bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Making waves: nurse-led urgent community response
Authors: Robb Kirsty , Barber Gemma , Mohedeen Fay
Published: January 2022

Anyone in England over 18 whose health or wellbeing suddenly deteriorates at home will have access to an urgent community response (UCR) team within 2 hours by April 2022. Community nursing services are providing the core service model to provide these crisis response services. Nurse leads from three UCR accelerator sites (Kirklees, Warrington and Bromley) elaborate on how they are making waves of change for the better, using their clinical skills and building key relationships with other health services. Acutely unwell patients are being seen by practitioners with advanced assessment skills, which keeps eight out of 10 patients at home safe, avoiding hospital admission.
An innovative mobile application to improve the efficiency of common procedures in the paediatric intensive care unit: a pilot study
Authors: Mannarino Candace , Prigge Andrew D , Sarmiento John , Malakooti Marcelo
Published: January 2022

Background/Aims

Procedures performed in the paediatric intensive care unit require optimal efficiency. This study evaluated the feasibility of a mobile app for paediatric critical care trainees to help improve the efficiency of three common procedures: central line placement, arterial line insertion and chest tube insertion.

Methods

Data regarding frequency of forgotten items were collected during the pre-intervention stage. A mobile app was developed with a checklist to help users to gather all the correct equipment. Data regarding the number of forgotten items were collected from the app in the period following initial implementation (March–August 2019) and after a software update (August–October 2019).

Results

Once the mobile application was introduced, all 13 (100%) fellows and 2 (20%) of the 10 advanced practice registered nurses accessed the application's checklist to record their procedures. From March–August 2019, 19 users submitted post-completion assessments, of which four included records of forgotten items (21%). After a software update, from August–October 2019, there were eight post-procedure assessments submitted with zero forgotten items. After using the mobile application, over half (13/24) of users surveyed agreed that the mobile application was useful for helping select items.

Conclusions

A considerable decrease in the proportion of procedures with forgotten items was recorded after the implementation of the app and after the software update. However, there was also a decrease in use of the app during the study period, so more research is required into the use of mobile apps for this purpose.
Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Properties of Coffea Arabica/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite prepared by green synthesis
Authors: Perera D. S. M. , De Silva R. C. L. , Nayanajith L. D. C. , Colombage H. C. D. P. , Suresh T. S. , Abeysekera W. P. K. M. , Kottegoda I. R. M.
Published: January 2022

The present study focuses on an efficient eco-friendly method for reducing graphene oxide (rGO) using Coffea arabica leaf extract for bio-medical applications for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) using Coffea arabica leaves was verified through Raman, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD peaks corresponding to GO at 2 =10º have dissapeared on reduction of GO to rGO and the formation of rGO was verified through a new broad peak at 2 =26º. FTIR revealed functional group changes in reducing GO to rGO. The SEM images of rGO showed a ribbed form instead of the rigid appearance of the GO flakes. The analysis revealed that the current green method is a feasible method for reducing GO to rGO and formation of the Coffea arabica/rGO nanocomposite. The composite prepared from young coffee leave exhibited higher antioxidant capacity than matured leave against scavenging 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals. Fascinatingly, the Coffea arabica/rGO nanocomposite showed an anti-inflammatory activity as well suggesting that the Coffea arabica /rGO nanocomposite is promising candidate for bio-medical applications in near future.
Bilateral Primary Iliopsoas Abscess with Bilateral Hip Septic Arthritis – A Rare Case Report
Authors: George James C , Sainulabdeen Jishar , Chittaranjan Samuel , Babu Subin
Published: January 2022

Introduction:Iliopsoas abscess is an uncommon condition, often with insidious and nonspecific symptoms. Patients often present with a limp, fever, weight loss, and flank or abdominal pain. An iliopsoas abscess can be either primary or secondary depending on the presence or absence of an underlying disease. Primary abscess is very common in Asia and other developing countries. If untreated, iliopsoas abscess can spread to lower limbs, compress iliac vein, ureter and can end up in sepsis. There have been only a very small number of cases of psoas abscess with associated hip septic arthritis reported so far. Bilateral iliopsoas abscess is also a rare entity.

Case Report:We report here a 58-year-old diabetic lady with fever and both hip pain subsequent to a fall at home one month back around one 1 month before. . She was initially seen elsewhere, and a diagnosis of L4-L5 disc bulge was made following which rest , analgesics and steroids were given. Later, repeat magnetic resonance imageMRI showed bilateral Iliacus abscess and bilateral hip synovitis. She was started on anti anti-tuberculosis medications and referred to us. We investigated for occult sources of infection and did bilateral iliopsoas abscess drainage followed by staged bilateral total hip replacement. She now continues to be symptom free.

Conclusion: Our patient had primary bilateral iliopsoas abscess with bilateral hip Streptococcus faeeacalis septic arthritis. It has not been reported in the literature till now.

Clinical Message:Early diagnosis through meticulous clinical examination and investigations is important in treatment of the abscess and reducing morbidity and mortality.

