bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retrospective analysis of ocular disease in a population of captive pteropodid bats, 2003–2020
Authors: Turner Rachel C. , Alexander Amy B. , Wellehan James F. X. , Heard Darryl , Abbott Jeffrey R. , Crevasse Sarah E. , Plummer Caryn E.
Published: March 2021

Objective

To perform retrospective analysis of captive pteropodid bats presented to the University of Florida for ocular or adnexal disease from 2003–2020.

Animals studied

Twenty‐four individuals from seven species were included.

Procedures

Records were analyzed for disease process, methods of treatment, and surgical techniques and complications.

Results

The most frequently reported abnormality was corneal disease (79%), followed by cataracts (54%), and uveitis (42%). Corneal disease was primarily attributed to either trauma or exposure keratitis secondary to buphthalmia. The majority of uveitis appeared to be lens‐induced. Five cases (21%) of glaucoma were reported, all of which accompanied lens luxation. Of the seven enucleations performed, six had post‐operative complications (85.7%), including swelling at the surgical site, seroma formation, and bacterial infection. There was no significant relationship between age and trauma, age and cataract formation, sex and trauma, or species and cataract formation.

Conclusions

The most common underlying cause of ocular pathology in these cases was trauma. While the bats tolerated topical and systemic treatment well, individual temperament must be taken into account when developing treatment plans, and prevention of injury is the most effective management strategy.
The Influence of Element Thermal Conductivity, Shape, and Density on Heat Transfer in a Rough Wall Turbulent Boundary Layer With Strong Pressure Gradients
Authors: Gramespacher Christoph , Albiez Holger , Stripf Matthias , Bauer Hans-Jörg
Published: March 2021

Formation mechanisms for turbine roughness are manifold, including erosion, corrosion, deposition, and spallation or more recently additive manufacturing processes. Consequently, the resulting surfaces differ remarkably not only in roughness shape, height, and density but also in element thermal conductivity. Because the roughness elements extend into the boundary layer, their temperature distribution has a direct influence on the thermal boundary layer and thus on the resulting convective heat transfer. In the current study, heat transfer distributions along a flat plate with more than 20 deterministic rough surface topographies that differ in element eccentricity, height and density are measured. For each surface roughness, measurements are conducted using two different element thermal conductivities (0.2 W/(mK) and 30 W/(mK)), two pressure distributions, four Reynolds numbers between 3 × 105 and 7.5 × 105 and various inlet turbulence intensities in the range of 1.5 % to 8 %. The pressure distributions resemble a typical suction and pressure side, respectively. Results show a heat transfer increase of up to 60 % for the high thermal conductivity surfaces and up to 50 % for the low conductivity ones. While heat transfer on the high conductivity surfaces is always higher than on the low conductivity ones, the difference becomes smaller with decreasing element density.
Transient Analysis for Two-Dimensional Chemo-Mechanical Coupled Problem
Authors: Wang Xingquan , Liu Xia , Yang Qingsheng
Published: March 2021

In this paper, based on a diffusion and mechanical coupled continuum model, the two-dimensional chemo-mechanical coupled problem in the polar coordinates is studied under plane strain assumption. The transient analytical expressions for concentration and stresses are obtained using a displacement potential function and Airy stress function. An axisymmetric problem is considered to verify the correctness of these expressions. After that, a numerical example of a long enough and traction-free cylinder with variant concentration distribution on its cylindrical surface by an angle is given, and the results show that the shear stress on the cross section is generated during the process of diffusion and the axial stress increased with the increment of concentration. The in-plane stress for this traction-free cylinder will vanish at a steady-state when the concentration was linearly distributed.
Predictive Force-Centric Emergency Collision Avoidance
Authors: Fors Victor , Anistratov Pavel , Olofsson Björn , Nielsen Lars
Published: March 2021

A controller for critical vehicle maneuvering is proposed that avoids obstacles and keeps the vehicle on the road while achieving heavy braking. It operates at the limit of friction and is structured in two main steps: a motion-planning step based on receding-horizon planning to obtain acceleration-vector references, and a low-level controller for following these acceleration references and transforming them into actuator commands. The controller is evaluated in a number of challenging scenarios and results in a well behaved vehicle with respect to, e.g., the steering angle, the body slip, and the path. It is also demonstrated that the controller successfully balances braking and avoidance such that it really takes advantage of the braking possibilities. Specifically, for a moving obstacle, it makes use of a widening gap to perform more braking, which is a clear advantage of the online replanning capability if the obstacle should be a moving human or animal. Finally, real-time capabilities are demonstrated. In conclusion, the controller performs well, both from a functional perspective and from a real-time perspective.
Convective Cooling of Compact Electronic Devices Via Liquid Metals With Low Melting Points
Authors: Liu Gui Lin , Liu Jing
Published: March 2021

