bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity enhancement using chemically reactive gas cluster ion beams in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)
Authors: Lagator Matija , Berrueta Razo Irma , Royle Thomas , Lockyer Nicholas P.
Published: January 2022

We report for the first time on significant molecular secondary ion yield increases by modifying the chemistry of a water cluster primary ion beam. This was demonstrated using 70‐keV ion beams of 0.15 eV/amu. For the neutral drug Bezafibrate, secondary ion yield enhancements ×5–10 were observed when replacing the Ar carrier gas in a water gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) source with a mixture containing 12% CO2 and 2% O2 in Ar. For the cationic drug Ranitidine, the ion yield enhancements using the CO2‐containing carrier gas were up to ×20–50 in positive mode and ×2–4 in negative mode. The extent of molecular fragmentation was very similar from both cluster beams. We conclude that additional chemically reactive species are present in the impact zone using the (H2O/CO2)n projectile, which promote the formation of secondary ions of both polarity through projectile impact‐induced chemical reactions. This methodology can be applied to further extend the capabilities of high‐resolution 3‐dimensional mass spectral imaging using reactive GCIB‐SIMS.
Scalable algorithms for semiparametric accelerated failure time models in high dimensions
Authors: Suder Piotr M. , Molstad Aaron J.
Published: January 2022

Semiparametric accelerated failure time (AFT) models are a useful alternative to Cox proportional hazards models, especially when the assumption of constant hazard ratios is untenable. However, rank‐based criteria for fitting AFT models are often nondifferentiable, which poses a computational challenge in high‐dimensional settings. In this article, we propose a new alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm for fitting semiparametric AFT models by minimizing a penalized rank‐based loss function. Our algorithm scales well in both the number of subjects and number of predictors, and can easily accommodate a wide range of popular penalties. To improve the selection of tuning parameters, we propose a new criterion which avoids some common problems in cross‐validation with censored responses. Through extensive simulation studies, we show that our algorithm and software is much faster than existing methods (which can only be applied to special cases), and we show that estimators which minimize a penalized rank‐based criterion often outperform alternative estimators which minimize penalized weighted least squares criteria. Application to nine cancer datasets further demonstrates that rank‐based estimators of semiparametric AFT models are competitive with estimators assuming proportional hazards in high‐dimensional settings, whereas weighted least squares estimators are often not. A software package implementing the algorithm, along with a set of auxiliary functions, is available for download at github.com/ajmolstad/penAFT.
Platelet‐rich plasma exhibits anti‐inflammatory effect and attenuates cardiomyocyte damage by reducing NF‐κB and enhancing VEGF expression in isoproterenol induced cardiotoxicity model
Authors: Yadav Shubham , Srivastava Shriyansh , Singh Gaaminepreet
Published: January 2022

The present study investigated the cardioprotective effects of activated platelet‐rich plasma (PRP) on high dose isoproterenol (ISO) induced cardiotoxicity. ISO was injected at a dose of 85 mg/kg/day, s.c. for 2 days. Cardiac function parameters including dp/dt max/min, left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP), relaxation constant (tau) and electrocardiogram (ECG) changes, anti‐oxidant and membrane bound enzymes assays, pro‐inflammatory cytokine levels, collagen content, immunohistochemical staining/gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cTnI (cardiac troponin I), NF‐κB (nuclear factor kappa B), Smad‐2/3, TGF‐β (transforming growth factor), collagen‐1/3 proteins were evaluated. PRP and platelet‐poor plasma (PPP) were injected intramyocardially (200 μl in each ventricle region) 3 h after first dose of ISO under anesthesia. ISO injection induced cardiac dysfunction, hypertrophy, fibrosis, necrosis due to decline in anti‐oxidant capacity, enhanced NF‐κB and reduced cTnI immunostaining. However, the PRP injection attenuated these cardiac pathological changes by exerting anti‐inflammatory properties and promoting cardiomyocyte repair.
Use of niobium oxide nanoparticles as nanofillers in PVP/PVA blends to enhance UV–visible absorption, opto‐linear, and nonlinear optical properties
Authors: Ali H. Elhosiny , Sayed M. A. , Algarni H. , Khairy Yasmin , Abdel‐Aziz M. M.
Published: January 2022

