bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developing Angelman syndrome-specific clinician-reported and caregiver-reported measures to support holistic, patient-centered drug development
Authors: Connor-Ahmad Siobhan , Tjeertes Jorrit , Chladek Michael , Newton Louise , Symonds Tara , Clinch Susanne , Vincenzi Brenda , McDougall Fiona
Published: June 2023

Background

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a rare, heterogenous neurogenetic condition, which significantly impacts the lives of people with AS and their families. Valid and reliable measures reporting key symptoms and functional impairments of AS are required to support development of patient-centered therapies. We describe the development of clinician- and caregiver-reported, AS-specific Global Impression scales for incorporation into clinical trials. Best practice US Food and Drug Administration guidance for measure development was followed with input from expert clinicians, patient advocates, and caregivers during content generation and refinement.

Results

Initial measurement domains for the Symptoms of AS—Clinician Global Impression (SAS-CGI) and the Caregiver-reported AS Scale (CASS) were identified from a conceptual disease model of AS symptoms and impacts, derived from interviews with caregivers and clinicians. Two rounds of cognitive debriefing (CD) interviews were performed; clinicians debriefed the SAS-CGI, with patient advocates and caregivers debriefing the CASS to ensure relevance and comprehension. Feedback was used to refine items and ensure wording was age-appropriate and captured AS-specific symptoms, as well as associated impacts and functional impairments. The SAS-CGI and CASS capture global assessments of seizures, sleep, maladaptive behaviors, expressive communication, fine and gross motor skills, cognition, and self-care, which were determined by clinicians, patient advocates, and caregivers to be the most challenging aspects of AS. Additionally, the measures include items for assessing overall AS symptoms and the meaningfulness of any change. In addition to ratings for severity, impact, and change, a notes field was included in the SAS-CGI to provide the rationale for the chosen rating. CD interviews confirmed the measures covered key concepts of AS from the perspective of clinicians and caregivers, and demonstrated that the measures’ instructions, items, and response options were clear and appropriate. Interview feedback informed adjustments to the wording of the instructions and the items.

Conclusions

The SAS-CGI and CASS were designed to capture multiple AS symptoms, reflecting the heterogeneity and complexity of AS in children 1 to 12 years old. These clinical outcome assessments have been incorporated into AS clinical studies, which will allow for the evaluation of their psychometric properties and inform further refinements if needed.
Single-cell analysis reveals HBV-specific PD-1+CD8+ TRM cells in tumor borders are associated with HBV-related hepatic damage and fibrosis in HCC patients
Authors: Liu Lulu , Liu Junwei , Li Pan , Luo Jijun , Qin Rui , Peng Qiao , Li Bin , Wei Xuyong , Wang Tian , Shi Hongyu , Wang Ming-Da , Li Chao , Fang Weijia , Chen Wei , Xu Xiao , Yang Tian , Yin Weiwei , Zeng Xun
Published: June 2023

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may activate viral-specific T cells to attack HBV infected hepatocytes and thus induce immune-related liver injury. Therefore, it is important to deeply understand the impacts of HBV infection on HCC immune microenvironment in order to better design effective immunotherapies for HBV+ (HBV infected) HCC patients. Here, We performed cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF) analyses to characterize the distinct immune compositions of HCC tumors, tumor borders, and their associations with HCC/HBV related clinical characteristics. We identified 31 distinct immune clusters and found significant associations between immune signatures with clinicopathological features of HCC. We further revealed the HBV infection had more effects on shaping immune compositions in tumor borders than in tumors, with the significant enrichment of HBV-specific PD-1+CD8+ tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells in tumor borders of HBV+ patients. We confirmed this subset with a more exhausted phenotype and respond more actively under anti-PD-L1 treatment, suggesting its involvement in immune-related liver injury induced by ICB treatment to HBV+ HCC patients. Our study shows it may be necessary to consider antiviral prophylaxis for HBV+ HCC patients receiving ICB treatment.
The effectiveness and health-economic evaluation of “Partner in Balance,” a blended self-management program for early-stage dementia caregivers: study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Authors: Osstyn Sander L. , Handels Ron , Boots Lizzy M. M. , Balvert Sanne C. E. , Evers Silvia M. A. A. , de Vugt Marjolein E.
Published: June 2023

Background

Informal caregivers of people with dementia are crucial in dementia care. However, they are insufficiently supported and report caregiver burdens, which urges the need for cost-effective interventions aimed at supporting caregivers. This paper presents the design of a study evaluating the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility of a blended self-management program for early-stage dementia caregivers.

Methods/design

A pragmatic, cluster randomized controlled trial with a shared control group will be conducted. Participants will be informal caregivers of people with early-stage dementia and will be recruited by local care professionals. Randomization will be carried out at the level of the care professional level in a ratio of 35% to 65% (control arm vs. intervention arm). Participants in the control arm will receive care as usual and the intervention arm will receive the blended care self-management program “Partner in Balance” within a usual care setting in the Netherlands. Data will be collected at baseline and at 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups. The primary outcome for effectiveness (part 1) is care management self-efficacy. For the health-economic evaluation (part 2) total care costs and the quality of life for individuals with dementia (cost-effectiveness) and quality-adjusted life years (cost-utility) will be the base case analysis. Secondary outcomes (parts 1 and 2) will include depression, anxiety, perceived informal caregiving stress, service-use self-efficacy, quality of life, caregivers’ gain, and perseverance time. A process evaluation (part 3) will investigate the internal and external validity of the intervention.

