bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
REV-ERB is essential in cardiac fibroblasts homeostasis
Authors: Luo Xiaokang , Song Shiyang , Qi Lei , Tien Chih-Liang , Li Hui , Xu Weiyi , Mathuram Theodore Lemuel , Burris Thomas , Zhao Yuanbiao , Sun Zheng , Zhang Lilei
Published: October 2022

REV-ERB agonists have shown antifibrotic effects in the heart and other organs. The function of REV-ERB in the cardiac fibroblasts remains unstudied. Here, we characterize the functional difference of REV-ERB in mouse embryonic fibroblasts and cardiac fibroblasts using genetic deletion of REV-ERBα and ß in vitro. We show that REV-ERB α/β double deleted cardiac fibroblasts have reduced viability and proliferation, but increased migration and myofibroblasts activation. Thus, REV-ERB α/β has essential cell-autonomous role in cardiac fibroblasts in maintaining them in a healthy, quiescent state. We also show that existing REV-ERB agonist SR9009 strongly suppresses cardiac fibroblasts activation but in a REV-ERB-independent manner highlighting the need to develop novel REV-ERB agonists for treating cardiac fibrosis.
Ginsenosides: Allies of gastrointestinal tumor immunotherapy
Authors: Feng Yutao , Ma Fen , Wu Enjiang , Cheng Zewei , Wang Zhengtao , Yang Li , Zhang Jiwei
Published: October 2022

In the past decade, immunotherapy has been the most promising treatment for gastrointestinal tumors. But the low response rate and drug resistance remain major concerns. It is therefore imperative to develop adjuvant therapies to increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy and prevent drug resistance. Ginseng has been used in Traditional Chinese medicine as a natural immune booster for thousands of years. The active components of ginseng, ginsenosides, have played an essential role in tumor treatment for decades and are candidates for anti-tumor adjuvant therapy. They are hypothesized to cooperate with immunotherapy drugs to improve the curative effect and reduce tumor resistance and adverse reactions. This review summarizes the research into the use of ginsenosides in immunotherapy of gastrointestinal tumors and discusses potential future applications.
Polynomial eigenvalue solution for elastic wave prediction of piezoelectric shunting arrays
Authors: Yang Huisong , Wang Gang
Published: October 2022

This paper presents a polynomial eigenvalue solution to predict the propagation behaviors of elastic wave in piezoelectric shunting arrays. Based on the Bloch theorem, one independent unit cell is selected to conduct the dynamic characteristic analysis instead of infinity. The reduced form of the discretized governing equations is first derived by the standard finite element procedures. To facilitate the subsequent acquisition of dispersion relationship, the dynamic stiffness matrix is then partitioned into a block matrix. Through applying the periodic boundary conditions, a polynomial eigenvalue equation concerning complex propagation constant is finally obtained. The wave propagation and attenuation characteristics in arbitrary directions are investigated using the above methodology. The results demonstrate that the present method can provide very accurate and reliable solutions for wave propagation prediction of piezoelectric shunting arrays.
Wellbore multiphase flow behaviors of gas kick in deep water horizontal drilling
Authors: Wang Xiansi , Huang Lianlu , Li Xiangpeng , Bi Shaokun , Li Hua , Zhang Jianbo , Sun Xiaohui
Published: October 2022

During the deepwater drilling, the complicated gas-liquid-solid multiphase flow will occur if the formation gas enters and migrates in the wellbore. Through understanding of the wellbore flow behaviors is of great importance for the blowout prevention and well control. Considering the dynamic mass and heat transfer process in wellbore caused by alternating ambient temperature field, a multiphase flow model of multicomponent fluid in wellbore is deduced and developed, including the continuity equation, momentum conservation equation and energy conservation equation. Furthermore, the corresponding initial and boundary conditions are proposed for different working conditions in deepwater drilling, and an efficient numerical solution method is established, including dynamic mesh generation method and discrete solution method of partial differential equations. Applied in a deep-water kicking well, the proposed model is used to analyze the multiphase flow rules in the wellbore. The results show that in the process of annular fluid returning from the bottomhole, the pressure generally decreases linearly, while the temperature change is nonlinear. The temperature first rises and then falls at the formation section, and first falls and then rises at the seawater section. Furthermore, the pit gain increases approximately in a quadratic polynomial relationship, caused by the rise and expansion of gas in the wellbore, and the pressure drop and gas influx rate increase at the bottomhole. In the process of kick evolution, the standpipe pressure and bottomhole pressure gradually decrease, which can be an important sign for kick detection.
Cell image reconstruction using digital holography with an improved GS algorithm
Authors: Jiang Yuhao , Li Hongzhong , Pang Yu , Ling Jiwei , Wang Hao , Yang Yuling , Li Xinyu , Tian Yin , Wang Xiuxin
Published: October 2022

