bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluating Rates of Chiropractic Use and Utilization by Patient Sex within the United States Veterans Health Administration: A Serial Cross-Sectional Analysis
Authors: Graham Sarah E , Coleman Brian C , Zhao Xiwen , Lisi Anthony J
Published: April 2023

Background Within the United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the number of patients using healthcare services has increased over the past several decades. Females make up a small proportion of overall patients within the VHA; however, this proportion is growing rapidly. Previous studies have described rates of VHA chiropractic use; however, no prior study assessed differences in use of utilization rates between male and female veterans. The purpose of this study was to assess rates of use and utilization of chiropractic care by sex among VHA patients receiving care at VHA facilities with on-station chiropractic clinics.Methods A serial cross-sectional analysis of VHA national electronic health record data was conducted in Fall 2021 for fiscal year (FY) 2005–2021. The cohort population was defined as VHA facilities with on-station chiropractic clinics, and facilities were admitted to the cohort after the first FY with a minimum of 500 on-station chiropractic encounters. Variables extracted included counts of unique users of any VHA on-station facility outpatient services, unique users of VHA on-station facility chiropractic services, number of chiropractic encounters, and by sex. Use was calculated as the rate of patients of each sex receiving chiropractic services out of total patients of the same sex within each facility, and utilization was calculated as the number of chiropractic care visits by patient per FY. Linear mixed effects models were applied to examine the difference in chiropractic care utilization by sex.Results The percentage of female VHA on-station chiropractic patients increased from 11.7–17.7% from FY2005–FY2021. Among VHA facilities with on-station chiropractic care, the percentage of female VHA healthcare users who used chiropractic care (mean = 2.3%) was greater than the percentage of male VHA healthcare users who used chiropractic care (mean = 1.1%). Rates of chiropractic utilization by sex among VHA facilities with on-station chiropractic clinics were similar between males (median = 4.1 visits per year, mean = 4.6) and females (median = 4.3 visits per year, mean = 4.9).Conclusion On-station VHA chiropractic services use was higher for female patients than their male counterparts, yet overall remains low. There were no differences in chiropractic utilization rates between sexes.
Heterologous Expression and Characterization of ToxA1 haplotype from India and its interaction with Tsn1 for Spot Blotch Susceptibility in spring wheat
Authors: Chaubey Ranjan Kumar , Thakur Dharamsheela , Navathe Sudhir , Sharma Sandeep , Mishra Vinod Kumar , Singh Pawan Kumar , Chand Ramesh
Published: April 2023

Background: ToxA a necrotrophic effector protein, is known to be present in the genome of fungal species like Parastagnospora nodorum, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis and Bipolaris sorokiniana. Tsn1 is the sensitivity gene in the host whose presence indicates more susceptibility to ToxA carrying pathogen, and ToxA-Tsn1 delivers an inverse gene-for-gene relationship.
Methods and Results: The present study involved cloning and expressing the ToxA1 gene from B. sorokiniana. It was found that the amplicon exhibited an expected product size of 471 bp. Sequence analysis of the ToxA1 nucleotide sequence revealed the highest identity, 99.79%, with Py. tritici-repentis. The protein expression analysis showed peak expression at 16.5kDa. Phylogenetic analysis of ToxA1 sequence from all the Bipolaris isolates formed independent clade along with Py. tritici-repentis and diverged from P. nodorum. ToxA-Tsn1 interaction was studied in 18 wheat genotypes (11 Tsn1 and 7 tsn1) at both the seedling and adult stage, validating the inverse gene-for-gene relationship, as the toxin activity was highest in the K68 genotype (Tsn1) and lowest in WAMI280 (tsn1).
Conclusion: The study indicates that the haplotype ToxA1 is prevailing in the Indian population of B. sorokiniana. It would be desirable for wheat breeders to select genotypes with tsn1 locus for making wheat resistant to spot blotch.
Combined serum albumin, fecal immunochemical test, and leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein levels for predicting prognosis in remitting patients with ulcerative colitis
Authors: Nakamura Naohiro , Honzawa Yusuke , Nishimon Shuhei , Sano Yasuki , Kobayashi Sanshiro , Aoi Mamiko , Tahara Tomomitsu , Fukata Norimasa , Fukui Toshiro , Yagi Naoto , Tokutomi Yutaro , Ito Yuka , Naganuma Makoto
Published: April 2023

This study investigated the usefulness serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein (LRG) and fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for predicting relapse in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Data of 194 patients tested for LRG between January 2020 and June 2022 were retrospectively collected and clinical characteristics were recorded. Evaluation of correlations between LRG, FIT, clinical severity as reflected by the partial Mayo score and other biomarkers, revealed that LRG is strongly correlated with CRP levels and FIT was not correlated with CRP and albumin level. moderately correlated with albumin levels. As the partial Mayo score increased, the LRG level gradually increased. Regarding usefulness of LRG, FIT and other markers on prediction of relapse in remitting patients with UC. Although the median serum albumin and FIT were significantly different between patients with or without clinical relapse, the LRG level was not associated with clinical relapse. The cumulative remission rate was higher in patients with lower LRG than in patients with higher LRG, even when the serum albumin level was less than 4.4 mg/mL. Patients with both a lower LRG and FIT tended to have lower relapse rates than those in the other groups. Our study indicated that serum albumin level is useful for predicting relapse, even in remitting outpatients. Although LRG is not an independent factor for predicting clinical relapse, it is useful for identifying patients that are unlikely to relapse when combined serum albumin or FIT results.
The nexus between pollution and income inequality: the role of education, corruption, and industrial output
Authors: Frutos-Bencze Dinorah , Bukkavesa Kanix , Satimanon Monthien
Published: April 2023

