bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Komparasi Jigsaw dan Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) Terhadap Kemampuan Menggali Informasi Peserta Didik
Authors: Anindita Alda Maulidya , Pertiwi Faninda Novika
Published: December 2022

Pendidikan IPA abad 21 menuntut peserta didik mampu menganalisis informasi yang diperoleh, sehingga peserta didik harus memiliki kemampuan menggali informasi yang baik. Namun, berdasarkan observasi yang dilakukan di MTs Ma’arif Balong kemampuan menggali informasi peserta didik masih dirasa belum baik, sehingga perlu dimaksimalkan melalui penerapan model Jigsaw dan CIRC. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan keterlaksanaan pembelajaran dengan model Jigsaw dan CIRC, serta mengetahui model pembelajaran yang lebih baik terhadap kemampuan menggali informasi peserta didik. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif, jenis penelitian quasi eksperimen, dan desain penelitian the static-group comparison design. Penelitian dilaksanakan di MTs Ma’arif Balong dengan populasi seluruh peserta didik kelas VIII. Teknik pengambilan sampel adalah nonprobablity sampling dengan jenis purposive sampling. Sampel terdiri atas peserta didik kelas VIII B dan kelas VIII A. Instrumen penelitian adalah lembar observasi keterlaksanaan model Jigsaw dan CIRC, serta tes berupa soal uraian yang kemudian dianalisis menggunakan uji t. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa keterlaksanaan pembelajaran dengan menggunakan model Jigsaw dan CIRC termasuk dalam kategori sangat baik. P-Value sebesar 0,013 dan kurang dari 0,05, sehingga H0 ditolak. Hasil rata-rata tes peserta didik yang menggunakan model Jigsaw sebesar 82,11dan model pembelajaran CIRC sebesar 88,33. Maka dapat disimpulakn bahwa model CIRC lebih baik daripada model Jigsaw terhadap kemampuan menggali informasi peserta didik.
Model Pembelajaran Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Berbasis Socioscientific untuk Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berpikir Reflektif Peserta Didik
Authors: Kurniasari Indah , Fauziah Hanin Niswatul
Published: December 2022

Kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik sangat dibutuhkan selama pembelajaran IPA, akan tetapi kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik tergolong masih rendah. Permasalahan tersebut juga terjadi di SMP Negeri 1 Mlarak pada peserta didik kelas VII. Penggunaan model pembelajaran creative problem solving (CPS) berbasis socioscientific mejadi salah satu solusi alternatif dari permasalahan tersebut. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh model pembelajaran creative problem solving (CPS) berbasis socioscientific terhadap kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik kelas VII pada mata pelajaran IPA di SMP Negeri 1 Mlarak. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan metode quasi experiment dan desain penelitian pretest-posttest control group design. Sampel penelitian ini yaitu kelas VII A (kelas eksperimen) dan kelas VII B (kelas kontrol) yang berjumlah 62 peserta didik. Pengambilan data dalam penelitian ini dengan soal tes yang diberikan sebelum dan sesudah diberikannya perlakuan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai rata-rata kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik yang menggunakan model pembelajaran creative problem solving (CPS) berbasis socioscientific tidak sama dengan kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik yang menggunakan model pembelajaran ceramah. Hal tersebut berarti model pembelajaran creative problem solving (CPS) berbasis socioscientific berpengaruh terhadap kemampuan berpikir reflektif peserta didik kelas VII pada mata pelajaran IPA di SMP Negeri 1 Mlarak.
Seismic resilience assessment: a case study
Authors: Sediqi Zubair , Harmandar Ebru
Published: December 2022

The aim of the seismic resilience of a structural system is to prevent, minimize or decrease the damages (loss of life, social, economic, structural, and non-structural damages) that occur due to earthquakes. The seismic resilience of structures is one of the most interesting topics in the earthquake and structural engineering. The meaning of the word 'resilience' differs from field to field, but in earthquake and structural engineering, resilience means returning the functionality of a structural system after it has been damaged. A seismic resilience study for a school building in Milas, Mugla which is one of the most hazardous areas in Turkey is performed. The present study deals with pushover analysis, fragility curves, vulnerability curves, and functionality curves to evaluate the seismic resilience of the mentioned school. The damage assessment methodology is done based on HAZUS MH MR4 (2003). SAP2000 software is used for the modeling of the building. Nonlinear pushover analysis is performed. This study will help bring improvements in the seismic resilience of school buildings and it will be a base input for the resilience of other school buildings as well.
METTL3-m6A methylation inhibits Type II Alveolar Epithelial Cells proliferation and viability by promoting PTEN mRNA stability and translation efficiency in the acute lung injury
Authors: Zhuang Lei , Wang Qiuyun , Shen Jie , Luo Shiyuan , Yuan Zhize , Li Qiang , Yang Qianzi , Luo Yan
Published: December 2022

