bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of soil organic carbon stability and its response to no‐till: A global synthesis and perspective
Authors: Kan Zheng‐Rong , Liu Wen‐Xuan , Liu Wen‐Sheng , Lal Rattan , Dang Yash Pal , Zhao Xin , Zhang Hai‐Lin
Published: November 2021

Mechanisms of soil organic carbon (SOC) stabilization have been widely studied due to their relevance in the global carbon cycle. No‐till (NT) has been frequently adopted to sequester SOC; however, limited information is available regarding whether sequestered SOC will be stabilized for long term. Thus, we reviewed the mechanisms affecting SOC stability in NT systems, including the priming effects (PE), molecular structure of SOC, aggregate protection, association with soil minerals, microbial properties, and environmental effects. Although a more steady‐state molecular structure of SOC is observed in NT compared with conventional tillage (CT), SOC stability may depend more on physical and chemical protection. On average, NT improves macro‐aggregation by 32.7%, and lowers SOC mineralization in macro‐aggregates compared with CT. Chemical protection is also important due to the direct adsorption of organic molecules and the enhancement of aggregation by soil minerals. Higher microbial activity in NT could also produce binding agents to promote aggregation and the formation of metal‐oxidant organic complexes. Thus, microbial residues could be stabilized in soils over the long term through their attachment to mineral surfaces and entrapment of aggregates under NT. On average, NT reduces SOC mineralization by 18.8% and PE intensities after fresh carbon inputs by 21.0% compared with CT (p < .05). Although higher temperature sensitivity (Q10) is observed in NT due to greater Q10 in macro‐aggregates, an increase of soil moisture regime in NT could potentially constrain the improvement of Q10. This review improves process‐based understanding of the physical and chemical mechanism of protection that can act, independently or interactively, to enhance SOC preservation. It is concluded that SOC sequestered in NT systems is likely to be stabilized over the long term.
Depth‐dependent drivers of soil microbial necromass carbon across Tibetan alpine grasslands
Authors: He Mei , Fang Kai , Chen Leiyi , Feng Xuehui , Qin Shuqi , Kou Dan , He Hongbo , Liang Chao , Yang Yuanhe
Published: November 2021

Microbial necromass carbon (C) has been considered an important contributor to persistent soil C pool. However, there still lacks large‐scale systematic observations on microbial necromass C in different soil layers, particularly for alpine ecosystems. Besides, it is still unclear whether the relative importance of biotic and abiotic variables such as plant C input and mineral properties in regulating microbial necromass C would change with soil depth. Based on the combination of large‐scale sampling along a ~2200 km transect across Tibetan alpine grasslands and biomarker analysis, together with a global data synthesis across grassland ecosystems, we observed a relatively low proportion of microbial‐derived C in Tibetan alpine grasslands compared to global grasslands (topsoil: 45.4% vs. 58.1%; subsoil: 41.7% vs. 53.7%). We also found that major determinants of microbial necromass C depended on soil depth. In topsoil, both plant C input and mineral protection exerted dominant effects on microbial necromass C. However, in subsoil, the physico‐chemical protection provided by soil clay particles, iron‐aluminum oxides, and exchangeable calcium dominantly facilitated the preservation of microbial necromass C. The differential drivers over microbial necromass C between soil depths should be considered in Earth system models for accurately forecasting soil C dynamics and its potential feedback to global warming.
Dominant outflow vein occlusion in the management of naturally occurring peripheral arteriovenous anomalies in cats and dogs
Authors: Hyndman Philip S. , Weisse Chick , Schwartz Pamela , Rosen Robert J.
Published: November 2021

Two dogs and 1 cat were referred to a tertiary veterinary center for the consultation and treatment of limb edema, variable dermal sanguineous crusting lesions, and intermittent lameness. A peripheral arteriovenous anomaly (PAA) was diagnosed via computed tomographic angiography (CTA) in each case. Arteriography enabled further evaluation of the PAA with confirmation of a dominant outflow vein. Dominant outflow vein occlusion was achieved by direct ligation in 1 dog and retrograde transvenous glue embolization in the cat and other dog. Repeat arteriography demonstrated resolution of arteriovenous shunting. Presenting clinical signs resolved in all animals. The previously identified aberrant vessels in 1 dog were not identified after CTA 40 days postoperatively. No postoperative complications or recurrence was identified in any case during the 6‐ to 55‐month follow‐up period.
Multilocus sequence typing of strains from the Cryptococcus gattii species complex from different continents
Authors: Bellet Virginie , Roger Frédéric , Krasteva Donika , Gouveia Tiphany , Drakulovski Pascal , Pottier Cyril , Bertout Sébastien
Published: November 2021

Background

Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species complexes are pathogens causing cryptococcal meningitis, a fungal infection that leads to death unless treated. Worldwide, it is estimated to kill over 180,000 individuals annually.

Objectives

We aim to investigate the molecular diversity of C. gattii isolates from strains isolated from 1995 to the present day from different continents.

