bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of Mentoring Newly Employed Teachers on their Performance on Curricular Activities in Public Secondary Schools in Thika East and West Sub-Counties, Kiambu County, Kenya
Authors: Okello Pamela Akinyi , Kombo Kisilu , Mandela Rubai 
Published: April 2024

The first year of teaching is one of the most challenging and critical periods in a teacher’s career. Newly employed teachers begin experiencing challenges such as workload pressure, lack of appreciation andsupport from colleagues, work-leisure spillover and discipline and behavior problems of students, burnout and conflict with other colleagues and other school stakeholders. This leads to low performance of newly employed teachers, as 40% of newly employed teachers do not meet the performance appraisals targets as set by TSC. This study’s objective was to determine the impact of mentoring on the job performance of newly employed teachers in public secondary schools in Thika East and West Sub-Counties, Kiambu county, Kenya. Feldman’s model of organizational socialization and social exchange theory informed this study. The study used a descriptive design and adopted a mixed methodology approach where qualitative and quantitative data were used. The study population was 568 participants comprising of 148 newly employed teachers, 378 experienced teachers, 21 principals, and 21 deputy principals. The study used stratified random sampling to sample 60 newly employed teachers, 153 experienced teachers, 17 principals, and deputy principals; thus, the total sample size was 230 respondents. The study collected data usingan interview guide for newly employed teachers, questionnaires for experienced teachers, principals, and deputy principals, and FGD for students. The researcher also carried out observation, document analysis, and other relevant secondary data. The researcher carried out mixed analysis. The study results indicated that there is a positive and statistically significant influence of mentoring (β=0.628, p=0.039<0.05) on the performance of newly employed teachers. The study concludes that having proper and effective mentoring led to better job performance of newly employed teachers. The study recommends improving on mentoring so as to boost the job performance of newly employed teachers in Kenya.
Cross-curriculum Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School: Geography, History, Religious Education and Mathematics in Kenya’s Competency Based Curriculum
Authors: Mwangangi Leonard , Ondigi Samson R. , Puotier Zutaah 
Published: April 2024

Inadequate learners’ engagement in Geography, History, Religious Education, and Mathematics (GHREM) can lead to a lack of knowledge and appreciation for the importance of these learning areas in various careers. This has the potential to have far-reaching implications for a country’s need for well-educated graduates in Geography, History, Religious Education, and Mathematics to ensure socioeconomic, cultural, and political development. The implication is that there will be a lack of personnel to take up a career in these learning areas in the future. This study looked into the importance of GHREM in the National Curriculum as well as their relationship. The study relied on library research and a qualitative research design to examine published articles related to the research objectives from 1945 to 2023. From the over 100 articles accessed, this investigation purposefully sampled 25 published articles. Content analysis was used to validate the articles. Data was collected through documentation and analyzed through content analysis. The analysis of 25 related articles revealed that the GHREM learning areas are interconnected and interdependent. Geography teaches learners about their surroundings and helps them understand them. History helps learners understand the evolution of various human endeavors. Religious education helps learners understand various religions and their practices while also promoting tolerance and respect for diversity, as well as ethical and moral behavior. Mathematics introduces learners to concepts such as numbers, algebra, geometry, and statistics, while also encouraging abstract thinking and problem-solving abilities. These learning areas are related because they are all required for learners to understand and interpret their surroundings, as well as to succeed in a variety of careers. Overall, each learning area helps to develop a well-rounded education that prepares learners for careers and beyond. According to the study’s findings, these learning areas should be integrated across the curriculum.
Utilization of a highly adaptable murine air pouch model for minimally invasive testing of the inflammatory potential of biomaterials
Authors: Woitschach Franziska , Kloss Marlen , Kischkel Sabine , Macháček Tomáš , Reinholdt Cindy , Senz Volkmar , Schlodder Karsten , Löbermann Micha , Grabow Niels , Reisinger Emil C. , Sombetzki Martina 
Published: April 2024

