bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential of in vivo stress reporter models to reduce animal use and provide mechanistic insights in toxicity studies
Authors: Iñesta Vaquera Francisco , Ferro Febe , McMahon Michael , Henderson Colin J. , Wolf C. Roland
Published: August 2023

Chemical risk assessment ensures protection from the toxic effects of drugs and manmade chemicals. To comply with regulatory guidance, studies in complex organisms are required, as well as mechanistic studies to establish the relevance of any toxicities observed to man. Although in vitro toxicity models are improving, in vivo studies remain central to this process. Such studies are invariably time-consuming and often involve large numbers of animals. New regulatory frameworks recommend the implementation of “smart” in vivo approaches to toxicity testing that can effectively assess safety for humans and comply with societal expectations for reduction in animal use. A major obstacle in reducing the animals required is the time-consuming and complexity of the pathological endpoints used as markers of toxicity. Such endpoints are prone to inter-animal variability, subjectivity and require harmonisation between testing sites. As a consequence, large numbers of animals per experimental group are required. To address this issue, we propose the implementation of sophisticated stress response reporter mice that we have developed. These reporter models provide early biomarkers of toxic potential in a highly reproducible manner at single-cell resolution, which can also be measured non-invasively and have been extensively validated in academic research as early biomarkers of stress responses for a wide range of chemicals at human-relevant exposures. In this report, we describe a new and previously generated models in our lab, provide the methodology required for their use and discuss how they have been used to inform on toxic risk (likelihood of chemical causing an adverse health effect). We propose our in vivo approach is more informative (refinement) and reduces the animal use (reduction) compared to traditional toxicity testing. These models could be incorporated into tiered toxicity testing and used in combination with in vitro assays to generate quantitative adverse outcome pathways and inform on toxic potential.
Central composite design driven optimization of sustainable stability indicating HPLC method for the determination of Tigecycline and greenness assessment
Authors: Hafez Hani Mohammed , Barghash Sona Soliman , Soliman Marwa M. , Soltan Moustafa K. , Abd Elrahman Mohamed , Katamesh Noha Salah
Published: August 2023

Background: Tigecycline (TGC) is a recently developed antibiotic to battle resistant bacteria. The procedures outlined in the literature for analyzing TGC involve chemical solvents that could be hazardous. Therefore, this study aimed to create a sustainable and stable HPLC technique for quantifying Tigecycline in lyophilized powder. The powerful chemometric tool, experimental design (ED), will be applied to analyze the variables' interaction and impact on the selected analytical target profiles. Response surface methodology provides a tutorial on using the central composite design with three levels of variables and quadratic programming to optimize the design space of the developed method.

Methods: The New HPLC method consisted of an aqueous buffer and ethanol as a green mobile phase run on a reversed-phase symmetry C18 column. A full resolution between the Tigecycline and its degradation product peaks was achieved in a short analytical runtime.

Results: Further, the specificity, accuracy, precision, robustness and stability indicating power of the proposed approach were verified through stress degrading testing.

Conclusions: Finally, the analytical eco-scale and the green Analytical Procedure Index (GAPI) were utilized to determine how environmentally friendly the recommended method was compared to other published approaches.
Repair of ischial tuberosity pressure ulcer with a perigluteal muscle flap
Authors: Lifeng Guan , Rahim Fazal , Awais Khan Muhammad , Tao Guo , Chao Fang , Xiaoni Wang , Saad Muhammad
Published: August 2023

Background: Pressure ulcers are caused by long-term pressure on tissues. Hip pressure ulcers are the most common type. Pressure ulcers in the buttocks are classified into three types: sacrococcygeal, ischial tuberosity, and femoral tuberosity.

Methods: We used perigluteal muscle tissue flaps to treat nine cases of grade IV pressure ulcers from January 2016 to August 2018. A retrospective study was conducted on all patients who had an ischial tuberosity pressure ulcer repaired with a perigluteal muscle flap. The gluteus maximus myocutaneous flap was combined with the gluteal fasciocutaneous flap, the biceps femoris myocutaneous flap was combined with the gluteal fasciocutaneous flap, the gracilis myocutaneous flap, the biceps femoris myocutaneous flap, and the semitendinosus and semimembranosus myocutaneous flap. Wounds of different sizes and depths were encountered, the details of which are discussed in treatment methods. Data from patients, including age, gender, cause of injury, wound dimensions, the timing of flap coverage, and complications, were analyzed.

Results: The appearance of the skin flap was complete after muscular tissue flap repair, with no visible scar hyperplasia. However, after six to 12 months of follow-up, the flap was soft and left a small linear scar.

Conclusions: In the repair of an ischial tuberosity pressure ulcer, a peri gluteal muscle flap provides both aesthetic and functional results. Before using muscle tissue flap transplantation, it is recommended to perform multiple debridement + VSD to improve the wound foundation.
Monkeypox and oral lesions associated with its occurrence: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Bagde Hiroj , Dhopte Ashwini , Bukhary Ferdous , Momenah Naif , Akhter Fatema , Mahmoud Okba , Shetty Krishna Prasad , Shayeb Maher AL , Abutayyem Huda , Alam Mohammad Khursheed
Published: August 2023

Background: A zoonotic, double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus, the monkeypox virus is most common in tropical regions of Central and West Africa. The frequency of monkeypox cases, however, has sharply climbed globally since May 2022.

