bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
New Method Based on Model-Free Adaptive Control Theory and Kalman Filter for Multi-Product Unsteady Flow State Estimation
Authors: He Lei , Gong Jing , Wen Kai , Wu Changchun , Min Yuan 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
In this paper, a new methodology is proposed to realize real-time unsteady flow estimation for a multi-product pipeline system. Integrating transient flow model, adaptive control theory, and adaptive filter, this method is developed to solve the contradiction between the efficiency and accuracy in traditional model-based methods. In terms of improving computational efficiency, the linear flow model based on frequency response and difference transforming is established to replace the traditional nonlinear flow model for transient flow state estimation. To reduce the deviation between actual observations and linear model estimates, we first introduce a model-free adaptive control method as linear compensation of the reduced order unsteady flow state model. To overcome the interference of observation noise, the Kalman filter method is applied to the modified state space model to obtain the one-step-ahead transient flow estimation. The proposed method is applied to the transient flow state estimation of a multi-product pipeline system and compared with the model-based method and two data-driven methods. The proposed method can reduce the deviation of transient flow estimation between the reduced order linear model and the traditional nonlinear model to less than 0.5% under unforeseen conditions and shows strong robustness to noise interference and parameter drift.
Genome Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Case Study: An Undergraduate Online Learning Activity to Introduce Bioinformatics, BLAST, and the Power of Genome Databases
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Authors: Steel J. Jordan 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
The COVID19 pandemic has significantly impacted scientific research and higher education. With the chaos, confusion, and concern caused by the SARSCoV2/COVID19 pandemic, there are lots of questions and general curiosity about coronaviruses and infectious disease. This global health crisis provides an optimal platform for teaching and discussing scientific research. COVID19-specific learning activities can help guide students and the public to accurately find scientific answers to their questions and help educate and teach true scientific principles to those eagerly wanting answers about COVID19. A SARSCoV2/COVID19 case study has been developed that allows students to align the genomes of 4 different coronaviruses to identify potential origins of the virus. Additional questions direct students to think critically about how an RNA viral genome may have different implications than a DNA viral genome, or why mutations in the surface glycoprotein may have big impacts on viral transmission and immunity. This case study was developed and implemented in Spring 2020 and was well received by students. It provides an introduction to genomics and bioinformatics through a highly relevant and applicable topic that everyone is interested in: COVID19.
Detailed analysis of ‘work as imagined’ in the use of intravenous insulin infusions in a hospital: a hierarchical task analysis
Authors: Iflaifel Mais Hasan , Lim Rosemary , Crowley Clare , Ryan Kath , Greco Francesca 
Published: March 2021

ObjectiveVariable rate intravenous insulin infusions (VRIII) is a high-risk medication that has a potential to cause significant patient harm if used in error. Complex preparation of VRIII in clinical areas and the need for frequent monitoring and adjustment increase the complexity of using VRIII. An emerging approach, called Resilient Healthcare, proposes understanding complexity of work by exploring how work is assumed to be done and compare it with everyday work. This study aimed to explore how VRIII is perceived to be used by healthcare practitioners, focusing on one aspect of Resilient Healthcare: understanding how work is assumed to be done, using a method called hierarchical task analysis (HTA).DesignA qualitative study using document analysis and focus groups.SettingA vascular surgery unit in an acute National Health Service teaching hospital in the UK.ParticipantsStakeholders/users in different professional roles involved in the process of using VRIII.ResultsThe HTA showed the complexity of using VRIII and highlighted more than 115 steps required to treat elevated blood glucose. The process of producing hospital-specific guidelines was iterative. Careful consideration was taken to coordinate the development and implementation of guidelines. Documents provided detailed clinical instructions related to the use of VRIII but practitioners selectively used them, often in deference to senior colleagues. Intentional adaptations, for example, proactively asking for a VRIII prescription occurred and were acknowledged as part of providing individualised patient care.ConclusionUsing VRIII to treat elevated blood glucose is a complex but necessary process mediated by a range of factors such as organisational influences. Adaptive strategies to mitigate errors were common and future research can build on insights from this study to develop a broader understanding of how VRIII is used and to understand how adaptations are made in relation to the use of VRIII.
