bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ginkgolic acid and anacardic acid are reversible inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease
Authors: Li Dongsheng , Yan Gangan , Zhou Wenwen , Si Shuyi , Liu Xiaoping , Zhang Jing , Li Yan , Chen Yunyu
Published: May 2022

Because of the emerging variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in different regions of the world, the battle with infectious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been seesawing. Therefore, the identification of antiviral drugs is of particular importance. In order to rapidly identify inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro), an enzyme essential for viral replication, we combined the fluorescence polarization (FP) technique with biotin-avidin system (BAS) and developed a novel sandwich-like FP screening assay. Through high-throughput screening, two hits of 3CLpro inhibitors, ginkgolic acid (GA) and anacardic acid (AA) were identified, which showed IC50 values of 11.29 ± 0.48 and 12.19 ± 0.50 μM, respectively. Their binding modes were evaluated by HPLC-Q-TOF–MS. There was no mass increase detected for SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro incubated with either GA or AA, indicating the absence of covalent adducts. The kinetic analysis clearly demonstrated that both GA and AA inhibit SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro via reversible and mixed-inhibition manner. Our results argue against conclusion that GA and AA act as irreversible and covalent inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro, which is based on the studies by Chen et al.
Mitochondrial gene expression in different organs of Hoplobatrachus rugulosus from China and Thailand under low-temperature stress
Authors: Jin Wan-Ting , Guan Jia-Yin , Dai Xin-Yi , Wu Gong-Ji , Zhang Le-Ping , Storey Kenneth B. , Zhang Jia-Yong , Zheng Rong-Quan , Yu Dan-Na
Published: May 2022

Background

Hoplobatrachus rugulosus (Anura: Dicroglossidae) is distributed in China and Thailand and the former can survive substantially lower temperatures than the latter. The mitochondrial genomes of the two subspecies also differ: Chinese tiger frogs (CT frogs) display two identical ND5 genes whereas Thai tiger frogs (TT frogs) have two different ND5 genes. Metabolism of ectotherms is very sensitive to temperature change and different organs have different demands on energy metabolism at low temperatures. Therefore, we conducted studies to understand: (1) the differences in mitochondrial gene expression of tiger frogs from China (CT frogs) versus Thailand (TT frogs); (2) the differences in mitochondrial gene expression of tiger frogs (CT and TT frogs) under short term 24 h hypothermia exposure at 25 °C and 8 °C; (3) the differences in mitochondrial gene expression in three organs (brain, liver and kidney) of CT and TT frogs.

Results

Utilizing RT-qPCR and comparing control groups at 25 °C with low temperature groups at 8 °C, we came to the following results. (1) At the same temperature, mitochondrial gene expression was significantly different in two subspecies. The transcript levels of two identical ND5 of CT frogs were observed to decrease significantly at low temperatures (P < 0.05) whereas the two different copies of ND5 in TT frogs were not. (2) Under low temperature stress, most of the genes in the brain, liver and kidney were down-regulated (except for COI and ATP6 measured in brain and COI measured in liver of CT frogs). (3) For both CT and TT frogs, the changes in overall pattern of mitochondrial gene expression in different organs under low temperature and normal temperature was brain > liver > kidney.

Conclusions

We mainly drew the following conclusions: (1) The differences in the structure and expression of the ND5 gene between CT and TT frogs could result in the different tolerances to low temperature stress. (2) At low temperatures, the transcript levels of most of mitochondrial protein-encoding genes were down-regulated, which could have a significant effect in reducing metabolic rate and supporting long term survival at low temperatures. (3) The expression pattern of mitochondrial genes in different organs was related to mitochondrial activity and mtDNA replication in different organs.
Quality of life during COVID-19 pandemic: a community-based study in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt
Authors: Mohsen Shorouk , El-Masry Ragaa , Ali Olfat Farag , Abdel-Hady Doaa
Published: May 2022

Background

The sudden transmission of the novel coronavirus along with instant measures taken in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused many new challenges adversely disturbing quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study is to measure quality of life of the public during the COVID-19 pandemic and factors affecting it among adults.

Methods

This is a community-based cross-sectional household study with analytic component conducted in an agricultural area in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt and included 500 individuals. Data were collected through a structured interview, and the collected data included socio-demographic characteristics as well as some data related to their habits and comorbidities, their experience with COVID-19 and data about QoL using the COV19-Impact on Quality of Life (COV19-QoL) scale Arabic version, after assessing Content validity and reliability.

Results

The total QoL score (mean ± standard deviation) is 2.3 ± 0.6 and the score for QoL in general and perception of danger on personal safety show the highest mean with 2.6 ± 0.7. The lowest mean score is related to the perception of mental health deterioration (1.9 ± 0.8). Independent predictors of the total QoL scale are sex (regression coefficient (95% CI) = 0.1 (0.02 to 0.2), p value = 0.02), monthly income (regression coefficient (95% CI) = 0.1 (0.004 to 0.2), p value = 0.04), knowing someone infected with COVID-19 (regression coefficient (95% CI) = 0.15 (0.08 to 0.3), p value = 0.001), and data collection time (regression coefficient (95% CI) = 0.1 (0.006 to 0.2), p value = 0.04).

