bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Development of the COVID-19 Perinatal Perception Questionnaire (COVID19-PPQ)
Authors: Hulsbosch Lianne P. , Boekhorst Myrthe G. B. M. , Muskens Lotte , Potharst Eva S. , Nyklíček Ivan , Pop Victor J. M.
Published: July 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic affects the mental health status of perinatal women, which makes it important to gain insight into and to effectively measure specific stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we aimed to develop a COVID-19 Perinatal Perception Questionnaire (COVID19-PPQ). In-depth interviews were conducted during the first national lockdown period with pregnant women, new mothers and perinatal healthcare professionals, resulting in (a) a 27-item pregnancy and (b) a 21-item postpartum scale. Explorative factor analyses (EFA) in sample Ia (N = 154) and Ib (N = 90), and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) in sample IIa (N = 113) and IIb (N = 81) were conducted to test the psychometric properties of both scales. For the pregnancy scale, EFA suggested a three-factor solution (risk of infection, contact, future), which was confirmed by CFA and resulted in a final nine-item scale. For the postpartum scale, a three-factor solution (first postpartum week, COVID-19 measures, fear for infection) was suggested by EFA and confirmed by CFA, resulting in a final ten-item scale. Symptoms of depression and pregnancy-specific distress were significantly correlated with the pregnancy (sub)scale(s), while symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety showed significant correlations with the COVID-19 measures and fear for infection subscale. The COVID19-PPQ seems to be a valid instrument for assessment of perinatal COVID-19-related stress perception, showing adequate psychometric properties for both the pregnancy and postpartum scale. Future research should examine the use of this instrument in clinical practice during new episodes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Systematic Review of Perinatal Social Support Interventions for Asylum-seeking and Refugee Women Residing in Europe
Authors: Balaam Marie-Clare , Kingdon Carol , Haith-Cooper Melanie
Published: July 2021

Asylum-seeking and refugee women currently residing in Europe face unique challenges in the perinatal period. A range of social support interventions have been developed to address these challenges. However, little is known about which women value and why. A critical interpretive synthesis was undertaken using peer reviewed and grey literature to explore the nature, context and impact of these perinatal social support interventions on the wellbeing of asylum-seeking and refugee women. Four types of interventions were identified which had varying impacts on women’s experiences. The impacts of the interventions were synthesised into five themes: Alleviation of being alone, Safety and trust, Practical knowledge and learning, being cared for and emotional support, and increased confidence in and beyond the intervention. The interventions which were most valued by women were those using a community-based befriending/peer support approach as these provided the most holistic approach to addressing women’s needs.
Wastewater Fines Influence the Adsorption Behavior of Pollutants onto Microplastics
Authors: Nikpay Mitra
Published: July 2021

Millions of tons of microplastics (MPs) enter the wastewater collection systems every day and interact with raw sewage. In addition to MPs, varieties of organic and inorganic fines from urban effluents release into the sewer system and provide suitable surfaces for adsorption. To better understand the quantitative assessment of MPs sorption in wastewater and the role of fines, batch reactor experiments were performed using synthetic wastewater solutions containing organic, inorganic, and mixed organic–inorganic fines, and the results compared to a solution without fines. The MPs were two types of clean polypropylene (PP) particles, isotactic (iPP) and atactic (aPP). The results showed in all applied solutions the adsorption of pollutants was higher for the aPP averaging 1.3 mg/g compared with 0.5 mg/g for iPP, indicating that the adsorption varies with the type of polymer and surface properties. Further experiments also revealed a decrease in the sorption values of MPs for solutions containing inorganic fines, measured as the partition coefficient (Kd) and adsorbed concentration at equilibrium (qe). The result of the measured reference conductivity (к25) of the solutions for the same tests showed similar trends indicating that the magnitude of pollution adsorption onto MPs surfaces is controlled by the surface charge potential of the fine particles. The relationship between the qualitative assessments of ion removal, measured in terms of к25, and their quantitative assessment of adsorption values in terms of Kd in several identical tests, verifying that the conductivity of the solution was modified after adsorption of wastewater constituents onto the MPs.
Description of the concrete carbonation process with adjusted depth-resolved thermogravimetric analysis
Authors: Vogler Nico , Drabetzki Philipp , Lindemann Mathias , Kühne Hans-Carsten
Published: July 2021

