bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Listening and Learning: a qualitative study of Scottish care home staff experiences of managing COVID-19 between March 2020-August 2022
Authors: Burton Jennifer Kirsty , Drummond Maria , Gallacher Katie I , Quinn Terence J
Published: May 2023

Background The serious outcomes of outbreaks of COVID-19 in care homes have been described internationally. The experiences of professionals working through outbreaks has received less attention, missing opportunities to acknowledge and learn lessons. Our aim was to explore the experiences of care home staff in Scotland of managing COVID-19 within their homes to help inform understanding and future practice.Methods From April to August 2022, 34 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with care home staff working in homes which experienced an outbreak(s) of COVID-19. Reflexive thematic methods were used to analyse verbatim deidentified transcripts.Findings: There was no singular experience of COVID-19 outbreaks within care homes. We identified four broad groupings of homes with outbreaks (significant outbreaks, managed outbreaks, outbreaks in remote/rural homes & outbreaks in homes supporting younger adults), with overlaps in timing and severity and variation in the support received and impact. The national response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in fundamental change to care home relationships. Staff responded by adaptation in uncertainty. However, they were challenged by emerging inequalities. There were tensions between staff experience and evolving external approaches to regulation and oversight. All this change resulted in psychological impacts on staff. However, there was also widespread evidence of compassionate leadership and teamwork in their responses. Effective sources of support were underpinned by respectful relationships and continuity, tailored to individual contexts.Conclusions The lived experiences of care home staff during the COVID-19 pandemic provide valuable insights applicable beyond the pandemic context. This includes: recognition of the specialism, complexity and diversity of care home practice; the value afforded by embedding genuine representation and involvement in planning, policy-making and research; the need for individualising to individuals in their contexts and the value of fostering respectful relationships across professional groups to support residents.
Novel Aminocoumarin Dye for Sustainable Polyester Fabric Dyeing: Synthesis and Performance Evaluation
Authors: Akyıldız Sinem Hazal , Özdemir Mücahit , Özkan Beyza Nur , Güler Eray Metin , Gültekin Cenkkut , Yalçın Bahattin
Published: May 2023

The textile sector is regarded as one of the most environmentally damaging industries in the world. There are several factors that contribute to the unsustainability of textiles and clothing, including the use of hazardous chemicals, high water and energy consumption, generation of solid and gaseous waste, consumption of fuel for transportation to remote locations, and use of non-biodegradable packaging materials. Moreover, it is estimated that textile treatments such as dyeing and finishing are responsible for 20% of all water pollution. Especially textile dyes can pose significant harm to the environment and human health. Disperse dyeing of polyester requires large quantities of chemicals. Additionally, some disperse dyes contain hazardous chemicals that can cause skin irritation and respiratory problems in workers and consumers. In this study, we synthesized 7-ethylamino-3-acetylcoumarin dye using the Knoevenagel reaction, and the dyeing process of polyester fabric with the novel type of this coumarin dye was applied. The structural and chemical analyses were performed using micro-FTIR, FTIR, NMR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and cell viability. The evaluation of the coloured fabric's fastness against washing, rubbing, and an artificial light source representative of natural daylight (D65) were also carried out using standard methods. It was found that the best result came from dyeing polyester with coumarin in an acidic condition for 45 minutes and then washing it reductively. The study provides valuable insights into the development of new dyes with improved properties and their application to fabric dyeing, which can contribute to the sustainability and environmental impact of the textile industry.
Evaluator’s alignment as an important indicator of reliability of assessment procedure for recognizing the good practice in public health: piloting newly developed criteria.
Authors: Vinko Matej , Lesnik Tina , Krnel Sandra Radoš
Published: May 2023

Background
The Slovenian “Criteria for assessing public health interventions for the purpose of identifying and selecting good practices” is a tool designed to identify and select good practices in public health. Public health professionals used the criteria to evaluate interventions and assign scores based on three levels: Exclusion, Core, and Additional Criteria. The assessment took place from 2021 to 2022. The individual scores were compiled and a panel discussion was held to reach a final score. The interrater agreement was measured using percent overall agreement and Fleiss’s kappa coefficient.
Results
The study aimed to test the consistency of the criteria, and despite being the first time the criteria were used, a moderate interrater agreement was achieved. The lowest agreement was observed for the effectiveness and efficiency sub-criteria group. Challenges identified with the scoring process were due to the descriptive 1 to 5 scale and the varying specificity of the criteria. The results showed that studying consistency between evaluators can highlight areas for improvement or adjustment in assessment criteria and enhance the quality of the assessment instrument.
Conclusions
This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the Slovenian “Criteria for assessing public health interventions for the purpose of identifying and selecting good practices”, which was found to offer valuable insights for various stakeholders. To enhance the quality of best practice assessments, the study suggests exploring opportunities for involving policy makers in the assessment process. Such collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers can lead to significant improvements in the production and application of public health research.
Estimating program coverage in the treatment of acute malnutrition using population-based cluster survey methods: Results from surveys in five countries in the Horn, Sahel, and the African Great Lakes regions
Authors: Heymsfield Grace , Radin Elizabeth , Biotteau Marie , Kangas Suvi , Ndumi Assumpta , Tausanovitch Zachary , Tesfai Casie , Kiema Léonard , OUEDRAOGO Wenldasida Thomas , Mamoudou Badou Seni , Issa Mahamat Garba , Bangali Lievin , Ngboloko Marie Christine Atende Wa , Chaïbou Balki , Maman Maman Bachirou , Mahdi Mukhtar Sirat , Mohamud Farhan Momahed , Leidman Eva , Bilukha Oleg
Published: May 2023

