bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Practical Experience From Risks of Decommissioning of Petrochemical Facilities
Authors: Raman R. , Medonos S.
Published: September 2022

Decommissioning is expensive and can be a complex operation involving a series of distinct phases, including cessation of operation, site preparation, decontamination, dismantling (demolition) and disposal. Each decommissioning phase has associated risks, which need to be identified, controlled, and minimized as far as reasonably practicable. A risk-based approach has been recognized, both for ensuring safety and reducing the total decommissioning period with cost savings. A traditional hazard and operability (HAZOP) study can be conveniently extended to decommissioning HAZOP, which is a guideword-based collective multidisciplinary study identifying types of risks associated with decommissioning and allocates actions to the contractor and specialists departments for implementation. A decommissioning HAZOP enables to address the hazards and risks of decommissioning activities holistically, addresses all major contingencies, and results in safe decommissioning within budget. The presented decommissioning HAZOP study itself was completed ahead of time, without accidents. While there are other methods, decommissioning HAZOP and risk assessment was recognized as one of the effective methods for achieving the safety and project cost objectives.
New Regulatory Instrument for Brazilian Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations
Authors: de Souza Karen Alves , Barbosa Ludmyla Carolina Mariano , Jacques Tiago Machado de Souza , Bourbon Vitor José Campos
Published: September 2022

The Brazilian decommissioning industry faces challenges in the onshore and offshore environments that could potentially lead to operational safety problems and environmental impacts. In 2020, the Brazilian regulators brought innovations to the decommissioning plans, implementing a new resolution. On the economic aspect, this instrument aims to promote the sector's business conditions and to have it adapted to recognized internationally decom technical standards. On the regulatory side, it aims to compare alternative solutions for decommissioning facilities adopting at least technical, environmental, social, safety, and economic criteria. The existing framework was discussed with different stakeholders, involving industry, society, and academics. Several improvements and opportunities for the sector were identified, suggesting the necessity of improving the local decom infrastructure and technological enhancements to extend the lifecycle of fields. The adoption of Conceptual Installation decommissioning program (IDP) and Executive IDP by the resolution allowed the operator to determine the general lines of actions related to the decommissioning, allowing better planning, and reducing project uncertainties. As seen, the IDP requires the consideration of a multicriteria analysis and the need to be cautionary. The Conceptual IDP ensures a better field development and the best decommissioning planning in initial stages. The new resolution established well-defined rules aimed at field life extension and the recovery factor, lowering costs, and preventing premature decommissioning of the field in a safe manner, minimizing risks to people and the environment, in addition to establishing that the operator must evaluate the possibility of using the asset for another purposes.
Role of Tungsten Disulfide Particles on the Microstructure, Mechanical, and Tribological Behaviors of Friction Stir-Processed Magnesium-Based Composite
Authors: Tajdeen A. , Megalingam A. , Sivanesh Prabhu M. , Wasim Khan M.
Published: September 2022

Influence of tungsten disulfide particles (WS2) on the friction and wear behavior of Mg-AZ91 forms the objective of this work. Friction stir processing (FSP) has been used to fabricate FSP AZ91/WS2 composite with various FSP passes. The microstructures were studied using a optical microscope (OM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Hardness is measured using Vickers’s microhardness tester. The impact of WS2 on the friction and wear resistance of Mg-AZ91 were evaluated using a pin-on-disc apparatus under dry sliding conditions. The microstructure showed the grain refinement of FSP AZ91/WS2 composite, due to severe plastic deformation and dynamic recrystallization. An increase in the FSP passes has transformed the grain size from micron- to nano-level. The hardness of FSP AZ91/WS2 composite is increased to 122 HV, from 62.2 HV0.3 of Mg-AZ91. The improvement in the hardness is due to the reinforcement of WS2 and grain refinement. A significant improvement in the friction and wear resistance was achieved for Mg-AZ91 composites in contrast to FSP AZ91 and AZ91. SEM micro-images showed the transfer of wear mechanism from severe adhesive wear to mild adhesive wear.
Reformulation for the Solution of the Dynamic Response of Co-Axial Segmented Beams
Authors: Segalman Daniel J. , Khasawneh Firas A.
Published: September 2022

Stepped beams constitute an important class of engineering structures whose vibration response has been widely studied. Many of the existing methods for studying stepped beams manifest serious numerical difficulties as the number of segments or the frequency of excitation increase. In this article, we focus on the transfer matrix method (TMM), which provides a simple and elegant formulation for multistep beams. The main idea in the TMM is to model each step in the beam as a uniform element whose vibration configurations are spanned by the segment’s local eigenfunctions. Utilizing these local expressions, the boundary conditions at the ends of the multistep beam as well as the continuity and compatibility conditions across each step are used to obtain the nonlinear eigenvalue problem. Also, and perhaps more importantly, we provide a reformulation for multistep Euler–Bernoulli beams that avoids much of the numerical singularity problems that have plagued most of the earlier efforts. When this reformulation is extended to multisegment Timoshenko beams, the numerical difficulties appear to be mitigated, but not solved.
Simple thermal vapor deposition process for and characterization of n-type indium oxysulfide thin films
Authors: Jayaraman Ashwin , Kim Sang Bok , Davis Luke M. , Lou Xiabing , Zhao Xizhu , Gordon Roy G.
Published: September 2022

