bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Maternal metabolic profiling to assess fetal gestational age and predict preterm delivery: a two-centre retrospective cohort study in the US
Authors: Sylvester Karl G , Hao Shiying , You Jin , Zheng Le , Tian Lu , Yao Xiaoming , Mo Lihong , Ladella Subhashini , Wong Ronald J , Shaw Gary M , Stevenson David K , Cohen Harvey J , Whitin John C , McElhinney Doff B , Ling Xuefeng B
Published: December 2020

Objectives

The aim of this study was to develop a single blood test that could determine gestational age and estimate the risk of preterm birth by measuring serum metabolites. We hypothesised that serial metabolic modelling of serum analytes throughout pregnancy could be used to describe fetal gestational age and project preterm birth with a high degree of precision.

Study design

A retrospective cohort study.

Setting

Two medical centres from the USA.

Participants

Thirty-six patients (20 full-term, 16 preterm) enrolled at Stanford University were used to develop gestational age and preterm birth risk algorithms, 22 patients (9 full-term, 13 preterm) enrolled at the University of Alabama were used to validate the algorithms.

Outcome measures

Maternal blood was collected serially throughout pregnancy. Metabolic datasets were generated using mass spectrometry.

Results

A model to determine gestational age was developed (R2=0.98) and validated (R2=0.81). 66.7% of the estimates fell within ±1 week of ultrasound results during model validation. Significant disruptions from full-term pregnancy metabolic patterns were observed in preterm pregnancies (R2=−0.68). A separate algorithm to predict preterm birth was developed using a set of 10 metabolic pathways that resulted in an area under the curve of 0.96 and 0.92, a sensitivity of 0.88 and 0.86, and a specificity of 0.96 and 0.92 during development and validation testing, respectively.

Conclusions

In this study, metabolic profiling was used to develop and test a model for determining gestational age during full-term pregnancy progression, and to determine risk of preterm birth. With additional patient validation studies, these algorithms may be used to identify at-risk pregnancies prompting alterations in clinical care, and to gain biological insights into the pathophysiology of preterm birth. Metabolic pathway-based pregnancy modelling is a novel modality for investigation and clinical application development.
Study protocol for evaluation of aid to diagnosis for developmental dysplasia of the hip in general practice: controlled trial randomised by practice
Authors: Roposch Andreas , Warsame Kaltuun , Chater Angel , Green Judith , Hunter Rachael , Wood John , Freemantle Nick , Nazareth Irwin
Published: December 2020

Introduction

In the UK, a compulsory ‘6-week hip check’ is performed in primary care for the detection of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). However, missed diagnoses and infants incorrectly labelled with DDH remain a problem, potentially leading to adverse consequences for infants, their families and the National Health Service. National policy states that infants should be referred to hospital if the 6-week check suggests DDH, though there is no available tool to aid examination or offer guidelines for referral. We developed standardised diagnostic criteria for DDH, based on international Delphi consensus, and a 9-item checklist that has the potential to enable non-experts to diagnose DDH in a manner approaching that of experts.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct a controlled trial randomised by practice that will compare a diagnostic aid against standard care for the hip check. The primary objective is to determine whether an aid to the diagnosis of DDH reduces the number of clinically insignificant referrals from primary care to hospital and the number of late diagnosed DDH. The trial will include a qualitative process evaluation, an assessment of professional behavioural change and a full health economic evaluation. We will recruit 152 general practitioner practices in England. These will be randomised to conduct the hip checks with use of the study diagnostic aid and/or as per usual practice. The total number of infants seen during a 15-month recruitment period will be 110 per practice. Two years after the 6-week hip check, we will measure the number of referred infants that are (1) clinically insignificant for DDH and (2) those that constitute appropriate referrals.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has approval from the Health Research Authority (16/1/2020) and the Confidentiality Advisory Group (18/2/2020). Results will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals, disseminated to patient organisations and the media.

Trial registration number

NCT04101903; Pre-results.
Endoscopic polypectomy performed in clinic for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: study protocol for the EPIC multicentre randomised controlled trial
Authors: Kilty Shaun , Thavorn Kednapa , Janjua Arif , Lee John , MacDonald Kristian , Meen Eric , Micomonaco Damian , Rotenberg Brian , Sowerby Leigh J , Tewfik Marc , Adams Susan , Frenette Hubert , Lasso Andrea , Fergusson Dean A
Published: December 2020

Introduction

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is common, with a Canadian prevalence of 5%, and associated with significant morbidity. Understandably, CRS impairs workplace productivity but that productivity substantially increases following surgical treatment. CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), the most common type of CRS, is usually treated with a combination of medications and endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). Historically, surgical treatment has only been performed in the operating room at a cost of about $C3500. However, recent studies have shown that a de-escalated procedure, endoscopic polypectomy performed in clinic (EPIC), can provide an improvement in patient symptoms to levels equal to those for ESS. Moreover, EPIC has additional proposed advantages including shorter recovery time, significantly lower cost to the healthcare system and shorter wait time for the patient. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the superiority of polypectomy or ESS for the management of CRSwNP.