Conclusions

COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the public quality of life, particularly in terms of general quality of life and personal safety. People with substantial predictors of lower quality of life should be given more attention.
Prediction of glioma-subtypes: comparison of performance on a DL classifier using bounding box areas versus annotated tumors
Authors: Ali Muhaddisa Barat , Gu Irene Yu-Hua , Lidemar Alice , Berger Mitchel S. , Widhalm Georg , Jakola Asgeir Store
Published: May 2022

Background

For brain tumors, identifying the molecular subtypes from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is desirable, but remains a challenging task. Recent machine learning and deep learning (DL) approaches may help the classification/prediction of tumor subtypes through MRIs. However, most of these methods require annotated data with ground truth (GT) tumor areas manually drawn by medical experts. The manual annotation is a time consuming process with high demand on medical personnel. As an alternative automatic segmentation is often used. However, it does not guarantee the quality and could lead to improper or failed segmented boundaries due to differences in MRI acquisition parameters across imaging centers, as segmentation is an ill-defined problem. Analogous to visual object tracking and classification, this paper shifts the paradigm by training a classifier using tumor bounding box areas in MR images. The aim of our study is to see whether it is possible to replace GT tumor areas by tumor bounding box areas (e.g. ellipse shaped boxes) for classification without a significant drop in performance.

Method

In patients with diffuse gliomas, training a deep learning classifier for subtype prediction by employing tumor regions of interest (ROIs) using ellipse bounding box versus manual annotated data. Experiments were conducted on two datasets (US and TCGA) consisting of multi-modality MRI scans where the US dataset contained patients with diffuse low-grade gliomas (dLGG) exclusively.

Results

Prediction rates were obtained on 2 test datasets: 69.86% for 1p/19q codeletion status on US dataset and 79.50% for IDH mutation/wild-type on TCGA dataset. Comparisons with that of using annotated GT tumor data for training showed an average of 3.0% degradation (2.92% for 1p/19q codeletion status and 3.23% for IDH genotype).

Conclusion

Using tumor ROIs, i.e., ellipse bounding box tumor areas to replace annotated GT tumor areas for training a deep learning scheme, cause only a modest decline in performance in terms of subtype prediction. With more data that can be made available, this may be a reasonable trade-off where decline in performance may be counteracted with more data.
Psychometric performance of the Mental Health Implementation Science Tools (mhIST) across six low- and middle-income countries
Authors: Aldridge Luke R. , Kemp Christopher G. , Bass Judith K. , Danforth Kristen , Kane Jeremy C. , Hamdani Syed U. , Marsch Lisa A. , Uribe-Restrepo José M. , Nguyen Amanda J. , Bolton Paul A. , Murray Laura K. , Haroz Emily E.
Published: May 2022

Background

Existing implementation measures developed in high-income countries may have limited appropriateness for use within low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In response, researchers at Johns Hopkins University began developing the Mental Health Implementation Science Tools (mhIST) in 2013 to assess priority implementation determinants and outcomes across four key stakeholder groups—consumers, providers, organization leaders, and policy makers—with dedicated versions of scales for each group. These were field tested and refined in several contexts, and criterion validity was established in Ukraine. The Consumer and Provider mhIST have since grown in popularity in mental health research, outpacing psychometric evaluation. Our objective was to establish the cross-context psychometric properties of these versions and inform future revisions.

Methods

We compiled secondary data from seven studies across six LMIC—Colombia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Ukraine, and Zambia—to evaluate the psychometric performance of the Consumer and Provider mhIST. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify dimensionality, factor structure, and item loadings for each scale within each stakeholder version. We also used alignment analysis (i.e., multi-group confirmatory factor analysis) to estimate measurement invariance and differential item functioning of the Consumer scales across the six countries.

Results

All but one scale within the Provider and Consumer versions had Cronbach’s alpha greater than 0.8. Exploratory factor analysis indicated most scales were multidimensional, with factors generally aligning with a priori subscales for the Provider version; the Consumer version has no predefined subscales. Alignment analysis of the Consumer mhIST indicated a range of measurement invariance for scales across settings (R2 0.46 to 0.77). Several items were identified for potential revision due to participant nonresponse or low or cross- factor loadings. We found only one item, which asked consumers whether their intervention provider was available when needed, to have differential item functioning in both intercept and loading.

Conclusion

We provide evidence that the Consumer and Provider versions of the mhIST are internally valid and reliable across diverse contexts and stakeholder groups for mental health research in LMIC. We recommend the instrument be revised based on these analyses and future research examine instrument utility by linking measurement to other outcomes of interest.
Early management of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in a hospital with neurosurgical/neuroendovascular facilities: a consensus and clinical recommendations of the Italian Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care (SIAARTI)—part 2
Authors: Picetti Edoardo , Barbanera Andrea , Bernucci Claudio , Bertuccio Alessandro , Bilotta Federico , Boccardi Edoardo Pietro , Cafiero Tullio , Caricato Anselmo , Castioni Carlo Alberto , Cenzato Marco , Chieregato Arturo , Citerio Giuseppe , Gritti Paolo , Lanterna Luigi , Menozzi Roberto , Munari Marina , Panni Pietro , Rossi Sandra , Stocchetti Nino , Sturiale Carmelo , Zoerle Tommaso , Zona Gianluigi , Rasulo Frank , Robba Chiara
Published: May 2022

Background

Questions remain on the optimal management of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients once they are admitted to the referring center, before and after the aneurysm treatment. To address these issues, we created a consensus of experts endorsed by the Italian Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care (SIAARTI) to provide clinical guidance regarding this topic. Specifically, in this manuscript (part 2), we aim to provide a list of experts’ recommendations regarding the management of SAH patients in a center with neurosurgical/neuroendovascular facilities after aneurysm treatment.

