bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A case of long-term survival after splenectomy for solitary splenic metastasis from gastric cancer
Authors: Obana Ayato , Komatsu Nobuo , Aiba Kazuma , Nakanishi Shinya , Abe Masakazu , Yamaguchi Toshiyuki , Hayashi Masahiro , Obi Hayato , Koyama Masamichi , Hashimoto Shinichi
Published: September 2020

Background: Very rarely does a splenic solitary metastasis arise from a gastric carcinoma because splenic metastasis is usually seen in association with widespread visceral metastasis. Splenectomy is considered to be a curative treatment; however, long-term prognosis after splenectomy has scarcely been reported. We report a case of a metachronous and solitary metastasis to the spleen from gastric cancer in which the patient achieved 5-year recurrence-free survival after splenectomy.Case Presentation: An 84-year-old man underwent an open total gastrectomy involving D1+ lymph nodes dissection for gastric cancer located in the cardia (pT3N1M0, pStage IIB). Eighteen months later, a 2-cm solitary hypodense lesion was detected in the spleen by computed tomography (CT). Twenty-three months later, the serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) value elevated to 19.9 ng/ml, and abdominal CT revealed an increase in tumor size to 5 cm. Positron-emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed intense 18F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-glucose (FDG) uptake in the spleen without the involvement of other organs and lymph nodes. We diagnosed him with solitary splenic metastasis from gastric cancer and performed a splenectomy 26 months after the first surgery. Histological examination revealed that the splenic tumor was a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, which was very similar to the primary gastric tumor; the lesion was diagnosed as a metastatic tumor from the previous gastric carcinoma. The patient remains healthy to date without recurrence, 5 years after the splenectomy. Conclusion: We experienced a case of a solitary splenic metastasis from gastric cancer in which 5-year recurrence-free survival was achieved after splenectomy. To determine the surgical indication in patients with splenic metastasis, it is important to differentiate between a solitary lesion or multiple metastasis. Especially, occult metastasis should be excluded by means of several months of follow-up with imaging tests and systemic FDG-PET surveys before splenectomy.
Nomogram to predict overall survival for patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei of appendiceal origin: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Bai Mingjian , Wang Shilong , Ma Ruiqing , Cai Ying , Lu Yiyan , Hou Nianzong , Liang Guowei , Xu Hongbin , Zhang Man
Published: September 2020

Background Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare disease, the prognosis of overall survival (OS) is affected by many factors, present study aim to define independent prediction indicators and establish a nomogram for PMP patients.Methods 119 PMP patients received cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in our center for the first time were included between 01/06/2013 and 22/11/2019 . The log-rank test was used to compare the OS rate among groups, subsequently, variables with P<0.10 were subjected to multivariate Cox model for defining independent prediction indicators. Finally, the nomogram prediction models will be established and for internal validation.Results Multivariate analysis showed Sex, D-Dimer, CA125, CA19-9, PCI, and degree of radical surgery were independently associated with OS in PMP patients. A nomogram was plotted based on the independent predictive factors and undergone internal validation, ROC analysis was performed to calculate discrimination ability of the nomogram, the C-index was 0.880 (95%CI: 0.806- 0.933) and calibration plots showed good performance. Conclusions Six independent prognostic factor for predicting survival in PMP patients were difined, the nomogram has a good discrimination ability for individual risk predition, more researches are needed to verify and improve the prediction model.
Medical status of patients presenting for treatment at an Australian dental institute: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Frydrych Agnieszka Monika , Parsons Richard , Kujan Omar
Published: September 2020

Background: Individuals seeking dental treatment often present with medical conditions which may affect dental treatment provision. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of medical conditions and medication use among individuals attending dental clinics at a Western Australian tertiary institution.Methods: This observational study examined the general demographics, medical and social histories of 873 subjects presenting for a general dental examination at a Western Australian Tertiary Institution between March 2018 and February 2019. Individual recruited were those presenting to the clinics either as new patients to the Centre or returning patients after an extended period of absence.Results: Presence of a medical condition was reported by 86% of the participants, with males more commonly affected (p=0.0448). Medication use was noted by 80% of the participants. Cardiovascular disease (37.9%), allergy (32.3%), mental health disorders (29.4%), musculoskeletal (23.0%), endocrine (22.4%) and respiratory disease (17.8%) were the most common conditions identified. Women were significantly more likely to report allergy (p=0.0002) or a mental health condition (p=0.0368). Conclusions: Medical comorbidities are common among individuals presenting for student dental treatment in Western Australia, highlighting the importance of knowledge and teaching of internal medicine and its application to the dental setting.
Are Clinical Practice Guidelines for Low Back Pain interventions of high quality and updated? A systematic review using the AGREE II instrument
Authors: Castellini Greta , Iannicelli Valerio , Briguglio Matteo , Corbetta Davide , Sconfienza Luca Maria , Banfi Giuseppe , Gianola Silvia
Published: September 2020

