bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-risk factors associated with refractory childhood bacterial meningitis
Authors: Wu Jin-Feng , Song XiaoJie , Hu Yue , Chen Jin , Jiang Li
Published: October 2022

Background
Refractory bacterial meningitis is acute, it develops rapidly, and mortality and morbidity are higher than in cases of common bacterial meningitis. This study was undertaken to investigate the high-risk factors related to refractory bacterial meningitis cases in children with positive pathogens.
Methods
We retrospectively analyzed clinical data for 109 cases of childhood bacterial meningitis. Cases were divided into a refractory group (96 cases) and non-refractory group (13 cases) based on classification criteria. 17 clinical variables on risk factors were extracted and evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.
Results
There were 64 males and 45 females. The onset age range was from 1 month old to 14 years old, and the median age was 181 days old. the pathogenic bacteria include 67 cases of Gram-positive(G+) bacteria (61.5%) and 42 cases of Gram-negative (G-)bacteria. In patients 1 to 3 months old, E. coli was the most common (47.5%), followed by Streptococcus agalactiae and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (10.0%); in patients > 3 months old, S. pneumoniae was the most common (55.1%), followed by E. coli (8.7%). Multivariate analysis indicated that consciousness disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 13.050), peripheral blood C-reactive protein(CRP) ≥ 50 mg/L (OR = 29.436), andthe isolate bacteria being Gram-positive bacteria (OR = 8.227) were independent risk factors for predicting who would progress to refractory bacterial meningitis in this group.
Conclusion
For pathogenic positive bacterial meningitis along with consciousness disorder, CRP ≥ 50 mg/L, and/or the isolate bacteria being G + bacteria, it is important to be alert to the potential for progression to refractory bacterial meningitis, which demands the physicians’ significant attention.
Drastic time variations of transfer function of geomagnetically induced current (GIC) in Japan
Authors: Nakamura Satoko , Ebihara Yusuke , Watari Shinichi , Goto Tadanori
Published: October 2022

Geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) flow in power grid in response to geomagnetic field variations. Because of the potential threat of power outage, GIC is regarded as one of the important aspects of space weather. We calculated the transfer function in frequency domain that describes a linear relationship between the GICs measured at 3 substations in Japan and the geomagnetic field measured at the Kakioka observatory. The transfer function is found to show a significant time variation. For the periods at 2-10 minutes, the amplitude of the transfer function in night time is about 1 order of magnitudes larger than in day time. The day-night difference reduces for the periods >100 minutes. In addition, the amplitude of the transfer function tends to increase with local rainfall amount. These regular and irregular variations may be explained in terms of earthing resistivity depending on local weather conditions. The resistivity of the non-frozen soil decreases by about 40% when the temperature increases from 15°C to 35°C, resulting in the reduction of the earthing resistivity. Rainwater permeating into the soil also results in reduction of the earthing resistivity. Reduction of the earthing resistivity gives rise to magnification of the GICs. These results imply that a weather condition strongly affects the magnitude of GIC in Japan and challenge the conventional wisdom that the transfer function is almost steady in this time scale.
Multi-Fidelity Surrogate Modelling of Wall Mounted Cubes
Authors: Mole Andrew , Skillen Alex , Revell Alistair
Published: October 2022

This paper focuses on the application of multi-fidelity surrogate modelling to characteristics of a flow as it changes with a parameter.This provides insight into the potential of combining multi-fidelity modelling approaches with varying fidelities of computational fluid dynamics methods to a parameter space exploration.A limited number of trusted high-fidelity large eddy simulation data points, in combination with an extended study using lower-fidelity Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes modelling is used as the input for the surrogate model.Multi-fidelity surrogate models are implemented to bridge the low-fidelity and high-fidelity models providing an improved surrogate model over using a single fidelity alone.The flow around tandem wall mounted cubes at varying inlet yaw angle is used as an aerodynamic test case for this methodology.Results presented show that the multi-fidelity surrogate modelling provides a significant improvement over single fidelity modelling for the prediction of global flow properties.This methodology is then extended to combine multiple local flow features into the multi-fidelity model to build up fuller descriptions of the flow at angles not included in the training data for the model.The results of this are presented for both one-dimensional line plots at a range of locations along the center line of the flow and for two-dimensional slices of the velocity field.The multi-fidelity surrogate model produces results at locations in the parameter space away from the high fidelity training data that match closely to large eddy simulation results.
Impact of drug burden index on delirium in community-dwelling older adults with dementia: A longitudinal observational study
Authors: Katipoglu Bilal , Demircan Sultan Keskin , Naharcı Mehmet Ilkin
Published: October 2022

