bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrity of personal radiation protective equipment (PRPE): a 4-year longitudinal follow-up study
Authors: Kellens Pieter-Jan , De Hauwere An , Gossye Tim , Peire Sven , Tournicourt Ingrid , Strubbe Luc , De Pooter Jan , Bacher Klaus
Published: December 2022

Background

Personal radiation protective equipment (PRPE) such as lead aprons minimises radiation exposure of operators using X-ray systems. However, PRPE might be prone to cracks in the attenuating layer resulting in inadequate radiation protection. This study aims to investigate the prevalence, qualification and quantification of PRPE integrity during a longitudinal follow-up study.

Methods

All PRPE of a large, general hospital was evaluated yearly in the period 2018–2021. The equipment was inspected on a tele-operated X-ray table, and tears were qualified and quantified using an X-ray opaque ruler. Rejection criteria of Lambert & McKeon, with an extra rejection criterion of 15 mm2 for individual tears, were applied to accept or reject further use of the PRPE.

Results

Over the 4-year follow-up period, a total of 1011 pieces of PRPE were evaluated. In total, 47.3% of the PRPE showed tears of which 31% exceeded the mentioned rejection criteria. Remarkably, of the 287 newly registered pieces of PRPE, 6.0% showed tears in the first year of use of which 88.2% needed to be rejected. Also, 48% of the repaired PRPE was rejected again in the consecutive year.

Conclusions

PRPE is prone to cracks. Up to 50% of PRPE showed tears and cracks resulting in 31% rejections. Newly purchased PRPE is not guaranteed to remain free of cracks and tears in the first year of use. Repair does not guarantee a long-term solution for prolonging the lifespan. Regular X-ray-based integrity analysis of PRPE is needed to ensure adequate radioprotection for operators using X-ray systems.
Clinical efficacy of CT-guided 125I brachytherapy in patients with local residual or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma after thermal ablation
Authors: Zhu Wenliang , Zhong Zhihui , Yan Huzheng , Guo Huanqing , Xiao Meigui , He Xu , Gao Fei , Zhang Fujun
Published: December 2022

Objectives

Treatment methods of local residual or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after thermal ablation are limited. Therefore, our study aimed to explore the efficacy and prognostic factors of 125I brachytherapy for local residual or recurrent lesion after thermal ablation.

Methods

A total of 114 patients with 212 local residual or recurrent HCC tumors after thermal ablation underwent 125I brachytherapy. Local progression-free survival (LPFS) and prognostic factors were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier curves and the Cox model.

Results

After a 6-month follow-up, the percentage of patients who achieved complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and stable disease (SD) was 57%, 13.2%, and 5.2%, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year LPFS rates were 58.7%, 50.0%, and 41.2%, respectively. Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) (p = 0.03), the number of intrahepatic tumors (p = 0.01), and AFP level (p = 0.02) were independent risk factors for local tumor progression (LTP). The median LPFS in patients without PVTT (22 months) was much longer compared to those with PVTT (10 months). The median LPFS in patients with less than three intrahepatic lesions improved from 17 to 24 months. The median LPFS was only 5 months in the high AFP group, but was prolonged with a decrease in AFP level (24 months). No severe complications were recorded. All complications were controllable and treatable.

Conclusions

CT-guided 125I brachytherapy was a safe and effective treatment for patients with local residual or recurrent HCC after thermal ablation to improve local control rate.
Circular RNA pyridoxal kinase (circPDXK) involves in the progression of ovarian cancer and glycolysis via regulating miR-654-3p and hexokinase II
Authors: Hou Lijuan , Wang Wenwen , Zhai Jianjun , Zhao Huafang
Published: December 2022

Background

Circular RNA pyridoxal kinase (circPDXK; hsa_circ_0061893) is newly identified to be aberrantly expressed in ovarian cancer (OVCA); however, its functional role in OVCA cells remains to be expounded.

Methods

Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry quantified RNA and protein expression levels. MiRNA binding site prediction tools predicted direct interaction between two RNAs, and dual-luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays further confirmed that prediction. Cell-counting kit-8, colony formation, and 5-ethynyl-2ʹ-deoxyuridine assays measured cell growth; nude mice xenograft tumor experiment detected tumor growth. Transwell and Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining assays evaluated cell motility and apoptosis. Glycolysis process was determined by glucose uptake, lactate, and ATP assay kits.

Results

CircPDXK is highly expressed in OVCA patients’ tumor tissues and cells, concomitant with microRNA (miR)-654-3p downregulation and hexokinase II (HK2) upregulation. RNA interference of circPDXK could restrain cell viability, colony formation, DNA synthesis, migration, invasion, and glycolysis of OVCA cells, but also retard xenograft tumor growth. Allied with those are higher apoptosis rate, elevated Bax and E-cadherin levels, and depressed ki67 and HK2 levels. Compared to circPDXK inhibition, restoration of miR-654-3p functions analogical effects in OVCA cells in vitro. Mechanistically, there are direct interactions between miR-654-3p and circPDXK or HK2; moreover, miR-654-3p inhibition could weaken the functional roles of circPDXK interference in OVCA cells, and either HK2 ectopic expression abrogates the effects of miR-654-3p overexpression.

