bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Microbial Diversity of Temperate Pine and Native Forest Soils Profiled by 16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequencing
Authors: Amoo Adenike Eunice , Babalola Olubukola Oluranti
Published: May 2021

Most biodiversity measures indicate an ongoing deterioration due to intensifying anthropogenic pressures even though efforts are being intensified worldwide to conserve biodiversity. Knowledge of the implication of land-use change on soil bacterial communities is essential for ecosystem restoration.
Near-Complete Genome Sequence of GI-17 Lineage Infectious Bronchitis Virus, Circulating in Iowa
Authors: Hashish Amro , Sato Yuko , Li Ganwu , Zheng Ying , Gauger Phillip C. , El-Gazzar Mohamed
Published: May 2021

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (AvIBV) is the causative agent of a highly contagious respiratory disease in chickens which results in significant economic losses in the poultry industry. Here, we report a near-complete genome sequence of the strain, designated IA1162/2020, identified in tracheal swabs from chickens in Iowa in 2020.
Tectonic evolution of the central California margin as reflected by detrital zircon composition in the Mount Diablo region
Authors: Gooley* Jared T. , Grove Marty , Graham Stephan A.
Published: May 2021

The Mount Diablo region has been located within a hypothesized persistent corridor for clastic sediment delivery to the central California continental margin over the past ~100 m.y. In this paper, we present new detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology and integrate it with previously established geologic and sedimentologic relationships to document how Late Cretaceous through Cenozoic trends in sandstone composition varied through time in response to changing tectonic environments and paleogeography. Petrographic composition and detrital zircon age distributions of Great Valley forearc stratigraphy demonstrate a transition from axial drainage of the Klamath Mountains to a dominantly transverse Sierra Nevada plutonic source throughout Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene time. The abrupt presence of significant pre-Permian and Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene zircon age components suggests an addition of extraregional sediment derived from the Idaho batholith region and Challis volcanic field into the northern forearc basin by early–middle Eocene time as a result of continental extension and unroofing. New data from the Upper Cenozoic strata in the East Bay region show a punctuated voluminous influx (>30%) of middle Eocene–Miocene detrital zircon age populations that corresponds with westward migration and cessation of silicic ignimbrite eruptions in the Nevada caldera belt (ca. 43–40, 26–23 Ma). Delivery of extraregional sediment to central California diminished by early Miocene time as renewed erosion of the Sierra Nevada batholith and recycling of forearc strata were increasingly replaced by middle–late Miocene andesitic arc–derived sediment that was sourced from Ancestral Cascade volcanism (ca. 15–10 Ma) in the northern Sierra Nevada. Conversely, Cenozoic detrital zircon age distributions representative of the Mesozoic Sierra Nevada batholith and radiolarian chert and blueschist-facies lithics reflect sediment eroded from locally exhumed Mesozoic subduction complex and forearc basin strata. Intermingling of eastern- and western-derived provenance sources is consistent with uplift of the Coast Ranges and reversal of sediment transport associated with the late Miocene transpressive deformation along the Hayward and Calaveras faults. These provenance trends demonstrate a reorganization and expansion of the western continental drainage catchment in the California forearc during the late transition to flat-slab subduction of the Farallon plate, subsequent volcanism, and southwestward migration of the paleodrainage divide during slab roll-back, and ultimately the cessation of convergent margin tectonics and initiation of the continental transform margin in north-central California.
Diverse marine fish assemblages inhabited the paleotropics during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum
Authors: El-Sayed Sanaa , Friedman Matt , Anan Tarek , Faris Mahmoud A. , Sallam Hesham
Published: May 2021

The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) was a short interval (120–220 k.y.) of elevated global temperatures, but it is important for understanding biotic responses to climatic warming. Consequences of the PETM for marine fishes remain unclear, despite evidence that they might have been particularly vulnerable to increasing temperatures. Part of this uncertainty reflects a lack of data on marine fishes across a range of latitudes at the time. We report a new paleotropical (~12°N paleolatitude) fish fauna from the Dababiya Quarry Member of Egypt dating to the PETM. This assemblage—Ras Gharib A—is a snapshot of a time when tropical sea-surface temperatures approached limits lethal for many modern fishes. Despite extreme conditions, the Ras Gharib A fauna is compositionally similar to well-known, midlatitude Lagerstätten from the PETM or later in the Eocene. The Ras Gharib A fauna shows that diverse fish communities thrived in the paleotropics during the PETM, that these assemblages shared elements with coeval assemblages at higher latitudes, and that some taxa had broad latitudinal ranges substantially exceeding those found during cooler intervals.
Quantifying bankfull flow width using preserved bar clinoforms from fluvial strata
Authors: Greenberg Evan , Ganti Vamsi , Hajek Elizabeth
Published: May 2021