Keywords:Primary iliopsoas abscess, septic arthritis, bilateral iliopsoas abscess.
Hibernoma of Thigh: A Case Report of 39-Year-Old Male
Authors: Alqadhib Nasser Sulaiman , Alshaya Osama Saleh
Published: January 2022

Introduction: Hibernoma is an uncommon benign lipomatous tumor that originates from residual brown fat. It commonly affects adult patients aged between 30 and 40 with a slight predominance in male more than female and usually seen in the thigh, shoulder, back, chest, axilla, and neck. The present report aimed to highlight on a viable differential diagnosis of thigh mass including liposarcoma and atypical lipoma.

Case Presentation: This is the case report with detailed history, examination of 39-year-old male patient with hibernoma over medial aspect of thigh. Marginal surgical resection was carried and sent to histopathology to confirm the diagnosis of hibernoma.

Conclusion: Hibernoma is a rare benign lipomatous soft tissue tumor with no known risk for malignant transformation or metastasis. Based on imaging examination, it can mimic malignant tumors such as, liposarcoma, in which we believe that biopsy is required in order to reach the diagnosis in most of the cases.

Keywords: Soft tissue tumor, hibernoma, brown fat, liposarcoma.
An Atypical Type of Monteggia Equivalent: A Case Report
Authors: Jain Deepak , Singh Sanjeev , Binyala Shrey , Kumar Praveen
Published: January 2022

Introduction:Management of Mmonteggia fractures has always been debatable; Nnumerous variants have been described in the literature since its first description in 1814. We report a new variant of classical Mmonteggia fracture in a 33-year-old male.

Case Presentation: A 33-year old male was brought to the emergency room with an alleged history of assault and was managed with an external wound. Antero-Pposterior and lateral radiographs showed segmental ulna fracture and radial head dislocation. The Ppatient was managed surgically with open reduction internal fixation with reconstruction plate for segmental ulna and closed reduction of radial head was attempted after achieving an anatomical reduction of the ulna. Close attention was paid to the early post-operative mobilization of the elbow joint with the help of a Hinged elbow brace and terminal functional outcome re re-evaluated at 6six months with a DASH score of 11 and MAYO score of 92.

Conclusion: We report a rare type 1 monteggia equivalent not described in the literature. Despite the variability of the monteggia equivalents, the principle of management remains the same. Early mobilization of the elbow is of utmost importance to avoid post-operative stiffness.

Keywords: Atypical, Equivalent, Monteggia, Segmental.
U-shape core-offset fiber sensor with submicrostrain resolution over a 35 millistrain range
Authors: Fan Huibo , Fan Hongwei , Lu Cong , Yin Qiming , Bao Xiaoyi
Published: January 2022

Large strain with submicro resolution is essential for steel structural monitoring; however, the fiber base sensors are limited by the glass extension to be less than 1%. Here, we propose a U-shape core-offset fiber sensor including four fiber segments to realize a large strain sensor. Four fiber segments with slight length differences in between are core-offset fused together to achieve U-shape spring-like microstructure fiber for large transverse bending radius. The reflected high-order modes at three silica/air interfaces interfere to give a broad spectrum due to unequal segment length, which enables continuous strain detection over 35 mɛ. The air and glass hybrid structure of the device enables the large bending, and hence compression and tension measurement can be achieved simultaneously. The strain sensitivity is up to 20.75 pm/µɛ with the strain accuracy of 0.5 µɛ. This novel, to the best of our knowledge, core-offset fiber has high strain sensitivity and large strain range for compression and tension strain measurement. Furthermore, the proposed strain sensor can be fabricated easily for practical applications where large strain with high strain accuracy is needed.
Fourier photoacoustic microscope improved resolution on single-pixel imaging
Authors: Mostafavi Seyed Masood , Amjadian Mohammadreza , Kavehvash Zahra , Shabany Mahdi
Published: January 2022

A new single-pixel Fourier photoacoustic microscopy (PAM), to the best of our knowledge, is proposed to improve the resolution and region of interest (ROI) of an acquired image. In the previous structure of single-pixel Fourier PAM, called spatially invariant resolution PAM (SIR-PAM), the lateral resolution and ROI are limited by the digital micromirror device (DMD) pixel size and the number of pixels. This limitation is overcome here through illuminating fixed angle interfering plane waves, changing the fringe frequency via varying the frequency of the laser source. Given that the fringe sinusoidal patterns here can be produced by two mirrors, the DMD usage can be omitted. In this way, the fringe frequency can be changed in a wider spectrum, making it possible to capture a wider spectral bandwidth and thus a higher-resolution image. Also, the removal of the ROI limitation results in a high-resolution frequency-swept PAM structure. Monte Carlo simulations show 1.7 times improvement in lateral resolution compared to SIR-PAM based on the point-spread function and full-width-at-half-maximum.
Combining deep learning with SUPPOSe and compressed sensing for SNR-enhanced localization of overlapping emitters
Authors: Lacapmesure Axel M. , Vazquez Guillermo D. Brinatti , Mazzeo Alejandro , Martínez Sandra , Martínez Oscar E.
Published: January 2022