Methods and analysis

We designed a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial to evaluate whether EPIC was non-inferior to the current clinical standard, ESS for the treatment of CRSwNP. The primary outcome is the Sinonasal Outcome Test-22 score measured at baseline and at 3 months after surgery. Other outcomes include peak nasal inspiratory flow, quality of life measured by the EuroQoL 5 Dimensions 5 Levels questionnaire and work impairment using the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire.

We aim to recruit 140 patients from sites across Canada. Participants will be randomly assigned to EPIC or ESS and followed up for 3 months in clinic after the procedure. Additionally, participants will enter a 5-year long-term follow-up period.

Ethics and dissemination

This study was approved by the Ottawa Health Sciences Network Research Ethics Board for all sites in Ontario, Canada (study number CTO0801). Sites located outside of Ontario obtained approval from their local/institutional research ethics board.

Trial registration number

NCT02975310.
Global Asthma Network Phase I study in Mexico: prevalence of asthma symptoms, risk factors and altitude associations—a cross-sectional study
Authors: Del-Río-Navarro Blanca Estela , Berber Arturo , Reyes-Noriega Nayely , Navarrete-Rodríguez Elsy Maureen , García-Almaraz Roberto , Ellwood Philippa , Garcia-Marcos Luis , Saucedo-Ramírez Omar Josué , Mérida-Palacio Valente Juan , Ramos-García Beatriz Del Carmen , Escalante-Domínguez Alberto José , Linares-Zapién Francisco Javier , Moreno-Gardea Héctor Leonardo , Ochoa-López Georgina , Hernández-Mondragón Luis Octavio , Lozano-Sáenz José Santos , Sacre-Hazouri José Antonio , Juan-Pineda Ángeles , Sánchez-Coronel Ma Guadalupe , Rodríguez-Pérez Noel , Ambriz-Moreno María de Jesús
Published: December 2020

Background

Global Asthma Network (GAN) was established in 2012 as a development to the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood to improve asthma care globally.

Objective

To survey asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis in primary and secondary school children and to investigate and evaluate its prevalence, severity, management and risk factors in Mexico.

Methods

GAN Phase I is a cross-sectional, multicentre survey carried out in 15 centres corresponding to 14 Mexican cities throughout 2016–2019 using the validated Spanish language version of the GAN Phase I questionnaires. The questionnaires were completed by parents of 6–7-year-old primary school pupils (school children) and by 13–14-year-old adolescents.

Results

A total of 35 780 school children and 41 399 adolescents participated. Wheezing ever prevalence was 26.2% (95% CI 25.8% to 26.7%) in school children and 23.9% (95% CI 23.4% to 24.3%) in adolescents. The corresponding frequencies for current wheeze were 10.2% (95% CI 9.9% to 10.5%) and 11.6% (95% CI 11.2% to 11.9%). In school children, the risk factors for current wheeze were rhinitis (OR 4.484; 95% CI 3.915% to 5.134%) and rash symptoms (OR 1.735; 95% CI 1.461% to 2.059%). For adolescents, rhinitis symptoms (OR 3.492; 95% CI 3.188% to 3.825%) and allergic rhinitis diagnosis (OR 2.144; 95% CI 1.787% to 2.572%) were the most significant. For both groups, there was a negative relation with centres’ sea level altitude higher than 1500 m above mean sea level (p<0.005).

Conclusions

The most important risk factors for asthma symptoms in both age groups were the presence of rhinitis and rash symptoms or diagnosis. On the other hand, sea level altitude higher than 1500 metres was a protective factor.
‘Advance care planning, general practitioners and patients: a phase II cluster-randomised controlled trial in chronic life-limiting illness’
Authors: Dierickx Sigrid , Pardon Koen , Pype Peter , Stevens Julie , Vander Stichele Robert , Deliens Luc , De Vleminck Aline
Published: December 2020

Objectives

Although general practice is an ideal setting for ensuring timely initiation of advance care planning (ACP) in people with chronic life-limiting illness, evidence on the effectiveness of ACP in general practice and how it can be implemented is lacking. This study aims to evaluate feasibility and acceptability of study procedures and intervention components of an intervention to facilitate the initiation of ACP in general practice for people with chronic life-limiting illness.

Methods

Pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial testing a complex ACP intervention in general practice versus usual care (ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT02775032). We used a mixed methods approach using detailed documentation of the recruitment process, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.

Results

A total of 25 general practitioners (GPs) and 38 patients were enrolled in the study. The intervention was acceptable to GPs and patients, with GPs valuing the interactive training and patients finding ACP conversations useful. However, we found a number of challenges regarding feasibility of recruitment procedures, such GP as recruitment proceeding more slowly than anticipated as well as difficulty applying the inclusion criteria for patients. Some GPs found initiating ACP conversations difficult. The content of the patient booklet was determined to potentially be too complex for patients with a lower health literacy.

