bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Refractive Outcomes of Phacovitrectomy in Retinal Detachment Compared to Phacoemulsification Alone Using Swept-Source OCT Biometry
Authors: Moussa George , Mohite Abhijit Anand , Sachdev Amun , Hero Mark , Ch'ng Soon Wai , Andreatta Walter
Published: August 2021

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:

To assess the refractive outcomes in patients who underwent combined phacovitrectomy for retinal detachment compared to phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implant utilizing newer swept-source optical-coherence-tomography (SS-OCT) biometry and determine the requirement of an adjustment factor for superior predicted refractive outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Retrospective study of 95 eyes: 52 eyes that underwent phacovitrectomy and 43 eyes with phacoemulsification only that served as the control group. Mean refractive error (ME) and mean absolute error (MAE) were used to compare the groups.

RESULTS:

No statistically significant postoperative refractive shift was found between phacoemulsification and phacovitrectomy eyes for (1) ME (0.05 D [± 0.51 diopters (D)] and (0.03 [± 0.73 D], respectively;
P
= .348), (2) MAE (0.41 D ± 0.29 D and 0.60 ± 0.44 D, respectively), or (3) MAE of the control compared to macula-on/off eyes (
P
= .160 and
P
= .078, respectively).

CONCLUSION:

The authors do not recommend an adjustment factor for IOL selection when utilizing SS-OCT biometry, as it provided refractive outcomes superior to those found in previous studies utilizing a partial coherence interferometry system.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2021;52:432–437.]
Multimodal Imaging Findings in Two Children With Microphthalmos
Authors: Acón Dhariana , Hussain Rehan M. , Quan Ann V. , Mendoza-Santiesteban Carlos , Berrocal Audina M.
Published: August 2021

Microphthalmos, also called microphthalmia, is a rare developmental disorder of the eye that can be caused by genetic or chromosomal abnormalities or environmental factors. The spectrum of clinical presentation includes nanophthalmia and posterior microphthalmia. It affects approximately one in 1,000 individuals, although there is insufficient literature regarding the clinical and different imaging modalities findings.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2021;52:444–446.]
Variants of Uncertain Significance: Twins With Identical Pathogenic Gene Mutations in Retinitis Punctata Albescens
Authors: Richard Alyse J. , Huckfeldt Rachel M. , Reichel Elias , Liang Michelle C.
Published: August 2021

The authors describe identical twin sisters with similar symptoms, fundus findings, and ophthalmic testing consistent with retinitis punctata albescens (RPA). The pathognomonic white retinal flecks, extensive midperipheral retinal pigment epithelium atrophy, and pigmentary changes demonstrate overlapping phenotypic properties of RPA and other inherited retinal degenerative diseases. Genetic testing confirmed two mutations of the
RLBP1
gene: one pathogenic for RPA, and the other a variant of uncertain significance previously reported as a novel RPA mutation in the literature. This report highlights identical phenotypic findings and genetic mutations in twin sisters aiding in further classification of pathogenic mutations associated with RPA.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2021;52:450–453.]
Electroretinographic Findings in Melanoma-Associated Retinopathy Treated by Intravitreal Dexamethasone Implant
Authors: Abou-Samra Abdullah , Tzekov Radouil , Yannuzzi Nicolas A. , Tarabishy Ahmad B.
Published: August 2021

A 63-year-old male with a history of bladder cancer in remission presented with progressive vision loss during a period of 2 years. Slit-lamp and funduscopic examination were unremarkable. Electroretinogram (ERG) revealed an unrecordable scotopic response and a moderately decreased photopic response. Computed tomography of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis showed a new duodenal mass. Subsequent biopsy disclosed malignant melanoma, and a diagnosis of melanoma-associated retinopathy (MAR) was made. The patient was then treated with a dexamethasone intravitreal implant 0.7 mg in his left eye. Two months after the implant, the patient reported a mild symptomatic improvement in his left eye, and ERG testing performed after the implant insertion revealed partial improvement in several scotopic and photopic ERG parameters. Repeat spectral-domain optical coherence tomography disclosed an improvement in retinal thickening. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report illustrating potential subjective visual improvement, improvement in retinal thickening, and ERG changes following treatment by intravitreal dexamethasone implant for MAR.

[
Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina
. 2021;52:454–456.]
Counterexamples to local Lipschitz and local Hölder continuity with respect to the initial values for additive noise driven stochastic differential equations with smooth drift coefficient functions with at most polynomially growing derivatives
Authors: Jentzen Arnulf , Kuckuck Benno , Müller-Gronbach Thomas , Yaroslavtseva Larisa
Published: August 2021

