bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of posture-correction interventions for mechanical neck pain and posture among people with forward head posture: protocol for a systematic review
Authors: Balthillaya Ganesh M , Parsekar Shradha S , Gangavelli Ranganath , Prabhu Narayan , Bhat Shyamasunder N , Rao Bhamini Krishna
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Forward head posture (FHP) is the most common postural deviation of the upper back. It is believed to be one of the predisposing factors for the development of mechanical neck pain (MNP). We propose doing a systematic review to find the effectiveness of interventions targeted on FHP with MNP and assess implementation fidelity associated with these interventions.

Methods and analysis

Medline (PubMed), Web of Science (Social Science Citation Index), EMBASE, Scopus, PEDro and CINAHL databases will be searched for studies published in English from their inception. Forward and backward citations of the included studies will be investigated for identifying additional records. We will include randomised controlled trials and non/quasi-experimental studies with two groups assessing the effectiveness of interventions targeted on FHP with MNP. Observational studies, non-randomised studies with single group and reviews will be excluded. We will consider the following outcome measures: postural variables of FHP, neck pain, performance-based functional disability scores of the neck, quality of life, basic activities of daily living and work-related outcomes. The unique citations will be screened by titles/abstracts and full texts, independently. The Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool will be used to critically appraise the included studies. The risk of bias and data abstraction of included studies will be undertaken independently. A qualitative synthesis will be conducted and, if sufficient studies with comparable outcome measures are available, we will statistically pool the result.

Ethics and dissemination

We will undertake a systematic review of primary studies, and will not directly recruit participants hence, ethical clearance is not applicable. We will aim to present the findings of the completed systematic review at an international conference and subsequently submit the manuscript in a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021250310.
Partner’s characteristics and adolescent motherhood among married adolescent girls in 48 low-income and middle-income countries: a population-based study
Authors: Huda M Mamun , O'Flaherty Martin , Finlay Jocelyn Edwina , Edmed Shannon , Mamun Abdullah Al
Published: March 2022

Objectives

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of adolescent motherhood among married adolescent girls and its associations with their partners’ characteristics in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Design

Population-based study.

Participants

54 285 ever married (or lived with a partner) adolescent girls (15–19 years old) were including in prevalence analysis. However, partner characteristics were assessed in a subsample of 24 433 adolescent girls who were married (or living with a partner) at the time of interview.

Settings

Data from the latest available Demographic and Health Survey round during 2010–2018 in 48 LMICs across different geographic regions.

Results

The overall prevalence of adolescent motherhood was 73.98% (95% CI 70.96 to 78.10) among married adolescent girls in this study. In the pooled analysis, statistically significant and positive associations were observed between adolescent motherhood and partners’ desire for more children (adjusted marginal effect (AME): 2.34, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.47) and spousal age gap (AME: 1.67, 95% CI 0.30 to 3.04 for three plus age gap). However, no statistically significant association was observed between adolescent motherhood and partners’ education (AME: −0.36, 95% CI −1.77 to 1.05 for primary education) and partners’ agricultural occupation (AME: 1.07, 95% CI −0.17 to 2.32). Overall, there was significant variation in the associations across countries; however, the positive associations persisted between adolescent motherhood and partners’ desire for more children and spousal age gap in most of the studied countries.

Conclusions

Our findings may inform policymakers about the importance of incorporating partners of married adolescent girls into the existing birth control programmes to delay age at first birth among married adolescents in LMICs. More attention should be given to the married adolescent girls who have older partners, and efforts to discourage marriages with much older partners may have a secondary benefit of reducing adolescent motherhood in LMICs.
Telerehabilitation for lower extremity recovery poststroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol
Authors: Park Sarah , Tang Ada , Pollock Courtney , Sakakibara Brodie M
Published: March 2022

Introduction

Approximately 30% of individuals with stroke report unmet lower extremity recovery needs after formal hospital-based rehabilitation programmes have ended. Telerehabilitation can mitigate issues surrounding accessibility of rehabilitation services by providing ongoing support to promote recovery, however, no review exists that is specific to telerehabilitation for lower extremity recovery. This paper describes the protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis that aims to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of lower extremity-focused telerehabilitation interventions on clinical outcomes poststroke.

Methods and analysis

A systematic review of relevant electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PEDro, PubMed and Cochrane Library) between inception and February 2022 will be undertaken to identify eligible interventional studies published in English that compared telerehabilitation focusing on lower extremity recovery to another intervention or usual care for individuals living in the community with stroke. Clinical outcomes examined will include those related to physical function and impairment, activities and participation that are typically assessed in clinical practice and research. Two reviewers will independently screen results, identify studies to be included for review, extract data and assess risk of bias. Meta-analyses will be performed if sufficient data exist. Sensitivity analyses will be performed by removing studies with low methodological quality, and subgroup analyses will be performed if data allow by stratifying papers based on salient demographic or stroke factors and comparing results. The reporting of the review will follow the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. The quality of evidence regarding various outcomes for telerehabilitation for lower extremity recovery poststroke will be assessed according to the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach.