Conclusion

CircPDXK/miR-654-3p/HK2 axis could be a novel molecular mechanism of OVCA progression and glycolysis, and targeting circPDXK might overcome OVCA.
PDK1- and PDK2-mediated metabolic reprogramming contributes to the TGFβ1-promoted stem-like properties in head and neck cancer
Authors: Sun Wan-Hsuan , Chen Yun-Hsuan , Lee Hou-Hsuan , Tang Yu-Wen , Sun Kuang-Hui
Published: December 2022

Background

Resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs is a key factor for cancer recurrence and metastases in head and neck cancer (HNC). Cancer stem cells (CSCs) in tumors have self-renewal, differentiation, and higher drug resistance capabilities, resulting in a poor prognosis for patients. In glucose metabolism, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase and impedes pyruvate from being metabolized into acetyl-CoA and entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle to generate energy. Studies have reported that PDK1 and PDK2 inhibition suppresses the growth, motility, and drug resistance of cancer cells. Furthermore, while TGFβ1 levels are persistently elevated in HNC patients with poor prognosis, the role of PDK isoforms in the TGFβ1-promoted progression and stem-like properties of HNC is unclear.

Methods

Levels of PDK1 and PDK2 were evaluated in HNC tissue microarrays by immunohistochemistry to explore potential clinical relevance. PDK1 and PDK2 were knocked down by the lentivirus shRNA system to investigate their role in TGFβ1-promoted tumor progression in vitro.

Results

We found that PDK2 levels were increased in the later stage of HNC tissues compared to constant PDK1 expression. After PDK1 and PDK2 knockdown, we discovered increased ATP production and decreased lactate production in TGFβ1-treated and untreated HNC cells. However, only PDK2 silencing significantly inhibited the clonogenic ability of HNC cells. We subsequently found that TGFβ1-promoted migration and invasion capabilities were decreased in PDK1 and PDK2 knockdown cells. The tumor spheroid-forming capability, motility, CSC genes, and multidrug-resistant genes were downregulated in PDK1 and PDK2 silencing CSCs. PDK1 and PDK2 inhibition reversed cisplatin and gemcitabine resistance of CSCs, but not paclitaxel resistance.

Conclusion

The results demonstrated that the PDK1- and PDK2-mediated Warburg effect contributes to the TGFβ1-enhanced stemness properties of HNC. Therefore, PDK1 and PDK2 may serve as molecular targets for the combination therapy of HNC.
Factors affecting interpretation of dental radiographs
Authors: Hegde Shwetha , Gao Jinlong , Vasa Rajesh , Cox Stephen
Published: December 2022

Objectives:

To identify the factors influencing errors in the interpretation of dental radiographs.

Methods:

A protocol was registered on Prospero. All studies published until May 2022 were included in this review. The search of the electronic databases spanned Ovid Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus. The quality of the studies was assessed using the MMAT tool. Due to the heterogeneity of the included studies, a meta-analysis was not conducted.

Results:

The search yielded 858 articles, of which eight papers met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review. These studies assessed the factors influencing the accuracy of the interpretation of dental radiographs. Six factors were identified as being significant that affected the occurrence of interpretation errors. These include clinical experience, clinical knowledge, and technical ability, case complexity, time pressure, location and duration of dental education and training and cognitive load.

Conclusions:

The occurrence of interpretation errors has not been widely investigated in dentistry. The factors identified in this review are interlinked. Further studies are needed to better understand the extent of the occurrence of interpretive errors and their impact on the practice of dentistry.
Effect of seedling production method on the growth of Pinus sylvestris L. on reclaimed post-industrial sites in Poland
Authors: Socha Jarosław , Orzeł Stanisław , Ochał Wojciech , Pietrzykowski Marcin
Published: December 2022

Selection of tree species and proper technology of afforestation of post-industrial sites play a crucial role in new ecosystem stability and success of the restoration. There is still current discussion about the effectiveness of different methods in the production of seedlings for extreme site conditions. This study aimed to analyze the effect of the seedling production method on the growth of 6-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees planted on reclaimed post-industrial sites in southern Poland. We compared four methods of seedling production: bare root system, containerized without and with inoculation of ectomycorrhizal fungi Laccaria bicolor (Maire) P.D. Orton, and Hebeloma crustuliniforme (Bull.) Quél. The experiment was carried out independently on two reclaimed sites: a post-sand-mining site in Bukowno, and a heavy metal polluted site in Miasteczko Śląskie. The effect of the seedling production method on tree growth expressed by height, root collar diameter, above- and belowground biomass of different tree components was analyzed on 240 sampled trees using analysis of variance and general linear model. In addition, the effect of the seedling production method on the root-to-shoot ratio was investigated. Scots pine tree growth was significantly affected by the seedling production method on heavy metal polluted site. The lowest tree growth parameters were observed in trees planted with bare roots, whereas the largest values were in the case of trees planted from containerized seedlings inoculated with H. crustuliniforme. In contrast, on the post-sand-mining site, the treatment effect turned out to be insignificant. The effect on biomass allocation was observed in the case of both sites. Trees prepared with the bare root method differed in greater biomass allocation to the belowground from other treatment groups. The use of containerized seedlings or additionally inoculated with ectomycorrhizal fungi in heavy metal contaminated sites improves the growth of trees and, although it is more costly and labor-intensive compared to the production of seedlings with a bare root system, should be preferred. In the post-sand-mining area, no effect of the seedling production method on tree growth was observed, and the use of bare root seedlings will be equally effective and additionally less time and cost-consuming.
Factores socioafectivos y su influencia en la actividad sexual de adolescentes
Authors: Samaniego Morales Francisco Martín , Gomez Barria Luisa Isabel , Salas Suárez Juan Carlos
Published: December 2022

