bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Liver Health Literacy and Health Status Among Adults With Hepatitis C: Implications for the Nursing Profession as Part of the 2030 Global Elimination Goal
Authors: Lin Yu‐Chih , Chiu Wen‐Nan , Chang Te‐Sheng , Huang Tung‐Jung , Chen Mei‐Yen
Published: November 2019

Purpose

To explore the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection as well as the levels of liver health literacy and association with the health status of people with HCV through the nurse‐led community health development goal of global elimination.

Methods

A community‐based, cross‐sectional study was conducted between July 2018 and June 2019 in coastal Western Yunlin County, Taiwan. This study was conducted at five townships, and serum HCV antibody (anti‐HCV) screening was used for the identification of potentially infected people by a collaborating local hospital.

Results

Of the 1,963 adults from rural areas enrolled in this study, 321 (16.4%) were anti‐HCV positive, 237 (73.8%) reported that they were unaware of their HCV positivity, and none of them were provided information on direct‐acting antiviral agent therapy. The levels of anti‐HCV positivity were higher among female patients (p < .05), elderly people (p < .001), those with a low education level (p < .001), and those from the Sihu Township within Yunlin County (p < .001). Participants with anti‐HCV positivity tended to have lower intakes of vegetables (p < .01) and fruit (p < .05), a greater number of comorbidities (p < .05), as well as a greater incidence of abnormal liver (p < .001) and renal function (p < .001) compared to those with anti‐HCV negativity. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that the presence of HCV infection and a greater number of metabolic syndrome components were associated with poor liver and renal function.

Conclusions

These findings showed a high prevalence of HCV infection among adults living in rural areas, who had low literacy levels on hepatitis, unhealthy lifestyles, and abnormal liver and renal function.

Clinical Relevance

Clinicians and primary healthcare providers should initiate efforts to increase the levels of liver health literacy by increasing the accessibility to infection confirmation tests and reducing the number of barriers to the reception of antiviral treatment.
Liver stiffness measurement predicts long‐term survival and complications in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Shili‐Masmoudi Sarah , Wong Grace Lai‐Hung , Hiriart Jean‐Baptiste , Liu Ken , Chermak Faiza , Shu Sally She‐Ting , Foucher Juliette , Tse Yee‐Kit , Bernard Pierre‐Henri , Yip Terry Cheuk‐Fung , Merrouche Wassil , Chan Henry Lik‐Yuen , Wong Vincent Wai‐Sun , de Lédinghen Victor
Published: November 2019

Background and aims

In non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fibrosis is the strongest prognostic factor and can be assessed by non‐invasive methods. We evaluated the ability of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) to predict overall survival and liver, cardiovascular and oncologic complications.

Methods

We prospectively collected data on 2251 consecutive NAFLD patients (mean age 59 years, male 53%, mean body mass index 28 kg/m2) in two centres. At inclusion, all patients had LSM, clinical and biological evaluation. During follow‐up, we recorded cardiovascular events, cancers, liver complications, liver transplantation and death. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Survival curves according to LSM were first performed using Kaplan‐Meier method for the primary endpoint, and Aalen‐Johansen method for secondary outcomes to take into account competitive risks. In a second step, a Cox proportional hazard model analysis was done to identify independent predictors of overall survival.

Results

Median follow‐up was 27 months [IQR: 25‐38]. Fifty‐five patients died and three patients had liver transplantation. Overall survival significantly decreased as baseline LSM increased. Twenty‐one patients (0.9%) had a liver event, 142 (6.3%) developed cancer (excluding HCC) and 151 (6.7%) had a cardiovascular event during follow‐up. By multivariable analysis, independent predictors of overall survival were as follows: baseline LSM (adjusted HR (aHR) = 2.85 [1.65‐4.92], P = .0002), age (aHR = 1.11 [1.08‐1.13], P < .0001) and male sex (aHR = 2.05 [1.17‐3.57], P = .012). Patients with elevated LSM were also more likely to develop cardiovascular, and liver events but not other cancers.

Conclusion

LSM can be used to predict survival, cardiovascular and liver complications in NAFLD patients.
Novel Surgical Strategy for Treating Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures with Cord Compression
Authors: Guo Dan‐qing , Yu Miao , Zhang Shun‐cong , Tang Yong‐chao , Tian Yun , Li Da‐xing , Mo Guo‐ye , Li Yong‐xian , Guo Hui‐zhi , Luo Pei‐jie , Zhou Teng‐peng , Ma Yan‐huai , Abdukodir Yusupov , Liu Pan‐jie , Liang De
Published: November 2019

Objectives

Treatment for osteoporotic vertebral fracture (OVF) with cord compression is challenging and it usually requires surgical interventions to decompress nerves and restore spinal sequences. To describe a novel surgical strategy for treating OVFs with cord compression.