In the recent article [A. Jentzen, B. Kuckuck, T. Müller-Gronbach, and L. Yaroslavtseva, J. Math. Anal. Appl. 502, 2 (2021)] it has been proved that the solutions to every additive noise driven stochastic differential equation (SDE) which has a drift coefficient function with at most polynomially growing first order partial derivatives and which admits a Lyapunov-type condition (ensuring the existence of a unique solution to the SDE) depend in the strong sense in a logarithmically Hölder continuous way on their initial values. One might then wonder whether this result can be sharpened and whether in fact, SDEs from this class necessarily have solutions which depend in the strong sense locally Lipschitz continuously on their initial value. The key contribution of this article is to establish that this is not the case. More precisely, we supply a family of examples of additive noise driven SDEs, which have smooth drift coefficient functions with at most polynomially growing derivatives and whose solutions do not depend in the strong sense on their initial value in a locally Lipschitz continuous, nor even in a locally Hölder continuous way.
On oscillations to a 2D age-dependent predation equations characterizing Beddington-DeAngelis type schemes
Authors: Yang Peng , Wang Yuanshi
Published: August 2021

In this study, a 2D age-dependent predation equations characterizing Beddington\begin{document}$ - $\end{document}DeAngelis type schemes are established to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of population, in which the predator is selected to be depicted with an age structure and its fertility function is assumed to be a step function. The dynamic behaviors of the equations are derived from the integrated semigroup method, the Hopf bifurcation theorem, the center manifold reduction and normal form theory of semilinear equations with non-dense domain. It turns out that the equations appear the oscillation phenomenon via Hopf bifurcation (positive equilibrium age distribution lose its stability and give rise to periodic solutions), as the bifurcation parameter moves across certain threshold values. Additionally, the explicit expressions are offered to determine the properties of Hopf bifurcation (the direction the Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions). This technique can also be employed to other epidemic and ecological equations. Eventually, some numerical simulations and conclusions are executed to validating the major results of this work.
Regularity of Wong-Zakai approximation for non-autonomous stochastic quasi-linear parabolic equation on $ {\mathbb{R}}^N $
Authors: Liu Guifen , Zhao Wenqiang
Published: August 2021

In this paper, we investigate a non-autonomous stochastic quasi-linear parabolic equation driven by multiplicative white noise by a Wong-Zakai approximation technique. The convergence of the solutions of quasi-linear parabolic equations driven by a family of processes with stationary increment to that of stochastic differential equation with white noise is obtained in the topology of $ L^2( {\mathbb{R}}^N) $ space. We establish the Wong-Zakai approximations of solutions in $ L^l( {\mathbb{R}}^N) $ for arbitrary $ l\geq q $ in the sense of upper semi-continuity of their random attractors, where $ q $ is the growth exponent of the nonlinearity. The $ L^l $-pre-compactness of attractors is proved by using the truncation estimate in $ L^q $ and the higher-order bound of solutions.
Semilinear pseudo-parabolic equations on manifolds with conical singularities
Authors: Wang Yitian , Liu Xiaoping , Chen Yuxuan
Published: August 2021

This paper studies the well-posedness of the semilinear pseudo-parabolic equations on manifolds with conical degeneration. By employing the Galerkin method and performing energy estimates, we first establish the local-in-time well-posedness of the solution. Moreover, to reveal the relationship between the initial datum and the global-in-time well-posedness of the solution we divide the initial datum into three classes by the potential well depth, i.e., the sub-critical initial energy level, the critical initial energy level and the sup-critical initial energy level (included in the arbitrary high initial energy case), and finally we give an affirmative answer to the question whether the solution exists globally or not. For the sub-critical and critical initial energy, thanks to the potential well theory, we not only obtain the invariant manifolds, global existence and asymptotic behavior of solutions, but also prove the finite time blow up of solutions and estimate the lower bound the of blowup time. For the sup-critical case, we show the assumptions for initial datum which cause the finite time blowup of the solution, realized by introducing a new auxiliary function. Additionally, we also provide some results concerning the estimates of the upper bound of the blowup time in the sup-critical initial energy.
On mathematical analysis of complex fluids in active hydrodynamics
Authors: Chen Yazhou , Wang Dehua , Zhang Rongfang
Published: August 2021

This is a survey article for this special issue providing a review of the recent results in the mathematical analysis of active hydrodynamics. Both the incompressible and compressible models are discussed for the active liquid crystals in the Landau-de Gennes Q-tensor framework. The mathematical results on the weak solutions, regularity, and weak-strong uniqueness are presented for the incompressible flows. The global existence of weak solution to the compressible flows is recalled. Other related results on the inhomogeneous flows, incompressible limits, and stochastic analysis are also reviewed.
Solving fuzzy volterra-fredholm integral equation by fuzzy artificial neural network
Authors: Abtahi Seiyed Hadi , Rahimi Hamidreza , Mosleh Maryam
Published: August 2021

The volterra-fredholm integral equation in all forms are arose from physics, biology and engineering problems which is derived from differential equation modelling. On the other hand, the trained programming algorithm by the fuzzy artificial neural networks has effective solution to find the best answer. In this article we try to estimate the equation and its answer by developed fuzzy artificial neural network to fuzzy volterra-fredholme integral. Our attempts would lead to benchmark other extended forms of this type of equation.
On multidimensional Urysohn type generalized sampling operators
Authors: Karsli Harun
Published: August 2021

