bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parental Influence on the Physical Activity Behaviors of Young Children With Developmental Disabilities
Authors: Ku Byungmo , MacDonald Megan , Hatfield Bridget , Gunter Kathy
Published: September 2020

The purpose of this study was to test a modified conceptual model of the associations between parental supports and physical activity (PA) orientations and the PA behaviors of young children with developmental disabilities (DDs). In total, 135 parents of young children with DDs completed a questionnaire, which consisted of 67 questions. A pathway analysis indicated that tangible and intangible parental supports were significantly associated with PA behaviors in young children with DDs (β = 0.26, p = .01, and β = 0.24, p = .02, respectively). Tangible parental support was positively associated with parents’ PA behaviors and PA enjoyment (β = 0.22, p < .001, and β = 0.13, p = .04, respectively). Intangible parental support was positively associated with parents’ PA behaviors and PA importance (β = 0.19, p = .05, and β = 0.33, p < .001, respectively). In addition, parental PA behaviors and parents’ perceptions of their children’s motor performance were both directly associated with PA behaviors in young children with DDs. These results highlight the importance of parental support and PA orientations in relation to the PA behaviors of young children with DDs.
Football Versus National Service: A Case Study Exploration of Facebook Comments on the Ben Davis Saga
Authors: Ong Nathanael C.H.
Published: September 2020

Singaporean footballer Ben Davis applied for deferment from national service (NS) in order to pursue his dream of playing in the English Premier League. However, his deferment request was rejected by the Ministry of Defense, and there was a sizable national debate on whether Davis should be granted the deferment. The study sought to use the Ben Davis saga as a case study to provide an exploration of public opinion toward various issues relating to sport and society. A total of 14,093 comments were extracted from various news sources on Facebook, and a randomized sample of 1,875 comments was used for the final analysis. The constant comparative methodology was used to conduct a thematic analysis of the comments. The analysis produced four higher order themes: (a) sport in Singapore, (b) role and relevance of NS, (c) national interest versus individual choice, and (d) perception of new citizens and foreign talent.
Effects of Student Interests on Engagement and Performance in Biomechanics
Authors: Pliner Erika M. , Dukes April A. , Beschorner Kurt E. , Mahboobin Arash
Published: September 2020

There is a need for pedagogical techniques that increase student engagement among underrepresented groups in engineering. Relating engineering content to student interests, particularly through biomechanics applications, shows promise toward engaging a diverse group of students. This study investigates the effects of student interests on engagement and performance in 10th grade students enrolled in a summer program for students underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The authors assessed the effects of interest-tailored lectures on student engagement and performance in a 5-week program with bioengineering workshops, focusing on the delivery of biomechanics content. A total of 31 students received interest-tailored lectures (intervention) and 23 students received only generic lectures (control) in biomechanics. In addition, the authors assessed the effects of teaching method (lecture, classroom activities, and laboratory tours) on student engagement. The authors found interest-tailored lectures to significantly increase student engagement in lecture compared with generic lectures. Students that received interest-tailored lectures had an insignificant, but meaningful 5% increase in student performance. Students rated laboratory tours higher in engagement than other teaching methods. This study provides detailed examples that can directly assist student teaching and outreach in biomechanics. Furthermore, the pedagogical techniques in this study can be used to increase engagement of underrepresented students in engineering.
Coherently forming a single molecule in an optical trap
Authors: He Xiaodong , Wang Kunpeng , Zhuang Jun , Xu Peng , Gao Xiang , Guo Ruijun , Sheng Cheng , Liu Min , Wang Jin , Li Jiaming , Shlyapnikov G. V. , Zhan Mingsheng
Published: September 2020

Non-Feshbach ultracold molecules

The formation of ultracold molecules has already had a profound impact on many research areas of physics. However, conventional methods of producing such molecules are attainable only for a limited number of systems or they suffer for strong dephasing. He
et al.
sought to pair atoms, through coupling of their spins, to the two-body relative motion mediated by the inherent polarization gradients in a strongly focused trapping laser. They report a successful assembly of an ultracold
87
Rb-
85
Rb molecule in an optical tweezer and observed coherent, long-lived atom-molecule Rabi oscillations. They further demonstrate the full control of the internal and external degrees of freedom in the atom-molecule system.

Science
, this issue p.
331
Long-term collapse in fruit availability threatens Central African forest megafauna
Authors: Bush Emma R. , Whytock Robin C. , Bahaa-el-din Laila , Bourgeois Stéphanie , Bunnefeld Nils , Cardoso Anabelle W. , Dikangadissi Jean Thoussaint , Dimbonda Pacôme , Dimoto Edmond , Edzang Ndong Josué , Jeffery Kathryn J. , Lehmann David , Makaga Loïc , Momboua Brice , Momont Ludovic R. W. , Tutin Caroline E. G. , White Lee J. T. , Whittaker Alden , Abernethy Katharine
Published: September 2020

Fruit decline threatens forest elephants

Large mammal herbivores in African tropical forests are major consumers of fruit, and many tree species rely on these consumers for dispersal of their seeds. Bush
et al.
monitored fruit production over three decades in a protected national park in Gabon, showing an 80% decline across the 73 plant species monitored. At the same time, photographic records of forest elephants over the past decade indicate a substantial decline in body condition in these major herbivores. These results suggest that the capacity of the ecosystem to support the elephant population is decreasing, a worrying prospect in an environment that is still protected from other threats such as hunting and deforestation.