Methods

This is a single‐center retrospective analysis. The inclusion criteria were Frankel grade C‐E, single level T10‐L2. Between January 2008 and December 2016, a total of 56 OVF patients (47 females and nine males, with an average age of 72 years (66–88 years), comprising of eight grade C, 23 grade D, and 25 grade E patients) were enrolled. The treatment algorithm included preoperative evaluation by MRI, extension CT, and radiography to classify the OVFs as type 1.1 (reducible, stable; n = 13), type1.2 (reducible, unstable; n = 16), type 2 (irreducible; n = 19) or type 2M (modifier; n = 8). Vertebroplasty (VP)/kyphoplasty (KP) was applied in type 1.1. VP/KP with posterior fixation and posterolateral fusion was applied in type 1.2. And additional laminectomy/osteotomy was used in type 2, except in a modifier group (2M) where same procedure as applied for type 1.2 was used. VAS, ODI, Cobb angle, Frankel functional grade, and complications were recorded.

Results

Thirteen cases were classified as type 1.1, 16 cases as type 1.2, 19 cases as type 2, and eight cases as type 2M. The follow‐up period was 38.9 months (range, 24–108 months). All patients were followed‐up in at least 24 months, in which time four patients died, two patients were lost at the last follow‐up, and 50 patients completed the full study. The total VAS and ODI improved from 8 (7, 9) and 75.5% (67.2%, 80.0%) preoperatively to 2 (1, 3) and 31% (24.0%, 37.0%) on conclusion, respectively (P < 0.01). The local kyphotic angle was corrected from 22.3° (17.1°, 33. 8°) preoperatively to 10.4° (6.4°, 15.3°) on conclusion (P < 0.01). Twenty‐three patients had achieved neurological recovery on conclusion (42E, 8D, P < 0.01). Asymptotic cement leakage was observed in 17/56 cases (30.4%), 6/56 in the affected vertebra (10.7%), and 24/330 in the screw trajectory (7.3%). At 2 years postoperatively, 11 new VFs had occurred in nine patients (16.1%), including VFs in nine adjacent segments that all occurred within 1 year after surgery. No cement migration or implant failure was noted.

Conclusion

The novel surgical strategy for treating OVFs with cord compression consists of the most tailored and least invasive treatment for each patient. The positive mid‐ and long‐term clinical and radiological outcomes observed could represent a step forward in devising the proposed algorithm.
Positive, not negative, self‐compassion mediates the relationship between self‐esteem and well‐being
Authors: Pandey Ruchi , Tiwari Gyanesh Kumar , Parihar Priyanka , Rai Pramod Kumar
Published: November 2019

Objectives

The study examined the predictive strengths of self‐esteem, and positive and negative self‐compassion for hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being as well as assessed the relative mediating roles of positive and negative self‐compassion for the relationships among self‐esteem, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being.

Design

A correlational design was employed through which self‐esteem, self‐compassion, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being were measured.

Methods

One hundred thirty‐four male (M = 25.11, SD = 1.66) and 138 female (M = 21.89, SD = 1.87) participants were chosen by a convenient sampling.

Results

The findings evinced that there were significant positive correlations among self‐esteem, positive self‐compassion, and hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being while negative self‐compassion exhibited small positive correlations with both the well‐being measures (criterion). The regression analyses showed that self‐esteem and positive self‐compassion reflected significant predictive strengths for hedonic as well as eudaimonic well‐being while negative self‐compassion did not. This was also true for the social and psychological aspects of well‐being. The β values reflected that positive self‐compassion did show a higher contribution for both the well‐being measures as compared to self‐esteem.

Conclusions

The findings evinced that positive, not negative, self‐compassion mediated the relationship between self‐esteem and hedonic well‐being as well as self‐esteem and eudaimonic well‐being. Moreover, self‐esteem and self‐compassion have predictive strengths for both kinds of well‐being. The findings showed the relevance of self‐esteem and self‐compassion to underscore well‐being. The implications and directions for future researchers have been discussed.

Practitioner points

Contrary to the earlier findings suggesting self‐esteem and self‐compassion carrying relevance to explicate performance and well‐being of people with individualistic and collectivistic cultures, respectively, the findings of this study suggest both the constructs to be useful to understand the well‐being of people with both the values belonging especially to the fast‐changing societies like India.

The study also suggests reconceptualization and empirical verification of self‐compassion that will make it more effective for enhancing and promoting interventions for positive life outcomes.
The Impact of the “Pause. Call. Be Heard” Campaign on Help‐Seeking and Suicidal Behaviors Within Rail Environment in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Too Lay San , Ross Anna , Pirkis Jane , Reavley Nicola , Reifels Lennart
Published: November 2019

Objective

To assess the impact of the “Pause. Call. Be Heard” campaign on help‐seeking and suicidal behaviors within rail environment in Victoria, Australia.

Methods

An anonymous online survey was conducted to measure noticeability of and engagement with the campaign and help‐seeking intentions and behaviors among rail commuters at 10 rail stations. We generated descriptive statistics to report these data and used logistic regression models to examine the association between campaign‐related factors and help‐seeking. Changes in Lifeline crisis calls and rail suicide behaviors from precampaign to campaign periods were examined using proportion tests.

