bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Radiogenomics Analysis Reveals Tumor Heterogeneity of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Authors: Jiang Lin , You Chao , Xiao Yi , Wang He , Xia Bing Qing , Zheng Ren Cheng , Zhang Dan Dan , Jiang Yi-Zhou , Gu Yajia , Shao Zhi-Ming
Published: June 2021

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subset of breast cancer with adverse prognosis and significant tumor heterogeneity. Here, we used MRI images from a breast cancer cohort consisting of 860 patients to construct a radiomic signature that could identify TNBC with an AUC of 0.92 (95% CI: 0.887 to 0.953) and validated in another cohort. Moreover, we developed radiomic signatures to distinguish TNBC subtypes with moderate efficacy. Furthermore, we identified peritumoral dependence nonuniformity of the gray level dependence matrix, which captures the intratumor heterogeneity in the tumor boundary, as the most significant prognostic factor (P = 0.04 for recurrence-free survival and P = 0.02 for overall survival). The integration of transcriptomic and metabolomic data indicated that high peritumor heterogeneity was related to immune suppression and enhanced metabolism. Our findings suggest that radiomics data can serve as a noninvasive predictor for molecular subtyping and clinical outcome in patients with TNBC.
An abrupt switch in magmatic plumbing taps porphyry copper deposit-forming magmas
Authors: Carter Lawrence , Tapster Simon , Williamson Ben , Buret Yannick , Selby David , Millar Ian , Parvaz Daniel
Published: June 2021

Porphyry-type deposits are a vital source of green technology metals such as copper and molybdenum. They typically form in subduction-related settings from large, long-lived magmatic systems. The most widely accepted model for their formation requires that mantle-derived magmas undergo a multi-million year timescale ramp-up in volatiles and ore-forming constituents in mid- to lower-crustal reservoirs, however this does not explain why porphyry deposits are absent from the vast majority of arc magmatic systems. To address this, we have carried out geochemical and geochronological studies on the tilted, ~8 km depth equivalent, cross-section through the classic Yerington magmatic system, Nevada. Here we show that the magmas underwent a major and abrupt change in chemistry over a period of 100 kyrs which is coincident with the initiation of ore formation. This is attributed to a wholesale switch in the magmatic plumbing system whereby volatile-rich granitic melts were extracted from an estimated ~30 km depth and transported to shallow levels (~3-8 km) where exsolving fluids were focussed through highly permeable pathways to form porphyry deposits. The change in magma chemistry is documented across the entire plutonic to volcanic record. Its rapidity suggests that the increase in a magma’s ore-forming potential is not solely driven by tectonic factors, that occur over multi-million year scales, but through internal processes within the melt evolution zone, operating at more than an order of magnitude faster than previously envisaged. This short timescale narrows the temporal-geochemical footprint of magmas associated with porphyry mineralisation which will aid in targeting the next generation of ore deposits.
Inhibitory Control Training (ICT) Reduces The Consumption of Nicotine Among Young, Healthy Female Smokers
Authors: Nęcka Edward , Naskręt Patrycja
Published: June 2021

Inhibitory control training (ICT) proved to be effective in the reduction of unhealthy food or alcohol consumption, but its efficacy in smoking reduction is hard to estimate due to the scarcity of relevant research. In our randomized controlled trial, the participants (N = 84) were recruited from the population of young healthy female smokers who were motivated to quit. The experimental group underwent an ICT procedure based on the Go/No Go paradigm. The predetermined stop signals (‘no go’ condition) were associated mostly with smoking-related pictures (90% consistency), whereas the response signals were associated with matched neutral pictures. There were two active control groups: the first had an equal proportion of neutral and smoking-related pictures in the ‘go’ and ‘no go’ trials; the second trained inhibitory control according to the same scheme as the experimental group, but the participants were not exposed to any smoking-related cues. All groups underwent 13 training sessions over 25 days. All participants completed a battery of questionnaires and cognitive tasks three times: before training, after its completion, and two months later. We found that all participants reduced the feeling of craving and devalued the smoking-related pictures. Since there were no between-group differences, these effects probably did not result from ICT. However, we found that the experimental group smoked significantly less cigarettes than the control groups; they also reduced the number of smoking days during the preceding 30-day period. The results suggest that extensive ICT training may serve as an effective method of reducing nicotine intake.
Curcumin Resuscitate Gliadin Induced Oxidative Damage And Altered Cellular Responses In Human Intestinal Cells Via Cross-Talk Between The Transcription Factor Nrf-2 And Multifunctional Protein APE1
Authors: Gupta Kunj Bihari , Mantha Anil Kumar , Dhiman Monisha
Published: June 2021

