bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of economic growth, renewable energy, non-renewable energy and trade openness on the ecological footprint and forecasting in Turkey: An case of the ARDL and NMGM forecasting model
Authors: Çamkaya Serhat , ALBAYRAK Özlem KARADAĞ , TOPAL Samet
Published: June 2022

In this study, the effects of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy production and trade openness on ecological footprint for Turkey were investigated. By using the annual data for the period 1980–2016, the short- and long-term relationship with the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) was examined. In addition, a prediction model is presented with the Multivariate Gray Prediction Model (NMGM) method. According to the findings obtained from the ARDL model, economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy production have a positive effect of 0.166, 0.1431 and 0.1118, respectively, on the ecological footprint in the long run. In the short run, economic growth, renewable energy production and non-renewable energy production has the same effect of 0.1941, 0.1673 and 0.1308 on the ecological footprint. In addition, no effect of trade openness on the ecological footprint has been detected, both in the long and short run. The originality of this study is to investigate the short- and long-term effects of economic growth and trade openness on the ecological footprint, in addition to the amount of renewable energy production and non-renewable energy production in Turkey, using the ARDL model. In addition, another originality of this study is a dynamic evaluation of the ecological footprint for Turkey and the determination of the impact values of the variables that affect the ecological footprint. ARIMA models, in which the dependent variable is estimated with its own past values, are generally used as estimation models. Likewise, univariate gray estimation models also make estimations with the dependent variable's own past values. Another unique aspect of this study is the use of a gray estimation model, in which the variables that have been shown to have a significant short- and long-term relationship with ARDL are also included in the model.
Motives for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy amongst marginalized groups, including homeless persons and migrants, in France: a mixed-methods study.
Authors: Ducarroz Simon , Figueiredo Natasha , Scarlett Honor , Aarbaoui Tarik El , Vignier Nicolas , Longchamps Cécile , Allaire Cécile , Perrin Adèle , Poveda Juan Diego , Davisse-Paturet Camille , Melchior Maria
Published: June 2022

Background: Persons experiencing unstable housing – including recently arrived migrants – are at elevated risk of contracting COVID-19 and suffer from high morbidity and mortality. In this context, the COVID-19 vaccine was foreseen as a promising way to control the pandemic and reduce social inequalities in this area. Understanding the motives of COVID-19 vaccine acceptability in people with unstable housing, including migrants, is therefore crucial to tailor public health communication and outreach. Thus, the main objective of our study was to investigate - both quantitatively and qualitatively – the motivations behind vaccine hesitancy in people experiencing unstable housing when vaccines became available in France.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in Spring 2021, using convergent mixed-methods approach. Participants were recruited from homeless shelters and day centres and face-to-face interviews were offered, with help, where necessary, from phone-based interpreters. Factors associated with motives for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were explored using logistic regression models. Qualitative data – collected through semi-structured individual interviews - were analysed via an inductive thematic approach. Both quantitative and qualitative data were then integrated. Results: Vaccine hesitancy was found to be at an elevated rate (58.0%). The three most reported motives of hesitancy were related to COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, safety, and trust in information about the vaccine. Factors of elevated hesitancy comprised the interviewees’ age, level of education, French-language aptitude, feeling of worry about COVID-19, and time of residence in France. Generic distrust in official information was a shared associated factor for the 3 motives of hesitancy. This result was expanded upon by the interview data where participants described having differential trust depending on who is recommending the vaccination. Another emerging key theme related to hopes that the vaccine would release them from the burden of the pandemic. Conclusions: Our mixed methods study provides a comprehensive understanding of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among persons with unstable housing in France in Spring 2021. Elevated levels of hesitancy remain a public health concern as “No one is safe until everyone is safe”. The already established role of trust in vaccine hesitancy is still to be adequately addressed as a potentially effective route of intervention.
An Efficient Learning Method for Image Recognition of Dental Instruments
Authors: OKA Shintaro , NOZAKI Kazunori , HAYASHI Mikako
Published: June 2022

Purpose
To prevent needlestick injury and leftover instruments, and to perform efficient dental treatment, it is important to know which and how many instruments are present during dental treatment. Therefore, we will obtain a dataset for image recognition of dental treatment instruments, develop a system for detecting dental treatment instruments during treatment by image recognition, and evaluate the performance of the system to establish a method for detecting instruments during treatment.
Methods
We created an image recognition dataset using 23 types of instruments commonly used in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontology at Osaka University Dental Hospital and a surgeon’s hands as detection targets. Two types of datasets were created: one annotated with only the characteristic parts of the instruments, and the other annotated with the entire parts of instruments. YOLOv4 was used as the image recognition system. The performance of the system was evaluated in terms of two metrics: detection accuracy (DA), which indicates the probability of correctly detecting the number of target instruments in an image, and the average precision (AP).
Results
The mean DA and AP for the instruments used in this study were 89.3% and 70.9%, respectively, when the characteristic parts of the instruments were annotated and 85.3% and 59.9%, respectively, when the entire parts of the instruments were annotated.
Conclusion
The detection of dental instruments can be performed efficiently by targeting the parts characterizing them.
Genetic susceptibility to bladder cancer in a cohort of 51 Lebanese patients
Authors: Kourie Hampig Raphael , Haddad Léa El , Chouery Eliane , Mehawej Cybel , Jalkh Nadine , Kassis Marwan , Zouein Joseph , Eid Roland , Haddad Fady Ghassan , Daou Bechara , Tayeh Georges Abi , Kattan Joseph , Nemr Elie
Published: June 2022