The search continues for alternative nontoxic n-type electron transport layers in optoelectronic thin-film devices. Indium oxysulfide, In2(O,S)3, represents one promising material for this application, especially when paired with chalcogenide absorber layers. The ternary nature of the composition allows for electrical conductivity and optical bandgap tuning by tailoring the sulfur to oxygen ratio in the oxysulfide alloy. However, thin films of In2(O,S)3 are typically deposited only by chemical bath deposition or plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. We report deposition of thin films of In2(O,S)3 in a custom-built thermal reactor using only water vapor and hydrogen sulfide as the coreactants. This advance is enabled by the use of a recently reported, highly reactive indium formamidinate precursor. As shown by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the composition can be tuned from pure In2O3 to pure In2S3 by varying the ratio of cycles employing water or hydrogen sulfide. The oxygen to the sulfur ratio in the film can be controlled by altering the dose sequence, although films typically contain more sulfur than would be expected naively from the percentage of hydrogen sulfide doses in the deposition recipe. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry confirms the composition is sulfur-rich relative to the dosing ratio. Structural characterization indicates films are relatively amorphous in nature. Electrically, these films offer reasonably constant electron mobility at different O:S ratios, with an electron concentration tunable over 4 orders of magnitude. These oxysulfide films possess a higher indirect bandgap than their oxygen-free indium sulfide counterparts, indicating higher transmittance to blue light. These indium oxysulfide films may be suitable candidates for electron transport layers in thin-film solar cells where their wider bandgap might result in higher optical transparency and thus short circuit current density, while the tunability of their conduction band offset with an absorber layer may result in higher open circuit voltage.
Competitive Racing in Virtual Cycling—Is It Possible, Realistic, and Fair?
Authors: Bjärehed Jonas , Bjärehed Marlene
Published: September 2022

Competitive racing through virtual cycling has established itself as an entirely new discipline within cycling. This study explores what equipment racers use and examines important power metrics for racing. Data were collected from three different races from the current ranking of the most highly regulated and professionally organized race series on the virtual cycling platform Zwift. Power output data from 116 race participants, over five power durations (5 s–20 min), and two separate power measuring sources were collected and analyzed using the Bland–Altman method. The findings indicate that the physiological efforts of these races are comparable to those found in traditional competitive cycling. Furthermore, findings also support that the equipment typically used produces similar power outputs with good agreement between different power meters for most measurement points. Finally, the implications of these results for the status of virtual racing are discussed.
Outcomes of Short-Term Tigecycline-Containing Regimens for Mycobacterium abscessus Pulmonary Disease
Authors: Kim Sae Rom , Jang Myunghwa , Kim Su-Young , Kim Dae Hun , Jhun Byung Woo
Published: September 2022

Short-term intravenous tigecycline therapy during a 1-month initial phase may improve early microbiological response in patients with
Mycobacterium abscessus
pulmonary disease (PD). However, short-term use of tigecycline did not improve the long-term culture conversion rate of
M. abscessus
PD. Further studies on the efficacy of prolonged intravenous tigecycline-containing regimens are needed.
Synbiotic Intervention with Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, and Inulin in Healthy Volunteers Increases the Abundance of Bifidobacteria but Does Not Alter Microbial Diversity
Authors: Rubin Ingrid Maria Cecilia , Mollerup Sarah , Broholm Christa , Baker Adam , Holm Mona Katrine Alberthe , Pedersen Martin Schou , Pinholt Mette , Westh Henrik , Petersen Andreas Munk
Published: September 2022

The effects of probiotics/synbiotics are seldom investigated in healthy volunteers; therefore, this study is important, especially considering the safety aspects of multiple probiotics together with prebiotic fiber in consumption by humans. The study explores at the potential of a synbiotic intervention with lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and inulin in healthy volunteers and tracks the ingested probiotic strain
B. animalis
subsp.
lactis
.
Acute Infection with a Tobramycin-Induced Small Colony Variant of Staphylococcus aureus Causes Increased Inflammation in the Cystic Fibrosis Rat Lung
Authors: Bollar Gretchen E. , Keith Johnathan D. , Oden Ashley M. , Kiedrowski Megan R. , Birket Susan E.
Published: September 2022

Cystic fibrosis (CF) disease is characterized by lifelong infections with pathogens such as
Staphylococcus aureus
, leading to eventual respiratory failure. Small colony variants (SCVs) of
S. aureus
have been linked to worse clinical outcomes for people with CF.
HfaE Is a Component of the Holdfast Anchor Complex That Tethers the Holdfast Adhesin to the Cell Envelope
Authors: Chepkwony Nelson K. , Hardy Gail G. , Brun Yves V.
Published: September 2022