The increasingly high power density of today's electronic devices requires the cooling techniques to produce highly effective heat dissipation performance with as little sacrifice as possible to the system compactness. Among the currently available thermal management schemes, convective liquid metal cooling provides considerably high performance due to its unique thermal properties. This paper first reviews the studies on convective cooling using low-melting-point metals published in the past few decades. A group of equations for the thermophysical properties of In-Ga-Sn eutectic alloy is then documented by rigorous literature examination, following by a section of correlations for the heat transfer and flow resistance calculation to partially facilitate the designing work at the current stage. The urgent need to investigate the heat transfer and flow resistance of forced convection of low-melting-point metals in small/mini-channels, typical in compact electronic devices, is carefully argued. Some special aspects pertaining to the practical application of this cooling technique, including the entrance effect, mixed convection, and compact liquid metal heat exchanger design, are also discussed. Finally, future challenges and prospects are outlined.
Neoseiulus cunhaensis sp. nov. (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) from Tristan da Cunha with a key to the paspalivorus species group

Authors: Döker Ismail , Ueckermann Edward A. , Khaustov Vladimir A. , Joharchi Omid , Hänel Christine
Published: March 2021

A new species of the family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata), Neoseiulus cunhaensis Döker & Ueckermann sp. nov. is described from female specimens. In addition, a key to the species of the paspalivorus species group in the genus Neoseiulus Hughes is presented.
A new species of the genus Indoribates (Indoribates) and three new records from Kerala, South India (Acari: Oribatida)

Authors: P.P. Safeer Mohammed , N. Ramani
Published: March 2021

A new species and three new records of oribatid mites collected from soil/litter samples of Malappuram Dt. of Kerala, South India, are studied. Indoribates (Indoribates) irumbuzhiensis sp. nov. shares some morphological similarities with I. (I.) hauseri (Mahunka, 1997) and I.(I.) crassisetiger (Fukuyama & Aoki, 2000) described from Borneo and China respectively. However, the larger body size, smooth rostral setae, straight interlamellar setae, long and smooth notogastral setae, barbed/ciliate nature of genital setae, g4 and g5, distally pointed anal and adanal setae, and presence of basiventral tooth on tibia I and II keep its identity separate from the above two species. Identification key to all known species of subgenus Indoribates (Indoribates) is provided. The paper also include three new records of oribatid mites from India viz. Gibbicepheus (Gibbicepheus) kanekoi (Aoki 1958), Yoshiobodes (Yoshiobodes) camerunensis Fernández, Theron, Leiva & Tiedt.,2017 and Eupelops intermedius (Hammer, 1979), of which, Y. (Y) camerunensis is new record for the Oriental Region and first record of the genus from India.
Satellite swarm threatens radio array
Authors: Clery Daniel
Published: March 2021

"Megaconstellations" already bedevil optical telescopes. Now, radio astronomers are concerned.
Cell-Associated HIV-1 Unspliced-to-Multiply-Spliced RNA Ratio at 12 Weeks of ART Predicts Immune Reconstitution on Therapy
Authors: Scherpenisse Mirte , Kootstra Neeltje A. , Bakker Margreet , Berkhout Ben , Pasternak Alexander O.
Published: March 2021

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is currently managed by antiretroviral drugs, which block virus replication and promote immune restoration. However, the latter effect is not universal, with a proportion of infected individuals failing to sufficiently reconstitute their immune function despite a successful virological response to antiretroviral therapy (ART).
A Mycobacterial Systems Resource for the Research Community
Authors: Judd J. A. , Canestrari J. , Clark R. , Joseph A. , Lapierre P. , Lasek-Nesselquist E. , Mir M. , Palumbo M. , Smith C. , Stone M. , Upadhyay A. , Wirth S. E. , Dedrick R. M. , Meier C. G. , Russell D. A. , Dills A. , Dove E. , Kester J. , Wolf I. D. , Zhu J. , Rubin E. R. , Fortune S. , Hatfull G. F. , Gray T. A. , Wade J. T. , Derbyshire K. M.
Published: March 2021

Diseases caused by mycobacterial species result in millions of deaths per year globally, and present a substantial health and economic burden, especially in immunocompromised patients. Difficulties inherent in working with mycobacterial pathogens have hampered the development and application of high-throughput genetics that can inform genome annotations and subsequent functional assays.
Strain-Resolved Dynamics of the Lung Microbiome in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Dmitrijeva Marija , Kahlert Christian R. , Feigelman Rounak , Kleiner Rebekka L. , Nolte Oliver , Albrich Werner C. , Baty Florent , von Mering Christian
Published: March 2021

Cystic fibrosis patients frequently suffer from recurring respiratory infections caused by colonizing pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Although modern therapies can sometimes alleviate respiratory symptoms by ameliorating residual function of the protein responsible for the disorder, management of chronic respiratory infections remains an issue.
Progressive spatial and temporal evolution of tectonic triggers and metasomatized mantle lithosphere sources for orogenic gold mineralization in a Triassic convergent margin: Kunlun-Qinling Orogen, central China
Authors: Zhao Hesen , Wang Qingfei , Groves David I. , Deng Jun
Published: March 2021

