bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Life after COVID-19: the road from intensive care back to living – a prospective cohort study
Authors: Wiertz Carolina M H , Hemmen Bena , Sep Simone J S , van Santen Susanne , van Horn Yvette Y , van Kuijk Sander M J , Verbunt Jeanine A
Published: November 2022

Objectives

The aim of the study was to evaluate recovery of participation in post-COVID-19 patients during the first year after intensive care unit (ICU) discharge. The secondary aim was to identify the early determinants associated with recovery of participation.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

COVID-19 post-ICU inpatient rehabilitation in the Netherlands, during the first epidemic wave between April and July 2020, with 1-year follow-up.

Participants

COVID-19 ICU survivors ≥18 years of age needing inpatient rehabilitation.

Main outcome measures

Participation in society was assessed by the ‘Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation’ (USER-P) restrictions scale. Secondary measures of body function impairments (muscle force, pulmonary function, fatigue (Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory), breathlessness (Medical Research Council (MRC) breathlessness scale), pain (Numerical Rating Scale)), activity limitations (6-minute walking test, Patient reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) 8b), personal factors (coping (Utrecht Proactive Coping Scale), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), post-traumatic stress (Global Psychotrauma Screen—Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), cognitive functioning (Checklist for Cognitive Consequences after an ICU-admission)) and social factors were used. Statistical analyses: linear mixed-effects model, with recovery of participation levels as dependent variable. Patient characteristics in domains of body function, activity limitations, personal and social factors were added as independent variables.

Results

This study included 67 COVID-19 ICU survivors (mean age 62 years, 78% male). Mean USER-P restrictions scores increased over time; mean participation levels increasing from 62.0, 76.5 to 86.1 at 1, 3 and 12 months, respectively. After 1 year, 50% had not fully resumed work and restrictions were reported in physical exercise (51%), household duties (46%) and leisure activities (29%). Self-reported complaints of breathlessness and fatigue, more perceived limitations in daily life, as well as personal factors (less proactive coping style and anxiety/depression complaints) were associated with delayed recovery of participation (all p value <0.05).

Conclusions

This study supports the view that an integral vision of health is important when looking at the long-term consequence of post-ICU COVID-19. Personal factors such as having a less proactive coping style or mental impairments early on contribute to delayed recovery.
Validating ICD-10 codes for adverse drug events in hospitalised older adults: protocol for a cross-sectional study
Authors: Nohner Mitchell , De Lima Bryanna , Drago Katie
Published: November 2022

Introduction

Adverse drug events (ADEs) among hospitalised older adults are common yet often preventable. Efforts to recognise ADEs using pharmacist review and electronic health record adaptations have had mixed results. Our health system developed and implemented a geriatric prescribing context designed to offer age-friendly dose and frequency defaults for hospitalised patients 75 years and older. The impact of this context on ADEs remains unknown. To measure its impact, our team created a list of ADE-related International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes specific to 10 commonly used medications at our institution. This protocol paper presents the process of designing a screening tool for ADEs, validating the tool with manual chart reviews and measuring the impact of the context on ADEs.

Methods and analysis

This retrospective cross-sectional study will assess our list of ICD-10 codes against manual chart review to determine its accuracy. An electronic health record report for patients aged 75 years and older admitted to the hospital for a minimum of two nights was generated to identify 100 test positives and 100 test negatives. Test positives need at least one code from each level of our ICD-10 code list. The first level of codes identifies any possible ADEs while the second level is more symptom based. Test negatives must not have any code from the list. Two physicians blinded to test status will complete a structured chart review to determine if a patient had an ADE during their hospitalisation. Acceptable inter-rater reliability will need to be met before proceeding with independent chart review. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value will be calculated once all the chart reviews are completed.

Ethics and dissemination

The Oregon Health & Science University Institutional Review Board approved this study (#21385). The results of the study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and conference presentations.
Association of sleep behaviour and pattern with the risk of glaucoma: a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank
Authors: Sun Cun , Yang Huazhen , Hu Yihan , Qu Yuanyuan , Hu Yao , Sun Yajing , Ying Zhiye , Song Huan
Published: November 2022

Objectives

Given the role of intraocular pressure in glaucoma, the patient’s sleeping pattern might contribute to the development and progression of glaucoma. We performed a study to understand the association between sleep behaviours and glaucoma.

Design

Our study was a prospective cohort study.

Setting

This was a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank. Self-reported data on five sleep behaviours were collected using a questionnaire at baseline. We identified four sleep patterns based on a cluster analysis of the sleep behaviours.

Participants

In the UK Biobank, 409 053 participants were recruited between 2006 and 2010 and followed for a diagnosis of glaucoma. We identified glaucoma as any hospital admission with a diagnosis of glaucoma, based on UK Biobank inpatient hospital data. Individuals who withdrew from the UK Biobank, or were diagnosed with glaucoma before recruitment, or had self-reported surgery or laser treatment for glaucoma, or had no information on sleep behaviors were excluded.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the associations of different sleep behaviors, as well as identified sleep patterns, with the risk of glaucoma, adjusting for multiple confounders.

