bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the seasonal variability of shallow underground waters quality from a volcanic – sedimentary formation during El Niño event in Panama
Authors: Montenegro Mario Luis Miranda , Garcia Ana , Batista Raizha , de Montilla Obdulia , Tapia Arkin , Alvarado Mayubell , Edward Humberto , Olmos Jorge , Lloyd Javier , Hernandez Cecilio , Bayard Carmelo , Pino Alfonso , Caballero Alberto , de Patiño Hildaura Acosta , Villarreal José 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Providing drinking water to growing populations has become a worldwide concern. Therefore, in many countries some groundwater reserves are now being used to supply drinking water in remote urban areas. The state of these groundwater reserves is strongly influenced by the local geological conditions. Furthermore, climate change has caused a decrease in the periodicity of environmental conditions such as rainfalls, a key driver in replenishing these reserves. In 2019, the weak El Niño event affected the rainfall pattern, as well as physical and chemical quality of shallow ground waters in Panama. Within this study, the northwestern central region of Panama groundwaters have been systematically characterized during El Niño 2018 – 2019 event. Our results indicate that changes in values of physicochemical parameters such as alkalinity, pH and conductivity are related to changes in the amount of rainfall reported in the region starting from dry season (DS) to the rainy season (RS). Chloride was recorded as an indicator of anthropogenic activity and/or the effect of human populations on specific sites in the aquifer recharge zones. Lead (Pb2+), Zinc (Zn2+), Manganese (Mn2+), and Copper (Cu2+) concentrations in the groundwater were evaluated during the DS and RS 2019. Recorded data indicates sub – lethal concentrations of Pb2+, Zn2+, Mn2+ were associated to changes in alkalinity values of groundwater during the DS. While during the RS, a decrease in pH values favored the dissolution of Cu2+ and Zn2+. Our findings suggest that seasonal rainfall deficits modify shallow underground water alkalinity and pH values, inducing the redissolution of Pb2+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Cu 2+and exposing populations to sub – lethal concentrations of those microelements.
Evaluation of Apoptotic Activity of Protein Fusion Enterocin A- Pyocin R-Lactocin, Bacteriocins and Specific Ligand of Gastric Cancer Cell Line (AGS)
Authors: Jalalvand Neda , Bashi Mohammad Mehdi Moghani , Raiszadeh Mohammad , Naeimi Sirous , Esmaeili Davoud 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Conventional antimicrobial and anti-cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, etc., have all been associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and side effects on healthy cell damage. Recently, bacteriocins have emerged as a promising option in antimicrobial and anticancer therapies.In this study, EntA-PynR-Lac gene sequence was obtained using bioinformatics software. The designed fusion gene was synthesized and cloned into the pET22b expression vector and transferred to the engineered E. coli BL21 bacterium for expression of the recombinant protein. The three-dimensional structures and stability of the designed recombinant protein were evaluated. Confirmation and purification of the recombinant protein was performed by Western blotting and nickel column chromatography and determination of cell lethality of different concentrations of the recombinant protein against AGS cell line by MTT technique was conducted. Treatment of cells with different concentrations of protein to evaluate the apoptosis of AGS cells was performed by flow cytometry. The results showed that the percentage of cells treated with recombinant protein at a concentration of 80µg/ml with total apoptosis was 46.91% and increased by 36.25% compared to untreated cells. Due to the anti-apoptotic properties of fusion protein, it can be used to inhibit cancer cells as a therapeutic supplement and prevention.
