bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research Capacity Building for Clinicians: How Does the Research Facilitator Role Foster Engagement in the Research Process?
Authors: Flenady Tracy , Dwyer Trudy , Kahl Julie , Sobolewska Agnieszka , Reid-Searl Kerry , Signal Tania
Published: January 2022

Background: There is evidence reporting more positive outcomes from research capacity building programs that include a research facilitator role. Further, it has been suggested that research facilitator roles can be a useful strategy in building the research capacity of health care clinicians. However, until now, little attention has been applied to identifying the characteristics of the research facilitator role and how this role contributes to clinicians’ engagement with the research process. Methods: This qualitative study employed an inductive approach and utilised face to face interviews to gather data from a purposely selected cohort. Professionally transcribed responses were thematically analysed. Results: The role of the research facilitator emerged as comprising two main themes: 1) Facilitating the research process and 2) Engaging expert clinicians as novice researchers. Pragmatically, analysis of data led to the development of a table outlining the responsibilities, skills and attributes related to each theme. Conceptually, theme 1 encapsulates the Research Facilitators’ skills and experience and their role as knowledge brokers and co-creators of knowledge. Theme 2 provides insight to the clinician-centric approach the RFs utilised to build and foster relationships and support the clinicians through their research journey. Conclusion: This study reports on the characteristics of the research facilitator role in a research capacity building (RCB) program in one regional health service district in Australia and explains how the role fosters clinicians’ engagement with the research process. Findings from this study will inform the development of future RCB programs, which is important when you consider that clinicians’ increased engagement with the research process is vital for developing a sound evidence base to support decision-making in practice and leads to higher levels of skills and greater ability to perform useful research.
Dog Olfactory Gene Expression Profiling Using Samples Derived from Nasal Epithelium Brushing
Authors: Galibert Francis , Sadequi Naoual Azzouzi , Guillory Anne-Sophie , Chaudieu Gilles
Published: January 2022

Dogs have an exquisite sense of olfaction. In many instances this ability has been put to use by humans in a wide range of important situations. It is also thought that some breeds have better senses of smell than others. Dogs can detect many components at a very limited concentration in air. To achieve such high levels of detection, the dog olfactory system is both complex and highly developed. The dog genome encodes a large number of olfactory receptor (OR) genes. However, it still remains unclear as to what extent are all of these OR genes expressed? To address this, a nasal brushing method was developed to recover dog nasal epithelium samples from which total RNA could be extracted to prepare high quality cDNA libraries. After capture by hybridization with a large set of oligonucleotides, the level of expression of each transcript was measured after deep sequencing by next generation sequencing (NGS). The reproducibility of the sampling approach was checked by analyzing several samples from the same animals (up to 6, 3 per each naris). The quality of the capture was also checked by analyzing two DNA libraries, which offered the advantage over RNA libraries by having an equal presence of each gene. Finally, we compared this brushing method on live animal to a biopsy approach applied to two terminally ill dogs, euthanized following consent from the owner. Comparison of the levels of expression of each transcript indicate that the ratios of expression between the most and the least expressed OR in each sample are > 10,000 (paralog variation) and that a number of OR genes are not expressed. The method developed here will allow us to address whether variations observed for any of the OR transcriptomes relate to dog life experiences and whether any differences observed between samples are dog-specific or breed-specific.
A Novel Nanobody-Heavy Chain Antibody Against Angiopoietin-Like Protein 3 Reduces Plasma Lipids and Relieves Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Hu Xiaozhi , Fan Jiajun , Ma Qianqian , Han Lei , Cao Zhonglian , Xu Caili , Luan Jingyun , Nan Yanyang , Wu Tao , Zhang Yuting , Wang Hanqi , Ju Dianwen
Published: January 2022

Background

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease mainly on account of hypercholesterolemia and may progresses to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The discovery of effective therapies for NAFLD is a critical unmet need. Angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3), a critical lipid metabolism regulator, cause elevated blood lipids and are elevated in NAFLD. Here, we develop a nanobody-heavy chain antibody (VHH-Fc) to inhibit ANGPTL3 for NAFLD treatment.
Results

In this study, we screened out a anti-ANGPTL3 VHH and Fc fusion protein, C44-Fc, which exhibited a high affinity to human and mouse ANGPTL3 proteins at 0.1402~0.2088 nM and rescued ANGPLT3-mediated inhibition of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. The C44-Fc had different ANGPTL3 binding epitope, a double expression yield and better thermostability when compared with the evinacumab, maintaining no obvious degradation or aggregation at low and high pH, 40°C for 28 days, and freeze-thaw. Furthermore, C44-Fc significantly ameliorated the triglyceride (~44.2%), total cholesterol (~36.6%) and LDL-cholesterol (~54.4%) levels in hypercholesterolemic mice and ameliorated hepatic lipid accumulation and liver injury in NAFLD mice.
Conclusions

We discover a VHH-Fc fusion protein with high affinity to ANGPTL3 and alleviates the progression of NAFLD, which offers a prospective therapy for NAFLD.
A Generative Skull Stripping of Multiparametric Brain MRIs Using 3D Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Pei Linmin , Murat AK , Tahon Nourel , Zenkin Serafettin , Karawi Safa , Kamal Abdallah , Yilmaz Mahir , Chen Lingling , Er Mehmet , Colen Rivka
Published: January 2022