Conclusion

Although the intervention was well-accepted by GPs and patients, we identified critical points for improvement with regard to the study procedures as well as potential improvements of the intervention components. When these points are addressed, the intervention can proceed to a large-scale, phase III trial to test its effectiveness.
Type Ib (tubular) non‐communicating colonic and rectal duplication in a cat
Authors: Hammer Meike , Schmidli Manuel , Campos Miguel , Vincenti Simona
Published: December 2020

A six‐year‐old, 4.14‐kg, female spayed domestic shorthair cat was referred for vomiting, obstipation, tenesmus and stranguria for five days. On abdominal radiographs, a soft tissue mass effect was visible at the pelvic inlet. During abdominal ultrasound, a tube‐like structure filled with hyperechogenic fluid was identified dorsal to the urinary bladder displacing the colon. A presumptive diagnosis of pyometra was made. Exploratory laparotomy revealed the presence of a tubular antimesenteric colonic and rectal mass causing almost complete compression of the urethra, descending colon and rectum. The mass was surgically resected. Histology confirmed a colonic duplication. There was no recurrence of clinical signs for six months. This report emphasises that colonic duplication is a possible differential diagnosis for prepelvic and intrapelvic masses in feline patients. Surgical excision of the duplication is a viable treatment option, alleviating clinical signs and offering good long‐term outcome.
Three-dimensional non-relativistic extended supergravity with cosmological constant
Authors: Concha Patrick , Ravera Lucrezia , Rodríguez Evelyn
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we present two novel non-relativistic superalgebras which correspond to supersymmetric extensions of the enlarged extended Bargmann algebra. The three-dimensional non-relativistic Chern–Simons supergravity actions invariant under the aforementioned superalgebras are constructed. The new non-relativistic superalgebras allow to accommodate a cosmological constant in a non-relativistic supergravity theory. Interestingly, we show that one of the non-relativistic supergravity theories presented here leads to the recently introduced Maxwellian exotic Bargmann supergravity when the flat limit $$\ell \rightarrow \infty $$

ℓ
→
∞

is considered. Besides, we show that both descriptions can be written in terms of a supersymmetric extension of the Nappi–Witten algebra or the extended Newton–Hooke superalgebra.
High-precision Registration Algorithm and Parallel Design Method for High-Resolution Optical Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Zhang Xunying , Zhao Xiaodong
Published: December 2020

In optical remote sensing image reconstruction, image registration is an important issue to address in order to ensure satisfactory reconstruction performance. In this study, a multi-frame image registration algorithm for high-resolution images and its parallel design method are proposed. The algorithm realizes an improved feature point detection method based on an adaptive gradient bilateral tensor filter and carries out weighted Gaussian surface sub-pixel interpolation to obtain more accurate corner positions, which better guarantees the registration accuracy. On this basis, multi-scale expansion is carried out to generate descriptors for image registration. In addition, the operation-level parallel analysis and design are carried out on a GPU platform based on compute unified device architecture (CUDA), and the memory model of the GPU is utilized reasonably. The task-level parallel analysis and design are carried out based on the GPU stream model. Moreover, based on the open multi-processing (OpenMP) platform, a multi-core CPU carries out parallel design at the operation level and task level, which realizes post-processing operations such as optical remote sensing images loading, accurate matching, and coordinate mapping, thereby effectively improving registration speed. Compared with feature point algorithms and deep learning algorithm, our algorithm and its parallel design significantly improve the registration accuracy and speed of high-resolution optical remote sensing images.
Analysis on Distributed Output Regulator of Discrete Multi-agent System Combined with Fuzzy Identification Method
Authors: Liu Jia , Zhang Yunxi , Wang Dandan , Hou Linlin
Published: December 2020

This paper combines the traditional output regulation (OR) theory with fuzzy identification method, and designs a distributed output regulator for the multi-agent system (MAS). In view of the situation that the follower model in the MAS cannot be obtained accurately, the fuzzy model is established to make it approximate to the considered nonlinear discrete follower agent system first. By employing fuzzy identification method and OR theory, a distributed controller is proposed, make follower agents track the reference signal given by the dynamic leader. Two numerical examples demonstrate the obtained results.
Numerical Modeling of Beach Morphological Change: A Case Study of Kaanapali Beach, Maui, Hawaii
Authors: Hardy Ian , Huang Zhenhua , Smith David , Fletcher Charles H.
Published: December 2020

This case study reports results from field observations and numerical simulations of waves and morphological changes along a portion of Kaanapali Beach on West Maui, Hawaii, which is protected by a hard coral reef and experiences shoreline changes from season to season. The SWAN spectral wave model shows reasonable agreement with ADCP observations of wave-heights for the winter months. Simulated beach profile change over one-month time frame was able to reasonably capture the trend of beach face migration (accretion or erosion); the modeled shoreline also shows satisfactory agreement with beach survey data. This case study suggests that Delft3D is able to capture key features of sediment transport along a narrow beach protected by a fringing reef.
The Late Cenozoic volcanic groups in the South Daxing'anling, NE China: geology, geochemistry, and chronology
Authors: Li Ni , Zhao Yong-Wei , Gong Li-Wen , Wang Jia-Long
Published: December 2020