Our study aims to refine and extend the understanding of the nexus between different pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), PM 2.5, and methane (CH4) emissions, income inequality, and living adequacy thresholds. The study also elucidates the living adequacy threshold variable to determine whether people have an adequate standard of living. Thus, the analysis of both income inequality ratios and living adequacy thresholds provides a more accurate picture of the living and social conditions of the population in a country. In addition, this study considers education levels, perceived corruption, and selected industrial output measures. The fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) methodology provides various configurations for 2018. Our findings suggest that the levels of CO2 emissions are not influenced by income inequality and living adequacy thresholds in middle to upper-income countries. However, PM2.5 and CH4 emissions are impacted by high-income inequality and low living adequacy thresholds in low to middle-income countries.
JEL classification codes: D63, D31, I32, N30, Q53
Assessment of Educational Intervention Impact on Improving Pharmacovigilance Knowledge Among Health Care Providers: a Study From Different Hospitals in Tanzania
Authors: Muro Eva P. , Semvua Hadija Hamisi , Mwamwitwa Kissa W. , Fimbo Adam M. , Kisenge Seth H. , Shiletiwa Nellin , Harmark Linda , Moretti Ugo , Lora Riccardo , Venegoni Mauro , Sabaini Alberto , Schievano Francesco , Venegoni Mauro , Boer Marion Sumari-de , Mmbaga Blandina , Magro Lara
Published: April 2023

Introduction Under-reporting of adverse drug reactions is a major challenge in Tanzania. It is important to educate the health care providers about pharmacovigilance in order to improve the reporting rate. Objectives: We conducted a study with the objective of evaluating the impact of an educational intervention based on the knowledge on pharmacovigilance among healthcare providers in Tanzania. Methods: A pharmacovigilance e-blended learning method was used. Pre and post-test, courses were the basic concepts in Pharmacovigilance and the safety of Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs. Descriptive analyses were run to determine the proportions of the correct and wrong answers for pre and post training. Results A total of 118 (72%) completed the pre-and post-test for both the first and the second courses. There was an increase in the correct answers in the post-test to every question. The median score of pre-intervention for knowledge about basic pharmacovigilance increased from 5 (range 4–7) in pre-test to 8 (range 7–9) in post-test. The median score for anti-TB drug safety issues monitoring and management increased from 4 (range 4–6) in pre-test to 7 (range 7–9) in post-test. Conclusion The findings of this study showed that knowledge scores and correct answers were increased following an educational intervention among HCP.
Stochastic SIRI epidemic model with global incidence rate and relapse
Authors: Harchaoui Bilal , Boutouil Saloua , Settati Adel , Lahrouz Aadil , Idrissi Mourad El , Jarroudi Mustapha El
Published: April 2023

We present a stochastic SIRI model with non-linear relapse and a global incidence rate g(S) I. Some verifiable sufficient conditions are established to ensure extinction and persistence. We also demonstrate the existence of a stationary distribution. Finally, we show some computer simulation examples to illustrate the theoretical findings.
Health disparities in COVID-19: Immune and vascular changes are linked to disease severity and persist in a high-risk population in Riverside County, California
Authors: Bergersen Kristina V. , Pham Kathy , Li Jiang , Ulrich Michael T. , Merrill Patrick , He Yuxin , Alaama Sumaya , Qiu Xinru , Harahap-Carrillo Indira S. , Ichii Keita , Frost Shyleen , Kaul Marcus , Godzik Adam , Heinrich Erica C. , Nair Meera G.
Published: April 2023