Ethics and dissemination

No ethical approval or informed consent is needed for this systematic review. The findings of this review will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021246886.
Ferritin-guided iron supplementation in whole blood donors: optimal dosage, donor response, return and efficacy (FORTE)—a randomised controlled trial protocol
Authors: Karregat Jan , Sweegers Maike G , Quee Franke A , Weekamp Henriëtte H , Swinkels Dorine W , Novotny Vĕra M J , Zaaijer Hans L , van den Hurk Katja
Published: March 2022

Background

Frequent whole blood donors have an increased risk of developing iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can have detrimental health effects when left untreated. Donation intervals are commonly too short to replenish iron stores and extending these reduces donor availability. Oral iron supplementation is known to shorten iron store recovery time but may also induce gastrointestinal complaints. We aim to optimise the effectiveness of iron supplements while minimising the risks of side effects. Therefore, we will evaluate the impact of different iron supplementation protocols in terms of dosage and frequency on ferritin and haemoglobin levels, gastrointestinal side effects, iron deficiency-related symptoms and donor return compared with placebo supplementation.

Methods

Twelve hundred whole blood donors with ferritin levels ≤30 µg/L are included into a double-blind, randomised controlled trial. Participants are randomly allocated to one of six arms, administering capsules containing 0 mg, 30 mg or 60 mg of iron, either on alternate days or daily for 56 days. At baseline and 56, 122 and 182 days of follow-up, ferritin and haemoglobin levels are measured, and compliance, donor return, dietary iron intake, gastrointestinal, iron deficiency-related symptoms and general health are assessed by questionnaire.

Ethics and dissemination

This study will provide a comprehensive overview of the effects of different frequencies and dosages of administration of iron supplements on iron status and health effects, thereby considering individual differences in treatment adherence and lifestyle. The outcome will provide scientific evidence to guide the debate if and how oral iron supplements may support the recovery of whole blood donors with low ferritin levels.

Trial registration number

NL8590; The Dutch trial registry.
Prevalence of depression in China during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in an online survey sample
Authors: Liu Weina , Yu Fengyun , Geldsetzer Pascal , Yang Juntao , Wang Zhuoran , Golden Todd , Jiao Lirui , Chen Qiushi , Liu Haitao , Wu Peixin , Wang Chen , Bärnighausen Till , Chen Simiao
Published: March 2022

Objectives

We aimed to determine (1) the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic among Chinese adults and (2) how depression prevalence varied by province and sociodemographic characteristics.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

National online survey in China.

Participants

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among adults registered with the survey company KuRunData from 8 May 2020 to 8 June 2020. We aimed to recruit 300–360 adults per province (n=14 493), with a similar distribution by sex and rural-urban residency as the general population within each of these provinces.

Primary outcome

Participants completed the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). We calculated the prevalence of depression (defined as a PHQ-9 score ≥10) nationally and separately for each province.

Analysis

Covariate-unadjusted and covariate-adjusted logistic regression models were used to examine how the prevalence of depression varied by adults’ sociodemographic characteristics. All analyses used survey sampling weights.

Results

The survey was initiated by 14 493 participants, with 10 000 completing all survey questions and included in the analysis. The prevalence of depression in the national sample was 6.3% (95% CI 5.7% to 6.8%). A higher odds of depression was associated with living in an urban area (OR 1.50; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.90) and working as a nurse (OR 3.06; 95% CI 1.41 to 6.66). A lower odds of depression was associated with participants who had accurate knowledge of COVID-19 transmission prevention actions (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.51 to 0.98), the knowledge that saliva is a main transmission route (OR 0.80; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.99) and awareness of COVID-19 symptoms (OR, 0.82; 95% CI 0.68 to 1.00).

Conclusion

Around one in 20 adults in our online survey sample had a PHQ-9 score suggestive of depression. Interventions and policies to prevent and treat depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in China may be particularly needed for nurses and those living in urban areas.
Assessing quality of older persons’ emergency transitions between long-term and acute care settings: a proof-of-concept study
Authors: Tate Kaitlyn , McLane Patrick , Reid Colin , Rowe Brian H , Cummings Garnet , Estabrooks Carole A , Cummings Greta
Published: March 2022

Background

Long-term care (LTC) residents frequently experience transitions in the location of more advanced care delivery, including receiving emergency department (ED) care. In this proof-of-concept study, we aimed to determine if we could identify measures in quality of care across transitions from LTC to the ED, via emergency medical services and back, by applying Institute of Medicine (IOM) Quality of Care Domains to an existing dataset.

Methods

In the Older Persons’ Transitions in Care (OPTIC) study, we collected information on residents’ transitions in two Western Canadian cities. We applied the IOM’s Quality of Care Domains to the OPTIC data to create binary measures of transition quality. We report the median (MED) per cent and IQR of measures met within each domain of quality.