Introduction: The biocompatibility of an implanted material strongly determines the subsequent host immune response. After insertion into the body, each medical device causes tissue reactions. How intense and long-lasting these are is defined by the material properties. The so-called foreign body reaction is a reaction leading to the inflammation and wound healing process after implantation. The constantly expanding field of implant technology and the growing areas of application make optimization and adaptation of the materials used inevitable.Methods: In this study, modified liquid silicone rubber (LSR) and two of the most commonly used thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) were compared in terms of induced inflammatory response in the body. We evaluated the production of inflammatory cytokines, infiltration of inflammatory cells and encapsulation of foreign bodies in a subcutaneous air-pouch model in mice. In this model, the material is applied in a minimally invasive procedure via a cannula and in one piece, which allows material testing without destroying or crushing the material and thus studying an intact implant surface. The study design includes short-term (6 h) and long-term (10 days) analysis of the host response to the implanted materials. Air-pouch-infiltrating cells were determined by flow cytometry after 6 h and 10 days. Inflammation, fibrosis and angiogenesis markers were analyzed in the capsular tissue by qPCR after 10 days.Results: The foreign body reaction was investigated by macroscopic evaluation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Increased leukocyte infiltration was observed in the air-pouch after 6 h, but it markedly diminished after 10 days. After 10 days, capsule formations were observed around the materials without visible inflammatory cells.Discussion: For biocompatibility testing materials are often implanted in muscle tissue. These test methods are not sufficiently conclusive, especially for materials that are intended to come into contact with blood. Our study primarily shows that the presented model is a highly adaptable and minimally invasive test system to test the inflammatory potential of and foreign body reaction to candidate materials and offers more precise analysis options by means of flow cytometry.
Gut microbiota composition in travellers is associated with faecal lipocalin-2, a mediator of gut inflammation
Authors: Gandasegui Javier , Vergara Andrea , Fleitas Pedro , Rubio Elisa , Fernandez-Pittol Mariana , Aylagas Cristian , Alvarez Míriam , Zancada Noelia , Camprubí-Ferrer Daniel , Vila Jordi , Muñoz José , Petrone Paula , Casals-Pascual Climent 
Published: April 2024

IntroductionWe examined the gut microbiota of travellers returning from tropical areas with and without traveller’s diarrhoea (TD) and its association with faecal lipocalin-2 (LCN2) levels.MethodsParticipants were recruited at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, and a single stool sample was collected from each individual to perform the diagnostic of the etiological agent causing gastrointestinal symptoms as well as to measure levels of faecal LCN2 as a biomarker of gut inflammation. We also characterised the composition of the gut microbiota by sequencing the region V3-V4 from the 16S rRNA gene, and assessed its relation with the clinical presentation of TD and LCN2 levels using a combination of conventional statistical tests and unsupervised machine learning approaches.ResultsAmong 61 participants, 45 had TD, with 40% having identifiable etiological agents. Surprisingly, LCN2 levels were similar across groups, suggesting gut inflammation occurs without clinical TD symptoms. Differential abundance (DA) testing highlighted a microbial profile tied to high LCN2 levels, marked by increased Proteobacteria and Escherichia-Shigella, and decreased Firmicutes, notably Oscillospiraceae. UMAP analysis confirmed this profile’s association, revealing distinct clusters based on LCN2 levels. The study underscores the discriminatory power of UMAP in capturing meaningful microbial patterns related to clinical variables. No relevant differences in the gut microbiota composition were found between travellers with or without TD.DiscussionThe findings suggest a correlation between gut microbiome and LCN2 levels during travel, emphasising the need for further research to discern the nature of this relationship.
Preemptive treatment in the acute and early subacute phase of uncomplicated type B aortic dissections with poor prognosis factors
Authors: Sachs Charlotte , Vecchini Fabien , Corniquet Marie , Bartoli Michel , Barral Pierre-Antoine , De Masi Mariangela , Omnes Virgile , Piquet Philippe , Alsac Jean-Marc , Gaudry Marine 
Published: April 2024

