bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Successful treatment of remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop syndrome managed by percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage followed by elective gastrectomy: a case report
Authors: Aoyama Shu , Motoori Masaaki , Miyazaki Yasuhiro , Sugimoto Tomoki , Nishizawa Yujiro , Komatsu Hisateru , Inoue Akira , Kagawa Yoshinori , Tomokuni Akira , Iwase Kazuhiro , Fujitani Kazumasa
Published: September 2021

Background

There are only few reported cases of remnant gastric cancer with concomitant afferent loop syndrome. Emergency surgery is the standard treatment strategy for this disease. However, some afferent loop syndrome cases, especially those with complete obstruction, can lead to a septic state, which makes performing emergency surgery risky. We describe a case of remnant gastric cancer with complete afferent loop obstruction, which was successfully managed by radical surgery following percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage of the afferent loop.

Case presentation

A 71-year-old man presented with nausea and abdominal discomfort. When he was 27 years old, he had undergone distal gastrectomy for a benign gastric ulcer, with gastrojejunostomy (Billroth II reconstruction). Abdominal computed tomography revealed thickening of the anastomosis site and significant dilation of the afferent loop. Gastrointestinal fiberscopy revealed advanced remnant gastric cancer at the anastomosis site, and the stoma of the afferent loop was completely obstructed. We diagnosed the patient with remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop syndrome. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage was performed twice before surgery to decompress the afferent loop. This provided more time for the patient to recover. Radical surgery of total remnant gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y reconstruction were performed electively. There were no severe postoperative complications. The patient died 8 months following the operation owing to peritoneal dissemination recurrence.

Conclusion

We encountered a case of remnant gastric cancer with afferent loop obstruction, which was successfully managed by radical surgery following decompression of the afferent loop by percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage effectively managed the afferent loop syndrome, resulting in the safe performance of elective surgery.
Using nominal group technique to advance power assisted exercise equipment for people with stroke
Authors: Young Rachel , Sage Karen , Broom David , Broomfield Katherine , Church Gavin , Smith Christine
Published: September 2021

Background

Power assisted exercise is accessible and acceptable for people with stroke. The potential for technological advancement of the equipment to improve the user experience has been identified. Involvement of end users and service providers in the design of health technologies is essential in determining how said technology is perceived and adopted. This project invited people with stroke and service providers to influence design features and determine machine selection in the preliminary stages of a codesign research programme.

Aims

To capture the perspectives of people with stroke and professionals working with people with stroke about proposed digitalisation of power assisted exercise equipment and select machines for prototype development.

Methods

Nominal group technique was used to capture the perspectives, ideas, preferences and priorities of three stakeholder groups: people with stroke (n = 3, mean age 66 years), rehabilitation professionals (n = 3) and exercise scientists (n = 3). Two questions underpinned the structure of the events; ‘What does an assistive exercise machine need to do to allow the person with stroke to engage in exercise?’ and ‘Which machines would you prioritise for use with People with Stroke?’ Attendees were invited to cast votes to indicate their preferred machines.

Findings

Synthesis of the data from the NGT identified four domains; software and interface, exercise programme, machine and accessories, setting and service. Three preferred machines from a range of nine were identified through vote counting.

Conclusion

Nominal group technique directed the selection of machines to be included in the development of the proposed technology. The vision shared by users during the structured discussion shaped the subsequent steps in the design and testing of the new technology.

Patient and service provider contribution

The opinions and preferences of people with stroke, rehabilitation professionals and exercise scientists were central to key decisions which will shape the digitalisation of power assisted equipment, influence future research and guide implementation of the new technologies.
Identification and validation of hub genes of synovial tissue for patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Ge Yanzhi , Chen Zuxiang , Fu Yanbin , Xiao Xiujuan , Xu Haipeng , Shan Letian , Tong Peijian , Zhou Li
Published: September 2021

Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were two major joint diseases with similar clinical phenotypes. This study aimed to determine the mechanistic similarities and differences between OA and RA by integrated analysis of multiple gene expression data sets.

Methods

Microarray data sets of OA and RA were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). By integrating multiple gene data sets, specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. The Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis of DEGs were conducted to determine hub genes and pathways. The “Cell Type Identification by Estimating Relative Subsets of RNA Transcripts (CIBERSORT)” algorithm was employed to evaluate the immune infiltration cells (IICs) profiles in OA and RA. Moreover, mouse models of RA and OA were established, and selected hub genes were verified in synovial tissues with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).