Objectives: To establish the threat of monkeypox in terms of the oral lesions caused in sufferers.

Materials and methods: After a thorough study of the literature identified in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane library databases using the PRISMA framework, 103 papers were found. Using inclusion and exclusion criteria, we chose research that was relevant for our review before shortlisting 14 papers that conformed to the review's guidelines.

Results: In the 14 selected studies, it was found that oral lesions were among the first clinical signs of a monkeypox affliction, with ulcers on the dorsal surface of tongue lips being the most common areas affected.

Conclusion: The rarely observed oral lesions of monkeypox infection may help in the diagnosis and management of this condition. It is critical to keep in mind that recognising and detecting oral lesions in monkeypox patients opens the door to more research and efficient patient management.
Antioxidant and apoptotic activities of sitagliptin against hepatocellular carcinoma: An in vitro study
Authors: Alameen Ruqaya , Bairam Ahsan , Al-Haddad Maryam
Published: August 2023

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common and aggressive type of liver cancer. Most chemotherapeutic medications nowadays imply oxidative stress leading to toxicity, which causes the necessity to find agents with better safety profiles against normal cells in addition to their anticancer activity. Sitagliptin has been shown to possess antioxidant as well as apoptotic properties by the specific suppression of dipeptidyl-peptidase 4, a glycoprotein produced in many tissues that have been thought to promote tumorigenesis and metastasis.

Methods: Five groups of cell lines were included: Control (untreated HepG2 cells); cisplatin treatment HepG2 cells; sitagliptin treated HepG2 cells; combination of different concentrations of cisplatin plus sitagliptin (250 μg/mL) treated HepG2 cells, and finally, combination of different concentrations of sitagliptin plus cisplatin (25 μg/mL)-treated HepG2 cells. After an incubation period for 48 hours, the supernatants were collected to quantify the level malondialdehyde (MDA) and B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) by ELISA assay kits. Data were finally gathered and analyzed statistically.

Results: Our findings indicated that sitagliptin significantly decreased the oxidative stress, particularly at high concentrations, through decreasing the MDA level. In addition, sitagliptin exhibited significant apoptotic activity against HepG2 cells through decreasing BCL-2 level. In combination with cisplatin, sitagliptin significantly potentiated the apoptotic effect and reduced the oxidative stress parameters.

Conclusions: Sitagliptin showed apoptotic and antioxidant activity against HCC which may potentiate chemotherapeutic agents like cisplatin, in addition to reducing the oxidative stress against normal cells.
Enterprise resource planning implementation within science and technology park (STP) organisations: an avenue for future research. A systematic review.
Authors: Harun Sharbani , Dorasamy Magiswary , Bin Ahmad Abdul Aziz , Yap Ching Seng , Harguem Saida
Published: August 2023

Background: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is critical to enhancing the ability to control commercial activities and results in a competitive advantage when combined with an organisation's existing competitive advantages. However, our practise review reveals that end users resist ERP implementation because the resulting changes will alter the current status quo. The implementation of an ERP system in an organisation is complex as it affects multiple areas of the business. Resistance to change is cited as a factor of ERP failure.

Methods: In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review using Transfield’s five stages and established a conceptual framework for ERP system implementation in science and technology parks (STPs). Articles collected from Emerald, Science Direct, ProQuest and Scopus databases between 1st June 2021 and 15th June 2021. Two authors were assigned to check the suitability of the articles in order to avoid risk of bias. Articles were analysed based on components of a research paper and the data was tabulated using MS Excel.

Results: Only eight papers (0.011% of all the papers) appeared when we searched for papers related to ERP with a focus on post ERP Implementation, end-user behaviours, organisational performance, and the accelerated SAP (system application and product) methodology. We found that there are hardly any articles on ERP post implementations in STP context particularly based on the evaluation part of accelerated SAP.  

Conclusions: Results indicate the lack of studies in this field, particularly those addressing issues related to STP. This study attempted to broaden the understanding of the ERP's effectiveness, particularly in terms of an organisation's operational performance.
“Please forward before they delete it!” Assessing conspiracy theories and disinformation in chain e-mails about Covid-19 in the Czech Republic
Authors: Filipec Ondrej
Published: August 2023