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) provide recommendations for practice, but the proliferation of CPGs issued by multiple organisations in recent years has raised concern about their quality. The aim of this study was to systematically appraise CPGs quality for low back pain (LBP) interventions and to explore inter-rater reliability (IRR) between quality appraisers. The time between systematic review search and publication of CPGs was recorded.METHODS: Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, PEDro, TRIP), guideline organisation databases, websites, and grey literature were searched from January 2016 to January 2020 to identify GPCs on rehabilitative, pharmacological or surgical intervention for LBP management. Four independent reviewers used the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool to evaluate CPGs quality and record the year the CPGs were published and the year the search strategies were conducted. RESULTS: A total of 21 CPGs met the inclusion criteria and were appraised. Seven (33%) were broad in scope and involved surgery, rehabilitation or pharmacological intervention. The score for each AGREE II item was: Editorial Independence (median 67%, interquartile range [IQR] 31 – 84%), Scope and Purpose (median 64%, IQR 22 – 83%), Rigour of Development (median 50%, IQR 21 – 72%), Clarity and Presentation (median 50%, IQR 28 – 79%), Stakeholder Involvement (median 36%, IQR 10 – 74%), and Applicability (median 11%, IQR 0 – 46%). The IRR between the assessors was nearly perfect (interclass correlation 0.90; 95% confidence interval 0.88 – 0.91). The median time span was 2 years (range, 1-4), however, 38% of the CPGs did not report the coverage dates for systematic searches.CONCLUSIONS: We found methodological limitations that affect CPGs quality. A universal database is needed in which guidelines can be registered and recommendations dynamically developed through a living systematic reviews approach to ensure that guidelines are based on updated evidence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1REGISTRATION PROSPERO DETAILS: CRD42019127619.
Detection of Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from Environmental Sources in a Tertiary Health Institution in Nigeria.
Authors: Aghanya Iloduba Nnaemeka , Akujobi Comfort Nne , Ushie Simon Nkpeh , Ubajaka Chika Florence , Ajuba Ijeoma Maryrose , Ezeama Chibuike Jesse , Maduekwe Nkechi Perpetua , Uzoewulu Ngozichukwu Gertrude , Chigbo Chisom Godswill
Published: September 2020

Objective The acquisition of carbapenemase-producing organisms in healthcare settings is a major threat and has serious implications for public health. Previous reports regarding carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from fomites are limited. This study aimed at analysing the antimicrobial resistance patterns, and prevalence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in the ward environments of a tertiary health institution in Nigeria. Results A total of 142 bacteria were isolated from 534 fomites in the hospital wards, and of the 142 isolates, 15(10.6%) were confirmed to be Klebsiella pneumoniae . The prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae in all the 534 samples was 15/534(2.8%), while the prevalence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae was 8/534(1.5%). Multi-drug resistance was detected in 15/15(100%) of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated. Although no Klebsiella pneumoniae Carbapenemase ( bla KPC ) gene was expressed in any of these isolates, 8/15(53.3%) of these isolates were confirmed positive for carbapenemase production using the Modified Hodge Test. The commonest sites that harboured carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae were the beds 6/15(40%). Maximum resistance (100%) was observed against ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime, and tetracycline. In conclusion, the prevalence of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae fomite colonization in the NAUTH ward environment is low, thus buttressing the need to reinforce strict infection control policies the hospital.
Extended thymectomy with blood vessel resection and reconstruction improves therapeutic outcome for clinical stage III thymic carcinoma patients: a real-world research
Authors: Liu Lei , Zhang Jiaqi , Wang Guige , Guo Chao , Chen Yeye , Huang Cheng , Li Shanqing
Published: September 2020

Objectives We examine the therapeutic efficacy of extended thymectomy with blood vessel resection and reconstruction in thymic carcinoma patients with great vessel invasion. Methods In total 26 patients diagnosed as clinical stage III thymic carcinoma with severe great vessel invasion were enrolled in this retrospective study. Among these patients, 14 cases received adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy (non-operation subgroup, NOG), the other 12 patients received extended thymectomy with vessel resection and reconstruction followed by the adjuvant treatment (operation subgroup, OG). Results All surgical procedures went smoothly with no perioperative death. R0 resection was obtained in all surgical cases, and we also observed a lymph node metastasis rate of 38.8%. The overall survival (OS) was 34 months for the whole cohort, 48 and 26 months for the OG and NOG respectively (p=0.013). The median disease metastasis free survival (DMFS) was 47 months for the OG and 18 months for the NOG (p=0.019). Conclusion Extended thymectomy with vessel resection is feasible for patients with clinical stage III thymic carcinoma. Surgery significantly improves the overall survival and the prognosis of clinical stage III thymic carcinoma.
Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli and Salmonella isolated from Raw Retail Broiler Chicken Carcasses in Zambia
Authors: Muonga Elizabeth Muligisa , Mainda Geoffrey , Mukuma Mercy , Kwenda Geoffrey , Hang'ombe Bernard , Bumbangi Flavien , Phiri Nelson , Mwansa Mwaba , Munyeme Musso , Muma John Bwalya
Published: September 2020

Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of foodborne pathogens is of public health concern, especially in developing countries such as Zambia. This study was undertaken to determine the antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella isolated from raw retail broiler chicken carcasses purchased from open and supermarkets in Zambia.Results A total of 189 E. coli and five Salmonella isolates were isolated. Identification and confirmation of the isolates were done using Analytical Profile Index (API 20E) (Biomerieux®) and 16S rRNA sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests (AST) were performed using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion technique using a panel of 10 antibiotics. Multiplex PCR was used to determine the presence of three target genes encoding for resistance: tetA, Sul1 and blaCTX-M. WHONET 2018 software was used to analyse AST results. The E. coli isolates were mostly resistant to tetracycline (79.4%), ampicillin (51.9%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (49.7%). Two of the five Salmonella isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Forty- seven (45.2%) of the 104 isolates that were screened for the presence of the resistant genes possessed at least one of the targeted resistance genes.Conclusion This study has demonstrated the presence of AMR E. coli and Salmonella on raw retail broiler chicken carcasses from open and supermarkets, which is of public health concern.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Orthopedic Surgery: A Systematic Review Protocol
Authors: Maffulli Nicola , Rodriguez Hugo C. , Stone Ian W. , Nam Andrew , Song Albert , Gupta Manu , Alvarado Rebecca , Ramon David , Gupta Ashim
Published: September 2020

Background: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) is interwoven into our everyday lives and has grown enormously in some major fields in medicine including cardiology and radiology. While these specialties have quickly embraced AI and ML, orthopedic surgery has been slower to do so. Fortunately, there has been a recent surge in new research emphasizing the need for a systematic review. The primary objective of this systematic review will be to provide an update on the advances of AI and ML in the field of orthopedic surgery. The secondary objectives will be to evaluate the applications of AI and ML in providing a clinical diagnosis and predicting post-operative outcomes and complications in orthopedic surgery.Methods: A systematic search will be conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar databases for articles written in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese language articles published up to September 2020. References will be screened and assessed for eligibility by at least two independent reviewers as per PRISMA guidelines. Studies must apply to orthopedic interventions, acute and chronic orthopedic musculoskeletal injuries to be considered eligible. Studies will be excluded if they are animal studies, do not relate to orthopedic interventions, or if no clinical data were produced. Gold standard processes and practices to obtain a clinical diagnosis and predict post-operative outcomes shall be compared with and without the use of ML algorithms. Any case reports and other primary studies assessing the prediction rate of post-operative outcomes or the ability to identify a diagnosis in orthopedic surgery will be included. Systematic reviews or literature reviews will be examined to identify further studies for inclusion, and results of meta-analyses will not be included in the analysis.Discussion: Our findings will evaluate the advances of AI and ML in the field of orthopedic surgery. We expect to find a large quantity of uncontrolled studies, and a smaller subset of articles describing actual applications and outcomes for clinical care. Cohort studies and large randomized control trial will likely be needed.Trial registration: The Protocol will be registered on PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews prior to commencement.
Clinical Value of Patlak Ki Images Extracted From Dynamic 18F-FDG PET/CT For Evaluation of The Relationships Between Disease Activity and Clinical Events in Cardiac Sarcoidosis
Authors: Nakajo Masatoyo , Ojima Satoko , Kawakami Hirofumi , Tani Atsushi , Hirayama Akira , Jinguji Megumi , Kubozono Takuro , Ohishi Mitsuru , Yoshiura Takashi
Published: September 2020

The authors have withdrawn this preprint due to erroneous posting.
Diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cryptococcal antigen-lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for pulmonary cryptococcosis in non-HIV patients
Authors: Zeng Hui-Qing , Cai Xue-Ying , Zhang Xiao-Bin , Yang Dong-Yong , Lin Li , Chen Mei-Jun , Guo Wei-Feng , Luo Xiongbiao
Published: September 2020

Background: Early diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may be challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of cryptococcal antigen-lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (CrAg-LFA) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of patients with PC. Methods: A total pf 308 patients who were admitted to the departments of pulmonary and critical care medicine and thoracic surgery between March 2015 and October 2018, were divided into the PC group (n=72) and the non-PC group (n=236). PC was confirmed by 1) lung biopsy; 2) a positive culture of Cryptococcus neoformans (C. neoformans) from blood culture or biopsy specimen; 3) clinical data, pathogen detection, radiological imaging and the detection of the cryptococcal antigen in blood and BALF samples.Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predicted values of CrAg-LFA in the serum were 75.0%, 99.6%, 98.2%, and 92.9%, respectively, while those in the BALF were 93.1%, 100.0%, 100.0%, and 97.9%, respectively. The sensitivity of the CrAg-LFA in BALF was significantly higher than that in the serum of the patients in the PC group (P<0.05). Conclusion: CrAg-LFA is a rapid, simple, and safe experimental method. CrAg-LFA has a higher diagnostic value for PC when analyzing BALF samples compared to serum samples. Furthermore, the BALF positive results are equivalent to the microbiological culture-positive results in terms of diagnostic value.
How breast cancer treatments affect the Quality of Life of women with non-metastatic breast cancer one year after surgical treatment: A cross-sectional study in Greece.
Authors: Yfantis Aris , Sarafis Pavlos , Moisoglou Ioannis , Tolia Maria , Intas George , Tiniakou Ioanna , Zografos Konstantinos , Zografos George , Constantinou Marianna , Nikolentzos Athanasios , Kontos Michalis
Published: September 2020