We present
gSUPPOSe, a novel, to the best
of our knowledge, gradient-based implementation of the SUPPOSe
algorithm that we have developed for the localization of single
emitters. We study the performance of gSUPPOSe and compressed sensing
STORM (CS-STORM) on
simulations of single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) images
at different fluorophore densities and in a wide range of
signal-to-noise ratio conditions. We also study the combination of
these methods with prior image denoising by means of a deep
convolutional network. Our results show that gSUPPOSe can address the
localization of multiple overlapping emitters even at a low number of
acquired photons, outperforming CS-STORM in our quantitative analysis
and having better computational times. We also demonstrate that image
denoising greatly improves CS-STORM, showing the potential of deep
learning enhanced localization on existing SMLM algorithms. The
software developed in this work is available as open source Python
libraries.
Design of a CMOS image sensor pixel with embedded polysilicon nano-grating for near-infrared imaging enhancement
Authors: Cobo Elie , Massenot Sébastien , Le Roch Alexandre , Corbière Franck , Goiffon Vincent , Magnan Pierre , Pelouard Jean-Luc
Published: January 2022

Complementary metal–oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor sensitivity in the near-infrared spectrum is limited by the absorption length in silicon. To deal with that limitation, we evaluate the implementation of a polysilicon nano-grating inside a pixel, at the transistor gate level of a 90 nm standard CMOS process, through opto-electrical simulations. The studied pixel structure involves a polysilicon nano-grating, designed with the fabrication layer of the transistor gate, which does not require any modifications in the process flow. The diffraction effect of the nano-grating increases the length of the light path in the photosensitive area and thus increases the photoelectric conversion efficiency. The nano-grating is integrated in combination with deep trench isolations to reduce cross talk between pixels. Coupled optical and electrical simulations report 33% external quantum efficiency improvement and 7% cross talk reduction at 850 nm.
Pulsed thermography and infrared reflectography: comparative results for underdrawing visualization in paintings
Authors: Melada Jacopo , Gargano Marco , Ludwig Nicola
Published: January 2022

Reflectographic analyses applied on paintings can be performed using cameras equipped
with different detectors with different abilities in detecting and
visualizing underdrawings, repainting, restorations, and other
nonvisible information. In this research, the results obtained through
thermographic imaging followed by statistical imaging postprocessing
methods have been compared with those obtained with traditional
reflectographic methods in the short-wave infrared range. The
comparison has been performed studying the thermal sequence after a
single pulse of light with a different spectrum of ad hoc mock-ups. Results showed that for limited
cases, signal-to-noise ratio seems to be more relevant in obtaining
reliable images of underdrawings with respect to the effect of optical
absorption of visible light by painting layers.
Reducing bend-induced loss and crosstalk in a two-mode ridge waveguide by steplike thickness structuring
Authors: Środa Edyta , Olszewski Jacek , Urbańczyk Wacław
Published: January 2022

This study demonstrated that two-step structuring of the waveguide thickness in a bent section significantly reduces bend-related inter-mode crosstalk, excess loss, and pure bending loss. A simple analytical formula was derived linking the thickness change required to compensate for bend-induced effects with geometrical parameters of the waveguide and bending radius. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was verified through rigorous numerical simulations of the loss and inter-mode crosstalk based on transformation optics formalism. The numerical results obtained for a

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medium index contrast waveguide exhibited significant improvement of all relevant parameters for

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modes.
Full-duplex transmission of multi-Gb/s subcarrier multiplexing and 5G NR signals in 39  GHz band over fiber and space
Authors: Nguyen Dong-Nhat , Vallejo Luis , Almenar Vincenc , Ortega Beatriz , Tien Dat Pham , Le Son Thai , Bohata Jan , Zvanovec Stanislav
Published: January 2022

We propose a stable full-duplex transmission of millimeter-wave signals
over a hybrid single-mode fiber (SMF) and free-space optics (FSO) link
for the fifth-generation (5G) radio access networks to accelerate the
Industry 4.0 transformation. For the downlink (DL), we transmit 39 GHz
subcarrier multiplexing (SCM) signals using variable quadrature
amplitude modulation (QAM) allocations for multi-user services. As a
proof of operation, we experimentally demonstrate the transmission of
3 Gb/s SCM signals (1 Gb/s per user) over a hybrid system consisting
of a 10 km SMF and 1.2 m FSO link. For the uplink (UL), satisfactory
performance for the transmission of 2.4 Gb/s 5G new radio (NR) signal
at 37 GHz over the hybrid system is experimentally confirmed for the
first time, to the best of our knowledge. The measured error vector
magnitudes for both DL and UL signals using 4/16/64-QAM formats are
well below the third generation partnership project (3GPP)
requirements. We also further evaluate by simulation the full-duplex
transmission over the system in terms of received optical and RF
powers and bit error rate performance. A wireless radio distance of
approximately 200 m, which is sufficient for 5G small-cell networks,
is estimated for both DL and UL direction under the heavy rain
condition, based on the available data from Spain. Furthermore,
simulation for the DL direction is conducted to verify the superior
performance of the system using variable QAM allocation over uniform
QAM allocation. Using a variable modulation allocation, up to five
users (2 Gb/s per user) can be transmitted over a hybrid 10 km SMF and
150 m FSO link.
Elimination of abnormal phase fluctuation in digital holography
Authors: Cai Wenyang , Chen Li , Xiao Jiaqi , Li Jinyang , Hu Yihua , Wen Kunhua
Published: January 2022

