bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The association of serum IL-33/ST2 expression with hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Pan Xiaolan , Liu Jinfeng , Li Meiqin , Liang Yihua , Liu Zhimin , Lao Ming , Fang Min
Published: April 2023

Background: IL-33 is considered to be a multifunctional cytokine with dual functions. However, the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of IL-33 in cancer patients, especially hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)，remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted 565 patients with HCC and 561 healthy controls and a meta-analysis to quantitatively evaluate the above problems.
Methods: We collected the blood of 565 patients with HCC and 561 healthy controls. ELISA was used to detect the concentration of IL-33 and ST2 in the serum, and the RT-PCR method was used to detect the levels of IL-33 and ST2 mRNA content. Meanwhile, we collected comprehensive literature on IL-33 and clinical characteristics of cancer patients retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI databases as of August 15, 2021. An odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to estimate the impact through overall and stratified analysis.
Results: Compared with the healthy control group, the levels of ST2 mRNA and serum in the peripheral blood of HCC patients increased(P<0.05), while the levels of IL-33 mRNA and serum showed no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). In the meta-analysis section, at the level of tissue level, the overall analysis showed that the expression of IL-33 was positively correlated with tumor stage, histological grade, distant metastasis and tumor size. Compared with the low IL-33 expression, the 3-year overall survival (OS) rate (OR=3.467, P <0.001) and 5-year OS rate (OR=2.784, P <0.001) of patients with high IL-33 expression were lower. At the level of serum level expression, the overall analysis showed that the expression of IL-33 would increase the risk of cancer, and the serum level of IL-33 was positively correlated patient’s with tumor stage and vascular invasion.
Conclusion: IL-33/ST2 is a useful predictive or prognostic biomarker in clinical evaluation, and may be used as a potential therapeutic target, but it needs a lot of research to verify.
Climate change reduces wetland size and shifts its seasonal regime in North America
Authors: Xu Donghui , Bisht Gautam , Tan Zeli , Sinha Eva , Vittorio Alan Di , Zhou Tian , Ivanov Valeriy , Leung L.
Published: April 2023

Inland wetlands are important ecosystems sustained by excessive water. Climate change can alter wetland extent and functions, but such impacts are unclear because hydroclimatic changes influence wetland processes in different ways. Here we project future changes in wetland characteristics over North America under low and high emission scenarios, using a state-of-the-science Earth system model that represents both fluvial and pluvial inundation processes. We project a reduction in wetland areas in all seasons except winter. At the continental scale, annual wetland area decreases by ~10% under the high emission scenario by the end of the century, with much larger and divergent regional changes of up to ±50%. However, the evolution of functional wetland habitats can be different from that of wetland area dynamics. The wetland reduction increases with global warming level as temperature is projected to play a more dominant role in wetland dynamics than precipitation under the high emission scenario.
Morphological, antioxidase, and photosynthetic responses in Liaodong elata (Aralia elata) under treatments of light intensity
Authors: Liu Boda , Zhang Jing , Zhang Zhenying , Sui Yong , Zhu Hengxin , Shi Yaru , Sui Xiuyu , Li Yuwu , Jiang Xinqiang
Published: April 2023

Light intensity is important for the growth, development, and productivity of shade-tolerant plants. Liaodong elata (Aralia elata) is a highly nutrient natural organic food widely used in northern China. However, little is known about its cultivation under shading treatments. In this study, we conducted the morphological, physiology, and photosynthetic capacity of Liaodong elata under five treatments of 0% (CK), 20% (S1), 35% (S2), 50% (S3), and 60% (S4) shading levels. The results showed that the plant morphology in both S3 and S4 is better than CK, S1, and S2. Furthermore, the antioxidant enzyme activities of CK, S1 and S2 were higher than S3 and S4 at 30 d (T1) and 40 d (T2) shading time. We speculate that a certain light stress could destroy the antioxidant enzyme system. Photosynthetic results showed that the chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm, Yll, qP of S3 were higher and the NPQ was lower. It explained that S3 had a more efficient photosynthetic system. At the same time, we measured the physiological indices of leaves at different positions and analyzed the correlation of each index. We found that the Top leaves had more stable antioxidant enzymes, higher chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm, YII, qP, and lower NPQ. And antioxidant enzyme activity was negatively correlated with Fv/Fm, Yll, qP. This study proved the effectiveness of using a shading net for Liaodong elata cultivation. The 50% shading treatment is the optimal condition for the cultivation of Liaodong elata. These results are helpful to improve the reference for the introduction and cultivation of Liaodong elata.
Multi-Objective Hyperparameter Optimization on Gradient Boosting for Breast Cancer Detection
Authors: Singh Priya , Gupta Swayam , Gupta Vasu
Published: April 2023

