bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What is the impact of human wastewater biosolids (sewage sludge) application on long-term soil carbon sequestration rates? A systematic review protocol
Authors: Badzmierowski Mike J. , Evanylo Gregory K. , Daniels W. Lee , Haering Kathryn C.
Published: March 2021

Background

Human wastewater biosolids, hereafter referred to as biosolids, are produced in significant quantities around the world and often applied to an extensive land mass including agricultural fields, forests, mine lands, and urban areas. Land-application of biosolids has been reported in peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed work to change soil organic carbon stocks in varying amounts. Determining the potential of soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change and sequestration from biosolids land application is critical for biosolids producers and users to gain access to carbon credit markets. Our review question is, "what is the impact of biosolids application on long-term soil carbon sequestration rates?” We look to explore this main question with the follow-up, "does biosolids processing methods and characteristics, application method, soil properties, land management and other modifiers affect rates of carbon accumulation from land-applied biosolids?"

Methods

Searches will be conducted using online databases (i.e., Web of Science Core Collection, CAB Abstracts, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global), search engines (Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic), and specialist websites to find primary field studies and grey literature of biosolids land-application effects on soil organic carbon stocks. We will use English search terms and predefined inclusion criteria of: (1) a field study of at least 24 months that reports soil organic carbon/matter (SOC/SOM) concentrations/stocks; (2) has two types of treatments: (i) a control (non-intervention AND/OR synthetic fertilizer) AND (ii) a biosolids-based amendment; and (3) information of amendment properties and application dates and rates to estimate the relative contribution of the applied materials to SOC changes. We will screen results in two stages: (1) title and abstract and (2) full text. A 10% subset will be screened by two reviewers for inclusion at the title and abstract level and use a kappa analysis to ensure agreement of at least 0.61. All results in the full text stage will be dual screened. Data will be extracted by one person and reviewed by a second person. Critical appraisal will be used to assess studies’ potential bias and done by two reviewers. A meta-analysis using random effects models will be conducted if sufficient data of high enough quality are extracted.
Analysis of structure indicators influencing 3-h and 6-h compliance with the surviving sepsis campaign guidelines in China: a systematic review
Authors:   China National Critical Care Quality Control Center Group, Wang Lu , Ma Xudong , He Huaiwu , Su Longxiang , Guo Yanhong , Shan Guangliang , Zhou Xiang , Liu Dawei , Long Yun
Published: March 2021

Background

Compliance with the surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines (Cssc) is a key factor affecting the effects of sepsis treatment. We designed this study to investigate the relationships of the structure indicators of ICU on 3 and 6-hCsscin China.

Methods

A total of 1854 hospitals were enrolled in a survey, led by the China National Critical Care Quality Control Center (China-NCCQC) from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018. We investigated the 1854 hospitals’ 3 and 6-hCssc, including compliance with each specific measure of the 3-h and 6-h SSC bundles. We also investigated the actual level of the structure indicators of ICU, released by China-NCCQC in 2015.The outcomes were in adherence with the SSC guidelines (2016). Monitoring indicators included 3 and 6-hCssc.

Results

In the subgroup, the rate of broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy was the highest, and the rate of CVP and ScvO2 measurement was the lowest among the items of 3 and 6-hCssc. Structure indicators related to 3 and 6-hCsscinclude the predicted mortality rate and the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). The relationships between 3 and 6-hCsscand the proportion of ICU in total inpatient bed occupancy, the proportion of acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II score ≥ 15 in all ICU patients were uncertain. There was no relationship of 3 and 6-hCsscwith the proportion of ICU patients among total inpatients.

Conclusions

Structure indicators influencing 3 and 6-hCsscin China are the predicted mortality rate and the standardized mortality rate.
VEXAS syndrome in myelodysplastic syndrome with autoimmune disorder
Authors: Huang Huijun , Zhang Wenjun , Cai Wenyu , Liu Jinqin , Wang Huijun , Qin Tiejun , Xu Zefeng , Li Bing , Qu Shiqiang , Pan Lijuan , Huang Gang , Gale Robert Peter , Xiao Zhijian
Published: March 2021

VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is a newly-described adult-onset inflammatory syndrome characterized by vacuoles in myeloid and erythroid precursor cells and somatic mutations affecting methionine-41 (p.Met41) in UBA1. The VEXAS syndrome often overlaps with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with autoimmune disorders (AD). By screening the UBA1 gene sequences derived from MDS patients with AD from our center, we identified one patient with a p.Met41Leu missense mutation in UBA1, who should have been diagnosed as MDS comorbid with VEXAS syndrome. This patient respond poorly to immune suppressive drugs. Patients with MDS and AD who have characteristic vacuoles in myeloid and erythroid precursor cells should be screened for UBA1 mutation, these patients are likely to have VEXAS syndrome and unlikely to improve with immunosuppressive drugs and should be considered for other alternative therapies.
Adapting World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 for Nepal
Authors: Risal Ajay , Kunwar Dipak , Karki Eliza , Adhikari Shambhu Prasad , Bimali Inosha , Shrestha Barsha , Khadka Subekshya , Holen Are
Published: March 2021

Background

Disability is a vital public health issue for health care programs. Affluent countries usually prioritize disability-related research, while often it remains neglected in resource-poor countries like Nepal. The aim of this study was to make available a translated and culturally adapted version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) for measuring disability in the Nepalese population.

