bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Occupational risk of exposure to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the quality of infection hygiene in nursing homes
Authors: Rasmussen Pil Uthaug , Uhrbrand Katrine , Bartels Mette Damkjær , Neustrup Helle , Karottki Dorina Gabriela , Bültmann Ute , Madsen Anne Mette
Published: November 2020

Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) is an increasing health concern across the globe and is often prevalent at long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. However, we know little of whether nursing home staff is exposed to MRSA via air and surfaces. We investigated whether staff members at nursing homes are colonised with and exposed to culturable MRSA, and assessed staff members’ self-reported knowledge of MRSA and compliance with infection hygiene guidelines. Five nursing homes with MRSA positive residents were visited in Copenhagen, Denmark. Personal bioaerosol exposure samples and environmental samples from surfaces, sedimented dust and bioaerosols were examined for MRSA and methicillin-susceptibleS. aureus(MSSA) to determine occupational exposure. Swabs were taken from staffs’ nose, throat, and hands to determine whether they were colonised with MRSA. An online questionnaire about MRSA and infection control was distributed. No staff members were colonised with MRSA, but MRSA was detected in the rooms of the colonised residents in two out of the five nursing homes. MRSA was observed in air (n=4 out of 42, ranging from 2.9–7.9 CFU/m3), sedimented dust (n= 1 out of 58, 1.1 × 103CFU/m2/d), and on surfaces (n= 9 out of 113, 0.04–70.8 CFU/m2). The questionnaire revealed that half of the staff members worry about spreading MRSA to others. Identified aspects for improvement were improved availability and use of protective equipment, not transferring cleaning supplies (e.g., vacuum cleaners) between residents’ rooms and to reduce worry of MRSA, e.g., through education.
High-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: achievements and perspectives
Authors: Xu Ying , Gong Hui , Dai Xiaohu
Published: November 2020

High-solid anaerobic digestion (HS-AD) has been applied extensively during the last few decades for treating various organic wastes, such as agricultural wastes, organic fractions of municipal solid wastes, and kitchen wastes. However, the application of HS-AD to the processing of sewage sludge (SS) remains limited, which is largely attributable to its poor process stability and performance. Extensive research has been conducted to attempt to surmount these limitations. In this review, the main factors affecting process stability and performance in the HS-AD of SS are comprehensively reviewed, and the improved methods in current use, such as HS sludge pre-treatment and anaerobic co-digestion with other organic wastes, are summarised. Besides, this paper also discusses the characteristics of substance transformation in the HS-AD of SS with and without thermal pre-treatment. Research has shown that the HS effect is due to the presence of high concentrations of substances that may inhibit the function of anaerobic microorganisms, and that it also results in poor mass transfer, a low diffusion coefficient, and high viscosity. Finally, knowledge gaps in the current research on HS-AD of SS are identified. Based on these, it proposes that future efforts should be devoted to standardising the definition of HS sludge, revealing the law of migration and transformation of pollutants, describing the metabolic pathways by which specific substances are degraded, and establishing accurate mathematical models. Moreover, developing green sludge dewatering agents, obtaining high value-added products, and revealing effects of the above two on HS-AD of SS can also be considered in future.
Public transport network optimisation in PTV Visum using selection hyper-heuristics
Authors: Heyken Soares Philipp , Ahmed Leena , Mao Yong , Mumford Christine L
Published: November 2020

Despite the progress in the field of automatic public transport route optimisation in recent years, there exists a clear gap between the development of optimisation algorithms and their applications in real-world planning processes. In this study, we bridge this gap by developing an interface between the urban transit routing problem (UTRP) and the professional transport modelling software PTV Visum. The interface manages the differences in data requirements between the two worlds of research and allows the optimisation of public transport lines in Visum network models. This is demonstrated with the application of selection hyper-heuristics on two network models representing real-world urban areas. The optimisation objectives include the passengers’ average travel time and operators’ costs. Furthermore, we show how our approach can be combined with a mode choice model to optimise the use of public transport in relation to other modes. This feature is applied in a special optimisation experiment to reduce the number of private vehicles on a selected set of links in the network. The results demonstrate the successful implementation of our interface and the applied optimisation methods for a multi-modal public transport network.
Communicative interventions for collective action in the management of potato late blight: evidence from a framed field game experiment in Ethiopia
Authors: Damtew Elias , Leeuwis Cees , Struik Paul C , Cecchi Francesco , van Mierlo Barbara , Lie Rico , Lemaga Berga , Cieslik Katarzyna
Published: November 2020

Potato late blight remains a threat to food security and livelihood of millions of people in Ethiopia. Despite a rapid dispersal of the disease pathogen and farmers’ interdependency in managing it, the literature on agricultural extension and communication tends to frame the disease and its management as a problem of the individual farmer. This study appreciates late blight as a collective action problem whose management requires a corresponding re-configuration in information sharing and communicative practices. We employ a framed field game experiment with a mixed quantitative and qualitative method to explore how and to what extent different types and combinations of communicative interventions affect collective action in the management of the disease among farmers in Ethiopia. Interestingly, our quantitative findings revealed that the provision of technical information about interdependency involved in the management of the disease and social monitoring information about the management practices of other farmers negatively affected collective action. However, collective action performance significantly improved when farmers were given the opportunity to interactively communicate about their management strategies. Further qualitative investigation sheds light on how farmers used and made sense of the different communicative interventions to inform and adjust their individual decisions, coordinate collective strategies, pressure free-riders, and develop a shared identity. It is concluded that interventions that mainly promote the provision of technical and social information can be counterproductive in managing collective action problems such as late blight unless it is complemented with interactive communication and deliberation processes.
A sewer overflow mitigation during festival and rainfall periods: case study of Karbala
Authors: Alisawi Hussein Abed Obaid
Published: November 2020

