bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
FilmArray® Meningoencephalitis Panel In the Diagnosis of Central Nervous System Infections: Stewardship And Cost Analysis in a Paediatric Hospital in Chile
Authors: Acuña Mirta , Benadof Dona , Yohannessen Karla , Leiva Yennybeth , Clement Pascal 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background: Central nervous system (CNS) infection has been an ongoing concern in paediatrics. The FilmArray® Meningoencephalitis (FAME) panel has greater sensitivity in identifying the aetiology of CNS infections. This study’s objective was to compare the aetiological identification and hospitalization costs among patients with suspected CNS infection before and after the use of FAME.Methods: An analytical observational study was carried out using a retrospective cohort for the pre-intervention (pre-FAME use) period and a prospective cohort for the post-intervention (post-FAME use) period in children with suspected CNS infection.Results: A total of 409 CSF samples were analysed, 297 pre-intervention and 112 post-intervention. In the pre-intervention period, a total of 85.5% of patients required hospitalization, and in the post-intervention period 92.7% required hospitalization (p<0.05). The P50 of ICU days was significantly lower in the post-intervention period than it was in the pre-intervention period. The overall positivity was 9.4% and 26.8%, respectively (p< 0.001). At ages 6 months and below, we found an increase in overall positivity from 2.6% to 28.1%, along with an increased detection of viral agents, S. agalactiae, S. pneumoniae, and N. meningitidis. The use of this diagnostic technology saved between $2,916 and $12,240 USD in the cost of ICU bed-days. FAME use provided the opportunity for more accurate aetiological diagnosis of the infections and thus the provision of adequate appropriate treatment.Conclusions: The cost/benefit ratio between FAME cost and ICU -bed-day cost savings is favourable. Implementation of FAME in Chilean public hospitals saves public resources and improves the accuracy of aetiological diagnosis.
Catalytic Reduction Performance of Carboxylated Alginic Acid Derivatives
Authors: Althomali Raed H. , Alamry Khalid A. , Abdo Mahmoud Hussein , Abdel-Hafez Shams H. 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
In this study, the catalytic reduction behavior of carboxylated alginic acid derivatives has been investigated against the harmful organic dyes including Methyl Orange (MO) and Congo Red (CR). Alginic acid was firstly oxidized through an easy addition of KMnO4 as an oxidizing agent. A carboxylated alginic acid (CAA) has been interacted with selected metal ions (Sn, Fe, Ni, and Zr) through coordination bonds at the value of pH = 4 to form the corresponding metal complexes namely: Sn-CAA, Fe-CAA, Ni-CAA and Zr-CAA. The consistency of the coordination was confirmed by several spectroscopic techniques including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and EDX. The catalytic reduction of these metal ion-based products was carried out against MO and CR in the presence of NaBH4 as a reducing agent under UV irradiation. All catalysts based metal complexes showed enhanced catalytic reduction against CR compared to MO. Among all those mentioned metal complexes Sn-CAA showed the best catalytic reduction of these dyes. The time taken by the Sn-CAA for CR, and MO is 5 and 7min respectively. Ni-CAA was classified as the second efficient product against both dyes, where the reduction process took 20 and 9 min respectively. The other two catalysts took a long time for CR and MO reduction. Zr-CAA showed more than 80 % reduction of only CR dye within 20 min. Whereas, Fe-CAA did not show any significant sign of reduction against both the dyes after the same time. The order of higher catalytic reduction was illustrated as: Sn-CAA > Ni-CAA > Zr-CAA = Fe-CAA.
