bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
New Locomotives & Technologies: Reducing Operating & Market Failures Through Aggressive Use of Reliability Growth Testing (RGT)
Authors: Iden Michael E. , Kennedy Thomas
Published: June 2021

Because of increasing interest and ongoing demand for reducing locomotive emissions, railroads and locomotive manufacturers may become involved in new propulsion technologies (such as fuel cells and new battery technologies) as eventual replacements for diesel-electric locomotives. Railroads and locomotive manufacturers (in the U.S. and elsewhere) have unfortunately had mixed results for decades in successfully introducing new locomotive models, power plants and new locomotive technologies with episodes of unacceptable levels of road failures, and post-delivery underperformance in terms of reliability, maintainability and operability. Occasionally, accumulative failures and performance shortfalls have resulted in excessive maintenance expenses and even premature retirement and scrappage of relatively “young” locomotive assets. A tool that should be used before new designs of locomotives (and locomotives with significant amounts of new technology) enter commercial production is Reliability Growth Testing (RGT). RGT requires and involves having a statistically significant number of “preproduction” locomotives (not experimental prototypes) operated and maintained under “real railroad” conditions (not exclusively at dedicated test facilities). RGT is always preceded by engineering analyses and design, production of preproduction components, test bench and test cell validation, etc, and is always followed by necessary redesign of components experiencing significant failures so that when commercial production is started the products have a high probability of meeting railroad customer expectations and requirements. Failure to do adequate RGT can produce a high risk of post-delivery failure for locomotive (and component) manufacturers, railroads and financial entities that mortgage new locomotives. RGT units can then, in fact, be reconfigured at the conclusion of RGT activity and delivered to a railroad as being “production compliant” units. Once any new locomotive has been “sold to the customer” it becomes a customer asset. Having to modify (“fix”) a marginal or “bad” locomotive design after a railroad customer has accepted it (sometimes multiple times!) is an unacceptable outcome in a locomotive’s early life.
Multimodal Mobility Framework: Towards Seamless Mobility Experience
Authors: Vennelakanti Ravigopal , Sankaranarayanasamy Malarvizhi , Saeedi Ramyar , Vishwakarma Rahul , Singh Prasun , Sun Jian , Akiyama Yushi , Adachi Hisao
Published: June 2021

Mobility is no longer just a necessity for travelers, but choices among several possible routes and transportation modes. Urban passenger rail transport plays an essential role because it is affordable, convenient, safe, and fast. On the other hand, rail lines are limited to high passenger density corridors. Inevitably, rail has to be placed together with different transport modes, forming a multimodal network. However, to enable this integration with other modes of transport, numerous practical problems remain, such as making a smooth transition from the existing siloed, mode specific operational structure towards an interconnected system of transportation modes and business models for a seamless connected journey. The current isolated operational structure lacks a single truth and accurate visibility, which further discourages participation from augmenting transportation modes and leads to the extended reaction time for new technology integration.

This research article introduces a Multimodal Mobility (MMM) solution framework that provides a functional interface to integrate and synchronize the railroad operations with other public transit networks (including train-bus-rapid transits) and micro-mobility services. The known approach to addressing the users’ seamless mobility experience entails a centralized, prearranged, a priori knowledge and mechanism for operating intermodal transport systems. In contrast, the method defined in this paper focuses on a market-driven demand-responsive system that allows for dis-intermediation in a network of peer-level transportation modes operations. The framework facilitates blockchain-based decentralized and multi-organizational engagement.

The focus here is the role of railroad in the multimodal ecosystem and its performance advancements in this integrated solutions framework. Leveraging a combination of graph analytics and machine learning algorithms, we provide methods to address challenges in encoding spatial and temporal dependencies of multimodal transit networks and handle complex optimization problems such as mixed time window and volume variation for resource allocation and transit operational analytics. This enables operation of different transit modes with varied resolution and flexibility for operational parameters like time, capacity, ridership, revenue management, etc. The analytics enable solutions for recommendations on synchronizing and integrating operations of transportation systems. Further, the network’s decentralization and modular handling enable market-driven co-optimization of operational resources across various transportation modes to ensure seamless transit experience for users.
Updated Fuel Tank Puncture Survey: 1995-2020
Authors: Jacobsen Karina
Published: June 2021

The Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Research, Development and Technology has been conducting research into passenger fuel tank crashworthiness. The occurrence of a fuel tank puncture during passenger rail collisions and derailments increases the potential of serious injury and fatality for crew and passengers due to the possibility of fire. The purpose of the FRA research is to help support regulatory and standard development with technical data. In the last decade, the research has focused on understanding how fuel tanks are punctured during an impact and how various tank designs respond to common types of loading in collisions, derailments and general operation. Throughout the research, surveys have been conducted to determine the most likely scenarios that are causing fuel tank punctures. A previous FRA survey found that fuel tank punctures occur under two types of loading conditions: a blunt impact or a raking impact. A limited number of accident/incidents were evaluated in this survey. These incidents showed that fuel tanks are punctured on any side that is not protected or shielded.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a recently conducted fuel tank puncture survey updated to include the last decade. This paper identifies and describes accidents and incidents that led to breached fuel tanks in freight and passenger trains traveling on the general railroad system in the U.S. between 2008 and 2020. The results include data from the FRA’s Railroad Accident/Incident Reporting System (RAIRS), queried from 1995 to 2020. This data include the number of recorded accidents/incidents and other trends like fuel spillage, operating authority and cause of accident/incident. RAIRS data showed accidents/incidents with fuel tank puncture ranging from 10 to 55 accidents/incidents per year. Additionally, more detailed results are shared from field investigations recently conducted by the FRA or Volpe Center. These more detailed investigations provide additional insight into the types of loading that may lead to a fuel tank puncture. This survey supplements the RAIRS data with more detailed information from field investigations. The paper finally discusses the conditions that lead to fire and the associated hazards.
Antibodies elicited by mRNA-1273 vaccination bind more broadly to the receptor binding domain than do those from SARS-CoV-2 infection
Authors: Greaney Allison J. , Loes Andrea N. , Gentles Lauren E. , Crawford Katharine H.D. , Starr Tyler N. , Malone Keara D. , Chu Helen Y. , Bloom Jesse D.
Published: June 2021

Deep mutational scanning shows that the mRNA-1273 RBD-binding antibody response is less affected by single viral mutations than the infection response.
Comparison of human rotaviruses isolated in Mexico City and in Santiago, Chile, by electrophoretic migration of their double-stranded ribonucleic acid genome segments
Authors: Espejo R T , Avendaño L F , Muñoz O , Romero P , Eternod J G , Lopez S , Moncaya J
Published: June 2021

During the period October to December 1979, rotaviruses were obtained from infants and young children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Mexico City and were compared by analysis of the migration of their double-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome segments in gel electrophoresis. Comparison of the results of this analysis and of those of similar studies carried out in 1977 and 1978 showed that the two rotavirus electropherotypes designated 2s and 21 have been continuously present and that the proportion in which these two types have been found in hospitalized patients has varied greatly year to year. The RNAs from rotaviruses 2s and 21 differed in the electrophoretic migraton of at least eight genome segments. However, RNAs from virus assigned to the same electrophoreotypes were not necessarily identical: on the basis of small but significant differences in the migration of segment 7, 8, or 9, isolates of types 2s and 21 could be assigned to two and three different subtypes, respectively. Human rotaviruses obtained in a distant geographical region, Santiago, Chile, in July 1979 had RNA electrophoretic patterns similar to that of electropherotype 21 but different from it in the migration of one or two of the larger RNA segments.
Comparison of quantitative and qualitative antibody-producing cell responses to lipopolysaccharide in cell walls of the bacterial form and in membranes of the protoplast L-form of Proteus mirabilis
Authors: Karch H , Nixdorff K
Published: June 2021

Membranes of the stable protoplast L-form of Proteus mirabilis strain VI were highly immunogenic carriers of lipopolysaccharide when compared with the immune responses to lipopolysaccharide contained in cell walls of the bacterial form of this organism.
Effect of extracellular serum in the stimulation of intracellular killing of streptococci by human monocytes
Authors: Leijh P C , van Zwet T L , van Furth R
Published: June 2021

This study shows that the intracellular killing of Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus faecalis, and Streptococcus pneumoniae by human monocytes is stimulated by the extracellular presence of both heat-stable and heat-labile serum factors. A similar kind of stimulation of monocytes has been described in respect of catalase-positive microorganisms. However, killing of these bacteria is negligible in the absence of extracellular serum factors, whereas a large proportion of the ingested catalase-negative bacteria are killed in the absence of such extracellular stimuli. Monocytes from patients with chronic granulomatous disease, which are unable to kill Staphylococcus aureus even in the presence of extracellular serum, killed S. pyogenes equally effectively whether serum was present or absent. This index proved to be the same as that for killing by monocytes of healthy subjects in the absence of serum. Taken together, these results indicate that catalase-negative microorganisms possess some kind of suicide mechanism that leads to the death of these bacteria after their ingestion by monocytes in the absence of an extracellular stimulus. Furthermore, the mechanism by which extracellular serum stimulates intracellular killing probably involves enzymes of the O2-dependent bactericidal mechanisms of the monocytes.
Diversity of Vi-related antigens in the microcapsule of Salmonella typhi
Authors: Szewczyk B , Taylor A
Published: June 2021

Two new antigenic acidic polysaccharides, Vi-P and Vi-C, were isolated from the microcapsule of Salmonella typhi by a very mild procedure. The antigens were purified to serological homogeneity, and it was found that each of them shares with Vi antigen one of its two serological determinants (a different one in each case). One of the antigens Vi-C, was also isolated from Escherichia coli B, which is not a Vi-producing strain.
Outer Membrane Protein Composition in Disease Isolates of
Haemophilus influenzae
: Pathogenic and Epidemiological Implications
Authors: Loeb Marilyn R. , Smith David H.
Published: June 2021

