bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carotid artery revascularization using the Walrus balloon guide catheter: safety and feasibility from a US multicenter experience
Authors: Salem Mohamed M , Kvint Svetlana , Baig Ammad A , Monteiro Andre , Cortez Gustavo M , Kuhn Anna L , Goren Oded , Dalal Shamsher , Jankowitz Brian T , Choudhri Omar , Raper Daniel , Tanweer Omar , Jabbour Pascal , Kan Peter , Starke Robert M , Levy Elad I , Griessenauer Christoph J , Puri Ajit S , Hanel Ricardo , Siddiqui Adnan H , Burkhardt Jan-Karl
Published: October 2021

Introduction

The Walrus balloon guide catheter (BGC) is a new generation of BGC, designed to eliminate conventional limitations during mechanical thrombectomy.

Objective

To report a multi-institutional experience using this BGC for proximal flow control (PFC) in the setting of carotid artery angioplasty/stenting (CAS) in elective (eCAS) and tandem strokes (tCAS).

Methods

Prospectively maintained databases at 8 North American centers were queried to identify patients with cervical carotid disease undergoing eCAS/tCAS with a Walrus BGC.

Results

110 patients (median age 68, 64.6% male), 80 (72.7%) undergoing eCAS and 30 (27.3%) tCAS procedures, were included (median cervical carotid stenosis 90%; 46 (41.8%) with contralateral stenosis). Using a proximal flow-arrest technique in 95 (87.2%) and flow-reversal in 14 (12.8%) procedures, the Walrus was navigated into the common carotid artery successfully in all cases despite challenging arch anatomy (31, 28.2%), with preferred femoral access (103, 93.6%) and in monitored anesthesia care (90, 81.8%). Angioplasty and distal embolic protection devices (EPDs) were used in 91 (83.7%) and 58 (52.7%) procedures, respectively. tCAS led to a modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction 2b/3 in all cases. Periprocedural ischemic stroke (up to 30 days postoperatively) rate was 0.9% (n=1) and remote complications occurred in 2 (1.8%) cases. Last follow-up modified Rankin Scale score of 0–2 was seen in 95.3% of eCAS cohort, with no differences in complications in the eCAS subgroup between PFC only versus PFC and distal EPD (median follow-up 4.1 months).

Conclusion

Walrus BGC for proximal flow control is safe and effective during eCAS and tCAS. Procedural success was achieved in all cases, with favorable safety and functional outcomes on short-term follow-up.
Mental health among UK university staff and postgraduate students in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Carr Ewan , Davis Katrina , Bergin-Cartwright Gabriella , Lavelle Grace , Leightley Daniel , Oetzmann Carolin , Polling Catherine , Stevelink Sharon A M , Wickersham Alice , Razavi Reza , Hotopf Matthew
Published: October 2021

Objectives

To characterise the baseline King’s College London Coronavirus Health and Experiences of Colleagues at King’s cohort and describe patterns of probable depression and anxiety among staff and postgraduate research students at a large UK university in April/May 2020.

Methods

An online survey was sent to current staff and postgraduate research students via email in April 2020 (n=2590). Primary outcomes were probable depression and anxiety, measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7, respectively. Secondary outcomes were alcohol use and perceived change in mental health. Outcomes were described using summary statistics and multivariable Poisson regression was used to explore associations with six groups of predictors: demographics and prior mental health, living arrangements, caring roles, healthcare, occupational factors and COVID-19 infection. All analyses were weighted to account for differences between the sample and target population in terms of age, gender, and ethnicity.

Results

Around 20% of staff members and 30% of postgraduate research students met thresholds for probable depression or anxiety on the questionnaires. This doubled to around 40% among younger respondents aged <25. Other factors associated with probable depression and anxiety included female gender, belonging to an ethnic minority group, caregiving responsibilities and shielding or isolating. Around 20% of participants were found to reach cut-off for hazardous drinking on Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, while 30% were drinking more than before the pandemic.

Conclusions

Our study shows worrying levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorder in an occupational sample from a large UK university in the months following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posterior hip pericapsular neurolysis (PHPN) for inoperable hip fracture: an adjunct to anterior hip pericapsular neurolysis
Authors: Ng Tony Kwun-tung , Peng Philip , Chan Wing-sang
Published: October 2021

Background

The development of anterior hip neurolysis has made an appreciable impact on the management of patients with inoperable hip fracture. Nonetheless, suboptimal analgesic benefit was still observed in some patients. We therefore developed a novel posterior hip pericapsular neurolysis (PHPN) to complement anterior hip neurolysis in inoperable hip fracture.

Methods

In this retrospective review, we analyzed patients who responded suboptimally (defined as composite pain score moderate or higher on hip flexion 80°) to the anterior hip neurolysis from July 2019 to March 2021. The patients received additional PHPN if the composite pain score was suboptimal. The percentage of patients with dynamic composite pain scores on hip flexion to 80° and on gentle hip external and internal rotation on post-intervention day 5 was then evaluated.

