生信网-文献期刊

PLoS One

2022 May 9

Worku MG, Alamneh TS, Teshale AB

BACKGROUND: Anemia is a disorder by which the body's red blood cells are inadequate to fulfill The physiological needs of the body. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines anemia as having a hemoglobin (Hb) level of less than 120 g/l for nonpregnant women and 110 g/l for pregnant women. It has serious implications for human health as well as negative social and economic consequences like decreased workforce, impaired learning, and stunted child development. As these women are highly vulnerable to different micro and macro-nutritive deficiency associated with rapid physical, mental and psychological development, particular attention should be given to a young woman (15-24). Therefore this study assesses the magnitude and determinants of anemia among young women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS: This was a secondary data analysis based on the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. We pooled the most recent DHS surveys done in 31 sub-Sahara Africa and a total weighted sample of 88, 832 young women (15-24 years) were included. At bivariable analysis, variables with a p-value of ≤0.2 were selected for multivariable analysis, and at the multivariable analysis variables with a p-value of ≤0.05 were considered as a significant factor associated with anemia among young women (15-24 years). RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of anemia among young women (15-24) in sub-Sahara Africa was 42.17% [95%CI: 41.85, 42.50]. Young women of aged 20-24 years [AOR = 0.92, 95%CI: 0.89-0.95], women from rich household [AOR = 0.83, 95%CI: 0.80-0.87], young women with primary [AOR = 0.7, 95%CI: 0.67-0.72], secondary [AOR = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.69-0.75] and higher educational status [AOR = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.53-0.64], married women [AOR = 1.12, 95%CI: 1.08-1.17], divorced/separated/widowed women [AOR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.08-1.25], women who use modern contraceptive [AOR = 0.65, 95%CI: 0.62-0.67], young women who ever had terminated pregnancy [AOR = 1.22, 95%CI: 1.14-1.29], overweight young woman [AOR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.76-0.82] and young women from female-headed household [AOR = 0.94, 95%CI: 0.91-0.97] were the individual-level factors that significantly associated with anemia of young women. Meanwhile, being a rural dweller [AOR = 0.82, 95%CI: 0.79-0.85] and high community educational level [AOR = 0.87, 95%CI: 0.70-0.97] were the community level determinant of anemia. Interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Median Odds Ratio (MOR) and Percentage change in variance (PCV) were done for the assessment of the random effect model of the multilevel analysis. The ICC value in the null model was 0.05, which indicates that 5% of the variation in anemia among young women in sub-Saharan Africa was attributed to community-level factors. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anemia among young women in this study was higher compared with reports from the previous studies. Divorced/separated/widowed women, married women and women with ever terminated pregnancy, young women with primary, secondary and higher educational achievement, being rural dwellers, young women aged 20-24 years, being from rich households and women who used modern contraceptives were factors that significantly associated with anemia among young women. Therefore, particular attention should be given to those higher-risk women including, young women with a history of a terminated pregnancy, those from rural areas and young women aged 15-19 years to reduce the burden of anemia among these young women as the continuity of the future generation depends on the health of young women.

2. Abortion policy implementation in Ireland: Lessons from the community model of care.

PLoS One

2022 May 9

Mishtal J, Reeves K, Chakravarty D

BACKGROUND: In 2018, the right to lawful abortion in the Republic of Ireland significantly expanded, and service provision commenced on 1 January, 2019. Community provision of early medical abortion to 9 weeks plus 6 days gestation delivered by General Practitioners constitutes the backbone of the Irish abortion policy implementation. We conducted a study in 2020-2021 to examine the barriers and facilitators of the Irish abortion policy implementation. METHODS: We collected data using qualitative in-depth interviews (IDIs) which were conducted in-person or remotely. We coded and analysed interview transcripts following the grounded theory approach. RESULTS: We collected 108 IDIs in Ireland from May 2020 to March 2021. This article draws on 79 IDIs with three participant samples directly relevant to the community model of care: (a) 27 key informants involved in the abortion policy development and implementation representing government healthcare administration, medical professionals, and advocacy organisations, (b) 22 healthcare providers involved in abortion provision in community settings, and (c) 30 service users who sought abortion services in 2020. Facilitators of community-based abortion provision have been: a collaborative approach between the Irish government and the medical community to develop the model of care, and strong support systems for providers. The MyOptions helpline for service users is a successful national referral model. The main barriers to provision are the mandatory 3-day wait, unclear or slow referral pathways from primary to hospital care, barriers for migrants, and a shortage and incomplete geographic distribution of providers, especially in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that access to abortion care in Ireland has been greatly expanded since the policy implementation in 2019. The community delivery of care and the national helpline constitute key features of the Irish abortion policy implementation that could be duplicated in other contexts and countries. Several challenges to full abortion policy implementation remain.

3. Registration quality and availability of publications for clinical trials in Germany and the influence of structural factors.

PLoS One

2022 May 9

Thiele C, Hirschfeld G.

4. Deep learning kidney segmentation with very limited training data using a cascaded convolution neural network.

PLoS One

2022 May 9

Guo J, Odu A, Pedrosa I.

BACKGROUND: Deep learning segmentation requires large datasets with ground truth. Image annotation is time consuming and leads to shortages of ground truth data for clinical imaging. This study is to investigate the feasibility of kidney segmentation using deep learning convolution neural network (CNN) models trained with MR images from only a few subjects. METHODS: A total of 60 subjects from two cohorts were included in this study. The first cohort of 20 subjects from publicly available data was used for training and testing. The second cohort of 40 subjects with renal masses from our institution was used for testing only. A few-shot deep learning approach using 3D augmentation was investigated. T1-weighted images in the first cohort were used for training and testing. Cascaded CNN networks were trained using images from one, three, and six subjects, respectively. Images for the remaining subjects were used for testing. Images in the second cohort were utilized for testing only. Dice and Jaccard coefficients were generated to evaluate the performance of CNN models. Statistical analyses for segmentation metrics among different approaches were performed. RESULTS: Our approach achieved mean Dice coefficients of 0.85 using a single training subject and 0.91 with six training subjects. Compared to a single Unet, the cascaded network significantly improved the results using a single training subject (Dice, 0.759 vs. 0.835; p<0.001) and three subjects (0.864 vs. 0.893; p = 0.015) in the first cohort, and the results for the second cohort (0.821 vs. 0.873; p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: Our few-shot kidney segmentation approach using 3D augmentation achieved a good performance even using a single Unet. Furthermore, the cascaded network significantly improved the performance of segmentation and was superior to a single Unet in certain cases. Our approach provides a promising solution to segmentation in medical imaging when the number of ground truth masks is limited.

5. Compliance to playpen usages to enhance parental supervision of under-five children in rural community of Bangladesh.

PLoS One

2022 May 9

Bhuiyan MA, Agrawal P, Alonge O

INTRODUCTION: In Bangladesh, injury is one of the leading causes of death and morbidity in children. All children under 5 years of age are at high risk for drowning though the risks are highest when children first learn to walk and crawl while they do not understand the danger of water. The Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) in collaboration with Johns Hopkins International Injury Research Unit (JH-IIRU) has been implementing two drowning prevention interventions, providing playpens and community day care centres (anchal), or both in three rural sub-districts of Bangladesh under Saving of Lives from Drowning (SoLiD) project in Bangladesh. In CIPRB intervention areas, wooden playpens were distributed among the children nine months to three years at household (HH) level. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore and understand the acceptability and perceptions of parents towards playpen and its relevance for drowning and injury related mortality and morbidity prevention. METHODS: Anchal mothers ('anchal maa' in Bangla) distributed 30,553 playpens and collected compliance information at the HH level using a structured questionnaire. 1600 trained anchal maas collected data via face to face interviews from May 2014 to November 2015. Playpen compliance visits were conducted periodically on the second and seventh days and every two months after delivering the playpen. Data were entered using standard data entry formats and analyzed using SPSS software version 23. RESULTS: Parents reported that playpen is a safe place and protects children from drowning and other injuries. During compliance data collection, anchal maa founds that 71.8% of all children were using playpen and 93.7% (of 71.8%) children were playing inside the playpen while mothers were busy with their household chores like cooking, washing dishes and clothes, taking care of their poultry and domestic animals etc. 95.7% parents reported playpen is being used for keeping the child safe. On an average, the children were placed two to six times per day in a playpen. 99.1% of the children who reported using a playpen did not get any injuries (falls, cuts and bruises) while using the playpen. Satisfaction level with the playpen intervention among mothers was 90.5%. Some respondents suggested improving the playpen utilization by providing toys, adding wheels for ease of mobility, and increasing the height. CONCLUSION: The playpens were found to be well accepted and utilized for the children, especially when mothers were busy with their household chores.

6. Using molecular network analysis to explore the characteristics of HIV-1 transmission in a China-Myanmar border area.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Zhang Y, Dai J, Li Z

BACKGROUND: The China-Myanmar border area is considered a hot spot of active HIV-1 recombination in Southeast Asia. To better understand the characteristics of HIV-1 transmission in this area, a cross-sectional HIV-1 molecular epidemiological survey was conducted in Baoshan Prefecture of Yunnan Province. METHODS: In total, 708 newly reported HIV-1 cases in Baoshan Prefecture from 2019 to 2020 were included in this study. HIV-1 gag, pol and env genes were sequenced, and the spatial and demographic distributions of HIV-1 genotypes were analyzed. The characteristics of HIV-1 transmission were investigated using the HIV-1 molecular network method. RESULTS: In the 497 samples with genotyping results, 19 HIV-1 genotypes were found, with URFs being the predominant strains (30.2%, 150/497). The main circulating HIV-1 strains were mostly distributed in the northern area of Baoshan. URFs were more likely identified in Burmese individuals, intravenous drug users and those younger than 50 years old. CRF08_BC was more likely detected in farmers and those of Han ethnicity, CRF01_AE in the young and those of Han ethnicity, and CRF07_BC in the subpopulation with junior middle school education and higher. Moreover, CRF118_BC and CRF64_BC were more likely found in the subpopulation aged ≥40 years and ≥50 years, respectively. Among 480 individuals with pol sequence detection, 179 (37.3%) were grouped into 78 clusters, with Baoshan natives being more likely to be in the network. The proportion of the linked individuals showed significant differences when stratified by the regional origin, marital status, age and county of case reporting. In the molecular network, recent infections were more likely to occur among nonfarmers and individuals aged below 30 years. CONCLUSIONS: HIV-1 genetics has become complex in Baoshan. HIV-1 molecular network analysis provided transmission characteristics in the local area, and these findings provided information to prioritize transmission-reduction interventions.

7. How do turbidite systems behave from the hydrogeological point of view? New insights and open questions coming from an interdisciplinary work in southern Italy.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Rizzo P, Severini E, Bucci A

Turbidite successions can behave either as aquitards or aquifers depending on their lithological and hydraulic features. In particular, post-depositional processes can increase rock permeability due to fracture development in the competent layers. Thus, at a local scale, turbidite systems warrant further detailed investigations, aimed at reconstructing reliable hydrogeological models. The objective of this work was to investigate from the hydrogeological perspective a turbiditic aquifer located in southern Italy, where several perennial and seasonal springs were detected. Considering the complex hydrodynamics of these systems at the catchment scale, to reach an optimal characterization, a multidisciplinary approach was adopted. The conceptual framework employed microbial communities as groundwater tracers, together with the physicochemical features and isotopic signature of springs and streams from water samples. Meanwhile, geophysical investigations coupled with the geological survey provided the contextualization of the hydrogeological data into the detailed geological reconstruction of the study area. This modus operandi allowed us to typify several differences among the samples, allowing identification of sources and paths of surface water and groundwater, along with diffuse groundwater outflow along streams. As a final result, a hydrogeological conceptual model was reconstructed, underlining how at a very local scale the lithologic, hydraulic, and geomorphological heterogeneity of the studied relief can lead to an improved hydrogeological conceptual model compared to that of other turbidite systems. These results open new questions about the hydrogeological behavior of turbiditic aquifers, which could be pivotal in future research. In fact, these systems could support relevant ecosystems and anthropic activities, especially where climate change will force the research of new (and probably less hydrogeologically efficient) water sources.

8. Road traffic accident-related thoracic trauma: Epidemiology, injury pattern, outcome, and impact on mortality-A multicenter observational study.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Benhamed A, Ndiaye A, Emond M

BACKGROUND: Thoracic trauma is a major cause of death in trauma patients and road traffic accident (RTA)-related thoracic injuries have different characteristics than those with non-RTA related thoracic traumas, but this have been poorly described. The main objective was to investigate the epidemiology, injury pattern and outcome of patients suffering a significant RTA-related thoracic injury. Secondary objective was to investigate the influence of serious thoracic injuries on mortality, compared to other serious injuries. METHODS: We performed a multicenter observational study including patients of the Rhône RTA registry between 1997 and 2016 sustaining a moderate to lethal (Abbreviated Injury Scale, AIS≥2) injury in any body region. A subgroup (AISThorax≥2 group) included those with one or more AIS≥2 thoracic injury. Descriptive statistics were performed for the main outcome and a multivariate logistic regression was computed for our secondary outcome. RESULTS: A total of 176,346 patients were included in the registry and 6,382 (3.6%) sustained a thoracic injury. Among those, median age [IQR] was 41 [25-58] years, and 68.9% were male. The highest incidence of thoracic injuries in female patients was in the 70-79 years age group, while this was observed in the 20-29 years age group among males. Most patients were car occupants (52.3%). Chest wall injuries were the most frequent thoracic injuries (62.1%), 52.4% of which were multiple rib fractures. Trauma brain injuries (TBI) were the most frequent concomitant injuries (29.1%). The frequency of MAISThorax = 2 injuries increased with age while that of MAISThorax = 3 injuries decreased. A total of 16.2% patients died. Serious (AIS≥3) thoracic injuries (OR = 12.4, 95%CI [8.6;18.0]) were strongly associated with mortality but less than were TBI (OR = 27.9, 95%CI [21.3;36.7]). CONCLUSION: Moderate to lethal RTA-related thoracic injuries were rare. Multiple ribs fractures, pulmonary contusions, and sternal fractures were the most frequent anatomical injuries. The incidence, injury pattern and mechanisms greatly vary across age groups.

9. Interoception is associated with anxiety and depression in pregnant women: A pilot study.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Noda M, Sato Y, Suetsugu Y

10. Factors affecting yawning frequencies in preterm neonates.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Menin D, Ballardini E, Panebianco R

11. The potential epidemiologic, clinical, and economic impact of requiring schools to offer Physical Education (PE) classes in Mexico City.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Ferguson MC, Bartsch SM, O'Shea KJ

BACKGROUND: Many schools have been cutting physical education (PE) classes due to budget constraints, which raises the question of whether policymakers should require schools to offer PE classes. Evidence suggests that PE classes can help address rising physical inactivity and obesity prevalence. However, it would be helpful to determine if requiring PE is cost-effective. METHODS: We developed an agent-based model of youth in Mexico City and the impact of all schools offering PE classes on changes in weight, weight-associated health conditions and the corresponding direct and indirect costs over their lifetime. RESULTS: If schools offer PE without meeting guidelines and instead followed currently observed class length and time active during class, overweight and obesity prevalence decreased by 1.3% (95% CI: 1.0%-1.6%) and was cost-effective from the third-party payer and societal perspectives ($5,058 per disability-adjusted life year [DALY] averted and $5,786/DALY averted, respectively, assuming PE cost $50.3 million). When all schools offered PE classes meeting international guidelines for PE classes, overweight and obesity prevalence decreased by 3.9% (95% CI: 3.7%-4.3%) in the cohort at the end of five years compared to no PE. Long-term, this averted 3,183 and 1,081 obesity-related health conditions and deaths, respectively and averted ≥$31.5 million in direct medical costs and ≥$39.7 million in societal costs, assuming PE classes cost ≤$50.3 million over the five-year period. PE classes could cost up to $185.5 million and $89.9 million over the course of five years and still remain cost-effective and cost saving respectively, from the societal perspective. CONCLUSION: Requiring PE in all schools could be cost-effective when PE class costs, on average, up to $10,340 per school annually. Further, the amount of time students are active during class is a driver of PE classes' value (e.g., it is cost saving when PE classes meet international guidelines) suggesting the need for specific recommendations.

12. Macrophage activation syndrome in rheumatic disease: Clinical characteristics and prognosis of 20 adult patients.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Nam SH, Ahn SM, Oh JS

13. The efficacy of T790M mutation testing in liquid biopsy-Real clinic data.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Krawczyk P, Grzycka-Kowalczyk L, Błach J

14. Efficacy and safety of combined oral sucrose and nonnutritive sucking in pain management for infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Li Q, Tan X, Li X

15. Alterations in innate immune responses of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis related to cystic fibrosis.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Rezende GL, Nakanishi M, Couto SCP

16. Assessing reactive violence using Immersive Virtual Reality.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Terbeck S, Case C, Turner J

17. An adaptive, asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 workforce screening program providing real-time, actionable monitoring of the COVID-19 pandemic.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Hijano DR, Hoffman JM, Tang L

18. Demonstrating the utility of Escherichia coli asymptomatic bacteriuria isolates' virulence profile towards diagnosis and management-A preliminary analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 6

Maniam L, Vellasamy KM, Jindal HM

Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a significant condition associated with pregnancy and is considered as prognostic for the development of symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI). However, treating all ASB increases the use of antibiotics and leads to the development of multidrug resistance (MDR). Therefore, this study aimed to identify the distribution of UPEC associated virulence genes and antibiotic susceptibility among phylogroups of E. coli isolated from ASB in pregnancy. Moreover, the gene expression of selected virulence genes was also compared among two E. coli isolates (with different pathogenic potential) to determine its pathogenicity. One hundred and sixty E. coli isolates from midstream urine samples of pregnant women with ASB were subjected to PCR-based detection for its phylogroups and virulence genes. The antibiotic susceptibility of isolated strains was determined by the disc diffusion method. Expression of the virulence genes were determined through microarray analysis and quantitative Real-Time PCR. The prevalence of ASB in this study was 16.1%. Within ASB isolates, the occurrence of phylogroup B2 was the highest, and isolates from this group harboured most of the virulence genes studied. Overall, the most identified virulence genes among all phylogroups in descending order were fimH, chuA, kpsMTII, usp, fyuA, hlyA, iroN, cnf, papC, sfa, ompT, and sat. In this study, higher resistance to antibiotics was observed for ampicillin (77.5%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (54.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (46.9%) and amikacin (43.8%) compared to the other tested antibiotics and 51.9% of the tested isolates were MDR. Furthermore, hierarchical clustering and gene expression analysis demonstrated extreme polarization of pathogenic potential of E. coli causing ASB in pregnancy necessitating the need for bacterial isolate focused approach towards treatment of ASB.

19. Financial sector development, external debt, and Turkey's renewable energy consumption.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Saleem Jabari M, Aga M, Samour A.

20. Relationship between emotional labor and sense of career success among community nurses in China, Beijing: A cross-sectional study based on latent class analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Han F, Li A, Zhang D

21. Application of two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis to identify protein changes between center, margin, and adjacent non-tumor tissues obtained from non-small-cell lung cancer with adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma subtype.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Ciereszko A, Dietrich MA, Słowińska M

22. Automation and the changing nature of work.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Josten C, Lordan G.

23. Intracoronary pharmacological therapy versus aspiration thrombectomy in STEMI (IPAT-STEMI): A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Kaddoura R, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Al-Badriyeh D

BACKGROUND: Thrombus load in STEMI patients remains a challenge in practice. It aggravates coronary obstruction leading to impaired myocardial perfusion, worsened cardiac function, and adverse clinical outcomes. Various strategies have been advocated to reduce thrombus burden. OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of intracoronary-administered thrombolytics or glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI) in comparison with aspiration thrombectomy (AT) as an adjunct to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) among patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A comprehensive literature search for randomized trials that compared intracoronary-administered thrombolytics or GPI with AT in STEMI patients who underwent PCI, was conducted using various databases (e.g., MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRALE). Primary outcome was procedural measures (e.g., TIMI flow grade 3, TIMI myocardial perfusion grade (TMPG) 3, Myocardial blush grade (MBG) 2/3, ST-segment resolution (STR)). RESULTS: Twelve randomized trials enrolled 1,466 patients: 696 were randomized to intracoronary-administered pharmacological interventions and 553 to AT. Patients randomized to PCI alone were excluded. Thrombolytics significantly improved TIMI flow grade 3 (odds ratio = 3.71, 95% CI: 1.85-7.45), complete STR (odds ratio = 3.64, 95% CI: 1.60-8.26), and TMPG 3 (odds ratio = 5.31, 95% CI: 2.48-11.36). Thrombolytics significantly reduced major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (odds ratio = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.13-0.65) without increasing bleeding risk. Trial sequential analysis assessment confirmed the superiority of thrombolytics for the primary outcome. Intracoronary GPI, either alone or combined with AT, did not improve procedural or clinical outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with AT, intracoronary-administered thrombolytics significantly improved myocardial perfusion and MACE in STEMI patients.

24. A real-world prospective study on dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Gomes CLR, Yamane TLC, Ruzany F

BACKGROUND: Current information about acute kidney injury (AKI) epidemiology in developing nations derives mainly from isolated centers, with few quality multicentric epidemiological studies. Our objective was to describe a large cohort of patients with dialysis-requiring AKI derived from ordinary clinical practice within a large metropolitan area of an emerging country, assessing the impact of age and several clinical predictors on patient survival across the spectrum of human life. METHODS: We analyzed registries drawn from 170 hospitals and medical facilities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in an eleven-year period (2002-2012). The study cohort was comprised of 17,158 pediatric and adult patients. Data were analyzed through hierarchical logistic regression models and mixed-effects Cox regression for survival comparison across age strata. RESULTS: Severe AKI was mainly hospital-acquired (72.6%), occurred predominantly in the intensive care unit (ICU) (84.9%), and was associated with multiple organ failure (median SOFA score, 11; IQR, 6-13). The median age was 75 years (IQR, 59-83; range, 0-106 years). Community-acquired pneumonia was the most frequent admission diagnosis (23.8%), and sepsis was the overwhelming precipitating cause (72.1%). Mortality was 71.6% and was higher at the age extremes. Poor outcomes were driven by age, mechanical ventilation, vasopressor support, liver dysfunction, type 1 cardiorenal syndrome, the number of failing organs, sepsis at admission, later sepsis, the Charlson score, and ICU admission. Community-acquired AKI, male gender, and pre-existing chronic kidney disease were associated with better outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study adds robust information about the real-world epidemiology of dialysis-requiring AKI with considerable clinical detail. AKI is a heterogeneous syndrome with variable clinical presentations and outcomes, including differences in the age of presentation, comorbidities, frailty state, precipitation causes, and associated diseases. In the cohort studied, AKI characteristics bore more similarities to upper-income countries as opposed to the pattern traditionally associated with resource-limited economies.

25. Assessment of a viral load result-triggered automated differentiated service delivery model for people taking ART in Lesotho (the VITAL study): Study protocol of a cluster-randomized trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Tschumi N, Lerotholi M, Kopo M

26. Using ethics of care as the theoretical lens to understand lived experiences of caregivers of older adults experiencing functional difficulties.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Awuviry-Newton K, Tavener M, Wales K

27. Burnout among pharmacy professionals in Qatar: A cross-sectional study.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Eltorki Y, Abdallah O, Riaz S

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists' roles and responsibilities have expanded in the modern pharmacy profession, and the expectations from pharmacists have increased. This has been associated with new psychological challenges and emotional stress that can induce burnout. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of burnout syndrome and factors associated with burnout among pharmacy professionals in the healthcare system in Qatar. METHODS: This institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 850 pharmacy professionals within Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in Qatar. Convenience sampling was followed. The survey utilized the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) Toolkit™ for Medical Personnel and a modified version of the Astudillo and Mendinueta questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 16 for Windows and SAS Studio 3.8 (Enterprise Edition). P-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-four pharmacy professionals (23%) responded to the survey. The prevalence of burnout was 19.7% [95% Confidence interval (CI); 13.8% - 26.8%] among 142 respondents who completed MBI questionnaire and 17.3% [95% CI; 11.7%-24.2%] among 139 respondents who completed Astudillo Mendinueta questionnaire. The most commonly reported factors that may lead to burnout were: tension and lack of organization in teamwork (59.6%), lack of recognition of or indifference to effort from patients, superiors, and colleagues (58.2%), and demanding and challenging patients and family members (56.7%). Multiple regression analysis showed that overtime working hours per month is independently associated with a higher risk of burnout [odds ratio (OR), 1.57; 95% CI, 1.15-2.14 for each 10-hours increase in monthly overtime, P = 0.005], while non-Arab ethnicity is associated with lower risk of burnout [OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.1-0.75; P = 0.012]. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relatively low prevalence of burnout syndrome among health-system pharmacy professionals in Qatar. Overtime working hours and Arab ethnicity are independently associated with burnout.

28. Capture, analyse, visualise: An exemplar of performance analysis in practice in field hockey.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Lord F, Pyne DB, Welvaert M

29. Perceived symptoms as the primary indicators for 30-day heart failure readmission.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Anderson KM, Murphy D, Groninger H

30. Privacy-preserving parallel kNN classification algorithm using index-based filtering in cloud computing.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Kim YK, Kim HJ, Lee H

31. Barriers and facilitators to the conduct of critical care research in low and lower-middle income countries: A scoping review.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan BK, Gupta E, Ramakrishnan N

BACKGROUND: Improvements in health-related outcomes for critically ill adults in low and lower-middle income countries need systematic investments in research capacity and infrastructure. High-quality research has been shown to strengthen health systems; yet, research contributions from these regions remain negligible or absent. We undertook a scoping review to describe barriers and facilitators for the conduct of critical care research. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE up to December 2021 using a strategy that combined keyword and controlled vocabulary terms. We included original studies that reported on barriers or facilitators to the conduct of critical care research in these settings. Two reviewers independently reviewed titles and abstracts, and where necessary, the full-text to select eligible studies. For each study, reviewers independently extracted data using a standardized data extraction form. Barriers and facilitators were classified along the lines of a previous review and based on additional themes that emerged. Study quality was assessed using appropriate tools. RESULTS: We identified 2693 citations, evaluated 49 studies and identified 6 for inclusion. Of the included studies, four were qualitative, one was a cross-sectional survey and one was reported as an 'analysis'. The total number of participants ranged from 20-100 and included physicians, nurses, allied healthcare workers and researchers. Barriers identified included limited funding, poor institutional & national investment, inadequate access to mentors, absence of training in research methods, limited research support staff, and absence of statistical support. Our review identified potential solutions such as developing a mentorship network, streamlining of regulatory processes, implementing a centralized institutional research agenda, developing a core-outcome dataset and enhancing access to low-cost technology. CONCLUSION: Our scoping review highlights important barriers to the conduct of critical care research in low and lower-middle income countries, identifies potential solutions, and informs researchers, policymakers and governments on the steps necessary for strengthening research systems.

32. Histochemical analysis and storage behaviour of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) under Zero-Energy Cool Chamber (ZECC).

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Chittaragi D, S Menon J, E V A.

33. Functional analysis of LFRFamide signaling in Pacific abalone, Haliotis discus hannai.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Yoon S, Kim MA, Lee JS

34. Using standard-length compactors to implant short humeral stems in total shoulder arthroplasty: A cadaver study of humeral stem alignment.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Gunst S, Nigues A, Vogels J

35. Reproducibility of strength performance and strength-endurance profiles: A test-retest study.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Mitter B, Csapo R, Bauer P

36. Warfarin sensitivity is associated with increased hospital mortality in critically Ill patients.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Ma Z, Wang P, Mahesh M

37. Effects of arm-crank exercise on cardiovascular function, functional capacity, cognition and quality of life in patients with peripheral artery disease: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Kanegusuku H, Correia MA, Longano P

38. Perceived social support on postpartum mental health: An instrumental variable analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Inekwe JN, Lee E.

39. Impact of COVID-19 on the mobility patterns: An investigation of taxi trips in Chicago.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Mukherjee S, Jain T.