Accurate skull stripping helps following neuro-image analysis. For computer-aided methods, the presentence of the brain skull in structural MRI impacts brain tissue identification, which could result in serious misjudgment, especially for patients with brain tumors. Though there are some existing works on skull stripping in literature, most of them either focus on healthy brain MRI or only apply for a single image modality. These methods may be not optimal for multiparametric MRI scans. In the paper, we propose an ensemble neural network (EnNet), a 3D convolutional neural network (3DCNN) based method, for brain extraction of multiparametric brain MRI scans. We comprehensively investigate the skull stripping performance by using the proposed method on a total of 15 image modality combinations. The comparison shows that using all modalities provides the best performance on skull stripping. We have collected a retrospective dataset of 815 cases with glioblastoma at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA). The ground truths of the skull stripping are verified by at least one qualified radiologist. The quantitative evaluation gives an average dice score coefficient and Hausdorff distance at 95th percentile, respectively. We also compare the performance to the state-of-the-art methods/tools. The proposed method offers the best performance.The contributions of the work have five folds: First, the proposed method is a fully automatic end-to-end for skull stripping using a 3D deep learning method. Second, it is applicable for multiparametric MRI (mpMRIs) and is also easy to customize for a single MRI modality. Third, the proposed method not only works for healthy brain mpMRIs but also pre-/post-operative brain mpMRIs with GBM. Fourth, the proposed method is capable to handle multicenter data. Last, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first group to quantitatively compare the skull stripping performance using different modalities.
Major Cardiovascular Events after Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cell Transplantation Following Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Attar Armin , Hosseinpour Alireza , Hosseinpour Hamidreza , Kazemi Asma
Published: January 2022

The effect of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) on myocardial function indices such as ejection fraction (LVEF) has been widely studied. However, the effect of this intervention on major cardiovascular events (MACE) was not the principal purpose of most investigations and its role is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible long-term clinical efficacy of BM-MNCs on MACE after AMI. A comprehensive search was conducted through electronic databases for potentially eligible randomized trials investigating the impact of BM-MNC therapy following acute MI on clinical outcomes. Risk of bias assessment of the eligible studies was done using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Initial database search found 1540 records and 23 clinical trials with a total of 2286 participants considered eligible for meta-analysis. Injection of BM-MNCs was associated with lower risk of composite end point of hospitalization for heart failure (CHF), re-infarction, and cardiac-related mortality (88/1112 vs 111/787, p<0.001, RR=0.601, 95% CI=0.462 to 0.781). This effect was derived from both reduction of CHF (46/1152 vs 60/807, p=0.002, RR=0.549, 95% CI=0.379 to 0.795, I2=0.00%) and re-infarction rate ((24/1160 vs. 30/750, p=0.03, RR=0.580, 95% CI=0.354 to 0.949), but not cardiac-related mortality ((29/1291 vs. 31/846, p=0.208, RR=0.735, 95% CI=0.456 to 1.187, I2=0.00%) This is the first meta-analysis focused on the cardiovascular outcomes of stem cell therapy after AMI and it revealed that transplantation of BM-MNCs may reduce hospitalization for heart failure but not cardiovascular mortality.
Large-scale genomic epidemiology reveals the cryptic outbreaks, hidden persistent reservoirs, and spatiotemporal dynamics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus
Authors: Yang Chao , Li Yinghui , Jiang Min , Wang Lei , Jiang Yixiang , Hu Lulu , Shi Xiaolu , He Lianhua , Cai Rui , Wu Shuang , Qiu Yaqun , Lu Linying , Zuo Le , Chen Qiongcheng , Wu Yarong , Martinez-Urtaza Jaime , Wan Chengsong , Yang Ruifu , Cui Yujun , Hu Qinghua
Published: January 2022

Controlling foodborne diseases requires robust outbreak detection and a comprehensive understanding of outbreak dynamics. Here, by integrating large-scale phylogenomic analysis of 3,642 isolates and epidemiological data, we performed “data-driven” outbreak detection and described the long-term outbreak dynamics of the leading seafood-associated bacterial pathogen, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, in a high-prevalence city, Shenzhen, China, over a 17-year period. Different from the widely accepted notion that sporadic patients and independent point-source outbreaks dominated foodborne infections, we found that 71% of isolates from patients grouped into within-1-month clusters that differed by ≤6 SNPs, indicating putative outbreaks; 56% of these clusters contained isolates exclusively from previously defined “sporadic” patients, representing unrecognized cryptic outbreaks. Furthermore, we showed that despite the long time spans between clusters, 70% of them were genomically closely related and were inferred to arise from a small number of common sources, which provides evidence that hidden persistent reservoirs generated most of the outbreaks, rather than independent point-sources. Phylogeographical analysis further revealed the geographical heterogeneity of outbreaks and identified a coastal district as the potential hotspot of outbreaks and as the hub and major source of cross-district spread events. Our findings provide a comprehensive picture of the long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of foodborne outbreaks for the first time and present a novel perspective on the major source of foodborne infections, which will inform the design of future foodborne disease control strategies.
Incidence and Factors Associated With Post-anesthesia Care Unit Complications at St. Paul’s Hospital, Ethiopia. Observational Study
Authors: Abebe Bisrat , Kifle Natnael , Gunta Muluken , Tantu Temesgen , Wondwosen Mekete , Zewdu Dereje
Published: January 2022