For surface attachment and biofilm formation, bacteria produce adhesins that are composed of polysaccharides, proteins, and DNA. Species of the
Caulobacterales
produce a specialized polar adhesin, holdfast, which is required for permanent attachment to surfaces.
Whole-Genome Sequencing for Resistance Prediction and Transmission Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Strains from Namibia
Authors: Claassens M. , Dreyer V. , Nepolo E. , Mokomele Q. , van Rooyen G. , Ruswa N. , Günther G. , Niemann S.
Published: September 2022

The transmission of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is a major problem for global TB control. Using genome sequencing, we showed that 13% of the multidrug-resistant (MDR)
M. tuberculosis
complex strains from Namibia are already pre-extensively drug resistant (pre-XDR), which is substantial in an African setting.
Arbovirus Screening in Mosquitoes in Emilia-Romagna (Italy, 2021) and Isolation of Tahyna Virus
Authors: Calzolari Mattia , Bonilauri Paolo , Grisendi Annalisa , Dalmonte Gastone , Vismarra Alice , Lelli Davide , Chiapponi Chiara , Bellini Romeo , Lavazza Antonio , Dottori Michele
Published: September 2022

We reported in this work the detection of three Arboviruses (Arthropod-borne viruses) in mosquitoes collected in Emilia-Romagna in 2021. In addition to West Nile and Usutu viruses, which were reported from more than 10 years in the study area, we detected and isolated Tahyna virus (TAHV).
Supplemental Material: Reconstructing backwater hydrodynamics from fluvial-deltaic deposits using stratigraphic inversion: An example from the Tullig Sandstone, Western Irish Namurian Basin, County Clare, Ireland
Authors: Wu Chenliang , al. et
Published: September 2022

Tectonic history, structural restoration, field locations, and uncertainty analysis. Supplemental Data: original measurements for cross set and sandstone bed thicknesses.
First Experimental Synthesis of Mg Orthocarbonate by the MgCO3 + MgO = Mg2CO4 Reaction at Pressures of the Earth’s Lower Mantle
Authors: Gavryushkin P. N. , Martirosyan N. S. , Rashchenko S. V. , Sagatova D. N. , Sagatov N. E. , Semerikova A. I. , Fedotenko T. M. , Litasov K. D.
Published: September 2022

Mg-carbonate is one of the main carbonates subducting from the Earth’s surface into the mantle and possible reactions of this compound with the main mantle minerals determine the stability of carbonates into the Earth’s mantle. Recently, we have theoretically shown that at pressures and temperatures of the Earth’s lower mantle MgCO3 should react with MgO, producing Mg2CO4. Here, using diamond anvil cell technique, we have performed in situ investigation of the product of MgCO3 + MgO reaction at pressures around 50 GPa and temperatures above 2000 K. Investigation of Raman and X-ray diffraction patterns unambiguously indicates that reaction has been realized and as the reaction product we suggest the modification similar to M-g2CO4-$$P{{2}_{1}}{\text{/}}c$$. Using the transmission electron microscopy technique, we show the presence of the new Mg-orthocarbonate/carbonate phase in the sample extracted from high-pressure environment.
Liver disease in adolescents
Authors: Vimalesvaran Sunitha , Samyn Marianne , Dhawan Anil
Published: September 2022

In this article, we discuss common liver diseases in the adolescent population. We describe the initial evaluation of an adolescent presenting with new-onset liver enzyme abnormalities, based on the clinical history and physical examination. The management approach to the adolescent with liver disease is exemplified, including monitoring for adherence, risk-taking behaviours and focusing on psychosocial aspects of their care. Finally, we highlight the challenges of caring for the adolescent patient and the importance of addressing not only the liver disease but, more importantly, the holistic approach towards their management.
Management of pneumothorax in neonatal retrieval: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Halibullah Ikhwan , Hammond Fiona , Hodgson Kate , Duffy Natalie , Stewart Michael , Sett Arun
Published: September 2022

Background

Management of pneumothorax in neonates requiring retrieval poses unique challenges, including decision to insert an intercostal catheter (ICC). We aimed to report the proportion and characteristics of neonates transported with and without ICC insertion and the incidence of deterioration in neonates transported with pneumothorax.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study of neonates transported with pneumothorax between 2016 and 2020 in Victoria, Australia. Univariate analysis was performed on patient and clinical characteristics, followed by multivariate analysis to identify risks independently associated with ICC insertion.

Results

174 neonates were included. Mean (SD) gestational age (GA) was 37.5 (2.8) weeks. Eighty-two neonates (47%) had ICC inserted. On multivariate analysis, risk factors independently associated with ICC insertion were mechanical ventilation (MV) preceding retrieval team arrival (OR 12, 95% CI 3.1 to 46.6, p<0.001) and radiographical mediastinal shift (MS) (OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.4 to 16.2, p<0.001). Increasing GA is negatively associated with ICC insertion (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.5 to 0.8, p<0.001). No significant difference in incidence of deterioration between the ICC group and the no-ICC group was observed (8.5% vs 5.4%, p=0.55). Ninety-five neonates were treated with needle aspiration (NA); 40 (42%) subsequently avoided ICC insertion. Twelve (13%) neonates transported without ICC had insertion within 24 hours following transport.

