bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Procalcitonin levels in children affected by severe malaria compared to those with uncomplicated malaria in the absence of bacterial infection: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Katte Jean-Claude , Penanje Kiya , Agoons Batakeh B. , Djahmeni Eric Noel , Mbacham-Ngwafor Sharon , Moor Vicky Jocelyne Ama , Koki Paul , Mbacham Wilfred
Published: March 2022

Background

Procalcitonin is an inflammatory marker strongly associated with the presence of bacterial infection. It has been considered raised in severe malaria infection as opposed to uncomplicated malaria. There are suggestions that it may be raised only when there is concomitant unnoticeable bacterial infection during a malaria crisis. We aimed to assess the difference in plasma procalcitonin levels between children affected by severe and uncomplicated malaria.

Methods

We assessed plasma procalcitonin levels in 83 children diagnosed with malaria with no clinical and biological evidence of concomitant bacterial infection. Severity of malaria was established using WHO guidelines. Procalcitonin was determined using the ELISA method. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare medians across the 2 groups. Statistical significance was set for all p values < 0.05.

Results

Of the 83 participants, 28 had uncomplicated malaria, and 55 had severe malaria. PCT levels were obtained in 24 and 40 subjects of each group, respectively, and were similar in both groups; [2.76 (2.52–2.93) vs 2.74 (2.52–2.98) ng/ml, p = 0.916]. The parasite density was lower in the uncomplicated malaria group than in the severe malaria group, but not statistically significant; [22,192 (9110–44 654) vs 31 684 (13 960–73 500) parasites/μl, p = 0.178]. There was no correlation between the parasite density in the general study population and PCT levels (r = 0.072, p = 0.572).

Conclusion

In the absence of overt bacterial infection, procalcitonin levels are not different between children affected with uncomplicated malaria and those with severe malaria. Therefore, bacterial infection should be thoroughly checked for in children with raised serum procalcitonin diagnosed with severe malaria.
The association between office blood pressure and fluid status using bioimpedance spectroscopy in stable continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients
Authors: Slabbert Adriaan , Chothia Mogamat-Yazied
Published: March 2022

Background

Hypertension is common in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. It remains to be determined the extent to which fluid overload contributes to uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) in this population. The aim was to determine the association between fluid status as measured using bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) and BP in CAPD patients.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed involving 50 stable CAPD patients at a single center in Cape Town, South Africa. All participants were known to have hypertension and were divided into two groups based on office BP measurements: an uncontrolled BP group (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) and a controlled BP group. Fluid status was determined using BIS (Body Composition Monitor®, Fresenius Medical Care, Bad Homburg, Germany).

Results

There was a statistically significant difference in overhydration (OH) between the uncontrolled BP group and the controlled BP group (3.0 ± 2.3 L vs. 1.4 ± 1.6 L, respectively, P = 0.01). The uncontrolled BP group was older (37.7 ± 9.5 years vs. 32.0 ± 8.0 years, P = 0.04) and had a shorter dialysis vintage (15 [IQR, 7–22] months vs. 31 [IQR, 12–39] months, P = 0.02). Significant correlations were found between OH and the extracellular water (ECW) (r = 0.557, P < 0.01) and ECW to total body water (TBW) ratio (r = 0.474, P < 0.01). Mixed ancestry, presence of residual kidney function, ECW, and ECW to TBW ratio were identified as predictors of OH on multivariable linear regression.

Conclusions

We found that stable CAPD patients with uncontrolled BP had higher OH compared to patients whose BP was controlled.
Synthesis of [11C]carbonyl-labeled cyclohexyl (5-(2-acetamidobenzo[d]thiazol-6-yl)-2-methylpyridin-3-yl)carbamate ([11C-carbonyl]PK68) as a potential PET tracer for receptor-interacting protein 1 kinase
Authors: Yamasaki Tomoteru , Kumata Katsushi , Hiraishi Atsuto , Zhang Yiding , Wakizaka Hidekatsu , Kurihara Yusuke , Nengaki Nobuki , Zhang Ming-Rong
Published: March 2022

Background

Receptor-interacting protein 1 kinase (RIPK1) is a key enzyme in the regulation of cellular necroptosis. Recently, cyclohexyl (5-(2-acetamidobenzo[d]thiazol-6-yl)-2-methylpyridin-3-yl)carbamate (PK68, 5) has been developed as a potent inhibitor of RIPK1. Herein, we synthesized [11C]carbonyl-labeled PK68 ([11C-carbonyl]PK68, [11C]PK68) as a potential PET tracer for imaging RIPK1 and evaluated its brain uptake in vivo.

Results

We synthesized [11C]PK68 by reacting amine precursor 14 with [11C]acetyl chloride. At the end of synthesis, we obtained [11C]PK68 of 1200–1790 MBq with a radiochemical yield of 9.1 ± 5.9% (n = 10, decay-corrected to the end of irradiation) and radiochemical purity of > 99%, and a molar activity of 37–99 GBq/μmol starting from 18–33 GBq of [11C]CO2. The fully automated synthesis took 30 min from the end of irradiation. In a small-animal PET study, [11C]PK68 was rapidly distributed in the liver and kidneys of healthy mice after injection, and subsequently cleared from their bodies via hepatobiliary excretion and the intestinal reuptake pathway. Although there was no obvious specific binding of RIPK1 in the PET study, [11C]PK68 demonstrated relatively high stability in vivo and provided useful structural information further candidate development.

