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  • Article
    Fan C, Li T, Wei Z, Huo N, Lu F, Yang J, Li R, Yang S, Li B, Hu W, Li J.
    Nanoscale. 2014 Dec 21;6(24):14652-6.
    Recently, molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) has become a popular material due to its unique electrical and chemical properties, and its use as a potential substitute for graphene. Herein, we report a new two-step method by utilizing thermal evaporation-sulfurization to synthesize MoS(2) which possesses an innovative micro-ring structure. The average statistical values of the height, width and external diameter were 69 nm, 0.3 μm and 5.0 μm, respectively. Then the mechanism for the growth of such MoS(2) micro-rings was proposed. A device based on the MoS(2) micro-ring was prepared by electron beam lithography, and its electrical transport properties were determined at different temperatures.
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  • Article
    Melguizo-Ibáñez E, González-Valero G, Badicu G, Grosz WR, Bazgan M, Puertas Molero P.
    PeerJ. 2023;11:e14652.
    Background: The pressure exerted by the media on mental image, psychological well-being and the physical-dietary sphere is of vital interest in understanding human behavioral patterns at different stages of development. The present research reflects the objectives of developing an explanatory model of the associations between media pressure and physical build on psychological well-being, physical activity and the Mediterranean diet and testing the structural model using a multi-group model according to participants' stage of adulthood development.
    Methods: A descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 634 participants aged between 18 and 65 years (35.18 ± 9.68). An ad hoc socio-demographic questionnaire, Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questtionnaire-4, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Predimed questtionnaire and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form were used for data collection.
    Results: Participants in early adulthood show higher scores for media pressure and for pressure on physical build. It is also observed that participants in middle adulthood show higher scores for psychological well-being and physical activity levels.
    Conclusions: In conclusion, it can be seen that there are a large number of physical, physical-health and psychological differences in each of the phases of adulthood.
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  • Article
    Thota S, Chen S, Zhou Y, Zhang Y, Zou S, Zhao J.
    Nanoscale. 2015 Sep 21;7(35):14652-8.
    A single particle level study of bimetallic nanoparticle growth provides valuable information that is usually hidden in ensemble measurements, helping to improve the understanding of a reaction mechanism and overcome the synthetic challenges. In this study, we use single particle spectroscopy to monitor the changes in the scattering spectra of Au-Cu alloy nanorods during growth. We found that the unique features of the single particle scattering spectra were due to atomic level geometric defects in the nanorods. Electrodynamics simulations have demonstrated that small structural defects of a few atomic layers split the scattering peaks, giving rise to higher order modes, which do not exist in defect-free rods of similar geometry. The study shows that single particle scattering technique is as sensitive as high-resolution electron microscopy in revealing atomic level structural defects.
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  • Article
    Li B, Li W, Xu Y, Li J, Tu J, Sun S.
    Chem Commun (Camb). 2015 Oct 07;51(78):14652-5.
    The color of squaraine solution shows a "fingerprint" change upon addition of different surfactants. A cross-responsive sensing array based on a small molecular probe was applied to discriminate surfactants with 100% confidence limits. Furthermore, the probe can selectively detect sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with turn-on fluorescence response.
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  • Article
    Font-Alaminos M, Paraskevoudi N, Costa-Faidella J, SanMiguel I.
    Psychophysiology. 2024 Nov;61(11):e14652.
    Our actions shape our everyday experience: what we experience, how we perceive, and remember it are deeply affected by how we interact with the world. Performing an action to deliver a stimulus engages neurophysiological processes which are reflected in the modulation of sensory and pupil responses. We hypothesized that these processes shape memory encoding, parsing the experience by grouping self- and externally generated stimuli into differentiated events. Participants encoded sound sequences, in which either the first or last few sounds were self-generated and the rest externally generated. We tested recall of the sequential order of sounds that had originated from the same (within event) or different sources (across events). Memory performance was not higher for within-event sounds, suggesting that actions did not structure the memory representation. However, during encoding, we observed the expected electrophysiological response attenuation for self-generated sounds, together with increased pupil dilation triggered by actions. Moreover, at the boundary between events, physiological responses to the first sound from the new source were influenced by the direction of the source switch. Our results suggest that introducing actions creates a stronger contextual shift than removing them, even though actions do not directly contribute to memory performance. This study contributes to our understanding of how interacting with sensory input shapes experiences by exploring the relationships between action effects on sensory responses, pupil dilation, and memory encoding. Importantly, it challenges the notion of a meaningful contribution from low-level neurophysiological mechanisms associated with action execution in the modulation of the self-generation effect.