Closure Versus Non-Closure of Hernia Defect in Laparoscopic Ventral Hernia Repair with Mesh: A Systematic Review
Authors: Aljohani Emad 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
PurposeThere is a controversial premise about choosing a surgical approach in ventral hernia using laparoscopic repair. Some surgeons prefer to use mesh with closure while others prefer to use mesh without closure. This study aims to compare mainly the rate of recurrence in mesh repair with and without closure. MethodsA wide range of electronic bibliographic databases such as PubMed, Embase, and ERIC was searched. Based on the eligibility criteria, all studies which compared the results after hernia repair from 2010 to 2020, were incorporated. Following screening the abstracts, we ended up reviewing seven full-text articles, and data were extracted on important parameters such as demographic attributes of participants, sample size, and recurrence rate of hernia.ResultsOf the total studies that were reviewed, three were randomized controlled trials (RCT’s) and four retrospective observational studies. The sample size of all included studies varied between 80 to 176. The findings appear promising for the fascial closure as it showed an evidence of significant reduction in the recurrence rate with P = 0•047 in one out of the three RCT’s and in the retrospective observational studies reaching up to 16.7 % recurrence reduction rate. Likewise, there is also a reduction in the bulging, surgical site infection and seroma formation with higher patient’s satisfaction and quality of life score.ConclusionPrimary fascial closure appears to be effective as it can decrease the rates of recurrence, seroma formation, bulging and improve patient’s satisfaction and quality of life. Given the dearth of studies, mainly randomized controlled trials, there is a need to carry out large randomized controlled trials with enough follow-up.
Analyzing Trends in Rainfall and Their Impacts in Water Management in a Cerrado Region in Brazil
Authors: Alves welber Ferreira , Roig Henrique , Kalin Latif , Prado Luciana Figueiredo , Satgé Frédéric , Steinke Valdir Adilson 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
This study presents a trend analysis related to a Cerrado Region in Brazil surrounded by multiple climatic influences and which lived a recent water crisis (2016-2018). This crisis could be associated with climatic changes or population growth. To verify the first possibility, an analysis was performed on a series of rainfall data (21 rain gauges spread throughout the region) divided by season periods (December/January/February – DJF, March/April/May – MAM, June/July/August – JJA, September/October/November – SON, and Water Year – WY) to provide information about the presence of trends or lack thereof. Four statistics tests were used in this procedure: Cox-Stuart, Mann-Kendall, Spearman, and Wald-Wolfowitz. The overall results indicate that the percentage of gauges/periods displaying trends by the Mann-Kendall was 10.48%, Cox-Stuart 9.52%, Spearman 12.38, and Wald-Wolfowitz 8.57%. Of these gauges/periods, 70% were classified as highly skewed, 10% as moderately skewed, and 20% as symmetric. Most of the trends are concentrated in the JJA period where it registered about 22 mm of rainfall average while the annual mean total precipitation is ~1500 mm.
IVF Outcome With High Level of AMH: Focus on Pcos Versus Non-pcos
Authors: Muharam R , Prasetyo Yohanes Danang , Prabowo Kevin Ardito , Maidarti Mila , Hestiantoro Andon 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: To investigate whether high AMH level in PCOS patients resulted in different IVF outcomes compared to non-PCOS patients.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study involving 238 women undergoing IVF who have AMH level > 4 ng/ml. Participants then grouped into PCOS and non-PCOS cohorts. Results: The median AMH was significantly higher in the PCOS group (7.59 [4.61] ng/ml vs 5.91 [2.22] ng/ml) (U = 4087, p < 0.001). The PCOS group required less gonadotropin but yielded more oocytes after stimulation. Significantly more participants from PCOS group (41.5% [n=39]) developed hyper-response to ovarian stimulation compared to the non-PCOS group (26.4% [n=38]) (OR = 1.978, 95% CI: 1.138 – 3.488; p = 0.015).Conclusion: Women with PCOS and high AMH levels have a higher risk of hyper-response after ovarian stimulation than their non-PCOS cohorts.