The thermal gravimetric analysis (TG) is a common method for the examination of the carbonation progress of cement-based materials. Unfortunately, the thermal properties of some components complicate the evaluation of TG results. Various hydrate phases, such as ettringite (AFt), C–S–H and AFm, decompose almost simultaneously in the temperature range up to 200 °C. Additionally, physically bound water is released in the same temperature range. In the temperature range between 450 °C and 600 °C, the decomposition of calcium hydroxide and amorphous or weakly bound carbonates takes place simultaneously. Carbonates, like calcite, from limestone powder or other additives may be already contained in the noncarbonated sample material. For this research, an attempt was made to minimise the influence of these effects. Therefore, differential curves from DTG results of noncarbonated areas and areas with various states of carbonation of the same sample material were calculated and evaluated. Concretes based on three different types of cement were produced and stored under accelerated carbonation conditions (1% CO2 in air). The required sample material was obtained by cutting slices from various depths of previously CO2-treated specimen and subsequent grinding. During the sample preparation, a special attention was paid that no additional carbonation processes took place. As reference method for the determination of the carbonation depth, the sprayed application of phenolphthalein solution was carried out. Microscopic analysis was examined to confirm the assumptions made previously. Furthermore, the observed effect of encapsulation of calcium hydroxide by carbonates caused by the accelerated carbonation conditions was examined more closely.
Root engineering in maize by increasing cytokinin degradation causes enhanced root growth and leaf mineral enrichment
Authors: Ramireddy Eswarayya , Nelissen Hilde , Leuendorf Jan Erik , Van Lijsebettens Mieke , Inzé Dirk , Schmülling Thomas
Published: July 2021

Key message

Root-specific expression of a cytokinin-degrading CKX gene in maize roots causes formation of a larger root system leading to higher element content in shoot organs.

The size and architecture of the root system is functionally relevant for the access to water and soil nutrients. A great number of mostly unknown genes are involved in regulating root architecture complicating targeted breeding of plants with a larger root system. Here, we have explored whether root-specific degradation of the hormone cytokinin, which is a negative regulator of root growth, can be used to genetically engineer maize (Zea mays L.) plants with a larger root system. Root-specific expression of a CYTOKININ OXIDASE/DEHYDROGENASE (CKX) gene of Arabidopsis caused the formation of up to 46% more root dry weight while shoot growth of these transgenic lines was similar as in non-transgenic control plants. The concentration of several elements, in particular of those with low soil mobility (K, P, Mo, Zn), was increased in leaves of transgenic lines. In kernels, the changes in concentration of most elements were less pronounced, but the concentrations of Cu, Mn and Zn were significantly increased in at least one of the three independent lines. Our data illustrate the potential of an increased root system as part of efforts towards achieving biofortification. Taken together, this work has shown that root-specific expression of a CKX gene can be used to engineer the root system of maize and alter shoot element composition.
Climate Mobility and Development Cooperation
Authors: Stojanov Robert , Rosengaertner Sarah , de Sherbinin Alex , Nawrotzki Raphael
Published: July 2021

Development cooperation actors have been addressing climate change as a cross-cutting issue and investing in climate adaptation projects since the early 2000s. More recently, as concern has risen about the potential impacts of climate variability and change on human mobility, development cooperation actors have begun to design projects that intentionally address the drivers of migration, including climate impacts on livelihoods. However, to date, we know little about the development cooperation’s role and function in responding to climate related mobility and migration. As such, the main aim of this paper is to outline the policy frameworks and approaches shaping development cooperation actors’ engagement and to identify areas for further exploration and investment. First, we frame the concept of climate mobility and migration and discuss some applicable policy frameworks that govern the issue from various perspectives; secondly, we review the toolbox of approaches that development cooperation actors bring to climate mobility; and third, we discuss the implications of the current Covid-19 pandemic and identify avenues for the way forward. We conclude that ensuring safe and orderly mobility and the decent reception and long-term inclusion of migrants and displaced persons under conditions of more severe climate hazards, and in the context of rising nationalism and xenophobia, poses significant challenges. Integrated approaches across multiple policy sectors and levels of governance are needed. In addition to resources, development cooperation actors can bring data to help empower the most affected communities and regions and leverage their convening power to foster more coordinated approaches within and across countries.
Simultaneous approximations to p-adic numbers and algebraic dependence via multidimensional continued fractions
Authors: Murru Nadir , Terracini Lea
Published: July 2021

Unlike the real case, there are not many studies and general techniques for providing simultaneous approximations in the field of p-adic numbers $$\mathbb Q_p$$

Q
p

. Here, we study the use of multidimensional continued fractions (MCFs) in this context. MCFs were introduced in $$\mathbb R$$
R
by Jacobi and Perron as a generalization of continued fractions and they have been recently defined also in $$\mathbb Q_p$$

Q
p

. We focus on the dimension two and study the quality of the simultaneous approximation to two p-adic numbers provided by p-adic MCFs, where p is an odd prime. Moreover, given algebraically dependent p-adic numbers, we see when infinitely many simultaneous approximations satisfy the same algebraic relation. This also allows to give a condition that ensures the finiteness of the p-adic Jacobi–Perron algorithm when it processes some kinds of $$\mathbb Q$$
Q
-linearly dependent inputs.
Tailorable and Repeatable Normal Contact Stiffness via Micropatterned Interfaces
Authors: Perris Jack , Xu Yang , Kartal Mehmet E. , Gadegaard Nikolaj , Mulvihill Daniel M.
Published: July 2021

An approach to producing interfaces with tailored and repeatable normal contact stiffness using micropatterned surfaces is developed. A finite element model is first used to design square wave interfaces having a range of stiffnesses, and these are fabricated in polycarbonate via a microfabrication process. Results demonstrate that the contact stiffnesses of the fabricated interfaces are both tailorable and repeatable. The approach can be broadened to other materials and is useful for applications requiring specified interface stiffness. Finally, even with these deterministic interfaces, we show that low levels of roughness on the surface features are sufficient to produce a load-dependent contact stiffness at lower loads. Therefore, tailorability is mostly applicable above this limit where total contact stiffness converges to a load-independent value.

