bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
About the dark corners in the gene function space of Escherichia coli remaining without illumination by scientific literature
Authors: Tantoso Erwin , Eisenhaber Birgit , Sinha Swati , Jensen Lars Juhl , Eisenhaber Frank
Published: February 2023

Background

Although Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most studied prokaryote organism in the history of life sciences, many molecular mechanisms and gene functions encoded in its genome remain to be discovered. This work aims at quantifying the illumination of the E. coli gene function space by the scientific literature and how close we are towards the goal of a complete list of E. coli gene functions.

Results

The scientific literature about E. coli protein-coding genes has been mapped onto the genome via the mentioning of names for genomic regions in scientific articles both for the case of the strain K-12 MG1655 as well as for the 95%-threshold softcore genome of 1324 E. coli strains with known complete genome. The article match was quantified with the ratio of a given gene name’s occurrence to the mentioning of any gene names in the paper. The various genome regions have an extremely uneven literature coverage. A group of elite genes with ≥ 100 full publication equivalents (FPEs, FPE = 1 is an idealized publication devoted to just a single gene) attracts the lion share of the papers. For K-12, ~ 65% of the literature covers just 342 elite genes; for the softcore genome, ~ 68% of the FPEs is about only 342 elite gene families (GFs). We also find that most genes/GFs have at least one mentioning in a dedicated scientific article (with the exception of at least 137 protein-coding transcripts for K-12 and 26 GFs from the softcore genome). Whereas the literature growth rates were highest for uncharacterized or understudied genes until 2005–2010 compared with other groups of genes, they became negative thereafter. At the same time, literature for anyhow well-studied genes started to grow explosively with threshold T10 (≥ 10 FPEs). Typically, a body of ~ 20 actual articles generated over ~ 15 years of research effort was necessary to reach T10. Lineage-specific co-occurrence analysis of genes belonging to the accessory genome of E. coli together with genomic co-localization and sequence-analytic exploration hints previously completely uncharacterized genes yahV and yddL being associated with osmotic stress response/motility mechanisms.

Conclusion

If the numbers of scientific articles about uncharacterized and understudied genes remain at least at present levels, full gene function lists for the strain K-12 MG1655 and the E. coli softcore genome are in reach within the next 25–30 years. Once the literature body for a gene crosses 10 FPEs, most of the critical fundamental research risk appears overcome and steady incremental research becomes possible.
Complex and alternate consent pathways in clinical trials: methodological and ethical challenges encountered by underserved groups and a call to action
Authors: Russell Amy M. , Shepherd Victoria , Woolfall Kerry , Young Bridget , Gillies Katie , Volkmer Anna , Jayes Mark , Huxtable Richard , Perkins Alexander , Noor Nurulamin M. , Nickolls Beverley , Wade Julia
Published: February 2023

Background

Informed consent is considered a fundamental requirement for participation in trials, yet obtaining consent is challenging in a number of populations and settings. This may be due to participants having communication or other disabilities, their capacity to consent fluctuates or they lack capacity, or in emergency situations where their medical condition or the urgent nature of the treatment precludes seeking consent from either the participant or a representative. These challenges, and the subsequent complexity of designing and conducting trials where alternative consent pathways are required, contribute to these populations being underserved in research. Recognising and addressing these challenges is essential to support trials involving these populations and ensure that they have an equitable opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, research. Given the complex nature of these challenges, which are encountered by both adults and children, a cross-disciplinary approach is required.

Discussion

A UK-wide collaboration, a sub-group of the Trial Conduct Working Group in the MRC-NIHR Trial Methodology Research Partnership, was formed to collectively address these challenges. Members are drawn from disciplines including bioethics, qualitative research, trials methodology, healthcare professions, and social sciences. This commentary draws on our collective expertise to identify key populations where particular methodological and ethical challenges around consent are encountered, articulate the specific issues arising in each population, summarise ongoing and completed research, and identify targets for future research. Key populations include people with communication or other disabilities, people whose capacity to consent fluctuates, adults who lack the capacity to consent, and adults and children in emergency and urgent care settings. Work is ongoing by the sub-group to create a database of resources, to update NIHR guidance, and to develop proposals to address identified research gaps.

Conclusion

Collaboration across disciplines, sectors, organisations, and countries is essential if the ethical and methodological challenges surrounding trials involving complex and alternate consent pathways are to be addressed. Explicating these challenges, sharing resources, and identifying gaps for future research is an essential first step. We hope that doing so will serve as a call to action for others seeking ways to address the current consent-based exclusion of underserved populations from trials.
Clinical research for life-threatening illnesses requiring emergency hospitalisation: a critical interpretive synthesis of qualitative data related to the experience of participants and their caregivers
Authors: Lawrence David S. , Ssali Agnes , Jarvis Joseph N. , Seeley Janet
Published: February 2023

Background

Research into life-threatening illnesses which require emergency hospitalisation is essential. This group of patients is unique in that they are experiencing an unfolding emergency when they are approached, enrolled, and followed up in a research study. We aimed to synthesise qualitative data from trial participants and surrogate decision-makers to deepen our understanding and inform the design and conduct of future clinical trials for life-threatening illnesses.