IntroductionBladder cancer (BC) is a highly prevalent malignancy worldwide and particularly in Lebanon. Several studies have reported genetic risk factors in GSTM1 and NAT2, as well as many modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors, associated with BC.MethodsThis is a retrospective study that includes 51 Lebanese patients with BC. Peripheral blood samples were collected from patients and DNA extraction was performed using the standard salting-out method. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was performed and was followed by a thorough analysis of GSTM1, NAT2 and a panel of 127 genes known to be implicated in different hereditary cancers, for the detection of pathogenic germline mutations in the studied individuals.ResultsOur cohort included 42 men (82.4%) and 9 women (17.6%), with a mean age at diagnosis equal to 67 years. Of all participants, 10.8% had a family member diagnosed with BC and 17.3% with other cancer types. Our WES analysis allowed the detection of a high-risk variant found in APC (rs1801155) and a variant in BRIP1 (rs28903098) that are frequent in our cohort and more prevalent in our Lebanese in-house database compared to other international databases. Furthermore, two actionable variants, one in PALB2 (rs864622498) and another in ERCC2 (rs121913016) were detected in 2 different individuals from our cohort, paving the way to personalized therapies in these patients. A variant in NAT2 (rs1799931), shown to be associated with BC in other populations, was detected in 4 patients from our cohort.ConclusionThis is the first study in Lebanon and one of very few international studies carried out by NGS in patients with BC. Further studies in larger cohorts are required to confirm our findings in the Lebanese population.
Double-Layered T-Shape Loaded Hairpin Resonator for High Performance Characteristic Dual Band BPF Design
Authors: Mohammed zainab A. , Hammed Raaed T.
Published: June 2022

A simple high performance compact dual band bandpass filter is developed in this paper based on multilayered T-shape loaded hairpin resonator (T-SLHR). The filter circuit is constructed using two substrates. On the first ground plane substrate, two T-SLHRs are analyzed and electrically coupled through a space gap to accomplish the desired dual passbands. To acquire the filtering response, an input/output grounded hairpin-stub is patterned on a second ungrounded-substrate and broadside coupled to the T-SLHRs. To validate the proposed concept, a dual-band BPF is realized for a multi-wireless network system working at 2.4 GHz and 3.5 GHz center frequencies. Indeed, the T-SLHR is analyzed based on odd-even theory to generate the specified frequencies. Furthermore, a block-diagram to explain the coupling mechanism of the expected filtering attitude is suggested. Moreover, the simulated filter is manufactured and its results from measurement and simulation are compared and discussed. The produced filter has quite small area less than 126 mm 2 , high skirt roll-off selectivity and good isolation rejection band.
Hybrid rendezvous clustering model for efficient data collection in multi sink based wireless sensor networks
Authors: M RAGHAVENDRA Y , B MAHADEVASWAMY U
Published: June 2022

Mobile sink based data collection has comparatively lower energy consumption compared to multi hop forwarding in wireless sensor networks. Energy efficiency is achieved by minimizing the hop count to sink in mobile sink based approaches. These approaches are of two types: Mobile sink collect stored data at rendezvous nodes or cluster heads forwarding data to mobile sink without storage by using its maximum transmission range. First approach provides higher energy gain at cost of delay. Second approach provides lower delay at cost of additional energy consumption. This work combines both the approaches with rendezvous node deciding to store or forward based on prediction of trajectory of multiple mobile sinks and packet latency deadlines.
MOVE in ROAD: Multi-Objective Vehicle Monitoring using River Formation Dynamics and Deep Learning Algorithms
Authors: Guravaiah Koppala , Dharavathu Niharika Naik , U Venkanna , Rangaraj Leela Velusamy
Published: June 2022

Nowadays, wireless sensor networks plays major role in solving vehicular Internet of Things (VIoT) applications. This paper address the common problems in vehicular technology such as unauthorized vehicular usage within a locality, vehicular thefts, and vehicular accidents using camera, radiofrequency identification (RFID) and Ultra-sonic sensors. It also addresses the problem of identifying the vehicle pollution parameter values such as carbon monoxide ( CO ) and carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ), providing information about alcohol consumption by driver, and checking validity (driving license) of the driver to drive the vehicle. The driver identification is going to be done with the help of driving license, which can be identified with the help of Deep learning algorithms such as MTCNN (Multi-Task Cascaded Convolutional Neural Networks) and facenet algorithms. The proposed system is deployed and demonstrated using Micro-controller, Micro-processor and other sensors in real time environment. The River Formation Dynamics based Multi-hop Routing Protocol for Vehicles (RFDMRPV) is used for communication between vehicles. Data collected from the sensors fixed in vehicles are transferred to server using RFDMRPV for storing and further processing.
Quality of Service Enhancement of Circular Microstrip Patch Antenna (CMPA) for 5G Communication Network
Authors: QAMAR SHAMIMUL , Rai Amrita , Roy Ajay , Prakash Om , Basha Syed Asif , Banu Firdouse , Mohammed Salman Arafath , Azeem Abdul
Published: June 2022

