bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neurodevelopment at 2 years corrected age among Vietnamese preterm infants
Authors: Do Chuong Huu Thieu , Kruse Alexandra Yasmin , Wills Bridget , Sabanathan Saraswathy , Clapham Hannah , Pedersen Freddy Karup , Pham Thanh Ngoc , Vu Phuc Minh , Børresen Malene Landbo
Published: July 2019

Background

Preterm infants are at risk of neurodevelopmental delay, but data on long-term outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries remain scarce.

Objectives

To examine neurodevelopment using Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-3rd edition (Bayley-III) and neurological findings in 2-year-old preterm infants, and to compare with healthy Vietnamese infants. Further, to assess factors associated with neurodevelopmental impairment.

Design and setting

Cohort study to follow up preterm infants discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a tertiary children’s hospital in Vietnam.

Participants

Infants born at <37 weeks of gestational age.

Main outcomes

Bayley-III assessment and neurological examination at 2-year corrected age (CA) compared with healthy Vietnamese infants.

Results

Of 294 NICU preterm infants, Bayley-III scores of all 184/243 (76%) survivors at 2 years CA were significantly lower than those of healthy Vietnamese peers in all three domains: cognition (mean (SD): 84.5 (8.6) vs 91.4 (7.5), p<0.001), language (mean (SD): 88.7 (12.5) vs 95.9 (11.9), p<0.001) and motor (mean (SD): 93.1 (9.0) vs 96.8 (9.3), p=0.003). The mean differences in Bayley-III scores between preterm and healthy Vietnamese infants were −6.9 (−9.1 to −4.7), −7.2 (−10.5 to −3.8) and −3.7 (−6.1 to −1.2) for cognitive, language and motor scores, respectively. The prevalence of neurodevelopmental impairment was 17% for cognitive, 8% for language and 4% for motor performance. In total, 7% were diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Higher maternal education was positively associated with infant neurodevelopment (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.94).

Conclusions

Vietnamese preterm infants in need of neonatal intensive care showed poor neurodevelopment at 2 years. Higher maternal education was positively associated with infant neurodevelopment. Standard follow-up programmes for preterm infants should be considered in low-resource settings.
Nosocomial pneumonia and sepsis caused by a rare organismCedecea lapageiin an infant and a review of literature
Authors: Ramaswamy Viraraghavan Vadakkencherry , Gummadapu Sanghamitra , Suryanarayana Nori
Published: July 2019

A late preterm male infant of 36 weeks gestation and a birth weight of 2100 g was admitted on day 35 of life with complaints of respiratory distress and lethargy. He was diagnosed as a case of sepsis screen positive culture negative sepsis and was managed with respiratory support and intravenous antibiotics for 10 days. The infant improved clinically and was on spoon feeds by day 14 of admission. On day 14 of admission, he developed new-onset respiratory distress and was diagnosed as a case of nosocomial pneumonia based on chest radiography findings. The blood culture grew a rare organismCedecea lapageiand a diagnosis of sepsis was also made. The antibiotics were tailored as per the blood culture sensitivity pattern and the infant had clinical improvement in the next 72 hours.
Association of the ZC3H11B, ZFHX1B and SNTB1 genes with myopia of different severities
Authors: Tang Shu Min , Li Fen Fen , Lu Shi Yao , Kam Ka Wai , Tam Pancy O S , Tham Clement C , Pang Chi Pui , Yam Jason C S , Chen Li Jia
Published: July 2019

Objective

To investigate the associations of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ZC3H11B, ZFHX1B, VIPR2, SNTB1 and MIPEP genes with severities of myopia in Chinese populations.

Methods

Based on previous myopia genome-wide association studies, five SNPs (ZC3H11B rs4373767, ZFHX1B rs13382811, VIPR2 rs2730260, SNTB1 rs7839488 and MIPEP rs9318086) were selected for genotyping in a Chinese cohort of 2079 subjects: 252 extreme myopia, 277 high myopia, 393 moderate myopia, 366 mild myopia and 791 non-myopic controls. Genotyping was performed by TaqMan assays. Allelic frequencies of the SNPs were compared with myopia severities and ophthalmic biometric measurements.

Results

The risk allele T of ZC3H11B SNP rs4373767 was significantly associated with high myopia (OR=1.39, p=0.007) and extreme myopia (OR=1.34, p=0.013) when compared with controls, whereas ZFHX1B rs13382811 (allele T, OR=1.33, p=0.018) and SNTB1 rs7839488 (allele G, OR=1.71, p=8.44E-05) were significantly associated with extreme myopia only. In contrast, there was no significant association of these SNPs with moderate or mild myopia. When compared with mild myopia, subjects carrying T allele of rs4373767 had a risk of progressing to high myopia (spherical equivalent ≤−6 dioptres) (OR=1.29, p=0.017). Similarly, the T allele of rs13382811 also imposed a significant risk to high myopia (OR=1.36, p=0.007). In quantitative traits analysis, SNPs rs4373767, rs13382811 and rs7839488 were correlated with axial length and refractive errors.