Discussion

In this trial, we plan to evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and cost-utility of “Partner in Balance” among informal caregivers of people with dementia. We expect to find a significant increase in care management self-efficacy, and the program to be cost-effective, and provide valuable insights to stakeholders of “Partner in Balance.”

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05450146. Registered on 4 November 2022.
Live-cell imaging of chromatin contacts opens a new window into chromatin dynamics
Authors: van Staalduinen Jente , van Staveren Thomas , Grosveld Frank , Wendt Kerstin S.
Published: June 2023

Our understanding of the organization of the chromatin fiber within the cell nucleus has made great progress in the last few years. High-resolution techniques based on next-generation sequencing as well as optical imaging that can investigate chromatin conformations down to the single cell level have revealed that chromatin structure is highly heterogeneous at the level of the individual allele. While TAD boundaries and enhancer–promoter pairs emerge as hotspots of 3D proximity, the spatiotemporal dynamics of these different types of chromatin contacts remain largely unexplored. Investigation of chromatin contacts in live single cells is necessary to close this knowledge gap and further enhance the current models of 3D genome organization and enhancer–promoter communication. In this review, we first discuss the potential of single locus labeling to study architectural and enhancer–promoter contacts and provide an overview of the available single locus labeling techniques such as FROS, TALE, CRISPR–dCas9 and ANCHOR, and discuss the latest developments and applications of these systems.
Loculated pericardial hematoma compressing the right atrium post mechanical aortic valve replacement and the role of point-of-care echocardiography: a case report
Authors: Hamdan Mira , Khoury Fady , Kossaify Antoine
Published: June 2023

Background

Bleeding in the postoperative period after cardiac surgery is relatively frequent, especially in patients with early anticoagulant therapy, as in the case of mechanical valve replacement. Diffuse hemopericardium is relatively easy to diagnose; however, loculated pericardial hematomas leading to hemodynamic collapse are relatively rare and their diagnosis is more challenging.

Case presentation

This report is of a 75-year-old Asian woman who presented dyspnea, confusion and hemodynamic collapse related to loculated pericardial hematoma compressing the right atrium 3 days after mechanical aortic valve replacement. Urgent transthoracic echocardiogram performed as point-of-care approach showed right atrial compression, the aortic valve prosthesis had normal function. Surgical removal of the hematoma resulted in complete recovery.

Conclusion

Loculated pericardial hematoma might lead to hemodynamic collapse. Close monitoring of hemodynamic parameters is essential, also point-of-care echocardiography is essential for early recognition and prompt management in patients with critical hemodynamic condition.
Digital image watermarking using discrete cosine transformation based linear modulation
Authors: Alomoush Waleed , Khashan Osama A. , Alrosan Ayat , Attar Hani H. , Almomani Ammar , Alhosban Fuad , Makhadmeh Sharif Naser
Published: June 2023

The proportion of multimedia traffic in data networks has grown substantially as a result of advancements in IT. As a result, it's become necessary to address the following challenges in protecting multimedia data: prevention of unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data, in addition to tracking down the leak's origin, making sure no alterations may be made without permission, and safeguarding intellectual property for digital assets. watermarking is a technique developed to combat this issue, which transfer secure data over the network. The main goal of invisible watermarking is a hidden exchange of data and a message from being discovered by a third party. The objective of this work is to develop a digital image watermarking using discrete cosine transformation based linear modulation. This paper proposed an invisible watermarking method for embedding information into the transformation domain for the grey scale images. This method used the embedding of a stego-text into the least significant bit (LSB) of the Discrete Cosine Transformation (DCT) coefficient by using a linear modulation algorithm. Also, a stego-text is embedded with different sizes ten times within images after embedding the stego-image immune to different kinds of attack, such as salt and pepper, rotation, cropping, and JPEG compression with different criteria. The proposed method is tested using four benchmark images. Also, to evaluate the embedding effect, PSNR, NC and BER are calculated. The outcomes show that the proposed approach is practical and robust, where the obtained results are promising and do not raise any suspicion. In addition, it has a large capacity, and its results are imperceptible, especially when 1bit/block is embedded.
Co-occurrence of iron, folate, and vitamin A deficiency among pregnant women in eastern Ethiopia: a community-based study
Authors: Fite Meseret Belete , Tura Abera Kenay , Yadeta Tesfaye Assebe , Oljira Lemessa , Wilfong Tara , Mamme Newas Yusuf , Asefa Gemechu , Gurmu Demiraw Bikila , Habtu Wossene , Waka Feyissa Challa , Demiss Nahom Tefera , Woldeyohannes Meseret , Tessema Masresha , Alemayehu Dawit , Hassen Tahir Ahmed , Motuma Aboma , Roba Kedir Teji
Published: June 2023

Background

It is well known that the magnitude of undernutrition in Ethiopia is unacceptably high. The burden of co-occurrence of iron, folate, and vitamin A deficiency, on the other hand, has received less attention. Thus, in this study, we looked at the prevalence of iron, folate, and vitamin A deficiency in pregnant women in eastern Ethiopia.