Introducción: durante la adolescencia se adquieren conocimientos y se desarrollan actitudes hacia el sexo, la anticoncepción y la reproducción, aspectos que influirán en el comportamiento sexual que repercute directamente en la calidad de vida. Por tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue determinar los factores sociales y emocionales asociados al inicio de la actividad sexual, así como sus consecuencias como el embarazo y las enfermedades de transmisión sexual en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes. Materiales y métodos: estudio descriptivo, transversal y correlacional de una muestra de 1191 estudiantes de secundaria que recibieron cuestionarios sobre factores socioemocionales e iniciación sexual. Los datos se procesaron mediante estadística descriptiva y la prueba chi-cuadrado de Pearson para determinar la asociación entre los factores evaluados. Resultados: la tasa de inicio de la actividad sexual entre los adolescentes fue del 45%, de los cuales el 14% utilizaba protección. El 88,8% de los adolescentes dice recibir apoyo de los padres, el 39% acepta tratos violentos en el hogar y el 47% tuvo una madre adolescente embarazada, entre otros aspectos. Conclusiones: existe una relación significativa (con p<0.05) entre los factores socioemocionales de género, proyectos de vida, actividades extracurriculares, apoyo de los padres, violencia intrafamiliar y maltrato, con respecto a las madres con antecedente de embarazo precoz e inicio de la actividad sexual en la adolescencia.
Large-Scale Inventory Optimization: A Recurrent Neural Networks–Inspired Simulation Approach
Authors: Wang Tan , Hong L. Jeff
Published: December 2022

Many large-scale production networks include thousands of types of final products and tens to hundreds of thousands of types of raw materials and intermediate products. These networks face complicated inventory management decisions, which are often too complicated for inventory models and too large for simulation models. In this paper, by combining efficient computational tools of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and the structural information of production networks, we propose an RNN-inspired simulation approach that may be thousands of times faster than the existing simulation approach and is capable of solving large-scale inventory optimization problems in a reasonable amount of time.

History: Accepted by Bruno Tuffin, Area Editor for Simulation.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 72091211].
The Value of Randomized Strategies in Distributionally Robust Risk-Averse Network Interdiction Problems
Authors: Sadana Utsav , Delage Erick
Published: December 2022

Conditional value at risk (CVaR) is widely used to account for the preferences of a risk-averse agent in extreme loss scenarios. To study the effectiveness of randomization in interdiction problems with an interdictor that is both risk- and ambiguity-averse, we introduce a distributionally robust maximum flow network interdiction problem in which the interdictor randomizes over the feasible interdiction plans in order to minimize the worst case CVaR of the maximum flow with respect to both the unknown distribution of the capacity of the arcs and the interdictor’s own randomized strategy. Using the size of the uncertainty set, we control the degree of conservatism in the model and reformulate the interdictor’s distributionally robust optimization problem as a bilinear optimization problem. For solving this problem to any given optimality level, we devise a spatial branch-and-bound algorithm that uses the McCormick inequalities and reduced reformulation linearization technique to obtain a convex relaxation of the problem. We also develop a column-generation algorithm to identify the optimal support of the convex relaxation, which is then used in the coordinate descent algorithm to determine the upper bounds. The efficiency and convergence of the spatial branch-and-bound algorithm is established in numerical experiments. Further, our numerical experiments show that randomized strategies can have significantly better performance than optimal deterministic ones.

History: Accepted by David Alderson, Area Editor for Network Optimization: Algorithms & Applications.

Funding: The first author’s research is supported by a Group for Research in Decision Analysis postdoctoral fellowship and Fonds de Recherche du Québec–Nature et Technologies postdoctoral research scholarship [Grants 275296 and 301065]. The second author acknowledges support from the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canada Research Chair program [Grants RGPIN-2016-05208, 492997-2016, and 950-230057].

Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2022.1257 . The data file and codes are posted on GitHub ( https://github.com/Utsav19/Value-of-Randomization ).
Mission-critical data is more complex in a hybrid world
Authors: Allen Rob
Published: December 2022

It's hard to think of a bigger disruption to organisations’ overall IT infrastructure than hybrid working. Suddenly, but out of necessity, the comforting assumption that all devices and data would be protected by carefully planned protocols, well-configured firewalls and excellent staff training has gone. In its place is the anxiety of new risks, such as a USB stick with confidential data becoming lost in transit, family members borrowing a work laptop and accessing company files, passwords carelessly being shared, or networks being misused.
Analysis of the Effect of Social Skills and Disposition of Digital Literacy on Mathematical Literacy Ability
Authors: Busnawir Busnawir , Kodirun Kodirun , Sumarna Nana , Alfari Zulham
Published: December 2022

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of social skills, digital literacy disposition, and mathematical literacy abilities of 49 students; to analyze the theoretical model of the direct and indirect influence of digital literacy skills and social skills on mathematical literacy skills. The number of samples is 49 of the 12th-grade students at state high school #1 Southern Konawe. The research instruments consisted of a mathematical literacy ability test, a social skills questionnaire, and a digital literacy disposition questionnaire. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and structural equational models (SEM) with a Smart PLS 3.0 application. The results showed that students' mathematical literacy skills tended to be better on content and context indicators but they are weak on competency and process indicators. Students' social skills tend to be better on indicators of peer-relationship skills and self-management skills, but are also weak on indicators of academic skills and compliance skills. Mastery of the digital literacy disposition tends to be better on the internet searching, content evaluation, and information sharing indicators but is still weak on knowledge assembly. Furthermore, it was found that (a) social skills have a direct effect on digital literacy disposition but do not directly affect mathematical literacy skills; (b) the digital literacy disposition has a direct effect on mathematical literacy skills.
KÜLTÜREL KİMLİK BAĞLAMINDA “KAPI”DA TÜRK VE SÜRYANİ OLMAK
Authors: ŞEYLAN Seher
Published: December 2022

Bu çalışmanın amacı kültürel kimlik ve sinema arasındaki ilişkiyi temsil üzerinden okumaktır. Kültürel kimlik temsillerinin sinemada yeniden inşa edildiği varsayımından yola çıkan çalışma, Kapı (Nihat Durak, 2019) filminde yer alan Süryani ve Türk kimlikliklerinin kültürel kimlik temsillerini, temsil alanı olan sinema üzerinden karşılaştırmalı analiz etme amacındadır. Filmin kültürel temsilleri sunuş biçimi üzerinde durulacaktır. Araştırmanın çıkış noktası Türk ve Süryani kimliklerinin filmde karşıt olarak konumlandırıldığı ve bunun kimlik temsilinde farklıklara yol açtığı yönündedir. Filmin analizi Türk ve Süryani kültürel kimliklerinin temsili ve ötekileştirme bağlamında gerçekleştirilmiştir. Film kültürel kimlik bağımlı değişkeni ile gelenek ve görenekler, ortak geçmiş, etik değerler (ahlaki anlayışlar), sanat ve mimari anlayış bağımsız değişkenleri çerçevesinde analiz edilmiştir. Karşıt toplumlar veya karşıt karakterlerin aidiyet bağı ile bağlı olduğu toplumlara atfedilen karşıt özellikler tespit edilmiştir. Sinemanın toplumu siyasi, kültürel ve toplumsal olarak etkileme gücü düşünüldüğünde karşıt kimliklerin dengeli temsil biçimlerinin toplumsal bütünlüğün sağlanmasına önemli katkı sunacağı muhakkaktır.
Twenty-five years of clinical applications using adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy [Invited]
Authors: Morgan Jessica I. W. , Chui Toco Y. P. , Grieve Kate
Published: December 2022

Twenty-five years ago, adaptive optics (AO) was combined with fundus photography, thereby initiating a new era in the field of ophthalmic imaging. Since that time, clinical applications of AO ophthalmoscopy to investigate visual system structure and function in both health and disease abound. To date, AO ophthalmoscopy has enabled visualization of most cell types in the retina, offered insight into retinal and systemic disease pathogenesis, and been integrated into clinical trials. This article reviews clinical applications of AO ophthalmoscopy and addresses remaining challenges for AO ophthalmoscopy to become fully integrated into standard ophthalmic care.
Discrimination of textures with spatial correlations and multiple gray levels
Authors: Victor Jonathan D. , Rizvi Syed M. , Bush Jacob W. , Conte Mary M.
Published: December 2022

Analysis of visual texture is important for many key steps in early vision. We study visual sensitivity to image statistics in three families of textures that include multiple gray levels and correlations in two spatial dimensions. Sensitivities to positive and negative correlations are approximately independent of correlation sign, and signals from different kinds of correlations combine quadratically. We build a computational model, fully constrained by prior studies of sensitivity to uncorrelated textures and black-and-white textures with spatial correlations. The model accounts for many features of the new data, including sign-independence, quadratic combination, and the dependence on gray-level distribution.
Plasmonic lithography fast imaging model based on the decomposition machine learning method
Authors: Ding Huwen , Liu Lihong , Li Ziqi , Dong Lisong , Wei Yayi , Ye Tianchun
Published: December 2022