Background: The continuously increasing survivorship of female breast cancer makes the monitoring and improvement of patients’ quality of life ever so important. While globally there is a growing body of research on health-related quality of life one year after surgical treatment for non-metastatic breast cancer, up-to-date information regarding Greek patients is scarce.Objective: To measure the level of QoL of non-metastatic BC survivors in Greece 1 year after surgery.Methods: A sample of 200 female breast cancer survivors aged 18 to 75, who followed up as outpatients in five public hospitals were included in this cross-sectional study. All recruited patients agreed to participate in the study (100% response rate). Quality of life data were collected through the EORTC QLQ-C30 as well as BR23 questionnaires.Results: Cronbach’s alpha for all scales of the two questionnaires was from 0.551 to 0.936 indicating very good reliability. According to the Multiple Linear Regression, older patients showed a lower future perspective (p= .031), with those living in rural areas, which was associated with more financial difficulties (p= .001). Women with tertiary education and those who had been hospitalized in a university hospital recorded better on global health status (p= .003 and .000 respectively). Patients who underwent chemotherapy reported better scores in the emotional function sub-scale (p= .025). Women with reconstruction and at least one complication appeared to have significantly better scores in future perspective and social function (p= .005, .002 respectively).Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors were found to have an overall good quality of life, functioning/symptoms scores and were satisfied with the provided care.
Change in age distribution of the injuries and comparison of different scoring tools in predicting mortality among geriatric trauma patients
Authors: Jiang Libing , Zheng Zhongjun , Zhang Mao
Published: September 2020

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the age change tendency of trauma patients and to test the accuracy of different scoring tools in prediction of in-hospital mortality in case of geriatric trauma.Methods: Annual reports released by the National Trauma Database (NTDB) in the United States from 2005 to 2015 and the Trauma Register DGU® in German from 1994 to 2012 were used to describe the age change tendency of trauma patients. Secondary analysis of a single-center cohort study conducted among 311 severely injured geriatric trauma patients in a level Ⅰ trauma center in Switzerland was completed. According to the in-hospital survival status, patients were divided into survival group and non-survival group. Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) analysis was used to evaluated the predictive performance of the ISS (injury severity score); NISS (new injury severity score), APACHE Ⅱ (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ), SPAS Ⅱ (simplified acute physiology score Ⅱ) and TRISS (Trauma and Injury Severity Score) in prediction of in-hospital mortality among geriatric trauma patients. Results: The analysis of the NTDB showed the proportion of geriatric trauma increased from 18% to 30% from 2005 to 2015. The analysis of the DGU® showed the mean age of trauma patients rose from 39.11 in 1993 to 51.10 in 2013, and the proportion of patients aged ≥60 rose from 16.5% to 37.5%. The secondary analysis indicated one hundred and sixty-four (52.73%) patients died in the hospital. The ISS, NISS, APACHE Ⅱ, and SAPS Ⅱ in the death group were significantly higher than those in the survival group, and the TRISS in the death group was significantly lower than those in the survival group. The AUC of the ISS, NISS, TRISS, APACHE Ⅱ, and SAPS Ⅱ was 0.807, 0.850, 0.828, 0.715 and 0.725, respectively.Conclusion: The total number of geriatric trauma is increasing as the population ages. The accuracy of ISS, NISS and TRISS was higher than the accuracy of the APACHE Ⅱ and SAPS Ⅱ to predict in-hospital mortality in case of geriatric trauma.
Extra-Hepatic Comorbidity Burden Significantly Increases 90-day Mortality in Patients with Cirrhosis and High Model for Endstage Liver Disease
Authors: Coppel Scott , Mathur Karan , Ekser Burcin , Patidar Kavish R , Orman Eric , Desai Archita P , Gomez Eduardo Vilar , Kubal Chandrashekhar , Chalasani Naga P , Nephew Lauren , Ghabril Marwan
Published: September 2020

BackgroundWe examined how extra-hepatic comorbidity burden impacts mortality in patients with cirrhosis referred for liver transplantation (LT).MethodsAdults with cirrhosis evaluated for their first LT in 2012 were followed through their clinical course with last follow up in 2019. Extra-hepatic comorbidity burden was measured using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). The endpoints were 90-day transplant free survival (Cox-Proportional Hazard regression), and overall mortality (competing risk analysis).ResultsThe study included 340 patients, mean age 56±11, 63% male and MELD-Na 17.2±6.6. The CCI was 0 (no comorbidities) in 44%, 1-2 in 44% and >2 (highest decile) in 12%, with no differences based on gender but higher CCI in patients with fatty and cryptogenic liver disease. Thirty-three (10%) of 332 patients not receiving LT within 90 days died. Beyond MELD-Na, the CCI was independently associated with 90-day mortality (hazard ratio (HR), 1.32 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.72). Ninety-day mortality was specifically increased with higher CCI category and MELD ≥ 18 (12% (CCI=0), 22% (CCI=1-2) and 33% (CCI>2), (p=0.002)) but not MELD-Na ≤17. At last follow-up, 69 patients were alive, 100 underwent LT and 171 died without LT. CCI was associated with increased overall mortality in the competing risk analysis (Sub-HR 1.24, 95%CI 1.1-1.4 ).ConclusionsExtra-hepatic comorbidity burden significantly impacts short-term mortality in patients with cirrhosis and high MELD-Na. This has implications in determining urgency of LT and mortality models in cirrhosis and LT waitlisting, especially with an ageing population with increasing prevalence of fatty liver disease.
Choroidal vessel density in unilateral hyperopic amblyopia using en-face optical coherence tomography
Authors: Araki Syunsuke , Miki Atsushi , Goto Katsutoshi , Yamashita Tsutomu , Yoneda Tsuyoshi , Fujiwara Atsushi , Haruishi Kazuko , Ieki Yoshiaki , Kiryu Junichi , Maehara Goro , Yaoeda Kiyoshi
Published: September 2020