Are there non-linear relationships between alcohol consumption and long-term health? Protocol for a systematic review of observational studies employing approaches to improve causal inference
Authors: Visontay Rachel , Sunderland Matthew , Slade Tim , Wilson Jack , Mewton Louise 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionThere is a substantial literature finding that moderate alcohol consumption is protective against certain health conditions. However, more recent research has highlighted the possibility that these findings are methodological artefacts, caused by confounding and other biases. While modern analytical and study design approaches can mitigate confounding and thus enhance causal inference in observational studies, they are not routinely applied in research assessing the relationship between alcohol use and long-term health outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify observational studies that employ these analytical/design-based approaches in assessing whether relationships between alcohol consumption and health outcomes are non-linear. This review seeks to evaluate, on a per-outcome basis, what these studies find the strength and form of the relationship between alcohol consumption and health to be.Methods and analysisElectronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and SCOPUS) were searched in May 2020. Study selection will comply with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Articles will be screened against eligibility criteria intended to capture studies using observational data to assess the relationship between varying levels of alcohol exposure and any long-term health outcome (actual or surrogate), and that have employed at least one of the prespecified approaches to enhancing causal inference. Risk of bias of included articles will be assessed using study design-specific tools. A narrative synthesis of the results is planned.Ethics and disseminationFormal ethics approval is not required given there will be no primary data collection. The results of the study will be disseminated through published manuscripts, conferences and seminar presentations.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020185861.
Change in prevalence rates of physical and sexual intimate partner violence against women: data from two cross-sectional studies in New Zealand, 2003 and 2019
Authors: Fanslow Janet , Hashemi Ladan , Malihi Zarintaj , Gulliver Pauline , McIntosh Tracey 
Published: March 2021

ObjectivesTo explore changes in reported prevalence of physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) between 2003 and 2019. The impact of sociodemographic differences between the two samples and between group differences were also examined. Changes in attitudes supportive of violence and in help-seeking behaviour following disclosure were also explored.DesignTwo cross-sectional studies.Setting and participantsCross-sectional studies on family violence conducted in New Zealand in 2003 and 2019. Ever-partnered female respondents aged 18–64 years old were included (2003 n=2674, 2019 n=944).Main outcome measuresPrevalence rates of lifetime and past 12-month physical and sexual IPV, attitudes towards gender roles and acceptability of a man hitting his wife, help sought and received following disclosure were compared between the study years.ResultsLifetime prevalence of physical IPV was unchanged between 2003 and 2019 (AOR=0.89; 95% CI 0.73 to 1.08). There was a significant decrease in the proportion of women who reported experiencing 12-month physical IPV (AOR=0.53; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.97). Small reductions in rates for lifetime sexual IPV were also observed (AOR=0.74; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.95). In 2019, fewer women agreed with one or more statements supportive of traditional gender roles (48.1% (95% CI 45.7% to 50.5%) in 2003; 38.4% (95% CI 33.8% to 43.2%) in 2019). A significant decrease was noted in the proportion of women who sought help from informal sources (from 71.3% (95% CI 68.1% to 74.2%) in 2003 to 64.6% (95% CI 58.7% to 70.1%) in 2019). No significant changes in seeking help from formal sources, or perceived helpfulness from any source were noted.ConclusionWhile the reductions in 12-month physical and lifetime sexual IPV are positive, prevention efforts need to be established, maintained and strengthened to address the substantial lifetime prevalence of IPV. Efforts to strengthen responses from formal and informal sources continue to be needed.
Prospective observational cohort study of factors influencing trial participation in people with motor neuron disease (FIT-participation-MND): a protocol
Authors: Beswick Emily , Glasmacher Stella A , Dakin Rachel , Newton Judith , Carson Alan , Abrahams Sharon , Chandran Siddharthan , Pal Suvankar 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionMotor neuron disease (MND) is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with limited treatment options. The Motor Neuron Disease Systematic Multi-Arm Randomised Adaptive Trial (MND-SMART) is a multisite UK trial seeking to address the paucity in effective disease-modifying drugs for people with MND (pwMND). Historically, neurological trials have been plagued by suboptimal recruitment and high rates of attrition. Failure to recruit and/or retain participants can cause insufficiently representative samples, terminated trials or invalid conclusions. This study investigates patient-specific factors affecting recruitment and retention of pwMND to MND-SMART. Improved understanding of these factors may improve trial protocol design, optimise recruitment and retention.Methods and analysisPwMND on the Scottish MND Register, Clinical Audit Research and Evaluation of MND (CARE-MND), will be invited to participate in a prospective observational cohort study that investigates factors affecting trial participation and attrition. We hypothesise that patient-specific factors will significantly affect trial recruitment and retention. Participants will complete the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y to evaluate neuropsychiatric symptoms, the ALS-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Form and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention-Health-Related Quality of Life for quality of life and a novel study-specific questionnaire on Attitudes towards Clinical Trial Participation (ACT-Q). Clinical data on phenotype, cognition (Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural ALS Screen) and physical functioning (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised) will also be collated. Caregivers will complete the Brief Dimensional Apathy Scale. After 12 months, a data request to MND-SMART will evaluate recruitment and retention. Descriptive statistics will summarise and compare assessments and participants reaching impairment thresholds. Variable groupings: attitudes, quality of life, cognition, behaviour, physical functioning, neuropsychiatric and phenotype. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression will explore association with participation/withdrawal in MND-SMART; presented as ORs and 95% CIs.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was provided by the West of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 3 (20/WS/0067) on 12 May 2020. The results of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at academic conferences and disseminated to participants and the public.
