bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of a novel medical physics patient consult program
Authors: Schuller Bradley W , Baldwin Jonathan A , Ceilley Elizabeth A , Markovic Alexander , Albert Jeffrey M 
Published: June 2020

AbstractPurposeTo develop a new patient consult program, where patients are invited to meet directly with a clinical medical physicist to learn and ask questions about the technical aspects of their care.MethodsPatients are invited to meet voluntarily with a clinical medical physicist directly after the treatment planning CT appointment, and then again after treatment starts. Each consult starts with an overview of the clinical medical physicist’s role in patient care. This is followed by a detailed explanation of the treatment planning CT, treatment planning, and treatment delivery processes. Data are collected after each patient encounter, including: age, gender, treatment intent, treatment site, consult duration, discussion points, overall impression, and a summary of the questions asked. Qualitative data analysis focused on understanding the number and types of questions asked during the physics consults. Additional analyses focused on evaluating the encounter notes for interesting insights regarding meeting tone, number of meeting attendees, and other non-clinical discussion points.ResultsSixty three patients were seen between August 2016 and December 2017, accounting for 29% of the total department patient load. The average physics consult duration was 24 minutes. When evaluating the patient encounter notes for overall tone, 55 patients (87%) had positive descriptors such as “pleasant conversation”. Thirty three patients (52%) brought at least one other person into the consult, and 27 patients (43%) contributed personal stories or professional background information to the conversation. When the collection of patient questions was grouped into question types, the data show that the majority of the consult discussion addresses questions related to treatment delivery, treatment planning, and other technical questions.ConclusionsIncorporation of a medical physics patient consult program into clinical practice requires modest time commitment, and has the benefits of increasing medical physics engagement with patient care and improving patient satisfaction through better education.
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG Specific Antibodies among Healthcare Workers in the Northern Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, after the first pandemic wave
Authors: Barallat J , Fernández-Rivas G , Quirant-Sánchez B , González V , Doladé M , Martinez-Caceres E , Piña M , Matllo J , Estrada O , Blanco I 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe rapid spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) around the world has caused a global pandemic, infecting millions of individuals worldwide, with an unprecedented impact in health care systems worldwide. Healthcare workers are one of the risk groups that need to be well characterized due to their strategic role in the management of patients, presently and in prevention of healthcare needs for future outbreaks. This study presents the results of the first SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study in the Northern Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain.MethodsIgG SARS-CoV2 antibodies were analyzed in serum samples from 7563 healthcare workers of the Northern Metropolitan Area of Barcelona taken during the pandemia (from May 4th to May 22nd, 2020) by chemiluminescence assays.ResultsA total of 779 of 7563 (10.3%) healthcare workers had detectable anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG (specific for either S1/S2 or N antigens). No significant differences were observed between those working at primary care or at the reference hospital.Interestingly, in 29 (8.53%) of the previously confirmed positive reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) patients SARS-CoV-2 IgG (S1/S2 or recombinant N antigen) were negative.ConclusionSeroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG in the healthcare workers of the Nord Metropolitan Area of Barcelona was significantly increased in comparison with the general population in the same geographical area. These results give us an important insight for a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology, in a collective that is essential for the response against this pandemic.
Stimulus-induced Gamma rhythms are weaker in human elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Murty Dinavahi V. P. S. , Manikandan Keerthana , Ramesh Ranjini Garani , Purokayastha Simran , Nagendra Bhargavi , Abhishek M. L. , Balakrishnan Aditi , Javali Mahendra , Rao Naren Prahalada , Ray Supratim 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAlzheimer’s Disease (AD) in elderly adds substantially to socio-economic burden necessitating early diagnosis. While recent studies in rodent models of AD have suggested diagnostic and therapeutic value for gamma rhythms in brain, the same has not been rigorously tested in humans. We recruited a large population (N=247; 106 females) of elderly (>49 years) individuals from the community, who viewed large gratings that induced strong gamma oscillations in their electroencephalogram (EEG). These individuals were classified as healthy (N=227), mild-cognitively-impaired (MCI; 14) or AD (6) based on clinical history and Clinical Dementia Rating scores. Surprisingly, stimulus-induced gamma rhythms, but not alpha or steady-state-visually-evoked-responses, were significantly lower in both MCI and AD patients compared to their age and gender matched controls. This reduction was not due to differences in eye movements or baseline power. Our results suggest that gamma could be used as potential diagnostic tool for MCI/AD in humans.One Sentence SummaryA large double-blinded EEG study suggests that narrow-band visual gamma rhythms are weaker in MCI/AD patients compared to cognitively healthy controls.