Background: Postoperative complications are frequent encounters in the patients admitted to post-anesthesia care units (PACU). The main aim of this study was to assess the incidence and associated factors of complications among surgical patients admitted to PACU.Methods: This is an observational study of 396 surgical patients admitted to PACU. This study was conducted from February 1 to March 30, 2021, in Ethiopia. Study participant's demographics, anesthesia, and surgery-related parameters, PACU complications, and length of stay in PACU were documented. Multivariate and bivariate logistic regression analyses, the odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: The incidence of complications among surgical patients admitted to PACU was 54.8%. Of these, respiratory-related complications and postoperative nausea/vomiting were the most common types of PACU complications. Being a female (AOR=2.928;95%CI:(1.899-4.512)) was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing PACU complications. Duration of anesthesia >4 hours (AOR=5.406; 95% CI (2.418_12.088) revealed an increased risk of association with PACU complications. The occurrences of intraoperative complications (AOR=2.238; 95% CI (0.991_5.056) during surgery were also associated with PACU complications. Patients who develop PACU complications were strongly associated with length of PACU stay for > 4 hours (AOR=2.177; 95% CI (0 .741_ 6.401)).Conclusion: The identified risk factors for complications in surgical patients admitted to PACU are female sex, longer duration of anesthesia, and intraoperative complications occurrences. Patients who developed complications had a long time of stay in PACU.
Increased Expression of TSPEAR in Colorectal Cancer Predicts Poor Prognosis
Authors: Li Xintong , Xie Yuandong , Su Shuoyao , Liu Zhe , Zhao Jia , Wen Dezhong
Published: January 2022

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is, at present, the most frequently and most lethal gastrointestinal tract cancer, leading to significant mortality and a large global cancer burden. TSPEAR has been reported to associate with the development of human tooth and hair follicle morphogenesis. However, there is no study on TSPEAR in any cancers have been reported. Methods: The information of TSPEAR gene expression in CRC was collected from TCGA database and GTEx. The Rt-qPCR and WB were used to compare the TSPEAR expression level between normal colon cells NCM-460 and human CRC cell lines, included SW-480, SW-620, HCT-116, Ht-29, and LoVo. Then, we performed the survival, gene function/pathway enrichment, and tumor immune infiltration analyses via using R packages and TIMER database.Results: It was demonstrated that TSPEAR gene showed high expression in CRC tissue and cell lines and up-regulated expression correlating with a poor overall prognosis. Besides, the up-regulated TSPEAR was correlated with the M1 stage, CEA level, and residual tumor. Multivariate analysis further confirmed that TSPEAR remained an independent CRC patient-related risk factors, whereas gene function/pathway enrichment analysis indicated that it may can regulate Wnt, Hippo signaling pathway, as well as many cell metabolism activities. For immune infiltration, the expression level of TSPEAR was positively correlated with immune cells and showed a strong correlation with diverse immune marker sets, especially in COAD.Conclusions: The results demonstrated that TSPEAR is possibly a clinically valuable predictive biomarkers for CRC patients, as well as associated with tumor infiltrating immune cells.
Identification of Safe Channels for Screws in the Anterior Pelvic Ring Fixation System
Authors: Liu Lin , Fan Shicai , Zeng Donggui , Song Hui , Zeng Letian , Wen Xiangyuan , Jin Dadi
Published: January 2022

Background: There have been few studies on insertion of fixation screws for the anterior pelvic ring system.Objective: To identify safe channels for fixation screws in the anterior pelvic fixation system. Methods: Screw insertion was simulated into a total of 40 pelvic finite element models as well as 16 fresh pelvic specimens and the channel parameters were measured. Results: Finite elements (male, female): screws in ilium: length 114.4 ± 4.1 and 107.6 ± 8.3 mm, respectively; diameter 11.7 ± 0.5 and 10.0 ± 0.6 mm, distance between screw and anterior inferior iliac spine: 5.5 ± 1.0 and 5.6 ± 1.0 mm, angle of coronal plane 55.8 ± 2.4 degrees and 50.6 ± 3.1 degrees, angle of sagittal plane 26.6 ± 1.0 degrees and 24.5 ± 1.9 degrees and angle of horizontal plane 64.9 ± 3.7 and 58.1 ± 3.1. Screws in pubis: length 47.0 ± 2.0 and 39.8 ± 3.9 mm, diameter 7.1 ± 0.4 and 6.1 ± 0.4 mm. Specimens (male, female): distance between screw and anterior inferior iliac spine: 5.5 ± 0.5 and 5.6 ± 0.7 mm, angle of coronal plane 55.9 ± 1.3 degrees and 50.7 ± 1.5 degrees, angle of sagittal plane 26.7 ± 0.5 degrees and 24.1 ± 0.9 degrees and angle of horizontal plane 64.8 ± 0.6 degrees and 58.8 ± 0.8 degrees. Comparison between female and male in each group: differences in distances between screws and anterior inferior iliac spine and median line of symphysis pubis (P > 0.05) were not statistically significant; differences in the remaining parameters were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusions: If surgeons payed attention to sex differences, select screws of appropriate diameter and length, and hold the insertion position and direction, screws in the anterior pelvic ring fixation system could be safely inserted.
Lung CCR6-CXCR3- Th2 Cells as an Indicator of Progressive Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Diseases: A Prospective Observational Study
Authors: Tsukuda Tsukie Kin , Fujimoto Minoru , Ohnishi Hiroshi , Nakatani Yu , Takamatsu Kazufumi , Naka Tetsuji , Yokoyama Akihito
Published: January 2022

