bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“Like not having an arm”: a qualitative study of the impact of visitor restrictions on cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Holdsworth Laura M. , Siden Rachel , Wong Bonnie O. , Verano Mae , Lessios Anna Sophia , Tabor Holly K. , Schapira Lidia , Aslakson Rebecca
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Visitor restriction policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among patients and clinicians were widespread during the pandemic, resulting in the exclusion of caregivers at key points of cancer care and treatment decision-making. The aim of this study was to explore how visitor restrictions impacted cancer treatment decision-making and care from patient and physician perspectives.

Methods

Sixty-seven interviews, including 48 cancer patients and 19 cancer and palliative care physicians from four academic cancer centers in the USA between August 2020 and July 2021.

Results

Visitor restrictions that prevented caregivers from participating in clinic appointments and perioperative hospital care created challenges in cancer care that spanned three domains: practical, social, and informational. We identified eight themes that characterized challenges within the three domains across all three groups, and that these challenges had negative emotional and psychological consequences for both groups. Physicians perceived that patients’ negative experiences due to lack of support through the physical presence of caregivers may have worsened patient outcomes.

Conclusions

Our data demonstrate the tripartite structure of the therapeutic relationship in cancer care with caregivers providing critical support in the decision-making and care process to both patients and physicians. Caregiver absences led to practical, psychosocial, and informational burdens on both groups, and likely increased the risk of burnout among physicians. Our findings suggest that the quality of cancer care can be enhanced by engaging caregivers and promoting their physical presence during clinical encounters.
Comparison of PAS and adenoids in patients with and without maxillary micrognathia before orthodontic treatment
Authors: Tabellion Maike , Schneider Jan Lucas Felix Gustav , Linsenmann Constanze Charlotte , Lisson Jörg Alexander
Published: April 2024

Objective

Craniofacial anomalies are widely discussed as predisposing factors of breathing disorders. Since many more cofactors exist, this study investigated the association between maxillary micrognathia and morphological changes of posterior airway space and adenoids in these patients.

Material and methods

Cephalometric radiographs of n = 73 patients were used for data acquisition. The patients were divided into two groups according to certain skeletal characteristics: maxillary micrognathia (n = 34, 16 female, 18 male; mean age 10.55 ± 3.03 years; defined by a SNA angle < 79°) and maxillary eugnathia (n = 39, 19 female, 20 male; mean age 10.93 ± 3.26 years; defined by a SNA angle > 79°). The evaluation included established procedures for measurements of the maxilla, posterior airway space and adenoids. Statistics included Kolmogorov–Smirnov-, T- and Mann–Whitney-U-Tests for the radiographs. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

The cephalometric analysis showed differences in the superior posterior face height and the depth of the posterior airway space at palatal level among the two groups. The depth of the posterior airway space at mandibular level was the same for both groups, just as the size of the area taken by adenoids in the nasopharynx.

Conclusions

Skeletal anomalies affect the dimension of the posterior airway space. There were differences among the subjects with maxillary micrognathia and these with a normal maxilla. However, the maxilla was only assessed in the sagittal direction, not in the transverse. This study showed that the morphology of the maxilla relates to the posterior airway space whereas the adenoids seem not to be affected.

Clinical relevance

Maxillary micrognathia is significantly associated with a smaller depth of the posterior airway space at the palatal level compared to patients with maxillary eugnathia.
The efficacy of psychological prevention, and health promotion interventions targeting psychological health, wellbeing or resilience among forced migrant children and youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Giles Clover Jack , Västhagen Maja , van Leuven Livia , Edenius Anna , Ghaderi Ata , Enebrink Pia
Published: April 2024

There are over 40 million displaced children and youth worldwide and there is a need promote their mental wellbeing. This study aimed to synthesize evidence regarding promotion interventions to increase wellbeing, resilience, and quality of life (primary outcomes), and prevention interventions to reduce internalizing and externalizing symptoms (secondary outcomes) in this population. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022329978). Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched. Inclusion criteria were: ≥ 10 participants, sample ≤ 18 years of age, no parental participation, explicated forced migrant populations, implementation in non-clinical context, and validated measures. Fifteen studies (N interventions = 18, N participants = 5741) were eligible. Two studies included outcomes related to wellbeing and quality of life. The remaining studies reported depression, PTSD, anxiety, internalizing and externalizing behaviours, and behavioural and emotional problems. There was only sufficient data to perform random-effects meta-analysis of depression scores. No significant effects were observed in comparison to control condition in randomized trials (n = 4994, k = 5) but a small significant positive trend was observed in within-group analyses (n = 537, k = 12). Cochrane’s risk of bias tools and the GRADE certainty of evidence tool were applied. No studies achieved low risk of bias and certainty of evidence was very low. In sum, there remains a dearth of rigorous intervention studies investigating the effects of promotive and preventative psychological interventions on the wellbeing, resilience, and quality of life of forcibly displaced minors. However, the few eligible studies in this review indicate promise.
Microbe and bioprocess performances for sustainable production of biobased 2,3-butanediol in a sugarcane biorefinery; a technoeconomic and environmental analysis
Authors: Sikazwe Manasseh K. , Louw Jeanne , Görgens Johann F.
Published: April 2024