40. Dental follicle mesenchymal stem cells ameliorated glandular dysfunction in Sjögren's syndrome murine model.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Genç D, Bulut O, Günaydin B

OBJECTIVE: Dental mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are potential for use in tissue regeneration in inflammatory diseases due to their rapid proliferating, multilineage differentiation, and strong anti-inflammatory features. In the present study, immunoregulatory and glandular tissue regeneration effects of the dental follicle (DF)MSCs in Sjögren's Syndrome (SS) were investigated. METHODS: Dental follicle (DF) tissues were obtained from healthy individuals during tooth extraction, tissues were digested enzymatically and DFMSCs were cultured until the third passage. DFMSCs were labeled with Quantum dot 655 for cell tracking analysis. The induction of the SS mouse model was performed by the injection of Ro60-273-289 peptide intraperitoneally. DFMSCs were injected intraperitoneally, or into submandibular, or lacrimal glands. Splenocytes were analyzed for intracellular cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-10) secretion in T helper cells, lymphocyte proliferation, and B lymphocyte subsets. Histologic analysis was done for submandibular and lacrimal glands with hematoxylin-eosin staining for morphologic examination. RESULTS: The systemic injection of DFMSCs significantly reduced intracellular IFN-γ and IL-17 secreting CD4+ T cells in splenocytes (p<0.05), and decreased inflammatory cell deposits and fibrosis in the glandular tissues. DFMSCs differentiated to glandular epithelial cells in submandibular and lacrimal injections with a significant reduction in lymphocytic foci. The results showed that few amounts of DFMSCs were deposited in glandular tissues when applied intraperitoneally, while high amounts of DFMSCs were located in glandular tissues and differentiated to glandular epithelial cells when applied locally in SS murine model. CONCLUSION: DFMSCs have the potential for the regulation of Th1, Th17, and Treg balance in SS, and ameliorate glandular dysfunction. DFMSCs can be a beneficial therapeutic application for SS.

41. Notable paradoxical phenomena in associations between cardiovascular health score, subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease in the community: The Framingham Heart Study.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Bourdillon MT, Gaye B, Song RJ

IMPORTANCE: Cardiovascular Health (CVH) scores are inversely associated with prevalent subclinical (SubDz) and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the majority of people who develop CVD have intermediate or ideal CVH scores, while many with poor CVH profiles escape CVD development. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence of paradoxical relations among CVH, SubDz, and CVD. DESIGN: Cohort study, Framingham Study data collected prospectively (1995-2016). SETTING: Population-based. PARTICIPANTS: 7,627 participants (mean age 49 years, 53% women) attending Offspring examinations 6/7 and Third Generation examinations 1/2. EXPOSURES: CVH score (range 0-14) constructed from poor, intermediate, or ideal status for each metric (smoking, diet, physical activity, blood pressure, body mass index, fasting glucose, total cholesterol); and prevalent SubDz (≥1 of: increased carotid intimal media thickness, CIMT; left ventricular hypertrophy, LVH; microalbuminuria, MA; elevated ankle brachial index, ABI; coronary artery calcium score ≥100,CAC). MAIN OUTCOME(S) AND MEASURE(S): Ideal CVH (scores 12-14), intermediate CVH (scores 8-11), and poor CVH (0-7). We described three distinct paradoxical phenomena, involving combinations of CVH, SubDz, and CVD, and generated CVD incidence rates and predicted CVD probabilities for all combinations. RESULTS: We observed 842 CVD events (median follow-up 13.7 years); 1,663 participants had SubDz. Most individuals with poor CVH (78%) or SubDz (57% for CIMT to 77% for LVH) did not develop CVD on follow-up. Among participants with incident CVD, the majority had intermediate or ideal CVH (68%) or absent SubDz (46% for CAC to 96% for ABI) at baseline. We observed similar paradoxical results in relations between CVH and prevalent SubDz. Poor CVH and prevalent SubDz were each associated with higher CVD incidence rates compared to intermediate or ideal CVH and absent SubDz, respectively. The predicted CVD probability was nearly three-times greater among participants with poor (22%) versus intermediate or ideal CVH (8%). Mean CVD predicted probabilities were nearly three (26% vs. 10% for MA) to six-times (29% vs. 5% for CAC) greater among participants with SubDz versus without SubDz. Findings were consistent within age and sex strata. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Although poor CVH and SubDz presence are associated with CVD incidence, paradoxical phenomena involving CVH, SubDz, and CVD are frequently prevalent in the community. Further studies to elucidate biological mechanisms underlying these phenomena are warranted.

42. Winter oceanographic conditions predict summer bull kelp canopy cover in northern California.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

García-Reyes M, Thompson SA, Rogers-Bennett L

Bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, is an iconic kelp forest species of the Northeast Pacific that provides a wide range of ecosystem services to coastal marine species and society. In northern California, U.S.A., Nereocystis abundance declined sharply in 2014 and has yet to recover. While abiotic and biotic stressors were present prior to 2014, the population collapse highlights the need for a better understanding of how environmental conditions impact Nereocystis. In this study, we used a newly-developed, satellite-based dataset of bull kelp abundance, proxied by canopy cover over 20 years, to test the hypothesis that winter oceanographic conditions determine summer Nereocystis canopy cover. For the years before the collapse (1991 through 2013), wintertime ocean conditions, synthesized in a Multivariate Ocean Climate Indicator (MOCI), were indeed a good predictor of summer Nereocystis canopy cover (R2 = 0.40 to 0.87). We attribute this relationship to the effects of upwelling and/or temperature on nutrient availability. South of Point Arena, California, winter ocean conditions had slightly lower explanatory power than north of Point Arena, also reflective of spring upwelling-driven nutrient entrainment. Results suggest that the Nereocystis gametophytes and/or early sporophytes are sensitive to winter oceanographic conditions. Furthermore, environmental conditions in winter 2014 could have been used to predict the Nereocystis collapse in summer 2014, and for kelp north of Point Arena, a further decline in 2015. Importantly, environmental models do not predict changes in kelp after 2015, suggesting biotic factors suppressed kelp recovery, most likely extreme sea urchin herbivory. Conditions during winter, a season that is often overlooked in studies of biophysical interactions, are useful for predicting summer Nereocystis kelp forest canopy cover, and will be useful in supporting kelp restoration actions in California and perhaps elsewhere in the world.

43. And the credit goes to … - Ghost and honorary authorship among social scientists.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Pruschak G, Hopp C.

44. Gross motor skills trajectory variation between WEIRD and LMIC countries: A cross-cultural study.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Valentini NC, Nobre GC, Gonçalves Duarte M.

45. Rapid, label-free pathogen identification system for multidrug-resistant bacterial wound infection detection on military members in the battlefield.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Chen Y, Chau J, Yoon J

46. Cultural adaptation, translation and validation of the Spanish version Debriefing Experience Scale.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Farrés-Tarafa M, Julian DB, Lorenzo-Seva U

47. Stool-based Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children at a teaching and referral hospital in Southwest Ethiopia.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Dubale M, Tadesse M, Berhane M

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children is challenging mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining respiratory specimen and lack of sensitive diagnostic tests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert here after) for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB (PTB) from stool specimen in children. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among consecutively recruited children (less than 15 years old) with presumptive PTB at Jimma Medical Center, Ethiopia. One pulmonary specimen (expectorated sputum or gastric aspirate) was collected from each participant and tested for TB by Xpert and Lowenstein-Jensen (LJ) culture. In addition, one stool specimen per child was collected and tested by Xpert after a single step, centrifuge-free stool processing method adapted from KNCV TB Foundation. Diagnostic performance of Xpert was calculated with reference to LJ culture and to a composite reference standards (CRS) comprising of confirmed TB (positive by Xpert and/or culture) and unconfirmed TB (clinical diagnosis with improvement after anti-TB treatment). RESULTS: A total of 178 children were enrolled; 152 of whom had complete microbiological results. Overall, TB was diagnosed in 13.2% (20/152) of the children with presumptive TB. Of these, only ten had microbiologically confirmed TB (positive Xpert and/or culture) and the remaining ten were clinically diagnosed with positive response to anti-TB treatment and were classified as unconfirmed TB. Stool Xpert had sensitivity of 100% (95%CI: 66.4-100) and specificity of 99.3% (95%CI: 96.2-100) compared to culture; however, the sensitivity was decreased to 50% (95%CI: 27.2-72.8) when compared to CRS. The Xpert on gastric aspirate had sensitivity of 77.8% (95%CI: 40-97.2) compared to culture and 40% (95%CI: 19.1-64) compared to CRS. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of Xpert for stool sample is comparable to that for gastric aspirate. Stool sample is a potential alternative to pulmonary specimen in the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children using Xpert.

48. On the role of chance in fencing tournaments: An agent-based approach.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Zappalà C, Pluchino A, Rapisarda A

49. The role of p53 in the DNA damage-related ubiquitylation of S2P RNAPII.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Borsos BN, Pantazi V, Páhi ZG

50. A multi-attack intrusion detection model based on Mosaic coded convolutional neural network and centralized encoding.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Hu R, Wu Z, Xu Y

51. Blood mRNA biomarkers distinguish variable systemic and sputum inflammation at treatment initiation of inhaled antibiotics in cystic fibrosis: A prospective non-randomized trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 5

Caceres SM, Sanders LA, Rysavy NM

Inhaled antibiotics control chronic airway infection and maintain respiratory health in cystic fibrosis (CF). Given variation in patient responses to inhaled antibiotics, the ability to identify distinct responder phenotypes would facilitate the delivery of personalized care. Previously, a 10-gene panel was identified, measured directly from blood leukocytes, which predicted host response to intravenous antibiotic treatment during pulmonary exacerbations. In the current study, we tested whether the same panel predicted clinical response in subjects receiving a month of inhaled antibiotic therapy with aztreonam lysine (AZLI; Cayston®). A small cohort of CF subjects infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa were enrolled at baseline health, prior to initiating one month's treatment with AZLI using the Altera® nebulizer system. Eighteen CF subjects underwent blood leukocyte gene panel measurements, sputum quantitative microbiology, spirometry, and C-reactive protein (CRP) measurement prior to onset and at completion of 4 weeks of AZLI therapy. Mean absolute improvement in percent predicted Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (ppFEV1) was 3%. Significant reductions in sputum bacterial colony counts were detected with treatment. CRP increased following treatment. While single genes within the panel did not change significantly following treatment, the analysis of multigene panel data demonstrated that HCA112 gene predicted ppFEV1 improvement. Hierarchical clustering based on gene expression yielded two distinctive molecular clusters before and after AZLI therapy. In conclusion, peripheral blood leukocyte genes quantifying inflammation are associated with responses to inhaled antibiotic therapy. Molecular quantification of systemic inflammation may indicate subgroups of CF subjects with variations in underlying inflammation and with variable clinical responses to inhaled antibiotics. Given the size limitation of the study, larger studies are needed in order to evaluate whether molecular measures may add precision to the determination of infectious and inflammatory outcomes following courses of inhaled antimicrobial therapies. Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT01736839.

52. Identifying rates and risk factors for medication errors during hospitalization in the Australian Parkinson's disease population: A 3-year, multi-center study.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Bakker M, Johnson ME, Corre L

53. Infants prenatally exposed to SARS-CoV-2 show the absence of fidgety movements and are at higher risk for neurological disorders: A comparative study.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Aldrete-Cortez V, Bobadilla L, Tafoya SA

54. Darunavir-cobicistat versus lopinavir-ritonavir in the treatment of COVID-19 infection (DOLCI): A multicenter observational study.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Elmekaty EZI, Alibrahim R, Hassanin R

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an evolving pandemic that urged the need to investigate various antiviral therapies. This study was conducted to compare efficacy and safety outcomes of darunavir-cobicistat versus lopinavir-ritonavir in treating patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This retrospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted on adult patients hospitalized in one of the COVID-19 facilities in Qatar. Patients were included if they received darunavir-cobicistat or lopinavir-ritonavir for at least three days as part of their COVID-19 treatments. Data were collected from patients' electronic medical records. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint of time to clinical improvement and/or virological clearance. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used at alpha level of 0.05. A total of 400 patients was analyzed, of whom 100 received darunavir-cobicistat and 300 received lopinavir-ritonavir. Majority of patients were male (92.5%), with a mean (SD) time from symptoms onset to start of therapy of 7.57 days (4.89). Patients received lopinavir-ritonavir had significantly faster time to clinical improvement and/or virological clearance than patients received darunavir-cobicistat (4 days [IQR 3-7] vs. 6.5 days [IQR 4-12]; HR 1.345 [95%CI: 1.070-1.691], P = 0.011). Patients received lopinavir-ritonavir had significantly faster time to clinical improvement (5 days [IQR 3-8] vs. 8 days [IQR 4-13]; HR 1.520 (95%CI: 1.2-1.925), P = 0.000), and slower time to virological clearance than darunavir-cobicistat (25 days [IQR 15-33] vs. 21 days [IQR 12.8-30]; HR 0.772 (95%CI: 0.607-0.982), P = 0.035). No significant difference in the incidence or severity of adverse events between groups. The study was limited to its retrospective nature and the possibility of covariates, which was accounted for by multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: In patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, early treatment with lopinavir-ritonavir was associated with faster time to clinical improvement and/or virological clearance than darunavir-cobicistat. Future trials are warranted to confirm these findings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04425382.

55. Characterizing cancer and COVID-19 outcomes using electronic health records.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Kim Y, Zhu L, Zhu H

PURPOSE: Patients with cancer often have compromised immune system which can lead to worse COVID-19 outcomes. The purpose of this study is to assess the association between COVID-19 outcomes and existing cancer-specific characteristics. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients aged 18 or older with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between June 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, were identified (n = 314 004) from the Optum® de-identified COVID-19 Electronic Health Record (EHR) derived from more than 700 hospitals and 7000 clinics in the United States. To allow sufficient observational time, patients with less than one year of medical history in the EHR dataset before their COVID-19 tests were excluded (n = 42 365). Assessed COVID-19 outcomes including all-cause 30-day mortality, hospitalization, ICU admission, and ventilator use, which were compared using relative risks (RRs) according to cancer status and treatments. RESULTS: Among 271 639 patients with COVID-19, 18 460 had at least one cancer diagnosis: 8034 with a history of cancer and 10 426 with newly diagnosed cancer within one year of COVID-19 infection. Patients with a cancer diagnosis were older and more likely to be male, white, Medicare beneficiaries, and have higher prevalences of chronic conditions. Cancer patients had higher risks for 30-day mortality (RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.14, P = 0.028) and hospitalization (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.07, P = 0.006) but without significant differences in ICU admission and ventilator use compared to non-cancer patients. Recent cancer diagnoses were associated with higher risks for worse COVID-19 outcomes (RR for mortality 1.17, 95% CI 1.08-1.25, P<0.001 and RR for hospitalization 1.10, 95% CI 1.06-1.14, P<0.001), particularly among recent metastatic (stage IV), hematological, liver and lung cancers compared with the non-cancer group. Among COVID-19 patients with recent cancer diagnosis, mortality was associated with chemotherapy or radiation treatments within 3 months before COVID-19. Age, black patients, Medicare recipients, South geographic region, cardiovascular, diabetes, liver, and renal diseases were also associated with increased mortality. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Individuals with cancer had higher risks for 30-day mortality and hospitalization after SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to patients without cancer. More specifically, patients with a cancer diagnosis within 1 year and those receiving active treatment were more vulnerable to worse COVID-19 outcomes.

56. Efficient gene transfection to lung cancer cells via Folate-PEI-Sorbitol gene transporter.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Cho KS, Kim S, Chun HB

57. Insect infestations and the persistence and functioning of oak-pine mixedwood forests in the mid-Atlantic region, USA.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Clark KL, Aoki C, Ayres M

Damage from infestations of Lymantria dispar L. in oak-dominated stands and southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann) in pine-dominated stands have far exceeded impacts of other disturbances in forests of the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain over the last two decades. We used forest census data collected in undisturbed and insect-impacted stands combined with eddy covariance measurements made pre- and post-disturbance in oak-, mixed and pine-dominated stands to quantify how these infestations altered forest composition, structure and carbon dynamics in the Pinelands National Reserve of southern New Jersey. In oak-dominated stands, multi-year defoliation during L. dispar infestations resulted in > 40% mortality of oak trees and the release of pine saplings and understory vegetation, while tree mortality was minimal in mixed and pine-dominated stands. In pine-dominated stands, southern pine beetle infestations resulted in > 85% mortality of pine trees but had minimal effect on oaks in upland stands or other hardwoods in lowland stands, and only rarely infested pines in hardwood-dominated stands. Because insect-driven disturbances are both delaying and accelerating succession in stands dominated by a single genus but having less effect in mixed-composition stands, long-term disturbance dynamics are favoring the formation and persistence of uneven age oak-pine mixedwood stands. Changes in forest composition may have little impact on forest productivity and evapotranspiration; although seasonal patterns differ, with highest daily rates of net ecosystem production (NEP) during the growing season occurring in an oak-dominated stand and lowest in a pine-dominated stand, integrated annual rates of NEP are similar among oak-, mixed and pine-dominated stands. Our research documents the formation of mixedwood stands as a consequence of insect infestations in the mid-Atlantic region and suggests that managing for mixedwood stands could reduce damage to forest products and provide greater continuity in ecosystem functioning.

58. Malaria transmission in Africa: Its relationship with yellow fever and measles.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Okunlola OA, Oyeyemi OT.

59. Exploration of consumer preference based on deep learning neural network model in the immersive marketing environment.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Zheng Q, Ding Q.

60. Acute respiratory infection rates in primary care anticipate ICU bed occupancy during COVID-19 waves.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Guillen M, Bardes Robles I, Bordera Cabrera E

61. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the simple shoulder test in the United Arab Emirates.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Shousha T, Alowais F, Arumugam A.

BACKGROUND: The Simple Shoulder Test (SST) is a simple and short patient-reported outcome measuring functional limitations of the affected shoulder in patients with shoulder dysfunction. Although it is widely used in different clinical cultures, literature review to date revealed that the SST has not been yet translated nor validated in the Arabic language. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Arabic version of the Simple Shoulder Test (SST). METHODOLOGY: A forward-backward translation method was adopted. One hundred and forty-one patients with shoulder pain were recruited for psychometric analysis based on the inclusion criteria. The test-retest reliability of the Arabic SST (ASST), pain, disability and total scores were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). The construct validity of the ASST was tested by Spearman rank coefficients through comparing the Arabic SST scores to the severity of shoulder pain measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Arabic version of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). Internal consistency was assessed by the Cronbach's alpha. FINDINGS: One hundred and forty participants (60 males and 80 females) with a mean (Standard Deviation) age of 39.3 (4.9) years participated in the study. The ICCs for score of ASST were reported high; pain 0.84 (0.78-0.93), disability 0.96 (0.93-0.97) and total score 0.95 (0.91-0.97). Similarly, the Cronbach α values for the ASST scores were also of high values with regards to pain (0.89), disability (0.94), and total score (0.97) respectively. Comparing the scores between the first and the second use of the ASST revealed no statistically significant mean differences of -1.9 (95% CI-3.61 to 0.17). CONCLUSION: The Arabic-translated version of the SST showed high reliability, internal consistency, and construct validity based on substantial correlations of the ASST with Arabic SPADI and VAS. We recommend the Arabic version of the SST for the evaluation of Arabic-speaking patients with shoulder dysfunction.

62. Vocal changes in a zebra finch model of Parkinson's disease characterized by alpha-synuclein overexpression in the song-dedicated anterior forebrain pathway.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Medina CA, Vargas E, Munger SJ

63. The effective family size of immigrant founders predicts their long-term demographic outcome: From Québec settlers to their 20th-century descendants.

PLoS One

2022 May 4

Labuda D, Harding T, Milot E

64. The efficiency and safety of alendronate versus teriparatide for treatment glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis: A meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Liu ZM, Zhang M, Zong Y

65. Understanding systemic land use dynamics in conflict-affected territories: The cases of Cesar and Caquetá, Colombia.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Del Río Duque ML, Rodríguez T, Pérez Lora ÁP

66. Transgene expression of Stanniocalcin-1 provides sustained intraocular pressure reduction by increasing outflow facility.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Roddy GW, Roy Chowdhury U, Anderson KJ

67. Open science practices in general and internal medicine journals, an observational study.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Tarazona-Alvarez B, Zamora-Martinez N, Garcia-Sanz V

68. backbone: An R package to extract network backbones.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Neal ZP.

69. Association of Strongyloides stercoralis infection and type 2 diabetes mellitus in northeastern Thailand: Impact on diabetic complication-related renal biochemical parameters.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Yingklang M, Chaidee A, Dangtakot R

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that helminth infections provide a degree of protection against Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the relationship between Strongyloides stercoralis infection and T2DM has scarcely been investigated and the protective effect of infection against development of diabetic complications is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between S. stercoralis infection and T2DM in a rural area of Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. The impact of S. stercoralis infection on diabetic complication-related kidney function biochemical parameters and body-mass index (BMI) was also assessed. METHODOLOGY: Using a cross-sectional study design, S. stercoralis infection and T2DM assessments were conducted between October 2020 and May 2021. Associations between S. stercoralis infection, T2DM, and socioeconomic factors were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analyses. Diabetic complication-related biochemical parameters relating largely to kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), serum creatinine, uric acid, alanine transaminase (ALT), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)) and BMI of participants with and without T2DM were compared between groups with or without S. stercoralis infection. RESULTS: One hundred and seven out of 704 individuals (15.20%) were positive for S. stercoralis, and 283 people were diagnosed with T2DM. Of those with T2DM, 11.31% (32/283) were infected with S. stercoralis and of those without T2DM, 17.82% (75/421) were infected with S. stercoralis. Multivariate analysis revealed that T2DM was inversely correlated with S. stercoralis infection (Adjusted OR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.78; p = 0.003), while male, increasing age, lower education level, and alcohol intake were positively associated with infection. Those infected with S. stercoralis had lower eGFR levels and higher ALT and UACR levels than those in the uninfected group. CONCLUSION: This finding indicates that S. stercoralis infection was inversely associated with T2DM in northeastern Thailand, but participants infected with S. stercoralis had lower eGFR levels and higher ALT and UACR levels. Infection with S. stercoralis might lead to worse complication-related renal biochemical parameters.

70. A prospective longitudinal study with treated hypertensive patients in Northern Bangladesh (PREDIcT-HTN) to understand uncontrolled hypertension and adverse clinical events: A protocol for 5-years follow-up.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Hossain A, Ahsan GU, Hossain MZ

INTRODUCTION: Uncontrolled hypertension is the most common cause of major adverse clinical events (MACE), such as myocardial infarction, strokes, and death due to CVDs, in both developed and developing countries. Western-led studies found that treated hypertensive adults with uncontrolled hypertension were more at-risk of all-cause and CVD-specific mortality than normotensives. The PRospEctive longituDInal sTudy of Treated HyperTensive patients of Northern-Bangladesh (PREDIcT-HTN) study principally aims to estimate the incidence of MACE in treated hypertensive patients and identify the determinants of MACE. The secondary objective is to find the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in treated hypertensive patients and the associated risk factors. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The treated hypertensive patients were obtained from the Hypertension and Research Center (H&RC), Rangpur, Bangladesh, from January to December 2020. Based on the eligibility criteria, 2643 patients were included to constitute the PREDIcT-HTN cohort. Baseline data was retrieved from the H&RC registry, and five follow-up waves are planned yearly (2021-2025). A questionnaire will be administered at each follow-up visit on hypertension control status, behavioral factors, quality of life, dietary adherence, and high blood pressure compliance-related variables. The participant will be right censored if the patient develops MACE, death due to any cause, loss to follow-up, or at the end of the study. A proportional hazard model will identify the risk factors of MACE. Multinomial logistic regression analyses will be performed to determine the predictors of the hypertension control status by medication and dietary adherence after adjusting confounders. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board, North South University [Ref: 2019/OR-NSU/IRB-No.0902]. The participants will provide written consent to participate. The findings will be disseminated through manuscripts in clinical/academic journals and presentations at professional conferences and stakeholder communication.

71. A low-light image enhancement method with brightness balance and detail preservation.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Li C, Zhu J, Bi L

72. Fat and exposure to 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide causes histologic and inflammatory changes in murine livers.

PLoS One

2022 May 31

Pitstick LD, Goral J, Schmelter RA

73. Effect of ultraviolet C emitted from KrCl excimer lamp with or without bandpass filter to mouse epidermis.

PLoS One

2022 May 3

Narita K, Asano K, Yamane K

74. If it is not made easy for me, I will just not bother". A qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators to recycling plastics.

PLoS One

2022 May 3

Roy D, Berry E, Dempster M.

Despite significant investment to increase recycling facilities and kerbside collection of waste materials, plastic packaging is frequently discarded as litter, resulting in significant environmental harm. This research uses qualitative methods to explore the contextual and psychological factors that influence plastic waste disposal behaviour from the perspectives of consumers. This research also reports key results from a brief online survey exploring consumer perspectives toward plastics and plastic recycling. A total of N = 18 adults living in Northern Ireland (NI) participated in a semi-structured interview and N = 756 adults living in NI took part in an online survey. Interview data was analysed via a semi-directed content analysis approach, using the COM-B behaviour change model as a guiding framework. Survey data underwent descriptive and frequency analysis. Collectively, the findings suggest that environmental concern exists among consumers generally, but there is a degree of ambivalence toward recycling that reflects a gap between intentions to recycle and actual recycling behaviour. Plastic recycling behaviour is hindered by three common barriers: 1. confusion and uncertainty about which plastic materials can be recycled (exacerbated by the abundance of plastic products available) 2. perceiving plastic recycling to be less of a personal priority in daily life 3. perceiving that local government and manufacturers have a responsibility to make plastic recycling easier. As recycling is simply not a priority for many individuals, efforts should instead be placed on providing greater scaffolding to make the process of recycling less tedious, confusing, and more habitual. Visual cues on product packing and recycling resources can address ambiguity about which plastic materials can/cannot be recycled and increasing opportunities to recycle (via consistent availability of recycling bins) can reduce the physical burden of accessing recycling resources. Such interventions, based on environmental restructuring and enablement, may increase motivations to recycle by reducing the cognitive and physical burden of recycling, supporting healthier recycling habits.

75. Multi-trait and multi-environment Bayesian analysis to predict the G x E interaction in flood-irrigated rice.

PLoS One

2022 May 3

da Silva Júnior AC, Sant'Anna IC, Silva Siqueira MJ

The biggest challenge for the reproduction of flood-irrigated rice is to identify superior genotypes that present development of high-yielding varieties with specific grain qualities, resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses in addition to superior adaptation to the target environment. Thus, the objectives of this study were to propose a multi-trait and multi-environment Bayesian model to estimate genetic parameters for the flood-irrigated rice crop. To this end, twenty-five rice genotypes belonging to the flood-irrigated rice breeding program were evaluated. Grain yield and flowering were evaluated in the agricultural year 2017/2018. The experimental design used in all experiments was a randomized block design with three replications. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm was used to estimate genetic parameters and genetic values. The flowering is highly heritable by the Bayesian credibility interval: h2 = 0.039-0.80, and 0.02-0.91, environment 1 and 2, respectively. The genetic correlation between traits was significantly different from zero in the two environments (environment 1: -0.80 to 0.74; environment 2: -0.82 to 0.86. The relationship of CVe and CVg higher for flowering in the reduced model (CVg/CVe = 5.83 and 13.98, environments 1 and 2, respectively). For the complete model, this trait presented an estimate of the relative variation index of: CVe = 4.28 and 4.21, environments 1 and 2, respectively. In summary, the multi-trait and multi-environment Bayesian model allowed a reliable estimate of the genetic parameter of flood-irrigated rice. Bayesian analyzes provide robust inference of genetic parameters. Therefore, we recommend this model for genetic evaluation of flood-irrigated rice genotypes, and their generalization, in other crops. Precise estimates of genetic parameters bring new perspectives on the application of Bayesian methods to solve modeling problems in the genetic improvement of flood-irrigated rice.

76. Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, immune activation, and risk of HIV acquisition.

PLoS One

2022 May 3

Bender Ignacio RA, Long J, Saha A

BACKGROUND: Although immune activation is associated with HIV acquisition, the nature of inflammatory profiles that increase HIV risk, which may include responses to M. tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, are not well characterized. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study using cryopreserved samples from persons who did and did not acquire HIV during the multinational Step clinical trial of the MRKAd5 HIV-1 vaccine. PBMCs from the last HIV-negative sample from incident HIV cases and controls were stimulated with Mtb-specific antigens (ESAT-6/CFP-10) and analyzed by flow cytometry with intracellular cytokine staining and scored with COMPASS. We measured inflammatory profiles with five Correlates of TB Risk (CoR) transcriptomic signatures. Our primary analysis examined the association of latent Mtb infection (LTBI; IFNγ+CD4+ T cell frequency) or RISK6 CoR signature with HIV acquisition. Conditional logistic regression analyses, adjusted for known predictors of HIV acquisition, were employed to assess whether TB-associated immune markers were associated with HIV acquisition. RESULTS: Among 465 participants, LTBI prevalence (21.5% controls vs 19.1% cases, p = 0.51) and the RISK6 signature were not higher in those who acquired HIV. In exploratory analyses, Mtb antigen-specific polyfunctional CD4+ T cell COMPASS scores (aOR 0.96, 95% CI 0.77, 1.20) were not higher in those who acquired HIV. Two CoR signatures, Sweeney3 (aOR 1.38 (1.07, 1.78) per SD change) and RESPONSE5 (0.78 (0.61, 0.98)), were associated with HIV acquisition. The transcriptomic pattern used to differentiate active vs latent TB (Sweeney3) was most strongly associated with acquiring HIV. CONCLUSIONS: LTBI, Mtb polyfunctional antigen-specific CD4+ T cell activation, and RISK6 were not identified as risks for HIV acquisition. In exploratory transcriptomic analyses, two CoR signatures were associated with HIV risk after adjustment for known behavioral and clinical risk factors. We identified host gene expression signatures associated with HIV acquisition, but the observed effects are likely not mediated through Mtb infection.

