bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of electrostatic discharge threshold voltage of phase-shift mask reticle
Authors: Razman Harriman , Md Isa Azmi Awang , Suaidi Mohamad Kadim , Chik Mohd Azizi
Published: January 2022

A reticle is a stencil used in lithography process for forming integrated circuit (IC) on silicon substrate. It consists of a thin (100 nm) coating of masking metallic patterned (features) with critical dimension (CD) of nanometers on a thicker quartz substrate. The features can be damaged by electrostatic discharge (ESD) when exposed to the environment electrostatic charge and caused deformed IC and eventually device difunctional. Semiconductor equipment materials industry (SEMI) standard established the allowable electrostatic charge on reticle based on the characterization of ESD threshold voltage on binary reticle. However, there is another type of reticle which is phase-shift mask (PSM), has not been characterized for its ESD threshold voltage. A direct current (DC) voltage is applied directly to the structures with CD of 80 nm, 110 nm, and 160 nm. The surface current is recorded at all levels of stress from 1 to 100 V. The current–voltage (IV) curve and physical inspection results for each cell are then reviewed and classified. The results yielded which no electric field induced migration (EFM) defect and breakdown voltage occurred at any of the structures. The cathode’s metal work function has been identified as the factor that influences the PSM reticle ESD threshold voltage.
A nonlinearities inverse distance weighting spatial interpolation approach applied to the surface electromyography signal
Authors: Ibrahim Ayad Assad , Farhan Ikhlas Mahmoud , Safi Mohammed Ehasn
Published: January 2022

Spatial interpolation of a surface electromyography (sEMG) signal from a set of signals recorded from a multi-electrode array is a challenge in biomedical signal processing. Consequently, it could be useful to increase the electrodes' density in detecting the skeletal muscles' motor units under detection's vacancy. This paper used two types of spatial interpolation methods for estimation: Inverse distance weighted (IDW) and Kriging. Furthermore, a new technique is proposed using a modified nonlinearity formula based on IDW. A set of EMG signals recorded from the noninvasive multi-electrode grid from different types of subjects, sex, age, and type of muscles have been studied when muscles are under regular tension activity. A goodness of fit measure (R2) is used to evaluate the proposed technique. The interpolated signals are compared with the actual signals; the Goodness of fit measure's value is almost 99%, with a processing time of 100msec. The resulting technique is shown to be of high accuracy and matching of spatial interpolated signals to actual signals compared with IDW and Kriging techniques.
Super-linear speedup for real-time condition monitoring using image processing and drones
Authors: Alsafasfeh Moath , Bazuin Bradely , Abdel-Qader Ikhlas
Published: January 2022

Real-time inspections for the large-scale solar system may take a long time to get the hazard situations for any failures that may take place in the solar panels normal operations, where prior hazards detection is important. Reducing the execution time and improving the system’s performance are the ultimate goals of multiprocessing or multicore systems. Real-time video processing and analysis from two camcorders, thermal and charge-coupling devices (CCD), mounted on a drone compose the embedded system being proposed for solar panels inspection. The inspection method needs more time for capturing and processing the frames and detecting the faulty panels. The system can determine the longitude and latitude of the defect position information in real-time. In this work, we investigate parallel processing for the image processing operations which reduces the processing time for the inspection systems. The results show a super-linear speedup for real-time condition monitoring in large-scale solar systems. Using the multiprocessing module in Python, we execute fault detection algorithms using streamed frames from both video cameras. The experimental results show a super-linear speedup for thermal and CCD video processing, the execution time is efficiently reduced with an average of 3.1 times and 6.3 times using 2 processes and 4 processes respectively.
Comparison of resting electroencephalogram coherence in patients with mild cognitive impairment and normal elderly subjects
Authors: Hadiyoso Sugondo , Wijayanto Inung , Aulia Suci
Published: January 2022

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was a condition beginning before more serious deterioration, leading to Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). MCI detection was needed to determine the patient's therapeutic management. Analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) coherence is one of the modalities for MCI detection. Therefore, this study investigated the inter and intra-hemispheric coherence over 16 EEG channels in the frequency range of 1-30 Hz. The simulation results showed that most of the electrode pair coherence in MCI patients have decreased compared to normal elderly subjects. In inter hemisphere coherence, significant differences (p<0.05) were found in the FP1-FP2 electrode pairs. Meanwhile, significant differences (p<0.05) were found in almost all pre-frontal area connectivity of the intra-hemisphere coherence pairs. The electrode pairs were FP2-F4, FP2-T4, FP1-F3, FP1-F7, FP1-C3, FP1-T3, FP1-P3, FP1-T5, FP1-O1, F3-O1, and T3-T5. The decreased coherence in MCI patients showed the disconnection of cortical connections as a result of the death of the neurons. Furthermore, the coherence value can be used as a multimodal feature in normal elderly subjects and MCI. It is hoped that current studies may be considered for early detection of Alzheimer’s in a larger population.
Discrete interferences optimum beamformer in correlated signal and interfering noise
Authors: Singh Satyanand , Singh Sajai Vir , Yadav Dinesh , Suman Sanjay Kumar , Lakshminarayanan Bhagyalakshmi , Singh Ghanshyam
Published: January 2022

