bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
COT-31 Risk Factors for the Development of Skin Rash with Levetiracetam and Lacosamide in Patients with Glioma
Authors: Onodera Mikoto , Muragaki Yoshihiro , Fukui Atsushi , Nitta Masayuki , Saito Taiichi , Tsuzuki Syunsuke , Kooriyama Syunichi , Tamura Manabu , Kimura Toshimi , Kawamata Takakazu
Published: December 2021

Introduction: Seizure control of in glioma patients is essential for quality of life. The new generation anti-seizure drug (ASD) is represented by lacosamide (LCM) and levetiracetam (LEV), and is said to have few side effects of eruption. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of rash and related factors of the ASD, evaluated the safety of patients with glioma, and conducted a comparison with the evaluation of patients with meningioma. Method: We calculated the incidence of rash in patients who underwent glioma resection at our Hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 and were prescribed LEV or LCM, and compared it with the same incidence in meningioma patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors for the ASD-related eruption. Result: The subjects were 353 gliomas and 125 meningiomas who received LEV or LCM.The median ages are 44 ± 14.8 and 58 ± 13.2, respectively, and the male-female ratio is 203/150 and 53/72. There was no difference in the incidence of eruptions between the two groups, LEV and LCM, and the incidence of ASD-related eruptions was 11% (39/353) for gliomas, significantly higher than 1.6% (2/125) for meningiomas (p = 0.006). The incidence of ASD-related eruptions in glioma patients was not significantly different between the LEV group (10% (21/216)) and the LCM group (13% (20/154)) (p = 0.53). In a multivariate analysis of risk factors for eruption, chemoradiotherapy (p = 0.01), history of drug allergy (p = 0.039) was significantly higher. Conclusion: The incidence of LEV and LCM eruptions in glioma patients was higher than that in meningioma patients, and it was speculated that the treatment course specificity was more important than the disease-specific factors. Patients with glioma, especially those who have undergone chemoradiotherapy or have a history of drug allergies, require careful confirmation of the eruption.
UK infrastructure after Brexit
Authors: Rosewell Bridget , Hargreaves John
Published: December 2021

Infrastructure is central to many aspects of policy, and this focus has survived the impact of Covid-induced expenditure. The paper examines the scope for Brexit to allow infrastructure planning to be more devolved, consider demand-side and nature-based solutions, and become more competitive. It concludes that Brexit offers the opportunity for a more system-based approach to infrastructure planning and delivery.
Moral Testimony and Re-Conceived Understanding: A Reply to Callahan
Authors: Slome Emily
Published: December 2021

In the article ‘Moral Testimony: A Re-Conceived Understanding Explanation’, Callahan argues that her re-conceived view of understanding can explain the issue with deference to moral testimony better than the more traditional understanding-based accounts. In this paper, I argue that Callahan fails to give a more successful explanation of the problem with moral testimony for two reasons. First, I argue that Callahan fails to adequately prove her claim that deference to testimony disincentivizes her re-conceived understanding. Second, I take issue with Callahan's claim that this re-conceived understanding is distinctly important in the moral domain. I also offer a more promising route for Callahan to take in explaining the problem with moral testimony.
Advancing diagnostic performance and clinical applicability of deep learning-driven generative adversarial networks for Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Qu Changxing , Zou Yinxi , Dai Qingyi , Ma Yingqiao , He Jinbo , Liu Qihong , Kuang Weihong , Jia Zhiyun , Chen Taolin , Gong Qiyong
Published: December 2021

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that severely affects the activities of daily living in aged individuals, which typically needs to be diagnosed at an early stage. Generative adversarial networks (GANs) provide a new deep learning method that show good performance in image processing, while it remains to be verified whether a GAN brings benefit in AD diagnosis. The purpose of this research is to systematically review psychoradiological studies on the application of a GAN in the diagnosis of AD from the aspects of classification of AD state and AD-related image processing compared with other methods. In addition, we evaluated the research methodology and provided suggestions from the perspective of clinical application. Compared with other methods, a GAN has higher accuracy in the classification of AD state and better performance in AD-related image processing (e.g. image denoising and segmentation). Most studies used data from public databases but lacked clinical validation, and the process of quantitative assessment and comparison in these studies lacked clinicians' participation, which may have an impact on the improvement of generation effect and generalization ability of the GAN model. The application value of GANs in the classification of AD state and AD-related image processing has been confirmed in reviewed studies. Improvement methods toward better GAN architecture were also discussed in this paper. In sum, the present study demonstrated advancing diagnostic performance and clinical applicability of GAN for AD, and suggested that the future researchers should consider recruiting clinicians to compare the algorithm with clinician manual methods and evaluate the clinical effect of the algorithm.
A Review of Aesthetic Gynecologic Procedures for Women
Authors: Wiśniewska-Ślepaczuk Katarzyna , Pieczykolan Agnieszka , Grzesik-Gąsior Joanna , Wdowiak Artur
Published: December 2021

