Browse Articles

Analysis of the impact force and key technique of backward straight punch in different combat sports

Author Response: Muscle Wasting in ICU Patients is Multifactorial and Requires thorough Workup

A political economy of the tobacco supply chain in an Eastern Mediterranean country: The case of Lebanon

The literature on tobacco has traditionally focused on health effects, public policies for tobacco control, and smoker profiles. However, there is a notable gap in understanding the supply chains and industry practices within the tobacco market. This paper addresses this gap by examining the structure of the tobacco market in Lebanon. Using an exploratory qualitative research approach, this paper maps the tobacco supply chain in Lebanon and investigates the interactions among various stakeholders, including key policymakers, regulators, researchers, and industry experts, as well as their underlying interests. Lebanon is a compelling case study due to its high smoking prevalence, the presence of a state-owned tobacco monopoly (the Regie Libanaise de Tabacs et Tombacs (Regie)), and the ongoing financial crisis that has affected various sectors, including the tobacco industry. The findings reveal three key issues: a complex political economy centered around monopolization and conflicting interests, the absence of a clear national strategy on tobacco leading to ineffective policy formulation, and inefficient tobacco cultivation practices requiring reforms for sustainable agricultural development. To address these issues, it is proposed to foster a more competitive and revenue-efficient tobacco market through the dissolution of the Regie monopoly via horizontal and vertical integration. This includes adopting an excise-specific tax on domestically manufactured tobacco goods and optimizing sales taxes on locally traded items. Secondly, expanding antitrust laws to encompass the tobacco industry and introducing legislative measures for fees and taxes are recommended to create an enabling environment for competition and revenue generation. Thirdly, reforming tobacco cultivation practices requires abolishing the current cultivation licensing framework, offering financial compensation to existing license holders, and supporting farmers in transitioning to alternative crops.

Comparing machine learning models for osteoporosis prediction in Tibetan middle aged and elderly women

Incidence Risk Factors and Drug Resistance Patterns of Bacterial Isolates in Patients with Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infections

Weather extremes and their impact on crop transportation networks: Evidence from U.S. Midwestern elevators

The grain price margins between buyers and sellers (i.e., basis spread) is influenced by the infrastructure used to transport crops from collection points to ports, which can be disrupted by weather extremes like floods and severe storms. Such disruptions are expected to become more frequent, potentially increasing food insecurity and impacting farm incomes. On average, the U.S. accounts for one-third of global corn and soybean production from 2012/13 to 2020/21, so the infrastructure to move crops from the main growing region to the nation’s ports is critical to global crop and food markets. Despite the critical nature of these issues, there is limited research specifically examining the effects of weather extremes on the U.S. crop transportation network. This study investigates how weather extremes disrupt crop transportation networks, and, in turn, how those disruptions affect the basis spread of corn and soybeans. It uses basis spread data from nearly 5,000 U.S. midwestern corn and soybean elevators spanning from 2012 to 2020, along with natural disaster declarations to represent weather extremes affecting crop transportation. Using a three-step process, it calculates least cost transportation routes to a port, adjusts for weather disruptions, and integrates disaster, transportation cost, and control variables into a fixed effects, panel data model that explains variation in basis spread. Results show natural disasters, particularly flash floods and winter storms, negatively affect basis spread. The cost effects of natural disasters disrupting crop transportation routes further decrease basis spread. Strengthening crop transportation infrastructure to withstand flooding and winter storms could reduce disruptions in this network. These findings underscore the value of Federal and State policies that prioritize investments in resilient transportation infrastructure, particularly in regions prone to flash floods and winter storms. Strengthening this infrastructure could not only reduce the economic costs of weather disruptions but also affect farm income and food security.

