bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifying the lead angle limit to achieve required surface roughness in ball-end milling
Authors: Pesice Matej , Vavruska Petr , Falta Jiri , Zeman Pavel
Published: March 2022

When milling generally-shaped surfaces with a ball-end milling tool, machined surface roughness and accuracy as well as machining productivity are often monitored. Improving one of these parameters often causes a decrease in the other monitored parameters. Therefore, knowing possible ways of influencing these parameters is important for achieving the optimum result, if possible, in all requirements. A deep understanding of how some technological parameters influence finished surface roughness is still lacking, as well as detailed knowledge of the relationships among some roughness parameters. In response, an experiment entailing machining of planar samples at different orientation angles was carried out to identify the influence of the studied parameters on the transverse roughness of the final surface. A finding was made, that the resulting surface roughness is dependent on the cutting edge geometry of the particular ball-end milling tools used and the achieving of the required surface roughness can be guaranteed by setting the specific lead angles. Furthermore, it was verified that a minimum lead angle limit can be found based on the geometric properties of the specific milling tool, and the relationship between the evaluated roughness parameters Ra and Rz was found as well.
Genome-wide identification of R2R3-MYB gene family and association with anthocyanin biosynthesis in Brassica species
Authors: Chen Daozong , Chen Haidong , Dai Guoqiang , Zhang Haimei , Liu Yi , Shen Wenjie , Zhu Bo , Cui Cheng , Tan Chen
Published: March 2022

Brassica species include important oil crops and vegetables in the world. The R2R3-MYB gene participates in a variety of plant functions, including the activation or inhibition of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Although previous studies have reported its phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, and expression patterns in Arabidopsis, the number and sequence variation of this gene family in Brassica crops and its involvement in the natural quantitative variation in anthocyanin biosynthesis regulation are still largely unknown. In this study, by using whole genome sequences and comprehensive genome-wide comparative analysis among the six cultivated Brassica species, 1990 R2R3-MYB genes were identified in six Brassica species, respectively. These R2R3-MYB genes were phylogenetically clustered into 12 groups. The R2R3-MYB family between A and C subgenomes showed better collinearity than between B and C and between A and B. From comparing transcriptional changes of five Brassica species with the purple and green leaves for the detection of the R2R3-MYB genes associated with anthocyanin biosynthesis, 7 R2R3-MYB genes were co-differentially expressed. The promoter and structure analysis of these genes showed that some variations between non-coding region, but they were highly conserved at the protein level and spatial structure. Co-expression analysis of anthocyanin-related genes and R2R3-MYBs indicated that MYB90 was strongly co-expressed with TT8, and they were co-expressed with structural genes F3H, LDOX, ANS and UF3GT at the same time. These results further clarified the roles of the R2R3-MYBs for leaf coloration in Brasica species, which provided new insights into the functions of the R2R3-MYB gene family in Brasica species.
The correlation of serum IGF-1 levels with lower extremity atherosclerotic disease in type 2 diabetes patients
Authors: Liu Fentao , Mai Peipei , Li Xuan , Li Da , Zhao Wenyu , Guo Yiting , Su Jie , Wang Hua , Wang Yunlong , Zhang Yanfang
Published: March 2022

Objective: Clinical and basic studies have indicated the close association between Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and cardiovascular disease, however, the relationship between IGF-1 and lower extremity atherosclerotic disease (LEAD) has rarely been reported. Given that lower extremity arterial disease is the common macrocomplication of type 2 diabetes(T2DM), the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between serum Insulin-like growth factor-1 levels and the presence of lower extremity atherosclerotic disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: A total of 442 hospitalized T2DM patients(371 with LEAD and 71 without LEAD) were enrolled in the study. Serum IGF-1 levels were determined by an automatic chemiluminescence assay. The LEAD was evaluated through color doppler ultrasonography. Results: Compared with patients without LEAD, patients with LEAD exhibited much lower serum IGF-1 levels [115.4 ng/mL (interquartile range = 89.6-145.2 n g/ml) versus 124 ng/mL (interquartile range = 101.3-161.5 ng/mL), repectively, P = 0.03]. Multivariate line regression analysis identified that serum IGF-1 levels were independently and negatively related to age (standardiazed β = -0.208, P <0.001) and gender (standardiazed β = -0.126, P = 0.019). However, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that serum IGF-1 level has no significantly relationship with the presense LEAD with OR value of 0.993 in the total population.Conclusion: In T2DM patients, though low serum IGF-1 levels were found in LEAD patients, the IGF-1 may not contribute to the presence of LEAD.
Workflow Task Scheduling Hybrid swarm intelligence in cloud Computing
Authors: Ghafir Shabina , Alam M.Afshar , Siddiqui Farheen , Naaz Sameena
Published: March 2022

