bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measuring Concordance and Discordance between Individual Characteristics and Neighborhood-level Social Determinants of Health
Authors: Ngai Ka Ming Gordon , Maroko Andrew , Bilal Saadiyah , Gordon Lauren , Richardson Lynne D
Published: May 2023

Background: People have both individual and neighborhood level social determinants that may confer health risks or health benefits. While these are often aligned, this is not always the case. An affluent individual may live in a neighborhood with a high median income (concordance) or an affluent individual may live in a neighborhood with a low median income (discordance).Methods: We propose a method to operationalize the concepts of concordance and discordance between individual-level and neighborhood-level social determinants and provide two examples. We first consider a factor that is measured with a continuous variable–household income. We then consider race/ethnicity—a categorical variable. To illustrate the proposed method, we apply our operational definitions to a small dataset that contains self-reported individual data paired with geocoded publicly available neighborhood-level data based on residential address.Results: In our cohort, 38% of participants lived in neighborhoods that were racial/ethnically concordant; 23% of participants in neighborhood that were racial/ethnically discordant, and 39% of participants in neighborhoods that were Neutral.Conclusion: We propose an approach to defining the concepts of concordance and discordance of individual characteristics with neighborhood-level social determinants. Our proposed approach will enable more robust investigations of social determinants of health and their impact on health. Such investigations are needed to inform the growing use of social determinants of health data from various sources for a variety of purposes.
Evaluation of ERA5 and Dynamical Downscaling for Surface Energy Balance Modeling at Mountain Glaciers in Western Canada
Authors: Draeger Christina , Radic Valentina , White Rachel H. , Tessema Mekdes Ayalew
Published: May 2023

Regional-scale surface energy balance (SEB) models of glacier melt require forcing by coarse-gridded data from reanalysis and/or global climate models that need to be downscaled to glacier scale. As on-glacier meteorological observations are rare, it generally remains unknown how exact the reanalysis and downscaled data are for the local-scale SEB modeling. We address this question by evaluating the performance of reanalysis from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis), with and without downscaling, at four glaciers in Western Canada with available on- glacier meteorological measurements collected over different summer seasons. We dynamically downscale ERA5 with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at 3.3 km and 1.1 km grid spacing. We find that the SEB model, forced separately with the observations and the two reanalyses, yields <10 % difference in simulated total melt energy and shows strong correlations (>0.79) in simulated timeseries of daily melt energy at each site. The good performance of the reanalysis-derived melt energy is partly due to cancellation of biases between overestimated incoming shortwave radiation and substantially underestimated wind speed and subsequently turbulent heat fluxes. Downscaling with WRF improves the simulation of wind speed, while other meteorological variables show similar performance to ERA5 without downscaling. The choice of WRF physics parameterization schemes is shown to have a relatively large impact on the simulations of SEB components, but a smaller impact on the modeled total melt energy. The results increase our confidence in dynamical downscaling with WRF for long-term glacier melt modeling in this region.
In vitro and in vivo antileishmanial activity of thioridazine
Authors: Rodríguez Sergio Sifontes , Mollineda-Diogo Niurka , Monzote-Fidalgo Lianet , Escalona-Montaño Alma Reyna , García-Trevijano José Antonio Escario , Aguirre-García María Magdalena , Meneses-Marcel Alfredo Irenaldo
Published: May 2023

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease with high prevalence and incidence in tropical and subtropical areas. Existing drugs are limited due to cost, toxicity, declining efficacy and unavailability in endemic places. Drug repurposing has established as an efficient way for the discovery of drugs for a variety of diseases.
Purpose: The objective of the present work was testing the antileishmanial activity of thioridazine, an antipsychotic agent with demonstrated effect against other intracellular pathogens.
Methods: The cytotoxicity for mouse peritoneal macrophages as well as the activity against Leishmania amazonensis, Leishmania mexicana and Leishmania major promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes, as well as in a mouse model of cutaneous leishmaniasis were assessed.
Results: Thioridazine inhibited the in vitro proliferation of promastigotes (50 % inhibitory concentration -IC50- values in the range of 0.73 µM to 3.8 µM against L. amazonensis, L. mexicana and L. major) and intracellular amastigotes (IC50 values of 1.27 µM to 4.4 µM for the same species). In contrast, in mouse peritoneal macrophages, the 50 % cytotoxic concentration was 24.0 ± 1.89 µM. Thioridazine inhibited the growth of cutaneous lesions and reduced the number of parasites in the infected tissue of mice. The dose of thioridazine that inhibited lesion development by 50 % compared to controls was 23.3 ± 3.1 mg/kg and in terms of parasite load it was 11.1 ± 0.97 mg/kg.
Conclusions: Thioridazine was effective against the promastigote and intracellular amastigote stages of three Leishmania species and in a mouse model of cutaneous leishmaniasis, supporting the potential repurposing of this drug as an antileishmanial agent.
Multi-risk interaction analysis of cascade hydropower stations based on system dynamics simulation
Authors: Zhu Boran , Lin Junqiang , Liu Yi , Zhang Di , Peng Qidong , Ren Yufeng , Chen Jiejie , Xu Yi
Published: May 2023

