bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Serum Copeptin Level as a Predictor Marker of Pediatric Heart Failure Outcomes
Authors: Abdelaziz Alyaa Ahdy , Khattab Ahmed Anwer , Abdelmaksoud Mohammed Hossam , Ghazy Ramy Mohamed
Published: September 2021

Background: This study aimed to assess the role of copeptin as a diagnostic marker of heart failure (HF) and outcomes. Method: We randomly recruited 76 cardiac patients aged 1 month to 15 years and 65 control healthy children matched in age and sex. Based on plasma copeptin level, the study population were sub-grouped into quartiles (Q). Results: The mean age of cases and control was 40.52 ±34.35 months and 42.43 ±30.42 months respectively. Median copeptin level was higher among patients 16.80 (16.4) compared to control 8.00 (3.0), P<0.01. Copeptin level was not statistically significantly different in-between patients with different etiologies of HF, P =0.515. Total leukocytic count, platelets, serum sodium, inotropic score, and troponin were significantly correlated with copeptin quartile. Three-fourth of dead children were within the Q4, and 12.5 % were within the first one, P=0.214. Around 76.5% of patients who had multiorgan dysfunction were within the Q4 while 5.9% belonged to Q1, P=0.022. Of those who developed sepsis, 82.6% and 4.3% were located within Q4 and Q1, P<0.01. All patients who required mechanical ventilation were within Q4, P= 0.005. Conclusion: Plasma level of copeptin is elevated in pediatric HF regardless its etiology and can be used as a predictor of poor outcomes.
Systemic Treatment in Advanced Phyllodes Tumor of the Breast: A Multi-institutional European Retrospective Case-series Analyses
Authors: Palassini Elena , Mir Olivier , Grignani Giovanni , Vincenzi Bruno , Gelderblom Hanneke , Sebio Ana , Valverde Claudia , Baldi Giacomo Giulio , Brunello Antonella , Cardellino Giovanni Gerardo , Marrari Andrea , Badalamenti Giuseppe , Martin-Broto Javier , Ferraresi Virginia , Libertini Michela , Turano Salvatore , Gataa Ithar , Collini Paola , Tos Angelo Paolo Dei , Gennaro Massimiliano , Bini Federica , Provenzano Salvatore , Vullo Salvatore Lo , Mariani Luigi , Cesne Axel Le , Casali Paolo Giovanni
Published: September 2021

Background: We aimed at investigating outcome of systemic treatments in advanced breast PT. Methods: All cases of advanced breast PT treated with systemic treatments from 1999 to 2019, in one of the referral sarcoma centres involved in the study, were retrospectively reviewed. Results: 56 female patients were identified. Median age was 52 (range 25-76) years. Patients re-ceived a median number of 2 systemic treatments (range 1-4). Best responses according to RECIST were: 1 (3.7%) CR, 11 (40.7%) PR, 6 (22.2%) SD, 9 (33.3%) PD with anthracyclines plus ifosfamide (AI); 2 (16.7%) PR, 4 (33.3%) SD, 6 (50.0%) PD with anthracycline alone; 3 (18.8%) PR, 4 (25.0%) SD, 9 (56.3%) PD with high-dose ifosfamide given as a continuous infusion (HD-IFX); 3 (20.0%) SD, 12 (80.0%) PD with a gemcitabine-based regimen (with 2 patients not evaluable); 1 (8.3%) PR, 2 (16.7%) SD, 9 (75.0%) PD with trabectedin (with 1 patient not evaluable); 1 (16.7%) PR, 1 (16.7%) SD, 4 (66.7%) PD with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI). The median PFS were: 5.7 (IQR, 2.5-9.1) months with AI; 3.2 (IQR, 2.2-5.0) months with anthracycline alone; 3.4 (IQR, 1.4-6.7) months with HD-IFX; 2.1 (IQR, 1.4-5.2) months with gemcitabine-based chemotherapy; 1.8 (IQR, 0.7-6.6) months with trabectedin; 3.4 (IQR, 3.1-3.8) months with TKI. With a median follow-up of 35.3 (IQR, 17.6-66.9) months, OS from the start of first-line systemic treatment was 15.2 (IQR, 7.6-39.6) months. Conclusion: In this series of advanced PT (to our knowledge, the largest reported so far), AI was associated with a high rate of responses, however with a median PFS of 5.7 months. Other systemic treatments were poorly active.
An Approach of CA with M-RIPPER for Heart Disease Prediction
Authors: S Manimurugan , Almutairi Saad , Aborokbah Majed Mohammed , C Narmatha , Ganesan Subramaniam , AlzahebHani Riyadh A , Almoamari Hani
Published: September 2021

In the present world, mobile computing devices are popular and are identified in each aspect of life. This combination among computing and the present world is not restricted to the everyday life. The medical field was similarly concerned, where care is given in a wide scope of areas and conditions. The medical domain is continually being immersed with new kinds of innovations, including context-aware system and application. In this research, a context aware healthcare model based on IoT application is proposed. The smart medical devices are used to measure the data from the patients and store it in database. From the database, the patient’s information and medical records are considered as context aware data. For analyzing and classifying the data, the MRIPPER (Modified Repeated Incremental Pruning to Produce ErroR) algorithm is used. This algorithm is a rule-based machine learning algorithm. By using this algorithm, the rules are framed for the analysis of dataset for the prediction of heart disease. The performance analysis of the proposed model is experimented in MATLAB simulation tool. Further, the performance of the proposed model is compared with other existing models like J48, random forest, CART, OneR, and JRip algorithms. The proposed algorithm has achieved 98.89% accuracy, Precision is 96.76%, recall or sensitivity is 99.05%, specificity is 94.35%, and f-score is 97.60%. Overall, the proposed model has obtained 97.38% accuracy in predicting normal class and 97.93% in predicting abnormal class subjects.
Concomittant Liver Transplantation And Low Anterior Resection in Patient with Neuroendocrine Tumor and Chronic Hepatitis B Infection
Authors: Tuncer Adem , Öğüt Mehmet Zeki , Usta Sertac , Akbulut Sami , Sahin Tevfik Tolga , Yılmaz Sezai
Published: September 2021