The Effects of Variable Stirring Speeds On The Mechanical Properties of Cast Aluminum Alloys
Authors: Adigun Oluwole Daniel , Aribisala Adetoye Ayokunle , Adigun Aanuoluwapo Rebecca , Olusunle Samuel Olugbenga , Ajibola Olawale Olarewaju , Owa Adebayo Felix , Isadare Adeyemi Dayo , Madueke Chioma Ifeyinwa , Abegunde Ige Emmanuel , Omonubi Kayode Benson 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
The influence of variable stirring speeds on cast aluminium-copper alloys and the resulting enhancements in mechanical properties have been described in this study. Aluminium-copper (Al-Cu) alloys with 0-15 wt% Cu compositions were prepared via electro-mechanical stir casting process using various stirring speeds (0 rev/min, 10 rev/min, 50 rev/min and 90 rev/min) and the alloy materials produced were tested for microhardness and tensile strength. Increase in both wt% Cu compositions and stirring speeds were observed to have led to improvements in microhardness and tensile strength. The microstructural and mechanical characterisations also revealed that improvements in material properties recorded could be attributed to three mechanisms which are: solid solution hardening, precipitation hardening and the stirring effect.
In Vitro Comparison of MTA and BC RRM-Fast Set Putty as Retrograde Filling Materials
Authors: Arvelaiz Carla , Fernandes Andreina , Graterol Veronica , Gomez Katiuska , Gomez-Sosa Jose Francisco , Caviedes-Bucheli Javier , Guilarte Carolina 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background: To compare, in vitro, the bioceramic materials (MTA and BC RRM-fast set putty) capacity to prevent microleakage of Enterococcus faecalis over time. Methods: An experimental design was made with forty extracted human teeth, coronally cut, and prepared to be placed in a leakage system under sterile conditions. They were randomly divided into an experimental group: thirty teeth (fifteen for retrograde filling material MTA and BC RRM-fast set putty, respectively) and a control group: ten teeth (five positive control, five negative control). The 3 mm root-ends were submerged in a brain-heart infusion broth with a red phenol indicator. The coronal access of each sample was inoculated with E. faecalis every seven days to maintain bacterial viability. The lower chamber was evaluated daily for 30 days to observe the turbidity of the culture medium and establish the presence and day of the filtration. Calculation of the colony-forming units (CFU) was performed for each leaked sample. Results: Of the total samples prepared for each type of bioceramic material, leaked 60.0% (9/15) of the MTA group and 40.0% (6/15) of the BC RRM-fast set putty group. All positive controls filtered on the first day of evaluation, while 20% (1/5) of the negative control leaked in the second week. There was no significant difference in leakage between the bioceramic material types, nor concerning the bacterial count and the type of cement used (p = 0.101). Conclusions: This study suggests that BC RRM-fast set putty and MTA have a similar sealing capacity when used as a retrograde filling material in vitro.
Application of SS-CS-HR-AAS Measurements for the Detection of Ag Nano-particles in Marine Invertebrates
Authors: Orani Anna Maria , Vasileva-Veleva Emilia , Thomas Olivier 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
The aquatic fate of NPs governs the ecotoxicity in the aquatic environment and marine organisms. The present study describes the development of fit for purpose analytical procedure for the determination of Ag NPs in different marine organisms by Solid Sampling Continuous Source High Resolution Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (SS-CS HR-AAS). The detection is based on the observation of the Ag absorption peak and its atomization delay tad, i.e., the time at which the maximum absorbance is observed. Indeed, the presence of Ag NPs is easily detected through the analysis of tad as Ag ions and Ag NPs have different interactions with the sample matrix and different tad. The method was first developed using biota CRMs (DORM-3 and SRM 2976) spiked with Ag NPs standard solutions of different sizes (10, 20, 40 and 60 nm) or ionic Ag (Ag+) at the same concentrations. The temperature program was optimized in order to achieve the maximum difference between the tad obtained for Ag+ and the one obtained for Ag NPs (Δtad). Then, laboratory experiments were performed on mussels and marine sponges, two different marine invertebrates. The results showed that the developed methodology is suitable for the detection of Ag NPs for both groups of organisms, showing Δtad up to 3.1 s. The behavior can be slightly different from matrix to matrix but a clear separation between ionic Ag and Ag NPs is always visible. The developed analytical method is therefore a promising tool to assess the presence of Ag NPs in marine invertebrates.
