bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Slice NEQ and system DQE to assess CT imaging performance
Authors: Monnin P , Viry A , Verdun F R , Racine D 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
The standard Fourier metrics used for assessing image quality in computed tomography (CT) use a planar (2D) formulation of the noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) without a specific concept to manage the influence of longitudinal resolution variations, thus create a bias in the comparison of image quality for different reconstructed slice thicknesses. For this work, we designed a ‘slice NEQ’ that takes the longitudinal resolution into account and provides a volumetric indication of the scanner imaging performance. We also developed a specific formulation for the system DQE at the CT isocentre. A cylindrical water phantom with three different inserts for three contrast levels (−100, 120 and 1000 HU) was used for the task-based transfer functions (TTF) and noise power spectra (NPS) measurements. The longitudinal TTF was measured using the point source of the Catphan® 600 phantom. Images of the phantoms were acquired on two scanners (GE Discovery 750 HD and Siemens SOMATOM Force) and reconstructed using different slice thicknesses between 1 and 5 mm and algorithms (FBP for both systems, ASIR 50 and ASIR-V 50 for the GE). The slice NEQ correctly compared the imaging performance for different longitudinal resolutions whereas the 2D NEQ increased proportionally with the reconstructed slice thickness. The system DQE peaked at 0.70 (at 0.1 mm−1) for the Siemens and at 0.50 (at 0.1 mm−1) for the GE for FBP reconstructions. The validity of these Fourier-based metrics was restricted to a limited range of contrast due to nonlinearities introduced when dealing with iterative reconstructions (IR).
Medium-assisted van der Waals dispersion interactions involving chiral molecules
Authors: Safari Hassan , Barcellona Pablo , Buhmann Stefan Yoshi , Salam A 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
The van der Waals dispersion interaction between two chiral molecules in the presence of arbitrary magnetoelectric media is derived using perturbation theory. To be general, the molecular polarisabilities are assumed to be of electric, paramagnetic and diamagnetic natures, and the material environment is considered to possess a chiral electromagnetic response. The derived expressions of electric dipole polarisable–chiral, magnetic dipole susceptible–chiral, and diamagnetic susceptible–chiral, and chiral–chiral interaction potentials when added to the previously obtained contributions in the literature, form a complete set of dispersion interaction formulas. We present them in a unified form making use of electric–magnetic duality. As an application, the case of two anisotropic molecules embedded in a bulk magnetoelectric medium is considered, where we derive the retarded and non-retarded limits with respect to intermolecular distance.
Development of photocatalytic degradation and kinetic study for imidazolium based ionic liquids in Fe-Cu/TiO2-AC system
Authors: Farwizah Shahhiran Aina , Mahirah Ramli Raihan , Fatimah Mohd Zaid Hayyiratul 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Ionic Liquids (ILs) are already recognized by the chemical industry as they possess a wide spectrum of physical and chemical properties (solubility, polarity, viscosity or solvent miscibility). However, a release of ILs from industrial processes into aquatic environments may lead to water pollution, because of their high solubilities in water. Due to these reasons, this work is conducted to investigate the photodegradation on ILs structure varies in alkyl chain length and anion group. The photocatalytic degradation was conducted based on fixed parameter optimized which includes pH = 6, [photocatalyst] = 1g/L, [ILo] = 0.11 mM and [H2O2] = 0.75 ml/L. The reaction for emimCl follows zero order whereas both bmimCl and bmimBF4 follow the first order reaction.
The association of delirium severity with patient and health system outcomes in hospitalised patients: a systematic review
Authors: Rosgen Brianna K , Krewulak Karla D , Stelfox Henry T , Ely E Wesley , Davidson Judy E , Fiest Kirsten M 
Published: March 2020

Abstract

Background
delirium is an acute state of confusion that affects &gt;20% of hospitalised patients. Recent literature indicates that more severe delirium may lead to worse patient outcomes and health system outcomes, such as increased mortality, cognitive impairment and length of stay (LOS).

Methods
using systematic review methodology, we summarised associations between delirium severity and patient or health system outcomes in hospitalised adults. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Scopus databases with no restrictions, from inception to 25 October 2018. We included original observational research conducted in hospitalised adults that reported on associations between delirium severity and patient or health system outcomes. Quality of included articles was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. The level of evidence was quantified based on the consistency of findings and quality of studies reporting on each outcome.

Results
we included 20 articles evaluating associations that reported: mortality (n = 11), cognitive ability (n = 3), functional ability (n = 3), patient distress (n = 1), quality of life (n = 1), hospital LOS (n = 4), intensive care unit (ICU) LOS (n = 2) and discharge home (n = 2). There was strong-level evidence that delirium severity was associated with increased ICU LOS and a lower proportion of patients discharged home. There was inconclusive evidence for associations between delirium severity and mortality, hospital LOS, functional ability, cognitive ability, patient distress and quality of life.