Method

In this study, we analysed the molecular diversity by MLST and antifungal susceptibility by using the broth microdilution method according to the CLSI M27‐A4 protocol of a total of 26 strains from Cryptococcus gattii species complex from both clinical and environmental sources.

Results

Genotyping showed that most of the strains (17/26; 65.4%) belonged to serotype B and were distributed between three genotypes: VGI (13/17; 76.5%), VGII (3/17; 17.6%) and VGVI (1/17; 5.9%). The serotype C strains (9/26; 34.6%) were distributed between the VGIII (1/9; 11.1%) and VGIV (8/9; 88.9%) genotypes. The 26 strains belonged to 17 different MLST subtypes, and we highlight four new MLST genotypes (ST553, 554, 555 and 556). The two environmental strains were identified as serotype B and genotype VGI, but were of ST 51 and 154. All isolates have wild‐type MIC of fluconazole and flucytosine. Regarding amphotericin B, five VGI strains showed MICs to AMB equal to 1 µg/ml, and according to the ECV for these genotypes, they were considered non‐wild‐type strains.

Conclusions

The current study reveals the genetic diversity and new sequence types among strains from the C. gattii complex species.
Non‐surgical management of oro‐antral communication using platelet‐rich fibrin: A review of the literature
Authors: Sabri Hamoun , Sarkarat Farzin , Mortezagholi Bardia , Aghajani Dorsa
Published: November 2021

Oro‐antral communication (OAC) is an opening between the maxillary sinus and the oral cavity, which can provide a pathway to cause an infection of the maxillary sinus. Although surgical techniques propose many advantages, several drawbacks have been reported in the previous studies. Bioactive modifiers such as platelet‐rich fibrin (PRF) are widely being used in oral surgery. Various studies have been conducted for closure of OACs using PRF. Due to the heterogeneity of the techniques found, we opted for a literature review to highlight the variety of techniques discussed in the literature. A comprehensive search of the PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane databases was performed for published articles between 2014 and 2021. Keywords for OAC management and repair and inclusion criteria were used to screen articles for final review. Out of 195 articles found, 12 articles were included to the study. Eight studies performed simple direct application of PRF clots, 2 studies used PRF in combination with collagen membrane and in 2 studies the treatment plan was to use buccal advancement flap reinforced by PRF. There were several variations among approaches to the closure of OAC using PRF in terms of treatment planning, pre‐ and post‐operative medication and preparation of PRF. Despite the mentioned variations, review of recent studies showed that all of the cases experienced full epithelialisation of OAC. This technique, without manipulation of any additional flaps and auto‐grafts, has several advantages. However, further research, both experimental and clinical, is necessary to unravel the success rate of using PRF in the management of OACs.
Ichthyosiform changes in a patient with RAC1 mutation
Authors: Haugh Isabel Mary , Pineider Juliana L , Agim Nnenna Gebechi
Published: November 2021

RAS‐related C3 Botulinum Toxin Substrate 1 (RAC1) is a Rho GTPase that modulates numerous cellular functions including transcriptional regulation and actin‐based structure turnover. Reported de novo RAC1 mutations are rare but generally manifest in developmental delay and brain malformations. In Rac1 knockout mice, a hairless phenotype has been observed, but little is known of other cutaneous phenotypes of RAC1 mutations. In this report, we describe the first known case of a RAC1 mutation with ichthyosiform changes.
Expanding the palette of pediatric playthings: A call to action for pediatric dermatologists
Authors: Lee Michelle S. , Linggonegoro Danny W. , Huang Jennifer T. , Nambudiri Vinod E.
Published: November 2021

Children recognize race and skin color from a young age. Given the important role of play in the development of children's understanding of social norms and cultural values, it is essential to incorporate toys and other educational materials with diverse skin tones to teach children about race and skin color. Analyses of children's books and toys have shown a lack of diversity in representation of races and skin types. Pediatric dermatologists are uniquely positioned to foster conversations about skin tone and advocating for more diverse materials in classrooms and clinics. In this manuscript, we discuss best practices and resources for facilitating discussions on skin tone with children in the dermatology clinic.
Measurement of echo reduction for passive-material samples using sparse Bayesian learning and least squares estimation
Authors: Ma Xiaochen , Li Jianlong , Huang Yongqiang , Hu Yu'an
Published: November 2021

Echo reduction (ER) for passive materials is important for the evaluation of sound absorption performance. In a limited space, due to the strong interference of multipath signals, it is difficult to separate and extract the directed and reflected signals of the sample from the measured signal to accurately calculate the ER, especially at low frequencies. A method combining sparse Bayesian learning (SBL) and the least squares estimation (LSE) is proposed to extract the directed and normal reflected signals of the sample from the received signal. First, owing to the high resolution of SBL in time delays estimation, the set of multipath time delays is estimated. Then, the LSE is utilized to evaluate the amplitudes of multipath signals with estimated time delays as a priori information. With combination processing, the resolution of time delay estimation is enhanced, the dimension of the LSE is reduced, and the accuracy of the amplitude estimation for the directed and normal reflected signals, as well as the ER evaluation, is improved. The proposed method is validated through simulations and experiments in a cylindrical tank.
Examining the Influence of Impairment Type on the Development of Paralympic Sport Athletes
Authors: Dehghansai Nima , Allan Veronica , Pinder Ross A. , Baker Joe
Published: November 2021