In digital holography, the phase is most important, and the quality of the reconstructed phase determines the final reconstructed image effect. However, noise is inevitably introduced in the process of recording the hologram. For regions without object light, the phase has a random distribution, which affects the final phase quality. This kind of noise is called abnormal phase fluctuations in this paper. The correlation between amplitude and phase in digital holography is used to judge whether there is useful phase information. Through structural similarity and the light–dark relationship, a credible probability mask is introduced to extract the phase that needs to be preserved. The simulation and experimental results show that abnormal phase fluctuations are successfully removed, and the useful phase information is retained.
Remote photonic sensing of action potential in mammalian nerve cells via histogram-based analysis of temporal spatial acoustic vibrations
Authors: Halevi Ariel , Farah Nairouz , Ozana Nisan , Cohen Sharon , Shoval Assaf , Shefi Orit , Mandel Yossi , Zalevsky Zeev
Published: January 2022

Label free and remote action potential detection in neurons can be of great importance in the neuroscience research field. This paper presents a novel label free imaging modality based on the detection of temporal vibrations of speckle patterns illuminating the sample. We demonstrated the feasibility of detecting action potentials originating from spontaneous and stimulated activity in cortical cell culture. The spatiotemporal vibrations of isolated cortical cells were extracted by illuminating the culture with a laser beam while the vibrations of the random back scattered secondary speckle patterns are captured by a camera. The postulated action potentials were estimated following correlation-based analysis on the captured vibrations, where the variance deviation of the signal from a Gaussian distribution is directly associated with the action potential events. The technique was validated in a series of experiments in which the optical signals were acquired concurrently with microelectrode array (MEA) recordings. Our results demonstrate the ability of detecting action potential events in mammalian cells remotely via extraction of acoustic vibrations.
Passively mode-locked red Pr:LiYF4 laser based on a two-dimensional palladium diselenide saturable absorber
Authors: Yang Zixin , Yang Qi , Ren Xianghe , Tian Yulin , Zu Yuqian , Li Chun , Din Syed Zaheer Ud , Leng Jiancai , Liu Jie
Published: January 2022

We report a passively mode-locked Pr:LiYF4 (Pr:YLF) visible laser using a palladium diselenide (PdSe2) as a saturable absorber (SA) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) PdSe2 nanosheets in the visible band were studied by the open-aperture Z-scan technique. The results indicate the significant saturable absorption properties of PdSe2 nanosheets in the visible region. Furthermore, the continuous wave mode-locked (CWML) visible laser based on PdSe2 SA was successfully realized. Ultrashort pulses as short as 35 ps were obtained at 639.5 nm with a repetition rate of 80.3 MHz and a maximum output power of 116 mW. The corresponding pulse energy was 1.44 nJ and peak power was 41.3 W. These results indicate that 2D PdSe2 SA is a promising high stability passively mode-locked device for ultrafast solid-state visible lasers.
Orbital angular momentum sidebands of Laguerre-Gauss beams reflecting on graphene metasurfaces
Authors: Xiao Zhiwei , Cao Zhenzhou , Qiu Xuejun , Hou Jin , Yang Chunyong
Published: January 2022

In this study, the orbital angular momentum (OAM) sidebands of Laguerre-Gauss beams reflecting on graphene metasurfaces are investigated. Upon reflection, vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum will acquire sidebands, whose relative intensity varies depending on the Fermi energy, the external magnetic field, and/or the wave frequency. The relative intensity of the sideband OAM modes locally has a small trough for s-polarized beams at the topological transition point between the hyperbolic and elliptic topology. Energy can transfer from the central mode to the neighboring OAM modes increasing the topologic charge l. When the electric field of the incident s-polarized light occurs along the low energy dissipation direction of the graphene metasurfaces, it is helpful for the mode transformation of vortex beams. When the electric field of the incident s-polarized light occurs along the high energy dissipation direction, it is beneficial to suppressing crosstalk of different sidemodes in terahertz communication.
Increasing neural network robustness improves match to macaque V1 eigenspectrum, spatial frequency preference and predictivity
Authors: Kong Nathan C. L. , Margalit Eshed , Gardner Justin L. , Norcia Anthony M.
Published: January 2022

