bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumococcal pneumonia and all-cause pneumonia in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the preceding 5 years: a retrospective observational study
Authors: Chan King-Pui Florence , Ma Ting-Fung , Ip Mary Sau-Man , Ho Pak-Leung 
Published: October 2021

ObjectivesTo compare the incidence and severity of invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPDs), pneumococcal pneumonia and all-cause pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic period with universal masking and social distancing with that of previous 5 years.DesignRetrospective observational study on incidence of IPDs, pneumococcal pneumonia and all-cause pneumonia between January 2015–December 2019 and March 2020–March 2021. January–February 2020 was excluded from analysis as it was treated as a transitional period between normal time and pandemic.SettingEpisode-based data by retrieval of hospitalisation records from the Hospital Authority’s territory-wide electronic medical record database in Hong Kong.ParticipantsHospitalised patients with IPD (n=742), pneumococcal pneumonia (n=2163) and all-cause pneumonia (including COVID-19 pneumonia, n=453 999) aged 18 years or above. Control diagnoses were included to assess confounding from health-seeking behaviours.Primary and secondary outcomesPrimary outcome is the incidence of diseases between two periods. Secondary outcomes include disease severity surrogated by length of stay and mortality.ResultsMonthly average number of IPD, pneumococcal pneumonia and all-cause pneumonia hospitalisation significantly decreased by 88.9% (95% CI 79.8% to 98.0%, p<0.0005), 72.5% (95% CI 65.9% to 79.1%, p<0.0005) and 17.5% (95% CI 16.8% to 18.2%, p<0.0005), respectively. Changes in trend from January 2015–December 2019 to March 2020–March 2021 were −70% (95% CI −87% to −35%, p=0.0025), –43% (95% CI −59% to −19%, p=0.0014) and −11% (95% CI −13% to −10%, p<0.0005), respectively. Length of stay for IPD and pneumococcal pneumonia episodes were insignificantly different in the two periods. No reductions in hospitalisations for control diagnoses were observed.ConclusionsIncidence of IPD, pneumococcal pneumonia and all-cause pneumonia decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was observed with universal masking and social distancing. We postulated this is related to reduced transmission of respiratory viruses and bacteria.
Patient awareness of palliative care: systematic review
Authors: Masoud Bahrami , Imane Bagheri , Naiire Salmani 
Published: October 2021

BackgroundOne of the barriers to the integration of palliative care within the process of patient care and treatment is the lack of awareness of patients about palliative care. In order to develop efficient resources to improve patient awareness, comprehensive information is required to determine the specific aspects of palliative care where a paucity of evidence on patient awareness exists. This review aims to synthesise evidence from previous studies in order to provide a comprehensive information set about the current state of patient awareness of palliative care.MethodsIn this systematic literature review, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Magiran, Scientific Information Database(SID) and Islamic Science Citation (ISC) were searched to identify articles published between 2000 and 2021 that considered patients’ awareness of palliative care.ResultsOf the 5347 articles found, 22 studies were retained after quality evaluation; three full-text articles were excluded. Nineteen articles are included in this review. More than half of the patients did not have any information about palliative care or hospice care. Some patients accurately defined hospice care and palliative care; other patients had misunderstandings about palliative care. Patients had limited information about pastoral care, social care and bereavement care. Patients’ awareness about individuals or centres providing palliative care or hospice care was limited. Video presentation and distribution of information at the community level indicated that this method would be beneficial in increasing the awareness.ConclusionThe review points to the need for patient education programmes and interventional studies to increase patients’ awareness.
Marked and widening socioeconomic inequalities in type 2 diabetes prevalence in Scotland
Authors: Wang Jack , Wild Sarah H 
Published: October 2021