Results

Among the 70 patients who were reviewed in the study period, 20 patients who partially responded to anterior hip neurolysis received an addition of diagnostic posterior hip pericapsular block. Eighteen patients were the positive responders and PHPN was then performed. Among the PHPN recipients, a high percentage with satisfactory dynamic pain control was observed with 78% on hip flexion 80° and 83% on hip external/internal rotation on day 5 following the intervention. No procedural adverse event was noted.

Conclusions

While most patients responded satisfactorily to anterior hip neurolysis, we concluded PHPN could be an effective adjunct to manage suboptimal pain control after anterior hip neurolysis in inoperable hip fracture.

Trial registration number

NTWC/REC/21061.
Mass spectroscopy and strong decays of excited open charm $${D}_{J}$$ mesons using relativistic Dirac formalism
Authors: Pandya Bhoomika , Shah Manan , Vinodkumar P. C.
Published: October 2021

The mass spectra for the heavy-light $$(c{\bar{q}}) ;$$

(
c

q

¯

)
;

$$q = u$$

q
=
u

or d charmed mesons are computed based on a relativistic framework. The low-lying 1P states are found to be in an excellent agreement with the PDG reported values. Using the computed mass spectra and following effective Lagrangian approach based on heavy quark and chiral symmetry, the OZI allowed two body strong decays are computed. The computed decay rates, ratios and branching fractions allow us to identify the proper spin-parity assignments of the newly observed charm states. Accordingly, we could identify $$D_J(2560)$$

D
J

(
2560
)

as $$2^1S_0$$

2
1

S
0

, $$D_J^*(2680)$$

D
J
∗

(
2680
)

as $$2^3S_1$$

2
3

S
1

, $$D_J(2740)$$

D
J

(
2740
)

as $$1^3D_2$$

1
3

D
2

, $$D_J^*(2760)$$

D
J
∗

(
2760
)

as $$1^3D_3$$

1
3

D
3

, $$D^*_J(3000)$$

D
J
∗

(
3000
)

as $$2^3P_0$$

2
3

P
0

, $$D_J(3000)$$

D
J

(
3000
)

as $$2^1P_1$$

2
1

P
1

and $$D^*_2(3000)$$

D
2
∗

(
3000
)

as $$1^3F_2$$

1
3

F
2

open charm states. The effective coupling constants, $$g_T$$

g
T

, $$\tilde{g_H}$$

g
H

~

, $$g_Y$$

g
Y

, $$\tilde{g_S}$$

g
S

~

and $$g_Z$$

g
Z

extracted from the present study are found to be in accordance with the reported values. These coupling constants would be useful in further investigations. We found $$D^{*+} \pi ^-$$

D

∗
+

π
-

as a favorable channel for the experimental search of the missing $$1^1F_3$$

1
1

F
3

state.
WELL-POSEDNESS AND REGULARITY OF CAPUTO–HADAMARD TIME-FRACTIONAL DIFFUSION EQUATIONS
Authors: YANG ZHIWEI , ZHENG XIANGCHENG , WANG HONG
Published: October 2021

Ultraslow diffusion describes the long-time diffusion of particles whose mean square displacement (MSD) grows logarithmically in time. We prove the well-posedness of a Caputo–Hadamard time-fractional diffusion model in multiple space dimensions, in which the MSD in time grows logarithmically and thus provides adequate descriptions for the ultraslow diffusion processes, as well as the smoothing properties of the solutions.
EFFECTIVE GAS DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT OF FRACTAL POROUS MEDIA WITH ROUGH SURFACES BY MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS
Authors: YIN ZUOZHUANG , ZHENG QIAN , WANG HUILI , GUO XIUYA
Published: October 2021

Gas diffusion coefficient is an important parameter in characterizing gas transport in porous media. Based on the fractal characteristics of microscopic capillaries, the effect of capillary surface roughness on gas diffusion is considered by the Monte Carlo technique. We proposed a probability model of the effective gas diffusion coefficient of the porous media with rough surfaces. This model is expressed as a function of the geometrical parameters of porous media, such as the porosity, the pore fractal dimension, the tortuosity fractal dimension, and the relative roughness. The simulated effective gas diffusion coefficient is compared with the available experimental data and a good agreement between them is obtained. The effect of the structural parameters of porous media on gas diffusion is analyzed in detail.
EIGENVALUES OF LAPLACIANS ON HIGHER DIMENSIONAL VICSEK SET GRAPHS
Authors: CAO SHIPING , STRICHARTZ ROBERT S. , WEI MELISSA
Published: October 2021

We study the graphs associated with Vicsek sets in higher dimensional settings. First, we study the eigenvalues of the Laplacians on the approximating graphs of the Vicsek sets, finding a general spectral decimation function. This is an extension of earlier results on two-dimensional Vicsek sets. Second, we study the Vicsek set lattices, which are natural analogues to the Sierpinski lattices. We have a criterion when two different Vicsek set lattices are isomorphic.
Why or Why Not? The Effect of Justification Styles on Chatbot Recommendations
Authors: Wilkinson Daricia , Alkan Öznur , Liao Q. Vera , Mattetti Massimiliano , Vejsbjerg Inge , Knijnenburg Bart P. , Daly Elizabeth
Published: October 2021