Methods

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 397 pregnant women in Haramaya district, eastern Ethiopia. An interview-assisted questionnaire and blood serum were collected from pregnant women using standard techniques and shipped to an EPHI for micronutrient analysis. Factors associated with the co-occurrence of iron, folate, and vitamin A deficiency were identified using binary and multiple logistic regressions.

Results

According to this study, 81.6% of the participants were deficient in at least one micronutrient, and 53.53.2% were deficient in two or more. Women who did not receive iron-folic acid supplementation (AOR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.52–3.92), did not attend Antenatal care (ANC) follow up (AOR = 2.88; 95% CI = 1.81–4.61), and reported low consumption of diversified diet (AOR = 2.18 (95% CI = 1.35–3.51) had a higher risk of co-occurrence of iron, folate, and vitamin A deficiency.

Conclusion

This study found that more than half of pregnant women were in multiple micronutrients, indicating a major public health issue. In addition to the IFA supplementation programs that are already in place, there is a need for multiple micronutrient supplementation.
The impact of serum copper on the risk of epilepsy: a mendelian randomization study
Authors: Chen Shihao , Huang Wenting , Xu Qi , He Tao , Zhang Mulan , Xu Huiqin
Published: June 2023

Background

The relationship between serum copper and epilepsy has been elucidated in observational studies. In this study, we aimed to explore the causal relationship between serum copper and epilepsy using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Methods

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with serum copper were used as instrumental variables for MR analysis to evaluate their causal effects on epilepsy. The main MR results were obtained by using the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method, supplemented by weighted median and MR-Egger regression. In addition, sensitivity analyses such as Cochran's Q test and pleiotropy test were used to assess these SNPs on epilepsy in terms of horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity.

Results

The IVW method revealed that the serum copper was associated with an increased risk of generalized epilepsy (OR= 1.07; 95% CI 1.01- 1.14; P = 0.032), and the sensitivity analysis further supports the robustness of the results.

Conclusions

The current study reveals a possible causal role for serum copper in increasing the risk of generalized epilepsy, which provide guidance for identifying potential risk factors for epilepsy.
Do capital inflows affect domestic bank credit? Empirical evidence from India
Authors: Ansari Zeeshan Nezami , Dar Muzffar Hussain , Zafar Shadman
Published: June 2023

This paper studies multivariate dynamic analysis of capital inflows in relation with domestic bank’s credit which has not been investigated earlier adequately in the context of Indian economy. Using autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, we find the existence of co-integration over the period 1991 Q3 to 2022 Q1. The long-run ARDL regression model results show net equity inflows, i.e. net foreign direct investment, and net non-equity inflows, i.e. foreign loan, are significant to influence domestic bank credit. Result also reveals that depreciation of exchange rate and current account (trade) deficit increase bank credit. Outcome of this research contributes significantly to frame effective monetary policy in the Indian context.
Waiting times for elective surgery in an African paediatric surgery department
Authors: Ada Mahamoud Omid Ali , Moustapha Hellé , Habou Oumarou , Emaleu Inès Arlette Siewe , Idrissa Salahoudine , Abarchi Habibou
Published: June 2023

Background

Long waiting time (WT) for elective surgery is a frequent and important issue in many countries. This study examined the factors affecting the WT for elective surgery in a paediatric surgery department in a tertiary healthcare hospital in Niger, Africa. This descriptive retrospective study examined patients aged 0–15 years who underwent elective surgery in the paediatric surgery department of National Hospital Amirou Boubacar Diallo in Niamey, Niger, between April 1, 2019 and March 30, 2020. Socio-demographic, diagnostic, and therapeutic data were collected from medical records, and the WT, defined as the number of days between when surgery was proposed and performed was analysed. Statistical analyses were performed with the Kruskal–Wallis test, and ap < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Three hundred fifty-four patients were included in the study. The umbilical hernia was the most common surgical indication (n = 103, 29.1%). The mean WT was 69.2 days (range, 8 days–11.3 months), and the majority of patients had a WT of less than two months (n = 240, 67.8%). Depending on the surgical indication, the mean WT ranged from 13 days (posterior urethral valve) to 8.5 months (epispadias). WT was significantly longer among patients living in rural areas (p = 0.012), with comorbidities (p = 0.0034), and whose procedures were postponed (p = 0.0026).

