bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oral Health Status and Hygiene Practices Among Visually Impaired Adolescents From a School in Kenya
Authors: Macharia Maureen , Masiga Mary , Psiwa Nathan , Bermudez Janella , Seminario Ana Lucia , Kemoli Arthur
Published: December 2022

Background
Visual impairment afflicts a significant population globally. The aim of this study was to determine the oral health status and oral hygiene practices among visually impaired adolescents from a school in Kenya.
Methods
A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 159 adolescents aged 10–19 years attending the largest public primary boarding school for the blind in Kenya. A questionnaire was used to record participants’ social demographic variables and oral hygiene practices. Clinical examination was undertaken to assess oral health status which consisted of oral hygiene, gingival health, and dental caries.
Results
There were 69 (43.4%) and 90 (56.6%) participants in Category I and II visual impairment respectively, 85 (53.5%) were male and 74 (46.5%) were female. Study participants were divided into three age categories: 10–12 years (30.2%), 13–15 years (42.1%), and 16–19 years (27.7%), with an overall mean age of 13.9 ± 2.3. There was a statistically significant difference between visual impairment and age (p = 0.04). All participants brushed their teeth, majority (67.3%) brushed two or more times daily. Only 41.5% of the participants replaced their toothbrushes at 3 months. Sex and age influenced frequency of toothbrush replacement (p = 0.04). The average plaque score and gingival score index was 0.95 ± 0.45 and 0.28 ± 0.25 respectively, with gingivitis prevalence of 88.1%. Plaque score index had a statistically significant association with the gingival score index (p = 0.01). Overall dental caries prevalence was 44.7%, [42.1%)] permanent dentition and [8.2%] deciduous dentition. Mean DMFT was 0.44 ± 0.60 with a statistically significant association with age (p = 0.03), sex (p = 0.05) and visual impairment (p = 0.04). Mean dmft was 0.12 ± 0.32 with a statistically significant association with plaque score index (p = 0.04). Oral hygiene practices did not influence oral hygiene and dental caries status. However, a statistically significant association was reported between frequency of toothbrush replacement and gingival score index (p = 0.00).
Conclusions
The study reported general good oral hygiene, prevalent gingivitis (88.1%), and almost half of the study population affected by dental caries (44.7%). Most participants were unaware of using fluoridated toothpaste and of needing to change toothbrushes within 3 months. Frequency of toothbrush replacement was reported to influence gingival score index.
Enhancement of water hyacinth juice treatment in an anaerobic sequential batch reactor with coffee husk–derived biochar
Authors: Maruyama Daiki , Akizuki Shinichi , Sekine Mutsumi , Fujita Akinori , Habtu Nigus Gabbiye , Sato Shinjiro , Toda Tatsuki
Published: December 2022

Anaerobic digestion of compressed water hyacinth juice (WHJ) is one of the appropriate ways to enhance excessively grown water hyacinths. The addition of biofilm carriers is effective in enhancing digestibility as they can retain microorganisms at a high density in the digester. This study evaluated the anaerobic digestion performance in a sequential batch reactor in the presence of a natural carrier, biochar from coffee husks which are representative agricultural waste in areas where water hyacinths are thriving, compared to those with a commonly used carrier (polyurethane sponge) and without a carrier. In the biochar-filled condition, the CH4 production was 471 mL g-VS− 1 and the total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiency was 88.6%. In contrast, in the no-carrier condition, the CH4 production decreased and the TOC removal efficiency dropped to 54.5%. The porosity of the biochar promoted microbial attachment and biofilm formation. Candidatus Diapherotrites archaeon ADurb.Bin253, which belongs to the symbiotic archaeon Nanoarchaeaeota, was detected in all reactors, suggesting that it contributed to the organic decomposition. The performance of the biochar was comparable to that of the sponge carrier, indicating that the coffee husk–derived biochar can be considered a sustainable and useful carrier for enhancing the anaerobic digestion of WHJ.
Deep-learning-based Blood Pressure Estimation using Multi channel Photoplethysmogram and Finger Pressure with Attention Mechanism
Authors: Kyung Jehyun , Yang Joon-Young , Choi Jeong-Hwan , Chang Joon-Hyuk , Bae Sangkon , Choi Jinwoo , Kim Younho
Published: December 2022

Recently, several studies have proposed methods for measuring cuffless blood pressure (BP) using finger photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals. This study presents a new BP estimation system that measures PPG signals under progressive finger pressure, making the system relatively robust to errors caused by finger position when using the cuffless oscillometric method. To reduce errors caused by finger position, we developed a sensor that can simultaneously measure multi-channel PPG and force signals in a wide field of view (FOV). We propose a deep-learning-based algorithm that can learn to focus on the optimal PPG channel from multi channel PPG using an attention mechanism. The errors (ME±STD) of the proposed multi channel system were 0.43±9.35 mmHg and 0.21±7.72 mmHg for SBP and DBP, respectively. Through extensive experiments, we found a significant performance difference depending on the location of the PPG measurement in the BP estimation system using finger pressure.
Employees’ preferences on organisational aspects of psychotherapeutic consultation at work by occupational area, company size, requirement levels and supervisor function – a cross-sectional study in Germany
Authors: Kohl Fiona , Angerer Peter , Weber Jeannette
Published: December 2022

