bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Investigating Factors Impacting on Export Performance and Market Share of Petrochemical Companies in Iran: A Case Study of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC)
Authors: Khademvatani Asgar , Mohammadi Vahid , Moghadam Abdollah
Published: June 2022

The global petrochemical industry is described as capital-intensive and deeply cyclical mainly caused by local and global economic cycles. Export performance and market share are key indicators of petrochemical industry competitiveness. There by, recognizing comparative advantages leading to competitive advantage is a key point to minimize economic cycle’s implications for petrochemical companies. To do so, the paper applies a partial-adjustment dynamic panel data model and estimates two export performance and market share equations separately using generalized method of moments (GMM) method over the time period 2004 to 2016. The empirical results show that energy costs, return on sales, and labor productivity are the most important factors impacting Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC)’s market share. Energy costs influences market share negatively and return on sales and labor productivity have a positive effect on market share of the company. Also, depreciation, return on sales, and labor productivity are the most influential variables on PGPIC’s export performance which have positive impacts on the company export. The results indicate that improving both market share and export performance factors has led the company to gain more competitive position than its competitors in regional and international markets.JEL Classification: D40, L11, D20, J24
Decision Support System for Orthgnathic diagnosis and treatment planning based on machine learning
Authors: Du Wen , Bi Wenjun , Liu Yao , Zhu Zhaokun , Tai Yue , Luo En
Published: June 2022

Objectives
This study aims to establish a machine learn-based decision support system for the treatment of dental and maxillofacial malformations and verify its feasibility.
Materials and Methods
Between January 2015 to August 2020, 574 patients with spiral CT and have confirmed diagnosis of dento-maxillofacial deformities were used to train the diagnostic model based on five kind of machine learning algorithm. The diagnostic performance of the algorithm was compared with the ground truth and evaluated by accuracy, sensitivity, specifcity, and area under the ROC curve (AUC). The adaptive artificial bee colony (aABC) algorithm was used to calculate the orthognathic surgical plan based on cephalometrics in the normal population. The algorithm was used to automatically generate surgical plans for 50 patients and the plans were rated by three experienced maxillofacial surgeons.
Results
The binary relevance extreme gradient boosting model delivered the best overall performance. The final diagnosis success rates on six different kinds of maxillofacial deformities were all over 90%, except for maxillary overdevelopment (89.27%).
Conclusions
The machine learning algorithms show high accuracy and effectiveness in diagnosis and surgical plan design of dento-maxillofacial deformities. The AUC of all diagnostic types was greater than 0.88. The median score for surgical plan was 9. The scheme scores were further improved after human-computer interaction.
Clinical Relevance
The decision support system based on machine learning could be used for automatic diagnosis and surgical design for patients with dento-maxillofacial deformities, which will help improving diagnostic efciency and provide expertise to areas with lower medical levels.
Genome wide association analysis for yield related traits in maize
Authors: Zeng Tingru , Meng Zhaodong , Yue Runqing , Lu Shouping , Li Wenlan , Li Wencai , Meng Hong , Sun Qi
Published: June 2022

Background: Understanding the genetic basis of yield related traits contributes to the improvement of grain yield in maize. Results: Using 291 excellent maize inbred lines as materials, six yield related traits of maize, including grain yield per plant (GYP), grain length (GL), grain width (GW), kernel number per row (KNR), 100 kernel weight (HKW) and tassel branch number (TBN) were investigated in Jinan, in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The average values of six environments were taken as the phenotypic data of yield related traits, and they were statistically analyzed. Based on 38,683 high-quality SNP markers in the whole genome of the association panel, the MLM with PCA model was used for genome-wide association analysis to obtain significantly associated SNP sites, and candidate genes were predicted based on the LD interval sequence of these significant associated SNPs, and the functions of candidate genes were annotated. Conclusions: The phenotypic analysis showed that the six yield related traits exhibited a normal distribution and high level of heritability. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) found 59 significantly associated SNPs (P<0.00001) referring to GYP, KL, KW, KNR, HKW and TBN, of which 14 SNPs located in yield related QTLs/QTNs previously reported. A total of 66 candidate genes were found based on those significantly associated SNPs. These findings provide valuable information for understanding the genetic mechanisms of maize grain yield formation and for improving molecular marker-assisted selection for the high-yield breeding of maize.
5-(4-(3-(substituted aryl/alkyl)-4-oxothiazolidin-2-yl)benzylidene)thiazolidine-2,4-dione molecules: Synthesis, Biological potential and in silico studies
Authors: Kumar Harsh , Kumar Davinder , Kumar Pradeep , Thareja Suresh , Marwaha Minakshi Gupta , Shankar Uma , Marwaha Rakesh Kumar
Published: June 2022