Science
, this issue p.
1219
Singing in a silent spring: Birds respond to a half-century soundscape reversion during the COVID-19 shutdown
Authors: Derryberry Elizabeth P. , Phillips Jennifer N. , Derryberry Graham E. , Blum Michael J. , Luther David
Published: September 2020

Songbirds reclaim favored frequencies

When severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic lockdowns were instituted across entire countries, human activities ceased in an unprecedented way. Derryberry
et al.
found that the reduction in traffic sound in the San Francisco Bay Area of California to levels not seen for half a century led to a shift in song frequency in white-crowned sparrows (see the Perspective by Halfwerk). This shift was especially notable because the frequency of human-produced traffic noise occurs within a range that interferes with the highest performance and most effective song. Thus, our “quiet” allowed the birds to quickly fill the most effective song space.

Science
, this issue p.
575
; see also p.
523
Therapeutic microbubbles make tumor cells pop
Authors: Baca Justin T.
Published: September 2020

Combining ultrasound release and molecular targeting selectively delivered extremely toxic and hydrophobic drugs to tumor cells.
Metabolic Diversity and Evolutionary History of the Archaeal Phylum “
Candidatus
Micrarchaeota” Uncovered from a Freshwater Lake Metagenome
Authors: Kadnikov Vitaly V. , Savvichev Alexander S. , Mardanov Andrey V. , Beletsky Alexey V. , Chupakov Artem V. , Kokryatskaya Natalia M. , Pimenov Nikolay V. , Ravin Nikolai V.
Published: September 2020

The recently described superphylum DPANN includes several phyla of uncultivated archaea with small cell sizes, reduced genomes, and limited metabolic capabilities. One of these phyla, “
Ca
. Micrarchaeota,” comprises an enigmatic group of archaea found in acid mine drainage environments, the archaeal Richmond Mine acidophilic nanoorganisms (ARMAN) group. Analysis of their reduced genomes revealed the absence of key metabolic pathways consistent with their partner-associated lifestyle, and physical associations of ARMAN cells with their hosts were documented. However, “
Ca
. Micrarchaeota” include several lineages besides the ARMAN group found in nonacidic environments, and none of them have been characterized. Here, we report a complete genome of “
Ca
. Micrarchaeota” from a non-ARMAN lineage. Analysis of this genome revealed the presence of metabolic capacities lost in ARMAN genomes that could enable a free-living lifestyle. These results expand our understanding of genetic diversity, lifestyle, and evolution of “
Ca
. Micrarchaeota.”
Effect of home-based newborn care on neonatal and infant mortality: a cluster randomised trial in India
Authors: Rasaily Reeta , Saxena NC , Pandey Sushma , Garg Bishan S , Swain Saraswati , Iyengar Sharad D , Das Vinita , Sinha Sheela , Gupta Subodh , Sinha Anju , Kumar Shiv , Pandey Arvind , Pandey Ravindra Mohan , Sachdev Harshpal Singh , Sankar Mari Jeeva , Ramji Siddarth , Paul Vinod K , Bang Abhay T
Published: September 2020

Background

Home-based newborn care has been found to reduce neonatal mortality in rural areas. Study evaluated effectiveness of home-based care delivered by specially recruited newborn care workers- Shishu Rakshak (SR) and existing workers- anganwadi workers (AWW) in reducing neonatal and infant mortality rates.

Methods

This three-arm, community-based, cluster randomised trial was conducted in five districts in India. Intervention package consisted of pregnancy surveillance, health education, care at birth, care of normal/low birthweight neonates, identification and treatment of sick neonates and young infants using oral and injectable antibiotics and community mobilisation. The package was similar in both intervention arms—SR and AWW; difference being healthcare provider. The control arm received routine health services from the existing health system. Primary outcomes were neonatal and young infant mortality rates at ‘endline’ period (2008–2009) assessed by an independent team from January to April 2010 in the study clusters.

Findings

A total of 6623, 6852 and 5898 births occurred in the SR, AWW and control arms, respectively, during the endline period; the proportion of facility births were 69.0%, 64.4% and 70.6% in the three arms. Baseline mortality rates were comparable in three arms. During the endline period, the risk of neonatal mortality was 25% lower in the SR arm (adjusted OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.99); the risks of early neonatal mortality, young infant mortality and infant mortality were also lower by 32%, 27%, and 33%, respectively. The risks of neonatal, early neonatal, young infant, infant mortality in the AWW arm were not different from that of the control arm.

Interpretation

Home-based care is effective in reducing neonatal and infant mortality rates, when delivered by a dedicated worker, even in settings with high rates of facility births.