Three Birds with One Stone: Co-Encapsulation of Diclofenac and DL-Menthol for Realizing Enhanced Energy Deposition, Glycolysis Inhibition and Anti-Inflammation in HIFU Surgery
Authors: Wu Haitao , Zhou Hu , Zhang Wenjie , Jin Ping , Shi Qianqian , Miao Zhaohua , Wang Hua , Zha Zhengbao 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Despite attracting increasing attention in clinic, non-invasive high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgery still commonly suffered from tumor recurrence due to the generation of thermo-resistance and adverse therapy-induced inflammation which would promote the secretion of growth signals to trigger tumor recurrence and even metastasis. In this work, inspired by the intrinsic dependence of thermo-resistant heat shock proteins (HSPs) with the adenosine triphosphate (ATP), dual-functionalized diclofenac (DC) with anti-inflammation and glycolysis-inhibition abilities were successfully co-encapsulated with phase-change dl-menthol (DLM) in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (DC/DLM@PLGA NPs) to realize improved HIFU surgery without causing adverse inflammation. Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated the great potential of DC/DLM@PLGA NPs for serving as an efficient synergistic agent of HIFU surgery, which can not only amplify HIFU ablation efficacy through DLM vaporization-induced energy deposition but also simultaneously sensitize tumor cells to hyperthermia by glycolysis inhibition as well as diminished inflammation. Thus, our study provides an efficient strategy for simultaneously improving the curative efficiency and diminishing the harmful inflammatory responses of clinical HIFU surgery.
FNDC3B is a Potential Prognostic Biomarker and Correlated With Immune Infiltrates in Glioma
Authors: Huang Yeping , Li Shanshan , Hu Cheng , Zhang Hong , Wang Xiao 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background: Recent discoveries have revealed that fibronectin type III domain containing 3B (FNDC3B) acts as an oncogene in various cancers; however, its role in glioma remains unclear. Methods: In this study, we comprehensively investigated the expression, prognostic value, and immune significance of FNDC3B in glioma using several databases and bioinformatics analysis. RNA expression data and clinical information of 529 patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and 1319 patients from Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases were downloaded for further investigation. A nomogram model based on TCGA low-grade glioma (LGG) dataset was constructed to assess the prognosis value of FNDC3B in glioma by plotting calibration, K-M, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The predicted nomogram was validated by CGGA cohorts. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected by the Wilcoxon test based on the TCGA-LGG dataset and the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was implemented to identify the significant module associated with the expression level of FNDC3B. Furthermore, we investigated the correlation between FNDC3B with cancer immune infiltrates using TISIDB, ESTIMATE, and CIBERSORTx.Results: Higher FNDC3B expression displayed a remarkably worse overall survival and the expression level of FNDC3B was an independent prognostic indicator for patients with glioma. Based on TCGA LGG dataset, a co-expression network was established and the hub genes were identified. FNDC3B expression was positively correlated to the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and immune infiltration score, and high FNDC3B expression was accompanied by the increased expression of B7-H3, PD-L1, TIM-3, PD-1, and CTLA-4. Moreover, expression of FNDC3B was significantly associated with infiltrating levels of several types of immune cells and most of their gene markers in glioma. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that FNDC3B may be involved in the occurrence and development of glioma and can be regarded as a promising prognostic and immunotherapeutic biomarker for the treatment of glioma.
Identification of Ferroptotic Genes in Spinal Cord Injury at Different Time Points: Bioinformatics and Experimental Validation
Authors: Kang Yu , Li Qiangwei , Zhu Rui , Li Shuang , Xu Xin , Shi Xuanming , Yin Zongsheng 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Programmed cell death (PCD) is an important pathologic process after spinal cord injury (SCI), and as a newly type of PCD, ferroptosis is also involved in the secondary SCI, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Integrating animal experiment and bioinformatics, we validated the ferroptotic phenotype in SCI first, and then bioinformatic analyses, including Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, gene set enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction analysis were performed to investigate the ferroptotic genes at 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 56 days post-SCI, finally, the ferroptotic genes in SCI were identified and expression of 5 key genes were validated by western blot. The ferroptotic symbols including iron overload, lipid peroxidation, shrunken mitochondria and ROS accumulation were detected in the acute and sub-acute phase of SCI. The outcomes of bioinformatics suggested that mTOR signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, Protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum were involved in ferroptotic regulation and ATF-3, XBP-1, HO-1, DDIT-3 and CHAC-1 were selected as the ferroptotic key genes in SCI. Besides, response to oxidative stress, amide metabolic process, cation transport and cytokine production were showed as the essential biological process in ferroptosis after SCI. The ferroptotic phenotype following SCI was validated and the ferroptotic genes and signaling pathways were identified. The results contribute to exploring the ferroptotic mechanism underlying secondary SCI and to providing potential target for clinical treatment.