Results

Compared with individuals who had a healthy sleep pattern, an excess risk of any glaucoma was observed among individuals with snoring and daytime sleepiness (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.19) or insomnia and short/long sleep duration (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.20), but not late chronotype sleep pattern (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.03).

Conclusion

Snoring, daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and short/long duration, individually or jointly, were all associated with the risk of glaucoma. These findings underscore the need for sleep intervention for individuals at high risk of glaucoma as well as potential ophthalmologic screening among individuals with chronic sleep problems for glaucoma prevention.
Associations between sociodemographic and behavioural parameters and child development depending on age and sex: a cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Schild Clara Elise , Meigen Christof , Kappelt Jonas , Kiess Wieland , Poulain Tanja
Published: November 2022

Objectives

To explore environmental and individual factors that are associated with child development and to investigate whether the strength of these associations differs according to the age of the children.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

This study was part of the LIFE Child study, a large cohort study conducted in Leipzig, Germany.

Participants

778 children aged between 0.5 and 6 years (48.6% girls, mean age=2.67 years).

Outcome measures

The outcomes were cognitive development, language development, body and hand motor skills, social-emotional development, and tracing skills, measured with a standardised development test. We analysed the associations between development and gestational age, socioeconomic status (SES), sex, behavioural difficulties, siblings, sleep duration, breastfeeding duration and overweight/obesity. We also tested for interactions between these variables and child age or sex.

Results

Higher gestational age (b ranging between 0.12 and 0.26) and higher SES (b ranging between 0.08 and 0.21) were associated with better outcomes in almost all developmental domains (all p<0.019). Children with older siblings had improved body and hand motor skills compared with children without older siblings (both b=0.55, all p<0.029). Boys had poorer scores than girls in body and hand motor skills and tracing (b=−0.45, −0.68 and −1.5, all p<0.019). Children with behavioural difficulties had significantly poorer outcomes in most developmental domains. Some of the associations with SES and sex were stronger in older than in younger children. Associations between gestational age and motor development were weaker in older children. We did not find significant associations between child development and sleep duration, breastfeeding duration or overweight/obesity.

Conclusion

Some factors had a protective, others an adverse effect on development of children under 6 years of age. The effect of SES and sex increased, while the effect of gestational age decreased with age.

Trial registration number

NCT02550236.
Association between infections and functional somatic disorders: a cross-sectional population-based cohort study
Authors: Schovsbo Signe Ulfbeck , Møllehave Line Tang , Petersen Marie Weinreich , Ahrendt Bjerregaard Anne , Eliasen Marie , Pedersen Susanne Brix , Eplov Lene Falgaard , Kårhus Line Lund , Fink Per , Linneberg Allan , Dantoft Thomas Meinertz , Jørgensen Torben , Benros Michael Eriksen
Published: November 2022

Objectives

It has been suggested that infections can trigger functional somatic disorders (FSD). However, current evidence is limited by inconsistent findings in smaller studies conducted in clinical settings within selected populations and short follow-up times. We aimed to test the hypothesis that former infections are associated with FSD using data from nationwide registries and a large population-based cohort study, the Danish Study of Functional Disorders study.

Design

FSD cases were identified in a cross-sectional population-based cohort and linked retrospectively to former hospital contacts with infections identified in the Danish National Patient Registry. The associations between FSD and former infections within 17 years were analysed using logistic regressions to calculate ORs and 95% CIs adjusted for age, sex and subjective social status.

Setting

A population-based cohort in Denmark examined between 2011 and 2015.

Participants

A total of 9656 men and women aged 18–76 years.

Main outcome measures

FSD measured by various delimitations, including bodily distress syndrome (BDS), irritable bowel (IB), chronic fatigue (CF), chronic widespread pain (CWP), and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).

Results

Overall, infections were associated with increased risk of all delimitations of FSD. The associations were more pronounced for multisystemic FSD. The number of prior infections increased the risk in a dose-response manner (p<0.0001). Bacterial but not viral infections were significantly associated with BDS (OR 1.69 (95% CI 1.46 to 1.96)), IB (OR 1.41 (95% CI 1.06 to 1.88)), CWP (OR 1.47 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.90)) and CF (OR 1.62 (95% CI 1.34 to 1.96)), but not MCS.

Conclusion

Former infections leading to hospital contacts were associated with a higher risk of having FSD. These associations were more pronounced for bacterial than viral infections, and more infections increased the risk in a dose-response manner. These results tend to support the idea that severe infections could play a role in FSD.
Diagnostic performance of S100B as a rule-out test for intracranial pathology in head-injured patients presenting to the emergency department who meet NICE Head Injury Guideline criteria for CT-head scan
Authors: Rogan Alice , Sik Annabelle , Dickinson Emily , Patel Vimal , Peckler Brad , McQuade David , Larsen Peter D
Published: November 2022

Background

Traumatic brain injury is a common ED presentation. CT-head utilisation is escalating, exacerbating resource pressure in the ED. The biomarker S100B could assist clinicians with CT-head decisions by excluding intracranial pathology. Diagnostic performance of S100B was assessed in patients meeting National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence Head Injury Guideline (NICE HIG) criteria for CT-head within 6 and 24 hours of injury.

