bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects and individual response of continuous and interval training on adiponectin concentration, cardiometabolic risk factors and physical fitness in overweight adolescents
Authors: Tadiotto Maiara Cristina , Corazza Patricia Ribeiro Paes , Junior Francisco Jose de Menezes , Junior Frederico Bento de Moraes , Tozo Tatiana Aparecida Affornali , Purim Kátia Sheylla Malta , Mota Jorge , Leite Neiva
Published: January 2023

Objective
Study aimed to evaluate the effect and individual responsiveness after 12-weeks of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity of continuous training (MICT) on adiponectin, cardiometabolic risk factors and physical fitness in overweight adolescents.
Methods
Participated 52 adolescents, both sexes, 11 and 16 years-old: HIIT (n = 13), MICT (n = 15) and control group (CG, n = 24). Body mass, height, waist circumference (WC), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), triglycerides, insulin, adiponectin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) were evaluated. Body mass index z-score (BMI-z), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity were calculated. Resting heart rate (HRrest), peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), right handgrip strength (HGS-right), left handgrip strength (HGS-left) and abdominal resistance (ABD) was evaluated. HIIT session lasted around 35min and MICT of 60min of exercises on stationary bicycle, three times a weekday for 12-weeks. ANOVA, effect size, and prevalence of responders were used for statistical analysis.
Results
HIIT reduced BMI-z, WHtR, LDL-c and CRP, while increased of physical fitness. MICT reduced HDL-c, while increased of physical fitness. CG reduced FM, HDL-c, and CRP, while increased FFM and HRrest. Frequencies of respondents in HIIT were observed for CRP, VO2peak, HGS-right and HGS-left. Frequencies of respondents in MICT were observed for CRP and HGS-right. Frequencies of no-respondents in CG were observed for WC, WHtR, CRP, HRrest and ABD.
Conclusion
Interventions with exercises were effective to adiposity, metabolic health, and physical fitness improvements. Individual responses were observed in inflammatory process and physical fitness, important changes in overweight adolescent’s therapy.
Secretion of BMP-2 by TAMs up-regulates the expression of RUNX2 and TWIST1 to promote the microcalcifications and tumor metastasis in breast cancer
Authors: Wang Shuo , Dong Xiaoshen , Zheng Caiwei , Gu Ming , Jiang Haiyang , Liang Xinzhi , Zheng Xinyu
Published: January 2023

INTRODUCTION: Microcalcifications is an important indicator of breast cancer yet the mechanism of its formation remains to be elucidated. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) can secrete bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), which is associated with presence of microcalcifications. BMP-2 is also known to up-regulate RUNX2, a regulator of the differentiation of osteoblasts, which could be the potential mechanism underlying microcalcification formation.
METHODS:Immunohistochemical staining of CD163 (marker of the M2-like macrophages), BMP-2, RUNX2 and TWIST1 were performed on tissue microarray (TMA) sections of 272 primary invasive breast cancer. Following induction, M2‐like TAMs were co-cultured with breast cancer cells with or without adding BMP receptor Ⅰ inhibitor (LDN). The level of BMP-2 in culture solution was measured by ELISA. The expression of RUNX2, TWIST1 and their downstream factors were measured by western blot. The deposition of microcalcifications was analyzed by Alizarin Red S staining. Orthotopic metastasis in mice models were established to further determine the role of TAMs in microcalcifications and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). PET-CT was used to detect the metastasis in mice.
RESULTS:Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the expression of RUNX2 and TWIST1 was significantly correlated with microcalcifications. Expression of RUNX2 was also correlated with infiltration of TAMs and the expression of BMP-2. Results from co-culturing of TAMs with breast cancer cells showed that the secretion of BMP-2 from TAMs could induce microcalcifications and EMT by upregulating the expression of RUNX2 and TWIST1 respectively, while these effects could be reversed by LDN. Similar results were observed in the mouse model of orthotopic metastasis.
CONCLUSIONS:These findings support the hypothesis that the secretion of BMP-2 by TAMs could up-regulate the expression of RUNX2 and TWIST1 to promote microcalcifications and induce EMT in breast cancer.
General Syntheses of High-Performance Thermoelectric Nanostructured Solids without Post-Synthetic Ligand Stripping
Authors: Lou Yue , Li Xiaokun , Shi Zhan , Zhou Hao , Feng Tianli , Xu Biao
Published: January 2023

Ligand-assisted wet chemical synthesis is a versatile methodology to produce controllable nanocrystals (NCs). The post-treatment of ligands is significant for the performance of functional devices. Herein, a method that retains ligands of colloidal-synthesized nanomaterials to produce thermoelectric nanomaterials is proposed, compared to the conventional methods that strip ligands using multi-step cumbersome processes. The retained ligands method can control over the size and dispersity of nanocrystals during the consolidation of the NCs into dense pellets, in which retained ligands are transformed into organic carbon within the matrices, and intimate contacts between carbon and nanoparticles establish clear organic-inorganic interfaces. Characterizations of non-stripped and stripped samples confirm that this strategy can affect electric transport slightly but reduce the thermal conductivity largely. As a result, the materials (e.g., SnSe, Cu2-xS, AgBiSe2, and Cu2ZnSnSe4) with ligands retained achieve higher peak zT and better mechanical properties. This method not only can be applied to other colloidal thermoelectric NCs but also other functional materials.
Phase-tailored assembly and encoding of dissipative soliton molecules
Authors: Luo Yiyang , Liu Yusong , Huang Siyun , Liu Haoguang , Sun Yixiang , Xia Ran , Yan Lisong , Liu Huanhuan , Xu Gang , Sun Qizhen , Tang Xiahui , Shum Perry Ping
Published: January 2023