Background: A novel series of thiazolidine-2,4-dione molecules was derived and their chemical structures were established using physiochemical parameters and spectral techniques (1H-NMR, IR, MS etc.). The synthesized molecules were then evaluated for their antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial potential.Results and discussion: Serial tube dilution method was employed to evaluate the antimicrobial potential against selected fungal and bacterial strains by taking fluconazole and cefadroxil as reference antifungal and antibacterial drugs respectively. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity was used to assess the antioxidant potential of the synthesized analogues. The interactions of the derived thiazolidine-2,4-dione analogues with DNA gyrase and CDK8 enzymes were explored using molecular docking studies. Further, anticancer potential of the best docked molecules was assessed using MTT assay. The drug likeness was also evaluated by studying different ADME parameters of the synthesized analogues.Conclusion: In antioxidant evaluation studies, the analogue H5 with IC50 = 14.85 μg/mL was found to be the most active molecule. The antimicrobial evaluation outcomes suggested that the molecules H5, H13, H15 and H18 possessed moderate to promising activity against the selected species of microbial strains having MIC range 7.3 µM to 26.3 µM. The molecular docking studies revealed molecules H18 (docking score = -4.07) and H7 (docking score = -3.77) have reasonably fair docking score in the binding site of DNA gyrase in comparison to the reference drug. The molecules H2 (docking score = -5.75) and H10 (docking score = -5.41) having good score, exhibited decent interaction in the binding pocket of CDK8. The ADME studies revealed that all the compounds found to be drug like.
Assessment of the Optimization of Hyperparameters in Deep LSTM for Time Series Sea Water Tidal Shift
Authors: Luaran Nosius , Alfred Rayner
Published: June 2022

Generating accurate and reliable tidal forecasts is very crucial to support routine coastal decision-making. The forecasting of univariate time series behavior becomes more challenging and requires state-of-art techniques to achieve realistic forecasting outcome. However, the larger the initial hyperparameters space that must be searched, the more iterations the automated hyperparameters tuning technique should have. As a result of the complexity to tune the deep learning architecture in producing an optimal and consistent result, tuning several hyperparameters to improve deep learning results in learning time series data is highly needed. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the best approach to fine tune machine learning algorithms that have multiple hyperparameters (e.g., deep Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)) to learn and gather collective knowledge about time series sea water tidal shift data that could be used to make better forecasts for the individual time series. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of varying the values of the hyperparameters of the LSTM architecture on the forecasting accuracy of the sea water tidal height variation under non-extreme conditions. In this paper, we empirically evaluate the proposed LSTM forecasting framework to model the tidal dataset based on the RMSE measurements as the hyperparameters change. These hyperparameters are divided into static hyperparameters (e.g., mini batch size, number of epochs, number of iteration and percentage of neuron dropout) and dynamic hyperparameters (e.g., number of layers, number of hidden units, learning rate and L2 regularization). The initial static hyperparameters are used to estimate the optimal values of the dynamic parameters using the Bayesian Optimization method. Based on the results, we highlighted some findings that will aid in improving the performance of the LSTM model for tidal forecasting for hourly short term sea water level and these allow users to choose the best static and dynamic hyper-parameters combination that can produce the optimum outcomes. Finally, the paper is concluded by suggesting some of the extended works that can be performed to improve the results of forecasting the sea water tidal shift.
The Effect of Different Intensity Exercise on Energy Consumption and Metabolism Substrate in Obese Adult Women
Authors: Jin Li , Zhu Xiaoning , Xue Qinbo
Published: June 2022

Background
This study aims to compare differences between obese and normal-weight females in maximal fat oxidation (MFO) and exercise intensity eliciting MFO (Fatmax), as well as explore the relationship between cardiopulmonary function and Fatmax.
Methods
Nine obese female (O Group) and nine subjects with normal weight (C Group) participated in this research. Each individual tested by using a MetaMax 3B metabolimeter was performing an incremental graded exercise protocol on an electronic bicycle ergometer to evaluate maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). And, after, exercises at 25%, 35%, 45%, 55%, 65% and 75% of VO2max were conducted on a separate day to assess MFO and Fatmax.
Results
The results showed that, in exercises of the same intensity (%VO2max), VO2/kg and MET were significantly lower in O Group than these in C Group, while EE/kg was significantly lower. Moreover, the O group had lower VO2max/kg (P < 0.01 ), AT-VO2/kg ( P < 0.05 ), and Fatmax -VO2/kg ( P < 0.05 ), the obese women reached MFO (0.22-0.44g/min) at 44.67–59.40% of VO2max more than C group.
Conclusions
In conclusion, the application of the graded exercise protocol during this study can get accuracy on MFO and Fatmax estimation, and ensure that the use of Fatmax can be applied to improve cardiorespiratory fitness.
Crop landraces inventory for Portugal
Authors: Almeida Maria João , de Carvalho Miguel ÂA Pinheiro , Barata Ana Maria , Brehm Joana Magos , Maxted Nigel
Published: June 2022