Graphic Abstract
Human-Water Dynamics and their Role for Seasonal Water Scarcity – a Case Study
Authors: Lindqvist Andreas Nicolaidis , Fornell Rickard , Prade Thomas , Tufvesson Linda , Khalil Sammar , Kopainsky Birgit
Published: July 2021

Ensuring sustainable management and an adequate supply of freshwater resources is a growing challenge around the world. Even in historically water abundant regions climate change together with population growth and economic development are processes that are expected to contribute to an increase in permanent and seasonal water scarcity in the coming decades. Previous studies have shown how policies to address water scarcity often fail to deliver lasting improvements because they do not account for how these processes influence, and are influenced by, human-water interactions shaping water supply and demand. Despite significant progress in recent years, place-specific understanding of the mechanisms behind human-water feedbacks remain limited, particularly in historically water abundant regions. To this end, we here present a Swedish case study where we, by use of a qualitative system dynamics approach, explore how human-water interactions have contributed to seasonal water scarcity at the local-to-regional scale. Our results suggest that the current approach to address water scarcity by inter-basin water transports contributes to increasing demand by creating a gap between the perceived and actual state of water resources among consumers. This has resulted in escalating water use and put the region in a state of systemic lock-in where demand-regulating policies are mitigated by increases in water use enabled by water transports. We discuss a combination of information and economic policy instruments to combat water scarcity, and we propose the use of quantitative simulation methods to further assess these strategies in future studies.
The Effect of Water and Sewage Treatment on Reducing Residues of Selected Organochlorine Pesticides in Szczecin (Poland)
Authors: Cybulski Jacek , Witczak Agata , Pokorska-Niewiada Kamila
Published: July 2021

Water is principally intended for direct consumption and for the production of food and beverages. It is also a valuable raw material in the industry. Despite the use of multi-stage treatment processes, the quality of drinking water may still be a concern in some countries due to the presence of toxic pollutants, often challenging to remove through the conventional treatment process. The presence of even trace amounts of organochlorine pesticides in drinking water is dangerous due to their ability to accumulate in the human body and their effects, especially their capacity for endocrine disruption. The present study aimed to assess the effect of water and sewage treatment on the efficiency of reducing residues of selected organochlorine pesticides in drinking water and treated sewage. It was found that the water treatment process reduced concentrations of these compounds by an average of 80% (46–100%) and that the levels of organochlorine pesticides in the drinking water were no higher than 0.55% the maximum residue limit (MRL). The sewage treatment process led to a reduction in organochlorine pesticide concentration of 37–100%, averaging 85%, and the sums of organochlorine pesticide residues in treated sewage ranged between 0.02 and 14.97 ng/L in annual terms.
Spa therapy interventions for post respiratory rehabilitation in COVID-19 subjects: does the review of recent evidence suggest a role?
Authors: Maccarone Maria Chiara , Masiero Stefano
Published: July 2021

Pulmonary rehabilitation is essential in post-COVID subjects, reporting respiratory impairment after the discharge from the hospital. Because the number of patients with respiratory outcomes is high and there are few facilities available, we wonder if a spa setting could represent a valid out-of-hospital alternative. We aim to explore recent evidence related to respiratory rehabilitation in the spa environment to understand if it can represent an appropriate setting for respiratory rehabilitation interventions in post-COVID subjects. Studies were found by screening PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases from 2011 up to February 2021. Studies were eligible if they were reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), or clinical trials, investigating respiratory interventions in the spa environment. Recent evidence has shown that inhalations and mineral-rich water immersions are effective in fighting and preventing multiple chronic respiratory tract diseases. Therefore, these treatments could also be applied to post-COVID patients with medium long-term respiratory outcomes.
Clinical and prognostic 18F-FDG PET/CT role in recurrent vulvar cancer: a multicentric experience
Authors: Albano Domenico , Bonacina Mattia , Savelli Giordano , Ferro Paola , Busnardo Elena , Gianolli Luigi , Camoni Luca , Giubbini Raffaele , Bertagna Francesco
Published: July 2021

Purpose

The aim of this retrospective multicentric study was to investigate the diagnostic performance, the prognostic value and the impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT on treatment decision-making in patients with suspected recurrent vulvar cancer (VC).

