bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Construction of Streptococcus agalactiae sialic acid mutant and evaluation of its potential as a live attenuated vaccine in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
Authors: Hao Jingwen , Wang Shuyi , Wei Zhaohui , Zhang Qianqian , Wu Zhenbing , Lin Yaoyao , Yang Jicheng , Zhang Jinyong , Zhang Defeng , Li Aihua
Published: July 2022

Aims

This study aimed to develop a live attenuated vaccine as an effective approach to prevent streptococcosis in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Methods and results

We eliminated the virulence factor, sialic acid (Sia) encoded by the neuA-D gene cluster from the Group B Streptococcus (Streptococcus agalactiae, GBS) strain WC1535, to construct Sia-deficient S. agalactiae (ΔSia) mutant by homologous recombination. Results showed that the ΔSia mutant had higher adherence to HEp-2 cells and lower resistance to RAW264.7 cell phagocytosis than the wild-type S. agalactiae. The virulence of the ΔSia mutant to tilapia dramatically decreased with no virulence recovery. The relative percent survivals (RPSs) were 50.00% and 54.50% at 30 days when challenged at the wild-type WC1535 doses of 1.0 × 107 and 5.0 × 107 CFU fish−1, respectively, via intraperitoneal (IP) injection. The tilapia vaccinated via IP injection with the ΔSia mutant induced strong antibody agglutination titers. The expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, MHC-Iα, and MHC-IIβ could be enhanced in the intestine, spleen, and head kidney for tilapia administered with the ΔSia mutant.

Conclusions

GBS Sia plays a critical role in adherence to HEp-2 cells and resistance to the immune clearance of RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, the ΔSia mutant is a safe, stable, and immunogenic live attenuated vaccine candidate to protect tilapia against GBS infection.

Significance and impact of study

The results offer more evidence of the importance of Sia in GBS and may be instructive in the control of tilapia streptococcosis.
'At least there is something in my bra': A qualitative study of women's experiences with oncoplastic breast surgery
Authors: Hansen Stine Thestrup , Willemoes Rasmussen Lene Anette
Published: July 2022

Aims

This study explores how women diagnosed with breast cancer may be supported by physicians and nurses during physical and existential changes related to oncoplastic breast surgery in Denmark. The following research questions were addressed: (a) how do women experience oncoplastic breast surgery, and (b) how does cancer treatment affect their body image?

Design

A descriptive qualitative study design with a six‐step thematic analysis influenced by Braun and Clarke was applied in this study. This paper has been prepared in accordance with the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research.

Methods

Fourteen in‐depth interviews with seven women diagnosed with breast cancer were conducted from August 2018 to March 2019. In this qualitative study, data analysis was performed concurrent with data construction, recognizing that the process of analysis and making sense of data should start during the interviews. We explicitly frame the discussion of the findings in a theory of embodiment influenced by Merleau‐Ponty, consistent with the construct of exploring human experiences to generate meaningful knowledge for applied practice.

Results

Two overall themes with related subthemes were identified: (1) 'Treatment is required for life‐threatening cancer', and (2) 'Striving for a new normal body'. Across both themes, women's experiences reflected a 'time pendulum' as they contemplated their past identity, their current rationale and their transition to a future beyond breast cancer with a changed body.

Conclusion

Participants reflected on their past, present and future when facing an altered body image caused by their breast cancer diagnosis and oncoplastic breast surgery. The participants in the study expressed broad levels of satisfaction with the results of the oncoplastic breast surgery. The reconstructed breast helped them to live normally again, in particular maintaining interpersonal relationships. Breast reconstruction supported participants' embodiment experiences and redefinition of their 'new normal'.

Impact

This study showed the dynamic changes in self‐definition from receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment to oncoplastic breast surgery. The main finding of self‐redefinition was from the perspective of breast cancer women who were in a period of transition between post‐diagnosis and consultation for oncoplastic breast surgery. The findings indicate that advanced nurse specialists in the field of oncoplastic breast surgery can enhance psychosocial wellbeing and support women pre‐ and post‐operatively by focusing on patient experiences of self‐image and embodiment.
A case of recurrent endometrial cancer with long‐term complete remission following pembrolizumab‐induced severe immune‐related adverse event colitis
Authors: Yamamoto Akiko , Nagashima Takeo , Imai Yoshinari , Akitsu Kensuke , Yamanaka Zenta , Nishi Hirotaka
Published: July 2022

Endometrial cancer is generally diagnosed at an early stage and has a good prognosis, although once it recurs, the prognosis is poor because of few therapeutic options. Since endometrial cancer has a high frequency of microsatellite instability‐high/mismatch repair deficiency, the anti‐PD‐1 antibody pembrolizumab is expected to be one of the key therapeutic agents for recurrent endometrial cancer. Immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) are autoimmune‐like unique and occasionally life‐threatening side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Here, we report a rare case of recurrent endometrial cancer that showed long‐term complete remission after developing relapsing severe irAE colitis following the introduction of pembrolizumab.
Vitamin D and COVID‐19—Revisited
Authors: Subramanian Sreedhar , Griffin George , Hewison Martin , Hopkin Julian , Kenny Rose Anne , Laird Eamon , Quinton Richard , Thickett David , Rhodes Jonathan M.
Published: July 2022

