bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Shear-Induced Amyloid Aggregation in the Brain: V. Are Alzheimer’s and Other Amyloid Diseases Initiated in the Lower Brain and Brainstem by Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Stresses?
Authors: Trumbore Conrad N.
Published: December 2020

Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau oligomers have been identified as neurotoxic agents responsible for causing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Clinical trials using Aβ and tau as targets have failed, giving rise to calls for new research approaches to combat AD. This paper provides such an approach. Most basic AD research has involved quiescent Aβ and tau solutions. However, studies involving laminar and extensional flow of proteins have demonstrated that mechanical agitation of proteins induces or accelerates protein aggregation. Recent MRI brain studies have revealed high energy, chaotic motion of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in lower brain and brainstem regions. These and studies showing CSF flow within the brain have shown that there are two energetic hot spots. These are within the third and fourth brain ventricles and in the neighborhood of the circle of Willis blood vessel region. These two regions are also the same locations as those of the earliest Aβ and tau AD pathology. In this paper, it is proposed that cardiac systolic pulse waves that emanate from the major brain arteries in the lower brain and brainstem regions and whose pulse waves drive CSF flows within the brain are responsible for initiating AD and possibly other amyloid diseases. It is further proposed that the triggering of these diseases comes about because of the strengthening of systolic pulses due to major artery hardening that generates intense CSF extensional flow stress. Such stress provides the activation energy needed to induce conformational changes of both Aβ and tau within the lower brain and brainstem region, producing unique neurotoxic oligomer molecule conformations that induce AD.
Phosphorylation and Dephosphorylation of Tau Protein by the Catalytic Subunit of PKA, as Probed by Electrophoretic Mobility Retard
Authors: Benítez María J. , Cuadros Raquel , Jiménez Juan S.
Published: December 2020

Background:

Tau is a microtubule associated protein that regulates the stability of microtubules and the microtubule-dependent axonal transport. Its hyperphosphorylated form is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies and the major component of the paired helical filaments that form the abnormal proteinaceous tangles found in these neurodegenerative diseases. It is generally accepted that the phosphorylation extent of tau is the result of an equilibrium in the activity of protein kinases and phosphatases. Disruption of the balance between both types of enzyme activities has been assumed to be at the origin of tau hyperphosphorylation and the subsequent toxicity and progress of the disease.

Objective:

We explore the possibility that, beside the phosphatase action on phosphorylated tau, the catalytic subunit of PKA catalyzes both tau phosphorylation and also tau dephosphorylation, depending on the ATP/ADP ratio.

Methods:

We use the shift in the relative electrophoretic mobility suffered by different phosphorylated forms of tau, as a sensor of the catalytic action of the enzyme.

Results:

The results are in agreement with the long-known thermodynamic reversibility of the phosphorylation reaction (ATP + Protein = ADP+Phospho-Protein) catalyzed by PKA and many other protein kinases.

Conclusion:

The results contribute to put the compartmentalized energy state of the neuron and the mitochondrial-functions disruption upstream of tau-related pathologies.
Financial Capacity and Regional Cerebral Tau in Cognitively Normal Older Adults, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia
Authors: Gonzalez Christopher , Tommasi Nicole S. , Briggs Danielle , Properzi Michael J. , Amariglio Rebecca E. , Marshall Gad A. ,   for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: December 2020

Background:

Financial capacity is often one of the first instrumental activities of daily living to be affected in cognitively normal (CN) older adults who later progress to amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between financial capacity and regional cerebral tau.

Methods:

Cross-sectional financial capacity was assessed using the Financial Capacity Instrument –Short Form (FCI-SF) in 410 CN, 199 MCI, and 61 AD dementia participants who underwent flortaucipir tau positron emission tomography from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Linear regression models with backward elimination were used with FCI-SF total score as the dependent variable and regional tau and tau-amyloid interaction as predictors of interest in separate analyses. Education, age, sex, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test Total Learning, and Trail Making Test B were used as covariates.

Results:

Significant associations were found between FCI-SF and tau regions (entorhinal: p < 0.001; inferior temporal: p < 0.001; dorsolateral prefrontal: p = 0.01; posterior cingulate: p = 0.03; precuneus: p < 0.001; and supramarginal gyrus: p = 0.005) across all participants. For the tau-amyloid interaction, significant associations were found in four regions (amyloid and dorsolateral prefrontal tau interaction: p = 0.005; amyloid and posterior cingulate tau interaction: p = 0.005; amyloid and precuneus tau interaction: p < 0.001; and amyloid and supramarginal tau interaction: p = 0.002).