During the late Cenozoic, the extensional tectonic setting in northeastern China caused large-scale block uplifts and depressions, and thus a large amount of magma erupted along structural fractures in the eastern Inner Mongolia, NE China. The Abaga, Beilike, Dalinor and Wulanhada (ABDW) volcanic rocks along the Daxing'anling–Taihangshan Gravity Lineament in the southern section of the Daxing'anling are characterized by their extensive distribution, numerous volcanic cones and various eruption types. Each volcanic group has distinctive volcanic landforms and geochemical characteristics. The geochronological data have revealed that the volcanism spanned Miocene to late Pleistocene. The ABDW volcanic rocks contain primary alkaline basalts and subordinate tholeiites. The trace element curve pattern is similar to that of ocean island basalt, but completely different from that of mid ocean ridge basalt, while the light rare earth elements are more enriched than the heavy rare earth elements. The geochemical features of the volcanic rocks and the entrained mantle xenoliths reveal the broad heterogeneities of the lithospheric mantle and varieties of the volcanic rock evolution in the south Daxing'anling. The Cenozoic volcanism in eastern Inner Mongolia, and even within the east Asian plate, is attributed to the westward subduction and rolling backward of the Pacific slab, as well as the trench retreat.
From the chair
Authors: West John
Published: December 2020

These are strange times, and like many of you we have been pulled in many directions at once over the past several months. You may have noticed that we missed a newsletter issue and delayed another one. This year that issue coincided with the beginning of the major COVID-19 related changes in all of our work and personal lives, and it just made more sense to defer publication. Keep an eye out for a special issue on SC20's switch to a virtual format.
Papers we should be reading
Authors: Frachtenberg Eitan , Kaner Rhody
Published: December 2020

This issue's suggested reading summary comes from member Eitan Frachtenberg, a visiting professor of computer science at Reed College. He and colleague Rhody Kaner are studying gender gaps in the HPC community, and sent this summary of their paper, "Representation of Women High-Performance Computing Conferences."
Editors' introduction
Authors: Talgam-Cohen Inbal , Weinberg S. Matthew
Published: December 2020

This issue of SIGecom Exchanges contains a letter from the SIGecom executive committee, the job candidate profiles for 2021, four research letters and a short note.
SIGecom job market candidate profiles 2021
Authors: Gkatzelis Vasilis , Hartline Jason
Published: December 2020

This is the sixth annual collection of profiles of the junior faculty job market candidates of the SIGecom community. The twenty four candidates for 2021 are listed alphabetically and indexed by research areas that define the interests of the community. The candidates can be contacted individually or via the moderated mailing list ecom-candidates2021@acm.org.
Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict: Moving Beyond the Macro- and Micro-Level Divide
Authors: Balcells Laia , Stanton Jessica A.
Published: December 2020

Early research on wartime violence against civilians highlighted a distinction between macro- and micro-level approaches. Macro-level approaches, grounded in the international relations subfield, focus on variation across countries or conflicts, while micro-level approaches, more influenced by the comparative politics subfield, focus on variation within countries or conflicts. However, some of the recent research on civilian targeting does not fit neatly into this dichotomy—such as research comparing subnational units or armed groups across conflicts or research relying on geo-referenced event data for multiple conflicts. We review the literature and advocate moving beyond the language of the micro- and macro-level divide, instead focusing on the determinants of violence against civilians at five different levels of analysis: international, domestic, subnational, organizational, and individual. While acknowledging significant advances in the field, we argue for continued research aimed at developing a more integrated theoretical understanding of the multiple actors and interactive social processes driving violence against civilians.
Transforming nanobodies into high-precision tools for protein function analysis
Authors: Gettemans Jan , De Dobbelaer Brian
Published: December 2020

Single-domain antibodies, derived from camelid heavy antibodies (nanobodies) or shark variable new antigen receptors, have attracted increasing attention in recent years due to their extremely versatile nature and the opportunities they offer for downstream modification. Discovered more than three decades ago, these 120-amino acid (∼15-kDa) antibody fragments are known to bind their target with high specificity and affinity. Key features of nanobodies that make them very attractive include their single-domain nature, small size, and affordable high-level expression in prokaryotes, and their cDNAs are routinely obtained in the process of their isolation. This facilitates and stimulates new experimental approaches. Hence, it allows researchers to formulate new answers to complex biomedical questions. Through elementary PCR-based technologies and chemical modification strategies, their primary structure can be altered almost at leisure while retaining their specificity and biological activity, transforming them into highly tailored tools that meet the increasing demands of current-day biomedical research. In this review, various aspects of camelid nanobodies are expounded, including intracellular delivery in recombinant format for manipulation of, i.e., cytoplasmic targets, their derivatization to improve nanobody orientation as a capturing device, approaches to reversibly bind their target, their potential as protein-silencing devices in cells, the development of strategies to transfer nanobodies through the blood-brain barrier and their application in CAR-T experimentation. We also discuss some of their disadvantages and conclude with future prospects.
Dependence of the stimulus-driven microsaccade rate signature in rhesus macaque monkeys on visual stimulus size and polarity
Authors: Malevich Tatiana , Buonocore Antimo , Hafed Ziad M.
Published: December 2020

