bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on the interaction between a screw dislocation and circular holes or rigid inclusions by using the angular basis function in conjunction with bipolar coordinates
Authors: Chen Jeng-Tzong , Kao Shing-Kai , Tai Wei-Chen , Lee Ying-Te , Lee Jia-Wei , Chou Yen-Ting
Published: April 2022

In this paper, the degenerate kernel in conjunction with the bipolar coordinates is employed to solve the anti-plane problems of interaction between a screw dislocation and circular holes or rigid inclusions. Once the degenerate kernel of the angular basis function (ABF) is provided in terms of the bipolar coordinates, the analytical solution for cases of one or two circular holes and rigid inclusions can be derived. Not only the radial basis function (RBF) but also the ABF is used. First, the observer objectivity of the degenerate kernel in terms of the bipolar coordinates is examined numerically. A special case, one circular hole or rigid inclusion, is considered to demonstrate the validity of the present approach. Finally, the cases containing two circular holes and two circular rigid inclusions were examined. The comparison between available results and ours is well done. Besides, for the solutions of two holes and rigid inclusions, it is interesting to find that the present method provides an analytical solution with a series form of explicitly determined coefficients, while the coefficients provided by the complex variable need to be determined using the recursive formulae.
Timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution influences cardiac function in healthy cats
Authors: Tuleski Giovana LR , Pscheidt Maria Jose Garcia Ribeiro , dos Santos Júlio Pereira , Sousa Marlos Gonçalves
Published: April 2022

Objectives

The aim of this study was to ascertain the effect of a drop of timolol 0.5% ophthalmic solution on the systolic function of the left ventricle (LV) and left atrium (LA), and to confirm if timolol helped appraisal of diastolic function by reducing heart rate (HR) and separating the transmitral outflow waves from tissue Doppler imaging (TDI).

Methods

A total of 41 client-owned healthy cats underwent two echocardiograms 20 mins apart. The timolol group (33 cats) received a drop of timolol solution after the first examination. Standard and speckle-tracking echocardiography evaluated the LV and LA function of both groups at the two time points evaluated.

Results

Timolol reduced HR (19%), and fractional shortening from LV (20.3%) and LA (16.6%). Septal S' decreased by 51% (from 7.7 to 5.2 cm/s) and lateral S’ dropped by 43.1% (7.3 to 5.1 cm/s). Most longitudinal techniques did not change after timolol, including the mitral annular plane systolic excursion from the interventricular annulus, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, LV longitudinal strain and LV tissue motion annular displacement. The isovolumic relaxation time increased by 15.2% (from 54 to 64.6 ms), with most cats presenting this variable above the reference (>60 ms). Timolol did not support diastolic assessment, enabling evaluation in only 2/11 cats when using lateral TDI and 1/9 cats using septal TDI. Regarding side effects, miosis occurred in 18 cats (54.5%).

Conclusions and relevance

Timolol reduced systolic function, decreasing standard echocardiographic variables. Regarding diastolic evaluation, although timolol decreased HR, it did not separate the mitral diastolic waves, as expected.
Covid-19: The cultural constructions of a global crisis
Authors: Frosh Paul , Georgiou Myria
Published: April 2022

This is the Introduction to the special issue on Covid-19 and the cultural constructions of a global crisis. Contextualizing understandings of the pandemic in relation to the concepts of ‘event’ and ‘crisis’, especially to the idea that modernity is itself a condition of perpetual crisis, it proposes that the pandemic is a crisis-event that catalyses new possibilities for making visible endemic inequalities and injustices across highly variable cultural and social domains, from the personal to the global. Always open to containment and appropriation, this crisis of visibility and invisibility is discussed as it pertains to the body, to space and social proximity, and to media and mediation. The individual contributions to the special issue are introduced in relation to these topics.
Managing diverse workforce: How to safeguard skilled migrants’ self-efficacy and commitment
Authors: Afshari Leila
Published: April 2022

This study aims to uncover the organizational and contextual factors undermining skilled migrants’ professional development and their contributions to host economies. Drawing from the Conservation of Resources Theory, this research developed an integrated model to investigate the effects of most prevalent internal and external factors of burnout and limited career alternatives on skilled migrants’ organizational commitment. The model incorporates mediating roles of professional self-efficacy and career turnover intention to demonstrate how depletion of resources through burnout leads to further resource losses by negatively impacting employees' intentions about their career continuity and professional self-efficacy and, ultimately, undermines their organizational commitment. This research provides managers of cross-cultural workplaces with insights into the critical role of supportive resources in leveraging the untapped intellectual capital brought to host organizations by skilled migrants. This study suggests that the availability of career options can maximize skilled migrants’ contributions to organizations.
Ethical considerations in the treatment of chronic psychosis in a periviable pregnancy
Authors: Nguyen Michelle T. , Rafla-Yuan Eric , Boyd Emily , Mccullough Laurence B. , Chervenak Frank A. , Dossett Emily C.
Published: April 2022