This paper introduces a significant special situation where the noise is a collection of D-plane interference signals and the correlated noise of D+1 is less than the number of array components. An optimal beamforming processor based on the minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) generates and combines appropriate statistics for the D+1 model. Instead of the original space of the N-dimensional problem, the interference signal subspace is reduced to D+1. Typical antenna arrays in many modern communication networks absorb waves generated from multiple point sources. An analytical formula was derived to improve the signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR) obtained from the steering errors of the two beamformers. The proposed MVDR processor-based beamforming does not enforce general constraints. Therefore, it can also be used in systems where the steering vector is compromised by gain. Simulation results show that the output of the proposed beamformer based on the MVDR processor is usually close to the ideal state within a wide range of signal-to-noise ratio and signal-to-interference ratio. The MVDR processor-based beamformer has been experimentally evaluated. The proposed processor-based MVDR system significantly improves performance for large interference white noise ratio (INR) in the sidelobe region and provide an appropriate beam pattern.
A data mining analysis of COVID-19 cases in states of United States of America
Authors: Yavuz Özerk
Published: January 2022

Epidemic diseases can be extremely dangerous with its hazarding influences. They may have negative effects on economies, businesses, environment, humans, and workforce. In this paper, some of the factors that are interrelated with COVID-19 pandemic have been examined using data mining methodologies and approaches. As a result of the analysis some rules and insights have been discovered and performances of the data mining algorithms have been evaluated. According to the analysis results, JRip algorithmic technique had the most correct classification rate and the lowest root mean squared error (RMSE). Considering classification rate and RMSE measure, JRip can be considered as an effective method in understanding factors that are related with corona virus caused deaths.
An architectural framework for automatic detection of autism using deep convolution networks and genetic algorithm
Authors: Nagesh Nagashree , Patil Premjyoti , Patil Shantakumar , Kokatanur Mallikarjun
Published: January 2022

The brainchild in any medical image processing lied in how accurately the diseases are diagnosed. Especially in the case of neural disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), accurate detection was still a challenge. Several noninvasive neuroimaging techniques provided experts information about the functionality and anatomical structure of the brain. As autism is a neural disorder, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain gave a complex structure and functionality. Many machine learning techniques were proposed to improve the classification and detection accuracy of autism in MRI images. Our work focused mainly on developing the architecture of convolution neural networks (CNN) combining the genetic algorithm. Such artificial intelligence (AI) techniques were very much needed for training as they gave better accuracy compared to traditional statistical methods.
A hybrid approach to medical decision-making: diagnosis of heart disease with machine-learning model
Authors: Suresh Tamilarasi , Assegie Tsehay Admassu , Rajkumar Subhashni , Komal Kumar Napa
Published: January 2022

Heart disease is one of the most widely spreading and deadliest diseases across the world. In this study, we have proposed hybrid model for heart disease prediction by employing random forest and support vector machine. With random forest, iterative feature elimination is carried out to select heart disease features that improves predictive outcome of support vector machine for heart disease prediction. Experiment is conducted on the proposed model using test set and the experimental result evidently appears to prove that the performance of the proposed hybrid model is better as compared to an individual random forest and support vector machine. Overall, we have developed more accurate and computationally efficient model for heart disease prediction with accuracy of 98.3%. Moreover, experiment is conducted to analyze the effect of regularization parameter (C) and gamma on the performance of support vector machine. The experimental result evidently reveals that support vector machine is very sensitive to C and gamma.
Applying adaptive learning by integrating semantic and machine learning in proposing student assessment model
Authors: Hosny Kamilia , El-korany Abeer
Published: January 2022

Adaptive learning is one of the most widely used data driven approach to teaching and it received an increasing attention over the last decade. It aims to meet the student’s characteristics by tailoring learning courses materials and assessment methods. In order to determine the student’s characteristics, we need to detect their learning styles according to visual, auditory or kinaesthetic (VAK) learning style. In this research, an integrated model that utilizes both semantic and machine learning clustering methods is developed in order to cluster students to detect their learning styles and recommend suitable assessment method(s) accordingly. In order to measure the effectiveness of the proposed model, a set of experiments were conducted on real dataset (Open University Learning Analytics Dataset). Experiments showed that the proposed model is able to cluster students according to their different learning activities with an accuracy that exceeds 95% and predict their relative assessment method(s) with an average accuracy equals to 93%.
Land use/land cover classification using machine learning models
Authors: Swetanisha Subhra , Panda Amiya Ranjan , Behera Dayal Kumar
Published: January 2022

An ensemble model has been proposed in this work by combining the extreme gradient boosting classification (XGBoost) model with support vector machine (SVM) for land use and land cover classification (LULCC). We have used the multispectral Landsat-8 operational land imager sensor (OLI) data with six spectral bands in the electromagnetic spectrum (EM). The area of study is the administrative boundary of the twin cities of Odisha. Data collected in 2020 is classified into seven land use classes/labels: river, canal, pond, forest, urban, agricultural land, and sand. Comparative assessments of the results of ten machine learning models are accomplished by computing the overall accuracy, kappa coefficient, producer accuracy and user accuracy. An ensemble classifier model makes the classification more precise than the other state-of-the-art machine learning classifiers.
A dynamic data encryption method based on addressing the data importance on the internet of things
Authors: Khwailleh Dana , Al-balas Firas
Published: January 2022