Conclusion:

Greater regional tau burden was modestly associated with financial capacity impairment in early-stage AD. Extending this work with longitudinal analyses will further illustrate the utility of such assessments in detecting clinically meaningful decline, which may aid clinical trials of early-stage AD.
The low-frequency improvement with loading soft magnetic ferrite films for multiband antenna applications
Authors: Wu Tong , Yu Guoliang , Pang Jiarui , Wang Can , Yang Han , Qiu Yang , Zhang Yi , Zhu Mingmin , Zhou Hao-Miao
Published: December 2020

This work presents an easy way to improve the low-frequency properties in a small-size LTE/WWAN smartphone antenna by just loading a soft magnetic ferrite film on the strong radiation area. The base non-magnetic antenna, which only takes up an 11 mm × 30 mm no-ground space, can achieve hexa-band operation covering 822–914/1710–3244 MHz bands by co-designing a meandering strip and a T-shaped feeding strip. With loading a small-size ferrite film (2 mm × 15 mm) at the strong radiation strip, the frequencies can be shifted to cover the range of 692–1191/1698–3020 MHz, which shows a fully covering of octa-band operation, especially including the best long-term-evolution band, LTE700, without enlarging the size of base antenna. In addition, the radiation characteristics of the magnetic antenna with ferrite film loading show a limited change at upper bands (1710–2690 MHz) but an acceptable level at lower bands (698–960 MHz). Both experimental and simulated results have been taken out and shown the consistent tendency. This optimization method of low-frequency properties by introducing a commercial ferrite film on the antenna has provided a simple and convenient way to solve the frequency deviation in the practical smartphone applications.
Computer public course teaching based on improved machine learning and neural network algorithm
Authors: Cao Jingxin
Published: December 2020

With the continuous progress of the times, the development of college education is also constantly tending to enrich and diversify. In the course of curriculum setting in many colleges and universities, more and more attention is paid to the teaching of computer courses for college students. In the course of setting up and teaching, we still follow the traditional teaching mode and do not pay more attention to students’ practical practice. By observing the computer course materials selected by many colleges and universities for students, we can see that most of the textbooks still focus on arranging some exercises from the point of view that science and engineering are students, and lack the basic knowledge of the curriculum. Because the understanding and research of computer course is not deep enough, the teaching effect obtained since the course is not ideal. By studying the relevant knowledge of machine learning and some important problems in the development of neural network algorithm theory, this paper puts forward some viewpoints based on the current curriculum system in colleges and universities in order to improve the learning quality of computer courses. And hope to build a variant learning model to improve students’ interest in computer courses. The exploration and inference of some knowledge in this paper are mostly my own views, some places are not professional enough, the majority of experts and scholars can criticize and correct at will.
Intelligent English classroom video clarity improvement based on motion compensation and grid flow
Authors: Li Shufang , Juan Wang
Published: December 2020

For the English classroom teaching video denoising algorithm, it is not only necessary to consider whether the noise removal of the output video is thorough, but also to consider the actual operating efficiency and robustness of the algorithm. In the process of the thesis research, after reading a large number of internal and external documents on video denoising algorithms and analyzing the pros and cons of various denoising algorithms, this paper proposes a new video denoising algorithm, which uses the recently proposed grid flow motion model based on camera motion compensation to generate denoised video. Compared with the current advanced video denoising schemes, our method processes noisy frames faster and has good robustness. In addition, this article improves the algorithm framework so that the algorithm can not only deal with offline video denoising, but also deal with online video denoising.
Normalization and deep learning based attention deficit hyperactivity disorder classification
Authors: Preetha P. , Mallika R.
Published: December 2020

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the major mental-health disorders worldwide. ADHD is typically characterized by impaired executive function, impulsivity, hyperactivity and with respect to these behavioral symptoms, diagnosis of ADHD is performed. These symptoms are obviously seen at in early stage. Serious impairments and substantial burdens are induced for society as well as to families. However, for ADHD, there is no diagnostic laboratory in current scenario. Psychological tests like Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (BADDS), Conners Parent Rating Scale and ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) are carried out for ADHD diagnosis. Tedious and complex clinical analysis are needed in this testing and this makes low efficiency of the diagnostic process. A traditional diagnosis technique of ADHD produces degraded results. So, enhanced extreme learning machine is incorporated with existing techniques for avoiding the issues of performance degradation. There is a need to enhance the classifier performance further and there is a chance for unwanted noise in input samples, which may degrade the performance of classifier. For avoiding these issues, an enhanced and automated ADHS diagnosis technique is proposed. First stage is pre-processing, and it is carried out based on min max normalization and feature extraction is a next stage, which is carried out through Fast Independent Component Analysis and third stage is a Deep Extreme Learning Machine (DELM) based ADHD identification and classification. Extreme Learning Machine with Kernel (KELM) and Multilayer Extreme Learning Machine (MLELM) algorithm are combined in this method and it is termed as deep extreme learning machine (DELM). Collection of neuro images are used for quantitative and qualitative analysis and with respect to f-measure, recall, precision and accuracy, robustness of proposed technique is demonstrated.
An intelligent technique for detection of diabetic retinopathy using improved alexnet model based convoluitonal neural network
Authors: Sadhana S. , Mallika R.
Published: December 2020