Results

We tracked 637 transitions over a 12-month period, with data collected from each setting. We developed 19 safety measures, 20 measures of resident-centred care, 3 measures of timely care and 5 measures of effective care. We were unable to develop measures for equitable care at an individual transfer level. Domain scores varied across individual transitions, with the highest scores in safety (MED 79%, IQR: 63–95), efficiency (66%; IQR: 66–99), and resident-centred (45%; IQR: 25–65), followed by effectiveness (36%; IQR: 16–56), and timeliness (0%; IQR: 0–50).

Conclusions

Our results show variation in scores across the domains of quality suggesting that it is possible to track quality of transitions for individuals across all settings, and not only within settings. We recommend that future work in tracking quality of care be performed at several levels (LTC, region, health authority, province). Such tracking is necessary to evaluate and improve overall quality of care.
Evaluation of the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale in a cohort of patients recovering from hypoxemic SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia
Authors: Benkalfate Naïla , Eschapasse Emmanuel , Georges Thomas , Leblanc Camille , Dirou Stephanie , Melscoet Lise , Chéné Anne-Laure , Horeau-Langlard Delphine , Bry Charlotte , Chambellan Arnaud , Nicolas Aymeric , Claire Defrance , Liberge Renan , Karakachoff Matilde , Hardouin Jean-Benoit , Blanc François-Xavier , Lemarchand Patricia
Published: March 2022

Introduction

COVID-19 sequelae are numerous and multisystemic, and how to evaluate those symptomatic patients is a timely issue. Kloket alproposed the Post-COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale as an easy tool to evaluate limitations related to persistent symptoms. Our aim was to analyse PCFS Scale ability to detect functional limitations and its correlation with quality of life in a cohort of patients, 2–9 months after hospitalisation for COVID-19 hypoxemic pneumonia.

Methods

PCFS Scale was evaluated in 121 patients together with quality of life and dyspnoea questionnaires, pulmonary function tests and CT scans.

Results

We observed a high correlation with multiple questionnaires (Short Form-36, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, modified Medical Research Council, end Borg Six-Minute Walk Test), making the PCFS Scale a quick and global tool to evaluate functional limitations related to various persistent symptoms following COVID-19 pneumonia.

Discussion

The PCFS Scale seems to be a suitable instrument to screen for patients who will require careful follow-up after COVID-19 hypoxemic pneumonia even in the absence of pulmonary sequelae.
Phase IB study of ziv-aflibercept plus pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors
Authors: Rahma Osama E , Tyan Kevin , Giobbie-Hurder Anita , Brohl Andrew S , Bedard Philippe L , Renouf Daniel J , Sharon Elad , Streicher Howard , Hathaway Emma , Cunningham Rachel , Manos Michael , Severgnini Mariano , Rodig Scott , Stephen Hodi F
Published: March 2022

Background

The combination of antiangiogenic agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors could potentially overcome immune suppression driven by tumor angiogenesis. We report results from a phase IB study of ziv-aflibercept plus pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Methods

This is a multicenter phase IB dose-escalation study of the combination of ziv-aflibercept (at 2–4 mg/kg) plus pembrolizumab (at 2 mg/kg) administered intravenously every 2 weeks with expansion cohorts in programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1)-naïve melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), microsatellite stable colorectal cancer (CRC), and ovarian cancer. The primary objective was to determine maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose of the combination. Secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR) and overall survival (OS). Exploratory objectives included correlation of clinical efficacy with tumor and peripheral immune population densities.

Results

Overall, 33 patients were enrolled during dose escalation (n=3) and dose expansion (n=30). No dose-limiting toxicities were reported in the initial dose level. Ziv-aflibercept 4 mg/kg plus pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 2 weeks was established as the MTD. Grade ≥3 adverse events occurred in 19/33 patients (58%), the most common being hypertension (36%) and proteinuria (18%). ORR in the dose-expansion cohort was 16.7% (5/30, 90% CI 7% to 32%). Complete responses occurred in melanoma (n=2); partial responses occurred in RCC (n=1), mesothelioma (n=1), and melanoma (n=1). Median OS was as follows: melanoma, not reached (NR); RCC, 15.7 months (90% CI 2.5 to 15.7); CRC, 3.3 months (90% CI 0.6 to 3.4); ovarian, 12.5 months (90% CI 3.8 to 13.6); other solid tumors, NR. Activated tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells at baseline (CD8+PD1+), high CD40L expression, and increased peripheral memory CD8 T cells correlated with clinical response.

Conclusion

The combination of ziv-aflibercept and pembrolizumab demonstrated an acceptable safety profile with antitumor activity in solid tumors. The combination is currently being studied in sarcoma and anti-PD-1-resistant melanoma.