The objective of the present study to assess the performance of a suggested sewer line by using pipe jacking system (PJS) in order to enhance the sewage capacity and mitigate sewer flooding of historic pilgrimage city of Karbala, Iraq. The storm water management model (SWMM5) was used for this purpose. The simulation of exiting sewer system reveals that sewer discharge during peak pilgrimage period is more than 200% of the capacity of existing sewer line. Installation of SLL having a diameter of 2.5 m at a depth ranging between 12 and 22 m by PJS can reduce water depth in sewer pipe by 78%. The reduction of water depth at sewer pipe can reduce sewer overflow up to 70%, if the system is installed and managed properly. The methodology proposed in the paper can be applied in any location having similar problem with necessary modifications.
Unexpected surfaces singular on lines in $${\mathbb {P}}^{3}$$
Authors: Dumnicki Marcin , Harbourne Brian , Roé Joaquim , Szemberg Tomasz , Tutaj-Gasińska Halszka
Published: November 2020

We study linear systems of surfaces in$${\mathbb {P}}^3$$P3singular along general lines. Our purpose is to identify and classify special systems of such surfaces, i.e., those non-empty systems where the conditions imposed by the multiple lines are not independent. We prove the existence of four surfaces arising as (projective) linear systems with a single reduced member. Till now no such examples have been known. These are unexpected surfaces in the sense of recent work of Cook II, Harbourne, Migliore, and Nagel. It is an open problem if our list is complete, i.e., if it contains all reduced and irreducible unexpected surfaces based on lines in$${\mathbb {P}}^3$$P3. As an application we find Waldschmidt constants of six general lines in$${\mathbb {P}}^3$$P3and an upper bound for this invariant for seven general lines.
Vindication, virtue, and vitriol
Authors: Farrell Tracie , Gorrell Genevieve , Bontcheva Kalina
Published: November 2020

COVID-19 has given rise to a lot of malicious content online, including hate speech, online abuse, and misinformation. British MPs have also received abuse and hate on social media during this time. To understand and contextualise the level of abuse MPs receive, we consider how ministers use social media to communicate about the pandemic, and the citizen engagement that this generates. The focus of the paper is on a large-scale, mixed-methods study of abusive and antagonistic responses to UK politicians on Twitter, during the pandemic from early February to late May 2020. We find that pressing subjects such as financial concerns attract high levels of engagement, but not necessarily abusive dialogue. Rather, criticising authorities appears to attract higher levels of abuse during this period of the pandemic. In addition, communicating about subjects like racism and inequality may result in accusations of virtue signalling or pandering by some users. This work contributes to the wider understanding of abusive language online, in particular that which is directed at public officials.
Treatment of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion with Concomitant Partially Thrombosed Aneurysm: a Case Report
Authors: Klapp Oliger Michel , Hauser Till-Karsten , Strauss Franz-Josef , Ernemann Ulrike
Published: November 2020

A 68-year-old female with an acute ischemic stroke demanding emergency thrombectomy which was complicated by the presence of an intracranial aneurysm. Computer tomography revealed the occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery with a distal non-ruptured partially thrombosed aneurysm. The treatment consisted in the administration of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator and the removal of the proximal thrombus via direct aspiration in order to prevent perforation of the distal aneurysm. After the procedure, the clinical symptoms improved significantly indicated by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). The aim of the present case report is, therefore, to suggest a clinical approach to help physicians in the decision-making process for early and safe revascularization in patients with ischemic stroke and intracranial aneurysms.
Spatio-temporal graph convolutional neural network for remaining useful life estimation of aircraft engines
Authors: Wang Mengni , Li Yuanxiang , Zhang Yuxuan , Jia Lei
Published: November 2020

Accurate remaining useful life (RUL) estimation is crucial for the maintenance of complex systems, e.g. aircraft engines. Thanks to the popularity of sensors, data-driven methods are widely used to evaluate RULs of systems especially deep learning approaches. Though remarkably capable at non-linear modeling, deep learning-based prognostics techniques lack powerful spatio-temporal learning ability. For instance, convolutional neural networks are restricted to only process grid structures rather than general domains, recurrent neural networks neglect spatial relations between sensors and suffer from long-term dependency learning. To solve these problems, we construct a graph structure on sensor network with Pearson Correlation Coefficients among sensors and propose a method for combining the power of graph convolutional network on spatial learning and sequence learning success of temporal convolutional networks. We conduct the proposed method on aircraft engine dataset provided by NASA. The experimental results demonstrate that the established graph structure is appropriate and the proposed approach can model spatio-temporal dependency accurately as well as improve the performance of RUL estimation.
„Und ich fand es am Anfang auch schwierig, mich in der Rolle vorzustellen“ – Sportagent*innen zwischen Ganztagsschule und Sportverein
Authors: Braun Sebastian , Albert Katrin
Published: November 2020