Background:Progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases have a poor prognosis and may be resistant to corticosteroids and/or immunosuppressants, but antifibrotic therapies such as nintedanib and pirfenidone have been shown to slow the deterioration of lung function. The aim of this study is to identify the characteristic cellular profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid at diagnosis for predicting progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.Methods:Patients with interstitial lung diseases were divided into fibrotic and non-fibrotic phenotypes by chest high-resolution computed tomography. The progressive fibrosing phenotype was determined to be fibrotic diseases with more than a 5% relative decline in the percent predicted value of forced vital capacity over 6 months. The proportions of T cell, B cell, monocyte, and macrophage subsets and the degree of T cell activation in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were measured by flowcytometry.Results:Fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (n=27) have a Th2-dominant phenotype, whereas non-fibrotic diseases (n=13) have a Th1/Th17-dominant phenotype in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In patients with fibrotic diseases, the proportion of Th2 cells, but not the serum KL-6 level or the proportion of lymphocytes, was significantly higher in patients with progressive fibrosing phenotype than in those with non-progressive phenotype, and the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an AUC of 0.79. Thus, a greater population of Th2 cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was diagnostic for progressive fibrosing phenotype.Conclusions:An increased proportion of Th2 cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is associated with greater deterioration of lung function in fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.Trial registration:This study was was registered in the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (Registry ID UMIN000041871) on October 1, 2020.
Comparison of the Diagnostic Value Between Triglyceride-glucose Index and Triglyceride to High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio in Metabolic-associated Fatty Liver Disease Patients: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Liu Zhi , He He , Dai Yuzhao , Yang Lidan , Liao Shenling , An Zhenmei , Li Shuangqing
Published: January 2022

Background: The triglyceride and glucose index (TyG) and triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (TG/HDL-C) are substitute markers of insulin resistance (IR). In a retrospective cross-sectional study, the authors aimed to compare the efficacy of the two indicators in diagnosing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) to construct a novel disease diagnosis model. Methods: Overall, 229 patients (97 MAFLD and 132 Non-MAFLD at West China Hospital of Sichuan University were included. MAFLD was diagnosed using ultrasonography. Biochemical indexes were collected and analyzed by logistic regression to screen out indicators that were expressed differently in MAFLD patients and healthy controls, which were incorporated into a diagnostic model. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), AST/ALT (A/A), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), cystatin C, uric acid, triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), non-HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/HDL-C, TG/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, TyG, and TyG-BMI were risk factors for MAFLD. The odds ratio of TG/HDL-C and TyG were 5.387 (95%CI: 2.986-9,718) and 107.945 (95%CI: 25.824-451.222), respectively. In identifying MAFLD, TyG, TG/HDL-C, and TG were found to be the most vital indexes based on the random forest method, with the area under the curve (AUC) greater than 0.9. In addition, the combination of gender, BMI, ALT, TG, HDL-C, TyG, and TyG-BMI had a high diagnostic efficiency for MAFLD. Conclusions: TyG and TG/HDL-C were potential risk factors for MAFLD, and the former performed better in diagnosing MAFLD. The combination of gender, BMI, ALT, TG, HDL-C, TyG, and TyG-BMI improved the diagnostic capability for MAFLD.
Inhibition of TGFb-induced Fibroblast to Myofibroblast Transition by Conditioned Medium from Human Rhinovirus-infected Airway Epithelial Cells is Mediated by Prostaglandin E2
Authors: Pham Diana , Kooi Cora , Proud David , Leigh Richard
Published: January 2022

Background: Airway remodeling, including increased deposition of extracellular matrix proteins, is a hallmark of asthma. Myofibroblasts, derived via fibroblast to myofibroblast transition (FMT), play an important role in this increased deposition of matrix proteins. Expression of transforming growth factor b1 (TGFb1) is increased in asthmatic airways and is known to induce FMT, as assessed by increased expression of a-smooth muscle actin (a-SMA). Because human rhinovirus (HRV) infections of airway epithelial cells have been linked to the generation of mediators involved in airway remodeling, we tested the hypothesis that conditioned medium from HRV-infected human airway epithelial cells from healthy normal subjects would enhance FMT, either alone or in combination with TGFb1. Methods: FMT was assessed by measuring a-SMA expression in human airway fibroblasts, both by western blotting and by immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Holm-Sidak or Bonferonni post hoc tests. Results: Our data showed that conditioned medium from HRV infected epithelial cells significantly inhibited TGFb1-induced expression of a-SMA in fibroblasts when compared to conditioned medium from uninfected epithelial cells. Treatment of epithelial cells with the nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibitor, diclofenac, during HRV infection significantly reversed the inhibitory effects of conditioned medium on TGFb1-induced expression of a-SMA. This led us to hypothesize that HRV-infected epithelial cells release PGE2 that acts on EP receptors to suppress TGFb1-induced expression of a-SMA in fibroblasts. We confirmed that HRV-infection of airway epithelial cells upregulated PGE2 release, and that exposure of fibroblasts to PGE2 significantly inhibited TGFb1-induced expression of a-SMA in fibroblasts. Finally, studies using selective agonists and antagonists demonstrated that PGE2 inhibited TGFb1-induced expression of a-SMA in fibroblasts via effects at the EP2 receptor. Conclusions: Thus, using cells derived from healthy normal subjects we demonstrate that HRV infection of airway epithelial cells induces release of PGE2that acts on EP2 receptors on fibroblasts to suppress TGFb1-induced FMT. Additional studies are needed to determine if a different pattern of response is seen using cells from asthmatic subjects to determine if the inhibitory role of PGE2 on FMT in normal cells helps prevent airway remodeling in normal subjects.
Health Care Distribution of Patients With Genitourinary Birth Defects in Colombia: a Spatial Analysis of Registered Cases
Authors: Santander Jessica , Pérez-Sosa Marcela , Gutiérrez Andrés , Fernandez Nicolas
Published: January 2022

