of IR780 in the blood and also it can react with acidic and high H2O2, the generated oxygen can relieve tumor tissue hypoxia, and the generated Mn can enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal intensity by acting as a contrast agent for MRI. More importantly, the released IR780 can produce ROS to kill tumor cells under ultrasound excitation. This PH-responsive and H2O2-triggered SDT based on the IR780/PLGA@MnO2NPs is an effective platform to inhibit tumor growth with negligible systemic toxicity. This work develops a multifunctional therapeutic integrated nanoplatform for breast cancer treatment, which is expected to be used in the clinic.
An integrated strategy combining metabolomics and machine learning for the evaluation of bioactive markers that differentiate various bile
Authors: Li Xinyue , Liang ChenRui , Su Rui , Wang Xiang , Yao Yaqi , Ding Haoran , Zhou Guanru , Luo Zhanglong , Zhang Han , Li Yubo
Published: October 2022

Animal bile is an important component of natural medicine and is widely used in clinical treatment. However, it is easy to cause mixed applications during processing, resulting in uneven quality, which seriously affects and harms the interests and health of consumers. Bile acids are the major bioactive constituents of bile and contain a variety of isomeric constituents. Although the components are structurally similar, they exhibit different pharmacological activities. Identifying the characteristics of each animal bile is particularly important for processing and reuse. It is necessary to establish an accurate analysis method to distinguish different types of animal bile. We evaluated the biological activity of key feature markers from various animal bile samples. In this study, a strategy combining metabolomics and machine learning was used to compare the bile of three different animals, and four key markers were screened. Quantitative analysis of the key markers showed that the levels of Glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDCA) and Taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA) were highest in pig bile; Glycocholic acid (GCA) and Cholic acid (CA) were the most abundant in bovine and sheep bile, respectively. In addition, four key feature markers significantly inhibited the production of NO in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophage cells. These findings will contribute to the targeted development of bile in various animals and provide a basis for its rational application.
Review on the teaching of programming and computational thinking in the world
Authors: Belmar Héctor
Published: October 2022

Recent studies suggest that computational thinking, composed of the skills of abstraction, decomposition, algorithmization, debugging, and problem-solving, is the fundamental skill for scientific, technological, and economic development for the twenty-first century. However, this diagnosis that is unveiled in rich countries remains nebulous for poor countries. The problem is that education in computational thinking is fundamental for countries to insert themselves in the international arena in an advantageous way and thus achieve the welfare goals for the population of each country. The objective of this research was to make a bibliographic review that shows the state of the art in the teaching of computer programming and computational thinking in the 5 continents. In the review, the advances in the countries of Europe, North America, Oceania, and Asia were observed, whereas in Latin America and Africa, the advances are still basic in some countries and non-existent in others. This review is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The main search terms were “Computational thinking” and “Teaching computer programming.” The search was performed in the ACM, Conference on Computational Thinking Education (Hong-Kong), Google Scholar, WOS, and SCOPUS databases, from October until December 2020, whose publication year was from 2016 onward. One of the main results found is that the teaching of computational thinking in England was implemented in schools in 2014; in Germany, it has been implemented since 2016 at a transversal level in universities; in South Korea, China, and Taiwan, it has been implemented since 2016. However, in Latin America and Africa governments, the subject is still not considered.
High-resolution medical image reconstruction based on residual neural network for diagnosis of cerebral aneurysm
Authors: Wang Bo , Liao Xin , Ni Yong , Zhang Li , Liang Jinxin , Wang Jiatang , Liu Yongmao , Sun Xianyue , Ou Yikuan , Wu Qinning , Shi Lei , Yang Zhixiong , Lan Lin
Published: October 2022

Objective

Cerebral aneurysms are classified as severe cerebrovascular diseases due to hidden and critical onset, which seriously threaten life and health. An effective strategy to control intracranial aneurysms is the regular diagnosis and timely treatment by CT angiography (CTA) imaging technology. However, unpredictable patient movements make it challenging to capture sub-millimeter-level ultra-high resolution images in a CTA scan. In order to improve the doctor's judgment, it is necessary to improve the clarity of the cerebral aneurysm medical image algorithm.

