bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A preliminary study on the application of deep learning methods based on convolutional network to the pathological diagnosis of PJI
Authors: Tao Ye , Hu Hanwen , Li Jie , Li Mengting , Zheng Qingyuan , Zhang Guoqiang , Ni Ming
Published: October 2022

Objective

This study aimed to establish a deep learning method based on convolutional networks for the preliminary study of the pathological diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections (PJI).

Methods

We enrolled 20 revision patients after joint replacement from the Department of Orthopedics, the First Medical Center, General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army, from January 2021 to January 2022 (10 of whom were confirmed to be infected against 2018 ICM criteria, and the remaining 10 were verified to be non-infected), and classified high-power field images according to 2018 ICM criteria. Then, we inputted 576 positive images and 576 negative images into a neural network by employing a resNET model, used to select 461 positive images and 461 negative images as training sets, 57 positive images and 31 negative images as internal verification sets, 115 positive images and 115 negative images as external test sets.

Results

The resNET model classification was used to analyze the pathological sections of PJI patients under high magnification fields. The results of internal validation set showed a positive accuracy of 96.49%, a negative accuracy of 87.09%, an average accuracy of 93.22%, an average recall rate 96.49%, and an F1 of 0.9482. The accuracy of external test results was 97.39% positive, 93.04% negative, the average accuracy of external test set was 93.33%, the average recall rate was 97.39%, with an F1 of 0.9482. The AUC area of the intelligent image-reading diagnosis system was 0.8136.

Conclusions

This study used the convolutional neural network deep learning to identify high-magnification images from pathological sections of soft tissues around joints, against the diagnostic criteria for acute infection, and a high precision and a high recall rate were accomplished. The results of this technique confirmed that better results could be achieved by comparing the new method with the standard strategies in terms of diagnostic accuracy. Continuous upgrading of extended training sets is needed to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the convolutional network deep learning before it is applied to clinical practice.
The blue alert: an unusual case report of breast hemangioma
Authors: Harini G. , Vinu V. , Gunabooshanam Barathi , Susruthan M. , Dev Bhawna , Rajeswaran R.
Published: October 2022

Background

Breast hemangiomas are benign vascular lesion occurring within breast tissue.

The main aim of this case report revolves around the importance of follow-up and excision of these benign lesions since they carry the risk of future malignancy. We report herein a histopathologically confirmed case of breast hemangioma diagnosed at routine sonomammogram.

Case presentation

A 58-year-old female presented with skin discoloration and vague mass in the lateral aspect of the left breast for one month. Physical examination, mammography and ultrasonography along with histopathological correlation have been carried out which helped us to arrive at the diagnosis of breast hemangioma.

Conclusion

For lesions with conclusive evidence of benignity in core needle biopsy, follow-up imaging is ideal and for those cases with atypical radiological and pathological findings, a complete surgical resection is mandatory in order to exclude the possibility of an underlying angiosarcoma.
Δ133p53 coordinates ECM-driven morphogenesis and gene expression in three-dimensional mammary epithelial acini
Authors: Lee Sun-Young , Robertson Claire , Diot Alexandra , Meuray Valerie , Bourdon Jean-Christophe , Bissell Mina J.
Published: October 2022

Growing evidence indicates that p53 (encoded by TP53) has a crucial role in normal tissue development. The role of the canonical p53 (p53α) and its 12 isoforms in development and homeostasis of healthy tissue remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the Δ133p53 isoforms, the three short isoforms of p53, respond specifically to laminin-111 and play an important regulatory role in formation of mammary organoids in concert with p53α. We demonstrate that down-modulation of Δ133p53 isoforms leads to changes in gene expression of the extracellular matrix molecules fibronectin (FN), EDA+-FN, laminin α5 and laminin α3 in human breast epithelial cells. These changes resulted in increased actin stress fibers and enhanced migratory behavior of cells in two-dimensional culture. We found that α5β1-integrin coupled with the extracellularly deposited EDA+-FN activates the Akt signaling pathway in three-dimensional (3D) culture when Δ133p53 is dysregulated. Cells that do not express detectable Δ133p53 isoforms or express low levels of these isoforms failed to form polarized structures in 3D. These results uncover that Δ133p53 isoforms coordinate expression and deposition of organ-specific ECM molecules that are critical for maintenance of tissue architecture and function.
‘Five minutes earlier, you were giving hope’: Reflections from interviews with doctors conducting assessments for South Africa’s childhood disability Care Dependency Grant
Authors: Trafford Zara , Swartz Leslie
Published: October 2022

Background: In South Africa, medical doctors functionally decide whether a primary caregiver can access state-funded social assistance cash transfers (‘social grants’) for the care of their disabled child. In this paper, we unpack the subjective experiences of doctors involved in conducting assessments for the care dependency grant, designed to support the cost of disabled children’s specific needs.

Methods: Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with five paediatric doctors who practice and regularly conduct assessments for the care dependency grant at three Cape Town public sector hospitals. Analysis was thematic and used deductive coding.