Trial registration number

NCT02298959.
Engineering adoptive T cell therapy to co-opt Fas ligand-mediated death signaling in ovarian cancer enhances therapeutic efficacy
Authors: Anderson Kristin G , Oda Shannon K , Bates Breanna M , Burnett Madison G , Rodgers Suarez Magdalia , Ruskin Susan L , Greenberg Philip D
Published: March 2022

Background

In the USA, more than 50% of patients with ovarian cancer die within 5 years of diagnosis, highlighting the need for therapeutic innovations. Mesothelin (MSLN) is a candidate immunotherapy target; it is overexpressed by ovarian tumors and contributes to malignant/invasive phenotypes, making tumor antigen loss disadvantageous. We previously showed that MSLN-specific T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cells preferentially accumulate within established tumors, delay tumor growth, and significantly prolong survival in the ID8VEGFmouse model that replicates many aspects of human disease. However, T cell persistence and antitumor activity were not sustained. We therefore focused on Fas/FasL signaling that can induce activation-induced cell death, an apoptotic mechanism that regulates T cell expansion. Upregulation of FasL by tumor cells and tumor vasculature has been detected in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of human and murine ovarian cancers, can induce apoptosis in infiltrating, Fas (CD95) receptor-expressing lymphocytes, and can protect ovarian cancers from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

Methods

To overcome potential FasL-mediated immune evasion and enhance T cell responses, we generated an immunomodulatory fusion protein (IFP) containing the Fas extracellular binding domain fused to a 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain, rather than the natural death domain. Murine T cells were engineered to express an MSLN-specific TCR (TCR1045), alone or with the IFP, transferred into ID8VEGFtumor-bearing mice and evaluated for persistence, proliferation, cytokine production and efficacy. Human T cells were similarly engineered to express an MSLN-specific TCR (TCR530) alone or with a truncated Fas receptor or a Fas-4-1BB IFP and evaluated for cytokine production and tumor lysis.

Results

Relative to murine T cells expressing only TCR1045, T cells expressingbothTCR1045and a Fas-4-1BB IFP preferentially persisted in the TME of tumor-bearing mice, with improved T cell proliferation and survival. Moreover, TCR1045/IFP+T cells significantly prolonged survival in tumor-bearing mice, compared with TCR1045-only T cells. Human T cells expressing TCR530and a Fas-4-1BB IFP exhibit enhanced functional activity and viability compared with cells with only TCR530.

Conclusions

As many ovarian tumors overexpress FasL, an IFP that converts the Fas-mediated death signal into pro-survival and proliferative signals may be used to enhance engineered adoptive T cell therapy for patients.
Neurocognitive impairment in night and shift workers: a meta-analysis of observational studies
Authors: Vlasak Thomas , Dujlovic Tanja , Barth Alfred
Published: March 2022

Objective

Shift work is an essential element of modern labour, ensuring ideal conditions of service for today’s economy and society. Despite the beneficial properties, its impact on the neurobehavioural performance of exposed subjects remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed to provide the first summarising effects regarding the association between shift work exposure and different cognitive functions.

Methods

A literature search was performed using the databases PubMed, PsyINFO, PsyARTICLES, MedLine, PsycNET and Scopus including eligible studies up to April 2021 that compared shift workers with non-shift workers regarding neurobehavioural performance tests. We carried out a random-effects model using Hedges’ g as a meta-analytical effect size with a restricted likelihood estimator to summarise the mean differences between the exposure group and controls. Positive effect sizes indicate higher performance for non-shift workers. The heterogeneity of effect sizes was addressed by sensitivity analysis using funnel plots, Egger’s tests, p-curve analysis, meta-regressions and subgroup analysis.

Results

We included 18 studies resulting in a total sample of 18 802 participants and 37 effect sizes concerning six different neurobehavioural outcomes. Our results showed significantly worse performance in shift workers compared with non-shift workers in the following cognitive functions with g (95% CI): processing speed 0.16 (0.02 to 0.30), working memory 0.28 (0.51 to 0.50), psychomotor vigilance 0.21 (0.05 to 0.37), cognitive control 0.86 (0.45 to 1.27) and visual attention 0.19 (0.11 to 0.26).

Conclusions

We provide the first meta-analytical findings that associate shift work with decreased cognitive performance in processing speed, working memory, psychomotor vigilance, cognitive control and visual attention.
Risk of ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke in Chinese undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention treated with potent P2Y12 inhibitor versus clopidogrel
Authors: Ng Andrew Kei-Yan , Ng Pauline Yeung , Ip April , Lau Kui Kai , Siu Chung-Wah
Published: March 2022

Background

Stroke after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can be devastating. It is uncertain whether the risks of ischaemic stroke or intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) are associated with different choices of P2Y12 inhibitors (potent P2Y12 inhibitors such as ticagrelor and prasugrel vs clopidogrel). Even though East Asians are known to have different thrombotic and haemorrhagic profiles from Caucasians, data on Chinese patients are sparse.

Method

This was a retrospective cohort study conducting in Chinese patients with ACS who underwent first-ever percutaneous coronary intervention from 14 hospitals in Hong Kong between 2010 and 2017. The primary efficacy endpoint was ischaemic stroke. The secondary efficacy endpoint was a composite outcome of thrombotic events including all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. The primary safety endpoint was ICH. The secondary safety endpoint was a composite of major bleeding events.