77. Biathletes present repeating patterns of postural control to maintain their balance while shooting.

PLoS One

2022 May 3

Michalska J, Zając R, Szydło K

Balance can be a main factor contributing to success in many disciplines, and biathlon is a representative example. A more stable posture may be a key factor for shooting scores. The center of foot pressure (COP) is commonly recorded when evaluating postural control. As COP measurements are highly irregular and non-stationary, non-linear deterministic methods, such as entropy, are more appropriate for the analysis of COP displacement. The aim of our study was to investigate whether the longitudinal effects of biathlon training can elicit specific changes in postural control. Eight national-level biathletes, 15 non-athletes who prior to the experiment took part in 3 months of shooting training, and 15 non-athletes with no prior rifle shooting experience took part in our study. The data was collected with the use of a force plate. Participants performed three balance tasks in quiet standing, the shooting position (internal focus-participants concentrated on maintaining the correct body position and rifle), and aiming at the target (external focus-participants concentrated on keeping the laser beam centered on the targets). Biathletes obtained significantly lower values of sample entropy compared to the other groups during the shooting and aiming at the target trials (p<0.05). External and internal focuses influenced the process of postural control among participants who had prior rifle shooting experience and the control group; they obtained significantly higher values of sample entropy while shooting and aiming at the target compared to the quiet standing trial (p<0.05). The biathletes obtained significantly lower values of sample entropy in the aiming at the target position compared to the quiet standing trial. Specific balance training is associated with the ability to deal with a more challenging, non-specific task. The biathletes seemed to employ a different motor control strategy than the beginners and control group, creating repeating patterns (more regular signal for COP) to keep one's balance during the shooting and aiming at the target positions.

78. Differences in PD-L1 Expression between oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Blatt S, Krüger M, Rump C

79. Profiles of lateral violence in nursing personnel of the Spanish public health system.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Pina D, Vidal-Alves M, Puente-López E

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence in healthcare settings has long been studied in scientific literature, particularly in the nursing profession. Research has explored mostly user violence probably for its high prevalence and impact on health and job satisfaction. Yet this focus may overshadow another dangerous type of workplace violence: coworker violence. Exerted by co-workers with similar status, lateral violence differs from that yielded by a co-worker with a higher rank, known as vertical. This study aims to deepen the knowledge about lateral violence perceived by nurses and its interaction with other variables commonly associated with workplace violence in healthcare: burnout, job satisfaction, and self-perceived health. METHOD: A random block sampling was performed, prompting a total sample of 925 nursing professionals from 13 public hospitals located in the southeast of Spain. The sample distribution (mean and standard deviation) and the response percentages according to the study variables of the ad-hoc questionnaire were analyzed and classified with cluster analysis. RESULTS: Through the cluster analysis, two subgroups were obtained: Cluster 1, composed of 779 participants, with low scores in the variables used for the classification, high levels of both extrinsic and intrinsic satisfaction, low levels of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and low rates of somatization, anxiety, social dysfunction and depression; and Cluster 2, composed of 115 participants and characterized by moderate-high scores in the variables used for the classification, moderate extrinsic satisfaction, and low intrinsic satisfaction, high emotional exhaustion and cynicism and lower somatization, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression scores. Excluded cases amounted to 31. CONCLUSION: Nursing professionals who experience lateral violence reveal a lower intrinsic satisfaction, feeling less self-accomplished in their job, and less positive work experience. Emotional exhaustion rises as a concerning progressive and long-term outcome of experiencing this type of violence.

80. Hyper-connectivity between the left motor cortex and prefrontal cortex is associated with the severity of dysfunction of the descending pain modulatory system in fibromyalgia.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

de Oliveira Franco Á, da Silveira Alves CF, Vicuña P

INTRODUCTION: The association between descending pain modulatory system (DPMS) dysfunction and fibromyalgia has been previously described, but more studies are required on its relationship with aberrant functional connectivity (FC) between the motor and prefrontal cortices. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to compare the intra- and interhemispheric FC between the bilateral motor and prefrontal cortices in women with fibromyalgia, comparing responders and nonresponders to the conditioned pain modulation (CPM) test. METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of 37 women (23 responders and 14 nonresponders to the CPM test) with fibromyalgia diagnosed according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria underwent a standardized clinical assessment and an FC analysis using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. DPMS function was inferred through responses to the CPM test, which were induced by hand immersion in cold water (0-1°C). A multivariate analysis of covariance for main effects between responders and nonresponders was conducted using the diagnosis of multiple psychiatric disorders and the use of opioid and nonopioid analgesics as covariates. In addition, we analyzed the interaction between the CPM test response and the presence of multiple psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS: Nonresponders showed increased FC between the left motor cortex (lMC) and the left prefrontal cortex (lPFC) (t = -2.476, p = 0.01) and right prefrontal cortex (rPFC) (t = -2.363, p = 0.02), even when both were considered as covariates in the regression analysis (lMC-lPFC: β = -0.127, t = -2.425, p = 0.021; lMC-rPFC: β = -0.122, t = -2.222, p = 0.033). Regarding main effects, a significant difference was only observed for lMC-lPFC (p = 0.035). A significant interaction was observed between the psychiatric disorders and nonresponse to the CPM test in lMC-lPFC (β = -0.222, t = -2.275, p = 0.03) and lMC-rPFC (β = -0.211, t = -2.2, p = 0.035). Additionally, a significant interaction was observed between the CPM test and FC in these two region-of-interest combinations, despite the psychiatric diagnoses (lMC-lPFC: β = -0.516, t = -2.447, p = 0.02; lMC-rPFC: β = -0.582, t = -2.805, p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Higher FC between the lMC and the bilateral PFC may be a neural marker of DPMS dysfunction in women with fibromyalgia, although its interplay with psychiatric diagnoses also seems to influence this association.

81. Changing trends in ophthalmological emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Escribano Villafruela J, de Urquía Cobo A, Martín Luengo F

82. Transfer learning-based channel estimation in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems using data-nulling superimposed pilots.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Qing C, Dong L, Wang L

83. Measuring user interactions with websites: A comparison of two industry standard analytics approaches using data of 86 websites.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Jansen BJ, Jung SG, Salminen J.

84. Incidence and survival in laryngeal and lung cancers in Finland and Sweden through a half century.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Koskinen A, Hemminki O, Försti A

Global survival studies have shown favorable development in most cancers but few studies have considered laryngeal cancer, particularly over extended periods or in populations for which medical care is essentially free of charge. We analyzed laryngeal and lung cancer incidence and survival in Finland (FI) and Sweden (SE) over a 50-year period (1970-2019) using data and statistical tools from the Nordcan database. Laryngeal cancer reached an incidence maximum in FI men in 1965, which in SE men occurred over 10 years later and peaking at 42% of the FI maximum. The FI incidence halved in 20 years while halving of the SE rate took almost twice as long. At maximum the male rate exceeded the female rate 20 times in FI and 10 times in SE. Incidence rates for lung cancer were approximately 10 times higher than those for laryngeal cancer, and they peaked 5 to 10 years after laryngeal cancer in both countries. The female lung cancer rates increased through the follow-up time but laryngeal cancer rates were relatively stable. Relative 1-year survival data for laryngeal cancer remained at around 85% through 50 years, and 5-year survival lagged constantly around 65%. For lung cancer 1-year survival improved and reached about 50% by 2019. Even 5-year survival improved reaching 20 to 30%, except for FI men. Incidence rates for laryngeal and lung cancers have drastically decreased in FI and SE men parallel to reduced smoking prevalence. In females, rates have clearly increased in lung but not in FI laryngeal cancer. This finding warrants further investigations into possible contributing factors, other than smoking. Survival in laryngeal cancer has not improved compared to the positive development in lung cancer. Historical smoking prevalence was unrelated of survival trends. As long-term survival in these cancers remains discouraging, the most efficient way to fight them is to target the main cause and promote non-smoking.

85. Application of quantile regression to examine changes in the distribution of Height for Age (HAZ) of Indian children aged 0-36 months using four rounds of NFHS data.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Mokalla TR, Rao Mendu VV.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of stunting among under- three Indian children though decreased, still it is considered to be alarmingly high. In most of the previous studies, traditional (linear and logistic) regression analyses were applied. They were limited to encapsulated cross-distribution variations. The objective of the current study was to examine how the different determinants were heterogeneous in various percentiles of height for age (HAZ) distribution. METHODS AND FINDINGS: This article examined the change in the HAZ distribution of children and examined the relationships between the key co-variate trends and patterns in HAZ among children aged <3 years over a period of 24 years. Four successive rounds of the National Family Health Survey data 1992-93, 1998-99, 2005-06, and 2015-16 were used for analysis. The final study included 206579 children aged <3 years (N = 106136 male, 100443 female). To explain and analyse differences in the HAZ distribution, the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method was used. Trends in height for age (HAZ) distribution over time were analysed using separate gender-stratified quantile regression (QR). The selected socio-economic, demographic and other predictors were considered for this analysis. The quantile regressions have indicated that mothers who have higher than primary level education were more proactive in mitigating malnutrition among children at the lower end of the distribution. The age, birth order, mother's body-mass-index (BMI) and economic status, among children, were some more determining factors for HAZ. Results of selected quantile regression were estimated at the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th quantiles. CONCLUSIONS: The outcome of various covariates working differently across the HAZ distribution was suggested by quantile regression. The major discrepancies in different aspects were underlined by socioeconomic and demographic aspects among the Indian population. The heterogeneity of this effect was shown using quantile regression. Policymakers may choose to concentrate on the most important factors when formulating policies to lessen the prevalence of stunting in India.

86. Contagious statistical distributions: k-connections and applications in infectious disease environments.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

García-García V, Martel-Escobar M, Vázquez-Polo FJ.

87. Food safety practice and associated factors in public food establishments of Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Tamene A, Habte A, Woldeyohannes D

BACKGROUND: In terms of global impact, foodborne infections have been likened to major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, with 1 in 10 people becoming ill and 420,000 deaths per year. A large number of these incidents are caused by improperly handled food in foodservice establishments. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the proportion of food handlers in Ethiopian commercial food service establishments who have safe food handling practices and their associated factors. METHODS: Studies conducted before 02-05-2022 were explored in PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Ovid MEDLINE®, as well as other sources. A total of fourteen studies were included in the final synthesis. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft excel and the analysis was done using STATA 16 statistical software. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute's Critical assessment checklist for prevalence studies. To evaluate publication bias, a funnel plot and Egger's regression test were employed. The I2 statistic was calculated to examine for study heterogeneity. To assess the pooled effect size, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals across studies, the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used. Subgroup analysis was conducted by region and publication year. The influence of a single study on the whole estimate was determined via sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Of 323 identified articles, 14 studies were eligible for analysis (n = 4849 participants). The pooled prevalence estimate of safe food handling practices among Ethiopian food handlers was 47.14% (95% CI: 39.01-55.26, I2 = 97.23%). Foodservice training (OR, 3.89; 95% CI: 2.37-5.40), having on-site water storage facilities (OR, 4.65; 95% CI: 2.35-6.95), attitude (OR, 4.89; 95% CI: 1.39-8.29), hygiene and sanitary inspection certification (OR, 3.08; 95% CI: 1.62-4.45) were significantly associated with safe food handling practice among food handlers. CONCLUSION: This review identified that improvements are needed in food handling training, government regulation, and infrastructure. Standard regulations for food service enterprises must be implemented on a local and national level. Though long-term food safety requires legislation and training, failure to address infrastructure challenges can harm public health efforts. Access to safe drinking water and the presence of sanitary waste management systems should all be part of the basic infrastructure for ensuring the safety of food in food businesses.

88. Nurse-patient relationship for multi-period home health care routing and scheduling problem.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Krityakierne T, Limphattharachai O, Laesanklang W.

89. Characteristics of the gut microbiota in women with premenstrual symptoms: A cross-sectional study.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Takeda T, Yoshimi K, Kai S

PURPOSE: Premenstrual symptoms can negatively impact the quality of life of women through a range of mood, behavioral, and physical symptoms. The association between the microbiota and brain function has been extensively studied. Here, we examined the characteristics of the microbiota in women with premenstrual disorders (PMDs) and the association between premenstrual symptoms and the microbiota. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this single center cross-sectional pilot study, we recruited 27 women reporting premenstrual symptoms and 29 women with no serious premenstrual symptoms. Among them, we further selected 21 women experiencing premenstrual symptoms resulting in interference to their social life (PMDs group) and 22 women with no serious premenstrual symptoms and thereby no interference to their social life (control group). The severity of symptoms was evaluated by a premenstrual symptoms questionnaire (PSQ). Inflammatory markers were analyzed in blood samples, including C reactive protein, soluble CD14, and lipopolysaccharide binding protein. Sequencing of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid genes was performed on stool samples. RESULTS: Inflammatory markers in blood samples did not differ significantly between the PMDs and control groups. A difference in beta, but not alpha diversity, was detected for the gut microbiotas of the PMDs and control groups. The relative abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum was lower in the PMDs group. At the genus level, the prevalence was decreased for Butyricicoccus, Extibacter, Megasphaera, and Parabacteroides and increased for Anaerotaenia in the PMDs group, but after false discovery rate correction, these differences were no longer significant. Linear discriminant effect size analysis revealed a decrease in Extibacter, Butyricicoccus, Megasphaera, and Parabacteroides and an increase in Anaerotaenia in the PMDs group. The PSQ total score correlated with Anaerotaenia, Extibacter, and Parabacteroides. Multiple regression analysis showed that Parabacteroides and Megasphaera negatively predicted the PSQ total score. CONCLUSION: The properties of the gut microbiota are associated with premenstrual symptoms.

90. The efficacy of oxidized regenerated cellulose (SurgiGuard®) in breast cancer patients who undergo total mastectomy with node surgery: A prospective randomized study in 94 patients.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Nam KH, Lee JH, Chung YS

91. Human-AI ecosystem with abrupt changes as a function of the composition.

PLoS One

2022 May 27

Contucci P, Kertész J, Osabutey G.

92. Long-term development of lens fluorescence in a twin cohort: Heritability and effects of age and lifestyle.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Bjerager J, Dabbah S, Belmouhand M

93. Novel reusable animal model for comparative evaluation of in vivo growth and protein-expression of Escherichia coli O157 strains in the bovine rumen.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Kudva IT, Trachsel J, Biernbaum EN

94. Integrated bioinformatics and statistical approaches to explore molecular biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapies.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Alam MS, Sultana A, Reza MS

Integrated bioinformatics and statistical approaches are now playing the vital role in identifying potential molecular biomarkers more accurately in presence of huge number of alternatives for disease diagnosis, prognosis and therapies by reducing time and cost compared to the wet-lab based experimental procedures. Breast cancer (BC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths for women worldwide. Several dry-lab and wet-lab based studies have identified different sets of molecular biomarkers for BC. But they did not compare their results to each other so much either computationally or experimentally. In this study, an attempt was made to propose a set of molecular biomarkers that might be more effective for BC diagnosis, prognosis and therapies, by using the integrated bioinformatics and statistical approaches. At first, we identified 190 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BC and control samples by using the statistical LIMMA approach. Then we identified 13 DEGs (AKR1C1, IRF9, OAS1, OAS3, SLCO2A1, NT5E, NQO1, ANGPT1, FN1, ATF6B, HPGD, BCL11A, and TP53INP1) as the key genes (KGs) by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis. Then we investigated the pathogenetic processes of DEGs highlighting KGs by GO terms and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Moreover, we disclosed the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory factors of KGs by their interaction network analysis with the transcription factors (TFs) and micro-RNAs. Both supervised and unsupervised learning's including multivariate survival analysis results confirmed the strong prognostic power of the proposed KGs. Finally, we suggested KGs-guided computationally more effective seven candidate drugs (NVP-BHG712, Nilotinib, GSK2126458, YM201636, TG-02, CX-5461, AP-24534) compared to other published drugs by cross-validation with the state-of-the-art alternatives top-ranked independent receptor proteins. Thus, our findings might be played a vital role in breast cancer diagnosis, prognosis and therapies.

95. Neonatal mortality and associated factors among neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit at public hospitals of Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia: A multicenter retrospective analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Mohamed HA, Shiferaw Z, Roble AK

BACKGROUND: Neonatal mortality remains a public health problem in the developing world. Globally, around 2.5 million neonatal deaths are reported annually with the highest mortality concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In comparison with countries demonstrating the lowest neonatal mortality, the risk of mortality is over 30 times higher in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia is among the countries with a high neonatal mortality rate, and the burden of this mortality remains unreported in many pastoralist areas such as Somali Regional State, Eastern Ethiopia. We aimed to investigate factors associated with neonatal mortality in public Hospitals of the Somali Regional State in Eastern Ethiopia. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 1st to 30th, 2020 in three public Hospitals of Somali Regional State in Eastern Ethiopia. A total of 510 neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care units from January 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled in the study. The charts of neonates were randomly selected and retrieved. Data were collected using a pretested and validated structured questionnaire. The collected were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 22 (IBM SPSS Statistics, 2013) for further analysis. Descriptive statistics were carried out using frequency tables, proportions, and summary measures. Predictors were assessed using a multivariable logistic regression analysis model and reported using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI). Statistical significance was considered at a p-value <0.05. RESULTS: Overall, the neonatal mortality was 18.6% [95%CI (15.31, 22.30)], equating to a rate of 186 per 1000 live births. The most common causes of mortality were prematurity (44.6%), low birth weight (33.5%), and birth asphyxia (27.6%). In the final model of multivariable analysis, predictors such as: lack of antenatal care follow-up[AOR = 3.71, 95%CI (2.13, 6.44)], neonatal sepsis [AOR = 1.84, 95%CI (1.07, 3.19], preterm birth [AOR = 2.20, 95%CI (1.02, 4.29], and birth asphyxia [AOR = 2.40, 95%CI(1.26,4.43)], and birth weight of less than 2500gms[AOR = 3.40, 95%CI(1.92, 6.01)] were statistically associated with neonatal mortality. CONCLUSION: In this study, the neonatal mortality rate was high compared to national and global targets because one in five neonates dies due to preventable causes. Modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors were identified as predictors. This result calls for all stakeholders to provide due attention to low birth weight and premature babies. Early identification and management of birth asphyxia and neonatal sepsis are also very crucial to reduce the risks of neonatal deaths.

96. Evolution in caesarean section practices in North Kivu: Impact of caregiver training.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Dikete Ekanga M, Mitangala P, Coppieters Y

INTRODUCTION: A caesarean section is a major obstetric procedure that can save the life of mother and child. Its purpose is to protect the mother's health from the complications of childbirth and to protect the baby's health. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), there are major inequalities in access to caesarean sections and significant variations in practices to determine the indications for the procedure. Periodic analyses of maternal deaths have shown that more than half of maternal and new born deaths are due to suboptimal care and are therefore potentially preventable. The objective of our study is to assess the impact of health staff training under the PADISS project (to support the health system's integrated development) on the quality of CS procedures in North Kivu, by comparing two periods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The populations compared were recruited from the referral hospitals in North Kivu, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). The first (group 1) was made up of patient files studied retrospectively for the period from 01/11/2013 to 01/01/2016. The second group (group 2), studied prospectively, comprised patient files from June 2019 to January 2020. Obstetric, maternal and foetal data were compared. Statistical analyses were performed using STATA/IC 15.0 for Windows. Univariate and multiple logistic regression was performed to determine which characteristics are associated with maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: CS frequency was approximately 17% in both study periods. We observed a CS frequency of about 34% at North Kivu provincial hospital for the two populations studied. The main indications for CS were dystocia, foetal distress and scarred uterus for both populations. In the population studied prospectively, after the implementation of health staff training, there were fewer incidence rate of dystocia, foetal distress and neonatal death, a more complete patient record, shorter hospital stay, and fewer blood transfusions but more incidence rate of scarred uterus, post-operative complications and low birth weight. Intervention had no statistically significant impact on low birth weight (OR = 1.9, p = 0.13), on neonatal mortality (OR = 0.69, p = 0.21). CONCLUSION: Our study shows a decrease in neonatal deaths, dystocia and foetal distress, but an increase in post-operative complications, maternal deaths and cases of scarred uterus and low birth weight. However, multiple logistic regression did no support the conclusion.

97. Resistance training reduced luteinising hormone levels in postmenopausal women in a substudy of a randomised controlled clinical trial: A clue to how resistance training reduced vasomotor symptoms.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Nilsson S, Henriksson M, Berin E

BACKGROUND: Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are common around menopause. Menopausal hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for VMS. Physical exercise has been proposed as an alternative treatment since physically active women have previously been found to experience fewer VMS than inactive women. In our randomised controlled trial on resistance training to treat VMS, sympoms were reduced by 50% in the intervention group compared with the control group. OBJECTIVES: To propose a mechanism to explain how resistance training reduced VMS and to assess if luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were affected in accordance with the proposed mechanism. TRIAL DESIGN AND METHODS: A substudy of a randomized controlled trial on 65 postmenopausal women with VMS and low physical activity who were randomised to 15 weeks of resistance training three times per week (n = 33) or to a control group (n = 32). To be regarded compliant to the intervention we predecided a mean of two training sessions per week. The daily number of VMS were registered before and during the 15 weeks. Blood samples were drawn for analysis of LH and FSH at baseline and after 15 weeks. RESULTS: LH decreased significantly in the compliant intervention group compared with the control group (-4.0±10.6 versus 2.9±9.0, p = 0.028 with Mann-Whitney U test). FSH also decreased in the compliant intervention group compared with the control group, however not enough to reach statistical significance (-3.5±16.3 versus 3.2±18.2, p = 0.063 with Mann-Whitney U test). As previously published the number of hot flushes decreased significantly more in the intervention group than in the control group but there was no association between change in LH or FSH and in number of VMS. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that endogenous opiods such as β-endorphin or dynorphin produced during resistance training decreased VMS by stimulating KNDγ-neurons to release neurokinin B to the hypothalamic thermoregulatory centre. Through effects on KNDγ-neurons, β-endorphin could also inhibit GnRH and thereby decrease the production of LH and FSH. The significanty decreased LH in the compliant intervention group compared with the control group was in accordance with the proposed mechanism.

98. Development and delivery of an allied health team intervention for older adults in the emergency department: A process evaluation.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Cassarino M, Cronin Ú, Robinson K

BACKGROUND: There is encouraging evidence that interdisciplinary teams of Health and Social Care Professionals (HSCPs) can enhance patient care in the Emergency Department (ED), especially for older adults with complex needs. However, no formal process evaluations of implementations of ED-based HSCP interventions are available. The study aimed to evaluate the development and delivery of a HSCP team intervention for older adults in the ED of a large Irish teaching hospital. METHODS: Using the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework for process evaluations, we investigated implementation and delivery, mechanisms of impact, and contextual influences on implementation by analysing the HSCP team's activity notes and participant recruitment logs, and by carrying out six interviews and four focus groups with 26 participants (HSCP team members, ED doctors and nurses, hospital staff). Qualitative insights were analysed thematically. RESULTS: The implementation process had three phases (pre-implementation, piloting, and delivery), with the first two described as pivotal to optimise care procedures and build positive stakeholders' involvement. The team's motivation and proactive communication were key to promote acceptability and integration in the ED (Theme 1); also, their specialised skills and interdisciplinary approach enhanced patient and staff's ED experience (Theme 2). The investment and collaboration of multiple stakeholders were described as essential contextual enablers of implementation (Theme 4). Delivering the intervention within a randomised controlled trial fostered credibility but caused frustration among patients and staff (Theme 3). DISCUSSION: This process evaluation is the first to provide in-depth and practical insights on the complexities of developing and delivering an ED-based HSCP team intervention for older adults. Our findings highlight the importance of establishing a team of HSCPs with a strong interdisciplinary ethos to ensure buy-in and integration in the ED processes. Also, actively involving relevant stakeholders is key to facilitate implementation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03739515; registered on 12th November 2018.

99. The ESCAPE trial for older people with chronic low back pain: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Silva HJ, Fonseca LS, Mascarenhas RO

BACKGROUND: Low-back pain is one of the most common health conditions worldwide. It is defined as pain below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds. Current guidelines recommend management of chronic health (e.g., low back pain) conditions in older people at primary health care settings using active strategies (e.g., exercise). In non-specific low back pain, high quality evidence supports active strategies for general population. However, the management of non-specific low back pain in the older people has been overlooked and evidence is limited to a small number of low powered randomized controlled trials with high risk of bias. METHODS: This is a prospectively registered, open, two-arm randomised controlled trial comparing the group-based exercise and waiting list in pain intensity (11-item Pain Numerical Rating Scale) and disability (Roland Morris questionnaire) of older people (i.e., 60 years old or over) with chronic non-specific low back pain. One hundred and twenty patients will be recruited from Diamantina, Brazil. Follow-ups will be conducted in post-treatment (8 week) and 6- and 12-months post-randomisation. DISCUSSION: Our hypothesis is that group-based exercise will be better than waiting list in reducing pain intensity and disability in older people with chronic non-specific low back pain. IMPACT: The practice of individualized exercise has been studied for the management of chronic non-specific low back pain in older people. However, the group exercise, even showing high quality evidence for the improvement of several important outcomes in this population, has been ignored until now. Thus, the results of this study have the potential to indicate a viable and accessible strategy for managing chronic non-specific low back pain in the older people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was prospectively registered at www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br (RBR-9j5pqs). Date-11/18/2020.

100. Attributable risk factors for asymptomatic malaria and anaemia and their association with cognitive and psychomotor functions in schoolchildren of north-eastern Tanzania.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Makenga G, Baraka V, Francis F

In Africa, children aged 5 to 15 years (school age) comprises more than 50% (>339 million) of the under 19 years population, and are highly burdened by malaria and anaemia that impair cognitive development. For the prospects of improving health in African citizens, understanding malaria and its relation to anaemia in school-aged children, it is crucial to inform targeted interventions for malaria control and accelerate elimination efforts as part of improved school health policy. We conducted a study to determine the risk factors for asymptomatic malaria and their association to anaemia. We explored the prevalence of antimalarial drug resistance as well as the association of asymptomatic malaria infection and anaemia on cognitive and psychomotor functions in school-aged children living in high endemic areas. This study was a comprehensive baseline survey, within the scope of a randomised, controlled trial on the effectiveness and safety of antimalarial drugs in preventing malaria and its related morbidity in schoolchildren. We enrolled 1,587 schoolchildren from 7 primary schools located in Muheza, north-eastern Tanzania. Finger-pricked blood samples were collected for estimation of malaria parasitaemia using a microscope, haemoglobin concentration using a haemoglobinometer, and markers of drug resistance processed from dried blood spots (DBS). Psychomotor and Cognitive functions were assessed using a '20 metre Shuttle run' and a test of everyday attention for children (TEA-Ch), respectively. The prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia, anaemia and stunting was 26.4%, 49.8%, and 21.0%, respectively with marked variation across schools. In multivariate models, asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia attributed to 61% of anaemia with a respective population attribution fraction of 16%. Stunting, not sleeping under a bednet and illiterate parent or guardian were other factors attributing to 7%, 9%, and 5% of anaemia in the study population, respectively. Factors such as age group (10-15 years), not sleeping under a bednet, low socioeconomic status, parents' or guardians' with a low level of education, children overcrowding in a household, and fewer rooms in a household were significantly attributed to higher malaria infection. There was no significant association between malaria infection or anaemia and performance on tests of cognitive function (sustained attention) or psychomotor function (VO2 max). However, a history of malaria in the past one month was significantly associated with decreased cognitive scores (aOR = -4.1, 95% CI -7.7-0.6, p = 0.02). Furthermore, stunted children had significantly lower VO2max scores (aOR = -1.9, 95% CI -3.0-0.8, p = 0.001). Regarding the antimalarial drug resistance markers, the most prevalent Pfmdr1 86-184-1034-1042-1246 haplotypes were the NFSND in 47% (n = 88) and the NYSND in 52% (n = 98). The wild type Pfcrt haplotypes (codons 72-76, CVMNK) were found in 99.1% (n = 219) of the samples. Malaria, stunting and parents' or guardians' illiteracy were the key attributable factors for anaemia in schoolchildren. Given malaria infection in schoolchildren is mostly asymptomatic; an addition of interventional programmes such as intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in schoolchildren (IPTsc) would probably act as a potential solution while calling for an improvement in the current tools such as bednet use, school food programme, and community-based (customised) health education with an emphasis on nutrition and malaria control.