Task-optimized convolutional neural networks (CNNs) show striking similarities to the ventral visual stream. However, human-imperceptible image perturbations can cause a CNN to make incorrect predictions. Here we provide insight into this brittleness by investigating the representations of models that are either robust or not robust to image perturbations. Theory suggests that the robustness of a system to these perturbations could be related to the power law exponent of the eigenspectrum of its set of neural responses, where power law exponents closer to and larger than one would indicate a system that is less susceptible to input perturbations. We show that neural responses in mouse and macaque primary visual cortex (V1) obey the predictions of this theory, where their eigenspectra have power law exponents of at least one. We also find that the eigenspectra of model representations decay slowly relative to those observed in neurophysiology and that robust models have eigenspectra that decay slightly faster and have higher power law exponents than those of non-robust models. The slow decay of the eigenspectra suggests that substantial variance in the model responses is related to the encoding of fine stimulus features. We therefore investigated the spatial frequency tuning of artificial neurons and found that a large proportion of them preferred high spatial frequencies and that robust models had preferred spatial frequency distributions more aligned with the measured spatial frequency distribution of macaque V1 cells. Furthermore, robust models were quantitatively better models of V1 than non-robust models. Our results are consistent with other findings that there is a misalignment between human and machine perception. They also suggest that it may be useful to penalize slow-decaying eigenspectra or to bias models to extract features of lower spatial frequencies during task-optimization in order to improve robustness and V1 neural response predictivity.
Rapid and sensitive point-of-care detection of Leptospira by RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a targeting lipL32
Authors: Jirawannaporn Sirawit , Limothai Umaporn , Tachaboon Sasipha , Dinhuzen Janejira , Kiatamornrak Patcharakorn , Chaisuriyong Watchadaporn , Bhumitrakul Jom , Mayuramart Oraphan , Payungporn Sunchai , Srisawat Nattachai
Published: January 2022

Background

One of the key barriers preventing rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis is the lack of available sensitive point-of-care testing. This study aimed to develop and validate a clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 12a (CRISPR/Cas12a) platform combined with isothermal amplification to detect leptospires from extracted patient DNA samples.

Methodology/Principal findings

A Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA)-CRISPR/Cas12a-fluorescence assay was designed to detect the lipL32 gene of pathogenic Leptospira spp. The assays demonstrated a limit of detection (LOD) of 100 cells/mL, with no cross-reactivity against several other acute febrile illnesses. The clinical performance of the assay was validated with DNA extracted from 110 clinical specimens and then compared to results from qPCR detection of Leptospira spp. The RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a assay showed 85.2% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 92.7% accuracy. The sensitivity increased on days 4–6 after the fever onset and decreased after day 7. The specificity was consistent for several days after the onset of fever. The overall performance of the RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a platform was better than the commercial rapid diagnostic test (RDT). We also developed a lateral flow detection assay (LFDA) combined with RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a to make the test more accessible and easier to interpret. The combined LFDA showed a similar LOD of 100 cells/mL and could correctly distinguish between known positive and negative clinical samples in a pilot study.

Conclusions/Significance

The RPA-CRISPR/Cas12 targeting the lipL32 gene demonstrated acceptable sensitivity and excellent specificity for detection of leptospires. This assay might be an appropriate test for acute leptospirosis screening in limited-resource settings.
Small but visible: Predicting rare bryophyte distribution and richness patterns using remote sensing-based ensembles of small models
Authors: Cerrejón Carlos , Valeria Osvaldo , Muñoz Jesús , Fenton Nicole J.
Published: January 2022

In Canadian boreal forests, bryophytes represent an essential component of biodiversity and play a significant role in ecosystem functioning. Despite their ecological importance and sensitivity to disturbances, bryophytes are overlooked in conservation strategies due to knowledge gaps on their distribution, which is known as the Wallacean shortfall. Rare species deserve priority attention in conservation as they are at a high risk of extinction. This study aims to elaborate predictive models of rare bryophyte species in Canadian boreal forests using remote sensing-derived predictors in an Ensemble of Small Models (ESMs) framework. We hypothesize that high ESMs-based prediction accuracy can be achieved for rare bryophyte species despite their low number of occurrences. We also assess if there is a spatial correspondence between rare and overall bryophyte richness patterns. The study area is located in western Quebec and covers 72,292 km2. We selected 52 bryophyte species with <30 occurrences from a presence-only database (214 species, 389 plots in total). ESMs were built from Random Forest and Maxent techniques using remote sensing-derived predictors related to topography and vegetation. Lee’s L statistic was used to assess and map the spatial relationship between rare and overall bryophyte richness patterns. ESMs yielded poor to excellent prediction accuracy (AUC > 0.5) for 73% of the modeled species, with AUC values > 0.8 for 19 species, which confirmed our hypothesis. In fact, ESMs provided better predictions for the rarest bryophytes. Likewise, our study revealed a spatial concordance between rare and overall bryophyte richness patterns in different regions of the study area, which have important implications for conservation planning. This study demonstrates the potential of remote sensing for assessing and making predictions on inconspicuous and rare species across the landscape and lays the basis for the eventual inclusion of bryophytes into sustainable development planning.
Empirical modeling of the percent depth dose for megavoltage photon beams
Authors: Li Xiao-Jun , Ye Yan-Cheng , Zhang Yan-Shan , Wu Jia-Ming
Published: January 2022

Introduction

This study presents an empirical method to model the high-energy photon beam percent depth dose (PDD) curve by using the home-generated buildup function and tail function (buildup-tail function) in radiation therapy. The modeling parameters n and μ of buildup-tail function can be used to characterize the Collimator Scatter Factor (Sc)either in a square field or in the different individual upper jaw and lower jaw setting separately for individual monitor unit check.