Conclusions

We confirmed ZC3H11B as a susceptibility gene for high and extreme myopia, and ZFHX1B and SNTB for extreme myopia in Chinese populations. Instead of myopia onset, these three genes were more likely to impose risks of progressing to high and extreme myopia.
Dietary factors and diabetes-related health outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies
Authors: Barbaresko Janett , Neuenschwander Manuela , Schwingshackl Lukas , Schlesinger Sabrina
Published: July 2019

Introduction

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major health concern associated with several comorbidities such as diabetic chronic kidney disease, neuropathy and cardiovascular diseases. Many of these complications may be preventable by an adequate lifestyle, including a favourable dietary behaviour, additionally to pharmacological management. In general, dietary guidelines for patients with diabetes recommend a hypocaloric diet to achieve a normal weight, but there is a lack of detailed instructions on specific nutrients and foods to prevent diabetes-related outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarise the available evidence on the association between dietary factors and health-related outcomes in patients with T2D.

Methods and analysis

A systematic literature search will be conducted in PubMed and Web of Science in May 2019 to identify prospective observational studies investigating dietary factors in association with major complications in patients with T2D. We will include studies investigating dietary patterns, food groups, foods, macronutrients and micronutrients as well as secondary plant compounds. As diabetes-related outcomes, we will include macrovascular (cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases) and microvascular outcomes (nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy), as well as cancer, quality of life, depression, cognitive disorders and mortality. We will conduct dose-response meta-analyses using random effects models. We will investigate heterogeneity across studies and publication bias. To assess the risk of bias and quality of the included studies, we will use the Cochrane risk of bias tool ROBINS-I and the quality of evidence will be assessed using Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation.

Ethics and dissemination

As the systematic review is based on published studies, ethical considerations are not required. The systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed Journal.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42018110669
Associative stigma among mental health professionals in Singapore: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Picco Louisa , Chang Sherilyn , Abdin Edimansyah , Chua Boon Yiang , Yuan Qi , Vaingankar Janhavi Ajit , Ong Samantha , Yow Kah Lai , Chua Hong Choon , Chong Siow Ann , Subramaniam Mythily
Published: July 2019

Objectives

(1) Investigate and explore whether different classes of associative stigma (the process by which a person experiences stigmatisation as a result of an association with another stigmatised person) could be identified using latent class analysis; (2) determine the sociodemographic and employment-related correlates of associative stigma and (3) examine the relationship between associative stigma and job satisfaction, among mental health professionals.

Design

Cross-sectional online survey.

Participants

Doctors, nurses and allied health staff, working in Singapore.

Methods

Staff (n=462) completed an online survey, which comprised 11 associative stigma items and also captured sociodemographic and job satisfaction-related information. Latent class analysis was used to classify associative stigma on patterns of observed categorical variables. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations between sociodemographic and employment-related factors and the different classes, while multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between associative stigma and job satisfaction.

Results

The latent class analysis revealed that items formed a three-class model where the classes were classified as ‘no/low associative stigma’, ‘moderate associative stigma’ and ‘high associative stigma’. 48.7%, 40.5% and 10.8% of the population comprised no/low, moderate and high associative stigma classes, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression showed that years of service and occupation were significantly associated with moderate associative stigma, while factors associated with high associative stigma were education, ethnicity and occupation. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that high associative stigma was significantly associated with lower job satisfaction scores.

Conclusion

Associative stigma was not uncommon among mental health professionals and was associated with sociodemographic factors and poorer job satisfaction. Associative stigma has received comparatively little attention from empirical researchers and continued efforts to address this understudied yet important construct in conjunction with future efforts to dispel misconceptions related to mental illnesses are needed.
Loss of Setd2 promotes Kras-induced acinar-to-ductal metaplasia and epithelia–mesenchymal transition during pancreatic carcinogenesis
Authors: Niu Ningning , Lu Ping , Yang Yanlin , He Ruizhe , Zhang Li , Shi Juanjuan , Wu Jinghua , Yang Minwei , Zhang Zhi-Gang , Wang Li-Wei , Gao Wei-Qiang , Habtezion Aida , Xiao Gary Guishan , Sun Yongwei , Li Li , Xue Jing
Published: July 2019

Objective

SETD2, the sole histone H3K36 trimethyltransferase, is frequently mutated or deleted in human cancer, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, whether SETD2/H3K36me3 alteration results in PDAC remains largely unknown.

Design

TCGA(PAAD) public database and PDAC tissue array with SETD2/H3K36me3 staining were used to investigate the clinical relevance of SETD2 in PDAC. Furthermore, to define the role of SETD2 in the carcinogenesis of PDAC, we crossed conditional Setd2 knockout mice (PdxcreSetd2flox/flox) together withKrasG12Dmice. Moreover, to examine the role of SETD2 after ductal metaplasia, Crisp/cas9 was used to depleteSetd2in PDAC cells. RNA-seq and H3K36me3 ChIP-seq were performed to uncover the mechanism.

Results

SETD2 mutant/low expression was correlated with poor prognosis in patients with PDAC. Next, we found that Setd2 acted as a putative tumour suppressor in Kras-driven pancreatic carcinogenesis. Mechanistically,Setd2loss in acinar cells facilitated Kras-induced acinar-to-ductal reprogramming, mainly through epigenetic dysregulation ofFbxw7. Moreover,Setd2ablation in pancreatic cancer cells enhanced epithelia–mesenchymal transition (EMT) through impaired epigenetic regulation ofCtnna1. In addition, Setd2 deficiency led to sustained Akt activation via inherent extracellular matrix (ECM) production, which would favour their metastasis.