Results

About 25% of rail commuters noticed the campaign and rated the materials as “moderately noticeable.” Over half of these individuals correctly identified the campaign intentions and 75% engaged with the materials. Approximately 80% indicated that the materials increased their help‐seeking intentions and about half indicated that they had engaged with help‐seeking and/or self‐caring behaviors. Engaging with the campaign was positively associated with help‐seeking. A significant increase in crisis calls but not in suicide‐related calls, and a nonsignificant decrease in rail suicidal behaviors were found during the campaign period.

Conclusions

Continued implementation of the campaign is warranted as it showed some desirable effects on help‐seeking among rail commuters.
Multiscale Parallelized Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Toward Resolving Manufacturable Roughness
Authors: Kapsis Marios , He Li , Li Yan Sheng , Valero Omar , Wells Roger , Krishnababu Senthil , Gupta Gaurav , Kapat Jayanta , Schaenzer Megan
Published: November 2019

Typical turbomachinery aerothermal problems of practical interest are characterized by flow structures of wide-ranging scales, which interact with each other. Such multiscale interactions can be observed between the flow structures produced by surface roughness and by the bulk flow patterns. Moreover, additive manufacturing (AM) may sooner or later open a new chapter in the way components are designed by granting designers the ability to control the shape and patterns of surface roughness. As a result, surface finish, which so far has been treated largely as a stochastic trait, can be shifted to a set of design parameters that consist of repetitive, discrete micro-elements on a wall surface (“manufacturable roughness”). Considering this prospective capability, the question would arise regarding how surface microstructures can be incorporated in computational analyses during designing in the future. Semi-empirical methods for predicting aerothermal characteristics and the impact of manufacturable roughness could be used to minimize computational cost. However, the lack of element-to-element resolution may lead to erroneous predictions, as the interactions among the roughness micro-elements have been shown to be significant for adequate performance predictions (Kapsis and He, 2018, “Analysis of Aerothermal Characteristics of Surface Micro-Structures,” ASME J. Fluids Eng., 140(5), p. 051104). In this paper, a new multiscale approach based on the novel block spectral method (BSM) is adopted. This method aims to provide efficient resolution of the detailed local flow variation in space and time of the large-scale microstructures. This resolution is provided without resorting to modeling every single ones in detail, as a conventional large-scale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation would demand, but still demonstrating similar time-accurate and time-averaged flow properties. The main emphasis of this work is to develop a parallelized solver of the method to enable tackling large problems. The work also includes a first of the kind verification and demonstration of the method for wall surfaces with a large number of microstructured elements.
Enhanced Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation for Cavities and Labyrinth Seals
Authors: Jefferson-Loveday Richard J.
Published: November 2019

A range of popular hybrid Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes -large eddy simulation (RANS-LES) methods are tested for a cavity and two labyrinth seal geometries using an in-house high-order computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code and a commercial CFD code. The models include the standard Spalart–Allmaras (SA) and Menter shear stress transport (SST) versions of delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) and the Menter scale adaptive simulation (SAS) model. A recently formulated, enhanced, variant of SA-DDES presented in the literature and a new variant using the Menter SST model are also investigated. The latter modify the original definition of the subgrid length scale used in standard DDES based on local vorticity and strain. For all geometries, the meshes are considered to be hybrid RANS-LES adequate. Very low levels of resolved turbulence and quasi-two-dimensional flow fields are observed for the standard DDES and SAS models even for the test cases here that contain obstacles, sharp edges, and swirling flow. Similar findings are observed for both the commercial and in-house high-order CFD codes. For the cavity simulations, when using standard DDES and SAS, there is a significant under prediction of turbulent statistics compared with experimental measurements. The enhanced versions of DDES, on the other hand, show a significant improvement and resolve turbulent content over a wide range of scales. Improved agreement with experimental measurements is also observed for profiles of the vertical velocity component. For the first labyrinth seal geometry swirl velocities are more accurately captured by the enhanced DDES versions. For the second labyrinth seal geometry, the mass flow coefficient prediction using the enhanced models is significantly improved (up to 30%). Standard, industrially available hybrid RANS-LES models, when applied to the present canonical cases can produce little to no resolved turbulent content. The standard SA- and Menter-based DDES models can yield lower levels of eddy viscosity when compared to equivilent steady RANS simulations which means that they are not operating as RANS or LES. It is recommended that hybrid RANS-LES models should be extensively tested for specific flow configurations and that special care is exercised by CFD practitioners when using many of the popular hybrid RANS-LES models that are currently available in commercial CFD packages.
Effect of Internal Air Flow on Local Postweld Heat Treatment for Large Diameter ASME P92 Steel-Welded Pipes
Authors: Hu Lei , Yu Shumin , Ma Qunshuang , Cui Bing , Zhang Zhenyu , Zhu Chen
Published: November 2019