An imbalance between the production of oxygen and nitrogen free radicals and their degradation by the antioxidant system are the major causative factors for the wheat intolerance diseases. In the present study, we have examined the wheat gliadin protein-induced oxidative and nitrosative stress and downstream responses in the human intestinal cell lines viz. HCT-116 and HT-29. The role of phytochemical curcumin was investigated to alleviate the gliadin associated cellular damages. The focus of the study was to identify the role of key DNA repair enzyme apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) in gliadin protein-induced toxicity in the intestine, which may be crucial for establishing the gut-associated diseases. Reactive oxygen species (ROS); reactive nitrogen species (RNS); mitochondrial ROS; mitochondrial trans-membrane potential; protein carbonylation; lipid peroxidation; and the oxidized DNA base damage was estimated in HCT-116 and HT-29 cells after 24 h treatment of 160 µg/ml of gliadin, 10 µM of curcumin and its combination. In addition, the transcriptional expression and enzymatic activities of antioxidants (SOD; Catalase; and GSH) were measured in the in these cells. Furthermore, the cross-talk between the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf-2) and the multifunctional enzyme APE1 was analyzed by the immunofluorescent based imaging and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The endonuclease activity of APE1 and the DNA-protein interaction of NRF-2 with ARE was analyzed by using electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) with the nuclear lysates of HCT-116 and HT-29 cells. Results suggest that 3 h pre-treatment of curcumin followed by the treatment of gliadin protein for 24 h time protect the HCT-116 and HT-29 cells via (1) decreasing the ROS, RNS, oxidative stress, mitochondrial ROS, recuperate mitochondrial trans-membrane potential; (2) reestablishing the cellular antioxidant defence systems; (3) enhancing the DNA-repair via APE1 and which further activates the ARE elements via activation of Nrf-2. In conclusion, wheat gliadin induces the oxidative/nitrosative stress, mitochondrial damage and damages the cellular biomolecules; hence is associated with the disease pathogenesis and tissue damage in wheat intolerance diseases. The gliadin induced stress and its consequences are significantly reduced by the pre-treatment of curcumin via DNA repair pathways and oxidative stress which is evident through the interaction between two essential proteins of these pathways APE1 and Nrf-2 hence suggesting the role of curcumin based management of wheat intolerance diseases like celiac disease.
The Effects of Sodium Butyrate as a Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor on the Activation of Toll-Like Receptor 4 in Prostate Cancer Cells
Authors: Ozkan Asuman Deveci , Eskiler Gamze Guney , Turna Ozge , Kazan Nur
Published: June 2021

I. Background: Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men and the covalent acetylation and deacetylation of histone proteins by the histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes can be considered a novel therapeutic target in PCa cells. Sodium butyrate (NaBu) is one of the most studied HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) which is a promising potential anticancer drug. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are expressed on prostate cells and TLR4 expression is increased in prostate cancer cells and HDACi alter TLR-inducible gene expressions. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of NaBu on TLR4 mediating signaling pathways in two different PCa cells (DU-145 and LNCaP) for the first time.II. Methods and Results: The cytotoxicity of NaBu in PCa cells was determined by WST-1 assay. Apoptotic effects of NaBu were analyzed by Annexin V and AO/PI assays. Subcellular localization of TLR4, IRF3 and NF-κB proteins was evaluated by IF assay. Our results showed that NaBu significantly inhibited the viability of PCa cells and increased the percentage of apoptotic cells (p<0.01). However, DU-145 cells were more sensitive to NaBu than LNCaP cells. Furthermore, NaBu can induce the cytoplasmic TLR4 and IRF3 expression in particularly DU-145 cells without affecting nuclear translocation of NF-kB in PCa cells.III. Conclusions: NaBu induces apoptotic cell death and regulated the TLR4/IRF3 signaling pathways in DU-145 cells but not in LNCaP cells. Therefore, PCa cells differentially responded to NaBu treatment due to probably AR status. Therefore, further investigations should be performed to assess the molecular mechanisms underlying cell response to NaBu-induced TLR-mediated signaling pathways in vitro and in vivo.
Prediction of Mental Health by Religious Orientation and the Mediating Role of Death Anxiety Among Nurses in the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Farhadi Akram , Javadian Hamed , Afshar Pouya Farokhnezhad
Published: June 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been around for more than a year as a global problem, with nurses being among the first groups involved in treating epidemics. In addition to becoming infected and dying from the disease, nurses also suffer from death anxiety, affecting their mental health. It is necessary to investigate the modulating factors of this anxiety. The purpose of this study was to predict mental health by religious orientation and the mediating role of death anxiety among nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The present descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 nurses working in the Central Hospital for the Treatment of COVID-19 patients in the Persian Gulf Martyrs Hospital in Bushehr, who were enrolled in the census. Data collection tools were the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), the Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), and the Revised Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). Data were analyzed by SPSS version 22 software using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis.Results: Among the subjects, 53.5% of nurses experienced high death anxiety. According to the findings, death anxiety had a significant negative effect on mental health (P<0.001, β=-0.54). Intrinsic religious orientation led to a reduction in death anxiety (P=0.01, β=-0.16) and improved mental health (P<0.001, β=0.40), while extrinsic socially-oriented religiousness resulted in increased death anxiety (P<0.001, β=0.19) and decreased mental health (P<0.001, β=-0.20).Conclusion: The prevalence of death anxiety in the COVID-19 pandemic was high in nurses, which led to a decrease in their mental health. The results of this study revealed that the intrinsic religious orientation had a positive effect on reducing death anxiety and promoting mental health.
Differentially expressed circulating microRNAs in Brazilian patients with COVID-19: a preliminary study on potential biomarkers for diagnosis and severity
Authors: Nicoletti Aline de Souza , Visacri Marília Berlofa , Ronda Carla Regina da Silva Correa da , Vasconcelos Pedro Eduardo do Nascimento Silva , Quintanilha Julia Coelho França , de Souza Rafael Nogueira , Ventura Deise de Souza , Eguti Adriana , Silva Lilian Ferreira de Souza , Junior Mauricio Wesley Perroud , Catharino Rodrigo Ramos , Reis Leonardo Oliveira , Santos Luiz Augusto dos , Durán Nelson , Fávaro Wagner José , Lancellotti Marcelo , Costa José Luiz da , Moriel Patricia , Pincinato Eder de Carvalho
Published: June 2021

