bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Intestinal Parasitic Infections and Associated Factors Among Street Children in Jimma Town; South West Ethiopia in 2019: A Cross Sectional Study
Authors: Siraj Sabit Zenu , Alemayehu Eshetu , Woldemichael Kifle 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background Street child is any child whose age is less than 18 years for whom the street has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, is inadequately protected, supervised or directed by responsible adults. In Ethiopia the health problems of street children are given poor attention in research. This problem is pronounced when it comes to intestinal parasitic infections. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections and associated factors among street children in Jimma town in the year 2019.Methods: Community based cross sectional study was employed. Complete enumeration was used to include 312 street children. Pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data was entered to Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20. Stool samples were examined by wet mount and formalin ether concentration techniques. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with intestinal parasitic infection. Significance of association was decided by using the 95% confidence interval of AOR and P-value of ≤ 0.05 in the multivariable model. Result: A total of 312 children of the street were involved in the study making the response rate 96.2%. The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection was 66.7%. Untrimmed finger nails AOR=2.03;95%CI (1.02-4.06), eating street food AOR=2.24;95% CI (1.04-5.02), practice of swimming in unprotected water bodies AOR=2.5; 95% CI (1.24-5.04), not wearing shoes at the time of data collection AOR= 3.8;95% CI (1.8-8.2) and lacking knowledge of way of transmission of intestinal parasites AOR= 2.5; 95% CI (1.25- 5.0) were significantly associated with parasitic infections. Conclusions: The prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among street children in the study area was high and require integrated interventions to avert the problem. Factors like untrimmed finger nails, swimming practice, eating street foods, shoe wearing and lacking knowledge of ways of transmission of intestinal parasitic infections are associated with infection status. Measures has to be taken to curb the problem by including them in mass drug administration and targeted health education towards identified factors.
Usefulness of Lymphocyte ratio and CRP Level for Early Detection of Surgical Site Infection Following spinal surgery
Authors: Wei Wenbo , Dang Shajie , Duan Dapeng , Gong Liqun , Wang Jue , Wei Ling 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background: To investigate the significant laboratory markers for early diagnosis of surgical site infection after spinal surgery. And determine the diagnostic cut-off values of these markers Methods: A total of 67 patients participated in the study: 11 patients who developed surgical site infection after spinal surgery (SSI Group) and 56 patients were compared with the infected group in terms of age，gender, operating time and intraoperative blood loss (Non-SSI Group). The white blood cell (WBC) count , WBC differential , C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR) were determined before and 1, 3 and 7 days postoperatively . Then, we determine the diagnostic cutoff for these markers by using the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: The CRP, ESR and WBC were significantly higher in the SSI group at 3 and 7 days postoperatively. The lymphocyte ratio at 3 days postoperatively was significantly lower in the SSI Group. Using the receiver operating characteristic curve，lymphocyte ratio <11.5% at 3 days postoperatively (sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 75.4%, area under the curve [AUC] 0.919), and C-reactive protein level >26 mg/dL at 7 days postoperatively (sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 87.7%, area under the curve [AUC] 0.954) were the significant laboratory marker for early detection of SSI Conclusion: Lymphocyte ratio<11.5% at 3 days and C-reactive protein levels>26.5mg/dl at 7 days after spinal surgery are reliable markers of SSI.
Immune Cell Composition of Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma and its clinical relevance: A research based on TCGA database
Authors: Ji Yucheng , Gu Guang-xiang 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), as the main type of liver cancer, has become a main health issue as the third-most common cause of mortality in cancer patients. However, conventional chemo- or radio- therapies shows little improvement in survival, which calls for novel therapies. Because of the immunotolerance mechanism existing naturally in liver, immunotherapy provides significant effect in treatment of LIHC patients. Up to now, various immunotherapies have been proposed, but due to the complex pathways from which LIHC cancerous cell escape immunosurveillance, combined therapies are often needed, which are still under development. Methods In the current study, with data downloaded from TCGA database, CIBERSORT was performed for identifying the composition of infiltrating immune cells and further statistical analyses using R 3.5.3 were carried out, aiming at connecting specific immune cells with clinical survival. Results With data of immune and stromal scores downloaded from the website of MD Anderson Cancer Centre, both showed significance in survival time. Further analyses based on the result of CIBERSORT demonstrated that the number of macrophages M0 and T cells CD8 infiltration between para-carcinoma and tumour tissues are markedly different. With combination of clinical data, we were able to identify that a higher amount of activated NK cells (p=0.008) and a lower amount of resting NK cells (p=0.047) presented a longer survival time. Conclusion With the help of the TCGA database and multiple techniques, statistical analyses of transcriptome profiling data and clinical data were successfully carried out. The results in this study may pave the way for a new therapeutic strategy which could be combined with current treatments to further improve the clinical outcome of LIHC patients. Further and deeper investigation of other available data, however, were needed in order to verify the results of current study.
Distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacterial species in stray cats, hospital-visiting cats, and veterinary staff in South Korea
Authors: Jung Woo Kyung , Shin Sook , Park Young Kyung , Lim Suk-Kyung , Moon Dong-Chan , Park Kun Taek , Park Yong Ho 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background

