bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
BEST PRACTICES FOR THE APPLICATION OF TELEMEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND ABROAD
Authors: Fedotkina Svetlana A. , Akhmineyeva Aziza Kh. , Karaylanov Mikhail G.
Published: August 2023

The article analyzes the literature sources of the most promising areas of the development of informatization of health care systems in Russia and abroad. The World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union have noted, that for healthcare, digital systems are not only vital, but simply inevitable. Today, more than half of the underdeveloped and developing countries use telemedicine technologies, including using in emergency situations. It is actively gaining momentum in development and is being improved with infocommunication technologies.
Purpose of the study. Analysis of the most promising directions for the development of healthcare informatization in Russia and abroad, taking into account the strategic importance of combating chronic non-communicable diseases.
Material and methods. An analytical study that systematizes international and Russian experience in the application of telemedicine technologies.
Results of the discussion. According to WHO forecasts, at present, not only in the Russian Federation, but throughout the world, there is a tendency towards population aging, which by 2050 will be more than 22%. This leads to demand growth for medical services. The development of digital mobile medicine (mHealth) is gaining popularity around the world, due to the shortage of medical personnel, the wide geographical spread of the population, the inaccessibility of medical care and the high cost of treatment
Conclusion. The development and application of digital mobile medicine in the healthcare system has being contributed significantly to reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases, both from a medical and economical point of view.
IMPROVEMENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND ECONOMIC MECHANISM OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOOD AND PROCESSING INDUSTRY
Authors: Abdullaev Ilyоs S. , Gurbanov Parviz A. , Aleshko Roman A. , Finogenova Yulia Yu.
Published: August 2023

Objective. The article is devoted to the development of scientific and methodological provisions for improving the organizational and economic mechanism for the innovative development of the food and processing industry in order to ensure food security in Siberia.

Materials and methods. The methods of substantiation of modern organizational and technological regulations, norms and standards for the innovative development of the crop industry are considered. To analyze the main directions for adjusting the organizational and economic mechanism for the innovative development of the food and processing industry in Siberia, a program-targeted approach is used.

Results. An algorithm for the formation of organizational and technological regulations in crop production is considered on the example of rapeseed. The main directions for adjusting the organizational and economic mechanism for the innovative development of the food and processing industry in Siberia on the basis of a program-targeted approach are proposed. An algorithm of basic standards has been formed in the system of standards for rapeseed cultivation at different intensities in the conditions of the Novosibirsk region. Particular attention is paid to the ecological block of the economic substantiation of crop cultivation standards on the example of oilseeds.

Conclusion. The current level of food consumption in the areas of development and the North of Siberia does not fully comply with modern standards and the physiological needs of the population, taking into account their national and ethnic characteristics. In this regard, the development of the food and processing industry of the agro-industrial complex of the Siberian Federal District is of strategic importance.
Management: selected articles. Book 7: Management at the University
Authors: Reznik Semen
Published: August 2023

The book includes selected articles by S.D. Reznik published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in 2018-2020.
The problems of management in higher educational institutions are considered: management at the university, organization of personal work of university managers, management of social stability of students.
For students, postgraduates, teachers and the management corps of higher educational institutions, as well as for anyone interested in the problems of management in a higher educational institution.
Management: theory and practice
Authors: Fedorov Viktor , San'kov Mihail
Published: August 2023

The textbook presents the most important aspects of the theory and practice of modern management in a concise and accessible form. The section "Management Theory" is accompanied by questions and tasks for self-control, topics of abstracts and reports, as well as a list of additional literary sources for self-study. The section "Management Practice" contains test methods, practical tasks for individual and collective work of students, business situations for analysis, discussion and management decision-making.
The manual additionally includes a block of self-test tasks and a glossary that can be used to monitor the development of the course.
Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of secondary vocational education of the latest generation.
It is intended for students studying in economic and managerial specialties to form basic knowledge in the field of management.
Discussions around the percentage. Is there an alternative?
Authors: Mingatin Marat
Published: August 2023

A series of crises of the international financial system over the past two decades has led to the search for its new architecture. The main feature of the former financial system, which is still receiving a lot of attention at international forums, is the improvement of corporate governance, enhanced legal regulation and supervision. Although all of the above certainly helps in improving the reliability and stability of the financial system, but this is no longer enough. Strict discipline must be introduced into the financial system to ensure that the expansion of credit is not disproportionate to the real economy, and that it is possible to deprive credit for unproductive and speculative purposes. The Islamic financial system is focused on the introduction of such discipline. This is facilitated by the ways of financing PLS (profit — loss), their fair distribution and less dependence on credit.
For undergraduates and postgraduates in the profile "Islamic Finance".
EMPLOYMENT OF UNIVERSITY GRADUATES wITH DISABILITIES: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Authors: Mitrofanova Elena , Krasnov E. , Mitrofanova Alexandra
Published: August 2023

