bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis and Modelling of Temperature at Lake’s Water – Atmosphere Interface
Authors: Antonopoulos Vassilis Z. , Gianniou Soultana K. 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
The knowledge of micrometeorological conditions on water surface of impoundments is crucial for the better modeling of the temperature and water quality parameters distribution in the water body and against the climatic changes. Water temperature distribution is an important factor that affects most physical, chemical and biological processes and reactions occurring in lakes. In this work, different processes of water surface temperature of lake’s estimation based on the energy balance method are considered. The daily meteorological data and the simulation results of energy balance components from an integrated heat transfer model for two complete years as well as the lake’s characteristics for Vegoritis lake in northern Greece were used is this analysis.The simulation results of energy balance components from a heat transfer model are considered as the reference and more accurate procedure to estimate water surface temperature. These results are used to compare the other processes. The examined processes include a) models of heat storage changes in relationship to net radiation (Qt(Rn) values, b) net radiation estimation with different approaches, as the process of Slob’s equation with adjusted coefficients to lake data, and c) ANNs models with different architecture and input variables. The results show that the model of heat balance describes the water surface temperature with high accuracy (r2=0.916, RMSE=2.422oC). The ANN(5,6,1) model in which Tsw(i-1) is incorporated in the input variables was considered the better of all other ANN structures (r2=0.995, RMSE=0.490oC). The use of different approaches for simulating net radiation (Rn) and Qt(Rn) in the equation of water surface temperature gives results with lower accuracy.
Seismic Evaluation of Self-Centering Bi-Rocking Walls via Micro Modeling of Rocking Joints: Locating the Rocking Section
Authors: Broujerdian Vahid , Dehcheshmeh Esmaeil Mohammadi 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
The rocking concrete shear wall is one of the new self-centering seismic systems applied in high-rise buildings. To reduce the effects of higher modes on base-rocking walls, the idea of using multiple rocking walls has been evolved. This paper presents a comparative investigation on the seismic performance of base-rocking and bi-rocking wall systems. To this aim, structures of 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, and 20- stories have been evaluated subjected to three sets of seismic earthquake records including 22 Far Field (FF), 14 Near Field (NF) with pulse, and 14 Near Field (NF) no-pulse ground motions. The nonlinear time-history analyses were conducted in two directions using OpenSEES software. To determine the appropriate location of rocking section in bi-rocking walls, one-quarter (R2-M1), one-half (R2-M2), and three-quarter (R2-M3) models were examined. The obtained results revealed that R2-M3 model is not efficient in reducing the effects of higher modes. However, R2-M2 model in high-rise buildings under FF and NF-no-pulse records could be effective in decreasing the moment by a maximum of nearly 41% and the shears by a maximum of 25% and 18%, respectively. Furthermore, the results showed that bi-rocking walls could not be effective in reducing the influence of higher modes under NF-pulse ground motions. Generally, the residual drifts were negligible in all the rocking systems under study.
Relationship between triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients among the Han Chinese
Authors: Cai Shuang , Dong Jing , Cheng Bokai , Zhang Anhang , Sun Jin , Su Yongkang , Bao Qiligeer , Zhu Ping , Wang Shuxia 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Background

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the most common target organs damage in the hypertension patients. The triglycerides to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio has been identified as a biomarker of insulin resistance and a predictor for atherosclerosis. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between TG/HDL-C and LVH in hypertensive patients among the Han Chinese.
Methods

The study is a community-based cross-sectional study that included 4552 patients with hypertension and integrated clinical and echocardiographic data. Left ventricular mass (LVM) was measured by transthoracic echocardiography. LVH was diagnosed by using the criteria of left ventricular mass indexed (LVMI) over 49.2g/m2.7 for men and 46.7g/m2.7 for women. The independent associations between TG/HDL-C ratio quartiles and LVH prevalence was analyzed by using logistic regression models.