Vitamin D, when activated to 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D, is a steroid hormone that induces responses in several hundred genes, including many involved in immune responses to infection. Without supplementation, people living in temperate zones commonly become deficient in the precursor form of vitamin D, 25‐hydroxyvitamin D, during winter, as do people who receive less sunlight exposure or those with darker skin pigmentation. Studies performed pre‐COVID‐19 have shown significant but modest reduction in upper respiratory infections in people receiving regular daily vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D deficiency, like the risk of severe COVID‐19, is linked with darker skin colour and also with obesity. Greater risk from COVID‐19 has been associated with reduced ultraviolet exposure. Various studies have examined serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels, either historical or current, in patients with COVID‐19. The results of these studies have varied but the majority have shown an association between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of COVID‐19 illness or severity. Interventional studies of vitamin D supplementation have so far been inconclusive. Trial protocols commonly allow control groups to receive low‐dose supplementation that may be adequate for many. The effects of vitamin D supplementation on disease severity in patients with existing COVID‐19 are further complicated by the frequent use of large bolus dose vitamin D to achieve rapid effects, even though this approach has been shown to be ineffective in other settings. As the pandemic passes into its third year, a substantial role of vitamin D deficiency in determining the risk from COVID‐19 remains possible but unproven.
Evaluation of the pathogenicity of chrysanthemum stunt viroid variants against dahlia under different conditions
Authors: Asano Shunsuke , Hirayama Yoshihiko , Yoshida Kandai , Naka Terufumi , Matsushita Yosuke
Published: July 2022

Chrysanthemum stunt viroid (CSVd) is an important pathogen that decreases dahlia yields due to stunting symptoms. Here, we evaluated the effect of nucleotide sequence of CSVd, cultivation conditions, inoculum type and infection timing on CSVd‐infected dahlia growth. Inoculation with CSVd after planting resulted in reduced plant height in the second cut flower, but not the first, indicating that the infection may affect the growth of dahlias after approximately 3–5 months. Additionally, there was no significant difference in the degree of symptom severity among the plants infected with the two types of inoculum, synthesized CSVd RNA and CSVd‐infected plant sap. All three CSVd variants affected the growth of dahlias. The reduction in plant height was almost similar among the three variants. However, the reduction in plant fresh weight and compound leaf size in variant JP1 was significantly higher than that in the other variants in the spring experiment. The rates of blown centre in JP1 were also higher than those in the other variants in the spring and winter experiments under the 14.5‐h photoperiod. These results suggest that JP1 is a more severe variant than JP2 and JP3. Dark period interruption improved the reduction in plant height and weight and flower weight, as well as the rate of blown centre in CSVd‐infected dahlias in the winter experiment compared with the 14.5‐h photoperiod. Our results indicate that the three CSVd variants incite stunting symptoms in dahlias and nucleotide sequence of CSVd, photoperiod and infection timing affect the degree of symptom severity.
Systemic calcinosis in a Quarter Horse gelding homozygous for a myosin heavy chain 1 mutation
Authors: Sponseller Beatrice T. , Wong David M. , Ruby Rebecca , Ware Wendy A. , Wilson Scott , Haynes Joseph S.
Published: July 2022

Case Description

A 9‐year‐old Quarter Horse gelding was presented for lethargy, decreased appetite, polyuria and polydipsia (PU/PD), and severe muscle wasting suggestive of immune‐mediated myositis.

Clinical Findings

The horse displayed lethargy, fever, tachyarrhythmia, inappetence, PU/PD, and severe epaxial and gluteal muscle wasting. Clinicopathologic findings were consistent with previously reported cases of systemic calcinosis in horses, including increased muscle enzyme activity, hyperphosphatemia, increased calcium‐phosphorus product, hypoproteinemia, and an inflammatory leukogram. A diagnosis of systemic calcinosis was established by histopathologic evaluation of biopsy specimens from skeletal muscle, lung, and kidney.

Treatment and Outcome

Symptomatic treatment was complemented by IV treatment with sodium thiosulfate to reverse calcium‐phosphate precipitation in soft tissue and PO aluminum hydroxide to decrease intestinal phosphorus absorption and serum phosphorus concentration.

Clinical Relevance

This is the first report in the veterinary literature of an antemortem diagnosis of systemic calcinosis in the horse that was successfully treated and had favorable long‐term outcome.
Code poverty: An adaptation of the social‐ecological model to inform a more strategic direction toward nursing advocacy
Authors: Hodge Lesley , Raymond Christy
Published: July 2022

The purpose of this discussion paper is to explore how nurses can be strategically poised to advocate for needed policy change in support of greater income equality and other social determinants of health. We adapted Bronfenbrenner's social‐ecological model to highlight how four broad pervasive subsystems shape the opportunities that nurses have to engage in advocacy at the policy level. These subsystems include organizations (the microsystem), professional bodies (the mesosystem), public policies (the exosystem), and societal values (the macrosystem). On the basis of this adapted model, we recommend changes among modifiable elements of the microsystem and mesosystem that can help position nurses (ecologically and collectively) to advocate for public policy change and use examples from a Canadian context to illustrate these points. We believe that the ideas arising from this model can be widely used where policy action on the social determinants of health is needed to inform, guide, and frame change efforts and advocacy work.
Do asylum‐seekers respond to policy changes? Evidence from the Swedish–Syrian case*
Authors: Andersson Henrik , Jutvik Kristoffer
Published: July 2022

