bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methylprednisolone was Associated with Reduced in-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Patients with Low Lymphocyte Counts: a Multicenter Retrospective Propensity Analysis
Authors: Zhang Huifang , Miao Congliang , Wang Tao , Xie Yun , Teng Xiaolei , Zhang Xiaoyan , Lv Hui , Fu Shouzhi , Wang Ruilan , Du Jiang
Published: July 2021

Background: To assess the effect of methylprednisolone on the prognosis of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia.Methods: Patients with confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia discharged from Wuhan Third Hospital Guanggu Campus, Shouyi Campus, and Lei Shen Shan Hospital from January 31, 2020, to March 4, 2020, were included. The patients were divided into treatment and control groups according to whether methylprednisolone was used during hospitalization. Propensity score (PS) matching analysis was used to assess in-hospital mortality as the primary outcome and trends in the changes in lymphocytes and the C-reactive protein, creatinine and transaminase levels 7 days after admission (secondary outcomes).Results: A total of 2,062 patients with confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia were included in this study. Univariate Cox regression analysis suggested that methylprednisolone treatment was associated with increased in-hospital mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 3.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.62-5.23, P<0.01). A total of 624 patients were included after PS matching. The patients were further subdivided into a low lymphocyte count group and a normal lymphocyte count group according to a lymphocyte count cutoff value of 0.9*109/L. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that methylprednisolone treatment reduced the risk of in-hospital death in patients with lymphocyte counts less than 0.9×109/L (P=0.022). In contrast, in the normal lymphocyte group, methylprednisolone treatment was not associated with in-hospital mortality (p=0.88).Conclusion: Treatment with methylprednisolone may be associated with reduced in-hospital mortality in coronavirus disease (COVID) patients with low lymphocyte counts.
Fermentation of Multi-targeted Products: A Statistical Approach Discussed the Production of Cell Wall Hydrolytic Enzymes From Streptomyces Rochei for Control of Pathogenic Fungi
Authors: Elgammal Eman , Ahmed Eman , Aziz Mohamed Abdel
Published: July 2021

The production of synergistically multi-acting cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes was observed in the culture filtrate of a strain molecularly characterized as Streptomyces rochei MZ227230. It showed high ability to produce chitinase, glucanase, protease and whole cell-wall lytic enzymes “WCL”. The simultaneous optimization production of several enzymes is a true challenge since each enzyme has its own favorable requirements that may not support or contradict the production of the others. Thus, the current study discussed such issue through application of statistical modeling. Productivity of the enzymes was monitored in different media and superiority of the modified TLE medium (M4) was clearly noticed. Box-Behnken design (BBD) using the key components of M4 (C. albicans cell walls, baker yeast, chitin and peptone) followed by independent analysis for productivity of each enzyme helped to conduct four significant models describing four media that were specifically optimized to produce the utmost yields of chitinase (14.97), glucanase (27.89), protease (137.59) and WCL (65.28 U/ml). Pearson’s correlation analysis indicated the impossibility to potentiate the tested enzymes to the utmost yields at the same time. However, simultaneous solution for all models’ equations identified a coproduction medium that potentiated more than 80% of the maximal yields for all enzymes. Finally, the crude filtrate showed potent fungicidal effects against Fusarium graminearum, Mucor racemosus, Fusarium solani, and Candida albicans which were proven to be attributed to the hydrolytic activity of the filtrate basing on dose and time-dependent release of C. albicans cell constituents DNA, RNA and protein as a model microbe.
The Risk Factors Anesthesiologists should Pay Attention for Massive Bleeding in Placenta Accreta Spectrum Patients with Placenta Previa During Surgery: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Huang Fusen , Wang Jingjie , Zhuo Jia , Xiong Qiuju , Wang Wenjian , Xu Yi , Xia Qiuling , Yang Xiaojuan
Published: July 2021

Objectives: PAS combined with placenta previa exists as a high-risk factor for postpartum hemorrhage. The risk factors for predicting a certain disease may be different from the risk factors for massive bleeding during surgery for the disease. To explore whether the risk factors of massive bleeding in patients with Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) with placenta previa underwent Cesarean section under the background of abdominal aortic balloon occlusion will be changed.Methods: We reviewed 267 singleton pregnancies with PAS and placenta previa. Maternal history, antenatal ultrasound findings of the placenta, placement of the abdominal aortic balloon were reviewed retrospectively, and their association with massive bleeding during Cesarean section was analyzed.Results: Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that the number of pregnancies (odds ratio (OR), 2.680; 95% CI, 1.244–5.774), placenta location (anterior position) (OR, 3.172; 95% CI, 1.349–7.458) and cervical length (OR, 0.918; 95% CI, 0.854–0.987), implant area (OR, 1.018; 95% CI, 1.009–1.027)，abdominal aorta balloon inflation (OR, 0.278; 95% CI, 0.095–0.813) were associated with massive bleeding (>1000 mL).Conclusions: Abdominal aorta balloon inflation may change the known risk factors for hemorrhage. The number of pregnancies, placenta location (anterior position), cervical length, implant area, abdominal aorta balloon inflation are risk factors for massive bleeding during Cesarean section in cases of PAS and placenta previa. Balloon occlusion of the abdominal aorta can indeed reduce the risk of massive bleeding.
TIM-1+ B Cells are more Efficient IL-10 Producers in Liver Fibrosis Caused by Alveolar Echinococcosis
Authors: Li Bin , Qi Xinwei , Jiang Tao , Liu Yumei , Shan Jiaoyu , Cai Xuanlin , Lv Jie , Aibibula Maidinaimu , Cao Jun , Ma Xiumin
Published: July 2021