Industrial production of bio-based 2,3-butanediol via microbial conversion of sugars is intended to provide viable investment opportunities accompanied by reduced greenhouse gas emissions, compared to current fossil-based products. The potential impacts on the product minimum selling price and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of further technology developments resulting in enhanced product yield, volumetric productivity and/or titres were assessed though a 33 full-factorial design. Aspen Plus® was employed to simulate multiple scenarios for 2,3-butanediol production from A-molasses in a biorefinery annexed to an existing sugarcane mill for subsequent techno-economic analysis. A 10% singular improvement in product yield, titre and volumetric productivity reduced the minimum selling price by 3.6%, 1.4% and 0.1%, whereas titre improvements reduced greenhouse gas emissions twice as much as product yield for a 10% step change. At the current state of technology, biobased 2,3-butanediol can achieve the minimum performance required to be a feasible alternative to fossil-based 2,3-butanediol with an estimated best minimum selling price of 1434$ t−12,3-BDO and greenhouse gas emissions 6.5 times less than those recorded for fossil-derived 1,4-butanediol. The minimum selling price and greenhouse gas emissions values can be reduced further by at least 16% and 14%, respectively, warranting further investment in strain and bioprocess performance enhancement. Overall, the research demonstrated that technological efforts intended to enhance the viability of biobased 2,3-butanediol production also minimized greenhouse gas emissions, integrating environmental and economic objectives for a sustainable bioeconomy.

Graphical abstract
Transmission of Xylella fastidiosa subspecies multiplex from naturally infected to healthy Rhamnus alaternus by Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris
Authors: Nencioni Anita , Gargani Elisabetta , Strangi Agostino , Rizzo Domenico , Iovinella Immacolata , Sacchetti Patrizia , Roversi Pio Federico , Cutino Ilaria
Published: April 2024

In Europe, the recently reported plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex affects several wild, ornamental, and cultivated trees causing scorch diseases. In 2018, the sequence type 87 was reported in Tuscany on Mediterranean shrubs and trees. Although spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) were already identified as main vectors of this bacterium in Europe, their role in the transmission of this subspecies has not been ascertained yet. In this study the ability of Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris to acquire and transmit Xylella fastidiosa subsp. multiplex sequence type 87 from and to Rhamnus alaternus was evaluated in two-year semi-field experiments. To acquire the bacterium, insects were confined on wild, naturally infected R. alaternus shrubs for 120 h. Then, they were transferred to healthy plants and maintained in cages for 96 h. To follow the infection, plant samples were collected every two months for three times. Tested plants were destroyed at the end of experiments and roots, twigs and leaves were analysed. Philaenus spumarius showed a significantly higher survival rate than N. campestris. The infection status of both insects and plants was assessed through molecular analysis. P. spumarius and N. campestris were able to infect healthy plants although the acquisition rate and the estimated probability of transmission appeared to be low. These findings provide new accounts on the role of two polyphagous insect vectors in spreading a quarantine organism, which is lethal to a huge number of plant species. However, further studies are needed to disclose more specific interactions within this complex pathosystem.
Barriers to Cervical Cancer Screening by Sexual Orientation Among Low-Income Women in North Carolina
Authors: Spencer Jennifer C. , Charlton Brittany M. , Pretsch Peyton K. , Schnarrs Phillip W. , Spees Lisa P. , Hudgens Michael G. , Barclay Lynn , Wheeler Stephanie B. , Brewer Noel T. , Smith Jennifer S.
Published: April 2024

We sought to examine cervical cancer screening barriers by sexual orientation among low-income women in North Carolina. The MyBodyMyTest-3 Trial recruited low-income women (< 250% of federal poverty level) aged 25–64 years who were 1+ year overdue for cervical cancer screening. We compared perceptions of cervical cancer screening among those who self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ; n = 70) to straight/heterosexual women (n = 683). For both LGBQ and straight respondents, the greatest barriers to screening were lack of health insurance (63% and 66%) and cost (49% and 50%). LGBQ respondents were more likely than straight respondents to report forgetting to screen (16% vs. 8%, p = .05), transportation barriers (10% vs. 2%, p = .001), and competing mental or physical health problems (39% vs. 27%, p = .10). Addressing access remains important for improving cervical cancer screening among those under-screened. For LGBQ women, additional attention may be needed for reminders, co-occurring health needs, and transportation barriers.
miRNA-383-5p Regulated Migration and Invasion of Tumor Cells by Inhibiting NCKAP1 Expression in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Wang Chen , Wang Pan , Tian Yuan , Lu Cuijuan , Liu Lixia , Wu Jianguo , Wang Yanan , Li Jinghua
Published: April 2024