ObjectiveDue to its favorable outcome regarding late morbidity and mortality, thoracic endovascular repair (TEVAR) is becoming more popular for uncomplicated type B aortic dissection (TBAD). This study aimed to compare preemptive endovascular treatment and optimal medical treatment (OMT) and OMT alone in patients presenting uncomplicated TBAD with predictors of aortic progression.DesignRetrospective multicenter studyMethodsWe analyzed patients with uncomplicated TBAD and risk factors of progression in two French academic centers. Aortic events [defined as aortic-related (re)intervention or aortic-related death after initial hospitalization], postoperative complications, non-aortic events, and radiologic aortic progression and remodeling were recorded and analyzed. Analysis was performed on an intention-to-treat basis.ResultsBetween 2011 and 2021, preemptive endovascular procedures at the acute and early subacute phase (&lt;30 days) were performed on 24 patients (group 1) and OMT alone on 26 patients (group 2). With a mean follow-up of 38.08 ± 24.53 months, aortic events occurred in 20.83% of patients from group 1 and 61.54% of patients from group 2 (p &lt; .001). No patient presented aortic-related death during follow-up. There were no differences in postoperative events (p = 1.00) and non-aortic events (p = 1.00). OMT patients had significantly more aneurysmal progression of the thoracic aorta (p &lt; .001) and maximal aortic diameter (p &lt; .001). Aortic remodeling was found in 91.67% of patients in group 1 and 42.31% of patients in group 2 (p &lt; .001). A subgroup analysis of patients in group 1 showed that patients treated with preemptive TEVAR and STABILISE had reduced maximum aortic diameters at the 1-year (p = .010) and last follow-up (p = .030) compared to those in patients treated with preemptive TEVAR alone.ConclusionPreemptive treatment of uncomplicated TBAD with risk factors of progression reduces the risk of long-term aortic events. Over 60% of medically treated patients will require intervention during follow-up, with no benefit in terms of postoperative events. Even after surgical treatment, patients in the OMT group had significantly more aneurysmal progression, along with poorer aortic remodeling.
Clinical characteristics of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis in young vs. middle-aged adults: a single-center retrospective study
Authors: Zhang Yaqiu , Wei Haijun , Liu Yang , Wang Qiqi , He Chunshui 
Published: April 2024

BackgroundThe incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the lower extremities is increasing in the younger population. However, there are fewer reported comparisons in the literature for lower extremity DVT.MethodsPatients aged &lt;40 years admitted with lower-extremity DVT between January 2018 and December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed and followed up for 1 year.ResultsA total of 61 patients were included in the study and divided into two groups: 33 patients over 30 years of age (middle-aged group) and 28 patients under 30 years of age (young group). A significant gender difference was observed, with a higher proportion of males in the young group compared to the middle-aged group (P &lt; 0.001). Five patients in the young group were treated with anticoagulation alone, whereas all patients in the middle-aged group underwent endovascular therapy. A higher prevalence of inferior vena cava thrombosis in the young group compared to the middle-aged group (60.71% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.032). The proportion of iliac vein stenosis was significantly higher in the middle-aged groups than in the young group (P = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference in venous function scores (Villalta and rVCSS) between the two groups during both the preoperative period and the postoperative follow-up (P &gt; 0.05). The incidence of lower-extremity DVT post-thrombotic syndrome and thrombus recurrence was higher in the young group than in the middle-aged group at 1 year postoperatively (PTS: 78.57% vs. 33.3%, P &lt; 0.001, and thrombus recurrence: 28.57% vs. 9.09%, P &lt; 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that inferior vena cava thrombosis was an independent risk factor for severe DVT post-thrombotic syndrome and recurrent DVT (P &lt; 0.05), whereas gender was an independent risk factor for recurrent DVT (P &lt; 0.05).ConclusionsThis study suggests differences in the clinical characteristics and prognosis of lower-extremity DVT.
The association between circadian syndrome and chronic kidney disease in an aging population: a 4-year follow-up study
Authors: Xiong Yang , Zhong Qian , Zhang Yangchang , Liu Zhihong , Wang Xianding 
Published: April 2024