Background: The cestode Echinococcus multilocularis (E. multilocularis) infection, a serious health problem worldwide, causes alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a tumor-like disease predominantly located in the liver and able to spread to any organs. Until now, there have been few studies that explain how TIM-1+B cells contribute to the immune tolerance in E. multilocularis infection.Methods: Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) and Masson staining were used to assess the pathological inflammatory changes and collagen deposition respectively in the liver of E. multilocularis infected mice. Desmin, TIM-1 and IL-10 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). qRT-PCR and ELISA were used to detect the IL-10 of liver and serum, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to assess the level and function of CD19+TIM-1+ cells and CD19+CD5+CD1dhi cells in spleen. Immunofluorescence (IF) were used to detect the co-localization of immune cells in the liver.Results: At 180 days after infection, inflammatory cells and fibrosis could be observed in the liver of mice in the infection group, a large number of activated hepatic stellate cells (HSC) and TIM-1+ cells appeared around the lesion and the expression of IL-10 was also significantly higher than that in control group. The level and function of CD19+TIM-1+ cells and CD19+CD5+CD1dhi cells in the spleen were up-regulated in the infection group, but CD19+TIM-1+ cells produced IL-10 more efficiently and could be recruited to the lesion.Conclusions: In the late stage of alveolar echinococcosis, CD19+TIM-1+ cells can be recruited to the lesion and may be more efficient IL-10 producers to participate in the formation of immune tolerance.
Inhibition of Ammonia and Hydrogen Sulphide Using Plant Waste Materials for Faecal Sludge Odour Control in Dry Sanitation Toilet Facilities
Authors: Senanu Bernice Mawumenyo , Boakye Patrick , Oduro-Kwarteng Sampson , Sewu Divine Damertey , Awuah Esi , Obeng Peter Appiah , Afful Kobina
Published: July 2021

On-site dry sanitation facilities, although cheaper than wet sanitation systems, suffer from high malodour and insect nuisance as well as poor aesthetics. The high odour deters users from utilizing dry sanitation toilet as an improved facility leading to over 20% open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa. To address this malodour concern, this study first assessed odour levels, using hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and ammonia (NH3) as indicators, on two (2) dry sanitation facilities (T1 and T2). The potential of using biomass (sawdust, rice husk, moringa leaves, neem seeds), ash (coconut husk, cocoa husk) or biochar (sawdust, rice husk, bamboo) as biocovers to remove or suppress odour from fresh faecal sludge (FS) over a 12-day period was investigated. Results showed high odour levels, beyond and below the threshold limit for unpleasantness for humans on H2S (peak value: T1 = 3.17 ppm; T2 = 0.22 ppm > 0.05 ppm limit) and NH3 (peak value: T1 = 6.88 ppm; T2 = 3.16 ppm < 30 ppm limit), respectively. The biomasses exhibited low pH (acidic = 5-7) whereas the biochars and ashes had higher pHs (basic = 8-13). Acidic biocovers generally reduced NH3 emission significantly (12.5% to 64.8%) whereas basic biocovers were more effective at H2S emission reduction (80.9% to 96.2%). In terms of H2S and NH3 removal, sawdust biochar was the most effective biocover with odour abatement values of 96.2% and 74.7%, respectively. The results suggest that locally available waste plant-based materials, like sawdust, when converted to biochar can serve as a cost-effective and sustainable way to effectively combat odour-related issues associated with dry sanitation facilities to help stop open defecation.
The Effect of Cutting Speed on the Ploughing Forces
Authors: Popov Alexey , Krasnikova Iuliia
Published: July 2021

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Awake Surgery for Arteriovenous Malformations (AVM) in Eloquent Area: Risk and Outcome Analysis in the Most Complete Case-Collection
Authors: Armocida Daniele , D'Angelo Luca , Pesce Alessandro , Palma Veronica Di , Galati Gaspare , Frati Alessandro , Santoro Antonio
Published: July 2021