Chatbots or conversational recommenders have gained increasing popularity as a new paradigm for Recommender Systems (RS). Prior work on RS showed that providing explanations can improve transparency and trust, which are critical for the adoption of RS. Their interactive and engaging nature makes conversational recommenders a natural platform to not only provide recommendations but also justify the recommendations through explanations. The recent surge of interest inexplainable AI enables diverse styles of justification, and also invites questions on how styles of justification impact user perception. In this article, we explore the effect of “why” justifications and “why not” justifications on users’ perceptions of explainability and trust. We developed and tested a movie-recommendation chatbot that provides users with different types of justifications for the recommended items. Our online experiment (
n
= 310) demonstrates that the “why” justifications (but not the “why not” justifications) have a significant impact on users’ perception of the conversational recommender. Particularly, “why” justifications increase users’ perception of system transparency, which impacts perceived control, trusting beliefs and in turn influences users’ willingness to depend on the system’s advice. Finally, we discuss the design implications for decision-assisting chatbots.
Next-Generation Food Research: Use of Meta-Omic Approaches for Characterizing Microbial Communities Along the Food Chain
Authors: Yap Min , Ercolini Danilo , Álvarez-Ordóñez Avelino , O'Toole Paul W. , O'Sullivan Orla , Cotter Paul D.
Published: October 2021

Microorganisms exist along the food chain and impact the quality and safety of foods in both positive and negative ways. Identifying and understanding the behavior of these microbial communities enable the implementation of preventative or corrective measures in public health and food industry settings. Current culture-dependent microbial analyses are time-consuming and target only specific subsets of microbes. However, the greater use of culture-independent meta-omic approaches has the potential to facilitate a thorough characterization of the microbial communities along the food chain. Indeed, these methods have shown potential in contributing to outbreak investigation, ensuring food authenticity, assessing the spread ofantimicrobial resistance, tracking microbial dynamics during fermentation and processing, and uncovering the factors along the food chain that impact food quality and safety. This review examines the community-based approaches, and particularly the application of sequencing-based meta-omics strategies, for characterizing microbial communities along the food chain.
The Gut Microbiome: Connecting Diet, Glucose Homeostasis, and Disease
Authors: Howard Elizabeth J. , Lam Tony K.T. , Duca Frank A.
Published: October 2021

Type 2 diabetes rates continue to rise unabated, underscoring the need to better understand the etiology and potential therapeutic options available for this disease. The gut microbiome plays a role in glucose homeostasis, and diabetes is associated with alterations in the gut microbiome. Given that consumption of a Western diet is associated with increased metabolic disease, and that a Western diet alters the gut microbiome, it is plausible that changes in the gut microbiota mediate the dysregulation in glucose homeostasis. In this review, we highlight a few of the most significant mechanisms by which the gut microbiome can influence glucose regulation, including changes in gut permeability, gut–brain signaling, and production of bacteria-derived metabolites like short-chain fatty acids and bile acids. A better understanding of these pathways could lead to the development of novel therapeutics to target the gut microbiome in order to restore glucose homeostasis in metabolic disease.
Platelet proteome dynamics in hibernating 13-lined ground squirrels
Authors: Cooper Scott , Wilmarth Phillip A. , Cunliffe Jennifer M. , Klimek John , Pang Jiaqing , Tassi Yunga Samuel , Minnier Jessica , Reddy Ashok , David Larry , Aslan Joseph E.
Published: October 2021

Hibernating mammals undergo a dramatic drop in temperature and blood flow during torpor, yet avoid stasis blood clotting through mechanisms that remain unspecified. The effects of hibernation on hemostasis are especially complex, as cold temperatures generally activate platelets, resulting in platelet clearance and cold storage lesions in the context of blood transfusion. With a hibernating body temperature of 4°C–8°C, 13-lined ground squirrels ( Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) provide a model to study hemostasis as well as platelet cold storage lesion resistance during hibernation. Here, we quantified and systematically compared proteomes of platelets collected from ground squirrels at summer (active), fall (entrance), and winter (topor) to elucidate how molecular-level changes in platelets may support hemostatic adaptations in torpor. Platelets were isolated from a total of 11 squirrels in June, October, and January. Platelet lysates from each animal were digested with trypsin prior to 11-plex tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis for relative protein quantification. We measured >700 proteins with significant variations in abundance in platelets over the course of entrance, torpor, and activity—including systems of proteins regulating translation, secretion, metabolism, complement, and coagulation cascades. We also noted species-specific differences in levels of hemostatic, secretory, and inflammatory regulators in ground squirrel platelets relative to human platelets. Altogether, we provide the first ever proteomic characterization of platelets from hibernating animals, where systematic changes in metabolic, hemostatic, and other proteins may account for physiological adaptations in torpor and also inform translational effort to improve cold storage of human platelets for transfusion.
Selection of Machine Learning Models for Oil Price Forecasting: Based on the Dual Attributes of Oil
Authors: Yan Lei , Zhu Yuting , Wang Haiyan
Published: October 2021