The concern of this study is to construction of a multidimensional version of Urysohn type generalized sampling operators, whose one dimensional case defined and investigated by the author in [28] and [27]. In details, as a continuation of the studies of the author, the paper centers around to investigation of some approximation and asymptotic properties of the aforementioned linear multidimensional Urysohn type generalized sampling operators.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, Who's the Communicationally Competent One of All? and the Other Side of the Mirror
Authors: Belim Célia
Published: August 2021

This chapter focuses on health professional competence and consequent evaluation by patients who establish with them a therapeutic relationship. Based on a literature review and proposals of best practices to implement in health encounters, it is concluded that competent communication has to give attention to verbal and non-verbal dimensions and to the patient's expectations. Results reveal that the competences are empathy, respect, inclusion of the patient in choices and decisions, confirmation of understanding, use of plain language, and positivity. On the patients' side, some common expectations are associated with the humanization of relationships, such as the manifestation of patience by professionals to the patients' queries and the adoption of personalized communication. The communication lapses are more related to poor attitudes of health professionals, and the patients' expectations can vary depending on their sociodemographic attributes. Different communication styles of health professionals generate different evaluations and expectations of patients.
Inland and Island Tourism, Contrasting Geographies Touching Each Other
Authors: Silva Francisco António dos Santos
Published: August 2021

Despite being opposite geographic regions, inland territories and small islands have very much in common in terms of economic and social constraints. Based on the case study of the Azores archipelago, the limitations and opportunities for tourism development in the small oceanic islands are analysed. This study is supported by empirical research involving the application of questionnaires to the main tourism stakeholders in the archipelago. The results lead to the conclusion that in the case of the group of small temperate islands, tourism has progressively asserted itself as strategic for the local economy, but the application of a sustainable development model must be considered as these territories are generally highly vulnerable, both environmentally and socially.
Creative Tourism as Sustainable Initiative of a Coastal Destination
Authors: Altınay Ozdemir Meltem , Ergun Emre
Published: August 2021

The study examines tourist attractions and creative experiences of Fethiye, a coastal destination in Mugla, Turkey, based on theoretical overlaps in creative tourism. Creative tourism is suggested as an initiative for sustainability of local lifestyle, unique culture, and authenticity of Fethiye in this study. Therefore, the study was maintained with an exploratory and conceptual viewpoint. The results are presented as Fethiye's tourist attractions (13 categories) and creative experiences (six themes). The prominent creative experiences are specified as house wine, squeeze of olive, cheesemaking, mushroom (morel) picking, agriculture cultivation (local fruits and vegetables), Dastar weaving (geotagging product), carpet weaving (carpet of Kaya), wool spinning, local festivals, traditional bazaars, and soap making. Finally, a creative tour case was offered, and two creative tour routes were proposed in the appendix. The study revealed that creative tourism has importance for sustainability of authentic culture, responsible consumption, and economic development of the local community.
Information Retrieval in the Hidden Web
Authors: Ahmed Shakeel , Sharma Shubham , Yadav Saneh Lata
Published: August 2021

Information retrieval is finding material of unstructured nature within large collections stored on computers. Surface web consists of indexed content accessible by traditional browsers whereas deep or hidden web content cannot be found with traditional search engines and requires a password or network permissions. In deep web, dark web is also growing as new tools make it easier to navigate hidden content and accessible with special software like Tor. According to a study by Nature, Google indexes no more than 16% of the surface web and misses all of the deep web. Any given search turns up just 0.03% of information that exists online. So, the key part of the hidden web remains inaccessible to the users. This chapter deals with positing some questions about this research. Detailed definitions, analogies are explained, and the chapter discusses related work and puts forward all the advantages and limitations of the existing work proposed by researchers. The chapter identifies the need for a system that will process the surface and hidden web data and return integrated results to the users.
Biomedical Text Summarization Based on the Itemset Mining Approach
Authors: Gupta Supriya , Sharaff Aakanksha , Nagwani Naresh Kumar
Published: August 2021

The expanding amount of text-based biomedical information has prompted mining valuable or intriguing frequent patterns (words/terms) from extremely massive content, which is still a very challenging task. In the chapter, the authors have conceived a practical methodology for text mining dependent on the frequent item sets. This chapter presents a strategy utilizing item set mining graph-based summarization for summing up biomedical literature. They address the difficulties of recognizing important subjects or concepts in the given biomedical document text and display the relations between the strings by choosing the high pertinent lines from biomedical literature using apriori itemset mining algorithm. This method utilizes essential criteria to distinguish the significant concepts, events, for example, the fundamental subjects of the input record. These sentences are determined as exceptionally educational, applicable, and chosen to create the final summary.
A Proposed Solution for Identifying Online Fake Reviews in the Research Process
Authors: Briciu Victor-Alexandru , Roman Cristian-Laurențiu , Briciu Arabela
Published: August 2021