The rapid growth of internet of things (IoT) in multiple areas brings research challenges closely linked to the nature of IoT technology. Therefore, there has been a need to secure the collected data from IoT sensors in an efficient and dynamic way taking into consideration the nature of collected data due to its importance. So, in this paper, a dynamic algorithm has been developed to distinguish the importance of data collected and apply the suitable security approach for each type of data collected. This was done by using hybrid system that combines block cipher and stream cipher systems. After data classification using machine learning classifiers the less important data are encrypted using stream cipher (SC) that use rivest cipher 4 algorithm, and more important data encrypted using block cipher (BC) that use advanced encryption standard algorithm. By applying a performance evaluation using simulation, the proposed method guarantees that it encrypts the data with less central processing unit (CPU) time with improvement in the security over the data by using the proposed hybrid system.
A crise do tripartismo europeu: o caso da igualdade de gênero na concertação social em Portugal
Authors: Rego Raquel , Nunes Cristina , Pita Tatiana
Published: January 2022

Nos sistemas corporatistas prevalecentes na UE, a concertação social é a instância que promove o consenso a nível nacional entre sindicatos, empregadores e governos. Perante a persistente desigualdade do mercado de trabalho, perguntámo-nos qual tem sido o seu contributo para as políticas de igualdade de gênero. Respondemos a esta pergunta com a análise de conteúdo dos pactos sociais assinados em Portugal ao longo de mais de trinta anos de tripartismo (1984-2019). Os resultados mostram que a igualdade de gênero tem um peso reduzido nos pactos sociais e que o quadro normativo europeu é determinante nos avanços feitos. Nosso estudo reforça assim a literatura existente que aponta para a necessidade de uma reforma do tripartismo.
Garantias externas e fundamentos internos: dimensões da legitimidade em Max Weber
Authors: Sell Carlos Eduardo
Published: January 2022

O artigo propõe uma reconstrução histórico-sistemática do conceito de legitimidade no âmbito do pensamento político e sociológico de Max Weber. Na primeira parte (histórica), contrapondo-se à tese de que haveria uma ruptura no pensamento de Weber, argumenta-se que a dimensão estrutural e a dimensão simbólica são variáveis que possuem o mesmo peso analítico na determinação teórica das formas de dominação. Na segunda parte (sistemática), após demonstrar o conteúdo prescritivo e normativo inerente ao conceito de legitimidade,  ele será examinado ainda na sua dimensão macrossocial, enquanto “garantia de  legitimidade”, e na sua dimensão microssocial, enquanto “fundamento da legitimidade”. Ao separar analiticamente cada um desses aspectos, Weber nos legou os alicerces de um conceito multidimensional de legitimidade que estabelece um elo intrínseco entre as estruturas políticas e seus fundamentos normativos.
Theodor Adorno, Aspectos do novo radicalismo de direita
Authors: Rüdiger Francisco
Published: January 2022

Resenha de Aspectos do novo radicalismo de direita. São Paulo: Editora Unesp, 2020, de Theodor Adorno.
Contribuições da psicanálise no Acompanhamento Terapêutico de crianças: uma revisão da revista Estilos da Clínica
Authors: Cavalcante Anaís Oliveira Caribé , Lisboa Milena
Published: January 2022

A presente revisão de literatura se propõe a analisar algumas contribuições da Psicanálise para a clínica do Acompanhamento Terapêutico (AT) com crianças, revisitando artigos da revista Estilos da Clínica - USP. Neste artigo, interroga-se acerca do acompanhante terapêutico (at), suas funções e a possibilidade de conexão com o desejo da criança em sofrimento psíquico. Foram analisados 13 artigos sobre Acompanhamento e Infância publicados na revista. A partir de uma leitura interpretativa, foram construídas três categorias: Acompanhamento Terapêutico (estrutura, formação e ética do dispositivo); Acompanhamento Terapêutico com crianças; e Acompanhamento Terapêutico com crianças autistas, psicóticas ou sem diagnóstico fechado. Assim, compreende-se a psicanálise como um excelente recurso teórico para o norteamento do Acompanhamento Terapêutico, visto que sua aposta subjetiva pode ser um trampolim para o desenvolvimento infantil.
O uso de robôs como mediadores na prática clínica psicanalítica com crianças autistas
Authors: Badaró Stéphanie Alves Furtado , Calzavara Maria Gláucia Pires
Published: January 2022

Nossa proposta, a partir da clínica psicanalítica, é demonstrar como o uso do robô, enquanto objeto tecnológico, poderá permitir à criança autista, no tratamento, maior interação e laço com o Outro. Fazemos uma aposta de que as intervenções mediadas pelo robô podem proporcionar um semblante das operações constitutivas do sujeito que não se realizaram. Considerando que os componentes da borda autística possibilitam ao sujeito enlaçar-se no meio social, destaca-se as possibilidades de 'alargamento' desta borda autística a partir de intervenções qualificadas com objeto. Assim, o uso do robô nas sessões torna as intervenções menos invasivas à criança permitindo certa regulação pulsional, favorecendo um caminho privilegiado de comunicação e intervenção, produzindo maior interação social.
Psicossomática e trauma: o sujeito frente ao irrepresentável
Authors: Lemos Suziani de Cássia Almeida , Chatelard Daniela Scheinkman , Tarouquella Katia Cristina
Published: January 2022