Results: The doctors we interviewed were aware that these grants were probably shared among household members but felt this was acceptable, as it contributed to the child’s wellbeing. Doctors seemed to be applying nuanced, individualised assessments but often felt the need to simplify the documentation of these assessments, sometimes even bending the rules, to ensure access for their patients. Doctors’ primary allegiance in these processes appeared to be to their patients. They identified more with their caring responsibilities than their bureaucratic gate-keeping role but nonetheless felt a heavy responsibility for decision-making, in the context of extremely strained public resources and a lack of guidance from the government’s social assistance implementation agency.

Conclusions: The hyperlocal practices and approaches that doctors described allows for perception of the messier – but also more accurate – details of the system that is actually in place. Doctors’ narratives also reflect long-standing inattention to the ‘trickle down’ of guidelines to frontline implementers of disability-related grants. This cadre is a valuable but under-utilised source of evidence and information about the real-world functioning of disability-related grants administration and they should be actively included in implementation planning.
Sanctions Impact on the Possibility of Investment Strategies Application on the Russian Stock Market
Authors: Tolkachev I.
Published: October 2022

The article analyzes the current state of the Russian stock market. The dynamics of changes, long-term trends, as well as recent changes in 2022 are evaluated, which are the main focus. The changes are considered from the point of view of their impact on investors and the investment activity prospects in the modern Russian stock market. The author conducts both a general market and an intersectoral analysis of the changes that have occurred, new problems and features are identified. Dividend payments and prospects for the various type portfolios formation are considered. The study is based on data taken from the Moscow Stock Exchange. Conclusions about the prospects of various investment strategies usage are drawn based on the information and the obtained results analysis. In the final part of the study, recommendations to investors who carry out operations on the Russian market are given.
The impact of economic instability on the investment policy of the secondary sector of the economy
Authors: Erohina E. , Gretchenko A. , Garnov Andrey
Published: October 2022

The article examines the impact of economic instability on investment processes taking place in the secondary sector of the economy. The role of state regulation of investment policy in ensuring the stability of the economy and national security is shown. The anal-ysis of the factors of economic instability, assessment of the dynamics of the most im-portant macroeconomic indicators of the Russian Federation for 2010–2020 is carried out. It is shown how the factors of economic instability affect the volume of investments in the secondary sector of the economy. The degree of influence of sanctions on the industrial complex of the country and the investment attractiveness of the secondary sectors of the economy is determined.
The Labor Market Through the Prism of Marketing
Authors: Gylka K.
Published: October 2022

Currently, human resource marketing plays a special role in the labor market. Employment is the main task of economic policy that ensures social and political stability. Over the past few years, employment, especially of youth, remains one of the main problems that Moldova has faced in market conditions. This article analyzes the professional indicators of the labor market in the Republic of Moldova. The role of human resource marketing is defined, which represents a perspective for economic agents in attracting the best talents.
The concept of worldview in the public discourse of a crisis society
Authors: Martynov Mihail , Serdyukov D.
Published: October 2022

The subject of the article is the peculiarities of the formation of the worldview of Russians in a crisis society and their reflection in public discourse. The method used was content analysis of newspaper and journalistic texts from 2012 to June 30, 2022 using the information and analytical system "Medialogia". The study confirmed the increase in the volume of positive connotations of the "worldview-ideology" dichotomy in publications. At the same time, traditional values, as well as trust in the authorities, manifested in the "Crimean" and "Donbass" consensuses, are beginning to occupy an increasing place in the worldview. This feature is the subject of acute controversy between the authors of the liberal and conservative positions. The article offers a conceptual explanation of this discussion. Despite ideological differences, both points of view exaggerate the role of ideology in the construction of ideological discourses. The authors of the article propose a concept of interpretation of the relationship between ideology and worldview. The uniqueness of human consciousness makes the concept of "common values" a convention. But this is a necessary convention that sets the community, without which the worldview is impossible. And the essence of ideology, interpreted as the ability to form universal judgments, lies in the creation of such a convention. The commonality of these judgments is ensured by the similarity of the position in the social space, in the system of public relations. The specifics of the social environment explains such features of the worldview as conservatism and support for the authorities. The theoretical contribution consists in clarifying the semantic content of the concept "worldview", its epistemological scope and relationship with the category "ideology". The practical contribution lies in the inclusion of a scientific circulation of the results of an empirical study of public discourse, which makes it possible to draw analytical conclusions and build predictive models in the strategy and tactics of political management.
Political Absenteeism as a Part of the Worldview of Student Youth in Moscow
Authors: Matyuhin A. , Davydova Yu.
Published: October 2022

