bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Natural Pozzolans a Comparative Study: A Review
Authors: Shukla Ashish , Gupta Nakul , Gupta Ankur , Goel Rajesh , Kumar Sanjeev
Published: June 2020

Exploitation of Natural Pozzolans (Calcined Clay, Calcined Shale & Metakaolin) as Supplementary Cementitious materials (SCMs) for mortar and concrete has attended goodish observance in last decades. In this content the NP used in vast range in partial substitution of cement in concrete and mortar, and due to its pozzolanic behavior, it improves the performance of concrete and mortar strength and durability. The minimization of carbon-dioxide emissions in the cement industry due to the increasing involvement of NP(Natural Pozzolans). The different proportions of NP as partial substitute results in enhancing the comp. strength, water absorption, sorptivity etcetera and it gives the resistance to the structure of mortar and concrete to action of harmful solution.
Smart number cruncher – a voice based calculator
Authors: Sethi Preeti , Garg Puneet , Dixit Ashutosh , Singh Yashpal
Published: June 2020

‘Smart Number cruncher-A voice based calculator’ is an electronic device which perform lengthy calculations. Traditional calculator uses key input to perform calculations, which is time consuming process. Present invention developed a new way of calculation. Smart number cruncher provides two modes of calculation, first mode is text mode and second mode is voice mode. Text mode performs mathematical calculation by typing numbers and symbols which is same as normal calculator. Voice mode takes voice input from user in the form of speech and performs mathematical calculation. Voice mode gives output in the form of voice only. This mode of calculation is easier than the regular text mode. Voice mode based calculation is useful for physically handicapped people. Smart number cruncher is user friendly since this system supports multiple regional languages. Smart number cruncher is based on various languages, initially user have to select the mode that is text mode or voice mode. On selection of voice mode user have to select language to perform mathematical calculation. Switching between regular text mode and voice mode, mathematical calculation, language selection all operations are done by micro-controller. All the operations done by voice mode are same as regular text mode internally. Proposed device is useful for the physically handicapped person as well as illiterate people. It saves lot of time wasted on lengthy calculations done by regular calculators. User doesn’t have to press any type of keys in the voice based calculator. Smart Number Cruncher is affordable to common people and easy to use.
WiFi Data Leakage Detection
Authors: Shrivastava Pranav , Agarwal Prerna , Rahul  , Monika
Published: June 2020

The applications that we install on smart phones generates multitude of network traffic patterns, background activities, periodic updates etc. This application data leak side channel information like packet size, transfer timing, volume etc. This information can be used and exploited by an intruder to steal confidential user information. This paper focuses on various threats to the user’s private activities with the increase in commercial interest in tracing publicly broadcasted wireless data. The paper demonstrates mechanisms for inferring the user behavior from encrypted wireless network activity. It also shows how an absolutely inert eavesdropper can detect the information that is being transmitted over the network.
Effect of expressive writing on math anxiety of engineering students
Authors: Jaltare Vikrant , Moghe Kshipra
Published: June 2020

Math Anxiety is the negative reaction to situations involving mathematical computation. Studies have shown that math anxiety restricts access to working memory, which is essential to solve mathematical problems. Using the math anxiety – performance relationship, the effectiveness of expressive writing as remedial measure was tested. Participants (N=42) were asked to either sit quietly (control group) or were told to write about their thoughts and feelings (experimental group) prior to taking a math test. The experimental group participants performed significantly better than the control group participants. A significant improvement in performance due to expressive writing shows positive reaction toward math anxiety.
Fault Diagnosis of Ball Bearing Using Hilbert Huang Transform and LASSO Feature Ranking Technique
Authors: Thakker H T , Dave V , Vakharia V , Singh S
Published: June 2020

Bearings are one of the crucial components of any machine having rotary parts. They are employed to support and ensure smooth operations of the shafts in the rotary machinery. Therefore, any fault in the bearings can lead to a decline in the level of production and equipment. For this reason, it is important to monitor the bearing health. This paper presents a signal analysis technique for machine health monitoring using the Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT). HHT is a time domain approach which extracts instantaneous frequency data from a signal by decomposing the signal into Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) using the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD). The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) is used as feature ranking method which is used to improve the prediction accuracy by reducing input data to machine learning model by aiding to select only a subset of the feature vector rather than using all of the features. In the present work, training and tenfold cross-validation accuracy or two classifiers have been compared. The comparative analysis presented in this paper reveals that the utilization of LASSO as a feature ranking method shows a substantial decrease in the data to be handled and improving the diagnosis accuracy.
Effect of WC content on the friction and wear properties of Ni-WC coatings on 6082-T6 aluminum alloy
Authors: He Tiantian , Shao Ruonan , Du Sanming , Cai Hongzhang
Published: June 2020

