bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The
Legionella
Effector SdjA Is a Bifunctional Enzyme That Distinctly Regulates Phosphoribosyl Ubiquitination
Authors: Song Lei , Xie Yongchao , Li Chuang , Wang Lidong , He Chunlin , Zhang Yong , Yuan Jingya , Luo Jingjing , Liu Xi , Xiu Yu , Li Hang , Gritsenko Marina , Nakayasu Ernesto S. , Feng Yue , Luo Zhao-Qing
Published: September 2021

One unique feature of
L. pneumophila
Dot/Icm effectors is the existence of protein families with members of high-level similarity. Whereas members of some families are functionally redundant, as suggested by their primary sequences, the relationship between SidJ and SdjA, the two members of the SidJ family, has remained mysterious.
Wolbachia
-Conferred Antiviral Protection Is Determined by Developmental Temperature
Authors: Chrostek Ewa , Martins Nelson , Marialva Marta S. , Teixeira Luís
Published: September 2021

Insects are often infected with beneficial intracellular bacteria. The bacterium
Wolbachia
is extremally common in insects and can protect them from pathogenic viruses.
DNase Treatment Improves Viral Enrichment in Agricultural Soil Viromes
Authors: Sorensen Jackson W. , Zinke Laura A. , ter Horst Anneliek M. , Santos-Medellín Christian , Schroeder Alena , Emerson Joanne B.
Published: September 2021

Viromics is becoming an increasingly popular method for characterizing soil viral communities. DNase treatment of the viral size fraction prior to DNA extraction is meant to reduce contaminating free DNA and is a common step within viromics protocols to ensure that sequences are of viral origin.
Nurses’ experiences of providing care to patients with COVID-19 in the ICU in Wuhan: a descriptive phenomenological research
Authors: Hu Fen , Ma Jing , Ding Xin-Bo , Li Jin , Zeng Jili , Xu Dandan , Pei Juanjuan , Luo Dan , Yang Bing Xiang , Zhang Hai-Yan , Zhu Xiao-Ping , Chen Jie
Published: September 2021

Objectives

This phenomenological study aimed to examine intensive care unit (ICU) nurses’ experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19, and understand better their everyday experiences of patient’ management in the ICU.

Design

A descriptive phenomenological research design was used. Individual interviews were conducted. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Colaizzi’s seven-step framework.

Setting

An ICU with 16 beds in a tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China.

Participants

Nurses who had more than 1 year of experience and had provided care to patients with COVID-19 in ICU for more than 1 week were identified as participants. A total of 13 nurses were interviewed.

Results

An analysis of these significant statements yielded four distinct stages of feelings, thereby revealing the essence of this phenomenon. Worry about being infected and infecting family members was present across in all four stages. The themes associated with the four stages were as follows: initial contradictory feelings, quick adaption to the ‘new working environment’ in the first 1–2 weeks in the ICU, desperation after adaption, holding on and survive.

Conclusions

The nurses reported distinct experiences of providing care to patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. Interventions, such as providing information about the disease, simulation training, emotional support and follow-up care, are needed to help nurses manage patients with COVID-19 and maintain nurses’ health.
R.E.S.P.e.c.T and intimate partner violence: a cross-sectional study using DHS data in Kenya
Authors: Ward Caleb L , Harlow Siobán
Published: September 2021

Background

Thirty per cent of all women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the WHO’s novel R.E.S.P.E.C.T framework and IPV among women in Kenya.

Methods

We used the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS). Only women selected for the domestic violence module and who were married/living with their partner were eligible for this study (n=3737). We created a summary score for the strategies denoted by R.E.S.P.T based on availability of questions addressing these strategies in the KDHS, and a total score that summed responses across all strategies. Each letter was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha. Multiple logistic regression models were used to investigate the relationship between R.E.S.P.T scores and IPV.

Results

All strategies except for E lowered the odds of IPV. Decision-making (R) was negatively associated with experiencing IPV (OR=0.62 (0.53 to 0.72)). Land and property ownership (E) were positively associated with experiencing IPV (OR=1.25 (1.08 to 1.43)). Access to healthcare (S) was negatively associated with experiencing IPV (OR=0.55 (0.48 to 0.63)). Higher levels of wealth (P) were negatively associated with experiencing IPV (OR=0.47 (0.37 to 0.62)). Not justifying wife-beating in any scenario (T) was negatively associated with experiencing IPV (OR=0.39 (0.29 to 0.53)). After adjusting for demographics, a 1-unit increase in total R.E.S.P.T score was negatively associated with experiencing IPV (AOR=0.63 (0.57 to 0.70)) with a similar finding for IPV in the past 12 months (AOR=0.59 (0.53 to 0.66)). Younger women, higher education and Muslim religion were associated with decreased odds of experiencing IPV while living in a rural location and working were associated with increased odds of experiencing IPV.