Methods

WHODAS 2.0 (12-items version) was translated into Nepali using a standard forward–backward translation protocol. Purposive and convenience recruitment of participants with psychiatric disabilities was done at the Psychiatry services in a tertiary care hospital. Age and gender-matched participants with physical disabilities were selected from the Internal Medicine department, and participants with no disability were recruited from their accompanying persons. A structured interview in Nepali including the translated WHODAS 2.0 was administered to all participants. Exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis assessed the construct validity. Content validity was explored, and a quality of life instrument was used for establishing criterion validity. Reliability was measured via Cronbach alpha. Mann–Whitney test explored score differences between the disabled and non-disabled.

Results

In total, 149 persons [mean age: 40.6 (12.8); 43.6% males, 56.4% females; 61.7% disabled, 38.3% non-disabled] consented to participate. Parallel analysis indicated that a single factor was adequate for the Nepali WHODAS version that captured 45.4% of the total variance. The translated scale got a good Cronbach alpha (= 0.89). Satisfactory construct, content and criterion validity was found. The WHODAS total scores showed a significant difference between the disabled and non-disabled (U = 2002.5; p = 0.015). However, the difference between psychiatric and physical disabilities was not significant, which underscores that the scale is rating disability in general.

Conclusion

The one-factor structure of the translated and culturally adapted Nepali-version of WHODAS 2.0 showed acceptable validity and an adequate reliability. For epidemiological research purposes, this version of WHODAS 2.0 is now available for measuring global disability in Nepal.
Evidence of probability misconception in engineering students—why even an inaccurate explanation is better than no explanation
Authors: Kaplar Marija , Lužanin Zorana , Verbić Srđan
Published: March 2021

Background

In the rapidly changing industrial environment and job market, engineering profession requires a vast body of skills, one of them being decision making under uncertainty. Knowing that misunderstanding of probability concepts can lead to wrong decisions, the main objective of this study is to investigate the presence of probability misconceptions among undergraduate students of electrical engineering. Five misconceptions were investigated:insensitivity to sample size,base rate neglected,misconception of chance,illusory correlation, andbiases in the evaluation of conjunctive and disjunctive events.The study was conducted with 587 students who attended bachelor schools of electrical engineering at two universities in Serbia. The presence of misconceptions was tested using multiple-choice tasks. This study also introduces a novel perspective, which is reflected in examination of the correlation between students’ explanations of given answers and their test scores.

Results

The results of this study show that electrical engineering students are, susceptible to misconceptions in probability reasoning. Although future engineers from the sample population were most successful in avoiding misconceptions of chance, only 35% of examinees were able to provide a meaningful explanation. Analysis of students’ explanations, revealed that in many cases majority of students were prone to common misconceptions. Among the sample population, significant percentage of students were unable to justify their own answers even when they selected the correct option. The results also indicate that formal education in probability and statistics did not significantly influence the test score.

Conclusions

Results of the present study indicate a need for further development of students’ deep understanding of probability concepts, as well as the need for the development of competencies that enable students to validate their answers. The study emphasizes the importance of answer explanations, since they allow us to discover whether students who mark the correct answer have some misconceptions or may be prone to some other kind of error. We found that the examinees who failed to explain their choices had much lower test scores than those who provided some explanation.
Rapid estimation of tsunami earthquake magnitudes at local distance
Authors: Katsumata Akio , Tanaka Masayuki , Nishimiya Takahito
Published: March 2021

A tsunami earthquake is an earthquake event that generates abnormally high tsunami waves considering the amplitude of the seismic waves. These abnormally high waves relative to the seismic wave amplitude are related to the longer rupture duration of such earthquakes compared with typical events. Rapid magnitude estimation is essential for the timely issuance of effective tsunami warnings for tsunami earthquakes. For local events, event magnitude estimated from the observed displacement amplitudes of the seismic waves, which can be obtained before estimation of the seismic moment, is often used for the first tsunami warning. However, because the observed displacement amplitude is approximately proportional to the moment rate, conventional magnitudes of tsunami earthquakes estimated based on the seismic wave amplitude tend to underestimate the event size. To overcome this problem, we investigated several methods of magnitude estimation, including magnitudes based on long-period displacement, integrated displacement, and multiband amplitude distribution. We tested the methods using synthetic waveforms calculated from finite fault models of tsunami earthquakes. We found that methods based on observed amplitudes could not estimate magnitude properly, but the method based on the multiband amplitude distribution gave values close to the moment magnitude for many tsunami earthquakes. In this method, peak amplitudes of bandpass filtered waveforms are compared with those of synthetic records for an assumed source duration and fault mechanism. We applied the multiband amplitude distribution method to the records of events that occurred around the Japanese Islands and to those of tsunami earthquakes, and confirmed that this method could be used to estimate event magnitudes close to the moment magnitudes.
Mathematical modeling of auxetic systems: bridging the gap between analytical models and observation
Authors: Grima-Cornish James N. , Grima Joseph N. , Attard Daphne
Published: March 2021