Conclusion

Patient and institution-related factors influenced the WT. It can be reduced by addressing the supply and demand aspects of surgical care, as well as by prioritising patients who need more urgent care.
Reintroduction: “The Rorty Shrug”
Authors: Perl Jeffrey M.
Published: June 2023

In this brief introduction to part 2 of the Common Knowledge symposium “Whatever Happened to Richard Rorty?” the journal’s editor asks why Rorty was dependent on Thomas Kuhn, rather than Paul Feyerabend or the then-rising stars of “science studies” (such as Bruno Latour), for science-centered arguments to support his own philosophical neopragmatism. The editor cites a letter from Rorty sent to him in the early 1990s, suggesting that the differences between Feyerabend and himself were temperamental more than philosophical. Rorty enjoyed referring to himself and others like him as “we atheists,” by which he seems to have meant “those of us repelled by extravagant or overheated claims and absolutes.” His tendency was thus to pull back in what might seem to be bored alarm from treatments of science as superior, perilous, or in any essential way different from other forms of intellectual discourse. Rorty’s understanding of these approaches to science as temperamentally religious appears lately to have been vindicated by the emergence of the primeval goddess “Gaia” in the rhetoric of science studies.
Inheriting Rorty
Authors: Blok Anders , Jensen Casper Bruun
Published: June 2023

This contribution to the second installment of the Common Knowledge symposium “Whatever Happened to Richard Rorty?” argues that the field of science studies should be understood as a way of inheriting, rather than fundamentally breaking with, Rorty's antifoundationalism and postepistemology. Taken together, the work of Bruno Latour, Isabelle Stengers, and Donna Haraway has been less about rebalancing the relative and the objective, and more about redrawing the checkerboard of knowledge into “in-disciplinary” styles of empirical philosophy. These styles rely on doubly held commitments to radical empirical curiosity about, on the one hand, events of science and culture, and, on the other hand, promises of conceptual speculation for collective learning. This work is highly important for the novel perplexities of the Anthropocene, but not quite in the way that Gaskill proposed.
Titus Burckhardt, Fes: İslam Şehri. Albaraka Yayınları, 2021, 223 s.
Authors: Nacak İbrahim
Published: June 2023

Bu yazı Titus Burckhardt'ın Fes: İslam Şehri isimli eserini değerlendirmektedir.
Ali Akbar Tajmazinani (Der.), Social Policy in the Islamic World, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, 321 s.
Authors: Kayagil Muhammet Enes
Published: June 2023

Bu yazı Ali Akbar Tajmazinani'nin derlediği Social Policy in the Islamic World isimli eseri değerlendirmektedir.
İşçi Dövizleri- CO2 Emisyonu İlişkisi: Türkiye Analizi
Authors: Arı Ayşe
Published: June 2023

Bu çalışmada işçi dövizlerinin çevresel bozulmalar üzerindeki etkisi araştırılmaktadır. İşçi dövizlerinin CO2 emisyonu üzerindeki etkisi ekonomik büyüme, enerji tüketimi, finansal gelişme ve şehirleşme dikkate alınarak incelenmiştir. Çalışmada Türkiye ekonomisi 1975-2015 dönemi için Bayer ve Hanck (2012) eşbütünleşme testi ile FMOLS, DOLS ve CCR yöntemleri kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, işçi dövizleri CO2 emisyonunu pozitif etkilemektedir. Bu durumda işçi dövizlerinin çevresel bozulmaları artırdığı görülmektedir. Ekonomik büyüme, enerji tüketimi ve şehirleşmenin de CO2 emisyonunu artırdığı tespit edilmiştir. Finansal gelişmenin ise, CO2 emisyonunu azalttığı belirlenmiştir. Sonuç olarak, otoriteler çevresel bozulmaları azaltmak için işçi dövizlerini üretici ve tüketicilerin yenilenebilir enerji ve çevre dostu teknoloji alanlarına kaydıracak şekilde teşvikler uygulamalıdır. Ayrıca fosil yakıttan yenilenebilir enerjiye geçişi hızlandıracak, finansal gelişmeyi destekleyecek ve kırsal kalınmayı sağlayacak politikalara önem vermelidir.
Children’s Evaluations About Lying for Prosocial and Antisocial Reasons
Authors: Aydın Muhammed Şükrü , Karakelle Sema
Published: June 2023

Children’s reasoning and evaluations about lying have been the subject of much research during the past two decades. However, these studies are seen to have been carried out in a limited number of countries. Therefore, the present study examines the evaluations of Turkish children between the ages of 4 and 8 regarding prosocial and antisocial lies. The study uses picture cards to present the children with vignettes in which a protagonist lies for their own or others’ benefit. The results show that children found telling lies to be more acceptable in the context of prosocial stories, with prosocial lies being found to be more acceptable among 8-year-old children compared to 4- and 5-year-old children. Due to this research having been pioneering in a different country, the study discusses the findings through intracultural and intercultural factors.
Chronic inflammatory enteropathy: faecal microbiota transplantation in clinical practice
Authors: Turner Emma
Published: June 2023

Chronic inflammatory enteropathy is an umbrella term that encompasses various inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. In the absence of identifiable underlying infectious, neoplastic or metabolic causes, chronic or recurrent signs of gastrointestinal disease and histopathological evidence of mucosal inflammation are the hallmarks of chronic inflammatory enteropathy. Subgroups of chronic inflammatory enteropathy are retrospectively categorised as food-responsive, immunosuppression-responsive, small intestinal dysbiosis or non-responsive based on the selective response to therapeutic trials. Small intestinal dysbiosis is an overarching term used to describe derangement of the small intestinal microbiota caused by an abnormal proliferation of bacteria and/or change in bacterial species present in the small intestinal lumen. The pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory enteropathy remains elusive, although current hypotheses emphasise the role of adverse immune responses to dietary and microbial antigens thought to arise from immune system dysregulation, genetic susceptibility and intestinal dysbiosis. The gastrointestinal tract of dogs is colonised by a vast population of microorganisms, known as the intestinal microbiota, which is composed of viruses, fungi, bacteria and protozoa. Clinical use of faecal microbiota transplantation in promoting normobiosis has been gaining popularity within the field of canine gastroenterology. This modifies the intestinal bacterial microbiota and has shown promise as an adjunctive treatment of enteric disease, associated with a faster resolution of diarrhoea and enhanced clinical recovery.
Middle-aged adults’ career trajectories and later-life financial security: evidence from Korea
Authors: Jeong Seong Ji , Choi Su Jung , Hawley Joshua
Published: June 2023