Aim: The treatment of end-stage liver disease is liver transplantation. There are studies regarding liver transplantation in patients with colorectal cancer and neuroendocrine tumor liver metastasis indicating comparable results with patients who were transplanted for hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of the present study is to present a case of a patient with Hepatitis B virus related chronic liver disease and rectal neuroendocrine tumor who underwent concomitant living donor liver transplantation and low anterior resection. Case report: The patients was a 62 years old male patient with hepatitis B virus related end-stage liver failure and a rectal neuroendocrine tumor determined during colonoscopy surveillance. Model for end stage liver disease score was 21 and had two episodes of life-threatening variceal bleeding. We performed living donor liver transplantation and low anterior resection to the patient. Currently patient is doing well 2 years after the operation. Conclusion: Our case is the first in literature showing concomitant liver transplantation for hepatitis B virus related liver failure and rectal resection for neuroendocrine tumor. These procedures can be performed synchronously provided that the etiology of liver failure is unrelated to neuroendocrine tumor and the primary tumor has favorable tumor biologic characteristics. We reviewed the English literature, we did not find any case who underwent rectal NET surgery and HBV-related liver transplantation in the same operation. We wanted to present this first case in the literature.
Macrophages-aPKCι-CCL5 Feedback Loop Modulates the Progression and Chemoresistance in Cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Yang Tao , Deng Zhengdong , Xu Lei , Li Xiangyu , Yang Tan , Qian Yawei , Lu Yun , Tian Li , Yao Wei , Wang Jianming
Published: September 2021

Background: Recent data indicated that macrophages may mutually interact with cancer cells to promote tumor progression and chemoresistance, but the interaction in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is obscure. Methods: 10x Genomics single-cell sequencing technology was used to identified the role of macrophages in CCA. Then, we measured the expression and prognostic role of macrophage markers and aPKCi in 70 human CCA tissues. Moreover, we constructed monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) generated from peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) and polarized them into M1/M2 macrophages. A co-culture assay of the human CCA cell lines (TFK-1, EGI-1) and differentiated PBMCs-macrophages was established, and functional studies in vitro and in vivo was performed to explore the interaction between cancer cells and M2 macrophages. Furthermore, we established the cationic liposome-mediated co-delivery of gemcitabine and aPKCi-siRNA and detect the antitumor effects in CCA. Results: M2 macrophage showed tumor-promoting properties in CCA. High levels of aPKCi expression and M2 macrophage infiltration were associated with metastasis and poor prognosis in CCA patients. Moreover, CCA patients with low M2 macrophages infiltration or low aPKCi expression benefited from postoperative gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. Further studies showed that M2 macrophages-derived TGFb1 induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and gemcitabine resistance in CCA cells through aPKCi-mediated NF-kB signaling pathway. Reciprocally, CCL5 was secreted more by CCA cells undergoing aPKCi-induced EMT and consequently modulated macrophage recruitment and polarization. Furthermore, the cationic liposome-mediated co-delivery of GEM and aPKCi-siRNA significantly inhibited macrophages infiltration and CCA progression. Conclusion: our study demonstrates the role of Macrophages-aPKCi-CCL5 Feedback Loop in CCA, and proposes a novel therapeutic strategy of aPKCi-siRNA and GEM co-delivered by liposomes for CCA.
Overweight/Obesity in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Belonging to an Admixed Population. A Brazilian Multicenter Study.
Authors: Gomes Marilia Brito , Conte Debora , Drummond Karla Rezende Guerra , Mallmann Felipe , Pinheiro André Araujo , Leal Franz Schubert Lopes , Morales Paulo Henrique , Negrato Carlos Antonio
Published: September 2021

Background: To determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated risk factors in Brazilian adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its association with retinopathy (DR) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods: This study was performed in 14 Brazilian public clinics in 10 cities, with 1,760 patients. 367 were adolescents (20.9%):184 females (50.1%), 176 (48.0%) Caucasians, aged 16.4 ±1.9 years, age at diagnosis 8.9 ±4.3 years, diabetes duration 8.1± 4.3 years, school attendance 10.9 ± 2.5 years and HbA1c 9.6±2.4%. Results: 95 (25.9%) patients presented overweight/obesity, mostly females. These patients were older, had longer diabetes duration, higher levels of total and LDL-cholesterol, higher prevalence of hypertension and of metabolic syndrome (MS). No difference was found regarding ethnicity, HbA1c, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase and uric acid. No association was found between DR, CKD and laboratorial markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Conclusions: Almost one quarter of our patients, presented overweight/obesity associated with some traditional risk factors for diabetes-related complications and cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes duration, hypertension, high levels of LDL-cholesterol and presence of MS. Further prospective studies are necessary to establish the prognosis of these patients.
Simulation of Biogenic Coalbed Gas from Anthracite in South of Qinshui Basin, China
Authors: Wang Aikuan , wang qinghui , Shao Pei , Fu Tian , Cao Moran
Published: September 2021

