bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The eyes see what the mind seeks: a systematic review of abdominal imaging findings in patients with COVID-19
Authors: Agarwal Lokesh , Agarwal Ayushi , Advani Shailesh , Katiyar Varidh , Chaturvedi Aprajita , Madhusudhan Kumble Seetharama
Published: July 2021

Objectives:

With the increasing recognition of gastrointestinal (GI) manifestation of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), various abdominal imaging findings are increasingly being noted. We scoped the existing literature on the abdominal imaging findings in COVID-19.

Methods:

A systematic literature search was performed on PubMed, Embase, Google scholar and World Health Organization COVID-19 database.

Results:

35 studies were included in the final descriptive synthesis. Among the studies reporting positive abdominal imaging findings in patients with COVID-19, majority described imaging abnormalities of the GI tract (16 studies), of which bowel wall thickening was most frequently reported. Other findings noted were abdominal imaging manifestations of bowel ischemia with thrombosis of the splanchnic vasculature, and imaging features suggestive of pancreatitis. Imaging findings suggestive of solid organ infarction were reported in nine studies. An association between imaging evidence of hepatic steatosis and COVID-19 was noted in three studies. Incidental lung base findings on abdominal imaging were noted in 18 studies, where patients presented with predominant GI symptoms. The most common finding was bilateral ground glass opacities (90.7%) with predominant multilobar (91.1%) and peripheral (64.4%) distribution.

Conclusion:

This systematic review provides insight into the abdominal imaging findings in patients with COVID-19. Knowledge of these imaging manifestations will not only help in further research but also will aid in curtailing transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. Further prospective studies are needed to gain better insight into the pathophysiology of these imaging manifestations.

Advances in knowledge:

This review highlights the abdominal imaging findings in patients with COVID-19, to gain insight into the disease pathophysiology and gear the abdominal radiologist through the pandemic.
Aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise are equivalent to mitigate symptoms of depression in older adults: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Miller Kyle J. , Areerob Pinyadapat , Hennessy Declan , Gonçalves-Bradley Daniela C. , Mesagno Christopher , Grace Fergal
Published: July 2021

Background: Exercise has been identified as an allied health strategy that can support the management of depression in older adults, yet the relative effectiveness for different exercise modalities is unknown. To meet this gap in knowledge, we present a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the head-to-head effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise to mitigate depressive symptoms in adults aged ≥ 65 years.

Methods: A PRISMA-NMA compliant review was undertaken on RCTs from inception to September 12th, 2019. PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched for eligible RCTs enrolling adults with a mean age ≥ 65 years, comparing one or more exercise intervention arms, and which used valid measures of depressive symptomology. Comparative effectiveness was evaluated using network meta-analysis to combine direct and indirect evidence, controlling for inherent variation in trial control groups.

Results: The systematic review included 82 RCTs, with 69 meeting eligibility for the network meta-analysis (n = 5,379 participants). Pooled analysis found each exercise type to be effective compared with controls (Hedges’ g = -0.27 to -0.51). Relative head-to-head comparisons were statistically comparable between exercise types: resistance versus aerobic (Hedges’ g = -0.06, PrI = -0.91, 0.79), mind-body versus aerobic (Hedges’ g = -0.12, PrI = -0.95, 0.72), mind-body versus resistance (Hedges’ g = -0.06, PrI = -0.90, 0.79). High levels of compliance were demonstrated for each exercise treatment.

Conclusions: Aerobic, resistance, and mind-body exercise demonstrate equivalence to mitigate symptoms of depression in older adults aged ≥ 65 years, with comparably encouraging levels of compliance to exercise treatment. These findings coalesce with previous findings in clinically depressed older adults to encourage personal preference when prescribing exercise for depressive symptoms in older adults.

Registration: PROSPERO CRD42018115866 (23/11/2018).
snpQT: flexible, reproducible, and comprehensive quality control and imputation of genomic data
Authors: Vasilopoulou Christina , Wingfield Benjamin , Morris Andrew P. , Duddy William
Published: July 2021

Quality control of genomic data is an essential but complicated multi-step procedure, often requiring separate installation and expert familiarity with a combination of different bioinformatics tools. Dependency hell and reproducibility are recurrent challenges. Existing semi-automated or automated solutions lack comprehensive quality checks, flexible workflow architecture, and user control. To address these challenges, we have developed snpQT: a scalable, stand-alone software pipeline using nextflow and BioContainers, for comprehensive, reproducible and interactive quality control of human genomic data. snpQT offers some 36 discrete quality filters or correction steps in a complete standardised pipeline, producing graphical reports to demonstrate the state of data before and after each quality control procedure. This includes human genome build conversion, population stratification against data from the 1,000 Genomes Project, automated population outlier removal, and built-in imputation with its own pre- and post- quality controls. Common input formats are used, and a synthetic dataset and comprehensive online tutorial are provided for testing, educational purposes, and demonstration. The snpQT pipeline is designed to run with minimal user input and coding experience; quality control steps are implemented with default thresholds which can be modified by the user, and workflows can be flexibly combined in custom combinations. snpQT is open source and freely available at https://github.com/nebfield/snpQT. A comprehensive online tutorial and installation guide is provided through to GWAS (https://snpqt.readthedocs.io/en/latest/), introducing snpQT using a synthetic demonstration dataset and a real-world Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis SNP-array dataset.
Fundamentals of biochemistry
Authors: Suslyanok Georgiy , Auerman Tat'yana , Generalova Tat'yana
Published: July 2021