Digital holography is an effective technology in image reconstruction as amplitude and phase information of cells can be acquired without any staining. In this paper, we propose a holographic technique with an improved Gerchberg-Saxton (GS) algorithm to reconstruct cell imaging based on phase reconstruction information. Comparative experiments are conducted on four specific models to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The morphological parameters (such as shape, volume, and sphericity) of abnormal erythrocytes can be obtained by reconstructing cell hologram of urinary sediment. Notably, abnormal red blood cells can also be detected in mussy circumstances by the proposed method, owing to the significantly biophysical contrast (refractive index distribution and mass density) between two different cells. Therefore, this proposed method has a broad application prospect in cell image reconstruction and cell dynamic detection.
Identification of tRNA-derived small RNAs and their potential roles in porcine skeletal muscle with intrauterine growth restriction
Authors: Gan Mailin , Ma Jianfeng , Chen Lei , Zhang Shunhua , Niu Lili , Zhao Ye , Li Xuewei , Pan Hongmei , Zhu Li , Shen Linyuan
Published: October 2022

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in humans often manifests as poor growth and delayed intellectual development, whereas in domestic animals it results in increased mortality. As a novel epigenetic regulatory molecule, tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) have been reported to be involved in many biological processes. In this study, pigs (35d) were used as a model to characterize tsRNAs by sequencing in normal and IUGR porcine skeletal muscle. A total of 586 tsRNAs were identified, of which 103 were specifically expressed in normal-size pigs and 38 were specifically expressed in IUGR pigs. The tsRNAs formed by splicing before the 5′ end anti codon of mature tRNA (tRF-5c) accounted for over 90% of tsRNAs, which were significantly enriched in IUGR pigs than in normal-size pigs. Enriched pathways of differentially expressed tsRNAs target genes mainly included metabolic pathways, Rap1 signaling pathway, endocytosis, mTOR signaling pathway, and AMPK signaling pathway. Regulatory network analysis of target genes revealed that IGF1 was one of the most important molecules of regulatory nodes in IUGR and normal porcine skeletal muscle. In addition, IGF1 was found to be one of the target genes of tRF-Glu-TTC-047, which is a highly expressed tsRNA in IUGR pigs. The findings described herein uncover the role of tsRNAs in IUGR porcine skeletal muscle development, thus providing insights into the prevention and treatment of IUGR in mammals.
The plant stem-cell niche and pluripotency: 15 years of an epigenetic perspective
Authors: Müller-Xing Ralf , Xing Qian
Published: October 2022

Pluripotent stem-cells are slowly dividing cells giving rise to daughter cells that can either differentiate to new tissues and organs, or remain stem-cells. In plants, stem-cells are located in specific niches of the shoot and root apical meristems (SAMs and RAMs). After ablation of stem-cell niches, pluripotent meristematic cells can establish new stem-cells, whereas the removal of the whole meristem destructs the regeneration process. In tissue cultures, after detached plant organs are transferred to rooting or callus induction medium (G5 or CIM), vasculature-associated pluripotent cells (VPCs) immediately start proliferation to form adventitious roots or callus, respectively, while other cell types of the organ explants basically play no part in the process. Hence, in contrast to the widely-held assumption that all plant cells have the ability to reproduce a complete organism, only few cell types are pluripotent in practice, raising the question how pluripotent stem-cells differ from differentiated cells. It is now clear that, in addition to gene regulatory networks of pluripotency factors and phytohormone signaling, epigenetics play a crucial role in initiation, maintenance and determination of plant stem-cells. Although, more and more epigenetic regulators have been shown to control plant stem-cell fate, only a few studies demonstrate how they are recruited and how they change the chromatin structure and transcriptional regulation of pluripotency factors. Here, we highlight recent breakthroughs but also revisited classical studies of epigenetic regulation and chromatin dynamics of plant stem-cells and their pluripotent precursor-cells, and point out open questions and future directions.
Balanced below- and above-ground growth improved yield and water productivity by cultivar renewal for winter wheat
Authors: Li Haotian , Li Lu , Liu Na , Liu Zimeng , Lu Yang , Shao Liwei
Published: October 2022