Reconstruction of active channel geometry from fluvial strata is critical to constrain the water and sediment fluxes in ancient terrestrial landscapes. Robust methods—grounded in extensive field observations, numerical simulations, and physical experiments—exist for estimating the bankfull flow depth and channel-bed slope from preserved deposits; however, we lack similar tools to quantify bankfull channel widths. We combined high-resolution lidar data from 134 meander bends across 11 rivers that span over two orders of magnitude in size to develop a robust, empirical relation between the bankfull channel width and channel-bar clinoform width (relict stratigraphic surfaces of bank-attached channel bars). We parameterized the bar cross-sectional shape using a two-parameter sigmoid, defining bar width as the cross-stream distance between 95% of the asymptotes of the fit sigmoid. We combined this objective definition of the bar width with Bayesian linear regression analysis to show that the measured bankfull flow width is 2.34 ± 0.13 times the channel-bar width. We validated our model using field measurements of channel-bar and bankfull flow widths of meandering rivers that span all climate zones (R2 = 0.79) and concurrent measurements of channel-bar clinoform width and mud-plug width in fluvial strata (R2 = 0.80). We also show that the transverse bed slopes of bars are inversely correlated with bend curvature, consistent with theory. Results provide a simple, usable metric to derive paleochannel width from preserved bar clinoforms.
Pace, magnitude, and nature of terrestrial climate change through the end-Permian extinction in southeastern Gondwana
Authors: Frank T.D. , Fielding C.R. , Winguth A.M.E. , Savatic K. , Tevyaw A. , Winguth C. , McLoughlin S. , Vajda V. , Mays C. , Nicoll R. , Bocking M. , Crowley J.L.
Published: May 2021

Rapid climate change was a major contributor to the end-Permian extinction (EPE). Although well constrained for the marine realm, relatively few records document the pace, nature, and magnitude of climate change across the EPE in terrestrial environments. We generated proxy records for chemical weathering and land surface temperature from continental margin deposits of the high-latitude southeastern margin of Gondwana. Regional climate simulations provide additional context. Results show that Glossopteris forest-mire ecosystems collapsed during a pulse of intense chemical weathering and peak warmth, which capped ∼1 m.y. of gradual warming and intensification of seasonality. Erosion resulting from loss of vegetation was short lived in the low-relief landscape. Earliest Triassic climate was ∼10–14 °C warmer than the late Lopingian and landscapes were no longer persistently wet. Aridification, commonly linked to the EPE, developed gradually, facilitating the persistence of refugia for moisture-loving terrestrial groups.
Revisiting stepwise ocean oxygenation with authigenic barium enrichments in marine mudrocks
Authors: Wei Guang-Yi , Ling Hong-Fei , Shields Graham A. , Hohl Simon V. , Yang Tao , Lin Yi-Bo , Zhang Feifei
Published: May 2021

There are current debates around the extent of global ocean oxygenation, particularly from the late Neoproterozoic to the early Paleozoic, based on analyses of various geochemical indices. We present a temporal trend in excess barium (Baexcess) contents in marine organic-rich mudrocks (ORMs) to provide an independent constraint on global ocean redox evolution. The absence of remarkable Baexcess enrichments in Precambrian (>ca. 541 Ma) ORMs suggests limited authigenic Ba formation in oxygen- and sulfate-deficient oceans. By contrast, in the Paleozoic, particularly the early Cambrian, ORMs are marked by significant Baexcess enrichments, corresponding to substantial increases in the marine sulfate reservoir and oxygenation level. Analogous to modern sediments, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic ORMs exhibit no prominent Baexcess enrichments. We suggest that variations in Baexcess concentrations of ORMs through time are linked to secular changes in the marine dissolved Ba reservoir associated with elevated marine sulfate levels and global ocean oxygenation. Further, unlike Mo, U, and Re abundances, significant Baexcess enrichments in ORMs indicate that the overall ocean oxygenation level in the early Paleozoic was substantially lower than at present.
Detrital chromites reveal Slave craton's missing komatiite
Authors: Haugaard Rasmus , Waterton Pedro , Ootes Luke , Pearson D. Graham , Luo Yan , Konhauser Kurt
Published: May 2021

Komatiitic magmatism is a characteristic feature of Archean cratons, diagnostic of the addition of juvenile crust, and a clue to the thermal evolution of early Earth lithosphere. The Slave craton in northwest Canada contains >20 greenstone belts but no identified komatiite. The reason for this dearth of komatiite, when compared to other Archean cratons, remains enigmatic. The Central Slave Cover Group (ca. 2.85 Ga) includes fuchsitic quartzite with relict detrital chromite grains in heavy-mineral laminations. Major and platinum group element systematics indicate that the chromites were derived from Al-undepleted komatiitic dunites. The chromites have low 187Os/188Os ratios relative to chondrite with a narrow range of rhenium depletion ages at 3.19 ± 0.12 Ga. While these ages overlap a documented crust formation event, they identify an unrecognized addition of juvenile crust that is not preserved in the bedrock exposures or the zircon isotopic data. The documentation of komatiitic magmatism via detrital chromites indicates a region of thin lithospheric mantle at ca. 3.2 Ga, either within or at the edge of the protocratonic nucleus. This study demonstrates the applicability of detrital chromites in provenance studies, augmenting the record supplied by detrital zircons.
Evidence for iron-rich sulfate melt during magnetite(-apatite) mineralization at El Laco, Chile
Authors: Bain Wyatt M. , Steele-MacInnis Matthew , Tornos Fernando , Hanchar John M. , Creaser Emily C. , Pietruszka Dorota K.
Published: May 2021

