bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of cognitive reserve with stroke outcome: a protocol for a systematic review
Authors: Gallucci Laura , Umarova Roza M
Published: July 2022

Introduction

The concept of cognitive reserve (CR) was introduced to account for individual differences in the clinical manifestation of neurodegenerative diseases. Though several mechanisms and risk factors are shared between neurodegeneration and stroke, the effect of CR on poststroke functional outcome has been poorly addressed. This systematic review aims to synthesise the available research evidence on the association of CR with stroke outcome, in order to implement the understanding of interindividual variability in stroke outcome and to improve its prediction.

Methods and analysis

Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science and reference lists of relevant literature will be searched for publications on CR proxies (eg, education, years of education, occupational attainment, premorbid intelligence) and stroke outcome, published between 1 January 1980 and 10 March 2022. Two reviewers will independently perform the study selection, data extraction and quality assessment. Disagreements between reviewers will be resolved by a third independent reviewer. The Quality In Prognosis Studies tool will be used to assess the quality of each included study. The primary outcome will be functional outcome after stroke assessed with modified Rankin Scale, activities of daily living (eg, Barthel Index), National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, dichotomised as favourable versus not favourable as well as reported as continuous or ordinal variables. Qualitative and quantitative findings will be summarised and, if possible, data will be synthesised using appropriate meta-analytical methods. The quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework.

Ethics and dissemination

No ethical approval is required as it is a protocol for a systematic review and the data used will be extracted from published studies. The findings from this systematic review will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed scientific journal and presented at conferences. The data will be made freely available.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42021256175.
Costs of community-wide mass drug administration and school-based deworming for soil-transmitted helminths: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in Benin, India and Malawi
Authors: Morozoff Chloe , Avokpaho Euripide , Puthupalayam Kaliappan Saravanakumar , Simwanza James , Gideon Samuel Paul , Lungu Wongani , Houngbegnon Parfait , Galactionova Katya , Sahu Maitreyi , Kalua Khumbo , Luty Adrian J F , Ibikounlé Moudachirou , Bailey Robin , Pullan Rachel , Ajjampur Sitara Swarna Rao , Walson Judd , Means Arianna Rubin
Published: July 2022

Objectives

Current guidelines for the control of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) recommend deworming children and other high-risk groups, primarily using school-based deworming (SBD) programmes. However, targeting individuals of all ages through community-wide mass drug administration (cMDA) may interrupt STH transmission in some settings. We compared the costs of cMDA to SBD to inform decision-making about future updates to STH policy.

Design

We conducted activity-based microcosting of cMDA and SBD for 2 years in Benin, India and Malawi within an ongoing cMDA trial.

Setting

Field sites and collaborating research institutions.

Primary and secondary outcomes

We calculated total financial and opportunity costs and costs per treatment administered (unit costs in 2019 USD ($)) from the service provider perspective, including costs related to community drug distributors and other volunteers.

Results

On average, cMDA unit costs were more expensive than SBD in India ($1.17 vs $0.72) and Malawi ($2.26 vs $1.69), and comparable in Benin ($2.45 vs $2.47). cMDA was more expensive than SBD in part because most costs (~60%) were ‘supportive costs’ needed to deliver treatment with high coverage, such as additional supervision and electronic data capture. A smaller fraction of cMDA costs (~30%) was routine expenditures (eg, drug distributor allowances). The remaining cMDA costs (~10%) were opportunity costs of staff and volunteer time. A larger percentage of SBD costs was opportunity costs for teachers and other government staff (between ~25% and 75%). Unit costs varied over time and were sensitive to the number of treatments administered.

Conclusions

cMDA was generally more expensive than SBD. Accounting for local staff time (volunteers, teachers, health workers) in community programmes is important and drives higher cost estimates than commonly recognised in the literature. Costs may be lower outside of a trial setting, given a reduction in supportive costs used to drive higher treatment coverage and economies of scale.

Trial registration number

NCT03014167.
Mindfulness-based retreat for mothers of paediatric heart transplant recipients: protocol for a pilot intervention study
Authors: Robertson Taylor , Ahola Kohut Sara , Telfer Heather , Seifert-Hansen Mirna , Mitchell Joanna , Anthony Samantha J
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Mothers are often the primary caregivers for children requiring heart transplantation. Given that a mother’s ability to successfully cope with the demands of her caregiving role may be predictive of positive familial psychosocial outcomes, it is critical that maternal coping is assessed and supported in paediatric healthcare. Mindfulness-based programmes are proposed as one intervention that may enhance quality of life, improve distress tolerance and coping and reduce social isolation in caregiving populations. This pilot study aims to investigate: (1) the implementation success of a mindfulness-based retreat (MBR), and (2) the effectiveness of a MBR at improving quality of life, distress tolerance, coping and perceived social support for mothers of paediatric heart transplant recipients.