Methods

This paper mainly focuses on researching a three-dimensional medical image super-resolution algorithm applied to cerebral aneurysms. Although some scholars have proposed super-resolution reconstruction methods, there are problems such as poor effect and too much reconstruction time. Therefore, this paper designs a lightweight super-resolution network based on a residual neural network. The residual block structure removes the B.N. layer, which can effectively solve the gradient problem. Considering the high-resolution reconstruction needs to take the complete image as the research object and the fidelity of information, this paper selects the channel domain attention mechanism to improve the performance of the residual neural network.

Results

The new data set of cerebral aneurysms in this paper was obtained by CTA imaging technology of patients in the Department of neurosurgery, the second affiliated of Guizhou Medical University Hospital. The proposed model was evaluated from objective evaluation, model effect, model performance, and detection comparison. On the brain aneurysm data set, we tested the PSNR and SSIM values of 2 and 4 magnification factors, and the scores of our method were 33.01, 28.39, 33.06, and 28.41, respectively, which were better than those of the traditional SRCNN, ESPCN and FSRCNN. Subsequently, the model is applied to practice in this paper, and the effect, performance index and diagnosis of auxiliary doctors are obtained. The experimental results show that the high-resolution image reconstruction model based on the residual neural network designed in this paper plays a more influential role than other image classification methods. This method has higher robustness, accuracy and intuition.

Conclusion

With the wide application of CTA images in the clinical diagnosis of cerebral aneurysms and the increasing number of application samples, this method is expected to become an additional diagnostic tool that can effectively improve the diagnostic accuracy of cerebral aneurysms.
Benefits and risks of antihypertensive medication in adults with different systolic blood pressure: A meta-analysis from the perspective of the number needed to treat
Authors: Mao Yucheng , Ge Shiyao , Qi Sufen , Tian Qing-Bao
Published: October 2022

Background

The blood pressure (BP) threshold for initial pharmacological treatment remains controversial. The number needed to treat (NNT) is a significant indicator. This study aimed to explore the benefits and risks of antihypertensive medications in participants with different systolic BPs (SBPs), and cardiovascular disease status from the perspective of the NNT.

Methods

We conducted a meta-analysis of 52 randomized placebo-controlled trials. The data were extracted from published articles and pooled to calculate NNTs. The participants were divided into five groups, based on the mean SBP at entry (120–129.9, 130–139.9, 140–159.9, 160–179.9, and ≥180 mmHg). Furthermore, we stratified patients into those with and without cardiovascular disease. The primary outcomes were the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and adverse events (AEs) leading to discontinuation.

Results

Antihypertensive medications were not associated with MACEs, however, it increased AEs, when the SBP was <140 mmHg. For participants with cardiovascular disease or at a high risk of heart failure and stroke, antihypertensive treatment reduced MACEs when SBP was ≥130 mmHg. Despite this, only 2–4 subjects had reduced MACEs per 100 patients receiving antihypertensive medications for 3.50 years. The number of individuals who needed to treat to avoid MACEs declined with an increased cardiovascular risk.

Conclusion

Pharmacological treatment could be activated when SBP reaches 140 mmHg. For people with cardiovascular disease or at a higher risk of stroke and heart failure, 130 mmHg may be a better therapeutic threshold. It could be more cost-effective to prioritize antihypertensive medications for people with a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Remote sensing for monitoring the impacts of agroforestry practices and precipitation changes in particle size export trends
Authors: Lizaga Ivan , Latorre Borja , Gaspar Leticia , Ramos María Concepción , Navas Ana
Published: October 2022