The origins of Kiruna-type magnetite(-apatite) [Mt(-Ap)] deposits are contentious, with existing models ranging from purely hydrothermal to orthomagmatic end members. Here, we evaluate the compositions of fluids that formed the classic yet enigmatic Mt(-Ap) deposit at El Laco, northern Chile. We report evidence that ore-stage minerals crystallized from an Fe-rich (6–17 wt% Fe) sulfate melt. We suggest that a major component of the liquid was derived from assimilation of evaporite-bearing sedimentary rocks during emplacement of andesitic magma at depth. Hence, we argue that assimilation of evaporite-bearing sedimentary strata played a key role in the formation of El Laco and likely Mt(-Ap) deposits elsewhere.
Bilateral middle cerebral artery occlusions treated with simultaneous bilateral thrombectomy: an approach to multivessel occlusions
Authors: Wu Katty , Yaeger Kurt A , Kellner Christopher Paul , Shoirah Hazem
Published: May 2021

The scarcely described phenomenon of acute ischaemic stroke due to bilateral large vessel occlusions and limited reports of its treatment raises the question about the best method for revascularisation. We present a simultaneous bilateral thrombectomy method on a patient with acute bilateral middle cerebral artery occlusions. This technique resulted in successful vessel recanalisation within 35 min without haemorrhagic complications—deeming the method both safe and effective. Patient outcome was unfavourable, complicated by the patient’s history of heart failure and other cardiac-related problems. Patient is residing at a skilled nursing facility with maximal assistance.
Azathioprine hypersensitivity syndrome: report of two cases
Authors: McKenzie Tahlia , Dheda Shyam , Mantha Murty , Larsen Catherine
Published: May 2021

Azathioprine hypersensitivity syndrome is a rare but potentially severe side effect of azathioprine use. It has a variable and non-specific presentation making it difficult to distinguish from sepsis or disease relapse. High clinical suspicion is therefore required for recognition and prompt cessation of azathioprine for symptom resolution. Herewith two cases of severe azathioprine hypersensitivity syndrome are described, one in association with Sweet syndrome. Both presented with vague symptoms 2 weeks after commencing azathioprine for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody vasculitis. The differentials of sepsis and disease relapse were considered prior to cessation of azathioprine which resulted in a dramatic improvement in both cases. These cases highlight the diagnostic challenge azathioprine hypersensitivity syndrome presents. It should be suspected when there is a temporal relationship to drug initiation, with absence of infection or serological evidence of disease relapse.
Hepatitis B virus infection associated with polyarteritis nodosa and microscopic polyangiitis
Authors: Meng Zhou , Cui Wei , Arend Lois , Mikdashi Jamal
Published: May 2021

We reported a unique case with the coexistence of classic and cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) in hepatitis virus-associated vasculitis. A 77-year-old Asian man presented with extremity weakness and weight loss found to have bilateral foot drop and rash on his hands and legs. Labs reveal positive for hepatitis B core antibody and perinuclear-antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (p-ANCA), decreased C3 and C4 levels. Skin biopsy of rash shows medium vessel vasculitis suggesting PAN. Interestingly, renal biopsy showed features of necrotising medium-sized arteritis consistent with PAN and focal crescentic glomerulonephritis consistent with MPA. The patient was treated with 1 g of solumedrol daily for 3 days, followed by oral steroids and cyclophosphamide treatment for vasculitis, and entecavir for chronic hepatitis B infection, resulting in resolution of symptoms. The patient has not had a relapse at 6 months.
Anti-MOG antibody associated long segment myelitis presenting as anterior cord syndrome
Authors: Datta Amlan Kusum , Mukherjee Adreesh , Ray Biman Kanti , Biswas Atanu
Published: May 2021

A patient having clinical features reminiscent of anterior cord syndrome (ACS) was found to have long segment myelitis on MRI. Investigations revealed serum anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody positivity. He was treated with pulse methylprednisolone followed by immunosuppressant therapy with mycophenolate mofetil, which led to clinical recovery. Anterior cord syndrome has so far not been reported in the context of anti-MOG antibody associated disease.
Urethral duplication in a 1 year old: a rare case report
Authors: Kallepalli Deepak Vineel Sai , Agarwal Prakash , Sundaram Jegadeesh , Bharathi Selvapriya
Published: May 2021

An 8-month-old male child presented with the complaint of two separate urinary streams from the penis. The child had no complaints of incontinence or recurrent UTI (urinary tract infection). Initial diagnosis of urethrocutaneous fistula was made and proceeded to micturating cystourethrography (MCU) and found to be having a urethral duplication. The duplicated urethra was excised and accessory urethra closed. Postoperatively, the child was followed up for 1 year and had no complaints of recurrence or incontinence. Through this case report, we learn about different classification systems and types of urethral duplication and their associated anomalies, and mode of management, which is mainly surgical. Further, management should be individualised to each patient based on their complaints and intraoperative findings.
Retinal vasoproliferative tumour secondary to retinitis pigmentosa sine pigmento
Authors: Bromeo Albert John , Lerit Sweet Jorlene , Veloso Amadeo , Mercado Gary John
Published: May 2021

