bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Infection Control in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Shrestha Sailesh Kumar , Bhattarai Ratna Bahadur , Joshi Lok Raj , Adhikari Nilaramba , Shrestha Suvesh Kumar , Basnet Rajendra , K. C. Kedar Narsingh
Published: March 2021

Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) transmission is an important problem, particularly in low-income settings. This study is aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practices of DR-TB infection control among the healthcare workers under the National Tuberculosis Control Program in Nepal. In this cross-sectional study, we studied the healthcare workers from all the 11 functioning DR-TB treatment centers across Nepal in March 2018. Through face-to-face interviews, trained data collectors collected data on the characteristics of healthcare workers, their self-reported knowledge, attitude, and practice on DR-TB infection control. We entered the data in Microsoft Excel and analyzed in the R statistical software. We assigned a score of one to the correct response and zero to the incorrect or no response and calculated a composite score in each of the knowledge, attitude, and practice domains. We ascertained the healthcare workers as having good knowledge, appropriate attitude, and optimal practices when the composite score was ≥50%. We summarized the numerical variables with median (interquartile range (IQR)) and the categorical variables with proportions. We ran appropriate correlation tests to identify relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. We regarded a

p

value of <0.05 as significant. A total of 95 out of 102 healthcare workers responded. There were 46 male respondents. The median age was 33 years (IQR 26-42). Most of them (53, 55.79%) were midlevel paramedics. We found 91 (95.79%) respondents had good knowledge, 49 (51.58%) had an appropriate attitude, and 35 (36.84%) had optimal practices on DR-TB infection control. We found a statistically significant positive correlation between attitude and practice scores (

ρ
=
0.37

,

p
≤
0.001

). The healthcare workers at the DR-TB treatment centers in Nepal have good knowledge of DR-TB infection control, but it did not translate into an appropriate attitude or optimal practices.
Inhibiting Cardiac Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Oxidation Attenuates Myocardial Injury in a Rat Model of Cardiac Arrest
Authors: Wang Peng , Zhang Fan , Pan Liming , Tan Yunke , Song Fengqing , Ge Qiulin , Huang Zitong , Yao Lan
Published: March 2021

Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO) is involved in myocardial damage after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This study is aimed at investigating the effect of inhibiting mitochondrial FAO on myocardial injury and the underlying mechanisms of postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction. Rats were induced, subjected to 8 min of ventricular fibrillation, and underwent 6 min of CPR. Rats with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) were randomly divided into the Sham group, CPR group, and CPR + Trimetazidine (TMZ) group. Rats in the CPR + TMZ group were administered TMZ (10 mg/kg) at the onset of ROSC via the right external jugular vein, while rats in the CPR group were injected with equivalent volumes of vehicle. The sham rats were only administered equivalent volumes of vehicle. We found that the activities of enzymes related to cardiac mitochondrial FAO were partly improved after ROSC. TMZ, as a reversible inhibitor of 3‐ketoacyl CoA thiolase, inhibited myocardial mitochondrial FAO after ROSC. In the CPR + TMZ group, the levels of mitochondrial injury in cardiac tissue were alleviated following attenuated myocardial damage and oxidative stress after ROSC. In addition, the disorder of cardiac mitochondrial metabolism was ameliorated, and specifically, the superfluous succinate related to mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was decreased by inhibiting myocardial mitochondrial FAO with TMZ administration after ROSC. In conclusion, in the early period after ROSC, inhibiting cardiac mitochondrial FAO attenuated excessive cardiac ROS generation and preserved myocardial function, probably by alleviating the dysfunction of cardiac mitochondrial metabolism in a rat model of cardiac arrest.
HGF-Modified Dental Pulp Stem Cells Mitigate the Inflammatory and Fibrotic Responses in Paraquat-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Authors: Geng Panpan , Zhang Yuning , Zhang Huan , Dong Xiwen , Yang Yuefeng , Zhu XiaoNa , Wu Chu-Tse , Wang Hua
Published: March 2021

Paraquat (PQ) poisoning can cause acute lung injury and progress to pulmonary fibrosis and eventually death without effective therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) have been shown to partially reverse this damage. MSCs can be derived from bone marrow (BM-MSCs), adipose tissue (AD-MSCs), umbilical cord (UC-MSCs), dental pulp (DPSCs), and other sources. The biological characteristics of MSCs are specific to the tissue source. To develop an effective treatment for PQ poisoning, we compared the anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects of UC-MSCs and DPSCs and chose and modified a suitable source with HGF to investigate their therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo. In this study, MSCs’ supernatant was beneficial to the viability and proliferation of human lung epithelial cell BEAS-2B. Inflammatory and fibrosis-related cytokines were analyzed by real-time PCR. The results showed that MSCs’ supernatant could suppress the expression of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines and increase the expression of anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic cytokines in BEAS-2B cells and human pulmonary fibroblast MRC-5. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from MSCs performed more effectively than MSCs’ supernatant. The effect of DPSCs was stronger than that of UC-MSCs and was further strengthened by HGF modification. PQ-poisoned mice were established, and UC-MSCs, DPSCs, and DPSCs-HGF were administered. Histopathological assessments revealed that DPSCs-HGF mitigated lung inflammation and collagen accumulation more effectively than the other treatments. DPSCs-HGF reduced lung permeability and increased the survival rate of PQ mice from 20% to 50%. Taken together, these results indicated that DPSCs can suppress inflammation and fibrosis in human lung cells better than UC-MSCs. The anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects were significantly enhanced by HGF modification. DPSCs-HGF ameliorated pulmonitis and pulmonary fibrosis in PQ mice, effectively improving the survival rate, which might be mediated by paracrine mechanisms. The results suggested that DPSCs-HGF transplantation was a potential therapeutic approach for PQ poisoning.
Changes to Biceps and Supraspinatus Tendons in Response to a Progressive Maximal Treadmill-Based Propulsion Aerobic Fitness Test in Manual Wheelchair Users: A Quantitative Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Study
Authors: Leclerc Mylène , Gauthier Cindy , Brosseau Rachel , Desmeules François , Gagnon Dany H.
Published: March 2021