Im Zuge des strukturellen Wandels organisierter Bildung in Deutschland wird in der Ganztagsschule das außerunterrichtliche sportbezogene Nachmittagsangebot vielfach in Kooperation mit lokalen Sportvereinen bereitgestellt. Trotz der Relevanz dieser Kooperation liegen über die entsprechenden Koordinationsinstanzen kaum empirische Erkenntnisse vor. In diesen Kontext lässt sich die Sozialfigur der*des Sportagent*in einordnen, die*der in einem Pilotprojekt in Ganztagsschulen implementiert und erprobt wurde. Auf Basis empirischer Befunde der wissenschaftlichen Begleitung konzentriert sich der Beitrag auf die Frage, wie die Sportagent*innen ihre soziale Rolle im dynamischen Handlungsfeld der Kooperation von Ganztagsschule und Sportvereinen entwarfen und ausgestalteten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Sportagent*innen ihre soziale Rolle entlang von drei zentralen Handlungsorientierungen entwarfen: als Agent*in des sport(vereins)distanzierten Kindes, der Schule mit besonderem Unterstützungsbedarf und eines bildungszielorientierten Sports. Diese Orientierungen werden dargestellt und im Lichte der Rolle einer Koordinationsinstanz zwischen Ganztagsschule und Sportverein interpretiert.
Bewegte Lebenswelten – Einblicke in Raum- und Bewegungserleben in Ganztagsschulen aus Sicht von Kindern
Authors: Gumz Heike
Published: November 2020

Vor dem Hintergrund des flächendeckenden Ausbaus ganztägiger Bildungsangebote als einem der größten bildungspolitischen Reformprojekte in Deutschland und des Diskurses zur Institutionalisierung von Kindheit bestand das Ziel der diesem Beitrag zugrundeliegenden Studie darin, mit einem partizipativ ausgerichteten Mixed-Methods-Design die Perspektive der Kinder auf Ganztagsschule als ihren Lebensort zu beleuchten. Mit einer aneignungstheoretischen Perspektive auf das Erleben von Raum und Bewegung in vorwiegend informellen Settings der Bildung und des Lernens werden die Ergebnisse eingeordnet in die mit der Einführung von Ganztag verbundenen Erwartungen insgesamt sowie die Sport und Bewegung zugeschriebene Relevanz insbesondere – sowohl in ihrer Perspektive auf das Individuum, im Hinblick auf eine Veränderung von Bildung und die Verbesserung von Schulqualität als auch in ihrer gesellschaftlichen Ausrichtung. Auf dieser Basis werden konzeptionelle Implikationen für die involvierten Akteure abgeleitet und die Erkenntnisse insbesondere auch in ungleichheitssensibler Perspektive gerahmt.
The Correspondence of Isaac Newton
Authors: Newton Isaac
Published: November 2020

This third volume covers the period from December 1688 to August 1694. In January 1688/9 Newton was elected one of the representatives of the University of Cambridge in the Convention Parliament, and much of his time was taken up in dealing with his new responsibilities, as may be gathered from his correspondence with Covel, Vice-Chancellor of the University. The letters in question, which were printed in collected form in 1848, provide a picture of the unsettled period which followed the flight of King James II to the court of Louis XIV, and the landing of William, Prince of Orange, on English soil on 5 November 1688. In 1689 there was a possibility of Newton being appointed to the Provostship of King's College, Cambridge, but the only reference in the Correspondence is to be found in Letter 377.
Trans Rights Are Not Just Human Rights: Legal Strategies for Trans Justice
Authors: Singer Samuel
Published: November 2020

Human rights instruments are but one of many legal advocacy tools used by trans people. Recent legal scholarship emphasizes that human rights laws are not sufficient to address legal challenges facing trans people, particularly intersectional and systemic barriers. This article looks to Canadian trans case law outside of human rights law to reveal the many instances in which trans people’s fight for legal recognition and redress occur outside of the human rights arena. It focuses on trans case law in three areas: family law, the use of name and gender in court, and access to social benefits. Canadian trans jurisprudence illustrates that not only are trans legal strategies outside of human rights plentiful and effective, they are also imperative. An agile and pragmatic approach to trans rights is necessary, particularly when minority rights are under threat, and for trans people on the margins of trans law reforms.
Investigating the impact of a β-lactam allergy label on preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis administration
Authors: Nguyen Cynthia T. , Petrucci Kerilyn , Daily Ellen , Brown Amanda M. , Pettit Natasha N. , Pisano Jennifer
Published: November 2020

Objective:

Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common postprocedure complication that may be prevented by adhering to established recommendations, including administration of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. Patients with a β-lactam allergy (BLA) label have an increased risk of SSI. We sought to evaluate the appropriateness of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis in patients labeled with a BLA compared those without a BLA.