Users may access virtual, scalable, and dynamic resources using cloud computing, which is a novel technology that charges them only for the resources they use. This technology is reliant on a network to function. Several services, like as e-commerce apps, use the whole network as a result of the sheer scope of the network. Cloud computing has progressed through three phases in terms of practical development: distributed computing, parallel computing, and grid computing. Cloud computing is a cutting-edge technology that instals networks of computers, many of which are situated in faraway locations, to conduct operations on massive amounts of data in real time. Cloud computing makes use of a workflow model to describe various scientific and web-based applications in the cloud. On the heterogeneous cloud environment, one of the most difficult problems to solve is the scheduling of massive workflows of jobs that adhere to scientific criteria. Other challenges are unique to public cloud computing, such as security and privacy. For example, customers must be happy with quality of service (QoS) metrics such as scalability and dependability, as well as the requirement to maximise end-user resource consumption rates, among other things. This study examines scheduling algorithms that are based on the Water cycle optimization principle. Specifically, it is intended to aid users in determining the most appropriate quality of service consideration for big workflows in infrastructure as a service Shabina Ghafir et al. (IaaS) cloud applications and mapping tasks to available resources. In addition, the scheduling methods are classified based on the variation of the WCA algorithm that is used to implement them. For the purpose of comparing and identifying the potency of the suggested system, the current round-robin (RR), ALO, and PSO approaches have been selected. The results showed that the suggested approach reduces the cost by 9.8 percent for GA-PSO, 10 percent for PSO, 20 percent for ALO, 30 percent for RR, and 12 percent for GA by using a combination of these techniques. The suggested solution decreases load balancing and makespan by 8 percent compared to GA-PSO, 10 percent compared to ALO, 20 percent compared to PSO, 35 percent compared to RR, and 45 percent compared to GA. Furthermore, the performance of energy consumption and reliability are both satisfactory.
Ccq1 restrains Mre11-mediated degradation of short telomeres
Authors: Audry Julien , Runge Kurt
Published: March 2022

Telomeres cap chromosome ends with specialized chromatin composed of DNA repeats bound by a multiprotein complex called shelterin. Fission yeast telomeres can be formed by cleaving a “proto-telomere” bearing 48 bp of telomere repeats to form a new stable chromosomal end that prevents the rapid degradation seen at similar DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). This end-protection was investigated in viable mutants lacking telomere-associated proteins. Telomerase, the shelterin components Taz1, Rap1, or Poz1 or the telomere-associated protein Rif1 were not required to form a stable chromosome end after cleavage of the proto-telomere. However, cells lacking the fission yeast shelterin component Ccq1 converted the cleaved telomere repeat-capped end to a rapidly degraded DSB. Degradation was greatly reduced by eliminating the nuclease activity of Mre11, a component of the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1/Xrs2 complex that processes DSBs. These results demonstrate a novel function for Ccq1 to effect end-protection by restraining Mre11-dependent degradation.
Identification of cryptic neoepitopes generated by chimeric transcripts in ovarian cancer
Authors: Dixit Vaishnavi M , Wagle Arpita K , Bapat Sharmila A
Published: March 2022

Background: Considerable recent interest lies in the immunogenicity of non-canonical neoantigens generated by alternative ORFs emerging from non-synonymous mutations or nucleotide insertions and deletions, exonization of untranslated regions of the genome, non-coding transcripts, transposable elements, etc. Amongst these ‘cryptic’ epitopes, those derived from chimeric transcripts which harbor sequences derived from more than one gene remain undefined, since the translational potential and immunogenicity of these transcripts is relatively unexplored.Methods: The present study was hence designed to predict and assess the neoepitopes generated by chimeric transcripts in ovarian cancer. Peptides identified in a customized targeted database were assessed for antigenicity. Further docking of peptide – MHC as well as peptide-MHC-TCR complexes provided proof-of-concept of antigenicity.Results: We identified peptides uniquely generated by chimeric transcripts, expressed by reading-frame as well as sense/anti-sense isoforms. Further assessment of the antigenicity of these peptides identified a small number of putative neoepitopes that are likely to be presented to MHC-I in an allele-specific manner, and further recognized by specific TCRs.Conclusions:Such generation of chimeric molecules by relaxed rigidity of canonical transcription and translation may present opportunities in immunotherapy.
Evaluation of the practice of antibiotic prophylaxis in a surgical setting in Mbujimayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Authors: Mbuyamba Hervé Tshikomba , Muamba Crispin Mukendi , Binene Séraphin Katulondi , Uwonda Séverin Akinja
Published: March 2022

Background: Antibiotic prophylaxis is helpful to prevent patients from developping surgical site infections. In Mbujimayi, the issue is not documented at all. The known study on the subject was conducted more than five years ago. This study aims to assess the compliance of the practice of antibiotic prophylaxis in the surgery and gyneco-obstetrics departments of the Bonzola General Reference Hospital compared to the international standard.Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study from March 2020 to March 2021 of operated patients who had been subjected to antibiotic prophylaxis.Results: Three hundred and twenty-four patients were selected for this study. Compliance for each of the criteria was 87.35% for the indication ; 0.31% for the choice of molecule ; 3.65% for the time of the first administration ; nil for the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis. So overall compliance was nil.This study shows a significant gap between the recommendations of international societies and the actual practice in Mbujimayi. It is therefore necessary to conduct further studies to identify the determinants in order to reverse the trend.Conclusion: Compliance of the practice of antibiotic prophylaxis in Mbujimayi is zero. It is therefore important to take steps to improve antibiotic prophylaxis practice to maximize harms for the benefits of patients and practitioners.
A tungsten enzyme using hydrogen as an electron donor to reduce carboxylic acids and NAD+
Authors: Winiarska Agnieszka , Hege Dominik , Gemmecker Yvonne , Kryściak-Czerwenka Joanna , Seubert Andreas , Heider Johann , Szaleniec Maciej
Published: March 2022