Background Disparities in COVID-19 disease outcomes exist in Hispanic individuals, especially those with pre-existing health conditions. Infected individuals can develop “long COVID” with sustained impacts on overall quality of life. The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 infection and long COVID in Hispanic individuals and identify immune and endothelial factors that are associated with COVID-19 outcomes.Methods 112 participants in Riverside County, California, were recruited and categorized according to the following criteria: healthy control (n = 23), moderate infection (outpatient, n = 33), and severe infection (hospitalized, n = 33). Differences in outcomes between Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals and presence/absence of comorbidities were evaluated. Circulating immune and vascular biomarkers and immune cell subsets were measured by ELISA, multiplex analyte assays, and flow cytometry. Follow-up assessments for long COVID, lung health, and immune and vascular changes were conducted (n = 23) including paired analyses of the same participants.Results Compared to uninfected controls, the severe infection group had a higher proportion of Hispanic individuals (n = 23, p = 0.012), but there was no difference between uninfected controls and those with moderate infection (n = 8, p = 0.550). Disease severity was associated with changes in innate monocytes and neutrophils and lymphopenia, disrupted cytokine production (increased IL-8 and IP-10/CXCL10 but reduced IFNλ2/3 and IFNγ), and increased endothelial injury (myoglobin, VCAM-1). In the severe infection group, integration of parameters through machine learning identified NGAL/LCN2, IL-6, and monocyte activation as parameters associated with fatality, whereas anti-coagulant therapy was linked to survival. Recovery from moderate COVID infection resulted in long-term immune changes including increased monocytes/lymphocytes and decreased neutrophils and endothelial markers. This group had a lower proportion of comorbidities (n = 8, p = 1.0) but still reported symptoms associated with long COVID despite recovered lung health.Conclusion This study indicates increased severity of COVID-19 infections in Hispanic individuals of Riverside County, California. Infection resulted in immunological and vascular changes and long COVID symptoms that were sustained for up to 11 months, however, lung function (volume and airflow resistance) was recovered. Given the behavioral and immune impacts of long COVID, the potential for increased susceptibility to infections and decreased quality of life, especially in high-risk populations, warrants further investigation.
Improvement of growth and physiological characteristics and antioxidant enzyme activity under drought stress in almond (Prunus dulcis L.) using selected promising almond genotypes
Authors: Gohari Shabnam , Imani Ali , Talaei AliReza , Abdosi Vahid , Asghari Mohamad Reza
Published: April 2023

The scarcity of water is a primary obstacle to the growth and performance of horticultural crops. In this study, the physiological and developmental response of promising almond genotypes under deficit irrigation was investigated. This research was conducted as a factorial experiment consisting of two factors in a completely randomized design with three replications during 2019 and 2020, at the Temperate Fruit Research Center, Horticultural Research Institute. The first factor was almond genotype at ten levels, and the second factor was drought stress at three levels. The results showed that growth (such as plant height, trunk diameter at the top of the plant, length of new branch growth, leaf yellowness) and physiological characteristics such as chlorophyll index based on the SPAD criterion, relative leaf water content, chlorophyll fluorescence and activity of leaf enzymes including SOD, POD, CAT and APX. according to the type of genotype in the conditions of drought stress were different. Among the traits studied, higher proline, RWC and FV/Fm indicated a higher ability to tolerate drought stress in almonds. According to the results of the present study, for instance, drought stress has a significant effect on photochemical efficiency (FV/Fm) of 10 selected almond genotypes. So that, the AH1-99 genotype with 0.585 shows the lowest value and the A-7-100 genotype with 0.751 has the highest value. These results indicate that genotypes, A-7-100, A-100-13, and A-100-8 has more tolerance and adaptation to drought stress than other genotypes respectively. These genotypes are considered for further evaluation to confirm the varieties in order to recommend them for general cultivation in farmer's fields in drought-affected areas. The drought-sensitive genotypes, AH1-99 and A-124-1 were also identified in the present study, which are rich assets to be used as contrasting parents in hybridization programs.
An electrochemical aptasensor based on catalytic hairpin self-assembly and co-amplification of AuPd/Fe-MOF and Au/Cu2O for ultrasensitive detection of Cd2+
Authors: He Jintao , Zhang Baozhong , Tian Panpan , Li Ying , Liu Xiaolong , Ma Xinyue , Lin Min , Zhu Huina , Chen Hanyu , Li Liping , He Baoshan
Published: April 2023

Cadmium, as a typical heavy metal, is not required by the human body, which can cause damage to the liver and kidneys when it enters the body. Therefore, the rapid detection of cadmium in the environment is crucial. In this study, a sensitive dual hairpin (HP) electrochemical aptasensor with AuPd/Fe-MOF as the signal labels and Au/Cu2O as the substrate material was constructed for the rapid detection of divalent cadmium ions (Cd2+) using catalytic hairpin self-assembly (CHA) as the recognition strategy. Au/Cu2O increased the specific surface area of the electrode and provided a large number of attachment sites for capturing the probe complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (CDNA), while the electrochemical signal was amplified by the synergistic catalytic hydrogen peroxide with AuPd/Fe-MOF, which improved the aptasensor sensitivity. In addition, the dual HP design reduced the probability of non-specific capture and decreased the generation of false positives. The study used scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe the morphological characteristics of the material, energy eispersive spectrometer (EDS) and x-ray difraction (XRD) to analyze the elemental composition and distribution of the material, cyclic voltammetry (CV) to study the electrochemical behavior of the sensor, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to study the assembly process of the aptasensor, and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) to study the performance of the aptasensor. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the constructed sensor was able to achieve effective detection of Cd2+ in the range of 10-4−10 μM with a detection limit as low as 2.27×10-5 μM, and demonstrated its feasibility in the detection of actual water samples.
Physical origins of canonical and tautomeric mutagenesis
Authors: Pietruszka Mariusz , Lipowczan Marcin
Published: April 2023