Conclusion
delirium severity is associated with increased ICU LOS and a lower proportion of patients discharged home. Delirium severity may be a useful adjunct to existing delirium screening to determine the burden to health care system resources.
Invited Commentary: Linking Job Security and Mental Health—Challenges and Future Directions
Authors: Burgard Sarah 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Research in the social and health sciences has linked job insecurity to poorer mental health but relies on observational data and faces challenges of causal inference. LaMontagne et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2021;190(2):207–215) innovate by using both within-person fixed-effects and random-effects regression to analyze data from 14 annual waves of an Australian survey spanning 2002–2015. Using this more rigorous design, they find that improvements in perceived job insecurity were associated with improvements in Mental Health Inventory–5 scores in a large, nationally representative panel study. By using each respondent as their own control, fixed-effects models remove the influence of time-invariant confounders. Innovative new approaches are still needed to address the causal directionality of the association and to capture both those whose exposure changes as well as those for whom it persists. Future work should also consider potential modifying factors including societal conditions, macroeconomic and other period effects, and characteristics of individuals, as well as drawing on multidisciplinary approaches that consider jobs as a combination of multiple health-relevant exposures and embed individual workers in families and communities to assess the full reach and consequences of perceived job insecurity.
Postdisaster Changes in Social Capital and Mental Health: A Natural Experiment From the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake
Authors: Sato Koryu , Amemiya Airi , Haseda Maho , Takagi Daisuke , Kanamori Mariko , Kondo Katsunori , Kondo Naoki 
Published: March 2020

AbstractLevels of social capital can change after a natural disaster; thus far, no study has examined how changes in social capital affect the mental health of disaster victims. In this study, we examined how predisaster social capital and its changes after a disaster were associated with the onset of mental disorders. In October 2013, we mailed a questionnaire to participants in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study living in Mifune, a town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and measured predisaster social capital. In April 2016, the Kumamoto earthquake struck the region. Three years after the baseline survey, postdisaster social capital and symptoms of mental disorders were measured using the Screening Questionnaire for Disaster Mental Health (n = 828). Multiple Poisson regression indicated that a 1-standard-deviation change in predisaster social cohesion at the community level reduced the risk of depression among women (relative risk = 0.44, 95% confidence interval: 0.24, 0.78); a decline in social capital after the disaster elevated the risk (relative risk = 2.44, 95% confidence interval: 1.33, 4.47). In contrast to social cohesion, high levels of social participation at the community level were positively associated with the risk of depression among women. Policy-makers should pay attention to sex differences and types of social capital when leveraging social capital for recovery from disasters.
Sodium Handling and Interaction in Numerous Organs
Authors: Minegishi Shintaro , Luft Friedrich C , Titze Jens , Kitada Kento 
Published: March 2020

AbstractSalt (NaCl) is a prerequisite for life. Excessive intake of salt, however, is said to increase disease risk, including hypertension, arteriosclerosis, heart failure, renal disease, stroke, and cancer. Therefore, considerable research has been expended on the mechanism of sodium handling based on the current concepts of sodium balance. The studies have necessarily relied on relatively short-term experiments and focused on extremes of salt intake in humans. Ultra-long-term salt balance has received far less attention. We performed long-term salt balance studies at intakes of 6, 9, and 12 g/day and found that although the kidney remains the long-term excretory gate, tissue and plasma sodium concentrations are not necessarily the same and that urinary salt excretion does not necessarily reflect total-body salt content. We found that to excrete salt, the body makes a great effort to conserve water, resulting in a natriuretic-ureotelic principle of salt excretion. Of note, renal sodium handling is characterized by osmolyte excretion with anti-parallel water reabsorption, a state-of-affairs that is achieved through the interaction of multiple organs. In this review, we discuss novel sodium and water balance concepts in reference to our ultra-long-term study. An important key to understanding body sodium metabolism is to focus on water conservation, a biological principle to protect from dehydration, since excess dietary salt excretion into the urine predisposes to renal water loss because of natriuresis. We believe that our research direction is relevant not only to salt balance but also to cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms.
Benevolent Policing? Vulnerability and the Moral Pains of Border Controls
Authors: Aliverti Ana 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
In the United Kingdom, as in other jurisdictions, the language of vulnerability and ‘safeguarding’, protection and care is becoming increasingly prevalent, often dovetailing with punitive rationales and practices. Drawing from empirical material collected during a study on police–immigration partnership in everyday policing, the paper analyses how contemporaneous punitive and humanitarian turns in criminal justice are experienced by law enforcement officers doing border work on the ground and considers what implications these have. To what extent does the impetus to protect and care bolster or complicate the exercise of state coercive powers? And what challenges and tensions does it evince? It argues for a more nuanced understanding of the moral pain of border work and its disruptive potentials.
A Theory of Rural Case Management: A Delphi Study
Authors: Dellemain Jozette , Hodgkin Suzanne , Downey Heather 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Though attention has been given to investigating the role of generalist case management in addressing complex needs, largely absent to date is an enquiry to develop the theory for rural community-based social work and human service case management. The purpose of this article is to describe how a two-stage exploratory mixed methods research methodology led to the formulation of a series of theoretical constructs to inform rural case management theory. This article describes Stage 2 of the study, a Delphi method with social work academics where vignettes and a rating scale were strategically combined to transform rural case management practice experience into constructs to inform rural practice theory. We conclude the article by contending that mixed method research designs hold promise for other areas of human services work, where practice theory grounded in-field experience is sought.
Acute ischaemic stroke alters the brain’s preference for distinct dynamic connectivity states
Authors: Bonkhoff Anna K , Espinoza Flor A , Gazula Harshvardhan , Vergara Victor M , Hensel Lukas , Michely Jochen , Paul Theresa , Rehme Anne K , Volz Lukas J , Fink Gereon R , Calhoun Vince D , Grefkes Christian 
Published: March 2020

