bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Establishment and Validation of a Nomogram with Intratumoral Heterogeneity Derived from 18F-FDG PET/CT for Predicting Individual Conditional Risk of 5-Year Recurrence before Initial Treatment of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Authors: Gu Bingxin , Ma Guang , Song Shaoli , Shi Liqun , Zhang Yingjian , Zhang JianPing , Yang Zhongyi
Published: December 2019

Objectives

Intratumoral heterogeneity has an enormous effect on patient treatment and outcome. The purpose of the current study was to establish and validate a nomogram with intratumoral heterogeneity derived from 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for prognosis of 5-Year progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods

A total of 171 NPC patients who underwent pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT were retrospectively enrolled. Data was randomly divided into training cohort (n=101) and validation cohort (n=70). The clinicopathologic parameters and the following PET parameters were analyzed: maximum and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmax, SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and heterogeneity index (HI, SUVmax/SUVmean) for primary tumor and maximal neck lymph node. Cox analyses were performed on PFS in the training cohort. A prognostic nomogram based on this model was developed and validated.Results

For the primary tumor, MTV-2.5, TLG-2.5, MTV-70%, and TLG-70% were significantly correlated with PFS. For the maximal neck lymph node, short diameter and HI were significantly correlated with PFS. Among the clinicopathologic parameters, M stage was a significant prognostic factor for recurrence. In multivariate analysis, M stage (P=0.006), TLG-T-70% (P=0.002), and HI-N (P=0.018) were independent predictors. Based on this prognostic model, a nomogram was generated. The C-index of this model was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63-0.85). For the cross validation, the C-index for the model was 0.73 (95% CI: 0.62-0.83) with the validation cohort. Patients with a risk score of ≥111 had poorer survival outcomes than those with a risk score of 0-76 and 77-110.Conclusions

Intratumoral heterogeneity derived from 18F-FDG PET/CT could predict long-term outcome in patients with primary NPC. A combination of PET parameters and the TNM stage enables better stratification of patients into subgroups with different PFS rates.
Nasogastric tube feeding versus assisted hand feeding in-home healthcare older adults with severe dementia in Taiwan: a prognosis comparison
Authors: Chou Hsiao-Hui , Tsou Meng-Ting , Hwang Lee-Ching
Published: December 2019

Backgrounds:
All individuals with severe dementia should be offered careful hand feeding. However, under certain circumstances, people with severe dementia have a feeding tube placed. In Taiwan, tube feeding rate in demented elderly home care residents is increasing；however, the benefits of tube feeding in this population remain unknown. We compared the clinical prognosis and mortality of elderly patients with severe dementia receiving nasogastric tube feeding (NGF) or assisted hand feeding (AHF).

Methods:
This retrospective longitudinal study enrolled 169 participants over 60 years of age in the setting of in-home healthcare between January 1 and December 31, 2017. All subjects with documented severe dementia and complete functional dependence suffered from difficulty in oral intake and required either AHF or NGF. Data were collected from both groups to analyze pneumonia, hospitalization, and mortality rates.

Results:
A total of 169 subjects (56 males and 113 females, aged 85.9 ± 7.5 years) were analyzed. Of note, 39 required AHF and 130 NGF. All subjects were in a bedridden status；129 (76.3%) showed Barthel index < 10. Pneumonia risk was higher in the NGF group (47.7%) than in the AHF group (25.6%, p = 0.015). After adjusting for multiple factors in the regression model, the risk of pneumonia showed no significant difference in both groups (aOR = 2.20, 95% CI 0.92–5.30). One-year mortality rates in the AHF and NGF groups were 7.7% and 14.6%, respectively, and no significant difference was observed after adjustment with logistic regression (aOR = 2.38, 95% CI 0.58–9.70). There were no significant differences in hospitalization rate and duration.

Conclusions:
For elderly patients with dementia requiring in-home healthcare, NGF is not associated with a significantly lower risk of pneumonia than AHF. Additionally, neither mortality nor hospitalization rates decreased with NGF. However, aORs with the trend of increasing risk of in the NGF group were observed in measured outcomes. Therefore, the benefits of NGF are debatable in elderly patients with severe dementia requiring in-home healthcare. Continued careful hand feeding could be an alternative to NG feeding in patients with severe dementia. Furthermore, large-scale studies on home healthcare would be required to support these results.
Well-being in high-risk pregnancy: an integrative review
Authors: mirzakhani kobra , Ebadi Abbas , Faridhosseini Farhad , Khadivzadeh Talaat
Published: December 2019

