bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Imaging Characteristics of Episiotomy Scars on Translabial Ultrasound: An Observational Study
Authors: Subramaniam Nishamini , Shek Ka Lai , Dietz Hans Peter 
Published: December 2021

IntroductionEpisiotomy has been purported to protect the anal sphincter from injury; efficacy is, however, disputed. Correct execution of episiotomy may have substantial implications. We aimed to describe the characteristics of episiotomy scars on translabial ultrasound (TLUS).MethodsIn this retrospective observational study involving women after repair of obstetric anal sphincter injuries, 76 women with a history of episiotomy were analyzed. Episiotomy scars were assessed on tomographic ultrasound in the transverse plane using volumes acquired on pelvic floor muscle contraction. We measured scar length, depth, and angle relative to a vertical reference line. Episiotomy scars were described as 1) ipsilateral if they started on the same side as the direction of the episiotomy, 2) contralateral if on the opposite side, and 3) mediolateral if the scar began in the midline.ResultsThe mean scar angle was 50.5° (SD 14°; range 14.4°–79.3°) while mean scar length was 14.2 mm (SD 4.5; range 5.7–27.5 mm) and depth was 8.4 mm (SD 2.8, range 3.1–18.2 mm). Sixteen (21%) scars were located mediolateral while 32 (42%) were ipsilateral. In 28 (37%) women, the starting point of the episiotomy was located contralateral to the direction of the episiotomy.ConclusionIn this pilot series, the mean angle of episiotomy scars was within the safe zone of 40° to 60°, however, in one‐third of cases the cut may have been initially directed toward the sphincter, not away from it. This observation suggests that not all episiotomies are performed optimally.
A new valid rhabdomyosarcoma spheroid culture model for in vitro evaluation of hypericin‐based photodynamic therapy
Authors: Hempfling Laura , Adamus Anna , Wagner Benedikt R. , Engel Nadja , Seitz Guido 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundAdvanced stages of pediatric alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (RMA) are associated with an unfavorable outcome at established therapeutic strategies, accentuating the need for novel treatment options. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) with hypericin (HYP) has shown strong cytotoxic effects in two‐dimensional (2D) cell culture. In order to more accurately mimic in vivo tissue architecture and better predict pharmaceutical response, the aim of this study was to establish a spheroid culture model by which PDT efficacy could be assessed in a three‐dimensional (3D) context.Materials and methods3D multicellular tumor spheroids were generated using various scaffold‐based and scaffold‐free techniques. On two reproducible methods, HYP‐PDT was performed varying spheroid sizes, photosensitizer concentrations, and illumination times. The ability for HYP uptake within the spheroid was analyzed assessing the substrate's autofluorescence. Antitumorigenic treatment effects were evaluated investigating cell viability, spheroid morphology, proliferative activity, and induction of apoptosis.ResultsMagnetic spheroid printing and orbital shaking methods were established as reproducible culturing systems producing uniform spheroids. Within assessed incubation times, HYP showed good penetration depth in spheroids containing 50,000 cells. PDT was causing metabolic and molecular impairment of RMA cells, resulting in viability decrease, reduction of cell proliferation, and induction of apoptosis.ConclusionAssessing HYP‐based PDT in a 3D culture model, we were able to gain an insight on how parameters like photosensitizer, oxygen, and light distribution contribute to the phototoxic effect. Compared to 2D cell culture, a higher treatment resistance was detected, which can be related to spheroid structure and mechanisms of intercellular communication, signal transduction, and gene expression.
Provider and staff crisis well‐being associated with trust in leadership and baseline burnout
Authors: Moerdler Scott , Steinberg Dara M. , Jin Zhezhen , Cole Peter D. , Kesselheim Jennifer , Levy Adam S. , Roth Michael , Rosenthal Susan L. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe impact of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic on the emotional health of health care workers continues to be an area of active research. However, few studies have focused on those working in pediatrics and its subspecialties, as well as ancillary and non‐patient‐facing staff. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated predictors of burnout and emotional well‐being of providers and staff.MethodsAn anonymous electronic survey was developed evaluating demographics, pandemic experiences, possible predictor variables, and three main outcomes of burnout, psychological distress, and perceived stress. Pediatric hematology oncology (PHO) chiefs and program directors across the country were invited to participate and disseminate the survey to their programs.ResultsA total of 682/1950 (35% of invited) individuals responded to all predictor and outcome variables. Over half reported high levels of burnout and some reported moderate/high levels of distress. Prepandemic burnout and decreased trust in leadership were associated with all three outcomes. Additional predictors included having a child ≤18 years at home, hospital role, and worrying about patient care or relationship with their patients. The majority (n = 444/682, 65.5%) reported that their institution had made COVID‐19‐related mental health resources available. However, only 6.5% (n = 44/682) reported utilizing these resources.ConclusionsWhile the majority of PHO providers and staff were resilient during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic, many reported high levels of burnout, yet few are utilizing institutional resources. This study has highlighted several actionable areas to help identify and address factors that are wearing down the emotional well‐being of providers and staff.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals working in prenatal diagnosis toward expanded non‐invasive prenatal testing in China
Authors: Yang Jing , Chen Min , Shen Wei , Wu Heli , Shou Jian , Sun Jimei , Wu Wenyan 
Published: December 2021