Conclusions

In the present study, we successfully radiosynthesized [11C]PK68 as a potential PET tracer and evaluated its brain uptake. We are planning to optimize the chemical structure of [11C]PK68 and conduct further PET studies on it using pathological models.
Recent advances in electrochemical sensor technologies for THC detection—a narrative review
Authors: Amini Kaveh , Sepehrifard Ali , Valinasabpouri Ali , Safruk Jennifer , Angelone Davide , de Campos Lourenco Tiago
Published: March 2022

Background

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component and one of the most important medicinal compounds in cannabis. Whether in human body fluids and breath or in laboratory and field samples, rapid and easy detection of THC is crucial. It provides insights into the impact of THC on human organism and its medicinal benefits, it guides the cannabis growers to determine different stages of the growth of the plant in the field, and eventually it helps scientists in the laboratory to assure the quality of the products and determine their potency or better understand the product development procedures. The significance of fast THC detection in forensic analysis also cannot be overlooked. Electrochemical sensor technologies are currently in the focus of attention for fast, easy, and low-cost detection of THC.

Method

In this work, we review the recent advances in sensor technologies developed for the purpose of fast and accurate THC detection. The research works performed mostly in the past decade and those detecting THC directly without any derivatization were the main target of this review. The scope of this narrative review was the reports on detecting THC in synthetic samples and plants as well as oral fluid.

Results

Electrochemical sensor technologies are sensitive enough and have the potential for fast, easy, and low-cost detection of THC for roadside testing, THC trending in growing cannabis plants, THC product development and formulation for medical purposes, etc., and they can provide an alternative for costly chromatography and mass spectrometry-based methods.

Conclusion

The main challenges facing these sensors, however, are nonspecific interaction and the interference of compounds and species from the matrix. Special requirement for storing sensors modified with antibodies or proteins is another challenge in this field. Preparing long-lasting and reusable sensors is a field worthy of attention.
Identification and characterization of a stem canker and twig dieback disease of pear caused by Neofusicoccum parvum in Chinese mainland
Authors: He Feng , Yang Jie , Zhao Yancun , Laborda Pedro , Jia Yifan , Safdar Asma , Kange Alex Machio , Li Bingxin , Zhou Lan , Zeng Quan , Brown Sally , Fu Zheng Qing , Liu Fengquan
Published: March 2022

Pear (Pyrus spp.) is one of the most consumed fruits in China, but the pear production has to confront the growing threat from fatal diseases. In this study, we report two incidences of stem canker and twig dieback disease on pear plants, which led to death of pear seedlings (approximately 10% of total plants) in Guangxi and Jiangsu provinces. Using a combination of morphological and molecular diagnoses, along with pathogenicity test, the causal agent of the disease in these two locations was identified to be the fungus Neofusicoccum parvum. However, the isolates were divided into two clades: CY-2 isolate and other four isolates including ZL-4, BM-9, BM-10 and BM-12 might split into two groups of N. parvum. Two representative isolates (CY-2 and ZL-4) were selected for further investigation. We observed that the optimal temperature for in vitro infection on pear trees of these two isolates was at round 25 °C. Both CY-2 and ZL-4 could infect different sand pear varieties and other horticultural plants in vitro, while CY-2 had a higher virulence on several pear varieties including Nanyue, Lvyun, Qiushui and Ningmenghuang. Furthermore, the efficacy of fungicides against these two isolates was evaluated, and carbendazim and flusilazole were found to be the most effective fungicides in inhibiting the growth of these fungal pathogens. Taken together, these findings redefine the N. parvum species and provide potential strategies for the future management of this disease.
Effect of Ramadan fasting on hepatic steatosis as quantified by controlled attenuation parameter (CAP): a prospective observational study
Authors: Gad Ahmed Ibrahim , Abdel-Ghani Hesham Atia , Barakat Amir Abd-elhameed Ahmed
Published: March 2022

Background

Although Ramadan fasting has a beneficial effect on health, the role of Ramadan fasting on patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), as quantified by the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), is not determined yet. So, this study aimed to determine the effect of Ramadan fasting on patients with NAFLD by assessing the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and biochemical parameters of the fatty liver.

Patients and methods

A prospective observational study was conducted on 40 NAFLD patients, who were diagnosed by ultrasonography and quantified with controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in transient elastography (FibroScan) and fasted the month of Ramadan. Transient elastography for CAP and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were performed. Fibrosis 4 score (FIB4) and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) were also calculated.

Results

There is a statistically significant change in body mass index, fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, serum albumin, total protein, AST, ALT, and alkaline phosphatase after Ramadan fasting. There were significant clinical improvements after Ramadan fasting in FIB-4 (1.31 ± 0.26 and 1.24 ± 0.25 respectively, p < 0.001), CAP (318.52 ± 34.59 and 294.0 ± 20.34, respectively, p < 0. 001), and LSM (6.95 ± 1.62 and 6.59 ± 1.49, respectively, p < 0. 001).

Conclusion

Our study demonstrates that Ramadan fasting could improve liver steatosis in patients with NAFLD proved with a significant reduction in the CAP and LSM.
The use of sugarcane wastes in concrete
Authors: Hussien Nancy T. , Oan Ahmed F.
Published: March 2022