Aesthetic gynecologic surgery is gaining popularity among women and physicians. Aesthetic genital surgery for women encompasses both minimally invasive and open surgical procedures. Cosmetic genital procedures for women described in this article include perineoplasty, vaginoplasty, vaginal rejuvenation, labiaplasty, G-spot enlargement, Bartholin gland surgery, clitoral hoodoplasty, clitroplasty, hymenoplasty, and mons pubis plastic surgery. Based on a review of the literature for each procedure, the article discusses procedural methods and techniques, indications for implementation, potential consequences and side effects of the procedure, nursing implications, patients' motives for undergoing the procedure, and positions of scientific institutions relative to the procedure.
Non-flooded riparian Amazon trees are a regionally significant methane source
Authors: Gauci Vincent , Figueiredo Viviane , Gedney Nicola , Pangala Sunitha Rao , Stauffer Tainá , Weedon Graham P. , Enrich-Prast Alex
Published: December 2021

Inundation-adapted trees were recently established as the dominant egress pathway for soil-produced methane (CH4) in forested wetlands. This raises the possibility that CH4produced deep within the soil column can vent to the atmosphere via tree roots even when the water table (WT) is below the surface. If correct, this would challenge modelling efforts where inundation often defines the spatial extent of ecosystem CH4production and emission. Here, we examine CH4exchange on tree, soil and aquatic surfaces in forest experiencing a dynamic WT at three floodplain locations spanning the Amazon basin at four hydrologically distinct times from April 2017 to January 2018. Tree stem emissions were orders of magnitude larger than from soil or aquatic surface emissions and exhibited a strong relationship to WT depth below the surface (less than 0). We estimate that Amazon riparian floodplain margins with a WT < 0 contribute 2.2–3.6 Tg CH4 yr−1to the atmosphere in addition to inundated tree emissions of approximately 12.7–21.1 Tg CH4 yr−1. Applying our approach to all tropical wetland broad-leaf trees yields an estimated non-flooded floodplain tree flux of 6.4 Tg CH4 yr−1which, at 17% of the flooded tropical tree flux of approximately 37.1 Tg CH4 yr−1, demonstrates the importance of these ecosystems in extending the effective CH4emitting area beyond flooded lands.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)'.
δ
13
C methane source signatures from tropical wetland and rice field emissions
Authors: France James L. , Fisher Rebecca E. , Lowry David , Allen Grant , Andrade Marcos F. , Bauguitte Stéphane J.-B. , Bower Keith , Broderick Timothy J. , Daly Michael C. , Forster Grant , Gondwe Mangaliso , Helfter Carole , Hoyt Alison M. , Jones Anna E. , Lanoisellé Mathias , Moreno Isabel , Nisbet-Jones Peter B. R. , Oram David , Pasternak Dominika , Pitt Joseph R. , Skiba Ute , Stephens Mark , Wilde Shona E. , Nisbet Euan G.
Published: December 2021

The atmospheric methane (CH
4
) burden is rising sharply, but the causes are still not well understood. One factor of uncertainty is the importance of tropical CH
4
emissions into the global mix. Isotopic signatures of major sources remain poorly constrained, despite their usefulness in constraining the global methane budget. Here, a collection of new
δ
13
C

CH
4

signatures is presented for a range of tropical wetlands and rice fields determined from air samples collected during campaigns from 2016 to 2020. Long-term monitoring of
δ
13
C

CH
4

in ambient air has been conducted at the Chacaltaya observatory, Bolivia and Southern Botswana. Both long-term records are dominated by biogenic CH
4
sources, with isotopic signatures expected from wetland sources. From the longer-term Bolivian record, a seasonal isotopic shift is observed corresponding to wetland extent suggesting that there is input of relatively isotopically light CH
4
to the atmosphere during periods of reduced wetland extent. This new data expands the geographical extent and range of measurements of tropical wetland and rice
δ
13
C

CH
4

sources and hints at significant seasonal variation in tropical wetland
δ
13
C

CH
4

signatures which may be important to capture in future global and regional models.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)’.
Permafrost thaw driven changes in hydrology and vegetation cover increase trace gas emissions and climate forcing in Stordalen Mire from 1970 to 2014
Authors: Varner Ruth K. , Crill Patrick M. , Frolking Steve , McCalley Carmody K. , Burke Sophia A. , Chanton Jeffrey P. , Holmes M. Elizabeth ,   Isogenie Project Coordinators, Saleska Scott , Palace Michael W.
Published: December 2021

