bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impacts of COVID-19 on K-8 science teaching and teachers
Authors: Macias Meghan , Iveland Ashley , Rego Melissa , White Maya Salcido
Published: May 2022

Some science education researchers have presented either isolated findings on specific points in time during the pandemic or non-empirical insights or suggestions for how teachers, district leaders, policymakers, and others should take up the learnings from the pandemic to move science education forward. However, there are few studies published to date that provide robust and longitudinal empirical data on what science instruction looked like throughout the pandemic and the magnitude of the impacts of the pandemic on science instruction when compared to pre-pandemic science teaching and learning. We conducted a primarily survey-based study on science instruction and enactment of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in K-8 classrooms throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This analysis also incorporates a longitudinal dataset from grade 6–8 teachers across California on their NGSS instruction prior to and throughout the first year of the pandemic, providing insight on instruction over multiple years before and throughout distance learning. Our findings highlight the challenges that teachers and students faced during the pandemic, as well as the significant impacts that distance learning appeared to have on science instruction and teachers’ ability to provide NGSS-aligned instruction. However, we also found that a year after the initial school closures, teachers’ science instruction began to show improvements both in the frequency of science instruction (how often they were able to provide science instruction through distance learning) and the quality of science instruction (how often teachers were able to provide instruction that was aligned with the goals of the NGSS). Implications of this work are far reaching and may impact teachers, students, administrators, policymakers, professional learning providers, and curriculum developers regardless of whether science instruction occurs through distance learning or in-person moving forward.
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR): beyond cystic fibrosis
Authors: Parisi Giuseppe Fabio , Mòllica Federico , Giallongo Alessandro , Papale Maria , Manti Sara , Leonardi Salvatore
Published: May 2022

Background

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene has been traditionally linked to cystic fibrosis (CF) inheritance in an autosomal recessive manner. Advances in molecular biology and genetics have expanded our understanding of the CFTR gene and its encoding products expressed in different tissues.

Aim

The study’s aim consists of reviewing the different pathological CF phenotypes using the existing literature. We know that alterations of the CFTR protein’s structure may result in different pathological phenotypes.

Methods

Open sources such as PubMed and Science Direct databases have been used for this review. We focused our selection on articles published within the last 15 years. Critical terms related to the CFTR protein have been used: “CFTR AND cancer,” “CFTR AND celiac disease,” “CFTR AND pancreatitis,” “children,” “adults,” “genotype,” “phenotype,” “correlation,” “mutation,”  “CFTR,” “diseases,” “disorders,” and “no cystic fibrosis.”

Results

We analyzed 1,115 abstracts in total. Moreover, only 189 were suitable for the topic. We focused on the role of CFTR in cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory diseases, reproductive system, and systemic hypertension.

Conclusions

Mutations in CFTR gene are often associated with CF. In this review, we highlighted the broad spectrum of alterations reported for this gene, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of other diseases. The importance of these new insights in the role of CFTR relies on the possibility of considering this protein/gene as a novel therapeutic target for CF- and CFTR-related diseases.
Severity scoring system of COVID-19 in Egyptian medical personnel versus non-medical personnel: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Reda Alaa Mohamed , Hablas Lina Tarek , Abou Khadrah Rania Sobhy
Published: May 2022

Background

Few studies tried to detect the risk of developing COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019) between different groups of workers. Health care workers are more likely to have severe form of COVID infection. The objective of our study is to compare the severity scoring system of COVID infection between medical and non-medical personnel by CT (computed tomography). This study started from 1 May, 2020, to 30 December, 2021. CT study of the chest for 1200 infected patients with COVID-19 (600 were medical stuff and 600 persons of non-medical staff) was done in five health quarantine centres in Egypt. CT findings were reviewed in relation to the severity of symptoms. The results of the two groups were compared to each other.

Results

CT findings were more frequent and more severe in the medical staff group, including that the number of consolidative patches mixed with areas of ground glass attenuation in medical staff group was (37.2%) versus non-medical staff group was (22.2%), with p-value (*0.001), diffuse lobar involvement was in (150 severe cases) in medical staff group versus in 67 severe cases of non-medical staff group and had significant difference (p value *0.005), fibrosis (p value *0.002) and more opportunity to get severe form of infection increased in medical personnel rather than control group (p value *0.001) which may be due to limited health care facilities in protection against infection especially in developing countries and more contact during work time with infected persons and high viral load.

Conclusion

The current study results show that severity score is higher in the medical personnel than non-medial personnel.
Importance of fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) in detection of post-thyroidectomy recurrence in differentiated thyroid cancer with negative radio-isotope iodine scan, yet, elevated serum thyroglobulin level
Authors: Younis Amir Fathy Henfy , Yousif Ahmed Farid , Khater Hamada Mohamed
Published: May 2022

Background

Thyroid cancer considered the 6th common cancer in female and represents approximately 1% of all cancers. Thyroid cancer is generally characterized by good prognosis, long term survival and low aggressiveness. Its prognosis is related to tumor dimensions, extra capsular extensions, the age at diagnosis and distant metastases sites. Combination between positron emission tomography and computed tomography allow anatomic, functional & molecular information.