Microsaccade rate is transiently reduced after sudden stimulus onsets, and then strongly rebounds before returning to baseline. We explored the influence of stimulus polarity (black vs. white) and size on this “rate signature.” Large stimuli caused more muted microsaccadic rebound than small ones, and microsaccadic rebound was also differentially affected by black versus white stimuli, particularly with small stimuli. These results suggest dissociated neural mechanisms for microsaccadic inhibition and rebound in the microsaccadic rate signature.
OnR-Partialb-Metric Spaces and Related Fixed Point Results with Applications
Authors: Ali Muhammad Usman , Guo Yajing , Uddin Fahim , Aydi Hassen , Javed Khalil , Ma Zhenhua
Published: December 2020

In this paper, we introduce the notion ofR-partialb-metric spaces and prove some related fixed point results in the context of this notion. We also discuss an example to validate our result. Finally, as applications, we evince the importance of our work by discussing some fixed point results on graphical-partialb-metric spaces and on partially-ordered-partialb-metric spaces.
Vaginal Secretions Epithelial Cells and Bacteria Recognition Based on Computer Vision
Authors: Guo Shaozhi , Guan Haoyuan , Li Jianzhong , Liao Yonghua , Zhang Weiwen , Chen Shengqiang
Published: December 2020

The examination of vaginal secretions epithelial is of great importance to female reproductive health. The results of manual detection will be affected by subjective judgment and fatigue. In this paper, an identification method based on computer vision is proposed to identify vaginal secretions epithelial cells and some bacteria. The experimental results demonstrate that the method can significantly distinguish the vaginal secretions epithelial cells from the bacteria and virus.
Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter in Acute Liver Failure: A Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Cardoso Filipe S. , Pereira Rui , Moreno Rui , Karvellas Constantine J. , Germano Nuno
Published: December 2020

Introduction: Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare disease that may lead to cerebral edema and death. An increased optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) may reflect an early increase in intracranial pressure. We assessed the feasibility and safety of the ONSD measurement and its association with outcomes in patients with ALF. Methods: This was an open-label prospective cohort study including adult patients with ALF admitted to a liver-specialized intensive care unit (ICU) in an academic center between October 2018 and February 2020 (among 24): 20 as intention-to-treat and 17 as per-protocol analyses. The ONSD measurement (primary exposure) used an ultrasound transducer (3 determinations on each eye per patient). The primary outcome was hospital mortality. Results: Among the 20 patients, 11 (55.0%) were females and the mean age was 45 ± 16 years. On the day of ONSD measurement (median 32.4 h post-ICU admission; IQR 19.8–59.8): 8 patients (40.0%) were in a coma, the mean international normalized ratio (INR) was 3.3 ± 1.4, median bilirubin was 12.3 mg/dL (IQR 4.7–24.5), mean ammonia was 163 ± 101 µmol/L, and mean SOFA score was 11 ± 5. The mean bilateral ONSD was 5.6 ± 0.7 mm, with a very good correlation between right and left eyes (Pearson’s r = 0.90). Ten (50.0%) patients were transplanted and 13 (65.0%) patients survived the hospital stay (all with a 2-month extended Glasgow Outcome Scale of 8). The mean ONSD was significantly higher for hospital non-survivors than survivors both in the intention-to-treat (6.2 vs. 5.3 mm; p = 0.004) and per-protocol (6.2 vs. 5.2 mm; p = 0.004) analyses. No adverse effects from ONSD measurements were reported. Conclusions: In patients with ALF, a higher ONSD was associated with higher hospital mortality. ONSD measurement is feasible and safe and may have prognostic value.
Mini-Slings: Do They Stand the Test of Time? A 10-Year Cohort
Authors: Manso Margarida , Botelho Francisco , Silva Carlos , Cruz Francisco
Published: December 2020