The outer membrane protein composition of 50 disease isolates of
Haemophilus influenzae
has been determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All strains, including 28 strains of serotype
b
, one strain each of serotypes
a, c, d, e
, and
f
, and 17 untypable strains, had an outer membrane protein composition typical of gram-negative bacteria, i.e., these membranes contained two to three dozen proteins with four to six proteins accounting for most of their protein content. Variation in the mobility of these major outer membrane proteins from strain to strain was common but not universal; the observed patterns provided useful data and new insight into the epidemiology of type
b
disease. The basic findings can be summarized as follows: (i) All 50 strains possessed three proteins (one minor and two major) each having identical mobilities. The other proteins, both major and minor, varied in mobility. (ii) All type
b
strains possessed a fourth (major) protein of identical mobility. (iii) The 28 type
b
strains, on the basis of the mobility of the six major outer membrane proteins, could be divided into eight subtypes. Of all the other strains examined, both typable and untypable, only the serotype
a
strain belonged to one of these subtypes. (iv) The untypable strains showed considerable variation in the mobilities of their major outer membrane proteins. Of these 17 strains, 13 had an additional major outer membrane protein not present in encapsulated strains. (v) The outer membrane protein composition of a single strain remained unchanged after many passages on solid media, but varied with the growth phase. (vi) The outer membrane protein composition of isolates obtained from nine patients during an epidemic of type
b
meningitis varied, indicating that a single strain was not responsible for the epidemic. At least five different strains were responsible for these nine cases. (vii) Identical outer membrane protein compositions were observed in the following: in a type
b
strain and a mutant of this strain deficient in capsule production, indicating that the level of capsule synthesis is not obviously related to outer membrane protein composition; in type
b
strains isolated from different anatomic sites of patients acutely ill with meningitis, indicating that the strain associated with bacteremia is the same as that isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid; in type
b
strains isolated from siblings who contracted meningitis at about the same time, indicating infection with the same strain; and in type
b
strains isolated from the initial and repeat infection of a single patient, suggesting that reinfection was due to the same strain.
Depression of the Respiratory Burst in Alveolar and Peritoneal Macrophages After Thermal Injury
Authors: Loose Leland D. , Turinsky Jiri
Published: June 2021

The resting O
2
consumption of alveolar and peritoneal macrophages obtained from rats at 4 and 24 h after thermal injury was unaltered from control values. However, when heat-killed
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
or polystyrene latex particles were added to the cell suspensions to initiate phagocytosis, a significant depression in the respiratory burst accompanying the phagocytic event was demonstrated. The addition of phorbol myristate acetate, used to maximize the respiratory response, was ineffective in elevating, to control values, the respiratory burst of macrophages obtained from burned animals. The deficit was only, in part, serum mediated since the responses could not be restored to control values even when the cells from the burned animals were vigorously washed with control serum and incubated with control serum. The contribution of a burn serum factor, which was non-dialyzable, heat stable at 56°C but not at 65°C, and insensitive to pronase treatment, must be considered. These data indicate that thermal injury results in macrophage metabolic alterations which are mediated, in part, by a burn serum factor. Furthermore, the data suggest that pulmonary alveolar macrophages are more sensitive to thermal injury than peritoneal macrophages. Serum factors contributed, in part, to this observed impairment in the respiratory burst as indicated by: (i) an approximate 50% reversal of the impairment by control serum, and (ii) an approximate decrease of 50 to 80% in the control alveolar macrophage respiratory burst when serum from the thermally injured rats was added to the culture medium.
Humoral and cellular immunity to hepatitis B virus-derived antigens: comparative activity of Freund complete adjuvant alum, and liposomes
Authors: Sanchez Y , Ionescu-Matiu I , Dreesman G R , Kramp W , Six H R , Hollinger F B , Melnick J L
Published: June 2021

Complete Freud adjuvant, aluminum gel, and liposomes were compared for their ability to enhance the immunogenicity of an intact 22-nm HBsAg particle vaccine and an HBsAg-derived polypeptide vaccine in guinea pigs. Both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were evaluated. The greatest immune response was obtained with complete Freund adjuvant, regardless of the antigen preparation. Aluminum gel appeared to be a better adjuvant for 22-nm HBsAg particles, but the liposomes rendered polypeptide preparations more immunogenic. The possibility that various proportions were entrapped in aqueous compartments instead of being inserted into the lipid bilayers of liposomes might account for this difference. The development of both humoral and cellular immunity was dependent upon the use of an adjuvant, because aqueous preparations had poor immunogenicity.
Effect of Corynebacterium granulosum immunopotentiation on the pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus type 2 in BALB/c mice
Authors: Gabrielson D A , Kelleher J J , Varani J
Published: June 2021