Blindness is one of the serious issues in the present medical world scenario mainly caused by Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). It is a diabetes complication, that is produced due to the problems in retina blood vessel. For clinical treatment, it will be extremely helpful, if diabetic retinopathy is detected in early stages. In recent years, the manual detection of DR consumes more time and moreover, the detection of DR in early stages is still a challenging task. In order to avoid these issues, this research work focus on an automated as well as effective solution for detecting DR symptoms from retinal images and requires less time for accurate detection. A Novel histogram equalization technique is used for performing contrast enhancement and equalization in initial pre-processing stage. Then, from these pre-processed images, image patches are extracted regularly. Improved Discrete Curvelet Transform based Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix (IDCT-GLCM) is used in second stage for extracting features. Then, extracted features are given to Classifier. At last, an Improved Alexnet model-based CNN (IAM-CNN) classification approach is used for diagnosing DR from digital fundus images. In terms of accuracy, specificity and sensitivity, effectiveness and efficiency of proposed method is shown by extensive simulation results.
Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis for evaluating the effectiveness of relationship marketing and innovation in 3D printing medical market
Authors: Cheng Cheng-Feng , Chen Ta-Cheng
Published: December 2020

This study aims to explore the configurations of potential relevant antecedents in 3D printing medical Market for achieving high user satisfaction from both the suppliers’ and users’ perspectives. The important antecedents in this study include relationship marketing, innovation, 3D printing perceived values, and 3D printing perceived risk. Firstly, this study investigates the relationships among potential relevant antecedents and user satisfaction. Furthermore, to explore the gap between users’ evaluation and innovation suppliers’ perception, this study addresses this issue based on both perspectives of suppliers and buyers. To assess the applicability of the proposed model, we employed questionnaires survey and collected primary data from 3D printing suppliers and their customers. Moreover, the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) approach has been applied for evaluating the effectiveness of relationship marketing and innovation in 3D printing medical market. Finally, the numerical results indicate that there is one causal configuration (i.e., 1A) found to be sufficient for high user satisfaction for the perspectives of 3D printing suppliers and three configurations for the perspectives of 3D printing customers. In the perspectives of 3D printing suppliers, the combination of relationship marketing, innovation, and 3D printing perceived value is sufficient conditions causing high user satisfaction. However, there are three causal configurations (i.e., 1B, 2B, and 3B) found to be sufficient for high user satisfaction for the perspectives of 3D printing customers.
An efficient technique for CT scan images classification of COVID-19
Authors: Elmuogy Samir , Hikal Noha A. , Hassan Esraa
Published: December 2020

Nowadays, Coronavirus (COVID-19) considered one of the most critical pandemics in the earth. This is due its ability to spread rapidly between humans as well as animals. COVID-19 expected to outbreak around the world, around 70 % of the earth population might infected with COVID-19 in the incoming years. Therefore, an accurate and efficient diagnostic tool is highly required, which the main objective of our study. Manual classification was mainly used to detect different diseases, but it took too much time in addition to the probability of human errors. Automatic image classification reduces doctors diagnostic time, which could save human’s life. We propose an automatic classification architecture based on deep neural network called Worried Deep Neural Network (WDNN) model with transfer learning. Comparative analysis reveals that the proposed WDNN model outperforms by using three pre-training models: InceptionV3, ResNet50, and VGG19 in terms of various performance metrics. Due to the shortage of COVID-19 data set, data augmentation was used to increase the number of images in the positive class, then normalization used to make all images have the same size. Experimentation is done on COVID-19 dataset collected from different cases with total 2623 where (1573 training, 524 validation, 524 test). Our proposed model achieved 99,046, 98,684, 99,119, 98,90 in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F-score, respectively. The results are compared with both the traditional machine learning methods and those using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The results demonstrate the ability of our classification model to use as an alternative of the current diagnostic tool.
Interactive α-satisfactory method for multi-objective optimization with fuzzy parameters and linguistic preference
Authors: Hu Chaofang , Zhang Yuting
Published: December 2020

