bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Aitchisonia rosea for oxidative stress and its protective effect on H2O2 induced oxidative damage on DNA and RBCs
Authors: ALAJLANI MUAAZ , Rasool Shahid
Published: May 2023

Background
Aitchisonia rosea Hemsl. ex Aitch (Family Rubiaceae) has been used traditionally for the treatment of different diseases involving oxidation reactions. The current work was carried out to evaluate anti-oxidant potential of various organic fractions and essential oils from Aitchisonia rosea and to study their protective effect on H2O2 induced oxidative damage on pBR322 DNA and RBC cellular membrane.
Methodology
The in-vitro assays were performed with different concentrations of plant extract, its various fractions and essential oil. The essential oil was isolated, its GCMS analysis was performed and chemical constituents were identified in essential oil. Moreover, DPPH scavenging assay and ferric reducing anti-oxidant power assay was performed. Additionally, the DNA protection assay and RBC cellular membrane protection assay were performed.
Results
The main components identified by GCMS in essential oil of plant were germacrene (18.43%), carvacrol (12.80%) and linalool (2.67%). The results clearly indicated that methanol extract, ethyl acetate, n-butanol fractions and essential oil exhibited very promising radical scavenging effect and reducing power anti-oxidant activity. They also contained higher contents of phenolic compounds. The protective effect of plant on pBR322 DNA with H2O2 treatment showed that at concentration 1000 μg/ml, it converted the open circular damaged form of pBR322 DNA to super coiled safe form. The plant also protected RBC cellular membrane and thus safe for human use.
Conclusion
The results proved Aitchisonia rosea to be a valuable anti-oxidant that protects pBR322 DNA and RBC cellular membrane from free radical induced oxidative damage. Furthermore, it could be further develop as powerful and new anti-oxidant.
Bank Accounts for Minors: A Pathway to Financial Inclusion or a Dead-End?
Authors: Collins J. Michael , Larrimore Jeff , Urban Carly
Published: May 2023

This study estimates the effects of state laws that allow access to independently owned bank accounts without a custodian. In states where minors can own accounts, youth aged 16 through 19 are more likely to be banked, although by age 24 those young adults are banked at similar rates to teens who grew up in states that do not allow minors to own accounts independently. However, young adults who had access to independently owned accounts at teens are thenmorelikely to use high-cost non-bank financial services, particularly check-cashing services. Young adults who had access to non-custodial accounts as teens also show lower credit scores and more loan delinquencies at ages 21 through 24. While state banking policies can increase financial inclusion for teenagers, minors with bank accounts face frictions transitioning to adult accounts. Since minor accounts require opening a new bank account, this transition process appears to drive young people with non-custodial minor-owned accounts to use more alternative, non-bank financial services. JEL Codes: D14, D18, G18, G21, G28
Potential distribution of Rice Thrip (S.biformis) in India under climate change
Authors: Pushpalatha Raji , Gangadharan Byju , Roshni Thendiyath , Kutty Govindan
Published: May 2023

India’s economy is agro-based economy and in which rice is the major crop grown in the country. India is also one among the global leaders in the production of rice and is accounted for approximately 10% of nation’s economy. Present and future changes in the climate may challenge the crop production as the pest pressure in agriculture varies significantly with the elevated temperatures. The rice thrip (S.biformis) is the most challenging pest of rice and often causes yield reduction and significant economic loss. The climate change leads to variations in meteorological parameters, and it apparently affects the developmental rates and population dynamics of rice thrip. Monitoring its geographical distribution based on the climatic conditions can minimize crop yield losses. Therefore, the present study focused to quantify the temperature changes and eventually the population dynamics of rice thrip in India using projections from Hadgem3-GC31 and MPI-ESMI-2 under three emission scenarios (SSP126, SSP245 and SSP585) for the year 2050. The probability distribution from the MaxEnt species distribution model indicates the southern and north-eastern regions of India will be highly affected by rice thrip in 2050, and a total of 391 districts will be highly affected (locations where the predicted probability by the model is greater than 0.8) for the SSP126. The number of districts which will be highly affected by rice thrip for SSP245 and SSP585 are 418 and 435 respectively. The analysis shows that the most influencing climatic parameter for the geographical distribution of rice thrip is Tmax (quadratic relation) followed by bioclimatic variable and Tmin (positive relation). This suggests the regions with possibility to increase the maximum temperature will be highly suitable for its growth and distribution. Quantifying the dynamic population of rice thrip under climate change can facilitate and strategize integrated pest management practices to a sustainable food production by minimizing the risks.
A holistic analysis of photosynthetic acclimation to shade in C4 grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.)
Authors: Wang Guangyang , Mao Jinyan , Ji Mingxia , Wang Wei , Fu Jinmin
Published: May 2023