The operation of cascade hydropower stations is accompanied by various target risks while exerting the comprehensive benefits of water resources. The systematic analysis of multi-risk interactions during the operation of cascade hydropower stations is helpful for improving the operational benefit of hydropower stations. However, the current hydropower operating model used for risk simulation cannot show the dynamic operation processes within the system, which may limit the popularization of the model. In addition, most existing studies define risk from the perspective of reliability and lack analyses of risk resilience and vulnerability. In this study, a system dynamics model of cascade hydropower stations is constructed, and the relationships among the multi-risk of the Xiluodu-Xiangjiaba (XLD-XJB) cascade hydropower stations are explored from the aspects of reliability, resilience and vulnerability. The results are as follows. (1) The system dynamics model can effectively simulate the dynamic process of system operation and can be used to study the performance risk changes in the operation process of hydropower stations. (2) The current operating rule leads to ecological risk and shipping risk in the system in the normal scenario. There are also power risks in wet and dry scenarios. (3) There is a contradiction between power risk and shipping risk. In addition, in the case of insufficient inflow, there is a contradiction between the reliability and vulnerability of power risk. (4) The regulation of ecological risk helps reduce shipping risk and power risk. Therefore, ecological outflow should be regarded as the minimum outflow requirement of cascade hydropower stations.
Urbanization and transport energy consumption in African countries
Authors: Lokonon Boris O. K. , Satoguina Honorat
Published: May 2023

Transport is of paramount importance for economic activities. However, transport energy use contributes to pollution, so generates negative externalities. This paper analyzes the relationship between urbanization and the transport final energy consumption in African countries. To that end, the paper applies the panel threshold regression (PTR) model for a panel of 25 African countries over the period 1992–2017. The findings show that there is a significant positive relationship between total and per capita transport energy consumption and the share of the urban population in the total population. Thus, urbanization fosters transport energy consumption, either per capita energy consumption or total energy consumption. Therefore, the results from this study suggest that African countries should promote sustainable urbanization in terms of transportation.
Spin reorientation in premartensite and austenite Ni2MnGa
Authors: Perevertov Alexej , Colman Ross
Published: May 2023

Symmetry breaking in the pre-martensite state, sometimes called the martensite precursor state, has been hotly debated for decades. Incompletely softened phonon modes and the diffuse scattering suggest dynamical effects without a static symmetry breaking. Here we use careful measurement of magnetization curves of magnetically closed samples to evidence local symmetry breaking, at and above the pre-martensite transition in off-stoichiometry Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloy. During the heating cycle after the martensite transformation the differential susceptibility curve slowly transforms from a typical one-peak corresponding to the magnetization along the easy axis to two-peaks typical for magnetization along the harder magnetic axis. It is explained by change of the macroscopic magnetic easy axis from [100] to [110]. Above the premartensite transformation temperature the magnetic easy axis slowly changes back to [100]. Reorientation of the easy axis with temperature can be explained by the phonon domains model.
Bayesian estimation of potential outcomes for mediation analysis of racial disparity for infant mortality
Authors: Thompson James A.
Published: May 2023

Background: There is a need for novel methods to determine preventable causes of racial health disparities. This need has been met with the development of improved methods for mediation modeling. Current mediational analysis methods call for an evaluation of statistical interaction or effect modification between the investigated cause and mediator. For racial disparity, this approach facilitates the estimation of racially specific risks for infant mortality. However, current methods for evaluating multiple interacting mediators are inadequate. The first objective of the study was to compare Bayesian estimation of potential outcomes to other approaches to mediation analysis that included interaction. The second objective was to evaluate three potentially interacting mediators of racial disparity for infant mortality by modeling the large dataset from the National Natality Database using Bayesian estimation of potential outcomes.
Methods: A random sample of observations from the 2003 National Natality Database was used to compare the currently promoted methods for mediation modeling. Racial disparity was modeled as a separate function for each of three potential mediators, (i) maternal smoking, (ii) low birth weight and (iii) teenage maternity. As a second objective, direct Bayesian estimation of potential outcomes modeled infant mortality as function of the interactions among the three mediators and race using the full National Natality Database for the years 2016 to 2018.
Results: The counterfactual model was inaccurate in estimating the proportion of racial disparity that was attributable to either maternal smoking or teenage maternity. The counterfactual approach did not accurately estimate the probabilities defined by counterfactual definitions. The error was a result of modeling the excess relative risk instead of the risk probabilities. Bayesian approaches did estimate the probabilities of the counterfactual definitions. Results showed that 73% of the racial disparity for infant mortality was attributed to infants born with low birth weight.
Conclusions. Bayesian estimation of potential outcomes could evaluate whether proposed public health programs would affect races differently and decisions could include consideration of the causal effect the program may have on racial disparity. The large contribution of low birth weight to racial disparity for infant mortality should be further investigated to identify preventable factors for low birth weight.
The Resistance of Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi is a Multigene-Multivariate Phenomenon
Authors: Filgueira-Duarte Juan Jose , Gómez-Corredor William Andres , Londoño-Serna Daniela
Published: May 2023