This study explored how middle-aged workers’ career trajectory patterns were associated with their financial security later in life. Grounded by a life course perspective, we approached their career trajectories by considering a ‘human agency within structure’ framework. We explored sequences of employment status, starting with their lifetime main job to subsequent jobs after contractual retirement, using data from 1,010 middle-aged adults in Seoul, South Korea. The sequence analysis identified six career trajectory patterns. Stable career patterns included the Permanent to permanent trajectory as well as the Permanent to self-employment trajectory and these were most common among males with higher education degrees, higher earnings and better career alignment. Unstable career patterns such as the Temporary to temporary trajectory, the Permanent to temporary trajectory or the Churning trajectory were most common among those who were female, had lower levels of education lower earnings or had retired involuntarily. Further results showed that unstable career patterns were associated with lower levels of monthly earnings and total assets post–contractual retirement. Individuals with unstable career patterns were also less likely to be financially prepared for retirement. We suggest individualising education programmes for retirement preparation based on various career trajectories and demographic attributes to aid middle-aged adults in preparing for financial security later in life.
Mid-infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy based on ultrasound detection for blood component analysis
Authors: Sasaki Ryota , Kino Saiko , Matsuura Yuji
Published: June 2023

For the non-invasive measurement of biological tissue, a piezoelectric photoacoustic spectroscopy (PZT-PAS) system that detects a single frequency of ultrasound induced by the irradiation of pulse-modulated mid-infrared laser light was developed. PA spectra of the optical phantom and biological samples were obtained, and the relationship between the PA signal intensity and optical absorbance in the fingerprint region (930–1,200 cm−1) was analyzed to estimate the optical absorbance. The resonance vibration of the induced ultrasound was utilized to further increase the signal strength for biological tissue measurement. Consequently, PA spectrum reflecting the absorption of components in biological tissues was obtained.
Low-latency wavelength-switched clock-synchronized intra-data center interconnects enabled by hollow core fiber
Authors: Zhou Zichuan , Dzieciol Hubert , Clark Kari , Luo Yuan , Richardson David , Poletti Francesco , Bayvel Polina , Slavik Radan , Liu Zhixin
Published: June 2023

Fast (nanoseconds) optical wavelength switching is emerging as a viable solution to scaling the size and capacity of intra-data center interconnection. A key enabling technology for such systems is low-jitter optical clock synchronization, which enables sub-nanosecond clock and data recovery for optically switched frames using low-cost methods such as clock phase caching. We propose and demonstrate real-time low-latency wavelength-switched clock-synchronized intra-data center interconnection at 51.2 GBd using a fast tunable laser (with ns scale switching time) and ultra-stable-latency hollow core fiber (HCF) for optically-switched data center networks. For wavelength-switched systems, we achieve a physical layer latency below 46 ns, consisting of 28 ns transceiver latency and a 18 ns inter-packet gap. Finally, we show that by exploiting the low chromatic dispersion and thermally-stable latency features of HCF, active clock phase tracking can be entirely eliminated.
Single-shot spatial frequency modulation for imaging
Authors: Cottrell Seth , Czerski John , Adams Dan , Field Jeff , Bartels Randy , Squier Jeff
Published: June 2023

Spatial frequency modulation for imaging (SPIFI) has traditionally employed a time-varying spatial modulation of the excitation beam. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, we introduce single-shot SPIFI, where the spatial frequency modulation is imposed across the entire spatial bandwidth of the optical system simultaneously enabling single-shot operation.
Sensing the profile of particulate beam attenuation coefficient through a single-photon oceanic Raman lidar
Authors: Shangguan Mingjia , Liao Zhuoyang , Guo Yirui , Lee Zhongping
Published: June 2023

A lidar technique has been proposed and demonstrated for remotely sensing particulate beam attenuation coefficient (cp) profiles using the Raman backscattered signal from water. In Raman lidar, the backscatter coefficient at 180° can be considered constant, allowing for the determination of the lidar attenuation coefficient (Klidar) from the Raman backscattered signal. This scheme has these features. 1) The bandwidth of the filter that used to extract the Raman component from the backscattered signal of the lidar was optimized to ensure sufficient lidar signal strength while minimizing the influence of chlorophyll fluorescence on inversion. 2) A receiving telescope with narrow field of view (FOV) and small aperture was utilized to suppress multi-scattering components in the backscattered signal. 3) A relationship between the beam attenuation coefficient (c) and Klidar was established after simulations via a semi-analytic Monto Carlo. 4) The value of cp was obtained by subtracting the attenuation coefficient of pure seawater (cw) from c. According to the theoretical analysis, the maximum relative error of cp is less than 15% for chlorophyll concentrations up to 10 mg/m3. Due to the water Raman backscattered signal being several orders of magnitude lower than the elastic backscattered signal, a single-photon detector is required to significantly improve the detection sensitivity to the single-photon level. To validate this approach, a field experiment was conducted aboard the R/V Tan Kah Kee in the South China Sea from September 4th to September 5th, 2022, and continuous subsurface profiles of cp were obtained. These measurements confirm the robustness and reliability of the oceanic single-photon Raman lidar system and the inversion method.
Thermal lensing in optical fibers: erratum
Authors: Dong Liang
Published: June 2023

