bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Readmission and inhospital death 1 year after COVID‐19 hospitalization in South Africa
Authors: Rodseth Reitze , Maslo Caroline , Laubscher Anchen , Friedland Richard
Published: June 2023

Background

Acute SARS‐COVID‐19 infection may increase readmission risk compared to other respiratory infections. We assessed the 1‐year readmission and inhospital death rates of hospitalized SARS‐COVID‐19 patients compared to patients hospitalized with other types of pneumonia.

Methods

We determined the 1‐year readmission and inhospital death rate of adult patients initially hospitalized with a positive SARS‐COVID‐19 result, and subsequently discharged, between March 2020 and August 2021, at a Netcare private hospital in South Africa, and compared this to all hospitalized adult pneumonia patients in the 3 years prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic (2017–2019).

Results

The 1‐year readmission rate in COVID‐19 patients was 6.6% (328/50,067) versus 8.5% in pneumonia patients (4699/55,439; p < 0.001), with an inhospital mortality rate of 7.7% (n = 251) and 9.7% (n = 454; p = 0.002) for COVID‐19 and pneumonia patients, respectively.
Urinary phosphate is associated with cardiovascular disease incidence
Authors: Donat‐Vargas Carolina , Guallar‐Castillon Pilar , Nyström Jenny , Larsson Susanna C. , Kippler Maria , Vahter Marie , Faxén‐Irving Gerd , Michaelsson Karl , Wolk Alicja , Stenvinkel Peter , Åkesson Agneta
Published: June 2023

Introduction

Elevated phosphate (P) in urine may reflect a high intake of inorganic P salts from food additives. Elevated P in plasma is linked to vascular dysfunction and calcification.

Objective

To explore associations between P in urine as well as in plasma and questionnaire‐estimated P intake, and incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Methods

We used the Swedish Mammography Cohort‐Clinical, a population‐based cohort study. At baseline (2004–2009), P was measured in urine and plasma in 1625 women. Dietary P was estimated via a food‐frequency questionnaire. Incident CVD was ascertained via register‐linkage. Associations were assessed using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results

After a median follow‐up of 9.4 years, 164 composite CVD cases occurred (63 myocardial infarctions [MIs] and 101 strokes). Median P (percentiles 5–95) in urine and plasma were 2.4 (1.40–3.79) mmol/mmol creatinine and 1.13 (0.92–1.36) mmol/L, respectively, whereas dietary P intake was 1510 (1148–1918) mg/day. No correlations were observed between urinary and plasma P (r = −0.07) or dietary P (r = 0.10). Urinary P was associated with composite CVD and MI. The hazard ratio of CVD comparing extreme tertiles was 1.57 (95% confidence interval 1.05, 2.35; P trend 0.037)—independently of sodium excretion, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, both P and calcium in plasma, and diuretic use. Association with CVD for plasma P was 1.41 (0.96, 2.07; P trend 0.077).

Conclusion

Higher level of urinary P, likely reflecting a high consumption of highly processed foods, was linked to CVD. Further investigation is needed to evaluate the potential cardiovascular toxicity associated with excessive intake of P beyond nutritional requirements.
New insights into the disulfide stress response by the Bacillus subtilis Spx system at a single‐cell level
Authors: Matavacas Judith , Anand Deepak , von Wachenfeldt Claes
Published: June 2023

Spx is a global transcriptional regulator that orchestrates the Bacillus subtilis response to disulfide stress. The YjbH (SpxH) protein adapts Spx for ClpXP‐mediated degradation, playing a critical role in the regulation of the cellular Spx levels. Upon stress, YjbH forms aggregates by a yet unknown mechanism, resulting in increased Spx levels due to reduced proteolysis. Here, we studied how individual cells use the Spx‐YjbH system to respond to disulfide stress. We show, using fluorescent reporters, a correlation between the Spx levels and the amount of YjbH, as well as a transient growth inhibition upon disulfide stress. The in vivo dynamics and inheritance of YjbH aggregates are characterized by a bipolar distribution over time and appear to be entropy‐driven by nucleoid exclusion. Moreover, we reveal that the population following disulfide stress is highly heterogenous in terms of aggregate load and that the aggregate load has strong implications for cellular fitness. We propose that the observed heterogeneity could be a mechanism to ensure population survival during stress. Finally, we find that the two YjbH domains (DsbA‐like domain and winged‐helix domain) contribute to its aggregation function, and show that the aggregation of the DsbA‐like domain is conserved among other studied orthologs, whereas important differences are observed for the winged‐helix domain.
Charitable matching and moral credit
Authors: Nolan Daniel
Published: June 2023

When charitable matching occurs, both the person initially offering the matching donation and the person taking up the offer may well feel they have done something better than if they had donated on their own without matching. They may well feel they deserve some credit for the matched donation as well as their own. Can they both be right? Natural assumptions about charitable matching lead to puzzles that are challenging to resolve in a satisfactory way.
Different protocols in treatment of placental retention in dairy cows and their influences on reproductive performance
Authors: Amin Yahia A. , Elqashmary Hassan Abdalla , Karmi Mohamed , Essawi Walaa M.
Published: June 2023

