Tag: pubmed

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 2;16(9):e0256725. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256725. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Obesity prevalence is increasing in many countries in the world, including Asia. Maternal obesity is highly associated with fetal and neonatal deaths. This study investigated whether maternal obesity is a risk factor of fetal death (measured in terms of miscarriage and stillbirth) and neonatal mortality in South and South-East Asian countries.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study pooled the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from eight South and South-East Asian countries (2014-2018). Multivariate logistic regression was deployed to check the relationships between maternal obesity with fetal and neonatal deaths. Finally, multilevel logistic regression model was employed since the DHS data has a hierarchical structure.

RESULTS: The pooled logistic regression model illustrated that maternal obesity is associated with higher odds of miscarriage (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.20-1.33) and stillbirths (aOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.27-1.67) after adjustment of confounders. Children of obese mothers were at 1.18 (aOR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08-1.28) times greater risk of dying during the early neonatal period than mothers with a healthy weight. However, whether maternal obesity is statistically a significant risk factor for the offspring’s late neonatal deaths was not confirmed. The significant association between maternal obesity with miscarriage, stillbirth and early neonatal mortality was further confirmed by multilevel logistic regression results.

CONCLUSION: Maternal obesity in South and South-East Asian countries is associated with a greater risk of fetal and early neonatal deaths. This finding has substantial public health implications. Strategies to prevent and reduce obesity should be developed before planning pregnancy to reduce the fetal and neonatal death burden. Obese women need to deliver at the institutional facility centre that can offer obstetrics and early neonatal care.

PMID:34473759 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0256725

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 2;16(9):e0255121. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255121. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains a significant public health problem globally. In Ethiopia, the number of infected peoples and deaths due to COVID-19 has increased dramatically in the past. Currently, students are resuming to face to face education with strict prevention measures. University students are more dynamic and more susceptible to acquiring and spreading the virus.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the attitude, preparedness, and self-efficacy to prevent and control COVID-19 and associated factors among university students during school reopening, Northeast Ethiopia.

METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Debre Berhan University (DBU) students from December 1 to 15/2020, when students return to campus. A multistage sampling technique was applied to recruit 682 participants. The ReadyScore criteria were used to classify the level of preparedness. Epi-Data version 4.6 was used for data entry, while SPSS version 25 for analysis. Descriptive and Binary logistic regression analysis was computed, and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULT: The overall level of favourable attitude, good preparedness, and high self-efficacy among students were 67.2%, 17.9%, and 50.4%, respectively. Only mothers’ education was associated with attitude. Female gender, open relationships, health science faculty, heart disease, and favourable attitude were significant preparedness factors. Whereas being undergraduate, parents’ education, residing in dorm being four and above, having kidney disease, having friend/family history of COVID-19 infection and death, favourable attitude, and good preparedness were predictors of self-efficacy.

CONCLUSION: The level of attitude, preparedness, and self-efficacy towards COVID-19 among students during campus re-entry were low. Managing chronic illnesses and raising the attitude and preparedness of students is essential to reduce the burden of COVID-19 pandemics. Besides, emphasis should be placed on male, unmarried, postgraduate, and non-health science students to increase the level of preparedness and self-efficacy.

PMID:34473719 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0255121

PLoS One. 2021 Sep 2;16(9):e0254094. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254094. eCollection 2021.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the ovulatory cycle (KOC) aids women to refrain and engage in sexual intercourse to avoid and to get pregnancy, respectively. The effect of community-level factors on KOC was not yet known in Ethiopia. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the community- and individual-level determinants of KOC among women of childbearing age.

METHODS: We used the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, and total weighted samples of 15,683 women were included. Intra-class correlation, median odds ratio, and deviance were executed for model comparison in which a model with the lowest deviance was the best model i.e. model III in this case. A multivariable multilevel logistic regression model was employed to identify community- and individual-level factors of correct KOC. In the ultimate model, an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval was reported and variables with a p<0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

RESULTS: In this study, 3,698 [23.58% (95% CI; 22.92-24.25)] participants had correct KOC. Women’s age in years, i.e. 20-24 (AOR = 1.46;1.28-1.68) 25-29 (AOR = 1.72; 1.49-1.99), 30-34 (AOR = 2.21; 1.89-2.58), 35-39 (AOR = 1.78; 1.51-2.09), 40-44 (AOR = 1.97; 1.65-2.37), and 45-49 (AOR = 1.78; 1.44-2.19), knowledge of contraceptive methods (AOR = 3.08; 2.07-4.58), increased women’s educational level, i.e. higher (AOR = 4.24; 3.54-5.07), secondary (AOR = 2.89; 2.48-3.36), and primary (AOR = 1.57; 1.39-1.78), higher household’s wealth index, i.e. richest (AOR = 1.71; 1.35-2.16), richer (AOR = 1.42; 1.16-1.72), middle (AOR = 1.29; 1.07-1.56), and poorer (AOR = 1.24; 1.03-1.48), current contraceptive use (AOR = 1.26; 1.13-1.39), menstruating in the last six weeks (AOR = 1.13; 1.03-1.24), women’s media exposure (AOR = 1.20; 1.07-1.35), and being in the community with a high level of media exposure (AOR = 1.53; 1.24-1.88) were statistically significant with KOC.

CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of the ovulatory cycle was low in this study, which demands health education for women of childbearing age. Special attention should be given to teenagers, those with lower educational, and lower economic status. Besides, the strengthening of media campaigns could increase women’s KOC, which is crucial for preventing unintended pregnancy.

PMID:34473727 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0254094

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 1;11(1):17498. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-97045-5.

ABSTRACT

This investigation describes the hydromagnetic flow of gravity-driven couple stress hybrid nanofluid past a heated plate. The carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used to characterize the hybrid nanofluid. The heated plate is placed vertically with an application of homogenous-heterogeneous reactions to the assumed flow system. The homogeneous reaction governs by isothermal cubic autocatalytic kinetics while the heterogeneous reaction governs by the first order kinetics. For current study the couple stress hybrid nanofluid is presumed to be conducted electrically with impact of non-uniform magnetic effects. An appropriate set of dimensionless quantities has employed to governing equations and then has solved by homotopy analysis method. The influence of emerging parameters encountered in this work has discussed in detail with the help of graphs. In this study it has examined that, flow of fluid reduces with upsurge in magnetic parameter and volumetric concentrations, whereas thermal and concentration characteristics augment with increase in volumetric concentrations. Moreover, growth in Prandtl number leads to a reduction in thermal characteristics and growth in Schmidt number result a reduction in concentration profile. The impact of various emerging parameters has also studied numerically upon physical quantities. It has established that, with augmentation in values of buoyancy parameter there is a growth in the values of skin friction. A comparison has also carried out between current and established results with a fine agreement in both results.

PMID:34471162 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-97045-5

Sci Rep. 2021 Sep 1;11(1):17467. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-96960-x.

ABSTRACT

Intestinal parasitic infections have high prevalence rate in many regions especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and genotype/subtype of some intestinal protozoa in livestock in Iran. Stool samples were collected from cattle, sheep, chickens, and horses. The presence of targeted parasites was evaluated using real-time PCR. Genotyping/subtyping of positive samples was characterized using sequencing of the ITS and barcoding region, respectively. Blastocystis sp., 27.7% (48/173) and Enterocytozoon bieneusi 26.0% (45/173) were the most frequent protozoa followed by Encephalitozoon spp., 0.57% (1/173). Cryptosporidium spp. were not detected among samples. Encephalitozoon spp., was detected only in chickens 2.2% (1/45). A statistically correlation was seen between animals and the prevalence of targeted protozoa. E. bieneusi genotypes I (9/38; 23.68%), BEB6 (22/38; 57.89%), D (6/38; 15.79%), and horse1 (1/38; 2.63%) were detected among samples. A statistically significant correlation was seen between the genotypes and animals (P ≤ 0.05). Blastocystis sp., ST1 (1/45; 2.22%), ST5 3/45; 6.66%), ST7 (1/45; 2.22%), ST10 (24/45; 53.33%), and ST14 (16/45; 35.55%) were characterized among samples. There was no significant correlation between certain subtypes and animals (P = 0.173). The presence of zoonotic potential genotypes of E. bieneusi in animals and zoonotic potential subtypes ST1 and ST7 among our samples provide a clue about the transmission dynamic of E. bieneusi and Blastocystis sp. between animals-animals and humans-animals.

PMID:34471179 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-96960-x

Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 1;12(1):5108. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25355-3.

ABSTRACT

Extending notions of phase transitions to nonequilibrium realm is a fundamental problem for statistical mechanics. While it was discovered that critical transitions occur even for transient states before relaxation as the singularity of a dynamical version of free energy, their nature is yet to be elusive. Here, we show that spontaneous symmetry breaking can occur at a short-time regime and causes universal dynamical quantum phase transitions in periodically driven unitary dynamics. Unlike conventional phase transitions, the relevant symmetry is antiunitary: its breaking is accompanied by a many-body exceptional point of a nonunitary operator obtained by space-time duality. Using a stroboscopic Ising model, we demonstrate the existence of distinct phases and unconventional singularity of dynamical free energy, whose signature can be accessed through quasilocal operators. Our results open up research for hitherto unknown phases in short-time regimes, where time serves as another pivotal parameter, with their hidden connection to nonunitary physics.

PMID:34471120 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-25355-3

NPJ Sci Learn. 2021 Sep 1;6(1):25. doi: 10.1038/s41539-021-00102-x.