The most commonly occurring cancer among women, breast cancer, causes lakhs of deaths yearly, which can be prevented by early detection and treatment. Detection can be done by using machine learning models on histopathological images that are affordable, reliable and accurate. Previous works in this regard have focused on transfer learning methods combining feature selection using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and ensemble of gradient-boosting algorithms. However, none of the state-of-the-art techniques capture the multi-objective nature of breast cancer detection and tend to improve a single performance measure such as Accuracy and F1 score, which fail to capture certain essential aspects of the problem as the cost of misclassification varies greatly depending on its type. In this study, a Multi-Objective Hyperparameter Optimization technique for Breast Cancer Prediction is proposed by comparing Random Search, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) and Bayesian Optimization. This approach is applied to ensemble of three popular Gradient Boosting techniques: Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM) and Categorical Boosting (CatBoost) on features obtained from Inception-ResNet-v2 CNN model applied on the benchmark BreakHis dataset to optimize Precision, Recall, Accuracy and AUC simultaneously. The novel NSGA2-IRv2-CXL model proposed in this study achieves maximum Accuracy of 94.40%, AUC of 98.16, Precision of 95.77%, and Recall of 99.29% for 100x magnification. The study also establishes tradeoffs between performance metrics which opens avenues for further research in multi-objective approaches on breast cancer detection which can provide a much larger view of the strengths and weaknesses of the classification model.
Short-term responses of Corallina officinalis (rhodophyta) to global-change drivers in a stressful environment of Patagonia, Argentina
Authors: Sandoval Giuliana Marianela Burgueño , Saad Juan Francisco , Narvarte Maite Andrea , Firstater Fausto Nahuel
Published: April 2023

Over the last two decades, an increasing interest has arisen in the responses of primary producers to global-change drivers and, more recently, in the need to consider how those various drivers may interact. To understand how Corallina officinalis (hereafter Corallina) can be affected by future changing conditions, we investigated the short-term direct effects of co-occurring increased nutrient loads, solar radiation, and lower pH, assessing how these clustered drivers affected Corallina's overall physiological performance in a harsh Patagonian coastal environment. To describe the seasonal trend of the physiological parameters in the field, we sampled subtidal Corallina to determine their net oxygen production (NOP), pigments, and carbonate content (CC). Furthermore, we conducted seasonal 10-days experiments, simulating the conditions predicted for the year 2100 by the IPCC (RCP 8.5) —manipulating pH, nutrients, and irradiance—along with the current conditions. The pigments and carotenoids/chlorophyll-a ratio were, in general, constant in the field over the seasons; but the NOP and CC dropped in spring, when the carotenoids peaked. After the experiment, the highest carotenoid/chlorophyll-a ratio was registered in summer under both the currentand the predictedconditions and in winter under the predictedcondition. This lower physiological status was also reflected in almost all other variables. Thus, Corallina may display an acclimatation strategy to cope with high ultraviolet-radiation levels by adjusting its pigment composition to avoid photoinhibition. An understanding of how Corallina, as a habitat-forming species, will respond to future global-change may provide clues about the extent of effects on the ecosystem functions and services.
De novo design of energy transfer proteins housing excitonically coupled chlorophyll special pairs
Authors: Ennist Nathan , Wang Shunzhi , Kennedy Madison , Curti Mariano , Sutherland George , Vasilev Cvetelin , Redler Rachel , Maffeis Valentin , Shareef Saeed , Sica Anthony , Hua Ash , Deshmukh Arundhati , Moyer Adam , Hicks Derrick , Swartz Avi , Cacho Ralph , Novy Nathan , Bera Asim , Kang Alex , Sankaran Banumathi , Johnson Matthew , Reppert Mike , Ekiert Damian , Bhabha Gira , Stewart Lance , Caram Justin , Stoddard Barry , Romero Elisabet , Hunter C. Neil , Baker David
Published: April 2023

Natural photosystems couple light harvesting to charge separation using a “special pair” of chlorophyll molecules that accepts excitation energy from the antenna and initiates an electron-transfer cascade. To investigate the photophysics of special pairs independent of complexities of native photosynthetic proteins, and as a first step towards synthetic photosystems for new energy conversion technologies, we designed C2-symmetric proteins that precisely position chlorophyll dimers. X-ray crystallography shows that one designed protein binds two chlorophylls in a binding orientation matching native special pairs, while a second positions them in a previously unseen geometry. Spectroscopy reveals excitonic coupling, and fluorescence lifetime imaging demonstrates energy transfer. We designed special pair proteins to assemble into 24-chlorophyll octahedral nanocages; the design model and cryo-EM structure are nearly identical. The design accuracy and energy transfer function of these special pair proteins suggest that de novo design of artificial photosynthetic systems is within reach of current computational methods.
miR397-LACs mediated cadmium stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Ali Shahid , Huang Shili , Zhou Jiajie , Bai Yongsheng , Liu Yang , Shi Liyu , Liu Shuai , Hu Zhangli , Tang Yulin
Published: April 2023

Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal, assimilated in plant tissue with other nutrients, disturbing the ions' homeostasis in plants. The plant develops different mechanisms to tolerate the hazardous environmental effects of Cd. Recently studies found different miRNAs that are involved in Cd stress. In the current study, miR397 mutant lines were constructed to explore the molecular mechanisms of miR397 underlying Cd tolerance. Compared with the genetically modified line of overexpressed miR397 (artificial miR397, amiR397), the lines of downregulated miR397 (Short Tandem Target Mimic miR397, STTM miR397) showed more substantial Cd tolerance with higher chlorophyll a & b, carotenoid and lignin content than amiR397. ICP-OES revealed higher cell wall Cd and low total Cd levels in STTM miR397 than in the wild-type and amiR397 plants.
Further, the STTM plants produced fewer reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lower activity of antioxidants enzymes (e.g., catalase [CAT], malondialdehyde [MDA]) compared with amiR397 and wild-type plants after stress, indicating that silencing the expression of miR397 can reduce oxidative damage. In addition, the different family transporters' gene expression was much higher in the amiR397 plants than in the wild type and STTM miRNA397. Our results suggest that miR397 plays a role in Cd tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of miR397 could decrease Cd tolerance in plants by regulating the expression of LAC 2/4/17, changing the lignin content, which may play an important role in inducing different stress-tolerant mechanisms and protecting the cell from a hazardous condition. This study provides a basis to elucidate the functions of miR397 and the Cd stress tolerance mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Overall drug treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients from national registries – A real-world study
Authors: Kaunisto Jaana , Salomaa Eija-Riitta , Koivisto Mari , Myllärniemi Marjukka
Published: April 2023

Background
Currently, two disease-modifying antifibrotic drugs are indicated for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The objective of this study was to analyse antifibrotic and overall prescription medication use of IPF patients in the real world.
Methods
Data was collected from the FinnishIPF registry and the Registry of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (SII). Purchases of all prescription medicines were assessed. The frequency, the initiation interval, the duration, and the breaks of the antifibrotic treatments were defined. The association between the prescription of antifibrotic therapy and different patient-related clinical parameters was studied. Accordingly, the relationships between the delay in starting therapy and patient-related variables were analysed.
Results
Of the 263 IPF patients, 132 (50.2%) had started antifibrotic treatment during the study period 2011–2018. The mean interval from the diagnosis to the first purchase was 367 (SD 429) days. The antifibrotic drug was switched in 14% of patients. Discontinuation of therapy occurred most commonly during the first year of the treatment. The one-year persistence was 77.1% for pirfenidone and 78.9% for nintedanib. A tendency of treating patients under 75 years was noticed. Low forced vital capacity predicted earlier initiation of medication.
Conclusions
The initiation of antifibrotics after diagnosis was slow, probably due to reimbursement limitations. Younger age at diagnosis affected treatment initiation although it is not known which patients really benefit most from these medications. The reasons for discontinuation of the antifibrotic therapy during the first year should be a focus in clinical work and further studies.
Application of mobile technology based on improved genetic algorithm in interactive design of digital media advertising
Authors: Weng Minming
Published: April 2023

With the development of digital media content, users have become the controllers of various digital media terminals. The creative design of interactive advertising is an uncertain part of the overall market segment of human-computer communication. All advertisements can be easily introduced to the public. Excellent digital technology has changed the carrier of advertising content, the form and structure of advertising, and the marketing between advertising relationships. Therefore, this article processes and designs digital media based on improved genetic algorithm technology and mobile communication technology. A genetic algorithm for designing multi group matrix structures is designed to improve the speed of synthesis. By using multi-core CPUs to build parallel KNN classifiers, the slow adaptation function caused by large data sets improves computational shortcomings, making genetic algorithm optimization a practical project for machine learning. This has played an important role in further expanding research on automated learning. Therefore, this article introduces in detail the requirements of genetic algorithm mobile technology in digital media advertising interaction design applications and system performance test results. The system further elaborates the concept of advertising interaction design, and conducts in-depth research on the expression of user experience and experience innovation strategies. At the same time, it has also found the value of user experience, so advertising interaction focused on user experience has a very large development space, which is also a broad application value and expectation.
Self-healable Printed Electronic Cryogels for Plant Monitoring
Authors: Whiting Gregory , Bihar Eloise , Strand Elliot , Crichton Catherine , Renny Megan , Bonter Ignacy , Atreya Madhur , Gestos Adrian , Haseloff Jim , Tran Tai , McLeod Robert
Published: April 2023

In this work, we present a novel method for integrating printed electronic materials with biocompatible cryogels to form stable, implantable hydrogel-based bioelectronic devices that show stable long-term operation inside plant tissue. The gels can be customized to provide various electronic functionalities, including electrodes and organic electrochemical transistors (OECT). These inkjet printed cryogel-based devices exhibit high electrical conductivity for embedded conductive polymer traces (up to 350 S/cm), high transconductance for OECTs (in the mS range), and high capacitance in capacitive structures (up to 4.2 mF.g-1). These devices also show high stretchability (up to 330% strain), and self-healing properties. The biocompatible functionalized gel-based electrodes and transistors were successfully implanted in plant tissue. Ionic activity in tomato plants was collected for over two months with minimal scar tissue formation observed over this time, making these cryogel-based electronic devices excellent candidates for continuous, in-situ monitoring of plant and environmental status and health.
Ac 2-26 reduced pyroptosis to ameliorate the cerebral injury in rats after cardiopulmonary bypass via the AKT1-eNOS pathway
Authors: Zhang Xue-yong , Zou Zi-wei , JIA Bao-wei , LIU Zi-ying , SUN Xi-kun , QIU Lin , Gao Wei
Published: April 2023