Transition metal oxide (TMO)—filled polymer films have numerous applications, including electromagnetic shielding and nonlinear optical devices. Nb2O5‐filled polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend was prepared using a solution casting process. Pristine and nanocomposite films from these blends were studied. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier infrared spectroscopy confirmed the formation of nanocomposites via interfacial interactions between the polymer chains and Nb2O5 nanoparticles. These nanoparticles influence the amorphous nature and transparency of the PVA/PVP blends. The improvement of Dopt (optical density) becomes particularly obvious in blended polymer films with considerable Nb2O5‐nanofiller concentrations. By increasing the weight percentage of Nb2O5, the probability of producing additional levels in the bandgap increased. The optical absorption coefficient of each nanocomposite film was less than 106 m−1, indicating indirect electron transfer. Thus, the indirect optical band‐gap declined from 3.9 to 1.9 eV as calculated from Tauc's and the absorption spectral fitting (ASF) formula. Additionally, the effects of Nb2O5 on the extinction coefficient, refractive index, high‐frequency (ε∞), and static‐frequency (εo) dielectrics have been reported. The nonlinear refractive index and optical susceptibilities (x1 and x3) were enhanced by increasing the Nb2O5 content in the blend. The penetration depth (δ) and optical limiting (OL) properties were also investigated. The developed nanocomposite materials could be used for advanced technology‐based devices such as reflective coatings, opto‐linear, and nonlinear optoelectronic applications.
Designing and scaling up integrated youth mental health care
Authors: McGorry Patrick D. , Mei Cristina , Chanen Andrew , Hodges Craig , Alvarez‐Jimenez Mario , Killackey Eóin
Published: January 2022

Mental ill‐health represents the main threat to the health, survival and future potential of young people around the world. There are indications that this is a rising tide of vulnerability and need for care, a trend that has been augmented by the COVID‐19 pandemic. It represents a global public health crisis, which not only demands a deep and sophisticated understanding of possible targets for prevention, but also urgent reform and investment in the provision of developmentally appropriate clinical care. Despite having the greatest level of need, and potential to benefit, adolescents and emerging adults have the worst access to timely and quality mental health care. How is this global crisis to be addressed? Since the start of the century, a range of co‐designed youth mental health strategies and innovations have emerged. These range from digital platforms, through to new models of primary care to new services for potentially severe mental illness, which must be locally adapted according to the availability of resources, workforce, cultural factors and health financing patterns. The fulcrum of this progress is the advent of broad‐spectrum, integrated primary youth mental health care services. They represent a blueprint and beach‐head for an overdue global system reform. While resources will vary across settings, the mental health needs of young people are largely universal, and underpin a set of fundamental principles and design features. These include establishing an accessible, “soft entry” youth primary care platform with digital support, where young people are valued and essential partners in the design, operation, management and evaluation of the service. Global progress achieved to date in implementing integrated youth mental health care has highlighted that these services are being accessed by young people with genuine and substantial mental health needs, that they are benefiting from them, and that both these young people and their families are highly satisfied with the services they receive. However, we are still at base camp and these primary care platforms need to be scaled up across the globe, complemented by prevention, digital platforms and, crucially, more specialized care for complex and persistent conditions, aligned to this transitional age range (from approximately 12 to 25 years). The rising tide of mental ill‐health in young people globally demands that this focus be elevated to a top priority in global health.
Dietary lutein supplementation improves immunity and antioxidant status of captive Indian leopards (Panthera fusca)
Authors: Durge Sharad M. , Das Asit , Saha Subodh K. , Pande Amit , Thakuria Dimpal , Saxena Ankur , Bhardvaj Yogesh , Verma Ashok K.
Published: January 2022

Indian leopards kept in zoos are fed solely on carabeef on bone (CBB) diets. Carabeef contains lesser or no carotenoids. Hence, the captive Indian leopard diets are suspected to be deficient in carotenoids while their wild counterparts acquire these pigments from their natural prey. Lutein is a vital carotenoid that plays its role as an antioxidant and immunomodulator. This experiment investigates the effect of lutein supplementation on antioxidant status, immunity, and stress in captive Panthera fusca fed CBB diets. Nine leopards were used based on 3 × 3 replicated Latin square designs in the experiment. Groups CON, LUT20, and LUT40 were supplemented with 0, 20, and 40 ppm of lutein, respectively. Each experiment comprised of 10 days of wash‐out period, 11 days of adaptation, and 4 days of collection. Digestibility of crude protein (CP) was higher (p < .01) in groups LUT20 and LUT40. Serum concentration of protein, globulin, urea (p < .05), total carotenoids, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase (CAT) activity, and lymphocyte transformation test (LTT) index were higher (p < .001) in groups LUT20 and LUT40. Activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and serum concentration of immunoglobulin were higher (p < .001) in group LUT20. Serum concentration of malonaldehyde (MDA) and fecal concentration of cortisol decreased (p < .001) in groups LUT20 and LUT40. Serum concentration of total immunoglobulin (µg/ml) and LTT were higher in group LUT20. Fecal concentration of cortisol (ng/g) was lower in LUT20 and LUT40. The study concludes that supplementation of lutein at 20 ppm would improve antioxidant status and immunity and alleviate stress in captive Indian leopards.
The International Childbirth Initiative: An Applied Anthropologist’s Account of Developing Global Guidelines
Authors: Davis-Floyd Robbie
Published: January 2022