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening acute inflammatory disease with high morbidity and mortality rates. N6-methylation of adenosine (m6A) is an abundant mRNA nucleotide modification, which is critical for mRNA metabolism and function. However, the role of m6A modifications in ALI progression remains unclear. To address this problem, we modeled ALI in vivo by intraperitoneally injecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to C57BL/6 mice. In addition, we isolated alveolar type II cells (AECII) from the lungs of C57BL/6 mice and treated them in vitro with various concentrations of LPS. An m6A RNA methylation quantification kit was used to detect methylation levels. An m6A microarray and mRNA transcriptomic sequencing were used to screen the downstream targets of methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3)-mediated m6A modifications. Gene and protein expression levels were determined by qRT-PCR and western blotting. The biological effects of modulating METTL3 expression level were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. The binding between proteins and mRNA was verified by the RNA immunoprecipitation assay. The CCK-8 and EdU assays were used to examine changes in AECII viability and proliferation. The global number of mRNA m6A-modified loci and the “writer” methyltransferase METTL3 expression were significantly increased in the lung tissue following ALI and in LPS-treated AECII. METTL3 knockdown reduced the viability and proliferation of LPS-treated AECII. Furthermore, METTL3-mediated m6A modification of phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) mRNA enhanced its stability. Collectively, our results showed that METTL3 contributes to ALI progression by increasing stability and translation efficiency of Pten mRNA by means of m6A modification, indicating that METTL3 might become a new and innovative therapeutic target for the treatment of ALI.
The effect of the socio-economic status on the investigation time of patients with lung cancer a register based cohort-study
Authors: Iachina Maria , Anru Pavithra Laxsen , Jakobsen Erik
Published: December 2022

Background
The purpose of this nationwide population-based study is to investigate whether the time length of the primary investigation for lung cancer is longer for patients with a low socio-economic position than for patients with a high socio-economic position.
Materials and Methods
This retrospective register study was based on all lung cancer patients in Denmark who were diagnosed in 2012–2017, in total 28,431 patients. We used an adjusted logistic regression model and adjusted zero-inflated negative binomial model to estimate the effect of vulnerable socio economic factors on the time length of the primary investigation.
Results
We found that patients’ income and difficulty of transport have a significant influence on time length of the primary investigation. The chance to carry out the investigation process within 24 days is higher for patients with a high income (adjusted OR = 0.86 with 95% CI (0.81; 0.91)), whereas the chance to carry out the investigation process within 24 days for patients with troublesome transport is lower (adjusted OR = 0.67 with 95% CI (0.61; 0.72)).
Conclusion
Our study showed that the individual socio-economic position has an influence on the time length of the primary lung cancer investigation.
Pakistan Flood of 2022: Assessment using suite of satellite sensors and hydrological modelling
Authors: Gupta Praveen Kumar , Dubey Amit Kumar , Pradhan Rohit , Chander Sharad , Singh Nimisha , Jha Vibhuti Bhushan , Gujrati Ashwin , Wadhwa Chirag , Desai Nilesh M
Published: December 2022

Floods are one of the most common natural disasters. In recent decades, climate change has increased the occurrence and severity of floods, which is exacerbated by population growth. Pakistan witnessed one of its most devastating floods during monsoon of 2022. In the present study, spatio-temporal characteristics of 2022 floods in the Indus river basin has been studied using an integrated framework of multi-satellite observations and hydrological modelling. Satellite sensors including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), passive microwave radiometer, radar altimeters, optical sensors, gravity measurements etc. have been used to assess the extent of flood and retrieve various hydrological parameters. Multi-year river discharge simulation was performed using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Hydro model to analyse peak flood discharges in the Indus river system. Inter-comparison of hydrological variables viz. river and lake water levels, flood index & discharge obtained from remote sensing platforms and model simulation were performed. Passive microwave radiometer effectively captured the incidence, progression and persistence of flood owing to its high temporal resolution. Altimeters provided precise information on river and lake water levels in the Indus basin and high spatial-resolution SAR data (Sentinel-1A) provided information on areal flood extent, which was used to compute water depth and estimate water volume. Model simulated discharge of Indus River and its tributaries correlated well with the satellite-observed water level and mean flood index. This paper demonstrates the use of available satellite sensors for effective assessment and modelling of floods, which may prove useful for mitigating future flood events.
Proactive review for people with diabetes in hospital: a cluster randomised feasibility trial with process evaluation protocol
Authors: Lake Andrea Kathleen , Bansiya Vishakha , Davenport Katy , Murdoch Jamie , Murphy Helen R , Smith Toby , Clark Allan , Arthur Antony
Published: December 2022