Retinitis pigmentosa can be associated with exudative vasculopathy in rare instances, which can manifest as retinal vasoproliferative tumours. We present the case of a 33-year-old woman previously diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa sine pigmentosa in both eyes. She was asymptomatic and just came in for a routine follow-up eye examination. Thorough examination of the peripheral retina on the right eye revealed a dome-shaped retinal tumour with a feeder vessel and surrounding exudative changes at the superotemporal periphery, consistent with a secondary retinal vasoproliferative tumour from retinitis pigmentosa. She subsequently underwent focal laser photocoagulation of the tumour which resulted in tumour stabilisation. While exudative vasculopathy is very uncommon in retinitis pigmentosa, ophthalmologists need to be aware of its occurrence in such patients. Vision loss may occur from exudation, haemorrhage, retinal detachment and neovascularisation. A thorough examination of the peripheral retina is warranted in these cases.
Digital angiolipoma: uncommon location and presentation of a common tumour
Authors: Porter Katherine , Boring Michael , Jehu Tara M , Neychev Vladimir
Published: May 2021

A 56-year-old woman presented with an enlarging soft-tissue mass of the left ring finger, causing worsening range of motion in the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints. Excision of the mass was performed and a 3.5×3.5×3 cm lipoma was found displacing the digital neurovascular bundles laterally and posteriorly. Surgical pathology revealed a rare angiolipoma. This case was unusual because of the location of the mass, and the fact that it was non-tender, and larger than the typical angiolipoma presentation. Definitive identification of angiolipomas, especially those without gross vascularisation, as in this case, is often delayed until final pathology. Reporting cases of angiolipoma of the finger will increase awareness of this rare lesion and broaden the differential diagnosis to improve identification and management in future cases. We discuss a surgical approach which successfully increased range of motion of the hand and preserved neurovascular integrity.
Bilateral chorea following severe traumatic brain injury treated with risperidone
Authors: Krasna Daniel , Montgomery Erica , Koffer Jacob , Segal Miriam
Published: May 2021

A functionally independent man in his 20s with a history of intellectual disability and epilepsy and family history of Huntington’s disease suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Postinjury, bilateral chorea rendered him dependent for all activities of daily living. Risperidone provided a significant reduction of chorea, decreasing the overall burden of care. Movement disorders are a common sequela of brain injury. Currently, there are no best treatment guidelines for chorea in patients with brain injury. To the authors’ knowledge there have been no case reports describing the effects of brain injury on patients with a primary movement disorder. Risperidone was an effective treatment in this case. Further research is needed to establish guidelines for treatment of movement disorders following brain injury and to better understand the effect of brain injuries on primary movement disorders.
Primary intramedullary spinal-cord lymphoma (PISCL): a rare entity with a challenging diagnosis
Authors: Martins Emanuel Santos , Duque Cristina , Rebelo Olinda , Batista Sónia
Published: May 2021

Primary intramedullary spinal-cord lymphoma (PISCL) is a rare cause of myelopathy and constitutes only 1% of central nervous system lymphomas. Delay to diagnosis is common due to its rarity, its similarity to other causes of myelopathy and the difficulties in obtaining pathological diagnosis. We report a case of PISCL and discuss the challenges faced on diagnosis, namely the impact of corticosteroids on histological findings, the usefulness of MRI, positron-emission tomography/CT (PET/CT) and repeated lumbar punctures.
Successful thrombolysis in essential thrombocythemia-related acute ischaemic stroke
Authors: Desai Ishita , Tiwari Ashutosh , Singh Mritunjai Kumar , Kumar Niraj
Published: May 2021

Essential thrombocythemia (ET)-related acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) may account for approximately 0.25%–0.5% of all ischaemic strokes. If left undiagnosed and untreated, patients with ET carry an increased risk of recurrent thrombosis involving major organs including the brain. We report an interesting case of a 67-year-old man, who was successfully thrombolysed for AIS resulting from ET. He presented with sudden onset of left-sided hemiparesis with a left-ventricular clot. His subsequent investigations including positive JAK2 V617F mutation confirmed the diagnosis of ET. He made a significant recovery with thrombolysis, anticoagulation, antiplatelet and hydroxyurea. A fear of post-thrombolytic haemorrhagic complications appears the major reason for the lack of reports of thrombolysis in ET-related AIS. Although the diagnosis of ET was confirmed on subsequent investigations, successful thrombolysis in our case provides preliminary evidence that ET-related AIS cases can undergo successful thrombolysis using tenecteplase. To date, ours is only the second case of ET-related AIS being thrombolysed.
Assessing the effectiveness of workplace accommodations in facilitating return to work after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Shafi Reema , Colantonio Angela
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Returning to work and sustaining employment can be a significant challenge for traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. Within the literature, there is recurring support for the role of workplace accommodations in effective and early return-to-work (RTW). To date, however, there has been a lack of systematic reviews exploring the specific role of workplace accommodations within the context of RTW after TBI. The primary objective of this protocol is to outline the methodological approach that will be undertaken to systematically review the literature and to assess the effectiveness of workplace accommodations in facilitating RTW.