Whether orogenic gold deposits formed from crustal or subcrustal sources is debated, and their link to orogenic processes is ambiguous. Gold mineralization in the Triassic East Kunlun–West Qinling Orogen, China, displays a spatial zonation in terms of its ages and stable isotope compositions. In the West Qinling segment, most gold deposits formed in a back-arc setting at 220∼210 Ma during a collisional episode within late slab rollback. These deposits have dominant δ34S of 5∼15‰ and δ18Ofluid of 10∼14‰, whereas those formed in the suture zone at 210∼170 Ma, during a post-collisional episode after slab break-off, have lower δ34S of −5∼+5‰ and δ18Ofluid of 6∼10‰. In the East Kunlun segment, those deposits that formed in a continental-arc setting and its related suture zone at 240∼200 Ma, in collisional to post-collisional episodes associated with slab break-off, have δ34S and δ18Ofluid values that are essentially similar to those in the West Qinling suture. δ34S values of ore sulfide separates and rims of zoned pyrites that have mantle-like signatures, in contrast with crustal signatures of host rocks, are indicative of subcrustal ore-fluid sources. The combined chronological and stable isotope shifts are consistent with a model in which ore fluids for gold mineralization in a back-arc setting were sourced from mantle lithosphere that was metasomatized by subducted oceanic sediment; whereas those in a continental-arc setting—including its suture zone—were sourced from fluid derived from altered oceanic crust. This study thus provides new insights into the complexity of orogenic gold systems in evolving orogens.
Family and occupational functioning following military trauma exposure and moral injury
Authors: Williamson Victoria , Murphy D , Stevelink S AM , Jones E , Allen S , Greenberg N
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Evidence is growing regarding the impact of potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) on mental health; yet how moral injury may affect an individual’s occupational and familial functioning remains poorly understood.

Method

Thirty male veterans who reported exposure to either traumatic or morally injurious events and 15 clinicians were recruited for semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Results

While many veterans experienced psychological distress postevent, those who experienced PMIEs especially reported social withdrawal and engagement in aggressive, risk-taking behaviours. This was highly distressing for family members and created a tense, volatile home and workplace environment that was difficult for others to navigate. Following PMIEs, employment could be used as a cognitive avoidance strategy or as a means to atone for transgressive acts. In cases of moral injury, clinicians considered that targeted support for spouses and accessible guidance to help children to better understand how their military parent may be feeling would be beneficial.

Conclusions

This study provides some of the first evidence of the pervasive negative impact of PMIEs on veterans’ familial and occupational functioning. These findings highlight the need to comprehensively screen for the impact of moral injury on daily functioning in future studies that goes beyond just an assessment of psychological symptoms.
Risk factors for new chronic opioid use after hip fracture surgery: a Danish nationwide cohort study from 2005 to 2016 using the Danish multidisciplinary hip fracture registry
Authors: Edwards Nina McKinnon , Varnum Claus , Overgaard Søren , Nikolajsen Lone , Christiansen Christian Fynbo , Pedersen Alma Becic
Published: March 2021

Objective

To examine the risk factors for new chronic opioid use in elderly patients who underwent hip fracture surgery.

Design

Prospective population-based cohort study.

Setting and participants

Using Danish nationwide health registries, we identified all opioid non-user patients aged ≥65 years who had undergone hip fracture surgery from 2005 to 2016 and were alive within the first year following surgery.

Main outcome measures

New chronic opioid use defined by the dispensing of at least two prescription opioids within two of the last three quarters during the first year following surgery.

Results

We identified 37 202 opioid non-user patients who underwent hip fracture surgery. Of these, 5497 (15%) developed new chronic opioid user within 1 year of surgery. Risk factors for new chronic opioid use were Body Mass Index (BMI) of <18.5 (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.22, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.36), BMI of 25.0–29.9 (aOR 1.12, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.21) and BMI of ≥30 (aOR 1.57, 95% CI 1.40 to 1.76) with BMI 18.6–24.9 as reference, a pertrochanteric/subtrochanteric fracture (aOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.34) with femoral neck fracture as reference, preoperative use (vs no-use) of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (aOR 1.68, 95% CI 1.55 to 1.83), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (aOR 1.42, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.53), antidepressants (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.24 to 1.49), antipsychotics (aOR 1.21, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.35), corticosteroids (aOR 1.54, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.76), statins (aOR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.18), antibiotics (aOR 1.32, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.42), antiosteoporosis drugs (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.49) and anticoagulatives (aOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.32). Presence of cardiovascular comorbidities, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or renal diseases was further identified as a risk factor.

Conclusion

In this large nationwide cohort study, we identified several risk factors associated with new chronic opioid use after hip fracture surgery among patients who were alive within the first year following surgery. Although not all factors are modifiable preoperative, this will allow clinicians to appropriately counsel patients preoperatively and tailor postoperative treatment.
The use of a speaking book® to enhance vaccine knowledge among caregivers in The Gambia: A study using qualitative and quantitative methods
Authors: Nkereuwem Oluwatosin O , Kochhar Sonali , Wariri Oghenebrume , Johm Penda , Ceesay Amie , Kinteh Mamanding , Kampmann Beate
Published: March 2021

Objectives

To measure the usefulness of a Speaking Book (SB) as an educational tool for enhancing knowledge, understanding and recall of key vaccine-related information among caregivers in The Gambia, as well as its acceptability and relevance as a health promotion tool for caregivers and healthcare workers.