Background: A prerequisite to the interventions for well-being improvement in high-risk pregnancy (HRP) is to make the concept clear, objective, and measurable. Despite the wealth of studies into the concept of well-being in high-risk pregnancy, there is no clear definition for it. This study aimed to explore the concept of well-being in high-risk pregnancy.
Methods: This integrative review was conducted using the Whittemore and Knafl’s approach. A literature search was done without any data limitation in dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, well-being-related textbooks, midwifery, psychology, and mental health journals, and Iranian and international databases. The most primary inclusion criterion was relevance well-being in high-risk pregnancy. The full-texts of all articles were assessed using the checklists of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Data were analyzed through the constant comparison method and were managed using the MAXQDA 10 software. Meaning units were identified and coded. The codes were grouped into subcategories and categories according to the attributes, antecedents, and consequences of well-being in high-risk pregnancy.
Results: Thirty articles were included in the review, from which 540 codes were extracted. The codes were grouped into seven main attributes, eight main antecedents, and five main consequences of well-being in HRP. Findings showed that the four dimensions of well-being in high-risk pregnancy concept were physical, mental-emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.
Conclusion: As a complex and multidimensional concept, well-being in high-risk pregnancy refers to the pregnant woman’s evaluation of her life during high-risk pregnancy. It includes physical, hedonic, and eudaimonic components. The assessment of well-being in HRP should include all these components.
Keywords: Well-being, Pregnancy, High-risk pregnancy
Rapid direct identification of positive paediatric blood cultures by MALDI-TOF MS technology and its clinical impact in the paediatric hospital setting.
Authors: Samaranayake Waniganeththi Arachchige Manori Piyumal , Dempsey Suzanne , Howard-Jones Annaleise R , Outhred Alexander Conrad , Kesson Alison Margaret
Published: December 2019

Objective: Rapid diagnostic tools are imperative for timely clinical decision making, particularly in bacteraemic patients. This study evaluated the performance of a fast, inexpensive novel in house method for processing positive blood cultures for immediate identification of microorganisms by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (Vitek MS bioMérieux). We prospectively analyzed the clinical impact of such method on the management of pediatric patients.
Result: In total, 360 positive blood cultures were included. Among 318 mono-microbial cultures, in-house method achieved correct identification in 270 (85%) cultures to the species level, whilst 43 (13.5%) gave no identification, and 7 (2.2%) gave discordant identifications. Identification of Gram-negative organisms was accurate to both species and genus level in 99% of isolates, and for Gram positives accuracy was 84% to genus and 81% to species level overall, with accuracy of 100% for Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus to the species level. Assessment of the potential impact of direct identification in sixty sequential cases revealed a clear clinical benefit in 35.5% of cases. Benefits included timely antibiotic rationalization, change of medical intervention, and early confirmation of contamination. This study demonstrates a highly accurate in-house method with considerable potential clinical benefits for paediatric care.
The diagonal branches and outcomes in patients with anterior ST- elevation myocardial infarction
Authors: Zhang Shuning , Deng Xin , Yang Wenlong , Xia Liping , Yao Kang , Lu Hao , Ge Lei , Li Shen , Sun Aijun , Zou Yunzeng , Qian Juying , Ge Junbo
Published: December 2019

Background: To detect the impact of loss of main diagonal branch (D) flow on cardiac function and clinical outcomes in patients with anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods: Patients with anterior STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)at our clinic between October 2015 and October 2018were reviewed. Anterior STEMI due to left anterior descending artery (LAD) occlusion with or without loss of the main D flow (TIMI grade 0-1 or 2-3) was enrolled in the analysis. The short- and long-term incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs, a composite of all-cause death, target vessel revascularization and reinfarction) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were analyzed.Results: A total of 392 patients (mean age of 63.9years) with anterior STEMI treated with primary PCI was enrolled in the study. They were divided into two groups, loss (TIMI grade 0-1, n=69) and no loss (TIMI grade2-3, n=323) of D flow, before primary PCI. Compared with the group without loss of D flow, the group with loss of D flow showed a lower LVEF post PCI (41.0% vs. 48.8%, p=0.003). Meanwhile, loss of D flow resulted in the higher in-hospital, one-month, and 18-month incidence of MACEs, especially in all-cause mortality (all p<0.05). Landmark analysis further indicated that the significant differences in 18-month outcomes between the two groups mainly resulted from the differences during the hospitalization. In addition, multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis found that D flow loss before primary PCI was independent factor predicting short- and long-term outcomes in patients with anterior STEMI.Conclusion: Loss of the main D flow in anterior STEMI patients was independently associated with the higher in-hospital incidences of MACEs and all-cause death as well as the lower LVEF.
PSEN1, but not PSEN2, mutation in familial form of Alzheimer’s disease is associated with impaired barrier phenotype in a stem cell-based model of the blood-barrier
Authors: Patel Ronak , Raut Snehal , Al-Ahmad Abraham
Published: December 2019