The article examines the factors influencing the non-active participation of Moscow students in the political life of society. It is noted that, as a rule, passive and active political absenteeism is distinguished in the worldview of the capital's youth. The results of the study conducted by the authors showed that the majority of respondents are interested in political events in the country and the capital, but only a small part of them purposefully follow the changes and dynamics of political life in Moscow and Russia. The Internet as the main source of information of the capital's students, other popular channels provide many opportunities to gain the necessary knowledge about politics in a digital society, but a large information flow and its lack of consistency, and often frankly "fake", distorted information do not allow students to fully understand various aspects of political life, respondents often demonstrate the superficiality of their political views. The purpose of our work is to study the nature of political absenteeism in the worldview of Moscow students. The consideration of the problem was based on the results of an initiative targeted political and sociological study among students of three Moscow universities conducted through the Internet platform Google Forms. A sociological survey in the form of an online questionnaire was chosen as the most representative method of collecting empirical data. The sample is a target, quota by gender (N=210). To analyze the results obtained, the following general scientific methods were used: description, analysis, synthesis, classification. The analysis of the survey results showed that municipal elections arouse the least interest among respondents, federal elections are the greatest, but at the same time every third respondent is subject to absenteeism. Among the main reasons was the lack of confidence in the institution of elections, as well as the predictability of their results. The upcoming presidential elections of the Russian Federation in 2024 arouse considerable interest among students. The respondents' protest potential was also studied. The majority of respondents prefer conventional forms of protest and have a sharply negative attitude to various manifestations of extremism. The novelty of the study is to identify the features of the manifestation of absenteeism of student youth in a megalopolis. The prospect of further research is to consider the dynamics of the attitude of students to political participation, as well as regional differences in the types and manifestations of absenteeism in the worldview of the younger generation of Russia.
Primal-Dual Value Function Approximation for Stochastic Dynamic Intermodal Transportation with Eco-Labels
Authors: Heinold Arne , Meisel Frank , Ulmer Marlin W.
Published: October 2022

Eco-labels are a way to benchmark transportation shipments with respect to their environmental impact. In contrast to an eco-labeling of consumer products, emissions in transportation depend on several operational factors like the mode of transportation (e.g., train or truck) or a vehicle’s current and potential future capacity utilization when new orders are added for consolidation. Thus, satisfying eco-labels and doing this cost efficiently is a challenging task when dynamically routing orders in an intermodal network. In this paper, we model the problem as a multiobjective sequential decision process and propose a reinforcement learning method: value function approximation (VFA). VFAs frequently simulate trajectories of the problem and store observed values (violated eco-labels and costs) for states aggregated to a set of features. The observations are used for improved decision making in the next trajectory. For our problem, we face two additional challenges when applying a VFA, the multiple objectives and the “delayed” realization of eco-label satisfaction due to future consolidation. For the first, we propose different feature sets dependent on the objective function’s focus: costs or eco-labels. For the latter, we propose enhancing the suboptimal decision making and observed pessimistic primal values within the VFA trajectories with optimistic dual decision making when all information of a trajectory is known ex post. This enhancement is a general methodological contribution to the literature of approximate dynamic programming and will likely improve learning for other problems as well. We show the advantages of both components in a comprehensive study for intermodal transport via trains and trucks in Europe.
Pembuatan Cool Box Portable dengan Sistem Pendingin Air Guna Mendukung Cold Chain pada Distribusi Ikan dan Menjaga Kualitas Ikan Tangkapan Nelayan
Authors: Mustakim Achmad , Mashuri Mashuri , Hadi Firmanto , Nur Hasan Iqbal , Wuryaningrum Pratiwi , Turbaningsih Oktaviani , Khaqiqi Alwi Sina
Published: October 2022

Desa Bulak merupakan daerah yang berada di Kota Surabaya, dengan penduduk mayoritas bekerja sebagai nelayan. Permasalahan yang terjadi pada nelayan mengenai sulitnya bongkar muat hasil tangkapan ketika selesai mencari ikan. Hal ini dikarenakan lama waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk mencari ikan saat air pasang tidak bisa diprediksi dan nelayan tidak bisa membawa hasil tangkapan ke darat. Ikan yang akan dibawa perlu dipanggul membuat hasil tangkapan dapat berjatuhan. Penggunaan alat untuk menjaga kualitas ikan menggunakan es batu, tetapi tidak tahan lama dan biaya mahal. Ketika dalam penangkapan ikan membutuhkan waktu lama, maka kualitas ikan menurun yang membuat pendapatan nelayan menurun. Dengan kondisi ini, dilakukan analisi dengan metode HOQ membuat Cool Box Portableuntuk menjaga kualitas tangkapan nelayan dan membantu proses bongkar muat hasil tangkapan. Untuk Cool Box Portable memiliki panjang 1150 mm, lebar 500 mm, dan tinggi 500 mm dengan kapasitas 25 kg. Untuk tinjauan waktu selama lima tahun dengan rasio manfaat sebesar 4,16 dengan kondisi eksisting sebesar 1,57.
Pengolahan Buah Mangrove Pedada (Sonneratta caseolaris) Sebagai Sirup di Kawasan Sukorejo, Gresik
Authors: Salsabila Dalillah Inas , Machfidho Aliffiya , Salsabila Rizma Alma , Anggraini Anggi Violita , Prasetyo Angga Dwi , Rahmatullah Abiyyu Anwar , Ramadhani Noviana Harwiyah , Shobiro Nisa’ Salma , Maharani Djuztika Rahma , Husna Ashfina ‘Ishmatul
Published: October 2022