The textbook contains basic information about the structure, properties and biological functions of proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins. The most important ways of transformation of substances and energy in a living organism are considered. The information about the use of biochemical processes in the food industry is given.
Meets the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation.
For university students studying in the areas of training 19.03.01 "Biotechnology", 19.03.02 "Food products from plant raw materials", 19.03.04 "Product technology and catering organization", as well as for students studying in other areas of training, and graduate students.
Prospects for European Integration of the Republic of Moldova and the Constitutional Component
Authors: Gylka K.
Published: July 2021

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 European countries. The population is 508 million people, 24 official and working languages and about 150 regional and minority languages. The origins of the European Union come from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), consisting of six states in 1951 - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. These countries came together to put an end to the wars that devastated the European continent, and they agreed to share control over the natural resources needed for war (coal and steel). The founding members of ECSC have determined that this European project will not only be developed in order to share resources or to prevent various conflicts in the region. Thus, the Rome Treaty of 1957 created the European Economic Community (EEC), which strengthened the political and economic relations between the six founding states. The relevance of the topic stems from their desire of peoples and countries to live better. The purpose of the study is to identify the internal and external development mechanisms of European countries and, on this basis, to formulate a model of economic, legislative and social development for individual countries. The results of the study provide a practical guideline for determining the vector of the direction of efforts of political, economic, legislative, humanitarian, etc.
Traktat o rzeczach ostatecznych św. Pawła Apostoła w 1 Kor 15
Authors: Tułodziecki Tomasz
Published: July 2021

Tekst zawarty w 1 Kor 15 można śmiało nazwać najbardziej dojrzałym traktatem o zmartwychwstaniu umarłych Pawła Apostoła. Pretekstem do jego napisania była postawa niektórych Koryntian, którzy twierdzili, że avna,stasij nekrw/n ouvk e;stin (1 Kor 15,12). Z tradycji, czyli z faktu śmierci i zmartwychwstania Chrystusa Pana, która dla chrześcijan stała się podstawą wiary, św. Paweł wyprowadza argumenty dotyczące powszechnego zmartwychwstania umarłych. Sam fakt zmartwychwstania Apostoł pojmuje nie tylko jako jednostkowy czyn wielkiego herosa, który dopuści kiedyś swoich wybranych do udziału w innym życiu, lecz jako fakt powszechny, podobny do aktu stworzenia pierwszego człowieka – Adama. Będzie to jednocześnie akt inaugurujący czas ostateczny Boga. Pierwsza część traktatu 1 Kor 15 odpowiada zatem na pytanie: czy i kiedy dokona się zmartwychwstanie. Druga część, która rozpoczyna się w tekście 1 Kor 15,35, stawia drugie ważne pytanie: jak powstają z martwych umarli? Czy zmartwychwstanie w ciele jest w ogóle możliwe? Święty Paweł widzi wprawdzie kontynuację pomiędzy starym a nowym stworzeniem, odrzuca jednak podobieństwo psychiczno-fizycznej natury człowieka do duchowego ciała, które otrzymał Zmartwychwstały Chrystus. Cały traktat 1 Kor kończy się perykopą 1 Kor 15,50–58, która ma charakter apokaliptyczny. W bardzo osobisty sposób (my – h`mei/j) autor akcentuje prawdę najważniejszą, która brzmi: czy to przed śmiercią (niektórzy), czy po śmierci (wszyscy) zostaniemy przemienieni (a,ntej de. avllaghso,meqa), ku nieprzemijalności i nieśmiertelności.
Fałszywi nauczyciele i ich ostateczny los w przysłowiach o psie i świni w 2 P 2,22
Authors: Wojciechowska Kalina , Rosik Mariusz
Published: July 2021

Przedmiotem artykułu jest analiza dwóch przysłów zoologicznych, które autor Drugiego Listu św. Piotra zawarł w części nagan skierowanych przeciwko fałszywym nauczycielom: „Spełniło się na nich to, o czym słusznie mówi przysłowie: Pies powrócił do tego, co sam zwymiotował, a świnia umyta - do kałuży błota” (2P 2,22). Analiza ta ma charakter genologiczny (służy dokładniejszemu określeniu i klasyfikacji gatunku literackiego obydwu przysłów), źródłowy (z przywołaniem analogicznych wypowiedzi w starożytnym piśmiennictwie greckim i żydowskim) oraz egzegetyczny. Wituperatywny charakter całej sekcji (2P 2,17-22), naznaczony odniesieniami eschatologicznymi, znacząco wpływa na interpretację obydwu paremii. Okazuje się, że są one metaforyczną zapowiedzią ostatecznego losu fałszywych nauczycieli, którzy – brudni i splamieni – nie będą mogli ostać się przez Bogiem.
The adventure of an adventure videogame in French
Authors: Muñoz González Juan Manuel , De Castro Castro Carmen , Brazo Millán Ana Isabel
Published: July 2021