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second deadliest disease in Asia, so it is crucial to find its promising therapeutic targets. The expression profile data of miR383-5p in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed. The expression levels of miR383-5p in the collected clinical tissue samples and peripheral blood samples were examined by qPCR, and the relationship between its expression and the clinical data of patients was evaluated. MiR383-5p was overexpressed in the AGS cells, and cell biology assays, such as Transwell, were performed to detect the cell proliferation, migration, invasion and other cell biology abilities of miR383-5p. Target prediction and dual luciferase reporter gene assay were performed to find and validate the target genes of miR383-5p. The expression and activity of MMP and related proteins after overexpression of miR383-5p and NCKAP1 were detected by WB and gelatin zymography assay. The expression of miR383-5p was down-regulated in GC tissues, and its low expression was associated with lymph node metastasis. Restoration of miR383-5p expression in GC cells can inhibit the invasion and migration abilities of GC cells. MiR383-5p negatively regulated NCKAP1 through direct interaction with the 3’UTR sequence of NCKAP1. The overexpression of NCKAP1 can improve the migration and invasion abilities of GC cells, whereas overexpression of miR383-5p can inhibit growth of the aforementioned abilities of GC cells induced by NCKAP1 overexpression. The overexpression of NCKAP1 can increase the expression level and activity of MMP2, while the overexpression of miR383-5p can inhibit the increase of MMP2 expression level and activity in GC cells induced by NCKAP1 overexpression. NCKAP1 is a target gene of miR383-5p, and miR383-5p could be a valuable therapeutic target for stomach adenocarcinoma.
Preparation of amine or carboxyl groups modified cellulose beads for removal of uranium (VI) ions from aqueous solutions
Authors: Bayramoglu Gulay , Tilki Serhad , Arica Mehmet Yakup
Published: April 2024

In the present study, cellulose beads were prepared using the phase inversion method and then activated with epichlorohydrin. The epoxy groups of the activated beads were modified with Nα,Nα-bis(carboxymethyl)-L-lysine hydrate (CML), and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) ligands. These modified beads, coded as cellulose-COOH and cellulose-NH2, respectively, were used to remove of uranium (VI) ions from aqueous medium. The prepared adsorbents were characterized using FTIR, SEM, zeta-potential, and analytical methods; the performance of both the modified beads for the removal of uranium (VI) ions was optimized using different operational parameters in a batch system. The amount of adsorbed uranium ions on cellulose-COOH and cellulose-NH2 beads was 462.9 ± 13.7 and 127.4 ± 5.1 mg/g, respectively. The results are acceptable regarding the equilibrium kinetics for the adsorption of uranium (VI) ions, which followed the second-order kinetic model. The prepared activated cellulose beads could be utilized in many technological applications by making appropriate modifications in the reactive epoxy groups of cellulose.
Mother–Infant Interaction and Maternal Postnatal Psychological Distress Associate with Child’s Social-Emotional Development During Early Childhood: A FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study
Authors: Lahtela Hetti , Flykt Marjo , Nolvi Saara , Kataja Eeva-Leena , Eskola Eeva , Tervahartiala Katja , Pelto Juho , Carter Alice S. , Karlsson Hasse , Karlsson Linnea , Korja Riikka
Published: April 2024

We studied the effects of mother–infant interaction and maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress on children’s social-emotional problems and competences, as well as whether interaction quality moderates the association between distress and children’s outcomes. Maternal pre- and postnatal psychological distress were measured using the SCL and EPDS questionnaires, whereas mother–infant interaction was measured when the child was 8 months old using the EA Scales. Children’s social-emotional development was measured using the BITSEA questionnaire at 2 years old and using the SDQ questionnaire at 4 years old, where higher maternal structuring was associated with fewer social-emotional problems in children and higher maternal sensitivity was associated with greater social-emotional competence in children at 2 years old. Further, higher postnatal distress was found associated with greater social-emotional problems at 2 years old, though neither these effects nor moderating effects at 4 years old were observed after multiple-comparison corrections. Our findings support direct associations of both mother–infant interaction and maternal postnatal psychological distress with children’s social-emotional development during toddlerhood.
Development and utilization of genome-wide InDel markers in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]
Authors: Guden Birgul , Kiemde Ousseini , Yol Engin , Uzun Bulent
Published: April 2024

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) has become an increasingly valuable crop for food, feed, and especially bioenergy feedstock production, which makes the crop extremely attractive for studying genomics and genetic diversity. Molecular markers and genomics play essential roles in sorghum breeding. The rapid development of next-generation sequencing technology has facilitated the identification of genome-wide insertion-deletion (InDel) polymorphisms, enabling the efficient construction of InDel markers that are suitable for user-friendly PCR. This study was conducted with the objective of discovering and developing InDel markers using double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-Seq) data. A total of 19,226 InDels distributed across 10 chromosomes in the sorghum genome was identified. Of those, deletions constituted 65.7% while the remain was insertions. A comprehensive analysis of all the chromosomes revealed a total of 80 InDel sites with a minimum length of 10 bp. For a good conversion of the InDel regions to beneficial molecular markers, specific primers were designed for the amplification of 47 InDel regions that were selected for further investigation. A diverse panel of sorghum consisting of 16 accessions served a source for the developed InDel markers validation. Of the 47 InDel markers, 14 were tested across 16 sorghum accessions and were demonstrated their helpfulness for marker-assisted selection in sorghum. The polymorphic information content (PIC) values of the 16 markers varied between 0.11 and 0.38, with an average of 0.28. The findings of this study indicated that the identification of InDels and the development of molecular markers for sorghum were accomplished using the ddRAD-Seq data.
Morphological, chemical, and molecular characterization of a new late-leafing and high fruit quality hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) genotype
Authors: Bostan Saim Zeki , Karakaya Orhan
Published: April 2024

