bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classification of marine mammal vocalizations using machine learning
Authors: Koutsomitopoulos Vasilis , Le Minh
Published: December 2020

Marine mammal vocalizations are a significant component of the underwater soundscape in many parts of the world. The ability to detect and classify these vocalizations has implications in marine mammal research and tracking, acoustic noise measurement and modeling, and surface and submerged ship navigation. Advances in machine learning and deep neural networks have enabled classification technologies that can match and even exceed human performance in many areas. In this talk, we will explore a supervised, multi-label classifier using a Convolutional Neural Network to discriminate different types of marine mammal vocalizations across species using spectrograms derived from single-channel audio recordings from the Watkins Marine Mammal Sound Database of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The Watkins database contains over seven decades of recordings of more than 60 professionally identified marine mammal species and is publicly available for scientific research. We will discuss in details the rationale for our data labeling and pre-processing, model training and evaluation, and data and model visualization in order to understand and improve classification performance and robustness.
Broadband scattering from mesopelagic jellyfish
Authors: Kahn Rachel E. , Lavery Andone C.
Published: December 2020

By linking surface waters to the deep ocean, the mesopelagic zone (200–1000 m) plays crucial ecological roles in biogeochemical cycling, feeding apex predators, and sustaining a massive daily migration of organisms. The importance of this expansive ecosystem cannot be fully understood without accurately estimating its biomass. Several recent studies have estimated the biomass of mesopelagic fishes, yet the biomass of zooplankton is far less understood. The towed vehicle “Deep-See” was designed to obtain in situ acoustical (1–410 kHz), optical, and environmental measurements of mesopelagic fish and invertebrates. Dense patches of jellyfish were observed in images collected by Deep-See in the New England slope sea during Summer 2019, revealing the presence of gelatinous biomass potentially masked by more strongly scattering organisms (e.g., fish, krill) in narrowband shipboard acoustic surveys. To quantify this “hidden” biomass acoustically will require understanding the physics of sound scattered by these organisms. Using a full 3-D scan of an individual, and simpler approximate shapes, the Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) was used to model the target strength of the common mesopelagic jellyfish Solmissus. Images were used to predict the volume scattering spectrum of an observed Solmissus patch and compared with acoustical measurements.
Comparing traffic intensity estimates employing passive acoustic Radar and microwave Doppler Radar sensor
Authors: Czyzewski Andrzej
Published: December 2020

The purpose of our applied research project is to develop an autonomous road sign with built-in radar devices of our design. In this paper, we show that it is possible to calibrate the acoustic vector sensor in such a way that it can be used to measure traffic volume and to count the vehicles involved in the traffic through the analysis of the noise emitted by them. Signals obtained from a Doppler radar are used as a reference source. Although the acoustical vector sensor (AVS), being the embodiment of acoustic radar, has a lower accuracy than Doppler radar in vehicle counting and it is not able to measure the vehicle speed with the same precision, it has some advantages over the Doppler sensor. Namely, it does not emit any signals, it is not susceptible to electromagnetic interferences and it allows for further analysis of audio signals, such as assessment of the road surface state (e.g., wet/dry). The acoustic radar we developed is a new proposition of the acoustic method for road traffic monitoring. In addition, our research allowed a comparison of the efficiency of both methods, i.e., microwave and acoustic ones. [Project No. POIR.04.01.04-0089/16 entitled: “INZNAK – Intelligent road signs with V2X interface for adaptive traffic controlling” is financed by the Polish National Centre for Research and Development from under the EU Operational Programme Innovative Economy.]
Formant and voice quality changes as a function of age in women
Authors: Koenig Laura , Fuchs Susanne , Gerstenberg Annette , Rastegar Moriah
Published: December 2020

Numerous studies have assessed effects of aging on the voice, but there remains some lack of consensus on the nature and magnitude of such effects. Although discrepancies may arise from methodological factors, well-controlled studies of aging also show substantial individual differences. Documented changes in laryngeal tissues and vocal tract dimensions suggest that aging may have various effects on the voice, and measures of aperiodicity, vowel formant frequencies, and speaking fundamental frequency have been frequently employed. Rather few studies have assessed spectral measures of voice quality, however, although changes in vocal fold thickness or glottal aperture may be expected to affect such metrics, as can individual differences in lifelong voice use and care. This study uses longitudinal data from French female speakers obtained as part of the LangAge project (langage-corpora.org). High-quality narrative samples were obtained 7–10 years apart from speakers in their 1970s at the first recording. Vowels from frequently repeated words were extracted from the samples. Along with fundamental frequency and formants, we also assess spectral tilt measures and spectral noise. By using multiple measures, we hope to gain insight into the range of ways in which speakers' voices may show effects of aging.
Language effects on acoustic voice variation within and between talkers
Authors: Lee Yoonjeong , Kreiman Jody
Published: December 2020