Background: Lack of light in shady environment is the key factor affecting the growth and development of turf plants. However, it is shade avoidance rather than shade tolerance that has received more attention in past decades. In this study, we investigated the photosynthetic metabolisms of Bermuda grass exposed to deepening shade, aiming to provide a holistic perspective for understanding the shade acclimation strategies of C4 turfgrass.
Results: The adjustments of pigment-proteins, photosynthetic electron transport and its coupling of carbon and nitrogen assimilation, ROS-scavenging enzyme activity in shade surroundings were detected. Mild shade enriched Chl b and LHC transcripts, while Chl a, carotenoids and photosynthetic electron transfer beyond QA- (ET0/RC, φE0, Ψ0) were enhanced by severe shade. In addition, differential impacts of shade on leaf and root were shown. Soluble sugar deficiency varied between the two, due shade reduced SPS, SUT1 while up-regulated BAM. Besides, Shading weakened the transcriptional level of genes involving in nitrogen assimilation (e.g. NR) and SOD, POD, CAT enzyme activities in leaf, but improved them in root.
Conclusions: As the shade deepened, extensive changes had taken place in light energy conversion and photosynthetic metabolism process along the axis of electron transport chain. This study provided a theoretical basis for the photosynthetic acclimation of C4 grass to shade tolerance.
Prognosis and tailored treatment prediction based on key genes between polycystic ovary syndrome and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Shao Shuyi , Lv Qiaoying , Hu Shuhui , Lu Zhiying , Xia Hexia , Zhao Huanqiang , Zhang Ying , Wang Zhiheng
Published: May 2023

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common risk factors for the development of uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC). Despite mounting evidence suggesting that PCOS was strongly associated with the adverse prognosis of UCEC, prognosis prediction and treatment determination remain exceedingly challenging. Results In this study, we constructed a prognostic signature for UCEC and predicted potential therapeutic agents for UCEC patients with high risk score. First, we identified the key genes between PCOS and UCEC, and explored the characteristics with multiple algorithms. Next, the bootstrap method divided samples into TCGA training and testing cohorts. Based on 25 different models, we selected the best and established a twelve-gene signature for UCEC in the training cohort. Then the signature was validated via the TCGA testing and the entire TCGA-UCEC cohorts. Univariate and multivariate analysis verified the independence of the signature. A nomogram was subsequently established to provide a quantitative tool for personalized medicine. Moreover, hallmark pathways and genomic variation analysis were used to explore the mechanism engaged in the unfavourable prognosis. Finally, apicidin has been identified to have potential therapeutic implications in the high-risk UCEC patients. Conclusions A twelve-gene signature that involved in the prognostic significance of UCEC has been constructed. Our result may shed light on personalized prognostication and tailored therapy strategies in UCEC.
Reliability and validity of a virtual reality-based measurement of simple reaction time: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Chen Ying-Chun , Liang Huey-Wen
Published: May 2023

BackgroundReaction time (RT) is an important dependent variable to assess components of cognitive function. Thus, it has been a valuable parameter for research and clinical evaluation. A head-mounted display for virtual reality (HMD-VR) provides a standardized external visual condition and could be a promising tool for measuring RT. The purpose of this study is to establish the feasibility, reliability, and validity of HMD-VR-based software in evaluating simple RT (SRT).MethodsThirty healthy participants volunteered for the study. A SRT test was created by VIVE ProEye (HTC, Inc.). The participants responded with a keyboard when a square target was used in random intervals for 100 trials. To determine the optimal test repetition, the difference between the SRTS calculated with different trial numbers was analyzed. The one-week reliability of the median SRT was evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Finally, the convergent validity was tested by computing the correlation coefficient with a personal computer-based (PC-based) software, RehaComÒ(HASOMED, Inc.) with a similar task design.ResultsThe median SRTs of the virtual reality-based (VR-based) and computer-based systems were 326.0 and 319.5 ms, respectively. Significantly longer RT obtained by the VR-based method was observed in the last 25-trial block for the non-dominant hand and bilateral hands according to Friedman’s test. The ICC was 0.71 (p<0.001), indicating good test-retest reliability. There was a high correlation (r=0.85~0.89) and good agreement between the VR-based and PC-based tests, with the VR-based SRT being 9-10 ms longer than the PC-based SRT according to Bland–Altman plots.ConclusionsOur results supported the good reliability and high convergent validity of this HMD-VR-based RT testing. A test length of 50 trials was suggested to avoid possible decremental performance while maintaining good reliability. The program can be applied in future studies when spatial-specific RT is the main interest to provide a standardized external environment.
Supporting the “Hallway Residents”: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Staff Perspectives on Implementing the Namaste Care Intervention in Long-Term Care
Authors: Li Donny , Yous Marie-Lee , Hunter Paulette , Coker Esther , Just Danielle , Haas Vanina Dal-Bello , McAiney Carrie , Wickson-Griffiths Abigail , Kaasalainen Sharon
Published: May 2023