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in prenatal diagnosis toward expanded non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in China.MethodsWe conducted a national online survey among HCPs working in prenatal diagnosis, including specialists in prenatal diagnosis and foetal medicine, obstetricians and gynaecologists, nurses in obstetrics and gynaecology, obstetric ultrasound doctors, and technicians in prenatal diagnosis laboratories. A total of 1882 questionnaires were collected, among which 1822 questionnaires met the research criteria and were included in the analysis.ResultsMore than 99% of all participants opted for NIPT for trisomies 21, 18, and 13. The rates of support for expanded NIPT for sex chromosome aneuploidies, rare autosomal trisomies, microdeletions and microduplications, and single‐gene disorders were 93.9%, 88.6%, 89.4%, and 86.8%, respectively. Specialists in prenatal diagnosis and foetal medicine had greater knowledge but were less likely to support expanded NIPT compared to other participants. Knowledge increased with educational level, whereas support for expanded NIPT decreased with educational level.ConclusionsMore than 80% of HCPs working in prenatal diagnosis in China expressed support for expanding NIPT to conditions other than common trisomies. The degree of knowledge was negatively associated with the rate of support.
Migration, ageing and transnational care arrangements of Ecuadorian care workers in Spain
Authors: Moré Paloma 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis paper addresses the intersections between international migration, care and ageing. Through an analysis of the life stories of 24 Ecuadorian women who migrated to Spain between the years 1990–2000 and who work or have worked in the older people care sector, we aim to analyse the transnational strategies they have developed to care for their older relatives and also to explore how these women foresee their own old age and what strategies they are developing to face this stage. The results underscore the fact that while these women are capable of getting involved in transnational care arrangements to guarantee the wellbeing of their older relatives, they are faced with constraints that prevent them from achieving this objective due to their socially unequal position in terms of the intersecting axes of gender, social class and migratory status. Their main difficulties stem from limited access to geographic mobility, but also from the economic pressure they are subjected to in supporting long‐term care for their older relatives. Furthermore, their own old age planning is weighed down by their work itineraries in the field of care. In some cases, transnational social protection strategies become a way to compensate for this position of social disadvantage, but they are not readily accessible to the women migrants who need them the most.
Bayesian multivariate network meta‐analysis model for the difference in restricted mean survival times
Authors: Tang Xiaoyu , Trinquart Ludovic 
Published: December 2021