Conclusions

Our study provides initial evidence that by using the multistrategy R.E.S.P.E.C.T framework, countries can dramatically lower the odds of women experiencing IPV. IPV prevention strategies must have a wide approach. The DHS can be used as a tool to monitor implementation and efficacy of this novel strategy.
Transmission dynamics and the effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions in the COVID-19 outbreak resurged in Beijing, China: a descriptive and modelling study
Authors: Cui Xiaoming , Zhao Lin , Zhou Yuhao , Lin Xin , Ye Runze , Ma Ke , Jiang Jia-Fu , Jiang Baogui , Xiong Zhang , Shi HongHao , Wang Jingyuan , Jia Na , Cao Wuchun
Published: September 2021

Objective

To evaluate epidemiological characteristics and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 outbreak resurged in Beijing and to assess the effects of three non-pharmaceutical interventions.

Design

Descriptive and modelling study based on surveillance data of COVID-19 in Beijing.

Setting

Outbreak in Beijing.

Participants

The database included 335 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Methods

To conduct spatiotemporal analyses of the outbreak, we collected individual records on laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 from 11 June 2020 to 5 July 2020 in Beijing, and visitor flow and products transportation data of Xinfadi Wholesale Market. We also built a modified susceptible-exposed-infected-removed model to investigate the effect of interventions deployed in Beijing.

Results

We found that the staff working in the market (52.2%) and the people around 10 km to this epicentre (72.5%) were most affected, and the population mobility entering-exiting Xinfadi Wholesale Market significantly contributed to the spread of COVID-19 (p=0.021), but goods flow of the market had little impact on the virus spread (p=0.184). The prompt identification of Xinfadi Wholesale Market as the infection source could have avoided a total of 25 708 (95% CI 13 657 to 40 625) cases if unnoticed transmission lasted for a month. Based on the model, we found that active screening on targeted population by nucleic acid testing alone had the most significant effect.

Conclusions

The non-pharmaceutical interventions deployed in Beijing, including localised lockdown, close-contact tracing and community-based testing, were proved to be effective enough to contain the outbreak. Beijing has achieved an optimal balance between epidemic containment and economic protection.
Impact of prehabilitation on objectively measured physical activity levels in elective surgery patients: a systematic review
Authors: Wagnild Janelle M , Akowuah Enoch , Maier Rebecca H , Hancock Helen C , Kasim Adetayo
Published: September 2021

Objective

To systematically review the impact of prehabilitation on objectively measured physical activity (PA) levels in elective surgery patients.

Data sources

Articles published in Web of Science Core Collections, PubMed, Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOHost), PsycInfo (EBSCOHost) and CENTRAL through August 2020.

Study selection

Studies that met the following criteria: (1) written in English, (2) quantitatively described the effect(s) of a PA intervention among elective surgery patients prior to surgery and (3) used and reported objective measures of PA in the study.

Data extraction and synthesis

Participant characteristics, intervention details, PA measurement, and clinical and health-related outcomes were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed following the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity, therefore narrative synthesis was used.

Results

6533 unique articles were identified in the search; 21 articles (based on 15 trials) were included in the review. There was little evidence to suggest that prehabilitation is associated with increases in objectively measured PA, but this may be due to insufficient statistical power as most (n=8) trials included in the review were small feasibility/pilot studies. Where studies tested associations between objectively measured PA during the intervention period and health-related outcomes, significant beneficial associations were reported. Limitations in the evidence base precluded any assessment via meta-regression of the association between objectively measured PA and clinical or health-related outcomes.

Conclusions

Additional large-scale studies are needed, with clear and consistent reporting of objective measures including accelerometry variables and outcome variables, to improve our understanding of the impact of changes in PA prior to surgery on surgical and health-related outcomes.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42019151475.
Pulse oximetry adoption and oxygen orders at paediatric admission over 7 years in Kenya: a multihospital retrospective cohort study
Authors: Tuti Timothy , Aluvaala Jalemba , Akech Samuel , Agweyu Ambrose , Irimu Grace , English Mike
Published: September 2021

Objectives

To characterise adoption and explore specific clinical and patient factors that might influence pulse oximetry and oxygen use in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) over time; to highlight useful considerations for entities working on programmes to improve access to pulse oximetry and oxygen.

Design

A multihospital retrospective cohort study.

Settings

All admissions (n=132 737) to paediatric wards of 18 purposely selected public hospitals in Kenya that joined a Clinical Information Network (CIN) between March 2014 and December 2020.

Outcomes

Pulse oximetry use and oxygen prescription on admission; we performed growth-curve modelling to investigate the association of patient factors with study outcomes over time while adjusting for hospital factors.

Results

Overall, pulse oximetry was used in 48.8% (64 722/132 737) of all admission cases. Use rose on average with each month of participation in the CIN (OR: 1.11, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.18) but patterns of adoption were highly variable across hospitals suggesting important factors at hospital level influence use of pulse oximetry. Of those with pulse oximetry measurement, 7% (4510/64 722) had hypoxaemia (SpO2<90%). Across the same period, 8.6% (11 428/132 737) had oxygen prescribed but in 87%, pulse oximetry was either not done or the hypoxaemia threshold (SpO2<90%) was not met. Lower chest-wall indrawing and other respiratory symptoms were associated with pulse oximetry use at admission and were also associated with oxygen prescription in the absence of pulse oximetry or hypoxaemia.

