bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Discussing current syphilis case definitions: A proposal for a “probable infectious” case
Authors: O'Byrne Patrick , Orser Lauren , MacPherson Paul 
Published: November 2020

AbstractSyphilis has increased in recent years, causing difficulties for clinicians and public health practitioners alike. While one issue with the current management of syphilis is that it has both a myriad of presentations and complicated laboratory results, another issue relates to the current case definitions used to define and track syphilis in public health surveillance. One item that is missing is a “probable” case definition, which could help capture the number of likely cases of syphilis that were appropriately treated clinically, but which failed to reach public health case definition based on serologic markers. This approach could produce a more accurate picture of the breadth of syphilis transmission in North America and help better appreciate the groups most affected by syphilis change. We put forward and argue this position herein.
Estimating the Potential Health Benefits of Air Quality Warnings
Authors: Buonocore Jonathan J. , Robinson Lisa A. , Hammitt James K. , O'Keeffe Lucy 
Published: November 2020

AbstractNational, state, and local air quality authorities issue warnings urging residents to stay indoors or to take other precautions when pollutant levels are expected to exceed defined thresholds. Previous work explores the impact of warnings on specific activities but not the health improvements that might result if individuals fully responded to the recommendations. We estimate these potential health impacts using recent pollution data in three U.S. locations: Denver, Colorado; Los Angeles, California; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We focus on mortality risks among the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable. Under the strong assumptions of no infiltration and no offsetting indoor sources, we estimate that the benefits associated with avoiding ambient ozone and fine particle exposure are generally less than $14 per person for one additional hour spent indoors on days when air quality thresholds are exceeded. These estimates are sensitive to assumptions regarding the relationship between decreased exposure and mortality risks. Individuals’ decisions to stay indoors likely depend on the value of the health benefits compared with the value of forgone work and leisure activities. While the national warning system provides flexibility and allows individuals to tailor their responses to personal circumstances, our analysis suggests that its benefits under typical conditions are small. The benefits of warnings under wildfire or other extreme conditions may be much greater.
Threshold-Based Subgroup Testing in Logistic Regression Models in Two-Phase Sampling Designs
Authors: Huang Ying , Cho Juhee , Fong Youyi 
Published: November 2020

Abstract
The effect of treatment on binary disease outcome can differ across subgroups characterised by other covariates. Testing for the existence of subgroups that are associated with heterogeneous treatment effects can provide valuable insight regarding the optimal treatment recommendation in practice. Our research in this paper is motivated by the question of whether host genetics could modify a vaccine's effect on HIV acquisition risk. To answer this question, we used data from an HIV vaccine trial with a two-phase sampling design and developed a general threshold-based model framework to test for the existence of subgroups associated with the heterogeneity in disease risks, allowing for subgroups based on multivariate covariates. We developed a testing procedure based on maximum of likelihood ratio statistics over change-planes and demonstrated its advantage over alternative methods. We further developed the testing procedure to account for bias sampling of expensive (i.e. resource-intensive to measure) covariates through the incorporation of inverse probability weighting techniques. We used the proposed method to analyse the motivating HIV vaccine trial data. Our proposed testing procedure also has broad applications in epidemiological studies for assessing heterogeneity in disease risk with respect to univariate or multivariate predictors.
Modelling Ediacaran metazoan–microbial reef growth
Authors: Curtis Andrew , Wood Rachel , Bowyer Frederick , Shore Amy , Curtis‐Walcott Alastair , Robertsson Johan 
Published: November 2020

