bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Handheld laser scanning microscope catheter for real-time and in vivo confocal microscopy using a high definition high frame rate Lissajous MEMS mirror
Authors: Jeon Jaehun , Kim Hyunwoo , Jang Hyunwoo , Hwang Kyungmin , Kim Kyuyoung , Park Young-Gyun , Jeong Ki-Hun
Published: February 2022

A handheld confocal microscope using a rapid MEMS scanning mirror facilitates real-time optical biopsy for simple cancer diagnosis. Here we report a handheld confocal microscope catheter using high definition and high frame rate (HDHF) Lissajous scanning MEMS mirror. The broad resonant frequency region of the fast axis on the MEMS mirror with a low Q-factor facilitates the flexible selection of scanning frequencies. HDHF Lissajous scanning was achieved by selecting the scanning frequencies with high greatest common divisor (GCD) and high total lobe number. The MEMS mirror was fully packaged into a handheld configuration, which was coupled to a home-built confocal imaging system. The confocal microscope catheter allows fluorescence imaging of in vivo and ex vivo mouse tissues with 30 Hz frame rate and 95.4% fill factor at 256 × 256 pixels image, where the lateral resolution is 4.35 μm and the field-of-view (FOV) is 330 μm × 330 μm. This compact confocal microscope can provide diverse handheld microscopic applications for real-time, on-demand, and in vivo optical biopsy.
Characteristics of frontal activity relevant to cognitive function in bipolar depression: an fNIRS study
Authors: Gao Chenyang , Zhou Hetong , Liu Jingjing , Xiu Jia , Huang Qi , Liang Yin , Li Ting , Hu Shaohua
Published: February 2022

Memory shortness, verbal influence, and disturbed attention are a few of the cognitive dysfunctions reported by individuals of bipolar disorder in depression phase (BD-D). As neuroimaging modalities can investigate such responses, therefore neuroimaging methods can be used to assist the diagnosis of bipolar disorder (BD). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neural imaging method that is proved to be prominent in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders. It is the desired method because of its feasible setup, high resolution in time, and its partial resistance to head movements. This study aims to investigate the brain activity in subjects of BD-D during cognitive tasks compared to the healthy controls. A decreased activation level is expected in individuals of BD-D as compared to the healthy controls. This study aims to find new methods and experimental paradigms to assist in the diagnosis of bipolar depression. Participants of BD-D and healthy controls (HC) performed four cognitive tasks including verbal fluency task (VFT), symbol working memory task (symbol check), attention task (spotter) and multiple cognitive task (code break). fNIRS was used to measure levels of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) representing the brain activity. The generalized linear model (GLM) method was used to estimate the hemodynamic response related to the task. The wavelet transform coherence (WTC) method was used to calculate the intra-hemispheric functional connectivity. We also analyzed the correlation between hemodynamic response and scores of psychiatric disorders. Results showed decreased levels of HbO in BD-D groups compared to the HC, indicating lower activity, during the tasks except for spotter. The difference between BD-D and HC was significant during VFT, symbol check and code break. Group difference during symbol working memory was significant both in brain activity and connectivity. Meanwhile, the individual brain activity during working memory is more related to the illness degree. Lower activity in BD-D reflects unspecific dysfunctions. Compared with other cognitive tasks, the single-trial symbol-check task may be more suitable to help the diagnosis of bipolar depression.
Label-free enzymatic reaction monitoring in water-in-oil microdroplets using ultra-broadband multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy
Authors: Imai Ryo , Kano Hideaki
Published: February 2022

We propose a system for monitoring an enzymatic reaction, i.e., dehydrogenation of ethanol catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase, in microdroplets using ultra-broadband multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy. The reaction solution was encapsulated in water-in-oil microdroplets with diameters of 50 µm. The reaction was monitored by measuring the concentration of coenzymes from the CARS spectrum obtained in one-second exposure time. The results obtained using our system was consistent with those of the conventional fluorescence measurement system and indicate the potential of CARS spectroscopy for droplet-based high-throughput screening of enzymes.
Performance comparison of image enhancers with and without deep learning
Authors: Lecca Michela , Poiesi Fabio
Published: February 2022

Image enhancement is a computational procedure to improve visibility of details and content of an input image. Several image enhancement algorithms have been developed thus far, from traditional methods that process a single image based on physical models of image acquisition and formation to recent deep learning techniques, where enhancement models are learned from data. Here, we empirically compare a set of traditional and deep learning enhancers, which we selected as representing different methodologies for the improvement of poorly illuminated images. Our experiments are conducted on public data and show that, although all the considered enhancers improve the visibility of the image content and details, the deep-learning-based methods generally produce less noisy images than the traditional ones. This last outcome has to be carefully considered when enhancers are used as preprocessing for algorithms that are sensitive to noise. As a case study, and with the purpose to promote more aware usage of these two groups of enhancers in computer vision applications, we discuss the impact of image enhancement in the framework of image retrieval performed through two popular algorithms, i.e., SIFT and ORB, implementing different image descriptions and having different sensitivities to noise.
Two-dimensional quasi periodic structures for large-scale light out-coupling with amplitude, phase and polarization control
Authors: Livneh Yoav , Yaacobi Ami , Orenstein Meir
Published: February 2022