Background: Inpatient diabetes management is sub-optimal as demonstrated in successive National Diabetes Inpatient Audits. Diabetes inpatient specialist services vary across the country, with limited evidence to guide service delivery. Currently referrals in hospitals to diabetes specialists are usually ‘reactive’ after diabetes related events, such as hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia, both of which are associated with increased risk of morbidity/mortality and increased length of hospital stay.
Method: We will conduct a cluster randomised feasibility study with process evaluation. The Proactive Diabetes Review Model (PDRM) is a complex intervention that aims to minimise rather than respond to potentially modifiable diabetes related harms by pre-empting them. The PDRM differs from usual care in its focus on early prevention. All eligible patients will be reviewed by a diabetes inpatient specialist nurse within one working day of admission.
Trial duration will be approximately 32-weeks. Eight wards will be randomised to either PDRM or usual care. Adult patients with a known diagnosis of diabetes admitted to an included ward will be eligible. Data collection will be limited to that typically collected as part of usual care. Data collected will include descriptive data at both the ward and patient level and glucose measures, such as frequency and results of capillary glucose testing, ketonaemia and hypoglycaemic events. Analysis aims to determine the feasibility of both the intervention and a future definitive trial. A qualitative process evaluation will be conducted in parallel to the trial. A minimum of 22 patients, nurses, doctors, and managers will be recruited with methods including direct non-participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The feasibility of a future definitive trial will be assessed by evaluating recruitment and randomisation processes, staffing resources, and quality of available data.
Discussion: The aim of this cluster randomised feasibility trial with a process evaluation is to explore the feasibility of a definitive trial and identify appropriate outcome measures. If a trial is feasible and the effectiveness of PDRM can be evaluated, this could inform the future development of inpatient diabetes services nationally.
Trial registration: UK Clinical Research Network: 51167; ISRCTN, ISRCTN70402110. Registered 21/02/2022, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN70402110?q=ISRCTN70402110&filters=&sort=&offset=1&totalResults=1&page=1&pageSize=10
Pleiotropic effect of Ppd-D1a on earliness, yield and yield components of bread wheat under well-watered and rain-fed conditions
Authors: Pourtabrizi Soraya , Mohamadi-Nejad Ghasem , Khajoei-Nejad Gholamreza , Abdolshahi Roohollah
Published: December 2022

Early heading is a very important character for bread wheat cultivated under end season heat and drought stress conditions. Heading time is influence by three groups of genes including photoperiod (Ppd), vernalization (Vrn) and earliness per se (Eps). Among the identified genes for heading time, Ppd- D1 is the only gene that worth marker assisted selection/backcrossing. Despite of recognized effect of Ppd-D1a on earliness, its effect on yield, yield component and important agronomic traits is under debate. In the present research, near isogenic lines were developed for Ppd-D1a in two genetic backgrounds, Roshan and Kalheydari, to investigate the precise pleiotropic effect of Ppd-D1a on yield and yield components of bread wheat. Two pairs of isogenic lines were assessed under rain-fed and well-watered conditions in Kerman and Sepidan during two successive growing seasons, 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. Compared to photoperiod sensitive allele (Ppd-D1b), photoperiod insensitive allele (Ppd-D1a) reduced days to heading and ripening by 5.14 and 7.53 days, respectively. Results also showed that Ppd-D1a improved 1000-grain weight (+ 17%) and decreased grains number per spike (-14%) to finally improve grain yield under rain-fed conditions (+ 13%). However, Ppd-D1a had a different effect on the mentioned traits under well-watered conditions where decreased 1000-grain weight (-18%) and improved grains number per spike (+ 10%) with insignificant effect on grain yield. These findings showed that pleotropic effect of Ppd-D1a on yield and yield component strongly depends on target environment.
Potential prognostic gene FCGR2A in cutaneous melanoma associated with the immune infiltration of neutrophils
Authors: Gong Jin , Wang Xianmo , Lu Changyu , Huang Faqing , Zhao Yan
Published: December 2022

Objective
To investigate the relationship between potential prognostic genes and immune infiltration in cutaneous melanoma, and to provide methods and ideas for the clinical treatment of cutaneous melanoma.
Methods
Consensus clustering analysis of cutaneous melanoma dataset was performed using the R software ConsensusClusterPlus package; immune score and checkpoint analyses of the grouped genes were performed using the TIMER algorithm in the immunedeconv package, and a potential immunotherapeutic response was predicted using the TIDE algorithm. The two groups of samples were analyzed using the R software Limma package’s differential expression analysis to obtain differential genes, and the intersection of differential genes and immune-related genes was determined to select overlapping partial genes. The STRING database was used to perform a PPI analysis of the intersecting genes to obtain the protein interaction network, and the MCODE plug-in allowed for the highest scoring module to be obtained. A LASSO analysis was used to determine the genes with prognostic features, and univariate cox and multivariate cox analyses revealed the independent prognostic genes associated with cutaneous melanoma. TIMER was used to analyze the correlation of independent prognostic genes with immune-related cells in relation to survival.
Results
The cutaneous melanoma dataset was divided into two subgroups, G1 and G2, with higher immune scores and checkpoint expression in G2 than in G1. DEG obtained 67 up-regulated genes and 772 down-regulated genes, with a total of 615 genes overlapping with immune-related genes. The largest module contained 82 genes after the PPI analysis, and the LASSO analysis yielded nine melanoma prognosis-associated genes. Univariate cox and multivariate cox analyses yielded FCGR2A as an independent prognostic factor for melanoma, and FCGR2A correlated strongly with neutrophils.
Conclusion
FCGR2A can be considered a potential prognostic key gene in cutaneous melanoma and is strongly correlated with neutrophil immune infiltration.
Comparison of oncological outcomes between radical hysterectomy and radiochemotherapy for FIGO 2018 stage IIIC1 cervical adenocarcinoma：a retrospective multicentre cohort study
Authors: Yin Zhaohong , Sun Lixin , Gao Zhenwei , Zhao Hongwei , Chen Chunlin , Liu Ping
Published: December 2022