Breeding cultivars that can maintain high production and water productivity (WP) under various growing conditions would be important for mitigating freshwater shortage problems. Experiments were carried out to assess the changes in yield and WP of different cultivars by breeding and traits related to the changes using tubes with 1.05 m depth and 19.2 cm inner diameter buried in the field located in the North China Plain. Six winter wheat cultivars released from the 1970s to 2010s were assessed under three water levels for three seasons. The results indicated that yield was on average improved by 19.9% and WP by 21.5% under the three water levels for the three seasons for the cultivar released in the 2010s as compared with that released in the 1970s. The performance of the six cultivars was relatively stable across the experimental duration. The improvement in yield was mainly attributed to the maintenance of higher photosynthetic capacity during the reproductive growth stage and greater above-ground biomass accumulation. These improvements were larger under wet conditions than that under dry conditions, indicating that the yield potential was increased by cultivar renewal. Traits related to yield and WP improvements included the increased harvest index and reduced root: shoot ratio. New cultivars reduced the redundancy in root proliferation in the topsoil layer, which did not compromise the efficient utilization of soil moisture but reduced the metabolic input in root growth. Balanced above- and below-ground growth resulted in a significant improvement in root efficiency at grain yield level up to 40% from the cultivars released in the 1970s to those recently released. The results from this study indicated that the improved efficiency in both the above- and below-parts played important roles in enhancing crop production and resource use efficiency.
Promoting growth and production of sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus) by co-inoculation with phosphate solubilizing bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under drought
Authors: Nacoon Sabaiporn , Seemakram Wasan , Ekprasert Jindarat , Jogloy Sanun , Kuyper Thomas W. , Mongkolthanaruk Wiyada , Riddech Nuntavun , Somdee Theerasak , Boonlue Sophon
Published: October 2022

Due to different functions of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), their potential synergistic effects on enhancing plant growth and yield are worth investigating, especially under adverse conditions. This work focused on the isolation of PSB and characterization for their plant growth promoting properties under drought. The most efficient P solubilizing bacterium was isolated and identified asBurkholderia vietnamiensisstrain KKUT8-1. Then, a factorial experiment on the performance of sunchoke (Helianthus tuberosus) was set up with four factors, viz., PSB (presence or absence of KKUT8-1), AMF (presence or absence ofRhizophagus aggregatus), rock phosphate (RP; added or not) and moisture (well-watered (WW) or drought (DS) conditions). Sunchoke performance was enhanced by the presence of AMF, whereas addition of PSB had a positive effect on SPAD values and inulin concentration. Drought reduced plant performance, while addition of RP reduced photosynthetic rate. There was little evidence for synergistic effects between PSB and AMF, except for SPAD values and inulin concentration. Plants that were co-inoculated with AMF and PSB had highest SPAD value, shoot diameter, leaf area, leaf number, chlorophyll concentration, plant biomass, tuber production, root growth and total soluble sugar concentration. Co-inoculated plants also had increased plant water status, reduced electrolyte leakage, and reduced malondialdehyde and proline concentration. Strain KKUT8-1 is the first strain ofB. vietnamiensiscapable of promoting growth and yield of sunchoke. Enhanced production of sunchoke by a combination of AMF and PSB was much better than the application of RP. Our finding offers an opportunity to develop combinations of biological inoculants for increasing the growth and production of sunchoke under drought in the future.
A novel small open reading frame gene, IbEGF, enhances drought tolerance in transgenic sweet potato
Authors: Zhou Yuanyuan , Zhai Hong , Xing Shihan , Wei Zihao , He Shaozhen , Zhang Huan , Gao Shaopei , Zhao Ning , Liu Qingchang
Published: October 2022

Small open reading frames (sORFs) can encode functional polypeptides or act as cis-translational regulators in stress responses in eukaryotes. Their number and potential importance have only recently become clear in plants. In this study, we identified a novel sORF gene in sweet potato, IbEGF, which encoded the 83-amino acid polypeptide containing an EGF_CA domain. The expression of IbEGF was induced by PEG6000, H2O2, abscisic acid (ABA), methyl-jasmonate (MeJA) and brassinosteroid (BR). The IbEGF protein was localized to the nucleus and cell membrane. Under drought stress, overexpression of IbEGF enhanced drought tolerance, promoted the accumulation of ABA, MeJA, BR and proline and upregulated the genes encoding superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in transgenic sweet potato. The IbEGF protein was found to interact with IbCOP9-5α, a regulator in the phytohormone signalling pathways. These results suggest that IbEGF interacting with IbCOP9-5α enhances drought tolerance by regulating phytohormone signalling pathways, increasing proline accumulation and further activating reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging system in transgenic sweet potato.
Overexpression of salicylic acid methyltransferase reduces salicylic acid-mediated pathogen resistance in poplar
Authors: Dong Huixia , Zhang Wei , Li Yongxia , Feng Yuqian , Wang Xuan , Liu Zhenkai , Li Dongzhen , Wen Xiaojian , Ma Shuai , Zhang Xingyao
Published: October 2022