The Poisson’s ratio, a property which quantifies the changes in thickness when a material is stretched and compressed, can be determined as the negative of the transverse strain over the applied strain. In the scientific literature, there are various ways how strain may be defined and the actual definition used could result in a different Poisson’s ratio being computed. This paper will look in more detail at this by comparing the more commonly used forms of strain and the Poisson’s ratio that is computable from them. More specifically, an attempt is made to assess through examples on the usefulness of the various formulations to properly describe what can actually be observed, thus providing a clearer picture of which form of Poisson’s ratio should be used in analytical modelling.
Implementation and preliminary testing of a theory-guided nursing discharge teaching intervention for adult inpatients aged 50 and over with multimorbidity: a pragmatic feasibility study protocol
Authors: Pellet Joanie , Weiss Marianne , Zúñiga Franziska , Mabire Cedric
Published: March 2021

Background

Discharge teaching by nurses during hospitalization is essential to provide multimorbid inpatients with the knowledge and skills to self-manage their health conditions. However, available disease-specific teaching guidelines do not address the cumulative complexity of multiple chronic diseases that occur with greater frequency in older adults. Therefore, there is a need for a discharge teaching intervention which uses concepts that specifically address the needs of these patients, such as considering their level of activation (i.e. knowledge, skills and confidence to self-manage their health) and the burden of multimorbid disease. The objectives of this pragmatic study will be to (1) test the feasibility of implementing a nursing discharge teaching intervention and (2) conduct a preliminary test of this novel discharge teaching intervention with adult inpatients age 50 or greater who have multiple comorbid conditions.

Methods

This study uses a two-group pre-posttest design. Participants are drawn from medical units in three hospitals in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The implementation of the intervention will be facilitated by implementation strategies from the Theoretical Domains Framework and the Behavior Change Wheel and will target change in nurses’ teaching behaviours. Implementation outcomes will include measures of feasibility of the implementation strategies and the intervention process. Participants in the intervention group will receive tailored discharge teaching by trained teaching nurses. Patient outcomes will inform the preliminary testing of the intervention and will be measured with validated questionnaires assessing patients’ activation level, health confidence, perceived readiness for discharge, experience with the discharge process and rate of and time to readmission.

Discussion

The study takes a pragmatic approach to examining the feasibility of implementing the discharge teaching intervention to contribute to the knowledge development within the context of the real-world practice setting. Results will provide the foundation for clinical trials to build evidence for widespread adoption of this intervention.

Trial registration

The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT04253665) on the 30 of January 2020 and has been approved by the Cantonal Ethics Committee Vaud in Switzerland (2020-00141).
A randomised-controlled feasibility study of the REgulate your SItting Time (RESIT) intervention for reducing sitting time in individuals with type 2 diabetes: study protocol
Authors: Bailey Daniel P. , Edwardson Charlotte L. , Pappas Yannis , Dong Feng , Hewson David J. , Biddle Stuart J. H. , Brierley Marsha L. , Chater Angel M.
Published: March 2021

Background

People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) generally spend a large amount of time sitting. This increases their risk of cardiovascular disease, premature mortality, diabetes-related complications and mental health problems. There is a paucity of research that has evaluated interventions aimed at reducing and breaking up sitting in people with T2DM. The primary aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of delivering and evaluating a tailored intervention to reduce and break up sitting in ambulatory adults with T2DM.

Methods

This is a mixed-methods randomised controlled feasibility trial. Participants (n=70) with T2DM aged 18-85 years who sit ≥7 h/day and are able to ambulate independently will be randomly allocated to receive the REgulate your SItting Time (RESIT) intervention or usual care (control group) for 24 weeks. RESIT is a person-focused intervention that delivers a standardised set of behaviour change techniques to the participants, but the mode through which they are delivered can vary depending on the tools selected by each participant. The intervention includes an online education programme, health coach support, and a range of self-selected tools (smartphone apps, computer-prompt software, and wearable devices) that deliver behaviour change techniques such as self-monitoring of sitting and providing prompts to break up sitting. Measures will be taken at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks. Eligibility, recruitment, retention and data completion rates will be used to assess trial feasibility. Sitting, standing and stepping will be measured using a thigh-worn activity monitor. Cardiometabolic health, physical function, psychological well-being, sleep and musculoskeletal symptoms will also be assessed. A process evaluation will be conducted including evaluation of intervention acceptability and fidelity.