Do asylum‐seekers respond to policy changes in their destination country, and to what extent? We approach this question by using high‐frequency data, and we focus on a sudden liberalization in Swedish policy toward Syrian asylum‐seekers, which implied permanent instead of temporary residence. We show a clear and fast, yet temporary, increase in Syrian asylum applications in Sweden after the policy change. Also, the policy caused a shift – not limited to the short term – in the share of individuals arriving without family, and consequently in the share applying for family reunification. Our study adds quasi‐experimental evidence to the literature on inter‐country asylum flows and migration policy.
Analysis of stem cell collections in adult patients with Ewing sarcoma
Authors: Franke Georg‐Nikolaus , Pfannes Roald , Heyn Simone , Brückner Mandy , Rieprecht Susanne , Bach Enrica , Remane Yvonne , Leiblein Sabine , Pönisch Wolfram , Niederwieser Dietger , Schwind Sebastian , Platzbecker Uwe , Jentzsch Madlen , Vucinic Vladan
Published: July 2022

Background

Ewing sarcoma is one of the most frequent soft‐tissue tumors in pediatric patients. The current treatment protocols recommend stem cell apheresis (SCA) after completion of the second course of induction therapy with vincristine, ifosfamide, doxorubicine, and etoposide (VIDE). The feasibility of SCA and graft compositions in adult patients with Ewing sarcoma have not been previously analyzed.

Methods and Materials

The authors analyzed 29 stem cell collections of 19 adult patients (9 male, 10 female) at a median age of 27 (range 19–53) years mobilized after VIDE (n = 17), cyclophosphamide/topotecan (n = 1) or vincristine, dactinomycin and ifosfamide (n = 1) chemotherapy. All patients were mobilized with filgrastim 5 μg/kg twice daily from day +7 of chemotherapy. The collections were performed if CD34+ cell count in peripheral blood was >10/μL. The target yields were ≥4×106 CD34+ cells/kg body weight.

Results

Median CD34+ cells/μL in peripheral blood before SCA were 45.8 (range 6.7–614.4)/μL. The median cumulative yields were 10.6 (range 1.5–38.8) CD34+ cells/kg body weight and ≥2×106 in all but two patients (89%). CD34, CD3, and CD56 yields in collections after the third VIDE and after later courses did not differ. Four patients underwent high‐dose therapy with autologous transplantation, and all were engrafted.

Discussion

Stem cell mobilization is feasible in most Ewing sarcoma patients. Additionally, the present study's data suggest that it is safe to postpone stem cell collection to a later VIDE chemotherapy cycle if medically indicated.
A Review of the Research on the Development and Evolution of Chinese Language in the New Era
Authors: Zhou Lianying
Published: July 2022

The development of language is influenced by various factors including internal ones and external ones due to its social nature. With the in-depth development of globalization, the development of languages in the new era shows many new features, among which the most obvious is that they are more open and interactive. At the same time, it has also attracted much attention of the academic circles, and the theories of language development are abundant. This paper first defines language variation, and mainly combs the relevant achievements of language development research in contemporary from three aspects: language contact, grammaticalization and memetics.
Las aguas/los bosques: en el pozo-jardín
Authors: Merino Gouffray Eduardo
Published: July 2022

A través de una serie de extractos a modo de crónica, se relata el proceso de un artista que asume las huellas que hace sobre la tierra como espacios de experimentación y conjugación de aquello que conforma su contexto. Aquí, las aguas, los bosques y el pozo se convierten en un mismo universo que se teje bajo la experiencia y la experimentación, junto con la intención de asumir un territorio que se hace por medio de negociaciones entre lo humano y lo no humano. Este relato es un fragmento de una investigación de un artista que cursa una Maestría en Conservación y Uso de Biodiversidad que aborda el problema del Antropoceno como un detonante para preguntarse sobre cómo una huella que se asume a modo de jardín, desde el mundo cotidiano, cercano y particular, tiene el potencial de abrir divergencias sobre nuestra relación con el entorno y lo que allí habita. ¿Hay otra manera de ser y hacer huellas que no implique socavar? Desde los gestos, el caminar y la vivencia de los espacios, esta pregunta se irá respondiendo, mientras se encuentran maneras de entender los signos de un espacio intervenido que intenta brindar nuevas miradas más allá del antropocentrismo.
Mapa de relaciones táctiles escala 1:1
Authors: De Valdenebro Cajiao Eulalia
Published: July 2022

Este artículo tiene por objetivo dar las claves para la lectura e interpretación del Mapa de relaciones táctiles escala 1:1, una práctica artística desarrollada entre Eulalia de Valdenebro Cajiao y un frailejón (Espeletia grandiflora). Para ello, se describe su método de elaboración y el orden geométrico que lo estructura en tres tipos de enunciados: las proposiciones simples, los axiomas de proporción y los teoremas poéticos. En el curso de estas descripciones, se devela el valor poético y crítico de la práctica artística comprendida como un performance-gráfico de larga duración. El Mapa de relaciones táctiles escala 1:1 hace parte de una investigación más amplia en torno a las relaciones arte-ciencia en la episteme botánica moderna, donde se identifica esa manera de conocer el mundo vegetal como uno de los elementos clave que configura nuestra actual situación climática, bien expresada por Isabelle Stengers como la intrusión de Gaia. En la práctica artística de elaboración del Mapa de relaciones táctiles escala 1:1, hay una apropiación de los métodos de la episteme botánica moderna reconfigurada de manera crítica. En ella, se cuestionan elementos clave de la modernidad, como la jerarquía establecida entre sujeto-científico objeto-planta, las medidas universales, la noción de especie y el valor de verdad u objetividad del método científico. Por otra parte, el método geométrico usado propone re-visitar una modernidad espinosita que da luces importantes para la crítica de la modernidad hegemónica
Geochemical Modeling of Engineered Water Injection in Carbonates Under Harsh Conditions: New Insights With Ionic Adsorption
Authors: Khurshid Ilyas , Al-Shalabi Emad W. , Afgan Imran , Khurshid Bilal , Hassan Anas M.
Published: July 2022