Plasmonic lithography can make the evanescent wave at the mask be resonantly amplified by exciting surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) and participate in imaging, which breaks through the diffraction limit in conventional lithography. It provides a reliable technical way for the study of low-cost, large-area and efficient nanolithography technology. This paper introduces the characteristics of plasmonic lithography, the similarities and the differences with traditional DUV projection lithography. By comparing and analyzing the already existed fast imaging model of mask diffraction near-field (DNF) of DUV/EUV lithography, this paper introduces the decomposition machine learning method of mask diffraction near-field into the fast imaging of plasmonic lithography. A fast imaging model of plasmonic lithography for arbitrary two-dimensional pattern is proposed for the first time. This model enables fast imaging of the input binary 0&1 matrix of the mask directly to the light intensity distribution of photoresist image (PRI). The illumination method employs the normal incidence with x polarization, the normal incidence with y polarization and the quadrupole illumination with TM polarization respectively. The error and the operating efficiency between this fast imaging model and the rigorous electromagnetic model is compared. The test results show that compared with the rigorous electromagnetic computation model, the fast imaging model can greatly improve the calculation efficiency and maintain high accuracy at the same time, which provides great conditions for the development of computational lithography such as SMO/OPC for plasmonic lithography technology.
Ghost translation: an end-to-end ghost imaging approach based on the transformer network
Authors: Ren Wenhan , Nie Xiaoyu , Peng Tao , Scully Marlan O.
Published: December 2022

Artificial intelligence has recently been widely used in computational imaging. The deep neural network (DNN) improves the signal-to-noise ratio of the retrieved images, whose quality is otherwise corrupted due to the low sampling ratio or noisy environments. This work proposes a new computational imaging scheme based on the sequence transduction mechanism with the transformer network. The simulation database assists the network in achieving signal translation ability. The experimental single-pixel detector’s signal will be ‘translated’ into a 2D image in an end-to-end manner. High-quality images with no background noise can be retrieved at a sampling ratio as low as 2%. The illumination patterns can be either well-designed speckle patterns for sub-Nyquist imaging or random speckle patterns. Moreover, our method is robust to noise interference. This translation mechanism opens a new direction for DNN-assisted ghost imaging and can be used in various computational imaging scenarios.
Kinetics and wavelength dependence of thermal and excited-state population on lens effect induced in a Nd:YAG rod amplifier
Authors: Maillard Martin , Amiard-Hudebine Gabriel , Tondusson Marc , Orain Mikaël , Freysz Eric
Published: December 2022

Using a wavefront sensor, we have measured the temporal evolution of the lens induced in a Nd:YAG rod amplifier under side pumping by laser diode bars centered around 808 nm in a quasi-continuous wave regime. The evolution of the induced lens is drastically different when measured with a probe pulse centered at 532 nm or 1064.5 nm. To explain this evolution, we developed a model that accounts for both the excited state population of the Nd3+ ions and the thermal contribution to the refractive index of the amplifier. This model, which takes into account amplification and wavelength shift of the probe pulse at 1064.5 nm, makes it possible to quantitatively describe the spectral and temporal evolution of the amplifier focal length. It also shows that the excited state population contribution is more important around 1064.5 nm and can partly compensate for the thermal lens induced in the amplifier.
Probing natural gas components with Raman integrating sphere technology
Authors: Li Fabing , Zhao Qiannan , Sun Chenglin , Zhu Lin , Xia Jie , Huang Baokun
Published: December 2022

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful method of probing natural gas components, but higher sensitivity, greater miniaturization, and lower cost techniques are required. Therefore, we designed a Raman integrating sphere-enhanced spectroscopy technology in a volume of 40 × 40 × 20 cm3 based on the principle of integrating sphere reflection. This technology consists of two parts: the first is an integrating sphere model to collect scattered signals, and the second is a right-angle light-boosting system to increase the optical path of the pump light in the sample. Raman integrating sphere technology has a detection limit of 0.5 ppm in the air with an exposure time of 600 s under room temperature and ambient pressure conditions. Experiments of natural gas detection display that the detection limits of ethane, propane, n-butane, isobutane, n-pentane, and isopentane are 28, 28, 95, 28, 189, and 95 ppm, respectively. In addition, there is a linear relationship between the relative Raman intensity and the concentration of each component in natural gas, which can be used as a probe for detecting unknown natural gas components in gas wells.
Heart rate estimation from color video sequences with high SNR
Authors: Zheng Yimei , Lin Zecheng , Ding Wenzheng , Yi Min , Guan Caizhong , Han Dingan , Zhong Junping , Tan Haishu , Wang Xuehua , Xiong Honglian , Wang Mingyi , Zeng Yaguang
Published: December 2022