Permafrost thaw increases active layer thickness, changes landscape hydrology and influences vegetation species composition. These changes alter belowground microbial and geochemical processes, affecting production, consumption and net emission rates of climate forcing trace gases. Net carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes determine the radiative forcing contribution from these climate-sensitive ecosystems. Permafrost peatlands may be a mosaic of dry frozen hummocks, semi-thawed or perched sphagnum dominated areas, wet permafrost-free sedge dominated sites and open water ponds. We revisited estimates of climate forcing made for 1970 and 2000 for Stordalen Mire in northern Sweden and found the trend of increasing forcing continued into 2014. The Mire continued to transition from dry permafrost to sedge and open water areas, increasing by 100% and 35%, respectively, over the 45-year period, causing the net radiative forcing of Stordalen Mire to shift from negative to positive. This trend is driven by transitioning vegetation community composition, improved estimates of annual CO2and CH4exchange and a 22% increase in the IPCC's 100-year global warming potential (GWP_100) value for CH4. These results indicate that discontinuous permafrost ecosystems, while still remaining a net overall sink of C, can become a positive feedback to climate change on decadal timescales.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)’.
Isotopic signatures of methane emissions from tropical fires, agriculture and wetlands: the MOYA and ZWAMPS flights
Authors:   MOYA/ZWAMPS Team, Nisbet Euan G. , Allen Grant , Fisher Rebecca E. , France James L. , Lee James D. , Lowry David , Andrade Marcos F. , Bannan Thomas J. , Barker Patrick , Bateson Prudence , Bauguitte Stéphane J.-B. , Bower Keith N. , Broderick Tim J. , Chibesakunda Francis , Cain Michelle , Cozens Alice E. , Daly Michael C. , Ganesan Anita L. , Jones Anna E. , Lambakasa Musa , Lunt Mark F. , Mehra Archit , Moreno Isabel , Pasternak Dominika , Palmer Paul I. , Percival Carl J. , Pitt Joseph R. , Riddle Amber J. , Rigby Matthew , Shaw Jacob T. , Stell Angharad C. , Vaughan Adam R. , Warwick Nicola J. , E. Wilde Shona
Published: December 2021

We report methane isotopologue data from aircraft and ground measurements in Africa and South America. Aircraft campaigns sampled strong methane fluxes over tropical papyrus wetlands in the Nile, Congo and Zambezi basins, herbaceous wetlands in Bolivian southern Amazonia, and over fires in African woodland, cropland and savannah grassland. Measured methaneδ13CCH4isotopic signatures were in the range −55 to −49‰ for emissions from equatorial Nile wetlands and agricultural areas, but widely −60 ± 1‰ from Upper Congo and Zambezi wetlands. Very similarδ13CCH4signatures were measured over the Amazonian wetlands of NE Bolivia (around −59‰) and the overallδ13CCH4signature from outer tropical wetlands in the southern Upper Congo and Upper Amazon drainage plotted together was −59 ± 2‰. These results were more negative than expected. For African cattle,δ13CCH4values were around −60 to −50‰. Isotopic ratios in methane emitted by tropical fires depended on the C3 : C4 ratio of the biomass fuel. In smoke from tropical C3 dry forest fires in Senegal,δ13CCH4values were around −28‰. By contrast, African C4 tropical grass fireδ13CCH4values were −16 to −12‰. Methane from urban landfills in Zambia and Zimbabwe, which have frequent waste fires, hadδ13CCH4around −37 to −36‰. These new isotopic values help improve isotopic constraints on global methane budget models because atmosphericδ13CCH4values predicted by global atmospheric models are highly sensitive to theδ13CCH4isotopic signatures applied to tropical wetland emissions. Field and aircraft campaigns also observed widespread regional smoke pollution over Africa, in both the wet and dry seasons, and large urban pollution plumes. The work highlights the need to understand tropical greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet the goals of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement, and to help reduce air pollution over wide regions of Africa.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)'.
From sink to source: high inter-annual variability in the carbon budget of a Southern African wetland
Authors: Helfter Carole , Gondwe Mangaliso , Murray-Hudson Michael , Makati Anastacia , Skiba Ute
Published: December 2021

We report on three years of continuous monitoring of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions in two contrasting wetland areas of the Okavango Delta, Botswana: a perennial swamp and a seasonal floodplain. The hydrographic zones of the Okavango Delta possess distinct attributes (e.g. vegetation zonation, hydrology) which dictate their respective greenhouse gas (GHG) temporal emission patterns and magnitude. The perennial swamp was a net source of carbon (expressed in CO2-eq units), while the seasonal swamp was a sink in 2018. Despite differences in vegetation types and lifecycles, the net CO2uptake was comparable at the two sites studied in 2018/2020 (−894.2 ± 127.4 g m−2 yr−1at the perennial swamp, average of the 2018 and 2020 budgets, and −1024.5 ± 134.7 g m−2 yr−1at the seasonal floodplain). The annual budgets of CH4were however a factor of three larger at the permanent swamp in 2018 compared to the seasonal floodplain. Both ecosystems were sensitive to drought, which switched these sinks of atmospheric CO2into sources in 2019. This phenomenon was particularly strong at the seasonal floodplain (net annual loss of CO2of 1572.4 ± 158.1 g m−2), due to a sharp decrease in gross primary productivity. Similarly, drought caused CH4emissions at the seasonal floodplain to decrease by a factor of 4 in 2019 compared to the previous year, but emissions from the perennial swamp were unaffected. Our study demonstrates that complex and divergent processes can coexist within the same landscape, and that meteorological anomalies can significantly perturb the balance of the individual terms of the GHG budget. Seasonal floodplains are particularly sensitive to drought, which exacerbate carbon losses to the atmosphere, and it is crucial to improve our understanding of the role played by such wetlands in order to better forecast how their emissions might evolve in a changing climate. Studying such hydro-ecosystems, particularly in the data-poor tropics, and how natural stressors such as drought affect them, can also inform on the potential impacts of man-made perturbations (e.g. construction of hydro-electric dams) and how these might be mitigated. Given the contrasting effects of drought on the CO2and CH4flux terms, it is crucial to evaluate an ecosystem's complete carbon budget instead of treating these GHGs in isolation.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)’.
Airborne quantification of net methane and carbon dioxide fluxes from European Arctic wetlands in Summer 2019
Authors: Barker Patrick A. , Allen Grant , Pitt Joseph R. , Bauguitte Stéphane J.-B. , Pasternak Dominika , Cliff Samuel , France James L. , Fisher Rebecca E. , Lee James D. , Bower Keith N. , Nisbet Euan G.
Published: December 2021