Methods and analysis

A convergent parallel, mixed-method design is proposed for this pilot, exploratory study. Twenty mothers will participate in this pilot MBR held at a resort in Ontario, Canada. Quantitative data will be obtained using five standardised instruments completed at three time points: (T1) 24-hours prior to the intervention, (T2) immediately on completion of the intervention, and (T3) three months post-intervention. Qualitative data will be collected from all participants both through semi-structured focus groups at T2 and individual telephone interviews at T3. Focus groups and individual interviews will be transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis. Quantitative and qualitative data will be merged and compared during interpretation to ensure that the intervention implementation and effectiveness of the MBR retreat are described with comprehensive accuracy. The primary outcomes will be feasibility in relation to implementation effectiveness and participants’ perception of social support for efficacy of the MBR intervention.

Ethics and dissemination

This study received Institutional Research Ethics Board approval from The Hospital for Sick Children (Number: 1000064719). Informed consent will be obtained prior to participant enrolment. Findings will be disseminated via conference presentations and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Current practice of postoperative fasting: results from a multicentre survey in China
Authors: Lai Lifei , Zeng Lianghua , Yang Zhijing , Zheng Yingling , Zhu Qianqian
Published: July 2022

Objective

A gap between clinical practice and evidence is common. The present multicentre study was designed to explore the actual postoperative fasting practice, including the instructed fasting time from the ward staff and the actual postoperative fasting time.

Design

Multicentre survey.

Setting

Four tertiary hospitals in Shenzhen City, China.

Participants

A total of 988 patients completed a survey on instructed and actual postoperative fasting.

Outcomes

All patients received postoperative instructed fasting time from the ward staff. The median instructed fasting time for fluids from ward staff was 6 hours (IQR, 4–6 hours), and the median instructed fasting time for solid food was also 6 hours (IQR 5–6 hours) after surgery. The actual postoperative fasting time, including fluid and solid food intake, was significantly longer than the time recommended by the ward staff (both p<0.001).

Results

The median time to postoperative first flatus (FFL) was 16.5 hours (IQR 8–25.5 hours), and the median time to postoperative first faeces (FFE) was 41 hours (IQR 25–57 hours). The fasting time was significantly shorter than the time to FFL and the time to FFE, regardless of surgery type or anaesthesia type (all p<0.001). Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) occurred in 23.6% of patients. After surgery, 58.70% of patients reported thirst, and 47.47% reported hunger. No ileus occurred.

Conclusion

Approximately half of the patients reported thirst and hunger postoperatively. Patients initiated oral intake earlier than the time to FFL or FFE without increasing serious complications. This study may support the rationale for interventions targeting postoperative oral intake time in future studies.
Supplemental oxygen strategies in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia after the neonatal intensive care unit period: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (SOS BPD study)
Authors: Balink Stephanie , Onland Wes , Vrijlandt Elianne J L E , Andrinopoulou Eleni-Rosalina , Bos Arend F , Dijk Peter H , Goossens Lucas , Hulsmann Anthon R , Nuytemans Debbie H , Reiss Irwin K M , Sprij Arwen J , Kroon André A , van Kaam Anton H , Pijnenburg Marielle
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Supplemental oxygen is the most important treatment for preterm born infants with established bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). However, it is unknown what oxygen saturation levels are optimal to improve outcomes in infants with established BPD from 36 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) onwards. The aim of this study is to compare the use of a higher oxygen saturation limit (≥95%) to a lower oxygen saturation limit (≥90%) after 36 weeks PMA in infants diagnosed with moderate or severe BPD.

Methods and analysis

This non-blinded, multicentre, randomised controlled trial will recruit 198 preterm born infants with moderate or severe BPD between 36 and 38 weeks PMA. Infants will be randomised to either a lower oxygen saturation limit of 95% or to a lower limit of 90%; supplemental oxygen and/or respiratory support will be weaned based on the assigned lower oxygen saturation limit. Adherence to the oxygen saturation limit will be assessed by extracting oxygen saturation profiles from pulse oximeters regularly, until respiratory support is stopped. The primary outcome is the weight SD score at 6 months of corrected age. Secondary outcomes include anthropometrics collected at 6 and 12 months of corrected age, rehospitalisations, respiratory complaints, infant stress, parental quality of life and cost-effectiveness.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval for the trial was obtained from the Medical Ethics Review Committee of the Erasmus University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (MEC-2018–1515). Local approval for conducting the trial in the participating hospitals has been or will be obtained from the local institutional review boards. Informed consent will be obtained from the parents or legal guardians of all study participants.

Trial registration number

NL7149/NTR7347.
Facilitators and barriers to using smart TV among older adults in care settings: a scoping review protocol
Authors: Wong Karen Lok Yi , Gregorio Mario , Hung Lillian
Published: July 2022

Introduction

The objective of the scoping review is to understand what has been reported in the literature regarding facilitators and barriers to using smart television (smart TV) among older adults in care settings.