Methods

This multicentre prospective observational study included adult patients presenting to the ED with head injuries between May 2020 and June 2021. Informed consent was obtained from patients meeting NICE HIG CT-head criteria. A venous blood sample was collected and serum was tested for S100B using a Cobas Elecsys-S100 module; >0.1 µg/mL was the threshold used to indicate a positive test. Intracranial pathology reported on CT-head scan by the duty radiologist was used as the reference standard to review diagnostic performance.

Results

This study included 265 patients of whom 35 (13.2%) had positive CT-head findings. Within 6 hours of injury, sensitivity of S100B was 93.8% (95% CI 69.8% to 99.8%) and specificity was 30.8% (22.6% to 40.0%). Negative predictive value (NPV) was 97.3% (95% CI 84.2% to 99.6%) and area under the curve (AUC) was 0.73 (95% CI 0.61 to 0.85; p=0.003). Within 24 hours of injury, sensitivity was 82.9% (95% CI 66.4% to 93.44%) and specificity was 43.0% (95% CI 36.6% to 49.7%). NPV was 94.29% (95% CI 88.7% to 97.2%) and AUC was 0.65 (95% CI 0.56 to 0.74; p=0.046). Theoretically, use of S100B as a rule-out test would have reduced CT-head scans by 27.1% (95% CI 18.9% to 36.8%) within 6 hours and 37.4% (95% CI 32.0% to 47.2%) within 24 hours. The risk of missing a significant injury with this approach would have been 0.75% (95% CI 0.0% to 2.2%) within 6 hours and 2.3% (95% CI 0.5% to 4.1%) within 24 hours.

Conclusion

Within 6 hours of injury, S100B performed well as a diagnostic test to exclude significant intracranial pathology in low-risk patients presenting with head injury. In theory, if used in addition to NICE HIGs, CT-head rates could reduce by one-quarter with a potential miss rate of <1%.
The avoiding late diagnosis of ovarian cancer (ALDO) project; a pilot national surveillance programme for women with pathogenic germline variants inBRCA1andBRCA2
Authors: Philpott Sue , Raikou Maria , Manchanda Ranjit , Lockley Michelle , Singh Naveena , Scott Malcolm , Evans D Gareth , Adlard Julian , Ahmed Munaza , Edmondson Richard , Woodward Emma Roisin , Lamnisos Athena , Balega Janos , Brady Angela F , Sharma Aarti , Izatt Louise , Kulkarni Anjana , Tripathi Vishakha , Solomons Joyce S , Hayes Kevin , Hanson Helen , Snape Katie , Side Lucy , Skates Steve , McGuire Alistair , Rosenthal Adam N
Published: November 2022

Background

Our study aimed to establish ‘real-world’ performance and cost-effectiveness of ovarian cancer (OC) surveillance in women with pathogenic germlineBRCA1/2variants who defer risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO).

Methods

Our study recruited 875 femaleBRCA1/2-heterozygotes at 13 UK centres and via an online media campaign, with 767 undergoing at least one 4-monthly surveillance test with the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA) test. Surveillance performance was calculated with modelling of occult cancers detected at RRSO. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated using Markov population cohort simulation.

Results

Our study identified 8 OCs during 1277 women screen years: 2 occult OCs at RRSO (both stage 1a), and 6 screen-detected; 3 of 6 (50%) were ≤stage 3a and 5 of 6 (83%) were completely surgically cytoreduced. Modelled sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and Negative Predictive Value (NPV) for OC were 87.5% (95% CI, 47.3 to 99.7), 99.9% (99.9–100), 75% (34.9–96.8) and 99.9% (99.9–100), respectively. The predicted number of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained by surveillance was 0.179 with an ICER cost-saving of -£102,496/QALY.

Conclusion

OC surveillance for women deferring RRSO in a ‘real-world’ setting is feasible and demonstrates similar performance to research trials; it down-stages OC, leading to a high complete cytoreduction rate and is cost-saving in the UK National Health Service (NHS) setting. While RRSO remains recommended management, ROCA-based surveillance may be considered for femaleBRCA-heterozygotes who are deferring such surgery.
Improved productivity of naturalized spring Chinook salmon following reintroduction from a hatchery stock in Lookingglass Creek, Oregon
Authors: Nuetzel Hayley M. , Galbreath Peter F. , Staton Benjamin A. , Crump Carrie A. , Naylor Leslie M. , Shippentower Gene E.
Published: November 2022