We propose an absorption intensity heartbeat modulation-averaged shifted histogram (AIHM-ASH) method for estimating human heart rate (HR) using color videos of lip image sequences. When heartbeat occurs, AIHM is generated. Based on the AIHM, HR signals can be demodulated by computing the instantaneous HR modulation depth that presents the relative red blood cell (RBC) concentration from the green channel image of the RGB color video. In addition, the ASH algorithm further suppresses the background tissue and vein signals, and increases the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The experimental results for flow phantoms, chicken embryos, and human lips validated the proposed method’s optimal estimation conditions and effectiveness, where the accuracy and root mean square error (RMSE) were 99.23% and 0.8 bpm, respectively. The proposed HR estimation method has significant potential to advance health monitoring and disease prevention via conventional color video cameras installed in public places.
Reflective structure for phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating
Authors: Lu Lin , Yang Yuanhong , Jin Wei
Published: December 2022

A novel, to the best of our kowledge, reflective phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (R-PS-FBG) structure composed of a conventional fiber Bragg grating (FBG) and a micromirror with an air gap between them is proposed. The R-PS-FBG may be regarded as consisting of a Fabry–Perot interferometer and a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG), and its reflection and transmission spectra are investigated numerically and experimentally for different mirror reflectances and gap widths. The R-PS-FBG can be implemented easily and could be used in optical spectrum filtering, wavelength tuning, and multiparameter sensing with better sensitivity and resolution.
Enhanced light output from deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes enabled by high-order modes on a photonic crystal surface
Authors: Liu Zesen , Yu Xinxin , Zhang Jianhong , Liu Xinghua , Ye Jiandong , Ren Fang-Fang , Wang Yiwang , Xu Wei-Zong , Zhou Dong , Zhang Rong , Zheng Youdou , Lu Hai
Published: December 2022

The authors demonstrate the enhanced light output from 275-nm AlGaN-based deep ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diode (LED) structures via the in-plane modulation of shallow photonic crystal (PC) patterns that were fabricated on the p-AlGaN contact layer surface. The employed PC lattice constants are in the range of 270–780 nm, much larger than the fundamental Bragg order lattice constant (∼95 nm). As compared to the unpatterned sample, the intensity of the top (or bottom) emission can be enhanced by up to 331% (or 246%), attributed to the high-order coherent diffraction of the internal trapped light and also the Purcell enhancement of spontaneous emission. The findings in this Letter suggest an easier way for the realization of more energy-efficient DUV LEDs which offer the advantage of high emission for various applications in disinfection and sterilization.
Spectral purification of single-frequency Stokes pulses in doubly resonant integrated diamond resonators: publisher’s note
Authors: Granados Eduardo , Stoikos Georgios
Published: December 2022

This publisher’s note contains corrections to Opt. Lett. 47, 3976 (2022).10.1364/OL.464816
Understanding the impact of digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Burdinski Angelique , Brockmann Dirk , Maier Benjamin Frank
Published: December 2022

Digital contact tracing (DCT) applications have been introduced in many countries to aid the containment of COVID-19 outbreaks. Initially, enthusiasm was high regarding their implementation as a non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI). However, no country was able to prevent larger outbreaks without falling back to harsher NPIs. Here, we discuss results of a stochastic infectious-disease model that provide insights in how the progression of an outbreak and key parameters such as detection probability, app participation and its distribution, as well as engagement of users impact DCT efficacy informed by results of empirical studies. We further show how contact heterogeneity and local contact clustering impact the intervention’s efficacy. We conclude that DCT apps might have prevented cases on the order of single-digit percentages during single outbreaks for empirically plausible ranges of parameters, ignoring that a substantial part of these contacts would have been identified by manual contact tracing. This result is generally robust against changes in network topology with exceptions for homogeneous-degree, locally-clustered contact networks, on which the intervention prevents more infections. An improvement of efficacy is similarly observed when app participation is highly clustered. We find that DCT typically averts more cases during the super-critical phase of an epidemic when case counts are rising and the measured efficacy therefore depends on the time of evaluation.
Addressing the diagnostic gap in hypertension through possible interventions and scale-up: A microsimulation study
Authors: Koeppel Lisa , Dittrich Sabine , Brenner Miguel Sergio , Carmona Sergio , Ongarello Stefano , Vetter Beatrice , Cohn Jennifer Elizabeth , Baernighausen Till , Geldsetzer Pascal , Denkinger Claudia M. ,   HPACC Consortium
Published: December 2022

Background

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality globally with almost a third of all annual deaths worldwide. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are disproportionately highly affected covering 80% of these deaths. For CVD, hypertension (HTN) is the leading modifiable risk factor. The comparative impact of diagnostic interventions that improve either the accuracy, the reach, or the completion of HTN screening in comparison to the current standard of care has not been estimated.

Methods and findings

This microsimulation study estimated the impact on HTN-induced morbidity and mortality in LMICs for four different scenarios: (S1) lower HTN diagnostic accuracy; (S2) improved HTN diagnostic accuracy; (S3) better implementation strategies to reach more persons with existing tools; and, lastly, (S4) the wider use of easy-to-use tools, such as validated, automated digital blood pressure measurement devices to enhance screening completion, in comparison to the current standard of care (S0). Our hypothetical population was parametrized using nationally representative, individual-level HPACC data and the global burden of disease data. The prevalence of HTN in the population was 31% out of which 60% remained undiagnosed. We investigated how the alteration of a yearly blood pressure screening event impacts morbidity and mortality in the population over a period of 10 years.