This chapter describes my personal experiences as an applied anthropologist serving as the lead editor in the development of a set of international guidelines focused on improving quality of maternity care: theInternational Childbirth Initiative (ICI): 12 Steps to Safe and Respectful MotherBaby-Family Maternity Care(2018). The ICI’s purpose is to encourage global awareness and local implementation of the MotherBaby-Family Model of Care. This is a model based on women’s rights and humane, respectful, family-centered care. The ICI’s creation story is continuous with global movements to improve the quality of maternity care and with a deep history of birth activism by practitioners, public health advocates, and social scientists aimed at decreasing unnecessary medical intervention in childbirth. This narrative is widely relevant for understanding how to develop and implement global guidelines that can flexibly adapt to local contexts. The ICI was developed by the merging of the 2015FIGO Guidelines to Mother-Baby Friendly Birthing Facilitieswith the pre-existingInternational MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative(IMBCI) in an intense and rewarding group process. The chapter discusses factors that contributed to the successful development of clear global guidelines for high-quality maternity care. These include attention to process, alignment with key values of the women’s health and midwifery movements, multilevel collaboration and networking around a clear vision, garnering input from many people with diverse voices and perspectives, and patience with and commitment to the tasks at hand.
The Promise and Neglect of Follow-up Care in Obstetric Fistula Treatment in Uganda
Authors: Ruder Bonnie , Emasu Alice
Published: January 2022

Considered the most severe of maternal morbidities, obstetric fistula is a debilitating childbirth injury that results in complete incontinence with severe physical and psychosocial consequences.

The primary intervention for women with obstetric fistula is surgical repair, and success rates for repair are reported between 80% and 97%. However, successful treatment is commonly defined solely by the closure of the fistula defect and often fails to capture women who continue to experience urinary incontinence after repair. Residual incontinence post-fistula repair is both underreported and under-examined in the literature. Through a novel mixed-method study that examined clinical, quantitative, and qualitative aspects of residual incontinence post-repair, this chapter draws on in-depth interviews with women suffering with residual incontinence and fistula surgeons, participant observation, and a desk review of fistula policies and guidelines to argue that an inadequate model of fistula treatment that neglects follow-up care exists. We found that obstetric fistula policy has been determined in large part over the years by international development agencies and funding organizations, such as international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). We argue that the neglect in follow-up care is evident in fistula policy and can be traced to a donor-funded treatment model that fails to prioritize and fund follow-up care as an essential component of fistula treatment, instead focusing on a “narrative of success” in fistula treatment. As a result, poor outcomes are underreported and women who experience poor outcomes are largely erased from the fistula narrative. This erasure has limited the attention, resources, research, and dedicated to residual incontinence, leaving out women suffering from residual incontinence largely without alternative treatment options.
The Domestication of Misoprostol for Abortion in Burkina Faso: Interactions Between Caregivers, Drug Vendors and Women
Authors: Drabo Seydou
Published: January 2022

Misoprostol has been hailed as a revolution within global maternal health research and policy communities because of its potential to reduce maternal mortality from post-partum haemorrhage and unsafe abortion, allowing relatively safe abortion in legal and illegal settings. However, we know little about how women who want to use misoprostol access it to induce abortion. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, this chapter describes and analyses how women gain access to misoprostol to induce abortion within a setting where induced abortion is legally restrictive and where the legal use of misoprostol is limited to post-abortion care and post-partum haemorrhage. The findings show that women seeking abortions in Ouagadougou are able to access misoprostol through unofficial channels, specifically through health workers and drug vendors. While this unofficial use of misoprostol is relatively safer, and more affordable than other options, access is not equally distributed and the cost women pay for the drug varies significantly. While women with strong social networks and financial resources can access misoprostol easily, other women who do not have money to buy misoprostol may become victims of sexual violence from men from whom they seek abortion services. In Ouagadougou, access to abortion with misoprostol is shaped by health workers and the social and economic conditions of the women who seek it. The study uses the concepts of ‘pharmaceutical diversion’ and ‘domestication’ as adjacent analytical frameworks to emphasize the changing pattern of access to misoprostol. The chapter introduces the importance of looking at safe access to safe abortion.
Regulating Midwives: Foreclosing Alternatives in the Policymaking Process in West Java, Indonesia
Authors: Magrath Priscilla
Published: January 2022