Methods

A multidisciplinary consensus panel composed by 24 physicians selected for their established clinical and scientific expertise in the acute management of SAH patients with different specializations (anesthesia/intensive care, neurosurgery, and interventional neuroradiology) was created. A modified Delphi approach was adopted.

Results

A total of 33 statements were discussed, voted, and approved. Consensus was reached on 30 recommendations (28 strong and 2 weak). In 3 cases, where consensus could not be agreed upon, no recommendation was provided.

Conclusions

This consensus provides practical recommendations (and not mandatory standard of practice) to support clinician’s decision-making in the management of SAH patients in centers with neurosurgical/neuroendovascular facilities after aneurysm securing.
Time-lapse data matching using a recurrent neural network approach
Authors: Alali Abdullah , Kazei Vladimir , Sun Bingbing , Alkhalifah Tariq
Published: May 2022

Time-lapse seismic data acquisition is an essential tool to monitor changes in a reservoir due to fluid injection, such as CO2 injection. By acquiring multiple seismic surveys in the exact same location, the authors can identify the reservoir changes by analyzing the difference in the data. However, such analysis can be skewed by the near-surface seasonal velocity variations, inaccuracy, and repeatability in the acquisition parameters, and other inevitable noise. The common practice (cross equalization) to address this problem uses the part of the data in which changes are not expected to design a matching filter and then apply it to the whole data, including the reservoir area. Like cross equalization, the authors train a recurrent neural network (RNN) on parts of the data excluding the reservoir area and then infer the reservoir-related data. The RNN can learn the time dependency of the data, unlike the matching filter that processes the data based on the local information obtained in the filter window. The authors determine the method of matching the data in various examples and compare it with the conventional matching filter. Specifically, we start by demonstrating the ability of the approach in matching two traces and then test the method on a prestack 2D synthetic data. Then, the authors verify the enhancements of the 4D signal by providing reverse time migration images. The authors measure the repeatability using normalized root-mean-square and predictability metrics and find that, in some cases, our proposed method performed better than the matching filter approach.
ANGT_HUMAN[448–462], an Anorexigenic Peptide Identified Using Plasma Peptidomics
Authors: Sasaki Sayaka , Oba Kazuhito , Kodera Yoshio , Itakura Makoto , Shichiri Masayoshi
Published: May 2022

The discovery of bioactive peptides is an important research target that enables the elucidation of the pathophysiology of human diseases and provides seeds for drug discovery. Using a large number of native peptides previously identified using plasma peptidomics technology, we sequentially synthesized selected sequences and subjected them to functional screening using human cultured cells. A 15-amino-acid residue proangiotensinogen-derived peptide, designated ANGT_HUMAN[448–462], elicited cellular responses and bound to cultured human cells. Synthetic fluorescent-labeled and biotinylated ANGT_HUMAN[448–462] peptides were rendered to bind to cell- and tissue-derived proteins and peptide-cell protein complexes were retrieved and analyzed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, revealing the β-subunit of ATP synthase as its cell-surface binding protein. Because ATP synthase mediates the effects of anorexigenic peptides, the ability of ANGT_HUMAN[448–462] to modulate eating behavior in mice was investigated. Both intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injections of low doses of ANGT_HUMAN[448–462] suppressed spontaneous food and water intake throughout the dark phase of the diurnal cycle without affecting locomotor activity. Immunoreactive ANGT_HUMAN[448–462], distributed throughout human tissues and in human-derived cells, is mostly co-localized with angiotensin II and is occasionally present separately from angiotensin II. In this study, an anorexigenic peptide, ANGT_HUMAN[448–462], was identified by exploring cell surface target proteins of the human native peptides identified using plasma peptidomics.
Single-cell imaging of the cell cycle reveals CDC25B-induced heterogeneity of G1 phase length in neural progenitor cells
Authors: Molina Angie , Bonnet Frédéric , Pignolet Julie , Lobjois Valerie , Bel-Vialar Sophie , Gautrais Jacques , Pituello Fabienne , Agius Eric
Published: May 2022

Although lengthening of the cell cycle and G1 phase is a generic feature of tissue maturation during development, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we develop a time-lapse imaging strategy to measure the four cell cycle phases in single chick neural progenitor cells in their endogenous environment. We show that neural progenitors are widely heterogeneous with respect to cell cycle length. This variability in duration is distributed over all phases of the cell cycle, with the G1 phase contributing the most. Within one cell cycle, each phase duration appears stochastic and independent except for a correlation between S and M phase duration. Lineage analysis indicates that the majority of daughter cells may have a longer G1 phase than mother cells, suggesting that, at each cell cycle, a mechanism lengthens the G1 phase. We identify that the CDC25B phosphatase known to regulate the G2/M transition indirectly increases the duration of the G1 phase, partly through delaying passage through the restriction point. We propose that CDC25B increases the heterogeneity of G1 phase length, revealing a previously undescribed mechanism of G1 lengthening that is associated with tissue development.
Fluorescent cytoskeletal markers reveal associations between the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton in rice cells
Authors: Liu Zengyu , Østerlund Isabella , Ruhnow Felix , Cao Yiran , Huang Guoqiang , Cai Wenguo , Zhang Jiao , Liang Wanqi , Nikoloski Zoran , Persson Staffan , Zhang Dabing
Published: May 2022

Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of our main food crops, feeding ∼3.5 billion people worldwide. An increasing number of studies note the importance of the cytoskeleton, including actin filaments and microtubules, in rice development and environmental responses. Yet, reliable in vivo cytoskeleton markers are lacking in rice, which limits our knowledge of cytoskeletal functions in living cells. Therefore, we generated bright fluorescent marker lines of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons in rice, suitable for live-cell imaging in a wide variety of rice tissues. Using these lines, we show that actin bundles and microtubules engage and co-function during pollen grain development, how the cytoskeletal components are coordinated during root cell development, and that the actin cytoskeleton is robust and facilitates microtubule responses during salt stress. Hence, we conclude that our cytoskeletal marker lines, highlighted by our findings of cytoskeletal associations and dynamics, will substantially further future investigations in rice biology.
TFK1, a basal body transition fibre protein that is essential for cytokinesis in Trypanosoma brucei
Authors: Ramanantsalama Miharisoa Rijatiana , Landrein Nicolas , Casas Elina , Salin Bénédicte , Blancard Corinne , Bonhivers Mélanie , Robinson Derrick R. , Dacheux Denis
Published: May 2022

In Trypanosoma brucei, transition fibres (TFs) form a nine-bladed pattern-like structure connecting the base of the flagellum to the flagellar pocket membrane. Despite the characterization of two TF proteins, CEP164C and T. brucei (Tb)RP2, little is known about the organization of these fibres. Here, we report the identification and characterization of the first kinetoplastid-specific TF protein, named TFK1 (Tb927.6.1180). Bioinformatics and functional domain analysis identified three distinct domains in TFK1 – an N-terminal domain of an unpredicted function, a coiled-coil domain involved in TFK1–TFK1 interaction and a C-terminal intrinsically disordered region potentially involved in protein interaction. Cellular immunolocalization showed that TFK1 is a newly identified basal body maturation marker. Furthermore, using ultrastructure expansion and immuno-electron microscopies we localized CEP164C and TbRP2 at the TF, and TFK1 on the distal appendage matrix of the TF. Importantly, RNAi-mediated knockdown of TFK1 in bloodstream form cells induced misplacement of basal bodies, a defect in the furrow or fold generation, and eventually cell death. We hypothesize that TFK1 is a basal body positioning-specific actor and a key regulator of cytokinesis in the bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei.
Ενσωματωμένη ενέργεια, παραγωγή ρύπων, ανάπτυξη και διεθνές εμπόριο
Authors: Τσιριμώκος Χρήστος
Published: May 2022

Κύριος σκοπός της παρούσας διδακτορικής διατριβής είναι η εμπειρική διερεύνηση των περιβαλλοντικών διακλαδικών σχέσεων της ελληνικής οικονομίας μέσω υποδειγμάτων εισροών-εκροών απλής παραγωγής (single production). Για την επίτευξη του συγκεκριμένου σκοπού εφαρμόζονται τα υποδείγματα Leontief και Ghosh, ενώ χρησιμοποιούνται Συμμετρικοί Πίνακες Εισροών-Εκροών και περιβαλλοντικά στοιχεία της ελληνικής οικονομίας, για τα έτη 2010 και 2015. Τα στοιχεία αυτά, αναφέρονται στα μεγέθη της αθροιστικής ενέργειας, του πετρελαίου, του φυσικού αερίου, της ηλεκτρικής ενέργειας, και των εκπομπών CO2. Επιπροσθέτως, συμπληρωματικά με την εκτίμηση των περιβαλλοντικών διακλαδικών σχέσεων της οικονομίας, εκτιμώνται και οι παραγωγικές διακλαδικές συνδέσεις και διαρροές. Οι εκτιμήσεις λαμβάνουν χώρα βάσει διάφορων κλαδικών δεικτών συνδέσεων και διαρροών, οι οποίοι απορρέουν από τις δύο κυρίαρχες μεθόδους διακλαδικής ανάλυσης: (i) την Παραδοσιακή Ανάλυση Σύνδεσης (Traditional Linkage Analysis) και (ii) τη Μέθοδο της Υποθετικής Απόσπασης (Hypothetical Extraction Method). Ακολούθως, επιδιώκεται η ανάλυση των μεταβολών στους εκτιμηθέντες δείκτες συνδέσεων και διαρροών. Τέλος, γίνεται προσπάθεια συγκριτικής ανάλυσης των εκτιμηθέντων δεικτών περιβαλλοντικών συνδέσεων. Η εν λόγω σύγκριση στοχεύει στην ανάδειξη των πλεονεκτημάτων και μειονεκτημάτων του εκάστοτε δείκτη. Ως εκ τούτου, αναμένεται, να αποκαλυφθεί η δυναμική των δεικτών στη διερεύνηση των περιβαλλοντικών διακλαδικών σχέσεων της οικονομίας. Οι εκτιμηθέντες κλαδικοί δείκτες των περιβαλλοντικών συνδέσεων και διαρροών της παρούσας έρευνας αποτελούν τη βάση για τη διαμόρφωση ορθολογικότερων περιβαλλοντικών και ενεργειακών πολιτικών. Ειδικότερα, τα αποτελέσματα της συγκεκριμένης μελέτης δύνανται, μεταξύ άλλων, να χρησιμοποιηθούν για: (i) την εκτίμηση των επιδράσεων που ασκούν οι κλαδικές μεταβολές της τελικής ζήτησης ή/και της προστιθέμενης αξίας σε βασικά περιβαλλοντικά μεγέθη της οικονομίας, (ii) την εκτίμηση των επιπτώσεων στα περιβαλλοντικά μεγέθη της οικονομίας συνέπεια της υποκατάστασης των εισαγόμενων ενδιάμεσων εισροών με εγχώριες, και (iii) την αξιολόγηση εναλλακτικών επενδυτικών σχεδίων σχετικά με τις επιπτώσεις που αυτά επιφέρουν στη μεταβολή των περιβαλλοντικών μεγεθών της οικονομίας.
Recommendations for the formatting of Variant Call Format (VCF) files to make plant genotyping data FAIR
Authors: Beier Sebastian , Fiebig Anne , Pommier Cyril , Liyanage Isuru , Lange Matthias , Kersey Paul J. , Weise Stephan , Finkers Richard , Koylass Baron , Cezard Timothee , Courtot Mélanie , Contreras-Moreira Bruno , Naamati Guy , Dyer Sarah , Scholz Uwe
Published: May 2022