Background Residential long-term care settings are becoming home to an increasing number of people living with advanced or late-stage dementia. Residents living with advanced dementia represent some of society’s most vulnerable and socially excluded population and are thus at an increased risk of social isolation. A multisensory intervention tailored to this population,Namaste Care, has been developed to improve quality of life for residents living with advanced dementia in long-term care homes. To date, limited research has explored the perspectives of staff in implementing the Namaste Care program with an emphasis on social inclusion of residents in Canadian LTC homes. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of LTC staff on the ability of Namaste Care to support the social inclusion of residents living with advanced dementia and implementation facilitators and barriers. Methods Using a qualitative descriptive design, semi-structured interviews (n = 12) and focus groups (n = 6) were conducted in two long-term care homes in Southern Ontario, Canada, over a 6-month period. Convenience sampling was used to recruit long-term care home staff from the two participating sites. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Results LTC staff (n = 46) emphasized the program’s ability to recognize the unique needs of residents with advanced dementia, and also stated its potential to facilitate meaningful connections between families and residents, as well as foster care partnerships between staff and families. Findings indicated staff also perceived numerous facilitators and barriers to Namaste Care. In particular, providing staff with dedicated time for Namaste Care and implementing volunteer and family participation in the program were seen as facilitators, whereas the initial perception of the need for extra staff to deliver Namaste Care and identifying times in the day where Namaste Care was feasible for residents, families, and staff, were seen as barriers. Conclusions LTC staff recognized the need for formalized programs like Namaste Care to address the biopsychosocial needs of residents with advanced dementia and offer positive care partnership opportunities between staff and family members. Although staffing constraints remain the largest barrier to effective implementation, staff valued the program and made suggestions to build LTC home capacity for Namaste Care.
Analysis of plasma exosomal miRNAs in papillary thyroid carcinoma with or without lymph node metastasis
Authors: Cao Xianjiao , He Qingqing
Published: May 2023

Objective: Lymph node metastasis (LNM) is one of the difficulties in the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). To improve the early detection of PTC LNM and search for novel biomarkers, we carried out plasma-derived exosomal microRNAs studies to identify candidate differentially expressed (DE) exosome-derived miRNAs (Ex- miRNAs) as diagnostic biomarkers in several plasma samples from LNM subjects and patients without LNM.
Methods: From January 2022 to October 2022, 10 plasma samples from patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma diagnosed pathologically after surgery were involved. Among them, 6 cases had LNM. Plasma from 4 individuals with no LNM was collected as a control. We extracted exosomes by ultracentrifugation, and Ex-miRNAs were profiled using small RNA next-generation sequencing followed by differential expression analysis. Based on unsupervised hierarchical clustering, the exosomal miRNAs expression profile in patients with LNMwas significantly different from the control group. Results: The results indicated that the levels of exosomal hsa-miR-1226-5p were significantly lower in the LNM group compared with nonmetastatic controls (p-value<0.05), whereas hsa-miR-145-5p, hsa-miR-1226-3p, hsa-miR-4745-5p, hsa-miR-673,5-5p, and hsa-miR-6821-5p were significantly higher in the LNM cases than in lymph node-negative group(p-value＜0.05). Ex-miRNAs cargo was profiled with microarrays followed by bioinformatics analyses. Their predicted target genes involved several cancer-related pathways, including Rap1 signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, Calcium signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, and ECM-receptor interaction (p-value<0.05).
Conclusions: Patients with LNM represent unique plasma exosomal miRNA profiles. Some abnormally expressed Ex-miRNAs can be identified as potential biomarkers for predicting PTC LNM.
Thin films ZnO-QDs Synthesis applying simultaneously the techniques of colloidal synthesis and sol gel and phenomenon at Zn2+→Zn3+ + e- charge transfer, applied to Shottky diode.
Authors: Garrido M. A. Vicencio , Portillo M. Chávez , Ramírez N. Carlos , Santiesteban H. Juárez , Téllez V. Carranza , Robledo–Taboada Luis Humberto
Published: May 2023

The Zinc Oxide and the Quantum dots of ZnO (ZnO-QD´s) in thin solid films were deposited by dropwise method on glass substrates and calcined in air atmosphere at temperatures of 60 °C, 100 °C, 140 °C, 160 °C and 210 °C, respectively. The samples are examined applying the techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), x-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms in the Infrared (FTIR), Photoluminescence (PL), Transmittance (%T), and absorbance (α). Tauc model, the band gap (Eg) energy is evaluated. The electrical measurements of Current-Voltage (I-V), the concentration of charge carriers, mobility and Resistance, are registered by Hall Effect. The morphology of the layers shows a structural configuration with stacked compact plates and flakes-like of crystalline conglomerates with a fibrous appearance. The films show a Wurtzite-type crystalline phase according to the XRD diffractograms. The grain size increased by ~3.6-26.1 nm. The dislocation density (δ) presents a gradual increase with the calcination temperature δ(lines/m2) ~1.57 x 1015-2.22 x 1015. On FT-IR spectroscopy analysis, various vibrational bands are associated with the CO32 ion and by-products generated by the hydrolysis of zinc acetate di-hydrate discussed. The Eg undergoes oscillatory and disorderly shifting towards higher photon energy, caused by faults at crystalline lattice of Eg ~3.7-3.87 eV. In optical analysis, the discontinuity located at UV-Vis region is associated in principle at Zn2+→Zn3+ + e- charge transfer. PL spectra at UV-Vis region records the emission bands with different relative intensity. The asymmetric Gaussian curve is associated with intrinsic defects in the crystal lattice. The deconvolution of the Gaussian curve generates different emission bands assigned to: red (RE) at ~770 nm, blue (BE), green (GE) at ~492-520 nm and yellow (YE) at ~570-600 nm. The study and systematic construction of the Schottky diode is done by placing the corresponding thin film on ITO, then PEDOT: PSS was placed, then the silver contact and finally the p-n junction was identified, obtaining better results than QD's ZnO in the Shottky diode plot.
Survival outcomes of esophageal cancer patients with recurrence after curative treatments
Authors: Sugawara Kotaro , Oka Daiji , Hara Hiroki , Yoshii Takako , Ushijima Hiroki , Kudo Shigehiro , Fukuda Takashi
Published: May 2023