Hazelnuts are widely employed in various dietary practices, making them one of the most frequently utilized nuts. This study morphologically, chemically, and molecularly characterized a new hazelnut genotype throughout the 2018 to 2020 growing seasons. The variety burst leaf buds between 10th and 15th April and reached harvest maturity between 5th and 15th September. The genotype bore a mean of 2.33 nuts per cluster, with the majority of clusters consisting of double and triple nuts. The means of the nut weight was 2.38 g, the kernel weight was 1.35 g, the kernel ratio was 56.81%, the shell thickness was 0.96 mm, the nut size was 18.32 mm, the kernel size was 14.77 mm, the good kernel ratio was 91.7%, the protein content was 13.5%, the oil content was 55.8%, the oleic acid ratio was 81.43%, and the linoleic acid ratio was 10.68%. The genetic similarity rate between the new hazelnut genotype and the standard Çakıldak, Palaz, Tombul cultivars, as well as randomly selected Çakıldak hazelnut clones from the region, ranged from 0.58 to 0.98. Additionally, the polymorphism rate varied from 45.5 to 100%. On average, the investigated hazelnut genotype exhibited a genetic distinctiveness of 38% compared to randomly selected Çakıldak clones from the same region, and 47% compared to standard hazelnut cultivars. Consequently, this genotype could serve as valuable genetic material for hazelnut breeding programs through genetic distinctiveness and promising nut quality, and could potentially be registered as a new cultivar.
Simultaneous Multi-View Object Recognition and Grasping in Open-Ended Domains
Authors: Kasaei Hamidreza , Kasaei Mohammadreza , Tziafas Georgios , Luo Sha , Sasso Remo
Published: April 2024

To aid humans in everyday tasks, robots need to know which objects exist in the scene, where they are, and how to grasp and manipulate them in different situations. Therefore, object recognition and grasping are two key functionalities for autonomous robots. Most state-of-the-art approaches treat object recognition and grasping as two separate problems, even though both use visual input. Furthermore, the knowledge of the robot is fixed after the training phase. In such cases, if the robot encounters new object categories, it must be retrained to incorporate new information without catastrophic forgetting. To resolve this problem, we propose a deep learning architecture with an augmented memory capacity to handle open-ended object recognition and grasping simultaneously. In particular, our approach takes multi-views of an object as input and jointly estimates pixel-wise grasp configuration as well as a deep scale- and rotation-invariant representation as output. The obtained representation is then used for open-ended object recognition through a meta-active learning technique. We demonstrate the ability of our approach to grasp never-seen-before objects and to rapidly learn new object categories using very few examples on-site in both simulation and real-world settings. Our approach empowers a robot to acquire knowledge about new object categories using, on average, less than five instances per category and achieve$$95\%$$95%object recognition accuracy and above$$91\%$$91%grasp success rate on (highly) cluttered scenarios in both simulation and real-robot experiments. A video of these experiments is available online at:https://youtu.be/n9SMpuEkOgk
Composite Nanoarchitectonics Towards Method for Everything in Materials Science
Authors: Ariga Katsuhiko
Published: April 2024

The characteristic feature of a biofunctional system is that components with various functions work together. These multi-components are not simply mixed together, but are rationally arranged. The fundamental technologies to do this in an artificial system include the synthetic chemistry of the substances that make the component unit, the science and techniques for assembling them, and the technology for analyzing their nanoostructures. A new concept, nanoarchitectonics, can play this role. Nanoarchitectonics is a post-nanotechnology concept that involves building functional materials that reflect the nanostructures. In particular, the approach of combining and building multiple types of components to create composite materials is an area where nanoarchitectonics can be a powerful tool. This review summarizes such examples and related composite studies. In particular, examples are presented in the areas of catalyst & photocatalyst, energy, sensing & environment, bio & medical, and various other functions and applications to illustrate the potential for a wide range of applications. In order to show the various stages of development, the examples are not only state-of-the-art, but also include those that are successful developments of existing research. Finally, a summary of the examples and a brief discussion of future challenges in nanoarchitectonics will be given. Nanoarchitectonics is applicable to all materials and aims to establish the ultimate methodology of materials science.
Developing a Work Accommodation Operating Model for Workplaces and Work Ability Support Services
Authors: Nevala Nina , Pehkonen Irmeli , Virtanen Maarit , Mattila-Holappa Pauliina , Juvonen-Posti Pirjo
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Workplace accommodation can help employees with disabilities remain employed or access employment rather than leave the labor force. However, the workplace accommodation process is still poorly understood and documented.