Acoustic voice spaces for English speakers are characterized mainly by variability in F0, the balance between higher harmonic amplitudes and inharmonic energy, and higher formant frequencies [JASA 146(4), 3011 (2019)]. We extended this investigation to another language to test the hypothesis that a few biologically relevant measures will emerge commonly across languages, while remaining variance will depend on the structure of the language. This hypothesis was tested against sentence productions from 5 female and 5 male speakers of Seoul Korean. Like English, Korean does not have tone or phonation contrasts, but Seoul Korean exhibits specific phrase intonation patterns. PCAs were performed on scaled values of F0, formant frequencies, spectral noise, source spectral shape, and their variability, measured from vowels and approximants. Results revealed striking similarities between the acoustic voice spaces derived from Korean speakers and those for English speakers. For Korean voices, F0 and variability in lower formant frequencies (i.e., vowel quality) accounted for the most acoustic variance within and across talkers, presumably due to Seoul speakers' systematic use of these measures for phrasal/accentual information. These measures were insignificant for English voices. Our findings suggest that acoustic voice spaces are shaped by both biologically and phonologically relevant factors. [Work supported by NIH/NSF.]
Aberration correction in transcranial ultrasonic imaging using CT data and simulation-based focusing algorithms
Authors: Chatillon Sylvain , Waguet Arthur , Brulon Vincent , Iakovleva Ekaterina , Gennisson Jean-Luc
Published: December 2020

The complex structure of the skull bone, reflected in particular by spatial variations in thickness and density, leads to a heterogeneity of its acoustic properties. This results in a strong attenuation as well as specific phase shifts of the ultrasonic wave during its crossing, leading to a defocusing of the beam. The improvement of the quality of brain ultrasonography requires knowledge of these acoustic heterogeneities to shape the ultrasonic wavefront during the focusing and imaging processes. CT scan realized on a phantom of a human skull associated to a fusion tool available on an ultrafast ultrasound device (Aixplorer, Supersonic Imagine, France) allows the positioning of the phased array in real-time in the CT volume. Then, for a fixed position of the probe, the real geometry of the skull region insonified by the array can be used as input data of the simulation based imaging algorithms. In particular, the Plane Wave Imaging (PWI) and Total Focusing Method (TFM) algorithms exploit a direct model of beam propagation through 3-D complex surfaces in order to simulate and correct the aberrations due to the skull crossing. We illustrate the potential of this technique on several examples of brain echography.
Phonetic detail in adult word learning
Authors: Cox Lisa , Goldrick Matthew
Published: December 2020

What level of phonetic detail do learners use during early stages of word learning? At 14 months, infants taught the name “bih” for a novel object will later accept the mispronunciation “dih” as correct, even though other tasks show infants can reliably hear the difference between these syllables and can successfully complete the same task when the two syllables are less similar (e.g., “lif” and “neem”; Stager and Werker, 1997). White et al. (2013) found that when adults hear only a few tokens of a novel word, they act like infants and treat mispronunciations the same as correct pronunciations. We conducted a pre-registered (https://osf.io/7vxpd) partial replication of White et al. Adult speakers of English were taught English non-words as labels for images, with 1, 5, or 8 training trials per word. At test, participants heard either a word familiar from training, a single-feature mispronunciation of that word, or a novel word. They simultaneously saw two images on the screen, one familiar from training and one new, and selected the image that best matched an auditorily presented non-word. If White et al. successfully replicates, at 1 training exposure participants should treat mispronunciations like correct labels.
The connection between executive function and phonetic and phonological learning in monolingual and bilingual speakers
Authors: Spinu Laura , Muscalu Laura
Published: December 2020

Recent work shows bilingual speakers exhibit an advantage in phonetic and phonological learning (PPL) compared to monolinguals. Specifically, bilinguals displayed stronger subcortical encoding of sound when processing speech stimuli (Krizman et al., 2012), and outperformed monolinguals in speech perception tasks (Tremblay and Sabourin, 2012). Bilinguals also displayed an advantage in learning vocabularies that differentiated words using foreign phonetic contrasts (Antoniou et al., 2015), and various aspects of novel accent pronunciation with both natural and artificial accents (Spinu et al., 2018, 2020). The current study explores the mechanisms underlying these enhanced skills by aiming to establish whether a correlation exists between PPL and higher-order cognitive abilities (i.e., executive functions) already shown to be enhanced in bilinguals: attentional control and inhibition (Bialystok, 2017). Our experiment explores the learning of two new segmental patterns in an artificial accent of English (following Spinu et al., 2020) in 20 monolingual English speakers and 20 early Spanish-English bilinguals from NYC. We also compare participants' accent learning scores with performance on two classic tasks that assess executive functioning (EF). By revealing a connection between PPL and EF, we add to the body of work on PPL in general, and the bilingual advantage in particular.
Emotional speech prosody perception in the first year of life
Authors: Kao Chieh , Zhang Yang
Published: December 2020

