bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Costs and Cardiovascular Benefits in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease From a Fourth-Generation Synchronous Telehealth Program: Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Lee Jen-Kuang , Hung Chi-Sheng , Huang Ching-Chang , Chen Ying-Hsien , Wu Hui-Wen , Chuang Pao-Yu , Yu Jiun-Yu , Ho Yi-Lwun
Published: April 2021

Background

Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) are at high risk for major cardiovascular events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and hospitalization for heart failure. We have previously shown the clinical efficacy of a fourth-generation synchronous telehealth program for some patients, but the costs and cardiovascular benefits of the program for PAD patients remain unknown.

Objective

The telehealth program is now widely used by higher-risk cardiovascular patients to prevent further cardiovascular events. This study investigated whether patients with PAD would also have better cardiovascular outcomes after participating in the fourth-generation synchronous telehealth program.

Methods

This was a retrospective cohort study. We screened 5062 patients with cardiovascular diseases who were treated at National Taiwan University Hospital and then enrolled 391 patients with a diagnosis of PAD. Of these patients, 162 took part in the telehealth program, while 229 did not and thus served as control patients. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) based on the propensity score was used to mitigate possible selection bias. Follow-up outcomes included heart failure hospitalization, acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and all-cause readmission during the 1-year follow-up period and through the last follow-up.

Results

The mean follow-up duration was 3.1 (SD 1.8) years for the patients who participated in the telehealth program and 3.2 (SD 1.8) for the control group. The telehealth program patients exhibited lower risk of ischemic stroke than did the control group in the first year after IPTW (0.9% vs 3.5%; hazard ratio [HR] 0.24; 95% CI 0.07-0.80). The 1-year composite endpoint of vascular accident, including acute coronary syndrome and stroke, was also significantly lower in the telehealth program group after IPTW (2.4% vs 5.2%; HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.21-0.997). At the end of the follow-up, the telehealth program group continued to exhibit a significantly lower rate of ischemic stroke than did the control group after IPTW (0.9% vs 3.5%; HR 0.52, 95% CI 0.28-0.93). Furthermore, the medical costs of the telehealth program patients were not higher than those of the control group, whether in terms of outpatient, emergency department, hospitalization, or total costs.

Conclusions

The PAD patients who participated in the fourth-generation synchronous telehealth program exhibited lower risk of ischemic stroke events over both mid- and long-term follow-up periods. However, larger-scale and prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm our findings.
Capturing COVID-19–Like Symptoms at Scale Using Banner Ads on an Online News Platform: Pilot Survey Study
Authors: Dixon Brian E , Mukherjee Sumit , Wiensch Ashley , Gray Mary L , Ferres Juan M Lavista , Grannis Shaun J
Published: April 2021

Background

Identifying new COVID-19 cases is challenging. Not every suspected case undergoes testing, because testing kits and other equipment are limited in many parts of the world. Yet populations increasingly use the internet to manage both home and work life during the pandemic, giving researchers mediated connections to millions of people sheltering in place.

Objective

The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of using an online news platform to recruit volunteers willing to report COVID-19–like symptoms and behaviors.

Methods

An online epidemiologic survey captured COVID-19–related symptoms and behaviors from individuals recruited through banner ads offered through Microsoft News. Respondents indicated whether they were experiencing symptoms, whether they received COVID-19 testing, and whether they traveled outside of their local area.

Results

A total of 87,322 respondents completed the survey across a 3-week span at the end of April 2020, with 54.3% of the responses from the United States and 32.0% from Japan. Of the total respondents, 19,631 (22.3%) reported at least one symptom associated with COVID-19. Nearly two-fifths of these respondents (39.1%) reported more than one COVID-19–like symptom. Individuals who reported being tested for COVID-19 were significantly more likely to report symptoms (47.7% vs 21.5%; P<.001). Symptom reporting rates positively correlated with per capita COVID-19 testing rates (R2=0.26; P<.001). Respondents were geographically diverse, with all states and most ZIP Codes represented. More than half of the respondents from both countries were older than 50 years of age.

Conclusions

News platforms can be used to quickly recruit study participants, enabling collection of infectious disease symptoms at scale and with populations that are older than those found through social media platforms. Such platforms could enable epidemiologists and researchers to quickly assess trends in emerging infections potentially before at-risk populations present to clinics and hospitals for testing and/or treatment.
Transitioning to Remote Clinic Visits in a Smoking Cessation Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Evaluation
Authors: Mahoney Martin Christopher , Park Eunhee , Schlienz Nicolas J , Duerr CeCe , Hawk Larry W
Published: April 2021

Background

The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, has caused disruptions in ongoing clinical trials and is expected to accelerate interest in conducting research studies remotely.