The outbreak of the pandemic, marked with many unknowns and uncertainty, provided a fertile ground for disinformation, conspiracy theories, and pro-Kremlin propaganda in the Czech Republic which was delivered through various communication channels. This is also the case of so-called “chain e-mails” forwarded especially among older people to substitute social networks. The main aim of the article is to reveal the nature and content of chain e-mails communicating Covid-19 with a special focus on narratives and its development. The article is based on the analysis of 2,056 unique Covid-19-related chain e-mails forwarded among people in the Czech Republic between March 2020 and May 2022. Next to revealing key targets, techniques, and narrative developments, the analysis contributes to a better understanding of disinformation, propaganda, and conspiracy theories in the Czech Republic and the (dis)information ecosystem in general. The final discussion is dedicated to the possibilities of how to address the negative effects of chain e-mails.
The genome sequence of a tortricid moth, Lathronympha strigana (Fabricius, 1775)
Authors: Broad Gavin R. , Sims Ian , Lees David C. ,   Natural History Museum Genome Acquisition Lab,   Darwin Tree of Life Barcoding collective,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Tree of Life programme,   Wellcome Sanger Institute Scientific Operations: DNA Pipelines collective,   Tree of Life Core Informatics collective,   Darwin Tree of Life Consortium
Published: August 2023

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Lathronympha strigana (a tortricid moth; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Tortricidae). The genome sequence is 621.0 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 28 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.68 kilobases in length.
The Semantics of the Absurd: On German ‘Hermetic’ Poetry and Political Commitment after 1945
Authors: Pajević Marko
Published: August 2023

German culture experienced an enormous rupture after 1945. Not only was the country in ruins and an outcast of the international community because of the recent regime and its devastating effects, its entire cultural tradition was under suspicion: had German culture always been steering towards this catastrophe? Was everything within it corrupt? While the frenetic economic activity of the ‘Wirtschaftswunder’ side-stepped a mainstream confrontation with the horrors of the recent past, intellectuals and artists radically interrogated the reasons for the disaster. As always, language and the meaning-making procedures in language prepare the mind to open up and to prepare for action. Language is at the root of action and this insight fuelled reflections on language, for instance by philosophers such as Wittgenstein and Heidegger. But it was particularly in lyric poetry that a lucid and politically aware examination of the recent past took place and an expression of such considerations could be found.

This paper demonstrates how poets made a unique and highly significant contribution to the development of a new political awareness in Germanlanguage culture. By integrating silence and the absurd (that is, the unheardof and the unspeakable) into literary language, this so-called hermetic poetry did not entail a withdrawal from society but, on the contrary, devoted itself to a particular form of political commitment. This procedure represents a rupture with what Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno called the ‘culture industry’ (1947), opposing conventional and habituated approaches to art in terms of its production and reception and advocating instead a stringent and critical concept of arresting aesthetic form that was to distinguish the work of art from products of that culture industry. Paul Celan, Ingeborg Bachmann, Ilse Aichinger, Günter Eich and Nelly Sachs are the household names associated with this poetics. While it was never necessarily mainstream, it was arguably the most innovative poetic strand of its time and in the long run a key factor in shaping a modern German culture that could come to terms with its past and overcome authoritarian structures.
Immersive Learning with Virtual Field Visits: Spherical Video-Based Virtual Reality of Factory Environments
Authors: Netland Torbjørn , Lorenz Rafael , Kwasnitschka Daniel , Senoner Julian , Gróf Clemens
Published: August 2023

The authors develop, use, and evaluate a spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) app for teaching operations management. The app contains a 360-degree photo-realistic copy of real factory environments with blended information and gamified exercises. To solve a learning assignment, students virtually immerse themselves in the factory using the app on their smartphones with virtual reality headsets, tablets, or computers. The authors developed the SVVR app together with an industrial partner, implemented it in a graduate-level course on production and operations management, and evaluated it by drawing on app user data, assignment grade scores, and an evaluation survey. The results show that students reported an overall positive learning experience and that students who engaged more in the SVVR app performed better on the assignment. This paper contributes to the literature on SVVR with evidence of the learning effects of SVVR in an operations management curriculum. It provides an example of how SVVR enables virtual factory visits, integrates gamification elements, and can be integrated into teaching.

Funding: This work was supported by the ETH Zurich Innovedum.
Admission Control Bias and Path-Dependent Feedback Under Diagnosis Uncertainty
Authors: Kim Song-Hee , Tong Jordan
Published: August 2023

Problem definition: Do physicians exhibit predictable behavioral bias when making admission control decisions under patient diagnosis uncertainty with stochastic arrivals and lengths of stay? How can we structure feedback to help improve their decision making? Methodology/results: We use a behavioral model to theorize how a diagnosis anchoring and insufficient adjustment heuristic may lead to an over-rationing bias, and we hypothesize when this bias is greatest. We then propose that feedback for rejected patients—above and beyond feedback for admitted patients—is critical for mitigating this bias. This is because feedback for only admitted patients may suffer from a type of path dependency that prevents decision makers from receiving the most helpful disconfirming feedback. We provide evidence supporting these hypotheses using preregistered experiments in which medical students, Amazon Mechanical Turk workers, or Prolific workers manage admissions for simulated hospital units. Managerial implications: Our results (1) illuminate an important anchoring bias in admission control under diagnosis uncertainty, (2) identify rejected-patient feedback as a critical component for mitigating this bias, and (3) provide insight into the circumstances under which these phenomena are likely to be most significant.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) [Grant 2022R1F1A1076045].

