bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Developing and validating the nurse-patient relationship scale (NPRS) in China
Authors: Feng Yajie , Liu Chaojie , Tao Siyi , Wang Chen , Zhang Huanyu , Liu Xinru , Liu Zhaoyue , Liu Wei , Zhao Juan , Zou Dandan , Liu Zhixin , Liu Junping , Wang Nan , Wu Lin , Wu Qunhong , Hao Yanhua , Xu Weilan , Liang Libo
Published: April 2024

Background

Poor nurse-patient relationship poses an obstacle to care delivery, jeopardizing patient experience and patient care outcomes. Measuring nurse-patient relationship is challenging given its multi-dimensional nature and a lack of well-established scales.

Purpose

This study aimed to develop a multi-dimensional scale measuring nurse-patient relationship in China.

Methods

A preliminary scale was constructed based on the existing literature and Delphi consultations with 12 nursing experts. The face validity of the scale was tested through a survey of 45 clinical nurses. This was followed by a validation study on 620 clinical nurses. Cronbach’s α, content validity and known-group validity of the scale were assessed. The study sample was further divided into two for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), respectively, to assess the construct validity of the scale.

Results

The Nurse-Patient Relationship Scale (NPRS) containing 23 items was developed and validated, measuring five dimensions: nursing behavior, nurse understanding and respect for patient, patient misunderstanding and mistrust in nurse, communication with patient, and interaction with patient. The Cronbach’s α of the NPRS ranged from 0.725 to 0.932, indicating high internal consistency. The CFA showed excellent fitness of data into the five-factor structure: χ2/df = 2.431, GFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.923, CFI = 0.939, IFI = 0.923, RMSEA = 0.070. Good content and construct validity are demonstrated through expert consensus and psychometric tests.

Conclusion

The NPRS is a valid tool measuring nurse-patient relationship in China.
How an increase in income affects the use of dental care services among a low-income population: evidence from the Finnish basic income experiment
Authors: Simanainen Miska
Published: April 2024

Background

Previous research has shown that the use of dental care services has a significant socioeconomic gradient. Lower income groups tend to use dental care services less, and they often have poorer dental health than higher income groups. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how an increase in income affects the use of dental care services among a low-income population.

Methods

The study examines the causal effect of increasing cash transfers on the use of dental care services by utilizing unique register-based data from a randomized field experiment conducted in Finland in 2017–2018. The Finnish basic income experiment introduced an exogenous increase in the income of persons who previously received basic unemployment benefits. Register-based data on the study population’s use of public and private dental care services were collected both for the treatment group (N = 2,000) and the control group (N = 173,222) of the experiment over a five-year period 2015–2019: two years before, two years during, and one year after the experiment. The experiment’s average treatment effect on the use of dental care services was estimated with OLS regressions.

Results

The Finnish basic income experiment had no detectable effect on the overall use of dental care services. However, it decreased the probability of visiting public dental care (-2.7% points, -4.7%, p =.017) and increased the average amount of out-of-pocket spending on private care (12.1 euros, 29.8%, p =.032). The results suggest that, even in a country with a universal public dental care coverage, changes in cash transfers do affect the dental care patterns of low-income populations.
Screening of premature ovarian insufficiency associated genes in Hungarian patients with next generation sequencing
Authors: Illés Anett , Pikó Henriett , Árvai Kristóf , Donka Veronika , Szepesi Olívia , Kósa János , Lakatos Péter , Beke Artúr
Published: April 2024

Background

Premature ovarian insuffiency (POI) is one of the main cause behind infertility. The genetic analysis of POI should be part of the clinical diagnostics, as several genes have been implicated in the genetic background of it. The aim of our study was to analyse the genetic background of POI in a Hungarian cohort.

Methods

The age of onset was between 15 and 39 years. All patients had the 46,XX karyotype and they were prescreened for the most frequent POI associated FMR1 premutation. To identify genetic alterations next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 31 genes which were previously associated to POI were carried out in 48 unrelated patients from Hungary.

Results

Monogenic defect was identified in 16.7% (8 of 48) and a potential genetic risk factor was found in 29.2% (14 of 48) and susceptible oligogenic effect was described in 12.5% (6 of 48) of women with POI using the customized targeted panel sequencing. The genetic analysis identified 8 heterozygous damaging and 4 potentially damaging variants in POI-associated genes. Further 10 potential genetic risk factors were detected in seven genes, from which EIF2B and GALT were the most frequent. These variants were related to 15 genes: AIRE, ATM, DACH2, DAZL, EIF2B2, EIF2B4, FMR1, GALT, GDF9, HS6ST2, LHCGR, NOBOX, POLG, USP9X and XPNPEP2. In six cases, two or three coexisting damaging mutations and risk variants were identified.