AbstractAcute ischaemic stroke disturbs healthy brain organization, prompting subsequent plasticity and reorganization to compensate for the loss of specialized neural tissue and function. Static resting state functional MRI studies have already furthered our understanding of cerebral reorganization by estimating stroke-induced changes in network connectivity aggregated over the duration of several minutes. In this study, we used dynamic resting state functional MRI analyses to increase temporal resolution to seconds and explore transient configurations of motor network connectivity in acute stroke. To this end, we collected resting state functional MRI data of 31 patients with acute ischaemic stroke and 17 age-matched healthy control subjects. Stroke patients presented with moderate to severe hand motor deficits. By estimating dynamic functional connectivity within a sliding window framework, we identified three distinct connectivity configurations of motor-related networks. Motor networks were organized into three regional domains, i.e. a cortical, subcortical and cerebellar domain. The dynamic connectivity patterns of stroke patients diverged from those of healthy controls depending on the severity of the initial motor impairment. Moderately affected patients (n = 18) spent significantly more time in a weakly connected configuration that was characterized by low levels of connectivity, both locally as well as between distant regions. In contrast, severely affected patients (n = 13) showed a significant preference for transitions into a spatially segregated connectivity configuration. This configuration featured particularly high levels of local connectivity within the three regional domains as well as anti-correlated connectivity between distant networks across domains. A third connectivity configuration represented an intermediate connectivity pattern compared to the preceding two, and predominantly encompassed decreased interhemispheric connectivity between cortical motor networks independent of individual deficit severity. Alterations within this third configuration thus closely resembled previously reported ones originating from static resting state functional MRI studies post-stroke. In summary, acute ischaemic stroke not only prompted changes in connectivity between distinct networks, but it also caused characteristic changes in temporal properties of large-scale network interactions depending on the severity of the individual deficit. These findings offer new vistas on the dynamic neural mechanisms underlying acute neurological symptoms, cortical reorganization and treatment effects in stroke patients.
Prefrontal Multielectrode Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Performance and Neural Activity Serving Visuospatial Processing
Authors: Arif Yasra , Spooner Rachel K , Wiesman Alex I , Proskovec Amy L , Rezich Michael T , Heinrichs-Graham Elizabeth , Wilson Tony W 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is known to play a critical role in visuospatial attention and processing, but the relative contribution of the left versus right DLPFC remains poorly understood. We applied multielectrode transcranial direct-current stimulation (ME-tDCS) to the left and right DLPFC to investigate its net impact on behavioral performance and population-level neural activity. The primary hypothesis was that significant laterality effects would be observed in regard to behavior and neural oscillations. Twenty-five healthy adults underwent three visits (left, right, and sham ME-tDCS). Following stimulation, participants completed a visuospatial processing task during magnetoencephalography (MEG). Statistically significant oscillatory events were imaged, and time series were then extracted from the peak voxels of each response. Behavioral findings indicated differences in reaction time and accuracy, with left DLPFC stimulation being associated with slower responses and decreased accuracy compared to right stimulation. Left DLPFC stimulation was also associated with increases in spontaneous theta and decreases in gamma within occipital cortices relative to both right and sham stimulation, while connectivity among DLPFC and visual cortices was generally increased contralateral to stimulation. These data suggest spectrally specific modulation of spontaneous cortical activity at the network-level by ME-tDCS, with distinct outcomes based on the laterality of stimulation.
Clinical Manifestations and Outcomes in Immunocompetent and Immunocompromised Patients With Blastomycosis
Authors: McBride Joseph A , Sterkel Alana K , Matkovic Eduard , Broman Aimee T , Gibbons-Burgener Suzanne N , Gauthier Gregory M 
Published: March 2020

Abstract

Background
Blastomyces is a dimorphic fungus that infects persons with or without underlying immunocompromise. To date, no study has compared the clinical features and outcomes of blastomycosis between immunocompromised and immunocompetent persons.