Background Structural changes of the choroid, such as choroidal thickening, have been indicated in amblyopic eyes with hyperopic anisometropia as compared to fellow or healthy eyes. The purpose of the present study was to investigate choroidal vascular density (CVD) in children with unilateral hyperopic amblyopia.Methods This study included 88 eyes of 44 patients with unilateral amblyopia due to hyperopic anisometropia with or without strabismus and 29 eyes of 29 age-matched normal controls. The CVD of Haller's layer was quantified from en-face images constructed by 3-dimensional swept-source optical coherence tomography images flattened relative to Bruch's membrane. The analysis area was a 3×3-mm square of macula after magnification correction. Relationships between CVD and other parameters [best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), refractive error, axial length and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT)] were investigated, and CVDs were compared between amblyopic, fellow, and normal control eyes.Results Mean CVD was 59.11 ± 0.66% in amblyopic eyes, 59.23 ± 0.81% in fellow eyes, and 59.29 ± 0.74% in normal control eyes. CVD showed a significant positive relationship with SFCT (p=0.005), but no relationships with other parameters. No significant differences in CVD were evident among amblyopic, fellow, and normal control eyes after adjusting for SFCT (p=0.502).Conclusions CVD was unrelated to BCVA, and CVD did not differ significantly among amblyopic, fellow and normal control eyes. These results suggest that the local CVD of Haller's layer is unaffected in unilateral hyperopic amblyopic eyes.
Rapidly Reversible Organic Crystalline Switch for Conversion of Heat into Mechanical Energy
Authors: Gassensmith Jeremiah , Dharmarwardana Madushani , Pakhira Srimanta , Welch Raymond , Caicedo-Narvaez Carlos , Luzuriagaa Michael , Arimillia Bhargav , McCandlessa Gregory , Fahimib Babak , Mendoza-Cortes Jose
Published: September 2020

Solid state thermosalience—a sudden exertion of an expansive or contractive physical force following a temperature change in a solid state compound—is rare, few are reversible systems, and most of these are limited to a dozen or so cycles before the crystal degrades or they reverse slowly over the course of many minutes or even hours. In this work, we show a fully reversible actuator that is stable at room temperature for multiple years and is capable of actuation for more than two hundred cycles at near ambient temperature. Specifically, the crystals shrink to 90% of its original length instantaneously upon heating beyond 45 °C and expands back to its original length upon cooling below 35 °C. This temperature regime is important because it occurs around physiologically important temperatures. Furthermore, the phase transition occurs instantaneously, with little obvious hysteresis, allowing us to create real-time actuating thermal fuses that cycle between on and off rapidly.
A Proteomic Repertoire of Autoantigens Identified from the Classic Autoantibody Clinical Test Substrate HEp-2 Cells
Authors: Wang Julia Y , Zhang Wei , Rho Jung-hyun , Roehrl Michael W , Roehrl Michael H.
Published: September 2020

Background: Autoantibodies are a hallmark of autoimmune diseases. Autoantibody screening by indirect immunofluorescence staining of HEp-2 cells with patient sera is a current standard in clinical practice. Differential diagnosis of autoimmune disorders is based on commonly recognizable nuclear and cytoplasmic staining patterns. In this study, we attempted to identify as many autoantigens as possible from HEp-2 cells using a unique proteomic DS-affinity enrichment strategy.Methods: HEp-2 cells were cultured and lysed. Total proteins were extracted from cell lysate and fractionated with DS-Sepharose resins. Proteins were eluted with salt gradients, and fractions with low to high affinity were collected and sequenced by mass spectrometry. Literature text mining was conducted to verify the autoantigenicity of each protein. Protein interaction network and pathway analyses were performed on all identified proteins.Results: This study identified 107 proteins from fractions with low to high DS-affinity. Of these, 78 are verified autoantigens with previous reports as targets of autoantibodies, whereas 29 might be potential autoantigens yet to be verified. Among the 107 proteins, 82 can be located to nucleus and 15 to the mitotic cell cycle, which may correspond to the dominance of nuclear and mitotic staining patterns in HEp-2 test. There are 55 vesicle-associated proteins and 12 ribonucleoprotein granule proteins, which may contribute to the diverse speckled patterns in HEp-2 stains. There are also 32 proteins related to the cytoskeleton. Protein network analysis indicates that these proteins have significantly more interactions among themselves than would be expected of a random set, with the top 3 networks being mRNA metabolic process regulation, apoptosis, and DNA conformation change.Conclusions: This study provides a proteomic repertoire of confirmed and potential autoantigens for future studies, and the findings are consistent with a mechanism for autoantigenicity: how self-molecules may form molecular complexes with DS to elicit autoimmunity. Our data contribute to the molecular etiology of autoimmunity and may deepen our understanding of autoimmune diseases.
Inhibition of Ref(2)P, the Drosophila homologue of p62/SQSTM1, increases lifespan and leads to motor function decline
Authors: Hurley Emily P. , Staveley Brian Ernest
Published: September 2020