Conclusions

POI is characterized by heterogenous phenotypic features with complex genetic background that contains increasing number of genes. Deleterious variants, which were detected in our cohort, related to gonadal development (oogenesis and folliculogenesis), meiosis and DNA repair, hormonal signaling, immune function, and metabolism which were previously associated with the POI phenotype. This is the first genetic epidemiology study targeting POI associated genes in Hungary. The frequency of variants in different POI associated genes were similar to the literature, except EIF2B and GALT. Both of these genes potential risk factor were detected which could influence the phenotype, although it is unlikely that they can be responsible for the development of the disease by themselves. Advances of sequencing technologies make it possible to aid diagnostics of POI Since individual patients show high phenotypic variance because of the complex network controlling human folliculogenesis. Comprehensive NGS screening by widening the scope to genes which were previously linked to infertility may facilitate more accurate, quicker and cheaper genetic diagnoses for POI. The investigation of patient’s genotype could support clinical decision-making process and pave the way for future clinical trials and therapies.
Dengue virus pathogenesis and host molecular machineries
Authors: Sinha Saumya , Singh Kinjal , Ravi Kumar Y. S. , Roy Riya , Phadnis Sushant , Meena Varsha , Bhattacharyya Sankar , Verma Bhupendra
Published: April 2024

Dengue viruses (DENV) are positive-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family. DENV is the causative agent of dengue, the most rapidly spreading viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Each year, millions of people contract the virus through bites from infected female mosquitoes of the Aedes species. In the majority of individuals, the infection is asymptomatic, and the immune system successfully manages to control virus replication within a few days. Symptomatic individuals may present with a mild fever (Dengue fever or DF) that may or may not progress to a more critical disease termed Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) or the fatal Dengue shock syndrome (DSS). In the absence of a universally accepted prophylactic vaccine or therapeutic drug, treatment is mostly restricted to supportive measures. Similar to many other viruses that induce acute illness, DENV has developed several ways to modulate host metabolism to create an environment conducive to genome replication and the dissemination of viral progeny. To search for new therapeutic options, understanding the underlying host-virus regulatory system involved in various biological processes of the viral life cycle is essential. This review aims to summarize the complex interaction between DENV and the host cellular machinery, comprising regulatory mechanisms at various molecular levels such as epigenetic modulation of the host genome, transcription of host genes, translation of viral and host mRNAs, post-transcriptional regulation of the host transcriptome, post-translational regulation of viral proteins, and pathways involved in protein degradation.
Predictive significance of FGFR4 p.G388R polymorphism in metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving trifluridine/tipiracil (TAS-102) treatment
Authors: Ottaiano Alessandro , Santorsola Mariachiara , Ianniello Monica , Ceccarelli Anna , Casillo Marika , Sabbatino Francesco , Petrillo Nadia , Cascella Marco , Caraglia Francesco , Picone Carmine , Perri Francesco , Sirica Roberto , Zappavigna Silvia , Nasti Guglielmo , Savarese Giovanni , Caraglia Michele
Published: April 2024

Background

TAS-102 (Lonsurf®) is an oral fluoropyrimidine consisting of a combination of trifluridine (a thymidine analog) and tipiracil (a thymidine phosphorylation inhibitor). The drug is effective in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients refractory to fluorouracil, irinotecan and oxaliplatin. This study is a real-world analysis, investigating the interplay of genotype/phenotype in relation to TAS-102 sensitivity.

Methods

Forty-seven consecutive mCRC patients were treated with TAS-102 at the National Cancer Institute of Naples from March 2019 to March 2021, at a dosage of 35 mg/m2, twice a day, in cycles of 28 days (from day 1 to 5 and from day 8 to 12). Clinical-pathological parameters were described. Activity was evaluated with RECIST criteria (v1.1) and toxicity with NCI-CTC (v5.0). Survival was depicted through the Kaplan-Meyer curves. Genetic features of patients were evaluated with Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) through the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform and TruSigt™Oncology 500 kit.

Results

Median age of patients was 65 years (range: 46–77). Forty-one patients had 2 or more metastatic sites and 38 patients underwent to more than 2 previous lines of therapies. ECOG (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group) Performance Status (PS) was 2 in 19 patients. The median number of TAS-102 cycles was 4 (range: 2–12). The most frequent toxic event was neutropenia (G3/G4 in 16 patients). There were no severe (> 3) non-haematological toxicities or treatment-related deaths. Twenty-six patients experienced progressive disease (PD), 21 stable disease (SD). Three patients with long-lasting disease control (DC: complete, partial responses or stable disease) shared an FGFR4 (p.Gly388Arg) mutation. Patients experiencing DC had more frequently a low tumour growth rate (P = 0.0306) and an FGFR4 p.G388R variant (P < 0.0001). The FGFR4 Arg388 genotype was associated with better survival (median: 6.4 months) compared to the Gly388 genotype (median: 4 months); the HR was 0.25 (95% CI 0.12- 0.51; P = 0.0001 at Log-Rank test).

Conclusions

This phenotype/genotype investigation suggests that the FGFR4 p.G388R variant may serve as a new marker for identifying patients who are responsive to TAS-102. A mechanistic hypothesis is proposed to interpret these findings.

Graphical Abstract
Lower airway microbiota compositions differ between influenza, COVID-19 and bacteria-related acute respiratory distress syndromes
Authors: Imbert Sébastien , Revers Mathilde , Enaud Raphaël , Orieux Arthur , Camino Adrian , Massri Alexandre , Villeneuve Laurent , Carrié Cédric , Petit Laurent , Boyer Alexandre , Berger Patrick , Gruson Didier , Delhaes Laurence , Prével Renaud
Published: April 2024

Background

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is responsible for 400,000 deaths annually worldwide. Few improvements have been made despite five decades of research, partially because ARDS is a highly heterogeneous syndrome including various types of aetiologies. Lower airway microbiota is involved in chronic inflammatory diseases and recent data suggest that it could also play a role in ARDS. Nevertheless, whether the lower airway microbiota composition varies between the aetiologies of ARDS remain unknown. The aim of this study is to compare lower airway microbiota composition between ARDS aetiologies, i.e. pulmonary ARDS due to influenza, SARS-CoV-2 or bacterial infection.