Since the commodity and financial attributes of crude oil will have a long-term or short-term impact on crude oil prices, we propose a de-dimension machine learning model approach to forecast the international crude oil prices. First, we use principal component analysis (PCA), multidimensional scale (MDS), and locally linear embedding (LLE) methods to reduce the dimensions of the data. Then, based on the recurrent neural network (RNN) and long-term and short-term memory (LSTM) models, we build eight models for predicting the future and spot prices of international crude oil. From the analysis and comparison of the prediction results, we find that reducing the dimension of the data can improve the accuracy of the model and the applicability of RNN and LSTM models. In addition, the LLE-RNN/LSTM models can most successfully capture the nonlinear characteristics of crude oil prices. When the moving window size is twenty, that is, when crude oil price data are lagging by almost a month, each model can minimize its error, and the LLE-RNN /LSTM models have the best robustness.
Dense Dilated Attentive Network for Automatic Classification of Femur Trochanteric Fracture
Authors: Kang Yuxiang , Yu Jie , Ren Zhipeng , Zhang Guokai , Cao Wen , Zhang Yinguang , Dong Qiang
Published: October 2021

Automatic classification of femur trochanteric fracture is very valuable in clinical diagnosis practice. However, developing a high classification performance system is still challenging due to the various locations, shapes, and contextual information of the fracture regions. To tackle this challenge, we propose a novel dense dilated attentive (DDA) network for more accurate classification of 31A1/31A2/31A3 fractures from the X-ray images by incorporating a DDA layer. By exploiting this layer, the multiscale, contextual, and attentive features are encoded from different depths of the network and thus improving the feature learning ability of the classification network to gain a better classification performance. To validate the effectiveness of the DDA network, we conduct extensive experiments on the annotated femur trochanteric fracture data samples, and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed DDA network could achieve competitive classification compared with other methods.
A Convolution-Based Shearlet Transform in Free Metaplectic Domains
Authors: Garg Tarun K. , Lone Waseem Z. , Shah Firdous A. , Mejjaoli Hatem
Published: October 2021

The free metaplectic transformation (FMT) is a multidimensional integral transform that encompasses a broader range of integral transforms, from the classical Fourier to the more recent linear canonical transforms. The aim of this study is to introduce a novel shearlet transform by employing the free metaplectic convolution structures. Besides obtaining the orthogonality relation, inversion formula, and range theorem, we also study the homogeneous approximation property for the proposed transform. Towards the culmination, we formulate the Heisenberg and logarithmic-type uncertainty principles associated with the free metaplectic shearlet transform.
An Improved RANSAC Algorithm Based on Adaptive Threshold for Indoor Positioning
Authors: Bai Jianan , Qin Danyang , Ma Lin , Teklu Merhawit Berhane
Published: October 2021

The smart city is an important direction for the development of the highly information-based city, and indoor navigation and positioning technology is an important basis for the realization of an intelligent city. In recent years, indoor positioning technology mainly relies on WiFi, radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth, and so on. Yet, the implementation of the above method requires the relevant equipment to be laid out in advance, and it is only suitable for indoor positioning with low accuracy requirements owing to interference and fading of the signal. The visual-based positioning technology can achieve high-precision positioning in enclosed, semienclosed, and multiwalled indoor environments with strong electromagnetic interference by means of epipolar geometry and image matching. The visual-based indoor positioning mostly uses the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm to estimate the fundamental matrix to acquire the user’s relative position. The traditional RANSAC algorithm determines the set of inliers by artificially setting a threshold to estimate the model. However, since the selection of the threshold depends on experience and prior knowledge, the reliability of the positioning results is not robust. Therefore, in order to improve the universality of the algorithm in indoor environments, this paper proposed an improved RANSAC algorithm based on the adaptive threshold and evaluated the real-time and accuracy of the algorithm by using an open-source image library. Results of the experiment show that the algorithm is more accurate than the traditional RANSAC algorithm in an enclosed and semienclosed multiwalled indoor environment, with fewer iterations.
Patient Satisfaction Survey on Perioperative Anesthesia Service in University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2021
Authors: Endale Simegn Atsedu , Yaregal Melesse Debas , Belay Bizuneh Yosef , Mekonnen Alemu Wudie
Published: October 2021

Background. Patient satisfaction is a crucial component in determining the quality of healthcare in anesthesia services. This study aimed to assess patient satisfaction and associated factors on perioperative anesthesia services. Methods. Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from May 16 to June 22, 2021, at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1 and exported to STATA version 14.1. The strength of the association was presented using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval, and a

p

value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results. A total of 398 patients were included in this study with a response rate of 98%. The overall proportion of patients who were satisfied with perioperative anesthesia service was 74% (95% CI: 69–78). Patients who received regional anesthesia were 2.8 times satisfied than those who received general anesthesia (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.42–5.36). Patients who obtained adequate information was 3.14 times (AOR = 3.14, 95% CI: 1.71–5.74) satisfied than that of the counterpart. Adults who did not feel pain during induction of anesthesia were 2.7 times (AOR = 2.7, 95% CI: 1.43–5.08) satisfied than an adult who felt pain during induction of anesthesia. Conclusion and Recommendations. The overall patients’ satisfaction on perioperative anesthesia service was 74%. Patients who underwent operation with regional anesthesia, obtained adequate information about anesthesia, visited by anesthetists after operations, did not have nausea/vomiting, did not feel pain during induction, and patients who did not feel pain immediately after operation were satisfied than the counterparts. We recommended that the anesthetists must give attention to reduce the factors that decrease the satisfaction level of the surgical patients.
A Multivariate Model for Predicting the Progress of COVID-19 Using Clinical Data besides Chest CT Scan
Authors: Zhu Yingying , Wu Haiyan , Zhou Dawei , Wang Qiushi , Sun Zhendi , Niu Chuanzhen , Ye Liping , Tian Xinghan , Wang Chunting
Published: October 2021