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2021.0194 .
Data-Driven Hospital Admission Control: A Learning Approach
Authors: Zhalechian Mohammad , Keyvanshokooh Esmaeil , Shi Cong , Van Oyen Mark P.
Published: August 2023

A Data-Driven Approach to Improve Care Unit Placements in Hospitals

The choice of care unit upon hospital admission is a challenging task because of the wide variety of patient characteristics, uncertain needs of patients, and limited number of beds in intensive and intermediate care units. These decisions require carefully weighing the benefits of improved health outcomes against the opportunity cost of reserving higher level care beds for potentially more complex patients arriving in the future. In “Data-Driven Hospital Admission Control: A Learning Approach,” Zhalechian, Keyvanshokooh, Shi, and Van Oyen introduce a data-driven algorithm to address this challenging task. By focusing on reducing the readmission risk of patients, the algorithm is designed to (i) adaptively learn the readmission risk of patients through batch learning with delayed feedback and (ii) determine the best care unit placement for a patient based on the observed information and occupancy levels to minimize total readmission risk. The algorithm is supported by a performance guarantee, and its effectiveness is showcased using real-world hospital system data.
Demonstration of mobile backhaul uplink jitter reduction with optical-wireless cooperative control for multiple traffic flows
Authors: Miyamoto Kenji , Sakai Yoshihito , Shimada Tatsuya , Yoshida Tomoaki
Published: August 2023

We experimentally demonstrate the performance of mobile backhaul (MBH) uplink jitter reduction techniques with optical-wireless cooperative control under multiple traffic flow conditions. Mobile systems beyond the 5th generation (5G) and 6th generation (6G) will require low jitter in addition to low latency, but current new radio (NR) mobile systems cause packet jitter in uplink traffic because of the radio transmission schemes used, such as downlink/uplink separation in time division duplexing (TDD) and medium access control (MAC) service data unit (SDU) concatenation to compose transport blocks. Our proposed uplink jitter reduction techniques perform traffic shaping at a router in the MBH network to reduce uplink jitter. The shaping rate is calculated with mobile scheduling information forwarded from a next generation node B (gNB) via an extended cooperative transport interface (eCTI). The eCTI is an interface between gNBs and network equipment for realizing optical-wireless cooperative control. We developed a shaper prototype that implements functions for receiving mobile scheduling information as eCTI frames, calculating the shaping rate, and executing shaping. eCTI frame formats are also defined by specifying where the mobile scheduling information is stored in an Ethernet frame. Using a shaper prototype, we experimentally evaluated the end-to-end (E2E) jitter performance for a single traffic flow, multiple gNB traffic flows, and multiple user equipment (UE) traffic flows. The results show that the uplink jitter reduction techniques reduce jitter from more than 1 ms to less than 300 µs, which meets the future jitter requirement of less than 1 ms.
Passive state preparation continuous variable quantum key distribution in a satellite-mediated link
Authors: Luo Hao , Wang Yijun , Zhong Hai , Zuo Zhiyue , Guo Ying
Published: August 2023

Passive state preparation (PSP) continuous variable quantum key distribution (CVQKD) drops out optical amplitude and phase modulators, making this scheme suitable for application in space-confined situations. In this paper, we propose a satellite-mediated PSP-CVQKD scheme. To improve the performance of the scheme further, we introduce a phase-insensitive amplifier (PIA) at the receiver side. Based on the detailed noise model and channel parameter estimation analysis, we perform numerical simulations of the proposed scheme while the finite-size effect is considered. Simulation results show that the satellite-mediated PSP-CVQKD is feasible in both downlink and uplink cases based on typical system parameters. The performance can be improved at a relatively low satellite altitude when the PIA is used. Our analysis demonstrates that the proposed scheme may be a potentially cost-effective solution for future chip-scale CVQKD over satellite-mediated links.
Sensitive detection of electric field-induced second harmonic signals
Authors: Hogue Justin , Cusson Patrick , Meunier Michel , Seletskiy Denis V. , Reuter Stephan
Published: August 2023

We demonstrate sensitive electric field measurements by coherent homodyne amplification of the electric field induced second harmonic generation (E-FISH) technique. In the process of E-FISH, an applied electric field breaks the centrosymmetry of an otherwise homogeneous medium, in turn promoting the generation of the second harmonic frequency of an incident field. Due to weak third-order hyperpolarizability and the requirement of an applied field to break the symmetry, the E-FISH technique has been mainly used to study high fields, also requiring a strong optical field and sensitive detection. Here we superimpose the E-FISH signal with an auxiliary beam, also termed a local oscillator (LO), at double the incident frequency. Coherent superposition of the LO and the E-FISH output (LOE-FISH) allows for a homodyne amplification of the otherwise weak nonlinear signal. We have demonstrated an increase of signal-to-noise by a factor of seven, which results in a measurement time reduction of a factor of 49. This technique, LOE-FISH, has a number of advantages: detection with intensified detectors is not required. Furthermore, instead of millijoule pulsed lasers, we can work with microjoule pulsed lasers, which allows measuring at repetition rates of megahertz and opens single shot and real-time capability. The LOE-FISH technique increases in sensitivity at lower electric field values. Our work is a demonstration of the principle. Already with our first results from the demonstration, one can see the high potential of LOE-FISH.
Integrated lithium niobate optical mode (de)interleaver based on an asymmetric Y-junction
Authors: Yuan Mingrui , Ma Mingyang , Xiao Huifu , Nguyen Thach Giang , Boes Andreas , Ren Guanghui , Cheng Lin , Mitchell Arnan , Tian Yonghui
Published: August 2023