Background
The Drug Burden Index (DBI) is a validated tool for assessing the dose-dependent cumulative exposure to sedative and anticholinergic medications. However, the increased risk of delirium superimposed dementia (DSD) with high DBI levels has not yet been investigated.
Aim
This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between high DBI levels and delirium in community-dwelling older adults with dementia.
Method
A total of 1105 participants with cognitive impairment underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment. Experienced geriatricians made the final diagnosis of delirium based on DSM-IV-TR and DSM-V. We calculated the DBI as the sum of all sedatives and anticholinergics taken continuously for at least four weeks before admission. We classified the participants as having no exposure (DBI=0), low exposure (0<DBI<1), and high exposure (DBI≥1).
Results
Of the 721 patients with dementia, the mean age was 78.3±6.7 years, and the majority were female (64.4%). In the whole sample, low and high exposures to anticholinergic and sedative medications at admission were 34.1% (n=246) and 38.1% (n=275), respectively. Patients in the high-exposure group had higher physical impairment (p=0.01), higher polypharmacy (p=0.01), and higher DBI scores (p=0.01). In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, high exposure to anticholinergic and sedative medications increased the risk of delirium 4.09-fold compared to the no exposure group (HR=4.09, CI: 1.63-10.27, p=0.01).
Conclusion
High exposure to drugs with sedative and anticholinergic properties was common in community-dwelling older adults. A high DBI was associated with DSD, highlighting the need for an optimal prescription in this vulnerable population.
Trial registration
The trial was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT04973709 Registered on 22 July 2021.
Electrical, Microstructural and Physical characteristics of talc-based cordierite ceramics
Authors: Yahya Ahmed , Soltan AbdelMonem , Mahani Ragab , El-Kaliouby Baher , Kenawy Sayed , Hamzawy Esmat
Published: October 2022

The aim of this work is to study the effect of various talc rocks for the preparation of talc-based cordierite ceramics. Raw talc and sintered cordierite-based ceramic samples (1000-1375ºC for 2h) were characterized using XRD, XRF, TGA-DTG, laser PSDs, Archimedes method, SEM-EDAX and dielectric relaxation spectrometer (DRS). Results show that impurity oxide contents, particle size and mineralogical changes of green batches influenced the microstructure densification and crystallization of orthorhombic and hexagonal cordierite. The complex electric modulus plot shows the existence of two relaxation processes associated with the capacitive contribution grain boundaries and grain at low and high frequencies, respectively. The dielectric loss reached much lower values (0.0004-0.0007) for the ceramics composed of higher cordierite phase composition (87.00 to 92.00wt.%) that sintered at 1350 and 1375ºC. Such ceramics could be promising in electronic applications like capacitors, microwave devices and wireless communication.
A hybrid depressive mood analysis model to detect blogger depression tendency from web posts
Authors: Tung Chia-Ming , Lu Wen-Hsiang
Published: October 2022

In recent years, reports of suicide have continuously increased due to people suffering from tremendous pressure or depression. According to World Health Organization (WHO), globally, 5% of adults suffer from mental disorders. This kind of mental disorder is difficult to diagnose and detect. In our previous works, we proposed a Negative Emotion Evaluation (NEE) model and an Event-Driven Depression Tendency Warning (EDDTW) model to detect depressive moods in advance. In this work, we combine the previous models to propose a Hybrid Depressive Mood Analysis (HDMA) model to predict depression from web posts. The experimental results show that our proposed hybrid depressive mood analysis model obtains over 70% precision.
Investigating The Role of GABAergic Activity and Saccadic Movements in The Contour Perception Using a Simulation of The Brodmann’s Area 17
Authors: Koçak Orhan Murat , Hasanlı Jamal , Mısır Emre , Solakoğlu Taha , Alici Yasemin Hosgoren , Gurcan Ahmet , Yılmaz Asim Egemen , Gokcekuyu Yasemin , Ceran Selvi , Bagcaz Arda , Kaya Zulal Torenli , Ay Sule Bıcakcı , Bilgili Gamze Ozcurumez
Published: October 2022

Background: The Broadman Area 17 (V1) has a good representation of retinotopic map. Similarity between visual input and the representation of it in V1 would be affected from both an intrinsic noise and the saccadic eye movements. GABA’s role in increasing signal to noise ratio is known but, how GABAergic activity helps to control noise, based on input and saccades, has not been modelled.
Methods: A computational model of V1 was designed by using the MATLAB 2021a platform, and different six images, each containing a circle, triangle, and square, were used to test the model. The developed V1 was constituted of six different orientation columns (OCs). Each OC contains GABAergic and glutamatergic connections. Thus, OCs were activated not only based on afferent image inputs but also on the interaction among fired columns via the sum of glutamate and GABAergic neuron weights. V1 representation states for twelve, twenty and thirty saccades were summed and visualized. Finally, the original and representational forms of the image were compared. In the model, GABA activity levels have been tuned and the results of each level analysed.
Results: It has been shown that level of GABA activity in the orientation columns during saccades is a critical factor for an ideal image representation. Decreased levels of GABA activity can be associated with inadequacy of noise elimination which could impair correct contour perception.
Conclusion: Orientation columns can be conceptualized as microprocessors of V1. In this region, images are represented with high similarity. This similarity seems to need efficient GABAergic activity.
Epileptic Seizure Prediction Based on Multiresolution Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Ibrahim Ali , zhuang hanqi , Tognoli Emmanuelle , Ali Ali Muhamed , Erdol nurgun
Published: October 2022