Background
Common mental disorders affect a significant proportion of the population worldwide at any given time. Psychotherapeutic consultation at work offers employees with mental distress short-term and low-threshold access to psychotherapeutic treatment. However, this offer is only accepted by one to two perfect of the employees to whom it is offered. Taking into account employees‘ preferences regarding organisational aspects might increase the use of psychotherapeutic consultation at work. This study therefore aimed to identify preferences on organisational aspects of psychotherapeutic consultation at work among employees of diverse occupational areas, company sizes, supervisor functions and job requirement levels.
Methods
A total of 755 employees were recruited via advertisements on social media (Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn). Participants rated on a 5-point Likert scale their agreement to different implementation options of psychotherapeutic consultation at work: type (in-person/video/telephone), location (on/outside company premises), time (within/outside working hours), scope (diagnostic/diagnostic + treatment) and purpose (private/occupational). Additionally, the maximum accepted distance to the location of consultation was assessed. Various analyses of variances (ANOVA) were conducted to determine differences in agreement to implementation options within each organisational aspect and to analyse differences between occupational areas, company sizes, requirement levels and between employees with and without supervisor function.
Results
Participants indicated a preference for in-person psychotherapeutic consultation that takes places outside company premises and outside working hours. Furthermore, they preferred offers including diagnostic and treatment sessions compared to offers including diagnostic sessions only. Even though participants agreed that consultation should be offered for all purposes, agreement for occupational issues was stronger than for private issues. For some implementation options, the level of agreement varied according to occupational field, company size, supervisor function and level of requirement. However, these differences did not affect the key findings mentioned above.
Conclusion
Those findings give practical indications on the organisational design of psychotherapeutic consultation at work. The results suggest that in-person consultation outside company premises and working hours combining diagnostic and treatment sessions will be accepted by employees regardless of their occupational area, company size, supervisor function and requirement level.
Breast cancer remotely imposes a myeloid bias on hematopoietic stem cells by reprogramming the bone marrow niche.
Authors: Gerber-Ferder Yohan , Cosgrove Jason , Duperay-Susini Aléria , Missolo-Koussou Yoann , Dubois Marine , Sedlik Christine , Lameiras Sonia , Baulande Sylvain , Guermonprez Pierre , Passaro Diana , Perié Leila , Piaggio Eliane , Helft Julie
Published: December 2022

Increased number of circulating myeloid cells is a hallmark of most cancers, however it remains unclear how primary tumors impact on myelopoiesis. Here we show that non-metastatic breast tumors remotely instruct the fate of long-term hematopoietic stem cell (HSCLT) in the bone marrow. We found that HSCLT from tumor bearing mice acquire a myeloid bias persisting upon primary and secondary HSCLT transfer in lethally-irradiated tumor-free animals. By imaging the bone marrow HSC niche, we found that the tumor-bearing status is associated with increased physical interactions between mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) and HSCLT. Moreover, ex vivo co-culture experiments demonstrate that MSC isolated from tumor-bearing mice increase myeloid differentiation of HSCLT isolated from tumor free mice. In summary, our data reveal that breast cancer remotely promotes myelopoiesis at the earliest stages of hematopoietic differentiation in the BM mesenchymal niche.
No Causal Association Between C-Reactive Protein and the Risk of Type 1 Diabetes: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Tian Fengyuan , Huang Shuo , Xu Wangda , Feng Xiaohong , Chen Jie , Wang Xi , Huang Qi
Published: December 2022

Background
Accumulating evidence from observational studies has shown that circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are correlated with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) appearing a potential predictive marker of intervention, yet are of unknown causality. To clarify, we introduce a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) framework to investigate the causality between circulating CRP levels and T1D.
Methods
Based on aggregated statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we evaluated the pooled impact of CRP on the risk of developing T1D. We obtained 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for CRP selected as instrumental variables from a recent GWAS (n = 204,402). The T1D related SNPs were from a large-scale T1D GWAS (n = 6,808 T1D cases; n = 12,173 controls). Subsequent inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, simple median method, weighted median method were conducted to acquire the genetic correlation between CRP levels and T1D. In sensitivity analyses, MR-Egger, MR-PRESSO, and leave-one-out analysis were applied to exclude the potentially pleiotropic variants in this study.
Results
The results of IVW provided no causal evidence that genetically predicted circulating CRP levels on the risk of T1D, with OR of 0.922 (95% CI: 0.662–1.285, P = 0.631). Furthermore, we denoted 14 T1D-related SNPs as an instrumental variable in MR analyses and yielded no significant associations of T1D on CRP levels according to the IVW result (OR: 1.000, 95% CI: 0.990–1.010, P = 0.930). MR-Egger, MR-PRESSO, and leave-one-out analysis indicated no indication for potential directional pleiotropy effects.
Conclusion
Our findings failed to provide evidence to support the causal relationship between CRP levels and T1D.
How does the COVID-19-related work-life balance impact stress on primary healthcare workers?
Authors: Putri Nuzulul , Melania Miftahul Karomah Nastiti , Cheng Lim Yin
Published: December 2022