Tungsten-dependent aldehyde oxidoreductases (AOR) catalyse the oxidation of aldehydes to acids and are the only known enzymes reducing non-activated acids using electron donors with low redox potentials. We report here that AOR from Aromatoleum aromaticum (AORAa) catalyses the reduction of organic acids not only with low-potential Eu(II) or Ti(III) complexes but also with H2 as an electron donor. Additionally, AORAa catalyzes the H2-dependent reduction of NAD+ or benzyl viologen. The rate of H2 dependent NAD+ reduction equals to 10% of that of aldehyde oxidation, representing the highest H2 turnover rate observed among the Mo/W enzymes. As AORAa simultaneously catalyzes the reduction of acids and NAD+ we designed a cascade reaction utilizing a NAD(P)H-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase to reduce organic acids to the corresponding alcohols with H2 as the only reductant. The newly discovered W-hydrogenase side-activity of AORAa may find applications in either NADH-recycling or conversion of carboxylic acids to more useful biochemicals.
Branching Pattern of the Internal Iliac Artery Accompanied by a Venous Anastomosis: Rare Vascular Variations
Authors: Kula Maciej , Olewnik Łukasz , Ruzik Kacper , Tubbs Richard Shane , Balcerzak Adrian , Zielinska Nicol
Published: March 2022

The ability to navigate the complex and often deceptive branching patterns of the internal iliac artery can be decisive in planning and performing surgeries within the lesser pelvis. The following case report presents a peculiar quadruple division of the internal iliac artery, accompanied by a venous anastomotic structure. Apart from the posterior and anterior trunks, the superior vesicle and iliolumbar arteries arose independently from the internal iliac artery. The division was surrounded by a venous oval, compressing certain branches and potentially complicating surgical access. Clinical significance of the case is discussed. Knowledge of this anatomical variation is significant for both diagnosis and surgery.Level of Evidence – II Basic Science Research﻿
Clinicians’ perceived quality of laboratory services provided at public hospitals and primary health centres in northeast Ethiopia
Authors: Abebe Daniel Dagne , Temesgen Minwuyelet Maru , Abozin Addisu Tesfie
Published: March 2022

Background
Satisfaction is a key measure of quality performance and an important tool for continual improvement. This study aimed to assess clinicians’ satisfaction with laboratory services delivered at public hospitals and health centres.
Methods
A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted in northeast Ethiopia from May to June 2019. A total of 224 clinicians were randomly selected from 8 public hospitals and 24 health centres. Satisfaction with multiple aspects of laboratory services was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire, on a rating scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 points (very satisfied). Laboratory quality assessment was performed using WHO-AFRO’s stepwise accreditation checklist. Multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to determine the association of factors with clinicians’ overall satisfaction level using STATA ver14.1. A p- value < 0.05 was considered significant.
Results
Overall, the majority (72.8%) of clinicians were satisfied. A higher percentage of clinicians were satisfied in hospitals than in primary health centres (56.0% vs. 76.8%, p = 0.003). The lowest mean ratings were obtained for the helpfulness of the user handbook (3.3), provision of STAT/urgent services (3.7) and adequacy of the test menu provided (3.8). The clinicians’ timely receipt of results, notification of panic results and perceived reliability of results, as well as the laboratories’ concordance rate of malaria microscopy results (based on blinded slide rechecking), were significantly associated with clinicians’ satisfaction (all, p ≤ 0.036). There were no associations with socio-demographic characteristics, stepwise accreditation level or star grade of the laboratories (p- values > 0.05).
Conclusions
More clinicians were dissatisfied with the services of the larger hospital laboratories than those of the primary health centres. Improvements need to emphasize the identified specific gaps related to both users’ experiences and technical quality aspects.
Risk factors of nosocomial Covid-19 in a French university hospital: a case- control study
Authors: Dinh Claire , Gallouche Meghann , Terrisse Hugo , Gam Kamal , Giner Céline , Nemoz Benjamin , Larrat Sylvie , Giai Joris , Bosson Jean-Luc , Landelle Caroline
Published: March 2022