Results

The TG/HDL-C was higher in patients with LVH than in those without (1.27 ± 1.26, 1.15 ± 1.07, P = 0.001). The prevalence of LVH in patients with the first quartile of TG/HDL-C (Q1: < 0.61), second (Q2: 0.61 ~ 0.91), the third (Q3: 0.92 ~ 1.41), and the highest quartile (Q4: >1.41) of TG/HDL-C was 36.1%, 42%, 42.6%, 44.9%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis suggested that after adjustment for confounding factors, TG/HDL-C was independently associated with the risk of LVH, and this association was more significant in women. Compared with the first quartile of TG/HDL-C (Q1), the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for LVH in the increasing quartiles (Q2-Q4) were 1.21(1.01–1.45), 1.28(1.07–1.54), and 1.48(1.23–1.78) respectively.
Conclusions

The TG/HDL-C ratio is an independent risk factor for LVH in hypertensive patients among the Han Chinese. However, longitudinal studies are required to demonstrate the predictive value of TG/HDL-C on the onset and progression of LVH over time.
Improved optimum PID controller tuning by minimizing settling time and overshoot
Authors: Turan Abdullah 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
In this paper, a simple design method is presented to adjust the parameters of a proportional-integral derivative PID controller to be applied to different systems. In this method, PID controller is designed based on setting the optimal proportional gain according to the desired performance (settling time, overshoot). Determining the other parameters of the PID controller by adjusting the optimum ratio gain (k p ) in a stable loop that minimizes the settling time (t s ) and the error rate of the overshoot (M p ) constitutes the basis of the method. The Routh Rurwitz criterion is used to guarantee stability. The performance of the controller designed with the proposed method has been evaluated on three different transfer functions. With this method, the PID controller works successfully without destroying parameters and without complex mathematical formulation. It has been observed that the proposed method provides better closed loop performance compared to the methods reported recently.
Different impact of suspended Al2O3 nanoparticles on microbial communities: formation of 2D-networks (without humic acids) or 3D-colonies (with humic acids)
Authors: Sartori Damián Rodríguez , Miñán Alejandro , Gonzalez Mónica , de Mele Mónica Fernández Lorenzo 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
The use of metal-based and, particularly, Al2O3 nanoparticles (Al2O3−NP) for diverse purposes is exponentially growing. However, the growth of such promissory market is not accompanied by a parallel extensive investigation related to the impact of this pollution on groundwater and biological systems. Pseudomonas species, ubiquitous, environmentally critical microbes, frequently respond to stress conditions with diverse strategies that generally include extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) formation. The aim of this study is to report that changes in the aqueous environment, particularly, the addition of Al2O3-NP without and with humic acids, induce different adaptive strategies of P. aeruginosa early biofilms. To this purpose, early biofilms were incubated in diluted culture media without (control) and with Al2O3-NP, and with humic acids (HA-control, HA-Al2O3-NP) for 24h. 3D colonies with EPS strings and isolated bacteria in their surroundings were detected in the control biofilms. Unlikely, an unusual adaptive behaviour was developed in presence of Al2O3-NP. Bacteria opt to disassemble the 3D arrangements, and to implement a 2D network promoting morphological and size changes of bacterial cells (small coccoid shapes). Remarkably, this strategy allows their temporarily non-EPS-depending survival without decreasing the number of cells. This behaviour was not observed with ZnO-NP, HA-Al2O3-NP, or HA-ZnO-NP. Physicochemical analysis revealed that HA were adsorbed on Al2O3-NP and promoted the Al(III) ions complexation. This supports the hypothesis that the reduction of toxicity of Al ions and the 3D colony formation in presence of HA-Al2O3-NP is promoted by the complexation of the metal ions with HA components.