Aim

The aim of this study was to develop a national operating model to make workplace accommodation interactive and procedural for workplaces and work ability support services and lower the threshold to making accommodations.

Methods

The collaborative development process was carried out by a multiprofessional expert team with eleven workplaces in the private and public sectors in Finland. The design of this study was conceptual and developmental. The development process of the operating model consisted of four phases: the orientation phase, the joint planning phase, the implementation advancement phase, and the instilling phase.

Results

The operating model has six stages: 1) identifying needs, 2) gathering knowledge, 3) exploring alternatives, 4) selecting solutions, 5) implementing solutions, and 6) monitoring and evaluating. The model defines the actions, roles, and responsibilities for each phase. To help implement the model, we published an information package, a guide, a planning formula, and a video animation in Finnish and Swedish.

Conclusion

The operating model is a tool that workplaces and work ability support services can use to help working-aged people remain employed or access employment. Future studies should determine the workplace-specific functionality of this model using implementation research.
Perception of Housing Taxation in the Czech Republic
Authors: Janoušková Jana , Sobotovičová Šárka
Published: April 2024

Housing taxation is considered the most obvious tax system inequity. Therefore, this type of taxation should be in line with the benefit principle. This article examines the attitudes of citizens towards residential building taxation in the Czech Republic. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the perception of residential building tax burden by taxpayers who own a house or apartment for housing based on primary research. The research was conducted in the Czech Republic using a questionnaire in 2021 and 2022. Differences in the tax burden perception in relation to improvements in quality of life in a municipality and use of compensation by providing financial benefit in favor of resident citizens are investigated in the context of municipality size. It was found that the majority of respondents in all municipality size categories perceived the tax burden as reasonable. Citizens' positive attitudes towards the taxation of their residential buildings were influenced not only by the quality-of-life improvement in the municipality, but also by the transparency of the municipality's financial management. By compensating for the tax on residential buildings through providing a financial benefit, some municipalities reduced the tax burden for their resident citizens and shifted the tax burden, within the limits of the law, to buildings for business and recreation. The most common forms of financial benefits included reducing or eliminating municipal waste fees.
Optimizing electrocoagulation for poultry slaughterhouse wastewater treatment: a fuzzy axiomatic design approach
Authors: Tanatti Nazire Pınar , Sezer Mesut
Published: April 2024

White meat consumption is increasing day by day, and accordingly, there is an increase in the amount of wastewater resulting from the processes. Today, the reuse of wastewater has become a goal within the scope of the Green Deal. For this reason, wastewater treatment with high pollution and volume has gained importance. In this study, the fuzzy axiomatic design (FAD) method, one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods, has been used. With this method, coagulation, electrocoagulation (EC), dissolved air flotation (DAF), and anaerobic treatment alternatives preferred in poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) treatment were compared with each other and their information contents were calculated. The information content from the smallest to the largest is EC, DAF, coagulation, and anaerobic treatment, respectively. This treatment method was chosen because the smallest information content is in electrocoagulation. EC was applied to bloody PSW containing 1% blood by volume. The effectiveness of Fe and Al electrodes for PSW treatment in the batch EC reactor has been compared. The effective surface areas of 2 anodes and 2 cathodes connected bipolarly in the processes are 288 cm2. The electrolyte, pH, time, and current density effects on energy consumption were also investigated. The optimum conditions for Al and Fe electrodes were found to be 0.5 g·L−1 NaCl concentration, pH 5, 0.639 mA·cm−2 current density, and 5 min time. Under optimum conditions for the Fe electrode, COD, TOC, TN, and oil-grease removal efficiencies were determined as 76.3%, 71.8%, 70%, and 74%, respectively. Moreover, the highest COD, TOC, TN, and oil-grease removal efficiencies were achieved with an Al electrode (82.2%, 82.3%, 82.7%, and 78.9%, respectively). The experimental data were fit to a variety of isotherms and kinetic models to determine the characteristics of the EC. The results indicated that the pseudo-second-order equation provided the best fit for COD removal. Under optimum conditions, the operating cost was calculated as $3.39 and $3.09 for Al and Fe electrodes, respectively. In this study, the fuzzy axiomatic design method was used for the first time to select the most appropriate treatment method for PSW. In addition, blood, a major problem for the poultry slaughterhouse industry, was mixed with PSW at a ratio of 1% (v/v) and treated with EC for the first time with high removal efficiency. By treating PSW, which has a high pollution load, with electrocoagulation, the pollution load of the water to be given to secondary treatment has been greatly reduced.
Cluster analysis of long COVID symptoms for deciphering a syndrome and its long-term consequence
Authors: Niewolik J. , Mikuteit M. , Klawitter S. , Schröder D. , Stölting A. , Vahldiek K. , Heinemann S. , Müller F. , Behrens GMN. , Klawonn F. , Dopfer-Jablonka A. , Steffens S.
Published: April 2024

The long-term symptoms of COVID-19 are the subject of public and scientific discussions. Understanding how those long COVID symptoms co-occur in clusters of syndromes may indicate the pathogenic mechanisms of long COVID. Our study objective was to cluster the different long COVID symptoms. We included persons who had a COVID-19 and assessed long-term symptoms (at least 4 weeks after first symptoms). Hierarchical clustering was applied to the symptoms as well as to the participants based on the Euclidean distance h of the log-values of the answers on symptom severity. The distribution of clusters within our cohort is shown in a heat map.

