bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Toxoplasma Pericarditis in an Immunocompetent Child- A Rare Case Report
Authors: Punhani Pallavi , Madan Neha , Kaur Satnam , Ranga Sunil 
Published: August 2021

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii which is an obligate intracellular parasite. Among all the parasites known to cause myocarditis or pericarditis, the most commonly found is Chaga’s Disease or American Trypanosomiasis. Several other parasites including T. gondii can affect the heart in immunocompromised patients. Individuals with intact immunity largely remain asymptomatic. Only 22 cases of Toxoplasma Pericarditis have been reported worldwide.
Although, CNS and Ocular Toxoplasmosis cases have been reported from Indian subcontinent, there is a lack of literature on cardiac involvement by Toxoplasma. Here, we present a case of a 11 yr old immunocompetent child with Toxoplasma Pericarditis, the first case to be reported from India. An echocardiography confirmed diagnosis of pericardial effusion for which pericardiocentesis was done and sent to our department for cytological evaluation. Fluid was exudative with pericardial fluid to serum protein ratio of 0.7. Gram stain, AFB stain and CB NAAT of pericardial fluid were negative. Cytology revealed neutrophils and macrophages showing presence of intracellular organisms resembling tachyzoites of Toxoplasma species on the Giemsa stained smear. These tachyzoites were crescent shaped with one pointed end and the other rounded end and a central nuclei.
A final diagnosis of Toxoplasma Pericarditis was made based on microscopy findings. T. gondii serological tests were also done which showed positivity for IgG with strong avidity. Thus, our case report represents an important differential that should be considered by all the clinicians in cases of acute pericarditis, especially in difficult cases where no other cause can be identified.
Development and Study of Plant Based Mosquito Repellent Cakes in Combination with Natural Binders
Authors: Patil Satish D. , Morbale Smita T. 
Published: August 2021

Background and Objective: Plants are perceived as a safe and trusted means of mosquito bite prevention. Many plant extracts and oils repel mosquitoes, with their effect lasting from several minutes to several hours. The present investigation is aimed to evaluate the mosquito repellent activity of Calendula officinalis (Marigold leaves), Citrus madurensis (Calamondin leaves), Carica papaya (Papaya leaves), Origanum vulgare (Oregano leaves), in combination with natural binders.
Materials and Methods: In present work we have produced an effective and purely natural mosquito repellent cakes using marigold leaves, calamondin leaves, papaya leaves, oregano leaves, and to determine if the component present on them are suitable as mosquito repellent. To recognize this new combination and in addition use of natural binder in making these mosquito cakes is innovation of method. Evaluation was carried out in a net cage (45 cm×30 cm×25 cm) containing 100 blood starved mosquitoes.
Results: Study provides an herbal repellent with long lasting protection, safe for human life, and human with no side effect. The combination Paste of leaves + charcoal + 20% cow dung was found to be more repellency against mosquitoes under study.
Conclusion: Discovery of natural products, with potent phyto-constituents that have insecticidal properties, may help overcome problems of chemical insecticide resistance. Nature is the best combinatorial chemist to offer numerous natural products compounds from medicinal plants which can be effective as medicines, antibacterial, antifungal, insect repellent, cosmetics etc.
Prevalence, Awareness and Risk Factors of Hypertension among Public Sector Workers Aged 40 Years and above in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana
Authors: Elijah Mishio Bawa , Deborah Mensah-Onumah , Dongdem Julius Tieroyaare , Wezena Cletus Adiyaga 
Published: August 2021

Aim: To determine the prevalence, awareness and risk factors associated with hypertension among adults.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Tamale Metropolis from January to March 2020.
Methodology: 200 adults (101 men and 99 females) aged 40 years and above were recruited. Socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric and blood pressure data of participants collected through face-to-face administered questionnaire and physical measurements were analyzed for prevalence, knowledge and awareness of hypertension. Binary and multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of association of risk factors with hypertension.
Results: Overall age-standardized prevalence of hypertension was 46.00% (49.50% in males, 42.42% in females). The prevalence of both systolic and diastolic hypertension was higher in males than in females. 49.10% of hypertensive participants were unaware of their status at the time of this study and 83.3% of the hypertensive participants who were aware of their status were diagnosed incidentally. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant positive association of being male [AOR = 2.39, (95% CI: 1.08–5.30)], aged between 50 – 65 years [AOR = 2.03, (95% CI: 1.03–4.01)], and being obese [AOR = 3.64, (95% CI: 1.43–9.29)] with hypertension. Being widowed [AOR = 0.06, (95% CI: 0.01–0.66)] was negatively associated with hypertension. Only obesity [AOR = 2.81, (95% CI: 1.29–6.14)] was independently associated with hypertension.
