bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with low and medium household dietary diversity compared with high dietary diversity among marginalised households in rural Bangladesh: Findings from a Suchana baseline survey
Authors: Ali Mohammad , Raihan Mohammad Jyoti , Siddiqua Towfida Jahan , Haque Md Ahshanul , Farzana Fahmida Dil , Ahmed S M Tanvir , Rahman Shahed , Naz Farina , Faruque A S G , Ahmed Tahmeed
Published: November 2022

Objective

This study aimed to identify the associated factors of low and medium household (HH) dietary diversity (DD) compared with high DD among marginalised households in rural Bangladesh.

Methods

Through the Suchana baseline survey, data on 5440 households from Sylhet and Moulvibazar districts of Bangladesh was collected between November 2016 and February 2017. Household DD was categorised as low, medium or high based on number of food groups consumed during the last 24 hours. Primary outcome measure was household DD; multinomial logistic regression was to determine independent correlations between outcome and independent variables.

Results

Of the households examined, 0.72%, 31.8% and 67.5% had low, medium and high DD, respectively. Around 99% and 97% of households consumed cereals and vegetables. Cereals, fruits and legumes accounted for 36%, 18% and 16% of total food expenditure; vegetables only represented 8% of total expenditure; 70% of total monthly expenditure was on food items. Compared with high DD, low DD was significantly associated with severe food insecurity, not receiving remittance, not being supported by social safety-net programs, household size of 6–10, household income and expenditure on food below-median. Severe food insecurity was the strongest predictor of low DD. Age, occupation and educational status of the household head, amount of land owned and presence of a homestead garden, fish production and domestic violence were not significantly associated with DD.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that nine out of ten households were food insecure, and nearly two-thirds of households had high DD. Severe food insecurity was significantly associated with low DD. Expenditure on food items amounted to nearly two-thirds of total household expenditure. Diversification of income-generating activities would provide more sources of income to the households, allowing the households to spend more on non-cereal food items and increase the household dietary diversity.
Integration of a clinical pharmacist workforce into newly forming primary care networks: a qualitatively driven, complex systems analysis
Authors: Mills Thomas , Madden Mary , Stewart Duncan , Gough Brendan , McCambridge Jim
Published: November 2022

Objective

The introduction of a new clinical pharmacist workforce via Primary Care Networks (PCNs) is a recent national policy development in the National Health Service in England. This study elicits the perspectives of people with responsibility for local implementation of this national policy package. Attention to local delivery is necessary to understand the contextual factors shaping the integration of the new clinical pharmacy workforce, and thus can be expected to influence future role development.

Design

A qualitative, interview study

Setting and participants

PCN Clinical Directors and senior pharmacists across 17 PCNs in England (n=28)

Analysis

Interviews were transcribed, coded and organised using the framework method. Thematic analysis and complex systems modelling were then undertaken iteratively to develop the themes.

Results

Findings were organised into two overarching themes: (1) local organisational innovations of a national policy under conditions of uncertainty; and (2) local multiprofessional decision-making on clinical pharmacy workforce integration and initial task assignment. Although a phased implementation of the PCN package was planned, the findings suggest that processes of PCN formation and clinical pharmacist workforce integration were closely intertwined, with underpinning decisions taking place under conditions of considerable uncertainty and workforce pressures.

Conclusions

National policy decisions that required General Practitioners to form PCNs at the same time as they integrated a new workforce risked undermining the potential of both PCNs and the new workforce. PCNs require time and support to fully form and integrate clinical pharmacists if successful role development is to occur. Efforts to incentivise delivery of PCN pharmacy services in future must be responsive to local capacity.
Population pharmacokinetics in critically ill neonates and infants undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: a literature review
Authors: Yalcin Nadir , Sürmelioğlu Nursel , Allegaert Karel
Published: November 2022

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) increases circulating blood volume, causes capillary leak and temporarily alters kidney function. Consequently, pharmacokinetics (PK) can be affected. When applied to neonates and infants, additional dose adjustments are a major concern, as the volume of distribution (Vd) is already generally greater for water-soluble drugs and the clearance (Cl) of drugs eliminated by glomerular filtration is reduced. A systematic search was performed on MEDLINE (1994–2022) using a combination of the following search terms: “pharmacokinetics”, “extracorporeal membrane oxygenation” and “infant, newborn” using Medical Subject Headings search strategy. Nine out of 18 studies on 11 different drugs (vancomycin, meropenem, fluconazole, gentamicin, midazolam, phenobarbital, theophylline, clonidine, morphine, cefotaxime and cefepime) recommended dose increase/decrease by determining PK parameters. In other studies, it has been suggested to adjust the dose intervals. While the elimination half-life (t1/2) and Vd mostly increased for all drugs, the Cl of the drugs has been shown to have variability except for midazolam and morphine. There are a limited number of population PK studies in neonates and infants undergoing ECMO circuits. Despite some divergences, the general pattern suggests an increase in Vd and t1/2, an increased, stable or decreased Cl, and an increase in variability. Consequently, and if possible, therapeutic drug monitoring and target concentration intervention are strongly recommended to determine appropriate exposure and doses for neonates and infants undergoing ECMO support.
Parent artery occlusion after pipeline embolization device implantation of intracranial saccular and fusiform aneurysms
Authors: Han Mingyang , Tong Xin , Wang Zhifei , Liu Aihua
Published: November 2022

Background

Studies reporting parent artery occlusion (PAO) after pipeline embolization device (PED) implantation are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence rate and risk factors of PAO after PED implantation.