Background: During the Covid-19 pandemic, prevention strategies implemented by hospitals to reduce nosocomial transmission sometimes failed and determining transmission risk factors remains crucial. Our objective was to determine the risk factors of nosocomial Covid-19.Methods: A case-control study was conducted in a French hospital between 09/01/2020 and 01/31/2021. Adult patients hospitalized in medical or surgical units were included. Infants or patients hospitalized in ICU were excluded. Cases were patients with a nosocomial Covid-19 (clinical symptoms and RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2 or RT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2 with Ct ≤28 more than five days after admission); controls were patients without infection (RT-PCR negative for SARS-CoV-2 more than 5 days after admission). They were matched according to length of stay before diagnosis and period of admission. Analyses were performed with a conditional logistic regression.Results: A total of 281 cases and 441 controls were included. In the bivariate analysis, cases were older (OR per 10 years: 1.22; CI95% [1.10; 1.36]), had more often shared a room (OR: 1.74; CI95% [1.25; 2.43]), had more often a risk factor of severe Covid-19 (OR: 1.94; CI95% [1.09; 3.45]), were more often hospitalized in medical units [OR: 1.59; CI95% [1.12; 2.25]), had a higher exposure to contagious health care workers (HCW; OR per 1 person.days: 1.12; CI95% [1.08; 1.17]) and contagious patients (OR per 1 person.days: 1.11; CI95% [1.08; 1.14]) than controls. In an adjusted model, risk factors of nosocomial Covid-19 were exposure to contagious HCW (aOR per 1 person.days: 1.08; CI95% [1.03; 1.14]) and exposure to contagious patients (aOR per 1 person.days: 1.10; CI95% [1.07; 1.13]).Conclusions: Exposure to contagious professionals and contagious patients are the main risk factors for nosocomial Covid-19, outweighing all other potential risk factors including the hospitalisation in double room. Prevention strategies need to be adjusted according to these results to decrease the risk of nosocomial COVID-19.Trial registrationStudy ethics approval was obtained retrospectively on 22 December 2021 (CECIC Rhône-Alpes-Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, IRB 5891).
HDAC10-mediated acetylation of COX5A promotes inflammatory responses of silica- treated macrophages in silicosis via the ROS/NF-κβ/TNF-α pathway
Authors: Li Shao-min , Zhao Feng , Zhu Min-xia , Zhao Wen , Xie Rong-xing , Shi Hong-yang , Li Jian-zhong
Published: March 2022

BackgroundSilicosis is pneumoconiosis of the lung, which usually results from prolonged exposure to and inhalation of silicon dioxide. Currently an effective treatment for silicosis is lacking. The hallmark of silicosis is chronic inflammation of silica-treated macrophages. However, the detailed molecular mechanism underlying silicosis remains elusive. MethodsSilicotic rats were established by a single intratracheal instillation of silica suspension. The lung tissues from silicotic and control rats were obtained for pathological observation, transcriptome sequencing, tandem mass tag quantitative proteomic analysis and quantitative proteome detection by acetylation modification. We further examined silica-treated macrophage-derived inflammation and the underlying molecular mechanism using siRNAs and overexpression plasmids in vitro.Results Transcriptome sequencing revealed downregulated expression of histone deacetylase 10 (HDAC10) in lungs from silicotic rats. Knockdown of HDAC10 enhanced the acetylation level of cytochrome oxidase 5A(COX5A) in rat silicosis tissue and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS), which led to increased secretion of inflammatory factors and chemokines from silica-treated macrophages. High acetylation of COX5A aggravated silica-treated macrophage-derived inflammation by the ROS/NF-κb/TNF-α pathway.ConclusionOur results indicate that HDAC10 mediates silica-treated macrophage-derived inflammation by the ROS/NF-κb/TNF-α pathway. Targeting this pathway may help improve silicosis and represents a potential therapeutic strategy to reduce inflammation and potentially treat silicosis.
SD-KMSMOTE: oversampling method for imbalanced data based on spatial distribution of minority samples
Authors: Yang Wensheng , Pan Chengsheng , Zhang Yanyan
Published: March 2022

With the rapid expansion of data, the problem of data imbalance has become increasingly prominent in the fields of medical treatment, finance, network, etc. And it is typically solved using the oversampling method. However, most existing oversampling methods randomly sample or sample only for a particular area, which affects the classification results. To solve the above limitations, this study proposes an imbalanced data oversampling method, SD-KMSMOTE, based on the spatial distribution of minority samples. A filter noise pre-treatment is added, the category information of the near-neighbouring samples is considered, and the existing minority class sample noise is removed. These conditions lead to the design of a new sample synthesis method, and the rules for calculating the weight values are constructed on this basis. The spatial distribution of minority class samples is considered comprehensively; they are clustered, and the sub-clusters that contain useful information are assigned larger weight values and more synthetic sample numbers. The experimental results show that the experimental results outperforms existing methods in terms of precision, recall, F1 score, G-mean, and area under the curve values when the proposed method is used to expand the imbalanced dataset in the field of medicine and other fields.
Runoff Forecasting Based on Combining Multiple Neural Networks and Modal Decomposition
Authors: Jin Haoyu , Chen Xiaohong , Zhong Ruida , Liu Moyang , Pan Yingjie , Zhao Tongtiegang , Liu Zhiyong , Tu Xinjun
Published: March 2022

The runoff sequence has the characteristics of non-linear and non-steady state, which leads to the low accuracy of direct prediction. In order to extract the implicit information in the original data more effectively, the complex runoff sequence is decomposed into multiple components by using singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and wavelet packet decomposition (WPD) decomposition methods. The auto-correlation function (ACF) and partial auto-correlation function (PACF) methods are used to select the previous runoff order that has a significant impact on the current runoff. Then six kinds of neural network models are selected as simulation methods. The daily runoff and monthly runoff of the Baihe (BH) and Huangjiagang (HJG) stations in the Hanjiang River Basin (HRB) were taken as the research object. The research shows that the kurtosis value of each component obtained by the SSA decomposition method has a certain randomness, while the kurtosis value of each component of WPD gradually decreases, but the amount of information carried by the first component is too large. Although the monthly runoff changes are more regular, due to the large amount of daily runoff data used for training, the model runoff simulation effect is better than that of monthly runoff. Most models have the problem that the simulated runoff is too large when the runoff is small, and the simulation results are too small when the runoff is large. The main decision of the model results is the structure of the model itself, and the two decomposition methods have little effect on the prediction effect of the models. This study can provide a way to select a forecasting method for nonlinear and non-steady-state runoff time series forecasting.
Contact model of bolted joint under tangential load
Authors: Wang Shengao , Zhu Min , Cao Hongjun , Xu Zijian , Wen Binping , Hao Shibiao
Published: March 2022