Epilepsy withholds patients' control of their body or consciousness and puts them at risk in the course of their daily life. This paper pursues the development of a smart neurocomputational technology to alert epileptic patients wearing EEG sensors of an impending seizure. An innovative approach to epileptic seizure prediction is proposed to improve prediction accuracy and reduce false alarm rate in comparison with state of art benchmarks. Maximal Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform is used to decompose EEG signals into different frequency resolutions, and a Multiresolution Convolutional Neural Network is designed to extract discriminative features from each frequency band. The algorithm automatically generates patient-specific features to best classify preictal and interictal segments of the subject. The method can be applied to any patient case from any dataset without the need for a handcrafted feature extraction procedure. The proposed approach was tested with two popular epilepsy patient datasets. It achieved a sensitivity of 82% and a false prediction rate of 0.058 with the Children’s Hospital Boston-MIT scalp EEG dataset, and a sensitivity of 85% and a false prediction rate of 0.19 with the American Epilepsy Society Seizure Prediction Challenge dataset. This technology provides a personalized solution for the patient that has improved sensitivity and specificity, yet, because of the algorithm's intrinsic ability for generalization, it emancipates from the reliance on epileptologists' expertise to tune a wearable technological aid, which ultimately will help deploy it broadly, including in medically-underserved locations in the globe.
Cu2O@TiO2 Core-shell Microspheres for Naphthalene Oxidation
Authors: Wang Xu , Xu Gen , Zhou Zhiwei , Qin XiaoJuan , Su Yuansha , Zhang Xianbin , Wu Wenliang
Published: October 2022

New Cu2O@TiO2 core-shell microspheres were successfully prepared for the first time in this paper. The XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, SEM, TEM, EDX and XPS characterizations were utilized to investigate the physical and chemical properties. The liquid phase oxidation of naphthalene was also carried out to test their catalytic performance. The characterization results indicating that the Cu2O microspheres were firstly formed by hydrothermal treatment and the rutile TiO2 coating on the surface would be formed by the hydrolysis of tetrabutyl titanate. The Cu2O@TiO2-5.0 catalyst with the molar ratio of copper to titanium species as high as 5.0 has the largest surface area and maximum pore volume resulting from the integrated microspheres with rougher surface thickness of about 6.3 nm, and it showed higher catalytic performance in the naphthalene liquid phase oxidation. Naphthalene conversion of 43.2%, 1, 4-naphthoquinone selectivity of 26.7% and phthalic anhydride selectivity of 53.4% can be obtained, and it only slightly decreased even after repeated use for 5 times. The method would provide a valuable theoretic reference for the hindrance of Cu2O rapid deactivation and the industrial application of the naphthalene oxidation to produce high valuable chemicals.
Usefulness of Large Beam-shaping Filters at Different Tube Voltages of newborn chest CT
Authors: Masuda Takanori , Funama Yoshinori , Nakaura Takeshi , Sato Tomoyasu , Urayama Kotaro , Kiguchi Masao , Oku Takayuki , Yoshida Masato , Arao Shinnichi , Ono Atsushi , Hiratsuka Junichi , Awai Kazuo
Published: October 2022

Background: To investigate optimizing the use of different beam shaping filters (viz. small, medium and large) when using different tube voltages during the newborn chest computed tomography (CT) examination.
Methods: We used pediatric anthropomorphic phantoms with a 64 detector-row CT scanner while scanning the chest. A real-time skin dosimeter was placed on the scanner gantry and was inserted into the phantom center of the body, the surface of the body back, and the right and left mammary glands. We performed and compared six scan protocols using small, medium, and large beam shaping filters at 80 and 120 kVp protocols.
Result: There were no significant differences in the image noise for the chest scan among the different beam shaping filters. By using the large beam shaping filter at 80 kVp, it was possible to reduce the exposure dose by 5% in comparison with the small beam shaping filter, and by 10% in comparison with the medium beam shaping filter. By using the large beam shaping filter at 120 kVp, it was possible to reduce the exposure dose by 15% in comparison with the small beam shaping filter and by 20% in comparison with the medium beam shaping filter (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: The large beam shaping filter had the most dose reduction effect during newborn chest CT. However, the exposure dose reduction rate was low when the lower tube voltage was used.
Decreased pregnancy rate per embryo transfer in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology after abdominal trachelectomy: A retrospective study
Authors: Fujita Tomoyuki , Yoshioka Naomi , Ogawa Shoko , Furukawa Yuichi , Otsuka Misako , Kuramoto Takeshi
Published: October 2022