Methods

Consecutive ARDS patients according to Berlin’s classification requiring invasive ventilation with PCR-confirmed influenza or SARS-CoV-2 infections and bacterial infections (> 105 CFU/mL on endotracheal aspirate) were included. Endotracheal aspirate was collected at admission, V3-V4 and ITS2 regions amplified by PCR, deep-sequencing performed on MiSeq sequencer (Illumina®) and data analysed using DADA2 pipeline.

Results

Fifty-three patients were included, 24 COVID-19, 18 influenza, and 11 bacterial CAP-related ARDS. The lower airway bacteriobiota and mycobiota compositions (β-diversity) were dissimilar between the three groups (p = 0.05 and p = 0.01, respectively). The bacterial α-diversity was significantly lower in the bacterial CAP-related ARDS group compared to the COVID-19 ARDS group (p = 0.04). In contrast, influenza-related ARDS patients had higher lung mycobiota α-diversity than the COVID-19-related ARDS (p = 0 < 01).

Conclusion

Composition of lower airway microbiota (both microbiota and mycobiota) differs between influenza, COVID-19 and bacterial CAP-related ARDS. Future studies investigating the role of lung microbiota in ARDS pathophysiology should take aetiology into account.
Off- to in-season body composition adaptations in elite male and female endurance and power event athletics competitors: an observational study
Authors: Pettersson Stefan , Kalén Anton , Gustafsson Mikael , Grau Stefan , Caspers Andreas
Published: April 2024

Background

Monitoring elite athletes’ body composition (BC) is vital for health and optimizing performance in sports emphasizing leanness, such as athletics. This study aims to investigate and compare sex- and event-specific off-to in-season BC changes in endurance and power event athletics competitors.

Methods

Elite male and female endurance athletes (> 800 m runners; n = 21) and power event athletes (sprinters, jumpers; n = 32) underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans for whole and regional lean mass (LM), fat mass (FM), bone mineral content (BMC), and density (BMD) during off-season (September-October) and in-season (April-May). Linear mixed models tested between-group off-season differences in BC, within-group off-season to in-season changes, and between-group differences in change. To assess meaningful or least significant changes (LSC) in BC, DXA precision errors were determined from two consecutive total body scans in a subsample of athletes (n = 30).

Results

Male athletes (n = 26) gained significantly (p < 0.05) more body mass (BM; mean difference 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI):0.5–2.4] kg), LM (843 [95% CI:-253:1459] g), and trunk LM (756 [-502:1156] g) than female athletes (n = 27). The proportion of changes in athlete’s BC exceeding the LSC threshold for LM and trunk LM were 70% and 65% in males, and 48% and 26% in females. Significant (p < 0.05) within-group off-season to in-season increases in LM were found for male endurance and power athletes, and female power athletes. All groups significantly increased BMD (p < 0.05). Only male and female power athletes had significant in- to-off-season increases in BMC. 80% of all athletes who had a meaningful increase in BMC belonged to the power event group. No significant within- or between group change in FM was observed.

Conclusions

The present study found that male athletes gained more BM, LM and trunk LM than females. Within-group increases in regional and whole-body LM and BMC were predominantly found among power event competitors. Incorporating individual meaningful changes alongside traditional statistics provided additional insights into sex and event-group differences. Future research on elite athletic event groups should include DXA measurements closer to major outdoor-season competitions, coupled with site-specific measures (ultrasound, MRI) for better detection of subtle changes in LM and FM.
A new multi-criteria decision making method for the selection of construction contractors using interval valued fuzzy set
Authors: Nithya N. S. , Thota Srinivasarao , Rathour Laxmi , Shanmugasundaram P.
Published: April 2024

Objective

This article introduces a novel approach called Digital Weighted Multi Criteria Decision Making (DWMCDM) that employs interval valued fuzzy sets to select the best contractor for building projects. The contractor is chosen based on the pre-qualification and bid evaluation phases. In the first phase, the distance between the actual and required skills of the significant criteria is determined, and it is then converted into digital weighted distances to identify the maximum number of criteria related to the specific project of each contractor. The second step ranks the best contractor based on the bid price and digital weighted distances.

Results

The suggested technique integrates the pre-qualification and bid review phases to address project award delays and other restrictions. Finally, a real-world application is addressed to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach to any type of interval valued fuzzy inputs.
Laparoscopic extraction of a symptomatic upper abdominal pedunculated parietal peritoneal lipoma arising intermittent abdominal pain: a case report
Authors: Dohmoto Yu , Akashi Yoshimasa , Ogawa Koichi , Enomoto Tsuyoshi , Ohara Yusuke , Owada Yohei , Oda Tatsuya
Published: April 2024

Introduction

Lipomas arising in the parietal peritoneum are rare, and some of them cause abdominal pain due to torsion of the pedunculated peritoneum. We encountered a case of parietal peritoneal lipoma arising upper peritoneum. In this report, we describe the detail of clinical presentation and discuss its potential pathogenesis and treatment strategy.

Case presentation

45 year-old Japanese female patient presented with long-lasting intermittent pain in the left upper abdominal region. Abdominal imaging showed a well-defined fatty mass measuring 40 mm in size, suggesting a parietal peritoneal lipoma. Laparoscopy revealed a tumor with a twisted peduncle; however, no adhesion of the surrounding tissues and ischemic changes were visible. The tumor was easily removed by dissection of the tumor pedicle.