Conclusion

The adoption of pulse oximetry recommended in international guidelines for assessing children with severe illness has been slow and erratic, reflecting system and organisational weaknesses. Most oxygen orders at admission seem driven by clinical and situational factors other than the presence of hypoxaemia. Programmes aiming to implement pulse oximetry and oxygen systems will likely need a long-term vision to promote adoption, guideline development and adherence and continuously examine impact.
Associations of household food insufficiency with childhood depression and anxiety: a nationwide cross-sectional study in the USA
Authors: Zheng Siwen , Ngo Amanda L , Forman Michele R , Barcellos Anna L , Liao Lauren , Ferrara Assiamira , Zhu Yeyi
Published: September 2021

Objective

Household food insufficiency (HFIS) is a major public health threat to children. Children may be particularly vulnerable to HFIS as a psychological stressor due to their rapid growth and accelerated behavioural and cognitive states, whereas data focusing on HFIS and childhood mental disorders are as-yet sparse. We aimed to examine the associations of HFIS with depression and anxiety in US children.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

The 2016–2018 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally-representative study.

Participants

Primary caregivers of 102 341 children in the USA.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Physician diagnosed depression and anxiety were assessed by questionnaires administered to primary caregivers of 102 341 children. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated adjusted OR (aOR) for current depression or anxiety associated with HFIS measured through a validated single-item instrument.

Results

Among children aged 3–17 years, 3.2% and 7.4% had parent-reported physician-diagnosed current depression and anxiety, respectively. Compared with children without HFIS, children with HFIS had approximately twofold higher weighted prevalence of anxiety or depression. After adjusting for covariates, children with versus without HFIS had a 1.53-fold (95% CI 1.15 to 2.03) and 1.48-fold (95% CI 1.20 to 1.82) increased odds of current depression and anxiety, respectively. Associations were slightly more pronounced among girls (aOR (95% CI): depression 1.69 (1.16 to 2.48); anxiety 1.78 (1.33 to 2.38)) than boys (1.42 (0.98 to 2.08); 1.32 (1.00 to 1.73); both P-for-interaction <0.01). The associations did not vary by children’s age or race/ethnicity.

Conclusions

HFIS was independently associated with depression and anxiety among US children. Girls presented slightly greater vulnerability to HFIS in terms of impaired mental health. Children identified as food-insufficient may warrant mental health assessment and possible intervention. Assessment of HFIS among children with impaired mental health is also warranted. Our findings also highlight the importance of promptly addressing HFIS with referral to appropriate resources and inform its potential to alleviate childhood mental health issues.
Efficiency measures of emergency departments: an Italian systematic literature review
Authors: Di Laura Danilo , D'Angiolella Lucia , Mantovani Lorenzo , Squassabia Ginevra , Clemente Francesco , Santalucia Ida , Improta Giovanni , Triassi Maria
Published: September 2021

Life expectancy globally increased in the last decades: the number of people aged 65 or older is consequently projected to grow, and healthcare demand will increase as well. In the recent years, the number of patients visiting the hospital emergency departments (EDs) rocked in almost all countries of the world. These departments are crucial in all healthcare systems and play a critical role in providing an efficient assistance to all patients. A systematic literature review covering PubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane Library was performed from 2009 to 2019. Of the 718 references found in the literature research, more than 25 studies were included in the current review. Different predictors were associated with the quality of EDs care, which may help to define and implement preventive strategies in the near future. There is no harmonisation in efficiency measurements reflecting the performance in the ED setting. The identification of consistent measures of efficiency is crucial to build an evidence base for future initiatives. The aim of this study is to review the literature on the problems encountered in the efficiency of EDs around the world in order to identify an organisational model or guidelines that can be implemented in EDs to fill inefficiencies and ensure access optimal treatment both in terms of resources and timing. This review will support policy makers to improve the quality of health facilities, and, consequently of the entire healthcare systems.
Paediatric dermatological conditions in an emergency department: a single-centre study in Thailand
Authors: Techasatian Leelawadee , Uppala Rattapon , Phungoen Pariwat
Published: September 2021

Background

Few studies have evaluated paediatric dermatological conditions and their associated factors that warrant admission at the emergency department.

Objectives

The main objective of this study was to present the demographic information of paediatric dermatological conditions encountered in the emergency department and identify possible associated factors for hospital admission.

Methods

This retrospective cross-sectional study included paediatric patients who visited the emergency department between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2019. Data collection was performed using an authorised electronic medical records programme at Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Thailand.

Results

A total of 40 683 paediatric patients visited the emergency department during the study period, with 1701 cases presenting dermatological conditions. Infections were the most frequent conditions encountered in the emergency department (647, 38.0%), followed by urticaria/anaphylaxis (478, 28.1%), eczematous diseases (463, 27.2%), cutaneous drug eruptions (64, 3.7%) and miscellaneous (49, 2.9%). Among 1701 paediatric cases with dermatological conditions, only 182 cases (10.7%) were admitted to the hospital and required further management. Cases presenting cutaneous drug eruptions had the highest proportion of hospital admissions (60.9%) and were significantly different from cases in other dermatologic categories (p<0.001). The association of admission found an OR of 0.96 for every year of increase in age (95% CI 0.93 to 0.99, p=0.003).