Salicylic acid (SA) is generally considered to be a critical signal transduction factor in plant defenses against pathogens. It could be converted to methyl salicylate (MeSA) for remote signals by salicylic acid methyltransferase (SAMT) and converted back to SA by SA-binding protein 2 (SABP2). In order to verify the function of SAMT in poplar plants, we isolated the full-length cDNA sequence of PagSAMT from 84K poplar and cultivated PagSAMT overexpression lines (OE-2 isolate) to test its role in SA-mediated defenses against the virulent fungal pathogen Botryosphaeria dothidea. Our results showed that after inoculation with B. dothidea, OE-2 significantly increased MeSA content and reduced SA content which is associated with increased expression of SAMT in both infected and uninfected leaves, when compared against the wild type (WT). Additionally, SAMT overexpression plant lines (OE-2) exhibited higher expression of pathogenesis-related genes PR-1 and PR-5, but were still susceptible to B. dothidea suggesting that in poplar SA might be responsible for resistance against this pathogen. This study expands the current understanding of joint regulation of SAMT and SABP2 and the balance between SA and MeSA in poplar responses to pathogen invasion.
Ecological strategy of Phyllostachys heteroclada oliver in the riparian zone based on ecological stoichiometry
Authors: Jing Xiong , Su Wenhui , Fan Shaohui , Luo Huiying , Chu Haoyu
Published: October 2022

The abnormality of seasonal water level fluctuation in the riparian zone causes various ecological and environmental problems, such as vegetation degradation, biodiversity reduction, soil erosion, and landscape transformation, thereby critically modifying the ecosystem structure and functions. This necessitates the development of a dominant vegetation zone with competitive potential. In this study, we investigated the content and distribution pattern of nutrient elements in each organ of the dominant bamboo species, Phyllostachys heteroclada, in the riparian zone. We also analyzed the morphological characteristics, root aeration tissue structure, root oxygen exchange capacity, ATP supply situation, and leaf PSII photosynthetic mechanism of two bamboo species (P. heteroclada and P. nigra) in the riparian zone. Compared with P. nigra, the roots of P. heteroclada formed well-developed oxygen storage and transport structure, i.e., aeration tissue, and exhibited root oxygen secretion in the waterlogging environment of the riparian zone, whereas the roots maintained a high ATP content through energy metabolism, thus benefiting mineral absorption and transport. Moreover, the accumulation of N, P, Ca, Mg, and Fe in the leaves of P. heteroclada was greater under waterlogging conditions than under non-waterlogging conditions, which is the basis for the efficient operation of the photosynthetic mechanism of the leaves. Compared with waterlogged P. nigra, the PSII electron acceptor QA of P. heteroclada leaves had a vigorous reducing ability and showed higher efficiency of light uptake energy as well as higher quantum yield indexes ϕ(Eo) and ϕ(Po). This study demonstrates that the ecological adaptive regulation strategies of P. heteroclada in the riparian zone are intrinsic driving factors affecting their stoichiometric characteristics, including changes in the absorption and transport of minerals caused by root aeration structure and energy metabolism. Moreover, carbon production and allocation may be caused by the stable photosynthetic mechanism and source-sink relationship of leaves. Through the synergistic regulation of different organs realizing their roles and functions, P. heteroclada developed ecological stoichiometry characteristics adapted to the riparian zone.
Predictors of Entrepreneurship Intention Among Students in Vocational Colleges: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
Authors: Wu Xueshi , Tian Yumi
Published: October 2022

The purpose of this work is to investigate the major drivers behind the entrepreneurial intention (EI) of students from higher vocational colleges in China. Total 424 respondents participated in the survey questionnaire that measured their self-reported responses to five constructs (EI, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, emotional competencies, subjective norms, and entrepreneurial attitude). In addition to this, the equation modeling technique was used to perform the data analysis. The study results highlighted that both entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial attitudes serve as significant predictors of EI. Moreover, the entrepreneurial attitude was found to be a significant mediator of the EI and emotional competencies. Finally, a model invariance was established across the female and male student samples. As a result, this study has put forward some implications regarding the entrepreneurship education of the higher vocational students in China.
Predicting happiness levels of European immigrants and natives: An application of Artificial Neural Network and Ordinal Logistic Regression
Authors: Chen Shaoming , Yang Minghui , Lin Yuheng
Published: October 2022

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the happiness factors and assess the performance of machine learning techniques on predicting the happiness levels of European immigrants and natives. Two types of machine learning methods, Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), are employed for analytical modeling. Our results with a total sample size of 196,724 respondents from nine rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) indicate that the determinants of happiness for immigrants and natives are significantly inconsistent. Therefore, variables should be specifically selected to predict the happiness levels of these two different groups. The sensitivity analysis shows that satisfaction with life, subjective general health, and the highest level of education are the three most prominent determinants that contribute to the happiness of immigrants and natives. The overall accuracies of OLR and ANN baseline models are >80%. This can be further improved by building models for each individual country. The application of OLR and ANN implies that machine learning algorithms can be a useful tool for predicting happiness levels. The greater knowledge of migration and happiness will allow us to better understand the decision-making processes and construct more effective policies.
Homesickness in asylum seekers: The role of mental health and migration-related factors
Authors: Rosner Rita , Hagl Maria , Bücheler Leonie , Comtesse Hannah
Published: October 2022

Background

While homesickness in refugees is a recurring theme in clinical practice, respective research in this population is scarce. The Utrecht Homesickness Scale (UHS) allows distinguishing between certain aspects of homesickness, namely genuine separation distress like missing family and friends or yearning for home on the one side and problems regarding adjustment to the new situation on the other; so far, the instrument was applied mainly in samples of university students, and never in refugees.