Results

A total of 1116 DEGs were identified between OA and RA. GO functional enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in regulation of cell morphogenesis involved in differentiation, positive regulation of neuron differentiation, nuclear speck, RNA polymerase II transcription factor complex, protein serine/threonine kinase activity and proximal promoter sequence-specific DNA binding. KEGG pathway analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, ubiquitin mediated proteolysis, FoxO signaling pathway and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Immune cell infiltration analysis identified 9 IICs with significantly different distributions between OA and RA samples. qPCR results showed that the expression levels of the hub genes (RPS6, RPS14, RPS25, RPL11, RPL27, SNRPE, EEF2 and RPL19) were significantly increased in OA samples compared to their counterparts in RA samples (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

This large-scale gene analyses provided new insights for disease-associated genes, molecular mechanisms as well as IICs profiles in OA and RA, which may offer a new direction for distinguishing diagnosis and treatment between OA and RA.
Open reduction and internal fixation using multiple nonabsorbable suture materials in acute patella fracture: comparison of clinical and radiological outcome with tension band wiring
Authors: Lee Kwang Won , Ma Sang Beom , Yang Dae Suk , Oh Seung Hak , Park Seong Ho
Published: September 2021

Background

For treating displaced patella fractures, tension band wiring is the most widely used technique. However, implant removal surgery is often necessary to alleviate discomfort caused by fixation materials. On the contrary, fixation using nonabsorbable suture materials is anticipated to result in comparable outcomes without need for further implant removal surgery. However, there is a lack of clinical studies comparing the two fixation techniques (wire and nonabsorbable suture materials) for acute patella fractures.

Methods

From 2014 to 2018, we retrospectively reviewed 60 patients who underwent open reduction with internal fixation for acute patella fracture. Thirty patients (group 1) who received surgery using tension band wiring and 30 patients (group 2) who received surgery using nonabsorbable suture materials were enrolled. The average follow-up period was more than 1 year after operation. Operation time, postoperative bone union time, range of motion (ROM) of the knee joint, postoperative clinical results, and complications were compared between the two groups.

Result

Operation time, clinical bone union, and radiologic bone union were not statistically different between groups 1 and 2. At 3 months postoperatively, flexion was 120.3 ± 9.4° in group 1 and 110.5 ± 7.7° in group 2, showing statistically significant difference (p = 0.037). At 6 and 12 months postoperatively, the ROM was similar in both groups. Hospital for special surgery score at 3 months postoperatively was 78.4 ± 8.2 in group 1 and 83.7 ± 8.7 in group 2, showing statistically significant differences (p = 0.032). However, at 6 and 12 months postoperatively, there were no statistical differences. Lysholm score at 3 months postoperatively was 73.5 ± 8.1 in group 1 and 80.4 ± 8.2 in group 2, showing statistically significant difference (p = 0.016), but at 6 and 12 months postoperatively, there were no statistical differences.

Conclusion

Fixation using multiple nonabsorbable suture materials can be an alternative surgical method in managing patella fractures, along with tension band wiring.
Gut microbiome in cirrhotic hepatitis C virus patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Mohieldeen Khaled , Hamoda Soraya Abdel Fatah , Ahmed Shwikar Mahmoud , Najeeb Abdurrahman , Ellakany Walid Ismail
Published: September 2021

Background

Chronic hepatitis C is the most common cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt. A pathogenic link with gut microbial dysbiosis has been described in different diseases. The aim of the study is to elucidate changes in gut microbiome in cirrhotic HCV Egyptian patients with and without HCC.

Results

The study included 50 cirrhotic HCV patients; 25 with and 25 without HCC and 25 healthy controls with matched age and sex. Stool specimens were taken from all participants. Quantitative SYBR Green real-time PCR technique targeting 16S rRNA was done for the identification and quantitation of selected bacterial phylum, genera, and/or species. Both HCC and cirrhosis groups showed decrease in Firmicutes, F/B ratio, A. mucinophilia, and F. prausnitzii compared to the control group. However, the HCC group only showed statistically significant increase in Bacteroides and Lactobacilli, and decrease of Prevotella relative abundance and P/B ratio compared to both cirrhosis and control groups. As regard the relation between the gut microbiome and stages of HCC, BCLC stage D showed significantly the lowest relative abundance of Ruminococcus.

Conclusion

Patients with HCV-related cirrhosis and HCC exhibit microbial dysbiosis; altered microbial relative abundance and diversity with HCC patients showing higher proinflammatory bacteria compared to cirrhotics.
The turn-of-the-month effect in Pakistani stock market
Authors: Irtiza Muhammad Sarmad , Khan Shahbaz , Baig Nida , Tirmizi Syed Muhammad Ali , Ahmad Ilyas
Published: September 2021

This research intends to explore the presence of the “turn-of-the-month-effect (TOME)” in the Pakistani stock market. The TOME is the temporary increase in prices of registered shares on the last operating day of the month and the initial 3–4 days of the following month. The selection incorporates the secondary data, which comprises the ending prices of the “KSE-100 Index” for 2013–2018. Contrary to the previous evidence in Pakistan, we run an in-depth year-wise analysis and report an interesting fact that the TOME is significant only during 2013–2016, while it vanishes for 2017 and 2018. We suggest that the “turn-of-the-month” anomaly may disappear during stock market crisis times. The research contains significant importance for potential shareholders because a rational shareholder considers several measures while making his investment decisions and constructing hedging strategies.
Intracavitary anaesthesia for medical thoracoscopy procedural pain: the CAMP randomised trial
Authors: Abdelhady Ahmed Mohamed , Gadallah Mohamed , Shaheen Moustafa , Mourad Sahar , Hassan Maged
Published: September 2021

Background

Medical thoracoscopy (MT) under conscious sedation can be a painful procedure. A pilot study reported reduction in procedural pain with lidocaine application via chest tube before procedure. This study aimed at assessing the extent of effect of intrapleural lidocaine on pain during MT in a double-blind randomised trial.