Background: Artero-venous malformations (AVMs) located in eloquent area are associated with significant risk of neurological deterioration, especially in patients presenting with unruptured AVMs and minimal or no neurological deficits. Awake-surgery allows a better identification of eloquent gyrus, but its feasibility and application in resection of eloquent AVMs is controversial and mostly limited to small case series.Methods: A total of 31 patients suffering from intracranial AVMs have been operated on in our Department. Patients were stratified into two groups: patients submitted to Asleep Surgery and patients submitted to Awake surgery. We implemented the Awake Group with results from the most complete case series reported in the literature to obtain a complete uni and multivariate analysis of surgical risks and outcome.Results: Awake craniotomy was performed in 19,35% of the AVMs treated in our centre. Considering the reported cases from all other series published in the literature, we obtained a comparison between the asleep group of 25 patients derived from our series and the awake group of 34 patients. No statistically significant differences were identified regarding the risk of postoperative complications, surgical radicality, presence of residual, and need for adjuvant treatment. Interestingly, however, improvement in performance status was more rapid and effective during follow-up in patients treated with awake surgery compared with asleep surgery.Conclusions: In contrast to what is commonly believed, applying awake surgery in this type of lesions does not involve increased intra-operative risks, but rather it seems to determine a greater improvement in the outcome of patients from the thirtieth postoperative day. Awake patients allow for more precise brain mapping and superior clinical neurologic monitoring, which facilitates resection by defining the safe margins without an increased risk.
Resistance To Pokkah Boeng Disease In New And Main Cultivated Sugarcane Varieties
Authors: Shan Hongli , Cang Xiaoyan , Qin Wei , Li Wenfeng , Wang Xiaoyan , Zhang Rongyue , Huang Ying-Kun
Published: July 2021

Pokkah boeng is an epidemic fungal disease that seriously affects development of the sugarcane industry in China. Resistance to pokkah boeng disease differs among sugarcane varieties. Breeding and planting resistant cultivars is the most economic and effective measure for controlling this disease. In this study, new sugarcane varieties bred by the China Sugarcane System and the main varieties cultivated in various sugarcane areas, were screened to find new elite pokkah boeng resistant varieties for application in sugarcane production. The natural field resistance to pokkah boeng disease of 60 new varieties was evaluated in regionalized experiment. Meanwhile, the field resistance of the 31 main cultivated varieties was analyzed in Lincang city, Puer city, Yuxi city, Yunnan Province, and in Yizhou district, Guangxi Province, where the incidence of pokkah boeng is particularly high. Field surveys showed that 35 (58.33%) of the 60 new sugarcane varieties were highly resistant to moderately resistant, and 25 (41.67%) were susceptible to highly susceptible. Of the 31 main cultivated varieties, 15 (48.39%) were highly resistant to moderately resistant, and 16 (51.61%) were susceptible to highly susceptible. The results suggested that, in wetter and rainy sugarcane areas with high incidence of pokkah boeng disease, it is necessary to increase efforts to eliminate the susceptible main cultivated varieties and promote the application of resistant new varieties. This will help to achieve a reasonable distribution of varieties, fundamentally control the outbreak of pokkah boeng disease, and facilitate the high-quality development of the sugarcane industry in China.
A Case of Acute Coronary Syndrome and Ischemic Stroke After Symptomatic Resolution of COVID-19
Authors: Rose Samuel D. , Salama Andrew , Bella Jonathan N. , Chilimuri Sridhar
Published: July 2021

Background:There is increasing evidence that thromboembolic events are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. We present a case with two suspected thromboembolic events – acute coronary and ischemic stroke – after the resolution of infectious symptoms.Case Presentation:A 66-year-old male presented to the emergency department complaining of sudden onset of vision loss. He had no known medical history, but two weeks earlier presented to an outside hospital with fevers and was diagnosed with COVID-19. Brain CT revealed bilateral posterior cerebral artery territory infarcts, with subsequent MRA showing basilar artery attenuation as a likely source of embolization. Additionally, Troponin T was moderately elevated on admission (155 ng/ml) and reached a peak (1025 ng/mL) at 24 hours. Serial EKG showed dynamic changes since admission but the patient refused full cardiac workup. He was treated with dual anti-platelet therapy, high-intensity statin and ACE-inhibitor and was discharged with a stable visual deficit.Conclusions:A systemic coagulopathy from COVID-19 most likely caused two thromboembolic events in this patient. This case highlights the complex manifestations of coagulopathy caused by COVID-19 and the need for monitoring and treatment of thromboembolic events beyond the resolution of the acute infectious syndrome.
Thermal Finite Element Modelling of the Laser Beam Welding of Tailor Welded Blanks through an Equivalent Volumetric Heat Source
Authors: Busto Vito , Coviello Donato , Lombardi Andrea , De Vito Mariarosaria , Sorgente Donato
Published: July 2021

In last decades, several numerical models of the keyhole laser welding process were developed in order to simulate the joining process. Most of them are sophisticated multiphase numerical models tempting to include all the several different physical phenomena involved. However, less computationally expensive thermo-mechanical models that are capable of satisfactorily simulating the process were developed as well. Among them, a moving volumetric equivalent heat source, whose dimensions are calibrated on experimental melt pool geometries, can estimate some aspects of the process using a Finite Element Method (FEM) modelling with no need to consider fluid flows. In this work, a double-conical volumetric heat source is used to arrange a combination of two half hourglass-like shapes with different dimensions each other. This particular arrangement aims to properly assess the laser joining of a Tailor Welded Blank (TWB) even in case of butt joint between sheets of different thicknesses. Experiments of TWBs made of 22MnB5 steel sheets were conducted in both equal and different thicknesses configurations in order to validate the proposed model. The results show that the model can estimate in a satisfactory way the shape and dimensions of the fused zone in case of TWB made of sheets with different thickness.
Intelligent Tutoring System: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Cuéllar-Rojas Oscar-Andrés , Hincapié Mauricio , Contero Manuel , Güemes-Castorena David
Published: July 2021