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of neurodegenerative disease. It is an irreversible condition marked by irreversible cognitive loss, commonly attributed by the loss of hippocampal neurons due to the formation of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Although the sporadic form is the most prevalent, the presence of familial form (involving several genes such as APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2) of the disease is commonly used as a model for understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of mutation on PSEN1 and PSEN2 genes on the BBB function using induced pluripotent stem cells. Methods: iPSC lines from patients harboring mutations in PSEN1 or PSEN2 were used in this study and compared to a control iPSC line. Cells were differentiated into BMECs following existing protocols. Barrier function was assessed by measuring TEER and fluorescein permeability, drug transporters activity was assessed by uptake assay, glucose uptake and metabolism assessed by cell flux analyzer, mitochondrial potential by JC-1 and lysosomal acidification by acridine orange. Results: PSEN1-BMECs, but not PSEN2-BMECs, showed impaired barrier function compared to control group. Such impaired barrier function correlated with poor tight junction complexes and reduced drug efflux pump activity. In addition, both PSEN1 and PSEN2 displayed reduced glucose uptake and glycolysis, as well as impaired mitochondrial membrane potential and lysosomal acidification. Conclusion: Our study reports evidence that PSEN1 and PSEN2 mutations, two genes commonly associated with familial form of Alzheimer’s disease, can impair the development and the maintenance of the BBB, both by an impairment of the barrier function, vesicle trafficking and bioenergetics. Therefore, assessing the contribution of genetic mutations associated with Alzheimer’s disease will allow us to better understand the contribution of the BBB in dementia, but also in other neurodegenerative diseases.
Probiotic Effects on Sperm Parameters, Oxidative Stress index, Inflammatory Factors and Sex Hormones in Infertile Men
Authors: Helli Bijan , Kavianpour Maria , Ghaedi Ehsan , Dadfar Mohammadreza , haghighian Hossein Khadem
Published: December 2019

Background: Impaired sperm production, decreased sperm motility, and increased oxidative stress levels are the main causes of male infertility. To evaluate effects of supplementation with probiotic on the spermatogram, seminal oxidative stress biomarkers, inflammatory factors and reproductive hormones.Methods: In this randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial, 52 idiopathic asthenozoospermia men, attending urology clinic, were randomly assigned to one of intervention and placebo (n =26) groups. Participants in the intervention group took daily 500 mg Probiotic and those in the placebo group took daily placebo for 10 wk. Semen parameters, total antioxidant capacity, malondialdehyde, inflammatory factors, reproductive hormones, anthropometric and physical activity assessments were measured at the baseline and at the end of the study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software.Results: Out of 52 who participated in this study, 25 men in the intervention group and 25 men in the control group completed the protocol of the study. After the intervention, ejaculate volume, number, concentration and the percentage of motile sperm, total antioxidant capacity of plasma significantly increased in the intervention group and the concentration of plasma malondialdehyde and inflammatory markers significantly decreased in the intervention group.Conclusion: Probiotic supplementation in infertile men, leading to significant increase in concentration and motility and significant reduce in oxidative stress and inflammatory markers. Possibly oral intake of probiotic has the potential to be one of the ways to deal with oxidative damage sperm of infertile men.
Short-chain fatty acid-Butyrate ameliorates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rat
Authors: He Shixin , Zhu Tengteng , Zhu Zhaowei , Huang Yiyuan , Tai Shi , Tang Liang , Fang Zhenfei
Published: December 2019

Background: Gut Microbiome can produce numerous metabolites which may be absorbed into the circulation and play a critical role in the development of diseases. Our study wants to find out the roles of faecal microbiota and its metabolite in the development of pulmonary hypertension. Methods: SD rats were expose to either normoxia (Control, n=8) or chronic hypoxia (10% O2) (n=16). Rats in chronic hypoxia were randomly received sodium butyrate (500 mg/kg) (n=8) or volume-matched saline (n=8) once a day. Rats in normoxia condition also received volume-matched saline once a day. RVSP and lung vascular features were assessed after 3 week’s treatment. Rats’ fecal samples were collected and analyzed by GCMS and 6S/18S Amplicon Sequencing. Activation of HIF-1α, HMGB2, TLR4, TNF-α, HDAC5 and PCNA was assessed using Western blot analysis. The effect of sodium butyrate on proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell, induced by PDGF or hypoxia (1% O2), was evaluated by CCK-8, EDU assay and wound healing assay. Results: Hypoxia significantly increased RVSP and induced a significant decrease in butyrate-producing bacteria, but a slight decrease of SCFAs without statistic difference. Administration of sodium butyrate remarkably attenuated the RVSP and improved lung vascular features. Decreased expression of HDAC5, PCNA, HIF-1α, HMGB2, TLR4, TNF-α and inhibited proliferation of PASMC were found in rats or cells with sodium butyrate. Conclusions: Decreased butyrate-producing bacteria may contribute to the development of PH, and sodium butyrate supplement can effectively attenuate hypoxia-induced PH in rats probably by inhibiting the proliferation and migration of PASMC.
Transcriptional profiling reveals molecular basis and the role of arginine in response to low-pH stress in Pichia kudriavzevii
Authors: Ji Hao , Dong Xiameng , Zhang Kailun , Jin Libo , Peng Renyi , Lin sue , Sun Da , Xu Ke
Published: December 2019