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is known that host microRNAs (miRNAs) can be modulated to favor viral infection or to protect the host. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify differentially expressed circulating miRNAs in Brazilian patients with COVID-19 as potential biomarkers for diagnosis and severity. Methods: miRNAs were extracted from the blood plasma of eight patients with COVID-19 (four patients with mild/moderate COVID-19 and four patients with severe/critical COVID-19) and four healthy controls. The patients and controls were matched for sex and age. miRNA expression levels were detected using high-throughput sequencing. Differential miRNA expression and enrichment analyses were further evaluated. Results: A total of 18 human miRNAs were differentially expressed between patients with COVID-19 (n = 8) and controls (n = 4), with 13 significantly upregulated and five significantly downregulated miRNAs. miR-4433b-5p, miR-6780b-3p, miR-6883-3p, miR-320b, miR-7111-3p, miR-4755-3p, miR-320c, and miR-6511a-3p were the most important miRNAs found significantly involved in the PI3K/AKT, Wnt/β-catenin, and STAT3 signaling pathways, which have a crucial role in viral infections. Moreover, 42 miRNAs were differentially expressed between severe/critical patients with COVID-19 (n = 4) and mild/moderate patients with COVID-19 (n = 4). miR-451a, miR-101-3p, miR-185-5p, miR-30d-5p, miR-25-3p, miR-342-3p, miR-30e-5p, miR-150-5p, miR-15b-5p, and miR-29c-3p were the most important miRNAs found to be significantly involved in the Wnt/β-catenin, NF-κβ, and STAT3 signaling pathways, which play crucial roles in immune response and inflammation. Conclusions: Differentially expressed miRNAs found in this study may be used as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and severity of COVID-19. Larger studies are needed to validate these miRNAs as biomarkers of COVID-19.
Comparison of Time Management Ability Between Medical Students Who Entered Medical Universities Through Different Approaches
Authors: Shy Haw-Yaw , Chiu Ching-Yun , Chiang Ming-Wei , Liao Shih-Chieh
Published: June 2021

Background: Approaches to admission into medical schools in Taiwan are diverse but primarily involve the Multi-Star Project (MSP), General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), and Advanced Subject Tests (ASTs). This study aimed to investigate the differences in time management ability between students admitted into medical schools through different approaches. Methods: The Time Management Disposition Inventory was employed in a questionnaire survey on 390 students from the 1st to 4th years of the School of Medicine at China Medical University to investigate their time management ability. Results: The valid response rate was 100%. According to factor analysis results, the items in the original questionnaire were divided into 3 factors. The total eigenvalue was 14.15; the total variance of the 3 factors was 90.1% and the Cronbach’s α = 0.934. According to the between-group comparison results, the MSP (adjusted mean = 3.924), GSAT (adjusted mean = 3.729), and AST (adjusted mean = 3.802) groups differed significantly only in their sense of time efficacy. Conclusions: Approaches of admission into universities profoundly affect medical students’ time management ability. Admission through MSP requires exceptional academic performance in 3-year high schools; therefore, the MSP group exhibited the highest sense of time efficacy out of all 3 groups. This enabled those students to effectively plan their short- and long-term learning and perform self-learning at all times. Admission through the GSAT or ASTs solely emphasizes one-time college entrance examination scores. Therefore, those students exhibited a relatively high sense of time value, which enabled them to achieve satisfactory performance in college entrance examinations.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) Alleviates Ovalbumin-induced Allergic Airway Inflammation in Neonatal Mice via the PD-1/PD-L1 Axis
Authors: Wu Cheng , Zhang Juan , Jia Yuan-Yuan , Wang Xing-Zhi , Li Qiu-hong , Su Hui , Sun Xin
Published: June 2021

Asthma is the common respiratory disorder in children, which is associated with abnormal gut microbiota. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has successfully ameliorated the symptoms of several diseases and restored the balance of gut microbiota. However, there are few researches about the role of FMT in asthma. This study aimed at exploring whether FMT can alleviate allergic airway inflammation in neonatal mice and elucidating the probable underlying mechanism. A neonatal mouse model of ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic asthma was established and transplanted with fecal filtrates. Our results manifested that FMT could protect against the allergic airway inflammation through enhancing mesenteric CD11c + CD103 + DCs and accumulating mucosal Helios + Tregs. Besides, the programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death protein 1 ligand (PD-1/PD-L1) signal pathway was inhibited after FMT intervention. Furthermore, this beneficial role of FMT was also associated with the rebalanced gut microbiota, such as Akkermansia. Thus, our findings indicated that FMT intervention could exert a therapeutic effect in a neonatal mouse model of OVA-induced allergic airway inflammation through its remodeling on gut microbiota and regulation of Treg homeostasis via the PD-1/PD-L1 axis, which might be used as an alternative therapy for allergic asthma.
A Comparative Study of Spark Plasma and Conventional Sintering of Undoped SnO2 Sputtering Targets
Authors: Koroglu Levent , Aciksari Cem , Ayas Erhan , Ozel Emel , Suvaci Ender
Published: June 2021

