bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Age of patients undergoing surgery
Authors: Fowler A J , Abbott T E F , Prowle J , Pearse R M 
Published: May 2019

Abstract

Background
Advancing age is independently associated with poor postoperative outcomes. The ageing of the general population is a major concern for healthcare providers. Trends in age were studied among patients undergoing surgery in the National Health Service in England.

Methods
Time trend ecological analysis was undertaken of Hospital Episode Statistics and Office for National Statistics data for England from 1999 to 2015. The proportion of patients undergoing surgery in different age groupings, their pooled mean age, and change in age profile over time were calculated. Growth in the surgical population was estimated, with associated costs, to the year 2030 by use of linear regression modelling.

Results
Some 68 205 695 surgical patient episodes (31 220 341 men, 45·8 per cent) were identified. The mean duration of hospital stay was 5·3 days. The surgical population was older than the general population of England; this gap increased over time (1999: 47·5 versus 38·3 years; 2015: 54·2 versus 39·7 years). The number of people aged 75 years or more undergoing surgery increased from 544 998 (14·9 per cent of that age group) in 1999 to 1 012 517 (22·9 per cent) in 2015. By 2030, it is estimated that one-fifth of the 75 years and older age category will undergo surgery each year (1·49 (95 per cent c.i. 1·43 to 1·55) million people), at a cost of €3·2 (3·1 to 3·5) billion.

Conclusion
The population having surgery in England is ageing at a faster rate than the general population. Healthcare policies must adapt to ensure that provision of surgical treatments remains safe and sustainable.
Health gains, costs and cost-effectiveness of a population-based screening programme for abdominal aortic aneurysms
Authors: Nair N , Kvizhinadze G , Jones G T , Rush R , Khashram M , Roake J , Blakely A 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBackgroundAbdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture carries a high fatality rate. AAAs can be detected before rupture by abdominal ultrasound imaging, allowing elective repair. Population-based screening for AAA in older men reduces AAA-related mortality by about 40 per cent. The UK began an AAA screening programme offering one-off scans to men aged 65 years in 2009. Sweden has a similar programme. Currently, there is no AAA screening programme in New Zealand. This cost–utility analysis aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of a UK-style screening programme in the New Zealand setting.MethodsThe analysis compared a formal AAA screening programme (one-off abdominal ultrasound imaging for about 20 000 men aged 65 years in 2011) with no systematic screening. A Markov macrosimulation model was adapted to estimate the health gains (in quality-adjusted life-years, QALYs), health system costs and cost-effectiveness in New Zealand. A health system perspective and lifetime horizon was adopted.ResultsWith New Zealand-specific inputs, the adapted model produced an estimate of about NZ $15 300 (€7746) per QALY gained, with a 95 per cent uncertainty interval (UI) of NZ $8700 to 31 000 (€4405 to 15 694) per QALY gained. Health gains were estimated at 117 (95 per cent UI 53 to 212) QALYs. Health system costs were NZ $1·68 million (€850 535), with a 95 per cent UI of NZ $820 200 to 3·24 million (€415 243 to €1·65 million).ConclusionUsing New Zealand's gross domestic product per capita (about NZ $45 000 or €22 100) as a cost-effectiveness threshold, a UK-style AAA screening programme would be cost-effective in New Zealand.
Robust simultaneous localization and mapping in low‐light environment
Authors: Huang Jiawei , Liu Shiguang 
Published: May 2019

