bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects and mechanisms of a mindfulness-based intervention on insomnia
Authors: Kim Hye-Geum
Published: January 2021

Medication alone is not sufficient to treat insomnia. In addition, the side effects of sleep medications themselves cannot be ignored during treatment. Insomnia begins with poor sleep quality and discomfort, but as it continues, patients fall into a vicious circle of insomnia with negative thoughts and dysfunctional and distorted perceptions related to sleep. Mindfulness-based intervention for insomnia corrects these sequential cognitive and behavioral processes. The mindfulness technique basically recognizes all the thoughts, feelings, and experiences that occur to us as they are, nonjudgmentally, and then trains them to return to the senses of our body. In this way, while noticing all the processes of the sequential vicious cycle and training them to return to our bodies (e.g., breathing), mindfulness determines whether we are really sleepy or just fatigued. This mindfulness-based intervention can be a useful nonpharmaceutical intervention for insomnia, and its stability and efficacy has been proven by many studies.
LOS DERECHOS A UN AMBIENTE SANO, A LA ALIMENTACIÓN ADECUADA, AL AGUA Y A LA IDENTIDAD CULTURAL. CASO COMUNIDADES INDÍGENAS MIEMBROS DE LA ASOCIACIÓN LHAKA HONHAT (NUESTRA TIERRA) VS. ARGENTINA ANTE LA CIDH.
Authors: Mora Navarro Fanny Verónica
Published: January 2021

The case Lhaka Honhat (Our Land) is the first in the IACHR related with the claim of the indigenous communities in Argentina. The final decision of the case was stated the 6th of February 2020. The IACHR considered that the State is responsible for the violation of the right of participate in a cultural life, contained in the cultural identity, to a healthy environment, appropriate nutrition and water, stated in the article 26 of the American Convention on Human Rights. This is the first precedent regarding social rights and indigenous peoples. The investigation will address: the importance and progress of the resolutions of the IACHR, related with indigenous peoples; the main judgments that support the differentiated analysis of civil and political rights regarding economic, social and cultural rights; and the rights to a healthy environment, to adequate food, to water and to cultural identity and peculiarities in relation to indigenous peoples
Information Seeding and Knowledge Production in Online Communities: Evidence from OpenStreetMap
Authors: Nagaraj Abhishek
Published: January 2021

The wild success of a few online communities (such as Wikipedia) has obscured the fact that most attempts at forming such communities fail. This study evaluates information seeding, an early-stage intervention to bootstrap online communities that enables contributors to build on externally sourced information rather than have them start from scratch. I analyze the effects of information seeding on follow-on contributions using data on more than 350 million contributions made by more than 577,000 contributors to OpenStreetMap, a crowd-sourced map-making community seeded with data from the U.S. Census. I estimate the effect of seeding using a natural experiment in which an oversight caused about 60% of U.S. counties to be seeded with a complete census map, while the rest were seeded with less complete versions. Although access to basic knowledge generally encourages downstream knowledge production, I find that a higher level of information seeding significantly lowered follow-on contributions and contributor activity on OpenStreetMap, and was associated with lower levels of long-term quality. However, seeding did benefit densely populated urban areas and did not discourage more committed users. To explain these patterns, I argue that information seeding can crowd out contributors’ ability to develop ownership over baseline knowledge and thereby disincentivize follow-on contributions.

This paper was accepted by Chris Forman, information systems.
Speckle reduction in digital holography with low-dimensional reconstruction
Authors: Lin Weitao , Chen Li , Cai Wenyang , Hu Yihua , Wen Kunhua
Published: January 2021

Speckle reduction is a crucial technique since the presence of speckle disturbs the quality of the reconstruction in digital holography. In this paper, we present an easy, fast, and efficient single-shot method to reduce speckle noise in digital holography. The method reconstructs subholograms from a single hologram. Then, sub-reconstruction images are randomly shuffled and divided into several groups and low-dimensional noise-reduced images can be achieved by averaging sub-reconstruction image groups by groups. Next, these low-dimensional noise-reduced images are combined to obtain a noise-reduced image. Finally, the noise-reduced image is processed by a mean filter to obtain a final image, which has substantially less speckle noise while preserving the dimensions of the original image. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and indicate its potential in real-time digital holography.
Evaluation of the potential eye hazard at visible wavelengths of the supercontinuum generated by an ultrafast NIR laser in water
Authors: Peralta Xomalin G. , Clary Joseph E. , Peterson Amanda M. , Noojin Gary D. , Lund Brian J. , Echeverria Francesco J. , Rockwell Benjamin A.
Published: January 2021

Lasers with ultrashort pulse durations have become ubiquitous in various applications, including ocular surgery. Therefore, we need to consider the role of nonlinear optical effects, such as supercontinuum generation during propagation within the ocular media, when evaluating their potential hazard. We used a NIR femtosecond laser to generate a supercontinuum within an artificial eye. We recorded the visible spectra of the supercontinuum generated and calculated the energy contained within the visible band. Our results indicate that for wavelengths between 1350 nm and 1450 nm the energy contained within the visible band of the generated white light supercontinuum may surpass current safety exposure limits, and pose a risk of injury to the retina.
Comparison of aspect ratios of ellipsoidal particles through interferometric out-of-focus images
Authors: Sun Jinlu , Zhang Hongxia , Fan Wenbo , Chen Shengyong
Published: January 2021