101. Factors influencing the pigment composition and dynamics of photoautotrophic picoplankton in shallow eutrophic lakes.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Tamm M, Nõges T, Nõges P

102. Effect of cow's milk with different PUFA n-6: n-3 ratios on performance, serum lipid profile, and blood parameters of grower gilts.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Reis LG, Silva THD, Salles MSV

103. The relationship between new PCR positive cases and going out in public during the COVID-19 epidemic in Japan.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Takahashi H, Terada I, Higuchi T

104. Effect of early mobilization combined with early nutrition on acquired weakness in critically ill patients (EMAS): A dual-center, randomized controlled trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Zhou W, Yu L, Fan Y

AIM: The study aimed to investigate the effect of early mobilization combined with early nutrition (EMN) on intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) in intensive care unit (ICU) settings compared with early mobilization (EM) or routine care. METHODS: A prospective, dual-center, randomized controlled trial was conducted. The control group underwent standard care without a pre-established routine for mobilization and nutrition. The EM group underwent early, individualized, progressive mobilization within 24 h of ICU admission. The EMN group underwent early mobilization, similar to the EM group plus guideline-based early nutrition (within 48 h of ICU admission). The primary outcome was the occurrence of ICU-AW at discharge from the ICU. Secondary outcomes included muscle strength, functional independence, organ failure, nutritional status, duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), length of ICU stay, and ICU mortality at ICU discharge. RESULTS: A total of 150 patients were enrolled and equally distributed into the three groups. Patients undergoing routine care only were more susceptible to ICU-AW upon ICU discharge than those in the EM or EMN groups (16% vs. 2%; p = 0.014 for both), and had a lower Barthel Index than others (control vs. EM/EMN: 57.5 vs 70.0; p = 0.022). The EMN group had improved muscle strength (p = 0.028) and better nutritional status than the control group (p = 0.031). Both interventions were associated with a lower ICU-AW (EM vs. control: p = 0.027, OR [95% CI] = 0.066 [0.006-0.739]; EMN vs. control: p = 0.016, OR [95% CI] = 0.065 [0.007-0.607]). CONCLUSION: EM and EMN had positive effects. There was little difference between the effects of EM and EMN, except for muscle strength improvement. Both EM and EMN may lead to a lower occurrence of ICU-AW and better functional independence than standard care. EMN might benefit nutritional status more than usual care and promote improvement in muscle strength.

105. How effective is a blended web-based rehabilitation for improving pain, physical activity, and knee function of patients with knee osteoarthritis? Study protocol for a randomized control trial.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Moutzouri M, Gioftsos G.

Due to the chronic nature of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) self-management is considered an essential part of therapy to improve physical function, activity, pain and quality of life (QoL). Web-based rehabilitation may be a potential innovative mode of patient' training to guide management compared to usual care, especially with the current restrictions pandemic imposed. Moreover, in order to alter KOA patients' behavior towards physical activity (PA), it may be more attractive and motivating to combine within their rehabilitation program, outdoor real life local activity that could feasible to be sustained in the future. Aim of the current study is to evaluate the effects of a blended web-based rehabilitation compared with structured PA alone in patients with KOA. This is a randomized multi-center study with two prospective arms. Fifty-six eligible participants with KOA will be recruited from the West Attica region (considered as structurally weak areas). After a comprehensive face-to face training session, participants will follow a 6-week web-based rehabilitation program, consisting of exercise, advice material enhanced outdoor structured PA. The control group will be encouraged to follow the outdoor structured PA alone. Baseline, 6-week and 12-week follow up assessments will be performed. The primary outcome is self-reported physical function as measured by the Knee Injury Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Secondary measures include pain, function (Timed Up and Go Test, Sit to Stand test), PA levels (Lower Extremity Activity Scale, Baecke Scale and pedometer), psychological perspective (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia) and health-related QoL (Short-Form 12). Baseline-adjusted Analysis of Variance will be used to test for group differences in the primary and secondary outcomes. The study will evaluate the blended web-based exercise and advice material, enhanced with outdoor PA in many respects compared to the outdoor PA alone so as to promote self-management care programs for KOA patients. Trial registration: Prospectively registered ISRCTN12950684 (27-09-2020).

106. The longitudinal connection between depressive symptoms and inflammation: Mediation by sleep quality.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Song S, DeMeo NN, Almeida DM

Although there is a strong association between depressive symptoms and markers of inflammation, it remains unclear whether depressive symptoms at one point in life may predict inflammation later in life. Moreover, despite extant literature linking sleep with both depressive symptoms and inflammation, there is little research investigating poor sleep as a mechanism linking depressive symptoms with later inflammation. The links between depression and physical health can also vary by gender. In longitudinal analyses with data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we examined whether depressive symptoms were associated with inflammatory markers 11 years later and whether these associations were mediated by sleep disturbances or moderated by gender. Participants reported depressive symptoms and demographic information at baseline. At 11-year follow-up, the same participants (n = 968) reported depressive symptoms, sleep quality and duration using validated scale items, and provided a blood sample from which inflammatory markers interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were quantified. Actigraphy assessment of sleep was obtained in a subsample (n = 276). After adjusting for concurrent depressive symptoms and other relevant covariates, baseline depressive symptoms were associated with CRP 11 years later in the full sample, and with IL-6 among women. Subjective sleep quality mediated the association between depressive symptoms and CRP. Results suggest that depressive symptoms may be longitudinally associated with inflammation; however, directionality issues cannot be determined from the present work, particularly as inflammation markers (which might have been associated with baseline depressive symptoms) were not available at baseline. Findings further suggest that longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and inflammation may potentially be explained by sleep and may reflect gender specific patterns.

107. Substance use disorder among adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda: Retrospective findings from a psychiatric ward registry.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Kaggwa MM, Abaatyo J, Alol E

108. Flow-compensated diffusion encoding in MRI for improved liver metastasis detection.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Laun FB, Führes T, Seuss H

109. Glycemic control in newly insulin-initiated patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A retrospective follow-up study at a university hospital in Ethiopia.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Sendekie AK, Teshale AB, Tefera YG.

BACKGROUND: Though many trials had examined the effectiveness of taking insulin with or without oral agents, there are limited real-world data, particularly among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the resource limited settings. This study aimed to examine level of glycemic control among patients with T2DM after initiation of insulin and factors associated with poor glycemic control. METHODS: An analysis of retrospective medical records of patients with T2DM who initiated insulin due to uncontrolled hyperglycemia by oral agents was conducted from 2015-2020 in the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Difference in median fasting plasma glucose (FPG) before and after insulin initiations was examined by a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Kruskal Wallis test was performed to explore difference in the median level of FPG among treatment groups. A logistic regression model was also used to identify associated factors of poor glycemic control after insulin initiation. Statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Of 424 enrolled patients with T2DM, 54.7% were males and the mean age was 59.3±9.3 years. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that there was significant deference in FPG before and after insulin initiation (P < 0.001). A declining trend of blood glucose was observed during the 1-year follow-up period of post-initiation. However, majority of the participants did not achieve target glucose levels. Participants who had higher FPG and systolic blood pressure (SBP) before insulin initiation were found more likely to have poor glycemic control after insulin initiation. Similarly, patients who received atorvastatin compared with simvastatin were found to have poor glycemic control in the post-period of initiation (P = 0.04). Premixed insulin was associated with a lower likelihood of poor glycemic control than neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Following insulin initiation, a significant change in glycemic level and declining trend of FPG was observed during a 1-year follow-up period. However, the majority of patients still had a poorly controlled glycemic level. Appropriate management focusing on predictors of glycemic control would be of a great benefit to achieve glycemic control.

110. Geography and language divergence: The case of Andic languages.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Koile E, Chechuro I, Moroz G

111. The feasibility of a crowd-based early developmental milestone tracking application.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Ben-Sasson A, Jacobs K, Ben-Sasson E.

OBJECTIVE: Parents' tracking of developmental milestones can assist healthcare providers with early detection of developmental delays and appropriate referrals to early intervention. Crowdsourcing is one way to update the content and age data distribution of developmental checklists for parents and providers. This feasibility study examined which developmental milestones parents chose to track and what they added beyond traditional milestones, using the babyTRACKS crowd-based mobile app. METHOD: We analyzed the developmental diaries of 3,832 children, registered in the babyTRACKS app at an average age of 9.3 months. Their parents recorded a median of 5 milestones per diary, selecting from the accumulating lists of age-appropriate milestones or authoring new milestones. The final database included 645 types of milestones; 89.15% were developmental, of which 43.6% were comparable to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) milestones while the rest were crowd-authored. Milestones were categorized into developmental domains: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Oral Motor, Self-Care, Cognitive, Language Comprehension, Speech, Non-Verbal Communication, Social, Emotional, and Regulation. RESULTS: On average, the milestone domains of Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Cognitive and Social were the most added to diaries (20%-30% of a diary). Within the Cognitive, Speech and Language Comprehension domains there were significantly more CDC comparable versus crowd-authored milestones (29% versus 21%, 22% versus 10%, 8% versus 4%). In contrast, within the Regulation and Oral Motor domains there were more crowd versus CDC milestones (17% versus 3%, 9% versus 3%). Crowd-authored Speech milestones were significantly older by 7 months than CDC milestones. CONCLUSION: Tracking daily observations of child development provides a window into personally relevant milestones for the child and parent. The crowd of parents can independently track and add new milestones across main developmental domains. Regulation and Oral Motor development especially interest parents. Parents may be less aware of early progress in Language Comprehension and Speech; thus, these domains require more structured screening. Designing mobile early screening which is crowd-based engages parents as proactive partners in developmental tracking.

112. Analysis of cathepsin S expression in gastric adenocarcinoma and in Helicobacter pylori infection.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Costa AC, Santa-Cruz F, Araújo RLC

113. A potential mechanism for low tolerance feedback loops in social media flagging systems.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Westermann CJ, Coscia M.

114. Protective effect of remote liver ischemic postconditioning on pulmonary ischemia and reperfusion injury in diabetic and non-diabetic rats.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Huang D, Chen C, Zuo Y

115. Which hospital workers do (not) want the jab? Behavioral correlates of COVID-19 vaccine willingness among employees of Swiss hospitals.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Asri A, Asri V, Renerte B

116. Unconstrained coevolution of bacterial size and the latent period of plastic phage.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Bonachela JA, Choua M, Heath MR.

Viruses play critical roles in the dynamics of microbial communities. Lytic viruses, for example, kill significant fractions of autotrophic and heterotrophic microbes daily. The dynamic interplay between viruses and microbes results from an overlap of physiological, ecological, and evolutionary responses: environmental changes trigger host physiological changes, affecting the ecological interactions of host and virus and, ultimately, the evolutionary pressures influencing the two populations. Recent theoretical work studied how the dependence of viral traits on host physiology (viral plasticity) affects the evolutionarily stable host cell size and viral infection time emerging from coevolution. Here, we broaden the scope of the framework to consider any coevolutionary outcome, including potential evolutionary collapses of the system. We used the case study of Escherichia coli and T-like viruses under chemostat conditions, but the framework can be adapted to any microbe-virus system. Oligotrophic conditions led to smaller, lower-quality but more abundant hosts, and infections that were longer but produced a reduced viral offspring. Conversely, eutrophic conditions resulted in fewer but larger higher-quality hosts, and shorter but more productive infections. The virus influenced host evolution decreasing host size more noticeably for low than for high dilution rates, and for high than for low nutrient input concentration. For low dilution rates, the emergent infection time minimized host need/use, but higher dilution led to an opportunistic strategy that shortened the duration of infections. System collapses driven by evolution resulted from host failure to adapt quickly enough to the evolving virus. Our results contribute to understanding the eco-evolutionary dynamics of microbes and virus, and to improving the predictability of current models for host-virus interactions. The large quantitative and qualitative differences observed with respect to a classic description (in which viral traits are assumed to be constant) highlights the importance of including viral plasticity in theories describing short- and long-term host-virus dynamics.

117. Cut-off value for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction based on the features of the airway obstruction.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Kang N, Koh E, Lee JY

118. Cost-effectiveness and impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV among men who have sex with men in Asia: A modelling study.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Ten Brink DC, Martin-Hughes R, Minnery ME

INTRODUCTION: More than 70% of new HIV infections in Asia occurred in eight countries in 2020: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam-with a rising incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for those at risk of acquiring HIV, yet wide-scale implementation of PrEP, on a daily or event-driven basis, has been limited in Asia. METHODS: The Optima HIV model was applied to examine the impact of scaling-up PrEP over five-years to cover an additional 15% of MSM compared with baseline coverage, a target deemed feasible by regional experts. Based on behavioral survey data, we assume that covering 15% of higher-risk MSM will cover 30% of all sexual acts in this group. Scenarios to compare the impact of generic-brand daily dosing of PrEP with generic event-driven dosing (15 days a month) were modelled from the start of 2022 to the end of 2026. Cost-effectiveness of generic versus branded PrEP was also assessed for China, the only country with an active patent for branded, higher cost PrEP. The impact on new HIV infections among the entire population and cost per HIV-related disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted were estimated from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2031 and from 2022 to 2051. RESULTS: If PrEP were scaled-up to cover an additional 15% of MSM engaging in higher-risk behavior from the beginning of 2022 to the end of 2026 in the eight Asian countries considered, an additional 100,000 (66,000-130,000) HIV infections (17%) and 300,000 (198,000-390,000) HIV-related DALYs (3%) could be averted over the 2022 to 2031 period. The estimated cost per HIV-related DALY averted from 2022 to 2031 ranged from US$600 for event-driven generic PrEP in Indonesia to US$34,400 for daily branded PrEP in Thailand. Over a longer timeframe from 2022 to 2051, the cost per HIV-related DALY averted could be reduced to US$100-US$12,700. CONCLUSION: PrEP is a critical tool to further reduce HIV incidence in highly concentrated epidemics. Implementing PrEP in Asia may be cost-effective in settings with increasing HIV prevalence among MSM and if PrEP drug costs can be reduced, PrEP could be more cost-effective over longer timeframes.

119. Interaction of fungal lipase with potential phytotherapeutics.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Naz F, Khan I, Islam A

Interaction of thymol, carvacrol and linalool with fungal lipase and Human Serum Albumin (HSA) have been investigated employing UV-Vis spectroscopy Fluorescence and Circular dichroism spectroscopy (CD) along with docking studies. Thymol, carvacrol and linalool displayed approximately 50% inhibition at 1.5 mmol/litre concentrations using para-nitrophenyl palmitate (pNPP). UV-Vis spectroscopy give evidence of the formation of lipase-linalool, lipase-carvacrol and lipase-thymol complex at the ground state. Three molecules also showed complex formation with HSA at the ground state. Fluorescence spectroscopy shows strong binding of lipase to thymol (Ka of 2.6 x 109 M-1) as compared to carvacrol (4.66 x 107 M-1) and linalool (5.3 x 103 M-1). Number of binding sites showing stoichiometry of association process on lipase is found to be 2.52 (thymol) compared to 2.04 (carvacrol) and 1.12 (linalool). Secondary structure analysis by CD spectroscopy results, following 24 hours incubation at 25°C, with thymol, carvacrol and linalool revealed decrease in negative ellipticity for lipase indicating loss in helical structure as compared with the native protein. The lowering in negative ellipticity was in the order of thymol > carvacrol > linalool. Fluorescence spectra following binding of all three molecules with HSA caused blue shift which suggests the compaction of the HSA structure. Association constant of thymol and HSA is 9.6 x 108 M-1 which along with 'n' value of 2.41 suggests strong association and stable complex formation, association constant for carvacrol and linalool was in range of 107 and 103 respectively. Docking results give further insight into strong binding of thymol, carvacrol and linalool with lipase having free energy of binding as -7.1 kcal/mol, -5.0 kcal/mol and -5.2 kcal/mol respectively. To conclude, fungal lipases can be attractive target for controlling their growth and pathogenicity. Employing UV-Vis, Fluorescence and Circular dichroism spectroscopy we have shown that thymol, carvacrol and linalool strongly bind and disrupt structure of fungal lipase, these three phytochemicals also bind well with HSA. Based on disruption of lipase structure and its binding nature with HSA, we concluded thymol as a best anti-lipase molecule among three molecules tested. Results of Fluorescence and CD spectroscopy taken together suggests that thymol and carvacrol are profound disrupter of lipase structure.

120. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in patients suffering from acute non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage-A single center follow-up study.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Molnár C, Gál J, Szántó D

BACKGROUND: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) is an important complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), that may delay surgical or endovascular treatment and may influence patient outcome. This prospective follow-up study intended to collect data on the prevalence, severity, influencing factors and long-term outcome of TTC in patients suffering from non-traumatic SAH. METHODS: Consecutive patients admitted with the diagnosis of non-traumatic SAH were included. Intitial assessment consisted of cranial CT, Hunt-Hess, Fisher and WFNS scoring, 12-lead ECG, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), transcranial duplex sonography and collecting laboratory parameters (CK, CK-MB, cardiac troponin T, NT-proBNP and urine metanephrine and normetanephrine). Diagnosis of TTC was based on modified Mayo criteria. TTC patients were dichotomized to mild and severe forms. Follow-up of TTE, Glasgow Outcome Scale assessment, Barthel's and Karnofsky scoring occurred on days 30 and 180. RESULTS: One hundred thirty six patients were included. The incidence of TTC in the entire cohort was 28.7%; of them, 20.6% and 8.1% were mild and severe, respectively. TTC was more frequent in females (30/39; 77%) than in males (9/39; 23%) and was more severe. The occurrence of TTC was related to mFisher scores and WFNS scores. Although the severity of TTC was related to mFisher score, Hunt-Hess score, WFNS score and GCS, multivariate analysis showed the strongest relationship with mFisher scores. Ejection fraction differences between groups were present on day 30, but disappeared by day 180, whereas wall motion score index was still higher in the severe TTC group at day 180. By the end of the follow-up period (180 days), 70 (74.5%) patients survived in the non-TTC, 22 (81.5%) in the mild TTC and 3 (27%) in the severe TTC group (n = 11) (p = 0.002). At day 180, GOS, Barthel, and Karnofsky outcome scores were higher in patients in the control (non-TTC) and the mild TTC groups than in the severe TTC group. CONCLUSIONS: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a frequent finding in patients with SAH, and severe TTC may be present in 8% of SAH cases. The severity of TTC may be an independent predictor of mortality and outcome at 6 months after disease onset. Therefore, a regular follow-up of ECG and TTE abnormalities is warranted in patients with subrachnoid hemorrhage for early detection of TTC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at the Clinical Trials Register under the registration number of NCT02659878 (date of registration: January 21, 2016).

121. Differential Hebbian learning with time-continuous signals for active noise reduction.

PLoS One

2022 May 26

Möller K, Kappel D, Tamosiunaite M

122. Serial histological changes in the cartilaginous eustachian tube in the rat following balloon dilation.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Kim Y, Kang JM, Ryu DS

123. Computational design of Lactobacillus Acidophilus α-L-rhamnosidase to increase its structural stability.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Sitthiyotha T, Klaewkla M, Krusong K

124. Identification of key genes and signaling pathways related to Hetian sheep wool density by RNA-seq technology.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Shi R, Li S, Liu P

125. CMV seropositivity is a potential novel risk factor for severe COVID-19 in non-geriatric patients.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Weber S, Kehl V, Erber J

126. Skeletal muscle and abdominal circumference explain intramuscular fat, independent of exercise frequency, in middle-aged Japanese men.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Akima H, Maeda H, Suwa M

127. One-year in: COVID-19 research at the international level in CORD-19 data.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Wagner CS, Cai X, Zhang Y

128. Young children's use of probabilistic reliability and base-rates in decision-making.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Gualtieri S, Attisano E, Denison S.

129. For better or worse: Relationship change in Thailand during COVID-19.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Wiwattanapantuwong J, Tuicomepee A, Suttiwan P

130. Global, high-resolution, reduced-complexity air quality modeling for PM2.5 using InMAP (Intervention Model for Air Pollution).

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Thakrar SK, Tessum CW, Apte JS

131. Students' figurative communication of malaria messages, belief, norms, and practices in Oromia, Ethiopia: A qualitative content analysis approach.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Tareke KG, Hayder A, Teshome F

BACKGROUND: School engagement is an emerging strategy and proven potent vehicles for social and behavioral change communication (SBCC) intervention to prevent and control malaria. Little was known about the figurative speeches used in the malaria messages disseminated and communicated by school students. Therefore, this study evaluated the figurative speeches used in the poems to convey messages related to malarial perceptions, beliefs, norms and practices to prevent and control malaria. METHODS: A qualitative content analysis was conducted to explore the figurative speeches used in malaria messages conveyed in poems produced by primary school students. Twenty poems were purposively selected from twenty schools across rural villages in five districts of Jimma Zone. Data were analyzed using ATLAS.ti version 7.1.4 software. The figurative speeches were presented using central themes and categories supported with quotations. RESULTS: The predominantly used figurative speeches were simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole. Simile was used to express the nature of anopheles mosquito, and sign and symptoms of malaria. The metaphor was used to express malaria, severity/seriousness of malaria and Insecticide-Treated Net (ITN); and also to express the relationship between persons ITN malpractice and its effect on their health. Personification was used to express the nature of anopheles mosquito and malaria. Finally, hyperbole was used to express nature of anopheles mosquito, severity of malaria and exaggerated effect of ITN and Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS). CONCLUSIONS: The students conveyed messages related to malarial perceptions, beliefs, norms and practices of the local community to prevent and control malaria through different types of figurative speeches. Therefore, conceptualizing the local norms, beliefs, values, perception and practices, and expressing in different figurative speeches to convey messages and convince the local community might be important to bring the desired or intended behavioral change.

132. Worldwide suicide mortality trends by firearm (1990-2019): A joinpoint regression analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Ilic I, Zivanovic Macuzic I, Kocic S

133. To what extent does confounding explain the association between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development up to age 14? Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Pereyra-Elías R, Quigley MA, Carson C.

134. Deep learning exoplanets detection by combining real and synthetic data.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Cuéllar S, Granados P, Fabregas E

135. Circulating extracellular vesicles exhibit a differential miRNA profile in gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Thamotharan S, Ghosh S, James-Allan L

We undertook a prospective temporal study collecting blood samples from consenting pregnant women, to test the hypothesis that circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) carrying specific non-coding microRNA signatures can underlie gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). To test this hypothesis, miRNA cargo of isolated and characterized EVs revealed contributions from the placenta and differential expression at all three trimesters and at delivery between pregnant and non-pregnant states. Many miRNAs originate from the placental-specific chromosome 19 microRNA cluster (19MC) and chromosome 14 microRNA cluster (14MC). Further a positive correlation emerged between third trimester and at delivery EVs containing miRNAs and those expressed by the corresponding post-parturient placentas (R value = 0.63 to 0.69, p value = 2.2X10-16), in normal and GDM. In addition, distinct differences at all trimesters emerged between women who subsequently developed GDM. Analysis by logistic regression with leave-one-out-cross validation revealed the optimal combination of miRNAs using all the circulating miRNAs (miR-92a-3p, miR-192-5p, miR-451a, miR-122-5p), or using only the differentially expressed miRNAs (has-miR-92a-3p, hsa-miR-92b-3p, hsa-miR-100-5p and hsa-miR-125a-3p) in GDM during the first trimester. As an initial step, both sets of miRNAs demonstrated a predictive probability with an area under the curve of 0.95 to 0.96. These miRNAs targeted genes involved in cell metabolism, proliferation and immune tolerance. In particular genes of the P-I-3-Kinase, FOXO, insulin signaling and glucogenic pathways were targeted, suggestive of placental connectivity with various maternal organs/cells, altering physiology along with pathogenic mechanisms underlying the subsequent development of GDM. We conclude that circulating EVs originating from the placenta with their miRNA cargo communicate and regulate signaling pathways in maternal organs, thereby predetermining development of GDM.

136. Thiamin stimulates growth, yield quality and key biochemical processes of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var. Botrytis) under arid conditions.

PLoS One

2022 May 25

Jabeen M, Akram NA, Ashraf M

137. Molecular probes of spike ectodomain and its subdomains for SARS-CoV-2 variants, Alpha through Omicron.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Teng IT, Nazzari AF, Choe M

138. Spatial analysis and influencing factors of pulmonary tuberculosis among students in Nanning, during 2012-2018.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Yang DL, Li W, Pan MH

BACKGROUND: Economically underdeveloped areas in western China are hotspots of tuberculosis, especially among students. However, the related spatial and temporal patterns and influencing factors are still unclear and there are few studies to analyze the causes of pulmonary tuberculosis in students from the perspective of space. METHODS: We collected data regarding the reported incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among students at township level in Nanning, from 2012 to 2018. The reported incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among students in Nanning was analyzed using spatial autocorrelation and spatial scan statistical analysis to depict hotspots of PTB incidence and spatial and temporal clustering. Spatial panel data of the reported incidence rates and influencing factors at district and county levels in Nanning were collected from 2015 to 2018. Then, we analyzed the spatial effects of incidence and influencing factors using the spatial Durbin model to explore the mechanism of each influencing factor in areas with high disease prevalence under spatial effects. RESULTS: From 2012 to 2018, 1609 cases of PTB were reported among students in Nanning, with an average annual reported incidence rate of 14.84/100,000. Through the Joinpoint regression model, We observed a steady trend in the percentage of cases reported each year (P>0.05). There was spatial autocorrelation between the annual reported incidence and the seven-years average reported incidence from 2012 to 2018. The high-incidence area was distributed in the junction of six urban areas and spread to the periphery, with the junction at the center. The population of college students, per capita financial expenditure on health, per capita gross domestic product, and the number of health technicians per 1,000 population were all influencing factors in the reported incidence of PTB among students. CONCLUSION: We identified spatial clustering of the reported incidence of PTB among students in Nanning, mainly located in the urban center and its surrounding areas. The clustering gradually decreased from the urban center to the surrounding areas. Spatial effects influenced the reported incidence of PTB. The population density of college students, per capita health financial expenditure, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and the number of health technicians per 1,000 were all influencing factors in the reported incidence of PTB among students.

139. Association of C-peptide and lipoprotein(a) as two predictors with cardiometabolic biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes in KERCADR population-based study.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Mahmoodi MR, Najafipour H.

We sought association between serum Lipoprotein(a) and C-Peptide levels as two predictors with cardiometabolic biomarkers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This nested case-control study was conducted on 253 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and control from the second phase of the KERCADR cohort study. The participants were randomly allocated into case and control groups. The quantitative levels of Lipoprotein(a) and C-Peptide were measured by ELISA. Atherogenic indices of plasma were measured. The plasma Atherogenic Index of Plasma significantly decreased (P = 0.002) in case-male participants, and plasma Castelli Risk Index II level significantly increased (P = 0.008) in control-male participants with the highest dichotomy of Lipoprotein(a). The plasma Atherogenic Index of Plasma level in case-female participants significantly increased (P = 0.023) with the highest dichotomy of C-Peptide. Serum C-Peptide level significantly increased (P = 0.010 and P = 0.002, respectively) in control-male participants with the highest dichotomies of Atherogenic Index of Plasma and Castelli Risk Index I. There was a significant association between the highest quartile of C-Peptide and higher anthropometric values in case participants; and higher atherogenic indices of plasma and anthropometric values in control participants. Raised serum C-peptide than raised Lipoprotein(a) can be a prior predictor for cardiometabolic disease risk in healthy participants and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with increased cardiometabolic biomarkers. Case and control males with general and visceral obesity and case and control females with visceral obesity are exposure to increased C-peptide, respectively. Lipoprotein(a) may be risk independent biomarker for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Reducing raised Lipoprotein(a) levels to less than 30ng/ml with strict control of low density lipoprotein cholesterol would be the best approach to prevent coronary artery disease consequences. It is suggested that a screening system be set up to measure the Lp(a) levels in the community for seemingly healthy people or individuals with one or more cardiometabolic biomarkers.

140. Selective blue-filtering spectacle lens protected primary porcine RPE cells against light emitting diode-induced cell damage.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Yu WY, Shan SSW, Lakshmanan Y

141. Information about dissemination of trial results in patient information leaflets for clinicals trials in the UK and Ireland: The what and the when.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Bjorklund M, Shiely F, Gillies K.

