bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Adolescents’ and professionals’ experiences of metabolic and bariatric surgery and requirements for preoperative and postoperative support through mHealth: a qualitative study
Authors: Müssener Ulrika , Örn Malin , Olbers Torsten , Löf Marie , Sjögren Lovisa
Published: November 2022

Objectives

This study aimed to explore adolescents’ and professionals’ incentives and experiences of metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) and to explore perceived needs and requirements for preoperative and postoperative support through an mHealth intervention to improve long-term healthy lifestyle behaviour and health outcomes.

Design

An inductive qualitative study using in-depth semistructured interviews.

Setting

Three hospital-based specialist paediatric obesity treatment units in Sweden.

Participants

A total of 18 participants (14 women and 4 men). Nine adolescents aged between 17 and 22 years who had undergone or were about to undergo surgery, and nine professionals, including researchers and clinicians working in various professional roles such as physiotherapist, dietician, nurse, psychologist, physician and pedagogue.

Results

Both informant groups of participants highlighted that undergoing MBS is a complex process, and hence actions are required on several levels to optimise the positive, long-term effects of surgery. Efficient communication between the healthcare professionals and adolescents was considered crucial and a key success factor. Informants acknowledged the need for additional support that relates to psychosocial well-being and mental health in order to understand, form and accept new behaviours and identity. An mHealth intervention should be seen as complementary to physical appointments, and informants acknowledged that an app could be a way of improving access to healthcare, and a useful tool to allow for individually tailored and easily available support.

Conclusions

The findings address the importance of a personal encounter and a need for additional support that relates to psychosocial well-being, mental health and healthy lifestyle behaviour. These findings should be incorporated into future research concerning mHealth interventions in MBS during adolescence.
Factors associated with adolescents’ sexual experience based on the biopsychosocial model: a cross-sectional study using the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBS)
Authors: Kim Ka Young , Shin Hye Young
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Sexual activity is an important integrative behaviour that interacts with biological, psychological and social factors among various changes in adolescence. However, starting sex at an early age is associated with adverse outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors associated with adolescents’ sexual experience based on the biopsychosocial model.

Design

A cross-sectional study.

Setting

The participants were selceted through a complex sample design at high schools and middle schools nationwide in Korea.

Participants

We employed 4-year data (2017–2020) of the cross-sectional Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. In total, 234567 participants attending middle school and high school were analysed. Sexual experience was defined as having had sexual intercourse (oral, anal or vaginal) in their lifetime. To identify variables associated with adolescents’ sexual experiences, we used a biopsychosocial model. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the variables associated with sexual experience.

Results

3.4% of boys and 1.6% of girls attending middle school had sexual experiences, showing a significant difference. A total of 10.4% of boys and 5.1% of girls attending high school had sexual experiences (p<0.001). Among the biological factors of the biopsychosocial model, age and gender were significantly associated with sexual experiences in adolescents. Regarding the psychological factors, suicidal thoughts were a significant risk factor associated with sexual experience. Furthermore, social factors including drinking, smoking and family structure were associated with sexual experience in adolescents. Particularly, a significantly higher sexual experience was found in the three groups living with a single parent, step-parents and no parents compared with the group living with both parents in family structure.

Conclusions

This study demonstrated the factors associated with adolescents’ sexual experience based on the biopsychosocial model. Further research and policy strategies that consider supporting family communication and mental health and preventing substance use are required to prevent adolescents’ sexual health.
Mortality as an indicator of quality of neurosurgical care in England: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Wahba Adam J , Cromwell David A , Hutchinson Peter J , Mathew Ryan K , Phillips Nick
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Postoperative mortality is a widely used quality indicator, but it may be unreliable when procedure numbers and/or mortality rates are low, due to insufficient statistical power. The objective was to investigate the statistical validity of postoperative 30-day mortality as a quality metric for neurosurgical practice across healthcare providers.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Hospital Episode Statistics data from all neurosurgical units in England.

Participants

Patients who underwent neurosurgical procedures between April 2013 and March 2018. Procedures were grouped using the National Neurosurgical Audit Programme classification.

Outcomes measured

National 30-day postoperative mortality rates were calculated for elective and non-elective neurosurgical procedural groups. The study estimated the proportion of neurosurgeons and NHS trusts in England that performed sufficient procedures in 3-year and 5-year periods to detect unusual performance (defined as double the national rate of mortality). The actual difference in mortality rates that could be reliably detected based on procedure volumes of neurosurgeons and units over a 5-year period was modelled.

Results

The 30-day mortality rates for all elective and non-elective procedures were 0.4% and 6.1%, respectively. Only one neurosurgeon in England achieved the minimum sample size (n=2402) of elective cases in 5 years needed to detect if their mortality rate was double the national average. All neurosurgical units achieved the minimum sample sizes for both elective (n=2402) and non-elective (n=149) procedures. In several neurosurgical subspecialties, approximately 80% of units (or more) achieved the minimum sample sizes needed to detect if their mortality rate was double the national rate, including elective neuro-oncology (baseline mortality rate=2.3%), non-elective neuro-oncology (rate=5.7%), neurovascular (rate=6.7%) and trauma (rate=11%).