The Ni-WC coatings were prepared on the surface of 6082-T6 aluminum alloy by plasma spraying. The effect of WC content on the microstructure, mechanical properties and wear performance of the coatings was investigated. The wear mechanism was discussed according to the wear surface morphology and phase composition. The results show that with the increase of the WC content, the microhardness of Ni-WC coatings increases and the bond strength first increases and then decreases sharply. The Ni-20WC coating shows the highest bond strength. The friction coefficient decreases with increasing the WC content, while the wear rate first reduces and then increases as the WC content rises. The wear mechanism of Ni-WC coatings is a mixture of adhesive wear and oxidation wear. With WC content increasing from 10 wt% to 20 wt.%, the friction coefficient and wear rate reduce mainly due to the formation of the continuous oxide film on the wear surface. When the WC content reaches to 30 wt%, the severe oxidation and the defects of the coating such as some microcracks and holes, lead to the increase of the wear rate.
Modelling electrochemical systems with finite field molecular dynamics
Authors: Zhang Chao , Sayer Thomas , Hutter Jürg , Sprik Michiel
Published: June 2020

Physical chemistry of electric double layers and ionic solutions plays a fundamental role in energy related applications such as electrocatalysis, super-capacitors, fuel cells, lithium/sodium ion batteries. A realistic representation of these electrochemical systems requires treating electronic, structural and dynamic properties on an equal footing. Density functional theory based molecular dynamics (DFTMD) is perhaps the only approach that can provide a consistent atomistic description. However, one of the challenges in DFTMD modelling of electrochemical systems is the slow convergence of the polarization

P

, where

P

is the central quantity connecting to all electrical properties (the dielectric constant, the Helmholtz capacitance and the ionic conductivity). Here, we summarize our recent progress on developing finite field MD for computing electrical properties. Discussions on notable extensions and outlook for future works are also given.
Nanoscale silicon fluidic transfer for ultrahigh-density self-assembled integration
Authors: Ishihara Shoji , Tanabe Katsuaki
Published: June 2020

Fluidic self-assembly is an efficient fabrication technique that a large number of semiconductor chips are spontaneously integrated. However, the integrated chips in the experiments reported so far had dimensions of several tens of micrometers for the side lengths and thickness, hindered by the severe adhesiveness of smaller chips to their original substrates. Here we demonstrate fluidic transfer of submicron-scale chips. Simultaneous release and deposition of silicon thin-film chips are conducted in a blended solution of hydrofluoric acid and ethanol with ultrasonication, in relation to the surface tension. The mechanical bonding stability of the thin-film chips to the host chip is confirmed. Our scheme could lead to high-throughput, low-cost, and ultrahigh-density on-chip integration for electronic and photonic devices.
Tensor decomposition, parafermions, level-rank duality, and reciprocity law for vertex operator algebras
Authors: Jiang Cuipo , Lin Zongzhu
Published: June 2020

For a semisimple Lie algebra

s
l

n

\frak {sl}_n

, the basic representation

L

s
l

n

^

(
1
,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(1,0)

of the affine Lie algebra

s
l

n

^

\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}

is a lattice vertex operator algebra. The first main result of the paper is to prove that the commutant vertex operator algebra of

L

s
l

n

^

(
l
,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(l,0)

in the

l
l

-fold tensor product

L

s
l

n

^

(
1
,
0

)

⊗
l

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(1,0)^{\otimes l}

is isomorphic to the parafermion vertex operator algebra

K
(

s
l

l

,
n
)

K(\frak {sl}_{l},n)

, which is the commutant of the Heisenberg vertex operator algebra

L

h

^

(
n
,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {h}}}(n,0)

in

L

s
l

l

^

(
n
,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_l}}(n,0)

. The result provides a version of level-rank duality. The second main result of the paper is to prove more general version of the first result that the commutant of

L

s
l

n

^

(

l
1

+
⋯
+

l
s

,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(l_1+\cdots +l_s, 0)

in
<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="upper L Subscript ModifyingAbove German s German l Sub Subscript German n Subscript With caret Baseline left-parenthesis l 1 comma 0 right-parenthesis circled-times midline-horizontal-ellipsis circled-times upper L Subscript ModifyingAbove German s German l Sub Subscript German n Subscript With caret Baseline left-parenthesis l Subscript s Baseline comma 0 right-parenthesis">

L

s
l

n

^

(

l
1

,
0
)
⊗
⋯
⊗

L

s
l

n

^

(

l
s

,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(l_1,0)\otimes \cdots \otimes L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}_{n}}}(l_s, 0)

is isomorphic to the commutant of the vertex operator algebra generated by a Levi Lie subalgebra of

s
l

l
1

+
⋯
+

l
s

\frak {sl}_{l_1+\cdots +l_s}

corresponding to the composition

(

l
1

,
⋯
,

l
s

)

(l_1, \cdots , l_s)

in the rational vertex operator algebra

L

s
l

^

l
1

+
⋯
+

l
s

(
n
,
0
)

L_{\widehat {\frak {sl}}_{l_1+\cdots +l_s}}(n,0)

. This general version also resembles a version of reciprocity law discussed by Howe in the context of reductive Lie groups. In the course of the proof of the main results, certain Howe duality pairs also appear in the context of vertex operator algebras.
Quality Assessment of Online Patient Information for Cosmetic Botulinum Toxin
Authors: Barbarite Eric , Shaye David , Oyer Samuel , Lee Linda N
Published: June 2020

Background

In an era of widespread Internet access, patients increasingly look online for health information. Given the frequency with which cosmetic botulinum toxin injection is performed, there is a need to provide patients with high-quality information about this procedure.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to examine the quality of printed online education materials (POEMs) about cosmetic botulinum toxin.