Trial registration number

The study was registered with Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2011/12/002181).
Understanding families’ experiences following a diagnosis of non-syndromic craniosynostosis: a qualitative study
Authors: Kuta Victoria , Curry Lauren , McNeely Daniel , Walling Simon , Chorney Jill , Bezuhly Michael
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Craniosynostosis is typically diagnosed and surgically corrected within the first year of life. The diagnosis and surgical correction of the condition can be a very stressful experience for families. Despite this, there is little research exploring the impact that craniosynostosis has on families, especially in the period immediately following diagnosis and correction. In this study, the authors aimed to qualitatively examine the psychosocial experience of families with a child diagnosed with craniosynostosis.

Design

Qualitative study.

Setting

Tertiary care paediatric health centre.

Participants

Mothers of children newly diagnosed with single-suture, non-syndromic craniosynostosis.

Intervention

Semistructured interviews regarding parental experience with the initial diagnosis, their decision on corrective surgery for their child, the operative experience, the impact of craniosynostosis on the family and the challenges they encountered throughout their journey.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Thematic analysis, a type of qualitative analysis that provides an in-depth account of participant’s experiences, was used to analyse the interview data.

Results

Over a 4-year period, 12 families meeting eligibility criteria completed the study. Three main themes (six subthemes) emerged from the preoperative interviews: frustration with diagnostic delays (parental intuition and advocacy, hope for improved awareness), understanding what to expect (healthcare supports, interest in connecting with other families) and justifying the need for corrective surgery (influence of the surgeon, struggle with cosmetic indications). Two main themes (four subthemes) were drawn from the postoperative interviews: overcoming fear (the role of healthcare professionals, transition home) and relief (reduction in parental anxiety, cosmetic improvements).

Conclusions

Overall, the diagnosis of craniosynostosis has a profound impact on families, leading them to face many struggles throughout their journey. A better understanding of these experiences will help to inform future practice, with a hope to improve this experience for other families moving forward.
Oral health improvement for nursing home residents through delegated remotivation and reinstruction (MundZaRR Study): study protocol of a cluster-randomised controlled trial
Authors: Hertrampf Katrin , Schlattmann Peter , Meyer Gabriele , Gassmann Georg , Abraham Jens , Hammen Volker , Schwendicke Falk
Published: September 2020

Introduction

Oral health and oral health-related quality of life (OHrQL) of residents in German long-term residential care (LRC) are poor. We will develop an evidence-based catalogue of interventions (‘Oral Health Toolbox’) and provide care-accompanying reinstruction and remotivation of nursing staff by dental assistants (DA). We hypothesise that such intervention will significantly improve OHrQL, daily oral hygiene/care behaviour and is cost-effective.

Methods and analysis

A scoping review will be used to identify possible intervention components. Mixed methods will be used to identify barriers and enablers of oral hygiene and care in German LRC. The result will be the ‘Oral Health Toolbox’, a two-phased instrument supporting both initial intervention allocation to improve oral health/hygiene and reinstruction/remotivation. A two-arm clustered, randomised controlled trial (ratio of 1:1 via block randomisation) will be performed in LRC in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Each nursing home represents a cluster. Based on a feasibility study, considering clustering and possible attrition, we aim at recruiting 618 residents in 18 clusters. In the intervention group, dentists will assign one or more intervention component from the box (phase 1). During follow-up, nursing staff will be reinstructed and remotivated by DA, who use the box to decide how to maintain the intervention (phase 2). In the control group residents will receive care as usual. The primary outcome, OHrQL, will be measured using the General Oral Health Assessment Index. Secondary outcomes include pain condition, general health-related quality of life, caries increment, oral/prosthetic hygiene and gingival status, incidence of dental emergencies and hospitalisations, and cost-utility/effectiveness. The endpoints will be measured at baseline and after 12 months. For our primary outcome, a mixed-linear model will be used within an intention-to-treat analysis. A process evaluation using mixed methods will be conducted alongside the trial.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval by the University of Kiel was granted (D480/18).

Trial registration number

NCT04140929.
Public responses to the Salisbury Novichok incident: a cross-sectional survey of anxiety, anger, uncertainty, perceived risk and avoidance behaviour in the local community
Authors: Rubin G James , Webster Rebecca , Amlot Richard , Carter Holly , Weston Dale , Wessely Simon
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Malicious incidents involving chemical agents sometimes trigger high public concern. We aimed to (1) identify levels of emotion, perceived risk and behaviour change with regard to visiting Salisbury, 1 month after three people were poisoned with a nerve agent; and (2) test whether factors including receipt of information, beliefs about personal exposure and trust in government were associated with these outcomes.

Design

A cross-sectional telephone survey of a random sample of Salisbury residents.

Setting

Conducted between 5 and 13 April 2018.

Participants

500 residents aged 18 or over.

Outcome measures

Self-reported anxiety, anger, uncertainty, perceived risk to self and avoidance of Salisbury.

Results

Any degree of anxiety, anger and uncertainty was reported by 40.6%, 29.8% and 30.6% of participants, respectively. For the majority, the level of emotion reported was mild. Only 7.0% met the criteria for high anxiety and 5.2% reported feeling any risk to their health, whereas 18.6% reported avoiding Salisbury. Factors associated with avoidance of Salisbury included being female, unable to rule out exposure for oneself or of loved ones, believing the incident was targeted against the general public, and lower trust in the government and responding agencies. Hearing a lot or a little about the recovery support (eg, financial packages), as opposed to nothing at all, and being satisfied with this information were associated with reduced avoidance.