Conclusion

Postoperative mortality lacks statistical power as a measure of individual neurosurgeon performance. Neurosurgical units in England performed sufficient procedure numbers overall and in several subspecialty areas to support the use of mortality as a quality indicator.
Navigation for youth mental health and addictions: protocol for a realist review and synthesis of approaches and practices (The NavMAP standards project)
Authors: Markoulakis Roula , Arora Simran R A , Kodeeswaran Sugy , Di Febo Michelle , Kuuter Liisa , Fleming James , Walsh Cathy , Hauser Adina , Cleverley Kristin , Hitzig Sander L , Kokorelias Kristina , Cheung Amy , Willis David , Levitt Anthony
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Mental health and/or addiction (MHA) concerns affect approximately 1.2 million children and youth in Canada, yet less than 20% receive appropriate treatment for these concerns. Youth who do not receive appropriate support may disengage from care and may experience lasting MHA issues. Families of these youth also support them in finding and accessing care. Thus, system supports are needed to help youth and their families find and equitably access appropriate care. Navigation is an innovation in MHA care, providing patient-centred support and care planning that helps individuals and families overcome barriers to care. Despite the increasing availability of navigation services for youth with MHA concerns, practices and models vary, and no single source has synthesised evidence regarding approaches and outcomes for this population into comprehensive standards.

Methods and analysis

The proposed research will bring together evidence in youth MHA navigation, to establish this important system support as a factor that can enhance the integration and continuity of care for these youth. Our team, which includes researchers, administrators, clinical leads, an MHA navigator and youth and caregivers with lived experience, will be involved in all project stages. Realist Review and Synthesis methodology will be used, the stages of which include: defining scope, searching for evidence, appraising studies and extracting data, synthesising evidence and developing conclusions, and disseminating findings.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval is not required, as the study involves review of existing data. Dissemination plans include scientific publications and conferences and online products for stakeholders and the general public.
AWHONN postpartum discharge education: patient knowledge and sustainability
Authors: de los Reyes Samantha , Al-Khaled Dana , Brito Katherine , Kholmatov Manizha , Farley Brianna , Kuriloff Melissa , Stamos Gayle , Victorson David , Plunkett Beth
Published: November 2022

Objective

The objective is to evaluate whether the implementation of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) postpartum discharge educational initiative is associated with improved patient knowledge of warning signs of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and if the initiative is self-sustaining.

Design

A pre–post design was used to evaluate patient knowledge of warning signs of SMM (Plan–Do–Study–Act, PDSA cycle 1) and if the quality improvement initiative was self-sustaining (PDSA cycle 2). Patient understanding of warning signs of SMM prior to initiation of the AWHONN education (Usual Discharge) was compared with understanding of those who were discharged after implementation (POST-BIRTH discharge). The initiative was designed to be self-sustaining. The POST-BIRTH flyer describes nine warning signs of SMM. Eligible participants were English-speaking patients discharged with a live newborn who were able to be contacted within 2 weeks. Participants completed a telephone administered nine-item survey to assess knowledge of SMM. The primary outcome was the percentage of correct answers. To evaluate sustainability, whether the POST-BIRTH fliers and discharge checklist were still being used at 19 months postinitiative was planned.

Results

For PDSA cycle 1, in the Usual Discharge group, 347 patients were discharged, 164 (44.7%) were eligible and 151 (92.1%) completed the survey. In the POST-BIRTH discharge group, 268 patients were discharged, 199 (74.3%) were eligible and 183 (92.0%) completed the survey. Compared with the Usual Discharge group, the POST-BIRTH group had significantly more correct responses (30% vs 60%, p<0.001). In PDSA cycle 2, POST-BIRTH flyers were still being used universally on one of the two floors from which postpartum patients are discharged, but not the other.

Conclusion

The implementation of an educational initiative for postpartum patients is associated with improved knowledge of warning signs of SMM. The use of the education was self-sustaining on one discharge floor but not the other.
Body mass index and mortality in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a cohort study in a South London catchment area
Authors: Chen Jianhua , Perera Gayan , Shetty Hitesh , Broadbent Matthew , Xu Yifeng , Stewart Robert
Published: November 2022

Background

People with schizophrenia have a high premature mortality risk. Obesity is a key potential underlying risk factor that is relatively unevaluated to date.

Aims

In this study, we investigated the associations of routinely recorded body size with all-cause mortality and deaths from common causes in a large cohort of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Methods

We assembled a retrospective observational cohort using data from a large mental health service in South London. We followed all patients over the age of 18 years with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorders from the date of their first recorded body mass index (BMI) between 1 January 2007 and 31 March 2018.