SnO2 ceramics were fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and conventional (pressureless) sintering techniques by using undoped submicron SnO2 powders. The effect of sintering temperature and dwell time on the densification behavior, phase evolution and microstructural development of sintered ceramics were investigated. The relative density of SPSed ceramics increased when dwell time was raised from 1 to 10 min at 950ºC. However, full densification was prevented by the decomposition of SnO2 to Sn and O2(g). The decomposition starts after ~ 10 min at 950ºC. In parallel to this observations, as sintering temperature increases, amount of the elemental Sn in agglomerated form increases. On the other hand, the relative densities of conventionally sintered ceramics (at 1200ºC-1400ºC) were relatively low (i.e., 63 % relative density), and abnormal grain growth was observed due to the shift in sintering mechanisms to evaporation-condensation as a dominant mechanism. Since the undoped SnO2 ceramics, SPSed at 950°C for 5 min under 30 MPa exhibit 93 % relative density, high chemical purity, homogeneous grain size distribution and smaller average grain size, they demonstrate great potential as sputtering targets for production of high-quality thin film gas sensors.
Deep Learning Approach to Recognition of Novel COVID-19 Using CT Scans and Digital Image Processing
Authors: Herath H.M.K.K.M.B. , Karunasena G.M.K.B. , Ariyathunge S.V.A.S.H. , Priyankara H.D.N.S. , Madhusanka B.G.D.A. , Herath H.M.W.T. , Nimanthi U.D.C.
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 was announced as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. With more than 31.3 million confirmed cases and over 965 thousand deaths recorded as of September 2020, it has inflicted catastrophic damage worldwide. The aim of this study is to develop an algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI) and image processing techniques to identify COVID-19 patients with the aid of CT chest scan images. This study used a CT scan image dataset that is publically available for the researchers at Kaggle. We randomly extracted 27% of positive CT (pCT) images and 11% of negative CT (nCT) images from the original dataset. In the testing process, 120 of the test subjects in both nCT and pCT were used to validate the algorithm. Based on the experimental findings, the proposed COVID-19 detection algorithm shows promising results for the identification of COVID-19 patients with 90.83% accuracy at an average precision of 0.905.
Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections in an eastern state of India: A preliminary report
Authors: Dash Girish Chandra , Subhadra Subhra , Turuk Jyotirmayee , Parai Debaprasad , Rath Sonalika , Sabat Jyotsamayee , Rout Usha Kiran , Kanungo Srikanta , Choudhary Hari Ram , Nanda Rashmi R , Pattnaik Matrujyoti , Pati Sanghamitra , Bhattacharya Debdutta
Published: June 2021

We recorded the vaccine breakthrough cases of Covaxin and Covishield through passive and voluntary reporting at various healthcare facilities of Odisha. A total of 274 samples were found to be COVID-19 positive after 14 days of receiving complete doses of the vaccines. Almost 83.2% of the individuals were found to be symptomatic with 9.9% of those required hospitalization and were having less median antibody titers than individual in home isolation.
Novel Nanocombinations of L-tryptophan and L-cysteine: Preparation, Characterization and Their Applications for Dye Decolorization, Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activities
Authors: Abd-Elhamid Ahmed I. , El-Gendi Hamada , Abdallah Abdallah E. , El-Fakharany Esmail
Published: June 2021

Tungsten oxide WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared in a form of nanosheets with a homogeneous size and dimensions in one step through acid precipitation using a cation exchange column. The resulting WO3 nanosheets surface was decorated with one of the two amino acids (AAs) L-tryptophan (Trp) or L-cysteine (Cys) for their dye removal, antimicrobial, and antitumor activities. A noticeable improvement in the biological activity of WO3 NPs was detected upon amino acid modification compared to the original WO3. The prepared WO3-Trp and WO3-Cys exhibited strong dye removal activity toward methylene blue and safranin dyes with complete dye removal (100%) after 6 h. WO3-Cys NPs and WO3-Trp NPs revealed higher broad-spectrum antibacterial activity toward both G-ve and G+ve bacteria with strong antifungal activity toward Candida albicans. Anticancer results of the modified WO3-Cys and WO3-Trp NPs against various kinds of cancer cells including MCF-7, caco-2, and HepG-2 cells indicated that they have a potent effect in a dose-dependent manner with high selectivity to cancer cells and safety against normal cells. The expression levels of E2F2, Bcl-2 genes were found to be suppressed after treatment with both WO3-Cys and WO3-Trp NPs more than 5-FU-treated cells. While expression level of the p53 gene in all tested cells was evidently up-regulated after treatment by more than 5-8 folds as compared to untreated cells. The docking results confirmed the ability of both NPs to bind to P53 gene with relevant potency in binding to other tested gens and participation of cysteine SH-functional group in such interaction.
Immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in blood products and plasma derivatives
Authors: Fox S. M. , Stavely-Haiber L. M.
Published: June 2021