Conclusions

Although the March 2018 Salisbury incident had a relatively modest impact on emotion and risk perception in the community, the number who reported avoiding the city was notable. In this, and in future incidents, assuring people that contamination resulted from a targeted, rather than indiscriminate, incident; demonstrating that contamination is contained within specific areas; improving communication about any financial support; and promoting trust in responding agencies should help provide additional reassurance to the community.
Fatigue and recovery among Malaysian doctors: the role of work-related activities during non-work time
Authors: Mohd Fauzi Mohd Fadhli , Mohd Yusoff Hanizah , Mat Saruan Nur Adibah , Muhamad Robat Rosnawati , Abdul Manaf Mohd Rizal , Ghazali Maisarah
Published: September 2020

Objectives

This paper aims to estimate the level of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and intershift recovery among doctors working at public hospitals in Malaysia and determine their inter-relationship and their association with work-related activities during non-work time.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Seven core clinical disciplines from seven tertiary public hospitals in Malaysia.

Participants

Study was conducted among 330 randomly-sampled doctors. Response rate was 80.61% (n=266).

Results

The mean score of acute fatigue, chronic fatigue and intershift recovery were 68.51 (SD=16.549), 54.60 (SD=21.259) and 37.29 (SD=19.540), respectively. All these scores were out of 100 points each. Acute and chronic fatigue were correlated (r=0.663), and both were negatively correlated with intershift recovery (r=−0.704 and r=−0.670, respectively). Among the work-related activities done during non-work time, work-related ruminations dominated both the more frequent activities and the association with poorer fatigue and recovery outcomes. Rumination on being scolded/violated was found to be positively associated with both acute fatigue (adjusted regression coefficient (Adj.b)=2.190, 95% CI=1.139 to 3.240) and chronic fatigue (Adj.b=5.089, 95% CI=3.876 to 6.303), and negatively associated with recovery (Adj.b=−3.316, 95% CI=–4.516 to –2.117). Doing work task at workplace or attending extra work-related activities such as locum and attending training were found to have negative associations with fatigue and positive associations with recovery. Nevertheless, doing work-related activities at home was positively associated with acute fatigue. In terms of communication, it was found that face-to-face conversation with partner did associate with higher recovery but virtual conversation with partner associated with higher acute fatigue and lower recovery.

Conclusions

Work-related ruminations during non-work time were common and associated with poor fatigue and recovery outcomes while overt work activities done at workplace during non-work time were associated with better fatigue and recovery levels. There is a need for future studies with design that allow causal inference to address these relationships.
Impact of low-dose CT screening for lung cancer on ethnic health inequities in New Zealand: a cost-effectiveness analysis
Authors: McLeod Melissa , Sandiford Peter , Kvizhinadze Giorgi , Bartholomew Karen , Crengle Sue
Published: September 2020

Objective

There are large inequities in the lung cancer burden for the Indigenous Māori population of New Zealand. We model the potential lifetime health gains, equity impacts and cost-effectiveness of a national low-dose CT (LDCT) screening programme for lung cancer in smokers aged 55–74 years with a 30 pack-year history, and for formers smokers who have quit within the last 15 years.

Design

A Markov macrosimulation model estimated: health benefits (health-adjusted life-years (HALYs)), costs and cost-effectiveness of biennial LDCT screening. Input parameters came from literature and NZ-linked health datasets.

Setting

New Zealand.

Participants

Population aged 55–74 years in 2011.

Interventions

Biennial LDCT screening for lung cancer compared with usual care.

Outcome measures

Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated using the average difference in costs and HALYs between the screened and the unscreened populations. Equity analyses included substituting non-Māori values for Māori values of background morbidity, mortality and stage-specific survival. Changes in inequities in lung cancer survival and ‘health-adjusted life expectancy’ (HALE) were measured.

Results

LDCT screening in NZ is likely to be cost-effective for the total population: NZ$34 400 per HALY gained (95% uncertainty interval NZ$27 500 to NZ$42 900) and for Māori separately (using a threshold of gross domestic product per capita NZ$45 000). Health gains per capita for Māori females were twice that for non-Māori females and 25% greater for Māori males compared with non-Māori males. LDCT screening will narrow absolute inequities in HALE and lung cancer mortality for Māori, but will slightly increase relative inequities in mortality from lung cancer (compared with non-Māori) due to differential stage-specific survival.

Conclusion

A national biennial LDCT lung cancer screening programme in New Zealand is likely to be cost-effective, will improve total population health and reduce health inequities for Māori. Attention must be paid to addressing ethnic inequities in stage-specific lung cancer survival.
Prevalence and genotype distribution of cervical human papilomavirus infection in the pre-vaccination era: a population-based study in the Canary Islands
Authors: Andujar Miguel , Roura Esther , Torres Alejandra , Vega Begoña , Pavcovich Marta , Sanchez Miguel Angel , Lubrano Amina , Trujillo Jose Luis , Almeida Lucia , Santana Milagros , Hurtado Rosaura , Arencibia Octavio , Benito Virginia , Medina Norberto , Carballo Sonia , Camacho Maria del Carmen , Ruiz del Pozo Arancha , Quesada Alfoso , Salido Eduardo , de Sanjosé Silvia , Bruni Laia
Published: September 2020

Objective

National Spanish studies show that prevalence of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in the female population is increasingly frequent, with an overall estimate of 14% in women aged 18–65 years. The objective of this study is to know the prevalence and distribution of HPV types in the female population of the Canary Islands prior to the introduction of HPV vaccines and to investigate the associated clinical and sociodemographic factors.