Background: Little is known about predictive factors for survival outcomes of esophageal carcinoma (EC) patients who developed recurrence after undergoing multimodal therapies. We aimed to investigate long-term outcomes and identify prognostic factors in patients with relapsed EC, focusing especially on those with oligometastasis (OM).Methods: EC patients who developed recurrence after curative treatments (radical esophagectomy or definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT)) between 2010 and 2017 were reviewed. Multivariate Cox hazards models were applied to determine independent predictors of poor post-recurrence survival (PRS).Results: In total, 178 patients were included. The median PRS was 12.9 months. Of the 178 patients, 98 had OM and 80 non-OM (NOM) disease. The survival outcomes of patients with OM were significantly better than those of patients with NOM (P < 0.01). Surgical treatments provided significantly better survival outcomes than CRT or chemo-/radiotherapy alone (3-year overall survival (OS); 78.1% vs. 42.5% vs. 28.9%, P < 0.01), mainly due to prolonging survival after the recurrence (3-year PRS 62.9% vs. 16.7% vs. 16.2%, P < 0.01). Multivariable analysis focusing on patients with OM revealed cStage III-IV disease (P < 0.01), high GPS at the time of recurrence (P = 0.02) and non-curative treatments (P < 0.01), to be independently associated with poor PRS. In contrast, in patients with NOM, no independent predictors for poor PRS were identified.Conclusions: The survival outcomes of patients with relapsed EC remain poor. Surgical treatments provided significantly better survival outcomes than other treatment modalities, especially in patients with OM, mainly due to prolonging survival after the recurrence.
Development and validation of prediction model for the prognosis of critically ill patients with sudden cardiac arrest
Authors: Deng Han , Cai Jiaqi , Yang Haoyu , Yanxiaoxiao Yang , Chen Long , Bai Hao , Zheng Guanhao
Published: May 2023

Background
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is an emerging threat to public health because of its high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is vital to develop a helpful clinical tool for predicting the prognosis of patients with SCA after successful resuscitation.
Methods
Critically ill patients who received successful resuscitation after SCA according to the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care Database IV version 2.0 were enrolled. All eligible patients were divided into training and validation cohorts in a 7:3 ratio. Univariate analysis and stepwise multiple Cox regression were used to identify significant variables and construct a final prediction model. The decision curve, calibration curve, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to verify the performance of the current model.
Results
A total of 1001 patients were eligible for our study; 701 patients were distributed in the training cohort and 300 in the validation cohort. We found that alkaline phosphatase, age, anion gap, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, base excess, urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose, metamyelocytes, neutrophils, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, potassium ions, and race were significant independent risk factors. A nomogram was established to predict the prognosis of SCA patients. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) for 1-year, 3-year and 5-year were 0.827, 0.785, and 0.786, respectively, in the training cohort, while the corresponding AUC were 0.752, 0.723, and 0.686, respectively, in the validation cohort.
Conclusions
Taking into consideration the good predictive performance, our nomogram provides accurate prognostic information for patients accurately, which could help clinicians employ personalized treatment for high-risk patients and improve their clinical outcomes.
Swarm Optimized Deep Learning Scheduling in Cloud for Resource-intensive Iot Systems
Authors: Shingne Harshala , Shriram R
Published: May 2023

The paradigm Internet of Things (IoT) connects several million devices that can gather information which is stored and processed in the Cloud. This data is analyzed for inferring knowledge and performing predictions and analysis. Generally, in the cloud platform, users are charged based on the resources for storage and computing used. For real-world scheduling applications, these machines are not always available during certain periods of time owing to their stochastic or deterministic causes. The problem of cloud computing scheduling can be as challenging as the Non-deterministic Polynomial (NP) optimization problem, which can be an NP-hard problem. The continuous development in cloud computing and its complexity have made the problem even more challenging. Also, the problem of scheduling optimization is becoming an indispensable topic in academia. In this paper, a new hybrid metaheuristic technique based on Firefly Algorithm (FA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Tabu Search (TS) is proposed to enhance task scheduling in resource intensive IoT systems. For the proposed algorithm, there can be a new and complete scheme to handle the task scheduling problems that were designed. To this, the TS algorithm can be incorporated aiming to lookout for the local optimum of every individual. For the purpose of improving solution quality, in every hybrid algorithm step, there has been an effective heuristic that has been proposed. This heuristic can bring down the other overtime costs by means of efficiently using the slack of the operation. Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) can be employed to solve problems in resource allocation and time scheduling thus making it easy to handle several tasks and resource heterogeneity. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed methods (PSO-TS & FA-TS) achieved better performance compared to the other methods.
Study on non-targeted metabolomics of intestinal tract of DEV- infected ducks
Authors: Haiqing Cai , Xia Yang , Yunyun Yang , Yi Feng , Anlin Wen , Ying Yang , Ming Wen , Deyuan Ou
Published: May 2023