Introduction: It is known that failures after midurethral slings increase with the follow-up time. Nevertheless, data concerning mini-slings are sparse. To clarify this statement, we analyze a mini-sling cohort with a median follow-up of 10 years. Although the brand used, MiniArc®, is no longer available, an identical device, Solyx™, can still be used, which makes the analysis of the cohort clinically relevant. Material and Methods: A total of 172 women with predominant stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were consecutively treated with the mini-sling MiniArc® from 2006 until 2013. They were reevaluated in 2018. The primary outcome, treatment success, was defined as no self-reported SUI symptoms and no reintervention. Secondary outcomes included the response to patient-reported outcomes. Adverse events were assessed. Results: After a median follow-up time of 113 months, 115 (66.9%) women were available for reevaluation. Forty-four (38.3%) women self-reported SUI. Seventeen women had been reoperated, 14 (12.2%) due to the reappearance of SUI and 3 due to complications. Altogether, MiniArc® had an overall success rate of 47.0% at 10 years. Among those not reoperated, 63.3% stated that they were much better or very much better in Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) and 71.4% affirmed that their continence problem was normal or mild in Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S). Almost 85% would repeat the surgery. Reoperation due to complications was rare (2.6%). De novo urgency appeared in 30.6% of the patients and it was managed with anticholinergic drugs with favorable outcomes. Discussion/Conclusion: This report adds evidence to the long-term outcomes of mini-slings, confirming that they can cure or improve SUI and give patients high satisfaction rates, at the expense of low morbidity.
Perceived stress and associated factors among healthcare workers in a primary healthcare setting: the Psychological Readiness and Occupational Training Enhancement during COVID-19 Time (PROTECT) study
Authors: Lee ES , Tan SY , Lee PSS , Koh HL , Soon SWW , Sim K , Tang WE , Chong PN
Published: December 2020

INTRODUCTION Disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly heighten the psychological stress of healthcare workers (HCWs). The objective of this study was to understand the factors contributing to the perceived stress levels of HCWs in a public primary care setting during the COVID-19 pandemic, including their training, protection and support (TPS), job stress (JS), and perceived stigma and interpersonal avoidance. METHODS This cross-sectional study using an electronic self-administered questionnaire was conducted at the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics in March 2020. Data was collected anonymously. Analysis was performed using regression modelling. RESULTS The response rate was 69.7% (n = 1,040). The mean perceived stress level of HCWs in various departments ranged from 17.2 to 20.3. Respondents who reported higher perceived stress were those who made alternative living arrangements, were more affected by the current pandemic, reported higher JS and were Muslims. Respondents who reported lower perceived stress were those who had been through the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003 and H1N1 pandemic in 2009 as HCWs, and those who had higher confidence in the organisation’s TPS. CONCLUSION All HCWs, regardless of their scope of work, were similarly stressed by the current pandemic compared to the general population. Improving the confidence of HCWs in their training, protection and the support of personal protective equipment, and retaining experienced HCWs who can provide advice and emotional support to younger colleagues are important. Adequate psychological support for HCWs in the pandemic can be transformed into reserves of psychological resilience for future disease outbreaks.
Hosea 6:5 and the Decalogue
Authors: Leuchter Mark
Published: December 2020

The relationship between the Decalogue (in Exod 20) and the oracles of Hosea has been the source of much speculation with regard to directions of influence, common sources, shared motifs, and the historical settings for their respective compositions. While some scholars have speculated that the Decalogue informed Hosea’s oracles, a closer look at Hos 6:5 suggests that both textual traditions emerged from a response to the growing influence of Assyrian imperial inscriptions and political propaganda in the late 8th century BCE. Hosea 6:5 constructs a theology where YHWH also communicates through written inscriptions – reinforced by the voices of his prophetic agents – in protest of Assyrian cultural and political hegemony. This and other elements in the book of Hosea carry implications for the origins of the Decalogue, the role of Moses as its advocate/mediator, and the relationship between law and prophecy in late monarchic Israel.
First record of hybridization in Caranx Lacepède, 1801 (Carangidae: Perciformes) in the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean
Authors: ANGULO ARTURO , MOLINA JOSÉ LUIS , HAMPL FEDERICO , HERNÁNDEZ SEBASTIÁN
Published: December 2020

During a recreational fishing trip on May 2017 to Isla Montuosa, Pacific coast of Panama (7.467472, -82.266556; 30 m depth), a specimen belonging to the genus Caranx was captured. The specimen showed an unusual combination of external characters, intermediate among the species known to occur in the Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP), which caught the attention of the fishermen. A detailed analysis involving traditional morphology and molecular techniques revealed that the specimen corresponds to a hybrid of the species C. melampygus and C. sexfasciatus. This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first confirmed record of hybridization within the genus and family in the TEP and the second record for the entire Pacific Ocean.
Communication and Knowledge Transfer on Climate Change in the Philippines
Authors: Friedrich Thomas
Published: December 2020