Objective

A quasi-experimental, mixed methods approach was used to examine the rates of visit completion as well as the opinions and experiences of participants enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial of smoking cessation who were required to change from in-person clinic visits to remote visits using video or telephone conferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

For quantitative comparisons, we used a quasi-experimental design, comparing a cohort of participants followed during the pandemic (n=23, COVID-19 cohort) to a comparable cohort of participants followed over a similar time period in the calendar years 2018 and 2019 (n=51, pre–COVID-19 cohort) to examine the rates of completion of scheduled visits and biospecimen collection. For the qualitative component, interviews were conducted with participants who experienced the transition from in-person to remote visits.

Results

Participants in the COVID-19 cohort completed an average of 83.6% of remote clinic visits (95% CI 73.1%-91.2%), which was not significantly different than the in-person completion rate of 89.8% in the pre–COVID-19 cohort. Participants in the COVID-19 cohort returned an average of 93.2% (95% CI 83.5%-98.1%) of saliva specimens for remote clinic visits completed, which was not significantly different than the in-person saliva specimen completion rate of 100% in the pre–COVID-19 cohort. Two broad themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) the benefits of remote visits and (2) the challenges of remote counseling compared to in-person counseling. Despite limited experience with telehealth prior to this transition, most participants expressed a willingness to engage in remote visits in the future.

Conclusions

Even in the context of a rapid transition from in-person to remote visits necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of visit completion and return of biospecimens remained high. Participants were generally accepting of the transition. Further research is needed to identify the optimal mix of in-person and remote visits beyond the pandemic context and to better understand how these changes may impact study outcomes.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03262662; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT03262662
Reduction in Hospital System Opioid Prescribing for Acute Pain Through Default Prescription Preference Settings: Pre–Post Study (Preprint)
Authors: Slovis Benjamin Heritier , Riggio Jeffrey M , Girondo Melanie , Martino Cara , Babula Bracken , Roke Lindsey M , Kairys John C
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

The United States is in an opioid epidemic. Passive decision support in the electronic health record (EHR) through opioid prescription presets may aid in curbing opioid dependence.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to determine whether modification of opioid prescribing presets in the EHR could change prescribing patterns for an entire hospital system.

METHODS

We performed a quasi-experimental retrospective pre–post analysis of a 24-month period before and after modifications to our EHR’s opioid prescription presets to match Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. We included all opioid prescriptions prescribed at our institution for nonchronic pain. Our modifications to the EHR include (1) making duration of treatment for an opioid prescription mandatory, (2) adding a quick button for 3 days’ duration while removing others, and (3) setting the default quantity of all oral opioid formulations to 10 tablets. We examined the quantity in tablets, duration in days, and proportion of prescriptions greater than 90 morphine milligram equivalents/day for our hospital system, and compared these values before and after our intervention for effect.

RESULTS

There were 78,246 prescriptions included in our study written on 30,975 unique patients. There was a significant reduction for all opioid prescriptions pre versus post in (1) the overall median quantity of tablets dispensed (54 [IQR 40-120] vs 42 [IQR 18-90]; P<.001), (2) median duration of treatment (10.5 days [IQR 5.0-30] vs 7.5 days [IQR 3.0-30]; P<.001), and (3) proportion of prescriptions greater than 90 morphine milligram equivalents/day (27.46% [10,704/38,976; 95% CI 27.02%-27.91%] vs 22.86% [8979/39,270; 95% CI 22.45%-23.28%]; P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Modifications of opioid prescribing presets in the EHR can improve prescribing practice patterns. Reducing duration and quantity of opioid prescriptions could reduce the risk of dependence and overdose.
Socioeconomic Disparities in eHealth Literacy and Preventive Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hong Kong: Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)
Authors: Guo Ziqiu , Zhao Sheng Zhi , Guo Ningyuan , Wu Yongda , Weng Xue , Wong Janet Yuen-Ha , Lam Tai Hing , Wang Man Ping
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

eHealth literacy can potentially facilitate web-based information seeking and taking informed measures.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate socioeconomic disparities in eHealth literacy and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19, and their associations with COVID-19 preventive behaviors.

METHODS

The COVID-19 Health Information Survey (CoVHIns), using telephonic (n=500) and web-based surveys (n=1001), was conducted among adults in Hong Kong in April 2020. The Chinese eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS; score range 8-40) was used to measure eHealth literacy. COVID-19 preventive behaviors included wearing surgical masks, wearing fabric masks, washing hands, social distancing, and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system. Adjusted beta coefficients and the slope indices of inequality for the eHEALS score by socioeconomic status, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 by socioeconomic status, and aORs for the high adherence to preventive behaviors by the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 were calculated.

RESULTS

The mean eHEALS score was 26.10 (SD 7.70). Age was inversely associated with the eHEALS score, but education and personal income were positively associated with the eHEALS score and seeking of web-based information on COVID-19 (for all, P for trend<.05). Participants who sought web-based information on COVID-19 showed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.13), washing hands (aOR 1.33, 95% CI 1.05-1.71), social distancing (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 1.14-1.93), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.28-2.18). Those with the highest eHEALS score displayed high adherence to the practice of wearing surgical masks (aOR 3.84, 95% CI 1.63-9.05), washing hands (aOR 4.14, 95% CI 2.46-6.96), social distancing (aOR 2.25, 95% CI 1.39-3.65), and adding water or bleach to the household drainage system (aOR 1.94, 95% CI 1.19-3.16), compared to those with the lowest eHEALS score.