Carbonates are characterized by low oil recovery due to their positive surface charge and consequent high affinity to negatively charged crude oil, rendering them to a state of mixed-to-oil wettability. Thus, a better understanding of the rock/brine/oil interactions and their effect on potential-determining ions (PDIs) adsorption/desorption during engineered water injection is needed for realistic and representative estimations of oil recovery. Therefore, this study reveals a novel approach to capture various interactions and better predict the effect of PDIs adsorption/desorption as well as the concentrations of various ionic species in the effluent using Phreeqc. In this work, we determined the adsorption/desorption of PDIs for the first time using surface-complexation reactions and then we validated our results with experimental data from the literature. Our results revealed that the presence of PDIs and their respective adsorption/desorption results in surface charge decrease and increase in pH. Also, this study found that ionic adsorption depends on ionic strength and species activity where calcium adsorption remained constant while magnesium and sulfate adsorptions varied with ionic strength. Moreover, magnesium ion was found to be the most sensitive ionic species to temperature as opposed to calcium and sulfate ions. In addition, sulfate spiking and dilution decrease the sulfate adsorption since the sulfate starts reacting with magnesium and forming complexes. Additionally, deionized water resulted in the highest charge decrease and pH increase with related incremental oil recovery. The adsorption/desorption of ions is case-dependent and thus, the findings cannot be generalized.
Numerical Simulations of Turbulent Flow Through a 90-Deg Pipe Bend
Authors: Jurga Agata Patrycja , Janocha Marek Jan , Yin Guang , Ong Muk Chen
Published: July 2022

The turbulent flow through a 90-deg circular pipe bend is investigated by carrying out the numerical simulations using the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) turbulence model in the present study. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effects of different values of the curvature radius (Rc) and different Reynolds numbers (Re) on the flow development in the circular pipe bend by employing the explicit algebraic Reynolds stress model (EARSM) to resolve the Reynolds stresses, unlike the research carried out so far where the turbulence anisotropy has not been considered. The curvature ratio defined as the curvature radius to pipe diameter (Rc/D) is varied between 1 and 4 and the investigated Re range is from 10,000 to 60,000. The numerical model is validated by comparing the axial velocity profiles with the previous published experimental data. It is found that for the fixed Re and decreasing Rc/D, the axial velocity, the velocity perturbation, and the pressure difference in the cross section increase and vorticity becomes stronger. When the curvature ratio gets smaller than 2, the flow velocity profile becomes highly distorted. For the fixed Rc/D, the influence of the Re on the flow behavior is small for the investigated range of Re.
Evaluation of kurtosis-corrected sound exposure level as a metric for predicting onset of hearing threshold shifts in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Authors: von Benda-Beckmann A. M. , Ketten D. R. , Lam F. P. A. , de Jong C. A. F. , Müller R. A. J. , Kastelein R. A.
Published: July 2022

Application of a kurtosis correction to frequency-weighted sound exposure level (SEL) improved predictions of risk of hearing damage in humans and terrestrial mammals for sound exposures with different degrees of impulsiveness. To assess whether kurtosis corrections may lead to improved predictions for marine mammals, corrections were applied to temporary threshold shift (TTS) growth measurements for harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) exposed to different sounds. Kurtosis-corrected frequency-weighted SEL predicted accurately the growth of low levels of TTS (TTS1-4 < 10 dB) for intermittent sounds with short (1–13 s) silence intervals but was not consistent with frequency-weighted SEL data for continuous sound exposures.
FIDELITY: A quality control system for droplet microfluidics
Authors: Zhang Han , Huang Can , Li Yuwen , Gupte Rohit , Samuel Ryan , Dai Jing , Guzman Adrian , Sabnis Rushant , de Figueiredo Paul , Han Arum
Published: July 2022

Droplet microfluidic systems have been widely deployed to interrogate biological and chemical systems. The major limitations of these systems are the relatively high error rates from critical droplet manipulation functions. To address these limitations, we describe the development of FIDELITY (Flotation and Interdigitated electrode forces on Droplets to Enable Lasting system IntegriTY), a highly sensitive and accurate size-based droplet bandpass filter that leverages the natural buoyancy of aqueous droplets and highly localized dielectrophoretic force generated by interdigitated electrode arrays. Droplet manipulation accuracies greater than 99% were achieved at a throughput of up to 100 droplets/s and separation of droplets that differed in diameter by only 6 μm was demonstrated. Last, the utility of FIDELITY was demonstrated in a droplet size quality control application and also in a droplet-based in vitro transcription/translation workflow. We anticipate FIDELITY to be integrated into a broad range of droplet microfluidic configurations to achieve exceptional operational accuracy.
Direct and indirect impacts of urbanization on vegetation growth across the world’s cities
Authors: Zhang Lei , Yang Lin , Zohner Constantin M. , Crowther Thomas W. , Li Manchun , Shen Feixue , Guo Mao , Qin Jun , Yao Ling , Zhou Chenghu
Published: July 2022