Objective. Computed tomography (CT) scan is a method to predict the progression and prognosis of COVID-19. It is not sufficient merely to measure the prognosis of COVID-19 without other clinical methods. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the CT scan and clinical laboratory indicators as well as clinical manifestations. Method. A total of 335 patients were enrolled from January 26, 2020, to February 26, 2020, in Shandong province and Huanggang city. Demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory variables, and the data from the CT scans were collected for analysis. Scatter plot analysis and correlation analysis were used to calculate the relationship between CT evaluation and other indicators. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to establish a model for diagnostic and prognostic prediction. Age, CRP, LDH, and lymphocyte counts as independent variables were selected to develop a predictive model, and the results from the CT scans to reflect the degree of lung injury were taken as the dependent variable. Result. The median age was 44 years (IQR: 34–56); among them, 188 (56%) were male. Severe patients were older (56 vs. 40,

P
<
0.001

). There were statistically significant differences in lymphocyte counts, platelet counts, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), procalcitonin (PCT), and creatine kinase (CK) between the general patients and severe patients. We found that, without effective antiviral treatment, mild patients had a 6-day interval from symptom onset to CRP elevation, but in severe patients, CRP started to increase from day 2. Lung injury score from a chest CT scan and incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) were significantly higher in severe patients than in mild patients. Lung injury score from a chest CT scan was closely correlated with CRP (rs = 0.704,

P
<
0.01

), and they reflected the severity of the disease. The receiver operating curve (ROC) value of the injury score from the chest CT scan was 0.854 (95% CI: 0.808–0.901), and the area under the curve (AUC) value of CRP was 0.823 (95% CI: 0.769–0.878). Conclusion. The results from CRP and chest CT scans were indicators of the severity of COVID-19. Combining patient age, CRP, LDH, and lymphocyte counts, we developed a model that could help to predict lung injury/function of patients with COVID-19.
A Review of Big Data Resource Management: Using Smart Grid Systems as a Case Study
Authors: Khan Muhammad Fawad , Azam Muhammad , Khan Muhammad Asghar , Algarni Fahad , Ashfaq Mujaddad , Ahmad Ibtihaj , Ullah Insaf
Published: October 2021

Big data has recently been a prominent topic of research due to the exponential growth of data every year. This massive growth of data is causing problems with resource management. The available literature does not address this problem in depth. Therefore, in this article, we aim to cover the topic of resource management for big data in detail. We addressed resource management from the perspective of smart grids for a better understanding. This study includes a number of tools and methods, such as Hadoop and MapReduce. Large data sets created by smart grids or other data‐generating sources may be handled using such tools and approaches. In this article, we also discussed resource management in terms of various vulnerabilities and security risks to data and information being transmitted or received, as well as big data analytics. In summary, our comprehensive study of big data in terms of data creation, processing, resource management, and analysis gives a full picture of big data.
Information Flow between Global Equities and Cryptocurrencies: A VMD‐Based Entropy Evaluating Shocks from COVID‐19 Pandemic
Authors: Asafo-Adjei Emmanuel , Owusu Junior Peterson , Adam Anokye M.
Published: October 2021

The world has witnessed the adverse impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Accordingly, it is expected that information transmission between equities and digital assets has been altered due to the hostile impact of the pandemic outbreak on financial markets. As a result, the ensuing perverse risk among markets is presumed to rise during severe uncertainties occasioned by the COVID‐19 pandemic. The impetus of this study is to examine the degree of asymmetry and nonlinear directional causality between global equities and cryptocurrencies in the frequency domain. Hence, we employ both the variational mode decomposition (VMD) and the Rényi effective transfer entropy techniques. Analyses of the study are presented for three sample periods; these are the full sample period, the pre‐COVID‐19 period, and the COVID‐19 pandemic period. We gauge a mixture of asymmetric and nonlinear bidirectional and unidirectional causality between global equities and cryptocurrencies for the sample periods. However, the COVID‐19 pandemic period appears to be driving the estimates for the full sample period, which indicates a negative flow. Thus, the direction and significance of the information flow between the markets for the full sample correspond to the one observed during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. We, consequently, establish a significant directional, dynamical, and scale‐dependent information flow between global equities and cryptocurrencies. Notwithstanding, throughout the study samples, we mainly find a negative significant information flow from global equities to cryptocurrencies. We detect that most cryptocurrencies exhibit similar behaviour of information flow to global equities for each of the sample periods. The outcome provides pertinent signals to investors with diverse investment horizons who would want to diversify, hedge, or employ cryptocurrencies as a safe haven for global equities during uncertainties, specifically the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Urea-to-Albumin Ratio and In-Hospital Mortality in Severe Pneumonia Patients
Authors: Tian Yu , Li Yihao , Jiang Zixin , Chen Jieru
Published: October 2021

