bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pembrolizumab-related autoimmune hemolytic anemia in a patient with metastatic lung adenocarcinoma: a case report
Authors: Baek Dong Won , Chae Yee Soo
Published: March 2021

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become the main drugs for programmed cell death receptor-1 or ligand-1 expressing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) combined with conventional chemotherapy. ICIs are generally more tolerable than cytotoxic chemotherapies in terms of toxicity, and ICI-related adverse events are mild and manageable. However, these drugs may lead to unexpected severe adverse events such as immune-related hematologic toxicities, which could be life-threatening. Here, a rare case of a pembrolizumab-related adverse event in a patient with NSCLC who showed early-onset hemolytic anemia and recovered by high-dose steroid and a series of plasma exchanges is reported.
Evaluation of fishermen opinions about inland fisheries with non-linear canonical correlation analysis
Authors: Yılmaz Emre , Pulatsü Serap
Published: March 2021

This study aims to present and examine the views among fishermen with different socio-demographic and socio-economic backgrounds (i.e., age, education level, annual income and source of income), fishing in four important inland fishing grounds in Turkey, namely Marmara Lake-Demirköprü Dam Lake (Manisa Province) and Eğirdir Lake- Beyşehir Lake (Isparta Province). The following key points are emphasized; a) Problems in inland fisheries b) Potential reasons of decrease in natural fish stocks c) Problem solutions and recommendations to improve the inland fisheries. The data obtained from a survey administered to 59 fishermen was evaluated using the Non-Linear Canonical Correlation Analysis method. According to the findings of the study: a) The most important problems encountered in fisheries; according to the fishermen with high education level, while the marketing and changes in the water level of the lakes, the fishermen with low education and income level, unlicensed hunting, the lack of punishment and electric hunting are problems b) Fishermen with a high level of education think that fishing with illegal fishing gears during the prohibited fishing season, and those with a low level of education and income are of opinion that small fishing is an important factor in the decrease of natural fish stocks c) Fishermen with high education-income sources adopt the idea of improving legal regulations and complying with them, whereas fishermen with a low-level of education and income think that problems in marketing should be eliminated as a solution to the problem in the fisheries. Results indicate that increasing the effectiveness of the practices that consider the opinions/suggestions of fishermen will contribute to the management and sustainability of fisheries in the region.
Seasonal investigation of marine litter on beaches of Urla (Izmir/Turkey)
Authors: Güngören Zeynep , Başaran Aslı
Published: March 2021

In this study, types and quantities of marine litter in Urla (İzmir) Kum Denizi Beach and Demircili Koyu Beach were determined seasonally between October 2017 and October 2018. At the beaches, marine litter larger than 2,5 centimetres were collected with 3 people along 2-meter lines, which are determined to be parallel to the sea. The collected litters were classified according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 2009), quantities were determined and the pollution status of the beaches was evaluated according to the Clean Coast Index. A total of 1,265 litter from Kum Denizi Beach and 2,099 litter from Demircili Koyu Beach were collected. In total, 3,364 pieces of litter weighing 90.81 kg were collected from the two beaches. Among the litters collected, plastic litter was found to be dominant with 2,794 pieces. This was followed by 145 metals, 141 papers, 110 fabrics, 87 foam plastics, 42 wood, 32 glass, 8 other litters and 5 rubber. Given the seasonal averages of the clean coast index values; Kum Denizi Beach was found to be clean and Demircili Koyu Beach was found to be moderately polluted.
Trends in a natural product fucoxanthin
Authors: Aslanbay Güler Bahar , İmamoğlu Esra
Published: March 2021

Fucoxanthin is a xanthophyll pigment which occurs in marine brown seaweeds (macroalgae), diatoms and several microalgae species. It forms with chlorophyll a-c and several proteins, a major fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c complex, which transfers light energy to the photosynthesis center and plays a major role in light harvesting. Recent studies have reported that fucoxanthin has many physiological functions and biological effects, such as anti-obesity, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and cardiovascular system protection. Therefore, this pigment is highly preferred for the prevention and treatment of various chronic diseases. In addition, potential applications of high value fucoxanthin can be found in cosmetic, food and feed industries. In this review paper, the historical development, characteristic properties and possible sources of fucoxanthin are extensively described. The potential biological activities of fucoxanthin are also discussed. Finally, brief overview of common applications and market analysis of commercial fucoxanthin are also reported.
Analysis of the Impact of Monetary Relations Between the Russian Federation and the Middle East on the Region's Economy
Authors: Al'-Mavazhde Vahib
Published: March 2021

International monetary and credit relations are an integral part and one of the most difficult areas of a market economy. They reflect the problems of the national and world economies, which historically developed in parallel. With the globalization and internationalization of the world economy, there is an intensification of international flows of goods, services, and especially capital and loans.

International monetary and credit relations (IMCO) are one of the forms of international economic relations (IEE) along with such forms as: international trade, international movement of capital and foreign investment, international labor migration, international cooperation in science and technology, international division of labor (specialization and cooperation of production).