Materials and methods

Sixty-three patients affected by VC performed 18F-FDG-PET/CT for restaging purposes in case of suspected clinical and/or radiological recurrence. Histopatology results if available and/or clinical-imaging follow-up for at least 12 months were considered as reference standard. The diagnostic accuracy and the clinical impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT were investigated. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using Kaplan–Meier curves.

Results

Fifty-two (82.5%) PET/CT showed the presence of recurrence, while the remaining 11 (17.5%) were negative. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of PET/CT were 100% (95%CI 93–100%), 92% (95%CI 62–100%), 98% (95%CI 89–99%), 100% and 98% (95%CI 92–100%). A relevant impact of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging was registered in 28 cases: in 12 cases moving from local therapy to chemotherapy due to the recognition of disseminate localizations; in 10 showing the site of recurrence in presence of negative conventional imaging, and in 6 cases confirming to be true negative and avoiding unnecessary therapies. Beside advanced age and HPV status, a positive restaging 18F-FDG PET/CT scan was significantly correlated with shorter PFS and OS compared to negative scan (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated to be an accurate tool in the assessing of recurrent VC with high sensitivity and specificity and with a significant impact on clinical decision-making. Restaging 18F-FDG PET/CT findings were associated with survival.
Chemical, electrochemical, thermodynamic and adsorption study of EN8 dual-phase steel with ferrite-martensite structure in 0.5 M H2SO4 using pectin as inhibitor
Authors: Prabhu P. R. , Hiremath Pavan , Prabhu Deepa , Gowrishankar M. C. , Gurumurthy B. M.
Published: July 2021

This paper presents the corrosion and inhibition behavior of heat-treated EN8 dual-phase steel with ferrite-martensite structure with pectin in 0.5 M sulphuric acid. The corrosion studies were performed using the weight loss method, electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization measurements, and impedance spectroscopy. The study was done at different concentrations of pectin in the temperature range of 40 to 70 °C and immersion time of 1, 3, 5, and 7 h. The results showed that the inhibition performance of pectin has enhanced with an increase in pectin concentration and decreased with the temperature and time of exposure. From the weight loss study, highest inhibition efficiency of 76.43% was achieved at 5.0 g/L at 1 h of exposure at 40 °C. The maximum inhibition efficiency of 62% was obtained with 5.0 g/L of pectin at 40 °C by potentiodynamic polarization method. The energy, enthalpy, and entropy of activation and also thermodynamic parameters like free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of adsorption were assessed and discussed. Appropriate adsorption isotherm was fit to the obtained experimental outcomes and achieved Langmuir adsorption isotherm to be the best fit and obeyed physical adsorption. Surface analysis: scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction techniques, atomic force microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray were done with and without the addition of pectin. The metal surface appears to be uniform and smooth in the presence of pectin and adsorption was confirmed by surface analysis.
Gas-priming as a novel simple method of seed treatment with ethylene, hydrogen cyanide or nitric oxide
Authors: Kępczyński Jan
Published: July 2021

The gases used: ethylene (C2H4), hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and nitric oxide (NO) showed a high activity as inductors of germination in primary dormant or non-dormant seeds exposed to stress or suboptimal temperatures. So far, research on the role of ethylene, hydrogen cyanide and nitric oxide has involved these gases during seed germination. This work describes gas-priming as a novel method for treating air dry seeds of the genusAmaranthusserving as a model. Effects of C2H4, HCN or NO applied to dry seeds were similar to those obtained when the gases were used during seed germination for an identical period of time. Application of the gases to air dry seeds presents a new opportunity to study the role of those gases in germination of dormant and non-dormant seeds and to constrain effects of the gases from time 0. The prolonged treatment time for dry seeds (24 h) is convenient because if the treatment is started in the morning, there is sufficient time the next day for further experiments to begin, e.g. germination test in water or in solutions of other compounds. Moreover, it is important that the gas-treated seeds can be stored or transported prior to use. The gas-priming method allows to prepare treated seed samples which can be used in experiments either immediately or after storage in open air or in a closed container. Gas-priming with C2H4, HCN and NO is a simple and useful treatment of air-dried seeds, which opens up new useful possibilities for basic research on the role of those gases in releasing dormancy and seed germination of various plant species. In addition, the method may prove very useful in horticulture and agriculture in improving germination of gas-sensitive seeds.
Acculturation and Re-entry Culture Confrontation: the Case of Development Workers
Authors: Genkova Petia , Pollinger Johanna
Published: July 2021

