bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sensors for simultaneous measurement of temperature and humidity based on all-dielectric metamaterials
Authors: Yu Zhenyu , Lang Tingting , Hong Zhi , Liu Jianjun , Shen Changyu
Published: May 2022

In this study, a new type of sensors based on all-dielectric metamaterials that can measure temperature and relative humidity simultaneously was designed and theoretically analyzed in detail. The proposed metamaterial sensor consists of a quartz substrate in the bottom layer, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in the middle layer, and a periodic silicon structure on the top layer. CST Studio Suite was used to determine the transmission spectrum of the metamaterials in the near-infrared band using finite integration, and two transmission dips were observed. Then, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as the humidity-sensitive material to be coated on the surface of this metamaterial sensor, and these two transmission dips were used to measure the temperature and relative humidity simultaneously. Simulation results showed that the sensitivities of the two dips to the temperature are −0.224 and −0.069 nm/°C, and the sensitivities to the relative humidity are −0.618 and −0.521 nm/%, respectively. Based on the sensitivity matrix, the temperature and the relative humidity can be measured simultaneously. The proposed sensor has the advantages of polarization insensitivity, small size and low loss, which makes it have many application potentials in various research fields, including physics, biology and chemical sensing.
Fast in-vitro screening of FLT3-ITD inhibitors using silkworm-baculovirus protein expression system
Authors: Yamamoto Naoki , Kikuchi Jiro , Furukawa Yusuke , Shibayama Naoya
Published: May 2022

We report expression and purification of a FLT3 protein with ITD mutation (FLT3-ITD) with a steady tyrosine kinase activity using a silkworm-baculovirus system, and its application as a fast screening system of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The FLT3-ITD protein was expressed in Bombyx mori L. pupae infected by gene-modified nucleopolyhedrovirus, and was purified as an active state. We performed an inhibition assay using 17 kinase inhibitors, and succeeded in screening two inhibitors for FLT3-ITD. The result has paved the way for screening FLT3-ITD inhibitors in a fast and easy manner, and also for structural studies.
Season-long infection of diverse hosts by the entomopathogenic fungus Batkoa major
Authors: Gryganskyi Andrii P. , Golan Jacob , Hajek Ann E.
Published: May 2022

Populations of the entomopathogenic fungus Batkoa major were analyzed using sequences of four genomic regions and evaluated in relation to their genetic diversity, insect hosts and collection site. This entomophthoralean pathogen killed numerous insect species from 23 families and five orders in two remote locations during 2019. The host list of this biotrophic pathogen contains flies, true bugs, butterflies and moths, beetles, and barkflies. Among the infected bugs (Order Hemiptera), the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is a new invasive planthopper pest of various woody plants that was introduced to the USA from Eastern Asia. A high degree of clonality occurred in the studied populations and high gene flow was revealed using four molecular loci for the analysis of population structure. We did not detect any segregation in the population regarding host affiliation (by family or order), or collection site. This is the first description of population structure of a biotrophic fungus-generalist in the entomopathogenic Order Entomophthorales. This analysis aimed to better understand the potential populations of entomopathogen-generalists infecting emerging invasive hosts in new ecosystems.
E-CatBoost: An efficient machine learning framework for predicting ICU mortality using the eICU Collaborative Research Database
Authors: Safaei Nima , Safaei Babak , Seyedekrami Seyedhouman , Talafidaryani Mojtaba , Masoud Arezoo , Wang Shaodong , Li Qing , Moqri Mahdi
Published: May 2022

Improving the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) management network and building cost-effective and well-managed healthcare systems are high priorities for healthcare units. Creating accurate and explainable mortality prediction models helps identify the most critical risk factors in the patients’ survival/death status and early detect the most in-need patients. This study proposes a highly accurate and efficient machine learning model for predicting ICU mortality status upon discharge using the information available during the first 24 hours of admission. The most important features in mortality prediction are identified, and the effects of changing each feature on the prediction are studied. We used supervised machine learning models and illness severity scoring systems to benchmark the mortality prediction. We also implemented a combination of SHAP, LIME, partial dependence, and individual conditional expectation plots to explain the predictions made by the best-performing model (CatBoost). We proposed E-CatBoost, an optimized and efficient patient mortality prediction model, which can accurately predict the patients’ discharge status using only ten input features. We used eICU-CRD v2.0 to train and validate the models; the dataset contains information on over 200,000 ICU admissions. The patients were divided into twelve disease groups, and models were fitted and tuned for each group. The models’ predictive performance was evaluated using the area under a receiver operating curve (AUROC). The AUROC scores were 0.86 [std:0.02] to 0.92 [std:0.02] for CatBoost and 0.83 [std:0.02] to 0.91 [std:0.03] for E-CatBoost models across the defined disease groups; if measured over the entire patient population, their AUROC scores were 7 to 18 and 2 to 12 percent higher than the baseline models, respectively. Based on SHAP explanations, we found age, heart rate, respiratory rate, blood urine nitrogen, and creatinine level as the most critical cross-disease features in mortality predictions.
Proteomic insight into soybean response to flooding stress reveals changes in energy metabolism and cell wall modifications
Authors: Khan Mudassar Nawaz , Ahmed Iftikhar , Ud Din Israr , Noureldeen Ahmed , Darwish Hadeer , Khan Majid
Published: May 2022