Urban environments, regarded as “harbingers” of future global change, may exert positive or negative impacts on urban vegetation growth. Because of limited ground-based experiments, the responses of vegetation to urbanization and its associated controlling factors at the global scale remain poorly understood. Here, we use satellite observations from 2001 to 2018 to quantify direct and indirect impacts of urbanization on vegetation growth in 672 worldwide cities. After controlling for the negative direct impact of urbanization on vegetation growth, we find a widespread positive indirect effect that has been increasing over time. These indirect effects depend on urban development intensity, population density, and background climate, with more pronounced positive effects in cities with cold and arid environments. We further show that vegetation responses to urbanization are modulated by a cities’ developmental status. Our findings have important implications for understanding urbanization-induced impacts on vegetation and future sustainable urban development.
Improving the environmental sustainability of paediatric care
Authors: Spooner Rosie , Glover Williams Alessandra , Roome Claire
Published: July 2022

Accelerated global warming is directly related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In order to achieve international and national set targets on reducing GHG emissions, paediatricians should aim to decrease GHG emissions associated with paediatric care, when this is not in conflict with patient outcomes. In this article, we review literature on practical ways to encourage environmentally sustainable paediatric care and identify areas where more evidence is required. Finally, we introduce readers to the principles of sustainable healthcare which may be used to help guide further efforts to reduce the environmental impact of paediatric care.
PEPtalk 3: oral aciclovir is equivalent to varicella zoster immunoglobulin as postexposure prophylaxis against chickenpox in children with cancer – results of a multicentre UK evaluation
Authors: Cuerden Claire , Gower Charlotte , Brown Kevin , Heath Paul T , Andrews Nick , Amirthalingam Gayatri , Bate Jessica
Published: July 2022

Objective

To compare the occurrence of chickenpox in children with cancer who received varicella immunoglobulin (VZIG) or aciclovir as postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Design

Prospective multicentre service evaluation of children with cancer who received either VZIG or aciclovir as PEP following significant exposure to varicella zoster virus (VZV) over a 24-month period from May 2018.

Setting

Data were collected from 9 UK Paediatric Oncology Primary Treatment Centres.

Patients

Children under 16 years old with a diagnosis of cancer and/or previous haematopoietic stem cell transplant who were VZV seronegative at exposure and/or diagnosis and received PEP following significant VZV exposure.

Main outcome measures

The primary outcome was the incidence of breakthrough varicella within 6 weeks of VZV exposure and treatment with PEP.

Results

A total of 105 eligible patients were registered with a median age of 4.9 years (range 1.1–10.5 years). Underlying diagnoses were acute leukaemia (64), solid tumours (22), Langerhans cell histiocytosis (9), central nervous system (CNS) tumours (8) and other (2). Aciclovir was received by 86 patients (81.9%), 18 received VZIG (17.1%) and 1 valaciclovir (0.9%). There were seven reported break-through VZV infections in 103 patients at follow-up (7/103, 6.8%). Clinical VZV developed in 5/84 of the aciclovir group (6.0%, 95% CI 2.0 to 13.3) and 2/18 of VZIG group (11.1%, 95% CI 1.4 to 34.7). All breakthrough infections were either mild (5/7) or moderate (2/7) in severity.

Conclusion

Aciclovir is a safe and effective alternative to VZIG as VZV PEP in children with cancer and should be considered as standard of care.
Equity assessment of childhood immunisation at national and subnational levels in Myanmar: a benefit incidence analysis
Authors: Win Zin Mar , Traill Tom , Kyaw Zarni Lynn , Hnin Khaing Thandar , Chit Phway Thinzar , La Thazin , Deshpande Ashwini Sunil , Ogbuoji Osondu , Mao Wenhui
Published: July 2022

Introduction

Myanmar, a conflict-affected geographically and ethnically diverse lower middle-income country, was in the donor transition phase for health prior to the political unrest of the last year. This study analyses the distribution of benefit and utilisation of basic childhood vaccinations from the highly donor-dependent Expanded Program on Immunization for populations of different socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods

We conducted a benefit incidence analysis with decomposition analysis to assess the equity of benefit. We used basic childhood immunisations—BCG, measles, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT)/pentavalent, oral polio vaccine (OPV) and full vaccination—as measurements for healthcare use. Childhood immunisation data were collected from Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey. Cost of vaccines was obtained from UNICEF document and ‘Immunization Delivery Cost Catalogue’ and adjusted with regional cost variations. We reported Concentration Index (CI) and Achievement Index (AI) by SES, including wealth quintiles, maternal education and across geographic areas.

Results

Nationally, better-off households disproportionately used more services from the programme (CI–Wealth Index (CI-WI) for BCG, measles, DPT/pentavalent, OPV and full immunisation: 0.032, 0.051, 0.120, 0.091 and 0.137, respectively). Benefits had a pro-poor distribution for BCG but a less pro-rich distribution than utilisation for all other vaccines (CI-WI: −0.004, 0.019, 0.092, 0.045 and 0.106, respectively). Urban regions had a more pro-rich distribution of benefit than that in rural areas, where BCG and measles had a pro-poor distribution. Subnational analysis found significant heterogeneity: benefit was less equitably distributed, and AI was lower in conflict-affected states than in government-controlled areas. The major contributors to vaccine inequality were SES, antenatal care visits and paternal education.