CONCLUSIONS

Chinese adults with a higher socioeconomic status had higher eHealth literacy and sought more web-based information on COVID-19; both these factors were associated with a high adherence to the guidelines for preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participant Perceptions of Facilitators and Barriers to Adherence in a Digital Mental Health Intervention for a Nonclinical Cohort: Content Analysis (Preprint)
Authors: Renfrew Melanie Elise , Morton Darren Peter , Northcote Maria , Morton Jason Kyle , Hinze Jason Scott , Przybylko Geraldine
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

Digital mental health promotion interventions (MHPIs) present a scalable opportunity to attenuate the risk of mental health distress among nonclinical cohorts. However, adherence is frequently suboptimal, and little is known about participants’ perspectives concerning facilitators and barriers to adherence in community-based settings.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine participants’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to adherence in a web- and mobile app–based MHPI for a nonclinical cohort.

METHODS

This qualitative study used inductive, reflexive thematic analysis to explore free-text responses in a postintervention evaluation of a 10-week digital MHPI. The intervention was administered using a web and mobile app from September to December 2018. Participants (N=320) were Australian and New Zealand members of a faith-based organization who self-selected into the study, owned a mobile phone with messaging capability, had an email address and internet access, were fluent in English, provided informed consent, and gave permission for their data to be used for research. The postintervention questionnaire elicited participants’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to adherence during the intervention period.

RESULTS

Key factors that facilitated adherence were engaging content, time availability and management, ease of accessibility, easy or enjoyable practical challenges, high perceived value, and personal motivation to complete the intervention. The primary perceived barrier to adherence was the participants’ lack of time. Other barriers included completing and recording practical activities, length of video content, technical difficulties, and a combination of personal factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Time scarcity was the foremost issue for the nonclinical cohort engaged in this digital MHPI. Program developers should streamline digital interventions to minimize the time investment for participants. This may include condensed content, optimization of intuitive web and app design, simplified recording of activities, and greater participant autonomy in choosing optional features. Nonetheless, participants identified a multiplicity of other interindividual factors that facilitated or inhibited adherence.
Machine Learning Applied to Clinical Laboratory Data in Spain for COVID-19 Outcome Prediction: Model Development and Validation (Preprint)
Authors: Domínguez-Olmedo Juan L , Gragera-Martínez Álvaro , Mata Jacinto , Pachón Álvarez Victoria
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the greatest health catastrophe of the modern era. Spain’s health care system has been exposed to uncontrollable numbers of patients over a short period, causing the system to collapse. Given that diagnosis is not immediate, and there is no effective treatment for COVID-19, other tools have had to be developed to identify patients at the risk of severe disease complications and thus optimize material and human resources in health care. There are no tools to identify patients who have a worse prognosis than others.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to process a sample of electronic health records of patients with COVID-19 in order to develop a machine learning model to predict the severity of infection and mortality from among clinical laboratory parameters. Early patient classification can help optimize material and human resources, and analysis of the most important features of the model could provide more detailed insights into the disease.

METHODS

After an initial performance evaluation based on a comparison with several other well-known methods, the extreme gradient boosting algorithm was selected as the predictive method for this study. In addition, Shapley Additive Explanations was used to analyze the importance of the features of the resulting model.

RESULTS

After data preprocessing, 1823 confirmed patients with COVID-19 and 32 predictor features were selected. On bootstrap validation, the extreme gradient boosting classifier yielded a value of 0.97 (95% CI 0.96-0.98) for the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve, 0.86 (95% CI 0.80-0.91) for the area under the precision-recall curve, 0.94 (95% CI 0.92-0.95) for accuracy, 0.77 (95% CI 0.72-0.83) for the F-score, 0.93 (95% CI 0.89-0.98) for sensitivity, and 0.91 (95% CI 0.86-0.96) for specificity. The 4 most relevant features for model prediction were lactate dehydrogenase activity, C-reactive protein levels, neutrophil counts, and urea levels.