Research on SPDTRS-PNN Based Intelligent Assistant Diagnosis for Breast Cancer
Authors: Zhou Mengran , Kong Xixi , Bian Kai , Lai Wenhao , Hu Feng , Dai Rongying , Yan Jingjing , Hamrani Oumaima 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background:Breast cancer is the second dangerous cancer in the world. How to identify breast cancer quickly and accurately is of great help to the treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer data often contains more redundant information. Redundant information makes the breast cancer auxiliary diagnosis less accurate and time-consuming. Dimension reduction algorithm combined with machine learning can solve these problems well. Methods:This paper proposes the single-parameter decision-theoretic rough set (SPDTRS) combined with the probability neural network (PNN) model for breast cancer diagnosis. We structure fifteen models by combining five dimensionality reduction algorithms with three classification algorithms. We compared the accuracy and test time of fifteen models under different parameters or dimensions. We find that when the parameter value of SPDTRS is 2.5, the classification effect of SPDTRS combined with PNN is better. At this point, the number of 30 attributes of the original breast cancer data dropped to 12. Then the SPDTRS-PNN model is further optimized. We compared the accuracy and test time of the model under different SPREAD values in PNN, and established a better SPDTRS-PNN model.Result:We find the parameter value of SPDTRS is 2.5 and the SPREAD value is 0.75, the accuracy of the SPDTRS-PNN model training set is 99.25%, the accuracy of the test set is 97.04%, and the test time is 0.093s.Conclusion:The experimental results show that the SPDTRS-PNN model can improve the accuracy of breast cancer recognition, reduce the time required for diagnosis, and achieve rapid and accurate breast cancer diagnosis.
Wide-scale Pooled Sample Testing for COVID-19: Application, Optimisation and Probabilistic Analysis
Authors: Su Xiaolong , Zhou Man 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background Currently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become the most severe infectious disease affecting the world, which has spread around the world to more than 200 countries in 2020. Until COVID-19 vaccine technology completely matures, nucleic acid testing is considered as an effective way to screen virus carriers and control the spread of the virus. Considering that the medical resources and infection rates are different across various countries and regions, if all infected areas adopt the traditional individual nucleic acid testing method, the workload will be heavy and time-consuming. Therefore, this will not lead to the control of the pandemic. Methods After Wuhan completed a citywide nucleic acid testing in May 2020, China basically controlled the spread of COVID-19 and entered the post-epidemic period. Since then, although some cities in China, such as Qingdao, Xinjiang, Beijing, Dalian, have experienced a local epidemic resurgence, the pandemic was quickly suppressed through wide-scale pooled nucleic acid testing methods. Combined with the successful experience of mass nucleic acid testing in China, this study introduces two main pooled testing methods used in two cities with a population of more than ten million people, Wuhan’s “five-in-one” and Qingdao's “ten-in-one” rapid pooled testing methods. This study proposes an improved method for optimising the second round of “ten-in-one” pooled testing, known as “the pentagram mini-pooled testing method”, which speeds up the testing process (as a result of reducing the numbers of testing by 40%) and significantly reduces the cost. Findings Qingdao's optimised “ten-in-one” pooled testing method quickly screens out the infections by running fewer testing. This study also mathematically examines the probabilistic principles and applicability conditions for pooled testing of COVID-19. Herein, the study theoretically determines the optimal number of samples that could successfully be combined into a pool under different infection rates. Then, it quantitatively discusses the applicability and principles for choosing the pooled testing instead of individual testing.Interpretation Overall, this research offers a reference for other countries with different infection rates to help them in implementing the mass testing for COVID-19 to reduce the spread of coronavirus.