An interactive α-satisfactory method via relaxed order of desirable α-satisfactory degrees is proposed for multi-objective optimization with fuzzy parameters and linguistic preference in this paper. Fuzzy parameters existing in objectives and constraints of multi-objective optimization are defined as fuzzy numbers and α-level set is used to build the feasible domain of parameters. On the basis, the original problem with fuzzy parameters is transformed into multi-objective optimization with fuzzy goals. Linguistic preference of decision-maker is modelled by the relaxed order of desirable α-satisfactory degrees of all the objectives. In order to achieve a compromise between optimization and preference, the multi-objective optimization problem is divided into two single-objective sub-problems: the preliminary optimization and the linguistic preference optimization. A preferred solution can be found by parameter adjustment of inner-outer loop. The minimum stable relaxation algorithm of parameter is developed for calculating the relaxation bound of maximum desirable satisfaction difference. The M-α-Pareto optimality of solution is guaranteed by the test model. The effectiveness, flexibility and sensitivity of the proposed method are well demonstrated by numerical example and application example to heat conduction system.
Low Sustainment of High-Dose Oral Medication Regimens for Advanced Parkinson’s Disease in Medicare Beneficiaries
Authors: Dahodwala Nabila , Jahnke Jordan , Pettit Amy R. , Li Pengxiang , Ladage Vrushabh P. , Kandukuri Prasanna L. , Bao Yanjun , Zamudio Jorge , Jalundhwala Yash J. , Doshi Jalpa A.
Published: December 2020

Background: Increasing doses of oral antiparkinson medications are indicated in advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD), but little is known about sustainment of high-dose regimens. Objective: To investigate sustainment of high-dose oral medication regimens in Medicare beneficiaries with incident advanced PD. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized 100%fee-for-service Medicare claims from 2011–2013. We identified advanced PD using a pharmacy claims-based proxy and selected patients who initiated a new high-dose oral medication regimen (daily levodopa equivalent dose [LED] >1000 mg/day for ≥30 days) in 2012. In the following 12 months, we examined: 1) annual proportion of days covered (PDC)≥0.80 and 2) presence of a ≥ 90 day continuous gap at varying dosage thresholds: the initial >1000 mg/day, >800 mg/day, >500 mg/day, or >0 mg/day. Results: We identified 9,405 patients with advanced PD (mean age 77.4 [SD 6.8] years; 53%men). Only 5%maintained a regimen of >1000 mg/day at PDC ≥0.80; 75% had a ≥ 90-day gap in that dosage level. At a dosage threshold of >800 mg/day, 20% had a PDC ≥0.80 and 53% had a ≥ 90-day gap; at >500 mg/day, 56% had a PDC ≥0.80 and 19%had a ≥ 90-day gap; and at >0 mg/day (any dose), 76% had a PDC ≥0.80 and only 10%had a≥90-day gap. Conclusion: Few patients with advanced PD sustained a high-dose oral medication regimen in the year following initiation, but most sustained a substantially lower-dose regimen. Strategies to improve advanced PD treatment are needed.
Cost-Effectiveness of Device-Aided Therapies in Parkinson’s Disease: A Structured Review
Authors: Smilowska Katarzyna , van Wamelen Daniel J. , Pietrzykowski Tomasz , Calvano Alexander , Rodriguez-Blazquez Carmen , Martinez-Martin Pablo , Odin Per , Chaudhuri K. Ray
Published: December 2020

Background: Despite optimal dopaminergic treatment most patients in moderate to advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience progressively increasing disabilities, necessitating a shift from oral medication to device-aided therapies, including deep brain stimulation (DBS), intrajejunal levodopa-carbidopa infusion (IJLI), and continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion (CSAI). However, these therapies are costly, limiting their implementation. Objectives: To perform a systematic review on cost-effectiveness analyses for device-aided therapies in PD. Methods: References were identified by performing a systematic search in the PubMed and Web of Science databases in accordance with the PRISMA statement. In the absence of universal cost-effectiveness definitions, the gross domestic product per capita (GDP) in the country where a study was performed was used as a cut-off for cost-effectiveness based on cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained. Results: In total 30 studies were retrieved. All device-aided therapies improved quality of life compared to best medical treatment, with improvements in QALYs between 0.88 and 1.26 in the studies with long temporal horizons. For DBS, nearly all studies showed that cost per QALY was below the GDP threshold. For infusion therapies only three studies showed a cost per QALY below this threshold, with several studies with long temporal horizons showing costs below or near the GDP threshold. Conclusion: Of the device-aided therapies, DBS can be considered cost-effective, but the majority of infusion therapy studies showed that these were less cost-effective. However, long-term use of the infusion therapies appears to improve their cost-effectiveness and in addition, several strategies are underway to reduce these high costs.
The review of the open challenges in the IRB loan portfolio credit risk modeling
Authors: Penikas Henry
Published: December 2020