With the understanding that videogames have become a powerful resource not only for entertainment but also as an educational resource for foreign language teaching today, the objective of this study was to examine the use of the videogame Broken Sword for the teaching of French as a second language in a higher education setting. To assess the suitability of the video game as a foreign language teaching tool, a quantitative methodology based on a 22-item ad hoc questionnaire was used, through which we collected the assessment of the students. Despite the expectations and the high degree of participation and cooperation of the students surveyed, the results revealed an attitude of indifference regarding the videogame’s contributions to language learning. We considered the results to be very positive, as for many of the students this exercise was not only a test with a language that they did not master yet, but also had technical difficulties that they had to overcome. The challenge of this experience invites us to continue working with new videogames titles and to improve our future methodological interventions.
A state-owned bank for small farmers in Chile, c.1926-1953
Authors: González-Correa Ignacio , Llorca-Jaña Manuel
Published: July 2021

This article deals with the creation and operations of the first agricultural development bank ever created in Chile, the Caja de Crédito Agrario (CCA), founded in 1926, in operations until 1953. The main sources are the annual reports of CCA from 1933 to 1951. The main contributions are to show first that the CCA was instrumental to provide subsidized long-term capital to small farmers in Chile to promote agricultural production, but that also had a “social mission”. The CCA soon became a protagonist within the local financial market. Given the lack of knowledge about the modus operandi of development banks in Latin America, we provide the first account of the management and financial activities of the CCA. We show that the management structure of the firm, and in particular its strategy of decentralization, was key to explain its success. Likewise, the CCA managed successfully to raise increasing amounts of capital from other state institutions at low interest rates, thus being able to cover its increasing loan operations.
Personal values as predictors of entrepreneurial intentions of university students
Authors: Campos Sánchez Alejandro
Published: July 2021

Considering entrepreneurship as a set of actions performed by a subject, and behavior one of the main predictors of actions, this work presents a study based on the Theory of Human Values, that aims to analyze the influence of personal values on entrepreneurial intention of university students; understanding as well the personal values as cognitive characteristics that explain the attitudes of a subject towards entrepreneurship, the hypotheses of this work establish a positive relation between values associated to individualism and the entrepreneurial intention as well as a negative relation between values associated to collectivism and the entrepreneurial intention of university students. For this, a sample of 488 undergraduate students from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico is used and statistical analysis is performed through the SPSS software. Using a quantitative methodology, an exploratory factorial analysis and a linear regression model are performed to calculate the predictive capacity of the different types of personal values on the entrepreneurial intention of students at the University previously mentioned. Personal values associated to individualism prove to be highly related to entrepreneurial intentions while those related to collectivism show low or null effect. Some exceptions are discussed and lead to future lines of research regarding different types of entrepreneurship.
High-power cylindrical vector beams generated from an all-fiber linearly polarized laser by metasurface extracavity conversion
Authors: Xie Lianghua , Tao Rumao , Guo Chao , Chu Qiuhui , Zhang Chun , Li Haokun , Liu Yu , Huang Shan , Wu Wenjie , Shen Benjian , Li Min , Feng Xi , Li Mingzhong , Zhang Xiaomin , Wang Jianjun , Zhu Heyuan
Published: July 2021

Five-hundred-watt cylindrical vector beams (CVBs) at 1030 nm with the 3 dB linewidth being less than 0.25 nm have been generated from a narrow linewidth all-fiber linearly polarized laser by metasurface extracavity conversion. At maximum output power, the transmission efficiency and polarization extinction ratio of radially polarized cylindrical vector beams (RP-CVBs) are beyond 98% and 95%, respectively. The average power is approximately an order higher than previously reported high-power narrow-linewidth CVBs generated from fiber lasers. The temperature rise of the metasurface is less than 10°C at 500 W output power, which means that the system can be further power-scaled in the near future. The high-power, high-purity, and high-efficiency RP-CVBs generated by the metasurface demonstrate potential application of a metasurface in high-power CVBs lasers.
Compact 2D serpentine optical phased array
Authors: Ren Yangming , Zhang Lingxuan , Zhao Wei , Wang Guoxi , Feng NingNing , Wu Wei , Sun Xiaochen , Zhang Wenfu
Published: July 2021

We present a
two-dimensional (2D) Si
photonics optical phased array (OPA) using a serpentine design which
eliminates the long directional couplers used in many 2D OPA designs.
It significantly reduces the distance between the antenna benefitting
far-field sidelobe reduction while maintaining high optical power use
efficiency.
Confinement loss of anti-resonant capillaries with curved boundaries
Authors: Wang Wei , Bird David
Published: July 2021