Background Despite their utility for program planning, acute malnutrition treatment coverage estimates at the national and sub-national levels are rarely available. Prior work has identified methodological concerns with current approaches.Methods We estimated the point prevalence and treatment coverage of acute malnutrition in 14 districts (or similar subnational areas) across 5 high-burden countries in Africa using representative cluster-based population survey methods, and compared these estimates to those derived from administrative data and other direct methods where available. We also aimed to assess information about risk factors for malnourished children by coverage status.Results The point estimate of coverage suggests that < 20% of eligible children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were enrolled in treatment in eleven administrative areas. We found that in some contexts, coverage estimates derived using administrative data are useful, while in others, they are not – and that their accuracy can vary by month and year. By comparison, coverage estimates from other direct methods were overestimated and/or outdated, and practitioners tended to overestimate coverage. Coverage did not differ significantly by sex or age of the child but did vary by mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) at assessment. Measured SAM coverage did not correlate either with measured SAM prevalence or with expected coverage estimated a priori by program staff.Conclusions Our findings suggest that in the assessed high-burden countries, many more children are eligible for treatment than are enrolled. We present this methodology as an alternative to existing primary methods and a complement to coverage estimates from routine program and population data.
Mass photometry: A powerful tool for carbohydrates-proteins conjugation monitoring and glycoconjugates molecular mass determination
Authors: Wu Di , Xu Peng , Kelly Meagan , Ryan Edward T. , Kováč Pavol , Piszczek Grzegorz
Published: May 2023

Glycoconjugate vaccines are important additions to the existing means for prevention of diseases caused by bacterial and viral pathogens. Conjugating carbohydrates to proteins is a crucial step in the development of these vaccines. Traditional mass spectrometry techniques, such as MALDI-TOF and SELDI-TOF, have limitations in detecting glycoconjugates with high molecular masses. Mass photometry (MP) is a single-molecule technique that has been recently developed, which allows mass measurements of individual molecules and generates mass distributions based on hundreds to thousands of these measurements. In this study, we evaluated the performance of MP in monitoring carbohydrate-protein conjugation reactions and characterization of conjugates. Three different glycoconjugates were prepared from carrier protein BSA, and one from a large protein complex, a virus capsid with 3.74 MDa molecular mass. The masses measured by MP were consistent with those obtained by SELDI-TOF-MS and SEC-MALS. The conjugation of BSA dimer to carbohydrate antigen was also successfully characterized. This study shows that the MP technique is a promising alternative to methods developed earlier for monitoring glycoconjugation reactions and characterization of glycoconjugates. It measures intact molecules in solution and it is highly accurate over a wide mass range. MP requires only a very small amount of sample and has no specific buffer constraints. Other MP advantages include minimal cost of consumables and rapid data collection and analysis. Its advantages over other methods make it a valuable tool for researchers in the glycoconjugation field.
The bidirectional regulation mechanism of NMMO concentration change on cellulose dissolution and regeneration
Authors: Deng Zikang , Zhou Guohui , Fang Timing , Fang Kuanjun , Liu Xiaomin
Published: May 2023

The dissolution and regeneration process of cellulose molecules in NMMO aqueous solution was studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation.
The effect of the concentration of NMMO aqueous solution on the structure of cellulose was discussed. During the simulation process, the aggregation structure of cellulose molecules changed significantly, and experienced the dissolution process and regeneration process. During the dissolution of cellulose, the NMMO aqueous solution penetrates into the cellulose bundle from the cellulose O2-H2-O6 direction. NMMO around O6, O3 and O2 plays a vital role in the dissolution of cellulose. NMMO destroys the hydrogen bonds between the intra-chains of cellulose, thus making cellulose dissolved in the solvent. During the regeneration process, the concentration of NMMO aqueous solution decreased, and water molecules around the acetal oxygen atom increased, which destroyed the hydrogen bond between NMMO and cellulose, and made the cellulose single chain form aggregates. Although it eventually aggregated into cellulose bunches structure, the hydrogen bond of regenerated cellulose lacked regularity, which affected the stability of the regenerated cellulose structure.
The importance of social oocyte cryopreservation in supporting local municipalities
Authors: Ohno Motoharu , Kikuchi Iwaho , Kagawa Noriko , Shinozaki Ikumi , Shirosaki Yuka , Ichiyama Takuhiko , Makino Shintaro , Yoshida Koyo
Published: May 2023