IntroductionCircadian syndrome (CircS) is proposed as a novel risk cluster based on reduced sleep duration, abdominal obesity, depression, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia. However, the association between CircS and chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. To investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between CircS and CKD, this study was performed.MethodsA national prospective cohort (China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, CHARLS) was used in this study. To define CKD, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated based on the 2012 CKD-EPI creatinine-cystatin C equation. Participants with eGFR &lt;60 mL.min-1/1.73/m2 were diagnosed with CKD. Multivariate binary logistic regression was used to assess the cross-sectional association between CircS and CKD. Subgroup and interactive analyses were performed to determine the interactive effects of covariates. In the sensitivity analysis, the obese population was excluded and another method for calculating the eGFR was used to verify the robustness of previous findings. In addition, participants without CKD at baseline were followed up for four years to investigate the longitudinal relationship between CircS and CKD.ResultsA total of 6355 participants were included in this study. In the full model, CircS was positively associated with CKD (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.04-1.59, P &lt; 0.05). As per one increase of CircS components, there was a 1.11-fold (95% CI = 1.04-1.18, P &lt; 0.05) risk of prevalent CKD in the full model. A significant interactive effect of hyperuricemia in the CircS-CKD association (P for interaction &lt; 0.01) was observed. Sensitivity analyses excluding the obese population and using the 2009 CKD-EPI creatinine equation to diagnose CKD supported the positive correlation between CircS and CKD. In the 2011-2015 follow-up cohort, the CircS group had a 2.18-fold risk of incident CKD (95% CI = 1.33-3.58, P &lt; 0.01) in the full model. The OR was 1.29 (95% CI = 1.10-1.51, P &lt; 0.001) with per one increase of CircS components.ConclusionCircS is a risk factor for CKD and may serve as a predictor of CKD for early identification and intervention.
Screening and validation of atherosclerosis PAN-apoptotic immune-related genes based on single-cell sequencing
Authors: Song Yamin , Lou Bo , Wang Huiting , Zhang Guifeng , Xia Yitong , Ban Ru , Zhao Xin , Sun Hao , Wang Jingru , Lin Jie , Guo Tingting , Zhou Jing , Xia Zhangyong 
Published: April 2024

BackgroundCarotid atherosclerosis (CAS) is a complication of atherosclerosis (AS). PAN-optosome is an inflammatory programmed cell death pathway event regulated by the PAN-optosome complex. CAS’s PAN-optosome-related genes (PORGs) have yet to be studied. Hence, screening the PAN-optosome-related diagnostic genes for treating CAS was vital.MethodsWe introduced transcriptome data to screen out differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in CAS. Subsequently, WGCNA analysis was utilized to mine module genes about PANoptosis score. We performed differential expression analysis (CAS samples vs. standard samples) to obtain CAS-related differentially expressed genes at the single-cell level. Venn diagram was executed to identify PAN-optosome-related differential genes (POR-DEGs) associated with CAS. Further, LASSO regression and RF algorithm were implemented to were executed to build a diagnostic model. We additionally performed immune infiltration and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) based on diagnostic genes. We verified the accuracy of the model genes by single-cell nuclear sequencing and RT-qPCR validation of clinical samples, as well as in vitro cellular experiments.ResultsWe identified 785 DEGs associated with CAS. Then, 4296 module genes about PANoptosis score were obtained. We obtained the 7365 and 1631 CAS-related DEGs at the single-cell level, respectively. 67 POR-DEGs were retained Venn diagram. Subsequently, 4 PAN-optosome-related diagnostic genes (CNTN4, FILIP1, PHGDH, and TFPI2) were identified via machine learning. Cellular function tests on four genes showed that these genes have essential roles in maintaining arterial cell viability and resisting cellular senescence.ConclusionWe obtained four PANoptosis-related diagnostic genes (CNTN4, FILIP1, PHGDH, and TFPI2) associated with CAS, laying a theoretical foundation for treating CAS.
Alternative splicing and its regulation in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae
Authors: Díaz-Terenti Bárbara , Ruiz José Luis , Gómez-Díaz Elena 
Published: April 2024