The article deals with the most pressing problems in inclusive higher education, the most significant among which is the employment of university graduates with disabilities. The purpose of the study is to study the problem of employment of university graduates with disabilities from the positions of all stakeholders: the employer, the graduate himself and the educational organization of higher education. The following research methods are used: secondary analysis of data from Russian and foreign studies, as well as methods of collecting primary information: a survey of representatives of employers, as well as students and graduates with disabilities (in the form of a questionnaire). As a result of the study, the real readiness of Russian employers to expand opportunities for interaction on vocational training and employment was revealed, but with a high degree of concern about the existing formal difficulties of employment. Among the main barriers to employment of university graduates with disabilities, the low legal literacy of employers and the prevailing stereotypes about the lack of real knowledge and skills among graduates with disabilities are noted.
Minimal-Access Rights in School Choice and the Deferred Acceptance Mechanism
Authors: Klaus Bettina , Klijn Flip
Published: August 2023

A classical school choice problem consists of a set of schools with priorities over students and a set of students with preferences over schools. Schools’ priorities are often based on multiple criteria, for example, merit-based test scores as well as minimal-access rights (siblings attending the school, students’ proximity to the school, etc.). Traditionally, minimal-access rights are incorporated into priorities by always giving minimal-access students higher priority over non-minimal-access students. However, stability based on such adjusted priorities can be considered unfair because a minimal-access student may be admitted to a popular school, whereas another student with a higher merit score but without a minimal-access right is rejected, even though the former minimal-access student could easily attend another of her minimal-access schools. We therefore weaken stability to minimal-access stability: minimal-access rights promote access to only at most one minimal-access school. Apart from minimal-access stability, we also would want a school choice mechanism to satisfy strategy-proofness and minimal-access monotonicity, that is, additional minimal-access rights for a student do not harm her. Our main result is that the deferred acceptance mechanism is the only mechanism that satisfies minimal-access stability, strategy-proofness, and minimal-access monotonicity. Because this mechanism is in fact stable, our result can be interpreted as an impossibility result: fairer outcomes that are made possible by the weaker property of minimal-access stability are incompatible with strategy-proofness and minimal-access monotonicity.

Funding: This work was supported by the Spanish State Research Agency [Grant PID2020-114251GB-I00], AGAUR–Generalitat de Catalunya [Grant 2021-SGR-00416], the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (Barcelona School of Economics) [Grant CEX2019-000915-S], and the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung [Grant 100018_192583].
A Novel Method for the Low-detectable Dihedral Corner Utilizing Phase Gradient Metasurface based on Phase Cancellation Mechanism
Authors: He Qingting , Xie Jianliang , Liu Qian , Yao Xin , Wang Zhi , Chen Haiyan , Li Fengxia , Deng Longjiang
Published: August 2023

In this paper, a phase gradient metasurface (PGM) is proposed to reduce the radar cross-section (RCS) of the dihedral corner based on phase cancellation mechanism. The phase cancellation mechanism is used to derive the formula of the low-detectable dihedral corner for the first time, which is directly used to deal with the wave path difference problem that introduced by the dihedral corner. According to the formula, six sub-cells are designed with a 60∘ phase difference, which is arranged by sub-array along the y-axis. The reflection coefficients of the selected sub-cells are all above 0.8. The RCS reduction of the dihedral corner achieves over 10 dB from 4.9 GHz to 5.14 GHz under an incident angle of 45∘. In particular, the RCS reduction of the low-detectable dihedral corner is 13.97 dB at 5 GHz. Meanwhile, the proposed dihedral corner with PGM also has an excellent performance of angle insensitivity ranging from 0∘ to 75∘. To further verify our design, the dihedral corner with PGM is manufactured by a low-cost printing circuit board technique. The measured results agreed well with the simulations, and both of them show an excellent performance of RCS reduction in the operating frequency band, regardless of any angle within 75∘. Overall, the dihedral corner with PGM that we proposed has the advantages of being low-detectable, low-profile, low-cost, lightweight, and it is easy to design and manufacture. It has wide application prospects in the future.
Delayed Recovery of Idiopathic Common Peroneal Nerve Palsy After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Rare Case Report
Authors: Rajani Amyn , Mittal Anmol , Kulkarni Vishal , Rajani Khushi , Rajani Kashish
Published: August 2023