Russia is one of the key partners in the world market in the field of currency and credit relations and trade, which affects the country's economic development. On the financial market arena, Russia acts as a lender for developing countries, and is also a borrower from more developed countries. In the modern realities of the development of international economic relations, it is worth considering various alternative financial markets or renewing old international economic relations, as an option these are the countries of the Middle East.

Today, market economic relations between Russia and the Middle East are based on mutually beneficial conditions for both parties. The Russian Federation views the Arab countries, firstly, as a market for its manufactured products, technical equipment, and secondly, as a prospect for credit relations and the development of a market for energy products. At the moment, the improvement of relations in the currency and credit directions is aggravated by the state of the world economy and foreign economic activity of Russia.
Business Models of Reengineering Control Systems in Industrial Holdings
Authors: Belyaeva M. , Kamchatova E.
Published: March 2021

The post-industrial stage of the development of the national economy marked the need for traditional sectors to adopt the national economy (one of these industries is industry) completely new management paradigms based on the accents of digitalization and machine management of operational business processes and the shift of the manager from the position of a classic manager to a navigator, developing the trajectory of industrial business taking into account current challenges and threats in the presence markets and the capabilities of the internal environment to self-renewal and self-development taking into account the private interests of top managers.
Improving Logistics Activities in the Face of Global Challenges
Authors: Bykova O. , Garnov Andrey , Garnova V. , Repnikova Valentina
Published: March 2021

Many functions of customs are related to the movement of goods across borders, which provides a wide range of multifaceted interstate cooperation. Given that these business relationships have cross-border characteristics and operate in the area of foreign trade interests, it is clear that tariff relationships cannot be governed by one state.

The customs structure is an integral part of an integrated hierarchical system of national regulation of foreign economic processes, which regulates the complexity of the required information and documentation and provides supervision of cross-border management. At the same time, in recent years, customs services, along with traditional organizations of work in the field of cross-border business management and taxation, have increasingly introduced many customs services that can be interpreted as special forms of public services.

The customs department faces new challenges in the context of closely related individual segments of the world's business areas and the globalization of economic processes, which contributes to the logistics development of cross-border business in all respects.

It should be borne in mind that the regulation of the trade process is inevitable in the context of changes in global economic systems that affect both the export and import of certain goods. These situations determine the high urgency of the problem, and can be resolved through a compromise between liberal and protectionist solutions.
Robust Optimization for Models with Uncertain Second-Order Cone and Semidefinite Programming Constraints
Authors: Zhen Jianzhe , de Ruiter Frans J. C. T. , Roos Ernst , den Hertog Dick
Published: March 2021

In this paper, we consider uncertain second-order cone (SOC) and semidefinite programming (SDP) constraints with polyhedral uncertainty, which are in general computationally intractable. We propose to reformulate an uncertain SOC or SDP constraint as a set of adjustable robust linear optimization constraints with an ellipsoidal or semidefinite representable uncertainty set, respectively. The resulting adjustable problem can then (approximately) be solved by using adjustable robust linear optimization techniques. For example, we show that if linear decision rules are used, then the final robust counterpart consists of SOC or SDP constraints, respectively, which have the same computational complexity as the nominal version of the original constraints. We propose an efficient method to obtain good lower bounds. Moreover, we extend our approach to other classes of robust optimization problems, such as nonlinear problems that contain wait-and-see variables, linear problems that contain bilinear uncertainty, and general conic constraints. Numerically, we apply our approach to reformulate the problem on finding the minimum volume circumscribing ellipsoid of a polytope and solve the resulting reformulation with linear and quadratic decision rules as well as Fourier-Motzkin elimination. We demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach by comparing it with the state-of-the-art copositive approach. Moreover, we apply the proposed approach to a robust regression problem and a robust sensor network problem and use linear decision rules to solve the resulting adjustable robust linear optimization problems, which solve the problem to (near) optimality.

Summary of Contribution: Computing robust solutions for nonlinear optimization problems with uncertain second-order cone and semidefinite programming constraints are of much interest in real-life applications, yet they are in general computationally intractable. This paper proposes a computationally tractable approximation for such problems. Extensive computational experiments on (i) computing the minimum volume circumscribing ellipsoid of a polytope, (ii) robust regressions, and (iii) robust sensor networks are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach.
Struggling with anxiety: demographic statistics and an emotionalised American Jewish public sphere
Authors: Kravel-Tovi Michal
Published: March 2021

Over the last three decades, the American Jewish communal public sphere has been flooded with sociodemographic concerns about numerical decline, and a sense of threatened ability to maintain a vibrant collective life. This article argues that this discursive site functions as a means, or technique, for the emotionalisation of Jewish identity and citizenship in the community.

