bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Factors predicting job performance of nurses: A descriptive predictive study
Authors: Aung Po Wai Wai , Wichaikhum Orn‐Anong , Abhicharttibutra Kulwadee , Suthakorn Weeraporn
Published: August 2023

Aim

This study investigated the job performance and predictability of job demands, job resources, personal resources, work engagement, job crafting, and the transformational leadership of nurse managers on this among nurses in Myanmar.

Background

The ongoing crisis of nursing shortages along with heavy workloads combines to form a major challenge in Myanmar and these affected the job performance of nurses during the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Methods

Utilizing a stratified random sample of 474 nurses from tertiary‐level general hospitals in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, a descriptive predictive analysis was carried out. The Demographic Data Sheet, Job Performance Scale, Work Engagement Scale, Job Demands Scale, Job Resources Scale, Personal Resources Scale, Job Crafting Scale, and Global Transformational Leadership Scale were utilized to collect data.

Results

The overall level of job performance was perceived to be high, considering various factors such as job demands, personal resources, work engagement, and job crafting were found as significant predictors of nurses’ job performance, explaining 63.30% of the total variance.

Discussion

These findings make a valuable contribution toward enhancing nurses’ job performance by addressing job demands, fostering work engagement, and nurturing their job‐crafting capabilities. Self‐reporting data collection may not have accurately represented the actual level of study variable.

Conclusion

This study highlighted factors that significantly affect nurses’ job performance in general hospitals in Myanmar.

Implications for nursing and health policy

The findings provide important evidence for nursing administrators and policymakers wishing to develop strategies to enhance the working environment and remain active in helping the performance of nurses.
Testing the effectiveness of a polymeric membrane dressing in modulating the inflammation of intact, non‐injured, mechanically irritated skin
Authors: Dabas Mai , Kreychman Ida , Katz Tomer , Gefen Amit
Published: August 2023

We investigated the inflammatory (IL‐1 alpha) and thermal (infrared thermography) reactions of healthy sacral skin to sustained, irritating mechanical loading. We further acquired digital photographs of the irritated skin (at the visible light domain) to assess whether infrared imaging is advantageous. For clinical context, the skin status was monitored under a polymeric membrane dressing known to modulate the inflammatory skin response. The IL‐1 alpha and infrared thermography measurements were consistent in representing the skin status after 40 min of continuous irritation. Infrared thermography overpowered conventional digital photography as a contactless optical method for image processing inputs, by revealing skin irritation trends that were undetectable through digital photography in the visual light, not even with the aid of advanced image processing. The polymeric membrane dressings were shown to offer prophylactic benefits over simple polyurethane foam in the aspects of inflammation reduction and microclimate management. We also concluded that infrared thermography is a feasible method for monitoring the skin health status and the risk for pressure ulcers, as it avoids the complexity of biological marker studies and empowers visual skin assessments or digital photography of skin, both of which were shown to be insufficient for detecting the inflammatory skin status.
Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence in Australia has risen over 15 years in conjunction with increased prevalence of obesity and reduction in healthy lifestyle
Authors: Vaz Karl , Kemp William , Majeed Ammar , Lubel John , Magliano Dianna J , Glenister Kristen M , Bourke Lisa , Simmons David , Roberts Stuart K
Published: August 2023

Background and Aim

Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver condition globally. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in age‐ and sex‐standardized prevalence of NAFLD in regional Victoria over a 15‐year period and explore the underlying factors associated with differences over time.

Methods

Repeated comparative cross‐sectional studies in four towns in regional Victoria, Australia. Individuals randomly selected from households from residential address lists from local government organizations in 2001–2003 (CrossRoads I [CR1]) and 2016–2018 (CrossRoads II [CR2]) with 1040 (99%) and 704 (94%) participants from CR1 and CR2 having complete data for analysis. Primary outcome was change in prevalence estimates of NAFLD (defined by a fatty liver index ≥ 60 in the absence of excess alcohol and viral hepatitis) between 2003 and 2018.

Results

Crude prevalence of NAFLD increased from 32.7% to 38.8% (P < 0.01), while age‐standardized/sex‐standardized prevalence increased from 32.4% to 35.4% (P < 0.01). Concurrently, prevalence of obesity defined by BMI and elevated waist circumference increased 28% and 25%, respectively. Women had a greater increase in the prevalence of NAFLD than men, in parallel with increasing prevalence of obesity. Proportion of participants consuming takeaway food greater than once weekly increased significantly over time. Up to 60% of NAFLD patients require additional tests for assessment of significant fibrosis.

Conclusions

Crude and age‐standardized/sex‐standardized prevalence of NAFLD have both increased significantly over the last 15 years, particularly among women, in association with a parallel rise in the prevalence of obesity.
Perceptions of society regarding the concept of nurse: A metaphorical study
Authors: Işik Burçin , Kaya Hülya , Bodur Gönül
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Metaphors are one of the most effective linguistic tools that are used to reveal how society describes nursing and what their vision of nursing is and to understand how effective the roles and responsibilities assumed by nurses in a multidisciplinary healthcare team are in protecting and maintaining the health of individuals, families, and society.