Objective. The urea-to-albumin ratio (UAR), as a new marker of the systemic inflammatory response, is associated with the mortality in pneumonia patients. However, the association between the UAR and in-hospital mortality in severe pneumonia (SP) has received little attention. Methods. In this single-center retrospective cohort study, 212 SP patients in intensive care unit (ICU) from June 1, 2016, to June 1st, 2020, with baseline UAR were enrolled. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. The association of UAR with in-hospital mortality was assessed using a multivariable-adjusted Cox model. Results. Of 212 patients, the median age was 73.0 (61.0, 82.8) years, 70.8% of patients were male, and the APACHE II score was 20.0 (16.0, 26.0). During the hospital period, 101 (47.6%) patients died. In-hospital mortality rates for the lower and higher UAR were 16 (27.6%) and 85 (55.2%), respectively

P
<
0.001

. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that survival rates were significantly different between the two groups (log rank = 13.71,

P
<
0.001

). After adjusted for confounding factors, the higher UAR group was significantly associated with a hazard ratio (HR) for in-hospital mortality of 2.234 (95% confidence interval: 1.146–4.356,

P
=
0.018

). Besides, this pattern persisted in subgroup analyses considering sex (HR = 9.380; 95% CI: 2.248–39.138;

P
=
0.002

). Conclusions. Higher UAR levels at the commencement of admission to ICU may be independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality in SP patients.
Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Escherichia coli Isolated from Broiler and Layer Chickens in Arusha and Mwanza, Tanzania
Authors: Kiiti Ruth W. , Komba Erick V. , Msoffe Peter L. , Mshana Stephen E. , Rweyemamu Mark , Matee Mecky I. N.
Published: October 2021

The rise in the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens such as Escherichia coli is one of the very important dynamics off-putting treatment and prophylaxis possibilities, hence posing a threat to the modern human medicine, veterinary medicine, and food safety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine antimicrobial resistance profiles in E. coli isolates obtained from broiler and layer chickens in Mwanza and Arusha regions in Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was carried out from February to March, 2021, in 402 poultry farms in Mwanza (201) and Arusha (201) regions in Tanzania. All samples that tested positive for E. coli were confirmed using MALDI-TOF MS, and two hundred and four (204) E. coli isolates were randomly chosen and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disc diffusion method. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel® and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Isolates were tested against seven antimicrobial agents belonging to seven classes of antimicrobials. All the tested isolates (n = 204) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent. Overall, the highest resistance was observed in ampicillin (100%), whereas the lowest resistance was recorded for gentamicin (10.3%). Majority of the isolates (86.76%) were multidrug resistant. Antimicrobial resistance of E. coli to four classes of antimicrobial agents was the highest in this study (31.1%). Six of the 177 tested isolates (2.9%) were resistant to the seven classes of antimicrobial agents. 21 of the 204 (10.29%) isolates were ESBL producers where 21/21 (100%) isolates expressed blaTEM genes and only two isolates expressed (2/21) blaCTX-M gene. The isolates obtained in this study displayed high resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents in veterinary and human medicine. This implies that there is existence of practices that accelerate antimicrobial resistance in the production of the sampled birds and therefore integration of appropriate use of antimicrobial agents and other measures that curb the spread of resistant genes is necessary.
An Adaptive Noise Reduction Method Based on Improved Dislocation Superposition Method for Abnormal Noise Fault Component of Automotive Engine
Authors: Hou Jiaoyi , Guo Pengwei , Xu Aoyu , Ning Dayong , Chen Shengtao , Zhang Zengmeng , Gong Yongjun , Chen Yinglong , Tian Hao , Du Hongwei
Published: October 2021

The acoustic signal generated by mechanical motion contains the information of its motion state, but when the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) is low, the accuracy of real‐time monitoring mechanical motion state by the acoustic signal is low. This study proposes an adaptive noise reduction method based on the dislocation superposition method (DSM), which can realize the adaptive noise reduction and the extraction of fault a component from the automobile engine abnormal noise signal of low SNR. Firstly, the wavelet coefficients of engine abnormal noise signal are obtained by continuous wavelet transform (CWT), and the fault feature points of the abnormal noise signal in each period are extracted by setting hard threshold function, window function, and feature points extraction algorithm. Then, the signal segments containing fault components are obtained by using the position of feature points to extend the length of the fault component forward and backward, respectively, and Pearson’s correlation is calculated by traversal to determine the starting superposition point of each signal segment containing fault components. Finally, the signal segments of the odd group and even group are selected for superposition calculation. When the superposition stop condition is not satisfied, the number of superpositions increased until the stop condition is satisfied, and the superposition signal can be used as a fault component. The experimental results show that, compared with the improved DSM, this method has a good effect on the noise reduction and extraction of fault components of automobile engine cylinder knocking fault, and the effectiveness of this method is verified. This method is used to reduce the noise and extract the fault components of automobile engine cylinder missing fault and knock fault, and good results are obtained.
Meta-Analysis Study on Treatment of Children’s Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Authors: Xue Jinlian , Hao Yuping , Li Xiaohui , Guan Renfang , Wang Yang , Li Yanfang , Tian Hongni
Published: October 2021