Background To compare oncological outcomes of radical hysterectomy (RH) and radiochemotherapy (R-CT) for stage IIIC1 (FIGO 2018) cervical adenocarcinoma patients. Methods Based on the Chinese cervical cancer clinical diagnosis and treatment project database,236 cases with 2018 FIGO stage IIIC1 cervical adenocarcinoma from 2005 to 2019 were reviewed. The 5-year OS and 5-year DFS of patients with either of the two treatment methods were compared by means of a multivariate Cox regression model and the log-rank method in the total study population and after propensity score matching (PSM). Results We selected 236 of 63,926 patients with 203 patients in the RH group and 33 patients in the R-CT group and then found that R-CT was associated with a significantly worse 5-year OS (51.8% vs. 67.2%, P < 0.05) and 5-year DFS (43.1% vs.60.1%, P < 0.05) than RH in the total study population. R-CT is an independent risk factor for 5-year DFS(HR = 2.226, 95% CI 1.141–4.343, P < 0.05) in FIGO stage IIIC1 cervical adenocarcinoma, but not for 5-year OS(hazard ratio (HR) = 1.834 ,95% CI 0.829–4.061, P ༜ 0.05).After matching (n = 26/73), among FIGO 2018 IIIC1 adenocarcinoma patients the 5-year OS and DFS were lower in the R-CT group than in the RH group,the difference was statistically significant (OS: 50.3%vs77.4%,P ༜ 0.05;DFS: 38.2% vs. 65.0%, P < 0.05, respectively).R-CT is an independent risk factor for 5-year DFS(HR = 2.299, 95% CI 1.113–4.750, P < 0.05) in FIGO stage IIIC1 cervical adenocarcinoma, but not for 5-year OS(HR: 1.926, 95% CI:0.792–4.682, P ༞ 0.05). Conclusion Among patients with stage FIGO 2018 IIIC1 cervical cancer adenocarcinoma, R-CT was not associated with better oncological outcomes than RH.Radiotherapy should not be the only recommended treatment.
A Comparison of adjustable positioning and free positioning after pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment
Authors: Liang Qianqian , Sun Difang , Xue Shuyue , Li Xinying , Liu Xin , Du Qing , Zhang Zhichun , Li Jun
Published: December 2022

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness and safety of adjustable and free postoperative positioning after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD).
Methods: In this prospective, randomized controlled study, a total of 94 eyes with RRD were enrolled from April 2020 to September 2021, and monitored postoperatively for at least 3 months. All patients underwent PPV combined with silicone oil injection or gas tamponade and were randomly divided postoperatively into two groups: an adjustable positioning group and a free positioning group. The success of the outcome was based on the retinal reattachment rate, best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), postoperative complications, and ocular biometric parameters such as anterior chamber depth (ACD) and lens thickness (LT).
Results: The initial retinal reattachment rate was 97.9% in the adjustable positioning group and 95.7% in the free positioning group, manifesting no statistical difference between the two groups. Similarly, no statistical difference was observed between the two groups in the final BCVA, which was significantly improved compared to the preoperative BCVA. The comparison of the 1-month postoperative ACD and LT with the preoperative values showed no statistically significant differences in the two groups. The rates of complications were not statistically different in the two groups. Conclusion: After treating RRD using PPV, neither the adjustable nor the free postoperative positioning affected the retinal reattachment rate or the incidence of complications. Therefore, our study showed that it is safe and effective to adopt free positioning postoperatively, which may provide more options for patients with RRD undergoing PPV.
Prevalence and characteristics of the anterior loop in adult patients using Cone Beam computed tomography: A Cross-sectional study
Authors: Alva-Torres Laura , Chacón-Uscamaita Pamela Roxana , Chávez-Rimache Lesly , Grados-Pomarino Sixto , Gamarra-Contreras María del Pilar , Chumpitaz-Cerrate Victor
Published: December 2022

Background: The anterior loop is the extension of the inferior dental nerve which is one of the most important anatomical landmarks to consider when placing dental implants or any other surgical procedure that involves the chin region. Determining the frequency and characteristics of the anterior loop is important to reduce the risk of complications in the chin region as a result of the implant or regenerative surgeries. For this reason, the objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of the anterior loop in adult patients using Cone Beam computed tomography.
Methods: A Cross-sectional study of 93 Cone Beam computed topographies (CBCT) obtained from patients of the Faculty of Dentistry of the UNMSM during the period 2016-2017. CBCTs were analyzed and measurements of the anterior projection (AP) and caudal projection (CP) of the anterior loop were performed. In addition, the distance of the anterior loop to the alveolar ridge (D-AR) and the buccal table (D-BP) was evaluated.
Results: The prevalence of the anterior loop was 95.1% (n=177) and with an average AP of 2.67 ± 1.36 mm. In AP and CP, a significant difference was evidenced concerning dental status on the right side (p <0.05). The CP of the anterior loop was 5.27 ± 1.69 mm; the rods presented a higher value on the side with 5.94 ± 2.01 mm (p = 0.01); the completely edentulous patients presented a higher value on the side with 7.00 ± 1.13 mm (p = 0.036). The D-AR was 15.33 ± 2.45 mm and the D-BP was 4.97 ± 1.40 mm.
Conclusions: In this study, it was found that there is a high prevalence of the anterior loop (95.1%) with an average length of 2.67 mm. In addition, some characteristics associated with the anterior loop were found, such as its anterior projection with dental status and its caudal projection with gender and dental status.
Effects of Character Positional Frequency in Chinese Silent and Oral Reading: Evidence from Eye Movements
Authors: Cao Haibo , Zhang Kuo , Wang Jingxin
Published: December 2022