Results

Thirty patients (mean age 48.3 years) were recruited, 14 randomised to the lidocaine group and 16 to the saline group. In four patients (two from each group), chest tube insertion prior to MT failed, and they were excluded from the final analysis. The mean (SD) visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score during procedure was 49 ± 33.2 for the lidocaine group and 57.4 ± 27.6 for the control group (mean difference − 8.4 points, p = 0.49). The VAS pain score as assessed by operator was 45.6 ± 19.8 for the lidocaine group and 46.6 ± 29.8 for the control group (p = 0.97). There was no difference in the VAS pain score at 120 min post MT or in the doses of sedatives used during procedure between the study groups.

Conclusion

ICA for MT does not seem to improve procedural pain as suggested by previous studies.

Trial registration

The study has been registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR202008762D159889).
Polycentric vs monocentric urban structure contribution to national development
Authors: Abozeid Ashraf Sami Mahmoud , AboElatta Tarek Abdellatif
Published: September 2021

The debate about polycentricity and subordinacy has always been a critical topic that planners, economists, and socialists argued about for centuries. The idea of concentricity vs decentralization has affected all life metabolic activities. Urban structure has always been declared to be the key factor that affects life metabolism significantly. However, after the pandemic COVID-19, the planning strategies have changed dramatically. The main purpose is to investigate the most appropriate urbanization approach that achieves the best development results. The research methodology is to define and measure the fabric independency as an approach to estimate its self-sufficiency that enables it to stand in front of the pandemic challenges at different circumstances. The paper uses the fabric diversity index as a sensitive indicator of independency and polycentricity of the urban structure. The main conclusion for this paper is that independent polycentric urban agglomerations that are strongly linked achieve much better development results than subordinate cities depending on the main core city. The data used for the analysis are extracted from the Urban Atlas developed by the European Environmental Agency in addition to the UN-Habitat annual report. All calculations, analyses, and deductions are exclusively carried by the author.
Age and Hospitalization Risk in People With Type 1 Diabetes and COVID-19: Data From the T1D Exchange Surveillance Study
Authors: Demeterco-Berggren Carla , Ebekozien Osagie , Rompicherla Saketh , Jacobsen Laura , Accacha Siham , Gallagher Mary Pat , Todd Alonso G , Seyoum Berhane , Vendrame Francesco , Haw J Sonya , Basina Marina , Levy Carol J , Maahs David M
Published: September 2021

Context

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality are increased in type 1 diabetes (T1D), but few data focus on age-based outcomes.

Objective

This work aimed to quantify the risk for COVID-19–related hospitalization and adverse outcomes by age in people with T1D.

Methods

For this observational, multisite, cross-sectional study of patients with T1D and laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from 56 clinical sites in the United States, data were collected from April 2020 to March 2021. The distribution of patient factors and outcomes across age groups (0-18, 19-40, and > 40 years) was examined. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the study population, and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between age, adverse outcomes, and hospitalization. The main outcome measure was hospitalization for COVID-19.

Results

A total of 767 patients were analyzed. Fifty-four percent (n = 415) were aged 0 to 18 years, 32% (n = 247) were aged 19 to 40 years, and 14% (n = 105) were older than 40 years. A total of 170 patients were hospitalized, and 5 patients died. Compared to the 0- to 18-years age group, those older than 40 years had an adjusted odds ratio of 4.2 (95% CI, 2.28-7.83) for hospitalization after adjustment for sex, glycated hemoglobin A1c, race, insurance type, and comorbidities.