Conclusion

Many neonates with pneumothorax are transported without ICC, with low incidence of deterioration and ICC insertion within 24 hours after transport. More than a third of neonates managed with NA avoided ICC insertion. The likelihood of ICC insertion is increased by lower GA, MV prior to retrieval team arrival and radiographical MS.
The human toll and humanitarian crisis of the Russia-Ukraine war: the first 162 days
Authors: Haque Ubydul , Naeem Amna , Wang Shanshan , Espinoza Juan , Holovanova Irina , Gutor Taras , Bazyka Dimitry , Galindo Rebeca , Sharma Sadikshya , Kaidashev Igor P , Chumachenko Dmytro , Linnikov Svyatoslav , Annan Esther , Lubinda Jailos , Korol Natalya , Bazyka Kostyantyn , Zhyvotovska Liliia , Zimenkovsky Andriy , Nguyen Uyen-Sa D T
Published: September 2022

Background

We examined the human toll and subsequent humanitarian crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022.

Method

We extracted and analysed data resulting from Russian military attacks on Ukrainians between 24 February and 4 August 2022. The data tracked direct deaths and injuries, damage to healthcare infrastructure and the impact on health, the destruction of residences, infrastructure, communication systems, and utility services – all of which disrupted the lives of Ukrainians.

Results

As of 4 August 2022, 5552 civilians were killed outright and 8513 injured in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks. Local officials estimate as many as 24 328 people were also killed in mass atrocities, with Mariupol being the largest (n=22 000) such example. Aside from wide swaths of homes, schools, roads, and bridges destroyed, hospitals and health facilities from 21 cities across Ukraine came under attack. The disruption to water, gas, electricity, and internet services also extended to affect supplies of medications and other supplies owing to destroyed facilities or production that ceased due to the war. The data also show that Ukraine saw an increase in cases of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Conclusions

The 2022 Russia-Ukraine War not only resulted in deaths and injuries but also impacted the lives and safety of Ukrainians through destruction of healthcare facilities and disrupted delivery of healthcare and supplies. The war is an ongoing humanitarian crisis given the continuing destruction of infrastructure and services that directly impact the well-being of human lives. The devastation, trauma and human cost of war will impact generations of Ukrainians to come.
Association between menstrual cycle length and covid-19 vaccination: global, retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data
Authors: Edelman Alison , Boniface Emily R , Male Victoria , Cameron Sharon T , Benhar Eleonora , Han Leo , Matteson Kristen A , Van Lamsweerde Agathe , Pearson Jack T , Darney Blair G
Published: September 2022

Objectives

To identify whether covid-19 vaccines are associated with menstrual changes in order to address concerns about menstrual cycle disruptions after covid-19 vaccination.

Design

Global, retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data.

Setting

International users of the menstrual cycle tracking application, Natural Cycles.

Participants

19 622 individuals aged 18-45 years with cycle lengths of 24-38 days and consecutive data for at least three cycles before and one cycle after covid (vaccinated group; n=14 936), and those with at least four consecutive cycles over a similar time period (unvaccinated group; n=4686).

Main outcome measures

The mean change within individuals was assessed by vaccination group for cycle and menses length (mean of three cycles before vaccination to the cycles after first and second dose of vaccine and the subsequent cycle). Mixed effects models were used to estimate the adjusted difference in change in cycle and menses length between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Results

Most people (n=15 713; 80.08%) were younger than 35 years, from the UK (n=6222; 31.71%), US and Canada (28.59%), or Europe (33.55%). Two thirds (9929 (66.48%) of 14 936) of the vaccinated cohort received the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) covid-19 vaccine, 17.46% (n=2608) received Moderna (mRNA-1273), 9.06% (n=1353) received Oxford-AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19), and 1.89% (n=283) received Johnson & Johnson (Ad26.COV2.S). Individuals who were vaccinated had a less than one day adjusted increase in the length of their first and second vaccine cycles, compared with individuals who were not vaccinated (0.71 day increase (99.3% confidence interval 0.47 to 0.96) for first dose; 0.56 day increase (0.28 to 0.84) for second dose). The adjusted difference was larger in people who received two doses in a cycle (3.70 days increase (2.98 to 4.42)). One cycle after vaccination, cycle length was similar to before the vaccine in individuals who received one dose per cycle (0.02 day change (99.3% confidence interval −0.10 to 0.14), but not yet for individuals who received two doses per cycle (0.85 day change (99.3% confidence interval 0.24 to 1.46)) compared with unvaccinated individuals. Changes in cycle length did not differ by the vaccine’s mechanism of action (mRNA, adenovirus vector, or inactivated virus). Menses length was unaffected by vaccination.

Conclusions

Covid-19 vaccination is associated with a small and likely to be temporary change in menstrual cycle length but no change in menses length.
Access to medical care and its association with physical injury in adolescents: a cross-national analysis
Authors: Pagnotta Valerie F. , King Nathan , Donnelly Peter D. , Thompson Wendy , Walsh Sophie D. , Molcho Michal , Ng Kwok , Malinowska-Cieślik Marta , Pickett William
Published: September 2022

Background

Strong variations in injury rates have been documented cross-nationally. Historically, these have been attributed to contextual determinants, both social and physical. We explored an alternative, yet understudied, explanation for variations in adolescent injury reporting—that varying access to medical care is, in part, responsible for cross-national differences.