The problem of the origin of canonical and aberrant DNA mutations and the contribution of protons encoding DNA to genetic stability is an essential topic in molecular biology. Based on the empirical results, we reconsidered canonical and tautomeric mutations under the two-fluid model of quantum physics. We assumed that the proton-induced pressure of the DNA environment could change the concentration ratio between canonical and tautomeric base pairs, which were found to be different at and beyond the criticality level, respectively. We anticipate that the deviation of the cellular system from a specific (critical) temperature at which dynamic entropy reaches a minimum and a critical pH occurs may be the source of point mutations leading to tautomerization.
Role of MicroRNAs and their Downstream Target Transcription Factors in Zebrafish Thrombopoiesis
Authors: Qaryoute Ayah Al , Fallatah Weam , Dhinoja Sanchi , Raman Revathi , Jagadeeswaran Pudur
Published: April 2023

Previous studies have shown that human platelets and megakaryocytes carry microRNAs suggesting their role in platelet function and megakaryocyte development, respectively. However, a comprehensive study on the microRNAs and their targets has not been undertaken. Zebrafish thrombocytes could be used as a model to study their role in megakaryocyte maturation and platelet function because thrombocytes have both megakaryocyte features and platelet properties. In our laboratory, we identified 15 microRNAs in thrombocytes using single-cell RNA sequencing. We knocked down each of these 15 microRNAs by the piggyback method and found knockdown of three microRNAs,mir-7148, let-7b, andmir-223in adult zebrafish led to an increase in the percentage of thrombocytes. Functional thrombocyte analysis using plate tilt assay showed no modulatory effect of the three microRNAs on thrombocyte aggregation/agglutination. We also found enhanced thrombosis using arterial laser thrombosis assay in a group of zebrafish larvae aftermir-7148, let-7b, andmir-223knockdowns. These results suggestedmir-7148, let-7b, andmir-223are repressors for thrombocyte production. We then explored miRWalk database forlet-7bdownstream targets and then selected those that are expressed in thrombocytes, and from this list based on their role in differentiation selected 14 genes,rorca, tgif1, rfx1a, deaf1, zbtb18, mafba, cebpa, spi1a, spi1b, fhl3b, ikzf1, irf5, irf8, andlbx1bthat encode transcriptional regulators. The qRT-PCR analysis of expression levels of the above genes followinglet-7bknockdown showed changes in the expression of 13 targets. We then studied the effect of the 13 targets on thrombocyte production and identified 5 genes,irf5, tgif1, irf8, cebpa, androrcathat showed thrombocytosis and one gene,ikzf1that showed thrombocytopenia. Furthermore, we tested whethermir-223regulates any of the above 13 transcription factors aftermir-223knockdown using qRT-PCR. Six of the 13 genes showed similar gene expression as observed withlet-7bknockdown and 7 genes showed opposing results. Thus, our results suggested a possible regulatory network in common with bothlet-7bandmir-223. We also identified thattgif1, cebpa, ikzf1, irf5,irf8, andikzf1play a role in thrombopoiesis. Since theikzf1gene showed a differential expression profile inlet-7bandmir-223knockdowns but resulted in thrombocytopenia inikzf1knockdown in both adults and larvae we also studied anikzf1mutant and showed the mutant had thrombocytopenia. Taken together, these studies showed that thrombopoiesis is controlled by a network of transcription regulators that are regulated by multiple microRNAs in both positive and negative manner resulting in overall inhibition of thrombopoiesis.
Sensitivity Improvement of Bimetallic Layer-Based SPR Biosensor Using ZnO and Black Phosphorus
Authors: Wang Shutao , Zhang Jinqing , Liu Na , Wan Jincong
Published: April 2023

In this paper, a brand-novel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor structure built by bimetallic layers (Ag, Al2O3), zinc oxide (ZnO), and black phosphorus (BP) is proposed. The incident light wavelength is 633nm. The angular sensitivity (S), detection accuracy (DA), the figure of merit (FoM), and electric field strength of the proposed construction and other constructions are numerically investigated and compared. To optimize the sensor's performance, the influence of the thickness of each layer on the proposed construction’s performance was simulated. The proposed construction utilizes the large surface-to-volume ratio of ZnO along with the high biomolecule adsorption of BP for sensing performance improvement. It is found that the proposed sensing structure’s highest sensitivity of 400 °/RIU, that's 294.75% higher than the conventional silver-based sensor. This sensing structure might provide ideas for the construction of precision detection suited SPR sensors.
Economic Efficiency Analysis of Rice Production in Fogera District, South Gondar Zone of Amara Regional State, Ethiopia
Authors: Abate Tadesse Wudu , Ali Mohammed Yimam , Ayele Getachew Abebaw , Sitotaw Khalid Wendimnew
Published: April 2023

The study examined the level of efficiency of rice producers and investigates the determinants of allocative and economic efficiency in Fogera district of Ethiopia. for the successful accomplishment of the study, we use multistage sampling technique to select 153 rice producers and data had been collected using interview and questioners for 2018 production season. The mean technical, allocative and economic efficiencies were 79%, 86% and 68% respectively. The estimation result from Tobit regression result revealed that age and sex were the variables that affect allocative inefficiency positively and significantly while education and experience influences allocative inefficiency negatively and significantly. Similarly economic inefficiency was positively and significantly influenced by age, sex and extension service while training affects economic inefficiency negatively and significantly. Thus, the researcher recommended policies targeting institutional improvements (training, education and membership of farmer associations) and focusing on experience of farmers would improve farmer’s efficiency in rice production.
Human induced pluripotent stem cell culture on a non-coated dish using medium supplemented with milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8
Authors: Nakashima Yoshiki , Tsukahara Masayoshi
Published: April 2023