Conclusion

Age older than 40 years is a risk factor for patients with T1D and COVID-19, with children and younger adults experiencing milder disease and better prognosis. This indicates a need for age-tailored treatments, immunization, and clinical management of individuals affected by T1D.
Moving Home
Authors: Gunning Sandra
Published: September 2021

In Moving Home, Sandra Gunning examines nineteenth-century African diasporic travel writing to expand and complicate understandings of the Black Atlantic. Gunning draws on the writing of missionaries, abolitionists, entrepreneurs, and explorers whose work challenges the assumptions that travel writing is primarily associated with leisure or scientific research. For instance, Yoruba ex-slave turned Anglican bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther played a role in the Christianization of colonial Nigeria. Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a formerly enslaved girl "gifted" to Queen Victoria, traveled the African colonies as the wife of a prominent colonial figure and under the protection of her benefactress. Alongside Nancy Gardiner Prince, Martin R. Delany, Robert Campbell, and others, these writers used their mobility as African diasporic and colonial subjects to explore the Atlantic world and beyond while they negotiated the complex intersections between nation and empire. Rather than categorizing them as merely precursors of Pan-Africanist traditions, Gunning traces their successes and frustrations to capture a sense of the historical and geographical specificities that shaped their careers.
Complaint!
Authors: Ahmed Sara
Published: September 2021

In Complaint! Sara Ahmed examines what we can learn about power from those who complain about abuses of power. Drawing on oral and written testimonies from academics and students who have made complaints about harassment, bullying, and unequal working conditions at universities, Ahmed explores the gap between what is supposed to happen when complaints are made and what actually happens. To make complaints within institutions is to learn how they work and for whom they work: complaint as feminist pedagogy. Ahmed explores how complaints are made behind closed doors and how doors are often closed on those who complain. To open these doors---to get complaints through, keep them going, or keep them alive---Ahmed emphasizes, requires forming new kinds of collectives. This book offers a systematic analysis of the methods used to stop complaints and a powerful and poetic meditation on what complaints can be used to do. Following a long lineage of Black feminist and feminist of color critiques of the university, Ahmed delivers a timely consideration of how institutional change becomes possible and why it is necessary.
Wetting of the tarsal adhesive fluid determines underwater adhesion in ladybird beetles
Authors: Sudersan Pranav , Kappl Michael , Pinchasik Bat-El , Butt Hans-Jürgen , Endlein Thomas
Published: September 2021

Many insects can climb smooth surfaces using hairy adhesive pads on their legs, mediated by tarsal fluid secretions. It was previously shown that a terrestrial beetle can even adhere and walk underwater. The naturally hydrophobic hairs trap an air bubble around the pads, allowing the hairs to make contact with the substrate as in air. However, it remained unclear to what extent such an air bubble is necessary for underwater adhesion. To investigate the role of the bubble, we measured the adhesive forces in individual legs of live but constrained ladybird beetles underwater in the presence and absence of a trapped bubble and compared these with its adhesion in air. Our experiments revealed that on a hydrophobic substrate, even without a bubble, the pads show adhesion comparable to that in air. On a hydrophilic substrate, underwater adhesion is significantly reduced, with or without a trapped bubble. We modelled the adhesion of a hairy pad using capillary forces. Coherent with our experiments, the model demonstrates that the wetting properties of the tarsal fluid alone can determine the ladybird beetles' adhesion to smooth surfaces in both air and underwater conditions and that an air bubble is not a prerequisite for their underwater adhesion. This study highlights how such a mediating fluid can serve as a potential strategy to achieve underwater adhesion via capillary forces, which could inspire artificial adhesives for underwater applications.
Lens and cornea limit UV vision of birds – a phylogenetic perspective
Authors: Olsson Peter , Lind Olle , Mitkus Mindaugas , Delhey Kaspar , Kelber Almut
Published: September 2021

Most vertebrates have UV-sensitive vision, but the UV sensitivity of their eyes is limited by the transmittance of the ocular media, and the specific contribution of the different media (cornea, lens) has remained unclear. Here, we describe the transmittance of all ocular media (OMT), as well as that of lenses and corneas of birds. For 66 species belonging to 18 orders, the wavelength at which 50% of light is transmitted through the ocular media to the retina (λT0.5) ranges from 310 to 398 nm. Low λT0.5 corresponds to more UV light transmitted. Corneal λT0.5 varies only between 300 and 345 nm, whereas lens λT0.5 values are more variable (between 315 and 400 nm) and tend to be the limiting factor, determining OMT in the majority of species. OMT λT0.5 is positively correlated with eye size, but λT0.5 of corneas and lenses are not correlated with their thickness when controlled for phylogeny. Corneal and lens transmittances do not differ between birds with UV- and violet-sensitive SWS1 opsin when controlling for eye size and phylogeny. Phylogenetic relatedness is a strong predictor of OMT, and ancestral state reconstructions suggest that from ancestral intermediate OMT, highly UV-transparent ocular media (low λT0.5) evolved at least five times in our sample of birds. Some birds have evolved in the opposite direction towards a more UV-opaque lens, possibly owing to pigmentation, likely to mitigate UV damage or reduce chromatic aberration.
Recent Advances in Guanidinium Salt Based Receptors and Functionalized Materials for the Recognition of Anions
Authors: Wenzel Marco , Steup Johannes , Ohto Keisuke , Weigand Jan J
Published: September 2021