Treatment of 4- to 6-week-old, 18- to 22-g male BALB/c mice with 0.6 mg of Corynebacterium granulosum resulted in a significant decrease in mortality due to challenge with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Optimal protection occurred when C. granulosum was injected 1 week before HSV-2 infection. C. granulosum-induced resistance to HSV-2 lasted up to 4.5 weeks. Studies involving immune spleen cell transfer and treatment with antilymphocyte serum demonstrated the importance of cell-mediated immunity in HSV-2 infection. However, C. granulosum protection was not transferable with spleen cells from C. granulosum-treated animals nor was C. granulosum treatment capable of completely overcoming the increased mortality which resulted from antilymphocyte serum treatment of HSV-2 infected mice. Under our experimental conditions, silica did not affect the mortality in BALB/c mice due to HSV-2 but significantly reduced the protective effects induced by C. granulosum. Attempts to transfer protection of HSV-2 challenge in suckling mice by using either glass-adherent or mixed peritoneal cells from either HSV-2-immunized or C. granulosum-treated animals were unsuccessful.
Rapid Tween 80 hydrolysis test for mycobacteria
Authors: Cox F R , Slack C E , Cox M E , Pruden E L , Martin J R
Published: June 2021

A rapid Tween 80 hydrolysis test for mycobacteria utilizing gas-liquid chromatography is described. The test requires 1 h of incubation followed by simple extraction and chromatography of nonderivatized oleic acid.
Viral antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis and control patients: comparison between radioimmunoassay and conventional techniques
Authors: Forghani B , Cremer N E , Johnson K P , Ginsberg A H , Likosky W H
Published: June 2021

Cerebrospinal fluid antibodies to measles, rubella, vaccinia, herpes simplex, and varicella-zoster viruses in four patient study groups (clinically definite multiple sclerosis [MS], early probable MS, optic neuritis, and control patients with other neurological diseases) were assayed by radioimmunoassay, complement fixation, hemagglutination-inhibition, or complement-enhanced plaque reduction methods. Antibodies were more frequently found and at higher dilutions by radioimmunoassay than by other techniques. Measles virus antibody, the most frequently found antibody, was present in the cerebrospinal fluid of 72% of MS patients and 5% of control patients. The differences between the numbers of MS patients and control patients with antibodies to other viruses were not as marked. Thus, 58% of MS patients versus 21% of control patients had antibody to rubella virus, 20 versus 3% had antibody to vaccinia virus, 50 versus 33% had antibody to herpes simplex virus, and 25 versus 8% had antibody to varicella virus. Sixty-seven percent of MS patients and 26% of control patients had antibodies to two or more viruses in their cerebrospinal fluid.
Clinical and immunological study of percutaneous revaccination in children who originally received smallpox vaccine subcutaneously
Authors: Cherry J D , Rolfe U T , Dudley J P , Garakian A J , Murphy M
Published: June 2021

In a large multicenter smallpox vaccination study carried out from 1970 to 1973, it was found that 39% of children who were initially immunized by the subcutaneous route and then challenged percutaneously with a standard vaccination did not have measurable neutralizing antibody upon follow-up. Because of this finding, a percutaneous revaccination study was conducted at the St. Louis study center in 1975 and 1976. There were four study groups, which were composed on the basis of route of primary immunization (subcutaneous or percutaneous) and whether neutralizing antibody was detectable following the original percutaneous challenge immunization. Of 52 children revaccinated, all but four had accelerated reactions. There was no difference in size of lesions or day of maximum erythema among the four study groups. Only 66% of children originally vaccinated subcutaneously who did not have postchallenge neutralizing antibody had measurable neutralizing antibody following revaccination. Transformation studies with vaccinia viral antigen before and after revaccination were performed on lymphocytes from 50 children. There was no appreciable differences in responses either before or after revaccination when the four groups were compared. However, the mean stimulation ratio for the total group increased from 2.4 before revaccination to 4.6 3 weeks later. In primary subcutaneous vaccine recipients without pre-revaccination neutralizing antibody, lymphocyte transformation correlated directly with the neutralizing antibody response.
Titration of human serum antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii with a simple fluorometric assay
Authors: Walls K W , Barnhart E R
Published: June 2021

A new technique, FIAX, has been evaluated for the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis. It is based on a "dipstick" principle, and a special fluorometer is used to perform the indirect immunofluorescence test. The procedure appears to be simple and rapid and merits consideration as a useful serological test for toxoplasmosis.
Premarket evaluation of commercial toxoplasmosis indirect fluorescent-antibody reagents
Authors: Durham T M , Colvin H M
Published: June 2021

The quality of commercial toxoplasmosis indirect fluorescent-antibody reagents was evaluated over a 6-year period. Seven manufacturers voluntarily submitted their products for evaluation in the Center for Disease Control Premarket Evaluation Program. Each product was tested in accordance with the Center for Disease Control performance and labeling specifications and evaluation methods. Only 49% of all of the products tested met the Center for Disease Control requirements. Performance criteria are outlined, and suggestions are offered to assist laboratorians in obtaining toxoplasmosis indirect fluorescent-antibody reagents of high quality.
Isolation and identification of Peptococcus saccharolyticus from human skin
Authors: Evans C A , Mattern K L , Hallam S L
Published: June 2021