The article shows that public discourses on what is known by now as ‘the Jewish continuity crisis’ are shaped by an emotionalising feature of anxiety. Anxiety serves, all at once, as a tone-setter, an anchor of communal identity, and an object of debate: it sets an intensified volume, assigns its interlocutors particular emotionalised tags, and has also provoked its own fire as an emotional style. On the one hand, the organised community struggles with – that is, it suffers from – deeply entrenched anxieties about how to secure the future of American Jewry. On the other hand, the organised community struggles with having anxiety as such a defining position from which to work towards continuity and to articulate Jewishness. Ultimately, continuity is often taken as a communal struggle, with demographic and affiliation trends, but anxiety is in itself a source of struggle as well. I analyse this double-edged public dynamic, and argue that emotionality in itself constitutes a key component of involvement in the Jewish community. This component develops not only along and against the grain of anxiety, but also against the grain of indifference.
Evolution of four-wave mixing by controlling Raman coherence in a multi-dressed atomic system
Authors: Pei Li-Ya , Niu Jin-Yan , Wang Ru-Quan , Wu Ling-An
Published: March 2021

The evolution of enhanced four-wave mixing based on Raman coherence as the probe intensity increases is observed experimentally in an

85

R
b

atomic vapor system. We propose that for a Doppler-broadened

Λ

-type level system, the generated anti-Stokes field from one-photon resonance will be suppressed by the dressed-states resonance and can be controlled by the probe intensity, which influences the effective transverse relaxation rate of Raman coherence. When the probe field is not so weak, the double resonance for dressed states will greatly suppress the anti-Stokes emission at the central frequency, and the signal peak will be split. We show that this phenomenon is a result of the destructive polarization interference between atoms with different velocities from the two types of resonance. Based on our model, we present a new, to the best of our knowledge, interpretation of four-wave mixing enhancement in the conventional

Λ

-type electromagnetically induced transparency system.
Review of optical sensing and manipulation of chiral molecules and nanostructures with the focus on plasmonic enhancements [Invited]
Authors: Kakkanattu Aneeth , Eerqing Narima , Ghamari Shahin , Vollmer Frank
Published: March 2021

Chiral molecules are ubiquitous in nature; many important synthetic chemicals and drugs are chiral. Detecting chiral molecules and separating the enantiomers is difficult because their physiochemical properties can be very similar. Here we review the optical approaches that are emerging for detecting and manipulating chiral molecules and chiral nanostructures. Our review focuses on the methods that have used plasmonics to enhance the chiroptical response. We also review the fabrication and assembly of (dynamic) chiral plasmonic nanosystems in this context.
Fiber-optic time-frequency transfer in gigabit ethernet networks over urban fiber links
Authors: Lu Zhan , Gui Youzhen , Wang Jialiang , Ying Kang , Sun Yanguang , Liu Lei , Cheng Nan , Cai Haiwen
Published: March 2021

We demonstrate a new optical pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) scheme where joint ultrastable time-frequency and gigabit ethernet data transfer with the same laser wavelength is realized. Time transmission is compatible with the White Rabbit (WR) based on gigabit ethernet networks, and frequency transmission is achieved by using 100MHz radio frequency (RF) modulation and the round-trip compensation methods. The laser is on-off keying (OOK) modulated by the WR signal, the RF and WR signal are modulated by optical PAM in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer modulator (MZM), and the local and remote site are connected by 96km urban fiber in Shanghai. The experimental results demonstrate that the frequency instabilities are 5.7E−14/1 s and 5.9E−17/104s, and the time interval transfer of 1 pulse per second (PPS) signal with less than 300fs stability after 104 s are obtained. This novel scheme can transmit frequency signals at hydrogen-maser-level stability in the gigabit ethernet network.
Native signal self-mix interferometer has less than 1 nm noise equivalent displacement
Authors: Donati Silvano , Norgia Michele
Published: March 2021

We demonstrate that the native configuration of a self-mixing interferometer attains a minimum detectable displacement of 0.72 nm or

λ

/

1870

at the laser wavelength of 1310 nm, obtained by the bare laser diode package including a monitor photodiode, observed in the electrical domain by means of an oscilloscope and without any electronic processing of the signal.
Measurement of multiple cytokines for discrimination and risk stratification in patients with Chagas’ disease and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Wang Yong , Wessel Niels , Kohse Franziska , Khan Adnan , Schultheiss Heinz-Peter , Moreira Maria da Consolaҫão V. , Walther Thomas
Published: March 2021