Results

After adjustment of baseline characteristics by 1:1 propensity score matching, a total of 6220 patients (3110 on each group) were analysed. Compared with clopidogrel, potent P2Y12 inhibitors were associated with a lower risk of ischaemic stroke (HR 0.57; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.87; p=0.008) and a lower risk of thrombotic events (HR 0.77; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.90; p=0.001). Potent P2Y12 inhibitor was associated with similar risk of ICH (HR 0.65; 95% CI 0.34 to 1.25, p=0.20) and major bleeding (HR 0.83; 95% CI 0.68 to 1.01, p=0.069).

Conclusions

Potent P2Y12 inhibitors were associated with a lower adjusted risk of ischaemic stroke and thrombotic events, compared with clopidogrel. The risks of ICH and major bleeding were similar.
Probing spin-dependent dark matter interactions with $$^6$$Li
Authors: Angloher G. , Benato G. , Bento A. , Bertoldo E. , Bertolini A. , Breier R. , Bucci C. , Canonica L. , D’Addabbo A. , Di Lorenzo S. , Einfalt L. , Erb A. , Feilitzsch F. v. , Ferreiro Iachellini N. , Fichtinger S. , Fuchs D. , Fuss A. , Garai A. , Ghete V. M. , Gorla P. , Gupta S. , Hauff D. , Ješkovský M. , Jochum J. , Kaznacheeva M. , Kinast A. , Kluck H. , Kraus H. , Langenkämper A. , Mancuso M. , Marini L. , Mokina V. , Nilima A. , Olmi M. , Ortmann T. , Pagliarone C. , Palušová V. , Pattavina L. , Petricca F. , Potzel W. , Povinec P. , Pröbst F. , Pucci F. , Reindl F. , Rothe J. , Schäffner K. , Schieck J. , Schmiedmayer D. , Schönert S. , Schwertner C. , Stahlberg M. , Stodolsky L. , Strandhagen C. , Strauss R. , Usherov I. , Wagner F. , Willers M. , Zema V.
Published: March 2022

CRESST is one of the most prominent direct detection experiments for dark matter particles with sub-GeV/c$$^2$$

2

mass. One of the advantages of the CRESST experiment is the possibility to include a large variety of nuclides in the target material used to probe dark matter interactions. In this work, we discuss in particular the interactions of dark matter particles with protons and neutrons of $$^{6}$$

6

Li. This is now possible thanks to new calculations on nuclear matrix elements of this specific isotope of Li. To show the potential of using this particular nuclide for probing dark matter interactions, we used the data collected previously by a CRESST prototype based on LiAlO$$_2$$

2

and operated in an above ground test-facility at Max-Planck-Institut für Physik in Munich, Germany. In particular, the inclusion of $$^{6}$$

6

Li in the limit calculation drastically improves the result obtained for spin-dependent interactions with neutrons in the whole mass range. The improvement is significant, greater than two order of magnitude for dark matter masses below 1 GeV/c$$^2$$

2

, compared to the limit previously published with the same data.
Regional Product, Employment, and Labor Productivity in the Context of Sustainable Development
Authors: Salimova Guzel , Ableeva Alisa , Valishina Nuria , Hazieva Aigul , Nigmatullina Gulnara
Published: March 2022

In this article, the current state of the level of production of a social product in the regions of the Russian Federation has been assessed based on the methods of descriptive statistics. The grouping method made it possible to classify the regions of the Russian Federation and characterize them according to the selected system of indicators, link various indicators into a logically structured analysis, and build a research scheme. An analytical grouping of regions was carried out according to the value of the gross regional product per capita, which characterizes the achieved level of economic growth and contains the potential for a region’s socio-economic development. The complete set for building the group included 76 regions of all federal districts of the Russian Federation. The established proportions, tendencies, patterns of socio-economic development in spatial, and dynamic aspects are revealed. The applied value of the research lies in the presentation of a practical methodology for describing the processes occurring in the regions, which can serve as the basis for the application of research methods for relationships, structural changes, and time series.
About this title - Large Igneous Provinces and their Plumbing Systems
Authors: Srivastava Rajesh K. , Ernst Richard E. , Buchan Kenneth L. , de Kock Michiel
Published: March 2022

Identification of large-volume, short-duration mafic magmatic events of intraplate affinity in both continental and oceanic settings on the Earth and other planets provides invaluable clues for understanding several vital geological issues of current concern. Of particular importance is understanding the assembly and dispersal of supercontinents through Earth's history, dramatic climate change events including mass extinctions, and processes that have produced a wide range of large igneous province (LIP)-related resources, such as Ni–Cu–PGE, Au, U, base metals and petroleum. This volume comprises 21 contributions on the latest developments and new information on LIPs and their plumbing systems and presents methodical studies on different components of LIP plumbing systems. These articles are especially helpful in understanding continental break-up events, regional domal uplift and a variety of metallogenic systems, as well as the temporal and spatial distribution of LIPs, their origin and their likely links to mantle plumes/superplumes.
A Qualitative Study of Emotions Experienced by First-year Engineering Students during Programming Tasks
Authors: Atiq Zahra , Loui Michael C.
Published: March 2022