Objective

We aimed to explore homesickness in a refugee population and its association with mental health symptoms and migration-related factors. In addition, we wanted to evaluate the UHS’s factor structure in a sample other than students.

Methods

Individuals from different countries (N = 99) seeking asylum in Germany were assessed for homesickness, migration-related variables (e.g., number of losses and stage of the asylum proceedings), and mental health symptoms (symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress and prolonged grief). After exploratory factor analysis, standardized mean factors scores were fed into subsequent correlational and regression analyses to identify the most prominent predictors of homesickness scores.

Results

The participants showed substantial levels of homesickness. We found a three-factor solution that implied distinct factors regarding (1) adjustment difficulties and loneliness, (2) ruminations about home, and (3) missing family and/or friends. The total homesickness score was associated with mental health but regression analyses with the three mean factor scores showed differential associations with mental health and migration-related variables. While adjustment difficulties and loneliness were—besides time since arrival in Germany—associated with mental health problems (depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms), ruminating about home was predicted by migration-related variables (number of losses and asylum status). For the factor scores regarding missing family and/or friends, the regression model was not significant.

Conclusion

The assessment of homesickness in refugee populations is feasible and of clinical importance, especially when distinguishing between separation distress and difficulties with adjusting to the new situation.
Factors associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among men in a rural area in Vietnam during COVID-19
Authors: Hoang Van T. H. , Nguyen Ha T. H.
Published: October 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected health and well-being worldwide, and its psychological effects are receiving substantial attention in the scientific literature. Research to date shows that the pandemic has increased prevalences of depression, anxiety, and stress. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of mental health symptoms and identify the associated factors among men in a rural area of Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods and findings

During July 15–31, 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,085 men from 18 years old in 11 rural districts in Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam, and assessed their mental health using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – 21 Items (DASS-21). Outcomes assessed were have a symptom of depression, anxiety, and stress; risk factors measured included age, religion, marital status, education, occupation, and financial status. Multiple linear regression was performed to determine the statistical significance of associations between risk factors and mental health symptoms. Findings showed that the prevalences of having a symptom of depression, anxiety and stress among participants were 6.39, 9.72, and 5.65%, respectively. Regression model showed being younger (95% CI: –0.030; –0.004, p = 0.001), men had high school degree (95% CI: –0.671; –0.074, p = 0.014), men living in nearly poor houshoulds (95% CI: 0.067, 1.905, p < 0.05) and poor housholds (95% CI: 0.608; 2.721, p < 0.05) had significantly lower depression scores than others.

Conclusion

Prevalences of having symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were much higher than in similar previous research in rural Vietnam, suggesting that mental health problems among men in this setting became more common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Age, religion, level of education and family income status were statistically significant predictors of mental health problems. These findings provide useful insights into the impact of pandemics on mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic response and its impact on post-corona health emergency and disaster risk management in Italy
Authors: Lamberti-Castronuovo Alessandro , Parotto Emanuela , Della Corte Francesco , Hubloue Ives , Ragazzoni Luca , Valente Martina
Published: October 2022

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted societies, influencing countries' Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (H-EDRM) systems. By taking Italy as a case study, this research aimed to investigate the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the changes made to the existing H-EDRM system, with an emphasis on human resources, health service delivery, and logistics and the forward-looking strategies for the next health emergencies and disasters.

Methods

We performed a retrospective observational case study using qualitative methodology. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed considering the World Health Organization (WHO) H-EDRM framework. Multiple interviewees were selected to obtain a holistic perspective on the Italian response to COVID-19. Stakeholders from five different sectors (policy-making, hospital, primary care, third sector, lay community) from three of the most impacted Italian regions (Piemonte, Lombardia, and Veneto) were interviewed, for a total of 15 respondents.

Results

Results on human resources revolved around the following main themes: personnel, training, occupational health, and multidisciplinary work; results on health service delivery encompassed the following main themes: public health, hospital, and primary care systems; results on logistics dealt with the following themes: infrastructures, supplies, transports, and communication channels. Lessons learned stressed on the importance of considering pragmatic disaster preparedness strategies and the need for cultural and structural reforms. Stakeholders mentioned several implications for the post-pandemic H-EDRM system in Italy.