AbstractComplex and varied illumination makes computer vision research studies difficult. This research field pays much attention to scenes with weak illumination, especially in visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Although the current feature‐based algorithm is mature, the existing SLAM method often fails because it cannot extract enough feature information in the low‐light environment. In this paper, we propose a new solution to this problem, which allows our system to work in environments with the majority of lighting. We propose a multifeature extraction algorithm to extract two kinds of image features simultaneously. With such a solution, our system can work when the single‐feature algorithm fails to extract enough feature points. We also add an image preprocessing step before tracking thread to cope with extremely dark conditions. Finally, we fully evaluate our approach on existing public data sets. Experiments show that the method combining multiple features can improve the robustness of the state‐of‐the‐art algorithm under weak illumination without affecting the real‐time performance.
Polarization Effects of a Rayon and Polyacrylonitrile Based Graphite Felt for Iron‐Chromium Redox Flow Batteries
Authors: Zhang Huan , Tan Yi , Luo Xu‐Dong , Sun Chuan‐Yu , Chen Na 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIn this paper, a rayon based graphite felt (R‐GF) and a polyacrylonitrile based graphite felt (PAN‐GF) are studied to clarify the influence of the precursor on the polarization effect from three aspects: concentration polarization, ohmic polarization, and electrochemical polarization. The essential difference in chemical structure between R‐GF and PAN‐GF is that the precursor material makes PAN‐GF easier to be graphitized. The higher degree of graphitization leads to a higher conductivity of PAN‐GF. At the same thickness and porosity, the conductivity of PAN‐GF is higher and the loss of ohmic polarization is smaller. These factors make PAN‐GF have better electrocatalytic properties and kinetic reversibility in the Fe/Cr electrolyte environment. While the surface roughness of R‐GF is larger, which is contributing to the diffusion and surface mass transfer of the electrolyte on the surface. The effect of precursor on the concentration polarization of R‐GF and PAN‐GF is related to the surface mass transfer, which ultimately affects the performance of ICRFB.
Electrochemical CO2 Reduction on Bimetallic Surface Alloys: Enhanced Selectivity to CO for Co/Au(110) and to H2 for Sn/Au(110)
Authors: Todoroki Naoto , Tei Hiroki , Miyakawa Taku , Tsurumaki Hiroto , Wadayama Toshimasa 
Published: May 2019

AbstractWe investigated electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) on 0.1 monolayer‐thick‐Co and Sn‐deposited Au(110) surfaces (Co/Au(110), and Sn/Au(110)). Scanning tunneling microscopic images showed quasi‐one‐dimensional Co and Sn islands with different aspect ratios growing along the trenches of the missing‐row direction of the (1×2) reconstructed Au(110) surface. The selectivity and partial current density of the CO and H2 evolutions correlated with those of the deposited metals. CO evolution selectivity of the former Co/Au(110) increased compared with that of the Au(110), while that of the Sn/Au(110) significantly decreased. Co/Au(110) showed 1.4‐fold higher CO evolution activity than that of the clean Au(110) at −1.35 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. In contrast, the H2 evolution of the latter surface was significantly enhanced at a potential lower than −0.1 V. The results showed that site separations of Au and alloying elements of Co and Sn at the topmost surface determine the ECR product selectivity of alloy electrodes.
Dismutation of Titanium Sub‐oxide into TiO and TiO2 with Structural Hierarchy Assisted by Ammonium Halides
Authors: Huang Jiantao , Xu Jijian , Che Xiangli , Huang Chong 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBlack TiO2−x attracts enormous attention due to its large solar absorption and improved conductivity. In this work, a novel structure of TiO2−x with conductive TiO layer, performing full‐spectrum absorption, was synthesized in one step by the unforeseen dismutation reaction of titanium sub‐oxides (TinO2n−1) in ammonium halide atmosphere. For this new reaction, a possible mechanism of decomposition‐etching‐disproportionation‐rehydrolysis process was proposed. The vital intermediate reactant TiCl4, which verifies the assumption, has been captured in the form of (NH4)2TiCl6, especially where Ti2O3 is the reactant. Furthermore, this work not only can nominate TiO as an alternative for noble metals or carbon materials in the aim to improve the electron conductivity and solar absorption of black TiO2−x, which are important in electrochemistry and optoelectronics fields, but also can be a new route to synthesize special structures for other multivalent transition metals.
A Phthalocyanine‐Based Glutathione‐Activated Photosensitizer with a Ferrocenyl Boron Dipyrromethene Dark Quencher for Photodynamic Therapy
Authors: Shi Wen‐Jing , Ng Dennis K. P. , Zhao Shirui , Lo Pui‐Chi 
Published: May 2019