Peptococcus saccharolyticus was a numerically important organism on the forehead and the antecubital fossa of the arm of ca. 20% of the subjects studied. It was best detected by prolonged (4- to 7-day) anaerobic incubation on a suitably enriched medium but also appeared in smaller numbers in aerobic primary cultures after 4 to 7 days. Initial screening was based on growth patterns in shake cultures and on the relative amounts of growth on aerobic and anaerobic streak plates. The organism was nonhemolytic and usually catalase positive. It produced acid anaerobically from glucose, fructose, and glycerol, but not from maltose, and did not produce lactic acid from glucose.
Incidence and significance of hepatitis B e antigen and antibody in postnecrotic cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Coursaget P , Maupas P , Goudeau A , Drucker J
Published: June 2021

A study of the serological markers of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) including e antigen (HBe Ag) and antibody against HBe Ag (anti-HBe) was performed in Senegalese patients suffering from cirrhosis and primary hepatocellular carcinoma, and in a control group (blood donors). It was not possible to diagnose additional HBV infections in primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients using HBe Ag or anti-HBe Ab alone as serological markers. The lower prevalence of HBe Ag among primary hepatocellular carcinoma patients as compared with cirrhotic patients suggests that active replication of HBV becomes increasingly defective during the course of the malignant process.
Serogroup identification of Neisseria meningitidis: comparison of an antiserum agar method with bacterial slide agglutination
Authors: Craven D E , Frasch C E , Robbins J B , Feldman H A
Published: June 2021

A serum agar method for serogrouping Neisseria meningitidis is described and compared with conventional bacterial slide agglutination. There was 93% agreement for 300 strains examined individually by each method. Among strains from serogroups A, B, C, Y, and W135, there was 100% correlation, whereas strains from serogroup 29E (Z') had only 67% correlation. The serum agar method was rapid, as well as easy to perform and interpret. The potential benefits of this method for epidemiological studies and reference laboratories processing large numbers of meningococcal isolates are emphasized.
Gentamicin-blood agar for isolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae from respiratory secretions
Authors: Schmid R E , Washington J A , Anhalt J P
Published: June 2021

Previous studies have suggested that the yield of Streptococcus pneumoniae from respiratory secretions can be increased by using a 5% sheep blood agar plate supplemented with 5 microgram of gentamicin (GBA) per ml. We report our experience with 245 lower respiratory specimens in which this method was compared with 5% sheep blood agar (SBA) alone. Of 35 specimens with growth of S. pneumoniae on either plate, 21 were detected exclusively on SBA, whereas only 3 were detected on GBA alone (P less than 0.01). By subculturing representative alpha-hemolytic colonies from the final 169 specimens, the yield of S. pneumoniae was increased by 27% compared with the number of identifications that could be made directly from the primary culture. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of gentamicin for the last 25 isolates were greater than or equal to 8 microgram/ml. Our results do not substantiate the previous observations that S. pneumoniae from respiratory secretions gives an increased yield in cultures on GBA.
Measurement of neutralizing antibody to equid herpesvirus 1 by single radial hemolysis
Authors: Klingeborn B , Dinter Z
Published: June 2021

Antibody to equid herpesvirus 1, which mediates single radial hemolysis, is that responsible for neutralization. Hemagglutination inhibition antibody is not necessarily involved in neutralization or hemolysis.
Brain abscess due to Streptococcus MG-intermedius (Streptococcus milleri)
Authors: Melo J C , Raff M J
Published: June 2021

Three cases of brain abscesses due to Streptococcus MG-intermedius are reported, and the literature pertaining to this subject is reviewed. The importance of careful and complete identification of these etiological agents of infection is stressed. The clinical presentation, the origin of S. MG-intermedius producing brain abscess, and its relation to hepatic abscesses and endocarditis are discussed.
Comparison of immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase staining for identification of rubella virus isolates
Authors: Schmidt N J , Dennis J , Lennette E H
Published: June 2021

To explore possible advantages which immunoperoxidase (IP) staining might have over immunofluorescence (IF) staining for identifying rubella virus isolates, direct comparative studies were done on the same coded clinical materials using the same rubella immune rabbit serum as the primary antiserum in both systems. The rubella immune rabbit serum and conjugated anti-rabbit immune globulins could be used more dilute in the IP system than in the IF system. Both IP and IF staining detected rubella antigen in all specimens which were positive by interference. IP staining also detected low levels of rubella antigen in a few additional specimens which had originally been positive for rubella virus, but which on retesting were negative by interference and IF staining. With second-cell-culture-passage material, IP and IF staining showed comparable specificity, and the few specimens which reacted nonspecifically generally did so in both systems. Cell cultures inoculated directly with urine specimens showed greater nonspecificity by IP than by IF, but this activity could be abolished by pretreatment with sodium azide and peroxide; other methods tried for inactivating endogenous peroxidase activity destroyed rubella antigen as well. The intensity of staining for positive specimens was comparable in the two systems. However, more antigen was demonstrable in both systems when BHK-21 cells were inoculated as a cell suspension and then permitted to grow into monolayers than when the same specimens were inoculated into preformed monolayers. IP staining was considered to be a highly satisfactory alternative to IF staining for identification of rubella virus isolates.
Hemoagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition tests with enterovirus type 70
Authors: Kono R , Tajiri E , Miyamura K , Sasagawa A , Tsuruhara T
Published: June 2021