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision finalized the Basel III accord in the December 2017 and launched the set of its standards – the Basel Framework – in December 2019. Both documents allow bank to use mathematical models for the credit risk estimation. There are quantitative and qualitative requirements for models to be allowed for use in the prudential regulation of banks. The approach is called an Internal-Ratings-Based one (IRB). This paper aims at discussing a set of issues related to IRB credit risk modeling and such model estimates use. Those issues include data pooling in the credit registries, applying copula-discriminant analysis, validating the borrower concentration per grade, assigning the hybrid credit rating, use of model estimates when voting at the credit committee, estimate of the ultimate credit risk-taking by banks.
Preparation, evaluation, and in vitro release of chitosan-alginate tanshinone self-microemulsifying sustained-release microcapsules
Authors: Wang Yunhong , Hu Rong , Guo Yanlei , Qin Weihan , Zhang Xiaomei , Hua Lei , Yang Yong
Published: December 2020

OBJECTIVE: In this study we explore the method to prepare tanshinone self-microemulsifying sustained-release microcapsules using tanshinone self-microemulsion as the core material, and chitosan and alginate as capsule materials. METHODS: The optimal preparation technology of chitosan-alginate tanshinone self-microemulsifying sustained-release microcapsules was determined by using the orthogonal design experiment and single-factor analysis. The drug loading and entrapment rate were used as evaluation indexes to assess the quality of the drug, and the in vitro release rate was used to evaluate the drug release performance. RESULTS: The best technology of chitosan-alginate tanshinone self-microemulsifying sustained-release microcapsules is as follows: the concentration of alginate is 1.5%, the ratio of tanshinone self-microemulsion volume to alginate volume to chitosan mass is 1:1:0.5 (ml: ml: g), and the best concentration of calcium chloride is 2.0%. To prepare the microcapsules using this technology, the drug loading will be 0.046%, the entrapment rate will be 80.23%, and the 24-hour in vitro cumulative release rate will be 97.4%. CONCLUSION: The release of the microcapsules conforms to the Higuchi equation and the first-order drug release model and has a good sustained-release performance.
Intelligent medical image feature extraction method based on improved deep learning
Authors: Zhi Zhang , Qing Meng
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND: Medical patients can be diagnosed early, however it is difficult to extract effective features in medical image segmentation based on semantic information. OBJECTIVE: A deep learning based image pixel block feature learning technology is studied in this paper. METHODS: The unlabeled image block sample training stack noise reduction automatic encoder is used to learn and extract the deep features of the image, and construct the initial depth neural network model. The labeled samples are used to fine-tune the initial depth neural network model, the deep features of the image correspond to the category, and the depth neural network model with classification function is obtained. The model is used to classify the pixel block samples in the segmented image and detect the initial segmentation region of brain tumor tissue. Finally, threshold segmentation and morphological methods are used to optimize the initial results to obtain accurate segmentation results of brain tumor tissue. RESULTS: The results show that this method can effectively improve the accuracy and sensitivity of segmentation. The running speed is also greatly improved compared with the traditional machine learning method.
Application of convolution neural network in medical image processing
Authors: Liu Jie , Zhao Hongbo
Published: December 2020

BACKGROUND: Convolution neural network is often superior to other similar algorithms in image classification. Convolution layer and sub-sampling layer have the function of extracting sample features, and the feature of sharing weights greatly reduces the training parameters of the network. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the improved convolution neural network structure, including convolution layer, sub-sampling layer and full connection layer. This paper also introduces five kinds of diseases and normal eye images reflected by the blood filament of the eyeball “yan.mat” data set, convenient to use MATLAB software for calculation. METHODSL: In this paper, we improve the structure of the classical LeNet-5 convolutional neural network, and design a network structure with different convolution kernels, different sub-sampling methods and different classifiers, and use this structure to solve the problem of ocular bloodstream disease recognition. RESULTS: The experimental results show that the improved convolutional neural network structure is ideal for the recognition of eye blood silk data set, which shows that the convolution neural network has the characteristics of strong classification and strong robustness. The improved structure can classify the diseases reflected by eyeball bloodstain well.
EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF LINAC STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH SKULL-BASE MENINGIOMAS
Authors: Kruchok Iryna , Чувашова Ольга
Published: December 2020

Annotation. The article summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the application of stereotactic radiosurgery in the treatment of patients with meningiomas of craniobasal localization.