Conclusion

Parietal peritoneal lipoma often shows pedunculated form and it causes abdominal pain by the torsion of tumor pedicle. Therefore, this type of lipoma should be considered a more aggressive surgery.
Learning symmetry-aware atom mapping in chemical reactions through deep graph matching
Authors: Astero Maryam , Rousu Juho
Published: April 2024

Accurate atom mapping, which establishes correspondences between atoms in reactants and products, is a crucial step in analyzing chemical reactions. In this paper, we present a novel end-to-end approach that formulates the atom mapping problem as a deep graph matching task. Our proposed model, AMNet (Atom Matching Network), utilizes molecular graph representations and employs various atom and bond features using graph neural networks to capture the intricate structural characteristics of molecules, ensuring precise atom correspondence predictions. Notably, AMNet incorporates the consideration of molecule symmetry, enhancing accuracy while simultaneously reducing computational complexity. The integration of the Weisfeiler-Lehman isomorphism test for symmetry identification refines the model’s predictions. Furthermore, our model maps the entire atom set in a chemical reaction, offering a comprehensive approach beyond focusing solely on the main molecules in reactions. We evaluated AMNet’s performance on a subset of USPTO reaction datasets, addressing various tasks, including assessing the impact of molecular symmetry identification, understanding the influence of feature selection on AMNet performance, and comparing its performance with the state-of-the-art method. The result reveals an average accuracy of 97.3% on mapped atoms, with 99.7% of reactions correctly mapped when the correct mapped atom is within the top 10 predicted atoms.

Scientific contribution

The paper introduces a novel end-to-end deep graph matching model for atom mapping, utilizing molecular graph representations to capture structural characteristics effectively. It enhances accuracy by integrating symmetry detection through the Weisfeiler-Lehman test, reducing the number of possible mappings and improving efficiency. Unlike previous methods, it maps the entire reaction, not just main components, providing a comprehensive view. Additionally, by integrating efficient graph matching techniques, it reduces computational complexity, making atom mapping more feasible.
Anti-interrupted-sampling repeater jamming method based on frequency agility waveform and sparse recovery
Authors: Ji Yunhao , Wei Shan , Lu Yaobing
Published: April 2024

Interrupted-sampling repeater jamming (ISRJ) is a type of intra-pulse coherent jamming that poses a significant threat to radar detection and tracking of targets. This paper proposes an ISRJ suppression method based on frequency agile waveform and sparse recovery, starting from the temporal discontinuity and modulation characteristics of ISRJ. This method is particularly suitable for scenarios with high jamming duty ratio (JDR) and high jammer sampling duty ratio (SDR). By dividing the transmitted waveform into sub-pulses with different carrier frequencies and applying a two-round block sparse algorithm, the method accurately recovers three parameters of ISRJ, achieving effective jamming identification, reconstruction, and cancellation. Additionally, a target detection technique based on robust sparse recovery is proposed, significantly improving the stability and accuracy of target detection. Comparative experimental results conducted in three scenarios confirm the effectiveness and superiority of this method under high JDR and SDR conditions.
Comparison between high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) alternated with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) and HFNO and NIV alone in patients with COVID-19: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: da Cruz Amanda Pereira , Martins Gloria , Martins Camila Marinelli , Marques Victoria , Christovam Samantha , Battaglini Denise , Robba Chiara , Pelosi Paolo , Rocco Patricia Rieken Macedo , Cruz Fernanda Ferreira , dos Santos Samary Cynthia , Silva Pedro Leme
Published: April 2024

Background

Non-invasive respiratory support (conventional oxygen therapy [COT], non-invasive ventilation [NIV], high-flow nasal oxygen [HFNO], and NIV alternated with HFNO [NIV + HFNO] may reduce the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in patients with COVID-19. The outcome of patients treated non-invasively depends on clinical severity at admission. We assessed the need for IMV according to NIV, HFNO, and NIV + HFNO in patients with COVID-19 according to disease severity and evaluated in-hospital survival rates and hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) lengths of stay.

Methods

This cohort study was conducted using data collected between March 2020 and July 2021. Patients ≥ 18 years admitted to the ICU with a diagnosis of COVID-19 were included. Patients hospitalized for < 3 days, receiving therapy (COT, NIV, HFNO, or NIV + HFNO) for < 48 h, pregnant, and with no primary outcome data were excluded. The COT group was used as reference for multivariate Cox regression model adjustment.

Results

Of 1371 patients screened, 958 were eligible: 692 (72.2%) on COT, 92 (9.6%) on NIV, 31 (3.2%) on HFNO, and 143 (14.9%) on NIV + HFNO. The results for the patients in each group were as follows: median age (interquartile range): NIV (64 [49–79] years), HFNO (62 [55–70] years), NIV + HFNO (62 [48–72] years) (p = 0.615); heart failure: NIV (54.5%), HFNO (36.3%), NIV + HFNO (9%) (p = 0.003); diabetes mellitus: HFNO (17.6%), NIV + HFNO (44.7%) (p = 0.048). > 50% lung damage on chest computed tomography (CT): NIV (13.3%), HFNO (15%), NIV + HFNO (71.6%) (p = 0.038); SpO2/FiO2: NIV (271 [118–365] mmHg), HFNO (317 [254–420] mmHg), NIV + HFNO (229 [102–317] mmHg) (p = 0.001); rate of IMV: NIV (26.1%, p = 0.002), HFNO (22.6%, p = 0.023), NIV + HFNO (46.8%); survival rate: HFNO (83.9%), NIV + HFNO (63.6%) (p = 0.027); ICU length of stay: NIV (8.5 [5–14] days), NIV + HFNO (15 [10–25] days (p < 0.001); hospital length of stay: NIV (13 [10–21] days), NIV + HFNO (20 [15–30] days) (p < 0.001). After adjusting for comorbidities, chest CT score and SpO2/FiO2, the risk of IMV in patients on NIV + HFNO remained high (hazard ratio, 1.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.17–3.04).