INTRODUCTION: Complete and understandable information is vital for informed consent and this includes how and when potential participants can expect to receive trial results. Informing participants during informed consent about the sharing of trial results is important for addressing participants' needs, ensuring adherence to regulatory guidance, and in fulfilling a moral obligation. METHODS: Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) were collated from across the UK and Ireland. Trial characteristics and data on disseminating trial results was extracted. Analysis included descriptive statistics and a directed content analysis approach. The content analysis framework was informed by regulatory guidance on PIL content and existing research on dissemination of trial results. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and presented as a narrative summary as appropriate. RESULTS: 238 PILs from 178 trials were analysed. Of the 238 PILs, 74% (n = 176) provided information on sharing results with participants, 70% (n = 123) of which described passive methods of disseminating results that require active engagement from the trial participants, i.e., effort required by the participant to seek the results. The majority (90%) of PILs included more than one proposed mode of dissemination that largely targeted healthcare professionals rather than participants. Only 8% of PILs specified a time period for when results could be expected, 47% did not specify a time period (e.g. at end of trial), and 45% included no information on when trial results would be available. CONCLUSION: This study found that majority of the PILs included did include some information about dissemination of trial results. However, modes of dissemination tended to target researchers and clinicians rather than participants and information on when results would be available was often lacking. The findings highlight the need for further research that includes stakeholder input to identify what information on results summaries participants need at the point of making a decision about trial participation.

142. Brain natriuretic peptide measurements using standard biochemical equipment: Comparisons with conventional immunoassays.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Higa Y, Nabeshima Y, Kitano T

BACKGROUND: Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an essential cardiac biomarker for diagnosing heart failure and for prognoses in patients with various cardiac diseases. However, measurement requires immunological assays that are not available in every hospital. Recently, a novel BNP kit (Nanopia BNP-A, Sekisui Inc.; BNPn) that uses general-purpose, automated, biochemical analyzers has become commercially available. We assessed how its accuracy and utility compare with those of conventional immunological tests. METHODS AND RESULTS: We retrospectively collected 1491 conventional BNP measurements (BNPc), which had been clinically indicated for BNP testing and for which residual samples were still stored in the laboratory. We measured BNP using the novel kit and determined the correlation of BNP levels between the two methods. We also assessed the predictive value of both BNP measurements for major cardiac events (MACEs). The analytical performance of both measuring methods was similar. Log-transformed BNP measured by both methods showed strong correlation (r = 0.92); however, log-transformed BNPn was significantly higher than log-transformed BNPc (p<0.001). BNPc of 200 ng/L was used to stratify patients into two groups. According to the regression formula between the two methods, we determined a cut-off value of BNPn as 250 ng/L. During a median of 15 months of follow-up, 43 MACEs developed. Both BNPc and BNPn were associated with MACEs. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that both BNPc and BNPn cut-off values stratified the high-risk group for prognostication. The diagnostic and prognostic utilities were proven even if the lower cut-off values (BNPc = 100 ng/L, BNPn = 130 ng/L) were employed. CONCLUSIONS: A new BNP measurement using biochemical equipment provides prognostic value similar to that of conventional BNP analysis; thus, it should prove useful in hospitals in which conventional immunological examinations are not available.

143. Flow-mediated slowing shows poor repeatability compared with flow-mediated dilation in non-invasive assessment of brachial artery endothelial function.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Marôco JL, Pinto M, Santa-Clara H

144. Mental health and psychosocial support for the war-wounded: A retrospective cohort study from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Nigeria.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Andersen I, Rossi R, Nyamkume PK

BACKGROUND: For more than 150 years, war surgery has been at the heart of the humanitarian assistance offered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in conflict zones around the world. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) is increasingly recognized as an integral part of the medical care offered to this highly vulnerable group of patients. This study seeks to identify patient characteristics associated with high distress prior to MHPSS and predictors of improvement following it. METHODS: Between October 2018 and April 2020, 2,008 weapon-wounded patients received MHPSS in ICRC-supported hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mali and Nigeria. The 21-item Depression and Anxiety Scale (DASS21), the Impact of Events Scale Revised (IES-R) and the ICRC functionality scale for Africa were administered before and after the MHPSS response. Logistic regression models were used to measure associations between outcome and exposure variables. Data was initially collected for monitoring purposes and analyzed retrospectively for the sake of this study. RESULTS: The main reasons for surgery were firearms (65%), other weapons (13%) and mines (5%). Linear trends were found between increasing number of days between violence and first consultation and decreased likelihood of presenting high levels of anxiety (aOR 0.75, p = 0.014), and stress (aOR 0.78, p = 0.032). Violence committed by military/armed group was associated with increased likelihood of reporting high levels of anxiety (aOR 2.47, p = 0.047). On the IES-R, high scores at baseline were more likely to be found among illiterate patients (aOR 0.08, p = 0.042) and having been wounded by firearms considerably increased the likelihood of reporting high levels of PTSD (aOR 21.34, p = 0.035). Following MHPSS, 92.28% of the patients showed a reduction in symptoms on the DASS21, 93.00% showed a reduction in symptoms on the IES-R and 83.04% showed an improvement on the ICRC Africa functioning scale. On the DASS21, factors negatively associated with improved anxiety included lack of social support (aOR 0.17, p = 0.047) and suffering from a chronic medical/physical condition (aOR 0.40, p = 0.013). Patients with reduced IES-R scores were more likely to have a high level of education (aOR 8.95, p = 0.029) and to have received MHPSS that lasted between 22 and 30 days (aOR 8.73, p = 0.008). Predictors of improved functioning included being 35-44 years of age (aOR 3.74, p = 0.004) and suffering from a severe or chronic medical condition (aOR 1.66, p = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical implications of this study include the increased involvement of family and other caregivers in the MHPSS and longer-term follow-up of patients with severe and/or chronic medical conditions. Further research is needed with regard to joint psychological and physical outcomes, the role of the patient's education level and the personal styles and techniques used by the counsellors.

145. Practice of hyperglycaemia control in intensive care units of the Military Hospital, Sudan-Needs of a protocol.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Abd El-Raheem GOH, Abdallah MMA, Noma M.

Hyperglycaemia is a major risk factor in critically ill patients leading to adverse outcomes and mortality in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The target blood glucose remained controversial; this study aimed to contribute in assessing the practice of hyperglycaemia control in intensive care units of the Military Hospital. Furthermore, the study proposed a protocol for hyperglycaemia control based on findings. A hospital-based cross-sectional study assessed the awareness and practice towards hyperglycaemia management in a sample 83 healthcare staff selected through stratified random sampling technique. In addition, 55 patients were enrolled, through quota sampling, after excluding those with diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar-hyperglycaemic state and patients < 18 years. A self-administrated questionnaire enabled to collect data from health staff and patient data were extracted from the medical records. SPSS-23 was used to analyze the collected data. Chi-square and ANOVA tests assessed the association among variables, these tests were considered statistically significant when p ≤ 0.05. The training on hyperglycaemia control differed (p = 0.017) between doctors and nurses. The target glycaemic level (140-180 mg/dl) was known by 11.1% of the study participants. Neither the knowledge nor the practice of hyperglycaemia control methods differed among staff (p> 0.05). The use of sliding scale was prevalent (79.3%) across the ICUs (p = 0.002). 31.5% of the patients had received different glycaemic control methods, 11.8% were in the targeted blood glucose level. Sliding scale was the method used by doctors and nurses (71.4% and 81.6% respectively). Lack of awareness about hyperglycaemia management methods was prevalent among ICU healthcare staff. Use of obsolete methods was the common practice in the ICUS of the Military Hospital. Target blood glucose for patients were unmet. Development of a local protocol for glycaemic control in all ICUs is needed along with sustained training programs on hyperglycaemia control for ICU healthcare staff.

146. The SARS-CoV-2 main protease doesn't induce cell death in human cells in vitro.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Komissarov A, Karaseva M, Roschina M

147. Protocol for a Delphi consensus study to select indicators of high-quality general practice to achieve Quality Equity and Systems Transformation in Primary Health Care (QUEST-PHC) in Australia.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Lau P, Ryan S, Abbott P

BACKGROUND: High-quality general practice has been demonstrated to provide cost-effective, equitable health care and improve health outcomes. Yet there is currently not a set of agreed comprehensive indicators in Australia. We have developed 79 evidence-based indicators and their corresponding 129 measures of high-quality general practice. This study aims to achieve consensus on relevant and feasible indicators and measures for the Australian context. METHODS: This Delphi consensus study, approved by WSU Human Research Ethics Committee, consists of three rounds of online survey with general practice experts including general practitioners, practice nurses and primary health network staff. The identified indicators and measures are grouped under an attribute framework aligned with the Quadruple Aim, and further grouped under structures, processes and outcomes according to the Donabedian framework. Participants will rate each indicator and measure for relevance and feasibility, and provide comments and recommendations of additional indicators or measures. In the last round, participants will also be asked their views on the implementation of a quality indicator tool. Each indicator and measure will require ≥70% agreement in both relevance and feasibility to achieve consensus. Aggregated ratings will be statistically analysed for response rates, level of agreement, medians, interquartile ranges and group rankings. Qualitative responses will be analysed thematically using a mixed inductive and deductive approach. DISCUSSION: This protocol will add to the current knowledge of the translation of performance guidelines into quality practice across complex clinical settings and in a variety of different contexts in Australian general practice. The Delphi technique is appropriate to develop consensus between the diverse experts because of its ability to offer anonymity to other participants and minimise bias. Findings will contribute to the design of an assessment tool of high-quality general practice that would enable future primary health care reforms in Australia.

148. Evaluation of pharmacokinetic interactions of amoxicillin with ranitidine in healthy human volunteers of Karachi, Pakistan.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Perveen S, Gauhar S, Yousuf RI

Polypharmacy may be considered as the customary practice to provide optimum care services to patients but inter resulted in augmented probability of multiple drug interaction. Keeping in view the importance of drug interaction possibility, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of ranitidine on pharmacokinetics of amoxicillin in the local population of Karachi, Pakistan. Amoxicillin and ranitidine are the most commonly prescribed drugs to treat duodenal ulcer caused by Helicobacter pylori. The current investigation was carried out as a single center, open label, two phase, single dose, randomized way in cross over manner to evaluate the potential of pharmacokinetic interaction among amoxicillin formulation and ranitidine in adult healthy male volunteers. Post dosing blood samples were collected at multiple time points that are 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10 hours after administering amoxicillin 250mg capsule with and without ranitidine. For estimation of amoxicillin concentration in plasma, an HPLC method was developed and validated. The solvent system consisted of 0.025M phosphate buffer: acetonitrile (94:6 v/v). C18 column was employed with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/minute and at 230nm. A linear pattern with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 in the concentration ranges of 25μg/mL to 0.097μg/mL for amoxicillin and 25μg/mL to 0.048μg/mL for ranitidine was observed. Amoxicillin retention time was about 8 minutes and ranitidine retention time was around 12 minutes. Amoxicillin levels were computed and the concentrations were applied to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by Kinetica TM 4.4.1 (Thermo Electron Corp. USA). The analysis of variance (two way) and t test (two one sided) were applied on log transformed pharmacokinetic parameters of amoxicillin. The Tmax was determined between amoxicillin alone and amoxicillin with ranitidine by Friedman test. The 90% confidence interval values for Cmax(calc) (0.687-0.743) and Tmax(calc) (1.148-1.742) for amoxicillin with or without ranitidine were not found within the FDA acceptable limits of 0.8-1.25. Study demonstrated the significant reduction in peak plasma levels of amoxicillin in presence of ranitidine. It is advisable to administer both drugs with time interval to avoid such interactions and increases in the bactericidal efficacy of amoxicillin.

149. Anxiety, depression, and substance experimentation in childhood.

PLoS One

2022 May 24

Klein RJ, Gyorda JA, Jacobson NC.

150. Performance analysis of graphene modified asphalt and pavement performance of SMA mixture.

PLoS One

2022 May 23

Yong P, Tang J, Zhou F

151. Environmental conditions driven method for automobile cabin pre-conditioning with multi-satisfaction objectives.

PLoS One

2022 May 23

Li W, Chen J, Lan F.

The optimal initial pre-conditioning parameter is essential to properly adjust the temperature within the cabin in an effective and accurate way, especially while passengers' thermal comfort and energy-saving properties are both considered. Under the various environmental thermal loads, the pre-conditioning solutions resulting from those pre-fixed cooling parameters are unfeasible for achieving accurately passengers' comfort temperature. In addition, it is also difficult in such a narrow car space to identify a lot of local attributes due to the different material properties and sizes of a variety of structural parts that have various thermal responses to environmental conditions. This paper presents a data-driven decision model to numerically identify the degrees of the cabin thermal characteristic to determine satisfactory pre-conditioning parameter schemes. Initially, based on the thermal data within a vehicle recorded through the whole year at a selected hot climate region of the Middle East, the study levels multiple climate scenes corresponding to change in the cabin air temperature. Then three classification algorithms (Support Vector Machines, Decision Tree, and K-nearest neighbor model) are used to comparatively identify climate levels according to the input conditions. Based on the identified climate level, an appropriate parameters scheme for this level is applied. A comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) is proposed to characterize the passengers' satisfaction in numerical computation, on considering multi-satisfaction objectives including Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), local temperature, air quality, and energy efficiency; and it formulates the pre-conditioning parameter scheme for each climate scene with CEI. Several scene cases are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed models. The result shows that the pre-conditioning schemes of the model can effectively satisfy passengers in multi-satisfaction objectives.

152. Subsistence strategy mediates ecological drivers of human violence.

PLoS One

2022 May 23

McCool WC, Vernon KB, Yaworsky PM

153. Neospora caninum infection in aborting bovines and lost fetuses: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 23

Nayeri T, Moosazadeh M, Sarvi S

154. Estimating the total prevalence of PTSD among the UK police force: Formal comment on Stevelink et al. (2020).

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Brewin CR, Miller JK, Burchell B.

155. Detection of silent infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by serological tests.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Nishimura M, Sugawa S, Ota S

156. Radiocesium-bearing microparticles cause a large variation in 137Cs activity concentration in the aquatic insect Stenopsyche marmorata (Tricoptera: Stenopsychidae) in the Ota River, Fukushima, Japan.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Ishii Y, Miura H, Jo J

157. Measuring equity of access to eye health outreach camps in rural Malawi.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Trotignon G, Engels T, Saeed Ali S

INTRODUCTION: Equity in the access and use of health services is critical if countries are to make progress towards universal health coverage and address the systematic exclusion of the most vulnerable groups. The purpose of this study was to assess if the Co-ordinated Approach To Community Health programme implemented by Sightsavers was successful in reaching the poorest population, women, and people living with disabilities in Kasungu district, Malawi. METHODS: Between April and September 2017, data on socio-economic status, household characteristics and functional disability were collected from patients attending at eye camps in Kasungu district, Malawi. Using asset-based tools to measure household wealth (EquityTool© and Simple Poverty Scorecard©) and the Washington Group Short Set of Questions, individuals were categorised by wealth quintiles, poverty status, and functional disability status and then compared to relevant representative national household surveys. In addition, a follow-up household survey was conducted to check the validity of self-reported household characteristics at eye camps. RESULTS: A total of 1,358 individuals participated in the study. The study shows that self-reported data on household characteristics and assets are reliable and can be collected in clinical settings (instead of relying on direct observations of assets). Individuals attending outreach camps were poorer in terms of relative wealth and absolute poverty rates compared to the rest of the population in Kasungu. It was estimated that 9% of the participants belonged to the poorest quintile compared to 4% for the population in Kasungu (DHS 2015-2016). The ultra-poverty rate was also lower among respondents (13%) compared to 15% for Kasungu district (IHS 2017). The functional disability rate was 27.5% for study participants, and statistically higher than the general population (5.6%, SENTIF 2017). Even though women are more at risks than men, 54% of the participants were men. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that existing tools can be reliably used, and combined, if based on recent population data, to assess equity of access to health services for vulnerable groups of the population. The findings suggest that the programme was successful in reaching the poorest people of the Kasungu district population as well as those with disabilities through outreach camps but that more men than women were reach through the programme. Subsequently, our study showed that self-reported household characteristics are a reliable method to measure asset-based wealth of camps' attendee. However, it is essential to use sub-national data (district or regional level) from recent surveys for the purpose of benchmarking in order to produce accurate results.

158. Assessing climate change impacts on Pacific salmon and trout using bioenergetics and spatiotemporal explicit river temperature predictions under varying riparian conditions.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Spanjer AR, Gendaszek AS, Wulfkuhle EJ

Pacific salmon and trout populations are affected by timber harvest, the removal and alteration of riparian vegetation, and the resulting physical changes to water quality, temperature, and associated delivery of high-quality terrestrial prey. Juvenile salmon and trout growth, a key predictor of survival, is poorly understood in the context of current and future (climate-change mediated) conditions, with resource managers needing information on how land use will impact future river conditions for these commercially and culturally important species. We used the Heat Source water temperature modeling framework to develop a spatiotemporal model to assess how riparian canopy and vegetation preservation and addition could influence river temperatures under future climate predictions in a coastal river fed by a moraine-dammed lake: the Quinault River in Washington State. The model predicted higher water temperatures under future carbon emission projections, representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5, with varying magnitude based on different riparian vegetation scenarios. We used the daily average temperature output from these scenarios to predict potential juvenile fish growth using the Wisconsin bioenergetics model. A combination of riparian vegetation removal and continued high carbon emissions resulted in a predicted seven-day average daily maximum temperature (7DADM) increase of 1.7°C in the lower river by 2080; increases in riparian shading mitigate this 7DADM increase to only 0.9°C. Under the current thermal regime, bioenergetics modeling predicts juvenile fish lose weight in the lower river; this loss of potential growth worsens by an average of 20-83% in the lower river by 2080, increasing with the loss of riparian shading. This study assess the impact of riparian vegetation management on future thermal habitat for Pacific salmon and trout under warming climates and provide a useful spatially explicit modeling framework that managers can use to make decisions regarding riparian vegetation management and its mechanistic impact to water temperature and rearing juvenile fish.

159. Automatic reagent handling and assay processing of human biospecimens inside a transportation container for a medical disaster response against radiation.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Akkad AR, Gu J, Duane B

160. A spatial interaction incorporated betweenness centrality measure.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Wu X, Cao W, Wang J

161. Ownership structure and financial performance: Evidence from Kenyan commercial banks.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Kirimi PN, Kariuki SN, Ocharo KN.

162. A new cryptic species of green pit viper of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from northeast India.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Rathee YS, Purkayastha J, Lalremsanga HT

163. MAECI: A pipeline for generating consensus sequence with nanopore sequencing long-read assembly and error correction.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Lang J.

164. Spatial variation in food web structure in a recovering marine ecosystem.

PLoS One

2022 May 20

Krumsick KJ, Fisher JAD.

165. Downstream retraction of preprinted research in the life and medical sciences.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Avissar-Whiting M.

Retractions have been on the rise in the life and clinical sciences in the last decade, likely due to both broader accessibility of published scientific research and increased vigilance on the part of publishers. In this same period, there has been a greater than ten-fold increase in the posting of preprints by researchers in these fields. While this development has significantly accelerated the rate of research dissemination and has benefited early-career researchers eager to show productivity, it has also introduced challenges with respect to provenance tracking, version linking, and, ultimately, back-propagation of events such as corrigenda, expressions of concern, and retractions that occur on the journal-published version. The aim of this study was to understand the extent of this problem among preprint servers that routinely link their preprints to the corollary versions published in journals. To present a snapshot of the current state of downstream retractions of articles preprinted in three large preprint servers (Research Square, bioRxiv, and medRxiv), the DOIs of the journal-published versions linked to preprints were matched to entries in the Retraction Watch database. A total of 30 retractions were identified, representing only 0.01% of all content posted on these servers. Of these, 11 retractions were clearly noted by the preprint servers; however, the existence of a preprint was only acknowledged by the retracting journal in one case. The time from publication to retraction averaged 278 days, notably lower than the average for articles overall (839 days). In 70% of cases, retractions downstream of preprints were due-at least in part-to ethical or procedural misconduct. In 63% of cases, the nature of the retraction suggested that the conclusions were no longer reliable. Over time, the lack of propagation of critical information across the publication life cycle will pose a threat to the scholarly record and to scientific integrity. It is incumbent on preprint servers, publishers, and the systems that connect them to address these issues before their scale becomes untenable.

166. The promotion of functional expected teaching-related emotions through expressive writing.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Forster M, Kuhbandner C.

167. Comparison of public discussions of gene editing on social media between the United States and China.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Ji J, Robbins M, Featherstone JD

168. Skeletal muscle analysis of panoramic ultrasound is reliable across multiple raters.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Cleary CJ, Nabavizadeh O, Young KL

169. SinGAN-Seg: Synthetic training data generation for medical image segmentation.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Thambawita V, Salehi P, Sheshkal SA

Analyzing medical data to find abnormalities is a time-consuming and costly task, particularly for rare abnormalities, requiring tremendous efforts from medical experts. Therefore, artificial intelligence has become a popular tool for the automatic processing of medical data, acting as a supportive tool for doctors. However, the machine learning models used to build these tools are highly dependent on the data used to train them. Large amounts of data can be difficult to obtain in medicine due to privacy reasons, expensive and time-consuming annotations, and a general lack of data samples for infrequent lesions. In this study, we present a novel synthetic data generation pipeline, called SinGAN-Seg, to produce synthetic medical images with corresponding masks using a single training image. Our method is different from the traditional generative adversarial networks (GANs) because our model needs only a single image and the corresponding ground truth to train. We also show that the synthetic data generation pipeline can be used to produce alternative artificial segmentation datasets with corresponding ground truth masks when real datasets are not allowed to share. The pipeline is evaluated using qualitative and quantitative comparisons between real data and synthetic data to show that the style transfer technique used in our pipeline significantly improves the quality of the generated data and our method is better than other state-of-the-art GANs to prepare synthetic images when the size of training datasets are limited. By training UNet++ using both real data and the synthetic data generated from the SinGAN-Seg pipeline, we show that the models trained on synthetic data have very close performances to those trained on real data when both datasets have a considerable amount of training data. In contrast, we show that synthetic data generated from the SinGAN-Seg pipeline improves the performance of segmentation models when training datasets do not have a considerable amount of data. All experiments were performed using an open dataset and the code is publicly available on GitHub.

170. Software reliability model of open source software based on the decreasing trend of fault introduction.

PLoS One

2022 May 2

Wang J, Zhang C, Yang J.

171. CSCAHHO: Chaotic hybridization algorithm of the Sine Cosine with Harris Hawk optimization algorithms for solving global optimization problems.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Zhang YJ, Yan YX, Zhao J

172. Determinants of hospital outcomes for patients with COVID-19 in the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Shaw PA, Yang JB, Mowery DL

There is growing evidence that racial and ethnic minorities bear a disproportionate burden from COVID-19. Temporal changes in the pandemic epidemiology and diversity in the clinical course require careful study to identify determinants of poor outcomes. We analyzed 6255 hospitalized individuals with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from one of 5 hospitals in the University of Pennsylvania Health System between March 2020 and March 2021, using electronic health records to assess risk factors and outcomes through 8 weeks post-admission. Discharge, readmission and mortality outcomes were analyzed in a multi-state model with multivariable Cox models for each transition. Mortality varied markedly over time, with cumulative incidence (95% CI) 30 days post-admission of 19.1% (16.9, 21.3) in March-April 2020, 5.7% (4.2, 7.5) in July-October 2020 and 10.5% (9.1,12.0) in January-March 2021; 26% of deaths occurred after discharge. Average age (SD) at admission varied from 62.7 (17.6) to 54.8 (19.9) to 60.5 (18.1); mechanical ventilation use declined from 21.3% to 9-11%. Compared to Caucasian, Black race was associated with more severe disease at admission, higher rates of co-morbidities and residing in a low-income zip code. Between-race risk differences in mortality risk diminished in multivariable models; while admitting hospital, increasing age, admission early in the pandemic, and severe disease and low blood pressure at admission were associated with increased mortality hazard. Hispanic ethnicity was associated with fewer baseline co-morbidities and lower mortality hazard (0.57, 95% CI: 0.37, .087). Multi-state modeling allows for a unified framework to analyze multiple outcomes throughout the disease course. Morbidity and mortality for hospitalized COVID-19 patients varied over time but post-discharge mortality remained non-trivial. Black race was associated with more risk factors for morbidity and with treatment at hospitals with lower mortality. Multivariable models suggest there are not between-race differences in outcomes. Future work is needed to better understand the identified between-hospital differences in mortality.

173. Multi-locus SNP analyses of interleukin 1 receptor associated kinases 2 gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Ghouri M, Ismail M, Zaidi SA

174. Highly prevalent MDR, frequently carrying virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance genes in Salmonella enterica serovar 4,[5],12:i:- isolates from Guizhou Province, China.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Long L, You L, Wang D

Salmonella enterica serovar 4,[5],12:i:-, a monophasic variant of Salmonella Typhimurium lacking the phase 2 flagellin, is one of the common serotypes causing Salmonellosis worldwide. However, information on Salmonella serovar 4,[5],12:i:- from Guizhou Province has lacked so far. This study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance, the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence genes, and characterize the MLST genotypes of Salmonella serovar 4,[5],12:i:- isolates from Guizhou province, China. We collected 363 non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) isolates of Guizhou from 2013 to 2018. Biochemical identification, serogroups testing, and specific multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assay were conducted to identify Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- isolates. Isolates were determined the antimicrobial resistance by the micro broth dilution method, detected the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence genes by PCR, and examined the molecular genotyping by Multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Eighty-seven Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- isolates were detected, accounting for 23.9% (87/363) of the total NTS isolates. All Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- isolates showed highly resistant to sulfaoxazole (93.1%), streptomycin (90.8%), ampicillin (88.5%), tetracycline (86.2%) and doxycycline (86.2%). A high proportion (94.2%) of multi-drug resistance (MDR) isolates were found. Most (83.9%) Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- isolates carried four antimicrobial resistance genes, especially blaTEM-1, strA-strB, sul2, and tetB genes. Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- isolates showed a high rate of invA, sseL, mgtC, siiE, sopB, gipA, gtgB, sspH1, and sspH2 (72.4%~98.9%). On the contrary, none of the isolates were detected the spvC and pefA genes. MLST analysis revealed three sequence types (STs), and ST34 (97.7%) was the dominant sequence type. This study is the first report of Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- in humans from Guizhou province, China. The data might be useful for rational antimicrobial usage against Salmonella 4,[5],12:i:- infections, risk management, and public health strategies in Guizhou.

175. Improved WOA and its application in feature selection.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Liu W, Guo Z, Jiang F

176. High-throughput widefield fluorescence imaging of 3D samples using deep learning for 2D projection image restoration.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Forsgren E, Edlund C, Oliver M

Fluorescence microscopy is a core method for visualizing and quantifying the spatial and temporal dynamics of complex biological processes. While many fluorescent microscopy techniques exist, due to its cost-effectiveness and accessibility, widefield fluorescent imaging remains one of the most widely used. To accomplish imaging of 3D samples, conventional widefield fluorescence imaging entails acquiring a sequence of 2D images spaced along the z-dimension, typically called a z-stack. Oftentimes, the first step in an analysis pipeline is to project that 3D volume into a single 2D image because 3D image data can be cumbersome to manage and challenging to analyze and interpret. Furthermore, z-stack acquisition is often time-consuming, which consequently may induce photodamage to the biological sample; these are major barriers for workflows that require high-throughput, such as drug screening. As an alternative to z-stacks, axial sweep acquisition schemes have been proposed to circumvent these drawbacks and offer potential of 100-fold faster image acquisition for 3D-samples compared to z-stack acquisition. Unfortunately, these acquisition techniques generate low-quality 2D z-projected images that require restoration with unwieldy, computationally heavy algorithms before the images can be interrogated. We propose a novel workflow to combine axial z-sweep acquisition with deep learning-based image restoration, ultimately enabling high-throughput and high-quality imaging of complex 3D-samples using 2D projection images. To demonstrate the capabilities of our proposed workflow, we apply it to live-cell imaging of large 3D tumor spheroid cultures and find we can produce high-fidelity images appropriate for quantitative analysis. Therefore, we conclude that combining axial z-sweep image acquisition with deep learning-based image restoration enables high-throughput and high-quality fluorescence imaging of complex 3D biological samples.

177. Nano-hydroxyapatite improves intestinal absorption of acetazolamide (BCS Class IV drug)-but how?

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Kaneko K, Miyasaka R, Hayman R.

We earlier reported that coating poorly water-soluble drugs with nano-hydroxyapatite (nano-HAP) improves bioavailability after oral administration. In the present study, we coated BCS Class IV drug acetazolamide (AZ) with nano-HAP (AZ/HAP formulation), and investigated its bioavailability and nano-HAP's role in promoting it. We tested AZ bioavailability after a single oral dose of the AZ/HAP formulation in rats, followed by a series of in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo testing. The binding state of AZ and nano-HAP was analyzed by gel filtration chromatography. AZ permeability was studied using a Caco-2 cell monolayer assay kit, to test for tight junction penetration, then using an Ussing chamber mounted with intestinal epithelium, both with and without Peyer's patch tissue, to examine the role of intracellular transport. Fluorescence-labeled nano-HAP particles were administered orally in rats to investigate their localization in the intestinal tract. The area under the blood concentration time-curve in rats was about 4 times higher in the AZ/HAP formulation group than in the untreated AZ group. Gel filtration analysis showed AZ and nano-HAP were not bound. The Caco-2 study showed equivalent AZ permeability for both groups, but without significant change in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), indicating that tight junctions were not penetrated. In the Ussing chamber study, no significant difference in AZ permeability between the two groups was observed for epithelium containing Peyer's patch tissue, but for epithelium without Peyer's patch tissue, at high concentration, significantly higher permeability in the AZ/HAP formulation group was observed. Fluorescent labeling showed nano-HAP particles were present in both intestinal villi and Peyer's patch tissue 30 min after oral administration. Our results suggest that nano-HAP's enhancement of drug permeability from the small intestine occurs not via tight junctions, but intracellularly, via the intestinal villi. Further study to elucidate the mechanism of this permeability enhancement is required.