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness and safety of stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with meningiomas of craniobasal localization based on the assessment of local control parameters and probable post-radiation neurological deficit. Systematization of literature sources and approaches to solving the problem of treatment of patients with meningiomas of the skull showed that stereotactic radiosurgery can be used as a stand-alone method of treatment, and in addition to microsurgical removal of tumors. The relevance of this study is due to the limited possibilities of microsurgical removal of meningiomas of craniobasal localization, to achieve complete local control of tumors, as well as the high frequency of neurological deficits after surgery. Research methodology: retrospective analysis of the results of stereotactic radiosurgery 117 patients with 119 meningiomas of craniobasal localization treated from 2010 to 2014 in the State Institution "Institute of Neurosurgery named after AP Romodanov National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine) on a linear accelerator Varian Trilogy, using data from clinical (Karnovsky Index) and neurological examination, magnetic resonance imaging before and after radiosurgery, volumetric study of local control during post-beam monitoring. The object of the study was selected patients with meningiomas of craniobasal localization. The article presents the results of the study: according to magnetic resonance imaging after 119 (100%) cases of meningioma of craniobasal localization with an average period of follow-up after treatment of 20.8 months in 96 (81%) cases tumor regression was determined; in 10 (11%) - there was a stabilization of the size of the tumor, which indicates the cessation of its growth. The increase in the proportion of patients with the Karnowski Index = 90 from 41.9% to 70.9%, indicates a high safety of the method. The study empirically confirms and theoretically proves that stereotactic radiosurgery is an effective and safe method of treatment of craniobasal meningiomas, which provides a high level of growth control (92%) while maintaining a high level of quality of life. The results of this study may be useful for creating an algorithm for the management of patients with meningiomas of the skull base
ERLIQUIOSE CANINA PRECEDIDA POR DESCOLAMENTO DE RETINA: RELATO DE CASO
Authors: Maia Valéssia Kelly Miranda , Teles José Andreey Almeida , Furtado Gil Dutra
Published: December 2020

No dia 21-03-16, foi atendida no consultório veterinário da “VM RURAL” uma cadela, raça labrador, idade 3 anos, pesando 20 kg, com erliquiose canina que culminou num descolamento de retina causando cegueira. O método diagnóstico utilizado foi o clínico, associado ao diagnóstico laboratorial através do hemograma e pesquisa de hemoparasitos que auxiliou na confirmação desta doença. A conduta terapêutica baseou-se na administração de doxiciclina, na dosagem de 10mg/kg, via oral, durante 30 dias, uma vez ao dia. Posteriormente associou com dipropionato de imidocarb na dose de 5mg/kg subcutânea, seguida de outra administração duas semanas depois. Com a administração da doxiciclina o paciente reagiu bem, mas o hematócrito não atingia o valor referencial, após as duas aplicações do imidocarb o paciente continuou estável e o hematócrito atingiu a concentração desejada. A efetivação desse estudo pretende alertar para a gravidade dos sinais oftálmicos causados pela erliquiose, objetivando assim o diagnóstico precoce, para que o paciente seja tratado corretamente e em tempo hábil, evitando quadros mais graves como o que ocorreu com esse paciente acima mencionado. Além da conscientização da importância da prevenção, principalmente em locais de grande concentração de animais que possui alta chance de infestação por carrapatos, um complicante é a inexistência de vacina contra esta enfermidade. A erliquiose canina deve ser sempre pesquisada e alvo de estudo, por ser uma doença cosmopolita, por dispor de um vetor de difícil erradicação e por possuir importância na saúde pública, já que nas últimas décadas passou a ser considerada uma zoonose.
ANÁLISE MULTITEMPORAL DO USO E OCUPAÇÃO DA TERRA NA MICROBACIA DO RIACHO SERTÃOZINHO, PARAÍBA, BRASIL: SUBSÍDIOS PARA O PLANEJAMENTO AMBIENTAL
Authors: Gomes Victor Fellipe dos Santos , Oliveira Niara Isis Pereira de , Almeida Nadjacleia Vilar
Published: December 2020

Nas imediações da microbacia do Riacho Sertãozinho é notório a expansão de ocupações urbanas irregulares e ao longo da drenagem inúmeros usos da terra. A microbacia hidrográfica estudada é caracterizada por um rio intermitente e enquadra-se como Área de Preservação Permanente (APP). O objetivo do presente estudo é analisar o processo de urbanização na Área de Preservação Permanente na microbacia do Riacho Sertãozinho, município de Mamanguape, PB. Para isso, foram utilizadas técnicas de fotointerpretação com imagens do Google Earth Pro, da delimitação da microbacia hidrográfica que terá como finalidade identificar juntamente com o processo histórico como ocorreu a dinâmica espaço-temporal do uso e ocupação da terra na APP. Com os levantamentos realizados foi possível averiguar que houve degradação no entorno do rio, considerando também a APP situada no local. Contudo, nota-se que as principais problemáticas encontradas na microbacia do Riacho Sertãozinho são reflexo do uso e ocupação irregular da terra, sendo o PRAD importante para recuperação do equilíbrio ecológico local.
DESTINATION BRANDING PANTAI BLIMBINGSARI SEBAGAI SENTRA KULINER IKAN BAKAR DI KABUPATEN BANYUWANGI
Authors: Putra Adetiya Prananda
Published: December 2020