Conclusions

Findings highlight that the interconnection of sectors is key in overcoming pandemic-related challenges and for future disaster preparedness. The implications for the Italian H-EDRM system can inform advancements in disaster management in Italy and beyond.
Vitamin D deficiency in dengue fever patients' coinfected with H. pylori in Pakistan. A case-control study
Authors: Mirza Wajid Ameen , Zhang Ke , Zhang Rongguang , Duan Guangcai , Khan Muhammad Shahid Nawaz , Ni Peng
Published: October 2022

Introduction

Dengue fever is a vector-borne disease with an estimate of 390 million persons getting the infection each year with a significant public health impact. It has been reported DENV patients with vitamin D deficiency led to severe form of dengue infection; while H. pylori coinfection alters vitamin D receptors leading to vitamin D deficiency. We hypothesize that DENV patient's having low vitamin D along with H. pylori coinfection could have worsen dengue severity as well as vitamin D deficiency. In this case-control study, we compared (I) the vitamin D deficiency in dengue fever cases with or without H. pylori coinfection, and (II) negative dengue fever as a control with or without H. pylori coinfection. We have also assessed the correlation between vitamin D levels and its effect on warning signs of the dengue fever. Further, we have investigated whether coinfection with H. pylori has any effect on warning signs in the dengue fever patients and the vitamin D deficiency in all serotypes of the dengue virus infected patients.

Methods

In this case control study the association of the vitamin D levels with age, gender and H. pylori coinfection in dengue fever hospitalized patients was assessed using chi-square and multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Four hundred dengue fever patients with H. pylori coinfection were compared with 400 dengue negative controls with H. pylori coinfection. The mean age was 29.96 ± 10.5 and 29.88 ± 10.7 years among cases and controls, respectively. Most dengue fever patients with H. pylori coinfection were deficient in vitamin D compared with negative dengue controls with H. pylori coinfection. In multivariate logistic regression, the dengue cases with H. pylori coinfection were.056 times (95% CI: 0.024, 0.128, P = 0.000) more likely to have vitamin D “deficiency', while compared with the cases who did not have H. pylori coinfection.

Conclusion

The present study proposes that vitamin D deficiency in dengue fever patients coinfected with H. pylori is much higher than the dengue fever negative controls coinfected with H. pylori. As hypothesized the DENV patient with H. pylori coinfection has vitamin D deficiency as well as increased dengue severity.
Social networking use, mental health, and quality of life of Hong Kong adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Yu Lu , Du Meng
Published: October 2022

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents' use of social networking sites/apps has surged, and their mental health and quality of life have also been significantly affected by the pandemic and its associated social-protection measures. The present study first examined the prevalence of social networking sites/apps use and social networking addiction, the mental health status, and the health-related quality of life among Hong Kong adolescent students. We further investigated the associations of the youths' daily use of social networking sites/apps and their social networking addiction with their mental health and quality of life during the pandemic.

Methods

A total of 1,147 students (age = 15.20 ± 0.53 years) recruited from 12 randomly selected local secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in a questionnaire survey in classroom settings between January and June, 2020, right after the COVID-19 outbreak. The questionnaire includes demographic characteristics and scales that measure social networking sites/apps use and social networking addiction, mental health, and quality of life.

Results

Approximately 46.4% of the participants reported using social networking sites/apps often or very often, and 7.8% met the criteria for social networking addiction using Bergen's Social Media Addiction Scale. The prevalence of mild to extremely severe depression, anxiety, and stress among the adolescents stood at 39.6, 37.5, 48.8%, respectively, and the participants' physical, social, and school functioning were lower than the norms of healthy adolescents before the pandemic. Participants who used social networking sites/apps but for <3 h per day (excluding students who never used social networking sites/apps) showed significantly fewer problems of depression, anxiety, and stress than did those who spent more than 3 h per day on social networking sites/apps. Social networking addiction was found to be consistently associated with poor mental health and health-related quality of life.

Conclusion

This study provides important evidence supporting the potential protective effect of guiding adolescents to use social networking sites/apps appropriately in order to mitigate their negative emotions during contexts such as that of the pandemic; it further points to the need to provide extra support to promote the well-being of young people, especially those in disadvantaged situations (e.g., non-intact family) during and after the pandemic.
Knowledge, attitude, and practice assessment toward COVID-19 among communities in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Lee Felix , Suryohusodo Aileen Alessandra
Published: October 2022

Objective

This research aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 among East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) population and identify associated sociodemographic factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed among communities in 22 regencies of NTT between October–November 2021 using a structured and validated questionnaire that consists of 22-items of knowledge, 6-items of attitude and 13-items of practice related COVID-19 questions. A cut off point of at least 70% was employed to categorize good knowledge, attitude, and practice.