This article is a bibliometric analysis and literature review, having a central axis the evaluation mediated by Intelligent Tutors Systems (ITS) in education, seeking to establish state of the art on the implementations executed in the last 42 years and their impact on the evaluation process. It was based on a bibliometric analysis of 1,890 abstracts, allowing to establish the main information sources in the field. The first filter was carried out with R software and bibliometric techniques with a general search equation that allowed access to all the production of ITS registered in Scopus; this analysis used keywords and summaries. Subsequently, with the help of artificial intelligence, text mining was used to identify topics of interest in the scientific community, followed by new filtering. Finally, the selected full texts were analyzed with NVIVO software extracting emerging challenges in the field, obtaining 164 complete texts for analysis. Among the main findings, the primary purpose of evaluation in ITS was summative, peer evaluation and self-evaluation did not have the same level of importance as hetero evaluation, and ITS focus was quantitative; all this allowed us to conclude that the analyzed texts did not implement a holistic perspective.
Risk Assessment of Coal Mine Water Inrush Based On PCA-DBN
Authors: ye Zhang , Shoufeng Tang , Ke Shi
Published: July 2021

To provide an effective risk assessment of water inrush for coal mine safety production, a BP neural network prediction method for water inrush based on principal component analysis and deep confidence network optimization was proposed. Because deep belief network (DBN) is disadvantaged by a long training time when establishing a high-dimensional data classification model, the principal component analysis (PCA) method is used to reduce the dimensionality of many factors affecting the water inrush of the coal seam floor, thus reducing the number of variables of the research object, redundancy and the difficulty of feature extraction and shortening the training time of the model. Then, a DBN network was used to extract secondary features from the processed nonlinear data, and a more abstract high-level representation was formed by combining low-level features to find the expression of the nonlinear relationship between the characteristics of water inbursts. Finally, a prediction model was established to predict the water inrush in coal mines. The superiority of this method was verified by comparing the prediction of the actual working face with the actual situation in typical mining areas of North China.
Species Diversity in Penicillium and Acaulium From Herbivore Dung in China, and Description of Acaulium stericum Sp. Nov.
Authors: Su Lei , Zhu Hua , Sun Peilin , Li Xue , Yang Bochao , Gao Hong , Xiang Zhiguang , Qin Chuan
Published: July 2021

Penicillium and Acaulium species are common in the fresh of herbivore dung and can produce abundant secondary metabolism, which play important roles as decomposers of organic materials, food industry, and enzyme factories. Besides, the well-characterized diversity of dung fungi offers accessible systems for dissecting the function of fungi in gut and for exploring potential to produce high cellulases in herbivorous animal. During a survey of intestinal fungi from herbivorous animal in China, more than 400 were isolated, 38 belonging to Penicillium and 4 belonging to Acaulium were obtained from 12 healthy animals including marmot and chinchilla and selected for detailed study. Putative taxa were characterized by a multi-gene sequencing analysis testing the partial β-tubulin (TUB), the internal transcribed spacer rDNA (ITS), calmodulin (CAM), and RPB2, and a detailed phenotypic study. Penicillium strains were identified as six sections, 12 known species. In addition, four Acaulium isolates were identified as Acaulium album and Acaulium stericum sp. nov. based on morphology and phylogeny of multi-gene sequences. This study shows that the species diversity of Penicillium on herbivore dung has not been widely studied and that seems to be a good source of offers opportunities for discovery of new cellulases from microbial communities.
Robust vibration-activated lubricity
Authors: Bhattacharjee Arnab , Garabedian Nikolay , Borovsky Brian , Burris David Lawrence
Published: July 2021

Friction can be reduced or eliminated when the contact interface is subjected to an external vibration; we refer to this phenomenon here as vibration-activated lubricity. According to prior literature, vibration-activated lubricity is limited to oscillation amplitudes and frequencies that depend strongly on case-specific experimental variables such as the instrument resonance frequency, sliding speed, and slip length of the tribo-pair. This paper aims to overcome these limitations and clarify their origins. Specifically, we used a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to directly oscillate the sample at a fixed frequency and at oscillation speeds that exceeded the sliding speed by orders of magnitude. Under these direct oscillation conditions, vibration-activated lubricity persisted for alumina probes ranging from 50-1500 µm in diameter, loads from 20 µN − 5 mN, speeds from 5 µm/s − 1 mm/s, gold and single crystal molybdenum disulfide samples, and two instruments – a custom microtribometer and a commercial atomic force microscope. Under all conditions, vibration-activated lubricity was characterized by very small but non-vanishing friction coefficients (~ 0.01–0.05). Our findings suggest that the following criteria satisfy the conditions for robust vibration-activated lubricity: (1) direct coupling between the oscillator and the sample; (2) probe inertial or spring forces > > available friction; (3) oscillation speed > > sliding speed; (4) oscillation amplitude ≅ or > the slip length.
The Validity and Reliability of the Serbian Version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale – Short Version
Authors: Nikolic Aleksandra , Bukurov Bojana , Kocic Ilija , Soldatovic Ivan , Mihajlovic Sladjana , Nesic Dejan , Vukovic Milica , Ladjevic Nikola , Grujicic Sandra Sipetic
Published: July 2021