Methods

We conducted a critical interpretive synthesis of qualitative data from trial participants and surrogate decision-makers related to the experience of participating in a clinical research study when suffering from a life-threatening illness. A scoping review informed a systematic review of published data. We searched research databases and reviewed papers for inclusion. Primary data and interpretations of data were extracted from each paper. Data were analysed using reciprocal translational analysis, refutational synthesis, and lines of argument synthesis to develop a synthetic construct.

Results

Twenty-two papers were included. Most individuals had no previous knowledge or experience with clinical research. Individuals making decisions were directly experiencing or witness to an unfolding emergency which came with a myriad of physical and psychological symptoms. It was difficult to differentiate clinical research and routine care, and understanding of core concepts around research, particularly randomisation and equipoise, was limited. We found that this led to an underestimation of risk, an overestimation of benefit, and an expectation of being allocated to the intervention arm. The decision-making process was heavily influenced by trust in the research team. Individuals suggested that abbreviated information, presented in different ways and continuously throughout the research process, would have increased knowledge and satisfaction with the research process.

Conclusion

Individuals suffering from a life-threatening illness who are being invited to participate in clinical research need to be managed in a way that adapts to the severity of their illness and there is a need to tailor research processes, including informed consent, accordingly. We provide suggestions for further research and implementation work around research participation for individuals suffering from a life-threatening illness.

Trial registration

PROSPERO CRD42020207296
ABT-MPNN: an atom-bond transformer-based message-passing neural network for molecular property prediction
Authors: Liu Chengyou , Sun Yan , Davis Rebecca , Cardona Silvia T. , Hu Pingzhao
Published: February 2023

Graph convolutional neural networks (GCNs) have been repeatedly shown to have robust capacities for modeling graph data such as small molecules. Message-passing neural networks (MPNNs), a group of GCN variants that can learn and aggregate local information of molecules through iterative message-passing iterations, have exhibited advancements in molecular modeling and property prediction. Moreover, given the merits of Transformers in multiple artificial intelligence domains, it is desirable to combine the self-attention mechanism with MPNNs for better molecular representation. We propose an atom-bond transformer-based message-passing neural network (ABT-MPNN), to improve the molecular representation embedding process for molecular property predictions. By designing corresponding attention mechanisms in the message-passing and readout phases of the MPNN, our method provides a novel architecture that integrates molecular representations at the bond, atom and molecule levels in an end-to-end way. The experimental results across nine datasets show that the proposed ABT-MPNN outperforms or is comparable to the state-of-the-art baseline models in quantitative structure–property relationship tasks. We provide case examples of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth inhibitors and demonstrate that our model's visualization modality of attention at the atomic level could be an insightful way to investigate molecular atoms or functional groups associated with desired biological properties. The new model provides an innovative way to investigate the effect of self-attention on chemical substructures and functional groups in molecular representation learning, which increases the interpretability of the traditional MPNN and can serve as a valuable way to investigate the mechanism of action of drugs.
A cross-sectional survey on fruit bat-human interaction in Pakistan; one health perspective
Authors: Ahmed Touseef , Amjad Osama Bin , Ahmed Haseeb , Ahmed Shafique , Ansari Jamil Ahmed , Ricketson Robert , Tahir Muhammad Farooq
Published: February 2023

Objective

Several factors, such as residential area topography, population density, and lack of infrastructure, were hypothesized to contribute toward respondents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding disease transmission. The present study was designed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and perception of human-fruit bat interaction by student respondents located in ten districts within the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in Pakistan.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was conducted by trained enumerators in academic institutions using a structured questionnaire among student respondents (n = 1466), living in two topographically distinct (Mountainous and Plain) residential regions of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces in Pakistan regarding their history of bat encounters.

Results

Our study revealed that 71.4% of the 1466 respondents had observed bats in their geographic region. 21% of our survey respondents reported bat bites incidents over their lifetime, but only 40% actively sought medical care for wound management despite reporting they had a close family member that had contracted rabies (27–35%). Our generalized linear models (GLMs) highlighted that a respondent residing in a residential region had a greater association with reporting a suspected bat bite over their lifetime and reported rabies victims in both near and extended family members (OR = −0,85, p-value = 0.03, 95% CI). This appeared to be due to delaying consulting a doctor or medical facility for treatment following a suspected bat bite in the topographic residential group as compared to the respondents in the provincial residential group (OR 1.12, p-value = 0.04, 95% CI).