Prevalence of frailty and pain in hospitalised adult patients in an acute hospital: a protocol for a point prevalence observational study
Authors: Saunders Rosemary , Crookes Kate , Atee Mustafa , Bulsara Caroline , Bulsara Max K , Etherton-Beer Christopher , Ewens Beverley , Gallagher Olivia , Graham Renee M , Gullick Karen , Haydon Sue , Nguyen Kim-Huong , O"Connell Bev , Seaman Karla , Hughes Jeff 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionFrailty and pain are associated with adverse patient clinical outcomes and healthcare system costs. Frailty and pain can interact, such that symptoms of frailty can make pain assessment difficult and pain can exacerbate the progression of frailty. The prevalence of frailty and pain and their concurrence in hospital settings are not well understood, and patients with cognitive impairment are often excluded from pain prevalence studies due to difficulties assessing their pain. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of frailty and pain in adult inpatients, including those with cognitive impairment, in an acute care private metropolitan hospital in Western Australia.Methods and analysisA prospective, observational, single-day point prevalence, cross-sectional study of frailty and pain intensity of all inpatients (excluding day surgery and critical care units) will be undertaken. Frailty will be assessed using the modified Reported Edmonton Frail Scale. Current pain intensity will be assessed using the PainChek smart-device application enabling pain assessment in people unable to report pain due to cognitive impairment. Participants will also provide a numerical rating of the intensity of current pain and the worst pain experienced in the previous 24 hours. Demographic and clinical information will be collected from patient files. The overall response rate of the survey will be reported, as well as the percentage prevalence of frailty and of pain in the sample (separately for PainChek scores and numerical ratings). Additional statistical modelling will be conducted comparing frailty scores with pain scores, adjusting for covariates including age, gender, ward type and reason for admission.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been granted by Ramsay Health Care Human Research Ethics Committee WA/SA (reference: 2038) and Edith Cowan University Human Research Ethics Committee (reference: 2020–02008-SAUNDERS). Findings will be widely disseminated through conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications and social media.Trial registration numberACTRN12620000904976.
Variation in referral rates to emergency departments and inpatient services from a GP out of hours service and the potential impact of alternative staffing models
Authors: Lasserson Daniel , Smith Honora , Garland Sophie , Hunt Helen , Hayward Gail 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionOut of hours (OOHs) primary care is a critical component of the acute care system overnight and at weekends. Referrals from OOH services to hospital will add to the burden on hospital assessment in the ED and on-call specialties.MethodsWe studied the variation in referral rates (to the ED and direct specialty admission) of individual clinicians working in the Oxfordshire, UK OOH service covering a population of 600 000 people. We calculated the referral probability for each clinician over a 13-month period of practice (1 December 2014 to 31 December 2015), stratifying by clinician factors and location and timing of assessment. We used Simul8 software to determine the range of hospital referrals potentially due to variation in clinician referral propensity.ResultsAmong the 119 835 contacts with the service, 5261 (4.4%) were sent directly to the ED and 3474 (3.7%) were admitted directly to specialties. More referrals were made to ED by primary care physicians if they did not work in the local practices (5.5% vs 3.5%, p=0.011). For clinicians with >1000 consultations, percentage of patients referred varied from 1% to 21% of consultations. Simulations where propensity to refer was made less extreme showed a difference in maximum referrals of 50 patients each week.ConclusionsThere is substantial variation in clinician referral rates from OOHs primary care to the acute hospital setting. The number of patients referred could be influenced by this variation in clinician behaviour. Referral propensity should be studied including casemix adjustment to determine if interventions targeting such behaviour are effective.