Desa Sukorejo merupakan salah satu daerah wilayah Gresik yang kaya akan sumberdaya alam. Desa Sukorejo sendiri terletak di dekat Teluk Lamong. Salah satu sumber daya alam pada Desa Sukorejo sendiri adalah adanya kawasan Mangrove. Potensi sumberdaya mangrove ini dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai penunjang kegiatan masyarakat, namun potensi tersebut belum dimanfaatkan oleh warga desa secara maksimal karena kurangnya pengetahuan dan kemampuan masyarakat. Buah Pedada merupakan salah satu jenis buah mangrove yang ada di daerah Sukorejo. Buah Pedada dapat diolah untuk dijadikan produk yang bernilai jual. Salah satu pengolahannya yaitu dengan membuat sirup buah Pedada. Adanya pengabdian masyarakat ini dilakukan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan, keterampilan serta produktifitas masyarakat dalam memanfaatkan potensi alam di daerahnya. Target yang ingin dicapai dalam kegiatan ini adalah warga desa nantinya dapat mengelola potensi mangrove melalui buah Pedada menjadi produk yang bernilai jual sehingga dapat mendukung perekonomian masyarakat desa.
Blocks can be anything…
Authors: Wordsworth Mel , Burke Carly
Published: October 2022

This months' case study is from St. Margaret's Nursery, a maintained nursery school which is part of BEYA (Barnet Early Years Alliance.) It follows an example of how a group of children interact with an open-ended block play setup which is often seen in early years settings as part of their continuous provision.
Use of acellular intact fish skin grafts in treating acute paediatric wounds during the COVID-19 pandemic: a case series
Authors: Ciprandi Guido , Kjartansson Hilmar , Grussu Francesca , Baldursson Baldur T , Frattaroli Jacopo , Urbani Urbano , Zama Mario
Published: October 2022

Objective:

More specific strategies are needed to support children requiring skin grafting. Our goal was to identify procedures that reduce operating times, post-operative complications, pain and length of hospital stay. Patient safety, optimal wound bed support and quick micro-debridement with locoregional anaesthesia were prioritised. Ultimately, a novel acellular fish skin graft (FSG) derived from north Atlantic cod was selected for use.

Method:

We admitted consecutive paediatric patients with various lesions requiring skin grafting for definitive wound closure. All FSGs were applied and bolstered in the operating room following debridement.

Results:

In a cohort of 15 patients, the average age was 8 years and 9 months (4 years 1 month–13 years 5 months). Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was given to 12 patients. Rapid wound healing was observed in all patients, with a wound area coverage of 100% and complete healing in 95% of wounds. Time until engraftment in patients receiving NPWT was reduced by about a half (to an average 12 days) from our standard experience of 21 days. Ten patients received locoregional anaesthesia and were discharged after day surgery. The operating time was <60 minutes, and no complications or allergic reactions were reported. Excellent pliability of the healed wound was achieved in all patients, without signs of itching and scratching in the postoperative period. This case series is the first and largest using FSG to treat paediatric patients with different wound aetiologies. We attribute the rapid transition to acute wound status and the good pliability of the new epidermal–dermal complex to the preserved molecular components of the FSG, including omega-3.

Conclusion:

FSG represents an innovative and sustainable solution for paediatric wound care that results in shorter surgery time and reduced hospital stays, with accelerated wound healing times.
Ageing decreases the healing of wounds in the skin of alcohol-preferring rats
Authors: Martinez Francisco Eduardo , Cassettaria Lucas Langoni , Nicolaua Nicoly Cassolato , de Barros Camargoa Victória Mokarzel , de Almeida Chuffaa Luiz Gustavo , Pinheiroa Patricia Fernanda Felipe , Padovania Carlos Roberto , Martinez Marcelo
Published: October 2022

Objective:

Alcohol consumption combined with ageing alters the healing process of the skin. We evaluated whether ageing decreases the healing of incisional wounds in the skin of Wistar rats of Universidade de Chile of variety B (UChB).

Method:

A total of 20 adult rats and 20 older UChB rats, divided into two groups which underwent surgical aggression in the anterior region of the abdomen, were used: G1, adult rats (100 days old, control) with water and 10% ethanol; G2, aged rats (540 days old, experimental) with water and 10% ethanol; evaluated at 4, 7, 14 and 21 days after surgery.