Chip-scale light-atom interactions are vital for the miniaturization of atomic sensing systems, including clocks, magnetometers, gyroscopes and more. Combining as many photonic elements as possible onto a photonic chip greatly reduces size and power consumption, where the critical elements are those interfacing between the 2D circuit and the 3D vapor cell. We introduce a new design method for large scale two-dimensional converter structures, enabling out-coupling of radiation from the photonic chip into the atomic medium. These structures allow light intensity and phase spatial distribution and polarization control, without external light-manipulating elements. Large, 100 × 100 µm2 structures were designed generating low divergence optical beams with high degree of circular polarization. Simulations obtain mean circular polarization contrast of better than 30 dB.
High-speed photon-number-resolving detection via a GHz-gated SiPM
Authors: Lin Jinhou , Sun Ying , Wu Wen , Huang Kun , Liang Yan , Yan Ming , Zeng Heping
Published: February 2022

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) constitute a promising candidate for photon-number-resolving (PNR) detection via spatial multiplexing, which offer advantages like high integration and low cost. Up to date, there has been continuous endeavor in boosting the PNR performances, particularly on the resolved photon numbers and operation speed. Here, we demonstrate a GHz-gated SiPM in the Geiger mode, which allows to quench the photon-induced avalanche signal within 1 ns. Specifically, the capacitive response of the SiPM has been effectively suppressed by combining the low-pass filtering and self-differencing technique, which facilitates a high-fidelity extraction of the avalanche pulse with a reduced error rate. Consequently, high-speed PNR detection has been manifested in resolving up to 14 photons for laser pulses at a repetition rate of 40 MHz. The presented high-speed PNR detector may open up new possibilities to implement applications such as large-dynamic-range optical sensing, high-capacity optical communication, and multi-photon quantum optics.
Highly stable soliton and bound soliton generation from a fiber laser mode-locked by VSe2 nanosheets
Authors: Li Ning , Huang Jing , Du Lin , Yang Lingling , Li Jie , Liu Dongyang , Miao Lili , Zhao Chujun
Published: February 2022

We demonstrate the highly stable soliton generation from a fiber laser mode-locked by the VSe2 nanosheets experimentally. The VSe2 nanosheets prepared via the liquid phase exfoliation method exhibit ultrafast relaxation time and excellent nonlinear optical behavior with saturation intensity and modulation depth of 14.28 MW/cm2 and 19.11%, respectively. A highly stable mode-locked Er3+-doped fiber laser with pulse duration of 714 fs and signal-to-noise ratio of 78.44 dB has been delivered successfully based on the VSe2 nanosheets saturable absorber. In addition, the transition from the conventional soliton to bound-state soliton has been observed experimentally. Our results reveal that VSe2 nanosheets possess excellent nonlinear optical performance and can act as a robust optical platform for versatile optical applications.
Circadian control of heparan sulfate levels times phagocytosis of amyloid beta aggregates
Authors: Clark Gretchen T. , Yu Yanlei , Urban Cooper A. , Fu Guo , Wang Chunyu , Zhang Fuming , Linhardt Robert J. , Hurley Jennifer M.
Published: February 2022

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neuroinflammatory disease characterized partly by the inability to clear, and subsequent build-up, of amyloid-beta (Aβ). AD has a bi-directional relationship with circadian disruption (CD) with sleep disturbances starting years before disease onset. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the relationship of CD and AD has not been elucidated. Myeloid-based phagocytosis, a key component in the metabolism of Aβ, is circadianly-regulated, presenting a potential link between CD and AD. In this work, we revealed that the phagocytosis of Aβ42 undergoes a daily circadian oscillation. We found the circadian timing of global heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) biosynthesis was the molecular timer for the clock-controlled phagocytosis of Aβ and that both HSPG binding and aggregation may play a role in this oscillation. These data highlight that circadian regulation in immune cells may play a role in the intricate relationship between the circadian clock and AD.
Forecasting effects of “fast-tracks” for surgery in the Swedish national guidelines for distal radius fractures
Authors: Schmidt Viktor , Mellstrand Navarro Cecilia , Ottosson Marcus , Tägil Magnus , Christersson Albert , Engquist Markus , Sayed-Noor Arkan , Mukka Sebastian , Wadsten Mats
Published: February 2022

Background and purpose

National guidelines for treatment of distal radius fractures (DRFs) were presented in Sweden in 2021. In the guidelines, a fast-track is recommended for 4 subgroups of highly unstable DRFs. Regardless of the results of the closed reduction these are recommended for surgery within 1 week of injury. This study aims to evaluate the potential consequences of the newly presented national guidelines on incidence of surgical interventions.

Patients and methods

In all, 1,609 patients (1,635 DRFs) with primary radiographs after a DRF between 2014 and 2017 at two Swedish hospitals were included in a retrospective cohort study. An estimation was made of the percentage of patients in the historical pre-guidelines cohort, that would have been recommended early primary surgery according to the new national guidelines compared to treatment implemented without the support of these guidelines.