We propose a method of conditioning medium for non-coated dishes of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) by adding milk fat globule epidermal growth factor 8 (MFG-E8) (1-2 μg/mL) and 5%-10% gelatin solution (1.0 mg/mL) to medium (MFGE8-G). hiPSCs cultured in MFGE8-G StemFit Ak03 and CTS Essential 8 Medium showed cell adhesion. In a multiomics analysis, hiPSCs cultured in MFGE8-G showed an elevated expression of integrins, especially integrin α5β1. The expression of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a cell cycle-regulating serine/threonine kinase, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase was increased in hiPSCs cultured on iMatrix-511. An mRNA expression analysis of histone methyltransferases and demethyltransferases revealed that hiPSCs cultured in MFGE8-G had an increased expression of SET And MYND Domain Containing 2, a methyltransferase for H3H4 and H3K36, and EZH2, a methyltransferase for H3K27. Conversely, the expression of H3K9, H3K20, and H3K36 demethylases was generally higher in hiPSCs cultured on iMatrix-511. A master regulation analysis revealed that integrin α5β1, fibroblast growth factor receptor, and protein phosphatase 1 were activated in hiPSCs cultured in MFGE8-G. The hiPSCs cultured on iMatrix-511 showed upregulated Mitogen-activated protein kinase 2 and the DNA checkpoint protein Cdc25. hiPSCs cultured on MFGE8-G demonstrated integrin-mediated cell adhesion of MFG-E8 with gelatin.
Epidemiology, clinical characteristics and risk factors for severity of chronic disseminated candidiasis in Jerusalem
Authors: Cohen Nerel , Orenbuch-Harroch Efrat , Olshtain-Pops Karen , Lachish Tamar , Korem Maya
Published: April 2023

Chronic disseminated candidiasis (CDC) occurs mostly in patients with acute hematologic malignancy and its clinical manifestations derive from immune reconstitution following neutrophil recovery. The aim of this study was to describe epidemiological and clinical characteristics of CDC and define risk factors for disease severity. Demographic and clinical data were collected from medical files of patients with CDC hospitalized in two tertiary medical centers in Jerusalem between 2005 and 2020. Associations between different variables and disease severity were evaluated, as well as characterization of Candida species. The study included 35 patients. CDC incidence increased during study years and the average number of involved organs and disease duration was 3 and 178 days, respectively. Candida grew in blood in less than third of cases and the most common isolated pathogen was Candida tropicalis (50%). Histopathological or microbiological workup in patients who underwent an organ biopsy demonstrated Candida in about half of the patients. Nine months after starting antifungals, 43% of the patients still didn't have resolution of organ lesions in imaging modalities. Factors associated with protracted and extensive disease were prolonged fever prior to CDC and absence of candidemia. A CRP cutoff level of 7.18 mg/dL was found to predict extensive disease. In conclusion, CDC incidence is increasing and the number of involved organs is higher than previously described. Clinical factors such as fever duration prior to CDC and absence of candidemia can predict severe course of disease and assist in treatment decisions and follow-up planning.
Niosomal Curcumin Inhibited Gliomagenesis-Related Markers in U87 Cell Line
Authors: Tondro Gholamhossein , Mohammadi Ali , Rajabzadeh Ghadir , Moradi Hamid Reza , Negah Sajad Sahab
Published: April 2023

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an extremely aggressive primary brain tumor that is characterized by a poor prognosis. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of curcumin-loaded niosome nanoparticles (CM-NP) in comparison with free curcumin (CM) on U87 MG, a glioblastoma cell line. Both CM and CM-NP caused a time- and dose-dependent decline in the cell proliferation of U87 MG. Our findings indicated that the percentage of apoptotic cells in the CM group were 11.49 and 84.42 at 24 and 48 hours, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of late apoptotic cells significantly increased from 47.23 at 24 h to 95 at 48 h in the CM-NP group. Annexin/PI staining of U87 MG cells treated with CM-NP at the IC50 concentration uncovered that most cells were in the apoptotic cell death mode. In addition, the migration of U87 MG cells assessed by the stretch model was significantly inhibited by CM-NP compared to the CM group. Our data also indicated that CM-NP could significantly increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) compared with CM. Surprisingly, CM-NP exerted significant anti-tumor activities by inhibiting the production of IL1β and TGFβ and decreasing the expression of NFκ-B and STAT3 at the mRNA levels compared to the CM. Overall, CM-NP showed anti-GBM activity in the U87 cell line by increasing apoptotic cell death, and ROS production as well as decreasing the expression of tumor progression-related markers. Therefore, our results suggest that CM-NP may be a promising nano-drug candidate for treatment in the field of GBM therapy.
Clinical study of modified INFIX combined with sacroiliac joint screws for pelvic instable injuries
Authors: Zhao Peishuai , Li Renjie , Liu Leyu , Wang Xiaopan , Chen Xiaotian , Guan Jianzhong , Wu Min
Published: April 2023