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) platforms promise unique advantages in realizing high-speed, large-capacity, and large-scale photonic integrated circuits (PICs) by leveraging lithium niobate’s attractive material properties, which include electro-optic and nonlinear optic properties, low material loss, and a wide transparency window. Optical mode interleavers can increase the functionality of future PICs in LNOI by enabling optical mode division multiplexing (MDM) systems, allowing variable mode assignment while maintaining high channel utilization and capacity. In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate an optical mode interleaver based on an asymmetric Y-junction on the LNOI platform, which exhibits an insertion loss of below 0.46 dB and modal cross talk of below –13.0 dB over a wavelength range of 1500–1600 nm. The demonstrated mode interleaver will be an attractive circuit component in future high-speed and large-capacity PICs due to its simple structure, scalability, and capacity for efficient and flexible mode manipulation on the LNOI platform.
Gene amplifications cause high-level resistance against albicidin in gram-negative bacteria
Authors: Saathoff Mareike , Kosol Simone , Semmler Torsten , Tedin Karsten , Dimos Nicole , Kupke Johannes , Seidel Maria , Ghazisaeedi Fereshteh , Jonske Micela Condor , Wolf Silver A. , Kuropka Benno , Czyszczoń Wojciech , Ghilarov Dmitry , Grätz Stefan , Heddle Jonathan G. , Loll Bernhard , Süssmuth Roderich D. , Fulde Marcus
Published: August 2023

Antibiotic resistance is a continuously increasing concern for public healthcare. Understanding resistance mechanisms and their emergence is crucial for the development of new antibiotics and their effective use. The peptide antibiotic albicidin is such a promising candidate that, as a gyrase poison, shows bactericidal activity against a wide range of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Here, we report the discovery of a gene amplification–based mechanism that imparts an up to 1000-fold increase in resistance levels against albicidin. RNA sequencing and proteomics data show that this novel mechanism protects Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli by increasing the copy number of STM3175 (YgiV), a transcription regulator with a GyrI-like small molecule binding domain that traps albicidin with high affinity. X-ray crystallography and molecular docking reveal a new conserved motif in the binding groove of the GyrI-like domain that can interact with aromatic building blocks of albicidin. Phylogenetic studies suggest that this resistance mechanism is ubiquitous in gram-negative bacteria, and our experiments confirm that STM3175 homologs can confer resistance in pathogens such as Vibrio vulnificus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
A new method for the analysis of access period experiments, illustrated with whitefly-borne cassava mosaic begomovirus
Authors: Donnelly Ruairí , Gilligan Christopher A.
Published: August 2023

Reports of low transmission efficiency, of a cassava mosaic begomovirus (CMB) in Bemisia tabaci whitefly, diminished the perceived importance of whitefly in CMB epidemics. Studies indicating synergies between B. tabaci and CMB prompt a reconsideration of this assessment. In this paper, we analysed the retention period and infectiousness of CMB-carrying B. tabaci as well as B. tabaci susceptibility to CMB. We assessed the role of low laboratory insect survival in historic reports of a 9d virus retention period. To do this, we introduced Bayesian analyses to an important class of experiment in plant pathology. We were unable to reject a null hypothesis of life-long CMB retention when we accounted for low insect survival. Our analysis confirmed low insect survival, with insects surviving on average for around three days of transfers from the original infected plant to subsequent test plants. Use of the new analysis to account for insect death may lead to re-calibration of retention periods for other important insect-borne plant pathogens. In addition, we showed that B. tabaci susceptibility to CMB is substantially higher than previously thought. We also introduced a technique for high resolution analysis of retention period, showing that B. tabaci infectiousness with CMB was increasing over the first five days of infection.
Call detail record aggregation methodology impacts infectious disease models informed by human mobility
Authors: Gibbs Hamish , Musah Anwar , Seidu Omar , Ampofo William , Asiedu-Bekoe Franklin , Gray Jonathan , Adewole Wole A. , Cheshire James , Marks Michael , Eggo Rosalind M.
Published: August 2023