Discussion

This study will identify the feasibility of delivering a tailored intervention to reduce and break up sitting in ambulatory adults with T2DM and evaluating it through a randomised controlled trial (RCT) design. The findings will inform a fully powered RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Trial registration

ISRCTN, ISRCTN14832389; Registered 6 August 2020.
Classic cardiovascular risk factors improve in very elderly hypopituitary patients treated on standard hormone replacement in long term follow- up
Authors: Rosa Isabella Naves , de Sousa Munhoz Soares Alexandre Anderson , Rodrigues Marcelo Palmeira , Naves Luciana Ansaneli
Published: March 2021

Background

Hypopituitarism in the elderly population is an underdiagnosed condition and may increase comorbidities related to glucose metabolism, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular risk factors. Optimization of hormone replacement that considers alterations in clearance rates of hormones, interaction with other medications, and evaluation of the risk-benefit ratio of treatment is a big challenge for clinical practice.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate classic cardiovascular risk factors in hypopituitary septuagenarians and octagenarians by diagnosis and after long-term hormone replacement.

Methods

This is a retrospective observational study, with patients recruited and selected from a registry in a tertiary medical center. We included patients aged 70–99 years with hypopituitarism, evaluated hormonal and biochemical parameters, and cardiovascular risk scores were calculated by diagnosis and compared after long-term follow-up. All patients gave informed consent. Patient data were compared to a sex and age-matched control group, with long-term geriatric follow-up, without endocrine diseases.

Results

Thirty-five patients were included, 16 patients aged 70–75 years (72.61), 12 patients 76–80 years (72.28), 7 patients 81–99 years (89.28). Pituitary macroadenomas were the main cause of hypopituitarism, mean maximal diameter 3.4 cm (2.9–4.3), and invasive craniopharyngiomas. At the moment of diagnosis, most patients were overweight, and abdominal adiposity was observed in 76.9% of women and 36.4% of men, primarily in octagenarians and nonagenarians. Comorbidities were frequent; 85.7% presented hypertension, 37.1% diabetes, 53.1% low HDL, 51.5% hypertriglyceridemia. Most patients presented more than two combined pituitary deficiencies; hypogonadism in 88.6%, central hypothyroidism in 82.9%, GH deficiency in 65.7%, and adrenal insufficiency in 25.7%. Analysis of cardiovascular risk prediction in the total cohort showed that 57.1% of patients presented a reduction in the General Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Prediction Score and 45.7% in atherosclerotic CVD risk estimated by ACC/AHA 2013 Pooled Cohort Equation, despite being submitted to conventional hormone replacement, during the mean follow-up of 14.5 years. This reduction was not observed in the control group.

Discussion and conclusion

In this study, aged hypopituitary patients presented a reduction in estimated general CVD risk during long-term follow-up, despite replacement with corticosteroids, levothyroxine, or gonadal steroids. Early diagnosis and treatment of hypopituitarism in the elderly remain challenging. Larger studies should be performed to assess the risk-benefit ratio of hormone replacement on the metabolic profile in septuagenarian and octogenarian patients.
How to prevent and avoid barriers in co-production with family carers living in rural and remote area: an Italian case study
Authors: Gheduzzi Eleonora , Masella Cristina , Morelli Niccolò , Graffigna Guendalina
Published: March 2021

Background

Co-production has been widely recognised as a potential means to reduce the dissatisfaction of citizens, the inefficacy of service providers, and conflicts in relations between the former and the latter. However, the benefits of co-production has begun to be questioned: co-production has often been taken for granted, and its effects may not be effective. To understand and prevent unsuccessful citizen and provider collaboration, the recent literature has begun to focus on the causes of co-destruction. This paper investigates how the barriers that may arise during the co-production of a new social service with family carers can be identified and interpreted.

Methods

To investigate this topic, we undertook a single case study - a longitudinal project (Place4Carers (Graffigna et al., BMJ Open 10:e037570, 2020)) intended to co-produce a new social care service with and for the family carers of elderly patients living in rural and remote areas. We organised collaborative co-assessment workshops and semi-structured interviews to collect the views of family carers and service providers on the co-production process. A reflexive approach was used in the analysis for collecting the opinions of the research team that participated in the co-production process.

Results

The analysis revealed four main co-production barriers: lack of trust, lack of effectiveness of engagement, participants’ inability (or impossibility) to change and the lack of a cohesive partnership among partners. Despite these findings, the project increases carers’ satisfaction, competence and trust in service providers by demonstrating the positive effects of co-production.