Background: In recent years, the need for validated and reliable questionnaires for different applications could be observed throughout scientific literature. To add to this trend, we translated into Serbian the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) and tested it for its psychometric properties. This study's main aims were to test the Serbian version of the SAS-SV's internal consistency and reliability and estimate smartphone addiction prevalence among medical students. Methods: The study was conducted in December 2018 on a representative sample of third-year medical students. The cross-cultural adaptation was performed following the well-established guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation of self-reported measures. For test-retest reliability, students filled the questionnaire twice, within seven days. Results: The Serbian version of SAS-SV showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89) and excellent reliability for test-retest scores (ICC = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.92-0.96). Factor analysis supported the extraction of one factor, which explained 51,5% of the variance. To explore construct validity furthermore, SAS-SV was correlated with time indicators of smartphone use. According to cut-off values for the SAS-SV score, 19.5% of students could be regarded as “addicted” and often spent more time on smartphones and social networks on working days and weekends than “not addicted” students. Conclusion: The SAS-SV in the Serbian version is a reliable and valid instrument for detecting smartphone addiction among university students. Further research on this issue is encouraged to enable a better understanding of this ever-increasing public health issue.
Efficacy of Chemotherapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma According to Histology
Authors: Cedres Susana , Assaf Juan David , Iranzo Patricia , Callejo Ana , Pardo Nuria , Navarro Alejandro , Martinez-Marti Alex , Marmolejo David , Rezqallah Alejandra , Carbonell Caterina , Frigola Joan , Amat Ramon , Pedrola Anna , Dienstmann Rodrigo , Felip Enriqueta
Published: July 2021

PurposeCheckMate 743 trial demonstrated survival benefit of immunotherapy in first line in MPM with some differences in the efficacy of chemotherapy according to histology. The objective of this study is to characterize the impact of chemotherapy according to histology in patients diagnosed with MPM at our institution. MethodsClinical records of all MPM patients diagnosed at Vall d´Hebron University Hospital between November 2002 and April 2020 were reviewed. Associations between clinical variables and outcomes were assessed with Cox regression models. Survival data were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results189 patients were included with 76% of tumors classified as epithelioid subtype. First line chemotherapy was offered to 85% of patients. Median survival in overall population was 21.3 months (95%CI17.2-24.3). We found that patients with epithelioid tumors had better overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Median OS of epithelioid patients treated with first line chemotherapy was 26.7 months versus 15.0 months in nonepithelioid patients (HR2.25 CI95% 1.4-3.4; p<0.001). Median PFS for patients with epithelioid tumors treated with chemotherapy was 4.8 months versus 3.6 months in nonepithelioid (HR1.5 CI95% 1.0-2.3; p=0.03). The improvement of outcomes in patients with epithelioid histology was detected in patients treated with cisplatin or carboplatin. Histology was not a predictive factor for the platinum agent sensitivity (p of interaction PFS=0.09, p of interaction OS=0.65). Conclusions In our series, patients with nonepithelioid tumors presented worse prognosis. Although epithelioid tumors exposed to cisplatin had higher PFS, histology was not a clear predictor of chemotherapy efficacy.
Evaluation and Experience of the Anterior Approach for Coronal Plane Elbow Fractures
Authors: Jia Qiyu , Li Xiangxiang , Zhan Jing , Chen Dongsheng , Liu Kai , Wang Yingbo , Yusufu Aihemaitijiang , Ma Chuang
Published: July 2021

Background: The existing approaches to treating elbow fractures include anterior, external, internal, and posterior approaches. Of these, the anterior approach is often not chosen by surgeons to avoid damaging important nerves and blood vessels. In fact, the anterior approach has unique advantages. The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes in 38 patients with coronal plane elbow fractures treated through the anterior approach.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 38 cases of coronal plane elbow fractures treated through an anterior approach at our institution between March 2015 and July 2019. The length of the surgical incision, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications were recorded. The range of flexion, extension, and rotation of the affected elbow and the healthy elbow were collected at follow-up. Functional outcomes were evaluated using the Mayo Elbow Function Score (MEPS).Results: All 38 patients were followed up. At the final follow-up, solid osseous union was confirmed for all coronal plane elbow fractures. The mean elbow flexion arc was 129.26 ± 6.9 degrees, and the extension arc was 8.87 ± 6.13 degrees. The mean pronation arc was 83.45 ± 2.9 degrees, and the supination arc was 80.05 ± 2.92 degrees. The mean MEPS was 90.0±7.53 points, with 18 excellent cases and 20 good cases. There was no significant difference in elbow extension, flexion, and pronation between 31 cases of single fracture and the healthy elbow (P > 0.05); the arc of supination was slightly worse than that of the healthy elbow (P < 0.05). The VAS pain scores of the patients before the operation, three months after the operation, and during follow-up were compared. The pain of the patients was significantly reduced after treatment (P < 0.05). Two patients experienced transient postoperative median nerve paralysis, from which they recovered within three months. One patient had mild heterotopic ossification and was not treated because it did not affect the function of the elbow joint. All patients returned to work and were satisfied with the treatment.Conclusion: The anterior approach has the benefits of simplicity, safety, minimal invasion, excellent exposure, and satisfactory prognosis for coronal plane elbow fracture.
Obesity and Non-Obesity Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Hypertension Syndromes (OOHS & NOOHS): New Clinical Discoveries
Authors: Hu Chunsong , Wu Qinghua , Li Juxiang , Wu Yanqing , Wang Menghong , Ge Yuzhi , Tian Xiaoli , Tkebuchava Tengiz , Hollands Peter , Hu Dayi
Published: July 2021