Conclusion

The present study found that the majority of patients with cutaneous conditions visiting the emergency department were non-urgent; however, dermatological emergencies exist and should not be underestimated. Younger paediatric patients presenting with dermatological condition is a population with a high risk for hospital admission. Cutaneous drug eruptions showed the highest proportion of hospital admissions compared with other dermatological categories. Therefore, physicians in the emergency department should always look for specific cutaneous signs of drug eruptions, such as target-like lesions and mucosal involvement in Steven-Johnsons syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis to prevent misdiagnosis of this dermatological condition.
Children and adolescent solid tumours and high-intensity end-of-life care: what can be done to reduce acute care admissions?
Authors: Podda Marta Giorgia , Schiavello Elisabetta , Clerici Carlo Alfredo , Luksch Roberto , Terenziani Monica , Ferrari Andrea , Casanova Michela , Spreafico Filippo , Meazza Cristina , Biassoni Veronica , Chiaravalli Stefano , Puma Nadia , Bergamaschi Luca , Gattuso Giovanna , Sironi Giovanna , Nigro Olga , Massimino Maura
Published: September 2021

Despite improvements in survival, cancer remains the leading cause of non-accidental death in children and adolescents, who risk receiving high-intensity end-of-life (HI-EOL) care.

Objective

To analyse treatments for relapses (particularly in the last weeks of life), assess their impact on the EOL, identify patients most likely to receive HI-EOL care and examine whether palliative care services can contain the intensity of EOL care.

Methods

This retrospective study involved patients treated at the paediatric oncology unit of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan who died between 2018 and 2020. The primary outcome was HI-EOL care, defined as: ≥1 session of intravenous chemotherapy <14 days before death; ≥1 hospitalisation in intensive care in the last 30 days of life and ≥1 emergency room admission in the last 30 days of life.

Results

The study concerned 68 patients, and 17 had HI-EOL care. Patients given specific in-hospital treatments in the last 14 days of their life more frequently died in hospital. Those given aggressive EOL care were less likely to die at home or in the hospice. Patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumours were more likely to have treatments requiring hospitalisation, and to receive HI-EOL care.

Conclusion

These results underscore the importance of considering specific treatments at the EOL with caution. Treatments should be administered at home whenever possible.

The early activation of palliative care, especially for fragile and complicated patients like those with CNS cancers, could help families cope with the many problems they face.
Primary results of the Vesalio NeVa VS for the Treatment of Symptomatic Cerebral Vasospasm following Aneurysm Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (VITAL) Study
Authors: Gupta Rishi , Woodward Keith , Fiorella David , Woo Henry H , Liebeskind David , Frei Donald , Siddiqui Adnan , De Leacy Reade , Hanel Ricardo , Elijovich Lucas , Maud Alberto
Published: September 2021

Background

Cerebral vasospasm (CV) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is linked to worse neurological outcomes. The NeVa VS is a novel cerebral dilation device based on predicate stent retrievers. We report the results of the Vesalio NeVa VS for the Treatment of Symptomatic Cerebral Vasospasm following aSAH (VITAL) Study.

Methods

This was a single-arm prospective multicenter trial to assess the safety and probable benefit of the NeVa VS device to treat CV. Patients were screened and treated if they had CV >50% on non-invasive imaging confirmed by cerebral angiography. The vessel diameters were measured before and after treatment by an independent core laboratory. The primary endpoint was ≥50% vessel diameter immediately after treatment with the NeVa VS device.

Results

Thirty patients with a mean age of 52±11 years and mean Hunt–Hess grade of 3.1±0.9 were enrolled. A total of 74 vessels were treated with an average of 1.3 deployments per vessel (95 deployments total). The mean pre-treatment narrowing of the target vessel (n=74) was 65.6% with reduction of the narrowing to 29.4% after treatment. The primary endpoint was achieved in 64 of 74 vessels (86.5%). In three of 95 total deployments (3.2%), thrombus at the site of deployment was observed during the procedure without apparent neurological sequelae.

Conclusions

The NeVa VS device appears to be a safe treatment to regain vessel diameter in severely narrowed intracranial arteries secondary to CV associated with aSAH. This treatment offers a new tool that allows for controlled vessel expansion to treat CV.
Predictors and clinical impact of infarct progression rate in the ESCAPE-NA1 trial
Authors: Ospel Johanna Maria , McDonough Rosalie , Demchuk Andrew M , Menon Bijoy K , Almekhlafi Mohammed A , Nogueira Raul G , McTaggart Ryan A , Poppe Alexandre Y , Buck Brian H , Roy Daniel , Haussen Diogo C , Chapot René , Field Thalia S , Jayaraman Mahesh V , Tymianski Michael , Hill Michael D , Goyal Mayank
Published: September 2021

Background

Determining infarct progression rate in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is important for patient triage, treatment decision-making, and outcome prognostication.

Objective

To estimate infarct progression rate in patients with AIS with large vessel occlusion (LVO) and determine its predictors and impact on clinical outcome.