In this opinion article, we discuss the formatting of files from (plant) genotyping studies, in particular the formatting of metadata in Variant Call Format (VCF) files. The flexibility of the VCF format specification facilitates its use as a generic interchange format across domains but can lead to inconsistency between files in the presentation of metadata. To enable fully autonomous machine actionable data flow, generic elements need to be further specified.

We strongly support the merits of the FAIR principles and see the need to facilitate them also through technical implementation specifications. They form a basis for the proposed VCF extensions here. We have learned from the existing application of VCF that the definition of relevant metadata using controlled standards, vocabulary and the consistent use of cross-references via resolvable identifiers (machine-readable) are particularly necessary and propose their encoding.

VCF is an established standard for the exchange and publication of genotyping data. Other data formats are also used to capture variant data (for example, the HapMap and the gVCF formats), but none currently have the reach of VCF. For the sake of simplicity, we will only discuss VCF and our recommendations for its use, but these recommendations could also be applied to gVCF. However, the part of the VCF standard relating to metadata (as opposed to the actual variant calls) defines a syntactic format but no vocabulary, unique identifier or recommended content. In practice, often only sparse descriptive metadata is included. When descriptive metadata is provided, proprietary metadata fields are frequently added that have not been agreed upon within the community which may limit long-term and comprehensive interoperability. To address this, we propose recommendations for supplying and encoding metadata, focusing on use cases from plant sciences. We expect there to be overlap, but also divergence, with the needs of other domains.
Case Report: Bilateral peritonsillar abscess with complications of upper airway obstruction
Authors: Perdana Rizka Fathoni , Rosalina Elsa
Published: May 2022

Background: Peritonsillar abscess is a collection of pus between the tonsillar fibrous capsule and the pharyngeal constrictor muscle. Unilateral peritonsillar abscess is a common complication of acute tonsillitis, whereas bilateral peritonsillar abscess is rare. The incidence of bilateral peritonsillar abscess remains unknown but is estimated to be 4.9% of all peritonsillar abscess cases.

Case report: A 20-year-old man came to the emergency room with bilateral peritonsillar abscess and complaining of shortness of breath for two weeks. Physical examination showed muffled voice, 82% oxygen saturation, and inspiratory stridor. The isthmus faucium was narrow, with approximately 30% remaining. Peritonsillar puncture revealed pus mixed with blood. The treatment for this patient included bilateral peritonsillar incision and drainage and intravenous antibiotics of levofloxacin and metronidazole. The patient came to the Ear, Nose, Throat, Head, and Neck (ENTHN) Outpatient Unit eight days after the procedure for a control checkup and was in good condition.

Conclusion: We have reported a bilateral peritonsillar abscess with complications of upper airway obstruction, in which we performed incision and drainage. Prompt and appropriate management is needed to avoid unwanted morbidity and mortality.
Case Report: Vertebro-vertebral arteriovenous fistula showing symptoms mimicking ALS: Diagnostic imaging supports accurate differentiation between ALS and mimicking conditions
Authors: Kirikae Hinako , Harada Ryuhei , Hosaka Tatsuhiko , Misu Tatsuro , Ando Daisuke , Warita Hitoshi , Endo Toshiki , Sonobe Shinya , Niizuma Kuniyasu , Aoki Masashi
Published: May 2022

We report a rare case of a vertebro-vertebral arteriovenous fistula (VVAVF) manifesting as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). A 76-year-old female patient presented with progressive weakness, muscle atrophy, fasciculation, and preserved deep tendon reflexes in the right upper limb. Electrophysiological testing showed lower motor neuron dysfunction. The patient was suspected to have ALS, but cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed enlarged blood vessels in the spinal canal, which compressed the cervical spinal cord and nerve roots. Angiography showed a shunt from the right vertebral artery to the right intervertebral vein and the vertebral venous plexus; therefore, the patient was diagnosed with VVAVF. Transarterial embolization was performed to obliterate the shunt, and weakness in the patient’s right upper limb subsequently improved. It is worth considering VVAVF as a differential diagnosis of ALS-like diseases.
Evaluation of clinical, histology, TNF-α, and collagen expressions on oral ulcer in rats after treatment with areca nut and chrysanthemum oral gel
Authors: Meutia Sari Liza , Mubarak Zaki , Keumala Sari Dina
Published: May 2022

Background: Areca nut (Areca catechu Linn.) is the seed of the fruit of the oriental palm that is commonly used among Southeast Asian communities. Chrysanthemum (Dendrathema grandiflora) is a flowering plant originating from East Asia and dominantly grows in China. Both of these plants have strong antioxidant activities. To investigate the mechanism of their wound healing activities, we prepared areca nut and chrysanthemum polyethylene oral gel and performed several in vivo assays using Sprague–Dawley rats.

Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into five groups: Negative control group (rats with base gel treatment), positive control group (rats treated with triamcinolone acetonide), F1 (treatment with 20% areca nut:80% chrysanthemum), F2 (treatment with 50% areca nut:50% chrysanthemum), and F3 (treatment with 80% areca nut:20% chrysanthemum). Traumatic ulcers were performed on the buccal mucosa of all experimental animals that received topical oral gel and triamcinolone acetonide twice a day for seven days. The clinical and histological characteristics were analyzed and scored.

Results: During the six days, the ulcerated area receded linearly over time and was completely cicatrized in F2, F3, and positive control group (Dependent t-test, p<0.05). There were significant increases in body weight in F2 and positive control groups. There were no significant differences between groups in histology examination (Kruskal Wallis test, p<0.05). The moderate score of TNF-α levels was seen in F2 and positive control groups (ANOVA/Tukey test, p<0.05). In the collagenases assay, a high concentration of areca nut (F3) induced the abundance of collagen during the ulcer healing process.

Conclusions: The combination of areca nut and chrysanthemum extract in the oral gel can optimize the healing of traumatic oral ulcers in Sprague-Dawley rats through the increase of TNF-α and collagen deposition.
Post-pandemic e-learning: a pre-protocol to assess the impact of mobile VR on learner motivation and engagement for VARK learning styles
Authors: Manzoor Shahida Raihan , Mohd-Isa Wan-Noorshahida , Dollmat Khairi Shazwan
Published: May 2022

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an abrupt but accelerated shift to e-learning worldwide. Education in a post-pandemic world has to amalgamate the advantages of e-learning with important pedagogical goals associated with in-person teaching. Although various advanced technologies are present at our fingertips today, we are still unable to use their full potential in teaching and learning. In this regard, mobile VR technology is both cost-efficient, versatile and engaging for students. Developing countries have more smartphone users than developed countries, implying that developing countries, like Malaysia, should utilize mobile or cellphones more significantly. With that in mind, we propose here a pre-protocol to investigate learner motivation and levels of engagement for e-learning with smartphone-integrated VR, based on their VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic) learning styles.

Proposed methodology: This study intends to look into students from the same age group under the K-12 (particularly grade 9-12) belonging to STEM curriculum. The Google Cardboard VR set will be used as the prime technology for its affordability, easy build feature and variety of available vendors. A mixed-method (survey and activity log/tracking) for data collection is suggested to find the degree of engagement and motivation of the learners’ learning in the mobile VR-assisted e-learning context. The students will be taught a topic using the mobile VR and then be assessed through simple classroom quizzes to assess how well they grasped the concept. The data collected through activity logs (while teaching the topic in mobile VR) and questionnaires will be mapped to each individual learner and organized in a data repository. Further visualization, analysis and investigation will be performed using Smart PLS, Python or R language.

Conclusions: The study aims to provide context for smartphone and software companies to develop technologies that could facilitate learner motivation and engagement during the post-pandemic state.
ALL-IN meta-analysis: breathing life into living systematic reviews
Authors: ter Schure Judith , Grünwald Peter
Published: May 2022

Science is justly admired as a cumulative process (“standing on the shoulders of giants”), yet scientific knowledge is typically built on a patchwork of research contributions without much coordination. This lack of efficiency has specifically been addressed in clinical research by recommendations for living systematic reviews and against research waste. We propose to further those recommendations with ALL-IN meta-analysis: Anytime Live and Leading INterim meta-analysis. ALL-IN provides statistical methodology for a meta-analysis that can be updated at any time—reanalyzing after each new observation while retaining type-I error guarantees, live—no need to prespecify the looks, and leading—in the decisions on whether individual studies should be initiated, stopped or expanded, the meta-analysis can be the leading source of information. We illustrate the method for time-to-event data, showing how synthesizing data at interim stages of studies can increase efficiency when studies are slow in themselves to provide the necessary number of events for completion. The meta-analysis can be performed on interim data, but does not have to. The analysis design requires no information about the number of patients in trials or the number of trials eventually included. So it can breathe life into living systematic reviews, through better and simpler statistics, efficiency, collaboration and communication
Comparative transcriptional analysis of satellite glial cell injury response
Authors: Jager Sara Elgaard , Pallesen Lone Tjener , Lin Lin , Izzi Francesca , Pinheiro Alana Miranda , Villa-Hernandez Sara , Cesare Paolo , Vaegter Christian Bjerggaard , Denk Franziska
Published: May 2022

Background: Satellite glial cells (SGCs) tightly surround and support primary sensory neurons in the peripheral nervous system and are increasingly recognized for their involvement in the development of neuropathic pain following nerve injury. SGCs are difficult to investigate due to their flattened shape and tight physical connection to neurons in vivo and their rapid changes in phenotype and protein expression when cultured in vitro. Consequently, several aspects of SGC function under normal conditions as well as after a nerve injury remain to be explored. The recent advance in single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) technologies has enabled a new approach to investigate SGCs.