Chagas’ disease (CD), caused by the hemoflagellate protozoan, Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in most countries of Latin America. Heart failure (HF) is often a late manifestation of chronic CD, and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Inflammatory processes mediated by cytokines play a key role in the pathogenesis and progression of CD. Keeping in view the inflammatory nature of CD, this study investigated the possible role of 21 different inflammatory cytokines as biomarkers for prediction and prognosis of CD. The plasma concentration of these cytokines was measured in a group of patients with CD (n = 94), and then compared with those measured in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) from idiopathic causes (n = 48), and with control subjects (n = 25). Monovariately, plasma levels of cytokines such as stem cell growth factor beta (SCGF beta), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), monokine induced by interferon gamma (CXCL9), and macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) were significantly increased in CD patients with advanced HF compared to control group. None of the cytokines could demonstrate any prognostic potency in CD patients, and only MIF and stromal derived factor-1 alpha (CXCL12) showed significance in predicting mortality and necessity for heart transplant in DCM patients. However, multivariate analysis prognosticated a large proportion of CD and DCM patients. In CD patients, HGF and Interleukin-12p40 (IL-12p40) together separated 81.9% of 3-year survivors from the deceased, while in DCM patients, CXCL12, stem cell factor (SCF), and CXCL9 together discriminated 77.1% of survivors from the deceased. The significant increase in plasma concentrations of cytokines such as HGF and CXCL9 in CD patients, and the ability of these cytokines to prognosticate a large proportion of CD and DCM patients multivariately, encourages further studies to clarify the diagnostic and prognostic potential of cytokines in such patients.
Data-driven analyses of behavioral strategies to eliminate cysticercosis in sub-Saharan Africa
Authors: Skrip Laura A. , Dermauw Veronique , Dorny Pierre , Ganaba Rasmané , Millogo Athanase , Tarnagda Zékiba , Carabin Hélène
Published: March 2021

Background

The multi-host taeniosis/cysticercosis disease system is associated with significant neurological morbidity, as well as economic burden, globally. We investigated whether lower cost behavioral interventions are sufficient for local elimination of human cysticercosis in Boulkiemdé, Sanguié, and Nayala provinces of Burkina Faso.

Methodology/Principal findings

Province-specific data on human behaviors (i.e., latrine use and pork consumption) and serological prevalence of human and pig disease were used to inform a deterministic, compartmental model of the taeniosis/cysticercosis disease system. Parameters estimated via Bayesian melding provided posterior distributions for comparing transmission rates associated with human ingestion of Taenia solium cysticerci due to undercooking and human exposure to T. solium eggs in the environment. Reductions in transmission via these pathways were modeled to determine required effectiveness of a market-focused cooking behavior intervention and a community-led sanitation and hygiene program, independently and in combination, for eliminating human cysticercosis as a public health problem (<1 case per 1000 population). Transmission of cysticerci due to consumption of undercooked pork was found to vary significantly across transmission settings. In Sanguié, the rate of transmission due to undercooking was 6% higher than that in Boulkiemdé (95% CI: 1.03, 1.09; p-value < 0.001) and 35% lower than that in Nayala (95% CI: 0.64, 0.66; p-value < 0.001). We found that 67% and 62% reductions in undercooking of pork consumed in markets were associated with elimination of cysticercosis in Nayala and Sanguié, respectively. Elimination of active cysticercosis in Boulkiemdé required a 73% reduction. Less aggressive reductions of 25% to 30% in human exposure to Taenia solium eggs through sanitation and hygiene programs were associated with elimination in the provinces.

Conclusions/Significance

Despite heterogeneity in effectiveness due to local transmission dynamics and behaviors, education on the importance of proper cooking, in combination with community-led sanitation and hygiene efforts, has implications for reducing morbidity due to cysticercosis and neurocysticercosis.
R-locus for roaned coat is associated with a tandem duplication in an intronic region of USH2A in dogs and also contributes to Dalmatian spotting
Authors: Kawakami Takeshi , Jensen Meghan K. , Slavney Andrea , Deane Petra E. , Milano Ausra , Raghavan Vandana , Ford Brett , Chu Erin T. , Sams Aaron J. , Boyko Adam R.
Published: March 2021

Structural variations (SVs) represent a large fraction of all genetic diversity, but how this genetic diversity is translated into phenotypic and organismal diversity is unclear. Explosive diversification of dog coat color and patterns after domestication can provide a unique opportunity to explore this question; however, the major obstacle is to efficiently collect a sufficient number of individuals with known phenotypes and genotypes of hundreds of thousands of markers. Using customer-provided information about coat color and patterns of dogs tested on a commercial canine genotyping platform, we identified a genomic region on chromosome 38 that is strongly associated with a mottled coat pattern (roaning) by genome-wide association study. We identified a putative causal variant in this region, an 11-kb tandem duplication (11,131,835–11,143,237) characterized by sequence read coverage and discordant reads of whole-genome sequence data, microarray probe intensity data, and a duplication-specific PCR assay. The tandem duplication is in an intronic region of usherin gene (USH2A), which was perfectly associated with roaning but absent in non-roaned dogs. We detected strong selection signals in this region characterized by reduced nucleotide diversity (π), increased runs of homozygosity, and extended haplotype homozygosity in Wirehaired Pointing Griffons and Australian Cattle Dogs (typically roaned breeds), as well as elevated genetic difference (FST) between Wirehaired Pointing Griffon (roaned) and Labrador Retriever (non-roaned). Surprisingly, all Dalmatians (N = 262) carried the duplication embedded in identical or similar haplotypes with roaned dogs, indicating this region as a shared target of selection during the breed’s formation. We propose that the Dalmatian’s unique spots were a derived coat pattern by establishing a novel epistatic interaction between roaning “R-locus” on chromosome 38 and an uncharacterized modifier locus. These results highlight the utility of consumer-oriented genotype and phenotype data in the discovery of genomic regions contributing to phenotypic diversity in dogs.
Alcohol use patterns and disorders among individuals with personality disorders in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area
Authors: Hanna Chaim Carolina , Santana Geilson Lima , de Vries Albertin Paula , Silveira Camila Magalhães , Siu Erica Rosanna , Viana Maria Carmen , Pang Wang Yuan , Andrade Laura Helena
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Alcohol Use Disorders are frequently comorbid with personality disorders. However, the heterogeneity of the prevalence estimates is high, and most data come from high income countries. Our aim is to estimate the prevalence and association between alcohol use outcomes and the three DSM-5 clusters of personality disorders in a representative sample of the São Paulo Metropolitan Area.