Results

Of 11 900 patients with a BMI recording, 1566 died. The Cox proportional hazards regression models, after adjusting for sociodemographic, socioeconomic variables and comorbidities, indicated that all-cause mortality was only associated with underweight status compared with healthy weight status (hazard ratio (HR): 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01 to 1.76). Obesity (HR: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.52) and morbid obesity (HR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.03 to 2.42) were associated with all-cause mortality in the 18–45 years age range, and obesity was associated with lower risk (HR: 0.66, 95% CI: 0.50 to 0.87) in those aged 65+ years. Cancer mortality was raised in underweight individuals (HR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.10) and respiratory disease mortality raised in those with morbid obesity (HR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.02 to 5.22).

Conclusions

Overall, being underweight was associated with higher mortality in this disorder group; however, this was potentially accounted for by frailty in older age groups, and obesity was a risk factor for premature mortality in younger ages. The impact of obesity on life expectancy for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders is clear from our findings. A deeper biological understanding of the relationship between these diseases and schizophrenia will help improve clinical practice.
Continuous baseline update using recurrence quantification analysis for damage detection with guided ultrasonic waves
Authors: Maack Björn , Brandt Carsten , Koerdt Michael , Polle Christoph , Herrmann Axel Siegfried
Published: November 2022

For the safe operation of vehicles and full utilization of lightweight materials, assurance of structural integrity is a prerequisite at all times. Structural health monitoring with permanently installed transducers offers a great advantage for primary load-bearing structures of all means of transportation and other safety-relevant components such as hydrogen tanks: allowing damage detection during operation. One means to detect internal defects is the method of guided ultrasonic waves (GUWs), which can be generated and recorded by piezoelectric transducers. GUWs propagate along the elongated dimension of a structure, and a transducer network can completely cover and monitor structures. Defects can alter the signal along affected paths and allow for their detection. However, a challenge and obstacle for the application of such a testing technique in the service of means of transportation is the large influence of temperatures. These influences are difficult to distinguish from the effect of defects. One approach to overcome this difficulty is the “continuous baseline update”. Recurrence quantification analysis is tested and compared to established features as a new approach to “continuous baseline update” in this paper. Publicly available GUW data (http://www.openguidedwaves.de/) recorded under varying temperature conditions have been used to show how the methods perform. They reliably separate temperature and damage effects, while the recurrence quantification analysis yields the best results.
An Extended Hertz Model for Incompressible Mooney–Rivlin Half-Space Under Finite Spherical Indentation
Authors: Wang Ben , Lyu Qihui , Jiang Li , Chen Yang , Guo Zaoyang
Published: November 2022

In this paper, an extended Hertz model is proposed to predict the mechanical responses of the incompressible Mooney–Rivlin half-space under finite spherical indentation. The contact behaviors are systematically investigated through the axisymmetric finite element (FE) model using various constitutive parameter ratios. Based on the numerical results, the radius of contact zone is first derived by adopting the exact function of the indenter shape. A reliable prediction of contact force, for the incompressible neo-Hookean model, is then obtained by substituting newly modified contact radius into the original Hertz model. From this base, a correction factor, which characterizes the effect of constitutive parameter ratio, is introduced to predict the contact force, and the contact pressure distribution of the original Hertz’ formula is also extended for the incompressible Mooney–Rivlin half-space under spherical indentation up to the indenter radius. The extended Hertz model related to constitutive parameters is validated effectively through FE simulations and experimental indentation results under finite spherical indentation. On the contrary, when the indentation depth exceeds 10% of the indenter radius, the original Hertz model is unable to predict the strong effect of constitutive parameter ratio on the contact behaviors for the incompressible Mooney–Rivlin half-space.
Effects of Speed and Posture on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Running and Required Power
Authors: Kim Jihoon , Lee Sinyoung , Ho Van-Thanh , Shin Dongjun , Ryu Jaiyoung
Published: November 2022

Types of running vary from jogging in parks to fast running in competitions. Humans strive for faster, stronger, and more sustainable running performances spanning short to long distances. In the near future, wearable devices will enable humans to run at high speeds and overcome human limits. Therefore, aerodynamic prediction is essential for the system design of a wearable device. This study focused on the aerodynamic drag and flow field according to the assumed human posture at takeoff and touchdown for various running speeds. Numerical simulations were conducted with the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equation, and a mathematical model, in conjunction with the use of simple geometric models, was developed to predict the aerodynamic drag. In addition, the power and energy were analyzed based on the generated aerodynamic drag. This study demonstrated the theoretical prediction of aerodynamic drag, and estimated the power and energy required to overcome it. The results from this study can be useful in the fields of sports, soft robotics, and biomechanics. Furthermore, the effects of wearable devices attached to the body on the aerodynamic drag can be analyzed by applying the presented methods, and this analysis is beneficial for the optimal design of wearable suits.
Research on Vibration Absorption and Isolation Characteristics of Periodic Acoustic Black Hole Beam Resonators and their Enhancement
Authors: Bao Yue , Liu Xiandong , Yao Zhengcheng , Shan Yingchun , He Tian
Published: November 2022