Research has recently examined the role of impairment onset on athlete development in Paralympic sport; however, less is known on how impairment type can impact athlete sporting pathways. In this study, 187 Australian and Canadian Paralympic sport athletes completed a survey. Participants were divided into the following four groups: impaired muscle power (n = 79); ataxia, athetosis, and hypertonia (n = 44); limb deficiencies (n = 42); and other physical impairments (n = 22). Mechanisms of initiation into Paralympic sport varied between groups with some drawn to sport through friends and/or family (i.e., limb deficiencies and other physical impairments groups) while others through talent search programs (i.e., ataxia, athetosis, and hypertonia group) or health care professionals/rehabilitation centers (i.e., impaired muscle power group). Results revealed no significant differences between groups in the chronological age or absolute years for achieving milestones. However, considering the high variability within the sample, more research is necessary to better understand how athletes with different physical impairments navigate through their sporting careers.
Surfactin Stimulated by Pectin Molecular Patterns and Root Exudates Acts as a Key Driver of the
Bacillus
-Plant Mutualistic Interaction
Authors: Hoff Grégory , Arguelles Arias Anthony , Boubsi Farah , Pršić Jelena , Meyer Thibault , Ibrahim Heba M. M. , Steels Sébastien , Luzuriaga Patricio , Legras Aurélien , Franzil Laurent , Lequart-Pillon Michelle , Rayon Catherine , Osorio Victoria , de Pauw Edwin , Lara Yannick , Deboever Estelle , de Coninck Barbara , Jacques Philippe , Deleu Magali , Petit Emmanuel , Van Wuytswinkel Olivier , Ongena Marc
Published: November 2021

Within the plant-associated microbiome, some bacterial species are of particular interest due to the disease protective effect they provide via direct pathogen suppression and/or stimulation of host immunity. While these biocontrol mechanisms are quite well characterized, we still poorly understand the molecular basis of the cross talk these beneficial bacteria initiate with their host.
High-Throughput Mutagenesis and Cross-Complementation Experiments Reveal Substrate Preference and Critical Residues of the Capsule Transporters in
Streptococcus pneumoniae
Authors: Chua Wan-Zhen , Maiwald Matthias , Chew Kean Lee , Lin Raymond Tzer-Pin , Zheng Sanduo , Sham Lok-To
Published: November 2021

All licensed pneumococcal vaccines target the capsular polysaccharide (CPS). This layer is highly variable and is important for virulence in many bacterial pathogens.
Inositol Metabolism Regulates Capsule Structure and Virulence in the Human Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Wang Yina , Wear Maggie , Kohli Gurkirat , Vij Raghav , Giamberardino Charles , Shah Arpun , Toffaletti Dena L. , Yu Chen-Hsin A. , Perfect John R. , Casadevall Arturo , Xue Chaoyang
Published: November 2021

The human pathogen
Cryptococcus neoformans
is the leading cause of fungal meningitis in primarily immunocompromised populations. Understanding how this environmental organism adapts to the human host to cause deadly infection will guide our development of novel disease control strategies.
Alterations in Gut Microbiome Composition and Function in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Increased Probiotic Abundance with Daily Supplementation
Authors: Phan Joann , Nair Divya , Jain Suneer , Montagne Thibaut , Flores Demi Valeria , Nguyen Andre , Dietsche Summer , Gombar Saurabh , Cotter Philip
Published: November 2021

An estimated 35 million people in the United States and 11.5% of the population globally are affected by IBS. Immunity, genetics, environment, diet, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and the gut microbiome are all factors that contribute to the onset or triggers of IBS.
Supplemental Material: Late Cretaceous upper-crustal thermal structure of the Sevier hinterland: Implications for the geodynamics of the Nevadaplano
Authors: Blackford N.R. , al. et
Published: November 2021

Item S2. Includes Matlab peak fitting program file. See text footnote 1 for detailed instructions.
Supplemental Material: Numerical models of Farallon plate subduction: Creating and removing a flat slab
Authors: Currie Claire A. , Copeland Peter
Published: November 2021

Animations 1, 2, and 3.
Supplemental Material: Kinematics and structural evolution of the Anziling dome-and-keel architecture in east China: Evidence of Neoarchean vertical tectonism in the North China Craton
Authors: Zhao Chen , Zhang Jian , al. et
Published: November 2021

Table S1: U-Pb data of zircons for the samples from the Anziling area.
Sustained viral suppression with dolutegravir monotherapy in a treatment-experienced adult with perinatally acquired HIV
Authors: Koay Wei Li Adeline , Sadler Eleanor D , Ferrer Kathleen , Rakhmanina Natella Y
Published: November 2021