Methods

In this retrospective study, we enrolled consecutive patients with intracranial saccular and fusiform aneurysms treated with PED implantation at our institution. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was subsequently performed to determine the risk factors for PAO.

Results

A total of 588 saccular and fusiform aneurysms were finally enrolled in the study. PAO was found in 14 (2.38%) aneurysms. The aneurysm complete occlusion rate was 79.6%. Compared with the non-PAO group, aneurysms in the PAO group were larger in size (20.08 vs 9.61 mm; p<0.001), had a greater neck diameter (9.92 vs 6.15 mm; p=0.001), and had higher frequencies of adjunctive coils (64.3% vs 35.7%; p=0.028). In the multivariate logistic analysis, aneurysm size (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.24; p=0.016) and the presence of poor wall apposition after balloon angioplasty (OR 7.74, 95% CI 1.28 to 46.82; p=0.026) were associated with PAO occurrence after adjusting for confounding factors.

Conclusions

In this study, the incidence rate of PAO following PED implantation was 2.38% in intracranial saccular and fusiform aneurysms. Aneurysm size and residual presence of poor wall apposition after balloon angioplasty were risk factors for PAO. Further research is required to better understand the mechanisms of PAO.
Single-antiplatelet regimen in ruptured cerebral blood blister and dissecting aneurysms treated with flow-diverter stent reconstruction
Authors: Madjidyar Jawid , Keller Emanuela , Winklhofer Sebastian , Toth Daniel , Barnaure Isabelle , Schubert Tilman , Thurner Patrick , Fierstra Jorn , Willms Jan Folkard , Regli Luca , Kulcsar Zsolt
Published: November 2022

Background

Flow diversion treatment of ruptured cerebral aneurysms remains challenging due to the need for double-antiplatelet therapy. We report our experience with flow-diverter stent (FDS) reconstruction with single-antiplatelet therapy of ruptured cerebral blood blister and dissecting aneurysms.

Methods

In this case series we performed a retrospective analysis of all patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms who were treated with a phosphoryl-bonded FDS between 2019 and 2022 in a single center. Periprocedurally, all patients received weight-adapted eptifibatide IV and heparin IV. After 6–24 hours, eptifibatide was switched to oral prasugrel as monotherapy. We analyzed the rate of bleeding complications, thromboembolic events, occlusion rate and clinical outcome.

Results

Nine patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage were treated, eight within 24 hours of symptom onset. Seven patients were treated with one FDS and two patients received two FDS in a telescopic fashion. Two aneurysms were additionally coil embolized. Fatal re-rupture occurred in one case; eight patients survived and had no adverse events associated with the FDS. Six patients showed complete occlusion of the aneurysm after 3 months (n=2) and 1 year (n=4), respectively. Two patients showed subtotal occlusion of the aneurysm at the last follow-up after 3 months and 6 months, respectively. Favorable clinical outcome was achieved in five patients.

Conclusions

Peri-interventional single-antiplatelet therapy with eptifibatide followed by prasugrel was sufficient to prevent thromboembolic events and reduce re-bleeding using an anti-thrombogenic FDS. FDS with single-antiplatelet therapy might be a viable option for ruptured blood blister and dissecting cerebral aneurysms.
Vertical distribution of excess ice in icy sediments and its statistical estimation from geotechnical data (Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands and Anderson Plain, Northwest Territories)
Authors: Castagner A. , Brenning A. , Gruber S. , Kokelj S.V.
Published: November 2022

Excess ice, found as massive ice and within icy sediments, is an important variable to quantify as it is a dominant control on the terrain and geotechnical response to permafrost thaw. A large amount of permafrost borehole data are available from the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands; however, field geotechnical assessments typically only involve the estimation of visible ice. To add significant value to these data sets, a cryostratigraphic data set collected along the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway (566 boreholes) is used to develop a beta regression model which predicts the excess ice content of icy sediments based on interval depth, visible ice content, material type, and Quaternary deposits. The resulting predictions are compared to recorded massive ice intervals and show that ground ice within icy sediments can contribute up to 65% of the excess ice and potential thaw strain within the first 10 m from the surface in this area. This study shows the general applicability of this approach and indicates that comparable, quantitative data on ground ice conditions should be collected with drilling programs to derive geotechnical variables and reduce modelling uncertainties so that ground ice data are available for quantitative analysis.
Novel ideas for the high luminosity phase of the LHC
Authors: Lohwasser Kristin , Schott Matthias
Published: November 2022