Background: Genitourinary birth defects are reported to be present in approximately 10-30% of all newborns. Timely treatments may reduce complications that contribute to increased infant morbimortality. Understanding the distribution of health access is essential for the design of health interventions and resources distribution. We aim to evaluate geographical distribution in the healthcare access to subspecialized medical care of patients with genitourinary birth defects in Colombia.Methods: We reviewed data collected between January 2015 to December 2019 in the Individual Health Records System (RIPS). All registered patients diagnosed with renal malformations, male genital malformations, and exstrophy-epispadias complex as well all registered live births were included. Cluster detection was performed using a Poisson model with SaTScan v9.6. To visualize the results, these were projected in a Google Earth map.Results: Between January 2015 and December 2019 a total of 26.726 patients with renal malformations, 19.149 patients with genital malformations, and 494 patients with exstrophy-epispadias complex in the outpatient clinic were assessed in Colombian territory. A space-time analysis identified one cluster with high provided health care concentration seen in the center of the country for renal and genital malformations. Meanwhile northern regions close to the coast were identified as clusters with low rates of provided care regions. For cases with exstrophy-epispadias complex, regions in the north had lower registered assessments compared to the center of the country. Conclusion: Patients with genitourinary malformations have inequitable access to specialized health care which can delay surgical management and impact long-term outcomes that increase disability.
Surgical Management of Sacral Schwannomas: A 21-Year Mayo Clinic Experience and Comparative Literature Analysis
Authors: Mualem William , Ghaith Abdul-Karim , Rush Deja , Jarrah Ryan , Alexander Yohan , Zamanian Cameron , Atkinson John L. D. , Yaszemski Michael J. , Krauss William E. , Spinner Robert J. , Bydon Mohamad
Published: January 2022

Introduction: Sacral and presacral schwannomas are rare and account for a minority of spinal schwannomas. We aim to present our institution’s experience surgically treating sacral schwannomas over twenty-one years. Additionally, we assess the literature for surgical cases of sacral schwannomas to compare tumor characteristics and outcomes following resection.Methods: Data on demographics, presenting symptoms, lesion characteristics, surgical management, and outcomes were collected for 27 patients treated surgically for sacral or presacral schwannoma between 1997 and 2018 at all Mayo Clinic locations and compared to those of patients found in the literature. Results: We identified 31 studies in the literature containing 93 patients with sacral schwannoma treated surgically. Our patients and those in the literature experienced similar symptoms, with the most common symptom being pain and the least common being sexual dysfunction, and age at diagnosis. Most of our patients (59.3%) reported full recovery from preoperative symptoms, while a minority reported a partial recovery (33.3%) and no recovery (11.1%). A smaller percentage of patients found in the literature experienced full recovery (31.9%) and partial recovery (29.8%) but also no recovery (1.1%). Our patients experienced fewer complications (14.8% versus 25.5%).Conclusion: Outcomes of patients with sacral or presacral schwannomas vary based on patient demographics, tumor characteristics, symptoms, and surgical treatment. Among the range of symptoms experienced by these patients, the most common is pain. Prognosis improves and overall survival rate is high when the surgical approach towards sacral schwannomas is prepared and executed appropriately.
Clinical Characteristics of Choledochal Cysts With Intrahepatic Bile Duct Dilatation
Authors: Zhang Shuhao , Cai Duote , Zhang Yuebin , Chen Ken , Jin Yi , Luo Wenjuan , Huang Zongwei , Hu Di , Gao Zhigang
Published: January 2022

Background: Whether the dilated intrahepatic bile duct (IHBD) has any effect on prognosis of choledochal cyst (CC) remains controversy. This study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics and prognosis of CC patients with IHBD dilatation.Methods: A total of 192 children diagnosed with CC were identified, including 127 without IHBD dilatation (group A) and 65 with IHBD dilatation (group B). A retrospective analysis was performed based on clinical indices, symptoms, and complications of CC patients.Results: Compared with group A, incidences of jaundice and fever were higher in group B (p=0.01 and 0.033, respectively). Preoperative total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), and indirect bilirubin (IDB) were also increased in group B than in group A (p=0.0052, 0.0005, and 0.0136, respectively), as were preoperative ALT, AST, GGT, and total bile acid (TBA) (p=0.0057, 0.0250, 0.0002, and 0.0242, respectively). The risk of liver fibrosis or cirrhosis and postoperative pancreatitis was significantly increased for group B compared with group A (p=0.012 and 0.003, respectively) and also occurred earlier in group B (p<0.001), among them, dilated IHBDs recovered to normal in 89.23% (7/65) of patients.Conclusion: CC with IHBD dilatation was associated with increased preoperative bilirubin levels, abnormal liver function, and higher incidence of liver fibrosis or cirrhosis. Proactive treatment is recommended for patients with IHBD dilatation.
Characterization of a novel strain of Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia infecting cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis
Authors: Akhtar Jameel , Tripathi Kuldeep , Akram Mohammad , Kamaal Naimuddin , Rathore Utkarsh Singh , Kumar Ashok , Chalam Vasimalla Celia
Published: January 2022