This paper proposed a new contact model that describes the contact state and pressure distribution change in tangential stiffness softening. First, the accuracy of three modeling methods is evaluated. Then, on the basis of the smooth model, the contact state is studied, and an elliptical boundary model is proposed. Thirdly, the influence of the main parameters, preload and friction coefficient, on stiffness degradation is studied. Finally, the contact pressure distribution model under tangential load is proposed. The research content can be better applied to the stiffness degradation modeling of bolted structures.
Anticancer Potential of Hesperidin against HEp-2 Laryngeal Carcinoma Cell Line in Comparison to Doxorubicin
Authors: Wahed Sara Abd El , Hassabou Nadia Fathy , Hamouda Mai Abdelhalim
Published: March 2022

Background
Doxorubicin (DOX) is widely used in therapy of many carcinoma types. Unfortunately, it is not sufficiently effective in many cases and increasing the dosage of it is limited due to systemic toxicity. An important strategy to minimize the toxic effects of the above cited drug is to use co-adjuvant. A citrus flavonoid hesperidin (Hesp) has emerged as promising anticancer natural product and proved to be potent antioxidant agent. It inhibits cancer cell proliferation by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In this context, the objective of this study was to investigate anticarcinogenic effects of Hesp in comparison with DOX against HEp-2 laryngeal carcinoma cell line.
Methods
Five groups of HEp-2 cell line were included, two groups were subjected to Hesp and the other two groups were subjected to DOX, which was used as a reference drug, in addition to a control untreated group. Expression of Bcl-2 and p53 genes was evaluated. Also, the cell cycle arrest and apoptotic effects were assessed.
Results
Hesp exerted anti-proliferative effects against HEp-2 cells which increase in time dependent manner. Gene profile analysis revealed highly significant decrease of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and highly significant increase of tumour suppressor gene P53 (p ˂ 0.01 and p ˂ 0.0001, respectively) for both tested drugs.
Conclusion
Hesp proved potential anticancer effects with reducing cancer cell viability in HEp-2 cell line via cell cycle arrest and apoptotic mechanism. It could be used as a pro-drug or co-adjuvant in treatment of oral cancer.
The publication pressure profiles among Chinese nurses: a latent profile analysis
Authors: Ju Dan-Dan , Xi Xin-Xue , Zeng Tie-Ying , Chen Ye , Zhang Ke
Published: March 2022

Background: Previous studies rarely addressed the issue of high publication pressure among nurses and the effects of such phenomenon on nursing research development. The present study aimed o identify the profiles of publication pressure among nurses and explore the protective factors for nurses' publication pressure.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 924 nurses from a tertiary hospital in China. Latent profile analysis was adopted to identify publication pressure profiles among nurses. Multinomial regression was conducted to detect the identified characteristics' effect on publication pressure profiles.Results: Consistent with the Job Demands-resources Model, four profiles were divided. Profile III had the highest publication rate and a high job and life satisfaction level. The heaviest publication pressure (Profile I) was associated with a high professional title, protected by solid research capacity, adequate organizational support, and emphasis on nursing research.Conclusions: Nurses exhibit distinct profiles of publication pressure that reflect the imbalance between demands and resources among profiles. Current analyses suggest that Profile I nurses are particularly inneed of interventions addressing the heaviest publication pressure. Profile III nurses are adapted to the development of nursing research. The findings highlight that nursing managers could cultivate Profile III's nursing talents and formulate the targeted intervention for Profile I, II, and IV.
CEAC, BEAM and IEAC high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation in peripheral T-cell lymphoma patients: A single center comparative analysis of efficacy and safety
Authors: Yi-Ying Xiong , Jing Wang , Li Wang , Jian-Bin Chen , Lin Liu , Xiao-Qiong Tang , Xin Wang , Hong-Bin Zhang
Published: March 2022