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of α‐chymotrypsin on placental separation as a treatment protocol for retained placenta (RP) in dairy cows and its effect on reproductive performance after placental shedding. The study was conducted on 64 crossbred cows that suffered from retained placenta. Cows were divided into four equal groups: group I (n = 16) treated with prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α); group II (n = 16) treated with PGF2α in combination with α‐chemotrypsin; group III (n = 16) treated with α‐chemotrypsin only and group IV (n = 16) treated by manual removal of the RP. Cows were under observation after treatment till placental shedding. Placental samples were taken from the non‐responsive cows after the course of treatment and examined to observe the histopathological changes in each group. Results revealed that the time of placental dropping showed a significant decrease in group II compared to other groups. Histopathological examination of group II shows that collagen was found as fewer fibres in scattered areas and necrosis appeared as numerous areas widespread in the foetal villi. A few inflammatory cells were infiltrated in the placental tissue and the vascular changes appear as mild vasculitis and mild oedema. Cows in group II have rapid uterine involution, decreased risk of post‐partum metritis and improved reproductive performance. It is concluded that PGF2α in combination with α‐ chemotrypsin is the recommended treatment for RP in dairy cows. This recommendation is warranted, as this treatment was successful in achieving rapid placental shedding, rapid uterine involution, a decreased risk of post‐partum metritis and improved reproductive performance.
An interpretable XGBoost‐based approach for Arctic navigation risk assessment
Authors: Yao Shuaiyu , Wu Qinhao , Kang Qi , Chen Yu‐Wang , Lu Yi
Published: June 2023

The Northern Sea Route (NSR) makes travel between Europe and Asia shorter and quicker than a southern transit via the Strait of Malacca and Suez Canal. It provides greater access to Arctic resources such as oil and gas. As global warming accelerates, melting Arctic ice caps are likely to increase traffic in the NSR and enhance its commercial viability. Due to the harsh Arctic environment imposing threats to the safety of ship navigation, it is necessary to assess Arctic navigation risk to maintain shipping safety. Currently, most studies are focused on the conventional assessment of the risk, which lacks the validation based on actual data. In this study, actual data about Arctic navigation environment and related expert judgments were used to generate a structured data set. Based on the structured data set, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and alternative methods were used to establish models for the assessment of Arctic navigation risk, which were validated using cross‐validation. The results show that compared with alternative models, XGBoost models have the best performance in terms of mean absolute errors and root mean squared errors. The XGBoost models can learn and reproduce expert judgments and knowledge for the assessment of Arctic navigation risk. Feature importance (FI) and shapley additive explanations (SHAP) are used to further interpret the relationship between input data and predictions. The application of XGBoost, FI, and SHAP is aimed to improve the safety of Arctic shipping using advanced artificial intelligence techniques. The validated assessment enhances the quality and robustness of assessment.
I think, therefore I act, Revisited: Building a stronger foundation for risk analysis
Authors: Árvai Joseph , Cohen Alex Segrè , Lutzke Lauren , Otten Caitlin Drummond
Published: June 2023

Actively open‐minded thinking (AOT) is a thinking style in which people engaged in judgment and decision‐making actively seek out and then evaluate information in a manner that is intentionally disconnected from their prior beliefs and motivations and in line with self‐perceptions of autonomy. Actively open‐minded thinkers have been observed to make both more accurate judgments about the magnitude of risks and more evidence‐based decisions under uncertainty in a wide range of situations such as climate change and politics. In addition, actively open‐minded thinkers functioning in domains where they lack a desired level of knowledge are open to “outsourcing” the job of critical reasoning thinking to credible experts; in other words, they are better able to gauge who is trustworthy and then rely on the insights of these trustworthy others to help them reach a conclusion. We report results from a follow‐up to research previously published in Risk Analysis that confirms these tenets in the context of COVID‐19. We then extend these results to offer a series of recommendations for strengthening the process and outcomes of risk analysis: leveraging the latent norm of autonomy and personal agency that underpins AOT, activating or engaging with approaches to reasoning—such as decision structuring—that are in line with AOT, and working upstream and downstream of risk analysis to establish AOT as a norm of its own.
Blow‐ups and modifications of lcK spaces
Authors: Preda Ovidiu , Stanciu Miron
Published: June 2023

In this article, we prove that the blow‐up of an lcK space along a subspace that verifies certain conditions is lcK if and only if is induced gcK, generalizing a theorem of Ornea–Verbitsky–Vuletescu to singular locally irreducible spaces. We also show that even if modifications of lcK spaces are not always of lcK type, they always admit quasi‐lcK metrics.
Moments of moments of primes in arithmetic progressions
Authors: de la Bretèche R. , Fiorilli D.
Published: June 2023