Purpose: To evaluate the assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes after abdominal trachelectomy (AT).
Methods: This was a retrospective study. We compared the ART outcome of 13 patients who underwent AT at another hospital prior to undergoing ART at our clinic after surgery (T group) and 52 control patients selected based on age, the time of treatment onset, and anti-Müllerian hormone levels (non-T group).
Results: In all oocyte retrieval cycles, there were no significant differences in the number of oocyte retrieval, rate of fertilization, and good blastocysts. The pregnancy and live birth rates per embryo transfer (ET) were lower in the T group than in the non-T group (pregnancy rate, 20% versus [vs.] 39%, p=0.0166; live birth rate, 15% vs. 30%, p=0.0281). Endometrial thickness before ET was lesser in the T group than in the non-T group (7.4 [minimum–maximum, 3.5–14.3] mm vs. 9.0 [5.5–14.9] mm, p<0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression models showed that the age at oocyte retrieval (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.89), the presence of good embryos (adjusted OR, 3.17; 95% CI, 1.29–7.82), and a history of AT (adjusted OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15–0.83) were factors related to pregnancy per ET.
Conclusion: The pregnancy rate per ET was lower and the endometrium was thinner before ET in patients with than in those without a history of AT. It is important for clinicians to be aware of the longer time to pregnancy in patients on ART after AT.
The effects of short-term heat stress on the activity of protective enzymes and total antioxidant capacity in Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae)
Authors: Nie Peng-Cheng , Yang Ruo-Lan , Yuan Shao , Zhou Jing-Jiang , Shang Su-Qin
Published: October 2022

Tetranychus urticae Koch is a worldwide pest mite which can cause continuous damage to multiple plants even in hot environment such as greenhouse due to its strong endurance to high temperature. In order to clarify the physiological mechanisms of T. urticae in response to short-term heat stress, four high temperatures (36, 39, 42, and 45°C), three short-term heat durations (2, 4, and 6 h) were conducted to test the effects on the protein content of T. urticae and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), respectively. The results showed that protein content, antioxidant enzymes activity, and T-AOC in T. urticae were significantly affected by both the high temperature and duration after treatment, meanwhile, they showed same trends of increased at 25–39℃, then decreased at 39–42℃ except for CAT activity. The highest values of SOD activity, POD activity and T-AOC were all obtained at 39℃-4h, and that of CAT activity was obtained at 39℃-2h. The higher levels of T-AOC serve an important signal demonstrating that T. urticae has other antioxidant mechanisms except for antioxidant enzymes. Those results suggested that heat stress induces oxidative stress, and antioxidant enzymes played important role in reducing oxidative damage in T. urticae. which provided a basis for further research on the molecular mechanisms of thermostability and ecological adaptability of T. urticae.
An individual-based spatial epidemiological model for the spread of plant diseases
Authors: Cendoya Martina , Navarro-Quiles Ana , López-Quílez Antonio , Vicent Antonio , Conesa David
Published: October 2022

In the study of plant disease epidemics, there is often an interest in the state at the individual level to analyze disease progression, where the spatial structure of the population should be considered. Based on the disease status of the individuals, we developed a model to simulate plant disease spread in time and space, where the spatial dependence was introduced through the Matérn correlation function. Infection of a susceptible individual depended on the force of infection, given by the transmission rate of infected individuals and the spatial correlation. The algorithm for disease spread was implemented in Python, which allowed simulations of large populations to be handled efficiently. Using almond leaf scorch disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, as a case study, the behavior of the model parameters and the type of initial introduction (random or aggregated) on disease spread was tested by simulation, as well as the effect of introducing and/or removing infected individuals. The greatest variability in results depended on the range parameter of the Matérn correlation function and type of initial introduction. In areas with high population density, the spread rate was almost constant, while regions without trees acted as a barrier to spread when the scope of their extent was greater than the value of the range parameter. This individual-based model can be also applied to other plant diseases, adapting the parameter values to their particular epidemiological characteristics.
Response of microbial community in the soil of halophyte after contamination with tetrabromobisphenol A
Authors: Gu Chen , Zhang Fan , Lu Kaiwen , Sun Xiaoqing , Guo Wenrui , Shao Qing
Published: October 2022

Coastal wetlands are subjected to increasing tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) pollution, whereas knowledge on TBBPA degradation in marine environments is lacking. The changes of bacterial communities in TBBPA-polluted soil covered with halophytes were investigated. TBBPA could be degraded in the halophyte covered saline-alkali soil in microcosm experiment. Higher TBBPA removal occurred in the soil of Kandelia obovata compared with soils covered with Suaeda australis and Phragmites australis within 56 days of cultivation. The rhizosphere soils of S. australis, P. australis, and K. obovata mainly involved the classes of Bacteroidia, Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Anaerolineae. Additionally, manganese oxidation, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophy, and fermentation funcitions were higher in the rhizosphere soil of K. obovata after TBBPA addition. This study indicated that the vegetation type is a vital factor influencing the biodegradation mechanism of TBBPA and other related organic pollutants in salt marsh ecosystem.
Impact of the Tambora Volcanic Eruption of 1815 on Islands and Relevance to Future Sunlight-Blocking Catastrophes
Authors: Wilson Nick , Cassidy Michael , Boyd Matt , Mani Lara , Valler Veronika , Brönnimann Stefan
Published: October 2022