Conclusion

Together, our findings highlight the function of SETD2 during pancreatic carcinogenesis, which would advance our understanding of epigenetic dysregulation in PDAC. Moreover, it may also pave the way for development of targeted, patients-tailored therapies for PDAC patients with SETD2 deficiency.
Is high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck a suitable candidate for current targeted therapies?
Authors: Zilberg Catherine , Lee Matthew Weicai , Kraitsek Spiridoula , Ashford Bruce , Ranson Marie , Shannon Kerwin , Iyer N Gopalakrishna , Ch’ng Sydney , Low Tsu-Hui (Hubert) , Palme Carsten , Clark Jonathan , Gupta Ruta , Yu Bing
Published: July 2019

Objective

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common malignancy, most frequently affecting the head and neck. Treatment often requires surgery and can have significant functional morbidity. Research into disease pathogenesis and second line medical management of cSCC is limited. We assess genetic mutations in high-risk, primary head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (HNcSCC) that may hinder or be beneficial for use of targeted therapy in disease management.

Methods

Genetic alterations and variant allele frequencies (VAFs) were analysed using a clinically relevant 48 gene panel in 10 primary high-risk non-metastatic treatment-naïve HNcSCC to evaluate applicability of targeted therapeutics. Variants present at all VAFs were evaluated for pathogenicity. Somatic mutation patterns of individual tumours were analysed.

Results

High-risk HNcSCC showed a high proportion (82%) of C to T transitions in keeping with ultraviolet-mediated damage. There was significant intratumour genetic heterogeneity in this cohort (MATH scores 20–89) with the two patients <45 years of age showing highest intratumour heterogeneity.TP53was altered at VAF >22% in all cases, and mutations with highest VAF were observed in tumour suppressor genes in 80%. 70% of cases demonstrated at least one mutation associated with treatment resistance (KITS821F,KITT670I,RASmutations at codons 12 and 13).

Conclusion

We demonstrate high proportion tumour suppressor loss of function mutations, high intratumour genetic heterogeneity, and presence of well recognised resistance mutations in treatment naïve primary HNcSCC. These factors pose challenges for successful utilisation of targeted therapies.
One in three highly selected Greek patients with breast cancer carries a loss-of-function variant in a cancer susceptibility gene
Authors: Fostira Florentia , Kostantopoulou Irene , Apostolou Paraskevi , Papamentzelopoulou Myrto S , Papadimitriou Christos , Faliakou Eleni , Christodoulou Christos , Boukovinas Ioannis , Razis Evangelia , Tryfonopoulos Dimitrios , Barbounis Vasileios , Vagena Andromache , Vlachos Ioannis S , Kalfakakou Despoina , Fountzilas George , Yannoukakos Drakoulis
Published: July 2019

Background

Gene panel testing has become the norm for assessing breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, but actual cancer risks conferred by genes included in panels are not established. Contrarily, deciphering the missing hereditability on BC, through identification of novel candidates, remains a challenge. We aimed to investigate the mutation prevalence and spectra in a highly selected cohort of Greek patients with BC, questioning an extensive number of genes, implicated in cancer predisposition and DNA repair, while calculating gene-specific BC risks that can ultimately lead to important associations.

Methods

To further discern BC susceptibility, a comprehensive 94-cancer gene panel was implemented in a cohort of 1382 Greek patients with BC, highly selected for strong family history and/or very young age (<35 years) at diagnosis, followed by BC risk calculation, based on a case–control analysis.

Results

Herein, 31.5% of patients tested carried pathogenic variants (PVs) in 28 known, suspected or candidate BC predisposition genes. In total, 24.8% of the patients carriedBRCA1/2loss-of-function variants. An additional 6.7% carried PVs in additional genes, the vast majority of which can be offered meaningful clinical changes. Significant association to BC predisposition was observed forATM, PALB2, TP53, RAD51CandCHEK2PVs. Primarily, compared with controls,RAD51CPVs andCHEK2damaging missense variants were associated with high (ORs 6.19 (Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC)) and 12.6 (Fabulous Ladies Over Seventy (FLOSSIES)), p<0.01) and moderate BC risk (ORs 3.79 (ExAC) and 5.9 (FLOSSIES), p<0.01), respectively.

Conclusion

Studying a large and unique cohort of highly selected patients with BC, deriving from a population with founder effects, provides important insight on distinct associations, pivotal for patient management.
Reply to ‘Hormone replacement therapy: informed consent without assessment?’
Authors: Ashley Florence
Published: July 2019

In a previous article, I argued that assessment requirements for transgender hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are unethical and dehumanising. A recent response published by theJournal of Medical Ethicscriticises this proposal. In this reply, I advance that their response misunderstood core parts of my argument and fails to provide independent support for assessment requirements. Though transition-related care may have similarities with cosmetic surgeries, this does not suffice to establish a need for assessments, and nor do the high rates of depression and anxiety justify assessments, especially given the protective role HRT plays towards mental well-being.
Curative treatment for low-grade arteriovenous malformations
Authors: Wang Arthur , Mandigo Grace K , Feldstein Neil A , Sisti Michael B , Connolly E Sander , Solomon Robert A , Lavine Sean D , Meyers Philip M
Published: July 2019

Background

Spetzler-Martin (SM) grade I-II (low-grade) arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are often considered safe for microsurgery or radiosurgery. The adjunctive use of preoperative embolization to reduce surgical risk in these AVMs remains controversial.