Introduction: Common peroneal nerve palsy (CPNP) is a rare complication post total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Even though it is diagnosed acutely, the recovery potential is just over 50%. The average period for complete recovery in such cases is 5 months; however, the management remains controversial. Through this report, we present one such case of complete CPNP after bilateral TKA who was conserved with various modalities. Even though the recovery was delayed, the patient made full recovery. Case Report: A 70-year-old female patient was diagnosed to have bilateral tricompartmental knee osteoarthritis with varus deformity, both clinically and radiologically (Kellgren–Lawrence grade 4). She underwent bilateral TKA in a single sitting as per the standard protocols practiced by the primary author. On post-operative day 1, she had left-sided foot drop with a complete sensory deficit. The patient underwent routine rehabilitation with an ankle foot orthosis splint in the immediate post-operative period, with simultaneous faradic current stimulation for the left lower limb. Periodic electromyography and nerve conduction study was done at the end of 4-week and 3-month post-TKA. At 6.5-month post-surgery, she made a full clinical recovery. Conclusion: The surgical maneuvers and full neurovascular examination before and after every TKA surgery should be carefully performed. Despite this, if a patient presents with CPNP, the surgeon need not take an aggressive approach, unlike fracture fixation cases. These patients can be managed conservatively using appropriate orthosis, physical therapy, and faradic current stimulation. Through this case, we attempt to report that CPNP patient can recover even after 6 months of surgery when there is no tangible cause for the palsy. Keywords: Common peroneal nerve palsy, total knee arthroplasty, EMG, NCV, faradic stimulator.
On the Cinematic Deconstruction of Logical Sounds: Raúl Ruiz's Quasi-Voice in La maleta
Authors: González Laura Jordán , Habash Nicolas Lema
Published: August 2023

Abstract: Raúl Ruiz, one of Latin America's most prolific filmmakers, shot La maleta ( The Suitcase ) in 1963, but the film was only finished post- 2007. To complete La maleta , Ruiz focused on the soundtrack and took up the role as the voice-over in the film, recording it himself. The result is something akin to an experimental piece, one of whose main characteristics lies in the peculiar relationship established between images and soundtrack. We propose an in-depth examination of the soundtrack of the film by analyzing two aspects. First, we look at the constitution of a "mute" film, a notion inspired in Michel Chion's ideas, used for characterizing endeavors that tend to sidetrack the traditional prominence of a speaking voice in cinema. Second, we study the presence in the film of a mode of synchronicity between body and voice that accentuates the abolition of an articulated language.
Antimmanent Images: Sarah Maldoror's Sambizanga , Anti-Black Temporal Prohibition, Thinking Deleuze and Afropessimism with Cinema
Authors: Burns Gust
Published: August 2023

Abstract: This essay stages a three-way encounter between the 1972 anticolonial film Sambizanga , Gilles Deleuze's philosophy of cinema, and a Fanonian and Afropessimist critique of the human. Directed by the Black Caribbean-French filmmaker Sarah Maldoror (1929–2020), who recently passed away from complications of COVID-19, Sambizanga dramatizes a moment in the Black Angolan revolutionary struggle against Portuguese colonialism. This essay explores how the images of Sambizanga both exemplify key aspects of the modernist time-image, as formulated in Deleuze's two books on cinema (1986, 1989), and simultaneously demonstrate the time-image concept's inadequacy in describing global fundamental aspects of Black film; Sambizanga materializes a problematization of the cinematic image itself, and demands a new kind of movement. This reading of Maldoror's film facilitates an encounter between Deleuze and Afropessimism, pointing toward an antimmanent orientation. By appropriating a Deleuzian approach to cinema—the analysis of images as presentations of movement and time—for Afropessimist ends, the essay extends Frank Wilderson's (2010) critique of progressivist film narrative to indict the most basic material components of cinema. Utilizing Fanon's auto-theorizing on time and space in Black Skin, White Masks (1952/2008) to denaturalize temporal capacity itself and argue for its fundamental anti-Blackness, the essay locates within Sambizanga two related images of Blackness: the image of incoherence and the image of persistence.
Precise characterization of nanometer-scale systems using interferometric scattering microscopy and Bayesian analysis
Authors: de Wit Xander M. , Paine Amelia W. , Martin Caroline , Goldfain Aaron M. , Garmann Rees F. , Manoharan Vinothan N.
Published: August 2023

Interferometric scattering microscopy can image the dynamics of
nanometer-scale systems. The typical approach to analyzing
interferometric images involves intensive processing, which discards
data and limits the precision of measurements. We demonstrate an
alternative approach: modeling the interferometric point spread
function and fitting this model to data within a Bayesian framework.
This approach yields best-fit parameters, including the particle’s
three-dimensional position and polarizability, as well as
uncertainties and correlations between these parameters. Building on
recent work, we develop a model that is parameterized for rapid
fitting. The model is designed to work with Hamiltonian Monte Carlo
techniques that leverage automatic differentiation. We validate this
approach by fitting the model to interferometric images of colloidal
nanoparticles. We apply the method to track a diffusing particle in
three dimensions, to directly infer the diffusion coefficient of a
nanoparticle without calculating a mean-square displacement, and to
quantify the ejection of DNA from an individual lambda phage virus,
demonstrating that the approach can be used to infer both static and
dynamic properties of nanoscale systems.
Numerical investigation of optical bistability in a nonlinear plasmonic structure containing a phase change material
Authors: Ghasemi Zahra , Ardakani Abbas Ghasempour
Published: August 2023