Methods and analysis

The scoping review will adopt the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology. It will occur between March and August 2022. It will consider literature on using smart TV with older adults in care settings. A three-step search strategy will be applied: (1) to identify keywords and index terms from MEDLINE and CINAHL; (2) to do a search using identified keywords and index terms across chosen databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, AgeLine, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google) and (3) to hand search the reference lists of all selected literature for additional literature. Further, we will search using Google for grey literature. Two research assistants will independently screen the titles and abstracts by referring to the inclusion criteria. After that, two researchers will independently assess the full text of selected literature by referring to the inclusion criteria. We will present the data in a table with narratives that answer the questions of the scoping review.

Ethics and dissemination

The scoping review does not require ethics approval because it collects data from the publicly available literature. The findings will offer insights to inform the use of smart TV among older adults in care settings for education, practice, policy and future research. The scoping review results will also be disseminated through conference presentations and an open-access publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Vaginal progesterone as luteal phase support in natural cycle frozen-thawed embryo transfer (ProFET): protocol for a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial
Authors: Stadelmann Caroline , Bergh Christina , Brännström Mats , Olsen Kristbjörg Heiður , Khatibi Ali , Kitlinski Margareta , Liffner Susanne , Lundborg Eva , Rodriguez-Wallberg Kenny A , Strandell Annika , Westlander Göran , Widlund Gabriella , Magnusson Åsa
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Vaginal progesterone supplementation is frequently given to patients receiving frozen embryo transfer (FET) in the natural cycle aiming to increase the chance of pregnancy and live birth. To date, only a few studies have investigated if progesterone supplementation is beneficial in these cycles and the level of evidence for progesterone supplementation is very low.

Methods and analysis

The ProFET trial is a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial powered for this investigation, including 1800 women with regular menstrual cycles (24–35 days), aged 18–43 years planned for natural cycle-FET receiving a single blastocyst for transfer. Participants are randomised (1:1:1) to either luteal phase progesterone for 3 weeks, luteal phase progesterone for 7 weeks or no luteal phase progesterone. The participating study centres consist of 12 in vitro fertilisation-clinics in Sweden and 1 in Iceland. The primary outcome is to investigate if luteal phase support (LPS) by vaginal progesterone increases the chance of a live birth per randomised patient in a natural FET cycle compared with no LPS.

Ethics and dissemination

The trial was approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority (ID 2020-06774, 2021-02822 and 2022-01502-02) and the Swedish Medical Products Agency (ID nr 5.1-2020-102613). All participants are required to provide written informed consent. The outcome of this study will be disseminated to the public through broadcasts, newspapers and presentations at scientific congresses as well as publications in international scientific journals.

Trial registration number

NCT04725864.
Health professionals’ experience of implementing and delivering a ‘Community Care’ programme in metropolitan Melbourne: a qualitative reflexive thematic analysis
Authors: Shannon Brendan , Shannon Hollie , Bowles Kelly-Ann , Williams Cylie , Andrew Nadine , Morphet Julia
Published: July 2022

Objectives

To explore the experiences of health professionals involved in delivering a multidisciplinary Community Care programme that provides a transitional care coordination service for patients visiting a tertiary hospital service in Melbourne, Australia.

Design

Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify themes from descriptions of delivering the programme, including its perceived strengths and challenges.

Participants

12 healthcare professionals from four disciplines working in the Community Care programme were interviewed.

Results

Four themes were identified: (1) ‘increasingly complex’, depicts the experience of delivering care to patients with increasingly complex health needs; (2) ‘plugging unexpected gaps’, describes meeting patient’s healthcare needs; (3) ‘disconnected’, explains system-based issues which made participants feel disconnected from the wider health service; (4) ‘a misunderstood programme’, illustrates that a poor understanding of the programme within the health service is a barrier to patient enrolment which may have been exacerbated by a service name change.

Conclusions

The healthcare professionals involved in this study described the experience of providing care to patients as challenging, but felt they made a positive difference. By unravelling the patients’ health problems in context of their surroundings, they were able to recognise the increasingly complex patients’ health needs. The disconnection they faced to integrate within the wider healthcare system made their role at times difficult. This disconnection was partly contributed to by the fact that they felt the programme was misunderstood.
Efficacy and safety of high-voltage versus standard-voltage pulsed radiofrequency ablation for patients with neuropathic pain: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Jia Yitong , Wang Zheng , Ma Yanhui , Wang Tengteng , Feng Kunpeng , Feng Guang , Wang Tianlong
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) ablation is commonly used for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP). However, it is unclear whether increasing the output voltage of PRF can safely improve its efficacy. This study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of high-voltage PRF ablation and standard-voltage PRF ablation for the treatment of patients with NP.