Objective

To assess the safety of combined treatment of grade I-II AVMs with preoperative embolization followed by surgical resection or radiosurgery, and determine the long-term functional outcomes.

Methods

With institutional review board approval, a retrospective analysis was carried out on patients with ruptured and unruptured SM I-II AVMs between 2002 and 2017. Details of the endovascular procedures, including number of arteries supplying the AVM, number of branches embolized, embolic agent(s) used, and complications were studied. Baseline clinical and imaging characteristics were compared. Functional status using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) before and after endovascular and microsurgical treatments was compared.

Results

258 SM I-II AVMs (36% SM I, 64% SM II) were identified in patients with a mean age of 38 ± 17 years. 48% presented with hemorrhage, 21% with seizure, 16% with headache, 10% with no symptoms, and 5% with clinical deficits. 90 patients (68%) in the unruptured group and 74 patients (59%) in the ruptured group underwent presurgical embolization (p = 0.0013). The mean number of arteries supplying the AVM was 1.44 and 1.41 in the unruptured and ruptured groups, respectively (p = 0.75). The mean number of arteries embolized was 2.51 in the unruptured group and 1.82 in the ruptured group (p = 0.003). n-Butyl cyanoacrylate and Onyx were the two most commonly used embolic agents. Four complications were seen in four patients (4/164 patients embolized): two peri-/postprocedural hemorrhage, one dissection, and one infarct. All patients undergoing surgery had a complete cure on postoperative angiography. Patients were followed up for a mean of 55 months. Good long-term outcomes (mRS score ≤ 2) were seen in 92.5% of patients with unruptured AVMs and 88.0% of those with ruptured AVMs. Permanent neurological morbidity occurred in 1.2%.

Conclusions

Curative treatment of SM I-II AVMs can be performed using endovascular embolization with microsurgical resection or radiosurgery in selected cases, with very low morbidity and high cure rates. Compared with other published series, these outcomes suggest that preoperative embolization is a safe and effective adjunct to definitive surgical treatment. Long-term follow-up showed that patients with low-grade AVMs undergoing surgical resection or radiosurgery have good functional outcomes.
The effect of anesthetic technique on mortality and major morbidity after hip fracture surgery: a retrospective, propensity-score matched-pairs cohort study
Authors: Malhas Laith , Perlas Anahi , Tierney Sarah , Chan Vincent W S , Beattie Scott
Published: July 2019

Introduction

Spinal anesthesia (SA) has physiological benefits over general anesthesia (GA), but there is insufficient evidence regarding a mortality benefit. We performed a retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study to evaluate the impact of anesthetic technique on mortality and major morbidity in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery.

Materials and methods

Clinical, laboratory and outcome data were extracted from electronic databases for patients who underwent hip fracture surgery over a 13-year period at the University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The anesthetic technique was documented (SA or GA), and the primary outcome was 90-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included mortality at 30 and 60 days, hospital length of stay, pulmonary embolism (PE), major blood loss and major acute cardiac events. A propensity-score matched-pair analysis was performed following a non-parsimonious logistic regression model.

Results

Of the 2591 patients identified, 883 patients in the SA group were matched to patients in the GA group in a 1:1 ratio. There was a weak association between SA and lower 90-day mortality (risk ratio (RR) 0.74, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.96, 99% CI 0.48 to 1.00, p=0.037). SA was also associated with a lower incidence of both PE (1.3% vs 0.5%, p<0.001) and major blood loss (7.7% vs 4.8%, p<0.001) and a shorter hospital length of stay by about 2 days (median 11.9 vs 10 days, p=0.024). There was no difference in major cardiac events or mortality at 30 and 60 days.

Discussion

This propensity-score matched-pairs cohort study suggests that SA is weakly associated with a lower 90-day mortality following hip fracture surgery. SA was also associated with improved morbidity evidenced by a lower rate of PE and major blood loss and a shorter hospital length of stay. Given the retrospective nature of the study, these results are not proof of causality.
Randomized comparison between perineural dexamethasone and dexmedetomidine for ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block
Authors: Aliste Julián , Layera Sebastián , Bravo Daniela , Fernández Diego , Jara Álvaro , García Armando , Finlayson Roderick J , Tran De Q
Published: July 2019

Background

This randomized trial compared perineural dexamethasone (5 mg) and dexmedetomidine (100 µg) for ultrasound-guided infraclavicular brachial plexus block. We hypothesized that both adjuvants would result in similar durations of motor block and therefore designed the study as an equivalence trial (equivalence margin=3.0 hours).