Self-assembly of particle-like dissipative solitons, in presence of mutual interactions, emphasizes the vibrant concept of soliton molecules in varieties of laser resonators. Controllable manipulation on the molecular patterns, held by the degrees of freedom of internal motions, still remains challenging to explore more efficient and subtle tailoring approaches for the increasing demands. Here, we report a new phase-tailored quaternary encoding format based on controllable internal assembly of dissipative soliton molecules. Artificial manipulations on the energy flow of soliton-molecular elements stimulate the deterministic harnessing on the assemblies of internal dynamics. Self-assembled soliton molecules are tailored into four phase-defined regimes, thus constituting the phase-tailored quaternary encoding format. Such phase-tailored soliton assemblies are endowed with great robustness, mostly resistant to the fiber nonlinearity and complicated timing jitter. All these results experimentally demonstrate the programmable phase tailoring based on the gain-governed energy flow and exemplify the application of the phase-tailored quaternary encoding format, prospectively promoting the large-capacity all-optical storage in soliton communications.
Identification of two insecticide resistance markers in Ethiopian Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes using a multiplex amplicon sequencing assay targeting vgsc, rdl, gste2 and ace1 loci
Authors: Acford-Palmer Holly , Phelan Jody E. , Tadesse Fitsum G. , Kristan Mojca , Collins Emma , Spadar Anton , Walker Thomas , Bousema Teun , Messenger Louisa A. , Clark Taane G. , Campino Susana
Published: January 2023

Since its first detection in 2012 in Djibouti, Anopheles stephensi has invaded and established itself in the Horn of Africa and most recently in Nigeria and Yemen. The expansion of this vector poses a significant threat to malaria control and eliminations efforts. Integrated vector management is the primary strategy used to interrupt disease transmission; however, growing insecticide resistance is threatening to reverse gains in global malaria control. We present a next-generation amplicon-sequencing approach, for high-throughput monitoring of insecticide resistance genes (ace1, gste2, vgsc and rdl), species identification and characterization of genetic diversity (its2 and cox1) in An. stephensi. Ninety-five An. stephensi mosquitoes, collected in Ethiopia, were screened, identifying 104 SNPs, including the knock-down mutation L958F (L1014F in Musca domestica), and for the first time in this vector species, the A296S substitution (A301S in Drosophila melanogaster) in the rdl locus. Two other amino acid substitutions (ace1-N177D, GSTe2-V189L) were also identified but have not been previously implicated in insecticide resistance. Genetic diversity in the mitochondrial cox1 gene revealed shared haplotypes between Ethiopian An. stephensi with samples from Pakistan, Sudan, and Djibouti. Overall, we present a reliable, cost-effective strategy using amplicon-sequencing to monitor known insecticide resistance mutations, with the potential to identify new genetic variants, to assist high-throughput surveillance of An. stephensi populations.
Internal flat-plate airlift cylindrical bioreactor for the degradation of newspaper using Trichoderma reesei: characterization of hydrodynamics parameters
Authors: Hernández-Melchor Dulce Jazmín , Pérez Pablo Antonio López , Ferrera-Cerrato Ronald , Alarcón Alejandro
Published: January 2023

Trichoderma is a cosmopolitan fungus whose importance lies in its ability to produce metabolites such as enzymes from the biodegradation of cellulose-rich waste. For its growth, aerated bioreactors are used in submerged culture where oxygen is one of the elements that limits this process. The aim of this study was to characterize the hydrodynamics and mass transfer of an internal flat-plate airlift cylindrical bioreactor for the biodegradation of newspaper using T. reesei as a study model. Hydrodynamics (gas hold-up, mixing time, Reynolds number) and mass transfer (kLa) properties were characterized in a biphasic (water-air) and triphasic (Trichoderma ressei- basal minimum medium-air) systems. A degradation kinetics of newspaper in the airlift bioreactor in batch culture was realized. At day 20 the enzyme activities, biomass, residual cellulose, protein concentration and reducing sugar were 1421 IU L-1 CMCase, 8.02 g L-1, 2.19 g L-1, 0.0018 g L-1, 0.07 g L-1 respectively. Finally, the overall kLa (triphasic system) was calculated to be in the range of 2.34-14.76 h -1 and Reynolds number of 1757 depending on the hydrodynamics parameters. In addition, the theoretical kLa was compared and estimated with respect to the experimental values with a maximum error of ±20% acceptable based on the proposed coefficient of performance. The relationship between mass transfer and Reynolds number is essential to assess the scalability of our system for an optimal degradation of newspaper.
Heterologous prime-boost regimen elicits potent humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and provides complete protection against SFTSV
Authors: Kim Jae-Yong , Jeon Kyeongseok , Hong Jung Joo , Park Sang-In , Cho Hyeong-Gon , Park Hyo-Jung , Kwak Hye Won , Park Hyeong-Jun , Bang Yoo-Jin , Lee Yu-Sun , Bae Seo-Hyeon , Kim So-Hee , Hwang Kyung-Ah , Jung Dae-Im , Cho Seong Hoo , Seo Sang Hwan , Kim Green , Oh Hanseul , Lee Hwal-Yong , Kim Ki Hyun , Lim Hee-Young , Jeon Pyeonghwa , Lee Joo-Yeon , Chung Junho , Lee Sang-Myeong , Ko Hae Li , Song Manki , Cho Nam-Hyuk , Lee Young-suk , Hong So-Hee , Nam Jae-Hwan
Published: January 2023