High rank coal, such as anthracite, has been considered difficult to generate biogas because of the high coalification degree. Selecting anthracite from Sihe coal mine, Qinshui basin, China, as substrate, this study carried out a simulation experiment of biogas generation for 80 days, the purpose of which was to verify whether anthracite could be bio-degraded to produce biogas under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the selected anthracite can be utilized by methanogenic bacteria to produce biogas and the approximate production field was 1.79mL/g, which was less than that of lower rank coal of other published studies. The generation process can be divided into a rapid growth stage (0-30d) and a slow descent stage (30-80d). CO2 and CH4 are the main components of biogas, although some heavy-hydrocarbons were also tested. The CO2 concentrations were low (<30%) and the δ13C-CH4 values were positive (-39.9‰ to -45.8‰), which suggested that the main biogas generation pathway was acetic fermentation. But at the same time, the concentrations of CH4 and CO2 were mutually increasing and decreasing with the passage of experiment time, and δ13C-CH4 tends to be lighten in the later stage(40-80d), suggesting that parts of biogenic CH4 was generated by way of CO2-reduction.
Morphological Variation In Paediatric Lower Limb Bones
Authors: Carman Laura , Besier Thor , Choisne Julie
Published: September 2021

Available methods for generating paediatric musculoskeletal geometry are to scale generic adult geometry, which is widely accessible but can be inaccurate, or to obtain geometry from medical imaging, which is accurate but time-consuming and costly. A population-based shape model is required to generate accurate and accessible musculoskeletal geometry in a paediatric population. The pelvis, femur, and tibia/fibula were segmented from 333 CT scans of children aged 4-18 years. Bone morphology variation was captured using principal component analysis (PCA). Subsequently, a shape model was developed to predict bone geometry from demographic and linear bone measurements and validated using a leave one out analysis. The shape model was compared to linear scaling of adult and paediatric bone geometry. The PCA captured growth-related changes in bone geometry. The shape model predicted bone geometry with root mean squared error (RMSE) of 2.91±0.99mm in the pelvis, 2.01±0.62mm in the femur, and 1.85±0.54mm in the tibia/fibula. Linear scaling of an adult mesh produced RMSE of 4.79±1.39mm in the pelvis, 4.38±0.72mm in the femur, and 4.39±0.86mm in the tibia/fibula. We have developed a method for capturing and predicting lower limb bone shape variation in a paediatric population more accurately than linear scaling without using medical imaging.
Identification and Complete Genome Sequence of Mulberry Cryptic Virus (Genus Deltapartitivirus Family Partitiviridae)
Authors: Yang Jinhong , Peng Yunwu , Kong Weiqing
Published: September 2021

A cryptic virus, named Mulberry cryptic virus (MuCV), was identified in mulberry (Morus alba) transcriptome dataset and RACE methods. The genome sequence of MuCV composed of two double-stranded RNAs (dsRNA) of 1605 bp and 1627 bp in size, encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and a coat protein (CP), respectively. The 5'-AGAAUUAU-3' sequence in the 5'-UTR was conserved in the two dsRNAs. The sequence similarity and phylogenetic analyses based on the RdRp and CP both indicated that MuCV is a deltapartitivirus (Family Partitiviridae).
Melanoma Recognition and Lesion Segmentation using Multi-Instance Learning
Authors: Ma Yangling , Yang Zhouwang
Published: September 2021

Melanoma is one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer, but early and accurate identification can significantly improve the survival rate of patients. In this paper, an end-to-end framework based on multi-instance learning is proposed for melanoma recognition and lesion segmentation simultaneously. To make full use from the information of high-resolution images, we take each image block (super-pixel) as an instance in a bag and use multi-instance learning based on a graph convolutional network to recognize melanoma. Moreover, skin lesion segmentation is derived from attention weights and is calibrated by classification probability vectors. As a result, the AUC of our method for melanoma recognition reaches 0.93, which is much higher compared with other related methods. Also, the Jaccard index (JA) of our method for melanoma-related skin lesion segmentation reaches 0.699. In our end-to-end approach, segmentation and recognition are treated as intimately coupled processes, and hence, a high JA is also an indication of the reliability of melanoma recognition. Collectively, these findings confirmed that our method effectively assists melanoma diagnosis.
Assessing the Impact of Water Use in LCA of Conventional and Organic Carrot Production in Poland
Authors: Kowalczyk Zbigniew , Kuboń Maciej
Published: September 2021

As global water resources are decreasing and the demand for it is constantly increasing, the problem of proper water management is becoming more pressing. Poland is one of the largest producers of vegetables in Europe, including carrots, with significant exports. However its freshwater resources are relatively small. The paper presents the results of research on the water footprint (WF) life cycle assessment (LCA) in conventional and organic carrot production. The methodology of calculating WF was used in accordance with PN-EN ISO 14046. It was found, e.g., that the water scarcity index (WSI) for organic production of carrot (WSI = 1.9 m3∙ha-1) is over five times lower, as compared to conventional production (WSI = 10.4 m3∙ha-1). In the case of conventional production, the fertilization process (67.0% - 67.7%) has the greatest impact on the shaping of WF in the individual impact categories, i.e. Human Health, Ecosystem Quality and resources. In organic production, the WF-shaping factor is carrot harvesting (41.9% - 43.1%). The research can be used to develop pro-ecological carrot production technologies, as well as to shape sustainable development plans in agricultural areas. It can also be used to outline policy directions regarding foreign trade in water-consuming agricultural products.
Clusters Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering for the detection of the drug resistance gene MacB
Authors: Du yuwan , Han Dianpeng , An Zhaoxia , Wang Jiang , Gao Zhixian
Published: September 2021