Aim

The aim of this study was to reveal the perceptions of society about “nurses” through metaphors.

Methods

The study was planned with a mixed design involving qualitative and quantitative research methods. It was carried out with 810 people living in Turkey who were between the ages of 15 and 65 and voluntarily participated in the study. Each participant was asked to fill in the blanks in the sentence, “A nurse is like a/an………………because…………” The data were analyzed by using qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (chi‐squared) data analysis methods.

Results

It was determined that the participants produced 194 metaphors related to the concept of a “nurse.” It was observed that they frequently used metaphors of “angel,” “parent,” “doctor's assistant/right hand,” “lifesaver,” and “confidant” regarding the concept of nurse and conceptualized a nurse as “Beneficial/Helpful/Healer/Facilitator.”

Conclusions and Clinical relevance

The results showed that the awareness and perception of society toward nurses should be improved on the basis of the opportunity created by the COVID‐19 pandemic period, and the concepts should be introduced to younger generations in a wider framework under the leadership of nursing faculties.
Finance and intelligence: An overview of the literature
Authors: Eber Nicolas , Roger Patrick , Roger Tristan
Published: August 2023

Do more intelligent investors take better economic decisions than less intelligent ones? Is risk attitude, in particular risk/loss aversion, linked to cognitive ability? Does an investor's cognitive ability impact his/her patience? Is financial performance positively linked to investor's intelligence? These research questions have become highly relevant with the development of behavioral economics and behavioral finance, following the recognition that humans are not homo economicus. This paper reviews the several strands of literature devoted to answering the above questions. We first discuss the barely debated definitions and measures of intelligence/cognitive ability used in psychology, economics, and finance. We then review the results related to the (controversial) link between risk aversion and cognitive ability. We observe that the literature provides clear results for patience; individuals with a higher level of cognitive ability being more patient on average. Finally, we review the contributions linking (successfully or not) portfolio choice and financial performance to cognitive ability.
Improvement of weanling pigs immune status and metabolic condition using ultraweak light
Authors: Lee Chang Beon , Hosseindoust Abdolreza , Ha Sang Hun , Mun Jun Young , Moturi Joseph N. , Tajudeen Habeeb , Park Mi Jung , Yang Jeong Su , Lee Sang Chul , Kim Jin Soo
Published: August 2023

Weaning stress is the most common issue in swine farms, which increases mortality and morbidity. The use of artificial light is an option for modifying the immune system and metabolic pathways. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of ultraweak light (Photonia) on growth performance, immune system and metabolism of weanling pigs, and the carry‐over effect on the growth performance in postweanling growing stages. A total of 30 weaned pigs with an average initial body weight of 7.06 ± 0.11 kg (age: 21 days) were allotted two treatments (Control and Photonia) with 15 replicates. The pelleted form diets were prepared for pigs in three phases including phase 1 (Days 0–14), phase 2 (Days 15–28) and phase 3 (Days 29–48). The gain‐to‐feed ratio (G:F) of pigs was significantly greater in the Photonia treatment. On Day 28, a higher concentration of immunoglobin A (IgA) (p < 0.01) and IgG (p < 0.01) was observed in the Photonia pigs. On Day 48, the Photonia treatment showed a greater serum IgA (p < 0.01) and IgG (p < 0.05). The concentration of interleukin (IL)‐6 was decreased (p < 0.05) in the Photonia treatment. At Day 48, the concentrations of tumour necrotic factor‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6 in serum were decreased (p < 0.05) in pigs in the Photonia treatment. Metabolic pathways analysis showed that the Photonia treatment increased the d‐glutamine, d‐glutamate, alanine, aspartate, glutamate and phenylalanine compared with the control treatment. In conclusion, the use of Photonia for weanling pigs is recommended due to improved G:F, immune status and activation of amino acids metabolic pathways including d‐glutamine, d‐glutamate, alanine, aspartate, glutamate and phenylalanine.
Vegetative phase change causes age‐dependent changes in phenotypic plasticity
Authors: Lawrence‐Paul Erica H. , Poethig R. Scott , Lasky Jesse R.
Published: August 2023

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to optimize traits for their environment. As organisms age, they experience diverse environments that benefit from varying degrees of phenotypic plasticity. Developmental transitions can control these age‐dependent changes in plasticity, and as such, the timing of these transitions can determine when plasticity changes in an organism.

Here, we investigate how the transition from juvenile‐to adult‐vegetative development known as vegetative phase change (VPC) contributes to age‐dependent changes in phenotypic plasticity and how the timing of this transition responds to environment using both natural accessions and mutant lines in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

We found that the adult phase of vegetative development has greater plasticity in leaf morphology than the juvenile phase and confirmed that this difference in plasticity is caused by VPC using mutant lines. Furthermore, we found that the timing of VPC, and therefore the time when increased plasticity is acquired, varies significantly across genotypes and environments.