BackgroundThe non-conventional yeast Pichia kudriavzevii possesses a unique ability to tolerate various environmental stresses particularly low-pH stress. Thus, it is considered to be a promising biotechnological host for the production of various organic acids under low-pH conditions. However, little is known about the low-pH stress response in P. kudriavzevii, which significantly restricts its future development. ResultsIn this study, P. kudriavzevii JLY1107 showed great tolerance to low-pH stress, but its cell aggregation upon acidic conditions is unfavorable for the development of low-pH fermentation. To explore the molecular basis, we conducted RNA-Seq to compare global gene expression in response to low-pH. Among the 429 differentially expressed genes, the genes associated with regulation of membrane lipid composition, filamentous growth and arginine metabolism were selected for in-depth discussions. The up-regulation of genes associated with arginine uptake and degradation suggests a potential role of arginine in response to low-pH strsss. We therefore present data supporting the hypothesis that P. kudriavzevii maintains intracellular homeostasis by using the ammonia produced by arginine catabolism. Furthermore, external addition of arginine significantly enhances growth and reduces cell aggregation of P. kudriavzevii under low-pH conditions.ConclusionsArginine was demonstrated to be a promising molecule for improving cell growth and preventing cell aggregation under extremely low-pH conditions. Our study is a step towards developing the non-conventional yeast P. kudriavzevii as a platform host for the production of organic acids under low-pH conditions.
NT-4 attenuates neuroinflammation via TrkB/PI3K/FoxO1 pathway after germinal matrix hemorrhage in neonatal rats
Authors: Wang Tianyi , Zhang Junyi , Li Peng , Ding Yan , Tang Jiping , Chen Gang , Zhang John
Published: December 2019

Background: Neuroinflammation plays an important role in pathogenesis of germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH). Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) is a member of the neurotrophin family, and it interacts with the tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) receptor. It has been studied that NT-4 has neuroprotective effects following cerebral ischemia. We aimed to investigate the neuroprotective function of NT-4 and it’s high affinity receptor TrkB as well as its downstream mediator phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/Forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1) following GMH in neonatal rats, with a specific focus on inflammation. Methods: GMH was induced by intraparenchymal injection of bacterial collagenase (0.3U) in P7 rat pups. A total of 163 seven-day-old pups were used in this study. The recombinant human NT-4 was administered intranasally at 1 hour after the collagenase injection. The selective TrkB antagonist ANA-12, selective PI3K inhibitor LY294002 and FoxO1 activating CRISPR were administered intracerebroventricularly at 24 hours prior to NT-4 treatment to investigate the potential mechanism. Short-and-long-term neurobehavior assessments, immunofluorescence staining, Nissl’s staining and Western blot were performed. Results：The expression of p-TrkB increased after GMH with a peak at day3. The TrkB receptor was expressed by neurons, microglia, and astrocytes. The administration of rh-NT-4 increased phosphorylation of TrkB, expression of PI3K, phosphorylation of Akt and decreased FoxO1, IL-1beta and IL-6 levels. Selective inhibition of TrkB/PI3K/Akt signaling in microglia increased the expression levels of FoxO1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The use of FoxO1 activation CRISPR increased the expression of IL-6, suggesting that FoxO1 might potentially induce pro-inflammatory factors. These results demonstrated that PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 may be the downstream pathway of TrkB phosphorylation. The rat pups treated with rh-NT-4 performed better than untreated animals both in short-and-long-term behavior test. Conclusion：These data showed that rh-NT-4 can reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, improve neurological function, attenuate neuroinflammation and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus after GMH by promoting TrkB/PI3K/Akt/FoxO1 pathway. These results indicated that rh-NT-4 could be a promising therapeutic target to ameliorate neuroinflammation and hydrocephalus after GMH or other similar brain injuries.
The Role of Complement Immune Response on Artemisinin Combination Therapy in a Population from Malaria Endemic Region of Western Kenya
Authors: Wanjala Christine , Bergmann-Leitner Elke , Akala Hoseah M , Odhiambo Geoffrey , Ogutu Bernhards R , Andagalu Ben , Kamau Edwin , Ochiel Daniel
Published: December 2019

BACKGROUND: Naturally acquired immunity which is characterized by protection against overt clinical disease and high parasitemia is acquired with age and transmission intensity. The role of naturally acquired immunity on the efficacy of antimalarial drugs including artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), the first-line treatments for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum has been demonstrated. This study investigated the role of naturally acquired immunity in the response to malaria ACT drug treatment in symptomatic patients living in a malaria high-transmission area of Western Kenya.METHODS: This study used samples obtained from a therapeutic efficacy study conducted in western Kenya, an areas of high transmission which assessed ACTs. Sera samples from malaria immune (n = 105) and naïve participants (n = 6) were assessed for in vitro growth inhibitory activity against 3D7 P. falciparum using a fluorescent-based Growth Inhibition Assay (GIA). Participants’ age and parasite clearance parameters were used in the analysis.RESULTS: The key observations of the study are: (1) Sera with intact complement displayed higher GIA activity at lower serum dilutions; (2) there was significant relationship between GIA activity, parasite clearance rate, and slope half-life; (3) Age was a confounding factor when comparing the GIA activity with parasite clearance kinetics.CONCLUSION: Taken together, this study demonstrates for the first time there is synergy of complement, pre-existing immunity, and drug treatment in younger patients with symptomatic malaria in a high-transmission area.
Characterisation of proliferation, differentiation potential, and gene expression among clonal cultures of human dental pulp cells
Authors: Kobayashi Tomoko , Torii Daisuke , Iwata Takanori , Izumi Yuichi , Nasu Masanori , Tsutsui Takeo W.
Published: December 2019