Methods

An Internet search was performed to identify 32 websites of various authorship types. Materials were evaluated for accuracy and inclusion of key content points. Readability was measured by Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. Understandability and actionability were assessed with the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printed Materials. The effect of authorship was measured by undertaking analysis of variance between groups.

Results

The mean [standard deviation] accuracy score among all POEMs was 4.2 [0.7], which represents an accuracy of 76% to 99%. Mean comprehensiveness was 47.0% [16.4%]. Mean Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease scores were 10.7 [2.1] and 47.9 [10.0], respectively. Mean understandability and actionability were 62.8% [18.8%] and 36.2% [26.5%], respectively. There were no significant differences between accuracy (P > 0.2), comprehensiveness (P > 0.5), readability (P > 0.1), understandability (P > 0.3), or actionability (P > 0.2) by authorship.

Conclusions

There is wide variability in the quality of cosmetic botulinum toxin POEMs regardless of authorship type. The majority of materials are written above the recommended reading level and fail to include important content points. It is critical that providers take an active role in the evaluation and endorsement of online patient education materials.
Hidden leks in a migratory songbird: mating advantages for earlier and more attractive males
Authors: Manica Lilian T , Graves Jeff A , Podos Jeffrey , Macedo Regina H
Published: June 2020

In some socially monogamous birds, territories sometimes occur in aggregations. The “hidden lek” hypothesis suggests that territorial aggregations might be explained by males establishing territories near successful males (“hotshot” model) or by females preferring to mate in large clusters (“female preference” model). In both scenarios, clusters would provide more opportunities for finding mates and achieving extrapair copulations. Our study tests predictions of these two models in the blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina). Males of this species migrate to their breeding grounds, establish territories within clusters, and initiate courtship displays. These displays consist of vertical leaps synchronized with vocalizations, or only the latter without leaps. The “hotshot” model predicts that: 1) earlier-arriving males would establish territories more centrally within clusters; 2) earlier or centrally positioned males would produce more elaborate displays; and 3) these same males would achieve higher success via within and extrapair fertilizations. The “female preference” model predicts that: 4) pairing success and 5) per-capita extrapair fertilizations would increase with cluster size. We found that earlier-arriving males executed higher leaps and longer songs, but there was no relationship between these traits and male position within clusters. We also found that earlier-arriving males were more likely to obtain extrapair fertilizations. However, we found little evidence that cluster size related to overall or per-capita breeding success. Considered together, our data provide partial validation of the hotshot model of hidden leks and expand on prior findings in this species by showing that females benefit by choosing males leaping higher and settling earlier in clusters.
TiFoSi: an efficient tool for mechanobiology simulations of epithelia
Authors: Canela-Xandri Oriol , Anbari Samira , Buceta Javier
Published: June 2020

Motivation

Emerging phenomena in developmental biology and tissue engineering are the result of feedbacks between gene expression and cell biomechanics. In that context, in silico experiments are a powerful tool to understand fundamental mechanisms and to formulate and test hypotheses.

Results

Here, we present TiFoSi, a computational tool to simulate the cellular dynamics of planar epithelia. TiFoSi allows to model feedbacks between cellular mechanics and gene expression (either in a deterministic or a stochastic way), the interaction between different cell populations, the custom design of the cell cycle and cleavage properties, the protein number partitioning upon cell division, and the modeling of cell communication (juxtacrine and paracrine signaling).

Availability and implementation

http://tifosi.thesimbiosys.com.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hippocampus co-atrophy pattern in dementia deviates from covariance patterns across the lifespan
Authors: Plachti Anna , Kharabian Shahrzad , Eickhoff Simon B , Maleki Balajoo Somayeh , Hoffstaedter Felix , Varikuti Deepthi P , Jockwitz Christiane , Caspers Svenja , Amunts Katrin , Genon Sarah
Published: June 2020