ABSTRACT

Effective inclusive education is key in promoting the long-term outcomes of children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, no concrete consensus exists to guide teacher-student interactions in the classroom. In this work, we explore the potential of artificial intelligence as an approach in autism education to assist teachers in effective practice in developing social and educational outcomes for children with ASC. We form a protocol to systematically capture such interactions, and conduct a statistical analysis to uncover basic patterns in the collected observations, including the longer-term effect of specific teacher communication strategies on student response. In addition, we deploy machine learning techniques to predict student response given the form of communication used by teachers under specific classroom conditions and in relation to specified student attributes. Our analysis, drawn on a sample of 5460 coded interactions between teachers and seven students, sheds light on the varying effectiveness of different communication strategies and demonstrates the potential of this approach in making a contribution to autism education.

PMID:34471124 | DOI:10.1038/s41539-021-00102-x

Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021 Aug 31. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003322. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite efforts made to prevent the spread of multi-drug-resistant bacteria, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) has become one of the most dangerous threat worldwide. However, data on the epidemiology of CPE and on the correlation between CPE colonization and infection are scanty. The objectives of this study were first to describe the epidemiological characteristics of colonizations and invasive CPE infections in the pediatric population, and second, to apply the Giannella Risk Score (GRS) to the pediatric population for the assessment of the risk of invasive CPE infection in patients with already known colonization.

METHODS: Pediatric patients with evidence of colonization by CPE were retrospectively enrolled. For each colonized patient, the subsequent development of an infection by CPE was then assessed for a 90-day period after the first CPE isolation; GRSs were compared between patients who had developed any type of CPE infection and those without infection.

RESULTS: A total of 215 patients (113 males and 102 females) with at least 1 isolation of CPE during hospitalization were analyzed. Median age was 5.6 years [interquartile range (IQR), 1.89-12.2 years]. Overall, 28 CPE infections (13%) were documented: 23 blood stream infections and 5 complicated urinary tract infections. The 30-day mortality of invasive CPE infections was 34.8%. The GRS values in patients with any CPE infection were statistically higher than in noninfected patients: median GRS 9 (IQR, 4-12.5) versus 4 (IQR, 2-4), respectively; P < 0.0001. The analysis of the receiver operating characteristic curves identified a GRS cut-off value ≥8 as the best predictor of CPE infection. The likelihood ratio of the results was <2 and the informedness of the test had a value <0.50.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that the spread of CPE is an impelling problem also in the pediatric population, with a high mortality rate of invasive infections. However, the application of the GRS appears to be poorly informative in the pediatric setting; it might sometimes help to identify patients at very low risk of CPE infection, in whom it is reasonable to spare targeted antimicrobial treatments.

PMID:34471081 | DOI:10.1097/INF.0000000000003322

Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 1;12(1):5217. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25282-3.

ABSTRACT

Lethal hit delivery by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) towards B lymphoma cells occurs as a binary, “yes/no” process. In non-hematologic solid tumors, however, CTL often fail to kill target cells during 1:1 conjugation. Here we describe a mechanism of “additive cytotoxicity” by which time-dependent integration of sublethal damage events, delivered by multiple CTL transiting between individual tumor cells, mediates effective elimination. Reversible sublethal damage includes perforin-dependent membrane pore formation, nuclear envelope rupture and DNA damage. Statistical modeling reveals that 3 serial hits delivered with decay intervals below 50 min discriminate between tumor cell death or survival after recovery. In live melanoma lesions in vivo, sublethal multi-hit delivery is most effective in interstitial tissue where high CTL densities and swarming support frequent serial CTL-tumor cell encounters. This identifies CTL-mediated cytotoxicity by multi-hit delivery as an incremental and tunable process, whereby accelerating damage magnitude and frequency may improve immune efficacy.

PMID:34471116 | DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-25282-3

Dent Mater J. 2021 Sep 2. doi: 10.4012/dmj.2021-102. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) was synthesized from abalone mussel shells (Haliotis asinina) using a precipitation method, and gel HA-Abalone was developed using the carbomer materials with concentrations of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%. The specimens used were 25 freshly extracted caries-free premolar teeth, and the treatment was done twice a day for 14 days. Gel HA-Abalone 20 wt%, with a crystallite size of 14.70±1.21 nm, was the best concentration to achieve the best remineralization (~863 VHN) of the superficial layer. Based on the results of cell viability assay on gel HA-Abalone 20 wt%, the growth of NIH/3T3 cells was inhibited beginning at a gel concentration of 1,000 µg/mL, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value was 1,497 µg/mL. Based on to the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the result reflected statistically significant differences in the average of the cell viability and enamel surface microhardness values (p<0.05).

PMID:34471039 | DOI:10.4012/dmj.2021-102