The consistent age‐dependent changes in plasticity caused by VPC suggest that VPC may be adaptive. This genetic and environmental variation in the timing of VPC indicates the potential for population‐level adaptive evolution of VPC.
Rice‐produced classical swine fever virus glycoprotein E2 with herringbone‐dimer design to enhance immune responses
Authors: Xu Qianru , Ma Fanshu , Yang Daichang , Li Qingmei , Yan Liming , Ou Jiquan , Zhang Longxian , Liu Yunchao , Zhan Quan , Li Rui , Wei Qiang , Hu Hui , Wang Yanan , Li Xueyang , Zhang Shenli , Yang Jifei , Chai Shujun , Du Yongkun , Wang Li , Zhang Erqin , Zhang Gaiping
Published: August 2023

Pestiviruses, including classical swine fever virus, remain a concern for global animal health and are responsible for major economic losses of livestock worldwide. Despite high levels of vaccination, currently available commercial vaccines are limited by safety concerns, moderate efficacy, and required high doses. The development of new vaccines is therefore essential. Vaccine efforts should focus on optimizing antigen presentation to enhance immune responses. Here, we describe a simple herringbone‐dimer strategy for efficient vaccine design, using the classical swine fever virus E2 expressed in a rice endosperm as an example. The expression of rE2 protein was identified, with the rE2 antigen accumulating to 480 mg/kg. Immunological assays in mice, rabbits, and pigs showed high antigenicity of rE2. Two immunizations with 284 ng of the rE2 vaccine or one shot with 5.12 μg provided effective protection in pigs without interference from pre‐existing antibodies. Crystal structure and small‐angle X‐ray scattering results confirmed the stable herringbone dimeric conformation, which had two fully exposed duplex receptor binding domains. Our results demonstrated that rice endosperm is a promising platform for precise vaccine design, and this strategy can be universally applied to other Flaviviridae virus vaccines.
A diffuse, pustular eruption in a neonate: Recognizing SAMD9L‐associated autoinflammatory disease (SAAD)
Authors: Miller Melanie M. , Rowe Georgina , O'Brien Kathleen , Kim Gene , Luu Minnelly
Published: August 2023

A 3‐week‐old baby with hydrops fetalis, acute respiratory failure, and shock of unknown etiology developed a diffuse, pustular rash with worsening inflammatory markers and respiratory status despite antimicrobials. Whole exome sequencing revealed a de novo, frameshift mutation in the SAM9DL gene, leading to the diagnosis of SAMD9L‐associated autoinflammatory disease.
Connected components of affine Deligne–Lusztig varieties for unramified groups
Authors: Nie Sian
Published: August 2023

For an unramified reductive group, we determine the connected components of affine Deligne–Lusztig varieties in the affine flag variety. Based on work of Hamacher, Kim, and Zhou, this result allows us to verify, in the unramified group case, the He–Rapoport axioms, the almost product structure of Newton strata, and the precise description of isogeny classes predicted by the Langlands–Rapoport conjecture, for the Kisin–Pappas integral models of Shimura varieties of Hodge type with parahoric level structure.
No Longer a Sign of Weakness? Media Reporting on Mental Ill Health in Sport
Authors: Parry Keith D. , Braim Abigail G. , Jull Rebecca E. , Smith Matthew J.
Published: August 2023

This study analyzed media framing of athletes who have suffered mental ill health. The mass media play a crucial role in shaping public attitudes and perceptions surrounding mental health, and the present study aimed to examine the media reporting of athletes’ mental ill health and to further explore how this reporting has changed over time. We examined the reporting of elite athletes in three U.K. media outlets between January 2000 and December 2019, identifying 75 athletes from 26 different sports. From analysis, four themes were developed to consider the content of media reporting and how it has changed over three time phases. The analysis revealed that media reporting of mental ill health has increased over time, and changes were observed in terms of the specific terminology used, with greater depth in the articles, such as journalists speaking to other professionals to construct the articles. This study contributes toward our growing understanding of the reporting of mental ill health by providing empirical evidence of the increased attention to the topic and increasingly responsible reporting in the media.
Conservative Approach to Treating American Football Players With Medial Collateral Ligament Grade 2 Sprain During the Season
Authors: Bianco Lucas , Jahn Eden , Renninger Shannon
Published: August 2023

Context: The medial collateral ligament is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee. The high-speed pivoting and agility movements that are common in the sport of American Football put participants at an increased risk for a valgus force stress from contact or noncontact injuries. Positional release therapy (PRT) also considered strain/counterstrain focuses on releasing the tension in a tissue through unloading the involved body part. Case Presentation: Two male student-athletes participating in football with a mean age of 20.5 years were diagnosed by a physician with medial collateral ligament grade 2 sprain. Both patients sustained their injuries in a regular season game with a contact valgus force from an opposing player. Management and Outcomes: After the initial 72 hours of compression, elevation, and cryotherapy, the patients were both treated with PRT followed by progressive loading exercises. Following 4 treatment sessions of PRT over the next 6 days, the patients started with quadriceps engagement exercises, single-leg squats to 60° knee flexion, side steps, triceps dips, slow controlled lunges, and toe walk. The patients progressed to full body weight squats, single-leg landing, step-up tri-extension, and sidekicks with a leg on table. Then, the patients completed function movements and sports-specific exercises. Conclusions: In this case series, 2 patients competing in intercollege American Football were treated with PRT and progressive loading exercises to facilitate return to unrestricted activities and improve outcome measures. Commonly, a grade 2 medial collateral ligament sprain is conservatively treated with return to sport taking 20 days on average. In this type 2 case series, the clinician found success utilizing PRT early in the recovery process, which in these 2 cases lead to restoration of function, outcome measure improvement, and an expedited return to sport. The expedited return to sport occurred at an average of 18 days for these patients.
Diverse genotypes of human enteric and non-enteric adenoviruses circulating in children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Thailand, from 2018 to 2021
Authors: Yodmeeklin Arpaporn , Kumthip Kattareeya , Ukarapol Nuthapong , Ushijima Hiroshi , Maneekarn Niwat , Khamrin Pattara
Published: August 2023