Arctic wetlands and surrounding ecosystems are both a significant source of methane (CH4) and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) during summer months. However, precise quantification of this regional CH4source and CO2sink remains poorly characterized. A research flight using the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement was conducted in July 2019 over an area (approx. 78 000 km2) of mixed peatland and forest in northern Sweden and Finland. Area-averaged fluxes of CH4and carbon dioxide were calculated using an aircraft mass balance approach. Net CH4fluxes normalized to wetland area ranged between 5.93 ± 1.87 mg m−2 h−1and 4.44 ± 0.64 mg m−2 h−1(largest to smallest) over the region with a meridional gradient across three discrete areas enclosed by the flight survey. From largest to smallest, net CO2sinks ranged between −513 ± 74 mg m−2 h−1and −284 ± 89 mg m−2 h−1and result from net uptake of CO2by vegetation and soils in the biosphere. A clear gradient of decreasing bulk and area-averaged CH4flux was identified from north to south across the study region, correlated with decreasing peat bog land area from north to south identified from CORINE land cover classifications. While N2O mole fraction was measured, no discernible gradient was measured over the flight track, but a minimum flux threshold using this mass balance method was calculated. Bulk (total area) CH4fluxes determined via mass balance were compared with area-weighted upscaled chamber fluxes from the same study area and were found to agree well within measurement uncertainty. The mass balance CH4fluxes were found to be significantly higher than the CH4fluxes reported by many land-surface process models compiled as part of the Global Carbon Project. There was high variability in both flux distribution and magnitude between the individual models. This further supports previous studies that suggest that land-surface models are currently ill-equipped to accurately capture carbon fluxes inthe region.

This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 2)'.
Mesorhizobium comanense sp. nov., isolated from groundwater
Authors: Pedron Renato , Luchi Elena , Albiac Marta Acin , Di Cagno Raffaella , Catorci Daniele , Esposito Alfonso , Bianconi Irene , Losa Davide , Cristofolini Mario , Guella Graziano , Jousson Olivier
Published: December 2021

Strain 3P27G6T was isolated from an artesian well connected to the thermal water basin of Comano Terme, Province of Trento, Italy. In phylogenetic analyses based on multilocus sequence analysis, strain 3P27G6T clustered together with

Mesorhizobium australicum

WSM2073T. Genome sequencing produced a 99.51 % complete genome, with a length of 7 363 057 bp and G+C content of 63.53 mol%, containing 6897 coding sequences, 55 tRNA and three rRNA. Average nucleotide identity analysis revealed that all distances calculated between strain 3P27G6T and the other

Mesorhizobium

genomes were below 0.9, indicating that strain 3P27G6T represents a new species. Therefore, we propose the name Mesorhizobium comanense sp. nov. with the type strain 3P27G6T (=DSM 110654T=CECT 30067T). Strain 3P27G6T is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic bacterium. Growth condition, antibiotic susceptibility, metabolic and fatty acid-methyl esters profiles of the strain were determined. Only few nodulation and nitrogen fixation genes were found in the genome, suggesting that this strain may not be specialized in nodulation or in nitrogen fixation.
Opinion mining towards blockchain technology adoption for accessing digital library resources
Authors: Khan Asad Ullah , Zhang Zhiqiang , Taleby Ahvanooey Milad , Rafique Wajid
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Blockchain technology is a distributed and decentralized public digital ledger, which is employed to save dynamic transaction data and static records across several computers so that each record could not be modified retroactively without the collusion of the network and alteration of all subsequent blocks. Recently, it has become immensely popular in digital resource sharing in different research areas such as healthcare, smart cities, cryptocurrency and libraries. Since the current eLibrary systems are vulnerable to issues such as unauthorized access, plagiarism, etc., there is a lack of access control system that can efficiently address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors designed a conceptual model for evaluating the users' intention in the use of blockchain-based digital libraries, which can facilitate the resource organization and provide additional security to interactive processes between users. To conduct our survey, the authors devised and shared two versions, English and Chinese, among 298 participants. Moreover, 7 PhD students participated in the pre-testing of the questioner design. The authors analyzed the demographic data using the Jamovi software and SmartPLS in order to generate the path modeling.