Conclusions

In patients with COVID-19, NIV alternating with HFNO was associated with a higher rate of IMV independent of the presence of comorbidities, chest CT score and SpO2/FiO2.

Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05579080.
Immediate inflammatory response to mechanical circulatory support in a porcine model of severe cardiogenic shock
Authors: Gregers Emilie , Frederiksen Peter H. , Udesen Nanna L. J. , Linde Louise , Banke Ann , Povlsen Amalie L. , Larsen Jeppe P. , Hassager Christian , Jensen Lisette O. , Lassen Jens F. , Schmidt Henrik , Ravn Hanne B. , Heegaard Peter M. H. , Møller Jacob E.
Published: April 2024

Background

In selected cases of cardiogenic shock, veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (V-A ECMO) is combined with trans valvular micro axial flow pumps (ECMELLA). Observational studies indicate that ECMELLA may reduce mortality but exposing the patient to two advanced mechanical support devices may affect the early inflammatory response. We aimed to explore inflammatory biomarkers in a porcine cardiogenic shock model managed with V-A ECMO or ECMELLA.

Methods

Fourteen landrace pigs had acute myocardial infarction-induced cardiogenic shock with minimal arterial pulsatility by microsphere embolization and were afterwards managed 1:1 with either V-A ECMO or ECMELLA for 4 h. Serial blood samples were drawn hourly and analyzed for serum concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and serum amyloid A (SAA).

Results

An increase in IL-6, IL-8, and SAA levels was observed during the experiment for both groups. At 2–4 h of support, IL-6 levels were higher in ECMELLA compared to V-A ECMO animals (difference: 1416 pg/ml, 1278 pg/ml, and 1030 pg/ml). SAA levels were higher in ECMELLA animals after 3 and 4 h of support (difference: 401 ng/ml and 524 ng/ml) and a significant treatment-by-time effect of ECMELLA on SAA was identified (p = 0.04). No statistical significant between-group differences were observed in carotid artery blood flow, urine output, and lactate levels.

Conclusions

Left ventricular unloading with Impella during V-A ECMO resulted in a more extensive inflammatory reaction despite similar end-organ perfusion.
Dual modality prompt learning for visual question-grounded answering in robotic surgery
Authors: Zhang Yue , Fan Wanshu , Peng Peixi , Yang Xin , Zhou Dongsheng , Wei Xiaopeng
Published: April 2024

With recent advancements in robotic surgery, notable strides have been made in visual question answering (VQA). Existing VQA systems typically generate textual answers to questions but fail to indicate the location of the relevant content within the image. This limitation restricts the interpretative capacity of the VQA models and their ability to explore specific image regions. To address this issue, this study proposes a grounded VQA model for robotic surgery, capable of localizing a specific region during answer prediction. Drawing inspiration from prompt learning in language models, a dual-modality prompt model was developed to enhance precise multimodal information interactions. Specifically, two complementary prompters were introduced to effectively integrate visual and textual prompts into the encoding process of the model. A visual complementary prompter merges visual prompt knowledge with visual information features to guide accurate localization. The textual complementary prompter aligns visual information with textual prompt knowledge and textual information, guiding textual information towards a more accurate inference of the answer. Additionally, a multiple iterative fusion strategy was adopted for comprehensive answer reasoning, to ensure high-quality generation of textual and grounded answers. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of the model, demonstrating its superiority over existing methods on the EndoVis-18 and EndoVis-17 datasets.
Correlation of lesion severity with bacterial changes in Treponeme-Associated Hoof Disease from free-roaming wild elk (Cervus canadensis)
Authors: Wilson-Welder Jennifer H. , Han Sushan , Bayles Darrell O. , Alt David P. , Kanipe Carly , Garrison Kyle , Mansfield Kristin G. , Olsen Steven C.
Published: April 2024

Background

Treponeme-Associated Hoof Disease (TAHD) is a polybacterial, multifactorial disease affecting free-ranging wild elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Pacific Northwest. Previous studies have indicated a bacterial etiology similar to digital dermatitis in livestock, including isolation of Treponema species from lesions. The lesions appear to progress rapidly from ulcerative areas in the interdigital space or along the coronary band to severe, ulcerative, necrotic, proliferative lesions under-running the hoof wall, perforating the sole, and contributing to hoof elongation, deformity, and overgrowth. Eventually the lesions undermine the laminal structure leading to sloughing of the hoof horn capsule. The objective of this study was to characterize the bacterial communities associated with hoof lesions, which were categorized into 5 stages or disease grade severities, with 0 being unaffected tissue and 4 being sloughed hoof capsule. We also wanted to determine if the etiology of TAHD through morphological changes was dominated by Treponema, as observed in hoof diseases in livestock.