O presente estudo busca articular os conceitos de trauma e psicossomática a partir da diferenciação da formação do sintoma histérico e do que comparece predominantemente na clínica contemporânea como fenômeno psicossomático. Ao analisar os desencadeantes de adoecimentos psicossomáticos a partir da psicanálise, o trauma se apresenta como importante elemento na formação dos sintomas, uma vez que provoca o esmagamento do psiquismo nascente da criança e o consequente comprometimento à sua constituição psíquica. A fragilidade simbólica instaurada pelo traumático impossibilitaria a metabolização ou representação das vivências, operando formações sintomáticas marcadas pelo aprisionamento dessas experiências no próprio corpo do sujeito. Nesse sentido, a noção do irrepresentável, surge como elemento teórico-clínico fundamental para pensar os fenômenos psicossomáticos na atualidade.
“Felicidade Perfeita” e outros poemas de Lekey Leidecker
Authors: Milton John
Published: January 2022

Este artigo apresenta a tradução do inglês para o português de cinco poemas da escritora tibetana Lekey Leidecker.
Cantares do exílio: dois poemas de Lhasang Tsering
Authors: Cricelli Francesca
Published: January 2022

Este artigo é uma tradução comentada de dois poemas do poeta exilado tibetano, e ex-guerrilheiro, Lhasang Tsering. No texto discute-se também como esses poemas de Lhasang retratam a condição inescapável do exílio e as dificuldades dos refugiados, que de alguma forma se assemelha à injustiça social no Brasil e em outros cantos, ainda que seja muito distinto do exílio vivido pela comunidade tibetana desterritorializada.
Cento e uma lamparinas de manteiga: tradução da poesia de Tsering Wangmo Dhompa
Authors: Collin Luci
Published: January 2022

Este artigo apresenta quatro poemas da escritora tibetana no exílio Tsering Wangmo Dhompa traduzidos do inglês para o português.
“Resiste ao sangue e às cólicas”: “The G-Girl” e outros poemas de Tenzin Choezin
Authors: Mohallem Pedro
Published: January 2022

Os três poemas de Tenzin Choezin traduzidos neste artigo fornecem um vislumbre do mosaico intercultural que constitui as vidas tibetanas em exílio, ao mesmo tempo familiar nos temas que compartilha tradições literárias pelo mundo, como questões de gênero e histórias de fantasmas, e distinto no modo como os poemas estabelecem a relação do eu com o outro, bem como no uso criativo da língua anglo-tibetana.
Witnessing Women: Quo Vadis, Cinema?
Authors: Jelača Dijana
Published: January 2022

The essay explores how two women filmmakers, each deploying her unique vision through the perspective of a female protagonist, stage a transformative encounter with the act of bearing witness to genocide. The Diary of Diana B. (Dnevnik Diane Budisavljević, 2019, Croatia) directed by Dana Budisavljević, and Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020, Bosnia-Herzegovina), directed by Jasmila Žbanić, both compel us to bear witness to mass atrocities while avoiding the pitfalls of turning suffering into a spectacle, and by sidestepping the predictable cinematic conventions of redemption and closure, both formally and narratively. In my analysis of the films as anti-spectacles through the framework of Trinh T. Minh-ha’s ‘speaking nearby’, I argue for the concept of ‘women’s world cinema’, a kind of cinema that is made by women, speaks to women’s experiences, and/or addresses the spectator as female while also speaking nearby instead of about its subjects in ways that eschew conventional spectatorial alignments and co-optations of traumatic experience.
Taxonomic study of the genus Tenupalpa Lee et Li, 2021 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae: Thiotrichinae) from China, with descriptions of fifteen new species
Authors: LEE GA-EUN , LI HOUHUN
Published: January 2022

Tenupalpa Lee et Li, 2021 (Gelechiidae: Thiotrichinae) was recently proposed based on a molecular and morphological study of the subfamily. It currently includes six species mainly known from Russia, Japan and India. In this paper, 15 new species from China are described: T. acutata sp. nov., T. acutimedia sp. nov., T. angulosa sp. nov., T. breviaedeaga sp. nov., T. zhengi sp. nov., T. crassimedia sp. nov., T. dissimilis sp. nov., T. falcata sp. nov., T. fuscalata sp. nov., T. immaculata sp. nov., T. isabellina sp. nov., T. magniguttata sp. nov., T. latifasciata sp. nov., T. perparviloba sp. nov. and T. uncativalva sp. nov. Also, T. xanthodora (Meyrick, 1923) comb. nov., and the original combination for Thiotricha glenias Meyrick, 1908 stat. rev. are proposed. Five species—Tenupalpa angustella (Omelko, 1984), T. biformis (Omelko, 1984), T. flavitermina (Kyaw, Yagi & Hirowatari, 2019), T. nephodesma (Meyrick, 1918) and T. venustalis (Omelko, 1984)—are reported from China for the first time, and two species—T. angustella and T. venustalis—are newly recorded from Korea. Photographs of adults, genitalia, and the eighth abdominal segment of males are illustrated, and a key to all known Tenupalpa species are provided based on external characters and male genitalia.
Two new species of Aulacaspis Cockerell, 1893 (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) from China
Authors: TIAN FENG , XING JICHUN
Published: January 2022