Local postweld heat treatment (PWHT) is usually employed in field fabrication of large-sized ASME SA-335 Grade P92 steel pipes. Internal air flow in pipes that arise from field fabrication can result in considerable convection losses on the inside surface of the pipe when the pipe is not strictly sealed off. Welding and local PWHT experiments of a large diameter P92 steel pipe were conducted both with and without internal air flow, and temperature field of both sides of the pipe was measured. The conjugate heat transfer between the pipe and the internal air is simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The effect of internal air flow on temperature field was further investigated. Results indicate that temperature gradient along through-thickness direction and axial direction during local PWHT is significantly increased due to internal air flow. The increasing rate of temperature difference between inner and outer surface at weld centerline to internal air velocity is about 14.5 °C/(m s−1). The maximum temperature is no longer located at the weld centerline, which will lead to a risk of overheating. The temperature drop is severer in the air inlet side than air outlet side at same distance from weld centerline. For local PWHT to be successful, the internal air flow should be strictly limited during local PWHT; otherwise, the width of heated band (HB) should be extended.
Simultaneous Kinematic and Contact Force Modeling of a Human Finger Tendon System Using Bond Graphs and Robotic Validation
Authors: Tigue James A. , King Raymond J. , Mascaro Stephen A.
Published: November 2019

This paper aims to use bond graph modeling to create the most comprehensive finger tendon model and simulation to date. Current models are limited to either free motion without external contact or fixed finger force transmission between tendons and fingertip. The forward dynamics model, presented in this work, simultaneously simulates the kinematics of tendon-finger motion and contact forces of a central finger given finger tendon inputs. The model equations derived from bond graphs are accompanied by nonlinear relationships modeling the anatomical complexities of moment arms, tendon slacking, and joint range of motion (ROM). The structure of the model is validated using a robotic testbed, Utah's Anatomically correct Robotic Testbed (UART) finger. Experimental motion of the UART finger during free motion (no external contact) and surface contact are simulated using the bond graph model. The contact forces during the surface contact experiments are also simulated. On average, the model was able to predict the steady-state pose of the finger with joint angle errors less than 6 deg across both free motion and surface contact experiments. The static contact forces were accurately predicted with an average of 11.5% force magnitude error and average direction error of 12 deg.
Measurements of the Flow in the Vicinity of an Additively Manufactured Turbine Leading-Edge Using X-Ray Particle Tracking Velocimetry
Authors: Ruiz Alex , Fezzaa Kamel , Kapat Jayanta , Bhattacharya Samik
Published: November 2019

X-ray particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) is performed, for the first time, to measure the velocity field inside a leading-edge of a turbine blade made by laser-additive-manufacturing (LAM) process. The traditional showerhead holes were replaced by a porous matrix in the leading-edge. The flow through such a leading-edge piece cannot be faithfully recreated by traditional prototype testing methods due to the surface roughness and imperfections caused by LAM process. Hence, direct measurement is the only option. However, it is difficult to measure flow inside such pieces with traditional velocimetry measurements due to the existence of metallic walls. Moreover, small internal size and high flow speeds call for a measurement technique with high spatial and temporal resolutions. To address these issues, we performed time-resolved X-ray PTV using the Advanced Photon Source (APS) synchrotron facility at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). A hydraulic system was constructed to run water, mixed with seeding particles, through the leading-edge piece. A high-speed camera captured the images of the seeding particles, which were later processed to create particle tracks. The time-averaged velocity field showed distinct pairs of vortices located in front of the porous outlet inside the leading-edge piece. The inlet channel showed reversed flow due to partial obstruction by the porous inlet of the test piece. Such knowledge of the flow field inside a leading-edge of a turbine blade will help us to design better cooling paths leading to higher cooling efficiency and increased life-span of a turbine blade.
Improvements on Evaluation Functions of a Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics Analysis Code for Reactor Pressure Vessels
Authors: Lu Kai , Katsuyama Jinya , Li Yinsheng
Published: November 2019

In Japan, a probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) analysis code PASCAL was developed for structural integrity assessment of reactor pressure vessels (RPVs) considering neutron irradiation embrittlement and pressurized thermal shock (PTS) events. By reflecting the latest knowledge and findings, the evaluation functions are continuously improved and have been incorporated into PASCAL4 which is the most recent version of the PASCAL code. In this paper, the improvements made in PASCAL4 are explained in detail, such as the evaluation model of warm prestressing (WPS) effect, evaluation function of confidence levels for PFM analysis results by considering the epistemic and aleatory uncertainties in probabilistic variables, the recent stress intensity factor (KI) solutions, and improved methods for KI calculations when considering complicated stress distributions. Moreover, using PASCAL4, PFM analysis examples considering these improvements are presented.
High Amplitude Combustion Instabilities in an Annular Combustor Inducing Pressure Field Deformation and Flame Blow Off
Authors: Vignat Guillaume , Durox Daniel , Renaud Antoine , Candel Sébastien
Published: November 2019