An attempt was made to characterize the Phytoplasma in suspected cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) samples showing symptoms consisting of bud proliferation and stunting at Experimental Farm, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi during Kharif 2020. Associated phytoplasma was characterized based on sequence analysis of target 16S rDNA fragments of 1247 bp amplified from symptomatic samples of cowpea by nested-polymerase chain reaction assay using universal phytoplasma specific primers pairs (P1/P7 and R16F2n/ R16R2). The 16S rDNA sequences understudy shared 98.6% similarity with that of the Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia (GenBank accession: U15442). In phylogenetic analysis, the target 16S rDNA fragment from two samples (Cow-1 and Cow-2) clustered with strains of the 16SrII group of Ca. Phytoplasma aurantifolia. The virtual RFLP pattern showed the highest similarity with the reference pattern of the 16SrII-D subgroup (GenBank accession: Y10097) with a coefficient of 0.97. Since obtained coefficient value is equal to the threshold (0.97) for designating a different strain. Therefore, this phytoplasma infecting cowpea is proposed to be a new strain of Ca. P. aurantifolia as 16SrII-Ysubgroup.
Comparative Study of Classification Algorithms for Quality Assessment of Resistance Spot Welding Joints From Pre- and Post-Welding Inputs
Authors: Martín Óscar , Ahedo Virginia , Santos José Ignacio , Galán José Manuel
Published: January 2022

Resistance spot welding (RSW) is a widespread manufacturing process in the automotiveindustry. There are different approaches for assessing the quality level of RSW joints. Multiinput‐single‐output methods, which take as inputs either the intrinsic parameters of the weldingprocess or ultrasonic nondestructive testing variables, are commonly used. This workdemonstrates that the combined use of both types of inputs can significantly improve thealready competitive approach based exclusively on ultrasonic analyses. The use of stacking oftree ensemble models as classifiers dominates the classification results in terms of accuracy, Fmeasureand area under the receiver operating characteristic curve metrics. Through variableimportance analyses, the results show that although the welding process parameters are lessrelevant than the ultrasonic testing variables, some of the former provide marginal informationnot fully captured by the latter.
A Functional Interaction Between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and the Human α7 Nicotinic Receptor
Authors: Chrestia Juan Facundo , Oliveira Ana Sofia , Mulholland Adrian J , Gallagher Timothy , Bermúdez Isabel , Bouzat Cecilia
Published: January 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infection relies on the binding of the viral spike protein (S) to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in host cells. Regions of the S protein have been suggested to interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), and a potential contribution of nAChRs to COVID-19 pathophysiology has been proposed. α7 nAChR is an interesting candidate target since it is present in neuronal and non-neuronal cells, including immune cells, and has anti-inflammatory actions. We here identified a novel direct functional interaction between the α7 nAChR and a region of the S protein (Y674-R685). The S fragment exerts a dual effect, acting as a low-efficacy agonist and a non-competitive inhibitor. It activates the α7 nAChR, in line with our previous molecular dynamics simulations showing favorable binding of this accessible region of the S protein to the nAChR agonist binding pocket. However, activation requires the presence of positive allosteric modulators that enhance channel opening probability, indicating very low activation efficacy. The S fragment exerts an additional inhibition, which may be the predominant effect on α7 responses. This study reveals a functional interaction between α7 and the Y674-R685 fragment of the S protein, which opens doors for exploring the involvement of nAChRs in COVID-19 pathophysiology.
Possibilities of transesophageal echocardiography for assessing the volemic status of patients during direct myocardial revascularization operations on the beating heart: a review
Authors: Batigyan Olesya A. , Lebedeva E. A. , Martynov D. V.
Published: January 2022

Introduction. Uncertainty about approaches to optimizing monitoring and tactics of hemodynamic correction today directly affects the effectiveness of interventions. This problem is especially pronounced in the case of patients with high cardiac risk, as well as in the case of rapidly developing intraoperative hemodynamic disorders, which are a specific feature of some cardiac surgical interventions, such as myocardial revascularization operations on a beating heart. In such a situation, the key factor for the success of the operation is the coordination of the work of the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Objectives. To determine the main approaches to monitoring and assessing the volemic status of a patient during direct myocardial revascularization operations on a working heart and to evaluate the possibility of transesophageal echocardiography as such a monitoring tool. Materials and methods. The search was carried out in the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection; the analysis was carried out based on works published in the period from 2001 to 2021. Results. The resulting material, which includes validated peer-reviewed studies, randomized clinical trials, major systematic reviews and meta-analyzes, provides an overview of global experience in optimizing fluid loading and its characteristics in cardiac surgery patients. According to the analyzed data, there is no consensus among specialists on the above issues, and many important factors remain outside the framework of everyday clinical practice. For high-quality interaction, a combination of highly informative monitoring and proven tactics of conducting perioperative infusion therapy in response to the dynamically changing condition of the patient is required. Conclusions. To develop unified criteria for hemodynamic correction in each individual situation, it is necessary to assess the volemic status in patients who undergo myocardial revascularization on a beating heart in real time. In this vein, transpesophageal echocardiography is presented by the authors as the tool of choice for optimizing monitoring during off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
The use of severity assessment scales in evaluating the transportability of newborns: a cohort retrospective study
Authors: Mukhametshin Rustam F. , Davydova N. S.
Published: January 2022