Human adenovirus (HAdV) is a common viral pathogen that causes diarrhea in children worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genotype diversity of HAdV strains circulating in children admitted to the hospitals with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2018 to 2021. A total of 1,790 stool samples were screened for HAdV by PCR method, and 80 (4.5%) were positive for HAdV. Of these, children under 5 years of age accounted for 90.0% of HAdV-positive cases with the highest infection rate at the age group of 48–60 months old. The infection rate was not significantly different between boys and girls. The HAdV infection was detected sporadically throughout the year without a discrete seasonal pattern. Five species of both enteric and non-enteric HAdVs (A, B, C, E, and F) with 10 different genotypes, including HAdV-F41 (25.0%), HAdV-B3 (17.5%), HAdV-F40 (16.3%), HAdV-C1 (15.0%), HAdV-C5 (7.5%), HAdV-C2 (6.3%), HAdV-B7 (5.0%), HAdV-A12 (3.8%), HAdV-E4 (2.5%), and HAdV-B11 (1.3%), were detected in this study. In conclusion, our study reported the prevalence and seasonality of HAdV infection with a wide variety of HAdV genotypes circulating in children hospitalized with AGE during a period of 2018–2021 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

IMPORTANCE

In the present study, the prevalence of human adenovirus (HAdV) infection in children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 2018 to 2021 was detected at 4.5%. Diverse species and genotypes of HAdVs (HAdV-A12, HAdV-B3, HAdV-B7, HAdV-B11, HAdV-C1, HAdV-C2, HAdV-C5, HAdV-E4, HAdV-F40, and HAdV-F41) had been identified. The highest infection rate was found in children aged 48–60 months old. The HAdV infection was detected sporadically throughout the year. These findings imply that a wide variety of HAdV genotypes circulate in pediatric patients with AGE in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Examining the influence of disequilibrium landscape on millennial-scale erosion rates in the San Bernardino Mountains, California, USA
Authors: Argueta Marina O. , Moon Seulgi , Blisniuk Kimberly , Brown Nathan D. , Corbett Lee B. , Bierman Paul R. , Zimmerman Susan R.H.
Published: August 2023

Temporal and spatial variations of tectonic rock uplift are generally thought to be the main controls on long-term erosion rates in various landscapes. However, rivers continuously lengthen and capture drainages in strike-slip fault systems due to ongoing motion across the fault, which can induce changes in landscape forms, drainage networks, and local erosion rates. Located along the restraining bend of the San Andreas Fault, the San Bernardino Mountains provide a suitable location for assessing the influence of topographic disequilibrium from perturbations by tectonic forcing and channel reorganization on measured erosion rates. In this study, we measured 17 new basin-averaged erosion rates using cosmogenic 10Be in river sands (hereafter, 10Be-derived erosion rates) and compiled 31 10Be-derived erosion rates from previous work. We quantify the degree of topographic disequilibrium using topographic analysis by examining hillslope and channel decoupling, the areal extent of pre-uplift surface, and drainage divide asymmetry across various landscapes. Similar to previous work, we find that erosion rates generally increase from north to south across the San Bernardino Mountains, reflecting a southward increase in tectonic activity. However, a comparison between 10Be-derived erosion rates and various topographic metrics in the southern San Bernardino Mountains suggests that the presence of transient landscape features such as relict topography and drainage-divide migration may explain local variations in 10Be-derived erosion rates. Our work shows that coupled analysis of erosion rates and topographic metrics provides tools for assessing the influence of tectonic uplift and channel reorganization on landscape evolution and 10Be-derived erosion rates in an evolving strike-slip restraining bend.
Acylated Flavonoids from Cucumis sativus Inhibit the Activity of Human Pancreatic Lipase
Authors: Olennikov D. N. , Kashchenko N. I.
Published: August 2023