Both anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions to transfused blood products and plasma derivatives have occurred in IgA-deficient patients with antibodies to IgA. This study reports the concentration of IgA in various blood products to assist in the development of treatment protocols for IgA-deficient patients. Five types of blood products and seven types of plasma derivatives were tested for the presence of IgA using a semiquantitative hemagglutination inhibition method. The concentration of IgA was measured by radial immunodiffusion and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. Blood products which consistently contained IgA less than 0.05 mg/dL (the present definition for IgA deficiency used by the American Red Cross Rare Donor Registry) were from IgA-deficient donors, deglycerolized red blood cells (RBCs) prepared with an extra wash cycle, and RBCs washed using a total volume of approximately 1300 mL of 0.9 percent sodium chloride.
A review: occupational safety in blood banking—concepts and conundrums
Authors: AuBuchon J. P.
Published: June 2021

The field of blood banking is grappling with a new facet of regulation and risk. Long accustomed to regulations governing the safety and efficacy of blood products, blood bankers are now anticipating federal regulations on occupational safety. Yet despite all attempts to reduce occupational safety risks-through appropriate procedures introduced by management, diligent efforts by employees, and oversight activities by regulatory agencies-safety remains an elusive quality Just as a truly risk-free society is not obtainable, workplace safety can never be absolute. What then are the goals of occupational safety programs? How should risks be managed in blood banking environments?

This review will attempt to define reasonable goals for worker safety in blood banking. There are different perspectives that must be considered in defining the requirements for safety. The risk of an environment must be understood and accepted by those working in it. In reviewing these concepts, readers will be able to assess what “safety” means to them in their environment and subsequently take appropriate measures to satisfy their own safety requirements and those of regulatory agencies.
Evaluating the need for Rh immune globulin in some unusual situations
Authors: Stroup-Walters M.
Published: June 2021

In most situations the use of Rh Immune Globulin (RhIG) for the prevention of Rh subo(D) immunization in Rh-negative women of child-bearing age is routine. The following nine unusual situations are based on telephone calls received by Technical Services of Ortho Diagnostic Systems. Comments are not meant to he all-inclusive and the author suggests consultation when in doubt about a particular case.
Micropool procedure for routine donor antibody detection
Authors: Smith D.
Published: June 2021

Microplate technology was combined with manual sample pooling techniques to determine if advantages associated with each method could be realized in a single test system. Fresh serum and plasma samples collected from routine blood donors and patient samples selected from frozen storage were screened for significant, unexpected antibodies. A total of 94 samples with known antibody specificities were selected for testing. Two micropool techniques, stream-micropool and mix-micropool, were compared to a pooled-tube method. The stream-micropool method proved superior in overall detection of the antibodies (85%) and in detection of the macroscopically reactive antibodies (96%). Special formulas were used to calculate sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of each micropool method. The sensitivity of the streammicropool method was 96 percent and that of the mix-micropool, 87 percent. For both methods, specificity and efficiency were ≥ 99 percent. In a separate study, there was no difference between the use of serum as opposed to plasma. Micropool methods offer a sensitive, easily mastered alternative to manual tube testing techniques for large batch donor antibody detection.
Evaluation of a complementdependent anti-Jka by various sensitization and detection methodologies: a case report
Authors: DeLong E. N.
Published: June 2021

A 79-year-old woman with a diagnosis of lower gastrointestinal bleeding was found to have a complement dependent anti-Jka in her serum. The anti-Jk1 was evaluated by the antiglobulin technique with polyspecific, anti-C3, and anti-lgG antihuman globulin (AHG). A variety of sensitization and detection methods were used, including the prewarmed saline technique, enzyme treatment of test cells, a low-ionic additive solution (LISS), 22 percent albumin, Polybrene, and an increased serum/cell ratio. The anti-Jk1 was detected only when polyspecific AHG and anti-C3 were used compared to anti-lgG, regardless of the selected enhancement technique. Anti-C3 gave weaker reactions than polyspecific AHG. IgG subclassing was inconclusive. The anti-Jka was not detected when plasma was substituted for serum. The use of polyspecific versus IgG AHG in pretransfusion testing is discussed.
Educational and scientific posters
Authors: Kennedy M. S.
Published: June 2021

Many associations and societies are encouraging poster presentations instead of oral presentations at meetings. However, posters prepared by professionals can he costly ($200 and up). Neat, easy-to-read, and attractive posters that can be prepared at a low cost are desirable. Instructions follow for the preparation of such posters.
Problem solving: a course for blood bankers
Authors: Weaver-Dahm M.
Published: June 2021

A structured program for the training of blood bank personnel and students entitled “Problem Solving” is presented in its entirety. The explanation includes the primary objective for this program, course description, how to evaluate student results, a grading system used for errors, and preparation of specimens and practical examinations. An example of an actual problem is also presented.
Database management systems for blood bank applications
Authors: Morel EA.
Published: June 2021