Methods: In this study we used scRNAseq to investigate SGCs from mice subjected to sciatic nerve injury. We used a meta-analysis approach to compare the injury response with that found in other published datasets.  Furthermore, we also used scRNAseq to investigate how cells from the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) change after 3 days in culture.

Results: From our meta-analysis of the injured conditions, we find that SGCs share a common signature of 18 regulated genes following sciatic nerve crush or sciatic nerve ligation, involving transcriptional regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis. We also observed a considerable transcriptional change when culturing SGCs, suggesting that some differentiate into a specialised in vitro state while others start resembling Schwann cell-like precursors.

Conclusion: By using integrated analyses of new and previously published scRNAseq datasets, this study provides a consensus view of which genes are most robustly changed in SGCs after injury. Our results are available via the Broad Institute Single Cell Portal, so that readers can explore and search for genes of interest.
ITÁLICA. REVISIÓN CRÍTICA DE CUATRO CASAS ROMANAS SIN VENTANAS
Authors: Trillo Martínez Valentín , Amores Carredano Fernando
Published: May 2022

Las casas de Itálica acompañan a las de Herculano y Pompeya como referencias obligadas de la arquitectura residencial romana en libros de historia. También en aquellos de arquitectura que las señalan como origen conceptual de las casas patio de las vanguardias. Investigaciones recientes sobre la casa del patio Rodio, ahora casa de Demetrio de los Ríos, y de la casa de la Cañada Honda, ofrecen nuevos datos que confirman y matizan una tipología muy particular y poco analizada. Usaremos para este análisis las cuatro casas romanas que cuentan con mayor información como conjunto; casa del Planetario, de los Pájaros, de Demetrio de los Ríos y de la Cañada Honda. Este escrito propone actualizar el conocimiento de la singularidad de estas residencias, y con ello analizar su vigencia como referencia de una arquitectura local útil y eficiente, realizada desde el conocimiento y uso de los recursos naturales del entorno y del comportamiento climático del lugar.
Uncommon Knowledge in Multiparty Auctions
Authors: Banks David , Guo Yi
Published: May 2022

The pure strategy Nash equilibrium (PSNE) solution to multiparty auctions makes the strong but unrealistic assumption that all participants share the same beliefs about the type distributions of the others, and that all know that this information is mutually known. This paper proposes two alternative analyses of such auction problems that do not make that presupposition. The first is based on a solution concept similar to the PSNE. The second is employs the level k thinking solution concept.
L'Omeka S com a alternativa per al desenvolupament de col·leccions digitals i projectes d'humanitats digitals
Authors: Alcaraz Martínez Rubén
Published: May 2022

Objectius: es presenta una descripció detallada de les principals característiques i funcionalitats de l'Omeka S, un sistema de gestió de continguts de programari lliure per a la creació de repositoris i biblioteques digitals, utilitzat àmpliament en projectes d'humanitats digitals d'índole diversa.
 Metodologia: l'anàlisi de les característiques de l'Omeka S s'ha realitzat a partir d'una revisió de la literatura publicada, la informació disponible en el lloc web i la documentació oficial de l'aplicació, i també mitjançant la seva instal·lació, ús i anàlisi. La descripció de l'aplicació es complementa amb una recopilació de diversos casos d'ús de caràcter internacional en l'àrea de les humanitats digitals que mostren la versatilitat de l'eina. Finalment, s'ofereix una comparativa amb cinc aplicacions més de programari lliure disponibles al mercat: Omeka Classic, CollectiveAccess, Mukurtu, ResearchSpace i Arches.
 Resultats: entre els principals punts forts de l'Omeka S, destaca la seva facilitat d'instal·lació, manteniment i ús, la seva arquitectura multilloc, la facilitat per integrar vocabularis del web semàntic com ontologies, la seva flexibilitat per crear plantilles de descripció per als objectes digitals, la llibertat en el disseny de les pàgines que formen la interfície pública, o la seva integració nativa amb altres sistemes de gestió de repositoris com DSpace o Fedora Commons, amb la qual cosa es pot implementar com a plataforma per a la gestió i publicació de recursos derivats del repositori, o com a capa d'accés públic als seus objectes digitals, respectivament. D'altra banda, la gestió d'un projecte amb l'Omeka S requereix un esforç inicial més gran derivat de la seva gran flexibilitat. Finalment, el sistema es mostra menys competent en l'accés a la base de dades, el qual no és possible de manera nativa per mitjà de consultes SPARQL.
Pastos, prados y garrigas: Espacios ganaderos de los dominios de los monasterios del condado de Urgel (800-1100).
Authors: MIRÓ TUSET Climent
Published: May 2022

En este artículo tratamos de categorizar y situar los diferentes espacios de pastos, prados y garrigas de los distintos monasterios del condado de Urgell (800-1100). En la primera parte definimos estos espacios y en la segunda analizamos su ubicación y tipología. En conjunto, su situación parece responder a cierta práctica de gestión del medio natural, sobre todo en el sector noroccidental del condado de Urgell y en los dominios de la Cerdanya del monasterio de Sant Sadurní de Tavèrnoles.