Background: Treatment of psychotic disorders in pregnancy is often ethically and clinically challenging, especially when psychotic symptoms impair decision-making capacity. There are several competing ethical obligations to consider: the ethical obligation to maternal autonomy, the maternal and fetal beneficence-based obligations to treat peripartum psychosis, and the fetal beneficence-based obligation to minimize teratogenic exposure. Objective: This article outlines an ethical framework for clinical decision-making for the management of chronic psychosis in pregnancy, with an emphasis on special considerations in the previable and periviable period. Case Presentation: A 31-year-old gravida 2, para 1 with intrauterine pregnancy at 12 weeks and 4 days gestation was brought to the emergency department by her husband seven months after delivering her first child, due to sudden onset of behavioral changes that included self-isolation, not eating, and not taking care of her child. Her past medical history included hypothyroidism and inflammatory bowel disease, but no prior psychiatric illness. After being admitted to the psychiatric hospital, she continued to have poor oral intake and weight loss despite initial inpatient treatment with antipsychotics, levothyroxine, and discontinuation of corticosteroids. Her pregnancy was also complicated by the diagnosis of multiple fetal anomalies at 20 weeks gestation, when the fetus was periviable. Conclusions: For previable or periviable pregnancies, the patient and/or surrogate should decide whether to pursue prenatal genetic screening and invasive diagnostic testing, as well as whether to continue or terminate the pregnancy. When the choice is made to continue the pregnancy, initiation of long-term psychiatric treatment (including medications with potential adverse fetal effects) should be based on shared decision-making between the physician and the patient and/or surrogate. Although some pharmacologic interventions may have potential adverse effects on the developing fetus, the use of psychotropic medications can be ethically justified, even if the patient herself does not have the capacity to consent and requires a surrogate, when the goal is to restore maternal autonomy and minimize the risks of maternal and fetal harm from untreated psychiatric illness.
Carotid artery stenting without embolic protection: A randomized multicenter trial (the CASWEP trial)
Authors: Gorgulu Sevket , Sahin Muslum , Norgaz Niyazi Tugrul , Pala Selçuk , Sarı Munevver , Yalcin Ahmet Arif , Sipahi Ilke
Published: April 2022

Background

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) with a carotid protection device (CPD) has become the standard practice in patients with severe carotid stenosis and high surgical risk. However, the clinical efficacy and safety of CPDs are still controversial issues. We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of the CAS without CPD with CAS combined with CPD.

Methods

This is a multicenter randomized prospective study registered with http://clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02781181). After the exclusion, 279 patients were enrolled (139 patients in the CAS with CPD group and 140 patients in the CAS without CPD group). The primary outcome was a combination of peri-procedural in-hospital transient ischemic attack (TIA), ipsilateral stroke, or death. The secondary outcome was new ischemic brain lesions on post-procedural diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI).

Results

Two patients died in CAS without CPD group, one patient died in CAS with CPD group. TIA was only seen in patients who underwent CAS under protection (n = 5). The combined primary outcome of TIA, ipsilateral stroke, and death rate was not different between groups (5.7% vs. 2.8%; p = 0.254). New defects were noted on the post-procedural DW-MRI in 28% of patients in the CPD group and 27% of patients in the no CPD group (p = 0.881).

Conclusions

This study suggests that CAS without CPD is not associated with higher rates of peri-procedural TIA, stroke, and death or new ischemic brain lesions on post-procedural DW-MRI compared to CAS with CPD in selected symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with significant carotid artery stenosis provided that there is no visible thrombus.
Post-cholecystectomy bile reflux gastritis: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical characteristics
Authors: Othman Amira AA , Dwedar Amal AZ , ElSadek Hany M , AbdElAziz Hesham R , Abdelrahman Abeer AF
Published: April 2022

Objective

Bile reflux gastritis is caused by the backward flow of duodenal fluid into the stomach. A retrospective cohort study was performed to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of bile reflux gastritis postcholecystectomy, and to evaluate the endoscopic and histopathologic changes in gastric mucosa.

Methods

Patients with refractory upper abdominal pain right below the ribs with symptoms of bloating, burping, nausea, vomiting, and bile regurgitation during the period from January 2018 to December 2020, submitted to Zagazig University Hospitals were enrolled in this study. The studied 64 patients were divided into two groups; the control group (CG): 30 subjects who had never undergone any biliary interventions, and the post-cholecystectomy group (PCG): 34 patients who had undergone cholecystectomy.

Results

The prevalence of bile reflux gastritis was (16.7%) and (61.8%) in CG and PCG, respectively. Diabetes, obesity, elevated gastric bilirubin, and elevated stomach pH were all risk factors for bile reflux gastritis in both groups ( r  =  .28,.48,.78,.57 respectively) . Age, sex, epigastric pain, heartburn, vomiting, and the existence of bile reflux gastritis, on the other hand, had no correlation.