Introduction
Duck enteritis virus (DEV) mainly causes infectious diseases characterized by intestinal hemorrhage, inflammation and parenchymal organ degeneration in ducks and other poultry. However, its mechanism of intestinal damage in ducks is not well understood. Metabolomics can provide an in-depth understanding of the full complexity of the disease.
Methods
In this study, 24 clinically healthy green-shell ducks (weight 1.5kg ± 20g) were randomly divided them into 2 groups (experimental group of 18 rats and control group of 6 rats). The experimental group was intramuscularly injected with 0.2 mL of DEV virus liquid (TCID50 is 3.16×10 -9 /0.1 mL), and the control group was injected with 0.2 sterilized normal saline. mL; at 66 h, 90 h and 114 h after injection (fasting for 12 h before killing), tissue samples from the duodenum and ileum were collected and analyzed by LC-MS.
Results
Compared with the control group, in the positive/negative mode, the metabolic pathways involved in the differential metabolites in the duodenum of DEV-infected ducks at 66h, 90h and 114h were basically the same; the metabolic pathways related to inflammatory response and immune response were tryptophan Acid metabolism, cysteine-methionine metabolism, histidine metabolism and other amino acid metabolism and fat metabolism. Among them, the metabolic pathways with more differential metabolites are amino acid biosynthesis, cysteine and methionine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, Unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism, the metabolic pathways with more enrichment factors were IgA-related intestinal immune network pathway and lysosome pathway. Compared with the control group, there were 16 differential metabolites in the ileum tissue of DEV-infected ducks at 66 hours of infection, 52 at 90 hours of infection, and 40 at 14 hours of infection with TD114, among which the metabolic pathways with more enriched differential metabolites were Pyrimidine metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism and tryptophan biosynthesis, the metabolic pathways with more enrichment factors are mTOR signaling pathway, ferroptosis pathway, tryptophan metabolism pathway and caffeine metabolism pathway
Conclusion
The differential metabolites of DEV-infected ducks are enriched in metabolic pathways such as tryptophan metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, cysteine-methionine metabolism, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and purine metabolism, among which tryptophan metabolism pathway The enrichment is the most obvious and can be used as a follow-up study;
Instagram Advertisements for Sun Protection Products: A Spectrum to be Broadened
Authors: Mansour Meghan R. , Sesi Jenna M. , Nessel Trevor , Kartono Francisca
Published: May 2023

Instagram is the most downloaded app globally, with billions of active users. Instagram has evolved to encompass several categories of posts, including advertisements. Users below the age of 24 make up 38.6% of total Instagram users, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends counseling patients about decreasing the risk of skin cancer by minimizing exposure to ultraviolet radiations, especially for ages 6 months to 24 years. Users are more likely to connect with advertisements in which they feel represented; therefore, it is important that the sun protection (SP) advertisements on the application are inclusive of all races and genders. The purpose of our study was to analyze the quality of advertisements on the Instagram profiles of common SP brands. The thirty most recent product-related posts on Instagram profiles of common SP brands were analyzed. Results revealed Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI are poorly represented in the Instagram posts of SP brands, totaling only 35.5% of featured people. Additionally, only 19% of the total posts including males. There is a documented misconception amongst people of color that the use of SP to prevent skin cancer and photoaging is unnecessary. Additionally, there is a greater incidence of skin cancer in males, which may be attributed to less SP use than females. With advertisements expanding to easily accessible applications like Instagram, it would be beneficial to determine avenues to improve representation within these advertisements to promote patient compliance with SP products.
Prevalence and factors associated with small for gestational age among women who delivered at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, Western Uganda: A cross-sectional study.
Authors: Kumbakulu Patrick Kumbowi , Nherera Rosaria
Published: May 2023