The study at hand investigated the reintegration of development workers in terms of the sociocultural adaption and societal engagement after the return to the home country. The investigation had a cross-sectional design with 311 returned development workers. The results show that the sociocultural adaption of development workers several years after their return was significantly related to their job-related personality. However, there were no group differences for cultural distance. Results indicate that individuals who are more actively working together with others might be more likely to readapt well after return. Moreover, the results show that experienced social appreciation of the stay abroad is a relevant predictor of further engagement. Considering that appreciation is very likely to be a central motive for development workers, this underlines the importance for organizations to worship the engagement of repatriating development workers by offering support as well as by creating a culture in which extraordinary engagement is honored sufficiently.
Volitional Action Control and Depression in Chronic Pain: Does Action versus State Orientation Moderate the Relations of Pain-Related Cognitions to Depression?
Authors: Buchmann J. , Baumann N. , Meng K. , Semrau J. , Kuhl J. , Pfeifer K. , Vogel H. , Faller H.
Published: July 2021

In this study, we examined the conditional indirect and direct relations of pain-related cognitions to depression. Subjective helplessness was included as presumably mediating the relations of catastrophizing and thought suppression to depression due to motivational deficits. In addition, moderating effects of dispositional action versus state orientation were analyzed, whereby state orientation indicates volitional deficits in coping with distress. The study was based on self-report data from 536 patients with chronic non-specific low back pain at the beginning of inpatient rehabilitation. Moderated mediation analyses were performed. The indirect catastrophizing- and thought suppression-depression relations were (partially) mediated by subjective helplessness; and moderated by failure-related action versus state orientation. Moreover, action versus state orientation moderated the direct relation of thought suppression to depression. Results suggest that catastrophizing, thought suppression, and subjective helplessness do not lead to depression unless associated with self-regulatory inability (i.e., state orientation). In contrast, action-oriented patients more effectively self-regulate pain-related emotions, disengage from rumination, and distract from pain and thus better avoid the debilitating effects of negative pain-related cognitions on depression. Future research and treatment may more strongly focus on the role of motivational and volitional deficits underlying learned helplessness and depression in chronic pain.
Electroconvulsive therapy for negative symptoms in schizophrenia: a literature review from 2000 to 2021
Authors: Zierhut Marco M. , Bernard Renaldo M. , Turner Eleanor , Mohamad Sara , Hahn Eric , Bajbouj Malek
Published: July 2021

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia remain a clinical challenge with small effect sizes and evidence for pharmacological or psychotherapeutic treatment approaches. Studies suggest that electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) holds some promise as a treatment option of often persistent negative symptoms with clinically meaningful effects. This review summarizes the existing evidence on the efficacy of ECT on negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Thirty-five publications were included in this literature review comprising 21 studies, two meta-analyses, eight reviews and four case reports. Conclusions should be interpreted cautiously, given the small number and methodological shortcomings of the included publications with a variation of study designs and missing standardized protocols. Implications for future research and practice are critically discussed. Recommendations are given to provide more evidence that will meet the clinical challenge of reducing the negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Study designs that focus explicitly on negative symptoms and assess patients over longer follow up periods could be helpful. Future research should include control groups, and possibly establish international multicentered studies to get a sufficient study population. Findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia resistant to pharmacological treatment might benefit from ECT. A risk and benefit assessment speaks in favour of the ECT treatment. Future practice of ECT should include a combination treatment with antipsychotics. Whereas the use of anaesthetics and electrode placement does not seem to play a role, the recommendation regarding frequency of ECT treatments is currently three times a week, For the assessment of negative symptoms the assessment tool should be chosen carefully.
Scraping hide in the early Upper Paleolithic: Insights into the life and function of the Protoaurignacian endscrapers at Fumane Cave
Authors: Aleo Alessandro , Duches Rossella , Falcucci Armando , Rots Veerle , Peresani Marco
Published: July 2021

Endscrapers are specialized tools that are usually recovered in great quantities in every Upper Paleolithic site in Europe. Although they make their first ephemeral appearance in the Middle–late Middle Paleolithic transitional technocomplexes, endscrapers commonly appear in toolkits from initial and early Upper Paleolithic traditions onwards. Nevertheless, endscrapers and, in general, domestic tools have attracted relatively little attention in debates revolving around the significance of technological change, tool function, and tool specialization after the end of the Middle Paleolithic. With the aim to overcome this paucity of information, here, we present the results of a techno-functional study performed on the large endscraper assemblage recovered from the early and late Protoaurignacian layers at Fumane Cave in northeastern Italy. We analyzed these artifacts using technological, morpho-metrical, typological, and functional approaches. Despite the large morphological variability, use-wear traces reveal functional consistency and high levels of specialization for these tools. Almost all the use-wear traces we recorded developed from hide working with transverse motion. Moreover, we find no evidence that endscrapers were involved in the production of bone and antler tools during the late Protoaurignacian. Macroscopic and microscopic wear on the lateral edges of tools point to a considerable number of hafted endscrapers, which implies systematic time investment and planning depth. Comparison with the few endscrapers from transitional industries that have been analyzed highlights marked differences in the production, morphology, and use of these tools and reinforces our view of the Aurignacian as a complex not directly related with preceding European traditions.
Keeping pace with the healthcare transformation: a literature review and research agenda for a new decade of health information systems research
Authors: Ostern Nadine , Perscheid Guido , Reelitz Caroline , Moormann Jürgen
Published: July 2021

Background

Accelerated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, major and lasting changes are occuring in healthcare structures, impacting people's experiences and value creation in all aspects of their lives. Information systems (IS) research can support analysing and anticipating resulting effects.