Conclusion: Hypertension affects one in every two adults aged 40 years and above in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana. Awareness of adult hypertension status in the Metropolis is very low with the most diagnoses of the disease occurring accidentally. Obesity, advancing age, being male and being widowed are risk factors associated with hypertension. The study suggests workplace BP screening and a scale-up of awareness campaigns in the Metropolis to curb the incidence of the disease and control associated risk factors.
In Silico Gene Expression and Pathway Analysis to Explore the Link between Hes1 and Adipocyte Stem Cell Differentiation in Obesity
Authors: Sharma Priyanka , More Chandramani B. , Seth Avinash K. 
Published: August 2021

Aim: Hairy/enhancer of split homolog-1 (Hes1) is a transcription factor with bHLH domains and participates in controlling proliferation and differentiation of various stem cell progenitors. The study aims to analyze pathways and genes up regulated and co-expressed with Hes1 to examine their linkage with adipocyte stem cell differentiation in obesity.
Methodology: In this in silico analysis, Gene Expression Omnibus Dataset GDS5056 was used to shortlist 23 genes differentially up regulated and co-expressed along with Hes1 during adipocyte stem cell differentiation in obese patients. Then, these genes along with their interactor genes were submitted to Reactome pathway analysis database and were statistically analyzed.
Results: Total 12 enriched pathways were obtained which majorly belonged to two categories: neuronal cell differentiation and signaling; and inflammatory response. Since Hes1 is known to regulate such pathways as a master transcription factor and repressor, its level of expression determines the result as proliferation or differentiation. Thus, these in silico findings may help in designing future experiments to determine role of Hes1 in deciding fate of adipocyte differentiation or proliferation in obesity.
Evaluation of Levofloxacin Prescription Pattern and Appropriateness Rate in the Outpatient Setting; A Cross-Sectional Study from Iran (2018-2019)
Authors: D. Bayan Azizi Pharm. , D. Sholeh Ebrahimpour Pharm. , D. Mohammadreza Salehi M. , D. Zahra Jahangard-Rafsanjani Pharm. 
Published: August 2021

Background: Levofloxacin is prescribed widely as a first-line or alternative treatment option for different infectious diseases. The inappropriate use of this agent has increased the risk of antibiotic resistance, which has convinced researchers to address this issue by designing antibiotic prescription pattern studies.
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate levofloxacin's prescription pattern and appropriateness in the outpatient setting in Iran.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study included all admitted prescriptions containing levofloxacin from October 2018 to June 2019. Data regarding the demographics, clinical and laboratory presentations, preexisting comorbidities, dose and duration of levofloxacin, and the prescribers medical specialty were collected by reviewing the patient's prescriptions or history taking. The pattern and appropriateness of prescriptions were evaluated according to the assessment tool based on accepted international guidelines.
Results: A total of 300 eligible patients (median age: 56.5 years; 56.7% male) were included in the study. Respiratory tract infections were the most common indication for levofloxacin prescription (55.6%); more than half of them were related to community-acquired pneumonia (29.6%). The inappropriateness rate for levofloxacin prescription was 55.3 %, of which 12.6% were related to community-acquired pneumonia, 9.6% skin infections, 8.4% rhinosinusitis, and 6.6% Urinary tract infection. Only 54 (18.0%) patients received levofloxacin with an appropriate indication, dose, and duration, indicating its rational use.
Conclusion: This study found that more than half of all levofloxacin prescriptions in the outpatient setting are inappropriate, contributed mainly to respiratory tract diseases. Interventions that target these health care providers are essential to improve prescribing of this valuable antibiotic.