Floriculture is one of the most crucial crop industries worldwide. The carnation is the second more exported/imported flowers in the world. The disease most affecting the carnation crop is Fusariosis, produced by the ascomycete Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. dianthi. Little is known about the genetics of the resistance to Fusarium in carnations. In this job, different genes implicated direct or indirect forms in the defense mechanisms were identified using mRNAseq and RT-qPCR techniques. Some of these genes were involved in basal metabolism, genes implicated in the primary response to the pathogen, and genes kind pathogens-related proteins (PRs). These genes in different carnation varieties present overexpression or in contrast subexpression and determine somehow the resistant or susceptible phenotype to Fusarium oxysporum. Some of them are directly related to cell wall remodeling. Different genes are involved in the resistant response in carnations in different varieties; so, each variety elaborates a response in a different form from the other varieties; even more, the same gene is expressed differently in the different resistant varieties.
Development of SCAR Markers Related to Banana Susceptibility to Fusarium oxysporum and Their Combination Use in Screening Potential Resistant Germplasm
Authors: Qv Mengran , Feng Guoen , Chen Shule , Chen Houbing , Chen Chengjie , Wang Fang , Lv Shun , Dai Longyu , Liu Hui , Huang Bingzhi , Xu Chunxiang
Published: May 2023

Banana (Musa spp.) production worldwide is seriously threatened by Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). The best way to control this disease is to grow resistant cultivars. However, it requires large-scale field evaluations and labor- and time-consuming to obtain disease-resistant germplasm. Development of early, reliable, and reproducible selection strategies are considered as the efficient approach which could speed up the selection procedure. In this study, two pairs of sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) primers related to banana Foc resistance/susceptibility were screened from 100 pairs of random primers. Correspondingly, two pairs of sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers (namely SC4-F/SC4R and SC14-F/SC14R, respectively) were successfully generated from these two SRAP markers using 30 cultivars either resistant or susceptible to Foc. Both SCAR markers were located in mitochondrion genome and showed discriminatory power of 96.67% and 100%, respectively. In additional, these two SCAR markers were employed simultaneously to screen potential resistant germplasm from 53 accessions with unknown resistance to Foc, and the results revealed a consistency of 83.0% with each other, further indicating their high reliability and reproducibility. These results suggest that both SCAR markers could be used in molecular marker-assisted selection for banana germplasm resistant to Fusarium.
Biocontrol activities of gray mold of grapes with the volatile organic compounds generated by yeast HXMG-1 isolated from grapes
Authors: Ning Li , Wang Bujiang , Cui XinYi , Hou Jing , Zhang Na
Published: May 2023

The pathogenic bacterias of postharvest crops are reduced by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated by yeasts. The yeast HXMG-1, which works well against gray mold of grapes pathogens (Botrytis cinerea), was assessed for its potential to create volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as one of its ways of working. Using a double Petri dish assay, the effect of HXGM-1-produced VOCs on mycelial development and spore development of the target pathogens was evaluated. Compared to the control, the VOCs produced by yeast HXMG-1 significantly restricted the growth of mycelium and spore germination of Botrytis cinerea. Specifically, the mycelium growth of Botrytis cinerea was entirely restricted and the rate of spore germination of Botrytis cinerea only 20.11% at a concentration of 1×109 CFU/mL. It was also found that the VOCs could significantly inhibit mycelium growth with 82.46% inhibition with treatment of concentration of 1×108 CFU/mL. The VOCs caused the mycelium to grow curved, resulting in larger mycelial tips, fewer nuclei, and shorter mycelial septum spacing. In in vivo tests, noninjure or injure grapes were artificially inoculated with pathogen hyphal disk followed by bio-fumigation with VOCs generated by yeast HXMG-1, and the treatments (Wp2 and Wp3) significantly controlled pathogenic infection, confirming the results of in vitro tests. Through the creation of a phylogenetic tree, HXMG-1 was recognized as a member of the Ascomycota, Hemiascomycota, Yeasts, and Hansenula sp. families. In conclusion, the yeast strain HXMG-1 created VOCs that significantly inhibited the development of Botrytis cinerea on grapes and is expected to be further developed and utilized. This study lays the foundation for the using of Hansenula sp. for biological control of postharvest diseases.
Radiation-Induced Sarcoma after Breast Cancer: 20 Years of a Single-Center Experience
Authors: Bieżyński Bartosz , Wierzbicki Jędrzej , Ziętek Marcin , Pawlak Edyta , Maciejczyk Adam , Matkowski Rafał
Published: May 2023