Results:

Ageing did not alter the rupture force and collagen elasticity and resistance. There were increases in telomerase with the implementation of cellular senescence, in interleukin 1-alpha (IL-1α) at 14 days of healing, in epidermal growth factor (EGF) at 14 and 21 days of healing with delayed growth and development of keratinocytes, also an increase of IL-β at 4 days, and decrease in tumour necrosis factor (TNFα) at 7 days, associated with chronic scarring. There was an increase in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at 4 and 7 days, responsible for the early vessels re-establishment. There was a decrease in transforming growth factor 2-beta (TGFβ2) and β3 at 4 and 7 days of healing respectively, and estradiol at 4 days.

Conclusion:

Ageing decreases the skin healing in incisional wounds in alcohol-preferring rats.
The influence of the patient’s health-state compared with time to surgery on the outcomes following hip fracture surgery: a longitudinal study of 4,791 patients
Authors: Tribe HC , Docherty S , Kelsall N , Harvey A
Published: October 2022

Introduction

This study investigated whether the health-state of hip fracture patients or the time to surgery had a greater effect on outcomes.

Methods

Of the 5,120 patients admitted with a fragility hip fracture, 4,791 (93.6%) were included in the analysis. Patients operated after 36 hours were initially group by length of delay (36–48 hours and >48 hours) and then regrouped by delay cause (medical and administrative). Patients operated within 36 hours were the comparative group. Data were collected at admission, discharge, 120 days and 365 days post discharge.

Results

Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the patients who were delayed over 36 hours, owing to medical causes, had a higher mortality at all studied time points, but the patients who were delayed owing to administrative causes had no increase in mortality. Analysis by time to surgery revealed that patients operated after 36 and 48 hours had a higher mortality at discharge only. Medically delayed patients were less likely to return to their premorbid level of residence at discharge. Older, male patients had a higher risk of inferior outcomes. Postoperative length of stay was significantly greater in the >48-hour delay group and the medical delay group. All delay groups had a significantly higher rate of reoperation within 30 days compared with the no-delay group.

Conclusions

The health-state of the hip fracture patient had a greater impact on the outcome in contrast to time to surgery. This study concurs that hip fracture patients should receive surgery within the timeframe of current guidelines, but medically unwell patients have relatively worse outcomes and should receive enhanced clinical attention.
A rare cause of tracheopleural fistula following minimally invasive oesophagectomy
Authors: Davakis S , Charalampopoulos G , Liakakos T , Charalabopoulos A
Published: October 2022

Totally minimally invasive oesophagectomy (TMIE) has been utilised to reduce respiratory and cardiac complications, offering favourable clinical and oncological outcomes. A 62-year-old male patient underwent two-stage TMIE for a Siewert type I tumour. During thoracoscopic oesophageal mobilisation and lymphadenectomy, a 10-mm bone-like mass was recognised and dissected along the subcarinal nodes, revealing a 2–3mm opening on the inferomedial aspect of the right main bronchus. The airway opening was repaired after conversion. This is the first report of an accessory cardiac bronchus encountered during oesophagectomy. Recognition of its characteristic position and features may result in early diagnosis and avoidance of a potentially lethal injury.
Tracing Dividing Lines from the US South: Concepts, Theory, Process, Practice
Authors: Gayle Steven D. , Benjamin Jesse
Published: October 2022

Introduction to the Special Issue.
US systemic violence amid the COVID-19 disaster: a conceptual critical disaster model for social workers
Authors: Svistova Juliana , Pyles Loretta
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is a community and global health disaster marked not only by illness, death and trauma, but also by historically structured economic, social and cultural causes, conditions and consequences. COVID-19 reveals, perpetuates and produces structural violence and disaster capitalism. To introduce social workers to a new way of thinking about disasters, we offer a critical conceptual model depicting the historic and systemic progression of what disaster scholars and practitioners refer to as ‘risk and vulnerability’ in the US context. We reflect on ‘returning to normal’, arguing that pre-COVID-19 existence was, in fact, abnormal and deadly. We call on social workers to radically re-imagine the future in solidarity with transformation efforts taking root, turning this disaster into an opportunity to build a healthier, more caring and more equitable world.
Environmental ethics in action: relations between practices, ethics and the culture of consumer society
Authors: Askholm Anne Sofie Møller , Gram-Hanssen Kirsten
Published: October 2022

This article investigates how environmental ethics are at play in people’s everyday lives and practices of consumption from a practice theoretical perspective. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews from a larger study, with a selected focus in this article on the biographies and everyday practices of three households. These households were chosen for the analysis in order to reveal the greatest variation in degrees and ways of relating ethically to the environment.