CONCLUSIONS

Our predictive model yielded excellent results in the differentiating among patients who died of COVID-19, primarily from among laboratory parameter values. Analysis of the resulting model identified a set of features with the most significant impact on the prediction, thus relating them to a higher risk of mortality.
Digital Health–Enabled Community-Centered Care: Scalable Model to Empower Future Community Health Workers Using Human-in-the-Loop Artificial Intelligence (Preprint)
Authors: Rodrigues Sarah M , Kanduri Anil , Nyamathi Adeline , Dutt Nikil , Khargonekar Pramod , Rahmani Amir M
Published: April 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

Digital health–enabled community-centered care (D-CCC) represents a pioneering vision for the future of community-centered care. D-CCC aims to support and amplify the digital footprint of community health workers through a novel artificial intelligence–enabled closed-loop digital health platform designed for, and with, community health workers. By focusing digitalization at the level of the community health worker, D-CCC enables more timely, supported, and individualized community health worker–delivered interventions. D-CCC has the potential to move community-centered care into an expanded, digitally interconnected, and collaborative community-centered health and social care ecosystem of the future, grounded within a robust and digitally empowered community health workforce.
Correction: Theory Integration for Lifestyle Behavior Change in the Digital Age: An Adaptive Decision-Making Framework (Preprint)
Authors: Zhang Chao , Lakens Daniël , IJsselsteijn Wijnand A
Published: April 2021

UNSTRUCTURED

REMOVE
Long-Term Immunosuppression Management
Authors: Wojciechowski David , Wiseman Alexander
Published: April 2021

The long-term management of maintenance immunosuppression in kidney transplant recipients remains complex. The vast majority of patients are treated with the calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus as the primary agent in combination with mycophenolate, with or without corticosteroids. A tacrolimus trough target 5–8 ng/ml seems to be optimal for rejection prophylaxis, but long-term tacrolimus-related side effects and nephrotoxicity support the ongoing evaluation of noncalcineurin inhibitor–based regimens. Current alternatives include belatacept or mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors. For the former, superior kidney function at 7 years post-transplant compared with cyclosporin generated initial enthusiasm, but utilization has been hampered by high initial rejection rates. Mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors have yielded mixed results as well, with improved kidney function tempered by higher risk of rejection, proteinuria, and adverse effects leading to higher discontinuation rates. Mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors may play a role in the secondary prevention of squamous cell skin cancer as conversion from a calcineurin inhibitor to an mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor resulted in a reduction of new lesion development. Early withdrawal of corticosteroids remains an attractive strategy but also is associated with a higher risk of rejection despite no difference in 5-year patient or graft survival. A major barrier to long-term graft survival is chronic alloimmunity, and regardless of agent used, managing the toxicities of immunosuppression against the risk of chronic antibody-mediated rejection remains a fragile balance.
Consumer willingness to pay for a hypothetical Chagas disease vaccine in Brazil: a cross-sectional study and the implications
Authors: Athie Thannuse Silva , Nascimento Gesiane Cavalcante , Labis da Costa Maria José , Sales Silva Juliana de , Reis Edna Afonso , Martin Antony Paul , Godman Brian , Dias Godói Isabella Piassi
Published: April 2021

Aim:
Chagas disease is a serious public health problem, endemic in 21 countries in Latin America. A future vaccine can contribute to decreasing the number of cases and its complications.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted with residents of the northern region of Brazil, on the willingness to pay for a hypothetical vaccine against Chagas disease (effective protection of 80%).
Results:
We interviewed 619 individuals and seven were excluded from the analysis and the value of willingness to pay was US$23.77 (100.00 BRL).
Conclusion:
The Northern region of Brazil is one of the largest markets for this vaccine, due to its epidemiological relevance, so economic studies with this vaccine will be important to assist in the assessment of technologies.
Formation of MAO-coatings of high thickness on titanium alloys and evaluation of tribological properties in friction pair with bronze
Authors: Ivanov V. G. , Bublikov V. S.
Published: April 2021

The article presents experimental data on the effect of microarc oxidation parameters on the thickness and structure of the MAO-coating and its tribological characteristics in friction against bronze. The appli- cation of thick antifriction coatings by the MAO-method on titanium alloys has been developed. The possibility of using MAO-coatings of high thickness in sliding friction units was investigated.
Research of the properties of fiberglass based on polyetheretherketone
Authors: Kolpachkov E. D. , Pavlov D. V. , Vavilova M. I. , Zhirikov A. A.
Published: April 2021

This article presents the results of studies of the properties of fiberglass based on polyetheretherke- tone (PEEK). A comparative analysis of the physical, thermophysical, elastic-strength and dielectric properties of fiberglass based on PEEK and fiberglass based on epoxy binder is carried out. The results of a study of the fire-insulating properties of fiberglass based on PEEK are presented.
Board characteristics and financial institutions’ performance: Evidence from an emerging market
Authors: Bajaher Mohammed Saleh , Thabet Omer Bin , Alshehri Amer , Alshehri Fatimah
Published: April 2021

One of the main objectives of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the board variables (namely: board size, board meetings, board compositions, board diversity, and CEO duality), variables and Qatari financial institutions’ performance measured by ROA, ROE, and EPS. Another objective of this paper is to compare the performance of conventional financial institution are more profitable than Islamic ones. The study uses 56 listed financial institutions in the Qatari exchange market. The panel data regression was used to analyse the data in this paper. The results found that the board meeting is positively associated with all performance measures. Moreover, board size has a positive relationship with EPS while board compositions are positively associated with ROA. However, board diversity has a negative relationship with all performance measures. Finally, the results failed to report any statistically significant and negative relationship between CEO duality and financial institutions’ performance. In addition, the results indicate that Islamic institutions are of lower performance compared to non-Islamic institutions.
RELIGIOUS HERITAGE AND VALUES PERFECTING PEACEFULNESS AMONG THE CONTEMPORARY YORÙBÁ
Authors: Olayinka Akintayo Sunday
Published: April 2021