Materials and methods

A representative household sample of 2,942 adults was interviewed using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the International Personality Disorder Examination Screening Questionnaire. Lifetime PD diagnoses were multiply imputed, and AUD diagnoses were obtained using DSM-5 criteria. We conducted cross-tabulations and logistic regression to estimate the associations between AUDs and PDs.

Results and discussion

Our study did not find significant associations of PDs with heavy drinking patterns or mild AUD. Cluster B PD respondents tended to show the highest conditional prevalence estimates of most alcohol use patterns and AUD, including its severity subtypes. When alcohol outcomes were regressed on all PD Clusters simultaneously, with adjustment for sex and age, only cluster B was significantly associated with past-year alcohol use (OR 3.0), regular drinking (OR 3.2), and AUDs (OR 8.5), especially moderate and severe cases of alcohol use disorders (OR 9.7 and 16.6, respectively). These associations between Cluster B PDs and these alcohol outcomes were shown to be independent of other PD Clusters and individuals´ sex and age.

Conclusion

The main finding of our study is that AUDs are highly comorbid with PDs. The presence of Cluster B PDs significantly increases the odds of alcohol consumption and disorders and of more severe forms of AUDs. Considering the local context of poor treatment provision, more specific prevention and intervention strategies should be directed to this population.
Complete genome sequence of the deep South China Sea-derived Streptomyces niveus SCSIO 3406, the producer of cytotoxic and antibacterial marfuraquinocins
Authors: Zhu Qinghua , Cheng Weige , Song Yongxiang , He Qing , Ju Jianhua , Li Qinglian
Published: March 2021

Streptomyces niveus SCSIO 3406 was isolated from a sediment sample collected from South China Sea at a depth of 3536 m. Four new sesquiterpenoid naphthoquinones, marfuraquinocins A-D, and two new geranylated phenazines, i. e. phenaziterpenes A and B, were isolated from the fermentation broth of the strain. Here, we present its genome sequence, which contains 7,990,492 bp with a G+C content of 70.46% and harbors 7088 protein-encoding genes. The genome sequence analysis revealed the presence of a 28,787 bp gene cluster encoding for 24 open reading frames including 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene synthase and monooxygenase, seven phenazine biosynthesis proteins, two prenyltransferases and a squalene-hopene cyclase. These genes are known to be necessary for the biosynthesis of both marfuraquinocins and phenaziterpenes. Outside the gene cluster (and scattered around the genome), there are seven genes belonging to the methylerythritol phosphate pathway for the biosynthesis of the essential primary metabolite, isopentenyl diphosphate, as well as six geranyl diphosphate/farnesyl diphosphate synthase genes. The strain S. niveus SCSIO 3406 showed type I PKS, type III PKS and nonribosomal peptide synthetase cluster. The sequence will provide the genetic basis for better understanding of biosynthesis mechanism of the above mentioned six compounds and for the construction of improved strain for the industrial production of antimicrobial agents.
16S rRNA gene amplicon-based metagenomic analysis of bacterial communities in the rhizospheres of selected mangrove species from Mida Creek and Gazi Bay, Kenya
Authors: Muwawa Edith M. , Obieze Chinedu C. , Makonde Huxley M. , Jefwa Joyce M. , Kahindi James H. P. , Khasa Damase P.
Published: March 2021