An Attention-Based Meta Learning Network via Prior Meta-training Strategy for Intelligent Fault Detection of Shipboard Antenna under Small Samples Prerequisite
Authors: Chang Yuanhong , Chen Jinglong , He Shuilong , Zhang Kaiyu , Pan Tongyang 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Fault detection of shipboard antenna is of great significance to ensure the safe operation and smooth completion of astronautic measurement ship. With the development of data-oriented technology, intelligent fault detection is desiderated to improve self-management of entire shipboard antenna system. However, insufficient fault data results in intelligent algorithms stagnation. In this paper, a meta-learning network is specially designed for fault identification of shipboard antenna under small samples prerequisite, which is named affiliation network (AN). The AN consists of a random sampler, a feature extractor, an auxiliary classifier and a discriminator. The former three are utilized to extract and concatenate the features from training and testing samples, while the latter trains an adaptive pseudo-distance to evaluate the affiliation degree between concatenation features for identifying unknown data. Besides, a prior sufficient meta-training strategy is specially designed to realize metric-based knowledge transfer for acquiring the more generic AN, thus avoiding reiterative training of the AN in different application scenarios. Effectiveness of proposed method are validated by three experimental cases. Results indicate that, comparing with conventional intelligent models, the prior trained AN only utilized few samples to effectively identify failure categories of shipboard antenna even with complex operating conditions.
Correlation Between Drug Sensitivity Profiles of Ex Vivo Expanded Circulating Tumor Cells and Clinical Treatment Response in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients
Authors: Wu Yuan-Hung , Hung Yi-Ping , Chiu Nai-Chi , Lee Rheun-Chuan , Li Chung-Pin , Chao Yee , Shyr Yi-Ming , Wang Shin-E , Chen Shih-Chin , Lin Sheng-Hsuan , Chen Yi-Hsuan , Kang Yu-Mei , Hsu Shih-Ming , Yen Sang-Hue , Wu Jeng-You , Lee Kuan-Der , Tseng Huey-En , Tsai Jia-Ruey , Tang Ruey-Hsiang , Chiou Jeng-Fong , Burnouf Thierry , Chen Yin-Ju , Wang Peng-Yuan , Lu Long-Sheng 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
BackgroundPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly aggressive and has poor prognosis. There are few biomarkers to inform treatment decisions, and collecting tumor samples for genomic or drug sensitivity testing is challenging.MethodsCirculating tumor cells (CTCs) were prepared from the liquid biopsies of PDAC patients. These cells were subsequently expanded ex vivo to form CTC-derived organoid cultures, using a laboratory-developed biomimetic cell culture system. The CTC-derived organoids were tested for sensitivity to a PDAC panel of nine drugs, with tests conducted in triplicate, and a weighted cytotoxicity score (CTS) was calculated from the results. Clinical response to treatment in patients was evaluated using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1 criteria at the time of blood sampling and 3 months later. CTS was then correlated with clinical response, and analyzed using 2 × 2 contingency tables.ResultsA total of 41 liquid biopsies were collected from 31 patients, with 87.8% of liquid biopsies from patients with Stage 4 disease. CTC-derived organoid expansion was achieved in 3 weeks, with 87.8% culture efficiency. CTC-derived organoid cultures were positive for EpCAM staining and negative for CD45 staining in surface marker analysis. All patients had received a median of two lines of treatment prior to enrollment, and prospective utility analysis indicated significant correlation of CTS with clinical treatment response. Two representative case studies are also presented to illustrate the relevant clinical contexts.ConclusionsIn this study, CTCs were expanded from the liquid biopsies of PDAC patients with a high success rate. Drug sensitivity profiles from CTC-derived organoid cultures correlated meaningfully with treatment response. Further studies are warranted to validate the predictive potential for this approach.Trial RegistrationTaipei Medical University Hospital Protocol Record N201803020, registered on July 10, 2018; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04972461, retrospectively registered on July 22, 2021.