Design and setting

We developed a multimedia educational tool, the vaccine Speaking Book, which contained prerecorded information about vaccines provided in The Gambia’s Expanded Programme on Immunization. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, we then conducted a sequential study assessing the use of this tool among caregivers andhealthcare workers in The Gambia.

Participants

200 caregivers attending primary healthcare centres in The Gambia for routine immunisation services for their infants, and 15 healthcare workers employed to provide immunisation services at these clinics.

Outcome measures

We calculated the median knowledge scores on vaccine-related information obtained at baseline, 1-month and 3-month follow-up visits. Wilcoxon’s matched-pairs signed-rank test was used to compare the difference in the median knowledge scores between baseline and 1-month, and between baseline and 3-month follow-up visits.

Results

Of the 113 caregivers who participated, 104 (92%) completed all three study visits, 108 (95.6%) completed the baseline and 1-month follow-up visits, and 107 (94.7%) completed the baseline and 3-month follow-up visits. The median knowledge score increased from 6.0 (IQR 5.0–7.0) at baseline to 11.0 (IQR 8.0–14.0) at 1-month visit (p<0.001), and 15.0 (IQR 10.0–20.0) at 3-month visit (p<0.001). Qualitative results showed high acceptability and enthusiasm for the Speaking Book among both caregivers and healthcare workers. The Speaking Book was widely shared in the community and this facilitated communication with healthcare workers at the primary healthcare centres.

Conclusions

Context-specific and subject-specific Speaking Books are a useful communication and educational tool to increase caregiver vaccine knowledge in low/middle-income countries.
Assessing relative COVID-19 mortality: a Swiss population-based study
Authors: Hothorn Torsten , Bopp Matthias , Günthard Huldrych , Keiser Olivia , Roelens Maroussia , Weibull Caroline E , Crowther Michael
Published: March 2021

Objective

Severity of the COVID-19 has been previously reported in terms of absolute mortality in SARS-CoV-2 positive cohorts. An assessment of mortality relative to mortality in the general population is presented.

Design

Retrospective population-based study.

Setting

Individual information on symptomatic confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients and subsequent deaths from any cause were compared with the all-cause mortality in the Swiss population of 2018. Starting 23 February 2020, mortality in COVID-19 patients was monitored for 80 days and compared with the population mortality observed in the same time of year starting 23 February 2018.

Participants

5 102 300 inhabitants of Switzerland aged 35–95 without COVID-19 (general population in spring 2018) and 20 769 persons tested positively for COVID-19 during the first wave in spring 2020.

Measurements

Sex-specific and age-specific mortality rates were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. Absolute probabilities of death were predicted and risk was assessed in terms of relative mortality by taking the ratio between the sex-specific and age-specific absolute mortality in COVID-19 patients and the corresponding mortality in the 2018 general population.

Results

Absolute mortalities increased with age and were higher for males compared with females, both in the general population and in positively tested persons. A confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection substantially increased the probability of death across all patient groups at least eightfold. The highest relative mortality risks were observed among males and younger patients. Male COVID-19 patients exceeded the population hazard for males (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.44). An additional year of age increased the population hazard in COVID-19 patients only marginally (HR 1.00, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.01).

Conclusions

Healthcare professionals, decision-makers and societies are provided with an additional population-adjusted assessment of COVID-19 mortality risk. In combination with absolute measures of risk, the relative risks presented here help to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the actual impact of COVID-19.
Patient experiences with physiotherapy for knee osteoarthritis in Australia—a qualitative study
Authors: Teo Pek Ling , Bennell Kim L , Lawford Belinda , Egerton T , Dziedzic Krysia , Hinman Rana S
Published: March 2021

Objective

Physiotherapists commonly provide non-surgical care for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). It is unknown if patients are receiving high-quality physiotherapy care for their knee OA. This study aimed to explore the experiences of people who had recently received physiotherapy care for their knee OA in Australia and how these experiences aligned with the national Clinical Care Standard for knee OA.

Design

Qualitative study using semistructured individual telephone interviews and thematic analysis, where themes/subthemes were inductively derived. Questions were informed by seven quality statements of the OA of the Knee Clinical Care Standard. Interview data were also deductively analysed according to the Standard.

Setting

Participants were recruited from around Australia via Facebook and our research volunteer database.

Participants

Interviews were conducted with 24 people with recent experience receiving physiotherapy care for their knee OA. They were required to be aged 45 years or above, had activity-related knee pain and any knee-related morning stiffness lasted no longer than 30 min. Participants were excluded if they had self-reported inflammatory arthritis and/or had undergone knee replacement surgery for the affected knee.

Results

Six themes emerged: (1) presented with a pre-existing OA diagnosis (prior OA care from other health professionals; perception of adequate OA knowledge); (2) wide variation in access and provision of physiotherapy care (referral pathways; funding models; individual vs group sessions); (3) seeking physiotherapy care for pain and functional limitations (knee symptoms; functional problems); (4) physiotherapy management focused on function and exercise (assessment of function; various types of exercises prescribed; surgery, medications and injections are for doctors; adjunctive treatments); (5) professional and personalised care (trust and/or confidence; personalised care) and (6) physiotherapy to postpone or prepare for surgery.