Prokaryotic communities play key roles in biogeochemical transformation and cycling of nutrients in the productive mangrove ecosystem. In this study, the vertical distribution of rhizosphere bacteria was evaluated by profiling the bacterial diversity and community structure in the rhizospheres of four mangrove species (Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops tagal and Avicennia marina) from Mida Creek and Gazi Bay, Kenya, using DNA-metabarcoding. Alpha diversity was not significantly different between sites, but, significantly higher in the rhizospheres of S. alba and R. mucronata in Gazi Bay than in Mida Creek. Chemical parameters of the mangrove sediments significantly correlated inversely with alpha diversity metrics. The bacterial community structure was significantly differentiated by geographical location, mangrove species and sampling depth, however, differences in mangrove species and sediment chemical parameters explained more the variation in bacterial community structure. Proteobacteria (mainly Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria) was the dominant phylum while the families Desulfobacteraceae, Pirellulaceae and Syntrophobacteraceae were dominant in both study sites and across all mangrove species. Constrained redundancy analysis indicated that calcium, potassium, magnesium, electrical conductivity, pH, nitrogen, sodium, carbon and salinity contributed significantly to the species–environment relationship. Predicted functional profiling using PICRUSt2 revealed that pathways for sulfur and carbon metabolism were significantly enriched in Gazi Bay than Mida Creek. Overall, the results indicate that bacterial community composition and their potential function are influenced by mangrove species and a fluctuating influx of nutrients in the mangrove ecosystems of Gazi Bay and Mida Creek.
Multiple clades of Husavirus in South America revealed by next generation sequencing
Authors: Ramos Endrya do Socorro Fôro , Rosa Ulisses Alves , Ribeiro Geovani de Oliveira , Villanova Fabiola , Milagres Flávio Augusto de Pádua , Brustulin Rafael , Morais Vanessa dos Santos , Araújo Emerson Luiz Lima , Pandey Ramendra Pati , Raj V. Samuel , Sabino Ester Cerdeira , Deng Xutao , Delwart Eric , Luchs Adriana , Leal Élcio , da Costa Antonio Charlys
Published: March 2021

Husavirus (HuV) is an unclassified virus of the order Picornavirales that has already been identified worldwide in various locations. The genetic, epidemiological, and pathogenic characteristics are, however, little understood. In children with acute gastroenteritis, this study used next-generation sequencing to recognize unknown sources of viruses. In particular, 251 fecal samples obtained from individuals were sequenced in southern, northeastern, and northern Brazil. all samples were also analyzed using culture methods and parasitological tests to classify other enteric pathogens such as bacteria, parasites, and viruses. 1.9% of the samples tested positive for HuV, for a total of 5 positive children, with a mean age of 2 year, with three males and two females. Detailed molecular characterization of full genomes showed that Brazilian HuVs’ nucleotide divergence is less than 11%. The genetic gap between Brazilian sequences and the closest HuV reported previously, on the other hand, is 18%. The study showed that Brazilian sequences are closely related to the HuV defined in Viet Nam in 2013, further characterization based on phylogenetics. At least two divergent clades of HuV in South America were also seen in the phylogenetic study.
Impact of delayed response on wearable cognitive assistance
Authors: Olguín Muñoz Manuel , Klatzky Roberta , Wang Junjue , Pillai Padmanabhan , Satyanarayanan Mahadev , Gross James
Published: March 2021

Wearable cognitive assistants (WCA) are anticipated to become a widely-used application class, in conjunction with emerging network infrastructures like 5G that incorporate edge computing capabilities. While prototypical studies of such applications exist today, the relationship between infrastructure service provisioning and its implication for WCA usability is largely unexplored despite the relevance that these applications have for future networks. This paper presents an experimental study assessing how WCA users react to varying end-to-end delays induced by the application pipeline or infrastructure. Participants interacted directly with an instrumented task-guidance WCA as delays were introduced into the system in a controllable fashion. System and task state were tracked in real time, and biometric data from wearable sensors on the participants were recorded. Our results show that periods of extended system delay cause users to correspondingly (and substantially) slow down in their guided task execution, an effect that persists for a time after the system returns to a more responsive state. Furthermore, the slow-down in task execution is correlated with a personality trait, neuroticism, associated with intolerance for time delays. We show that our results implicate impaired cognitive planning, as contrasted with resource depletion or emotional arousal, as the reason for slowed user task executions under system delay. The findings have several implications for the design and operation of WCA applications as well as computational and communication infrastructure, and additionally for the development of performance analysis tools for WCA.
Assessing mobile technology use and mHealth acceptance among HIV-positive men who have sex with men and transgender women in Malaysia
Authors: Krishnan Archana , Weikum Damian , Cravero Claire , Kamarulzaman Adeeba , Altice Frederick L.
Published: March 2021

Background

Mobile health (mHealth) can be beneficial in monitoring the complex healthcare regimen for people with HIV that includes adhering to medication and refraining from risky practices such as unsafe sex and injection drug use. Not only is mHealth often implemented without appropriate feasibility and acceptability research, but there is limited mHealth research among key HIV-positive populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW).

Methods

This study assessed access to and use of mobile technology and acceptability of mHealth among 150 HIV-positive MSM and TGW who were prescribed antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Malaysia–an emerging economy with rapid telecommunications growth and societal stigma against these groups.

Results

Findings among the 114 MSM and 36 TGW reveal high levels of depression (42%), stigma (2.53/4.00) and risky sexual behavior (30%), and suboptimal ART adherence (22%). On the other hand, the sample had excellent access to smartphones (75.3%) and the internet (78%), and had high acceptance of mHealth especially for those with suboptimal ART adherence.

