bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Spectrum of Tuberculosis Disease in an Urban Ugandan Community and Its Health Facilities
Authors: Kendall Emily A , Kitonsa Peter J , Nalutaaya Annet , Erisa K Caleb , Mukiibi James , Nakasolya Olga , Isooba David , Baik Yeonsoo , Robsky Katherine O , Kato-Maeda Midori , Cattamanchi Adithya , Katamba Achilles , Dowdy David W 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
New, sensitive diagnostic tests facilitate identification and investigation of milder forms of tuberculosis (TB) disease. We used community-based TB testing with the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra assay (“Ultra”) to characterize individuals with previously undiagnosed TB and compare them to those from the same community who were diagnosed with TB through routine care.

Methods
We offered community-based sputum Ultra testing to adult residents of a well-defined area (population 34 000 adults) in Kampala, Uganda, via door-to-door screening and venue-based testing, then used detailed interview and laboratory testing to characterize TB-positive individuals. We compared these individuals to residents diagnosed with pulmonary TB at local health facilities and a representative sample of residents without TB (controls).

Results
Of 12 032 residents with interpretable Ultra results, 113 (940 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 780–1130] per 100 000) tested positive, including 71 (63%) positive at the lowest (trace) level. A spectrum of TB disease was observed in terms of chronic cough (93% among health facility–diagnosed cases, 77% among residents with positive community-based Ultra results at levels above trace, 33% among trace-positive community participants, and 18% among TB-negative controls), TB symptom prevalence (99%, 87%, 60%, and 38%, respectively), and C-reactive protein (75th percentile: 101 mg/L, 28 mg/L, 6 mg/L, and 4 mg/L, respectively). Community-diagnosed cases were less likely than health facility–diagnosed cases to have human immunodeficiency virus coinfection or previous TB. The specificity of Ultra was 99.4% (95% CI, 99.2%–99.5%) relative to a single spot sputum culture.

Conclusions
People with undiagnosed prevalent TB in the community have different characteristics than those diagnosed with pulmonary TB in health facilities. Newer diagnostic tests may identify a group of people with early or very mild disease.
Thalidomide Use for Complicated Central Nervous System Tuberculosis in Children: Insights From an Observational Cohort
Authors: van Toorn Ronald , Solomons Regan S , Seddon James A , Schoeman Johan F 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
Much of the neurological sequelae of central nervous system (CNS) tuberculosis (TB) is due to an excessive cytokine-driven host-inflammatory response. Adjunctive corticosteroids, which reduce cytokine production and thus dampen the inflammation, improve overall survival but do not prevent morbidity. This has prompted investigation of more targeted immunomodulatory agents, including thalidomide.

Methods
We describe a retrospective cohort of 38 children consecutively treated with adjunctive thalidomide for CNS TB–related complications over a 10-year period.

Results
The most common presenting symptom was focal motor deficit (n = 16), followed by cranial nerve palsies and cerebellar dysfunction. Three of the 38 children presented with large dural-based lesions, manifesting as epilepsia partialis continua (EPC), 4 presented with blindness secondary to optochiasmatic arachnoiditis, and 2 children developed paraplegia due to spinal cord TB mass lesions. Duration of adjunctive thalidomide therapy (3–5 mg/kg/day) varied according to complication type. In children compromised by TB mass lesions, the median treatment duration was 3.9 months (interquartile range [IQR], 2.0–5.0 months), whereas in children with optic neuritis it was 2.0 months (IQR, 1.3–7.3 months) and in EPC it was 1.0 months (IQR, 1–2.5 months). Satisfactory clinical and radiological response was observed in 37 of the children. None of the children experienced rashes, hepatitis, or hematologic derangements or complained of leg cramps.