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus(SFTSV) was first discovered in 2009 as the causative agent of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome. Despite its potential threat to public health, no prophylactic vaccine is yet available. This study developed a heterologous prime-boost strategy comprising priming with recombinant replication-deficient human adenovirus type 5 (rAd5) expressing the surface glycoprotein, Gn, and boosting with Gn protein. This vaccination regimen induced balanced Th1/Th2 immune responses and resulted in potent humoral and T cell-mediated responses in mice. It elicited high neutralizing antibody titers in both mice and non-human primates. Transcriptome analysis revealed that rAd5 and Gn proteins induced adaptive and innate immune pathways, respectively. This study provides immunological and mechanistic insight into this heterologous regimen and paves the way for future strategies against emerging infectious diseases.
Side-to-side, end-to-end, embedded anastomosis versus end-to-side anastomosis in patients with esophageal carcinoma：A retrospective, controlled study
Authors: Zhou Yun , Li Tiantian , Yang Zhiliang , Tan Zhiming , Zheng Lunhui , Yang Chifen , Zhang Chunguang , Pan Run , Ding Yao , Guo Lei , Chen Tao , Wang Zheng
Published: January 2023

Background
Anastomotic leakage is one of the most serious postoperative complications of esophageal carcinoma. A new method of anastomosis has been adopted to reduce the incidence of anastomotic leakage. The aim of this study was to verify the safety and effectiveness of this new anastomosis method by comparing with the traditional anastomosis method.
Methods
A total of 121 patients with esophageal cancer from January 2020 to January 2022 in our department were included. They were divided into two groups according to the different methods of esophagogastrostomy: Side-to-side, end-to-end, embedded anastomosis group (SEE group, n=68) and traditional end-to-side anastomosis group (TE group, n=69). On the 7th day after operation, esophagography was performed to confirm the existence of anastomotic leakage, dysphagia, anastomotic stenosis, and gastroesophageal reflux.
Results
The incidence of anastomotic leakage in TE group and SEE group were 14.5% and 3.4%, respectively, with statistical significance(p＜0.05). The incidence of anastomotic stenosis in TE group was 21%, while in SEE group it was 3.4%. These differences were statistically significant(p＜0.01). The incidence of reflux in the TE group and the SEE group was 24.2% and 8.5%, respectively, with statistical significance(p＜0.05). The first esophagography after operation showed that the incidence of swallowing disorder was 27.4% in TE group and 57.6% in SEE group. These differences were statistically significant(p＜0.01). However, the incidence of swallowing disorder in TE group and SEE group was 9.7% and 15.3%, respectively, with no significant difference after 3 months (p＞0.05).
Conclusion
SEE anastomosis is a safe and effective surgical method, which is worthy of clinical application.
Effects of allyl isothiocyanate fumigation on medicinal plant root knot disease control, plant survival, and the soil bacterial community
Authors: Li Yingbin , Lu Daqing , Xia Yan , Xu Xinjing , Huang Huichuan , Mei Xinyue , Yang Min , Li Jianqiang , Zhu Shusheng , Liu Yixiang , Zhang Zhiping
Published: January 2023