Prosodic aspects of speech are considered more salient than linguistic features in prenatal listening environment. The literature on early prosodic speech perception has been largely focused on the role of infant-directed speech in language development. While emotional prosody is also ubiquitous and contains diverse social cues, its perceptual development trajectory remains unclear. The current study adopted the central fixation paradigm to investigate 3- to 12-month-old infants' preferential listening attention to English monosyllabic words spoken in neutral, happy, angry, and sad tones. Forty-six infants completed the experiment and were assigned to younger and older groups with the median cut-off age of 8 months. Linear mixed-effect model results revealed a prevailing trend of shorter listening time for the sad tone. Furthermore, this reduced level of attention was only statistically significant in the younger infants but not the older group, suggesting that the lower-pitched and longer sad prosody was least attractive to the younger infants. With more exposure to emotional speech and the ongoing neural commitment towards language-specific speech perception in the older infants, the early differential interests in voice emotions showed signs of mitigation in the context of spoken words, leading to a relative increase in their listening time to the sad tone.
Influence of prosody on acquistion of anticipatory coarticulation in Italian-speaking children
Authors: Bonaventura Patrizia
Published: December 2020

The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of prosody on acquisition of temporal aspects of anticipatory lingual coarticulation in productions by Italian-speaking children in a repetition task. Two twin 7-years old malechildren, native Italian-speakers, interacted with the same adult, repeating disyllables containing VtV sequences where V1 = {i, a} and V2 = {a,e,i,o,u}, with different stress patterns (e.g., pi'ta, pita'). The durations of the VC transitions in the different V2 contexts and stress conditions were measured by a spectrographic analysis, and compared between pronunciations by each child versus the adult, to test whether the child was able to imitate the duration of the transitions as produced by the adult in different stress conditions. The results indicated a significant difference in the durations of VC transitions, between the pronunciation of each child and those of the adult they interacted with: longer VC transitions durations were found for one child only in stressed position, but for the other child in both stress conditions. The data seem to support the hypothesis of presence of different temporal aspects of anticipatory coarticulation between adults and children, and of more variability in the children's coarticulatory productions.
Development of discrimination and categorization of voice gender cues in school-age children
Authors: Nagels Leanne , Gaudrain Etienne , Vickers Debi , Hendriks Petra , BaÅŸkent Deniz
Published: December 2020

Children's sensitivity to differences in speakers' voices continues to develop throughout childhood, but it remains unclear how it develops. In a cross-sectional design, we investigated how school-age children's discrimination, a lower-level perceptual task, and categorization, a higher-level cognitive task, of voice gender cues, fundamental frequency (F0) and vocal-tract length (VTL), develop and how these abilities are related. We used an adaptive 3AFC procedure to measure children's F0 and VTL discrimination thresholds and a categorization task to examine their weighting of F0 and VTL for voice gender categorization. Here we show that the acquisition of adult-like performance for discrimination and categorization differs across voice gender cues. Children's discrimination thresholds were adult-like around 8 years of age for VTL but still differed from adults' at 12 years of age for F0. Contrarily, children's cue weights were adult-like around 6 years of age for F0 but around 10 years of age for VTL. Therefore, the two abilities seem to develop at different rates for the different voice cues and do not seem to be closely related. Data from cochlear implant children will also be presented, as for them F0 and VTL discrimination and gender categorization depend on both cognitive development and perceptual limitations.
Developmental and regional influences on the production of stop closure voicing in late childhood
Authors: Arzbecker Lian J. , Jacewicz Ewa , Fox Robert A.
Published: December 2020

Previous research in sociophonetics examining consonantal variation in American English has uncovered systematic regional differences in the production of voiced stop closures in intersonorant positions, suggesting that social factors can be the source of variation in the phonetic realization of voiced stops. The current study focuses on school-age children to establish both the developmental stability of voiced stops in late childhood and the impact of regional variation on the amount of voicing in stop closures. Based on the literature showing that the mastery of lexical stress contrastivity continues into adolescence, we hypothesized that systematic variation in the amount of stop closure voicing is commensurate with the development of stress control; this relationship is further mediated by regional variation documented in the speech of adults. Sentence productions from 48 girls in the age range 8–13 years representing three regional varieties spoken in Central Ohio, Western North Carolina, and Southeastern Wisconsin were analyzed in a set of temporal variables. Preliminary analyses show moderate correlations between child's age and the variables of interest. Over the course of the development, the relationship between stress contrastivity and the corresponding extent of stop closure voicing is also influenced by regional variation.
Preschool aged word learning from storybooks in the presence of background noise
Authors: Buntrock Madison , Shroads Emily , Newman Rochelle S.
Published: December 2020