Cement production is held responsible of polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide (CO2). The researchers have shown that manufacturing of one ton of cement releases about half ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. So, there is a need to produce alternative cement instead of ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Waste materials such as sugarcane bagasse are difficult to dispose which result in environmental hazard. This study investigates the use of sugarcane wastes in concrete, where two forms of sugarcane wastes were used in this study. The first form was using the sugarcane bagasse ash as partial replacement of cement in both mortar and concrete mixes, where, in mortar, the used ratios were 5, 10, and 20% of the total weight of cement. But in concrete, the used ratios were 5, 7.5, and 10%. The samples were tested in compression and split tension. The results showed that the optimum ratio of using sugarcane bagasse ash as a partial replacement of cement was 5%. Similar results were obtained in both mortar and concrete sample. For the bagasse fibers, adding the fibers to the concrete mixture led to the reduction of compressive strength. But on the other hand, the addition of bagasse fibers reduced the crack width formed in the slab.
An explicit stabilization scheme for Q-compensated reverse time migration
Authors: Wang Yufeng , Harris Jerry M. , Bai Min , Saad Omar M. , Yang Liuqing , Chen Yangkang
Published: March 2022

Attenuation compensation in prestack depth migration typically requires nonphysical frequency-dependent energy amplification, which may lead to numerical instability. An explicit stabilization approach is developed for seismic [Formula: see text] compensation after deriving the [Formula: see text]-space Green’s function of the compensated constant-[Formula: see text] wave equation, which has decoupled fractional Laplacians. At high wavenumbers, as time increases, the time propagator of [Formula: see text]-space Green’s function increases exponentially. Therefore, an exponential window function is introduced to stabilize the exponentially divergent time propagator. Unlike the conventional low-pass filtering approach in the frequency or wavenumber domain, the proposed method assumes that the exponent of the chosen window is a power function of the wavenumber magnitude, which only involves explicit stabilization terms in the time-space domain. An explicit stabilization form helps to perform seismic data [Formula: see text] compensation more conveniently. We outline the basic structure of the proposed approach with explicit stabilization and highlight some numerical details using compute unified device architexture-based implementations. The strong scaling analysis justifies the good performance of the developed code package in terms of computational efficiency and scalability. In addition, we further analyze the optimal scheme parameter selection and the influence of parameters on filtering performance. The proposed [Formula: see text]-compensated reverse time migration is applied on the Marmousi model and synthetic and real crosswell examples to verify its feasibility and numerical stability.
Seismic clues into the origin of polygonal faulting and pockmarks in the Great South Basin, New Zealand
Authors: Mora Jose P. , Bedle Heather
Published: March 2022

Description Geologic feature: Polygonal faulting and pockmarks in the Great South Basin New Zealand Appearance: Dense faulting among horizons in cross section and reflector concave features in seismic sections Map view appearance: Dense faulting and multiple circular features Features with a similar appearance: Tectonic faulting, mounds, syneresis, carbonate mounds, and dissolution features Formation: Rakiura Group, offshore, Great South Basin, southern New Zealand Location: Great South Basin, southern side of the Southern Island in New Zealand Age: Eocene Data sets: A 3D seismic reflection data, from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZP&M), New Zealand Seismic attributes: Variance, curvature, dip magnitude, and color blending
Integration of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in the Electronic Health Record: The Veterans Affairs Experience
Authors: Friedman Daphne R. , Patil Vikas , Li Chunyang , Rassmussen Kelli M. , Burningham Zachary , Hamilton-Hill Susan , Kelley Michael J. , Halwani Ahmad S.
Published: March 2022

PURPOSE

There are growing efforts to integrate patient-reported outcome (PRO) data into electronic health records (EHRs) to bring together disparate sources of patient information and improve medical care. PRO measures can be used to assess cancer symptom presence and severity. Integrating PRO tools in EHRs can alert providers to address symptoms, which is an essential component of comprehensive oncology care.

METHODS

We modified a PRO used to measure cancer and end-of-life symptoms, the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System to create the Veteran Symptom Assessment System (VSAS). VSAS was implemented as an integrated PRO as part of the Veterans Administration EHR system and was used at hematology-oncology clinics in Veteran Administration (VA) medical centers in the Southeast.

RESULTS

From 2013 to 2014, VSAS was introduced, underwent usability testing and modifications, and was finally implemented in the EHR. Between 2015 and 2019, VSAS was administered 43,883 times in 9,058 patients. Eighty-nine percent of Veterans were male, 11% were female, 52% identified as non-Hispanic White, and 43% identified as African American. Fatigue, shortness of breath with exertion, and pain were most frequently reported initially (68%, 48%, and 45%, respectively) and were most frequently rated as severe (27%, 16%, and 17%, respectively). In patients diagnosed with stage IV cancer, higher symptom burden was significantly associated with shorter overall survival. The majority of Veterans with longitudinal measurements experienced improvement in symptoms, most frequently in severe symptoms.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale implementation of a PRO system, integrated in the VA EHR, in ambulatory patients with cancer and blood disorders. The integration of VSAS within the VA EHR is a significant demonstration and a necessary requirement for current and future systemic initiatives in cancer symptom management.
Olaparib With or Without Cediranib Versus Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Recurrent Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer (NRG-GY004): A Randomized, Open-Label, Phase III Trial
Authors: Liu Joyce F. , Brady Mark F. , Matulonis Ursula A. , Miller Austin , Kohn Elise C. , Swisher Elizabeth M. , Cella David , Tew William P. , Cloven Noelle G. , Muller Carolyn Y. , Bender David P. , Moore Richard G. , Michelin David P. , Waggoner Steven E. , Geller Melissa A. , Fujiwara Keiichi , D'Andre Stacy D. , Carney Michael , Alvarez Secord Angeles , Moxley Katherine M. , Bookman Michael A.
Published: March 2022

PURPOSE

Platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care for platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer, but complications from repeated platinum therapy occur. We assessed the activity of two all-oral nonplatinum alternatives, olaparib or olaparib/cediranib, versus platinum-based chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