Background
Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a natural product with high volatility that is used as a biofumigant to alleviate soil-borne plant diseases, and problems such as root knot nematodes (RKNs) that necessitate continuous cropping. However, little research has assessed the effects of AITC fumigation on medicinal plant.
Results
The current results indicated that AITC significantly reduced the population of RKNs in soil (p < 0.0001) and showed an excellent RKN disease control effect within 6 months after sowing Panax notoginseng (p < 0.0001). The seedling survival rate of 2-year-old P. notoginseng was approximately 1.7-fold higher after soil treatment with AITC (p = 0.1008). 16S rRNA sequencing indicated that the AITC treatment affected bacterial richness rather than diversity in the CC soil. Furthermore, biomarkers with statistical differences between AITC-treated and untreated CC soil showed that Pirellulales (o), Pirellulaceae (f), Pseudomonadaceae (f), and Pseudomonas (g) played important roles in the AITC-treated group. In addition, the microbiome functional phenotypes predicted using the BugBase tool suggested that AITC treatment is more conducive to improving CC soil through changes in the bacterial community structure. Crucially, our research confirmed that AITC soil treatment significantly increases soil organic matter (p = 0.0055), total nitrogen (p = 0.0054), and available potassium (p = 0.0373), which promotes the succeeding medicinal plant (Polygonatum kingianum) survival.
Conclusion
AITC as an ecologically friendly soil treatment method, which does not affect soil microbial diversity, but rather relative abundance. Also, it could be providing a basis for a useful agricultural soil management measure to alleviate soil sickness.
Alternative Chemicals as Source of Nitrogen to Enhance Ginger(zingiber officinal Rosc.) In vitro Micro-propagation in Ethiopia
Authors: Gezahegn Genene Konobo , Feyissa Tileye Feyissa , Rezene Yayis Tedla
Published: January 2023

Ginger is used for many purposes and become a major spice crop across the country in Ethiopia. Production was challenged primarily due to bacterial wilt disease eruption as of the 2012 production season. The use of disease-free tissue culture generated seed rhizome as part of integrated management was considered as the best option to reduce the disease impact. To enhance disease-free ginger in vitro propagation; an experiment was designed to select alternative sources of nitrogen as replacement of ammonium nitrate. Three alternative salts at different levels were tasted as potential replacements of ammonium nitrate in MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l BAP and 1.0 mg/l Kinetin using Boziab variety. The highest mean shoot number (9.33) was achieved from 1.0 g/l NH4Cl followed by 3.8 g/l KNO3 and 3 g/l urea with a record of mean shoot numbers 7.33 and 7.00 respectively. Shoot growth, rooting and survival after acclimatization were affected negatively at elevated levels of NH4Cl. The highest number of roots (19) was observed on a medium of 1.0 g/l NH4Cl followed by normal MS media (16). Survival after acclimatization was found to be 98% for plants derived from medium containing 4.5 and 3.8 g/l urea and KNO3 respectively followed by 95% for plants from medium containing 1.0 g/l NH4Cl. The experiment finally revealed that the three nitrogen salts at specific levels can be used as potential nitrogen source alternative instead of ammonium nitrate.
Abdominal compartment syndrome as a complication of insertion of a self-expandable metal stent in a patient with malignant bowel obstruction: a case report
Authors: Tanabe Taro , Tsukuda Genki , Hobo Takahiro , Yokoyama Noboru , Inoue Haruhiro
Published: January 2023

Background
A self-expandable metal stent is often placed as a bridge to elective surgical treatment of left-sided malignant obstruction of the colon because it allows for primary anastomosis without the need for a temporary stoma, which has a positive impact on the patient’s quality of life. However, although a relatively safe procedure, colonic stenting can have complications that require emergency surgery. This case report describes a rare case of abdominal compartment syndrome that occurred as a complication during colonic stenting.
Case presentation:
The patient was a 72-year-old woman who presented complaining of several days of constipation and loss of appetite. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed obstruction of the sigmoid colon by a tumor. There were no symptoms or computed tomography findings to suggest perforation. Therefore, an attempt was made to insert a self-expandable metal stent. Acute respiratory disturbance and a change in consciousness occurred during the stenting procedure, with marked abdominal distention. Abdominal compartment syndrome was diagnosed and treated by decompressive laparotomy.
Conclusions
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of abdominal compartment syndrome as a complication of colonic stenting. The possibility of abdominal compartment syndrome should be considered if acute respiratory disturbance or altered consciousness occurs during placement of a colonic stent.
Opposite ends of the spectrum: Is emotional eating present more barriers to applying mindful eating and intuitive eating strategies for females?
Authors: KAHRIMAN Meryem , KAYA Neşe
Published: January 2023

Background: There are few studies in the literature examining the role of gender in the relationships between intuitive eating, mindful eating, dietary restraint, and emotional eating. It is important to reveal the role of gender in these relationships. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between intuitive eating, mindful eating, emotional eating and restraint eating behaviors and the role of gender in these relationships.
Methods:This study was conducted with 522 participants aged 18-65. Questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and general eating habits, Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), Mindful Eating Questionnaire-30 (MEQ-30), and Emotional Eating and Restraint Eating Subscale of Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) were applied to the participants.
Results: DEBQ Restraint Eating, and Emotional Eating subscale scores were found to be higher in females. The total scores of IES-2 and MEQ-30 were found to be higher in the group with Body Mass Index (BMI)<25, and the DEBQ Emotional Eating subscale score was found to be higher in the group with BMI≥25. The negative correlation between DEBQ Emotional Eating subscale score and IES-2 total score was weak in males and strong in females. The negative relationship between MEQ-30 total score and DEBQ Emotional Eating subscale score was moderate in males and strong in females. It was determined that gender explained 27.7% of the relationship between the total score of IES-2 and the total score of MEQ-30, and 37.9% of the relationship between the total score of MEQ-30 and DEBQ Emotional Eating score.
Conclusions: Overweight and obese participants had lower levels of intuitive eating and mindful eating, while emotional eating levels were higher. In addition, it has been revealed that mindful eating and intuitive eating strategies are concepts that represent two opposite ends of a spectrum with emotional eating, and emotional eating can be an obstacle when these strategies are applied, especially in females.
In silico analysis of differentially expressed-aberrantly methylated genes in breast cancer for prognostic and therapeutic targets
Authors: Gadwal Ashita , Purohit Purvi , Khokhar Manoj , Vishnoi Jeewan Ram , Pareek Puneet , Choudhary Ramkaran , Elhence Poonam , Banerjee Mithu , Sharma Praveen
Published: January 2023