Introduction. Standardized assessment of the patient status and the decision on the possibility of transfer is an essential part of the neonatal transport service. However, there are no generally accepted tools for assessing severity and making decisions regarding newborn transfer. Objectives. To compare the capabilities of scales in relation to the decision about the non-transportability of newborns. Materials and Methods. The cohort study included data from 604 trips of the transport team of the neonatal resuscitation and consultation center. The assessment was carried out on the KSHONN, NTISS and TRIPS scales, the distribution of transportable and non-transportable patients was studied depending on the assessment for each scale. The calculation of the risk ratio of nontransportation was performed depending on the assessment on the scales. AUC ROC was calculated for all scales in relation to the decision of transport team about the patientʼs non-transportability. Results. The scores on the scales significantly differ between the subgroups of transportable and non-transportable newborns, p < 0.0001. Significant differences in subgroup distribution were observed depending on the scores between transportable and nontransportable patients. When evaluated by KSHONN 6–8 points, the risk ratio of non-transportability was 61.36 [3.77–999.47]. For NTISS of 20–29 points, the risk ratio of non-transportability was 51.37 [3.18–829.11]. When evaluated by TRIPS 17–23 points, the risk ratio of non-transportability was 18.81 [1.09 — 327.26]. Conclusions. Scales have a high predictor value in relation to the decision of the transport team about the non-transportability of patients. Comparison of the subgroups by the proportion of non-transportable patients indicates that a score of more than 5 according to the KSHONN, more than 19 points on the NTISS scale and more than 16 points on the TRIPS scale are associated with a significant increase in the risk of non-transportability.
Population of Lamprosema indicata and Their Parasitoid in Edamame Soybean Plant
Authors: Karindah Sri , Siswanto Joko , Widjayanti Tita
Published: January 2022

Soybean Glycine max L. Merrill has a strategic position in food security. Soybean varieties are various, such as edamame or commonly called vegetable soybean. The important edamame pest is L. indicata. This pest has a natural enemy in the form of parasitoids that spread at several altitudes. This study aimed to investigate the L. indicata pest population and their parasitoid in edamame soybean plantations at three different altitudes. In this study conducted at three altitudes namely Purwosari (12 masl), Sebanen (814 masl), and Karangbireuh (1295 masl). At each location consist of one plot (1 Ha) and were made into 4 sub-plots exchanging 10 x10m. Also, the yellow pan trap was installed at 8–57 Day After Planting to collect L. indicata and parasitoid. The results showed that L. indicata was higher in Purwoasri than in other locations. This is due to environmental factors namely temperature. The parasitoid of L. indicata was found in all locations, namely Braconidae family (parasitoid of larvae). While the the paarasitoid were collected in yellow pan trap in all locations i.e. Pteromalidae, Diapriidae, Eulophidae, Mymaridae and Entomacis sp.
Implementasi nilai pendidikan karakter melalui pendidikan kewarganegaraan di perguruan tinggi
Authors: Hikmah Shofi Nurul
Published: January 2022

enelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur ketercapaian dari implementasi nilai pendidikan karakter melalui Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan pada mahasiswa di kehidupan sehari-harinya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif analitik. Data yang digunakan berupa data kuantitatif dari 18 responden mahasiswa PGSD UPI Cibiru. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan metode survei dan kemudian dianalisa secara deskriptif. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diketahui bahwa teori dan praktek perkuliahan kewarganegaraan sudah ditempuh dan dikuasai oleh mahasiswa akan tetapi pengimplementasian nilai-nilai karakter belum diterapkan secara maksimal pada kehidupan sehari-hari mahasiswa. Para mahasiswa menilai penting sekali pendidikan karakter untuk diberikan pada jenjang yang diampunya. Dengan demikian, orientasi Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan dalam proses pendidikan karakter bagi mahasiswa ini penting untuk selalu ditanamkan dan diberikan pengarahan. Tujuan ini dapat dicapai jika terjadi bentuk kerja sama antara pemerintah, lembaga pendidikan dan mahasiswa itu sendiri. The implementation of character education through citizenship education at the university levelThis study aimed to measure the achievement of the implementation of character education values through Citizenship Education for students in their daily lives. This research used the descriptive-analytical method. The data used in quantitative data were from 18 students studying in the primary teacher education program. The data were collected through the survey method and then analyzed descriptively. The research results show that the theory and practice of civics lectures have been taken and mastered by students, but the implementation of character values has not been maximally applied in students’ daily lives. The students considered that character education was crucial to their level. Thus, the orientation of Citizenship Education in the character education process for students is essential always to be instilled and given direction. This goal can be achieved if there is a form of cooperation between the government, educational institutions, and the students themselves.
Pemerolehan fonologi bahasa Jawa pada anak usia 2,5 tahun: Kajian psikolinguistik
Authors: Dzikriya Fakhrizaldi Mufti , Meilawati Avi
Published: January 2022