Human type "O," guinea pig, and chicken erythrocytes were agglutinated by enterovirus type 70 at 4 degrees C or room temperature. A hemagglutination inhibition test, using human "O" erythrocytes, is described for the serological diagnosis of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis caused by enterovirus type 70.
Draft Genome Sequences and Antimicrobial Profiles of Three Staphylococcus epidermidis Strains from Neonatal Blood Samples
Authors: Afeke Innocent , Moustafa Ahmed , Hirose Misa , Becker Mareike , Busch Hauke , Kuenstner Axel , Faehnrich Anke , Ablordey Anthony S. , Haertel Christoph , Amega-Aho Kokou Hefoume , Badr Mohamed Tarek , Rupp Jan , Ibrahim Saleh
Published: June 2021

Data on molecular characterization of coagulase-negative staphylococci causing neonatal sepsis in low-income countries are highly limited. This report highlights the isolation of three
Staphylococcus epidermidis
strains, NGASs, from blood samples from neonates, with unknown transmission sources. Pathogenic factors and sources of transmission of these strains warrant further investigation.
Child health and the implementation of Community and District-management Empowerment for Scale-up (CODES) in Uganda: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Waiswa Peter , Mpanga Flavia , Bagenda Danstan , Kananura Rornald Muhumuza , O’Connell Thomas , Henriksson Dorcus Kiwanuka , Diaz Theresa , Ayebare Florence , Katahoire Anne Ruhweza , Ssegujja Eric , Mbonye Anthony , Peterson Stefan Swartling
Published: June 2021

Introduction

Uganda’s district-level administrative units buttress the public healthcare system. In many districts, however, local capacity is incommensurate with that required to plan and implement quality health interventions. This study investigates how a district management strategy informed by local data and community dialogue influences health services.

Methods

A 3-year randomised controlled trial (RCT) comprised of 16 Ugandan districts tested a management approach, Community and District-management Empowerment for Scale-up (CODES). Eight districts were randomly selected for each of the intervention and comparison areas. The approach relies on a customised set of data-driven diagnostic tools to identify and resolve health system bottlenecks. Using a difference-in-differences approach, the authors performed an intention-to-treat analysis of protective, preventive and curative practices for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea among children aged 5 and younger.

Results

Intervention districts reported significant net increases in the treatment of malaria (+23%), pneumonia (+19%) and diarrhoea (+13%) and improved stool disposal (+10%). Coverage rates for immunisation and vitamin A consumption saw similar improvements. By engaging communities and district managers in a common quest to solve local bottlenecks, CODES fostered demand for health services. However, limited fiscal space-constrained district managers’ ability to implement solutions identified through CODES.

Conclusion

Data-driven district management interventions can positively impact child health outcomes, with clinically significant improvements in the treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea as well as stool disposal. The findings recommend the model’s suitability for health systems strengthening in Uganda and other decentralised contexts.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN15705788.
Low but not high exercise systolic blood pressure is associated with long-term all-cause mortality
Authors: Hedman Kristofer , Kaminsky Leonard A , Sabbahi Ahmad , Arena Ross , Myers Jonathan
Published: June 2021

Objectives

The risks associated with achieving a high peak systolic blood pressure (SBP) during clinical exercise testing remain controversial, although this issue has not been evaluated in relation to predicted SBP standards. This cohort study aimed to evaluate the long-term risk of all-cause mortality in males in relation to reference values of peak SBP and the increase in SBP during exercise from the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise: A National Database (FRIEND).

Methods

We followed 7164 males (mean age: 58.2±10.6 years) over 95 998 person-years of follow-up (mean 13.4±5.4 years), who performed a maximal treadmill exercise test at baseline. SBP was measured at rest and at peak exercise. Risk of all-cause mortality over 20 years (Cox regression) was determined in relation to reference percentiles of peak SBP and increase in SBP with exercise: <10th (low), 10th–90th, >90th (high) percentiles.

Results

A high peak or a large increase in SBP with exercise was not associated with all-cause mortality. Subjects with a low peak SBP had a 20% higher unadjusted risk for all-cause death compared with those with a normal value (1.20 (1.11–1.31)), and a statistically non-significant 7% higher risk after adjustment for all baseline risk factors (1.07 (0.97–1.18)). The corresponding unadjusted and adjusted risks associated with a low increase in SBP were 1.24 (1.15–1.35) and 1.11 (1.02–1.21), respectively.

Conclusions

A low—but not high—peak SBP is associated with increased unadjusted risk of all-cause mortality. The FRIEND percentiles of exercise SBP can aid clinicians in individualising risk assessment.
Systematic literature search, review and dissemination methodology for the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Reynard Charles , Darbyshire Daniel , Prager Gabrielle , Jafar Anisa Jabeen Nasir , Naguib Mina , Oliver Govind , van den Berg Patricia , Body Richard , Ambroziak Harriet , Carley Simon
Published: June 2021

Purpose of the study

SARS-CoV-2 has caused healthcare systems globally to reorganise. A pandemic paradox emerged; while clinicians were desperate for information on a new disease, they had less time to find and evaluate the vast volume of publications at times of significant strain on healthcare systems.