Aim

To demonstrate Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography)/computed tomography role for evaluation of post-thyroidectomy recurrence either local or distant metastatic lesions in differentiated cancer thyroid patients with negative radio-isotope iodine scan, yet showing elevated serum thyroglobulin level.

Procedure

A prospective study included twenty patients with previous history of differentiated thyroid cancer. All patients after history taking and revising the medical sheet underwent Serum Thyroglobulin level & I-131 whole body scan examinations and then Fluorine 18 Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography study. The findings of Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography imaging compared with results of histopathology or follow-up clinical results as a gold standard.

Results

Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography based analysis showed that nineteen true positives and one was true negative as confirmed by the gold standard (Histopathology and clinical follow-up). Thirteen patients had either local recurrence or lymph node metastases without distant metastatic disease, six patients had different distant metastasis. Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography based analysis showed that nineteen true positives and one was true negative as confirmed by the gold standard (histopathology and clinical follow-up). The accuracy and sensitivity of Fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (95%) were significantly better than those of the Computed Tomography alone (84.2% and 80%, respectively).

Conclusions

Fluorine 18 Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography provided a critical role in assessment and management of patients with suspected differentiated thyroid recurrence, presenting with high serum thyroglobulin level and negative radio-isotope iodine scan. It enhances diagnostic accuracy through giving exact anatomical localization of recurrent and/or metastatic tumor foci.
Jarcho-Levin syndrome in Pakistan: a case report and review of 321 cases on the principles of diagnosis and management
Authors: Asghar Imran , Zameer Sheharyar , Khan Taimoor Ashraf , Zahid Muhammad Abdullah , Khan Muhammad Hamza , Zameer Noor Ul Ain
Published: May 2022

Background

Jarcho-Levin syndrome (JLS) is a genetic condition that constitutes specific vertebral anomalies combined with coastal or thoracic anomalies due to specific gene mutations. Although the condition is associated typically to Puerto-Ricans, we describe the novel case of JLS in a Pakistani family that presented with respiratory distress secondary to the condition.

Case presentation

The case is a full-term girl that had a webbed neck with an undefined chest deformity. Radiology showed kyphoscoliosis and a crablike chest. Early identification of these high morbidity conditions is key to allow for optimal treatment and improved outcomes.

Conclusions

We have provided a brief breakdown of the management principles of the condition and more than 80 years after the first case of Jarcho-Levin syndrome was reported, we present the diagnostic criterion for JLS.
The study of Piszkiewicz’s and Berezin’s models on the redox reaction of allylthiourea and bis-(2-pyridinealdoximato)dioxomolybdate(IV) complex in an aqueous acidic medium
Authors: Nkole I. U. , Idris S. O. , Onu A. D. , Abdulkadir I.
Published: May 2022

Background

The study of Piszkiewicz’s and Berezin’s models on the redox reaction of allylthiourea and bis-(2-pyridinealdoximato)dioxomolybdate(IV) complex ([MoIVO2(paoH)2]2−) in an aqueous acidic medium is suggested. The Piszkiewicz’s and Berezin’s models are applied, and their parameters are used to explain the redox behaviour of allylthiourea with Mo(IV) complex in the presence of surfactants.

Results

The reaction followed a high cooperativity pattern that reflects a strong interaction between the two redox partners in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) which is reinforced by a notable binding constant at the Stern layer of the micelle. The effect of cationic counter-ion (Ca2+) on the reaction rate further confirmed the effectiveness of the interaction at the rate-limiting step. The presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in the reaction medium resulted in reaction inhibition which reveals the interplay of electrostatic repulsion at the electrophilic polar head of the surfactant and the redox species. The effect of ionic strength on the reaction rate shows that one of the reacting species is not charged (neutral) which kept the rate of the reaction uniform at different salt concentrations studied. The change in the medium polarity buttressed the effect of ionic strength on the reaction which is explained better by Piszkiewicz’s and Berezin’s models. Free radical was actively engaged in the reductive process of the Mo(IV) complex, and this revealed that the hydrophobic region is a possible location for the interaction of the redox partner in the presence of SDS micelle.

Conclusions

The models depict well the microenvironments of enzymatic reactions involving bimolecular interactions with significant binding constants and cooperativity indexes that show the strength of the interaction between the substrates and surfactant molecules.