Conclusions

Our article confirms that co-creation and co-destruction processes may coexist. The role of researchers and service providers is to prevent or remedy co-destruction effects. To this end, we suggest that in co-production projects, more time should be spent co-assessing the project before, during and after the co-production process. This approach would facilitate the adoption of adjustment actions such as creating mutual trust through conviviality among participants and fostering collaborative research between academia and organisations that are not used to working together.
Great expectations: minor differences in initial instructions have a major impact on visual search in the absence of feedback
Authors: Cox Patrick H. , Kravitz Dwight J. , Mitroff Stephen R.
Published: March 2021

Professions such as radiology and aviation security screening that rely on visual search—the act of looking for targets among distractors—often cannot provide operators immediate feedback, which can create situations where performance may be largely driven by the searchers’ own expectations. For example, if searchers do not expect relatively hard-to-spot targets to be present in a given search, they may find easy-to-spot targets but systematically quit searching before finding more difficult ones. Without feedback, searchers can create self-fulfilling prophecies where they incorrectly reinforce initial biases (e.g., first assuming and then, perhaps wrongly, concluding hard-to-spot targets are rare). In the current study, two groups of searchers completed an identical visual search task but with just a single difference in their initial task instructions before the experiment started; those in the “high-expectation” condition were told that each trial could have one or two targets present (i.e., correctly implying no target-absent trials) and those in the “low-expectation” condition were told that each trial would have up to two targets (i.e., incorrectly implying there could be target-absent trials). Compared to the high-expectation group, the low-expectation group had a lower hit rate, lower false alarm rate and quit trials more quickly, consistent with a lower quitting threshold (i.e., performing less exhaustive searches) and a potentially higher target-present decision criterion. The expectation effect was present from the start and remained across the experiment—despite exposure to the same true distribution of targets, the groups’ performances remained divergent, primarily driven by the different subjective experiences caused by each groups’ self-fulfilling prophecies. The effects were limited to the single-targets trials, which provides insights into the mechanisms affected by the initial expectations set by the instructions. In sum, initial expectations can have dramatic influences—searchers who do not expect to find a target, are less likely to find a target as they are more likely to quit searching earlier.
Endophytic fungi associated with soybean plants and their antagonistic activity against Rhizoctonia solani
Authors: Sallam Nashwa , Ali Esmat F. , Seleim Mohamed A. A. , Khalil Bagy Hadeel M. M.
Published: March 2021

Background

Fungal endophytes produce many secondary metabolites that can reduce root rot diseases. Soybean is a particularly important crop worldwide. Endophytic fungi can be isolated, identified, and incorporated into sustainable agriculture for the biological control of many diseases.

Results

The aim of this study was to isolate some endophytic fungi for controlling the most important diseases of soybean plants and to study the mechanisms underlying this biocontrol regarding the suppression of pathogens. Ten endophytic fungi were isolated from soybean plants. Among them, the 3 fungi isolates that exhibited a high percentage of antagonistic activity against Rhizoctonia solani, the causal pathogen of root rot disease of soybean plants, were identified as Trichoderma longibrachiatum S12, T. asperellum S11, and T. atroviride PHYTAT7. The 3 fungi isolates had the ability to produce pectinase and chitinase and to solubilize phosphors. Moreover, they produced siderophores and indole acetic acid (IAA), which have a strong effect on the growth of the plants. The 3 isolates reduced disease severity by 64, 60, and 55%, respectively than the infected control.

Conclusion

The results suggest that certain endophytic fungi associated with soybean plants have potential for the management of root rot diseases in soybean. Moreover, these isolates can be considered as having a growth-promoting effect in soybean plants.
Compilation of the resuscitation guidelines for COVID-19 patients in resource-constrained developing nations
Authors: Jain Kompal , Chauhan Rajeev , Bloria Summit , Sarna Rashi
Published: March 2021

Background

The world is presently struggling with the pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease). Owing to the poor outcome and high contagiousness of COVID-19, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of COVID-19-positive patients is still questionable.

Main body

It is imperative for the healthcare workers to follow the precautions during CPR of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients. In the present article, we have compiled the resuscitation guidelines subjected to the availability of resources in India/developing nations.

Conclusion

Compression-only CPR should be initiated whether cardiac arrest is of presumed hypoxic or cardiac etiology. If a patient with an unknown status/suspected/confirmed COVID-19 has out of the hospital cardiac arrest, hands-only CPR could be performed only after covering the mouth and nose of the patient and healthcare worker with the face mask or cloth. During in-hospital cardiac arrest, patients should be shifted to a negative pressure ventilation room, and healthcare worker should wear personal protective equipments.
Probiotics role of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Bacillus subtilis in improving the health status of rabbits’ gastrointestinal tract
Authors: Helal Farouk , El-Badawi Alaa , El-Naggar Soad , Shourrap Mohamed , Aboelazab Osama , Abu Hafsa Salma
Published: March 2021

Background

Probiotics are direct-fed microbial feed supplements which can modulate the gut microflora by competing intestinal pathogens through a competitive process. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bacillus subtilis or their mixture on blood biochemical constituents, intestinal pathogenic load and intestinal histological changes of growing New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits.