Supplementation of depressed salmonid populations with hatchery production has been questioned due to domestication effects, which may reduce reproductive fitness. However, for extirpated populations, reintroduction typically requires use of hatchery stocks. We evaluated this strategy by monitoring the naturalization of spring Chinook salmon reintroduced to Lookingglass Creek, OR (Grande Ronde Basin), from a captive brood, hatchery stock. We compared the reproductive success (RS) of naturally spawning natural-origin relative (NOR) to hatchery-origin (HOR) adults across 9 brood years. Individual RS (the number of progeny produced) was estimated by pedigree reconstruction analyses, and then analyzed by generalized linear models to estimate the effect of parental origin, while controlling for potentially confounding covariates. When evaluating RS by juvenile progeny, NOR spawners were more likely to be reproductively successful, and when successful, produced more progeny on average than successful HOR counterparts. We found a similar advantage when evaluating RS by adult progeny, although the origin effect was not as important among successful spawners. Results suggest fish reintroduced from a hatchery stock possess the adaptive capacity to positively contribute to natural productivity and recovery goals.
Stable stellar configurations with polynomial complexity factor
Authors: Zubair M.
Published: November 2022

In this article, we present two new families of anisotropic solutions for static spherically symmetric stellar systems by taking into account the implications of complexity factor proposed by Herrera (Phys. Rev. D 97:044010, 2018) in the framework of gravitational decoupling. We start by taking minimal geometric deformation approach as a useful solution generating tool for the new physically viable models of anisotropic matter distributions, and utilize the Durgapal IV and Durgapal V perfect fluid stellar models as seed solutions in the mechanism under consideration. We consider a complexity factor which corresponds to a polynomial of order N, and use it as an axillary condition in order to determine the deformation function. We explore the scenarios, in which polynomial type complexity factors leads to stable stellar configurations. In all cases, both solutions produce similar results with an inappreciable changes in their magnitudes.
Study of the Klein–Gordon equation for a hydrogenic model of dyons
Authors: Veloz Edison Fernando García , Rojas Clara
Published: November 2022

This paper presents the generalization of a zero spin hydrogen atom to a relativistic atomic model of hydrogen with dyons using the Klein–Gordon equation. The derivation of the Klein–Gordon equation for the particle of relative motion is shown. In addition, the analytical solutions of the equation are calculated in terms of Whittaker functions and Jacobi weighted polynomials. The discrete spectrum of energy and the charge density of the orbiting dyon are presented. For a system of positive magnetic and electric charges in the nucleus and negative charges for the orbiting particle, and considering the first allowed values of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], it was found that the dyon atom acts with a greater force of interaction between the charges of the nucleus and the secondary particle compared to the standard atom. It was obtained by comparing the distance between the nucleus and charge density concentrations from the dyon atom with the relativistic pionic atom.
Multiple Objective Fairness Scheduling Optimization Algorithms Based on Multiple DAGs in Heterogeneous Edge Computing
Authors: Yang Fan , Zhan Kelei , Du Jiayi , Huang Zhilin , Xie Guoqi
Published: November 2022

The rapid development of edge computing has promoted the growing demand of applications. Quality of service (QoS) must be improved because this index involves issues such as unfairness and short Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) schedule length. We propose a new algorithm named Multiple DAGs Depth Fairness Task Scheduling (MDDF) in this study to solve the multi-DAG task unfairness problem effectively, the algorithm on the basis of the measured depth of the task in the DAG, improves the fairness of multiple DAG, enhance the user QoS and obtain a fast response. The proposed algorithm is then compared with four common heuristic scheduling methods to verify its effectiveness. We propose another algorithm called Fast Multi-DAG Depth Fairness Task Scheduling (FMDDF) with high average slowdown to reduce the schedule length of short DAG and accelerate the response time. Experimental results show that FMDDF can improve scheduling and shorten the schedule length of short DAG by about 5% and MDDF can enhance fairness by about 2% while reducing the short DAG schedule length compared with other algorithms.
EFFECT OF HUMAN MOBILITY ON PREDICTIVE SPATIO-TEMPORAL MODEL OF DENGUE EPIDEMIC TRANSMISSION
Authors: BOUZID LEILA , BELHAMITI OMAR , BELGACEM FETHI BIN MUHAMMAD
Published: November 2022

In this paper, we propose a new dynamical system model pertaining to Dengue transmission, and investigate its consequent morphology. We present and study various ramifications of our mathematical model for Dengue spread, encapsulated in a spatio-temporal differential system made of reaction–diffusion equations. Diffusion terms are incorporated into the said model by using specific derivations for infected mosquitoes, and infected humans, as well. Moreover, mechanisms for the nearest neighbor(s) infections are integrated into the model. Furthermore, using adaptive multigrid finite difference with decoupling and quasi-linearization techniques, we investigate two main factors for Dengue spatial propagation. We determine the effects of temperature variations, and the mobility of infectious agents, be they mosquitoes or humans. Finally, the proposed model-based analytico-numerical results are obtained, and rendered in graphical profiles, which show the major role the climate temperature and the mobility of infected humans have on the spread and speed of the disease. The consequent proposed model outcomes and health-based ramifications are then raised, discussed, and then validated.
Dynamical Stability Analysis of Rotating Composite Cutter Bar with Nanocarbon Materials
Authors: Zhang Jinfeng , Tong Zhenfang , Ren Yongsheng , Feng Chao , Cao Xiaolong , Zhong Peisi
Published: November 2022