Antibiotics have brought many benefits to public health systems worldwide since they were first used in the last century, yet with the overuse of antibiotics in clinical care and livestock farming, new public health issues have arisen.In our previous experiments, we found that the MacB gene in bovine raw milk ranked first among many drug resistance genes.In this paper, we present a strategy for the highly sensitive detection of the drug resistance gene MacB by combining clusters regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) with surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology.This strategy integrates the specific gene identification capabilities of the CRISPR system, the ultra-sensitivity of SERS, the chemometric algorithm analysis and the simple separation properties of nanoparticles, eliminating the need for complex steps such as purification and gene amplification, offering the advantages of rapid, ultra-sensitive and highly specific detection, thus enabling more effective tongue safety.
Keywords: CRISPR/dCas9; Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering; drug resistance gene MacB; gold nanoparticles.
The SF3B1R625H Mutation Promotes Prolactinoma Tumor Progression Through Aberrant Splicing Of DLG1
Authors: Guo Jing , Fang Qiuyue , Liu Yulou , Wang Dawei , Li Chuzhong , Xie Weiyan , Zhang Yazhuo
Published: September 2021

Background
Recently, a hotspot mutation in prolactinoma was observed in splicing factor 3b subunit 1 (SF3B1R625H), but its functional effects and mechanisms are poorly understood.
Methods
Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system and rat pituitary GH3 cells, we generated heterozygous Sf3b1R625H mutant cells. Sanger and whole-genome sequencing were conducted to verify the introduction of this mutation. Transcriptome analysis was performed in SF3B1-wild-type versus mutant human prolactinoma samples and GH3 cells. Quantitative PCR and minigene reporter assays were conducted to verify aberrant splicing. The functional consequences of SF3B1R625H were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Critical makers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and key components of relevant signaling pathways were detected by western blot, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence, and were knocked down by siRNA-mediated silencing.
Results
Transcriptomic analysis of prolactinomas and heterozygous mutant cells revealed that the SF3B1R625H allele led to different alterations in splicing properties, affecting different genes in different species. Consistently between rat cells and human tumor samples, mutant SF3B1 promoted aberrant splicing and the suppression of DLG1. Additionally, mutant SF3B1 with knockdown of DLG1 expression promoted cell migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition by activating the PI3K/Akt pathway.
Conclusions
Our findings elucidate a mechanism through which mutant SF3B1 promotes tumor progression and may provide a potent molecular therapeutic target for prolactinomas with the SF3B1R625H mutation.
Linagliptin improves high glucose-induced glomerular endothelial hyper- permeability through AMPK activation and RhoA/ROCK suppression
Authors: Chen Jianhui , Li Xianfan , Yu Zengpu , Chen Xiaolin
Published: September 2021

OBJECTIVEHyperglycemia is a major cause of albuminuria relevant to glomerular endothelial dysfunction of the kidney in diabetes mellitus. Linagliptin, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, was shown to have pleiotropic protective effects to improve albuminuria and endothelial dysfunction in diabetic conditions. The purpose of this research was to investigate the molecular mechanism by which linagliptin improves human renal glomerular endothelial cells (HRGECs) barrier dysfunction caused by hyperglycemia.MATERIALS AND METHODSWe examined the DPP-4 activity, the transendothelial electrical resistance of the monolayer in HRGECs, and the horseradish peroxidase–albumin leakage after the treatment with high glucose (HG) in the presence or absence of linagliptin preincubation. The distribution of F-actin remodeling was detected by a fluorescence probe. The phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC), AMPK, and RhoA activity were evaluated in the endothelial cells by Western blotting. The effects of inhibition AMPK or RhoA/ROCK pathway on linagliptin-mediated protective effect on the endothelial barrier in HG status were observed.RESULTSHG caused MLC-dependent reorganization of F-actin, leading to endothelial barrier disruption. However, these changes in HRGECs were attenuated by the Rho-dependent kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632 or linagliptin. The phospho-MLC (pMLC) activated in HRGECs was regulated by RhoA/ROCK signaling. AMPK activation participated in the repair process of HG-induced RhoA-dependent endothelial cell hyperpermeability by linagliptin . Similarly , AMPK activation by linagliptin attenuated HG-induced RhoA dependent F-actin rearrangement and endothelial cell barrier dysfunction, whereas compoud C diminished the effect of linagliptin. CONCLUSIONSOur data showed that HG led to increases in the activity of RhoA and DPP-4. These changes resulted in the rearrangement of endothelial cell cytoskeleton and the dysfunction of the glomerular endothelial barrier, which were mediated by MLC. The present study revealed a novel mechanism of linagliptin-mediated AMPK activation in preventing RhoA-dependent F-actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and reduced glomerular endothelial barrier permeability in diabetic conditions.
Gunshot model of junctional femoral artery hemorrhage in swine under ultrasonic guidance
Authors: Zhang Hongliang , Chengyu Guo , Junkang Wang , Cong Feng , Tanshi Li
Published: September 2021