The study showed that while improving test accuracy avoids 0.6% of HTN-induced deaths over 10 years (13,856,507 [9,382,742; 17,395,833]), almost 40 million (39,650,363 [31,34,233, 49,298,921], i.e., 12.7% [9.9, 15.8]) of the HTN-induced deaths could be prevented by increasing coverage and completion of a screening event in the same time frame. Doubling the coverage only would still prevent 3,304,212 million ([2,274,664; 4,164,180], 12.1% [8.3, 15.2]) CVD events 10 years after the rollout of the program.

Our study is limited by the scarce data available on HTN and CVD from LMICs. We had to pool some parameters across stratification groups, and additional information, such as dietary habits, lifestyle choice, or the blood pressure evolution, could not be considered. Nevertheless, the microsimulation enabled us to include substantial heterogeneity and stochasticity toward the different income groups and personal CVD risk scores in the model.

Conclusions

While it is important to consider investing in newer diagnostics for blood pressure testing to continuously improve ease of use and accuracy, more emphasis should be placed on screening completion.
Proteomic analysis of Sarcoptes scabiei reveals that proteins differentially expressed between eggs and female adult stages are involved predominantly in genetic information processing, metabolism and/or host-parasite interactions
Authors: Wang Tao , Gasser Robin B. , Korhonen Pasi K. , Young Neil D. , Ang Ching-Seng , Williamson Nicholas A. , Ma Guangxu , Samarawickrama Gangi R. , Fernando Deepani D. , Fischer Katja
Published: December 2022

Presently, there is a dearth of proteomic data for parasitic mites and their relationship with the host animals. Here, using a high throughput LC-MS/MS-based approach, we undertook the first comprehensive, large-scale proteomic investigation of egg and adult female stages of the scabies mite, Sarcoptes scabiei–one of the most important parasitic mites of humans and other animals worldwide. In total, 1,761 S. scabiei proteins were identified and quantified with high confidence. Bioinformatic analyses revealed differentially expressed proteins to be involved predominantly in biological pathways or processes including genetic information processing, energy (oxidative phosphorylation), nucleotide, amino acid, carbohydrate and/or lipid metabolism, and some adaptive processes. Selected, constitutively and highly expressed proteins, such as peptidases, scabies mite inactivated protease paralogues (SMIPPs) and muscle proteins (myosin and troponin), are proposed to be involved in key biological processes within S. scabiei, host-parasite interactions and/or the pathogenesis of scabies. These proteomic data will enable future molecular, biochemical and physiological investigations of early developmental stages of S. scabiei and the discovery of novel interventions, targeting the egg stage, given its non-susceptibility to acaricides currently approved for the treatment of scabies in humans.
Granular analysis of pathways to care and durations of untreated psychosis: A marginal delay model
Authors: Mathis Walter S. , Ferrara Maria , Burke Shadie , Hyun Emily , Li Fangyong , Zhou Bin , Cahill John , Kline Emily R. , Keshavan Matcheri S. , Srihari Vinod H.
Published: December 2022

Objective

An extensive international literature demonstrates that understanding pathways to care (PTC) is essential for efforts to reduce community Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP). However, knowledge from these studies is difficult to translate to new settings. We present a novel approach to characterize and analyze PTC and demonstrate its value for the design and implementation of early detection efforts.

Methods

Type and date of every encounter, or node, along the PTC were encoded for 156 participants enrolled in the clinic for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis (STEP), within the context of an early detection campaign. Marginal-delay, or the portion of overall delay attributable to a specific node, was computed as the number of days between the start dates of contiguous nodes on the PTC. Sources of delay within the network of care were quantified and patient characteristic (sex, age, race, income, insurance, living, education, employment, and function) influences on such delays were analyzed via bivariate and mixed model testing.

Results

The period from psychosis onset to antipsychotic prescription was significantly longer (52 vs. 20.5 days, [p = 0.004]), involved more interactions (3 vs. 1 nodes, [p<0.001]), and was predominated by encounters with non-clinical nodes while the period from antipsychotic to STEP enrollment was shorter and predominated by clinical nodes. Outpatient programs were the greatest contributor of marginal delays on both before antipsychotic prescription (median [IQR] of 36.5 [1.3–132.8] days) and (median [IQR] of 56 [15–210.5] days). Sharper functional declines in the year before enrollment correlated significantly with longer DUP (p<0.001), while those with higher functioning moved significantly faster through nodes (p<0.001). No other associations were found with patient characteristics and PTCs.

Conclusions

The conceptual model and analytic approach outlined in this study give first episode services tools to measure, analyze, and inform strategies to reduce untreated psychosis.
Parental stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: A one-year follow-up
Authors: Bjørknes Ragnhild , Skogen Jens Christoffer , Nærde Ane , Sandal Gro Mjeldheim , Haug Ellen , Mæland Silje , Fadnes Lars T. , Lehmann Stine
Published: December 2022

Objective

This two-wave longitudinal study aimed at increasing knowledge about levels of parental stressors and rewards among mothers and fathers of children aged 1–18 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway.