A systematic analysis of the dependence of the confinement loss of an anti-resonant capillary on the curvature of the core surround is presented. The core boundary is described by circular arcs and the construction allows for a wide range of core shapes to be considered. It is found that both negative and positive curvatures substantially reduce the confinement loss relative to that of a circular anti-resonant capillary and that this effect is insensitive to the size of the core relative to the wavelength and to the properties of the glass capillary wall. In contrast, for a solid core surround there is a small increase in the confinement loss with curvature. Results of scalar and vector calculations are shown to be similar. A qualitative explanation of the results is proposed based on azimuthal confinement of the wave fields generated by the curved boundaries.
Hybrid high spectral resolution broadband mid-infrared SFG spectrometer development and demonstration
Authors: Madeikis Karolis , Kananavicius Robertas , Danilevicius Rokas , Zaukevicius Audrius , Januskevicius Regimantas , Michailovas Andrejus
Published: July 2021

In this work, we present the development of a femtosecond tunable middle infrared (mid-IR) radiation source for the realization of a hybrid concept compact broadband high-resolution sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy system. For the realization of the new concept, we used a two-channel picosecond fiber laser as a seed for narrowband (∼1.5 cm-1) and broadband ultrafast radiation sources operating at 1 kHz repetition rate. In order to achieve >500 cm-1 bandwidth widely tunable microjoule level pulses in the mid-IR spectral region (2–10 µm), broadband femtosecond source optimization was performed. Numerical simulations with different nonlinear crystals and optical parametric amplification layouts at given fixed initial conditions paved a way to experimentally realize an optimal scheme for a femtosecond mid-IR channel. Fully operating SFG spectrometer setup was assembled and tested. The developed SFG spectrometer demonstrates a unique combination of parameters: excellent spectral resolution (<3 cm-1) similar to a narrowband scanning picosecond spectrometers and fast simultaneous acquisition of broadband spectra up to more than 850 cm-1.
A randomised controlled feasibility trial of a BabyWASH household playspace: The CAMPI study
Authors: Budge Sophie , Hutchings Paul , Parker Alison , Tyrrel Sean , Norton Sam , Garbutt Camila , Woldemedhin Fitsume , Jemal Mohammed Yasin , Moges Mathewos , Hussen Siraj , Beyene Hunachew
Published: July 2021

Background

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions should support infant growth but trial results are inconsistent. Frequently, interventions do not consider behaviours or transmission pathways specific to age. A household playspace (HPS) is one intervention component which may block faecal-oral transmission. This study was a two-armed, parallel-group, randomised, controlled feasibility trial of a HPS in rural Ethiopia. It aimed to recommend proceeding to a definitive trial. Secondary outcomes included effects on infant health, injury prevention and women’s time.

Methods

November 2019−January 2020 106 households were identified and assessed for eligibility. Recruited households (N = 100) were randomised (blinded prior to the trial start) to intervention or control (both n = 50). Outcomes included recruitment, attrition, adherence, and acceptability. Data were collected at baseline, two and four weeks.

Findings

Recruitment met a priori criteria (≥80%). There was no loss to follow-up, and no non-use, meeting adherence criteria (both ≤10%). Further, 48.0% (95% CI 33.7−62.6; n = 24) of households appropriately used and 56.0% (41.3−70.0; n = 28) cleaned the HPS over four weeks, partly meeting adherence criteria (≥50%). For acceptability, 41.0% (31.3−51.3; n = 41) of infants were in the HPS during random visits, failing criteria (≥50%). Further, the proportion of HPS use decreased during some activities, failing criteria (no decrease in use). A modified Barrier Analysis described good acceptability and multiple secondary benefits, including on women’s time burden and infant injury prevention.

Interpretation

Despite failing some a priori criteria, the trial demonstrated mixed adherence and good acceptability among intervention households. A definitive trial to determine efficacy is warranted if recommended adjustments are made.

Funding

People In Need; Czech Development Agency.

Trial registration

RIDIE-ID-5de0b6938afb8.
Missed opportunity for family planning counselling along the continuum of care in Arusha region, Tanzania
Authors: Amour Caroline , Manongi Rachel N. , Mahande Michael J. , Elewonibi Bilikisu , Farah Amina , Msuya Sia Emmanuel , Shah Iqbal
Published: July 2021

Introduction

Adequate sexual and reproductive health information is vital to women of reproductive age (WRA) 15 to 49 years, for making informed choices on their reproductive health including family planning (FP). However, many women who interact with the health system continue to miss out this vital service. The study aimed to identify the extent of provision of FP counselling at service delivery points and associated behavioral factors among women of reproductive age in two districts of Arusha region. It also determined the association between receipt of FP counselling and contraceptive usage.

Methods

Data were drawn from a cross-sectional survey of 5,208 WRA residing in two districts of Arusha region in Tanzania; conducted between January and May 2018. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select the WRA for the face-to-face interviews. FP counseling was defined as receipt of FP information by a woman during any visit at the health facility for antenatal care (ANC), or for post-natal care (PNC). Analyses on receipt of FP counseling were done on 3,116 WRA, aged 16–44 years who were in contact with health facilities in the past two years. A modified Poisson regression model was used to determine the Prevalence Ratio (PR) as a measure of association between receipt of any FP counseling and current use of modern contraception, controlling for potential confounders.