Methods

Based on the Primary Health Care database, a sample of adult women (aged 18–65 years) of Gran Canaria (GC) and Tenerife (TF) stratified into nine age groups was carried out between 2002 and 2007. Women were contacted by postal letter and telephone call and were visited in their primary care centre. A clinical-epidemiological survey was completed and cervical samples were taken for cytological study and HPV detection. HPV prevalence and its 95% CI were estimated, and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression to identify factors associated with the infection.

Results

6010 women participated in the study, 3847 from GC and 2163 from TF. The overall prevalence of HPV infection was 13.6% (CI 12.8%–14.5%) and 11.1% (CI 10.3%–11.9%) for high-risk types. The most frequent HPV type was 16 followed by types 51, 53, 31, 42 and 59. HPV types included in the nonavalent vaccine were detected in 54.1% of infected women. Factors associated with an increased risk of infection were: young ages (18–29 years), the number of sexual partners throughout life, not being married, being a smoker, and having had previous cervical lesions or genital warts.

Conclusions

It is confirmed that prevalence of HPV infection in the female population of the Canary Islands is high, but similar to that of Spain, HPV 16 being the most frequent genotype. The determinants of infection are consistent with those of other populations.
Diagnostic yield of chest and thumb ECG after cryptogenic stroke, Transient ECG Assessment in Stroke Evaluation (TEASE): an observational trial
Authors: Magnusson Peter , Lyren Adam , Mattsson Gustav
Published: September 2020

Objective

In stroke survivors, atrial fibrillation (AF) is typically evaluated solely by short-term ECG monitoring in the stroke unit. Prolonged continuous ECG monitoring or insertable cardiac monitors require substantial resources. Chest and thumb ECG could provide an alternative means of AF detection, which in turn could allow prompt anticoagulation to prevent recurrent stroke. The objective of this study was to assess the yield of newly diagnosed AF during 28 days of chest and thumb ECG monitoring two times per day in cryptogenic stroke.

Methods

This study, Transient ECG Assessment in Stroke Evaluation, included patients who had a stroke from Region Gävleborg, Sweden, between 2017 and 2019. Patients with a recent ischaemic stroke without documented AF (or other reasons for anticoagulation) before or during ECG evaluation in the stroke unit were evaluated using the Coala Heart Monitor connected to a smartphone application for remote monitoring.

Results

The prespecified number of 100 patients (mean age 67.6±10.8 years; 60% men) was analysed. In nine patients (9%, number needed to screen 11) AF but no other significant atrial arrhythmias (>30 s) was diagnosed. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was similar among patients with AF and no AF (4.9±1.1 vs 4.3±1.3; p=0.224) and patients with AF were older (74.3±9.0 vs 66.9±10.8; p=0.049). Patients performed on average 90.1%±15.0% of scheduled transmissions.

Conclusion

In evaluation of cryptogenic stroke, 9% of patients had AF detected using chest and thumb ECG two times per day during 1 month. In many stroke survivors, this is a feasible approach and they will be potentially protected from recurrent stroke by anticoagulation treatment.

Trial registration number

NCT03301662.
Potential role of particulate matter in the spreading of COVID-19 in Northern Italy: first observational study based on initial epidemic diffusion
Authors: Setti Leonardo , Passarini Fabrizio , De Gennaro Gianluigi , Barbieri Pierluigi , Licen Sabina , Perrone Maria Grazia , Piazzalunga Andrea , Borelli Massimo , Palmisani Jolanda , Di Gilio Alessia , Rizzo Emanuele , Colao Annamaria , Piscitelli Prisco , Miani Alessandro
Published: September 2020

Objectives

A number of studies have shown that the airborne transmission route could spread some viruses over a distance of 2 meters from an infected person. An epidemic model based only on respiratory droplets and close contact could not fully explain the regional differences in the spread of COVID-19 in Italy. On March 16th 2020, we presented a position paper proposing a research hypothesis concerning the association between higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 observed in Northern Italy and average concentrations of PM10exceeding a daily limit of 50 µg/m3.

Methods

To monitor the spreading of COVID-19 in Italy from February 24th to March 13th (the date of the Italian lockdown), official daily data for PM10levels were collected from all Italian provinces between February 9th and February 29th, taking into account the maximum lag period (14 days) between the infection and diagnosis. In addition to the number of exceedances of the daily limit value of PM10, we also considered population data and daily travelling information for each province.