Conclusion

Donors, national government and regional government should better plan to maintain vaccine coverage while improving equity of vaccine services, especially for children of lower SES, mothers with less antenatal care visits and lower paternal education living in conflicted-affected remote regions.
ECMO utilization in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia in the USA
Authors: Kokhanov Artemiy , Lau Claudia , Garg Meena , Jen Howard , Chu Alison
Published: July 2022

Background

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a cause of significant morbidity. CDH is the most common neonatal diagnosis requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Methods

We compared the different characteristics of ECMO and non-ECMO patients with CDH in a case-control study. Data were extracted from the Kids’ Inpatient Database. Records from 2006 to 2016 were used. Patients <28 days of age were selected. CDH infants (n=9217) were stratified based on whether they were treated with ECMO (n=348) or not (n=8869). Demographic data and hospital characteristics were collected. Categorical variables were analyzed using χ2tests to determine associations between the ECMO-treated and non-ECMO-treated infants on demographic and clinical characteristics. Differences in hospitalization costs were analyzed using t-test. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were stratified by clinical and demographic characteristics to identify factors associated with ECMO. Significant variables were included in the model to determine predictors for ECMO.

Results

The proportion of infants treated with ECMO was higher in White infants, and lower in Hispanics. The cost of hospitalization was higher with ECMO (p<0.0001). ECMO patients were more likely to be treated in their birth hospital (p<0.001), at an urban location (p<0.001) and more likely to have private insurance (p=0.011). After adjusting for confounders, odds of ECMO treatment remained lower in Hispanics (p=0.001) and self-payers (p=0.004).

Conclusion

There was a decrease in the proportion of CDH infants needing ECMO use in the USA from 2006 to 2016. Disparities exist in ECMO use and mortality between different ethnic groups and regions of the USA.
Bridge infrastructure resilience assessment against seismic hazard using Bayesian best worst method
Authors: Khan Md Saiful Arif , Etonyeaku Leonard Chinedu , Kabir Golam , Billah Muntasir , Dutta Subhrajit
Published: July 2022

The transportation agencies are experiencing numerous challenges in endorsing resilient bridge infrastructure against natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. Therefore, assessing bridge infrastructure resiliency against a seismic hazard is critical to improve the bridge's endurance and effective recovery. In this study, assessment of bridge infrastructure resilience against the seismic hazard is performed using Bayesian best–worst method (BWM). Based on a literature review, 15 resilience parameters were identified for bridge infrastructure resiliency against seismic hazard under two primary aspects, namely reliability and recovery. The Bayesian BWM was used to calculate the weight of the seismic resilience variables based on the experts’ judgment. Finally, a bridge resiliency index was developed to determine the weights of the parameters. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model, the infrastructure resiliency against the seismic hazard of a bridge located in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada is assessed using two sets of data from two different sources. It is mentionable that the resiliency index was close for both of the data sets. The outcome of this study is that the model for determining bridge resiliency index will assist the bridge engineer and policymakers make effective decisions in the face of future seismic danger.
Material radiopurity control in the XENONnT experiment
Authors: Aprile E. , Abe K. , Agostini F. , Ahmed Maouloud S. , Alfonsi M. , Althueser L. , Angelino E. , Angevaare J. R. , Antochi V. C. , Antón Martin D. , Arneodo F. , Baudis L. , Baxter A. L. , Bellagamba L. , Biondi R. , Bismark A. , Brown A. , Bruenner S. , Bruno G. , Budnik R. , Capelli C. , Cardoso J. M. R. , Cichon D. , Cimmino B. , Clark M. , Colijn A. P. , Conrad J. , Cuenca-García J. J. , Cussonneau J. P. , D’Andrea V. , Decowski M. P. , Gangi P. Di , Pede S. Di , Giovanni A. Di , Stefano R. Di , Diglio S. , Elykov A. , Farrell S. , Ferella A. D. , Fischer H. , Fulgione W. , Gaemers P. , Gaior R. , Galloway M. , Gao F. , Glade-Beucke R. , Grandi L. , Grigat J. , Higuera A. , Hils C. , Hiraide K. , Hoetzsch L. , Howlett J. , Iacovacci M. , Itow Y. , Jakob J. , Joerg F. , Kato N. , Kavrigin P. , Kazama S. , Kobayashi M. , Koltman G. , Kopec A. , Landsman H. , Lang R. F. , Levinson L. , Li I. , Liang S. , Lindemann S. , Lindner M. , Liu K. , Lombardi F. , Long J. , Lopes J. A. M. , Ma Y. , Macolino C. , Mahlstedt J. , Mancuso A. , Manenti L. , Manfredini A. , Marignetti F. , Marrodán Undagoitia T. , Martens K. , Masbou J. , Masson D. , Masson E. , Mastroianni S. , Messina M. , Miuchi K. , Mizukoshi K. , Molinario A. , Moriyama S. , Morå K. , Mosbacher Y. , Murra M. , Ni K. , Oberlack U. , Palacio J. , Peres R. , Pienaar J. , Pierre M. , Pizzella V. , Plante G. , Qi J. , Qin J. , Ramírez García D. , Reichard S. , Rocchetti A. , Rupp N. , Sanchez L. , dos Santos J. M. F. , Sartorelli G. , Schreiner J. , Schulte D. , Schulze Eißing H. , Schumann M. , Lavina L. Scotto , Selvi M. , Semeria F. , Shagin P. , Shockley E. , Silva M. , Simgen H. , Takeda A. , Tan P. L. , Terliuk A. , Therreau C. , Thers D. , Toschi F. , Trinchero G. , Tunnell C. , Tönnies F. , Valerius K. , Volta G. , Wei Y. , Weinheimer C. , Weiss M. , Wenz D. , Westermann J. , Wittweg C. , Wolf T. , Xu Z. , Yamashita M. , Yang L. , Ye J. , Yuan L. , Zavattini G. , Zhang Y. , Zhong M. , Zhu T. , Zopounidis J. P. ,   XENON Collaboration, Laubenstein M. , Nisi S.
Published: July 2022