In introductory computer programming courses, students experience a range of emotions. Students often experience anxiety and frustration when they encounter difficulties in writing programs. Continued frustration can discourage students from pursuing engineering and computing careers. Although prior research has shown how emotions affect students’ motivation and learning, little is known about students’ emotions in programming courses. In this qualitative study of first-year engineering students taking an introductory programming course, we examined the emotions that these students experienced during programming tasks and the reasons for experiencing those emotions. Our study was grounded in the control-value theory of achievement emotions. Each research participant came to two laboratory sessions: a programming session and a retrospective think-aloud interview session. In the programming session, each participant worked individually on programming problems. We collected screen capture, biometrics, and survey responses. In the interview session, each participant watched a video of their actions during the programming session. After every 2 minutes of viewing, the participants reported the emotions that they had experienced during this 2-minute period. We performed a thematic analysis of the interview data. Our results indicate that the participants experienced frustration most frequently. Sometimes they experienced multiple emotions. For example, one participant felt annoyed because she had made a mistake, but she felt joy and pride when she fixed the mistake. To promote student learning, educators should take students’ emotions into account in the design of curriculum and pedagogy for introductory programming courses.
Impact of Feature Extraction and Feature Selection Algorithms on Punjabi Speech Emotion Recognition Using Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Kaur Kamaldeep , Singh Parminder
Published: March 2022

As a challenge to refine the spontaneity and productivity of a machine and human coherence, speech emotion recognition has been an overriding area of research. The trustability and fulfillment of emotion recognition are largely involved with the feature extraction and selection processes. An important role is played in exploring and distinguishing audio content during the feature extraction phase. Also, the features that have been extracted should be resilient to a number of disturbances and reliable enough for an adequate classification system. This article focuses on three main components of a Speech Emotion Recognition (SER) process. The first one is the optimal feature extraction method for a Punjabi SER system. The second one is the use of an appropriate feature selection method that selects effectual features from the ones extracted in the first step and removes the redundant features to improve the conduct of emotion recognition. The third one is the classification model that has been used further for emotion recognition. So the scope of this article is to explain the three main steps of the Punjabi SER system: feature extraction, feature selection, and emotion recognition with classifier. The results have been calculated and compared for number of feature set combinations, with and without a feature selection process. A total of 10 experiments are carried out, and various performance metrics such as precision, recall, F1-score, accuracy, and so on, are used to demonstrate the results.
Reinforcing Data Integrity in Renewable Hybrid AC-DC Microgrids from Social-Economic Perspectives
Authors: Mohammadi Mojtaba , Kavousi-Fard Abdollah , Dehghani Moslem , Karimi Mazaher , Loia Vincenzo , Haes Alhelou Hassan , Siano Pierluigi
Published: March 2022

The microgrid (MG) is a complicated cyber-physical system that operates based on interactions between physical processes and computational components, which make it vulnerable to varied cyber-attacks. In this article, the impact of data integrity attack (DIA) has been considered, as one of the most dangerous cyber threats to MGs, on the steady-state operation of hybrid microgrids (HMGs). Additionally, a novel method based on the sequential hypothesis testing approach is proposed to detect DIA on the renewable energy sources’ metering infrastructure and improve the data security within the HMGs. The proposed method generates a binary sample, which is used to compute a test statistic that is further used against two thresholds to decide among three alternatives. The performance of the suggested method is examined using an IEEE standard test system. The results illustrated the acceptable performance of the proposed methodology in detection of DIAs. In addition, to evaluate the effect of DIA on the operation of the HMGs, DIAs with different severities are launched on the measured power generation of renewable energy resources like wind turbines. The results showed that a successful DIA on renewable units can severely affect the operation of electric grids and cause serious damage.
Active Exploration for Neural Global Illumination of Variable Scenes
Authors: Diolatzis Stavros , Philip Julien , Drettakis George
Published: March 2022

Neural rendering algorithms introduce a fundamentally new approach for photorealistic rendering, typically by learning a neural representation of illumination on large numbers of ground truth images. When training for a given
variable
scene, such as changing objects, materials, lights, and viewpoint, the space

\( \mathcal {D} \)

 of possible training data instances quickly becomes unmanageable as the dimensions of variable parameters increase. We introduce a novel
Active Exploration
method using Markov Chain Monte Carlo, which
explores

\( \mathcal {D} \)

, generating samples (i.e., ground truth renderings) that best help training and interleaves training and on-the-fly sample data generation. We introduce a self-tuning sample reuse strategy to minimize the expensive step of rendering training samples. We apply our approach on a neural generator that learns to render novel scene instances given an explicit parameterization of the scene configuration. Our results show that Active Exploration trains our network much more efficiently than uniformly sampling and, together with our resolution enhancement approach, achieves better quality than uniform sampling at convergence. Our method allows interactive rendering of hard light transport paths (e.g., complex caustics), which require very high samples counts to be captured, and provides dynamic scene navigation and manipulation, after training for 5 to 18 hours depending on required quality and variations.
FUBOCO: Structure Synthesis of Basic Op-Amps by FUnctional BlOck COmposition
Authors: Abel Inga , Graeb Helmut
Published: March 2022