Parents frequently read to their young children, and this can serve as an important opportunity for word learning. While some of these book-reading activities take place in quiet settings, others may occur in the presence of background noise; we were interested in how different types of noise might interfere with word learning. 18 children aged 3.5–5.5 saw and heard a digitized storybook containing 8 consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) novel “words,” and then were tested on their learning. The words were presented in two types of maskers: single male talker in a foreign language and broadband noise. Following the story, word learning was assessed in two ways by: selecting the picture that matched a named referent in a 3AFC and producing the name of a referent. We found a main effect of noise type in the first measure, such that participants had greater accuracy in the broadband noise than in the single talker condition. There was an effect of age in the production measure, but no effect of noise type. These findings are consistent with previous word recognition work that suggests that broadband noise interferes less with learning than a background talker. Future work will expand on the specific features of the maskers that may interfere with word learning success.
The neurobiological index of perceptual asymmetry in vowel perception
Authors: DiCosta Megan , Gonzalez Julia , Skliras Astero , Adodo Eghe , Shafer Valerie , Yu Yan H.
Published: December 2020

Both behavioral and neurophysiological event-related potential (ERP) data has shown that the perception of vowel contrast is often easier in one direction than in the other direction. Several theories and frameworks have increased our understanding of the underlying mechanisms for such asymmetry (e.g., underspecification theory: Eulitz and Lahiri, 2004; the Natural Referent Vowel Framework: Polka and Bohn, 2003, 2011; experience-dependent bias: Kuhl, et al. 1991). However, the opposite predictions from these theories call for further studies. The purpose of this study was to examine the neurobiological mechanisms for directional asymmetry in English vowels. We used a mismatch negativity paradigm and presented the English vowel contrast /I/-/ε/ (/I/ as in “bit” and /ε/ as in “bet”) in both directions. The ERP data from 18 young adults were collected. The results showed that the mismatch negativity amplitude was larger when /I/ was used as the standard/frequent/repeated stimulus, and /ε/ as the deviant/infrequent/change stimulus. The theoretical implications of such findings will be discussed.
Evaluating the limit of gas phase responsivity with a liquids-coupled ultrasonic tomographic array
Authors: Adams Robert W. , Lin Tao , Arsalan Muhammad , Deffenbaugh Max
Published: December 2020

An ultrasonic tomographic array system was developed to measure oil/water/gas phase fraction in multiphase flows. This system interrogates fluids with a ring-array of ultrasonic transducers to generate tomographic images and sound speed profiles of the fluid. Gas entrained within the flow presents a signal transmission challenge for this system, due to reflections at liquid/gas interfaces and absorption of ultrasonic energy. Techniques were developed using physical models and machine learning based algorithms to extend the operating envelope of this system in multiphase fluid flows containing gas entrained in the flow. The array system measures the travel time of the ultrasonic pulses between transceiver pairs. As the signal-to-noise (SNR) at the receiver decreases due to the absorption of the signal due to the presence of gas in the fluid, the variance of the travel time measurement increases. Travel time measurements may also be distorted by reflections at liquid/gas phases leading to longer ray paths between transducer pairs. The upper limit of gas phase measurements is evaluated using physical models for the travel time of pulses between transceiver pairs. Machine learning techniques are applied to determine the gas phase fraction and increase accuracy of the liquids-phase fraction measurements of the system.
High data rate ultrasonic wireless communication through invivo biological tissues and simulations
Authors: Tabak Gizem , Oelze Michael L. , Singer Andrew C.
Published: December 2020

The use of wireless implanted medical devices is growing because they reduce the discomfort of patients and the likelihood of infection associated with trailing wires. Currently, radiofrequency electromagnetic waves are the most commonly used method for communicating wirelessly with IMDs. However, due to the restrictions on the available bandwidth and transmitted power, the data rates of RF-based IMDs are limited. Previously, we introduced signal processing and communications methods that use phase-coherent decision feedback equalization to relay information robustly at high data rates using ultrasonic waves. The experiments performed with ex vivo biological tissues in a water tank demonstrated data rates greater than 4 Mbps with bit error rate less than 1e-4 using mm-sized, biocompatible transducers. In this study, we first employ the proposed system in simulations conducted with finite impulse response channel models obtained with mm-sized transducers in phantoms and demonstrate video-capable data rates at moderate signal-to-noise ratio levels. We then perform in situ and in vivo physical experiments with rabbits, and achieve 3.2 and 6.2 Mbps data rates, respectively. Finally, we quantify the degrading effects of acoustic nonlinearities on the data rates by using nonlinear propagation models for biological tissues, and we propose ways to mitigate such effects.
Developing criteria for fitness impacts
Authors: Rawlings Samantha , Dong Wayland , Lo Verde John
Published: December 2020

Heavy-weight impacts are known to cause disturbances in mixed-use buildings. Most attention has been given to mitigating impacts when complaints occur. However, for a designer or a developer attempting to define acceptability prior to construction, there are no guidelines for defining what occupants consider acceptable. This paper follows previous work examining ambient vibration levels in a variety of building types, with and without complaints, to identify potential vibration thresholds at which complaints may occur.
Simulating insertion-based measurement of phantom attenuation and membrane transmission loss
Authors: Nagabhushana Karthik J. , O'Brien William D. , Han Aiguo
Published: December 2020