Soybean is a legume crop enriched with proteins and oil. It is frequently exposed to anthropogenic and natural flooding that limits its growth and yield. Current study applied gel-free proteomic techniques to unravel soybean response mechanism to flooding stress. Two-days-old soybeans were flooded for 4 days continuously and root samples were collected at days 2 to 6 for proteomic and enzymatic analyses. Age-matched untreated soybeans were collected as control. After protein extraction, purification and tryptic digestion, the peptides were analyzed on nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 539 and 472 proteins with matched peptides 2 or more were identified in control and flooded seedlings, respectively. Among these 364 proteins were commonly identified in both control and flooded soybeans. Fourty-two protein’s abundances were changed 4-fold after 2-days of flooding stress as compared to starting point. The cluster analysis showed that highly increased proteins included cupin family proteins, enolase, pectin methylesterase inhibitor, glyoxalase II, alcohol dehydrogenase and aldolase. The enzyme assay of enolase and pectin methylesterase inhibitor confirmed protein abundance changes. These findings suggest that soybean adopts the less energy consuming strategies and brings biochemical and structural changes in the cell wall to effectively respond to flooding stress and for the survival.
Omni-channel retail operations in the presence of strategic customers: The benefit of inventory commitment
Authors: Li Hongxuan , Wu Fan
Published: May 2022

This paper studies the impact of strategic customer behavior on retailers’ omni-channel strategies. Customers in the market are classified into strategic omni-channel customers and myopic B&M (brick and mortar) store customers. The retailer firstly charges a full price but will then salvage the leftover inventory at a lower price (markdown policy) for strategic omni-channel customers after the customers’ demand is realized. The strategic omni-channel customers choose purchase timing to maximize their own expected profit. While, the myopic B&M store customers do not choose purchase timing. By characterizing rational expectation equilibrium, we find that the inventory level under markdown policy is higher than that in the classic model where no markdown policy is implemented. Also, the policy will transfer more strategic customers to the online channel to buy at full price so that the retailer will benefit from it. Besides, inventory commitment policy can further increase retailer’s profit based on markdown policy. In addition, we extend the model to the supply chain and present the contrasting view that the total profit of the decentralized supply chain under the wholesale price contract is higher than that of the centralized supply chain. The influence of strategic customer behavior and system parameters on the retailer’s optimal decision is discussed through numerical study.
Financial sector development, external debt, and Turkey’s renewable energy consumption
Authors: Saleem Jabari Majdi , Aga Mehmet , Samour Ahmed
Published: May 2022

The primary aim of this paper is to provide fresh evidence by testing the linkage between renewable energy consumption, financial development, and external debts in Turkey, using the Bootstrap ARDL test (McNown et al. 2018). The Bootstrap ARDL test is desired over traditional co-integration tests due to its ability to predict when resolving power and size limitation issues, and its corresponding features, which have not been addressed by traditional co-integration tests. The ARDL testing model is employed to investigate the coefficients amongst the selected variables. The findings from the ARDL test illustrate that there is a positive linkage between renewable consumption and Turkey’s financial development. Furthermore, the outcomes illustrate that the coefficient of external debt is negative and significant. The results indicate that policymakers in Turkey must use the growth of the financial sector to minimize environmental degradation by promoting investment in energy and production through renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the research suggested that Turkey’s policy-makers should reformulate the external debt policy to reduce the negative influence of external debt on sustainable energy development. This could potentially be achieved by removing any restrictions on international capital flow or barriers on foreign capital and foreign investment. Hence, the findings of this paper provide valuable conclusions and recommendations for Turkey heading to sustainable and green financial sector.
Dental follicle mesenchymal stem cells ameliorated glandular dysfunction in Sjögren’s syndrome murine model
Authors: Genç Deniz , Bulut Osman , Günaydin Burcu , Göksu Mizgin , Düzgün Mert , Dere Yelda , Sezgin Serhat , Aladağ Akın , Bülbül Aziz
Published: May 2022

Objective

Dental mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are potential for use in tissue regeneration in inflammatory diseases due to their rapid proliferating, multilineage differentiation, and strong anti-inflammatory features. In the present study, immunoregulatory and glandular tissue regeneration effects of the dental follicle (DF)MSCs in Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS) were investigated.