Discussion

After a cholecystectomy, bile reflux gastritis is prevalent, especially among obese and diabetic patients.
Global citizenship education as a project for decoloniality
Authors: Pillay Thashika , Karsgaard Carrie
Published: April 2022

Youth from every continent used online tools to exchange ideas, debate alternatives, and create a document that represents their voice on the relationship education should have with global citizenship: the International Youth White Paper on Global Citizenship. This paper applies de Sousa Santos’ sociology of absences and emergences to trace the ways in which the White Paper extends—and limits—decolonial thought in relation to global citizenship education. Through document analysis of the White Paper, we note particularly the students’ emphasis on a decolonial and processual notion of relationality that challenges current neoliberal notions of the global community and instead is oriented toward justice. Further, the students connect political resistance to epistemological resistance, asserting that diverse ways of being, knowing, and seeing are necessary to ensuring those who are marginalized are included in the decision making processes that affect their lives.
Phytochemistry and Antioxidant Activities of Rhus tripartitum (Ucria) Grande Leaf and Fruit Phenolics, Essential Oils, and Fatty Acids
Authors: Jallali Inès , Zaouali Yosr , Mkadmini Khaoula , Smaoui Abderrazek , Abdelly Chedly , Ksouri Riadh
Published: April 2022

Rhus tripartitum (Ucria) Grande leaves and fruits were investigated for their contents in phenolic compounds, essential oils, and fatty acids. Chemical composition and antioxidant potential of these secondary metabolites were investigated using chromatographic tools and different antioxidant tests. Results displayed high amounts of phenolic compounds in leaves, concomitant with important antioxidant potentialities, probably due to their richness in phenolic acids and flavonoids as identified by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Amounts of essential oils were higher in leaves. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes are exclusively synthesized by the fruits, expressing better antioxidant activities.
Comparison of Chemical Compositions and Antioxidant Activities of Fresh and Dried Rosa roxburghii Tratt Fruit
Authors: Yan Guanyu , Zheng Peiyan , Weng Shaoquan , Zhang Yida , Xu Wenliu , Luo Jiaying , Fei Jianjun , Wang Jingxian , Zhang Hui , Hu Haisheng , Sun Baoqing
Published: April 2022

Fresh fruit of Rosa roxburghii Tratt has attracted great interest and is used in many functional products in China. However, fresh fruits are perishable products with quite short shelf lives and few studies have focused on dried fruits. Therefore, this study aimed to explore whether the drying process can be used to preserve bioactive components of R roxburghii fruits by comparing phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities between fresh and dried fruit. As result, a total of 95 compounds, mainly including organic acids, phenols, and flavonoids, were identified in fresh and dried fruits by using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry. The relative quantitative result showed that contents of phenols and acylamide were significantly higher ( p  < .05) in dried fruit. Furthermore, dried fruit showed stronger antioxidant activity by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging ability and ferric reducing antioxidant power. This research suggested that dried R roxburghii fruit could be considered a more effective and economical health and functional source for functional food and industry.
Proliferative flexor tenosynovitis in the index finger of a 10-year-old baseball player gloved hand: A case report
Authors: Tajika Tsuyoshi , Saito Kenichi , Tomomatsu Yusuke , Kuboi Takuro , Hatori Yuhei , Hirato Junko , Yanagawa Takashi , Chikuda Hirotaka
Published: April 2022

Flexor tenosynovitis is rare in young children. This case report describes that of a 10-year-old boy with diffuse swelling of the left index finger, pain when catching a ball, and progressive inability for full flexing of the finger 2 months after starting baseball play. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a defined lesion with iso-signal intensity to muscle on T1-weighted imaging, and with high signal intensity to muscle on T2-weighted imaging. It was enhanced in T1-weighted fat suppression imaging with gadolinium enhancement. Surgical excision relieved the symptom. Histopathological findings mainly indicated proliferation of synoviocytes and plasma cell and lymphocyte infiltration. We speculated that the physical impact of the ball on the left index finger of his gloved hand during catching activated some immunological mechanism and thereby caused nonspecific tenosynovitis in this young baseball player. Awareness of this pathophysiology might raise confidence in proper diagnosis for assessing the swelling of fingers in young baseball players.
Why do citizens prefer high-skilled immigrants to low-skilled immigrants? Identifying causal mechanisms of immigration preferences with a survey experiment
Authors: Igarashi Akira , Miwa Hirofumi , Ono Yoshikuni
Published: April 2022

Why do citizens prefer high-skilled immigrants to low-skilled immigrants? To understand the causal mechanism behind this tendency among citizens, we conducted a vignette survey experiment that enables us to clarify the role of multiple mediators. We specifically focused on three key factors that have been proposed in existing research as those that could lead citizens to welcome high-skilled immigrants: expectations of economic contribution, welfare contribution, and small crime potential. We found that the skill premium was fully eliminated when natives were informed that immigrants would be engaged in low-skill jobs in the host country, which underscores the essential role that post-migration work plays in the acceptance of immigrants by natives. Our findings provide suggestive evidence that natives welcome high-skilled immigrants simply because they expect economic benefits from high-skilled immigrants, not because they expect them to contribute to welfare or be less likely to commit crimes.
The Financial Inclusion Development and Its Impacts on Disposable Income
Authors: Mahmood Salman , shuhui Wen , Aslam Shoaib , Ahmed Tanveer
Published: April 2022