Recent land use changes, the absence of soil protection between crop periods, and extreme precipitation events have been highlighted as major influential factors in the fluctuations of sediment export in the last decades at the catchment scale worldwide. In this regard, soil erosion and fine-particle export are two of the major concerns of soil nutrient loss and water-quality decrease (e.g., increasing turbidity and vector of chemicals). However, while rainfall effects have been well-monitored, recent land use changes and management need additional approaches to evaluate their effect. In Mediterranean mountainous environments, in addition to forest management, agricultural practices during different cropland stages likely increase sediment and particle-bound chemicals in the drainage system. Moreover, most catchments lack instrumentalization. Thus, there is a gap in the knowledge on the processes influencing the sediment exported in ungauged catchments. To evaluate the processes involved, remote sensing and seasonal sampling of suspended sediments were examined for 5 years in a representative agroforestry system in three sub-catchments (SBCs) with different proportions of land uses. Temporal trends of NDVI, EVI, MSAVI, SAVI, and NDWI indices were analyzed for monitoring the vegetation status. With this information, we attempt to evaluate the soil response in terms of particle size export to land use change, vegetation status, and precipitation distribution in fine-grained sediment-reaching streams. Our findings not only highlight the significant effect of heavy precipitation events and vegetation cover on the grain-size fraction of the exported sediment but also reveal the existence of more complex factors influencing the export dynamics. A silt-increasing trend due to the increase of individual heavy precipitations from 2017 onward despite the total precipitation amount not increasing was detected. It is shown that indices such as NDVI and NDMI help detect small changes in vegetation cover, while EVI, SAVI, and MSAVI are more robust for detecting general patterns in large vegetated areas and preventing the appearance of artefacts in the data. Results from this study suggest that land use changes combined with short-scale changing trends of rainfall likely explain most of the possible effects observed in terms of sediment export changes.
Association of GLP1R variants rs2268641 and rs6923761 with obesity and other metabolic parameters in a Polish cohort
Authors: Michałowska Joanna , Miller-Kasprzak Ewa , Seraszek-Jaros Agnieszka , Mostowska Adrianna , Bogdański Paweł
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Obesity is a complex disease associated with excessive fat accumulation and numerous metabolic complications. So far, many factors leading to the development of this disorder have been identified, including genetic susceptibility. Various studies linked GLP1R variants with anthropometric and metabolic parameters, suggesting the role of the variation in this gene in metabolic health.

Objective

The aim of this study is to investigate the association of two single nucleotide variants of GLP1R gene, rs2268641 and rs6923761, with excessive weight, metabolic syndrome, anthropometric measurements and selected metabolic parameters.

Methods

Normal-weight subjects (n= 340, control group) and subjects with excessive body mass (n = 600, study group) participated in this study. For all participants, anthropometric measurements and metabolic parameters were collected, and genotyping of the two single nucleotide variants of GLP1R gene, rs2268641 and rs6923761, was performed using the high-resolution melting curve analysis.

Results

Significant differences in the genotype distribution of rs2268641 were found, where homozygous TT genotype was significantly less frequent in the study group with excessive body mass (OR=0.66; p=0.0298). For rs6923761, A allele and homozygous AA genotype were significantly more frequent in the study group with excessive weight than in the control group (OR=1.27; p=0.0239 and OR=1.69; p=0.0205, respectively). The association of studied variants with metabolic parameters was found for rs6923761. For this variant, AA carriers had higher body mass in comparison to GG carriers (p=0.0246), and AA carriers had higher glucose concentration in comparison to AG carriers (p=0.0498). We did not find an association of rs2268641 and rs6923761 with metabolic syndrome.

Conclusion

In our study, AA carriers of rs6923761 had higher risk of excessive body mass, whereas TT carriers of rs2268641 had lower risk of being overweight. Moreover, homozygous carriers of the minor allele of rs6923761 had higher glucose concentration in comparison to heterozygous subjects. None of the studied variants were associated with metabolic syndrome in the studied population.
lp-CMFD acceleration schemes in multi-energy group 2D Monte Carlo transport
Authors: Than Y. R. , Xiao S.
Published: October 2022