A multidisciplinary team undertook a weekly literature search capturing all COVID-19 publications. We also monitored free open access medical education (FOAMed) sources for emerging themes. Title and abstract screening pooled the most relevant papers for emergency medicine. Three summary types were created, a ‘Top 5 Flash Update’, a journal club and a rapid response to emerging FOAMed themes. From these summaries, three modes of dissemination were used: short written summaries, blogs and podcasts. These were amplified through social media.

Study design

A retrospective review was conducted assessing the impact of this knowledge dissemination strategy for the period of March to September 2020.

Results

In total, 64 687 papers were identified and screened. Of the papers included in the ‘Top 5’, 28.3% were on epidemiology, 23.6% treatment, 16.7% diagnostics, 12% prognosis, 8.7% pathophysiology with the remaining 10.7% consisting of PPE, public health, well-being and ‘other’. We published 37 blogs, 17 podcasts and 18 Top 5 Flash Updates. The blogs were read 138 343 times, the Top 5 Flash Updates 68 610 times and the podcasts had 72 501 listens.

Conclusion

A combination of traditional academic and novel social media approaches can address the pandemic paradox clinicians are facing.
Follicular helper-T cells restore CD8+-dependent antitumor immunity and anti-PD-L1/PD-1 efficacy
Authors: Niogret Julie , Berger Hélène , Rebe Cédric , Mary Romain , Ballot Elise , Truntzer Caroline , Thibaudin Marion , Derangère Valentin , Hibos Christophe , Hampe Léa , Rageot David , Accogli Théo , Joubert Philippe , Routy Bertrand , Harker James , Vegran Frederique , Ghiringhelli Francois , Chalmin Fanny
Published: June 2021

Background

T follicular helper cells (Tfh) are essential to shape B cell response during germinal center formation. Tfh accumulation has been reported in various human cancers, with positive or negative prognostic roles. However, the mechanisms explaining the accumulation of Tfh and their role in cancer remain obscure.

Methods

In vitro differentiated and mouse cell sorted Tfh phenotype was evaluated by flow cytometry and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Antitumor effect of Tfh was evaluated by adoptive transfer in different tumor-bearing mice models. The involvement of immune cells, cytokines and chemokines was evaluated, using depleting antibodies. Chemokines and cytokines expression and production were evaluated by qPCR and ELISA. In human, the impact of immune cells and chemokines on survival was evaluated by analyzing transcriptomic data from public databases and from our own patient cohorts.

Results

In this study, we show that Tfh exert an antitumor immune effect in a CD8+-dependent manner. Tfh produce interleukin-21, which sustains proliferation, viability, cytokine production and cytotoxic functions of exhausted T cells. The presence of Tfh is required for efficacy of antiprogrammed cell death ligand-1 therapy. Tfh accumulate in the tumor bed and draining lymph nodes in different mouse cancer models. This recruitment is due to the capacity of transforming growth factor β to drive Chemokine (C-X-C motif) Ligand 13 expression, a chemoattractant of Tfh, by intratumor CD8+T cells. Accumulation of Tfh and exhausted CD8+T cells predicts cancer outcome in various cancer types. In patients treated with anti-programmed cell death-1 mAb, accumulation of Tfh and CD8+at the tumor site is associated with outcome.

Conclusion

This study provides evidence that CD8+/Tfh crosstalk is important in shaping antitumor immune response generated by immunotherapy.
Massless fermions in planar Bianchi-type-I universes: exact and approximate solutions
Authors: Wollensak Matthias
Published: June 2021

Based upon the exact formal solutions of the Weyl–Dirac-equation in anisotropic planar Bianchi-type-I background spacetimes with power law scale factors, one can introduce suitable equivalence classes of the solutions of these models. The associated background spacetimes are characterized by two parameters. It is shown that the exact solutions of all models of a given equivalence class can be generated with the help of a special transformation of these two parameters, provided one knows a single exact solution of an arbitrary member of this class. The method can also be utilized to derive approximate solutions, i.e. solutions which exhibit the correct behavior at early and at late times as well. This is explicitly demonstrated for the case of the anisotropic Kasner background with axial symmetry.
Gravity resonance spectroscopy and dark energy symmetron fields
Authors: Jenke Tobias , Bosina Joachim , Micko Jakob , Pitschmann Mario , Sedmik René , Abele Hartmut
Published: June 2021

Spectroscopic methods allow to measure energy differences with unrivaled precision. In the case of gravity resonance spectroscopy, energy differences of different gravitational states are measured without recourse to the electromagnetic interaction. This provides a very pure and background-free look at gravitation and topics related to the central problem of dark energy and dark matter at short distances. In this article, we analyse the effect of dark energy scalar symmetron fields, a leading candidate for a screened dark energy field, and place limits in a large volume of parameter space.
Deep neural networks-based classification optimization by reducing the feature dimensionality with the variants of gravitational search algorithm
Authors: Asha
Published: June 2021