Lipid metabolism disorders are a large group of diseases for the treatment of which various strategies are used, including the use of pancreatic lipase inhibitors that reduce the intake and adsorption of lipids. This study was the first that shows that agricultural wastes of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) can be a source of the effective lipase inhibitors. As a result of the chromatographic separation of metabolites in C. sativus leaves, seven acylated flavonoids were identified, including three new derivatives of isovitexin characterized by UV, NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry data as isovitexin-2"-O-glucoside-6"-O-ferulate (1), isovitexin-2"-O-glucoside-6"-O-p-coumarate (2), and isovitexin-2"-O-(6"-O-feruloyl)-glucoside-6"-O-ferulate (3). The quantitative HPLC data showed that the total content of the acylated flavonoids in the leaves of Russian varieties of C. sativus amounted to 3.78–7.44 mg/g of dry plant weight. Isolated compounds demonstrated the ability to inhibit the human pancreatic lipase; the effectiveness of compound 3 was the greatest and exceeded the activity of the reference compound Orlistat. This study has shown that C. sativus leaves can be a useful source of biologically active phytocomponents with hypolipidemic activity.
Cancer mortality after low dose exposure to ionising radiation in workers in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States (INWORKS): cohort study
Authors: Richardson David B , Leuraud Klervi , Laurier Dominique , Gillies Michael , Haylock Richard , Kelly-Reif Kaitlin , Bertke Stephen , Daniels Robert D , Thierry-Chef Isabelle , Moissonnier Monika , Kesminiene Ausrele , Schubauer-Berigan Mary K
Published: August 2023

Objective

To evaluate the effect of protracted low dose, low dose rate exposure to ionising radiation on the risk of cancer.

Design

Multinational cohort study.

Setting

Cohorts of workers in the nuclear industry in France, the UK, and the US included in a major update to the International Nuclear Workers Study (INWORKS).

Participants

309 932 workers with individual monitoring data for external exposure to ionising radiation and a total follow-up of 10.7 million person years.

Main outcome measures

Estimates of excess relative rate per gray (Gy) of radiation dose for mortality from cancer.

Results

The study included 103 553 deaths, of which 28 089 were due to solid cancers. The estimated rate of mortality due to solid cancer increased with cumulative dose by 52% (90% confidence interval 27% to 77%) per Gy, lagged by 10 years. Restricting the analysis to the low cumulative dose range (0-100 mGy) approximately doubled the estimate of association (and increased the width of its confidence interval), as did restricting the analysis to workers hired in the more recent years of operations when estimates of occupational external penetrating radiation dose were recorded more accurately. Exclusion of deaths from lung cancer and pleural cancer had a modest effect on the estimated magnitude of association, providing indirect evidence that the association was not substantially confounded by smoking or occupational exposure to asbestos.

Conclusions

This major update to INWORKS provides a direct estimate of the association between protracted low dose exposure to ionising radiation and solid cancer mortality based on some of the world’s most informative cohorts of radiation workers. The summary estimate of excess relative rate solid cancer mortality per Gy is larger than estimates currently informing radiation protection, and some evidence suggests a steeper slope for the dose-response association in the low dose range than over the full dose range. These results can help to strengthen radiation protection, especially for low dose exposures that are of primary interest in contemporary medical, occupational, and environmental settings.
Health-seeking experiences of women with obstetric fistula: a qualitative study at two fistula centres in Ghana
Authors: Asiedua Ernestina , Maya Ernest , Ganle John Kuumuori , Eliason Sebastian , Ansah-Ofei Adelaide Maria , Senkyire Ephraim Kumi , Adanu Richard
Published: August 2023

Objectives

The study explored the health-seeking experiences of women with obstetric fistula from the onset of the condition until surgical treatment was obtained. It also describes their interactions with health staff and traditional healers.

Design

Exploratory, descriptive qualitative study.

Setting

Two secondary-level health facilities in the northern and central regions of Ghana; data collection took place in 2018–2019.

Participants

A purposive sample of 37 women who had experienced fistula resulting from childbirth and were awaiting fistula repair at the two fistula centres in Ghana was obtained.

Data analysis

Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Results

Health-seeking experiences and behaviours of women with obstetric fistula were identified. Six major themes were generated: attribution and perceptions of fistula; competing alternatives/multiple sources of care; limited awareness and access to care; financial barriers; psychosocial challenges, and abuse by healers. The results indicate that the health-seeking experiences of women with obstetric fistula were characterised by long delays in care-seeking. The major themes and subthemes are presented with quotes from participants.

Conclusion

The women experienced winding pathways of treatment-seeking due to lack of awareness and incorrect attribution. The major barriers to health-seeking included poverty, challenges with transportation and inadequate repair centres. Increased awareness of obstetric fistula and access to repair centres could shorten the suffering women go through while awaiting fistula treatment. Improved awareness of obstetric fistula and establishment of more fistula centres would be beneficial.
Comparing trends in mid-life ‘deaths of despair’ in the USA, Canada and UK, 2001–2019: is the USA an anomaly?
Authors: Dowd Jennifer Beam , Angus Colin , Zajacova Anna , Tilstra Andrea M
Published: August 2023

Objectives

In recent years, ‘deaths of despair’ due to drugs, alcohol and suicide have contributed to rising mid-life mortality in the USA. We examine whether despair-related deaths and mid-life mortality trends are also changing in peer countries, the UK and Canada.

Design

Descriptive analysis of population mortality rates.

Setting

The USA, UK (and constituent nations England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland) and Canada, 2001–2019.

Participants

Full population aged 35–64 years.

Outcome measures

We compared all-cause and ‘despair’-related mortality trends at mid-life across countries using publicly available mortality data, stratified by three age groups (35–44, 45–54 and 55–64 years) and by sex. We examined trends in all-cause mortality and mortality by causes categorised as (1) suicides, (2) alcohol-specific deaths and (3) drug-related deaths. We employ several descriptive approaches to visually inspect age, period and cohort trends in these causes of death.

