bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmaceutical Importance of Some Promising Plant Species with Special Reference to the Isolation and Extraction of Bioactive Compounds: A Review
Authors: Das Gitishree , Patra Jayanta Kumar , Kang Seok-Seong , Shin Han-Seung
Published: January 2021

Background:

Active principles from natural sources, in the form of extracts and natural compounds, provide an infinite number of bioactive compounds with consummate disposal of chemical diversity. These compounds and active principles are of utmost importance in the discovery of drugs of biological origin particularly, from plants.

Objective:

Development of resourceful technology for the isolation and extraction of bioactive compounds of medicinal importance is considered as an important task for researchers. There are a number of extraction, isolation, and characterization techniques currently utilized; however, most are laborious and use toxic chemicals and huge quantities of raw materials with a very low output. There are a number of abiotic and biotic factors that affects the quality and the quantity of plants bioactive compounds. Considering this, the objectives of the current review are to discuss the various extraction and characterization techniques used to isolate the essential bioactive compounds from three plant species and the biotic and abiotic factors that affect the quantity and quality of the plants secondary metabolites.

Methods:

Many advanced technologies have been developed and tested for extraction, characterization, and their capacity for high yield products, and those requiring less application of toxic solvents are investigated continuously.

Conclusion:

In this context, the present review summarizes the different types of extraction and characterization techniques utilized commercially by the food, drug, and pharmaceutical industries for better output and environmentally- and healthbenefiting products with special reference to three industrially important plants: Leonotis leonurus (L.) R.Br. (Lamiaceae) and Santalum album L. (Santalaceae) and Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Aloaceae or Asphodelaceae).
Prenatal Diagnosis Preferences of Turkish Women and the Association of
their Choices with Temperament
Authors: Tulmac Ozlem Banu , Buturak Visal
Published: January 2021

Objectives:

The purpose of this study is to explain which choices Turkish women prefer for
prenatal diagnosis more frequently and to find out if there is any association between
temperament and decisions through the prenatal diagnostic steps or consistency of decision.

Materials and methods:

This is a cross-sectional study on pregnant women who admitted to
our outpatient clinic based on the responses to a self-administered questionnaire at the time of
combined test or triple test as the first prenatal screening test. 198 pregnant completed selfadministered questionnaires comprising 131 questions including Temperament Evaluation of
Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego questionnaire (TEMPS-A).

Results:

Overall, 88.4% of women were willing to learn if there was an anomaly, whereas 4.5%
did not; 7.5% were uncertain. Of the included patients, 87.9% would decide on the screening
tests to be performed, 23.2% had a positive attitude on diagnostic tests, and only 13.1% were
in favour of termination. No association was found between the temperament scores and
positive, negative and indecisive attitudes of the patients. In addition, there was no relation
between being decisive and indecisive, and the temperament scores except for cyclothymic
scores. Indecisive attitude to termination was associated with higher cyclothymic scores (5 (1–
13) for decisive patients, 7 (0–17 for indecisive patients, p=0.035).

Conclusions:

We found that affective temperaments measured by the TEMPS-A are not related
with the attitudes about prenatal screening or diagnostic tests or termination. Indecisive attitude
to termination was associated with higher cyclothymic scores.
In vivo Evaluation of the Repellency Effects of Nanoemulsion of Mentha piperita and Eucalyptus globulus Essential Oils against mosquitoes
Authors: Mohammadi Rahman , Khoobdel Mehdi , Talebi Ali A. , Negahban Maryam , Norani Mohamad , Moradi Mohammad , Dehghan Omid
Published: January 2021

Introduction:

The present study aimed to prepare Nanoemulsions of Mentha piperita and Eucalyptus globulus essential oils and comparison of the repellant activity of them with normal essential oils and DEET in the field conditions.

Methods:

To determine the protection and failure time of the essential oils and DEET in the field condition against natural population of night biting culicid mosquitoes, 4 human volunteers participated in night biting test. GC-MS was used to determine the essential oil components and the Dynamic Light Scattering device was used to measure droplet size and zeta potential.

Results:

The relative abundance of more common species captured in this study was 40.09% and 31.65% for Anopheles superpictus, and Culex pipiens, respectively. Based on the results, the protection time of nanoemulsions of M. piperita 50% against night biting mosquitoes was 4.96±0.21 h. Also, the protection for nanoemulsions essential oil 50% of E. globulus was 6.06±0.20 h. Comparison of the results showed that the protection time of nanoemulsions of M. piperita and E. globulus was significantly higher than of their normal essential oils (P˂0.01). Also, the protection time of DEET (as a gold standard) was significantly higher than of normal essential oil and nanoemulsions of M. piperita (P˂0.01), but there is no significant difference between DEET and nanoemulsions of E. globulus (P˃0.01).