The threats to agrobiodiversity ultimately affect our future food security. Countries bonded to national or international biodiversity conservation legislation should conserve and sustainably use their agrobiodiversity. Landraces are a key element of agrobiodiversity which is largely endangered due to lack of their systematic conservation, and partially due to obstacles in developing inventories which may be assigned to the difficulties in applying a standard landrace’ definition and to complications associated with nomenclature (synonyms/homonyms). Effective national conservation of landraces can be best achieved with a comprehensive inventory. In this paper, we developed a comprehensive inventory of food and other Portuguese agricultural landraces by surveying literature, local media, and farms. Farms were selected based on knowledge of experts and using an ecogeographic diversity approach based on Geographic Information Systems. We compiled 14,813 records of 7,492 different landraces. Grape vine (Vitis vinifera L.), common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), and maize (Zea mays L. subsp. mays) have the highest number of landraces in Portugal according with the gathered data. Bragança and Faro are the districts with more records of landraces. The landrace inventory for Portugal that we developed is a first iteration of such kind and should be updated systematically.
Correlation Between Phase Angle and Nutritional Status in Hospitalized Patients at Nutritional Risk
Authors: Carvalho Juliana Bonfleur , de Andrade Grasiela Konkolisc Pina , Nascimento Ludiane Alves do , Severine Ariane Naldoskis , Rodrigues Ana Lucia Chalhoub Chediac
Published: June 2022

Objective: This study evaluated the correlations between phase angle and muscle mass, which can contribute to an accurate nutritional diagnosis. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study, conducted from July 2020 to July 2021, included patients classified as at-risk based on their initial nutritional assessments. Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to evaluate body composition and determine the PA. Data on nutritional status and hospital stay were also obtained. Results: Among the 1.012 evaluated patients, 55% (557) were male, the median age was 71.8 years, and the median body mass index (BMI) was 22.7 kg/m2. A total of 60.1% (606) of the patients had low MM. The PA cut-off for reduced MM was 4.30º for the total population and for men, and 3.76º for women. Patients with reduced PA were older (61.8 [23] vs. 76.4 [19] years; p<0.001), had a longer hospital stay (14 [20] vs. 11[15]; p<0.001) and lower BMI (24.1 [6.0] vs 22.3 [4.8] kg/m2; p<0.001). Patients with a hospital stay >11 days were twice as likely to have a reduced PA (odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37–2.93). In addition, patients from critical units were almost twice as likely to have a reduced PA (OR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.22–2.87). Conclusion: Patients with reduced MM presented a lower PA cut-off than that for patients with normal MM; thus, the PA represents a good marker to detect MM reduction. A reduced PA also increased the likelihood of malnutrition and prolonged hospital stay.
Conversion of ER, PR, HER2 and Ki-67 and Prognosis in breast cancer metastases to the brain
Authors: Chen Jiaxin , Zhou Jinmei , Zhang Huiqiang , Wu Xuexue , Wang Xiaobo , Zhang Shaohua , Tai YanHong , Jiang Zefei , Wang Tao
Published: June 2022

Objective
This study aimed to analyze the expression levels of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), and Ki-67 proliferation index in the brain metastatic lesions and primary lesions in Chinese patients with breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) and determine the correlation between their changes and patients’ survival.
Methods
A retrospective analysis was performed on patients with BCBM admitted to the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital and who underwent craniotomy from January 1998 to December 2021. The clinical characteristic of these patients, the expression levels of ER, PR, HER-2, and Ki-67 in the primary lesions and brain lesions, and the survival were collected. The differences in the expression levels of the ER, PR, and HER-2 between the primary lesions and brain lesions were evaluated, and the association between the differences and survival was analyzed.
Results
The results of our study showed that the positive rates of ER, PR, and HER-2 in the primary lesions were 35.0% (14/40), 30.0% (12/40), and 60.0% (24/40), respectively, and the positive rates of ER, PR, and HER-2 in the brain metastatic lesions were 35.0% (14/40), 12.5% (5/40), and 55.0% (22/40), respectively. The conversion rate of anyone receptor (ER, PR, or HER2) between the primary lesions and brain metastatic lesions was 45.0% (18/40), of which the ER inconsistency rate was 25.0%, the PR inconsistency rate was 22.5%, and the HER-2 inconsistency rate was 15.0%, and the receptor conversion resulted in a subtype conversion of 27.5% (11/40). The patients with HER-2 expression discordance between the primary lesions and the brain metastatic lesions had significantly longer survival times (58.9 months vs. 26.4 months, P = 0.04) after diagnosis of brain metastases.
Conclusion
In this study, 45.0% of breast cancer patients developed biomarker-conversion between the primary lesions and brain metastatic lesions, and the differences in the expression levels of the ER, PR, and HER-2, the change in Ki-67 index between the primary lesions and brain lesions had predictive effects on patients’ survival.
Association between the uric acid to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and alanine transaminase in Chinese short stature children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Li Guangxin , Zhao Qianqian , Zhang Xinran , Ban Bo , Zhang Mei
Published: June 2022