Findings

This study revealed that blockchain technology adaption in eLibraries is essential for enhancing the quality of services, infrastructure and resources for libraries. The study’s results show that optimism, informativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and intention to use blockchain technology for accessing digital resources in libraries.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the adoption of blockchain technology in the digital library. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first empirical attempt to provide a new perspective of developing digital libraries based on security policies. This model shows the underpinning knowledge to manage digital resources, which can facilitate the design phases and enhance the management costs in eLibraries.
Cooperator or supporter: how can cross-boundary Macau–Zhuhai metropolis promote regional tourism together?
Authors: Song Xi , Mo Ziying , Liu Matthew Tingchi , Niu Ben , Huang Li
Published: December 2021

Purpose

This study initiated an investigation of how the Macau–Zhuhai tourism cooperated and discussed how Macau and Zhuhai could join hands to develop tourism in the region. The study demonstrated an approach for destination marketing organizations to explore online tourist-generated content and to understand tourists' perceptions of the destination image (DI).

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,291,057 reviews (535,317 for Macau and 755,740 for Zhuhai) were collected, analyzed and examined to determine how the DI s of Macau and Zhuhai changed during the period of 2015–2019 based on tourist-generated content on travel websites (TripAdvisor, Ctrip.com and Qyer.com) through a text-mining approach.

Findings

The result revealed that Macau and Zhuhai were in a hybrid of competition and collaboration on tourism DI s. First, Macau and Zhuhai competed in hotel and catering industry. Macau was appealing to international tourists and provided high-end and prestigious offerings; while Zhuhai was impressed by cost-effective accommodation and food. Second, Macau diversified industrial structure with diverse “Tourism, Leisure and Recreation” and “Culture, History and Art” more than Zhuhai did. Meanwhile, Macau should balance the different demands of international and Chinese tourists. Third, complementary potentials were found in natural resources, urbanization technology and tourism innovation and related projects.

Practical implications

The research provides valuable insights for policymakers and industrial managers on their endeavors to develop DIs. Policymakers should be able to develop supportive mechanisms and tourism facilitators to promote industrial collaboration and mutual DIs. Managers could refer to the components in the changing DIs and identify the developmental gaps and cooperation potentials in their targeted areas.

Originality/value

The research fulfills the gap in regional tourism studies on Macau, in which the evaluation on synergetic influence and neighbor effect from Zhuhai has been underexplored. Facilitated by up-to-date data mining techniques, the study contributes to both DI and coopetition literature in tourism marketing; and this should inspire further studies on the antecedences of DI changes, resolutions to the competing interests and DIs of different stakeholders in different forms of strategic cooperation in regional tourism. The employment of DIs is an explicit demonstration of tourists' immersion and values attached to the destination, providing effective cues on the status of coopetition.
Study on oil starvation at the oil seal edge of the oil film of hydrostatic bearing with double rectangular cavity
Authors: Ni Shiqian , Zhang Yanqin , Quan Zhen
Published: December 2021

Purpose

When the clearance oil film of hydrostatic bearing friction pair is in critical lubrication state, the phenomenon of zero flow of local lubricating oil will aggravate the oil film temperature rise, which needs to be solved.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the critical lubrication parameter equation and the oil film temperature rise mathematical model are derived for the new type q1-205 double rectangular cavity hydrostatic bearing. Based on a combination of theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental verification, this paper analyzes the flow characteristics and temperature rise characteristics of the lubricating oil when the hydrostatic bearing is in a critical lubrication state under different operating conditions and finally obtains the critical lubrication state of the oil film.

Findings

This study found that the numerical simulations and the derived formulas agree with the results. When the oil film is in critical lubrication, the cross-section side flow of the oil side is almost zero. The heat cannot be taken away in time, resulting in the local temperature rise of the oil film, which causes serious heat accumulation.

Originality/value

It is concluded that the operating condition parameters corresponding to the critical lubrication state provide a theoretical basis for the selection of actual hydrostatic bearing operating conditions, which is of great scientific significance.
Artificial intelligence algorithms to predict Italian real estate market prices
Authors: Rampini Luca , Re Cecconi Fulvio
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The assessment of the Real Estate (RE) prices depends on multiple factors that traditional evaluation methods often struggle to fully understand. Housing prices, in particular, are the foundations for a better knowledge of the Built Environment and its characteristics. Recently, Machine Learning (ML) techniques, which are a subset of Artificial Intelligence, are gaining momentum in solving complex, non-linear problems like house price forecasting. Hence, this study deployed three popular ML techniques to predict dwelling prices in two cities in Italy.