Purpose To examine the impact of social oocyte cryopreservation on local communities.Methods A prospective study was conducted on city-dwelling women < 35 years old attending monthly seminars on oocyte retrieval/cryopreservation to whom the study concept was explained. Egg collection and storage management costs were free for three years after the project completed, and subsequent actual storage costs were borne by the individuals. After oocyte retrieval, we conducted a questionnaire on oocyte cryopreservation and administrative assistance.Results Of the 62 seminar participants, 2 became pregnant naturally without oocyte retrieval. Oocytes were retrieved in 34 women (average age: 32.8 years, number of oocytes obtained: 8.3), among whom four subsequently became pregnant and gave birth through natural pregnancy or artificial insemination, and one became pregnant and gave birth using frozen oocytes. In a follow-up questionnaire of 34 subjects, all responded that they were glad to have oocyte cryopreservation, but 23 subjects (67.6%) answered that they could not perform cryopreservation without financial assistance. Twenty-five patients (73.5%) wanted to try to conceive without using frozen oocytes as a post-cryopreservation plan.Conclusions Egg cryopreservation and associated workshops may be useful not as a countermeasure against the declining birthrate but for the expansion of women’s reproductive options.
A follow-up study on factors affecting the rehabilitation of patients with hypothyroidism in different selenium environments
Authors: Wang Si , Chen Ping , He Yayi , Wei Jing , Tian Li , Wu Yajun , Lv Hongjun , Peng Xiaogang , Zhang Xingru , Shi Bingyin , Wu Qian
Published: May 2023

Background Hypothyroidism is a key manifestation of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Our previous research has found that low selenium (Se) status was linked to an elevated prevalence and incidence of thyroid diseases. We hypothesized that Se status may also influence the restoration of thyroid function. Thus, our study aims to investigate the factors affecting the recovery of thyroid function in patients with (sub-)clinical hypothyroidism, with a specific focus on Se status.Methods We conducted a 6-year prospective cohort study comparing different Se concentration regions. Demographic and disease data were collected from 1190 subjects (549 Se-adequate and 641 Se-deficient), who successfully completed the follow-up study in 2019. Additionally, urinary iodine (I) levels, thyroid function, and serum and nail Se levels were measured. We used logistic regression to investigate the relationship between Se deficiency and thyroid function recovery.Results Two counties were similar in sex, smoking status. The recovery rate of thyroid function was significantly higher in Se-deficient counties (46.0% vs. 30.6%, P = 0.008). In multivariate analysis, our results show that female sex [OR (95%CI) = 1.977 (1.279–3.055), P = 0.002] and increasing age [OR (95%CI) = 1.027 (1.007–1.047), P = 0.007] were associated with the recovery rate. Additionally, our study revealed that while the Se status was significant in univariate analysis, this association appeared to fade in multivariate analysis.Conclusions Female sex and increasing age have unfavorable effects on the recovery of thyroid function in patients with (sub-)clinical hypothyroidism who are over 30 years old.
The triglyceride-glucose index is a predictor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in CVD patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes: results from the NHANES database prospective cohort study
Authors: Zhang Qin , Jiao Xiaojuan , Shen Yunfeng
Published: May 2023

Background: The association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index and mortality in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between baseline TyG index and all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality among American adults with CVD who have diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Methods: This study enrolled 1072 American adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and either diabetes or pre-diabetes, who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2001-2018). Mortality outcomes were determined by linking to National Death Index (NDI) records up to December 31, 2019. The relationship between baseline TyG index and mortality in these patients was analyzed using Cox proportional hazards model and two-piecewise Cox proportional hazards model to explore potential nonlinear associations.
Results:During 7541 person-years of follow-up, a total of 334 all-cause deaths and 112 CVD-related deaths were recorded. The two-piecewise linear regression analysis revealed a U-shaped association between the baseline TyG index and all-cause and CVD mortality in CVD patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes. Specifically, a baseline TyG index lower than the threshold values (TyG index < 9.07 in all-cause mortality and < 8.92 in CVD mortality) was found to be negatively associated with mortality, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.48 (95% CI=0.28-0.83) for all-cause mortality and 0.43 (95% CI=0.08-1.41) for CVD mortality. In contrast, a baseline TyG index higher than the threshold values (TyG index > 9.07 in all-cause mortality and > 8.92 in CVD mortality) was positively associated with mortality, with a HR of 1.41 (95% CI=1.01-1.97) for all-cause mortality and 2.12 (95% CI=1.36-3.32) for CVD mortality.
Conclusions: A U-shaped association was observed between the baseline TyG index with CVD and all-cause mortality in CVD patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes in a American population. The thresholds of 8.92 and 9.07 for CVD and all-cause mortality, respectively.
Systematic evaluation and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of Chinese patent medicines in combination with western medicines in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome
Authors: guo Yajing , Li Ting , Lu Qiongqiong , He Yuxi , Wu Yue , Yang Xiaojun
Published: May 2023