This erratum corrects an error in the simulation of my published paper [Opt. Express 24(17), 19841 (2016).10.1364/OE.24.019841]. All figures and some related texts are revised. Other results and conclusions are not affected by this correction.
Low-threshold all-optical nonlinear activation function based on injection locking in distributed feedback laser diodes
Authors: Liu Binshuo , Xu Shaofu , Ma Bowen , Yi Sicheng , Zou Weiwen
Published: June 2023

We experimentally demonstrate an all-optical nonlinear activation unit based on the injection-locking effect of distributed feedback laser diodes (DFB-LDs). The nonlinear carrier dynamics in the unit generates a low-threshold nonlinear activation function with optimized operating conditions. The unit can operate at a low threshold of −15.86 dBm and a high speed of 1 GHz, making it competitive among existing optical nonlinear activation approaches. We apply the unit to a neural network task of solving the second-order ordinary differential equation. The fitting error is as low as 0.0034, verifying the feasibility of our optical nonlinear activation approach. Given that the large-scale fan-out of optical neural networks (ONNs) will significantly reduce the optical power in one channel, our low-threshold scheme is suitable for the development of high-throughput ONNs.
Ten simple rules for the sharing of bacterial genotype—Phenotype data on antimicrobial resistance
Authors: Chindelevitch Leonid , van Dongen Maarten , Graz Heather , Pedrotta Antonio , Suresh Anita , Uplekar Swapna , Jauneikaite Elita , Wheeler Nicole
Published: June 2023

The increasing availability of high-throughput sequencing (frequently termed next-generation sequencing (NGS)) data has created opportunities to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms of a number of diseases and is already impacting many areas of medicine and public health. The area of infectious diseases stands somewhat apart from other human diseases insofar as the relevant genomic data comes from the microbes rather than their human hosts. A particular concern about the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has driven the collection and reporting of large-scale datasets containing information from microbial genomes together with antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results. Unfortunately, the lack of clear standards or guiding principles for the reporting of such data is hampering the field’s advancement. We therefore present our recommendations for the publication and sharing of genotype and phenotype data on AMR, in the form of 10 simple rules. The adoption of these recommendations will enhance AMR data interoperability and help enable its large-scale analyses using computational biology tools, including mathematical modelling and machine learning. We hope that these rules can shed light on often overlooked but nonetheless very necessary aspects of AMR data sharing and enhance the field’s ability to address the problems of understanding AMR mechanisms, tracking their emergence and spread in populations, and predicting microbial susceptibility to antimicrobials for diagnostic purposes.
Bias in artificial intelligence algorithms and recommendations for mitigation
Authors: Nazer Lama H. , Zatarah Razan , Waldrip Shai , Ke Janny Xue Chen , Moukheiber Mira , Khanna Ashish K. , Hicklen Rachel S. , Moukheiber Lama , Moukheiber Dana , Ma Haobo , Mathur Piyush
Published: June 2023

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms is rapidly increasing in healthcare. Such algorithms may be shaped by various factors such as social determinants of health that can influence health outcomes. While AI algorithms have been proposed as a tool to expand the reach of quality healthcare to underserved communities and improve health equity, recent literature has raised concerns about the propagation of biases and healthcare disparities through implementation of these algorithms. Thus, it is critical to understand the sources of bias inherent in AI-based algorithms. This review aims to highlight the potential sources of bias within each step of developing AI algorithms in healthcare, starting from framing the problem, data collection, preprocessing, development, and validation, as well as their full implementation. For each of these steps, we also discuss strategies to mitigate the bias and disparities. A checklist was developed with recommendations for reducing bias during the development and implementation stages. It is important for developers and users of AI-based algorithms to keep these important considerations in mind to advance health equity for all populations.
HIV research output in African Countries between 1986–2020
Authors: Ijaiya Mukhtar A. , Olowu Adebanjo , Oguntade Habibat A. , Anjorin Seun , Uthman Olalekan A.
Published: June 2023