Recent advances in guanidinium-based receptors are summarized emphasizing the high affinity of the guanidinium moiety towards certain anions in highly competitive aqueous media. Particularly the interaction with multivalent oxoanions such as phosphate, sulfate, chromate, or even pertechnetate is of great interest for recognition. This review summarizes additionally selected developments in guanidine synthesis that are the basis of guanidinium based receptors and functionalized materials with an advanced recognition of certain anions under interfacial aqueous condition.
Hyperspectral reflectance for non-invasive early detection of black shank disease in flue-cured tobacco
Authors: Hayes Austin , Reed T. David
Published: September 2021

Flue-cured tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a high value-per-acre crop that is intensively managed to optimise the yield of high-quality cured leaf. A 15-day study assessed the potential of hyperspectral reflectance data for detecting Phytophthora nicotianae (black shank) incidence in flue-cured tobacco. Hyperspectral reflectance data were taken from a commercial flue-cured tobacco field with a progressing black shank infestation. The effort encompassed two key objectives. First, develop hyperspectral indices and/or machine learning classification models capable of detecting Phytophthora nicotianae (black shank) incidence in flue-cured tobacco. Second, evaluate the model’s ability to separate pre-symptomatic plants from healthy plants. Two hyperspectral indices were developed to detect black shank incidence based on differences in the spectral profiles of asymptomatic flue-cured tobacco plants compared to those with black shank symptoms. While one of the indices is a broad-band index and the other uses narrow wavelength values, the statistical difference between the two indices was not significant and both provided an accurate classification of symptomatic plants. Further analysis of the indices showed significant differences between the index values of healthy and symptomatic plants (α = 0.05). In addition, the indices were able to detect black shank symptoms pre-symptomatically (α = 0.09). Subspace linear discriminant analysis, a machine learning classification, was also used for prediction of black shank incidence with up to 85.7% classification accuracy. The implications of using either spectral indices or machine learning for classification for future black shank research are discussed.
Financial Risk Capacity
Authors: Bigio Saki , d’Avernas Adrien
Published: September 2021

Financial crises are particularly severe and lengthy when banks fail to recapitalize after bearing large losses. We present a model that explains the slow recovery of bank capital and economic activity. Banks provide intermediation in markets with information asymmetries. Large equity losses force banks to tighten intermediation, which exacerbates adverse selection. Adverse selection lowers bank profit margins, which slows both the internal growth of equity and equity injections. This mechanism generates financial crises characterized by persistent low growth. The lack of equity injections during crises is a coordination failure that is solved when the decision to recapitalize banks is centralized. (JEL D82, E32, E44, G01, G21, G32, L25)
MPC Heterogeneity and Household Balance Sheets
Authors: Fagereng Andreas , Holm Martin B. , Natvik Gisle J.
Published: September 2021

We use sizable lottery prizes in Norwegian administrative panel data to explore how transitory income shocks are spent and saved over time and how households’ marginal propensities to consume (MPCs) vary with household characteristics and shock size. We find that spending peaks in the year of winning and gradually reverts to normal within five years. Controlling for all items on households’ balance sheets and characteristics such as education and income, it is the amount won, age, and liquid assets that vary systematically with MPCs. Low-liquidity winners of the smallest prizes (around US$1,500) are estimated to spend all within the year of winning. The corresponding estimate for high-liquidity winners of large prizes (US$8, 300–150,000) is slightly below one-half. While conventional models will struggle to account for such high MPC levels, we show that a two-asset life cycle model with a realistic earnings profile and a luxury bequest motive can account for both the time profile of consumption responses and their systematic covariation with observables. (JEL D12, D15, E21, G51, H24)
The Wavelia Microwave Breast Imaging system–tumour discriminating features and their clinical usefulness
Authors: Moloney Brian M , McAnena Peter F , Elwahab Sami M , Fasoula Angie , Duchesne Luc , Gil Cano Julio D , Glynn Catherine , O'Connell AnnaMarie , Ennis Rachel , Lowery Aoife J , Kerin Michael J
Published: September 2021

Objective:

The Wavelia Microwave Breast Imaging (MBI) system, based on non-ionising imaging technology, has demonstrated exciting potential in the detection and localisation of breast pathology in symptomatic patients. In this study, the ability of the system to accurately estimate the size and likelihood of malignancy of breast lesions is detailed, and its clinical usefulness determined.

Methods:

Institutional review board and Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) approval were obtained. Patients were recruited from the symptomatic unit to three groups; breast cancer (Group-1), unaspirated cysts (Group-2) and biopsied benign lesions (Group-3). MBI, radiological and histopathological findings were reviewed. MBI size estimations were compared with the sizes determined by conventional imaging and histopathology. A Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA) classifier was trained in a 3D feature space to discriminate malignant from benign lesions. An independent review was performed by two independent breast radiologists.