Introduction:
Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of death among women across the globe. Abnormal gene expression plays a crucial role in tumour progression, carcinogenesis and metastasis of BC. The alteration of gene expression may be through aberrant gene methylation. In the present study, differentially expressed genes which may be regulated by DNA methylation and their pathways associated with BC have been identified.
Methods:
Expression microarray datasets GSE10780, GSE10797, GSE21422, GSE42568, GSE61304, GSE61724 and one DNA methylation profile dataset GSE20713 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO). Differentially expressed-aberrantly methylated genes were identified using online Venn diagram tool. Based on fold change expression of differentially expressed-aberrantly methylated genes were chosen through heat map. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of the hub genes was constructed by Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING). Gene expression and DNA methylation level of the hub genes were validated through UALCAN. Overall survival analysis of the hub genes was analysed through Kaplan Meier-plotter database for BC.
Results:
A total of 72 upregulated-hypomethylated genes and 92 downregulated-hypermethylated genes were obtained from GSE10780, GSE10797, GSE21422, GSE42568, GSE61304, GSE61724 and GSE20713 datasets by GEO2R and Venn diagram tool. PPI network of the upregulated-hypomethylated hub genes (MRGBP, MANF, ARF3, HIST1H3D, GSK3B, HJURP, GPSM2, MATN3, KDELR2, CEP55, GSPT1, COL11A1, and COL1A1) and downregulated-hypermethylated hub genes were constructed (APOD, DMD, RBPMS, NR3C2, HOXA9, AMKY2, KCTD9, and EDN1). All the differentially expressed hub genes expression was validated in UALCAN database. 4 in 13 upregulated-hypomethylated and 5 in 8 downregulated-hypermethylated hub genes to be significantly hypomethylated or hypermethylated in BC were confirmed using UALCAN database (p < 0.05). MANF, HIST1H3D, HJURP, GSK3B, GPSM2, MATN3, KDELR2, CEP55, COL1A1, APOD, RBPMS, NR3C2, HOXA9, ANKMY2, EDN1 were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with poor overall survival (OS).
Conclusion:
The identified aberrantly methylated-differentially expressed genes and their related pathways and function in BC can serve as novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Analysis of salivary cortisol levels and listening effort in school-age children with unilateral hearing loss: investigating the impact of hearing aid use
Authors: de Matos Izabella Lima , Ferreira Maria Carolina , Dionisio Thiago José , De Araujo Cristiano Miranda , Santos Carlos Ferreira Dos , Mondelli Maria Fenanda Capoani Garcia
Published: January 2023

Arm: Listening effort is one of the consequences of Unilateral Hearing Loss (UHL). The aim of this clinical study was to assess the listening effort of school-aged children with UHL with salivary cortisol collection and a behavioral dual task assessment, with and without the use of hearing aid (HA) technology.
Results: There was no difference between speech recognition in silence and noise. Both conditions did not present statistically significant results with and without hearing aids. Greater statistically significant results (p= 0.013) were found before the HA fitting with the secondary set of dual-task. After the hearing aid fitting, a decreased response time was noted, and this result was statistically significant (p= 0.019) when compared to the response time before the HA fitting.
Conclusion: Results suggested that children fit with a HA in their affected ear performed better in the dual-task condition than without use of a hearing aid. Most participants showed a better response rate in the secondary task, mainly with regards to the number of correct answers and a better response time. Overall, a decrease of listening effort in the dual-task condition was found. Salivary cortisol measures of listening effort with our participants did not show any statistically significant findings after the use of a HA.
Fixed-Time Leader-Follower Consensus for Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems
Authors: Hua Xingxing , Dai Xin , Sun Shaoxin , Sun Yue
Published: January 2023

This article investigates the consensus problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems (MASs) subject to nonlinear disturbance. A distributed fixed-time observer is considered for each follower. The proposed observer does not need any follower to become a neighbor of the leader. An improved distributed fixed-time observer is further proposed to avoid the situation in which the leader system information is unknown. This improved distributed fixed-time observer considers the output estimation errors of itself and its neighbors concurrently. Then, the consensus tracking protocols are designed to compensate for the error between leader and follower. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic control strategy is validated by a numerical example and further application to wireless power transfer gird.
Protective Strategies of Nurses encountering Covid 19: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Mehboodi farkhondeh , Zamanzadeh vahid , Rahmani Azad , Dianat Iman , Shabanloi Reza
Published: January 2023