178. Relationship of neighborhood and individual socioeconomic status on mortality among older adults: Evidence from cross-level interaction analyses.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Kim T.

BACKGROUND: The influence of community context and individual socioeconomic status on health is widely recognized. However, the dynamics of how the relationship of neighborhood context on health varies by individual socioeconomic status is less well understood. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between neighborhood context and mortality among older adults and examine how the influence of neighborhood context on mortality differs by individual socioeconomic status, using two measures of income-level and homeownership. RESEARCH DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: A retrospective study of 362,609 Medicare Advantage respondents to the 2014-2015 Medicare Health Outcomes Survey aged 65 and older. MEASURES: Neighborhood context was defined using the deciles of the Area Deprivation Index. Logistic regression was used to analyze mortality with interaction terms between income/homeownership and neighborhood deciles to examine cross-level relationships, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, number of chronic conditions, obese/underweight, difficulties in activities of daily living, smoking status, and survey year. Predicted mortality rates by group were calculated from the logistic model results. RESULTS: Low-income individuals (8.9%) and nonhomeowners (9.1%) had higher mortality rates compared to higher-income individuals (5.3%) and homeowners (5.3%), respectively, and the differences were significant across all neighborhoods even after adjustment. With regression adjustment, older adults residing in less disadvantaged neighborhoods showed lower predicted 2-year mortality among high-income (4.86% in the least disadvantaged neighborhood; 6.06% in the most disadvantaged neighborhood; difference p-value<0.001) or homeowning individuals (4.73% in the least disadvantaged neighborhood; 6.25% in the most disadvantaged neighborhood; difference p-value<0.001). However, this study did not observe a significant difference in predicted mortality rates among low-income individuals by neighborhood (8.7% in the least disadvantaged neighborhood; 8.61% in the most disadvantaged neighborhood; difference p-value = 0.825). CONCLUSIONS: Low-income or non-homeowning older adults had a higher risk of mortality regardless of neighborhood socioeconomic status. While living in a less disadvantaged neighborhood provided a protective association for higher-income or homeowning older adults, low-income older adults did not experience an observable benefit.

179. Sensitivity of discrete symmetry metrics: Implications for metric choice.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Hill A, Nantel J.

180. Assessing behavioral sex differences to chemical cues of predation risk while provisioning nestlings in a hole-nesting bird.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Saavedra I, Tomás G, Amo L.

181. Interplay between SERCA, 4E-BP, and eIF4E in the Drosophila heart.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Santalla M, García A, Mattiazzi A

182. Markers of endothelial cell activation are associated with the severity of pulmonary disease in COVID-19.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Osburn WO, Smith K, Yanek L

183. Predictors of Hepatitis B screening and vaccination status of young psychoactive substance users in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Ssekamatte T, Isunju JB, Mutyoba JN

BACKGROUND: Young psychoactive substance users exhibit high-risk behaviours such as unprotected sexual intercourse, and sharing needles and syringes, which increases their risk of Hepatitis B infection. However, there is limited evidence of screening, and vaccination status of this subgroup. The aim of this study was to establish the predictors of screening and completion of the hepatitis B vaccination schedule. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using respondent driven sampling was used to enrol respondents from twelve out of fifty-seven informal settlements in Kampala city. Data were collected using an electronic structured questionnaire uploaded on the KoboCollect mobile application, and analysed using Stata version 14. A "modified" Poisson regression analysis was done to determine the predictors of screening while logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of completion of the Hepatitis B vaccination schedule. RESULTS: About 13.3% (102/768) and 2.7% (21/768) of the respondents had ever screened for Hepatitis B, and completed the Hepatitis B vaccination schedule respectively. Being female (aPR 1.61, 95% CI: 1.11-2.33), earning a monthly income >USD 136 (aPR 1.78, 95% CI: 1.11-2.86); completion of the Hepatitis B vaccination schedule (aPR 1.85, 95% CI: 1.26-2.70); lack of awareness about the recommended Hepatitis B vaccine dose (aPR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.27-0.68); and the belief that the Hepatitis B vaccine is effective in preventing Hepatitis B infection (aPRR 3.67, 95% CI: 2.34-5.73) were associated with "ever screening" for Hepatitis B. Knowledge of the recommended Hepatitis B vaccine dose (aOR 0.06, 95% CI: 0.01-0.35); "ever screening" for hepatitis B (aOR 9.68, 95% CI: 2.17-43.16) and the belief that the hepatitis B vaccine is effective in preventing Hepatitis B infection (aOR 11.8, 95% CI: 1.13-110.14) were associated with completion of the hepatitis B vaccination schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a low prevalence of Hepatitis B screening and completion of the Hepatitis B vaccination schedule among young psychoactive substance users in informal settings. It is evident that lack of awareness about Hepatitis B is associated with the low screening and vaccination rates. We recommend creation of awareness of Hepatitis B among young people in urban informal settlements.

184. The effects of vertical trunk supportability improvement on one-leg rebound jump efficiency.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Kazuaki K, Ishida K, Hashimoto M

185. COVID-19 vaccine: A 2021 analysis of perceptions on vaccine safety and promise in a U.S. sample.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Osuji VC, Galante EM, Mischoulon D

BACKGROUND: Despite reliable evidence-based research supporting the COVID-19 vaccines, population-wide confidence and trust remain limited. We sought to expand prior knowledge about COVID-19 vaccine perceptions, while determining which population groups are at greatest risk for not getting a vaccine. METHODS: Study participants in the U.S. (79% female, median age group 46-60 years) were recruited through an online Qualtrics survey distributed as a Facebook advertisement from 3/19/21-4/30/21. We assumed that every participant is at risk of COVID-19 infection and should be able to get the vaccine with proper access. Bivariate and multivariable models were performed. Collinearity between variables was assessed. RESULTS: A total of 2,626 responses were generated and 2,259 were included in data analysis. According to our multivariate model analysis, vaccines were perceived as safe by those who had or planned to obtain full vaccination (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95% confidence interval) = 40.0 (19.0, 84.2); p< 0.0001) and those who indicated trust in science (aOR = 10.5 (5.1, 21.8); p< 0.0001); vaccines were perceived as not safe by those who self-identified as Republicans vs. self-identified Democrats (aOR = 0.2 (0.1, 0.5); p = 0.0020) and those with high school or lower education (aOR = 0.2 (0.1, 0.4); p = 0.0007). Similarly, according to our multivariate model analysis, the following groups were most likely to reject vaccination based on belief in vaccinations: those with lower income (aOR = 0.8 (0.6, 0.9); p = 0.0106), those who do not know anyone who had been vaccinated (aOR = 0.1 (0.1, 0.4); p< 0.0001), those who are unwilling to get vaccinated even if family and friends had done so (aOR = 0.1 (<0.1, 0.2); p< 0.0001), those who did not trust science (aOR < 0.1 (<0.1, 0.1); p< 0.0001), those who believe that vaccination was unnecessary if others had already been vaccinated (aOR = 2.8 (1.5, 5.1); p = 0.0007), and those who indicate refusal to vaccinate to help others (aOR = 0.1 (0.1, 0.2); p< 0.0001). An alpha of p<0.05 was used for all tests. CONCLUSION: Level of education and partisanship, but not race/ethnicity, were the most likely factors associated with vaccine hesitancy or likelihood to vaccinate. Also, low vaccination rates among underrepresented minorities may be due to distrust for healthcare industries. Population sub-groups less likely to be vaccinated and/or receptive to vaccines should be targeted for vaccine education and incentives.

186. Diagnostic value of smartphone in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Kim DH, Kim SW, Hwang SH.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic utility of smartphone-based measurement in detecting moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). METHODS: Six databases were thoroughly reviewed. Random-effect models were used to estimate the summary sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, diagnostic odds ratio, summary receiver operating characteristic curve and measured the areas under the curve. To assess the accuracy and precision, pooled mean difference and standard deviation of apnea hypopnea index (AHI) between smartphone and polysomnography (95% limits of agreement) across studies were calculated using the random-effects model. Study methodological quality was evaluated using the QUADAS-2 tool. RESULTS: Eleven studies were analyzed. The smartphone diagnostic odds ratio for moderate-to-severe OSAS (apnea/hypopnea index > 15) was 57.3873 (95% confidence interval [CI]: [34.7462; 94.7815]). The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.917. The sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were 0.9064 [0.8789; 0.9282], 0.8801 [0.8227; 0.9207], 0.9049 [0.8556; 0.9386], and 0.8844 [0.8234; 0.9263], respectively. We performed subgroup analysis based on the various OSAS detection methods (motion, sound, oximetry, and combinations thereof). Although the diagnostic odds ratios, specificities, and negative predictive values varied significantly (all p < 0.05), all methods afforded good sensitivity (> 80%). The sensitivities and positive predictive values were similar for the various methods (both p > 0.05). The mean difference with standard deviation in the AHI between smartphone and polysomnography was -0.6845 ± 1.611 events/h [-3.8426; 2.4735]. CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone could be used to screen the moderate-to-severe OSAS. The mean difference between smartphones and polysomnography AHI measurements was small, though limits of agreement was wide. Therefore, clinicians should be cautious when making clinical decisions based on these devices.

187. Post-healing follow-up study of patients in remission for diabetic foot ulcers Pied-REM study.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Bouly M, Laborne FX, Tourte C

188. Texture analysis of magnetic resonance image to differentiate benign from malignant myxoid soft tissue tumors: A retrospective comparative study.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Chang H, Kang Y, Ahn JM

It is important to differentiate between benign and malignant myxoid tumors to establish the treatment plan, determine the optimal surgical extent, and plan postoperative surveillance, but differentiation may be complicated by imaging-feature overlap. Texture analysis is used for quantitative assessment of imaging characteristics based on mathematically calculated pixel heterogeneity and has been applied to the discrimination of benign from malignant soft tissue tumors (STTs). In this study, we aimed to assess the diagnostic value of the texture features of conventional magnetic resonance images for the differentiation of benign from malignant myxoid STTs. Magnetic resonance images of 39 patients with histologically confirmed myxoid STTs of the extremities were analyzed. Qualitative features were assessed and compared between the benign and malignant groups. Texture analysis was performed, and texture features were selected based on univariate analysis and Fisher's coefficient. The diagnostic value of the texture features was assessed using receiver operating curve analysis. T1 heterogeneity showed a statistically significant difference between benign and malignant myxoid STTs, with substantial inter-reader reliability. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of T1 heterogeneity were 55.6%, 83.3%, 88.2%, 45.5%, and 64.1%, respectively. Among the texture features, T2w-WavEnLL_s-3 showed good diagnostic performance, and T2w-WavEnLL_s-4 and GeoW4 showed fair diagnostic performance. The logistic regression model including T1 heterogeneity and T2_WavEnLL_s-4 showed good diagnostic performance. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the overall qualitative assessment by a radiologist and the predictor model. Geometry-based and wavelet-derived texture features from T2-weighted images were significantly different between benign and malignant myxoid STTs. However, the texture features had a limited additive value in differentiating benign from malignant myxoid STTs.

189. The added value of right ventricular function normalized for afterload to improve risk stratification of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Vicenzi M, Caravita S, Rota I

BACKGROUND: Risk stratification is central to the management of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). For this purpose, multiparametric tools have been developed, including the ESC/ERS risk score and its simplified versions derived from large database analysis such as the COMPERA and the French Pulmonary Hypertension Network (FPHN) registries. However, the distinction between high and intermediate-risk profiles may be difficult as the latter lacks granularity. In addition, neither COMPERA or FPHN strategies included imaging-derived markers. We thus aimed at investigating whether surrogate echocardiographic markers of right ventricular (RV) to pulmonary artery (PA) coupling could improve risk stratification in patients at intermediate-risk. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A single-center retrospective analysis including 102 patients with a diagnosis of PAH was performed. COMPERA and FPHN strategies were applied to stratify clinical risk. The univariate linear regression was used to test the influence of the echo-derived parameters qualifying the right heart (right ventricle basal diameter, right atrial area, and pressure, tricuspid regurgitation velocity, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion -TAPSE-). Among these, the TAPSE and tricuspid regurgitation velocity ratio (TAPSE/TRV) as well as the TAPSE and systolic pulmonary artery pressure ratio (TAPSE/sPAP) were considered as surrogate of RV-PA coupling. RESULTS: TAPSE/TRV and TAPSE/sPAP resulted the more powerful markers of prognosis. Once added to COMPERA, TAPSE/TRV or TAPSE/sPAP significantly dichotomized intermediate-risk group in intermediate-to-low-risk (TAPSE/TRV≥3.74 mm∙nm/s)-1 or TAPSE/sPAP≥0.24 mm/mmHg) and in intermediate-to-high-risk subgroups (TAPSE/TRV<3.74 mm∙(m/s)-1 or TAPSE/sPAP<0.24 mm/mmHg). In the same way, TAPSE/TRV or TAPSE/sPAP was able to select patients at lower risk among those with 2, 1, and 0 low-risk criteria of both invasive and non-invasive FPHN registries. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that adopting functional-hemodynamic echo-derived parameters may provide a more accurate risk stratification in patients with PAH. In particular, TAPSE/TRV or TAPSE/sPAP improved risk stratification in patients at intermediate-risk, that otherwise would have remained less characterized.

190. Perturbation-based trunk stabilization training in elite rowers: A pilot study.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Schäfer R, Schäfer H, Platen P.

191. Pilot study evaluating everolimus molecular mechanisms in tuberous sclerosis complex and focal cortical dysplasia.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Leitner DF, Kanshin E, Askenazi M

BACKGROUND: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and some focal cortical dysplasias (FCDs) are associated with dysfunctional mTOR signaling, resulting in increased cell growth and ribosomal S6 protein phosphorylation (phospho-S6). mTOR inhibitors can reduce TSC tumor growth and seizure frequency, and preclinical FCD studies indicate seizure suppression. This pilot study evaluated safety of mTOR inhibitor everolimus in treatment resistant (failure of >2 anti-seizure medications) TSC and FCD patients undergoing surgical resection and to assess mTOR signaling and molecular pathways. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We evaluated everolimus in 14 treatment resistant epilepsy patients undergoing surgical resection (4.5 mg/m2 daily for 7 days; n = 4 Active, mean age 18.3 years, range 4-26; n = 10, Control, mean age 13.1, range 3-45). Everolimus was well tolerated. Mean plasma everolimus in Active participants were in target range (12.4 ng/ml). Brain phospho-S6 was similar in Active and Control participants with a lower trend in Active participants, with Ser235/236 1.19-fold (p = 0.67) and Ser240/244 1.15-fold lower (p = 0.66). Histologically, Ser235/236 was 1.56-fold (p = 0.37) and Ser240/244 was 5.55-fold lower (p = 0.22). Brain proteomics identified 11 proteins at <15% false discovery rate associated with coagulation system (p = 1.45x10-9) and acute phase response (p = 1.23x10-6) activation. A weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) of brain proteomics and phospho-S6 identified 5 significant modules. Higher phospho-S6 correlated negatively with cellular respiration and synaptic transmission and positively with organophosphate metabolic process, nuclear mRNA catabolic process, and neuron ensheathment. Brain metabolomics identified 14 increased features in Active participants, including N-acetylaspartylglutamic acid. Plasma proteomics and cytokine analyses revealed no differences. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term everolimus before epilepsy surgery in TSC and FCD resulted in no adverse events and trending lower mTOR signaling (phospho-S6). Future studies should evaluate implications of our findings, including coagulation system activation and everolimus efficacy in FCD, in larger studies with long-term treatment to better understand molecular and clinical effects. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02451696.

192. Tuned in to communication sounds: Neuronal sensitivity in the túngara frog midbrain to frequency modulated signals.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Ponnath A, Ryan MJ, Fang Z

193. High syphilis prevalence and incidence in people living with HIV and Preexposure Prophylaxis users: A retrospective review in the French Dat'AIDS cohort.

PLoS One

2022 May 19

Lemmet T, Cotte L, Allavena C

194. Unexpected cranial sexual dimorphism in the tragulid Dorcatherium naui based on material from the middle to late Miocene localities of Eppelsheim and Hammerschmiede (Germany).

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Hartung J, Böhme M.

195. Elevated breast cancer mortality among highly educated Asian American women.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Medina HN, Callahan KE, Koru-Sengul T

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal breast cancer (PMBC) is the most commonly diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the US. Research examining the association between PMBC and education level has been inconsistent; no study in the US has examined how educational level impacts PMBC mortality in Asian American women, a largely immigrant population with above-average educational attainment. METHODS: California Vital Statistics data from 2012-2017 were analyzed to derive age-adjusted mortality rate ratios (MRRs) by education level (associates degree or above referred to as "higher education", high school, less than high school) and race [Non-Hispanic White (NHW), Asian/Pacific Islander (Asian), and its two largest subpopulations: Chinese and Filipino] from negative binomial regression models. RESULTS: PMBC mortality for both NHWs and Asians was greater among women with higher education compared to those who did not complete high school: NHWs had 22% higher PMBC mortality (MRR 1.22; 95% CI: 1.14-1.31) and Asians had 2.6 times greater PMBC mortality (MRR 2.64; 95% CI: 2.32-3.00) than their counterparts who did not complete high school. Asians in the lowest education level had 70% lower mortality than NHWs (MRR 0.30; 95% CI: 0.27-0.34). This mortality advantage among Asians was greatly reduced to only 27% lower among the highest educated (MRR 0.73; 95% CI: 0.68-0.78). For higher educated Filipina women, no mortality advantage was evident compared to NHWs (MRR 0.96; 95% CI: 0.88-1.05). CONCLUSION: PMBC mortality for higher educated Asian women is elevated in comparison to their counterparts with less education. Given that PMBC survival is greater among those with higher education, our findings strongly suggest an excess in the incidence of PMBC (more than double) among higher educated Asian women; this warrants more research into potentially modifiable causes of PMBC in this burgeoning population.

196. Comparative application of testosterone undecanoate and/or testosterone propionate in induction of benign prostatic hyperplasia in Wistar rats.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

An J, Kong H.

Testosterone undecanoate is a hormone agent with long-acting potential and is used for testosterone replacement therapy for hypogonadism. This study was designed to investigate application of testosterone undecanoate in maintaining high androgen levels for inducing benign prostatic hyperplasia more conveniently than that for testosterone propionate. We conducted two-part studies to determine the optimal dosage and dosing cycle for efficient and stable induction of benign prostatic hyperplasia using testosterone undecanoate. In the injection dosage substudy, single testosterone undecanoate dose (125, 250, 500, 750, or 1000 mg/kg body weight) was administered, and the optimal concentration was determined for 8weeks by measuring changes in testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and 5-alpha reductase levels. And then, testosterone undecanoate was administered at the optimal dose at intervals of 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks for 12weeks to induce benign prostatic hyperplasia. The injection dosage substudy showed dose-dependently higher and more stable levels of testosterone in groups administrated testosterone undecanoate than in groups administered testosterone propionate. In the injection cycle substudy, testosterone undecanoate-administered group stably maintained high levels of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and 5-alpha reductase compared with testosterone propionate-administered group for the same injection cycle; moreover, the prostate measurements, an important sign of benign prostatic hyperplasia, were significantly increased. Based on these two substudies, we determined the optimal conditions for inducing benign prostatic hyperplasia stably and more conveniently than that for testosterone propionate. This study suggests an extended application of testosterone undecanoate for inducing benign prostatic hyperplasia that can improve research reliability considering the half-life of testosterone as well as injection dosage and concentration.

197. Calculating forest species diversity with information-theory based indices using sentinel-2A sensor's of Mahavir Swami Wildlife Sanctuary.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Kumar P, Dobriyal M, Kale A

198. Changes in waterfowl migration phenologies in central North America: Implications for future waterfowl conservation.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Andersson K, Davis CA, Harris G

199. Loneliness among older adults in Europe: The relative importance of early and later life conditions.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Guthmuller S.

200. Maybe this is just not the place for me:" Gender harassment and discrimination in the geosciences.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Mattheis A, Marín-Spiotta E, Nandihalli S

201. How digital finance affects income distribution: Evidence from 280 cities in China.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Youxue J, Shimei.

202. Healthy and sustainable diets from today to 2050-The role of international trade.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Mapes BR, Prager SD, Béné C

203. Factors affecting prolonged time to extubation in patients given remimazolam.

PLoS One

2022 May 18

Shimamoto Y, Sanuki M, Kurita S

204. Associations between prisons and recidivism: A nationwide longitudinal study.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Yu R, Långström N, Forsman M

205. Associations between smoking to relieve stress, motivation to stop and quit attempts across the social spectrum: A population survey in England.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Perski O, Theodoraki M, Cox S

Smoking prevalence in several high-income countries is steadily declining but remains persistently high in 'lower' socioeconomic position (SEP) groups, contributing to inequities in morbidity and mortality. Smoking to relieve stress is a commonly endorsed motive for continued smoking; however, it remains unclear whether smoking to relieve stress has a negative impact on motivation to stop and future quit attempts and if so, whether associations are moderated by SEP. This was an observational study with cross-sectional and prospective survey data from the nationally representative Smoking Toolkit Study in England. A total of 1,135 adult smokers were surveyed at baseline, with 153 (13.5%) respondents followed up at 12 months. Respondents provided information on demographic, social and smoking characteristics. A series of multivariable logistic regression analyses was conducted. Bayes Factors (BFs) were calculated to explore non-significant associations. Smoking to relieve stress was commonly endorsed by respondents from both 'lower' (43.2% [95% CI = 39.4%, 47.0%]) and 'higher' (40.5% [95% CI = 35.9%, 45.1%]) SEP groups (p = 0.39). Smoking to relieve stress was associated with high motivation to stop at baseline (ORadj = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.03-2.12, p = 0.035) but not significantly with the odds of making a quit attempt at a 12-month follow-up, although the magnitude and direction of the effect was similar to that observed for high motivation to stop (ORadj = 1.49, 95% CI = 0.69-3.20, p = 0.3). Data were insensitive to detect moderation effects of SEP (BF = 0.90 and BF = 1.65, respectively). Smoking to relieve stress is a commonly endorsed motive and is associated with high motivation to stop but not significantly with the odds of making a quit attempt in the next 12 months, although the magnitude and direction of the effect was similar for both outcomes. There was no clear evidence of moderation by SEP, although data were insensitive to distinguish the alternative from the null hypothesis.

206. Temporal search persistence, certainty, and source preference in dentistry: Results from the National Dental PBRN.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Isett KR, Doshi AM, Rosenblum S

207. Mind the gap: Mapping variation between national and local clinical practice guidelines for acute paediatric asthma from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Koldeweij C, Appelbaum N, Rodriguez Gonzalvez C

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) aim to standardize clinical care. Increasingly, hospitals rely on locally produced guidelines alongside national guidance. This study examines variation between national and local CPGs, using the example of acute paediatric asthma guidance from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. METHODS: Fifteen British and Dutch local CPGs were collected with the matching national guidance for the management of acute asthma in children under 18 years old. The drug sequences, routes and methods of administration recommended for patients with severe asthma and the tone of recommendation across both types of CPGs were schematically represented. Deviations from national guidance were measured. Variation in recommended doses of intravenous salbutamol was examined. CPG quality was assessed using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II. RESULTS: British and Dutch national CPGs differed in the recommended drug choices, sequences, routes and methods of administration for severe asthma. Dutch national guidance was more rigidly defined. Local British CPGs diverged from national guidance for 23% of their recommended interventions compared to 8% for Dutch local CPGs. Five British local guidelines and two Dutch local guidelines differed from national guidance for multiple treatment steps. Variation in second-line recommendations was greater than for first-line recommendations across local CPGs from both countries. Recommended starting doses for salbutamol infusions varied by more than tenfold. The quality of the sampled local CPGs was low across all AGREE II domains. CONCLUSIONS: Local CPGs for the management of severe acute paediatric asthma featured substantial variation and frequently diverged from national guidance. Although limited to one condition, this study suggests that unmeasured variation across local CPGs may contribute to variation of care more broadly, with possible effects on healthcare quality.

208. Factors associated with low-level viraemia in people with HIV starting antiretroviral therapy: A Swedish observational study.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Brattgård H, Björkman P, Nowak P

209. Olfactory interference on the emotional processing speed of visual stimuli: The influence of facial expressions intensities.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Ferreira MH, Renovato Tobo P, Barrichello CR

210. Handheld dynamometer reliability to measure knee extension strength in rehabilitation patients-A cross-sectional study.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Pinto-Ramos J, Moreira T, Costa F

211. A spatial-temporal analysis at the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and its determinants: The case of Recife neighborhoods, Brazil.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Souza APG, Mota CMM, Rosa AGF

212. Transcriptome and physiological analysis of increase in drought stress tolerance by melatonin in tomato.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Yang L, Bu S, Zhao S

Drought stress seriously affects tomato growth, yield and quality. Previous reports have pointed out that melatonin (MT) can alleviate drought stress damage to tomato. To better understand the possible physiological and molecular mechanisms, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and leaf transcriptome profiles were analyzed in the "Micro Tom" tomato cultivar with or without melatonin irrigation under normal and drought conditions. Polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG6000) simulated continuous drought treatment reduced plant height, but melatonin treatment improved plant growth rate. Physiological parameter measurements revealed that the drought-induced decreases in maximum efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry, the effective quantum yield of PSII, electron transfer rate, and photochemical quenching value caused by PEG6000 treatment were alleviated by melatonin treatment, which suggests a protective effect of melatonin on PSII. Comparative transcriptome analysis identified 447, 3982, 4526 and 3258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the comparative groups plus-melatonin vs. minus-melatonin (no drought), drought vs. no drought (minus-melatonin), drought vs. no drought (melatonin) and plus-melatonin vs. minus-melatonin (drought), respectively. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis revealed that DEGs in the four comparative groups were involved in multiple metabolic processes and closely related to hormone signal transduction and transcription factors. Transcriptome data revealed that melatonin changed the expression pattern of most hormone signal transduction related DEGs induced by drought, and improved plant drought resistance by down-regulating the expression of linoleic acid catabolic enzyme genes. These results provide new insights into a probable mechanism of the melatonin-induced protection of photosynthesis and enhancement of drought tolerance in tomato plants.

213. Garlic (Allium sativum) feature-specific nutrient dosage based on using machine learning models.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Hahn L, Parent LÉ, Paviani AC

214. Cognitive workload evaluation of landmarks and routes using virtual reality.

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Abdurrahman UA, Zheng L, Yeh SC.

Investigating whether landmarks and routes affect navigational efficiency and learning transfer in traffic is essential. In this study, a virtual reality-based driving system was employed to determine the effects of landmarks and routes on human neurocognitive behavior. The participants made four (4) journeys to predetermined destinations. They were provided with different landmarks and routes to aid in reaching their respective destinations. We considered two (2) groups and conducted two (2) sessions per group in this study. Each group had sufficient and insufficient landmarks. We hypothesized that using insufficient landmarks would elicit an increase in psychophysiological activation, such as increased heart rate, eye gaze, and pupil size, which would cause participants to make more errors. Moreover, easy and difficult routes elicited different cognitive workloads. Thus, a high cognitive load would negatively affect the participants when trying to apply the knowledge acquired at the beginning of the exercise. In addition, the navigational efficiency of routes with sufficient landmarks was remarkably higher than that of routes with insufficient landmarks. We evaluated the effects of landmarks and routes by assessing the recorded information of the drivers' pupil size, heart rate, and driving performance data. An analytical strategy, several machine learning algorithms, and data fusion methods have been employed to measure the neurocognitive load of each participant for user classification. The results showed that insufficient landmarks and difficult routes increased pupil size and heart rate, which caused the participants to make more errors. The results also indicated that easy routes with sufficient landmarks were deemed more efficient for navigation, where users' cognitive loads were much lower than those with insufficient landmarks and difficult routes. The high cognitive workload hindered the participants when trying to apply the knowledge acquired at the beginning of the exercise. Meanwhile, the data fusion method achieved higher accuracy than the other classification methods. The results of this study will help improve the use of landmarks and design of driving routes, as well as paving the way to analyze traffic safety using the drivers' cognition and performance data.

215. Integrated model for food-energy-water (FEW) nexus to study global sustainability: The main generalized global sustainability model (GGSM).