Background: Small for gestation age (SGA) is a common problem in low and middle income countries (LMIC) and has important adverse effects on subsequent survival, health, growth and development independently of the gestational age. The complications of SGA occur during the neonatal period, throughout childhood and beyond.
Methods: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence and factors associated with SGA among women who delivered at the maternity ward of Hoima Regional Referral Hospital (HRRH). Data was collected from August to October 2022 using questionnaire interview and physical examination. SGA was defined as a birthweight lower than the 10th centile for a specific completed gestational age by gender, using the Alexander reference population. Data was analysed using SPSS 27.0 statistics for windows. The prevalence of SGA was determined as proportion, whereas binary logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with SGA. A p-value <0.05 was considered for statistical significance both at bivariate and multivariable level.
Results: Of the 236 participants, 44(18.6%) were SGA. SGA was dependent of positive HIV serologic status [p=0,01; aOR 5.41(2.99-9.80)], undernutrition [p=0,001; aOR 3.22(1.95-5.33)], oligohydramnios [p=0,02; aOR 1.83(1.01-3.31)], and prematurity [p=0,02; aOR 2.87(1.21-6.82)].
Conclusion: The prevalence of SGA was relatively high among women who attended HRRH. HIV, undernutrition, oligohydramnios, and prematurity were consistently associated with the occurrence of SGA births. HIV prevention and care, antenatal visits, and good feeding practices among pregnant women are vital interventions to reduce the prevalence of SGA.
The application of magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy in gastrointestinal bleeding patients
Authors: Xiao Xue , Zeng Yu , Xing Xiaocun , Shen Ming , Yang Jinlin
Published: May 2023

Background
Magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (MCCE) could simultaneously complete the observation of gastric and small bowel mucosa in one examination. It could not support therapeutic procedure. We aimed to evaluate the application of magnetically-control capsule endoscopy in gastrointestinal bleeding patients.
Methods
We reviewed the data of patients that finished MCCE in West China hospital, Sichuan University between 2021 January to 2021 December. In total of 123 patients, 50 complained of gastrointestinal bleeding symptoms were included. All patients’ data including gastrointestinal bleeding symptoms, comorbidities, drug history and laboratory test results were collected and analyzed.
Results
In all the patients, 92% patients had overt gastrointestinal bleeding symptoms, including melena (50%) and hematochezia (42%). The average hemoglobin concentration was 82.44 ± 17.33 g/L, and the median Glasgow-Blatchford score (GBS) was 8. Before MCCE examination, 28% patients had not received any endoscopic screening due to severe comorbidities, and the remaining 72% was considered as obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. MCCE detected gastrointestinal lesions in 96% patients, in which, 68% patients showed active bleeding lesions or recent hemorrhage stigmata during examination, including upper gastrointestinal lesions in 4 cases, small bowel lesions in 30 cases and colonic lesion in 1 case. In the other cases without bleeding signs, MCCE detected small bowel lesions in 11 cases, upper gastrointestinal lesions in 2 cases and colonic lesion in 1 case. All the patients finished both gastric and small bowel screening in one time. There were no side effects in all the patients during or after the MCCE examination, including emergency endoscopy intervention.
Conclusions
MCCE is available and safe in gastrointestinal bleeding patients with symptoms of melena, hematochezia, fecal occult blood positive and iron deficiency anemia of unknown origin.
Detection of virulence genes among Staphylococcus saprophyticus isolated from women with urinary tract infections: First report from Iran
Authors: Rafiee Maryam , Ghaemi Ezzat Allah
Published: May 2023

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common infections worldwide andStaphylococcus saprophyticusis an important pathogen responsible for community-acquired urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in young women. The purpose of this study was to detect the presence of virulence genes and biochemical characteristics ofS. saprophyticusstrains isolated from women with UTI for the first time in Gorgan, Iran. A total of 35S. saprophyticusisolates were collected between May 2018 and September 2020 from women with UTI in Gorgan, northern Iran. The presence of four genes associated with the surface ofS. saprophyticus,UafA,Aas,Ssp, andSdrI, was investigated by PCR. A microtiter plate assay was performed to test biofilm formation capability. Hemagglutination and lipase activity assays were also performed.The frequencies ofUafA,Aas,Ssp, andSdrIwere 88%, 91%, 80%, and (0), respectively. The results showed that 32(91%) of the isolates formed biofilms. Moreover, seven (20%), 13 (37%), and 12(34%) isolates were categorized as weak, moderate, and strong biofilm producers, respectively. None of the isolates exhibited lipolytic activities. Regarding hemagglutination properties, only 11 (31%) isolates demonstrated hemagglutination of sheep erythrocytes. The results of this study indicate a high prevalence ofUafAandAasgenes that can enhance the pathogenicity ofS. saprophyticus, and their role in hemagglutination needs to be further studied.
Long Term Outcome of Surrogate Subtypes of Primary Operable Breast Cancer According to Securin Expression
Authors: Lovrić Marko , Plavetić Natalija Dedić , Majzec Mirna , Kulić Ana , Sirotković-Skerlev Maja , Vrbanec Damir , Jakić-Razumović Jasminka
Published: May 2023