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  • Article
    Luis I, Afschrift M, Gutierrez-Farewik EM.
    Sci Rep. 2024 06 25;14(1):14652.
    The workflow to simulate motion with recorded data usually starts with selecting a generic musculoskeletal model and scaling it to represent subject-specific characteristics. Simulating muscle dynamics with muscle-tendon parameters computed from existing scaling methods in literature, however, yields some inconsistencies compared to measurable outcomes. For instance, simulating fiber lengths and muscle excitations during walking with linearly scaled parameters does not resemble established patterns in the literature. This study presents a tool that leverages reported in vivo experimental observations to tune muscle-tendon parameters and evaluates their influence in estimating muscle excitations and metabolic costs during walking. From a scaled generic musculoskeletal model, we tuned optimal fiber length, tendon slack length, and tendon stiffness to match reported fiber lengths from ultrasound imaging and muscle passive force-length relationships to match reported in vivo joint moment-angle relationships. With tuned parameters, muscle contracted more isometrically, and soleus's operating range was better estimated than with linearly scaled parameters. Also, with tuned parameters, on/off timing of nearly all muscles' excitations in the model agreed with reported electromyographic signals, and metabolic rate trajectories varied significantly throughout the gait cycle compared to linearly scaled parameters. Our tool, freely available online, can customize muscle-tendon parameters easily and be adapted to incorporate more experimental data.
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  • Article
    Saha TK, Mariom, Rahman T, Moniruzzaman M, Min T, Hossain Z.
    Sci Rep. 2023 09 05;13(1):14652.
    Beta-glucans have immense potential to stimulate immune modulation in fish by being injected intramuscularly, supplemented with feed or immersion routes of administration. We studied how supplementing Labeo rohita's diet with reishi mushroom powder containing beta-glucan influenced immunological function. A supplemented diet containing 10% reishi mushroom powder was administered for 120 days. Afterwards, analyses were conducted on different immunological parameters such as antioxidants, respiratory burst, reactive oxygen species (ROS), alternative complement activity, and serum immunoglobulin, which resulted significant increases (p < 0.05; p < 0.01) for the reishi mushroom-fed immune primed L. rohita. Additionally, analyzing various hematological parameters such as erythrocytes and leukocytes count were assessed to elucidate the immunomodulatory effects, indicating positive effects of dietary reishi mushroom powder on overall fish health. Furthermore, the bacterial challenge-test with 1.92 × 104 CFU/ml intramuscular dose of Aeromonas veronii showed enhanced disease-defending system as total serum protein and lysozyme activity levels accelerated significantly (p < 0.01). Nevertheless, reishi mushroom powder contained with beta-glucan ameliorated the stress indicating parameters like acetylcholinesterase (AChE), serum-glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and serum-glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) enzyme activities results suggested the fish's physiology was unaffected. Therefore, the results indicated that adding dietary reishi mushroom as a source of beta-glucan could significantly boost the immune responses in Rohu.
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  • Article
    Kanekaputra MR, Mubarok MZ.
    Heliyon. 2023 Mar;9(3):e14652.
    Rare earth elements, such as yttrium, scandium, neodymium, and praseodymium, have been reported to be associated with minerals in bauxite and transferred to the refining residue when bauxite is refined to alumina (Al2O3) by Bayer Process. In terms of price, scandium is the most valuable rare-earth element in bauxite residue. This research discusses the effectiveness of scandium extraction from the bauxite residue through pressure leaching in sulfuric acid solution. The method was selected to obtain high scandium recovery and leaching selectivity to iron and aluminium. Series of leaching experiments were conducted under variations of H2SO4 concentration (0.5-1.5 M), leaching duration (1-4 h), leaching temperature (200-240 °C), and slurry density (10-30% (w/w)). Taguchi method with L9:34 orthogonal array was adopted to design the experiments. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the most influential variables of the extracted scandium. The experimental result and statistical analysis revealed that the optimum condition for scandium extraction was at 1.5 M H2SO4, a leaching duration of 1 h, a temperature of 200 °C, and a slurry density of 30% (w/w). The leaching experiment carried out at this optimum condition resulted in scandium extraction of 90.97% and co-extracted iron and aluminium of 32.44% and 75.23%, respectively. Analysis of Variance showed that solid/liquid ratio was the most influential variable with a contribution of 62%, followed by acid concentration (21.2%), temperature (16.4%), and leaching duration (0.3%).