PLoS One

2022 May 17

Nisal A, Diwekar U, Hanumante N

Over the years, several global models have been proposed to forecast global sustainability, provide a framework for sustainable policy-making, or to study sustainability across the FEW nexus. An integrated model is presented here with components like food-web ecosystem dynamics, microeconomics components, including energy producers and industries, and various socio-techno-economic policy dimensions. The model consists of 15 compartments representing a simplified ecological food-web set in a macroeconomic framework along with a rudimentary legal system. The food-web is modeled by Lotka-Volterra type expressions, whereas the economy is represented by a price-setting model wherein firms and human households attempt to maximize their economic well-being. The model development is done using global-scale data for stocks and flows of food, energy, and water, which were used to parameterize this model. Appropriate proportions for some of the ecological compartments like herbivores and carnivores are used to model those compartments. The modeling of the human compartment was carried out using historical data for the global mortality rate. Historical data were used to parameterize the model. Data for key variables like the human population, GDP growth, greenhouse gases like CO2 and NOX emissions were used to validate the model. The model was then used to make long-term forecasts and to study global sustainability over an extended time. The purpose of this study was to create a global model which can provide techno-socio-economic policy solutions for global sustainability. Further, scenario analysis was conducted for cases where the human population or human consumption increases rapidly to observe the impact on the sustainability of the planet over the next century. The results indicated that the planet can support increased population if the per capita consumption levels do not rise. However, increased consumption resulted in exhaustion of natural resources and increased the CO2 emissions by a multiple of 100.

216. Health disparities and COVID-19: A retrospective study examining individual and community factors causing disproportionate COVID-19 outcomes in Cook County, Illinois.

PLoS One

2022 May 16

Unruh LH, Dharmapuri S, Xia Y

217. The protective effects of HIF-1α activation on sepsis induced intestinal mucosal barrier injury in rats model of sepsis.

PLoS One

2022 May 16

Lei X, Teng W, Fan Y

218. Institutional dynamics and learning networks.

PLoS One

2022 May 16

Poon P, Flack JC, Krakauer DC.

219. Prebiotic potential of enzymatically prepared resistant starch in reshaping gut microbiota and their respond to body physiology.

PLoS One

2022 May 16

Khan A, Ali H, Rehman UU

220. The role of elastin on the mechanical properties of the anterior leaflet in porcine tricuspid valves.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Salinas SD, Farra YM, Amini Khoiy K

221. Assessing the association between air pollution and child development in São Paulo, Brazil.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Luminati O, Brentani A, Flückiger B

222. Risk assessment of resistance to diflubenzuron in Musca domestica: Realized heritability and cross-resistance to fourteen insecticides from different classes.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Hafez AM.

223. Dealing with inconclusive SARS-CoV-2 PCR samples-Our experience.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Stoykova Z, Kostadinova T, Todorova T

224. Effects of room temperature and cold storage on the metabolic and haemostatic properties of whole blood for acute normovolaemic haemodilution.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Ichikawa J, Kouta M, Oogushi M

225. Consensus molecular subtype differences linking colon adenocarcinoma and obesity revealed by a cohort transcriptomic analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Greene MW, Abraham PT, Kuhlers PC

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and worldwide. Obesity-a worldwide public health concern-is a known risk factor for cancer including CRC. However, the mechanisms underlying the link between CRC and obesity have yet to be fully elucidated in part because of the molecular heterogeneity of CRC. We hypothesized that obesity modulates CRC in a consensus molecular subtype (CMS)-dependent manner. RNA-seq data and associated tumor and patient characteristics including body weight and height data for 232 patients were obtained from The Cancer Genomic Atlas-Colon Adenocarcinoma (TCGA-COAD) database. Tumor samples were classified into the four CMSs with the CMScaller R package; body mass index (BMI) was calculated and categorized as normal, overweight, and obese. We observed a significant difference in CMS categorization between BMI categories. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between obese and overweight samples and normal samples differed across the CMSs, and associated prognostic analyses indicated that the DEGs had differing associations on survival. Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis, we found differences in Hallmark gene set enrichment between obese and overweight samples and normal samples across the CMSs. We constructed Protein-Protein Interaction networks and observed differences in obesity-regulated hub genes for each CMS. Finally, we analyzed and found differences in predicted drug sensitivity between obese and overweight samples and normal samples across the CMSs. Our findings support that obesity impacts the CRC tumor transcriptome in a CMS-specific manner. The possible associations reported here are preliminary and will require validation using in vitro and animal models to examine the CMS-dependence of the genes and pathways. Once validated the obesity-linked genes and pathways may represent new therapeutic targets to treat colon cancer in a CMS-dependent manner.

226. Development and validation of ACTE-MTB: A tool to systematically assess the maturity of molecular tumor boards.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Love TM, Anaya DA, Prime MS

Molecular tumor boards (MTBs) require specialized activities to leverage genomic data for therapeutic decision-making. Currently, there are no defined standards for implementing, executing, and tracking the impact of MTBs. This study describes the development and validation of ACTE-MTB, a tool to evaluate the maturity of an organization's MTB to identify specific areas that would benefit from process improvements and standardization. The ACTE-MTB maturity assessment tool is composed of 3 elements: 1) The ACTE-MTB maturity model; 2) a 59-question survey on MTB processes and challenges; and 3) a 5-level MTB maturity scoring algorithm. This tool was developed to measure MTB maturity in the categories of Access, Consultation, Technology, and Evidence (ACTE) and was tested on 20 MTBs spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions. Validity testing revealed that the average maturity score was 3.3 out of 5 (+/- 0.1; range 2.0-4.3) with MTBs in academic institutions showing significantly higher overall maturity levels than in non-academic institutions (3.7 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.1 +/- 0.2; P = .018). While maturity scores for academic institutions were higher for Consultation, Technology, and Evidence domains, the maturity score for the Access domain did not significantly differ between the two groups, highlighting a disconnect between MTB operations and the downstream impact on ability to access testing and/or therapies. To our knowledge, ACTE-MTB is the first tool of its kind to enable structured, maturity assessment of MTBs in a universally-applicable manner. In the process of establishing construct validity of this tool, opportunities for further investigation and improvements were identified that address the key functional areas of MTBs that would likely benefit from standardization and best practice recommendations. We believe a unified approach to assessment of MTB maturity will help to identify areas for improvement at both the organizational and system level.

227. The impact of clarifying the long-term solution picture through solution-focused interventions on positive attitude towards life.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Takagi G, Sakamoto K, Nihonmatsu N

228. Rough set based information theoretic approach for clustering uncertain categorical data.

PLoS One

2022 May 13

Uddin J, Ghazali R, H Abawajy J

MOTIVATION: Many real applications such as businesses and health generate large categorical datasets with uncertainty. A fundamental task is to efficiently discover hidden and non-trivial patterns from such large uncertain categorical datasets. Since the exact value of an attribute is often unknown in uncertain categorical datasets, conventional clustering analysis algorithms do not provide a suitable means for dealing with categorical data, uncertainty, and stability. PROBLEM STATEMENT: The ability of decision making in the presence of vagueness and uncertainty in data can be handled using Rough Set Theory. Though, recent categorical clustering techniques based on Rough Set Theory help but they suffer from low accuracy, high computational complexity, and generalizability especially on data sets where they sometimes fail or hardly select their best clustering attribute. OBJECTIVES: The main objective of this research is to propose a new information theoretic based Rough Purity Approach (RPA). Another objective of this work is to handle the problems of traditional Rough Set Theory based categorical clustering techniques. Hence, the ultimate goal is to cluster uncertain categorical datasets efficiently in terms of the performance, generalizability and computational complexity. METHODS: The RPA takes into consideration information-theoretic attribute purity of the categorical-valued information systems. Several extensive experiments are conducted to evaluate the efficiency of RPA using a real Supplier Base Management (SBM) and six benchmark UCI datasets. The proposed RPA is also compared with several recent categorical data clustering techniques. RESULTS: The experimental results show that RPA outperforms the baseline algorithms. The significant percentage improvement with respect to time (66.70%), iterations (83.13%), purity (10.53%), entropy (14%), and accuracy (12.15%) as well as Rough Accuracy of clusters show that RPA is suitable for practical usage. CONCLUSION: We conclude that as compared to other techniques, the attribute purity of categorical-valued information systems can better cluster the data. Hence, RPA technique can be recommended for large scale clustering in multiple domains and its performance can be enhanced for further research.

229. Addition of digital VIA/VILI to conventional naked-eye examination for triage of HPV-positive women: A study conducted in a low-resource setting.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Dufeil E, Kenfack B, Tincho E

BACKGROUND: World Health Organization guidelines for cervical cancer screening recommend HPV testing followed by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for triage if HPV positive. In order to improve visual assessment and identification of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and worse (CIN2+), providers may use visual aids such as digital cameras. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether combined examination by naked-eye and digital VIA (D-VIA) and VILI (D-VILI) improves detection of CIN2+ as compared to the conventional evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Women (30-49 years) living in Dschang (West Cameroon) were prospectively invited to a cervical cancer screening campaign. Primary HPV-based screening was followed by VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI if HPV-positive. Health care providers independently defined diagnosis (pathological or non-pathological) based on naked-eye VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI. Decision to treat was based on combined examination (VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI). Cervical biopsy and endocervical curettage were performed in all HPV-positive participants and considered as reference standard. Diagnostic performance of individual and combined naked-eye VIA/VILI and D-VIA/VILI was evaluated. A sample size of 1,500 women was calculated assuming a prevalence of 20% HPV positivity and 10% CIN2+ in HPV-positive women. RESULTS: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study had to terminate prematurely. A total of 1,081 women with a median age of 40 (IQR 35.5-45) were recruited. HPV positivity was 17.4% (n = 188) and 26 (14.4%) had CIN2+. Naked-eye VIA and D-VIA sensitivities were 80.8% (95% CI 60.6-93.4) and 92.0% (95% CI 74.0-99.0), and specificities were 31.2% (95% CI 24-39.1) and 31.6% (95% CI 24.4-39.6), respectively. The combination of both methods yielded a sensitivity of 92.3% (95% CI 74.9-99.1) and specificity of 23.2% (95% CI 16.8-30.7). A trend towards improved sensitivity was observed, but did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Addition of D-VIA/VILI to conventional naked-eye examination may be associated with improved CIN2+ identification. Further studies including a larger sample size are needed to confirm these results.

230. Prognostic value of upper respiratory tract microbes in children presenting to primary care with respiratory infections: A prospective cohort study.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

McGeoch LJ, Thornton HV, Blair PS

BACKGROUND: The association between upper respiratory tract microbial positivity and illness prognosis in children is unclear. This impedes clinical decision-making and means the utility of upper respiratory tract microbial point-of-care tests remains unknown. We investigated for relationships between pharyngeal microbes and symptom severity in children with suspected respiratory tract infection (RTI). METHODS: Baseline characteristics and pharyngeal swabs were collected from 2,296 children presenting to 58 general practices in Bristol, UK with acute cough and suspected RTI between 2011-2013. Post-consultation, parents recorded the severity of six RTI symptoms on a 0-6 scale daily for ≤28 days. We used multivariable hurdle regression, adjusting for clinical characteristics, antibiotics and other microbes, to investigate associations between respiratory microbes and mean symptom severity on days 2-4 post-presentation. RESULTS: Overall, 1,317 (57%) children with complete baseline, microbiological and symptom data were included. Baseline characteristics were similar in included participants and those lacking microbiological data. At least one virus was detected in 869 (66%) children, and at least one bacterium in 783 (60%). Compared to children with no virus detected (mean symptom severity score 1.52), adjusted mean symptom severity was 0.26 points higher in those testing positive for at least one virus (95% CI 0.15 to 0.38, p<0.001); and was also higher in those with detected Influenza B (0.44, 0.15 to 0.72, p = 0.003); RSV (0.41, 0.20 to 0.60, p<0.001); and Influenza A (0.25, -0.01 to 0.51, p = 0.059). Children positive for Enterovirus had a lower adjusted mean symptom severity (-0.24, -0.43 to -0.05, p = 0.013). Children with detected Bordetella pertussis (0.40, 0.00 to 0.79, p = 0.049) and those with detected Moraxella catarrhalis (-0.76, -1.06 to -0.45, p<0.001) respectively had higher and lower mean symptom severity compared to children without these bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: There is a potential role for upper respiratory tract microbiological point-of-care tests in determining the prognosis of childhood RTIs.

231. Built environment impact on the per capita cycling frequency of family--Based on two-level hierarchical linear model.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Zhang X, Wang J, Xue J

232. Effect of health facility linkage with community using postnatal card on postnatal home visit coverage and newborn care practices in rural Ethiopia: A controlled quasi-experimental study design.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Tesfau YB, Gebrehiwot TG, Godefay H

BACKGROUND: Postnatal home visit has the potential to improve maternal and newborn health, but it remains as a missed opportunity in many low-and middle-income countries. This study examines the effect of health extension worker administered postnatal card combined with health facility strengthening intervention on postnatal home visit coverage, newborn care practices, and knowledge of newborn danger signs in rural Ethiopia. METHODS: We employed quasi-experimental design using controlled before-and-after study in intervention and comparison districts of rural Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Training of health extension workers (HEWs) on postnatal home visit (PNHV), training of healthcare providers on maternal and newborn care, and capacity building of healthcare authorities on leadership, management and governance together with health system strengthening were the implemented interventions. Baseline (n = 705) and end line (n = 980) data were collected from mothers who delivered a year before the commencement of the actual data collection in the respective surveys. We used difference-in-differences (DiD) analysis to assess the effect of the intervention on PNHV coverage, essential newborn care practices and maternal knowledge of newborn danger signs. RESULTS: A total of 1685 (100%) mothers participated in this study. In all districts, more than 1/3rd of the mothers 633(37.57%) were in the age of 30-39 years. The difference-in-differences estimator showed an average of 23.5% increase in coverage of PNHVs within three days (DiD, p<0.001) and the provision of most postnatal contents significantly increased in the intervention district in the end line survey. The knowledge of at least three danger signs increased by 13.6% (p = 0.012).The DiD estimator showed an average of 27.6% increase to check the mothers for heavy bleeding (DiD, p = 0.011). This study also revealed that the checking of maternal blood pressure increased from 5.8% to 11.8% in the comparison districts and from 9.4% to 93.3% in the intervention district. The difference-in-differences estimator result showed a 9% difference in clean cord care practices among the participants (p = 0.025), 12.2% in skin to skin care (p = 0.022), and borderline significant increase in early initiation of breastfeeding (10.5%, p = 0.051). CONCLUSION: We conclude that the intervention package was effective in improving the coverage of PNHV, increase in knowledge of newborn danger sign and essential newborn care practices. Hence, further strengthening the linkages between health facilities and community is imperative to improve the coverage of essential lifesaving maternal and newborn care services by HEWs at home.

233. Passive motion of the lower extremities in sedated and ventilated patients in the ICU - a systematic review of early effects and replicability of Interventions.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Vollenweider R, Manettas AI, Häni N

Early mobilization, which includes active / passive motion in bed along with mobilization out of bed, is recommended to prevent the development of intensive care unit acquired-weakness (ICU-AW) for patients with critical illness on the intensive care unit. To date, the impact of passive motion of the lower extremities in sedated and ventilated patients remains unclear. The aim of the study is to systematically review and summarize the currently available randomized controlled trials in English or German language on the impact of passive motion of the lower extremities in sedated and ventilated patients ≥ 18 years in the intensive care unit on musculature, inflammation and immune system and the development of intensive care unit-acquired weakness and to evaluate the replicability of interventions and the methodological quality of included studies. A systematic literature search was performed up to 20th February 2022 in the databases Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and PEDro. The description of the intervention (TIDieR checklist) and the methodological quality (Downs and Black checklist) were assessed. Five studies were included in the qualitative syntheses. On average, the studies were rated with 6.8 out of 12 points according to the TIDieR checklist. For the methodological quality an average of 19.8 out of 27 points on the Downs and Black checklist was reported. The results of included studies indicated that muscle loss may be reduced by passive manual movement, passive cycling and passive motion on a continuous passive motion-unit. In addition, positive effects were reported on the reduction of nitrosative stress and the immune response. The impact on the development of ICU-AW remains unclear. In conclusion, passive movement show a slight tendency for beneficial changes on cellular level in sedated and ventilated patients in the ICU within the first days of admission, which may indicate a reduction of muscle wasting and could prevent the development of ICU-AW. Future randomized controlled trials should use larger samples, use complete intervention description, use a comparable set of outcome measures, use rigorous methodology and examine the effect of passive motion on the development of ICU-AW.

234. Addressing the need for interactive, efficient, and reproducible data processing in ecology with the datacleanr R package.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Hurley AG, Peters RL, Pappas C

Ecological research, just as all Earth System Sciences, is becoming increasingly data-rich. Tools for processing of "big data" are continuously developed to meet corresponding technical and logistical challenges. However, even at smaller scales, data sets may be challenging when best practices in data exploration, quality control and reproducibility are to be met. This can occur when conventional methods, such as generating and assessing diagnostic visualizations or tables, become unfeasible due to time and practicality constraints. Interactive processing can alleviate this issue, and is increasingly utilized to ensure that large data sets are diligently handled. However, recent interactive tools rarely enable data manipulation, may not generate reproducible outputs, or are typically data/domain-specific. We developed datacleanr, an interactive tool that facilitates best practices in data exploration, quality control (e.g., outlier assessment) and flexible processing for multiple tabular data types, including time series and georeferenced data. The package is open-source, and based on the R programming language. A key functionality of datacleanr is the "reproducible recipe"-a translation of all interactive actions into R code, which can be integrated into existing analyses pipelines. This enables researchers experienced with script-based workflows to utilize the strengths of interactive processing without sacrificing their usual work style or functionalities from other (R) packages. We demonstrate the package's utility by addressing two common issues during data analyses, namely 1) identifying problematic structures and artefacts in hierarchically nested data, and 2) preventing excessive loss of data from 'coarse,' code-based filtering of time series. Ultimately, with datacleanr we aim to improve researchers' workflows and increase confidence in and reproducibility of their results.

235. A qualitative exploration of mental health services provided in community pharmacies.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Crespo-Gonzalez C, Dineen-Griffin S, Rae J

The burden of mental health problems continues to grow worldwide. Community pharmacists', as part of the primary care team, optimise care for people living with mental illness. This study aims to examine the factors that support or hinder the delivery of mental health services delivered in Australian community pharmacies and proposes ideas for improvement. A qualitative study was conducted comprising focus groups with community pharmacists and pharmacy staff across metropolitan, regional, and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. Data were collected in eight focus groups between December 2020 and June 2021. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Thirty-three community pharmacists and pharmacy staff participated in an initial round of focus groups. Eleven community pharmacists and pharmacy staff participated in a second round of focus groups. Twenty-four factors that enable or hinder the delivery of mental health services in community pharmacy were identified. Participant's perception of a lack of recognition and integration of community pharmacy within primary care were identified as major barriers, in addition to consumers' stigma and lack of awareness regarding service offering. Suggestions for improvement to mental health care delivery in community pharmacy included standardised practice through the use of protocols, remuneration and public awareness. A framework detailing the factors moderating pharmacists, pharmacy staff and consumers' empowerment in mental health care delivery in community pharmacy is proposed. This study has highlighted that policy and funding support for mental health services is needed that complement and expand integrated models, promote access to services led by or are conducted in collaboration with pharmacists and recognise the professional contribution and competencies of community pharmacists in mental health care. The framework proposed may be a step to strengthening mental health support delivered in community pharmacies.

236. Microbiomes and Planctomycete diversity in large-scale aquaria habitats.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Elbon CE, LeCleir GR, Tuttle MJ

In commercial large-scale aquaria, controlling levels of nitrogenous compounds is essential for macrofauna health. Naturally occurring bacteria are capable of transforming toxic nitrogen species into their more benign counterparts and play important roles in maintaining aquaria health. Nitrification, the microbially-mediated transformation of ammonium and nitrite to nitrate, is a common and encouraged process for management of both commercial and home aquaria. A potentially competing microbial process that transforms ammonium and nitrite to dinitrogen gas (anaerobic ammonium oxidation [anammox]) is mediated by some bacteria within the phylum Planctomycetes. Anammox has been harnessed for nitrogen removal during wastewater treatment, as the nitrogenous end product is released into the atmosphere rather than in aqueous discharge. Whether anammox bacteria could be similarly utilized in commercial aquaria is an open question. As a first step in assessing the viability of this practice, we (i) characterized microbial communities from water and sand filtration systems for four habitats at the Tennessee Aquarium and (ii) examined the abundance and anammox potential of Planctomycetes using culture-independent approaches. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed distinct, yet stable, microbial communities and the presence of Planctomycetes (~1-15% of library reads) in all sampled habitats. Preliminary metagenomic analyses identified the genetic potential for multiple complete nitrogen metabolism pathways. However, no known genes diagnostic for the anammox reaction were found in this survey. To better understand the diversity of this group of bacteria in these systems, a targeted Planctomycete-specific 16S rRNA gene-based PCR approach was used. This effort recovered amplicons that share <95% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity to previously characterized Planctomycetes, suggesting novel strains within this phylum reside within aquaria.

237. HMOX1 genetic polymorphisms and outcomes in infectious disease: A systematic review.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Hamilton FW, Somers J, Mitchell RE

INTRODUCTION: Heme-oxygenase 1 (HMOX1) is a critical stress response gene that catalyzes the multistep oxidation of heme. A GT(n) repeat of variable length in the promoter in has been associated with a wide range of human diseases, including infections. This paper aims to summarise and systematically review associations between the length of the HMOX1 GT(n) promoter and infectious disease in humans. METHODS: A search using relevant terms was performed in PubMED and EMBASE through to 15/01/21 identifying all research that studied an association between the HMOX1 GT(n) repeat polymorphism and the incidence and/or outcome of any human infectious disease. Citations were screened for additional studies. Potential studies were screened for inclusion by two authors. Data was extracted on allele frequency, genotype, strength of association, mechanism of genotyping, and potential biases. A narrative review was performed across each type of infection. RESULTS: 1,533 studies were identified in the search, and one via citation screening. Sixteen studies were ultimately included, seven in malaria, three in HIV, three in sepsis, and one each in pneumonia, hepatitis C, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Sample sizes for nearly all studies were small (biggest study, n = 1,646). Allelic definition was different across all included studies. All studies were at some risk of bias. In malaria, three studies suggested that longer alleles were associated with reduced risk of severe malaria, particularly malaria-induced renal dysfunction, with four studies identifying a null association. In sepsis, two studies suggested an association with longer alleles and better outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the importance of HMOX1 in survival from infection, and the association between repeat length and gene expression, the clinical data supporting an association between repeat length and incidence and/or outcome of infection remain inconclusive.

238. Implementation of prediction models in the emergency department from an implementation science perspective-Determinants, outcomes and real-world impact: A scoping review protocol.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Chan SL, Lee JW, Ong MEH

239. The effects of vocal exertion on lung volume measurements and acoustics in speakers reporting high and low vocal fatigue.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Fujiki RB, Huber JE, Sivasankar MP.

PURPOSE: Vocal exertion is common and often results in reduced respiratory and laryngeal efficiency. It is unknown, however, whether the respiratory kinematic and acoustic adjustments employed during vocal exertion differ between speakers reporting vocal fatigue and those who do not. This study compared respiratory kinematics and acoustic measures in individuals reporting low and high levels of vocal fatigue during a vocal exertion task. METHODS: Individuals reporting low (N = 20) and high (N = 10) vocal fatigue participated in a repeated measures design study over 2 days. On each day, participants completed a 10-minute vocal exertion task consisting of repeated, loud vowel productions at elevated F0 sustained for maximum phonation time. Respiratory kinematic and acoustic measures were analyzed on the 1st vowel production (T0), and the vowels produced 2 minutes (T2), 5 minutes (T5), 7 minutes (T7), and 10 minutes (T10) into the vocal exertion task. Vowel durations were also measured at each time point. RESULTS: No differences in respiratory kinematics were observed between low and high vocal fatigue groups at T0. As the vocal exertion task progressed (T2-T10), individuals reporting high vocal fatigue initiated phonation at lower lung volumes while individuals with low vocal fatigue initiated phonation at higher lung volumes. As the exertion task progressed, total lung volume excursion decreased in both groups. Differences in acoustic measures were observed, as individuals reporting high vocal fatigue produced softer, shorter vowels from T0 through T10. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals reporting high vocal fatigue employed less efficient respiratory strategies during periods of increased vocal demand when compared with individuals reporting low vocal fatigue. Individuals reporting high vocal fatigue had shorter maximum phonation time on loud vowels. Further study should examine the potential screening value of loud maximum phonation time, as well as the clinical implications of the observed respiratory patterns for managing vocal fatigue.

240. Search for additional tests for immunobiological evaluation of the candidate vaccines against African swine fever.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Sereda AD, Kazakova AS, Dmitrenko VV

The spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Eurasia has forced a return to the development of live vaccines based on naturally or experimentally attenuated strains of the virus including those resulting from genetic manipulations. This process includes evaluation of the immunomodulating properties of the vaccines. In this report we provide our assessment of two tests for immunobiological evaluation of a candidate live vaccine against ASF from the attenuated ASF virus (ASFV) strain KK-202: (i) investigation of the effect of the attenuated ASFV strain KK-202 on the protectiveness of the vaccine ASFV strain FK-32/135 and a vaccine against classical swine fever (CSF) from the strain LK-VNIIVViM; (ii) determination of the phagocytic activity of blood neutrophils in pigs inoculated with ASFV strains differing in virulence. A simultaneous or sequential inoculation of attenuated strain KK-202 (seroimmunotype II) and vaccine strain FK-32/135 (seroimmunotype IV) into pigs resulted in the loss of protection against the virulent strain France-32 (seroimmunotype IV). Following the simultaneous or sequential inoculations of the ASFV strain KK-202 and the CSF virus (CSFV) vaccine produced from the strain LK-VNIIVViM, the neutralizing antibody titers against the CSFV observed in the experimental groups (after vaccination and after the challenge infection with the virulent CSFV strain Shimen) were not different from those found in animals of the control group. The phagocytic activity of blood neutrophils was shown to increase from 30% in the norm to 50%-94% depending on the virulence of the ASFV strains inoculated into pigs. The results of this work demonstrate the ability of the attenuated ASFV strains to modulate the development of the cellular link of protective immunity without negative impact on the humoral immune response. The informative value of the described immunobiological tests in vivo and in vitro seems to be a more preferable alternative in comparison to the commonly used in vitro tests, which do not always correlate with the development of protection against ASF.

241. Quality of life of veterinary residents in AVMA-Recognized Veterinary Specialty Organizations using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Jaworski JL, Thompson LA, Weng HY.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there is an association between veterinary specialty and the quality of life of residents in AVMA-Recognized Veterinary Specialty Organizations™ using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used an online survey and data collection service for administration of the survey to veterinary residents during April 2021 to June 2021. Veterinary residents were contacted through their respective AVMA-Recognized Veterinary Specialty Organization™ and through social media. Overall quality of life along with the domains of Physical Health, Psychological Health, Social Relationships, and Environment were measured using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. Additionally, data on the demographics of participants were collected and investigated as potential confounders. Mean standardized scores (0 to 100) were compared among the specialties using the general linear model. RESULTS: 792 residents from 21 veterinary specialties were included in the analysis. The results showed that overall quality of life and all four domains varied significantly among specialties after adjusting for significant demographic variables (all Ps < 0.001). The mean standardized overall quality of life score was 54.3, ranging from 31.8 in Emergency and Critical Care to 56.3 in Laboratory Animal. The mean standardized quality of life scores were lowest for Psychological Health (50.3), followed by Social Relationships (55.0), Environment (61.4), and Physical Health (62.6). Residents in Emergency and Critical Care had the lowest adjusted average scores in all quality of life domains. Residents in Internal Medicine, Anesthesia and Analgesia, and Surgeons had lower quality of life scores across several domains when compared to other specialties. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study provides insight into the mental health and general well-being of veterinary residents. The results can assist veterinary specialty organizations, universities, and mentors in developing appropriate supporting programs for residents. The results can also assist residents in recognizing and more efficiently caring for their individual mental health and well-being.