Conclusion:

Due to the safety and biocompatibility of the nanoessential oils, and also relatively adequate and acceptable protection time, nanoemulsions of E. globulus and probably M. piperita can be considered as good repellents. It is recommended to do more research on these nanoemulsion repellents, as they may be good alternatives to DEET.
Respiratory Candida in Patients with Bronchitis, Mucus Plugging, and Atelectasis
Authors: Johnson Douglas C. , Chirumamilla Suresh K. , Paez Armando P.
Published: January 2021

Background:

The significance of Candida in pulmonary secretions is unclear, and usually is regarded as colonization, not contributing to symptoms or disease. Yet, in our experience, Candida seemed associated with chronic sputum, mucus plugging, atelectasis, and poor outcome.

Objective:

The aim of this study is to describe the clinical findings of patients with Candida in pulmonary (sputum or bronchoscopy) secretions and the significance of Candida.

Methods:

Retrospective study of inpatients and outpatients referred for pulmonary consultation with Candida in pulmonary secretions. Clinical parameters and estimates of whether Candida was likely clinically significant, were determined.

Results:

82 inpatients and 11 outpatients were identified, of which 61 (66%) had atelectasis and 68 (73%) bronchoscopies. Of patients having bronchoscopies, 56 (82%) had mucus, and 43 (63%) mucus plugging. Of the inpatients death (or probable death) occurred in 43 (63%), 42 (98%) of which were from definite or probable respiratory failure, with 13 (31%) likely related to mucus plugging, 16 (38%) possibly from mucus plugging, 6 (14%) unknown, and 7 (17%) not due to mucus plugging. Candida was felt likely clinically significant in 57 patients (61%), uncertain significance in 23 (25%), and not significant in 13 (14%). All outpatients had exacerbations, including 7 (64%) within a year.

Conclusion:

Patients requiring pulmonary consultation with Candida in pulmonary secretions often have chronic sputum production, exacerbations, mucus plugging, atelectasis, and death from respiratory failure. Candida was likely clinically significant in most patients. Recommendations to consider Candida in pulmonary secretions as colonization should be reconsidered.
The Effect of Inoculum Type and Mycorrhiza Dosage on Growth and Production of Mung Bean Vigna Radiata L.
Authors: Djauhari Syamsuddin , Elriyono Jami'at Dwi , Rahardjo Bambang Tri
Published: January 2021

Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) is the third most essential legume crop commodity after soybeans and peanuts. Mung bean production faced problems of nutrient-poor land and soil texture that does not support soybean growth. The solution to overcome these obstacles is the application of mycorrhizae in nutrient-poor soils. This study aimed to determine the effect of various inoculums and mycorrhizal doses on growth and production in mung beans. This study used a Completely Randomized Design with nine treatments and three replications. The research included mycorrhizal inoculation with various treatments, as well as observations with variable plant height, plant biomass, number of pods, wet weight and dry weight of pods, the weight of 50 wet and dry seeds, mycorrhizal infection in roots, and number of spores in 100 gr of soil. The data were analyzed by SPSS 15.0 program for ANOVA. The results indicated that granular (30 gr) had the highest plant height of (41.33 cm), crown weight (30.69 gr), number of pods, wet and dry pod weight is 13.66, 9.84 gr, and 8.86 gr, respectively, 50 kg of wet and dry weight (3.82 and 3.20) and the highest effect on the number of spores at 29.33. The 30 gr tablets treatment showed the highest results on root weight (22.98 gr), while the 30 gr mixture showed the highest results on the percentage of infection (73.33%).
Digital contact tracing and data protection: assessing the French and Portuguese applications
Authors: Miranda Ramos Luis Felipe
Published: January 2021

The rapid outbreak of COVID-19 has necessitated a global response to manage the transmission, spread, and impact of the virus. Many countries started developing digital contact tracing applications to contribute to the process of lifting the restrictions imposed on its citizens. Generally, the protection of personal data is a right that appears in constitutional and legal provisions, and its processing can only be performed under very restricted circumstances, the protection of health being a valid justification. This article focusses on the systems developed as digital contact tracing tools in France (StopCovid) and in Portugal (STAYAWAY COVID), presenting their characteristics and the most relevant aspects concerning the processing of personal data. The most relevant positive characteristics of these systems are their voluntary adoption, their developers’ concern with the people’s security and privacy, and the transparency of their functioning. With the negative characteristics, the most relevant are the restricted interoperability with the systems from other EU countries, and the permanent risk to people’s privacy of collecting lists of contacts and the circumstances of their interactions with other users of the systems.
Primer registro de Mycoporum buckii (Dothideomycetes, Pleosporales) en México
Authors: García Martínez Yenitze Areli , Heredia Abarca Gabriela Patricia , Valenzuela Garza Ricardo , Raymundo Tania
Published: January 2021