Situating ethics in the specific contexts and lifeworlds of research participants reveals how environmental ethics of differing contents are to varying degrees at work in people’s lives. The article suggests that the general understanding of environmental ethics is closely connected to biographical histories as well as to social and cultural contexts. In a practice theoretical framework, environmental ethics are understood as a kind of general understanding that connects to larger scale cultural formations linking provision and consumption conceptualised as teleoaffective formations. In some cases, the general understanding may contribute to the formulation of a cultural critique of modern consumer society and create a vision of an alternative system of provision and consumption connected to an imagined teleoaffective formation.
TCGAN: a transformer-enhanced GAN for PET synthetic CT
Authors: Li Jitao , Qu Zongjin , Yang Yue , Zhang Fuchun , Li Meng , Hu Shunbo
Published: October 2022

Multimodal medical images can be used in a multifaceted approach to
resolve a wide range of medical diagnostic problems. However, these
images are generally difficult to obtain due to various limitations,
such as cost of capture and patient safety. Medical image synthesis is
used in various tasks to obtain better results. Recently, various
studies have attempted to use generative adversarial networks for
missing modality image synthesis, making good progress. In this study,
we propose a generator based on a combination of transformer network
and a convolutional neural network (CNN). The proposed method can
combine the advantages of transformers and CNNs to promote a better
detail effect. The network is designed for positron emission
tomography (PET) to computer tomography synthesis, which can be used
for PET attenuation correction. We also experimented on two datasets
for magnetic resonance T1- to T2-weighted image synthesis. Based on
qualitative and quantitative analyses, our proposed method outperforms
the existing methods.
Quantum information transfer between a two-level and a four-level quantum systems
Authors: Feng Tianfeng , Xu Qiao , Zhou Linxiang , Luo Maolin , Zhang Wuhong , Zhou Xiaoqi
Published: October 2022

Quantum mechanics provides a disembodied way to transfer quantum information from one quantum object to another. In theory, this quantum information transfer can occur between quantum objects of any dimension, yet the reported experiments of quantum information transfer to date have mainly focused on the cases where the quantum objects have the same dimension. Here, we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate a scheme for quantum information transfer between quantum objects of different dimensions. By using an optical qubit-ququart entangling gate, we observe the transfer of quantum information between two photons with different dimensions, including the flow of quantum information from a four-dimensional photon to a two-dimensional photon and vice versa. The fidelities of the quantum information transfer range from 0.700 to 0.917, all above the classical limit of 2/3. Our work sheds light on a new direction for quantum information transfer and demonstrates our ability to implement entangling operations beyond two-level quantum systems.
Ultrasensitive measurement of angular rotations via a Hermite–Gaussian pointer
Authors: Xia Binke , Huang Jingzheng , Li Hongjing , Liu Miaomiao , Xiao Tailong , Fang Chen , Zeng Guihua
Published: October 2022

Exploring high sensitivity on the measurement of angular rotations is an outstanding challenge in optics and metrology. In this work, we employ the

m
n

-order Hermite–Gaussian (HG) beam in the weak measurement scheme with an angular rotation interaction, where the rotation information is taken by another HG mode state completely after the post-selection. By taking a projective measurement on the final light beam, the precision of angular rotation is improved by a factor of

2
m
n
+
m
+
n

. For verification, we perform an optical experiment where the minimum detectable angular rotation improves

15

-fold with HG55 mode over that of HG11 mode, and achieves a sub-microradian scale of the measurement precision. Our theoretical framework and experimental results not only provide a more practical and convenient scheme for ultrasensitive measurement of angular rotations but also contribute to a wide range of applications in quantum metrology.
A deep learning approach to real-time HIV outbreak detection using genetic data
Authors: Kupperman Michael D. , Leitner Thomas , Ke Ruian
Published: October 2022

Pathogen genomic sequence data are increasingly made available for epidemiological monitoring. A main interest is to identify and assess the potential of infectious disease outbreaks. While popular methods to analyze sequence data often involve phylogenetic tree inference, they are vulnerable to errors from recombination and impose a high computational cost, making it difficult to obtain real-time results when the number of sequences is in or above the thousands.

Here, we propose an alternative strategy to outbreak detection using genomic data based on deep learning methods developed for image classification. The key idea is to use a pairwise genetic distance matrix calculated from viral sequences as an image, and develop convolutional neutral network (CNN) models to classify areas of the images that show signatures of active outbreak, leading to identification of subsets of sequences taken from an active outbreak. We showed that our method is efficient in finding HIV-1 outbreaks with R0 ≥ 2.5, and overall a specificity exceeding 98% and sensitivity better than 92%. We validated our approach using data from HIV-1 CRF01 in Europe, containing both endemic sequences and a well-known dual outbreak in intravenous drug users. Our model accurately identified known outbreak sequences in the background of slower spreading HIV. Importantly, we detected both outbreaks early on, before they were over, implying that had this method been applied in real-time as data became available, one would have been able to intervene and possibly prevent the extent of these outbreaks. This approach is scalable to processing hundreds of thousands of sequences, making it useful for current and future real-time epidemiological investigations, including public health monitoring using large databases and especially for rapid outbreak identification.
Comparing the usability of the World Health Organization’s conventional tuberculosis guidelines to the eTB recommendations map: A two-arm superiority randomised controlled trial
Authors: Matthews Micayla , Lotfi Tamara , Santesso Nancy , Loeb Mark , Mertz Dominik , Chagla Zain , Hajizadeh Anisa , Piggott Thomas , Dietl Bart , Schünemann Holger J.
Published: October 2022