Obesity, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and hypertension are common clinical risk factors. Their coexistence is termed Obesity and Non-Obesity OSA Hypertension Syndromes (OOHS & NOOHS) due to high linkage. This study reported the clinical characteristics of OOHS and NOOHS. A total of 163 patients, aged 23–74 years, were randomly enrolled at the outpatients department who were either obese or non-obese, suffered OSA and hypertension. Subjects with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of ≥25 (Chinese criteria), of ≥27 (criteria of this study), and of ≥30 (WHO criteria) were defined as obese or non-obese, respectively. Cases with snoring were classified as mild, moderate and severe OSA by using the Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index where mild is 5–15, moderate is 15–30, and severe is > 30. Daytime blood pressure (BP) was measured to assess any correlation. Data from those with isolated obesity, OSA, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome were compared. Long-term follow-up was carried out. 7 typical cases with OOHS and NOOHS were assessed and included general patient information, initial diagnosis, medical history, related risk factors, BMI, and BP. 163 cases with OOHS and NOOHS often have similar or different clinical characteristics. Both potentially suffer from Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events (MACE) which are associated with increased BMI, OSA, and increased BP. Long-term follow-up showed the outcomes consistently linked to their lifestyle and adherence to treatment. Our new clinical discoveries suggest that both OOHS and NOOHS are high risk factors in MACE. There is an urgent need for early lifestyle interventions and related treatments.
A method for bearing fault diagnosis of mine hoist using convolutional attention autoencoder
Authors: Zhang Jie , Yang Ke , Jiang Yuanyuan , Xia Ling
Published: July 2021

In view of the complex environment and frequent faults in the actual operation of mine hoist, a fault diagnosis method based on Convolution Attention Autoencoder (CAAE) is proposed through theoretical analysis and experimental verification to improve the diagnostic stability of mine hoist under strong noise. First, a CAAE is constructed, which uses a combination of a convolutional neural network (CNN) and a channel attention module (CAM) to compress and encode the input signal, and then the input signal is reconstructed by a decoder to train the CAAE to extract the original signal fault features. Then, a fault diagnosis classifier is constructed to classify different fault patterns. Finally, experimental validation is performed with the Case Western Reserve University bearing dataset. The results show that the method has a strong feature extraction capability and a high classification accuracy for bearing failure modes compared with existing methods. And the experiments on the application effect of the proposed method in noisy environment are conducted to verify that the method is highly effective and challenging.
Discussion on a methodology for the digital reconstruction of complex fault structures in coal mines
Authors: Wang Hongwei , Wang Zeliang , Jiang Yaodong , Song Jiaqi
Published: July 2021

The visualization of complex geological structures can provide technical support for accurate prediction and prevention of coal mine disasters. Taking fault structure as an example, this study proposes a new digital reconstruction method to realize the visualization of geological structure. The methodology for the digital reconstruction of complex fault structures is composed by the following four aspects, including collection and fidelity of multi-physical field data of fault structure, transmission of multi-physical field data, multi-physical data normalization and digital model of fault structures. The key scientific issues of this methodology to be resolved includes in-situ fidelity of multi-field data and normalized programming of multi-source data. In addition, based on the geological conditions in Da 'anshan coal mine in the mining area of western Beijing, China, this paper makes a preliminary attempt to establish a digital model of fault and fold structures by this methodology.
Nanocomposites For Optical Properties and Effective Photocatalytic Degradation of Pollutants in Water
Authors: Hamad D. , Uddin Mohammad Kashif , Rashad M. , Ahmed Sameh S.
Published: July 2021