Conclusion

In settings like Malaysia where homosexuality and cross-dressing are socially and legally stigmatized, HIV prevention and treatment strategies delivered using an mHealth platform have the potential to overcome in-person barriers.
Photodynamic therapy combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy for pachychoroid neovasculopathy
Authors: Miki Akiko , Kusuhara Sentaro , Otsuji Tsuyoshi , Kawashima Yu , Miki Katsuaki , Imai Hisanori , Nakamura Makoto , Tsujikawa Akitaka
Published: March 2021

This multicenter retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the 1-year treatment outcome of photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy for pachychoroid neovasculopathy (PNV). A total of 42 eyes of 42 patients with treatment-naïve PNV who were treated with PDT combined with intravitreal injections of an anti-VEGF agent (ranibizumab or aflibercept) for 1 year. All eyes showed exudative and/or hemorrhagic changes that affected the fovea at baseline. After the initial combination therapy, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) and central retinal thickness (CRT) were significantly reduced and were maintained as such for 12 months (P < 0.01 in SCT and CRT). The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (0.19 ± 0.30 at baseline) significantly improved at 3 months (0.15 ± 0.29, P < 0.05) and further improved at 12 months (0.10 ± 0.30, P < 0.01) when compared to that at baseline. After the initial combination therapy, 32 eyes (76.2%) required no additional treatments for 12 months. The mean number of additional PDT and intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF agents was 0.1 ± 0.3 and 0.9 ± 1.9, respectively. Of the 42 eyes included in this study, 22 eyes (52.4%) had polypoidal lesions at baseline. No significant differences in SCT, CRT, or BCVA were observed at any time points between eyes with and without polypoidal lesions. Of 20 eyes without polypoidal lesions, only 1 eye (5.0%) needed additional treatments. PNV, especially without polypoidal lesions, can be treated effectively with PDT combined with anti-VEGF therapy with few sessions.
Strontium-90 brachytherapy following intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections for keloid treatment: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Deng Ke , Xiao Haitao , Liu Xiaoxue , Ogawa Rei , Xu Xuewen , Liu Yong
Published: March 2021

Background

Keloid disease is hard to fully eradicate. Recurrence and other unsatisfactory results were found in many patients. No current therapeutic modality has been determined to be most effective for treating keloid scars. Intralesional corticosteroid injections is most commonly recommended for primary management of small and young keloids as well as hypertrophic scars. However, it’s difficult for patients to adhere to long-term triamcinolone acetonide injection therapy because of the pain, inconvenience or complications including hormonal imbalance or irregular menstruation.

Objective

We aimed to determine whether and how Strontium-90 brachytherapy as an adjuvant radiation could affect keloid recurrence after intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections.

Methods

We included keloid patients from March 2019 to September 2019 and randomly allocated them to two groups after 3 intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections at 3 weeks interval. The experimental group received Strontium-90 brachytherapy at a total dose of 15-20Gy, while the control group didn’t receive any adjuvant treatment. We performed both Vancouver Scar Scale scoring and Color Doppler ultrasound examination to monitor and evaluate lesions regularly. A one-year follow-up was completed for each patient.

Results

31 patients who had 42 keloids in total were recruited. We found intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections could effectively reduce the thickness and modify the hardness of small and young keloids. Strontium-90 brachytherapy reduced the one-year recurrence rate from 85.7 percent to 44.4 percent after 3 intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections. The lesions’ thickness or elasticity was not affected by Strontium-90 brachytherapy.

Conclusion

Strontium-90 brachytherapy as an adjuvant radiation could effectively reduce small sized keloids recurrence after intralesional triamcinolone and 5-fluorouracil injections. It worked by enhancing the lesions’ stability post-injection.

Trial registration

The clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2000030141.

Name of trial registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org.cn/)
Effect of acute alcohol intoxication on mortality, coagulation, and fibrinolysis in trauma patients
Authors: Wang Il-Jae , Bae Byung-Kwan , Cho Young Mo , Cho Suck Ju , Yeom Seok-Ran , Lee Sang-Bong , Chun Mose , Kim Hyerim , Kim Hyung-Hoi , Lee Sun Min , Huh Up , Moon Soo Young
Published: March 2021

Background

The effect of alcohol on the outcome and fibrinolysis phenotype in trauma patients remains unclear. Hence, we performed this study to determine whether alcohol is a risk factor for mortality and fibrinolysis shutdown in trauma patients.

Materials and methods

A total of 686 patients who presented to our trauma center and underwent rotational thromboelastometry were included in the study. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine whether alcohol was an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality and fibrinolysis shutdown.

Results

The rate of in-hospital mortality was 13.8% and blood alcohol was detected in 27.7% of the patients among our study population. The patients in the alcohol-positive group had higher mortality rate, higher clotting time, and lower maximum lysis, more fibrinolysis shutdown, and hyperfibrinolysis than those in the alcohol-negative group. In logistic regression analysis, blood alcohol was independently associated with in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR] 2.578; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.550–4.288) and fibrinolysis shutdown (OR 1.883 [95% CI, 1.286–2.758]). Within the fibrinolysis shutdown group, blood alcohol was an independent predictor of mortality (OR 2.168 [95% CI, 1.030–4.562]).