Antecedentes y Objetivos: El género Mycoporum de la clase Dothideomycetes del phylum Ascomycota se caracteriza por un ascostroma con lóculos dispersos, agregados sin pared propia, ascas bitunicadas con un pedicelo corto y ascoporas elipsoidales, fusiformes a clavadas, con el hemisferio superior más ancho, y un numero variable de septos. El objetivo de este estudio es reportar a Mycoporum buckii por primera vez en México.
Métodos: Los especímenes fueron recolectados sobre corteza de Rhizophora mangle en la Reserva de la Biosfera Isla de Cozumel, México, durante el año 2019, y fueron depositados en el herbario ENCB del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México. El material se revisó en seco y se describieron sus características macro y micomorfologicas. Estos fueron identificados con claves y literatura espcializada.
Resultados clave: Se presenta una descripción de Mycoporum buckii para México. Esta especie se caracteriza por un ascostroma multilocular, sésil, ascas clavadas y ascosporas elipsoidales con un septo transversal.
Conclusiones: Mycoporum buckii se encontró creciendo sobre Rhizophora mangle y produce esporomas en temporada seca y húmeda en la Reserva de la Biosfera Isla de Cozumel, Quintana Roo, México.
Palabras clave: Mar Caribe, Rhizophora mangle, taxonomía.
Bovine Lactoferrin to Prevent Neonatal Infections in Low-Birth-Weight Newborns in Pakistan: Protocol for a Three-Arm Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Ariff Shabina , Soofi Sajid , Aamir Almas , D'Almeida Michelle , Aziz Ali Arzina , Alam Ashraful , Dibley Michael
Published: January 2021

Background

Sepsis is a common and severe complication in premature neonates, particularly those born with low birth weights (<2500 g). Neonatal sepsis is steadily emerging as a leading cause of neonatal mortality in Pakistan. Lactoferrin is a natural product with broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties and glycoprotein that is actively involved in innate immune host responses. Clinical trials have revealed its protective effect on sepsis, but lactoferrin dosage, duration, and role in the prevention of sepsis are still uncertain.

Objective

We aimed to establish the efficacy of bovine lactoferrin in the prevention of late-onset sepsis and to determine the optimal dose and method of administering bovine lactoferrin that may contribute to improvement in overall survival of low birth weight infants.

Methods

We will implement the study in 2 phases at the Aga Khan University Hospital. The first phase, which we have completed, was formative research. This phase mainly focused on a qualitative exploration of perceptions about feeding and caring practices of low birth weight newborns and a trial of improved practices for the preparation and administration of bovine lactoferrin to newborns. The second phase is a 3-arm double-blind randomized controlled trial. In this phase, we randomly allocated 2 different daily oral prophylactic doses of bovine lactoferrin (150 mg or 300 mg) and placebo to 300 low–birth weight neonates starting within the first 72 hours of birth and continuing for the first 28 days of life.

Results

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Aga Khan University on August 16, 2017. Data collection began in April 2018 and was completed in September 2020. Data analyses are yet to be completed. We expect the results to be published in peer-reviewed journals by autumn of 2021.

Conclusions

This intervention, if effective, has the potential to be translated into a safe, affordable, and widely utilized treatment to prevent sepsis and, subsequently, may improve the survival outcomes of low birth weight neonates in Pakistan and other low- and middle-income countries.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03431558; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03431558

International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)

PRR1-10.2196/23994
Adaptation of Extended Reality Smart Glasses for Core Nursing Skill Training Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: Usability and Feasibility Study
Authors: Kim Sun Kyung , Lee Youngho , Yoon Hyoseok , Choi Jongmyung
Published: January 2021

Background

Skill training in nursing education has been highly dependent on self-training because of Korea’s high student-faculty ratio. Students tend to have a passive attitude in self-practice, and it is hard to expect effective learning outcomes with traditional checklist-dependent self-practice. Smart glasses have a high potential to assist nursing students with timely information, and a hands-free device does not interrupt performance.

Objective

This study aimed to develop a smart glass–based nursing skill training program and evaluate its usability and feasibility for the implementation of self-practice.

Methods

We conducted a usability and feasibility study with 30 undergraduate nursing students during a 2-hour open lab for self-practice of core nursing skills, wearing smart glasses for visualized guidance. The usability test was conducted using a 16-item self-reporting questionnaire and 7 open-ended questions. Learning satisfaction was assessed using a 7-item questionnaire. The number of practice sessions was recorded, and perceived competency in core nursing skills was measured before and after the intervention. At the final evaluation, performance accuracy and time consumed for completion were recorded.

Results

Smart glass–assisted self-practice of nursing skills was perceived as helpful, convenient, and interesting. Participants reported improved recollection of sequences of skills, and perceived competency was significantly improved. Several issues were raised by participants regarding smart glasses, including small screen size, touch sensors, fogged lenses with masks, heaviness, and heat after a period of time.

Conclusions

Smart glasses have the potential to assist self-practice, providing timely information at students’ own paces. Having both hands free from holding a device, participants reported the convenience of learning as they could practice and view the information simultaneously. Further revision correcting reported issues would improve the applicability of smart glasses in other areas of nursing education.
Instagram Content Addressing Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy: Observational Study
Authors: Payton Ashley , Woo Benjamin K P
Published: January 2021

Background

Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP) is the most commonly diagnosed pregnancy-specific dermatosis. It presents with intense pruritus and can be difficult to manage, which encourages mothers to look to social media for camaraderie and advice.