This paper presents the roles that religious heritage among the Yorùbá
plays in sustaining their peacefulness. The Yorùbá use both formal and
informal interactions to engage one another in discourses that enhance
their togetherness but often faced with outside influences that can
truncate their desired goals. This paper, therefore, places the Yorùbá
by the established peaceful societies (PS) to see how they compare in
their attitude to peacefulness and providing explanation to the Yorùbá’s
effort to keep the peace despite the outside influences on their
society.

Please note: The bulk of this article is taken from chapter 8
of the author’s doctoral dissertation with a few amendments to suit this
journal.

Keywords: Christian-Muslim relations, peace studies, Africa -
Yorùbá, religious – ethics, culture – values, Covid-19.
Mass mortality of Nile tilapia caused by co-infection with Enterogyrus spp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalinae) and Aeromonas jandaei following transport stress
Authors: Assane Inácio Mateus , Prada-Mejia Karen Dayana , Gallani Sílvia Umeda , Weiser Natasha Fernandes , Valladão Gustavo Moraes Ramos , Pilarski Fabiana
Published: April 2021

Monogenean infection of the internal organs is extremely rare when
compared to external infections. This study describes mass mortality of
Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) originating from
co-infection with Enterogyrus spp. and Aeromonas jandaei
following transport stress. The first fish deaths occurred on day 1
post-transport, while cumulative mortality reached approximately 90% by
day 10 post-stocking. An atypical amount of pale (whitish) faeces
floating on the surface of the water as well as typical clinical signs
of motile Aeromonas septicemia, were reported. Adult monogeneans and
countless eggs of monogeneans were found in the stomachs and the
intestines of both moribund and dead fish, respectively. Two strains of
A. jandaei were isolated from the kidneys. Scanning electron
microscope microphotographs of the stomach revealed the presence of
numerous monogeneans penetrating deep into the gastric tissue, and
diffuse lesions filled with bacilliform bacteria. This is the first
report of co-infection by Enterogyrus spp. and A. jandaei
in Nile tilapia and the first report of E. coronatus, E.
foratus, and E. malbergi parasitizing tilapia in Brazil. These
findings indicate that synergic co-infection by Monogenean stomach
parasites (E. coronatus, E. foratus, and E.
malbergi) and A. jandaei may induce high mortalities in tilapia
following transport stress.
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus musculus) genome: population structure and history in the North Atlantic
Authors: Jossey Sushma , Haddrath Oliver , Loureiro Livia , Lim Burton , Miller Jacqueline , Lok Si , Scherer Stephen , Goksoyr Anders , Lille-Langøy Roger , Kovacs K , Lydersen Christian , Routti Heli , Engstrom Mark
Published: April 2021

Knowledge of genetic diversity and structure is essential for developing
conservation strategies for endangered species. The advances in museum
genomics can assist in better understanding the effects of over-hunting
on the genome by comparing historical to present-day samples. Blue
whales were hunted to the point of near extinction in the mid-twentieth
century. Herein, we use whole genome sequencing to elucidate the poorly
understood population structure of North Atlantic (NA) blue whales
(Balaenoptera musculus musculus). We generated a de novo genome assembly
of 2.49 Mbp for a NA blue whale (N50 of 1.46 Mb) to analyze 19 whole
genomic sequences and 28 complete mitochondrial genomes. We included
present-day and historical samples (earliest from 1900) from the
Atlantic and Antarctica to understand the impact of whaling on the
genetic diversity. We found low population structuring, but high genetic
diversity, suggesting a single, panmictic population in the NA. We
identified gene flow from fin whale to blue whales, accounting for
~3.5% of the genome. Introgression between blue and fin
whales was observed in all the present-day samples but were lacking in
some whales sampled early in the 20th century, which suggests increasing
disruption in mate choice concomitant with decline in blue whale
population. We also assembled and analyzed the transcriptome and
revealed positive selection of oncogenes, which may be involved in
reduced cancer rates in this largest of mammals ever known. Our
sequencing and population structuring studies provide a genomic
framework to guide ongoing conservation strategies for this iconic
species.
Effect of Recycled Aggregates on the Energy Dissipation Capacity of RC Beam subjected to Reverse Cyclic Flexural Loading
Authors: Riaz Muhammad Rizwan , Hameed Rashid , Akmal Usman , Gillani Asad Ali , Ilyas Muhammad
Published: April 2021