Conclusion

Our findings indicate the necessity of a One Health comprehensive surveillance system in Pakistan for emerging and re-emerging zoonotic pathogens in Pteropodidae.
Quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli at the interface between humans, poultry and their shared environment- a potential public health risk
Authors: Aworh Mabel Kamweli , Kwaga Jacob K. P. , Hendriksen Rene S. , Okolocha Emmanuel C. , Harrell Erin , Thakur Siddhartha
Published: February 2023

Background

Commensal Escherichia coli residing in the guts of humans and animals are reservoirs of multidrug resistance (MDR) genes, including quinolone resistance genes, in humans and poultry. This study aimed to characterize quinolones resistance in E. coli recovered from poultry workers, chickens, and poultry farm/market environments in Abuja, Nigeria.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study conducted between December 2018 and April 2019 comprising poultry workers, chickens and their poultry farm/market environments. This study characterized E. coli isolates from stool, faecal and environmental samples using antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing methods. Core-genome multilocus sequences-based phylogeny was used to determine the relatedness between quinolone-resistant E. coli isolates. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results

Of 110 E. coli isolates, quinolone-resistant phenotypes were observed in 68.2% (n = 75) isolates. Whole-genome sequencing detected plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes in 63.6% (n = 70) isolates. The most prevalent PMQR gene detected in 56 of these 70 E. coli isolates was qnrS1, followed by qnrB19 in 14 isolates and aac(6’)-lb-cr in two isolates. Fifteen ciprofloxacin and 19 nalidixic acid-resistant isolates respectively showed double mutations in the quinolone-resistance determining regions (QRDRs) of gyrA, with single or double mutations in parC, and a single mutation in parE. The most prevalent amino-acid substitutions observed were S83L + D87N in gyrA (46.5%, n = 20), S80I in parC (51.2%, n = 22) and S458A in parE (14%, n = 6). About 2.9% (2/70) of PMQR isolates were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers while 2.9% (2/70) had plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (PMCR) genes.

Conclusions

PMQR genes were prevalent in E. coli isolates recovered from healthy humans, chickens and poultry farm/market environments. PMCR genes (mcr-1.1) occurred in PMQR-positive isolates recovered from manure and drinking water originating from poultry farm/market environments. It was found that the gene encoding ESBL coexisted with qnrS-positive isolates of human and avian origin. Horizontal transfer of PMQR genes among E. coli isolates in the human-poultry-environment interface has public health implications for the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Relevant government agencies should enforce regulations to restrict the use of critically important antimicrobials in poultry production.
Application of multi-gene genetic programming technique for modeling and optimization of phycoremediation of Cr(VI) from wastewater
Authors: Sarkar Biswajit , Sen Sushovan , Dutta Susmita , Lahiri Sandip Kumar
Published: February 2023

Background

Removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater is essential as it is potentially toxic and carcinogenic in nature. Bioremediation of heavy metals using microalgae is a novel technique and has several advantages such as microalgae remove metals in an environmentally friendly and economic manner. The present study deals with modeling and optimization of the phycoremediation of Cr(VI) from synthetic wastewater. The initial concentration of Cr(VI), initial pH, and inoculum size were considered as input factors, and the percentage removal of Cr(VI) was chosen as a response.

Results

An accurate data-driven genetic programming model was developed with the experimental data of other scientists to find a relation between the percentage removal of Cr(VI) and all input parameters. To maximize the removal of Cr(VI), the grey wolf optimization technique was applied to determine the optimal values of input parameters.

Conclusion

These optimum input parameters are difficult to get through experimentation using the trial-and-error method. The established modelling and optimization technique is generic and can be applied to any other experimental study.

Graphical Abstract
Factors Associated With Diabetes Distress Among Patients With Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: German Jashalynn , Kobe Elizabeth A , Lewinski Allison A , Jeffreys Amy S , Coffman Cynthia , Edelman David , Batch Bryan C , Crowley Matthew J
Published: February 2023

Objective

Examine factors associated with increased diabetes distress (DD) among patients with type 2 diabetes with DD assessed by Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) total and subscale scores (emotional burden, physician-related distress, regimen-related distress, and interpersonal distress).

Methods

Cross-sectional analysis of data from veterans with persistently poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. Multivariable linear regression models included baseline patient characteristics (independent variables) and DDS total and subscale scores (dependent variable).

Results

The cohort's (N = 248) mean age was 58 years (SD 8.3); 21% were female, 79% were non-White, and 5% were Hispanic/Latinx. Mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was 9.8%, and 37.5% had moderate to high DD. Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity (β=0.41; 95% CI 0.01, 0.80), baseline HbA1c (0.07; 95% CI 0.01,0.13), and higher Personal Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) scores (0.07; 95% CI 0.05, 0.09) were associated with higher total DD. Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity (0.79; 95% CI 0.25, 1.34) and higher PHQ-8 (0.05; 95% CI 0.03, 0.08) were associated with higher interpersonal-related distress. Higher HbA1c (0.15; 95% CI 0.06, 0.23) and higher PHQ-8 scores (0.10; 95% CI 0.07, 0.13) were associated with higher regimen-related distress. The use of basal insulin (0.28; 95% CI 0.001, 0.56) and higher PHQ-8 (0.02; 95% CI 0.001, 0.05) were associated with higher physician-related distress. Higher PHQ-8 (0.10; 95% CI 0.07, 0.12) was associated with higher emotional burden.