We report a case of sustained viral suppression with dolutegravir monotherapy in a treatment-experienced adult with perinatally acquired HIV. The patient had recurrent pancreatitis with multiple antiretroviral drugs, leading to discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy for several years. She was ultimately initiated on dolutegravir monotherapy two times per day via a gastrostomy tube. She did not develop any integrase strand transfer inhibitor mutations during the first 2 years on dolutegravir monotherapy. The patient has successfully maintained prolonged viral suppression for over 3 years with intermittent blips secondary only to intermittent medical issues. This case is unique in describing a highly treatment-experienced young adult with perinatal HIV infection who has been virally suppressed on dolutegravir monotherapy for a prolonged follow-up of 156 weeks.
Great imitator: an unusual presentation of osteoarticular tuberculosis of the knee with gram-negative bacterial arthritis
Authors: Remalante-Rayco Patricia Pauline , Dumlao Patricio III Espinoza , Santiago Angeline-Therese
Published: November 2021

A 33-year-old man presented with a 2-year history of right knee swelling with fungating masses and white-yellow discharge. Severe pain, limited movement and signs of sepsis were absent. Debridement, partial synovectomy and arthrotomy were done for the multiple sinuses that developed over the knee. Synovial tissue analysis yielded a positive acid-fast bacillus smear andMycobacterium tuberculosisPCR test, while aerobic culture studies grewPseudomonas aeruginosaandAcinetobacter baumannii. Chronic granulomatous inflammation was seen on histopathology. Alongside antibiotic therapy, multiple debridements of the right knee were required to eradicate the infection and allow wound repair. A flap coverage with split-thickness skin graft was performed after the bacterial infection resolved, and the patient was discharged ambulatory with minimal pain. Such atypical presentations of monarthritis require immediate workup and a prompt referral to a multidisciplinary team to establish the diagnosis and initiate appropriate management before irreversible joint destruction and disability ensues.
iColon, a patient-focused mobile application for perioperative care in colorectal surgery: an observational, real-world study protocol
Authors: Bertocchi Elisa , Barugola Giuliano , Gentile Irene , Zuppini Teresa , Zamperini Massimo , Guerriero Massimo , Avesani Renato , Bonadiman Silvia , Anselmi Chiara , Ruffo Giacomo
Published: November 2021

Introduction

The enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol provides optimised care guidelines for patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. To ensure high compliance with active ERAS elements, patients must be educated to actively participate in the perioperative care pathway. Mobile health is a rapidly expanding area of the digital health sector that is effective in educating and engaging patients during follow-up. iColon is a mobile application designed by the Operative Unit of General Surgery of IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital of Negrar of Valpolicella, which is specifically targeted at patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery. iColon is organised into ERAS phases, and it provides real-time feedback to surgeons about a patient’s adherence to perioperative active ERAS elements.

Methods and analysis

We hypothesise that by providing a patient-focused mobile application, compliance with active ERAS elements could be improved.

The first coprimary objective is to build patient confidence in using the mobile application, iColon, during perioperative care. The second coprimary objective is to establish patient compliance with active ERAS elements.

Secondary objectives include examining: length of stay, 30-day readmission rate, postoperative complications and patient satisfaction of received care.

This study is a prospective observational real-world study of patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery who are following the ERAS protocol and using iColon during perioperative periods between September 2020 and December 2022.

By educating and engaging patients in the ERAS protocol, the mobile application, iColon, should stimulate patients to be more proactive in managing their healthcare by complying more closely with active ERAS elements.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has been approved by the local Ethics Committee with the protocol number 29219 of 25 May 2020. The results will be actively disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and various community engagement activities.
Systematic review and meta-analyses on associations of endogenous testosterone concentration with health outcomes in community-dwelling men
Authors: Marriott Ross James , Harse Janis , Murray Kevin , Yeap Bu Beng
Published: November 2021

Objectives

The overall study aim is to clarify the relation of endogenous sex hormones with major health outcomes in men. This paper reports a systematic review focusing on published estimates for testosterone associations.

Setting

Community-dwelling men.

Participants

20 180 adult men participated in the final set of studies identified and selected from a systematic review. Eligible studies included prospective cohort studies with plasma or serum testosterone concentrations measured for adult men using mass spectrometry with at least 5 years of follow-up data and one of the specified outcome measures recorded. Only published or grey literature items written in English were considered.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Planned prospective outcome measures: cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, CVD deaths, all-cause mortality, cancer deaths, cancer diagnoses, cognitive decline, dementia. Meta-analyses were of the most frequently reported outcomes in selected studies: CVD deaths and all-cause mortality. Succinct characterisations of testosterone associations with other outcomes are also presented.

Results

Screening of 1994 deduplicated items identified 9 suitable studies, with an additional 2 identified by colleagues (11 in total). Summary estimates of mean testosterone concentration and age at recruitment for 20 180 adult men were 15.4±0.7 nmol/L and 64.9±3.3 year. Despite considerable variation in mean testosterone, a metaregression estimated no significant dependence on mean age at recruitment among studies (slope=−0.03, 95% CI −0.11 to 0.06). Meta-analyses demonstrated negligible heterogeneity and no significant effect of a 5 nmol/L increase in testosterone on the risk of all-cause mortality (HR=0.96, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.03) or death from CVD (HR=0.95, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.08).