Methods:

This was a single-center, retrospective, matched cohort study of adult patients who underwent a clean or clean-contaminated knee replacement, abdominal hysterectomy, colorectal surgery, or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Patients with a BLA label were matched to patients without a BLA label based on procedure, age, and body mass index (BMI). The primary end point was the rate of appropriate preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, including antibiotic selection and timing prior to incision.

Results:

In total, 260 patients were included. Knee replacement (38%) was the most common procedure, followed by abdominal hysterectomy (25%), colorectal surgery (18%), and CABG (18%). Appropriate preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis was higher among patients without a BLA (76% vs 37%; P < .001). Among patients with a mild-to-moderate reaction or intolerance, 29 (53%) received antibiotics that would have been appropriate only if the patient had had a severe BLA. Patients with a BLA were more likely to have had an antibiotic omitted from the prophylactic regimen (44% vs 4%; P < .001).

Conclusion:

Patients with a BLA were more likely to receive inappropriate preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis, attributed to misinterpretation of BLA labels and antibiotic omissions. Optimizing antibiotic prophylaxis among patients with BLAs remains an area of opportunity to prevent SSIs.
The effects of short-term mindfulness-based group intervention utilising a school setting for Japanese adolescents with trauma
Authors: Ito Daisuke , Kubo Yuki , Takii Ayako , Watanabe Asuka , Ohtani Tetsuhiro , Koseki Shunsuke
Published: November 2020

The use of mindfulness as a tool to improve mental health has received increased attention. Schools provide ideal environments for short-term prevention and skill development for mental health. Further, teachers can promote and reinforce students’ daily use of mindfulness. This study explored the effects of a short-term group mindfulness-based intervention on the mental health of adolescents who have experienced trauma. A total of 49 high school students received a mindfulness-based intervention session followed by homework and teacher reinforcement. The results suggest that a short-term group intervention for mindfulness can potentially improve mindfulness attention awareness and reduce depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. As there was no control group, additional research examining the effectiveness of the intervention is essential.
Association between nutrition labelling awareness and the metabolic syndrome: results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2016–2018
Authors: Hyeon Cho Ha , Woong Lee Doo , Hahm Myung-Il
Published: November 2020

Healthy dietary habits reduce the likelihood for the metabolic syndrome (MS). The present study investigated whether awareness of nutrition information is associated with a decreased likelihood for the MS after adjusting for potential confounders among Korean adults aged 20 years and older. Data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2018. Of the 14 490 participants, 4001 (27·6 %) participants had the MS. In total, 3815 (26·3 %) participants checked nutritional facts and made labelling-dependent purchasing decisions (aware + consider), 7001 (48·3 %) checked nutritional facts but did not make labelling-dependent purchasing decisions or were aware of nutrition facts but did not check them when making food purchasing decisions (aware + not consider) and 3674 (25·4 %) were unaware of nutritional facts (not aware). The aware + consider group was less likely to develop the MS than other groups. The aware + not consider, and not aware groups were at higher association with the MS compared with the aware + consider group. Statistically significant associations were observed between the MS and several demographic characteristics including sex, age, household income, education level, employment status, public health insurance status, smoking status, alcohol consumption and aerobic exercise.
FNDC5 polymorphism influences the association between sarcopenia and liver fibrosis in adults with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Authors: Gao Feng , Zheng Kenneth I. , Zhu Pei-Wu , Li Yang-Yang , Ma Hong-Lei , Li Gang , Tang Liang-Jie , Rios Rafael S. , Liu Wen-Yue , Pan Xiao-Yan , Targher Giovanni , Byrne Christopher D. , Chen Yong-Ping , Zheng Ming-Hua
Published: November 2020

The FNDC5 gene encodes the fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 that is a membrane protein mainly expressed in skeletal muscle, and the FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism may be associated with liver disease severity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We investigated the influence of the FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism on the relationship between sarcopenia and the histological severity of NAFLD. A total of 370 adult individuals with biopsy-proven NAFLD were studied. The association between the key exposure sarcopenia and the outcome liver histological severity was investigated by binary logistic regression. Stratified analyses were undertaken to examine the impact of FNDC5 rs3480 polymorphism on the association between sarcopenia and the severity of NAFLD histology. Patients with sarcopenia had more severe histological grades of steatosis and a higher prevalence of significant fibrosis and definite non-alcoholic steatohepatitis than those without sarcopenia. There was a significant association between sarcopenia and significant fibrosis (adjusted OR 2·79, 95 % CI 1·31, 5·95, P = 0·008), independent of established risk factors and potential confounders. Among patients with sarcopenia, significant fibrosis occurred more frequently in the rs3480 AA genotype carriers than in those carrying the FNDC5 rs3480 G genotype (43·8 v. 17·2 %, P = 0·031). In the association between sarcopenia and liver fibrosis, there was a significant interaction between the FNDC5 genotype and sarcopenia status (P value for interaction = 0·006). Sarcopenia is independently associated with significant liver fibrosis, and the FNDC5 rs3480 G variant influences the association between sarcopenia and liver fibrosis in patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD.
Poverty, dowry and the ‘good match’: revisiting community perceptions and practices of child marriage in a rural setting in Bangladesh
Authors: Fattah Kazi Nazrul , Camellia Suborna
Published: November 2020