This article presents a method to automatically synthesize the structure and initial sizing of an operational amplifier. It is positioned between approaches with fixed design plans and a small search space of structures and approaches with generic structural production rules and a large search space with technically impractical structures. The presented approach develops a hierarchical composition graph based on functional blocks that spans a search space of thousands of technically meaningful structure variants for single-output, fully differential, and complementary operational amplifiers. The search algorithm is a combined heuristic and enumerative process. The evaluation is based on circuit sizing with a library of behavioral equations of functional blocks. Formalizing the knowledge of functional blocks in op-amps for structural synthesis and sizing inherently reduces the search space and lessens the number of created topologies not fulfilling the specifications. Experimental results for the three op-amp classes are presented. An outlook how this method can be extended to multi-stage op-amps is given.
MSEva: A Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Evaluation System Based on EMG Signals
Authors: Dai Yuanchao , Wu Jing , Fan Yuanzhao , Wang Jin , Niu Jianwei , Gu Fei , Shen Shigen
Published: March 2022

In order to better assist the rehabilitation treatment of patients with musculoskeletal injury, standard rehabilitation actions are needed to guide the musculoskeletal rehabilitation process. With more and more urgent demands, the musculoskeletal rehabilitation evaluation systems have attracted a high degree of attention. Experts have proposed a series of systems based on laser, ultrasound, and image, which can give reasonable recognition and judgment. However, these systems either require specialized and expensive equipment or can be affected by ionizing radiation. How to construct a musculoskeletal rehabilitation evaluation system with low cost, good effect, and little injury is still a great challenge. In this article, we propose MSEva, a musculoskeletal rehabilitation evaluation system based on EMG signals. Specifically, the system uses EMG sensors to collect a large amount of data for five rehabilitation actions. Secondly, MSEva uses Wavelet Transform (WT) to extract the signal features and then puts the processed data into the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network for model training. Finally, the system uses the LSTM model to evaluate the normality of the EMG response of rehabilitation actions. The results show that the average accuracy of MSEva reaches 94.37%, which has important evaluation value in guiding the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal patients.
Synthesis of Li Conductive Polymer Layer on 3D Structured S Cathode by Photo-Polymerization for Li–S Batteries
Authors: Ahn Seongki , Mikuriya Hitoshi , Kojima Eri , Osaka Tetsuya
Published: March 2022

The dissolution of lithium polysulfide (Li2Sx, 4 ≤ x ≤ 8, LiPS) during charge/discharge testing is a critical issue hindering the practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). To suppress LiPS dissolution, we propose a facile method to fabricate a Li-ion-conductive polymer layer by photopolymerization. The electrochemical performance of LSBs was investigated by preparing small pouch cells containing a three-dimensional (3D) structured sulfur-based cathode that either was or was not layered with the new polymer. Analysis of the electrolyte in the LSB pouch cell by UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed that a 3D S cathode with polymer layer shows a good discharge capacity of 535 mA h g−1 and a coulombic efficiency (CE) of over 96% after 40 cycles. In comparison, the 3D S cathode without a polymer layer has a poor discharge capacity of 389 mA h g−1 and a CE of over 22% after 40 cycles. The dissolution suppressing ability of our new polymer layer demonstrates promise for the practical application of LSBs.
Analysis of Preparation Conditions of Low-Temperature Curing Powder Coatings Based on Local Clustering Algorithm
Authors: Rong Jiang , Haipeng Bi , Ronghui Zheng
Published: March 2022

The coating industry is gradually developing towards a green and efficient direction. Powder coating has the advantages of energy saving, nonpolluting, high efficiency, and easy production automation. Its output has grown rapidly and has become one of the development directions of the coating industry. Powder coatings have expanded into new end markets with their well-known advantages. In order to analyze the preparation conditions of low-temperature curing powder coatings, this study selects low-temperature curing powder coatings and ordinary powder coatings to compare, analyzes the realization mechanism of low-temperature curing powder coatings, and uses actual cases for research and analysis. Low-temperature curing powder coatings were prepared with trimethylolpropane (TMP) as the main raw material. Using a combination of single-factor analysis and orthogonal experiments, the effects of TMP addition, curing temperature and curing time on the gloss and impact properties of coatings were studied, and a local clustering algorithm was proposed to intelligently determine the optimal coating condition. Low-temperature curing powder coatings are optimized and screened by algorithms.
Camels, Camel Milk, and Camel Milk Product Situation in Kenya in Relation to the World
Authors: Oselu Stephen , Ebere Rebecca , Arimi Joshua M.
Published: March 2022