The hippocampus is a plastic region and highly susceptible to ageing and dementia. Previous studies explicitly imposed a priori models of hippocampus when investigating ageing and dementia-specific atrophy but led to inconsistent results. Consequently, the basic question of whether macrostructural changes follow a cytoarchitectonic or functional organization across the adult lifespan and in age-related neurodegenerative disease remained open. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify the spatial pattern of hippocampus differentiation based on structural covariance with a data-driven approach across structural MRI data of large cohorts (n = 2594). We examined the pattern of structural covariance of hippocampus voxels in young, middle-aged, elderly, mild cognitive impairment and dementia disease samples by applying a clustering algorithm revealing differentiation in structural covariance within the hippocampus. In all the healthy and in the mild cognitive impaired participants, the hippocampus was robustly divided into anterior, lateral and medial subregions reminiscent of cytoarchitectonic division. In contrast, in dementia patients, the pattern of subdivision was closer to known functional differentiation into an anterior, body and tail subregions. These results not only contribute to a better understanding of co-plasticity and co-atrophy in the hippocampus across the lifespan and in dementia, but also provide robust data-driven spatial representations (i.e. maps) for structural studies.
Functional cognitive disorder: dementia’s blind spot
Authors: Ball Harriet A , McWhirter Laura , Ballard Clive , Bhome Rohan , Blackburn Daniel J , Edwards Mark J , Fleming Stephen M , Fox Nick C , Howard Robert , Huntley Jonathan , Isaacs Jeremy D , Larner Andrew J , Nicholson Timothy R , Pennington Catherine M , Poole Norman , Price Gary , Price Jason P , Reuber Markus , Ritchie Craig , Rossor Martin N , Schott Jonathan M , Teodoro Tiago , Venneri Annalena , Stone Jon , Carson Alan J
Published: June 2020

An increasing proportion of cognitive difficulties are recognized to have a functional cause, the chief clinical indicator of which is internal inconsistency. When these symptoms are impairing or distressing, and not better explained by other disorders, this can be conceptualized as a cognitive variant of functional neurological disorder, termed functional cognitive disorder (FCD). FCD is likely very common in clinical practice but may be under-diagnosed. Clinicians in many settings make liberal use of the descriptive term mild cognitive impairment (MCI) for those with cognitive difficulties not impairing enough to qualify as dementia. However, MCI is an aetiology-neutral description, which therefore includes patients with a wide range of underlying causes. Consequently, a proportion of MCI cases are due to non-neurodegenerative processes, including FCD. Indeed, significant numbers of patients diagnosed with MCI do not ‘convert’ to dementia. The lack of diagnostic specificity for MCI ‘non-progressors’ is a weakness inherent in framing MCI primarily within a deterministic neurodegenerative pathway. It is recognized that depression, anxiety and behavioural changes can represent a prodrome to neurodegeneration; empirical data are required to explore whether the same might hold for subsets of individuals with FCD. Clinicians and researchers can improve study efficacy and patient outcomes by viewing MCI as a descriptive term with a wide differential diagnosis, including potentially reversible components such as FCD. We present a preliminary definition of functional neurological disorder–cognitive subtype, explain its position in relation to other cognitive diagnoses and emerging biomarkers, highlight clinical features that can lead to positive diagnosis (as opposed to a diagnosis of exclusion), and red flags that should prompt consideration of alternative diagnoses. In the research setting, positive identifiers of FCD will enhance our recognition of individuals who are not in a neurodegenerative prodrome, while greater use of this diagnosis in clinical practice will facilitate personalized interventions.
Stiffness-mediated mesenchymal stem cell fate decision in 3D-bioprinted hydrogels
Authors: Liu Yufan , Li Zhao , Li Jianjun , Yang Siming , Zhang Yijie , Yao Bin , Song Wei , Fu Xiaobing , Huang Sha
Published: June 2020

Background

Hydrogels with tuneable mechanical properties are an attractive material platform for 3D bioprinting. Thus far, numerous studies have confirmed that the biophysical cues of hydrogels, such as stiffness, are known to have a profound impact on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation; however, their differentiation potential within 3D-bioprinted hydrogels is not completely understood. Here, we propose a protocol for the exploration of how the stiffness of alginate–gelatin (Alg-Gel) composite hydrogels (the widely used bioink) affects the differentiation of MSCs in the presence or absence of differentiation inducing factors.

Methods

Two types of Alg-Gel composite hydrogels (Young’s modulus: 50 kPa vs. 225 kPa) were bioprinted independently of porosity. Then, stiffness-induced biases towards adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation of the embedded MSCs were analysed by co-staining with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and oil red O. The expression of specific markers at the gene level was detected after a 3-day culture.

Results

Confocal microscopy indicated that all tested hydrogels supported MSC growth and viability during the culture period. Higher expression of adipogenic and osteogenic markers (ALP and lipoprotein lipase (LPL)) in stiffer 3D-bioprinted matrices demonstrated a more significant response of MSCs to stiffer hydrogels with respect to differentiation, which was more robust in differentiation-inducing medium. However, the LPL expression in stiffer 3D-bioprinted constructs was reduced at day 3 regardless of the presence of differentiation-inducing factors. Although MSCs embedded in softer hydrogels to some extent proceeded toward adipogenic and osteogenic lineages within a few days, their differentiation seemed to be slower and more limited. Interestingly, the hydrogel itself (without differentiation-inducing factors) exhibited a slight effect on whether MSCs differentiated towards an adipogenic or an osteogenic fate. Considering that the mechano-regulated protein Yes-associated protein (YAP) is involved in MSC fate decisions, we further found that inhibition of YAP significantly downregulated the expression of ALP and LPL in MSCs in stiffer constructs regardless of the induced growth factors present.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate that the differentiation of MSCs in 3D-bioprinted matrices is dependent on hydrogel stiffness, which emphasizes the importance of biophysical cues as a determinant of cellular behaviour.
Connectome Signatures of Hyperexcitation in Cognitively Intact Middle-Aged Female APOE-ε4 Carriers
Authors: Fortel Igor , Korthauer Laura E , Morrissey Zachery , Zhan Liang , Ajilore Olusola , Wolfson Ouri , Driscoll Ira , Schonfeld Dan , Leow Alex
Published: June 2020