Results:

24 patients (11 Group-1, 8 Group-2 and 5 Group-3) underwent MBI. The Wavelia system was more accurate than conventional imaging in size estimation of breast cancers. The QDA accurately separated benign from malignant breast lesions in 88.5% of cases. The addition of MBI and the Wavelia malignancy risk calculation was deemed useful by the two radiologists in 70.6% of cases.

Conclusion:

The results from this MBI investigation demonstrate the potential of this novel system in estimating size and malignancy risk of breast lesions. This system holds significant promise as a potential non-invasive, comfortable, and harmless adjunct for breast cancer diagnosis. Further larger studies are under preparation to validate the findings of this study.

Advances in knowledge:

This study details the potential of the Wavelia MBI system in delineating size and malignancy risk of benign and malignant breast lesions in a symptomatic cohort. The usefulness of the Wavelia system is assessed in the clinical setting.
Implementing living evidence to inform health decisions: A strategy for building capacity in health sector (Protocol)
Authors: Rojas-Reyes María Ximena , Urrutia Chuchí Gerard , Rada Gabriel , Alonso Pablo , Rigau Comas David , Auladell-Rispau Ariadna
Published: September 2021

Every day important healthcare decisions are made with incomplete or outdated information about the effects of the different health care interventions available, what delivers the best value for the health system and where more research is needed. It is necessary to invest in strategies that allow access to reliable and updated evidence on which to base health decisions.

The objective is to develop and evaluate a strategy for building the capacity among different actors of a country’s health system to implement the model known as “Living Evidence” [LE] in the evidence synthesis and dissemination of knowledge transfer [KT] products to inform health decisions. The study will involve professional members of health system organizations in charge of developing KT-products to inform health decisions.

The project will be developed in three complementary phases: 1) LE-implementation framework development through review of the literature, brainstorming meetings, user testing and expert consultation; 2) training in LE tools and strategies; 3) developing LE synthesis for KT-products by applying the framework to real-life diverse situations.

To achieve the capacity building strategy assessment goal, several surveys and interviews will take place during the process to assess: 1) the LE-implementation framework for the incorporation of LE synthesis in the development of KT-products; 2) the training workshops; 3) the whole capacity-building strategy used for health system organizations be able of implementing the LE as part of the KT-products they regularly produce.

The expected results are an effective capacity building strategy for health system organizations to implement the living evidence model in different KT products; a LE-implementation framework to be applicable to any country or region for incorporate LE in the KT-products; LE synthesis for KT-products directly applicable to the real-setting situations; integration of Epistemonikos-L.OVE platform for keeping the LE process in the development and updating of KT-products.
Educational complexes as a stage of reform general education – is optimization for the good?
Authors: Kumohin Aleksandr , Kachaev Ruslan
Published: September 2021

The article considers the issues of the processes of merging, consolidation, and unification of various educational organizations (preschool educational organizations and municipal general education schools) into educational complexes (on the example of Moscow and the Moscow region). The accumulated experience of the existence of educational complexes is summarized, the positive and negative aspects of the association of educational organizations in general education are described. Among some positive results, the availability and opening of additional high schools were noted; accessibility, openness and diversity of specialized classes; some "strong" schools managed to pull up more "weak" schools. Among the negative aspects of the association, the following are highlighted: the gap in continuity between various links: primary, secondary and senior; low psychological safety of participants in the educational process in educational complexes; the achievements of schoolchildren in different divisions of the educational complex and in different classes are uneven and can vary greatly; additional paid education for children is additionally costly for their parents; the possibility of undermining the psychosocial and age-related aspects of normal socialization and personal development of a student due to the heavy workload of academic subjects; disproportionate funding between the structural divisions of the complex; reduction of teacher rates; destruction of a unique director's corps (directors and his deputies within one school as an established team of professionals); loss of the individuality of the educational organization, established values and traditions; a preschool educational organization can become, as it were ,an "appendage" of the school; with a large number of children in the educational complex, the phenomenon of depersonalization can occur, students become a "gray mass" , etc. It is emphasized that not only economic and managerial efficiency is important, but also pedagogical. Education specialists need to take into account the existing shortcomings of already operating educational complexes in order, as a result, to achieve the goals and content of education, primarily for students.
Features of the development of the semantic side of speech in junior schoolchildren with mental retardation
Authors: Buslaeva Mariya
Published: September 2021