Conclusion

Patients’ experiences with receiving physiotherapy care for their knee OA were partly aligned with the standard, particularly regarding comprehensive assessment, self-management, and exercise.
Diagnostic accuracy of subjective dyspnoea in detecting hypoxaemia among outpatients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Berezin Linor , Zhabokritsky Alice , Andany Nisha , Chan Adrienne K , Estrada-Codecido Jose , Gershon Andrea , Lam Philip W , Leis Jerome A , MacPhee Scott , Mubareka Samira , Simor Andrew E , Daneman Nick
Published: March 2021

Objectives

The majority of patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 can be managed using virtual care. Dyspnoea is challenging to assess remotely, and the accuracy of subjective dyspnoea measures in capturing hypoxaemia have not been formally evaluated for COVID-19. We explored the accuracy of subjective dyspnoea in diagnosing hypoxaemia in COVID-19 patients.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive outpatients with COVID-19 who met criteria for home oxygen saturation monitoring at a university-affiliated acute care hospital in Toronto, Canada from 3 April 2020 to 13 September 2020. Dyspnoea measures were treated as diagnostic tests, and we determined their sensitivity (SN), specificity (SP), negative/positive predictive value (NPV/PPV) and positive/negative likelihood ratios (+LR/−LR) for detecting hypoxaemia. In the primary analysis, hypoxaemia was defined by oxygen saturation <95%; the diagnostic accuracy of subjective dyspnoea was also assessed across a range of oxygen saturation cutoffs from 92% to 97%.

Results

During the study period, 89/501 (17.8%) of patients met criteria for home oxygen saturation monitoring, and of these 17/89 (19.1%) were diagnosed with hypoxaemia. The presence/absence of dyspnoea had limited accuracy for diagnosing hypoxaemia, with SN 47% (95% CI 24% to 72%), SP 80% (95% CI 68% to 88%), NPV 86% (95% CI 75% to 93%), PPV 36% (95% CI 18% to 59%), +LR 2.4 (95% CI 1.2 to 4.7) and −LR 0.7 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.1). The SN of dyspnoea was 50% (95% CI 19% to 81%) when a cut-off of <92% was used to define hypoxaemia. A modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea score >1 (SP 98%, 95% CI 88% to 100%), Roth maximal count <12 (SP 100%, 95% CI 75% to 100%) and Roth counting time <8 s (SP 93%, 95% CI 66% to 100%) had high SP that could be used to rule in hypoxaemia, but displayed low SN (≤50%).

Conclusions

Subjective dyspnoea measures have inadequate accuracy for ruling out hypoxaemia in high-risk patients with COVID-19. Safe home management of patients with COVID-19 should incorporate home oxygenation saturation monitoring.
Protocol for a four parallel-arm, single-blind, cluster-randomised trial to assess the effectiveness of three types of dual active ingredient treated nets compared to pyrethroid-only long-lasting insecticidal nets to prevent malaria transmitted by pyrethroid insecticide-resistant vector mosquitoes in Tanzania
Authors: Mosha Jacklin F. , Kulkarni Manisha A. , Messenger Louisa A. , Rowland Mark , Matowo Nancy , Pitt Catherine , Lukole Eliud , Taljaard Monica , Thickstun Charles , Manjurano Alphaxard , Mosha Franklin W. , Kleinschmidt Immo , Protopopoff Natacha
Published: March 2021

Introduction

The massive scale-up of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) has led to major reductions in malaria burden in many sub-Saharan African countries. This progress is threatened by widespread insecticide resistance among malaria vectors. This cluster-randomised controlled trial (c-RCT) compares three of the most promising dual active ingredients LLINs (dual-AI LLINs), which incorporate mixtures of insecticides or insecticide synergists to standard LLINs in an area of pyrethroid insecticide resistance.

Methods

A four-arm, single-blinded, c-RCT will evaluate the effectiveness of three types of dual-AI LLINs (1) Royal Guard, combining two insecticides, pyriproxyfen and the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin; (2) Interceptor G2, combining chlorfenapyr and alpha-cypermethrin; (3) Olyset Plus, an LLIN combining a synergist, piperonyl butoxide and the pyrethroid permethrin, compared with; (4) Interceptor LN, a standard LLIN containing the pyrethroid alpha-cypermethrin as the sole AI. The primary outcomes are malaria infection prevalence in children aged 6 months–14 years and entomological inoculation rate (EIR), as a standard measure of malaria transmission at 24 months postintervention and cost-effectiveness.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval was received from the institutional review boards of the Tanzanian National Institute for Medical Research, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University of Ottawa. Study findings will be actively disseminated via reports and presentations to stakeholders, local community leaders, and relevant national and international policy makers as well as through conferences, and peer-reviewed publications.