Attenuation of reference phantoms that are used in quantitative ultrasound applications must be accurately measured. In this regard, we recently proposed an insertion-based planar reflection technique to simultaneously estimate membrane transmission loss and phantom attenuation. Simulating the measurement procedure can assist with validating and improving the methodology and gauge its accuracy and precision by carefully controlling the simulation's setup parameters. For simulation, a pulse echo setup with a single element transducer immersed in water was implemented in k-Wave. First, a reference plane with known acoustic properties is positioned at the focus, yielding the reference echo that models transducer diffraction and frequency response. Next, a phantom covered by a thin layer of acoustic windowing membrane is inserted between the transducer and reference plane, yielding the insertion echo that captures the phantom attenuation and membrane transmission loss. Finally, the phantom top surface, lined with the membrane, is positioned at the focus, thereby yielding the surface echo that captures the membrane reflectivity. Spectral analysis of the three echoes estimates the membrane transmission-loss-corrected phantom attenuation. Preliminary simulation of a phantom with predefined attenuation coefficient of 0.6–0.9 dB/cm MHz yielded a root mean square error of 0.06 dB/cm MHz over 3–5 MHz. [NIH Support: R01CA226528, R01DK106419, and R01HD089935.]
Paradox puts objectivity on shaky footing
Authors: Musser George
Published: December 2020

Quantum test of venerable thought experiment suggests facts are relative.
The mud is electric
Authors: Pennisi Elizabeth
Published: December 2020

Bacteria that conduct electricity are transforming how we see sediments.
How the horse powered human prehistory
Authors: Curry Andrew
Published: December 2020

Wide-ranging warriors made Mongolian empire a melting pot, sweeping gene study shows.
When the smallest details count
Authors: Godinho Maria Helena
Published: December 2020

The type of liquid crystals formed by smooth colloidal rods depends on their degree of curvature
James G. Townsel (1935–2020)
Authors: Nishi Rae , Ford Byron D. , Hildebrand John G.
Published: December 2020

Neuroscientist and devoted mentor of diverse scientists
Draft Genome Sequence of Serratia marcescens Strain ZZCCN01, Isolated from the Cardiac Blood of a Beef Cow
Authors: Zhang Yu-Long , Huang Fang-Yuan , Yao Cai-Xia , Cai Dong-Jie , Wang Zhi-Sheng , Zuo Zhi-Cai
Published: December 2020

Serratia marcescens
strain ZZCCN01 was isolated from the cardiac blood of a dead beef cow with a lung infection and a foam-like secretion from the nostril. Here, we introduce the 5.1-Mb draft genome sequence, which comprises 105 scaffolds, and the corresponding annotation.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Marinobacterium
sp. Strain LSUCC0821, Isolated from the Coastal Gulf of Mexico
Authors: Lucchesi Anna M. , Henson Michael W. , Temperton Ben , Thrash J. Cameron
Published: December 2020

Here, we present the complete genome sequence of
Marinobacterium
sp. strain LSUCC0821, isolated from the coastal Gulf of Mexico with artificial seawater using high-throughput dilution-to-extinction (DTE) cultivation. The 2.36-Mbp circularized genome sequence has 2,231 predicted genes, a 91.5% coding density, and a GC content of 47.8%.
Revised Transcriptome-Based Gene Annotation for Aspergillus flavus Strain NRRL 3357
Authors: Hatmaker E. Anne , Zhou Xiaofan , Mead Matthew E. , Moon Heungyun , Yu Jae-Hyuk , Rokas Antonis
Published: December 2020

Aspergillus flavus
is an agriculturally and medically important filamentous fungus that produces mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, which are potent carcinogens. Here, we generated short- and long-read transcript sequence data from the growth of
A. flavus
strain NRRL 3357 under both typical and stress conditions to produce a new annotation of its genome.
Interactive Material. Influence of pre-existing structure on pluton emplacement and geomorphology: The Merrimac plutons, northern Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Authors: Langenheim V.E. , al. et
Published: December 2020

Figures 2–5, 7–9, and 13 are interactive. For Figures 2–5,
9, and 13, use the radio buttons to toggle between different maps. For Figure
7, use the radio buttons to toggle between age range variations and
uncertainties for different samples in each pluton. For Figure 8, use the radio
buttons to toggle between zircon trace element compositions of different
plutons.
How congenital Zika virus impacted my child’s functioning and disability: a Brazilian qualitative study guided by the ICF
Authors: Campos Taynah Neri Correia , Schiariti Veronica , Gladstone Melissa , Melo Adriana , Tavares Jousilene Sales , Magalhães Adriana Gomes , Longo Egmar
Published: December 2020

Introduction

The Zika virus outbreak in Brazil has had devasting social, medical and financial consequences for families. Both researchers and clinicians are measuring longer-term outcomes to understand the impact of the Zika on child development, functioning and disability. Outcomes and tools used to measure them are very varied and we are unclear how meaningful they are to families and children. This study aimed to identify the parents’ perspectives on relevant areas of functioning and disability that should be included as outcome measures for children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), as guided by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

Methods

This qualitative study included parents or caregivers of children aged 0–5 years with confirmed CZS from two states in northeastern Brazil. Interviews were conducted using focus groups. Content mapping followed the WHO’s ICF linking rules. Three raters analysed the content using NVivo V.11.