Conclusions

Analyses of published estimates did not demonstrate associations of endogenous testosterone with CVD deaths or with all-cause mortality. Suggested further research includes the planned individual participant data meta-analyses for selected studies, enabling the investigation of non-linear summary effects.

PROSPERO registration number

PROSPERO: CRD42019139668.
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in randomised controlled trials in diabetes and pregnancy: protocol for a systematic review
Authors: Newman Christine , Kgosidialwa Oratile , Dervan Louise , Bogdanet Delia , Egan Aoife Maria , Biesty Linda , Devane Declan , O"Shea Paula M , Dunne Fidelma
Published: November 2021

Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic complication of pregnancy and its prevalence worldwide is rising. The number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) being conducted in people with diabetes is also increasing. Many studies preferentially publish findings on clinical endpoints and do not report patient-reported outcomes (PROs). In studies that do include PROs, PRO reporting is often of poor quality.

Methods

We will conduct this systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Using a combination of medical subject headings and keywords (combined using Boolean operators), we will search web-based databases (PubMed, Cochrane and EMBASE) for RCTs published in English between 2013 and 2021. Two reviewers will review titles and abstracts. We will review the full texts of any relevant abstracts and extract the following data: date of publication or recruitment period, journal of publication, country of study, multicentre or single centre, population and number of participants, type of intervention, frequency of PRO assessment and type of PRO (or PRO measurement) used. We will also record if the PRO was a primary, secondary or exploratory outcome. We will exclude reviews, observational studies, unpublished data for example, conference abstracts and trial protocols. Any published RCT that includes data on a PRO as a primary or secondary outcome will then be compared against the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials—Patient-Reported Outcome extension checklist, a structured and approved framework for the publication of results of PROs.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval to conduct this study was obtained from the ethics committee at Galway University Hospitals on 24 March 2021 (CA 2592). We aim to publish our findings in a peer-reviewed journal and present our findings at national and international conferences.

Systematic review registration

This systematic review was registered prospectively with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Registration number CRD42021234917.
Machine learning techniques for mortality prediction in emergency departments: a systematic review
Authors: Naemi Amin , Schmidt Thomas , Mansourvar Marjan , Naghavi-Behzad Mohammad , Ebrahimi Ali , Wiil Uffe Kock
Published: November 2021

Objectives

This systematic review aimed to assess the performance and clinical feasibility of machine learning (ML) algorithms in prediction of in-hospital mortality for medical patients using vital signs at emergency departments (EDs).

Design

A systematic review was performed.

Setting

The databases including Medline (PubMed), Scopus and Embase (Ovid) were searched between 2010 and 2021, to extract published articles in English, describing ML-based models utilising vital sign variables to predict in-hospital mortality for patients admitted at EDs. Critical appraisal and data extraction for systematic reviews of prediction modelling studies checklist was used for study planning and data extraction. The risk of bias for included papers was assessed using the prediction risk of bias assessment tool.

Participants

Admitted patients to the ED.

Main outcome measure

In-hospital mortality.

Results

Fifteen articles were included in the final review. We found that eight models including logistic regression, decision tree, K-nearest neighbours, support vector machine, gradient boosting, random forest, artificial neural networks and deep neural networks have been applied in this domain. Most studies failed to report essential main analysis steps such as data preprocessing and handling missing values. Fourteen included studies had a high risk of bias in the statistical analysis part, which could lead to poor performance in practice. Although the main aim of all studies was developing a predictive model for mortality, nine articles did not provide a time horizon for the prediction.

Conclusion

This review provided an updated overview of the state-of-the-art and revealed research gaps; based on these, we provide eight recommendations for future studies to make the use of ML more feasible in practice. By following these recommendations, we expect to see more robust ML models applied in the future to help clinicians identify patient deterioration earlier.
Examining the pathways by which work–life balance influences safety culture among healthcare workers in Taiwan: path analysis of data from a cross-sectional survey on patient safety culture among hospital staff
Authors: Tran Yvonne , Liao Hsun-Hsiang , Yeh En-Hui , Ellis Louise A , Clay-Williams Robyn , Braithwaite Jeffrey
Published: November 2021

Objective

The aim of this study is to examine the pathways by which work–life balance influences safety climate in hospital settings.

Design

A national cross-sectional survey on patient safety culture.

Settings

Healthcare workers from 56 hospitals in Taiwan, covering three work settings: intensive care units, operation rooms and emergency departments.

Participants

14 345 healthcare workers took part in the survey and were included in the present analysis.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The Safety Attitudes, Maslach’s Burn-out Inventory and Work–life balance questionnaires were used to measure patient safety culture, teamwork, leadership, emotional exhaustion and work–life balance. Path analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between work–life balance and safety climate. We tested for mediating and moderating factors influencing this relationship.