Conclusion

Hispanic/Latinx ethnicity, depressive symptoms, uncontrolled hyperglycemia, and insulin use were associated with higher risk for DD. Future research should explore these relationships, and interventions designed to reduce diabetes distress should consider accounting for these factors.
Cerebral Microbleeds—Long-Term Outcome After Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunting in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
Authors: Hansson William , Johansson Elias , Birgander Richard , Eklund Anders , Malm Jan
Published: February 2023

BACKGROUND:

Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are common in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) and have been suggested as radiological markers of a brain prone to bleeding. The presence of CMBs might be relevant when selecting patients for shunt surgery.

OBJECTIVE:

To evaluate whether CMBs increases long-term risk of hemorrhagic complications and mortality or affects outcomes after cerebrospinal fluid shunt surgery in a cohort of patients with INPH.

METHODS:

One hundred and forty nine shunted patients with INPH (mean age, 73 years) were investigated with MRI (T2* or susceptibility-weighted imaging sequences) preoperatively. CMBs were scored with the Microbleed Anatomic Rating Scale. Patients were observed for a mean of 6.5 years (range 2 weeks to 13 years) after surgery. Hemorrhagic events and death were noted. Improvement in gait was evaluated 3 to 6 months after surgery.

RESULTS:

At baseline, 74 patients (50%) had CMBs. During follow-up, 7 patients (5%) suffered a hemorrhagic stroke and 43 (29%) suffered a subdural hematoma/hygroma with a median time from surgery of 30.2 months (IQR 50). Overall, having CMBs was not associated with suffering a subdural hematoma/hygroma or hemorrhagic stroke during follow-up with 1 exception that an extensive degree of CMBs (≥50 CMB) was more common in patients suffering a hemorrhagic stroke (P = .03). CMBs were associated with increased mortality (P = .02, Kaplan-Meier, log-rank test). The presence of CMBs did not affect gait outcome (P = .28).

CONCLUSION:

CMBs were associated with hemorrhagic stroke and mortality. CMBs do not seem to reduce the possibility of gait improvement after shunt surgery or contribute to the risk of hemorrhagic complications regarding subdural hematoma or hygroma.
Effects of Unilateral Eccentric versus Concentric Training of Nonimmobilized Arm during Immobilization
Authors: CHEN TREVOR C. , WU SHANG-HEN , CHEN HSIN-LIAN , TSENG WEI-CHIN , TSENG KUO-WEI , KANG HSING-YU , NOSAKA KAZUNORI
Published: February 2023

Introduction

The present study tested the hypothesis that eccentric training (ET) of nonimmobilized arm would attenuate negative effects of immobilization and provide greater protective effects against muscle damage induced by eccentric exercise after immobilization, when compared with concentric training (CT).

Methods

Sedentary young men were placed to ET, CT, or control group (n = 12 per group), and their nondominant arms were immobilized for 3 wk. During the immobilization period, the ET and CT groups performed five sets of six dumbbell curl eccentric-only and concentric-only contractions, respectively, at 20%–80% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVCiso) strength over six sessions. MVCiso torque, root-mean square (RMS) of electromyographic activity during MVCiso, and bicep brachii muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) were measured before and after immobilization for both arms. All participants performed 30 eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors (30EC) by the immobilized arm after the cast was removed. Several indirect muscle damage markers were measured before, immediately after, and for 5 d after 30EC.

Results

ET increased MVCiso (17% ± 7%), RMS (24% ± 8%), and CSA (9% ± 2%) greater (P < 0.05) than CT (6% ± 4%, 9% ± 4%, 3% ± 2%) for the trained arm. The control group showed decreases in MVCiso (−17% ± 2%), RMS (−26% ± 6%), and CSA (−12% ± 3%) for the immobilized arm, but these changes were attenuated greater (P < 0.05) by ET (3% ± 3%, −0.1% ± 2%, 0.1% ± 0.3%) than CT (−4% ± 2%, −4% ± 2%, −1.3% ± 0.4%). Changes in all muscle damage markers after 30EC were smaller (P < 0.05) for the ET and CT than the control group, and ET than the CT group (e.g., peak plasma creatine kinase activity: ET, 860 ± 688 IU·L−1; CT, 2390 ± 1104 IU·L−1; control, 7819 ± 4011 IU·L−1).

Conclusions

These results showed that ET of the nonimmobilized arm was effective for eliminating the negative effects of immobilization and attenuating eccentric exercise–induced muscle damage after immobilization.
Partisanship and Fiscal Policy in Economic Unions: Evidence from US States
Authors: Carlino Gerald , Drautzburg Thorsten , Inman Robert , Zarra Nicholas
Published: February 2023

Partisanship of state governors affects the efficacy of US federal fiscal policy. Using close election data, we find partisan differences in the marginal propensity to spend federal intergovernmental transfers: Republican governors spend less than Democratic governors. Correspondingly, Republican-led states have lower debt, (delayed) lower taxes, and initially lower economic activity. A New Keynesian model of partisan states in a monetary union implies sizable aggregate effects: The intergovernmental transfer impact multiplier rises by 0.58 if Republican governors spend like Democratic governors, but due to delayed tax cuts, the long-run multiplier is higher with more Republican governors, generating an intertemporal policy trade-off. (JEL D72, E12, E62, H71, H72, H74, H77)
Subjective Performance Evaluation, Influence Activities, and Bureaucratic Work Behavior: Evidence from China
Authors: de Janvry Alain , He Guojun , Sadoulet Elisabeth , Wang Shaoda , Zhang Qiong
Published: February 2023