Aim A meta-analysis was used to evaluate the effectiveness of Chinese patent medicines in combination with western medicines in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.Methods CNKI, Wanfang Academic Journal Full Text Database, VIP, Pubmed, Embase, Web of science, Cochrane Library databases were searched for clinical studies on the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with Chinese patent medicines published from the date of establishment to March 15, 2023, and the data were strictly screened and tthe data were extracted and evaluated, and the data were analysed and collated using RevMan 5.4 and stata16 software.Results The final 21 RCTs, including 14 proprietary Chinese medicines, all orally administered, were included in a total of 2007 patients. The results of the Meta-analysis showed that the combination of Chinese patent medicines with Western medicines improved the overall clinical effectiveness (OR = 3.81, 95% CI [2.84–5.12], P < 0.00001); significantly improved abdominal pain scores (MD=- 0.66, 95% CI [-0.93, -0.40], P < 0.00001); improved stool trait scores (MD = -0.48, 95% CI [-0.59, -0.37], P < 0.00001); improved IBS-SSS scores (MD = -44.36, 95% CI [-53.64, -35.08], P < 0.00001); improved IBS-QOL positive (MD = 10.27, 95% CI [3.50, 17.04], P = 0.003 < 0.05) and negative scores (MD=-7.91, 95% CI [-15.62, -0.02], P = 0.04 < 0.05); improved HAMA scores (MD=-3.37, 95% CI [-6.49, -0.24], P = 0.03); but no statistical difference in improving HAMD scores (MD=-2.83, 95% CI [-5.74,0.08], P = 0.06 > 0.05).Conclusion: Chinese patent medicine combined with western medicine is more effective than single western medicine in the treatment of different types of irritable bowel syndrome.
Unsupervised brain MRI image registration based on 3D hybrid ViT and convolutional U-net
Authors: Wang Junyao , Liu Feng , Shu Shi , Tao Guowei , Zhou Fu
Published: May 2023

During a patient's disease progression, MRIs scaned in different times need to be registered before and after. However, the location and structure of tissue inside the human body may change with the growth of illnesses, interfering with the physician's ability to quickly diagnose the progression of the disease. To reach this goal, we proposed a 3D hybrid ViT and convolutional U-net for brain MRI image registration, which achieved a higher dice score than ViT-V-Net and VoxelMorph. In the meantime, we have had an idea of a novel loss function for gray image registration called grad-loss, which concentrates on the difference and gradient at each voxel of the MRI image. Quantitative and qualitative comparison results demonstrate that our model outperforms the previous ViT-based and convolution-based networks and achieved a better dice score of 79.7% in OASIS dataset.
Low-Dose Brain Radiation: Lowering hyperphosphorylated-Tau without Increasing DNA Damage or Oncogenic Activation
Authors: Iacono Diego , Murphy Erin , Stimpson Cheryl , Perl Daniel , Day Regina
Published: May 2023

Brain radiation has been medically used to alter the metabolism of cancerous cells and induce their elimination. Rarely, though, brain radiation has been used to interfere with the pathomechanisms of non-cancerous brain disorders, especially neurodegenerative disorders.
Data from low-dose radiation (LDR) on swine brains demonstrated reduced levels of phosphorylated-tau (CP13) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) in radiated (RAD) vs. sham (SH) animals. Phosphorylated-tau and APP are involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis.
We determined if the expression levels of hyperphosphorylated-tau, 3R-tau, 4R-tau, synaptic, intraneuronal damage, and DNA damage/oncogenic activation markers were altered in RAD vs. SH swine brains.
Quantitative analyses demonstrated reduced levels of AT8 and 3R-tau in hippocampus (H) and striatum (Str), increased levels of synaptophysin and PSD-95 in frontal cortex (FCtx), and reduced levels of NF-L in cerebellum (CRB) of RAD vs. SH swine. DNA damage and oncogene activation marker levels did not differ between RAD and SH animals, except for histone-H3 (increased in FCtx and CRB, decreased in Str), and p53 (reduced in FCtx, Str, H and CRB).
These findings confirm the region-based effects of sLDR on proteins normally expressed in larger mammalian brains and support the potential applicability of LDR to beneficially interfere against neurodegenerative mechanisms.
Exploring the molecular mechanism of Licorice rose beverage anti-melasma based on network pharmacology, molecular docking technology and in vivo and in vitro experimental verification
Authors: Zhai Dan , Hu Yi , Liu Li , Wang Zhuxian , Liang Peiyi , Jiang CuiPing , Li Hui , Zeng Quanfu , Chen Hongkai , Wu Yufan , Guo Yinglin , Yi Yankui , Shen Chunyan , Zhu Hongxia , Liu Qiang
Published: May 2023