Background: Despite dramatic advances in cancer research, breast cancer remains a major health problem. In this heterogeneous disease, patients with different molecular subtypes have a different therapeutic approach and prognosis. Securin is known to participate in maintaining chromosomal integrity during the cell cycle through regulation of metaphase-anaphase transition, DNA damage repair and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic role of securin expression as a measure of chromosomal instability in different surrogate subtypes of breast cancer in order to discriminate patients with worse prognosis.
Materials and methods: Breast cancer paraffin-embedded tissue specimens were obtained from a consecutive series of 215 patients with primary operable invasive breast carcinomas referred to the University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia, from 2002 to 2003. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for securin was performed, and all relevant clinical and histopathological data were collected. Surrogate subtypes were defined according to St Gallen's consensus criteria. All patients were followed-up prospectively according to standard institutional practise for local and distant reccurence and death to collect data on disease-free (DFS) and overall survival (OS).
Results: In this patient cohort, median securin expression was 7 % of positive cells, ranging from 1 % to 42 %. Statistically significant correlation between tumor size and securin expression (p = 0.0272) and securin and Ki 67% expression (p = 0.0065) was shown. Securin expression differs among surrogate subtypes of breast cancer with highest expression in HER2+ subtype (median= 12). Univariate analysis has shown that in luminal A subtype and triple negative subtype there is statistically significant correlation between securin expression and DFS as well as OS. According to logistic regression analysis, it has also been shown that securin expression was independent prognostic factor for ten-year overall survival (OS).
Conclusion: Our study has shown that patients with BC overexpressing securin have a worse long-term prognosis in comparison with those without overexpression but only in luminal A like and triple negative like surrogate subtypes.
Lanthanide tetrad effects in stream sediment rich- gold of Betare Oya area (Cameroon Pan-African fold belt, Betare Oya gold district): implication for REE- bearing phases fractionation
Authors: Jean-Lavenir Ndema Mbongue , Agyingi Christopher Mbaringong , Cyrille Sigue , Estelle Nga Essomba Tsoungui Philomène , Blessing Elong Fanwi Christelle , Enowakwen Tanyi Lineslie , Fuh Ndongfong Edson
Published: May 2023

Stream sediment geochemical surveys were carried out in Betare Oya in the Cameroon Pan-African Fold Belt. Samples collected were analyzed by ICP-MS for major, trace and rare earth element contents. The purpose of this research was to investigate the geochemical behavior of lanthanides in sediments and their implication for REE-bearing phase formation. Sediments exhibit higher content in Fe2O3 (3.96–21.30%), Au (133->10000 ppb), Hg (4000->10000 ppb), Mn (868–2950), Pb (20.96–2950 ppm). High REE (510.7-3340.2 ppm) and Y contents were delivered from Betare Oya, the UCC- normalized REE patterns show LREE enrichment (LaN/SmN: 0.81–1.32) relative to HREE (GdN/YbN: 2.26–15.32), with a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*: 0.15–0.29). REE patterns exhibit tetrad effects showing W- and M- types. The plots of the sizes of tetrad effects with some geochemical parameters allow to characterize two distinct groups of population: the first group involved majority of samples and the second group encompasses few samples indicating samples were less affected by terrigenous source materials. The two groups are related to tetrad effect, they can serve as geochemical indicator to determine the environmental conditions. Samples of group 2 have significant tetrad effects (1.88–2.28) and sediments indicate the non-CHARAC behavior. The enrichment of LREE compared to HREE is due to the presence of monazite. The result of this research serves as new evidence for REE dynamics in Cameroon, the values of REE can be used as background values for further investigation.
Effects of Bacillus coagulans and Lactobacillus plantarum on the Fermentation Quality, Aerobic Stability and Microbial Community of Triticale Silage
Authors: Li Shengnan , Ke Wencan , Zhang Qing , Undersander Dan , Zhang Guijie
Published: May 2023

The present study investigated the impact of L. plantarum and B. coagulans on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community, and aerobic stability of ensiled triticale. Fresh triticale was wilted at a dry matter content of 35%. The treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design, with both Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) and Bacillus coagulans 21735(BC) added at 0 or 1 × 106 cfu/g of fresh forage (FW). After 60 d of ensiling, the pH, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) of inoculated groups were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05), especially in the LP + BC treatment (P < 0.05). The lactic acid (LA) concentration, lactic acid/acetic acid (LA/AA), and aerobic stability were also higher (P < 0.05) in the LP + BC treatment than in other treatments. The bacterial diversity was reduced, and the richness was increased by the application of LP and BC individually (P < 0.05). Compared with the control silage, LP-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus (P < 0.05), while BC-treated silage had higher Bacillus and Pediococcus (P < 0.05). The LP + BC-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Enterococcus and Serratia (P < 0.05). Bacillus was negatively associated with NDF (P < 0.05) and AA (P < 0.05). Lactobacillus was positively associated with LA (P < 0.05) and LA/AA but negatively with pH and NH3-N (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of BC and LP may yield beneficial outcomes in terms of ensiled triticale fermentation quality and aerobic stability by inducing alterations in the composition of bacterial communities, which is crucial for the efficient utilization of triticale resources.
Evaluation of the Antimicrobial, Antioxidant andAnti-inflammatory Effects of Thyme Extract Against Periopathogens – An In vitro Study
Authors: Mahale Swapna , Gattani Krishnapriya
Published: May 2023