Objective Sequestosome 1 (p62/SQSTM1) is a multifunctional scaffold/adaptor protein encoded by the p62/SQSTM1 gene with function in cellular homeostasis. Mutations in the p62/SQSTM1 gene have been known to be associated with patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), and Parkinson Disease (PD). The aim of the present study was to create a novel model of human neurogenerative disease in Drosophila melanogaster by altering the expression of Ref(2)P, the Drosophila orthologue of the human p62/SQSTM1 gene. Ref(2)P expression was altered in all neurons, the dopaminergic neurons and in the motor neurons, with longevity and locomotor function assessed over time.Results Inhibition of Ref(2)P resulted in a significantly increased median lifespan in the motor neurons, followed by a severe decline in motor skills. Inhibition of Ref(2)P in the dopaminergic neurons resulted in a significant, but minimal increase in median lifespan, accompanied by a drastic decline in locomotor function. Inhibition of Ref(2)P in the ddc-Gal4-expressing neurons resulted in a significant increase in median lifespan, while dramatically reducing motor function.
Squeezed lasing
Authors: Muñoz Carlos Sánchez , Jaksch Dieter
Published: September 2020

We introduce the idea of a squeezed laser, in which a squeezed cavity mode develops a macroscopic photonic occupation powered by stimulated emission. Above the lasing threshold, the emitted light retains both the spectral purity inherent of a laser and the photon correlations characteristic of a photonic mode with squeezed quadratures. Our proposal, which can be implemented in optical setups, relies on the parametric driving of the cavity and dissipative stabilization by a broadband squeezed vacuum. We show that the squeezed laser can find applications going beyond those of standard lasers thanks to the squeezed character, such as enhanced operation in multi-photon microscopy or Heisenberg scaling of the Fisher information in quantum parameter estimation.
Comparative Studies on the Diagnostic Validity of Widal and Evaluation of Interferon Gamma Response in Patients Investigated for Typhoid Fever
Authors: Nura Mujahid , Mohammed Yusuf , Ibrahim Yusuf , Sani Nura , Abdulkadir Bashir , Wada Mudassir
Published: September 2020

Typhoid fever remains a public health challenge in developing countries. In Nigeria, patients usually come with complains of fever and other symptoms typical of febrile illnesses where resource limitation in healthcare facilities necessitates the use of screening tests for diagnosis. Widal test is widely used due to its simplicity. However, the specificity of this test has been debated. The present study compared the diagnostic validity of Widal to blood culture and evaluated interferon gamma response among the study participants. A total of 90 patients with complain of fever and other symptoms suggestive of typhoid fever were recruited for the study. Widal serology, automated blood culture and interferon gamma concentration were conducted using rapid antibody detection kit, BACTEC and sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively. Of the 90 samples tested, 63 (70.0%) were positive for anti Typhi O antigen while 42 (46.7%) were positive for anti- Typhi H antigen. Similarly, 18 (20%) of the patients had non-S. Typhi culture positivity while 72 (80%) had no bacteria isolated. Overall, 0 (0%) of the cases had S. Typhi positive culture. Fisher’s exact test suggests a significant difference between blood culture status and prevalence of anti-S. Typhi H antigen. Interferon gamma concentration was found to be significantly associated with blood culture status as plasma interferon gamma levels increased with bacteraemia. Fisher’s exact test showed a strong statistical relationship between interferon gamma concentration and blood culture (p=0.003). Interferon gamma has a direct proportionality with non- S. Typhi culture as such, could be a good marker for the development of an alternative screening test, possibly an interferon gamma based detection system for typhoid fever. However, further research is required to implement that.
MolDiscovery: Learning Mass Spectrometry Fragmentation of Small Molecules
Authors: Mohimani Hosein , Cao Liu , Guler Mustafa , Tagirdzhanov Azat , Gurevich Alexey
Published: September 2020

Identification of small molecules is a critical task in various areas of life science. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have enabled the collection of tandem mass spectra of small molecules from hundreds of thousands of environments. To identify which molecules are present in a sample, one can search mass spectra collected from the sample against millions of molecular structures in small molecule databases. This is a challenging task as currently it is not clear how small molecules are fragmented in mass spectrometry. The existing approaches use the domain knowledge from chemistry to predict fragmentation of molecules. However, these rule-based methods fail to explain many of the peaks in mass spectra of small molecules. Recently, spectral libraries with tens of thousands of labelled mass spectra of small molecules have emerged, paving the path for learning more accurate fragmentation models for mass spectral database search. We present molDiscovery, a mass spectral database search method that improves both efficiency and accuracy of small molecule identification by (i) utilizing an efficient algorithm to generate mass spectrometry fragmentations, and (ii) learning a probabilistic model to match small molecules with their mass spectra. We show our database search is an order of magnitude more efficient than the state-of-the-art methods, which enables searching against databases with millions of molecules. A search of over 8 million spectra from the Global Natural Product Social molecular networking infrastructure shows that our probabilistic model can correctly identify nearly six times more unique small molecules than previous methods. Moreover, by applying molDiscovery on microbial datasets with both mass spectral and genomics data we successfully discovered the novel biosynthetic gene clusters of three families of small molecules.