This chapter aims to present the issue of manipulation of online reviews, behind which there is always an interest, whether it is about increasing sales, promoting a product, degrading the image of a competing brand or product. Such reviews can influence the purchase decision or the sales of a company. Combining users' text with their behavior has yielded the best results in identifying fake reviews, and this remains probably the most effective method to date. The chapter proposes, as a novelty factor, a methodological solution before analyzing reviews through specialized software (e.g., SmartMunk, Revuze, Aspectiva, SentiGeek, etc.), a filter for identifying fake reviews by introducing them into a fake review application called Fakespot. Moreover, the idea that these false reviews can influence the purchase decision of customers in any field is emphasized, so it is very important that large companies develop programs or systems that detect them.
Sentiment, Stance, and Intent Detection in Turkish Tweets
Authors: Küçük Dilek
Published: August 2021

Sentiment analysis, stance detection, and intent detection on social media texts are all significant research problems with several application opportunities. In this chapter, the authors explore the possible contribution of sentiment and intent information to machine learning-based stance detection on tweets. They first annotate a Turkish tweet dataset with sentiment and proprietary intent labels, where the dataset was already annotated with stance labels. Next, they perform stance detection experiments on the dataset using sentiment and intent labels as additional features. The experiments with SVM classifiers show that using sentiment and intent labels as additional features improves stance detection performance considerably. The final form of the dataset is made publicly available for research purposes. The findings reveal the contribution of sentiment and intent information to the solution of stance detection task on the Turkish tweet dataset employed. Yet, further studies on other datasets are needed to confirm that our findings are generalizable to other languages and on other topics.
Word Embedding Techniques for Sentiment Analyzers
Authors: Rayala Upendar Rao , Seshadri Karthick
Published: August 2021

Sentiment analysis is perceived to be a multi-disciplinary research domain composed of machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, image processing, and social networks. Sentiment analysis can be used to determine opinions of the public about products and to find the customers' interest and their feedback through social networks. To perform any natural language processing task, the input text/comments should be represented in a numerical form. Word embeddings represent the given text/sentences/words as a vector that can be employed in performing subsequent natural language processing tasks. In this chapter, the authors discuss different techniques that can improve the performance of sentiment analysis using concepts and techniques like traditional word embeddings, sentiment embeddings, emoticons, lexicons, and neural networks. This chapter also traces the evolution of word embedding techniques with a chronological discussion of the recent research advancements in word embedding techniques.
Flipping the Script on the Language Teacher/Researcher
Authors: Scott Analee
Published: August 2021

Standard language ideologies, hierarchical language structures and resulting ethnic and racial inequalities have long been reinforced within and by means of the TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) field. These standards and structures echo the colonial history of forced language assimilation and indigenous erasure, a history that in many ways continues today. This chapter proposes language learning and ongoing reflection on the language learning process as a critical framework that English language teachers and researchers should adopt and apply to their work. When teachers and researchers take on the language learner identity inside and outside of classroom/research spaces, they equip themselves to dismantle rigid power structures in TESOL, transforming the colonizer narrative into one of decolonization, collaboration, and equity.
The Critical Language Reflection Tool
Authors: Miyake-Trapp Jennifer , Wong Kevin M.
Published: August 2021

Critical reflection is an integral part of the teaching and learning process that requires educators to reflect on their assumptions and practices to promote equity in their classrooms. While critical reflection practices and frameworks have been proposed in teacher education, a TESOL-specific tool that engages with the unique complexities of world Englishes has not been developed. The current chapter, thus, engages in critical praxis by providing an evidence-based, step-by-step reflection tool for TESOL educators to enact inquiry. The reflection tool is called the critical language reflection tool, which offers open-ended questions surrounding assumption analysis, contextual awareness, and reflection-based action. Moreover, it applies a critical lens to the TESOL international teaching standards to help TESOL educators and teacher educators foster critical consciousness in TESOL classroom contexts.
Mindfulness Through Mantram and Inspired Passage Meditation
Authors: Oman Doug , Bormann Jill E.
Published: August 2021

Mindfulness is sometimes misunderstood as solely a Buddhist or secular practice. This chapter offers a toolkit for enhanced sensitivity and flexibility toward patients and populations of diverse spiritual and religious orientations and backgrounds. It explains a set of eight interrelated practices known as Passage Meditation (PM), and a subset known as the Mantram Repetition Program (MRP), both derived from Indian-born spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran (1910-1999). These practices support mindfulness and can be pursued within any major religious tradition or outside all and facilitate drawing on spiritual resources within each tradition. Two empirical research programs based on these practices have generated more than 30 published research studies and seven randomized controlled trials. Each program has documented both enhanced mindfulness and a variety of improved mental health outcomes, often mediated by mindfulness gains. Guidance is provided for implementation, implications for diversity-related ethical obligations, and needed expansion of contemporary mindfulness toolkits.
Interpersonal Aspects of Mindfulness and Concentrative Meditations
Authors: Agrawal Jyotsna , Sahota Poonam Bir Kaur
Published: August 2021