Methods

Data are from the ESCAPE-NA1 Trial. Patients with AIS with time from last known well to randomization <6 hours and near-complete reperfusion following endovascular treatment were included. Infarct growth rate (mL/h) was estimated by dividing 24 hour infarct volume (measured by non-contrast CT or diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging) by time from last known well to reperfusion. Multivariable linear regression was used to assess the association of patient baseline variables with log-transformed infarct progression rate. The association of infarct progression rate and good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 0–2) was determined using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Four hundred and nine patients were included in the study. Median infarct progression rate was 4.74 mL/h (IQR 1.25–14.84). Collateral status (β: −0.81 (95% CI −1.20 to −0.41)), Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS, β: −0.34 (95% CI −0.46 to −0.23)), blood glucose(β: 0.09 (95% CI 0.02 to 0.16)), and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHS score (β: 0.07 (95% CI 0.04 to 0.10)) were associated with log-transformed infarct progression rate. Clinical and imaging baseline variables explained 23% of the variance in infarct progression rate. Infarct progression rate was significantly associated with good outcome (aOR per 1 mL/h increase: 0.96 (95% CI 0.95 to 0.98)).

Conclusion

In this sample of patients presenting within the early time window with LVO and near-complete recanalization, infarct progression rate was significantly associated with good outcome. A significant association between ASPECTS, collateral status, blood glucose, and NIHSS score was observed, but baseline imaging and clinical characteristics explained only a small proportion of the interindividual variance. More research on measurable factors affecting infarct growth is needed.
Protein kinase G signaling pathway is involved in sympathetically maintained pain by modulating ATP-sensitive potassium channels
Authors: Li Huiming , Shang Mengjuan , Liu Ling , Lin Xiaoyu , Hu Junfeng , Han Qian , Xing Junling
Published: September 2021

Background

Sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) involves an increased excitability of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons to sympathetic nerve stimulation and circulating norepinephrine. The current treatment of SMP has limited efficacy, and hence more mechanistic insights into this intractable pain condition are urgently needed.

Methods

A caudal trunk transection (CTT) model of neuropathic pain was established in mice.

Immunofluorescence staining, small interfering RNA, pharmacological and electrophysiological studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that norepinephrine increases the excitability of small-diameter DRG neurons from CTT mice through the activation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-protein kinase G (cGMP-PKG) signaling pathway.

Results

Behavior study showed that CTT mice developed mechanical and heat hypersensitivities, which were attenuated by intraperitoneal injection of guanethidine. CTT mice also showed an abnormal sprouting of tyrosine hydroxylase-positive nerve fibers in DRG, and an increased excitability of small-diameter DRG neurons to norepinephrine, suggesting that CTT is a useful model to study SMP. Importantly, inhibiting cGMP-PKG pathway with small interfering RNA and KT5823 attenuated the increased sympathetic sensitivity in CTT mice. In contrast, cGMP activators (Sp-cGMP, 8-Br-cGMP) further increased sympathetic sensitivity. Furthermore, phosphorylation of ATP-sensitive potassium channel, which is a downstream target of PKG, may contribute to the adrenergic modulation of DRG neuron excitability.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest an important role of cGMP-PKG signaling pathway in the increased excitability of small-diameter DRG neurons to norepinephrine after CTT, which involves an inhibition of the ATP-sensitive potassium currents through PKG-induced phosphorylation. Accordingly, drugs targeting this pathway may help to treat SMP.
QCD phase transition drives supernova explosion of a very massive star
Authors: Fischer Tobias
Published: September 2021

The nature of core-collapse supernova (SN) explosions is yet incompletely understood. The present article revisits the scenario in which the release of latent heat due to a first-order phase transition, from normal nuclear matter to the quark–gluon plasma, liberates the necessary energy to explain the observed SN explosions. Here, the role of the metallicity of the stellar progenitor is investigated, comparing a solar metallicity and a low-metallicity case, both having a zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass of 75 M$$_\odot $$

⊙

. It is found that low-metallicity models belong exclusively to the failed SN branch, featuring the formation of black holes without explosions. It excludes this class of massive star explosions as possible site for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements at extremely low metallicity, usually associated with the early universe.
Towards extracting cosmic magnetic field structures from cosmic-ray arrival directions
Authors: Wirtz Marcus , Bister Teresa , Erdmann Martin
Published: September 2021

We present a novel method to search for structures of coherently aligned patterns in ultra-high energy cosmic-ray arrival directions simultaneously across the entire sky. This method can be used to obtain information on the Galactic magnetic field, in particular the integrated component perpendicular to the line of sight, from cosmic-ray data only. Using a likelihood-ratio approach, neighboring cosmic rays are related by rotatable, elliptically shaped density distributions and the significance of their alignment with respect to circular distributions is evaluated. In this way, a vector field tangential to the celestial sphere is fitted which approximates the local deflections in cosmic magnetic fields if significant deflection structures are detected. The sensitivity of the method is evaluated on the basis of astrophysical simulations of the ultra-high energy cosmic-ray sky, where a discriminative power between isotropic and signal-induced scenarios is found.
Critical exponents and transport properties near the QCD critical endpoint from the statistical bootstrap model
Authors: Kadam Guruprasad , Mishra Hiranmaya , Panero Marco
Published: September 2021