Methods and analysis

We will search PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, conference proceedings for relevant abstracts, clinical trials registers (ClinicalTrials.gov) and the WHO’s International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (from the date of inception until 15 March 2022). Only randomised controlled trials will be included. Two reviewers (YJ and GF) will independently perform study screening and selection, data extraction, risk-of-bias assessment and quality-of-evidence assessment. The primary outcome of this meta-analysis will be the efficiency rate in patients with NP. The secondary outcomes will include numeric rating scale score, visual analogue scale score, time to take effect, rescue drug dosage, quality of life using the health questionnaire (SF-36) and the incidence of adverse events. Meta-analyses will be conducted using standard meta-analysis software (RevMan V.5.3, The Nordic Cochrane Center, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark).

Ethics and dissemination

The requirement for ethical approval was waived as our systematic review will be based on the published literature. The results of this study will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42022297804.
Engagement and fidelity of a cardiovascular disease prevention-focused digital health intervention in cardiology outpatient waiting rooms: a mixed-methods study
Authors: Mcintyre Daniel , Chiang Jason , Thiagalingam Aravinda , Tong Allison , Chow Clara Kayei
Published: July 2022

Introduction

We delivered a video-based, cardiovascular disease prevention focused intervention in cardiology waiting rooms that increased motivation to improve cardiovascular risk behaviours and satisfaction with clinic services. To better understand the potential generalisability and scalability of such waiting room interventions, this study evaluated the fidelity of intervention delivery and barriers and enablers to implementation.

Methods

Mixed-methods process evaluation conducted among intervention participants in a randomised clinical trial. Data sources included (1) Participant screening logs, (2) Intervention delivery platform data and (3) Semi structured interviews performed with participants. Qualitative data were described using inductive thematic analysis.

Results

The tablet-based intervention was delivered to 220 patients (112 (50.9%) male, mean age 54.2 (SD 15.4) years). Of 765 videos opened, 636 (83.1%) were watched to completion. Most videos opened were rated (738/765, 96.5%) and video ratings were predominantly positive (661/738, (89.6%) satisfied or highly satisfied). Younger and more educated participants were more likely to rate videos highly (relative risk (RR) 1.73 (95% CI 1.28 to 2.32) and RR 1.26 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.49)) but less likely to watch videos to completion (younger: RR 0.27 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.43), more educated: RR 0.90 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.96)). Of 39 invited, 21 (53.8%) participated in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis of responses suggested reported behaviour change post intervention may be due to increased awareness of cardiovascular risk, reduced anxiety and intrinsic motivation from delivery within a cardiology waiting room. Lack of reinforcement and limited personalisation were barriers.

Conclusion

The current analysis demonstrates that engagement with a digitally delivered clinic waiting room educational intervention was high, providing explanation for its efficacy in improving motivation to change cardiovascular risk behaviours. The high fidelity of delivery demonstrates potential for scaling of such interventions across waiting rooms. Recall bias and low response rate may bias self-reported engagement measures.

Trial registration number

ANZCTR12618001725257.
Positioning intestinal ultrasound in a UK tertiary centre: significant estimated clinical role and cost savings
Authors: Luber Raphael P , Petri Bianca , Meade Susanna , Honap Sailish , Zeki Sebastian , Gecse Krisztina B , Griffin Nyree , Irving Peter M
Published: July 2022

Objective

Intestinal ultrasound (IUS) is an inexpensive, non-invasive method of diagnosing and monitoring inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to establish the proportion of lower gastrointestinal endoscopies (LGIEs) and magnetic resonance enterographies (MREs) that could have been performed as IUS, the potential pathology miss-rates if IUS was used and the associated cost savings.

Methods

All MREs and LGIEs performed for either assessment of IBD activity or investigation of possible IBD, performed at a single UK tertiary centre in January 2018, were retrospectively reviewed against predetermined criteria for IUS suitability. Case outcomes were recorded and cost of investigation if IUS was performed instead was calculated.

Results

73 of 260 LGIEs (28.1%) and 58 of 105 MREs (55.2%) met the criteria for IUS suitability. Among potential IUS-suitable endoscopy patients, one case each of a <5 mm adenoma and sessile serrated lesion were found; no other significant pathology that would be expected to be missed with IUS was encountered. Among IUS-suitable MRE patients, no cases of isolated upper gastrointestinal inflammation likely to be missed by IUS were found, and extraintestinal findings not expected to be seen on IUS were of limited clinical significance. The predicted cost saving over 1 month if IUS was used instead was £8642, £25 866 and £5437 for MRE, colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy patients, respectively.

Conclusion

There is a significant role for IUS, with annual projected cost savings of up to almost £500 000 at our centre. Non-inflammatory or non-gastrointestinal pathology predicted to be missed in this cohort was of limited clinical significance.
Augmentation of perfusion with simultaneous vasodilator and inotropic agents in experimental acute middle cerebral artery occlusion: a pilot study
Authors: Liu Mira , Saadat Niloufar , Jeong Yong Ik , Roth Steven , Niekrasz Marek , Carroll Timothy , Christoforidis Gregory A
Published: July 2022

Background

This study tests the hypothesis that simultaneous cerebral blood pressure elevation and potent vasodilation augments perfusion to ischemic tissue in acute ischemic stroke and it varies by degree of pial collateral recruitment.