Purpose
Radiation-induced sarcoma (RIS) is a rare but very severe complication of radiotherapy and, as this therapeutic method has been used widely in breast cancer treatment for the past years, the incidence of this malignancy is expected to grow. Due to the scarcity of radiation-induced sarcoma cases and the time the tumor takes to develop after initial treatment, the diagnosis and management of such patients are difficult and confusing. This study was conducted to analyze the course, survival, and potential predictive factors in patients diagnosed with RIS in a comprehensive cancer center since 2000.
Methods
The authors performed both a retrospective and prospective evaluation of clinical data for 10 patients in total.
Results
In this group, the median time of RIS development after radiotherapy was 7.6 years (range: 2.3 years – 29.4 years). In six patients, the relapse was confirmed with the median time since the diagnosis of 7.8 months, and in total twelve, progressions were observed.
Conclusion
The results, compared with already existing literature, have demonstrated that special attention is needed for patients diagnosed with breast cancer, even in a long-term follow-up care.
DNA-based assessment of root lesion nematode infections in cereal roots
Authors: Fatemi Ehsan , Melzer Siegbert , Jung Christian
Published: May 2023

Root lesion nematodes (RLN) of the genus Pratylenchus are causing significant damage in cereal production worldwide. Due to climate change and without efficient and environment-friendly treatments, the damages through RLNs are predicted to increase. Microscopic assessments of RLNs in the field and the greenhouses are time-consuming and laborious. As a result, cereal breeders have mostly ignored this pest. We present a method measuring RLN in infected cereal roots using a standardized PCR approach. Publicly available Pratylenchus neglectus primer combinations were evaluated. An optimal primer combination for RT-qPCR assay was identified to detect and quantify P. neglectus within infected cereal roots. Using the RT-qPCR detection assay, P. neglectus could be clearly distinguished from other plant parasitic nematodes. We could identify P. neglectus DNA in barley and wheat roots as low as 0.863 and 0.916 ng/µl of total DNA, respectively. A single P. neglectus individual was detected in water suspension and within barley and wheat roots. The RT-qPCR detection assay provides a robust and accurate alternative to microscopic nematode identification and quantification. It could be of interest for resistance breeding, where large populations must be screened to detect and quantify P. neglectus in farmer’s fields.
Preoperative fractional exhaled nitric oxide can predict postoperative cough-related quality of life and its recovery for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer patients: a longitudinal study
Authors: LIN Rongjia , Xiang Chunmei , Lei Mei , CHEN Yanqing , TU Xiuhua
Published: May 2023

Background
Cough is a common respiratory symptom that affects quality of life (QOL) after video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Our aim is to determine whether preoperative fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) levels are able to predict the risk of postoperative cough and its changes and recovery using the Leicester Cough Questionnaire in Mandarin-Chinese (LCQ-MC).
Methods
292 patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were enrolled. 138 patients (47.2%) developed cough after VATS, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the independent risk factors of postoperative cough. For an exploratory analysis, patients with cough were divided into low and high- FENO (≥ 31 ppb) groups. The LCQ-CM was used to evaluate changes in postoperative cough and recovery trajectory over time between the two groups for 12 months after surgery.
Results
The independent factors of postoperative cough included preoperative FENO [odds ratio (OR) 1.106, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.076–1.137, p < 0.001] and duration of anesthesia (OR 1.008, 95% CI: 1.002–1.013, p = 0.004). The low-FENO group reported significantly higher LCQ-MC scores at 1 month after surgery and returned to preoperative physical (28 vs. 91 days), psychological (28 vs. 60 days), social (28 vs. 80 days) and total (28 vs. 91 days) scores faster than the high-FENO group (all p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Higher preoperative FENO level and longer duration of anesthesia were independent risk factors related to postoperative cough in early-stage NSCLC patients.
AIEgen orthopalladated hybrid polymers for efficient inactivation of the total coliforms in urban wastewater
Authors: Sessa Lucia , Diana Rosita , Gentile Francesco Silvio , Mazzaglia Fabio , Panunzi Barbara
Published: May 2023

Monitorable AIE polymers with a bioactive pattern are employed in advanced biomedical applications such as functional coatings, theranostic probes, and implants. After the global COVID-19 pandemic, interest in developing surfaces with superior antimicrobial, antiproliferative, and antiviral activities dramatically increased. Many formulations for biocide surfaces are based on hybrid organic/inorganic materials. Palladium (II) complexes display relevant activity against common bacteria, even higher when compared to their uncoordinated ligands. This article reports the design and synthesis of two series of orthopalladated polymers obtained by grafting a cyclopalladated fragment on two different O, N chelating Schiff base polymers. Different grafting percentages were examined and compared for each organic polymer. The fluorescence emission in the solid state was explored on organic matrixes and grafted polymers. DFT analysis provided a rationale for the role of the coordination core. The antibacterial response of the two series of hybrid polymers was tested against the total coliform group of untreated urban wastewater, revealing excellent inactivation ability.
Seasonal patterns in the mesopelagic fish community and associated deep scattering layers of an enclosed deep basin
Authors: Kapelonis Zacharias , Siapatis Apostolos , Machias Athanassios , Somarakis Stylianos , Markakis Konstantinos , Giannoulaki Marianna , Badouvas Nicholas , Tsagarakis Konstantinos
Published: May 2023