Methods and analysis

A total of nine databases will be searched systematically using the concepts ‘Brain injury,’ ‘RTW’ and ‘Job Accommodations.’ Study selection will be performed independently by three reviewers, based on predetermined eligibility criteria through two rounds of screening using, first, the title and abstract, followed by a full-text search. Extracted information will include the study’s purpose, design, and setting; the data source and type; the severity of TBI and the diagnostic criterion used; a comprehensive description of the intervention provided; the RTW outcome variables and the statistical methods used, etc. The data will be tabulated and narratively synthesised. Systematic review registration: This protocol has been registered with International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews.

Ethics and dissemination

As this review intends to use pre-existing published studies hence research ethics board approvals will not be required. Nevertheless, this review will follow the ethical and governance standards in the data management and presentation of results. The findings from this review will potentially be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal (electronically and in print). The results of this review will be presented at both national/international conferences and shared with stakeholders influencing RTW practices.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42016043517.
Public and patient involvement (PPI) in health policy decisionmaking on the health system-level: protocol for a systematic scoping review
Authors: Baumann Lisa Ann , Brütt Anna Levke
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Public and patient involvement (PPI) in healthcare decisions at the health system-level (macro-level) has become increasingly important during recent years. Existing evidence indicates that PPI increase patient centredness and the democracy of healthcare decisions as well as patients’ trust and acceptance of these decisions. However, different methods for PPI exist, and an overview of the outcomes and influential contextual factors has not yet been conducted. Therefore, this scoping review aims to provide an overview of the different methods used for PPI in health system decisionmaking and the reported outcomes and contextual factors for these methods.

Methods and analysis

The structure of this protocol is guided by the advanced scoping studies framework of Arksey and O’ Malley, developed by Levac, Colquhoun and O’Brien, and the PRISMA-ScR Statement. We will systematically search electronic databases (MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, CINAHL, PDQ-Evidence, Web of Science and PsycINFO) for peer-reviewed literature and screen the reference lists of included studies. Additionally, we will search for relevant grey literature and consult experts from the field to identify further information. Studies focusing on PPI in the context of health policy decision-making at the macro-level will be eligible for full-text screening. Studies focusing on decisions at the individual treatment-level (micro-level) and the organisational-level (mesolevel) as well as those dealing with PPI in health research will be excluded. A qualitative analysis will dissect how the included studies define PPI and its desirable outcomes, the achieved outcomes and reported contextual factors.

Ethics and dissemination

We will present the results at relevant conferences and in an open-access journal. Additionally, we will share them with the experts involved in the research process and consider ways in which to transfer the findings into practice. As only secondary and previously published information will be used, ethical approval is not necessary.
Priority stratification for colonoscopy based on two-sample faecal immunochemical test screening: results from a cross-sectional study at an endoscopy clinic in Japan
Authors: Toyoshima Osamu , Yamaji Yutaka , Nishizawa Toshihiro , Yoshida Shuntaro , Yamada Tomoharu , Kurokawa Ken , Obata Miho , Kondo Ryo , Toba Masahito , Koike Kazuhiko
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Little has been reported on the yield and characteristics of colorectal neoplasia detected by the two-sample faecal immunochemical test (FIT), particularly the difference between subjects with two-positive results on the two-sample FIT and those with one-positive results. We aimed to assess risk stratification among patients with positive two-sample FIT to prioritise colonoscopy.

Design

A retrospective cross-sectional study.

Setting

A single-centre, representative endoscopy clinic in Japan.

Participants

Consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy were enrolled. Indications for colonoscopy included two-positive results on the two-sample FIT (FIT (+/+)), one-positive results on the two-sample FIT (FIT (+/−)), and other reasons (non-FIT group, including presence of symptoms, screening or surveillance).

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcomes were detection rates of colorectal cancers, including in situ (all cancers) and invasive cancers, based on the indications for colonoscopy. Secondary outcomes were cancer features, such as location, size, T stage and histological subtype.

Results

Of the 8724 patients, 264 underwent colonoscopy following FIT (+/+), 1018 following FIT (+/−) and 7442 for reasons other than positive FIT. Detection rates of all (and invasive) cancers in the FIT (+/+), FIT (+/−) and non-FIT groups were 12.1% (8.3%), 1.9% (0.3%) and 0.4% (0.2%), respectively. The cancer detection rates were much higher in the FIT (+/+) group than in the FIT (+/−) group, which in turn had higher rates than the non-FIT group. Moreover, the FIT (+/+) group showed more advanced T stages on tumour, node, metastasis (TNM) classification (Tis/T1/T2/T3/T4: 10/7/4/10/1) than the FIT (+/−) group (16/1/2/0/0, p<0.001).