The study examines the dimension of financial inclusion from the beneficiaries’ perspective (on the demand side). In addition, the present study seeks to determine the relationship between financial inclusion and the disposable income of Pakistani households. The results revealed four significant dimensions to predict financial inclusion (access, availability, usage, and cost). Furthermore, the results also revealed that financial inclusion significantly and directly and indirectly impacts disposable income. Thus, this research emphasizes that inclusion in the formal financial system can enhance the disposable income of low-income urban households and assist them in combating poverty. Further, this investigation is among the earliest to provide a demand-side perspective to measure the ﬁnancial inclusion dimensions of the “most financially excluded” group (low-income urban households in Pakistan). Besides, this study advances the literature on financial inclusion and disposable income. It attempts to adequately bridge the gap in the literature by examining the relationship between financial inclusion and disposable income among low-income urban households by employing the structural equation modeling approach.
Learning to Live With Ambiguity: Rethinking Ambiguous Loss for Mothers of Children With Disabilities
Authors: Lee Yoon Joo , Park Hye Jun , Lee Seung Yeon
Published: April 2022

The purpose of this study was to explore the mothering experiences of children with disabilities. The theory of ambiguous loss was applied to interpret the meanings that mothers give to the process of caregiving and the ways they stay proactive in the midst of challenges. Eleven mothers of children ages 6 to 35 with various disabilities participated in in-depth interviews to talk about their child’s educational history, their family’s routine, and the rewards and challenges of raising a child with disabilities. Findings illustrate that the mothers faced different experiences of ambiguity depending on the visible or invisible nature of their child’s disabilities. However, regardless of the nature of the disabilities, the mothers had learned to live with ambiguity in the face of new and continuous challenges. They did this by redefining their lives through maintaining valued identities as mothers and redefining the meaning of family. Findings also imply that the scope of ambiguous loss needs to be expanded.
Striving for Protection: Whistleblowers in Jordan
Authors: Alshoubaki Wa’ed , Harris Michael
Published: April 2022

Whistleblowers take it upon themselves to protect public goods and resources by blowing the whistle on corruption. Yet, they are at risk of facing retaliation from their employers, as well as of experiencing firing, unfair appraisal, and isolation at work. In this article, we investigate the extent of whistleblower protection in Jordan. We discuss whistleblowers’ significant role in reporting wrongdoings and fighting corruption, as well as the price that whistleblowers pay to protect the public interest. In this study, we used the protection analysis approach by identifying the potential risks to which whistleblowers are exposed. Specifically, we used official documents analysis. The results are based on the analysis of Jordanian laws and policies, regional and international conventions, the investigation of whistleblower cases in the media, transparency international reports, and the Jordan Transparency Center. The review of spoken whistleblower cases revealed that legal policies stipulate protection; still, whistleblowers in Jordan face retaliation. We recommend considering judicial review to close the loopholes and to include protection principles into the rules of organizations’ procedures to provide better guarantees for protecting whistleblowers in Jordan.
Contextual Navigation: Towards a Holistic Conceptualization of Negotiating Sexual Identity in Context
Authors: Parmenter Joshua G. , Galliher Renee V. , Maughan Adam D. A.
Published: April 2022

The negotiation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) identities while navigating between LGBTQ+ and cis-heterodominant cultural contexts may parallel some processes observed in acculturation experiences within communities of color. 14 LGBTQ+ emerging adults (20–25 years) located within the United States participated in semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups aimed at exploring sexual identity negotiation. Findings yielded three major themes regarding negotiating sexual identity within context: 1) Awareness of Context, 2) Negotiation Behaviors (i.e., “Having a Foot in Both”; “Move it to the Back-burner”; Negotiating Identities within a Saliency Hierarchy; Cis-Heteronormative Scripts and Straight-Passing; Disclosure Methods), and 3) Acculturative Stress During Identity Negotiation. Using an interpretative phenomenological approach, the present study yielded the concept of contextual navigation to help explain the on-going adaptive process of negotiating one’s sexual identity across various U.S. sociocultural contexts. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Attitude and motivation of arab learners learning chinese language in china
Authors: Aatif Mohammed
Published: April 2022

Attitude and motivation play a fundamental and complementary role in the learning process of any foreign language acquisition. Correspondingly, Previous studies have indicated that learners' high attitude and motivation always help them acquire foreign languages efficiently. However, the present study investigated whether Arab learners are integratively or instrumentally motivated to learn Chinese as a foreign language in China. Likewise, how attitude could affect their learning. 271 Arab learners from 10 different nationalities participated in this study. The study was a mixed-methods design, and data were collected through a questionnaire then followed by semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics analysis, means and standard deviations using SPSS 25 were employed to analyse collected data. The findings of this study revealed that Arab learners have positive attitudes and motivations to learn Chinese language. Additionally, they were a bit high integratively motivated toward learning Chinese language. This study has concluded limitations and recommendations to help institutions and interested researchers shed light on these further research studies.
Predictive Model of the Psychological Well-Being of Nursing Students During the COVID-19 Lockdown
Authors: Gonçalves Lourenço Tânia Marlene , da Silva Reis Ana Catarina Rodrigues , Sáez Alvarez Enrique Jesús , Abreu-Figueiredo Rita Maria Sousa , Charepe Zaida Borges , Marques Goreti , Franco Gonçalves Maria Luísa Vieira
Published: April 2022