Results

The USA and Scotland both saw large relative increases and high absolute levels of drug-related deaths. The rest of the UK and Canada saw relative increases but much lower absolute levels in comparison. Alcohol-specific deaths showed less consistent trends that did not track other ‘despair’ causes, with older groups in Scotland seeing steep declines over time. Suicide deaths trended slowly upward in most countries.

Conclusions

In the UK, Scotland has suffered increases in drug-related mortality comparable with the USA, while Canada and other UK constituent nations did not see dramatic increases. Alcohol-specific and suicide mortalities generally follow different patterns to drug-related deaths across countries and over time, questioning the utility of a cohesive ‘deaths of despair’ narrative.
Cohort profile for development of machine learning models to predict healthcare-related adverse events (Demeter): clinical objectives, data requirements for modelling and overview of data set for 2016–2018
Authors: Artemova Svetlana , von Schenck Ursula , Fa Rui , Stoessel Daniel , Nowparast Rostami Hadiseh , Madiot Pierre-Ephrem , Januel Jean-Marie , Pagonis Daniel , Landelle Caroline , Gallouche Meghann , Cancé Christophe , Olive Frederic , Moreau-Gaudry Alexandre , Prieur Sigurd , Bosson Jean-Luc
Published: August 2023

Purpose

In-hospital health-related adverse events (HAEs) are a major concern for hospitals worldwide. In high-income countries, approximately 1 in 10 patients experience HAEs associated with their hospital stay. Estimating the risk of an HAE at the individual patient level as accurately as possible is one of the first steps towards improving patient outcomes. Risk assessment can enable healthcare providers to target resources to patients in greatest need through adaptations in processes and procedures. Electronic health data facilitates the application of machine-learning methods for risk analysis. We aim, first to reveal correlations between HAE occurrence and patients’ characteristics and/or the procedures they undergo during their hospitalisation, and second, to build models that allow the early identification of patients at an elevated risk of HAE.

Participants

143 865 adult patients hospitalised at Grenoble Alpes University Hospital (France) between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2018.

Findings to date

In this set-up phase of the project, we describe the preconditions for big data analysis using machine-learning methods. We present an overview of the retrospective de-identified multisource data for a 2-year period extracted from the hospital’s Clinical Data Warehouse, along with social determinants of health data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, to be used in machine learning (artificial intelligence) training and validation. No supplementary information or evaluation on the part of medical staff will be required by the information system for risk assessment.

Future plans

We are using this data set to develop predictive models for several general HAEs including secondary intensive care admission, prolonged hospital stay, 7-day and 30-day re-hospitalisation, nosocomial bacterial infection, hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism, and in-hospital mortality.
Temporal trends in obesity defined by the relative fat mass (RFM) index among adults in the United States from 1999 to 2020: a population-based study
Authors: Woolcott Orison O , Seuring Till
Published: August 2023

Objectives

The body mass index (BMI) largely underestimates excess body fat, suggesting that the prevalence of obesity could be underestimated. Biologically, women are known to have higher body fat than men. This study aimed to compare the temporal trends in general obesity by sex, ethnicity and age among adults in the USA using the relative fat mass (RFM), a validated surrogate for whole-body fat percentage and BMI.

Design

Population-based study.

Setting

US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from 1999–2000 to 2017–March 2020.

Participants

A representative sample of adults 20–79 years in the USA.

Main outcome measures

Age-adjusted prevalence of general obesity. RFM-defined obesity was diagnosed using validated cut-offs to predict all-cause mortality: RFM≥40% for women and ≥30% for men. BMI-defined obesity was diagnosed using a cut-off of 30 kg/m2.

Results

Analysis included data from 47 667 adults. Among women, RFM-defined obesity prevalence was 64.7% (95% CI 62.1% to 67.3%) in 2017–2020, a linear increase of 13.9 percentage points (95% CI 9.0% to 18.9%; p<0.001) relative to 1999–2000. In contrast, the prevalence of BMI-defined obesity was 42.2% (95% CI 39.4% to 45.0%) in 2017–2020. Among men, the corresponding RFM-defined obesity prevalence was 45.8% (95% CI 42.0% to 49.7%), a linear increase of 12.0 percentage points (95% CI 6.6% to 17.3%; p<0.001). In contrast, the prevalence of BMI-defined obesity was 42.0 (95% CI 37.8% to 46.3%). The highest prevalence of RFM-defined obesity across years was observed in older adults (60–79 years) and Mexican Americans, in women and men. Conversely, the highest prevalence of BMI-defined obesity across years was observed in middle-age (40–59 years) and older adults, and in African American women.