We establish unconditional ‐results for all weighted even moments of primes in arithmetic progressions. We also study the moments of these moments and establish lower bounds under the Generalized Riemann Hypothesis (GRH). Finally, under GRH and the Linear Independence Hypothesis (LI), we prove an asymptotic for all moments of the associated limiting distribution, which, in turn, indicates that our unconditional and GRH results are essentially best possible. Using our probabilistic results, we formulate a conjecture on the moments with a precise associated range of validity, which we believe is also best possible. This last conjecture implies a ‐analog of the Montgomery‐Soundararajan conjecture on the Gaussian distribution of primes in short intervals. The ideas in our proofs include a novel application of positivity in the explicit formula and the combinatorics of arrays of characters that are fixed by certain involutions.
La alteridad en el debate ético contemporáneo
Authors: Novoa Matallana Carlos Justino
Published: June 2023

La alteridad (del latín alter que significa ‘otro’) es la existencia humana que se vive en relaciones de generosidad, gratuidad y reconocimiento mutuo del otro. Esta fascinante experiencia vital es sistematizada por la ciencia ética filosófica y teológica. Si en la humanidad corriéramos por esta senda, dejaríamos de estar agobiados por las desgarradoras realidades que marcan nuestro mundo contemporáneo. Superar esta angustiosa y monstruosa hecatombe solo es posible si cambiamos nuestra manera de comportarnos, es decir, si asumimos una nueva ética, no halada por los absolutos del dinero y el poder, sino animada en profundidad por la alteridad. Como humanidad, vivimos en un mismo espacio constituido por nuestra casa común: el planeta Tierra. Esta convivencia nos exige un acuerdo, que la ciencia moral actual denomina consenso ético mínimo universal, construido entre todos, con el fin de garantizar una vida plena y feliz para todos los seres humanos, sin ningún tipo de discriminación. La alteridad en el debate ético contemporáneo argumenta y sistematiza, desde la experiencia y la ciencia moral, una propuesta de construcción de tal consenso que nos urge en demasía. Para ello, fundamenta su opción por la alteridad desde la ética teológica cristiana y diez escuelas ético-filosóficas contemporáneas: la alteridad, la acción comunicativa, Kant, el neocontractualismo, la hermenéutica, el iusnaturalismo, la posmodernidad, el utilitarismo, la analítica, y el pragmatismo.
Capitalismo, aparatos de Estado y violencias: sobre la crítica de Karl Marx de la economía política
Authors: Fajardo Carrillo Christian Julián
Published: June 2023

Este libro problematiza las violencias como uno de los caminos inexplorados en la crítica del capitalismo y de los aparatos de Estado. A partir de una lectura de El capital, se propone que la crítica de Marx a la economía política es también una crítica de la violencia, no porque constate que existen violencias estructurales y simbólicas que permiten la valorización del capital, sino porque le interesa llamar la atención sobre las condiciones sensibles que permiten su aparición. Así, el autor plantea que estas condiciones sensibles son violencias de segundo orden, cuya función es adiestrar y disciplinar nuestros cuerpos para que la reproducción incesante de la violencia en el mundo tenga sentido. En este ensayo, en definitiva, la hipótesis de que la crítica del capitalismo pueda optar por el estudio de las condiciones de posibilidad de la violencia del modo capitalista de producción —que, a su vez, son también formas de violencia— no deja de sugerir que estas se puedan detener por su equivocidad y profunda contingencia.
Calibration of the Proton Beam Cherenkov Monitor
Authors: Akulinichev S. V. , Gavrilov Yu. K. , Djilkibaev R. M.
Published: June 2023

The results of calibration measurements of the proton beam Cherenkov monitor are presented. A good agreement was obtained between the monitor measurements and the readings of the ionization chamber and the plastic monitor. The Cherenkov monitor does not register photons and electrons with energies below 170 keV, which is important for low-energy background suppression.
Hardware Security Risks and Threat Analyses in Advanced Manufacturing Industry
Authors: Monjur Mohammad , Calzadillas Joshua , Yu Qiaoyan
Published: June 2023

The
advanced manufacturing industry (AMI)
faces many unique challenges from the cyber-physical domain. Security threats are originated from two integral parts: software and hardware. Over the past decade, software security has been addressed extensively, but hardware security has not received enough attention. This work analyzes the security vulnerabilities of typical electronic devices deployed to AMI and proposes three attack models for sensing nodes, local storage and processing edge devices, and wired/wireless communication interfaces, respectively. Practical security attacks on hardware are demonstrated in this work to inspire the development of feasible countermeasures against hardware Trojans, fault injection attacks, and external signal interference. Moreover, this work highlights the unique security challenges posed by advanced manufacturing applications. To mitigate those security attacks in AMI, this work suggests guidelines for the defense method design that can effectively protect the hardware in AMI.
A Bayesian Convolutional Neural Network Model with Uncertainty for Multi-label Text Classification on Mechanisms of Action (MoA) Prediction
Authors: Tong Xuming , Zhao Zhisheng , Liang Junhua , Ding Lihua , Jia Caijun , Yuan Yanhong
Published: June 2023