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells are a highly promising source of cells for regeneration therapy because of their multilineage differentiation potential. However, distinct markers for mesenchymal stem cells are not well-established. To identify new candidate marker genes for multipotent human dental pulp stem cells, we analysed the characteristics and gene expression profiles of cell clones obtained from a single dental pulp specimen.Results: Fifty colony-forming single cell-derived clones were isolated from a single dental pulp specimen. These clones varied in their proliferation abilities and surface marker (STRO-1 and CD146) expression patterns, as well as their odontogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation potentials. Four clones maintained their original differentiation potentials during long-term culture. Gene expression profile analysis of five representative clones identified 1227 genes that were related to multipotency. Ninety of these 1227 genes overlapped with genes reportedly involved in ‘stemness or differentiation’. Based on the predicted locations of expressed protein products and large changes in expression levels, 14 of the 90 genes were selected as candidate dental pulp stem cell markers, particularly in relation to their multipotency characteristics.Conclusions: This characterisation of cell clones obtained from a single specimen of human dental pulp provided information regarding new candidate marker genes for multipotent dental pulp stem cells, which could facilitate efficient analysis or enrichment of multipotent stem cells.
Assessment of the ptxD gene as a growth and selective marker in Trichoderma atroviride using Pccg6, a novel constitutive promoter
Authors: Carreras-Villaseñor Nohemi , Rico-Ruiz Guillermo , Lopez-Hernandez Jose Fabricio , Martinez-Hernandez Pedro , Herrera-Estrella Luis , Herrera-Estrella Alfredo , López-Arredondo Damar
Published: December 2019

BackgroundTrichoderma species are among the most effective cell factories to produce recombinant proteins, whose productivity relies on the molecular toolkit and promoters available for the expression of the target protein. Although inducible promoter systems have been developed for producing recombinant proteins in Trichoderma, constitutive promoters are often a desirable alternative. Constitutive promoters are simple to use, do not require external stimuli or chemical inducers to be activated, and lead to purer enzyme preparations. Moreover, most of the promoters for homologous and heterologous expression reported in Trichoderma have been commonly evaluated by directly assessing production of industrial enzymes, requiring optimization of laborious protocols.ResultsHere we report the identification of Pccg6, a novel Trichoderma atroviride constitutive promoter, that has similar transcriptional strength as that of the commonly used pki1 promoter. Pccg6 displayed conserved arrangements of transcription factor binding sites between promoter sequences of Trichoderma ccg6 orthologues genes, potentially involved in their regulatory properties. The predicted ccg6-encoded protein potentially belongs to the SPE1/SPI1 protein family and shares high identity with CCG6 orthologue sequences from other fungal species including Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma virens, Trichoderma asperellum, and lo a lesser extent to that of Neurosposa crassa. We also report the use of the Pccg6 promoter to drive the expression of PTXD, a phosphite oxidoreductase of bacterial origin, which allowed T. atroviride to utilize phosphite as a sole source of phosphorus. We propose ptxD as a growth reporter gene that allows real-time comparison of the functionality of different promoters by monitoring growth of Trichoderma transgenic lines and enzymatic activity of PTXD. Finally, we show that constitutive expression of ptxD provided T. atroviride a competitive advantage to outgrow bacterial contaminants when supplied with phosphite as a sole source of phosphorus.ConclusionsA new constitutive promoter, ccg6, for expression of homologous and heterologous proteins has been identified and tested in T. atroviride by expressing PTXD, which resulted in an effective and visible phenotype to evaluate transcriptional activity of sequence promoters. Use of PTXD as a growth marker holds great potential for assessing activity of other promoters and for biotechnological applications as a contamination control system.
Being A Caregiver In Home Care: Choosing Between The Duty And The Moral Desire Of Taking Care
Authors: Silva Yara Cardoso , Silva Kênia Lara
Published: December 2019