Conclusions

The use of a surrogate for whole-body fat percentage revealed a much higher prevalence of general obesity in the USA from 1999 to 2020, particularly among women, than that estimated using BMI, and detected a disproportionate higher prevalence of general obesity in older adults and Mexican Americans.
Barriers to and facilitators of a just-in-time adaptive intervention for respiratory illness in cerebral palsy: a qualitative study
Authors: Singh-Verdeflor Kristina Devi , Kloster Heidi M , Lerner Carlos , Klitzner Thomas S , Cushing Christopher C , Gerber Danielle M , Katz Barbara J , Chung Paul J , Delgado-Martinez Roxana , Porras-Javier Lorena , Ia Siem , Wagner Teresa , Ehlenbach Mary L , Warner Gemma , Coller Ryan J
Published: August 2023

Objective

To understand caregiver, healthcare professional and national expert perspectives on implementation of a just-in-time adaptive intervention, RE-PACT (Respiratory Exacerbation-Plans for Action and Care Transitions) to prevent respiratory crises in severe cerebral palsy.

Design

Qualitative research study.

Setting

Paediatric complex care programmes at two academic medical institutions.

Participants

A total of n=4 focus groups were conducted with caregivers of children with severe cerebral palsy and chronic respiratory illness, n=4 with healthcare professionals, and n=1 with national experts.

Methods

Participants viewed a video summarising RE-PACT, which includes action planning, mobile health surveillance of parent confidence to avoid hospitalisation and rapid clinical response at times of low confidence. Moderated discussion elicited challenges and benefits of RE-PACT’s design, and inductive thematic analysis elicited implementation barriers and facilitators.

Results

Of the 19 caregivers recruited, nearly half reported at least one hospitalisation for their child in the prior year. Healthcare professionals and national experts (n=26) included physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers and researchers. Four overarching themes and their barriers/facilitators emphasised the importance of design and interpersonal relationships balanced against health system infrastructure constraints. Intervention usefulness in crisis scenarios relies on designing action plans for intuitiveness and accuracy, and mobile health surveillance tools for integration into daily life. Trust, knowledge, empathy and adequate clinician capacity are essential components of clinical responder-caregiver relationships.

Conclusions

RE-PACT’s identified barriers are addressable. Just-in-time adaptive interventions for cerebral palsy appear well-suited to address families’ need to tailor intervention content to levels of experience, preference and competing demands.
Early prediction of left ventricular function improvement in patients with new-onset heart failure and presumed non-ischaemic aetiology
Authors: Goh Ze Ming , Javed Wasim , Shabi Mubien , Klassen Joel R L , Saunderson Christopher E D , Farley Jonathan , Spurr Melanie , Dall’Armellina Erica , Levelt Eylem , Greenwood John , Halliday Brian , Plein Sven , Swoboda Peter
Published: August 2023

Objectives

To determine baseline characteristics predictive of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) recovery in patients diagnosed with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and presumed non-ischaemic aetiology.

Methods

We prospectively recruited patients who were diagnosed with HFrEF (LVEF ≤40%) on echocardiography and subsequently underwent cardiac MRI. Patients were excluded if they had a known history of coronary artery disease (>70% on invasive coronary angiography), myocardial infarction, coronary revascularisation or anginal symptoms. At cardiac MRI assessment, patients were categorised as either ongoing HFrEF or heart failure with improved ejection fraction (HFimpEF, LVEF >40% with ≥10% of absolute improvement). Clinical characteristics were compared between the groups. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables that were associated with LVEF recovery. Optimal cut-offs in QRISK3 score and baseline LVEF for prediction of LVEF recovery were identified through receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

Results

A total of 407 patients were diagnosed with HFrEF, and 139 (34%) attained HFimpEF at cardiac MRI assessment (median 63 days, IQR 41–119 days). Mean age of the patients was 63±12 years, and 260 (63.9%) were male. At multivariate logistic regression, both QRISK3 score (HR 0.978; 95% CI 0.963 to 0.993, p=0.004) and baseline LVEF (HR 1.044; 95% CI 1.015 to 1.073, p=0.002) were independent predictors of HFimpEF. Among patients with baseline LVEF ≤25%, only 22 (21.8%) recovered. In patients with baseline LVEF 25–40%, QRISK3 score >18% was associated with lack of recovery (HR 2.75; 95% CI 1.70 to 4.48, p<0.001). Additionally, QRISK3 score was associated with the presence of ischaemic late gadolinium enhancement (HR 1.035; 95% CI 1.018 to 1.053, p<0.001).

Conclusions

The QRISK3 score helps identify patients with HFrEF with undiagnosed vascular disease. Patients with either a very low baseline LVEF or a high QRISK3 score have less chance of left ventricular recovery and should be prioritised for early cardiac MRI and close monitoring.
Impacts of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Consumption: Household Data from India
Authors: SANYAL ANIRBAN , SINGH NIRVIKAR , KAPOOR ROLLY
Published: August 2023

We quantify the impacts on consumption expenditure and the patterns following India’s initial sudden lockdown in response to the coronavirus disease pandemic and the gradual relaxation that followed. We use household survey data from a representative Indian state, Punjab. We separate the effects between rural versus urban households, and whether the households were female headed or had daily laborers. While the urban population cut back expenditure across all categories, rural households shifted toward basic commodities and cut back more on other expenditure. Rural households that included daily-wage laborers were the most severely affected.
Magnetic corrections to the fermionic Casimir effect in Horava-Lifshitz theories
Authors: Erdas Andrea
Published: August 2023