Synaptic dysfunction is hypothesized to be one of the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to “hyperexcitability” in neuronal circuits. In this study, we evaluated a novel hyperexcitation indicator (HI) for each brain region using a hybrid resting-state structural connectome to probe connectome-level excitation–inhibition balance in cognitively intact middle-aged apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 carriers with noncarriers (16 male/22 female in each group). Regression with three-way interactions (sex, age, and APOE-ε4 carrier status) to assess the effect of APOE-ε4 on excitation–inhibition balance within each sex and across an age range of 40–60 years yielded a significant shift toward higher HI in female carriers compared with noncarriers (beginning at 50 years). Hyperexcitation was insignificant in the male group. Further, in female carriers the degree of hyperexcitation exhibited significant positive correlation with working memory performance (evaluated via a virtual Morris Water task) in three regions: the left pars triangularis, left hippocampus, and left isthmus of cingulate gyrus. Increased excitation of memory-related circuits may be evidence of compensatory recruitment of neuronal resources for memory-focused activities. In sum, our results are consistent with known Alzheimer’s disease sex differences; in that female APOE-ε4 carriers have globally disrupted excitation–inhibition balance that may confer greater vulnerability to disease neuropathology.
Social Media–Based Secondary Distribution of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Syphilis Self-testing Among Chinese Men Who Have Sex with Men
Authors: Wu Dan , Zhou Yi , Yang Nancy , Huang Shanzi , He Xi , Tucker Joseph , Li Xiaofeng , Smith Kumi M , Ritchwood Tiarney , Jiang Xiaohui , Liu Xuan , Wang Yehua , Huang Wenting , Ong Jason , Fu Hongyun , Bao Huanyu , Pan Stephen , Dai Wencan , Tang Weiming
Published: June 2020

Background

Social media and secondary distribution (distributing self-testing kits by indexes through their networks) both show strong promise to improve human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing uptake. We assessed an implementation program in Zhuhai, China, which focused on the secondary distribution of HIV/syphilis self-test kits among men who have sex with men (MSM) via social media.

Methods

Men aged ≥16 years, born biologically male, and ever had sex with another man were recruited as indexes. Banner ads on a social media platform invited the participants to apply for up to 5 self-test kits every 3 months. Index men paid a deposit of US$15/kit refundable upon submitting a photograph of a completed test result via an online submission system. They were informed that they could distribute the kits to others (referred to as “alters”).

Results

A total of 371 unique index men applied for 1150 kits (mean age, 28.7 [standard deviation, 6.9] years), of which 1141 test results were returned (99%). Among them, 1099 were valid test results; 810 (74%) were from 331 unique index men, and 289 tests (26%) were from 281 unique alters. Compared to index men, a higher proportion of alters were naive HIV testers (40% vs 21%; P < .001). The total HIV self-test reactivity rate was 3%, with alters having a significantly higher rate than indexes (5% vs 2%; P = .008). A total of 21 people (3%) had a reactive syphilis test result.

Conclusions

Integrating social media with the secondary distribution of self-test kits may hold promise to increase HIV/syphilis testing coverage and case identification among MSM.
Impact of Extending the Timing of Maternal Pertussis Vaccination on Hospitalized Infant Pertussis in England, 2014–2018
Authors: Tessier Elise , Campbell Helen , Ribeiro Sonia , Fry Norman K , Brown Colin , Stowe Julia , Andrews Nick , Ramsay Mary , Amirthalingam Gayatri
Published: June 2020

Background

In October 2012, a maternal pertussis vaccination program was introduced in England for women between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. In April 2016, the recommended optimal window was extended to 20–32 weeks to improve vaccine coverage and protect preterm infants. This study assesses the impact of offering maternal pertussis vaccination earlier in pregnancy on hospitalized infant pertussis cases.

Methods

Hospitalized pertussis cases ≤60 days old in England were extracted from Hospital Episode Statistics pre- and post-policy change. Data were linked to laboratory-confirmed cases, and clinical records were reviewed where cases were not matched. Maternal vaccine status of identified cases was established. Median hospital duration was calculated, and a competing risk survival analysis was undertaken to assess multiple factors.

Results

A total of 201 cases were included in the analysis. Of the 151 cases with reported gestational age, the number of hospitalizations among full-term infants was 60 cases pre-policy and 62 cases post-policy, respectively, while preterm cases declined from 20 to 9 (P = .06). Length of hospital stay did not differ significantly after the policy change. Significantly longer hospital stays were seen in cases aged 0–4 weeks (median of 3 more days than infants aged 5–8 weeks), premature infants (median of 4 more days than term infants), and cases with coinfections (median of 1 more day than those without coinfection).