Methods

Fifteen mongrel canines were included. Subjects underwent permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion; pial collateral recruitment was scored before treatment. Seven treatment subjects received a continuous infusion of norepinephrine (0.1–1.52 µg/kg/min; titrated 25–45 mmHg above baseline mean arterial pressure while keeping systolic blood pressure below 180 mmHg) and hydralazine (20 mg) starting 30 min post-occlusion. Perfusion (cerebral blood flow—CBF) was evaluated with quantitative dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI 2.5 hours post-occlusion to produce images in mL/100 g/min, and relative CBF measured as ratios. Mean region of interest (ROI) values were reported, and compared and subject to regression analysis to elucidate trends.

Results

Differences in quantitative CBF (qCBF) between treatment and control group varied by degree of pial collateral recruitment, based on Wilcoxon rank sum scores and regression model fit. For poorly collateralized subjects, ipsilateral anatomic, core infarct, and penumbra regions showed treatment with higher qCBF, raised above the ischemic threshold, compared with the control, while well collateralized subjects showed a paradoxical decrease maintained above the ischemic threshold for neuronal death. qCBF on the contralateral side increased regardless of collateralization.

Conclusion

Results suggest that perfusion can be augmented in ischemic stroke with norepinephrine and hydralazine. Perfusion augmentation depends on degree of collateralization and territory in question, with some evidence of vascular steal.
Cerebral venous anatomy: implications for the neurointerventionalist
Authors: Shapiro Maksim , Raz Eytan , Nossek Erez , Srivatanakul Kittipong , Young Matthew , Narayan Vinayak , Ali Aryan , Sharashidze Vera , Esparza Rogelio , Nelson Peter Kim
Published: July 2022

Meaningful contributions to neurointerventional practice may be possible by considering the dynamic aspects of angiography in addition to fixed morphologic information. The functional approach to venous anatomy requires integration of the traditional static anatomic features of the system—deep, superficial, posterior fossa, medullary veins, venous sinuses, and outflow routes into an overall appreciation of how a classic model of drainage is altered, embryologically, or pathologically, depending on patterns of flow—visualization made possible by angiography. In this review, emphasis is placed on balance between alternative venous networks and their redundancy, and the problems which arise when these systems are lacking. The role of veins in major neurovascular diseases, such as dural arteriovenous fistulae, arteriovenous malformations, pulsatile tinnitus, and intracranial hypertension, is highlighted, and deficiencies in knowledge emphasized.
Exposure-response relationship between hand-arm vibration exposure and vibrotactile thresholds among rock drill operators: a 4-year cohort study
Authors: Clemm Thomas , Lunde Lars-Kristian , Ulvestad Bente , Færden Karl , Nordby Karl-Christian
Published: July 2022

Objectives

The risk of developing hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) from occupational hand-arm vibration (HAV) exposure is traditionally determined by the onset of vascular symptoms (white fingers). However, changes in tactile sensibility at the fingertips is a clinical sign of HAVS which in most cases precedes vascular signs. We aimed to assess relationships between occupational HAV exposure and HAVS-related signs including vibration perception thresholds (VPT) and pegboard score on an individual level, using a longitudinal study design with follow-up tests.

Methods

We followed-up 148 workers exposed to different HAV levels for 4 years, with health examinations including VPT tests and pegboard tests carried out at baseline, 2 years and 4 years. VPT testing included seven frequencies, from 8 to 500 Hz. Second and fifth finger on both hands were tested, thus a total of 28 tests on each subject. We investigated associations using linear mixed models and significance level at p≤0.05.

Results

There was a significant exposure-response relationship on an individual level between HAV exposure from rock drills and VPT for 16 of 28 test frequencies. The highest rise (worsening) in VPT was found at the 500 Hz test frequency with 1.54 dB increased VPT per 10-fold increase in cumulative exposure. We found no deterioration in pegboard performance associated with HAV exposure among the participants.

Conclusions

Risk predictions of HAVS may be based on exposure-response relationships between HAV exposure and VPT. The 500 Hz test frequency should be included in the VPT test protocols for early detection of signs related to reduced tactile sensibility.
Anti-CD20 therapies in pregnancy and breast feeding: a review and ABN guidelines
Authors: Dobson Ruth , Rog David , Ovadia Caroline , Murray Katy , Hughes Stella , Ford Helen L , Pearson Owen R , White Sarah , Bonham Nicola , Mathews Joela , Nelson-Piercy Catherine , Brex Peter
Published: July 2022