Background:
Most studies in advanced care settings reported that the increasing workload increases the work-life imbalance and harms the mental health of health workers. The COVID-19 pandemic's tracing, testing, treatment, and mass vaccination also have multiplied the primary healthcare workers' workload. Nevertheless, studies on primary care workers are scarce. This study aimed to investigate how the COVID-19-related work-life balance impact stress on primary healthcare workers in the third years of the pandemic.
Methods:
The study was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted on primary healthcare workers in Kediri Regency, Indonesia, with the highest Omicron case surge worldwide. It was conducted right after the surge between July and August 2022, the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia. Under coordination with the local government health officials, primary healthcare workers were invited to participate in an online survey. The respondents were asked to evaluate their socioeconomic demography, work conditions, personal life, and perceived stress (using the Perceived Stress Scale by Cohen et al.) during the pandemic. Their work-life balance was evaluated using the Work/Nonwork Interference and Enhancement Scale. We used several hierarchical linear regression models to determine what variables contribute to working stress among primary healthcare workers.
Results:
Socioeconomic demography variables, including gender, age, marital status, years of professional experience, and educational level, were not significantly associated with stress levels among our respondents. Separately, work conditions and personal life variables did not associate with stress levels. However, work-life balance dimensions as a predictor of primary health workers' stress were significantly associated with primary health workers' stress.
Conclusion:
The work and personal lives interferences related to COVID-19 handling created a work-life imbalance, increasing the propensity for higher stress among primary health workers. At the same time, enhancement between work and personal lives decreased the stress level. Social support from the work environment and family protects health workers against stress during the pandemic.
Organization of the demand for primary oral health care in the Brazilian Unified Health System
Authors: Sasaki Katia Miyuki , Neres Talitha Giovanna Silva , Silva Erica Tatiane , Zeredo Jorge Luis Lopes
Published: December 2022

Organizing the demand for oral healthcare is a big challenge for the oral health teams, because it needs careful planning and requires time and communication with other professionals. The present study aims to describe the organization of the demand for oral health treatment in primary care units in Brazil. In this descriptive and qualitative study, the workflow processes during the demand organization were mapped out according to the information from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with open-ended question; and described using a business process management modelling tool. The care routine was at first described as the “AS IS” model, which was evaluated by the oral team professionals, rearranged, and further described as the “TO BE” model. The model describing the “AS IS” situation was used for a global view of the process to optimize the resources, redistributed tasks and reduced waste and repetitions based on the resulting workflow obtained with the study. It was also taken in consideration the fact that the unit faced a significant increase in the demand of patients due to restrictions offered by the dental service in addition to non-urgent treatments being avoided by patients during COVID-19 pandemic. In the present study, structuring the work processes in a visual way using modelling tools was useful to picture the entire treatment process and adjust when needed. The use of the modelling tool was useful to understand and reorganize the workflow of the demand organization and ultimately improve the efficiency of the resources. The use of such managerial tools helped the oral health professionals to efficiently rearrange their tasks and set priorities to meet their needs. With the use of management tools, each unit can readjust its structures and ways of working, aiming to improve the quality of public health care services provided to patients.
Electroacupuncture regulates the cross-talk between Islets and Peripancreatic Adipose tissue to combat obesity combined with insulin resistance
Authors: Liu Yun , Xu Tiancheng , Wang Xuan , Lu Mengjiang , Yuan Mingqian , Gong Meirong , Li Qian , Xia Youbing , Yu Zhi , Xu Bin
Published: December 2022