In this paper, a controllable nonlinear plasmonic structure is proposed based on a phase change material (PCM) layer to achieve tunable bistability characteristics. To this end, the Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) layer (as a PCM) is sandwiched between a thin film of Ag and a Kerr material substrate. Then, this multilayered structure is used as a substrate for the ZnSiAs2 grating whose grooves are filled with the Kerr nonlinear material. Next, the grating is covered with a layer of CaF2. In this structure, we first calculate the reflection spectrum for different crystallization fractions using the finite element method (FEM) in the linear regime. The reflectance spectrum shows a dip in the near-infrared region, which is redshifted with increasing the crystallization fraction of the GST layer. This effect results from the movement of surface plasmon resonance to longer wavelengths with increasing the crystallization fraction. Then, we find that the dip in the reflectance spectrum is redshifted with enhancing the input intensity of the incident wave for different crystallization fractions in the nonlinear regime. This behavior confirms the existence of optical bistability through the proposed structure. So, we calculate the bistability curves at a fixed operating wavelength of 1550 nm for different crystallization fractions. Our results demonstrate that as the phase transition from the amorphous to the crystalline state occurs at a fixed operating wavelength, the bistability thresholds reduce while the hysteresis width also decreases and the bistability effect eventually disappears. Therefore, for each crystallization fraction of the GST layer we find a special wavelength at which a reasonable bistability curve with a reasonable hysteresis width is obtained. This operating wavelength is shifted by 33 nm as the crystallization fraction varies from 0.2 to 0.8. Finally, the effects of increasing the thickness of the GST layer on the bistability characteristics are examined. Our results show that stronger tunability of the operating wavelength by 50 nm with variation of crystallization degree from 0.2 to 0.8 is achieved when a thicker GST layer is used instead of a thinner one.
Strong non-uniformity correction algorithm based on spectral shaping statistics and LMS
Authors: Liu Tong , Sui Xiubao , Wang Yihong , Wang Yu , Chen Qian , Guan Zhiwei , Chen Xingliao
Published: August 2023

The existence of non-uniformity in infrared detector output images is a widespread problem that significantly degrades image quality. Existing scene-based non-uniformity correction algorithms typically struggle to balance strong non-uniformity correction with scene adaptability. To address this issue, we propose a novel scene-based algorithm that leverages the frequency characteristics of the non-uniformity, combine and improve single-frame stripe removal, multi-scale statistics, and least mean square (LMS) methods. Following the “coarse-to-fine” correction process, the coarse correction stage introduces an adaptive progressive correction strategy based on Laplacian pyramids. By improving 1-D guided filtering and high-pass filtering to shape high-frequency sub-bands, non-uniformity can be well separated from the scene, effectively suppressing ghosting. In the fine correction stage, we optimize the expected image estimation and spatio-temporal adaptive learning rates based on guided filtering LMS method. To validate the efficacy of our algorithm, we conduct extensive simulation and real experiments, demonstrating its adaptability to various scene conditions and its effectiveness in correcting strong non-uniformity.
Neu(t)ralMC: energy-efficient open source Monte Carlo algorithm for assessing photon transport in turbid media
Authors: Clennell Abigail , Nguyen Vinh , Yakovlev Vladislav V. , Doronin Alexander
Published: August 2023

Light propagation in turbid mediums such as atmosphere, fluids, and biological tissues is a challenging problem which necessitates accurate simulation techniques to account for the effects of multiple scattering. The Monte Carlo method has long established itself as a gold standard and is widely adopted for simulating light transport, however, its computationally intensive nature often requires significant processing power and energy consumption. In this paper a novel, open source Monte Carlo algorithm is introduced which is specifically designed for use with energy-efficient processors, effectively addressing those challenges, while maintaining the accuracy/compatibility and outperforming existing solutions. The proposed implementation optimizes photon transport simulations by exploiting the unique capabilities of Apple’s low-power, high-performance M-family of chips. The developed method has been implemented in an open-source software package, enabling seamless adaptation of developed algorithms for specific applications. The accuracy and performance are validated using comprehensive comparison with existing solvers commonly used for biomedical imaging. The results demonstrate that the new algorithm achieves comparable accuracy levels to those of existing techniques while significantly reducing computational time and energy consumption.
Efficient capacity enhancement using OFDM with interleaved subcarrier number modulation in bandlimited UOWC systems
Authors: Chen Jiamin , Deng Bohua , Chen Chen , Liu Min , Fu H. Y. , Haas Harald
Published: August 2023