Methods

Age-specific and gender-specific rates of medically treated injury (any, serious, by type) were estimated by country using the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (n=209 223). Available indicators of access to medical care included: (1) the Healthcare Access and Quality Index (HAQ; 39 countries); (2) the Universal Health Service Coverage Index (UHC; 37 countries) and (3) hospitals per 100 000 (30 countries) then physicians per 100 000 (36 countries). Ecological analyses were used to relate injury rates and indicators of access to medical care, and the proportion of between-country variation in reported injuries attributable to each indicator.

Results

Adolescent injury risks were substantial and varied by country and sociodemographically. There was little correlation observed between national level injury rates and the HAQ and UHC indices, but modest associations between serious injury and physicians and hospitals per 100 000. Individual indicators explained up to 9.1% of the total intercountry variation in medically treated injuries and 24.6% of the variation in serious injuries.

Conclusions

Cross-national variations in reported adolescent serious injury may, in part, be attributable to national differences in access to healthcare services. Interpretation of cross-national patterns of injury and their potential aetiology should therefore consider access to medical care as a plausible explanation.
Evaluating the role for regional analgesia in children with spina bifida: a retrospective observational study comparing the efficacy of regional versus systemic analgesia protocols following major urological surgery
Authors: Moore Robert P , Burjek Nicholas E , Brockel Megan A , Strine Andrew C , Acks Austin , Boxley Peter J , Chidambaran Vidya , Vricella Gino J , Chu David I , Sankaran-Raval Marie , Zee Rebecca S , Cladis Franklyn P , Chaudhry Rajeev , O’Reilly-Shah Vikas N , Ahn Jennifer J , Rove Kyle O
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Regional techniques are a key component of multimodal analgesia and help decrease opioid use perioperatively, but some techniques may not be suitable for all patients, such as those with spina bifida. We hypothesized peripheral regional catheters would reduce postoperative opioid use compared with no regional analgesia without increasing pain scores in pediatric patients with spina bifida undergoing major urological surgery.

Methods

A retrospective review of a multicenter database established for the study of enhanced recovery after surgery was performed of patients from 2009 to 2021 who underwent bladder augmentation or creation of catheterizable channels. Patients without spina bifida and those receiving epidural analgesia were excluded. Opioids were converted into morphine equivalents and normalized to patient weight.

Results

158 patients with pediatric spina bifida from 7 centers were included, including 87 with and 71 without regional catheters. There were no differences in baseline patient factors. Anesthesia setup increased from median 40 min (IQR 34–51) for no regional to 64 min (IQR 40–97) for regional catheters (p<0.01). The regional catheter group had lower median intraoperative opioid usage (0.24 vs 0.80 mg/kg morphine equivalents, p<0.01) as well as lower in-hospital postoperative opioid usage (0.05 vs 0.23 mg/kg/day morphine equivalents, p<0.01). Pain scores were not higher in the regional catheters group.

Discussion

Continuous regional analgesia following major urological surgery in children with spina bifida was associated with a 70% intraoperative and 78% postoperative reduction in opioids without higher pain scores. This approach should be considered for similar surgical interventions in this population.

Trial registration number

NCT03245242.
Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is a novel biomarker for fibrosis in IgG4-related disease and can predict poor prognosis
Authors: Yan Songxin , Peng Yu , Wu Ziyan , Lu Hui , Mo Shengwei , Chen Xianlong , Huang Yuan , Li Xiaomeng , Zhang Wen , Li Yongzhe
Published: September 2022

Objectives

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an immune-mediated fibroinflammatory disorder with heterogeneous manifestations. This study aimed to investigate the utility of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) as a potential clinical biomarker of fibrosis in IgG4-RD.

Methods

Plasma HE4 levels were estimated in 136 patients with IgG4-RD and 73 healthy individuals (controls) by electrochemical luminescence. HE4 expression levels and the degree of fibrosis in pancreatic tissues from 15 patients with IgG4-RD and 10 controls were compared using immunohistochemistry and Masson trichrome staining. Correlation between HE4 levels and laboratory parameters was determined, and the efficacy of HE4 as a biomarker of fibrosis and prognosis in IgG4-RD was also evaluated.