Kenya is the leading camel milk producer globally, with an annual production volume of 1.165 MMT, followed by Somalia (0.958 MMT) and Mali (0.271 MMT). In Kenya, pastoral tribes in North-Eastern parts rear about 4.722 million camels accounting for about 80% of all camels. Camels offer locals various benefits, including transportation of goods across the deserts, meat, fur, and milk. Camel milk contains natural therapeutically and immunity-boosting properties due to the higher concentration of lactoferrin, lactoglobulins, and lysozyme than bovine milk. Camel milk has been shown to have hypoallergenicity properties compared to bovine milk. Camel and human milk are similar in nutritional composition and therapeutic properties. Camel milk is known to fight various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, autism, hypertension, and skin diseases. Despite the standing of Kenya in the world in terms of camel milk production, Kenya lags considering the camel milk products, industries, and marketing. This paper reviews recent literature on camels and camel milk production trends in Kenya in relation to the world. The review also discusses various camel milk properties (nutritional and therapeutic) as well as the camel milk sector situation in Kenya.
Edge Constraint and Location Mapping for Liver Tumor Segmentation from Nonenhanced Images
Authors: Zhang Jina , Luo Shichao , Qiang Yan , Tian Yuling , Xiao Xiaojiao , Li Keqin , Li Xingxu
Published: March 2022

As there is no contrast enhancement, the liver tumor area in nonenhanced MRI exists with blurred edges and low contrast, which greatly affects the speed and accuracy of liver tumor diagnosis. As a result, precise segmentation of liver tumor from nonenhanced MRI has become an urgent and challenging task. In this paper, we propose an edge constraint and localization mapping segmentation model (ECLMS) to accurately segment liver tumor from nonenhanced MRI. It consists of two parts: localization network and dual-branch segmentation network. We build the localization network, which generates prior coarse masks to provide position mapping for the segmentation network. This part enhances the ability of the model to localize liver tumor in nonenhanced images. We design a dual-branch segmentation network, where the main decoding branch focuses on the feature representation in the core region of the tumor and the edge decoding branch concentrates on capturing the edge information of the tumor. To improve the ability of the model for capturing detailed features, sSE blocks and dense upward connections are introduced into it. We design the bottleneck multiscale module to construct multiscale feature representations using kernels of different sizes while integrating the location mapping of tumor. The ECLMS model is evaluated on a private nonenhanced MRI dataset that comprises 215 different subjects. The model achieves the best Dice coefficient, precision, and accuracy of 90.23%, 92.25%, and 92.39%, correspondingly. The effectiveness of our model is demonstrated by experiment results, and our model reaches superior results in the segmentation task of nonenhanced liver tumor compared to existing segmentation methods.
Research on Chorus Emotion Recognition and Intelligent Medical Application Based on Health Big Data
Authors: Li Yu , Chen Yao
Published: March 2022

In chorus activities, the conductor leads chorus members to recreate music works. If you want to interpret music works perfectly with sound, emotion and emotional expression are particularly important. In this paper, a cloud HBD (health big data) integration system based on ensemble learning is designed to realize the high-efficiency and high-precision integration of HBD. An emotional speech database containing three emotions such as pleasure, calmness, and boredom is established, and the corpus problems such as emotional feature analysis and extraction needed for chorus emotion recognition research are solved. It also studies the classification and decision-making in emotional changes, and a DBN (deep belief network) chorus emotion recognition algorithm based on multiple emotional features is proposed. Feature DBN (Deep Belief Network) Chorus Emotion Recognition Algorithm This paper extracts various robust low-level features according to different features' ability to describe emotions and then feeds them into the DBN network to extract high-level feature descriptors. Then, the classification results of ELM (extreme learning machine) are voted and fused with the idea of ensemble learning, and the effectiveness of the algorithm is proved on three public datasets.
Analysis of Influencing Factors for Chronic Diseases: A Large Sample Epidemiological Survey from Liaoyang
Authors: Jiang Cuiqin , Wang Qian
Published: March 2022

Purpose. Northeast China is a region with a serious aging population. There are fewer articles on epidemiological surveys on the prevalence of chronic diseases in aging areas of China. The study is aimed at understanding the prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) in Liaoning Province, northeast China, and analyzing the risk factors for these chronic diseases. Methods. A questionnaire survey and physical examination were conducted in 5008 permanent residents in 2 streets (Henan Street and Hebei Street) covered by Liuerbao Central Health Center in Liaoyang and 4 villages (Miaogou Village, Wangjia Village, Heyan Village, and Shuiquan Village) covered by Shuiquan Health Center in Tianshui Town of Liaoyang from January 2020 to December 2020. Results. A total of 4990 patients were included. The prevalence rates of hypertension, DM, dyslipidemia, and obesity in residents in Liaoyang were 54.13%, 12.30%, 43.31%, and 20.52%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension and DM was highest in both male and female patients aged 40-60 years, which was higher than that in the other age groups (

P
<
0.05

). The prevalence of dyslipidemia was highest in men over 60 years old and women

18
−
<
40

years old. Obesity was most common in men aged over 60 and in women

40
−
<
60

years old. The proportion of male smokers in all age groups was significantly higher than that of female smokers. Smoking, dyslipidemia, and significant overweight or obesity are common risk factors for hypertension and DM. Conclusion. In Liaoyang, northeast China, the prevalence of noninfectious chronic diseases was high, and the prevalence rate in people over 40 years old was significantly higher than that in people under 40 years old. The prevalence and progression of chronic diseases were obviously related to local living and eating habits; thus, health education needs to be improved.