An acoustic black hole (ABH) resonator is regarded as an efficient approach for controlling vibration caused by flexural wave energy. In this paper, the beam models with periodic ABH beam resonators are designed. Both the vibration absorption and isolation performances are investigated. Theoretical models based on the Transfer Matrix Method are presented to evaluate the reflection coefficient, which is validated both by the semi-analytic method combined with the Finite Element Method (FEM) and the Impedance Matrix Method. Meanwhile, FEM models of periodic ABH beam resonators acting as the beam terminator and isolator are established and analyzed. The results show that the periodic ABH beam resonators are of a better vibration reduction performance in lower frequency and have wider bandgaps for lower reflection coefficient and higher transmission loss than the single wedge. Moreover, with the increasing number of periods, the advantages of the periodic ABH beam resonators in reducing vibration become more obvious. Through the complex plane and dynamic analyses, it shows that multimode coupling and meta-damping effect lead to superior performance since the enriched modal content is introduced by the periodic ABH beam structure. This effect is also verified by the experimental result. Besides, the study also reveals the paradoxical relationship between vibration absorption and isolation performances. Additionally, parametric studies are conducted to disclose the effects of structural parameters. Based on the analyses, two approaches are proposed to enhance the vibration reduction performances, including the composite beam resonators and compound beam resonators. This paper illustrates a promising vision for applying the periodic ABH beam resonators to various vibration control fields.
Controllable Spin Filtering by δ-Doping for Electrons in Magnetically and Electrically Modulated Semiconductor Nanostructure
Authors: Kong Yong-Hong , Fu Xi , Li Ai-Hua
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we theoretically investigate how to control spin filtering via a [Formula: see text]-doping for electrons in a magnetically and electrically modulated semiconductor nanostructure (MEMSN), which can be realized by patterning a ferromagnetic (FM) stripe and a Schottky-metal (SM) stripe on top and bottom of GaAs/AlxGa[Formula: see text]As heterostructure in experiments, respectively. A considerable spin filtering effect still exists because of spin–orbit coupling (SOC), even if a [Formula: see text]-doping is included. Moreover, spin polarization ratio can be manipulated by [Formula: see text]-doping, which may lead to a structurally-controllable electron-spin filter for semiconductor spintronics.
Big Data Analytics for Predictive System Maintenance Using Machine Learning Models
Authors: Ngwa Pius , Ngaruye Innocent
Published: November 2022

Machines are an indispensable part of every economy, playing vital roles in many sectors including production. Companies strive to produce quality products and services in order to satisfy customers and stay afloat. However, system failure leading to unprecedented downtime often impedes the delivery of goods and services, and affects businesses adversely. Consequently, the striving to keep system downtime at an ‘acceptable low’ level and mitigate associated costs is always on the rise. In this paper, Multilayer Perceptron, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) Classifier algorithms have been trained using labeled time series-data collected on production machinery to predict production machine failure within a horizon of one day and provide insight that supports the decision process for machine maintenance. By testing our models on the validation dataset, the Multilayer Perceptron neural network reliably outperformed the other models with an accuracy score of 99.99%.
Litho-structural control on rock slope failures at Garmaksla, Billefjorden coastline, Svalbard
Authors: Kuhn Dirk , Hermanns Reginald L. , Torizin Jewgenij , Fuchs J. Michael , Schüßler Nick , Eilertsen Raymond S. , Redfield Tim F. , Balzer Dirk , Böhme Martina
Published: November 2022

The eastern slope of Garmaksla, a flat-topped mountain at the western margin of Billefjorden, Svalbard, is affected by mass movements of different types. Rotational rock slides, rock fall and a rock avalanche affecting the coastal cliff are shallow surface expressions covering a larger rock mass instability that is bordered to the west by the Balliolbreen Fault. This structural feature is part of the Billefjorden Fault Zone and accommodated multi-phase deformation since Devonian time. Based on a comprehensive morpho-structural analysis, the mapped surface features and rock slope failures are explained by a compound rock slide model that reveals a litho-structural control on the type and mechanism of slope instability. The Balliolbreen Fault serves as an inherited zone of weakness that is reactivated as the rear rupture surface of the rock slide. In addition, favourably oriented bedding planes and pre-existing fault zones serve as prime conditioning factors for the compound rock slide. A postglacial age of at least 6 ka is derived from
14
C dated sediments of Garmaksla Lake, a perennial sag pond along the main scarp. Although the current state of activity of the compound rock slide is unclear, an increase of shallow slope instabilities is expected owing to climate warming.
Mineral diagenesis in a carbonate-rich mudstone: the Lower Carboniferous Hodder Mudstone, UK
Authors: Ohiara Timothy M. , Taylor Kevin G. , Dowey Patrick J.
Published: November 2022