NRG-GY004 is an open-label, randomized, phase III trial conducted in the United States and Canada. Eligible patients had high-grade serous or endometrioid platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1:1 to platinum-based chemotherapy, olaparib, or olaparib/cediranib. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) in the intention-to-treat population. Secondary end points included activity within germline BRCA-mutated or wild-type subgroups and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

RESULTS

Between February 04, 2016, and November 13, 2017, 565 eligible patients were randomly assigned. Median PFS was 10.3 (95% CI, 8.7 to 11.2), 8.2 (95% CI, 6.6 to 8.7), and 10.4 (95% CI, 8.5 to 12.5) months with chemotherapy, olaparib, and olaparib/cediranib, respectively. Olaparib/cediranib did not improve PFS versus chemotherapy (hazard ratio [HR] 0.86; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.10; P = .077). In women with germline BRCA mutation, the PFS HR versus chemotherapy was 0.55 (95% CI, 0.32 to 0.94) for olaparib/cediranib and 0.63 (95% CI, 0.37 to 1.07) for olaparib. In women without a germline BRCA mutation, the PFS HR versus chemotherapy was 0.97 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.30) for olaparib/cediranib and 1.41 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.86) for olaparib. Hematologic adverse events occurred more commonly with chemotherapy; however, nonhematologic adverse events were higher with olaparib/cediranib. In 489 patients evaluable for PROs, patients receiving olaparib/cediranib scored on average 1.1 points worse on the NFOSI-DRS-P subscale (97.5% CI, –2.0 to –0.2, P = .0063) versus chemotherapy; no difference between olaparib and chemotherapy was observed.

CONCLUSION

Combination olaparib/cediranib did not improve PFS compared with chemotherapy and resulted in reduced PROs. Notably, in patients with a germline BRCA mutation, both olaparib and olaparib/cediranib had significant clinical activity.
Underwater acoustic bottle beam generated by latticed pentamode metasurface
Authors: Sun Zhaoyong , Jia Han , Zhao Han , Wang Suhao , Zhang Han , Yang Jun
Published: March 2022

In this paper, we design an underwater acoustic metasurface using a 2-dimensional version of the pentamode lattice to convert a plane wave into a circular bottle beam. The energy of the plane wave transmitted through the designed metasurface mainly focuses on the bottle edge and forms a dark zone. The simulated results demonstrate that a rigid obstacle in the dark zone has hardly any damage on the bottle beam, which means that the bottle beam is robust against the scattering from the obstacle. Moreover, the influence of incident angle on the bottle beam is also analyzed. It is shown that the change of the incident angles can changes the shape of the bottle beam. However, the dark zone still exists and is robust against the obstacle. The underwater acoustic bottle beam may have interesting potential applications in biomedical imaging and in vivo cell manipulation.
Intubation and mortality prediction in hospitalized COVID-19 patients using a combination of convolutional neural network-based scoring of chest radiographs and clinical data
Authors: O'Shea Aileen , Li Matthew D , Mercaldo Nathaniel D , Balthazar Patricia , Som Avik , Yeung Tristan , Succi Marc D , Little Brent P , Kalpathy-Cramer Jayashree , Lee Susanna I
Published: March 2022

Objective:

To predict short-term outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients using a model incorporating clinical variables with automated convolutional neural network (CNN) chest radiograph analysis.

Methods:

A retrospective single center study was performed on patients consecutively admitted with COVID-19 between March 14 and April 21 2020. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected, and automated CNN scoring of the admission chest radiograph was performed. The two outcomes of disease progression were intubation or death within 7 days and death within 14 days following admission. Multiple imputation was performed for missing predictor variables and, for each imputed data set, a penalized logistic regression model was constructed to identify predictors and their functional relationship to each outcome. Cross-validated area under the characteristic (AUC) curves were estimated to quantify the discriminative ability of each model.

Results:

801 patients (median age 59; interquartile range 46–73 years, 469 men) were evaluated. 36 patients were deceased and 207 were intubated at 7 days and 65 were deceased at 14 days. Cross-validated AUC values for predictive models were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.79–0.86) for death or intubation within 7 days and 0.82 (0.78–0.87) for death within 14 days. Automated CNN chest radiograph score was an important variable in predicting both outcomes.

Conclusion:

Automated CNN chest radiograph analysis, in combination with clinical variables, predicts short-term intubation and death in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 infection. Chest radiograph scoring of more severe disease was associated with a greater probability of adverse short-term outcome.

Advances in knowledge:

Model-based predictions of intubation and death in COVID-19 can be performed with high discriminative performance using admission clinical data and convolutional neural network-based scoring of chest radiograph severity.
Injury Rates and Characteristics Associated with Participation in Organized Dance Education: A Systematic Review
Authors: Critchley Meghan , Kenny Sarah J. , Ritchie Ashleigh , McKay Carly D.
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Several studies and recent systematic reviews have investigated injury in dance settings and have largely focused on specific concert dance genres (i.e., ballet, contemporary) and elite levels (i.e., pre-professional, professional) of dance. Less is known about the health of those who participate in dance education settings, namely teachers and students from private dance studios. Given that these individuals constitute a large proportion of the dance community, greater clarity of risks in the dance training environment could benefit an underserved majority by informing the development of effective injury prevention strategies.
 Objective: The primary objective was to describe injury rates and characteristics associated with participation in organized dance education settings.
 Methods: Six electronic databases were searched to April 2021 (Medline, EMBASE, SportDiscus, CINAHL, SCOPUS, Cochrane). Selected studies met a priori inclusion criteria that required original data from dance teacher and student samples within formal dance education settings. All genres of dance were eligible. Studies were excluded if no injury outcomes or estimates of dance exposure were reported, if injuries occurred during rehearsal and performance, or if dance was used as a therapeutic intervention or exercise. Two reviewers independently assessed each paper for inclusion at abstract and full text screening stages. The quality of included studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Level of Evidence tool.
 Results: The initial database search identified 1,424 potentially relevant records, 26 were included and scored. Most studies (n = 22) focused on dance students only, three included only dance teachers, and one study included both. Among both dance students and teachers, the majority of injuries reported were overuse or chronic and involved the lower limb. For studies that reported injury rates (n = 14), estimates ranged from 0.8 to 4.7 injuries per 1,000 dance hours, 4.86 per 1,000 dancer-days, and 0.21 to 0.34 per 1,000 dance exposures.
 Conclusions: Based on the current research, dance students and teachers experience a similar rate of injury to concert and professional dancers, and their injuries are most commonly overuse injuries involving the lower extremity. There have been few high-quality investigations of injury specific to the dance training environment. Therefore, consensus around the burden of injury in the dance education settings remains difficult. Future dance epidemiological investigations that examine the burden of injury among dance teachers and students, include operational injury and exposure definitions, and utilize prospective designs are warranted.
Comparison of Dance-Related Foot and Ankle Injuries Among Pre-Professional Ballet, Contemporary, and Chinese Dancers
Authors: Lai Jojo H.C. , Fung Naomi P. Y. , Yeung Stacey T. W. , Siu Ronald W. H. , Pak Nigel Keith , Surgenor Brenton , Yung Patrick S. H. , Ling Samuel K. K.
Published: March 2022

Background: Foot and ankle injuries have been noted as the most common in dancers. However, the variability of injury epidemiology across different dance genres has not been clearly evaluated. Herein, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of foot and ankle problems in pre-professional ballet, contemporary, and Chinese dancers.
 Methods: Participants (N = 54) were recruited from a local dance institution that offered a formal undergraduate dance program. Demographic characteristics and specifics of foot and ankle pain during dancing were collected through an online self-reporting survey from September 2018 to June 2019. Descriptive statistical analyses, including injury incidence and risk rates, were conducted.
 Results: The overall response rate was 69.3%, with a total of 88 subjects eligible for analysis of which the results from 54 subjects were ultimately analyzed. The incidence of foot and ankle pain during the academic year of 2018 to 2019 was highest in contemporary dancers (0.38 per 1,000 dance hours) when compared to that of ballet (0.32 per 1,000 dance hours) and Chinese dancers (0.22 per 1,000 dance hours). Prevalence of foot and ankle pain within the same year was 84% in ballet dancers, 79% in Chinese dancers, and 70% in contemporary dancers. Ballet dancers were six times more likely to suffer from pain in the Achilles region than Chinese and contemporary dancers (p < 0.01). Chinese dancers were found to experience more forefoot and midfoot problems compared to ballet and contemporary dancers (p < 0.05).
 Conclusion: This study illustrated that foot and ankle pain is highly prevalent among pre-profes- sional dancers. Ballet was associated with the highest prevalence of foot-ankle pain while contemporary dance was associated with the highest incidence. There were significant differences of foot and ankle pain among dance genres and anatomical subregions, which suggests a need for targeted genre-specific injury prevention programs in hopes of preventing potentially career-ending injuries in dancers.
Εμπειρική διερεύνηση των θαλάσσιων και αεροπορικών μεταφορών μεταξύ νησιωτικής και ηπειρωτικής Ελλάδας στο πλαίσιο μιας σύγχρονης περιφερειακής πολιτικής οικονομικής ανάπτυξης
Authors: Καρλής Φώτιος-Ευάγγελος
Published: March 2022

Ένα νησί χωρίς μεταφορές μπορεί να επιβιώσει στοιχειωδώς αναπτύσσοντας μικρής κλίμακας οικονομικές δραστηριότητες, αλλά δεν είναι βέβαιο ότι μπορεί να αναπτυχθεί. Ένα ικανοποιητικό και αποδοτικό μεταφορικό δίκτυο θα δημιουργήσει τις συνθήκες και τις προϋποθέσεις ώστε να υπάρξει αειφόρος ανάπτυξη στις νησιωτικές περιφέρειες. Η σύνδεση των νησιών, δηλαδή των άκρων με τα Ηπειρωτικά κέντρα, δηλαδή την καρδιά, θα τονώσει την εξωστρέφεια των τοπικών οικονομιών και θα τις φέρει σε επαφή με νέες αγορές δημιουργώντας ευκαιρίες επέκτασης και ανάπτυξης. Κύριος στόχος της παρούσας διατριβής είναι να διερευνηθεί η σχέση της περιφερειακής ανάπτυξης με τις ακτοπλοϊκές και αεροπορικές μεταφορές. Δευτερεύοντες στόχοι είναι να διερευνηθούν οι παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την προσφορά και ζήτηση των μεταφορών. Για την επίτευξη τόσο του κύριου στόχου όσο και των δευτερευόντων επελέγησαν επτά νησιωτικές περιοχές /προορισμοί οι εξής: Χανιά, Ηράκλειο, Λέσβος, Χίος, Κως, Ρόδος και Σάμος. Η χρονική περίοδος της έρευνας εκτείνεται από το 2000 ως το 2019. Η διερεύνηση βασίστηκε στη συλλογή βιβλιογραφίας ως προς τη θεωρητική προσέγγιση των ζητημάτων, στη συλλογή και επεξεργασία στατιστικών δεδομένων και την εμπειρική εκτίμηση και αξιολόγηση οικονομετρικών Υποδειγμάτων. Η ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων της έρευνας οδήγησε σε συμπεράσματα ως προς τη σχέση μεταξύ του ΑΕΠ και των μεταφορών (ακτοπλοϊκών, αεροπορικών) στο πλαίσιο των υπό διερεύνηση αρχικών ερευνητικών στόχων. Έτσι διαμορφώθηκαν και διατυπώθηκαν προτάσεις σχετικά με την ανάπτυξη των νησιωτικών μεταφορών και βελτίωση των παρεχομένων υπηρεσιών στις νησιωτικές περιοχές.
Σχεδιασμός και αξιολόγηση "Εκπαιδευτικών Νησίδων Φυσικών Επιστημών και Τεχνολογίας" ως περιβαλλόντων μη τυπικής μορφής εκπαίδευσης σε αρχαιολογικό μουσείο
Authors: Γεωργοπούλου Πόπη
Published: March 2022