This paper studies the free vibration response of a spinning and variable cross-section composite cutter bar homogeneously enhanced with carbon nanomaterials. Based on the Rules of Mixture (ROM) and the Halpin–Tsai Model (HTM), we establish a motion model of the spinning and variable cross-section composite cutter bar by containing carbon nanomaterials, which combines the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and Hamilton principle. In addition, the dynamic governing equations are solved by using the Galerkin method so as to obtain the characteristic equation. The curves of decay rate-rotating speed and natural frequency-rotating speed are obtained especially by numerical analysis, and the corresponding critical speed and instability threshold of the composite cutter bar are also calculated. By selecting different parameters such as length-to-diameter (or length-to-width-to-thickness) ratios and volume contents of carbon nanomaterials, cutter bar taper ratios, ply orientations, and stacking sequences, the relation between instability threshold and loss factor is obtained with respect to the composite cutter bar. The results obtained found that the cutter bar’s stiffness is increased by adding carbon nanomaterials into the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites. Its natural frequency and critical speed are increased, but the cutter bar’s damping decreases with the increasing content of carbon nanomaterials. The results of critical speed and fundamental natural frequency of composite cutter bar for high-speed machining are greatly meaningful.
China’s Food Security Governance from a Hydraulic Society to a Corporate Food Regime and COVID-19
Authors: LIN SCOTT Y.
Published: November 2022

Although the main purpose of food security governance in China is to increase grain yield, the traditional and contemporary methods employed to achieve food security governance differ in polemic terms. The traditional method relies on organizations such as peasant collectives to properly manage water and other natural resources on farmlands. The food security governance of traditional China can best be described as a “hydraulic society”. Shifting from a pre-capitalist to a capitalist model, the contemporary method is centered on several large-scale agricultural and food (A&F) corporations and involves the capitalization of grain production resources, genetic modifications of grain seedlings through science and technology, and intensive scales of grain production. A “corporate food regime” is, therefore, what best defines the governance mechanisms of food security in contemporary China. This paper aims to examine how the governance of food security has been reshaped by this emerging corporate food regime. Findings indicate that China’s food security governance has transformed into a corporate food regime to increase grain yield. In this regime, the Chinese government supports the establishment of a few large-scale A&F corporations, allowing them to have an oligopoly over the domestic grain market. Internationally, China has become a major investor through its transnational agricultural land grabbing. The formation of this new food security governance has not only affected the traditional Chinese culture of peasant collectives, but also challenged the global A&F market system. However, COVID-19 and the promulgation of the Biosecurity Law are likely to alter the development of China’s A&F corporations and its food security governance.
The Ordovician of Scandinavia: a revised regional stage classification
Authors: Nielsen Arne Thorshøj , Ahlberg Per , Ebbestad Jan Ove R. , Hammer Øyvind , Harper David Alexander Taylor , Lindskog Anders , Rasmussen Christian Mac Ørum , Stouge Svend
Published: November 2022

The Ordovician of Scandinavia (i.e. Denmark, Norway and Sweden) has been investigated for over two centuries and, through time, various chronostratigraphic schemes have been introduced, facilitating regional correlation. However, a modern chronostratigraphy has never been proposed. Here, we delineate ten regional stages for the Ordovician of Scandinavia, comprising, in ascending order, the Slemmestadian, Ottenbyan, Billingenian, Volkhovian, Kundan, Segerstadian, Dalbyan, Moldåan, Jerrestadian and Tommarpian. We propose to discontinue the use of the term Hunnebergian Regional Stage despite its Scandinavian origin; this interval is included in the new Ottenbyan Stage. The base of each stage, as (re)defined here, is selected to coincide with the appearance of a characteristic fossil taxon and delimited at the top by the base of the overlying stage. The stage boundaries generally coincide with or approximate to significant changes in the depositional environment that are recognizable across Scandinavia from the carbonate platform to the foreland basin. Local efficacy has been the primary criterion for the recognition of Scandinavian stage boundaries rather than approximating to the global or East Baltic stage boundaries. It is proposed to abolish the Baltoscandian regional series and subseries, as correlation with the global series is sufficiently precise to make these higher rank regional schemes redundant.
Hybrid Pipeline for Building Arabic Tunisian Dialect-standard Arabic Neural Machine Translation Model from Scratch
Authors: Kchaou Saméh , Boujelbane Rahma , Hadrich Lamia
Published: November 2022