Results

Exceedance of the daily limit value of PM10appears to be a significant predictor of infection in univariate analyses (p<0.001). Less polluted provinces had a median of 0.03 infections over 1000 residents, while the most polluted provinces showed a median of 0.26 cases. Thirty-nine out of 41 Northern Italian provinces resulted in the category with the highest PM10levels, while 62 out of 66 Southern provinces presented low PM10concentrations (p<0.001). In Milan, the average growth rate before the lockdown was significantly higher than in Rome (0.34 vs 0.27 per day, with a doubling time of 2.0 days vs 2.6, respectively), thus suggesting a basic reproductive number R0>6.0, comparable with the highest values estimated for China.

Conclusion

A significant association has been found between the geographical distribution of daily PM10exceedances and the initial spreading of COVID-19 in the 110 Italian provinces.
Comparison of the Rome IV criteria with the Rome III criteria for the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome in secondary care
Authors: Black Christopher J , Craig Orla , Gracie David J , Ford Alexander C
Published: September 2020

Objectives

Despite being proposed 4 years ago, there has been no independent validation study of the Rome IV criteria for IBS. We assessed their performance for the diagnosis of IBS in secondary care and compared them with the previous iteration, the Rome III criteria.

Design

We collected complete symptom data from consecutive adult patients with suspected IBS referred to a single UK clinic. All subjects underwent relatively standardised workup, with assessors blinded to symptom status. The reference standard used to confirm IBS was the presence of lower abdominal pain or discomfort in association with altered stool form or frequency, in a patient with no evidence of organic gastrointestinal disease after investigation. Sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LRs), with 95% CIs, were calculated for each of the diagnostic criteria.

Results

The level of agreement between the Rome IV and Rome III criteria was good (kappa=0.65). Compared with the reference standard, sensitivity and specificity of the Rome IV criteria in 572 patients (431 (75.3%) women, mean age 36.5 years) were 82.4% and 82.9%, respectively. Positive and negative LRs for the Rome IV criteria were 4.82 (95% CI 3.30 to 7.28) and 0.21 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.26), respectively. The Rome IV criteria performed best in those with IBS with constipation or mixed bowel habits. In 471 patients (350 (74.3%) women, mean age 36.7 years), compared with the reference standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the Rome III criteria were 85.8% and 65.0%; positive and negative LRs were 2.45 (95% CI 1.90 to 3.27) and 0.22 (0.16 to 0.29), respectively. Incorporating mood and extraintestinal symptom reporting into diagnostic criteria did not improve their performance significantly.

Conclusions

The Rome IV criteria performed significantly better than the Rome III criteria in diagnosing IBS in this single centre secondary care study, although the clinical relevance of this is uncertain.
Supersymmetric localization on dS: sum over topologies
Authors: Basu Rudranil , Ray Augniva
Published: September 2020

We find the exact quantum gravity partition function on the static patch of 3d de Sitter spacetime. We have worked in the Chern Simons formulation of 3d gravity. To obtain a non-perturbative result, we supersymmetrized the Chern Simons action and used the technique of supersymmetric localization. We have obtained an exact non-perturbative result for the spin-2 gravity case. We comment on the divergences present in the theory. We also comment on higher spin gravity theories and analyse the nature of divergences present in such theories.
Logarithmic A-hypergeometric series
Authors: Saito Mutsumi
Published: September 2020

The method of Frobenius is a standard technique to construct series solutions of an ordinary linear differential equation around a regular singular point. In the classical case, when the roots of the indicial polynomial are separated by an integer, logarithmic solutions can be constructed by means of perturbation of a root. The method for a regular [Formula: see text]-hypergeometric system is a theme of the book by Saito, Sturmfels and Takayama. Whereas they perturbed a parameter vector to obtain logarithmic [Formula: see text]-hypergeometric series solutions, we adopt a different perturbation in this paper.
Helgason–Gabor–Fourier transform and uncertainty principles
Authors: Boujeddaine Mustapha , El Kassimi Mohammed , Fahlaoui Saïd
Published: September 2020

Windowing a Fourier transform is a useful tool, which gives us the similarity between the signal and time frequency signal, and it allows to get sense when/where certain frequencies occur in the input signal, this method was introduced by Dennis Gabor. In this paper, we generalize the classical Gabor–Fourier transform (GFT) to the Riemannian symmetric space calling it the Helgason–Gabor–Fourier transform (HGFT). We prove several important properties of HGFT like the reconstruction formula, the Plancherel formula and Parseval formula. Finally, we establish some local uncertainty principle such as Benedicks-type uncertainty principle.
PERCEIVED BARRIERS TO ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY
Authors: DÖLARSLAN EMRE ŞAHIN , KOÇAK AKIN , WALSH PHILIP
Published: September 2020

Drawing from Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), the purpose of the study is to enhance understanding of the intention formation mechanism within the context of perceived barriers and self-efficacy (SE). The current study assesses whether SE mediates the relationship between perceived barriers and entrepreneurial intention (EI). The study specifically analyzed the relationship among perceived barriers, SE and EI. In addition, the direct and indirect effects of perceived barriers on intention are examined. Based on a survey of 471 undergraduate students who have taken management courses, our findings suggest the SE level of potential entrepreneurs is not sufficient to determine the intention formation even if the decisive effect of SE on EI is found. Therefore, in contrast to earlier studies, the results obtained from this study reveal the necessity to take into account the deterrent effect of the perceived barriers to evaluating the effect of SE in the formation of EI.
Heat therapy: possible benefits for cognitive function and the aging brain
Authors: Von Schulze Alex T. , Deng Fengyan , Morris Jill K. , Geiger Paige C.
Published: September 2020