The chapter discusses the interpersonal aspects of mindfulness and concentrative meditations in terms of the four Brahmavihara/bhavana, also known as four immeasureables. These are maitri/mettā (loving-kindness), muditā (empathetic, appreciative joy), karuṇā (compassion), and upeksha/upekkhā or samata (equanimity). This practice is considered pre-Buddhist (Hindu) and extra-Buddhist (Jain) in its origin, with references present in Vedas, Upanishads, Tantras, Bhagawad Gita, Yoga Vashistha, and Patanjali Yoga Sutras and further elaborated in Buddhism. This chapter will cover both conceptual and application dimension of the Brahmaviharas.
A Practical and Effective Solution to Earthquake (EQ) Catastrophe
Authors: Yilmazer Ozgur , Kirkayak Yazgan , Yilmazer Ilyas
Published: August 2021

About 50-year direct observation indicated that any civil structure founded in/on rock does not get damage from earthquakes without tsunami effect. The main reason behind this is that the modulus of elasticity of saturated rocks is a million times greater than that of saturated soil units. Furthermore, all saturated soil units are susceptible to liquefaction at varying degrees. Based on the past observations, none of the structures founded in/on rocky ground have been affected from the recent destructive earthquakes studied by the authors in/and abroad. The studied earthquake cases highlighted again that the civil structures in/on rocky grounds, even adjacent to the epicenter, have not been affected from shaking of destructive earthquakes. In Turkey, the land needed for housing is one-hundredth of the country. However, 57% is proper for housing. The remaining 43% consists mainly of forest, restricted zones, rugged terrains, and soil land, which bears essentially plains and very locally landslides. Thus, earthquake disasters could be alleviated by implementing practical land use planning.
Numerical Modeling of Near Fault Seismic Ground Motion for Denali Fault
Authors: Rajaram Chenna , Kumar Ramancharla Pradeep
Published: August 2021

An effective earthquake (Mw 7.9) struck Alaska on 3 November 2002. This earthquake ruptured 340 km along Susitna Glacier, Denali, and Totschunda faults in Central Alaska. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) was recorded about 0.32 g at station PS10, which was located 3 km from the fault rupture. The PGA would have recorded a high value if more instruments had been installed in the region. A numerical study has been conducted to find out the possible ground motion record that could occur at maximum horizontal slip during the Denali earthquake. The current study overcomes the limitation of number of elements to model the Denali fault. These numerical results are compared with observed ground motions. It is observed that the ground motions obtained through numerical analysis are in good agreement with observed ground motions. From numerical results, it is observed that the possible expected PGA is 0.62 g at maximum horizontal slip of Denali fault.
Ontological Approach to Holistic Healthcare Systems Simulation
Authors: Djitog Ignace , Kah Muhammadou M.O.
Published: August 2021

This article aims at developing a new ontology for healthcare systems (HS) simulation. The ontology includes various classes that represent major components of HS simulation and their relationships as an integrated whole. It is formally expressed using system entity structure language with links to basic models developed in various formalisms and stored in a model base repository. Entities are mapped into web ontology language (OWL) classes and can be visualized in Protégée and queried with SPARQL. Classes are built based on agreed-upon concepts in HS simulation domain and serve to document and formalize knowledge while providing notable benefits such as common representation of healthcare models from different simulation platforms, model reuse, querying simulation models, and browsing. The paper also presents an illustrative case study to showcase the use of the ontology while capturing successfully within its scope an outbreak of cholera disease and its mitigation plan.
Cockroach Swarm Optimization Algorithm for High Utility Association Rule Mining
Authors: Abarajithan Sivamathi , Mohan S. Vijayarani
Published: August 2021

Association rule mining is an important and widely used data mining technique. It is used to retrieve highly related objects in a database based on the occurrence. Recently, utility-based association rules were proposed to consider significant factors of the object. The main objective of this research work is to retrieve high utility association rules from a database using cockroach swarm optimization algorithm. So far, in the literature, no optimization algorithm was proposed in utility-based association rule mining. In this research work, CSOUAR (cockroach swarm optimization for high utility association rule mining) algorithm was proposed to generate utility association rules. CSOUAR algorithm is based on three behaviours of cockroach: chase-swarming, dispersing, and ruthless. To analyse the performance of CSOUAR, an improved particle swarm optimization (PSO-UAR), animal migration optimization (AMO-UAR), bees swarm optimisation (BSO-UAR), and penguins search optimisation (peSO-UAR) are also proposed in this work.
A Self-Adaptive Hybrid Bat Algorithm for Training Feedforward Neural Networks
Authors: Bousmaha Rabab , Hamou Reda Mohamed , Amine Abdelmalek
Published: August 2021

Training feedforward neural network (FFNN) is a complex task in the supervised learning field. An FFNN trainer aims to find the best set of weights that minimizes classification error. This paper presents a new training method based on hybrid bat optimization with self-adaptive differential evolution to train the feedforward neural networks. The hybrid training algorithm combines bat and the self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm called BAT-SDE. BAT-SDE is used to better search in the solution space, which proves its effectiveness in large space solutions. The performance of the proposed approach was compared with eight evolutionary techniques and the standard momentum backpropagation and adaptive learning rate. The comparison was benchmarked and evaluated using seven bio-medical datasets and one large credit card fraud detection dataset. The results of the comparative study show that BAT-SDE outperformed other training methods in most datasets and can be an alternative to other training methods.
Model Selecting PSO-FA Hybrid for Complex Function Optimization
Authors: Xiao Heng , Hatanaka Toshiharu
Published: August 2021