We propose and demonstrate an efficient capacity enhancement scheme for bandlimited underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) systems by utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with interleaved subcarrier number modulation (OFDM-ISNM). In the proposed OFDM-ISNM, joint number and constellation mapping/de-mapping is utilized to avoid error propagation and subblock interleaving is further applied to address the low-pass effect of the bandlimited UOWC system. The feasibility and superiority of the proposed OFDM-ISNM scheme for practical bandlimited UOWC systems have been verified through both simulations and experiments. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed OFDM-ISNM scheme is capable of efficiently improving the achievable data rate of the bandlimited UOWC system. Specifically, the experimental results show a significant 28.6% capacity enhancement by OFDM-ISNM over other benchmark schemes, achieving a data rate of 3.6 Gbps through a 2-m water channel.
Full-Stokes polarization photodetector based on the hexagonal lattice chiral metasurface
Authors: Cheng Bo , Song Guofeng
Published: August 2023

A hexagonal lattice silicon (Si) metasurface formed by the displacement of two mirrored isosceles trapezoid blocks in opposite directions is integrated into an InGaAs/InP photodetector to sense the circularly polarized light, whose optical properties mainly are controlled by the Fabry-Pérot (FP) cavity mode supported in the air slit called the Tunnel A. The Si metasurface can also be equivalent to the combination of the electric quadrupole (EQ) and the magnetic quadrupole (MQ) for the right circularly polarized (RCP) mode and the magnetic quadrupole for the left circularly polarized (LCP) mode. The external quantum efficiency of the circular polarization photodetectors is 0.018 and 0.785 for the RCP and LCP incidence, respectively. In addition, the full Stokes pixel based on the six-image-element technique can almost accurately measure arbitrary polarized light at 1550 nm operation wavelength, whose errors of the degree of linear polarizations (Dolp) and the degree of circular polarizations (Docp) are less than 0.01 and 0.15, respectively.
Signal-to-noise ratio degradation analysis for optoelectronic feedback-based chaotic optical communication systems
Authors: Xie Yunhao , Yang Zhao , Shi Mengyue , Hu Weisheng , Yi Lilin
Published: August 2023

Chaotic optical communication encrypts transmitted signals through physical noise; this ensures high security while causing a certain decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Thus, it is necessary to analyze the SNR degradation of decrypted signals after chaotic encryption and the minimum requirements for the SNR of the fiber channel to meet the required bit error rate (BER) performance. Accordingly, an SNR model of decrypted signals for optoelectronic feedback-based chaotic optical communication systems is proposed. Under different channel SNRs, the SNR degradation of 40 Gbit/s phase chaos and intensity chaos models is investigated by simulation and experiment, respectively, with a 15 GHz wideband chaotic carrier. Comparing decrypted signals with original signals, the simulation results show that there is a 2.9 dB SNR degradation for both intensity chaos and phase chaos. Further, in experiments, SNR degradation from 4.5 dB to 5.6 dB, with various channel SNRs for intensity chaos, is analyzed, while there is an SNR degradation from 7.1 dB to 8.3 dB for phase chaos. The simulation and experimental results provide guidance for long-distance transmission chaotic optical communication systems.
Axial shift mapping: a self-referencing test for measuring axial figure of near-cylindrical surfaces
Authors: Wisniewski Hayden , Heilmann Ralf , Schattenburg Mark , Chalifoux Brandon
Published: August 2023

Lateral shearing self-referencing interferometry methods shift the surface under test between measurements to extract the surface under test without contributions due to the reference surface. However, rigid body errors occur during shifting which create an ambiguity in the quadratic term of the extracted surfaces. We present axial shift mapping, a lateral shearing self-referencing method for cylinders where we are able to break this quadratic ambiguity through a known artifact mirror in the field of view of the interferometer. We demonstrate how this quadratic ambiguity arises and how a known artifact mirror is used to eliminate the ambiguity. We show extracted one-dimensional surface lines on a flat mirror with 2.8 nm RMS uncertainty. We discuss how we expand axial shift mapping with known artifact mirrors to cylindrical surfaces using a computer generated hologram. We show our ability to use axial shift mapping to do full surface extraction of cylindrical optics along the axial direction with a repeatability of 4.4 nm RMS and demonstrate how the extracted reference surface is within 4.5 nm RMS of agreement with an external measurement source.
Curated single cell multimodal landmark datasets for R/Bioconductor
Authors: Eckenrode Kelly B. , Righelli Dario , Ramos Marcel , Argelaguet Ricard , Vanderaa Christophe , Geistlinger Ludwig , Culhane Aedin C. , Gatto Laurent , Carey Vincent , Morgan Martin , Risso Davide , Waldron Levi
Published: August 2023

Background

The majority of high-throughput single-cell molecular profiling methods quantify RNA expression; however, recent multimodal profiling methods add simultaneous measurement of genomic, proteomic, epigenetic, and/or spatial information on the same cells. The development of new statistical and computational methods in Bioconductor for such data will be facilitated by easy availability of landmark datasets using standard data classes.