Trial registration number

NCT03554616.
Akwenda intervention programme for children and youth with cerebral palsy in a low-resource setting in sub-Saharan Africa: protocol for a quasi-randomised controlled study
Authors: Saloojee Gillian , Ekwan Francis , Andrews Carin , Damiano Diane L , Kakooza-Mwesige Angelina , Forssberg Hans
Published: March 2021

Introduction

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood-onset motor disorder accompanied by associated impairments, placing a heavy burden on families and health systems. Most children with CP live in low/middle-income countries with little access to rehabilitation services. This study will evaluate the Akwenda CP programme, a multidimensional intervention designed for low-resource settings and aiming at improving: (1) participation, motor function and daily activities for children with CP; (2) quality of life, stress and knowledge for caregivers; and (3) knowledge and attitudes towards children with CP in the communities.

Methods

This quasi-randomised controlled clinical study will recruit children and youth with CP aged 2–23 years in a rural area of Uganda. Children will be allocated to one of two groups with at least 44 children in each group. Groups will be matched for age, sex and motor impairment. The intervention arm will receive a comprehensive, multidimensional programme over a period of 11 months comprising (1) caregiver-led training workshops, (2) therapist-led practical group sessions, (3) provision of technical assistive devices, (4) goal-directed training and (5) community communication and advocacy. The other group will receive usual care. The outcome of the intervention will be assessed before and after the intervention and will be measured at three levels: (1) child, (2) caregiver and (3) community. Standard analysis methods for randomised controlled trial will be used to compare groups. Retention of effects will be examined at 12-month follow-up.

Ethics and dissemination

The study has been approved by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (SS 5173) and registered in accordance with WHO and ICMJE standards. Written informed consent will be obtained from caregivers. Results will be disseminated among participants and stakeholders through public engagement events, scientific reports and conference presentations.

Trial registration number

Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR202011738099314) Pre-results.
Development of the integrated New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) data warehouse: catalysing advancements in injury prevention research
Authors: Curry Allison E , Pfeiffer Melissa R , Metzger Kristina B , Carey Meghan E , Cook Lawrence J
Published: March 2021

Objective

Our objective was to describe the development of the New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) data warehouse—a unique and comprehensive data source that integrates state-wide administrative databases in NJ to enable the field of injury prevention to address critical, high-priority research questions.

Methods

We undertook an iterative process to link data from six state-wide administrative databases from NJ for the period of 2004 through 2018: (1) driver licensing histories, (2) traffic-related citations and suspensions, (3) police-reported crashes, (4) birth certificates, (5) death certificates and (6) hospital discharges (emergency department, inpatient and outpatient). We also linked to electronic health records of all NJ patients of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia network, census tract-level indicators (using geocoded residential addresses) and state-wide Medicaid/Medicare data. We used several metrics to evaluate the quality of the linkage process.

Results

After the linkage process was complete, the NJ-SHO data warehouse included linked records for 22.3 million distinct individuals. Our evaluation of this linkage suggests that the linkage was of high quality: (1) the median match probability—or likelihood of a match being true—among all accepted pairs was 0.9999 (IQR: 0.9999–1.0000); and (2) the false match rate—or proportion of accepted pairs that were false matches—was 0.0063.

Conclusions

The resulting NJ-SHO warehouse is one of the most comprehensive and rich longitudinal sources of injury data to date. The warehouse has already been used to support numerous studies and is primed to support a host of rigorous studies in the field of injury prevention.
Does NICE apply the rule of rescue in its approach to highly specialised technologies?
Authors: Charlton Victoria
Published: March 2021

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the UK’s main healthcare priority-setting body, recently reaffirmed a longstanding claim that in recommending technologies to the National Health Service it cannot apply the ‘rule of rescue’. This paper explores this claim by identifying key characteristics of the rule and establishing to what extent these are also features of NICE’s approach to evaluating ultra-orphan drugs through its highly specialised technologies (HST) programme. It argues that although NICE in all likelihood does not act because of the rule in prioritising these drugs, its actions in relation to HSTs are nevertheless in accordance with the rule and are not explained by the full articulation of any alternative set of rationales. That is, though NICE implies that its approach to HSTs is not motivated by the rule of rescue, it is not explicit about what else might justify this approach given NICE’s general concern with overall population need and value for money. As such, given NICE’s reliance on notions of procedural justice and its commitment to making the reasons for its priority-setting decisions public, the paper concludes that NICE’s claim to reject the rule is unhelpful and that NICE does not currently meet its own definition of a fair and transparent decision-maker.
Efficacy of unsupervised exercise in adults with obstructive lung disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Taylor Daniel , Jenkins Alex R , Parrott Kate , Benham Alex , Targett Samantha , Jones Arwel W
Published: March 2021

Introduction

The benefits of unsupervised exercise programmes in obstructive lung disease are unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesise evidence regarding the efficacy of unsupervised exercise versus non-exercise-based usual care in patients with obstructive lung disease.

Methods

Electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Physiotherapy Evidence Database) and trial registers (ClinicalTrials.gov, Current Controlled Trials, UK Clinical Trials Gateway and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform) were searched from inception to April 2020 for randomised trials comparing unsupervised exercise programmes with non-exercise-based usual care in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis or asthma. Primary outcomes were exercise capacity, quality of life, mortality, exacerbations and respiratory cause hospitalisations.