AbstractThroughout the Phanerozoic, sessile metazoans grew in close association with various microbial carbonates to form reefs. The first metazoans with calcareous hard‐parts appeared in the terminal Ediacaran,ca550 million years ago, and these also commonly grew associated with microbial mats, thrombolites and stromatolites, to form the oldest known metazoan–microbial reefs. These hard‐parts also formed the first skeletal (bioclastic) carbonate sediments, which increased to dominate shallow marine carbonate sedimentary production during the Phanerozoic. Here the growth dynamics and sedimentary interactions between Ediacaran microbial–metazoan reefs and their bioclastic products are described based on reef complexes from the Nama Group, Namibia (ca547 Ma), and the first three‐dimensional numerical models are constructed to parametrize these dynamics. These reefs are observed to form large domal mounds and columns neighbouring locally high rates of bioclastic sediment accumulation, and commonly evolve to flat‐topped surfaces overlain by sediment. This model is parsimonious, embodying a single dynamic rule:metazoans attach to microbialite mounds which grow radially into free space shedding bioclasts in proportion to metazoan production. Models evolve mounds into columns due to spatial competition, and produce an oscillating interplay between mound expansion and smothering that results in an inter‐fingering of microbialite mound and detrital sediment. This dynamic is shown to be non‐linear in the proportion of bioclastic sediment produced. Smothering by bioclastic sediment is also demonstrated to both reduce the rate (by volume) of subsequent mound growth, and to overwhelm the growing mat surfaces of stromatolites: after a threshold is reached in the rate of bioclastic sediment deposition, sediment terminates all stromatolite growth. These models show that the general characteristics of field observations can be explained by a single dynamic rule, and that reef‐sourced bioclasts may make an important local contribution to Ediacaran to Cambrian microbial–metazoan reef dynamics – a contribution that remains important throughout the Phanerozoic.
Violence in Camus and Sartre: Ambiguities
Authors: Berthold Daniel 
Published: November 2020

AbstractThe friendship between Albert Camus and Jean‐Paul Sartre was torn apart over the question of the justifiability of violence in the service of a desired political end. I argue that the undeniable political and moral differences between Sartre and Camus are in fact ones of emphasis and not, as they themselves came to believe, ones of total opposition. A careful consideration of points of connection, however ambiguous, allows for a more nuanced narrative of Sartre’s and Camus’s famous relationship and of debates about justice and the legitimacy of violence that remain central to our contemporary world.
The associations between meeting 24‐hour movement guidelines and adiposity in Asian Adolescents: The Asia‐Fit Study
Authors: Hui Stanley Sai‐chuen , Zhang Ru , Suzuki Koya , Naito Hisashi , Balasekaran Govindasamy , Song Jong Kook , Park Soo Yeon , Liou Yiing Mei , Lu Dajiang , Poh Bee Koon , Kijboonchoo Kallaya , Thasanasuwan Wiyada 
Published: November 2020

Less is known about how compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines for physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and sleep affects adiposity in young people. The purposes of this study were to compare compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines in Asian adolescents and to examine the associations between compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines and body fat percentage. A sample of 12 590 adolescents aged 13.63 (± 1.01) years from eight Asian metropolitan cities including Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong SAR, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Seoul (South Korea), Shanghai (China), Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan), and Tokyo (Japan) completed interviewer‐administered questionnaires to assess moderate‐to‐vigorous PA, recreational screen time, sleep duration, and covariates. Body fat percentage was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. We found that compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines differed in Asian adolescents across the eight cities. Adjusting for covariates, there was a negative association between number of the guidelines being met and body fat percentage in Asian adolescents. In addition, meeting only the sleep guideline and both the PA and sleep guidelines had negative associations with body fat percentage compared with no guidelines being met. Our findings improve the understanding about how compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines benefit a healthy body weight in adolescents, as well as contribute to development of evidence‐based 24‐hour movement guidelines for Asian young people. Future research is needed to gain better insights into the directionality of the associations between compliance with 24‐hour movement guidelines and adiposity, as well as the mechanisms underlying the associations in Asian adolescents.
Towards a dynamic model of the industrial upgrading with global value chains
Authors: Shen Jim Huangnan , Zhang Luyao , Lee Chien‐Chiang , Zhang Jun , Shen Leilei 
Published: November 2020