Without doubt, the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is one of the major projects in particle physics at the high energy frontier in the upcoming decades. Planned to come into operation mid-2027 it will substantially increase the amount of proton-proton collisions at 14 TeV delivered to the LHC experiments with a planned integrated luminosity of 3000 $$\mathrm {fb^{-1}}$$

fb

-
1

for both ATLAS and CMS experiments, 50 $$\mathrm {fb^{-1}}$$

fb

-
1

for LHCb, and 5 $$\mathrm {fb^{-1}}$$

fb

-
1

for ALICE. The delivery of Pb–Pb and p–Pb collisions with integrated luminosities of 13 $$\mathrm {nb^{-1}}$$

nb

-
1

and 50 $$\mathrm {nb^{-1}}$$

nb

-
1

is foreseen, yielding an increase by a factor of up to twenty compared to the currently available data of Run-1 and Run-2.
Forecasting the Duration of Three Connected Wings in a Generalized Lorenz Model
Authors: Brugnago E. L. , Felicio C. C. , Beims M. W.
Published: November 2022

This work considers the problem of predicting wing changes, and their duration, in systems able to support three interconnected wings (spirals) in the space of the variables. This is done by exploring the alignment of covariant Lyapunov vectors (CLVs) known to precede the occurrence of peaks and regime changes in some chaotic systems. Here, the alignment of the CLVs is combined with classification procedures, machine learning techniques and nearest-neighbors analysis to predict the duration inside coupled wings. The classification procedure has distinct classes defined as the number of maxima of one variable inside one wing, proportional to the time spent inside each wing. In general, we observe that predictions of significant duration times (around [Formula: see text] oscillations) inside a wing can be efficiently predicted until four subsequently visited wings. For five to ten subsequently visited wings, the prediction efficiency decreases significantly for more than ten oscillations inside each wing. The numerical comparison shows the superiority of the nearest-neighbors methods over the multilayer perceptrons procedure for the predictions. Remarkably, accuracies larger than [Formula: see text] are obtained for predictions of classes for [Formula: see text] subsequently visited wings. Accuracies higher than [Formula: see text] are obtained for predictions of classes in the [Formula: see text] subsequently visited wings.
Dynamics and Bifurcations in Filippov Type of Competitive and Symbiosis Systems
Authors: Cao Nanbin , Zhang Yue , Liu Xia
Published: November 2022

Filippov systems have found applications in various fields. This paper mainly studies five Lotka–Volterra models of Filippov type, including a competitive system with linear interaction between two species, a competitive system with Holling type II or type III functional response and a symbiosis system with Holling type II or type III functional response. We investigate the stability of all equilibria and the boundary equilibrium bifurcations of these systems, either a persistence bifurcation or a nonsmooth fold bifurcation. We present the numerical simulation results for each case. Consequently, based on both theory and simulation, we analyze the ecological aspects under the intervention of harvesting at different prescribed thresholds.
A Hyperneuron Model Towards in Silico Implementation
Authors: Branciforte Marco , Buscarino Arturo , Fortuna Luigi
Published: November 2022

In this paper, the concept of hyperneuron is introduced. The main properties and dynamical characteristics of this class of hypersystems will be studied by numerical analysis. The intrinsic robustness of the proposed model is further investigated by proposing a silicon implementation of the hyperneuron, reporting the corresponding experimental results. The study aims to present a novel approach to in silico implementations of large-scale networks of neurons with increased robustness and fault tolerance.
Critical and energy transition minerals in Argentina: mineral potential and challenges for strengthening public institutions
Authors: Murguía Diego I. , Bastida Ana Elizabeth
Published: November 2022

The energy transition will be mineral-intensive and the global demand for critical and energy transition minerals (ETMs) is expected to substantially rise. That will generate development opportunities and risks of intensified adverse socio-environmental impacts in mineral-rich countries like Argentina. In this article, we provide a review of Argentina's mineral potential for critical and ETMs and explore pathways for the country to strengthen its governance. Our results indicate that copper and lithium are the minerals with the largest potential in the short term. For other ETMs, such as nickel or cobalt, potential exists but it remains underexplored.