The high prevalence of child marriage in many South Asian countries is usually attributed to poverty, lack of access to education and economic opportunities and gender inequitable cultural norms. Yet in Bangladesh, despite economic growth, mass female education and concerted efforts to eliminate child marriage, its prevalence remains very high. This paper explores community-level perceptions, attitudes and practices relating to child marriage in a rural setting in Bangladesh with the aim of understanding the collective discourses of child marriage in the country and identify the factors shaping these. The study was based on exploratory sequential mixed-method research, with qualitative data collected through group discussions and interviews with 64 participants and quantitative survey data from 3344 participants from the Rangpur district of northern Bangladesh in 2014. The findings suggest that, in addition to the already identified drivers, the notion of a ‘good match’, where the wife is subservient to her husband, is one of the main motivations for marrying off girls early in this region of Bangladesh. Reducing poverty and educating girls may not be adequate to address the persistent problem of child marriage in all Bangladeshi contexts and emphasis needs to be given to transforming the prevailing idea of a ‘good match’ to one of an ‘equal match’.
Assessment of the rarity and conservation status of the Colombian endemic brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus
Authors: Torres-Martínez María M. , Ramírez-Chaves Héctor E. , Noguera-Urbano Elkin A. , Passos Fernando C.
Published: November 2020

The brown hairy dwarf porcupine Coendou vestitus is a poorly studied Andean species endemic to Colombia. Its current Red List category is contradictory: globally it is categorized as Data Deficient but in Colombia it is categorized as Vulnerable. This contradiction has limited the implementation of conservation programmes. We evaluate the level of rarity of the species and provide consolidated information for a new assessment of its Red List status. We reviewed literature, photographs, and voucher specimens in natural history collections. Using the confirmed records, we estimated the extent of occurrence (EOO) based on the minimum convex polygon and the area of occupancy (AOO) summing the area of grid squares occupied by the species. We found that C. vestitus is very rare, with a small range, low estimated population density, occurrence in only one habitat type and small body size. The species has an EOO of 3,323 km2 and an AOO of 24 km2, based on six confirmed localities, all on the western slopes of the Eastern Cordillera, in the central Andean region of Colombia. Based on the species' rarity, restricted distribution, and threats to its natural habitat, we recommend its categorization as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This will help delineate research and conservation efforts for this porcupine, which has a highly restricted range and inhabits the threatened Andean forest.
An Adaptive Vector Tracking Scheme for High-Orbit Degraded GNSS Signal
Authors: Jiao Chenyang , Wang Xinlong , Wang Dun , Li Qunsheng , Zhang Jinpeng , Cai Yuanwen
Published: November 2020

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers meet numerous challenges in a high-orbit environment, including weak and discontinuous signal, and time-varying strength. To resolve these issues and enhance reliability, an innovative adaptive vector tracking loop (VTL) scheme is proposed. Non-linear models of the VTL filter are established to calculate code phase and carrier frequency errors accurately. Based on this, a deep analysis has been developed on the measurement noise. To reduce the impact of the interdependent noises among channels in VTL, an adaptive VTL algorithm assisted by the variational Bayesian (VB) learning network is proposed to estimate the measurement noise and maintain the error convergence in the time-varying noise or signal outage conditions. Further, the implementation steps of the adaptive algorithm have been designed in detail. In particular, the carrier-to-noise power ratio (C/N0) estimation method is further employed to update the a prior probability density in case of change of tracking satellite. The simulation results indicate that the proposed VTL scheme with VB algorithm is a promising method to improve the accuracy and reliability of GNSS receivers significantly under a high-orbit degraded signal environment.
All-Cause Hospitalizations after Large-Scale Hurricanes among Older Adults: A Self-Controlled Case Series Study
Authors: Bell Sue Anne , Iwashyna Theodore J. , Zhang Xingyu , Chen Bingxin , Davis Matthew A.
Published: November 2020

Introduction:

Understanding the drivers of health care utilization patterns following disasters can better support health planning. This study characterized all-cause hospitalizations among older Americans after eight large-scale hurricanes.

Study Objective:

The objective of this study was to characterize all-cause hospitalizations for any cause among older Americans in the 30 days after eight large-scale hurricanes.

Methods:

A self-controlled case series study among Medicare beneficiaries (age 65+) exposed to one of eight hurricanes was conducted. The predicted probability of sociodemographic factors associated with hospitalization using logit models was estimated.

Results:

Hurricane Sandy (2012) had the highest post-hurricane admission rate, a 23% increase (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.23; 95% CI, 1.22-1.24), while Hurricane Irene in 2011 had only a 10% increase (IRR = 1.10; 95% CI, 1.09-1.11). Higher likelihood of hospitalization occurring after hurricanes included being 85 or older (36.8% probability of hospitalization; 95% CI, 34.7-39.0) and being dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid (62.8%; 95% CI, 60.7-64.9).