Neurologists increasingly use anti-CD20 therapies, including for women of childbearing age, despite these medications being unlicensed for use in pregnancy. Current evidence suggests that women can safely conceive while taking anti-CD20 therapy. Women should not be denied treatment during pregnancy when it is clinically indicated, although they should be counselled regarding live vaccinations for their infant. Women receiving regular ocrelizumab for multiple sclerosis should preferably wait 3 months before trying to conceive. There are few data around ofatumumab in pregnancy, and while there is probably a class effect across all anti-CD20 therapies, ofatumumab may need to be continued during pregnancy to maintain efficacy. We recommend that anti-CD20 therapies can be safely given while breast feeding. It is important to make time to discuss treatments with women of childbearing age to help them choose their most suitable treatment. Outcomes should be monitored in pregnancy registries.
Characterising advertising strategies and expenditures for conventional and newer smokeless tobacco products
Authors: Emery Sherry L , Binns Steven , Carter Chandler C , Rose Shyanika W , Kostygina Ganna
Published: July 2022

Objective

Nicotine pouch products are an emerging and rapidly growing smokeless tobacco (ST) category in the USA. Little is known about the promotional strategies and media channels used to advertise this ST category or the extent to which the marketing strategies differ from strategies used to promote ‘conventional’ smokeless products (eg, snuff). We describe the nature, timing of and expenditures related to conventional, snus and newer ST product advertising on print, broadcast and internet media.

Methods

Advertising expenditures were collected using Kantar Media’s ‘Stradegy’ tool, which provides advertising data including dollars spent promoting specific products across various media channels, including print magazines and newspapers, broadcast television and radio, outdoor posters and billboards, and internet. We identified 306 smokeless products within Kantar database and collected ad expenditures retrospectively for January 2018–April 2020. Promotional expenditures were aggregated by product category, by month and by designated market area (DMA).

Results

Kantar data analysis returned 28 conventional ST, 22 oral nicotine and 3 snus products (53 total) advertised during the period of observation, with over $71 million spent collectively on ST promotion. Across categories, more advertising dollars were spent on conventional ST products (63%) than newer oral nicotine products (25%) or snus (12%). However, during the later 9-month period from August 2019 to April 2020, oral nicotine products accounted for the majority of monthly ad spending. Most ad spending was placed in the national market ($66.5 million), with Atlanta ($1.1 million), Houston ($1 million) and Las Vegas ($0.8 million) as the top three local DMAs for expenditures.

Discussion

Advertising expenditures for nicotine pouches have recently exceeded conventional ST product advertising and nicotine pouches are being promoted nationally. Marketing surveillance as well as understanding consumer appeal, perceptions and consumption are critical next steps in tracking potential uptake of these new products.
Hairy black holes in general minimal massive gravity
Authors: Setare M. R. , Oliva Julio , Sajadi S. N.
Published: July 2022

In this work, we investigate the near horizon and asymptotic symmetries of static and rotating hairy-AdS black hole in the framework of general minimal massive gravity. We obtain energy, angular momentum and entropy of the solutions. Then we show that our results for these quantities are consistent with the first law of black hole thermodynamics. By considering the near horizon geometry of black hole, we find near horizon conserved charges and their algebra. By writing the algebra of conserved charges in terms of Fourier modes we have obtained the conserved charges in terms of zero modes.
Hamiltonian analysis of nonlocal F(R) gravity models
Authors: Joshi Pawan , Panda Sukanta
Published: July 2022

We construct a Hamiltonian for the nonlocal F(R) theory in the present work. By this construction, we demonstrate the nature of the ghost degrees of freedom. Finally, we find conditions that give rise to ghost-free theories.
Investor Protection and Post-Disclosure Disagreement: International Evidence
Authors: Chen Tao
Published: July 2022

Synopsis

The research problem

Adding to the literature on investor protection, this study investigates whether nationwide institutional features may explain cross-country variation in post-disclosure disagreement.

Motivation

Previous research has revealed that the release of financial statements aggravates investor disagreement rather than attenuating it. However, most studies only obtain empirical evidence in the context of the United States; no work has examined this research question in an international setting. Another motivation for this paper is the attempt to understand the contradiction in the literature, which emphasizes micro-level determinants. By contrast, minimal attention has been paid to the macro-level institutional factors of a country’s information environment, which presumably prompts investors to shape heterogeneous beliefs.

The test hypotheses

H1: Countries with greater corporate transparency are associated with a lower level of post-disclosure investor disagreement.

H2: Countries with stronger legal protection are associated with a lower level of post-disclosure investor disagreement.

Target population

Various stakeholders include firm managers, financial analysts, regulatory watchdogs, and users of earnings reports.

Adopted methodology

Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) Regressions

Analyses

Gao et al. ( 2012 ) to measure investor disagreement while we quantify corporate transparency (legal protection) by extracting the first principal component of nine countrywide characteristics pertinent to disclosure requirements (legal systems). Using a global sample from 38 countries, we perform a cross-sectional regression of post-disclosure disagreement on two proxies for investor protection after accounting for firm-specific control variables.