Availability: The command-line version of molDiscovery and its online web service through the GNPS infrastructure are available at https://github.com/mohimanilab/molDiscovery.
Effects of Briquettes with Different Crack Structures on Propagation Characteristics of Ultrasonic Waves under Wetting Conditions
Authors: Wang Gang , Li Jinzhou , Li Huaixing , Liu Zhiyuan , Guo Yanpei , Liu Xianglan
Published: September 2020

In order to examine the effect of briquettes with different crack structures on ultrasonic characteristics under different wetting conditions, a series of ultrasonic testing are carried out on briquettes at different wetting heights and the ultrasonic characteristics in these coal samples are explored. The results show that ultrasonic amplitude is positively correlated with the emission voltage, whereas ultrasonic frequency is negatively correlated with the emission voltage. Changes in both are closely related to the particle size and density. The ultrasonic velocity is positively correlated with the wetting degree. Sample mass has the greatest effect on the ultrasonic velocity, followed by particle size, and pressure has the smallest effect. At dry stage, ultrasonic velocity in gas coal is less than that in bituminous coal. The opposite is true in the fully wet state. The influence of crack thickness on ultrasonic velocity gradually increases with the wetting degree increasing. At dry stage, the velocity gradually increases with the crack dip increasing, while as the wetting height increasing, magnitude of velocity increase gradually decreases with the dip increasing. The ultrasonic attenuation in the briquettes reduces with the emission voltage enhancing. The attenuation decreases with sample particle size, crack thickness and crack size decreasing and with sample mass, pressure and crack dip increasing. The ultrasonic attenuation shows a trend of increase before decrease with the wetting height increasing. The attenuation of ultrasonic wave increases with wave velocity increasing for intact samples and shows a trend of increase before decrease for cracked samples.
Silicon thin film transistor-based aptamer sensor for COVID-19 detection
Authors: Farrow Thomas , Laumier Siriny , Sandall Ian , Zalinge Harm van
Published: September 2020

Since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in December 2019 and the current lack to date of specific drugs or vaccinations to cope with the disease, it has become apparent that the surest way of dealing with this is through early diagnosis and management. Current testing has shown to be unable to rapidly and accurately provide the results required to restrict the spread. Here we report the use of an intrinsic silicon thin film transistor functionalised with aptamers designed to attach to the spike protein of COVID-19. It is shown that a linear response can be obtained in a concentration of 10 fM and 10 pM, and that the relative response is independent of the applied potential allowing a sensory system to fine tune the applied potential to facilitate the interpretation of the results.
Elovanoids downregulate canonical SARS-CoV-2 cell-entry mediators and enhance protective signaling in human alveolar cells
Authors: Calandria Jorgelina , Bhattacharjee Surjyadipta , Kautzmann Marie-Audrey I. , Asatryan Aram , Gordon William C. , Do Khanh V. , Jun Bokkyoo , Mukherjee Pranab K. , Petasis Nicos A. , Bazan Nicolas G.
Published: September 2020

The pro-homeostatic lipid mediators elovanoids (ELVs) attenuate cell binding and entrance of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) in human primary alveoli cells in culture. We uncovered that very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid precursors (VLC-PUFA,n-3) activate ELV biosynthesis in lung cells. Both ELVs and their precursors reduce the binding to RBD. ELVs downregulate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and enhance the expression of a set of protective proteins hindering cell surface virus binding and upregulating defensive proteins against lung damage. These findings open avenues for potential preventive and disease-modifiable therapeutic approaches for COVID-19.
Country distancing increase reveals the effectiveness of travel restrictions in stopping COVID-19 transmission
Authors: Zhong Lu , Diagne Mamadou , Wang Weiping , Gao Jianxi
Published: September 2020

Non-pharmaceutical interventions are the current central strategy to stop transmitting the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally. Despite remarkably successful approaches in predicting the ongoing pandemic's spatiotemporal patterns, we lack an intrinsic understanding of the travel restrictions' efficiency and effectiveness. We fill this gap by examining the countries' closeness based on disease spread using country distancing that is analogical to the effective resistance in series and parallel circuits and captures the propagation backbone tree from the outbreak locations globally. Our method estimates that 53.6\% of travel restrictions as of June 1, 2020, are ineffective. Our analytical results unveil that the optimal and coordinated travel restrictions postpone per geographical area by 22.56 [95\% credible interval (CI), 18.57 to 26.59] days of the disease's arrival time and protect the world by reducing 1,872,295 (95\% CI, 216,029 to 23,606,312) infected cases till June 1, 2020, which are significantly better than the existing travel restrictions achieving 12.87 (95\% CI, 10.59 to 15.17) days of arrival time delay and 861,867 (95\% CI, 238,250 to 3,879,638) infected cases reduction. Our approach offers a practical guide that indicates when and where to implement travel restrictions, tailed to the real-time national context.
COVID-19 infection data encode a dynamic reproduction number in response to policy decisions with secondary wave implications
Authors: Rowland Michael A. , Swannack Todd , Mayo Michael L. , Parno Matthew , Farthing Matthew , Dettwiller Ian , George Glover , England William , Reif Molly , Cegan Jeffrey , Trump Benjamin , Linkov Igor , Lafferty Brandon , Bridges Todd
Published: September 2020