Deep Learning is one of the most promising technologies compared to other methods in the context of machine translation. It has been proven to achieve impressive results on large amounts of parallel data for well-endowed languages. Nevertheless, for low-resource languages such as the Arabic Dialects, Deep Learning models failed due to the lack of available parallel corpora. In this article, we present a method to create a parallel corpus to build an effective NMT model able to translate into MSA, Tunisian Dialect texts present in social networks. For this, we propose a set of data augmentation methods aiming to increase the size of the state-of-the-art parallel corpus. By evaluating the impact of this step, we noticed that it has effectively boosted both the size and the quality of the corpus. Then, using the resulted corpus, we compare the effectiveness of CNN, RNN and transformers models to translate Tunisian Dialect into MSA. Experiments show that a better translation is achieved by the transformer model with a BLEU score of 60 vs., respectively, 33.36 and 53.98 with RNN and CNN models.
Waveform Relaxation with Asynchronous Time-integration
Authors: Meisrimel Peter , Birken Philipp
Published: November 2022

We consider Waveform Relaxation (WR) methods for parallel and partitioned time-integration of surface-coupled multiphysics problems. WR allows independent time-discretizations on independent and adaptive time-grids, while maintaining high time-integration orders. Classical WR methods such as Jacobi or Gauss-Seidel WR are typically either parallel or converge quickly.

We present a novel parallel WR method utilizing asynchronous communication techniques to get both properties. Classical WR methods exchange discrete functions after time-integration of a subproblem. We instead asynchronously exchange time-point solutions during time-integration and directly incorporate all new information in the interpolants. We show both continuous and time-discrete convergence in a framework that generalizes existing linear WR convergence theory. An algorithm for choosing optimal relaxation in our new WR method is presented.

Convergence is demonstrated in two conjugate heat transfer examples. Our new method shows an improved performance over classical WR methods. In one example, we show a partitioned coupling of the compressible Euler equations with a nonlinear heat equation, with subproblems implemented using the open source librariesDUNEandFEniCS.
A Systematic Survey of Regularization and Normalization in GANs
Authors: Li Ziqiang , Usman Muhammad , Tao Rentuo , Xia Pengfei , Wang Chaoyue , Chen Huanhuan , Li Bin
Published: November 2022

Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have been widely applied in different scenarios thanks to the development of deep neural networks. The original GAN was proposed based on the non-parametric assumption of the infinite capacity of networks. However, it is still unknown whether GANs can fit the target distribution without any prior information. Due to the overconfident assumption, many issues remain unaddressed in GANs training, such as non-convergence, mode collapses, and gradient vanishing. Regularization and normalization are common methods of introducing prior information to stabilize training and improve discrimination. Although a handful number of regularization and normalization methods have been proposed for GANs, to the best of our knowledge, there exists no comprehensive survey that primarily focuses on objectives and development of these methods, apart from some incomprehensive and limited-scope studies. In this work, we conduct a comprehensive survey on the regularization and normalization techniques from different perspectives of GANs training. First, we systematically describe different perspectives of GANs training and thus obtain the different objectives of regularization and normalization. Based on these objectives, we propose a new taxonomy. Furthermore, we compare the performance of the mainstream methods on different datasets and investigate the applications of regularization and normalization techniques that have been frequently employed in state-of-the-art GANs. Finally, we highlight potential future directions of research in this domain. Code and studies related to the regularization and normalization of GANs in this work are summarized at
https://github.com/iceli1007/GANs-Regularization-Review
.
Retrospect and Prospect
Authors: Kiparsky Paul
Published: November 2022

In science, we look for the big picture, but in autobiography, it is the details that we care more about. Inevitably, my piece embodies this contradiction. The linguistic parts aim to bring out the unifying themes behind what may look like a hopelessly all-over-the-place curriculum vitae of research and teaching. The autobiographical parts are mostly vignettes of my formative years, places where I have lived, events that have made an impression on me, and people I have crossed paths with.
Multispecific CAR T Cells Deprive Lymphomas of Escape via Antigen Loss
Authors: Furqan Fateeha , Shah Nirav N.
Published: November 2022

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T cell therapy has transformed the management of relapsed/refractory B cell malignancies. Despite high overall response rates, relapse post CAR T treatment remains a clinical challenge. Loss of target antigen, specifically CD19, is one well-defined mechanism of disease relapse. The mechanism of CD19 loss and which patients are at higher risk of CD19 loss remain poorly understood. To overcome CD19 loss, CARs targeting multiple antigens are being tested in clinical trials. CD19/20 and CD19/22 bispecific CARs demonstrate cytotoxicity against CD19-negative cells in preclinical studies. These CARs have also shown efficacy, safety, and a relatively low rate of CD19-negative relapse in phase I trials. These small studies suggest that multispecific CAR T cells can deprive lymphomas of escape via antigen loss. However, the selection of an ideal target, the right CAR construct, and whether these multispecific CARs can induce long-term remissions are still under investigation.
Instant Facile Method for the In Situ Growth of Ni(OH)2 Nanohives on Nickel Foam for Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Glucose Sensor
Authors: Oanh Vu Thi , Xuan Chu Thi , Tu Le Manh , Viet Nguyen Xuan , Hoa Nguyen Duc
Published: November 2022