Blood banks have a need for efficient, long-term storage of records and quick access to the stored information. Database management systems make it easy to retrieve and review large amounts of data. They provide such functions as data entry, sorting capability, search and find capacity, report production, calculation and graphic capacities, programming, and the relating of fields in one file to those in another file. Privately developed programs can be shared by blood banks. A program for managing an inventory of frozen blood units is offered in this paper.
A case report: cold hemagglutinin disease in a pancreatic and renal transplant patient
Authors: Beiting C.Y , Larimore K.S.
Published: June 2021

A 33-year-old white male, 30 days postpancreatic transplant, with a history of juvenile onset diabetes mellitus and previous renal transplant, appeared to have cold hemagglutinin disease (CHD). He was being treated for acute organ rejection and had received two units of red blood cells (RBCs) on postoperative day 11, at which time no serum antibodies were detectable. On postoperative day 30, serum studies showed an autoanti-I with a titer of 512 in 30 percent albumin at 4°C and a maximum thermal amplitude of 37°C. The patient had a weakly positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) with only complement detectable on the red cells. The patient recovered spontaneously. The etiology of the CHD is unclear. The use of cyclosporin-A, OKT3 monoclonal anti-body, and anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) to treat acute rejection could have played a part.
The effects of perceived discrimination, social support and ethnic identity on mental health of immigrant adolescents
Authors: Ergin Derya Atalan
Published: June 2021

Background: The number of immigrants has been increasing. Immigrant adolescents experience an acculturation process that affects particularly their ethnic identity, perceived discrimination, and relationships with their peers, which would have significant impact on their mental health. The ethnic composition of social environments might affect this relationship.

Objective: The main purpose of the current research is to examine the effect of peer attachment, social support, ethnic identity, and perceived discrimination on immigrant adolescents’ mental health.

Method: The sample included 226 Syrian immigrants (X̄
age = 13.31, SD=1.67, 70.8 % girls). Adolescents live in a homogenous social environment where proportion of Syrian is higher. Two hierarchical regression models were used to predict depression and emotional problems. In both models, the predictive roles of social and psychological factors were examined in separate steps.

Results: The regression analysis results for depression emphasized peer attachment, social support, and ethnic identity did not affect the depression after controlling the effect of emotional problems. Similarly, regression analysis results for emotional problems showed that peer attachment, social support, and ethnic identity did not affect depression after controlling the effect of emotional problems. The results also revealed that perceived discrimination was a risk factor for both depression and emotional problems.

Conclusions: The results underlined the importance of psychological variables on immigrant adolescents’ depression. Past research emphasized that ethnic identity and peer support had a buffering effect on mental health. The current study participants were living in a different area where they attended schools for only immigrants. The social environment was totally different from the host culture. These reasons may account for why social support from ethnic peers and ethnic identity development did not emerge as a protective factor in the present study. The results will further be discussed in terms of the importance of interaction between ethnic and host culture.
Effects of Administering the Soybean Isoflavone Genistein on Alkaline Phosphatase Levels During Orthodontic Tooth Movement in Young and Old Rabbits
Authors: Suparwitri Sri , Christnawati Christnawati , Retnaningrum Yanuarti , Alhasyimi Ananto Ali
Published: June 2021

The goal of this study was to investigate differences in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels in young and old rabbits after administering the soybean isoflavone genistein during orthodontic tooth movement. Twelve rabbits were used and assigned to four groups (n = 3); OG (old rabbits), OGS (old rabbits + soybean), YG (young rabbits), and YGS (young rabbits + soybean). The rabbit mandibulary incisors were distalised using a nickel-titanium open coil spring (50 g force). Genistein was administered from the initial orthodontic force delivery until day 21, at a dose of 1.2 mg/kg BW once a day. ALP levels (U/mg) were measured on days 1, 7, 14, 21 after orthodontic force delivery using a UV-Vis 6300 spectrophotometer at a 405 nm wavelength. The results were analysed by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) test (p < 0.05). The ALP levels between the young and old age groups were significantly different. ALP levels were highest in the YGS group, and significantly lowest in the OG group (p < 0.05). Moreover, the ALP level of the OGS group was significantly higher than that in the OG group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, daily consumption of soybean isoflavone genistein could enhance ALP levels during orthodontic tooth movement, particularly in older rabbits.
The Significance of Knowledge, Instructions, Habits and Denture Hygiene Practice in Relation to the Maintenance of Denture Hygiene at Hospital USM’s Dental Clinic
Authors: Mohd Noor Nur Syatirah , Abdul Muttlib Nor Aidaniza , Husein Adam
Published: June 2021