Based on the interferometric particle imaging (IPI) technology, we present a method for comparison of aspect ratios of ellipsoidal particles. By simulating the interference in-focus and out-of-focus images of transparent ellipsoidal particles with different aspect ratios, we find that, under the same orientation angle, the larger the particle aspect ratio is, the higher the spatial frequency of the out-of-focus image. The IPI system is established to experimentally acquire the out-of-focus images of the transparent ellipsoidal particles. Because the experimental results agree with the simulation, we propose a method to compare the aspect ratios of ellipsoidal particles using out-of-focus images. The method features potential applications in particle measurements.
Optics in your part of the world and a new Topical Editor joins the team: editorial
Authors: Carney P. Scott
Published: January 2021

Editor-in-Chief P. Scott Carney introduces the Journal’s newest Topical
Editor, Angela Dudley.
Wide-range wavelength-tunable photon-pair source for characterizing single-photon detectors
Authors: Shen Lijiong , Lee Jianwei , Hartanto Antony Winata , Tan Pengkian , Kurtsiefer Christian
Published: January 2021

The temporal response of single-photon detectors is usually obtained by measuring their impulse response to short-pulsed laser sources. In this work, we present an alternative approach using time-correlated photon pairs generated in spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). By measuring the cross-correlation between the detection times recorded with an unknown and a reference photodetector, the temporal response function of the unknown detector can be extracted. Changing the critical phase-matching conditions of the SPDC process provides a wavelength-tunable source of photon pairs. We demonstrate a continuous wavelength-tunability from 526 nm to 661 nm for one photon of the pair, and 1050 nm to 1760 nm for the other photon. The source allows, in principle, to access an even wider wavelength range by simply changing the pump laser of the SPDC-based source. As an initial demonstration, we characterize single-photon avalance detectors sensitive to the two distinct wavelength bands, one based on Silicon, the other based on Indium Gallium Arsenide.
Broadband continuously tunable microwave photonic delay line based on cascaded silicon microrings
Authors: Shan Wensheng , Lu Liangjun , Wang Xinyi , Zhou Gangqiang , Liu Yuanbin , Chen Jianping , Zhou Linjie
Published: January 2021

We present a novel broadband continuously tunable microwave photonic delay line consisting of a modulator, a four-stage microring resonator delay line, a tunable optical bandpass filter, and a photodetector. Unlike the traditional microring delay lines working at the on-resonant wavelength, the microring resonators in our chip work at the anti-resonant wavelengths, leading to a large delay bandwidth and a small delay ripple. The experimental results show that relative group delay can be continuously tuned from 0 to 160 ps for microwave frequencies in the range of 0 to 16 GHz. The delay ripple is less than 6.2 ps. These results represent an important step towards the realization of integrated continuously tunable delay lines demanded in broadband microwave phased array antennas.
Photonic generation of quadruple bandwidth dual-band dual-chirp microwave waveforms with immunity to power fading
Authors: Fan Xiaojie , Zhu Sha , Du Jinfeng , Li Ming , Zhu Ning Hua , Li Wei
Published: January 2021

A photonic method to generate and transmit quadruple bandwidth dual-band dual-chirp microwave waveforms with immunity to fiber chromatic dispersion induced power fading is proposed and experimentally demonstrated, which is suitable for Doppler blind–speed elimination, small target detection, and multiband detection in multiband radar systems. A dual-polarization dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator is utilized to realize carrier-suppressed harmonic single-sideband modulation of a radio frequency carrier and carrier-suppressed DSB modulation of a baseband single-chirped waveform at two orthogonal polarization states. After photoelectronic conversion, dual-band bandwidth-quadrupling dual-chirp waveforms are generated. Moreover, different from traditional DSB-based dual-chirp signal generation, the generated dual-chirp microwave waveforms can be transmitted over fiber without power fading, which is significant in dual-band radars for one to multiple base station transmissions.
Vector quartic solitons in birefringent fibers
Authors: Zhao Kangjun , Gao Chenxin , Xiao Xiaosheng , Yang Changxi
Published: January 2021

We theoretically investigated the vector properties of quartic solitons in a pure fourth-order-dispersion birefringent fiber and a quartic-dispersion-dominant mode-locked fiber laser. We found that, compared with scalar pure quartic solitons, a vector quartic soliton (VQS) in the birefringent fiber still preserves the Gaussian shape, except for the distinctions of reduced peak power, central frequency offset, slight frequency chirp, and mitigated oscillatory tails. We also demonstrated that pulse shaping in the mode-locked laser cavity could explicitly facilitate the formation of Kelly sidebands and distortion of oscillatory tails. Furthermore, dynamical evolutions of quartic group-velocity-locked and polarization-rotating vector solitons were obtained to enrich the nonlinear community of VQSs. We believe that our elaborate findings will bring insights into both the fundamental understanding and potential applications of VQSs.
Multipass etalon cascade for high-resolution parallel spectroscopy
Authors: Fiore Antonio , Scarcelli Giuliano
Published: January 2021