242. Postoperative avascular necrosis of the femoral head in pediatric femoral neck fractures.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Li Y, Sun D, Wang K

This study aimed to evaluate the relevant factors of postoperative avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVN) in children with femoral neck fracture. This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 28 children with femoral neck fractures treated at our center between July 2016 and January 2019. The average age was 9.3 (range, 4.4-14) years with 75% male participants. Fracture classification was based on the Delbet classification: there were four, seven, 15, and two cases of type I, II, III, and IV fractures, respectively. Displacement degree was based on the Garden classification. Sixteen cases had insignificant displacement (Garden types I and II), six had medium displacement (Garden type III), and six had significant displacement (Garden type IV). There were six early (≤24 hours) and 22 delayed (>24 hours) surgeries. Twenty-three patients had satisfactory reduction, and five had unsatisfactory reduction. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 15.7 (range, 12-36) months. Follow-up was evaluated using the Ratliff scoring standards. The correlation between age, fracture classification, displacement degree, surgery timing, reduction quality, and other factors and AVN occurrence was statistically analyzed. Among 28 children, AVN was found in six cases. There were statistically significant differences in displacement degree (P = 0.001) and reduction quality (P = 0.001), while the occurrence of AVN did not significantly differ with sex (P = 0.117), age distribution (P = 0.218), fracture classification (P = 0.438), surgery timing (P = 0.255), and mechanism of injury (P = 0.436). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that displacement degree was a relevant risk factor (P = 0.049, odds ratio [OR] = 8.391, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.004-70.117), while reduction quality was not (P = 0.075, OR = 14.536, 95% CI: 0.757-278.928). Although the development of AVN in children with femoral neck fractures may be related to many factors, the results of this research suggest that there is a significant correlation between displacement degree and AVN occurrence.

243. ROX index and SpO2/FiO2 ratio for predicting high-flow nasal cannula failure in hypoxemic COVID-19 patients: A multicenter retrospective study.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Kim JH, Baek AR, Lee SI

BACKGROUND: The ratio of oxygen saturation (ROX) index, defined as the ratio of oxygen saturation (SpO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) to respiratory rate, can help identify patients with hypoxemic respiratory failure at high risk for intubation following high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) initiation; however, whether it is effective for predicting intubation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients receiving HFNC remains unknown. Moreover, the SpO2/FiO2 ratio has been assessed as a prognostic marker for acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. This study aimed to determine the utility of the ROX index and the SpO2/FiO2 ratio as predictors of failure in COVID-19 patients who received HFNC. METHODS: This multicenter study was conducted in seven university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. Data of consecutive hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 10, 2020 and February 28, 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. We calculated the ROX index and the SpO2/FiO2 ratio at 1 h, 4 h, and 12 h after HFNC initiation. The primary outcome was HFNC failure defined as the need for subsequent intubation despite HFNC application. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate discrimination of prediction models for HFNC failure. RESULTS: Of 1,565 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 133 who received HFNC were analyzed. Among them, 63 patients (47.4%) were successfully weaned from HFNC, and 70 (52.6%) were intubated. Among patients with HFNC failure, 32 (45.7%) died. The SpO2/FiO2 ratio at 1 h after HFNC initiation was an important predictor of HFNC failure (AUC 0.762 [0.679-0.846]). The AUCs of SpO2/FiO2 ratio at 4 h and ROX indices at 1 h and 4 h were 0.733 (0.640-0.826), 0.697 (0.597-0.798), and 0.682 (0.583-0.781), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that the patients aged ≥70 years are 3.4 times more likely to experience HFNC failure than those aged <70 years (HR 3.367 [1.358-8.349], p = 0.009). The SpO2/FiO2 ratio (HR 0.983 [0.972-0.994], p = 0.003) at 1 h was significantly associated with HFNC failure. CONCLUSIONS: The SpO2/FiO2 ratio following HFNC initiation was an acceptable predictor of HFNC failure. The SpO2/FiO2 ratio may be a good prognostic marker for predicting intubation in COVID-9 patients receiving HFNC.

244. Comparison of triple-DMEK to pseudophakic-DMEK: A cohort study of 95 eyes.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Semler-Collery A, Bloch F, Hayek G

245. Sensitivity to gait improvement after levodopa intake in Parkinson's disease: A comparison study among synthetic kinematic indices.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Troisi Lopez E, Minino R, Sorrentino P

246. Production function for modeling hospital activities. The case of Polish county hospitals.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Sielska A, Nojszewska E.

247. Exposure factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands: A cross-sectional study.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Pagen DME, Brinkhues S, Dukers-Muijrers NHTM

BACKGROUND: The availability of valid Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronvirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) serological tests overcome the problem of underestimated cumulative Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases during the first months of the pandemic in The Netherlands. The possibility to reliably determine the number of truly infected persons, enabled us to study initial drivers for exposure risk in the absence of routine testing. Numerous activities or circumstances can accelerate virus spread, here defined as exposure factors. Hence, we aimed to evaluate a wide variety of demographic, behavioural and social exposure factors associated with seropositivity during the first eight months of the pandemic in Limburg, The Netherlands. METHODS: SARS-CoV-2 point-seroprevalence was determined cross-sectionally to indicate previous infection in a convenience sample of minimal 10,000 inhabitants of the study province. All adult (18+ years) inhabitants of the study province were eligible to register themselves for participation. Once the initial 10,000 registrations were reached, a reserve list was kept to ensure sufficient participants. Possible exposure factors were mapped by means of an extensive questionnaire. Associated exposure factors were determined using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: Seropositivity was established in 19.5% (n = 1,948) of the 10,001 participants (on average 49 years old (SD = 15; range 18-90 years), majority women (n = 5,829; 58.3%). Exposure factors associated with seropositivity included current education, working in healthcare and not working from home, and being a member of three or four associations or clubs. Specifically for February-March 2020, visiting an après-ski bar during winter sports in Austria, travelling to Spain, celebrating carnival, and participating in a singing activity or ball sport were associated with seropositivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that relevant COVID-19 exposure factors generally reflected circumstances where social distancing was impossible, and the number and duration of contacts was high, in particular for indoor activities.

248. Uncovering in vivo biochemical patterns from time-series metabolic dynamics.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Wu Y, Judge MT, Edison AS

249. Cohort profile: Bandar Kong prospective study of chronic non-communicable diseases.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Nejatizadeh A, Eftekhar E, Shekari M

Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), are the leading causes of death among adults worldwide. It is projected that half of the NCDs could be avoided by preventing measures. Under the prospective epidemiological research studies in Iran (PERSIAN), we established a prospective population-based cohort study in southern Iran. The present study was designed to observe changing pattern of lifestyle transition over time and investigate the incidence and prevalence of regional modifiable risk factors as well as their associations with major NCDs. At baseline, 4063 participants aged 35-70 years were recruited on Oct, 2016and planned to get re-evaluated every 5 years along with annual follow-up. Data using validated electronic questionnaire comprising 55 questions and 482 items including general, medical and nutrition queries was collected. Blood, hair, nails, urine specimens and anthropometric measurements were taken. The response rate was 99%. In the results; male and female participants were 42.5% and 57.5%, respectively. Of note, 30.4% of women and 16.1% of men were obese. The prevalence of hypertension in men and women was 14.6% and 21%; however, diabetic men and women were 17.4% and 12.4%, respectively. Living in rural areas increased the odds of having hypertension by 1.33 (AOR = 1.33, 95% CI:1-09, 1.61). Noteworthy, logistic regression displayed that aging could predispose individuals to be more overweight, hypertensive and diabetic. The prevalence of multimorbidity of 3 or more NCDs were 8% (No. 326) and 6% (No.240), respectively. Intake of fruits, vegetables and dairy was less than two servings per day in 9.2%, 13% and 58.3% of the participants. Lower cardiovascular diseases and serum level of FBS and higher HDL level in sailors/fishermen compared to other job groups were significant (p-value <0.001). The second annual follow-up was completed and now at the end of the third wave. Findings of the present study signified the high prevalence of behavioral risk factors and their associations with respective NCDs. Subsequently, it is essential to keep track lifestyle variations, the modifiable risk factors and NCDs trends by prospective population-based cohort studies.

250. COVID-19 vaccination readiness among multiple racial and ethnic groups in the San Francisco Bay Area: A qualitative analysis.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Butler JZ, Carson M, Rios-Fetchko F

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccination rates are lower among historically marginalized populations, including Black/African American and Latinx populations, threatening to contribute to already high COVID-19 morbidity and mortality disparities for these groups. We conducted a community-based participatory research study using qualitative methods to explore knowledge and beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination among Black/African American, Latinx, and Chinese American residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and assess their views on vaccination outreach and delivery strategies. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Data were collected from January 14, 2021, to February 24, 2021, with adult residents (N = 109 [Female: N = 76; 70%]) in San Francisco. Focus groups (N = 10) and in-depth interviews (N = 25) were conducted among Black/African Americans (N = 35), Latinx (N = 40), and Chinese Americans (n = 34) in English, Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin. Themes were identified using grounded field theory, and included misinformation, mistrust of government and health institutions, and linguistic and other barriers to vaccine access. All three racial/ethnic groups had experiences with vaccine misinformation and information overload. Many African American and Latinx participants cited structural and interpersonal racism, and anti-immigrant discrimination, as factors reducing their trust in government and public health disseminated information and their willingness to be vaccinated. Participants expressed trust in community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations and community-run clinics. Participants often experienced barriers to vaccine access, such as transportation to drive-in sites, with Latinx and Chinese American groups also frequently citing language barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccine outreach strategies must acknowledge how longstanding systemic, institutional, and structural racism contributes to mistrust in government and health institutions and engage with and support trusted messengers from the community to eliminate cultural, linguistic, and other barriers to vaccine access.

251. SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR testing of pooled saliva samples: A case study of 824 asymptomatic individuals and a questionnaire survey in Japan.

PLoS One

2022 May 12

Oba J, Taniguchi H, Sato M

252. Is maternal autonomy associated with child nutritional status? Evidence from a cross-sectional study in India.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Paul P, Saha R.

Despite India's steady economic growth over recent the period, the burden of childhood malnutrition persists, contributing to higher neonatal and infant mortality. There is limited evidence available to contextualise mothers' crucial role in childcare practices and health status in the Indian context. This study attempts to assess the association between maternal autonomy and the nutritional status of children under five. We used samples of 38,685 mother-child pairs from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), conducted in 2015-16. We considered three widely used indicators of child nutrition as outcome variables: stunting, wasting, and underweight. Maternal autonomy (measured from three dimensions: household decision-making, freedom of physical movement, and access to economic resources/control over assets) was the key predictor variable, and various child demographics, maternal, and household characteristics were considered control variables. Stepwise binary logistic regression models were performed to examine the association. Of study participants, 38%, 21%, and 35% of children were stunted, wasted, and underweight, respectively. Our results (models 1 to 4) indicate that mothers with greater autonomy were significantly associated with lower odds of malnourished children. After controlling for all potential confounding variables (in model 5), maternal autonomy had a statistically insignificant association with children's stunting (Odds ratio [OR]: 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87, 1.00) and wasting (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.00). However, a significant relationship (though marginally) was retained with underweight (OR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.88, 0.99). In addition, socio-demographic characteristics such as child age, birth order, maternal education, maternal BMI, place of residence and household wealth quintile were found to be strong predictors of child nutritional status. Future policies should not only inform women's empowerment programmes but also emphasise effective interventions toward improving female educational attainment and nutritional status of women, as well as addressing socioeconomic inequalities in order to combat the persistent burden of childhood malnutrition in India.

253. Does national intellectual capital matter for shadow economy in the Southeast Asian countries?

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Tran TP, Nguyen PV, Nguyen QL

254. Use of digital teaching resources and predictors of medical student performance during the pandemic: A prospective study.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Seer M, Kampsen C, Becker T

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus pandemic has led to increased use of digital teaching formats in medical education. A number of studies have assessed student satisfaction with these resources. However, there is a lack of studies investigating changes in student performance following the switch from contact to virtual teaching. Specifically, there are no studies linking student use of digital resources to learning outcome and examining predictors of failure. METHODS: Student performance before (winter term 2019/20: contact teaching) and during (summer term 2020: no contact teaching) the pandemic was compared prospectively in a cohort of 162 medical students enrolled in the clinical phase of a five-year undergraduate curriculum. Use of and performance in various digital resources (case-based teaching in a modified flipped classroom approach; formative key feature examinations of clinical reasoning; daily multiple choice quizzes) was recorded in summer 2020. Student scores in summative examinations were compared to examination scores in the previous term. Associations between student characteristics, resource use and summative examination results were used to identify predictors of performance. RESULTS: Not all students made complete use of the digital learning resources provided. Timely completion of tasks was associated with superior performance compared to delayed completion. Female students scored significantly fewer points in formative key feature examinations and digital quizzes. Overall, higher rankings within the student cohort (according to summative exams) in winter term 2019/20 as well as male gender predicted summative exam performance in summer 2020. Scores achieved in the first formative key feature examination predicted summative end-of-module exam scores. CONCLUSIONS: The association between timely completion of tasks as well as early performance in a module and summative exams might help to identify students at risk and offering help early on. The unexpected gender difference requires further study to determine whether the shift to a digital-only curriculum disadvantages female students.

255. Analysis on synergistic cocontraction of extrinsic finger flexors and extensors during flexion movements: A finite element digital human hand model.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Lv Y, Zheng Q, Chen X

256. Neuroprotective role of nitric oxide inhalation and nitrite in a Neonatal Rat Model of Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Jung P, Ha E, Zhang M

257. Endosomal structure and APP biology are not altered in a preclinical mouse cellular model of Down syndrome.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Cannavo C, Cleverley K, Maduro C

258. Training a spiking neuronal network model of visual-motor cortex to play a virtual racket-ball game using reinforcement learning.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Anwar H, Caby S, Dura-Bernal S

Recent models of spiking neuronal networks have been trained to perform behaviors in static environments using a variety of learning rules, with varying degrees of biological realism. Most of these models have not been tested in dynamic visual environments where models must make predictions on future states and adjust their behavior accordingly. The models using these learning rules are often treated as black boxes, with little analysis on circuit architectures and learning mechanisms supporting optimal performance. Here we developed visual/motor spiking neuronal network models and trained them to play a virtual racket-ball game using several reinforcement learning algorithms inspired by the dopaminergic reward system. We systematically investigated how different architectures and circuit-motifs (feed-forward, recurrent, feedback) contributed to learning and performance. We also developed a new biologically-inspired learning rule that significantly enhanced performance, while reducing training time. Our models included visual areas encoding game inputs and relaying the information to motor areas, which used this information to learn to move the racket to hit the ball. Neurons in the early visual area relayed information encoding object location and motion direction across the network. Neuronal association areas encoded spatial relationships between objects in the visual scene. Motor populations received inputs from visual and association areas representing the dorsal pathway. Two populations of motor neurons generated commands to move the racket up or down. Model-generated actions updated the environment and triggered reward or punishment signals that adjusted synaptic weights so that the models could learn which actions led to reward. Here we demonstrate that our biologically-plausible learning rules were effective in training spiking neuronal network models to solve problems in dynamic environments. We used our models to dissect the circuit architectures and learning rules most effective for learning. Our model shows that learning mechanisms involving different neural circuits produce similar performance in sensory-motor tasks. In biological networks, all learning mechanisms may complement one another, accelerating the learning capabilities of animals. Furthermore, this also highlights the resilience and redundancy in biological systems.

259. Mechanical properties of emulsified recycled cement-stabilized macadam based on step-by-step filling gradation design.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Liu Z, Li C, Sun T

Since the recycling of waste original cement-stabilized macadam (OCSM) base has important environmental and economic significance, the addition of emulsified asphalt to OCSM to form emulsified recycled OCSM (ER-OCSM) can improve the flexibility of recycled mixtures. However, the influence of emulsified asphalt on the mechanical performance of such mixtures remains to be investigated. This study presents a gradation design and ER-OCSM established using the step-by-step filling method and investigated the mechanical properties of the ER-OCSM mixture. The apparent characteristics, crushing value and needle-like particle content of the OCSM milling material were tested. Based on step-by-step filling theory, the appropriate test method to achieve a uniform and dense state according to the characteristics of different aggregates was selected, and the dense skeleton gradation design method for recycled cement macadam was obtained. The mechanical properties of the ER-OCSM were analyzed by performing indoor physical laboratory tests. The natural gradation of the OCSM milling material exceeded the gradation range recommended in the Technical Guide for the Promotion of Science and Technology of the Construction Project of the Main Highway in Jiangsu Province (Trial), but the designed gradations were basically within the range. At the same age and temperature, the flexural strength and dynamic elastic modulus of the ER-OCSM decreased gradually with an increase in the emulsified asphalt content. Because ER-OCSM had temperature-sensitive characteristics, the adhesiveness of the asphalt between particles in the mixture decreased with increasing temperature, which was manifested as the unconfined compressive strength, flexural tensile strength and dynamic elastic modulus decreasing with an increase in temperature (the decrease was slight within 5-25°C but noticeable within 25-60°C). Furthermore, a higher emulsified asphalt content caused a more noticeable decrease. The flexural strength of the tested ER-OCSM showed noticeable correlations with the splitting strength, unconfined compressive strength and dynamic elastic modulus. The proper addition of emulsified asphalt can reduce the rigidity of ER-OCSM. However, the emulsified asphalt content should be strictly controlled; otherwise, the mechanical properties of the material will decrease greatly, adversely impacting the comprehensive road use performance.

260. Hepatitis C prevalence and key population size estimate updates in San Francisco: 2015 to 2019.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Facente SN, Grinstein R, Bruhn R

BACKGROUND: In 2017, San Francisco's initiative to locally eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) as a public health threat, End Hep C SF, generated an estimate of city-wide HCV prevalence in 2015, but only incorporated limited information about population HCV treatment. Using additional data and updated methods, we aimed to update the 2015 estimate to 2019 and provide a more accurate estimate of the number of people with untreated, active HCV infection overall and in key subgroups-people who inject drugs (PWID), men who have sex with men (MSM), and low socioeconomic status transgender women (low SES TW). METHODS: Our estimates are based on triangulation of data from blood bank testing records, cross-sectional and longitudinal observational studies, and published literature. We calculated subpopulation estimates based on biological sex, age and/or HCV risk group. When multiple sources of data were available for subpopulation estimates, we calculated an average using inverse variance weighting. Plausible ranges (PRs) were conservatively estimated to convey uncertainty. RESULTS: The total number of people estimated to have anti-HCV antibodies in San Francisco in 2019 was 22,585 (PR:12,014-44,152), with a citywide seroprevalence of 2.6% (PR:1.4%-5.0%)-similar to the 2015 estimate of 21,758 (PR:10,274-42,067). Of all people with evidence of past or present infection, an estimated 11,582 (PR:4,864-35,094) still had untreated, active HCV infection, representing 51.3% (PR:40.5%-79.5%) of all people with anti-HCV antibodies, and 1.3% (PR:0.6%-4.0%) of all San Franciscans. PWID comprised an estimated 2.8% of the total population of San Francisco, yet 73.1% of people with anti-HCV antibodies and 90.4% (n = 10,468, PR:4,690-17,628) of untreated, active HCV infections were among PWID. MSM comprised 7.8% of the total population, yet 11.7% of people with anti-HCV antibodies and 1.0% (n = 119, PR:0-423) of those with untreated active infections. Low SES TW comprised an estimated 0.1% of the total population, yet 1.4% of people with HCV antibodies and 1.6% (n = 183, PR:130-252) of people with untreated active infections. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the above-average number (2.6%) of people with anti-HCV antibodies, we estimate that only 1.3% (PR:0.6%-4.0%) of all San Francisco residents have untreated, active HCV infection-likely a reflection of San Francisco's robust efforts to diagnose infection among high-risk groups and initiate curative treatment with as many people as possible. While plausible ranges of infections are wide, these findings indicate that while the overall number of people with anti-HCV antibodies may have increased slightly, the number of people with active HCV infection may have decreased slightly since 2015. This estimate improves upon the 2015 calculations by directly estimating the impact of curative treatment citywide and in subgroups. However, more research is needed to better understand the burden of HCV disease among other subgroups at high risk, such as Blacks/African Americans, people with a history of injection drug use (but not injecting drugs in the last 12 months), people who are currently or formerly incarcerated, and people who are currently or formerly unhoused.

261. How curriculum delivery translates into entrepreneurial skills: The mediating role of knowledge of information and communication technology.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Iqbal J, Yi X, Ashraf MA

262. Long-term obesogenic diet leads to metabolic phenotypes which are not exacerbated by catch-up growth in zebrafish.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Leibold S, Bagivalu Lakshminarasimha A, Gremse F

263. Covariate adjustment of spirometric and smoking phenotypes: The potential of neural network models.

PLoS One

2022 May 11

Voorhies K, Bie R, Hokanson JE

264. Kirkegaardia Blake, 2016 (Annelida: Cirratulidae) from Southeastern Brazil with description of nine new species.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Freitas R, Ribeiro RP, Ruta C.

265. Factors associated with prevention practices against COVID-19 in the Peruvian population: Disparities between rural and urban areas.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Fernandez-Guzman D, Soriano-Moreno DR, Ccami-Bernal F

266. Characteristics of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in hospitals of Uganda.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Kimbowa IM, Ocan M, Eriksen J

267. Factors influencing low-income households' food insecurity in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 lockdown.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Shuvo SD, Hossain MS, Riazuddin M

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic and countrywide lockdown could negatively impact household food insecurity among low-income households. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of household food insecurity and its influencing factors among low-income people in Bangladesh during the lockdown of COVID-19. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted through face-to-face interviews from 500 low-income households during the countrywide COVID-19 lockdown. A pretested, structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect socioeconomic characteristics, household income conditions, and food accessibility. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) were used to measure food insecurity. Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated to evaluate and predict risk factors that influence food insecurity. RESULTS: The study found that above 67% of households was mild-to-moderate food insecure while 23% experienced severe food insecurity. Significantly, 88%, 97.4%, and 93.4% of the households had anxiety and uncertainty, inadequate quality, and inadequate quantity of food, respectively. The regression analysis revealed the age 36-50 years (RRR: 4.86; 95% CI: 2.31-7.44, RRR: 4.16; 95% CI: 2.25-6.10) and monthly income <58.3 USD (RRR: 3.04; 95% CI: 1.12-5.14, RRR: 3.26; 95% CI: 1.79-4.71) were significantly associated with food insecurity (p <0.001). Likewise, less-income (RRR: 3.87; 95% CI: 1.37-6.46, RRR: 2.99; 95% CI: 1.16-4.83), increase in food prices (RRR: 1.29; 95% CI: 0.32-2.33, RRR: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.05-1.12), and those who did not have same type of earning as before during the COVID-19 lockdown (RRR: 3.41; 95% CI: 1.33-5.62, RRR: 2.60; 95% CI: 0.99-4.24) were potential risk factor for MMFI and FI. CONCLUSION: This study found that households become more susceptible to food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown period. Based on the findings, we suggest some essential food policies and adequate food assistance to mitigate these negative consequences.

268. Associations of vaccine status with characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized severe COVID-19 patients in the booster era.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Freund O, Tau L, Weiss TE

269. Constitutive gene expression differs in three brain regions important for cognition in neophobic and non-neophobic house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Lattin CR, Kelly TR, Kelly MW

Neophobia (aversion to new objects, food, and environments) is a personality trait that affects the ability of wildlife to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. Despite the ubiquity and importance of this trait, the molecular mechanisms underlying repeatable individual differences in neophobia in wild animals are poorly understood. We evaluated wild-caught house sparrows (Passer domesticus) for neophobia in the lab using novel object tests. We then selected a subset of neophobic and non-neophobic individuals (n = 3 of each, all females) and extracted RNA from four brain regions involved in learning, memory, threat perception, and executive function: striatum, caudal dorsomedial hippocampus, medial ventral arcopallium, and caudolateral nidopallium (NCL). Our analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) used 11,889 gene regions annotated in the house sparrow reference genome for which we had an average of 25.7 million mapped reads/sample. PERMANOVA identified significant effects of brain region, phenotype (neophobic vs. non-neophobic), and a brain region by phenotype interaction. Comparing neophobic and non-neophobic birds revealed constitutive differences in DEGs in three of the four brain regions examined: hippocampus (12% of the transcriptome significantly differentially expressed), striatum (4%) and NCL (3%). DEGs included important known neuroendocrine mediators of learning, memory, executive function, and anxiety behavior, including serotonin receptor 5A, dopamine receptors 1, 2 and 5 (downregulated in neophobic birds), and estrogen receptor beta (upregulated in neophobic birds). These results suggest that some of the behavioral differences between phenotypes may be due to underlying gene expression differences in the brain. The large number of DEGs in neophobic and non-neophobic birds also implies that there are major differences in neural function between the two phenotypes that could affect a wide variety of behavioral traits beyond neophobia.

270. Utilization of social health security scheme among the households of Illam district, Nepal.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Shah S, Jha N, Khanal VK

271. Nucleotide substitutions in the mexR, nalC and nalD regulator genes of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump are maintained in Pseudomonas aeruginosa genetic lineages.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Aguilar-Rodea P, Zúñiga G, Cerritos R

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has different resistant mechanisms including the constitutive MexAB-OprM efflux pump. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mexR, nalC, and nalD repressors of this efflux pump can contribute to antimicrobial resistance; however, it is unknown whether these changes are mainly related to genetic lineages or environmental pressure. This study identifies SNPs in the mexR, nalC, and nalD genes in clinical and environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa (including high-risk clones). Ninety-one P. aeruginosa strains were classified according to their resistance to antibiotics, typified by multilocus sequencing, and mexR, nalC, and nalD genes sequenced for SNPs identification. The mexAB-oprM transcript expression was determined. The 96.7% of the strains were classified as multidrug resistant. Eight strains produced serine carbapenemases, and 11 strains metallo-β-lactamases. Twenty-three new STs and high-risk clones ST111 and ST233 were identified. SNPs in the mexR, nalC, and nalD genes revealed 27 different haplotypes (patterns). Sixty-two mutational changes were identified, 13 non-synonymous. Haplotype 1 was the most frequent (n = 40), and mainly identified in strains ST1725 (33/40), with 57.5% pan drug resistant strains, 36.5% extensive drug resistant and two strains exhibiting serin-carbapenemases. Haplotype 12 (n = 9) was identified in ST233 and phylogenetically related STs, with 100% of the strains exhibiting XDR and 90% producing metallo-β-lactamases. Haplotype 5 was highly associated with XDR and related to dead when compared to ST1725 and ST233 (RRR 23.34; p = 0.009 and RRR 32.01; p = 0.025). A significant relationship between the mexR-nalC-nalD haplotypes and phylogenetically related STs was observed, suggesting mutational changes in these repressors are highly maintained within genetic lineages. In addition, phylogenetically related STs showed similar resistant profiles; however, the resistance was (likely or partly) attributed to the MexAB-OprM efflux pump in 56% of the strains (only 45.05% showed mexA overtranscription), in the remaining strains the resistance could be attributed to carbapenemases or mechanisms including other pumps, since same SNPs in the repressor genes gave rise to different resistance profiles.

272. Living kidney donation in a developing country.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Dayal C, Davies M, Diana NE

273. Metabolic and transcriptome analysis of dark red taproot in radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Heng S, Gao C, Cui M

274. Field evaluation of the performance of seven Antigen Rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of SARs-CoV-2 virus infection in Uganda.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Bwogi J, Lutalo T, Tushabe P

275. Assessment of potential factors associated with the sensitivity and specificity of Sofia Influenza A+B Fluorescent Immunoassay in an ambulatory care setting.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Bell C, Goss M, Birstler J

276. Experimental evaluation of a metofluthrin passive emanator against Aedes albopictus.

PLoS One

2022 May 10

Zarella O, Ekwomadu U, Romer Y

BACKGROUND: With the recent occurrence of locally transmitted Aedes-borne viruses in the continental United States and Europe, and a lack of effective vaccines, new approaches to control Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are needed. In sub-tropical urban settings in the US, Ae. albopictus is a dominant nuisance and arbovirus vector species. Unfortunately, the vector control toolbox against Ae. albopictus is not as well developed as for Ae. aegypti. Here, we evaluate the efficacy, longevity, and range of protectiveness of a novel passive metofluthrin emanator (10% active ingredient in a polyethylene mesh) against Ae. albopictus indoors and outdoors. METHODS: Four studies were conducted comparing the presence of the metofluthrin emanator to a control lacking emanator with interest in quantifying efficacy by human landing counts. Studies evaluated the effect of an emanator at varying distances from one or more human volunteers indoors and outdoors. Efficacy of emanators over time since activation was also evaluated. RESULTS: Mixed-effects models determined that sitting in close proximity to an emanator reduced landings by 89.5% outdoors and by 74.6% indoors. The emanator was determined protective when located immediately next to a human volunteer outdoors but not uniformly protective when located further away. The emanator was protective at all tested distances from the device indoors. Mortality of mosquitoes exposed to metofluthrin emanators was ~2x higher than those who were not exposed in indoor conditions. Finally, a Generalized Additive Model determined that emanators used continuously outdoors lost their effect after 2.5 weeks and stopped inducing paralysis in mosquitoes after 3.8 weeks of use. CONCLUSIONS: We show strong and lasting efficacy of 10% metofluthrin emanators against field Ae. albopictus both in indoor and outdoor conditions. Metofluthrin emanators can protect people from Ae. albopictus bites, representing a viable option for reducing human-mosquito contacts at home and beyond.

Newmer生物

Newmer生物