AbstractThis research constructs a simple dynamic model to illustrate the micro‐mechanism of industrial upgrading along the global value chains. Our model predicts that as firms move up from downstream to upstream stages, (a) there is higher profitability if and only if the following three conditions are satisfied. First, the increasing rate of sunk cost (including R&D expenditure) over sequential stages of production cannot be sufficiently large (endogenous sunk cost effect). Second, the decreasing rate of change of intermediate input demand with respect to the price set by firms at a production stage cannot be sufficiently high (intermediate input price effect). Third, the decreasing rate of change of intermediate input demand with respect to the pricing dynamics over the sequential stages of production cannot be sufficiently large (sequential pricing uncertainty effect); (b) total cost is lower if and only if the decreasing rate of change of input demand with respect to the price is sufficiently large; (c) output is higher if and only if and the decreasing rate of change of input demand with respect to the price is not sufficiently large; and (d) the price decreases. We show that the empirical patterns revealed in China are consistent with our model's predictions.
On a System of k-Difference Equations of Order Three
Authors: Yalçınkaya Ibrahim , Ahmad Hijaz , Tollu Durhasan Turgut , Li Yong-Min 
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we deal with the global behavior of the positive solutions of the system of

k

-difference equations

u

n
+
1

1

=

α

1

u

n
−
1

1

/

β

1

+

α

1

u

n
−
2

2

r

1

,

u

n
+
1

2

=

α

2

u

n
−
1

2

/

β

2

+

α

2

u

n
−
2

3

r

2

,
…
,

u

n
+
1

k

=

α

k

u

n
−
1

k

/

β

k

+

α

k

u

n
−
2

1

r

k

,
n
∈

ℕ

0

,

where the initial conditions

u

−
l

i

l
=
0,1,2

are nonnegative real numbers and the parameters

α

i

,

β

i

,

γ

i

, and

r

i

are positive real numbers for

i
=
1,2
,
…
,
k

, by extending some results in the literature. By the end of the paper, we give three numerical examples to support our theoretical results related to the system with some restrictions on the parameters.
Effects of Alumina Films on N-Doped Carbon Nanotubes/Graphene Composites as Anode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Lin Chuen-Chang , Hsu Shu-Pei , Chen Guang-Jhong 
Published: November 2020

A carbon nanotubes/graphene composite is grown on nickel foil without additional catalysts by one-step ambient pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Next, the carbon nanotubes/graphene composite is modified by radio frequency (RF) nitrogen plasma. Finally, to improve its initial coulombic efficiency/electrochemical stability, lower potential during the charge process (coin cell), and boost potential during the discharge process (lithium-ion battery), alumina is deposited onto the N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene composite by RF magnetron sputtering at different power levels and periods of time. The charge specific capacity (597 mAh/g) and initial coulombic efficiency (81.44% > 75.02% for N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene) of Al2O3/N-doped CNTs/graphene for the coin cell reached a maximum at the best sputtering condition (

power
=
65

W

and

time
=
30

min

). Al2O3/N-doped CNTs/graphene (the best sputtering condition) exhibits higher initial coulombic efficiency (79.8%) compared with N-doped CNTs/graphene (initial coulombic efficiency: 74.3%) for the lithium-ion battery. Furthermore, the achievement fraction (about 70%) of full charge capacity (coin cell) for Al2O3/N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene (the best sputtering condition) is higher than that (about 30%) for N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene at a voltage lower than about 0.25 V. Moreover, it also shows a little higher electrochemical stability (coin cell) of charge capacity for Al2O3/N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene (the best sputtering condition) in comparison with N-doped carbon nanotubes/graphene and Al2O3/N-doped CNTs/graphene (the best sputtering condition) exhibits better cyclic stability (lithium-ion battery) of discharge capacity compared with N-doped CNTs/graphene.
Chronic Urticaria and Its Impact on the Quality of Life of Nepalese Patients
Authors: Paudel Sushil , Parajuli Niraj , Sharma Rabindra Prasad , Dahal Sudip , Paudel Sudarshan 
Published: November 2020