Spectral contrast, the ability to measure frequency components of vastly different intensity, is critical in optical spectroscopy. For high spectral contrast at high spectral resolution, scanning etalons are generally used, as they allow cascading multiple dispersive elements. However, scanning instruments are inherently limited in terms of acquisition speed. Here we report a single-shot cascaded spectrometer design, in which light is dispersed along a single dispersion direction at every stage and thus can be recirculated in the same etalon multiple times. Using this design principle, we demonstrate single-shot spectral measurements at sub-gigahertz resolution and unprecedented spectral contrast (

∼
80

d
B

).
One-dimensional terahertz dielectric gradient metasurface for broadband spoof surface plasmon polaritons couplers: publisher’s note
Authors: Li Xiang-Jun , Cheng Gang , Yan De-Xian , Hou Xiao-Mei , Qiu Guo-Hua , Li Jiu-Sheng , Li Ji-Ning , Guo Shi-Hui , Zhou Wei-Dong
Published: January 2021

This publisher’s note contains corrections to Opt. Lett. 46, 290 (2021)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.412229.
Versatile CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mosaic analysis by gRNA-induced crossing-over for unmodified genomes
Authors: Allen Sarah E. , Koreman Gabriel T. , Sarkar Ankita , Wang Bei , Wolfner Mariana F. , Han Chun
Published: January 2021

Mosaic animals have provided the platform for many fundamental discoveries in developmental biology, cell biology, and other fields. Techniques to produce mosaic animals by mitotic recombination have been extensively developed inDrosophila melanogasterbut are less common for other laboratory organisms. Here, we reportmosaicanalysis bygRNA-inducedcrossing-over (MAGIC), a new technique for generating mosaic animals based on DNA double-strand breaks produced by CRISPR/Cas9. MAGIC efficiently produces mosaic clones in both somatic tissues and the germline ofDrosophila. Further, by developing a MAGIC toolkit for 1 chromosome arm, we demonstrate the method’s application in characterizing gene function in neural development and in generating fluorescently marked clones in wild-derivedDrosophilastrains. Eliminating the need to introduce recombinase-recognition sites into the genome, this simple and versatile system simplifies mosaic analysis inDrosophilaand can in principle be applied in any organism that is compatible with CRISPR/Cas9.
The temporospatial epidemiology of rheumatic heart disease in Far North Queensland, tropical Australia 1997–2017; impact of socioeconomic status on disease burden, severity and access to care
Authors: Kang Katherine , Chau Ken W. T. , Howell Erin , Anderson Mellise , Smith Simon , Davis Tania J. , Starmer Greg , Hanson Josh
Published: January 2021

Background

The incidence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among Indigenous Australians remains one of the highest in the world. Many studies have highlighted the relationship between the social determinants of health and RHD, but few have used registry data to link socioeconomic disadvantage to the delivery of patient care and long-term outcomes.

Methods

A retrospective study of individuals living with RHD in Far North Queensland (FNQ), Australia between 1997 and 2017. Patients were identified using the Queensland state RHD register. The Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Score–a measure of socioeconomic disadvantage–was correlated with RHD prevalence, disease severity and measures of RHD care.

Results

Of the 686 individuals, 622 (90.7%) were Indigenous Australians. RHD incidence increased in the region from 4.7/100,000/year in 1997 to 49.4/100,000/year in 2017 (p<0.001). In 2017, the prevalence of RHD was 12/1000 in the Indigenous population and 2/1000 in the non-Indigenous population (p<0.001). There was an inverse correlation between an area’s SEIFA score and its RHD prevalence (rho = -0.77, p = 0.005).

249 (36.2%) individuals in the cohort had 593 RHD-related hospitalisations; the number of RHD-related hospitalisations increased during the study period (p<0.001). In 2017, 293 (42.7%) patients met criteria for secondary prophylaxis, but only 73 (24.9%) had good adherence. Overall, 119/686 (17.3%) required valve surgery; the number of individuals having surgery increased over the study period (p = 0.02).

During the study 39/686 (5.7%) died. Non-Indigenous patients were more likely to die than Indigenous patients (9/64 (14%) versus 30/622 (5%), p = 0.002), but Indigenous patients died at a younger age (median (IQR): 52 (35–67) versus 73 (62–77) p = 0.013). RHD-related deaths occurred at a younger age in Indigenous individuals than non-Indigenous individuals (median (IQR) age: 29 (12–58) versus 77 (64–78), p = 0.007).

Conclusions

The incidence of RHD, RHD-related hospitalisations and RHD-related surgery continues to rise in FNQ. Whilst this is partly explained by increased disease recognition and improved delivery of care, the burden of RHD remains unacceptably high and is disproportionately borne by the socioeconomically disadvantaged Indigenous population.
Effect of physical activity on reducing the risk of diabetic retinopathy progression: 10-year prospective findings from the 45 and Up Study
Authors: Yan Xixi , Han Xiaotong , Wu Changfan , Shang Xianwen , Zhang Lei , He Mingguang
Published: January 2021

Objective

To examine the association of physical activities (PA) with diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression based on a 10-year follow-up of a large cohort of working-aged diabetic populations in Australia.