Objective

This study aimed to characterize the sources and thematic content of Instagram posts in order to define influential groups of users. Our goal was to determine the status of online discourse surrounding PUPPP and elucidate any potential space for health care provider intervention via creation of Instagram accounts dedicated to information dissemination for patient populations.

Methods

Three hashtag categories were selected (#PUPPP, #PUPPPs, and #PUPPPrash), and the top public posts from each were analyzed and organized by source and by thematic content. The numbers of likes and comments were also recorded.

Results

Among the top 150 posts in each hashtag category, only 428 posts in total were eligible for this analysis. Majority (316/428, 73.8%) of posts were created by mothers who experienced PUPPP. These posts were testimonial accounts in nature. A small fraction of posts (14/428, 3.3%) were generated by physician accounts. Posts from blogs with extensive followings garnered the most attention in the form of likes and comments.

Conclusions

Mothers experiencing PUPPP comprised the majority of accounts posting under the hashtags selected. The most common themes included pictures of the rash and personal testimonies. Posts under blog posts received the most likes and comments on average. There is space for physician and health care specialists to improve their social media presence when it comes to discourse surrounding PUPPP. Patients are seeking out communities on social media, like Instagram, in order to have questions answered and obtain advice on management. Accounts with large followings tend to have more likes and more comments, which encourages information dissemination and awareness. Thus, we suggest that physicians create content and potentially partner with blog-type accounts to improve outreach.
Electronic Games for Facilitating Social Interaction Between Parents With Cancer and Their Children During Hospitalization: Interdisciplinary Game Development (Preprint)
Authors: Piil Karin , Gyldenvang Helle Holm , Møller Jeppe Kilberg , Kjoelsen Tine , Juul Jesper , Pappot Helle
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

Most cancer treatments today take place in outpatient clinics; however, it might be necessary for some patients to be admitted to hospital departments due to severe side effects or complications. In such situations, support from family and social relations can be crucial for the patients’ emotional well-being. Many young adolescents and children whose parents have cancer describe how they are not seen, heard, or listened to as the worried relatives they are. Within the intensive care unit, it has been recommended that early supportive interventions are tailored to include children of the intensive care patient; a similar approach might be relevant in the oncological setting. To our knowledge, no studies have explored how to involve young relatives who are visiting their parent at an oncological department. Recently, a framework for developing theory-driven, evidence-based serious games for health has been suggested. Such a process would include stakeholders from various disciplines, who only work toward one specific solution. However, it is possible that bringing together different disciplines, such as design, art, and health care, would allow a broader perspective, resulting in improved solutions.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to develop tools to enhance the social interaction between a parent with cancer and their child when the child visits the parent in the hospital.

METHODS

In total, 4 groups of design students within the Visual Design program were tasked with developing games addressing the objective of strengthening relations in situ during treatment. To support their work, the applied methods included professional lectures, user studies, and visual communication (phase I); interviews with the relevant clinicians at the hospital (phase II), co-creative workshops with feedback (phase III), and evaluation sessions with selected populations (phase IV). The activities in the 4 phases were predefined. This modified user design had the child (aged 4-18 years) of a parent with cancer as its primary user.

RESULTS

Overall, 4 different games were designed based on the same information. All games had the ability to make adults with cancer and their children interact on a common electronic platform with a joint goal. However, the interaction, theme, and graphical expression differed between the games, suggesting that this is a wide and fertile field to explore.

CONCLUSIONS

Playing a game can be an efficient way to create social interaction between a parent with cancer and a child or an adolescent, potentially improving the difficult social and psychological relations between them. The study showed that the development of serious games can be highly dependent on the designers involved and the processes used. This must be considered when a hospital aims to develop multiple games for different purposes.
Toward Using Twitter for Tracking COVID-19: A Natural Language Processing Pipeline and Exploratory Data Set (Preprint)
Authors: Klein Ari Z , Magge Arjun , O'Connor Karen , Flores Amaro Jesus Ivan , Weissenbacher Davy , Gonzalez Hernandez Graciela
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

In the United States, the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak, the shortage of available testing, and the delay of test results present challenges for actively monitoring its spread based on testing alone.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to develop, evaluate, and deploy an automatic natural language processing pipeline to collect user-generated Twitter data as a complementary resource for identifying potential cases of COVID-19 in the United States that are not based on testing and, thus, may not have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

METHODS

Beginning January 23, 2020, we collected English tweets from the Twitter Streaming application programming interface that mention keywords related to COVID-19. We applied handwritten regular expressions to identify tweets indicating that the user potentially has been exposed to COVID-19. We automatically filtered out “reported speech” (eg, quotations, news headlines) from the tweets that matched the regular expressions, and two annotators annotated a random sample of 8976 tweets that are geo-tagged or have profile location metadata, distinguishing tweets that self-report potential cases of COVID-19 from those that do not. We used the annotated tweets to train and evaluate deep neural network classifiers based on bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT). Finally, we deployed the automatic pipeline on more than 85 million unlabeled tweets that were continuously collected between March 1 and August 21, 2020.