Conclusions

Two-positive results for two-sample FIT showed a much higher yield for more advanced colorectal cancers than the one-positive result. High priority for diagnostic colonoscopy should be assigned to patients with two-positive-FIT results.
Translating caring competencies to remote working environments: a systematic review protocol
Authors: Nowell Lorelli , Lorenzetti Diane , Jacobsen Michele , Lorenzetti Liza , Paolucci Elizabeth Oddone
Published: May 2021

Introduction

Caring professions attend to the health, educational and social needs of society rather than its material needs. Caring professionals are a vital part of the world’s response to COVID-19, yet the global pandemic and its aftermath have significantly changed the ways in which care is provided. The rapid pivot to remote care, where the essential caring cues and opportunities are not as readily available, has put unprecedented pressure on caring professions. There is currently a lack of clear understanding and accepted standards for teaching caring profession students how to provide care remotely. The objective of this systematic review is to identify and assess the ways in which educators can integrate online learning opportunities to help students develop effective caring practices and translate these into today’s remote and virtual care environments.

Methods and analysis

This systematic review will consider diverse quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies of innovative online education initiatives and required technology for caring profession education. Articles will be retrieved from academic databases and limited to articles reporting primary data and published in English within the last 10 years. Data extraction procedures will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guideline. The methodological quality of all studies will be assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool and/or the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Study characteristics will be tabulated and narratively synthesised to integrate and explore relationships within the data.

Ethics and dissemination

No ethics approval is required to conduct this review. Review findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and be used to inform and guide caring profession education policy, practice and research agendas with the goal of improving education for caring profession students, and care for the patients, clients and learners they serve.
Understanding COVID-19: are children the key?
Authors: Warner Suz , Richter Alex , Stamataki Zania , Kelly Deirdre
Published: May 2021

The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global health and economic stability is immeasurable. The situation is dynamic and fast-evolving, with the world facing new variants of concern which may have immune escape potential. With threatened treatment and preventative strategies at stake, and the prospect of reinfection prolonging the pandemic, it is more crucial than ever to understand the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which intriguingly disproportionately affects adults and the elderly. Children infected with SARS-CoV-2 remain largely asymptomatic or undergo a transient mild illness. Understanding why children have a milder phenotype and a significant survival advantage may help identify modifiable risk factors in adults. Current evidence suggests adults with COVID-19 show variability in innate and adaptive immune responses, which result in uncontrolled proinflammatory cytokine production in some patients, leading to severe disease and mortality. Children with acute COVID-19 infection seldom progress to acute respiratory distress syndrome and are less likely to exhibit the cytokine storm which is so prominent in adults. Even with the Kawasaki-like illness, a hyperinflammation syndrome also known as paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2, mortality is low. The key to successfully combating SARS-CoV-2 and future zoonotic pandemics may lie in understanding these critical differences and merits focused consideration and research. The impact of community transmission among asymptomatic children is unknown; sustained global decline in infection rates and control of the COVID-19 pandemic may not be achieved until vaccination of children occurs. In this review, we discuss the fundamental differences in the immune response between children and adults in the fight against SARS-CoV-2.
Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program: structure, methods and initial results
Authors: Bohr Adam D , Aukerman Doug F , Harmon Kimberly G , Romano Russell , Hernández Theresa D , Konstantinides Niki , Petron David J , Ghajar Jamshid , Giza Christopher , Poddar Sourav K , McQueen Matthew B
Published: May 2021

Sport-related concussion has garnered increasing scientific attention and research over the last decade. Collegiate student-athletes represent an important cohort in this field. As such, the Pac-12 CARE-Affiliated Program (CAP) was formed in 2017 as a regional hub of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) consortium. CAP is multisite, prospective, longitudinal study that aims to improve student-athlete health by identifying factors associated with concussion incidence and recovery and using this knowledge to inform best clinical practices and policy decisions. CAP employed a staggered rollout across the Pac-12, with the first four institutions enrolling in fall 2018. After receiving institutional review board (IRB) approval, these institutions began consenting student-athletes to share clinical concussion and baseline data for research purposes. Athletes completed baseline testing that included a medical questionnaire, concussion history and a battery for clinical concussion assessments. Concussed student-athletes were given the same battery of assessments in addition to full injury and return to play reports. Clinicians at each university worked with a data coordinator to ensure appropriate reporting, and the Pac-12 Concussion Coordinating Unit at the University of Colorado Boulder provided oversight for quality control of the data study wide. During year 1, CAP consented 2181 student-athletes and tracked 140 concussions. All research was conducted with the appropriate IRB approval across the participating Pac-12 institutions. Data security and dissemination are managed by the Presagia Sports Athlete Electronic Health Record software (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and QuesGen Systems (San Francisco, California, USA).
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRILEMMA POLICY CHOICE IN THE PRESENCE OF MACROPRUDENTIAL POLICIES: EVIDENCE FROM EMERGING ECONOMIES
Authors: JUHRO SOLIKIN M. , PRABHEESH K. P. , LUBIS ALEXANDER
Published: May 2021