Results

On a strict radiological basis, 32% (516 out of 1635) of DRFs were classified into one of the 4 defined subgroups. At 9–13 days follow-up, cast treatment was converted into delayed primary surgery in 201 cases. Out of these, 56% (112 out of 201) fulfilled the fast-track criteria and would with the new guidelines have been subject to early primary surgery.

Interpretation

The fast-track regimen in the new guidelines, has a high likelihood of identifying the unstable fractures benefitting from early primary surgery. If the proposed Swedish national guidelines for DRF treatment are implemented, a greater proportion of fractures would be treated with early primary surgery, and a delayed surgery avoided in the majority of cases. The potential benefits in relation to possible costs when using the fast-track criteria in every day practice are still unknown.
Combining multiscale niche modeling, landscape connectivity, and gap analysis to prioritize habitats for conservation of striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena)
Authors: Rezaei Sahar , Mohammadi Alireza , Malakoutikhah Shima , Khosravi Rasoul
Published: February 2022

Identifying spatial gaps in conservation networks requires information on species-environment relationships, and prioritization of habitats and corridors. We combined multi-extent niche modeling, landscape connectivity, and gap analysis to investigate scale-dependent environmental relationships, and identify core habitats and corridors for a little-known carnivore in Iran, the striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena). This species is threatened in Iran by road vehicle collisions and direct killing. Therefore, understanding the factors that affect its habitat suitability, spatial pattern of distribution, and connectivity among them are prerequisite steps to delineate strategies aiming at human-striped hyaena co-existence. The results showed that the highest predictive power and extent of habitats was obtained at the extent sizes of 4 and 2 km, respectively. Also, connectivity analysis revealed that the extent and number of core habitats and corridors changed with increasing dispersal distance, and approximately 21% of the landscape was found to support corridors. The results of gap analysis showed that 15–17% of the core habitats overlapped with conservation areas. Given the body size of the species, its mobility, and lack of significant habitat specialization we conclude that this species would be more strongly influenced by changes in habitat amount rather than landscape configuration. Our approach showed that the scale of variables and dispersal ability must be accounted for in conservation efforts to prioritize habitats and corridors, and designing conservation areas. Our results could facilitate the conservation of striped hyaena through the identification and prioritization of habitats, establishment of conservation areas, and mitigating conflicts in corridors.
Awareness and perception of malaria and dengue at school and college level in the district of Multan
Authors: Essa Muhammad , Taj Muhammad Ahmed , Khan Muhammad Hakim , Amjad Bashir Muhammad , Farooq Hasnain , Alajmi Reem A. , Hashem Mohamed , Alamri Saad , El-Zohri Manal A. , Ullah Kaleem
Published: February 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the awareness and perception of malaria and dengue fever in Multan Punjab, Pakistan while taking into account the important role of government policies and other variables. The goal of this study is to examine the awareness of students in Multan, Pakistan on malaria and dengue. This study is based on a quantitative approach of secondary evidence from scientific journals and questionnaire surveys. It is also based on observational evidence gathered in Multan Punjab Pakistan, in a field study. The survey with school children, teachers and healthcare professionals were both formal and semi-structuralize. Studies have found that malaria and dengue mainly affect children’s schooling through their absence, but can also induce brain loss and cognitive disability. In questionnaires, students were seen to have different understanding of the illness, but also to be able to serve as agents of health reform only through teachers. A sample size of 500 respondents has been selected from different colleges of district Multan Punjab, Pakistan. Correlation technique is used for the data analysis. According to our results it is concluded that the students at college level are aware of malaria and dengue diseases, but they are not capable of engaging and serving as agents for health reform. On the basis of results it is recommended that students must teach about epidemics diseases regarding how to handle these diseases.
The ARMADILLO text message intervention to improve the sexual and reproductive health knowledge of adolescents in Peru: Results of a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Perez-Lu Jose E. , Guerrero Fiorella , Cárcamo César P. , Alburqueque Mónica , Chiappe Marina , Hindin Michelle J. , Habib Ndema , Say Lale , Gonsalves Lianne , Bayer Angela M.
Published: February 2022

Background

The ARMADILLO Study determined whether adolescents able to access SRH information on-demand via SMS were better able to reject contraception-related myths and misconceptions as compared with adolescents receiving pushed SMS or no intervention.

Trial design

This trial was an unblinded, three-arm, parallel-group, individual RCT with a 1:1:1 allocation. Trial registration: ISRCTN85156148.

Methods

This study was conducted in Lima, Peru among participants ages 13–17 years. Eligible participants were randomized into one of three arms: Arm 1: access to ARMADILLO’s SMS information on-demand; Arm 2 access to ARMADILLO SMS information pushed to their phone; Arm 3 control (no SMS). The intervention period lasted seven weeks. At baseline, endline, and follow-up (eight weeks following endline), participants were assessed on a variety of contraception-related myths and misconceptions. An index of myths-believed was generated. The primary outcome assessed the subject-specific change in the mean score between baseline and endline. Knowledge retention from endline to follow-up was also assessed, as was a ‘content exposure’ outcome, which assessed change in participants’ knowledge based on relevant SMS received.