Mesopelagic fish constitute the most abundant vertebrate group in the marine environment. The current work reports on results of three seasonal acoustic cruises carried out in the Gulf of Corinth, a relatively small, deep, isolated basin located in the Central Mediterranean (Greece) that presents some unique geomorphological and ecological features. The aim of this study was to describe seasonal echo-types and the vertical distribution of the Deep Scattering Layers (DSLs) as well as to relate them with specific species or species groups. Mesopelagic fish dominated the pelagic ecosystem as confirmed by biological sampling with different gears during daytime and nighttime. In total, at least 15 species were caught, belonging to the families Myctophidae, Paralepididae, Sternoptychidae and Stomiidae, while the - elsewhere very abundant - families Gonostomatidae and Phosichthyidae were completely absent. Common echo-types included: a) shoals and schools formed by the silvery lightfish Maurolicus muelleri, usually located along the shelf break (80-225 m), b) a non-migrant thin DSL found at 150-280 m throughout the deep parts of the Gulf, dominated by juveniles half-naked hatchetfish Argyropelecus hemigymnus, and c) one thick, partially migratory DSL at 250-600 m, mainly consisting of myctophids. The echo backscatter characteristics and species composition of the DSLs as well as the length distribution of the populations were found to differ seasonally. Species-specific and size related patterns in the vertical distribution of fish were detected both during daytime and nighttime. Overall, the Gulf of Corinth seems to sustain high densities of mesopelagic fish that constitute the basic food resource for the abundant dolphin populations that inhabit the area.
The prevalence and characteristics of molar-incisor hypomineralisation in Natal, Brazil.
Authors: Soares Layanny , Fernandes Eloisa , Santos Patrícia
Published: May 2023

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and presentation patterns of molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) in _______ children.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 715 individuals aged 8 to 17 years. MIH was diagnosed according to European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) criteria, using intraoral photographs. Data were analysed using Chi Square and Pearson’s Correlation tests at α = 0.05.
Results: The prevalence of MIH was 15.66%. Mild defects represented by demarcated yellow and brown opacities comprised 83.5% of the total MIH lesionsand the severity of MIH lesions increased significantly as age increased. The average number of first molars affected by MIH per child was 2.26, and 36 children (32.14%) had at least one affected incisor. With the increase of affected molars, the number of incisors with opacities showed an obvious increasing. The maxillary left first molar was the most affected tooth, and the maxillary central incisors were the anterior teeth most frequently affected by MIH.
Conclusion: The prevalence of MIH was within the range of published studies and the severity of the defects was mostly mild.
Clinical Relevance: To provide information about prevalence and characteristics of MIH. To Reinforce that severity of the lesions is associated with age. To show the most affected teeth.
Numerical study on mixing of two fluids in a Y-junction microchannel with and without obstructions
Authors: khan wasim , Chandra A. K. , Kishor K. , Khatoon Bushra , Sachan S. , Alam M. Siraj
Published: May 2023

A two dimensional simulation study of liquid–liquid (water and cyclohexane) two phase flow in Y-junction microchannels with and without obstructions has been studied numerically using volume of fluid method (VOF). The Y-junction angle of inclination between inlets of the two phases was varied in three equal steps. Various types of flow pattern were visualized for different concentrations of liquids, and velocity fields were also checked to quantify mixing efficiency. On the basis of mixing efficiency and mixing length an optimal angle was obtained. A comparison of mixing efficiencies with and without obstructions in mixing zone clearly indicates the usefulness of microchannel with obstructions. The simulated results obtained were also compared and validated with existing theoretical and experimental results. As angle of inclination is one of the key parameter influencing the mixing of components in microchannels apart from velocities of the two phases, so two approaches were used to predict flow behavior and mixing efficiency, firstly by varying the angle of inclination in three steps (60°, 90° and 120) keeping liquid velocities constant and secondly by varying the velocity of liquids (from 0.025 ms− 1 to 0.5 ms− 1) keeping angle of inclination constant. Finally, 120° was observed as the optimal angle of inclination for mixing of liquids. In addition, heat effects on mixing of liquids in microchannel wall temperature ranges 300 to 350 K were also studied and discussed. Pressure of the Y-junction at different angles of two inlets with different capillary number (Ca) as well as different Reynolds no (Re) was also analyzed to investigate flow patterns mechanism.
FMEA of the risk management of non-integral-dosage drug dispensing in PIVAS
Authors: kuikui geng , he Juan , rong sheng , jia zhaohu , zhang xiangxiang , shi tianlu
Published: May 2023