We argue that although responsible sourcing initiatives and rising environmental, social and governance standards have an important role to play, the great challenge ahead for the country lies in strengthening its public institutions for sustainability as these constitute a cornerstone for responsible mining practices. This includes strengthening of environmental institutions and water governance, new models of public participation and decision-making and policies for the development of local suppliers in key areas such as water governance. Addressing such challenges should be grounded on a vision of mining as a platform for broad-based development under co-operation with other sectors and the domestic science, technology and innovation system.
Alternate histories and conflicting futures
Authors: York Eric J.
Published: November 2022

Despite their central importance to a variety of endeavors and despite widespread use in both industry and academia, version control systems (software for tracking versions of files) have not been extensively studied in fields related to technical communication, rhetoric, and communication design. Git, by far the most dominant version control system today, is largely absent. This study theorizes Git as boundary infrastructure---infrastructure used to facilitate collaboration across disciplines and domains. The unique characteristics of boundary infrastructure explain how something as prominent as Git can be so invisible and help identify dangers posed by boundary infrastructure. Drawing on modes of resistance developed in feminist rhetorics, this article concludes with suggestions to ameliorate the negatives effects such infrastructure might have on collaborative knowledge work.
Platform work and the erosion of community networks in the global south
Authors: Anwar Ira Anjali , Mawii Zothan
Published: November 2022

This forum focuses on the conditions and futures of the labor underpinning technology production and maintenance. We welcome standalone articles as well as interviews and conversations about all tech labor within the global supply chain of digital technologies.
--- Seyram Avle and Sarah Fox, Editors
Paralinguistic Privacy Protection at the Edge
Authors: Aloufi Ranya , Haddadi Hamed , Boyle David
Published: November 2022

Voice user interfaces and digital assistants are rapidly entering our lives and becoming singular touch points spanning our devices. These
always-on
services capture and transmit our audio data to powerful cloud services for further processing and subsequent actions. Our voices and raw audio signals collected through these devices contain a host of sensitive paralinguistic information that is transmitted to service providers regardless of deliberate or false triggers. As our emotional patterns and sensitive attributes like our identity, gender, and well-being are easily inferred using deep acoustic models, we encounter a new generation of privacy risks by using these services. One approach to mitigate the risk of paralinguistic-based privacy breaches is to exploit a combination of cloud-based processing with privacy-preserving, on-device paralinguistic information learning and filtering before transmitting voice data.

In this article we introduce
EDGY
, a configurable, lightweight, disentangled representation learning framework that transforms and filters high-dimensional voice data to identify and contain sensitive attributes at the edge prior to offloading to the cloud. We evaluate EDGY’s on-device performance and explore optimization techniques, including model quantization and knowledge distillation, to enable private, accurate, and efficient representation learning on resource-constrained devices. Our results show that EDGY runs in tens of milliseconds with 0.2% relative improvement in “zero-shot” ABX score or minimal performance penalties of approximately 5.95% word error rate (WER) in learning linguistic representations from raw voice signals, using a CPU and a single-core ARM processor without specialized hardware.
A Novel Robust Grey Model for Forecasting Chinese Electricity Demand
Authors: Yao Riquan , Jin Shaojun , Wei Cong , Kong Jiayang
Published: November 2022

The grey model, which is abbreviated as GM (1, 1), has been widely applied in the fields of decision and prediction, particularly in the prediction of time series with few observations, referred to as the poor information and small sample in the literature related to grey model. Previous studies focus on improving the accuracy of prediction but pay less attention to the robustness of the grey model to outliers, which often occur in practice due to an incorrect record by chance or an accidental failure in equipment. To fill that void, we develop a robust grey model, whose structural parameters are obtained from the least trim squares, to forecast Chinese electricity demand. Also, we use the last value in the first‐order accumulative generating time series as the initial value, according to the new information priority criterion. We name the novel grey model, proposed in this paper, the novel robust grey model integrating the new information priority criterion, which could be abbreviated as NIPC‐GM (1, 1). In addition, we introduce a novel approach, that is, the bootstrapping test, to investigate the robustness against outliers for the novel robust grey model and the classical grey model, respectively. Using the data on Chinese electricity demand from 2011 to 2021, we find that not only does the novel robust grey model integrating the new information priority criterion have a better robustness to outliers than the classical grey model, but it also has a higher accuracy of prediction than the classical grey model. Finally, we apply the novel robust grey model integrating the new information priority criterion to forecasting the future values in Chinese electricity demand during the period 2022 to 2025. We see that Chinese electricity demand would continue to rise in the next four years.
Design of a Robust Coordinated Power Oscillation Damper for Use with Large-Scale Wind Energy System Connected to a Multimachine Power System
Authors: Kabiru Paul , Kaberere Keren , Kamau Stanley
Published: November 2022

Many researchers have proposed the use of the doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based wind energy conversion system (WECS) in the enhancement of power system dynamic performance. However, the application of a coordinated design strategy to coordinate the DFIG and other synchronous generators in the system for the improvement of small-signal stability is rarely researched. What is more, the use of strategy with a low computational burden to enhance the robustness of coordinated strategy for the design of damping controllers is rare. A coordinated strategy in designing multiple damping controllers, including DFIG-based power oscillation damper (POD) and power system stabilizers (PSSs), is proposed in this paper. A modal participation factor is employed to find out the most effective feedback signal for the POD. A hybrid optimization algorithm based on the grey wolf optimizer (GWO) and particle swarm optimizer (PSO) is applied for parameter optimization of the damping controllers considering a multiobjective eigenvalue-based optimization problem. Modal analysis is carried out on the widely studied two-area four-generator benchmark power system to establish the theoretical viability of the proposed approach. Probabilistic analysis established on Monte Carlo simulation is then carried out to prove the robustness of the coordinated design strategy under diverse operating conditions. Nonlinear time-domain simulations are used to verify the damping performance and robustness of the proposed strategy under different operating scenarios.
Green Product Pricing and Purchasing Strategies in a Two‐Period Supply Chain considering Altruistic Preferences
Authors: Miao Jie , Liu Aijun , Li Zengxian , Yuan Shuailei
Published: November 2022