Electroacupuncture plays a positive role in regulating glucolipid metabolism and is related to the coordination of sensory nerves. As a complex functional unit, the pancreas is crucial for the regulation of glucolipid metabolism throughout the body. In particular, the expandability of peripancreatic adipose tissue promotes the progression of obesity into type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the changes in the response and interaction of pancreatic components to electroacupuncture remain to be determined. Here, We studied certain characteristics of obesity combined with insulin resistance using high-fat diet fed rats, and verified the functional changes and neuroplasticity changes in pancreatic components after electroacupuncture. We further compared the effects of different acupoints to optimize the scheme. Electroacupuncture (2 mA, 2/15 Hz) treatment was performed for 2 weeks after 4 weeks of high-fat diet feeding. In order to explore the hypoglycemic mechanism of Electroacupuncture and the specific pathway mediating the interaction between peripancreatic adipose tissue and pancreatic islets, we detected the expressions of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), calcitonin gene–related peptide (CGRP), insulin and other proteins in the pancreas and peripancreatic adipose tissue. The increased body weight, triglycerides, total cholesterol, serum glucose, and insulin levels in the model rats suggested the presence of obesity and insulin resistance. Electroacupuncture at ST25, LI11, or ST37 acupoints ameliorated the aforementioned symptoms to varying degrees, with electroacupuncture at ST25 being the most effective. Electroacupuncture resulted in increased activity of the TRPV1-CGRP-islet beta cell pathway, which led to reduced insulin secretion by pancreatic beta cells, and alleviation of metabolic stress in peripheral insulin-sensitive tissues. After chemically silencing TRPV1 sensory afferents, the observed effect disappeared, verifying that TRPV1 sensory afferents play a vital role in mediating electroacupuncture-mediated regulation of islet and peripancreatic adipose tissue function. Moreover, in TRPV1 knockout mice, the level of peripancreatic adipose tissue inflammation decreased, paralleling the recovery of islet beta cell function. Our study determined the interaction of electroacupuncture-mediated TRPV1 sensory afferents on peripancreatic adipose tissue and pancreatic islets, ultimately improving glucolipid metabolism, and the combined effect of electroacupuncture at ST25 was the most successful.
The Association of Vitamin D Deficiency, Age and Depression in US Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Authors: Mo Hongfei , Zhang Jipeng , Huo Chiwei , Zhang Mengying , Xiao Jiang , Peng Junge , Wang Guirong , Li Yan
Published: December 2022

Background
Depression is an important public health burden, vitamin D deficiency is associated with mood disorders. The risk of depression may increase with increasing age. Serum vitamin D levels and age are closely related.
Objective
This study is to investigate the association between vitamin D deficiency, age, and depression in a representative sample of US adults and the combined effect of vitamin D deficiency and aging on depression.
Materials and Methods
We extracted data from NHANES 2013–2018, including demographic characteristics, depression level, vitamin D level, physical activity, and body measures. Depression was screened by PHQ-9. Vitamin D was measured using the CDC method (test principle utilizing high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to quantify 25OHD3, epi-25OHD3 and 25OHD2 in human serum). We performed binary logistic regression models to analyze the association between vitamin D, age and depression, respectively.
Results
A total of 15156 adults aged 20 years or older (mean age 49.81 ± 17.67 years, 7301 males and 7855 females) were included. Vitamin D levels were negatively associated with depression (P < 0.001). Vitamin D had a significant effect on depression (OR = 0.776, 95%Cl: 0.682–0.884, P < 0.001), the effect remained significant after adjusted for confounding variables (OR = 0.761, 95%Cl: 0.663–0.874, P < 0.001). Age was positively associated with depression (P < 0.001) and had a significant effect on depression (OR = 1.079, 95%Cl: 1.032–1.128, P = 0.001), the effect remained significant after adjusted for confounding variables (OR = 1.085, 95%Cl: 1.034–1.138, P = 0.001). Age and vitamin D levels were positively correlated (P < 0.001), and aging had a significant effect on vitamin D level (OR = 1.526, 95%Cl: 1.416–1.645, P < 0.001), the effect remained significant after adjusted for confounding variables (OR = 1.371, 95%Cl: 1.263–1.487, P < 0.001). In addition, the detection rate of depression was higher in females (2312/7855, 29.43%) than in males (1571/7301, 21.52%), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for depression; aging is a protective factor for vitamin D deficiency; Vitamin D and age synergetically affect the incident risk of depression: younger populations are more likely to present an increased risk of depression due to vitamin D deficiency; elderly females who are unmarried and living alone are the highest risk group for depression.
Fluorescence lifetime as a universal marker of solid tumors following injection of indocyanine green: First-in-human results
Authors: Pal Rahul , Lwin Thinzar , Chan Corey , Krishnamoorthy Murali , Collins Hannah , Shukla Shriya , Kendall Amy , Carp Stefan , Nasrallah MacLean , Prilutskiy Andrey , Hung Yin , Alvarez Maria , Zukerberg Lawrence , Sadow Peter , Faquin William , Marshall Michael , Nahed Brian , Feng Allen , Emerick Kevin , Lee John , Rankin Kenneth , Lozano-Calderon Santiago , Tanabe Kenneth , Varvares Mark , Kumar Anand
Published: December 2022

The ability to precisely label and visualize tumors in tissues can improve the accuracy of surgical resections compared to standard of care, which relies on visual inspection and palpation. While fluorescence intensity-based imaging is being evaluated for surgical guidance, variable tumor uptake and incomplete clearance of fluorescent probes reduces tumor vs. normal classification accuracy. Here we demonstrate that the fluorescence lifetime (FLT) of multiple types of solid tumors is longer than the FLT of healthy tissues in patients systemically injected with indocyanine green (ICG), an FDA approved near infrared dye. We show that this cancer-specific lifetime shift can distinguish tumor from normal tissue both at a cellular level using microscopy and in large specimens using wide-field imaging, with an accuracy of over 97% across multiple patients. Unlike intensity, which is a system-specific parameter that depends on tumor dye uptake and depth in tissue, FLT is a system-independent photophysical property that can be quantified in thick tissues. Our study suggests that FLT imaging with ICG can be immediately used to improve the accuracy of cancer surgeries.
Suicidal Behaviours among School-Going Adolescents in Saint Lucia: Prevalence, Risks and Protective Factors
Authors: Sarfo Jacob Owusu , Obeng Paul , Gbordzoe Newton Isaac , Amoadu Mustapha , Ofori Crescens Osei Bonsu , Debrah Timothy Pritchard
Published: December 2022