We present an estimate of the behavior of the shear and bulk viscosity coefficients when the QCD critical point is approached from the hadronic side, describing hadronic matter within the statistical bootstrap model of strong interactions. The bootstrap model shows critical behavior near the quark-hadron transition temperature if the parameter characterizing the degeneracy of Hagedorn states is properly chosen. We calculate the critical exponents and amplitudes of relevant thermodynamic quantities near the QCD critical point and combine them with anAnsatzfor the shear and bulk viscosity coefficients to derive the behavior of these coefficients near the critical point. The shear viscosity to entropy density ratio is found to decrease when the temperature is increased, and to approach the Kovtun–Son–Starinets bound$$1/(4\pi )$$1/(4π)faster near the critical point, while the bulk viscosity coefficient is found to rise very rapidly.
A New Hybrid Method for Caption and Scene Text Classification in Action Video Images
Authors: Nandanwar Lokesh , Shivakumara Palaiahnakote , Pal Umapada , Lu Tong , Blumenstein Michael
Published: September 2021

Achieving a better recognition rate for text in action video images is challenging due to multiple types of text with unpredictable actions in the background. In this paper, we propose a new method for the classification of caption (which is edited text) and scene text (text that is a part of the video) in video images. This work considers five action classes, namely, Yoga, Concert, Teleshopping, Craft, and Recipes, where it is expected that both types of text play a vital role in understanding the video content. The proposed method introduces a new fusion criterion based on Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) and Fourier coefficients to obtain the reconstructed images for caption and scene text. The fusion criterion involves computing the variances for coefficients of corresponding pixels of DCT and Fourier images, and the same variances are considered as the respective weights. This step results in Reconstructed image-1. Inspired by the special property of Chebyshev-Harmonic-Fourier-Moments (CHFM) that has the ability to reconstruct a redundancy-free image, we explore CHFM for obtaining the Reconstructed image-2. The reconstructed images along with the input image are passed to a Deep Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN) for classification of caption/scene text. Experimental results on five action classes and a comparative study with the existing methods demonstrate that the proposed method is effective. In addition, the recognition results of the before and after the classification obtained from different methods show that the recognition performance improves significantly after classification, compared to before classification.
Hardware Efficient Pseudo-Random Number Generator Using Chen Chaotic System on FPGA
Authors: Gupta Mangal Deep , Chauhan R. K.
Published: September 2021

This paper introduces an FPGA implementation of a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) using Chen’s chaotic system. This paper mainly focuses on the development of an efficient VLSI architecture of PRNG in terms of bit rate, area resources, latency, maximum length sequence, and randomness. First, we analyze the dynamic behavior of the chaotic trajectories of Chen’s system and set the parameter’s value to maintain low hardware design complexity. A circuit realization of the proposed PRNG is presented using hardwired shifting, additions, subtractions, and multiplexing schemes. The benefit of this architecture, all the binary multiplications (except [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] operations are performed using hardwired shifting. Moreover, the generated sequences pass all the 15 statistical tests of NIST, while it generates pseudo-random numbers at a uniform clock rate with minimum hardware complexity. The proposed architecture of PRNG is realized using Verilog HDL, prototyped on the Virtex-5 FPGA (XC5VLX50T) device, and its analysis has been done using the Matlab tool. Performance analysis confirms that the proposed Chen chaotic attractor-based PRNG scheme is simple, secure, and hardware efficient, with high potential to be adopted in cryptography applications.
PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL PAIN AND DISCOMFORT DUE TO ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS DURING LOCKDOWN IN STUDENTS AND TEACHERS: OUTCOMES OF THE NEW NORMAL
Authors: Pawalia Alka , Joshi Shabnam , Preeti  , Yadav Vikram Singh
Published: September 2021

Purpose: The sudden lockdown due to COVID-19 in India led to closure of schools and colleges. This resulted in an increased usage of online mode of study, with a more sedentary lifestyle. The survey study aimed to analyze the prevalence of any musculoskeletal problem in students and teachers due to the same. Methodology: A Google Form was distributed by a snowball sampling technique using various social media platforms. A total of 715 responses were received. Results: Maximum respondents were in the age range of 18–25 years. Eighty eight percent of participants in the survey were involved in the online mode of education, with 60.8% experiencing some form of musculoskeletal pain or discomfort; 71% of people believed that the cause of pain was online working. Neck pain (51.3%) followed by low back pain (33.4%) and headaches (29.8%) were commonly reported. University teachers reported maximum pain followed by university students, school teachers and school students. Of all the respondents, 60.8% people admitted to adopting awkward postures while at work, whereas only 27.6% of them exercised to relieve pain and discomfort. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to develop appropriate intervention strategies for people involved in sedentary online work to prevent the occurrence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort. Physical therapy can play a major role in managing this lifestyle hazard.
Asymptotic Stability of Controlled Nonlinear Stochastic Systems Considering the Dynamics of Sensors and Actuators
Authors: Sun Jiaojiao , Ying Zuguang , Huan Ronghua , Zhu Weiqiu
Published: September 2021