Results

The bacterial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from 66 hoof skin biopsy samples representing 5 lesion grades from samples collected by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of a voluntary hunter program. Analysis of the relative abundance of bacterial sequences showed that lesions were dominated by members of the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Spirochaetes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. In lesion samples, members of the genus Treponema, Porphyromonas, and Mycoplasma increased with lesion severity. Association analysis indicated frequent identification of Treponema with Porphyromonas, Bacteroides and other anaerobic Gram-positive cocci.

Conclusions

The bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing confirmed the presence of Treponema species at all stages of TAHD lesions, treponeme specie-specific PCR and histopathology, indicating that the morphological changes are a continual progression of disease severity with similar bacterial communities. Association and abundance of these other pathogenic genera within lesions may mean synergistic role with Treponema in hoof disease pathogenesis. Characterizing bacteria involved in lesion development, and their persistence during disease progression, provides evidence for science-based management decisions in TAHD infected elk populations.
Optimizing evidence-based practice implementation: a case study on simulated patient protocols in long-term opioid therapy
Authors: Green Ellen , Hamm Megan , Gowl Catherine , Van Deusen Reed , Liebschutz Jane M. , Wilson J. Deanna , Merlin Jessica
Published: April 2024

Background

Substantial work has been done to update or create evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the changing health care landscape. However, the success of these EBPs is limited by low levels of clinician implementation.

Objective

The goal of this study is to describe the use of standardized/simulated patient/person (SP) methodology as a framework to develop implementation bundles to increase the effectiveness, sustainability, and reproducibility of EBPs across health care clinicians.

Design

We observed 12 clinicians’ first-time experiences with six unique decision-making algorithms, developed previously using rigorous Delphi methods, for use with patients exhibiting concerning behaviors associated with long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain. Clinicians were paired with two SPs trained to portray individuals with one of the concerning behaviors addressed by the algorithms in a telehealth environment. The SP evaluations were followed by individual interviews, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), with each of the clinician participants.

Participants

Twelve primary care clinicians and 24 SPs in Western Pennsylvania.

Main measurement

The primary outcome was identifying likely facilitators for the successful implementation of the EBP using the SP methodology. Our secondary outcome was to assess the feasibility of using SPs to illuminate likely implementation barriers and facilitators.

Results

The SP portrayal illuminated factors that were pertinent to address in the implementation bundle. SPs were realistic in their portrayal of patients with concerning behaviors associated with LTOT for chronic pain, but clinicians also noted that their patients in practice may have been more aggressive about their treatment plan.

Conclusions

SP simulation provides unique opportunities for obtaining crucial feedback to identify best practices in the adoption of new EBPs for high-risk patients.

Setting

Zoom simulated patient evaluations.
A design of power prediction algorithm based on health assessment optimized neural network
Authors: Xie Xin , Huang Feng , He Chengjin , Zhou Huaan , Hu Feiyu , Zeng Bin , Huang Lingxiang
Published: April 2024

Wind power prediction holds significant value for the stability of the electrical grid when wind power is connected to the grid. Using neural networks for wind power prediction may have some limitations, such as slow speed and low accuracy. This paper proposes to enhance the power prediction accuracy and speed by optimizing the neural network through health assessment wind turbines. Firstly, based on wind turbine actual operating data, a health assessment is conducted to obtain a health matrix of wind turbine. Then, by calculating the weights of the matrix, the power prediction strategy of the network is optimized. Following that, matrix approximation hyperparameters are utilized to expedite the optimization process. Finally, some tests are conducted on neural network power prediction, act as optimized back propagation (BP) neural network and whale swarm algorithm–support vector regression (WSA-SVR) neural networks are employed for wind power prediction. Results show noticeable optimization: after optimizing the BP network, power prediction accuracy increased by about 40%, and prediction speed rose by about 20%; after optimizing the WSA-SVR network, power prediction accuracy improved by 10%, and prediction speed surged by about 45%. Further analysis shows that this method can improve the accuracy and speed of most neural network wind power prediction algorithms.
Application of multicomponent seismic data to tight gas reservoir characterization: A case study in the Sichuan Basin, China
Authors: Zhang Ming , Zhang Xin , Liang Jing , Jiang Xiaoyu , Gan Lideng , Sun Xiping , Yu Xiaowei
Published: April 2024

Combining PP and PS waves from multicomponent data is an effective hydrocarbon characterization strategy because these two wave types are sensitive to different subsurface properties. We develop a case study using multicomponent data to characterize tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Jurassic Shaximiao Formation, the western Sichuan Basin, China. In the study area, with PP data it is difficult to distinguish sandstones, mudstones, and gas sand, whereas recently acquired multicomponent data indicate potential for the joint characterization of lithology, porosity, and gas saturation from the combination of PP and PS reflections. Sandstones and mudstones have small P-wave velocity contrasts and large S-wave velocity contrasts. Thus, PS data provide a more accurate description of sandstones, as a substantial proportion of sandstones are undetectable from PP sections. P impedance is sensitive to sandstone porosity variation, and seismic-predicted porosities based on impedance inversion are in good agreement with log-interpreted porosities. The ratio of P-wave velocity to S-wave velocity is sensitive to gas accumulation, and the ratios derived from joint PP-PS prestack inversion are determined to be better than from PP prestack inversion in terms of their agreements with logs and distinct gas-sand boundaries.
Αποτυπώσεις του εκπαιδευτικού γίγνεσθαι στον έντυπο τύπο της περιόδου 1870-1911
Authors: Κανταράκη Σοφία
Published: April 2024