Subjective performance evaluation could induce influence activities: employees might devote too much effort to pleasing their evaluator, relative to working toward the goals of the organization itself. We conduct a randomized field experiment among Chinese local civil servants to study the existence and implications of influence activities. We find that civil servants do engage in evaluator-specific influence to affect evaluation outcomes, partly in the form of reallocating work efforts toward job tasks that are more important and observable to the evaluator. Importantly, we show that introducing uncertainty about the evaluator’s identity discourages evaluator-specific influence activities and improves bureaucratic work performance. (JEL D73, H83, J45, M54, O17, O18, P25)
Qualitative analysis of HIV and AIDS disease transmission: impact of awareness, testing and effective follow up
Authors: Abiodun Oluwakemi E. , Adebimpe Olukayode , Ndako James , Oludoun Olajumoke , Aladeitan Benedicta , Adeniyi Michael
Published: February 2023

Background: Since the early 1980s, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and its accompanying acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have spread worldwide, becoming one of the world's major global health issues. From the beginning of the epidemic until 2020, about 79.3 million people became infected, with 36.3 million deaths due to AIDS illnesses. This huge figure is a result of those unaware of their status due to stigmatization and invariably spreading the virus unknowingly.

Methods: Qualitative analysis through a mathematical model that will address HIV unaware individuals and the effect of an increasing defaulter on the dynamics of HIV/AIDS was investigated. The impact of treatment and the effect of inefficient follow-up on the transmission of HIV/AIDS were examined. The threshold for the effective reduction of the unaware status of HIV through testing, in response to awareness, and the significance of effective non-defaulting in treatment commonly called defaulters loss to follow-up as these individuals contribute immensely to the spread of the virus due to their increase in CD4+ count was determined in this study. Stability analysis of equilibrium points is performed using the basic reproduction number $R_0$, an epidemiological threshold that determines disease eradication or persistence in viral populations.  We tested the most sensitive parameters in the basic reproduction numbers.

Results: The results portray that early identification and treatment only are inadequate for the illness to be eradicated, but effectively used of condom, strict adherence to treatment and counseling of and testing of pregnant women contribute to a decrease in infected HIV individuals.

Conclusions: Other control techniques, such as treatment adherence and effective condom usage, and reduction in vertical transmission cannot be over-emphasis to lessen the disease's burden. Policymakers must address these strategies through a series of public awareness campaigns about the dangers of not adhering to treatment procedures and patterns.
Developing consensus-based recommendations for the delivery of dementia services for the LGBTQIA+ community in the Republic of Ireland
Authors: Oglesby Megan H. , Hynes Sinéad M.
Published: February 2023

Background: The number of older LGBTQIA+ adults is set to rise significantly in the coming years. The rising numbers sit together with the rise in the number of people in Ireland diagnosed with dementia. In Ireland, no dementia-specific services exist for people from the LGBTQIA+ community. The aim of this research was to 1) identify the future needs that older LGBTQIA+ people and their care partners living in Ireland have in relation to dementia care service delivery; and to 2) develop consensus-based recommendations for dementia service provision in Ireland.

Methods: A six-phase consensus process was used to develop the lists of needs and recommendations: 1) development; 2) national survey; 3) interviews with key stakeholders; 4) international review of best practice; 5) consensus meeting; 6) final member checking. Participants, aged over 50, were based in Ireland, identified as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or supported someone who is/was.

Results: Results are reported from the survey (n=49), individual interviews (n=8), and the consensus meeting (n=10). Participants have concerns related to identity management and suppression, creating an LGBTQIA+ affirmative ethos and workforce, and respect and safety. From the results and consensus process, a full list of ten prioritised needs and recommendations have been developed that focus specifically on dementia care in Ireland for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Conclusion: The older LGBTQIA+ community has identified essential priorities for improving healthcare access and safety. These priorities now need to be urgently implemented into clinical and dementia care services.
Algorithm for Safety Decisions in Social Media Feeds Using Personification Patterns
Authors: Gawade Prema Pandurang , Joshi Sarang Achyut
Published: February 2023

For safety decisions in social media applications, it is necessary to classify personification patterns. The paper proposes using video material to apply machine learning to select, and extract significant feature qualities and grasp the semantics of feature space connection to comprehend the personification of a certain user. The feature traits are based on a computer vision-based approach and a natural language-based approach. A strong belief is calculated from language descriptions and persona traits. These traits are then used to determine the overlap of feature space using various ML algorithms to deduce the intrinsic relationships. The proposed goal is validated by this algorithm and user personification is an important aspect that can be captured through video analytics. Using this personification-based method, better decisions can be made in the given domain space.
A Novel Distributed Machine Learning Model to Detect Attacks on Edge Computing Network
Authors: Hoang Trong-Minh , Thi Trang-Linh Le , Quy Nguyen Minh
Published: February 2023