Results

In total, 712 participants were randomized to the three arms: 659 completed an endline assessment and were included in the primary analysis. Arm 2 participants believed fewer myths at endline compared with control arm participants (estimated subject-specific mean difference of -3.69% [-6.17%, -1.21%], p = 0.004). There was no significant difference between participants in Arm 1 vs. the control Arm, or between participants in Arm 1 vs. Arm 2. A further decrease in myths believed between endline and follow-up (knowledge retention) was observed in all arms; however, there was no difference between arms. The content exposure analysis saw significant reductions in myths believed for Arm 1 (estimated subject-specific mean difference of -9.47% [-14.83%, -4.11%], p = .001) and Arm 2 (-5.93% [-8.57%, -3.29%], p < .001) as compared with the control arm; however Arm 1’s reduced sample size (n = 28) is a severe limitation.

Discussion

The ARMADILLO SMS content has a significant (but small) effect on participants’ contraception-related knowledge. Standalone, adolescent SRH digital health interventions may affect only modest change. Instead, digital is probably best used a complementary channel to expand the reach of existing validated SRH information and service programs.
Impact of nutrient warning labels on choice of ultra-processed food and drinks high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat in Colombia: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Mora-Plazas Mercedes , Aida Higgins Isabella Carolyn , Gomez Luis Fernando , Hall Marissa , Parra Maria Fernanda , Bercholz Maxime , Murukutla Nandita , Taillie Lindsey Smith
Published: February 2022

Objective

This study assessed nutrient warnings’ impact on product selection and identification of food products high in nutrients of concern in Colombia.

Methods

In an online experiment (October 2020), 8,061 Colombians were randomized to a nutrient warning, guideline daily amounts (GDA), Nutri-Score, or no-label condition. They viewed two fruit drinks labeled according to their condition, one high in sugar and one not, and completed selection tasks. Next, they assessed four products high in sugar, sodium, and/or saturated fat (“high in” product). Finally, they selected which label would most discourage them from consuming a “high in” product.

Results

The nutrient warning performed better on most outcomes. Twenty percent of participants exposed to the nutrient warning would purchase the high-sugar fruit drink compared to GDA (24%, p<0.01), Nutri-Score (33%, p<0.001), and no label (29%, p<0.001). GDA performed slightly better than the nutrient warning in identifying the high-sugar fruit drink (91% vs 88%, p<0.001). The nutrient warning best helped participants correctly identify other “high in” products (75% vs. 23% no-label, 26% Nutri-Score, and 43% GDA, all p<0.001) and had the highest perceived message effectiveness (3.86 on 5-point scale vs. 2.97 GDA and 2.70 Nutri-Score, both p<0.001) and lowest likelihood of purchasing “high in” products (2.58 on 5-point scale vs. 3.23 GDA, 3.49 Nutri-Score, and 3.51 no label, all p<0.001). The nutrient warning most discouraged participants from wanting to consume “high in” products.

Conclusions

Nutrient warnings are a promising policy to help consumers identify and discourage consumption of products high in nutrients of concern.

Trial registration

Trial Registration:NCT04567004.
Affective communication with patients with limited health literacy in the palliative phase of COPD or lung cancer: Analysis of video-recorded consultations in outpatient care
Authors: Otte Rebecca , Roodbeen Ruud , Boland Gudule , Noordman Janneke , van Dulmen Sandra
Published: February 2022

Objectives

Affective communication in outpatient care is important, especially in the palliative phase. Appropriate responses by healthcare providers to emotional cues or concerns let patients express their feelings and enhance information recall and patient satisfaction. Patients with limited health literacy experience more barriers in health-related communication and information, which makes recognizing their cues and concerns even more relevant. This study explores emotional cues/concerns expressed by patients with limited health literacy and evaluates healthcare providers’ responses to these utterances.

Methods

Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES), a consensus-based system for coding patients’ expression of emotional distress in medical consultations, was used in this exploratory observational study to analyse affective communication in video-recorded outpatient consultations. Consultations of 18 (10 female, 8 male) COPD or lung cancer patients (aged 70.3±6.8) with limited health literacy were recorded and analysed. Eight healthcare providers in four hospitals participated in the study.

Results

101 cues and 11 concerns were observed, making 6.2 (SD = 4.2) cues or concerns per consultation. Healthcare provider responses were explicit in 56% and left scope for further disclosures in 58% of the cases. Patients with limited health literacy seem to express more cues or concerns than other patient populations. Healthcare providers responded roughly equally often in five different ways, but they shied away from further exploring the emotion disclosed in the cue/concern. Future research should elaborate on these exploratory observations, especially regarding why HCPs often only leave limited space for further disclosure of emotions in palliative care.
Horticultural therapy for general health in the older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Wang Zhijie , Zhang Yu , Lu Shanshan , Tan Linlin , Guo Wei , Lown Mark , Hu Xiaoyang , Liu Jianping
Published: February 2022

Background

With a pronounced and historically unprecedented tendency of population ageing, research on ageing and related disorders has been increasingly brought into focus. Horticultural therapy (HT), as an important role of social prescribing, has been an integrative for decades. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate HT for general health in older adults.