With improvements in consumers’ environmental awareness and the promulgation of environmental regulations, an increasing number of companies are beginning to pay attention to green product design, pricing, and purchasing strategies. However, due to demand fluctuations and cost changes brought about by green product design and manufacturing, understanding corporate behavior preferences and constructing non‐single‐period pricing and procurement strategies can profoundly affect long‐term cooperation among green supply chain members. This paper constructs six scenarios in which decision‐makers have altruistic preferences simultaneously or separately and whether the retailer adopts strategic inventory. In addition, the impact of altruistic preferences and strategic inventory on the decision‐making and profits of the two‐period supply chain for marginal cost‐intensive green products (MIGPs) are analyzed. The results show that altruistic preferences and purchasing strategies do not affect MIGPs’ greening levels. Besides, the retailer’s strategic inventory is still an effective bargaining tool but is not necessarily beneficial to profits. Noteworthy, when deciders exhibit altruism simultaneously or alone, the effects on certain decisions and strategic inventory range are significantly different. Finally, the retailer’s altruistic preference may not affect the green supply chain’s profits, but the manufacturer’s altruism improves total profits.
Children Who Experience Unintentional Injuries: Their Functional Profiles
Authors: Rosenblum Sara , Nardi-Moses Tal , Goez Helly , Demeter Naor
Published: November 2022

Unintentional injuries are accidents that pose a major health problem among school children. This study compared the functional behavior and executive function characteristics of school-aged children who experienced unintentional injuries with those of controls who had not been injured. We investigated the background characteristics of injured children, injury characteristics, and parents’ perceptions of the children’s functional behaviors and executive function abilities. The study included 53 children aged 6 years to 18 years. Of them, 32 had experienced unintentional injuries. The 21 children who had not experienced unintentional injuries served as a control group matched for age and living environment. Parents of both groups completed (1) a demographic questionnaire addressing their children’s background, daily functional behavior characteristics, and injury characteristics and (2) the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Sixty percent of the children in the research (injured) group had been prediagnosed with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, compared with no child in the control (uninjured) group. Most injuries were limb fractures (60%) and sustained outside the home (50%). Parents of children who had been injured expressed significantly more concerns about their children’s daily behavior than did parents of the control group and reported their children as usually, but not always, independent and responsible. Compared with the children in the uninjured group, the children in the injured group had significantly lower executive function abilities in the BRIEF’s eight subscales, total behavioral regulation and metacognitive indices, and global executive function scores (

p
<
.001

). Children with certain diagnoses, functional behavior features, and deficient executive function abilities may be at risk for unintentional injuries. Raising occupational therapists’ awareness of these aspects may contribute to identifying, treating, and preventing accidental injuries among at-risk children.
Evaluation of New Power System Based on Entropy Weight-TOPSIS Method
Authors: Liu Yang , Wang Yunling , Li Ting , Ma Ruiguang , Xu Ke , Xu Weiting
Published: November 2022

Under the background of achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals on time in China, this study constructs a new power system evaluation index system with new energy as the main body from four aspects of “source, network, load, and storage.” This study attempts to use appropriate subjective and objective weighting methods to reasonably distribute index weights and construct an effective, reasonable, scientific, systematic, and comprehensively covered key new power system characteristic index model. From 2017 to 2020, the relevant data for the four dimensions of “source, network, load, and storage” of the power system of three provinces are selected for empirical analysis. The results show that, in the past five years, the performance of the power supply side and network side of the power system in the three provinces was the best and the performance of the load side and energy storage side was slightly insufficient. Specifically, the system outage duration, the number of intelligent sensing terminals, etc., still need to be further optimized and improved.
A Case Report of Pericardial Effusion with False-Positive Mesothelioma and Adenocarcinoma Markers as the Initial Presentation of Systemic Lupus Erythematous
Authors: Bhattacharya Gita , Gupta Pritha P
Published: November 2022