Glucose sensor has attracted the attention of academic and industrial researchers because of its broad applications in diabetes management, food quality control, and bioprocess inspection. Compared with enzymatic glucose sensors, non-enzymatic glucose sensors are more relevant because of their stable, sensitive, and low-cost process. The simple and low-cost synthesis of advanced nanomaterials for a non-enzymatic glucose sensor is vital in practical applications. Here, we introduce a facile chemical method for the direct synthesis of nickel(II) hydroxide nanostructures on porous nickel foam (NF) for an electrochemical glucose sensor. The properties of the synthesized material were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. The fabricated materials were applied for glucose concentration measurement in 0.1 M NaOH by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The Ni(OH)2/NF sensor is stable and has excellent sensitivity (12.55 mA mM−1 cm−2) with a low detection limit of 57 μM (S/N = 3) and high selectivity for glucose detection in the presence of common interfering species. The Ni(OH)2/Ni electrode was successfully tested in measuring glucose concentration in real serum samples. The fabricated Ni(OH)2/NF electrode can be used as a low-cost, sensitive, stable and selective platform for non-enzymatic glucose sensors.
Functionalized Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanomaterials for Electrochemiluminescent Detection of Cancer Cells
Authors: Xiang Xinzhu , Tian Libing , Zhu Xiaodi , Zhong Yuting , Xiao Chuyi , Chen Lichan , Zhou Shu-Feng
Published: November 2022

Biosensors capable of detecting cancer cell quantity is significant for cancer pathological investigation and prognosis. Herein, a facile electrochemiluminescent (ECL) biosensor is developed for cancer cell detection by comprehensively utilizing the features of functionalized graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) nanomaterials like well film-forming capability and functionalization level tunability. The solid-state ECL biosensor is fabricated via a simple dropping-drying method by subsequent deposition of g-CN nanosheets/graphene oxide nanocomposites (CNNS/GO) as ECL emitter, folate functionalized g-CN quantum dots (FA-CNQDs) as cancer cell capture agent, and bull serum albumin (BSA) as blocker to prevent nonspecific binding on glassy carbon electrodes (GCEs). The strong and stable ECL emission of CNNS/GO along with the tunability of FA content in FA-CNQDs endow the ECL biosensor with competitive sensitivity, which is able to detect folate receptor-positive cancer cells (HepG2) in the concentration range of 102 − 104 cells ml−1 under optimal condition. Additionally, the proposed ECL biosensor shows high specificity, reproducibility and long-term stability as well as good reliability towards serum sample detection.
Mathematical Modeling of Concentration Risk under the Default Risk Charge Using Probability and Statistics Theory
Authors: Slime Badreddine
Published: November 2022

In the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB), the latest regulation for minimum capital market risk requirements, one of the major changes, is replacing the Incremental Risk Charge (IRC) with the Default Risk Charge (DRC). The DRC measures only the default and does not consider the migration rating risk. The second new change in this approach was that the DRC now includes equity assets, contrary to the IRC. This paper studies DRC modeling under the Internal Model Approach (IMA) and the regulator conditions that every DRC component must respect. The FRTB presents the DRC measurement as Value at Risk (VaR) over a one-year horizon, with the quantile equal to 99.9%. We use multifactor adjustment to measure the DRC and compare it with the Monte Carlo Model to understand how the approach fits. We then define concentration in the DRC and propose two methods to quantify the concentration risk: the Ad Hoc and Add-On methods. Finally, we study the behavior of the DRC with respect to the concentration risk.
Virtual Screening and Network Pharmacology-Based Study to Explore the Pharmacological Mechanism of Clerodendrum Species for Anticancer Treatment
Authors: Gogoi Barbi , Saikia S. P.
Published: November 2022

Background. Cancer is a second leading cause of death in the world, killing approximately 3500 per million people each year. Therefore, the drugs with multitarget pharmacology based on biological networks are crucial to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cancer drugs and repurpose the existing drugs to reduce adverse effects. Clerodendrum is a diversified genus with a wide range of economic and pharmacological properties. Limited studies were conducted on the genus’s putative anticancer properties and the mechanisms of action based on biological networks remains unknown. This study was aimed to construct the possible compound/target/pathway biological networks for anticancer effect of Clerodendrum sp. using docking weighted network pharmacological approach and to investigate its potential mechanism of action. Methods. A total of 194 natural Clerodendrum sp. Compounds were retrieved from public databases and screened using eight molecular descriptors. The cancer-associated gene targets were retrieved from databases and the function of the target genes with related pathways were examined. Cytoscape v3.7.2 was used to build three major networks: compound-target network, target-target pathway network, and compound-target-pathway network. Results. Our finding indicates that the anticancer activity of Clerodendrum sp. involves 6 compounds, 9 targets, and 63 signaling pathways, resulting in multicompounds, multitargets, and multipathways networks. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to estimate the binding affinity of the best hit protein-ligand complexes. Conclusion. This study suggests the potential anticancer activity of Clerodendrum sp. which could further contribute to scavenger novel compounds for the development of new alternative anticancer drugs.
The Mechanisms of Systemic Inflammatory and Immunosuppressive Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure and Application Prospect of Single-Cell Sequencing
Authors: Kou Kai , Sun Xiaodong , Tian Guangyao , Zhi Yao , Fan Zhongqi , Lv Guoyue
Published: November 2022