Με την παρούσα διατριβή προσπορίζεται υλικό για τη νεοελληνική εκπαίδευση μέσα από δημοσιεύματα του Τύπου την περίοδο 1870-1911. Η αναδίφηση στις εφημερίδες επέτρεψε την πρόσβαση στην επικαιρότητα της εκπαίδευσης, σε μια προσπάθεια να δοθούν απαντήσεις σε συγκεκριμένα ερευνητικά ερωτήματα. Το δευτερογενές ερευνητικό υλικό αντλήθηκε με συγκεκριμένα κριτήρια από εννέα αθηναϊκές εφημερίδες. Ως τυπολογία ανάλυσης επιλέχθηκε η ανάλυση περιεχομένου και η ιστορική ερμηνευτική προσέγγιση. Η έρευνα δεν εξαντλήθηκε στο επίπεδο της διαπίστωσης των γεγονότων, αλλά προχώρησε στην ιστορικο-ερμηνευτική νοηματοδότησή τους διευρύνοντας τις δυνατότητες κατανόησης του χώρου της εκπαίδευσης, μέσω της ανάλυσης περιεχομένου, της θεματικής κατηγοριοποίησης των δημοσιευμάτων, από τα οποία συνάγονται ενδιαφέροντα στοιχεία. Τα συμπεράσματα επιβεβαιώνουν τη συνάρτηση του Τύπου με το εκάστοτε κοινωνικο-ιστορικό πλαίσιο, αλλά και το αποτύπωμα που εκφράζει ως «διαμορφωτής» της κοινής γνώμης απέναντι στα εκπαιδευτικά πράγματα. Με τον συσχετισμό του περιεχομένου της ειδησεογραφικής και εκπαιδευτικής αρθρογραφίας με το ευρύτερο ιστορικό πλαίσιο θεωρούμε καταδείχθηκε ότι ο Τύπος συνιστά σημαντική πηγή για την Ιστορία της Εκπαίδευσης, αναδεικνύοντας αγνοημένες, ίσως και ανομολόγητες, πτυχές και όψεις της. Επιπλέον, οι διαπιστώσεις που προέκυψαν αναδεικνύουν την πολύπλευρη συμβολή του Τύπου στην αποτύπωση του εκπαιδευτικού παρελθόντος, ειδικότερα στη σχολική μνήμη, η οποία μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για τη διερεύνηση μιας πιθανής νέας εστίασης για την ιστορική έρευνα στην εκπαίδευση, δηλαδή την κοινωνική αντίληψη μιας περιόδου για τα εκπαιδευτικά πράγματα. Το εκπαιδευτικό γίγνεσθαι εν μέσω δημοσιογραφικής σφύρας και πολιτειακού άκμονος υπήρξε αντικείμενο έντονης συζήτησης και κριτικής. Η μελέτη του πιστεύουμε ότι θα είναι χρήσιμη στους ερευνητές που ενδιαφέρονται για τη θεματική της παρούσας εργασίας.
El aprendizaje en laboratorios: el modelo UR STEAM
Authors: Cheyne García Alejandro , Pulgarín Sergio Andrés , Chacón Sánchez Sandra Milena , Méndez-Romero Rafael Alberto , Silva Lagos Sara Mercedes , Alcocer Tocora Milena , Álvarez-Suescún Inéride , García Blanco Clara Inés
Published: April 2024

La Universidad del Rosario ha reconocido la necesidad de articular las áreas de ciencias, tecnología, matemáticas, ingeniería, artes, diseño, gestión y emprendimiento, configurando así el programa UR STEAM, espacio de convergencia de varios saberes que permite a los estudiantes, a los profesores y al sector productivo adoptar, apropiar y empoderarse con nuevos conocimientos, tecnologías, innovaciones, métodos y herramientas, a través de construcciones creativas e integradas que den respuesta a los nuevos retos de la industria y los cambios del entorno de forma rápida y efectiva. Su intención es impulsar, a través de este esquema formativo, el crecimiento y bienestar de la población, así como el desarrollo sostenible de la región y del país, promoviendo una sociedad basada en la gestión del conocimiento generado por la ciencia, la tecnología, la ingeniería, el arte, las matemáticas y la gestión, buscando que la integración de estas áreas en procesos integrales de formación e investigación aporten a la identificación de problemas del sector real y a la creación de soluciones pertinentes e innovadoras.
Experiential learning in IB education through collaborative and multicultural strategies based on entrepreneurial challenges: X-Culture case
Authors: Pulido López Alejandra , Muñoz Rosa Milena
Published: April 2024

This experiential learning strategy is addressed to undergraduate and graduate students in the international business field and aims to develop diverse skills, such as intercultural communication, leadership, problem-solving skills and to promote critical thinking on multicultural contexts through the participation in an international project called X-Culture. Such project has a systematic methodology, where the students are allocated to a Global Virtual Team (GVT), composed by five to seven members from different universities around the world. For eight weeks, they work together to propose solutions to specific challenges given by real companies. This chapter addresses the process of preparation, development and evaluation of the experiential learning strategy during the “International Business Management” course of the International Business Administration undergraduate program from Universidad del Rosario.
Experiencia de estudio de casos y aprendizaje basado en proyectos desde un programa de magíster en administración y dirección de empresas chileno
Authors: Torres Zapata Isabel
Published: April 2024