With the development of scientific research techniques, drug discovery has shifted from the serendipitous approach of the past to more targeted models based on an understanding of the underlying biological mechanisms of disease. However, there are hundreds or more of mechanism of action (MoA) data in the known drugs, which makes this process faced with complicated multi-label classification of text data. Traditional multi-label text classification algorithms will increase the complexity of the model and reduce the accuracy as the number of labels increases. Although deep learning algorithms can solve the problem of model complexity, they are currently only suitable for processing image format data. To overcome these problems, this study proposes a multi-label classification method based on Bayesian deep learning, which can convert non-image data format into image data, making it suitable for Convolutional neural network algorithm requirements. Then in the PyTorch environment, the Bayesian deep learning algorithm and the EfficientNet convolutional neural network are perfectly combined using the BLiTZ library to construct the Bayesian convolutional neural network model which named BCNNM. Not only improves the classification efficiency, this method also solves the problem of imbalanced classification of multi-label data, and fully considers the uncertainty in the neural network. In the process of drug development, this method has important practical significance for processing the multi-label classification of MoA data.
Criticality-aware Monitoring and Orchestration for Containerized Industry 4.0 Environments
Authors: Barletta Marco , Cinque Marcello , De Simone Luigi , Corte Raffaele Della
Published: June 2023

The evolution of industrial environments makes the reconfigurability and flexibility key requirements to rapidly adapt to changeable market needs. Computing paradigms like Edge/Fog computing are able to provide the required flexibility and scalability while guaranteeing low latencies and response times. Orchestration systems play a key role in these environments, enforcing automatic management of resources and workloads’ lifecycle, and drastically reducing the need for manual interventions. However, they do not currently meet industrial non-functional requirements, such as real-timeliness, determinism, reliability, and support for mixed-criticality workloads.

In this article, we present k4.0s, an orchestration system for Industry 4.0 (I4.0) environments, which enables the support for real-time and mixed-criticality workloads. We highlight through experiments the need for novel monitoring approaches and propose a workflow for selecting monitoring metrics, which depends on both workload requirements and hosting node guarantees. We introduce new abstractions for the components of a cluster in order to enable criticality-aware monitoring and orchestration of real-time industrial workloads. Finally, we design an orchestration system architecture that reflects the proposed model, introducing new components and prototyping a Kubernetes-based implementation, taking the first steps towards a fully I4.0-enabled orchestration system.
Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis for Arabic Food Delivery Reviews
Authors: Al-Jarrah Ibrahim , Mustafa Ahmad M. , Najadat Hassan
Published: June 2023

Business customers and consumers share their reviews online on social platforms such as Twitter. Therefore, Twitter data sentiment analysis is extremely useful for both research and commercial purposes. Manually analyzing reviews takes a long time and effort, hence, automatic sentiment analysis is required. In this article, we address aspect-based sentiment analysis for Arabic food delivery reviews using several deep learning approaches. In particular, we propose to use Transformer-based models (GigaBERT and AraBERT), Bi-LSTM-CRF, and LSTM, as well as a classical machine learning algorithm (SVM). We also present our dataset of food delivery service reviews, which we collected from Twitter. We annotated them and used them for training and evaluating our approaches.

The experiments show that both GigaBERT and AraBERT outperformed the other models in all the tasks. The Transformer-based models received F1-scores of 77% in the aspect terms detection task, 82% in the Aspect category detection task, and 81% in the aspect polarity detection task, gaining 2%, 4%, and 4% over Bi-LSTM-CRF and LSTM in the first, second, and third tasks, respectively.
Hierarchical Model Parallelism for Optimizing Inference on Many-core Processor via Decoupled 3D-CNN Structure
Authors: Jiang Jiazhi , Huang Zijian , Huang Dan , Du Jiangsu , Chen Lin , Chen Ziguan , Lu Yutong
Published: June 2023

The tremendous success of convolutional neural network (CNN) has made it ubiquitous in many fields of human endeavor. Many applications such as biomedical analysis and scientific data analysis involve analyzing volumetric data. This spawns huge demand for 3D-CNN. Although accelerators such as GPU may provide higher throughput on deep learning applications, they may not be available in all scenarios. CPU, especially many-core CPU with non-uniform memory access (NUMA) architecture, remains an attractive choice for deep learning inference in many scenarios.

In this article, we propose a distributed inference solution for 3D-CNN that targets on the emerging ARM many-core CPU platform. A hierarchical partition approach is claimed to accelerate 3D-CNN inference by exploiting characteristics of memory and cache on ARM many-core CPU. Based on the hierarchical model partition approach, other optimization techniques such as NUMA-aware thread scheduling and optimization of 3D-img2row convolution are designed to exploit the potential of ARM many-core CPU for 3D-CNN. We evaluate our proposed inference solution with several classic 3D-CNNs: C3D, 3D-resnet34, 3D-resnet50, 3D-vgg11, and P3D. Our experimental results show that our solution can boost the performance of the 3D-CNN inference, and achieve much better scalability, with a negligible fluctuation in accuracy. When employing our 3D-CNN inference solution on ACL libraries, it can outperform naive ACL implementations by 11× to 50× on ARM many-core processor. When employing our 3D-CNN inference solution on NCNN libraries, it can outperform the naive NCNN implementations by 5.2× to 14.2× on ARM many-core processor.
Offloading Machine Learning to Programmable Data Planes: A Systematic Survey
Authors: Parizotto Ricardo , Coelho Bruno Loureiro , Nunes Diego Cardoso , Haque Israat , Schaeffer-Filho Alberto
Published: June 2023