The cognitive mechanisms underlying Chinese word segmentation remain obscure. However, studies have found that readers can use character position probability to facilitate word segmentation even though the Chinese script does not use spaces. Surprisingly little is known about how this ability is employed during silent and oral reading. The present study manipulated both initial and final character positional frequencies of target words of either high or low lexical frequency. The results revealed a significant reading model effect, as longer fixations occur in oral than in silent reading, and importantly showed a privileged status for initial character positional frequency during word segmentation. An effect of initial character positional frequency was found during silent and oral reading, which indicates that readers effectively use character positional frequency to boost word recognition. Moreover, the initial character’s positional frequency contributed significantly to the processing of the target word under low-frequency conditions. Taken together, the information on character location probability is an important clue for readers to segment words, and this processing advantage of the character positional frequency is driven by the word frequency. The findings are an enhancement to the development of the character positional decoding model across Chinese reading.
Targeting a secreted fungal effector protein providing a novel concept in combating rice blast
Authors: Liu Muxing , Wang Fangfang , He Bo , Hu Jiexiong , Dai Ying , Chen Weizhong , Zhang Haifeng , Ye Yonghao , Cui Zhongli , Zheng Xiaobo , Wang Ping , Xing Weiman , Zhang Zhengguang
Published: December 2022

Effector proteins secreted by plant pathogenic fungi are important artilleries against host immunity, but there is no precedent that such effectors were explored as antifungal targets. We here provide evidence that MoErs1, a species-specific effector protein secreted by the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, effectively controls the rice blast. MoErs1 inhibits the function of OsRD21, a rice papain-like cysteine protease (PLCP) that positively regulates rice immunity. Based on the protein structure of MoErs1, we designed FY21001, a diphenyl ether ester compound that binds specifically to MoErs1 to inhibit its function. Importantly, we showed that FY21001 effectively controls the rice blast in field tests. Our study reveals a novel concept targeting pathogen species-specific effector proteins in crop disease control and management.
Effect of low-intensity focused ultrasound of right anteromedial cortico-subcortical circuits on repetitive negative and self-referential thinking in depression: a sham-controlled randomized feasibility trial
Authors: Guinjoan Salvador , Tsuchiyagaito Aki , Khalsa Sahib , Kuplicki Rayus , Sanchez Stella , Park Heekyeong , Misaki Masaya , Rohan Michael , Paulus Martin
Published: December 2022

Background

Depression (MDD) is associated with an unusually large amount of individual disability and societal costs as well as unsatisfactory outcomes with well-established therapies, including psychotropic drugs and different types of psychotherapy. Based on increasing interest in modulation of brain circuits involved in specific symptoms of depression, we chose to target a single measurable and replicable construct of depression, repetitive negative thinking (RNT), a transdiagnostic clinical manifestation that cuts across a variety of internalizing psychiatric disorders, but in the case of depression, it is associated with persistent symptoms, treatment resistance, proneness to relapse after treatment, and more suicidal ideation, behavior, and completed suicides. With the help of using low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (LIFU), we will modulate individually-identified neural circuits associated with (a) the generation and maintenance of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and (b) affective processing of self-referential adjectives.

Methods

The study will consist of two groups/arms subjected consecutively to either LIFU sonication or sham sonication in a crossover fashion. It will be a single-site, pilot study involving 20 participants with depression (10 with low RNT and 10 with high RNT) and 10 healthy controls. This project has two phases. First, we will use advanced structural-functional connectivity analysis techniques to individually define anatomical tracts that support functional connectivity alterations associated with the intensity of RNT in each MDD patient. Informed by recent neurocircuitry evidence in MDD and obsessive-compulsive disorder we hypothesize that structural pathways linking the thalamus, the orbitofrontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate cortex in the right hemisphere will be associated with RNT. Second, by using the resulting pathways to guide the choice of the target(s) for LIFU neuromodulation, we will probe its on (1) measures of RNT (Brief State Rumination Inventory), (2) functional connectivity between regions known to have an anatomical connection in the individual participant, and (3) neural processing of self-referential affective adjectives.