Background: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) generally results inbrain injury, which is primarily caused by inflammation. Ac2-26 protects against multiple organ injury via anti-inflammatory activities. The present study evaluated the effect of Ac2-26 on brain injury in CPB rats.
Methods: A total of 40 rats were randomized into sham, CPB, Ac, and Ac/AKT1 groups. The sham group only received anesthesia, intubation and cannulation, and rats in the other groups underwent the standard CPB surgery. Rats in the sham and CPB groups received saline, and rats in the Ac and Ac/AKT1 groups received Ac2-26 immediately after CPB. Rats in the Ac/AKT1 group were injected with shRNA (AKT1) 3 days before CPB. The neurological function score and brain edema were evaluated 12 hours after CPB, and brain pathological injury and hippocampal apoptosis were assessed. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, S100β and NSE were tested. AKT1, eNOS, and phosphorylated NF-κB in the brain were also detected.
Results: Compared to the sham group, all indicators were aggravated in rats that underwent CPB. Compared to the CPB group, Ac2-26 significantly improved neurological scores and brain edema and ameliorated pathological injury and hippocampal apoptosis. Ac2-26 also reduced the proinflammatory factorsS100β and NSE but increased IL-10. Ac2-26 decreased phosphorylated NF-κB, Bax and cleaved caspase-3 but increased Bcl-2. AKT1 shRNA significantly reversed the protective effect of Ac2-26.
Conclusions: Ac2-26 significantly improved neurological function, reduced brain injury, regulated inflammation, and inhibited apoptosis after CPB. The protective effect of Ac2-26 primarily depended on AKT1.
Antiviral protection by antibodies targeting the glycan cap of Ebola virus glycoprotein
requires activation of the complement system
Authors: Ilinykh Philipp A. , Huang Kai , Gunn Bronwyn M. , Kuzmina Natalia A. , Gilchuk Pavlo , Alter Galit , Crowe James E. , Bukreyev Alexander
Published: April 2023

Antibodies to Ebola virus glycoprotein (EBOV GP) represent an important correlate of the vaccine efficiency and infection survival. Both neutralization and some of the Fc-mediated effects are known to contribute the protection conferred by antibodies of various epitope specificities. At the same time, the role of the complement system in antibody-mediated protection remains unclear. In this study, we compared complement activation by two groups of representative monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) interacting with the glycan cap (GC) or the membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the viral sole glycoprotein GP. Binding of GC-specific mAbs to GP induced complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) in the GP-expressing cell line via C3 deposition on GP in contrast to MPER-specific mAbs that did not. Moreover, treatment of cells with a glycosylation inhibitor increased the CDC activity, suggesting that N-linked glycans downregulate CDC. In the mouse model of EBOV infection, depletion of the complement system by cobra venom factor led to an impairment of protection exerted by GC-specific but not MPER-specific mAbs. Our data suggest that activation of the complement system is an essential component of antiviral protection by antibodies targeting GC of EBOV GP.
An Altered Vigenère Circuit used in a Genetic Cross Again for Encryption of Medical Images
Authors: JARJAR MARIEM , JARJAR ABDELLATIF , abid abdellah , Kaddouhi Samir El , KATTASS MORAD , Benazzi ADELHAMID
Published: April 2023

An innovative technique for encrypting colors and medical images will be provided in this paper. It is founded on the creation of many, arbitrary-sized substitution tables that are attached to current replacement and diffusion functions that produced from the chaotic maps employed. By applying an upgraded Vigenère circuit with the built S-Box, a genetic crossover suited to the encoding of color images with multiple chaotic vectors will be adopted. Finally, a genetic mutation is installed under the control of a chaotic table for the reproduction of the encrypted image capable of resisting any unexpected invasion. A massive amount of color images of various sizes and formats being simulated to verify the dependability of our cutting-edge technology.
Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Race on Survival and Treatment in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Authors: Brufsky Adam , Narayanan Susrutha Puthanmadhom , Ren Dianxu , Oesterreich Steffi , Lee Adrian , Rosenzweig Margaret
Published: April 2023