A closed-loop controlled system usually consists of the main structure, sensors, and actuators. In this paper, asymptotic stability of trivial solutions of a controlled nonlinear stochastic system considering the dynamics of sensors and actuators is investigated. Considering the inherent and intentional nonlinearities and random loadings, the coupled dynamic equations of the controlled system with sensors and actuators are given, which are further formulated by a controlled, randomly excited, dissipated Hamiltonian system. The Hamiltonian of the controlled system is introduced, and, based on the stochastic averaging method, the original high-dimensional system is reduced to a one-dimensional averaged system. The analytical expression of Lyapunov exponent of the averaged system is derived, which gives the approximately necessary and sufficient condition of the asymptotic stability of trivial solutions of the original high-dimensional system. The validation of the proposed method is demonstrated by a four-degree-of-freedom controlled system under pure stochastically parametric excitations in detail. A comparative analysis, which is related to the stochastic asymptotic stability of the system with and without considering the dynamics of sensors and actuators, is carried out to investigate the effect of their dynamics on the motion of the controlled system. Results show that ignoring the dynamics of sensors and actuators will get a shrink stable region of the controlled system.
Knowledge Management Processes and Performance: Key Role of IS Strategies in Knowledge Capture and Utilisation
Authors: Yoshikuni Adilson Carlos , Lucas Edmilson Costa
Published: September 2021

This research examines the interrelation of knowledge generation (KG) and knowledge sharing (KC) and how they influence IT infrastructure (ITI) and strategic decision support systems (SDSS) to enhance business process performance (BPP) and firm performance (FP). Furthermore, the objective of this study is to emphasise the importance of applying information systems strategies (ISS) such as knowledge capture and utilisation to make better firm processes to boost firm performance in knowledge management process-intensive organisations. The study surveyed 261 Brazilian companies and used partial least squares path modelling to test the hypotheses proposed herein. The research findings showed that KG and KC influence ITI. Additionally, it also showed that ITI has full mediation in its relationship with KG and SDSS and partial mediation in its relationship with KC on the SDSS. Finally, BPP demonstrated full mediation in its relationship with SDSS and FP. The research findings contribute to firms understand how BPP and FP are affected through ISS embedded into knowledge and utilisation coupled with knowledge generation and sharing.
Preparation of CuO@Mesoporous SiO2 Via Calcining Nanocasted Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Styrene Oxidation Reaction
Authors: Chen Zexu , Li Yunong , Wang Xuanhe , Zhai Xu , Zhang Xuemin , Fan Fuqiang , Wang Tieqiang , Zhang Liying , Wang Sha , Chen Junyi , Fu Yu
Published: September 2021

A mesoporous silica bearing uniformly distributed copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO@mesoporous SiO2) was prepared through silica nanocasting copper metal organic frameworks (MOFs) followed by calcination. The nanocasting filled the micropores of MOFs with silica and then, the calcination removed the organic linker in MOFs and converted copper metal ions into CuO particles, resulting in the CuO@mesoporous SiO2 architecture. The characterization results indicated that the final product basically maintained the original MOF morphology and the mesoporous silica effectively prevented the aggregation of nanoparticles. In addition, the CuO@mesoporous SiO2 exhibited a superior activity for catalyzing the oxidation of styrene, which could be attributed to the fact that the dispersed CuO particles in mesoporous silica provided more accessible catalytic sites and better stability. This work provides a new strategy to prepare nanoparticles@mesoporous silica with adjustable morphology structure, which has a promising potential in the field of heterogeneous catalysis.
Complete Logarithmic Sobolev inequality via Ricci curvature bounded below II
Authors: Brannan Michael , Gao Li , Junge Marius
Published: September 2021

We study the “geometric Ricci curvature lower bound”, introduced previously by Junge, Li and LaRacuente, for a variety of examples including group von Neumann algebras, free orthogonal quantum groups [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]-deformed Gaussian algebras and quantum tori. In particular, we show that Laplace operator on [Formula: see text] admits a factorization through the Laplace–Beltrami operator on the classical orthogonal group, which establishes the first connection between these two operators. Based on a non-negative curvature condition, we obtain the completely bounded version of the modified log-Sobolev inequalities for the corresponding quantum Markov semigroups on the examples mentioned above. We also prove that the “geometric Ricci curvature lower bound” is stable under tensor products and amalgamated free products. As an application, we obtain a sharp Ricci curvature lower bound for word-length semigroups on free group factors.
Tribological behaviors of DLC films with hierarchical surface textures under water lubrication: A molecular dynamic simulation
Authors: Chen Huan , Zhang Guangan , Lu Zhibin , Li Xia , Srikanth Narasimalu , Bai Lichun
Published: September 2021