Background
Suicide poses a debilitating threat to various aspects of adolescents’ lives worldwide. Although suicide prevention efforts are evident globally through the upsurge of literature on this subject matter, there is limited evidence on the prevalence and correlates of suicidal behaviours among school-going adolescents in Saint Lucia.
Methods
Authors data set from the Global School-based Student Health Survey to examine the prevalence, predisposing and protective factors of suicidal behaviours among 1,864 students from schools in Saint Lucia.
Results
We found a prevalence of 25.5%, 22.1%, and 17.5% for suicidal ideation, suicidal plan and suicidal attempt, respectively. After adjusting for other factors, we found that being a male and having understanding parents were protective of suicidal behaviours. However, suicidal ideation was predicted by being physically attacked, bullied, parental/guidance tobacco use, loneliness, and worrying. Also, being a victim of physical attack and bullying, having close friends, being lonely, and worrying were predictive of making suicidal plans among adolescents. The risk of attempting suicide was predicted by cigarette smoking, current use of tobacco and related products, bullying, having close friends, being lonely, and worrying.
Conclusion
The findings of this study posit the need for school-based interventions to help address triggers of suicidal behaviours among adolescents in Saint Lucia to attain the global Sustainable Development Goals targets of suicide prevention.
Analysis of risk factors leading to multiloculated breast abscesses during lactation
Authors: Ding Song-tao , Gao Ya-jun , Zhang Yi , He Xiang-ping
Published: December 2022

Few studies on the factors associated with multiloculated breast abscesses during lactation have been performed. We collected data on 1805 patients with breast abscesses during lactation, who were divided into single-cavity breast abscess (N = 1298) and multiloculated breast abscess groups (N = 507). Fifteen variables were compared between the groups. The results showed significant differences between the two groups in (1) whether in the puerperium, (2) separated from the baby > 12 h in the last week, (3) exclusively breastfeeding or not in the last 2 weeks, (4) inverted nipple on the affected side or not, (5) history of fever or not, (6) breast skin redness and swelling on the affected side or not, (7) nipple pain or not in the last 2 weeks, and (8) whether the breasts had been massaged by non-medical staff in the last month, with (1), (5), (6), and (8) being independent risk factors. Patients in the puerperium, separated from the baby, not exclusively breastfeeding, having an inverted nipple on the affected side, accompanied by fever, with breast skin redness and swelling on the affected side, nipple pain, and having undergone a breast massage by non-medical staff are more likely to develop multiloculated breast abscesses.
Research on the fatty acid metabolism gene FN1 and establishment of a model to guide immunotherapy of bladder cancer
Authors: Bai Kexin , Song Qiang , Zhou Zhengdong , Bai Jinming , Liu Ning
Published: December 2022

Background
Fatty acid metabolism plays an important role in many biological activities, such as cell membrane formation, energy storage, and signal molecule generation in tumorigenesis. Lipid metabolism affects the progression and treatment of bladder cancer (BLCA). Therefore, it is imperative to explore the function and prognostic value of lipid metabolism-related genes in BLCA patients.
Methods
In this study, we collected gene expression profiles and clinical information in The Cancer Genome Map (TCGA) database and two independent Group on Earth Observations (GEO) datasets. Gene interaction information was obtained from ENCORI database. Based on these databases, the expression patterns of genes and proteins involved in fatty acid metabolism and their matched clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. In addition, we conducted a series of experiments to verify the relevant findings.
Results
A total of 310 fatty acid metabolism-related mRNA were found in TCGA, 91 of which were differentially expressed in BLCA patients. According to the correlation between DGEs and patients’ characteristics, we established a clinical prognosis related model and verified the accuracy of the model according to the information of GEO database. Survival analysis based on TCGA database showed that among the top 10 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), the expression of FN1 was statistically significant for the survival of BLCA patients. In addition, clinical correlation analysis showed that the increase of FN1 level was highly related to the stage, grade, and infiltration of immune cells in BLCA. Finally, our experimental results are consistent with bioinformatics analysis.
Conclusion
The fatty acid metabolism gene FN1 is closely related to the prognosis of BLCA patients and plays an important role in the occurrence, development, and immune response of BLCA. Further research will make it a powerful prognostic marker and therapeutic target for BLCA.
Design of a Novel Miniaturization Technique for GNSS Antennas
Authors: Thankachan Dolly
Published: December 2022