Background

In a combat setting, uncontrolled junctional hemorrhage constitutes a major source of potentially preventable deaths. It is very important to establish a model of massive hemorrhage of gunshot wound at junction area which can simulate field rescue conditions.
Methods

Picco monitoring was instrumented for the anesthetized Landrace pigs, and the right femoral artery was located by portable ultrasound. The pistol bullet hit the right femoral artery, resulting in an artery rupture. After 30 seconds of uncontrolled hemorrhage, the ballistic wound was filled with combat gauze (QuikClot) to stop bleeding in the BT group (n = 10). Combat gauze was used to stop bleeding when the mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased by 30% in the MD group (n = 10). The sham-operated pigs (n = 10) underwent the same anesthetic and surgical procedures, but neither shooting nor gauze filling therapy was performed. Blood samples were taken 15 min before injury, and then 10 min, 30 min, and 60 min after the injury.
Results

Histologic anatomy indicated that the right femoral artery and vein were completely ruptured in all 20 swine of MD and BT groups. The blood loss of pre-tamponade (4.97 ± 2.47 mL/kg vs 18.26 ± 3.47 mL/kg, P < 0.001), pro-tamponade (4.58 ± 1.49 mL/kg vs 7.20 ± 1.99 mL/kg, P = 0.004) and the total amount of bleeding (9.54 ± 3.80 mL/kg vs 25.46 ± 3.68 mL/kg, P < 0.001) in MD group were more than those in BT group. There were differences in body temperature, PH, PT, LAC of MD group compared with BT and SHAM groups 60 minutes after injury (all P < 0.0167). The survival time of MD group was shorter than that of BT group (P = 0.029).
Conclusion

We established a reliable gunshot model of junctional hemorrhage in swine, which had high accuracy for femoral arterial rupture under ultrasonic guidance and provided consistent and reproducible field-simulation conditions. In this junctional hemorrhage model, blood loss of 30-second free bleeding did not meet the criteria for shock. The MAP decrease of 30% emerged as a better predictor of a successful shock model.
Mosquito control, killing off the females
Authors: Tran Phi
Published: September 2021

In addition to causing discomfort, female mosquitoes introduce disease-carrying viruses and bacteria into the bloodstream of their victims. There are numerous publications describing the uses of sugary mosquito baits with promising results. However, without temperature control measures, these methods are mainly useful for only nectar feeding insects, including male mosquitoes, because the warmth of the blood is a condition for the females to locate their meals. The efforts required to keep the baits fresh against the natural spoiling process make them less attractive or impractical to implement. These experiments address these issues by using warm baits of water, sugar, boric acid and antibiotics. On the surface, the area became a sought-out island where mosquito activities flourished; nevertheless, the mosquitoes were exclusively males (almost). Control vs. experiment protocol established no other logical explanation for this phenomenon other than that the females were attracted and killed by the bait. As expected, there was no mosquito egg laying in these areas.
Efficacy and Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine: A systematic review and a meta-analysis.
Authors: Ghazy Ramy Mohamed , Ashmawy Rasha , Hamdy Noha A. , Elhadi Yasir Ahmed Mohammed , Reyad Omar Ahmed , Almalawany Dina , Almaghraby Abdallah , Shaaban Ramy , Taha Sarah Hamed N.
Published: September 2021

Background SARS coronavirus number 2 or SARS-CoV-2 emerged as a pandemic in 2019 and affected millions of people with a large number of deaths. Since no cure for this highly spreadable virus is known till now the need for a rapid vaccine development started early and the vaccination process started in December 2020 with many types of vaccines of different techniques.This research aimed to shed the light on different studies evaluating the efficacy, effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in phase III trials.Method Online database search was performed, and all relevant randomized controlled trials and observational studies considering COVID-19 vaccination by any type of vaccine and to any age were included. A meta-analysis was conducted to measure the efficacy/ effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent mortality and to reduce severe infection after the first & the second dose. Assessment of risk of bias, publication bias & heterogenicity were also performed.Results From 21567 screened articles twenty-five studies were eligible for quantitative analysis. The odds ratio of mortality 7 days after full vaccination decreased significantly among vaccinated compared to the unvaccinated group OR=0.14 (95CI, 0.05-0.41), I2=63%. In total 213 of 4807683 vaccinated people developed severe COVID-19 one week after the second dose, compared to 3298 of unvaccinated 1915476 subjects. The OR of having severe COVID-19 decreased by 0.08 (0.03-0.25), I2 was 74%. Vaccination was also significant in reducing COVID-19 infection in either symptomatic or asymptomatic cases.Conclusion This study showed that most vaccines have comparable efficacy and effectiveness, and it is believed that with the mass vaccination of COVID-19, it is possible to control the infection and end this global pandemic
Lung adenocarcinoma with active pulmonary tuberculosis: a case report of successful immunotherapy and systematical review
Authors: Xu Jinhe , Lin Xiuhua , Liu Wei , Ye Jia , Xie Feilai , Deng Huimin , Deng Ming , Yu Zongyang
Published: September 2021