Methods

One hundred and twenty patients undergoing upper limb surgery with ultrasound-guided infraclavicular block (using 35 mL of lidocaine 1%–bupivacaine 0.25% with epinephrine 5 µg/mL) were randomly allocated to receive perineural dexamethasone (5 mg) or dexmedetomidine (100 µg). Patients and operators were blinded to the nature of the perineural adjuvant. After the performance of the block, a blinded observer assessed the success rate (defined as a minimal sensorimotor composite score of 14 out of 16 points at 30 min) as well as the incidence of surgical anesthesia (defined as the ability to complete surgery without local infiltration, supplemental blocks, intravenous opioids, or general anesthesia). Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded before the block as well as during the first 2 hours after its performance. Furthermore, the level of sedation (using the Ramsay Sedation Scale) was recorded in the postanesthesia care unit. Postoperatively, the blinded observer contacted patients with successful blocks to inquire about the duration of motor block, sensory block, and postoperative analgesia.

Results

No intergroup differences were observed in terms of success rate and surgical anesthesia. Compared with dexmedetomidine, dexamethasone provided longer durations of motor block (17.4 (4.0) vs 14.3 (3.0) hours; p<0.001; 95% CI 1.7 to 4.5), sensory block (19.0 (4.0) vs 15.0 (3.2) hours; p<0.001; 95% CI 2.6 to 5.4), and analgesia (22.2 (3.6) vs 16.9 (3.9) hours; p<0.001; 95% CI 3.7 to 6.9). Dexmedetomidine resulted in lower heart rate and blood pressure after the performance of the block, as well as an increased level of sedation postoperatively.

Conclusion

Compared with dexmedetomidine (100 µg), dexamethasone (5 mg) results in longer sensorimotor block and analgesic durations, as well as a decreased level of patient sedation. Further studies are required to compare dexamethasone and dexmedetomidine using different doses, local anesthetic agents, and approaches to the brachial plexus.

Trial registration number

NCT03610893
A predictive grading scale for acute cholecystitis
Authors: Siada Sammy , Jeffcoach David , Dirks Rachel C , Wolfe Mary M , Kwok Amy M , Sue Lawrence P , Davis James W
Published: July 2019

Background

Acute cholecystitis presents in a spectrum of severity, where acute disease may be complicated by severe inflammation, gangrene, and perforation. The goal of this study is to outline an evidence-based grading scale that predicts patient outcomes after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Methods

A retrospective review of all patients with a preoperative diagnosis of acute cholecystitis who underwent LC from August 2011 until June 2015 at a tertiary-level hospital was performed. Patients who underwent elective cholecystectomy, incidental cholecystectomy, a planned open cholecystectomy, had gallstone pancreatitis or choledocholithiasis, and those admitted to a non-surgical service were excluded. Severity of disease was obtained from operative and pathology reports, and patients were classified according to the following grading scale:

Grade I: symptomatic cholelithiasis.

Grade II: acute/chronic cholecystitis.

Grade III: gangrenous/necrotizing cholecystitis.

Grade IV: gallbladder perforation or abscess.

The groups were compared on age, gender, body mass index, severity of gallbladder disease, presence of preoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome, hospital length of stay, length of operation, complications within 30 days, conversion to open rate, and cost of hospitalization.

Results

During the study period, 1252 patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy were analyzed; 677 met inclusion criteria. The most common grade was grade 2, which was present in 80% of patients, followed by grade 3, which was found in 16% of patients. Grade 4 cholecystitis occurred in 1.2% of patients and grade 1 occurred in 3.2% of patients. There were statistically significant increases in age, presence of preoperative systemic inflammatory response syndrome, hospital length of stay, conversion to open rate, cost of hospitalization, and length of operation with increased cholecystitis grade.

Conclusions

The proposed grading scale is an accurate predictor of duration of operation, conversion to open rate, hospital length of stay, and cost of hospitalization.

Level of evidence

III

Study type

Prognostic
Observed long-term differential settlement of metro structures built on soft deposits in the Yangtze River Delta region of China
Authors: Di Honggui , Zhou Shunhua , Guo Peijun , He Chao , Zhang Xiaohui , Huang Shihao
Published: July 2019

In this study, the measured differential settlements of five metro lines built on soft deposits were analyzed. The different structural combinations at various characteristic locations in the metro lines were examined, including at 67 joints of stations and tunnels, 55 connecting passage locations, 4 wind well locations, and at 3 joints of U-shaped grooves and adjacent structures. Moreover, the differential settlement between the track slabs and the bridge piers of a 16.57 km long elevated structure was analyzed. The results showed that the settlements of ∼85% of the stations were less than those of adjacent shield tunnels, and the settlements at the connecting passages of ∼73% of the tunnels were greater than those on either sides of the tunnel. The wind well exhibited lower settlement than its adjacent tunnels. The settlement of the U-shaped groove was greater than that of its adjacent elevated structure, but was less than those of the cut-and-cover and shield tunnels. Approximately 86% of the track slabs exhibited arch deformation, and the settlements of the bridge piers were greater than those of the track slabs. The stiffness transition between the different structures should be considered in the design of metro structures on soft deposits.
Finance-based scheduling: optimization of results-based funded multiple projects
Authors: Zahran Kareem , Ezeldin A. Samer
Published: July 2019