To meet the growing number and variety of IoT devices in 5G and 6G network environments, the development of edge computing technology is a powerful strategy for ofﬂoading processes in data servers by processing at the network and nearby the user. Besides its benefits, several challenges related to decentralized operations for improving performance or security tasks have been identified. A new research direction for distributed operating solutions has emerged from these issues, leading to applying Distributed Machine Learning (DML) techniques for edge computing. It takes advantage of the capacity of edge devices to handle increased data volumes, reduce connection bottlenecks, and enhance data privacy. The designs of DML architectures have to use optimized algorithms (e.g., high accuracy and rapid convergence) and effectively use hardware resources to overcome large-scale problems. However, the trade-off between accuracy and data set volume is always the biggest challenge for practical scenarios. Hence, this paper proposes a novel attack detection model based on the DML technique to detect attacks at network edge devices. A modified voting algorithm is applied to core logic operation between sever and workers in a partition learning fashion. The results of numerical simulations on the UNSW-NB15 dataset have proved that our proposed model is suitable for edge computing and gives better attack detection results than other state of the art solutions.
Rok polski w życiu, tradycji i pieśni Zygmunta Glogera inspiracją w pracy edukacyjnej Wrocławskiej Szkoły Przyszłości. Wróciliśmy obaj: Gloger i ja… – wywiad z profesorem Ryszardem Łukaszewiczem
Authors: Józefowicz Anna
Published: February 2023

Celem tekstu jest ukazanie, jak we Wrocławskiej Szkole Przyszłości (dalej: WSP), założonej i prowadzonej przez 32 lata (od 1989 do 2021 roku) przez profesora Ryszarda Łukaszewicza, "Rok polski w życiu, tradycji i pieśni" Zygmunta Glogera stał się inspiracją do licznych działań edukacyjnych prowadzonych z dziećmi. Tekst składa się z części teoretycznej i wywiadu przeprowadzonego z profesorem Ryszardem Łukaszewiczem. W części teoretycznej przybliżona jest w zarysie sylwetka Zygmunta Glogera – wybitnego polskiego etnografa, zwanego zbieraczem przeszłości, jak również (w zarysie) historia WSP jako przykładu wolnych inicjatyw edukacyjnych, szkoły osadzonej w edukacji emancypacyjnej, w nurcie szkół alternatywnych. Wywiad został zaopatrzony w rozbudowane przypisy odsyłające zarówno do publikacji prezentujących działania edukacyjne WSP, jak i fragmentów prac Glogera.
Jaki kolor ma wiedźma? Wizerunki kolorystyczne czarownic w filmach animowanych wytwórni Walta Disneya
Authors: Baczyńska-Hryhorowicz Alicja
Published: February 2023

Artykuł omawia postacie czarownic występujące w animowanych filmach produkcji Walta Disneya (Królewna Śnieżka i siedmiu krasnoludków, Śpiąca Królewna, Miecz w kamieniu, Mała syrenka, Mała syrenka 2: Powrót do morza). Autorka poddaje analizie barwy występujące w wyglądzie, otoczeniu i czynnościach bohaterek, określając je „wizerunkiem kolorystycznym”. Następnie omawia znaczenia przypisanych czarownicom kolorów (czerni, fioletu, zieleni i czerwieni) z uwzględnieniem ich konotacji symbolicznych i emocjonalnych. W końcowej części artykułu autorka rozważa, jak obecne w wizerunkach czarownic kolory wpływają na odbiór i interpretację ich postaci.
Helena Kapełuś i jej folklorystyka intensywna
Authors: Grochowski Piotr
Published: February 2023

Recenzja publikacji: Helena Kapełuś, Wszystko jest folklorystyką. Wybrane prace, redakcja Regina Gromacka, wstęp Magdalena Kapełuś, Wydawnictwo Agade, Warszawa 2022.
Josipa Broza-Tity stosunek do religii
Authors: Wawryszuk Paweł
Published: February 2023

Artykuł poświęcony jest stosunkowi Josipa Broza-Tity do religii. Na podstawie głównie literatury oraz przemówień dokonana została analiza okoliczności, które ukształtowały światopogląd jugosłowiańskiego przywódcy. Omówiono sposób, w jaki traktował kwestię religii w rządzonej przez siebie partii komunistycznej, jako dowódca partyzantów w czasie wojny oraz głowa państwa.
Closing the Gap Between Decision Analysis and Policy Analysts Before the Next Pandemic
Authors: Dillon Robin L. , Bier Vicki M. , John Richard Sheffield , Althenayyan Abdullah
Published: February 2023

Decision analysis (DA) is an explicitly prescriptive discipline that separates beliefs about uncertainties from value preferences in modeling to support decision making. Researchers have been advancing DA tools for the last 60 years to support decision makers handling complex decisions requiring subjective judgments. Recently, some DA researchers and practitioners wondered whether the difficult decisions made during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding testing, masking, closing and reopening businesses, allocating ventilators, and prioritizing vaccines would have been improved with more DA involvement. With its focus on quantifying uncertainties, value trade-offs, and risk attitudes, DA should have been a valuable tool for decision makers during the pandemic. To influence decisions, DA applications require interactions with policymakers and experts to construct formal representations of the decision frame, elicit uncertainties, and assess risk tolerances and trade-offs among competing objectives. Unfortunately, such involvement of decision analysts in the process of decision making and policy setting did not occur during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. This lack of participation may have been partly because many decision makers were unaware of when DA could be valuable in helping with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, decision analysts were perhaps not sufficiently adept at inserting themselves into the policy process at critical junctures when their expertise could have been helpful.