In this study, chromium (III) oxide (Cr2O3) and potassium oxide (K2O) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by combustion. Mixed oxides of varying concentrations in the form of (1-x)Cr2O3/xK2O (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) were prepared. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and optical measurements were used to investigate the properties of these nanoparticles. XRD indicates that the grain size decreased as the K2O content increased. Additionally, HR-TEM revealed several types of shapes, such as hexagonally-shaped nanoparticles. The optical measurements showed a blue shift indicating a minor modification to the band structure during the Cr2O3/xK2O mixing. The (1-x)Cr2O3/xK2O nanoparticles were used as catalysts in wastewater during a photocatalytic process. Orange G was chosen as an impurity in the water. The absorbance curves of Orange G in the water were measured at different times in the presence of the same quantity of Cr2O3/xK2O NPs. After 120 min, the efficiency reached 13% and 38% for (1-x)Cr2O3/xK2O NPs with x = 0.1 and 0.7, respectively. The experimental results were analyzed by pseudo first- and second-order models and intra-particle diffusion models. A first-order kinetic model had the best fit for the (1-x)Cr2O3/xK2O NPs. The strongest relationship occurred with a composition of 0.1Cr2O3/0.7K2O.
A Functional Perspective for Reef Benthic Communities: Temporal Trends in the Only Atoll in Southern Atlantic
Authors: Picolotto Vitor André Passos , Aued Anaide W. , Macedo-Soares Luis C. P. , Zamoner Julia Biscaia , Segal Bárbara
Published: July 2021

Reef benthic communities provide many important ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, carbonate accretion and tridimensional complexity. Yet, reefs worldwide face an uncertain future, being threatened by local and global impacts. As an alternative approach to evaluate communities’ changes, functional ecology aims to understand how species shape the environment and how functions conduct ecosystems’ dynamics. The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal dynamics (2013–2019) of the reef benthic community in the most pristine reef in Brazil, Rocas Atoll, using a functional diversity approach. We identified 48 organisms grouped into 17 functional entities (according to their traits’ combination), considering all sampling years. Benthic community was temporally dominated by functional entities responsible for providing low reef tridimensional complexity (represented mainly by turf algae). This dominance reflected in low values of functional entropy, due to uneven abundances distribution between unique functional entities, those that have unique trait combination. Functional richness oscillated over years, but did not show great changes in functional spaces, maintaining an equity in the number of functional entities and indicating stability of reef functions in Rocas Atoll, even with unequal abundances’ distribution. Our study is the first to use a functional approach in temporal scale and represents a baseline for South Atlantic, since it provides the actual state of reef benthic communities using a functional approach, in an environment with no direct anthropic impacts. This can help to predict the effects on some ecosystem functions caused by local and global changes and its consequence for ecosystem services.
The Impact of Progesterone Receptor Expression on Platinum Sensitivity and Survival Outcomes in Patients With Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Wu Chen-Hsuan , Fu Hung-Chun , Ou Yu-Che , Lan Jui , Lin Hao
Published: July 2021

BackgroundOvarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC) is considered to be a relatively platinum-resistant malignancy. In the present study, we investigated the impact of progesterone receptor (PR) expression on platinum sensitivity and survival outcomes in patients with OCCC.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 80 patients with OCCC who underwent surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, and analyzed PR expression by immunohistochemical staining. The PR expression was quantified using the H-score. The platinum sensitivity and survival outcomes were compared between those with a weak and strong PR expression. Cisplatin viability experiments were performed in OCCC cell lines (TOV-21G) with different PR expressions.ResultsAmong the 80 patients, 66 and 14 were considered to have platinum-sensitive and platinum-resistant disease, respectively. The mean PR H-score of the platinum-sensitive tumors was significant higher than that of the platinum-resistant tumors (p=0.002). Although there were no significant differences in progression-free and overall survival between the patients with high and low PR expressions, the patients with a high PR expression had a trend towards better survival. In cell models, PR protein was weakly detectable in TOV-21G cells. Through transfection of PR gene, TOV-21G cells were shown to have a strong PR expression by Western blot analysis. After treating the TOV-21G cells with cisplatin, we found that the overexpression of PR enhanced cisplatin cytotoxicity. ConclusionsThe patients in this study with a strong PR expression were associated with better platinum sensitivity and survival, and this was compatible with our experimental findings. The value of PR as a tumor sensitizer to cisplatin in OCCC should be further investigated.
WITHDRAWN: Map-Reduce based Distance Weighted k-Nearest Neighbor Machine Learning Algorithm for Big Data Applications
Authors: E Gothai , Moorthy Usha , E Sathishkumar V , Alnuaim Abeer Ali , Hatamleh Wesam Atef , Sweidan Dirar
Published: July 2021

With the evolution of Internet standards and advancements in various Internet and mobile technologies, especially since web 4.0, more and more web and mobile applications emerge such as e-commerce, social networks, online gaming applications and Internet of Things based applications. Due to the deployment and concurrent access of these applications on the Internet and mobile devices, the amount of data and the kind of data generated increases exponentially and the new era of Big Data has come into existence. Presently available data structures and data analyzing algorithms are not capable to handle such Big Data. Hence, there is a need for scalable, flexible, parallel and intelligent data analyzing algorithms to handle and analyze the complex massive data. In this article, we have proposed a novel distributed supervised machine learning algorithm based on the MapReduce programming model and Distance Weighted k-Nearest Neighbor algorithm called MR-DWkNN to process and analyze the Big Data in the Hadoop cluster environment. The proposed distributed algorithm is based on supervised learning performs both regression tasks as well as classification tasks on large-volume of Big Data applications. Three performance metrics, such as Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Determination coefficient (R2) for regression task, and Accuracy for classification tasks are utilized for the performance measure of the proposed MR-DWkNN algorithm. The extensive experimental results shows that there is an average increase of 3–4.5% prediction and classification performances as compared to standard distributed k-NN algorithm and a considerable decrease of Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) with good parallelism characteristics of scalability and speedup thus, proves its effectiveness in Big Data predictive and classification applications.
Malignant Transformation of Liver Cysts Into Cholangiocarcinoma During Follow-up: Potential Dangers of Liver Cysts
Authors: Liu Fu-sheng , Li Ke-lu , He Yue-ming , Zhang Zhong-lin , Yuan Yu-feng , Wang Hai-tao
Published: July 2021