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pemerolehan bahasa pertama dengan fokus pada tataran fonologi pada anak perempuan 2,5 tahun. Penelitian ini berupa penelitian deskriptif dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Waktu penelitian selama 4 bulan yakni sejak bulan Februari 2021 hingga bulan Juni 2021 dengan subjek penelitian ialah anak perempuan yang berusia 2,5 tahun. Peneliti menggunakan teknik simak libat cakap dalam mengumpulkan data serta metode wawancara terhadap orangtua anak. Teknik simak libat cakap dilakukan dengan cara peneliti menyimak sekaligus ikut berpartisipasi dalam pembicaraan dengan objek penelitian. Teknik analisis menggunakan model interaktif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa subjek menguasai 7 fonem vokal bahasa Jawa yang terdiri dari fonem /i/, /e/, /a/, /ǝ/, /u/, /o/, dan /Ɔ/ dan 13 fonem konsonan yakni /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /y/, /k/, /g/, serta /ʔ/. Sementara belum menguasa 7 fonem yakni /ñ/, /ḍ/, /g/, /j/, /c/, /ṭ/, serta fonem /r/. berdasarkan hasil penelitian tersebut, dapat diketahui bahwa secara umum, anak perempuan usia 2,5 tahun sudah cukup terampil menguasai fonem-fonem bahasa Jawa.Acquisition of Javanese phonology in children aged 2.5 years: A psycholinguistic studyThe acquisition of Javanese Language Phonology in Children Age 2.5 Years: A Psycholinguistic Study. This study aimed to describe the acquisition of the first language phonological level of 2.5-year-old girls. This research was a descriptive qualitative approach. The research was conducted in 4 months, from February 2021 to June 2021, with the research subject being a 2.5-year-old girl. The researcher used the listening-engagement technique in collecting data and interviewing the child’s parents. The conversational engagement listening technique was carried out by listening and participating in the conversation with the research object. The analysis technique uses an interactive model. The results showed that the subject mastered 7 Javanese vowel phonemes consisting of phonemes /i/, /e/, /a/, /ǝ/, /u/, /o/, and /Ɔ/ and 13 consonant phonemes namely /p /, /b/, /m/, /w/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /y/, /k/, /g/, and /ʔ/. While she had not mastered 7 phonemes, namely /ñ/, /ḍ/, /g/, /j/, /c/, /ṭ/, /r/. Based on the results of this study, it concluded that the girl aged 2.5 years is quite skilled at mastering Javanese phonemes
Nilai-nilai etika hubungan manusia dengan diri pribadi dalam Serat Pustaka Wasiat
Authors: Iswanto Azis Heru
Published: January 2022

Penelitian ini betujuan menguraikan nilai-nilai etika hubungan manusia dengan diri pribadi yang terkandung dalam naskah Serat Pustaka Wasiat karya Raden Nata Atmaja. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian filologi modern serta metode penelitian deskriptif. Sumber data penelitian ini adalah naskah dan teks Serat Pustaka Wasiat yang tersimpan di Museum Sonobudoyo Yogyakarta dengan nomor kodeks PBC 197. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan langkah penelitian filologi yaitu (1) inventarisasi naskah, (2) deskripsi naskah, (3) alih tulis teks, (4) suntingan teks, (5) terjemahan teks, serta (6) analisis isi. Analisis data menggunakan teknik analisis deskriptif. Hasil penelitian ini menjelaskan tujuh jenis nilai etika hubungan manusia dengan diri pribadi. Ketujuh nilai tersebut adalah ahklak ngati-ati dalam berbicara, watak nrima akan cobaan dan keberuntungan dari Allah, rumangsan bahwa setiap manusia memiliki aib pribadi, sikap waspada dalam berperilaku dan sifat sombong, mencegah hawa nafsu dengan cara laku prihatin, bersikap adil dalam memikirkan keduniawian dan kerohanian, dan sabar dalam menerima cobaan.
Вегетативные дисфункции у детей с острой внебольничной пневмонией и пути медикаментозной коррекции
Authors: Nyankovsky S.L. , Yatsula M.S. , Babik I.V. , Shpychka O.I. , Movyak L.O.
Published: January 2022

В статье на основании инструментального вегетативного тестирования и данных ЭЭГ рассмотрены особенности клинического течения, выраженность интоксикационного, астенического синдромов, особенности вегетативного обеспечения детей старше 7 лет с клиникой острой внебольничной пневмонии. Включение в схемы лечения детей пробиотического препарата Энтерол и метаболического препарата Стимол приводит к более быстрой нормализации клинических, инструментальных и функциональных показателей, уменьшению проявлений вегетативной дисфункции, улучшению физического состояния, адаптивных возможностей и стрессовой устойчивости организма, уменьшению дисбаланса между гуморально-метаболическими и центрально-эрготропными влияниями, нормализации реактивности парасимпатического отдела нервной системы и сбалансированности типа вегетативной модуляции сердечного ритма, улучшению показателей ЭЭГ.