RESULTS

Interannotator agreement, based on dual annotations for 3644 (41%) of the 8976 tweets, was 0.77 (Cohen κ). A deep neural network classifier, based on a BERT model that was pretrained on tweets related to COVID-19, achieved an F1-score of 0.76 (precision=0.76, recall=0.76) for detecting tweets that self-report potential cases of COVID-19. Upon deploying our automatic pipeline, we identified 13,714 tweets that self-report potential cases of COVID-19 and have US state–level geolocations.

CONCLUSIONS

We have made the 13,714 tweets identified in this study, along with each tweet’s time stamp and US state–level geolocation, publicly available to download. This data set presents the opportunity for future work to assess the utility of Twitter data as a complementary resource for tracking the spread of COVID-19.
Career Development of Academic Staff in Faculties of Dentistry by Means of Mentorship Programs: Protocol for a Scoping Review (Preprint)
Authors: Amosun Seyi , Kimmie-Dhansay Faheema , Geerts Greta , Basson Reneda
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

Globally, the demands on dental educators continue to diversify and expand. Due to their importance and value, mentoring programs have been acknowledged as a means of recruiting, developing, and retaining academics in dental education.

OBJECTIVE

This protocol is for a scoping review that aims to identify the goals of mentoring programs for academic staff in dental faculties and determine how these programs were structured, delivered, and evaluated.

METHODS

The review will be performed in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology for scoping reviews, which covers both qualitative and quantitative scientific literature as well as grey literature written in English and published between 2000 and 2020. The databases will include PubMed, Ovid, the Educational Resources Information Center database, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Trove, Web of Science, Openthesis.org, and the website of the American Dental Education Association. A manual search will also be conducted by using the reference lists of included studies to identify additional articles. Working independently, the authors will participate iteratively in literature screening, paper selection, and data extraction. Disagreements between the reviewers will be resolved by discussion until a consensus is reached or after consultation with the research team. Key information that is relevant to the review questions will be extracted from the selected articles and imported into a Microsoft Excel file. The PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) will be used to guide the reporting of this protocol.

RESULTS

The search for appropriate literature has commenced, and we aim to present the results before the end of the 2021 academic year.

CONCLUSIONS

The development of formal mentorship programs for academics in dental education will enhance the retention of academic staff.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT

PRR1-10.2196/27239
Lateralization and Bodily Patterns of Segmental Signs and Spontaneous Pain in Acute Visceral Disease: Observational Study (Preprint)
Authors: Shaballout Nour , Aloumar Anas , Manuel Jorge , May Marcus , Beissner Florian
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

The differential diagnosis of acute visceral diseases is a challenging clinical problem. Older literature suggests that patients with acute visceral problems show segmental signs such as hyperalgesia, skin resistance, or muscular defense as manifestations of referred visceral pain in somatic or visceral tissues with overlapping segmental innervation. According to these sources, the lateralization and segmental distribution of such signs may be used for differential diagnosis. Segmental signs and symptoms may be accompanied by spontaneous (visceral) pain, which, however, shows a nonsegmental distribution.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the lateralization (ie, localization on one side of the body, in preference to the other) and segmental distribution (ie, surface ratio of the affected segments) of spontaneous pain and (referred) segmental signs in acute visceral diseases using digital pain drawing technology.

METHODS

We recruited 208 emergency room patients that were presenting for acute medical problems considered by triage as related to internal organ disease. All patients underwent a structured 10-minute bodily examination to test for various segmental signs and spontaneous visceral pain. They were further asked their segmental symptoms such as nausea, meteorism, and urinary retention. We collected spontaneous pain and segmental signs as digital drawings and segmental symptoms as binary values on a tablet PC. After the final diagnosis, patients were divided into groups according to the organ affected. Using statistical image analysis, we calculated mean distributions of pain and segmental signs for the heart, lungs, stomach, liver/gallbladder, and kidneys/ureters, analyzing the segmental distribution of these signs and the lateralization.

RESULTS

Of the 208 recruited patients, 110 (52.9%) were later diagnosed with a single-organ problem. These recruited patients had a mean age of 57.3 (SD 17.2) years, and 40.9% (85/208) were female. Of these 110 patients, 85 (77.3%) reported spontaneous visceral pain. Of the 110, 81 (73.6%) had at least 1 segmental sign, and the most frequent signs were hyperalgesia (46/81, 57%), and muscle resistance (39/81, 48%). While pain was distributed along the body midline, segmental signs for the heart, stomach, and liver/gallbladder appeared mostly ipsilateral to the affected organ. An unexpectedly high number of patients (37/110, 33.6%) further showed ipsilateral mydriasis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study underlines the usefulness of including digitally recorded segmental signs in bodily examinations of patients with acute medical problems.
Development Timeline of the Juul® E-cigarette Reveals a Reactive Approach of Government Agencies to Emerging Technologies (Preprint)
Authors: Sarles Emma , Hensel Jr Edward , Robinson Risa J
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND

The popularity of electronic cigarettes in the United States and around the world has led to a startling rise in youth nicotine use. The Juul e-cigarette was introduced in the U.S. market in 2015 and had captured approximately 13% of the U.S. market by 2017. Unlike many other contemporary electronic cigarette companies, the founders behind the Juul® e-cigarette approached their product launch like a traditional high-tech start-up company, not like a tobacco company.