Σκοπός της παρούσας διατριβής είναι να εξετάσει τη δυνατότητα διάδοσης στοιχείων των φυσικών επιστημών, όχι στο συνηθισμένο περιβάλλον του μουσείου επιστημών ή τεχνολογίας, αλλά στο αρχαιολογικό μουσείο. Στόχος είναι να αναδειχθούν οι υπάρχουσες διεπαφές μεταξύ των πεδίων της αρχαιολογίας και των φυσικών επιστημών στο περιβάλλον ενός ελληνικού αρχαιολογικού μουσείου, έτσι ώστε ο εκθεσιακός τους χώρος να μπορεί να χρησιμεύσει ως πεδίο μη τυπικής εκπαίδευσης και για τη διάδοση των φυσικών επιστημών. Ξεκινώντας με τη διερεύνηση της αναγκαιότητας μιας τέτοιας επιλογής, η οποία ακολουθεί τη διεθνή τάση διεπιστημονικής ερμηνείας μουσειακών συλλογών και διαλόγων μεταξύ μόνιμων συλλογών και προσωρινών εκθέσεων διαφορετικών κλάδων, προσδιορίζονται οι ακόλουθες τέσσερεις διεπαφές: α) αρχαιομετρία, β) συντήρηση αρχαιοτήτων, γ) αρχαία ελληνική επιστήμη και δ) αρχαία ελληνική τεχνολογία και τέχνη. Τέλος, εξετάζεται η σκοπιμότητα σχεδιασμού μιας Εκπαιδευτικής Νησίδας Φυσικών Επιστημών, δηλαδή μιας μουσειακής δομής-συνθήκης που απευθύνεται κυρίως σε ομάδες παιδιών ηλικίας 11-13 ετών, ενσαρκώνοντας τη σχέση μεταξύ φυσικών επιστημών και αρχαιολογίας ως αποτέλεσμα τόσο διδακτικού όσο και διαμεσολαβητικού μετασχηματισμού ταυτόχρονα.Η φάση της ανάλυσης περιλαμβάνει τρία στοιχεία: τη διερεύνηση της τάσης προς μια διαθεματική ερμηνευτική πολιτική για αρχαιολογικές συλλογές (κοινωνικοπολιτιστική διάσταση), την επιστημολογική ανάλυση της διαθεματικής γνώσης αναφοράς και την ανάδειξη των υπαρκτών διαθεματικών γεφυρών ανάμεσα στα επιστημονικά πεδία της αρχαιολογίας και των φυσικών επιστημών, καθώς και τη δυνατότητα διάδοσης τέτοιων διαθεματικών στοιχείων υπό το πρίσμα των φυσικών επιστημών στο πλαίσιο της μουσειοπαιδαγωγικής πράξης. Η φάση του σχεδιασμού περιλαμβάνει τη διατύπωση των διαμεσολαβητικών και ταυτόχρονα διδακτικών στόχων και την πρόταση για μια Εκπαιδευτική Νησίδα Φυσικών Επιστημών (ΕΝΦΕ) για την Αρχαιομετρία, που σχεδιάστηκε ως αντικείμενο μελέτης περίπτωσης για το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Θηβών. Τέλος, η φάση της αξιολόγησης απευθύνεται στους διαμεσολαβητές, δηλαδή ανθρώπους των μουσείων που σχεδιάζουν και διεξάγουν εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα και διαμεσολαβούν αφενός ανάμεσα στα εκθέματα και την αντίστοιχη γνώση αναφοράς που εκπορεύεται από αυτά και αφετέρου στις ομάδες κοινού - επισκεπτών που συμμετέχουν στις μουσειακές εκπαιδευτικές δράσεις. Τα αποτελέσματα αυτής της αξιολόγησης δείχνουν ότι η πλειονότητα των διαμεσολαβητών του δείγματός μας έχουν θετική στάση απέναντι στην αξιοποίηση μίας δομής όπως η ΕΝΦΕ με σκοπό τη διάδοση στοιχείων διαθεματικών διεπαφών ανάμεσα στα δύο πεδία και είναι δυνατόν να την αξιοποιήσουν για παιδιά ηλικιών 11-13 ετών στο πλαίσιο μουσειοπαιδαγωγικών δράσεων.
Post-Graduation Anesthesiology Program in Qatar, Viewpoints and Future Challenges
Authors: Aboobacker Sumayya , Ahmed Sohel , Kumar Neeraj , Al Khal Abdullatif
Published: March 2022

Qatar is a country located on the east shores of the Arabian Peninsula. In the past three decades, Qatar has experienced significant changes in its educational and healthcare systems. At the time of writing this paper, there are two accredited Faculties of Medicine, which offer students from all over the world the possibility of becoming doctors. Residency Programs are taught in English and are accredited by Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-International (ACGME-I). In this paper, we outline the organisation of Qatar medical education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, with particular emphasis on the postgraduate anaesthesiology residency program. We outline the opportunities for curriculum development and its future challenges.
A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of strategies to quantify or eliminate catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis
Authors: Carballo-Jimenez Paula P. , Datta Sumona , Aguirre-Ipenza Rubén , Saunders Matthew J. , Quevedo Cruz Luz , Evans Carlton A.
Published: March 2022

Background: The World Health Organization strategy to “End TB” by 2030 includes the milestone of no affected households facing catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis (TB). Costs due to TB are usually defined as catastrophic if they exceed 20% of the pre-disease annual household income. Several countries have conducted national TB cost surveys but strategies to quantify and eliminate catastrophic costs are incompletely defined.