The ‘Real World’ Clinic Measured Visual Acuity Versus the Best Correct Visual Acuity Measurement in Patients Treated for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Authors: Kousha Obaid , Chaggar Amritpal , Pagliarini Sergio 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
BACKGROUNDIn ophthalmology clinics, the visual acuity (VA) is usually measured by non-refracting healthcare professionals (HCPs). We compared the ‘real world’ or clinic measured VA versus the best-corrected visual acuity measurement in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).METHODSDuring the same clinical session using Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) vision chart, monocular distance VA was measured by non-refracting HCPs in nAMD patients and compared to the monocular distance VA measured by an optometrist with subjective refractive correction (BCVA). The study was powered to detect a difference of >5 ETDRS letters between the groups and for HCP measured VA to detect a BCVA between 6/12 and 6/96 (National Institute of Health and Care Excellence condition of approval of nAMD treatment with licensed drugs in the UK).RESULTSData from 167 patients (324 eyes) were analysed. Absolute mean difference in BCVA versus HCP measured VA was 5.71 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.10-6.41) ETDRS letters (p-value<0.001). Using Bland-Altman method, limits of agreement between the two groups was found to be between 18.39 and -14.66 ETDRS letters. The prevalence of BCVA between 6/12 and 6/96 was 53.40% (95% CI 47.96-58.83%). In detecting this BCVA bracket, the non-refracting HCP measured VA had a sensitivity of 91.91% (95% CI 87.84-95.97%) and a specificity of 84.77% (95% CI 79.04-90.50%). CONCLUSIONSThe ‘real world’ HCP measured VA was found to have considerable inaccuracy and imprecision when compared to BCVA in nAMD patients. Unreliable VA measurement can have important implications in assessing and treating eye conditions, including nAMD.
A Risk Signature of Nine Autophagy-Related Genes Associated With Immune Microenvironment and Clinical Prognosis in Wilms Tumor
Authors: Ye Shaopei , Tang Wenbin , Huang Ke 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: Autophagy is a biological process to eliminate dysfunctional organelles, aggregates or even long-lived proteins. . Nevertheless, the potential function and prognostic values of autophagy in Wilms Tumor (WT) are complex and remain to be clarifed. Therefore, we proposed to systematically examine the roles of autophagy-associated genes (ARGs) in WT.Methods: Here, we obtained differentially expressed autophagy-related genes (ARGs) between healthy and Wilms tumor from Therapeutically Applicable Research To Generate Effective Treatments(TARGET) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The functionalities of the differentially expressed ARGs were analyzed using Gene Ontology. Then univariate COX regression analysis and multivariate COX regression analysis were performed to acquire nine autophagy genes related to WT patients’ survival. According to the risk score, the patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups. The Kaplan-Meier curve demonstrated that patients with a high-risk score tend to have a poor prognosis.Results: Eighteen DEARGs were identifed, and nine ARGs were fnally utilized to establish the FAGs based signature in the TCGA cohort. we found that patients in the high-risk group were associated with mutations in TP53. We further conducted CIBERSORT analysis, and found that the infiltration of Macrophage M1 was increased in the high-risk group. Finally, the expression levels of crucial ARGs were verifed by the experiment, which were consistent with our bioinformatics analysis.Conclusions: we emphasized the clinical significance of autophagy in WT, established a prediction system based on autophagy, and identified a promising therapeutic target of autophagy for WT.
The Implementable Needs of Woman With Maternal Near Miss Experience: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Providers
Authors: Abdollahpour Sedigheh , Heydari Abbas , Ebrahimipour Hosein , Faridhoseini Farhad , Khadivzadeh Talat 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Introduction: Maternal Near Miss (MNM) case is defined as “a woman who nearly died but survived a life-threatening and failure organ during pregnancy or childbirth complication that the challenges of this group of mothers have not been addressed. Aim: This qualitative study of healthcare providers was conducted to discover the Iranian near miss mother’s (NMM) needs. Design: conventional qualitative content analysis Methods: In this study 37 participants of key informants, health providers, NMM and their husbands were selected using purposive sampling. Semi structured in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection until data saturation was achieved. Data was analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman. MAXQDA 10 software was used for organizing data and managing the process of analysis. Results: The analysis revealed the core category of "the need for comprehensive support". Eight categories included "psychological", "fertility", "information", "improvement of the care quality care", "sociocultural", "financial", "breastfeeding" and "nutritional" needs emerged from 18 sub-categories, were formed from 2112 codes. Conclusions: Maternal health policy makers should call on health provider centers to work on program designed to support NMMs according to standard guidelines designed to assessment needs.