From September 2021 to November 2023, 2371 persons with persisting long COVID symptoms participated in the study. Self-assessed long COVID symptoms were assigned to three symptom clusters. Cluster A unites rheumatological and neurological symptoms, cluster B includes neuro-psychological symptoms together with cardiorespiratory symptoms, and a third cluster C shows an association of general infection signs, dermatological and otology symptoms. A high proportion of the participants (n = 1424) showed symptoms of all three clusters. Clustering of long COVID symptoms reveals similarities to the symptomatology of already described syndromes such as the Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) or rheumatological autoinflammatory diseases. Further research may identify serological parameters or clinical risk factors associated with the shown clusters and might improve our understanding of long COVID as a systemic disease. Furthermore, multimodal treatments can be developed and scaled for symptom clusters and associated impairments.
Determination of future creep and seismic behaviors of dams using 3D analyses validated by long-term levelling measurements
Authors: Cavuslu Murat , Inyurt Samed
Published: April 2024

This study aims to assess the future structural performance of the Kozlu-Ulutan clay core rockfill (CCR) dam, one of the most significant water structures in the Black Sea region of Turkey, by utilizing 35 years of levelling measurements and 3D finite-difference analyses. Settlement measurements were obtained from five different points on the dam surface every 6 months. Subsequently, a three-dimensional (3D) model of the dam was created using the finite-difference method. Time-dependent creep analyses and seismic analyses were conducted sequentially, employing the Burger-Creep and Mohr–Coulomb material models, respectively. Non-reflecting boundary conditions were defined for the boundaries of the dam model. The 3D numerical analysis results were found to be highly compatible with the 35 years of levelling measurements. Additionally, the future seepage and settlement behaviors of the dam over a 100-year period (2023–2123) were analyzed, considering special time functions. Current and future seismic analyses were performed, taking into account the settlement results of the dam in 2023 and 2123. For seismic analyses, data from ten various earthquakes that occurred in Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Malatya, and Gaziantep in Turkey in 2023 were utilized. The seismic analysis results provided significant information about the future seismic behavior of the Kozlu-Ulutan Dam, revealing notable differences between the current and future earthquake behaviors of the dam. Moreover, it was concluded that the clay core is the most crucial section concerning the current and future seismic behaviors of CCR dams. The study results emphasized the importance of continuous monitoring and periodic seismic evaluations for the safe operation of CCR dams.
Investigation of the Effect of Boron Oxide and Beeswax on Workability and High-Temperature Performance of Bitumen
Authors: Şahan Neslihan , Oruç Şeref , Çavdar Erman , Kumandaş Aytuğ , Kabadayı Ersoy , Kök Baha Vural
Published: April 2024

In recent years, various studies have shown that boron-containing additives improve the rutting performance of the bituminous pavements. However, in these studies, it was stated that these additives would decrease the workability of the bitumen and increase energy required for the construction of the pavement. On the other hand, it has been shown in many studies that waxes increase the workability of the bitumen. In this study, it was aimed to obtain bitumen with high rutting resistance and workability by adding boron oxide (BO) and beeswax (BW) to bitumen. Therefore, modified bitumen was produced by adding BO and BW at different ratios to a 50/70 penetration grade base bitumen. Then, the chemical, physical, and rheological properties of modified bitumen samples were investigated by various experiments. As a result, it has been observed that BO increases the high-temperature performance and viscosity of bitumen; on the other hand, BW decreases rutting resistance and viscosity. When BO and BW were added together to the bitumen, the negative impact of BO on workability and the negative impact of BW on high temperature performance were significantly eliminated. Especially, in 1BO + 1BW and 3BO + 3BW bitumens, the high-temperature performance of the bitumen improved without decreasing the workability.
APSIM’s origins and the forces shaping its first 30 years of evolution: A review and reflections
Authors: Keating Brian Anthony
Published: April 2024

Simulation models have co-evolved with agricultural research methods over the last 60 years and they are now a widely accepted and deployed component of agricultural research and development. Modelling supports research in a very diverse range of disciplines and situations, but nowhere more so than in farming systems research. The complex interactions in space and time in the face of climate variability and change that characterise contemporary farming systems research create a situation in which farming systems models are vital tools in interpreting and generalising research results. This review examines the evolution of one of the most widely used farming systems modelling platforms, the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM). The review sets the scene for APSIM development with an account of research approaches in agronomy during the 1960s and 1970s. The early innovations in crop and soil modelling in the 1980s are covered briefly and a more explicit history of APSIM development is reported from the 1990s. Reports of APSIM use and impact are reviewed over the 2000s and 2010s. The review concludes with reflections on the forces that have shaped and enabled this more than 30-year history of APSIM development and use, together with a look forward to future challenges. Recent developments in proximal and remote sensing together with advances in the power of empirical models arising from machine learning are not seen as threats but more so opportunities for sound bio-physical models to be deployed with greater effect.
“If I Do not Go to Work, They Will Die!” Dual Roles of Older-Adult Personal Support Workers’ Contributions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Wu Haorui , Yung Mandy
Published: April 2024