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is responsible for the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which continues to spread to populations throughout the continental United States. Most state and local governments have adopted some level of “social distancing” policy, but infections have continued to spread despite these efforts. Absent a vaccine, authorities have few other tools by which to mitigate further spread of the virus. This begs the question of how effective social policy really is at reducing new infections that, left alone, would likely overwhelm the existing hospitalization capacity of many states. We developed a mathematical model that captures correlations between state-level “social distancing” policies and infection kinetics for all U.S. states, and use it to illustrate the link between social policy decisions, disease dynamics, and an effective reproduction number that changes over time, for case studies of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington states. In general, our findings indicate that the potential for second waves of infection, which result after reopening states without an increase to immunity, can be mitigated by a return of social distancing policies as soon as possible after the waves are detected.
Gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae), damaging fruits and seeds of arboreal and shrubby plants in the Palearctic
Authors: Федотова З.А.
Published: September 2020

Галлицы-карпофаги в Палеарктике повреждают 14 типов плодов древесно-кустарниковых растений из 16 семейств. Они обычно специфичны по отношению к роду растения, являясь монофагами и олигофагами (Kaltenbachiola, Plemeliella, Resseliella). Внутри семян покрытосеменных растений развиваются очень редко (Semudobia). Всего 10 видов галлиц из 5 родов выявлено в плодах и семенах голосеменных растений, 39 видов из 15 родов – на покрытосеменных. В шишках хвойных и серёжках берёз известны наиболее крупные комплексы галлиц. Общих видов среди плодовых, семенных и цветочных галлиц не обнаружено. Галлицы, развивающиеся в плодах и семенах растений, освоили их независимо от цветочных галлиц. Галлицы предпочитают сухие плоды, преимущественно шишки, крылатки, коробочки; среди сочных плодов – костянки и ложные ягоды.

Fruit and seed gall midges in the Palearctic damage 14 types of fruit of tree and shrub plants from 16 families. They are usually specific to the genus of the plant, being monophagous and oligophagous (Kaltenbachiola, Plemeliella, Semudobia). They develop very rarely inside seeds of angiosperms (Semudobia). A total of 10 species of gall midges from 5 genera are found in fruits and seeds of gymnosperms plants, 39 species from 15 genera are known on angiosperms. The largest complexes of gall midges are known in the cones of conifers and earrings of birch. There were no common species among fruit, seed and flower gall midges. Gall midges developing in fruits and seeds of plants began to utilize them irrespective of flower gall midges. Gall midges prefer dry fruits, mostly cones, achene, capsules; among the juicy fruits they prefer stone-fruit and false berries.
Research of road mixtures on the basis of the soils of the forest zone and nepheline sludge with additives of mineral binders
Authors: Зубова О.В. , Силецкий В.В. , Козлов А.П. , Кузнецов К.В.
Published: September 2020

В исследованиях рассматривается вариант решения проблемы строительства лесных дорог. В качестве одного из решений данной проблемы представлено создание нового экономически доступного материала – смесей из грунта и нефелинового шлама, укрепленного минеральными вяжущими. Ранее проведенные исследования дорог, построенных с применением шламов, подтвердили эффективность и экономическую выгоду использования данного отхода промышленности. Нефелиновый шлам преимущественно исследовался как самостоятельный материал, смеси нефелинового шлама с лесными грунтами мало исследованы. Были проведены исследования нефелинового шлама как компонента, укрепляющего грунты лесной зоны Северо-Запада. В статье приведены результаты исследований таких смесей, как смесь песка, обработанного шламоцементом; смесь суглинка, обработанного шламоцементом. Результаты исследований подтверждают потенциальную эффективность использования нефелинового шлама для строительства лесных дорог в зоне Северо-Запада.

In the studies, a variant of solving the problem of building forest roads is considered.One of the solutions to this problem is the creation of a new economically accessible material – mixtures of soil and nepheline sludge, reinforced with mineral binders. Previous studies of roads built using slimes confirmed the efficiency and economic benefits of using this industry waste. Nepheline sludge was mainly studied as an independent material, mixtures of nepheline sludge with forest soils were little studied. Studies of nepheline sludge as a component that strengthens the soils of the forest zone of the Northwest have been carried out.The article presents the results of studies of such mixtures as: a mixture of sand treated with slurry cement; mixture of loam treated with slime cement. The results of the studies confirm the potential effectiveness of the use of nepheline sludge for the construction of forest roads in the zone of the Northwest.