Results

Thirty-two caregivers participated in six focus groups, 88% were mothers with an average age of 30 years. Most children were male (59%) and all were level V (severe) to on the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Overall, 825 themes were mapped to 36 ICF categories. Although parents mentioned areas across all ICF domains, they reported that areas of mobility, eating and recreation were most relevant for them. In addition, environmental factors were highly identified as barriers, specifically services, policies and access to assistive devices. The most predominant facilitators within the environment were; immediate family support, kind relationships with therapists and support from the extended family.

Conclusions

Although parents emphasised issues related to mobility, their greatest concerns involved environmental factors, such as access and quality of health and social services, systems and policies. These results reinforce the importance of including parents’ perspectives when selecting or developing outcome measures for CZS.
Effects of low-dose hydrocortisone and hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone in adults with septic shock: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data
Authors: Annane Djillali , Pirracchio Romain , Billot Laurent , Waschka Andre , Chevret Sylvie , Cohen Jeremy , Finfer Simon , Gordon Anthony , Hammond Naomi , Myburgh John , Venkatesh Balasubramanian , Delaney Anthony
Published: December 2020

Introduction

The benefits and risks of low-dose hydrocortisone in patients with septic shock have been investigated in numerous randomised controlled trials and trial-level meta-analyses. Yet, the routine use of this treatment remains controversial. To overcome the limitations of previous meta-analyses inherent to the use of aggregate data, we will perform an individual patient data meta-analysis (IPDMA) on the effect of hydrocortisone with or without fludrocortisone compared with placebo or usual care on 90-day mortality and other outcomes in patients with septic shock.

Methods and analysis

To assess the benefits and risks of hydrocortisone, with or without fludrocortisone for adults with septic shock, we will search major electronic databases from inception to September 2020 (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Latin American Caribbean Health Sciences Literature), complimented by a search for unpublished trials. The primary analysis will compare hydrocortisone with or without fludrocortisone to placebo or no treatment in adult patients with septic shock. Secondary analyses will compare hydrocortisone to placebo (or usual care), hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone to placebo (or usual care), and hydrocortisone versus hydrocortisone plus fludrocortisone. The primary outcome will be all cause mortality at 90 days. We will conduct both one-stage IPDMA using mixed-effect models and machine learning with targeted maximum likelihood analyses. We will assess the risk of bias related to unshared data and related to the quality of individual trial.

Ethics and dissemination

This IPDMA will use existing data from completed randomised clinical trials and will comply with the ethical and regulatory requirements regarding data sharing for each of the component trials. The findings of this study will be submitted for publication in a peer-review journal with straightforward policy for open access.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42017062198.
Values informing the development of an indicator of appropriate diabetes therapy: qualitative study
Authors: LaVecchia Christina M , Montori Victor M , Shah Nilay D , McCoy Rozalina G
Published: December 2020

Objectives

Despite increasing focus on individualised diabetes management, current diabetes quality measures are based on meeting generic haemoglobin A1c thresholds and do not reflect considerations of clinical complexity, hypoglycaemic susceptibility or treatment burden. Our team observed a multidisciplinary stakeholder panel tasked with informing an appropriate diabetes therapy indicator (ADTI) and analysed their deliberations, seeking to understand what constitutes appropriate diabetes therapy and how it can be captured using an operational quality indicator. We focused specifically on factors the panel valued in an ideal indicator, how they defined appropriateness and how they thought an indicator of appropriateness could be operationalised.

Design

Qualitative study examining Delphi panel deliberations as it iteratively refined the ADTI.

Participants and methods

The 12-member panel was comprised of clinicians (endocrinology, primary care, geriatrics), pharmacists, nurses, researchers, and representatives of public and private health plans. It met for four teleconference calls and deliberated asynchronously using semi-structured questionnaires following each call to develop the ADTI. These semistructured questionnaires, as well as the meeting minutes, were then analysed using an inductive thematic approach.

Results

We identified three themes in panellist discussions that represented the core value systems underpinning the indicator and its formation: (1) promoting individualised, evidence-based and equitable care; (2) balancing autonomy and prescriptiveness in clinical decision-making; and (3) ensuring an accurate, reliable and practical indicator. These three principles were operationalised into definitions of treatment intensity and clinical complexity, and yielded an indicator that participants judged both fair and effective.