Results

Sixteen trials (13 COPD, 2 asthma, 1 chronic bronchitis: 1184 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Only data on COPD populations were available for meta-analysis. Unsupervised exercise resulted in a statistically but not clinically significant improvement in the 6-Minute Walk Test (n=5, MD=22.0 m, 95% CI 4.4 to 39.6 m, p=0.01). However, unsupervised exercise did lead to statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (n=4, MD=−11.8 points, 95% CI −21.2 to −2.3 points, p=0.01) and Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire domains (dyspnoea: n=4, MD=0.5 points, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.8 points, p<0.01; fatigue: n=4, MD=0.7 points, 95% CI 0.4 to 1.0 points, p<0.01; emotion: n=4, MD=0.5 points, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.7 points, p<0.01; mastery: unable to perform meta-analysis) compared with non-exercise-based usual care.

Discussion

This review demonstrates clinical benefits of unsupervised exercise interventions on health-related quality of life in patients with COPD. High-quality randomised trials are needed to examine the effectiveness of prescription methods.
Complication to consider: delayed traumatic hemothorax in older adults
Authors: Choi Jeff , Anand Ananya , Sborov Katherine D , Walton William , Chow Lawrence , Guillamondegui Oscar , Dennis Bradley M , Spain David , Staudenmayer Kristan
Published: March 2021

Background

Emerging evidence suggests older adults may experience subtle hemothoraces that progress over several days. Delayed progression and delayed development of traumatic hemothorax (dHTX) have not been well characterized. We hypothesized dHTX would be infrequent but associated with factors that may aid prediction.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed adults aged ≥50 years diagnosed with dHTX after rib fractures at two level 1 trauma centers (March 2018 to September 2019). dHTX was defined as HTX discovered ≥48 hours after admission chest CT showed either no or ‘minimal/trace’ HTX. Two blinded, board-certified radiologists reviewed inpatient chest imaging and classified injury patterns according to Chest Wall Injury Society (CWIS) taxonomy. Descriptive analysis was performed for demographic and hospitalization characteristics.

Results

We identified 14 patients with pooled dHTX rate of 1.3%. After initial chest CT negative for concerning hemothoraces, the patients did not undergo follow-up imaging until new symptoms (shortness of breath, chest pain) developed: eight (57%) were not diagnosed until after discharge from initial hospitalization (mean (range): 9 (2–20) days after discharge). Aspirin and/or anticoagulants were involved in fewer than half of cases (43%). According to CWIS taxonomy, all patients had a series of posterolateral fractures with at least one offset or displaced fracture, and an average of six consecutive rib fractures. All patients underwent tube thoracostomy and six patients (42%)—all aged <65—underwent operative interventions.

Discussion

Preliminary data suggest older adults with rib fractures may be at risk of experiencing delayed progression of trace hemothoraces or a delayed presentation of hemothoraces. Asymptomatic progression or readmission to other services/hospitals likely occurs and true dHTX rates are likely higher. Our preliminary findings suggest a possible anatomic explanation for severe chest wall injury patterns’ association with dHTX. Further characterization and capturing the true incidence of dHTX first requires wider recognition of this complication.
Modeling and stability analysis of the spread of novel coronavirus disease COVID-19
Authors: Selvam A. George Maria , Alzabut Jehad , Vianny D. Abraham , Jacintha Mary , Yousef Fatma Bozkurt
Published: March 2021

Towards the end of 2019, the world witnessed the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (COVID-19), a new strain of coronavirus that was unidentified in humans previously. In this paper, a new fractional-order Susceptible–Exposed–Infected–Hospitalized–Recovered (SEIHR) model is formulated for COVID-19, where the population is infected due to human transmission. The fractional-order discrete version of the model is obtained by the process of discretization and the basic reproductive number is calculated with the next-generation matrix approach. All equilibrium points related to the disease transmission model are then computed. Further, sufficient conditions to investigate all possible equilibria of the model are established in terms of the basic reproduction number (local stability) and are supported with time series, phase portraits and bifurcation diagrams. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the theoretical findings.
Semi-Supervised Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis for Case-Related Microblog Reviews Using Case Knowledge Graph Embedding
Authors: Zhao Peilian , Mao Cunli , Yu Zhengtao
Published: March 2021

Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA), a fine-grained task of opinion mining, which aims to extract sentiment of specific target from text, is an important task in many real-world applications, especially in the legal field. Therefore, in this paper, we study the problem of limitation of labeled training data required and ignorance of in-domain knowledge representation for End-to-End Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (E2E-ABSA) in legal field. We proposed a new method under deep learning framework, named Semi-ETEKGs, which applied E2E framework using knowledge graph (KG) embedding in legal field after data augmentation (DA). Specifically, we pre-trained the BERT embedding and in-domain KG embedding for unlabeled data and labeled data with case elements after DA, and then we put two embeddings into the E2E framework to classify the polarity of target-entity. Finally, we built a case-related dataset based on a popular benchmark for ABSA to prove the efficiency of Semi-ETEKGs, and experiments on case-related dataset from microblog comments show that our proposed model outperforms the other compared methods significantly.
A Novel Memory-hard Password Hashing Scheme for Blockchain-based Cyber-physical Systems
Authors: Luo Ye , Su Zehai , Zheng Wei , Chen Zhaobin , Wang Fuqin , Zhang Zhemin , Chen Jinjun
Published: March 2021