Indigenous Peoples, concentrated disadvantage, and income inequality in New Mexico: a ZIP code-level investigation of spatially varying associations between socioeconomic disadvantages and confirmed COVID-19 cases
Authors: Huyser Kimberly R , Yang Tse-Chuan , Yellow Horse Aggie J 
Published: March 2021

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease pandemic has disproportionately affected poor and racial/ethnic minority individuals and communities, especially Indigenous Peoples. The object of this study is to understand the spatially varying associations between socioeconomic disadvantages and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Mexico at the ZIP code level.MethodsWe constructed ZIP code-level data (n=372) using the 2014–2018 American Community Survey and COVID-19 data from the New Mexico Department of Health (as of 24 May 2020). The log-linear Poisson and geographically weighted Poisson regression are applied to model the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases (total population as the offset) in a ZIP code.ResultsThe number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in a ZIP code is positively associated with socioeconomic disadvantages—specifically, the high levels of concentrated disadvantage and income inequality. It is also positively associated with the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native populations, net of other potential confounders at the ZIP code level. Importantly, these associations are spatially varying in that some ZIP codes suffer more from concentrated disadvantage than others.ConclusionsAdditional attention for COVID-19 mitigation effort should focus on areas with higher levels of concentrated disadvantage, income inequality, and higher percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native populations as these areas have higher incidence of COVID-19. The findings also highlight the importance of plumbing in all households for access to clean and safe water, and the dissemination of educational materials aimed at COVID-19 prevention in non-English language including Indigenous languages.
MYC oncogene is associated with suppression of tumor immunity and targeting Myc induces tumor cell immunogenicity for therapeutic whole cell vaccination
Authors: Wu Xiaofang , Nelson Marie , Basu Mousumi , Srinivasan Priya , Lazarski Christopher , Zhang Peng , Zheng Pan , Sandler Anthony David 
Published: March 2021

BackgroundMYC oncogene is deregulated in 70% of all human cancers and is associated with multiple oncogenic functions including immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. The role of MYC in the immune microenvironment of neuroblastoma and melanoma is investigated and the effect of targeting Myc on immunogenicity of cancer cells is evaluated.MethodsImmune cell infiltrates and immunogenic pathway signatures in the context of MYCN amplification were analyzed in human neuroblastoma tumors and in metastatic melanoma. Dose response and cell susceptibility to MYC inhibitors (I-BET726 and JQ1) were determined in mouse cell lines. The influence of downregulating Myc in tumor cells was characterized by immunogenic pathway signatures and functional assays. Myc-suppressed tumor cells were used as whole cell vaccines in preclinical neuroblastoma and melanoma models.ResultsAnalysis of immune phenotype in human neuroblastoma and melanoma tumors revealed that MYCN or c-MYC amplified tumors respectively are associated with suppressed immune cell infiltrates and functional pathways. Targeting Myc in cancer cells with I-BET726 and JQ1 results in cell cycle arrest and induces cell immunogenicity. Combining vaccination of Myc-inhibited tumor cells with checkpoint inhibition induced robust antitumor immunity and resulted in therapeutic cancer vaccine therapy in mouse neuroblastoma tumors. Despite vigorous antitumor immunity in the mouse melanoma model, upregulation of immunosuppressive pathways enabled tumor escape.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the Myc oncogene is an appropriate target for inducing tumor cell immunogenicity and suggests that Myc-suppressed whole tumor cells combined with checkpoint therapy could be used for formulating a personalized therapeutic tumor vaccine.
Impact of ultrasound contrast agent during transoesophageal echocardiography on the sizing of the left atrial appendage
Authors: Ebelt Henning , Goetze Sarah , Weida Anja , Offhaus Alexandra 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionInterventional closure of the left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) has been established as an alternative treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and an increased risk of stroke. So far it is unknown whether the use of ultrasound contrast agent (UCA) would influence the correct sizing of the LAA and thereby have an impact on device selection during interventional LAAC.MethodsBetween January 2017 and April 2018, 223 transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) examinations were prospectively performed in adult patients with non-valvular AF (Impact of the use of ultrasound contrast agent on the detection of thrombi in the left atrial appendage during transesophageal echocardiography (CONDOR) study). LAA was examined both with and without the use of UCA. The following measurements were taken at 0o, 45o, 90oand 135o: diameter of LAA ostium, maximal depth of the LAA, maximal available depth of the LAA orthogonal to the ostial plane and area of the LAA.ResultsThe use of UCA had no relevant influence on the size determination of the LAA. Additionally, Bland-Altman blots demonstrate a high degree of correlation between the measurements with and without UCA with no evidence for a systematic effect arising from the use of UCA. When comparing the measurements of two independent investigators, the use of UCA rather leads to a higher variability than to an improved precision.DiscussionDespite the fact that the use of UCA during TOE leads to an improved rule out of thrombi, our study shows that there is no advantageous effect of UCA on the size determination of the LAA and should therefore not be used for this purpose.