Graphical Abstract
In situ green analytical methods for the rapid and sensitive determination of a newly launched orphan anticancer drug; Tigecycline in infusion bags: comparative study
Authors: El-Yazbi Amira F. , Aboukhalil Faten M. , Khamis Essam F. , Youssef Rasha M. , El-Sayed Mahmoud A.
Published: May 2022

Background

Tigecycline (TIG), an antimicrobial agent indicated for complex bacterial infections, is now approved by FDA as an orphan chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia due to its inhibitory effects on pathways of activating, signaling and abnormal mitochondrial function in cancer cells. TIG is mainly administered as intravenous infusion through centralized unit of oncology centers. This necessitates the continuous analytical quality control of the prepared solution in order to identify and quantify TIG for safe intravenous administration to patients. Moreover, the clinical staff exposure risk to toxic drugs during daily handling must be considered. Such concerns require a fast, cost-effective and green analytical procedure for sensitive determination of TIG directly in infusion bags. In this work, we propose a simple, rapid and green capillary zone electrophoretic (CZE) method for the sensitive assay of TIG directly in infusion bags, in addition to three simple and green spectrophotometric methods.

Results

TIG solutions corresponding to clinical ranges were detected in 5%glucose. Validation of all the proposed methods was according to ICH guidelines. Greenness assessment was performed depending on Green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) and the Eco-scale approach which showed that the proposed methods are better eco-friendly methods than reported ones. It also revealed the superiority of our proposed methods in terms of simplicity and sensitivity for TIG determination in infusion bags. Quantification limits obtained were significantly lower than the administered range of TIG in infusion bags and lower than its maximum serum concentration (Cmax). This promotes the application of the proposed methods for the pharmacokinetics and bioavailability studies of TIG in various biological fluids.

Conclusions

This work reports, for the first time, CZE method for the direct and rapid determination of TIG and its separation from other components in intravenous infusion solution. The developed CZE method has several advantages over current chromatographic methods such as higher efficiency of separation within short analysis time, consumption of fewer quantities of chemicals and offering better resolution than HPLC. Moreover, three green spectrophotometric methods are also proposed for TIG determination that offer many advantages such as accuracy, precision, simplicity, specificity and facility of quantification and separation of the selected drug in infusion bags and pharmaceutical preparations without any techniques for extraction.
High rates of impaired quality of life and social and economic problems at 6 months after COVID-19-related ARDS
Authors: Umbrello Michele , Miori Sara , Sanna Andrea , Lassola Sergio , Baruzzo Elena , Penzo Daniele , Pedrotti Giovanni , Perino Annamaria , Colombo Angelo , Pace Rocco , Magnoni Sandra
Published: May 2022

Purpose

Assess long-term quality of life (HR-QoL) and socio-economic impact in COVID-19-related ARDS (C-ARDS) survivors.

Methods

C-ARDS survivors were followed up at 6 months in this prospective, cohort study. HR-QoL was assessed using SF-36 and EQ-5D-5L, and the socio-economic burden of COVID-19 was evaluated with a dedicated questionnaire. Clinical data were prospectively recorded.

Results

Seventy-nine survivors, age 63 [57-71], 84% male, were enrolled. The frequency of EQ-5D-5L reported problems was significantly higher among survivors compared to normal, in mobility, usual activities, and self-care; anxiety and depression and pain were not different. SF-36 scores were lower than the reference population, and physical and mental summary scores were below normal in 52% and 33% of the subjects, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, prolonged hospital length of stay (OR1.45;p0.02) and two or more comorbidities on admission (OR7.42;p0.002) were significant predictors of impaired “physical” and “mental” HR-QoL, respectively. A total of 38% subjects worsened social relations, 42% changed their employment status, and 23% required personal care support.

Conclusions

C-ARDS survivors have long-term impairment in HR-QoL and socio-economic problems. Prolonged hospital stay and previous comorbidities are risk factors for developing health-related issues.
3D fault detection: Using human reasoning to improve performance of convolutional neural networks
Authors: Zhu Donglin , Li Lei , Guo Rui , Tao Chunfeng , Zhan Shifan
Published: May 2022

Depicting faults in seismic data is one of the key steps in seismic structure interpretation. However, the manual identification of faults is a time-consuming and tedious process. In conventional methods, seismic attributes associated with the reflection continuities or discontinuities of seismic data are extracted for fault detection. In recent years, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been introduced to solve geophysical problems. Herein, we have proposed powerful and efficient methods to enhance the performance of CNN-based fault detection. We first introduce human reasoning to improve the performance of a 3D neural network, which is trained with synthetic seismic data. We propose two methods that efficiently use human reasoning. Manually identified faults can be easily added to train an efficient spatial pyramid network (ESPNet) and contextual information can be obtained to improve the continuity of the faults. We propose an unsupervised fault registration framework to fuse the results from commonly used 3D CNNs and ESPNet, which simultaneously preserves high data accuracy and continuity. Furthermore, to use sparse manually identified faults to directly train a 3D CNN, we propose a weakly supervised learning method. Multiple examples find that faults can be more accurately predicted with the proposed methods than with previously established algorithms, including conventional seismic attributes and CNN-based methods.
Management of sedation due to clozapine
Authors: Gupta Sumeet , Parkinson Samuel Mammolotti
Published: May 2022