Antimicrobial resistance is becoming increasingly important in both human and veterinary medicine. According to the One Health concept, an important step is to monitor the resistance patterns of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and trends of bacteria isolated from stray cats, hospital-visiting cats, and veterinary staff in South Korea between 2017 and 2018 were investigated.

Results

The minimum inhibitory concentrations of different antibiotics for Staphylococcus spp., Enterobacteriaceae , and Enterococcus spp. were determined to establish representatives of different antibiotic classes relevant for treatment or surveillance. For Coagulase-positive and Coagulase-negative Staphylococci, resistance to fluoroquinolones was below 13%, but resistance to ampicillin and penicillin was high (20–88%). A total of 9.5%, 12.1%, and 40.3% of staphylococcal isolates from stray cats, hospital-visiting cats, and veterinary staff, respectively, were confirmed to be mecA positive. For Enterobacteriaceae , resistance to carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, and 3rd generation cephalosporins was low (0–11.1%). The Enterococcus spp. isolates showed no resistance to vancomycin. The antimicrobial resistance rates of the Staphylococcus spp. and Enterobacteriaceae isolates from stray cats were usually lower than those of isolates from hospital-visiting cats and veterinary staff, but the Enterococcus spp. isolates revealed the opposite. Thus, the antimicrobial resistance varied across bacterial species according to the source from which they were isolated.