Separately from its physical reality, climate change has become a travelling idea (Hulme 2009). Through numerous policies, laws and regulations, the global discourse on climate change is affecting many people, irrespective of how strongly they experience the consequences of a changing climate. The idea travels via a long chain of communication and translation from the global to the local level. Along the way, however, knowledge becomes detached from its meaning (Jasanoff 2010). This chapter uses the case of the Philippine island of Palawan to show how an idea can be re-integrated into a meaningful context during multiple translations from its source to its destination in local ontologies. The chapter demonstrates that the local reception of climate change discourse is influenced by pre-existing, shared systems of knowledge and meaning that are reproduced and maintained by circular rather than unidirectional, top-down communication. Irrespective of scientific accuracy, climate change thus becomes a coherent, plausible, and tangible concept regarding what people already know, believe and experience. Based on empirical data that has been collected in multi-method fieldwork in Palawan, this chapter shows that sense-making is a multi-layered process, in which discourses and narratives, cultural models of human-environment relationships, interpersonal communications, personal experiences, and other sources of information (including the media) play a decisive role in how climate change is eventually comprehended and communicated. Using the ethnographic example of a lay theatre performance, the chapter paradigmatically demonstrates how the reproduction and dissemination of the local notion of climate change takes place. It concludes by offering recommendations for climate communicators drawn from the case study.
Living on the Frontier
Authors: Mahmud Shameem
Published: December 2020

Despite a considerable increase in the number of studies on public perceptions of climate change, little attention has been paid to the development of public understanding of climate change in developing and less-developed countries, which have contributed comparatively few greenhouse gases emissions. This chapter contributes to address this gap in the literature by exploring how people construct meanings of climate change risks in an area at the forefront of climate change risks—the coastal region of Bangladesh. The study draws on in-depth interviews of local citizens, which were supplemented by field observations. The interviews reveal a recurring theme of localizing climate change risks in the context of local geo-hazards. Laypeople’s personal exposure to local extreme weather events, and experiences of weather and seasonal variances, influence their interpretations of mediated and non-mediated climate change information. The risks of local geo-hazards appear to be readily available as prior constructs in respondents’ minds, and are further intensified by newly acquired knowledge of climate change. The chapter concludes that laypeople’s perceptions of climate-change impacts in the coastal region of Bangladesh are constructed on the basis of their place identity, on the one hand, and the availability of regional geo-hazards, on the other.
Atherosclerosis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease—Shared Pathogenesis and Implications for Treatment
Authors: Kamperidis Nikolaos , Kamperidis Vasileios , Zegkos Thomas , Kostourou Ioanna , Nikolaidou Olga , Arebi Naila , Karvounis Haralambos
Published: December 2020

Atherosclerosis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often regarded as 2 distinct entities. The commonest manifestation of atherosclerosis is ischemic heart disease (IHD), and an association between IHD and IBD has been reported. Atherosclerosis and IBD share common pathophysiological mechanisms in terms of their genetics, immunology, and contributing environmental factors. Factors associated with atherosclerosis are implicated in the development of IBD and vice versa. Therefore, treatments targeting the common pathophysiology pathways may be effective in both conditions. The current review considers the pathophysiological pathways that are shared between the 2 conditions and discusses the implications for treatment and research.
Coronavirus, Population and the Economy: A Long-Term Perspective
Authors: Sengupta Sarbajit
Published: December 2020

This article attempts to construct an extremely rudimentary framework to argue that the long-term losses from the pandemic shock are likely to far exceed the short-term one. In the simple structure presented here, output depends on labour force, efficiency that is determined by past nutrition levels and capital accumulated from the past. The immediate effect of the pandemic is to lower the effective labour size, principally due to lockdowns to prevent or delay the spread of the pandemic. The other two factors cannot be affected. However, the decline in present output is likely to lower both the efficiency of labour and the future capital along with the labour supply in the future, thereby causing a greater impact on future output.

JEL Codes: I15, J11, J21
Not ‘Very English’ - on the Use of the Polygraph by the Penal System in England and Wales
Authors: Kotsoglou Kyriakos N , Oswald Marion
Published: December 2020

One of the most striking developments in the penal system in England and Wales is the increasing use of the polygraph by probation services. Despite severe criticism from scientific institutions and academic discourse, the legal order increasingly deploys the long-discredited polygraph in order to extract adverse statements from released offenders. Our article is structured as follows: First, we summarise the statutory and regulatory framework for the current use of the polygraph in the monitoring of sex offenders released on licence, and the proposed expansion of the polygraph testing regime as set out in the Domestic Abuse Bill and the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill respectively. We then review our findings in respect of governing policies and procedures uncovered by our FOI-based research, highlighting the concerning lack of consistency in respect of both practice and procedure. In the subsequent sections we set out the main arguments deployed by polygraph proponents, and posit our view that none of these arguments can withstand scrutiny. We conclude by proposing a moratorium on any further use of the polygraph by the State, in order to thoroughly evaluate its effect on the integrity of the legal order, human rights and, more generally, the Rationalist aspirations of the penal system. In addition, and given already existing law, we propose a process of independent oversight and scrutiny of the use of the polygraph in licence recall decisions and other situations impacting individual rights, especially police investigations triggered by polygraph test results.
Single mothers coping with food insecurity in a Nairobi slum
Authors: Madhavan Sangeetha , Clark Shelley , Schmidt Sara
Published: December 2020

With high urbanisation rates, cities in sub-Saharan Africa are contending with food insecurity.