The linear prolongation flux update scheme is extended to both regular CMFD acceleration, as well as partial CMFD acceleration in 2D multi energy group Monte Carlo k-eigenvalue neutron transport problems. The acceleration performance of these CMFD variants were investigated in simple 2D slab geometries, first with a monoenergetic case and then with a three group problem on the same geometry based on the monoenergetic cross sections. Flux convergence was determined via an on-the-fly convergence diagnostics developed by Ueki and Brown. It is found that on top of providing better acceleration in general, the linear prolongation scheme is also able to correct for instabilities in the CMFD scheme. Overall, the lp-pCMFD scheme employing a maximum history length is found to have the best performance across the cases presented.
Cadmium armors the Cd hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii against aphid attack
Authors: Xu Lingling , Lu Lingli , Lin Xianyong , Hu Yan
Published: October 2022

The cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii has been identified to have great ability to accumulate >100 ppm (dry weight) of Cd in its aboveground biomass. However, little attention has been paid to the possibility that S. alfredii may benefit from this trait. Here, we investigated the effect of Cd accumulation on the performance of the black bean aphid Aphis fabae in S. alfredii. The results showed that 6 weeks of Cd exposure prevented S. alfredii from being infested by aphids. In another experiment, S. alfredii was pretreated with 100 μmol⋅dm⁻³ CdCl2 for 7 days. Prolonged Cd exposure significantly reduced the number of aphids in the Cd-pretreated S. alfredii after 7 days of aphid infestation. The Cd concentration in the phloem exudates of S. alfredii was also high. Micro X-ray fluorescence mapping of aphids collected from Cd-treated plants revealed high levels of Cd in the stylets. In summary, Cd protects S. alfredii from A. fabae through toxicity, but not deterrence, which may be related to the abundance of Cd in the phloem.
A novel anoikis-related prognostic signature associated with prognosis and immune infiltration landscape in clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Chen Zhuo , Liu Xiao , Zhu Zhengjie , Chen Jinchao , Wang Chen , Chen Xi , Zhu Shaoxing , Zhang Aiqin
Published: October 2022

Background: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Anoikis plays an essential function in tumourigenesis, whereas the role of anoikis in ccRCC remains unclear.

Methods: Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) were collected from the MSigDB database. According to univariate Cox regression analysis, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm was utilized to select the ARGs associated with the overall rate (OS). Multivariate Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify 5 prognostic ARGs, and a risk model was established. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the OS rate of ccRCC patients. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSVA) were utilized to investigate the molecular mechanism of patients in the low- and high-risk group. ESTIMATE, CIBERSOT, and single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithms were conducted to estimate the immune infiltration landscape. Consensus clustering analysis was performed to divide the patients into different subgroups.

Results: A fresh risk model was constructed based on the 5 prognostic ARGs (CHEK2, PDK4, ZNF304, SNAI2, SRC). The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that the OS rate of patients with a low-risk score was significantly higher than those with a high-risk score. Consensus clustering analysis successfully clustered the patients into two subgroups, with a remarkable difference in immune infiltration landscape and prognosis. The ESTIMATE, CIBERSORT, and ssGSEA results illustrated a significant gap in immune infiltration landscape of patients in the low- and high-risk group. Enrichment analysis and GSVA revealed that immune-related signaling pathways might mediate the role of ARGs in ccRCC. The nomogram results illustrated that the ARGs prognostic signature was an independent prognostic predictor that distinguished it from other clinical characteristics. TIDE score showed a promising immunotherapy response of ccRCC patients in different risk subgroups and cluster subgroups.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that ARGs play a carcinogenic role in ccRCC. Additionally, we firstly integrated multiple ARGs to establish a risk-predictive model. This study highlights that ARGs could be implemented as a stratification factor for individualized and precise treatment in ccRCC patients.
The causal association between genetically regulated 25OHD and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study
Authors: Yang Min , Pang Bo , Wang Qiong , Zhang Zhixin , Niu Wenquan
Published: October 2022

Backgrounds and objectives: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial disease under genetic control. We present a meta-analysis to examine the associations of vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) gene rs7041 polymorphism with the risk of COPD and changes in circulating 25OHD concentrations.

Methods: A literature search, quality assessment, and data extraction were conducted independently by two investigators. Data are expressed as odds ratio (OR) or weighted mean difference (WMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The inverse variance weighted method (IVW) in R (version 1.1.456) was applied to calculate the Mendelian randomization coefficient.