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become widely used in the treatment of several malignancies, and get better clinical benefits in some patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, in most of highquality clinical Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) studies, only selected patients are needed. In Real-World Study (RWS), patients contracted simultaneously with NSCLC and Tuberculosis are common. TB reactivation during ICIs use is increasingly recognized and reported. Whether ICIs can be used in anti-tumor in patients with TB are rarely seen. Herein, we present a 67-year-old male active tuberculosis complicated with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ALK-negative, EGFR wild, and PD-L1 immune histochemistry (IHC) strongly positive in 60–90% of tumor cells, on ongoing treatment with Pembrolizumab as a frstline anti-tumor therapy during anti-TB treatment. After two cycles of Pembrolizumab, the tumor response was evaluated PR, and TB well controlled. The patient is still on anti-TB and ICIs anti-tumor therapy, sputum smear and sputum culture remain negative, follow-up showed no relapse of tuberculosis infection or tumor progression. Our case shows that it may be feasible to combine anti-TB with ICIs for advanced lung cancer patients with active TB.
Herbal Medicine used for the treatment of diarrhea and cough in Kampala city, Uganda
Authors: Walusansa Abdul , Asiimwe Savina , Ssenku Jamilu. E. , Anywar Godwin , Namara Milbert , Nakavuma Jesca. L. , Kakudidi Esezah. K.
Published: September 2021

Background: Globally, diarrheal and respiratory diseases are among the top ten causes of mortality, and are the major ailments for which humans seek treatment. Kampala, the capital city of Uganda is facing a proliferation of herbalists that sell herbal medicine (HM) used to manage ailments such as diarrhea and cough. The ethnopharmacological and economic aspects of HM sold in Uganda’s major cities such as Kampala are poorly understood, and this deters the HM sector from achieving its optimal capacity to adequately support health promotion and poverty reduction. The aim of this research was to: (i) profile the plant species used in the treatment of diarrhea and cough, and (ii) determine the basic economic aspects of HM trade in Kampala city. The purpose was to support the conservation of ethnopharmacological knowledge, and the design of strategic plans towards fostering optimal HM trade in urban settings.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a mixed methods approach. Sixty-five herbalists were selected in the five divisions of Kampala. The herbalists were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Field observations were used to collect qualitative data. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with STATA version-15.0. Results: Eighty-four plant species from 41 families were documented: Fabaceae and Myricaceae with the highest number of species (9, 10.7% each). Citrus limon was the most commonly cited for cough, with a relative frequency of citation (RFC) of 1.00, and its relative medical importance was not significantly different from the other top 5 species except for Azadirachta indica (RFC=0.87), (χ2 =8.923, p=0.0028). Entada abyssinica (RFC=0.97) was most cited for diarrhea. Trees (34, 40.5%) were mostly used, and mainly harvested from wild habitats (55.2%), found in 20 districts across Uganda. These HM were mainly sold as powders and concoctions, in markets, shops, pharmacies, and roadside or mobile stalls. The highest prices were Uganda Shillings (UGX) 48,000 ($ 13.15)/Kg for Allium sativum, and UGX 16,000 ($ 4.38)/Kg for C. limon. All participants used HM trade as a sole source of basic needs; majority (60.0%) earned net monthly profit of UGX. 730,000 ($ 200) ≤ 1,460,000 ($ 400). The main hindrances to HM trade were the; disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (n=65, 100%), and the scarcity of medicinal plants (58, 89.2%). Conclusion There is a rich diversity of medicinal plant species traded in Kampala to treat diarrhea and cough. The HM trade significantly contributes to the livelihoods of the traders in Kampala, as well as the different actors along the HM value chain throughout the country
High-throughput segmentation of unmyelinated axons by deep learning
Authors: Plebani Emanuele , Biscola Natalia P. , Havton Leif A. , Rajwa Bartek , Shemonti Abida Sanjana , Jaffey Deborah , Powley Terry , Keast Janet R. , Lu Kun-Han , Dundar M. Murat
Published: September 2021

Axonal characterizations of connectomes in healthy and disease phenotypes are surprisingly incomplete and biased because unmyelinated axons, the most prevalent type of fibers in the nervous system, have largely been ignored as their quantitative assessment quickly becomes unmanageable as the number of axons increases. Herein, we introduce the first prototype of a high-throughput processing pipeline for automated segmentation of unmyelinated fibers. Our team has used transmission electron microscopy images of vagus and pelvic nerves in rats. All unmyelinated axons in these images are individually annotated and used as labeled data to train and validate a deep instance segmentation network. We investigate the effect of different training strategies on the overall segmentation accuracy of the network. We extensively validate the segmentation algorithm as a stand-alone segmentation tool as well as in an expert-in-the-loop hybrid segmentation setting with preliminary, albeit remarkably encouraging results. Our algorithm achieves an instance-level F1 score of between 0.7 and 0.9 on various test images in the stand-alone mode and reduces expert annotation labor by 80% in the hybrid setting. We hope that this new high-throughput segmentation pipeline will enable quick and accurate characterization of unmyelinated fibers at scale and become instrumental in significantly advancing our understanding of connectomes in both the peripheral and the central nervous systems.
Inovação Aberta entre Universidade-Empresa: a Percepção de Professores Universitários
Authors: Marques Humberto Rodrigues , Gomes Larissa Garcia , Grützmann André , Zambalde André Luiz
Published: September 2021