BackgroundThis study investigated the association between socioeconomic status and type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence in Scotland in 2021 and tested the null hypothesis that inequalities had not changed since they were last described for 2001–2007.MethodsData from a national population-based diabetes database for 35-to-84-year-olds in Scotland for 2021 and mid-year population estimates for 2019 stratified by sex and fifths of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation were used to calculate age-specific prevalence of T2D. Age-standardised prevalence was estimated using the European Standard Population with relative risks (RRs) compared between the most (Q1) and least (Q5) deprived fifths for each sex, and compared against similar estimates from 2001 to 2007.ResultsComplete data were available for 255 764 people (98.9%) with T2D. Age-standardised prevalence was lowest for women in Q5 (3.4%) and highest for men in Q1 (11.6%). RRs have increased from 2.00 (95% CI 1.52 to 2.62) in 2001–2007 to 2.48 (95% CI 2.43 to 2.53) in 2021 for women and from 1.58 (95% CI 1.20 to 2.07) in 2007 to 1.89 (95% CI 1.86 to 1.92) in 2021 for men.ConclusionsSocioeconomic inequalities in T2D prevalence have widened between 2001–2007 and 2021. Further research is required to investigate potential medium-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Psychiatric consequences of a father’s leave policy by nativity: a quasi-experimental study in Sweden
Authors: Honkaniemi Helena , Katikireddi Srinivasa Vittal , Rostila Mikael , Juárez Sol P 
Published: October 2021

BackgroundParental leave use has been found to promote maternal and child health, with limited evidence of mental health impacts on fathers. How these effects vary for minority populations with poorer mental health and lower leave uptake, such as migrants, remains under-investigated. This study assessed the effects of a Swedish policy to encourage fathers’ leave, the 1995 Father’s quota, on Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ psychiatric hospitalisations.MethodsWe conducted an interrupted time series analysis using Swedish total population register data for first-time fathers of children born before (1992–1994) and after (1995–1997) the reform (n=198 589). Swedish-born and migrant fathers’ 3-year psychiatric hospitalisation rates were modelled using segmented negative binomial regression, adjusting for seasonality and autocorrelation, with stratified analyses by region of origin, duration of residence, and partners’ nativity.ResultsFrom immediately pre-reform to post-reform, the proportion of fathers using parental leave increased from 63.6% to 86.4% of native-born and 37.1% to 51.2% of migrants. Swedish-born fathers exhibited no changes in psychiatric hospitalisation rates post-reform, whereas migrants showed 36% decreased rates (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.64, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.86). Migrants from regions not predominantly consisting of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries (IRR 0.50, 95% CI 0.19 to 1.33), and those with migrant partners (IRR 0.23, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.38), experienced the greatest decreases in psychiatric hospitalisation rates.ConclusionThe findings of this study suggest that policies oriented towards promoting father’s use of parental leave may help to reduce native–migrant health inequalities, with broader benefits for family well-being and child development.
Early versus late start of direct oral anticoagulants after acute ischaemic stroke linked to atrial fibrillation: an observational study and individual patient data pooled analysis
Authors: De Marchis Gian Marco , Seiffge David J. , Schaedelin Sabine , Wilson Duncan , Caso Valeria , Acciarresi Monica , Tsivgoulis Georgios , Koga Masatoshi , Yoshimura Sohei , Toyoda Kazunori , Cappellari Manuel , Bonetti Bruno , Macha Kosmas , Kallmünzer Bernd , Cereda Carlo W. , Lyrer Philippe , Bonati Leo H. , Paciaroni Maurizio , Engelter Stefan T. , Werring David J. 
Published: October 2021