Methods

Nine thousand and eighteen working-aged diabetic patients were enrolled from the baseline of the 45 and Up Study from New South Wales, Australia. Self-reported PA collected by questionnaire at baseline in 2006 was graded into low (<5 sessions/week), medium (≥5–14), and high (≥14) levels. Retinal photocoagulation (RPC) treatment during the follow-up period was used as a surrogate for DR progression and was tracked through the Medicare Benefits Schedule, which was available from 2004 to 2016. Cox regression was used to estimate the association between PA and RPC incidence.

Results

In the fully adjusted model, higher PA level was significantly associated with a lower risk of RPC incident (Cox-regression, p-value for trend = 0.002; medium vs. low, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.78, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.61–0.98; high vs. low, HR = 0.61, 95%CI: 0.36–0.84. In addition, gender, body mass index, insulin treatment, family history of diabetes, history of cardiovascular disease were significant effect modifiers for the association between PA and RPC.

Conclusions

Higher PA level was independently associated with a lower risk of DR progression among working-aged diabetic populations in this large cohort study.
A fraction of Pueraria tuberosa extract, rich in antioxidant compounds, alleviates ovariectomized-induced osteoporosis in rats and inhibits growth of breast and ovarian cancer cells
Authors: Satpathy Swaha , Patra Arjun , Hussain Muhammad Delwar , Kazi Mohsin , Aldughaim Mohammed S. , Ahirwar Bharti
Published: January 2021

Pueraria tuberosa(Roxb. ex Willd.) DC., known as Indian Kudzu belongs to family Fabaceae and it is solicited as “Rasayana” drugs in Ayurveda. In the present study, we analyzed the efficacy of an ethyl acetate fraction from the tuber extract ofPueraria tuberosa(fraction rich in antioxidant compounds, FRAC) against menopausal osteoporosis, and breast and ovarian cancer cells. The FRAC fromPueraria tuberosawas characterized for its phenolic composition (total phenolic and flavonoid amount). Antioxidant property (in vitroassays) of the FRAC was also carried out followed by the analysis of the FRAC for its antiosteoporotic and anticancer potentials. The antiosteoporotic activity of FRAC was investigated in ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats. The cytotoxicity effect was determined in breast and ovarian cancer cells. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the FRAC was performed to determine its various phytoconstituents. Docking analysis was performed to verify the interaction of bioactive molecules with estrogen receptors (ERs). The FRAC significantly improved various biomechanical and biochemical parameters in a dose-dependent manner in the ovariectomized rats. FRAC also controlled the increased body weight and decreased uterus weight following ovariectomy in rats. Histopathology of the femur demonstrated the restoration of typical bone structure and trabecular width in ovariectomized animals after treatment with FRAC and raloxifene. The FRAC also exhibitedin vitrocytotoxicity in the breast (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and ovarian (SKOV-3) cancer cells. Furthermore, genistein and daidzein exhibited a high affinity towards both estrogen receptors (α and β) in the docking study revealing the probable mechanism of the antiosteoporotic activity. GC/MS analysis confirmed the presence of other bioactive molecules such as stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, and stigmasta-3,5-dien-7-one. The FRAC fromPueraria tuberosahas potential for treatment of menopausal osteoporosis. Also, the FRAC possesses anticancer activity.
On transformative adaptive activation functions in neural networks for gene expression inference
Authors: Kunc Vladimír , Kléma Jiří
Published: January 2021

Gene expression profiling was made more cost-effective by the NIH LINCS program that profiles only ∼1, 000 selected landmark genes and uses them to reconstruct the whole profile. The D–GEX method employs neural networks to infer the entire profile. However, the original D–GEX can be significantly improved. We propose a novel transformative adaptive activation function that improves the gene expression inference even further and which generalizes several existing adaptive activation functions. Our improved neural network achieves an average mean absolute error of 0.1340, which is a significant improvement over our reimplementation of the original D–GEX, which achieves an average mean absolute error of 0.1637. The proposed transformative adaptive function enables a significantly more accurate reconstruction of the full gene expression profiles with only a small increase in the complexity of the model and its training procedure compared to other methods.
Burden of disease and risk factors for mortality amongst hospitalized newborns in Nigeria and Kenya
Authors: Nabwera Helen M. , Wang Dingmei , Tongo Olukemi O. , Andang’o Pauline E. A. , Abdulkadir Isa , Ezeaka Chinyere V. , Ezenwa Beatrice N. , Fajolu Iretiola B. , Imam Zainab O. , Mwangome Martha K. , Umoru Dominic D. , Akindolire Abimbola E. , Otieno Walter , Nalwa Grace M. , Talbert Alison W. , Abubakar Ismaela , Embleton Nicholas D. , Allen Stephen J. ,   on behalf of the Neonatal Nutrition Network (NeoNuNet)
Published: January 2021

Objective

To describe the patient population, priority diseases and outcomes in newborns admitted <48 hours old to neonatal units in both Kenya and Nigeria.

Study design

In a network of seven secondary and tertiary level neonatal units in Nigeria and Kenya, we captured anonymised data on all admissions <48 hours of age over a 6-month period.