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, yet there are no disease-modifying treatments available and there is no cure. It is becoming apparent that metabolic and vascular conditions such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypertension promote the development and accumulation of Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia pathologies. To this end, aerobic exercise, which is a common lifestyle intervention for both metabolic disease and hypertension, is shown to improve brain health during both healthy aging and dementia. However, noncompliance or other barriers to exercise response are common in exercise treatment paradigms. In addition, reduced intracellular proteostasis and mitochondrial function could contribute to the etiology of AD. Specifically, compromised chaperone systems [i.e., heat shock protein (HSP) systems] can contribute to protein aggregates (i.e., β-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) and reduced mitochondrial quality control (i.e., mitophagy). Therefore, novel therapies that target whole body metabolism, the vasculature, and chaperone systems (like HSPs) are needed to effectively treat AD. This review focuses on the role of heat therapy in the treatment and prevention of AD. Heat therapy has been independently shown to reduce whole body insulin resistance, improve vascular function, activate interorgan cross talk via endocytic vesicles, and activate HSPs to improve mitochondrial function and proteostasis in a variety of tissues. Thus, heat therapy could offer immense clinical benefit to patients suffering from AD. Importantly, future studies in patients are needed to determine the safety and efficacy of heat therapy in preventing AD.
Effects of aging and lifelong aerobic exercise on expression of innate immune components in human skeletal muscle
Authors: Perkins Ryan K. , Lavin Kaleen M. , Raue Ulrika , Jemiolo Bozena , Trappe Scott W. , Trappe Todd A.
Published: September 2020

Findings from this investigation provide novel insight into the effect of aging and lifelong aerobic exercise on structural components of the innate immune system in skeletal muscle of humans. Data presented here suggest aging increases basal expression of select Toll-like receptors (TLRs), and lifelong exercise does not impact this age-related increase. Additionally, acute exercise stimulates gene expression of several TLRs, while the adaptor response is likely dysregulated with aging and maintained with lifelong exercise.
Muscle activity and kinematics show different responses to recurrent laryngeal nerve lesion in mammal swallowing
Authors: Gould François D. H. , Lammers Andrew R. , Mayerl Christopher , Ohlemacher Jocelyn , German Rebecca Z.
Published: September 2020

Kinematic and muscle activity patterns of oropharyngeal structures used in swallowing show different patterns of response to lesion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Understanding how muscles act on structures to produce behavior is necessary to understand neural control.
Pregnancy and COVID-19
Authors: Wastnedge Elizabeth A. N. , Reynolds Rebecca M. , van Boeckel Sara R. , Stock Sarah J. , Denison Fiona C. , Maybin Jacqueline A. , Critchley Hilary O. D.
Published: September 2020

There are many unknowns for pregnant women during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Clinical experience of pregnancies complicated with infection by other coronaviruses e.g., Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, has led to pregnant woman being considered potentially vulnerable to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. Physiological changes during pregnancy have a significant impact on the immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular function, and coagulation. These may have positive or negative effects on COVID-19 disease progression. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy remains to be determined, and a concerted, global effort is required to determine the effects on implantation, fetal growth and development, labor, and neonatal health. Asymptomatic infection presents a further challenge regarding service provision, prevention, and management. Besides the direct impacts of the disease, a plethora of indirect consequences of the pandemic adversely affect maternal health, including reduced access to reproductive health services, increased mental health strain, and increased socioeconomic deprivation. In this review, we explore the current knowledge of COVID-19 in pregnancy and highlight areas for further research to minimize its impact for women and their children.
Joint Detection of Serum IgM/IgG Antibody Is an Important Key to Clinical Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Authors: Hu Fang , Shang Xiaoling , Chen Meizhou , Zhang Changliang
Published: September 2020

Background. This study was aimed to investigate the application of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies in diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Method. This study enrolled a total of 178 patients at Huangshi Central Hospital from January to February 2020. Among them, 68 patients were SARS-CoV-2 infected, confirmed with nucleic acid test (NAT) and CT imaging. Nine patients were in the suspected group (NAT negative) with fever and other respiratory symptoms. 101 patients were in the control group with other diseases and negative to SARS-CoV-2 infection. After serum samples were collected, SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM antibodies were tested by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) for all patients. Results. The specificity of serum IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 was 99.01% (100/101) and 96.04% (97/101), respectively, and the sensitivity was 88.24% (60/68) and 97.06% (66/68), respectively. The combined detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies was 98.53% (67/68). Conclusion. Combined detection of serum SARS-CoV-2 IgM and IgG antibodies had better sensitivity compared with single IgM or IgG antibody testing, which can be used as an important diagnostic tool for SARS-CoV-2 infection and a screening tool of potential SARS-CoV-2 carriers in clinics, hospitals, and accredited scientific laboratories.
Pineapple Vinegar Regulates Obesity‐Related Genes and Alters the Gut Microbiota in High‐Fat Diet (HFD) C57BL/6 Obese Mice
Authors: Mohamad Nurul Elyani , Yeap Swee Keong , Ky Huynh , Liew Nancy Woan Charn , Beh Boon Kee , Boo Sook Yee , Ho Wan Yong , Sharifuddin Shaiful Adzni , Long Kamariah , Alitheen Noorjahan Banu
Published: September 2020