In this paper, I investigate the effect of a magnetic field on the Casimir effect due to a massless and charged fermion field that violates Lorentz invariance according to the Horava-Lifshitz theory. I focus on the case of a fermion field that obeys MIT bag boundary conditions on a pair of parallel plates. I carry out this investigation using the [Formula: see text]-function technique that allows me to obtain Casimir energy and pressure in the presence of a uniform magnetic field orthogonal to the plates. I investigate the cases of the parameter associated with the violation of Lorentz invariance being even or odd and the cases of weak and strong magnetic field, examining all possible combinations of the above quantities. In all cases I obtain simple and very accurate analytic expressions of the magnetic field-dependent Casimir energy and pressure.
Can the new states around 2.2 GeV be identified as the ω(3D)?
Authors: Wang Ya-Rong , Ma Yan , Pang Cheng-Qun
Published: August 2023

Recently, the BESIII Collaboration reported that there exist two explicit enhancement structures near 2.25[Formula: see text]GeV, one has the mass of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV and the width of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV and another structure has the mass of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV and the width of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV when analyzing the cross section of subprocesses. Earlier, the BESIII Collaboration reported the existence of the [Formula: see text], with a mass of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV and width of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MeV. Based on these experimental results, we carried out a study. We present the comparison of the mass spectrum between theoretical and experimental masses and examine the two-body strong decays of these states within two different approaches to the [Formula: see text] model. We find that the newly discovered states are most likely to be an [Formula: see text] state. This discovery could be useful in establishing entire [Formula: see text] mesons.
Approximate Computing: Hardware and Software Techniques, Tools and Their Applications
Authors: Raza Mehwish , Javed Sharjeel , Kazmi Majida , Aziz Arshad , Ul Haque Muhammad Fahim , Qazi Saad Ahmed
Published: August 2023

The limitations of scaling in CMOS technology pose challenges in meeting the requirements of future applications. To address these challenges, researchers are exploring various design techniques, including Approximate Computing (AC), which leverages the inherent error resilience of applications to achieve high performance and energy gains with desired quality. AC has gained popularity as a computer paradigm for error-resilient applications, and many researchers have studied AC across computing layers and developed tools for implementing these techniques. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of AC techniques at the abstraction levels of software and hardware and discusses the tools to implement AC in hardware and software, quality evaluation tools and comparison points. The paper also covers existing frameworks for AC, potential applications, future research directions, challenges and limitations. This information can guide researchers in identifying promising avenues for further advancements and innovations in this domain. Additionally, this paper compares state-of-the-art surveys of AC and highlights the unique features and contributions of this work that distinguish our work from previous surveys.
On Freese’s technique
Authors: Aglianò Paolo , Bartali Stefano , Fioravanti Stefano
Published: August 2023

In this paper, we explore some applications of a certain technique (that we call Freese’ technique), which is a tool for identifying certain lattices as sublattices of the congruence lattice of a given algebra. In particular we will give sufficient conditions for two family of lattices (called the rods and the snakes) to be admissible as sublattices of a variety generated by a given algebra, extending an unpublished result of Freese and Lipparini.
Study of P+10,11Be elastic scattering using different potentials at low energies
Authors: Ebrahim A. A. , Mokhtar S. R. , Ali Nagwa A.
Published: August 2023

A microscopic approach was used to analyze the elastic scattering of protons on [Formula: see text]Be at incident energies of 9.1, 15.1, 39.1, and 59.3[Formula: see text]MeV/nucleon for [Formula: see text]Be and [Formula: see text]Be (38.4[Formula: see text]MeV/nucleon and 49.3[Formula: see text]MeV/nucleon) within the framework of single folding (SF) and São-Paulo (SP) potentials. Also, the energy dependence of the reaction cross-sections of the considered reactions is investigated. The study was performed using FRESCO code on the free parameters ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]). The DFPOT code was used to compute the SF and SP potentials microscopically for the real and imaginary parts of the optical potential (OP), respectively. The OP was derived using two different nuclear density distributions since [Formula: see text]Be as Gaussian–Gaussian (GG) [Formula: see text] and Gaussian–Oscillator (GO) [Formula: see text], and the effective N–N interactions were represented in the Gaussian form. The resulting differential cross-sections agreed well with the given experimental data.
Analysis of centrality dependences of pion multiplicity events using their higher moments in relativistic heavy ion collisions
Authors: Kamel S. , Saber A. , Abdallah N.
Published: August 2023

In this study, data on charged-pion production in relativistic oxygen-ion collisions are examined with varying degrees of centrality. Using the multiplicity of producing charged pions, it is proved that there is a relationship between centrality degrees and collision parameters (such as the impact parameter [Formula: see text], target size fragments, [Formula: see text] and the total charge of projectile spectators, [Formula: see text]. The various order moments of the multiplicity distributions are used in the standard way to investigate the underlying correlations. The evidence suggests that all the pions produced at the various target sizes ([Formula: see text]-values) correlate. The higher moments are also investigated at various centrality classes decided by the parameter [Formula: see text]. The multiplicity fluctuations, as measured by the variance-to-mean ratio, showed that the multiplicity distributions of produced pions are not Poissonian, regardless of how they were examined using the two parameters [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]-values.