Chronic urticaria (CU) is a skin condition characterized by sudden and recurrent episodes of wheals, angioedema, or both and commonly associated with itching for a duration of more than six weeks. The available data indicate that urticaria markedly affects both objective functioning and subjective well-being of patients. A review of patients’ records with chronic urticaria attending Civil Service Hospital from January 2018 to December 2019 was done. A detailed demographic data of all patients with chronic urticaria was also retrieved. Dermatology Life Quality Index questionnaire (DLQI) Nepalese version was used for the assessment of the impact of disease on life quality. Mann–Whitney U-test was applied to compare means, and principle component analysis for factor analysis was used. A total of 149 patients were included, with a male-to-female ratio of 1 : 1.9. The mean age of the study population was 32.86

±

12.837 years. The mean DLQI score was 8.30

±

6.73 with men having a significantly greater score than women (

p
<
0.02

). DLQI scores negatively correlated with age (

p
<
0.01

). There was a high internal consistency among items (Cronbach’s alpha 0.89), and all items had satisfactory correlation with each other as well. Principle component extraction revealed that there were two underlying factors in the DLQI questionnaire on measuring quality of life in chronic urticaria. Males had a greater impairment in quality of life than females due to chronic urticaria. Most severe impairment was seen in symptoms/feelings subdomain. It also revealed that there were two different underlying factors in DLQI questionnaire.
Residential retrofit in the UK: The optimum retrofit measures necessary for effective heat pump use
Authors: Lingard Joseph 
Published: November 2020

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Committee on Climate Change place high dependency on the electrification of heat and use of heat pump systems to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Energy efficient buildings are essential for effective heat pump operation. However, the UK’s housing stock is amongst the least energy efficient in Europe. Household electricity demand will increase with heat pump use, meaning reinforcement to infrastructure and generation capacity. This study uses dynamic simulation modelling to determine the optimum energy efficient retrofit required to minimise energy use and electrical demand for an average semi-detached dwelling using a heat pump. Solid wall insulation is found to be critical in energy abatement, although the heat pump operates at a high demand compared with low voltage network design. A whole house retrofit in-line with current Building Regulations reduces the heating demand and emissions by 65%, and lowers the input electrical demand for the heat pump to under 1 kW. Solid wall insulation and low U-value glazing are the cost-optimal solution, achieving similar abatement. Measures that exceed building regulations are shown to lower heat demand and carbon emissions by almost 80%, highlighting scope for improvement in retrofit standards. Practical application: At present, UK policy makers have a preferred alternative to high carbon fossil fuels that is a system heavily reliant on heat pumps powered by low carbon electricity. Heat pump systems require energy efficient buildings to operate effectively. A key factor when improving building efficiency is fabric standards, which can dramatically impact the heat transfer coefficient. Retrofit of energy efficiency measures is key to future net zero success and will have large implications to consumers and supply chains alike.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evaluation Technical Assistance: A Case Study
Authors: Knab Jean , Cole Russell 
Published: November 2020

Purpose: This case study discusses Mathematica’s experience providing large-scale evaluation technical assistance (ETA) to 65 grantees across two cohorts of Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program grants. The grantees were required to conduct rigorous evaluations with specific evaluation benchmarks. This case study provides an overview of the TPP grant program, the evaluation requirements, the ETA provider, and other key stakeholders and the ETA provided to the grantees. Finally, it discusses the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from the effort. Conclusion: One important lesson learned is that there are two related evaluation features, strong counterfactuals and insufficient target sample sizes, that funders should attend to prior to selecting awardees because they are not easy to change through ETA. In addition, if focused on particular outcomes (for TPP, the goal was to improve sexual behavior outcomes), the funder should prioritize studies with an opportunity to observe differences in these outcomes across conditions; several TPP grantees served young populations, and sexual behavior outcomes were not observed or were rare, limiting the opportunity to observe impacts. Unless funders are attentive to weaning out evaluations with critical limitations during the funding process, requiring grantees to conduct impact evaluations supported by ETA might unintentionally foster internally valid, yet underpowered studies that show nonsignificant program impacts. The TPP funder was able to overcome some of the limitations of the grantee evaluations by funding additional evidence-building activities, including federally led evaluations and a large meta-analysis of the effort, as part of a broader learning agenda.
Valve-sparing aortic root replacement after type A aortic dissection repairs
Authors: Abe Noriyuki , Okada Kenji , Tanaka Hiroshi , Okita Yutaka 
Published: November 2020