Palabras clave: ganadería, pastoreo, monaquismo, Urgell, territorio.
Inventariar para conservar: los inicios de la protección de monumentos en Cataluña.
Authors: BUSCATÓ I SOMOZA Lluís
Published: May 2022

La protección de los bienes inmuebles de valor patrimonial ha sido un proceso lento y lleno de contrariedades en España. Las primeras normativas protectoras, emitidas por las autoridades públicas poco después de iniciarse el proceso desamortizador de bienes del clero regular, quedaron rápidamente en papel mojado debido al absoluto desconocimiento de su número y valía. La redacción de unos inventarios mínimos se convirtió en una necesidad básica que el Estado, a pesar de las declaraciones públicas, no emprendió. No obstante, se realizaron algunos intentos iniciales para cubrir este vacío por parte de algunas entidades culturales; a pesar de su escasa repercusión. En este trabajo documentamos y publicamos uno de estos primeros intentos.  Concretamente, el emprendido en el año 1844 por la Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona, hasta ahora prácticamente desconocido.

Palabras clave: Historiografía, historia, monumento, antigüedades, patrimonio, desamortización
Underwater image enhancement based on color correction and complementary dual image multi-scale fusion
Authors: Lei Xiaoyan , Wang Huibin , Shen Jie , Liu Haiyun
Published: May 2022

Underwater images often suffer from color cast, poor contrast, and detail loss owing to the scattering and absorption of light in water. To solve these problems, we propose what we believe to be a novel underwater image enhancement method based on color correction and dual image multi-scale fusion. We first use the color correction method to solve the problem of color cast, and we compensate the other two-color channels with the highest mean value color channel; further, all the color channels are dynamically stretched. Next, a complementary dual image multi-scale fusion method is used to improve the contrast, pairs of complementary adaptive gamma correction with weighted distribution enhanced images are used as the two inputs of multi-scale fusion, and appropriate weight maps are selected. Then, a multi-scale detail-sharpening method is used to enhance the image details. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations prove that the proposed method can produce high-quality underwater images. Moreover, the proposed method has relatively high evaluator values compared to the state-of-the-art methods.
Nanostructured photosensitive layer for Tamm-plasmon-polariton-based organic solar cells
Authors: Bikbaev Rashid G. , Pykhtin Dmitrii A. , Vetrov Stepan Ya. , Timofeev Ivan V. , Shabanov Vasily F.
Published: May 2022

The influence of the volume fraction of plasmonic nanoparticles on the efficiency of the Tamm-plasmon-polariton-based organic solar cell is investigated in the framework of temporal coupled mode theory and confirmed by the transfer matrix method. It is shown that, unlike a conventional plasmonic solar cell, in which the efficiency is directly proportional to the volume fraction of nanoparticles in the photosensitive layer, the efficiency of the proposed solar cell reaches the highest value at low volume fractions. This effect is explained by the fact that at these volume fractions, the critical coupling condition of the incident field with the Tamm plasmon polariton is fulfilled. Thus, for the incoming radiation range of 350 to 500 nm, a maximal cell efficiency of 28% is achieved with a volume fraction of nanoparticles equal to 10%. Additionally, the optical properties of the photosensitive layer are compared for the cases of determining its complex refractive index by effective medium theory and the S-parameter retrieval method. A good agreement between the results is demonstrated, which encourages the use of the effective medium theory for preliminary calculations.
Benefits of counterpropagating Raman amplification for multiband optical networks
Authors: Souza André , Costa Nelson , Pedro João , Pires João
Published: May 2022

Multiband (MB) optical fiber transmission systems can unlock additional capacity in existing optical fiber infrastructures, enabling them to keep up with the increase in traffic demand while postponing costly optical fiber deployments. However, due to the worse transmission characteristics of MB systems than C-band-only transmission, the network’s overall spectral efficiency decreases when increasing the transmission bandwidth. The extent of this performance degradation is paramount to determining the commercial viability of deploying MB systems. By estimating the generalized signal-to-noise ratio using the GNPy library, this work analyzes the impact of using counterpropagating Raman amplification to improve the performance of an

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-band transmission system comprising a total bandwidth of 15.5 THz. Raman amplification is proposed to mitigate the worse system performance resulting from the stimulated Raman scattering effect and the worse noise figure of the S-band optical amplifier. We show that the optimized deployment of a counterpropagating Raman pump makes it possible not only to improve but also to equalize the network-wide optical performance of the

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-band transmission system, which potentially reduces the complexity of routing and wavelength assignment algorithms. The capacity, spectral efficiency, and number of feasible lightpaths of the

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-band system are compared with C- and

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-band systems with and without Raman amplification on two reference networks. Results show that the spectral efficiency of the

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-band system with Raman amplification is similar to the C-band-only system without Raman amplification. These results provide evidence that this strategy can be effectively used to compensate for the worse transmission characteristics of MB systems, the higher noise figure of the S-band optical amplifier, the SRS effect, and the additional losses from the band demultiplexer and coupler required at every amplification stage to separate the transmission bands. Overall, the simulation results highlight that a single optical fiber can approximately carry the same data when using a 15.5 THz transmission band (and Raman amplification) as three parallel fibers using C-band-only transmission (without Raman amplification).