This article reports experiments carried out in the laboratory scale annular combustor MICCA-spray equipped with multiple swirling spray injectors. The experimental setup consists in an air plenum connected to a combustion chamber formed by two concentric cylindrical quartz tubes, allowing full optical access to the flames. A new injection system is introduced and characterized. For a wide range of operating conditions, strong combustion instabilities are observed, but the focus of this article is placed on very high amplitude combustion instabilities coupled by a standing azimuthal mode. New results are obtained using a higher order reconstruction method for the pressure field: its shape is shown to be modified during high amplitude oscillation, leading to asymmetries of the pressure distribution in the system. Flame blow off occurs near the pressure nodal line when a critical level of oscillation is reached. A method is proposed to reconstruct the acoustic velocity field just before blow off occurs and in this way determine the blow off threshold. It is found that the pressure distribution, velocity field, and blow off pattern become asymmetric as the amplitude of oscillation increases and that this process is accompanied by a rapid shift in frequency of oscillation. Another notable result is that the heat release rate in the flames on the same side of the nodal line is not perfectly in phase and that the phase differences become larger as the amplitude of oscillation increases.
Comparison of Machine Learning Algorithms in the Interpolation and Extrapolation of Flame Describing Functions
Authors: McCartney Michael , Haeringer Matthias , Polifke Wolfgang
Published: November 2019

This paper examines and compares the commonly used machine learning algorithms in their performance in interpolation and extrapolation of flame describing function (FDFs), based on experimental and simulation data. Algorithm performance is evaluated by interpolating and extrapolating FDFs and then the impact of errors on the limit cycle amplitudes are evaluated using the extended FDF (xFDF) framework. The best algorithms in interpolation and extrapolation were found to be the widely used cubic spline interpolation, as well as the Gaussian processes (GPs) regressor. The data itself were found to be an important factor in defining the predictive performance of a model; therefore, a method of optimally selecting data points at test time using Gaussian processes was demonstrated. The aim of this is to allow a minimal amount of data points to be collected while still providing enough information to model the FDF accurately. The extrapolation performance was shown to decay very quickly with distance from the domain and so emphasis should be put on selecting measurement points in order to expand the covered domain. Gaussian processes also give an indication of confidence on its predictions and are used to carry out uncertainty quantification, in order to understand model sensitivities. This was demonstrated through application to the xFDF framework.
Temperature and oxygen concentration effects on anisotropy in chromium hard mask etching for nanoscale fabrication
Authors: Staaks Daniel , Yu Zhaoning , Dhuey Scott D. , Sassolini Simone , Lee Kim Y. , Rangelow Ivo W. , Olynick Deirdre L.
Published: November 2019

Chromium and its oxides are valuable as functional materials and plasma-etching hard masks in micro- and nanofabrication. While the continuous decrease in feature sizes opens new opportunities for applications of patterned chromium, the demands placed on the patterning process require a new level of mechanistic understanding. In this work, we investigate plasma etching with chlorine/oxygen chemistry using temperature and oxygen concentration as a means to controllably pattern chromium at the nanometer level. Building on our previous studies on blanket film chromium etching, we look here at patterned trenches 15–100 nm wide in 20 and 10 nm thick chromium films. We vary oxygen concentrations from 1.5% to 81% at substrate temperatures of +20 and −50 °C, respectively. Feature and trench profiles are evaluated from high-resolution cross-sectional SEM images. The ternary chromium etch product shows very different profiles as oxygen, temperature, and feature size are varied. We find the highest anisotropy at −50 °C and 50% oxygen concentration. Etch results suggest that the redeposition of nonvolatile intermediate reaction compounds enhances anisotropy at low temperature, whereas re-emission of reactive species causes undercut at the higher etching temperature.
The Transcriptional Regulator HbxA Governs Development, Secondary Metabolism, and Virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus
Authors: Satterlee Timothy , Nepal Binita , Lorber Sophie , Puel Olivier , Calvo Ana M.
Published: November 2019

The number of immunodepressed individuals is increasing, mainly due to the greater life expectancy in immunodepressed patients due to improvements in modern medical treatments. However, this population group is highly susceptible to invasive aspergillosis. This devastating illness, mainly caused by the fungus
Aspergillus fumigatus
, is associated with mortality rates reaching 90%. Treatment options for this disease are currently limited, and a better understanding of
A. fumigatus
genetic regulatory mechanisms is paramount for the design of new strategies to prevent or combat this infection. Our work provides new insight into the regulation of the development, metabolism, and virulence of this important opportunistic pathogen. The transcriptional regulatory gene
hbxA
has a profound effect on
A. fumigatus
biology, governing multiple aspects of conidial development. This is relevant since conidia are the main source of inoculum in
Aspergillus
infections. Importantly,
hbxA
also regulates the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and the pathogenicity of this fungus.
Provenance of Eocene–Oligocene sediments in the San Jacinto Fold Belt: Paleogeographic and geodynamic implications for the northern Andes and the southern Caribbean
Authors: Osorio-Granada E. , Pardo-Trujillo A. , Restrepo-Moreno S.A. , Gallego F. , Muñoz J. , Plata A. , Trejos-Tamayo R. , Vallejo F. , Barbosa-Espitia A. , Cardona-Sánchez F.J. , Foster D.A. , Kamenov G.
Published: November 2019

Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata of the San Jacinto Fold Belt (Colombian Caribbean) provide insights about sedimentary environments and paleogeographic evolution in the transition between the northern Andes and the South Caribbean deformed belt. We report new provenance (conventional sandstone petrography, heavy mineral analysis, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and typology) and micropaleontologic data (palynology, calcareous nannofossils, and foraminifera) in samples collected from the lower Eocene (San Cayetano Formation) and upper Eocene–Oligocene (Toluviejo and Ciénaga de Oro Formations) rocks in boreholes drilled by the Colombian Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos as well as from recently exposed Oligocene outcrops from the Ciénaga de Oro Formation. Sandstone petrography shows modal variations, with high feldspar content in the lower Eocene rocks and high quartz content in the Oligocene deposits. This shift in compositional maturity may be due to climatic variations, tectonic activity, and/or changes in source areas. Heavy mineral analyses indicate variations that suggest sources primarily related to felsic igneous and/or low-grade metamorphic and mafic and ultramafic rocks. Zircon U-Pb geochronology displays age populations mainly in the Late Cretaceous, Late Jurassic, Permian–Triassic, and Precambrian (ca. 900–1500 Ma). In addition, zircon typology analyses indicate that the igneous zircons came primarily from monzogranites and granodiorites. Finally, the micropaleontologic and sedimentary data sets indicate that the sediments were deposited in tropical coastal and shallow marine environments. The sediments were transported by short rivers from the crystalline massifs of the Lower Magdalena Valley and the northern Central Cordillera basements, while distal transport of sediments may have occurred along longer rivers, which brought sediments from southern regions located between the Central and Western Cordilleras.
Evaluation of community coalition training effects on youth hospital-admitted injury incidence in Victoria, Australia: 2001–2017
Authors: Berecki-Gisolf Janneke , Rowland Bosco , Reavley Nicola , Minuzzo Barbara , Toumbourou John
Published: November 2019

Background

Injuries are one of the three leading causes of morbidity and mortality for young people internationally. Although community risk factors are modifiable causes of youth injury, there has been limited evaluation of community interventions. Communities That Care (CTC) offers a coalition training process to increase evidence-based practices that reduce youth injury risk factors.

Method

Using a non-experimental design, this study made use of population-based hospital admissions data to evaluate the impact on injuries for 15 communities that implemented CTC between 2001 and 2017 in Victoria, Australia. Negative binomial regression models evaluated trends in injury admissions (all, unintentional and transport), comparing CTC and non-CTC communities across different age groups.

Results

Statistically significant relative reductions in all hospital injury admissions in 0–4 year olds were associated with communities completing the CTC process and in 0–19 year olds when communities began their second cycle of CTC. When analysed by subgroup, a similar pattern was observed with unintentional injuries but not with transport injuries.

Conclusion

The findings support CTC coalition training as an intervention strategy for preventing youth hospital injury admissions. However, future studies should consider stronger research designs, confirm findings in different community contexts, use other data sources and evaluate intervention mechanisms.
Osler Centenary Papers: William Osler in medical education
Authors: Leach Helen , Coleman Jamie J
Published: November 2019

William Osler combined many excellent characteristics of a clinical educator being a scientific scholar, a motivational speaker and writer and a proficient physician. As we celebrate his life a century on, many of his educational ideals are as pertinent today as they were in those Victorian times. Osler’s contributions to modern medicine go beyond his legacy of quotable aphorisms to a doctor, educator and leader whose proponent use of bedside teaching, careful clinical methods, and clinicopathological correlation was a great inspiration for students and junior doctors. He was also a great advocate of patient-centred care—listening to and closely observing his patients, an important message for modern medicine as the reliance on investigations strains modern healthcare systems. This review of Osler’s contribution to medical education summarises his development as an educator and provides reflection on his influences to modern clinical education.
Osler Centenary Papers: Management of pleural infection: Osler’s final illness and recent advances
Authors: Gregory Prudence , Rahman Najib M , Lee Y C Gary
Published: November 2019

Sir William Osler’s great work and achievements are extensively documented. Less well known is his prolonged battle with postinfluenza pneumonia, lung abscess and pleural infection that eventually led to his demise. At the age of 70, he was a victim of the global Spanish influenza epidemic, and subsequently developed pneumonia. In the era before antibiotics, he received supportive care and opium for symptom control. The infection extended to the pleura and he required repeated thoracentesis which failed to halt his deterioration. He proceeded to open surgical drainage involving rib resection. Unfortunately, he died shortly after the operation from massive pleuropulmonary haemorrhage. In this article, we review the events leading up to Osler’s death and contrast his care 100 years ago with contemporary state-of-the-art management in pleural infection.
Osler Centenary Papers: Osler, inscribed
Authors: Hague-Yearl Mary K K
Published: November 2019

Background

As the centenary of Sir William Osler’s death approaches on 29 December 2019, it is worth pausing to reflect on the relationship between the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University and the image of William Osler, for the two are arguably inextricable. When Osler died he had not yet completed his library, yet his donation to McGill included nearly 8000 volumes that represented the foundations of western medicine. The Osler Library now boasts over 100 000 titles and is recognised globally as a centre for the study of medical history.