Conclusions

Alcohol is an independent risk factor for mortality and fibrinolysis shutdown in trauma patients. Further, alcohol is an independent risk factor for mortality among patients who experienced fibrinolysis shutdown.
Association of the systemic host immune response with acute hyperglycemia in mechanically ventilated septic patients
Authors: Farooq Nauman , Chuan Byron , Mahmud Hussain , El Khoudary Samar R. , Nouraie Seyed Mehdi , Evankovich John , Yang Libing , Dunlap Daniel , Bain William , Kitsios Georgios , Zhang Yingze , O’Donnell Christopher P. , McVerry Bryan J. , Shah Faraaz Ali
Published: March 2021

Hyperglycemia during sepsis is associated with increased organ dysfunction and higher mortality. The role of the host immune response in development of hyperglycemia during sepsis remains unclear. We performed a retrospective analysis of critically ill adult septic patients requiring mechanical ventilation (n = 153) to study the relationship between hyperglycemia and ten markers of the host injury and immune response measured on the first day of ICU admission (baseline). We determined associations between each biomarker and: (1) glucose, insulin, and c-peptide levels at the time of biomarker collection by Pearson correlation; (2) average glucose and glycemic variability in the first two days of ICU admission by linear regression; and (3) occurrence of hyperglycemia (blood glucose>180mg/dL) by logistic regression. Results were adjusted for age, pre-existing diabetes mellitus, severity of illness, and total insulin and glucocorticoid dose. Baseline plasma levels of ST2 and procalcitonin were positively correlated with average blood glucose and glycemic variability in the first two days of ICU admission in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. Additionally, higher baseline ST2, IL-1ra, procalcitonin, and pentraxin-3 levels were associated with increased risk of hyperglycemia. Our results suggest associations between the host immune response and hyperglycemia in critically ill septic patients particularly implicating the interleukin-1 axis (IL-1ra), the interleukin-33 axis (ST2), and the host response to bacterial infections (procalcitonin, pentraxin-3).
Production and characterization of antibody against Opisthorchis viverrini via phage display and molecular simulation
Authors: Siripanthong Sitthinon , Techasen Anchalee , Nantasenamat Chanin , Malik Aijaz Ahmad , Sithithaworn Paiboon , Leelayuwat Chanvit , Jumnainsong Amonrat
Published: March 2021

In this study, a key issue to be addressed is the safe disposal of hybridoma instability. Hybridoma technology was used to produce anti–O.viverrinimonoclonal antibody. Previous studies have shown that antibody production via antibody phage display can sustain the hybridoma technique. This paper presents the utility of antibody phage display technology for producing the phage displayed KKU505 Fab fragment and using experiments in concomitant with molecular simulation for characterization. The phage displayed KKU505 Fab fragment and characterization were successfully carried out. The KKU505 hybridoma cell line producing anti–O.viverriniantibody predicted to bind to myosin was used to synthesize cDNA so as to amplify the heavy chain and the light chain sequences. The KKU505 displayed phage was constructed and characterized by a molecular modeling in which the KKU505 Fab fragment and -O.viverrinimyosin head were docked computationally and it is assumed that the Fab fragment was specific to -O.viverrinion the basis of mass spectrometry and Western blot. This complex interaction was confirmed by molecular simulation. Furthermore, the KKU505 displayed phage was validated using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) and immunohistochemistry. It is worthy to note that ELISA and immunohistochemistry results confirmed that the Fab fragment was specific to the -O.viverriniantigen. Results indicated that the approach presented herein can generate anti–O.viverriniantibody via the phage display technology. This study integrates the use of phage display technology together with molecular simulation for further development of monoclonal antibody production. Furthermore, the presented work has profound implications for antibody production, particularly by solving the problem of hybridoma stability issues.
Lung gene expression and single cell analyses reveal two subsets of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients associated with different pathogenic mechanisms
Authors: Karman Jozsef , Wang Jing , Bodea Corneliu , Cao Sherry , Levesque Marc C.
Published: March 2021

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and debilitating lung disease with large unmet medical need and few treatment options. We describe an analysis connecting single cell gene expression with bulk gene expression-based subsetting of patient cohorts to identify IPF patient subsets with different underlying pathogenesis and cellular changes. We reproduced earlier findings indicating the existence of two major subsets in IPF and showed that these subsets display different alterations in cellular composition of the lung. We developed classifiers based on the cellular changes in disease to distinguish subsets. Specifically, we showed that one subset of IPF patients had significant increases in gene signature scores for myeloid cells versus a second subset that had significantly increased gene signature scores for ciliated epithelial cells, suggesting a differential pathogenesis among IPF subsets. Ligand-receptor analyses suggested there was a monocyte-macrophage chemoattractant axis (including potentially CCL2-CCR2 and CCL17-CCR4) among the myeloid-enriched IPF subset and a ciliated epithelium-derived chemokine axis (e.g. CCL15) among the ciliated epithelium-enriched IPF subset. We also found that these IPF subsets had differential expression of pirfenidone-responsive genes suggesting that our findings may provide an approach to identify patients with differential responses to pirfenidone and other drugs. We believe this work is an important step towards targeted therapies and biomarkers of response.