Swarm intelligence is inspired by natural group behavior. It is one of the promising metaheuristics for black-box function optimization. Then plenty of swarm intelligence algorithms such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) and firefly algorithm (FA) have been developed. Since these swarm intelligence models have some common properties and inherent characteristics, model hybridization is expected to adjust a swarm intelligence model for the target problem instead of parameter tuning that needs some trial and error approach. This paper proposes a PSO-FA hybrid algorithm with a model selection strategy. An event-driven trigger based on the personal best update makes each individual do the model selection that focuses on the personal study process. By testing the proposed hybrid algorithm on some benchmark problems and comparing it with a simple PSO, the standard PSO 2011, FA, HFPSO to show how the proposed hybrid swarm averagely performs well in black-box optimization problems.
Need for a Consensus Global Public Health Suicide Prevention Program and Analytics
Authors: Webster Lee S.
Published: August 2021

Domestic and global suicide prevention and remediation efforts are public health matters that would be managed more effectively, with improved outcomes, if done through health systems using interoperable practices and sharing comparable metrics. This position paper explores the need for a consensus global public health suicide prevent program and analytics.
Report From a Virtual Care Task Force
Authors: Folcarelli Patricia H.
Published: August 2021

While telehealth has been available for decades, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented demand arose for the remote delivery of safe and reliable assessments and treatment recommendations via computers, smart phones, and tablets. Institutions and individual providers needed to accelerate their adoption of virtual care. This ability to provide remote evaluations has helped to protect patients and providers at this time when physical distancing is a priority. This rapid shift to telemedicine has also meant that many providers, with limited experience or training in the virtual delivery of care, were required to adapt to new and unfamiliar technologies as part of their daily practice of medicine. Institutions and individuals have recognized that this sudden and unexpected expansion of virtual care had the potential to increase patient safety risks. Given that telemedicine will remain a mainstay after the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be important to focus on quality and safety issues that are likely to arise but as yet remain to be appreciated. This chapter explores patient safety guidance.
Accreditation Before, During, and After COVID
Authors: Ziemba Elizabeth
Published: August 2021

Nationally and/or internationally accredited hospitals, in general, had standards in place to address the challenges presented by COVID-19 including infection control and prevention, clinical outcomes, quality of care, patient safety, risk management, and patient satisfaction. The pandemic presents healthcare providers with enormous challenges, some of which were or could have been ameliorated by accreditation standards. Responding to the pandemic and extracting lessons learned will impact the delivery of healthcare services in the future. Healthcare systems and providers have six distinct opportunities to shape a better future: faster learning, the value of standards, protecting the workforce, virtual care, preparedness for threats, and addressing inequity. Accreditation organizations will continue to contribute to improving quality of care during and post-pandemic by providing standards to improve access to and the delivery of healthcare services in the future.
The use of affixation in academic English: A lexical explanation on affixation, root and meaning
Authors: Abeyweera G. H.
Published: August 2021

This research paper attempts to provide a detailed lexical explanation on ‘the use of affixation in academic English in the context of word formation. The use of affixation in words may lead to word formation contributing to sentence construction while sentence construction leading into paragraph creations. The research further illustrates how meaning of the words/ lexis is changed with affixation together with the functional change with affixations when words are combined into sentences. The analysis is mainly focused on affixations linked to word and thereby changing the meaning of lexis used in the context of sentence constructions. Data required for the research is taken mainly from the documents search in relation to language study and such other materials in the study of affixations. The methodology used in this research is document checklists methods for gathering sufficient data. The interpretation of the use of affixation shall facilitate the students, practitioners and future researchers in comprehending the use of affixation in producing creative, innovative and meaningful texts in all types of writings particularly in academic writing.
JPX and LINC00641 ncRNAs expression in prostate tissue
Authors: Sajjadi Roshanak S. , Modarressi Mohammad Hossein , Tabatabaiefar Mohammad Amin
Published: August 2021

Background and purpose:

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most prevalent cancer in men. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the main biomarker for screening PC. An increase in PSA could lead to false-positive results. Thus, more appropriate markers should be investigated. In the present study, JPX and LINC00641 expression levels were measured in tumoral prostate tissue compared with the non-tumor tissue.

Experimental approach:

43 pairs of prostate tumoral and non-tumor tissue were prepared. The expression levels of JPX and LINC00641 were investigated by RT-qPCR.

Findings/Results:

Significant upregulation of LINC00641 (2.47 ± 0.5 vs 1.41 ± 0.2) and downregulation of JPX (1.42 ± 0.6 vs 2.83 ± 1.0) were observed in PC tissues compared with the normal tissues (their adjacent non-tumoral tissues).