BACKGROUND
People globally are spiraling to herbal products to reconnect with nature over cost efficiency and minimal side effects. Thyme is a beneficial herbal plant with antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect. Thymol has a suppressor effect on the growth of oral bacteria which helps in the reduction of decay. Antiseptic, expectorant, and antispasmodic activities are also documented to thyme extract .Our study aim was to assess the effect of antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of thyme extract via an in-vitro analysis against periodontal pathogens(P.g, A.a, F.n) .
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The thyme extract was prepared using soxhlet extractor. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration, and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MIC, MBC) was estimated using thioglycollate broth through serial dilution, whereas antioxidant effect was measured using DPPH radical scavenging activity. Anti-inflammatory effect was gauged using electrophoresis followed by zymogram renaturing buffer monitored by staining and then quantifying the bands based on intensity.
RESULTS
We observed that P. g, F. n, and A. a were resistant to thyme extract at 0.2 µg/ml(MIC )and P.g and F. n showed no growth from 0.4 µg/ml to 100 µg/ml. Whereas, for MBC, A.a showed no growth at 100 µg/ml to 50 µg/ml .Thyme extract exhibited positive results with inhibition of 87.1% for antioxidant activity and 51% inhibition against MMP-9 as an anti-inflammatory effect.
CONCLUSION
Thyme extract has revealed significant antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity against A.a, P.gingivalis, and F.nucleatum. It can be acclaimed as an alternative to several traditional synthetic medicines to eradicate periodontal diseases.
Achieving High Accuracy in Lemon Quality Classification: A Comparative Study of Deep Learning and Transformer Models
Authors: Dümen Sezer , Yılmaz Esra Kavalcı , Adem Kemal , Avaroglu Erdinç
Published: May 2023

Agricultural product quality assessment is important for the efficiency and marketability of production. Quality assessment improves industry standards, increasing sales and reducing crop loss. Maintaining quality is of paramount importance for all processes, from production to sales. Artificial intelligence has recently been frequently used for product quality assessment in the agricultural field. Both in the literature and in practice, deep learning and machine learning methods are used to process images of agricultural products and evaluate their quality. They are classified according to specified standards. In this study, firstly, data augmentation operations were performed on the lemon dataset consisting of two classes, bad quality and good quality, by using rescaling, random zoom, random flip, and random rotation methods. Afterward, eight different deep-learning methods and two different transformer methods were used for classification. As a result of the study calculated the most successful result as 99.84% accuracy, 99.95% recall, and 99.66% precision with the ViT method. This value is the highest accuracy value in the literature. When the experimental results are evaluated, it shows that lemon classification processes are successfully performed using the ViT method.
Long-term recurrence interval of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada disease post-COVID-19 vaccination: A case study
Authors: Muto Tetsuya , Sakamoto Masaaki , Imaizumi Shinichiro , Kamoi Koju
Published: May 2023

Purpose This study aimed to report a case of Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease that recurred 46 years after initial treatment; the recurrence occurred 2 months after the third dose of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination.Case report: A 59-year-old female patient had bilateral blurring for 2 months; she received her third dose of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine 4 months before the onset of blurring. The best-corrected visual acuity was 1.0 in the right eye and 0.15 he left eye at the initial visit. Iritis and synechia between lens and iris were observed bilaterally. Sunset glow fundus was found in both eyes with no serous retinal detachments or disk hyperemia. She had a history of VKH disease and was treated with whole-body corticosteroid administration at another hospital when she was 13 years old. She was diagnosed with VKH disease recurrence, and oral corticosteroid intake and corticosteroid eyedrop treatments were initiated. The treatment response was good, but left synechia remained between the lens and iris in the left eye. Recurrence was not observed for 10 months until this study, and her best-corrected visual acuity was 1.0 in both eyes.Conclusion To our knowledge, this case represents the longest recorded interval of VKH disease recurrence in the literature.
Impact of earnings components on future profitability of banking and insurance companies in Jordan
Authors: N. Dahmash Firas , Al-Hazaima Huthaifa , Alshurafat Hashem , Bader Alzoubi Abdallah
Published: May 2023

This study aimed to examine the impact of a firm’s total accruals and operating cash flows on future profitability (one-year-ahead ROA) using a static model on unbalanced panel data for all the (15) banks and (18) insurance companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2002 to 2019. The final sample of the study, for analysis, consisted of 280 observations taken from the banking sector and 410 observations from the insurance sector. The pooled sample of banks’ observations showed no significant impact of a firm’s total accruals and operating cash flows on one-year-ahead ROA. This result is consistent with previous studies’ results, which are still under debate, especially in developed countries. The investors of the Jordanian banks are not counting on the accrual earnings components, which are affected by the different estimation procedures of GAAP and managerial discretion. The pooled sample of the insurance companies’ observations showed a significant impact of a firm’s total accruals and operating cash flows on one-year-ahead ROA. The result showed a higher variable value of a firm’s operating cash flow than the firm’s total accruals for the pooled sample of insurance companies. This result indicates a more incrementally negative relation between the growth in operating assets and a one-year-ahead ROA in addition to the probable impact of the lower rate of economic profits and the conservative bias in accounting.