Melasma is a pigmentation disease with refractory and high recurrence risk. Therefore, finding effective treatment has become the focus of research. The aim of this study was to reveal the mechanism of Licorice rose beverage (LRB) in treating melasma from the perspective of network pharmacology and in vitro and in vivo experimental techniques. Network pharmacological studies have shown that Isolicoflavonol, quercetin, kaempferol are the main active components of anti-melasma and TYR is the main target. Molecular docking studies have shown that these compounds have a good affinity for these targets. In vitro tyrosinase inhibition experiments showed that LRB could significantly inhibit tyrosinase activity. In vivo studies showed that LRB could significantly improve skin damage and skin pigmentation, reduce the activities of serum and skin tyrosinase in model mice, increase the activity of SOD in serum, and reduce the content of MDA in mice, showing a good effect of anti-melasma. In conclusion, these findings reveal the molecular mechanism of LRB in treating melasma and provided the scientific basis for this product's development and clinical application.
The technique of arsenic elimination from contaminated soil with enhanced conditions by electro-kinetic remediation
Authors: Hawal Laith Hamdan , Al-Sulttani Ali Omran
Published: May 2023

Remediation of arsenic-contaminated soil by the technique of electro-kinetic using various enhanced conditions is the thrust of this study. Many tests were performed with different operating conditions such as the electrodes solution (tap water) with a variable pH at (2, 5, and 8). Cyclodextrin (10% hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin or HPCD) has been used as an activating agent that helps enhance this process of soil arsenic clean-up. Agricultural wastes (pomegranate peels) were used after treating them as an adsorbent to impede the return of pollutants to the soil as a result of reverse osmosis. The obtained results after the remediation completion indicated that the best elimination capacity was 72% at a pH of 2. This indicates that the elimination capacity increases with decreasing pH of the electrodes solution. Mixing the HPCD solution with soil as an enhanced solution increased the solubility and desorption of arsenic from the soil. Then, arsenic-containing HPCD micelles readily moved to the cathode electrode by electro osmotic flow, and the elimination capacity increased (84%). It was concluded that pomegranate peels are a good adsorbent for arsenic returning to the soil during the treatment process as a result of reverse osmosis. Hence, the application of this material in this research gave a perfect impression of its use as an inexpensive, environmentally friendly adsorbent and an alternative to commercial absorbents.
The impact of feature selection techniques on aging-related bug prediction models: An empirical investigation
Authors: Zhang Chen , Domenico Cotroneo , Roberto Pietrantuono , Roberto Natella , Yu Xiao , Xie Wenzhi , Jia Kai , Xiang Jianwen
Published: May 2023

Software aging refers to the accumulation of error conditions over time in long-running software systems, which can lead to decreased performance and an increased likelihood of failures. Aging-Related Bug Prediction (ARBP) was introduced to predict the Aging-related Bugs (ARBs) hidden in the systems by using features extracted from source code. ARBs include memory leaks, storage problems, unreleased files, socket exceptions, unreleased file handles, disk fragmentation and so on. Previous research in Software Defect Prediction (SDP) indicated that using feature selection techniques to select a subset of representative features to use could enhance the performance of classification models. However, considering the difference between ARB features and SDP features, blindly applying the method performed well in SDP to pre-process the ARBs dataset may not necessarily improve the performance of the ARBP model, and could potentially result in a decline in performance. To address this limitation, 22 feature selection methods with 21 classifiers embedded in the most used ARBP model on four benchmark datasets from real-world software projects, and six different evaluation indicators were employed to assess the performance of ARBP models comprehensively. Our experiment results showed that: (1) The filter-based feature ranking method called SVMF performed the best on the ARBP, and the filter-based feature subset selection method ConBF performs the worst on the ARBP task. (2) Using the statistic-based classifiers as the base classification model embedded with the SVMF can perform the best, the Naive Bayes classifier always achieves the best performance. Researchers are recommended to first consider CountLineBlank, CountLineComment, and MaxCyclomaticModified features for the ARBP task.(3) The feature selection method ConBF, which performed the best in conventional SDP was not optimal for our specific task. This highlights the unique nature of aging-related features and underscores the need for a tailored feature selection method. Based on these findings, we recommend using SVMF with the Naive Bayes classifier when building ARBP models, in our study, this combination can improve the Balance performance by 18\% and Recall by 25.9% compared with no feature selection for ARBP.
Visualization and analysis of knowledge domains for recent developments in coal mechanical properties studies
Authors: Wang Chen , Xu Xiaomeng , Zhang Yihuai , Arif Muhammad , Zhang Siyuan , Lan Meijuan , Yu Binshan
Published: May 2023