Methods

Electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Wanfang database, grey literature databases and clinical trials registers were searched from inception to March 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-RCTs (QRCTs) and the cohort studies about HT for adults aged over 60 were included in this study. Outcome measures were physical function, quality of life, BMI, mood tested by self-reported questionnaire and the expression of the immune cells. The study was registered under PROSPERO (CRD42019146184).

Results

Totally, fifteen studies (thirteen RCTs and two cohort studies) involving 1046 older participants were included. Meta-analysis showed that HT resulted in better quality of life (MD 2.09, 95% CI [1.33, 2.85], P<0. 01) and physical function (SMD 0.82, 95% [0.36, 1.29], P<0.01) compared with no-gardener; the similar findings showed in BMI (SMD -0.30, 95% [-0.57, -0.04], P = 0.02) and mood tested by self-reported questionnaire (SMD 2.80, 95% CI [1.82, 3.79], P<0. 01). And HT might be conducive on blood pressure and immunity, while all the evidence were moderate-quality judged by GRADE.

Conclusions

HT may improve physical function and quality of life in older adults, reduce BMI and enhance positive mood. A suitable duration of HT may be between 60 to 120 minutes per week lasting 1.5 to 12 months. However, it remains unclear as to what constitutes an optimal recommendation.
A curated dataset of peste des petits ruminants virus sequences for molecular epidemiological analyses
Authors: Baron Michael D. , Bataille Arnaud
Published: February 2022

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious and devastating viral disease infecting predominantly sheep and goats. Tracking outbreaks of disease and analysing the movement of the virus often involves sequencing part or all of the genome and comparing the sequence obtained with sequences from other outbreaks, obtained from the public databases. However, there are a very large number (>1800) of PPRV sequences in the databases, a large majority of them relatively short, and not always well-documented. There is also a strong bias in the composition of the dataset, with countries with good sequencing capabilities (e.g. China, India, Turkey) being overrepresented, and most sequences coming from isolates in the last 20 years. In order to facilitate future analyses, we have prepared sets of PPRV sequences, sets which have been filtered for sequencing errors and unnecessary duplicates, and for which date and location information has been obtained, either from the database entry or from other published sources. These sequence datasets are freely available for download, and include smaller datasets which maximise phylogenetic information from the minimum number of sequences, and which will be useful for simple lineage identification. Their utility is illustrated by uploading the data to the MicroReact platform to allow simultaneous viewing of lineage date and geographic information on all the viruses for which we have information. While preparing these datasets, we identified a significant number of public database entries which contain clear errors, and propose guidelines on checking new sequences and completing metadata before submission.
The association between migraine and breast cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Hesari Elahe , Ahmadinezhad Mozhgan , Arshadi Maedeh , Azizi Hosein , Khodamoradi Farzad
Published: February 2022

Background

Migraines is likely to play a protective role in the risk of breast cancer. Some studies have shown that there is an inverse relationship between migraine and breast cancer, and some studies have not found an association; therefore, results from previous studies have been inconclusive and we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate association between migraine and breast cancer.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science were searched to identify studies on the association between migraine and breast cancer from January 1, 2000 through March 12, 2021. The pooled relative risk (RR) and the 95% confidence intervals (CI) was used to measure this relationship by assuming a random effects meta-analytic model.

Results

A total of 10 studies were included. Our study revealed that there was statistically significant inverse relationship between migraine and breast cancer in case-control studies 0.68 [95% CI: 0.56, 0.82], but no significant relationship was found in cohort studies 0.98 [95% CI: 0.91, 1.06]. Also, migraine reduced the risk of ductal carcinoma 0.84 [95% CI: 0.73, 0.96], and lobular carcinoma 0.83 [95% CI: 0.73, 0.96]. With respect to ER_PR status no association between migraine and breast cancer was found. We found no evidence of publication bias.

Conclusion

Our analysis demonstrated a statistically significantly inverse relationship between migraine and total risk of breast cancer only in case-control studies. In summary, cohort studies do not support an inverse association between migraine and incident breast cancer. While in case-control studies, migraine has an inverse association with ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma of breast.
Comparison of diagnostic performance between conventional and ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic tests for diagnosis of malaria: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Yimam Yonas , Mohebali Mehdi , Abbaszadeh Afshar Mohammad Javad
Published: February 2022

Background

Successful malaria treatment, control and elimination programs require accurate, affordable, and field-deployable diagnostic tests. A number of studies have directly compared diagnostic performance between the new ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test (us-RDT) and conventional rapid diagnostic test (co-RDT) for detecting malaria. Thus, we undertook this review to directly compare pooled diagnostic performance of us-RDT and co-RDT for detection of malaria.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and ProQuest were searched from their inception until 31 January 2021 accompanied by forward and backward citations tracking. Two authors independently assessed the quality of included studies by RevMan5 software (using the QUADAS-2 checklist). Diagnostic accuracy estimates (sensitivity and specificity and others) were pooled using a random-effect model and 95% confidence interval (CI) in Stata 15 software.