Two new armoured scale insects in the genus Aulacaspis (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Diaspididae) are described and illustrated from Guizhou Province, China. Aulacaspis paralonganae sp. n. was collected from the host-plant Schima superba (Theaceae) and A. guiyangensis sp. n. was collected from Cinnamomum camphora (Lauraceae). Aulacaspis longanae Chen, Wu & Su 1980 is redescribed and a new host-plant record is reported. The type specimens of the two new species and material of A. longanae are deposited in the Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China. An identification key based on adult females is provided to separate Chinese species of Aulacaspis.
Export of Ice Sheet Meltwater from Upernavik Fjord, West Greenland
Authors: Muilwijk Morven , Straneo Fiamma , Slater Donald A. , Smedsrud Lars H. , Holte James , Wood Michael , Andresen Camilla S. , Harden Ben
Published: January 2022

Meltwater from Greenland is an important freshwater source for the North Atlantic Ocean, released into the ocean at the head of fjords in the form of runoff, submarine melt, and icebergs. The meltwater release gives rise to complex in-fjord transformations that result in its dilution through mixing with other water masses. The transformed waters, which contain the meltwater, are exported from the fjords as a new water mass Glacially Modified Water (GMW). Here we use summer hydrographic data collected from 2013 to 2019 in Upernavik, a major glacial fjord in northwest Greenland, to describe the water masses that flow into the fjord from the shelf and the exported GMWs. Using an optimum multi-parameter technique across multiple years we then show that GMW is composed of 57.8% ± 8.1% Atlantic Water (AW), 41.0% ± 8.3% Polar Water (PW), 1.0% ± 0.1% subglacial discharge, and 0.2% ± 0.2% submarine meltwater. We show that the GMW fractional composition cannot be described by buoyant plume theory alone since it includes lateral mixing within the upper layers of the fjord not accounted for by buoyant plume dynamics. Consistent with its composition, we find that changes in GMW properties reflect changes in the AW and PW source waters. Using the obtained dilution ratios, this study suggests that the exchange across the fjord mouth during summer is on the order of 50 mSv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) (compared to a freshwater input of 0.5 mSv). This study provides a first-order parameterization for the exchange at the mouth of glacial fjords for large-scale ocean models.
How do prosperity and aspiration underlie leisure tourism expenditure patterns?
Authors: Alfarhan Usamah F , Olya Hossein , Nusair Khaldoon
Published: January 2022

This research advances the current knowledge of tourism expenditure by adapting a new analytical approach to understand expenditure differentials along their conditional distributions, based on multiple segmentation criteria. Using data from survey and secondary sources, we approximate tourists’ required utilities via prosperity at their countries of residence, a macro-level criterion, and individual-travel aspirations, a micro-level criterion. Subsequently, expenditure differentials between more and less prosperous/aspired tourists are decomposed into two components. First, group differences in expenditure covariates that represent tourists’ relative consumption behaviors and, second, differences in the estimated returns to those covariates, measuring potential third-degree price discrimination. Our results guide policy makers in the tourism industry to develop pricing strategies capable of generating mark-ups within all viable segmentations.
Biomarkers to aid the return to play decision following sports-related concussion: a systematic review
Authors: Senaratne Nipuna , Hunt Alexandra , Sotsman Eleanor , Grey Michael J.
Published: January 2022

Premature return to play (RTP) following sports-related concussion (SRC) is associated with significant morbidity including risk of neurological and non-neurological injury, persistent post-concussion symptoms and chronic neurological deficits. Assessing athletes for RTP is critical but these decisions are currently based on clinical assessments that are subject to bias and symptomatic reporting that rely on compliance. An objective and easily obtained biomarker that can indicate recovery following SRC would aid clinicians to make safer RTP decisions. We performed a systematic review to identify potential biomarkers from saliva, urine and blood sources that could inform the clinical RTP decision. The MEDLINE database was searched. Inclusion criteria were studies focusing on adults diagnosed with SRC, fluid biomarkers from blood, saliva or urine and clinical recovery from SRC or at RTP. We assessed each biomarker for their time course post SRC and relationship to clinical recovery. Secondary outcomes included correlation with symptom scores and predictive value for prolonged RTP. We identified 8 studies all investigating blood-based markers of diffuse axonal injury (tau, NFL, SNTF), neuroglial injury (NSE, VLP-1, UCH-L1, S100B, GFAP), inflammation and hormonal disturbances. Tau, SNTF, UCH-1, GFAP, S100B and the inflammatory cytokine MCP-4 are raised post SRC and return to baseline by RTP. Changes in tau, NFL, SNTF, GFAP and MCP-4 post SRC correlate with severity of concussion as measured by symptom severity or RTP duration. There is only preliminary case-reporting for hormonal biomarkers. The evidence is limited by a lack of highly powered studies, variation in use of athletic and Contact sport controls (CSC) and a lack of consistent sampling and assessment protocols. There is promise for biomarkers to aid RTP decisions following SRC, most notably in use alongside clinical assessment in RTP criteria to allow greater precision in identifying mild and severe concussion.
The genomic structure of isolation across breed, country and strain for important South African and Australian sheep populations
Authors: Nel Cornelius , Gurman Phillip , Swan Andrew , van der Werf Julius , Snyman Margaretha , Dzama Kennedy , Gore Klint , Scholtz Anna , Cloete Schalk
Published: January 2022

Background

South Africa and Australia shares multiple important sheep breeds. For some of these breeds, genomic breeding values are provided to breeders in Australia, but not yet in South Africa. Combining genomic resources could facilitate development for across country selection, but the influence of population structures could be important to the compatability of genomic data from varying origins. The genetic structure within and across breeds, countries and strains was evaluated in this study by population genomic parameters derived from SNP-marker data. Populations were first analysed by breed and country of origin and then by subpopulations of South African and Australian Merinos.