Mineral authigenesis in mudstones responds differently across the compositional spectrum of fine-grained rocks, resulting in a complex array of possible rock fabrics that affect the mechanical capacity of mudstones. Within carbonate-rich mudstones, geochemical controls on silicate and carbonate mineral reactions are variable and poorly understood. Here we analyse the diagenetic minerals of the carbonate-rich Hodder Mudstone from the Carboniferous Bowland Basin, UK, using SEM petrography combined with X-ray-based inorganic geochemical data. Our findings show that up to 90% of quartz cements in the samples are diagenetic, originating mainly from biogenic silica dissolution and clay mineral reactions. It is also evident that due to the varying diagenetic silica-yielding reactions, authigenic silica overgrowths and isolated authigenic quartz crystals are localized in argillaceous samples, while calcareous samples are characterized by silica replacement textures and quartz/calcite intergrowths. Moreover, euhedral dolomite crystals are concentrated within argillaceous units, whereas calcareous units are characterized by anhedral dolomite precipitation and replacement textures. These finding presents a case for facies-selective cementation, as both early and burial diagenetic alterations were observed to be controlled by primary depositional components of biogenic debris and extrabasinal silicate detritus that resulted in complex and variable precipitation of authigenic minerals.
Pore structure–transport relationships in the Bowland Shale
Authors: Pitcher Eleanor G. , Fletcher Robin S. , Large David J. , Rigby Sean P.
Published: November 2022

Shale rocks are highly structurally and chemically heterogeneous, such that the pore structure–transport relationship is complex. Shales typically have porosity over many length-scales from the molecular up to macroscopic fractures. This work utilizes gas overcondensation to probe pore sizes from micropores to very large macropores all in the same experiment without the potential for damage due to high pressures when conducting mercury porosimetry. Indeed, the Bowland Shale samples studied here are generally inaccessible to mercury intrusion. The gas overcondensation method can also be augmented using scanning loops to assess the spatial juxtaposition of very different pore sizes, and this has been used to determine that some large macropores are shielded by pore necks less than 4 nm in size in the Bowland Shale. In addition, the adsorption calorimetry method has been used to assess the accessibility of the void space. It has been found that mass transport is limited by particular ‘hour-glass’-like pore necks that fill at quite low saturation, and thus present a barrier to molecular migration. The shielding of macroporosity by narrow necks was particularly significant for the Above Marine Band sample, with lower shielding observed in the Marine Band and Below Marine Band materials.
Knowledge Graph Construction with a
Façade
: A Unified Method to Access Heterogeneous Data Sources on the Web
Authors: Asprino Luigi , Daga Enrico , Gangemi Aldo , Mulholland Paul
Published: November 2022

Data integration is the dominant use case for RDF Knowledge Graphs. However, Web resources come in formats with weak semantics (for example, CSV and JSON), or formats specific to a given application (for example, BibTex, HTML, and Markdown). To solve this problem, Knowledge Graph Construction (KGC) is gaining momentum due to its focus on supporting users in transforming data into RDF. However, using existing KGC frameworks result in complex data processing pipelines, which mix structural and semantic mappings, whose development and maintenance constitute a significant bottleneck for KG engineers. Such frameworks force users to rely on different tools, sometimes based on heterogeneous languages, for inspecting sources, designing mappings, and generating triples, thus making the process unnecessarily complicated. We argue that it is possible and desirable to equip KG engineers with the ability of interacting with Web data formats by relying on their expertise in RDF and the well-established SPARQL query language [
2
].

In this article, we study a unified method for data access to heterogeneous data sources with Facade-X, a meta-model implemented in a new data integration system called SPARQL Anything. We demonstrate that our approach is theoretically sound, since it allows a single meta-model, based on RDF, to represent data from
(a)
any file format expressible in BNF syntax, as well as
(b)
any relational database. We compare our method to state-of-the-art approaches in terms of usability (cognitive complexity of the mappings) and general performance. Finally, we discuss the benefits and challenges of this novel approach by engaging with the reference user community.
Security Risk Assessments: Modeling and Risk Level Propagation
Authors: Angermeier Daniel , Wester Hannah , Beilke Kristian , Hansch Gerhard , Eichler Jörn
Published: November 2022

Security risk assessment is an important task in systems engineering. It is used to derive security requirements for a secure system design and to evaluate design alternatives as well as vulnerabilities. Security risk assessment is also a complex and interdisciplinary task, where experts from the application domain and the security domain have to collaborate and understand each other. Automated and tool-supported approaches are desired to help manage the complexity. However, the models used for system engineering usually focus on functional behavior and lack security-related aspects. Therefore, we present our modeling approach that alleviates communication between the involved experts and features steps of computer-aided modeling to achieve consistency and avoid omission errors. We demonstrate our approach with an example. We also describe how to model impact rating and attack feasibility estimation in a modular fashion, along with the propagation and aggregation of these estimations through the model. As a result, experts can make local decisions or changes in the model, which in turn provides the impact of these decisions or changes on the overall risk profile. Finally, we discuss the advantages of our model-based method.
Explainable Hyperbolic Temporal Point Process for User-Item Interaction Sequence Generation
Authors: Zhou Yuchen , Cao Yanan , Shang Yanmin , Zhou Chuan , Pan Shirui , Lin Zheng , Li Qian
Published: November 2022