Island nations may have potential long-term survival value for humanity in global catastrophes such as sun-blocking catastrophes from nuclear winter and large magnitude volcanic eruptions. One way to explore this issue further is to understand the impact on islands after the largest historically observed volcanic eruption: that of Mt Tambora in 1815.
For each of the 31 large populated islands selected, we conducted literature searches for relevant historical and palaeoclimate studies. We also analysed results from a reconstruction (EKF400v2), which uses atmospheric-only general circulation model simulations with assimilated observational and proxy data. From the literature review, in those islands with data, there was evidence for weather/climate anomalies in 1815-1817 for all of them (100%; 29/29), impaired food production in 67% (8/12), and food insecurity/famine in 33% (4/12). Based on the EKF400v2 reconstruction for temperature anomalies (compared to the relatively “non-volcanic” reference period of 1779 to 1808), all but four islands showed statistically anomalous temperature reductions in the 1816-1817 period (for most p<0.00001). In the peak impact year of 1816, the lowest anomalies were seen for islands in the Southern Hemisphere (p<0.0001), the Indian Ocean (p<0.0001), and in the tropics and subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere (p=0.0057). In conclusion, the findings of both the literature review and reconstruction simulations suggest climatic impacts of the Tambora eruption for nearly all these 31 large islands. But islands in the Southern Hemisphere, in particular the Indian Ocean and the tropics and subtropics of the Southern Hemisphere, experienced relatively smaller temperature anomalies.
Female Gender was a Protective Factor for Patients with Frailty Undergoing Total Knee or Hip Replacement
Authors: Lian Qiang , Lian Yun , Fu Jinlang , Gan Wei , Yang Qinfeng , Wang Jian
Published: October 2022

Background
Women reported significantly poorer health and poorer outcomes in some surgeries than men. As the patients with frailty got more and more attention in joint placement. It is necessary to find whether frail women also need to be paid more attention after TKA or THA. Further, it is also needed to discuss specifically the different impacts of sex in the perioperative period for frail patients undergoing TKA or THA.
Method
We used the frailty-defining diagnosis cluster and the discharge data from the National Inpatient Sample database of patients who underwent THA and TKA. Bivariate and multivariate analysis methods were performed to find the association between sex and patient characteristics and postoperative complications of these patients.
Result
Frail patients undergoing TKA comprised 34.6% male and 65.4% female. In the multivariate analysis, the female sex was found to be a protective factor for mortality, acute cardiac events, acute renal failure, pneumonia, DVT_PE, and postoperative delirium. Frail patients undergoing THA were 39.5% male and 60.4% female. In the multivariate analysis, the female sex was found to be a protective factor for acute cardiac events, acute pulmonary edema, acute renal failure, and pneumonia. Moreover, whether in TKA or THA, the male sex rather than the female sex is closely associated with serious comorbidities. Lower hospital costs were also associated with the female sex.
Conclusion
Female sex acts as a protective factor for postoperative complications of THA or TKA. Therefore, frail men rather than frail women need more attention from clinicians, although the proportion of frail women is far greater than that of men.
Long-chain non-coding RNA MALAT1 upregulates the MMP-2 signaling pathway by inhibiting miR-106a-5p in murine oxygen- induced retinopathy
Authors: Li Zhaojin , Li Kunyue , Mu Siyuan , Wang Zhibin , Di Yu
Published: October 2022

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a blinding eye disease in children that is characterized by the formation of neovascularization in the retina; current treatments for this disease risk retinal damage and visual impairment. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), miR-106a-5p, and matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) in an oxygen-induced retinopathy mouse model and hypoxia-induced human retinal endothelial cells and to elucidate whether MALAT1 upregulates MMP-2 signaling by inhibiting miR-106a-5p. The role of this pathway in oxygen-induced murine retinopathy and its underlying mechanism were also investigated. MALAT1 inhibited the expression of miR-106a-5p and enhanced the expression of MMP-2, which in turn caused a series of pathological changes, such as the formation of new blood vessels in the retina. In addition, knockdown of MALAT1 can downregulate the expression of MMP-2 by sponging miR-106a-5p and inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, and tube-forming ability. In conclusion, our findings suggest that MALAT1 may contribute to the occurrence and development of ROP by inhibiting miR-106a-5p and increasing the expression of MMP-2, thus providing a new perspective for the targeted therapy of ROP.
Development and validation of bead-based assay quantifying Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Toxin, Filamentous haemagglutinin and Pertactin specific IgG in human serum
Authors: Rathod Vishal , Kadam Laxmikant , Gumma Prabhu Dasu , Gautam Manish , Sharma Hitt , Shaligram Umesh , Rao Harish , Gairola Sunil , Parekh Sameer , Marke Kevin , Asokanathan Cathy , Douglas-Bardsley Alex , Hassell Laura
Published: October 2022