Due to small shape, compact size and easy fabrication, Microstip patch antennas (MPA) are prominently used in various domains and play a vital role in communication world. The characteristic disadvantage of the Microstip patch antenna (MPA) is its Narrow Bandwidth and low gain which is not suitable for 5G communication. To enhance the bandwidth and gain, a novel design of circular microstrip Patch antenna(CMPA) is proposed in this work. For overcome this problem it is tried to introduce a circular patch on FR-4 substrate material (_r = 4.4) also known as circular Microstip patch array, where the circular patch has a circular slot etched into it for wideband service. It has been designed and simulated with dielectric substrates (Rogers 5880) that have the dielectric constant of 2.2 with 1.5 mm height, using the High Frequency Structural Simulation (HFSSTM) tool, which is based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). The antenna has been design to work at 5.8GHz which solves the problem of narrow bandwidth. In addition to this proposed antenna gain also increase to 7.876 dB by introducing circular Microstrip patch, indicate that the gain of overall performance has been enhanced. The proposed antenna has been designed and tested for an operating frequency of 5.8GHz which is used for Wi-Fi communication and 5G networking all over the world.
Physico-chemical characteristics of biodegradable poly (lactic acid) and poly (lactic acid)/ chitosan composites under the influence of gamma irradiation
Authors: Elsawy Moataz A. , Fekry Mohamed , Sayed Aisha M. , Maziad Nabila A. , Saad Gamal R.
Published: June 2022

PLA and its nanocomposite containing 3% chitosan nanoparticles (PLA-3CsNP) were studied to see how γ -irradiation affected their characteristics. Different doses of γ -irradiation were applied to the investigated materials under inquiry (5–40 kGy) using 60Co at ambient condition. The irradiation materials were characterized by FT-IR, GPC, mechanical tensile test, DSC, XRD, and TGA in solid and chloroform solutions. The molecular weight of the studied materials was lowered when the irradiation dose was increased, indicating that γ-irradiation had the dominating effect through oxidative degradation, and chain scission. The addition of chitosan to PLA reduces the impact of γ-irradiation, while the samples irradiated in solution showed more degradation after irradiation than irradiated solid films. Irradiation caused a decrease in tensile strength and elongation at break values. Both the melting temperature (Tm) and the glass transition temperature (Tg) decreased as the irradiation dose was increased. The cold crystallization peak temperatures were reduced when pure PLA was irradiated in solution. The thermal stability of PLA was diminished as the irradiation dose was raised, and this effect was more pronounced in samples irradiated in chloroform solution.
Prevalence of Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase and molecular detection of blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M genotypes among Gram Negative Bacilli Isolates from Pediatric Patient Population in Gaza strip
Authors: Aila Nabil El , Laham Nahed Al , Ayesh Basim
Published: June 2022

Background: Extended-spectrum β lactamases (ESBLs) have the ability to hydrolyze and cause resistance to types of the β-lactam antibiotics, including the extended-spectrum (or third generation) cephalosporins (e.g., cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime) and monobactams (e.g., aztreonam).Objectives: To assess the prevalence and molecular characteristics of ESBL producing Gram negative bacilli, isolated from a cohort of pediatric patients in Gaza hospitals.Methods: A total of 322 isolates of Gram-negative bacilli were collected from four referral pediatric hospitals in Gaza, namely: Al-Nasr, Al-Rantisi, Al-Durra and Beit Hanoun hospitals. These isolates were tested for ESBL production using the double disk synergy and CHROMagar phenotypic methods. Molecular characterization of the ESBL producing strains was performed using PCR targeting the CTX-M, TEM and SHV genes. The antibiotic profile was determined using the Kirby Bauer method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute standards.Results: Out of 322 isolates tested by phenotypic methods, 166 (51.6%) were ESBL positive. The prevalence of ESBL production in Al-Nasr, Al-Rantisi, Al-Durra and Beit Hanoun hospitals was 54.0%, 52.5%, 45.5% and 52.8%, respectively. The prevalence of ESBL production among Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter spp., Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., and Serratia marcescens was 55.3%, 63.4%, 17.8%, 57.1%, 33.3%, 28.5%, 38.4%, and 4.0%, respectively. ESBL production for urine, pus, blood, CSF and sputum was 53.3%, 55.2%, 47.4%, 33.3%, and 25%, respectively. Out of the 322 isolates, 144 were screened for CTX-M, TEM and SHV production. Using PCR, 85 (59%) was shown to be positive for at least one gene. The overall prevalence of CTX-M, TEM and SHV genes was 60.0%, 57.6%, and 38.3%, respectively.Meropenem and amikacin were the most effective antibiotics against the ESBLs producers (83.1% and 82.5% of susceptible isolates, respectively), while the least effective antibiotics were amoxicillin (3.1%) and cephalexin (13.9%). Moreover, ESBLs producers showed a high resistance rate to cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and ceftazidime (79.5%, 78.9% and 79.5%, respectively). Conclusion: Our results show high prevalence of ESBL production among Gram negative bacilli isolated from children in different pediatric hospitals in Gaza strip. A substantial level of resistance to first and second generation cephalosporins was also observed. This emphasizes the need for a rational antibiotic prescription and consumption policy.
Putting non-communicable disease data to work in Vietnam: An investigation of community health surveillance capacity
Authors: Nguyen T. Thu Nam , Nguyen T. Thi Tho , Tran Quoc Bao , Pham Cong Tuan , Perry Kelly E. , Haregu Tilahun , Oldenburg Brian , Kowal Paul
Published: June 2022