Background: Since nurses have a critical role in managing infectious diseases outbreaks, it is necessary to conduct more research to find the factors and risks leading to occupational injuries, as well as their individual action on protective measures in the event of epidemics. The aim of this study was to explain the protective strategies adopted by nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Methods: This qualitative study was performed with the participation of 13 nurses caring for patients infected with Covid-19 in five medical centre in north-western Iran. Data were collected using non-structured qualitative and face-to-face interviews, and analysed by Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis method.
Results: Three main categories emerged: Normalization; Avoidance; and logical encounter.
Conclusion: Participants were using a wide range of strategies to protect themselves that each one leads to various individual and organizational consequences. By knowing these strategies, nursing managers can maintain the workforce and contribute to the productivity of the organization.
Systematic Patriarchy: A Social Determinant of Gender-Based Discrimination Interacting with Child Development and Mental Health
Authors: GUPTA MAYANK
Published: January 2023

The systematic oppression of women and gender-based discrimination has deep roots in human civilization. As evident in both written texts and widespread practices, conscious and unconscious biases associated with patriarchy have been—and continue to be—interlaced with power struggles, control, and conformity enforced by the male-dominant cultures of the time. Brought into bold relief in this pandemic, recent dramatic events (the tragic murder of George Floyd and the overturning of Roe v. Wade, for example) have heightened social outrage against bias, racism, and bigotry and have also brought us to an inflection point demanding our better understanding of the pernicious and long-term mental health effects of patriarchy. There are compelling grounds to further expand their construct, but efforts to do so in psychiatric phenomenology have, until now, failed to gain momentum and substantive attention. The resistance may in part lie in misconceptions that patriarchy is supported by archetypal endowments of the collective unconscious constitutive of shared societal beliefs. While many continue to live with the adverse experiences associated with patriarchy within the current times, critics have argued that our concepts about patriarchy are not empirical enough. Empirically supported deconstruction is indeed necessary to debunk misinformed notions that undermine women’s equality.
Direct structure-determination of nodavirus in solution by x-ray ensemble diffraction microscopy
Authors: Chen Ning-Jung , Yeh Chia-Hui , Cao Huai-Yu , Chen Nai-Chi , Chen Chun-Jung , Tsai Yi-Wei , Chen Chun-Yu , Lin Jhih-Min , Huang Yu-Shan , Chen Chien-Chun , Yang Jhih-Heng
Published: January 2023

The structures of biomacromolecules are conventionally characterized by crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy . The requirements of sample preparation limit the understanding of the specimens in their native states. Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) has the capability of obtaining structural information from biological specimens in solution. However, resolving the structure from the acquired one-dimensional (1D) diffraction data requires the prior knowledge of the sample, and no unique solution can be guaranteed. Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) provides excellent uniqueness in 2D/3D phase retrieval while the resolution is restricted by the poor signal-to-noise ratio at high-angle scattering. Here we combine CDI and SAXS to directly image a 19-nm-sized nodavirus particle in solution and determine the core-shell density distribution at a 1.3 nm pixel resolution. With 77,170 diffraction patterns summarized from randomly distributed nodavirus particles, the structural information can be obtained from the diffraction intensity alone without preknowledge. The hollow density distribution of a nodavirus particle revealed by our reconstruction is consistent with the structural determinations from crystallography and cryogenic electron microscopy. We believe this work represents a new protocol for characterizing the structures of macromolecules in solution from accumulated x-ray scattering data.
A retrospective analysis of laparoendoscopic single-site myomectomy in giant uterine myoma
Authors: Yu Hongxia , Zhang Wendi , Zhang Shoufeng , Tang Huimin , Chen Mengyue , Zhao Mengru , Yang Yun , Tang Bin , Zheng Hong , Wei Weiwei , Shi Ruxia , Xia Bairong , Chen Jiming
Published: January 2023

Objectives
To investigate the safety and feasibility of laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) for the treatment of giant uterine myoma (diameter ≥ 8.0cm).
Methods
A retrospective analysis was made on 60 cases of uterine myoma (diameter ≥ 8.0 cm) who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy in Changzhou Second People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between April 2020 and April 2022. The patients were divided into a single-site laparoscopic group (LESS group) and a traditional multi-port laparoscopic surgery (MPLS group), with 20 patients in the study group (LESS group) and 40 patients in the control group (MPLS group). Observation and comparison were made between the two groups on demographic, perioperative, and follow-up data.
Results
All 60 surgeries were successfully completed without conversion. There was no statistically significant difference in estimated blood loss, and the first exhaust time after surgery between the two groups (P > 0.05); the operative time was longer in the LESS group than in the control group (P < 0.05); the length of hospital stay was shorter in the LESS group than in the control group (P < 0.05); The 24-hour visual analogue score (VAS) and body image score (BIS) were lower in the LESS group than in the control group (P < 0.05); the cosmetic score (CS) of the LESS was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Laparoendoscopic single-site myomectomy may be safe, feasible, and effective for the treatment of giant myoma (diameter ≥ 8.0cm). Compared with conventional multi-port laparoscopy, Laparoendoscopic single-site takes relatively longer to perform, but the hospital stay is relatively shorter, the postoperative pain is less, and the advantages of the aesthetic incision are outstanding, which meet the aesthetic needs of women and deserve a further clinical promotion.
A prospective and preliminary observation of cardiovascular responses to the head-up tilting test in patients with over 1-year follow-up after coronary artery bypass grafting
Authors: Hori Shinnosuke , Nishimura Yoshiharu , Kamijo Yoshi-ichiro , Minami Kohei , Umemoto Yasunori , Yokoyama Mao , Mikami Yukio , Nishimura Yukihide , Ogawa Takahiro , Tajima Fumihiro
Published: January 2023