A harsher reality for adolescents with depression on social media

Abstract Social media use is often highlighted as an important cause of the recent rise in depression among adolescents. However, this perspective overlooks a crucial reverse causality, namely that levels of depression might also shape adolescents’ social media use. In a diary study among 479 adolescents (M age = 15.98; 16.9% clinically depressed), we assessed their level of depression and then monitored their social media activities and experiences daily for 100 subsequent days. Depressed adolescents did not differ from their non-depressed peers in the frequency of posting and the time spent scrolling. However, they reported feeling twice as insecure after scrolling, nearly twice as rejected during online communication with friends, and significantly more preoccupied with feedback. Our findings underscore the need for further research into the mechanisms of how depressive symptoms influence adolescents’ social media experiences, to inform the development of effective digital tools and therapeutic approaches to support adolescent mental health.

Ventilator-associated Pneumonia: A Persistent Menace in the ICU

Hepatitis B vaccine coverage in health care students: a cross-sectional study in Vietnam

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a significant global health concern, with healthcare students being at elevated risk of infection during their internships in healthcare settings. This study aimed to determine the percentage of healthcare students vaccinated against hepatitis B and the factors associated with vaccination status. A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare students at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam between February and May 2023 using a self-reported questionnaire. Participants were selected through stratified and random sampling. A multivariable analysis logistic regression was performed to determine the association between several factors with vaccination status. A total of 225 participants took part in the study. We found that 89.8% of the participants had received at least one dose of the HBV vaccine, while 63.3% had completed the entire vaccine schedule. Students with sufficient knowledge of HBV were 2.68 times more likely to be vaccinated (p <  0.05), while those practicing effective HBV prevention had 8.79 times higher vaccination rates (p <  0.001) compared to others. The rate of HBV vaccination among healthcare students remains suboptimal. Targeted health education that addresses knowledge gaps, enhances motivation, tackles vaccination barriers, and emphasizes preventive measures before internships could substantially improve vaccination coverage in this group.

Comparison of nanopore with illumina whole genome assemblies of the Epstein-Barr virus in Burkitt lymphoma

Abstract Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is one of the most prevalent cancer in children in sub-Saharan Africa, and while prior studies have found that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) type and variation may alter the tumor driver genes necessary for tumor survival, the precise relationship between EBV variation and EBV-associated tumorigenesis remains unclear due to lack of scalable, cost-effective, viral whole-genome sequencing from tumor samples. This study introduces a rapid and cost-effective method of enriching, sequencing, and assembling accurate EBV genomes in BL tumor cell lines through a combination of selective whole genome amplification (sWGA) and subsequent 2-tube multiplex polymerase chain reaction along with long-read sequencing with a portable sequencer. The method was optimized across a range of parameters to yield a high percentage of EBV reads and sufficient coverage across the EBV genome except for large repeat regions. After optimization, we applied our method to sequence 18 cell lines and 3 patient tumors from fine needle biopsies and assembled them with median coverages of 99.62 and 99.68%, respectively. The assemblies showed high concordance (99.61% similarity) to available Illumina-based assemblies. The improved method and assembly pipeline will allow for better understanding of EBV variation in relation to BL and is applicable more broadly for translational research studies, especially useful for laboratories in Africa where eBL is most widespread.