Una mezcla entre aprendizaje basado en proyectos y el estudio de casos es la metodología aplicada a la asesoría de empresas para estudiantes de una maestría en administración en una universidad chilena, en su última fase de formación. En este capítulo se describe el desarrollo de la estrategia de enseñanza-aprendizaje aplicada, explicando los procesos y actividades que la constituyen, así como situaciones que se han debido abordar durante la pandemia y los principales desafíos a los que nos enfrentamos para darle continuidad a esta forma de aprendizaje en adultos. En los años que se ha llevado adelante esta actividad, ha sido un proceso de constante aprendizaje, tanto para el equipo docente como para los estudiantes. Así, la principal conclusión es la importancia de contar con equipos docentes estables y comprometidos con esta forma de enseñanza, de manera de consolidar la metodología, es decir, no se trata de una moda pasajera; es una necesidad en la relación universidad y empresas, en la formación vinculada a negocios.
A Better Estimate of Internally Generated Intangible Capital
Authors: Iqbal Aneel , Rajgopal Shiva , Srivastava Anup , Zhao Rong
Published: April 2024

Internally developed intangibles are not included in reported assets under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The omission of this increasingly important class of assets reduces the usefulness and relevance of financial statement analysis, conducted with reported values of equity and assets. Recent studies overcome this deficiency by capitalizing research and development (R&D) expenses to estimate the value of knowledge capital and by capitalizing selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses to estimate the value of organization capital. Those two estimates are then added to reported values for financial statement analysis. For convenience, many studies rely on two rules of thumb and assume them to be equally applicable in all instances: (1) 30% of SG&A and 100% of R&D expenses are investments, and (2) the useful life of SG&A and R&D investments is three and five years, respectively. We propose a more flexible approach by estimating the capitalization and amortization parameters on an industry–year–specific basis. Our modified values of total assets and equity, inclusive of the value of capitalized intangibles, exhibit greater association with future returns and investments compared with as-reported values and values estimated with uniform rules of thumb. We provide a better estimate of intangible capital for the consumers of financial statements.

This paper was accepted by Ranjani Krishnan, accounting.

Funding: A. Srivastava and R. Zhao acknowledge financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. A. Srivastava acknowledges financial support from the Canada Research Chairs Program of the Government of Canada. A. Iqbal acknowledges financial support from the Canadian Securities Institute Research Foundation and Chartered Professional Accountants (Alberta) Education Foundation.

Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01703 .
Research on bearing fault diagnosis technology based on machine learning
Authors: Xia Yu , Guo XiaoJun , Su ErChuan , Kong LingPei
Published: April 2024

As industrial equipment complexity continues to rise, the importance of bearings within these systems has become more critical, given their pivotal role in equipment functionality. Bearing faults can result in severe production accidents and safety issues. Hence, there is an urgent need for advanced bearing fault diagnosis technology. This study concentrates on rolling bearings, analyzing their structural characteristics and key parameters to classify fault types—inner race faults, rolling element faults, and outer race faults. Utilizing a dataset of 80 sets of bearing factory data, time and frequency domain analyses are conducted, establishing seven feature parameters (five in the time domain and two in the frequency domain). This data is organized into a 7-dimensional matrix for subsequent analysis and model development. The K-Means algorithm is chosen for its effectiveness in automatically recognizing fault patterns in rolling bearings. Training on the 7-dimensional matrix identifies four clustering centers corresponding to normal conditions, inner race faults, rolling element faults, and outer race faults. The fault diagnosis system is implemented using Python, and algorithm optimization improves efficiency. The study concludes with insights drawn from the analysis and proposes optimization methods, which contributing to advancing bearing fault diagnosis technology, particularly addressing industrial equipment reliability and safety concerns.
Multi-objective elitist spotted hyena resource optimized flexible job shop scheduling
Authors: Senthilvel A. N. , Hemamalini T. , Geetha G.
Published: April 2024

The job shop scheduling problem (JSSP) has drained a lot of consideration since it is one of the most important optimization problems in the manufacturing domain. The scheduling method is crucial for optimizing the objective of minimizing makespan among thousands of jobs, but evaluating machine capacity for achieving this goal remains challenging despite the development of various population-based optimization algorithms for job shop scheduling problems. To improve the efficiency of Job shop scheduling, a novel Multi-objective Elitist Spotted Hyena Monotonic Scheduling (MESHS) technique is introduced. The proposed MESHS technique includes two major processes: machine selection and operation sequences. The number of jobs is considered for solving the scheduling problem. First, the machine selection is performed by applying the Multi-objective Elitist Spotted Hyena optimization technique. The optimization technique selects the optimal machines parallelly based on multiple objective functions such as energy consumption, CPU utilization, and job completion time. The fitness of every machine is calculated based on these multiple objective functions using Levenberg–Marquardt method. Then the Elitist strategy is applied to select the optimal machine based on fitness. After the machine selection, the rate-monotonic preemptive scheduling is modeled to provide a robust operation sequence by assigning high-priority jobs to the optimal machines. As a result, efficient job scheduling is achieved with minimum time. Finally, the experimental valuation is carried out using a benchmark OR-Library dataset with different factors such as job shop scheduling efficiency, job scheduling time, makespan, and memory consumption concerning a number of jobs.