Results

We collected, processed, and packaged publicly available landmark datasets from important single-cell multimodal protocols, including CITE-Seq, ECCITE-Seq, SCoPE2, scNMT, 10X Multiome, seqFISH, and G&T. We integrate data modalities via the MultiAssayExperiment Bioconductor class, document and re-distribute datasets as the SingleCellMultiModal package in Bioconductor’s Cloud-based ExperimentHub. The result is single-command actualization of landmark datasets from seven single-cell multimodal data generation technologies, without need for further data processing or wrangling in order to analyze and develop methods within Bioconductor’s ecosystem of hundreds of packages for single-cell and multimodal data.

Conclusions

We provide two examples of integrative analyses that are greatly simplified by SingleCellMultiModal. The package will facilitate development of bioinformatic and statistical methods in Bioconductor to meet the challenges of integrating molecular layers and analyzing phenotypic outputs including cell differentiation, activity, and disease.
Validation of a tool for estimating clinician recognition of ARDS using data from the international LUNG SAFE study
Authors: Bechel Meagan A. , Madotto Fabiana , Pah Adam R. , Bellani Giacomo , Laffey John G. , Pham Tài , Amaral Luís A. Nunes , Weiss Curtis H.
Published: August 2023

Under-recognition of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) by clinicians is an important barrier to adoption of evidence-based practices such as low tidal volume ventilation. The burden created by the COVID-19 pandemic makes it even more critical to develop scalable data-driven tools to improve ARDS recognition. The objective of this study was to validate a tool for accurately estimating clinician ARDS recognition rates using discrete clinical characteristics easily available in electronic health records. We conducted a secondary analysis of 2,705 ARDS and 1,261 non-ARDS hypoxemic patients in the international LUNG SAFE cohort. The primary outcome was validation of a tool that estimates clinician ARDS recognition rates from health record data. Secondary outcomes included the relative impact of clinical characteristics on tidal volume delivery and clinician documentation of ARDS. In both ARDS and non-ARDS patients, greater height was associated with lower standardized tidal volume (mL/kg PBW) (ARDS: adjusted β = -4.1, 95% CI -4.5 –-3.6; non-ARDS: β = -7.7, 95% CI -8.8 –-6.7, P<0.00009 [where α = 0.01/111 with the Bonferroni correction]). Standardized tidal volume has already been normalized for patient height, and furthermore, height was not associated with clinician documentation of ARDS. Worsening hypoxemia was associated with both increased clinician documentation of ARDS (β = -0.074, 95% CI -0.093 –-0.056, P<0.00009) and lower standardized tidal volume (β = 1.3, 95% CI 0.94–1.6, P<0.00009) in ARDS patients. Increasing chest imaging opacities, plateau pressure, and clinician documentation of ARDS also were associated with lower tidal volume in ARDS patients. Our EHR-based data-driven approach using height, gender, ARDS documentation, and lowest standardized tidal volume yielded estimates of clinician ARDS recognition rates of 54% for mild, 63% for moderate, and 73% for severe ARDS. Our tool replicated clinician-reported ARDS recognition in the LUNG SAFE study, enabling the identification of ARDS patients at high risk of being unrecognized. Our approach can be generalized to other conditions for which there is a need to increase adoption of evidence-based care.
Evaluating operational parameters of the careHPV, GeneXpert, AmpFire, and MA-6000 HPV systems for cervical precancer screening: Experience from Battor, Ghana
Authors: Effah Kofi , Wormenor Comfort Mawusi , Tekpor Ethel , Amuah Joseph Emmanuel , Essel Nana Owusu M. , Gedzah Isaac , Kemawor Seyram , Hansen Benjamin Tetteh , Atuguba Bernard Hayford , Klutsey Gifty Belinda , Sesenu Edna , Danyo Stephen , Akakpo Patrick Kafui
Published: August 2023

In response to calls by the World Health Organization for cervical precancer screening services in low-resource settings to lean toward HPV DNA testing, a number of testing platforms have been made available. This study aimed to evaluate the operational parameters of four HPV testing systems in previous (careHPV) and current (GeneXpert, AmpFire, and MA-6000) use in a secondary healthcare setting in terms of ‘appropriateness’, ease of use, throughput, and diagnostic yield. This descriptive retrospective cohort analysis included 6056 women who presented to our facility between June 2016 and March 2022 for cervical precancer screening via HPV testing. A large majority of this cohort underwent AmpFire testing (55.8%), followed by careHPV (23.3%), MA-6000 (14.7%), and GeneXpert (6.1%). MA-6000 showed the highest hr-HPV positivity rate of 26.4% (95% CI, 23.6–29.5), followed by AmpFire (17.2%; 95% CI, 15.9–17.5). GeneXpert and careHPV showed similar hr-HPV positivity rates of 14.8% (95% CI, 11.3–18.8) and 14.8% (95% CI, 13.0–16.8), respectively. For the AmpFire and MA-6000 platforms, which utilize similar detection and reporting formats, we found a significant excess detection rate of 9.2% (95% CI, 6.1–12.4; p-value <0.0001) for MA-6000 compared to AmpFire. At the genotype level, MA-6000 also detected significantly higher rates of HPV 16 and other hr-HPV types (both p-values <0.001) than AmpFire; there was no difference in detection for HPV 18. Based on our experiences and preliminary analysis, we believe that the choice of HPV testing platform cannot be accomplished with a one-size-fits-all approach. Factors worth considering are the financial implications of platform acquisition, costs to clients, and throughput when screening programs are not sufficiently large. We describe our successes and challenges with the different platforms which we believe will be helpful to centers in low-income countries as they transition into using HPV DNA testing for cervical precancer screening.
The combination of RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a and Leptospira IgM RDT enhances the early detection of leptospirosis
Authors: Jirawannaporn Sirawit , Limothai Umaporn , Tachaboon Sasipha , Dinhuzen Janejira , Kiatamornrak Patcharakorn , Chaisuriyong Watchadaporn , Srisawat Nattachai
Published: August 2023