The article discusses the problem of education of children with disabilities, which is relevant today due to the objective difficulties of social functioning and the child's entry into society. It is known that the basis of a person's speech organization is vocabulary, the shortcomings of which significantly complicate the process of social adaptation. The features of the intellectual and speech development of students with mental retardation limit the ability of these children to understand the speech of others, to adequately express their own thoughts and lead to an inferiority of social and everyday orientation. Consequently, one of the urgent areas of work with children with mental retardation should be the formation and development of vocabulary, characterized by sufficiency and usefulness, in terms of the volume of vocabulary, semantics and syntagmatic characteristics. The solution of this practical problem will allow primary schoolchildren with intellectual disabilities to expand their vocabulary, to form their basic cognitive processes, in the structure of which speech occupies one of the basic positions. To study the level of formation of the semantic side of speech of children with intellectual underdevelopment at the present stage, we conducted a psychological and pedagogical study, in which 1376 schoolchildren from Kaluga and Obninsk, Kaluga region, took part. The diagnostic results made it possible to reveal the fact that with mental retardation, operations and levels of speech utterance generation (semantic, linguistic, sensorimotor levels) are impaired to varying degrees. The most underdeveloped are highly organized, complex levels (semantic, linguistic), requiring a high degree of formation of the operations of analysis, synthesis, generalization, the sensorimotor level of speech in these children suffers in different ways. The study showed that the symptomatology and mechanism of speech disorders in these children are determined not only by the presence of a general underdevelopment of the cerebral systems, which causes systemic speech impairment, but also local pathology on the part of systems directly related to speech, which further complicates the picture of speech impairments in mentally retarded children.
Electromagnetic pollution of near-Earth space by power line emission
Authors: Pilipenko Vyacheslav , Fedorov Eugeny , Mazur Nikolay , Klimov Stanislav
Published: September 2021

We present an overview, based on satellite observations at low Earth orbits, on electromagnetic radiation from ground power transmission lines at an industrial frequency 50–60 Hz. Particular attention has been given to Chibis-M and DEMETER satellite observations. The electric 40-cm antenna of the micro-satellite often recorded 50–60 Hz radiation (known as Power Line Emission (PLE)) when it flew over industrialized areas of the planet. The PLE spectral amplitude varied from 1.2 to 18 (μV/m)/Hz0.5, which corresponds to the electric field amplitude E~1 μV/m. We report results of numerical calculations of the electromagnetic response of the atmosphere and ionosphere to a large-scale surface emitter at a frequency of 50 Hz. According to simulation results, PLE with an intensity of ~1 μV/m observed on satellites in the nightside ionosphere at midlatitudes can be excited by an unbalanced current 8–10 A in a power transmission line above the earth's crust with conductivity of 10–3 S/m. At middle and low latitudes with an inclined geomagnetic field, the maximum response in the upper ionosphere to the transmission line radiation should be seen shifted equatorward, although this shift is less than that upon guidance by the geomagnetic field. The maximum amplitude of the electromagnetic response of the ionosphere to the power transmission line emission decreases for an inclined geomagnetic field, but insignificantly. To date, the PLE intensity in near-Earth space has turned out to be higher than the intensity of natural radiation in this range (Schumann resonances and ion whistlers), and continues to grow with the technological development of mankind.
Magnetospheric response to the interaction with the sporadic solar wind diamagnetic structure
Authors: Parkhomov Vladimir , Eselevich Viktor , Eselevich Maxim , Dmitriev Alexei , Suvorova Alla , Khomutov Sergey , Tsegmed Battuulai , Tero Raita
Published: September 2021

We report the results of a study on the movement of the solar wind diamagnetic structure (DS), which is a sequence of smaller-scale microDS being part of the May 18, 2013 coronal mass ejection, from a source on the Sun to Earth’s surface. DS determined from the high negative correlation coefficient (r=–0.9) between the IMF modulus (B) and the SW density (N) on the ACE and Wind satellites at the L1 point, on the THB and THC satellites (r=–0.9) in near-Earth orbit, and on the THA satellite inside the magnetosphere is carried by the solar wind from the Sun to Earth’s orbit, while maintaining its fine internal structure. Having a large size in the radial direction (≈763 Rᴇ, where Rᴇ is the Earth radius), DS flows around the magnetosphere. At the same time, microDS of size ≤13 Rᴇ passes through the bow shock and magnetopause as a magnetized plasmoid in which the ion concentration increases from 10 cm⁻³ to 90 cm⁻³, and the velocity decreases as it moves toward the magnetotail. When a microDS passes through the magnetopause, a pulsed electric field of ~400 mV/m is generated with subsequent oscillations with a period of T~200 s and an amplitude of ~50 mV/m. The electric field accelerates charged particles of the radiation belt and produces modulated fluxes of protons in an energy range 95–575 keV on the day side and electrons in 40–475 keV and protons in 95–575 keV on the night side. In the duskside magnetosphere (19–23 MLT), the substorm activation is observed in geomagnetic pulsations and auroras, but without a magnetic negative bay. In the post-midnight sector (01–05 MLT), a sawtooth substorm occurs without the growth phase and breakup with deep modulation of the ionospheric current and auroral absorption. The duration of all phenomena in the magnetosphere and on Earth is determined by the period of interaction between DS and the magnetosphere (~4 hrs). To interpret the regularities of the magnetospheric response to the interaction with DS, we consider alternative models of the impulsive passage of DS from SW to the magnetosphere and the classical model of reconnection of IMF and the geomagnetic field.
Stepped upper waveguide layer for higher hole injection efficiency in GaN-based laser diodes
Authors: Hou Yufei , Zhao Degang , Chen Ping , Liang Feng , Liu Zongshun , Yang Jing
Published: September 2021