Results

Among the women that visited the health facility for any health-related visit in the past two years, 1,256 (40%) reported that they received FP counselling. Among the women who had had births in the last 30 months; 1,389 and 1,409 women had contact with the service delivery points for ANC and PNC visits respectively. Of these 31% and 26% had a missed FP counseling at ANC and PNC visit respectively. Women who were not formally employed were more likely to receive FP counselling during facility visit than others. WRA who received any FP counseling at PNC were significantly more likely to report current use of modern contraception than those who did not (adjusted PR [adj. PR] = 1.28; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.09, 1.49).

Conclusion

Overall, only 40% women reported that they received any form of FP counseling when they interfaced with the healthcare system in the past two years. Informally employed women were more likely to receive FP counselling, and women who received FP counselling during PNC visits were significantly more likely to use contraceptive in comparison to the women who did not receive FP counselling. This presents a missed opportunity for prevention of unintended pregnancies and suggests a need for further integration of FP counseling into the ANC and PNC visits.
Comparative transcriptomics of leaves of five mulberry accessions and cataloguing structural and expression variants for future prospects
Authors: Baranwal Vinay Kumar , Negi Nisha , Khurana Paramjit
Published: July 2021

Bombyxmori, a monophagous insect, prefers leaves of the certain species ofMorusmore than others. The preference has been attributed to morphological and anatomical features and biochemical compounds. In the present manuscript a comparison has been made among the transcriptome of leaves of the two preferred cultivated varieties and three wild types species. While assembling, high quality transcriptomes of five genotypes were constructed with a total of 100930, 151245, 89724, 181761 and 102908 transcripts from ML, MN, MS, K2 and V1 samples respectively. Further, to compare them, orthologs were identified from these assembled transcriptome. A total of 22462, 23413, 23685, 24371, 18362, 22326, 20058, 18049, 17567 and 20518 clusters of orthologs were found in one to one comparison in KvsN, KvsL, KvsS, KvsV, LvsN, LvsS, LvsV, NvsS, NvsV, and SvsV respectively. 4236 orthologs with algebraic connectivity of 1.0 were then used to compare and to find out differentially expressed transcripts from all the genotypes. A total of 1037 transcripts expressed that include some of the important morphology, anatomy and biochemical pathways regulating transcription factors (AP2/ERFs and C2H2 Zinc fingers) and signalling components were identified to express differentially. Further, these transcriptomes were used find out markers (SSR) and variants and a total of 1101013, 537245, 970877, 310437, 675772, 338400, 581189, 751477, 514999 and 257107 variants including SNP, MNP, Insertions and deletions were found in one to one comparisons. Taken together, our data could be highly useful for mulberry community worldwide as it could be utilized in mulberry breeding programs.
Investigating diversity in European audiences for public engagement with research: Who attends European Researchers’ Night in Ireland, the UK and Malta?
Authors: Jensen Aaron Michael , Jensen Eric Allen , Duca Edward , Roche Joseph
Published: July 2021

European Researchers’ Night is an annual pan-European synchronized event devoted to public engagement with research. It was first held in 2005 and now occurs in over 400 cities across Europe, with the aim of bringing researchers closer to the general public. To investigate social inclusion in these events, we conducted survey research across three national contexts (Ireland, Malta and the UK) and events in seven cities between 2016 and 2019 (n = 1590). The results from this exploratory descriptive study confirmed one hypothesis, namely that event attendees had substantially higher levels of university qualification than the national publics. This is in line with wider patterns of unequal participation in public engagement with research activities based on socio-economic status. However, we also found mixed evidence on the prevalence of ethnic minority representation among event attendees compared to the general population, thus failing to uphold the second hypothesis that predicted an over-representation of white majority participants. This second finding diverges from existing research findings about ethnic diversity amongst science communication audiences, raising the possibility that some public engagement events are over-performing on this dimension of social inclusion. Overall, the findings demonstrate that European Researchers’ Night has potential for addressing the critical goal of enhancing the diversity of audiences for public engagement with research, even as it falls short on the key metric of socio-economic diversity.
Dogs fail to reciprocate the receipt of food from a human in a food-giving task
Authors: McGetrick Jim , Poncet Lisa , Amann Marietta , Schullern-Schrattenhofen Johannes , Fux Leona , Martínez Mayte , Range Friederike
Published: July 2021