The demand for machine learning (ML) has increased significantly in recent decades, enabling several applications, such as speech recognition, computer vision, and recommendation engines. As applications become more sophisticated, the models trained become more complex while also increasing the amount of data used for training. Several domain-specific techniques can be helpful to scale machine learning to large amounts of data and more complex models. Among the methods employed, of particular interest is offloading machine learning functionality to the network infrastructure, which is enabled by the use of emerging programmable data plane hardware, such as SmartNICs and programmable switches. As such, offloading machine learning to programmable network hardware has attracted considerable attention from the research community in the last few years. This survey presents a study of programmable data planes applied to machine learning, also highlighting how in-network computing is helping to speed up machine learning applications. In this article, we provide various concepts and propose a taxonomy to classify existing research. Next, we systematically review the literature that offloads machine learning functionality to programmable data plane devices, classifying it based on our proposed taxonomy. Finally, we discuss open challenges in the field and suggest directions for future research.
The Nemourinae (Insecta, Nemouridae) of the eastern Nearctic
Authors: GRUBBS SCOTT A. , BAUMANN RICHARD W.
Published: June 2023

Morphology-based concepts of the 26 eastern Nearctic species of the subfamily Nemourinae (Insecta, Nemouridae) Billberg, 1820 are reviewed. Nemourinae is represented in this region by Nemoura Latrielle, 1796, Ostrocerca Ricker, 1952, Paranemoura Needham & Claassen, 1925, Podmosta Ricker, 1952, Prostoia Ricker, 1952, Shipsa Ricker, 1952, Soyedina Ricker, 1952, and Zapada Ricker, 1952. Wing venation and patterns of mottling are depicted with standard light microscopy. Diagnostic external reproductive structures are emphasized with line drawings, scanning electron microscopy, and standard light microscopy. A genus-level key to male and female adults is included. Species-level keys for Ostrocerca, Paranemoura, Prostoia, Soyedina, and Zapada are also provided.
The tribal placement of Urocorthylus Petrov, Mandelshtam & Beaver, with a description of the male of U. hirtellus Petrov et al., and notes on its biology (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)
Authors: JOHNSON ANDREW J. , SITTICHAYA WISUT , LAI SHENGCHANG , LI YOU , BEAVER ROGER A.
Published: June 2023

We show, using molecular data, that the enigmatic genus Urocorthylus Petrov, Mandelshtam & Beaver from Southeast Asia belongs in the scolytine tribe, Dryocoetini, and not in the almost wholly American tribe Corthylini, where it was originally placed. The male of Urocorthylus hirtellus Petrov, Mandelshtam & Beaver is described and figured for the first time, and new records from China are presented. Urocorthylus hirtellus is a bark beetle, and not an ambrosia beetle as originally hypothesised. Keys are provided to the genus within the Dryocoetini, and to the two species included in the genus.
Descriptions on two new species of the genus Macromotettixoides (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Metrodorinae ) from China
Authors: FAN CHENG-MEI , LI MIAO , MAO BEN-YONG
Published: June 2023

Two new species Macromotettixoides amplifronta sp. nov. and M. yingjiangensis sp. nov. from Yunnan, are described and illustrated with photographs. An updated key to species of the genus Macromotettixoides is provided.
Three new species of Scalida (Blattodea: Blattellidae) from Yunnan, China
Authors: QIAO LIMIN , LI QIANQIAN , YAO WENWEN , WANG ZONGQING , CHE YANLI
Published: June 2023

Three new Scalida species from Yunnan are reported: Scalida hamata Qiao & Che sp. nov., Scalida spinosa Qiao & Che sp. nov., Scalida ramiformis Qiao & Che sp. nov.. Morphological descriptions of the new species, including the male genitalia, are provided along with detailed photographs. A list and a key to species of Scalida in the world are provided.
International survey of antibiotic dosing and monitoring in adult intensive care units
Authors: Williams Paul G. , Tabah Alexis , Cotta Menino Osbert , Sandaradura Indy , Kanji Salmaan , Scheetz Marc H. , Imani Sahand , Elhadi Muhammed , Luque-Pardos Sònia , Schellack Natalie , Sanches Cristina , Timsit Jean-Francois , Xie Jiao , Farkas Andras , Wilks Kathryn , Roberts Jason A. ,   National Coordinators on behalf of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for Infections in Critically Ill Patients [ESGCIP], Brinkmann Alexander , Ramanan Mahesh , Koulenti Despoina , Gurjar Mohan , Sulaiman Helmi , Shrestha Gentle , Cortegiani Andrea , Crespo Monica , Ling Lowell , Abidi Khalid , Schellongowski Peter
Published: June 2023

Background

In recent years, numerous dosing studies have been conducted to optimize therapeutic antibiotic exposures in patients with serious infections. These studies have led to the inclusion of dose optimization recommendations in international clinical practice guidelines. The last international survey describing dosing, administration and monitoring of commonly prescribed antibiotics for critically ill patients was published in 2015 (ADMIN-ICU 2015). This study aimed to describe the evolution of practice since this time.