Funding: This research was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Center for Accelerating Operational Efficiency at Arizona State University.
Aerospace Testing Symposium 2022
Authors: Sempson Ben
Published: February 2023

The world's only dedicated aerospace test and development conference and exhibition takes place in Farnborough, UK this month
Data-Driven Maintenance
Authors: Rios Pablo
Published: February 2023

Downtime is becoming an increasingly critical issue for manufacturers as they look for efficiencies in their maintenance strategies
Sound Check
Authors: Rohde  , Schwarz
Published: February 2023

Mobile voice services will play a key role in the wider 5G rollout. Assessing the performance and functionality of these services requires next-generation test equipment, says Rohde & Schwarz.
Identification of overlapping plastic sheets using short-wavelength infrared hyperspectral imaging
Authors: Ozawa Keisuke
Published: February 2023

Plastic identification is a fundamental step in material and chemical recycling. Overlap between plastics is a common limitation of existing identification methods, and it is necessary for plastic waste to be shredded and spread over an area to avoid overlapping between flakes. However, this process decreases sorting efficiency and also increases the risk of misidentification. This study specifically focuses on plastic sheets and aims to develop an efficient identification method for overlapping plastic sheets, by using short-wavelength infrared hyperspectral imaging. The method is based on the Lambert–Beer law and is simple to implement. We consider a practical situation with a reflection-based measurement system and demonstrate the identification performance of the proposed method. The tolerance of the proposed method against error sources of measurement is also discussed.
Non-muscle myosins control radial glial basal endfeet to mediate interneuron organization
Authors: D’Arcy Brooke R. , Lennox Ashley L. , Manso Musso Camila , Bracher Annalise , Escobar-Tomlienovich Carla , Perez-Sanchez Stephany , Silver Debra L.
Published: February 2023

Radial glial cells (RGCs) are essential for the generation and organization of neurons in the cerebral cortex. RGCs have an elongated bipolar morphology with basal and apical endfeet that reside in distinct niches. Yet, how this subcellular compartmentalization of RGCs controls cortical development is largely unknown. Here, we employ in vivo proximity labeling, in the mouse, using unfused BirA to generate the first subcellular proteome of RGCs and uncover new principles governing local control of cortical development. We discover a cohort of proteins that are significantly enriched in RGC basal endfeet, with MYH9 and MYH10 among the most abundant. Myh9 and Myh10 transcripts also localize to endfeet with distinct temporal dynamics. Although they each encode isoforms of non-muscle myosin II heavy chain, Myh9 and Myh10 have drastically different requirements for RGC integrity. Myh9 loss from RGCs decreases branching complexity and causes endfoot protrusion through the basement membrane. In contrast, Myh10 controls endfoot adhesion, as mutants have unattached apical and basal endfeet. Finally, we show that Myh9- and Myh10-mediated regulation of RGC complexity and endfoot position non-cell autonomously controls interneuron number and organization in the marginal zone. Our study demonstrates the utility of in vivo proximity labeling for dissecting local control of complex systems and reveals new mechanisms for dictating RGC integrity and cortical architecture.
The EDGE2 protocol: Advancing the prioritisation of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species for practical conservation action
Authors: Gumbs Rikki , Gray Claudia L. , Böhm Monika , Burfield Ian J. , Couchman Olivia R. , Faith Daniel P. , Forest Félix , Hoffmann Michael , Isaac Nick J. B. , Jetz Walter , Mace Georgina M. , Mooers Arne O. , Safi Kamran , Scott Oenone , Steel Mike , Tucker Caroline M. , Pearse William D. , Owen Nisha R. , Rosindell James
Published: February 2023

The conservation of evolutionary history has been linked to increased benefits for humanity and can be captured by phylogenetic diversity (PD). The Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) metric has, since 2007, been used to prioritise threatened species for practical conservation that embody large amounts of evolutionary history. While there have been important research advances since 2007, they have not been adopted in practice because of a lack of consensus in the conservation community. Here, building from an interdisciplinary workshop to update the existing EDGE approach, we present an “EDGE2” protocol that draws on a decade of research and innovation to develop an improved, consistent methodology for prioritising species conservation efforts. Key advances include methods for dealing with uncertainty and accounting for the extinction risk of closely related species. We describe EDGE2 in terms of distinct components to facilitate future revisions to its constituent parts without needing to reconsider the whole. We illustrate EDGE2 by applying it to the world’s mammals. As we approach a crossroads for global biodiversity policy, this Consensus View shows how collaboration between academic and applied conservation biologists can guide effective and practical priority-setting to conserve biodiversity.
Factors associated with pregnancy termination in women of childbearing age in 36 low-and middle-income countries
Authors: Ba Djibril M. , Zhang Yue , Pasha-Razzak Omrana , Khunsriraksakul Chachrit , Maiga Mamoudou , Chinchilli Vernon M. , Ssentongo Paddy
Published: February 2023