Utility of Clinical Frailty Scale in Intensive Care Unit

Microbiome and metabolomic changes in rabbits induced by Folium sennae

Diarrhea is a serious health concern in livestock, affecting productivity and animal welfare. However, it remains a significant threat. Various practical therapies are being explored, such as prebiotics, probiotics, and organic acids, as well as chemical treatments including antibiotics, to combat this disorder. This study aims to explore the microbiome and metabolomic changes in rabbits with diarrhea. In the present study, diarrhea was induced in rabbits via oral gavage of Folium Sennae (FSAE), to assess body weights, diarrhea index, serum biochemical indicators, histopathology, microbiota, and metabolomics changes. Our study provides new insights into the mechanism of FSAE-induced diarrhea in rabbits and offers a novel mechanism for the interaction between gut microbiota, metabolomics, and gastrointestinal (GIT) dysfunction. Our results revealed that rabbits receiving FSAE showed a markedly higher diarrhea index and reduced body weight. Notably, levels of somatostatin, substance P, cholecystokinin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and acetylcholinesterase were significantly increased compared to control (P <  0.01). However, the levels of gastrin, motilin, enkephalin, and β-Endorphins were significantly decreased (P <  0.01). Microbial analysis revealed a significant reduction in microbial diversity (Shannon, Simpson, ACE, and chao1) and a decrease in Firmicutes, Campilobacterota, and Proteobacteria populations in FSAE-exposed rabbits. Additionally, 13 key metabolites associated with taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, histidine metabolism, and citrate cycle were identified in the colonic tissues. The present study concludes that FSAE-induced diarrhea in rabbits is associated with significant histopathological alterations in the colon, dysregulation of serum biochemical markers, and dysbiosis in metabolomics and gut microbiota. Our findings offer a novel model for investigating GIT dysfunction and its potential treatments.

Transformed magnetic force model of zero power permanent electromagnetic suspension system by using Hall effect based distance sensor

Asymmetric spillover connectedness between clean energy markets and industrial stock markets: How uncertainties affect it

As the global climate crisis intensifies, clean energy is becoming increasingly important, and the intrinsic link between industry and energy highlights the connectedness between the industrial stock market and the clean energy market, and examining this connectedness can reveal risk spillovers between these markets. We categorise the clean energy market into hydro, wind and solar markets, and the industrial stock market into low-carbon portfolios, high-carbon portfolios and ordinary portfolios, and use the network connectedness methodology to investigate the connectedness of returns between the clean energy submarkets and the industrial stock submarkets in the time and frequency domains. The returns are categorised into positive and negative returns in order to investigate the asymmetry in the connectedness of the markets. Finally, we explore the effects of EPU, GPU, and CPU in terms of network connectedness. It is revealed that clean energy submarkets are net receivers of risk, industrial stock submarkets are risk transmitters. The hydropower market is the main risk receiver, while the low-carbon portfolio is the main risk transmitter. Risk spillovers are mainly driven by short-term spillovers and do not have persistent spillover transmission. Bad news has a greater impact on network connectedness, leading to higher levels of connectedness between markets. EPU and CPU have significant effects on network connectedness. Our findings are informative for both investors and policymakers.

Hybrid weighted fuzzy production rule extraction utilizing modified harmony search and BPNN

Dynamic imaging of myelin pathology in physiologically preserved human brain tissue using third harmonic generation microscopy

Myelin pathology is known to play a central role in disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) among others. Despite this, the pathological mechanisms underlying these conditions are often difficult to unravel. Conventional techniques like immunohistochemistry or dye-based approaches, do not provide a temporal characterization of the pathophysiological aberrations responsible for myelin changes in human specimens. Here, to circumvent this curb, we present a label-free, live-cell imaging approach of myelin using recent advancements in nonlinear harmonic generation microscopy applied to physiologically viable human brain tissue from post-mortem donors. Gray and white matter brain tissue from epilepsy surgery and post-mortem donors was excised. To sustain viability of the specimens for several hours, they were subjected to either acute or organotypic slice culture protocols in artificial cerebral spinal fluid. Imaging was performed using a femtosecond pulsed 1050 nm laser to generate second harmonic generation (SHG) and third harmonic generation (THG) signals directly from myelin and axon-like structures without the need to add any labels. Experiments on acute human brain slices and post-mortem human slice cultures reveal that myelin, along with lipid bodies, are the prime sources of THG signal. We show that tissue viability is maintained over extended periods during THG microscopy, and that prolonged THG imaging is able to detect experimentally induced subtle alterations in myelin morphology. Finally, we provide practical evidence that live-cell imaging of myelin with THG microscopy is a sensitive tool to investigate subtle changes in white matter of neurological donors. Overall, our findings support that nonlinear live-cell imaging is a suitable setup for researching myelin morphology in neurological conditions like MS.