Development lending institutions are exploring solutions that can ensure the effectiveness of funds. Results-based financing (RBF) considers this goal by linking desired outputs to the disbursement of funds. This may require borrowers to prefinance programs and then receive allocated disbursements after achieving results, which forms cash flow gaps. This paper presents a framework for the simulation and optimization of RBF programs using genetic algorithms (GA). It applies finance-based scheduling on RBF multiple projects to obtaining an improved benefit from borrowed funds. The Program-for-Results (P4R) mechanism offered by the World Bank (WB) was used as one of the RBF mechanisms for verification. It was validated using the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program (SRSSP) in Egypt and improved the overall financial standing of the government. This model introduces an enhanced financing environment for RBF mega-programs, enabling borrowers to apply for the RBF mechanism.
Spatiotemporal variability in energetic condition of alewife and round goby in Lake Michigan
Authors: Bunnell David B. , Pothoven Steven A. , Armenio Patricia M. , Eaton Lauren , Warner David M. , Elgin Ashley K. , Burlakova Lyuba E. , Karatayev Alexander Y.
Published: July 2019

Pelagic-oriented alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and benthic-oriented round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) are two important prey fishes in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In 2015, we evaluated their seasonal total energy (TE) across nine Lake Michigan transects. Round goby contained at least 48% more kilojoules of TE than alewife of equal length during spring and summer. TE varied spatially for both species, but only large alewife exhibited a consistent pattern, with higher values along the eastern shoreline. Variation in TE was not explained by site-specific prey densities for either species. Round goby energy density (ED) was higher in Lake Michigan than in central Lake Erie, but comparable to other regions of the Great Lakes. Alewife ED in 2015 was similar to that in 2002–2004 in Lake Michigan, with the exception of November (small alewife ED was 21% higher) and April (large alewife ED was 30% lower). Despite oligotrophication, our study suggests that starvation of juvenile and adults has not been directly contributing to overall declining prey fish abundance, although future research should evaluate the potential for overwinter starvation.
Charged Higgs bosons in the NMSSM under current LHC constraints
Authors: Heng Zhaoxia , Guo Lin , Sun Pengqiang , Wei Wei
Published: July 2019

Charged Higgs boson is a crucial prediction of new physics beyond the SM. In this work, we perform a comprehensive scan over the parameter space of NMSSM considering various experimental constraints including the direct search limits from the 13 TeV LHC, and consider the scenario that the next-to-lightest CP-even Higgs boson is SM-like. We find that the masses of charged Higgs bosons can be as light as 350 GeV, the lightest CP-even Higgs boson [Formula: see text] is predominantly singlet and can be as light as 48 GeV, and the lightest CP-odd Higgs boson [Formula: see text] is also singlet-dominated and can be as light as 82 GeV. The charged Higgs bosons mainly decay to [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text], but the branching ratio of the exotic decays [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] can maximally reach 20% and 11%, respectively, which can be used to distinguish the NMSSM from MSSM. Such a heavy charged Higgs boson is inaccessible at the 13 TeV LHC with a luminosity of 36.1 fb[Formula: see text] and its detection needs higher energy and/or higher luminosity.
Cryptanalysis and improvement of the robust quantum dialogue protocols based on the entanglement swapping between any two logical Bell states and the shared auxiliary logical Bell state
Authors: Liu Zhihao , Chen Hanwu
Published: July 2019

As we know, it does not allow that a secure quantum communication protocol has the information leakage problem. Unfortunately, we find that there is the information leakage problem in the two quantum dialogue (QD) protocols which are respectively based on entanglement swapping between two logical Bell states under the collective-dephasing noise and the collective-rotation noise. To mend this loophole, they are masterly improved. It is proven that the improved QD protocols are without information leakage problem. Incidentally, they have some other obvious advantages compared to the previous ones.
Stability of charged neutron star in Palatini f(R) gravity
Authors: Bhatti M. Z. , Yousaf Z. , Zarnoor
Published: July 2019

In this work, we discuss the stability of charged neutron star in the background of [Formula: see text] gravity and construct the generalized Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equations. For this, we consider static spherically symmetric geometry to construct the hydrostatic equilibrium equation and deduce TOV equations from modified field equations with electromagnetic effects. We conclude that the generalized TOV equation depicts the stable stars configuration independent of the generic function of the modified gravity if the condition of uniform entropy and chemical composition is assumed.
Propagation of optical orbital-angular-momentum quantum resources via maritime atmospheric turbulence
Authors: Wei Mei-Song , Zhu Yun , Wang Jicheng , Zhang Yixin , Hu Zheng-Da
Published: July 2019

We study the propagations of quantum resources encoded in orbital angular momenta of two photons via the turbulent maritime atmosphere. The decay characteristics of entanglement, discord and coherence are studied for the cases of increasing propagation distance, different azimuthal quantum numbers, inner scales of turbulence and wavelengths of light source. We find that the entanglement does not suffer sudden vanishing for the one-side turbulent channels case while entanglement disappears nonasymptotically for a general case of two-side different turbulent channels similar to the specific case of two-side identical turbulent channels. Entanglement, discord and coherence have quite different decay laws and coherence possesses more robustness against the turbulence than entanglement and discord. Our results show that larger azimuthal quantum numbers and larger wavelength of light source may boost the quality of distributions of quantum resources in turbulent maritime atmosphere.
Breakup of spatiotemporal pattern under electromagnetic radiation
Authors: Li Fan , Guo Linwei
Published: July 2019