Results

Mean estimated relatedness according to the genomic relationship matrix varied by breed (-0.11 to 0.16) and bloodline (-0.08 to 0.06) groups and depended on co-ancestry as well as recent genetic links. Measures of divergence across bloodlines (FST: 0.04–0.12) were sometimes more distant than across some breeds (FST: 0.05–0.24), but the divergence of common breeds from their across-country equivalents was weak (FST: 0.01–0.04). According to mean relatedness, FST, PCA and Admixture, the Australian Ultrafine line was better connected to the SA Cradock Fine Wool flock than with other AUS bloodlines. Levels of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between adjacent markers was generally low, but also varied across breeds (r2: 0.14–0.22) as well as bloodlines (r2: 0.15–0.19). Patterns of LD decay was also unique to breeds, but bloodlines differed only at the absolute level. Estimates of effective population size (Ne) showed genetic diversity to be high for the majority of breeds (Ne: 128–418) but also for bloodlines (Ne: 137–369).

Conclusions

This study reinforced the genetic complexity and diversity of important sheep breeds, especially the Merino breed. The results also showed that implications of isolation can be highly variable and extended beyond breed structures. However, knowledge of useful links across these population substructures allows for a fine-tuned approach in the combination of genomic resources. Isolation across country rarely proved restricting compared to other structures considered. Consequently, research into the accuracy of across-country genomic prediction is recommended.
Regulation of fatty acid desaturase- and immunity gene-expression by mbk-1/DYRK1A in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Mack Hildegard I. D. , Kremer Jennifer , Albertini Eva , Mack Elisabeth K. M. , Jansen-Dürr Pidder
Published: January 2022

Background

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, longevity in response to germline ablation, but not in response to reduced insulin/IGF1-like signaling, is strongly dependent on the conserved protein kinase minibrain-related kinase 1 (MBK-1). In humans, the MBK-1 ortholog DYRK1A is associated with a variety of disorders, most prominently with neurological defects observed in Down syndrome. To better understand mbk-1’s physiological roles and their dependence on genetic background, we analyzed the influence of mbk-1 loss on the transcriptomes of wildtype and long-lived, germline-deficient or insulin-receptor defective, C. elegans strains by RNA-sequencing.

Results

mbk-1 loss elicited global changes in transcription that were less pronounced in insulin-receptor mutant than in germline-deficient or wildtype C. elegans. Irrespective of genetic background, mbk-1 regulated genes were enriched for functions in biological processes related to organic acid metabolism and pathogen defense. qPCR-studies confirmed mbk-1 dependent induction of all three C. elegans Δ9-fatty acid desaturases, fat-5, fat-6 and fat-7, in wildtype, germline-deficient and insulin-receptor mutant strains. Conversely, mbk-1 dependent expression patterns of selected pathogen resistance genes, including asp-12, dod-24 and drd-50, differed across the genetic backgrounds examined. Finally, cth-1 and cysl-2, two genes which connect pathogen resistance to the metabolism of the gaseous messenger and lifespan regulator hydrogen sulfide (H2S), were commonly suppressed by mbk-1 loss only in wildtype and germline-deficient, but not in insulin-receptor mutant C. elegans.

Conclusion

Our work reveals previously unknown roles of C. elegans mbk-1 in the regulation of fatty acid desaturase- and H2S metabolic-genes. These roles are only partially dependent on genetic background. Considering the particular importance of fatty acid desaturation and H2S for longevity of germline-deficient C. elegans, we propose that these processes at least in part account for the previous observation that mbk-1 preferentially regulates lifespan in these worms.
Stroke among highly active antiretroviral therapy-naive people living with the human immunodeficiency virus in China: a retrospective study of the characteristics, risk factors, and prognosis
Authors: Zhang Ling , Wang Yu , Xu Qiuhua , Zhang Wei , Liang Hongyuan , Wu Liang , Ni Liang , Gao Guiju , Yang Di , Zhao Hongxin , Xiao Jiang
Published: January 2022

Background

We aimed to clarify the characteristics, risk factors, and prognosis of stroke among HAART-naive people living with HIV (PLWH) in China.

Methods

We selected HAART-naive PLWH admitted to Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2019. Demographic and clinical data were obtained by searching an anonymous electronic case system. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the characteristics and predictors of stroke among all HAART-naive PLWH and evaluate the risk factors of mortality in HAART-naive PLWH with stroke.