Discussion

We anticipate this feasibility study will provide the information necessary for the design of a larger-scale clinical trial to establish 1) a definitive causal relationship between brain circuits and RNT as a symptom, and 2) a novel target to modulate RNT in the clinical setting.
Trial registration: In process at ClinicalTrials.gov. FDA Non-Significant Risk determination Q220192 (November 4, 2022).
LC-MS detected universal metabolites of human day 3 embryos with distinct implantation outcomes for Cook Medical and Vitrolife culture medium
Authors: Shi Cheng , Liu Ying , Fu Min , Liang Rong , Wang Ping , ShengNan Duan , Chen YuNan , Zhou Yinglin , Shen Huan , Chen Xi
Published: December 2022

Background
To implore the universal metabolites from metabolomic profiling of spent embryo culture medium (SECM) correlated to day 3 embryo’s implantation potential in two commercial culture medium (Cook Medical and Vitrolife).
Methods
This investigation was a prospective randomized study. Patients undergoing IVF-ET and having utilizable day 3 embryos were recruited. Patients were randomized for embryo culture in Cook Medical or Vitrolife medium. On day 1 each zygote of patients was individually cultured in a 30 µL microdroplet until day 3. Then SECM from each microdroplet was collected within 2 hours after the embryo was utilized (transferred or frozen) and detected by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS).
Results
For Vitrolife medium, 3 batches of total 69 SECM samples were collected. According to the embryo’s implantation outcome, 17 were successfully implanted group, while 52 were failed implanted group. 147 metabolomic irons presenting significantly different level between the two groups were identified as the Vitrolife metabolomic profiling set. For Cook Medical medium, 2 batches of total 37 SECM samples were collected. According to the embryo’s implantation outcome, 14 were successfully implanted group, while 23 were failed implanted group. 435 metabolomic irons presenting significantly different level between the two groups as the Cook Medical metabolomic profiling set. There were 66 universal metabolites between the Vitrolife and Cook Medical metabolomic profiling set and the ion with m/z = 121.029 was the most reproduciable signature, which was identified to be benzoic acid.
Conclusions
Metabolomic profiling in SECM correlated to day 3 embryo’s implantation potential in Vitrolife and Cook Medical medium could be sensitively detected by LC-MS approach. The universal metabolites for the two commercial medium, such as benzoic acid, may provide a potential solid adjunct to day 3 embryo’s evaluation.
Evaluating the Quality of Life for Sustainable Urban Development
Authors: Takano Tsuyoshi , Morita Hiroyoshi , Nakamura Shinichiro , Hayashi Yoshitsugu , Togawa Takuya , Kachi Noriyasu , Kato Hirokazu
Published: December 2022

As urbanization is rapidly progressing worldwide, the cities need to assess their quality of life (QOL) not only to check their infrastructure, but also to keep pace with the changing values and lifestyles of citizens. We propose an integrated method to evaluate QOL from the detailed spatial aspects of a city with the subjective values of its citizens. In this study, the spatial data on a 500-m mesh scale and the subjective values on individual attributes of the urban environment are obtained to evaluate the QOL in five metropolitan areas in Japan. The QOL within a city was found to vary both by region and by individual attributes. The results provide a scientific basis for urban policies that achieve diversity and inclusiveness.
Road safety stakeholders’ perspectives of risk factors, opportunities and barriers for child pedestrians in Uganda: A qualitative study
Authors: Osuret Jimmy , Kobusingye Olive , Nankabirwa Victoria , Niekerk Ashley Van , Atuyambe Lynn
Published: December 2022

Background
The health and socio-economic burden of road traffic injuries on children and their caretaker is extremely high in Uganda where 33% (1,384/4,159) of road traffic fatalities were among child pedestrians in 2021. We explored the road safety situation in Kampala, Uganda to understand the child pedestrian risk factors associated to road traffic injuries (RTIs), opportunities and underlying barriers to child pedestrian safety.
Methods
We conducted a qualitative study in 2021 using two primary methods of Key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Overall, we conducted 12 key informant interviews with stakeholders involved in road safety and 6 focus group discussions which comprised 18 teachers and 17 parents. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis technique. ATLAS ti. 9 was applied for data management and during analysis, three themes were developed.
Results
Child pedestrian RTIs were related to the behaviour of the driver (e.g. speeding, driver distraction) and pedestrian (e.g. risk taking); traffic (e.g. complex traffic mix); the road infrastructure (e.g. inadequate pedestrian facilities); and the vehicle (e.g. technical defects). Pedestrian safety opportunities identified included roadside police enforcement and assistance of children to cross by a school traffic warden. The key barriers to pedestrian safety included limited political commitment, inadequate funding, and inadequate enforcement.
Conclusion
This paper has presented evidence that pedestrian road traffic crashes occur due to an interplay of multiple risk factors and yet low priority is placed on road safety. The findings highlight the key risks faced by children in low-income settings like Uganda and recommend prioritizing holistic measures that include enforcement, school traffic control measures and pedestrian road safety infrastructure.
Nutrition Therapies for Diverticulitis Related to Alcohol Abuse: A Case Report
Authors: Hollywood Jasmine B.
Published: December 2022

Background
As alcohol use becomes more prevalent, it has become a risk factor for not only mental health but also other illnesses such as diverticulitis. Successful therapeutic interventions that support the elimination of addictive behaviors and reduce disease progression include diet, supplement, and psychosocial interventions.
Case Presentation
This case report highlights a client with successful treatment of bowel blockage and inflammation in an individual patient, a 54-yr-old Caucasian male using nutritional support. This individual continued conventional interventions while starting medical nutrition therapy. Over the course of 85 days, his treatment was augmented with a high-phytonutrient, high-fiber, Mediterranean style diet. Alcohol was eliminated, caloric intake was increased, and emotional support, physical activity, and a multivitamin was added. Upon final follow-up, the client had a significant reduction in symptoms and addictive behaviors along with resolution of colon blockage and inflammation.
Conclusion
Diet, supplement, and psychosocial interventions may be useful in the management of inebriated patients with diverticulitis. Population-based clinical studies should be done to understand the role of these therapies.
Performance of the CORDEX-Africa Regional Climate Model in capturing precipitation and air temperature conditions in the Omo Gibe River Basin, Ethiopia
Authors: Mathewos Yonas , Abate Brook , Dadi Mulugeta
Published: December 2022