Objective
This research aimed to investigate the relationship between the uric acid to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (UHR) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in children and adolescents with short stature.
Methods
In this cross-sectional analysis, the clinical data of 1510 children with height below − 2 SD who were evaluated at the Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from March 1, 2013, to December 31, 2021, were selected. Anthropometric and biochemical indicators were measured.The relationship between UHR and ALT was analysed.
Results
The univariate analysis results showed that UHR was positively associated with ALT (β 0.43, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, after adjusting for possible confounding factors,a nonlinear relationship was detected between UHR and ALT through smooth curve fitting, and the inflection point of UHR was 10.93% after multivariate piecewise linear regression analysis. ALT increased with UHR elevation when the UHR was greater than 10.93% (β 0.69, 95% CI 0.39, 0.98; P < 0.0001). However, we did not observe a significant relationship when the UHR was less than 10.93% (P = 0.9229).
Conclusion
Our study demonstrated that in Chinese children and adolescents with short stature, UHR may be associated with the regulation of ALT levels, and this relationship merits further investigation.
The prevalence of adult tinea capitis: a 10-year retrospective study in Hangzhou, eastern China, between 2012 and 2021
Authors: Zhi Huilin , Xia Xiu-Jiao , Shen Hong , Zhong Yan , Sang Bo , Lv Wen-wen , Li Qiu-Ping , Chen Xiao-Yu , Hu Shu-Chang , Song Xiu-Zu , Liu Ze-Hu
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Tinea capitis (TC) is a disease caused by dermatophytes on the scalp and hair. This disease mainly infects pre-school children, although there has been a gradual increase in the number of adults infected with TC over recent years. Here, we retrospectively analyzed epidemiological data relating to adult TC (ATC) in Hangzhou, eastern China, over the last decade.Materials and Methods: We analyzed all adult patients who were referred to the Mycology Laboratory of Hangzhou Third People's Hospital (Affiliated Hangzhou Dermatology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine) between 2012 and 2021 and suspected of having TC. Mycological tests were used to confirm the diagnosis. We acquired arrange of epidemiological data for analysis, including age, gender, and the distribution of dermatophytes. We also collated data relating to risk factors, such as tinea with other sites, underlying diseases, and a history of animal contact. Results: A total of 165 patients were diagnosed with ATC, including 77 males (46.7%) and 88 females (53.3%). The gender ratio was 0.875 and the mean age was 49±23.1 years (range: 18-96 years). The most dominant dermatophytes were Trichophyton violaceum (25.6%) and Trichophyton rubrum (25.6%), followed by Microsporum canis (24.4%). Anthropophilic dermatophytes accounted for 63.3% of all cases. Interestingly, 63 patients (38.2%) with a confirmed diagnosis of ATC also presented tinea with other sites.Conclusion: This study indicated that ATC infection is more commonly found in women, especially in those aged >45 years. Anthropophilic dermatophytes, T. violaceum and T. rubrum, were found to be the most dominant dermatophytes, followed by M. canis. Dermatologists should consider that tinea with other sites may represent a risk factor for ATC.
Sex difference in general cognition associated with coupling of whole-brain functional connectivity strength to cerebral blood flow changes during Alzheimer’s disease progression
Authors: Li Hui , Huang Ziang , Gao Ziwen , Zhu Wanqiu , Li Yuqing , Zhou Shanshan , Li Xiaoshu , Yu Yongqiang
Published: June 2022

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive age-related neurodegenerative disorder that results in irreversible cognitive impairments. Nonetheless, there are numerous sex-dependent differences in clinical course that may provide clues to disease pathogenesis and more effective individualized treatments. We examined potential contributions of neurovascular coupling deficits to sex differences in AD progression. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging were acquired from 50 AD patients (28 females), 52 amnesic mild cognitive impairment patients (31 females), and 59 healthy controls (36 females). Short- and long-range functional connectivity strength (FCS) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were calculated for all participants. Then, the CBF/FCS coupling ratio was calculated for each voxel. Two-way ANOVA was performed to identify group × sex interactions and main effects of group. Correlation analysis was used to assess associations between CBF/FCS ratios and general cognitive status as measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).There were significant group × sex interaction effects on short-range coupling ratios of right middle temporal gyrus, left angular gyrus, left infraorbital frontal gyrus, and left superior frontal gyrus as well as on the long-range coupling ratios of right middle temporal gyrus, left precuneus, left posterior cingulate, and left angular gyrus. There were significant negative correlations between MMSE scores and CBF/FCS ratios for all regions with significant interactions among all female patients, while positive correlations were found between MMSE and CBF/FCS ratios for some regions among all male patients. Our results demonstrate significant sex differences in neurovascular coupling mechanisms associated with cognitive function during the course of AD.
Assessment of drought events in Southwest China in 2009/2010 using sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence
Authors: Jia Liping , He Yi , Li Yanlin , Zhang Yaru
Published: June 2022

With the increasing trend of global warming, drought events frequently occur, which have an impact on human life and the environment. In this study, an extreme drought event in southwest China in 2009/2010 was used as an example to explore the potential of using satellite observations of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) for drought monitoring. The results indicated that the SIF observations show proper responses to drought than EVI, which underestimated the losses by approximately 50%. The SIF reduction in this drought event (19% in March 2010 and 11% in May 2010) was more obvious than that of the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) (4% and 5%). The drought severity index (DSI) overestimates the drought during most the dry months. SIF can be a reliable tool for monitoring drought in a timely and accurate manner. In addition, the significant correlation coefficient with SIF and ET (reaching 0.8 at the beginning and end of the drought stage), indicating the ability of SIF to reveal the interaction of carbon and water during drought, which provides us with ideas for future research on the terrestrial carbon-water cycle.
The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Puberty: A cross-sectional, Multicenter Study from Turkey
Authors: Mutlu Gul Yesiltepe , Eviz Elif , Haliloglu Belma , Kirmizibekmez Heves , Dursun Fatma , Ozalkak Servan , Cayir Atilla , Sacli Beste Yuksel , Ozbek Mehmet Nuri , Demirbilek Huseyin , Hatun Sukru
Published: June 2022