Lack of access to safe, affordable, timely and adequate pregnancy termination care, and the stigma associated with abortion in low-middle income countries (LMICs), pose a serious risk to women’s physical and mental well-being throughout the lifespan. Factors associated with pregnancy termination and their heterogeneity across countries in LMICs previously have not been thoroughly investigated. We aim to determine the relative significance of factors associated with pregnancy termination in LMICs and its variation across countries. Analysis of cross-sectional nationally representative household surveys carried out in 36 LMICs from 2010 through 2018. The weighted population-based sample consisted of 1,236,330 women of childbearing aged 15–49 years from the Demographic and Health Surveys. The outcome of interest was self-report of having ever had a pregnancy terminated. We used multivariable logistic regression models to identify factors associated with pregnancy termination. The average pooled weighted prevalence of pregnancy termination in the present study was 13.3% (95% CI: 13.2%-13.4%), ranging from a low of 7.8 (95% CI: 7.2, 8.4%) in Namibia to 33.4% (95% CI: 32.0, 34.7%) in Pakistan. Being married showed the strongest association with pregnancy termination (adjusted OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 2.84–3.05; P < 0.001) compared to unmarried women. Women who had more than four children had higher odds of pregnancy termination (adjusted OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 2.33–2.56; P < 0.001). Moreover, increased age and having primary and secondary levels of education were associated with higher odds of pregnancy termination compared to no education. In this study, married women, having one or more living children, those of older age, and those with at least primary level of education were associated with pregnancy termination in these 36 LMICs. The findings highlighted the need of targeted public health intervention to reduce unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia: Assessing variation in knowledge and practice
Authors: Owerko Danielle , Ryan Kelsey , Cabacungan Erwin , Yan Ke , Saudek Kris
Published: February 2023

Introduction

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NH) is commonly diagnosed and managed by pediatricians in various clinical settings. The 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Clinical Practice Guideline on NH is widely cited, but literature examining variation across pediatric specialties is limited. This study aimed to assess baseline knowledge and practice habits regarding NH among pediatric providers across various specialties immediately prior to the release of the 2022 NH clinical practice guideline.

Methods

A non-probability, convenience, self-selected sampling survey was electronically distributed to 311 subjects across five specialties within one pediatric healthcare institution. The survey included eight multiple choice knowledge-based questions with confidence assessments and five management-based questions assessing respondent agreement on a 5-point scale. To compare groups, the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for continuous variables, and the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used for categorical variables.

Results

The overall survey response rate is 46%. There were significant differences between specialties’ knowledge regarding NH (p<0.05). There were also significant differences between specialties’ confidence ratings, independent of choosing the correct response (p<0.05). For select management-based questions, there were also significant differences between specialties (p<0.05). A majority of respondents (56%) indicated phototherapy treatment thresholds should remain the same in updated management guidelines.

Conclusions

Significant variations in knowledge and management of NH were identified among pediatric specialties. This suggests dissemination of new guidelines must be cognizant of different constraints impacting knowledge and practice across specialties.
Origin identification of Cornus officinalis based on PCA-SVM combined model
Authors: Jin Yueqiang , Liu Bing , Li Chaoning , Shi Shasha
Published: February 2023

Infrared spectroscopy can quickly and non-destructively extract analytical information from samples. It can be applied to the authenticity identification of various Chinese herbal medicines, the prediction of the mixing amount of defective products, and the analysis of the origin. In this paper, the spectral information of Cornus officinalis from 11 origins was used as the research object, and the origin identification model of Cornus officinalis based on mid-infrared spectroscopy was established. First, principal component analysis was used to extract the absorbance data of Cornus officinalis in the wavenumber range of 551~3998 cm–1. The extracted principal components contain more than 99.8% of the information of the original data. Second, the extracted principal component information was used as input, and the origin category was used as output, and the origin identification model was trained with the help of support vector machine. In this paper, this combined model is called PCA-SVM combined model. Finally, the generalization ability of the PCA-SVM model is evaluated through an external test set. The three indicators of Accuracy, F1-Score, and Kappa coefficient are used to compare this model with other commonly used classification models such as naive Bayes model, decision trees, linear discriminant analysis, radial basis function neural network and partial least square discriminant analysis. The results show that PCA-SVM model is superior to other commonly used models in accuracy, F1 score and Kappa coefficient. In addition, compared with the SVM model with full spectrum data, the PCA-SVM model not only reduces the redundant variables in the model, but also has higher accuracy. Using this model to identify the origin of Cornus officinalis, the accuracy rate is 84.8%.