Recommender systems which captures dynamic user interest based on time-ordered user-item interactions plays a critical role in the real-world. Although existing deep learning-based recommendation systems show good performances, these methods have two main drawbacks. Firstly, user interest is the consequence of the coaction of many factors. However, existing methods do not fully explore potential influence factors and ignore the user-item interaction formation process. The coarse-grained modeling patterns cannot accurately reflect complex user interest and leads to suboptimal recommendation results. Furthermore, these methods are implicit and largely operate in a black-box fashion. It is difficult to interpret their modeling processes and recommendation results. Secondly, recommendation datasets usually exhibit scale-free distributions and some existing recommender systems take advantage of hyperbolic space to match the data distribution. But they ignore that the operations in hyperbolic space are more complex than that in Euclidean space which further increases the difficulty of model interpretation. To tackle the above shortcomings, we propose an

E
xplainable
H
yperbolic
T
emporal
P
oint
P
rocess

for User-Item Interaction Sequence Generation
(EHTPP)
. Specifically, EHTPP regards each user-item interaction as an event in hyperbolic space and employs a temporal point process framework to model the probability of event occurrence. Considering that the complexity of user interest and the interpretability of the model,EHTPP explores four potential influence factors related to user interest and uses them to explicitly guide the probability calculation in the temporal point process. In order to validate the effectiveness of EHTPP, we carry out a comprehensive evaluation of EHTPP on three datasets compared with a few competitive baselines. Experimental results demonstrate the state-of-the-art performances of EHTPP.
A Unified Multi-task Learning Framework for Multi-goal Conversational Recommender Systems
Authors: Deng Yang , Zhang Wenxuan , Xu Weiwen , Lei Wenqiang , Chua Tat-Seng , Lam Wai
Published: November 2022

Recent years witnessed several advances in developing multi-goal conversational recommender systems (MG-CRS) that can proactively attract users’ interests and naturally lead user-engaged dialogues with multiple conversational goals and diverse topics. Four tasks are often involved in MG-CRS, including Goal Planning, Topic Prediction, Item Recommendation, and Response Generation. Most existing studies address only some of these tasks. To handle the whole problem of MG-CRS, modularized frameworks are adopted where each task is tackled independently without considering their interdependencies. In this work, we propose a novel Unified MultI-goal conversational recommeNDer system (UniMIND). Specifically, we unify these four tasks with different formulations into the same sequence-to-sequence paradigm. Prompt-based learning strategies are investigated to endow the unified model with the capability of multi-task learning. Finally, the overall learning and inference procedure consists of three stages, including multi-task learning, prompt-based tuning, and inference. Experimental results on two MG-CRS benchmarks (DuRecDial and TG-ReDial) show that UniMIND achieves state-of-the-art performance on all tasks with a unified model. Extensive analyses and discussions are provided for shedding some new perspectives for MG-CRS.
High-impact opportunities to address ischemia: a focus on heart and circulatory research
Authors: Al Rimon Razoan , Nelson Victoria L. , Brunt Keith R. , Kassiri Zamaneh
Published: November 2022

Myocardial ischemic injury and its resolution are the key determinants of morbidity or mortality in heart failure. The cause and duration of ischemia in patients vary. Numerous experimental models and methods have been developed to define genetic, metabolic, molecular, cellular, and pathophysiological mechanisms, in addition to defining structural and functional deterioration of cardiovascular performance. The rapid rise of big data, such as single-cell analysis techniques with bioinformatics, machine learning, and neural networking, brings a new level of sophistication to our understanding of myocardial ischemia. This mini-review explores the multifaceted nature of ischemic injury in the myocardium. We highlight recent state-of-the-art findings and strategies to show new directions of high-impact approach to understanding myocardial tissue remodeling. This next age of heart and circulatory physiology research will be more comprehensive and collaborative to uncover the origin, progression, and manifestation of heart failure while strengthening novel treatment strategies.
An Oxidative Stress-Related Gene Signature in Granulosa Cells Is Associated with Ovarian Aging
Authors: Lin Nuan , Lin Jiazhe , Plosch Torsten , Sun Pingnan , Zhou Xiaoling
Published: November 2022

Ovarian aging is associated with a decrease in fecundity. Increased oxidative stress of granulosa cells (GCs) is an important contributor. We thus asked whether there is an oxidative stress-related gene signature in GCs associated with ovarian aging. Public nonhuman primate (NHP) single-cell transcriptome was processed to identify GC cluster. Then, a GC signature for ovarian aging was established based on six oxidative stress-related differentially expressed genes (MAPK1, STK24, AREG, ATG7, ANXA1, and PON2). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis confirmed good discriminating capacity in both NHP single-cell and human bulk transcriptome datasets. Gene expression levels were investigated using qPCR in the human ovarian granulosa-like tumor cell line (KGN) and mouse GCs. In an oxidative stress model, KGN cells were treated with menadione (7.5 μM, 24 h) to induce oxidative stress, after which upregulation of MAPK1, STK24, ATG7, ANXA1, and PON2 and downregulation of AREG were observed (

p
<
0.05

). In an aging model, KGN cells were continuously cultured for 3 months, leading to increased expressions of all genes (

p
<
0.05

). In GCs of reproductively aged (8-month-old) Kunming mice, upregulated expression of Mapk1, Stk24, Atg7, and Pon2 and downregulated expression of Anxa1 and Areg were observed (

p
<
0.01

). We therefore here identify a six-gene GC signature associated with oxidative stress and ovarian aging.
Selective Strategy Differential Evolution for Stochastic Internal Task Scheduling Problem in Cross-Docking Terminals
Authors: Buakum Dollaya , Wisittipanich Warisa
Published: November 2022