Results: A total of 13 articles with 3,667 participants were meta-analyzed. The rs7041-GT genotype was associated with a 49% reduced COPD risk (OR: 0.51, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.88, p = 0.014) compared to the rs7041-TT genotype. Carriers of the rs7041-GT genotype had significantly higher concentrations of circulating 25OHD than those with the rs7041-TT genotype (WMD: 0.32 ng/ml, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.55, p = 0.006). Under the assumptions of Mendelian randomization, and assuming a linear logistic relationship between circulating 25OHD and COPD, an inverse association was noted after using VDBP gene rs7041 polymorphism as an instrument (WMD: −2.07, 95% CI: −3.72 to −0.41, p = 0.015). There was a low probability of publication bias.

Conclusion: We observed significant associations of VDBP gene rs7041 polymorphism with the risk of COPD and changes in circulating 25OHD concentrations. Importantly, we found a causal relationship between genetically regulated 25OHD concentrations and COPD risk.
Daily, self-test rapid antigen test to assess SARS-CoV-2 viability in de-isolation of patients with COVID-19
Authors: Bae Seongman , Park Heedo , Kim Ji Yeun , Park Sunghee , Lim So Yun , Bae Joon-Yong , Kim Jeonghun , Jung Jiwon , Kim Min Jae , Chong Yong Pil , Lee Sang-Oh , Choi Sang-Ho , Kim Yang Soo , Park Man-Seong , Kim Sung-Han
Published: October 2022

Background

Isolation of COVID-19 patients is a crucial infection control measure to prevent further SARS-CoV-2 transmission, but determining an appropriate timing to end the COVID-19 isolation is a challenging. We evaluated the performance of the self-test rapid antigen test (RAT) as a potential proxy to terminate the isolation of COVID-19 patients.

Materials and methods

Symptomatic COVID-19 patients were enrolled who were admitted to a regional community treatment center (CTC) in Seoul (South Korea). Self-test RAT and the collection of saliva samples were performed by the patients, on a daily basis, until patient discharge. Cell culture and subgenomic RNA detection were performed on saliva samples.

Results

A total of 138 pairs of saliva samples and corresponding RAT results were collected from 34 COVID-19 patients. Positivity of RAT and cell culture was 27% (37/138) and 12% (16/138), respectively. Of the 16 culture-positive saliva samples, seven (43.8%) corresponding RAT results were positive. Using cell culture as the reference standard, the overall percent agreement, percent positive agreement, and percent negative agreement of RAT were 71% (95% CI, 63–78), 26% (95% CI, 12–42), and 82% (95% CI, 76–87), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the RAT for predicting culture results were 44% (95% CI, 20–70), 75% (95% CI, 66–82), 18% (95% CI, 8–34), and 91% (95% CI, 84–96), respectively.

Conclusion

About half of the patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive based upon cell culture results gave negative RAT results. However, the remaining positive culture cases were detected by RAT, and RAT showed relatively high negative predictive value for viable viral shedding.
The association between research funding status and clinical research papers’ citation impact in Japan: A cross-sectional bibliometric study
Authors: Morisawa Fumito , Nishizaki Yuji , Devos Patrick , Yanagisawa Naotake , Matsuyama Kotone , Homma Yasuhiro , Ueda Rieko , Sekine Miwa , Daida Hiroyuki , Minamino Tohru , Sanada Shoji
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Studies have not sufficiently clarified the differences in citation impact between funded and non-funded clinical research papers. Hence, this study seeks to evaluate the relation between research funding status and clinical research papers’ citation impact in different research fields using multiple evaluation indices.

Methods

In this cross-sectional bibliometric study, clinical research papers published by core clinical research hospitals in Japan were compared retrospectively in terms of times cited (TC), category normalized citation impact (CNCI), citation percentile (CP), journal impact factor (JIF), the Software to Identify, Manage, and Analyze Scientific Publications (SIGAPS) category, and whether they were the funded clinical research. The association between research funding status or the SIGAPS category and CNCI ≥ 2 was analyzed using logistic regression analysis.