Results

Serum total protein, albumin, and globulin were (P ≤ 0.05) increased for rabbits fed supplemented diets. Microbial pathogenic load of small intestinal and caecal contents (E. coli and C. perfringens) showed reduction (P ≤ 0.05) for rabbits fed supplemented diets, while, lactobacillus spp. recorded higher counts (P ≤ 0.05) in intestinal and caecal contents of rabbits fed probiotics supplemented diets than control group. Small intestine length, villus height and crypt depth were higher (P ≤ 0.05) with probiotic diets than control. Musculosa depth was depressed (P ≤ 0.05) with probiotic diets.

Conclusions

It could be concluded that the addition of Bacillus subtilis or Saccharomyces cerevisiae to diets of growing NZW rabbits by 0.1% is recommended to minimize the pathogenic intestinal load and increasing of beneficial lactobacillus strains as well as improving the intestinal barriers integrity.
Chromosomal abnormalities predisposing to infertility, testing, and management: a narrative review
Authors: Yahaya Tajudeen O. , Oladele Esther O. , Anyebe Daniel , Obi Chidiebere , Bunza M. D. A. , Sulaiman Ridwan , Liman Usman U.
Published: March 2021

Background

Much interest has not been placed on the role of chromosomal abnormalities in the pathogenesis and rising prevalence of infertility in recent times. This review was conducted to renew public interest on the chromosomal basis of infertility, testing, and management.

Main text

Meiotic and post-zygotic mitotic errors may cause infertility-predisposing chromosomal abnormalities, including Klinefelter syndrome, Jacob syndrome, Triple X syndrome, Turner syndrome, and Down syndrome. Chromosomal abnormalities such as deletion, translocation, duplication, inversion, and ring chromosome may also predispose to infertility. Notable features of male chromosomal infertility include spermatogenic failure, characterized by azoospermia, oligospermia, and gonadal dysgenesis, while females include premature ovarian insufficiency, amenorrhea, spontaneous abortion, and gonadal dysgenesis. The risk of these abnormalities is influenced by maternal age and environmental factors such as chemical exposure, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Most chromosomal abnormalities occur spontaneously and are not treatable. However, early prenatal screening and diagnostic tests can lessen the effects of the conditions. There is also a growing belief that certain diets and drugs capable of changing gene expressions can be formulated to neutralize the effects of chromosomal abnormalities.

Conclusion

Meiotic and mitotic errors during gametogenesis and fetal development, respectively, can cause chromosomal abnormalities, which predispose to infertility. Couples who are at increased risk, particularly those with a family history of infertility and women at an advanced age (≥ 35 years), should seek medical advice before getting pregnant.
Fertilization influence on biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn in potentially hardsetting soil under no tillage
Authors: Canatoy Ronley C. , Daquiado Nonilona P.
Published: March 2021

Background

Hardsetting soils are considered problem soils due to its behavior of becoming hard and unbearable to cultivate not until rewetted. Few investigations were conducted in this kind of problem soil; hence, information about biomass yield and nutrient uptake is still elusive. This study investigated the impact of potentially hardsetting soil on the biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn under no-tillage cultivation system with varying fertilization treatments.

Results

The application of full NPK + 1 Mg ha−1 VC increased stover and grain yield by 26–106% and 11–135%, respectively. Approximately 64% and 112% of sweet corn stover and grain yield increased when treated with full NPK. Highly significant quadratic relationship (P < 0.001) was revealed between total biomass yield and nutrient uptake of sweet corn, implying that 98–99% of the variation in total biomass could be elucidated by its nutrient uptake. Further, this indicated the suitability of nutrient uptake function that could be used as an estimate in the progression of total biomass accumulation. The application of full NPK showed statistically significant (P < 0.001) nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency across treatments. The soil in the experimental area was a potentially hardsetting soil due to its rapid soil strength development at least 4 days from wetting. This implies that with continued use, proper soil management must be implemented like reduced tillage and organic matter application to facilitate structure formation and binding of soil particles by labile fraction in organic matter.

Conclusion

Application of organic amendment in combination with inorganic fertilizer could be a sustainable production strategy on sweet corn production system in potentially hardsetting soil under no tillage through enhanced nutrient uptake and biomass accumulation.
Recent developments in photoacoustic imaging and sensing for nondestructive testing and evaluation
Authors: Chen Sung-Liang , Tian Chao
Published: March 2021