This study proposed an algorithm called selective strategy differential evolution (SSDE) to handle the complexity of the stochastic internal task scheduling problem in cross-docking terminals. The aims of this study are to assign workers and transfer equipment to internal operations and sequence those operations under randomness and uncertainty with the purpose to minimise total tardiness. The main feature of SSDE is its ability to adapt itself in order to execute the best search strategy. The proposed algorithm was tested on 16 instances using generated data based on real-case scenarios of a pharmaceutical distribution centre. The results showed the significant performance of SSDE to other existing algorithms in terms of solution quality and computational time. The key success factors of SSDE are the use of various search strategies in a single run and the application of suitable termination conditions.
GLP-1 RA Improves Diabetic Retinopathy by Protecting the Blood-Retinal Barrier through GLP-1R-ROCK-p-MLC Signaling Pathway
Authors: Wei Liufeng , Mo Weiwei , Lan Shanshan , Yang Haiyan , Huang Zhenxing , Liang Xinghuan , Li Li , Xian Jing , Xie Xuemei , Qin Yingfen , Lin Faquan , Luo Zuojie
Published: November 2022

Background. GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) are common clinical agents that are clinically protective against diabetic complications, such as diabetic retinopathy (DR). Previous studies have shown that the RhoA/ROCK pathway plays an important role in the development of DR. However, the specific mechanism of action between GLP-1RA and DR remains unclear. The aim of this study was thus to investigate the main mechanism involved in the protective effect of GLP-1RA on DR. Methods. Type 2 diabetic mice were fed a high-sugar, high-fat diet. Changes in the retinal structure were observed via HE staining and transmission electron microscopy. The expression of retinal GLP-1R, blood-retinal barrier- (BRB-) related proteins, inflammatory factors, and related pathway proteins were studied via Western blot or immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence analysis. Results. GLP-1RA treatment reduced the blood glucose and lipid levels as well as the body weight of the diabetic mice while also improving retinal thickness, morphology, and vascular ultrastructure. Moreover, restored GLP-1R expression, increased Occludin and ZO-1 levels, and decreased albumin expression led to reduced retinal leakage and improved the BRB by inhibiting the RhoA/ROCK pathway. Conclusions. We found that the protective effect of GLP-1RA on the retina may be realized through the GLP-1R-ROCK-p-MLC signaling pathway.
Development of an MPS Code for Corium Behavior Analysis: 3D Alloy Melting
Authors: Jian Lijun , Yu Peng , Pei Jie , Zeng Xiao , Yuan Yidan
Published: November 2022

The moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method as a Lagrangian method is attracting increasing attention in severe accident analysis. In this paper, we developed an MPS code for the corium behavior analysis with several additional models added: an improved heat transfer model to improve the calculation between different materials, an enthalpy-based viscosity model to realize a smooth transition of viscosity at the solid-liquid interface, and a surface tension model for better simulation of surface shape. Validation of the developed simulation approach is carried out on a classical water column collapse example. The development of the heat transfer model is validated by the example of a one-dimensional semi-infinite plate. A comprehensive example of the melting of “Wood’s alloy” is carried out to verify the capacity of MPS method in the simulation of melting and expansion. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental results, which indicates that MPS method promises well in the field of severe accidents.
B-SSMD: A Fine-Grained Secure Sharing Scheme of Medical Data Based on Blockchain
Authors: Yuan Jialiang , Ma Yan , Luo Wei , Han Gang
Published: November 2022

The application of blockchain technology in the medical information system is gradually triggering profound changes, which has heterogeneous, cross-domain, and open network characteristics. However, today’s electronic medical systems fall short of ensuring the confidentiality and safe sharing of medical data, which poses serious threats to their authenticity and accuracy. Moreover, most of the current blockchain medical systems are under great transmission and storage pressure. Based on the aforementioned security and performance considerations, this paper proposes a fine-grained secure sharing scheme of medical data based on blockchain (B-SSMD). We design a three-chain model to store patient information, medical staff information, and medical records hierarchically. The integration of IPFS technology and the encryption algorithm ensures secure and efficient off-chain data storage. The user classification is realized by assigning attributes, and the attribute encryption technology is adopted for secondary encryption of the key and ciphertext path. Meanwhile, through hierarchical encryption, the risk of a system attack is greatly reduced. Our scheme not only solves the problems of low throughput and poor stability in the single chain model but also improves the data confidentiality and enables medical data to be managed more safely and efficiently in the sharing process. We provide the security and performance analysis and it is confirmed that our scheme has higher security and controllability.
A Prospective Study of Using Chaihu Shugan Powder Combined with Zu San Li Acupoint Stimulation to Improve the Prognosis of Liver Stagnation and Qi Stagnation Syndrome in Acute Pancreatitis
Authors: Lu Wei-Wei , Duan Xiao-Yan , Ni Jian-Li , Zhu Sheng-Liang , Fei Ai-Hua , Wang Xiao-Su
Published: November 2022