Good denture hygiene is crucial for the prevention of various periodontal diseases, dental caries and dental stomatitis, which can give rise to a negative impact on the general health of denture users. A comparison exercise was conducted, to determine the effectiveness of information on denture care, provided by different groups of dental personnel. A self-administered and structured questionnaire was distributed to patients who attended Hospital USM’s dental clinics, from 2014 to 2019 based on the attendance register of the clinic. The denture hygiene status of 100 participants was assessed during the interview session. The results derived through the questionnaire revealed that 100% of the respondents, who received both verbal and written instructions, practiced good dental hygiene. It was observed that the most effective instructions received by the respondents were delivered by the dental specialists. Respondents, who clean their dentures with denture cleaning tablets, soap, or denture cleaning paste, were observed to possess better denture hygiene than those who do not. Also, respondents who visit their dentists once every six months for routine dental examinations boasted a higher percentage of good denture hygiene (81.8%). A positive association was perceived, between knowledge and the status of denture hygiene.
Los efectos positivos y negativos en el uso de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación en educación
Authors: Rumiche Valdez María Elena , Solis Trujillo Beymar Pedro
Published: June 2021

El uso de las Tecnologías de la información y comunicación (TIC) en la enseñanza aprendizaje de los estudiantes de diferentes niveles del sistema educativo, se encuentra en pleno proceso de adaptación. A ello, debemos agregar como un hecho trascendental la llegada de la COVID – 19 y su acelerada propagación, lo que ha generado que muchos países implanten diversas medidas con la finalidad de dar continuidad a la educación sin necesidad de salir de casa.
Internet de las cosas en el tratamiento de variables Agro-climatológicas en huertos urbanos
Authors: Olarte López Nancy Esperanza , Torres Rojas David Enrique , Franco Ramos Roland Fernando
Published: June 2021

El almacenamiento de datos contribuye a la predicción de posibles comportamientos en los cultivos como: sequías, heladas, lluvias constantes, plagas, aumento de la radiación solar entre otros. Incluso para la contingencia actual por medidas de aislamiento preventivo a causa del Covid, el control de datos almacenados es aún más necesario debido a que se disminuye la presencia in situ en función de la toma de datos.
Multi-criteria Land Suitability Analysis for Agriculture in Semi-Arid Region of Kadapa District, Southern India: Geospatial Approaches
Authors: M. Rajasekhar , Raju G. Sudarsana , Kudnar Nanabhau , M. Ramachandra , Kumar B. Pradeep
Published: June 2021

This research proposes an integrated methodology for incorporating RS, GIS and AHP techniques for the assessment of agricultural land suitability. In Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh, India, study is being done on how to best promote agriculture as a source of income to boost the economy of the region. A combined RS, GIS and AHP techniques has been utilized that incorporates organizing AHP hierarchy, criteria specification, pairwise comparison, and criterion map preparation. Land suitability comparison showed that an area of 4.42 km2 (2.62%) is appropriate for irrigation, while an area of 54.39 km2 (32.33%) is appropriate moderately suitable for rainfed agriculture and 95.76 km2 (56.93%) is marginally suitable for agricultural productions. About 13.64 km2 (8.11%) land is currently not suitable for agricultural production. Additionally, the analysis clearly shows the necessity of a decrease in irrigated agricultural land and an increase in dry farm agricultural land. This application of RS, GIS and AHP based agricultural land suitability analysis is helpful in referring agricultural activities to the areas with good physical and environmental conditions, allowing maximum agricultural efficiency in the countryside, increasing non-agricultural uses in areas with low efficiency, and avoiding the construction and environmental pressures on suitable farmland.
Análisis de la casuística del estado oral de pacientes de la clínica quirúrgica de un hospital universitario
Authors: Martins Lima Karyne , Abreu Calado Keiko Aramaki , Sousa Menezes Carlos Felipe , Ferreira Lopes Fernanda
Published: June 2021

Introducción y objetivo: La presencia del cirujano dentista en el equipo de salud multidisciplinario de atención hospitalaria es esencial a través de su actuación en procedimientos que se hacen necesarios para el mantenimiento de la salud bucal y general del paciente. Identificar los aspectos odontológicos de los pacientes, determinar la condición bucal y las lesiones más prevalentes en la cavidad bucal de los pacientes internados, en la Clínica Quirúrgica del Hospital Universitario de la UFMA, Unidad Presidente Dutra. Materiales y métodos: La investigación fue realizada a través de un estudio descriptivo, con base en datos secundarios y análisis cuantitativo. La muestra fue compuesta por 1475 pacientes internados en la clínica quirúrgica del Hospital en el año 2017. Los datos obtenidos fueron analizados cuantitativamente, presentados en números absolutos y porcentuales, y empleado el test del chi-cuadrado (α = 0,05). Resultados: En relación a los hallazgos clínicos, la prevalencia de caries fue del 11,32% de los pacientes. El cálculo / biopelícula fue detectado en el 26,92%. La movilidad dental tuvo una prevalencia del 7,46%. La raíz residual estuvo presente en el 20% de los pacientes La higiene oral regular fue prevalente con el 73,54%, seguida por higiene oral deficiente 19,74% y buena con el 6,72%. Conclusión: Los resultados muestran que las alteraciones bucales son frecuentes en la cavidad bucal de pacientes hospitalizados, con baja frecuencia de buena higiene oral. Así, la actuación del equipo de odontología en el equipo multiprofesional es fundamental por caracterizar esa población y relacionar con las variables clínicas, atendiendo en los casos que es necesario e informando la importancia del mantenimiento de una buena salud bucal.
Use of bufferized dental anesthetics in dental surgery
Authors: Martinez-Martinez Adel Alfonso , Jimenez-Batista Elio , Morales-Jimenez Alexander
Published: June 2021