Hori et al. have suggested previously that blood pressure during a head-up tilt (HUT) in a patient after CABG at discharge was likely to decrease, even they took exercise therapy. Medication status after CABG and reduced stroke volume, one of index for blood volume, would be related with it. On the other hand, some natural adaptations to orthostatic stress in the patients may be expected over long-term recovery. However, there was no study to assess blood pressure during HUT after CABG while monitoring medication status and stroke volume over a long period. Changes in cardiovascular responses to HUT in 6 patients were preliminarily tested during supine and 15-min 60°HUT before (P0) and after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) (P1) and over 1-year after surgery (P2). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased during HUT at P0 and P1 and the decrease at P1 was greater than P0, while it remained unchanged at P2. Heart rate (HR) increased during HUT at P0 and P1 and the increase at P1 tended to be greater than P0, while that at P2 were comparable to P0. Stroke volume (SV) was 30% lower during baseline at P1 and P2 than P0. Cardiac output reduced by HUT at P0, but was not affected at P1 and P2, while the baseline at P2 was lower than P0. Ejection fraction remained unchanged at 3 periods. In conclusion, baseline SV at P2 remained lower than P0, but MAP was maintained during HUT. The present results suggest that although the poor control of blood pressure just after is improved over 1 year after CABG, hypovolemia might not be corrected. Assessments of an exercise regimen over long term after CABG would be expected in the future.
WITHDRAWN: Predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in mortality of critically ill patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective analysis of the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV Database
Authors: Ma Ruicong , Chen Yucheng , Zhang Guolin , Ding Yanchun
Published: January 2023

Objective
Inflammation plays an important role in the occurrence and development of atrial fibrillation. We aim to explore the predictive value of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in mortality of critically ill patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Methods
The data of this retrospective cohort study was collected from the MIMIC-IV database. Patients were divided into four groups according to NLR level (cut-off: 7.26) and whether they were diagnosed with AF. The primary outcome of our study was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality, and 1-year mortality. Restricted cubic spline curve to show the relationship between NLR and in-hospital mortality. Cox Survival analysis and cox regression models were used to assess the association between NLR and mortality.
Results
A total of 20,707 patients were eligible for analysis. Restricted cubic spline curve showed that NLR level was associated with the lowest risk of in-hospital mortality was 7.26 in all patients, 7.22 in non-AF patients and 7.67 in AF patients. Cox Survival analysis curves showed that patients with AF combined with high-level NLR (Group 4) had higher all-cause mortality compared with other groups. The results of multivariate analysis showed that high NLR was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in AF patients. The association was consistent among patients in different ICU types.
Conclusions
Critically ill patients with AF comorbidity and elevated levels of NLR had higher risks of mortality. Moreover, high NLR was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in AF patients. However, further prospective studies are still needed to reveal this relationship.
MCL-DTI: Using Drug Multimodal Informationand Bi-directional Cross-Attention Learningmethod for Predicting Drug-Target Interaction
Authors: Qian Ying , Wu Jian , Zhang Qian
Published: January 2023

Background: Prediction of drug-target interaction (DTI) is an essential step fordrug discovery and drug reposition. Traditional methods are mostlytime-consuming and labor-intensive, and deep learning-based methods addressthese limitations and are applied to engineering. Most of the current deeplearning methods employ representation learning of unimodal information such as SMILES sequences, molecular graphs, or molecular images of drugs. In addition,most methods focus on feature extraction from drug and target alone withoutfusion learning from drug-target interacting parties, which may lead toinsufficient feature representation.
Results: To enhance feature learning between drugs and targets, we propose anovel model based on deep learning for DTI task called MCL-DTI which usesmultimodal information of drug and learn the representation of drug-targetinteraction for drug-target prediction. In order to further explore a morecomprehensive representation of drug features, this paper first exploits twomultimodal information of drugs, molecular image and chemical text, to representthe drug. We also introduce to use bi-rectional multi-head corss attention (MCA)method to learn the interrelationships between drugs and targets. Thus, we buildtwo decoders, which include an multi-head self attention (MSA) block and anMCA block, for cross-information learning. We use a decoder for the drug andtarget separately to obtain the interaction feature maps. Finally, we feed thesefeature maps generated by decoders into a fusion block for feature extraction andoutput the prediction results.
Conclusions: MCL-DTI achieves the best results in all the three datasets:Human, C.elegans and Davis, including the balanced datasets and an unbalanceddataset. The results on the drug-drug interaction (DDI) task show that MCL-DTIhas a strong generalization capability and can be easily applied to other tasks.
Attitudes of Nursing Students Towards’ Ethical Values. Comparative study in two country
Authors: Lesińska-Sawicka Małgorzata , Kızılırmak Aynur
Published: January 2023