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is an important treatment for Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) patients both during front and salvage therapy. We retrospectively compared the outcomes of 52 PTCL patients treated with CEAC (n=28), BEAM (n=14) and IEAC (n=10) regimens followed by ASCT at our center between 2012 and 2021. Although the time of neutrophil engraftment in CEAC group was earlier than that in IEAC group (P=0.042) and platelet infusion in BEAM group was significantly more than CEAC group (P=0.042), there were no significant difference in platelet engraftment, hematopoietic engraftment and red blood cells infusion among the 3 groups. The transplantation related mortality rate (TRM) and the early overall response rate (ORR) was 3.8% and 85.7% respectively. The 5-year OS and PFS was 62.8% (95% CI: 54.8%-70.8%) and 61.0% (95% CI: 53.1%-68.9%) respectively. There was no significant difference in TRM, ORR and survival among the 3 groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that high PIT score (＞1) and non-CR at 3 months after ASCT were common risk factors for OS (P=0.036 and 0.007) and PFS (P=0.021 and 0.012). In conclusion, CEAC and IEAC regimen can be used as alternative conditioning regiments for ASCT in PTCL patients, and their efficacy and safety are comparable to BEAM regiment. Patients with high PIT score and failure to reach CR early after ASCT had worse outcomes.
Expression and functional analyses of transformer-2 in Phytoseiulus persimilis and other genes potentially participating in reproductive regulation
Authors: Xuenong Xu , Qi Cai , Fan Yang , Zhenhui Wang , Bo Zhang , Endong Wang , Jiale Lv
Published: March 2022

Transformer-2 is an important sex-determining gene in insects and also plays roles in reproduction of Phytoseiid mites. We performed bioinformatics analyses for the transformer-2 ortholog in Phytoseiulus persimilis, measured its expression in different stages, and quantitatively identified its function in reproduction. This gene, termed as Pptra-2, encodes 288 amino acids with a conserved RRM domain. Its peak expression was observed in female adults, especially ca. 5 days after mating. Besides, expression in eggs is higher than that in other stages and male adults. When Pptra-2 was interfered through oral delivery of dsRNA, 56% females had their egg hatching rates decreased in the first 5 days, from ca. 100% to ca. 20%, and maintained at low levels during the rest of its oviposition period. To detect other genes functionally related to Pptra-2, transcriptome analyses were performed on the 5th day after mating. We compared mRNA expressions among interfered females with significant egg hatching rate decrease, interfered females with no significant egg hatching rate decrease, and the CK. A total of 403 differential genes were identified, among which 42 functional genes regulating female reproduction and embryonic development were screened and discussed.
Retinal Findings and Pitfalls of Optical Coherence Tomography Evaluation of The Inner Retina in Covid-19 Patients
Authors: de Sousa Ednan Cardoso , Oliveira Marília Maruza M Barros , Freitas Luiz Guilherme Azevedo , Lira Rodrigo Pessoa Cavalcanti , Barbosa Francisco Cordeiro , Gonçalves Fabiana Fonte , Freitas Theophilo , Freitas-Neto Clovis Arcoverde
Published: March 2022

Background: COVID-19 can cause retinal manifestations however, there are still gaps in the scientific literature about the repercussions of the disease on the retina, as well as concerns about the interpretation of the background and optical coherence tomography.Objective: To describe fundus findings in post-COVID-19 infection patients and evaluate the hyper-reflective images in the retinal ganglion cell layer (RGCL), with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), to avoid imaging interpretation pitfalls.Methods: Cross-sectional study with analysis of thirty-eight eyes of nineteen confirmed COVID-19 infected patients was perfomed. The color fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCTA were used. COVID-19 positive patients were included in the study and they were treated at a Brazilian referral hospital in July 2020. The study was approved by the Human Research and Ethics Committee.Results: The fundus abnormalities observed were the superficial hemorrhages 4/19 (21%) and cotton wool spots 1/19 (5,2%). We noticed hyper-reflective images on the ganglion cell layer corresponding to the physiologic macular vascular network vessels in all eyes. Follow-up scans examinations revealed pitfalls with the disappearance of some of the hyper-reflective images. Conclusion: Retinal superficial hemorrhage and cotton wool spots are unspecific findings usual to COVID-19 and others virus infections. Evaluating these findings with a multimodal imaging technique is recommended to avoid pitfalls and misinterpretation of hyper-reflective intraretinal images in OCT scans.
Surface electromyography study on asymmetry in paravertebral muscle degeneration in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis
Authors: Xie Hongru , Liu Jianan , He Yinchuan , Zhang Zepei , Dong Hongtao , Meng Lin , Miao Jun
Published: March 2022

Background: The asymmetry of paravertebral muscle (PVM) degeneration in degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) patients has been extensively studied by imaging and histological examination and has not yet been verified by surface electromyography (sEMG) techniques.Objective:To study the relationship between the surface electromyography (sEMG) and degenerative characteristics of paravertebral muscles (PVMs) in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS).Method:In twenty DLS patients and fifteen healthy subjects, sEMG activity of the PVMs at the level of the upper end vertebra (UEV), apical vertebra (AV) and lower end vertebra (LEV) was measured during static standing and dynamic standing forward flexion and backward extension tasks. Action segmentation was achieved according to inertial measurement unit (IMU) data.The sEMG characteristics of the PVMs on the convex and concave sides were compared, and the relationship of these data with the Cobb angle and lumbar lordotic angle (LL) was analyzed.Results:In the DLS group, there was no difference in sEMG activity between the convex and concave sides at the UEV or AV level， but in the motion and return phases of the standing forward flexion task (P=0.000, P=0.015) and the maintenance and return phases of the standing backward extension task (P=0.001, P=0.01), there was a significant difference in sEMG activity between the convex and concave sides at the LEV level.Asymmetrical sEMG activity at the LEV level was negatively correlated with the Cobb angle (F=93.791，P <0.001) and LL angle (F=65.564，P <0.001).Conclusion:In the DLS group, asymmetrical sEMG activity of the PVMs appeared at the LEV level, with the concave side being more active than the convex side. This sEMG characteristics were consistent with their imaging and histological degenerative features and correlated with bone structural parameters.
Polyolefin depolymerization over silica-alumina-based catalysts: mechanistic classifications and benchmarking
Authors: Dyson Paul , Lee Wei-Tse , Muyden Antoine van , Bobbink Felix , Mensi Mounir , Carullo Jed
Published: March 2022