Backgrounds: During the Coronavirus-19 disease (Covid-19) pandemic it was observed that the number of girls presenting with early puberty had increased. The aim of this study was to carry out a retrospective evaluation of the characteristics of girls who had been referred for evaluation of precocious puberty in five different pediatric endocrinology units, before and during the pandemic.Methods: The study participants comprised 359 girls who were assigned into 2 groups -a pre-pandemic group (n:214) and a pandemic group (n:145). Those participants (n:99) who had medical records in the follow-up period were classified into 3 subgroups according to the time of presentation and follow-up visits (group-1: first admission and follow-up visit before the pandemic, group-2: first admission before the pandemic, the follow-up visit during the pandemic, group-3: first admission and follow-up visit during the pandemic).Results: The age at presentation and age at pubertal onset were both significantly lower in the pandemic group than those in the pre-pandemic group(8.1 vs 8.6, p:<0.001,7.7 vs 7.9,p:0.013, respectively). There was no significant difference between the body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) values of the groups (0.57 vs 0.51, p:0.430). The initiation rate of pubertal suppression therapy at the time of presentation was significantly higher in the pandemic group compared to that of the pre-pandemic group (7.7%vs 27.5%), and in groups-2 & 3 compared to group-1, during follow-up (20%&44%vs 8%). Conclusion: Our research showed that the onset of puberty occurred earlier in the pandemic period compared to the previous year, and the need for pubertal suppression therapy increased during the pandemic.
Unique deep-sea bacterial assemblages thriving on different organic matters delivered via in-situ incubators
Authors: Li Jianyang , Dong Chunming , Lai Qiliang , Huang Zhaobin , Zhou Donghui , Gong Linfeng , Wang Guangyi , Shao Zongze
Published: June 2022

Background
The transport of organic matters to the deep sea constantly occurs in global oceans and in accompany with simultaneous microbial remineralization. However, little is known about the impact of fast sinking organic complex on oceanic deep ecosystem and its interactions with microbes throughout the process of sinking and settling on the sea bottom. In this report, to observe the response of indigenous microorganisms to the newly input of organic matters, we developed a series of deep-sea in-situ incubators loaded on the seabed and seamount with various organic substrates of plant and animal origins.
Results
The bacterial diversity at the OTU level varied in accordance to organic substrates and geographic locations, but the functional groups are generally similar. The bacteria of Marinifilaceae were revealed as the key member; in addition, other key decomposers including Spirochaetaceae, Psychromonadaceae, Vibrionaceae, Moritellaceae, and Fusobacteriaceae were also recruited in most assemblages with varied abundance accordingly. Interestingly, nitrogen fixation inside the assemblages occurred in the process of polysaccharide decomposing. The microbial co-occurrence analysis revealed that nutrient availability and energy transfer determine relationships cooperation or competition. Within the assemblages stimulated by substrates short of nitrogen sources, the microbial network was dominated by cooperative relationships, whereas competition relationships overwhelmed the communities thriving on proteinous substrates.
Conclusions
These in-situ observations revealed a unique bacterial assemblage in decomposing diverse newly input organic matters, which may constitute the microbial pumps involved in carbon, sulphur, and nitrogen cycles in oceanic interior.
Inflammatory cytokines and mechanical injury induce post-traumatic osteoarthritis-like changes in a human cartilage-bone-synovium microphysiological system
Authors: Dwivedi Garima , Flaman Lisa , Alaybeyoglu Begum , Struglics Andre , Frank Eliot H , Chubinskya Susan , Trippel Stephen B , Rosen Vicki , Cirit Murat , Grodzinsky Alan J
Published: June 2022