Best practices for the dissemination of global health guidelines has not undergone rigorous research. We used a new approach to digitizing World Health Organization (WHO) global tuberculosis guideline recommendations (eTB RecMap) and compared its usability to the conventional method of accessing TB recommendations using the WHO website. We conducted a two-arm superiority randomised controlled trial using a survey among global stakeholders who were past or planned future users of TB guidelines, recommendations, or policy advice. We assigned participants randomly (1:1) to complete an activity using the WHO eTB RecMap or the conventional website. The primary outcome was the accessibility of information and secondary outcomes understanding, satisfaction, and preference for one of the two formats. Between February 26 and August 29, 2021, we received 478 responses from stakeholders, of whom 244 (122 per group) were eligible and provided analysable results. Participants rated the eTB RecMap as more accessible, on average, when compared to the conventional website (on a seven-point scale, the mean difference {MD} was 0.9; 95% confidence interval {CI}: 0.6, 1.2; p < 0.001) and were more likely to correctly answer understanding questions. This is the first trial comparing digitized dissemination formats of health guideline recommendations. Stakeholders rated the WHO eTB RecMap as more accessible than the conventional WHO website for the tested recommendations. They also understood presented information better. The findings support better usability of TB information through the eTB RecMap and contribute to the effort to end the TB epidemic.

Trial registration:This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04745897) on February 9, 2021.
The dual burden of animal and human zoonoses: A systematic review
Authors: Noguera Z. Liz P. , Charypkhan Duriya , Hartnack Sonja , Torgerson Paul R. , Rüegg Simon R.
Published: October 2022

Background

Zoonoses can cause a substantial burden on both human and animal health. Globally, estimates of the dual (human and animal) burden of zoonoses are scarce. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the dual burden of zoonoses using a comparable metric, “zoonosis Disability Adjusted Life Years” (zDALY).

Methodology

We systematically reviewed studies that quantify in the same article zoonoses in animals, through monetary losses, and in humans in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). We searched EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. We excluded articles that did not provide the data to estimate the zDALY or those for which full text was not available. This study was registered at PROSPERO, CRD42022313081.

Principal findings/Significance

We identified 512 potentially eligible records. After deduplication and screening of the title and abstract, 23 records were assessed for full-text review. Fourteen studies were included in this systematic review. The data contains estimates from 10 countries, a study at continental level (Asia and Africa), and 2 studies on a global scale.

Rabies was the most frequently reported zoonosis where zDALYs were calculated, based on the following included studies: for Kazakhstan 457 (95% CI 342–597), Viet Nam 5316 (95% CI 4382–6244), Asia 1,145,287 (90% CI 388,592–1,902,310), Africa 837,158 (90% CI 283,087–1,388,963), and worldwide rabies 5,920,014 (95% CI 1,547,860–10,290,815). This was followed by echinococcosis, the zDALYs in Peru were 2238 (95% CI 1931–2546), in China 1490 (95% CI 1442–1537), and worldwide cystic echinococcosis 5,935,463 (95% CI 4,497,316–7,377,636). Then, the zDALYs on cysticercosis for Mozambique were 2075 (95% CI 1476–2809), Cameroon 59,540 (95% CR 16,896–101,803), and Tanzania 34,455 (95% CI 12,993–76,193). Brucellosis in Kazakhstan were 2443 zDALYs (95% CI 2391–2496), and brucellosis and anthrax in Turkey 3538 zDALYs (95% CI 2567–6706). Finally, zDALYs on leptospirosis in New Zealand were 196, and Q fever in Netherlands 2843 (95% CI 1071–4603).

The animal burden was superior to the human burden in the following studies: worldwide cystic echinococcosis (83%), brucellosis in Kazakhstan (71%), leptospirosis in New Zealand (91%), and brucellosis, and anthrax in Turkey (52%). Countries priorities on zoonoses can change if animal populations are taken into consideration.
Estimating the burden of mycetoma in Sudan for the period 1991–2018 using a model-based geostatistical approach
Authors: Hassan Rowa , Cano Jorge , Fronterre Claudio , Bakhiet Sahar , Fahal Ahmed , Deribe Kebede , Newport Melanie
Published: October 2022