Conclusion:

Planning to address the surge in hospitalization for a longer time period after hurricanes and interventions targeted to support aging Americans are needed.
Characteristics of Clinically Asymptomatic Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Case Series
Authors: Goldenfeld Miki , Nir-Paz Ran , Segal Gadi , Bar-On Elhanan , Mendelson Ella , Mandelboim Michal , Wolf Dana G. , Marom Edith M. , Israely Tomer , Achdout Hagit , Rahav Galia , Hanage W.P. , Regev-Yochay Gili
Published: November 2020

Up until now, there is much debate about the role of asymptomatic patients and pauci-symptomatic patients in severe acute respiratory syndrome novel coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission, and little is known about the kinetics of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) shedding in these populations. This article aims to describe key features and the nature of asymptomatic and pauci-symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infected patients. The cohort consisted of six participants, three pairs, which were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during February 2020 on board the Diamond Princess. Of the six confirmed (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT-PCR]) cases, four were initially diagnosed in Japan and two upon their arrival to Israel. Duration of infection was between four days and up to 26 days. Of the six patients, three were completely asymptomatic and the others were pauci-symptomatic. All five patients in whom a computerized tomography (CT) scan was performed had lung pathology. In one patient, infectivity was tested using cell culture and a cytopathic effect was demonstrated. A serology test was performed in three of the patients and all three had a positive immunoglobulin G (IgG) four to eight weeks after disease onset. This case series demonstrates that asymptomatic and pauci-symptomatic patients may play a role in infection transmission by demonstrating probable transmission among asymptomatic spouses and by demonstrating a viable virus via a cell culture. Additionally, asymptomatic and pauci-symptomatic patients can have lung pathology and developing IgG antibodies.
Deliberation in Constitutional Amendment: Reappraising Ireland’s Deliberative Mini-Publics
Authors: Doyle Oran , Walsh Rachael
Published: November 2020

Deliberative democracy innovations in constitutional amendment processes – Ireland’s experimentation with deliberative mini-publics on constitutional issues – Factors influencing the political take-up of recommendations – The significance of the support of the legislative majority –Deliberative mini-publics as an accountability mechanism.
Examining the independent and joint effects of genomic and exposomic liabilities for schizophrenia across the psychosis spectrum
Authors: Pries L.-K. , Dal Ferro G. A. , van Os J. , Delespaul P. , Kenis G. , Lin B. D. , Luykx J. J. , Richards A. L. , Akdede B. , Binbay T. , Altınyazar V. , Yalınçetin B. , Gümüş-Akay G. , Cihan B. , Soygür H. , Ulaş H. , Şahin Cankurtaran E. , Ulusoy Kaymak S. , Mihaljevic M. M. , Andric Petrovic S. , Mirjanic T. , Bernardo M. , Mezquida G. , Amoretti S. , Bobes J. , Saiz P. A. , García-Portilla M. Paz , Sanjuan J. , Aguilar E. J. , Santos J. L. , Jiménez-López E. , Arrojo M. , Carracedo A. , López G. , González-Peñas J. , Parellada M. , Maric N. P. , Atbaşoğlu C. , Ucok A. , Alptekin K. , Can Saka M. ,   Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) investigators, Arango C. , O'Donovan M. , Tosato S. , Rutten B. P. F. , Guloksuz S.
Published: November 2020

Aims

Psychosis spectrum disorder has a complex pathoetiology characterised by interacting environmental and genetic vulnerabilities. The present study aims to investigate the role of gene–environment interaction using aggregate scores of genetic (polygenic risk score for schizophrenia (PRS-SCZ)) and environment liability for schizophrenia (exposome score for schizophrenia (ES-SCZ)) across the psychosis continuum.

Methods

The sample consisted of 1699 patients, 1753 unaffected siblings, and 1542 healthy comparison participants. The Structured Interview for Schizotypy-Revised (SIS-R) was administered to analyse scores of total, positive, and negative schizotypy in siblings and healthy comparison participants. The PRS-SCZ was trained using the Psychiatric Genomics Consortiums results and the ES-SCZ was calculated guided by the approach validated in a previous report in the current data set. Regression models were applied to test the independent and joint effects of PRS-SCZ and ES-SCZ (adjusted for age, sex, and ancestry using 10 principal components).

Results

Both genetic and environmental vulnerability were associated with case-control status. Furthermore, there was evidence for additive interaction between binary modes of PRS-SCZ and ES-SCZ (above 75% of the control distribution) increasing the odds for schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis (relative excess risk due to interaction = 6.79, [95% confidential interval (CI) 3.32, 10.26], p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses using continuous PRS-SCZ and ES-SCZ confirmed gene–environment interaction (relative excess risk due to interaction = 1.80 [95% CI 1.01, 3.32], p = 0.004). In siblings and healthy comparison participants, PRS-SCZ and ES-SCZ were associated with all SIS-R dimensions and evidence was found for an interaction between PRS-SCZ and ES-SCZ on the total (B = 0.006 [95% CI 0.003, 0.009], p < 0.001), positive (B = 0.006 [95% CI, 0.002, 0.009], p = 0.002), and negative (B = 0.006, [95% CI 0.004, 0.009], p < 0.001) schizotypy dimensions.