Background
Traumatic knee injuries in humans trigger an immediate increase in synovial fluid levels of inflammatory cytokines that accompany impact damage to joint tissues. We developed a human in vitro cartilage-bone-synovium (CBS) coculture model to study the role of mechanical injury and inflammation in the initiation of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA)-like disease.
Methods
Osteochondral plugs (cartilage-bone, CB) along with joint capsule synovium explants (S) were harvested from 25 cadaveric distal femurs from 16 human donors (Collin’s grade 0–2, 23-83yrs). Two-week monocultures (cartilage-C, bone-B, synovium-S) and cocultures (CB, CBS) were established. A PTOA-like disease group was initiated via coculture of synovium explants with mechanically impacted osteochondral plugs (CBS + INJ, peak stress 5MPa) with non-impacted CB as controls. Disease-like progression was assessed through analyses of changes in cell viability, inflammatory cytokines released to media (10-plex ELISA), tissue matrix degradation and metabolomics profile.
Results
Immediate increases in concentrations of a panel of inflammatory cytokines occurred in CBS + INJ and CBS cocultures. CBS + INJ and CBS also showed increased chondrocyte death compared to uninjured CB. Release of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) and associated ARGS-Aggrecan neo-epitope fragments to the medium were significantly increased in CBS and CBS + INJ groups. Distinct metabolomics profiles were observed for C, B and S monocultures, and metabolites related to inflammatory response in CBS versus CB were identified.
Conclusion
CBS and CBS + INJ models showed distinct cellular, inflammatory, and matrix-related alterations relevant to PTOA-like initiation/progression. Use of human knee tissues from donors that had no prior history of OA disease suggests the relevance of this model in highlighting the role of injury and inflammation in earliest stages of PTOA progression.
Reach Out and Read Literacy Program for Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit - a Pre-post Experimental Study
Authors: KALE SHRIYA , DESHPANDE VINUTA
Published: June 2022

Background: Prevalence of NICU admission is 44% in India. NICU stay is a precursor of various complications faced later in life. Language developmental delay is one of the complications of NICU stay with a prevalence ranging from 2.3% to 19% in Indian population. Elevated prevalence of linguistic delay in youngsters emphasizes the necessity to focus on language development in initial years to minimize the possibility of ill-effects and thus give optimal the chance for improvement. Aim: To evaluate effectiveness of Reach Out and Read intervention on language development for infants in NICU.Method: Single group pre-post assessment was carried out with 18 infants recruited from NICU. Reach Out and Read program was taught to parents of the recruited participants. Parents were given one book every follow up till the infant was 5months of age. At recruitment and CA 3 months GMA was recorded. At CA 5 months BSID III language subtest was noted.Results: GMA at recruitment and 5th month comparison shows significant improvement p=0.0277, GMA at 3rd month compared to 5th month shows significant improvement p=0.0431.Conclusion: Reach Out and Read literacy program improves GMs of infants from birth to CA 5 months of age. It looks to be a viable and promising new language intervention. A RCT needed to evaluate and generalize if ROR can help these infant’s language development.
The prevalence of menstrual disorders among adolescent girls living in North Borneo, Malaysia: A questionnaire-based study
Authors: Azhary Jerilee Mariam Khong , Lai Kim Leng , Razali Nuguelis , Sulaiman Sofiah , Wahab Ana Vetriana Abd , Adlan Aizura Syafinaz Ahmad , Hassan Jamiyah
Published: June 2022

Background
This study aimed to determine menstrual characteristics and related morbidities among adolescent girls living in Sabah, North Borneo, the poorest state in Malaysia.
Methods
Data was obtained from a quantitative survey conducted in three government high schools located in Ranau, Sabah. The participants were adolescent girls who had attained menarche between the ages of 14 and 19 years.
Results
Based on the analysis of questionnaires completed by 757 adolescent girls, the mean age at the time of the survey was 17 ± 1.4, and the mean menarche age was 12.2 ± 1.1. Our data demonstrated that 85.7% of the participants experienced dysmenorrhea, of which at least 42% (mean pain score ± SD: 4.81 ± 0.76, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.7, 4.9) experienced moderate dysmenorrhea and 11.3% (mean pain score ± SD: 7.86 ± 0.97, 95% CI: 7.6, 8.1) experienced severe dysmenorrhea. More than 70% of these girls complained of tiredness, headaches, and changes in appetite during menses.
Conclusions
The prevalence of menstrual disorders and related morbidities was high among girls residing in Sabah. Reproductive health issues in rural and socioeconomically deprived areas remain poorly addressed. The main consequences of neglecting menstrual disorders and their related morbidities are impaired future sexual reproductive health as adults. Hence, addressing adolescent reproductive health issues is crucial, especially for girls living in areas where healthcare accessibility is difficult. The information gathered from this study is can be used to strategize an effective intervention to improve adolescents' reproductive health status in rural areas.
Monitoring the Quality Compliance of Drinking Water Treatment Process using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Mwitirehe Janvier , Cheruiyot W. Kipruto , Ruranga Charles
Published: June 2022

This article aimed at measuring the extent to which chemical inputs used in the water treatment process complied with acceptable limits set by competent authorities. The computed drinking water quality index (DWQI) was visualized in a dashboard created in Microsoft Power Business Intelligence. The adopted operational approach helped compare daily compliance versus non-compliance. Then, a logistic regression predictive model was used to determine whether there were any significant separations between water treatment plants (WTPs) as per quality compliance results. The analysis was done on 13,158 daily water transactions recorded by 18 WTPs managed by the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC) of Rwanda. As per DWQI values, all the WTP’s water productions generally complied with the quality requirements despite few exceptions. The predictive model accuracy was confirmed at 93.4% with all variables being statistically influential. In terms of predicted probabilities, WTPs fell in two clusters: WTPs located in the Northern, Kigali and Western provinces and those in the Eastern and Southern provinces. The first cluster had the probability of more than 95% to produce excellent water while the other had the probability of less than 95%. On average, the water treated in the provinces of the first cluster has more than 95% chance to be excellent. On the other hand, WTPs in Eastern and Southern Provinces have more than 90% but less than 95% chance to produce A-ranked water. Finally, the performance monitoring of water products was recommended to complement the current operational approach to confirm its suitability for human consumption.
Pollen Morphology of Melanoseris Decne. (Cichorieae-asteraceae) From Pakistan and Western Himalayas and Its Taxonomic Significance
Authors: ABID ROOHI BANO , Qaiser Muhammad
Published: June 2022