Introduction

Lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic radically changed nursing education. Along with social isolation, the transition to distance education affected the well-being of students in several countries, particularly Portugal and Spain.

Objectives

To identify which variables are predictors of psychological well-being for Portuguese and Spanish nursing students during mandatory lockdowns.

Methods

A multicenter, cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study involving a sample of 1075 students (944 women, mean age 22.46 + /−4.95 years). Data were collected from an online questionnaire which applied the following scales: Perceived Stress Scale (α = .820); Brief COPE-14 Subscales (α = .430 < 0.930); Well-being Manifestations Measure Scale (α = .940); Herth Hope Index (α = .850). A multiple regression model was created to predict the psychological well-being of nursing students.

Results

The following predictor variables were identified in the model of the psychological well-being of students during the COVID-19 pandemic: perceived stress ( β = .405; p ≤ .001); hope ( β = .404; p ≤ .001); and the mechanisms of active coping ( β = .405; p ≤ .001), planning ( β = .097; p ≤ .001), and positive reinterpretation ( β = .053; p  =  .12). These five variables predicted 62.0% of the nursing students’ psychological well-being ( R2 = .620; F  =  350.82; p ≤ .001).

Conclusion

Promoting students’ mental health is essential, especially in periods of great adversity, such as a pandemic. Our results lead the way for the design and validation of an intervention program that addresses the five variables identified as predictors of students’ psychological well-being.
Covid-19 and Ukrainian Crisis Exponentiates the Need for the Inclusion of Conflict and Disaster Medicine in Medical Curriculum
Authors: Jain Nityanand , Prasad Sakshi , Bordeniuc Alina , Tanasov Andrei , Cheuk Chun Pong , Panag Deepkanwar Singh , S´wia˛tek Dorota , Platos Emilia , Betka Marta Maria , Senica Simone Oliver , Patel Shiv , Czárth Zsófia Csenge , Jain Shivani , Reinis Aigars
Published: April 2022

Conflict medicine is an age-old branch of medicine which focuses on delivering healthcare services to the injured in the setting of conflicts, wars, disasters, and/or other calamities. The course in its purest form has been traditionally given only in military medical schools while civilian medical students are usually taught parts of the course in other overlapping subjects like surgery, infectious diseases, etc. However, in a crisis situation, civilian doctors are expected to double up as military doctors, which leads to emotional, mental, and physical stress for the civilian doctors along with logistical and organizational challenges. The current Covid-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian conflict have highlighted once again the emergent need for the implementation of conflict medicine courses in regular medical curricula, so as to make the medical students situation-ready. With our present discussion, we aim to provide a brief overview of the course, its core modules, challenges to its implementation, and possible solutions. We believe that the complex management skills gained by this course are not only useful in conflict scenario but are also valuable in managing day-to-day medical emergencies.
New algorithms for generating isovist field and isovist measurements
Authors: Hosseini Alamdari Arash , Daneshjoo Khosro , Yeganeh Mansour
Published: April 2022

Isovist fields are powerful tools for expressing and analyzing spatial configurations. There is also useful software that allows one to calculate the isovist field variables. However, the complexity and the speed of the isovist field production algorithms have limited the diverse uses of isovist fields as a spatial configuration expressive model. In this paper, we present an algorithm for generating the isovist field which is simpler than the rivals. This algorithm relies on calculating the isovist for the corner points before generating the isovist fields. A complementary algorithm is also proposed which quickly updates isovist field calculations after limited changes in the environment take place. The speeds of these two algorithms are also checked here in real cases and are compared to the well-known fast algorithms. In addition, more efficient methods are proposed to calculate variables related to distance-to-the-walls metrics within an isovist. This method, which is fast and accurate, uses slices of isovist as a base to calculate these variables with the help of integral calculations. We hope these methods accelerate the evolution of isovist field models and help make algorithmic design based on isovist fields a more convenient technique.
Household choices of sanitation infrastructure and impact on disease in India
Authors: Tiwari Piyush , Tirumala Raghu Dharmapuri , Shukla Jyoti
Published: April 2022