Results

Fifteen studies with a total of 20,236 paired co-RDT and us-RDT tests were included in the meta-analysis. Molecular methods (15 studies) and immunoassay test (one study) were used as standard methods for comparison with co-RDT and us-RDT tests. The pooled sensitivity for co-RDT and us-RDT were 42% (95%CI: 25–62%) and 61% (95%CI: 47–73%), respectively, with specificity of 99% (95%CI: 98–100%) for co-RDT, and 99% (95%CI: 96–99%) for us-RDT. In asymptomatic individuals, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of co-RDT were 27% (95%CI: 8–58%) and 100% (95%CI: 97–100%), respectively, while us-RDT had a sensitivity of 50% (95%CI: 33–68%) and specificity of 98% (95%CI: 94–100%). In low transmission settings, pooled sensitivity for co-RDT was 36% (95%CI: 9 76%) and 62% (95%CI: 44 77%) for us RDT, while in high transmission areas, pooled sensitivity for co RDT and us RDT were 62% (95%CI: 39 80%) and 75% (95%CI: 57–87%), respectively.

Conclusion

The us-RDT test showed better performance than co-RDT test, and this characteristic is more evident in asymptomatic individuals and low transmission areas; nonetheless, additional studies integrating a range of climate, geography, and demographics are needed to reliably understand the potential of the us-RDT.
Growth and reproductive performance responses to post-weaning supplementation of early and normally-weaned Brahman crossbred heifers raised in tropical rangelands
Authors: Silva Tiago A. C. C. , Quigley Simon P. , Kidd Lisa J. , Anderson Stephen T. , McLennan Stuart R. , Schatz Timothy J. , McCosker Kieren D. , Poppi Dennis P.
Published: February 2022

This study investigated the effect of five post-weaning supplementation strategies and two weaning weight groups on long-term growth, puberty and pregnancy percentage of Brahman crossbred heifers. Early-weaned (118 ± 6 kg liveweight) and normally-weaned (183 ± 6 kg liveweight) heifers were allocated to group pens (n = 4 and n = 5/pen for early- and normally-weaned respectively) and offered one of five levels of post-weaning protein supplementation: 0, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 g of supplement/kg liveweight.day with ad libitum access to a low quality sabi grass (Urochloa mosambicensis) hay during the first dry season (169 days) after weaning. After the post-weaning supplementation period, all heifers grazed the same pastures as a single mob until the end of the experiment and were exposed to fertile bulls from January to May 2016. During the first dry season, supplement intake had a positive linear effect on liveweight gain and hip width gain with no difference in the response between weaning groups. Overall, heifers with higher supplement intakes (i.e. 5 and 10 g/kg) had higher hip height gain (P < 0.005), hip width gain (P < 0.001), body condition score (P < 0.001), and concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (P = 0.001), triiodothyronine (P = 0.04) and insulin (P = 0.05) in plasma compared to unsupplemented heifers. These changes resulted in thicker proliferative and hypertrophic zones (both P = 0.03) of the tuber coxae growth plate, larger diameter of terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes (both P = 0.004) at the end of the post-weaning supplementation period when comparing the highest level of supplementation with unsupplemented group. Unsupplemented heifers from both weaning weight groups demonstrated compensatory liveweight gain over the first wet season while evidence of catch-up growth in skeletal dimensions was observed in the second wet season. The main determining factor for pregnancy status of two-year-old Brahman crossbred heifers was pre-mating liveweight (P < 0.001), the pre-mating liveweight was in turn affected by post-weaning supplementation (P = 0.02) or weaning weight group (P < 0.001). This study further demonstrated the positive relationship between premating weight and the occurrence of pregnancy, with an approximate 300 kg pre-mating liveweight required to achieve approximately 80% (67.1–90.3% for a 95% confidence interval) probability of pregnancy in two-year-old Brahman crossbred heifers mated for 4 months.
Detailed analysis of the pathologic hallmarks of Nipah virus (Malaysia) disease in the African green monkey infected by the intratracheal route
Authors: Cline Curtis , Bell Todd M. , Facemire Paul , Zeng Xiankun , Briese Thomas , Lipkin W. Ian , Shamblin Joshua D. , Esham Heather L. , Donnelly Ginger C. , Johnson Joshua C. , Hensley Lisa E. , Honko Anna N. , Johnston Sara C.
Published: February 2022