Methods: Publications related to strategies to quantify and eliminate catastrophic costs will be identified by searching three electronic databases (PubMed - Medline, Scopus and Web of Science) together with reference lists from pertinent publications. We will screen eligible studies, extract data, and assess the risk of bias with the quality assessment tool from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Discrepancies will be resolved by discussion between the reviewers. If we find sufficient comparable studies quantifying strategies to eliminate catastrophic costs then a meta-analysis will be performed. This systematic review and meta-analysis is registered with the PROSPERO database (CRD42022292410).

Conclusion: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to rigorously assess the evidence for strategies to quantify or eliminate catastrophic costs due to TB.
For Better and Worse: How Proactive Personality Alters the Strain Responses to Challenge and Hindrance Stressors
Authors: Nielsen Jordan , Firth Brady , Crawford Eean
Published: March 2022

Employees with a proactive personality tend to show exceptional initiative and perseverance, suggesting that they are relatively impervious to stressors. Yet some evidence suggests that proactive personality may exacerbate the effect of stressors on strain. In this study, we clarify these conflicting ideas by systematically distinguishing between different types of chronic work stressors. Integrating the conservation-of-resources model and the challenge–hindrance stressor framework, we suggest that employees with more proactive personalities are especially sensitive to the extent to which chronic work stressors are amenable to their resource investments. Specifically, we hypothesize that, for more proactive employees, challenge stressors (opportunities more amenable to resource investment) lead to less strain (i.e., emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions) but also that hindrance stressors (demands less amenable to proactive expectations of achievement) lead to relatively more strain. We further propose perceived organizational support as a mediator of these interactive effects wherein challenging opportunities are interpreted by proactive employees as particularly indicative of high support and hindering demands as particularly indicative of low support, ultimately leading to lower and higher perceptions of strain, respectively. A three-wave survey of 256 architects generally supports these hypotheses: the effects of challenge stressors on emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions were significantly attenuated and the effects of hindrance stressors on these outcomes were significantly exacerbated for more proactive people. These effects were mediated (partially for exhaustion, fully for turnover intentions) by perceived support. Follow-up analysis demonstrates that this interactive effect extends to turnover behavior 2.5 years later, fully mediated by perceived support.
Predation on sea turtles by jaguars in the Mexican Caribbean
Authors: Rosales-Hernández Víctor A. , Cruz-Romo Lizardo , Contreras-Moreno Fernando M. , Petrone Sandra , Jesús-Espinosa Daniel
Published: March 2022

Los jaguares son carnívoros oportunistas, cuya dieta depende principalmente de la disponibilidad de sus presas.  La depredación de tortugas marinas por parte de los jaguares ha sido raramente documentada en México.  En este estudio registramos la depredación de tortugas caguamas (Caretta caretta) y verdes (Chelonia mydas) por parte de jaguares en la región de Mahahual, en el estado de Quintana Roo, México.  De mayo a agosto de 2021, se establecieron 10 estaciones de fototrampeo en una playa de anidación.  De forma paralela se realizaron recorridos nocturnos y diurnos a lo largo de las playas, con el fin de detectar tortugas que ovopositaran en el sitio, así como carcasas en el sitio que presentaran señales de depredación.  Con un esfuerzo de muestreo de 600 noches / cámara se obtuvieron 10 eventos independientes de la presencia de jaguar en la zona, los cuales sucedieron en horarios diversos tanto diurnos como nocturnos, así como 3 eventos fotográficos en los que se confirmó la depredación del jaguar a tortugas marinas.  La depredación de tortugas marinas por jaguares ha sido documentada en las playas de Costa Rica pero casi nunca en México, este reporte contribuye al escaso conocimiento de la dieta del jaguar en sitios costeros, así como a la relación que existe entre estos felinos y las tortugas marinas de México.
Optical calibration of the SuperCam instrument body unit spectrometers
Authors: Legett Carey , Newell Raymond T. , Reyes-Newell Adriana L. , Nelson Anthony E. , Bernardi Pernelle , Bender Steven C. , Forni Olivier , Venhaus D. M. , Clegg Samuel M. , Ollila A. M. , Pilleri Paolo , Sridhar V. , Maurice S. , Wiens Roger C.
Published: March 2022

The SuperCam remote sensing instrument on NASA’s Perseverance rover is
capable of four spectroscopic techniques, remote micro-imaging, and
audio recording. These analytical techniques provide details of the
chemistry and mineralogy of the rocks and soils probed in the Jezero
Crater on Mars. Here we present the methods used for optical
calibration of the three spectrometers covering the 243–853 nm range
used by three of the four spectroscopic techniques. We derive the
instrument optical response, which characterizes the instrument
sensitivity to incident radiation as a function of a wavelength. The
instrument optical response function derived here is an essential step
in the interpretation of the spectra returned by SuperCam as it
converts the observed spectra, reported by the instrument as “digital
counts” from an analog to digital converter, into physical values of
spectral radiance.
Enhanced resonances by waveguide wrapping of a bulbed microring resonator
Authors: Arif M. Shahrul , Menon P. Susthitha , Ooi C. H. Raymond
Published: March 2022