Background
Ethical values are a guideline for behavior in certain situations. They take on particular importance in patient care. Ethical values depend on many factors including culture.
Objective
The aim of the study is to compare the attitudes of nursing students from different countries towards ethical values.
Design:
A cross-sectional study design was used.
Methods
The aim of this study is to compare the attitudes of nursing students towards ethical values. 463 students participated in the survey, including 191 from Poland and 272 from Turkiye. The study was conducted from April to June 2022. For the purposes of this study was used Ethical Values Scale (IEVS). The criteria for excluding participants from the study were nursing student status and consent to participate in the study.
Results
The IEVE total score for all respondents was 68.20 and the median was 68. In the individual subscales: Love-Respect 34.76 (median 35), Justice-Honesty 21.29 (median 21) and Cooperation 12.14 (median 12). Polish students' total IEVS score average was 70.48 ± 6.81 and Turkish students' IEVS total score average was 66.61 ± 9.65. There is a statistically significant difference between the total score average on the IEVS of students from the two countries (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The formation of ethical attitudes among students should be strengthened, paying attention to their cultural conditions. Research should be continued, expanding to include other socio-cultural factors.
Protease secretions by the invading blastocyst induce calcium oscillations in endometrial epithelial cells via the protease activated receptor-2
Authors: Hennes Aurélie , Devroe Johanna , De Clercq Katrien , Ciprietti Martina , Held Katharina , Luyten Katrien , Ranst Nele Van , Maenhoudt Nina , Peeraer Karen , Vankelecom Hugo , Voets Thomas , Vriens Joris
Published: January 2023

Background:Early embryo implantation is a complex phenomenon characterized by the presence of an implantation-competent blastocyst and a receptive endometrium. Embryo development and endometrial receptivity must be synchronized and an adequate two-way dialogue between them is necessary for maternal recognition and implantation. Proteases have been described as blastocyst-secreted proteins involved in the hatching process and early implantation events. These enzymes stimulate intracellular calcium signaling pathways in endometrial epithelial cells. However, the exact molecular players underlying protease-induced calcium signaling, the subsequent downstream signaling pathways and the biological impact of its activation remain elusive.Methods:To identify gene expression of the receptors and ion channels of interest in human and mouse endometrial epithelial cells, RNA sequencing, RT-qPCR andin situhybridization experiments were conducted. Calcium microfluorimetric experiments were performed to study their functional expression.Results:We showed that trypsin evoked intracellular calcium oscillations in EEC of mouse and human, and identified the protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) as the molecular entity initiating protease-induced calcium responses in EEC. In addition, this study unraveled the molecular players involved in the downstream signaling of PAR2 by showing that depletion and re-filling of intracellular calcium stores occurs via PLC, IP3R and the STIM1/Orai1 complex. Finally,in vitroexperiments in the presence of a specific PAR2 agonist evoked an upregulation of the pre-decidualization response in human endometrial epithelial cells.Conclusions:These findings provide new insights into the blastocyst-derived protease signaling and allocate a key role for PAR2 as maternal sensor for signals released by the developing blastocyst.
Interaction of Depressive Status and Cognitive Ability Predicts Psychological Resilience of Young Adults in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Szu-Hung , Huang Tzu-Yun , Liao Yu-Chi , Wu Chia-Huei , Hsieh Shulan , Yang Cheng-Ta
Published: January 2023

Associations among cognitive ability, depressive symptoms, and psychological resilience have been found, but the interaction among these variables remains unclear, especially for young adults. The current study aimed to investigate how these variables interact in young adults in Taiwan. A total of 192 participants (97 female) with a mean age of 21.84 years (range 19–30 years) were analyzed for this study. Participants’ cognitive ability was assessed by the Taiwanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Depressive status was evaluated by the revision of Beck Depression Inventory-II. Participants with a score of 14 or above were defined as mild-to-severe-depressed (MSD). Otherwise, they were defined as minimal-depressed (MD). For the psychological resilience measurement, a Chinese version of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) was used. A linear regression model was applied to investigate the interaction of cognitive ability and depressive status on psychological resilience after adjusting for the covariates of gender and age. The interaction of BDI-II and MoCA was significantly associated with the RSA score (B = -6.519, p = .044) and other effects were not significant. The results indicated that a negative relationship between cognitive ability and psychological resilience was only observed in MSD young adults but not in MD. This study had a limited number of participants in the MSD group. Young adults with higher cognitive ability reported lower psychological resilience when they had mild-to-severe depression. In contrast, cognitive ability does not relate to psychological resilience among young adults with minimal depression.