Pericardial effusion or the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac, can result from infectious, malignant, or autoimmune processes such as systemic lupus erythematous (SLE). However, pericardial effusion is infrequently the first presentation of SLE. Here, we describe the case of a 54-year-old African American woman who presented with hypertensive emergency and was found to have pericardial effusion on echocardiogram. Her hypertensive symptoms resolved with medical management and a work up were positive for serum markers of SLE and mesothelioma cell markers (calretinin, CK 5/6) and adenocarcinoma marker MOC31 in the pericardial fluid. Her effusion ultimately improved on high-dose steroid therapy and has not recurred in one year. Given normal pleura and pericardium on computed tomography (CT) imaging and long-term clinical improvement in SLE therapy, we hypothesize that she had false-positive mesothelioma markers in the setting of SLE.
A Rare Case of Calcified Simple Mesenteric Cyst in a 70-Year-Old Woman
Authors: Aregawi Alazar Berhe , Alem Alemwosen Teklehaimanot
Published: November 2022

Mesenteric cysts are one of the rare causes of intra-abdominal masses. They account for 1 in 100,000 cases in adults and 1 in 20,000 cases in children. Mesenteric cysts are commonly found in the small intestine, up to 60% of cases, and occasionally in the colon. The clinical presentation of patients with mesenteric cysts is so variable and nonspecific. It ranges from being asymptomatic to features of acute abdomen very rarely. Surgery is the treatment of choice. Complete excision with negative margins plays a curative role in avoiding the risk of recurrence as well. Here, we present the case of a 70-year-old woman who came to Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital with abdominal swelling for a 5-month duration. She had an abdominal ultrasound, which suggested a calcified mesenteric cyst with internal hemorrhage. The patient was taken to the OR with the impression of an intra-abdominal mass for exploratory laparotomy. The mass was completely excised and was subjected to pathology, which turned out to be a calcified simple mesenteric cyst, and the purpose of this case report is to alert physicians that although the preoperative diagnosis of mesenteric cysts is difficult, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with an intra-abdominal mass.
Discontinuation Rates of Tadalafil Alone and in Combination with a-Blockers in the Treatment of Male Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms with or without Coexisting Erectile Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Chen Qiang , Mao Yinjun , Zhou Huiliang , Tang Songxi
Published: November 2022

Purpose. We examined the discontinuation rates of tadalafil alone and in combination with a-blockers (ABs) for the treatment of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), with or without erectile dysfunction (ED). Materials and Methods. We searched the EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for studies published until May 15, 2022. The discontinuation rates associated with LUTS medications were subsequently analyzed by meta-analysis. Results. Forty-four studies, including 1724 discontinued patients, were included. The combined discontinuation rate was 12.78% (95% confidence interval (CI) 9.89–15.98%), and the discontinuation rates because of adverse events and lack of efficacy were 4.56% (95% CI 3.39–5.90%) and 3.30% (95% CI 1.53–5.72%), respectively. Conclusions. The discontinuation rate of tadalafil alone or in combination with ABs for LUTS with or without ED was relatively low and varied according to the study type. Patients receiving monotherapy or combination therapy were similarly likely to abandon treatment. Treatment with a fixed-dose combination was associated with better persistence than with a free-dose combination. These data may help guide clinicians in selecting drug regimens when making decisions. Factors associated with treatment withdrawal need to be determined through high-quality clinical studies to reduce the drug discontinuation rate, which will ultimately reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes.
Hospitalizations and adverse drug events in the Brazilian unified health system: a ten-year retrospective analysis of routine data
Authors: Silva Lunara Teles , Modesto Ana Carolina Figueiredo , Oliveira Rodrigo Alves de , Amaral Rita Goreti , Lopes Flavio Marques
Published: November 2022

OBJECTIVE To describe the frequency and characteristics of hospitalizations for/with adverse drug events in the Brazilian unified health system routine data. METHODS Nationwide retrospective study using data obtained from a period of ten years from the Brazil Hospital Information System (SIH-SUS), an administrative database that registers hospitalizations in the unified health system. We selected hospitalizations with primary and/or secondary diagnosis related to adverse drug events according to a list of validated International Classification Disease 10th edition (ICD-10) codes. These events were described according to year, age group, sex, length of hospital stay, mortality, hospital costs, Brazilian geographical region, and category of ICD-10 codes. Crude hospitalization rates of adverse drug events per 100,000 inhabitants were obtained and Joinpoint Regression was used to analyze temporal changes in these rates along the years. The most frequent ICD-10 codes were also identified. RESULTS Over ten years, 603,663 hospitalizations in Brazil were found in the database, out of which 2.5% of the patients died. Though 2009 had the highest prevalence of hospitalization per 100,000 inhabitants (32.57), no significant annual change in rates was found for the entire period. All age groups and sexes presented a jointpoint in temporal series; however, only women had a significative increase trend. The most frequent codes were from the chapter of mental and behavioral disorders (F19.2, F19.0, and F19.5 codes). CONCLUSIONS The database methodology can be useful to estimate frequencies of adverse drug events and perform characterization nationwide and to help monitor morbidity along the years.
Differentials in death count records by databases in Brazil in 2010
Authors: Diógenes Victor Hugo Dias , Pinto Júnior Elzo Pereira , Gonzaga Marcos Roberto , Queiroz Bernardo Lanza , Lima Everton E. C. , Costa Lilia Carolina C. da , Rocha Aline S. , Ferreira Andrêa J. F. , Teixeira Camila S. S. , Alves Flávia Jôse O. , Rameh Leila , Flores-Ortiz Renzo , Leyland Alastair , Dundas Ruth , Barreto Maurício L. , Ichihara Maria Yury Travassos
Published: November 2022