Using regional climate models (RCMs) and ensembles of multiple model simulation outputs without assessing their modeling performance did not always ensure the best agreement between observed and modeled climate variables. To this end, assessing the modeling performance of regional climate models (RCMs) is indispensable in selecting the most effective model to use for climate change impact studies. In this study, the performance of ten Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiments (CORDEX) in Africa was examined against observational datasets from 1986 to 2005 across the entire Omo Gibe River Basin (OGRB). The output of RCMs was evaluated based on their ability to reproduce the magnitude and pattern of monthly, seasonal, and annual precipitation and air temperature, precipitation characteristics, and statistical metrics. The results confirm the difference between RCMs in capturing climate conditions at both spatial and temporal scales. The spatial pattern of mean annual precipitation was better reproduced by the ensemble mean and RACMO22T (EC-EARTH). CCLM4-8-17 (MPI) and the ensemble mean reproduced the annual patterns of observed precipitation, even though the amounts were different. Except for peak precipitation, all RCMs simulated seasonal precipitation, and the pattern was reasonably captured by RACMO22T (EC-EARTH), CCLM4-8-17 (CNRM), RCA4 (CNRM), CCLM4-8-17 (MPI), and REMO2009 (MPI). The interannual and seasonal variability of precipitation was higher than the variability of air temperature. It was found that observed and RCM precipitation simulations using CCLM4-8-17 (MPI), REMO2009 (MPI), and RCA4 (CNRM) showed better agreement at several individual stations in the Omo Gibe River Basin (OGRB. Likewise, RCA4 (MPI) and CCLM4-8-17 (MPI) were superior in capturing minimum and maximum air temperatures. The cumulative distribution of extreme precipitation was better captured by RCA4 (MIROC5), and all RCMs, including their ensemble mean, overestimated the return period. Overall, the study emphasizes that the selection of robust RCMs that better reproduce observed climate conditions and the use of multi-model ensembles of models with the best performance after systematic bias correction are fundamentally necessary for any study of climate change impacts and adaptation in the OGRB.
Analysis of bacterial and fungal community structure in Panax notoginseng rhizosphere samples from different locations
Authors: Lou Yang , Zhang Zilong
Published: December 2022

Panax notoginseng is a well-known Chinese herb that is used worldwide. The goal of this work was to explore the diversity and structure of rhizosphere microbial communities of Panax notoginseng. To do this, Panax notoginseng rhizosphere soil samples were collected from ten production areas in China, and the 16SrRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) sequences were analyzed by Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. The results revealed similar species composition of fungal and bacterial communities in the different producing areas, but significant variation in the abundances of some dominant flora. Redundancy analysis showed that environmental factors explained 41.3% of the fungal community and 45.7% of the bacterial community. We detected significant enrichment of some root rot pathogens, including Ilyonectria, Fusarium, and Pseudomonas, in samples from Wenshan City and Yunnan Province. In summary, the results reveal differences in the structure of rhizosphere soil microbial community of Panax notoginseng in different production areas. The beneficial fungus Chaetomium was the most abundant, with an average abundance of 19.65%. The results can guide strategies to improve Panax notoginseng quality and yield and for biological control of root rot in Panax notoginseng.
Seismic performance evaluation of concrete gravity dams using an efficient finite element model
Authors: RASA Ahmad Yamin , Budak Ahmet , Düzgün Oğuz Akın
Published: December 2022

The effective numerical model that examines the seismic behavior of concrete gravity dams in the Laplace domain-Finite Element (FE) approach is presented. Further research on the potential damage levels and seismic performance of the dam body is done considering the simultaneous effect of horizontal (H) and vertical (V) components of six different earthquake loads. The time durations of the selected earthquakes vary from 10 sec to 80 sec with the magnitude range from 6.5 to 7.62 Mw. The Lagrangian fluid finite elements are utilized to model the near-field water domain. On the other hand, the fluid infinite elements are utilized to model the far-field water domain considering the rigid base rock foundation condition. The two-dimensional (2D) model is developed in FORTRAN 90 and MATLAB programming languages. The findings of this study suggest that the seismic behavior of concrete gravity dam affects not only with the seismic severity; the length and significant time duration of the earthquake are also important factor. The evaluation of the obtained results revealed that the longer length of significant earthquake duration leads to the high deformations, the high stress excursions and high probability of damages in the dam. 20.9% and 18.8% of the selected dam cross section experiences overstress condition under the H and H + V components of the Chi-Chi earthquake loads, respectively; which result the dam failure.
A Sensitive and Robust DNA Method for Authenticity Determination of Glehnia littoralis and Its Food Products
Authors: Lin Mengchen , Wang Hongtao , Yu Qiaoning , Wang Dandan
Published: December 2022