Results

2280 newborns were admitted. Mean birthweight was 2.3 kg (SD 0.9); 57.0% (1214/2128) infants were low birthweight (LBW; <2.5kg) and 22.6% (480/2128) were very LBW (VLBW; <1.5 kg). Median gestation was 36 weeks (interquartile range 32, 39) and 21.6% (483/2236) infants were very preterm (gestation <32 weeks). The most common morbidities were jaundice (987/2262, 43.6%), suspected sepsis (955/2280, 41.9%), respiratory conditions (817/2280, 35.8%) and birth asphyxia (547/2280, 24.0%). 18.7% (423/2262) newborns died; mortality was very high amongst VLBW (222/472, 47%) and very preterm infants (197/483, 40.8%). Factors independently associated with mortality were gestation <28 weeks (adjusted odds ratio 11.58; 95% confidence interval 4.73–28.39), VLBW (6.92; 4.06–11.79), congenital anomaly (4.93; 2.42–10.05), abdominal condition (2.86; 1.40–5.83), birth asphyxia (2.44; 1.52–3.92), respiratory condition (1.46; 1.08–2.28) and maternal antibiotics within 24 hours before or after birth (1.91; 1.28–2.85). Mortality was reduced if mothers received a partial (0.51; 0.28–0.93) or full treatment course (0.44; 0.21–0.92) of dexamethasone before preterm delivery.

Conclusion

Greater efforts are needed to address the very high burden of illnesses and mortality in hospitalized newborns in sub-Saharan Africa. Interventions need to address priority issues during pregnancy and delivery as well as in the newborn.
Assessment of clinical and microbiota responses to fecal microbial transplantation in adult horses with diarrhea
Authors: McKinney Caroline A. , Bedenice Daniela , Pacheco Ana P. , Oliveira Bruno C. M. , Paradis Mary-Rose , Mazan Melissa , Widmer Giovanni
Published: January 2021

Background and aims

Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) is empirically implemented in horses with colitis to facilitate resolution of diarrhea. The purpose of this study was to assess FMT as a clinical treatment and modulator of fecal microbiota in hospitalized horses with colitis.

Methods

A total of 22 horses with moderate to severe diarrhea, consistent with a diagnosis of colitis, were enrolled at two referral hospitals (L1: n = 12; L2: n = 10). FMT was performed in all 12 patients on 3 consecutive days at L1, while treatment at L2 consisted of standard care without FMT. Manure was collected once daily for 4 days from the rectum in all colitis horses, prior to FMT for horses at L1, and from each manure sample used for FMT. Fecal samples from 10 clinically healthy control horses housed at L2, and 30 healthy horses located at 5 barns in regional proximity to L1 were also obtained to characterize the regional healthy equine microbiome. All fecal microbiota were analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing.

Results and conclusions

As expected, healthy horses at both locations showed a greater α-diversity and lower β-diversity compared to horses with colitis. The fecal microbiome of healthy horses clustered by location, with L1 horses showing a higher prevalence of Kiritimatiellaeota. Improved manure consistency (lower diarrhea score) was associated with a greater α-diversity in horses with colitis at both locations (L1: r = -0.385, P = 0.006; L2: r = -0.479, P = 0.002). Fecal transplant recipients demonstrated a greater overall reduction in diarrhea score (median: 4±3 grades), compared to untreated horses (median: 1.5±3 grades, P = 0.021), with a higher incidence in day-over-day improvement in diarrhea (22/36 (61%) vs. 10/28 (36%) instances, P = 0.011). When comparing microbiota of diseased horses at study conclusion to that of healthy controls, FMT-treated horses showed a lower mean UniFrac distance (0.53±0.27) than untreated horses (0.62±0.26, P<0.001), indicating greater normalization of the microbiome in FMT-treated patients.
Influence of introduced peregrine falcons on the distribution of red knots within a spring staging site
Authors: Watts Bryan D. , Truitt Barry R.
Published: January 2021

Predator recovery driven by single-species management approaches may lead to conservation conflicts between recovered predators and prey species of conservation concern. As part of an aggressive recovery plan, the Eastern Peregrine Falcon Recovery Team released (1975–1985) 307 captive-reared peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and successfully established a breeding population within the mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain, a physiographic region with no historic breeding population and a critical spring staging area for migratory shorebirds. We examined the influence of resident falcons on the distribution of foraging red knots during spring migration. We conducted weekly aerial surveys (2006–2009) along the Virginia barrier islands during the spring staging period (25 April– 6 June) to map foraging red knots (Calidris canutus) and evaluated the influence of proximity (0–3, 3–6, >6 km) of beaches to active peregrine falcon nests on knot density (birds/km). Accumulated use of beaches throughout the season by red knots was significantly influenced by proximity of beaches to active falcon nests such that mean density was more than 6 fold higher on beaches that were >6 km compared to beaches that were only 0–3 km from active eyries. Whether or not an eyrie was used in a given year had a significant influence on the use of associated close (0–3 km) beaches. From 6.5 to 64 fold more knots used beaches when associated eyries were not active compared to when they were active depending on the specific site. Historically, red knots and other migratory shorebirds would have enjoyed a peregrine-free zone within this critical staging site. The establishment of a dense breeding population of falcons within the area represents a new hazard for the knot population.
Automated identification of urban substructure for comparative analysis
Authors: Aras Rohan L. , Ouellette Nicholas T. , Jain Rishee K.
Published: January 2021