Conclusions

The interplay between exposome load and schizophrenia genetic liability contributing to psychosis across the spectrum of expression provide further empirical support to the notion of aetiological continuity underlying an extended psychosis phenotype.
Indigenous Water Rights in Comparative Law
Authors: Macpherson Elizabeth
Published: November 2020

At the end of the 2015 Academy Award-winning filmThe Big Short, which explores the origins of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, a caption notes that the Wall Street investor protagonist of the film who predicted the collapse of the United States (US) housing market would now be ‘focused on one commodity: water’. Water is sometimes described in popular culture as ‘the new oil’ or ‘more valuable than gold’. It is predicted to be the subject of increasing uncertainty, competition, conflict, and even war, as increasing demand from a growing human population and development meets reduced supply as a result of poor management, overuse, and climate change.
Why Protect Ancient Woodland in the UK? Rethinking the Ecosystem Approach
Authors: Razzaque Jona , Lester Claire
Published: November 2020

Sites of ancient woodland in the United Kingdom (UK) are diminishing rapidly and the multifunctional forest management system with its fragmented approach fails effectively to protect such woodland. In the face of reports on the destruction of ancient woodland, the HS2 High-Speed train project in the UK signifies the extent of trade-offs among the key stakeholders. Such large infrastructure projects typically come with high environmental and social costs, including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss, and social disruption. This article examines the protection of ancient woodland in the UK and assesses the challenges in applying the ecosystem approach, an internationally recognized sustainability strategy, in the context of such protection. A better understanding of the ecosystem approach to manage ancient woodland is critical for promoting sustainable forestry practices in the UK and informs the discussion in this article of the importance of conserving ancient woodland globally. Lessons learned from UK woodland policies and certification schemes include the need to have in place strong regulatory frameworks, introduce clear indicators, and recognize pluralistic value systems alongside economic considerations. The article concludes that the protection of ancient woodland in the UK requires distinct and strong laws that reflect multiple values of this resource, acknowledge the trade-offs among stakeholders, and adopt an inclusive approach to reduce power asymmetries.
Melt Focusing Along Permeability Barriers at Subduction Zones and the Location of Volcanic Arcs
Authors: Ha Goeun , Montési Laurent G. J. , Zhu Wenlu
Published: November 2020

Fluids released from dehydration reactions occurring in subducting slabs trigger partial melting in the mantle wedge. The resulting magma rises through the overlying mantle wedge and lithosphere and forms arc volcanoes at subduction zones. In general, the location of the volcanic arc is narrowly defined even though the melting region in the mantle wedge can be broad. We propose here that a thermally controlled low permeability barrier at the base of lithosphere is able to focus melts to the place where the volcanic arc is actually observed. As the melt ascends, the permeability of the mantle rock decreases as a result of melt crystallization. A low permeability barrier may form in the cooler lithosphere and can trap ascending melt and redirect it laterally according to the slope of the permeability barrier, so that the ascending melt is focused at the apex of the permeability barrier. We model the location and shape of isotherms that approximate the permeability barriers in the mantle wedge based in two‐dimensional numerical subduction models that follow the specific geometry of various subduction zones. In 28 of 31 globally distributed test regions, the arc locations estimated from our model show good agreement with the actual arc locations. The modeling results indicate that volcanic arcs can be explained as the surface projection of the apex of the permeability barrier, regardless of the distribution of melt deeper in the mantle wedge.
Observational and Model Evidence for an Important Role for Volcanic Forcing Driving Atlantic Multidecadal Variability Over the Last 600 Years
Authors: Waite Amanda J. , Klavans Jeremy M. , Clement Amy C. , Murphy Lisa N. , Liebetrau Volker , Eisenhauer Anton , Weger Ralf J. , Swart Peter K.
Published: November 2020

The modern history of North Atlantic sea surface temperature shows variability coinciding with changes in air temperature and rainfall over the Northern Hemisphere. There is a debate about this variability and, in particular, whether it is internal to the ocean‐atmosphere system or is forced by external factors (natural and anthropogenic). Here we present a temperature record, obtained using the Sr/Ca ratio measured in a skeleton of a sclerosponge, that shows agreement with the instrumental record over the past 150 years as well as multidecadal temperature variability over the last 600 years. Comparison with climate simulations of the last millennium shows that large cooling events recorded, in the sclerosponge, are consistent with natural (primarily volcanic activity) and anthropogenic forcings. There are, however, multidecadal periods not connected to current estimates of external forcing over the last millennium allowing for alternative explanations, such as internally driven changes in ocean and atmospheric circulation.
K/U of the MORB Source and Silicate Earth
Authors: Farcy B. , Arevalo R. , McDonough W. F.
Published: November 2020