IntroductionDespite the public health system’s critical role in non-communicable disease (NCD) surveillance in Vietnam, limited evidence exists on the implementation of NCD surveillance activities within these systems and the need for capacity building across different system levels to meet expected NCD surveillance goals. This study aimed to evaluate the status of and describe factors affecting the implementation of NCD surveillance activities and to identify the NCD surveillance capacity building needs of the public health system in Vietnam.MethodsWe used a mixed-methods approach in four provinces, conducting self-completed surveys of staff from six Preventive Medicine Institutes (PHIs), 53 Centres for Disease Control (CDCs) and 148 commune health stations (CHS), as well as 18 in-depth interviews and 26 focus group discussions at four PHIs, four CDCs, and eight district health centres and CHS. ResultsStudy findings highlighted that although Vietnam has a well-functioning NCD surveillance system, a number of quality issues related to NCD surveillance data were salient. Multifactorial reasons were identified for incomplete, unconfirmed, and inaccurate mortality data and current disease surveillance data. Data on NCD management and treatment were reported to be of better quality than data for screening, targeted treatment, and counselling communication. Main factors affected the effective implementation of NCD surveillance, namely lack of complete and specific guidelines for NCD surveillance, limitations in human resource capacity within NCD departments, and shortage of funding for NCD surveillance activities. ConclusionStudy findings provide practical strategies for strengthening health system capacity for NCD surveillance through developing policies, guidelines, and standardised tools to guide NCD surveillance and a road map for integrated NCD surveillance, developing training packages and manuals for all levels of the health system, and conducting utilisation-focused surveillance training programs.
Nonconvulsive status epilepticus in Neurological ICU patients
Authors: Huang Yuanyuan , Yuan Dezhi , Hou Xianhua , Gui Li
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Nonconvulsive status epilepticus（NCSE）is a condition involving seizures without convulsions; it is usually characterized by altered consciousness and behavioral and vegetative abnormalities. Owing to the nonspecific symptoms, NCSE is often overlooked, especially in neurological intensive care unit(NICU) patients. Therefore, we investigated the etiology, clinical features, electroencephalographic (EEG) changes, treatment options, and outcomes of NCSE in NICU patients with altered consciousness.Methods: This study retrospectively collected the data of 20 patients with altered consciousness in the NICU. NCSE diagnoses were established by the treating neurologist who had been trained to recognize nonspecific clinical signs and recognize complex EEG changes.Results: We identified 20 patients(43.95±20.70 years) with clinical signs and EEG findings consistent with NCSE; 9 were female. All the patients suffered from altered consciousness. Five patients had established epilepsy. NCSE was attributed to acute pathological conditions. The underlying cause of NCSE was intracranial infection in 6 patients (30%), cerebrovascular disease in 5 patients(25%), irregular use of epilepsy drugs in 3 patients(15%), infection in 2 patients(10%), unknown in 3 patients, and immune-related inflammation in 1 patient. Fifteen patients had diffuse and five patients had temporal focal EEG abnormalities. Six of 20 NCSE cases (30%) resulted in death. All the patients, except for the patients who died, received anticonvulsant therapy and their altered conscious state was promptly altered.Conclusion: The clinical symptoms of NCSE without convulsions are often obscure and difficult to detect. NCSE can cause serious consequences and even death. Therefore, for patients with a high clinical suspicion of NCSE, continuous EEG monitoring is needed to quickly identify this condition and promptly start treat them.
Adjuvant treatment of Grade 4 Glioma, outcomes at a UK tertiary centre
Authors: Price Louise , Ziff Charlotte , Elmasry Abdelfattah , Giridharan Selvaraj
Published: June 2022