Relevance. To develop personalized cardiorespiratory fitness training programs among manual wheelchair users and assess their impact over time, the completion of a performance-based maximal cardiorespiratory fitness test is required. However, these tests could potentially increase the risk exposure for the development of upper limb secondary musculoskeletal impairments. Hence, finding an equilibrium between the need to measure aerobic fitness and the increased risk of developing secondary musculoskeletal impairments when completing performance-based test is fundamental. Objective. To investigate if the completion of a recently developed treadmill-based wheelchair propulsion maximal progressive workload incremental test alters the integrity of the long head of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons using musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging biomarkers. Method. Fifteen manual wheelchair users completed the incremental test. Ultrasound images of the long head of the biceps and supraspinatus tendons were recorded before, immediately after, and 48 hours after the completion of the test using a standardized protocol. Geometric, composition, and texture-related ultrasound biomarkers characterized tendon integrity. Results. Participants propelled during

10.2
±
2.9
 
minutes

with the majority (

N
=
13
/
15

) having reached at least the eighth stage of the

test
 
(
speed
=
0.8
 
m
/
s

;

slope
=

3.6

°

). All ultrasound biomarkers characterizing tendon integrity, measured in the longitudinal and transversal planes for both tendons, were similar (

p
=
0.063

to 1.000) across measurement times. Conclusion. The performance of the motorized treadmill wheelchair propulsion test to assess aerobic fitness produced no changes to ultrasound biomarkers of the biceps or supraspinatus tendons. Hence, there was no ultrasound imaging evidence of a maladaptive response due to overstimulation in these tendons immediately after and 48 hours after the performance of the test.
Bounds of Degree-Based Molecular Descriptors for Generalized
F
-sum Graphs
Authors: Liu Jia Bao , Akram Sana , Javaid Muhammad , Raheem Abdul , Hasni Roslan
Published: March 2021

A molecular descriptor is a mathematical measure that associates a molecular graph with some real numbers and predicts the various biological, chemical, and structural properties of the underlying molecular graph. Wiener (1947) and Trinjastic and Gutman (1972) used molecular descriptors to find the boiling point of paraffin and total

π

-electron energy of the molecules, respectively. For molecular graphs, the general sum-connectivity and general Randić are well-studied fundamental topological indices (TIs) which are considered as degree-based molecular descriptors. In this paper, we obtain the bounds of the aforesaid TIs for the generalized

F

-sum graphs. The foresaid TIs are also obtained for some particular classes of the generalized

F

-sum graphs as the consequences of the obtained results. At the end,

3
 
D

-graphical presentations are also included to illustrate the results for better understanding.
Antidiabetic Drugs and Prostate Cancer Prognosis in a Finnish Population-Based Cohort
Authors: Vihervuori Ville J. , Talala Kirsi , Taari Kimmo , Lahtela Jorma , Tammela Teuvo L.J. , Auvinen Anssi , Raittinen Paavo , Murtola Teemu J.
Published: March 2021

Background:

Hyperinsulemia and glycemic control may play a role as prostate cancer prognostic factors, whereas use of certain antidiabetic drugs, that is metformin, could improve the prognosis. We examined the link between antidiabetic medication use and prostate cancer survival taking into account simultaneous use of multiple drugs.

Methods:

The study cohort composed of 6,537 men in The Finnish Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer with prostate cancer diagnosed 1996 to 2009. Use of medication was attained from the nationwide prescription database of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Median follow-up was 9.2 years postdiagnosis. A total of 1,603 (24,5%) men had used antidiabetic medication. A total of 771 men died of prostate cancer during the follow-up. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox regression to evaluate the risk of prostate cancer death and onset of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with adjustment for prostate cancer clinical characteristics, comorbidities and use of other drugs. Separate analyses were further adjusted for blood glucose.

Results:

Risk of prostate cancer death was higher among antidiabetic drug users overall (HR = 1.42; 95% CI, 1.18–1.70) compared with nonusers, separately among insulin and metformin users. Adjustment for blood glucose level abolished the risk increase. Risk of ADT initiation was increased among the medication users (HR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.05–1.49).