HIV literature has grown exponentially since it was named the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Bibliometric analysis is a practical approach for quantitatively and qualitatively assessing scientific research. This work aims to describe HIV research output in Africa by country from 1986 until 2020. We conducted a search of the PubMed database in June 2021 for a 35-year period spanning 1986 to 2020. We comparatively weighed for countries’ populations, gross domestic product (GDP), and the number of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) by calculating the ratio of the number of publications from each country. We used Poisson regression models to explore the trends in countries’ HIV research output over the study period. The Pearson correlation analysis assessed the association between research output, population size, GDP, and the number of PLHIV.A total of 83,527 articles from African countries on HIV indexed in PubMed were included for analysis. Republic of South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria account for 54% of the total indexed publications with 33.2% (26,907); 8.4% (7,045); 7.3% (6,118); and 5.1% (4,254), respectively. Africa’s proportion of the world’s total HIV publications increased from 5.1% in 1986 to 31.3% in 2020. There was a strong positive and statistically significant correlation between the total indexed HIV publications and countries’ GDP (r = 0.59, P<0.01), population (r = 0.58, P<0.01), and the estimated number of PLHIV (r = 0.72, P<0.01). The study found that Africa’s contribution to global HIV research output increased over the 35 years, but it remains relatively low compared to the continent’s burden of HIV infections. Our findings also revealed major differences in research output across sub-regions in Africa, with the Republic of South Africa having the highest output. The factors associated with HIV research output were economic strength, disease epidemiology, and population size.
Incidental temporal binding in rats: A novel behavioral task
Authors: Radostova Dominika , Kuncicka Daniela , Krajcovic Branislav , Hejtmanek Lukas , Petrasek Tomas , Svoboda Jan , Stuchlik Ales , Brozka Hana
Published: June 2023

We designed a behavioral task called One-Trial Trace Escape Reaction (OTTER), in which rats incidentally associate two temporally discontinuous stimuli: a neutral acoustic cue (CS) with an aversive stimulus (US) which occurs two seconds later (CS-2s-US sequence). Rats are first habituated to two similar environmental contexts (A and B), each consisting of an interconnected dark and light chamber. Next, rats experience the CS-2s-US sequence in the dark chamber of one of the contexts (either A or B); the US is terminated immediately after a rat escapes into the light chamber. The CS-2s-US sequence is presented only once to ensure the incidental acquisition of the association. The recall is tested 24 h later when rats are presented with only the CS in the alternate context (B or A), and their behavioral response is observed. Our results show that 59% of the rats responded to the CS by escaping to the light chamber, although they experienced only one CS-2s-US pairing. The OTTER task offers a flexible high throughput tool to study memory acquired incidentally after a single experience. Incidental one-trial acquisition of association between temporally discontinuous events may be one of the essential components of episodic memory formation.
Iron metabolism disorders of patients with chronic paracoccidioidomycosis
Authors: de Brito Eliana da Costa Alvarenga , Siqueira Igor Valadares , Venturini James , Félix Vinícius Lopes Teodoro , dos Santos Alana Oswaldina Gavioli Meira , Mendes Rinaldo Poncio , Weber Simone Schneider , Paniago Anamaria Mello Miranda
Published: June 2023

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is caused by Paracoccidioides spp.; during infection, some host mechanisms limit the availability of iron, thereby reducing its reproduction. However, Paracoccidioides spp. can evade the immune defense and, even under limited iron conditions, use this mineral for growth and dissemination. This study evaluated the iron metabolism of 39 patients who were diagnosed with chronic PCM from 2013 to 2021. The forms of iron before treatment and at the time of clinical cure were evaluated based on the following: serum ferritin levels (storage iron); total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation (TSAT) level (transport iron); red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (HCT), and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) levels; and sTfR/log ferritin ratio (functional iron). The mean age of the patients was 54.5 years (±6.7 years). Most patients were men (97.4%), rural workers (92.1%), and smokers (84.6%); furthermore, most had moderate disease severity (66.7%). After achieving clinical cure, we observed that serum ferritin levels decreased, and parameters of functional iron increased. The extent of alteration in these parameters were more pronounced in severe cases than in to mild or moderate cases. Furthermore, moderate correlations were observed between C-reactive protein and the Hb (r = -0.500; p = 0.002), RBC (r = -0.461; p = 0.005), HCT (r = -0.514; p = 0.001), and iron levels (r = -0.491; p = 0.002). However, it is possible to infer that PCM interferes with functional and storage iron because improvements in these parameters after treatment as well as associations with disease severity were observed. PCM can lead to anemia of inflammation, which can be differentiated from iron deficiency anemia by a careful investigation of the iron form parameters.
Customer satisfaction evaluation for drugs: A research based on online reviews and PROMETHEE-Ⅱ method
Authors: Zhao Xiangqi , Gao Lixiang , Huang Zhe
Published: June 2023

Online reviews of consumers after purchasing drugs online reflect the factors affecting their satisfaction. How to understand customer satisfaction through online reviews and tapping their needs to improve satisfaction has become an urgent issue facing pharmaceutical e-commerce companies. Based on the online reviews of Alibaba Health Pharmacy, six representative OTC online medicines were selected for this study, including the following categories: tonics, anti-cold drugs, rheumatism and orthopaedic drugs, skin drugs, gastrointestinal drugs, vitamins, and calcium. By training and testing the LDA topic model, five potential topics are extracted as factors affecting customer satisfaction, including drug efficacy, drug cost performance, online customer service, logistics and transportation, and packaging. In this paper, Sentiment Analysis is used to process the review text to quantify the sentiment tendency of the review, and determine the evaluation scale value. Then, the random dominance among various drug factors is determined based on the Stochastic Dominance Rules. Finally, the PROMETHEE–Ⅱ method is used to determine the ranking value of the importance of each factor. The results suggest that the factors in different types of OTC drugs rank differently, which is also rationalized in this paper. This study provides a significant reference for improving customer satisfaction with pharmaceutical e-commerce.
Genome-wide identification and comparative in-silico characterization of β-galactosidase (GH-35) in ascomycetes and its role in germ tube development of Aspergillus fumigatus via RNA-seq analysis
Authors: Baig Danish Ilyas , Zafar Zeeshan , Khan Haris Ahmed , Younus Amna , Bhatti Muhammad Faraz
Published: June 2023