BackgroundThe 5 year overall survival (OS) for Glioblastoma (GBM) remains low. Our cohort had a lower percentage completing adjuvant treatment than those reported in trials. Therefore, we assess those not completing planned 6 cycles of adjuvant treatment and effect on survival outcomes. We also assess survival data for those who had Gliadel wafer insertion at the time of primary surgery. We go on to assess the combination of these factors on survival outcomes.MethodsWe carried out a retrospective cohort study of 110 patients who underwent neurosurgery followed by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) 60 Gray in 30 fractions and adjuvant Temazolomide (TMZ) from 2007 to 2016. We assessed OS and progression free survival (PFS) and carried out a number of subset analyses. ResultsOS was 16 months and PFS 11.9 months. 57% of patients completed 4-6 cycles of adjuvant TMZ 43% received 3 or less cycles of TMZ. Those unable to complete planned adjuvant TMZ had a poorer OS (10 vs 20 months, Cox analysis P-value 0.0003). Those who had maximal safe debulking plus Gliadel wafer insertion, median OS was improved, 19.5 months P=0.06. The group with the combination of significant factors, median OS was 2 months greater than those that did not receive Gliadel wafers and could not complete 4 cycles of adjuvant TMZ. ConclusionsSurvival outcomes were improved with Gliadel wafer insertion and completing 4-6 cycles of TMZ. Consequently the combination of these factors led to improved outcomes.
Sustaining a network by controlling a fraction of nodes
Authors: Sanhedrai Hillel , Havlin Shlomo
Published: June 2022

Multi-stability is a widely observed phenomenon in real complex networked systems, such as technological infrastructures, ecological systems, gene regulation, transportation and more. When a system functions normally but there exists also a potential state with abnormal low activity, although the system is at equilibrium it might make a transition into the low activity undesired state due to external disturbances and perturbations. Thus, such a system can be regarded as unsustainable, due to the danger of falling into the potential inactive state. Here we explore, analytically and by simulations, how supporting the activity of a fraction ρ of nodes can turn an unsustainable system to be sustainable by eliminating the inactive potential stable state. We thus unveil a new sustainability phase diagram in the presence of a fraction of controlled nodes ρ. This phase diagram could provide guidelines to sustain a network by external intervention and/or by strengthening the connectivity of the network.
Agricultural water footprint of southern highbush blueberry produced commercially with drip irrigation and sprinkler frost protection
Authors: Pannunzio Alejandro , Holzapfel Eduardo , Cirelli A. Fernández , Texeira Pamela , Souto Camilo , Bryla David R.
Published: June 2022

A study was conducted from 2010 to 2017 to determine the water footprint for producing blueberries in the Entre Ríos province of Argentina. Three cultivars of southern highbush blueberry (hybrid cross of Vaccinium sp.) were evaluated in the study, including ‘Star’, ‘Emerald’, and ‘Snowchaser’. In each case, the plants were irrigated by drip and protected from frost using overhead sprinklers. Water requirements for irrigation and frost protection varied among the cultivars due to differences in the timing of flowering and fruit development. The annual water footprint for fruit production in each cultivar ranged from 212–578 m3 t-1 for ‘Star’, 296–985 m3 t–1 for ‘Emerald’, and 536–4066 m3 t-1 for ‘Snowchaser’. ‘Snowchaser’ flowered earlier than the other cultivars and, therefore, needed more water for frost protection. ‘Star’, on the other hand, ripened the latest among the cultivars and required little to no water for frost protection. Frost protection required a minimum of 30 m3 h-1 of water per hectare and in addition to drip irrigation was a major component of the water footprint.
Faster Service with Less Resource: A Resource Efficient Blockchain Framework for Edge Computing
Authors: Wang Kaiyu , Tu Zhiying , Ji Zhenzhou , He Shufan
Published: June 2022

By integrating edge computing with blockchain technology, traceable and immutable services can be provided to address the distrust issue between edge devices. However, the contradiction between the computing and storage requirements of blockchain deployment and the constrained resources of edge devices is the greatest obstacle standing in the way. This makes edge devices have to consume expensive costs to deploy a blockchain system for trusted collaboration. To address the above problem, this article proposes a resource-efficient blockchain framework for edge computing. First, we propose a cloud-edge collaboration consensus protocol called the Proof-of-Lottery (PoL) that completely offloads the computing requirement of consensus protocol execution from edge devices to the cloud. By introducing double-chain structure and dynamic difficulty target mechanism, PoL can significantly improve the throughput and latency of the blockchain transaction while remains decentralization and security. Then, the framework division mechanism based on edge-terminal consensus zone (ETCZ) is proposed to decrease the minimum storage requirement for resource constrained edge devices. The multi-ETCZ PoL protocol is also designed for consensus in the multi-ETCZ blockchain framework. Finally, controlled experiments are tested to demonstrate that our framework can significantly reduce the resource requirements for edge devices on blockchain deployment while achieving high-throughput and low-latency services.
Genetic structure of Hancornia speciosa Gomes (Apocynaceae) in the cerraro and atlantic forest domains reveal two botanical varieties
Authors: Terto Jackeline , Maia Ana Kelly , Chaves Lázaro José , Silva-Júnior Josué Francisco , Veasey Elizabeth Ann , Silva Edson Ferreira , Almeida Cícero
Published: June 2022