Promotion of “skilled birth attendants” (SBAs) in global maternal health policy has prompted a range of policy responses to “traditional birth attendants” (TBAs). In Indonesia the response has been to develop a national policy of partnership between SBAs (bidan) and TBAs (dukun bayi). This policy aims to ensure the presence of an SBA at every birth yet offers a role for TBAs. In this chapter I examine the development of a district regulation on partnership, promoted within the context of decentralization policies enacted in Indonesia from 1999. The district regulation aimed to strengthen the national policy in a location in West Java where TBAs remain popular. Drawing on 10 months of fieldwork from 2012 to 2013 at a district health office and on observations of its outreach programs, I elucidate how the regulation on partnership was promoted through the policy entrepreneurship of certain key figures in the district health office. They argued that the partnership regulation was the fastest means to improve maternal health. But casting a spotlight on the relationship between SBAs and TBAs diverted attention away from other health system challenges including under-resourced medical facilities and a weak referral system. Three contexts played into this process of bringing the partnership issue to the fore: global policies promoting SBAs and sidelining TBAs; pressure to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on maternal mortality; and the limited financial power and decision space afforded to districts under decentralization in Indonesia. In this context, the regulation offered a viable path for demonstrating commitment to improving maternal health outcomes, yet one that failed to address broader constraints in the health system that contribute to persistent high maternal mortality rates.
Ambidextrous light transforms for celestial amplitudes
Authors: Sharma Atul
Published: January 2022

Abstract

Low multiplicity celestial amplitudes of gluons and gravitons tend to be distributional in the celestial coordinatesz,$$ \overline{z} $$z¯. We provide a new systematic remedy to this situation by studying celestial amplitudes in a basis of light transformed boost eigenstates. Motivated by a novel equivalence between light transforms and Witten’s half-Fourier transforms to twistor space, we light transform every positive helicity state in the coordinatezand every negative helicity state in$$ \overline{z} $$z¯. With examples, we show that this “ambidextrous” prescription beautifully recasts two- and three-point celestial amplitudes in terms of standard conformally covariant structures. These are used to extract examples of celestial OPE for light transformed operators. We also study such amplitudes at higher multiplicity by constructing the Grassmannian representation of tree-level gluon celestial amplitudes as well as their light transforms. The formulae forn-point Nk−2MHV amplitudes take the form of Euler-type integrals over regions in Gr(k, n) cut out by positive energy constraints.
Four-dimensional noncommutative deformations of U(1) gauge theory and L∞ bootstrap.
Authors: Kurkov Maxim , Vitale Patrizia
Published: January 2022

Abstract

We construct a family of four-dimensional noncommutative deformations of U(1) gauge theory following a general scheme, recently proposed in JHEP 08 (2020) 041 for a class of coordinate-dependent noncommutative algebras. This class includes the $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(2), the $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(1, 1) and the angular (or λ-Minkowski) noncommutative structures. We find that the presence of a fourth, commutative coordinate x0 leads to substantial novelties in the expression for the deformed field strength with respect to the corresponding three-dimensional case. The constructed field theoretical models are Poisson gauge theories, which correspond to the semi-classical limit of fully noncommutative gauge theories. Our expressions for the deformed gauge transformations, the deformed field strength and the deformed classical action exhibit flat commutative limits and they are exact in the sense that all orders in the deformation parameter are present. We review the connection of the formalism with the L∞ bootstrap and with symplectic embeddings, and derive the L∞-algebra, which underlies our model.
Multi-soliton dynamics of anti-self-dual gauge fields
Authors: Hamanaka Masashi , Huang Shan-Chi
Published: January 2022

Abstract

We study dynamics of multi-soliton solutions of anti-self-dual Yang-Mills equations forG= GL(2,ℂ) in four-dimensional spaces. The one-soliton solution can be interpreted as a codimension-one soliton in four-dimensional spaces because the principal peak of action density localizes on a three-dimensional hyperplane. We call it the soliton wall. We prove that in the asymptotic region, then-soliton solution possessesnisolated localized lumps of action density, and interpret it asnintersecting soliton walls. More precisely, each action density lump is essentially the same as a soliton wall because it preserves its shape and “velocity” except for a position shift of principal peak in the scattering process. The position shift results from the nonlinear interactions of the multi-solitons and is called the phase shift. We calculate the phase shift factors explicitly and find that the action densities can be real-valued in three kind of signatures. Finally, we show that the gauge group can beG= SU(2) in the Ultrahyperbolic space 𝕌 (the split signature (+,+, −, −)). This implies that the intersecting soliton walls could be realized in all region in N=2 string theories. It is remarkable that quasideterminants dramatically simplify the calculations and proofs.
Invariant vector means and complementability of Banach spaces in their second duals
Authors: Łukasik Radosław
Published: January 2022

Let X be a Banach space. Fix a torsion-free commutative and cancellative semigroup S whose torsion-free rank is the same as the density of $$X^{**}$$

X

∗

∗

. We then show that X is complemented in $$X^{**}$$

X

∗

∗

if and only if there exists an invariant mean $$M:\ell _\infty (S,X)\rightarrow X$$

M
:

ℓ
∞

(
S
,
X
)