Conventional ELISA platforms have been used for vaccine immunogenicity testing. However, due to limitations in sourcing and accessibility to human serum samples, we report the development and validation of Luminex-based multiplex immunoassay (MIA), using monovalent beads, which would reduce the analysis time, cost, and sample volume while simultaneously measuring the concentration of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies specific for tetanus (TT), diphtheria (DT), pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and pertactin (PRN), using the NIBSC reference standards. Additionally, we also report the development of a multiplex reference standard (MRS) focused on the simultaneous evaluation of antibodies against T, D, PT, PRN, and FHA in healthy human sera samples. As an assay evaluation parameter, the precision, accuracy, dilutional linearity, minimum and maximum detectable limit, robustness, stability, etc were assessed. The assay exhibited a wide dynamic range for all the five antigens and could quantify the IgG concentrations down to minimum concentrations, demonstrating antigen specificity with no cross-talks among the beads. The results obtained with MIA were consistent with commercially available assays. Thus, to conclude, the study provided a pentaplex assay with increased sensitivity, reproducibility and high throughput capabilities which would allow design of large and robust clinical studies for evaluating natural and vaccine-induced immunity.
Soil properties and plant species can predict population health and potential introduction sites of the endangered orchid Cypripedium calceolus
Authors: Rusconi Olivia , Steiner Théo , Bayon Claire Le , Rasmann Sergio
Published: October 2022

Background and Aims – To counteract the ongoing worldwide biodiversity loss, conservation actions are required to re-establish and regenerate populations of threatened species. Two key factors predominantly involved in finding the most suitable habitats for endangered plant species are the surrounding plant community composition and the physicochemical parameters of the soil rooting zone. However, such factors are likely to be context- and species-dependent, so it remains unclear to what extent they influence the performance of the target species.
Methods – Here, we studied 34 Swiss populations of the highly endangered orchid Cypripedium calceolus. We measured functional traits related to plant and population performance, realized vegetation surveys, and soil profiles analyses, and tested for relationships between plant traits and the surrounding vegetation structure or soil physicochemical parameters.
Results – We found that neither vegetation alliances nor soil classes per se could predict C. calceolus functional traits and population size. However, we found that C. calceolus functional traits explaining population performance and size were related to specific soil parameters, namely soil organic matter content, pH and phosphorus, in addition to a combination of presence-absence of six plant indicator species, relating to ecotones between forests and forest gaps.
Conclusion – We show that, even for species that can grow across a wide range of vegetation groups, such as the Lady’s Slippers orchids, both indicator species and specific soil parameters can be used to assess the optimal sites to implement (re)-introduction actions.
Correlation study of NF-κB, IER3, and recurrence of ovarian endometrioid cysts
Authors: Yang Ni , Huang Gu , Fan Xiang , Zhang Chao , Wang Li , Jiang Xian , Fan Gang , Zhang Lina , Zhu Pengfeng
Published: October 2022

Objective
To investigate the expression of nuclear actor-k-gene binding(NF-κB) and immediate early response 3(IER3) in nuclear factor-activated B cells in ovarian endometrioid cysts. To analyze the correlation between the expression of NF-κB and IER3 and the recurrence of the ovarian endometrioid cyst.
Methods
From January 2018 to March 2019, a total of 80 patients who underwent laparoscopic ovarian cyst excision due to ovarian endometrioid cyst in the Department of Gynecology, Changzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital were selected, including 40 patients without postoperative recurrence and 40 patients with recurrence, and the patients with recurrence were further divided into the primary recurrence and the secondary recurrence groups. The general clinical data of the patients were collected. The patient's Revised American Fertility Society (R-AFS) score, least function(LF) score, and endometriosis fertility index (EFI) were calculated, and immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression of IER3 and NF-κB in the pathological tissues of the three groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of IER3 and NF-κB expression on postoperative recurrence of the ovarian endometrioid cyst. Cox proportional hazards model was fitted to analyze the related influencing factors of ovarian endometrioid cyst recurrence.
Results
The expression intensity of NF-κB was positively correlated with IER3 (P < 0.001). ROC curve showed that the area under curve (AUC) of NF-κB and IER3 combined diagnosis was 0.844, 95%CI was 0.754–0.933, sensitivity was 77.5% and specificity was 90.00%. Multivariate Cox survival regression showed that the IER3 expression intensity > 4.5 (HR = 4.661,95%CI: 1.712–12.690, P = 0.003) and the NF-κBexpression intensity > 4.5 (HR = 2.878,95%CI: 1.181–7.011, P = 0.020) were independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence, and EFI score (HR = 1.289,95%CI: 1.037–1.602, P = 0.022) was a protective factor for postoperative recurrence.
Conclusion
EFI score is a protective factor for postoperative recurrence, and the expression intensity of NF-κB and IER3 has a certain correlation with the recurrence of ovarian endometrioid cysts. The expression levels of NF-κB and IER3 > 4.5 are independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence.
Impact of hospital volume on mortality and cost in sepsis based on a Japanese nationwide medical claims database study
Authors: Oami Takehiko , Imaeda Taro , Nakada Taka‑aki , Aizimu Tuerxun , Takahashi Nozomi , Abe Toshikazu , Yamao Yasuo , Nakagawa Satoshi , Ogura Hiroshi , Shime Nobuaki , Umemura Yutaka , Matsushima Asako , Fushimi Kiyohide
Published: October 2022