Results

Plasma HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with IgG4-RD compared with controls. Optimal HE4 cut-off value for identifying patients with IgG4-RD was determined to be 50.8 pmol/L with an AUC (area under curve) of 0.791. HE4 levels were positively correlated with diverse laboratory parameters, and indicators of organ function impairment. Additionally, HE4 was highly expressed in the affected organs in patients with IgG4-RD and its plasma levels were closely correlated with degree of fibrosis, indicating the utility of HE4 in assessing internal organ damage and fibrosis. Further analysis showed that patients in the HE4 high expression group had poor prognosis.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that HE4 can be used as a biomarker for IgG4-RD as it is correlated with diverse baseline clinical features, internal organ damage and degree of fibrosis in affected organs, and can predict poor prognosis.
Non-compliant packaging and illicit smokeless tobacco in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan: findings of a pack analysis
Authors: Abdullah S M , Huque Rumana , Siddiqi Kamran , Kanaan Mona , Huque Samina , Ullah Safat , Garg Suneela , Singh Mongjam Meghachandra , Deshmukh Chetana , Borle Amod L , Iqbal Romaina , Mazhar Laraib , Parascandola Mark , Mehrotra Ravi , Croucher Ray , Khan Zohaib
Published: September 2022

Introduction

Illicit smokeless tobacco (ST) trade has seldom been documented despite ST use in at least 127 countries across the world. Based on non-compliance with packaging regulations, we report the proportion of illicit ST products from samples on sale in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan where 85% of global ST users reside.

Methods

We purchased unique ST products from tobacco sellers in two purposively selected administrative areas (division/district) in each of the three countries. The criteria to determine illicit ST products were based on country-specific legal requirements for ST packaging and labelling. These requirements included: ‘market retail price disclosure’, ‘sale statement disclosure’, ‘pictorial health warning (PHW) pertinence’, ‘appropriate textual health warning’ and ‘using misleading descriptors (MDs)’. Non-compliance with even one of the legal requirements was considered to render the ST product illicit.

Results

Almost all ST products bought in Bangladesh and India were non-compliant with the local packaging requirements and hence potentially illicit, all products in Pakistan lacked desirable features. The most common feature missing was health warnings: 84% packs in Bangladesh, 93% in India, and 100% in Pakistan either did not have PHW or their sizes were too small. In Bangladesh, 61% packs carried MDs. In India and Pakistan, the proportions of such packs were 32% and 42%, respectively.

Conclusions

Weak and poorly enforced ST control policies may be slowing the progress of tobacco control in South Asia. Standardised regulations are required for packaging and labelling ST. Improving compliance and reducing sale of cheap illicit products may require business licensing and market surveillance.
Estimating live-bed local scour around bridge piers in cohesionless sediments: applicability and bias of selected models
Authors: Shahriar Azmayeen R. , Gabr Mohammed A. , Montoya Brina M. , Ortiz Alejandra C.
Published: September 2022

To design the foundation system of waterway bridges, Load and Resistance Factor Design guidelines suggest use of deterministic scour depth prediction models. Understanding the inherent bias of deterministic scour depth prediction models will advance the development of reliability index-based foundation design regime. Four bridge scour depth prediction models were assessed in terms of two statistical parameters, termed herein mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and conservatism, percentage of cases the predicted scour depth exceeded the measured scour depth. Live-bed laboratory and field scour depth databases were used in analyses to quantify model scatter by comparatively assessing the computed scour depth versus measured data. For live-bed laboratory data, values of MAPE ranged from 23.5% to 59.8%, whereas conservatism ranged from 28.4% to 97.8%. For live-bed field data, conservatism varied from 93.3% to 95.1%, while MAPE ranged from 205.6% to 319%. Statistical models were applied to ascertain the biasness of the four deterministic models. Accuracy and conservatism of a given model were consequently adjusted through proposed modification factors. The proposed approach allows for the selection of a suitable modification factor to satisfy a target probability of deceedance or a target conservatism.
(In)equivalence of metric-affine and metric effective field theories
Authors: Pradisi Gianfranco , Salvio Alberto
Published: September 2022

In a geometrical approach to gravity the metric and the (gravitational) connection can be independent and one deals with metric-affine theories. We construct the most general action of metric-affine effective field theories, including a generic matter sector, where the connection does not carry additional dynamical fields. Among other things, this helps in identifying the complement set of effective field theories where there are other dynamical fields, which can have an interesting phenomenology. Within the latter set, we study in detail a vast class where the Holst invariant (the contraction of the curvature with the Levi-Civita antisymmetric tensor) is a dynamical pseudoscalar. In the Einstein–Cartan case (where the connection is metric compatible and fermions can be introduced) we also comment on the possible phenomenological role of dynamical dark photons from torsion and compute interactions of the above-mentioned pseudoscalar with a generic matter sector and the metric. Finally, we show that in an arbitrary realistic metric-affine theory featuring a generic matter sector the equivalence principle always emerges at low energies without the need to postulate it.
Properties of bottomonia in a relativistic quark model
Authors: Naik N. S. Vipin , Monteiro Antony Prakash , Dsouza Praveen P. , Kumar K. B. Vijaya
Published: September 2022

The mass spectrum of [Formula: see text] states has been obtained using the phenomenological relativistic quark model (RQM). The Hamiltonian used in the investigation has confinement potential and confined one gluon exchange potential (COGEP). In the framework of RQM a study of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] radiative decays of [Formula: see text] states has been made. An overall agreement is obtained with the experimental masses and decay widths. The possibility that some of the excited [Formula: see text] wave [Formula: see text] states being exotic states is explored.
Robust nonparametric estimation for the volatility of financial market
Authors: Kao Chunyu , Song Yuping
Published: September 2022