IntroductionAlternative splicing (AS) is a highly conserved mechanism that allows for the expansion of the coding capacity of the genome, through modifications of the way that multiple isoforms are expressed or used to generate different phenotypes. Despite its importance in physiology and disease, genome-wide studies of AS are lacking in most insects, including mosquitoes. Even for model organisms, chromatin associated processes involved in the regulation AS are poorly known.MethodsIn this study, we investigated AS in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae in the context of tissue-specific gene expression and mosquito responses to a Plasmodium falciparum infection, as well as the relationship between patterns of differential isoform expression and usage with chromatin accessibility changes. For this, we combined RNA-seq and ATAC-seq data from A. gambiae midguts and salivary glands, infected and non-infected.ResultsWe report differences between tissues in the expression of 392 isoforms and in the use of 247 isoforms. Secondly, we find a clear and significant association between chromatin accessibility states and tissue-specific patterns of AS. The analysis of differential accessible regions located at splicing sites led to the identification of several motifs resembling the binding sites of Drosophila transcription factors. Finally, the genome-wide analysis of tissue-dependent enhancer activity revealed that approximately 20% of A. gambiae transcriptional enhancers annotate to a differentially expressed or used isoform, and that their activation status is linked to AS differences between tissues.ConclusionThis research elucidates the role of AS in mosquito vector gene expression and identifies regulatory regions potentially involved in AS regulation, which could be important in the development of novel strategies for vector control.
A nomogram to predict severe COVID-19 patients with increased pulmonary lesions in early days
Authors: Chen Lina , Li Min , Wu Zhenghong , Liu Sibin , Huang Yuanyi 
Published: April 2024

ObjectivesThis study aimed to predict severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) progression in patients with increased pneumonia lesions in the early days. A simplified nomogram was developed utilizing artificial intelligence (AI)-based quantified computed tomography (CT).MethodsFrom 17 December 2019 to 20 February 2020, a total of 246 patients were confirmed COVID-19 infected in Jingzhou Central Hospital, Hubei Province, China. Of these patients, 93 were mildly ill and had follow-up examinations in 7 days, and 61 of them had enlarged lesions on CT scans. We collected the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and three quantitative CT features from two examinations within 7 days. The three quantitative CT features of pneumonia lesions, including ground-glass opacity volume (GV), semi-consolidation volume (SV), and consolidation volume (CV), were automatically calculated using AI. Additionally, the variation volumes of the lesions were also computed. Finally, a nomogram was developed using a multivariable logistic regression model. To simplify the model, we classified all the lesion volumes based on quartiles and curve fitting results.ResultsAmong the 93 patients, 61 patients showed enlarged lesions on CT within 7 days, of whom 19 (31.1%) developed any severe illness. The multivariable logistic regression model included age, NLR on the second time, an increase in lesion volume, and changes in SV and CV in 7 days. The personalized prediction nomogram demonstrated strong discrimination in the sample, with an area under curve (AUC) and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of 0.961 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.917–1.000. Decision curve analysis illustrated that a nomogram based on quantitative AI was clinically useful.ConclusionThe integration of CT quantitative changes, NLR, and age in this model exhibits promising performance in predicting the progression to severe illness in COVID-19 patients with early-stage pneumonia lesions. This comprehensive approach holds the potential to assist clinical decision-making.