Objective The INFIX technique is becoming one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures for anterior pelvic ring instability injuries. The purpose of this article is to compare the clinical outcomes of modified anterior subcutaneous internal fixation (M-INFIX) with conventional anterior subcutaneous internal fixation (C-INFIX) for anterior pelvic ring instability injuries.Patients and Methods: A retrospective analysis of 36 cases of unstable pelvic injuries treated operatively at our institution, 20 of which were treated with conventional INFIX and 16 with modified INFIX. Data collected included age, gender, ISS score, fracture typing, operative time, operative bleeding, postoperative complications, fracture healing time, Matta score, Majeed score, and follow-up time. Statistical sub-folding of each variable between the two groups was performed.Results There was no statistical difference between the C-INFIX and M-INFIX groups in terms of age, gender, ISS score, follow-up time, fracture typing, fracture healing time, and Majeed score (P > 0.05). the M-INFIX had a significantly lower incidence of postoperative complications than the C-INFIX group, especially in the incidence of Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) injury (P < 0.05). In contrast, the M-INFIX group had statistically higher operative time, intraoperative bleeding, and Matta score than the C-INFIX group (P < 0.05).Conclusion This study was based on a modified application of the surgical experience with conventional INFIX and showed better clinical outcomes in terms of complication rates and quality of repositioning than the conventional surgical approach. These findings indicate that further analytical studies of this study would be valuable.
A novel SVM Kernel Classifier Technique using Support Vector Machine for Breast Cancer Classification
Authors: Ghantasala G S Pradeep , Raparthi Yaswanth , B Venkateswarulu Naik. , Al-Rasheed Amal , Alqahtani Mohammed S. , Abbas Mohamed , Soufiene Ben Othman
Published: April 2023

Breast cancer prediction is an important topic in the field of healthcare. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women and early detection is critical for successful treatment. There are several methods for predicting breast cancer, including imaging studies, genetic testing, and risk assessment models. Early detection can greatly improve the chances of successful treatment and long-term survival. One approach to detecting breast cancer is to use machine learning algorithms such as support vector machine (SVM) classifiers. SVMs are a popular type of supervised learning algorithm that can be used for classification or regression analysis. To use SVMs for breast cancer classification, you need to first prepare the data by dividing it into training and testing sets. The training set is used to train the SVM model, and the testing set is used to evaluate the performance of the model. The SVM model learns to classify the data by adjusting the parameters of the kernel function. In this paper, the performance of Linear, Polynomial, Gaussian and Sigmoid machine-learning kernels in the Support Vector Machine method was investigated to determine which kernel classifier is better at diagnosing breast cancer. In addition, this study made usage of the Wisconsin Breast Cancer (Diagnostic) dataset that contains 569 occurrences and 32 features for analysis. The major objective of this study is to compare a variety of kernel classifiers to identify the one that provides the best accuracy. Linear kernel support vector machine was shown to have the highest accuracy (97.90%) and lowest false discovery rates in this investigation. In contrast, other kernels and classification algorithms show low performance, which may not be more accurate in breast cancer prediction.
Epidemiological characterization of hormonal receptor profiles and associated histopathological characteristics in Rwandan women with breast cancer: a retrospective study
Authors: Musanabaganwa Clarisse , Mazarati Jean Baptiste , Ruhangaza Deogratias , Nsabimana Nicaise , Kayitare Emmanuel , Muvunyi Thierry Zawadi , Semakula Muhammed , Ntirenganya Faustin , Emile Musoni , Ndoli Jules , Hategekimana Elisee , Nassir Angus , Makhoha Francis , Uwimana Aline , Gasana Joel , Munezero Pierre Celestin , Nyirazinyoye Laetitia , Muvunyi Claude Mambo , Mutesa Leon
Published: April 2023

Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in Rwanda. The knowledge of hormonal receptors and Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor − 2 (Her-2/Neu) profile remains crucial in the management of breast cancer, even in this –omics era. However, Immunohistochemistry staining and practice remains scarce in many hospital settings, especially in LMICS including Rwanda. This study aimed at determining the distribution of breast cancer molecular subtypes, and associated clinical outcome in Rwandan women.Methodology This study combined method consisting of an initial hospital-based epidemiological retrospective design to document the epidemiological data for breast cancer patients in Rwanda from January 2014 to June 2021. Records of patients with confirmed breast cancer were documented from 4 cancer centers of excellence in Rwanda.Results A high number of participants expressed estrogen receptor positive (55.6%) and HER2 was the lowest expressed receptor (33.1%). The triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) was more prevalent (37%), followed by luminal A (26%), HER2-enriched (24%) and luminal B (13%). These subtypes were found significantly different with regards to menopausal status, histological grades and hormonal therapy (p < 0.0001).Conclusion This study revealed that patients who got treatment, especially hormonal therapy have much more chances of living than those who haven’t gone under treatment. Moreover, aggressive histological type and grade were also overexpressed. These suggest the introduction of other targeted therapies, and inclusion of ‘omic’ technologies necessary to individual characteristics of molecular landscape to manage breast cancer patients, especially TNBC patients. Future research on genetic characterization using genomic sequencing will shed light on the associated variant genes for breast cancer personalized medicine.
Diversity of true bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) on common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in southern Slovakia
Authors: TOTH PETER , KRCHŇAVÁ Veronika , TÓTHOVÁ Monika
Published: April 2023

Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia Linnaeus 1800) is an exceptional invasive species. Information on true bugs occurring on ragweed plants is limited in the invasion region. The objective of this study was to determine the species composition of Heteroptera associated with A. artemisiifolia, assess their vectoring potential based on a literature review, and compare species similarity on the surveyed fields. Field surveys were conducted in 2020–2021 at 10 sites in southern Slovakia. Sweeping and visual observations were conducted in field margins, weedy agricultural fields, and mowed meadows infested with A. artemisiifolia. As part of the study, food specialization, abundance of each species, and their assignment to families were determined in detail. The Jaccard similarity index was used to evaluate the similarity of species composition among the sites studied. A total of 2,492 true bugs were recorded, representing 47 species of Heteroptera from 12 families. The most common phytophagous species were Nysius ericae ericae (Schilling 1829) (Pentatomomorpha, Lygaeidae), Adelphocoris lineolatus (Goeze 1778), Lygus rugulipennis (Poppius 1911), Lygus pratensis (Linnaeus 1758) (Cimicomorpha, Miridae), and a zoophagous species Nabis (Dolichonabis) limbatus (Dahlbom 1851) (Cimicomorpha, Nabidae). The similarity of species in paired localities was low, with highly migratory and polyphagous species dominating, able to cross the field from the adjacent landscape. A. artemisiifolia is a known host for plant viruses and phytoplasmas, and several Heteroptera species are carriers of these plant pathogens. Halyomorpha halys was the only detected carrier of phytoplasmas, and its abundance on A. artemisiifolia was extremely low.
Nutritional risk and lactate dehydrogenase: prognostic value for mortality and nosocomial infections in COVID-19 patients with respiratory distress syndrome.
Authors: Vinueza-Ortiz Diana , Gutiérrez-Salmeán Gabriela , Hernández-Ortega Marcela , Baldeón Manuel , Inda-Icaza Patricia
Published: April 2023

Background: In severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) may be used to assess severity and mortality in patients with respiratory distress due to COVID-19. Thus a new nutritional screening index is proposed: the NUTRIC Score-LDH, which combines the prognostic value of the mNUTRIC Score and LDH to timely identify patients with a higher risk of malnutrition and contribute to the restoration of health through adequate nutrition support.
Objective: The purpose of this study is to analyze the prognostic value of the combination of the mNUTRIC score with LDH to assess the risk of mortality and the development of infections in patients with COVID-19.
Methodology: A prospective observational study was performed in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who presented respiratory distress syndrome. Chi-squared test (X2) was performed to identify the association among indicators of nutritional risk (mNUTRIC Score and the mNUTRIC Score-LDH), mortality and the presence of infections.
Subsequently, prognostic values were determined and a Cox regression analysis was used to identify the risk of mortality adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, history of type II diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, and immunization for COVID-19.
Results: A total of 257 patients participated, 63.8% were male. Mortality reached 38.1% (89). In terms of nutritional risk, 31.9% (82) had a high NUTRIC Score-LDH. The relative risk of a high mNUTRIC Score-LDH in terms of mortality was 4.578 p<0.0001 with a 95% confidence interval (3.226-6.496), while a high mNUTRIC Score had a risk of 3.86 p<0.0001 with a 95% confidence interval (2.92-5.03). mNUTRIC Score-LDH, has a sensibility of 0.80 and a specificity of 0.82 versus mNUTRIC Score with a sensibility of 0.56 and a specificity of 0.95.
Conclusions: The NUTRIC Score-LDH is a valid indicator of the risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19 and respiratory distress syndrome who are at high risk of malnutrition.
Flower Pollination Optimization Algorithm with Stacked Temporal Convolution Network based Classification for financial anomaly Fraud Detection
Authors: N Krishnavardhan , M Govindarajan , S.V Achutha Rao
Published: April 2023

As internet use increases dramatically, an increasing number of industries, including the financial one, are operationalizing their services online. Due to the significant financial losses they cause, financial fraud is becoming a big issue as it spreads globally and grows in both volume and variety. Financial fraud detection systems should be used to identify dangers like unauthorized access and erratic assaults. During the last several years, this problem has been extensively addressed using machine learning and data mining approaches. These methods still need to be developed in order to cope with massive data, compute quickly, and spot new attack patterns. As a result, in this research, a deep learning-based approach based on the stacked temporal convolution network technique is provided for the identification of financial fraud. This model aims to improve both the efficiency and accuracy of existing detection methods in the context of large data. In addition, a flower pollination optimization process is incorporated for feature selection, which addresses any side effects that may result from choosing the best features. An actual dataset of credit card, loan, and insurance frauds is used to assess the proposed model, and the results are contrasted with those of current deep learning methods. The experimental results show that the suggested FPO_QCNN achieves 99.95%, 99.95%, 99.95% of accuracy for credit card, insurance and Mortgage Data set.
Interferon-stimulated gene GBP1 protects SMN2 from degradation
Authors: Xu Min , Lin Miaochun , Liu Jie , Zuo Juan , Li ZhaoHui
Published: April 2023