Tribological behaviors of diamond-like carbon (DLC) films with different levels of hierarchical surface textures with lubricant water molecules are investigated through molecular dynamics simulation. The friction forces stabilize at a small value for small normal loads, due to the complete separation between DLC films by water molecules, while friction forces with large normal loads show complicated changes under the cooperation of interfacial evolution and water behaviors. Under large normal loads, friction force increases firstly due to the direct contact of surface textures which are subsequently worn and graphitized, resulting in the temporary stabilization of friction force at a large value. With their further wearing, the amount of interfacial carbon clusters decreases and water molecules distribute evenly at interface, which leads to the gradual decrease and final stabilization of friction force. During the sliding, the water molecules show a restoration in the structure and amount of hydrogen bonds, thus making these molecules play different roles in various stages, i.e., these molecules demonstrate a better diffusion during the friction rise and an enhanced separating effect for DLC films during the friction stabilization. Furthermore, the same amount of water molecules in the one-level hierarchical (L1) model has a larger bearing capacity than that in the two-level hierarchical (L2) model. When the normal load exceeds the bearing capacity of water, the friction force for model L2 is more stable and smaller than that for model L1 after running-in periods due to flattened interfaces and evenly distributed water molecules.
Paleozoic basin reactivation and inversion of the underexplored Northern North Sea platforms: a cross-border approach
Authors: Scisciani Vittorio , Patruno Stefano , D'Intino Nico , Esestime Paolo
Published: September 2021

Well penetrations on the UK East Shetland Platform (ESP) prove 1–8 km-thick Devonian post-orogenic extensional collapse-related successions. Conversely, extremely thick (1–6 km) Permo-Triassic basin-fills without Devono-Carboniferous units were in the past interpreted west of the Utsira High, on the Norwegian Horda Platform and Stord Basin, albeit Pre-Triassic well penetrations are here very rare. In this work, the nature and age of Paleozoic–Triassic strata and structures in these underexplored platform regions are tentatively constrained by performing cross-border regional seismic interpretations east and west of the Viking Graben.

We highlight cross-border analogies in structural style and seismic facies, with a similar evolution dominated by polyphase inversion tectonics and structural grain preservation. In the Norwegian study areas, much of the half-graben sedimentary fills may be interpreted as Devonian–?Carboniferous in age as in the ESP, rather than overly thick Permo-Triassic successions. Major graben-bounding extensional faults are low angle (
c.
25°–33°), approximately north-striking and are likely to be rooting downwards into reactivated Caledonian shear zones. Rifting development occurred in multiple episodes, possibly creating different traps. Prior to Permian–Jurassic rifting, many low-angle Caledonian thrusts were subject to extensional inversion in the Devonian and then to Variscan compressional reactivation, causing vertical extrusion and deformation of Devonian synrift wedges.
Wealth Flow Model: Online Portfolio Selection Based on Learning Wealth Flow Matrices
Authors: Yin Jianfei , Wang Ruili , Guo Yeqing , Bai Yizhe , Ju Shunda , Liu Weili , Huang Joshua Zhexue
Published: September 2021

This article proposes a deep learning solution to the online portfolio selection problem based on learning a latent structure directly from a price time series. It introduces a novel wealth flow matrix for representing a latent structure that has special regular conditions to encode the knowledge about the relative strengths of assets in portfolios. Therefore, a wealth flow model (WFM) is proposed to learn wealth flow matrices and maximize portfolio wealth simultaneously. Compared with existing approaches, our work has several distinctive benefits: (1) the learning of wealth flow matrices makes our model more generalizable than models that only predict wealth proportion vectors, and (2) the exploitation of wealth flow matrices and the exploration of wealth growth are integrated into our deep reinforcement algorithm for the WFM. These benefits, in combination, lead to a highly-effective approach for generating reasonable investment behavior, including short-term trend following, the following of a few losers, no self-investment, and sparse portfolios. Extensive experiments on five benchmark datasets from real-world stock markets confirm the theoretical advantage of the WFM, which achieves the Pareto improvements in terms of multiple performance indicators and the steady growth of wealth over the state-of-the-art algorithms.
S2OSC: A Holistic Semi-Supervised Approach for Open Set Classification
Authors: Yang Yang , Wei Hongchen , Sun Zhen-Qiang , Li Guang-Yu , Zhou Yuanchun , Xiong Hui , Yang Jian
Published: September 2021

Open set classification (OSC) tackles the problem of determining whether the data are in-class or out-of-class during inference, when only provided with a set of in-class examples at training time. Traditional OSC methods usually train discriminative or generative models with the owned in-class data, and then utilize the pre-trained models to classify test data directly. However, these methods always suffer from the embedding confusion problem, i.e., partial out-of-class instances are mixed with in-class ones of similar semantics, making it difficult to classify. To solve this problem, we unify semi-supervised learning to develop a novel OSC algorithm, S2OSC, which incorporates out-of-class instances filtering and model re-training in a transductive manner. In detail, given a pool of newly coming test data, S2OSC firstly filters the mostly distinct out-of-class instances using the pre-trained model, and annotates super-class for them. Then, S2OSC trains a holistic classification model by combing in-class and out-of-class labeled data with the remaining unlabeled test data in a semi-supervised paradigm. Furthermore, considering that data are usually in the streaming form in real applications, we extend S2OSC into an incremental update framework (I-S2OSC), and adopt a knowledge memory regularization to mitigate the catastrophic forgetting problem in incremental update. Despite the simplicity of proposed models, the experimental results show that S2OSC achieves state-of-the-art performance across a variety of OSC tasks, including 85.4% of F1 on CIFAR-10 with only 300 pseudo-labels. We also demonstrate how S2OSC can be expanded to incremental OSC setting effectively with streaming data.