When COVID-19 devastated older-adult organizations (long-term care homes and retirement homes), most public attention was directed toward the older-adult residents rather than their service providers. This was especially true in the case of personal support workers, some of whom are over the age of 55, putting them in two separate categories in the COVID-19 settings: (1) a vulnerable and marginalized group who are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19; and (2) essential healthcare workers. Since the current disaster-driven research, practice, and policy have primarily focused on generalized assumptions that older-adults are a vulnerable, passive, and dependent group rather than recognizing their diversity, expertise, assets, and experiences, this study aimed to identify their contributions from the perspective of older-adult personal support worker (OAPSW). This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews, inviting 15 OAPSWs from the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. This study uncovered the OAPSWs’ contribution at three levels: individual (enhancing physical health, mental health, and overall well-being), work (improving working environment and service and supporting co-workers), and family (protecting their nuclear and extended families). The outcomes inform the older-adult research, practice, policy, public discourse, and education by enhancing the appreciation of older-adults’ diverse strengths and promoting their engagement and contributions in disaster settings.
Sepsis and case fatality rates and associations with deprivation, ethnicity, and clinical characteristics: population-based case–control study with linked primary care and hospital data in England
Authors: van Staa Tjeerd Pieter , Pate Alexander , Martin Glen P. , Sharma Anita , Dark Paul , Felton Tim , Zhong Xiaomin , Bladon Sian , Cunningham Neil , Gilham Ellie L. , Brown Colin S. , Mirfenderesky Mariyam , Palin Victoria , Ashiru-Oredope Diane
Published: April 2024

Purpose

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by dysregulated host response to infection. The purpose of the study was to measure the associations of specific exposures (deprivation, ethnicity, and clinical characteristics) with incident sepsis and case fatality.

Methods

Two research databases in England were used including anonymized patient-level records from primary care linked to hospital admission, death certificate, and small-area deprivation. Sepsis cases aged 65–100 years were matched to up to six controls. Predictors for sepsis (including 60 clinical conditions) were evaluated using logistic and random forest models; case fatality rates were analyzed using logistic models.

Results

108,317 community-acquired sepsis cases were analyzed. Severe frailty was strongly associated with the risk of developing sepsis (crude odds ratio [OR] 14.93; 95% confidence interval [CI] 14.37–15.52). The quintile with most deprived patients showed an increased sepsis risk (crude OR 1.48; 95% CI 1.45–1.51) compared to least deprived quintile. Strong predictors for sepsis included antibiotic exposure in prior 2 months, being house bound, having cancer, learning disability, and diabetes mellitus. Severely frail patients had a case fatality rate of 42.0% compared to 24.0% in non-frail patients (adjusted OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.41–1.65). Sepsis cases with recent prior antibiotic exposure died less frequently compared to non-users (adjusted OR 0.7; 95% CI 0.72–0.76). Case fatality strongly decreased over calendar time.

Conclusion

Given the variety of predictors and their level of associations for developing sepsis, there is a need for prediction models for risk of developing sepsis that can help to target preventative antibiotic therapy.
Erfassung problematischer Smartphonenutzung und der Effekt auf die kognitive Unterrichtsmeidung von Schüler:innen
Authors: Nagel Arvid
Published: April 2024

Smartphones spielen im täglichen Leben der Menschen eine wichtige Rolle – vor allem junge Menschen fühlen sich von Mobiltelefonen stark angezogen und nutzen Smartphones viele Stunden täglich. Jüngste Forschungsergebnisse deuten auch auf potenzielle Probleme durch die übermäßige Nutzung von Mobilgeräten hin – die digitale Abhängigkeit kann zu zwanghaftem und süchtigem Verhalten führen. Die problematische Smartphonenutzung hat sich als ein moderner psychologischer Fachbegriff etabliert. Dennoch zeigt sich, dass die Forschung zur problematischen Smartphonenutzung noch rar ist. Um diesem Desiderat zu begegnen, ist ein zuverlässiges und valides Instrument zur Erfassung der problematischen Smartphonenutzung (bei Jugendlichen) unerlässlich. Dieser Beitrag stellt Operationalisierungen zur Messung problematischer Smartphonenutzung vor und präsentiert ein Messmodell. Das entwickelte Screening-Instrument soll zudem die Frage klären, wie sich Dimensionen der problematischen Smartphonenutzung auf die kognitive Unterrichtsmeidung von Schüler:innen auswirkt, was bisher noch nicht in den Blick der Forschung geraten ist. Im Rahmen einer Jugendstudie in der Schweiz wurden 1333 Schüler:innen der Sekundarstufe I mit einem Durchschnittsalter von 13,7 Jahren befragt, wobei jeder dritte Jugendliche Angaben sowohl zur Smartphonenutzung und zweidrittel der Jugendlichen Angaben zur kognitiven Unterrichtsmeidung machten. Zur Messung der problematischen Smartphonenutzung wurde ein fünf-faktorielles Screening-Instrument operationalisiert, in dem die Dimensionen (I) Einengung des Denkens und Verhaltens, (II) Toleranzentwicklung, (III) Fortführung trotz negativer Konsequenzen, (IV) Kontrollverlust, (V) Entzugserscheinungen operationalisiert wurden. Die psychometrischen Daten zeigen eine 5-faktorielle Struktur, wie sie theoretisch postuliert wurde. Multiple Regressionen zeigen, dass drei Dimensionen der problematischen Smartphonenutzung signifikante Prädiktoren für die kognitive Unterrichtsmeidung der Schüler:innen darstellen. Regressionsmodelle getrennt nach den Geschlechtern belegen differente Dimensionen mit unterschiedlichen Varianzaufklärungen als prädiktiv.
Material Property Prediction Using Graphs Based on Generically Complete Isometry Invariants
Authors: Balasingham Jonathan , Zamaraev Viktor , Kurlin Vitaliy
Published: April 2024