This paper examines the effectiveness of the trilemma policy choice, in the presence of macroprudential policies in 10 emerging market economies. We address this issue due to the extensive use of macroprudential policies to maintain financial stability in the aftermath of global financial crisis. Our overall findings suggest that adoption of macroprudential policies with monetary policy helps to maintain macroeconomic stability in 6 out of 10 cases, and with capital account openness being effective only in three cases. Our findings suggest that the emerging economies’ policymakers can optimize the effectiveness of trilemma policy choice by giving more weightage to macroprudential policies along with exchange rate stability and monetary policy.
The Pulse of Urban Transport: Exploring the Co-evolving Pattern for Spatio-temporal Forecasting
Authors: Deng Jinliang , Chen Xiusi , Fan Zipei , Jiang Renhe , Song Xuan , Tsang Ivor W.
Published: May 2021

Transportation demand forecasting is a topic of large practical value. However, the model that fits the demand of one transportation by only considering the historical data of its own could be vulnerable since random fluctuations could easily impact the modeling. On the other hand, common factors like time and region attribute, drive the evolution demand of different transportation, leading to a co-evolving intrinsic property between different kinds of transportation. In this work, we focus on exploring the co-evolution between different modes of transport, e.g., taxi demand and shared-bike demand. Two significant challenges impede the discovery of the co-evolving pattern: (1) diversity of the co-evolving correlation, which varies from region to region and time to time. (2) Multi-modal data fusion. Taxi demand and shared-bike demand are time-series data, which have different representations with the external factors. Moreover, the distribution of taxi demand and bike demand are not identical. To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel method, known as co-evolving spatial temporal neural network (CEST). CEST learns a multi-view demand representation for each mode of transport, extracts the co-evolving pattern, then predicts the demand for the target transportation based on multi-scale representation, which includes fine-scale demand information and coarse-scale pattern information. We conduct extensive experiments to validate the superiority of our model over the state-of-art models.
Online Tensor-Based Learning Model for Structural Damage Detection
Authors: Anaissi Ali , Suleiman Basem , Zandavi Seid Miad
Published: May 2021

The online analysis of multi-way data stored in a tensor

has become an essential tool for capturing the underlying structures and extracting the sensitive features that can be used to learn a predictive model. However, data distributions often evolve with time and a current predictive model may not be sufficiently representative in the future. Therefore, incrementally updating the tensor-based features and model coefficients are required in such situations. A new efficient tensor-based feature extraction, named Nesterov Stochastic Gradient Descent (NeSGD), is proposed for online

(CP) decomposition. According to the new features obtained from the resultant matrices of NeSGD, a new criterion is triggered for the updated process of the online predictive model. Experimental evaluation in the field of structural health monitoring using laboratory-based and real-life structural datasets shows that our methods provide more accurate results compared with existing online tensor analysis and model learning. The results showed that the proposed methods significantly improved the classification error rates, were able to assimilate the changes in the positive data distribution over time, and maintained a high predictive accuracy in all case studies.
On Modeling Influence Maximization in Social Activity Networks under General Settings
Authors: Wang Rui , Li Yongkun , Lin Shuai , Xie Hong , Xu Yinlong , Lui John C. S.
Published: May 2021

Finding the set of most influential users in online social networks (OSNs) to trigger the largest influence cascade is meaningful, e.g., companies may leverage the “word-of-mouth” effect to trigger a large cascade of purchases by offering free samples/discounts to those most influential users. This task is usually modeled as an influence maximization problem, and it has been widely studied in the past decade. However, considering that users in OSNs may participate in various online activities, e.g., joining discussion groups and commenting on same pages or products, influence diffusion through online activities becomes even more significant. In this article, we study the impact of online activities by formulating social-activity networks which contain both users and online activities, and thus induce two types of weighted edges, i.e., edges between users and edges between users and activities. To address the computation challenge, we define an influence centrality via random walks, and use the Monte Carlo framework to efficiently estimate the centrality. Furthermore, we develop a greedy-based algorithm with novel optimizations to find the most influential users for node recommendation. Experiments on real-world datasets show that our approach is very computationally efficient under different influence models, and also achieves larger influence spread by considering online activities.
Crypto-Hotwire
Authors: Ribas Coutinho Felipe , Pires Victor , Miceli Claudio , Menasche Daniel S.
Published: May 2021

Blockchains and cryptocurrencies disrupted the conversion of energy into a medium of exchange. Numerous applications for blockchains and cryptocurrencies are now envisioned for purposes ranging from inventory control to banking applications. Naturally, in order to mine in an economically viable way, regions where energy is plentiful and cheap, e.g., close to hydroelectric plants, are sought. The possibility of converting energy into cash, however, also opens up opportunities for a new kind of cyber attack aimed at illegally mining cryptocurrencies by stealing energy. In this work, we indicate, using data from January and February of 2018 from our university, that such a threat is real, and present a projection of the gains derived from these attacks.
Predicting confirmation times of Bitcoin transactions
Authors: Gundlach Rowel , Gijsbers Martijn , Koops David , Resing Jacques
Published: May 2021