Objective
To eliminate the risks in the prescription examination, marking, dispensing, checking, and review of non-integral-dosage drugs in PIVAS.
Method
A project team was assembled, and the failure mode and effect analysis management method was used to identify the risks present in the four steps of the non-integral-dosage drug dispensing process in PIVAS drug management: prescription verification, mixed allocation and verification. The degrees of severity, incidence, and detectability were scored for each step, and the risk priority number (RPN) of each step was calculated. Corresponding measures for improvement were formulated for the steps with top RPN ranking, and the changes in the RPN values before and after the implementation of the measures were compared to observe the effect of the implementation.
Results
A total of 31 risk factors were tabulated in the management process of non-integral-dosage drugs, with the primary risks involving the dispensing process. Corresponding measures were provided for 8 risks containing high RPN values. After three months of optimization and improvement, the RPN values and incidences of internal difference were significantly reduced, with the improvement measures exhibiting a good risk control effect. In this project, a comprehensive conversion system of partial-dose drug dispensing was established, which could be directly converted into a volume of suction fluid for dispensing personnel according to doctor orders, avoiding manual secondary calculation. Meanwhile, the project team conducted a dissolution test of 23 types of drugs with non-integral dosage drugs and found that the solvent volume of 11 types of drugs increased after dissolution. The dosage conversion of partial dosage should be calculated according to the volume of the final solution to ensure the accuracy of the dosage.
Conclusions
Based on failure mode and effect analysis, the risk management of non-integral-dosage drugs was carried out in PIVAS, addressing the safety risks present in the dispensing of non-integral-dosage drugs, reducing errors in the dispensing of non-integral-dosage drugs, and ensuring safe and precise medication for patients.
Prognostic impact of tumor ureteral invasion on recurrence after radical cystectomy
Authors: Saito Takafumi , Matsumoto Kazuhiro , Tanaka Nobuyuki , Fukumoto Keishiro , Yasumizu Yota , Takeda Toshikazu , Morita Shinya , Kosaka Takeo , Mizuno Ryuichi , Asanuma Hiroshi , Hara Satoshi , Oya Mototsugu
Published: May 2023

Background
Several preoperative factors have been suggested to be risk factors of disease recurrence after radical cystectomy. There is no study focusing on the impact on prognosis of bladder tumor ureteral invasion in preoperative imaging.
Methods
The study population consisted of 136 patients, all of whom underwent radical cystectomy during the period between 2007–2019. We excluded patients with concurrent or a history of upper tract urothelial carcinoma and who underwent radical cystectomy for other cancers or nononcologic reasons. The starting point of this study was the timing of neoadjuvant chemotherapy or radical cystectomy and the endpoint was the timing of disease recurrence. To identify the factors influencing recurrence, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazard model. Recurrence-free survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results
Ureteral invasion was observed in 20 (14.7%) patients. Disease recurrence was observed in 11 (55.0%) of 20 ureteral invasion positive patients and 35 (30.2%) of 116 ureteral invasion negative patients, respectively. In the ureteral invasion positive group, clinical T and N stage were higher and hydronephrosis were more common than in the ureteral invasion negative group. According to the multivariate analysis, ureteral invasion (hazard ratio: 2.307, p = 0.016) and clinical N stage ≥ 1 (hazard ratio: 2.140, p = 0.028) were independent risk factors for postoperative recurrence. In the ureteral invasion positive group, more local recurrences were observed.
Conclusion
This study suggested that ureteral invasion in preoperative imaging is a significant risk factor for postoperative recurrence.
A study of monophasic supramolecular formulation of Sulpiride with P-glycoprotein efflux inhibitor to enhance solubility and intestinal permeability with molecular modeling insights
Authors: Pardhi Ekta R. , Tomar Devendra Singh , Khemchandani Rahul , Samanthula Gananadhamu , Singh Shashi Bala , Mehra Neelesh K
Published: May 2023

The aim of the study was to design and develop a supramolecular formulation of sulpiride (SUL) to enhance its solubility, dissolution, and permeability. This was accomplished by co-amorphizing SUL with Naringin (NARI) to improve its physicochemical properties. In addition, NARI was incorporated as a co-former to enhance the drug's intestinal permeability by targeting P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibition. To confirm the intermolecular interaction and formation of the co-amorphous system, extensive characterization was performed. This included quantum mechanics-based molecular dynamics simulation studies investigating intermolecular interactions and phase transformation. The findings of the miscibility study, Radial Distribution Function (RDF) analysis, and quantitative simulations of hydrogen/π-π bond interactions helped in comprehending the co-amorphization aspects of SUL-NARI systems. Molecular docking studies were conducted to predict the in-silico biological activity. The solubility, dissolution, and ex-vivo permeability studies were performed to determine the extent of improvement in solubility, dissolution and flux, demonstrating 31.88-fold, 9.13-fold, and 1.91-fold increments, respectively. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the benefits of synthesizing a drug-nutraceutical supramolecular formulation to enhance the solubility and permeability of poorly soluble and permeable drug.
Solid electrolytes based on cellulose nanocrystals with protic ionic liquid for next-generation fuel cells
Authors: Jankowska Iga , Bielejewski Michał , Ławniczak Paweł , Pankiewicz Radosław , Tritt-Goc Jadwiga
Published: May 2023