β-galactosidase (Lactase), an enzyme belonging to the glycoside hydrolase family causing the hydrolysis and trans-glycosylation of β-D-galactosides, has a vital role in dairy industries. The current investigation emphasizes on in-silico identification and comparative analysis of different fungal lactases present in Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus oryzae, Botrytis cinerea, and Fusarium fujikuroi. Prediction of motifs and domains, chromosomal positioning, gene structure, gene ontology, sub-cellular localization and protein modeling were performed using different bioinformatics tools to have an insight into the structural and functional characteristics of β-galactosidases. Evolutionary and homology relationships were established by phylogenetic and synteny analyses. A total of 14 β-gal genes (GH-35) were identified in these species. Identified lactases, having 5 domains, were predicted to be stable, acidic, non-polar and extracellularly localized with roles in polysaccharide catabolic process. Results showed variable exonic/intronic ratios of the gene structures which were randomly positioned on chromosomes. Moreover, synteny blocks and close evolutionary relationships were observed between Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus oryzae. Structural insights allowed the prediction of best protein models based on the higher ERRAT and Q-MEAN values. And RNA-sequencing analysis, performed on A. fumigatus, elucidated the role of β-gal in germ tube development. This study would pave the way for efficient fungal lactase production as it identified β-gal genes and predicted their various features and also it would provide a road-way to further the understanding of A. fumigatus pathogenicity via the expression insights of β-gal in germ tube development.
Performance analysis of hospitals before and during the COVID-19 in Iran: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Jalilian Habib , Mohammad Riahi Seyed , Heydari Somayeh , Taji Masoomeh
Published: June 2023

Background and objective

The COVID-19 pandemic placed considerable pressure on the health care systems and caused many disruptions to the care hospital system around the globe. This study aimed to analyze the performance of hospitals affiliated with the University of Medical Sciences and Health Services of South Khorasan Province before and during COVID-19.

Method

This cross-sectional study tracked the financial performance (FP) and service performance (SP) of 12 hospitals affiliated with South Khorasan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services using the Farabar system and Hospital Information System (HIS). Our study covered two time periods: from February 2018 to February 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and from February 2020 to February 2021 (during COVID-19). SP analysis of hospitals was performed by examining the trend of monthly changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and Paired Sample T-Test. FP of hospitals was analyzed through relevant ratios and analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel.

Results

Most SP indicators decreased considerably in all hospitals during COVID-19. FP ratios (e.g., activity and leverage ratios) increased during either or both pre-COVID or COVID periods. Compared to before COVID-19, the operating margin ratio and operating expenses coverage from operating income increased from -0.50 and 66.55 to -1.42 and 41.32, respectively, during COVID-19. Moreover, the net profit margin ratio and Return On Assets (ROA) ratio were increased during COVID-19.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has decreased the FP and SP of hospitals due to limitations in providing services to patients since the beginning of COVID-19. Measures such as providing various financing resources and improving the financial resilience of hospitals are essential. Funds should be disbursed to offset hospitals’ losses due to reduced elective and outpatient revenue. Policymakers should come up with holistic policies to tackle the adverse impact of such crises in the future, support hospitals financially, and consider allocating additional funding to them during emergencies.
Is reading fiction associated with a higher mind-reading ability? Two conceptual replication studies in Japan
Authors: Takahashi Yuka , Himichi Toshiyuki , Masuchi Ayumi , Nakanishi Daisuke , Ohtsubo Yohsuke
Published: June 2023

Previous studies have revealed that reading fiction is associated with dispositional empathy and theory-of-mind abilities. Earlier studies established a correlation between fiction reading habits and the two measures of social cognition: trait fantasy (i.e., the tendency to transpose oneself into fictitious characters) and performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET; a test of the ability to identify others’ mental states based on their eyes). Recently, experimental studies have shown that brief exposure to fiction enhances RMET performance. Nevertheless, these studies have been conducted only in Western countries, and few published studies have investigated these relationships in Asian countries. This research aims to address this gap. Study 1, which involved 338 Japanese undergraduates, conceptually replicated the previously reported correlations between fiction reading and fantasy and RMET scores (after statistically controlling for the effect of outliers). However, Study 2, which involved 304 Japanese undergraduates, failed to replicate the causal relationship. Participants read an excerpt either from literary fiction or from nonfiction, or engaged in a calculation task, before completing the RMET. Brief exposure to literary fiction did not increase the RMET score. In sum, this study replicated the associations of fiction reading with fantasy and RMET scores in Japan, but failed to replicate the causal relationship.