Background

Lack of available sensitive point-of-care testing is one of the primary obstacles to the rapid diagnosis of leptospirosis. The purpose of this study was to test the performance of two point-of-care tests, a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 12a (CRISPR/Cas12a) fluorescence-based diagnostic assay (FBDA), a Leptospira immunoglobulin M (IgM) rapid diagnostic test (RDT), and the two tests combined.

Methodology/Principal findings

For the diagnosis of 171 clinical samples, a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA)-CRISPR/Cas12a FBDA for whole blood and Leptospira IgM RDT (Medical Science Public Health, Thailand) for serum were used. The confirmed cases were determined by using any positive qPCR, microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and culture results. Diagnostic accuracy was assessed on the first day of enrollment and stratified by the day after symptom onset. The overall sensitivity of the Leptospira IgM RDT and RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a FBDA was 55.66% and 60.38%, respectively. When the two tests were combined, the sensitivity rose to 84.91%. The specificity of each test was 63.08% and 100%, respectively, and 63.08% when combined. The sensitivity of the Leptospira IgM RDT rose on days 4–6 after the onset of fever, while the RPA-CRISPR/Cas12a FBDA continued to decrease. When the two tests were combined, the sensitivity was over 80% at different days post-onset of fever.

Conclusions/Significance

The combination of Leptospira IgM RDT and RPA-CRISPR/Cas12 FBDA exhibited significant sensitivity for the detection of leptospires at various days after the onset of fever, thereby reducing the likelihood of misdiagnosis. The combination of these assays may be suitable for early leptospirosis screening in situations with limited resources.
Assessment of clustering techniques to support the analyses of soybean seed vigor
Authors: de Oliveira Eduardo R. , Bugatti Pedro H. , Saito Priscila T. M.
Published: August 2023

Soy is the main product of Brazilian agriculture and the fourth most cultivated bean globally. Since soy cultivation tends to increase and due to this large market, the guarantee of product quality is an indispensable factor for enterprises to stay competitive. Industries perform vigor tests to acquire information and evaluate the quality of soy planting. The tetrazolium test, for example, provides information about moisture damage, bedbugs, or mechanical damage. However, the verification of the damage reason and its severity are done by an analyst, one by one. Since this is massive and exhausting work, it is susceptible to mistakes. Proposals involving different supervised learning approaches, including active learning strategies, have already been used, and have brought significant results. Therefore, this paper analyzes the performance of non-supervised techniques for classifying soybeans. An extensive experimental evaluation was performed, considering (9) different clustering algorithms (partitional, hierarchical, and density-based) applied to 5 image datasets of soybean seeds submitted to the tetrazolium test, including different damages and/or their levels. To describe those images, we considered 18 extractors of traditional features. We also considered four metrics (accuracy, FOWLKES, DAVIES, and CALINSKI) and two-dimensionality reduction techniques (principal component analysis and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) for validation. Results show that this paper presents essential contributions since it makes it possible to identify descriptors and clustering algorithms that shall be used as preprocessing in other learning processes, accelerating and improving the classification process of key agricultural problems.
Bionomics and population dynamics of anopheline larvae from an area dominated by fish farming tanks in northern Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Barbosa Ledayane Mayana Costa , Scarpassa Vera Margarete
Published: August 2023

Background

In Brazilian Amazon, deforestation and other anthropogenic activities as a consequence of human occupation have created new and artificial larval habitats for anopheline mosquitoes, providing conditions for oviposition, development and expansion of malaria vector populations.

Objectives

This study aimed to structurally characterize and describe the entomological and limnological parameters of Anopheles larval habitats from a malaria region in northern Brazilian Amazon.