We aimed to investigate the impact of hospital volume on the mortality rate and medical costs in sepsis. This retrospective study used the administrative data from 2010 to 2017. The hospital volume categorization into quartiles was performed according to the annual number of sepsis cases. The primary and secondary outcome was in-hospital mortality and medical costs, respectively. A mixed-effects logistic model with a two-level hierarchical structure was used to adjust for baseline imbalances. Among 1,781,014 sepsis patients from 1,622 hospitals, the crude in-hospital mortality rate was 22.1% and 17.0% in the lowest and highest quartile of sepsis volume, respectively (p < 0.0001). After adjustment for confounding factors, the in-hospital mortality in the highest quartile was significantly lower than that of the lowest quartile (odds ratio, 0.789; 95% confidence interval, 0.774–0.804). Investigations with fractional polynomials and restricted cubic splines revealed that the hospital volume was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality (p < 0.0001). The highest quartile had higher daily medical costs per person than those of the lowest quartile. In conclusion, this nationwide sepsis study using the medical claims database suggested that a higher hospital volume leads to lower in-hospital mortality and higher daily medical costs per person.
Knowledge and Attitude of Dietary Supplements Among Arab Olympic Athletes and Coaches in Preparation Program for TOKYO 2020 Olympic Games
Authors: Amawi Adam Tawfiq , Moualla Dania Sameer , Alshuwaier Ghareeb O. , Alaqil Abdulrahman , Nemer Lana Salah Subhi
Published: October 2022

Background: Nutrition plays an important role as a key factor in the performance of athletes and their coaches, so good and proper nutrition is essential for improving athletic performance and their physical fitness. The lack of nutritional knowledge of athletes may affect their performance, and the most important of these issues is nutritional knowledge of food and dietary supplements
Aim: To assess the nutritional knowledge, attitude, and practice of athletes and their coaches at the Arab Olympic Preparation Center about the dietary supplements, the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Strategy has been used to assess this.
Mothed: A questionnaire-based study was applied to a convenient sample of 111 elite athletes and coaches in Arab Olympic preparation program during the period between January and March 2020 from different sport types. The questionnaire contained two-parts (personal information and nutritional supplement knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire) to meet the purpose of the study.
Results: The total percentage of athletes’ knowledge about nutritional supplements is only 46.94 %, indicating that this important group of society does not have sufficient knowledge of nutritional supplements. While the percentage of use of dietary supplementsamong elite athletes was approximately 41.6%, which is considered to be relatively high. Also, our study showed that coaches had positive impact on the elite athletes due to good coaches' knowledge, 84.2 % of elite athletes indicated that they had taken information from their coaches about dietary supplements, and 53.5 % of elite athletes indicated that they had participated in nutritional supplement workshops.
Conclusion: Based in our study, there was a relatively high prevalence of dietary supplements use among elite athletes and coaches at the Arab Olympic Preparation Program due to lack of knowledge about dietary supplements.
Too Much Finance and Top Income Concentration: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis
Authors: Siddique Md. Abu Bakkar , LEE Kang-Kook
Published: October 2022

This study investigates the effect of financial development on top income concentration and income inequality. We conducted a dynamic panel estimation using the GMM method for 171 countries, including developed and developing economies, over 1970–2017. Using linear regression, we find that financial development has a linear positive and significant effect on the top 1% and top 10% income share. In addition, nonlinear regression results report that private credit has a U-shape effect on top income concentration. This suggests that too much finance is beneficial for the top income group but detrimental to income distribution for the entire population.
JEL Codes: E44, E24, E51
Whole exome sequencing provides a diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy pedigree with SMN1 “2+0” genotype
Authors: Zhang Xiaoli , Gao Jinshuang , Guo Yaqing , Li Xiao , Zhang Chenyu , Wang Mengyue , Yu Haiyang , Yuan Erfeng , Li Xiaoli , Chen Hao , Guan Jing , Jia Tianming , Zhang Linlin
Published: October 2022

Background
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the common autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease caused by mutations of the SMN1 gene. As a special SMA carrier, the “2 + 0” genotype of SMN1 poses a great challenge for carrier screening and family genetic counseling.
Methods
In this study, for the first time, we identified “2 + 0” genotype carriers via trio-based whole exome sequencing (WES) and sequencing based multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) haplotype linkage analysis.
Results
Combined with the copy number of SMN1 gene in family members, the genetic relationship of SMN1 pathogenic gene transmitted from grandmother to father and then to proband was confirmed.
Conclusion
Our study suggest that SNPs transmitted through multiple generations in a family could be screened by using WES sequencing to realize linkage analysis. And we determine that the SMN1 genotypes of proband’s father and grandmother are “2 + 0” genotype carriers.
A rapid therapeutic drug monitoring method of carbamazepine in serum by using coffee ring effect-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
Authors: Zhu Qingxia , Li Xinhang , Li Dan , Lu Feng , Zhao Yunli , Yuan Yongfang
Published: October 2022