Methods

The approach taken here was to examine inscriptions in the books that William Osler bequeathed to the McGill Medical Facultyin order to learn more about William Osler, the man.

Results

By examining inscriptions William Osler and others made in his books, it was possible to learn more about how Osler interacted with his friends, his patients, and also his books.

Conclusion

It is argued that these inscriptions are as instructive as they are enriching. They reveal information about Osler’s priorities and his personal and professional relationships; future scholars will likely find it useful to examine inscriptions more broadly, to gain insight into such topics as the book trade and world events.
4 Advances in palliative care
Authors: Taylor Ros
Published: November 2019

Palliative care is at a pivotal point in its trajectory. For the last 50 years there has been a focus on service development for the new specialty, the safer use of opioids and obtaining the evidence that palliative care makes a difference, the earlier the better.

However the next 50 years will be a massive challenge, but also an opportunity. There will be a shortage of all physicians, not just palliative physicians and this is a perfect storm with our increased longevity, frailty and comorbidities.

The lecture will focus on potential solutions, drawing on global innovation and imagination. Having braver conversations about the future is all very well but we also need practical options to improve the care of dying people in all settings not just five-star hospices, and we need to be less risk-averse about supporting patient and family goals of care in a culture dominated by compliance rather than comfort and care!
5 New guidelines for managing tuberculosis
Authors: Nunn Paul
Published: November 2019

In 2018, tuberculosis (TB) was still among the top 10 leading causes of death, and the leading infectious agent, above HIV/AIDS. An estimated 10 million cases occurred in 2018, with 1.2 million deaths in people uninfected with HIV, and another 250,000 cases of HIV-associated TB. Among all TB cases, 8–6% were HIV infected; 57% were men, 32% women and 11% children (<15 years). About 500,000 cases of rifampicin resistant RR-TB also occurred. Between 2000 and 2018 TB incidence fell on average about 1.6% annually, and 2% between 2017 and 2018. The new global control targets will be presented and recent changes to guidelines positioned in this new scenario.

Guidelines for TB management from the UK, US and WHO were reviewed for recent changes. NICE’s 2016 guidance not to screen contacts of non-pulmonary TB met with widespread criticism, but has recently been supported by a cost-effectiveness analysis. A 2019 meta-analysis of the seminal 2014 studies, OFLOTUB, ReMOX and RIFAQUIN trials showed that while none of those trials showed non-inferiority of a four month fluoroquinolone-containing regimen in all patients, those with low smear grade or no cavitation may be treated with 4-month rifampicin containing regimens. ATS/CDC/IDSA guidelines reflect this, but had not been accepted in the UK by October 2019. WHO has recently recommended the use of new agents in the treatment of rifampicin and multi-drug resistant TB. The rapidly-evolving picture of treatment recommendations for MDR-TB will be explained.
A practical approach to assessing and managing sexual dysfunction in multiple sclerosis
Authors: Li Vivien , Haslam Collette , Pakzad Mahreen , Brownlee Wallace J , Panicker Jalesh N
Published: November 2019

Sexual dysfunction is common in both men and women with multiple sclerosis but is often under-reported and undertreated. Neurologists report that a major barrier to discussing sexual dysfunction with patients is their lack of knowledge. Here we review the common presentations of sexual dysfunction, discuss its causes in people with multiple sclerosis, and provide a practical approach for neurologists to assess and manage these problems.
Migraine: navigating the hormonal minefield
Authors: Afridi Shazia K
Published: November 2019

Migraine affects 959 million people worldwide,1 with the highest prevalence being in women of childbearing age. The interplay between female hormones and migraine can be a challenging area to navigate since issues relating to pregnancy, contraception and the menopause are often out of the neurology comfort zone. This review aims to help the neurologist to manage women with migraine, from menarche to menopause.
Effect of common bean seed exudates on growth, lipopolysaccharide production, and lipopolysaccharide transport gene expression of Rhizobium anhuiense
Authors: Xiang Quanju , Wang Jie , Qin Peng , Adil Bilal , Xu Kaiwei , Gu Yunfu , Yu Xiumei , Zhao Ke , Zhang Xiaoping , Ma Menggen , Chen Qiang , Chen Xiaoqiong , Yan Yanhong
Published: November 2019