The selection of low-radioactive construction materials is of the utmost importance for rare-event searches and thus critical to the XENONnT experiment. Results of an extensive radioassay program are reported, in which material samples have been screened with gamma-ray spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and $$^{222}$$

222

Rn emanation measurements. Furthermore, the cleanliness procedures applied to remove or mitigate surface contamination of detector materials are described. Screening results, used as inputs for a XENONnT Monte Carlo simulation, predict a reduction of materials background ($$\sim $$
∼
17%) with respect to its predecessor XENON1T. Through radon emanation measurements, the expected $$^{222}$$

222

Rn activity concentration in XENONnT is determined to be 4.2 ($$^{+0.5}_{-0.7}$$

-
0.7

+
0.5

) $$\upmu $$
μ
Bq/kg, a factor three lower with respect to XENON1T. This radon concentration will be further suppressed by means of the novel radon distillation system.
Competitive Algorithms for Online Multidimensional Knapsack Problems
Authors: Yang Lin , Zeynali Ali , Hajiesmaili Mohammad H. , Sitaraman Ramesh K. , Towsley Don
Published: July 2022

In this work, we study the online multidimensional knapsack problem (called OMdKP) in which there is a knapsack whose capacity is represented in m dimensions, each dimension could have a different capacity. Then, n items with different scalar profit values and m-dimensional weights arrive in an online manner and the goal is to admit or decline items upon their arrival such that the total profit obtained by admitted items is maximized and the capacity of knapsack across all dimensions is respected. This is a natural generalization of the classic single-dimension knapsack problem with several relevant applications such as in virtual machine allocation, job scheduling, and all-or-nothing flow maximization over a graph. We develop an online algorithm for OMdKP that uses an exponential reservation function to make online admission decisions. Our competitive analysis shows that the proposed online algorithm achieves the competitive ratio of O(log (Θ α)), where α is the ratio between the aggregate knapsack capacity and the minimum capacity over a single dimension and θ is the ratio between the maximum and minimum item unit values. We also show that the competitive ratio of our algorithm with exponential reservation function matches the lower bound up to a constant factor.
Data Convection
Authors: Khadirsharbiyani Soheil , Kotra Jagadish , Rao Karthik , Kandemir Mahmut Taylan
Published: July 2022

Stacked DRAMs have been studied and productized in the last decade. The large available bandwidth they offer makes them an attractive choice, particularly, in high-performance computing (HPC) environments. Consequently, many prior research efforts have studied and evaluated 3D stacked DRAM-based designs. Despite offering high bandwidth, stacked DRAMs are severely constrained by the overall memory capacity offered. In this paper, we study and evaluate integrating stacked DRAM on top of a GPU in a 3D manner which in tandem with the 2.5D stacked DRAM boosts the capacity and the bandwidth without increasing the package size. It also helps meet the capacity needs of emergent workloads like deep learning. However, the bandwidth given by these 3D stacked DRAMs is significantly constrained by the GPU's heat production. Our investigations on a cycle-level simulator show that the 3D stacked DRAM portions closest to the GPU have shorter retention times than the layers further away. Depending on the retention period, certain regions of 3D stacked DRAM are refreshed more frequently than others, leading to thermally-induced NUMA paradigms. Our proposed approach attempts to place the most frequently requested data in a thermally conscious manner, taking into consideration both bank-level parallelism and channel-level parallelism. The results collected with a cycle-level GPU simulator indicate that the three implementations of our proposed approach lead to 1.8%, 11.7%, and 14.4% performance improvements, over a baseline that already includes 3D+2.5D stacked DRAMs.
Memory Space Recycling
Authors: Ryoo Jihyun , Kandemir Mahmut Taylan , Karakoy Mustafa
Published: July 2022

Many program codes from different application domains process very large amounts of data, making their data locality/cache memory behavior critical for high performance. Prior work has addressed the data locality optimization problem in the context of both single-core and multi-core systems. Another dimension of optimization, which can be as equally important/beneficial as improving data access pattern is to reduce the data volume (total number of addresses) accessed by the program code. In this work, we explore the idea of rewriting an application program code to reduce its memory space footprint. The main idea behind this approach is to reuse/recycle, for a given data element, a memory location that has originally been assigned to another data element, provided that the lifetimes of these two data elements do not overlap with each other. We present a detailed experimental evaluation of our proposed memory space recycling strategy. The experimental results show that our proposed approach brings, respectively, 33.2%, 48.6%, 46.5%, 31.8%, and 27.9% average improvements in these metrics, in the case of single-threaded applications. With the multi-threaded versions of the same applications, the achieved improvements are 39.5%, 55.5%, 53.4%, 26.2%, and 22.2%, in the same order.
Robustness and Consistency in Linear Quadratic Control with Untrusted Predictions
Authors: Li Tongxin , Yang Ruixiao , Qu Guannan , Shi Guanya , Yu Chenkai , Wierman Adam , Low Steven
Published: July 2022