Hancornia speciosa Gomes is an important species from Brazil, distributed in the Cerrado, Caatinga and Atlantic Rain Forest domains. Six botanical varieties are described for H. speciosa, of which are distributed in different regions, however, currently, only two varieties are recognized (pubescens and speciosa). Additionally the phylogeographic and phylogenetic studies have not been reported for H. speciosa, which only phylogeographic study has been related for populations from the Cerrado domain. Here we aimed to assesses the phylogeographical structure of H. speciosa and build the phylogenetic tree using trnH-psbA sequences from chloroplast genome and six microsatellites loci of nuclear genome. The results for chloroplast sequence showed 11 haplotypes and phylogenetic tree revealed two main clades, which the first clade containing the botanical varieties H. speciosa var gardneri, H. speciosa var pubescens and H. speciosa var cuyabensis and secund clade containing the botanical variety H. speciosa var speciosa. The microsatellite analysis revealed on group containing botanical variety H. speciosa var speciosa, while another group consisted of other botanical varieties. The phylogeographic structure revealed five groups: two corresponded to variety H. speciosa var speciosa (individuals from Caatinga and Atlantic Rain Forest domains) and other three groups contain the botanical varieties H. speciosa var gardneri, H. speciosa var pubescens and H. speciosa var cuyabensis (individuals from Cerrado domain). The genetic structure and phylogenetic data support the two recognized botanical varieties of H. speciosa.
Genotype, phenotype and treatment outcomes of 17 Malaysian patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease and the identification of 3 novel GAA variants
Authors: Chan Mei Yan , Jalil Julaina Abdul , Ali Ernie Zuraida , Khalid Mohd Khairul Nizam Mohd , Yakob Yusnita , Wahab Siti Aishah Abdul , Chew Hui Bein , Leong Huey Yin , Sivabalakrishnan Jeya Bawani , Ngu Lock Hock
Published: June 2022

Background
Pompe disease is a rare glycogen storage disorder caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA), leading to glycogen deposition in multiple tissues. Infantile-onset Pompe disease (IOPD) patients present within the first year of life with profound hypotonia and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Treatment with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) has significantly improved survival for this otherwise lethal disorder. This study aims to describe the clinical and molecular spectrum of Malaysian IOPD patients, and to analyze their long term treatment outcomes.
Methods
Seventeen patients diagnosed with IOPD between 2000 and 2020 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Clinical and biochemical data were collated and analyzed using descriptive statistics. GAA enzyme levels were performed on dried blood spots. Molecular analysis of the GAA gene was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing. Structural modelling was used to predict the effect of the novel mutations on enzyme structure.
Results
Our cohort had a median age of presentation of three months and median age of diagnosis of six months. Presenting features were hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (100%, n = 17), respiratory insufficiency (94%, n = 16), hypotonia (88%, n = 15), failure to thrive (82%, n = 14), feeding difficulties (76%, n = 13), and hepatomegaly (76%, n = 13). Fifteen different mutations in the GAA gene were identified, with three novel mutations, c.1552-14_1552-1del, exon 2–3 deletion and exon 6–10 deletion. The most common mutation identified was c.1935C > A, with an allele frequency of 33%. Sixteen patients received ERT at the median age of seven months. Overall survival was 29%. Mean age of death was 17.5 months. Our longest surviving patient has atypical IOPD and is currently 20 years old.
Conclusions
This is the first study to analyze the genotype and phenotype of Malaysian IOPD patients, and has identified the c.1935C > A as the most common mutation. The three novel mutations reported in this study expands the mutation spectrum for IOPD. Our low survival rate underscores the importance of early diagnosis and treatment in achieving better treatment outcomes.
Credit Card Fraud Detection using XGBoost Classifier with a Threshold Value
Authors: Maurya Ayushi , Kumar Arun , Prakash Shiv
Published: June 2022

Over the past years, speedy development of e-commerce techniques has been observed, making it promising for society to choose the best worthwhile product. This has made us dependent on financial institutions, where everyone deals with online banking facilities. Moreover, for payment, people are preferring credit cards over other methods which thus, have a higher risk of getting compromised. Thus, it is a big responsibility of financial institutions to upgrade their existing mechanism to prevent these fraud actions. However, it has also made it easy for scammers to exploit this big chance. Credit Card Fraud Detection helps us to identify fraudulent transactions. The proposed model in this paper detects fraud transaction using the XGBoost classifier to handle the imbalanced data. In the standard approach, the threshold value is pre-defined, which will lead to poor performance. Thus, in our proposed model, calculation and comparison of different threshold values are done to obtain the best value which gives an optimum result and high efficiency.
Blood and cerebrospinal fluid flow oscillations measured with real-time phase-contrast MRI: breathing mode matters
Authors: Laganà Maria Marcella , Tella Sonia Di , Pelizzari Laura , Cazzoli Marta , Alperin Noam , Jin Ning , Zacà Domenico , Baselli Giuseppe , Baglio Francesca
Published: June 2022