Background: to analyze the process of development of the caregiver in a home care program, focusing on the attributes, feeling and needs of those individuals. Methods: regarding our method, we made use of a qualitative research, which has been carried out at the Home Care Service of Belo Horizonte. The data has been collected through interviews performed with all the 7 caregivers and 6 healthcare practitioners. All the info has been analyzed under the scope of the the discourse analysis research method. Results: the caregiver acts with his/her heart, he/she listens and looks very carefully and attentively. Care is characterized by an intense and permanent process of conflict between the duty due to the assingned functions and the moral desisre of taking care of other human beings. Those two dimensions can be expressed sometimes by affection, gratitude and solidarity, but, in other times, it is guided by duty, resulting in work overload and concerns that make the caregiver unique in his/her moral condition. Conclusion: the person in charge of being a caregiver finds himself/herself surrounded by feelings and responsibilities, in a heavy load of relationships that are shaped by the subjective and subjectfying experiences, which makes critical the implementation of supportive social networks to aid the caregivers. keywords: Caregiver; Home Care Services; Home Care.
Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae-derived lipid-associated membrane proteins induce cytokine secretion in mouse peritoneal macrophages through TLR2 signalling
Authors: Bai Fan , Wu Jindi , Liu Bo , Wang Xiaohui , Shi Xiaona , Lv Tianxing , Wang Yanfang , Hao Yongqing
Published: December 2019

Background: Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi) is the causal pathogen of chronic non-progressive pneumonia infections in sheep, goats, bighorn, and wild small ruminants. However, the mechanism of infection and immune response to M. ovi remain unclear. Invading microbes express lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) on the cell surface that interact with host cells to facilitate infection, and are thus the major molecules recognised by the host immune system. Upon LAMP recognition, Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and NLRP3 inflammasome sense the pathogens and signalling pathways for cytokine secretion. In this study, we investigated whether M. ovi and M. ovi-derived LAMPs are immunobiologically active compounds capable of activating mouse peritoneal macrophages and explored the underlying mechanism. Results: After infection of wild-type mice with M. ovi, the expression of TLR2 and NLRP3 at the transcription and translational levels was determined with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry. In addition, the cytokine levels and associated pathways were detected in infected wild-type, Tlr2-/-, and Nlrp3-/- mice via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assaying and western blotting. The nuclear factor (NF)-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways were found to mediate the expression of inflammatory cytokines in M. ovi or M. ovi-derived LAMPs-infected peritoneal macrophages, and cytokines were not induced in Tlr2-/- and/or Nlrp3-/- macrophages. Conclusion: Host cytokine production is activated in response to M. ovi-derived LAMPs through the NF-κB and MAPK signalling pathway via TLR2.
Two novel protein chips for the detection of antibodies against porcine parvovirus
Authors: Wu Yue , Wu Xudan , Hou Jinxiu , Chen Xiongnan , Huang Xiaobo , Zhou Bin
Published: December 2019

Background: PPV is one of the most important pathogens causing porcine reproductive disorder. It has been shown in clinical cases to be a commonly mixed infection with other important swine diseases which can aggravate the severity of the disease and bring serious economic losses to the pig industry. Serological methods, such as hemagglutination inhibition assays (HAI), serum neutralization (SN), and the modified direct complement-fixation (MDCF) test were utilized earlier, whereas the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most frequently applied assay to detect PPV-specific antibodies Results: We establish the visible protein chip and the cyanine dye 3 (Cy3)-labeled protein chip to detect the clinical serum from pigs. In this study, the recombinant protein VP2 of PPV was expressed in E.coli, purified with nickel magnetic beads, and then printed onto epoxy-coated glass slides for preparation of the protein chip. After a series of experiments, the conditions of antigen protein concentration, incubation time of primary antibody or secondary antibody, and optimal serum dilution fold were optimized, resulting in a successful visible protein chip and Cy3-labeled protein chip. The results showed that the positive serum, diluted up to 6000-fold, can be detected by the visible protein chip, and the positive serum, diluted up to 12,800-fold, can be detected by the Cy3-labeled protein chip, suggesting the high sensitivity of these protein chips. Moreover, the positive detection ratio, sensitivity, and specificity of these two kinds of protein chips were higher than those of commercial ELISA antibody detection kits.Conclusion: Overall, these two protein chips can be used to rapidly diagnose clinical samples with high throughput. Key words: Protein chip; Porcine parvovirus (PPV); Antibody detection; Clinical serum
Does obesity affect cognitive functions in middle-aged adulthood? A comparative study in Sri Lanka
Authors: Ariyasinghe Pushpika , Kumara Ruwan , Alexander Daham , Senarathna Harsha , Kasthuri Sunethra , Galgamuwa Lahiru Sandaruwan , Karunathilaka Nimantha , Warnakulasuriya Sudath
Published: December 2019