Conclusions
This study is the largest cohort of adult or pediatric patients treated with adjunctive thalidomide for CNS TB–related complications. The drug has proved to be safe and well tolerated and appears to be clinically efficacious. The potential role of thalidomide or analogues in the treatment of other tuberculous meningitis–related complications requires further exploration.
Paradigm shifts in electrophysiological mechanisms of atrial fibrillation
Authors: Schotten Ulrich , Lee Seungyup , Zeemering Stef , Waldo Albert L 
Published: December 2020

AbstractDetermining the sequence of activation is a major source of information for understanding the electrophysiological mechanism(s) of atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the complex morphology of the electrograms hampers their analysis, and has stimulated generations of electrophysiologists to develop a large variety of technologies for recording, pre-processing, and analysis of fibrillation electrograms. This variability of approaches is mirrored by a large variability in the interpretation of fibrillation electrograms and, thereby, opinions regarding the basic electrophysiological mechanism(s) of AF vary widely. Multiple wavelets, different types of re-entry including rotors, double layers, multiple focal activation patterns all have been advocated, and a comprehensive and commonly accepted paradigm for the fundamental mechanisms of AF is still lacking. Here, we summarize the Maastricht perspective and Cleveland perspective regarding AF mechanism(s). We also describe some of the key observations in mapping of AF reported over the past decades, and how they changed over the years, often as results of new techniques introduced in the experimental field of AF research.
Characterizing the arrhythmogenic substrate in personalized models of atrial fibrillation: sensitivity to mesh resolution and pacing protocol in AF models
Authors: Boyle Patrick M , Ochs Alexander R , Ali Rheeda L , Paliwal Nikhil , Trayanova Natalia A 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Aims
Computationally guided persistent atrial fibrillation (PsAF) ablation has emerged as an alternative to conventional treatment planning. To make this approach scalable, computational cost and the time required to conduct simulations must be minimized while maintaining predictive accuracy. Here, we assess the sensitivity of the process to finite-element mesh resolution. We also compare methods for pacing site distribution used to evaluate inducibility arrhythmia sustained by re-entrant drivers (RDs).

Methods and results
Simulations were conducted in low- and high-resolution models (average edge lengths: 400/350 µm) reconstructed from PsAF patients’ late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging scans. Pacing was simulated from 80 sites to assess RD inducibility. When pacing from the same site led to different outcomes in low-/high-resolution models, we characterized divergence dynamics by analysing dissimilarity index over time. Pacing site selection schemes prioritizing even spatial distribution and proximity to fibrotic tissue were evaluated. There were no RD sites observed in low-resolution models but not high-resolution models, or vice versa. Dissimilarity index analysis suggested that differences in simulation outcome arising from differences in discretization were the result of isolated conduction block incidents in one model but not the other; this never led to RD sites unique to one mesh resolution. Pacing site selection based on fibrosis proximity led to the best observed trade-off between number of stimulation locations and predictive accuracy.

Conclusion
Simulations conducted in meshes with 400 µm average edge length and ∼40 pacing sites proximal to fibrosis are sufficient to reveal the most comprehensive possible list of RD sites, given feasibility constraints.
Frequency domain full-waveform inversion in a fluid-saturated poroelastic medium
Authors: Yang Qingjie , Malcolm Alison 
Published: December 2020