→
X

. This improves upon previous results due to Bustos Domecq (J Math Anal Appl 275(2):512–520, 2002), Kania (J Math Anal Appl 445:797–802, 2017), Goucher and Kania (Studia Math 260:91–101, 2021).
Percutaneous Transsplenic Balloon-Assisted Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Placement in Patients with Portal Vein Obliteration for Portal Vein Recanalization: Feasibility, Safety and Effectiveness
Authors: Meine T. C. , Becker L. S. , Dewald C. L. A. , Maschke S. K. , Maasoumy B. , Jaeckel E. , Wedemeyer H. , Wacker F. K. , Meyer B. C. , Hinrichs J. B.
Published: January 2022

Purpose

To assess the feasibility, safety and effectiveness of portal vein recanalization (PVR)–transjugular portosystemic shunt (TIPS) placement via splenic access using a balloon puncture technique.

Materials and Methods

In a single-center retrospective study from March 2017 to February 2021, 14 consecutive patients with portal hypertension, chronic liver disease and portal vein occlusion or near-complete (> 95%) occlusion were referred for PVR–TIPS placement. Feasibility, safety and effectiveness including procedural characteristics such as technical success, complication profile and splenic access time (SAT), balloon positioning time (BPT), conventional portal vein entry time (CPVET), overall procedure time (OPT), fluoroscopy time (FT), dose–area product (DAP) and air kerma (AK) were evaluated.

Results

Transsplenic PVR–TIPS using balloon puncture technique was technically feasible in 12 of 14 patients (8 men, 49 ± 13 years). In two patients without detectable intrahepatic portal vein branches, TIPS placement was not feasible and both patients were referred for further treatment with nonselective beta blockers and endoscopic variceal ligation. No complications grade > 3 of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe classification system occurred. The SAT was 25 ± 21 min, CPVET was 33 ± 26 min, the OPT was 158 ± 54 min, the FT was 42 ± 22 min, the DAP was 167.84 ± 129.23 Gy*cm2 and the AK was 1150.70 ± 910.73 mGy.

Conclusions

Transsplenic PVR–TIPS using a balloon puncture technique is feasible and appears to be safe in our series of patients with obliteration of the portal vein. It expands the interventional options in patients with chronic PVT.
Infant urinary metabolomic profile in a fatal acute methadone intoxication
Authors: Chighine Alberto , Porcu Michele , Ferino Giulio , Lenigno Nicola , Trignano Claudia , d’Aloja Ernesto , Locci Emanuela
Published: January 2022

A case report suspicious for a Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is here described. Pathological findings were consistent with an acute respiratory failure while toxicological analysis revealed an elevated blood methadone concentration. Death was then ascribed to an acute methadone intoxication. In addition to the routinary approach, the urinary sample collected at autopsy was investigated with a 1H NMR metabolomic approach and the identified metabolomic profile was challenged with the urinary metabolomic profiles previously obtained from 10 newborns who experienced perinatal asphyxia and 16 healthy control newborns. Intriguingly, the urinary profile of the methadone intoxicated infant was very similar to those belonging to the perinatal asphyxia newborns, especially to those belonging to the newborns characterised by the worst outcome. The results offer several hints on a shared metabolic derangement between different mechanisms of asphyxia/hypoxia. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of the use of a metabolomic approach in a pathological case, in which metabolomics offers useful additional information regarding the mechanism and the cause of death.
On the receiving end: have patient perceptions of the side-effects of cancer chemotherapy changed since the twentieth century?
Authors: Vardy Janette L. , Liew Andre , Warby Anne , Elder Alexander , Keshet Itay , Devine Rhonda , Ouliaris Calina , Renton Corrinne , Tattersall Martin H. N. , Dhillon Haryana M.
Published: January 2022

Background

Studies in 1983 and 1993 identified and ranked symptoms experienced by cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. We repeated the studies to obtain updated information on patient perceptions of chemotherapy-associated symptoms.

Patients and methods

A cross-sectional interview and patient-reported outcome questionnaires were administered to out-patients receiving chemotherapy. Patients selected from 124 cards to identify and rank the severity of physical and non-physical symptoms they had experienced and attributed to chemotherapy (primary endpoint). The patient’s medical oncologist and primary chemotherapy nurse were invited to rank the five symptoms they believed the patient would rank as their most severe. We analysed the association of symptoms and their severity with patient demographics, chemotherapy regimen, and patient-reported outcomes. Results were compared to the earlier studies.

Results

Overall, 302 patients completed the interview: median age 58 years (range 17–85); 56% female; main tumour types colorectal 81 (27%), breast 67 (22%), lung 49 (16%); 45% treated with curative intent. Most common symptoms (reported by >50%) were: alopecia, general weakness, effects on family/partner, loss of taste, nausea, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, effects on work/home duties, and having to put life on hold. The most severe symptoms (ranked by >15% in top five) were: concern about effects on family/partner, nausea, fear of the future, fatigue, not knowing what will happen, putting my life on hold, and general weakness. Perceptions of doctors and nurses of patients’ symptom severity closely matched patients’ rankings.