Design/methodology/approach

An extensive dataset about house prices is collected through API protocol in two cities in North Italy, namely Brescia and Varese. This data is used to train and test three most popular ML models, i.e. ElasticNet, XGBoost and Artificial Neural Network, in order to predict house prices with six different features.

Findings

The models' performance was evaluated using the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) score. The results showed that the artificial neural network performed better than the others in predicting house prices, with a MAE 5% lower than the second-best model (which was the XGBoost).

Research limitations/implications

All the models had an accuracy drop in forecasting the most expensive cases, probably due to a lack of data.

Practical implications

The accessibility and easiness of the proposed model will allow future users to predict house prices with different datasets. Alternatively, further research may implement a different model using neural networks, knowing that they work better for this kind of task.

Originality/value

To date, this is the first comparison of the three most popular ML models that are usually employed when predicting house prices.
The joint effect of supervisor influence and investor perspective: unintended consequences on assessing accounting estimates
Authors: Dong Lei , Wang Lei , Chien Wen-Wen
Published: December 2021

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the joint effect of supervisor influence and investor perspective on novice auditors’ assessments of accounting estimates.

Design/methodology/approach

The experiment used a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, randomly assigning proxies of novice auditors among four conditions. The authors manipulated the supervisor’s level of emphasis on evidence that suggests accounting estimate adjustment and whether auditors are prompted to take an investor perspective. Participants were asked to assess the misstatement risk of the allowance for doubtful accounts of the client company.

Findings

The authors find that auditors assign a higher (lower) risk of misstatement when their supervisor places high (low) emphasis on evidence suggesting accounting adjustment. The authors also find that contrary to the belief that taking the perspective of investors could enhance objectivity and independence, investor perspective leads to a decrease (rather than an increase) in auditors’ perceived risk of misstatement when the supervisor places low emphasis on evidence suggesting accounting adjustment.

Originality/value

This study provides early evidence on the efficacy of investor perspective and is one of the first to document an unintended consequence of asking auditors to take an investor perspective.
Impact of COVID-19 on Saudi Arabia's economy: evidence from macro-micro modelling
Authors: Alharbi Raed
Published: December 2021

Purpose

Even with the Saudi Arabian Government's discretionary measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the economic sectors were not spared from the damage. Thus, the paper aims to use a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) economy, with a special focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and production. These influence the level of poverty.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopted the social accounting matrix (SAM) for Saudi Arabia built in 2021 by Imtithal Althumairi from Saudi Arabia's 2017 SAM. The model represents a snapshot of the economy and different flows that exist within the tasks and institutions. Two simulations (mild and severe) were conducted because of the focus on the distributional outcomes.

Findings

Decrease in job creation and economic growth were significant evidence from the study's findings. Findings show that more families hit below the poverty line because the negative impacts of the pandemic have shifted the income allocation curve. Findings show that the weakest of the poor are mitigated by government social grants during the pandemic.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is restricted to the relevant literature relating to the impact of COVID-19 on Saudi Arabia's economy and evaluated using the SAM model. Moreover, the COVID-19 is still an ongoing scenario; thus, the model should be updated as data utilised for the operationalisation are made available.

Practical implications

The information from the suggested model can be suitable to measure the degree of the harm, and thus, the likely extent of the desirable policy feedback. Also, the model can be updated, as data are made available and formulated policies based on the updated data implemented by the policymakers.

Originality/value

Apart from the recovery planning of SMEs during the pandemic, the paper intends to stir up Saudi Arabia's policymakers through the macro-micro model to recovery planning and resilience of the economy with emphasis on mitigating unemployment.
“They created a team of almost entirely the people who work and are like them”: A qualitative study of organisational culture and racialised inequalities among healthcare staff
Authors: Woodhead Charlotte , Stoll Nkasi , Harwood Hannah ,   TIDES Study Team, Alexis Obrey , Hatch Stephani L.
Published: December 2021

Racially and ethnically minoritised healthcare staff groups disproportionately experience and witness workplace discrimination from patients, colleagues and managers. This is visible in their under‐representation at senior levels and over‐representation in disciplinary proceedings and is associated with adversities such as greater depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, low job satisfaction and sickness absence. In the UK, little progress has been made despite the implementation of measures to tackle racialised inequities in the health services. So, what is it about the health service organisational context which shapes and maintains such inequities, and what role does discrimination, bullying and harassment play? Drawing on qualitative interviews with 48 healthcare staff in London (UK), we identify how micro‐level bullying, prejudice, discrimination and harassment behaviours, independently and in combination, exploit and maintain meso‐level racialised hierarchies. Within teams, the high diversity–low inclusion dynamic shaped and was perpetuated by in‐ and outgroup inclusion and exclusion processes (including “insidious dismissal”) often employing bullying or microaggressions. These were linked to intersecting factors, such as race, ethnicity, migration, language and religion, and could increase segregation. For racially and ethnically minoritised groups, ingroup maintenance, moving teams or leaving were also ways of coping with organisational inequities. We discuss implications for tackling racialised workplace inequities.
Primary EWS/PNET of the lung with TP53 germline and SKT11 somatic mutation: A case report and review of the literature
Authors: Zhang Shuangping , Chen Yun , Guo Shiping , Chen Ke‐Neng
Published: December 2021