We study the distribution of confirmation times of Bitcoin transactions, conditional on the size of the current memory pool. We argue that the time until a Bitcoin transaction is confirmed resembles the time to ruin in a corresponding Cramer-Lundberg process. This well-studied model gives mathematical insights in the mempool behaviour over time. Specifically, for situations where one chooses a fee, such that the total size of incoming transactions with higher fee is close to the total size of transactions leaving the mempool (heavy traffic), a diffusion approximation leads to an inverse Gaussian distribution for the confirmation times. The results of this paper are particularly interesting for users that want to make a Bitcoin transaction during heavy-traffic situations, as evaluation of the well-known inverse Gaussian distribution is computationally straightforward.
Engineered CuO Nanofibers with Boosted Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensing Performance
Authors: Khan Marya , Nagal Vandana , Nakate Umesh T. , Khan Mohammad Rizwan , Khosla Ajit , Ahmad Rafiq
Published: May 2021

Developing biosensors with advanced nanomaterial is crucial to enhance the sensing performance of the as-fabricated biosensors. Herein, we engineered copper(II) oxide (CuO) nanofibers using a hydrothermal route in a four-neck flask. The structural and morphological properties of as-engineered CuO nanofibers were analysed using an X-ray diffractometer, field-emission scanning, and transmission electron microscopes. The results indicated, CuO nanofibers bear nanosized diameters and length is in the order of micrometers. These CuO nanofibers were utilized to fabricate non-enzymatic biosensors (Nafion/CuO nanofibers/GCE (glassy carbon electrode)) for enhanced glucose detection and the sensing performance of the biosensors were evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique in sodium hydroxide buffer. Employing engineered CuO nanofibers as a non-enzymatic material led fabricated biosensor to achieve high sensitivity of 483.10 μMmM–1cm–2, with the lower detection limit (200 nM) and 0.10–10.85 mM linear detection range. Further, the fabricated biosensor showed good reproducibility, excellent selectivity, cyclic and long-time storage stabilities. This work presents a simple hydrothermal technique to prepare CuO nanofibers in large quantity, demonstrating cost-effective synthesis for non-enzymatic biosensor fabrications and many other applications.
Integrated Analysis of Long Noncoding RNA Expression Profiles in Acute‐on‐Chronic Liver Failure
Authors: Fu Xiaoyu , Cheng Da , Ouyang Yi , Li Ying , Li Ronghua , Peng Shifang , Fu Lei
Published: May 2021

People infected with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) might progress to acute‐on‐chronic liver failure (ACLF) with a high fatality rate. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in human diseases, but it is unknown whether lncRNAs are involved in the progression of chronic HBV infection to ACLF. Hence, this study is aimed at systemically identifying and characterizing the landscape and the molecular mechanism of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of chronic HBV infection progress to ACLF. RNA sequencing (RNA‐Seq) of peripheral blood samples from 5 ACLF and 5 HBV infection patients was performed. We detected 9733 lncRNAs, including 406 annotated lncRNAs and 9327 novel lncRNAs. A total of 407 lncRNAs were found to be significantly dysregulated in the patients with ACLF as compared with those in the chronic HBV infection patients. The flanking protein‐coding genes of differentially expressed lncRNAs were enriched with pathways that might contribute to the pathogenesis of ACLF, such as the WNT signaling pathway. Furthermore, 9 selected differentially expressed lncRNAs validated by the qRT‐PCR, showing that the expression patterns of these 9 lncRNAs were consistent with the RNA‐Seq data. Four selected differentially expressed lncRNAs were also validated in another patient cohort comprising 80 patients with ACLF and 65 patients with chronic HBV infection. Aberrant lncRNAs might be used to develop novel diagnostic biomarkers or drug targets for ACLF.
Neuroergonomic Stress Assessment with Two Different Methodologies, in a Manual Repetitive Task‐Product Assembly
Authors: García-Acosta Ana , Riva-Rodríguez Jorge de la , Sánchez-Leal Jaime , Reyes-Martínez Rosa María
Published: May 2021

Emotions are a fundamental part of mental health and human behavior. In the workplace, optimal performance of employees is necessary for productivity enhancements and its relation to the quality of a manufacturing product, therefore leading a company to advantages and competitiveness. This means that the workplace staff must remain in a neutral or a calm emotional state, for an adequate job performance. When an operation is not pleasant or the same task is carried out for a long period of time (repetitive), it can cause negative emotions such as stress, and this will have repercussions in poor work performance. The purpose of this research is, by means of an electroencephalogram (EEG), to identify the stress in the repetitive assembly of a manufacturing product. To measure brain waves, the Emotiv Epoc equipment was used and a manufacturing line was designed, divided into three workstations, where the assembly of product comprising a LEGO car was carried out within a manual repetitive approach. The appearance of stress was determined by employing two different methodologies, the prefrontal relative gamma marker (RG) and the valence, arousal, and dominance (VAD) emotional categories. The results obtained from the first methodology, corresponding to the RG marker, displayed a significant more change between the relaxation state and the product assembly carried out at 70% of the standard time (ST). A less significant change was observed between the relaxation state and the product assembly carried out at 100% ST, thus signaling the presence of stress. Additionally, the results from the VAD methodology resulted in moderate and low levels of stress, when the product assembly was carried out at 70% and 100% standard time, respectively.