Results

The path between work–life balance and safety climate was found to be significant (b=0.32, p<0.001) and explained through a serial mediation. This relationship was found to be mediated by emotional exhaustion followed by teamwork climate in a full mediation. Leadership factors such as identifying as a manager, moderated the indirect pathway between work–life balance and safety climate through teamwork climate (index of moderation: b=0.083, bias corrected 95% CI 0.044 to 0.120) but not through emotional exhaustion or the serial pathway. Subgroup analysis from non-managers on their perception of management was also found to moderate this relationship.

Conclusion

We found work–life balance to be associated with safety climate through a fully mediated model. The mediation pathways are moderated by self-identified leadership and perceptions of leadership. Understanding the pathways on how work–life balance influences safety climate provides an explanatory model that can be used when designing effective interventions for implementation in system-based approaches to improve patient safety culture in hospital settings.
Synonymy Expansion Using Link Prediction Methods: A Case Study of Assamese WordNet
Authors: Phukon Bornali , Anil Akash , Singh Sanasam Ranbir , Sarmah Priyankoo
Published: November 2021

WordNets built for low-resource languages, such as Assamese, often use the expansion methodology. This may result in missing lexical entries and missing synonymy relations. As the Assamese WordNet is also built using the expansion method, using the Hindi WordNet, it also has missing synonymy relations. As WordNets can be visualized as a network of unique words connected by synonymy relations, link prediction in complex network analysis is an effective way of predicting missing relations in a network. Hence, to predict the missing synonyms in the Assamese WordNet, link prediction methods were used in the current work that proved effective. It is also observed that for discovering missing relations in the Assamese WordNet, simple local proximity-based methods might be more effective as compared to global and complex supervised models using network embedding. Further, it is noticed that though a set of retrieved words are not synonyms per se, they are semantically related to the target word and may be categorized as semantic cohorts.
An Adaptive Application Framework with Customizable Quality Metrics
Authors: Liu Liu , Isaacman Sibren , Kremer Ulrich
Published: November 2021

Many embedded environments require applications to produce outcomes under different, potentially changing, resource constraints. Relaxing application semantics through approximations enables trading off resource usage for outcome quality. Although quality is a highly subjective notion, previous work assumes given, fixed low-level quality metrics that often lack a strong correlation to a user’s higher-level quality experience. Users may also change their minds with respect to their quality expectations depending on the resource budgets they are willing to dedicate to an execution. This motivates the need for an adaptive application framework where users provide execution budgets and a customized quality notion. This article presents a novel adaptive program graph representation that enables user-level, customizable quality based on basic quality aspects defined by application developers. Developers also define application configuration spaces, with possible customization to eliminate undesirable configurations. At runtime, the graph enables the dynamic selection of the configuration with maximal customized quality within the user-provided resource budget.

An adaptive application framework based on our novel graph representation has been implemented on Android and Linux platforms and evaluated on eight benchmark programs, four with fully customizable quality. Using custom quality instead of the default quality, users may improve their subjective quality experience value by up to 3.59×, with 1.76× on average under different resource constraints. Developers are able to exploit their application structure knowledge to define configuration spaces that are on average 68.7% smaller as compared to existing, structure-oblivious approaches. The overhead of dynamic reconfiguration averages less than 1.84% of the overall application execution time.
ParTBC: Faster Estimation of Top-
k
Betweenness Centrality Vertices on GPU
Authors: Singh Somesh , Shah Tejas , Nasre Rupesh
Published: November 2021

Betweenness centrality (BC) is a popular centrality measure, based on shortest paths, used to quantify the importance of vertices in networks. It is used in a wide array of applications including social network analysis, community detection, clustering, biological network analysis, and several others. The state-of-the-art Brandes’ algorithm for computing BC has time complexities of

and

for unweighted and weighted graphs, respectively. Brandes’ algorithm has been successfully parallelized on multicore and manycore platforms. However, the computation of vertex BC continues to be time-consuming for large real-world graphs. Often, in practical applications, it suffices to identify the most important vertices in a network; that is, those having the highest BC values. Such applications demand only the top vertices in the network as per their BC values but do not demand their actual BC values. In such scenarios, not only is computing the BC of
all
the vertices unnecessary but also
exact
BC values need not be computed. In this work, we attempt to marry controlled approximations with parallelization to
estimate
the
k
-highest BC vertices faster, without having to compute the exact BC scores of the vertices. We present a host of techniques to determine the top-
k
vertices
faster
, with a
small
inaccuracy, by computing
approximate
BC scores of the vertices. Aiding our techniques is a novel vertex-renumbering scheme to make the graph layout more
structured
, which results in faster execution of parallel Brandes’ algorithm on GPU. Our experimental results, on a suite of real-world and synthetic graphs, show that our best performing technique computes the top-
k
vertices with an average speedup of 2.5× compared to the exact parallel Brandes’ algorithm on GPU, with an error of less than 6%. Our techniques also exhibit high precision and recall, both in excess of 94%.
Current Advances in Neural Networks
Authors: Gallego Víctor , Ríos Insua David
Published: November 2021