Methods and materials

The PDD curves for four high-energy photon beams were modeled by the buildup and tail function in this study. The buildup function was a quadratic function in the form ofdd2+nwith the main parameter of d (depth in water) and n, while the tail function was in the form ofe−μdand was composed by an exponential function with the main parameter of d and μ. The PDD was the product of buildup and tail function, PDD =dd2+n·e−μd. The PDD of four-photon energies was characterized by the buildup-tail function by adjusting the parameters n and μ. The Scof 6 MV and 10 MV can then be expressed simply by the modeling parameters n and μ.

Results

The main parameters n increases in buildup-tail function when photon energy increased. The physical meaning of the parameter n expresses the beam hardening of photon energy in PDD. The fitting results of parameters n in the buildup function are 0.17, 0.208, 0.495, 1.2 of four-photon energies, 4 MV, 6 MV, 10 MV, 18 MV, respectively. The parameter μ can be treated as attenuation coefficient in tail function and decreases when photon energy increased. The fitting results of parameters μ in the tail function are 0.065, 0.0515, 0.0458, 0.0422 of four-photon energies, 4 MV, 6 MV, 10 MV, 18 MV, respectively. The values of n and μ obtained from the fitted buildup-tail function were applied into an analytical formula of Sc= nE(S)0.63μEto get the collimator to scatter factor Scfor 6 and 10 MV photon beam, while nE,μE, S denotes n, μ at photon energy E of field size S, respectively. The calculated Scwere compared with the measured data and showed agreement at different field sizes to within ±1.5%.

Conclusions

We proposed a model incorporating a two-parameter formula which can improve the fitting accuracy to be better than 1.5% maximum error for describing the PDD in different photon energies used in clinical setting. This model can be used to parameterize the Scfactors for some clinical requirements. The modeling parameters n and μ can be used to predict the Scin either square field or individual jaws opening asymmetrically for treatment monitor unit double-check in dose calculation. The technique developed in this study can also be used for systematic or random errors in the QA program, thus improves the clinical dose computation accuracy for patient treatment.
Exploratory attitude survey of homeless persons regarding telecare services in shelters providing mid- and long-term accommodation: The importance of trust
Authors: Győrffy Zsuzsa , Békási Sándor , Döbrössy Bence , Bognár Virág Katalin , Radó Nóra , Morva Emília , Zsigri Szabolcs , Tari Péter , Girasek Edmond
Published: January 2022

Background

With the expansion of digital health, it is imperative to consider intervention techniques in order not to be the cause of even more social health inequalities in underserved populations struggling with chronic diseases. Telemedicine solutions for homeless persons might compensate for shortcomings in access to valuable health services in different settings. The main aim of our research was to examine the attitudes and openness of homeless persons regarding telecare on a Hungarian sample.

Methods

Quantitative survey among homeless people (n = 98) was completed in 4 shelters providing mid- and long-term accommodation in Budapest, Hungary. Attitudes regarding healthcare service accessibility and telecare were measured by a self-developed questionnaire of the research team. Telecare attitude comparison was made with data of a Hungarian weighted reference group of non-homeless persons recruited from 2 primary care units (n = 110).

Results

A significant fraction of homeless people with mid- or long-term residency in homeless shelters did not oppose the use of telecare via live online video consultation and there was no difference compared to the national reference group (averages of 3.09 vs. 3.15, respectively). Results of the homeless group indicate that those more satisfied with healthcare services, in general, manifest more openness to telecare. It is clearly demonstrated by the multivariate analysis that those participants in the homeless group who had problems getting health care in the last year definitely preferred in-person doctor-patient consultations.

Conclusion

Digital health technologies offer a potentially important new pathway for the prevention and treatment of chronic conditions among homeless persons. Based on the attitudes towards telecare, initiating an on-site telecare program for mid- and long-term residents of homeless shelters might enable better care continuity. Our results draw attention to the key factors including building trust in the implementation of such programs among underserved and other vulnerable patient groups.
Association of cognitive function with increased risk of cancer death and all-cause mortality: Longitudinal analysis, systematic review, and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies
Authors: Rostamian Somayeh , le. Cessie Saskia , Marijt Koen A. , Jukema J. Wouter , Mooijaart Simon P. , van Buchem Mark A. , van Hall Thorbald , Gussekloo Jacobijn , Trompet Stella
Published: January 2022

Background

Disturbed cognitive function is associated with several causes of mortality; however, the association between cognitive function and the risk of cancer death has not been extensively investigated yet. We aimed to evaluate the association of cognitive function with the risk of cancer death and all-cause mortality in the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER) and Leiden 85-plus Study. Additionally, a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies were conducted to evaluate the association of cognitive function and risk of cancer death.

Methods

Risk of cancer death and all-cause mortality were reported using hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) in tertiles of cognitive function of PROSPER and Leiden85-Plus Study. Additionally, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, CINHAL, and Emcare were searched up to November 1st, 2020 to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis. The relative risks (RRs) with 95%CI of cancer death per each standard deviation lower performance in cognitive measurements were calculated.