Neighborhoods are the building blocks of cities, and thus significantly impact urban planning from infrastructure deployment to service provisioning. However, existing definitions of neighborhoods are often ill suited for planning in both scale and pattern of aggregation. Here, we propose a generalized, scalable approach using topological data analysis to identify barrier-enclosed neighborhoods on multiple scales with implications for understanding social mixing within cities and the design of urban infrastructure. Our method requires no prior domain knowledge and uses only readily available building parcel information. Results from three American cities (Houston, New York, San Francisco) indicate that our method identifies neighborhoods consistent with historical approaches. Additionally, we uncover a consistent scale in all three cities at which physical isolation drives neighborhood emergence. However, our methods also reveal differences between these cities: Houston, although more disconnected on larger spatial scales than New York and San Francisco, is less disconnected at smaller scales.
Met and unmet needs of homeless individuals at different stages of housing reintegration: A mixed-method investigation
Authors: Fleury Marie-Josée , Grenier Guy , Sabetti Judith , Bertrand Karine , Clément Michèle , Brochu Serge
Published: January 2021

This study aimed to identify and compare major areas of met and unmet needs reported by 455 homeless or recently housed individuals recruited from emergency shelters, temporary housing, and permanent housing in Quebec (Canada). Mixed methods, guided by the Maslow framework, were used. Basic needs were the strongest needs category identified, followed by health and social services (an emergent category), and safety; very few participants expressed needs in the higher-order categories of love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. The only significant differences between the three housing groups occurred in basic needs met, which favored permanent housing residents. Safety was the only category where individuals reported more unmet than met needs. The study results suggested that increased overall access to and continuity of care with family physicians, MD or SUD clinicians and community organizations for social integration should be provided to help better these individuals. Case management, stigma prevention, supported employment programs, peer support and day centers should particularly be more widely implemented as interventions that may promote a higher incidence of met needs in specific needs categories.
Potential role of the skin and gut microbiota in premenarchal vulvar lichen sclerosus: A pilot case-control study
Authors: Chattopadhyay Suhana , Arnold Justin D. , Malayil Leena , Hittle Lauren , Mongodin Emmanuel F. , Marathe Kalyani S. , Gomez-Lobo Veronica , Sapkota Amy R.
Published: January 2021

The etiology of vulvar lichen sclerosus (LS) remains unclear; however, alterations in cutaneous and gut microbiota may be contributing to the pathogenesis of this inflammatory condition. To explore this hypothesis, we conducted a pilot case-control study, obtaining dermal swab and stool samples from prepubertal girls with vulvar LS (n = 5), girls with nonspecific vulvovaginitis (n = 5), and healthy controls (n = 3). Samples (n = 56) were subjected to total DNA extractions. Resulting DNA was purified, subjected to PCR (targeting the V3V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene), sequenced, and analyzed using QIIME, MetagenomeSeq, and DESeq2 software packages. Our findings showed that there were significant differences in the cutaneous and gut microbiotas of girls with LS compared to controls. On the skin, girls with LS had a statistically significantly higher relative abundance of Porphyromonas spp., Parvimonas spp., Peptoniphilus spp., Prevotella spp., Dialister spp., and Peptostreptococcus spp., but a lower relative abundance of Cornyebacterium compared to the control group. In the gut samples, girls with LS had a significantly higher relative abundance of Dialister spp., Clostridiales spp., Paraprevotella spp., Escherichia coli, Bifidobacterium adolescentis, and Akkermansia muciniphila, and a lower relative abundance of Roseburia faecis and Ruminococcus bromii compared to controls. These results suggest a potential association between cutaneous and gut dysbiosis and pediatric vulvar LS. Future studies involving larger samples sizes are warranted to further evaluate this association.
Exact solutions for the 2d-strip packing problem using the positions-and-covering methodology
Authors: Cid-Garcia Nestor M. , Rios-Solis Yasmin A.
Published: January 2021

We use the Positions and Covering methodology to obtain exact solutions for the two-dimensional, non-guillotine restricted, strip packing problem. In this classical NP-hard problem, a given set of rectangular items has to be packed into a strip of fixed weight and infinite height. The objective consists in determining the minimum height of the strip. The Positions and Covering methodology is based on a two-stage procedure. First, it is generated, in a pseudo-polynomial way, a set of valid positions in which an item can be packed into the strip. Then, by using a set-covering formulation, the best configuration of items into the strip is selected. Based on the literature benchmark, experimental results validate the quality of the solutions and method’s effectiveness for small and medium-size instances. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach that generates optimal solutions for some literature instances for which the optimal solution was unknown before this study.
Measuring the effect of residual stress on the machined subsurface of Inconel 718 by nanoindentation
Authors: Chen Ling , Du Qirui , Yu Miao , Guo Xin , Zhao Wu
Published: January 2021