Results

Stroke was diagnosed in 105 cases (3.7%) of 2867 HAART-naive PLWH. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that age of 30–55 years (OR 1.903, 95% CI 1.005–3.603, p = 0.048), age of ≥ 55 years (OR 4.104, 95% CI 1.928–8.737, p < 0.001), and CD4 count of < 200 cells/µL (OR 2.005, 95% CI 1.008–3.985, p = 0.047) were associated with increased odds of stroke. Diabetes (OR 3.268, 95% CI 1.744–6.125, p < 0.001), hypertension (OR 2.301, 95% CI 1.425–3.717, p = 0.001), syphilis (OR 2.003, 95% CI 1.300–3.089, p = 0.002), and complicated AIDS-defining CNS diseases (OR 7.719, 95% CI 4.348–13.703, p < 0.001) were risk factors for stroke. Of the 105 stroke patients, 12 (11.4%) died during hospitalisation, and the risk factors for mortality among patients with stroke were age of > 65 years (AHR: 8.783, 95% CI 1.522–50.668, p = 0.015), complicated severe pneumonia (AHR: 3.940, 95% CI 1.106–14.029, p = 0.034), and AIDS-defining CNS diseases (AHR: 19.766, 95% CI 3.586–108.961, p = 0.001).

Conclusions

For HAART-naive people living with HIV (PLWH), stroke occurred in various age groups, and early screening for stroke, timely intervention for risk factors among patients in various age groups, and controlling the CD4 count are extremely important in reducing the burden of stroke.
Streptococcus agalactiae infective endocarditis in Canada: a multicenter retrospective nested case control analysis
Authors: Oravec Torrance , Oravec S. Annie , Leigh Jennifer , Matthews Liam , Ghadaki Bahareh , Mertz Dominik , Daley Peter , Shroff Anjali
Published: January 2022

Background

Infective endocarditis (IE) caused by Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is increasingly reported and associated with an aggressive course and high mortality rate. Existing literature on GBS IE is limited to case series; we compared the characteristics of patients with GBS IE to patients with GBS bacteremia without IE to identify risk factors for development of IE.

Methods

A nested case–control study in a cohort of adult patients with GBS bacteremia over a 18-year period was conducted across seven centres in three Canadian cities. A chart review identified patients with possible or definite IE (per Modified Duke Criteria) and patients with IE were matched to those without endocarditis in a 1:3 fashion. Multivariate analyses were completed using logistic regression.

Results

Of 520 patients with GBS bacteremia, 28 cases of possible or definite IE were identified (5.4%). 68% (19/28) met criteria for definite IE, surgery was performed in 29% (8/28), and the overall in-hospital mortality rate was 29% (8/28). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that IE was associated with injection drug use (OR = 19.6, 95% CI = 3.39–111.11, p = 0.001), prosthetic valve (OR = 11.5, 95% CI = 1.73–76.92, p = 0.011) and lack of identified source of bacteremia (OR = 3.81, 95% CI = 1.24–11.65, p = 0.019).

Conclusions

GBS bacteremia, especially amongst people who inject drugs, those with prosthetic valves, and those with no apparent source of infection, should increase clinical suspicion for IE.
Bidirectional screening and treatment outcomes of diabetes mellitus (DM) and Tuberculosis (TB) patients in hospitals with measures to integrate care of DM and TB and those without integration measures in Malawi
Authors: Nyirenda John L. Z. , Wagner Dirk , Ngwira Bagrey , Lange Berit
Published: January 2022

Introduction

There are efforts in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) to integrate Tuberculosis (TB) and Diabetes mellitus (DM) healthcare services, as encouraged by WHO and other international health organizations. However, evidence on actual effect of different integration measures on bidirectional screening coverages and or treatment outcomes for both diseases in LMICs is scarce.

Objectives and methods

Retrospective chart review analysis was conducted to determine effects of integrated care on bidirectional screening and treatment outcomes for both TB patients and people with DM (PWD) recruited in eight Malawian hospitals. Data of ≥ 15 years old patients registered between 2016 to August 2019 were collected and analysed.

Results

557 PWDs (mean age 54) and 987 TB patients (mean age 41) were recruited. 64/557 (11.5%) PWDs and 105/987 (10.6%) of TB patients were from an integrating hospital. 36/64 (56.3%) PWDs were screened for TB in integrated healthcare as compared to 5/493 (1.0%) in non-integrated care; Risk Difference (RD) 55.2%, (95%CI 43.0, 67.4), P < 0.001, while 10/105 (9.5%) TB patients were screened for DM in integrated healthcare as compared to 43/882 (4.9%) in non-integrated care; RD 4.6%, (95%CI − 1.1, 10.4), P = 0.065. Of the PWDs screened, 5/41 (12.2%) were diagnosed with TB, while 5/53 (9.4%) TB patients were diagnosed with DM. On TB treatment outcomes, 71/508 (14.8%) were lost to follow up in non-integrated care and none in integrated care were lost to follow-up; RD − 14.0%, (95%CI: − 17.0,-11.0), p < 0.001. Among PWDs, 40/493 (8.1%) in non-integrated care and 2/64 (3.1%) were lost to follow up in integrated care; RD − 5.0%, (95%CI:-10.0, − 0.0); P = 0.046. After ≥ 2 years of follow up, 62.5% PWDs in integrated and 41.8% PWDs in non-integrated care were retained in care, RD 20.7, (95%CI: 8.1, 33.4), P = 0.001.