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is essential for successful nodulation during the symbiosis of rhizobia and legumes. However, the detailed mechanism of the LPS in this process has not yet been clearly elucidated. In this study, the effects of common bean seed exudates on the growth, lipopolysaccharide production, and lipopolysaccharide transport genes expression (lpt) of Rhizobium anhuiense were investigated. Rhizobium anhuiense exposed to exudates showed changes in LPS electrophoretic profiles and content, whereby the LPS band was wider and the LPS content was higher in R. anhuiense treated with seed exudates. Exudates enhanced cell growth of R. anhuiense in a concentration-dependent manner; R. anhuiense exposed to higher doses of the exudate showed faster growth. Seven lpt genes of R. anhuiense were amplified and sequenced. Sequences of six lpt genes, except for lptE, were the same as those found in previously analyzed R. anhuiense strains, while lptE shared low sequence similarity with other strains. Exposure to the exudates strongly stimulated the expression of all lpt genes. Approximately 6.7- (lptG) to 301-fold (lptE) increases in the transcriptional levels were observed after only 15 min of exposure to exudates. These results indicate that seed exudates affect the LPS by making the cell wall structure more conducive to symbiotic nodulation.
A completely deformed anisotropic class one solution for charged compact star: a gravitational decoupling approach
Authors: Maurya S. K.
Published: November 2019

In this article, we have investigated a new completely deformed embedding class one solution for the compact star in the framework of charged anisotropic matter distribution. For determining of this new solution, we deformed both gravitational potentials as $$\nu ~\mapsto ~\xi +\alpha \, h(r)$$ν↦ξ+αh(r) and $$e^{-\lambda } \mapsto ~e^{-{\mu }} + \alpha \,f(r)$$e-λ↦e-μ+αf(r) by using Ovalle (Phys Lett B 788:213, 2019) approach. The gravitational deformation divides the original coupled system into two individual systems which are called the Einstein’s system and Maxwell-system (known as quasi-Einstein system), respectively. The Einstein’s system is solved by using embedding class one condition in the context of anisotropic matter distribution while the solution of Maxwell-system is determined by solving of corresponding conservation equation via assuming a well-defined ansatz for deformation function h(r). In this way, we obtain the expression for the electric field and another deformation function f(r). Moreover, we also discussed the physical validity of the solution for the coupled system by performing several physical tests. This investigation shows that the gravitational decoupling approach is a powerful methodology to generate a well-behaved solution for the compact object.
Rethinking search engines and recommendation systems
Authors: Tennenholtz Moshe , Kurland Oren
Published: November 2019

Novel approaches draw on the strength of game theoretic mechanism design.
Hack for hire
Authors: Mirian Ariana
Published: November 2019

Investigating the emerging black market of retail email account hacking services.
Introduction to the Special Section on Advances in Internet-based Collaborative Technologies
Authors: Dustdar Schahram , Nepal Surya , Joshi James
Published: November 2019

Individuals, organizations, and government agencies are increasingly relying on Internet-enabled collaboration among distributed teams of humans, computer applications, and autonomous entities such as robots to develop products and deliver services. Technology trends in areas such as networking, data analytics, and distributed systems have significantly shifted the landscape of Internet-based collaborative tools and services. This particular special issue contains articles describing novel and innovative Internet-based collaborative technologies that leverage emerging technologies and enable seamless collaboration.
RISCy beginnings
Authors: Hoffmann Leah
Published: November 2019

In a career launched by groundbreaking research, Garth Gibson continues to shepherd technological advances "from blackboard through standards and to commercial reality."
OpenPiton
Authors: Balkind Jonathan , McKeown Michael , Fu Yaosheng , Nguyen Tri , Zhou Yanqi , Lavrov Alexey , Shahrad Mohammad , Fuchs Adi , Payne Samuel , Liang Xiaohua , Matl Matthew , Wentzlaff David
Published: November 2019

Industry is building larger, more complex, manycore processors on the back of strong institutional knowledge, but academic projects face difficulties in replicating that scale. To alleviate these difficulties and to develop and share knowledge, the community needs open architecture frameworks for simulation, chip design, and software exploration that support extensibility, scalability, and configurability, alongside an established base of verification tools and supported software. In this article, we present OpenPiton, an open source framework for building scalable architecture research prototypes from one core to 500 million cores. OpenPiton is the world's first open source, general-purpose, multithreaded manycore processor, and framework. OpenPiton is highly configurable, providing a rich design space spanning a variety of hardware parameters that researchers can change. OpenPiton designs can be emulated on FPGAs, where they can run full-stack multiuser Debian Linux. OpenPiton is designed to scale to very large core fabrics, enabling researchers to measure operating system, compiler, and software scalability. The mature code-base reflects the complexity of an industrial-grade design and provides the necessary scripts to build new chips, making OpenPiton a natural choice for computer-aided design (CAD) research. OpenPiton has been validated with a 25-core chip prototype, named Piton, and is bolstered by a validation suite that has thousands of tests, providing an environment to test new hardware designs while verifying the correctness of the whole system. OpenPiton is being actively used in research both internally to Princeton and in the wider community, as well as being adopted in education, industry, and government settings.
Should researchers use data from security breaches?
Authors: Douglas David M.
Published: November 2019

Evaluating the arguments for and against using digital data derived from security breaches.