Blimbingsari beach is one of a kind of Banyuwangi’s beach that have a high potential on grilled fish special culinary aspect This beach became the pioneer of Banyuwangi’s very first seafood and grilled fish restaurant with ‘lesehan’ type, and that was the brand was formed ever since. Thus also makes the image of Blimbingsari skyrocket and built perspective of tourists for years and the paradigm brings many people to come and try the dish by themselves. However,  Blimbingsari beach has not optimalize the brand identity they have and has no tagline or destination icon to increase the branding yet. The main purpose of this research is to formulate of priority strategies of Blimbingsari destination branding as a grilled fish culinary center which lies in Banyuwangi.This research is using qualitative descriptive with SWOT  analysis and  AHP for making desicion in a path of top priority strategies. And the result itself, shows that the culinary potential has been being built by brand and long-journey tourist perspective, the taste of the grilled fish itself, best price dishes and comfortable ambiance. The highest strenght factor owned Blimbingsari beach is having a strategic location, the main weakness factor is inadequate food utensils. The major opportunity of factor is the sinergy between to communities to increase regional profit and the main threat factor is the emergence of new competitors. In addition, this research also produced five priority strategies.
Effects of adapted language materials in teaching listening on improving students’ English listening skill
Authors: The Binh Nguyen
Published: December 2020

So far the students of Le Hong Phong Junior High School, Phan Rang - Thap Cham City, Ninh Thuan province have been taught listening comprehension with textbook-based language materials which are too obsolete. Therefore, the students are often fed up with listening lessons; thus, their listening skill fails to improve after studying listening with textbooks for many years. Stimulated by this reality, the current study was carried out to investigate the effects of the adaptation of language materials in teaching listening on students' achievement of listening skill development. To obtain the above target, a conceptual framework of teaching listening with adapted language materials was developed. This framework was based on the theories of teaching listening and the implementation of language materials adaptation in listening skill instruction. Following the shaped conceptual framework, a training program with six listening lessons within the prescribed curriculum of ``Tiếng Anh 8'' by the MoET was conducted. The treatment lasted nearly four months from the middle of August 2018 to the end of November 2018 at Le Hong Phong Junior High School, Phan Rang - Thap Cham City, Ninh Thuan province. The results of the current study have shown that after the treatment of listening instruction with adapted language materials, students' achievement was proved to be significant in improving their listening skill. Also, teaching listening with adapted language materials got positive attitudes from the students. That is to say, adapted language materials were effective in improving students' listening skill development. Also, all the adapted listening texts and follow-up tasks highly met students' satisfaction. Accordingly, two major conclusions could be withdrawn from the findings that language materials adaptation was effective in (1) improving the students' listening skill, and (2) enhancing their interest in the listening lessons.
SIGNIFICANCE OF INTERARM PRESSURE DIFFERENCE AND STRESS- A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN POLICE WORKER
Authors: Raju Somesh , Kumari Rina , Tiwari Sunita , Verma NS
Published: December 2020

Background: Interarm pressure difference more than 10 mm of Hg is predictor of cardiovascular and metabolic risk. There is high prevalence of obesity and stress in police personnel because of stressful working environment. With this background the present study conducted to access the relation of interarm blood pressure difference with stress in police personnel.
Aims and Objective: To assess the prevalence of stress among police personnel and to see its association with interarm pressure difference.
Material and Method: This cross-sectional observational study done on 245 police worker in PAC, Sitapur, India. Subjects having more than ten years of working experience were included in study. Anthropometric measurements of subject recorded by following standard protocol. Measurement of systolic pressure in both arm recorded simultaneously by mercury sphygmomanometer. Occupation related stress was measured by using preformed police stress questionnaire, each having 20 items. Result expressed as mild, moderate or severe stress. Available data analyse and expressed in percentage, mean with SD and chi square test to see the significance of association.
Results: Study result showed that 34.29 percent of subjects showed abnormally high (?10 mmHg) inter-arm systolic blood pressure difference and shows high significant association with duration of service and with stress of police personnel.  
Conclusion: Interarm blood pressure difference is greater in individual having stress or prolong duration of service. Such subjects are more susceptible to develop cardiovascular or metabolic disorder in future. Early screening can help to detect the vascular events likely to occur in the future
Keywords: Body mass index, Interarm pressure difference, Stress, shift worker
Comparing the Antinociceptive Effects of Methamphetamine, Buprenorphine, or Both After Chronic Treatment and Withdrawal in Male Rats
Authors:   Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Etaee Farshid ,   Urogenital Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Rezvani-Kamran Arezoo ,   Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Taheri Mohammad ,   Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Omidi Ghazaleh ,   Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran., Hasanein Parisa ,   Department of Biology, School of Sciences, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran., Komaki Alireza ,   Neurophysiology Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
Published: December 2020