Conclusions:

Men with prostate cancer using antidiabetic medication are generally at increased risk of dying from prostate cancer compared with nonusers. The risk association is driven by underlying diabetes, as adjustment for blood glucose level ameliorates the risk increase.

Impact:

Type 2 diabetes should be considered as a risk factor when considering prostate cancer prognosis.
Causal Effects of Lifetime Smoking on Breast and Colorectal Cancer Risk: Mendelian Randomization Study
Authors: Dimou Niki , Yarmolinsky James , Bouras Emmanouil , Tsilidis Konstantinos K. , Martin Richard M. , Lewis Sarah J. , Gram Inger T. , Bakker Marije F. , Brenner Hermann , Figueiredo Jane C. , Fortner Renée T. , Gruber Stephen B. , van Guelpen Bethany , Hsu Li , Kaaks Rudolf , Kweon Sun-Seog , Lin Yi , Lindor Noralane M. , Newcomb Polly A. , Sánchez Maria-Jose , Severi Gianluca , Tindle Hilary A. , Tumino Rosario , Weiderpass Elisabete , Gunter Marc J. , Murphy Neil
Published: March 2021

Background:

Observational evidence has shown that smoking is a risk factor for breast and colorectal cancer. We used Mendelian randomization (MR) to examine causal associations between smoking and risks of breast and colorectal cancer.

Methods:

Genome-Wide Association Study summary data were used to identify genetic variants associated with lifetime amount of smoking (n = 126 variants) and ever having smoked regularly (n = 112 variants). Using two-sample MR, we examined these variants in relation to incident breast (122,977 cases/105,974 controls) and colorectal cancer (52,775 cases/45,940 controls).

Results:

In inverse-variance weighted models, a genetic predisposition to higher lifetime amount of smoking was positively associated with breast cancer risk [OR per 1-SD increment: 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00–1.26; P = 0.04]; although heterogeneity was observed. Similar associations were found for estrogen receptor–positive and estrogen receptor–negative tumors. Higher lifetime amount of smoking was positively associated with colorectal cancer (OR per 1-SD increment, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.04–1.40; P = 0.01), colon cancer (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.11–1.55; P < 0.01), and rectal cancer (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.07–1.73; P = 0.01). Ever having smoked regularly was not associated with risks of breast (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.90–1.14; P = 0.85) or colorectal cancer (OR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.86–1.10; P = 0.68).

Conclusions:

These findings are consistent with prior observational evidence and support a causal role of higher lifetime smoking amount in the development of breast and colorectal cancer.

Impact:

The results from this comprehensive MR analysis indicate that lifetime smoking is a causal risk factor for these common malignancies.
Sugar-Sweetened Soda Consumption and Total and Breast Cancer Mortality: The Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) Study
Authors: Koyratty Nadia , McCann Susan E. , Millen Amy E. , Nie Jing , Trevisan Maurizio , Freudenheim Jo L.
Published: March 2021

Background:

There is growing evidence of an association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and increased risk of mortality in various populations. However, SSB influence on mortality among patients with breast cancer is unknown.

Methods:

We assessed the relationship between sugar-sweetened soda and both all-cause and breast cancer mortality among women with incident, invasive breast cancer from the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer Study. Breast cancer cases were followed for a median of 18.7 years, with ascertainment of vital status via the National Death Index. Frequency of sugar-sweetened soda consumption was determined via dietary recall using a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards, adjusting for relevant variables, were used to estimate HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results:

Of the 927 breast cancer cases, 386 (54.7%) had died by the end of follow-up. Compared with never/rarely sugar-sweetened soda drinkers, consumption at ≥5 times per week was associated with increased risk of both total (HR = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.16–2.26; Ptrend < 0.01) and breast cancer mortality (HR = 1.85; 95% CI, 1.16–2.94; Ptrend < 0.01). Risk of mortality was similarly increased among ER-positive, but not ER-negative patients; among women with body mass index above the median, but not below the median; and among premenopausal, but not postmenopausal women for total mortality only.

Conclusions:

Reported higher frequency of sugar-sweetened soda intake was associated with increased risks of both total and breast cancer mortality among patients with breast cancer.

Impact:

These results support existing guidelines on reducing consumption of SSB, including for women with a diagnosis of breast cancer.
New Insights into the Molecular Profile of Penile Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: McGregor Bradley A. , Sonpavde Guru P.
Published: March 2021

Genomic alterations in penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) appear similar to squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck and esophagus but not lung, skin, bladder, and cervix. PSCCs display genomic heterogeneity, low mutation burden, and potentially actionable alterations in the Notch, DNA repair, kinase, and cell-cycle pathways.