Conclusions

Resistance to critically important compounds were low. These results emphasize the fact that more attention should be paid to the use of antimicrobials and the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance in cats.
Survival and prognostic factors in HIV-infected adults treated with Antiretroviral Therapy in a Malaysian referral hospital: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Chet Lee Sing , Hamid Siti Azrin Ab , Bachok Norsa'adah , Chidambaram Suresh Kumar 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Background: It is well established that antiretroviral therapy (ART) is beneficial in reducing the mortality among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In Malaysia, there is lack of study and information regarding the overall survival rates and prognostic factors for survival in HIV-infected adults treated with ART. Therefore, this study aimed to assess and compare the survival rates as well as to identify the prognostic factors for survival among HIV adults in Malaysia.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by reviewing the medical records of HIV patients who started ART between year 2007 and 2016 at a tertiary referral hospital in Malaysia. ART-naive adults aged 15 years and above were included and those who were transferred out were excluded. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, there were 339 cases eligible in this study. Systematic sampling method was applied. Kaplan Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to compare the overall survival rates. Cox proportional hazards regression was applied to determine the prognostic factors for survival.Results: The estimated overall survival rates were 95.9%, 93.8%, 90.4%, 84.9%, and 72.8% at 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years, respectively. The overall survival rates were significantly different according to age group (p<0.001), employment status (p<0.001), transmission mode (p=0.003), and history of illicit drug use (p=0.017), baseline CD4 cell count (p<0.001), baseline haemoglobin level (p<0.001), tuberculosis co-infection (p<0.001), hepatitis co-infection (p=0.008), first NRTI (p<0.001) and history of defaults (p=0.021). Based on multiple Cox regression, patients who were anaemic had 3.76 times (95% CI: 1.97, 7.18; p<0.001) higher hazard of death than their non-anaemic counterparts. The hazard risk was 2.09 times (95% CI: 1.10, 3.96; p=0.024) higher among HIV patients co-infected with tuberculosis compared to those who were not. Conclusion: Overall survival rates were higher than low-income countries but lower than in high-income countries, and comparable with middle-income countries. Low baseline haemoglobin level and tuberculosis co-infection were strong prognostic factors for HIV survival
Watershed integrity and associations with gastrointestinal illness in the United States
Authors: Jagai Jyotsna S. , Krajewski Alison K. , Jimenez Monica P. , Murphy Mark S. , Leibowitz Scott G. , Lobdell Danelle T. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses are associated with various environmental factors, such as water quality, stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, sewer overflows, and wastewater treatment plant effluents. However, rather than assessing an individual factor alone, two indices incorporating a combination of ecological and environmental stressors were created to represent (1) overall watershed integrity, Index of Watershed Integrity (IWI) and (2) catchment integrity, Index of Catchment Integrity (ICI). These indices could provide a more comprehensive understanding of how watershed/catchment integrity potentially impact the rates of GI illness, compared to assessing an individual stressor alone. We utilized the IWI and ICI, as well as agricultural and urban land uses, to assess associations at the county level with the rates of GI illness in a population of adults over 65 years of age. Our findings demonstrated that both watershed and catchment integrity are associated with reduced hospitalizations for any GI outcomes, though association varied by urbanicity. We believe that improved versions of the IWI and ICI may potentially be useful indicators for public health analyses in other circumstances, particularly when considering rural areas or to capture the complex stressors impacting the ecological health of a watershed.
Prediction and Analysis of Hub Genes in Renal Cell Carcinoma based on CFS Gene Selection Method Combined with Adaboost Algorithm
Authors: Wang Yina , Zheng Benrong , Xu Manbin , Cai Shaoping , Younseo Jeong , Zhang Chi , Jiang Boxiong 
Published: October 2019

Background:
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common malignant tumor of the
adult kidney.

Objective:
The aim of this study was to identify key genes signatures during RCC and uncover
their potential mechanisms.

Methods:
Firstly, the gene expression profiles of GSE53757 which contained 144 samples, including
72 kidney cancer samples and 72 controls, were downloaded from the GEO database. And then
differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the kidney cancer samples and the controls were
identified. After that, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of DEGs were performed by DAVID.
Furthermore, the correlation-based feature subset (CFS) method was applied to the selection of key
genes of DEGs. In addition, the classification model between the kidney cancer samples and the
controls was built by Adaboost based on the selected key genes.

Results:
213 DEGs including 80 up-regulated and 133 down-regulated genes were selected as the
feature genes to build the classification model between the kidney cancer samples and the controls
by CFS method. The accuracy of the classification model by using 5-folds cross-validation test and
independent set test is 84.4% and 83.3%, respectively. Besides, TYROBP, CD4163, CAV1,
CXCL9, CXCL11 and CXCL13 also can be found in the top 20 hub genes screened by proteinprotein
interaction (PPI) network.