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging has been widely used in biomedical research and preclinical studies during the past two decades. It has also been explored for nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT/E) and for industrial applications. This paper describes the basic principles of PA technology for NDT/E and its applications in recent years. PA technology for NDT/E includes the use of a modulated continuous-wave laser and a pulsed laser for PA wave excitation, PA-generated ultrasonic waves, and all-optical PA wave excitation and detection. PA technology for NDT/E has demonstrated broad applications, including the imaging of railway cracks and defects, the imaging of Li metal batteries, the measurements of the porosity and Young’s modulus, the detection of defects and damage in silicon wafers, and a visualization of underdrawings in paintings.
Shoreline evolution and modern beach sand composition along a coastal stretch of the Tyrrhenian Sea, southern Italy
Authors: Morrone Consuele , Ietto Fabio
Published: March 2021

This contribution focuses on a multidisciplinary research showing the geomorphological evolution and the beach sand composition of the Tyrrhenian shoreline between Capo Suvero promontory and Gizzeria Lido village (Calabria, southern Italy). The aim of the geomorphological analysis was to reconstruct the evolutionary shoreline stages and the present-day sedimentary dynamics along approximately 6 km of coastline. The results show a general trend of beach nourishment during the period 1870–2019. In this period, the maximum shoreline accretion value was estimated equal to + 900 m with an average rate of + 6.5 m/yr. Moreover, although the general evolutionary trend is characterized by a remarkable accretion, the geomorphological analysis highlighted continuous modifications of the beaches including erosion processes. The continuous beach modifications occurred mainly between 1953 and 1983 and were caused mainly by human activity in the coastal areas and inside the hydrographic basins. The beach sand composition allowed an assessment of the mainland petrological sedimentary province and its dispersal pattern of the present coastal dynamics. Petrographic analysis of beach sands identified a lithic metamorphi-clastic petrofacies, characterized by abundant fine-grained schists and phyllites sourced from the crystalline terrains of the Coastal Range front and carried by the Savuto River. The sand is also composed of a mineral assemblage comparable to that of the Amato River provenance. In terms of framework detrital constituents of QFL (quartz:feldspars:aphanitic lithic fragments) and of essential extraclasts, such as granitoid:sedimentary:metamorphic phaneritic rock fragments (Rg:Rs:Rm), sand maturity changes moderately from backshore to shoreface, suggesting that transport processes had a little effect on sand maturity. Moreover, the modal composition suggests that the Capo Suvero promontory does not obstruct longshore sand transport from the north. Indeed, sands displaced by currents driven by storm-wave activity bypass this rocky headland.
Performance of horizontal flow constructed wetland for secondary treatment of domestic wastewater in a remote tribal area of Central India
Authors: Shukla Reetika , Gupta Deepak , Singh Gurudatta , Mishra Virendra Kumar
Published: March 2021

The purification of the primary treated domestic sewage was performed in the present study through the horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetland (CW) of 10 × 3.5 m dimension. The study was performed using three setups of CW 1 (Unplanted CW), CW 2 (CW planted with macrophyte Typha latifolia), and CW 3 (CW planted with two species of macrophyte T. latifolia and Commelina benghalensis). The purification experiments were performed by converting one type of CW into the other form sequentially, i.e., CW 1 was built first and after the experiments, it was converted into CW 2 and then CW 3. The CW was filled with a layer of coarse and fine gravel of 70 cm depth as filter media in 1:2 ratio. Each set of wetland was operated for 3 months (12 wk) during which the treatment performance of wetlands for basic physicochemical parameters was evaluated. The CW was operated in continuous mode at an average hydraulic loading rate of 250 L h− 1 and the treated effluent was analysed twice every week at four different sampling points having hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 12, 24, 36 and 48 h for important sewage quality parameters All the three setups of CW were able to clean the primary treated sewage significantly. Among the three sets of wetlands used, CW 3 was the best performer removing 79, 77, 79, 79, and 78% of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, ammonia, and phosphate respectively in 48 h HRT. Among the three sets of wetlands, the CW 3 removed the highest percent of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and E. coli as 64, 61 and 52% respectively.
Evaluation of a multidisciplinary lipid clinic to improve the care of individuals with severe lipid conditions: a RE-AIM framework analysis
Authors: Jones Laney K. , McMinn Megan , Kann David , Lesko Michael , Sturm Amy C. , Walters Nicole , Chen Nan , Fry Kerrianne , Brownson Ross C. , Gidding Samuel S. , Williams Marc S. , Rahm Alanna Kulchak
Published: March 2021

Background

Individuals with complex dyslipidemia, or those with medication intolerance, are often difficult to manage in primary care. They require the additional attention, expertise, and adherence counseling that occurs in multidisciplinary lipid clinics (MDLCs). We conducted a program evaluation of the first year of a newly implemented MDLC utilizing the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework to provide empirical data not only on program effectiveness, but also on components important to local sustainability and future generalizability.

Methods

The purpose of the MDLC is to increase the uptake of guideline-based care for lipid conditions. Established in 2019, the MDLC provides care via a centralized clinic location within the healthcare system. Primary care providers and cardiologists were invited to refer individuals with lipid conditions. Using a pre/post-study design, we evaluated the implementation outcomes from the MDLC using the RE-AIM framework.