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  • Article
    Choi HR, Chang Y, Kim Y, Kang J, Kwon MJ, Kwon R, Lim GY, Kim KH, Kim H, Hong YS, Zhao D, Cho J, Guallar E, Park HY, Ryu S.
    Sci Rep. 2022 08 27;12(1):14652.
    We investigated the associations between serum lipid profiles and risk of early-onset vasomotor symptoms (VMSs) in premenopausal women. This cohort study comprised 2,540 premenopausal women aged 42-52 years without VMSs at baseline (median follow-up: 4.4 years). VMSs, including hot flashes and night sweats, were assessed using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire (Korean version). Early-onset VMSs were defined as VMSs that occurred premenopause; moderate/severe VMSs were defined as a score of ≥ 3 points (range: 0 to 6, 6 being most bothersome). Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the development of VMSs across the lipid levels. Higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels were positively associated with increased risk of early-onset VMSs. Compared to the < 100 mg/dL LDL group, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for incident VMSs were 1.19 (1.03-1.37) and 1.20 (1.03-1.40) in participants with LDL cholesterol levels of 100-129 mg/dL and ≥ 130 mg/dL, respectively (P for trend = 0.027). The multivariable-adjusted HR for incident moderate/severe VMSs was 1.37 (95% CI: 1.08-1.73) in participants with LDL ≥ 130 mg/dL, compared to those with LDL < 100 mg/dL. Meanwhile, triglycerides and total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not significantly associated with early-onset VMSs risk in premenopausal women. Premenopausal women with high serum LDL cholesterol concentrations had a higher risk of incident early-onset VMSs. Further studies should confirm our findings and examine whether LDL-lowering interventions reduce the risk of early-onset VMSs among women during menopause transition.
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  • Article
    Javadi AH, Emo B, Howard LR, Zisch FE, Yu Y, Knight R, Pinelo Silva J, Spiers HJ.
    Nat Commun. 2017 03 21;8:14652.
    Topological networks lie at the heart of our cities and social milieu. However, it remains unclear how and when the brain processes topological structures to guide future behaviour during everyday life. Using fMRI in humans and a simulation of London (UK), here we show that, specifically when new streets are entered during navigation of the city, right posterior hippocampal activity indexes the change in the number of local topological connections available for future travel and right anterior hippocampal activity reflects global properties of the street entered. When forced detours require re-planning of the route to the goal, bilateral inferior lateral prefrontal activity scales with the planning demands of a breadth-first search of future paths. These results help shape models of how hippocampal and prefrontal regions support navigation, planning and future simulation.
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  • Article
    Kanu KC, Otitoloju AA, Amaeze NH.
    Sci Rep. 2021 07 19;11(1):14652.
    Aquatic organisms are often exposed briefly to high pesticide concentration. Survival time model was used to study risk of death in C. gariepinus and O. niloticus fingerlings exposed to 24 mg/L atrazine, 42 mg/l mancozeb, 1 mg/L chlorpyrifos and 0.75 µg/L lambda cyhalothrin for 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes and continuously for 96 hours. Mortality, time-to-death, weight, length, and condition factor of the fingerlings were recorded. Results obtained showed tilapia was more susceptible than catfish to continuous exposure but not pulse exposure. The survival probability of both species was similar when exposed for 15, 30 and 45 minutes (p > 0.05) but differed after 60 minutes (p < 0.05). Risk of death of catfish exposed briefly to atrazine, mancozeb and chlorpyrifos for 60 minutes was similar to 96 hours continuous exposure, same for tilapia exposed to 1 mg/L chlorpyrifos (p > 0.05). Survival probability of tilapia exposed to chlorpyrifos for 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes was similar (p > 0.05) and was not influenced by pulse length. Pesticide hazard and risk of death decreased as fish size (weight, length, and condition factor) increased. Pulse toxicity assessment using survival models could make pesticides exposure assessment more realistic by studying factors that can influence the toxicity of pesticides.
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  • Article
    Worthington TA, Zu Ermgassen PSE, Friess DA, Krauss KW, Lovelock CE, Thorley J, Tingey R, Woodroffe CD, Bunting P, Cormier N, Lagomasino D, Lucas R, Murray NJ, Sutherland WJ, Spalding M.