Methods

Dental follicle (DF) tissues were obtained from healthy individuals during tooth extraction, tissues were digested enzymatically and DFMSCs were cultured until the third passage. DFMSCs were labeled with Quantum dot 655 for cell tracking analysis. The induction of the SS mouse model was performed by the injection of Ro60-273-289 peptide intraperitoneally. DFMSCs were injected intraperitoneally, or into submandibular, or lacrimal glands. Splenocytes were analyzed for intracellular cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-10) secretion in T helper cells, lymphocyte proliferation, and B lymphocyte subsets. Histologic analysis was done for submandibular and lacrimal glands with hematoxylin-eosin staining for morphologic examination.

Results

The systemic injection of DFMSCs significantly reduced intracellular IFN-γ and IL-17 secreting CD4+ T cells in splenocytes (p<0.05), and decreased inflammatory cell deposits and fibrosis in the glandular tissues. DFMSCs differentiated to glandular epithelial cells in submandibular and lacrimal injections with a significant reduction in lymphocytic foci. The results showed that few amounts of DFMSCs were deposited in glandular tissues when applied intraperitoneally, while high amounts of DFMSCs were located in glandular tissues and differentiated to glandular epithelial cells when applied locally in SS murine model.

Conclusion

DFMSCs have the potential for the regulation of Th1, Th17, and Treg balance in SS, and ameliorate glandular dysfunction. DFMSCs can be a beneficial therapeutic application for SS.
The HINTS examination and STANDING algorithm in acute vestibular syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis involving frontline point-of-care emergency physicians
Authors: Nakatsuka Millie , Molloy Emma E.
Published: May 2022

This systematic review aims to evaluate whether point-of-care emergency physicians, without special equipment, can perform the HINTS examination or STANDING algorithm to differentiate between central and non-central vertigo in acute vestibular syndrome with diagnostic accuracy and reliability comparable to more specialized physicians (neuro-ophthalmologists and neuro-otologists). Previous research has concluded that emergency physicians are unable to utilize the HINTS examination with sufficient accuracy, without providing any appropriate education or training. A comprehensive systematic search was performed using MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane CENTRAL register of controlled trials, Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, Google Scholar, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and conference programs and abstracts from six medical organizations. Of the 1,757 results, only 21 were eligible for full-text screening. Two further studies were identified by a manual search of references and an electronic search for any missed studies associated with the authors. Five studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. For the STANDING algorithm, there were two studies of 450 patients who were examined by 11 emergency physicians. Our meta-analysis showed that emergency physicians who had received prior education and training were able to utilize the STANDING algorithm with a sensitivity of 0.96 (95% confidence interval: 0.87–1.00) and a specificity of 0.88 (0.85–0.91). No data was available for the HINTS examination. When emergency physicians are educated and trained, they can use the STANDING algorithm with confidence. There is a lack of evidence regarding the HINTS examination; however, two ongoing studies seek to remedy this deficit.
Automation and the changing nature of work
Authors: Josten Cecily , Lordan Grace
Published: May 2022

This study identifies the job attributes, and in particular skills and abilities, which predict the likelihood a job is recently automatable drawing on the Josten and Lordan (2020) classification of automatability, EU labour force survey data and a machine learning regression approach. We find that skills and abilities which relate to non-linear abstract thinking are those that are the safest from automation. We also find that jobs that require ‘people’ engagement interacted with ‘brains’ are also less likely to be automated. The skills that are required for these jobs include soft skills. Finally, we find that jobs that require physically making objects or physicality more generally are most likely to be automated unless they involve interaction with ‘brains’ and/or ‘people’.
Validation of a deep learning computer aided system for CT based lung nodule detection, classification, and growth rate estimation in a routine clinical population
Authors: Murchison John T. , Ritchie Gillian , Senyszak David , Nijwening Jeroen H. , van Veenendaal Gerben , Wakkie Joris , van Beek Edwin J. R.
Published: May 2022

Objective

In this study, we evaluated a commercially available computer assisted diagnosis system (CAD). The deep learning algorithm of the CAD was trained with a lung cancer screening cohort and developed for detection, classification, quantification, and growth of actionable pulmonary nodules on chest CT scans. Here, we evaluated the CAD in a retrospective cohort of a routine clinical population.

Materials and methods

In total, a number of 337 scans of 314 different subjects with reported nodules of 3–30 mm in size were included into the evaluation. Two independent thoracic radiologists alternately reviewed scans with or without CAD assistance to detect, classify, segment, and register pulmonary nodules. A third, more experienced, radiologist served as an adjudicator. In addition, the cohort was analyzed by the CAD alone. The study cohort was divided into five different groups: 1) 178 CT studies without reported pulmonary nodules, 2) 95 studies with 1–10 pulmonary nodules, 23 studies from the same patients with 3) baseline and 4) follow-up studies, and 5) 18 CT studies with subsolid nodules. A reference standard for nodules was based on majority consensus with the third thoracic radiologist as required. Sensitivity, false positive (FP) rate and Dice inter-reader coefficient were calculated.