Methods
A retrospective study of adult patients with proven blastomycosis from 2004–2016 was conducted at the University of Wisconsin. Epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes were analyzed among solid-organ transplantation (SOT) recipients, persons with non-SOT immunocompromise (non-SOT IC), and persons with no immunocompromise (NIC).

Results
A total of 106 cases met the inclusion criteria including 74 NIC, 19 SOT, and 13 non-SOT IC (malignancy, HIV/AIDS, idiopathic CD4+ lymphopenia). The majority of patients (61.3%) had at least 1 epidemiologic risk factor for acquisition of Blastomyces. Pneumonia was the most common manifestation in all groups; however, immunocompromised patients had higher rates of acute pulmonary disease (P = .03), more severe infection (P = .007), respiratory failure (P = .010), and increased mortality (P = .02). Receipt of SOT primarily accounted for increased severity, respiratory failure, and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. SOT recipients had an 18-fold higher annual incidence of blastomycosis than the general population. The rate of disseminated blastomycosis was similar among NIC, SOT, and non-SOT IC. Relapse rates were low (5.3–7.7%).

Conclusions
Immunosuppression had implications regarding the acuity, severity, and respiratory failure. The rate of dissemination was similar across the immunologic spectrum, which is in sharp contrast to other endemic fungi. This suggests that pathogen-related factors have a greater influence on dissemination for blastomycosis than immune defense.
A density-based statistical analysis of graph clustering algorithm performance
Authors: Miasnikof Pierre , Shestopaloff Alexander Y , Bonner Anthony J , Lawryshyn Yuri , Pardalos Panos M 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
We introduce graph clustering quality measures based on comparisons of global, intra- and inter-cluster densities, an accompanying statistical significance test and a step-by-step routine for clustering quality assessment. Our work is centred on the idea that well-clustered graphs will display a mean intra-cluster density that is higher than global density and mean inter-cluster density. We do not rely on any generative model for the null model graph. Our measures are shown to meet the axioms of a good clustering quality function. They have an intuitive graph-theoretic interpretation, a formal statistical interpretation and can be tested for significance. Empirical tests also show they are more responsive to graph structure, less likely to breakdown during numerical implementation and less sensitive to uncertainty in connectivity than the commonly used measures.
Evaluation of the Optimal Position for Vedolizumab in the Japanese Treatment Paradigm for Ulcerative Colitis Using Markov Modeling
Authors: Uda Akihito , Eto Yuki , Li Yuxin , Matsuda Hiroyuki , Demiya Sven , Watanabe Tomoyuki , Ota Mihoko , Iwakiri Ryuichi , Igarashi Ataru 
Published: March 2020

AbstractBackgroundThis analysis assessed the optimal position of vedolizumab for Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis.MethodsA Markov model was used to evaluate the performance of 4 treatment algorithms of vedolizumab position: after azathioprine (Algorithm 1); after tacrolimus/cytapheresis (Algorithm 2); after a first anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) (Algorithm 3); and after a second anti-TNFα before colectomy (Algorithm 4).ResultsAlgorithm 1 was the dominant strategy, with an incremental benefit over the other algorithms of 0.028–0.031 quality-adjusted life years.ConclusionsThis simulation predicts that introducing vedolizumab immediately after a thiopurine and before other therapies will provide most benefit.
Extraction of chemical–protein interactions from the literature using neural networks and narrow instance representation
Authors: Antunes Rui , Matos Sérgio 
Published: March 2020

AbstractThe scientific literature contains large amounts of information on genes, proteins, chemicals and their interactions. Extraction and integration of this information in curated knowledge bases help researchers support their experimental results, leading to new hypotheses and discoveries. This is especially relevant for precision medicine, which aims to understand the individual variability across patient groups in order to select the most appropriate treatments. Methods for improved retrieval and automatic relation extraction from biomedical literature are therefore required for collecting structured information from the growing number of published works. In this paper, we follow a deep learning approach for extracting mentions of chemical–protein interactions from biomedical articles, based on various enhancements over our participation in the BioCreative VI CHEMPROT task. A significant aspect of our best method is the use of a simple deep learning model together with a very narrow representation of the relation instances, using only up to 10 words from the shortest dependency path and the respective dependency edges. Bidirectional long short-term memory recurrent networks or convolutional neural networks are used to build the deep learning models. We report the results of several experiments and show that our best model is competitive with more complex sentence representations or network structures, achieving an F1-score of 0.6306 on the test set. The source code of our work, along with detailed statistics, is publicly available.