    Sci Rep. 2020 09 04;10(1):14652.
    Mangrove forests provide many ecosystem services but are among the world's most threatened ecosystems. Mangroves vary substantially according to their geomorphic and sedimentary setting; while several conceptual frameworks describe these settings, their spatial distribution has not been quantified. Here, we present a new global mangrove biophysical typology and show that, based on their 2016 extent, 40.5% (54,972 km2) of mangrove systems were deltaic, 27.5% (37,411 km2) were estuarine and 21.0% (28,493 km2) were open coast, with lagoonal mangroves the least abundant (11.0%, 14,993 km2). Mangroves were also classified based on their sedimentary setting, with carbonate mangroves being less abundant than terrigenous, representing just 9.6% of global coverage. Our typology provides a basis for future research to incorporate geomorphic and sedimentary setting in analyses. We present two examples of such applications. Firstly, based on change in extent between 1996 and 2016, we show while all types exhibited considerable declines in area, losses of lagoonal mangroves (- 6.9%) were nearly twice that of other types. Secondly, we quantify differences in aboveground biomass between mangroves of different types, with it being significantly lower in lagoonal mangroves. Overall, our biophysical typology provides a baseline for assessing restoration potential and for quantifying mangrove ecosystem service provision.
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  • Article
    Zhang Y, Chiu YL, Chen CJ, Ho YY, Shinzato C, Shikina S, Chang CF.
    Sci Rep. 2019 10 10;9(1):14652.
    The receptor guanylate cyclases (rGCs) in animals serve as sensitive chemoreceptors to detect both chemical and environmental cues. In reproduction, rGCs were shown to be expressed on sperm and serve as receptors for egg-derived sperm-activating and sperm-attracting factors in some echinoderms and mammals. However, sperm-associated rGCs have only been identified in some deuterostomes thus far, and it remains unclear how widely rGCs are utilized in metazoan reproduction. To address this issue, this study investigated the existence and expression of rGCs, particularly asking if rGCs are involved in the reproduction of a basal metazoan, phylum Cnidaria, using the stony coral Euphyllia ancora. Six paralogous rGCs were identified from a transcriptome database of E. ancora, and one of the rGCs, GC-A, was shown to be specifically expressed in the testis. Immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that E. ancora GC-A protein was expressed in the spermatocytes and spermatids and eventually congregated on the sperm flagella during spermatogenesis. These findings suggest that GC-A may be involved in the regulation of sperm activity and/or functions (e.g., fertilization) in corals. This study is the first to perform molecular characterization of rGCs in cnidarians and provides evidence for the possible involvement of rGCs in the reproduction of basal metazoans.
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  • Article
    Nežić L, Škrbić R, Amidžić L, Gajanin R, Kuča K, Jaćević V.
    Sci Rep. 2018 10 02;8(1):14652.
    This study is aimed to investigate whether simvastatin induces cardiomyocytes survival signaling in endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LSP)-induced myocardial injury, and if so, further to determine a role of survivin in simvastatin-anti-apoptotic effect. Wistar rats were pretreated with simvastatin (10-40 mg/kg po) before a single non-lethal dose of LPS. In myocardial tissue, LPS induced structural disorganization of myofibrils with significant inflammatory infiltrate (cardiac damage score, CDS = 3.87 ± 0.51, p < 0.05), whereas simvastatin dose-dependently abolished structural changes induced by LPS (p < 0.01). Simvastatin in 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg pretreatment, dose dependently, attenuated myocardial apoptosis determined as apoptotic index (28.8 ± 4.5% and 18.9 ± 3.5, p < 0.05), decreased cleaved caspase-3 expression (32.1 ± 5.8%, p < 0.01), along with significant Bcl-xL expression in the simvastatin groups (p < 0.01). Interestingly, in the simvastatin groups were determined significantly increased expression of survivin (p < 0.01), but in negative correlation with cleaved caspase-3 and apoptotic indices (p < 0.01). Simvastatin has a cardioprotective effects against LPS induced apoptosis. The effect may be mediated by up-regulation of survivin via activation of NF-κB, which leads to reduced activation of caspase-3 and consequent apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in experimental sepsis.