Analysis of Optimal Control Strategies for Preventing Computer Virus Infection and Reduce Program Files Damage with Other Symptoms
Authors: Chinebu Titus Ifeanyi , Udegbe Ikechukwu Valentine , Ezennorom Edmund Onwubiko 
Published: August 2021

Program files damage and other computer virus symptoms has become a very threatening issue to computer performance. This paper considered an model with incidence of infected and program files damaged computers and saturated incidence of vaccination and treatment function. Two control functions have been used; one for vaccinating the susceptible computer population and the other for the treatment of the program files damaged computer population. The Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle has been used to characterize the optimal control whose numerical results show the positive impact of the two controls used for controlling the infection dynamics of computer virus. Actually the intention of this study is to minimize the number of infected and program files damaged computer systems and at the same time minimize the cost associated to the controls. Efficiency analysis is also studied to determine the best control strategy among vaccination and treatment. Numerical simulations were carried out in this model to demonstrate the analytical results and it was revealed that combination of vaccination and treatment is the most successful way to minimize the incidence of program files damage.
Functionalized Silk Vascular Grafts with Decellularized Human Wharton's Jelly Improves Remodeling via Immunomodulation in Rabbit Jugular Vein
Authors: Gupta Prerak , Chaudhuri Gaurab Ranjan , Janani G. , Agarwala Manoj , Ghosh Debaki , Nandi Samit K. , Mandal Biman B. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractCell‐free polymeric tissue‐engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs) have shown great promise towards clinical translation; however, their limited bioactivity and remodeling ability challenge this cause. Here, a novel cell‐free bioresorbable small diameter silk TEVG system functionalized with decellularized human Wharton's jelly (dWJ) matrix is developed and successfully implanted as interposition grafts into rabbit jugular vein. Implanted TEVGs remain patent for two months and integrate with host tissue, demonstrating neo‐tissue formation and constructive remodeling. Mechanistic analysis reveals that dWJ matrix is a reservoir of various immunomodulatory cytokines (Interleukin‐8, 6, 10, 4 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α)), which aids in upregulating M2 macrophage‐associated genes facilitating pro‐remodeling behavior. Besides, dWJ treatment to human endothelial cells upregulates the expression of functional genes (cluster of differentiation 31 (CD31), endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and vascular endothelial (VE)‐cadherin), enables faster cell migration, and elevates nitric oxide (NO) production leading to the in situ development of endothelium. The dWJ functionalized silk TEVGs support increased host cell recruitment than control, including macrophages and vascular cells. It endows superior graft remodeling in terms of a dense medial layer comprising smooth muscle cells and elevates the production of extracellular matrix proteins (collagen and elastin). Altogether, these findings suggest that dWJ functionalization imitates the usefulness of cell seeding and enables graft remodeling.
Investigation on the Effect of Cyclic Stretch and Hypoxia on Recovery of Damaged Skeletal Muscle Cells Using Microfluidic System
Authors: Kim Jaesang , Kim Wanho , Ahn Jisong , Jang Young Jin , Park Hyung‐Soon , Jeon Jessie S. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractTo develop an effective treatment for muscle recovery, costimuli effect of cyclic stretch and hypoxia on the recovery of oxidative damaged skeletal muscle cells is investigated. C2C12 myoblast cells are differentiated into myotube in culture dish followed by seeding the myotubes in the microfluidic device for further growth. Hydrogen peroxide is used to induce oxidative stress on myotubes for mimicking intracellular muscle damage. Afterward, the damaged myotubes are recovered in either normoxia or hypoxia environment with or without cyclic stretch, to elucidate the effect of the stretch and hypoxia on recovery. For analysis, reactive oxygen species, 8‐hydroxydeoxyguanosine, and myosin heavy chain are chosen as recovery indicators and it is shown that cyclic stretch and hypoxia facilitate the recovery of muscle to the greatest extent when both cyclic stretch and hypoxia are applied. To investigate the mechanism of the stretch and hypoxia intervened recovery, hypoxia inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α), peroxiredoxin 2, glutathione peroxidase 1, and catalase are selected as candidates for the key factor of recovery acceleration. There is evidence that HIF‐1α and antioxidants contributed to stretch‐/hypoxia‐induced recovery, and HIF‐1α is speculated to play the most important role. Hence, the stretch and hypoxia triggered pathways of cellular recovery are suggested.