ObjectiveThe optimal timing to start direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) after an acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) related to atrial fibrillation (AF) remains unclear. We aimed to compare early (≤5 days of AIS) versus late (>5 days of AIS) DOAC-start.MethodsThis is an individual patient data pooled analysis of eight prospective European and Japanese cohort studies. We included patients with AIS related to non-valvular AF where a DOAC was started within 30 days. Primary endpoints were 30-day rates of recurrent AIS and ICH.ResultsA total of 2550 patients were included. DOACs were started early in 1362 (53%) patients, late in 1188 (47%). During 212 patient-years, 37 patients had a recurrent AIS (1.5%), 16 (43%) before a DOAC was started; 6 patients (0.2%) had an ICH, all after DOAC-start. In the early DOAC-start group, 23 patients (1.7%) suffered from a recurrent AIS, while 2 patients (0.1%) had an ICH. In the late DOAC-start group, 14 patients (1.2%) suffered from a recurrent AIS; 4 patients (0.3%) suffered from ICH. In the propensity score-adjusted comparison of late versus early DOAC-start groups, there was no statistically significant difference in the hazard of recurrent AIS (aHR=1.2, 95% CI 0.5 to 2.9, p=0.69), ICH (aHR=6.0, 95% CI 0.6 to 56.3, p=0.12) or any stroke.ConclusionsOur results do not corroborate concerns that an early DOAC-start might excessively increase the risk of ICH. The sevenfold higher risk of recurrent AIS than ICH suggests that an early DOAC-start might be reasonable, supporting enrolment into randomised trials comparing an early versus late DOAC-start.
Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells: A Propitious Road to Clinic
Authors: Grover Amit , Sanseviero Emilio , Timosenko Elina , Gabrilovich Dmitry I. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractMyeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are important regulators of immune responses in cancer. They represent a relatively stable form of pathologic activation of neutrophils and monocytes and are characterized by distinct transcriptional, biochemical, functional, and phenotypical features. The close association of MDSCs with clinical outcomes in cancer suggests that these cells can be an attractive target for therapeutic intervention. However, the complex nature of MDSC biology represents a substantial challenge for the development of selective therapies. Here, we discuss the mechanisms regulating MDSC development and fate and recent research advances that have demonstrated opportunities for therapeutic regulation of these cells.Significance:MDSCs are attractive therapeutic targets because of their close association with negative clinical outcomes in cancer and established biology as potent immunosuppressive cells. However, the complex nature of MDSC biology presents a substantial challenge for therapeutic targeting. In this review, we discuss those challenges and possible solutions.
Study of designing regulator for temperature electrical resistance furnace using Kalman stochastic reconstructor
Authors: Kada Benyekhlef , El Kebir Abdelkader , Berka Mohammed , Belhadj Hafida , Chaouch Djamel Eddine 
Published: October 2021

<span>Electric <span>resistance furnaces are the most popular and widely used industrial electro thermal equipment which continues to be the subject of many improvements. The aim of this paper is to control the temperature of electrical furnace for noisy thermocouple sensors. It can be assessed by observing some variables, which are very difficult to observe. Due to limitations, mainly the location of thermal sensors and their noises. In this case, the temperature measurement is trained with centered Gaussian white noise. The problem of accurate temperatures estimation for such sensors is solved using Kalman filter, which is an optimized estimator that provides a computationally efficient way to estimate system state. Thus, variables that are not directly measurable can be reconstructed from the algorithm. Kalman stochastic reconstructor (KSR). We cannot use with fixed parameters to control the temperature. For this reason, this paper comes up with a KSR approach based pole placement (PL) hybrid controller to realize an algorithm for the temperature control electrical furnace. Results based on Matlab simulation show that the improved algorithm has well produced an optimal estimate of the temperature. Evolving over time from noisy measurements. Hybrid algorithm KSR approach based PL give good performance compared to PL controllers.</span></span>
Kenaf plant pest and disease detection using faster regional based convolutional neural network
Authors: Rakhmandasari Alfita , Mahmudy Wayan Firdaus , Yulianti Titiek 
Published: October 2021

<span>Kenaf plant is a fibre plant whose stem bark is taken to be used as raw material for making geo-textile, particleboard, pulp, fiber drain, fiber board, and paper. The presence of plant pests and diseases that attack causes crop production to decrease. The detection of pests and diseases by farmers may be a challenging task. The detection can be done using artificial intelligence-based method. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are one of the most popular neural network architectures and have been successfully implemented for image classification. However, the CNN method is still considered a long time in the process, so this method was developed into namely faster regional based convolution neural network (RCNN). As the selection of the input features largely determines the accuracy of the results, a pre-processing procedure is developed to transform the kenaf plant image into input features of faster RCNN. A computational experiment proves that the faster RCNN has a very short computation time by completing 10000 iterations in 3 hours compared to convolutional neural network (CNN) completing 100 iterations at the same time. Furthermore, Faster RCNN gets 77.50% detection accuracy and bounding box accuracy 96.74% while CNN gets 72.96% detection accuracy at 400 epochs. The results also prove that the selection of input features and its pre-processing procedure could produce a high accuracy of detection. </span>
Formal security analysis of lightweight authenticated key agreement protocol for IoT in cloud computing
Authors: Aly Ahmed H. , Ghalwash Atef , Nasr Mona M. , Abd-El Hafez Ahmed A. 
Published: October 2021

The internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing are evolving technologies in the information technology field. Merging the pervasive IoT technology with cloud computing is an innovative solution for better analytics and decision-making. Deployed IoT devices offload different types of data to the cloud, while cloud computing converges the infrastructure, links up the servers, analyzes information obtained from the IoT devices, reinforces processing power, and offers huge storage capacity. However, this merging is prone to various cyber threats that affect the IoT-Cloud environment. Mutual authentication is considered as the forefront mechanism for cyber-attacks as the IoT-Cloud participants have to ensure the authenticity of each other and generate a session key for securing the exchanged traffic. While designing these mechanisms, the constrained nature of the IoT devices must be taken into consideration. We proposed a novel lightweight protocol (Light-AHAKA) for authenticating IoT-Cloud elements and establishing a key agreement for encrypting the exchanged sensitive data was proposed. In this paper, the formal verification of (Light-AHAKA) was presented to prove and verify the correctness of our proposed protocol to ensure that the protocol is free from design flaws before the deployment phase. The verification is performed based on two different approaches, the strand space model and the automated validation of internet security protocols and applications (AVISPA) tool.
Highly Selective PPARα (Peroxisome Proliferator‐Activated Receptor α) Agonist Pemafibrate Inhibits Stent Inflammation and Restenosis Assessed by Multimodality Molecular‐Microstructural Imaging
Authors: Iwata Hiroshi , Osborn Eric A. , Ughi Giovanni J. , Murakami Kentaro , Goettsch Claudia , Hutcheson Joshua D. , Mauskapf Adam , Mattson Peter C. , Libby Peter , Singh Sasha A. , Matamalas Joan , Aikawa Elena , Tearney Guillermo J. , Aikawa Masanori , Jaffer Farouc A. 
Published: October 2021

BACKGROUND
New pharmacological approaches are needed to prevent stent restenosis. This study tested the hypothesis that pemafibrate, a novel clinical selective PPARα (peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α) agonist, suppresses coronary stent‐induced arterial inflammation and neointimal hyperplasia.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Yorkshire pigs randomly received either oral pemafibrate (30 mg/day; n=6) or control vehicle (n=7) for 7 days, followed by coronary arterial implantation of 3.5 × 12 mm bare metal stents (2–4 per animal; 44 stents total). On day 7, intracoronary molecular‐structural near‐infrared fluorescence and optical coherence tomography imaging was performed to assess the arterial inflammatory response, demonstrating that pemafibrate reduced stent‐induced inflammatory protease activity (near‐infrared fluorescence target‐to‐background ratio: pemafibrate, median [25th‐75th percentile]: 2.8 [2.5–3.3] versus control, 4.1 [3.3–4.3],
P
=0.02). At day 28, animals underwent repeat near‐infrared fluorescence–optical coherence tomography imaging and were euthanized, and coronary stent tissue molecular and histological analyses. Day 28 optical coherence tomography imaging showed that pemafibrate significantly reduced stent neointima volume (pemafibrate, 43.1 [33.7–54.1] mm
3
versus control, 54.2 [41.2–81.1] mm
3
;
P
=0.03). In addition, pemafibrate suppressed day 28 stent‐induced cellular inflammation and neointima expression of the inflammatory mediators TNF‐α (tumor necrosis factor‐α) and MMP‐9 (matrix metalloproteinase 9) and enhanced the smooth muscle differentiation markers calponin and smoothelin. In vitro assays indicated that the STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3)–myocardin axes mediated the inhibitory effects of pemafibrate on smooth muscle cell proliferation.

CONCLUSIONS
Pemafibrate reduces preclinical coronary stent inflammation and neointimal hyperplasia following bare metal stent deployment. These results motivate further trials evaluating pemafibrate as a new strategy to prevent clinical stent restenosis.
Is non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging cost-effective for screening of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Authors: Tan Genevieve Jingwen , Lee Chau Hung , Sun Yan , Tan Cher Heng 
Published: October 2021

Abstract

Introduction:
Ultrasonography (US) is the current standard of care for imaging surveillance in patients at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been explored as an alternative, given the higher sensitivity of MRI, although this comes at a higher cost. We performed a cost-effective analysis comparing US and dual-sequence non-contrast-enhanced MRI (NCEMRI) for HCC surveillance in the local setting.