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  • Article
    DeFilippis EM, Clerkin KJ, Givens RC, Kleet A, Rosenblum H, O'Connell DC, Topkara VK, Bijou R, Sayer G, Uriel N, Takeda K, Farr MA.
    Clin Transplant. 2022 06;36(6):e14652.
    INTRODUCTION: For patients with advanced heart failure, socioeconomic deprivation may impede referral for heart transplantation (HT). We examined the association of socioeconomic deprivation with listing among patients evaluated at our institution and compared this against the backdrop of our local community.
    METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients evaluated for HT between January 2017 and December 2020. Patient demographics and clinical characteristics were recorded. Block group-level area deprivation index (ADI) decile was obtained at each patient's home address and Socioeconomic Status (SES) index was determined by patient zip code.
    RESULTS: In total, 400 evaluations were initiated; one international patient was excluded. Among this population, 111 (27.8%) were women, 219 (54.9%) were White, 94 (23.6%) Black, and 59 (14.8%) Hispanic. 248 (62.2%) patients were listed for transplant. Listed patients had significantly higher SES index and lower ADI compared to those who were not listed. However, after adjustment for clinical factors, ADI and SESi were not predictive of listing. Similarly, patient sex, race, and insurance did not influence the likelihood of listing for HT. Notably, the distribution of the referral cohort based on ADI deciles was not reflective of our center's catchment area, indicating opportunities for improving access to transplant for disadvantaged populations.
    CONCLUSIONS: Although socioeconomic deprivation did not predict listing in our analysis, we recognize the need for broader outreach to combat upstream bias that prevents patients from being referred for HT.
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  • Article
    Drumm DW, Greentree AD.
    Sci Rep. 2017 11 07;7(1):14652.
    Finding a fluorescent target in a biological environment is a common and pressing microscopy problem. This task is formally analogous to the canonical search problem. In ideal (noise-free, truthful) search problems, the well-known binary search is optimal. The case of half-lies, where one of two responses to a search query may be deceptive, introduces a richer, Rényi-Ulam problem and is particularly relevant to practical microscopy. We analyse microscopy in the contexts of Rényi-Ulam games and half-lies, developing a new family of heuristics. We show the cost of insisting on verification by positive result in search algorithms; for the zero-half-lie case bisectioning with verification incurs a 50% penalty in the average number of queries required. The optimal partitioning of search spaces directly following verification in the presence of random half-lies is determined. Trisectioning with verification is shown to be the most efficient heuristic of the family in a majority of cases.
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  • Article
    Khan AA, Somasundaram K.
    Cureus. 2021 Apr 23;13(4):e14652.
    A 25-year-old female presented on the acute medical take with rapidly evolving ascending weakness, sensory loss, and areflexia after a prodromal diarrhoeal illness, ultimately critical care admission, tracheostomy, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy. The patient had been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) six years previously, treated with intravenous Immunoglobulin, and discharged after a five-day in-patient stay without mechanical ventilation. On this occasion, a diagnosis of recurrent GBS was made, supported by cytoalbuminological dissociation in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Investigations for infective precipitants were negative aside from a stool culture, positive for Cryptosporidium spp. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) two weeks earlier. There are no previously reported cases of GBS due to cryptosporidiosis on PubMed. The patient was treated with a course of IVIG and discharged from critical care after 66 days, requiring ongoing neurorehabilitation, which is likely to be prolonged.
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  • Article
    Schlink BR, Nordin AD, Ferris DP.
    Physiol Rep. 2020 12;8(23):e14652.
    The spatial distribution of myoelectric activity within lower limb muscles is often nonuniform and can change during different stationary tasks. Recent studies using high-density electromyography (EMG) have suggested that spatial muscle activity may also differ among muscles during locomotion, but contrasting electrode array sizes and experimental designs have limited cross-study comparisons. Here, we sought to determine if spatial EMG patterns differ among lower limb muscles and locomotion speeds. We recorded high-density EMG from the vastus medialis, tibialis anterior, biceps femoris, medial gastrocnemius, and lateral gastrocnemius muscles of 11 healthy subjects while they walked (1.2 and 1.6 m/s) and ran (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 m/s) on a treadmill. To overcome the detrimental effects of cable, electrode, and soft tissue movements on high-density EMG signal quality during locomotion, we applied multivariate signal cleaning methods. From these data, we computed the spatial entropy and center of gravity from the total myoelectric activity within each recording array during the stance or swing phases of the gait cycle. We found heterogeneous spatial EMG patterns evidenced by contrasting spatial entropy among lower limb muscles. As locomotion speed increased, mean entropy values decreased in four of the five recorded muscles, indicating that EMG signal amplitudes were more spatially heterogeneous, or localized, at faster speeds. The EMG center of gravity location also shifted in multiple muscles as locomotion speed increased. Contrasting myoelectric spatial distributions among muscles likely reflect differences in muscle architecture, but increasingly localized activity and spatial shifts in the center of gravity location at faster locomotion speeds could be influenced by preferential recruitment of faster motor units under greater loads.