Conclusion

We found higher bidirectional screening coverage and less loss to follow-up in one centre that made more efforts to implement integrated measures for TB and DM care than in 7 others that did not make these efforts. Decisions on local programs to integrate TB/DM care should be taken considering currently rather weak evidence and barriers faced in the local context as well as existing guidelines.
Application value of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases with radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance
Authors: Li Haiwen , Wang Maobo , Zhu Zhenhua , Lu Yingqiang
Published: January 2022

Background

To investigate the application value of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases with radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance.

Methods

A total of 90 patients with breast cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2017 to January 2018 were selected as the research objects and were divided into control group and experimental group according to random grouping, with 45 cases in each group. Conventional treatment was used in the control group, while the treatment of radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance was used in the experimental group. The clinical efficacy, pain intensity and levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carcinoembryonic antigen 153 (CA153), carbohydrate antigen (CA125) in the two groups were compared.

Results

As for the pain intensity, it was evidently lower in the experimental group after treatment than that in the control group (P < 0.05); as for the total effective rate, it was obviously higher in the experimental group after treatment than that in the control group (P < 0.05); as for the levels of CEA, CA153 and CA125, the data in the experimental group after treatment were much lower than the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Radioactive seed 125I implantation under CT-guidance can effectively improve the effect of the treatment of breast cancer bone metastases. It has curative efficacy and it is worth promoting and using.
Diagnostic accuracy of anthropometric indices for discriminating elevated blood pressure in pediatric population: a systematic review and a meta-analysis
Authors: Tao Jun-Min , Wei Wei , Ma Xiao-Yang , Huo Ying-Xiang , Hu Meng-Die , Li Xiao-Feng , Chen Xin
Published: January 2022

Background

Childhood obesity is more likely to increase the chance of many adult health problems. Numerous studies have shown obese children to be more prone to elevated blood pressure (BP) and hypertension. It is important to identify an obesity anthropometric index with good discriminatory power for them in pediatric population.

Methods

MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were retrieved comprehensively for eligible studies on childhood obesity and hypertension/elevated BP through June 2021. The systematic review and meta-analysis of studies used receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves for evaluating the discriminatory power of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in distinguishing children with elevated BP and hypertension.

Results

21 cross-sectional studies involving 177,943 children and 3–19 years of age were included in our study. Meta-analysis showed that the pooled area under the reporting receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUC) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for BMI, WC, and WHtR to detect hypertension of boys were 0.68 (0.64, 0.72), 0.69 (0.64, 0.74), 0.67 (0.63, 0.71), for elevated BP, the pooled AUCs and 95% CIs were 0.67 (0.61, 0.73), 0.65 (0.58, 0.73), 0.65 (0.61, 0.71). The pooled AUCs and 95% CIs for BMI, WC and WHtR of predicting hypertension were 0.70 (0.66, 0.75), 0.69 (0.64, 0.75), 0.67 (0.63, 0.72) in girls, the pooled AUCs and 95% CIs of predicting elevated BP were 0.63 (0.61, 0.65), 0.62 (0.60, 0.65), 0.62 (0.60, 0.64) respectively. There was no anthropometric index was statistically superior in identifying hypertension and elevated BP, however, the accuracy of BMI predicting hypertension was significantly higher than elevated BP in girls (P < 0.05). The subgroup analysis for the comparison of BMI, WC and WHtR was performed, no significant difference in predicting hypertension and elevated BP in pediatric population.

Conclusions

This systematic review showed that no anthropometric index was superior in identifying hypertension and elevated BP in pediatric population. While compared with predicting elevated BP, all the indicators showed superiority in predicting hypertension in children, the difference was especially obvious in girls. A better anthropometric index should be explored to predict children’s early blood pressure abnormalities.
Non-disclosing youth: a cross sectional study to understand why young people do not disclose suicidal thoughts to their mental health professional
Authors: McGillivray Lauren , Rheinberger Demee , Wang Jessica , Burnett Alexander , Torok Michelle
Published: January 2022

Background

Prevalence of suicidal ideation increases rapidly in adolescence, and many choose not to seek help and disclose their ideation. Young people who do disclose suicidal ideation, prefer to do so with peers and family compared to mental health professionals, who are best placed to provide evidence-based treatment. This study aimed to identify key factors associated with young people’s decision to, or not to disclose suicidal thoughts to their mental health practitioner.

Methods

A community-based sample of young Australians (16 - 25 years), who had experienced suicidal ideation and engaged with a mental health professional, completed an online questionnaire (N=513) which assessed demographic characteristics, severity of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and suicidal ideation, lifetime suicide attempts, exposure to suicide loss, personal suicide stigma, prioritisation of mental health issues, and therapeutic alliance. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with disclosure.

Results

Though the full sample had engaged in therapy, 39% had never disclosed suicidal ideation to their clinician. Those who had disclosed were more likely to report greater therapeutic alliance (OR=1.04, 95% CI=1.02–1.06), personal suicide stigma (OR=1.04, 95% CI=1.01–1.06), prioritisation of suicidal ideation (OR=.24, 95% CI=0.14-0.42), and lifetime history of suicide attempt (OR=.32, 95% CI=0.18-0.57). The most common reason for not disclosing was concern that it would not remain confidential.

Conclusion

These findings provide new insights into why young people may not seek help by disclosing suicidal ideation, despite having access to a mental health professional, and establish evidence to inform practice decisions and the development of prevention strategies to support young people for suicide.