Hyperoxia and mortality in Conventional versus Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Authors: Stoll Sandra Emily , Paul Eldho , Pilcher David , Udy Andrew , Burrell Aidan 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
BackgroundHyperoxia has been associated with adverse outcomes in post cardiac arrest (CA) patients. However, little data are available from mixed cohorts, where extracorporeal membrane oxygenation cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) and conventional CPR (CCPR) were utilised. The independence of effect of hyperoxia in this setting is not clear. Study-objective was to examine the association between hyperoxia and 30-day mortality in a mixed cohort of ECPR and CCPR patients.Methods and designThis was a retrospective cohort study of CA patients admitted to a tertiary level cardiac arrest centre in Australia from 1st January 2013 to 31st August 2018. Mean arterial oxygen levels (PaO2) and episodes of extreme hyperoxia (PaO2 ≥ 300mmHg) were analysed over the first 8 days. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality.ResultsA total of 169 post CA patients were assessed over a 6.5-year time period: 79 patients undergoing ECPR vs 90 patients undergoing CCPR. The mean age of the cohort was 54 (± 17) years; 126/169 (74%) were male and 119/169 (70%) were treated for out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Compared to CCPR, ECPR patients were younger, had a longer low flow time and higher illness severity scores on admission. Mean PaO2-levels were higher in patients in the ECPR vs CCPR group (211mmHg ± 58.4 vs 119mmHg ± 18.1; p < 0.0001) as was the proportion with at least one episode of extreme hyperoxia (58/79 (73%) vs 36/90 (40%), p < 0.01). ECPR patients presented with a higher mortality (54.4%) vs CCPR patients (34.4%). After adjusting for age, sex, BMI, highest lactate pre-treatment, use of ECMO, low flow time, pulse pressure on admission day, and severity of illness (APACHE III score), any episode of extreme hyperoxia was independently associated with a 2.57-fold increased risk of 30-day mortality (OR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.09–6.06; p = 0.031) irrespective of the CPR-mode.ConclusionWe found extreme hyperoxia (PaO2-level ≥ 300mmHg) was more common in ECPR patients in the first 8 days post CA and was independently associated with higher 30-day mortality, irrespective of whether ECPR was employed. Prospective studies that compare different oxygen targets are needed to see if a strategy of lower oxygen exposure improves outcomes.
Capability of Airline Jets as an Observation Platform for Noctilucent Clouds at Middle Latitudes
Authors: Suzuki Hidehiko , Matsumoto Ayako , Dalin Peter , Nakamura Yuriko , Ishii Satoshi , Sakanoi Kazuyo , Sakaguchi Kaori , Takada Taku , Tsuda Takuo , Hozumi Yuta 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
The exact occurrence frequency of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) in middle latitudes is significant information because it is thought to be sensitive to long-term atmospheric change. We conducted NLC observation from airline jets in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer 2019 to evaluate the effectiveness of NLC observation from airborne platforms. By cooperating with the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA), imaging observations of NLCs were conducted on 13 flights from Jun 8 to Jul 12. As a result of careful analysis, 8 of these 13 flights were found to successfully detect NLCs from middle latitudes (lower than 55°N) during their cruising phase. Based on the results of these test observations, it is shown that an airline jet is a powerful tool to continuously monitor the occurrence frequency of NLCs at midlatitudes which is generally difficult with a polar orbiting satellite due to sparse sampling in both temporal and spatial domain. The advantages and merits of NLC observation from jets over satellite observation from a point of view of imaging geometry is also presented.
E-learning in medical education during COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of a research course at Kenya Medical Training College
Authors: Gachanja Francis , Mwangi Nyawira , Gicheru Wagaki 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Background
E-learning has been widely adopted as a teaching and learning approach in medical education internationally but its adoption in low- and middle-income countries is still at an infantile stage. The use of e-learning may help to overcome some of the barriers to access to quality education and provide flexible, low-cost, user-centred, and easily updated learning. Research can inform improvement in health care, but strategies to develop research skills among health practitioners are complex and require well-designed training. To address the need for research education, we developed and implemented an e-learning course on patient safety research for students enrolled for higher diploma courses at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). In this paper, we report our experience teaching the online research course in resource-constrained settings to enable other medical educators, students and institutions in similar settings to understand approaches to incorporating e-learning interventions.