AbstractNetwork meta‐analysis (NMA) is essential for clinical decision‐making. NMA enables inference for all pair‐wise comparisons between interventions available for the same indication, by using both direct evidence and indirect evidence. In randomized trials with time‐to event outcome data, such as lung cancer data, conventional NMA methods rely on the hazard ratio and the proportional hazards assumption, and ignore the varying follow‐up durations across trials. We introduce a novel multivariate NMA model for the difference in restricted mean survival times (RMST). Our model synthesizes all the available evidence from multiple time points simultaneously and borrows information across time points through within‐study covariance and between‐study covariance for the differences in RMST. We propose an estimator of the within‐study covariance and we then assume it to be known. We estimate the model under the Bayesian framework. We evaluated our model by conducting a simulation study. Our multiple‐time‐point model yields lower mean squared error over the conventional single‐time‐point model at all time points, especially when the availability of evidence decreases. We illustrated the model on a network of randomized trials of second‐line treatments of advanced non‐small‐cell lung cancer. Our multiple‐time‐point model yielded increased precision and detected evidence of benefit at earlier time points as compared to the single‐time‐point model. Our model has the advantage of providing clinically interpretable measures of treatment effects.
Site‐Specific Regulated Memristors via Electron‐Beam‐Induced Functionalization of HfO2
Authors: Kumar Mohit , Ahn Yeong Hwan , Iqbal Shahid , Kim Unjeong , Seo Hyungtak 
Published: December 2021

AbstractEmerging nonvolatile resistive switching, also known as the memristor, works with a distinct concept that relies mainly on the change in the composition of the active materials, rather than to store the charge. Particularly for oxide‐based memristors, the switching is often governed by the random and unpredicted temporal/spatial migration of oxygen defects, resulting in possessing limitations in terms of control over conduction channel formation and inability to regulate hysteresis loop opening. Therefore, site specific dynamic control of defect concentration in the active materials can offer a unique opportunity to realize on‐demand regulation of memory storage and artificial intelligence capabilities. Here, high‐performance, site‐specific spatially scalable memristor devices are fabricated by stabilizing the conduction channel via manipulation of oxygen defects using electron‐beam irradiation. Specifically, the memristors exhibit highly stable and electron‐beam dose‐regulated multilevel analog hysteresis loop opening with adjustable switching ratios even higher than 104. Additionally, broad modulation of neural activities, including short‐ and long‐term plasticity, paired‐pulse facilitation, spike‐timing‐dependent plasticity, and dynamic multipattern memory processing, are demonstrated. The work opens a new possibility to regulate the resistive switching behavior and control mimicking of neural activities, providing a hitherto unseen tunability in two‐terminal oxide‐based memristors.
Self‐Optimizing Effect in Lithium Storage of GeO2 Induced by Heterointerface Regulation
Authors: Wu Junxiu , Tang Anwen , Wang Kaihong , Huang Shuping , Wei Mingdeng 
Published: December 2021