Conclusion and implications:

Dysregulation of JPX and LINC00641 in PC patients could be used in the future as a prognostic biomarker in PC.
Gargle lavage & saliva
Authors: Gupta Ankesh , Mittal Ankit , Dhakad Shivram , Brijwal Megha , Soneja Manish , Srigyan Deepankar , Xess Ashit , Kumar Arvind , Ray Animesh , Meena Ved Prakash , Garg Rohit Kumar , Singh Komal , Desai Devashish , Chowdhury Mohit , Chowdhury Souradeep , Sharma Kunal , Narayan Ananthu , Krishnan G. Rahul , Naik Shivdas , Dar Lalit , Pandey Ravindra Mohan , Pandey Shivam , Sinha Sanjeev , Wig Naveet
Published: August 2021

Background & objectives:

In the present scenario, the most common sample for diagnosis of COVID-19 by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is nasal and throat swab (NTS). Other sampling options such as gargle lavage have found limited application in clinical use mostly because of unavailability of an appropriate gargling liquid. This study was conducted to assess the stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in normal saline at 4°C that can serve as a gargling liquid as well as a transport medium. The study also looked at the agreement between NTS and gargle lavage/saliva for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Methods:

In 29 consecutive real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) positive COVID-19 patients, paired NTS, gargle and saliva samples were taken. Samples were processed by rRT-PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. To assess the SARS-CoV-2 RNA stability in normal saline, gargle lavage specimens were divided into two aliquots; one subset of the specimen was run within 4-6 h along with the routine samples (NTS and saliva) and the other subset was stored at 4°C and processed after 24-30 h. Agreement between cycle threshold (Ct) values from both the runs was compared using Bland–Altman (BA) analysis.

Results:

The positivity rates of rRT-PCR in NTS, saliva and gargle lavage samples were 82.7 (24/29), 79.3 (23/29) and 86.2 per cent (25/29), respectively. BA plot showed a good agreement between the Ct values of fresh and stored gargle samples, stipulating that there were no significant differences in the approximate viral load levels between the fresh and stored gargle lavage samples (bias: E gene −0.64, N gene −0.51, ORF gene −0.19).

Interpretation & conclusions:

Our study results show stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the gargle samples collected using normal saline up to 24-30 h. Gargle lavage and saliva specimen collection are cost-effective and acceptable methods of sampling for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by rRT-PCR. These simplified, inexpensive and acceptable methods of specimen collection would reduce the cost and workload on healthcare workers for sample collection.
Strategic Management of Adult Wilms' Tumor
Authors: Chen Bo-Han , Wu Sheng-Tang , Yang Ming-Hsin , Cha Tai-Lung , Tsao Chih-Wei , Meng En , Yu Dah-Shyong , Sun Guang-Huan , Kao Chien-Chang
Published: August 2021

Background:

Wilms' tumor (nephroblastoma) is the most common solid primary renal malignancy in children but extremely rare in adult population. We report the clinical presentation and therapeutic results of our adult Wilms' tumor patients and review the previous literatures about diagnosis and treatments.

Methods:

A retrospective review was carried out to investigate the patients with adult Wilms' tumor at the Tri-Service General Hospital during a 35-year period (1980–2014). Seven patients ≥16 years old (one female and six males; median age at the time of diagnosis of 24 years; range: 21–48 years) were staged according to the National Wilms' Tumor Study staging system as follows: three patients had Stage II disease, two patients had Stage III disease, and two patients had Stage IV disease. All statistical values were represented as mean ± standard deviation. All tests were two-sided, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. All statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS software (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).

Results:

The most common clinical presentation is flank pain (57%) followed by palpable mass (43%). Only one patient presented with gross hematuria. Four patients underwent renal arteriography, which all disclosed irregular, tortuous vessel pattern with faint tumor stain. All patients underwent radical nephrectomy (one – hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy and six – open transperitoneal nephrectomy). Two patients developed lung metastases after radical surgery. Six patients received multimodal therapy, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. The mean disease-free survival is 81 months. The 3- and 5-year survival rates are 83% and 71% separately.

Conclusions:

Selective renal arteriography could provide a valuable diagnostic hint in adult Wilms' tumor. Using multimodality therapy, improved prognosis could be achieved.
Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions in a Tertiary Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2018
Authors: Chen Yi-Hsien , Hung Tzu-Ling , Chen Hsiang-Cheng , Shih Jui-Hu , Chiao Yu-Ju , Lin Li-Ching , Hung Chih-Tsung
Published: August 2021

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADRs) are the common adverse reactions ranging from mild self-limiting skin rash to the life-threatening severe cutaneous adverse reactions.

Aims:

The aim of the study was to describe the demographic characteristics of patients, different clinical patterns, and implicated drugs.