Background Cognition is the collection of an intellectual process, such as perception, thinking, reasoning and remembering for goal-directed behaviors. Recent studies have shown that obesity associated with poor cognitive functions (CFs). However, this association is not known in the Sri Lankan context. The objective was to determine the association of cognitive function and obesity among middle-aged adults in Colombo district, Sri LankaMethods A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 166 middle-aged adults aged 50-60 years in a selected MOH division in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Generalized and central obesity were determined using the WHO cutoff of Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) values. CFs were assessed using validated Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) tools.Results The study sample consisted 83 subjects of each obese and normal weight categories while 50% were females. Obese middle-aged adults showed significantly lower CF scores in both MoCA and MMSE compared to the normal-weight adults. In addition, lower MMSE scores were significantly associated with high WHR values. Education level of the obese people was a significant predictor of the cognitive functions.Conclusion Obese middle-aged adults had poor cognition compared with their normal-weight subjects. Therefore, remedial actions need to be taken to overcome adulthood obesity for better neuropsychological functions in the brain.
A Comparison of Shisha Smoking among University students in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey
Authors: Hawash Mohammed , Mosleh Rami , Hanani Ahmad , Jarar Yazun , Hajyousef Yousef
Published: December 2019

Background: Smoking is one of the main causes that is related to lung cancer. It was estimated that tobacco smoking may kill 10 million people annually in the next 20–30 years, and Shisha smoking was very common habit worldwide during the last 20 years, especially in the Middle East. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of shisha smoking and make a comparison between three different countries in the Middle East, and establishing factors associated with shisha smoking among students in universities in Palestine, Jordan and Turkey. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was carried out among university students from 3 different Middle East countries; Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey. A total of 812 students were selected for the study. They were asked to answer an online structured questionnaire consisted of questions concerning prevalence and patterns of Shisha smoking, and associated factors. Data was analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Results: The overall prevalence of Shisha smoking was 31.77%. Less than quarter of university students (21.67%) had smoked shisha before. The highest percentage of current Shisha smokers were Palestinians (36.11%), and lowest percentage was from Turkey (20.23%). Approximately 43% of Shisha smokers believe that they will be addicted to Shisha smoking and almost half of them smoke Shisha daily. Approximately, 66% of Jordanian students’ current Shisha smokers were smoking shisha at least once daily while the 44% of Turkish students’ current shisha smokers were smoking shisha once monthly. The highest percentage of Shisha smokers were university students aged 25 years old and above. However, highest percentages of university students who are Shisha smokers were low monthly income’s students. The university students living with their families were smoking Shisha less frequently than students’ living in private residencies. Conclusions: There was a high prevalence of Shisha smoking among university students. The highest percentage of university students smoking Shisha were Palestinians. High percentage of smokers between the students believes that they will be addicted to Shisha smoking. The majority of current Shisha smokers was smoking Shisha daily; especially in Jordan and followed by Palestine. The monthly income was affecting the prevalence of Shisha smoking.
Evaluation of gastric polyps in patients with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
Authors: Zheng Lie , Wen Xinli , Dai Yan-Cheng , QianTu Xiao-Xiao , He Hai-Feng , Zhang Ya-Li
Published: December 2019

BACKGROUNDAccording to the study population, incidence of gastric polyps (GP) varies from 0.33% to 6.7% in various studies. Most GPs consist of proliferative polyps (HP), gastric fundus polyps (FGP) and adenomatous polyps (APs). Despite the high malignant AP potential, sporadic FGP has no malignant potential. On the contrary, HP has a lower risk of potential harm. It is not sufficient to perform biopsies to determine the presence of polyp types and displacements, therefore, some polyps may require extensive biopsy or complete resection. METHODS This retrospective study included GP patients or polyphenic lesions with polyps or malignant histology found in polyps or gastroscopy at the Department of Gastroenterology, Shaanxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 2017 to 2019.RESULTSIn a series of 10.000 upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, 384 patients (0.38%) were found to have GPs. Of these patients, 98 (25.5) were male and 286(74.5) were female. The average age of the patients was 62.8 ± 10.4 (36-75) years. HP, AP and FGP frequencies were 88.5%, 5.2% and 2.1%, respectively. The polyp size of 274 (71.3%) patients was ≤ 1 cm. Polyp was identified in 262 (68.2%) patients. The most common polyps are the antrum and the corpus. Endoscopic respiratory polypectomy was performed on 128 patients. Bleeding events have been observed and endoscopic treatment is required after ESP.CONCLUSIONIn current study, GP frequency was low (0.38%), and HP frequency may be high due to high frequency of Helicobacter pylori (HPy) infection in China. Due to the high frequency of HPy infection and the short-term use of proton pump use, FGP frequency may be low.
VIBRANT: Automated recovery, annotation and curation of microbial viruses, and evaluation of virome function from genomic sequences
Authors: Kieft Kristopher , Zhou Zhichao , Anantharaman Karthik
Published: December 2019