Methods

A cross-sectional international survey distributed through professional societies and networks was used to obtain information on practices used in the dosing, administration and monitoring of vancomycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem and aminoglycosides.

Results

A total of 538 respondents (71% physicians and 29% pharmacists) from 409 hospitals in 45 countries completed the survey. Vancomycin was mostly administered as an intermittent infusion, and loading doses were used by 74% of respondents with 25 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg the most favoured doses for intermittent and continuous infusions, respectively. Piperacillin/tazobactam and meropenem were most frequently administered as an extended infusion (42% and 51%, respectively). Therapeutic drug monitoring was undertaken by 90%, 82%, 43%, and 39% of respondents for vancomycin, aminoglycosides, piperacillin/tazobactam, and meropenem, respectively, and was more frequently performed in high-income countries. Respondents rarely used dosing software to guide therapy in clinical practice and was most frequently used with vancomycin (11%).

Conclusions

We observed numerous changes in practice since the ADMIN-ICU 2015 survey was conducted. Beta-lactams are more commonly administered as extended infusions, and therapeutic drug monitoring use has increased, which align with emerging evidence.
Realistic Evaluation of Reinforcement Bond Strength in Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete Exposed to Elevated Temperature
Authors: Amer Ismail , Kohail Mohamed , El-Feky M. S. , Rashad Ahmed , Khalaf Mohamed A.
Published: June 2023

Alkali-activated concrete (AAC) has attained great popularity since finding it as an alternative to Portland cement concrete due to its superior characteristics in terms of mechanical properties and durability, and its low negative environmental impact. This research investigated both experimentally and analytically the bond behavior between alkali-activated slag concrete (AASC) and steel rebars considering some important parameters (rebar diameter and development length-to-diameter ratio) before and after exposure to elevated temperature using beam-end bond testing technique. The obtained experimental results were compared with those obtained from applying the CEB-FIP model and the well-known available equations in the literature. A modified model was proposed for predicting the bond behavior of AASC. Results have showed that the CEB-FIP model provides more conservative values for bond strength compared to the experimentally obtained results which increases the safety level when estimating the bond strength for design purposes. The proposed modified model achieved a higher correlation with the experimental results than the CEB-FIP model at ambient temperature.
Abcd1 deficiency accelerates cuprizone-induced oligodendrocyte loss and axonopathy in a demyelinating mouse model of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy
Authors: Martinović Ksenija , Bauer Jan , Kunze Markus , Berger Johannes , Forss-Petter Sonja
Published: June 2023

X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), the most frequent, inherited peroxisomal disease, is caused by mutations in the ABCD1 gene encoding a peroxisomal lipid transporter importing very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) from the cytosol into peroxisomes for degradation via β-oxidation. ABCD1 deficiency results in accumulation of VLCFAs in tissues and body fluids of X-ALD patients with a wide range of phenotypic manifestations. The most severe variant, cerebral X-ALD (CALD) is characterized by progressive inflammation, loss of the myelin-producing oligodendrocytes and demyelination of the cerebral white matter. Whether the oligodendrocyte loss and demyelination in CALD are caused by a primary cell autonomous defect or injury to oligodendrocytes or by a secondary effect of the inflammatory reaction remains unresolved. To address the role of X-ALD oligodendrocytes in demyelinating pathophysiology, we combined the Abcd1 deficient X-ALD mouse model, in which VLCFAs accumulate without spontaneous demyelination, with the cuprizone model of toxic demyelination. In mice, the copper chelator cuprizone induces reproducible demyelination in the corpus callosum, followed by remyelination upon cuprizone removal. By immunohistochemical analyses of oligodendrocytes, myelin, axonal damage and microglia activation during de-and remyelination, we found that the mature oligodendrocytes of Abcd1 KO mice are more susceptible to cuprizone-induced cell death compared to WT mice in the early demyelinating phase. Furthermore, this effect was mirrored by a greater extent of acute axonal damage during demyelination in the KO mice. Abcd1 deficiency did not affect the function of microglia in either phase of the treatment. Also, the proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and remyelination progressed at similar rates in both genotypes. Taken together, our findings point to an effect of Abcd1 deficiency on mature oligodendrocytes and the oligodendrocyte-axon unit, leading to increased vulnerability in the context of a demyelinating insult.
Altered intrinsic functional network connectivity is associated with impulsivity and emotion dysregulation in drug-naïve young patients with borderline personality disorder
Authors: Cao Wanyi , Liu Ying , Zhong Mingtian , Liao Haiyan , Cai Sainan , Chu Jun , Zheng Shuxin , Tan Changlian , Yi Jinyao
Published: June 2023

Background

Despite impulse control and emotion regulation being altered in borderline personality disorder (BPD), the specific mechanism of these clinical features remains unclear. This study investigated the functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities within- and between- default mode network (DMN), salience network (SN), and central executive network (CEN) in BPD, and examined the association between aberrant FC and clinical features. We aimed to explore whether the abnormal large-scale networks underlie the pathophysiology of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation in BPD.