Pollen morphological studies of 10 species and 3 varieties of Melanoseris Decne. (Cichorieae-Asteraceae) were conducted from Pakistan and Kashmir. Pollen were studied by using Light microscope, Fluorescent microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope. Pollen of 7 taxa were examined for the first time including 4 endemic species to the study area. Pollen grains are usually isopolar, spheroidal to oblate-spheroidal, elliptic to rarely circular in equatorial view, hexagonal in polar view, trizonocolporate and echinolophate with 15 lacunae. Significant variation has been found mainly in the size of pollen, number of echinae and sculpturing of the polar area. All the examined taxa were grouped into two distinct pollen-types viz., Melanoseris alii – type and Melanoseris stewartii – type. Keys to the pollen types and species of each pollen type are provided. Agglomerative cluster analysis based on the 14 pollen morphological characters, showed that diameter of polar and equatorial axis, pollen size and polar axis were the most valuable variables in explaining total variation and separating the studied taxa. The aim of this study is to analyze the pollen morphological diversity in Melanoseris species with the purpose of evaluating additional micromorphological characters for taxonomical delimitation of the studied species and also to find a correlation between the recent phylogenetic studies and the present palynological results.
Development and Validation of a Nomogram Combined with Albumin and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicting Postoperative Complications after Resection of Colon Cancer
Authors: Wu Jiayao , Zou Jun , Wang Kan , Yang Shuting , Huang Haoquan , Wang Chengli
Published: June 2022

Purpose: The aim of this study was to construct and validate a predictive model combined with albumin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to predict postoperative complications in patients underwent colon cancer resection.Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of all patients undergoing resection of colon cancer between January 2019 and June 2021 at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital. The general clinical characteristics and systemic inflammatory marker including lymphocytes and neutrophils were gathered retrospectively. The main outcome variables were postoperative complications. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify the in potential risk factors that predicting postoperative complications after resection of colon cancer. Nomograms with or without albumin/neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio socre (ANS) for postoperative complications were further constructed according to the results of multivariable logistic regression analysis adopting Akaike information criterion.Results: The preoperative ANS score and intraoperative blood transfusion were determined as independent risk factors predicting postoperative complications. The nomogram including preoperative ANS score had higher C-index (0.821) and also better calibration. Conclusions: The preoperative ANS score is an effective predictor and one of independent potential risk factors for postoperative complications after resection of colon cancer. The nomogram with preoperative ANS score was constructed with better capability predicting postoperative complications.
Synthesis of a New Hydrogel Based on Tragacanth Gum with Emphasis on Its Agricultural Potential
Authors: sodkouieh Somayeh Mohamadi , Kalantari Maryam
Published: June 2022

Hydrogels are cross-linked three-dimensional polymer networks capable of absorbing high amounts of water or biofluids. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels have attracted the attention of researchers due to their great biocompatibility. In this research, a low-cost and eco-friendly polysaccharide, tragacanth gum, was used to develop a new hydrogel with emphasis on its application in the field of agriculture. The effective factors such as temperature, pH, time, and crosslinker content were optimized to maximize the swelling capacity of the product. The maximum water absorption of the synthesized hydrogel reached 490 g.g− 1. The synthesized hydrogel was investigated by FT-IR, TGA, FESEM, and XRD techniques. The ability of the hydrogel to save agricultural water was assessed by measuring water holding (WH) capacity and water retention (WR) ratio. The presence of 2 wt.% hydrogel in the soil enhanced its WH by 22%. The WR ratio after 20 days was 29% for the soil containing 2% hydrogel while the blank sample lost all its water. Also, the effect of hydrogel on soil fertility was assessed by planting barley seeds in the soil with and without hydrogel, which resulted in a 6.5-fold enhancement in plant growth in the presence of hydrogel.
Efficient Multi-Constrained Task Allocation in Smart Warehouses
Authors: Oliveira George S. , Röning Juha , Carvalho Jônata T. , Plentz Patricia D. M.
Published: June 2022