Findings

We find clear evidence of post-disclosure disagreement in all countries. Next, we document a negative relationship between corporate transparency (legal protection) and post-disclosure disagreement. Additional tests confirm that both better disclosures and strong regulations enhance information precision, accelerate information dissemination, and reduce informed trading, thus leading to a lower level of post-disclosure disagreement.
FIRMS’ INNOVATION OBJECTIVES AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION STRATEGIES
Authors: ROPER STEPHEN , BECKER BETTINA , LOVE JAMES H. , BONNER KAREN
Published: July 2022

External partnerships play an important role in firms’ acquisition of the knowledge inputs to innovation. Such knowledge acquisition may be interactive - involving exploration and mutual learning - or non-interactive - involving exploitative activity and learning by only one party. Here, we consider how firms’ innovation objectives influence their choice of interactive and/or non-interactive knowledge search. We conduct a comparative analysis for Spain and the UK, which have contrasting innovation eco-systems and regulation burdens. Three empirical results emerge. First, we find strong support for complementarity between non-interactive and interactive knowledge search. Second, we find that where firms have innovation objectives relating to product or service improvement, they are more likely to establish non-interactive search strategies. Third, the innovation objective of reducing environmental impact is significantly related to both, interactive and non-interactive knowledge acquisition strategies. This is likely related to the increasing awareness of the need to promote an agenda based on sustainable growth.
Investigation of coastal environmental change at Ruddons Point, Fife, SE Scotland
Authors: Boyd Sarah Louise , Kinnaird Tim C. , Srivastava Aayush , Whittaker John E. , Bates C. Richard
Published: July 2022

Ruddons Point, on the Firth of Forth coastline, Scotland, is a laterally extensive terrace of glacial and marine sediment deposits raised above current sea-level, situated near to Kincraig Point, a key site that records a series of stepped erosional platforms carved into the local bedrock, interpreted as post Last Glacial Maximum palaeoshorelines. The deposits at Ruddons Point continue inland, with exposures of the raised sands and gravels cut by the local river, the Cocklemill Burn. The site provides an opportunity to examine the depositional history through the Late Devensian and Holocene. Geophysical survey aided in interpreting characteristics of subsurface sediments such as the transition between the younger saltmarsh sediments and older underlying sands and clays below, which slope in a northerly direction. A chronology obtained through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating spans from
c.
29 ka for sands and clays at an elevation of −0.66 mOD to surface windblown sands at <300 years, at an elevation of 8.45 mOD. A basal peat, dated by radiocarbon dating to the early Holocene at
c.
9.2 ka, formed prior to the Main Postglacial Transgression. Dating of inland raised marine deposits along the Cocklemill Burn records dates ranging from
c.
8.9 to
c.
4.3 ka. The raised marine deposits of Ruddons Point range from
c.
8.1 to
c.
2.9 ka, deposited unconformably on glacial tills and clays. This multidisciplinary field study builds depositional scenarios utilizing two dating methods, spanning the last
c.
29 ka, to better understand coastal evolution for a region which has experienced complex relative sea-level variations.

Supplementary material
: Supplementary data related to this research article is available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6080999

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Early Career Research collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/topic/collections/early-career-research
Using Agent-Based Modelling to Evaluate the Impact of Algorithmic Curation on Social Media
Authors: Gausen Anna , Luk Wayne , Guo Ce
Published: July 2022

Social media networks have drastically changed how people communicate and seek information. Due to the scale of information on these platforms, newsfeed curation algorithms have been developed to sort through this information and curate what users see. However, these algorithms are opaque and it is difficult to understand their impact on human communication flows. Some papers have criticised newsfeed curation algorithms that, while promoting user engagement, heighten online polarisation, misinformation, and the formation of echo chambers. Agent-based modelling offers the opportunity to simulate the complex interactions between these algorithms, what users see, and the propagation of information on social media. This article uses agent-based modelling to compare the impact of four different newsfeed curation algorithms on the spread of misinformation and polarisation. This research has the following contributions: (1) implementing newsfeed curation algorithm logic on an agent-based model; (2) comparing the impact of different curation algorithm objectives on misinformation and polarisation; and (3) calibration and empirical validation using real Twitter data. This research provides useful insights into the impact of curation algorithms on how information propagates and on content diversity on social media. Moreover, we show how agent-based modelling can reveal specific properties of curation algorithms, which can be used in improving such algorithms.
Suboptimal Comments in Java Projects: From Independent Comment Changes to Commenting Practices
Authors: Wang Chao , He Hao , Pal Uma , Marinov Darko , Zhou Minghui
Published: July 2022

High-quality source code comments are valuable for software development and maintenance, however, code often contains low-quality comments or lacks them altogether. We name such source code comments as suboptimal comments. Such suboptimal comments create challenges in code comprehension and maintenance. Despite substantial research on low-quality source code comments, empirical knowledge about commenting practices that produce suboptimal comments and reasons that lead to suboptimal comments are lacking. We help bridge this knowledge gap by investigating (1) independent comment changes (ICCs)—comment changes committed independently of code changes—which likely address suboptimal comments, (2) commenting guidelines, and (3) comment-checking tools and comment-generating tools, which are often employed to help commenting practice—especially to prevent suboptimal comments.