Studying the dynamic and static mechanical properties of coal and their impact is critical in coal mining design, mining work progress, and mining safety, especially for the prevention and control of dynamic disasters such as rock bursts, coal and gas outbursts, etc. To better understand the research progress and trends of coal's mechanical properties and to promote theoretical research on the prevention and control of dynamic disasters, the bibliometric method was introduced to analyze the research progress on the mechanical properties study of coal. A total of 3,450 documents collected in the Web of Science (WOS) core database were reviewed and analyzed in this work. The analysis focused on the annual quantitative distribution of literature, national/regional distribution, organizational distribution, author distribution, distribution of significant source journals, and research hotspots and frontiers. We used CiteSpace and Vosviewer to map knowledge areas. The results indicate that the number of research papers on the mechanical properties of coal has increased exponentially. China, America, Australia, India, Spain, Poland, England, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey are the most active countries for research on the mechanical properties of coal. The research results from China, America, and Australia are the most influential, and C&BM, FUEL, INT J ROCK MECH MIN, INT J COAL GEOL, RM&RE, C&CR, and JCP are the primary sources of research publications on the mechanical properties of coal. The basic theory and research system of coal mechanical properties investigation have been completed, and there are many future research directions and broad branches. Several current hot spots include the coal mechanical property model, mechanical property-related permeability model, establishment and prediction of coal strength-temperature relationships, research on the proportioning scheme of granite and coal bottom ash in concrete mixes, and research on the improvement effect of fly ash on concrete manufacturing properties.
Assessment the Awareness of the Syrian Population toward the Risk Factors and Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer: Cross Sectional Study
Authors: Alibrahim Hidar , Swed Sarya , Bohsas Haidara , Albarakat Majd M. , Jawish Nagham , Nasif Mohamad Nour , Sawaf Bisher , Habib Mhd Baraa , Esber Muhammad , Hammo Aleen , Abdo Bana , fathey Sherihan , Rashid Gowhar , Hafez Wael
Published: May 2023

BackgroundThis cross-sectional research seeks to examine the level of knowledge of CRC risk factors and symptoms in Syria.MethodsAn online cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 August to 25 August 2022. The sample inclusion criteria of study participants were Syrian nationals aged 18 or older from all Syrian governorates.ResultsAmong 702 Syrian national participants (n = 430, 61.3%) were females. About half of the inquired participants have shown a good knowledge of colorectal cancer symptoms (n = 301, 42.9%). However, only (n = 123, 17.6%) participants have shown a good understanding of colorectal cancer risk factors. Most participants were somewhat confident in their ability to recognize colorectal cancer symptoms (43.60%), whereas just 4.60% of people were highly confident in their ability to recognize them. Only (24.10%) of the participants were not confident in identifying colorectal cancer symptoms. Only 22.90% of participants believe that colorectal cancer occurs around age 60. (42.20%) of participants are unaware of the NHS colorectal cancer screening program.ConclusionAccording to our findings, there is insufficient understanding of the colorectal cancer symptoms and risk factors among the general population in Syria that may contribute to delays in detecting the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Consequently, there is a greater need to increase colorectal cancer awareness and education programs on the disease's signs and symptoms and its risk factors.
Development of A RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a Based Rapid Visual Detection Assay for Porcine Parvovirus 7
Authors: Wen Shubo , She Lemuge , Dang Sheng , Liao Ao , LV Xiangyu , Zhang Shuai , Zhang Kaiyue , Li Xiaorui , Song Yang , Li Xiangyang , Zhai Jingbo
Published: May 2023

Background Porcine Parvovirus (PPV) are small, enveloped viruses with single stranded genomic DNA. Till now seven genotypes of PPV have been detected worldwide. They are PPV1 to PPV7 with later was first discovered in 2016 in America and then in Asia and European. It has been reported that PPV7 was a co-infector with Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2), PCV3 and Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). A rapid, sensitive and specific PPV7 detection method that could be applied in poorly equipped laboratory or event in field could be helpful to reveal its distribution and control the spread of this virus. CRISPR/Cas based systems have exhibited outstanding capacities in the detection of pathogenic microorganisms due to the trans-cleavage activities of the Cas proteins.Results Herein, we established a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA)-CRISPR/Cas12a based rapid viral detection assay for PPV7. Specific RPA primers and five CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) were designed and synthesized based on the highly conserved region within the NS1 gene of PPV7. The concentration of crRNA and ssDNA were further optimized. Furthermore, we evaluated the sensitivity, specificity, and clinical effectiveness of the RPA-Cas12a based detection assay. The results indicated that this method could be applied for real-time detection. The detection sensitivity of the novel assay was 100 copies/µl, and there were no cross-reactions with other genotypes of PPV, PCV2, PCV3, PRRSV and pseudorabies virus. The RPA-Cas12a based assay could work well in the detection of clinical samples.Conclusions In summary, we developed a visual, sensitive and specific viral diagnostic method based on CRISPR-Cas12a system for PPV7.
Incidence, Risk Factors and Outcomes of Catheter Related Bloodstream Infections Among Adult Filipino Hemodialysis Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Pasilan Renz Michael , Tomacruz-Amante Isabelle Dominique , Dimacali Coralie Therese
Published: May 2023