Conclusions

Compared to earlier studies, there was an increase in non-physical concerns such as effects on family and future, and a decrease in physical symptoms, particularly vomiting, but nausea, fatigue and general weakness remained bothersome.

Highlights

• Symptoms related to chemotherapy have changed over time, likely due to less toxic regimens and improvements in supportive care.

• Effects on family/partner, fear of the future, not knowing what will happen, and “life on hold” were major issues for patients.

• Vomiting has decreased but nausea, fatigue and general weakness remain common symptoms for chemotherapy patients.
Distance to first symptoms measured by the 6-min walking test differentiates between treatment success and failure in patients with degenerative lumbar disorders
Authors: Zeitlberger Anna M. , Sosnova Marketa , Ziga Michal , Gautschi Oliver P. , Regli Luca , Bozinov Oliver , Weyerbrock Astrid , Stienen Martin N. , Maldaner Nicolai
Published: January 2022

Purpose

The smartphone-based 6-min walking test (6WT) is an established digital outcome measure in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative lumbar disorders (DLD). In addition to the 6WTs primary outcome measure, the 6-min walking distance (6WD), the patient’s distance to first symptoms (DTFS) and time to first symptoms (TTFS) can be recorded. This is the first study to analyse the psychometric properties of the DTFS and TTFS.

Methods

Forty-nine consecutive patients (55 ± 15.8 years) completed the 6WT pre- and 6 weeks (W6) postoperative. DTFS and TTFS were assessed for reliability and content validity using disease-specific patient-reported outcome measures. The Zurich Claudication Questionnaire patient satisfaction subscale was used as external criterion for treatment success. Internal and external responsiveness for both measures at W6 was evaluated.

Results

There was a significant improvement in DTFS and TTFS from baseline to W6 (p < 0.001). Both measures demonstrated a good test–retest reliability (β = 0.86, 95% CI 0.81–0.90 and β = 0.83, 95% CI 0.76–0.87, both p < 0.001). The DTFS exceeded the 6WD capability to differentiate between satisfied (82%) and unsatisfied patients (18%) with an AUC of 0.75 (95% CI 0.53–0.98) vs. 0.70 (95% CI 0.52–0.90). The TTFS did not demonstrate meaningful discriminative abilities.

Conclusion

Change in DTFS can differentiate between satisfied and unsatisfied patients after spine surgery. Digital outcome measures on the 6WT metric provide spine surgeons and researchers with a mean to assess their patient’s functional disability and response to surgical treatment in DLD.
Complete genome sequence of a new quadrivirus infecting a member of the genus Thelonectria
Authors: Lutz Tobias , Langer Gitta , Heinze Cornelia
Published: January 2022

A novel dsRNA virus named “Thelonectria quadrivirus 1” (TQV1) was found in a member of the genus Thelonectria (Ascomycota), isolated from a root associated with stem collar necrosis of Fraxinus excelsior L. The complete genome of TQV1 is composed of four segments, each containing a single ORF on the positive sense RNA. The sequence of the 5´ (5´-(C/T)ACGAAAAA-3´) and 3´termini (5´AT(T/G)AGCAATG(T/C)GC(G/A)CG-3’) of dsRNA 1 (4876 bp), dsRNA 2 (4312 bp), dsRNA 3 (4158 bp), and dsRNA 4 (3933 bp) are conserved. Based on its genome organization and phylogenetic position, TQV1 is suggested to be a new member of the family Quadriviridae. This is the first report of a mycovirus infecting a member of the genus Thelonectria.
Loanable funds versus money creation in banking: a benchmark result
Authors: Faure Salomon , Gersbach Hans
Published: January 2022

We establish a benchmark result for the relationship between the loanable-funds and the money-creation approach to banking. In particular, we show that both processes yield the same allocations when there is no uncertainty. In such cases, using the much simpler loanable-funds approach as a shortcut does not imply any loss of generality. When there is aggregate risk with complete contracts and complete markets, we indicate that a restricted equivalence result holds.
Many people admitted to hospital with a provisional diagnosis of nonserious back pain are subsequently found to have serious pathology as the underlying cause
Authors: Melman Alla , Maher Chris G. , Needs Chris , Machado Gustavo C.
Published: January 2022