This article reviews current advances and developments in neural networks. This requires recalling some of the earlier work in the field. We emphasize Bayesian approaches and their benefits compared to more standard maximum likelihood treatments. Several representative experiments using varied modern neural architectures are presented.
ACE2 : S1 RBD Interaction-Targeted Peptides and Small Molecules as Potential COVID-19 Therapeutics
Authors: Chitsike Lennox , Krstenansky John , Duerksen-Hughes Penelope J.
Published: November 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in late 2019 continues with new challenges arising due to antigenic drift as well as individuals who cannot or choose not to take the vaccine. There is therefore an urgent need for additional therapies that complement vaccines and approved therapies such as antibodies in the fight to end or slow down the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 initiates invasion of the human target cell through direct contact between the receptor-binding domain of its Spike protein and its cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2). The ACE2 and S1 RBD interaction, therefore, represents an attractive therapeutic intervention to prevent viral entry and spread. In this study, we developed a proximity-based AlphaScreen™ assay that can be utilized to quickly and efficiently screen for inhibitors that perturb the ACE2 : S1 RBD interaction. We then designed several peptides candidates from motifs in ACE2 and S1 RBD that play critical roles in the interaction, with and without modifications to the native sequences. We also assessed the possibility of reprofiling of candidate small molecules that previously have been shown to interfere with the viral entry of SARS-CoV. Using our optimized AlphaScreen™ assay, we evaluated the activity and specificity of these peptides and small molecules in inhibiting the binding of ACE2 : S1 RBD. This screen identified cepharanthine as a promising candidate for development as a SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitor.
Application of a New Generalized Fractional Derivative and Rank of Control Measures on Cholera Transmission Dynamics
Authors: Cheneke Kumama Regassa , Rao Koya Purnachandra , Edessa Geremew Kenassa
Published: November 2021

In this study, the mathematical model of the cholera epidemic is formulated and analyzed to show the impact of Vibrio cholerae in reserved freshwater. Moreover, the results obtained from applying the new fractional derivative method show that, as the order of the fractional derivative increases, cholera-preventing behaviors also increase. Also, the finding of our study shows that the dynamics of Vibrio cholerae can be controlled if continuous treatment is applied in reserved freshwater used for drinking purposes so that the intrinsic growth rate of Vibrio cholerae in water is less than the natural death of Vibrio cholerae. We have applied the stability theory of differential equations and proved that the disease-free equilibrium is asymptotically stable if

R

0

<
1

, and the intrinsic growth rate of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium population is less than its natural death rate. The center manifold theory is applied to show the existence of forward bifurcation at the point

R

0

=
1

and the local stability of endemic equilibrium if

R

0

>
1

. Furthermore, the performed numerical simulation results show that, as the rank of control measures applied increases from no control, weak control, and strong control measures, the recovered individuals are 55.02, 67.47, and 674.7, respectively. Numerical simulations are plotted using MATLAB software package.
Protective Effect of Uric Acid on ox-LDL-Induced HUVECs Injury via Keap1-Nrf2-ARE Pathway
Authors: Lin Yajuan , Xie Yunpeng , Hao Zhujing , Bi Hailian , Liu Yang , Yang Xiaolei , Xia Yunlong
Published: November 2021

Uric acid is an effective antioxidant. Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is derived from circulating LDL and promotes atherosclerosis. The Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway is a key body pathway involved in protection against internal and external oxidative damages. The role of uric acid on vascular endothelial function damaged by ox-LDL, and its effect on the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway has not been fully explored. HUVECs were treated with different concentrations of uric acid and ox-LDL to explore the effect of uric acid in vitro. Cell phenotype was determined by cytometry and Western blot. Nuclear translocation of Nrf2 was determined by immunofluorescence. Coimmunoprecipitation was used to determine the level of Nrf2 ubiquitination. A microfluidic device was used to mimic the vascular environment in the body, and the level of mRNA levels of inflammatory factors was determined by RT-PCR. The findings of this study show that suitable uric acid can significantly reduce endothelial damage caused by ox-LDL, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and increased adhesion. In addition, uric acid reduced Nrf2 ubiquitination and increased nuclear translocation of Nrf2 protein, thus activating the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE pathway and playing a protective role. Interestingly, the effects of UA were significantly inhibited by administration of Brusatol, an inhibitor of Nrf2. In summary, suitable concentrations of uric acid can alleviate the oxidative stress level of endothelial cells through Nrf2 nuclear translocation and further protect cells from damage.
[Retracted] Utilizing Entity‐Based Gated Convolution and Multilevel Sentence Attention to Improve Distantly Supervised Relation Extraction
Authors: Yi Qian , Zhang Guixuan , Zhang Shuwu
Published: November 2021