The authors have requested that this preprint be removed from Research Square.
Deep Joint Learning of Pathological Region Localization and Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis
Authors: Park Changhyun , Jung Wonsik , Suk Heung-Il
Published: December 2022

The identification of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) has been studied based on the subtle morphological changes in the brain. One of the typical approaches is a deep learning-based patch-level feature representation. For this approach, however, the predetermined patches before learning the diagnostic model can limit classification performance. To mitigate this problem, we propose the BrainBagNet with a position-based gate (PG), which applies position information of brain images represented through the 3D coordinates. Our proposed method represents the patch-level class evidence based on both MR scan and position information for image-level prediction. To validate our proposed method, we conducted experiments comparing our methods with state-of-the-art methods and evaluating the robust performances of two publicly available datasets: 1) ADNI and 2) AIBL. Furthermore, our proposed method outperformed classification performance in both AD diagnosis and mild cognitive impairment conversion prediction tasks over the comparative methods and analyzed our results from diverse perspectives. Based on our experimental results, we believe that the proposed method has the potential to provide new insights and perspectives in deep-learning based patch-level feature representation studies. Code is available at: github.com/ku-milab/PG-BrainBagNet.
The Effects of Large Roughness Elements on the In-stream Transport and Retention of Polystyrene Microplastics
Authors: Ijaz Usama , Baki Abul B.M. , Abdul-Aziz Omar I. , Zhang Wenming , Christian Alan D.
Published: December 2022

The dominant mechanisms controlling the concentration and transport of microplastics (MPs) in riverine systems are not fully understood yet. Polystyrene (PS) is a highly abundant MP in streams and rivers. This study investigated the impact of large roughness elements (LREs) on in-stream transport and retention patterns of polystyrene-microplastics (PS-MPs). Experiments were conducted with and without LREs under a range of shear Reynolds numbers (𝑅𝑒∗) in an eco-hydraulics flume. We found a clear dependence of MPs’ velocity on 𝑅𝑒∗ in LREs-dominated channel. The results also revealed that the LREs-generated turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) can be a good predictor of PS-MPs transport and retention rate. This indicates the effectiveness of TKE in retaining PS-MPs as they travel through streams and rivers. The presence of LREs increases the PS-MPs capture and decreases their velocity of transport. This suggests that PS-MPs retention can be increased by increasing the LRE density in reverine systems.
A case of unilateral development of subacute thyroiditis used as a hallmark of the nervous nature of its pathogenesis
Authors: Ushakov Andrey V.
Published: December 2022

Despite the prevailing view that the factors underlying the development of subacute thyroiditis (ST) have an infectious origin, its viral and bacterial pathogeneses remain unclear. Moreover, the hypothesis of genetic predisposition to ST is nonabsolute. In previous studies, approximately 24%-40% patients with ST manifested unilateral thyroid disease; however, the assessment of the pathogenesis of ST did not consider this fact. Nevertheless, the involvement of the nervous system in the inflammatory process and the possibility that unilateral nerve conduction affects only one of the thyroid lobes, as demonstrated in the present case, indicate that the autonomic nervous system plays a leading role in ST development.
An Improved Monarch Butterflfly Spectrum Allocation Algorithm for Multi-Source Data Stream in Complex Electromagnetic Environment
Authors: Liu Yuchao , Cao Chenggang , Han Yu
Published: December 2022

In the era of the Internet of Everything, various wireless devices and sensors use spectrum, which is a precious and non-renewable resource, to communication. Due to the characteristics of massive, heterogeneous, and multi-source, the generated multi-source data stream brings diffiffifficulties to spectrum cognition. As a result, unreasonable spectrum allocation strategy leads to low utilization of spectrum resources. Optimizing spectrum allocation strategy can effffectively improve spectrum utilization. Aiming at the problem of trapped local optimum solution in the genetic algorithm(GA) and particle swarm optimization algorithm(PSO), an improved monarch butterflfly algorithm is proposed. Firstly,this paper employs the simulated annealing algorithm to select the migration rate, which increases the diversity of monarch butterflfly population. Secondly, chaos mapping algorithm is utilized to improve the optimization ability and convergence speed. Finally, for the non-renewal mechanism of monarch butterflfly algorithrm, the wandering behavior of wolf pack algorithm is introduced to update the population and improve the population diversity. The experimental results show that the improved monarch butterflfly algorithm outperforms the other two algorithms in terms of convergence speed and system revenue.
Current vehicle emission standards will not mitigate climate change or improve air quality
Authors: Law Andrew Jiaxuan , Martinez-Botas Ricardo , Blythe Phil
Published: December 2022