AbstractAn efficient near‐infrared‐absorbing dark quencher based on ferrocenyl boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) has been developed and used to construct a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)‐based activatable photosensitizer. This smart photosensitizer contains a zinc(II) phthalocyanine as the photosensitizing unit which is conjugated to this dark quencher through a glutathione‐cleavable disulfide linker. The photoactivities of the phthalocyanine unit are largely quenched through FRET to the BODIPY unit followed by photoinduced electron transfer from the attached ferrocenyl moiety. Upon exposure to glutathione in phosphate buffered saline and inside HT29 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, the fluorescence emission and singlet oxygen generation efficiency of the photosensitizer are significantly enhanced due to cleavage of the disulfide bond and detachment of the dark quencher from the photosensitizing unit. The activation in fluorescence emission has also been demonstrated in tumor‐bearing nude mice. The glutathione‐responsive behavior has been verified by comparison with the negative results of a non‐cleavable analogue. The results suggest that ferrocenyl BODIPYs could serve as tailorable dark quenchers and the disulfide‐linked phthalocyanine–quencher conjugate acts as an efficient glutathione‐activated photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy.
Dinuclear Copper(I) Complexes Combining Bis(diphenylphosphaníyl)acetylene with 1,10‐Phenanthroline Ligands
Authors: Nierengarten Jean‐François , Nierengarten Iwona , Holler Michel , Sournia‐Saquet Alix , Delavaux‐Nicot Béatrice , Leoni Enrico , Monti Filippo , Armaroli Nicola 
Published: May 2019

AbstractInvited for the cover of this issue are Jean‐François Nierengarten (University of Strasbourg and CNRS, France), Béatrice Delavaux‐Nicot (LCC, CNRS, Toulouse, France), and Nicola Armaroli (ISOF, CNR, Bologna, Italy). The cover image shows the X‐ray crystal structure of a luminescent dinuclear copper(I) complex with an artistic representation of its emission in the background.
The relation of self‐compassion to functioning among adults with chronic pain
Authors: Edwards Karlyn A. , Pielech Melissa , Hickman Jayne , Ashworth Julie , Sowden Gail , Vowles Kevin E. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractBackgroundPrevious research has shown that self‐compassion is associated with improved functioning and health outcomes among multiple chronic illnesses. However, the role of self‐compassion in chronic pain‐related functioning is understudied. The present study sought to understand the association between self‐compassion and important measures of functioning within a sample of patients with chronic pain.MethodsTreatment‐seeking individuals (N = 343 with chronic pain) that were mostly White (97.9%) and female (71%) completed a battery of assessments that included the Self‐Compassion Scale (SCS), as well as measures of pain‐related fear, depression, disability, pain acceptance, success in valued activity and use of pain coping strategies.ResultsCross‐sectional multiple regression analyses that controlled for age, sex, pain intensity and pain duration, revealed that self‐compassion accounted for a significant and unique amount of variance in all measures of functioning (r2 range: 0.07–0.32, all p < 0.001). Beta weights indicated that higher self‐compassion was associated with lower pain‐related fear, depression and disability, as well as greater pain acceptance, success in valued activities and utilization of pain coping strategies.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that self‐compassion may be a relevant adaptive process in those with chronic pain. Targeted interventions to improve self‐compassion in those with chronic pain may be useful.SignificanceSelf‐compassion is associated with better functioning across multiple general and pain‐specific outcomes, with the strongest associations among measures related to psychological functioning and valued living. These findings indicate that self‐compassion may be an adaptive process that could minimize the negative impact of chronic pain on important areas of life.
Poly(Taurine‐Glutathione)/Carbon Nanotube Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode as a New Levofloxacin Sensor
Authors: Koçak Çağrı Ceylan 
Published: May 2019

AbstractA new highly sensitive and selective electrochemical levofloxacin sensor based on co‐polymer‐carbon nanotube composite electrode was developed. Taurine and Glutathione were electrochemically co‐polymerized on multiwalled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode(Poly(TAU‐GSH)/CNT/GCE)and used as a levofloxacin sensor in pH 6 phosphate buffer solution. The new composite electrode surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Under the optimized conditions, two linear segments were obtained for increasing LEV concentrations between 20 nmol L−1‐1 μmol L−1and 1.5 μmol L−1‐55 μmol L−1LEV with a detection limit of 9 nmol L−1using amperometry.Poly(TAU‐GSH)/CNT/GCEexhibited high sensitivity, selectivity with good stability. The new sensor was employed for real samples of LEV tablets and urine. Promising results were obtained with good accuracy which were also in accordance with LC‐MS/MS analysis.
A Combinatorial Approach for Optimization of Oxygen Evolution Catalyst Loading on Mo‐doped BiVO4 Photoanodes
Authors: Gutkowski Ramona , Masa Justus , Schuhmann Wolfgang 
Published: May 2019