Background.
The cervical blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow rates can be quantified with Phase-contrast (PC) MRI, routinely used for clinical studies. Previous MRI studies showed that venous and CSF flow alterations are linked to various pathological conditions. Since it is well known that, besides the heart beating, also the thoracic pump influences the blood and CSF dynamics, we studied the effect of different respiration modes on the blood and CSF flow rates using a real-time (RT)-PC prototype.
Methods.
Thirty healthy volunteers were examined with a 3T scanner. A RT-PC was acquired at the first cervical level to quantify the flow rates of internal carotid arteries, internal jugular veins (IJVs) and CSF. Each RT-PC was repeated three times, while the subjects were asked to breathe in three different ways for 60s each: freely (F), with a constant rate (PN) and with deep and constant respiration rate (PD). The average flow rates were computed and the power spectral density was computed for each flow rate. Low- and high-frequency peaks were identified on the spectra, their frequencies were compared to the respiratory and cardiac frequencies estimated using a thoracic band and a pulse oximeter. The area under the spectra were computed in four 0.5Hz-wide ranges, centered on the low peak, on high-frequency peak and its 2nd and 3rd harmonics, and then they were normalized by the flow rate variance. The effect of breathing patterns on average flow rates and on the normalized power was tested. Finally, the volumes displaced during inspiration were compared to those of expiration.
Results.
The low and high-frequency spectral peaks corresponded to the respiratory and cardiac frequencies. The average flow rate progressively decreased from F to PN to PD breathing, and the cardiac modulations were less predominant especially for the IJVs. The respiratory modulation increased with PD breathing. The average volumes displaced in the inspiratory phases were not significantly different from those of the expiratory one.
Conclusions.
The spectral analyses demonstrated higher respiratory modulations in the PD breathing, for the greater thoracic pump effect on the flow rates, even prevailing to the cardiac one in the IJVs.
Genetic analysis of multiple sclerosis severity identifies a novel locus and implicates CNS resilience as a major determinant of outcome
Authors: Baranzini Sergio , Sawcer Stephen , Consortium International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics , Consortium MultipleMS , *
Published: June 2022

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that results in significant neurodegeneration in the majority of those affected and is a common cause of chronic neurological disability in young adults. To provide insight into the mechanisms determining progression, we conducted a genome-wide association study of the age-related MS severity score in 12,584 cases and replicated our findings in a further 9,805 cases. We identified a significant association with rs10191329 in the DYSF-ZNF638 locus (P=3.6×10-9), the risk allele shortening the median time to require a walking aid by up to 3.7 years. We also identified suggestive association with rs149097173 in the DNM3-PIGC locus (P=2.3×10-7) and significant enrichment for expression in CNS tissues. Mendelian randomization analyses indicated a protective role for higher educational attainment. In contrast to immune-driven susceptibility, these findings indicate a key role of CNS resilience and neurocognitive reserve in determining outcome in MS.
Association of Thyroid Hormones with Diabetic Kidney Disease in Chinese Adults
Authors: Liu Meng-chao , Li Jia-lin , Wang Meng-di , Shen Cun , Meng Yuan , Zhao Wen-jing , Niu Wen-quan , Cai Zhen , Wang Yue-fen
Published: June 2022

Objective: We sought to examine the predictive role of thyroid hormones in the risk and severity of diabetic kidney disease (DKD).Methods: A total of 2832 participants were finally involved in this retrospective study. The diagnosis and classification of DKD were performed according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) risk categories. And the estimates of effect size were expressed as odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: After propensity score matching (PSM) on age, gender, hypertension, hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c), total cholesterol（TC）and duration of diabetes, every 0.2 pg/mL increase in serum free triiodothyronine (FT3) could significantly reduce the risk of DKD by 13-21% during the moderate-risk stage (OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.81-0.93, P<0.001) and high-risk stage (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.74-0.85, P<0.001), and by 44% during the very high-risk stage(OR:0.56, 95% Cl: 0.52-0.61,P<0.001). While after PSM, the correlation between serum FT4 and TSH and the risk of DKD was not statistically significant.Conclusions: Our results suggest that among thyroid hormones, only serum FT3 is an independent risk factor for all stages of DKD.
Emergent Unusual Ferromagnetism and Insulator-Metal Transition in δ-Doped Ultrathin Ruthenates
Authors: Zhang Jiandi , Ali Zeeshan , Saghayezhian Mohammad , Wang Zhen , O’Hara Andrew , Shin Donghan , Ge Wenbo , Chan Ying-Ting , Wu Weida , Pantelides Sokrates , Zhu Yimei
Published: June 2022

Heterostructures of complex transition metal oxides are known to induce extraordinary emergent quantum states that arise from broken symmetry and other discontinuities at interfaces. Here we report the emergence of unusual, thickness-dependent properties in ultrathin CaRuO3 films by unique insertion of a single isovalent SrO layer (referred to as “δ-doping”). While bulk CaRuO3 is metallic and nonmagnetic, films thinner than or equal to ~15-unit cells (u.c.) are insulating though still nonmagnetic. However, δ-doping to middle of such CaRuO3 films induces an insulator-to-metal transition and unusual ferromagnetism with strong magnetoresistive behavior. The ferromagnetic ground state does not show fully long-range order. Atomically resolved imaging and density-functional-theory calculations reveal that the whole δ-doped film preserves the bulk-CaRuO3 orthorhombic structure, while appreciable structural and electronic changes are highly localized near the SrO layer. The results highlight delicate nature of magnetic ordering in CaRuO3 and subtle effects that can alter it, especially the role of A-site cation in electronic and magnetic structure additional to lattice distortion in ruthenates. It also provides a practical approach to engineer material systems via highly localized modifications in their structure and composition that may offer new routes to the design of oxide electronics.
Whole genome sequencing and analysis of 4,053 individuals in trios and mother-infant duos from the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study
Authors: Qiu Xiu , Huang Shujia , Huang Mingxi , Liu Siyang , Wang Chengrui , He Jianrong , Kuang Yashu , Lu Jinhua , Gu Yuqin , Xia Xiaoyan , Lin Shanshan , Xia Huimin
Published: June 2022