Sedation is one of the most common adverse effects of clozapine. Although tolerance develops to some extent, a significant proportion of patients continue to experience sedation and associated negative consequences on their quality of life. Sedation is also one of the most common reasons for the discontinuation of clozapine and it is therefore important to proactively manage it. This article provides brief guidance for clinicians.
Overall Survival and Biomarker Analysis of Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy in Operable Stage IIIA Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NADIM phase II trial)
Authors: Provencio Mariano , Serna-Blasco Roberto , Nadal Ernest , Insa Amelia , García-Campelo M. Rosario , Casal Rubio Joaquín , Dómine Manuel , Majem Margarita , Rodríguez-Abreu Delvys , Martínez-Martí Alex , De Castro Carpeño Javier , Cobo Manuel , López Vivanco Guillermo , Del Barco Edel , Bernabé Caro Reyes , Viñolas Nuria , Barneto Aranda Isidoro , Viteri Santiago , Pereira Eva , Royuela Ana , Calvo Virginia , Martín-López Javier , García-García Francisco , Casarrubios Marta , Franco Fernando , Sánchez-Herrero Estela , Massuti Bartomeu , Cruz-Bermúdez Alberto , Romero Atocha
Published: May 2022

PURPOSE

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus nivolumab has been shown to be effective in resectable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the NADIM trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03081689 ). The 3-year overall survival (OS) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis have not been reported.

METHODS

This was an open-label, multicenter, single-arm, phase II trial in which patients with stage IIIA NSCLC, who were deemed to be surgically resectable, were treated with neoadjuvant paclitaxel (200 mg/m2 once a day) and carboplatin (area under curve 6) plus nivolumab (360 mg) once on day 1 of each 21-day cycle, for three cycles, followed by adjuvant nivolumab monotherapy for 1 year (240 mg once every 2 weeks for 4 months, followed by 480 mg once every 4 weeks for 8 months). The 3-year OS and ctDNA analysis were secondary objectives of the trial.

RESULTS

OS at 36 months was 81.9% (95% CI, 66.8 to 90.6) in the intention-to-treat population, rising to 91.0% (95% CI, 74.2 to 97.0) in the per-protocol population. Neither tumor mutation burden nor programmed cell death ligand-1 staining was predictive of survival. Conversely, low pretreatment levels of ctDNA were significantly associated with improved progression-free survival and OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.20; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.63, and HR, 0.07; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.39, respectively). Clinical responses according to RECIST v1.1 criteria did not predict survival outcomes. However, undetectable ctDNA levels after neoadjuvant treatment were significantly associated with progression-free survival and OS (HR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.93, and HR, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.55, respectively). The C-index to predict OS for ctDNA levels after neoadjuvant treatment (0.82) was superior to that of RECIST criteria (0.72).

CONCLUSION

The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus nivolumab in resectable NSCLC is supported by 3-year OS. ctDNA levels were significantly associated with OS and outperformed radiologic assessments in the prediction of survival.
Lipid Metabolic Genes and Maternal Supraphysiological Hypercholesterolemia: An Analysis of Maternal-fetal Interaction
Authors: Cai Xiaxia , Liang Ning , Cai Xueping , Zhou Qi , Dang Qinyu , Hu Zhuo , Yu Huanling
Published: May 2022

Context

The joint associations of maternal and fetal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of lipid metabolic genes with the risk of maternal supraphysiological hypercholesterolemia (MSPH) are unclear.

Objective

This study aims to investigate the associations of maternal/fetal SNPs of APOE, LPL, LDLR, PCSK9, and SCARB1 with the risk of MSPH and explore whether the maternal-fetal pairing pattern of the risk alleles can affect MSPH risk.

Methods

A nested case-control study was conducted that included 182 pregnant women with MSPH and 182 with maternal physiological hypercholesterolemia. Maternal venous and umbilical venous blood were collected to detect the SNPs of genes. The primary outcome was MSPH. Logistic regression model was used to determine the associations of SNPs with risk of MSPH.

Results

The C-allele in maternal APOE rs429358 T > C (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.72, P = 0.033), G-allele in fetal APOE rs440446 C > G (adjusted OR = 1.62, P = 0.012) and T-allele in fetal LPL rs263 C > T (adjusted OR = 1.53, P = 0.011) increased the risk of MSPH. The A-allele in maternal LDLR rs7258950 G > A decreased the risk of MSPH (adjusted OR = 0.67, P = 0.028). For maternal-fetal pairing analysis, the variant concordance of PCSK9 rs2149041, rs7523141, rs7523242, rs7525649, and LDLR rs7258950 were associated with the decreased risk of MSPH under the dominant model. The variant concordance of other SNPs of PCSK9, APOE, LDLR, LPL, and SCARB1 were associated with the increased risk of MSPH.