Results

11 core clinical research hospitals published 553 clinical research papers, of which 120 were non-funded and 433 were funded (public institution-funded and industry-funded). The study found that funded clinical research papers (public institution-funded and industry-funded) had significantly higher TC, CNCI, CP, and JIF than non-funded ones [TC: 8 (3–17) vs. 14 (8–31), p < 0.001; CNCI: 0.53 (0.19–0.97) vs. 0.87 (0.45–1.85), p < 0.001; CP: 51.9 (24.48–70.42) vs. 66.7 (40.53–88.01), p < 0.001; JIF: 2.59 (1.90–3.84) vs. 2.93 (2.09–4.20) p = 0.008], while the proportion of A or B rank clinical research papers of the SIGAPS category was not significantly different between the two groups (30.0 vs. 34.9%, p = 0.318). In the logistic regression analysis, having a CNCI ≥ 2 was significantly associated with research funding (public institution-funded and industry-funded) and publication in A or B rank journals of the SIGAPS category [research funding: Estimate 2.169, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.153–4.083, p = 0.016; SIGAPS category A/B: Estimate 6.126, 95% CI 3.889–9.651, p < 0.001].

Conclusion

Analysis via multiple indicators including CNCI and the SIGAPS category, which allows for a comparison of the papers’ citation impact in different research fields, found a positive relation between research funding status and the citation impact of clinical research papers.
Intratracheal inoculation results in Brucella-associated reproductive disease in male mouse and guinea pig models of infection
Authors: Hensel Martha E. , Stranahan Lauren W. , Edwards John F. , Arenas-Gamboa Angela M.
Published: October 2022

Brucella species are considered a significant cause of reproductive pathology in male and female animals. Importantly, Brucella melitensis can induce reproductive disease in humans. Reproductive pathogenesis and evaluation of newly developed countermeasures against brucellosis studies have traditionally utilized female animal models. However, any potential, new intervention for use in humans would need to be evaluated in both sexes. Therefore, animal models for male reproductive brucellosis are desperately needed to understand disease progression. Accordingly, we evaluated guinea pigs and mice using B. melitensis 16 M in an intratracheal model of inoculation at different stages of infection (peracute, acute, and chronic) with an emphasis on determining the effect to the male reproductive organs. Aerosol inoculation resulted in colonization of the reproductive organs (testicle, epididymis, prostate) in both species. Infection peaked during the peracute (1-week post-infection [p.i.]) and acute (2-weeks p.i.) stages of infection in the mouse in spleen, epididymis, prostate, and testicle, but colonization was poorly associated with inflammation. In the guinea pig, peak infection was during the acute stage (4-weeks p.i.) and resulted in inflammation that disrupted spermatogenesis chronically. To determine if vaccine efficacy could be evaluated using these models, males were vaccinated using subcutaneous injection with vaccine candidate 16 MΔvjbR at 109 CFU/100 μl followed by intratracheal challenge with 16 M at 107. Interestingly, vaccination efficacy varied between species and reproductive organs demonstrating the value of evaluating vaccine candidates in multiple models and sexes. Vaccination resulted in a significant reduction in colonization in the mouse, but this could not be correlated with a decrease in inflammation. Due to the ability to evaluate for both colonization and inflammation, guinea pigs seemed the better model not only for assessing host-pathogen interactions but also for future vaccine development efforts.
Double seropositive neuromyelitis optica associated with COVID-19: A case report
Authors: Antonescu Ghelmez Dana , Moraru Adriana , Antonescu Florian , Chelmambet Altay Sercan , Bucur Amanda Ioana , Tuţǎ Sorin
Published: October 2022