Results

After analysis of 470 pulmonary nodules, the sensitivity readings for radiologists without CAD and radiologist with CAD, were 71.9% (95% CI: 66.0%, 77.0%) and 80.3% (95% CI: 75.2%, 85.0%) (p < 0.01), with average FP rate of 0.11 and 0.16 per CT scan, respectively. Accuracy and kappa of CAD for classifying solid vs sub-solid nodules was 94.2% and 0.77, respectively. Average inter-reader Dice coefficient for nodule segmentation was 0.83 (95% CI: 0.39, 0.96) and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.51, 0.95) for CAD versus readers. Mean growth percentage discrepancy of readers and CAD alone was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.02, 2.21) and 1.35 (95% CI: 1.01, 4.99), respectively.

Conclusion

The applied CAD significantly increased radiologist’s detection of actionable nodules yet also minimally increasing the false positive rate. The CAD can automatically classify and quantify nodules and calculate nodule growth rate in a cohort of a routine clinical population. Results suggest this Deep Learning software has the potential to assist chest radiologists in the tasks of pulmonary nodule detection and management within their routine clinical practice.
Sex difference in disease burden of inflammatory arthritis patients treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors as part of standard care
Authors: Michelsen Brigitte , Berget Kristine Thomassen , Loge Jon Håvard , Kavanaugh Arthur , Haugeberg Glenn
Published: May 2022

Objective

Knowledge is needed on the total disease burden across the sexes in inflammatory arthritis (IA). We aimed to compare disease burden, including a broad range of health aspects, across men and women with IA treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi).

Methods

Adult outpatients with IA (rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis) were included as part of standard care. Patient-reported outcomes, disease activity, TNFi trough levels, calprotectin, Work Productivity and Activity Impairment, comorbidities and cardiovascular risk profile were assessed. Unadjusted comparisons across sexes were done with independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test and X2-test and adjusted analyses with General Linear Models and logistic/ordinal logistic regression.

Results

A total of 305 IA patients were included (167 men, 138 women). A significantly lower proportion of women (45%) than men (59%) were in remission according to disease-specific composite scores (p = 0.02). Women had significantly worse scores on pain, joint pain, fatigue, enthesitis, Health Assessment Questionnaire and Short Form (SF)-36 vitality and social functioning (all p≤0.04). Both sexes had worse SF-36 scale scores than the general population. Women reported more absenteeism (work time missed) and activity impairment. TNFi trough levels, neutralizing antibodies and calprotectin were similar across sexes. A similar total number of comorbidities was seen. Self-reported hypothyroidism was more frequent in women. Men had higher 10-year calculated risk of fatal cardiovascular events.

Conclusion

Important differences in disease burden between men and women were seen. More attention to sex differences in the follow-up of IA patients is warranted.
Barriers and facilitators to the conduct of critical care research in low and lower-middle income countries: A scoping review
Authors: Tirupakuzhi Vijayaraghavan Bharath Kumar , Gupta Ena , Ramakrishnan Nagarajan , Beane Abi , Haniffa Rashan , Lone Nazir , de Keizer Nicolette , Adhikari Neill K. J.
Published: May 2022

Background

Improvements in health-related outcomes for critically ill adults in low and lower-middle income countries need systematic investments in research capacity and infrastructure. High-quality research has been shown to strengthen health systems; yet, research contributions from these regions remain negligible or absent. We undertook a scoping review to describe barriers and facilitators for the conduct of critical care research.

Methods

We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE up to December 2021 using a strategy that combined keyword and controlled vocabulary terms. We included original studies that reported on barriers or facilitators to the conduct of critical care research in these settings. Two reviewers independently reviewed titles and abstracts, and where necessary, the full-text to select eligible studies. For each study, reviewers independently extracted data using a standardized data extraction form. Barriers and facilitators were classified along the lines of a previous review and based on additional themes that emerged. Study quality was assessed using appropriate tools.

Results

We identified 2693 citations, evaluated 49 studies and identified 6 for inclusion. Of the included studies, four were qualitative, one was a cross-sectional survey and one was reported as an ‘analysis’. The total number of participants ranged from 20–100 and included physicians, nurses, allied healthcare workers and researchers. Barriers identified included limited funding, poor institutional & national investment, inadequate access to mentors, absence of training in research methods, limited research support staff, and absence of statistical support. Our review identified potential solutions such as developing a mentorship network, streamlining of regulatory processes, implementing a centralized institutional research agenda, developing a core-outcome dataset and enhancing access to low-cost technology.