The search for solid electrolytes which have good proton conductivity in anhydrous conditions, thermal and mechanical stability, and are at the same time environmentally friendly and easy to manufacture is a big challenge which we have undertaken. This work presents new solid electrolytes based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with protic ionic liquid 1-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide (PIL) which have been obtained and whose thermal and conductivity properties and nanoscale organization has been determined. Two membranes were synthesized which differ as to the amount of absorbed PIL. They show excellent thermal stability up to 200 oC. The maximum value of ionic conductivity is about 10-2 S/m at 200 oC in anhydrous conditions and falls in the range of 10-3 – 10-2 S/m for temperatures from 150 to 200 oC. The correlation between the transport properties of membranes and their nanostructure has been probed by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The thermal and conductivity properties of the new materials can compete with currently available membranes. Further work on a composite with a similar chemical composition should lead to obtaining a membrane capable of operating in next-generation fuel cells (T > 120 oC).
Generative models improve fairness of medical classifiers under distribution shifts
Authors: Wiles Olivia , Albuquerque Isabela , Rebuffi Sylvestre-Alvise , Tanno Ryutaro , Roy Abhijit Guha , Azizi Shekoofeh , Belgrave Danielle , Kohli Pushmeet , Cemgil Taylan , Karthikesalingam Alan , Gowal Sven , Ktena Ira
Published: May 2023

Domain generalization remains a ubiquitous challenge for machine learning in healthcare. Model performance in real-world conditions might be lower than expected due to discrepancies between the data encountered in deployment environments and datasets used for model development. Under-representation of some groups or conditions during model development is a common cause of this phenomenon, which can have serious implications as it can exacerbate bias against groups, individuals or conditions and propagate unintended harms in their care. This challenge is often not readily addressed by targeted data acquisition and “labelling” by expert clinicians, which can be prohibitively expensive or practically impossible due to the rarity of diseases, conditions, or available clinical expertise. We hypothesize that advances in generative artificial intelligence may help mitigate this unmet need in a steerable fashion, algorithmically enriching our training dataset with synthetic examples that address shortfalls of underrepresented conditions or subgroups. We show that generative models can automatically learn realistic augmentations from data in a label-efficient manner. In particular, we leverage the higher abundance of unlabelled data to model the underlying distribution of different conditions and subgroups for an imaging modality. By conditioning generative models on appropriate labels (e.g., diagnostic labels and / or sensitive attribute labels), we can steer the distribution of synthetic examples according to specific requirements. We demonstrate that these learned augmentations make models more robust and statistically fair in- and out-of-distribution. To evaluate the generality of our approach, we study three distinct medical imaging contexts of varying difficulty: (i) histopathology images from a publicly available and widely adopted generalization benchmark, (ii) chest X-rays from publicly available clinical datasets, and (iii) dermatology images characterized by complex shifts and imaging conditions. The latter constitutes a particularly unstructured domain with various challenges. Two of these imaging modalities further require operating at a high-resolution, which requires developing faithful super-resolution techniques to recover fine details of each health condition. Complementing real training samples with synthetic ones improves the robustness of models in all three medical tasks and increases fairness by improving the accuracy of clinical diagnosis within underrepresented groups. Our proposed approach leads to stark improvements out-of-distribution across modalities: 7.7% prediction accuracy improvement in histopathology, 5.2% in chest radiology with 44.6% lower fairness gap and a striking 63.5% improvement in high-risk sensitivity for dermatology with a 7.5x reduction in fairness gap.
Assessing Cognitive Features of Dementia Progression for Different Dementia Levels using Feature Selection
Authors: Thabtah Fadi , Peebles David
Published: May 2023