Weeding Through the Haze: A Survey on Cannabis Use Among People Living with Parkinson’s Disease in the US
Authors: Feeney Megan P. , Bega Danny , Kluger Benzi M. , Stoessl A. Jon , Evers Christiana M. , Leon Rebeca De , Beck James C. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractSymptomatic management of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is complex and many symptoms, especially non-motor symptoms, are not effectively addressed with current medications. In the US, cannabis has become more widely available for medical and recreational use, permitting those in the PD community to try alternative means of symptom control. However, little is known about the attitudes towards, and experiences with, cannabis use among those living with PD. To address this shortcoming, we distributed an anonymous survey to 7,607 people with PD in January 2020 and received 1,339 responses (17.6%). 1,064 complete responses were available for analysis. Respondents represented 49 states with a mean age of 71.2 years (± 8.3) and mean PD duration of 7.4 years (± 6.2). About a quarter of respondents (24.5%) reported cannabis use within the previous six months. Age and gender were found to be predictors of cannabis use in this sample (Age OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.97; Male OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.03). Users reported learning about cannabis use from the internet/news (30.5%) and friends or other people with PD (26.0%). Cannabis users were more likely to report insufficient control of their non-motor symptoms with prescription medications than non-users (p = 0.03). Cannabis was primarily used for PD (63.6%) and was most often used to treat nonmotor symptoms of anxiety (45.5%), pain (44.0%), and sleep disorders (44.0%). However, nearly a quarter of users (23.0%) also reported they had stopped cannabis use in the previous six months, primarily due to a lack of symptom improvement (35.5%). Three quarters of respondents (75.5%) did not use cannabis, primarily because there was a lack of scientific evidence supporting efficacy (59.9%). Our results suggest that the lack of formal guidance or research evidence about cannabis for PD may in part underlie inconsistencies in both use and reported effectiveness.
Regional Association of Disability and SARS-CoV-2 Infection in 369 Counties of the United States
Authors: Olulana Oluwaseyi , Abedi Vida , Avula Venkatesh , Chaudhary Durgesh , Khan Ayesha , Shahjouei Shima , Li Jiang , Zand Ramin 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundThere have been outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in long term care facilities and recent reports of disproportionate death rates among the vulnerable population. The goal of this study was to better understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the non-institutionalized disabled population in the United States using data from the most affected states as of April 9th, 2020.MethodsThis was an ecological study of county-level factors associated with the infection and mortality rate of SARS-CoV-2 in the non-institutionalized disabled population. We analyzed data from 369 counties from the most affected states (Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts) in the United States using data available by April 9th, 2020. The variables include changes in mobility reported by Google, race/ethnicity, median income, education level, health insurance, and disability information from the United States Census Bureau. Bivariate regression analysis adjusted for state and median income was used to analyze the association between death rate and infection rate.ResultsThe independent sample t-test of two groups (group 1: Death rate≥3.4% [median] and group 2: Death rate < 3.4%) indicates that counties with a higher total population, a lower percentage of Black males and females, higher median income, higher education, and lower percentage of disabled population have a lower rate (< 3.4%) of SARS-CoV-2 related mortality (all p-values<4.3E-02). The results of the bivariate regression when controlled for median income and state show counties with a higher White disabled population (est: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.01-0.37; p-value:3.7E-02), and higher population with independent living difficulty (est: 0.15, 95% CI: −0.01-0.30; p-value: 6.0E-02) have a higher rate of SARS-CoV-2 related mortality. Also, the regression analysis indicates that counties with higher White disabled population (est: - 0.22, 95% CI: −0.43-(-0.02); p-value: 3.3E-02), higher population with hearing disability (est: −0.26, 95% CI: - 0.42- (-0.11); p-value:1.2E-03), and higher population with disability in the 18-34 years age group (est: −0.25, 95% CI: −0.41-(-0.09); p-value:2.4E-03) show a lower rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection.ConclusionOur results indicate that while counties with a higher percentage of non-institutionalized disabled population, especially White disabled population, show a lower infection rate, they have a higher rate of SARS-CoV-2 related mortality.
Simple cloning of large natural product biosynthetic gene clusters from Streptomyces by an engineered CRISPR/Cas12a system
Authors: Liang Mindong , Liu Leshi , Wang Weishan , Zeng Xiaoqian , Liu Jiakun , Karthik Loganathan , Zhu Guoliang , Bai Linquan , Hou Chengjian , Chen Xiangyin , Ouyang Liming , Liu Xueting , Hu Bin , Xia Xuekui , Tong Yaojun , Lou Chunbo , Alterovitz Gil , Tan Gao-Yi , Zhang Li-Xin 
Published: June 2020