UV‐Curable Adhesive Tape‐Assisted Patterning of Metal Nanowires for Ultrasimple Fabrication of Stretchable Pressure Sensor
Authors: Ju Yun Hee , Han Chul Jong , Kim Kwang‐Seok , Kim Jong‐Woong 
Published: August 2021

AbstractAg nanowires (AgNWs) have been highlighted as a flexible or stretchable transparent electrode material. Contrary to general perception, AgNWs have not been used in earnest for product development with a flexible form factor because the patterning of an AgNW‐based transparent electrode is complicated and costly, and its reproducibility and the possible pattern specifications are poor. Herein, a highly reproducible, practical patterning approach is developed that not only enables fine patterning down to 30 µm line width, but also enables complicated patterns. When the UV‐curable adhesive is irradiated with UV light, the oligomers cross‐link, resulting in 1) a decrease of adhesion, and 2) curing and shrinking. After attaching this adhesive tape to the temporary substrate coated with AgNWs, through the selective irradiation of UV and peel‐off of the tape, the AgNWs impregnated with the cured adhesive are removed from the temporary substrate, leaving finely defined AgNW patterns. The AgNW patterns thus fabricated are impregnated under the polydimethylsiloxane surface by an inverted layer processing, and could be used to precisely detect whether a gloved finger is touched, or the magnitude of pressure applied to the electrode surface, maintaining high sensitivity even in the stretched state.
Stabilizing the Solid‐Electrolyte Interphase with Polyacrylamide for High‐Voltage Aqueous Lithium‐Ion Batteries
Authors: Hou Xu , Wang Rui , He Xin , Pollard Travis P , Ju Xiaokang , Du Leilei , Paillard Elie , Frielinghaus Henrich , Barnsley Lester C. , Borodin Oleg , Xu Kang , Winter Martin , Li Jie 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe introduction of “water‐in‐salt” electrolyte (WiSE) concept opens a new horizon to aqueous electrochemistry that is benefited from the formation of a solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI). However, such SEI still faces multiple challenges, including dissolution, mechanical damaging, and incessant reforming, which result in poor cycling stability. Here, we report a polymeric additive, polyacrylamide (PAM) that effectively stabilizes the interphase in WiSE. With the addition of 5 molar % PAM to 21 mol kg−1 LiTFSI electrolyte, a LiMn2O4∥L‐TiO2 full cell exhibits enhanced cycling stability with 86 % capacity retention after 100 cycles at 1 C. The formation mechanism and evolution of PAM‐assisted SEI was investigated using operando small angle neutron scattering and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which reveal that PAM minimizes the presence of free water molecules at the anode/electrolyte interface, accelerates the TFSI− anion decomposition, and densifies the SEI.
A Glucose‐Powered Activatable Nanozyme Breaking pH and H2O2 Limitations for Treating Diabetic Infections
Authors: Chen Lifang , Xing Shuohui , Lei Yanli , Chen Qiaoshu , Zou Zhen , Quan Ke , Qing Zhihe , Liu Juewen , Yang Ronghua 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe peroxidase‐like activity of nanozymes is promising for chemodynamic therapy by catalyzing H2O2 into .OH. However, for most nanozymes, this activity is optimal just in acidic solutions, while the pH of most physiological systems is beyond 7.0 (even >8.0 in chronic wounds) with inadequate H2O2. We herein communicate an activatable nanozyme with targeting capability to simultaneously break the local pH and H2O2 limitations under physiological conditions. As a proof of concept, aptamer‐functionalized nanozymes, glucose oxidase, and hyaluronic acid constitute an activatable nanocapsule “APGH”, which can be activated by bacteria‐secreted hyaluronidase in infected wounds. Nanozymes bind onto bacteria through aptamer recognition, and glucose oxidation tunes the local pH down and supplements H2O2 for the in‐situ generation of .OH on bacteria surfaces. The activity switching and enhanced antibacterial effect of the nanocapsule were verified in vitro and in diabetic wounds. This strategy for directly regulating local microenvironment is generally accessible for nanozymes, and significant for facilitating biological applications of nanozymes.
A Minimal Load‐and‐Lock RuII Luminescent DNA Probe
Authors: Newton Matthew D. , Fairbanks Simon D. , Thomas Jim A. , Rueda David S. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThreading intercalators bind DNA with high affinities. Here, we describe single‐molecule studies on a cell‐permeant luminescent dinuclear ruthenium(II) complex that has been previously shown to thread only into short, unstable duplex structures. Using optical tweezers and confocal microscopy, we show that this complex threads and locks into force‐extended duplex DNA in a two‐step mechanism. Detailed kinetic studies reveal that an individual stereoisomer of the complex exhibits the highest binding affinity reported for such a mono‐intercalator. This stereoisomer better preserves the biophysical properties of DNA than the widely used SYTOX Orange. Interestingly, threading into torsionally constrained DNA decreases dramatically, but is rescued on negatively supercoiled DNA. Given the “light‐switch” properties of this complex on binding DNA, it can be readily used as a long‐lived luminescent label for duplex or negatively supercoiled DNA through a unique “load‐and‐lock” protocol.