Conclusion

This study supports the hypothesis that maternal and fetal genetic polymorphisms of lipid metabolic genes are associated with the risk of MSPH. The maternal-fetal variant concordance is also associated with this risk.
Order beyond Equilibrium: Ludwig Lachmann's Bridging of Seemingly Irreconcilable Traditions
Authors: Fritz Roland , Novak Rok
Published: May 2022

Throughout his career, Ludwig M. Lachmann theorized about how economies and societies achieve order in an uncertain world full of heterogeneous agents, heterogeneous production factors, and multilayered subjectivity. This article traces how he began his research agenda by expanding the conventional equilibrium framework of the 1930s to include (potentially diverging) expectations but gradually abandoned price coordination as the sole source of order in an economy. Instead, he set out to formulate an institutional theory of socially embedded plan coordination, which transcended the traditional division between commerce and community. This article illustrates this shift in Lachmann's focus by using two of his neglected German publications. Additionally, it lays out how Lachmann's effort in the “thinking in orders” tradition was principally rooted in his dissatisfaction with approaches to economics that reduced it to a “pure logic of choice.” Lachmann instead conceived of his discipline as being something closer to Max Weber's “socioeconomics,” and in this he was strongly influenced by the German historical school. This article explains how, ironically, this tradition, which historically positioned itself in stark opposition to the Austrian school, has—through the mediation of Lachmann—had considerable influence on the recent history of the Austrian school in the United States.
Transatlantic Roads to Mont Pèlerin: “Old Chicago” and Freiburg in a World of Disintegrating Orders
Authors: Kolev Stefan , Köhler Ekkehard A.
Published: May 2022

This article depicts the parallel evolution of the political economies of the “Old Chicago” and Freiburg schools. Both communities within the “laissez-faire within rules” research program and the long-standing “thinking in orders” tradition emerged during the 1930s and culminated in the 1940s, crystallizing around the personalities of Henry C. Simons and Walter Eucken. We show how, in an age of disintegration of national and international orders of economy and society, the political economists at Chicago and Freiburg underwent a double transition: from students of equilibrium to students of order, and from students of various positive orders to defenders of a specific normative order. The vision of the normative order on both sides of the Atlantic was the competitive order and its rules-based framework. Along with shared angst amid disintegrating orders, personal transatlantic connections between the two communities are identified, starting in Berlin during the 1920s. This article highlights the role of Friedrich A. Lutz, who, from the mid-1930s to Eucken's death and beyond, served as a lifeline between the isolated Freiburg school and Anglo-Saxon economists. Lutz's activities are embedded in a narrative of transatlantic conversations around Friedrich A. Hayek and the early meetings of the Mont Pèlerin Society.
Teaching Life Writing as Civic Education
Authors: Blumberg Ilana M.
Published: May 2022

Focusing on a course taught to Palestinian and Jewish Israelis, this essay suggests that the study of life writing can help students develop a better informed civic identity, particularly in relation to divisive national matters. By carefully constructing collective classroom practices of reading, writing, discussing, and listening, the instructor can forge an environment that strengthens students’ capacity to appreciate the textual and contemporary interaction between individuals and their historical contexts, and to hear alternative perspectives and experiences attentively, without argument. University classrooms can thus play a vital role in democratic culture, as spaces in which a broader range of voices can be heard and in which minority voices are specially protected and projected.
Thinking inside the Panel
Authors: Laflen Angela , Fitzgibbons Moira
Published: May 2022

This article discusses how we have used undergraduate research (UR) to foster habits of mind associated with information literacy (IL). Our strategy is course based and involves students as potential contributors to the Graphic Narrative Database (GND), a digital work in progress. Presenting students with focused parameters for their research and with the prospect of an authentic audience for their writing, the assignment provides students with many opportunities to explore our complex information landscape as practitioners. Students deploy a wide array of strategies to gather and share information about a body of texts that are themselves richly multimodal.
An Experiential Approach to Teaching Creative Writing
Authors: Buckton-Tucker Rosalind
Published: May 2022

Is it possible to teach creative writing? Although creative talent may be innate, all individuals have the capacity to create, and creativity can be nurtured through specific approaches. The works of David Kolb in relation to experiential learning pedagogy are explored and adapted to creative writing courses, and examples of potential exercises are given.
Trends in bacteriological spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility on blood culture in pediatric cardiac patients at a tertiary childcare health facility
Authors: Adnan Mudasser , Arshad Muhammad Sohail , Haq Hafiz Anwar-ul , Raza Hashim
Published: May 2022

Objectives: To report trends in bacteriological spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility on blood culture in admitted pediatric cardiac patients at a Tertiary Childcare Health Facility.

Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, The Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Multan from January 2018 to December 2020. We included admitted children of both genders aged one day to 12 years and whose blood sample was sent for blood culture analysis. Gram staining was used to identify isolated organisms. Distribution of types of strains, bacterial isolates and antimicrobial sensitivity/resistance were recorded.

Results: During the study period, a total of 772 blood samples were sent for blood culture analysis, out of which, 154 (19.9%) turned out to be positive. Mean age was noted to be 1.12±2.3 years. Gram negative rods were the most frequently noted strains found among 69 (44.8%) cases. A total of 131 strains were found to have bacterial isolates. Salmonella typhi was the commonest bacterial agent noted in 30 (19.4%) cases while Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus in 18 (11.7%) and acinetobacter baumannii in 16 (10.4%).