AbstractDirectly cloning of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from microbial genomes has been revolutionizing the natural product-based drug discovery. However, it is still very challenging to efficiently clone, for example, large (> 80kb) and GC-rich (> 70%), streptomycete originating BGCs. In this study, we developed a simple, fast yet efficient and low-costin vitroplatform for direct cloning large BGCs from streptomycete genomic DNA, named as CAT-FISHING (CRISPR/Cas12a- andAgarose plug-based sysTem forFast bIoSyntHetIc geNe cluster cloninG), by combining the advantages of CRISPR/Cas12a cleavage and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library construction. CAT-FISHING was demonstrated by directly cloning large DNA fragments ranging from 47 to 139 kb with GC content of > 70% from theS. albusJ1074 genome in a relatively efficient manner. Moreover, surugamides, encoded by a captured 87-kb BGC with GC content of 76%, was heterologously expressed in aStreptomyceschassis. These results indicate that CAT-FISHING is a powerful platform for BGCs batch cloning, which would be greatly beneficial to the natural products-based drug discovery. We believe that this system will lead a renaissance of interest in microorganisms as a source for drug development.
Optimization of cerebrospinal fluid microbial metagenomic sequencing diagnostics
Authors: Olausson Josefin , Brunet Sofia , Vracar Diana , Tian Yarong , Abrahamsson Sanna , Meghadri Sri Harsha , Sikora Per , Karlberg Maria Lind , Jakobsson Hedvig Engström , Tang Ka-Wei 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundInfection in the central nervous system is a severe condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. Despite ample testing, the majority of encephalitis and meningitis cases remain undiagnosed. Metagenomic sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid has emerged as an unbiased approach to identify rare microbes and novel pathogens. However, several major hurdles remains, including establishment of individual limits of detection, removal of false positives and implementation of universal controls.ResultsTwenty-one cerebrospinal fluid samples, in which a known pathogen had been positively identified by available clinical techniques, were subjected to metagenomic DNA sequencing using massive parallel sequencing. Fourteen samples contained minute levels of Epstein-Barr virus. Calculation of the detection threshold for each sample was made using total leukocyte content in the sample and environmental contaminants found in bioinformatic classifiers. Virus sequences were detected in all ten samples, in which more than one read was expected according to calculations. Conversely, no viral reads were detected in seven out of eight samples, in which less than one read was expected according to calculations. False positive pathogens of computational or environmental origin were readily identified, by using a commonly available cell control. For bacteria additional filters including a comparison between classifiers removed the remaining false positives and alleviated pathogen identification.ConclusionsHere we show a generalizable method for detection and identification of pathogen species using metagenomic sequencing. The sensitivity for each sample can be calculated using the leukocyte count and environmental contamination. The choice of bioinformatic method mainly affected the efficiency of pathogen identification, but not the sensitivity of detection. Identification of pathogens require multiple filtering steps including read distribution, sequence diversity and complementary verification of pathogen reads.
Biodegradation of polyester polyurethane byAspergillus flavusG10
Authors: Khan Sehroon , Nadir Sadia , Dong Yang , Schaefer Douglas A. , Mortimer Peter E. , Gui Heng , Khan Afsar , Yu Mingming , Iqbal Shahid , Sheng Jun , Xu Jianchu 
Published: June 2020

AbstractPolyurethanes (PU) are integral to many aspects of our daily lives. Due to the extensive use of and difficulties in recycling or reusing PU, it mostly accumulates as waste. Various bacteria and fungi have been reported to degrade PU. We examined the fungusAspergillus flavus G10in that regard, after isolating it from the guts ofGryllus bimaculatus, a common cricket species. We observed surficial and chemical changes of PU with atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. We measured physical changes as loss in tensile stress, stretching force, and weight of PU after incubations. Fungal hydrolysis of urethane bonds in the polymer backbone was demonstrated by detecting the formation of methylene di-aniline during incubations. Trapped CO2during incubations equaled 52.6% of PU carbon. Biodegradation of PU was maximal by fungi cultured on a malt extract medium at 25 °C, pH 12, and 14:10 hrs light to dark ratio. Pretreating PU films with UV light or 1% FeSO4or NaCl solutions further enhanced the rate of biodegradation. A range of techniques are needed to fully characterize the degradation of PU or other plastic polymers and to optimize conditions for their microbial degradation.
The Prevalence of RT-PCR Positivity of SARS-CoV-2 on 10,000 Patients from Three Cities Located on the Eastern of Turkey
Authors: Murat Karamese , Didem Ozgur , Ceyda Tarhan , Susamber Dik Altintas , Okan Caliskan , Aysegul Tuna , Saliha Kazci , Mursel Karadavut , Abdullah Gumus , Gozde Apaydin , Necati Mumcu , Onur Coruh , Ediz Tutuncu Emin 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTCOVID-19, is caused by SARS-CoV-2, has been started on December/2019 in Wuhan/China and spread all over the world. We analyzed RT-PCR results of 10,000 cases from April-2 to May-30, 2020 in three neighbor cities located on the Eastern of Turkey. The final study population was 7853 cases after excluded screening tests. RT-PCR were performed to detect the SARS-CoV-2-specific RdRp (RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase) gene fragment. The number of total positive samples out of 7853 were 487; however, the number of non-repeating positive patient was 373 (4.8%). The cough and fever were the most common symptoms in positive cases. The epidemiologic studies should be performed about the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection to better understand the effect of the virus all over the world.
COVID-19, supply chain disruption and China’s hog market: a dynamic analysis
Authors: Wang Yubin , Wang Jingjing , Wang Xiaoyang 
Published: June 2020