Conclusions

The number of preterm infants hospitalized with pertussis in England was halved after the policy change and preterm infants were no longer overrepresented among hospitalized cases.
Apparent Intracellular Helicobacter pylori Detected by Immunohistochemistry: The Missing Link in Eradication Failure
Authors: Beer Andrea , Hudler Helmut , Hader Maria , Kundi Michael , Hudler Susanne , Täuber Valentina , Schachner Helga , Gruber Sophie , Hirschl Alexander M , Kain Renate , Makristathis Athanasios
Published: June 2020

Background

Helicobacter pylori is primarily an extracellularly living bacterium. However, seemingly intracellular occurrence can often be detected by immunohistochemical stains. Considering antimicrobial resistance, we investigated the impact of the apparent intracellular H. pylori (aiHp) on treatment failure of first-line triple therapies.

Methods

Gastric biopsies of 814 patients infected with H. pylori naive to treatment were analyzed before and after eradication therapy by immunohistochemistry. Of these, 373 received treatment consisting of amoxicillin, clarithromycin, and proton pump inhibitor (AC/PPI). Availability of polymerase chain reaction-based clarithromycin susceptibility test results from pretreatment gastric biopsies was a precondition for matching 52 aiHp to 52 non-aiHp cases within the AC/PPI group.

Results

AiHp were detected mostly in low counts predominantly in corpus biopsies, rarely in antrum biopsies (95.2% vs 24.6%); they were found in 497 (61%) of all patients and in 192 of 373 patients (51.5%) in the AC/PPI group. The eradication rate in aiHp versus non-aiHp cases was 44.4% versus 72.9% in the entire sample and 45.3% versus 66.8% in the AC/PPI group. Among the 104 paired patients, respective values were 46.2% versus 78.8%; in clarithromycin-susceptible cases, 60.6% versus 91.9%. Both aiHp and resistance to clarithromycin proved to be highly significant (P ≤ .001) and independent predictors of eradication failure. Twelve of 13 aiHp cases with a clarithromycin-sensitive strain who failed eradication developed resistance to the antibiotic.

Conclusions

AiHp found by immunohistochemical staining especially in corpus biopsies proved to be a risk factor for failure of first-line triple therapies; occurrence of aiHp should be considered with regard to therapy options.
The Theory of Informative Fictions: A Character-Based Approach to False News and other Misinformation
Authors: Margolin Drew B
Published: June 2020

This article derives a theory of informative fictions (TIF). Common forms of misinformation—fake news, rumors, and conspiracy theories—while dysfunctional for communicating property information—information about the state and operation of things—can actually be valuable for communicating character information—information about the motivations of social agents. It is argued that narratives containing “false facts” can effectively portray a speaker's theory of another individual's character. Thus, such narratives are useful for gathering information about leaders and other important individuals who are evaluated in the community. After deriving the theory, TIF is used to derive propositions predicting the empirical conditions under which misinformation will be accepted, tolerated or promoted. The implications of the theory for addressing the normative problem of misinformation are also discussed.
FOBI: an ontology to represent food intake data and associate it with metabolomic data
Authors: Castellano-Escuder Pol , González-Domínguez Raúl , Wishart David S , Andrés-Lacueva Cristina , Sánchez-Pla Alex
Published: June 2020

Nutrition research can be conducted by using two complementary approaches: (i) traditional self-reporting methods or (ii) via metabolomics techniques to analyze food intake biomarkers in biofluids. However, the complexity and heterogeneity of these two very different types of data often hinder their analysis and integration. To manage this challenge, we have developed a novel ontology that describes food and their associated metabolite entities in a hierarchical way. This ontology uses a formal naming system, category definitions, properties and relations between both types of data. The ontology presented is called FOBI (Food-Biomarker Ontology) and it is composed of two interconnected sub-ontologies. One is a ’Food Ontology’ consisting of raw foods and ‘multi-component foods’ while the second is a ‘Biomarker Ontology’ containing food intake biomarkers classified by their chemical classes. These two sub-ontologies are conceptually independent but interconnected by different properties. This allows data and information regarding foods and food biomarkers to be visualized in a bidirectional way, going from metabolomics to nutritional data or vice versa. Potential applications of this ontology include the annotation of foods and biomarkers using a well-defined and consistent nomenclature, the standardized reporting of metabolomics workflows (e.g. metabolite identification, experimental design) or the application of different enrichment analysis approaches to analyze nutrimetabolomic data. Availability: FOBI is freely available in both OWL (Web Ontology Language) and OBO (Open Biomedical Ontologies) formats at the project’s Github repository (https://github.com/pcastellanoescuder/FoodBiomarkerOntology) and FOBI visualization tool is available in https://polcastellano.shinyapps.io/FOBI_Visualization_Tool/.
Delayed patch repair of a ruptured mitral subvalvular pseudoaneurysm caused by infective endocarditis: a case report
Authors: Hohri Yu , Yamazaki Sachiko , Numata Satoshi , Yaku Hitoshi
Published: June 2020

Background

Ruptured subvalvular pseudoaneurysm is a rare but significantly fatal complication of infective endocarditis. We report a successful surgical case of ruptured subvalvular pseudoaneurysm with infective endocarditis.