A high

Q

-factor novel bulb design, to the best of our knowledge, inspired by the well-studied pulley microring resonator (MRR), is demonstrated and compared with circle and racetrack MRRs at wavelengths of 1.45–1.65 µm. A wrapping of 60% around the ring showed a three times

Q

-factor increment (

Q
=
828

) compared to a standard circle MRR (

Q
=
206

) at a telecom wavelength of 1.55 µm with a fixed ring radius of 2 µm, while further increasing the wrapping at 80% shows a decrease in its

Q

-factor (

Q
=
454

). A comparison of the wavelength dependence of the bulb design with other typical MRR designs suggests that bulb designs are highly sensitive to wavelength and have very high

Q

-factors at lower wavelengths.
Understanding and reducing mid-spatial frequency ripples during hemispherical sub-aperture tool glass polishing
Authors: Suratwala T. , Menapace J. , Tham G. , Steele R. , Wong L. , Ray N. , Bauman B.
Published: March 2022

During sub-aperture tool polishing of glass optics, mid-spatial surface ripples are generated because of material removal non-uniformities during tool linear translation (resulting in feed ripples) and tool pathway step overlaps (resulting in pitch ripples). A variety of tool influence function (TIF) spots, trenches, and patches were created to understand and minimize such ripples on fused silica workpieces after polishing with cerium oxide slurry using a rotating hemispherical pad-foam tool. The feed ripple amplitude can be decreased by reducing the non-uniformities in the pad texture and/or by minimizing a derived feed ripple metric (

r

f

=

V

m
a
x

0.5

V

f

/

R
t

) via adjustments in processing parameters. Pitch ripples can be minimized by reducing relative step distance to spot radius ratio (

x
s

/

a
t

) and by achieving a flat bottom trench shape cross section or by reducing the material removal per pass. Using the combined methods, an overall ripple error of

∼

1.2

n
m

rms has been achieved.
Scattering-driven PPG signal model
Authors: Fine I. , Kaminsky A.
Published: March 2022

This article discusses the origin of PPG signals. Two plausible hypotheses are analyzed: the volumetric hypothesis and a model wherein the PPG is driven by the RBC aggregation process. To verify the model predictions, the PPG signals at the fingertip were measured. External pressure was applied to the fingertip, presumably reducing the blood flow. The results expressed in terms of gamma, used in pulse-oximetry, agree with the aggregation model. In addition, the oscillometric signal and the PPG signal amplitude were simultaneously measured in the fingertip. All of the experimental results favor the proposed aggregation mechanism as responsible the PPG signal.
All-dielectric metasurface designs for spin-tunable beam splitting via simultaneous manipulation of propagation and geometric phases
Authors: Khalid Ata Ur Rahman , Feng Fu , Khan Muhammad Ismail , Yuan Xiaocong , Somekh Michael Geoffrey
Published: March 2022

Metasurfaces offer diverse wavefront control by manipulating amplitude, phase, and polarization of light which is beneficial to design subwavelength scaled integrated photonic devices. Metasurfaces based tunable circular polarization (CP) beam splitting is one functionality of interest in polarization control. Here, we propose and numerically realize metasurface based spin tunable beam splitter which splits the incoming CP beam into two different directions and tune the splitting angles by switching the handedness of incident light polarization. The proposed design approach has potential in applications such as optical communication, multiplexing, and imaging.
Effect of the pump beam profile and wavefront on the amplified signal wavefront in optical parametric amplifiers
Authors: Bahk S.-W. , Begishev I. A. , Roides R. , Mileham C. , Cuffney R. , Feng C. , Webb B. M. , Jeon C. , Spilatro M. , Bucht S. , Dorrer C. , Bromage J.
Published: March 2022

We present a theoretical and experimental analysis of the signal phase introduced by the pump-beam wavefront and spatial profile during optical parametric amplification (OPA) process. The theory predicts the appearance of an additional wavefront in the amplified signal beam that is proportional to the spatial derivative of the pump-beam wavefront. The effect of the pump-beam profile on the signal-beam wavefront is also investigated. Our experiments tested these theoretical predictions by comparing the wavefront of the signal beam before and after amplification in a multi-joule broadband OPA. The measured signal wavefront was shown to have the expected dependence on the pump-beam profile and wavefront. These results can be considered when designing petawatt-scale ultrabroadband optical parametric chirped-pulse–amplification systems.
Broadband polarization-insensitive metalens integrated with a charge-coupled device in the short-wave near-infrared range
Authors: Xie Yao , Zhang Jianqi , Wang Shiyu , Liu Delian , Wu Xin
Published: March 2022

The performance of a charge-coupled device is important in detection accuracy for terminal sensitivity of a short-wave near-infrared spectrometer. The sizes of pixel pitch and pixel itself are reducing with the development of CCD technologies. However, the fill factor of CCD pixels has not been significantly improved due to the limits of the shift registers, which makes a lower utilization rate of incident light of CCD. In recent years, the advance of metasurface optics provides a new solution for solving this problem. In this paper, a polarization-insensitive metalens is experimentally demonstrated to increase the fill factor of short-wave near-infrared CCD pixels by 4 times, and the simulated results show that the designed metalens has an excellent optical crosstalk (≤0.8%). It proves that the fill factor of CCD pixels can be further improved by the proposed approach which would pave the way for the overall integration of metalens array and photodetectors, as well as the development of CCD miniaturization and lightweight.