SUMMARYDetermining subsurface properties is of fundamental importance in exploration seismic imaging. Poroelasticity theory provides an opportunity to extract quantitative fluid- and attenuation-dependent properties from seismic data. Following Pratt’s frequency-domain full-waveform-inversion (FWI) procedure and extending the basic FWI equations from the elastic case to the poroelastic case, we implement poroelastic FWI (PFWI) of fluid-saturated porous media. By analysing the sensitivity kernels of poroelastic parameters, we explain the reason why some parameters are more difficult to recover than others. We also show the analytical and numerical radiation patterns based on which we predict the trade-offs among parameters. In numerical experiments, we invert two models to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed PFWI and to verify our predictions about trade-offs for two-parameter PFWI. Finally, we discuss the various factors that influence the inversion results.
Did the Court of Justice of the European Union Solve the Puzzle by Declaring the Rubik’s Cube Trademark Invalid?
Authors: Kováts Borbála Lili 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
In 1995, the patent protection for the internationally famous Rubik’s Cube expired. Ernő Rubik, the Hungarian inventor of the three-dimensional puzzle, had to find an alternative way to maintain his monopoly on the market and thus had the shape of the Cube registered as a 3D Community trademark in 1996. However, the idea of perpetuating the exclusive rights related to the Rubik’s Cube only proved to be successful for ten years, as in 2006 Simba Toys GmbH & Co. KG, a German competitor of Rubik, filed an application for declaration of invalidity against the 3D Rubik’s Cube trademark. The application was based on the lack of distinctive character, descriptiveness and functionality of the 3D trademark. This was rejected by OHIM. The invalidity case ended up before the Court of Justice of the European Union, upon the appeal of the German competitor. The Court found that the Rubik’s Cube trademarks should have been declared invalid, and transferred the case back to OHIM, which then had to bring a new decision that was in line with the interpretation of the CJEU. The study analyses the two rounds of invalidity proceedings, the key issues which emerged throughout the case, the interpretation of functionality by OHIM and the CJEU, and the legal background and the prospect for 3D shape marks in the EU.
Lay health worker as interventionist training: reflective writing in US family health promotion practice
Authors: Meiers Sonja J , Dyce Evan , Wieland Mark L , Patten Christi , Clark Matthew M , Hanza Marcelo M K , Bronars Carrie , Nigon Julie A , Sia Irene G 
Published: December 2020

Summary
Lay health worker-led health promotion interventions are well received within racial and ethnic minority communities. Increasing numbers of trained lay health workers will be needed to meet global health goals. The purpose of this process evaluation was to gain insights about how lay health worker as interventionists used theory-based approaches within a nutrition and physical activity health behavior change intervention in a clinical trial enrolling immigrant and refugee families. Data were comprised of ongoing reflective writing statements from four health workers about their implementation of the intervention. Using content analysis three themes emerged: (i) encouraging setting of small, family focused and relevant goals, (ii) being flexible in content delivery and (iii) being personally transformed (i.e. gained a sense of meaning from their experience). Lay health worker interventionist reflections on practice revealed they delivered the intervention within the primacy of the family partnering relationship by attending to unique family needs, and adjusting educational content and goal setting accordingly. Our results provide guidance for training and process evaluation of lay health worker intervention delivery in ethnically and racially diverse populations. Incorporating real-time reflection upon what was learned about skills of facilitating family motivation and family confidence enhanced affective learning and may be useful in future research studies and health promotion practice. The processes identified including setting small goals, flexibility and personal transformation could be considered in future lay health worker-delivered health promotion interventions.
Outcomes of single physician-modified fenestrated stent grafts for endovascular repair of thoracic aortic lesions involving the distal aortic arch
Authors: Zhu Jiechang , Ma Chao , Dai Xiangchen , Wang Zheng , Fan Hailun , Feng Zhou , Luo Yudong , Zhang Yiwei , Hu Fanguo 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Our goal was to evaluate the outcomes of fenestrated thoracic endovascular aortic repair of thoracic aortic lesions involving the distal aortic arch using single physician-modified stent grafts.

METHODS
This single-centre, retrospective study included 58 consecutive patients (mean age, 57 ± 14 years; 11 women) who underwent fenestrated thoracic endovascular aortic repair for thoracic aortic pathologies involving the distal aortic arch using single physician-modified stent grafts between November 2015 and December 2018. Indications included complicated acute type B dissection or intramural haematoma with an unfavourable proximal landing zone (n = 49), type Ia endoleak subsequent to thoracic endovascular aortic repair due to acute type B dissection (n = 1) and distal arch degenerative aneurysms &lt;15 mm from the left subclavian artery (n = 8).