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a complex clinical syndrome, and patients often have high short-term mortality. It occurs with intense systemic inflammation, often accompanied by a proinflammatory event (such as infection or alcoholic hepatitis), and is closely related to single or multiple organ failure. Liver inflammation begins when innate immune cells (such as Kupffer cells (KCs)) are activated by binding of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) from pathogenic microorganisms or damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) of host origin to their pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Activated KCs can secrete inflammatory factors as well as chemokines and recruit bone marrow-derived cells such as neutrophils and monocytes to the liver to enhance the inflammatory process. Bacterial translocation may contribute to ACLF when there are no obvious precipitating events. Immunometabolism plays an important role in the process (including mitochondrial dysfunction, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism). The late stage of ACLF is mainly characterized by immunosuppression. In this process, the dysfunction of monocyte and macrophage is reflected in the downregulation of HLA-DR and upregulation of MER tyrosine kinase (MERTK), which weakens the antigen presentation function and reduces the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. We also describe the specific function of bacterial translocation and the gut–liver axis in the process of ACLF. Finally, we also describe the transcriptomics in HBV-ACLF and the recent progress of single-cell RNA sequencing as well as its potential application in the study of ACLF in the future, in order to gain a deeper understanding of ACLF in terms of single-cell gene expression.
Correlation of Triglyceride-Rich Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Diabetes Mellitus in Stroke Patients
Authors: Luo Ruiqing , Jiang Huifang , Wang Tao , Xu Yanfang , Qi Xueliang
Published: November 2022

Background. Previous studies have revealed that triglyceride-rich lipoprotein cholesterol (TRL-c) is closely related to diabetes mellitus (DM) in hypertensive patients. However, this relationship in stroke patients has not been reported. The aims of this study are to investigate the relationship between TRL-c and diabetes in adult Chinese stroke. Methods. Patients with stroke treated in the Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2019 to January 2021 were selected. TRL-c was calculated from total cholesterol minus (high-density and low-density lipoprotein). DM was diagnosed based on previous medical history (diagnosed by secondary hospitals or above) and/or current use of hypoglycemic drugs and/or intravenous blood glucose measurement (fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L or nonfasting blood glucose > 11.1 mmol/L). The relationship between the TRL-c and DM was determined using multivariate logistic regression, smoothing curve fitting (penalized spline method), and subgroup analysis. Results. A total of 890 patients with stroke (age, 66.1 ± 11.8 years) were enrolled, including 329 females. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that TRL-c had a positive association with DM (OR 1.88; 95% CI: 1.22 to 2.89). Strong linear associations of TRL-c with DM were confirmed by restricted cubic spline analysis. And the association between TRL-c and DM was consistent in the different subgroups. Conclusion. Positive associations were found between TRL-c and DM in patients with stroke.
The Heat Is On: 20-HETE Instructs an Immunosuppressive Phenotype in Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts
Authors: Van Ginderachter Jo A.
Published: November 2022

Immunotherapy of cancer is a burgeoning field of research since the realization that our immune system intrinsically has the capacity to restrict tumor occurrence and progression. Though strategies to maximize antitumor T-cell activation are well established, the efficacy of these therapies is limited by an insufficient knowledge of the intricate tumor microenvironment and its capacity to thwart antitumor immunity. Chen and colleagues now uncover a novel immunosuppressive pathway in non–small cell lung carcinoma. Overexpression of cytochrome P450F2 in cancer cells increases production of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, which instructs the expression of immunosuppressive molecules in cancer-associated fibroblasts by binding the GPR75 receptor and activating STAT3/c-Jun signaling. This work proposes several innovative therapeutic anchor points that may improve the efficacy of existing immunotherapies.

See related article by Chen et al., p. 4016
Developmental Deconvolution Suggests New Tumor Biology and a Tool for Predicting Cancer Origin
Authors: Wang Linghua
Published: November 2022

Defining the developmental origins of cancer can help uncover cellular mechanisms of cancer development and progression and identify effective treatments, but it has been challenging. In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Moiso and colleagues constructed a developmental map of 33 cancer types, based on which they deconvoluted tumors into developmental components and constructed a deep learning classifier capable of high- accuracy tumor type prediction.

See related article by Moiso et al., p. 2566 (4) .