Conclusion

Our scoping review highlights important barriers to the conduct of critical care research in low and lower-middle income countries, identifies potential solutions, and informs researchers, policymakers and governments on the steps necessary for strengthening research systems.
Functional analysis of LFRFamide signaling in Pacific abalone, Haliotis discus hannai
Authors: Yoon Sungwoo , Kim Mi Ae , Lee Jung Sick , Sohn Young Chang
Published: May 2022

The invertebrate LFRFamide (LFRFa) and short neuropeptide F (sNPF), consisting of 6 to 10 amino acids, are orthologs for bilaterian NPF/Y, which consist of 36 to 40 amino acids. Recently, a molluscan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for NPF was characterized in Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai). To address the functional evolutionary route of the invertebrate LFRFa and NPF signaling system, in this study, we identified cDNAs encoding LFRFa precursors and the sNPF receptor (Hdh-sNPFR) in Pacific abalone. Four LFRFa mature peptides with 6 or 7 amino acids were predicted: GSLFRFa, GGLFRFa, GTLFRFa, and GSTLFRFa. Hdh-sNPFR was identified as a classical rhodopsin-like GPCR and classified into a molluscan sNPFR group. In HEK293 cells, Hdh-sNPFR was mainly localized in the cell membranes and internalized in the cytoplasm following treatment with LFRFa peptides. Reporter assays demonstrated that LFRFa peptides inhibit forskolin-stimulated cAMP accumulation in Hdh-sNPFR-expressing HEK293 cells. LFRFa precursor and Hdh-sNPFR transcripts were more strongly expressed in the cerebral and pleural-pedal ganglia of Pacific abalone than in the peripheral tissues such as the ovary, gills, intestine, and hepatopancreas. The levels of LFRFa transcripts in the ovary, intestine, and hepatopancreas were significantly higher in mature female abalone than in immature females. Injection of LFRFa induced the egg release and spawning behavior of mature abalone, but suppressed food intake. These results suggest that LFRFa peptides are endogenous ligands for Hdh-sNPFR involved in food intake and reproduction through a Gαi-protein dependent signaling pathway.
A psychophysical performance-based approach to the quality assessment of image processing algorithms
Authors: Baker Daniel H. , Summers Robert J. , Baldwin Alex S. , Meese Tim S.
Published: May 2022

Image processing algorithms are used to improve digital image representations in either their appearance or storage efficiency. The merit of these algorithms depends, in part, on visual perception by human observers. However, in practice, most are assessed numerically, and the perceptual metrics that do exist are criterion sensitive with several shortcomings. Here we propose an objective performance-based perceptual measure of image quality and demonstrate this by comparing the efficacy of a denoising algorithm for a variety of filters. For baseline, we measured detection thresholds for a white noise signal added to one of a pair of natural images in a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) paradigm where each image was selected randomly from a set of n = 308 on each trial. In a series of experimental conditions, the stimulus image pairs were passed through various configurations of a denoising algorithm. The differences in noise detection thresholds with and without denoising are objective perceptual measures of the ability of the algorithm to render noise invisible. This was a factor of two (6dB) in our experiment and consistent across a range of filter bandwidths and types. We also found that thresholds in all conditions converged on a common value of PSNR, offering support for this metric. We discuss how the 2AFC approach might be used for other algorithms including compression, deblurring and edge-detection. Finally, we provide a derivation for our Cartesian-separable log-Gabor filters, with polar parameters. For the biological vision community this has some advantages over the more typical (i) polar-separable variety and (ii) Cartesian-separable variety with Cartesian parameters.
A survival analysis based volatility and sparsity modeling network for student dropout prediction
Authors: Pan Feng , Huang Bingyao , Zhang Chunhong , Zhu Xinning , Wu Zhenyu , Zhang Moyu , Ji Yang , Ma Zhanfei , Li Zhengchen
Published: May 2022

Student Dropout Prediction (SDP) is pivotal in mitigating withdrawals in Massive Open Online Courses. Previous studies generally modeled the SDP problem as a binary classification task, providing a single prediction outcome. Accordingly, some attempts introduce survival analysis methods to achieve continuous and consistent predictions over time. However, the volatility and sparsity of data always weaken the models’ performance. Prevailing solutions rely heavily on data pre-processing independent of predictive models, which are labor-intensive and may contaminate authentic data. This paper proposes a Survival Analysis based Volatility and Sparsity Modeling Network (SAVSNet) to address these issues in an end-to-end deep learning framework. Specifically, SAVSNet smooths the volatile time series by convolution network while preserving the original data information using Long-Short Term Memory Network (LSTM). Furthermore, we propose a Time-Missing-Aware LSTM unit to mitigate the impact of data sparsity by integrating informative missingness patterns into the model. A survival analysis loss function is adopted for parameter estimation, and the model outputs monotonically decreasing survival probabilities. In the experiments, we compare the proposed method with state-of-the-art methods in two real-world MOOC datasets, and the experiment results show the effectiveness of our proposed model.
Is Infant birth weight and mothers perceived birth size associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana?
Authors: Agyekum Martin Wiredu , Codjoe Samuel N. A. , Dake Fidelia A. A. , Abu Mumuni
Published: May 2022

Introduction

Despite widespread advocacy for exclusive breastfeeding, and the associated benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for both infants and mothers, there is low prevalence in both developed and developing countries. Additionally, although several studies have been conducted on exclusive breastfeeding, very few of such studies have linked birth weight and birth size to exclusive breastfeeding. This study seeks to examine the influence of birth weight and birth size on exclusive breastfeeding.