In the recent past, there has been a substantial push to increase the sanitation infrastructure in India to end open defecation and improve level of hygiene. The choice of the type of sanitation, however, depends on demographic, socio-economic, tenurial, cultural and sanitation surroundings, which not only impacts sanitation practices but also incidences of diseases. This paper empirically analyses the determinants of households’ choice of toilet facility and the relation between incidence of diseases and sanitation using National Sample Survey Office’s 76th round of the survey for 2018-19. The results indicate that the social, economic and cultural factors have significant impact on the households’ choices of a toilet. There is a preference for flush type toilets connected to a sewer among households with better socio-economic status. This research finds that the quality of microenvironment within which a household lives has a significant impact on the incidence of disease. The results imply that the interventions for improved sanitation need to be holistic, emphasising microenvironment improvement and providing better access to sanitation infrastructure and inculcating more hygienic behavioural practices.
The “ghost neighborhood” phenomenon in China—geographic locations and intra-urban spatial patterns
Authors: Shi Lifeng , Leichtle Tobias , Wurm Michael , Taubenböck Hannes
Published: April 2022

The phenomenon of “ghost cities” in China has attracted much attention in the past decade. However, the exact areal extents, specific spatial characteristics and economic development conditions of this phenomenon have been rarely investigated and recorded at intra-urban scale throughout China. Against this background, we base our study on a recently published “ghost neighborhood” map of entire China, and we analyze their geographic locations using multiple spatial metrics and categorization approaches at an intra-urban scale. The main results are as follows: 1) we categorize “ghost neighborhoods” into seven representative intra-urban pattern types across China; 2) the newly built “ghost neighborhoods” (after 2001) are mainly concentrated in thriving cities, while a small number of old “ghost neighborhoods” (before 2000) are found in resource depleted areas, that is, in cities of decline; 3) the newly built “ghost neighborhoods” are generally located at the urban edge, far away from city centers, while old “ghost neighborhoods” are found within the built-up area and spatially closer to city centers. Additionally, we relate general processes of urbanization in China with the representative types of “ghost neighborhoods.”
Accurate and highly interpretable prediction of gene expression from histone modifications
Authors: Frasca Fabrizio , Matteucci Matteo , Leone Michele , Morelli Marco J. , Masseroli Marco
Published: April 2022

Background

Histone Mark Modifications (HMs) are crucial actors in gene regulation, as they actively remodel chromatin to modulate transcriptional activity: aberrant combinatorial patterns of HMs have been connected with several diseases, including cancer. HMs are, however, reversible modifications: understanding their role in disease would allow the design of ‘epigenetic drugs’ for specific, non-invasive treatments. Standard statistical techniques were not entirely successful in extracting representative features from raw HM signals over gene locations. On the other hand, deep learning approaches allow for effective automatic feature extraction, but at the expense of model interpretation.

Results

Here, we propose ShallowChrome, a novel computational pipeline to model transcriptional regulation via HMs in both an accurate and interpretable way. We attain state-of-the-art results on the binary classification of gene transcriptional states over 56 cell-types from the REMC database, largely outperforming recent deep learning approaches. We interpret our models by extracting insightful gene-specific regulative patterns, and we analyse them for the specific case of the PAX5 gene over three differentiated blood cell lines. Finally, we compare the patterns we obtained with the characteristic emission patterns of ChromHMM, and show that ShallowChrome is able to coherently rank groups of chromatin states w.r.t. their transcriptional activity.

Conclusions

In this work we demonstrate that it is possible to model HM-modulated gene expression regulation in a highly accurate, yet interpretable way. Our feature extraction algorithm leverages on data downstream the identification of enriched regions to retrieve gene-wise, statistically significant and dynamically located features for each HM. These features are highly predictive of gene transcriptional state, and allow for accurate modeling by computationally efficient logistic regression models. These models allow a direct inspection and a rigorous interpretation, helping to formulate quantifiable hypotheses.
Effect of lipid-lowering medications in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting surgery outcomes
Authors: Shi Chunxia , Zhang Zugui , Goldhammer Jordan , Li David , Kiaii Bob , Rudriguez Victor , Boyd Douglas , Lubarsky David , Applegate Richard , Liu Hong
Published: April 2022

Background

Increased life expectancy and improved medical technology allow increasing numbers of elderly patients to undergo cardiac surgery. Elderly patients may be at greater risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality. Complications can lead to worsened quality of life, shortened life expectancy and higher healthcare costs. Reducing perioperative complications, especially severe adverse events, is key to improving outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The objective of this study is to determine whether perioperative lipid-lowering medication use is associated with a reduced risk of complications and mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods

After IRB approval, we reviewed charts of 9,518 patients who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB at three medical centers between July 2001 and June 2015. The relationship between perioperative lipid-lowering treatment and postoperative outcome was investigated. 3,988 patients who underwent CABG met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Patients were divided into lipid-lowering or non-lipid-lowering treatment groups.