Aim

The purpose of this study is to examine in what areas health information systems (HIS) researchers can assess changes in healthcare structures and, thus, be prepared to shape future developments.

Method

A hermeneutic framework is applied to conduct a literature review and to identify the contributions that IS research makes in analysing and advancing the healthcare industry.

Results

We draw an complexity theory by borrowing the concept of 'zooming-in and out', which provides us with a overview of the current, broad body of research in the HIS field. As a result of analysing almost 500 papers, we discovered various shortcomings of current HIS research.

Contribution

We derive future pathways and develop a research agenda that realigns IS research with the transformation of the healthcare industry already under way.
An evidence-based perspective on Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Collins Linda , Khasriya Rajvinder , Malone-Lee James
Published: July 2021

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the COVID-19 pandemic, has had an enormous effect on conventional clinical practice. Telemedicine has emerged as critical to the provision of healthcare services when reducing the transmission of COVID-19 among patients, families, and clinicians. It has been an essential tool for continuing care for patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been the link between socially distant patient contact. The aim of this perspective paper was to identify the strengths and limitations of technology-based care focusing on literature linked to patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We search PubMed and CINHAL Plus for grey literature and secondary research on LUTS and telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Publications dated between the year March 2020 and March 2021were searched. We gathered key specialist opinions in the field of LUTS from several countries around the world, including the countries that had been hit significantly with COVID-19. This perspective paper proposes that there is evidence to support the use of modern technology to facilitate continued healthcare services for patients with LUTS during the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has been recognised a crucial digital tool for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up appointments during a time of social distancing. Although there are many advantages of telemedicine, the older adult population and those economically disadvantaged with technology may not benefit from technology-based healthcare. The available literature on telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be successful in the management of some patients with LUTS. It is certain that the COVID-19 pandemic has given telemedicine a significant drive for implementation now and in the immediate future. Robust data on long-term efficacy and safety of telemedicine is required to ensure there are governance protocols embedded when looking after patients with LUTS.
Correction to: Updates in Genetic Testing Guidelines for Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes: a Change in the Paradigm
Authors: Gonzalez Lorena , Kruper Laura
Published: July 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s12609-021-00425-z
Vortex interaction on a LEX configuration
Authors: Chou Moo-Ting , Miau Jiun-Jih , Chen Li-Yu
Published: July 2021

Flow visualization experiments were conducted in a water channel and a low-speed wind tunnel at Reynolds number of 1.54 $$\times$$
×
104 to 1.2 $$\times$$
×
105 for a leading-edge extension model, which is referred to as a NASA TP-1803 model in this study. In addition, particle image velocimetry velocity measurements were taken in the water channel to obtain the quantitative information about the three-dimensional velocity field over the strake and wing surfaces. The results obtained at low, medium and high angles of attacks represent three distinct cases of interaction between the strake and wing vortices. Namely, at α = 5o and 10° the strake and wing vortices were developed over the wing surface without significant interaction noticed; at α = 20°, the strake vortex strongly interacted with the wing vortex in an intertwining manner, which was sensitive to Reynolds number; at α = 30°, the breakdown of the strake vortex took place close to the junction of the strake and the wing; thus, the interaction of the strake and the wing vortices appeared to be less significant than the case of α = 20°.

Graphic abstract
Development of a novel nanoemulgel formulation containing cumin essential oil as skin permeation enhancer
Authors: Morteza-Semnani Katayoun , Saeedi Majid , Akbari Jafar , Eghbali Mohammad , Babaei Amirhossein , Hashemi Seyyed Mohammad Hassan , Nokhodchi Ali
Published: July 2021

Essential oils have been proposed as promising non-toxic transdermal permeation enhancers. Their use is limited because of their low water solubility. The use of nanotechnology-based strategies is one of the ways to overcome this limitation. This study aimed to explore the transdermal permeation enhancing capability of cumin essential oil in nanoemulgel systems containing diclofenac sodium. Cumin essential oil nanoemulsion was produced by high-pressure homogenization technique. The formulation was optimized by changing HLB values in a range of 9.65–16.7 using different surfactant mixtures, namely, Tween 20, Tween 80, and Span 80. Preparations were characterized by polydispersity index, droplet size, and zeta potential. Nanoemulsion with concentrations of 2 and 4% essential oil was incorporated into 0.75% Carbopol gel matrix to make nanoemulgel formulation, and its permeation enhancing effect was performed through Franz diffusion cells. Antinociceptive activities of the formulations were measured in thermal (tail-flick) and chemical (formalin) models of nociception in mice. Characterization exhibited that at HLB value of 9.65, the smallest particle size (82.20 ± 5.82 nm) was formed. By increasing the essential oil percentage in the nanoemulgel from 1 to 2%, the permeation of diclofenac increased from 28.39 ± 1.23 to 34.75 ± 1.07 µg/cm2 at 24 h. The value of permeation from the simple gel (21.18 ± 2.51 µg/cm2) and the marketed product (22.97 ± 1.92 µg/cm2) was lower than the formulations containing essential oil. Nanoemulgel of diclofenac containing essential oil showed stronger antinociceptive effects in formalin and tail-flick tests than simple diclofenac gel and marketed formulation. In conclusion, the study proved that nanoemulgel formulation containing cumin essential oil could be considered as a promising skin enhancer to enhance the therapeutic effect of drugs.