Conclusion: Blood culture positivity rate was found to be 19.9%. Gram negative rods were the most frequently noted strains. Salmonella typhi, Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus and Acinetobacter baumannii were found to be the commonest bacterial isolates responsible. Routinely used antibiotics like Ciprofloxacin, Cefotaxime, Ceftizadime and Ampicillin were found to have high rates of resistance against most commonly found bacterial isolates.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.5.5072

How to cite this:Adnan M, Arshad MS, Anwar-ul-Haq H, Raza H. Trends in bacteriological spectrum and antibiotic susceptibility on blood culture in pediatric cardiac patients at a tertiary childcare health facility. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(5):---------.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.5.5072

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The outcome of gynecologic cancer patients with Covid-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Winata I Gde Sastra , Simatupang Januar , Polim Arie A , Togar Yakob , Tondang Advenny Elisabeth
Published: May 2022

Background: Cancer is a comorbidity that leads to progressive worsening of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with increased mortality. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis to yield evidence of adverse outcomes of Covid-19 in gynecologic cancer.

Methods: Searches through PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and medRxiv to find articles on the outcome of gynecologic cancer with Covid-19 (24 July 2021–19 February 2022). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool was used to evaluate the quality of included studies. Pooled odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and random-effects model were presented.

Results: We accepted 51 studies (a total of 1991 gynecologic cancer patients with Covid-19). Covid-19 infection cases were lower in gynecologic cancer vs hematologic cancer (OR 0.71, CI 0.56-0.90, p 0.005). Severe Covid-19 infection and death were lower in gynecologic cancer vs lung and hematologic cancer (OR 0.36, CI 0.16-0.80, p 0.01), (OR 0.52, CI 0.44-0.62, p <0.0001), (OR 0.26, CI 0.10-0.67 p 0.005), (OR 0.63, CI 0.47-0.83, p 0.001) respectively. Increased Covid death was seen in gynecologic cancer vs population with breast cancer, non-Covid cancer, and non-cancer Covid (OR 1.50, CI 1.20-1.88, p 0.0004), (OR 11.83, CI 8.20-17.07, p <0.0001), (OR 2.98, CI 2.23-3.98, p <0.0001) respectively.   

Conclusion: Gynecologic cancer has higher Covid-19 adverse outcomes compared to non-cancer, breast cancer, non-metastatic, and Covid-19 negative population. Gynecologic cancer has fewer Covid-19 adverse outcomes compared to other cancer types, lung cancer, and hematologic cancer. These findings may aid health policies and services during the ongoing global pandemic.

PROSPERO Registration: CRD42021256557 (22/05/21)
Development and feasibility testing of action observation training videos in acute stroke survivors
Authors: Biswas Arunima , Natarajan Manikandan , Subramanian Sandeep K , Solomon John M.
Published: May 2022

Background: Action observation training (AOT) is used for lower limb (LL) stroke rehabilitation in subacute and chronic stages, but concise information regarding the types of activities to be used and the feasibility of administration in the acute stroke population is unknown. The aim of this study was to develop and validate videos of appropriate activities for LL AOT and test administrative feasibility in acute stroke.  

Method: A video inventory of LL activities was created after a literature survey and expert scrutiny. Five stroke rehabilitation experts validated the videos per domains of relevance, comprehension, clarity, camera position and brightness. LL AOT was then tested on ten individuals with acute stroke for uncovering barriers for clinical use in a feasibility study. Participants watched the activities and attempted imitation of the same. Determination of administrative feasibility was undertaken via participant interviews.  

Results: Suitable LL activities for stroke rehabilitation were identified. Content validation of videos led to improvements in selected activities and video quality. Expert scrutiny led to further video processing to include different perspectives of view and speeds of projected movements. Barriers identified included inability to imitate actions shown in videos and increased distractibility for some participants.   

Conclusion: A video catalogue of LL activities was developed and validated. AOT was deemed safe and feasible for acute stroke rehabilitation and may be used in future research and clinical practice.
Doublet identification in single-cell sequencing data using scDblFinder
Authors: Germain Pierre-Luc , Lun Aaron , Garcia Meixide Carlos , Macnair Will , Robinson Mark D.
Published: May 2022