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is lethal autosomal recessive disease of muscle due to the pathogenic variations of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN) encoding the motor neuron (SMN1, MIM#600354). The mutations of SMN result in insufficient full-length of SMN protein, which leads to muscle atrophy and even respiratory involvement. No effective treatments are currently available. The SMN2 gene is a regulator of the phenotype and its copy number is associated with the severity of disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that the interferons and IRF-1 induce the expression of SMN. In the current study, we found that patients with more copies of SMN2 had higher levels of GBP1 in peripheral blood and the stability of SMN2 protein was better with the presence of guanylate-binding protein 1(GBP1). Therefore, the IFN-γ-induced GBP1 protects SMN2 from degradation. Our findings provided new insights into the treatment of SMA.
Relationship of adaptive expertise of health professions educators with age, experience, academic rank, and their work performance during an altered academic environment
Authors: Jayawardena Chantha K , Groenier Marleen , Nawarathna Lakshika S.
Published: April 2023

Background
Health professionals and health professions educators (HPEs) worldwide had to confront with the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted standard practice and forced HPEs to come up with creative, alternative modes for training and education. The ability of people to work successfully and efficiently in non-standard situations can be called adaptive expertise in which people quickly overcome changes in work requirements using their expert knowledge in novel ways. The objectives of the study were to investigate how the adaptive expertise of a group of HPEs influenced perceived work performance in a non-standard situation and to see whether there were any relationships between adaptive expertise and academic ranking and work experience of HPEs.
Methods
A descriptive, cross-sectional, single-site study was conducted using a self-reported study tool about adaptive expertise developed by Carbonell et al. (2016) and three questions about work performance, amount of work done and teaching quality. The sample consisted of HPEs from the University of Twente, Netherlands.
Results
Among 123 eligible participants, 40 individuals completed the survey. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity indicated the adequacy of the sample size (KMO= 0.633, P<0.0001). Participants were lecturers, senior lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and full professors. The Cronbach alpha value was 0.72, which measures the internal reliability of the tool. The average adaptive expertise score of the sample was 4.18±0.57 on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high). Professors showed higher adaptive expertise scores than the other ranks. Statistically significant correlations were found between scores of adaptive expertise and perceived work performance (ρ = 0.56, p < 0.001) and academic ranking (ρ = 0.35, p < 0.01). However, the adaptive expertise score was not associated with work experience or HPEs' age.
Conclusions
Our finding of a lack of relationships between self-reported level of adaptive expertise and experience and age but significant relationships with work performance and academic ranking of HPEs suggests that adaptive expertise is not auto-generated or acquired with seniority and experience automatically but is a skill that should be developed deliberately.
Nanoselenium attenuates renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats
Authors: Sadeghmanesh Farzaneh , Eidi Akram , Mortazavi Pejman , Oryan Shahrbanoo
Published: April 2023

Using selenium nanoparticles has received attention in recent years because of their therapeutic beneﬁts due to their anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inﬂammatory, and anti-diabetic effects. This research was conducted to evaluate the possible protective impact of nano-selenium (Nano-Se) on renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury using an animal model. Using clamping left renal pedicle within 45 min, I/R injury was induced. The animals were randomly divided into nine groups of control, nano-Se (0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/kg) alone, I/R control, and I/R rats administrated with nano-Se. Thirty days aftertreatment, animals were sacrificed to be assessed biochemically and histopathologically. Nano-Se in I/R groups signiﬁcantly decreased serum creatinine, urea levels, renal histological damage, and increased antioxidant status. Also, our findings demonstrated that the administration of nano-Se caused a significant increase in the expression of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in kidney tissue of I/R rats. Therefore, nano-Se possesses renoprotective effects, and this effect might be attributable to its antioxidant and free radical scavenger effects. These renoprotective eﬀects may depend on the increased EGF expression level in kidney tissue and improved the structure of the kidney tissue. Thus, our research provided biochemical and histological data supporting the potential clinical use of nano-Se for the treatment of certain kidney disorders.
Could the Trustworthiness in RAndomized Controlled Trials (TRACT) checklist be trusted?
Authors: Alinany Hesham G , Sobh Ahmed M , Galal Ahmed F , Elnomrosy  , Rezk Ahmed Y
Published: April 2023

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard study design in clinical effectiveness research, albeit some RCTs have been found to be fraudulent post-publication. The Trustworthiness in RAndomized Controlled Trials (TRACT) checklist examines RCT integrity through an assessment covering seven domains. While the authors claim that it can identify problematic trials, it has never been validated. A critical appraisal of the checklist highlights major failures in terms of health measurement methodology, including the arbitrary nature of items chosen. We applied the checklist to 16 RCTs coauthored by the checklist developer, and identified potential violations related to retrospective registration, ethical implications, authorship, methodology, implausible timeframes, zero participants to follow-up, implausible baseline characteristics, and excessive inter-group within trial as well as inter-trial similarities. In addition, we identified inconsistencies between the trials’ registration and data in the final published manuscripts. If we uncritically assume that the checklist is valid, then a formal institutional investigation into the trial portfolio its developer is warranted; especially targeting these 16 trials objectively shown to be problematic. The checklist should be considered as neither investigative nor conclusive of potential problems with RCTs until it is further refined and validated.