To determine the proportion of patients admitted to the hospital for back pain who have nonserious back pain, serious spinal, or serious other pathology as their final diagnosis. The proportion of nonserious back pain admissions will be used to plan for future ‘virtual hospital’ admissions. Electronic medical record data between January 2016 and September 2020 from three emergency departments (ED) in Sydney, Australia were used to identify inpatient admissions. SNOMED-CT-AU diagnostic codes were used to select ED patients aged 18 and older with an admitting diagnosis related to nonserious back pain. The inpatient discharge diagnosis was determined from the primary ICD-10-AM codes by two independent clinician-researchers. Inpatient admissions were then analysed by sociodemographic and hospital admission variables. A total of 38.1% of patients admitted with a provisional diagnosis of nonserious back pain were subsequently diagnosed with a specific pathology likely unsuitable for virtual care; 14.2% with a serious spinal pathology (e.g., fracture and infection) and 23.9% a serious pathology beyond the lumbar spine (e.g., pathological fracture and neoplasm). A total of 57% of admissions were identified as nonserious back pain, likely suitable for virtual care. A challenge for implementing virtual care in this setting is screening for patients with serious pathology. Protocols need to be developed to reduce the risk of patients being admitted to virtual hospitals with serious pathology as the cause of their back pain.

Key Points• Among admitted patients provisionally diagnosed in ED with non-serious back pain,
38.1% were found to have ‘serious spinal pathologies’ or ‘serious pathologies beyond the lumbar spine’ at discharge.• Spinal fractures were the most common serious spinal pathology, accounting for 9%
of all provisional ‘non-serious back pain’ admissions from ED.• 57% of back pain admissions were confirmed to be non-serious back pain and may be
suitable to virtual hospital care; the challenge is discriminating these patients from
those with serious pathology.
Digital transformation of everyday lives of older Swiss adults: use of and attitudes toward current and future digital services
Authors: Seifert Alexander , Charness Neil
Published: January 2022

Digital (consumer) services, such as ticket machines, self-checkout, and online reservations, have become increasingly important in modern society. Studies on adoption of these services and openness to using future public digital services (e.g., online voting, online taxes, electronic patient records) have mostly focused on younger adults or nonrepresentative samples among older adults. Therefore, two important questions remain that can best be addressed with representative sampling: To what extent do older adults use or are willing to use current and future digital services in their everyday lives? How do older adults evaluate the ease of use of these services?. The study included data on use of current and future digital services among a large Swiss sample of 1149 people age 65 years and older (mean age: 74.1 years, SD: 6.69). Descriptive and multivariate analyses showed that (a) established services such as cash machines were used more often than new services, such as self-checkout apps or machines. (b) Perceived ease of use is related to age, socioeconomic status, health, and interest in technology. (c) Only 8.9% had an overall positive attitude toward these digital services, and this attitude was predicted by age, gender, socioeconomic status, and interest in technology. (d) Participants were more often open to filing taxes online than voting online, and openness was predicted by age, income, and interest in technology. Today, mainly older adults with a high interest in technology use digital services. Nevertheless, potential for greater use is evident.
Hitting the target and missing the point? On the risks of measuring women’s empowerment in agricultural development
Authors: Tavenner Katie , Crane Todd A.
Published: January 2022

There is a strong impetus in international agricultural development to close ‘gender gaps’ in agricultural productivity. The goal of empowering women is often framed as the solution to closing these gaps, stimulating the proliferation of new indicators and instruments for the targeting, measurement, and tracking of programmatic goals in research for agricultural development. Despite these advances, current measurements and indices remain too simplified in terms of unit and scope of analysis, as well as being fundamentally flawed in how they aim to capture the relevance of ‘gender’ in diverse local contexts. We propose that the impulse to apply exogenously defined and weakly validated ‘women’s empowerment’ measures to diverse local contexts risks prioritizing practical expedience over scientific accuracy and societal relevance. Furthermore, the application of such measures risks creating the impression that programmatic “gender targets” are being achieved, while simultaneously undermining substantive gender transformative goals. The authors conclude that a different methodological approach grounded in participatory and qualitative methods is needed to create more meaningful metrics for assessing progress towards women’s empowerment.
Responsible I(m)ovation in Asia Pacific regions
Authors: Scuotto Veronica , Garcia-Perez Alexeis , Kalisz David E. , Dhir Amandeep
Published: January 2022

Over the past 20 years, a debate has developed on the differences between innovation and imitation strategies as mechanisms by which businesses operating in the Asia Pacific region may gain a competitive advantage. The current research contributes to this debate from a different perspective by exploring some of the challenges and opportunities associated with the combination of both strategies into what has been defined as imovation. Imovators and imovations do not stand alone in business ecosystems. Rather, they should be embraced in the context of sustainability-related virtues and emerging capabilities, such as ethical behaviour, co-responsibility and positive social impact. Taking dynamic capabilities as a theoretical lens, this paper conducts an empirical investigation of responsible imovation in a sample of 180 enterprises operating in the Asia Pacific market. In particular, this research evaluates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and imovation capabilities using a logistic regression analysis whereby we correlate the three main features of imovation strategies: strategic alliances, strategic decision-making and product innovations. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first study to focus on responsible imovation in the Asia Pacific market from an empirical perspective. The research highlights the key organisational and individual actions with the potential both to preserve existing capabilities and to create and integrate new ones. Our findings highlight the importance of technology adoption for responsible imovation to become more effective and accessible to imovators in the Asia Pacific business ecosystem. We conclude that responsible imovations combined with product-level innovations and core dynamic capabilities pave the way towards more rapid growth and a more sustainable competitive advantage.
Derived blockchain architecture for security-conscious data dissemination in edge-envisioned Internet of Drones ecosystem
Authors: Singh Maninderpal , Aujla Gagangeet Singh , Bali Rasmeet Singh
Published: January 2022