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  • Article
    Watanabe K, Arva NC, Robinson JD, Rigsby C, Markl M, Sojka M, Tannous P, Arzu J, Husain N.
    Pediatr Transplant. 2024 Feb;28(1):e14652.
    BACKGROUND: Chronic graft failure (CGF) in pediatric heart transplant (PHT) is multifactorial and may present with findings of fibrosis and microvessel disease (MVD) on endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). There is no optimal CGF surveillance method. We evaluated associations between cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) and historical/EMB correlates of CGF to assess CMR's utility as a surveillance method.
    METHODS: Retrospective analysis of PHT undergoing comprehensive CMR between September 2015 and January 2022 was performed. EMB within 6 months was graded for fibrosis (scale 0-5) and MVD (number of capillaries with stenotic wall thickening per field of view). Correlation analysis and logistic regression were performed.
    RESULTS: Forty-seven PHT with median age at CMR of 15.7 years (11.6, 19.3) and time from transplant of 6.4 years (4.1, 11.0) were studied. Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) was present in 11/44 (22.0%) and historical rejection in 14/41 (34.2%). CAV was associated with higher global T2 (49.0 vs. 47.0 ms; p = 0.038) and peak T2 (57.0 vs. 53.0 ms; p = 0.013) on CMR. Historical rejection was associated with higher global T2 (49.0 vs. 47.0 ms; p = 0.007) and peak T2 (57.0 vs. 53.0 ms; p = 0.03) as well as global extracellular volume (31.0 vs. 26.3%; p = 0.03). Higher fibrosis score on EMB correlated with smaller indexed left ventricular mass (rho = -0.34; p = 0.019) and greater degree of MVD with lower indexed left ventricular end-diastolic volume (rho = -0.35; p = 0.017).
    CONCLUSION: Adverse ventricular remodeling and abnormal myocardial characteristics on CMR are present in PHT with CAV, historical rejection, as well as greater fibrosis and MVD on EMB. CMR has the potential use for screening of CGF.
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  • Article
    Adedokun AO, Ter Goon D, Owolabi EO, Adeniyi OV, Ajayi AI.
    Medicine (Baltimore). 2019 Mar;98(9):e14652.
    Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus constitutes a significant threat to the health of commercial taxi drivers, safety of the passengers and other road users. This study determines the prevalence of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus among commercial taxi drivers in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), Eastern Cape and examines the factors associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus.A cross-sectional survey of 403 commercial taxi drivers was undertaken using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach. Anthropometric, blood pressure, and blood glucose measurements followed standard procedure. Diabetes status was determined using the fasting blood glucose (FBG) test. Diabetes was defined as a FBG ≥7.0mmol/L or self-reported history of diabetes or current diabetes medication use (treatment), while pre-diabetes was defined as a FBG of 5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L. Awareness of diabetes was defined as a self-reported history of diabetes.The mean age of the study participants was 43.3 ± 12.5years. Prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes were 17% (95% CI: 13.4-20.6) and 16% (95% CI: 12.4-19.6), respectively. Of those who had diabetes (n = 63), the majority were aware of their diabetes status (n = 43) and were on treatment (n = 30). In the unadjusted logistic regression, age, ever married, hypertension, obesity, and driving for more than 5 years were independently associated with diabetes. However, only age >35 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]= 3.65, CI: 1.17-11.32), ever married (AOR= 3.26, CI: 1.52-6.99) and hypertension (AOR= 3.23, CI: 1.56-6.69) were associated with diabetes in the adjusted logistic regression model.The prevalence of diabetes among commercial taxi drivers in this study is high, almost twice the national prevalence of diabetes in South Africa. Periodic health screening among this sub-population group is important to bridge the gap of undiagnosed diabetes in South Africa.
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