Conclusions

Better understanding of what multidisciplinary stakeholders perceive as appropriate diabetes management can help develop quality indicators that are patient-centred, evidence-based, equitable and pragmatic across a range of clinical settings.
Publication of inspection frameworks: a qualitative study exploring the impact on quality improvement and regulation in three healthcare settings
Authors: Weenink Jan-Willem , Wallenburg Iris , Leistikow Ian , Bal Roland A
Published: December 2020

Background

The Dutch healthcare inspectorate publishes its inspection frameworks to inform both the public and healthcare providers about regulatory procedures and in the hope that publication will motivate healthcare providers to improve quality and comply with standards. This study explores the consequences of publishing these frameworks for the regulation of quality and safety in healthcare.

Methods

We selected recently published inspection frameworks used in three healthcare settings: nursing home care, dental care and hospital care. We conducted 37 interviews with 39 respondents (healthcare professionals, managers, quality officers, policy advisers and inspectors) and explored their awareness of and experiences with these frameworks. We held a group interview with three inspectors to reflect on our findings. All data underwent thematic content analysis.

Results

We found that the institutional infrastructure of a sector plays an important role in how an inspection framework is used after publication; particularly the presence and maturity of quality improvement work in the sector and the inspectorate’s grip on a sector matter. Respondents mentioned differences in framework use in organisational contexts, particularly relating to scale. In some organisations, the framework served as an accountability mechanism to check if quality meets basic standards, while in other organisations professionals adopted it to stimulate discussion and learning across teams.

Conclusion

Publication of inspection frameworks might result in quality improvement work, and in particular contexts could be used as a regulatory strategy to target quality improvement in a healthcare sector. For this, it is important that regulators consider the capabilities and possibilities for learning and improving within a sector.
Palliative care in critically ill COVID-19 patients: the early New York City experience
Authors: Sheehan Jacqueline , Ho Kam Sing , Poon Joseph , Sarosky Kimberly , Fung Jennifer Y
Published: December 2020

Objectives

The COVID-19 pandemic in the USA has been accompanied by high rates of mortality and an unprecedented need for palliative care delivery. Little is known about the use of palliative care services in intensive care unit (ICU) settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study of critically ill COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission, between 7 March and 14 April 2020 to two academic teaching hospitals in New York City. Palliative care consultation included a one-time telemedicine consultation or continued telemedicine consultation and follow-up with multidisciplinary team involvement. Patient information was collected from the electronic health record and analyses were conducted with Stata V.15.1 (StataCorp) statistical software.

Results

A total of 151 critically ill patients with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring ICU admission were identified, of whom 59 (39.07%) received an inpatient palliative care consultation. More than half of patients died (n=85/151, 56.29%), with 57.65% (n=49/85) of these patients receiving palliative care services during their hospitalisation. Patients who received palliative care consultation were more likely to be older, sicker and receive mechanical ventilation than their counterparts. Patients who died and did not receive palliative care were younger and required non-invasive ventilation support.

Conclusion

There is a lack of utilisation of palliative care in COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. Further research into predictors of poor outcomes in critically ill COVID-19 patients may help identify patients that would benefit from early palliative care involvement going forward.
Unusual palliative medicine intervention: smoking cessation
Authors: Kahraman Nurbanu , Yağlıoğlu Latife Merve , Doğru Balakbabalar Ayşe Pınar , Öztürk Onur
Published: December 2020

Intervention for smoking cessation in a palliative care setting is not considered to be a standard practise. However, palliative care should support life and improve its quality and be able to approach the patient from a psychosocial perspective. This article discusses the smoking cessation intervention provided in a palliative care setting for an oncology patient. Making patients quit tobacco products in palliative care can increase the effectiveness of cancer treatment as well as the motivation level of the patient.
Estimating lateral placement and lane indiscipline of urban mixed traffic of a developing country: an ANN-assisted approach
Authors: Saini Harish Kumar , Biswas Subhadip
Published: December 2020

Information on lateral placement and lane indiscipline is useful in simulation of a mixed traffic stream and in identifying the distressed portion of a pavement. Despite this utility, inadequate investigation has been made to estimate the lateral placement of vehicles under prevailing traffic conditions. In a typical mixed traffic situation, vehicles having different static and dynamic characteristics take any lateral gap across the carriageway left empty by other surrounding vehicles and move in an untidy manner. This leads to variation in lateral placement of vehicles, governed by the subject vehicle type. This paper explores the potential factors that influence lateral placement of vehicles and presents an artificial neural network (ANN)-based approach to quantify lateral placement and lane indiscipline in the context of undivided urban roads. Further, sensitivity analysis revealed how different traffic parameters like traffic volume, traffic composition, and directional split influence lateral placement and lane indiscipline within each vehicle category.
Managing sewerage networks using both failure modes, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods
Authors: Benbachir Mohamed , Cherrared Marzouk , Chenaf Djaouida
Published: December 2020