With the development of society and the economy, the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been increasing. Due to its high comorbidity and high harm, it has received increasing attention. It causes damage to functions in multiple areas, and this damage may continue into adulthood. ADHD is a common developmental disorder characterized by persistent attention deficit and hyperactivity/impulsivity. ADHD often merges with other diseases, such as oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, personality disorder, anxiety disorder, mood disorder, and substance dependence. The disease tends to cause children with learning difficulties, poor grades, strained relationships with family members and children of the same age, lack of self-esteem, and children with low occupation, low income, substance abuse, and antisocial personality characteristics when they grow up to adults. Many countries have formulated ADHD treatment guidelines for this purpose, but there is still a lack of consensus. This article uses literature research and the meta method: RevMan 5.3 software is used for data analysis. The analysis results show that traditional Chinese medicine has characteristics and advantages in the clinical total effective rate and hyperactivity index score in the treatment of ADHD. The overall clinical syndrome differentiation of the treatment can be summarized as liver and kidney yin deficiency and liver yang partial prosperity. The overall medication is based on the methods of nourishing yin and clearing heat, calming the liver and nourishing kidney, and nourishing yin and suppressing yang. The efficacy and safety evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of ADHD need to be further verified by large-sample clinical trials with strict design and standardized outcome index reporting.
The Influence of Personalised Sarcoma Care (PERSARC) Prediction Modelling on Clinical Decision Making in a Multidisciplinary Setting
Authors: Hagenmaier H. S. Femke , van Beeck Annelies G. K. , Haas Rick L. , van Praag Veroniek M. , van Bodegom-Vos Leti , van der Hage Jos A. , Krol Stijn , Speetjens Frank M. , Cleven Arjen H. G. , Navas Ana , Kroon Herman M. , Moeri-Schimmel Rieneke G. , Leyerzapf Nicolette A. C. , van de Sande Michiel A. J.
Published: October 2021

Background. With soft-tissue sarcoma of the extremity (ESTS) representing a heterogenous group of tumors, management decisions are often made in multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings. To optimize outcome, nomograms are more commonly used to guide individualized treatment decision making. Purpose. To evaluate the influence of Personalised Sarcoma Care (PERSARC) on treatment decisions for patients with high-grade ESTS and the ability of the MDT to accurately predict overall survival (OS) and local recurrence (LR) rates. Methods. Two consecutive meetings were organised. During the first meeting, 36 cases were presented to the MDT. OS and LR rates without the use of PERSARC were estimated by consensus and preferred treatment was recorded for each case. During the second meeting, OS/LR rates calculated with PERSARC were presented to the MDT. Differences between estimated OS/LR rates and PERSARC OS/LR rates were calculated. Variations in preferred treatment protocols were noted. Results. The MDT underestimated OS when compared to PERSARC in 48.4% of cases. LR rates were overestimated in 41.9% of cases. With the use of PERSARC, the proposed treatment changed for 24 cases. Conclusion. PERSARC aids the MDT to optimize individualized predicted OS and LR rates, hereby guiding patient-centered care and shared decision making.
Pattern and In-Hospital Mortality of Thoracoabdominal Injuries Associated with Motor Vehicle Accident-Related Spinal Injury: A Retrospective Single-Center Study
Authors: Algahtany Mubarak Ali , El Maksoud Walid Abd
Published: October 2021

Background. Motor vehicle accident (MVA) is a global health hazard that results in spinal, thoracic, and abdominal injuries. Detailed studies on the association between MVA-related traumatic spinal injury (TSI) and thoracoabdominal injuries are lacking. This study aims to elucidate the prevalence, pattern of association between these injuries, and related outcomes in terms of in-hospital mortality. Methods. This is a retrospective single-center study of MVA-related TSI with thoracoabdominal associated injuries. Descriptive analysis was performed for gender, age, spinal injury level, thoracoabdominal injury region, admission day, hospital stay duration, and discharge category. The association between TSI and thoracoabdominal injury was analyzed, and the chi-square test was used to test the significance of differences. A statistically significant difference was considered at

P

values less than 0.05. Results. The cohort had a mean age of 33.6 ± 17.7 years with predominantly more males (85.1%). Thoracoabdominal injuries were present in 10.5% of MVA-related TSIs, and 9.2% of victims died during their hospital stay. There is a significant (

P
=
0.045

) association between the level of the spinal and the region of thoracoabdominal injuries. The presence of TSI-associated thoracic injury significantly (

P
=
0.041

) correlated with increased in-hospital mortality more than abdominal injury. Conclusion. Thoracoabdominal injuries concomitant with MVA-related TSI cause considerable mortality. A pattern of association exists between the level of spinal and region of thoracoabdominal injury. Knowledge of this pattern is helpful in the routine practice of trauma health partitioners.
Surgical Treatment of Double-Layered Lateral Meniscus
Authors: Ota Masataka , Takagi Hiroshi , Kato Shin , Kawashima Fumiyoshi , Kanzaki Koji
Published: October 2021