Disease associated with Nipah virus infection causes a devastating and often fatal spectrum of syndromes predominated by both respiratory and neurologic conditions. Additionally, neurologic sequelae may manifest months to years later after virus exposure or apparent recovery. In the two decades since this disease emerged, much work has been completed in an attempt to understand the pathogenesis and facilitate development of medical countermeasures. Here we provide detailed organ system-specific pathologic findings following exposure of four African green monkeys to 2.41×105 pfu of the Malaysian strain of Nipah virus. Our results further substantiate the African green monkey as a model of human Nipah virus disease, by demonstrating both the respiratory and neurologic components of disease. Additionally, we demonstrate that a chronic phase of disease exists in this model, that may provide an important opportunity to study the enigmatic late onset and relapse encephalitis as it is described in human disease.
Factors associated with unmet need for family planning in sub-Saharan Africa: A multilevel multinomial logistic regression analysis
Authors: Teshale Achamyeleh Birhanu
Published: February 2022

Background

More than one out of every ten married women in the world, and one out of every five women in Africa, have unmet family planning needs. Despite this, studies concerning sub-Saharan Africa as well as the community-level factors that may influence the unmet need for family planning are scarce.

Objective

To assess factors associated with unmet need for family planning in sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

This study used the nineteen demographic and health surveys (DHS) conducted between 2015 and 2020 in sub-Saharan Africa. A total weighted sample of 175, 820 women of reproductive age who were married during the survey was used for this study. To assess the factors associated with unmet need for family planning, I have employed a multilevel multinomial logistic regression model. After selecting variables using the bivariable analysis, a multivariable model was fitted. Finally, an adjusted relative risk ratio with its 95% Confidence Interval was reported and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were declared to be significant predictors of unmet need for family planning.

Result

The overall prevalence of unmet need for family planning in sub-Saharan Africa was 23.70%, of which unmet need for spacing and limiting was 15.81% and 7.90% respectively. In the multivariable multilevel multinomial model, women’s age, women’s education, age at cohabitation, heard about family planning through media, parity, number of under-five children, and knowledge about modern contraceptive methods were among the individual-level factors that were associated with both the unmet need for spacing and limiting. Place of residence, community level of women illiteracy, and region were among the community-level factors that were associated with both unmet needs for spacing and limiting. Household size and visiting the health facility in the last 12 months were associated with unmet need for spacing only and husband education was associated with unmet need for limiting only.

Conclusion

Unmet need for family planning in sub-Saharan Africa was high. Both individual and community level factors were associated with both unmet need for spacing and limiting. Therefore, it is better to consider interventions at both individual and community levels.
Enteric nervous system modulation of luminal pH modifies the microbial environment to promote intestinal health
Authors: Hamilton M. Kristina , Wall Elena S. , Robinson Catherine D. , Guillemin Karen , Eisen Judith S.
Published: February 2022

The enteric nervous system (ENS) controls many aspects of intestinal homeostasis, including parameters that shape the habitat of microbial residents. Previously we showed that zebrafish lacking an ENS, due to deficiency of thesox10gene, develop intestinal inflammation and bacterial dysbiosis, with an expansion of proinflammatoryVibriostrains. To understand the primary defects resulting in dysbiosis insox10mutants, we investigated how the ENS shapes the intestinal environment in the absence of microbiota and associated inflammatory responses. We found that intestinal transit, intestinal permeability, and luminal pH regulation are all aberrant insox10mutants, independent of microbially induced inflammation. Treatment with the proton pump inhibitor, omeprazole, corrected the more acidic luminal pH ofsox10mutants to wild type levels. Omeprazole treatment also prevented overabundance ofVibrioand ameliorated inflammation insox10mutant intestines. Treatment with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, acetazolamide, caused wild type luminal pH to become more acidic, and increased bothVibrioabundance and intestinal inflammation. We conclude that a primary function of the ENS is to regulate luminal pH, which plays a critical role in shaping the resident microbial community and regulating intestinal inflammation.
Edukia, forma eta ahanztura
Authors: Mantzisidor Uria Jon
Published: February 2022

Testuak ohar laburretan biltzen ditu kultur adierazpide ezberdin batzuk denboraren iragaitean jasan ditzaketen aldaketak. Ohar hauek argazki eta irudiekin batera doaz, elkarren osagarri. Aukeraturiko asko hitz larriz idatziriko Arte plastikoetatik kanpo gelditzen diren adierazpenak dira, kalean gertatzen direnak edo lan munduari eta erritoei loturikoak. Hauek gainera ez dute instituzioen kontserbazio babesik izan ohi, eta batzuk iragankor izateko sortuak izan dira. Zenbait ohar forma eta edukiaren arteko harremanaz dihardute, zalantzan jarriz zein izan daitekeen lanaren muina. Bestetan, idazketa eta kodeak dira gai nagusia. Eta guzti honekin batera arte lan originalaren ideia aztertzen da.
Cooperativas y subcontratación en las legislaciones autonómicas: necesaria regulación de garantías laborales para mejorar el bienestar de las personas socias trabajadoras
Authors: Soriano Cortés Dulce
Published: February 2022