This paper proposes a methodology for managing complex sewerage networks based on the concomitant use of two performance evaluation methods, namely, the failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The FMECA is used to determine the risks of structural failures making it possible to establish a methodology for managing these failures. The AHP is used to check the relationship consistency between the performance indicators allowing the determination of the overall performance (OP). This proposed methodology was utilized for the urban sewerage network of Oued-Kniss in the city of Algiers, Algeria, as part of the efforts engaged in for sustainable and efficient management.
COVERED FOUR-PORT REFLECTIVE SPLITTER WITH ZEROTH ORDER CANCELLED
Authors: FU CHEN , WANG BO , FANG JIMIN
Published: December 2020

In this paper, the sandwiched configuration is designed under normal incidence with zeroth order eliminated so as to design a highly-efficient four-port output with polarization independence. Through rigorous coupled-wave analysis method, the splitting parameters are calculated to get a good polarization-independence effect, where the four reflective efficiencies are over 20%, respectively. The final findings show that this grating has good diffraction characteristics and high stability in practice. Furthermore, the coupling mechanism of grating can be explained for the cancellation of the zeroth order by studying the overlap integral and the electric field distribution.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion in economics and computation
Authors: Abebe Rediet
Published: December 2020

SIGecom embraces diversity, fosters mutual understanding and respect, and recognizes the inherent dignity of every person and group [sig 2020]. Over the years, the SIG has taken many measures towards these objectives, including establishing SafeEC, creating a virtual conference format designed to ease participation across time zones, and launching a Global Outreach program to increase participation of low- and middle-income countries [Immorlica et al. 2019].
Letter from SIGecom executive committee
Authors: Immorlica Nicole , Kominers Scott Duke , Ligett Katrina
Published: December 2020

Dear SIGecom community,

This has been quite a year. But with 2020's challenges have come opportunities to both reinforce our strengths and evolve as a community. We are incredibly proud of how everyone in the SIG has risen to the occasion.
An O(log log m) prophet inequality for subadditive combinatorial auctions
Authors: Dütting Paul , Kesselheim Thomas , Lucier Brendan
Published: December 2020

We survey the main results from [Dütting, Kesselheim, and Lucier 2020]:
1
a simple posted-price mechanism for subadditive combinatorial auctions with
m
items that achieves an
O
(log log
m
) approximation to the optimal welfare, plus a variant with entry fees that approximates revenue. These are based on a novel subadditive prophet inequality.
Critical Phenomena in Plasma Membrane Organization and Function
Authors: Shaw Thomas R. , Ghosh Subhadip , Veatch Sarah L.
Published: December 2020

Lateral organization in the plane of the plasma membrane is an important driver of biological processes. The past dozen years have seen increasing experimental support for the notion that lipid organization plays an important role in modulating this heterogeneity. Various biophysical mechanisms rooted in the concept of liquid–liquid phase separation have been proposed to explain diverse experimental observations of heterogeneity in model and cell membranes with distinct but overlapping applicability. In this review, we focus on the evidence for and the consequences of the hypothesis that the plasma membrane is poised near an equilibrium miscibility critical point. Critical phenomena explain certain features of the heterogeneity observed in cells and model systems but also go beyond heterogeneity to predict other interesting phenomena, including responses to perturbations in membrane composition.
Statistical Analysis for Identifying Differentially MicroRNA in Serum Exosomes of Lead Workers
Authors: Bo Jianzhu , Shi Fan , Wang Xi , Zhu Yi , Zhang Lijin , He Bin , Li Shuang , Zhang Yanshu
Published: December 2020

Exosomes can transmit central nervous system (CNS) information to the peripheral circulatory system through the brain barrier, and exosomes in the blood can also enter the central nervous system likewise. The components of exosomal contents play a pivotal role in cell signal communication, and thus, the transmission of exosomal content components is considered as a newly discovered method of long-distance communication between cells. The current is aimed to explore the changes of the exosomal microRNA group in the serum of lead-exposed workers, which might be involved in the lead-induced neuroinflammation, especially the activation of microglia and the release of inflammatory factors. We proposed a method combining statistical analysis and experiment according to the different expression of exosomal microRNA. Firstly, we divided workers into two groups, lead-exposed group and control group, and then questionnaires were used to obtain their basic information, and medical testing methods were used to obtain their serum exosomes. Secondly, principal component analysis was used to construct a comprehensive index of neurobehavioral function. Furthermore, volcano map and heatmap were used to display the differential gene distribution and correlation analysis of expression levels, respectively. Finally, two software applications, TargetScan and miRanda, were used to predict the target genes of the significantly different microRNAs, respectively, and the target genes predicted by the two software applications are screened according to the scoring standards of each software. Our results showed that 73 microRNAs were changed in the serum exosomes of lead-exposed worker, among which 48 microRNAs are upregulated and 25 microRNAs are downregulated. Moreover, the miR-124 and miR-506 were identified, and they might be involved in the process of lead-induced neuroinflammation.