Doublets are prevalent in single-cell sequencing data and can lead to artifactual findings. A number of strategies have therefore been proposed to detect them. Building on the strengths of existing

approaches, we developed scDblFinder, a fast, flexible and accurate Bioconductor-based doublet detection method. Here we present the method, justify its design choices, demonstrate its performance on both single-cell RNA and accessibility (ATAC) sequencing data, and provide some observations on doublet formation, detection, and enrichment analysis. Even in complex datasets, scDblFinder can accurately identify most heterotypic doublets, and was already found by an independent benchmark to outcompete alternatives.
ECORISK2050: An Innovative Training Network for predicting the effects of global change on the emission, fate, effects, and risks of chemicals in aquatic ecosystems
Authors: Welch Samuel A. , Lane Taylor , Desrousseaux Alizée O.S , van Dijk Joanke , Mangold-Döring Annika , Gajraj Rudrani , Hader John D. , Hermann Markus , Parvathi Ayillyath Kutteyeri Anju , Mentzel Sophie , Nagesh Poornima , Polazzo Francesco , Roth Sabrina K. , Boxall Alistair B.A. , Chefetz Benny , Dekker Stefan C. , Eitzinger Josef , Grung Merete , MacLeod Matthew , Moe S. Jannicke , Rico Andreu , Sobek Anna , van Wezel Annemarie P. , van den Brink Paul
Published: May 2022

By 2050, the global population is predicted to reach nine billion, with almost three quarters living in cities. The road to 2050 will be marked by changes in land use, climate, and the management of water and food across the world. These global changes (GCs) will likely affect the emissions, transport, and fate of chemicals, and thus the exposure of the natural environment to chemicals.

ECORISK2050 is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network that brings together an interdisciplinary consortium of academic, industry and governmental partners to deliver a new generation of scientists, with the skills required to study and manage the effects of GCs on chemical risks to the aquatic environment. The research and training goals are to: (1) assess how inputs and behaviour of chemicals from agriculture and urban environments are affected by different environmental conditions, and how different GC scenarios will drive changes in chemical risks to human and ecosystem health; (2) identify short-to-medium term adaptation and mitigation strategies, to abate unacceptable increases to risks, and (3) develop tools for use by industry and policymakers for the assessment and management of the impacts of GC-related drivers on chemical risks.

This project will deliver the next generation of scientists, consultants, and industry and governmental decision-makers who have the knowledge and skillsets required to address the changing pressures associated with chemicals emitted by agricultural and urban activities, on aquatic systems on the path to 2050 and beyond.
Pretreatment, Hydrolysis and Fermentation of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Bioethanol
Authors: Sudhakar Vanam , Naik Sapavatu Srinu
Published: May 2022

Currently, only bioethanol may be used in fuel systems without requiring significant changes to the fuel distribution system. Furthermore, burning bioethanol creates the same amount of CO2 as the plant produces when growing, therefore it does not contribute to the increase in the greenhouse effect. Biodiesel can be made from plants that produce sugar or plants that contain starch (wheat, corn, etc.). However, producing bioethanol on a large scale necessitates the use of vast swaths of land for maize or sugarcane farming. Lignocellulosic biomass, such as agricultural leftovers, may be a solution to this problem, despite technical issues, due to its great availability and low cost. In this article, we will go over the many methods for pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass, as well as the several fermentation procedures that can be used to get bioethanol from it.
Ecological Consequences of Hydropower Development in Himachal Pradesh with Special Reference to Chamera Dam
Authors: Sharma Rajneesh
Published: May 2022

Hydropower is an important renewable energy resource and one of the most efficient power generation systems on the planet. Despite all of the benefits of hydropower plants, there may be some drawbacks. However, its growth is accompanied by negative environmental consequences. Hydropower dams are still being constructed at a rapid pace in the developing world and are causing disturbances to river ecology, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, increased greenhouse gases emissions, as well as displacing thousands of people and affecting their food system, water sources, and agriculture. While environmentalists around the country reject massive projects with large reservoirs, locals in Himachal Pradesh consider modest projects as a scourge as well. The steady deterioration in environmental parameters in the hills has serious connotations for sustainable development, not only for the hill areas, but for the country as a whole. The goal of this research is to look at the environmental effects of hydropower and possible mitigating strategies. In short, our aim has been to study how damming has had ecological impacts on the dislocated people, to assess their reaction, receptivity, and outlook towards the projects. The interview method was adopted for collecting data. Survey has been conducted with the help of a well designed interview schedule.
Water Quality Index (WQI) to Evaluate Groundwater Quality in Chickmagaluru District, South Karnataka, India.
Authors: Govindaraju Pramoda , Balasubrahmanian Ayyappan , Nagaraju Doddaia , Krishnamurthy Vybhav
Published: May 2022

Groundwater quality assessment is essentialin the present scenario. The main objective of the present study is assessing the groundwater quality for drinking purpose and identify them.Fourteen (14) different physiochemical parameters were analyzed to evaluate the subsurface water in the study area and values were compared to Bureau of Indian standards. Water Quality Index (WQI) is a composite indicant of water quality. The water quality index evaluates various parameters that can be quickly and easily communicated to its intended audience. WQI is one of the most effective techniques for deciding the appropriateness of groundwater for drinking purposes. The extracted components indicate that geology, agriculture, precipitation, household wastewater, and industrial effluents contributed to the sources exceeding the permissible limit. The present study indicated very poor-quality water for some groundwater samples in which the area dominated by weathering ofrocks and dissolution of salts from the bedrock into the water resources, which can be a serious threat to the ecological habitat. Based on WQI index 75% and 65% of groundwater samples in pre and post monsoon suitable for drinking purpose
An Assessment of Soil Quality and Agricultural Production Status in the Alluvial Soil Region: A Case Study in Koch Bihar District, West Bengal, India
Authors: Das Satyajit , Paul Surjapada
Published: May 2022