Graphical abstract
Laplace Contour Integrals and Linear Differential Equations
Authors: Steinmetz Norbert
Published: July 2021

The purpose of this paper is to determine the main properties of Laplace contour integrals$$\begin{aligned} \Lambda (z)=\frac{1}{2\pi i}\int _\mathfrak {C}\phi (t)e^{-zt}\,dt \end{aligned}$$Λ(z)=12πi∫Cϕ(t)e-ztdtthat solve linear differential equations$$\begin{aligned} L[w](z):=w^{(n)}+\sum _{j=0}^{n-1}(a_j+b_jz)w^{(j)}=0. \end{aligned}$$L[w](z):=w(n)+∑j=0n-1(aj+bjz)w(j)=0.This concerns, in particular, the order of growth, asymptotic expansions, the Phragmén–Lindelöf indicator, the distribution of zeros, the existence of sub-normal and polynomial solutions, and the corresponding Nevanlinna functions.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Spent 30 Min Less Daily Time in Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity than Typically Developing Peers: a Meta-Analysis of Cross-sectional Data
Authors: Rostami Haji Abadi Mahdi , Zheng Yuwen , Wharton Tiffany , Dell Colleen , Vatanparast Hassanali , Johnston James , Kontulainen Saija
Published: July 2021

It remains unclear if participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) differs between children with ASD and typically developing children (TDC). We compared daily MVPA, time spent in MVPA during physical education (PE) and recess, and odds of not meeting MVPA recommendation (60 min/day) between children with ASD and TDC. Nine studies reporting accelerometer-measured MVPA were included in the meta-analyses. MVPA was 30 min lower/day, 12% and 8% lower during PE and recess, respectively, in children with ASD, and they had 4 times higher odds of not meeting MVPA recommendation when compared to TDC. Children with ASD engage in daily MVPA less than TDC and below the guidelines. Tailored interventions to increase MVPA in children with ASD are warranted.
A neutrosophic set-based TLBO algorithm for the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with routing flexibility and uncertain processing times
Authors: Jin Liangliang , Zhang Chaoyong , Wen Xiaoyu , Sun Chengda , Fei Xinjiang
Published: July 2021

Different with the plain flexible job-shop scheduling problem (FJSP), the FJSP with routing flexibility is more complex and it can be deemed as the integrated process planning and (job shop) scheduling (IPPS) problem, where the process planning and the job shop scheduling two important functions are considered as a whole and optimized simultaneously to utilize the flexibility in a flexible manufacturing system. Although, many novel meta-heuristics have been introduced to address this problem and corresponding fruitful results have been observed; the dilemma in real-life applications of resultant scheduling schemes stems from the uncertainty or the nondeterminacy in processing times, since the uncertainty in processing times will disturb the predefined scheduling scheme by influencing unfinished operations. As a result, the performance of the manufacturing system will also be deteriorated. Nevertheless, research on such issue has seldom been considered before. This research focuses on the modeling and optimization method of the IPPS problem with uncertain processing times. The neutrosophic set is first introduced to model uncertain processing times. Due to the complexity in the math model, we developed an improved teaching-learning-based optimization(TLBO) algorithm to capture more robust scheduling schemes. In the proposed optimization method, the score values of the uncertain completion times on each machine are compared and optimized to obtain the most promising solution. Distinct levels of fluctuations or uncertainties on processing times are defined in testing the well-known Kim’s benchmark instances. The performance of computational results is analyzed and competitive solutions with smaller score values are obtained. Computational results show that more robust scheduling schemes with corresponding neutrosophic Gantt charts can be obtained; in general, the results of the improved TLBO algorithm suggested in this research are better than those of other algorithms with smaller score function values. The proposed method in this research gives ideas or clues for scheduling problems with uncertain processing times.
Healthcare Sustainability Evaluation Using a Hybrid Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model
Authors: Erjaee Asma , Hendiani Sepehr , Moradi Shohreh , Bagherpour Morteza
Published: July 2021