Objective Aortic root reoperation after aortic dissection repair sometimes requires aortic root replacement. A valve-preserving technique should be applied when the aortic cusp is normal. Valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction using the reimplantation technique resolves aortic valve regurgitation, root dilatation, and pseudoaneurysm in the proximal anastomosis. Our experience in aortic root reoperation is presented. Methods From January 2000 to March 2019, 26 patients underwent reoperative valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction using the reimplantation technique. The time from the initial operation to reoperation was 69.3 ± 51.6 months. Aortic root reoperation was required for a fragile wall at the previous proximal anastomosis or aortic root dilatation. We aimed to stabilize the aortic root without valve regurgitation. The native aortic cusp was aggressively preserved when nearly normal. Indications included root dilatation ( n = 13), pseudoaneurysm of the previous proximal anastomosis ( n = 11), and aortic valve regurgitation ( n = 4). Results There was no early postoperative mortality. Follow-up was 49 ± 47 months (range 4–161 months). The 3, 5, and 10-year survival was 88.9% ± 7.4%, 88.9% ± 7.4%, and 77.8% ± 12.2%, respectively. Freedom from recurrence of a greater than moderate degree of aortic valve regurgitation at 3, 5, and 10 years was 86.5% ± 8.9%, 86.5% ± 8.9%, and 86.5% ± 8.9%, respectively. One patient underwent aortic valve replacement for recurrent aortic valve regurgitation 15 months after the valve-sparing reoperation. Conclusions Midterm outcomes of reoperative valve-sparing aortic root reconstruction using the reimplantation technique and postoperative aortic valve performance were satisfactory.
‘Malik Ambar ki Pipeline’: Reconstructing the Past Through Community Memories
Authors: Mubayi Yaaminey 
Published: November 2020

Situated in the arid heart of the Deccan, Daulatabad has been the centre of historic settlements dating back to the first millennium ad. Its geo-political significance lies in its location along sub-continental trade and pilgrimage routes, causing it to be named ‘Khadki’ or window to the south, a strategic position that prompted Mohammed bin Tughlaq to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad. However, the reason for the continued relevance of Daulatabad as an important settlement is the paradoxical ability of human communities to access and manage water in an arid and inhospitable environment. From the water cisterns of the nearby Ellora caves to wells, baolis, tanks and talaabs, natural and man-made, the landscape burgeons with evidence of the human ability to salvage every drop of water, both underground and overground. Nowhere is this skill more ably demonstrated than in the hydrological works of Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian slave who rose to become the de facto ruler of the Nizamshahi dynasty in the sixteenth to seventeenth centuries and is still recognised as a hero by the local community today. Much has been written about this remarkable personality, his origins in the Kambata region of Ethiopia, his travel to the sub-continent via the Arab slave trade, his rise to become the Vakil us Saltanat of the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar and his legendary defence of the kingdom against Mughal expansion into the Deccan. This article, however, explores a less-known aspect of Ambar’s career, his role in constructing an extraordinary system of water management that enhanced the capacities of Daulatabad fort to enable it to support a large garrison and indeed, become a second capital of the Nizamshahi sultanate. Through site-based interactions and conversations with the local community, the personality of Malik Ambar as a local hero and his influence in the region has been reconstructed, enabling an interesting perspective of a historic personage ‘from below’.