RESULTS
The technical success rate was 94.8%. The 30-day mortality was 1.7%, and the perioperative ischaemic stroke rate was 1.7%. The incidence of perioperative complications was 10.3%. At a mean follow-up of 26.3 months (range, 7–44), all target vessels were patent. All-cause mortality was 5.2%. Estimated 1-, 2- and 3-year survival was 98.3 ± 1.7%, 96.4 ± 2.5% and 93.2 ± 3.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The single fenestrated stent graft technique is feasible and effective for endovascular repair of thoracic aortic pathologies involving the distal aortic arch.
How close is the nearest node in a wireless network?
Authors: Middleton Amy L L , Járai Antal A , Dawes Jonathan H P , Briggs Keith 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
The ability of small-cell wireless networks to self-organize is crucial for improving capacity and performance in modern communication networks. This paper considers one of the most basic questions: what is the expected distance to a cell’s nearest neighbour in a spatially distributed network? We analyse a model problem in the asymptotic limit of large total received signal and compare the accuracy of different heuristics. We also analytically consider the effects of fading. Our analysis shows that the most naive heuristic systematically underestimates the distance to the nearest node; this is substantially corrected in cases of interest by inclusion of the next-order asymptotic term. We illustrate our theoretical results explicitly or several combinations of signal and path loss parameters and show that our theory is well supported by numerical simulations.
The study of the projective transformation under the bilinear strict equivalence
Authors: Kalogeropoulos Grigoris I , Karageorgos Athanasios D , Pantelous Athanasios A 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
The study of linear time invariant descriptor systems has intimately been related to the study of matrix pencils. It is true that a large number of systems can be reduced to the study of differential (or difference) systems, $S\left ( {F,G} \right )$, $$\begin{align*} & S\left({F,G}\right): F\dot{x}(t) = G{x}(t) \left(\text{or the dual, } F{x}(t) = G\dot{x}(t)\right), \end{align*}$$and $$\begin{align*} & S\left({F,G}\right): Fx_{k+1} = Gx_k \left(\text{or the dual, } Fx_k=Gx_{k+1}\right)\!, F,G \in{\mathbb{C}^{m \times n}}, \end{align*}$$and their properties can be characterized by homogeneous matrix pencils, $sF - \hat{s}G$. Based on the fact that the study of the invariants for the projective equivalence class can be reduced to the study of the invariants of the matrices of set ${\mathbb{C}^{k \times 2}}$ (for $k \geqslant 3$ with all $2\times 2$-minors non-zero) under the extended Hermite equivalence, in the context of the bilinear strict equivalence relation, a novel projective transformation is analytically derived.
Association of Neutrophil Activation, More Than Platelet Activation, With Thrombotic Complications in Coronavirus Disease 2019
Authors: Petito Eleonora , Falcinelli Emanuela , Paliani Ugo , Cesari Enrica , Vaudo Gaetano , Sebastiano Manuela , Cerotto Vittorio , Guglielmini Giuseppe , Gori Fabio , Malvestiti Marco , Becattini Cecilia , Paciullo Francesco , De Robertis Edoardo , Bury Loredana , Lazzarini Teseo , Gresele Paolo ,   COVIR study investigators, Lapenna Maria , D’Abbondanza Marco , Cristallini Stefano , Franco Laura , Saccarelli Luca 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection is associated with hypercoagulability, which predisposes to venous thromboembolism (VTE). We analyzed platelet and neutrophil activation in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their association with VTE.

Methods
Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and age- and sex-matched healthy controls were studied. Platelet and leukocyte activation, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and matrix metalloproteinase 9, a neutrophil-released enzyme, were measured. Four patients were restudied after recovery. The activating effect of plasma from patients with COVID-19 on control platelets and leukocytes and the inhibiting activity of common antithrombotic agents on it were studied.

Results
A total of 36 patients with COVID-19 and 31 healthy controls were studied; VTE developed in 8 of 36 patients with COVID-19 (22.2%). Platelets and neutrophils were activated in patients with COVID-19. NET, but not platelet activation, biomarkers correlated with disease severity and were associated with thrombosis. Plasmatic matrix metalloproteinase 9 was significantly increased in patients with COVID-19. Platelet and neutrophil activation markers, but less so NETs, normalized after recovery. In vitro, plasma from patients with COVID-19 triggered platelet and neutrophil activation and NET formation, the latter blocked by therapeutic-dose low-molecular-weight heparin, but not by aspirin or dypiridamole.