Methods

Fifty-two larval habitats were investigated in the District of Ilha de Santana, in the Brazilian state of Amapá, comprising fish farming tanks, ponds, and streams. For entomological parameters, the immature larvae were collected monthly from July 2019 to June 2020. For limnological parameters, the water samples were collected from 20 larval habitats during the sampling period. The data were analyzed using Generalized Linear Models, Multivariate analyses, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Results

Fifty habitats were positive for Anopheles larvae and a total of nine species were collected. The fish farming tanks had the highest abundance of larvae compared with ponds and streams. Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles nuneztovari s.l. and Anopheles triannulatus were collected in 94% of the larval habitats and showed the highest positivity index. The degree of shade and the type of water of the breeding sites were important factors for the presence of the main malaria vector, A. darlingi. This species was the most affected by pH, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and nitrate.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that fish farming tanks are major contributors to vector anopheline abundance and malaria transmission. Vector control strategies focused on these habitats are urgently needed.
ACTivity as medicine In Oncology for Head and Neck (ACTIOHN): Protocol for a feasibility study investigating a patient-centred approach to exercise for people with head and neck cancer
Authors: Midgley Adrian W. , Levy Andrew R. , Rogers Simon N. , Brooker Rachel C. , Bryant Valerie , Cherry Mary Gemma , Lane Steven , Nugent Michael M. , Price Ruth , Schache Andrew G. , Young Bridget , Patterson Joanne M.
Published: August 2023

Background and aim

Attempts at personalisation of exercise programmes in head and neck cancer (HaNC) have been limited. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of introducing a remotely delivered, fully personalised, collaborative, and flexible approach to prescribing and delivering exercise programmes into the HaNC usual care pathway.

Methods

This is a single arm, feasibility study. Seventy patients diagnosed with HaNC will be recruited from two regional HaNC centres in the United Kingdom. Patients will undertake an 8-week exercise programme designed and delivered by cancer exercise specialists. The exercise programme will start any time between the time of diagnosis and up to 8 weeks after completing treatment, depending on patient preference. The content of the exercise programme will be primarily based on patient needs, preferences, and goals, but guided by current physical activity guidelines for people with cancer. The primary outcome measure is retention to the study. Secondary quantitative outcomes are uptake to the exercise programme, different measures of exercise adherence, pre- and post-intervention assessments of fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory—Short Form), quality of life (SF-36), physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form), and various components of physical fitness. The outcomes of the nested qualitative study are acceptability and feasibility of the intervention evaluated via interviews with patients, health care professionals, and the cancer exercise specialists. Intervention and participant fidelity will be determined using checklists and scrutiny of each patient’s logbook and the cancer exercise specialists’ meeting notes. Analysis of quantitative data will be via standard summary statistics. Qualitative data will be analysed using thematic analysis.

Expected results

This feasibility study will inform the design and conduct of a future randomised controlled trial. Success will be defined according to a traffic light system for identifying the appropriateness of progression to a randomised controlled trial.

Trial registration

International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number registry (ISRCTN82505455).
The psychological status of patients with delayed intravitreal injection for treatment of diabetic macular edema due to the COVID–19 pandemic
Authors: Zaini Mohamad Azlan , Mohd Zain Ayesha , Din Norshamsiah Md. , Mustapha Mushawiahti , Sidi Hatta
Published: August 2023

Background

Since the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to contain the spread of COVID -19 infection in Malaysia, most clinic appointments have been rescheduled and procedures and surgeries postponed to a later date. Clinic appointments including intravitreal endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) treatment for patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) were also no exception to the postponement. This measure takes a psychological toll on patients because of the overwhelming concern for their eye condition. This study was conducted to assess the psychological status of DME patients with delayed anti-VEGF treatment during the pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to March 2021 in Ophthalmology Clinic Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HCTM UKM). Subjects diagnosed with center-involved DME aged between 20 to 80 years who experienced delayed anti-VEGF injection were recruited. Level of depression, anxiety and stress were assessed using DASS-21 questionnaire. Statistical analysis using non-parametric tests were performed to determine the relationship between the DASS-21 score and duration of last injection, in those whose vision was affected by delayed injection and the relationship to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical significance was denoted as p < 0.05.

Results

A total of 86 respondents with median age of 69 years old participated in this study. Most respondents were Malays (n = 47,54.7%) males (n = 51, 59.3%), had education up to secondary level (n = 37, 43%), unemployed (n = 78, 90.7%), married (n = 72, 83.7%) and living with their family (n = 82, 95.3%). The number of intravitreal injections received was at least three times among the respondents (n = 81, 94.2%). More than half of the respondents (n = 46, 53.5%) had been postponed for more than 12 weeks and felt that their vision was affected after delayed intravitreal injection (n = 47, 54.7%). Most of the subjects did not experience depression, anxiety, or stress. However, there was a significant level of stress scores among those with delayed injection of 9 to 12 weeks (p = 0.004), and significant anxiety (p = 0.029) and stress (p = 0.014) scores found in subjects with vision affected due to delayed treatment.

Conclusion

The level of anxiety and stress can be significant in DME patients who experienced delay in intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment. Assessment of psychosocial impacts is important to identify early mental health issues potentially leading to the onset of psychiatry illness, thus early intervention is indispensable.