See related article by Chahoud et al., p. 2560
The relation between nostalgia and vitalism in ‘Afscheid van Congo: met Jef Geeraerts terug naar de evenaar’ by Erwin Mortier
Authors: Bolle Clara
Published: March 2021

This essay elaborates on my presentation on nostalgia and postcolonial literature, as presented at the 8th symposium of the Ghent Africa Platform held in autumn 2014. During this presentation I made a short analysis of how Svetlana Boym’s ideas on nostalgia, as expressed in her book Nostalgia for the Future, can be used to analyse Erwin Mortier’s memories of traveling, as noted in his book Afscheid van Congo: met Jef Geeraerts terug naar de evenaar (Goodbye to Congo: back to the equator with Jef Geeraerts). During my presentation I also introduced the relation between nostalgia and (aesthetic) vitalism. In this paper I will elaborate on the relation between nostalgia and vitalism as a phenomenon within (post)colonial literature.
Langues bantoues de l’entre Congo-Ubangi (RD Congo): documentation, reconstruction, classification et contacts avec les langues oubanguiennes
Authors: Donzo Jean-Pierre Bunza
Published: March 2021

This PhD thesis consists of the documentation, reconstruction and classification of ten Bantu langages (bolondó, bonyange, ebudzá, ebwela, libóbi, lingͻmbε, mondóngó, monyͻngͻ, mosángé, págaɓéte) spoken in the geographical area between the Congo and Ubangi Rivers in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The study examines the interaction between these languages and seven neighboring Ubangian languages (gbánzírí, gͻbú, maɓó, mbānzā, monzͻmbͻ, ngbandi, ngbaka-mīnāgendē). By means of a lexicostatistical study which determines the degree of lexical similarity between the languages under study, a phylogenetic classification has been established which integrates these languages in the larger sample of 401 Bantu languages used by Grollemund et al. (2015). This quantitative approach has generated Neighbor-Net and Neighbor-Joining networks as well as Bayesian trees, which indicate the internal sub-groups of the Bantu family in general, and more specifically of the Bantu languages of the central Congo basin to which the Bantu languages spoken between the Congo and Ubangi Rivers belong. Subsequently, we have undertaken a descriptive and comparative study of the those languages as well as a study of regular sound correspondances with regard to Proto-Bantu. They possess certain foreign phonemes that have not been reconstructed to Proto-Bantu, such as implosives and labiovelar stops, which have the status of distinct phonemes. The study of these specific sounds suggests that they were borrowed from the neighboring Ubangian languages. The lexical comparison also revealed an interaction between Bantu and Ubangian languages. Certain lexical borrowings were transferred from Bantu to Ubangian, while others moved in the opposite direction. Through the comparative method, we have obtained a phonological reconstruction of the hypothetical ancestor language of these langues. This Proto-Congo-Ubangi Bantu split into two sub-branches, i.e. Proto-Congo Bantu and Proto-Ubangi Bantu.
‘Makhosi a via (Chiefs Commit Ritual Murder)’ – Why ritual murders in Southern Africa should be seen as meaningful violence (and not senseless)
Authors: de Jong Wiebe
Published: March 2021

Ritual or muti murder involves the practice wherein parts of the victim’s body are removed, usually while the victim is alive, for the purpose of making medicine to politically or economically strengthen those who use it. In this article it is argued that, in order to understand this ritual, we should focus on the cultural dynamics of ritual murder and perceive it as meaningful violence. There is, however, a growing tendency to understand ritual murders in rational, utilitarian terms, which has the inadvertent effect of missing the ‘thick description’ that may provide insight into the meaning of ritual murders and the question of why it persists in present-day society. As will be explained, with such an approach ritual murders can only appear as senseless. It cuts off the research at the point where it should actually start: with questions of meaning. By presenting historical and ethnographic evidence from South Africa, it is shown that ritual murders were once an accepted means of strengthening the king or chief, and as such, of preserving the whole society. It is argued that in the present day, people still practise ritual murders to politically or economically strengthen themselves, but that this point is neglected in public debate and the media. By focusing on two recent ritual murder cases, it is shown that this neglect has severe consequences for thinking about, and dealing with ritual murders.
Purported use and self-awareness of cognitive and metacognitive foreign language reading strategies in tertiary education in Mozambique
Authors: Cabinda Manuel
Published: March 2021

This paper explores the results of a Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS)-based questionnaire administered to 28 university student participants. The study is carried out in a post-colonial multilingual context, Mozambique. The main aims of the paper are to assess the degree of purported use and awareness of participants own use of reading comprehension skills and strategies in a foreign language (English). The participants were tested for their reading text comprehension using an IELTS comprehension test (Cabinda, 2013). The results revealed low reading comprehension levels. Results contrast with results from the SORS-based questionnaire (Cabinda, 2013) which revealed claims of use of a wide range of cognitive, metacognitive and supply strategies – aspects of high level reading ability and text comprehension. Conclusions show that the participants used or claimed to chiefly use metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies equally, matching the behaviour of good readers, but they also reported a high degree of supply strategies to construe meaning from text, mainly code-switching, translation and cognates. The latter confirms results from studies by Jimenez et al. (1995, 1996) and Zhang & Wu (2009), yet do not conclusively show a correlation between the participants’ degree of text comprehension and their effective use of reading skills and strategies to construe meaning. Further conclusions show that the reported high use of these L1 (Portuguese or other) related supply strategies (not used by English L1 readers) does not aid their reading comprehension.
1. Lebanon
Authors: El-Richani Sarah
Published: March 2021