Methods:

This was a retrospective study by analyzing the database established for all ADRs reported from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2018, in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

Results:

A total of 126 cases of CADRs were reported in 2018. The mean age of patients was 59.06 ± 21.63 years, with a peaking at 60–79-year-old (31.7%) and followed by 40–59-year-old (25.4%). The male-to-female ratio was 1.03:1. The most common skin reaction pattern was maculopapular eruptions (59.5%), followed by angioedema (11.9%), phlebitis (6.3%), and urticaria (6.3%). Most of the CADRs were reported with antibacterials (66.7%), followed by anti-inflammatory products (11.9%), contrast media (4.8%), and antithrombotic agents (3.2%).

Conclusions:

We listed the patient characteristics, each pattern of CADRs, and their associated drugs. Such information could help health-care professionals to assess CADRs and evaluate suspected drugs timely and accurately.
Reversible Splenial Lesion Syndrome in Hyponatremia
Authors: Onder Halil , Sade Demet
Published: August 2021

Reversible splenial lesion syndrome (RESLES) is rare findings that are described in various etiological conditions. A few recent reports suggested hyponatremia as a potential etiological agent of RESLES. In this report, we illustrate a 46-year-old-male with RESLES who manifested with impairment of consciousness and recovered rapidly after normalization of hyponatremia. We discuss hyponatremia as a factor which might be playing a role either as a primary agent or a contributory one in this manifestation. Besides, we also discuss the possible significance of the other clinical factors including concurrent sinusitis and medication usage in association with RESLES. We think that the detailed illustration of this case may present substantial perspectives regarding the unknown aspects of the pathophysiology of RESLES. The clinical impact and underlying pathogenesis of this entity are warranted to be clarified in future large-scale studies.
Peripheral Complex Odontoma
Authors: Atarbashi-Moghadam Saede , Lotfi Ali , Atarbashi-Moghadam Fazele , Shabanipoor Mohamadsajad , Mokhtari Sepideh
Published: August 2021

Peripheral odontogenic neoplasms have similarities with other peripheral tumoral and nontumoral lesions. It is difficult to obtain proper diagnosis clinically and it is mostly based on the histopathologic features. Moreover, differential diagnosis of oral lesions differs between children and adults, and as a result, reports of such cases help better diagnose the lesions in this age group. Peripheral odontoma (PO), unlike central types, is uncommon. However, they have the same features as their intraosseous counterparts histopathologically. Here, we report the case of PO in a pediatric patient which was present from his infancy.
The Deterioration of Radiation Proctitis after a Course of Acute Urine Retention Successfully Treated by Argon Plasma Coagulation
Authors: Hsu Fang-Chin , Hu Sheng-I , Cheng Yi-Chiao , Wen Chia-Cheng
Published: August 2021

Argon plasma coagulation (APC), a nontouch thermoablative therapy, is increasingly recommended as the treatment of choice for radiation proctitis. This paper described a case of recurrent hemorrhagic radiation proctitis after hyperbaric oxygen therapy that deteriorated after a course of acute urine retention successfully treated with APC.
Diagnostic Utility of Procalcitonin in Scrub Typhus
Authors: Chen Guan-Liang , Liu Wei-Ting , Yu Tsung-Ying , Lin Gen-Min , Dai Yang-Hong , Lai Shiue-Wei
Published: August 2021

Background:

Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are two common and practical biomarkers for various diseases. However, their roles in scrub typhus (ST) have not been extensively investigated.

Aim:

In this study, we compared the effectiveness of PCT and CRP levels and the PCT/CRP ratio and evaluated their predictive performance in the diagnosis of ST.

Methods:

Patients with acute febrile illness and suspected ST infection treated at our hospital between January 2015 and December 2016 were retrospectively evaluated. An indirect immunofluorescent assay was used to confirm the presence of ST. Documented information included initial clinical images and laboratory data including PCT or CRP. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis with area under curve (AUC) identified the optimal PCT, CRP, and PCT/CRP ratio cutoff values for the diagnosis of ST.

Results:

Among 189 patients with acute febrile illness, 153 (89.9%) tested positive for ST. CRP and PCT level data were available in 168 (88.8%) and 42 (22.2%) patients, respectively. Thirty patients (15.9%) underwent both CRP and PCT tests. ST-positive samples contained significantly higher levels of PCT (P < 0.001) and CRP (P = 0.015) than those of the 36 non-ST samples. No difference was observed in the PCT/CRP ratio (P = 0.477). The optimal cutoff values were 0.27 ng/mL, 1.65 mg/dL and 0.036 for PCT and CRP levels and PCT/CRP ratio, respectively. PCT level showed the best diagnostic performance (sensitivity = 89.3%; specificity = 92.3%; AUC = 0.894; 95% confidence interval [CI] =0.753–0.925). Combining PCT and CRP levels based on the respective optimal cutoff points further improved the performance of ST diagnosis (AUC = 0.906, 95% CI = 0.894–0.923), with 89.5% sensitivity and 91.7% specificity. PCT level was positively correlated with liver enzyme levels, and acute hepatitis could be identified with high specificity (100%) using a cutoff PCT threshold of 0.36 ng/mL.

Conclusion:

PCT is useful in ST diagnosis, and pending conformation in future studies may reflect hepatic dysfunction at initial presentation.