Introduction: Methamphetamine (Meth) and Buprenorphine (BUP) modulate pain perception. However, the antinociceptive effects of their interactions, which affect through different systems, are unclear in rats. This study aimed to compare the analgesic effects of Meth, BUP, and their coadministration, as well as the effect of withdrawal from these substances on nociception in male rats. Methods: In this experiment, 40 male Wistar rats (weight: 250-300 g) were categorized into four groups: control, Meth, BUP, or BUP+Meth. After seven days of treatments, the antinociceptive effects were assessed using the hot plate and the tail flick tests. The differences among the groups were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: Meth and BUP increased the reaction times during the hot plate and tail flick tests. The combination of Meth and BUP increased reaction time more than Meth or BUP alone.  Conclusion: The significantly high reaction times in rats treated with Meth and BUP indicate that these substances have antinociceptive effects. In addition, Meth enhanced the antinociceptive effects of BUP. These synergistic effects might occur through the dopaminergic, serotonergic, and or adrenergic systems.
Larger Volume and Different Activation of the Brain in Response to Threat in Military Officers
Authors:   Department of Radiology, Faculty of Paramedicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., Batouli Seyed Amir Hossein , Saba Valiallah ,   Department of Radiology, Faculty of Paramedicine, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Published: December 2020

Introduction: Military missions involve stressful and life-threatening situations; however, soldiers should have a healthy cognition on the battlefield despite their high-stress levels. This is an ability that should be gained during prior military training. Successful and influential training is suggested to be associated with structural and functional improvements of the brain. Methods: This study investigated the pattern of brain activation while observing videos relevant to life-threatening situations, in addition to brain structure. Accordingly, the obtained data were compared between 20 military members and 26 healthy controls. The study participants were all male, aged between 19 to 24 years, right-handed, studying BSc, and from the same socioeconomic status. Results: The obtained data presented a larger volume in a total number of 1103 voxels of the brain (in 5 brain areas) in the military group. Furthermore, the military group suggested higher brain activation in the visual processing areas of the brain when observing real combat videos; however, this increment was mostly in the areas associated with motor processing and executive functions in the controls. Conclusion: This study indicated that military training is associated with positive structural changes in the brain. Besides, it provided a different brain activation in response to stressful situations. These findings highlighted the importance of qualified military training.
Patient Satisfaction With the Quality of Health Services Provided by Public Hospitals in Rasht, Iran
Authors:   Professor, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Health and Environment Research Center, School of Health, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran, Mehrabian Fardin , Hemmati Nodoust Gilani Mahnaz ,   Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, School of Management, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran, Almaee Alireza ,   Graduate, public administration, Payame Noor University of Iran, Rasht, Iran
Published: December 2020

This article has no abstract.
Internet Addiction and Its Relationship with Family Functioning in High School Students
Authors:   Nursing (MSN), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran, Harsej Zahra , Mokhtari Lakeh Nasrin ,   Instructor, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran, Sheikholeslami Farzaneh ,   Instructor, Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran, KazemnezhadLeili Ehsan ,   Associate Professor, Biostatistics,Social Determinants of Health Research Center (SDHRC), Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
Published: December 2020

Introduction: Family-related factors play an important role in adolescent’s addiction to the Internet. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between Internet addiction and family functioning in high school students. Materials and Methods: This is an analytical study with a cross-sectional design conducted on 796 high school students in Rasht city, Iran who were selected using multi-stage cluster random sampling method. Data collection tools were a demographic form, the Young’s Internet Addiction Test, and the Family Assessment Device. Chi-Square test and rank-ordered logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. Results:The response rate of of students was 86.81%; 85.7% had at least two family members who were using the Internet; 71.2% of students had no addiction, 27.5% were exposed to Internet addiction and 1.3% had Internet addiction. The majority (65.0%) of studnets had unhealthy family functioning. The relationship between Internet addiction and family functioning was statistically significant (P=0,001). There was a significant statistical relationship between Internet addiction and family income (P= 0.003), fatherchr('39')s job (P=0.001), and duartion of internet usage per day (P=0.001). Logistic regression model showed that the family functioning score (OR=1.02, 95% CI;1.01-1.04, P=0.001), duration of Internet usage per day (OR=1.02, 95% CI;1.11-1.20, P=0.0001), and gender (male) (OR=1.02, 95% CI;1.26-2.58, P=0.001) significantly affected Internet addiction. Conclusion:Due to the direct statistical relationship between Internet addiction and family functioning, it is necessary to pay serious attention to the phenomenon of Internet addiction and make appropriate plans for adolescents and their families to use the Internet properly.