This is a rare case of a patient with a double-layered lateral meniscus, undergoing surgical treatment. A 17-year-old woman who was a member of a volleyball club had a two-year history of right knee pain with episodes of locking, although she had no history of trauma. She was referred to our hospital because her condition did not improve after conservative treatment. On presentation to the hospital, she had full range of motion in the right knee. McMurray’s test revealed no clicks; however, it produced pain in the lateral part. Plain radiography revealed no abnormal findings, whereas magnetic resonance imaging showed high signal in the posterior segment of the lateral meniscus and an increase in its volume. Arthroscopic findings showed an accessory meniscus with a flat surface overlying a normal-sized lateral meniscus. It was firmly connected to the posterior root and middle segment of the lower normal meniscus. The accessory meniscus was markedly mobile as revealed by probing. The patient was diagnosed with double-layered lateral meniscus and underwent resection of the accessory meniscus. Postoperatively, she initiated strengthening of muscles and range of motion training without weight-bearing restrictions. Two months postoperatively, she had completely recovered and participated in volleyball practices. In the last follow-up at 18 months, she had no restrictions in daily or sports activities.
CAR T-cell Entry into Tumor Islets Is a Two-Step Process Dependent on IFNγ and ICAM-1
Authors: Kantari-Mimoun Chahrazade , Barrin Sarah , Vimeux Lene , Haghiri Sandrine , Gervais Claire , Joaquina Sandy , Mittelstaet Joerg , Mockel-Tenbrinck Nadine , Kinkhabwala Ali , Damotte Diane , Lupo Audrey , Sibony Mathilde , Alifano Marco , Dondi Elisabetta , Bercovici Nadège , Trautmann Alain , Kaiser Andrew D. , Donnadieu Emmanuel
Published: October 2021

Adoptive transfer of T cells expressing chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) has shown remarkable clinical efficacy against advanced B-cell malignancies but not yet against solid tumors. Here, we used fluorescent imaging microscopy and ex vivo assays to compare the early functional responses (migration, Ca2+, and cytotoxicity) of CD20 and EGFR CAR T cells upon contact with malignant B cells and carcinoma cells. Our results indicated that CD20 CAR T cells rapidly form productive ICAM-1–dependent conjugates with their targets. By comparison, EGFR CAR T cells only initially interacted with a subset of carcinoma cells located at the periphery of tumor islets. After this initial peripheral activation, EGFR CAR T cells progressively relocated to the center of tumor cell regions. The analysis of this two-step entry process showed that activated CAR T cells triggered the upregulation of ICAM-1 on tumor cells in an IFNγ-dependent pathway. The ICAM-1/LFA-1 interaction interference, through antibody or shRNA blockade, prevented CAR T-cell enrichment in tumor islets. The requirement for IFNγ and ICAM-1 to enable CAR T-cell entry into tumor islets is of significance for improving CAR T-cell therapy in solid tumors.
Elevation of LncRNA ENST00000453774.1 Prevents Renal Fibrosis by Upregulating FBN1, IGF1R, and KLF7
Authors: Yuan Xiangning , Tang Wen-bin , Peng Ling , Chen Yusa , Tang Shumei , Ge Huipeng , Wang Xiufen , Xiao Xiangcheng
Published: October 2021

Introduction: Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a common outcome of various progressive chronic kidney diseases, can regulate and induce fibrosis. Objective: The study aimed to identify downstream targets of lncRNA ENST00000453774.1 (lnc453774.1) and outline their functions on the development of renal fibrosis. Methods: HK-2 cells were induced with 5 ng/mL TGF-β1 for 24 h to construct a renal fibrosis cell model. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) targeted by lnc453774.1 in TGF-β1-induced renal fibrosis were identified using RNA sequencing. The dataset GSE23338 was employed to identify DEGs in 48-h TGF-β1-stimulated human kidney epithelial cells, and these DEGs were intersected with genes in the key module using weighted gene co-expression network analysis to generate key genes associated with renal fibrosis. MicroRNAs (miRs) that had targeting relationship with keys genes and lnc453774.1 were predicted by using Miranda software, and important genes were intersected with key genes that had targeting relationship with these miRs. Key target genes by lnc453774.1 were identified in a protein-protein interaction network among lnc453774.1, important genes, and reported genes related to autophagy, oxidative stress, and cell adhesion. Results: Key genes in the key module (turquoise) were intersected with DEGs in the dataset GSE23338 and yielded 20 key genes regulated by lnc453774.1 involved in renal fibrosis. Fourteen miRs had targeting relationship with lnc453774.1 and key genes, and 8 important genes targeted by these 14 miRs were identified. Fibrillin-1 (FBN1), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R), and Kruppel-like factor 7 (KLF7) were identified to be involved in autophagy, oxidative stress, and cell adhesion and were elevated in the lnc453774.1-overexpressing TGF-β1-induced cells. Conclusion: These results show FBN1, IGF1R, and KLF7 serve as downstream targets of lnc453774.1, and that lnc453774.1 may protect against renal fibrosis through competing endogenous miRs which target FBN1, IGF1R, and KLF7 mRNAs.