Distant supervision is an effective method to automatically collect large‐scale datasets for relation extraction (RE). Automatically constructed datasets usually comprise two types of noise: the intrasentence noise and the wrongly labeled noisy sentence. To address issues caused by the above two types of noise and improve distantly supervised relation extraction, this paper proposes a novel distantly supervised relation extraction model, which consists of an entity‐based gated convolution sentence encoder and a multilevel sentence selective attention (Matt) module. Specifically, we first apply an entity‐based gated convolution operation to force the sentence encoder to extract entity‐pair‐related features and filter out useless intrasentence noise information. Furthermore, the multilevel attention schema fuses the bag information to obtain a fine‐grained bag‐specific query vector, which can better identify valid sentences and reduce the influence of wrongly labeled sentences. Experimental results on a large‐scale benchmark dataset show that our model can effectively reduce the influence of the above two types of noise and achieves state‐of‐the‐art performance in relation extraction.
Overview of Candida albicans and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection Agents and their Biomolecular Mechanisms in Promoting Oral Cancer in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Muzio Lorenzo Lo , Ballini Andrea , Cantore Stefania , Bottalico Lucrezia , Charitos Ioannis Alexandros , Ambrosino Mariateresa , Nocini Riccardo , Malcangi Annarita , Dioguardi Mario , Cazzolla Angela Pia , Brauner Edoardo , Santacroce Luigi , Cosola Michele Di
Published: November 2021

Oral carcinoma represents one of the most common malignancies worldwide. Oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) account over 90% of all oral malignant tumors and are characterized by high mortality in the advanced stages. Early diagnosis is often a challenge for its ambiguous appearance in early stages. Mucosal infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for a growing number of malignancies, particularly cervical cancer and oropharyngeal carcinomas. In addition, Candida albicans (C. albicans), which is the principal fungi involved in the oral cancer development, may induce carcinogenesis through several mechanisms, mainly promoting inflammation. Medical knowledge and research on adolescent/pediatric patients’ management and prevention are in continuous evolution. Besides, microbiota can play an important role in maintaining oral health and therefore all human health. The aim of this review is to evaluate epidemiological and pathophysiological characteristics of the several biochemical pathways involved during HPV and C. albicans infections in pediatric dentistry.
Analog Circuit Soft Fault Diagnosis Based on Sparse Random Projections and K-Nearest Neighbor
Authors: Sun Jian , Hu Guobin , Wang Chenghua
Published: November 2021

Analog circuit fault diagnosis is a key problem in theory of circuit networks and has been investigated by many researchers in recent years. An approach based on sparse random projections (SRPs) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) to the realization of analog circuit soft fault diagnosis has been presented in this paper. The proposed method uses the wavelet packet energy spectrum and sparse random projections to preprocess the time response for feature extraction. Then, the variables of the fault features are constructed, which are used to form the observation sequences of K-nearest neighbor classifier. K-nearest neighbor classifier is used to accomplish the fault diagnosis of analog circuit. In this paper, four-opamp biquad high-pass filter has been used as simulation example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The simulations show that the proposed method offers higher correct fault location rate in analog circuit soft fault diagnosis application as compared with the other methods.
Optimization of Intelligent Logistics Supply Chain Management System Based on Wireless Sensor Network and RFID Technology
Authors: Pan Changhong , Liu Meng
Published: November 2021

Based on the in‐depth study of two technologies, wireless sensor network, and RFID technology, this paper proposes a corresponding solution to the urgent storage positioning problem and the safety of goods in transit in the logistics supply chain process. And on this basis, it broadens the whole logistics process of warehousing and distribution and designs a framework of intelligent logistics supply chain management system with wireless sensor network and RFID technology to realize the management process of logistics main business. For the problems of complicated hardware wiring, the excessive number of positioning nodes and low effective coverage rate of traditional RFID‐based positioning methods in large‐scale warehousing environment, the integrated RFID and wireless sensor network fusion technology constructs a new movable anchor node, divides the nodes in the traditional positioning process into fixed anchors and mobile anchors, proposes a secondary positioning method, improves positioning accuracy and effective coverage rate, and provides a new positioning method for large‐scale storage environment. For the transportation of goods in transit, especially precious and dangerous goods, a six‐axis acceleration sensor‐based method for detecting the behavioral attitude of goods in transit is proposed. Time window slicing of cargo motion data stream is performed to reduce data processing and based on the statistical features of a large amount of experimental data, and feature vectors and classifiers are analyzed and designed to achieve behavioral attitude classification of goods in transit. The experiment proves that this method has high recognition accuracy and has certain practical application value. Finally, the whole storage and distribution logistics process is integrated, the framework of intelligent logistics supply chain management system combining WSN and RFID is built based on wireless sensor network software and hardware platform, and the detailed design of logistics supply chain management system business process is mainly carried out. Combined with the two key methods proposed in this paper, the information management process of traditional logistics business such as access, storage positioning and monitoring, and distribution monitoring and management is realized, and the management system is tested on this basis. The testing effect proves that this system has certain deployment reference significance and practical application value and to a certain extent can help improve the intelligence level of logistics supply chain management and achieve the expected goal of this study.