A Lamellar MXene (Ti3C2Tx)/PSS Composite Membrane for Fast and Selective Lithium‐Ion Separation
Authors: Lu Zong , Wu Ying , Ding Li , Wei Yanying , Wang Haihui 
Published: August 2021

AbstractA two‐dimensional (2D) laminar membrane with Li+ selective transport channels is obtained by stacking MXene nanosheets with the introduction of poly(sodium 4‐styrene sulfonate) (PSS) with active sulfonate sites, which exhibits excellent Li+ selectivity from ionic mixture solutions of Na+, K+, and Mg2+. The Li+ permeation rate through the MXene@PSS composite membrane is as high as 0.08 mol m−2 h−1, while the Li+/Mg2+, Li+/Na+, and Li+/K+ selectivities are 28, 15.5, and 12.7, respectively. Combining the simulation and experimental results, we further confirm that the highly selective rapid transport of partially dehydrated Li+ within subnanochannels can be attributed to the precisely controlled interlayer spacing and the relatively weaker ion‐terminal (−SO3−) interaction. This study deepens the understanding of ion‐selective permeation in confined channels and provides a general membrane design concept.
Topochemical Ene–Azide Cycloaddition Reaction
Authors: Khazeber Ravichandran , Sureshan Kana M. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractTopochemical reactions, high‐yielding solid‐state reactions arising from the proximal alignment of reacting partners in the crystal lattice, do not require solvents, catalysts, and additives, are of high demand in the context of green processes and environmental safety. However, the bottleneck is the limited number of reactions that can be done in the crystal medium. We present the topochemical ene–azide cycloaddition (TEAC) reaction, wherein alkene and azide groups undergo lattice‐controlled cycloaddition reaction giving triazoline in crystals. A designed monomer that arranges in a head‐to‐tail manner in its crystals pre‐organizing the reacting groups of adjacent molecules in proximity undergoes spontaneous cycloaddition reaction in a single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal fashion, yielding the triazoline‐linked polymer. A unique advantage of this reaction is that the triazoline can be converted to aziridine by simple heating, which we exploited for the otherwise challenging post‐synthetic backbone modification of the polymer. This reaction may revolutionize the field of polymer science.
Nanoalkalinecellulose immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles as a green catalyst for the synthesis of tetrahydrodipyrazolopyridines and mechanistic insights under base catalysis
Authors: Tamaddon Fatemeh , Ahmadi‐AhmadAbadi Ehsan , Kargar Hossein 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe cotton‐derived nanoalkalinecellulose (NAC) flocculated on the Fe3O4‐nanoparticles was analytically characterized as Fe3O4@NAC. With the 1:5.7 weight ratio for organic:inorganic and the base‐capacity equal to 7.5 mmol HO−/g, the Fe3O4@NAC represented a catalytic advantage in the room‐temperature one‐pot pseudo‐multicomponent synthesis of tetra‐hydrodipyrazolopyridines (THDPPs) in water. Mechanistic monitoring supported no requisite to acid/base catalyst in the first phase for rapid formation of intermediate 3‐methylpyrazolone (A) by Knorr reaction of the ethylacetoacetate with hydrazine hydrate in water at room temperature. Alternatively, Fe3O4@NAC showed catalytic roles in the further reaction phases in synthesis of THDPPs from the A. Excellent base capacity, hydrogen‐bonding performance, and stability due to no significant activity loss and leaching after five reaction cycles are advantages of this organometallic catalyst.
Electrochemical Approaches to Carbonylative Coupling Reactions
Authors: Shi Yunru , Xia Chungu , Huang Yang , He Lin 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThe carbonylation reaction is an effective way to introduce CO or other carbonyl groups into organic compounds, and widely used in the preparation of aldehydes, ketones, amides, and esters. The replacement of conventional reaction approaches by greener electrochemical methods is appealing with great synthetic potential as well as inherent safety, owing to the avoidance of external oxidants or reductants and a more facile control in product selectivity. In this minireview, we give a summary of the recent development of carbonylation reactions via the electrochemical approach.