As universidades, por meio de suas pesquisas acadêmicas, passaram a atuar não apenas na geração do conhecimento, como instituições de ensino e pesquisa, mas também na difusão, uma vez que podem ser consideradas importantes agentes dentro da perspectiva de inovação aberta, principalmente com as empresas, seus principais agentes de cooperação. Dado que a interação entre a universidade e as empresas tem recebido pouca atenção na literatura sobre Inovação Aberta, a presente pesquisa possui como objetivo propor um conjunto de fatores para caracterizar o perfil de grupos docentes universitários quanto à interação para inovação aberta entre universidades e empresas. Metodologicamente, a pesquisa se concentrou nos professores das universidades federais mineiras e foi caracterizada como cunho quantitativo, utilizando análise fatorial e de cluster para analisar as 499 respostas coletadas por meio de um questionário online. Por meio da análise fatorial foi possível definir e validar um conjunto de fatores utilizados para caracterizar, posteriormente, as características centrais de cada grupo, onde foram extraídos nove fatores. Já a análise de cluster foi desenvolvida com o propósito de identificar o agrupamento de professores dentro das universidades quanto às práticas de inovação aberta entre universidade e empresa, onde foram identificados 2 clusters. Os resultados demonstram que os professores universitários que possuem maior grau de titulação possuem mais perspectiva quanto aos aspectos relacionados à interação para inovação aberta entre as universidades e as empresas.
Consumidores Analfabetos Funcionais e sua Interação com a Comunicação de Marketing
Authors: Freire Roberta Rocha , Pessôa Luis Alexandre Grubits de Paula , Santos Natália Contesini
Published: September 2021

Em número significativo no Brasil, analfabetos funcionais devem ser considerados como um público consumidor, ainda que suas deficiências de formação educacional possam contribuir para excluí-los de algumas práticas de consumo, limitar suas possibilidades de escolha ou dificultar o usufruto integral de produtos e serviços. Este estudo buscou analisar a compreensão dos elementos de comunicação de marketing por estes consumidores e suas realidades de consumo. Foram realizadas dezessete entrevistas em profundidade com consumidores analfabetos funcionais, sendo os dados submetidos a análise do conteúdo, com apoio do software Atlas.ti. Confirmando os achados da literatura internacional, nossos dados sugerem uma maior facilidade deste grupo em processar e interpretar mensagens cujos elementos são imagéticos e guardam correspondência de 1 para 1 com a realidade. Ademais, estes entrevistados preferem realizar compras em ambientes de varejo de autosserviço, comumente recorrem a pessoas de referência e tendem a evitar o comércio online quando não encontram assistência destas pessoas. Por fim, nossos dados permitiram colocar questões e provocar reflexões, levando a proposição de uma agenda para pesquisas sobre esses consumidores no Brasil.
Como e porque devemos contabilizar a (e nos responsabilizar pela) violência - uma abordagem reflexiva
Authors: Lehman Cheryl R.
Published: September 2021

O papel da contabilidade no fornecimento de dados sugere seu impacto em tornar as coisas governáveis e conhecidas e esse artigo reflete sobre o seu papel em tornar a violência invisível. Como pesquisadoras e pesquisadores críticas, as consequências das práticas contábeis em populações vulneráveis são de grande importância e os reportes sobre mulheres e violência são avaliados nessa pesquisa utilizando os relatórios globais, testemunhos e dados. Nós encontramos um discurso nos relatórios globais que minimiza e silencia a violência contra as mulheres, enquanto a counter accounting revela uma realidade contrastante. Como tal, a dinâmica da construção do conhecimento nos desafia a explorar a construção neoliberal dos dados. Nós sugerimos formulações alternativas adicionando à uma literatura emergente de counter accounting e nós rejeitamos a inevitabilidade do silêncio. Os relatos críticos provêem caminhos para pensar diferentemente e aspirar pela mudança e pela justiça social.
Ambidestralidade Organizacional e Desempenho Multidimensional: uma investigação em Escritórios Contábeis Brasileiros
Authors: Martins Mariana Silva Liah , Tavares Juliette De Castro , Osta Maria Elisa Sarmento C , Soares Juliano Lima
Published: September 2021

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar a associação entre a ambidestralidade organizacional e o desempenho multidimensional nos escritórios contábeis brasileiros. O desempenho multidimensional foi mesurado a partir da percepção dos gestores quanto variação da: receita bruta, lucratividade, carteira de clientes, satisfação dos clientes e prazos estabelecidos para entrega dos serviços e produtos. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio da aplicação de um questionário aos gestores dos escritórios contábeis brasileiros. A amostra foi composta por 207 repostas de questionários respondidos entre julho e agosto de 2018. Para teste das hipóteses foi realizado o teste de correlação. Os resultados indicaram uma associação positiva e significante (r de Pearson = 0,256, p0,05) entre os construtos, ratificando a perspectiva da importância da inovação para a sobrevivência e manutenção da capacidade competitiva das organizações. Um teste de hipótese ampliada foi realizada e evidenciou que a associação era positiva apenas em duas dimensões do desempenho multidimensional: variação da satisfação dos clientes e prazo de entrega dos produtos e serviços aos clientes. Esses achados contribuem com evidências sobre a importância da inovação e das medidas de desempenho não financeiras para o desempenho das organizações da amostra estudada. Ademais, os resultados também indicam que o desempenho cresce à medida em que as empresas evoluem, ou seja, conforme ocorrem mais inputs nas atividades ambidestras, contrapondo resultados de pesquisas sobre existência de um ponto sensível onde ocorre uma inversão nessa relação.
USES OF BIOFERTILIZATION TO PRODUCE TROPICAL GRASS FORAGE IN QUINTANA ROO MEXICO
Authors:   Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Campo Experimental Chetumal, Km 3.5 carretera Chetumal - Bacalar, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico., Edgar Enrique Sosa-Rubio , Gilbert Jose Herrera-Cool ,   Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Campo Experimental Chetumal, Km 3.5 carretera Chetumal - Bacalar, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico., Maria Del Carmen Zavaleta-Cordova ,   Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Campo Experimental Chetumal, Km 3.5 carretera Chetumal - Bacalar, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Published: September 2021