Obesity is a pandemic metabolic syndrome with increasing incidences every year. Among the significant factors that lead to obesity, overconsumption of high‐fat food in daily intake is always the main contributor. Functional foods have shown a positive effect on disease prevention and provide health benefits, including counteracting obesity problem. Vinegar is one of the fermented functional beverages that have been consumed for many years, and different types of vinegar showed different bioactivities and efficacies. In this study, we investigated the potential effects of pineapple vinegar as an antiobesity agent on a high‐fat diet‐ (HFD‐) induced C57BL/6 obese mice. C57BL/6 mice were treated with pineapple vinegar (1 mL/kg BW and 0.08 mL/kg BW) for 12 weeks after 24 weeks of HFD incubation. Serum biochemistry profiles, antioxidant assays, qPCR, proteome profiler, and 16S metagenomic were done posttreatment. Our data showed that a high concentration of pineapple vinegar (1 mL/kg BW) treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the bodyweight (∼20%), restored lipid profiles, increased the antioxidant activities, and reduced the oxidative stress. Besides, significant (p < 0.05) regulation of several adipokines and inflammatory‐related genes was recorded. Through the regulation of gut microbiota, we found a higher abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, a microbiota reported to be associated with obesity in the high concentration of pineapple vinegar treatment. Collectively, these data established the mechanism of pineapple vinegar as antiobesity in mice and revealed the potential of pineapple vinegar as a functional food for obesity.
Identification of Candidate Genes Associated with Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth Disease by Network and Pathway Analysis
Authors: Zhong Min , Luo Qing , Ye Ting , Zhu XiDan , Chen Xiu , Liu JinBo
Published: September 2020

Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth Disease (CMT) is the most common clinical genetic disease of the peripheral nervous system. Although many studies have focused on elucidating the pathogenesis of CMT, few focuses on achieving a systematic analysis of biology to decode the underlying pathological molecular mechanisms and the mechanism of its disease remains to be elucidated. So our study may provide further useful insights into the molecular mechanisms of CMT based on a systematic bioinformatics analysis. In the current study, by reviewing the literatures deposited in PUBMED, we identified 100 genes genetically related to CMT. Then, the functional features of the CMT‐related genes were examined by R software and KOBAS, and the selected biological process crosstalk was visualized with the software Cytoscape. Moreover, CMT specific molecular network analysis was conducted by the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) Algorithm. The biological function enrichment analysis suggested that myelin sheath, axon, peripheral nervous system, mitochondrial function, various metabolic processes, and autophagy played important roles in CMT development. Aminoacyl‐tRNA biosynthesis, metabolic pathways, and vasopressin‐regulated water reabsorption were significantly enriched in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway network, suggesting that these pathways may play key roles in CMT occurrence and development. According to the crosstalk, the biological processes could be roughly divided into a correlative module and two separate modules. MCODE clusters showed that in top 3 clusters, 13 of CMT‐related genes were included in the network and 30 candidate genes were discovered which might be potentially related to CMT. The study may help to update the new understanding of the pathogenesis of CMT and expand the potential genes of CMT for further exploration.
TZ-MRAS: A Remote Attestation Scheme for the Mobile Terminal Based on ARM TrustZone
Authors: Wang Ziwang , Zhuang Yi , Yan Zujia
Published: September 2020

With the widespread use of mobile embedded devices in the Internet of Things, mobile office, and edge computing, security issues are becoming more and more serious. Remote attestation, one of the mobile security solutions, is a process of verifying the identity and integrity status of the remote computing device, through which the challenger determines whether the platform is trusted by discovering an unknown fingerprint. The remote attestation on the mobile terminal faces many security challenges presently because there is a lack of trusted roots, devices are heterogeneous, and hardware resources are strictly limited. To ARM’s mobile platform, we propose a mobile remote attestation scheme based on ARM TrustZone (TZ-MRAS), which uses the highest security authority of TrustZone to implement trusted attestation service. Compared with the existing mobile remote attestation scheme, it has the advantages of wide application, easy deployment, and low cost. To defend against the time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOC-TOU) attack, we propose a probe-based dynamic integrity measurement model, ProbeIMA, which can dynamically detect unknown fingerprints that generate during kernel and process execution. Finally, according to the characteristics of the improved dynamic measurement model, that is, the ProbeIMA will expand the scale of the measurement dataset, an optimized stored measurement log construction algorithm based on the locality principle (LPSML) is proposed, which has the advantages of shortening the length of the authentication path and improving the verification efficiency of the platform configuration. As a proof of concept, we implemented a prototype for each service and made experimental evaluations. The experimental results show the proposed scheme has higher security and efficiency than some existing schemes.