Polyethylene Glycol Plus Linaclotide is an Effective Bowel Preparation Regimen for Patients with Bristol Stool Scale 1-2: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Zhao Kai , Wang Ge , Xia Suhong , Wu Jingwen , Zhou Wangdong , Zhang Mingyu , Liu Mei , Tian Dean , Liao Jiazhi 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background: To evaluate the effect of using linaclotide as an adjunctive agent with 3L polyethylene glycol (PEG) for bowel preparation among patients with Bristol stool form (BSFS) 1-2. Methods: Patients with BSFS 1-2 randomly received either 3L PEG (group A) or linaclotide plus 3L PEG (group B), patients with BSFS 3-7 received 3L PEG (group C) for bowel preparation. The primary outcome was the rate of adequate bowel preparation. The secondary endpoints were the polyp detection rate (PDR), acceptability and tolerability. Results: A total of 315 patients who underwent colonoscopy were enrolled. In per-protocol analysis, patient in group B attained significantly satisfactory bowel preparation rate than group A (77.9% vs 61.8%, PAB=0.049). The PDR in group B was significantly higher than group A (32.7% vs 15.7%, PAB=0.004), especially in rectosigmoid (25.0% vs 8.8%, PAB=0.002). Conclusion: 3L PEG plus 290ug Linaclotide can significantly improve the quality of bowel preparation and the colorectal polyps detection rate in patients with BSFS 1-2. The bowel preparation regimens is an effective and well-tolerated bowel preparation regimen.Trial registration: The study was registered at Chinese ClinicalTrials.gov (ChiCTR2100050437, 27/8/2021)
Controller Design for a Delta Robot Using Lagrangian Multipliers
Authors: Lee Fu-Shin , Lin Chen-I 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
The novelty of this research is that the study utilizes Lagrangian multipliers for an articulated close-chain robot mechanism as time-varying states to augment an energy-based Lagrangian dynamic model, and the strategy facilitates the system computations while satisfying the forward/inverse dynamics and mechanism constraints simultaneously for the close-chained robot. Then, this article develops a controller based upon the augmented dynamics model for the Delta robot mechanism and drives its moving platform to track prescribed trajectories in space. As a result, the simulation results validate the effectiveness of the augmented system model in undertaking complex dynamics of close-chained robot mechanisms.
Whole‐Exome Sequencing of a Saudi Epilepsy Cohort Reveals Association Signals in Known and Potentially Novel Loci
Authors: AlAli Amein Kadhem , Al-Enazi Abdulrahman , Ammar Ahmed , Hajj Mahmoud , Cyrus Cyril , Aljaafari Danah , Khotha Inam , Abdulfatah Ahmed , Alsulaiman Abdullah , Alanazi Firas , Alanazi Rawan , Gandla Divya , Lad Hetal , Barayan Samar , Keating Brendan 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background
Epilepsy, a serious chronic neurological condition effecting up to 100 million people globally, has clear genetic underpinnings including common and rare variants. In Saudi Arabia the prevalence of epilepsy is high and caused mainly by perinatal and genetic factors. No whole-exome sequencing (WES) studies have been performed to date in Saudi Arabian Epilepsy cohorts. This offers a unique opportunity for the discovery of rare genetic variants impacting this disease as there is a high rate of consanguinity amongst large tribal pedigrees.
Results
We performed WES on 144 individuals diagnosed with epilepsy, to interrogate known Epilepsy related genes for known and functional novel variants. We also used an American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) guideline based variant prioritization approach in an attempt to discover putative causative variants. We identified a 32 potentially causative pathogenic variants across 30 different genes in 44/144 (30%) of these Saudi Epilepsy individuals. We also identified 232 variants of unknown significance (VUS) across 101 different genes in 133/144 (92%) subjects. Strong enrichment of variants of likely pathogenicity were observed in previously described epilepsy-associated loci, and a number of putative pathogenic variants in novel loci are also observed.
Conclusion
Several putative pathogenic variants known to be epilepsy-related loci were identified for the first time in our population, in addition to several potential new loci have been identified which may be prioritized for further investigation.