Internet of Drones (IoD) facilitates the autonomous operations of drones into every application (warfare, surveillance, photography, etc) across the world. The transmission of data (to and fro) related to these applications occur between the drones and the other infrastructure over wireless channels that must abide to the stringent latency restrictions. However, relaying this data to the core cloud infrastructure may lead to a higher round trip delay. Thus, we utilize the cloud close to the ground, i.e., edge computing to realize an edge-envisioned IoD ecosystem. However, as this data is relayed over an open communication channel, it is often prone to different types of attacks due to it wider attack surface. Thus, we need to find a robust solution that can maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of the data while providing desired services. Blockchain technology is capable to handle these challenges owing to the distributed ledger that store the data immutably. However, the conventional block architecture pose several challenges because of limited computational capabilities of drones. As the size of blockchain increases, the data flow also increases and so does the associated challenges. Hence, to overcome these challenges, in this work, we have proposed a derived blockchain architecture that decouples the data part (or block ledger) from the block header and shifts it to off-chain storage. In our approach, the registration of a new drone is performed to enable legitimate access control thus ensuring identity management and traceability. Further, the interactions happen in the form of transactions of the blockchain. We propose a lightweight consensus mechanism based on the stochastic selection followed by a transaction signing process to ensure that each drone is in control of its block. The proposed scheme also handles the expanding storage requirements with the help of data compression using a shrinking block mechanism. Lastly, the problem of additional delay anticipated due to drone mobility is handled using a multi-level caching mechanism. The proposed work has been validated in a simulated Gazebo environment and the results are promising in terms of different metrics. We have also provided numerical validations in context of complexity, communication overheads and computation costs.
Pension Participants’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Emotional Responses to the New Dutch Pension System
Authors: van Hekken Annemarie , Hoofs Jorn , Brüggen Elisabeth Christine
Published: January 2022

As of 2022, the Dutch pension system will be overhauled. The success of this as well as other pension reforms also depends on how participants react to and accept such changes. We therefore studied participants’ attitudes, beliefs, and emotions toward the new pension system. We composed a text to inform them about the new system and qualitatively analyzed their responses. We investigated which beliefs and attitudes prevail among different age groups. The results show that many participants base their comments on previous experiences, misconceptions and (sometimes false) interpretations of the information in the text. Moreover, we find that young people are more optimistic, whilst older participants tend to feel victimized. Since the new Dutch pension rules have yet to be introduced, the results of our study contain valuable information for policymakers and pension funds who should acknowledge and address the oftentimes intense emotions, beliefs, and attitudes that influence the way that intentionally neutral information is perceived and accepted. A diversified communication strategy, mindful of different beliefs, emotions and attitudes among participants should help to empower citizens to get insight in their financial situation after retirement and to make informed choices.
Learning how to search: generating effective test cases through adaptive fitness function selection
Authors: Almulla Hussein , Gay Gregory
Published: January 2022

Search-based test generation is guided by feedback from one or more fitness functions—scoring functions that judge solution optimality. Choosing informative fitness functions is crucial to meeting the goals of a tester. Unfortunately, many goals—such as forcing the class-under-test to throw exceptions, increasing test suite diversity, and attaining Strong Mutation Coverage—do not have effective fitness function formulations. We propose that meeting such goals requires treating fitness function identification as a secondary optimization step. An adaptive algorithm that can vary the selection of fitness functions could adjust its selection throughout the generation process to maximize goal attainment, based on the current population of test suites. To test this hypothesis, we have implemented two reinforcement learning algorithms in the EvoSuite unit test generation framework, and used these algorithms to dynamically set the fitness functions used during generation for the three goals identified above. We have evaluated our framework, EvoSuiteFIT, on a set of Java case examples. EvoSuiteFIT techniques attain significant improvements for two of the three goals, and show limited improvements on the third when the number of generations of evolution is fixed. Additionally, for two of the three goals, EvoSuiteFIT detects faults missed by the other techniques. The ability to adjust fitness functions allows strategic choices that efficiently produce more effective test suites, and examining these choices offers insight into how to attain our testing goals. We find that adaptive fitness function selection is a powerful technique to apply when an effective fitness function does not already exist for achieving a testing goal.