The Lebanese media, much like Lebanon itself, are boisterous and colorful. The pluralism that characterizes Lebanese society is reflected in its Babelesque media. In addition to the gamut of voices represented, freedom of expression is generally respected, with the occasional transgressions. This chapter assesses the state of the Lebanese media from its inception to the present day, taking stock of the legal and political framework and the challenges encountered as well as the prospects for media in Lebanon.
Inter-basin and Multi-time Scale Interactions in generating the 2019 Extreme Indian Ocean Dipole
Authors: Zhang Lei , Han Weiqing , Hu Zeng-Zhen
Published: March 2021

An unprecedented extreme positive Indian Ocean Dipole event (pIOD) occurred in 2019, which has caused widespread disastrous impacts on countries bordering the Indian Ocean, including the East African floods and vast bushfires in Australia. Here we investigate the causes for the 2019 pIOD by analyzing multiple observational datasets and performing numerical model experiments. We find that the 2019 pIOD is triggered in May by easterly wind bursts over the tropical Indian Ocean associated with the dry phase of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation, and sustained by the local atmosphere-ocean interaction thereafter. During September-November, warm sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the central-western tropical Pacific further enhance the Indian Ocean’s easterly winds, bringing the pIOD to an extreme magnitude. The central-western tropical Pacific warm SSTA is strengthened by two consecutive Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) events that originate from the tropical Indian Ocean. Our results highlight the important roles of cross-basin and cross-timescale interactions in generating extreme IOD events. The lack of accurate representation of these interactions may be the root for a short lead time in predicting this extreme pIOD with a state-of-the-art climate forecast model.
Thinking outside the (temporal) box to explain protracted intrastate conflict
Authors: Blaxland Joel
Published: March 2021

Conflict duration has been one of the central and enduring questions driving civil war literature. Still not enough attention has been given to the interdependency of conflict duration dynamics. In an effort to bridge the gap this study introduces a new variable that positions conflict duration as a function of the duration of the pre-conflict phase. I argue proto-insurgents are able to protract conflict due to good choices made before large-scale conflict erupted – or during a period of time called ‘incubation’. After controlling for standard explanations, this study offers statistical evidence that proto-insurgent incubation duration is statistically significant and positively related to conflict duration. This study further explores the usefulness of thinking outside of the standard temporal space of wartime by moving beyond the widely accepted assumption that insurgents are empowered and constrained primarily by wartime decisionmaking and the wartime environment in which they find themselves.
“I Do Not Want to be a Weekend Papa”: The Demographic “Crisis,” Active Fatherhood, and Emergent Caring Masculinities in Berlin
Authors: Joshi Meghana
Published: March 2021

In this article, I explore German men’s relation to the emerging ideal of the father figure in general, and their conceptualizations and practices of this ideal as exemplified in the notion of aktive Vaterschaft (active fatherhood) in particular. I draw upon ethnographic data collected in Berlin (2010–2013) among three groups of West German men who converge in how they conceptualize and seek presence—sensual, emotional, and in absentia—in the lives of their children. Here, paternal labor includes striving for regular contact with one’s child through routine care, emotional labor, and/or legal routes. This article, thus, furthers scholarship on forms of paternal labor, arguing that aktive Vaterschaft potentially re-signifies gender roles and destabilizes persistent negative representations of fathers. The contemporary demographic “crisis,” corresponding policy reforms that encourage male caregiving, shifts in discourses around fathers’ roles, and men’s social presence as caregivers facilitate and produce these particular forms of caring masculinities.
Recursive Bivariate Probit Analysis of Injury Severity and Non-Truck Improper Actions in Large Truck-Related Crashes on Florida Suburban Roads
Authors: Wang Zhenyu , Vasili Abhijit , Yang Runan , Lin Pei-Sung
Published: March 2021

This study investigated the hierarchical connection among injury severity, non-truck improper actions, and contributing factors in large-truck-involved crashes. Data for 4 years (2011–2014) of crashes that involved a large truck (≥ 10,000 lb) and a non-truck vehicle were collected from suburban roads in Florida, U.S. A recursive bivariate probit model was fitted with collected data to identify the cause-effect chain, including contributing factors influenced by improper actions, the effects of improper actions on injury severity, and contributing factors indirectly affecting injury severity in large-truck-related crashes. Study results indicate that non-truck vehicle improper actions, such as excessive speed, careless driving, failure to yield right-of-way, and others, significantly increase the likelihood of fatal and severe injury in large-truck crashes, and factors such as crash month, darkness, intersection-related, surface and shoulder width, truck parking, truck driver age, non-truck driver age, and non-truck alcohol/drug impaired indirectly influence injury severity through their impacts on non-truck improper actions. Two factors—truck right-turn and non-truck driver physical defects—affect injury severity and non-truck improper actions simultaneously. Other factors, including crash year, annual average daily traffic, speed limit, crash type, truck type, truck speed, truck alcohol/drug-impaired, and motorcycle involvement, directly contribute to injury severity in large-truck crashes and have no influence on non-truck improper actions.
Methodology to Increase Flexibility in Inter-Region Flow Control for Urban Traffic
Authors: Kim Sunghoon , Menendez Monica , Yeo Hwasoo
Published: March 2021