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders are characterized by severe demyelination and axonal damage with autoimmune mechanisms, predominantly targeting the optic nerves and the spinal cord. Patients often test positive for anti-AQP4 antibodies, while some have anti-MOG antibodies. Double seropositivity has been described, with a variable prevalence (0 to 26%) dependent on the testing method. The clinical significance of double seropositivity remains unclear. We present the case of a 65-year-old patient, admitted to our clinic with optical neuritis, followed up approximately 10 days later by cervical myelitis, who tested positive for both anti-AQP4 and anti-MOG antibodies. The clinical onset coincided with a mild form of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The neurological symptoms were initially relatively subdued, which delayed the diagnosis. The patient was not vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. The clinical picture was compatible with an anti-AQP4 phenotype. The patient was started on corticosteroid therapy, under which the clinical response was good. Our case reinforces the idea that SARS-CoV-2 can precipitate autoimmune demyelinating diseases since SARS-CoV-2 infection has already been demonstrated as a risk factor for NMOSD relapses. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of double seropositive neuromyelitis optica associated with COVID-19. We expect that in the near future, as the true burden of COVID becomes clearer, we shall encounter other cases which can trace their apparent clinical onset to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Careful attention should be paid to the apparent minor neurological symptoms of COVID-19.
Individual finger movement decoding using a novel ultra-high-density electroencephalography-based brain-computer interface system
Authors: Lee Hyemin S. , Schreiner Leonhard , Jo Seong-Hyeon , Sieghartsleitner Sebastian , Jordan Michael , Pretl Harald , Guger Christoph , Park Hyung-Soon
Published: October 2022

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology enables users to operate external devices without physical movement. Electroencephalography (EEG) based BCI systems are being actively studied due to their high temporal resolution, convenient usage, and portability. However, fewer studies have been conducted to investigate the impact of high spatial resolution of EEG on decoding precise body motions, such as finger movements, which are essential in activities of daily living. Low spatial sensor resolution, as found in common EEG systems, can be improved by omitting the conventional standard of EEG electrode distribution (the international 10–20 system) and ordinary mounting structures (e.g., flexible caps). In this study, we used newly proposed flexible electrode grids attached directly to the scalp, which provided ultra-high-density EEG (uHD EEG). We explored the performance of the novel system by decoding individual finger movements using a total of 256 channels distributed over the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. Dense distribution and small-sized electrodes result in an inter-electrode distance of 8.6 mm (uHD EEG), while that of conventional EEG is 60 to 65 mm on average. Five healthy subjects participated in the experiment, performed single finger extensions according to a visual cue, and received avatar feedback. This study exploits mu (8–12 Hz) and beta (13–25 Hz) band power features for classification and topography plots. 3D ERD/S activation plots for each frequency band were generated using the MNI-152 template head. A linear support vector machine (SVM) was used for pairwise finger classification. The topography plots showed regular and focal post-cue activation, especially in subjects with optimal signal quality. The average classification accuracy over subjects was 64.8 (6.3)%, with the middle versus ring finger resulting in the highest average accuracy of 70.6 (9.4)%. Further studies are required using the uHD EEG system with real-time feedback and motor imagery tasks to enhance classification performance and establish the basis for BCI finger movement control of external devices.
Between-subject similarity of functional connectivity-based organization of the human periaqueductal gray related to autonomic processing
Authors: de Rijk Mathijs M. , Janssen Janine M. W. , Fernández Chadily Susana , Birder Lori A. , Rahnama’i Mohammad S. , van Koeveringe Gommert A. , van den Hurk Job
Published: October 2022

The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a brain stem area designated to play an essential role in lower urinary tract (LUT) control. Post-mortem human and animal studies have indicated that the PAG is symmetrically organized in functionally and anatomically distinct columns which are involved in sympathetic or parasympathetic autonomic control of the LUT. The current study aims to find consistency across subjects and identify homologous clusters between subjects. Here, we evaluated data from 10 female participants. During a bladder filling protocol, we ran a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan while participants experienced a strong desire to void. A voxel-by-voxel correlation matrix of the PAG was created and parcellated using the Louvain module detection algorithm. Resulting in a map of the PAG in which each voxel is assigned to a cluster as determined by the Louvain module detection algorithm. The spatial similarity of resulting clusters between participants was assessed by computing the Dice similarity coefficient for all cluster comparisons. Next, we designed a permutation test to create randomized parcellation maps which enabled us to statistically test the similarity values observed across participants. We observed several significantly similar clusters between subjects compared to permutations (p ≤ 0.05). These results show that the PAG can be parcellated into distinct clusters which show a similar spatial distribution at the group level. This analysis is a crucial step to determine the agreement between in vivo PAG parcellations and the functional and anatomical columnar organization of the PAG which is known from previous research. These advancements may enable us to identify the relationship between LUT symptoms, such as urgency, and activity patterns in the PAG in normal and pathological states.
An improved spectral estimation method based on color perception features of mobile phone camera
Authors: Liu Duan , Wu Xinwei , Liang Jinxing , Wang Tengfeng , Wan Xiaoxia
Published: October 2022