Conclusion:
It indicated that CFS is a useful tool to identify key genes in kidney cancer. Besides,
we also predicted genes such as TYROBP, CD4163, CAV1, CXCL9, CXCL11 and CXCL13 that
might target genes to diagnose the kidney cancer.
The Assessment of Interleukin-18 on the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Sun Weiju , Han Ying , Yang Shuo , Zhuang He , Zhang Jingwen , Cheng Liang , Fu Lu 
Published: October 2019

Background:Observational studies support the inflammation hypothesis in coronary heart disease (CHD). As a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine, Interleukin-18 (IL-18), has also been found to be associated with the risk of CHD. However, to our knowledge, the method of Mendelian Randomization has not been used to explore the causal effect of IL-18 on CHD.Objective:To assess the causal effect of IL-18 on the risk of CHD.Methods and Results:Genetic variant instruments for IL-18 were obtained from information of the CHS and InCHIANTI cohort, and consisted of the per-allele difference in mean IL-18 for 16 independent variants that reached genome-wide significance. The per-allele difference in log-odds of CHD for each of these variants was estimated from CARDIoGRAMplusC4D, a two-stage meta -analysis. Two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) was then performed. Various MR analyses were used, including weighted inverse-variance, MR-Egger regression, robust regression, and penalized regression. The OR of elevated IL-18 associated with CHD was only 0.005 (95%CI -0.105~0.095; P-value=0.927). Similar results were obtained with the use of MR-Egger regression, suggesting that directional pleiotropy was unlikely biasing these results (intercept -0.050, P-value=0.220). Moreover, results from the robust regression and penalized regression analyses also revealed essentially similar findings.Conclusions:Our findings indicate that, by itself, IL-18 is unlikely to represent even a modest causal factor for CHD risk.
Computational Analysis and Synthesis of Syringic Acid Derivatives as Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitors
Authors: Malik Neelam , Khatkar Anurag , Dhiman Priyanka 
Published: October 2019

Background:
Xanthine oxidase (XO; EC 1.17.3.2) has been considered as a potent drug
target for the cure and management of pathological conditions prevailing due to high levels of uric
acid in the bloodstream. The role of xanthine oxidase has been well established in the generation
of hyperuricemia and gout due to its important role in catalytic oxidative hydroxylation of hypoxanthine
to xanthine and further catalyses of xanthine to generate uric acid. In this research, syringic
acid, a bioactive phenolic acid was explored to determine the capability of itself and its derivatives
to inhibit xanthine oxidase.

Objective:
The study aimed to develop new xanthine oxidase inhibitors from natural constituents
along with the antioxidant potential.

Methods:
In this report, we designed and synthesized syringic acid derivatives hybridized with alcohol
and amines to form ester and amide linkage with the help of molecular docking. The synthesized
compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibitory potential.

Results:
Results of the study revealed that SY3 produces very good xanthine oxidase inhibitory
activity. All the compounds showed very good antioxidant activity. The enzyme kinetic studies
performed on syringic acid derivatives showed a potential inhibitory effect on XO ability in a
competitive manner with IC50 value ranging from 07.18μM-15.60μM and SY3 was revealed as the
most active derivative. Molecular simulation revealed that new syringic acid derivatives interacted
with the amino acid residues SER1080, PHE798, GLN1194, ARG912, GLN 767, ALA1078 and
MET1038 positioned inside the binding site of XO. Results of antioxidant activity revealed that all
the derivatives showed very good antioxidant potential.

Conclusion:
Molecular docking proved to be an effective and selective tool in the design of new
syringic acid derivatives .This hybridization of two natural constituents could lead to desirable
xanthine oxidase inhibitors with improved activity.
Inhibition of Cancer Stem-Like Phenotype by Curcumin and Deguelin in CAL-62 Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Cells
Authors: Kocdor Mehmet A. , Cengiz Hakan , Ates Halil , Kocdor Hilal 
Published: October 2019