The structure–property hypothesis says that the properties of all materials are determined by an underlying crystal structure. The main obstacle was the ambiguity of conventional crystal representations based on incomplete or discontinuous descriptors that allow false negatives or false positives. This ambiguity was resolved by the ultra-fast pointwise distance distribution, which distinguished all periodic structures in the world’s largest collection of real materials (Cambridge structural database). State-of-the-art results in property prediction were previously achieved by graph neural networks based on various graph representations of periodic crystals, including the Crystal Graph with vertices at all atoms in a crystal unit cell. This work adapts the pointwise distance distribution for a simpler graph whose vertex set is not larger than the asymmetric unit of a crystal structure. The new Distribution Graph reduces mean absolute error by 0.6–12% while having 44–88% of the number of vertices when compared to the Crystal Graph when applied on the Materials Project and Jarvis-DFT datasets using CGCNN and ALIGNN. Methods for hyper-parameters selection for the graph are backed by the theoretical results of the pointwise distance distribution and are then experimentally justified.
Tissue Engineering in Oral and Maxillofacial Rehabilitation—Current Status and Future Prospects
Authors: Shetty Smitha Sammith , Shetty Shibani , Venkatesh Swapna Bettanapalya
Published: April 2024

Purpose of Review

The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature pertaining to the principles and techniques utilized in tissue engineering for the purpose of rehabilitating oral defects that may involve tissues such as bone, cartilage, oral mucosa, periodontal ligament, nerve, and muscle.

Recent Findings

Tissue engineering represents a cutting-edge area of research within the field of regeneration. Its potential application in the restoration of oral and maxillofacial tissues has emerged as a viable alternative to the traditional use of autologous bone grafts for reconstructing bone defects. In recent times, the field of tissue engineering has made significant progress in tissue regeneration through the utilization of cutting-edge technologies. Tissue engineering has facilitated tissue regeneration through the replication of stem cells, cytokines, and growth factors.

Tissue engineering is definitely the future of reconstructive surgery that facilitates the regeneration of tissues that have been compromised by various dental pathologies. To date, significant progress has been made in the field of tissue regeneration, particularly in the restoration of simple tissue defects. However, the restoration of complex tissue structures and their corresponding functionality remains a formidable challenge that continues to be actively researched.
Enhancing the Vietoris–Rips simplicial complex for topological data analysis: applications in cancer gene expression datasets
Authors: Mashatola Lebohang , Kader Zubayr , Abdulla Naaziyah , Kaur Mandeep
Published: April 2024

The aim of this study is to enhance the extraction of informative features from complex data through the application of topological data analysis (TDA) using novel topological overlapping measures. Topological data analysis has emerged as a promising methodology for extracting meaningful insights from complex datasets. Existing approaches in TDA often involve extrapolating data points using distance correlation measures, which subsequently constrain downstream predictive tasks. Our objective is to improve the construction of the Vietoris–Rips simplicial complex by introducing topological overlapping measures. These measures take into account the interplay of direct connection strengths and shared neighbours, leading to the identification of persistent topological features. We propose the utilisation of topological overlapping measures to optimise the construction of the Vietoris–Rips simplicial complex, offering a more refined representation of complex data structures. The application of topological overlapping measures results in the identification of plentiful persistent topological features. This enhancement contributes to an improvement of up to 20% in cancer phenotype prediction across different cancer types. Our study demonstrates the effectiveness of utilising topological overlapping measures in optimising the construction of the Vietoris–Rips simplicial complex. The identified persistent topological features significantly enhance the predictive accuracy of cancer phenotypes. This novel approach has the potential to advance the field of topological data analysis and improve our understanding of complex data structures, particularly in the context of cancer research and predictive modelling. Further exploration and application of these measures may yield valuable insights in various domains dealing with intricate datasets.