Background: Despite efforts to improve the management of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) in literature, temporary CVCs continue to be used for maintenance hemodialysis outside of acute care settings, particularly in the Philippines.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the incidence, outcomes, risk factors, and microbiological patterns of CRBSI among adult kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis at the Philippine General Hospital, the country's largest tertiary referral center. We included all adult patients who received a CVC for hemodialysis from January 1, 2018 to August 31, 2019, and followed them for six months to observe the occurrence of CRBSI and its outcomes.
Results: Our study documented a CRBSI incidence rate of 6.72 episodes per 1000 catheter days, with a relapse rate of 6.60%, a reinfection rate of 15.74%, and a mortality rate of 6.09%. We identified autoimmune disease, dialysis frequency of > 3x per week, use of CVC for either blood transfusion or IV medications, renal hypoperfusion, drug-induced nephropathy, and hypertensive kidney disease as significant risk factors for CRBSI. Gram-negative bacteria, including Burkholderia cepacia, Enterobacter, and Acinetobacter spp, were the most common organisms causing CRBSI. Multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) comprised almost half of the isolates (n=89, 44.5%), with Coagulase negative Staphylococcusspecies, having the highest proportion among gram positive organisms and Acinetobacterspp. among gram negative isolates.
Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the need for more stringent measures and interventions to prevent the propagation of identified pathogens, such as a review of sterile technique and adequate hygiene practices, continued surveillance, and expedited placement and utilization of long-term access for patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Furthermore, CVC use outside of hemodialysis should be discouraged, and common antibiotic regimens such as piperacillin-tazobactam and fluoroquinolones should be reviewed for their low sensitivity patterns among gram-negative isolates. Addressing these issues can improve outcomes for hemodialysis patients and reduce the burden of CRBSI in our institution.
Verifying Programs with Logic and Extended Proof Rules: Deep Embed v.s. Shallow Embed
Authors: Wang Zhongye , Cao Qinxiang , Tao Yichen
Published: May 2023

Many foundational program verification tools have been developed to build machine-checkable program correctness proofs, a majority of which are based on Hoare logic. Their program logics, their assertion languages, and their underlying programming languages can be formalized by either a shallow embedding or a deep embedding. Tools like Iris and early versions of VST choose different shallow embeddings to formalize their program logics. But the pros and cons of these different embeddings were not yet well studied, and we mainly focus on the impact of the program logic's embedding on logic's proof rules.
This paper considers a set of useful extended proof rules, and four different logic embeddings: one deep embedding and three dominant shallow embeddings. We prove each rule's validity under these embeddings and discuss their main challenges. Furthermore, we propose a method to lift existing shallowly embedded logics to deeply embedded ones to greatly simplify proofs of extended rules in a proof system. We evaluate our results on two existing verification tools. We lift the originally shallowly embedded VST to our deeply embedded VST to support extended rules, and we implement Iris-CF and deeply embedded Iris-Imp based on the Iris framework to evaluate our theory in real verification projects.
Machine learning-based prediction model of acute kidney injury in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome
Authors: Wei Shuxing , Zhang Yongsheng , Dong Hongmeng , Chen Ying , Wang Xiya , Zhu Xiaomei , Zhang Guang , Guo Shubin
Published: May 2023

Background
Acute kidney injury (AKI) can make cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) more complex, and the combination of the two can significantly worsen the prognosis. Our objective, therefore, is to utilize machine learning techniques to construct models that can promptly identify the risk of AKI in ARDS patients, and provide guidance for early intervention and treatment, ultimately leading to improved prognosis.
Method
We obtained data regarding ARDS patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database and utilized 11 machine learning (ML) algorithms to construct our predictive models. We selected the best model based on various metrics, and visualized the importance of its features using Shapley additive explanations (SHAP). We then created a more concise model using fewer variables, and optimized it using hyperparameter optimization (HPO). Additionally, we developed a web-based calculator to facilitate clinical usage.
Result
A total of 928 ARDS patients were included in the analysis, of whom 179 (19.3%) developed AKI during hospitalization. A total of 43 features were used to build the model. Among all models, XGBoost performed the best. We used the top 10 features to build a compact model with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.838, which improved to an AUC of 0.848 after the HPO.
Conclusion
Machine learning algorithms, especially XGBoost, are reliable tools for predicting AKI in ARDS patients. The compact model still retains excellent predictive ability, and the web-based calculator makes clinical usage more convenient.
Effective Probabilistic Feature for Adaptive Learning Model to Accelerate Approximate Nearest Neighbor Search
Authors: Jiang Jianfeng , Xu Shen , Gao Ying
Published: May 2023

The quantization-based approaches are the effective methods for solving the problems of approximate nearest neighbor search. However, many quantization-based approaches usually employ an uniformed number of nProbes as termination condition to performing search process for each query. This will result in extra time consumption due to the fact that the search for many queries is terminated rapidly before completely retrieve the points contained in its nProbes nearest subspace. To this end, we propose to train an uniformed learning prediction model using effective input features generated by locality sensitive hashing, such that adaptively predicts the termination condition for each query to speedup the query process. Many experiments show that our proposal is superior to other state-of-the-art methods.
A hospital based study using micro-environmental modelling demonstrating the association between Coronary Artery Calcification score and cumulative air pollutant exposure: An explorative study
Authors: Viramgami Ankit , Madia Mehul M , Mansuri Moinuddhin , Rana Yashpal , Sheth Megha , Patel Samir , Garachh Millin , Vyas Pooja , Kotak Preet , Patel Niyati , Patel Dinesh , Balachandar Rakesh
Published: May 2023