This paper demonstrates how two different methods used to calculate population-level mobility from Call Detail Records (CDR) produce varying predictions of the spread of epidemics informed by these data. Our findings are based on one CDR dataset describing inter-district movement in Ghana in 2021, produced using two different aggregation methodologies. One methodology, “all pairs,” is designed to retain long distance network connections while the other, “sequential” methodology is designed to accurately reflect the volume of travel between locations. We show how the choice of methodology feeds through models of human mobility to the predictions of a metapopulation SEIR model of disease transmission. We also show that this impact varies depending on the location of pathogen introduction and the transmissibility of infections. For central locations or highly transmissible diseases, we do not observe significant differences between aggregation methodologies on the predicted spread of disease. For less transmissible diseases or those introduced into remote locations, we find that the choice of aggregation methodology influences the speed of spatial spread as well as the size of the peak number of infections in individual districts. Our findings can help researchers and users of epidemiological models to understand how methodological choices at the level of model inputs may influence the results of models of infectious disease transmission, as well as the circumstances in which these choices do not alter model predictions.
SARS-CoV-2 infection perturbs enhancer mediated transcriptional regulation of key pathways
Authors: Yedidya Yahel , Davis Daniel , Drier Yotam
Published: August 2023

Despite extensive studies on the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is still a lack of understanding of the downstream epigenetic and regulatory alterations in infected cells. In this study, we investigated changes in enhancer acetylation in epithelial lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 and their influence on transcriptional regulation and pathway activity. To achieve this, we integrated and reanalyzed data of enhancer acetylation, ex-vivo infection and single cell RNA-seq data from human patients. Our findings revealed coordinated changes in enhancers and transcriptional networks. We found that infected cells lose the WT1 transcription factor and demonstrate disruption of WT1-bound enhancers and of their associated target genes. Downstream targets of WT1 are involved in the regulation of the Wnt signaling and the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade, which indeed exhibit increased activation levels. These findings may provide a potential explanation for the development of pulmonary fibrosis, a lethal complication of COVID-19. Moreover, we revealed over-acetylated enhancers associated with upregulated genes involved in cell adhesion, which could contribute to cell-cell infection of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, we demonstrated that enhancers may play a role in the activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and contribute to excessive inflammation in the lungs, a typical complication of COVID-19. Overall, our analysis provided novel insights into the cell-autonomous dysregulation of enhancer regulation caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection, a step on the path to a deeper molecular understanding of the disease.
Community knowledge, attitudes and practices related to Taenia solium taeniosis and cysticercosis in Zambia
Authors: Zulu Gideon , Mwape Kabemba E. , Welte Tamara M. , Simuunza Martin C. , Hachangu Alex , Mutale Wilbroad , Chembensofu Mwelwa , Sikasunge Chummy S. , Phiri Isaac K. , Winkler Andrea S.
Published: August 2023

Background

Several studies on Taenia solium taeniosis / cysticercosis (TSTC) have been conducted in Zambia. However, none has assessed community knowledge, attitudes and practices related to TSTC and epilepsy.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between November and December 2022. The design consisted of a questionnaire-based survey conducted in each of the 25 purposely selected villages in Chiparamba Rural Health Centre (RHC) catchment area in Chipata district of the Eastern Province.

Results

A total of 588 participants comprising 259 (44%) males and 329 (56%) females with median age of 42 years (range 17 to 92 years) were interviewed. Awareness of the signs and symptoms of taeniosis and human cysticercosis (HCC), including transmission and prevention measures was very low. Whilst the majority had heard about epilepsy, they were not able to link HCC to epilepsy. Most participants were aware of cysticerci in pigs (PCC) including its predilection sites but were not aware of mode of transmission and prevention measures. The pork meat inspection by trained professionals was also not a common practice in the area. Risk perception of T. solium infections was thus very low. Overall knowledge, attitude and practice scores related to T. solium infections and to epilepsy were very low with median scores of 0.38 (IQR 0.25–0.54) for knowledge, 0.25 (0.25–0.50) for attitudes, and 0.31 (0.25–0.44) for practices. Males had better knowledge on TSTC (median = 0.42, p = 0.017, r = 0.098) and better practice scores (median = 0.38, p = < 0.001, r = 0.154) compared to females though the effect size was small. With regards to sanitation and hygiene washing with soap and water was reported by many but only few had a hand washing facility near their latrines.

Conclusion

The study shows overall poor knowledge, attitudes and practices related to TSTC among the community of Chiparamba RHC in Chipata district of the Eastern Province of Zambia. This poses a serious challenge for control and elimination of T. solium infections and thus efforts to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices should be made using a One Health approach for the control and elimination of TSTC. Educational programs about TSTC transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention, management and control need to be scaled up in the study area and Zambia as a whole.
Prioritizing COVID-19 vaccine allocation in resource poor settings: Towards an Artificial Intelligence-enabled and Geospatial-assisted decision support framework
Authors: Shayegh Soheil , Andreu-Perez Javier , Akoth Caroline , Bosch-Capblanch Xavier , Dasgupta Shouro , Falchetta Giacomo , Gregson Simon , Hammad Ahmed T. , Herringer Mark , Kapkea Festus , Labella Alvaro , Lisciotto Luca , Martínez Luis , Macharia Peter M. , Morales-Ruiz Paulina , Murage Njeri , Offeddu Vittoria , South Andy , Torbica Aleksandra , Trentini Filippo , Melegaro Alessia
Published: August 2023

Objectives

To propose a novel framework for COVID-19 vaccine allocation based on three components of Vulnerability, Vaccination, and Values (3Vs).