Results

Participants of PROSPER had 1.65-fold (95%CI 1.11–2.47) greater risk of cancer death (P for trend = 0.016) and 1.85-fold (95%CI 1.46–2.34) higher risk of all-cause mortality (P for trend<0.001), in multivariable models. Results of the Leiden-85 Plus Study showed that subjects with MMSE score below 24 had a lower chance of cancer death (HR 0.79, 95%CI 0.36–1.70, P for trend = 0.820) but had 2.18-fold (95%CI 1.57–3.02) higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to the reference group (P for trend<0.001). Besides, the results of systematic review and meta-analysis showed that per each standard deviation lower performance in cognitive function, individuals were at a 10% higher chance of cancer death (RR 1.10, 95%CI 1.00–1.20, P-value = 0.044).

Conclusions

Lower cognitive function performance is associated with a marginally increased risk of cancer death, in line with a significantly greater risk of all-cause mortality.
The lower airways microbiome and antimicrobial peptides in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis differ from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Knudsen Kristel S. , Lehmann Sverre , Nielsen Rune , Tangedal Solveig , Haaland Ingvild , Hiemstra Pieter S. , Eagan Tomas M.
Published: January 2022

Background

The lower airways microbiome and host immune response in chronic pulmonary diseases are incompletely understood. We aimed to investigate possible microbiome characteristics and key antimicrobial peptides and proteins in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods

12 IPF patients, 12 COPD patients and 12 healthy controls were sampled with oral wash (OW), protected bronchoalveolar lavage (PBAL) and right lung protected sterile brushings (rPSB). The antimicrobial peptides and proteins (AMPs), secretory leucocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) and human beta defensins 1 and 2 (hBD-1 & hBD-2), were measured in PBAL by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The V3V4 region of the bacterial 16S rDNA gene was sequenced. Bioinformatic analyses were performed with QIIME 2.

Results

hBD-1 levels in PBAL for IPF were lower compared with COPD. The predominant phyla in IPF were Firmicutes, Bacteroides and Actinobacteria; Proteobacteria were among top three in COPD. Differential abundance analysis at genus level showed significant differences between study groups for less abundant, mostly oropharyngeal, microbes. Alpha diversity was lower in IPF in PBAL compared to COPD (p = 0.03) and controls (p = 0.01), as well as in rPSB compared to COPD (p = 0.02) and controls (p = 0.04). Phylogenetic beta diversity showed significantly more similarity for IPF compared with COPD and controls. There were no significant correlations between alpha diversity and AMPs.

Conclusions

IPF differed in microbial diversity from COPD and controls, accompanied by differences in antimicrobial peptides. Beta diversity similarity between OW and PBAL in IPF may indicate that microaspiration contributes to changes in its microbiome.
Exogenous putrescine attenuates the negative impact of drought stress by modulating physio-biochemical traits and gene expression in sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.)
Authors: Islam Md Jahirul , Uddin Md Jalal , Hossain Mohammad Anwar , Henry Robert , Begum Mst. Kohinoor , Sohel Md. Abu Taher , Mou Masuma Akter , Ahn Juhee , Cheong Eun Ju , Lim Young-Seok
Published: January 2022

Drought tolerance is a complex trait controlled by many metabolic pathways and genes and identifying a solution to increase the resilience of plants to drought stress is one of the grand challenges in plant biology. This study provided compelling evidence of increased drought stress tolerance in two sugar beet genotypes when treated with exogenous putrescine (Put) at the seedling stage. Morpho-physiological and biochemical traits and gene expression were assessed in thirty-day-old sugar beet seedlings subjected to drought stress with or without Put (0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 mM) application. Sugar beet plants exposed to drought stress exhibited a significant decline in growth and development as evidenced by root and shoot growth characteristics, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities, and gene expression. Drought stress resulted in a sharp increase in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (89.4 and 118% in SBT-010 and BSRI Sugar beet 2, respectively) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (35.6 and 27.1% in SBT-010 and BSRI Sugar beet 2, respectively). These changes were strongly linked to growth retardation as evidenced by principal component analysis (PCA) and heatmap clustering. Importantly, Put-sprayed plants suffered from less oxidative stress as indicated by lower H2O2 and MDA accumulation. They better regulated the physiological processes supporting growth, dry matter accumulation, photosynthetic pigmentation and gas exchange, relative water content; modulated biochemical changes including proline, total soluble carbohydrate, total soluble sugar, and ascorbic acid; and enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes and gene expression. PCA results strongly suggested that Put conferred drought tolerance mostly by enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities that regulated homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. These findings collectively provide an important illustration of the use of Put in modulating drought tolerance in sugar beet plants.
Unstructured clinical notes within the 24 hours since admission predict short, mid & long-term mortality in adult ICU patients
Authors: Mahbub Maria , Srinivasan Sudarshan , Danciu Ioana , Peluso Alina , Begoli Edmon , Tamang Suzanne , Peterson Gregory D.
Published: January 2022