Potassium (K) informs on the radiogenic heat production, atmospheric composition, and volatile element depletion of the Earth and other planetary systems. Constraints on the abundance of K in the Earth, Moon, and other rocky bodies have historically hinged on K/U values measured in planetary materials, particularly comparisons of the continental crust and mid‐ocean ridge basalts (MORBs), for developing compositional models of the bulk silicate Earth (BSE). However, a consensus on the most representative K/U value for global MORB remains elusive despite numerous studies. Here, we statistically analyze a critical compilation of MORB data to determine the K/U value of the MORB source. Covariations in the log‐normal abundances of K and U establish that K is 3–7 times less incompatible than U during melting and/or crystallization processes, enabling inverse modeling to infer the K/U of the MORB source region. These comprehensive data have a mean K/U for global MORB = 13,900 ± 200 (2σm; n = 4,646), and define a MORB source region with a K/U between 14,000 and 15,500, depending on the modeled melting regime. However, this range represents strictly a lower limit due to the undefined role of fractional crystallization in these samples and challenges preserving the signatures of depleted components in the MORB mantle source. This MORB source model, when combined with recent metadata analyses of ocean island basalt (OIB) and continental crust, suggests that the BSE has a K/U value >12,100 and contains >260 × 10−6 kg/kg K, resulting in a global production of ∼3.5 TW of radiogenic heat today and 1.5 × 1017 kg of 40Ar over the lifetime of the planet.
Toward Stable, General Machine‐Learned Models of the Atmospheric Chemical System
Authors: Kelp Makoto M. , Jacob Daniel J. , Kutz J. Nathan , Marshall Julian D. , Tessum Christopher W.
Published: November 2020

Atmospheric chemistry models—components in models that simulate air pollution and climate change—are computationally expensive. Previous studies have shown that machine‐learned atmospheric chemical solvers can be orders of magnitude faster than traditional integration methods but tend to suffer from numerical instability. Here, we present a modeling framework that reduces error accumulation compared to previous work while maintaining computational efficiency. Our approach is novel in that it (1) uses a recurrent training regime that results in extended (>1 week) simulations without exponential error accumulation and (2) can reversibly compress the number of modeled chemical species by >80% without further decreasing accuracy. We observe an ~260× speedup (~1,900× with specialized hardware) compared to the traditional solver. We use random initial conditions in training to promote general applicability across a wide range of atmospheric conditions. For ozone (concentrations ranging from 0–70 ppb), our model predictions over a 24‐hr simulation period match those of the reference solver with median error of 2.7 and <19 ppb error across 99% of simulations initialized with random noise. Error can be significantly higher in the remaining 1% of simulations, which include extreme concentration fluctuations simulated by the reference model. Results are similar for total particulate matter (median error of 16 and <32 μg/m3 across 99% of simulations with concentrations ranging from 0–150 μg/m3). Finally, we discuss practical implications of our modeling framework and next steps for improvements. The machine learning models described here are not yet replacements for traditional chemistry solvers but represent a step toward that goal.
Effects of Environmental Fe Concentrations on Formation and Evolution of Allophane in Al‐Si‐Fe Systems: Implications for Both Earth and Mars
Authors: Du Peixin , Yuan Peng , Liu Jiacheng , Yang Yixuan , Bu Hongling , Wang Shun , Zhou Junming , Song Hongzhe , Liu Dong , Michalski Joseph R. , Liu Chengshuai
Published: November 2020

Allophane, a common component on Earth and a probable constituent of the amorphous component on Mars, is closely associated with Fe in the form of structural Fe and/or iron (oxyhydr)oxide coatings. However, until now, the formation and evolution of allophane as products of environmental Fe concentrations have rarely been studied. We investigated allophane precipitation from gels with different Fe/(Fe + Al) molar ratios (n, 0 ≤ n ≤ 1.0). X‐ray diffraction patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectra of the products showed that allophane was nearly the only product at n ≤ 0.2 and that the crystallinity of Fe‐rich allophane decreased with increasing n. Combined with the results of transmission electron microscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy, Fe was found to be mainly incorporated into the gibbsite‐like sheet of allophane, forming clusters; the highest Fe‐for‐Al substitution content was roughly estimated to be 20 mol.%. As n increased further, the formation of allophane was increasingly suppressed, and the Fe phases began to separate from the Al‐Si phases, resulting in mixtures of incipient allophane and incipient akaganeite and finally akaganeite. The near‐infrared spectroscopic data (1.2–2.6 μm) of the products showed incapability in identifying poorly ordered minerals in Al‐Si‐Fe systems, while the features in the range of 0.4–1.2 μm were powerful for studying iron occurrence in the products. These findings not only offer insights into the formation, evolution and geological role of allophane in Al‐Si‐Fe systems on Earth but also help constrain the paleoenvironment of locations where allophane and akaganeite co‐occur on Mars.
Landslide Morphology and Mobility on Ceres Controlled by Topography
Authors: Johnson Brandon C. , Sori Michael M.
Published: November 2020

Ceres has an abundance of long runout landslides with more slides near the poles. Here we simulate these landslides using a discrete element model. Our simulations indicate that long runout landslides on Ceres do not require the presence of fluid or slippery ice to explain their mobility. We find that lower fall heights and larger volumes lead to increased slide mobility while the relatively low surface gravity of Ceres, compared to the Earth and Mars, reduces slide mobility and affects slide morphology. We show that latitudinal trends in number of slides and slide morphology are more consistent with trends in topography than expected trends in near‐surface ice content. These morphological trends with topography are also consistent with the results of our landslide simulations. We argue that landslide morphology cannot be used to draw conclusions about local ice content and composition. However, the higher abundance of long runout landslides on Ceres relative to Vesta may be related to its higher global ice content or greater endogenic activity.