Background Viruses are central to microbial community structure in all environments. The ability to generate large metagenomic assemblies of mixed microbial and viral sequences provides the opportunity to tease apart complex microbiome dynamics, but these analyses are currently limited by the tools available for analyses of viral genomes and assessing their metabolic impacts on microbiomes. Design Here we present VIBRANT, the first method to utilize a hybrid machine learning and protein similarity approach that is not reliant on sequence features for automated recovery and annotation of viruses, determination of genome quality and completeness, and characterization of virome function from metagenomic assemblies. VIBRANT uses neural networks of protein signatures and a novel v-score metric that circumvents traditional boundaries to maximize identification of lytic viral genomes and integrated proviruses, including highly diverse viruses. VIBRANT highlights viral auxiliary metabolic genes and metabolic pathways, thereby serving as a user-friendly platform for evaluating virome function. VIBRANT was trained and validated on reference virus datasets as well as microbiome and virome data. Results VIBRANT showed superior performance in recovering higher quality viruses and concurrently reduced the false identification of non-viral genome fragments in comparison to other virus identification programs, specifically VirSorter and VirFinder. When applied to 120,834 metagenomically derived viral sequences representing several human and natural environments, VIBRANT recovered an average of 94.5% of the viruses, whereas VirFinder and VirSorter achieved less powerful performance, averaging 48.1% and 56.0%, respectively. Similarly, VIBRANT identified more total viral sequence and proteins when applied to real metagenomes. When compared to PHASTER and Prophage Hunter for the ability to extract integrated provirus regions from host scaffolds, VIBRANT performed comparably and even identified proviruses that the other programs did not. To demonstrate applications of VIBRANT, we studied viromes associated with Crohn’s Disease to show that specific viral groups, namely Enterobacteriales-like viruses, as well as putative dysbiosis associated viral proteins are more abundant compared to healthy individuals, providing a possible viral link to maintenance of diseased states. Conclusions The ability to accurately recover viruses and explore viral impacts on microbial community metabolism will greatly advance our understanding of microbiomes, host-microbe interactions and ecosystem dynamics.
Health Facility Capacity to Provide Postabortion Care in Afghanistan: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Maruf Farzana , Tappis Hannah , Lu Enriquito , Yaqubi Ghutai Sadeq , Stekelenburg Jelle , Akker Thomas van den
Published: December 2019

Background: Afghanistan has one of the highest burdens of maternal mortality in the world, estimated at 638 deaths per 100,000 live births, Infections, obstetric hemorrhage, and unsafe abortion are the three leading causes. Contraceptive prevalence rate has fluctuated between 10–20% since 2006. The 2016 Afghanistan National Maternal and Newborn Health Quality of Care Assessment evaluated health facilities’ capacity to provide postabortion care, and skilled birth attendants’ knowledge and perceptions. Methods: Accessible public health facilities with at least five births per day on average (n = 77), a nationally representative sample of public health facilities with fewer than five births per day (n = 149), and 20 purposively selected private health facilities were assessed. Data collection methods for provision included a facility inventory and record review tool to verify drug, supply, equipment, and facility record availability, and an interview tool to collect information on skilled birth attendants’ knowledge and perceptions.Results: Most facilities had supplies, equipment, and drugs to manage postabortion care, including family planning counseling and services provision. At public facilities, 36% of skilled birth attendants asked to name essential actions to address abortion complications mentioned manual vacuum aspiration (23% at private facilities); fewer than one-quarter mentioned counseling. When asked what information should be given to postabortion clients, 73% described family planning counseling need (70% at private facilities). Seventy percent of public facilities expected to provide basic emergency obstetric and newborn care had functional manual vacuum aspiration supplies in the delivery room. More than 80% of public health facilities had male condoms, oral contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices, and injectables. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that there is room for improvement in postabortion care services provision in Afghanistan health facilities. Access to high-quality postabortion care needs additional investments to improve providers’ knowledge and practice, and availability of supplies.
Diabetes and HIV: Protocol for a Systematic Review
Authors: Umar David Mohammed , Naidoo Panjasaram
Published: December 2019

Background: The HIV/AIDS challenge continues to affect millions of people worldwide. Over 77 million cases of people infected have been recorded and over 35 million of these have died. Due to availability of effective anti-retroviral therapy in the recent years, mortality due to AID-related illness has been declining; resulting in PLWH living longer. This increase in longevity, along with the adverse effects of some anti-retroviral medications has led to an increase in developing chronic diseases that are age-related, such as diabetes among PLWHIV. This makes is important to embark on a systematic review of literatures to establish the magnitude and the impact of diabetes in PLWH, hence this study.Method: Guided by the PRISMA-P 2015 checklist, a mapping of evidence from studies that are related in peer-reviewed journals that were published from 2000 to 2019 globally will be done. An electronic keyword search of Pubmed, Medline, PsycInfo and EMBASE databases will be carried out. A title screening will be followed by an independent screening of the abstracts and full texts by two reviewers. Any study that is concerned with the prevalence and/or incidence of diabetes among adults (18 years or older) persons living with HIV (PLWH), risk factors of diabetes among PLWH will also be considered. The data will be analyzed using the meta () command R software version 3.6.1Discussion: This review will chart an evidence in the literature of prevalence and incidence of diabetes among PLWH, risk factors of diabetes among PLWH and compare it with the prevalence, incidence and risk factors of diabetes among the general populace.