Methods
The eLearning research course is hosted on the Colleges’ Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). All higher diploma students admitted to the college in the 2020/21 academic year were enrolled on the course. The research course was delivered over 60 hours, but the course materials (text, videos, images, discussion forums, downloadable content) remain accessible to students throughout the academic year. A pretest, posttest, peer-graded assessment and course evaluation were administered on the e-learning platform. The students were expected to conduct individual research projects after the training.
Results
A total of 933 students undertaking 44 higher diploma courses in 11 campuses of KMTC were enrolled in the course. There was a significant increase in the mean knowledge level of students: scores for pretest (Mean = 56.5%, SD = 14.3) and posttest (Mean = 67.8%, SD = 8.9); t (122) = 7.85, p < .001. Student and faculty experience was generally positive. The challenges included infrastructure and technological skills. The standardization of material and team-teaching improved efficiency, effectiveness and inter-faculty discourse on inter-professional collaboration in research.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that e-learning can be used to teach research but there is a need for technological investment and institutional e-readiness.
Critical care staffing ratio and outcome of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care unit admission during the first pandemic wave: a retrospective analysis across Switzerland from the RISC-19-ICU observational cohort
Authors: Jeitziner Marie-Madlen , Moser André , Wendel-Garcia Pedro D , Exl Matthias Thomas , Keiser Stefanie , Schüpbach Reto A , Sigg Anne-Aylin , Pietsch Urs , Cereghetti Sara , Boroli Filippo , Marrel Julien , Ksouri Hatem , Schott Peter , Dullenkopf Alexander , Fleisch Isabelle , Heise Antje , Laurent Jean-Christophe , Jakob Stephan M. , Hilty Matthias P , Que Yok-Ai 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Background

The modifications to the standard intensive care unit (ICU) organization that had to be urgently implemented worldwide to overcome the surge of ICU admissions due to patients with a severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have resulted in increased workload and patients-to-nurse ratio. The aim of this study was to investigate whether level of critical care staffing could be associated with an increased risk of ICU mortality (primary endpoint), length of stay, mechanical ventilation and the evolution of disease (secondary study endpoints) in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
Methods

Retrospective multicenter analysis of the international Risk Stratification in COVID-19 patients in the Intensive Care Unit (RISC-19-ICU) registry that prospectively enrolls patients developing critical illness due to COVID-19 in several countries worldwide. The analysis was limited to the period between March 1st, 2020 and May 31st, 2020, to ICUs in Switzerland that have collected additional data on nurse and physician staffing. Hierarchical regression models were used to investigate crude and adjusted effects of critical care staffing ratio on study endpoints. We adjusted for diseases severity and weekly caseload.
Results

Among the 38 Swiss participating ICUs, 17 recorded critical care staffing information. The study population included 437 patients and 2342 daily assessments of patient-to-nurse/physician ratio. Median of daily patient-to-nurse ratio started at 1.0 ([IQR] 0.5–1.5; calendar week 9) and peaked at 2.4 (IQR 0.4-2.0; calendar week 16), while the median of daily patient-to-physician ratio started at 4.0 (IQR 2.1-5.0; calendar week 9) and peaked at 6.8 (IQR 6.3–7.3; calendar week 19). Neither the patient-to-nurse ratio [adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) 1.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85–1.94; doubling of ratio] nor the patient-to-physician ratio [adjusted OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.87–1.32; doubling of ratio] was associated with ICU mortality. We found no association of critical care staffing on the investigated secondary study endpoints in adjusted models.
COnclusion

The Swiss health care system successfully overcame the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with regards to the unprecedented demand for ICU treatments. The reduced availability of critical care staffing resources per critically ill patient in Swiss ICUs did not translate in an overall increased risk of mortality.