Background:
Race and socioeconomic factors affect outcomes in breast cancer. We aim to assess the effect of race and neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on overall survival and treatment patterns in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC)
Method:
Retrospective cohort study involving patients (N = 1,246) with distant breast cancer metastases diagnosed at UPMC Magee Women’s Breast Cancer Clinic from 2000–2017. Overall survival and treatment patterns were compared between races (African Americans and Caucasians) and SES groups (defined using National Deprivation Index)
Results:
Low SES, but not tumor characteristics, was associated with African American race (P < 0.0001) in the study population. Low SES (Median[IQR] survival 2.3[2.2–2.5] years vs high SES 2.7[2.5–3.1] years, P = .01) and African American race (Median [IQR] survival 1.8[1.3–2.3] years, vs Caucasians 2.5[2.3–2.7] years P = .008) separately predicted worse overall survival in patients with MBC. In the Cox Proportional Hazard model with SES, race, age, subtype, and number of metastases as covariates, low SES (Hazard ratio 1.19[1.04–1.37], P = .01), but not African American race (Hazard ratio 1.23[0.97–1.56], P = .08), independently predicted overall survival in MBC. Moreover, patients with ER + MBC from low SES neighborhoods were more likely to be treated with tamoxifen than aromatase inhibitors+/-newer agents, and African Americans received fewer lines of chemotherapy than Caucasians.
Conclusions:
Low neighborhood SES is associated with worse outcomes in patients with MBC. Poor outcomes in African American patients with MBC, at least in part is driven by socioeconomic factors. Future studies should delineate the interplay between neighborhood SES, race, and their effects on tumor biology in MBC.
Psychrometry in the thermal comfort diagnosis of production animals: A combination of the systematic review and methodological proposal
Authors: Junior Sergio Luis de Castro , Silveira Robson Mateus Freitas , Silva Iran José Oliveira da
Published: April 2023

Animal welfare and zootechnical performance are compromised when animals are housed in environments which place them outside their thermal comfort zone. However, the identification of thermal stress, when based on air properties, suggests the use of outdated and generic indices. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a methodology for classifying and diagnosing heat stress in production animals based on psychrometric air relations. The model was created for broilers, pigs, dairy cattle, and laying birds, categorized into a total of 21 breeding phases. For each phase, a bibliographic search was carried out for the psychrometric parameters of the air - dry bulb temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) - that satisfied the animals' critical and ideal thermoneutral zones. Adding the local atmospheric pressure (AP), the parameters were used to calculate the enthalpy (h), resulting in five comfort ranges. Based on this, a decision tree was elaborated, consisting of three attributes (AT, RH, and h) and seven diagnostic classes, based on the psychrometric principles of air. The proposed methodology was used in a case study, with a database extracted from an individual shelter for calves. For the evaluation of the decision tree, two induction algorithms, ID3, and c4.5, were compared, both of which presented high accuracy and proposed simpler tree models than the one theoretically developed for the methodology. In conclusion, the methodology represents a great potential to characterize the thermal comfort of the animals, diagnose the causes of stress and recommend possible corrective actions. The study revealed that decision trees can be adapted and simplified for each creation phase.
Efficacy of Olanzapine, Netupitant, and Palonosetron in Controlling Nausea and Vomiting Associated with Highly Emetogenic Chemotherapy in Patients with Breast Cancer (OLNEPA)
Authors: de Rebouças Camilla Vieira , Alves Rafaela de Brito , Yamada Alayne Magalhães Trindade Domingues , Giglio Auro Del , Cruz Felipe José Silva Melo
Published: April 2023

Purpose: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is a highly prevalent adverse event that could lead to worse treatment adherence and decreased quality of life1,2. To our knowledge, total dexamethasone omission from any regimen to prevent nausea and vomiting has not been evaluated2-4. This study aimed to address the efficacy of a three-drug protocol in preventing nausea and vomiting, with no corticosteroids included. Methods: This was a prospective single-arm phase II study designed to evaluate the efficacy of olanzapine, netupitant, and palonosetron in controlling nausea and vomiting induced by highly emetogenic chemotherapy. Patients were assigned to take olanzapine on Days 1–5 and netupitant and palonosetron on Day 1. No corticosteroid use was allowed. The primary endpoint was complete control of nausea in the first 5 days after chemotherapy administration. Secondary endpoints were complete emesis control (no emesis and no use of rescue medication) and complete control (no emesis, no rescue, and no nausea). Results: For the primary endpoint, the complete nausea control rate was 46% (CI 32–59%), with p < 0.0001. The emesis control rate was 68% (IC 55–80%), and the overall control rate was 46% (IC 32–59%). Conclusion: Omitting dexamethasone for highly emetogenic chemotherapy is feasible and showed a nausea and vomiting control rate that was similar to that of the standard four-drug protocol.
Trial registered by the number NCT04669132, on December 16, 2020, on clinicaltrials.gov platform.
Model-based hepatic percutaneous microwaveablation planning. First validation on a clinical dataset
Authors: Frackowiak Bruno , Bosch Vincent Van den , Tokoutsi Zoi , Baragona Marco , de Greef Martijn , Elevelt Aaldert , Isfort Peter
Published: April 2023