Stable wave propagation is important for heart health, however, the electromagnetic radiation could affect normal signal propagation of heart, even make a sudden cardiac arrest. In this paper, the effect of electromagnetic radiation on the propagation of stable target wave generated by linear feedback control is studied in detail. It is confirmed that there are different transitions of electrical activities in cardiac tissue, which are transitions from target wave to spiral wave, some isolated islands of pattern waves coexisted, broken pattern and even the quiescent state, are generated when the electromagnetic field is imposed on the cardiac tissue in three ways. Furthermore, it is interesting to find there are different real affected regions, in which the electrical activities of nodes are destroyed, when the radiation signal is imposed on the cardiac tissue in different ways. It is also found the kinds of dynamical behaviors in the media are dependent on the real affected region. These results state that electromagnetic radiation could change the electrical activities, even destroy and suppress the wave propagation of wave source, and the ways of electromagnetic radiation imposed on the media are also important.
Synchronization between neural circuits connected by hybrid synapse
Authors: Liu Zhilong , Wang Chunni , Zhang Ge , Zhang Yin
Published: July 2019

Reliable neural circuits provide feasible ways to estimate the information encoding and signal exchange between neurons so that more physical effects can be considered and explained. Electrical synapse benefits signal propagation and neurons can give rapid response selection under an external stimulus. Chemical synapse plays a standing biological function by the continuous release of neurotransmitter. Gap junction coupling can estimate the effect of electrical synapse coupling as resistor-based voltage coupling while chemical synapse coupling shows a complex form in synapse currents. In this paper, two FitzHugh–Nagumo neuron circuits are connected by resistor and induction coil, and thus field coupling is activated to realize synchronization. It gives possible guidance to explain the synapse function from physical view. These circuit equations are obtained and scale transformation is applied to get the dimensionless dynamical systems. Furthermore, the same scheme is used to discuss synchronization realization between Hindmarsh–Rose neuron models. It is found that synchronization can be suppressed when the coupling resistor is in series with the induction coil in which only one coupling channel is open. However, complete synchronization can be enhanced when the coupling resistor is paralleled with the induction coil because two coupling channels are activated simultaneously. As a result, appropriate adjustment and selection for the coupling electric devices can induce transition from synchronization to desynchronization between neural circuits, which indicates the self-adaption of synapse when two types of synapse are activated together.
Mortal Brownian motion: Three short stories
Authors: Meerson Baruch
Published: July 2019

Mortality introduces an intrinsic time scale into the scale-invariant Brownian motion. This fact has important consequences for different statistics of Brownian motion. Here we are telling three short stories, where spontaneous death, such as radioactive decay, puts a natural limit to “lifetime achievements” of a Brownian particle. In story 1 we determine the probability distribution of a mortal Brownian particle (MBP) reaching a specified point in space at the time of its death. In story 2 we determine the probability distribution of the area A = [Formula: see text] x(t)dt of an MBP on the line. Story 3 addresses the distribution of the winding angle of an MBP wandering around a reflecting disk in the plane. In stories 1 and 2 the probability distributions exhibit integrable singularities at zero values of the position and the area, respectively. In story 3 a singularity at zero winding angle appears only in the limit of very high mortality. A different integrable singularity appears at a nonzero winding angle. It is inherited from the recently uncovered singularity of the short-time large-deviation function of the winding angle for immortal Brownian motion.
Plasmon modes in graphene — GaAs heterostructures at finite temperature
Authors: Men Nguyen Van , Phuong Dong Thi Kim
Published: July 2019

This paper is to investigate the dispersion relation and decay rate of plasmon modes in a double layer system made of monolayer graphene (MLG) and infinite GaAs quantum well at finite temperature within the generalized random-phase-approximation and taking into account the 2DEG layer-thickness and the inhomogeneity of the background dielectric. Calculations demonstrate that when the quantum well width increases, the acoustic (AC) plasmon frequency decreases dramatically, but the optical (OP) one seems unchanged. In addition, the results also illustrate that the temperature and separated distance affect significantly both AC and OP plasmon modes of the system. Finally, the dielectric of the background acts strongly on the OP plasmon curve while carrier density in two layers and exchange-correlation effects only lead to remarkable changes for the acoustic one.
Wave-based non-line-of-sight imaging using fast
f-k
migration
Authors: Lindell David B. , Wetzstein Gordon , O'Toole Matthew
Published: July 2019

Imaging objects outside a camera's direct line of sight has important applications in robotic vision, remote sensing, and many other domains. Time-of-flight-based non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging systems have recently demonstrated impressive results, but several challenges remain. Image formation and inversion models have been slow or limited by the types of hidden surfaces that can be imaged. Moreover, non-planar sampling surfaces and non-confocal scanning methods have not been supported by efficient NLOS algorithms. With this work, we introduce a wave-based image formation model for the problem of NLOS imaging. Inspired by inverse methods used in seismology, we adapt a frequency-domain method,
f-k
migration, for solving the inverse NLOS problem. Unlike existing NLOS algorithms,
f-k
migration is both fast and memory efficient, it is robust to specular and other complex reflectance properties, and we show how it can be used with non-confocally scanned measurements as well as for non-planar sampling surfaces.
f-k
migration is more robust to measurement noise than alternative methods, generally produces better quality reconstructions, and is easy to implement. We experimentally validate our algorithms with a new NLOS imaging system that records room-sized scenes outdoors under indirect sunlight, and scans persons wearing retroreflective clothing at interactive rates.
Tangent-space optimization for interactive animation control
Authors: Ciccone Loïc , Öztireli Cengiz , Sumner Robert W.
Published: July 2019