Developing a sustainable healthcare system directly depends on the level of maturity in environmental, social, and economic practices. Although there are huge number of researches considering environmental, social, and economic aspects, to the best of our knowledge, no approach was found which unifies these dimensions as an integrated method to assess the current status of sustainable development in healthcare organizations. In order to cope with this gap, this article suggests a method for analyzing the sustainability indicator in healthcare systems by manipulating the sustainability dimensions, criteria, and attributes. The following research has collected 62 attributes and 15 criteria for three sustainability dimensions. A new implementation method is also proposed to make this approach applicable in real-world problems. The contributions of this paper can be distinguished as the healthcare system’s sustainability level in imprecise conditions is obtained, the capability of identifying the weak points in implementing sustainability aspects is presented, and a new methodology for collecting the fundamental data for measuring the sustainability level in healthcare systems is given. The findings of this paper assist the practitioners and experts to successfully evaluate the sustainability level of healthcare systems and significantly improve the performance of them.
The remaining CO2 budget: a comparison of the CO2 emissions of diesel and BEV drivetrain technology
Authors: Böhmeke Christian , Koch Thomas
Published: July 2021

This paper describes the CO2 emissions of the additional electricity generation needed in Germany for battery electric vehicles. Different scenarios drawn up by the transmission system operators in past and for future years for expansion of the energy sources of electricity generation in Germany are considered. From these expansion scenarios, hourly resolved real-time simulations of the different years are created. Based on the calculations, it can be shown that even in 2035, the carbon footprint of a battery electric vehicle at a consumption of 22.5 kWh/100 km including losses and provision will be around 100 g CO2/km. Furthermore, it is shown why the often-mentioned German energy mix is not suitable for calculating the emissions of a battery electric vehicle fleet. Since the carbon footprint of a BEV improves significantly over the years due to the progressive expansion of renewable-energy sources, a comparison is drawn at the end of this work between a BEV (29.8 tons of CO2), a conventional diesel vehicle (34.4 tons of CO2), and a diesel vehicle with R33 fuel (25.8 tons of CO2) over the entire useful life.
Citywide quality of health information system through text mining of electronic health records
Authors: Funkner Anastasia A. , Egorov Michil P. , Fokin Sergey A. , Orlov Gennady M. , Kovalchuk Sergey V.
Published: July 2021

A system of hospitals in large cities can be considered a large and diverse but interconnected system. Widely applied in hospitals, electronic health records (EHR) are crucially different from each other because of the use of different health information systems, internal hospital rules, and individual behavior of physicians. The unstructured (textual) data of EHR is rarely used to assess the citywide quality of healthcare. Within the study, we analyze EHR data, particularly textual unstructured data, as a reflection of the complex multi-agent system of healthcare in the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Through analyzing the data collected by the Medical Information and Analytical Center, a method was proposed and evaluated for identifying a common structure, understanding the diversity, and assessing information quality in EHR data through the application of natural language processing techniques.
Hi–C interaction graph analysis reveals the impact of histone modifications in chromatin shape
Authors: Sefer Emre
Published: July 2021

Chromosome conformation capture experiments such as Hi–C map the three-dimensional spatial organization of genomes in a genome-wide scale. Even though Hi–C interactions are not biased towards any of the histone modifications, previous analysis has revealed denser interactions around many histone modifications. Nevertheless, simultaneous effects of these modifications in Hi–C interaction graph have not been fully characterized yet, limiting our understanding of genome shape. Here, we propose ChromatinCoverage and its extension TemporalPrizeCoverage methods to decompose Hi–C interaction graph in terms of known histone modifications. Both methods are based on set multicover with pairs, where each Hi–C interaction is tried to be covered by histone modification pairs. We find 4 histone modifications H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9me3, H3K27ac to be significantly predictive of most Hi–C interactions across species, cell types and cell cycles. The proposed methods are quite effective in predicting Hi–C interactions and topologically-associated domains in one species, given it is trained on another species or cell types. Overall, our findings reveal the impact of subset of histone modifications in chromatin shape via Hi–C interaction graph.
TemporalRI: subgraph isomorphism in temporal networks with multiple contacts
Authors: Micale Giovanni , Locicero Giorgio , Pulvirenti Alfredo , Ferro Alfredo
Published: July 2021

Temporal networks are graphs where each edge is associated with a timestamp denoting when two nodes interact. Temporal Subgraph Isomorphism (TSI) aims at retrieving all the subgraphs of a temporal network (called target) matching a smaller temporal network (called query), such that matched target edges appear in the same chronological order of corresponding query edges. Few algorithms have been proposed to solve the TSI problem (or variants of it) and most of them are applicable only to small or specific queries. In this paper we present TemporalRI, a new subgraph isomorphism algorithm for temporal networks with multiple contacts between nodes, which is inspired by RI algorithm. TemporalRI introduces the notion of temporal flows and uses them to filter the search space of candidate nodes for the matching. Our algorithm can handle queries of any size and any topology. Experiments on real networks of different sizes show that TemporalRI is very efficient compared to the state-of-the-art, especially for large queries and targets.