OBJECTIVE

This article presents a case study of Juul’s corporate and product development history in the context of US regulatory actions. The objective of this article is to demonstrate the value of government-curated archives as leading indicators which can (a) provide insight into emergent technologies and (b) inform emergent regulatory science research questions.

METHODS

A variety of sources were used to gather data about the Juul e-cigarette and the corporations that surround it. Sources included government agencies, published academic literature, non-profit organizations, corporate and retail websites, and the popular press. Data was disambiguated, authenticated, and categorized prior to being placed on a timeline of events.

RESULTS

A timeline of four significant milestones, nineteen corporate filings and events, twelve US regulatory actions, sixty four patent applications, eighty seven trademark applications, twenty three design patents and thirty two utility patents related to Juul Labs and its associates is presented spanning the years 2004 thought 2020.

CONCLUSIONS

This work demonstrates the probative value of findings from patent, trademark, and SEC filing literature in establishing a premise for emergent regulatory science research questions which may not yet be supported by traditional archival research literature. The methods presented here can be used to identify key aspects of emerging technologies before products actually enter the market, this shifting policy formulation and problem identification from a paradigm of being reactive in favor of becoming proactive. Such a proactive approach may permit anticipatory regulatory science research and ultimately shorten the elapsed time between market technology innovation and regulatory response.

CLINICALTRIAL

Not Applicable.
Facile synthesis of bimetallic ZnCo-ZIFs and Ag nanoparticles loading on ZnCo-ZIFs (Ag/ZnCo-ZIFs)
Authors: Giao Dang Huynh , Tan Ho Ngoc Tri , Thien Doan Van Hong , Toan Pham Van , (SV) Le Thi Anh Thu , Anh Ta Kieu
Published: January 2021

A bimetallic Zn/Co zeolitic imidazole frameworks (ZnCo-ZIFs) was successfully synthesized from 2-methylimidazole and two metal salts including zinc nitrate, cobalt (II) nitrate by a solvothermal method at the room temperature. Subsequently, Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) loading on bimetallic frameworks was prepared by a facile impregnation method in acetone solvent. Both ZnCo-ZIFs and Ag/ZnCo-ZIFs was analyzed by several characterization techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spetroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results showed that ZnCo-ZIFs crystals had sodalite structure, high thermal stability and AgNPs was successfully loaded on the ZnCo-ZIFs with content of 18.42%. Ag/ZnCo-ZIFs in this combination may pave a way for the preparation a kind of heterogeneous catalyst to remove organic compounds from aqueous solutions.
The effect of Zirconium Dioxide nanoparticles concentrations as filler on heat cured acrylic resin denture base toward viability of fibroblast cells (in vitro study)
Authors: S Rudy , Ismiyati Titik , Wahyuningtyas Endang
Published: January 2021

Heat cured acrylic resin is the most commonly used denture base materials.  Zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles can be applied as additional filler to increase mechanical strength and to reduce the amount of residual monomer. The aim of this research is to analyze the effect of ZrO2 nanoparticles concentrations as filler on heat cured acrylic resin denture base toward viability of fibroblast cells. Twenty four disc-shaped heat cured acrylic resin plate (diameter 5 mm; width 2 mm), were divided into 4 groups (n=6), they were consisted of group I control (acrylic resin), group II acrylic resin with 2.5% ZrO2, group III acrylic resin with 5% ZrO2, and group IV acrylic resin with 7.5% ZrO2. Cell viability was obtained using MTT assay and ELISA plate reader. The result is examined with one way ANOVA followed by LSD post hoc assessment. The result showed highest cell viability percentage on experimental group of 2.5% ZrO2 with value as high as 97.49%. One way ANOVA test and LSD post hoc test showed a significant difference between groups (p<0.05). The conclusion of this research is ZrO2 nanoparticles concentration utilized as filler on heat cured acrylic resin denture base is effect to viability of fibroblast cells, and ZrO2 nanoparticles 2.5% shows the highest viability of fibroblast cell compared to 5% and 7.5% ZrO2 nanoparticles concentrations
ROLE OF THE PHARMACIST IN MANAGING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE OF HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN PRIMARY CARE UNITS
Authors: DE SOUZA JÚLIO EDUARDO PEREIRA , SILVA EMERSON , NOVO NEIL FERREIRA , SHIO MARINA TIEMI
Published: January 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of pharmaceutical care on the control of high blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients.

Methods: The study included thirty hypertensive patients from primary or secondary healthcare located in the south of São Paulo, Brazil.