Background: The liver cyst is a common disease in hepatobiliary surgery. Most patients have no apparent symptoms and are usually diagnosed accidentally during imaging examinations. The vast majority of patients with liver cysts follow a benign course, with very few serious complications and rare reports of malignant changes. Case Presentation: We present two cases of liver cysts that evolved into intrahepatic tumors during the follow-up process. The first patient had undergone a fenestration and drainage operation for the liver cyst, and the cancer was found at the cyst’s position in the third year after the procedure. Microscopically, bile duct cells formed the cyst wall. Tumor cells can be seen on the cyst wall and its surroundings to form adenoid structures of different sizes, shapes, and irregular arrangements, some of which are arranged in clusters. The second patient was regularly rechecked after discovering liver cysts, and a new mass appeared very close to the cyst. The clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations of the two patients lacked specificity, the preoperative diagnosis was unclear, and the postoperative pathology confirmed cholangiocarcinoma.Conclusions: Our cases indicate that liver cysts may lead to the occurrence of malignant intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Therefore, follow-up of particular liver cysts is necessary, and the differential diagnosis of the intrahepatic cystic tumors needs to include cholangiocarcinoma.
Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor of the Head and Neck: A Clinicopathological, Immunohistochemical and Molecular Analysis of Three Cases with Literature Review
Authors: Sun Meng , Jiang Xue-bing , Shao Meng-yuan , Wang Qi-feng , Zhao Lu , Liu Jia-han , Lao I Weng , Yu Lin , Wang Jian
Published: July 2021

Background: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare aggressive malignancy typically originating from the abdominal or pelvic cavity. DSRCT presenting as a primary head and neck tumor has rarely been described in the literature. Case presentation: We present three cases of DSRCT arising in the head and neck to further characterize its clinicopathological features. All three patients were male and aged 36, 30 and 17 years. The involved sites included the orbit (1 case) and submandibular gland (2 cases). The tumors ranged in size from 2.4 to 3.5 cm (mean, 2.1 cm). Histologically, all tumors showed irregular-shaped, variable-sized nests of small round cells deposited in an abundant desmoplastic stroma. Tumor cells contained small hyperchromatic nuclei and scant amounts of eosinophilic cytoplasm with inconspicuous nucleoli. Immunohistochemically, the tumors were positive for AE1/AE3 (3/3), desmin (3/3), vimentin (2/2), NSE (1/1) and EMA (1/1). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis demonstrated the presence of EWSR1 and WT1 rearrangements in all three cases. All patients received surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. There was no evidence of recurrence and metastasis in two patients, and the third suffered lung metastasis.Conclusions: DSRCT arising in the head and neck represents an extremely rare condition. It is easily mistaken as poorly differentiated carcinoma due to similar morphology and expression of epithelial markers. Immunohistochemistry assay in conjunction with molecular detection of EWSR1-WT1 fusion will be helpful for arriving at an accurate diagnosis to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment.
Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis Accompanied by Schistosomiasis: A Case Report
Authors: Yuan Chunyan , Huang Zhongyue , Liu Qiping , Du Ling , Xie Xiaoli , Jiang Xuebing , Liu Jun , Sheng Xia , Wang Xuming
Published: July 2021

Background: Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI) is a rare disease that occurs frequently in the large and small intestine and has no obvious clinical symptoms. It is difficult to preoperatively diagnose and is easily undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. The main pathological features are air-bearing cysts in the intestinal submucosa, intermuscular wall and subserous membrane. Case presentation: PCI is a rare disease, which often occurs in the large intestine and small intestine，without obvious clinical symptoms. It is difficult to diagnose before operation and is easy to be missed and misdiagnosed. Duvernoi first described the disease in 1730. The main pathological features were air-bearing cysts in intestinal submucosa, intermuscular wall and subserous membrane. Conservative treatment is the first choice when there are no serious complications, and timely surgical treatment is needed for serious and life-threatening complications. This report presents the clinical and pathological analysis of PCI in a 92-year-old man. The patient was admitted to hospital because of acute peritonitis,and was diagnosed as PCI with schistosomiasis after emergency operation. Postoperative follow-up is generally in good condition.Conclusions: The incidence of PCI is low. Because of a lack of specificity in clinical manifestations and endoscopic findings, PCI is difficult to diagnose preoperatively and is easily missed and misdiagnosed. Conservative treatment is the first choice when there are no serious complications; however, timely surgical treatment is required for serious and life-threatening complications.PCI treatment is effective andconvenient, and the prognosis is optimistic. Therefore, clinicians should increase their awareness of PCI to avoid unnecessary misdiagnosis.