Perimeter control is used to regulate transfer flows between urban regions. The greedy control (GC) method takes either the minimum or the maximum for the control inputs. Although it has the advantage of simplicity for real-time feasibility, a few existing studies have shown that it can sometimes have negative impacts because of unnecessary transfer flow restrictions. To reduce unnecessary restrictions, this study provides a method that gives flexibility to ease the strict conditions of the conventional GC. First, we propose a modification as a way of granting exceptions to the flow restriction under specific conditions. Second, we develop an algorithm to determine the threshold dynamically for accepting the exception, by comparing the possible outflow loss of the subject region and the possible outflow gain of its neighboring regions. The test results show that this flexible greedy control can handle the balance between the transfer demands and the greed of regions for securing the supply level, while increasing the performance in both vehicle hours traveled and trip completion.
Assessing the Differential Impact of Vacancy on Criminal Violence in the City of St. Louis, MO
Authors: Fox Branson , Trolard Anne , Simmons Mason , Meyers Jessica E. , Vogel Matt
Published: March 2021

This study employs risk terrain modeling to identify the spatial correlates of aggravated assault and homicide in St. Louis, MO. We build upon the empirical literature by (1) replicating recent research examining the role of vacancy in the concentration of criminal violence and (2) examining whether the environmental correlates of violence vary between north and south St. Louis, a boundary that has long divided the city along racial and socioeconomic lines. Our results indicate that vacancy presents a strong, consistent risk for both homicide and aggravated assault and that this pattern emerges most clearly in the northern part of the city which is majority African American and has suffered chronic disinvestment. The concentration of criminal violence in South City is driven primarily by public hubs including housing, transportation, and schools. Our results underscore the importance of vacancy as a driver of the spatial concentration of violent crime and point to potential heterogeneity in risk terrain modeling results when applied to large metropolitan areas. Situational crime prevention strategies would be well served to consider such spatial contingencies as the risk factors driving violent crime are neither uniformly distributed across space nor uniform in their impact on criminal violence.
Disorder or Disadvantage: Investigating the Tension Between Neighborhood Social Structure and the Physical Environment on Local Violence
Authors: Barton Michael S. , Valasik Matthew A. , Brault Elizabeth
Published: March 2021

A renewed interest in understanding the relationship of the built environment with neighborhood crime patterns has encouraged researchers to utilize novel methods (e.g., risk terrain modeling) to better examine the influence of environmental risk factors on types of crime. The current study engages with this research by operationalizing neighborhoods using Hipp and Boessen’s egohood strategy and using Drawve’s aggregate neighborhood risk of crime measure to assess the relationship of a neighborhood’s physical environment with its spatial vulnerability of experiencing a homicide. Findings demonstrate that the physical environment was a significant predictor of neighborhood homicide; however, social structural neighborhood characteristics were more important. This suggests crime prevention strategies like crime prevention though environmental design or blight remediation may provide prudent and straightforward methods to inhibit lethal violence in a community in the short run, but that addressing a neighborhood’s social structural characteristics may be more effective at reducing homicides in the long term.
Effect of Undertriage on the Outcomes of Cancer Patients with Febrile Neutropenia, Sepsis, and Septic Shock
Authors: Alsharawneh Anas
Published: March 2021

Sepsis and neutropenia are considered the primary life-threatening complications of cancer treatment and are the leading cause of hospitalization and death. The objective was to study whether patients with neutropenia, sepsis, and septic shock were identified appropriately at triage and receive timely treatment within the emergency setting. Also, we investigated the effect of undertriage on key treatment outcomes. We conducted a retrospective analysis of all accessible records of admitted adult cancer patients with febrile neutropenia, sepsis, and septic shock. Our results identified that the majority of patients were inappropriately triaged to less urgent triage categories. Patients’ undertriage significantly prolonged multiple emergency timeliness indicators and extended length of stay within the emergency department and hospital. These effects suggest that triage implementation must be objective, consistent, and accurate because of the several influences of the assigned triage scoring on treatment and health outcomes.
Collegiate Sport Club Athletes’ Psychological Well-Being and Perceptions of Their Team Climate
Authors: Scott Chelsi E. , Fry Mary D. , Weingartner Hannah , Wineinger Troy O.
Published: March 2021

The purpose of this study was to consider how the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) Triple-Impact Competitor (TIC) workshop could be used to help create a positive climate for recreational sport club participants, and to examine how perceptions of a positive team climate related to indices of psychological well-being among sport club athletes. At the beginning of their season, sport club leaders completed the PCA TIC workshop. Following the conclusion of the spring season, we invited all sport club participants ( N = 109) to complete a survey that examined the motivational climate on their teams, as well as their hope, happiness, and self-kindness. Athletes’ perceptions of a CTI climate were significantly and positively related to their hope, happiness, and self-kindness. Results suggest that the PCA TIC training is an inexpensive strategy that may foster a positive environment within university sport club teams and may assist programs in promoting indices of psychological well-being among club sport athletes.
Monitoring the Impact of Aggressive Glycemic Intervention during Critical Care after Cardiac Surgery with a Glycemic Expert System for Nurse-Implemented Euglycemia: The MAGIC GENIE Project
Authors: Rao R. Harsha , Perreiah Peter L. , Cunningham Candace A.
Published: March 2021