Methodology

This study adopted a sequential explanatory mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative approach used cross-sectional data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS) and the qualitative data from interviews with exclusive breastfeeding mothers from two health facilities in La Nkwantanang Municipal Assembly in Accra, Ghana. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether infants birth weight and mothers perceived birth size are associated with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding while the qualitative data provided further insights into the findings from the quantitative analysis.

Results

Majority (85%) of the infants in the study were of normal birth weight while 52% of the infants were perceived by their mothers to be of small birth size. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was found to be 54.8%. The birth weight of infants and mothers’ perceived birth size were found to be significant predictors of exclusive breastfeeding. Infants of normal birth weight (OR = 7.532; 95% CI: 2.171–26.132) and high birth weight (OR = 6.654; 95% CI: 1.477–29.978) were more likely to be exclusively breastfed compared to low-birth-weight infants. Similarly, infants perceived to be of normal birth size were more likely (OR = 1.908; 95% CI: 1.058–3.441) to be exclusively breastfed compared to infants perceived to be of small birth size. The findings from the qualitative analysis show that birth weight rather than birth size influence mothers’ decision to practice exclusive breastfeeding.

Conclusion

The findings of the study underscore the relevance of infant birth weight and perceived birth size in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and highlights the need to incorporate both actual measurement of birth weight, and perception of infant’s birth size into policies targeted at exclusive breastfeeding. There is the need for deliberate targeted efforts at women who deliver infants of low birth weight and women who perceive their children to be of small birth size to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
Evidence-based practice and its associated factors among point-of-care nurses working at the teaching and specialized hospitals of Northwest Ethiopia: A concurrent study
Authors: Degu Abebe Birhanu , Yilma Tesfahun Melese , Beshir Miftah Abdella , Inthiran Anushia
Published: May 2022

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the application of the best scientific evidence for clinical decision-making in professional patient care. In Ethiopia, the majority of nursing care is based on experience, tradition, intuition, common sense, and untested hypotheses. Evidence-based clinical practice has the potential to increase the quality of healthcare services while also lowering costs and increasing clinical outcomes. An institutional-based concurrent study design method of quantitative and qualitative research was conducted from Feb. 30 to Apr. 20, 2020. Systematic random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the study participants for the quantitative and qualitative analyses, respectively. To collect quantitative data, a pretested, structured, and self-administered questionnaire was used, and to collect qualitative data, an in-depth interview guided by questions was used. EBP was found to be significantly associated with educational level (AOR = 2.15, CI (1.15–4.02)), administrative support for EBP (AOR = 1.89, CI (1.22–2.91)), attitude toward EBP (AOR = 1.80, CI (1.24–2.62)), and preference of available information sources (AOR: 2.32, CI (1.58–3.39). The four main themes that emerged from the conventional content data analysis were the advantages of EBP application, barriers to EBP implementation, enabling factors for EBP, and evidence sharing. According to the findings of this study, only a few nurses used EBP at a high level. The implementation of EBP was positively associated with educational level, attitude toward EBP, administrative support, and the availability of information resources, as confirmed by the qualitative study. There must be an intervention program to facilitate the implementation of evidence in nursing practice by stakeholders to improve and increase the efficacy of practicing EBP.
Integrating ecosystem benefits for sustainable water allocation in hydroeconomic modeling
Authors: Crespo Daniel , Albiac Jose , Dinar Ariel , Esteban Encarna , Kahil Taher
Published: May 2022

The increasing concern about the degradation of water-dependent ecosystems calls for considering ecosystems benefits in water management decision-making. Sustainable water management requires adequate economic and biophysical information on water systems supporting both human activities and natural ecosystems. This information is essential for assessing the impact on social welfare of water allocation options. This paper evaluates various alternative water management policies by including the spatial and sectoral interrelationships between the economic and environmental uses of water. A hydroeconomic model is developed to analyze water management policies for adaptation to reduced water availability in the Ebro Basin of Spain. The originality in our contribution is the integration of environmental benefits across the basin, by using endemic biophysical information that relates stream flows and ecosystem status in the Ebro Basin. The results show the enhancement of social welfare that can be achieved by protecting environmental flows, and the tradeoffs between economic and environmental benefits under alternative adaptation strategies. The introduction of water markets is a policy that maximizes the private benefits of economic activities, but disregards environmental benefits. The results show that the current institutional policy where stakeholders cooperate inside the water authority, provides lower private benefits but higher environmental benefits compared to those obtained under water markets, especially under severe droughts. However, the water authority is not allocating enough environmental flows to optimize social welfare. This study informs strategies for protection of environmental flows in the Ebro Basin, which is a compelling decision under the imminent climate change impacts on water availability in coming decades.
On the role of chance in fencing tournaments: An agent-based approach
Authors: Zappalà Chiara , Pluchino Alessandro , Rapisarda Andrea , Biondo Alessio Emanuele , Sobkowicz Pawel
Published: May 2022