AbstractThe incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) of a photoactive surface strongly depends on the loading and thickness of the active materials. We present a combinatorial approach based on an optical scanning droplet cell for simultaneous deposition and systematic characterization of co‐catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on Mo‐doped BiVO4 (Mo−BiVO4) photoanodes electrochemically pre‐deposited on transparent conductive FTO substrates. The loading and photoelectrochemical characterization of 10 different OER co‐catalysts deposited by three different deposition techniques on FTO‐supported Mo−BiVO4 were investigated aiming at determination of the suitable deposition parameters affording the highest enhancement of photoelectrochemical oxygen evolution for the different OER/Mo−BiVO4 films. A comparison of the photoelectrochemical performance of films of various OER co‐catalyst deposited on FTO‐supported Mo−BiVO4 by electrodeposition, photo‐assisted electrodeposition and photodeposition revealed the necessity of a material specific optimization with respect to co‐catalyst loading and deposition technique to achieve optimal IPCE for each co‐catalysts.
Microfluidic Device Using a Gold Pillar Array and Integrated Electrodes for On‐chip Endothelial Cell Immobilization, Direct RBC Contact, and Amperometric Detection of Nitric Oxide
Authors: Townsend Alexandra D. , Sprague Randy S. , Martin R. Scott 
Published: May 2019

AbstractWe describe a microfluidic device that can be used to detect interactions between red blood cells (RBCs) and endothelial cells using a gold pillar array (created by electrodeposition) and an integrated detection electrode. Endothelial cells can release nitric oxide (NO) via stimulation by RBC‐derived ATP. These studies incorporate on‐chip endothelial cell immobilization, direct RBC contact, and detection of NO in a single microfluidic device. In order to study the RBC‐EC interactions, this work used a microfluidic device made of a PDMS chip with two adjacent channels and a polystyrene base with embedded electrodes for creating a membrane (via gold pillars) and detecting NO (at a glassy carbon electrode coated with platinum‐black and Nafion). RBCs were pharmacologically treated with treprostinil in the absence and presence of glybenclamide, and ATP release was determined as was the resultant NO release from endothelial cells. Treprostinil treatment of RBCs resulted in ATP release that stimulated endothelial cells to release on average 1.8±0.2 nM NO per endothelial cell (average±SEM, n=8). Pretreatment of RBCs with glybenclamide inhibited treprostinil‐induced ATP release and, therefore, less NO was produced by the endothelial cells (0.92±0.1 nM NO per endothelial cell, n=7). In the future, this device can be used to study interactions between many other cell types (both adherent and non‐adherent cell lines) and incorporate other detection schemes.
Graphene quantum dots for enhancement of fluorimetric detection coupled to capillary electrophoresis for detection of ofloxacin
Authors: Lahouidak Samah , Soriano M. Laura , Salghi Rachid , Zougagh Mohammed , Ríos Ángel 
Published: May 2019