Primary pulmonary EWS/PNET is extremely rare. This report describes a 20 year‐old man with primary pulmonary EWS/PNET with TP53 germline and SKT11 somatic mutation. After four neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles (VAC with alternating IE) combined with anlotinib, a left pneumonectomy was performed. Maintenance anlotinib monotherapy was then continued with no sign of recurrence to date. It is suggested that before the treatment and prognosis of children or young adults with primary EWS/PNET of the lung that consideration should be given to genetic testing.
REcognizing DElirium in geriatric Emergency Medicine: The REDEEM risk stratification score
Authors: Oliveira J. e Silva Lucas , Stanich Jessica A. , Jeffery Molly M. , Mullan Aidan F. , Bower Susan M. , Campbell Ronna L. , Rabinstein Alejandro A. , Pignolo Robert J. , Bellolio Fernanda
Published: December 2021

Objective

The objective was to derive a risk score that uses variables available early during the emergency department (ED) encounter to identify high‐risk geriatric patients who may benefit from delirium screening.

Methods

This was an observational study of older adults age ≥ 75 years who presented to an academic ED and who were screened for delirium during their ED visit. Variable selection from candidate predictors was performed through a LASSO‐penalized logistic regression. A risk score was derived from the final prediction model, and predictive accuracy characteristics were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

From the 967 eligible ED visits, delirium was detected in 107 (11.1%). The area under the curve for the REcognizing DElirium in Emergency Medicine (REDEEM) score was 0.901 (95% CI = 0.864–0.938). The REEDEM risk score included 10 different variables (seven based on triage information and three obtained during early history taking) with a score ranging from –3 to 66. Using an optimal cutoff of ≥11, we found a sensitivity of 84.1% (90 of 107 ED delirium patients, 95% CI = 75.5%–90.2%) and a specificity of 86.6% (745 of 860 non‐ED delirium patients, 95% CI = 84.1%–88.8%). A lower cutoff of ≥5 was found to minimize false negatives with an improved sensitivity at 91.6% (98 of 107 ED delirium patients, 95% CI = 84.2%–95.8%).

Conclusion

A risk stratification score was derived with the potential to augment delirium recognition in geriatric ED patients. This has the potential to assist on delirium‐targeted screening of high‐risk patients in the ED. Validation of REDEEM, however, is needed prior to implementation.
Australia's National Security Neoconservatives
Authors: Sussex Matthew
Published: December 2021

This article examines how elites shape debates during major contests over national security, with specific reference to a new neoconservative strand of Australia's domestic discourse. It argues that Australian neoconservatives have adopted a revisionist narrative: a direct challenge to orthodox views about the nature and purpose of foreign and security policy. I demonstrate this in four stages. First, I identify the securitisation of “Australian values” as a hallmark of Australian national security neoconservatism. Next, I identify its core themes, which bear similarities to neoconservative thinking in the United States. Third, I explore the main strategies Australia's national security neoconservatives utilise to revise domestic debates. These incorporate the inflation of threat perceptions; interpreting values as virtues; and the marginalisation of opposing viewpoints. Finally, in assessing the effect of these strategies I find that Australian neoconservatism is internally divisive, constrains Australian choices, and ultimately damages the values its proponents seek to protect.
Effect of pulsatility on shear‐induced extensional behavior of Von Willebrand factor
Authors: Wang Yi , Nguyen Khanh T. , Ismail Esraa , Donoghue Leslie , Giridharan Guruprasad A. , Sethu Palaniappan , Cheng Xuanhong
Published: December 2021

Background

Patients with continuous flow ventricular assist devices (CF‐VADs) are at high risk for non‐surgical bleeding, speculated to associate with the loss of pulsatility following CF‐VAD placement. It has been hypothesized that continuous shear stress causes elongation and increased enzymatic degradation of von Willebrand Factor (vWF), a key player in thrombus formation at sites of vascular damage. However, the role of loss of pulsatility on the unravelling behavior of vWF has not been widely explored.

Methods

vWF molecules were immobilized on the surface of microfluidic devices and subjected to various pulsatile flow profiles, including continuous flow and pulsatile flow of different magnitudes, dQ/dt (i.e., first derivative of flow rate) of pulsatility and pulse frequencies to mimic in vivo shear flow environments with and without CF‐VAD support. VWF elongation was observed using total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. Besides, the vWF level is measured from the patients’ blood sample before and after CF‐VAD implantation from a clinical perspective. To our knowledge, this work is the first in providing direct, visual observation of single vWF molecule extension under controlled‐pulsatile shear flow.