PurposeDementia is a condition with symptoms of memory decline, cognitive impairment, and difficulties in language and problem-solving, among others. Early screening of dementia conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is fundamental for quick intervention, and disease management. Currently used neuropsychological assessments are either time-consuming, invasive require scarce resources, and often not cost effective. Therefore, identifying cognitive features for different dementia sub-groups during the condition’s progression is crucial. This study uses a cost-effective data driven approach to determine whether neuropsychological items change from one stage of dementia to another.MethodsUsing real cases and controls from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative data repository (ADNI) who undertook the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive 13 (ADAS-Cog), we conducted a feature-feature assessment to derive influential cognitive features for specific dementia groups from baseline diagnosis up to 36 months.ResultsThe results reveal non-overlapping features (‘command’, ‘naming of objects’, and ‘ideational praxis’) from participants who had a baseline diagnosis of Cognitively Normal (CN) and progressed to AD. In addition, overlapping of cognitive elements was observed for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subjects who advanced to AD.ConclusionThis study revealed influential cognitive subsets that are uniquely associated with certain dementia stages. The overlapping of features in groups that remained in mild cognitive impairment or progressed to light dementia argues against separating these groups on these features. Other features (e.g., ‘spoken language’ and ‘word recognition’ in the ‘Cog-MCI-AD’ sub-group) showed much less correlation, indicating that these should be investigated further when assessing patients with MCI.
Laserterapy for Treatment of Oral Mucositis in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer
Authors: Peres Mariane de Lourdes Hernandes Martins , Goloni-Bertollo Eny Maria , Pavarino Erika Cristina , Nascimento Mariah Cristina Antunes do , Castanhole-Nunes Marcia Maria Urbanin , Galbiatti-Dias Ana Livia Silva
Published: May 2023

We investigate patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) who had mucositis. The most were male, literate, white, smokers and and alcoholics. Mucositis is associated with age over 65 years and alcohol (age:OR:0.52;CI:0.37 0.74;p = 0.000/Alcohol:OR:1.90;CI:1.25–2.87;p = 0.002). There is significance for oropharyngeal site (OR:1.58;CI:1.02–2.43;p = 0.039), advanced clinical stage (OR:2.39;CI:1.18–4.85;p = 0.016) and chemotherapy (OR:0.61;CI: 0.41–0.91;p = 0.016) with mucositis. Grade 1 mucositis was present in 55.2% of patients, followed by 23.6% with grade 2 and 21.1% with grade 3. A total of 57.09% of patients with mucositis were submitted to lasertherapy and the mean time between the beginning of the treatment and the complaint of mucositis was six months; the mean time between the complaint of mucositis and the beginning of lasertherapy was 33 days. Normality test showed that there is a difference in the groups: mucositis Initial degree (K2 = 55.17;<0.000 1), number of lasertherapy (K2 = 112.2; p < 0.0001) and current degree (K2 = 45.50; p < 0.0001). There was significance of the initial and current degrees of mucositis (R = 0.41;p < 0.0001). Pearson's correlation was negative between mucositis current degree and the number of lasertherapy (R= -0.1423;p = 0.072). Patients with mucositis are male, with 65 years, white, literat, smokers and alcoholics. Oropharyngeal cancer and advanced stage are more likely to develop mucositis in the casuistic evaluated. Lasertherapy is effective in treatment of mucositis and can contribute to better life quality for patients with mucositis after treatment for HNC.
Quantifying liver fat using a low field unilateral MR system
Authors: von Morze Cornelius , Blazey Tyler , Conradi Mark S.
Published: May 2023

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a highly prevalent condition with a large impact on public health, but remains largely undetected among individual patients. MRI proton density fraction (MRI-PDFF) is the gold standard method for measuring liver fat content, but might be regarded as “overkill” for this diffuse liver disease process. There is a pressing current medical need for simpler non-invasive approaches to measure and track liver fat content over time, for which emerging unilateral permanent magnet MR technology is uniquely suited. In this study, we evaluate the potential of the barrel magnet system first described by Utsuzawa and Fukushima in 2017 to quantify liver fat content. We tested this novel unilateral MR system in oil-water suspensions and subsequently with ex vivo tissue samples from normal and fatty duck livers. In oil-water suspensions, the system provided good linear agreement between fat signal amplitudes derived from Bayesian analysis of MR signals and known oil content. Clear differences in water and fat signal amplitudes were also observed between normal and fatty liver samples. The ability to discriminate differences in fat content as little as 5% demonstrates clear potential clinical relevance for medical management of NAFLD using a scaled-up system designed for human studies.
Resource constraints lead to biased attention but decrease unethical behavior
Authors: Børsting Caroline K. , Elbaek Christian T. , Mitkidis Panagiotis , Hochman Guy
Published: May 2023

Experiences of financial scarcity (i.e., perceptions of “having less than needed”) can distort decision-making, capture attention, and make individuals risk-seeking and short-term oriented. However, the influence of scarcity on information acquisition and ethical decision-making remains poorly understood. This eye-tracking study explored how acute financial scarcity affects ethical decision-making and shapes selective information search in an economic task with competing incentives (N = 60). Contrary to predictions, participants experiencing scarcity were less likely to cheat for economic gains, indicating that scarcity does not necessarily reduce ethical behavior. Participants displayed a strong attentional bias towards high-paying choices but did not act unethically. These findings might reveal a "moral boundary" dictating when attentional biases translate into decision-making. Our results contribute to understanding how individuals in scarcity contexts process and prioritize information in ethical decision-making, helping organizations and policymakers combat stereotypes surrounding resource-deprived individuals, and design evidence-based policy interventions promoting ethical behavior in financially scarce situations.