The occurrence of a macroeconomic policy would lead to a jump of financial data and the presence of jump behaviors might make the statistical methods for high-frequency sampling data to face new challenges. This paper will use the threshold function technique to disentangle the continuous part and the jump part from the high frequency financial data. Moreover, in the financial practices, the abnormal observations contained in the data could cause bias from nonparametric estimation based on least squares. The paper will employ the local M estimation to provide a robust estimator for the unknown diffusion coefficient of the diffusion model with jumps under high frequency sampling data. Under certain conditions for the initial values, this paper further considers one-step local M estimation for the unknown diffusion coefficient which can reduce the calculation quantity under the estimation efficiency. The Monte Carlo numerical simulation results verify that compared with the local linear threshold estimator, the threshold one-step local M estimator is more accurate and more robust. Finally, the threshold one-step local M estimator in this paper is applied to the Shanghai composite index of 2015 and 2020 in China and the Nasdaq index of 2020 in USA, which illustrates the method considered in this paper possesses good finite sample properties.
Natural and anthropogenic halite karst subsidence in north Cheshire, UK; comparison of Rostherne Mere, Melchett Mere, Tatton Mere and their surroundings
Authors: Serridge Colin J. , Cooper Anthony H.
Published: September 2022

Most of the north Cheshire (Knutsford Group) of meres (lakes) in the UK formed naturally by dissolution of Triassic halite after the Devensian glaciation. Anthropogenic brine extraction in the 19th and 20th centuries produced further subsidence that enlarged some meres and formed the new lake of Melchett Mere. The characteristic features of three meres, Rostherne, Melchett and Tatton, are compared here by historical surveys, maps, photographs and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) interpretations. These illustrate the similarities of the natural and anthropogenic subsidence features, which can be separated only by temporal evidence of their formation. Rostherne Mere and Tatton Mere are mainly natural, though deepened or made larger by anthropogenic salt dissolution; Melchett Mere is completely anthropogenic and mainly formed between 1927 and 2003. All three meres are surrounded by landslip scars related to the subsidence. Former brine pumping at Northwich, Plumley and possibly Agden is implicated in the formation of Melchett Mere and the reactivation of natural subsidence at Rostherne and Tatton meres plus The Mere along with Tabley, Pickmere and Budworth meres to the SW. The brine run linkages between these abstraction areas and the subsidence cross the route of the proposed HS2 railway.
Structural setting of the Ischia resurgent caldera (southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) by integrated 3D gravity inversion and geological models
Authors: Marotta Enrica , Berrino Giovanna , de Vita Sandro , Di Vito Mauro , Camacho Antonio G.
Published: September 2022

The structural setting of the Ischia resurgent caldera and its magmatic system has been investigated by a joint interpretation of a 3D inversion of previously collected gravimetric data and all the available geological, geophysical and petrological data.

Starting from the available Bouguer gravity map of the Neapolitan volcanic area and a previous 2.5D modelling, a selection of on land and offshore gravity data has been used to perform a 3D inversion, adapting and merging the basic ideas of two already tested methods, used to detect isolated bodies and layered discontinuities respectively.

The base of the map is a set of gravity values, covering the whole Neapolitan volcanic area and the Gulf of Naples, which results from the union of 862 offshore and about 2000 on land extant gravity data, made uniform and re-analysed.

The final model proposed here allows us to outline a very detailed and well-constrained structural setting of the crustal sector beneath Ischia. In particular, the 3D gravity inversion allowed us to outline a body with negative density contrast under Mt Epomeo, interpreted as the resurgent block, and to describe the magmatic system underneath it as a complex system of intrusions, rather than a uniformly distributed laccolithic body.
EMPRESS: Accelerating Scientific Discovery through Descriptive Metadata Management
Authors: Lawson Margaret , Gropp William , Lofstead Jay
Published: September 2022

High-performance computing scientists are producing unprecedented volumes of data that take a long time to load for analysis. However, many analyses only require loading in the data containing particular features of interest and scientists have many approaches for identifying these features. Therefore, if scientists store information (descriptive metadata) about these identified features, then for subsequent analyses they can use this information to only read in the data containing these features. This can greatly reduce the amount of data that scientists have to read in, thereby accelerating analysis. Despite the potential benefits of descriptive metadata management, no prior work has created a descriptive metadata system that can help scientists working with a wide range of applications and analyses to restrict their reads to data containing features of interest. In this article, we present EMPRESS, the first such solution. EMPRESS offers all of the features needed to help accelerate discovery: It can accelerate analysis by up to 300 ×, supports a wide range of applications and analyses, is high-performing, is highly scalable, and requires minimal storage space. In addition, EMPRESS offers features required for a production-oriented system: scalable metadata consistency techniques, flexible system configurations, fault tolerance as a service, and portability.
A Disk Failure Prediction Method Based on Active Semi-supervised Learning
Authors: Zhou Yang , Wang Fang , Feng Dan
Published: September 2022