Methods

Forty-one young, drug-naïve patients with BPD (24.98 ± 3.12 years, 20 males) and 42 healthy controls (HCs; 24.74 ± 1.29 years, 17 males) were included in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging analyses. Independent component analysis was performed to extract subnetworks of the DMN, CEN, and SN. Additionally, partial correlation was performed to explore the association between brain imaging variables and clinical features in BPD.

Results

Compared with HCs, BPD showed significant decreased intra-network FC of right medial prefrontal cortex in the anterior DMN and of right angular gyrus in the right CEN. Intra-network FC of right angular gyrus in the anterior DMN was significantly negatively correlated with attention impulsivity in BPD. The patients also showed decreased inter-network FC between the posterior DMN and left CEN, which was significantly negatively correlated with emotion dysregulation.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that impaired intra-network FC may underlie the neurophysiological mechanism of impulsivity, and abnormal inter-network FC may elucidate the neurophysiological mechanism of emotion dysregulation in BPD.
Learning with ChatGPT 3.5 as a more knowledgeable other: an autoethnographic study
Authors: Stojanov Ana
Published: June 2023

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence language model introduced in November 2022, is potentially applicable in many contexts, including higher education. Although academics are already using it to draft papers or develop search queries for systematic reviews, its use as a tool aiding the learning process has not been examined. To address this research gap, I conducted an autoethnographic study examining my experience using ChatGPT as a more knowledgeable other that scaffolded my learning about a particular topic—the technical aspects of how ChatGPT works. Overall, ChatGPT provided me with enough content to form a general idea of its technical aspects, and I experienced its feedback as motivating and relevant. However, the answers were somewhat superficial, the text it generated was not always consistent or logical and sometimes contradictory. The instantaneous replies to my questions contributed to an experience of a 'flow'. Being 'in the zone' also meant I overestimated my knowledge and understanding, as I could not detect the contradictory responses it provided 'on the spot'. I conclude that caution is advised when ChatGPT is used as a learning aid, as we learn more about its capabilities and limitations and how humans tend to perceive and interact with these technologies.
The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety in Libya: a systematic review
Authors: Abuhadra Basma Diaeddin , Doi Satomi , Fujiwara Takeo
Published: June 2023

Background

With the rise of fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), understanding the prevalence and risk factors associated with common mental disorders (CMD) is beneficial to estimate the disease burden, redirect of available resources and design evidence-based interventions to mitigate the rising issue among war affected population. Mental disorders are most likely to be elevated in Libyan population, possibly triggered by the triple challenges of long-standing civil conflict, economic shocks, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although many other mental health variables are salient, this review focused only on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, because these are the outcome indices that have been studied sufficiently in Libya. The purpose of this review is to investigate the prevalence of PTSD, depression and anxiety and associated risk factors within the Libyan context, and to assess and identify the resources needed to address this continually rising alarming health issue.

Methods

A search was completed in the academic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, BMJ, Science Direct, Springer Link, Mandumah, ALMANHAL (Arabic Database) from the start of Libyan war February 2011 till January 2023. In addition, hand search was conducted to source additional data. Only studies that investigated prevalence and associated risk factors of PTSD, depression and anxiety in Libya were included. A total of 506 studies were identified of which 33 met the inclusion criteria for this review. There were ten studies investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, twenty studies were focused on depression, while eighteen studies evaluated anxiety. The sample size for all the included studies ranged from 19 to 31,557.

Results

The aggregate prevalence of PTSD, depression, and anxiety was 25.23%, 23.68%, and 14.93%, respectively, which is alarming high comparing to the global prevalence, and it requires immediate intervention. The studies further concluded that several demographic variables such as young age, female, single, educated, loss of employment, with financial difficulties, and victims of domestic violence were significantly associated with PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the results from this systematic review will help in informing healthcare practitioners, planners, and policymakers on the burden of common mental disorders in Libya and enable them to develop evidence-based policy initiatives, health awareness campaign and intervention programs for mental health disorders in Libya.
Representation of the Quantitative Aspect of Abstract Objects in the German Engineering Discourse (in the Compound Nouns)
Authors: Shnyakina Natalya Yurievna
Published: June 2023

The article describes the linguistic means of expressing the quantitative side of abstract objects in the German engineering discourse. Using the semantic-cognitive analysis the work explores the cognitive, nominative and communicative potential of complex nouns, which reflect the integrated knowledge of the abstract object of the engineering field and the way of comprehending its quantitative characteristics. The cognitive potential of such constructions lies in the possibility of segmenting reality and in the realization of syntheses of an abstract object and its attribute. The study showed the widespread use of the words with parametric sense: capacity / volume, the large number, degree; their use as a part of compound nouns indicates the person's awareness of abstracts as the essence that can be measured. The nominative value is characterized by the productivity of the described word-building model. The communicative significance consists in the possibility of operating with such noun constructions in real communication and in their specification through other verbal refinements.
The English Language of Theology and Its Specific Features
Authors: Bogoslavtseva Margarita Sergeevna , Milyaeva Lyudmila Ivanovna
Published: June 2023