Case summary

A 46-year-old man presenting with high fever was admitted to a local hospital. Physical examination revealed small erythema and petechiae on his lower limbs. Transthoracic echocardiogram did not show any visible vegetation and valvular disease; however, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multiple acute cerebral infractions, and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus was detected in the blood culture. Infective endocarditis was suspected, and an antibacterial medication was initiated. Twelve days later, he suffered from a sudden cardiogenic shock due to cardiac tamponade. Bloody pericardial effusion (1600 mL) was drained, and his condition improved substantially. Transoesophageal echocardiography after pericardial drainage revealed severe mitral regurgitation and a subvalvular aneurysm at the posteromedial side of the mitral annulus; these were not detected at the time of admission. He was transferred to our hospital for surgery; however, since fresh cerebral bleeding was observed in MRI, the surgery was delayed. Three weeks later, after confirming that the blood culture was negative for any growth, patch repair of the subvalvular pseudoaneurysm and mitral valve repair were performed. Post-operatively, no complication or arrhythmia was observed; he was discharged 25 days later.

Discussion

We report a rare case of successful delayed surgery for a ruptured subvalvular pseudoaneurysm at the posteromedial side of the mitral annulus, which presented complications for infective endocarditis by S. aureus.
Longitudinal Dyadic Effects of Aging Self-Perceptions on Health
Authors: Cohn-Schwartz Ella , Segel-Karpas Dikla , Ayalon Liat
Published: June 2020

Objectives

Adults’ perceptions of aging are known to affect their mental and physical health. However, not much is known about how perceptions of aging within the couple-unit affect each member of the unit. Therefore, the current study explores the effects of husbands’ and wives’ self-perceptions of aging (SPA) on each other’s physical and mental health, both directly and indirectly, through impacting each other’s SPA.

Method

The study used data from the Health and Retirement Study, focusing on couples aged 50 and older. Self-rated health and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) were used as indicators of physical and mental health. SPA was measured using the “Attitudes toward aging” subscale of the “Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale.” An actor–partner interdependence mediation model was used to examine the effects of the 2008 SPA of couples on each other’s 2012 SPA and 2016 health.

Results

The SPA of both husbands and wives was associated with their own future mental and physical health in 2016, but not with that of their partner. However, their SPA was associated with their partner’s health indirectly, by influencing the SPA of the partner. That is, the SPA of both husbands and wives in 2008 impacted their partner’s SPA in 2012, which was subsequently related to that partner’s mental and physical health in 2016.

Discussion

Older couples can influence each other’s health indirectly, by affecting each other’s SPA. This indicates that adults’ SPA are interconnected, and thus, the entire couple-unit should be targeted to enhance positive SPA.
Gender Authorship in the Field of Clinical Chemistry
Authors: Annesley Thomas M
Published: June 2020

Background

Gender underrepresentation has long existed in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. While there are upward trends in many areas of the life and health sciences, some disciplines are underrepresented in female author numbers, including first and corresponding authors. This study evaluated the participation by women as authors in the field of clinical chemistry.

Methods

Clinical Chemistry and The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine were selected for data collection. Data were classified into four categories: total number of authors for each article, number of female authors for each article, whether the first author was female, and whether the corresponding author was female. From these data, the percentages of female authors, articles with female first authors, articles with female corresponding authors, and articles where a female was either first or corresponding author were calculated.

Results

Both journals had ≥40% total female authorship, ≥45% female first author, and 64% female first or corresponding author. The 40% female author number matched the percentage of female doctoral degree, board certified clinical chemists, and the 39% female PhDs and MDs in academic clinical pathology departments. Compared with a selected group of science or medicine journals and gender reports, Clinical Chemistry and The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine exceeded most journals and gender reports in female total authorship, first author, and corresponding author.

Conclusions

Women are well represented as authors in these two clinical chemistry journals. Both journals compare favorably against other scientific/medical journals. Female authorship in these two journals also parallels gender composition of the field of clinical chemistry.
COVID-19 TestNorm: A tool to normalize COVID-19 testing names to LOINC codes
Authors: Dong Xiao , Li Jianfu , Soysal Ekin , Bian Jiang , DuVall Scott L , Hanchrow Elizabeth , Liu Hongfang , Lynch Kristine E , Matheny Michael , Natarajan Karthik , Ohno-Machado Lucila , Pakhomov Serguei , Reeves Ruth Madeleine , Sitapati Amy M , Abhyankar Swapna , Cullen Theresa , Deckard Jami , Jiang Xiaoqian , Murphy Robert , Xu Hua
Published: June 2020