A model-based planning tool, integrated in an imaging system, is envisioned for CT-guided percutaneous microwave ablation. This study aims to evaluate the biophysical model performance, by comparing its prediction retrospectively with the actualablation ground truth from a clinical data set in liver. The biophysical model uses a simplified formulation of heat depositionon the applicator and a heat sink related to vasculature to solve the bioheat equation. A performance metric is defined toassess how the planned ablation overlaps the actual ground truth. Results demonstrate superiority of this model predictioncompared to manufacturer tabulated data and a significant influence of the vasculature cooling effect. Nevertheless, vasculatureshortage due to branches occlusion and applicator misalignment due to registration error between scans affects the thermalprediction. With a more accurate vasculature segmentation, occlusion risk can be estimated, whereas branches can be usedas liver landmarks to improve the registration accuracy. Overall, this study emphasizes the benefit of a model-based thermalablation solution in better planning the ablation procedures. Contrast and registration protocols must be adapted to facilitate itsintegration into the clinical workflow.
Elaborate Design and Mechanism Insight of Monodispersed AuCuPt Alloy Nanozyme with Promoted Antitumor Activity
Authors: Lin Jun , Liu Jing , Dong Shuming , Gai Shili , Dong Yushan , Liu Bin , Zhao Zhiyu , Yu Chenghao , Xie Ying , Yang Piaoping
Published: April 2023

The abrogation of the self-adaptive redox evolution of tumors is promising for improving therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we designed a novel trimetallic alloy nanozyme AuCuPt-PpIX (ACPP), which mimics up to five naturally occurring enzymes—glucose oxidase (GOD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Facilitated by these enzyme-mimicking traits, the constructed ACPP nanozymes can not only disrupt the established redox homeostasis in tumors through a series of enzymatic cascade reactions but also achieve cyclic regeneration of the relevant enzyme substrates. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have theoretically explained the synergistic effect of multi-metallic doping and the possible mechanism of enzymatic catalysis. The doped Cu and Pt sites are conducive to the adsorption, activation, and dissociation of reactant molecules, whereas the Au sites are conducive to desorption, which significantly improves catalytic efficiency via a synergistic effect. Additionally, ACPP nanozymes can improve the effect of protoporphyrin (PpIX)-enabled sonodynamic therapy (SDT) by alleviating hypoxia and initiating ferroptosis by inducing lipid peroxidation (LPO) and inhibiting GPX4 activity, thus achieving multi-modal synergistic therapy. This study presents a typical paradigm to enable the use of multi-metallic alloy nanozymes for the treatment of tumor cells with self-adaptive properties.
thyroidectomy complications after ligasure small jaw use, case control, prospective study
Authors: alharbi mohammad
Published: April 2023

Introduction: The ligasure small jaw (LISJ) has many advantages for thyroid surgery hemostasis. Other complications, however, remain at the same level or are even greater than with conventional treatment.
Material and methodology: Between March and December of 2022, I analyzed complications following total thyroidectomy (TTH). Patients were evaluated prospectively for case control study. including hypocalcemia (HC) and recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLND) palsy.
Results: all patients suffered from postoperative (HC) with Ca supplement with Vid D.one patient suffered with stridor after extubation.
Conclusion: To reduce the complication rate during thyroid surgery with a small jaw, more surgical expertise is required. In terms of (RLND) palsy and (HC), the current literature does not demonstrate a safety advantage of (LISJ) over conventional thyroid surgery that would justify a price increase.
Fe-Pd nanoflakes decorated on leached graphite disks for both methanol and formic acid electrooxidation with excellent electrocatalytic performance
Authors: Mojarrad Amir , Sabzi Reza , Faraji Masoud
Published: April 2023

This paper introduces a unique and simple method for making inexpensive electrocatalysts for use in direct methanol fuel cells. The leached Fe1-Pd1 NFs/graphite (leached Fe1-Pd1/G) disk electrode was successfully obtained via uniform dispersion of Zn powder into the matrix of commercial graphite powder (98%), pressing under optimized pressure followed by the treatment in H2SO4 solution containing Fe+2 and Pd+2 cations, leading to partial leaching out of Zn from graphite matrix as well as partial electroless substitution of Fe-Pd nanoflakes with Zn metal. According to morphology investigations, binary Fe-Pd nanoflakes with a large surface area developed evenly on the leached graphite disk. The leached Fe-Pd/G disk demonstrated exceptional electrocatalytic activity toward methanol and formic acid oxidation without electrocatalyst poisoning being observed, in contrast to the leached Pd /graphite and leached Fe /graphite disks. This is due to the high surface area and synergistic effect of Pd and Fe. The findings of this work may be used to the mass manufacture of graphite-based disks for commercial fuel cell applications using available graphite powders.
The translation process of the Culturally Sensitive Active Aging Scale for Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Pakistan
Authors: Bibi Rashida , Khan Roheeda Amanullah , Zeb Akhter , Yan Zhang , Anwar Nasir , Mian Nasar
Published: April 2023