Background:Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (ATC) is one of the most lethal and aggressive human malignancies. Studies have shown that Cancer Stem-Cell (CSC) phenotype is mainly responsible for ATC aggressiveness. Cytostatic compounds are mostly ineffective because of multidrug resistance mechanisms driven by the CSC phenotype. Taxanes have limited efficacy. Recently, CSC inhibition using plant-derived, less toxic compounds, which have anti-cancer efficacy, has become a novel treatment modality. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti-cancer activity of two natural compounds (curcumin and deguelin) on ATC cells and their CSC properties. In addition, the efficacies of these compounds were compared with that of docetaxel.Methods:Besides control, five treatment groups were formed. ATC cells (CAL-62) were treated with curcumin, deguelin, docetaxel, and their combinations (curcumin+docetaxel, deguelin+docetaxel) at previously determined IC50 doses. Stemness was analyzed by quantitative estimation of sphere formation in matrigel, expression of several cell surface markers (CD133, CD90, Nanog, and OCT3/4) using flow cytometry, and quantification of the hypoxic status [Oxidative Stress Index (OSI) and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) activity]. The anti-cancer efficacies of these compounds and their combinations were evaluated by determining the alterations in the cell cycle, apoptosis, and tumoral cell migration.Results:Both the natural compounds (particularly curcumin) significantly suppressed the spheroid formation and cellular motility in matrigel as well as suppressed the accumulation of cells in the G0/1 phase, in which the maximum CSC activity is observed. The compounds did not suppress the expression of CSC markers, but twothirds of the cells expressed CD90. Deguelin was found to be particularly effective in inducing apoptosis similar to docetaxel at IC50 concentrations. Curcumin reduced the OSI and deguelin enhanced the SOD activity, even in docetaxel pre-treated cells.Conclusion:A large proportion of anaplastic tumors might consist of heterogeneous CSC population. Curcumin and deguelin have anti-cancer and several anti-stem cell activities against ATC cells. These natural compounds are capable of altering the aggressive behavior of ATC cells through the inhibition of the CSC phenotype. As a novel therapeutic target, CD90 should be investigated in other ATC cell lines and in vivo models.
Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Active Food Packaging: Technological and Scientific Prospection
Authors: dos Anjos Heriberto A. , Luna Saionara , Hernández-Macedo María L. , López Jorge A. 
Published: October 2019

Background:
Antimicrobial and antioxidant packaging play an important role in the
food industry by ensuring food quality and prolonging the product’s shelf life. Therefore, this scientific
survey covers the technological domain in the active food packaging development processes
and types of packaging.

Methods:
This paper aims to provide a review of patents and scientific publications on active
packaging with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in order to show technological advances
in this field of knowledge and its applicability in the food industry.

Results:
The patent review indicates an increase in the number of documents deposited in recent
decades regarding various types of packaging formulations, particularly active packaging to preserve
foods and their shelf life. In the last few decades, the scientific publication also includes
several studies concerning the development of active food packaging using natural products with
antimicrobial and antioxidant proprieties. Overall, the results show the advantages of incorporating
natural products into polymer matrices to develop industrial packaging, providing a safe and
high-quality food product to the consumer. On the other hand, the review also highlighted lack of
cooperation between inventors and companies of active packaging development.

Conclusion:
Further study in this regard would help provide data form research and patents on the
active food-packaging field as well as economic issues, indicating the global development scenario
of this innovative area.
Preparation of Nanostructured Lipid Drug Delivery Particles Using Microfluidic Mixing
Authors: Hong Linda , Dong Yao-Da , Boyd Ben J. 
Published: October 2019

Background:
Cubosomes are highly ordered self-assembled lipid particles analogous
to liposomes, but with internal liquid crystalline structure. They are receiving interest
as stimuli responsive delivery particles, but their preparation typically requires high energy
approaches such as sonication which is not favourable in many applications.

Objective:
Here we investigated the impact of microfluidic preparation on particle size distribution
and internal structure of cubosomes prepared from two different lipid systems,
phytantriol and glyceryl monooleate (GMO).

Methods:
The impact of relative flow rates of the aqueous and organic streams, the total
flow rate and temperature were investigated in a commercial microfluidic system. The particle
size distribution and structure were measured using dynamic light scattering and small
angle X-ray scattering respectively.

Results:
Phytantriol based particles were robust to different processing conditions, while
cubosomes formed using GMO were more sensitive to composition both locally and globally,
which reflects their preparation using other techniques.

Conclusion:
Thus, in summary microfluidics represents a reproducible and versatile method
to prepare complex lipid particle dispersions such as cubosomes.