The optimization of the problems significantly improves the solution of the complex problems. The reduction in the feature dimensionality is enormously salient to reduce the redundant features and improve the system accuracy. In this paper, an amalgamation of different concepts is proposed to optimize the features and improve the system classification. The experiment is performed on the facial expression detection application by proposing the amalgamation of deep neural network models with the variants of the gravitational search algorithm. Facial expressions are the movement of the facial components such as lips, nose, eyes that are considered as the features to classify human emotions into different classes. The initial feature extraction is performed with the local binary pattern. The extracted feature set is optimized with the variants of gravitational search algorithm (GSA) as standard gravitational search algorithm (SGSA), binary gravitational search algorithm (BGSA) and fast discrete gravitational search algorithm (FDGSA). The deep neural network models of deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) and extended deep convolutional neural network (EDCNN) are employed for the classification of emotions from imagery datasets of JAFFE and KDEF. The fixed pose images of both the datasets are acquired and comparison based on average recognition accuracy is performed. The comparative analysis of the mentioned techniques and state-of-the-art techniques illustrates the superior recognition accuracy of the FDGSA with the EDCNN technique.
Physics design of the CiADS MEBT
Authors: Chen Weilong , Wang Zhijun , Liu Shuhui , Feng Chi , Xu Mengxin , Dou Weiping , Qi Xin , Zhao Xiaoying , Wang Haoye , He Yuan
Published: June 2021

The superconducting linac for China initiative Accelerator Driven Subcritical System (CiADS) is the world-leading ADS-driver under construction with state-of-the-art technologies. This system is designed to accelerate a 5 mA proton beam to 500 MeV energy, and then delivering 2.5 MW of beam power to the neutron production target. The Middle Energy Beam Transport (MEBT) is designed with great emphasis on smoothing matching between the upstream and downstream acceleration sections, beam diagnostics layout and beam quality control. It is proposed and successfully implemented to immigrate the phase space distortion and reduce the increase of beam emittance. The acceptance of MEBT is optimized to make all the particles inside the effective acceptance of the superconducting section even with machine errors. This pertinent design of MEBT is suitable for the high-power superconducting accelerator of CiADS.
Holographic inflation in f(T) and DGP braneworld
Authors: Jawad Abdul , Abbas Manzar , Rani Shamaila
Published: June 2021

In this paper, we investigate the holographic inflation in the framework of two gravitational theories like [Formula: see text] gravity, where [Formula: see text] corresponds to the torsion scalar and DGP braneworld model which is based on the idea that our four-dimensional FRW universe located on five-dimensional manifold. The modified infrared cutoff is used to explore all the inflationary parameters as slow-roll parameters [Formula: see text], number of [Formula: see text]-folds [Formula: see text], scalar spectral index [Formula: see text], tensor-to-scalar ratio [Formula: see text] and running of the scalar spectral index [Formula: see text]. Also, we investigate the behavior of inflationary parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] through graphical presentation. The behavior of these parameters shows the consistency with Planck data [Formula: see text].
GA2RM: A GA-Based Action Rule Mining Method
Authors: Hashemi Shervin , Shamsinejad Pirooz
Published: June 2021

Action Mining is a subfield of Data Mining that tries to extract actions from traditional data sets. Action Rule is a type of rule that suggests some changes in its consequent part. Extracting action rules from data has been one of the research interests in recent years. Current state-of-the-art action rule mining methods like DEAR typically take classification rules as their input; Since traditional classification methods have been designed for prediction and not for manipulation, therefore extracting action rules directly from data can result in more valuable action rules. Here, we have proposed a method to generate action rules directly from data. To tackle the problem of huge search space of action rules, a Genetic Algorithm has been devised. Different metrics have been defined for investigating the effectiveness of our proposed method and a large number of experiments have been done on real and synthetic data sets. The results show that our method can find from 20% to 10 times more interesting (in case of support and confidence) action rules in comparison with its competitors.
Modeling the Transmission Dynamics of COVID-19 Pandemic in Caputo Type Fractional Derivative
Authors: Naik Parvaiz Ahmad , Owolabi Kolade M. , Zu Jian , Naik Mehraj-Ud-Din
Published: June 2021

COVID-19 disease, a deadly pandemic ravaging virtually throughout the world today, is undoubtedly a great calamity to human existence. There exists no complete curative medicine or successful vaccines that could be used for the complete control of this deadly pandemic at the moment. Consequently, the study of the trends of this pandemic is critical and of great importance for disease control and risk management. Computation of the basic reproduction number by means of mathematical modeling can be helpful in estimating the potential and severity of an outbreak and providing insightful information which is useful to identify disease intensity and necessary interventions. Considering the enormity of the challenge and the burdens which the spread of this COVID-19 disease placed on healthcare system, the present paper attempts to study the pattern and the trend of spread of this disease and prescribes a mathematical model which governs COVID-19 pandemic using Caputo type derivative. Local stability of the equilibria is also discussed in the paper. Some numerical simulations are given to illustrate the analytical results. The obtained results shows that applied numerical technique is computationally strong for modeling COVID-19 pandemic.