Glehnia littoralis has been widely recognized for its comprehensive nutritional properties and pharmaceutical effects. However, the adulteration practices with cheaper or very similar species in its food products lead to unfair market competition and severe health risks to the consumers. In this study, two species-specific PCR systems were constructed for molecular discrimination of G. littoralis from its adulterants based on the single nucleotide (SNP) markers exploited from ribosomal ITS and chloroplast trnL-F regions, respectively. The species-specific PCR assay utilizing trnL-F region was able to detect 0.1% of intentional adulteration of genomic DNA with a detection limit of 0.01 ng. The developed method, mitigating the adverse effects of DNA degradation and false negative results, was proved to be effective for botanical origin authentication of G. littoralis food products in a single reaction. Therefore the present study provides a sensitive and robust DNA method for authenticity determination of G. littoralis and its food products, and the established method can be employed to determine the authenticity and adulteration of other agro-products with high accuracy and reliability.
Hash the Universe: Differentially Private Text Extraction with Feature Hashing
Authors: Fletcher Sam , Roegiest Adam , Hudek Alexander K.
Published: December 2022

Using artificial intelligence for text extraction can often require handling privacy-sensitive text. To avoid revealing confidential information, data owners and practitioners can use differential privacy, a definition of privacy with provable guarantees. In this work, we show how differential privacy can be applied to feature hashing.Feature hashing is a common technique for handling out-of-dictionary vocabulary, and for creating a lookup table to find feature weights in constant time. One of the special qualities of feature hashing is that all possible features are mapped to a discrete, finite output space. Our proposed technique takes advantage of this fact, and makes hashed feature sets Renyi-differentially private.
The technique enables data owners to privatize any model that stores the data-dependent weights in a hash table, and provides protection against inference attacks on the model output, as well as against linkage attacks directly on the model's hashed features and weights. As a case study, we show how we have implemented our technique in commercial software that enables users to train text sequence classifiers on their own documents, and share the classifiers with other users without leaking training data.
Results show that even common words can be protected with (0.06, 10^-5)-differential privacy, with only a 1% average reduction in Recall and no change in Precision.
The balance between lung regulatory T cells and Th17 cells is a risk indicator for the acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease after surgery
Authors: Fukui Mariko , Harada Norihiro , Takamochi Kazuya , Hayashi Takuo , Matsunaga Takeshi , Hattori Aritoshi , Kawagoe Izumi , Suzuki Kenji
Published: December 2022

Purpose: Acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease is the leading cause of 30-day mortality among patients with lung cancer in Japan. We assessed the characteristics of the lung immune environment before the onset of acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease.
Methods: This retrospective matched case-control study comparing the immune phenotype of helper T cells in the lung from patients with and without acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease after surgery was conducted in 135 patients who underwent surgical resection for lung cancer and were pathologically diagnosed with interstitial lung disease at our institute between 2009 and 2018. There were 13 cases of acute exacerbation of interstitial lung disease and 122 cases without acute exacerbation matched using propensity score analysis, and 12 cases in each group were compared. We evaluated the percentage of T helper (Th)1, Th2, Th17, regulatory T cells (Treg), and CD8 cells in CD3+ T cells and the Th1:Th2, Th17:Treg and CD8:Treg ratios in patients with acute exacerbation by immunostaining of lung tissue in the non-tumor area.
Results: We found a significant difference in the lung Th17:Treg ratio between patients with and without acute exacerbation (1.47 and 0.79, respectively; p=0.041). However, we detected no significant differences in the percentages of lung Th1 (21.3% and 29.0%), Th2 (34.2% and 42.7%), Th17 (22.3% and 21.6%), Treg (19.6% and 29.1%), or CD8+ T cells (47.2% and 42.2%) of CD3+ T cells between groups.
Conclusion: Th17:Treg ratios in the lung from patients with acute exacerbation were higher than in those without.
Smart Grids Reliability Assessment Using a Simplified Mapping Step
Authors: Gholami Mohammadreza , Mohammadtaheri Meysam , Gholami Alireza
Published: December 2022

Reliability of the smart grids has always been an important factor considered by power system planners. Cyber network failures have significant impacts on the reliability of the smart grids as a cyber-physical system. The complexity of the reliability assessment of cyber-physical systems is significantly higher than traditional power systems due to interdependency between cyber and power network elements. A mapping step is applied to system states to address this interdependency in the reliability assessment task. This paper aims to lower the complexity and computational cost of reliability assessment in cyber-physical systems by proposing a simplified mapping step. The simplification steps are applied to various connection types between cyber components using a defined interconnection matrix based on the cyber network topology. The two-state reliability model probabilities are updated for each cyber element. The proposed method lowers the number of possible system states and computational cost significantly since the effects of some cyber networks are considered in the probability updating step. The proposed approach is applied to different cyber network topologies such as bus, ring, and redundant star in a microgrid. Loss of load probability and expected energy not supplied are calculated as the reliability indices of the system. The results reveal the efficiency of proposed method in reliability assessment of the cyber-physical system using remarkably decreased numbers of system states.