A novel, multi-dimensional protocol named GENIE has been in use for intensive insulin therapy (IIT, target glucose <140 mg/dL) in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) after open heart surgery (OHS) at VA Pittsburgh since 2005. Despite concerns over increased mortality from IIT after the publication of the NICE-SUGAR Trial, it remains in use, with ongoing monitoring under the MAGIC GENIE Project showing that GENIE performance over 12 years (2005-2016) aligns with the current consensus that IIT with target blood glucose (BG) <140 mg/dL is advisable only if it does not provoke severe hypoglycemia (SH). Two studies have been conducted to monitor glucometrics and outcomes during GENIE use in the SICU. One compares GENIE ( n = 382) with a traditional IIT protocol (FORMULA, n = 289) during four years of contemporaneous use (2005-2008). The other compares GENIE’s impact overall ( n = 1404) with a cohort of patients who maintained euglycemia after OHS (euglycemic no-insulin [ENo-I], n = 111) extending across 12 years (2005-2016). GENIE performed significantly better than FORMULA during contemporaneous use, maintaining lower time-averaged glucose, provoking less frequent, severe, prolonged, or repetitive hypoglycemia, and achieving 50% lower one-year mortality, with no deaths from mediastinitis (0 of 8 cases vs 4 of 9 on FORMULA). Those benefits were sustained over the subsequent eight years of exclusive use in OHS patients, with an overall one-year mortality rate (4.2%) equivalent to the ENo-I cohort (4.5%). The results of the MAGIC GENIE Project show that GENIE can maintain tight glycemic control without provoking SH in patients undergoing OHS, and may be associated with a durable survival benefit. The results, however, await confirmation in a randomized control trial.
Thermal properties of wood measured by the hot-disk method: comparison with thermal properties measured by the steady-state method
Authors: Maeda Kei , Tsunetsugu Yuko , Miyamoto Kohta , Shibusawa Tatsuya
Published: March 2021

The hot-disk method is a transient method for the measurement of thermal properties. This method can measure both the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity in a short time for isotropic materials. To establish a method for measuring the thermal properties of wood by the hot-disk method, the relationship between the thermal properties of wood obtained by the hot-disk method and those obtained by the steady-state method was investigated. The thermal properties were measured by the hot-disk method using small pieces of kiri (Paulownia tomentosa), sugi (Cryptomeria japonica), hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa), yachidamo (Fraxinus mandshurica), and buna (Fagus crenata) when the hot-disk sensor was in contact with the cross section, radial section, and tangential section. The thermal conductivities in the longitudinal, radial, and tangential directions were also measured by the comparison method using the same specimen. The thermal properties obtained by the hot-disk method and the steady-state method were compared, based on the assumption that the thermal diffusivity measured by the hot-disk method was the geometric mean of that in the two main directions in the plane of the sensor, and the thermal conductivity measured by the hot-disk method was a power of that in three main directions. As a result, the thermal conductivity obtained by the hot-disk method was 10–20% higher than that obtained by the steady-state method; the thermal diffusivity measured by the hot-disk method was equal to that obtained by the steady-state method on average, while in the former thermal diffusivity varied widely. These results were found to be explainable in terms of the Dufour effect, which is the heat flow induced by the mass flow caused by the heating of the sensor, and the existing findings on the time dependence of the sensitivity coefficient in the hot-disk method. The present study proposed two methods for calculating the thermal properties of wood from the hot-disk method were proposed, and it was found that the errors between the obtained thermal properties and those obtained by the steady-state method differed depending on the calculation method.
InstantDL: an easy-to-use deep learning pipeline for image segmentation and classification
Authors: Waibel Dominik Jens Elias , Shetab Boushehri Sayedali , Marr Carsten
Published: March 2021

Background

Deep learning contributes to uncovering molecular and cellular processes with highly performant algorithms. Convolutional neural networks have become the state-of-the-art tool to provide accurate and fast image data processing. However, published algorithms mostly solve only one specific problem and they typically require a considerable coding effort and machine learning background for their application.

Results

We have thus developed InstantDL, a deep learning pipeline for four common image processing tasks: semantic segmentation, instance segmentation, pixel-wise regression and classification. InstantDL enables researchers with a basic computational background to apply debugged and benchmarked state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms to their own data with minimal effort. To make the pipeline robust, we have automated and standardized workflows and extensively tested it in different scenarios. Moreover, it allows assessing the uncertainty of predictions. We have benchmarked InstantDL on seven publicly available datasets achieving competitive performance without any parameter tuning. For customization of the pipeline to specific tasks, all code is easily accessible and well documented.