Domestic dogs have been shown to reciprocate help received from conspecifics in food-giving tasks. However, it is not yet known whether dogs also reciprocate help received from humans. Here, we investigated whether dogs reciprocate the receipt of food from humans. In an experience phase, subjects encountered a helpful human who provided them with food by activating a food dispenser, and an unhelpful human who did not provide them with food. Subjects later had the opportunity to return food to each human type, in a test phase, via the same mechanism. In addition, a free interaction session was conducted in which the subject was free to interact with its owner and with whichever human partner it had encountered on that day. Two studies were carried out, which differed in the complexity of the experience phase and the time lag between the experience phase and test phase. Subjects did not reciprocate the receipt of food in either study. Furthermore, no difference was observed in the duration subjects spent in proximity to, or the latency to approach, the two human partners. Although our results suggest that dogs do not reciprocate help received from humans, they also suggest that the dogs did not recognize the cooperative or uncooperative act of the humans during the experience phase. It is plausible that aspects of the experimental design hindered the emergence of any potential reciprocity. However, it is also possible that dogs are simply not prosocial towards humans in food-giving contexts.
Prediction of anemia and estimation of hemoglobin concentration using a smartphone camera
Authors: Suner Selim , Rayner James , Ozturan Ibrahim U. , Hogan Geoffrey , Meehan Caroline P. , Chambers Alison B. , Baird Janette , Jay Gregory D.
Published: July 2021

Anemia, defined as a low hemoglobin concentration, has a large impact on the health of the world’s population. We describe the use of a ubiquitous device, the smartphone, to predict hemoglobin concentration and screen for anemia. This was a prospective convenience sample study conducted in Emergency Department (ED) patients of an academic teaching hospital. In an algorithm derivation phase, images of both conjunctiva were obtained from 142 patients in Phase 1 using a smartphone. A region of interest targeting the palpebral conjunctiva was selected from each image. Image-based parameters were extracted and used in stepwise regression analyses to develop a prediction model of estimated hemoglobin (HBc). In Phase 2, a validation model was constructed using data from 202 new ED patients. The final model based on all 344 patients was tested for accuracy in anemia and transfusion thresholds. Hemoglobin concentration ranged from 4.7 to 19.6 g/dL (mean 12.5). In Phase 1, there was a significant association between HBc and laboratory-predicted hemoglobin (HBl) slope = 1.07 (CI = 0.98–1.15), p<0.001. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of HBc for predicting anemia was 82.9 [79.3, 86.4], 90.7 [87.0, 94.4], and 73.3 [67.1, 79.5], respectively. In Phase 2, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity decreased to 72.6 [71.4, 73.8], 72.8 [71, 74.6], and 72.5 [70.8, 74.1]. Accuracy for low (<7 g/dL) and high (<9 g/dL) transfusion thresholds was 94.4 [93.7, 95] and 86 [85, 86.9] respectively. Error trended with increasing HBl values (slope 0.27 [0.19, 0.36] and intercept -3.14 [-4.21, -2.07] (p<0.001) such that HBc tended to underestimate hemoglobin in higher ranges and overestimate in lower ranges. Higher quality images had a smaller bias trend than lower quality images. When separated by skin tone results were unaffected. A smartphone can be used in screening for anemia and transfusion thresholds. Improvements in image quality and computational corrections can further enhance estimates of hemoglobin.
Socioeconomic disparities in cancer incidence and mortality in England and the impact of age-at-diagnosis on cancer mortality
Authors: Arık Ayşe , Dodd Erengul , Cairns Andrew , Streftaris George
Published: July 2021

Background

We identify socioeconomic disparities by region in cancer morbidity and mortality in England for all-cancer and type-specific cancers, and use incidence data to quantify the impact of cancer diagnosis delays on cancer deaths between 2001–2016.

Methods and findings

We obtain population cancer morbidity and mortality rates at various age, year, gender, deprivation, and region levels based on a Bayesian approach. A significant increase in type-specific cancer deaths, which can also vary among regions, is shown as a result of delay in cancer diagnoses. Our analysis suggests increase of 7.75% (7.42% to 8.25%) in female lung cancer mortality in London, as an impact of 12-month delay in cancer diagnosis, and a 3.39% (3.29% to 3.48%) increase in male lung cancer mortality across all regions. The same delay can cause a 23.56% (23.09% to 24.30%) increase in male bowel cancer mortality. Furthermore, for all-cancer mortality, the highest increase in deprivation gap happened in the East Midlands, from 199 (186 to 212) in 2001, to 239 (224 to 252) in 2016 for males, and from 114 (107 to 121) to 163 (155 to 171) for females. Also, for female lung cancer, the deprivation gap has widened with the highest change in the North West, e.g. for incidence from 180 (172 to 188) to 272 (261 to 282), whereas it has narrowed for prostate cancer incidence with the biggest reduction in the South West from 165 (139 to 190) in 2001 to 95 (72 to 117) in 2016.

Conclusions

The analysis reveals considerable disparities in all-cancer and some type-specific cancers with respect to socioeconomic status. Furthermore, a significant increase in cancer deaths is shown as a result of delays in cancer diagnoses which can be linked to concerns about the effect of delay in cancer screening and diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health interventions at regional and deprivation level can contribute to prevention of cancer deaths.
Impact of sex on use of low tidal volume ventilation in invasively ventilated ICU patients—A mediation analysis using two observational cohorts
Authors: Swart Pien , Deliberato Rodrigo Octavio , Johnson Alistair E. W. , Pollard Tom J. , Bulgarelli Lucas , Pelosi Paolo , de Abreu Marcelo Gama , Schultz Marcus J. , Neto Ary Serpa
Published: July 2021

Background

Studies in patients receiving invasive ventilation show important differences in use of low tidal volume (VT) ventilation (LTVV) between females and males. The aims of this study were to describe temporal changes in VT and to determine what factors drive the sex difference in use of LTVV.