Disk failure has always been a major problem for data centers, leading to data loss. Current disk failure prediction approaches are mostly offline and assume that the disk labels required for training learning models are available and accurate. However, these offline methods are no longer suitable for disk failure prediction tasks in large-scale data centers. Behind this explosive amount of data, most methods do not consider whether it is not easy to get the label values during the training or the obtained label values are not completely accurate. These problems further restrict the development of supervised learning and offline modeling in disk failure prediction. In this article, Active Semi-supervised Learning Disk-failure Prediction (
ASLDP
), a novel disk failure prediction method is proposed, which uses active learning and semi-supervised learning. According to the characteristics of data in the disk lifecycle,
ASLDP
carries out active learning for those clear labeled samples, which selects valuable samples with the most significant probability uncertainty and eliminates redundancy. For those samples that are unclearly labeled or unlabeled,
ASLDP
uses semi-supervised learning for pre-labeled by calculating the conditional values of the samples and enhances the generalization ability by active learning. Compared with several state-of-the-art offline and online learning approaches, the results on four realistic datasets from Backblaze and Baidu demonstrate that
ASLDP
achieves stable failure detection rates of 80–85% with low false alarm rates. In addition, we use a dataset from Alibaba to evaluate the generality of
ASLDP
. Furthermore,
ASLDP
can overcome the problem of missing sample labels and data redundancy in large data centers, which are not considered and implemented in all offline learning methods for disk failure prediction to the best of our knowledge. Finally,
ASLDP
can predict the disk failure 4.9 days in advance with lower overhead and latency.
An Accurate Non-accelerometer-based PPG Motion Artifact Removal Technique using CycleGAN
Authors: Afandizadeh Zargari Amir Hosein , Aqajari Seyed Amir Hossein , Khodabandeh Hadi , Rahmani Amir , Kurdahi Fadi
Published: September 2022

A
photoplethysmography (PPG)
is an uncomplicated and inexpensive optical technique widely used in the healthcare domain to extract valuable health-related information, e.g., heart rate variability, blood pressure, and respiration rate. PPG signals can easily be collected continuously and remotely using portable wearable devices. However, these measuring devices are vulnerable to motion artifacts caused by daily life activities. The most common ways to eliminate motion artifacts use extra accelerometer sensors, which suffer from two limitations: (i) high power consumption, and (ii) the need to integrate an accelerometer sensor in a wearable device (which is not required in certain wearables). This paper proposes a low-power non-accelerometer-based PPG motion artifacts removal method outperforming the accuracy of the existing methods. We use Cycle Generative Adversarial Network to reconstruct clean PPG signals from noisy PPG signals. Our novel machine-learning-based technique achieves 9.5 times improvement in motion artifact removal compared to the state-of-the-art without using extra sensors such as an accelerometer, which leads to 45% improvement in energy efficiency.
Examining Disease Multimorbidity in U.S. Hospital Visits Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Graph Analytics Approach
Authors: Srinivasan Karthik , Jiang Jinhang
Published: September 2022

Enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems can be preempted by identifying patterns in diseases recorded in hospital visits over time. Disease multimorbidity or simultaneous occurrence of multiple diseases is a growing global public health challenge as populations age and long-term conditions become more prevalent. We propose a graph analytics framework for analyzing disease multimorbidity in hospital visits. Within the framework, we propose a graph model to explain multimorbidity as a function of prevalence, category, and chronic nature of the underlying disease. We apply our model to examine and compare multimorbidity patterns in public hospitals in Arizona, U.S., during five six-month time periods before and during the pandemic. We observe that while multimorbidity increased by 34.26% and 41.04% during peak pandemic for mental disorders and respiratory disorders respectively, the gradients for endocrine diseases and circulatory disorders were not significant. Multimorbidity for acute conditions is observed to be decreasing during the pandemic while multimorbidity for chronic conditions remains unchanged. Our graph analytics framework provides guidelines for empirical analysis of disease multimorbidity using electronic health records. The patterns identified using our proposed graph model informs future research and healthcare policy makers for pre-emptive decision making.
Trip Reinforcement Recommendation with Graph-based Representation Learning
Authors: Chen Lei , Cao Jie , Tao Haicheng , Wu Jia
Published: September 2022

Tourism is an important industry and a popular leisure activity involving billions of tourists per annum. One challenging problem tourists face is identifying attractive Places-of-Interest (POIs) and planning the personalized trip with time constraints. Most of the existing trip recommendation methods mainly consider POI popularity and user preferences, and focus on the last visited POI when choosing the next POI. However, the visit patterns and their asymmetry property have not been fully exploited. To this end, in this article, we present a GRM-RTrip (short for
G
raph-based
R
epresentation
M
ethod for
R
einforce
Trip
Recommendation) framework. GRM-RTrip learns POI representations from incoming and outgoing views to obtain asymmetric POI-POI transition probability via POI-POI graph networks, and then fuses the trained POI representation into a user-POI graph network to estimate user preferences. Finally, after formulating the personalized trip recommendation as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), we utilize a reinforcement learning algorithm for generating a personalized trip with maximal user travel experience. Extensive experiments are performed on the public datasets and the results demonstrate the superiority of GRM-RTrip compared with the state-of-the-art trip recommendation methods.