Conclusions
Platelet and neutrophil activation are key features of patients with COVID-19. NET biomarkers may help to predict clinical worsening and VTE and may guide low-molecular-weight heparin treatment.
Communication in the intensive care unit during COVID-19: early experience with the Nightingale Communication Method
Authors: Shurlock Jonathan , Rudd James , Jeanes Annette , Iacovidou Aphrodite , Creta Antonio , Kanthasamy Vijayabharathy , Schilling Richard , Sullivan Eamonn , Cooke Joanne , Laws-Chapman Colette , Baxter David , Finlay Malcolm 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Objective
To assess the utility and frequency of use of the Nightingale Communication Method, during the early operational phase of the Nightingale Hospital London (NHL) 4000-bed field hospital’s intensive care unit.

Design
Survey-based cross-sectional assessment.

Setting
The intensive care unit at the Nightingale London hospital.

Participants
Staff working in the clinical area and therefore requiring full personal protective equipment (PPE).

Intervention
Survey of all staff members sampled from a single shift at the Nightingale Hospital. This investigated perceived utility and actual use of identification methods (name and role labels on visors and gowns, coloured role identification tapes) and formal hand signals as an adjunctive communication method.

Main Outcome Measure
Self-reported frequency of use and perceived utility of each communication and personnel identification adjunct.

Results
Fifty valid responses were received (72% response rate), covering all clinical professional groups. Prominent name/role identifications and coloured role identification tapes were very frequently used and were perceived as being highly useful. Formal hand signals were infrequently used and not perceived as being beneficial, with respondents citing use of individual hand signals only in specific circumstances.

Conclusion
PPE is highly depersonalizing, and interpersonal identification aids are very useful. Despite being difficult, verbal communication is not completely prohibited, which could explain the low utility of formal hand signals. The methods developed at the Nightingale hospital have enhanced communication in the critical care, field hospital setting. There is potential for wider application to a variety of healthcare settings, in both the current situation and future pandemic scenarios.
Decoupling the Short- and Long-Term Behavior of Stochastic Volatility
Authors: Bennedsen Mikkel , Lunde Asger , Pakkanen and Mikko S 
Published: December 2020

AbstractWe introduce a new class of continuous-time models of the stochastic volatility of asset prices. The models can simultaneously incorporate roughness and slowly decaying autocorrelations, including proper long memory, which are two stylized facts often found in volatility data. Our prime model is based on the so-called Brownian semistationary process and we derive a number of theoretical properties of this process, relevant to volatility modeling. Applying the models to realized volatility measures covering a vast panel of assets, we find evidence consistent with the hypothesis that time series of realized measures of volatility are both rough and very persistent. Lastly, we illustrate the utility of the models in an extensive forecasting study; we find that the models proposed in this article outperform a wide array of benchmarks considerably, indicating that it pays off to exploit both roughness and persistence in volatility forecasting.
Genetic and Pathological Characteristic Patterns of a Family With Neuronal Intranuclear Inclusion Disease
Authors: Zhang Shugang , Gong Qixing , Wu Di , Tian Yun , Shen Lu , Lu Jie , Xu Ligang , Gu Hao , Xu Jianxia , Liu Weiguo 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a rare, progressive neurodegenerative disorder. This study aimed to investigate clinical, imaging, genetic, and dermatopathological characteristics of a family with adult-onset NIID. The proband was a 62-year-old woman with 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Of these, 4 had symptoms of paroxysmal visual field defect, extrapyramidal symptoms, dysautonomia, emotional changes, and cognitive dysfunction. Genetic examination revealed no abnormality related to cerebrovascular diseases. More than 200 CGG repeats of FMR1 gene cause fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) whereas repeats of the proband were found 29 times, which excluded FXTAS. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and GC-rich-PCR identified an expanded GGC repeat (with ∼100 repeats) in the 5′ region of NOTCH2NLC in the patient and her 2 younger brothers. Pathological examination found eosinophilic intranuclear inclusions inside adipocytes, fibrocytes, and sweat gland cells. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining revealed positive staining for ubiquitin and p62. The detailed pathological and genetic features of this NIID family provide a valuable contribution to the existing knowledge base of this rare disorder.