AbstractHerein, a heterostructural hexagonal@tetragonal GeO2 (HT‐GeO2) composite has been designed based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and synthesized via an acidic‐heating route dealt with rapid cooling, where the inner hexagonal GeO2 (H‐GeO2) phase is covered by a porous layer of tetragonal GeO2 (T‐GeO2) owing to HF etching. Interestingly, the HT‐GeO2 electrode has a self‐optimizing effect in lithium storage induced by heterointerface regulation, where the porous T‐GeO2 layer on the surface of HT‐GeO2 can act as not only a Li+/electron conducting layer, but also a buffer layer, while the inner H‐GeO2 phase can react preferentially with Li ions owing to lower intercalation energy, which is confirmed by operando XRD measurement contributing to thorough lithiation for HT‐GeO2. Moreover, the heterointerface can enhance the pseudocapacitance effect, which can boost the Li storage and accelerate the discharge‐charge process. As a result, a large capacity of 984 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 2 A g−1 and a capacity of 430 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 20 A g−1 are delivered. This work provides an easy and efficient way to improve the cycling stability of the GeO2 anode, and the T‐GeO2 phase would be a novel anode material in energy storage devices.
North American Spathian (upper Olenekian, Lower Triassic) neogondolellin conodonts
Authors: Orchard Michael J. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe taxonomy and biostratigraphy of poorly known neogondolellin conodonts from mostly Spathian (upper Olenekian, Lower Triassic) strata are described from widespread localities in North America: high latitude Canadian Arctic, mid‐latitude British Columbia (BC), and lower latitudes in the USA. The occurrence of the neogondolellins in key sections and in matrix of dated ammonoid collections is documented. Neogondolellins characteristic of seven ammonoid zones are identified. Fifteen new conodont species are assigned to four genera:Borinella,Columbitella,MagnigondolellaandNeogondolella.Borinella, more common in the Smithian, undergoes a radiation in the early Spathian ‘tirolitid n. gen. A’ ammonoid beds of California eventually resulting in five newNeogondolellaspecies (Ng. bucheri,Ng. darwinensis,Ng. praeacuta,Ng. sinuosa, and laterNg. spathiconstricta) and the first newMagnigondolella,Mg. mutata. Several of these plusBo.? curvatasp. nov. also occur above thetardusZone in British Columbia (BC). In the next younger ammonoid zone withTirolites, the firstColumbitellaareCb. joanaeandCb. weitschati. Middle SpathianColumbitesandProcolumbitesammonoid beds in the USA are dominated byCb. elongata, whereas the broadly equivalent strata in the north containCb. amica,Cb. brevissp. nov. andCb. paragondolellaeformis. Late Spathian radiation produces six new species ofMagnigondolella:Mg. incurva,Mg.?minutaandMg. trutchensisin theProhungaritesammonoid beds, followed byMg. acuminata,Mg. tozeriandMg. peribolain thehaugiandsubrobustusammonoid zones.
Pulmonary arterial thromboses and gall bladder wall oedema in a cat with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma
Authors: Fortuna Luca , Yaffy Dylan , Priestnall Simon L. , Cook Simon 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAn 11‐year‐old male neutered British Shorthair cat presented with acute collapse, dyspnoea and paraparesis. Left atrial enlargement and left‐sided congestive heart failure were excluded by point‐of‐care ultrasonography, and gall bladder wall oedema was detected. Comparative venous blood gas analyses confirmed ischaemia of the hindlimbs, and echocardiography was consistent with pulmonary hypertension. The patient was euthanased and a postmortem examination revealed pulmonary artery thromboses associated with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.
Multiscale computations and artificial intelligent models of electrochemical performance in Li‐ion battery materials
Authors: Qiu Wujie , Wang Youwei , Liu Jianjun 
Published: December 2021

AbstractLi‐ion battery (LIB) is widely used as one of renewable energy resources for powerful electronics and electric vehicles. The main challenge in developing next‐generation LIB is to further improve the energy density, rate capability, and cycling stability of electrode and electrolyte materials. With the rapid development of computational science, the material design has changed from the traditional trial‐and‐error approach to integrated database‐based computation. Multiscale computational methods and machine learning (ML) not only speed up the development of new materials, but also provide insight into the intrinsic relationship between the microscopic composition and macroscopic performance of materials. In this review, we revealed the correlation of electrochemical activity of LIB materials with the response of energy to variable parameters such as charge‐transfer number and Li‐ion diffusion coordinates. Based on the structure–property relationship, we reviewed multiscale calculation and ML methods for electrochemical properties in LIB materials. A comparison for various applied methods was outlined to provide a method‐selecting reference in LIB material design. It is expected that a deep combination of multiscale computations, experimental data, ML should be more powerful methods for discovering new LIB materials.This article is categorized under:
Structure and Mechanism > Computational Materials Science
Electronic Structure Theory > Density Functional Theory
Structure and Mechanism > Reaction Mechanisms and Catalysis
Perspectives for School: Maker Approach, Educational Technologies and Laboratory Approach, New Learning Spaces
Authors: Di Stasio Margherita , Miotti Beatrice 
Published: December 2021