We use the mobile phone camera as a new spectral imaging device to obtain raw responses of samples for spectral estimation and propose an improved sequential adaptive weighted spectral estimation method. First, we verify the linearity of the raw response of the cell phone camera and investigate its feasibility for spectral estimation experiments. Then, we propose a sequential adaptive spectral estimation method based on the CIE1976 L*a*b* (CIELAB) uniform color space color perception feature. The first stage of the method is to weight the training samples and perform the first spectral reflectance estimation by considering the Lab color space color perception features differences between samples, and the second stage is to adaptively select the locally optimal training samples and weight them by the first estimated root mean square error (RMSE), and perform the second spectral reconstruction. The novelty of the method is to weight the samples by using the sample in CIELAB uniform color space perception features to more accurately characterize the color difference. By comparing with several existing methods, the results show that the method has the best performance in both spectral error and chromaticity error. Finally, we apply this weighting strategy based on the CIELAB color space color perception feature to the existing method, and the spectral estimation performance is greatly improved compared with that before the application, which proves the effectiveness of this weighting method.
Potential biomarkers for distinguishing primary from acquired premature ejaculation: A diffusion tensor imaging based network study
Authors: Chen Jianhuai , Wang Qing , Huang Xinfei , Xu Yan , Xiang Ziliang , Liu Shaowei , Yang Jie , Chen Yun
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Premature ejaculation (PE) is classified as primary and acquired and may be facilitated by different pathophysiology. Brain plays an important role in PE, however, differences in the central neuropathological mechanisms among subtypes of PE are unknown.

Materials and methods

We acquired diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data from 44 healthy controls (HC) and 47 PE patients (24 primary PE and 23 acquired PE). Then, the whole-brain white matter (WM) structural networks were constructed and between-group differences of nodal segregative parameters were identified by the method of graph theoretical analysis. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to determine the suitability of the altered parameters as potential neuroimaging biomarkers for distinguishing primary PE from acquired PE.

Results

PE patients showed significantly increased clustering coefficient C(i) in the left inferior frontal gyrus (triangular part) (IFGtriang.L) and increased local efficiency Eloc(i) in the left precental gyrus (PreCG.L) and IFGtriang.L when compared with HC. Compared to HC, primary PE patients had increased C(i) and Eloc(i) in IFGtriang.L and the left amygdala (AMYG.L) while acquired PE patients had increased C(i) and Eloc(i) in IFGtriang.L, and decreased C(i) and Eloc(i) in AMYG.L. Compared to acquired PE, primary PE patients had increased C(i) and Eloc(i) in AMYG.L. Moreover, ROC analysis revealed that PreCG.L, IFGtriang.L and AMYG.L might be helpful for distinguishing different subtypes of PE from HC (PE from HC: sensitivity, 61.70–78.72%; specificity, 56.82–77.27%; primary PE from HC: sensitivity, 66.67–87.50%; specificity, 52.27–77.27%; acquired PE from HC: sensitivity, 34.78–86.96%; specificity, 54.55–100%) while AMYG.L might be helpful for distinguishing primary PE from acquired PE (sensitivity, 83.33–91.70%; specificity, 69.57–73.90%).

Conclusion

These findings improved our understanding of the pathophysiological processes that occurred in patients with ejaculatory dysfunction and suggested that the abnormal segregation of left amygdala might serve as a useful marker to help clinicians distinguish patients with primary PE from those with acquired PE.