Results

A total of 3,988 patients were included in the final analysis. Compared to the patients without lipid-lowering medications, the patients with lipid-lowering medications had lower postoperative neurologic complications and overall mortality (P < 0.05). Propensity weighted risk-adjustment showed that lipid-lowering medication reduced in-hospital total complications (odds ratio (OR) = 0.856; 95% CI 0.781–0.938; P < 0.001); all neurologic complications (OR = 0.572; 95% CI 0.441–0.739; P < 0.001) including stroke (OR = 0.481; 95% CI 0.349–0.654; P < 0.001); in-hospital mortality (OR = 0.616; 95% CI 0.432–0.869; P = 0.006; P < 0.001); and overall mortality (OR = 0.723; 95% CI 0.634–0.824; P < 0.001). In addition, the results indicated postoperative lipid-lowering medication use was associated with improved long-term survival in this patient population.

Conclusions

Perioperative lipid-lowering medication use was associated with significantly reduced postoperative adverse events and improved overall outcome in elderly patients undergoing CABG surgery with CPB.
Threshold estimation based on local minima for nucleus and cytoplasm segmentation
Authors: Mayala Simeon , Haugsøen Jonas Bull
Published: April 2022

Background

Image segmentation is the process of partitioning an image into separate objects or regions. It is an essential step in image processing to segment the regions of interest for further processing. We propose a method for segmenting the nuclei and cytoplasms from white blood cells (WBCs).

Methods

Initially, the method computes an initial value based on the minimum and maximum values of the input image. Then, a histogram of the input image is computed and approximated to obtain function values. The method searches for the first local maximum and local minimum from the approximated function values in the order of increasing of knots sequence. We approximate the required threshold from the first local minimum and the computed initial value based on defined conditions. The threshold is applied to the input image to binarize it, and then post-processing is performed to obtain the final segmented nucleus. We segment the whole WBC before segmenting the cytoplasm depending on the complexity of the objects in the image. For WBCs that are well separated from red blood cells (RBCs),nthresholds are generated and then producenthresholded images. Then, a standard Otsu method is used to binarize the average of the produced images. Morphological operations are applied on the binarized image, and then a single-pixel point from the segmented nucleus is used to segment the WBC. For images in which RBCs touch the WBCs, we segment the whole WBC using SLIC and watershed methods. The cytoplasm is obtained by subtracting the segmented nucleus from the segmented WBC.

Results

The method is tested on two different public data sets and the results are compared to the state of art methods. The performance analysis shows that the proposed method segments the nucleus and cytoplasm well.

Conclusion

We propose a method for nucleus and cytoplasm segmentation based on the local minima of the approximated function values from the image’s histogram. The method has demonstrated its utility in segmenting nuclei, WBCs, and cytoplasm, and the results are satisfactory.
Potential of prevention strategies for the modifiable risk factor type 2 diabetes with relation to the future number of dementia patients in Germany– a multi-state projection through 2040
Authors: Fink Anne , Doerre Achim , Demuth Ilja , Doblhammer Gabriele
Published: April 2022

Background

We assess the impact of prevention strategies regarding type 2 diabetes as a modifiable risk factor for dementia and its consequences for the future number of dementia patients in Germany.

Methods

We used a random sample of health claims data (N = 250,000) of insured persons aged 50+ drawn in 2014, and data on population size and death rates in 2015 from the Human Mortality Database. Using exponential hazard models, we calculated age- and sex-specific transition probabilities and death rates between the states (no diabetes/no dementia, diabetes/no dementia, no diabetes/dementia, diabetes/dementia). In multi-state projections, we estimated the future number of dementia cases aged 75+ through 2040 depending on the development of the incidence of diabetes among persons without diabetes and without dementia, and the dementia incidence among persons with and without diabetes.

Results

In 2015 there were 1.53 million people with dementia aged 75+ in Germany. A relative annual reduction in death rates of 2.5% and in dementia incidence in persons without diabetes of 1% will increase this number to 3.38 million by 2040. A relative reduction of diabetes incidence by 1% annually would decrease dementia cases by around 30,000, while a reduction of dementia incidence among people with diabetes by 1% would result in 220,000 fewer dementia cases. Both prevention strategies combined would prevent 240,000 dementia cases in 2040.

Conclusions

The increase in life expectancy is decisive for the future number of people with dementia. Strategies of better diabetes treatment have the potential to lower the increase in the number of dementia patients in the coming decades.
Sevoflurane anesthesia ameliorates LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) by modulating a novel LncRNA LINC00839/miR-223/NLRP3 axis
Authors: Fu Zhiling , Wu Xiuying , Zheng Fushuang , Zhang Yan
Published: April 2022

Background

Sevoflurane is considered as a lung-protective factor in acute lung injury (ALI), but the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. The present study identified for the first time that sevoflurane ameliorated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI through regulating a novel long non-coding RNA LINC00839, and uncovered its regulatory mechanism.

Methods

LPS-induced ALI models were established in mice or mouse pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (MPVECs), and they were administered with sevoflurane. Real-Time quantitative PCR, western blot and bioinformatics analysis were performed to screen the aberrantly expressed long non-coding RNA and the downstream molecules in sevoflurane-treated ALI models, and their roles in the protection effect of sevoflurane were verified by functional recovery experiments.