C-C bond cleavage mechanisms play a key role in the selective deconstruction of alkanes and polyolefins. The product distributions, i.e., formation of smaller hydrocarbons, unsaturated and isomerization products, serve as distinctive features that help to identify reaction pathways. Herein, Co, Ni or Ru nanoparticles immobilized on amorphous silica-alumina, Zeo-Y and ZSM-5, were evaluated as catalysts in the deconstruction of n-hexadecane (used as a model substrate for benchmarking purposes) with hydrogen to delineate the different mechanisms, i.e. monofunctional- (acid site dominated) or bifunctional-hydrocracking (acid site & metal site) versus hydrogenolysis (metal site dominated). The ZSM-5_H-based catalysts were further studied in the depolymerization of polyethylene. Based on these studies, the catalysts were plotted on an activity-mechanism map that functions as an expandable basis to benchmark catalytic activity and to identify the optimal depolymerization catalyst to afford specific products.
The perioperative outcomes of uniport versus two-port and three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Cheng Ya-Fu , Huang Chang-Lun , Hung Wei-Heng , Cheng Ching-Yuan , Wang Bing-Yen
Published: March 2022

Background:Uniport video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been applied widely for the treatment of lung cancer in recent years. Some studies have reported that uniport VATS might provide better outcomes than multiport VATS. However, the perioperative outcomes of uniport VATS compared with two-port and three-port VATS, respectively, have yet to be studied at a comprehensive scale. This meta-analysis study compares the perioperative efficacy among uniport, two-port, and three-port VATS.Methods:We searched studies published before October 1, 2019, by using Web of Science databases, Ovid Medline, Embase, and PubMed. Studies that compared uniport VATS with two-port or three-port VATS for patients with lung cancer were included. Operative time, perioperative blood loss, number of lymph nodes retrieved, conversion rate, duration of postoperative chest tube drainage, length of hospital stay (LoS), visual analogue pain scores on postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 3, and overall morbidity were evaluated.Results: Sixteen studies that compared uniport VATS with two-port or three-port VATS in the treatment of lung cancer were included. Uniport VATS showed less blood loss, a shorter duration of postoperative drainage and a lower visual analogue pain score on POD 3 than two-port VATS; it showed a shorter duration of postoperative drainage, a shorter LoS, and lower visual analogue pain scores on POD 1 and POD 3 than three-port VATS. There were no significant differences in the number of lymph nodes retrieved, operative time, conversion rate, and overall morbidity rate when comparing uniport VATS with two-port VATS or three-port VATS.Conclusions: Uniport VATS might provide better perioperative outcomes than either two-port or three-port VATS in lung cancer treatment.
LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 mediated the progression of ischemic AKI via targeting of miR-221- 5p/IRF6 axis
Authors: Liu Jing , Li Xiaozhou , Yang Jurong , Zhang Dongshan
Published: March 2022

Although more studies revealed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulated the progression of ischemic acute kidney injury(AKI), the exact role and mechanism of LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 in ischemic AKI was not unclear. In current study, LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 was induced by ischemic injury in vitro and vivo. Functionaly, LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 mediated the apoptosis in mouse proximal tubule-derived cell line(BUMPT) cells. Mechanistically, LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 sponged the microRNA (miR)-221-5p to upregulate the expression of Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6) to drive apoptosis. Finally, knockdown of LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 markedly attenuated the ischemic AKI via targeting the miR-221-5p/IRF6 axis. Collectively, our data for the first time demonstrated that LncRNA ENSMUST_147219 promoted the development of ischemic AKI via regulation of miR-221-5p/IRF6 pathway, which could be considered as a new therapy target for ischemic AKI.
A Kubernetes ‘Bridge’ operator between cloud and external resources.
Authors: Lublinsky Boris , Jennings Elise , Spišaková Viktória
Published: March 2022

Many scientific workflows require dedicated compute resources, including HPC clusters with optimized software, quantum resources, and dedicated hardware cluster systems like Ray, for example. At the same time, many scientific workflows today are built on Kubernetes leveraging growing support for workflow and support tools. To address the growing demand to support workflows on both cloud and dedicated compute resources we present the Bridge Operator, a software extension for container orchestration in Kubernetes which facilitates the submission and monitoring of long running processes on external systems which have their own cluster resources manager (SLURM, LSF, quantum services and Ray). The Bridge Operator consists of a custom Kubernetes controller that employs a Kubernetes Custom Resource Definition to manage applications. We present controller logic to manage the cloud container orchestration and external resource workload manager interface, a resource definition to submit HTTP/HTTPS requests to the external resource, and a controller pod communicating with the external resource manager to submit and manage job execution. The implementation allows us to mirror the external resource in Kubernetes pods, which allows the operator to use these pods as proxies to control the external system. The implementation is agnostic to the choice of resource manager but assumes the system exposes a HTTP/HTTPS API for its control/management. The Bridge Operator automates the role of a human operator running jobs on a black box external resource as part of a complex hybrid workflow on the Cloud.
Quantitative assessment of the microstructure of the mesorectum with different prognostic statuses by intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighed magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Lu Bao-Lan , Chen Yan , Wen Zi-Qiang , Liu Yi-Yan , Ma Yu-Ru , Que Yu-Tao , Zhang Zhi-Wen , Wu Xue-Han , Yu Shen-Ping
Published: March 2022