Large observational data networks that leverage routine clinical practice data in electronic health records (EHRs) are critical resources for research on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Data normalization is a key challenge for the secondary use of EHRs for COVID-19 research across institutions. In this study, we addressed the challenge of automating the normalization of COVID-19 diagnostic tests, which are critical data elements, but for which controlled terminology terms were published after clinical implementation. We developed a simple but effective rule-based tool called COVID-19 TestNorm to automatically normalize local COVID-19 testing names to standard LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes) codes. COVID-19 TestNorm was developed and evaluated using 568 test names collected from 8 healthcare systems. Our results show that it could achieve an accuracy of 97.4% on an independent test set. COVID-19 TestNorm is available as an open-source package for developers and as an online Web application for end users (https://clamp.uth.edu/covid/loinc.php). We believe that it will be a useful tool to support secondary use of EHRs for research on COVID-19.
Random and Directed Movement by Warren Root Collar Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Relative to Size and Distance of Host Lodgepole Pine Trees
Authors: Balogh Sharleen L , Björklund Niklas , Huber Dezene P W , Lindgren B Staffan
Published: June 2020

Hylobius warreni Wood (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a pest of conifers, especially lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Douglas ex Loudon) (Pinales: Pinaceae) in the Interior of British Columbia. The larvae feed on the roots and root collars and cause girdling damage, resulting in mortality or growth reductions. Previous research has suggested the adult weevils locate potential host trees by using random movements and vision, but likely not chemosensory cues. The purpose of this study is to determine if adult H. warreni respond to particular tree characteristics versus encounter potential hosts at random. Study A was a capture–mark–recapture experiment where weevils were captured on mature pine trees, while Study B was a tracking experiment within a young pine plantation. Weevils showed a preference for larger trees, and for trees that were closer to the weevil’s last known location. In Study A, weevils also avoided climbing trees in poor health, while in Study B, the weevils’ preference for taller trees increased as their distance from the weevil increased, as well as when taller trees were closer to other trees. Movement rates were similar to those observed in previous studies, were positively correlated with the average spacing of trees, and declined with time after release. This confirms previous findings that H. warreni may locate host trees by both vision and random movements, and that their movements are determined primarily by the size and distribution of potential host trees within their habitat.
Cardiology consultation in oncology practice: a 5-year survey
Authors: Tajiri Kazuko , Sekine Ikuo , Naito Hiroyuki , Murata Momoko , Li Siqi , Inoue Keiko , Sasamura Rumi , Nakajima Hideki , Iida Noriko , Nagashio Kenji , Honda Junya , Murakoshi Nobuyuki , Ishizu Tomoko , Ieda Masaki
Published: June 2020

Objective

Onco-cardiology services are expanding rapidly in Japan. To provide a better service, it is important to consider the needs of oncologists. However, little is known regarding specific needs for which oncologists should consult cardiologists to manage cardiovascular problems of their patients. We analysed cardiology consultations sought by oncologists to evaluate the role of cardiologists in cancer treatment.

Method

We retrospectively investigated consecutive 2064 cardiology consultations of cancer patients in the University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan, between January 2014 and December 2018.

Results

The most common timing of cardiology consultation was before the commencement of cancer treatment (n = 1355; 65.7%), followed by after the commencement of cancer treatment (n = 686; 33.2%). Among the 361 consultations before the administration of anticancer drugs, 235 (65.1%) were for anthracycline-based regimens. There were 506 (24.5%) consultations for the management of cardiovascular emergencies developing after the commencement of cancer treatment; venous thromboembolism was the most frequent (n = 125; 24.7%), followed by atrial fibrillation (n = 110; 21.7%) and heart failure (n = 74; 14.6%). There were marked differences in the types of cardiovascular emergencies depending on the type of cancer.

Conclusions

This survey revealed the various cardiovascular problems for which oncologists sought interventions by cardiologists. A multidisciplinary approach in an onco-cardiology service is essential to achieve optimal long-term outcomes.
Physical characterization of 2020 AV2, the first known asteroid orbiting inside Venus orbit
Authors: Popescu M , de León J , de la Fuente Marcos C , Vaduvescu O , de la Fuente Marcos R , Licandro J , Pinter V , Tatsumi E , Zamora O , Fariña C , Curelaru L
Published: June 2020

The first known asteroid with the orbit inside that of Venus is 2020 AV2. This may be the largest member of a new population of small bodies with the aphelion smaller than 0.718 au, called Vatiras. The surface of 2020 AV2 is being constantly modified by the high temperature, by the strong solar wind irradiation that characterizes the innermost region of the Solar system, and by high-energy micrometeorite impacts. The study of its physical properties represents an extreme test-case for the science of near-Earth asteroids. Here, we report spectroscopic observations of 2020 AV2 in the 0.5–1.5-μm wavelength interval. These were performed with the Nordic Optical Telescope and the William Herschel Telescope. Based on the obtained spectra, we classify 2020 AV2 as a Sa-type asteroid. We estimate the diameter of this Vatira to be $1.50_{-0.65}^{+1.10}$ km by considering the average albedo of A-type and S-complex asteroids ($p_V=0.23_{-0.08}^{+0.11}$), and the absolute magnitude (H = 16.40 ± 0.78 mag). The wide spectral band around 1 μm shows the signature of an olivine-rich composition. The estimated band centre BIC = 1.08 ± 0.02 μm corresponds to a ferroan olivine mineralogy similar to that of brachinite meteorites.