Mycetoma is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions favouring arid areas with low humidity and a short rainy season. Sudan is one of the highly endemic countries for mycetoma. Estimating the population at risk and the number of cases is critical for delivering targeted and equitable prevention and treatment services. In this study, we have combined a large dataset of mycetoma cases recorded by the Mycetoma Research Centre (MRC) in Sudan over 28 years (1991–2018) with a collection of environmental and water and hygiene-related datasets in a geostatistical framework to produce estimates of the disease burden across the country. We developed geostatistical models to predict the number of cases of actinomycetoma and eumycetoma in areas considered environmentally suitable for the two mycetoma forms. Then used the raster dataset (gridded map) with the population estimates for 2020 to compute the potentially affected population since 1991. The geostatistical models confirmed this heterogeneous and distinct distribution of the estimated cases of eumycetoma and actinomycetoma across Sudan. For eumycetoma, these higher-risk areas were smaller and scattered across Al Jazirah, Khartoum, White Nile and Sennar states, while for actinomycetoma a higher risk for infection is shown across the rural districts of North and West Kurdufan. Nationally, we estimated 63,825 people (95%CI: 13,693 to 197,369) to have been suffering from mycetoma since 1991 in Sudan,51,541 people (95%CI: 9,893–166,073) with eumycetoma and 12,284 people (95%CI: 3,800–31,296) with actinomycetoma. In conclusion, the risk of mycetoma in Sudan is particularly high in certain restricted areas, but cases are ubiquitous across all states. Both prevention and treatment services are required to address the burden. Such work provides a guide for future control and prevention programs for mycetoma, highly endemic areas are clearly targeted, and resources are directed to areas with high demand.
Understanding the immunological landscape of England during SARS-CoV2 Omicron variant wave
Authors: Shingleton Joseph , Dyke Steven , Herrick Archie , Finnie Thomas
Published: October 2022

Understanding the scale of the threat posed by SARS-CoV2 B.1.1.529, or Omicron, variant formed a key problem in public health in the early part of 2022. Early evidence indicated that the variant was more transmissible and less severe than previous variants. As the virus was expected to spread quickly through the population of England, it was important that some understanding of the immunological landscape of the country was developed. This paper attempts to estimate the number of people with good immunity to the Omicron variant, defined as either recent infection with two doses of vaccine, or two doses of vaccine with a recent booster dose. To achieve this, we use a process of iterative proportional fitting to estimate the cell values of a contingency table, using national immunisation records and real-time model infection estimates as marginal values. Our results indicate that, despite the increased risk of immune evasion with the Omicron variant, a high proportion of England’s population had good immunity to the virus, particularly in older age groups. However, low rates of immunity in younger populations may allow endemic infection to persist for some time.
Frequency down-conversion based on optical cascading process—New effective way for generation of far infrared or THz radiation
Authors: Trofimov Vyacheslav A. , Kharitonov Dmitry M. , Fedotov Mikhail V.
Published: October 2022

Infrared and THz optics has many promising practical applications such as in spectroscopy, diagnostic, optical metrology, sensing, and many others. Due to limited number of IR radiation sources, the frequency down-conversion processes are widely used for obtaining infrared radiation. Among them, the most applicable method is a generation of wave with difference frequency under the three-waves interaction in a medium with quadratic nonlinear response. Below we propose a new effective tool for three times decreasing frequency of the incident pulse based on three-waves interaction in a medium with the quadratic susceptibility. At such interaction, a medium’s response inherent cubic non-linearity appears due to so-called cascading SHG. The frequency down-conversion process possesses two stable modes. This is shown using multi-scale method. For each of the modes, the analytical solution is developed in the framework of the long pulse duration approximation without using the pump energy non-depletion approximation. The computer simulation results confirm those of analytical analysis. We show that the conversion efficiency of the incidentpump pulse energy achieves about 70%, if the low frequency wave incident intensity equals zero, or almost 100%, if the incident intensity of the low frequency wave is non-zero. The developed theoretical approach may be applied to other processes of the frequency down-conversion.
Ferritin and its association with anaemia in a healthy adult population in Kenya
Authors: Omuse Geoffrey , Chege Assumpta , Kawalya David Enoch , Kagotho Elizabeth , Maina Daniel
Published: October 2022

Background

Iron deficiency is the commonest cause of anaemia worldwide. Serum ferritin is the most sensitive non-invasive indicator of iron stores but its utility is compromised in inflammatory states as it is an acute phase reactant. This study sought to estimate the burden of iron deficiency in a healthy adult population residing in Kenya and to determine the association between various ferritin cut-offs and anaemia in a population known to have chronic low-grade inflammation.

Methods

Healthy adults aged 18–65 years were recruited from urban towns in 4 counties in Kenya at average altitudes of 1683-2099m above sea level as part of a global study conducted by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) to determine reference intervals (RIs) for common laboratory tests. We analyzed complete blood count (CBC), C-reactive protein, iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation and ferritin data.

Results

We obtained data from 528 participants. There were 254 (48.1%) males and 274 females (51.9%). Based on a ferritin cut-off of 15 μg/L and Hb cut-offs of 14.5 g/dL and 12 g/dL, the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia was 0.8% and 7.3% in males and females respectively. The odds of having anaemia was highest if one had a ferritin value less than 15 μg/L with a sensitivity of 28.6% and specificity of 98.4% in males, and sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 78.0% in females.

Conclusion

Only the ferritin cut-off of 15 ug/L had an association with anaemia where it can be used for ruling out iron deficiency as the cause. Sex specific ferritin cut-offs for diagnosing iron deficiency in adults in sub-Saharan Africa need to be derived by comparing ferritin levels to stainable iron in bone marrow aspirates and trephines in order to ensure that we are using appropriate clinical decision limits.