Methods and findings

This is a posthoc analysis of 2 large longitudinal projects in 59 ICUs in the United States, the ‘Medical information Mart for Intensive Care III’ (MIMIC III) and the ‘eICU Collaborative Research DataBase’. The proportion of patients under LTVV (median VT < 8 ml/kg PBW), was the primary outcome. Mediation analysis, a method to dissect total effect into direct and indirect effects, was used to understand which factors drive the sex difference. We included 3614 (44%) females and 4593 (56%) males. Median VT declined over the years, but with a persistent difference between females (from median 10.2 (9.1 to 11.4) to 8.2 (7.5 to 9.1) ml/kg PBW) vs. males (from median 9.2 [IQR 8.2 to 10.1] to 7.3 [IQR 6.6 to 8.0] ml/kg PBW) (P < .001). In females versus males, use of LTVV increased from 5 to 50% versus from 12 to 78% (difference, –27% [–29% to –25%]; P < .001). The sex difference was mainly driven by patients’ body height and actual body weight (adjusted average causal mediation effect, –30% [–33% to –27%]; P < .001, and 4 [3% to 4%]; P < .001).

Conclusions

While LTVV is increasingly used in females and males, females continue to receive LTVV less often than males. The sex difference is mainly driven by patients’ body height and actual body weight, and not necessarily by sex. Use of LTVV in females could improve by paying more attention to a correct calculation of VT, i.e., using the correct body height.
Regularities in human mortality after age 105
Authors: Alvarez Jesús-Adrián , Villavicencio Francisco , Strozza Cosmo , Camarda Carlo Giovanni
Published: July 2021

Empirical research on human mortality and extreme longevity suggests that the risk of death among the oldest-old ceases to increase and levels off at age 110. The universality of this finding remains in dispute because of two main reasons: i) high uncertainty around statistical estimates generated from scarce data, and ii) the lack of country-specific comparisons. In this article, we estimate age patterns of mortality above age 105 using data from the International Database on Longevity, an exceptionally large and recently updated database comprising more than 13,000 validated records of long-lived individuals from eight populations. We show that, in all of them, similar mortality trajectories arise, suggesting that the risk of dying levels off after age 105. As more high-quality data become available, there is more evidence in support of a levelling-off of the risk of dying as a regularity of longevous populations.
Dementia risks identified by vocal features via telephone conversations: A novel machine learning prediction model
Authors: Shimoda Akihiro , Li Yue , Hayashi Hana , Kondo Naoki
Published: July 2021

Due to difficulty in early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) related to cost and differentiated capability, it is necessary to identify low-cost, accessible, and reliable tools for identifying AD risk in the preclinical stage. We hypothesized that cognitive ability, as expressed in the vocal features in daily conversation, is associated with AD progression. Thus, we have developed a novel machine learning prediction model to identify AD risk by using the rich voice data collected from daily conversations, and evaluated its predictive performance in comparison with a classification method based on the Japanese version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-J). We used 1,465 audio data files from 99 Healthy controls (HC) and 151 audio data files recorded from 24 AD patients derived from a dementia prevention program conducted by Hachioji City, Tokyo, between March and May 2020. After extracting vocal features from each audio file, we developed machine-learning models based on extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF), and logistic regression (LR), using each audio file as one observation. We evaluated the predictive performance of the developed models by describing the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calculating the areas under the curve (AUCs), sensitivity, and specificity. Further, we conducted classifications by considering each participant as one observation, computing the average of their audio files’ predictive value, and making comparisons with the predictive performance of the TICS-J based questionnaire. Of 1,616 audio files in total, 1,308 (81.0%) were randomly allocated to the training data and 308 (19.1%) to the validation data. For audio file-based prediction, the AUCs for XGboost, RF, and LR were 0.863 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.794–0.931), 0.882 (95% CI: 0.840–0.924), and 0.893 (95%CI: 0.832–0.954), respectively. For participant-based prediction, the AUC for XGboost, RF, LR, and TICS-J were 1.000 (95%CI: 1.000–1.000), 1.000 (95%CI: 1.000–1.000), 0.972 (95%CI: 0.918–1.000) and 0.917 (95%CI: 0.918–1.000), respectively. There was difference in predictive accuracy of XGBoost and TICS-J with almost approached significance (p = 0.065). Our novel prediction model using the vocal features of daily conversations demonstrated the potential to be useful for the AD risk assessment.
Dutch tenants at risk of eviction: Identifying predictors of eviction orders
Authors: Edwards Marieke H. , van den Dries Linda , te Grotenhuis Manfred , Stenberg Sten-Åke , Wolf Judith R. L. M.
Published: July 2021