Soil refers to the upper layer of the Earth’s surface, which is made up of a mixture of organic residues, clay, and rock particles, and that's where plants grow. The soil quality is the environmental aspect that is most significant in agricultural activities, as well as for the concern of the safety of agricultural produces. At present-day, soil quality assessment becomes the most important issue because of the raising food security awareness. This study was assessed in Koch Bihar district, West Bengal, India, to quantify soil quality using the weighted Soil Quality Index (SQI) approach. For this assessment, the soil-related data were collected from the Soil Health Card (SHC) of the Agricultural Development Offices in all blocks of Koch Bihar and then analyzed using the principal component analysis (PCA) and expert opinion (EO) method. The weights of the selected soil quality indicators were determined using the integrated Fuzzy-AHP model. According to this method, 12 indicators, i.e., soil pH, soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon content, nitrogen content, potassium content, phosphors content, soil texture, the groundwater level in the winter season, cropping intensity, and drainage frequency were considered based on literature review. The SQI assessment was done accordingly for each spatial unit (Block), and the spatial variability of the soil quality map was produced by GIS spatial analysis module. The findings may aid in promoting non-harmful produce production, the provision of scientific data for agricultural structure adjustment, and the maintenance of agricultural sustainability.
African swine fever variants currently outside Africa
Authors: Carr John , Howells Mark , Hersey William
Published: May 2022

In 2007 African swine fever (ASF) type 2 entered Georgia and since then has progressively moved around the planet resulting in a global pandemic, which is responsible for killing many millions of pigs. Local spread occurs through wild pig movement but human movement of pork products and even pigs for hunting has resulted in movement over 1000s of kilometres.

With the devastating impact of ASF type 2 on a pig farm the development of a suitable vaccine is essential. Unfortunately, in desperation, potential ASF vaccine candidates have been released. The premature release of vaccine candidates has created clinical confusion by reducing the clinical signs of ASF, in particular the high pyrexia usually seen in pigs infected with this virus. The lack of specific clinical signs can make identify of sick animals more difficult and this increases the potential for incursion across national borders.
Vector beam polarization rotation control using resonant magneto optics
Authors: Daloi Nilamoni , Dey Tarak Nath
Published: May 2022

Vector beam propagation through a four-level tripod atomic system has been investigated. The three transitions of the tripod atomic system are coupled by a strong control field and the two constituent orthogonally polarized components of a weak probe vector beam. An external magnetic field induces anisotropy, creating a difference in the refractive indices of the two polarization components of the beam. This difference in refractive indices varies with the magnetic field strength and directly relates to the polarization orientation at any transverse plane. Thus, the transverse polarization structure can be rotated as desired with appropriate magnetic field strength. We further study the effect of nonlinearity and inhomogeneous broadening on the vector beam’s polarization rotation. Therefore, the mechanism of efficient polarization control and manipulation of a vector beam can open up a new avenue for high-resolution microscopy and high-density optical communications.
Cavity-dumped burst-mode Nd:YAG laser master-oscillator power-amplifier system with a flat-top beam output realized by gain profile-controlled side pumping
Authors: Wu Wentao , Li Xudong , Yan Renpeng , Chen Deying , Tang Shuo
Published: May 2022

We report a compact cavity-dumped burst-mode Nd:YAG laser master-oscillator power-amplifier system with a flat-top intensity distribution across the output-beam section. Custom-designed gain profile-controlled diode side pumping modules providing flat-top and concave gain profiles were utilized to generate a uniform beam profile and suppress thermal lensing during amplification, respectively. Bursts with an energy of 2.0 J and duration of 1.6 ms were operated at 10 Hz. Within the bursts, single pulses with an energy of 12.7 mJ and pulse width of 3.3 ns were achieved at 100 kHz.
Three-dimensional phase and intensity reconstruction from coherent modulation imaging measurements
Authors: Zhang Junhao , Yang Dongyu , Lv Wenjin , Jin Xin , Shi Yishi
Published: May 2022

Coherent modulation imaging is a lensless imaging technique, where a complex-valued image can be recovered from a single diffraction pattern using the iterative algorithm. Although mostly applied in two dimensions, it can be tomographically combined to produce three-dimensional (3D) images. Here we present a 3D reconstruction procedure for the sample’s phase and intensity from coherent modulation imaging measurements. Pre-processing methods to remove illumination probe, inherent ambiguities in phase reconstruction results, and intensity fluctuation are given. With the projections extracted by our method, standard tomographic reconstruction frameworks can be used to recover accurate quantitative 3D phase and intensity images. Numerical simulations and optical experiments validate our method.