The energy dissipation capacity of concrete is an important aspect for a Reinforced Concrete (RC) structure to be seismically resistant. Various types of concrete incorporating sustainable materials are being developed these days such as recycled aggregate concrete. Determination of energy dissipation capacity of such new types of concrete is of great importance for their application in RC structures which are to be constructed in seismically active areas. In this regard, the experimental study presented in this contribution investigated the energy dissipation capacity of RC beams constructed using recycled aggregate concrete and subjected to three different deflection amplitude levels of reverse cyclic flexural loading. For this purpose, a total of 20 RC beams of cross section 75 x 150 mm and length of 1350 mm were cast using five different concrete compositions and tested. Among five different concrete compositions, one was control concrete containing 100% natural aggregates while the remaining four compositions were of recycled aggregate concrete containing natural and recycled aggregates. Four replacement levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of natural aggregates with recycled aggregates were examined. Results indicated that the amplitude level of imposed deflection is an important factor which influenced the value of energy dissipated by RC beams. Further, results showed that RC beam constructed using recycled aggregate concrete containing 25% recycled aggregates exhibited energy dissipation capacity similar to or even better than that of control RC beam containing 100% natural aggregates.
Machine Learning Classification of Port Scanning and DDoS Attacks: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Aamir Muhammad , Rizvi Syed Sajjad Hussain , Hashmani Manzoor Ahmed , Zubair Muhammad , Usman Jawwad Ahmed .
Published: April 2021

Cyber security is one of the major concerns of today’s connected world. For all the platforms of today’s communication technology such as wired, wireless, local and remote access, the hackers are present to corrupt the system functionalities, circumvent the security measures and steal sensitive information. Amongst many techniques of hackers, port scanning and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are very common. In this paper, the benefits of machine learning are taken into consideration for classification of port scanning and DDoS attacks in a mix of normal and attack traffic. Different machine learning algorithms are trained and tested on a recently published benchmark dataset (CICIDS2017) to identify the best performing algorithms on the data which contains more recent vectors of port scanning and DDoS attacks. The classification results show that all the variants of discriminant analysis and Support Vector Machine (SVM) provide good testing accuracy i.e. more than 90%. According to a subjective rating criterion mentioned in this paper, 9 algorithms from a set of machine learning experiments receive the highest rating (good) as they provide more than 85% classification (testing) accuracy out of 22 total algorithms. This comparative analysis is further extended to observe training performance of machine learning models through k-fold cross validation, Area Under Curve (AUC) analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves, and dimensionality reduction using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA). To the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive comparison of various machine learning algorithms on CICIDS2017 dataset is found to be deficient for port scanning and DDoS attacks while considering such recent features of attack.
FPGA Implementation of RLSE Algorithm for Multichannel Brain Imaging
Authors: Nazir Muhammad Shahid , Khan Haroon-Ur-Rasheed , Akram Abubaker , Maheshwari Bhagesh , Aqil Muhammad
Published: April 2021

This paper describes the implementation of a computationally efficient embedded system on an Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform for real-time brain activity estimation with multiple channels. The brain signals from multiple channels are considered as output of independent linear systems with unknown parameters representing the brain activity in corresponding channels. Multiple adaptive Recursive Least-Squares Estimation (RLSE) cores are implemented in FPGA to independently estimate the brain activity in each channel concurrently. The proposed RLSE-FPGA system provides dedicated (no time or resource sharing) and parallel processing environment. The universal asynchronous receiver transmitter core is also developed to communicate the measured and estimated parameters supported by storage facility programmed as shared memory. The computational precision is guaranteed by deploying a 32-bit floating point core for all the variables. The validation carried out by real Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy dataset and comparative analysis with the previously reported result, demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed system. The computational cost endorses the effectiveness of concurrent processing of multiple channelsꞌ data in a sample before the arrival of the next sample. The proposed methodology has potential in real-time medical, military and industrial applications.
Real time availability and consistency of health-related information across multiple stakeholders: A blockchain based approach
Authors: Dodevski Zlate , Filiposka Sonja , Mishev Anastas , Trajkovik Vladimir
Published: April 2021

Sensitivity of the health-related data and the focus on compliance and security has traditionally emphasized the need for centralized approach while implementing Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems. These one-institutional architectural designs are leading to fragmented and scattered pieces of valuable data across various data warehouses and silos. Interoperability challenges arise due to the absence of unified data management and exchange mechanisms making the social need for fundamental design changes bigger. The capability of a distributed ledger technology and blockchain to offer immutable, decentralized and cryptographically secured record of transactions throughout a peer-to-peer network can facilitate better collaboration and increased interoperability in the field of health and insurance information exchange processes. The paper examines different approaches and application of blockchain technology and identifies which implementations of components are more suitable and beneficial for the specific eco-system analyzed in the paper. This paper presents alternative way of dealing with information exchange across multiple stakeholders by justifying the use of decentralized approach, distributed access and solution how to comprehensively track and assemble health related data. We propose an architectural design and overview of a specific use case with focus on information exchange processes between health insurance providers and health care organizations, by using blockchain as an underlying technology. The architectural overview and data flows, backed up by sequence diagrams from specific use cases offered in this paper, can serve as a guide to the blockchain technology adoption and initial setup.
Assessment of preparation time and 1-year Invisalign aligner attachment survival using flowable and packable composites:
Authors: Lin Shuang , Huang Ling , Li Jialing , Wen Juan , Mei Li , Xu Haipeng , Zhang Lu , Li Huang
Published: April 2021

Objectives

To compare preparation time and 1-year Invisalign aligner attachment survival between a flowable composite (FC) and a packable composite (PC).