OBJECTIVE To compare the death counts from three sources of information on mortality available in Brazil in 2010, the Mortality Information System (SIM - Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade ), Civil Registration Statistic System (RC - Sistema de Estatísticas de Resgistro Civil ), and the 2010 Demographic Census at various geographical levels, and to confirm the association between municipal socioeconomic characteristics and the source which showed the highest death count. METHODS This is a descriptive and comparative study of raw data on deaths in the SIM, RC and 2010 Census databases, the latter held in Brazilian states and municipalities between August 2009 and July 2010. The percentage of municipalities was confirmed by the database showing the highest death count. The association between the source of the highest death count and socioeconomic indicators - the Índice de Privação Brasileiro (IBP – Brazilian Deprivation Index) and Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IHDM – Municipal Human Development Index) - was performed by bivariate choropleth and Moran Local Index of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster maps. RESULTS Confirmed that the SIM is the database with the highest number of deaths counted for all Brazilian macroregions, except the North, in which the highest coverage was from the 2010 Census. Based on the indicators proposed, in general, the Census showed a higher coverage of deaths than the SIM and the RC in the most deprived (highest IBP values) and less developed municipalities (lowest IDHM values) in the country. CONCLUSION The results highlight regional inequalities in how the databases chosen for this study cover death records, and the importance of maintaining the issue of mortality on the basic census questionnaire.
Interaction Between Race and Income on Cardiac Outcomes After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention
Authors: Kumar Anirudh , Ogunnowo Gregory O. , Khot Umesh N. , Raphael Claire E. , Ghobrial Joanna , Rampersad Penelope , Puri Rishi , Khatri Jaikirshan J. , Reed Grant W. , Krishnaswamy Amar , Cho Leslie , Lincoff A. Michael , Ziada Khaled M. , Kapadia Samir R. , Ellis Stephen G.
Published: November 2022

Background

Compared with White Americans, Black Americans have a greater prevalence of cardiac events following percutaneous coronary intervention. We evaluated the association between race and neighborhood income on post–percutaneous coronary intervention cardiac events and assessed whether income modifies the effect of race on this relationship.

Methods and Results

Consecutive patients (n=23 822) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2016, were included. All‐cause mortality and major adverse cardiac event were assessed at 3 years. Extended 10‐year follow‐up was performed for those residing locally (n=1285). Neighborhood income was derived using median adjusted annual gross household income reported within the patient's zip code. We compared differences in treatment and outcomes, adjusting for race, income, and their interaction. In total, 3173 (13.3%) patients self‐identified as Black Americans, and 20 649 (86.7%) self‐identified as White Americans. Black Americans had a worse baseline cardiac risk profile and lower neighborhood income compared with White Americans. Although risk profile improved with increasing income in White Americans, no difference was observed across incomes among Black Americans. Despite similar long‐term outpatient cardiology follow‐up and medication prescription, risk profiles among Black Americans remained worse. At 3 years, unadjusted all‐cause mortality (18.0% versus 15.2%;
P
<0.001) and major adverse cardiac event (37.3% versus 34.6%;
P
<0.001) were greater among Black Americans and with lower income (both
P
<0.001); race, income, and their interaction were not significant predictors in multivariable models. At 10‐year follow‐up, increasing income was associated with improved outcomes only in White Americans but not Black Americans. In multivariable models for major adverse cardiac event, income (hazard ratio [HR], 0.97 [95% CI, 0.96–0.98];
P
=0.005), Black race (HR, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.58–1.96];
P
=0.006), and their interaction (HR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.97–0.99];
P
=0.003) were significant predictors. Similar findings were observed for cardiac death.

Conclusions

Early 3‐year post–percutaneous coronary intervention outcomes were driven by worse risk factor profiles in both Black Americans and those with lower neighborhood income. However, late 10‐year outcomes showed an independent effect of race and income, with improving outcomes with greater income limited to White Americans. These findings illustrate the importance of developing novel care strategies that address both risk factor modification and social determinants of health to mitigate disparities in cardiac outcomes.
The Original Meaning of the Dutch Word polder
Authors: Keurentjes Marco
Published: November 2022

The origin of the word polder is contested. The older theories derive polder from Dutch pol (‘sod of grass, top, head, higher piece of land’, cognate with English poll(e) and Middle-Low-German pol(le)) or from Dutch poel (‘puddle, pond of still water’; cognate with German Pfuhl, English pool and Middle-Low German pōl(e)/pūl). In this article the author will review the etymological explanations and offer new support for a connection with poel. The original meaning of polder must have been ‘a land covered in puddles, wetland, marshy ground’.
Schwache Beugungen von Substantiven und Eigennamen in altniederländischen Ortsnamen
Authors: Quak Arend
Published: November 2022