Carbamazepine (CBZ) has a narrow therapeutic concentration range, and therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is necessary for its safe and effective administration. This study aims to develop a procedure for CBZ detection in plasma using coffee ring effect-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Silver nanoparticles deposited onto silicon wafers were used as the SERS-active material. Surface treatment optimization of the silicon wafers and the liquid–liquid extraction method were conducted to eliminate the influence of impurities on the silicon wafer surface and the protein matrix. The proposed detection procedure allows for the fast determination of CBZ in artificially spiked serum samples within a concentration range of 2.5–40 μg·mL–1, which matches the range of the drug concentrations in the serum after oral medication. The limit of detection for CBZ was found to be 0.01 μg·mL–1. The developed method allowed CBZ and its metabolites to be ultimately distinguished from real serum samples. It is anticipated that the developed method will have great potential for monitoring other drug concentrations.
Antemortem Domain-Specific Cognitive Functions Predict Postmortem Neuropathological Traits in the Framingham Heart Study
Authors: Li Donghe , Wang Yuehting , Ang Ting F.A. , Xia Weiming , Aytan Nurgul , Mez Jesse , Devine Sherral , Au Rhoda , Farrer Lindsay A. , Stein Thor D. , Jun Gyungah
Published: October 2022

Background: Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is aided by neuropsychological (NP) tests. However, correlations between antemortem domain specific cognitive functions from NP tests and neuropathological outcomes at autopsy are not well known.
Methods: We conducted association tests between antemortem NP tests and postmortem neuropathological traits in 159 participants from the Framingham Heart Study (FHS). The NP tests included memory, language, executive, and visuospatial domains. Neuropathological traits contained neuropathological diagnosis of AD (AD), Braak stage, neuritic plaque score, and quantitative measures of site-specific tau phosphorylation (pTau), density of microglia and synaptic protein density from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex area of the autopsied brains in the FHS subjects. For the most significantly associated postmortem outcome (pTau) with antemortem cognitive domains, we compared prediction models containing significant cognitive domains with those including all cognitive domains, adjusting for interval age and APOE ɛ4 status as covariates.
Results: We identified significant associations for AD pathology with memory, language, and executive domains (best P with memory=1.1x10-4). At least three distinct cognitive domains were nominally associated (P<0.05) with Braak stages, plaque scores, and phosphorylated paired helical filament tau (AT8). Language domain impairment was associated with microglia (Iba1) density, while language and executive function impairments were significantly associated with complement component C4a and C4b levels, respectively (P<0.05). Impairment in the memory domain was significantly associated with levels of pTau181, pTau202, pTau231, postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95), and ratio of Aβ42/40 (best P with pTau231=0.008). Impairment in the visuospatial domain was associated with pTau396, and the area under the curve (AUC) for a model predicting high pTau396 utilizing the block design was better (AUC=0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46-0.85) than for a model including tests for all domains (AUC=0.61, 95% CI=0.31-0.84).
Conclusions: These findings confirm significant associations between antemortem domain specific cognitive tests and neuropathological traits at autopsy, especially postmortem measures of phosphorylated tau levels. Prediction models demonstrated that impairment in block design alone is sufficient to predict a high-level of pTau396 at autopsy.
Automatic tool for analysis of morphometric changes in the tumor spheroids regions treated with cisplatin
Authors: Fonseca-Benitez Angela , Casallas Luz Helena Camargo , Guarnizo-Mendez Hector , Perdomo-Lara Sandra Janneth
Published: October 2022

Spheroids provides an in vitro cell culture model that mimics cancer cell growth in the in vivo solid tumor microenvironment. This cell culture model has revolutionized drug response studies. The architecture of the spheroid allows the cells to form different layers depending on oxygen, nutrients, and pH gradients. These layers, called proliferative, quiescent, and necrotic zones, are relevant in the treatment response evaluation because the cells present there have different behavior, which provides a better approach to evaluate treatments that can be correlated to in vivo response. Consequently, a key aspect for evaluation in this culture type is to analyze its morphology features; this is added to the main problem in extracting all parameters necessary for analysis. To overcome this difficulty, in this work, we proposed a MATLAB script for analyzing layers or zones of CAL27 spheroids with automatic computation of different morphological parameters. We correlated with in vitro experiments to improve the development and evaluation of antitumor drugs. This analysis utilizes inverted microscopy imaging of squamous oral carcinoma cells growing in spheroids treated or untreated with cisplatin. We developed and tested a software tool that detects each zone of the spheroid from threshold values and the changes in treatment response. The morphological parameters sphericity and solidity changes were observed in spheroids treated and untreated with cisplatin 20µM in the different zones. Besides, we observed that the quiescent zone was increased after treatment.