We collect 24M+ comment changes from 4,392 open-source GitHub Java repositories and find that ICCs widely exist. TheICC ratio—proportion of ICCs among all comment changes—is ~15.5%, with 98.7% of the repositories having ICC. Our thematic analysis of 3,533 randomly sampled ICCs provides a three-dimensional taxonomy forwhatis changed (four comment categories and 13 subcategories),howit changed (six commenting activity categories), andwhat factorsare associated with the change (three factors). We investigate 600 repositories to understand the prevalence, content, impact, and violations of commenting guidelines. We find that only 15.5% of the 600 sampled repositories have any commenting guidelines. We provide the first taxonomy for elements in commenting guidelines: where and what to comment are particularly important. The repositories without such guidelines have a statistically significantly higher ICC ratio, indicating the negative impact of the lack of commenting guidelines. However, commenting guidelines are not strictly followed: 85.5% of checked repositories have violations. We also systematically study how developers use two kinds of tools, comment-checking tools and comment-generating tools, in the 4,392 repositories. We find that the use ofJavadoctool is negatively correlated with the ICC ratio, while the use ofCheckstylehas no statistically significant correlation; the use of comment-generating tools leads to a higher ICC ratio.

To conclude, we reveal issues and challenges in current commenting practice, which help understand how suboptimal comments are introduced. We propose potential research directions on comment location prediction, comment generation, and comment quality assessment; suggest how developers can formulate commenting guidelines and enforce rules with tools; and recommend how to enhance current comment-checking and comment-generating tools.
Dissecting Cloud Gaming Performance with DECAF
Authors: Iqbal Hassan , Khalid Ayesha , Shahzad Muhammad
Published: July 2022

Cloud gaming platforms have witnessed tremendous growth over the past two years, with a number of large Internet companies including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Nvidia publicly launching their own platforms. However, there is an absence of systematic performance measurement methodologies which can generally be applied. In this paper, we implement DECAF, a methodology to systematically analyze and dissect the performance of cloud gaming platforms across different game genres and game platforms. By applying DECAF, we measure the performance of Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and Nvidia GeForceNow, and uncover a number of important findings such as processing delays in the cloud comprise majority of the total round trip delay (≈73.54%), the video streams delivered by these platforms are characterized by high variability of bitrate, frame rate, and resolution. Our work has important implications for cloud gaming platforms and opens the door for further research on measurement methodologies for cloud gaming.
Power of Bonus in Pricing for Crowdsourcing
Authors: Shin Suho , Choi Hoyong , Yi Yung , Ok Jungseul
Published: July 2022

We consider a simple form of pricing for a crowdsourcing system, where pricing policy is published a priori, and workers then decide their task acceptance. Such a pricing form is widely adopted in practice for its simplicity, e.g., Amazon Mechanical Turk, although additional sophistication to pricing rule can enhance budget efficiency. With the goal of designing efficient and simple pricing rules, we study the impact of the following two design features in pricing policies: (i) personalization tailoring policy worker-by-worker and (ii) bonus payment to qualified task completion. In the Bayesian setting, where the only prior distribution of workers' profiles is available, we first study the Price of Agnosticism (PoA) that quantifies the utility gap between personalized and common pricing policies. We show that PoA is bounded within a constant factor under some mild conditions, and the impact of bonus is essential in common pricing. These analytic results imply that complex personalized pricing can be replaced by simple common pricing once it is equipped with a proper bonus payment. To provide insights on efficient common pricing, we then study the efficient mechanisms of bonus payment for several profile distribution regimes which may exist in practice. We provide primitive experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk, which support our analytical findings[5].
Cerberus
Authors: Griner Chen , Zerwas Johannes , Blenk Andreas , Ghobadi Manya , Schmid Stefan , Avin Chen
Published: July 2022

The bandwidth and latency requirements of modern datacenter applications have led researchers to propose various topology designs using static, dynamic demand-oblivious (rotor), and/or dynamic demand-aware switches. However, given the diverse nature of datacenter traffic, there is little consensus about how these designs would fare against each other. In this work, we analyze the throughput of existing topology designs under different traffic patterns and study their unique advantages and potential costs in terms of bandwidth and latency "tax''. To overcome the identified inefficiencies, we propose Cerberus, a unified, two-layer leaf-spine optical datacenter design with three topology types. Cerberus systematically matches different traffic patterns with their most suitable topology type: e.g., latency-sensitive flows are transmitted via a static topology, all-to-all traffic via a rotor topology, and elephant flows via a demand-aware topology. We show analytically and in simulations that Cerberus can improve throughput significantly compared to alternative approaches and operate datacenters at higher loads while being throughput-proportional.