AbstractTechnology has become an ordinary, constituent element of today’s world. Therefore, digital skills are not only important, but ultimately necessary for all. This makes it mandatory for school and educational research to construct learning paths with an educational rather than a training approach to technology. The purpose of school is not to prepare students to be users of an instrument, but, above all, to kindle in them an awareness of the process that can stem from creation. This chapter aims to highlight some of the topics emerging from international discussion on school and learning methodologies. First, one of the interesting topics is the Maker approach and productive partnerships with schools, including in relation to the original concept of craftsmanship, forerunner of the term “maker”. Second, educational robotics and the laboratory as tools for improving deep learning, abstract thinking and problem-solving skills, without forgetting to look at the ethical and social issues of introducing robots into our lives. Third, learning spaces and new school buildings have to meet the changing paradigms of learning approaches. There are countless opportunities for improving digital skills and methodological approaches. Teachers should be aware of all these possibilities and be ready to get training and apply them in their everyday lessons.
Furniture Design Education with 3D Printing Technology
Authors: Eti Proto Meltem , Koç Sağlam Ceren 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThree-dimensional printing technology has an important place in furniture and interior design, a strong global sector that responds rapidly to the changing needs and expectations of the individual and society. The main objective of design education should be to equip us to imagine new models of life. Among the most attractive benefits of 3D printing technology that make it a boon to designers working in the building and furniture sector are that it enables them to seek original forms that cannot be produced in molds, it generates less waste, and is accessible to all. Today, innovation in the profession, innovative materials, and knowledge of innovative production technologies that feed creative thinking have become ever important features of design education. This knowledge will allow us to imagine, discuss and pioneer design production ideas for new life models. This paper discusses 3D printing technology, the furniture design studio method and its contribution to design education in the Production Techniques courses of the Interior Architecture Department of Marmara University’s Faculty of Fine Arts led by Professor Meltem Eti Proto, Instructor Can Onart, Lecturer T. Emre Eke, and Research Assistant Ceren Koç Sağlam.
Montessori Creativity Space: Making a Space for Creativity
Authors: Fattizzo Tiziano , Vania Pierfrancesco 
Published: December 2021

AbstractWe describe the creation of the “Montessori creativity space,” the maker space of the “Secondo Istituto Comprensivo” primary and middle school of Francavilla Fontana, Italy. The space was inspired by the concept of Malaguzzi’s atelier as a learning environment for students, teachers, local associations and artisans. In it, the imagination and action come together to ensure cross-disciplinary learning around robotics, educational electronics, logic, computational thinking, and digital and hand-built artifacts.
Chesscards: Making a Paper Chess Game with Primary School Students, a Cooperative Approach
Authors: Addone Agnese , De Bernardis Luigi 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe game of chess can be too theoretical for children and can even be quite a challenge for teachers and chess masters. It is hard to make it approachable and, at the same time, technically correct. The Chesscards educational project arose from these observations, and is intended to be a way to translate chess theory actively, by tinkering with paper and colors. This delightful experience was conducted from 2015 to 2019 with 10-year-olds in a primary school in Rome, Italy, and enabled children to develop good chess skills by cooperating in making. Small groups of children aged 7–10 created playing cards and a paper chessboard along the lines of some of the most famous games. The initiative’s huge success, and the reason it was repeated in these last years, lies in its strictly constructionist approach to making: Chesscards became an original way to learn, and an easy social game that any child can play.
Growing Deeper Learners. How to Assess Robotics, Coding, Making and Tinkering Activities for Significant Learning
Authors: Tegon Rita , Labbri Mirko 
Published: December 2021

AbstractAs more and more unstructured project-based activities fill the learning time of students, there is a growing need for assessment models for educational robotics, tinkering, making and coding activities. On one hand, there is a poor understanding or an underestimation of the need for evaluation, and its ability to improve systems and learning outcomes, while on the other, it is difficult to identify or devise suitable assessment frameworks. Examples from the international context are discussed more for their potential to raise awareness than as definitive answers.