In order to prevent evictions, it is important to gain more insight into factors predicting whether or not tenants receive an eviction order. In this study, ten potential risk factors for evictions were tested. Tenants who were at risk of eviction due to rent arrears in five Dutch cities were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and six months later their housing associations were asked to provide information about the tenants’ current situation. Multiple logistic regression analyses with data on 344 tenants revealed that the amount of rent arrears was a strong predictor for receiving an eviction order. Furthermore, single tenants and tenants who had already been summoned to appear in court were more likely to receive an eviction order. These results can contribute to identifying households at risk of eviction at an early stage, and to develop targeted interventions to prevent evictions.
Biochars derived from bamboo and rice straw for sorption of basic red dyes
Authors: Sackey Ebenezer Ampofo , Song Yali , Yu Ya , Zhuang Haifeng
Published: July 2021

The primary purpose of this study is to eliminate Basic Red 46 dye from aqueous solutions utilizing batch experiments by adsorption on biochars prepared from bamboo and rice straw biomass. Biochars prepared from bamboo (B), and rice straw (R) was pyrolyzed at 500°C (B500 and R500). Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and surface area and porosity analyzers were used to characterize the B500 and R500 samples. The characterization results indicated that the biochars possessed an amorphous porous structure with many functional groups consisting primarily of silicates. The adsorption rate of BR46 was evaluated using two kinetic models (pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order), and the results indicated that the pseudo-second-order model fitted to the experimental data well (R2>0.99). Nearly 24 h was sufficient to achieve equilibrium with the dye adsorption for the two biochars. R500 had a greater adsorption efficiency than B500. As pH levels increased, the dye’s adsorption capability increased as well. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to investigate the equilibrium behavior of BR46 adsorption, and the equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir model (R2>0.99) compared to the Freundlich model (R2>0.89). The maximum adsorption capacities of BR46 are 9.06 mg/g for B500 and 22.12 mg/g for R500, respectively. Additionally, adsorption capacity increased as temperature increased, indicating that adsorption is favored at higher temperatures. The electrostatic interaction is shown to be the dominant mechanism of BR46 adsorption, and BR46 acts as an electron-acceptor, contributing to n-π EDA (Electron Donor-Acceptor) interaction. Thermodynamic parameters for the dye-adsorbent system revealed that the adsorption process is spontaneous and feasible. The values of the adsorption coefficient (Kd) were on the order of 102−103. Kd of R500 was greater than that of B500, indicating that R500 had a greater adsorption capacity. The results showed that R500 could be used as a low-cost alternative adsorbent for removing BR46 from effluents.
Expression of several Phytophthora cinnamomi putative RxLRs provides evidence for virulence roles in avocado
Authors: Joubert Melissa , Backer Robert , Engelbrecht Juanita , van den Berg Noëlani
Published: July 2021

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a plant pathogenic oomycete that causes Phytophthora root rot of avocado (PRR). Currently, there is a limited understanding of the molecular interactions underlying this disease. Other Phytophthora species employ an arsenal of effector proteins to manipulate host physiology, of which the RxLR effectors contribute to virulence by interfering with host immune responses. The aim of this study was to identify candidate RxLR effectors in P. cinnamomi that play a role in establishing PRR, and to infer possible functions for these effectors. We identified 61 candidate RxLR genes which were expressed during infection of a susceptible avocado rootstock. Several of these genes were present in multiple copies in the P. cinnamomi genome, suggesting that they may contribute to pathogen fitness. Phylogenetic analysis of the manually predicted RxLR protein sequences revealed 12 P. cinnamomi RxLRs that were related to characterised effectors in other Phytophthora spp., providing clues to their functions in planta. Expression profiles of nine more RxLRs point to possible virulence roles in avocado–highlighting a way forward for studies of this interaction. This study represents the first investigation of the expression of P. cinnamomi RxLR genes during the course of avocado infection, and puts forward a pipeline to pinpoint effector genes with potential as virulence determinants, providing a foundation for the future functional characterization of RxLRs that contribute to P. cinnamomi virulence in avocado.
Food disgust sensitivity predicts disease-preventing behaviour beyond the food domain in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
Authors: Ammann Jeanine , Casagrande Meret
Published: July 2021

In the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, personal hygiene behaviours such as proper handwashing have gained significantly more attention and interpersonal contact is performed with great care. Disgust, as a disease-avoidance mechanism, can play an important role in the promotion of hygiene behaviour. We know from previous research that pathogen disgust can be a predictor of an individual’s behaviour in the pandemic. Given that the pandemic greatly affects our food and eating behaviour, the current study aims to add to the existing evidence and to complement it by investigating the role of food-specific disgust in the pandemic. For that, we conducted an online survey in Germany in April 2020, while the pandemic was spreading in Europe. A total of 519 participants completed the survey and provided information about their COVID-19-related attitudes and behaviours and about their food disgust sensitivity. The results show that food disgust sensitivity is an important predictor for an individual’s feelings, shopping behaviour, and disease-preventive behaviour related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the success of political measures to fight the pandemic critically depends on the population to support and follow the proposed measures, a better understanding of the factors driving individual behaviour is key. Implications for pandemic management are discussed.