The vehicle emissions testing programme was conducted by the UK Department of Transport in 2016 in response to emissions tampering exposed in the Volkswagen (VW) emissions scandal. The programme identified large emissions discrepancies between real-world and in-lab testing across a range of Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesel passenger vehicles. The large vehicle test fleet reflects the current challenges faced in controlling vehicle emissions. This paper presents the following findings: NOx emissions are potentially altered due to exhaust gas recirculation mismanagement. A new Real-Life Emissions methodology is introduced to improve upon the current Real Driving Emissions standard. A large and concerning emissions divergence was discovered between the achieved NOx improvement and deterioration of CO2. The findings act as catalysts to improve vehicle emissions testing beyond standards established since the VW scandal, aiding in the development of better climate change mitigation strategies and bring tangible air quality improvements to the environment.
Computational methods of EEG signals analysis for Alzheimer's disease classification
Authors: Vicchietti Mário Lucas , Ramos Fernando Manuel , Betting Luiz Eduardo , Campanharo Andriana Susana Lopes de Oliveira
Published: December 2022

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurological illness that causes neuron cells degeneration, resulting in cognitive impairment, which includes loss of memory and space-time perception. While there is no cure for AD, early diagnosis is critical to improving the management and helping in the selection of new therapies, which leads to a better quality of life for the affected individuals, their relatives and caregivers. EEG is a non-invasive technique that can be employed in the investigation of AD, and computational analysis of EEG signals has revealed promising results in detecting AD. In this sense, the main goal of this article is to apply different computational methods to detect AD in order to compare them in terms of distinguishing AD patients from healthy elderly subjects and in terms of computational cost.
Application of a Smart Pilot Electrochemical Systems for Recycling Aquaculture Seawater
Authors: Shen Yaqin , Chen Chen , Li Pengquan , Huang Xianfeng , Li Yubao
Published: December 2022

The energy cost and the harm of the residual chlorine by-produced in the electrochemical processes are main hinders for the extensive use of the electrochemical recirculating aquaculture systems (ERAS). The present study conducted shrimp-culture experiments using pilot electrochemical systems to investigate the effects of current density, geometric feature, timing, and other parameters on the effective control of inorganic nitrogen, pathogens, and residual chlorine in aquaculture water. The 50-L electrochemical batch reactor, which featured 154 cm2 (area) of Ti-RuO2 / Ti electrodes and 66 mA/cm2 of current density, eliminated inorganic nitrogen and Vibrio in rearing seawater collected from a shrimp farm with an initial ammonia concentration of 1.2–4.0 mg/L in 5 min. Air strippings were used to resolve residual chlorine derived from electrooxidation, finding hypochlorous acid decreased from 5.0 mg/L initially to 2.5 mg/L in 2 h of continuous of air aeration to the batch reactor. In the experiments of shrimp culture, The ERAS equipped with a 50-L batch reactor and 500-L shrimp tank effectively keep the inorganic nitrogen concentration in rearing water as required when applying 4.3 g of nitrogen loads transformed from a daily quota of commercial prawn feeds. By precisely controlling the times of intermittent processes of electrooxidation and air stripping, an electrochemical recirculating aquaculture system can achieve both the removal of inorganic nitrogen and residual chlorine, disinfection and reduction of energy cost.
Beta variant COVID-19 protein booster vaccines elicit durable cross-neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in non-human primates
Authors: Pavot Vincent , Berry Catherine , Kishko Michael , Anosova Natalie , Li Lu , Tibbitts Tim , Raillard Alice , Gautheron Sylviane , Gutzeit Cindy , Koutsoukos Marguerite , Chicz Roman , Lecouturier Valerie
Published: December 2022

Rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants despite the implementation of booster vaccination has raised questions about the durability of protection conferred by current vaccines. Vaccines that can induce broader and more durable immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 post-booster are urgently needed. We recently reported that our Beta-containing protein-based SARS-CoV-2 spike booster vaccine candidates with AS03 adjuvant (CoV2 preS dTM-AS03) elicited robust cross-neutralizing antibody responses up to 3 months in macaques primed with mRNA or protein-based subunit vaccine candidates. Here we demonstrate that the AS03-adjuvanted Beta-containing vaccine formulations induce durable cross-neutralizing antibody responses against Omicron (BA.1) and SARS-CoV-1, and are detectable in all macaques 6 months post-booster. We also describe the induction of consistent and robust memory B cell responses, independent of the levels measured post-primary immunization. These data suggest that a booster dose with a Beta-containing CoV2 preS dTM-AS03 vaccine can induce robust and durable cross-neutralizing responses against a broad spectrum of variants.
Entropy Minimization & DomainAdversarial Training guided by LabelDistribution Similarity for DomainAdaptation
Authors: Xu Fangzheng , Bao Yu , Li Bingye , Hou Zhining , Wang Lekang
Published: December 2022