The article deals with the specific features of the English theological discourse and various interpretations of this term. The first part of the article emphasizes lexical peculiarities of theological texts and semantic-structural peculiarities of theological texts. In the second part of the article the authors draw a distinction between the terms “modality of theological discourse” and “mode of theological discourse”, sharing the viewpoint of T.V. Shmelyova in favour of the term “mode of theological discourse”. The definition of the concept of "mode of theological discourse" and the classification of modes are based on the works of the British theologian John Macquarie. By describing in detail, the characteristics of some of the modes, the authors draw the reader’s attention to the use of empirical mode not only as a specifically theological mode, but also for the description of acute global problems that came to the attention of theologians, such as the destruction of the environment as a result of anthropogenic factors. The theme of ecology in theology – eco-theology – is a new direction in the study of the English language of theology.
Tempters, Victims, Friend and Foes in the Play by A.N. Ostrovsky "Talents and Admirers"
Authors: Smirnov Kirill Valentinovich
Published: June 2023

This article is devoted to the research of sacrifice as an important feature of A.N. Ostrovsky’s heroines. The detailed analysis of the heroine results in the suggestion of a new word. The word is “vyvedennostʼ” (productivity). It is the basic feature of the central character. The meaning of this word is based on the special heroine, who acts and lives in the real period of time. Her actions are influenced by the other people. Moreover, her dialogues make her unusual and not typical person for that period of time. The purpose of the article is to introduce the complex analysis of the heroines’ images in A.N. Ostrovsky’s works. This analysis builds a system of important aspects of all the ideas of the author’s works. The methods that suit for description are: structural-descriptive, descriptive-functional and comparative-historical methods. The research proves that women’s characters and their lives have become one of the most fundamental elements in the development of Russian literature, which reflects deep social problems of the Russian woman in the society of the XIX century.
The Problem of Identity in Critical Studies of Postcolonial Literature
Authors: Kravinskaya Yuliya Yuryevna , Karavaeva Ekaterina Михайловна
Published: June 2023

The article discusses Russian scholars’ approaches to studying the fluid nature of national identity in postcolonial writing. The key factor uniting the vast research area of postcolonial literature is the writers’ intention to project the process of identity transformation, consolidate and review identity shifts caused by interaction of cultures. The analysis of the data suggests that researchers share a common objective of identifying the influence of a single historical and cultural background of colonization and interaction of two cultures within a united cultural space on the writers’ self-identity and writing. Researchers focus on the literary interpretations of the concept of national identity, extent of involvement of a particular ethnic group in the process of colonization, dual nature of hybrid cultural space and linguistic presentation of identity in postcolonial culture. The authors of the article draw a conclusion that the problem of self-identity is a relevant and promising issue in Russian literary research.
Semiotics of dacha space in novel by D. Bobyleva "Vyurki"
Authors: Klokova Irina Mikhaylovna
Published: June 2023

The article discusses semiotics of the suburban “dacha” space in D. Bobyleva’s horror novel “Vyurki”.  Bobyleva constructs the closed world of a country village in accordance with the provisions of Yu.M. Lotman on the semiotics of artistic space and time. The typology of the novel's heroes in essential aspects coincides with his teaching about the hero of the “path” and hero of the "steppe". The paper outlines the connection of the modern Russian horror genre with the concept of "post-folklore" by S.Yu. Neklyudov. It is an intermediate modern subculture, blurring the traditional boundaries of town and village and complicating the classical "nature/culture" dichotomy. The space of a discrete, fragmented dacha settlement into separate sections corresponds to the border status of the post-folklore with its polycentricity. This work examines the connection between modern Russian horror and post-folklore genre. It also explores a complex model of crossing the borders of the cultural zones in the other world and in this world through the movement of characters, and how this collision provides the horror effect.
Emotional Constituent of Rhetorical Questions (Based on the Lyrics of English Songs)
Authors: Shirokikh Irina Alekseevna
Published: June 2023

The article deals with rhetorical questions whose importance is evaluated, while interpreting the speaker’s psychological and emotional state. The author of the article offers theories about this grammatical unit, provided by foreign linguists. The theoretical aspects are supported with the examples from English songs of two long-plays A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships (2018) and Notes On A Conditional Form (2020), performed by the band The 1975. While writing lyrics, the author of the songs uses this or that type of rhetorical questions: the ones connected to the communicative function of preference (preference structure) or to the one of favour; either positive or negative rhetorical questions; or the questions starting with why question-word (wh-question). It is the diversity of emotions he wants to present to the audience that determines the author’s choice. Rhetorical questions help to realize the correlation of the author’s choice of a definite rhetorical question to the emotions of this very author.