Results

Sevoflurane relieved LPS-induced lung injury, cell pyroptosis and inflammation in vitro and in vivo. LINC00839 was significantly suppressed by sevoflurane, and overexpression of LINC00839 abrogated the protective effects of sevoflurane on LPS-treated MPVECs. Mechanismly, LINC00839 positively regulated NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) via sequestering miR-223. MiR-223 inhibitor reversed the inhibitory effects of LINC00839 knockdown on NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis in LPS-treated MPVECs. Furthermore, both miR-223 ablation and NLRP3 overexpression abrogated the protective effects of sevoflurane on LPS-treated MPVECs.

Conclusion

In general, our work illustrates that sevoflurane regulates the LINC00839/miR-223/NLRP3 axis to ameliorate LPS-induced ALI, which might provide a novel promising candidate for the prevention of ALI.
Reconstruction of the distal radioulnar joint with rib perichondrium – midterm follow-up
Authors: Muder Daniel , Vedung Torbjörn
Published: April 2022

Background

Reconstruction of an osteoarthritic distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) in patients with high physical demands and a long lifetime expectancy is challenging. A variety of methods like implant surgery and salvage procedures as partial or total ulnar head resection and the Sauve-Kapandji procedure are reasonable options in the elderly patient but not in young individuals since it often compromises manual power and stability and may cause impingement problems. Reconstruction of the DRUJ with rib perichondrium is a new treatment option with promising short-term outcome. The aim the present study was to investigate if the outcome is consistent over time.

Methods

Four female patients with a mean age of 40.5 years suffered severe unilateral osteoarthritis in the DRUJ. They underwent reconstruction of the joint with rib perichondrium transplants. Preoperatively, mean pain under manual load was 8.5 (range 7–10) and 4.2 (range 2–5) at rest, using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Range of motion (ROM) in forearm rotation was on average 118° and grip strength was 86% in comparison to the contralateral hand. The outcome was assessed at a clinical follow-up in 2016, measuring ROM, grip-strength, pain at rest and under manual load and DASH-score. Radiological examination was performed. An additional follow-up by letter was performed in 2021 using a patient-reported-outcome survey (PROS). The patients were asked to grade the ROM and grip-strength as changed or unchanged in comparison to the clinical follow-up in 2016.

Results

At clinical follow-up at a mean of 3.1 years (range 1–5) after surgery, pain level had decreased to VAS 1.5 (0–5) under load and all patients were pain free at rest. Forearm rotation was on average 156° (range 100–180) and grip strength was 97% of the unoperated hand. The mean DASH-score was 14.4 (0–45). An additional follow-up by letter was conducted at a mean of 7.5 years (5.5–9.5) after surgery. ROM and grip strength were reported as unchanged by all patients in relation to the previous clinical follow-up. No additional surgery or complications were reported.

Conclusion

Reconstruction of the osteoarthritic DRU-joint with rib perichondrium transplantation can provide good clinical outcome with perseverance over time.

Level of evidence

IV.
Risk factors for the occurrence and protraction of patellar and patellar tendon pain in children and adolescents: a prospective cohort study of 3 years
Authors: Horii Manato , Akagi Ryuichiro , Takahashi Sho , Watanabe Shotaro , Ogawa Yuya , Kimura Seiji , Yamaguchi Satoshi , Ohtori Seiji , Sasho Takahisa
Published: April 2022

Background

Patellar and patellar tendon pain is a common limitation to children’s participation in social and physical activities. Some factors have been implicated in the occurrence and protraction of knee pain, but the causal relationship is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participants’ physical characteristics and activity level are risk factors for the occurrence and protraction of patellar and patellar tendon pain in children and adolescents.

Methods

A three-year prospective cohort study was conducted with healthy students who were aged 8–14 years old, in Japan. Height, weight, heel-buttock distance, straight leg raising angle, and dorsiflexion angle of the ankle joint were collected as individual physical factors at the beginning of each year. The presence of self-reported patellar and patellar tendon pain and the Hospital for Special Surgery Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (HSS Pedi-FABS) was collected every month. Protraction was defined as either (1) pain lasting for more than three continuous months or (2) recurrent pain after more than three months of complete recovery. Participants who did not have any pain at the beginning of the observation period were included in the analysis. We analyzed the odds ratio (OR) of pain occurrence within a year of registration and protraction throughout the study period for all physical factors and HSS Pedi-FABS.

Results

We included 1133 participants in the analysis and 252 participants developed knee pain within a year. 34.8% of participants with pain experienced protraction during the follow-up period. A high HSS Pedi-FABS significantly predicted knee pain occurrence (OR 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.05) and protraction (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.00–1.05). In addition, younger children and girls were at a significantly higher risk of patellar and patellar tendon pain protraction (age, OR 0.81, 95% CI, 0.73–0.90; sex, OR 1.69, 95% CI, 1.09–2.64). Other physical factors did not significantly predict the occurrence or protraction of knee pain.

Conclusions

This study showed that a greater physical activity level was a risk factor for the occurrence and protraction of patellar and patellar tendon pain in childhood. In addition, younger age and female sex predicted higher risk of protraction of pain.