PurposeThe authors explicitly evaluate the dynamic impact of five most concerned supply chain disruption scenarios, including: (1) a short-term shortage and price jump of corn supply in hog farms; (2) a shortage of market hogs to packing facilities; (3) disruption in breeding stock adjustments; (4) disruption in pork import; and (5) a combination of scenario (1)–(4).Design/methodology/approachThe agricultural supply chain experienced tremendous disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. To evaluate the impact of disruptions, the authors employ a system dynamics model of hog market to simulate and project the impact of COVID-19 on China hog production and pork consumption. In the model the authors explicitly characterize the cyclical pattern of hog market. The hog cycle model is calibrated using market data from 2018–2019 to represent the market situation during an ongoing African swine fever.FindingsThe authors find that the impacts of supply chain disruption are generally short-lived. Market hog transportation disruption has immediate impact on price and consumption. But the impact is smoothed out in six months. Delay in import shipment temporarily reduces consumption and raises hog price. A temporary increase of corn price or delay in breeding stock acquisition does not produce significant impact on national hog market as a whole, despite mass media coverage on certain severely affected regions.Originality/valueThis is the first evaluation of short-term supply chain disruption on China hog market from COVID-19. The authors employ a system dynamics model of hog markets with an international trade component. The model allows for monthly time step analysis and projection of the COVID-19 impact over a five-year period. The results and discussion have far-reaching implications for agricultural markets around the world.
Critical factors influencing the bid or no-bid decision of the indigenous small building contractors in Tanzania
Authors: Chileshe Nicholas , Kavishe Neema , Edwards David John 
Published: June 2020

Purpose
This study aims to investigate and ranks the critical factors influencing the bid or no-bid decision and their importance for the indigenous small building contractors within the Tanzanian construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach
An interpretivist epistemological design was adopted to extensively manually review and search extant literature on bid or no-bid decision-making criteria. A total of 30 most common bid or no-bid decision-making criteria were identified. These were included in a questionnaire survey data collection instrument. The survey was distributed to 40 small indigenous (local) building contractors in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In total, 33 responses were received. Response data was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings
The results show a disparity of ranking of the 30 bid/no-bid criteria factors among the two grades of small contractors, with 11 factors having statistically significant differences (p = < 0.05). Based on the overall sample, the most highly ranked seven factors in ascending order were: availability of capital; financial capacity of the client; project size; profitability; project type; need of work; and current workload. The following were the least ranked: tax liability; the degree of safety; availability of other projects; availability of labor; bidding document price; and uncertainty because of weather conditions. Availability of capital and financial capacity of the client were jointly ranked as the most important by Class VI contractors. In comparison, availability of capital and need of study were rated highly for Class VII contractors.

Research limitations/implications
The sample consisted of indigenous small building contractors in one industry operating in Tanzania only and did not include the perceptions of the foreign contractors based in Dar es Salaam. Future studies are required to expand the current research and investigate this specific aspect further.

Practical implications
The identified “bid/no-bid criteria” information will allow indigenous small building contractors to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their bidding decision-making process. Emergent findings will enable said contractors to: better fit into the competitive construction business environment; increase their awareness of existing decision-making practices; and develop appropriate strategies for evaluation of opportunities encountered. Cumulatively, these findings benefit small indigenous building contractors by increasing their understanding of the factors influencing bid decision.

Originality/value
The study represents the first empirical study in Tanzania on the critical factors influencing the bid or no-bid decision among the indigenous small building contractors, which face fierce competition from foreign contractors.