Results

Unravelling of vWF (total sample size n ~ 200 molecules) is significantly reduced under pulsatile flow (p < 0.01) compared to continuous flow. An increase in the magnitude of pulsatility further reduces unravelling lengths, while lower frequency of pulsatility (20 vs. 60 pulses per min) does not have a major effect on the maximum or minimum unravelling lengths. Evaluation of CF‐VAD patient blood samples (n = 13) demonstrates that vWF levels decreased by ~40% following CF‐VAD placement (p < 0.01), which correlates to single‐molecule observations from a clinical point of view.

Conclusions

Pulsatile flow reduces unfolding of vWF compared to continuous flow and a lower pulse frequency of 20 pulses/minute yielded comparable vWF unfolding to 60 pulses/minute. These findings could shed light on non‐surgical bleeding associated with the loss of pulsatility following CF‐VAD placement.
The impact of gastrointestinal conditions on psychosocial factors associated with the biopsychosocial model of health: A scoping review
Authors: Dent Elizabeth , Davinson Nicola , Wilkie Stephanie
Published: December 2021

The increase in the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) conditions is an emerging global health concern. Studies of the impact on the lives of individuals living with GI conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) typically focus on biological elements, such as symptomology and treatment efficacy. Comparatively fewer studies have explored the psychological and social aspects of GI conditions, which could provide key information needed to better understand the impact of GI conditions on people and their lived experiences. In this review, existing literature concerning the psychosocial factors and well‐being outcomes associated with GI conditions was reviewed using a scoping methodology. Sixty‐eight studies were selected for inclusion. Of these studies, the well‐being outcomes most frequently addressed, for both IBS and IBD, were quality of life and health‐related quality of life, and the most frequently addressed psychosocial factors were social support and coping. These outcomes are largely consistent with those identified for other medical conditions explored using the biopsychosocial model of health, with some exploration of the lived experiences of those with a GI condition.
Natural killer cells in liver transplantation: Can we harness the power of the immune checkpoint to promote tolerance?
Authors: Halma Jennifer , Pierce Stephen , McLennan Rebecca , Bradley Todd , Fischer Ryan
Published: December 2021

The roles that natural killer (NK) cells play in liver disease and transplantation remain ill‐defined. Reports on the matter are often contradictory, and the mechanisms elucidated are complex and dependent on the context of the model tested. Moreover, NK cell attributes, such as receptor protein expression and function differ among species, make study of primate or rodent transplant models challenging. Recent insights into NK function and NK‐mediated therapy in the context of cancer therapy may prove applicable to transplantation. Of specific interest are immune checkpoint molecules and the mechanisms by which they modulate NK cells in the tumor micro‐environment. In this review, we summarize NK cell populations in the peripheral blood and liver, and we explore the data regarding the expression and function of immune checkpoint molecules on NK cells. We also hypothesize about the roles they could play in liver transplantation and discuss how they might be harnessed therapeutically in transplant sciences.
Plasticity in rotifer morphology induced by conflicting threats from multiple predators
Authors: Zhang Huan , He Yuhan , He Liang , Zhao Kangshun , García Molinos Jorge , Hansson Lars‐Anders , Xu Jun
Published: December 2021

One of the major research goals in ecology is to understand predator–prey interactions. However, our understanding of how prey express phenotypic plasticity in response to co‐occurring multiple predators is limited in many systems.

Here, we use the rotiferBrachionus calyciflorusas model organism to test how prey responds to co‐occurring predators through a series of related experiments. Firstly, we examined the effects of the density of a fish predatorCarassius auratuson morphological traits inB. calyciflorus. Secondly, we examined the effects of larvalC. auratusandAsplanchna brightwellii(a rotifer predator) on morphological defensive traits (body length, body width, anterior spine length, and posterolateral spine length) ofB. calyciflorus.

We show thatB. calyciflorusdevelops smaller body size and shorter spine length when exposed to media conditioned using larval fish, and that high larval fish densities induce more pronounced responses than low densities. We also show thatB. calyciflorusis able to discriminate between the two predators by producing opposing morphological adaptations (i.e., larger body size and longer posterolateral spines againstA. brightwellii,but smaller body size and shorter spine length when exposed to the visual predator [larval fish]). However,B. calyciflorusdevelops intermediate, trade‐off responses in all morphological traits when exposed to conflicting threats from a combination of predators with different size and feeding strategies.

These results show how prey are not necessarily passive victims, but rather, use countermeasures against predation – they actively develop responses to counteract their vulnerability to different predators by rapidly adjusting their morphology and life‐history traits to the existing predator regimes.
Geographies of the urban underground
Authors: Connor Andrea , McNeill Donald
Published: December 2021

The underground as an active element of spatiality has started to receive increasing attention in the scholarly literature. This paper describes how a growing interest in the vertical and volumetric within urban geography has started to challenge a prevailing ‘horizontalism’ within geographical conceptualisations of urban space. The paper has three parts. It identifies: the emergence of new approaches to spatial forms based around verticality and volume; concepts of urban governance that take account of the composite material volumes and non‐human agency of the subterranean sphere; and interpretations of the Anthropocene that offer new perspectives on the constitution of the subterranean of cities.