Prominent Respiratory Involvement Featured in High-Risk Screening for Late-Onset Pompe Disease in China
Authors: Jiao Kexin , Dong Jihong , Luo Sushan , Yu Liqiang , Ke Qing , Wang Zhiqiang , Luan Xinghua , Zhang Xiaojie , Guo Junhong , Chen Yan , Li Xihua , Tan Song , Qian Fangyuan , Jiang Jianming , Yu Xuen , Yue Dongyue , Liu Changxia , Luo Lijun , Li Jianping , Qu Yanzhou , Chen Lan , Tu Jianglong , Sun Chong , Yan Chong , Song Jie , Xi Jianying , Lin Jie , Lu Jiahong , Zhao Chongbo , Zhu Wenhua , Fang Qi 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Backgroud: Pompe disease is a rare metabolic disorder with available enzymatic replacement therapy. Contrasting with the classic infantile form, the others subtypes have a heterogeneous presentation that makes an early and accurate diagnosis difficulty. A multicenter observational study was aimed to assess the prevalence of late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) in high-risk population, using dried blood spot (DBS) as a main screening tool.Methods: 20 Chinese neuromuscular centers were involved in the early LOPD screening study. Inclusion criteria were: (1) age ≥1 years, (2) either one of a) persistent hyperCKemia; or b) muscle weakness of axial and/or limb-girdle muscles; or c) unexplained restrictive respiratory insufficiency. Enzymatic activity of acid α-glucosidase (GAA) was measured on DBS by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) assay. For the final diagnosis genotype was assessed by next-generation sequencing.Result: In a 9-month period, we studied 492 cases: 26 positive samples (5.3%) were detected by DBS screening. Molecular studies finally confirmed LOPD diagnosis in 8 cases (1.6%). The GAA activities in individuals bearing pseudodeficiency alleles were well separated from those in LOPD patients by MS/MS assay. The median interval from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 5 years. Besides axial/proximal muscle weakness, all patients showed respiratory insufficiency with a mean forced vital capacity of predicted of 48%. The level of creatine kinase ranged from normal to no more than 5-fold of upper normal limit. LOPD with isolated hyperCKemia was not identified.Conclusions: This study confirms that DBS test is a reliable method for screening for LOPD. Respiratory insufficiency is earlier and more severe among Chinese LOPD patients. LOPD presented with paucisymptomatic hyperCKemia. Therefore, a prompt diagnosis is critical to prognosis.
A Boltzmann Machine Optimizing Dynamic Routing for FANETs
Authors: WEI Xing , HUANG WenTao , YANG Hua 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Routing optimization for FANETs is a kind of NP-hard in the field of combinatorial optimization that describes simple and difficult to handle. The quality of routing has a direct impact on the network quality of FANETs, and the design of routing protocols becomes a very challenging topic in FANETs. In this paper, we study the characteristics of dynamic routing, combine the characteristics of FANETs themselves, use the energy of nodes, bandwidth, link stability, etc. as the metric of routing, and use Boltzmann machine for routing search to form an optimized dynamic routing protocol. The NS3 simulation simulator is used to compare and study with traditional MANET dynamic routing AODV and DSR, and the simulation results show that the routes obtained by using Boltzmann machine search are better than AODV and DSR in many aspects such as end-to-end average delay, average route survival time and control overhead.