Methods:
Cost-effectiveness analysis of no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance was performed using Markov modelling and microsimulation. At-risk patient cohort was simulated and followed up for 40 years to estimate the patients’ disease status, direct medical costs and effectiveness. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were calculated.

Results:
Exactly 482,000 patients with an average age of 40 years were simulated and followed up for 40 years. The average total costs and QALYs for the three scenarios — no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance — were SGD 1,193/7.460 QALYs, SGD 8,099/11.195 QALYs and SGD 9,720/11.366 QALYs, respectively.

Conclusion:
Despite NCEMRI having a superior diagnostic accuracy, it is a less cost-effective strategy than US for HCC surveillance in the general at-risk population. Future local cost-effectiveness analyses should include stratifying surveillance methods with a variety of imaging techniques (US, NCEMRI, contrast-enhanced MRI) based on patients’ risk profiles.
Gems: From Bangkok to Lausanne. Belgian Jurist Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns’ Letter to his French Colleague Ernest Lehr
Authors: Rousseau Antoine 
Published: October 2021

Abstract
The section ‘Gems’ consists of short articles which present sources that might be of interest to migration researcher. In this Gems: a letter sent from Bangkok on 23 August 1896 by Gustave Rolin-Jaequemyns to his French colleague Ernest Lehr. We show that this document enables us to highlight the international networks in which international law scholars were involved. It reveals the professional concerns and problems of the lawyer, but also the social reality of his daily life.
Two new species of Tigriopus Norman, 1869 from Chonburi Province, Thailand (Crustacea: Copepoda: Harpacticidae)
Authors: CHULLASORN SUPAWADEE , KANGTIA PAWANA , SONG SUNG JOON , KHIM JONG SEONG 
Published: October 2021

Two new species of the family Harpacticidae Dana, 1846, Tigriopus namsaiensis sp. nov. and T. wannapaensis sp. nov. were found in algal washings at Namsai and Wannapa beaches in Chonburi Province, Thailand. There are currently 14 known species in the genus, two of which, T. thailandensis Chullasorn, Ivanenko, Dahms, Kangtia & Yang, 2012 and T. sirindhornae Chullasorn, Dahms & Klangsin, 2013 were also discovered in Thailand. The genus Tigriopus Norman, 1869 has a worldwide distribution with nine species recorded from the Pacific Ocean (seven in the North Pacific and two in the South Pacific), four species from the Atlantic and adjacent seas, two species from the South Indian Ocean, and one species from Antarctica.
Sexual dimorphism is expressed in the antennule, antenna, P2, P5, P6, and segmentation of the urosome. Tigriopus namsaiensis sp. nov. and T. wannapaensis sp. nov. are closely related to T. thailandensis and T. sirindhornae in sharing the following characters: fewer sensilla on the prosome; antennary exopod with one seta on exp-2; P4 exp-3 with two inner setae; female P5 baseoendopod with five setae; male P2 enp-2 with a seta fused to the segment; and male P5 exopod with five setae.
Tigriopus namsaiensis sp. nov. closely resembles T. thailandensis, but the new species is characterized by four setae on the maxillulary coxa (three setae in T. thailandensis), the outermost seta on the female P6 is plumose (instead of the middle one), the lateral seta on the apical segment of the antennary exopod is discrete at the base (instead of fused to the segment), and the outermost seta of the male P5 exopod is plumose (instead of spinulose).
Tigriopus wannapaensis sp. nov. is very closely related to T. sirindhornae, but the new species differs from the latter by the following characteristics: 2-segmented mandibular exopod (3-segmented in T. sirindhornae); five setae on the maxillulary coxa (instead of three); all setae on female P6 are plumose (instead of two plumose and one pinnate); the lateral seta on the apical segment of the antennary exopod is fused to the segment (instead of discrete at the base); and the outermost seta on the male P5 exopod is plumose (instead of spinulose).
A dichotomous identification key to the 16 valid species of Tigriopus is provided.