Results

The percentages of survey respondents showing good knowledge, attitude and practice toward COVID-19 were 79.8, 72.7, and 94.6%, respectively. There was a significant positive, though weak, linear correlation between knowledge and practice scores (ρ = 0.097; p = 0.049). Knowledge was strongly associated with regency of residence (Cramer's V = 0.266; p = 0.010), education (Cramer's V = 0.312; p < 0.001), and occupation (Cramer's V = 0.313; p < 0.001). Attitude and practice had strong relationship with regency of residence (Cramer's V = 0.289; p = 0.024) and education (Cramer's V = 0.272; p < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusion

Nearly all survey participants showed good precautionary behaviors, but there was still a quarter of respondents indicated poor knowledge and attitude. There was also a positive relationship between knowledge and practice scores thereby indicating the importance of local public health advocates to distribute information uniformly especially to the groups with inadequate knowledge toward COVID-19 as a means to control the virus transmission.
Association between pregnancy and pregnancy loss with COPD in Chinese women: The China Kadoorie Biobank study
Authors: Huang Sha , Hee Jia Yi , Zhang Yuxun Oswald , Gongye Ruofan , Zou Siyu , Tang Kun
Published: October 2022

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory lung disease characterized by airflow blockage. Pregnancy and pregnancy loss may be related to an elevated risk of COPD, although studies have yet to report on this association. Hence, this study aims to investigate the association between pregnancy and pregnancy loss with the risk of COPD among Chinese women.

Methods

Data on 302,510 female participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank were utilized for this study. Multivariable logistic regression, stratified by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, was employed to obtain the odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between pregnancy and pregnancy loss with COPD.

Results

Pregnancy loss was significantly associated with increased risk of COPD (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.13–1.25), specifically, spontaneous (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.11–1.29) and induced abortion (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.12–1.25). Stillbirth, however, was not significantly associated with the risk of COPD (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.99–1.20). Increasing number of pregnancy losses was associated with increasing risk of COPD (one pregnancy loss: OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.07–1.21, two or more pregnancy loss: OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.17–1.32, and each additional pregnancy loss: OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03–1.09). A single pregnancy was significantly associated with reduced risk of COPD (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.59–0.97), although each additional pregnancy was significantly associated with increased risk of COPD (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01–1.04).

Conclusion

Pregnancy loss, in particular, spontaneous and induced abortions are associated with increased risk of COPD among Chinese women. A single pregnancy, however, demonstrated protective effects.
Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of synchronous renal cell carcinoma and urothelial carcinoma: A population-based analysis
Authors: Wu Kan , Liu Xu , Wang Yaohui , Wang Xianding , Li Xiang
Published: October 2022

Background

To better understand the characteristics, and survival outcomes of synchronous renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and urothelial carcinoma (UC), we described and analyzed the clinical features, factors, and prognosis of patients with synchronous RCC and UC using a large population-based database.

Methods

Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database (2004–2016), we identified patient with concurrent RCC and UC at initial diagnosis. Their clinicopathological features and prognosis were evaluated. A logistic regression model was used to examine risk factors for the occurrence of concomitant RCC and UC, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to estimate overall survival.

Results

A total of 61,454 RCC patients were identified from the SEER database, 704 (1.1%) patients presented with synchronous RCC and UC. Among these patients, concurrent bladder tumors (566/704) are more common. Subsequently, subgroup analysis based on the location of UC indicated that patients with concurrent RCC and upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) had unfavorable UC characteristics (higher tumor stage and grade), compared with patients with concomitant bladder cancer. An increased risk of concurrent UC was observed among older age, male sex, and white race. Meanwhile, papillary RCC histology [odds ratio (OR) 3.23; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.13–4.90], and smaller tumor (OR 6.63; 95% CI 4.46–9.87) were independent risk factors for concomitant UTUC. In addition, we found that synchronous RCC and UTUC was associated with worse survival by using Kaplan-Meier and multivariable analysis [hazard ratio (HR) 2.36, 95% CI 1.89–2.95]. However, concomitant bladder cancer did not affect survival outcomes of patients with RCC (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.86–1.17).

Conclusion

We found that synchronous concurrent RCC and UC is relatively uncommon and mostly located in the bladder. Older age, male sex, and white race increase the risk of synchronous RCC and UC. Meanwhile, patients with papillary RCC histology, and smaller tumors are more likely to have concomitant RCC and UTUC. Furthermore, our findings suggest that synchronous RCC and UTUC has a worse prognosis, while, concomitant bladder tumor did not affect the oncological outcomes of RCC.
Exploring neural question generation for formal pragmatics: Data set and model evaluation
Authors: De Kuthy Kordula , Kannan Madeeswaran , Santhi Ponnusamy Haemanth , Meurers Detmar
Published: October 2022