PurposeThe mesorectum surrounding the rectal provides an ideal substrate for tumour spread. However, preoperative risk assessment is still an issue. This study aimed to investigate the microstructural features of mesorectum with different prognostic statuses by intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM DWI).MethodsPatients with pathologically proven rectal adenocarcinoma underwent routine high-resolution rectal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and IVIM DWI sequences were recruited. The MRI-detected circumferential resection margin (mrCRM) and extramural vascular invasion (mrEMVI) were evaluated. IVIM parameters of the mesorectum adjacent to (MAT) and distant from (MDT) the tumour were measured and compared between and within the prognostic factor groups. ResultsThe positive mrCRM (pMAT < 0.001; pMDT = 0.013) and mrEMVI (pMAT = 0.001; pMDT < 0.001) groups demonstrated higher D values in the MAT and MDT than the corresponding negative groups. Conversely, the positive mrCRM (p = 0.001) and mrEMVI (p < 0.001) groups both demonstrated lower f values in the MAT. Similarly, in the self-comparison between the MAT and MDT in the above subgroups, D showed a significant difference in all subgroups (p < 0.001 for all), and f showed a significant difference in the positive mrCRM (p = 0.001) and mrEMVI (p = 0.002) groups. Moreover, the MAT displayed a higher D* in the positive mrCRM (p = 0.014), negative mrCRM (p = 0.009) and negative mrEMVI groups (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe microstructure of the mesorectum in patients with rectal cancer with poor prognostic status shows changes based on IVIM parameters.
Treatment with locking intramedullary nailing for intertrochanteric fracture of femur: application of a new guide awl with a distal positioner
Authors: Xu Fei , Binbin Liu , Liu Yang , Zheng Zehang , Xu Hanqing , Huang Chuang , Luo Zhengqiang
Published: March 2022

Background The use of interlocked intramedullary nail has become the preferred method of treatment for intertrochanteric fracture of the femur. This study explored a new guide awl with a distal positioner assisting the guide wire insertion and opening canal, and verification the accuracy and security of our new guide awl.Methods 42 patients with intertrochanteric fracture treated by locking intramedullary nailing were retrospectively analyzed. Three patients with insufficient follow-up were excluded from analysis. 19 patients underwent the operation using the new guide awl, the other 20 patients in the control group were operated with the help of the conventional guide apparatus. Describe the new guide awl with a distal positioner usage in the operations. Operation time, the success rate of one-time insertion, fluoroscopy time, blood loss and bone healing time were recorded.Results 42 patients (25 males and 17 females) were treated with Gamma 3 and PFNA with the help of the new guide awl with a distal positioner or the conventional conventional guide apparatus. The surgical time in new guide awl group was significantly shorter compared to the control group. The success rate of one-time needle insertion in the new guide apparatus group was 89.5%, which was higher than the 65% of the control group. The fluoroscopy time in new guide apparatus group is obviously lower than in the control group. There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss and bone healing time.Conclusion The new guide awl with a distal positioner we designed could reduce the difficulty in opening the femur for inserting the interlocked intramedullary nail. It is especially suitable for obese patients.
Projecting the impact of the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in China in the context of waning immunity after vaccination
Authors: Yu Hongjie , Cai Jun , Deng Xiaowei , Yang Juan , Sun Kaiyuan , Liu Hengcong , Chen Zhiyuan , Peng Cheng , Chen Xinhua , Wu Qianhui , Zou Junyi , Sun Ruijia , Zheng Wen , Zhao Zeyao , Lu Wanying , Liang Yuxia , Zhou Xiaoyu , Ajelli Marco
Published: March 2022

After the adoption of a dynamic zero-COVID strategy in China for nearly two years, whether and for how long this policy can remain in place is unclear. The debate has thus shifted towards the identification of mitigation strategies capable to prevent the disruption of the healthcare system, should a nationwide epidemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant start to unfold. To this aim, we developed a mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission tailored to the unique immunization and epidemiological situation of China. We find that the level of immunity induced by the current vaccination campaign would be insufficient to prevent overwhelming the healthcare system and major losses of human lives. Instead, a synergetic strategy would be needed and based on 1) a heterologous booster vaccination campaign, 2) treating 50% of symptomatic cases with an antiviral with an 80% efficacy in preventing severe outcomes, and 3) the adoption of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) capable of reducing Rt to ≤2. Protecting vulnerable individuals by ensuring accessibility to vaccines and antivirals, and maintaining a certain degree of NPIs should be emphasised in a future mitigation policy, possibly supported by strengthening critical care capacity and the development of highly efficacious vaccines with long-lasting immunity.