Urban studies scholars have approached the issue mainly from the perspective of food deserts. We adapt Sen’s ‘resource bundles’ and Watts and Bohles’s ‘space of vulnerability’ concepts to examine food insecurity as a function of both tangible and intangible resources. Moreover, we also interrogate the role of kin in strengthening safety nets for the urban poor. Drawing on a data set of 462 single mothers in a slum in Nairobi, Kenya, we find that (1) bundles comes in four types; (2) bundles with high levels of all resources buffer against food insecurity as do (3) bundles weighted with high levels of wealth and social standing; and (4) kin enhance the protective effect of bundles only for two types. These findings should direct urban poverty researchers to consider the compounding effect of resources in the reproduction of poverty and social inequality and encourage policy makers to focus on both vulnerability and resilience in designing interventions to ensure food security.
How do low-income commuters get to work in US and Mexican cities? A comparative empirical assessment
Authors: Guerra Erick , Li Shengxiao , Reyes Ariadna
Published: December 2020

This paper applies multinomial logit models to examine how metropolitan urban form, housing type and socioeconomic factors covary with individuals’ commute mode choice for 1.2 million low-income workers in the USA and Mexico. Comparing the commute patterns of low-income households across the USA–Mexico border sheds light on the consistency of estimated relationships across global contexts and the likely transferability of transportation and land use policies from the Global North to the Global South. We find many common relationships on each side of the border, despite substantial socioeconomic and urban differences. For example, wealthier and better-educated low-income workers in low-density metropolitan areas with substantial road supply are more likely to drive to work and less likely to use active modes. We also find some considerable differences between the magnitude and even direction of associations between predictor variables and commuter mode choice. In terms of public policy, efforts to reduce driving or promote compact development are more likely to reduce driving and more likely to be pro-poor in Mexico than in the USA. In Mexico, just 13% of low-income workers commute by car and dense urban form is relatively strongly associated with increases in transit, non-motorised modes and working at home. High rates of driving and auto-oriented urban form make policies to reduce driving particularly likely to be regressive in most US metropolitan areas.
Effects of Delgocitinib Ointment 0.5% on the Normal Mouse Skin and Epidermal Tight Junction Proteins in Comparison With Topical Corticosteroids
Authors: Anagawa-Nakamura Akiko , Ryoke Katsunori , Yasui Yuzo , Shoda Toshiyuki , Sugai Shoichiro
Published: December 2020

Delgocitinib ointment 0.5% is the world’s first topical Janus kinase inhibitor product and was approved for treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) in Japan. Although topical corticosteroids (TCSs) have been the mainstay of pharmacotherapy in AD over the past decades, long-term use of TCSs causes skin atrophy and alteration of the epidermal tight junction (TJ) leading to epidermal barrier dysfunction. In this study, delgocitinib ointment 0.5% or representative TCSs of different potencies were applied dermally once daily to the ear pinna of normal ICR mice for 14 days, and ear pinna thickness, histopathology, and immunohistochemistry for epidermal TJ proteins claudin-1 and -4 were evaluated. All the TCSs caused decreases in ear pinna thickness with epidermal thinning, sebaceous gland atrophy, and atrophy/decreased number of the subcutaneous adipocytes and decreased immunohistochemical staining intensity for epidermal claudins. In contrast, delgocitinib ointment 0.5% did not cause any of those changes. In conclusion, once daily topical delgocitinib ointment 0.5% for 14 days did not cause skin atrophy or decreased immunohistochemical staining of epidermal claudins, which are common safety concerns associated with TCSs. These characteristics suggest that delgocitinib ointment 0.5% has an improved safety profile over currently available TCS therapies particular for the long-term AD treatment.
Deep Learning–Based Detection of Endothelial Tip Cells in the Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy Model
Authors: Zingman Igor , Zippel Nina , Birk Gerald , Eder Sebastian , Thomas Leo , Schönberger Tanja , Stierstorfer Birgit , Heinemann Fabian
Published: December 2020

Proliferative retinopathies, such as diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity, are leading causes of vision impairment. A common feature is a loss of retinal capillary vessels resulting in hypoxia and neuronal damage. The oxygen-induced retinopathy model is widely used to study revascularization of an ischemic area in the mouse retina. The presence of endothelial tip cells indicates vascular recovery; however, their quantification relies on manual counting in microscopy images of retinal flat mount preparations. Recent advances in deep neural networks (DNNs) allow the automation of such tasks. We demonstrate a workflow for detection of tip cells in retinal images using the DNN-based Single Shot Detector (SSD). The SSD was designed for detection of objects in natural images. We adapt the SSD architecture and training procedure to the tip cell detection task and retrain the DNN using labeled tip cells in images of fluorescently stained retina flat mounts. Transferring knowledge from the pretrained DNN and extensive data augmentation reduced the amount of required labeled data. Our system shows a performance comparable to the human level, while providing highly consistent results. Therefore, such a system can automate counting of tip cells, a readout frequently used in retinopathy research, thereby reducing routine work for biomedical experts.