Introduction and objective: The addition of epinephrine to the anesthetic solution reduces the pH of the solution to a range between 2.9 and 4.4.The acidity of the anesthetic may delay onset and contribute to injection pain. Objective: to determine the intensity of pain during a mandibular third molar surgery after using buffered 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:100000 in the inferior alveolar nerve block with buccal infiltration. Materials and methods: an observational and descriptive clinical study was performed. The buffered solution was alkalinized with 8.4% sodium bicarbonate with a ratio of 9:1, using a hand-mixing methodology, the sample were patients who required a mandibular third molar surgery. After standardizing the anesthetic technique, it was used the inferior alveolar nerve block followed by buccal infiltration. Results: 32 patients (20 female - 62.5% and 12 male - 37.5%), with an average age of 21.12 years (mean ± standard deviation [SD]: 21.12 ± 3.61) were admitted to the study. When assessing the pain puncture and during the injection, 94% of patients classified it as mild pain according to VAS. When evaluating the latency period, the average time was less than two minutes and the perioral soft tissue anesthesia was 62%. Only a small percentage of patients required complementary anesthesia. Conclusion: buffered 4% of articaine with epinephrine in the inferior alveolar nerve block with buccal infiltration significantly decreased onset time, injection pain and need for complementary anesthesia in third molar surgery.
Condiciones modificadoras del riesgo de enfermedad periodontal: una revisión narrativa sobre la evidencia en américa latina
Authors: Marín Jaramillo Rubiel , Duque Duque Andrés
Published: June 2021

La diferencia entre la prevalencia de la enfermedad periodontal en América Latina y las reportadas en otras regiones del mundo, podría estar explicada en parte por las características culturales, políticas y económicas propias de cada territorio. Además, la exposición e interacción de factores e indicadores de riesgo pueden variar en cada región. Hasta el momento no se ha reportado alguna revisión de literatura ni revisión sistemática sobre los factores e indicadores de riesgo presentes y estudiados en Latinoamérica. El objetivo de esta revisión narrativa es reportar la evidencia disponible sobre las condiciones modificadoras del riesgo (indicadores y factores de riesgo) que se han estudiado en la población latinoamericana, y proponer recomendaciones para las futuras investigaciones que permitan realizar revisiones sistemáticas en esta región. A partir de los hallazgos de esta revisión, los autores consideran que es necesario aumentar las publicaciones científicas, y especialmente la investigación analítica sobre factores de riesgo y sus interacciones con las particularidades propias de cada país latinoamericano, siguiendo metodologías estándar basadas en la nueva clasificación de la enfermedad periodontal para que en un futuro sea posible recopilar esta información en revisiones sistemáticas sobre factores de riesgo.
Ultrafiltration fouling behavior of natural organic matter: a perspective of EEM and molecular weight distribution
Authors: Kuo Gao , Yuan Song
Published: June 2021

As natural organic matter (NOM) can cause serious ultrafiltration (UF) membrane fouling, most previous studies on UF fouling caused by NOM focused on the contribution of NOM characteristics. In this study, the correlation of molecular weight and fluorescence characteristics was examined and the fouling behavior of NOM was examined in a comprehensive manner through a lot of analysis including redundancy analysis (RDA), parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that NOM from Tong Xin river was composed of humic acid (500 Da–8,000 Da), tryptophan-like substance, soluble microbial product (SMP) and aromatic protein (600,000 Da–2,000,000 Da). Notably, UF performance was significantly affected by the humic acid-like substance. Concurrently, the combined mechanism (CM) model was adopted to evaluate the fouling mechanism of NOM. The results indicated that the cake-intermediate model played an important part during membrane fouling and the cake layer fouling had a larger predominance over the intermediate blocking, which can be further proved in the membrane morphology detection.
Evaluation of DNA extraction methods for quantifying Helicobacter pylori in water with PCR inhibitors
Authors: Lee Eun-Sook , Cha So-Yang , Jung Jong-Soon
Published: June 2021

DNA extraction methods were evaluated to reduce PCR inhibitors and quantify Helicobacter pylori directly from water samples using real-time PCR. Three nucleic acid extraction methods were evaluated for different types of water samples. While the QIAamp DNA mini kit for tissue was suitable for DNA extraction from treated water, the QIAamp DNA stool mini kit was still efficient in analyzing samples from river water after heavy rain and with high concentration of PCR inhibitors. The FastDNA SPIN Kit for Soil could extract DNA effectively from microbes in river and stream waters without heavy rain. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) was used prior to DNA extraction and was a useful tool for reducing PCR inhibitors in influent and stream samples. H. pylori in various waters could be quantified directly by real-time PCR while minimizing the effect of PCR inhibitors by an appropriate method through the evaluation of DNA extraction methods considering the characteristics of the matrix water. The findings of the present study suggest that the types or characteristics of water sample by source and precipitation are an important factor in detecting H. pylori and they can be applied when detecting and monitoring of other pathogens in water.