Results: The majority of patients was aged over 60 years (68.75%), non-smokers (90%), non-alcoholics (93.33%), did not practice physical activities (93.33%), and presented comorbidities and polypharmacy. The most common drug-related problems were drug-drug interactions, missed doses, incorrect frequency or time of administration, incorrect patient administration technique, and self-medication. The interventions used during the pharmaceutical consultations (PC) were based on the organization of medicines with tools such as a pillbox organizer (84.38%). A significant improvement in BP control (p<0.05) was observed when comparing BP measurements before and after the PC; however, the number of PCs did not influence the BP reduction.

Conclusion: Patient guidance and a simple intervention favor better patient understanding of medication administration schedules.
COMPARISON OF EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF ORMELOXIFENE AND CYCLICAL PROGESTERONE (NORETHISTERONE) IN OVULATORY ABNORMAL UTERINE BLEEDING
Authors: VARDAINI DIVYA , MISHRA RAKESH , RANJAN RASHMI , BORADE SWAPNALI R
Published: January 2021

Objective-To determine the efficacy and safety  of ormeloxifene versus progesterone in controlling Ovulatory Abnormal Uterine Bleeding(AUB-O)

Methods-A Prospective Randomized comparative study of total 100 females of reproductive age group 25 to 45 years with AUB-O.Patients were randomly divided in two groups of 50 each.

Results-The study showed ormeloxifene was found to be more effective and safe than Norethisterone in AUB-O. Ormeloxifine as compared to norethisterone is more effective in improving Hb and reducing endometrial thickness. Hence, ORM is more superior than Norethisterone

Conclusion-In this study ormeloxifene was found to be more effective in reducing blood loss,that leads to improvement in mean haemoglobin and also it had more ability to reduce endometrial thickness.As both ormeloxifene and norethisterone are very effectivebut ormeloxifene is safe , cost effective ,nonsteroidal, non hormonal drug with convenient dosage and better compliance for medical management of AUB-O.Hence, ormeloxifene canbe considered as first drugs in the management of AUB-O.
BOSWELLIA SERRATA ROXB. – A BIOACTIVE HERBS WITH VARIOUS PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
Authors: MISHRA SUDHANSHU , BISHNOI RAM SINGH , MAURYA RAHUL , JAIN DEEPTI
Published: January 2021

Herbal medicine has become a medicinal as well as the economic aspect of global significance. While the use of these herbal medicines has increased, there are several questions about their consistency, protection, and effectiveness in different countries. Boswellic acid (BA) is one of the active constituents obtained from plant Boswellia serrata (BS) family Burseraceae. The oleoresin gum of the plant is also known as Salai guggul, Indian olibanum, or Indian frankincense. Boswellia species comprises a variety of phytochemical components, essential oil, BA such as keto-BA, beta-BA, or acetyl keto-BA. This variety of constituents isolated from the plant using various extraction processes such as hydrodistillation, percolation, and ultraviolet-assisted extraction or solvent extraction. The active constituent has different biological activities such as antidiuretic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, or antitumor activity. This review seeks to update information on plant BS with its medicinal uses, isolation process in the traditional or Indian system of medicine, and justify its use on modern scientific parameters.
ROSUVASTATIN CALCIUM PRONIOSOME POWDER: A NOVEL APPROACH TO IMPROVE INTESTINAL ABSORPTION AND BIOAVAILABILITY
Authors: GANDRA SMITHA
Published: January 2021

Objective: The main objective of the present study was to develop proniosomal formulations to enhance the oral bioavailability of rosuvastatin calcium by improving solubility, dissolution, and/or intestinal permeability.

Methods: Proniosomal powder formulations were prepared with rosuvastatin calcium drug varying the Span 40 and cholesterol ratio in the range of 0.8:0.2–0.2:0.8 using maltodextrin as carrier by slurry method. The prepared proniosomal powder was filled into capsules. The bioavailability enhancement of proniosomes loaded with drug was studied focusing on non-ionic surfactants composition and drug:Span 40 ratio. Prepared proniosomes were characterized for their particle size distribution, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, in vitro dissolution study, and thermal characteristics to understand the phase transition behavior. Further, the formulated proniosomes were subjected to stability behavior, ex vivo permeation studies using rat intestine followed by in vivo studies.

Results: Physicochemical studies help in optimization of formulations. Enhancement in dissolution is due to incorporation of rosuvastatin calcium into the non-ionic surfactant and change in the physical state from crystalline to amorphous, thus improving oral bioavailability. Ex vivo studies show significant permeation enhancement across gastrointestinal membrane compared to control.