In domain adaptation, entropy minimization are widely used. However, entropy minimization will bring negativetransfer when the pseudo-labels are inconsistent with the real labels. We hope to increase pseudo-label accuracy to counternegative transfer in entropy minimization. To this end, we introduce domain adversarial training into entropy minimization.Furthermore, we consider the misalignment caused by domain adversarial training under severe label shift. Therefore, wepropose method called entropy minimization and domain adversarial training guided by label distribution similarity. Throughdomain adversarial training which focus more on class-aligned divergence, our method improves pseudo-label accuracy andreduce negative transfer in entropy minimization. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of ourproposed method.
Rotation related systematic effects in a cold atom
interferometer onboard a Nadir pointing satellite
Authors: Beaufils Quentin , Lefebve Julien , Baptista Joel Gomes , Piccon Raphaël , Cambier Valentin , Sidorenkov Leonid , Fallet Christine , Lévèque Thomas , Santos Franck Pereira Dos
Published: December 2022

We study the effects of rotations on a cold atom accelerometer onboard a Nadir pointing satellite. A simulation of the satellite attitude combined with a calculation of the phase of the cold atom interferometer allow us to evaluate the noise and bias induced by rotations. In particular, we evaluate the effects associated to the active compensation of the rotation due to Nadir pointing. This study was realized in the context of the preliminary study phase of the CARIOQA Quantum Pathfinder Mission.
Neccessary Condition for Odd Perfect Number
Authors: Elbarbouchi Ahmed
Published: December 2022

if a integer being odd perfect number we get inequality between the number and the square of number of its divisors.
Impaired Barrier Integrity of the Skeletal Muscle Vascular Endothelium Drives Progression of Cancer Cachexia
Authors: Rehman Jalees , Kim Young-Mee , Sanborn Mark , Wang Xinge , Mancinelli Georgina , Chakraborty Sreeparna , Vijeth Shaluah , Gajwani Priyanka , Grippo Paul , Lee Steve Seung-Young , Valyi-Nagy Tibor , Toth Peter , Valyi-Nagy Klara
Published: December 2022

Cancer patients experience cachexia, which is characterized by extensive skeletal muscle wasting that worsens the quality of life and increases mortality. Currently, there are no approved treatments that can effectively counteract cancer cachexia. Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) are essential for maintaining tissue perfusion, nutrient supply, and preventing inappropriate transmigration of immune cells into the tissue. However, little is known about the role of the muscle vasculature in cancer cachexia. We hypothesized that endothelial dysfunction in the skeletal muscle mediates cancer cachexia. Using transgenic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) mice and a tissue clearing and high-resolution 3D-tissue imaging approach, we found that the loss of skeletal muscle vascular density precedes the loss of muscle mass. Importantly, we show that cancer cachexia patients exhibit significantly decreased muscle vascular density and severe muscle atrophy when compared to non-cancer patients. Unbiased single cell transcriptomic analyses of the muscle endothelium unveiled a unique EC population present in cachexia muscles. Increased circulating Activin-A suppresses the expression of the transcriptional co-activator PGC1α in the muscle endothelium, thus disrupting junctional integrity in the vasculature and increasing vascular leakage. Conversely, restoration of endothelial-specific PGC1α prevented the decreased vascular density and muscle loss observed in tumor-bearing mice. Our study suggests that endothelial PGC1α is essential for maintaining the integrity of the skeletal muscle vascular barrier and that restoring muscle endothelial function could be a valuable therapeutic approach to prevent or reverse cancer cachexia.
Research on the Influence of Medical Insurance on Technological Innovation in Medical Industry：Evidence from Serious Illness Insurance in China
Authors: Jiang Ling
Published: December 2022

Can medical insurance, as an incision, promote technological innovation in the medical industry against the backdrop of China's high-quality development of medical insurance? Using serious illness insurance as an example, this paper employs the multi-period double difference method to assess the impact and mechanism of serious illness insurance on medical device innovation, based on R&D investment data for medical device industry in 29 Chinese provinces from 2007 to 2019. The study found that serious illness insurance considerably increased the development of medical devices. According to a mechanism study, serious illness insurance raises patients' demand for medical care, which increases the number of people who seek treatment, the number of people who stay in hospitals, the number of outpatient visits, and the market for medical devices. According to the adjustment effect, the more beds accessible to regional hospitals and the lower the level of market competition, the more overtly serious illness insurance encourages medical device innovation. This study provides policy insight for supporting high-quality coordinated growth of medical security and pharmaceutical services, as well as a deeper understanding of the logical relationship between medical insurance and technological innovation in the medical industry.
A viable varying speed of light model in the RW metric
Authors: Lee Seokcheon
Published: December 2022

The Robertson-Walker (RW) metric allows us to apply general relativity to model the behavior of the Universe as a whole (i.e., cosmology). We can properly interpret various cosmological observations, like the cosmological redshift, the Hubble parameter, geometrical distances, and so on, if we identify fundamental observers with individual galaxies. That is to say that the interpretation of observations of modern cosmology relies on the RW metric. The RW model satisfies the cosmological principle in which the 3-space always remains isotropic and homogeneous. One can derive the cosmological redshift relation from this condition. We show that it is still possible for us to obtain consistent results in a specific time-varying speed of light model without spoiling the success of the standard model. The validity of this model needs to be determined by observations.