Results

In 2019, 420 referrals were made to the MDLC (reach). Referrals were made by 19% (148) of the 796 active cardiology and primary care providers, with an average of 35 patient referrals per month in 2019 (SD 12) (adoption). The MDLC saw 83 patients in 2019 (reach). Additionally, 50% (41/82) had at least one follow-up MDLC visit, and 12% (10/82) had two or more follow-up visits in 2019 (implementation). In patients seen by the MDLC, we found an improved diagnosis of specific lipid conditions (FH (familial hypercholesterolemia), hypertriglyceridemia, and dyslipidemia), increased prescribing of evidence-based therapies, high rates of medication prior authorization approvals, and significant reductions in lipid levels by lipid condition subgroup (effectiveness). Over time, the operations team decided to transition from in-person follow-up to telehealth appointments to increase capacity and sustain the clinic (maintenance).

Conclusions

Despite limited reach and adoption of the MDLC, we found a large intervention effect that included improved diagnosis, increased prescribing of guideline-recommended treatments, and clinically significant reduction of lipid levels. Attention to factors including solutions to decrease the large burden of unseen referrals, discussion of the appropriate number and duration of visits, and sustainability of the clinic model could aid in enhancing the success of the MDLC and improving outcomes for more patients throughout the system.
From Yasashii Nihongo in non-disaster times towards a plurilingual language education approach: an outlook from the perspective of “reasonable accommodation”
Authors: Ito Hideaki , Tokarev Alexander
Published: March 2021

In order to address labor shortages, starting April 2019 the Japanese government introduced two new visa categories, and it can be expected that the growing number of foreign residents living and working in Japan will be increasing further in the foreseeable future. Within this context, the notion of Yasashii Nihongo or Simplified Japanese has been gaining attention over recent years. Originally designed as a tool for transmitting information in disaster-related situations and proposed for disaster mitigation purposes, at present it is being advocated as a means of communication to be used in non-disaster situations as well. The authors argue that ultimately Yasashii Nihongo for non-disaster situations may be just a means to an end. Seen from the perspective of “reasonable accommodation”, a concept prevalent in the domain of disability studies, they assert that by de facto creating a new linguistic category making it a tacit prerequisite to communicate in “Japanese only”, Yasashii Nihongo is but a concept geared towards the language majority (speakers using Japanese as their first language) and is potentially serving no other purpose than to alleviate the psychological burden of having to speak in a language other than Japanese, thus potentially leading to a new form of discrimination towards language minorities. Offering an alternative approach for improving multicultural communication aimed at establishing a communicative space based on openness, equality, and mutual respect for each other’s cultural, linguistic and ethnic identities, the authors propose the introduction of language education based on the notion of plurilingualism, as outlined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) by the Council of Europe.
Risk factors for mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 from three hospitals in Peru: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Díaz-Vélez Cristian , Urrunaga-Pastor Diego , Romero-Cerdán Anthony , Peña-Sánchez Eric Ricardo , Fernández Mogollon Jorge Luis , Cossio Chafloque Julio Darwin , Marreros Ascoy Gaston Cristobal , Benites-Zapata Vicente A.
Published: March 2021

Background: Peru was one of the countries with the highest COVID-19 mortality worldwide during the first stage of the pandemic. It is then relevant to evaluate the risk factors for mortality in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in three hospitals in Peru in 2020, from March to May, 2020. 

Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study. The population consisted of patients from three Peruvian hospitals hospitalized for a diagnosis of COVID-19 during the March-May 2020 period. Independent sociodemographic variables, medical history, symptoms, vital functions, laboratory parameters and medical treatment were evaluated. In-hospital mortality was assessed as the outcome. We performed Cox regression models (crude and adjusted) to evaluate risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) with their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. 

Results: We analyzed 493 hospitalized adults; 72.8% (n=359) were male and the mean age was 63.3 ± 14.4 years. COVID-19 symptoms appeared on average 7.9 ± 4.0 days before admission to the hospital, and the mean oxygen saturation on admission was 82.6 ± 13.8. While 67.6% (n=333) required intensive care unit admission, only 3.3% (n=16) were admitted to this unit, and 60.2% (n=297) of the sample died. In the adjusted regression analysis, it was found that being 60 years old or older (HR=1.57; 95% CI: 1.14-2.15), having two or more comorbidities (HR=1.53; 95% CI: 1.10-2.14), oxygen saturation between 85-80% (HR=2.52; 95% CI: 1.58-4.02), less than 80% (HR=4.59; 95% CI: 3.01-7.00), and being in the middle (HR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.15-2.39) and higher tertile (HR=2.18; 95% CI: 1.51-3.15) of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, increased the risk of mortality. 

Conclusions: The risk factors found agree with what has been described in the literature and allow the identification of vulnerable groups in whom monitoring and early identification of symptoms should be prioritized in order to reduce mortality.