Mortality prediction for intensive care unit (ICU) patients is crucial for improving outcomes and efficient utilization of resources. Accessibility of electronic health records (EHR) has enabled data-driven predictive modeling using machine learning. However, very few studies rely solely on unstructured clinical notes from the EHR for mortality prediction. In this work, we propose a framework to predict short, mid, and long-term mortality in adult ICU patients using unstructured clinical notes from the MIMIC III database, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning (ML) models. Depending on the statistical description of the patients’ length of stay, we define the short-term as 48-hour and 4-day period, the mid-term as 7-day and 10-day period, and the long-term as 15-day and 30-day period after admission. We found that by only using clinical notes within the 24 hours of admission, our framework can achieve a high area under the receiver operating characteristics (AU-ROC) score for short, mid and long-term mortality prediction tasks. The test AU-ROC scores are 0.87, 0.83, 0.83, 0.82, 0.82, and 0.82 for 48-hour, 4-day, 7-day, 10-day, 15-day, and 30-day period mortality prediction, respectively. We also provide a comparative study among three types of feature extraction techniques from NLP: frequency-based technique, fixed embedding-based technique, and dynamic embedding-based technique. Lastly, we provide an interpretation of the NLP-based predictive models using feature-importance scores.
Association between being metabolically healthy/unhealthy and metabolic syndrome in Iranian adults
Authors: Tabatabaei-Malazy Ozra , Saeedi Moghaddam Sahar , Masinaei Masoud , Rezaei Nazila , Mohammadi Fateh Sahar , Dilmaghani-Marand Arezou , Abdolhamidi Elham , Razi Farideh , Khashayar Patricia , Mahdavihezaveh Alireza , Mirab Samiee Siamak , Larijani Bagher , Farzadfar Farshad
Published: January 2022

Introduction

The prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) varies based on different criteria. We assessed the prevalence of MHO and metabolic unhealthiness based on body mass index (BMI) and their association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a nation-wide study.

Methods

Data were taken from the STEPs 2016 study, from 18,459 Iranians aged ≥25 years. Demographic, metabolic, and anthropometric data were collected. Subjects were stratified by BMI, metabolic unhealthiness, and having MetS. The latter was defined based on National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III 2004 (NCEP ATP III), was then assessed.

Results

The prevalence of MHO and metabolic unhealthiness in obese subjects was 7.5% (about 3.6 million) and 18.3% (about 8.9 million), respectively. Most of the metabolic unhealthy individuals were female (53.5%) or urban residents (72.9%). Low physical activity was significantly and positively associated (Odds Ratio: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04–1.35) with metabolic unhealthiness, while being a rural residence (0.83, 0.74–0.93), and having higher education (0.47, 0.39–0.58) significantly but negatively affected it. Dyslipidemia was the most frequent MetS component with a prevalence rate of 46.6% (42.1–51.1), 62.2% (60.8–63.6), 76.3% (75.1–77.5), and 83.4% (82.1–84.6) among underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese phenotypes, respectively.

Conclusion

BMI aside, an additional set of criteria such as metabolic markers should be taken into account to identify normal weight but metabolically unhealthy individuals. Given the highest prevalence of dyslipidemia among obese subjects, further interventions are required to raise public awareness, promote healthy lifestyles and establish lipid clinics.
B cell overexpression of FCRL5 and PD-1 is associated with low antibody titers in HCV infection
Authors: Ogega Clinton O. , Skinner Nicole E. , Flyak Andrew I. , Clark Kaitlyn E. , Board Nathan L. , Bjorkman Pamela J. , Crowe James E. , Cox Andrea L. , Ray Stuart C. , Bailey Justin R.
Published: January 2022

Antibodies targeting the hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein E2 are associated with delayed disease progression, and these antibodies can also facilitate spontaneous clearance of infection in some individuals. However, many infected people demonstrate low titer and delayed anti-E2 antibody responses. Since a goal of HCV vaccine development is induction of high titers of anti-E2 antibodies, it is important to define the mechanisms underlying these suboptimal antibody responses. By staining lymphocytes with a cocktail of soluble E2 (sE2) glycoproteins, we detected HCV E2-specific (sE2+) B cells directly ex vivo at multiple acute infection timepoints in 29 HCV-infected subjects with a wide range of anti-E2 IgG titers, including 17 persistently infected subjects and 12 subjects with spontaneous clearance of infection. We performed multi-dimensional flow cytometric analysis of sE2+ and E2-nonspecific (sE2-) class-switched B cells (csBC). In sE2+ csBC from both persistence and clearance subjects, frequencies of resting memory B cells (rMBC) were reduced, frequencies of activated MBC (actMBC) and tissue-like MBC (tlMBC) were increased, and expression of FCRL5, an IgG receptor, was significantly upregulated. Across all subjects, plasma anti-E2 IgG levels were positively correlated with frequencies of sE2+ rMBC and sE2+ actMBC, while anti-E2 IgG levels were negatively correlated with levels of FCRL5 expression on sE2+ rMBC and PD-1 expression on sE2+ actMBC. Upregulation of FCRL5 on sE2+ rMBC and upregulation of PD-1 on sE2+ actMBC may limit anti-E2 antibody production in vivo. Strategies that limit upregulation of these molecules could potentially generate higher titers of protective antibodies against HCV or other pathogens.