It is a widespread belief that success is mainly due to innate qualities rather than external forces. This is particularly true in sports competitions, where individual talent is usually considered the main, if not the only, ingredient to reach success. In this study, we explore the limits of this belief by quantifying the relative weight of talent and chance in fencing, a combat sport involving a weapon, with the help of both real data and agent-based simulations. Fencing competitions are structured as direct elimination tournaments, where randomness is explicitly present in some rules. We focused on épée, which is one of three disciplines. We collected data on international competition results and annual rankings, in the range 2008–2020, for male and female fencers under 20 years old (Junior category). Then, we built the model calibrated on our dataset and parametrized by just one free variable a, describing the importance of talent—and, consequently, of chance—in competitions (a = 1 indicates the ideal scenario where only talent matters, a = 0 the complete random one). Our agent-based approach can reproduce the main stylized facts observed in data, at the level of both single tournaments and the entire careers of a given community of épée fencers. We find that simulations approximate very well the data for both Junior Men and Women when talent weights slightly less than chance, i.e. when a is around 0.45. We conclude that the role of chance in fencing is unusually high and it probably represents an extreme case for individual sports. Our findings shed light on the importance of external factors in both athletes’ results in tournaments and throughout their career, making even more unfair the “winner-takes-all” disparities that often occur between the winner and the other classified competitors.
The role of p53 in the DNA damage-related ubiquitylation of S2P RNAPII
Authors: Borsos Barbara N. , Pantazi Vasiliki , Páhi Zoltán G. , Majoros Hajnalka , Ujfaludi Zsuzsanna , Berzsenyi Ivett , Pankotai Tibor
Published: May 2022

DNA double-strand breaks are one of the most deleterious lesions for the cells, therefore understanding the macromolecular interactions of the DNA repair-related mechanisms is essential. DNA damage triggers transcription silencing at the damage site, leading to the removal of the elongating RNA polymerase II (S2P RNAPII) from this locus, which provides accessibility for the repair factors to the lesion. We previously demonstrated that following transcription block, p53 plays a pivotal role in transcription elongation by interacting with S2P RNAPII. In the current study, we reveal that p53 is involved in the fine-tune regulation of S2P RNAPII ubiquitylation. Furthermore, we emphasize the potential role of p53 in delaying the premature ubiquitylation and the subsequent chromatin removal of S2P RNAPII as a response to transcription block.
Kinetic and thermodynamic studies of eicosapentaenoic acid extraction from Nannochloropsis oceanica using tetramethyl ammonium chloride and microwave irradiation
Authors: Motlagh Shiva Rezaei , Khezri Ramin , Harun Razif , Awang Biak Dayang Radiah , Hussain Siti Aslina , Chee Ching Yern , Kheawhom Soorathep
Published: May 2022

Microalgae have garnered widespread attention as a sustainable source of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. As for extracting lipids from microalgae, the combination of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) and ionic liquids (IL) is shown to be promising. However, such an undertaking usually requires a large consumption of expensive ILs. This study innovatively employs tetramethyl ammonium chloride ([TMAm][Cl]) as an additive in water medium to associate with microwave-assisted ionic liquid extraction (MAILE) in extracting lipids fromNannochloropsis oceanica(N.oceanica)microalgae. In extraction, knowledge of reaction kinetics is crucial since it provides the foundation for developing, controlling, and improving the processes of extraction. Herein, using MAILE, lipids are extracted fromN.oceanicamicroalgae and transesterified to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Mass transfer kinetics are, therefore, investigated using the first and second-order rate law and Patricelli’s model. In the development of models, the influence of temperature (60–90°C) and reaction time (1–25 min) on EPA extraction is empirically evaluated. From the thermodynamic study, the positive values ofΔS(+0.10 kJ mol-1K-1) andΔH(+32.50 kJ mol-1) and the negative value ofΔG(-1.68 to -4.75 kJ mol-1) confirm that this process is endothermic in nature, irreversible and spontaneous. MAILE proves to be a promising approach for the extraction of high-quality EPAs. Due to its low cost, rapid operation, and environmental friendliness, it is seen to be suitable for both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.
Hemoglobin A1c, hemoglobin glycation index, and triglyceride and glucose index: Useful tools to predict low feed intake associated with glucose intolerance in lactating sows
Authors: Pérez Rosa Elena , González Cyntia Michelle , López Manuel , Vargas Katya , Ordaz Gerardo , Ortiz Ruy
Published: May 2022