Background. This study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of Chaihu Shugan powder combined with Zu San Li acupoint stimulation on the acute pancreatitis of liver and qi stagnation syndromes, the protection of intestinal barrier function, the prevention of severe tendency, and safety evaluation. Method. Data were collected from October 2019–June 2021 at Xinhua Hospital, which is affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Emergency Department. Eighty patients with acute pancreatitis were randomly divided into a control treatment group (40 people) and a combined traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment group (40 people). Detailed records of hospitalised patients were obtained, including the general situation of patients’ clinical diagnosis and clinical examination before and after treatment. The changes in inflammatory and immune indexes before and after treatment were recorded. Result. Compared with the standard treatment group, the relief time of abdominal pain in the TCM treatment group was significantly shortened with statistically significant differences. Compared with the standard treatment group, the levels of WBC, ALT, CA, hemodiastase, lipase, TG, and other factors in the TCM treatment group decreased, whereas the levels of DB, SCR, cholesterol, K+, and other factors increased. The differences were statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). Conclusion. Chaihu Shugan powder combined with Zu San Li acupoint stimulation can reduce the clinical manifestations of liver and qi stagnation syndromes of acute pancreatitis, protect the intestinal barrier function, prevent the tendency of severe illness and improve the prognosis.
Flash Glucose Monitoring and Diabetes Mellitus Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: An Approach to Clinical Practice
Authors: Rodríguez de Vera-Gómez Pablo , Piñar-Gutiérrez Ana , Guerrero-Vázquez Raquel , Bellido Virginia , Morales-Portillo Cristóbal , Sancho-Márquez María Pilar , Espejo-García Pablo , Gros-Herguido Noelia , López-Gallardo Gema , Martínez-Brocca María Asunción , Soto-Moreno Alfonso
Published: November 2022

Objectives. The aim of this study is to investigate in depth diabetes mellitus associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (DM-ICIs) by analysing a case series. We also evaluated the clinical impact of flash glucose monitoring (FGM) systems in the management of this entity. Methods. We conducted an observational cohort study of DM-ICIs diagnosed in two hospitals in Seville (Spain). Patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (DM) or with sudden worsening of preexisting DM after starting treatment with ICIs, with a random 5 hour-postprandial C-peptide value of <0.6 nmol/L and without possibility of subsequent withdrawal of insulin treatment, were included. Results. A total of 7 cases were identified, mostly males (

n
=
6

; 85.7%), with a mean age of 64.9 years. The mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) upon diagnosis was 8.1%, with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) observed in 6 cases (85.7%). Subcutaneous flash glucose monitoring (FGM) systems were used in six cases, with a mean follow-up period of 42.7 weeks. During the first 90 days of use, mean average glucose was 167.5 mg/dL, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 34.6%. The mean time in the range 70-180 mg/dL (TIR) was 59.7%, with a mean time above range (TAR) 181-250 mg/dL of 27.8% and a mean

TAR
>
250
 
mg
/
dL

of 10.2%. The mean time below range (TBR) 54-69 mg/dL was 2%, while the mean

TBR
<
54
 
mg
/
dL

was 0.3%. The mean glucose management indicator (GMI) was 7.3%. No significant differences were observed in FGM values for the following 90 days of follow-up. A progressive improvement in all parameters of glycaemic control was observed between the first month of FGM use and the sixth month of FGM use. Of note, there was a decrease in mean CV (40.6% to 34.1%,

p
=
0.25

), mean TAR 181-250 (30.3% to 26%,

p
=
0.49

), mean

TAR
>
250
 
mg
/
dL

(16.3% to 7.7%,

p
=
0.09

), mean TBR 54-69 mg/dL (5.2% to 2%,

p
=
0.16

), and mean

TBR
<
54
 
mg
/
dL

(1.8% to 0.2%,

p
=
0.31

), along with an increase in mean values of TIR 70-180 mg/dL (46.5% to 60.5%,

p
=
0.09

). The lack of statistical significance in the differences observed in the mean FGM values over the follow-up period may be related to the small sample size. Conclusion. DM-ICI is recognised by a state of sudden-onset insulinopenia, often associated with DKA. The use of FGM systems may be a valid option for the effective management of DM-ICIs and for the prevention of severe hyperglycaemic and hypoglycaemic episodes in this condition.