Materials and Methods

Fifty-five participants (13 men and 42 women, mean age ± SD: 24.2 ± 5.9 years) were included in the study. Ipsilateral quadrants (ie, maxillary and mandibular right, or vice versa) of attachments were randomly assigned to the FC group (Filtek Z350XT Flowable Restorative) and the PC group (Filtek Z350XT Universal Restorative) by tossing a coin. The primary outcome was preparation time. The secondary outcome was time to the first damage of an attachment. Preparation times were compared using the paired t-test, and the survival data were analyzed by the Cox proportional hazards model with a shared frailty term, with α = .05.

Results

The preparation times were significantly shorter with the FC (6.22 ± 0.22 seconds per attachment) than with the PC (32.83 ± 2.16 seconds per attachment; P < .001). The attachment damage rates were 14.79% for the FC and 9.70% for the PC. According to the Cox models, attachment damage was not significantly affected by the attachment material, sex, arch, tooth location, attachment type, presence of overbite, or occurrence of tooth extraction.

Conclusions

The use of a FC may save time as compared with the use of a PC. With regard to attachment survival, there was no significant difference between the two composites. None of the covariates of attachment materials (sex, arch, tooth location, attachment type, presence of overbite, oir occurrence of tooth extraction) affected attachment damage.
IMPROVED METHOD AND SECURITY CONTROL TOOLS FOR GRAPHICAL HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE OF INFORMATION SYSTEM
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Dubuk V. І. , Kotsun V. І. ,   European University, Lviv Branch, Chornyj М. V. ,   European University, Lviv Branch
Published: April 2021

The ac­tua­lity, analysis and prac­ti­cal re­ali­sa­ti­on of impro­ved met­hod and techno­lo­gi­cal se­cu­red control to­ols of hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce of in­for­ma­ti­on system are con­si­de­red and pre­sen­ted. The fe­atu­res of softwa­re control to­ols of in­for­ma­ti­on system bu­ilt on the ba­sis of grap­hi­cal ele­ments are de­fi­ned. The cor­res­pon­dent analysis of met­hods of prac­ti­cal re­ali­za­ti­on of control to­ols of hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce of in­for­ma­ti­on system is fullfil­led. The pre­fe­ren­ce of met­hods of au­to­ma­ted in­tel­li­gent co­ding with uti­li­sa­ti­on of spe­ci­al softwa­re with res­pect to ot­her met­hods of de­sign of hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce control is de­fi­ned. The fe­atu­res of Q-plat­form, which is ba­sed on the cre­ati­on and uli­li­za­ti­on of grap­hi­cal two-di­men­si­onal QR-co­des for prac­ti­cal re­ali­za­ti­on of control to­ols of hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce are descri­bed. The fe­atu­res of softwa­re Smart Tags pro­du­ced by BlackBerry Li­mi­ted for scan­ning, ge­ne­ra­ti­on and spre­ading of small da­ta in the forms of bar co­de, QR-co­de and in the de­co­ded form for fi­le na­mes, di­gi­tal se­ri­es are in­ves­ti­ga­ted and pre­sen­ted. The met­hod of prac­ti­cal re­ali­za­ti­on of control to­ol in hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce of in­for­ma­ti­on system is descri­bed. The dif­fe­rent prac­ti­cal appro­ac­hes for de­sign of control ele­ments in hu­man-mac­hi­ne grap­hi­cal users in­ter­fa­ce are con­si­de­red and analysed. The complex appro­ach for control to­ols de­ve­lop­ment ba­sed on the mer­ge of met­hods of vis­ual prog­ram ob­ject-ori­en­ted co­ding with usa­ge of bu­ilt-in instru­ments of spre­adshe­ets pro­ces­sors for de­ve­lo­ping of form in­ter­fa­ce and da­ta analysis is used. The re­sult of prac­ti­cal re­ali­za­ti­on of form as control to­ol in hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce is pre­sen­ted. The functi­ona­lity of de­ve­lo­ped control to­ol in hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce is tes­ted. The prac­ti­cal so­lu­ti­on of se­cu­red control to­ol of in­for­ma­ti­on system with ele­ment of se­cu­red ac­cess control to da­ta, which are sto­red re­mo­tedly is de­ve­lo­ped and pre­sen­ted. The op­por­tu­nity of cross-plat­form exchan­ge of de­sig­ned grap­hi­cal forms in the con­tent of hu­man-mac­hi­ne in­ter­fa­ce and softwa­re co­de at the me­di­um of spre­adshe­et pro­ces­sor MS Of­fi­ce Ex­cel un­der the control of dif­fe­rent ope­ra­ti­on systems from Mic­ro­soft Win­dows fa­mily is ela­bo­ra­ted. The control to­ol, which is bu­ilt on the ba­sis of ela­bo­ra­ted appro­ach pre­sen­ted in the form with QR-co­de, was cre­ated suc­cessfully and tes­ted at the con­tent of in­for­ma­ti­on system. The perspe­ci­ve di­rec­ti­ons of de­sign of se­cu­red di­alog­ue to­ols of in­for­ma­ti­on systems are con­si­de­red.
IMPROVEMENT OF CYCLIC CODES EFFECTIVENESS BY COMBINATORIAL OPTIMIZATION METHODS
Authors:   Lviv Polytechnic National University, Riznyk V. V. , Skrybaylo-Leskiv D. Yu. ,   Lviv Polytechnic National University
Published: April 2021