Conclusion: Proniosomes provide a powerful and functional way of distribution of inadequately soluble rosuvastatin calcium drug which is proved from in vivo studies based on the enhanced oral delivery.
Influence of Sports and Games on Enhancing Students ‘Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Nyamagana District
Authors: Milambo Milambo , Pacho Titus O.
Published: January 2021

This study aimed at investigating the influence of sports and games in enhancing students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Nyamagana district. The study employed mixed research approach and convergent research design. The participants involved in this study were 87 students, 8 sports and games teachers and 4 head of schools making the total of 99 respondents. Also, data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Moreover, the quantitative data were analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data were analyzed through thematic data analysis. The findings of this study revealed that students’ participation in sports and games bring positive impacts on their academic performance. Sports and games promote cooperation and good relationship between students, teachers and other academicians. Also it was revealed that different challenges which face public schools in implementing sports and games were, lack of expert teachers in sports, lack of funds, poor government support, lack of sports and games facilities, lack of enough play grounds, and students’ misbehavior. Also, the findings identified different strategies schools should do to enhance sports and games successful such, giving rewards, sports competition, well planning of sports and games programs and lastly but not the least is dedicating enough time for sports. The study recommended that, in order to implement sports and games in public secondary schools, government should promote good policies which favor sports and games in secondary schools, and establishing sports and games academy for children, may help others to grow up with their carrier.
Problemario de química
Authors:   Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias
Published: January 2021

Se presentan 128 ejercicios con problemas numéricos y conceptuales simples, los cuales no requieren de matemáticas complicadas para su resolución. Por ello, la presentación sistemática de problemas sobre temas considerados esenciales en un curso de química general es el esfuerzo central de los autores, enfocados a un mejor entendimiento de la química. Al final de la obra se incluye un apartado con los resultados de todos los problemas.
Manual de prácticas de física y medicina
Authors:   Facultad de Ciencias
Published: January 2021

Este manual contiene 17 prácticas organizadas en tres módulos principales: 1) Biomecánica y antropometría, 2) Bioenergética y 3) Señales fisiológicas. Todas resaltan conceptos y terminología propios de la física que se aplican a experimentos en los que el instrumento principal es el propio organismo; no requieren equipo especial (salvo en muy contadas ocasiones), además de que se pueden utilizar materiales sencillos y muy fáciles de adquirir.
Wpływ dodatku tworzyw sztucznych na skład produktów gazowych powstałych po detonacji materiału wybuchowego typu ANFO
Authors: Biegańska Jolanta , Barański Krzysztof , Tumen-Ulzii Ganbold
Published: January 2021

The results of the analysis of thermodynamic ANFO explosive material modified with the addition of plastics, is presented. The analysis was made in the ZMWCyw computer program. Changes in the content of the resulting gaseous products depending on the percentage of the selected polymer are presented. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary gaseous products resulting from the detonation of modified ANFO compositions was performed.
THE MAIN WAYS OF TRANSLATING EMBEDDED SENTENCES FROM CHINESE TO RUSSIAN
Authors:   Anna V. Shatravka Amur State University, Shatravka Anna V. , Bornyakova Kseniya K. ,   Kseniya K. Bornyakova Amur State University
Published: January 2021

Translation is interpretation of the meaning of the original text and creation of the equivalent text. Each language has its own grammar, lexical and stylistic features. Embedded sentence are the unique phenomenon of the Chinese language, therefore the translation of this type of sentences from Chinese to Russian causes certain difficulties. The article presents an attempt to define the notion of “embedded sentences” and consider the main ways to translate embedded sentences from Chinese to Russian.
Pre-engorda de semillas de cultivo de la almeja taquilla, Mulinia edulis, en un sistema suspendido en el mar
Authors: Oliva Doris , Célis Angela del Pilar , Abarca Alejandro , Pizarro Marlene , Durán L. René
Published: January 2021

Semillas (spats) de Mulinia edulis, producidas en hatchery, se engordaron durante 40 días, en un sistema de cultivo suspendido (long-line) en el mar en Bahía Yal (Chiloé, Chile), con el objetivo de probar la factibilidad de pre-engorda. Se utilizaron dos tamaños de siembra 2,9 y 6,2 mm y dos densidades [1 (D1) y 2 (D2) semillas cm-2] en tratamientos con (TA) y sin arena (TSA) con semillas pequeñas. Se determinó el crecimiento y la supervivencia de semillas pequeñas en long-line instalados en la periferia y en el centro de la concesión de acuicultura. En el experimento de tamaño de siembra las semillas pequeñas crecieron en promedio 5,0 mm y las grandes 4,9 mm en TA y en el TSA 0,9 mm y 0,7 mm, respectivamente. La supervivencia de las semillas en TA (pequeñas= 51,3%; grandes= 62,3%) fue mayor que en TSA (pequeñas= 18,9%; grandes= 40,0%). En el experimento de densidad, las mayores longitudes se presentaron en TA, con un crecimiento promedio 5,0 mm en D1 y 4,5 mm en D2. La mayor supervivencia se obtuvo en TA (D1= 51,3%; D2= 49,4%) y la menor en  TSA (D1= 18,9%; D2= 7,1%. El crecimiento de las semillas pequeñas fue mayor en los long-line ubicados en la periferia, no observándose diferencias en la supervivencia. Los resultados muestran que es factible realizar una pre-engorda a un tamaño de siembra de 2,9 mm con una densidad inicial de 2 semillas cm-2 en sistemas suspendidos con arena.