Background & Objective: Exposure to air pollutant is a threat to human health. Present study explored the association between air pollutant exposure from all potential sources using micro-environment modelling and the risk of cardiovascular illness.
Methods: Present hospital based study recruited consecutive consenting patients, requiring coronary artery calcification (CAC) evaluation, after obtaining institutional human ethics approval. Fifty participants each with CAC scores <100, 100–399 and ≥400, categorized as low, intermediate and high risk respectively were recruited. Details on basic demographics, exposure to the air pollutants from individual microenvironments viz. indoors, workplace and outdoors were collected by interview. The cumulative exposure risk hours, from individual microenvironments and total exposure was estimated using mathematical modelling. Additionally cumulative PM2.5 exposure was estimated for a fraction of the participants. The association between exposure to air pollutants and risk for the coronary artery disease was evaluated with standard statistics.
Observations: Increasing age and male sex were significantly associated with CAC scores. Air pollutant exposure at outdoors and workplace were independently (p < 0.05) associated with higher CAC risk. Cumulative PM2.5 exposure residential locations, exhibited a trend of association (p > 0.05) with high risk CAC group
Conclusion: Exposure to air pollutant from workplace and outdoors were significantly associated with higher risk for coronary artery diseases. Age and male sex were independently and significantly associated with higher risk for coronary artery diseases. Current study reinforce the detrimental cardiovascular effects of air pollutant exposure independently using micro-environmental modelling and quantitative PM2.5 estimation.
Reproductive characteristics of reciprocal hybrid lineages derived from hybridization between Megalobrama amblycephala × Culter alburnus
Authors: Ding Xue , Zhang Yifei , Li Die , Xu Jia , Wu Chang , Cui Xiaojuan , Sun Yuandong
Published: May 2023

Background Distant hybridization is an important breeding technique for creating new strains with superior traits by integrating two different genomes. Successful hybridization of Megalobrama amblycephala (BSB, 2n = 48) and Culter alburnus (TC, 2n = 48) was achieved to establish hybrid lineages (BT and TB), which provide valuable materials for exploring the mechanisms of distant hybridization fertility. In this study, the gonadal tissue transcriptomes of BSB, TC, BT-F1, and TB-F1 were sequenced using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the reproductive characteristics of BT and TB.Results Differential gene expression analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes in BT vs BSB and BT vs TC were mainly enriched in signaling pathways not directly associated with meiosis. The differentially expressed genes of TB vs BSB and TB vs TC were mainly enriched in pathways related to meiosis, and most of them were down-regulated, indicating that meiosis is suppressed in TB. UD (under-dominance) genes were enriched in pathways related to meiosis and DNA repair in TB. OD (over-dominance) genes were enriched in MAPK signaling pathway, and ELD-B (expression level dominance-BSB) genes were enriched in pathways related to steroid hormone synthesis in both BT and TB.Conclusions These results suggest that meiotic progression may not be affected in BT, whereas it is clearly inhibited in TB. Offspring of M. amblycephala maternal parent may have better genomic compatibility and fertility. Our study provides important information on the molecular mechanisms of breaking reproductive isolation in distantly hybridized fertile lineages.
Recurrent superior orbital fissure syndrome associated with VEXAS syndrome
Authors: Myint Katie , Patrao Namritha , Vonica Oana , Vahdani Kaveh
Published: May 2023

Purpose
To describe a case of recurrent orbital inflammation and superior orbital fissure syndrome associated with VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, auto-inflammatory, somatic) syndrome.
Case presentation
VEXAS syndrome is a recently identified multi-system inflammatory disease of late adult onset. The authors describe the case of a 76-year-old man who presented with recurrent episodes of orbital inflammation, with superior orbital fissure syndrome, dacryoadenitis and orbital myositis. He had a constellation of systemic disorders including recurrent chest infections, congestive cardiac failure, pulmonary emboli and skin rashes. The underlying diagnosis of VEXAS syndrome was confirmed by genetic testing, which revealed the UBA1 mutation.
Conclusion
VEXAS syndrome should be considered in the differential diagnosis of orbital inflammatory disease associated with multi-system inflammatory disorders.
Carbon Nanotube/Chitosan Hydrogel for Adsorption of Acid Red 73 in Aqueous and Soil Environments
Authors: Wei Jia , Yan Luchun , Zhang Zhifang , Hu Bing , Gui Wenjun , Cui Yanjun
Published: May 2023

Acid red 73 is an azo dye, and its residue can pollute the environment and seriously threaten human health and life. In this study, a composite adsorbent with a three-dimensional network structure was prepared by modifying chitosan hydrogel with multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and its ability to remove acid red 73 from aqueous and soil environments was evaluated. In the aqueous samples, 70 mg of the adsorbent realized a saturated adsorption capacity of 101.07 mg/g and a removal rate of 92.23% at pH = 5. The thermodynamics conformed with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm and pseudo second-order adsorption kinetic models. In the soil samples, 100 mg of the adsorbent realized 24.73mg/g adsorption capacity 49.45% removal rate. When the pH of the soil was between 4–7, the removal rate and adsorption capacity do not change much; hence, the pH is maintained between 5.2–6.8, which is very suitable for the growth of general plants. The experimental results demonstrated that the composite adsorbent maintained a microporous structure and good removal rate of acid red 73 over multiple adsorption cycles.