We propose a stepped upper waveguide layer (UWG) to improve the hole injection efficiency of GaN-based laser diodes (LDs), and investigate its effect on the performance of LDs from experiments and theoretical calculations. The experimental characterization of the LD with stepped UWG presents a decrease of 16.6% for the threshold current as well as an increase of 41.2% for the slope efficiency compared to the LD with conventional GaN UWG. Meanwhile, strong localized effects are found in the quantum wells of LD with stepped UWG and a large blue-shift in the electroluminescence (EL) spectra below the threshold by analyzing the differential efficiency and the EL spectra. The large blue shift implies a stronger polarization field in the LDs, which may affect the injection of holes. Additionally, the simulation results demonstrate that the LD with stepped UWG achieves higher hole injection efficiency by modulating the valence band, and the hole current density injected into the quantum wells reaches 6067 A/cm2.
Simple method for frequency response measurement of photodetectors based on wavelength-to-time mapping
Authors: Xia Shijun , Xiao Ye , Li Wei , Zhu Ninghua
Published: September 2021

A simple method is proposed for measuring frequency responses of photodetectors (PDs) based on wavelength-to-time mapping in this paper. The proposed method is an all-optical scheme, which is simple, fast, accurate and free from any extra calibration. Optical pulses emitted from a mode-locked laser are firstly pre-chirped by a spool of dispersive compensation fiber. In this way, the frequency spectrum of the pulses is mapped into time domain. Then, the pre-chirped pulses beat with a reference continuous wave laser with a fixed wavelength in the PD under test and generate a linearly chirped microwave signal. The frequency response information of the PD can be decoded by analyzing the generated linearly chirped microwave signal. Experimental results show that the frequency response of the PD with 3-dB bandwidth of ∼15GHz has been accurately measured with a resolution of ∼390MHz. The measurement result agrees well with the one measured by the commercial lightwave component analyzer.
Customizing structured light beams with a differential operator
Authors: Mendoza-Hernández Job
Published: September 2021

We show that structured light beams can be customized with a differential operator in Fourier space. This operator is represented as an algebraic function that acts on a seed beam for adjusting its shape. If the seed beams are perfect Laguerre–Gauss beams (PLGBs) and Bessel beams (BBs) without orbital angular momentum, we demonstrate that the custom beams generated on the seed-PLG preserve their distribution a longer distance than the propagation-invariant custom-caustic light fields obtained with the seed-Bessel, where both beams have similar initial conditions. In this sense, the custom-PLGBs can be a better option for many applications where the propagation-invariant light fields are used. We show some beam distributions—astroid, deltoid, and parabolic—generated with both seeds.
Generation and deflection control of a 2D Airy beam utilizing metasurfaces
Authors: Zhao Zihan , Ding Xumin , Zhang Kuang , Fu Jiahui , Burokur Shah Nawaz , Wu Qun
Published: September 2021

Self-accelerating optical Airy beams present attractive characteristics such as self-bending and non-diffraction, which have rendered this field a research hotspot in recent years. In this paper, the desired phase changes of the unit cell structure for the transmitted cross-polarized wave can be realized by modifying the rotation angle of the unit cell, while the amplitude can be modulated by changing the inner diameter

R

of the double layer split-ring resonator (SRR). As such, the amplitude and phase modulations can be performed simultaneously and independently to achieve the desired transmitted wave envelope. Furthermore, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, strategy of 2D Airy beam deflection control is also presented by simultaneously modifying the phase and amplitude of the envelope of the transmitted beam, and its feasibility is theoretically and experimentally demonstrated. Our proposed designs suggest high application potentials in the fields of optical particle manipulation, controllable wireless energy transmission, and complex terrain exploration.
Sub-micrometer direct laser writing using an optimized binary-amplitude zone plate lens
Authors: Xu Kai , Qin Jin , Wang Liang
Published: September 2021

Direct laser writing (DLW) is a versatile and reliable lithography method widely used in many micro and nano fabrication areas. However, the resolution of DLW is limited by the optical diffraction limit. Many methods have been proposed to improve the lithography resolution, but with either high cost or increasing the complexity of the system. Here, we propose a high numerical aperture binary-amplitude-type zone plate lens that can achieve a sub-wavelength focal spot with a large depth of focus and long working distance. The critical dimension of such a lens is set at micrometer scale for ease of fabrication. By integrating the as-designed planar lens into a DLW system, we experimentally demonstrate less than 300 nm lithography resolution with exposure depth larger than 500 nm. Our results show the possibility of writing sub-micrometer scale structures with the integration of a planar lens into the DLW system, which enables miniaturization and compactness of lithography instruments for many applications.