Character animation tools are based on a keyframing metaphor where artists pose characters at selected keyframes and the software automatically interpolates the frames inbetween. Although the quality of the interpolation is critical for achieving a fluid and engaging animation, the tools available to adjust the result of the automatic inbetweening are rudimentary and typically require manual editing of spline parameters. As a result, artists spend a tremendous amount of time posing and setting more keyframes. In this pose-centric workflow, animators use combinations of forward and inverse kinematics. While forward kinematics leads to intuitive interpolations, it does not naturally support positional constraints such as fixed contact points. Inverse kinematics can be used to fix certain points in space at keyframes, but can lead to inferior interpolations, is slow to compute, and does not allow for positional contraints at non-keyframe frames. In this paper, we address these problems by formulating the control of interpolations with positional constraints over time as a space-time optimization problem in the tangent space of the animation curves driving the controls. Our method has the key properties that it (1) allows the manipulation of positions and orientations over time, extending inverse kinematics, (2) does not add new keyframes that might conflict with an artist's preferred keyframe style, and (3) works in the space of artist editable animation curves and hence integrates seamlessly with current pipelines. We demonstrate the utility of the technique in practice via various examples and use cases.
Learning to fly
Authors: Xu Jie , Du Tao , Foshey Michael , Li Beichen , Zhu Bo , Schulz Adriana , Matusik Wojciech
Published: July 2019

Hybrid unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) combine advantages of multicopters and fixed-wing planes: vertical take-off, landing, and low energy use. However, hybrid UAVs are rarely used because controller design is challenging due to its complex, mixed dynamics. In this paper, we propose a method to automate this design process by training a mode-free, model-agnostic neural network controller for hybrid UAVs. We present a neural network controller design with a novel error convolution input trained by reinforcement learning. Our controller exhibits two key features: First, it does not distinguish among flying modes, and the same controller structure can be used for copters with various dynamics. Second, our controller works for real models without any additional parameter tuning process, closing the gap between virtual simulation and real fabrication. We demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed controller both in simulation and in our custom-built hybrid UAVs (Figure 1, 8). The experiments show that the controller is robust to exploit the complex dynamics when both rotors and wings are active in flight tests.
PlanIT
Authors: Wang Kai , Lin Yu-An , Weissmann Ben , Savva Manolis , Chang Angel X. , Ritchie Daniel
Published: July 2019

We present a new framework for interior scene synthesis that combines a high-level relation graph representation with spatial prior neural networks. We observe that prior work on scene synthesis is divided into two camps: object-oriented approaches (which reason about the set of objects in a scene and their configurations) and space-oriented approaches (which reason about what objects occupy what regions of space). Our insight is that the object-oriented paradigm excels at high-level
planning
of how a room should be laid out, while the space-oriented paradigm performs well at
instantiating
a layout by placing objects in precise spatial configurations. With this in mind, we present PlanIT, a layout-generation framework that divides the problem into two distinct
planning
and
instantiation
phases. PlanIT represents the "plan" for a scene via a relation graph, encoding objects as nodes and spatial/semantic relationships between objects as edges. In the planning phase, it uses a deep graph convolutional generative model to synthesize relation graphs. In the instantiation phase, it uses image-based convolutional network modules to guide a search procedure that places objects into the scene in a manner consistent with the graph. By decomposing the problem in this way, PlanIT generates scenes of comparable quality to those generated by prior approaches (as judged by both people and learned classifiers), while also providing the modeling flexibility of the intermediate relationship graph representation. These graphs allow the system to support applications such as scene synthesis from a partial graph provided by a user.
Distortion-free wide-angle portraits on camera phones
Authors: Shih YiChang , Lai Wei-Sheng , Liang Chia-Kai
Published: July 2019

Photographers take wide-angle shots to enjoy expanding views, group portraits that never miss anyone, or composite subjects with spectacular scenery background. In spite of the rapid proliferation of wide-angle cameras on mobile phones, a wider field-of-view (FOV) introduces a stronger perspective distortion. Most notably, faces are stretched, squished, and skewed, to look vastly different from real-life. Correcting such distortions requires professional editing skills, as trivial manipulations can introduce other kinds of distortions. This paper introduces a new algorithm to undistort faces without affecting other parts of the photo. Given a portrait as an input, we formulate an optimization problem to create a content-aware warping mesh which
locally
adapts to the stereographic projection on facial regions, and seamlessly evolves to the perspective projection over the background. Our new energy function performs effectively and reliably for a large group of subjects in the photo. The proposed algorithm is fully automatic and operates at an interactive rate on the mobile platform. We demonstrate promising results on a wide range of FOVs from 70° to 120°.