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic and infection-control measures have caused changes to family life. Managing homeschooling or caring for younger children while working from home may have posed significant strain on parental stress, negatively impacting the quality of parent-child relationships and parents’ sensitivity to their children’s needs.

Method

We employed data collected in April 2020 and April 2021 from the longitudinal population-based survey in Bergen/Norway (Bergen in ChangE-study). 7424 parents participated (58.6% mothers and 41.5% fathers).

Results

The overall levels of parental stressors and rewards did not change significantly. Over the two time points, the factors associated with decreased parental stressors were being male, aged 40–49 years, having a relatively high income, and reporting initial difficulties with closed kindergartens or schools. For parents aged 18–29 years, the level of parental stressors increased.

Conclusion

The study suggests that the overall levels of parental stress remained unchanged during the first year of the pandemic. Even so, the study also uncovered that younger parents represented a vulnerable subgroup.

Implications

To prevent detrimental consequences in the wake of the pandemic, it could be important to increase awareness and competence among professional staff in kindergartens, primary schools, and child health clinics targeting young parents and their children.
cGMP dynamics that underlies thermosensation in temperature-sensing neuron regulates thermotaxis behavior in C. elegans
Authors: Aoki Ichiro , Shiota Makoto , Tsukada Yuki , Nakano Shunji , Mori Ikue
Published: December 2022

Living organisms including bacteria, plants and animals sense ambient temperature so that they can avoid noxious temperature or adapt to new environmental temperature. A nematode C. elegans can sense innocuous temperature, and navigate themselves towards memorize past cultivation temperature (Tc) of their preference. For this thermotaxis, AFD thermosensory neuron is pivotal, which stereotypically responds to warming by increasing intracellular Ca2+ level in a manner dependent on the remembered past Tc. We aimed to reveal how AFD encodes the information of temperature into neural activities. cGMP synthesis in AFD is crucial for thermosensation in AFD and thermotaxis behavior. Here we characterized the dynamic change of cGMP level in AFD by imaging animals expressing a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based cGMP probe specifically in AFD and found that cGMP dynamically responded to both warming and cooling in a manner dependent on past Tc. Moreover, we characterized mutant animals that lack guanylyl cyclases (GCYs) or phosphodiesterases (PDEs), which synthesize and hydrolyze cGMP, respectively, and uncovered how GCYs and PDEs contribute to cGMP and Ca2+ dynamics in AFD and to thermotaxis behavior.
Fish grabbing: Weak governance and productive waters are targets for distant water fishing
Authors: Stäbler Moritz , Letschert Jonas , Fujitani Marie , Partelow Stefan
Published: December 2022

Distant water fishing occurs worldwide as foreign fleets fish in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of other states. We test the hypothesis that host state governance performance is an explanatory factor in observed distant water fishing effort using Global Fishing Watch’s fishing effort data obtained from vessels’ automatic identification system (AIS). We examine the explanatory power of the World Governance Indicators (WGI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, and biophysical fisheries productivity indicators (temperature, oxygen, salinity, nutrients, and primary productivity) on fishing effort from foreign fleets across the four most common gear types (fixed gear, longliners, trawlers, and tuna purse seiners). Our models include both host EEZ fishery productivity indicators and governance indicators with R2 values of 0.97 for longlining, 0.95 trawling, 0.95 for fixed gear and 0.82 for tuna purse seiners. Although a lack of good governance may enable illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has enabled the legal establishment of foreign fishing contracts. However, it is unlikely that fishing contracts are decoupled from economic and political negotiations on other issues. We argue that it is worthwhile to consider the term “fish grabbing”, meaning wealthier and politically more powerful states consciously seek to profit from fishing in the waters of often weaker states through developing legal fishing contracts.
Transcriptome analysis and development of EST-SSR markers in Anoectochilus emeiensis (Orchidaceae)
Authors: Lu Song
Published: December 2022

Anoectochilus emeiensis K. Y. Lang, together with other Anoectochilus species, has long been used as the main source of many traditional Chinese medicines. Owing to the shortcomings of molecular markers, the study of the genetic diversity and medicinal component synthesis mechanism of the endemic Anoectochilus species has been delayed. In this study, I carried out a transcriptome analysis of A. emeiensis. A total of 78,381 unigenes were assembled from 64.2 million reads, and 47,541 (60.65%) unigenes were matched to known proteins in the public databases. Then, 9284 expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) were identified, and the frequency of SSRs in the A. emeiensis transcriptome was 9.88%. Trinucleotide repeats (3699, 39.84%) were the most common type, followed by dinucleotide (3251, 35.02%) and mononucleotide (1750, 18.85%) repeats. Based on the SSR sequence, 6683 primer pairs were successfully designed, 40 primer pairs were randomly selected, and 10 primer pairs were identified as polymorphic loci from 186 individuals of A. emeiensis. The EST-SSR markers examined in this study will be informative for future population genetic studies of A. emeiensis.