Inconel 718 alloy is widely used in aero-engines and high-temperature environments. However, residual stress caused by processing and molding leads to an uneven distribution of internal pressure, which reduces the reliability of service process. Therefore, numerical simulation of the nanoindentation process was applied to evaluate the effect of residual stress on the machined subsurface of Inconel 718. A gradient material model of Inconel 718 was established in ABAQUS finite element software. Mechanical properties based on nanoindentation testing showed an influence of residual stress in combination with indenter geometry. The orthogonal experimental results show that under diverse residual stress states, the indenter’s geometry can affect the pile-up of the material surface after nanoindentation and significantly influence the test results. With increases in piling-up, the error caused by residual stress on the characterization of the mechanical properties of the hardened layer increases. Through the establishment of a numerical model, the influence of residual stress can be predicted within nanoindentation depths of 300 nm.
Health conditions of potential risk for severe Covid-19 in institutionalized elderly people
Authors: Araújo Mayara Priscilla Dantas , Nunes Vilani Medeiros de Araújo , Costa Larissa de Albuquerque , Souza Talita Araujo de , Torres Gilson de Vasconcelos , Nobre Thaiza Teixeira Xavier
Published: January 2021

The objective of this study was to identify the health conditions considered potential risk factors for severe Covid-19 and analyze its association with the BMI of elderly people living in Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF). This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study, with a quantitative approach, carried out in eight LTCF in the Metropolitan Region of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, with a population of 267 elderly people, between the months of February and December 2018. The Elderly Health Handbook was used to collect data on sociodemographic, health and risk factors. The Pearson’s Chi-square test and odds ratio were used for the analysis. A higher frequency of low weight was observed in elderly people with cognitive impairment (24.6%), and overweight in those hypertensive (23.3%) and diabetics (12.9%). BMI was associated with the age group of 80 years or over, hypertension and diabetes (p = 0.013; p < 0.001; p = 0.001). Hypertensive elderly people were more likely to have low weight when compared to non-hypertensive individuals (RC = 3.6; 95% CI 1.5–8.6). The institutionalized elderly individuals present health conditions that may contribute to the occurrence of adverse outcomes in case of infection by Covid-19. The importance of protective measures for this population must be reinforced, in view of the devastating action of this disease in these institutions.
Efficient multiplexed genome engineering with a polycistronic tRNA and CRISPR guide-RNA reveals an important role of detonator in reproduction of Drosophila melanogaster
Authors: Chon Cristin , Chon Grace , Matsui Yurika , Zeng Huiqing , Lai Zhi-Chun , Liu Aimin
Published: January 2021

Genome association studies in human and genetic studies in mouse implicated members of the transmembrane protein 132 (TMEM132) family in multiple conditions including panic disorder, hearing loss, limb and kidney malformation. However, the presence of five TMEM132 paralogs in mammalian genomes makes it extremely challenging to reveal the full requirement for these proteins in vivo. In contrast, there is only one TMEM132 homolog, detonator (dtn), in the genome of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, enabling straightforward research into its in vivo function. In the current study, we generate multiple loss-of-function dtn mutant fly strains through a polycistronic tRNA-gRNA approach, and show that most embryos lacking both maternal and paternal dtn fail to hatch into larvae, indicating an essential role of dtn in Drosophila reproduction.
Stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence among children under 7 years in the context of the social rapidly developing: Findings from a population-based survey in nine cities of China in 2016
Authors: Zhang Ya-Qin , Li Hui , Wu Hua-Hong , Zong Xin-Nan
Published: January 2021

The prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence are various in different populations and they also have changed with social developing and environmental improving. In this paper, we aimed to analyze the prevalence of stunting, wasting, overweight and their coexistence in some developed regions of China. Data were collected in a population-based cross-sectional survey by a multi-stage cluster sampling method in nine cities located in the northern, central, and southern region of China in 2016. Children under seven years (n = 110,491) were measured. WHO growth standards were used to assess the growth status. Stunting, underweight, wasting, overweight and obesity were considered as the primary forms of malnutrition (includes undernutrition and overnutrition) for infant or young children at population-levels. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and overweight or obesity were respectively 0.7%, 0.6%, 1.2%, and 7.6%. Most of these children (95.4%) suffered from one form of malnutrition, and only 0.2% of them concurrently stunted and wasted, 0.4% concurrently stunted and overweight, 1.7% concurrently stunted and underweight, 2.3% concurrently underweight and wasted. Among stunted children, 91.2% were appropriate body proportion, and only 2.3% were wasted, 6.5% were overweight or obesity. Among overweight or obese children, only 0.6% were stunted, whereas, 15.8% were high stature and 83.6% were the appropriate ranges of stature. Sex, age, urban/suburban, and region were associated with these primary forms of malnutrition in the multivariate logistic analysis. In conclusion, we found that the coexistence of stunting and overweight was not common at both population-level and individual-level. The situation for undernutrition had significantly improved, and overweight may be the leading public health issue for children under seven years in the nine cities of China.
Selection and validation of reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR in the green microalgae Tetraselmis chui
Authors: Torres Sonia , Lama Carmen , Mantecón Lalia , Flemetakis Emmanouil , Infante Carlos
Published: January 2021

Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is a highly sensitive technique that can be applied to analyze how genes are modulated by culture conditions, but identification of appropriate reference genes for normalization is a critical factor to be considered. For this reason, the expression stability of 18 candidate reference genes was evaluated for the green microalgae Tetraselmis chui using the widely employed algorithms geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, the comparative ΔCT method, and RefFinder. Microalgae samples were collected from large scale outdoor photobioreactors during the growing phase (OUT_GP), and during the semi-continuous phase at different times of the day (OUT_DC). Samples from standard indoor cultures under highly controlled conditions (IND) were also collected to complement the other data. Different rankings for the candidate reference genes were obtained depending on the culture conditions and the algorithm employed. After comparison of the achieved ranks with the different methods, the references genes selected for samples from specific culture conditions were ALD and EFL in OUT_GP, RPL32 and UBCE in OUT_DC, and cdkA and UBCE in IND. Moreover, the genes EFL and cdkA or EFL and UBCE appeared as appropriate combinations for pools generated from all samples (ALL). Examination in the OUT_DC cultures of genes encoding the large and small subunits of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPL and AGPS, respectively) confirmed the reliability of the identified reference genes, RPL32 and UBCE. The present study represents a useful contribution for studies of gene expression in T. chui, and also represents the first step to set-up an RT-qPCR platform for quality control of T. chui biomass production in industrial facilities.
Has loneliness and poor resilient coping influenced the magnitude of psychological distress among apparently healthy Indian adults during the lockdown? Evidence from a rapid online nation-wide cross-sectional survey
Authors: Lahiri Arista , Jha Sweety Suman , Acharya Rudraprasad , Dey Abhijit , Chakraborty Arup
Published: January 2021

Background

The burden of psychological distress is increasing with the spread of the pandemic and also with the enforcement of its containment measures. The aim of this research was to determine the proportion of self-reported psychological distress, loneliness and degrees of resilient coping, and to also investigate the relationship of loneliness, coping and other variables with psychological distress among apparently healthy Indians during nation-wide lockdown period.

Methods

A cross-sectional, region-stratified survey using pre-designed pre-tested Google form disseminated via different social media platforms was conducted. A total of 1249 responses were analysed all over India. The form enquired about Socio-demographic profile, awareness on COVID pandemic and cases in the surroundings. UCLA Loneliness scale, Brief resilience and coping scale (BRCS) and Psychological distress scale (K6) assessed self-reported loneliness, coping and psychological distress, respectively. Special regressor technique adjusting for endogeneity and heteroskedasticity was used to extract the average marginal effects.

Results

Majority of the respondents were 18–35 years old, male, single and urban residents. News media, social media mostly acted as sources of information regarding COVID related news. Overall, 54.47% (95% CI: 51.39–57.53%) and 38.39% (95% CI: 35.57–41.29%) were reported to be lonely and had low resilient coping ability respectively. Around 44.68% had high risk of developing psychological distress. Being a student (average marginal effect coefficient (AMECoef).: -0.07, 95% CI: [-0.12, -0.01]) and perceiving lockdown as an effective measure (AMECoef: -0.11, 95% CI: [-0.19, -0.03]) were protective against psychological distress. Psychological distress was associated with male respondents (AMECoef 0.07, 95% CI: [0.02, 0.11]), low or medium resilient copers (AMECoef 0.89, 95% CI: [0.17, 1.61]), and perceiving a serious impact of social distancing measures (AMECoef 0.17, 95% CI: [0.09, 0.26]).

Conclusions

Psychological distress among Indian population during lockdown was prevalent. Poor coping ability and perceiving social distancing to have a serious impact was found to be significantly contributing to psychological distress. Appropriate measures to address these issues would be beneficial for the community mental health.
Hand(y) hygiene insights: Applying three theoretical models to investigate hospital patients’ and visitors’ hand hygiene behavior
Authors: Gaube Susanne , Fischer Peter , Lermer Eva
Published: January 2021

Background

Improving hand hygiene in hospitals is the most efficient method to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The hand hygiene behavior of hospital patients and visitors is not well-researched, although they pose a risk for the transmission of pathogens. Therefore, the present study had three aims: (1) Finding a suitable theoretical model to explain patients’ and visitors’ hand hygiene practice; (2) Identifying important predictors for their hand hygiene behavior; and (3) Comparing the essential determinants of hand hygiene behavior between healthcare professionals from the literature to our non-professional sample.

Methods

In total N = 1,605 patients and visitors were surveyed on their hand hygiene practice in hospitals. The employed questionnaires were based on three theoretical models: a) the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB); b) the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA); and c) the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. To compare our results to the determinants of healthcare workers’ hand hygiene behavior, we searched for studies that used one of the three theoretical models.

Results

Among patients, 52% of the variance in the hand hygiene behavior was accounted for by the TDF domains, 44% by a modified HAPA model, and 40% by the TPB factors. Among visitors, these figures were 59%, 37%, and 55%, respectively. Two clusters of variables surfaced as being essential determinants of behavior: self-regulatory processes and social influence processes. The critical determinants for healthcare professionals’ hand hygiene reported in the literature were similar to the findings from our non-professional sample.

Conclusions

The TDF was identified as the most suitable model to explain patients’ and visitors’ hand hygiene practices. Patients and visitors should be included in existing behavior change intervention strategies. Newly planned interventions should focus on targeting self-regulatory and social influence processes to improve effectiveness.