The aim of the present study was to evaluated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), the hemoglobin glycation index (HGI), and triglyceride and glucose (TG) index as predictive indicators for low feed intake in lactating sows due to glucose intolerance. Cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) was included in sow diets as a modulating factor of glucose. Thirty-six sows were separated into three groups (Gs). Although the three groups received a conventional diet during gestation and lactation, 2.0 kg per sow per day of steam-cooked cactus (G1) and fresh cactus (G2) were added to the lactation diet as a glycemic modulating factor, with G3 serving as the control group. Glycemia was assessed via glucometer (blood glucose concentrations), HbA1c and HGI. For each indicator of glycemia the triglycerides and glucose (TG) index was evaluated. The highest blood glucose concentration was observed on day 3 of lactation (88.2 mg/dL). The average glycemic concentrations obtained from HbA1c on farrowing day (61.6 mg/dL) and day 21 of lactation (65.6 mg/dL) were lower (p<0.05) than those measured by a glucometer on the same days (71.8 and 77.7 mg/dL for farrowing day and day 21 of lactation, respectively). At farrowing, the TG index obtained from the HGI indicated that 83.0% of sows were glucose intolerant, compared to 100% according to the TG index obtained from a glucometer. At weaning, 50% of G2 did not show glucose intolerance when the TG index was calculated using the HGI, compared to 54% when it was calculated with blood glucose concentrations measured by a glucometer. All G3 sows presented glucose intolerance, regardless of the test used. The HbA1c, HGI, and TG index tests are viable alternatives to predict low feed intake due to glucose intolerance in lactating sows.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from pig slurry by acidification with organic and inorganic acids
Authors: Dalby Frederik R. , Guldberg Lise B. , Feilberg Anders , Kofoed Michael V. W.
Published: May 2022

Methane (CH4) emission from pig slurry is a large contributor to the climate footprint of livestock production. Acidification of excreta from livestock animals with sulfuric acid, reduce CH4 emission and is practiced at many Danish farms. Possible interaction effects with other acidic agents or management practices (e.g. frequent slurry removal and residual slurry acidification) have not been fully investigated. Here we assessed the effect of pig slurry acidification with a range of organic and inorganic acids with respect to their CH4 inhibitor potential in several batch experiments (BS). After careful selection of promising CH4 inhibitors, three continuous headspace experiments (CHS) were carried out to simulate management of manure in pig houses. In BS experiments, more than <99% CH4 reduction was observed with HNO3 treatment to pH 5.5. Treatments with HNO3, H2SO4, and H3PO4 reduced CH4 production more than acetic acid and other organic acids when acidified to the same initial pH of 5.5. Synergistic effects were not observed when mixing inorganic and organic acids as otherwise proposed in the literature, which was attributed to the high amount of acetic acid in the slurry to start with. In the CHS experiments, HNO3 treatment reduced CH4 more than H2SO4, but increased nitrous oxide (N2O) emission, particularly when the acidification target pH was above 6, suggesting considerable denitrification activity. Due to increased N2O emission from HNO3 treatments, HNO3 reduced total CO2-eq by 67%, whereas H2SO4 reduced CO2-eq by 91.5% compared to untreated slurry. In experiments with daily slurry addition, weekly slurry removal, and residual acidification, HNO3 and H2SO4 treatments reduced CO2-eq by 27% and 48%, respectively (not significant). More cycles of residual acidification are recommended in future research. The study provides solid evidence that HNO3 treatment is not suitable for reducing CO2-eq and H2SO4 should be the preferred acidic agent for slurry acidification.
Winter oceanographic conditions predict summer bull kelp canopy cover in northern California
Authors: García-Reyes Marisol , Thompson Sarah Ann , Rogers-Bennett Laura , Sydeman William J.
Published: May 2022

Bull kelp,Nereocystis luetkeana, is an iconic kelp forest species of the Northeast Pacific that provides a wide range of ecosystem services to coastal marine species and society. In northern California, U.S.A.,Nereocystisabundance declined sharply in 2014 and has yet to recover. While abiotic and biotic stressors were present prior to 2014, the population collapse highlights the need for a better understanding of how environmental conditions impactNereocystis. In this study, we used a newly-developed, satellite-based dataset of bull kelp abundance, proxied by canopy cover over 20 years, to test the hypothesis that winter oceanographic conditions determine summerNereocystiscanopy cover. For the years before the collapse (1991 through 2013), wintertime ocean conditions, synthesized in a Multivariate Ocean Climate Indicator (MOCI), were indeed a good predictor of summerNereocystiscanopy cover (R2= 0.40 to 0.87). We attribute this relationship to the effects of upwelling and/or temperature on nutrient availability. South of Point Arena, California, winter ocean conditions had slightly lower explanatory power than north of Point Arena, also reflective of spring upwelling-driven nutrient entrainment. Results suggest that theNereocystisgametophytes and/or early sporophytes are sensitive to winter oceanographic conditions. Furthermore, environmental conditions in winter 2014 could have been used to predict theNereocystiscollapse in summer 2014, and for kelp north of Point Arena, a further decline in 2015. Importantly, environmental models do not predict changes in kelp after 2015, suggesting biotic factors suppressed kelp recovery, most likely extreme sea urchin herbivory. Conditions during winter, a season that is often overlooked in studies of biophysical interactions, are useful for predicting summerNereocystiskelp forest canopy cover, and will be useful in supporting kelp restoration actions in California and perhaps elsewhere in the world.