The methods of improving the cyclic codes efficiency constructed on the basis of combinatorial configurations of the type "ideal ring bundles" (IRB) s by three factors – correction ability, power of coding method and complexity of the decoding procedure are considered. The method is based on the principle of combinatorial optimization, grounded on the algebraic theory of ordered integer sequences with a circular structure, all the numbers, as well as all sums of consecutive numbers exhaust the value sofnatural row numbers. Two theoretically grounded approaches to increase of noise immunity of cyclic codes are offered: implementation of optimized IRB-code, as well as monolithic and group one. Optimized cyclic IRB-code favorably differs from the rest of the codes of this class by the highest correction capacity at the same length of code words. Optimized IRB-codes constitute a large group of cyclic codes designed on a combinatorial models with selection of corresponding relationships between the parameters of the code to achieve its specified technical characteristics. Noise protected monolithic and group codes belong to the group of self-correcting codes with a ring structure and probabilistic assessment of the level of noise protection. This property allow so instant lydetect a particular part or all invalid characters in the code word by the majority principle. Mathematical calculations have been performed to calculate the optimized ratios between the parameters of cyclic IRB-codes, under which they reach maximum correction capacity. The algorithm of constructing and increasing the power of coding methods of optimized noise-resistant IRB-codes is examined and analyzed. The concrete examples of increase efficiency of combinatorial optimization cyclic codes methods with appropriate calculations and tables are given. The comparative analysis of the IRB-codes with the Golay codes and Bose – Chaudhuri – Hocquenghe (BCH) codes with respect to correction ability, power encoding method and computational complexity of decoding procedures is carried out. The advantages and disadvantages of cyclic, and ringmonolithic and group IRB-codes in comparison with classical analogues are determined. The prospect so fusing the research results in the problems of information and communication technologies are outlined.
LINGUODIDAC DESCRIPTION OF AUTHORIZATION MEANS AS PART OF LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE (PROBLEM STATEMENT)
Authors: Завьялова Ольга Сергеевна , Христу Мария
Published: April 2021

Рассматриваются грамматические средства, используемые говорящим для обозначения источника информации при организации высказывания. Цель высказывания - передача сведений, полученных в коммуникативных актах, предшествующих конкретному акту коммуникации. Показано, что эти грамматические средства, принадлежащие разным разделам языка, не охарактеризованы в полной мере в научно-методической литературе, прежде всего в нормативных документах, регламентирующих обучение иностранцев русскому языку. Восполнить существующий пробел в прикладном описании системы языка (ее фрагмента) можно, опираясь на результаты ее исследования в теоретической лингвистике. Для определения места грамматических средств указания на источник информации в системе языка авторы обращаются к концепции коммуникативной грамматики Г. А. Золотовой, к предложенным в рамках этой концепции понятиям «авторизация», «средства авторизации». При рассмотрении системы средств авторизации в русском языке с позиций теоретической лингвистики формулируются и научно обосновываются задачи их изучения и описания в лингводидактическом аспекте, в целях обучения языку.

The paper considers the grammatical means used by speakers to indicate the source of information when organizing an utterance, the purpose of which is to transfer information received in communicative acts preceding a specific act of communication. It is shown that these grammatical means belonging to different language system divisions are not fully characterized in the methodological literature and, first of all, in the normative documents regulating the teaching of Russian to foreigners. Filling the gap existing in the applied description of the language system (its fragment) supposes it to be built on the language research by theoretical linguistics. To determine the place of grammatical means of indicating the source of information in the language system, the authors turn to the communicative grammar of G. A. Zolotova, to the concepts of “authorization” and “authorization means” proposed within this linguistic model. When considering the system of authorization means in the Russian language from the standpoint of theoretical linguistics, the objectives of their study and description in the linguodidactic aspect are formulated and scientifically substantiated. Linguodidactic conception of authorization means (not yet described satisfactorily in the methodological literature) based on the language system provides the basis for the most efficient presentation of this material to a foreign audience and for the learners’ success in acquiring this part of Russian grammar.