Methods

A combination of geospatial data analysis and artificial intelligence methods for evaluating vulnerability factors at the local level and allocate vaccines according to a dynamic mechanism for updating vulnerability and vaccine uptake.

Results

A novel approach is introduced including (I) Vulnerability data collection (including country-specific data on demographic, socioeconomic, epidemiological, healthcare, and environmental factors), (II) Vaccination prioritization through estimation of a unique Vulnerability Index composed of a range of factors selected and weighed through an Artificial Intelligence (AI-enabled) expert elicitation survey and scientific literature screening, and (III) Values consideration by identification of the most effective GIS-assisted allocation of vaccines at the local level, considering context-specific constraints and objectives.

Conclusions

We showcase the performance of the 3Vs strategy by comparing it to the actual vaccination rollout in Kenya. We show that under the current strategy, socially vulnerable individuals comprise only 45% of all vaccinated people in Kenya while if the 3Vs strategy was implemented, this group would be the first to receive vaccines.
Socio-demographic determinants of Monkeypox virus preventive behavior: A cross-sectional study in Pakistan
Authors: Jamil Hashaam , Idrees Muhammad , Idrees Kashmala , Tariq Waleed , Sayyeda Qudsia , Asghar Muhammad Sohaib , Tahir Muhammad Junaid , Akram Samra , Ullah Kaleem , Ahmed Ali , Mohanty Aroop , Padhi Bijaya Kumar , Sah Ranjit
Published: August 2023

Background

Monkeypox (mpox), re-emerging zoonotic infectious disease, is striking the world with serious public health concerns, especially in non-endemic countries. The public’s knowledge and attitude towards the monkeypox virus (MPXV) influence their adherence to preventive strategies. Therefore, we aimed to assess the public’s knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (KAP) of MPXV in Pakistan.

Methods

We collected data for this cross-sectional study from 1040 participants via online self-reported questionnaire from July 5th, 2022, to August 1st, 2022. The questionnaire consisted of a total of 29 items in four sections, assessing socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding MPXV. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS V.25, and factors associated with MPXV knowledge, attitude, and practices were identified by using logistic regression analyses.

Results

A total of 1040 participants were included. 61.4% were male, and 57.2% had graduation level education. Only 34.4% had good knowledge about MPXV, and 30% knew the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine against MPXV. 41.7% had a positive attitude, 48.6% agreed that it is a fatal disease, and 44.6% were in favour of banning travel from endemic to non-endemic regions. 57.7% had good practices, and 69.9% would use protective measures if MPXV became an epidemic. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that gender and education significantly impacted knowledge (p<0.05). While monthly income status had a significant impact on attitudes (p<0.05). The practices were positively correlated with gender and education (p<0.05).

Conclusion

The majority of study participants had inadequate levels of knowledge, and attitudes regarding MPXV. To prevent the emergence and spread of MPXV in Pakistan, a comprehensive strategic framework for public health education must be established and implemented.
Ligneous amendments increase soil organic carbon content in fine-textured boreal soils and modulate N2O emissions
Authors: Peltokangas Kenneth , Kalu Subin , Huusko Karoliina , Havisalmi Jimi , Heinonsalo Jussi , Karhu Kristiina , Kulmala Liisa , Liski Jari , Pihlatie Mari
Published: August 2023

Organic soil amendments are used to improve soil quality and mitigate climate change. However, their effects on soil structure, nutrient and water retention as well as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the residual effects of a single field application of four ligneous soil amendments on soil structure and GHG emissions. We conducted a laboratory incubation experiment using soil samples collected from an ongoing soil-amendment field experiment at Qvidja Farm in south-west Finland, two years after a single application of four ligneous biomasses. Specifically, two biochars (willow and spruce) produced via slow pyrolysis, and two mixed pulp sludges from paper industry side-streams were applied at a rate of 9–22 Mg ha-1 mixed in the top 0.1 m soil layer. An unamended fertilized soil was used as a control. The laboratory incubation lasted for 33 days, during which the samples were kept at room temperature (21°C) and at 20%, 40%, 70% or 100% water holding capacity. Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) fluxes were measured periodically after 1, 5, 12, 20 and 33 days of incubation. The application of ligneous soil amendments increased the pH of the sampled soils by 0.4–0.8 units, whereas the effects on soil organic carbon content and soil structure varied between treatments. The GHG exchange was dominated by CO2 emissions, which were mainly unaffected by the soil amendment treatments. The contribution of soil CH4 exchange was negligible (nearly no emissions) compared to soil CO2 and N2O emissions. The soil N2O emissions exhibited a positive exponential relationship with soil moisture. Overall, the soil amendments reduced N2O emissions on average by 13%, 64%, 28%, and 37%, at the four soil moisture levels, respectively. Furthermore, the variation in N2O emissions between the amendments correlated positively with their liming effect. More specifically, the potential for the pulp sludge treatments to modulate N2O emissions was evident only in response to high water contents. This tendency to modulate N2O emissions was attributed to their capacity to increase soil pH and influence soil processes by persisting in the soil long after their application.
Internal marketing analysis for improving the internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation of employees in private-owned sports center
Authors: Xu Shi Qi , Zhou Lian , Kim Seong Hun , Chung Dong-Hwa , Li Zhen
Published: August 2023