La subcontratación a través de cooperativas de trabajo asociado constituye una práctica extendida, especialmente en determinados sectores productivos. Dado nuestro actual marco normativo en materia de cooperativas, para analizar las medidas de garantía en favor de las personas socias trabajadoras en un contexto de subcontratación, hemos de acudir a las respectivas legislaciones autonómicas. Cuantitativamente son escasas las legislaciones autonómicas que abordan la materia, si bien, cualitativamente constituyen modelos ejemplarizantes. Esa diversa y desigual normativa pone de manifiesto una necesitada intervención por parte de los poderes públicos, para dignificar y armonizar la regulación de unos estándares mínimos de trabajo para las personas socias trabajadoras en contextos de subcontratación. Ello, no solo favorecerá el bienestar de dicho colectivo, sino que contribuirá a evitar que las cooperativas sean subterfugio de empresas que buscan mano de obra precaria. Así, el cooperativismo responderá fielmente a su creciente protagonismo como alternativa de trabajo digno, inclusivo y sostenible para una recuperación económica centrada en las personas.
Innovation and territoriality
Authors: Laki Ildikó , Schottner Krisztina
Published: February 2022

In our century, we encounter rapidly changing and uniquely functioning societies, each of which carries with it some excitement. The present study is written in this spirit, it essentially presents the territorial-social relations of a capital district. On the one hand, the study provides a brief description of the history and situation of the district, in which the range of the most important data is embedded - such as the number and change of the population, the change of the housing stock, and the age distribution. In the course of the analysis and evaluation, we were interested in what changes the district has undergone in the last decade, with the constant transformation of territorial and social relations. Although the data can only present everything we examined from one side, we nevertheless believe that the lines of successful dynamic development have become visible.
Acciones de valor compartido realizadas por los grupos empresariales de Colombia
Authors:   Konrad Lorenz editores, Castrillón-Castaño Yuly Vanessa , Correa-Marulanda Yulieth Catalina , Jaramillo-Bedoya Daniela , Correa-García Jaime Andrés
Published: February 2022

The objective of this paper is to identify actions referred to the creating shared value (CSV) carried out by Colombian Business Groups (BG). CSV allows organizations to realize what business success not only depends on the maximization of financial results, but also requires on the positive contribution to the environment and communities where they operate. The article focuses on BG, because they are the predominant organizational form for large Latin American and Colombian companies. We worked with a sample of 38 BG s listed on the Colombian Stock Exchange using their corporate reports through a content analysis. It was found that many of these BGs s perform various activities that presuppose the existence of benefits and two-way value generation between stakeholders and companies, so this article opens space for future work considering that it is an emerging research topic.
Technological capability, transactional capability and firm boundaries
Authors:   Konrad Lorenz editores, Campos-Teixeira Diogo , Tello-Gamarra Jorge
Published: February 2022

Although there is research pertaining to the boundaries of firms, this field of study still requires more development. The objective of this paper is to analyse firm boundaries considering technological and transactional capabilities. The method chosen was that of multiple case studies conducted in firms having different technological intensity levels. The main results are contained in three propositions. Firstly, all industrial firms have technological and transactional capability. Secondly, firms with more developed capabilities (technological and transactional) expand their boundaries. Thirdly, the firms are able to expand their boundaries by means of the accumulation of technological capability, transactional capability, or both. As a conclusion to this paper, technological and transactional capabilities are essential for expanding the boundaries of firms at any level of technological intensity.
Tratado de libre comercio Colombia-Triángulo del Norte: un ejemplo de desarrollo comercial sur-sur
Authors: Deaza Ávila José Armando , Pinto Quijano Ángela Cristina , Castiblanco-Moreno Suelen Emilia
Published: February 2022

This article analyzes the behavior of the Free Trade Agreement signed between Colombia and the Northern Triangle countries. It is based on the hypothesis that, because there is an agreement between countries of the South, similar global development conditions reduce the asymmetries in terms of trade, characteristics of North-South agreements. To evaluate the hypothesis, this article analyzed the trade flows of the last ten years (2010 – 2019), and different international trade indicators are estimated. The results indicate that the agreement has been favorable for Colombia, generating a surplus trade balance and an increase in exports of products with high added value and complementarity between trade partners. It is suggested to deepen and expand this agreement and promote its use by the national productive apparatus.
Modelo de madurez tecnológica de estudiantes de instituciones de educación superior en Colombia
Authors: Mejía Delgado Óscar Armando , Mejía Delgado Yury Yasmín , Mejía Delgado Cristian Andrés
Published: February 2022

The purpose of this paper is to explorer the level of technological maturity of undergraduate students from institutions of higher education. Which is why it was developed a model of technological maturity, with variables directly related to the teaching-learning process. The focus of the study was quantitative. The study was designed as non-experimental with a causal cut. The study was carried out in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, with a non-probabilistic, a questionnaire was designed as a data collection instrument, which was distributed by internet to 481 undergraduate students from different academic units participated and during different semesters. The results confirmed the direct relationship among the familiarity and trust towards digital transformation, while, the trust has a negative impact on the attitude. The results indicate that the model adjustment indicators were acceptable, the positive influence of the variable trust in the model is evidenced, and how the attitude towards digital transformation has a negative impact on the expectations of the future use of digital tools.