Large-scale birth cohorts that recruit trios/duos families are essential resource for determining the genetic and environmental contribution to maternal-infant’s health. While large-scale genomic studies of unrelated individuals were carried out around the world, genomic study based on birth cohorts is scarce, especially in China and Asia. Here, we present the Phase I genomic study of the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study (BIGCS), which consists of the analysis of the whole genome sequencing data of 4,053 Chinese participants in trios or mother-infant duos living in South China. We identify 18.3 million novel genetic variants and construct a reference panel that enables more accurate genotype imputation for individuals of Chinese ancestry. We identify a new ancestral component specific to southern Chinese and for the first time, have dissected the genetic relationship of 10 Chinese dialects. We reveal seven novel East-Asian specific genetic associations with total bile acid, gestational weight gain and lipid metabolism level in the maternal peripheral or fetal cord blood and have recognized the distinction of genetic effect on the same trait between adults and infants. Using inter-generational mendelian randomization, we have dissected five mechanisms related to maternal and fetal genetic effect of seven adult phenotypes on six fetal growth-related pregnancy outcomes. Our findings fill the gap of the missing diversity in human genetics and demonstrate the great value of genomic study of birth cohort in advancing the worldwide genetic knowledge and maternal-infant health.
Deciphering the mechanism about the mycorrhizal-induced resistance and susceptibility in Populus alba × P. berolinensis seedlings from the perspective of gypsy moth larvae
Authors: Tan Mingtao , Jiang Dun
Published: June 2022

The mechanism of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) affecting insect resistance in plants is well depicted at the physiological level. However, there is a lack of systematic research from the perspective of insects. In this study, we used AMF-Populus alba × P. berolinensis seedlings that could either increase or decrease the resistance to gypsy moth larvae, to elucidate the mechanism of mycorrhizal-induced resistance/susceptibility at the larval microbial and metabolic levels. The results showed that the larval growth was significantly inhibited in the AMF, Glomus mossae (GM) colonized seedlings, whereas enhanced in the Glomus intraradices (GI) colonized seedlings. Gut microbiome analysis elucidated that GM inoculation reduced the probiotic abundance (e.g., Staphylococcus, Lactobacillus, Akkermansia) in gypsy moth larvae and inhibited the detoxification and metabolic functions of the gut microbiota. However, GI inoculation improved the gut environment in gypsy moth larvae by reducing the abundance of pathogenic bacteria (Chryseobacterium, Fusobacterium, and Neisseria) and activating specific metabolic pathways (e.g., energy metabolism). Non-targeted metabolomics analysis further revealed that GM inoculation triggers a metabolic disorder in the larval fat body, accompanied by the down-regulation of metabolic pathways involved in detoxification and energy production. The levels of differentially accumulated metabolites related to amino acid synthesis and metabolism and exogenous toxin metabolism pathways were significantly increased in the GI group. Taken together, disturbance in the gut microbial function and fat body metabolism in gypsy moth larvae led to the induction of mycorrhizal-induced resistance after GM inoculation, and GI-induced susceptibility involved in the improvement of gut environment and energy metabolism.
A method to obtain fuzzy relations between uncertain objects using similarity measure
Authors: Jana Subhankar , Mahanta Juthika
Published: June 2022

Topological relation between geographical objects is one of the key components of geographical information system (GIS). Considering the objects to be exact with sharp boundaries, 4 intersection and 9 intersection matrices initiated the study of calculating the topological relations. Due to the extensive existence of vague spatial phenomenons, the study of uncertainty object modeling has grown rapidly. Parallelly, the relationship calculating tools have been upgraded to handle the vague concepts. The fuzzy 9 intersection matrix and Egg yolk methods are such popular tools. Although the geographical objects are themselves uncertain, surprisingly, most of these tools generate certain relations between the objects. Thereby, the qualitative nature of these tools overlook the very essence of their uncertainty. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose a quantitative fuzzy valued 9 intersection matrix to obtain a fuzzy relationship between uncertain geographical objects. Then two new similarity computation techniques have been introduced to calculate the membership grade of similarity between the proposed matrix and the known crisp matrices. These similarity computations allow two spatial objects to have partial membership against the eight established topological relations. The quantitative calculations indicate the strength of the relationship. The superiority of the proposed model is established through various numerical examples. Further, certain linguistic variables are linked to the evaluated membership grades to generate an immediate association with the known crisp relations. An example is provided in support of this association.