AbstractA new CE method with fluorescence detection is reported on the determination of ofloxacin in milk samples using graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for sensitivity enhancement. Injection of GQDs prior the standards/sample is crucial to increase the antibiotic fluorescence response. Clean‐up and preconcentration steps allowed for a good linear correlation in a concentration range between 50 and 1000 ng/mL for the ofloxacin, detection and quantification limits being 10.7 and 35.5 ng/mL, respectively. Optimal CE conditions for the seven‐fluoroquinolone separation method were assessed in terms of buffer type, pH, and voltage. The selective interaction of GQDs with ofloxacin as model analyte was subsequently studied finding a significant sensitivity improvement; therefore, the analytes would be detected at low concentrations by means of a commercial CE device equipped with a multi‐wavelength photoluminescence detector. Due to the different maximum emission wavelengths of the target compounds and the limitations shown by the single‐wavelength photoluminescence detector coupled to the CE system, we demonstrated the usefulness of the GQD‐assisted sensitivity‐enhanced CE method to determine ofloxacin in milk samples. This work opens an interesting possibility of using GQDs in separation techniques combined with photoluminescence detectors for lowering sensitivity levels typically provided by the mere device.
Spatial cluster detection of regression coefficients in a mixed‐effects model
Authors: Lee Junho , Sun Ying , Chang Howard H. 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIdentifying spatial clusters of different regression coefficients is a useful tool for discerning the distinctive relationship between a response and covariates in space. Most of the existing cluster detection methods aim to identify the spatial similarity in responses, and the standard cluster detection algorithm assumes independent spatial units. However, the response variables are spatially correlated in many environmental applications. We propose a mixed‐effects model for spatial cluster detection that takes spatial correlation into account. Compared to a fixed‐effects model, the introduced random effects explain extra variability among the spatial responses beyond the cluster effect, thus reducing the false positive rate. The developed method exploits a sequential searching scheme and is able to identify multiple potentially overlapping clusters. We use simulation studies to evaluate the performance of our proposed method in terms of the true and false positive rates of a known cluster and the identification of multiple known clusters. We apply our proposed methodology to particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration data from the Northeastern United States in order to study the weather effect on PM2.5 and to investigate the association between the simulations from a numerical model and the satellite‐derived aerosol optical depth data. We find geographical hot spots that show distinct features, comparing to the background.
Young people who inject drugs in India have high HIV incidence and behavioural risk: a cross‐sectional study
Authors: Ganapathi Lakshmi , McFall Allison M , Srikrishnan Aylur K , Kumar Muniratnam S , Anand Santhanam , Lucas Gregory M , Mehta Shruti H , Harris Sion K , Solomon Sunil S 
Published: May 2019

AbstractIntroductionThere are limited data on young people who inject drugs (PWID) from low‐ and middle‐income countries where injection drug use remains a key driver of new HIV infections. India has a diverse injection drug use epidemic and estimates suggest that at least half of PWID are ≤30 years of age. We compared injection and sexual risk behaviours and HIV incidence between younger and older PWID and characterized uptake of HIV testing and harm reduction services to inform targeted HIV prevention efforts.MethodsWe analysed cross‐sectional data from 14,381 PWID recruited from cities in the Northeast and North/Central regions of India in 2013 using respondent driven sampling (RDS). We compared “emerging‐adult” (18 to 24 years, 26% of sample) and “young‐adult” PWID (25 to 30 years, 30% of sample) to older PWID (>30 years, 44% of sample) using logistic regression to evaluate factors associated with three recent risk behaviours: needle‐sharing, multiple sexual partners and unprotected sex. We estimated age‐stratified cross‐sectional HIV incidence using a validated multi‐assay algorithm.ResultsCompared to older adults, emerging‐adults in the Northeastern states were significantly more likely to share needles (males adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.82; females aOR 2.29, p < 0.01), have multiple sexual partners (males aOR 1.56; females aOR 3.75, p < 0.01), and engage in unprotected sex (males aOR 2.29, p < 0.01). In the North/Central states, young‐adult males were significantly more likely to needle‐share (aOR 1.23, p < 0.05) while emerging‐adult males were significantly more likely to have multiple sexual partners (aOR 1.74, p < 0.05). In both regions, emerging‐adults had the lowest HIV testing. Participation in harm reduction services was low across all age groups. Annual HIV incidence was higher in emerging‐ and young‐adult PWID in the North/Central region: emerging‐adults: 4.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.0, 5.6); young‐adults: 4.9% (95% CI 3.7, 6.2); older adults: 2.1% (95% CI 1.4, 2.8).ConclusionsHigher HIV incidence and engagement in risky behaviours among younger PWID compared to older PWID, coupled with low utilization of harm reduction services highlight the importance of targeting this population in HIV programming. Age‐specific interventions focused on addressing the needs of young PWID are urgently needed to curb the HIV epidemic in this vulnerable population.