Micronutrients and contaminants in the grazing and agricultural soils of Kashmir Valley, India

Health diagnosis associated with COVID-19 death in the United States: A retrospective cohort study using electronic health records

Background The United States has experienced high surge in COVID-19 cases since the dawn of 2020. Identifying the types of diagnoses that pose a risk in leading COVID-19 death casualties will enable our community to obtain a better perspective in identifying the most vulnerable populations and enable these populations to implement better precautionary measures. Objective To identify demographic factors and health diagnosis codes that pose a high or a low risk to COVID-19 death from individual health record data sourced from the United States. Methods We used logistic regression models to analyze the top 500 health diagnosis codes and demographics that have been identified as being associated with COVID-19 death. Results Among 223,286 patients tested positive at least once, 218,831 (98%) patients were alive and 4,455 (2%) patients died during the duration of the study period. Through our logistic regression analysis, four demographic characteristics of patients; age, gender, race and region, were deemed to be associated with COVID-19 mortality. Patients from the West region of the United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming had the highest odds ratio of COVID-19 mortality across the United States. In terms of diagnoses, Complications mainly related to pregnancy (Adjusted Odds Ratio, OR:2.95; 95% Confidence Interval, CI:1.4 - 6.23) hold the highest odds ratio in influencing COVID-19 death followed by Other diseases of the respiratory system (OR:2.0; CI:1.84 – 2.18), Renal failure (OR:1.76; CI:1.61 – 1.93), Influenza and pneumonia (OR:1.53; CI:1.41 – 1.67), Other bacterial diseases (OR:1.45; CI:1.31 – 1.61), Coagulation defects, purpura and other hemorrhagic conditions(OR:1.37; CI:1.22 – 1.54), Injuries to the head (OR:1.27; CI:1.1 - 1.46), Mood [affective] disorders (OR:1.24; CI:1.12 – 1.36), Aplastic and other anemias (OR:1.22; CI:1.12 – 1.34), Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and allied conditions (OR:1.18; CI:1.06 – 1.32), Other forms of heart disease (OR:1.18; CI:1.09 – 1.28), Infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (OR: 1.15; CI:1.04 – 1.27), Diabetes mellitus (OR:1.14; CI:1.03 – 1.26), and Other diseases of the urinary system (OR:1.12; CI:1.03 – 1.21). Conclusion We found demographic factors and medical conditions, including some novel ones which are associated with COVID-19 death. These findings can be used for clinical and public awareness and for future research purposes.

High dose methylprednisolone mediates YAP/TAZ-TEAD in vocal fold fibroblasts with macrophages

Effect of perfusion index on oxygen reserve index accuracy in estimating arterial oxygen tension in anesthetized dogs: Data reanalysis

Multi-wave CO-oximetry, utilizing the oxygen reserve index (ORi), estimates arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) in mild hyperoxemia, between 100 and 200 mmHg, and concurrently quantifies local perfusion at the measurement site using the perfusion index (PI). This study explores how variations in PI influence the accuracy of ORi in estimating PaO2 in anesthetized dogs. Data from 37 mechanically ventilated dogs were retrospectively reanalyzed using a different approach. ORi and PI values were collected using a CO-oximeter. The data were categorized into four groups based on PI quartiles. In each group, the relationship between ORi and PaO2 was assessed using linear regression analysis, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) investigated the diagnostic performance of ORi in detecting PaO2 >  150 mmHg. Strong relationships between ORi and PaO2 were observed in groups with PI values <  2 (r2 ≥  0.63). The AUROC of ORi for identifying PaO2 > 150 mmHg decreased with PI >  2 compared to lower values (0.76 vs >  0.88). In this study, PI values >  2 negatively impacted ORi’s ability to estimate PaO2, likely due to fluctuations in blood flow perfusing the measurement site. The results of this study suggests that consideration of the PI value is essential when titrating oxygen therapy using ORi in anesthetized dogs.