Background: Active aging is define as older adults remaining active, connected, and contributing to society. To assess active aging in Pakistani elders, there is a scarcity of research tools to assess Active Aging levels in community-based older adults in Pakistan. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and validate the original English version of the Active Aging Scale into an Urdu version to measure active aging in community-based older adults in Pakistan.
Methods: We followed the guidelines of the International Society of Pharmacy Economic and Outcome Research (ISPOR) to translate the scale. The first phase consists of translation processes; the second phase is all about the validity and reliability of the scale. Construct validity, concurrent validity, and reliability were established for a 160-person sample of community-based older adults. The finding of test-retest reliability was performed after a two-week interval on the remaining 30% of the sample. For concurrent validity, the Successful Aging Scale (SAS) Urdu version was used as the gold standard and applied at the same time on the same sample. Data were analyzed in SPPSS version 23, and AMOS version 23.
Results: Our study pooled 29 items on the Active Aging Scale out of a possible 36. Two items were removed in the first process as not relevant to the context and two items that were not maintained inter-item covariance that is less than the value of 0.30 were removed. In the confirmatory factor analysis, three items with values below 0.40 in Varimax with Kaiser Normalization Rotation. Item loads ranged from 46 to 0.90, and were found to explain 65.42% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis of the AAS shows Chi-squared (X2/df = 2.24) as the degree of freedom is acceptable when <3.00 in model fit indices. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) is 0.042, the goodness of fit index (GFI) is 0.92, the adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) is 0.94, and the comparative fit index (CFI) values are 0.92 and 0.96, respectively, showing the good fit indices of the model. The test and retest reliability of the scale was significant (p=<0.05), and the Cronbach alpha of the scale is 0.92, which is reliable.
Changes in precipitation over Northwest China from 1973 to 2019: Variation characteristics and relationships with climatic factors
Authors: Wang Yongliang , Zhang Weijiang , Zhang Pengcheng , Tang Lian , Huang Yan , Feng Na
Published: April 2023

The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia (SGN) region in Northwest China has been challenged by drought and water shortage for decades. The present study systematically assessed the spatio-temporal variation of precipitation and relationship with climatic factors in SGN region, and clarified the differences between the climate transition zone and other regions. Analyzed the precipitation and different climate factors at 30 weather stations from 1973 to 2019, and developed an analysis framework of precipitation recirculation. The results showed that precipitation at annual scale had decreased significantly (P < 0.01) at the rate of 1.46 mm/10a during 1973–2019, and precipitation had a pattern of northwest-southeast spaced distribution in spatial distribution. In terms of seasonal precipitation, the summer precipitation variability was more concentrated and contributes the most to annual precipitation variation, while winter had a limited effect on annual precipitation variability due to less precipitation. The correlation analysis showed that annual precipitation had significant associations with RH (R = 0.623, P < 0.01) and Tmax (R =-0.294, P < 0.05) from 1973 to 2019. We therefore suggest that decreased air humidity and elevated extreme temperature are probably important factors for the significant decreasing trend of precipitation in SGN region over the past 50 years.
Knee osteoarthritis with a high grade of Kellgren-Lawrence score is associated with a worse frailty status: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES)
Authors: Joo Sang Hyun , Song Jin Woo , Shin Kichul , Kim Min Jung , Lee Joongyub , Song Yeong Wook
Published: April 2023

Objective
Frailty as a syndrome of physical decline in late life is associated with adverse health outcomes. Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) could contribute to frailty conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of KOA on frailty risk in a Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) cohort.
Methods
In this study, KOA patients were defined as those with knee joint pain and grade 2 Kellgren-Lawrence (K-L) or more on plain radiographic images who were 40 years old or older in Korean population data of KNHANES. The frailty index was calculated using 46 items related to co-morbidities and laboratory parameters. The impact of KOA on frailty risk was evaluated with logistic regression analyses.
Results
The prevalence of KOA patients was 35.6% [95% CI: 34.7-36.46]. In polytomous logistic regression, the relative risk ratio (RRR) of KOA was significantly increased in the pre-frail group (2.76, 95% CI: 2.30-3.31) and the frail group (7.28, 95% CI: 5.90-8.98). RRR of frailty was significantly increased in patients with K-L grade 3 (1.36, 95% CI: 1.13-1.63) and K-L grade 4 (2.19, 95% CI: 1.72-2.79). Older age, higher BMI, higher WBC count, higher platelet count, and higher serum creatinine level were significantly associated with increased frailty risk. Lower hemoglobin and lower estimated GFR were associated with increased frailty risk in KOA patients.
Conclusion
In this large observation survey cohort, KOA is associated with an increased risk of frailty syndrome.
Robust real-time imaging through flexible multimode fibers
Authors: Abdulaziz Abdullah , Mekhail Simon Peter , Altmann Yoann , Padgett Miles J. , McLaughlin Stephen
Published: April 2023

Conventional endoscopes comprise a bundle of optical fibers, associating one fiber for each pixel in the image. In principle, this can be reduced to a single multimode optical fiber (MMF), the width of a human hair, with one fiber spatial-mode per image pixel. However, images transmitted through a MMF emerge as unrecognisable speckle patterns due to dispersion and coupling between the spatial modes of the fiber. Furthermore, speckle patterns change as the fiber undergoes bending, making the use of MMFs in flexible imaging applications even more complicated. In this paper, we propose a real-time imaging system using flexible MMFs, but which is robust to bending. Our approach does not require access or feedback signal from the distal end of the fiber during imaging. We leverage a variational autoencoder (VAE) to reconstruct and classify images from the speckles and show that these images can still be recovered when the bend configuration of the fiber is changed to one that was not part of the training set. We utilize a MMF 300 mm long with a 50 um core for imaging 10x10 cm objects placed approximately at 20 cm from the fiber and the system can deal with a change in fiber bend of 50 degrees and range of movement of 8 cm.
Study protocol: Assessment of the usefulness and practicability of a psychoeducational intervention to prevent the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care health workers
Authors: Aragonès Enric , Rodoreda Sara , Guitart Meritxell , Garcia Eva , Berenguera Anna , Martín Francisco , Rambla Concepció , Aaragonès Guillem , Calvo Antoni , Mas Ariadna , Basora Josep
Published: April 2023

Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has constituted an extraordinarily stressful situation for healthcare professionals and has led to psychological distress and an increase in various mental disorders. In the post-pandemic context, it is necessary to provide professionals with strategies and skills to manage this stressful situation and prevent or minimize its negative impact.
Methods
Aims: To assess the feasibility and clinical effects of a group psychoeducational program focused on preventing the adverse psychological and emotional effects of the pandemic on primary care workers, and to explore the experience and perceptions of participants with regard to the program from a qualitative perspective.
Design: A single-arm, before-and-after study conducted in primary care.
Setting: The 332 primary care centers of the Catalan Institute of Health (Catalonia)
Participants: The target population of the intervention is primary care workers of all professional profiles. The implementation strategy will also involve community psychologists, who will lead the psychoeducational groups, and the health organization promoting the implementation.
Intervention: A group psychoeducational program targeting primary care workers to promote emotional well-being and the ability to cope with stressful situations. Community psychologists will deliver it in the primary care centers they are linked to.
Measures: Mixed-methods evaluation, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. A prospective assessment of the main outcomes (professional quality of life, psychological state, and resilience) will be performed using online questionnaires before and immediately after the intervention, and at 3 and 6 months. A qualitative study will be conducted, comprising focus groups and individual in-depth interviews with the participants in the intervention and the psychologists who provide it.
Ethics: The Research Ethics Committee of the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAP) has approved the protocol (22/086-PCV).
Discussion
This project proposes an intervention to promote mental health and psychological well-being in primary care workers by learning skills and integrating them into personal and professional life. The expected results will allow us to determine the usefulness and effectiveness of this psychoeducational intervention under the conditions of real clinical practice, provide data to model and perfect it, and promote its dissemination.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05720429.
Lipid Mediators as an index of psoriatic severity
Authors: Al-Ashoor Zainab A. , Haddad Nazar S. , Al-Hamdi Khalil I.
Published: April 2023

Psoriasis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases resulting from a complex genetic background with environmental triggers. The bioactive Lipid mediators (12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE) and 13-hydroxy octadecadienoic acid (13-HODE)) that generated involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. The study aims to assess the levels of bioactive lipid mediators (12- HETE and 13-HODE) in the serum and skin of psoriatic patients compared with healthy individuals and to study the association between the levels of bioactive lipid mediators in psoriatic patients with psoriasis severity measured by PASI score. Thirty-one patients with psoriasis were enrolled in the study, with 20 age and sex-matched apparently healthy subjects. The type of psoriasis and PASI score were assessed for psoriatic patients. Serum levels of 12-HETE, 13-HODE and other investigations were determined in psoriatic and healthy control groups, and the skin levels of 12-HETE and 13-HODE were also determined in lesional and non-lesional skin biopsies of psoriatic patients. There were statistically significant differences in the mean serum levels of 12-HETE and 13-HODE among the three psoriasis severity groups with (P = 0.002, P = 0.04), respectively. The serum levels of 12-HETE and 13-HODE were positively correlated with increasing psoriasis severity measured by PASI score with (r = 0.86, p = 0.001), (r = 0.87, p = 0.001), respectively. In conclusion, The level of both lipid mediators (12-HETE and 13-HODE) had significantly increased in the serum of psoriatic patients with a significant positive correlation with the severity of psoriatic disease as assessed by the PASI scoring system.
Unexpected Quasi-Alternating Copolymerization of Oxiranes Driven by a Benign Acetate-based Catalyst
Authors: Coulembier Olivier , Fornaciari Charlotte , Lemaur Vincent , Pasini Dario
Published: April 2023

An in-depth investigation of the oxyanionic ring-opening copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO) and allyl glydicyl ether (AGE) from benzyl alcohol (BnOH) activated with potassium acetate (KOAc) complexed by 18-crown-6 ether (18C6) is described. We demonstrate that the KOAc/18C6 complex is an efficient and benign catalytic system to promote copolymerization of both oxirane monomers, leading well-defined polyethers with varied co-monomer content and low dispersity values (ƉM < 1.20). Kinetic analysis confirmed the controlled nature of the (co)polymerization process, and the determination of reactivity ratios by 1H NMR spectroscopy revealed a quasi-alternating copolymerization profile, according to the Fineman-Ross method. These results highlight the great potential of 18C6/KOAc-mediated copolymerization process for the design of highly sought quasi-alternating copolymer platforms, not accessible with the common polymerization systems.