With the concept of “healthy lifestyle” deeply rooted in people’s minds, the sports service industry is thriving, which has resulted in intense competition. The sports service industry must improve its service quality to be competitive. Customer orientation is the key factor for enterprises to gain competitive advantage. With the in-depth understanding of internal marketing in the service industry. Managers have realized that treating employees as internal consumer is a good way to improve their satisfaction and gain customer orientation. However, what internal marketing strategies will have a positive effect on internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation of private-owned sports center employees are still unclear. In this investigation, a total of 326 employees from the private-owned sports center were used to investigate the effects of internal marketing strategies on internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation. All employees were asked to complete a questionnaire on 5-point scale. A path model was used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of hypothetical measurements on internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation. The findings suggested that internal communication, administrative support, and educational training were important factors affecting internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation. We concluded that the implementation of internal marketing strategies could improve internal consumer satisfaction and customer orientation, and higher levels of internal consumer satisfaction will encourage employees to have higher degrees of customer orientation. Therefore, the implementation of internal marketing strategy was beneficial to the development of private-owned sports centers.
Design of multi-epitope vaccine candidate against Brucella type IV secretion system (T4SS)
Authors: Yin Zhengwei , Li Min , Niu Ce , Yu Mingkai , Xie Xinru , Haimiti Gulishati , Guo Wenhong , Shi Juan , He Yueyue , Ding Jianbing , Zhang Fengbo
Published: August 2023

Brucellosis is a common zoonosis, which is caused by Brucella infection, and Brucella often infects livestock, leading to abortion and infertility. At present, human brucellosis remains one of the major public health problems in China. According to previous research, most areas in northwest China, including Xinjiang, Tibet, and other regions, are severely affected by Brucella. Although there are vaccines against animal Brucellosis, the effect is often poor. In addition, there is no corresponding vaccine for human Brucellosis infection. Therefore, a new strategy for early prevention and treatment of Brucella is needed. A multi-epitope vaccine should be developed. In this study, we identified the antigenic epitopes of the Brucella type IV secretion system VirB8 and Virb10 using an immunoinformatics approach, and screened out 2 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes, 9 helper T lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, 6 linear B cell epitopes, and 6 conformational B cell epitopes. These advantageous epitopes are spliced together through different linkers to construct a multi-epitope vaccine. The silico tests showed that the multi-epitope vaccine was non-allergenic and had a strong interaction with TLR4 molecular docking. In immune simulation results, the vaccine construct may be useful in helping brucellosis patients to initiate cellular and humoral immunity. Overall, our findings indicated that the multi-epitope vaccine construct has a high-quality structure and suitable characteristics, which may provide a theoretical basis for the development of a Brucella vaccine.
The effectiveness of photobiomodulation therapy on inferior alveolar nerve injury: A systematic review and META-analysis
Authors: Ma Yongqing , Yang Miaomiao , Chen Xiaodong , Qu Weiguo , Qu Xiaofu , He Ping
Published: August 2023

Objective

The aim of this META-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy in the treatment of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury due to orthognathic surgeries, extraction of impacted third molars and mandibular fractures.

Methods and materials

A electric search was conducted by a combination of manual search and four electric databases including Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane library and Web of Science, with no limitation on language and publication date. Gray literature was searched in ClinicalTrials.gov and googlescholar. All retrieved articles were imported into ENDNOTE software (version X9) and screened by two independent reviewers. All analysis was performed using the REVMAN software (version 5.3)

Results

Finally, 15 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria for qualitative analysis and 14 for META-analysis from 219 articles. The results showed that PBM therapy had no effect on nerve injury in a short period of time (0-48h, 14 days), but had significant effect over 30 days. However, the effect of photobiomodulation therapy on thermal discrimination was still controversial, most authors supported no significant improvement. By calculating the effective rate of PBM, it was found that there was no significant difference in the onset time of treatment, whether within or over 6 months.

Conclusions

The results of this META-analysis show that PBM therapy is effective in the treatment of IAN injures no matter it begins early or later. However, due to the limited number of well-designed RCTs and small number of patients in each study, it would be necessary to conduct randomized controlled trials with large sample size, long follow-up time and more standardized treatment and evaluation methods in the future to provide more accurate and clinically meaningful results.