There has been an increasing interest of integrating blockchain into cyber-physical systems (CPS). The design of password hashing schemes (PHSs) is in the core of blockchain security. However, no existing PHS seems to meet both the requirements of sufficient security and small code size for blockchain-based CPSs. In this article, a novel memory-hard PHS based on the classic PBKDF2 is proposed. Evaluation results show that the proposed scheme is promising for blockchain-based CPS, as it manages to provide enhanced security in comparison to PBKDF2 with limited increase in code size.
A Polishing Robot Force Control System Based on Time Series Data in Industrial Internet of Things
Authors: Zhang Chen , Tang Zhuo , Li Kenli , Yang Jianzhong , Yang Li
Published: March 2021

Installing a six-dimensional force/torque sensor on an industrial arm for force feedback is a common robotic force control strategy. However, because of the high price of force/torque sensors and the closedness of an industrial robot control system, this method is not convenient for industrial mass production applications. Various types of data generated by industrial robots during the polishing process can be saved, transmitted, and applied, benefiting from the growth of the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Therefore, we propose a constant force control system that combines an industrial robot control system and industrial robot offline programming software for a polishing robot based on IIoT time series data. The system mainly consists of four parts, which can achieve constant force polishing of industrial robots in mass production. (1) Data collection module. Install a six-dimensional force/torque sensor at a manipulator and collect the robot data (current series data, etc.) and sensor data (force/torque series data). (2) Data analysis module. Establish a relationship model based on variant long short-term memory which we propose between current time series data of the polishing manipulator and data of the force sensor. (3) Data prediction module. A large number of sensorless polishing robots of the same type can utilize that model to predict force time series. (4) Trajectory optimization module. The polishing trajectories can be adjusted according to the prediction sequences. The experiments verified that the relational model we proposed has an accurate prediction, small error, and a manipulator taking advantage of this method has a better polishing effect.
Leveraging Data Augmentation for Service QoS Prediction in Cyber-physical Systems
Authors: Yin Yuyu , Xu Haoran , Liang Tingting , Chen Manman , Gao Honghao , Longo Antonella
Published: March 2021

With the fast-developing domain of cyber-physical systems (CPS), constructing the CPS with high-quality services becomes an imperative task. As one of the effective solutions for information overload in CPS construction, quality of service (QoS)-aware service recommendation has drawn much attention in academia and industry. However, the lack of most QoS values limits the recommendation performance and it is time-consuming for users to get the QoS values by invoking all the services. Therefore, a powerful prediction model is required to predict the unobserved QoS values. Considering the fact that most existing QoS prediction models are unable to effectively address the data-sparsity problem, a novel two-stage framework called AgQ is proposed for QoS prediction. Specifically, a data augmentation strategy is designed in the first stage to enlarge the training set by drawing additional virtual instances. In the second stage, a prediction model is applied that considers both virtual and factual instances during the training procedure. We conduct extensive experiments on the WSDream dataset to demonstrate the effectiveness of the our QoS prediction framework and verify that the data augmentation strategy can indeed alleviate the data-sparsity problem. In terms of mean absolute error, taking the Multilayer Perceptron model as an example, the maximum improvement achieves 5% under 5% sparsity.
Data Structures to Represent a Set of
k
-long DNA Sequences
Authors: Chikhi Rayan , Holub Jan , Medvedev Paul
Published: March 2021

The analysis of biological sequencing data has been one of the biggest applications of string algorithms. The approaches used in many such applications are based on the analysis of
k
-mers, which are short fixed-length strings present in a dataset. While these approaches are rather diverse, storing and querying a
k
-mer set has emerged as a shared underlying component. A set of
k
-mers has unique features and applications that, over the past 10 years, have resulted in many specialized approaches for its representation. In this survey, we give a unified presentation and comparison of the data structures that have been proposed to store and query a
k
-mer set. We hope this survey will serve as a resource for researchers in the field as well as make the area more accessible to researchers outside the field.
Biological Phase Separation and Biomolecular Condensates in Plants
Authors: Emenecker Ryan J. , Holehouse Alex S. , Strader Lucia C.
Published: March 2021

A surge in research focused on understanding the physical principles governing the formation, properties, and function of membraneless compartments has occurred over the past decade. Compartments such as the nucleolus, stress granules, and nuclear speckles have been designated as biomolecular condensates to describe their shared property of spatially concentrating biomolecules. Although this research has historically been carried out in animal and fungal systems, recent work has begun to explore whether these same principles are relevant in plants. Effectively understanding and studying biomolecular condensates require interdisciplinary expertise that spans cell biology, biochemistry, and condensed matter physics and biophysics. As such, some involved concepts may be unfamiliar to any given individual. This review focuses on introducing concepts essential to the study of biomolecular condensates and phase separation for biologists seeking to carry out research in this area and further examines aspects of biomolecular condensates that are relevant to plant systems.