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biofertilizers effect in Panicum maximaum (cv. Mombaza) and Brachiaria brizantha tropical grasses production. Microorganisms were obtained in rhizosphere of plants. To establish an effective symbiosis with native strains of Azospirillum, Azotobacter and mycorrhizal fungi, experiments were carried out in greenhouse and field. The biofertilizers used in greenhouse were combined (CC), semisolid medium Nitrogen free with malate as nitrogen source (NFB), Azotobacter (azot) and Azospirillum (Azos). For mycorrhizal fungi, 6 treatments were used: T1-control, T2-fertilized, T3-brown spore, T4-honey spore, T4-black spore and T5-commercial spore. The microorganism used in field were those that showed effectivity in greenhouse. The treatments in field were T1: control, T2: inorganic fertilizer, T3: Azospirillum + Azotobacter, T4: mycorrhizal and T5: commercial biofertilizer. The variables evaluated were dry weight (DW), radicular weight (RW), radicular volume (RV), stem diameter (SD) and total height (TH). Results for B. brizantha indicate differences (PÃ¢Â‰Â¤0.05). Application of Azospirillum + Azotobacter (T3) favored the development of the height of the plant and the diameter of the stem. The commercial biofertilizer (T5) increased the production of dry matter with 0.99 kg/m2. In respect with P. maximum (cv. Mombaza) grass, they were not detected significative differences (PÃ¢Â‰Â¥0.05) between treatments, however, the biological results showed that inorganic fertilizer (T2) increased the dry matter production with 1.34 kg / m2 in comparison with Azospirillum + Azotobacter (T3) that showed 0.72 kg / m2.
Hacia una repolitización del VIH-sida
Authors: González-Guzmán Ismael José
Published: September 2021

Este artículo presenta una reflexión política acerca del VIH-sida, estructurada en cuatro momentos: primero, una aproximación a las políticas de la vida donde se devela el actuar de la necropolítica, el biopoder, la biopolítica y biolegitimidad en relación con el VIH-sida; segundo, se aborda una antropología política del cuerpo, la cual advierte las distintas formas de poder, violencia y verdad que experimentan las personas que viven con VIH-sida; tercero, un acercamiento al modo en que se reproduce una economía moral del castigo, donde se articulan elementos normativos, médico-sanitarios, de la vida, el cuerpo y la sociedad; cuarto, se propone repolitizar el VIH-sida, a fin de brindar insumos que permitan construir un orden social diferente para las personas que viven con dicha realidad.
Management of successful technology transfer in agriculture: The case of Kazakhstan
Authors: Dinis Sousa Rui , Boranbayeva Ainur , Satpayeva Zaira , Gassanova Amina
Published: September 2021

Progress of agriculture is becoming increasingly reliant on the successful application of technology. However, many developing countries depend on technology transfer from other countries to be utilized in large and complex projects in agriculture. This study intends to identify strategic directions for successful technology transfer in developing countries’ agriculture with Kazakhstan as a case study. A SWOT analysis was conducted using Internal Factor Evaluation, External Factor Evaluation, Strategic Position and Action Evaluation, and Quantitative Strategic Planning matrices as analytical methods, based on primary data from interviews and secondary data from reports. With a weight of 52%, opportunities prevail in external factors, with emerging good geographical position, land area latitude, and participation in economic integrations as the most significant ones. On the other hand, internal factors such as emerging low skills in agricultural innovation, insufficient resources in agriculture, old technologies and worn-out equipment, and lack of mechanisms for effective adaptation of foreign technologies to local conditions are indicated as weaknesses, with the percentage of 82%. This study includes twenty-six strategies that were specially designed for technology transfer, and nine of them are considered the most relevant in overcoming internal weaknesses by exploiting external opportunities. Promoting agriculture in an innovative direction, expanding the resource base necessary for technology transfer, and increasing sources of funding for the transfer of technology and the R&D expenditures in agriculture make a top 3 of these strategies. These results will be of interest for policymakers in decision-making on technology transfer in agriculture.
Hydrologic responses to climate and land-use/land-cover changes in the Bilate catchment, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Kuma Hailu Gisha , Feyessa Fekadu Fufa , Demissie Tamene Adugna
Published: September 2021

The likely effects of climate and land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes on hydrologic processes in Bilate catchment, Ethiopia were evaluated. The study emphasizes the evaluation of individual and combined impacts on hydrologic responses of climate and LULC changes. Climatic scenarios included a downscaled regional climate model from CORDEX-Africa. The CA–Markov model was used to project LULC. The results revealed that distinct changes on hydrologic responses occurred which follow the direction of climate and LULC changes. A 30.87% decline in rainfall resulted in about 4.09, 1.43 and 3.57% decline in runoff, groundwater and water yield, respectively. A rise in mean temperature by 1.3 °C resulted in a 7 and 0.8% increase in potential and actual evapotranspiration, respectively. Runoff, groundwater and water yield are projected to decrease by 11.24, 12.54 and 11.54%; however, potential and actual evapotranspiration are projected to increase by 19 and 14.7%, respectively, under combined climate and LULC changes. The joint effects of climate and LULC changes on hydrologic responses in the forthcoming were higher than the variation trend of climate or LULC change alone. Climate change compared with LULC change has a higher impact on hydrologic responses. The results obtained provide further insight into future water balance, and assistance in water resources planning and management.