We provide the first openly-available German QUestion-Answer Congruence Corpus (QUACC), designed for the task of sentence-based question generation with question-answer congruence. Based on this corpus, we establish suitable baselines for question generation, comparing systems of very different nature. Question generation is an interesting challenge in particular for current neural network architectures given that it combines aspects of language meaning and forms in complex ways. The systems have to generate question phrases appropriately linking to the meaning of the envisaged answer phrases, and they have to learn to generate well-formed questions using the source. We show that our QUACC corpus is well-suited to investigate the performance of various neural models and gain insights about the specific error sources.
Children’s learning-by-teaching with a social robot versus a younger child: Comparing interactions and tutoring styles
Authors: Pareto Lena , Ekström Sara , Serholt Sofia
Published: October 2022

Human peer tutoring is known to be effective for learning, and social robots are currently being explored for robot-assisted peer tutoring. In peer tutoring, not only the tutee but also the tutor benefit from the activity. Exploiting the learning-by-teaching mechanism, robots as tutees can be a promising approach for tutor learning. This study compares robots and humans by examining children’s learning-by-teaching with a social robot and younger children, respectively. The study comprised a small-scale field experiment in a Swedish primary school, following a within-subject design. Ten sixth-grade students (age 12–13) assigned as tutors conducted two 30 min peer tutoring sessions each, one with a robot tutee and one with a third-grade student (age 9–10) as the tutee. The tutoring task consisted of teaching the tutee to play a two-player educational game designed to promote conceptual understanding and mathematical thinking. The tutoring sessions were video recorded, and verbal actions were transcribed and extended with crucial game actions and user gestures, to explore differences in interaction patterns between the two conditions. An extension to the classical initiation–response–feedback framework for classroom interactions, the IRFCE tutoring framework, was modified and used as an analytic lens. Actors, tutoring actions, and teaching interactions were examined and coded as they unfolded in the respective child–robot and child–child interactions during the sessions. Significant differences between the robot tutee and child tutee conditions regarding action frequencies and characteristics were found, concerning tutee initiatives, tutee questions, tutor explanations, tutee involvement, and evaluation feedback. We have identified ample opportunities for the tutor to learn from teaching in both conditions, for different reasons. The child tutee condition provided opportunities to engage in explanations to the tutee, experience smooth collaboration, and gain motivation through social responsibility for the younger child. The robot tutee condition provided opportunities to answer challenging questions from the tutee, receive plenty of feedback, and communicate using mathematical language. Hence, both conditions provide good learning opportunities for a tutor, but in different ways.
Is virtual reality the solution? A comparison between 3D and 2D creative sketching tools in the early design process
Authors: Houzangbe Samory , Masson Dimitri , Fleury Sylvain , Gómez Jáuregui David Antonio , Legardeur Jeremy , Richir Simon , Couture Nadine
Published: October 2022

Creativity is key in the early phases of innovation processes. With the rapid evolution of technologies, designers now have access to various tools to support this activity. Virtual reality (VR) takes over multiple domains, especially during conception. However, is VR really facilitating creativity in the initial ideation phases? We compare two sketching modalities through dedicated creativity support tools (CSTs): one in VR and one on a 2D interactive whiteboard. We propose a two-part creativity task (divergent and convergent thinking) for two groups of 30 participants each. We record user experience, creative experience, and creative performance. Our results show that VR is more stimulating, attractive, and engaging. We also observe a better level of creativity for the participants using the VR CST. Our results indicate that VR is an effective and relevant tool to boost creativity and that this effect might carry over to following creative tasks.
Analysis of food literacy dimensions and indicators: A case study of rural households
Authors: Zareimanesh Bahareh , Namdar Razieh
Published: October 2022

Food has always been the focus of much discussion due to its value and importance in human life. Policymakers use the idea of food literacy as a solution to population and environmental health and food security. Two objectives were considered in this research: investigating food literacy construct validity and reliability and also analyzing five dimension that reflect food literacy scale. The present research is a survey and the statistical population is rural households in Dashti County of Bushehr province. The number of statistical populations was determined by Cochran's formula 232 households. They were selected by stratified multi-stage random sampling method. Based on the results and fitness indicators, it was determined that the research factor analysis model based on the five dimensions of food literacy (social, economic, health, skills, environmental and welfare of farm animals) has suitable and acceptable measures (RMSEA = 0.065). Evidence from this study has shown that creating an effective link to promoting the indigenous and local foods and food production process is effective in promoting food diversity, food literacy and food security in rural communities. There is little research that considers food literacy indicators empirically, based on the proposed model, the selected constructs of the research had examined food literacy indices in rural communities. The results of cluster analysis showed that most studied groups classified in the average level in terms of food literacy and had the highest average in the social index of food literacy. The results of this study can help to perception and further professionalize and exploit opportunities to promote food literacy and provide guidance for planners and other stakeholders working in food security and sustainable development.