The GP’s perceived role and use of language concerning the existential dimension of palliative patients
Authors: Busser Sara T. , Rens Jeanne , Thoonsen Bregje , Engels Yvonne , Wichmann Anne B. 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background: Palliative patients have to cope with their disease and impending death. Knowing what this means for a patient is crucial for person-centrered care. Although guidelines state it is a GP core task to explore existential issues of palliative patients, this is not standard practice.Aim: Exploring Dutch GPs’ perceived role regarding addressing the existential dimension of palliative patients, and which vocabulary is used.Design and Setting: Qualitative study among Dutch GPs. Participants were recruited by purposive sampling and snowballing, considering gender, working experience and world view.Method: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed, transcribed and analysed using content analysis.Results: Seventeen GPs participated. Three themes were identified: Language, Perceived role and Practice. Interviewees generally saw it as their role to pay attention to the existential dimension of their palliative patients. However, not all knew how to define this role, or how to refer patients with existential struggles to a spiritual counsellor. The multidisciplinary Dutch guideline ‘Existential and Spiritual Aspects of Palliative Care’ seemed largely unknown. Interviewees mostly fulfilled their role in an intuitive, pragmatic way. Questions such as “What does it mean for you to be seriously ill?” or “Do you have support from someone or something?” fitted daily practice.Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of basic GP education in exploring existential issues. The coexistence of a professionally obliged attention and an intuitive approach seems to be in conflict. We recommend enhancing collaboration between GPs and spiritual counsellors, appropriate training, and implementation of the relevant guideline on well-known platforms.
The Importance of Screening for Thyroid Cancer in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome or its Components: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.
Authors: Park Jae Hyun , Cho Hyun Seok , Moon Gilseong , Yoon Jong Ho 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background

The rapidly increasing coincidence of thyroid cancer and metabolic syndrome (MS) in recent decades suggests an association between the two disorders. To investigate this association, we conducted a nationwide study of a large-scale patient cohort.
Methods

Between 2009 and 2011, data were collected by the Korean National Health Insurance Service for 4,658,473 persons aged 40–70 years without thyroid cancer. During the 6-year follow-up period, participants were monitored for the development of thyroid cancer. The relative risks and incidences of thyroid cancer were calculated using multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analyses after adjusting for age and body mass index.
Results

At the end of the study, 47,325 subjects (1.0%) were newly diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The risk of thyroid cancer was significantly elevated in men and women with MS or MS components, except for hyperglycaemia (p = 0.723) or hypertriglyceridemia (p = 0.211) in men. The incidence of thyroid cancer per 10,000 person-years in individuals with MS was significantly higher in men (6.2, p < 0.001) and women (21.3, p < 0.001) compared to those without MS. Additionally, the risk of thyroid cancer increased significantly with an increasing number of MS components even in individuals with only one or two MS components.
Conclusions

MS and its components were significantly associated with increased risk of developing thyroid cancer. Patients with MS or MS components should be regularly screened for thyroid cancer to enable swift therapeutic response in this at-risk population.
Music-evoked emotions affect memory for emotional pictures
Authors: Talamini Francesca , Eller Greta , Vigl Julia , Zentner Marcel 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Music is widely known for its ability to induce emotions. However, to investigate music-evoked emotions, most studies rely on self-report questionnaires, which are vulnerable to bias. In the present study, we explored mood-congruency effects on memory as an indirect, nonverbal method to examine the experience of musical emotions. Participants listened to 15 music excerpts chosen to induce different emotions; after each excerpt, they were required to look at four different pictures, that could be either congruent with the emotion conveyed by the preceding music excerpt, incongruent, or neutral. After the presentation of the stimuli, participants completed a recognition task, including new pictures, already seen emotionally congruent pictures, and already seen emotionally incongruent pictures. Based on previous findings about mood-congruency effects, we hypothesized that if individuals had felt an emotion, this would facilitate memorization of emotionally congruent pictures. Results supported this prediction, as accuracy in the recognition task was higher for the emotionally congruent pictures than for the emotionally incongruent ones. This effect suggests that music-evoked emotions have an influence on subsequent cognitive processing of emotional stimuli, a result relevant for application in different psychology fields. Moreover, mood-congruency tasks may represent a source of evidence for the presence of music-evoked emotions.