Conclusions

With InstantDL, we hope to empower biomedical researchers to conduct reproducible image processing with a convenient and easy-to-use pipeline.
Multi-species transcriptome meta-analysis of the response to retinoic acid in vertebrates and comparative analysis of the effects of retinol and retinoic acid on gene expression in LMH cells
Authors: Falker-Gieske Clemens , Mott Andrea , Franzenburg Sören , Tetens Jens
Published: March 2021

Background

Retinol (RO) and its active metabolite retinoic acid (RA) are major regulators of gene expression in vertebrates and influence various processes like organ development, cell differentiation, and immune response. To characterize a general transcriptomic response to RA-exposure in vertebrates, independent of species- and tissue-specific effects, four publicly available RNA-Seq datasets from Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, and Xenopus laevis were analyzed. To increase species and cell-type diversity we generated RNA-seq data with chicken hepatocellular carcinoma (LMH) cells. Additionally, we compared the response of LMH cells to RA and RO at different time points.

Results

By conducting a transcriptome meta-analysis, we identified three retinoic acid response core clusters (RARCCs) consisting of 27 interacting proteins, seven of which have not been associated with retinoids yet. Comparison of the transcriptional response of LMH cells to RO and RA exposure at different time points led to the identification of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that are only differentially expressed (DE) during the early response.

Conclusions

We propose that these RARCCs stand on top of a common regulatory RA hierarchy among vertebrates. Based on the protein sets included in these clusters we were able to identify an RA-response cluster, a control center type cluster, and a cluster that directs cell proliferation. Concerning the comparison of the cellular response to RA and RO we conclude that ncRNAs play an underestimated role in retinoid-mediated gene regulation.
Massively parallel gene expression variation measurement of a synonymous codon library
Authors: Schmitz Alexander , Zhang Fuzhong
Published: March 2021

Background

Cell-to-cell variation in gene expression strongly affects population behavior and is key to multiple biological processes. While codon usage is known to affect ensemble gene expression, how codon usage influences variation in gene expression between single cells is not well understood.

Results

Here, we used a Sort-seq based massively parallel strategy to quantify gene expression variation from a green fluorescent protein (GFP) library containing synonymous codons in Escherichia coli. We found that sequences containing codons with higher tRNA Adaptation Index (TAI) scores, and higher codon adaptation index (CAI) scores, have higher GFP variance. This trend is not observed for codons with high Normalized Translation Efficiency Index (nTE) scores nor from the free energy of folding of the mRNA secondary structure. GFP noise, or squared coefficient of variance (CV2), scales with mean protein abundance for low-abundant proteins but does not change at high mean protein abundance.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that the main source of noise for high-abundance proteins is likely not originating at translation elongation. Additionally, the drastic change in mean protein abundance with small changes in protein noise seen from our library implies that codon optimization can be performed without concerning gene expression noise for biotechnology applications.
High frequency jet ventilation through mask contributes to oxygen therapy among patients undergoing bronchoscopic intervention under deep sedation
Authors: Yang Mingyuan , Wang Bin , Hou Qingwu , Zhou Yunzhi , Li Na , Wang Hongwu , Li Lei , Cheng Qinghao
Published: March 2021

Background

High frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) is an open ventilating technique to maintain ventilation for emergency or difficult airway. However, whether jet ventilation or conventional oxygen therapy (COT) is more effective and safe in maintaining adequate oxygenation, is unclear among patients with airway stenosis during bronchoscopic intervention (BI) under deep sedation.

Methods

A prospective randomized cohort study was conducted to compare COT (high flow oxygen) with normal frequency jet ventilation (NFJV) and HFJV in oxygen supplementation during BI under deep sedation from March 2020 to August 2020. Patients receiving BI under deep sedation were randomly divided into 3 parallel groups of 50 patients each: the COT group (fractional inspired oxygen (FiO2) of 1.0, 12 L/min), the NFJV group (FiO2 of 1.0, driving pressure of 0.1 MPa, and respiratory rate (RR) 15 bpm) and the HFJV Group (FiO2 of 1.0, driving pressure of 0.1 MPa, and RR of 1200 bpm). Pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2), mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were recorded during the whole procedure. Arterial blood gas was examined and recorded 15 min after the procedure was initiated. The procedure duration, dose of anesthetics, and adverse events during BI in the three groups were also recorded.

Results

A total of 161 patients were enrolled, with 11 patients excluded. The clinical characteristics were similar among the three groups. PaO2 of the COT and NFJV groups was significantly lower than that of the HFJV group (P < 0.001). PaO2 was significantly correlated with ventilation mode (P < 0.001), body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.019) and procedure duration (P = 0.001). Multiple linear regression showed that only BMI and procedure duration were independent influencing factors of arterial blood gas PaO2 (P = 0.040 and P = 0.002, respectively). The location of airway lesions and the severity of airway stenosis were not statistically correlated with PaCO2 and PaO2.

Conclusions

HFJV could effectively and safely improve intra-operative PaO2 among patients with airway stenosis during BI in deep sedation, and it did not increase the intra-operative PaCO2 and the risk of hypercapnia. PaO2 was correlated with ventilation mode, BMI and procedure duration. Only BMI and procedure duration were independent influencing factors of arterial blood gas PaO2. PaCO2 was not correlated with any preoperative factor.

Trial registration

Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Registration number, ChiCTR2000031110, registered on March 22, 2020.