As a continuation of earlier articles on the morphology of Old Dutch (2019) the weak declensions of substantives and personal names that appear in place names from the 8th to the 10th century are discussed. This also offers the opportunity for a critical view on some of the place names that are attested in this period.
Leaf cuticle in Brazilian species of Cryptocarya (Lauraceae)
Authors: MORAES PEDRO LUÍS RODRIGUES DE , LAUAND RIBEIRO HENRIQUE , MOYSÉS NETO CARLOS ALBERTO
Published: November 2022

In this study, we analysed leaf cuticle characters of 61 collections from 13 Cryptocarya species recognised in Brazil, of which 11 are considered endemic, and one Costa Rican collection of an unidentified species. Most Cryptocarya species studied have predominantly undulate anticlinal epidermal walls on the adaxial surface, butterfly-shaped stomatal ledges and the stomatal complex protruding and arching over the stomatal slit with a rim resembling two kidneys facing each other (reniform rims). Analysis of a matrix of six leaf cuticle qualitative characters and 19 states, most of them illustrated here for the first time by light and scanning electron microscopy, allowed us to distinguish these taxa. Based on these characters, two Brazilian Cryptocarya species can be easily separated from the others by their predominantly straight anticlinal epidermal walls adaxially and the almost flat surface appearance of the stomatal complex.
Additions to the knowledge on the genus Tiphia Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Tiphiinae) from India with the description of ten new species
Authors: HANIMA RAVEENDRAN K.P. , KUMAR P. GIRISH , HEGDE VISHWANATH D.
Published: November 2022

The genus Tiphia Fabricius from India was studied, resulting in the description and illustration of five new species based on females, Tiphia (Tiphia) bijui Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) novus Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) rajeevani Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) sahyadriensis Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., and T. (T.) venkataramani Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., and five new species based on males, T. (Punctotiphia) chareshi Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) davidrajui Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) hyalina Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., T. (T.) kurumba Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., and T. (T.) shajii Hanima & Girish Kumar sp. nov., from India. The male of T. lyrata Magretti, is newly reported with descriptions and illustrations. Seven species are reported for the first time from India. Range extensions of several species to various states of India are also augmented here. The male genitalia of 16 species were dissected and studied. A modified key to species of Tiphia from the Indian subcontinent is provided. An updated distributional checklist from India is also provided.
The Impact of Stochastic Mesoscale Weather Systems on the Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Zhou Shenjie , Renfrew Ian A. , Zhai Xiaoming
Published: November 2022

The ocean is forced by the atmosphere on a range of spatial and temporal scales. In numerical models the atmospheric resolution sets a limit on these scales and for typical climate models mesoscale (<500 km) atmospheric forcing is absent or misrepresented. Previous studies have demonstrated that mesoscale forcing significantly affects key ocean circulation systems such as the North Atlantic subpolar gyre (SPG) and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Here we present ocean model simulations that demonstrate that the addition of realistic mesoscale atmospheric forcing leads to coherent patterns of change: a cooler sea surface in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean and deeper mixed layers in the subpolar North Atlantic in autumn, winter, and spring. These lead to robust statistically significant increases in the volume transport of the North Atlantic SPG by 10% and the AMOC by up to 10%. Our simulations use a novel stochastic parameterization—based on a cellular automata algorithm—to represent spatially coherent weather systems realistically over a range of scales, including down to the smallest resolvable by the ocean grid (∼10 km). Convection-permitting atmospheric models predict changes in the intensity and frequency of mesoscale weather systems due to climate change, so representing them in coupled climate models would bring higher fidelity to future climate projections.
Uncertainty quantification in elastic constants of SiCf/SiCm tubular composites using global sensitivity analysis
Authors: Thandaga Nagaraju Hemanth , Nance James , Kim Nam H , Sankar Bhavani , Subhash Ghatu
Published: November 2022

Silicon carbide fiber and silicon carbide matrix (SiCf/SiCm) tubes produced through the chemical vapor infiltration process have become a candidate cladding material in nuclear applications. The performance of this composite is influenced by many variables such as braiding angle, porosity, material properties, etc., which vary over a range of values due to the inherent fluctuations in the manufacturing process. In this study, the variability in elastic constants of SiCf/SiCm composite has been quantified through multiscale finite element (FE) simulations, variable screening, and high-fidelity surrogate modeling. The key variables dominantly affecting the elastic constants of SiCf/SiCm tubes were identified using global sensitivity analysis. A surrogate to the high-fidelity FE-based model was used in Monte Carlo simulations to generate a hundred thousand samples from which the uncertainty in elastic constants was assessed. It turned out that the coefficient of variation was less than 10%.