The multi-robot task allocation (MRTA) is an NP-hard problem whose viable solutions are usually found by heuristic algorithms. Considering the growing need for improvements in logistics, using robots to increase warehouse management’s efficiency is an essential demand. In smart warehouses, the main tasks involve employing a fleet of automated picking and mobile robots that coordinate by picking up items from a set of orders from the shelves and dropping them at delivery stations. The complexity of multi-robot task allocation arises mainly due to: (i) environmental aspects, such as multi-delivery stations and dispersed robots; and (ii) fleet heterogeneity. Despite these properties having been widely researched in the literature, they are commonly investigated separately. Also, many algorithms are not scalable for problems with thousands of tasks and hundreds of robots as those currently found in logistic warehouses. This work presents a scalable and efficient task allocation algorithm for smart warehouses with multi-delivery stations and heterogeneous fleets, called Dynamic Domain Zone based Capacity and Priority constrained Task Allocator (DoNe-CPTA). Our strategy employs a novel cost estimator to create groups of dominant tasks and thus optimize task allocation and reduce execution time and number of robots. Experiments have compared our method with the state-of-the-art algorithm in a series of benchmarks that simulate the operation of smart warehouses with multiple delivery stations and heterogenous fleets. Results show that DoNe-CPTA generated routes with 33% lower cost, running 96% faster than the state-of-the-art algorithm. Experiments also check out settings with single-delivery stations and non-dispersed robots, where DoNe-CPTA reduced the number of robots by up to 18%, running 92% faster without increasing route costs.
In the need of self-regulated learning interventions in medical students: a systematic review
Authors: Cohaila Javier Alejandro Flores
Published: June 2022

Background: The new quality standards for the evaluation of future physicians require new tools, among which self-regulated learning is a promising area, so it is necessary to establish what interventions can be made to promote it.Objectives: To analyze the contributions of research conducted on interventions and training programs on self-regulated learning skills in medical students.Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA statement, the search includes Web of Science (WOS), EBSCO, Proquest, Scopus, Pubmed and Scielo from 2009 to 2022, of the 362 articles identified, 7 were selected for our evaluation.Results: Most of the studies conducted with interventions were longitudinal (n=4), the remaining three were randomized clinical trials, the country that contributed the most literature was the United States and no articles were found on interventions in Latin American countries, the most used instrument was the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MLSQ), most of the interventions were heterogeneous but in two studies Self-regulated learning skills were taught explicitly.Conclusions: There is a large field to explore with respect to interventions to foster self-regulated learning in medical students, and these future studies should seek to standardize our approach to promoting these skills in order to maximize the impact of self-regulated learning on the performance and well-being of our students.
Has the Least Developed Countries' Services Waiver been effective in promoting Services Exports in Least Developed Countries?
Authors: GNANGNON Sèna Kimm
Published: June 2022

In 2011, Trade Ministers of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted a Decision (referred to as "LDC Services Waiver") that allows WTO Members to accord preferential treatment to services and service suppliers originating in least developed countries (LDCs). In 2013, Ministers adopted another Decision to operationalize the 2011 Decision. The present paper has examined whether the Waiver Decision has been effective in promoting LDCs' commercial modern and traditional services exports. It uses a set of 44 LDCs over the period from 2005 to 2019, and the Difference-in-Difference framework along with the two-step system generalized method of moments estimator. The Difference-in-Difference framework allows examining how LDCs performed in terms of modern and traditional services exports compared to a control group of countries (i.e., a group that did not benefit from the Waiver), after the operationalization of the Waiver Decision compared to the preceding period. The control group is the Low-Income Countries (designated as such by the International Monetary Fund) from which LDCs (as defined by the United Nations) are excluded. The analysis has revealed that in very low-income LDCs, the Waiver promoted both modern services exports (although to a lesser extent than in relatively higher per capita income LDCs) and traditional services exports, while it reduced traditional services exports in LDCs with a relatively higher per capita income. Meanwhile, the services exports effects of the Waiver depended on countries' characteristics, including the population size and volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. In particular, countries that received higher FDI inflows increased their modern services exports at the expense of traditional services exports.JEL Classification: F14; L80.
Simultaneous and rapid removal of Safranin O (SO) and Basic blue 41 (BB) dyes by sulfonated polyacrylamide (PAA-SO3H) as super-adsorbent, isotherms, and kinetics studies
Authors: Zare Mohammad Ali , Jamali Zahra , Fadavi Abdulhamid , Sanaye Reza , Vafa Ehsan , Iranpour Maryam
Published: June 2022

As a result of their environmental importance, dyes are now one of the most pressing environmental issues. Sulfonated polyacrylamide has been synthesized and fully described, applying FTIR technique. The goal would be delving into the nature of simultaneous ultrasound removal of SO and BB dyes. It could lead to an efficient super-adsorbent for industrial dye processing. Optimization of parameters was conducted using central composite design (CCD) with response surface methodology (RSM). The pH value of 7.9, contact time of 2 minutes, adsorbent dose of 0.008 g, and SO and BB concentrations of 362.02 and 420.45 mg/L were found to be the optimal conditions for dye removal. Adsorption is an ideal approach method for preserving dyes from aqueous industrial wastes because of high efficiency, cost-effectiveness and simplicity. An acceptable degree of consonance between experimental and calculated values was arrived at. High percentage removal (90.01% and 99.95%) of SO and BB in short time (2.16 min) were recorded through the application of an ultrasound-assisted adsorbent (0.008g). Freundlich model shows the proper agreement with the experimental data of both dyes, and the maximum adsorption capacities were 20000 and 8334.0 mg/g for SO and BB, respectively.