We study the problem of learning-augmented predictive linear quadratic control. Our goal is to design a controller that balances "consistency'', which measures the competitive ratio when predictions are accurate, and "robustness'', which bounds the competitive ratio when predictions are inaccurate. We propose a novel λ-confident controller and prove that it maintains a competitive ratio upper bound of 1 + min {O(λ2ε)+ O(1-λ)2,O(1)+O(λ2)} where λ∈ [0,1] is a trust parameter set based on the confidence in the predictions, and ε is the prediction error. Further, motivated by online learning methods, we design a self-tuning policy that adaptively learns the trust parameter λ with a competitive ratio that depends on ε and the variation of system perturbations and predictions. We show that its competitive ratio is bounded from above by 1+O(ε) /(Θ)(1)+Θ(ε))+O(μVar) where μVar measures the variation of perturbations and predictions. It implies that by automatically adjusting the trust parameter online, the self-tuning scheme ensures a competitive ratio that does not scale up with the prediction error ε.
The First 5G-LTE Comparative Study in Extreme Mobility
Authors: Pan Yueyang , Li Ruihan , Xu Chenren
Published: July 2022

5G claims to support mobility up to 500 km/h according to the 3GPP standard. However, its field performance under high-speed scenes remains in mystery. In this paper, we conduct the first large-scale measurement campaign on a high-speed railway route operating at the maximum speed of 350 km/h, with full coverage of LTE and 5G (NSA and SA) along the track. Our study consumed 1788.8 GiB of cellular data in six months, covering the three major carriers in China and the recent standardized QUIC protocol. Based on our dataset, we reveal the key characteristics of 5G and LTE in extreme mobility in terms of throughput, RTT, loss rate, signal quality, and physical resource utilization. We further develop a taxonomy of handovers in both LTE and 5G and carry out the link-layer latency breakdown analysis. Our study pinpoints the deficiencies in the user equipment, radio access network, and core network which hinder seamless connectivity and better utilization of 5G's high bandwidth. Our findings highlight the directions of the next step in the 5G evolution.
Towards Efficient Sparse Matrix Vector Multiplication on Real Processing-In-Memory Architectures
Authors: Giannoula Christina , Fernandez Ivan , Gómez-Luna Juan , Koziris Nectarios , Goumas Georgios , Mutlu Onur
Published: July 2022

Several manufacturers have already started to commercialize near-bank Processing-In-Memory (PIM) architectures, after decades of research efforts. Near-bank PIM architectures place simple cores close to DRAM banks. Recent research demonstrates that they can yield significant performance and energy improvements in parallel applications by alleviating data access costs. Real PIM systems can provide high levels of parallelism, large aggregate memory bandwidth and low memory access latency, thereby being a good fit to accelerate the Sparse Matrix Vector Multiplication (SpMV) kernel. SpMV has been characterized as one of the most significant and thoroughly studied scientific computation kernels. It is primarily a memory-bound kernel with intensive memory accesses due its algorithmic nature, the compressed matrix format used, and the sparsity patterns of the input matrices given. This paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of SpMV on a real-world PIM architecture, and presents SparseP, the first SpMV library for real PIM architectures. We make two key contributions. First, we design efficient SpMV algorithms to accelerate the SpMV kernel in current and future PIM systems, while covering a wide variety of sparse matrices with diverse sparsity patterns. Second, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of SpMV on a real PIM architecture. Specifically, we conduct our rigorous experimental analysis of SpMV kernels in the UPMEM PIM system, the first publicly-available real-world PIM architecture. Our extensive evaluation provides new insights and recommendations for software designers and hardware architects to efficiently accelerate the SpMV kernel on real PIM systems. For more information about our thorough characterization on the SpMV PIM execution, results, insights and the open-source SparseP software package [21], we refer the reader to the full version of the paper [3, 4]. The SparseP software package is publicly and freely available at https://github.com/CMU-SAFARI/SparseP.
Fusing Speed Index during Web Page Loading
Authors: Liu Wei , Yang Xinlei , Lin Hao , Li Zhenhua , Qian Feng
Published: July 2022

With conventional web page load metrics (e.g., Page Load Time) being blamed for deviating from actual user experiences, in recent years a more sensible and complex metric called Speed Index (SI) has been widely adopted to measure the user's quality of experience (QoE). In brief, SI indicates how quickly a page is filled up with above-the-fold visible elements (or crucial elements for short). To date, however, SI has been used as a metric for performance evaluation, rather than as an explicit heuristic to improve page loading. To demystify this, we examine the entire loading process of various pages and ascribe such incapability to three-fold fundamental uncertainties in terms of network, browser execution, and viewport size. In this paper, we design SipLoader, an SI-oriented page load scheduler through a novel cumulative reactive scheduling framework. It does not attempt to deal with uncertainties in advance or in one shot, but schedules page loading by "repairing" the anticipated (nearly) SI-optimal scheduling when uncertainties actually occur. This is achieved with a suite of efficient designs that fully exploit the cumulative nature of SI calculation. Evaluations show that SipLoader improves the median SI by 41%, and provides 1.43 times to 1.99 times more benefits than state-of-the-art solutions.