bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Community-Based Surveillance to Monitor Mortality in a Malaria-Endemic and Ebola-Epidemic Setting in Rural Guinea
Authors: Tiffany Amanda , Moundekeno Faya Pascal , Traoré Alexis , Haile Melat , Sterk Esther , Guilavogui Timothé , Serafini Micaela , Genton Blaise , Grais Rebecca F. 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Multiple community-based approaches can aid in quantifying mortality in the absence of reliable health facility data. Community-based sentinel site surveillance that was used to document mortality and the systems utility for outbreak detection was evaluated. We retrospectively analyzed data from 46 sentinel sites in three sous-préfectures with a reinforced malaria control program and one sous-préfecture without (Koundou) in Guinea. Deaths were recorded by key informants and classified as due to malaria or another cause. Malaria deaths were those reported as due to malaria or fever in the 3 days before death with no other known cause. Suspect Ebola virus disease (sEVD) deaths were those due to select symptoms in the EVD case definition. Deaths were aggregated by sous-préfecture and analyzed by a 6-month period. A total of 43,000 individuals were monitored by the surveillance system; 1,242 deaths were reported from July 2011–June 2014, of which 55.2% (N = 686) were reported as due to malaria. Malaria-attributable proportional mortality decreased by 26.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 13.9–33.1, P < 0.001) in the program area and by 6.6% (95% CI = −17.3–30.5, P = 0.589) in Koundou. Sixty-eight deaths were classified as sEVD and increased by 6.1% (95% CI = 1.3–10.8, P = 0.021). Seventeen sEVD deaths were reported from November 2013 to March 2014 including the first two laboratory-confirmed EVD deaths. Community surveillance can capture information on mortality in areas where data collection is weak, but determining causes of death remains challenging. It can also be useful for outbreak detection if timeliness of data collection and reporting facilitate real-time data analysis.
Observed Handwashing with Soap Practices Among Cholera Patients and Accompanying Household Members in a Hospital Setting (CHoBI7 Trial)
Authors: Zohura Fatema , Bhuyian Sazzadul Islam , Monira Shirajum , Begum Farzana , Biswas Shwapon K. , Parvin Tahmina , Sack David , Sack R. Bradley , Leontsini Elli , Saif-Ur-Rahman K. M. , Rashid Mahamud-ur , Sharmin Rumana , Zhang Xiaotong , Alam Munirul , George Christine Marie 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Household members of cholera patients are at a 100 times higher risk of cholera than the general population. Despite this risk, there are only a handful of studies that have investigated the handwashing practices among hospitalized diarrhea patients and their accompanying household members. To investigate handwashing practices in a hospital setting among this high-risk population, 444 hours of structured observation was conducted in a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, among 148 cholera patients and their household members. Handwashing with soap practices were observed at the following key events: after toileting, after cleaning the anus of a child, after removing child feces, during food preparation, before eating, and before feeding. Spot-checks were also conducted to observe the presence of soap at bathroom areas. Overall, 4% (4/103) of key events involved handwashing with soap among cholera patients and household members during the structured observation period. This was 3% (1/37) among cholera patients and 5% (3/66) for household members. For toileting events, observed handwashing with soap was 7% (3/46) overall, 7% (1/14) for cholera patients, and 6% (2/32) for household members. For food-related events, overall observed handwashing with soap was 2% (2/93 overall), and 0% (0/34) and 3% (2/59) for cholera patients and household members, respectively. Soap was observed at only 7% (4/55) of handwashing stations used by patients and household members during spot-checks. Observed handwashing with soap at key times among patients and accompanying household members was very low. These findings highlight the urgent need for interventions to target this high-risk population.
Chlorination of Household Drinking Water Among Cholera Patients' Households to Prevent Transmission of Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in Dhaka, Bangladesh: CHoBI7 Trial
Authors: Rashid Mahamud-ur , George Christine Marie , Monira Shirajum , Mahmud Toslim , Rahman Zillur , Mustafiz Munshi , Saif-Ur-Rahman K. M. , Parvin Tahmina , Bhuyian Sazzadul Islam , Zohura Fatema , Begum Farzana , Biswas Shwapon Kumar , Akhter Shamima , Zhang Xiaotong , Sack David , Sack R. Bradley , Alam Munirul 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Household members of cholera patients are at a 100 times higher risk of cholera infections than the general population because of shared contaminated drinking water sources and secondary transmission through poor household hygiene practices. In this study, we investigated the bactericidal concentration of free chlorine required to inactivate Vibrio cholerae in household drinking water in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In laboratory experiments, we found that the concentrations of free chlorine required to inactivate 105 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL of V. cholerae serogroups O1 and O139 were 0.1 mg/L and 0.2 mg/L, respectively. The concentration of free chlorine generated by a single chlorine tablet (sodium dichloroisocyanurate [33 mg]) after a 30-minute reaction time in a 10-L sealed vessel containing Dhaka city municipal supply water was 1.8 mg/L; and the concentration declined to 0.26 mg/L after 24 hours. In field measurements, water collected from 165 households enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a chlorine and handwashing with soap intervention (Cholera-Hospital-Based-Intervention-for-7-Days [CHoBI7]), we observed significantly higher free chlorine concentrations in the 82 intervention arm households (mean = 1.12 mg/L, standard deviation [SD] = 0.52, range = 0.07–2.6 mg/L) compared with the 83 control households (0.017 mg/L, SD = 0.01, range = 0–0.06 mg/L) (P < 0.001) during spot check visits. These findings suggest that point-of-use chlorine tablets present an effective approach to inactivate V. cholerae from drinking water in households of cholera patients in Dhaka city. This result is consistent with the findings from the RCT of CHoBI7 which found that this intervention led to a significant reduction in symptomatic cholera infections among household members of cholera patients and no stored drinking water samples with detectable V. cholerae.
Completion and Sensitivity of the Second‐Trimester Fetal Anatomic Survey in Obese Gravidas
Authors: Pasko Daniel N. , Wood S. Lindsay , Jenkins Sheri M. , Owen John , Harper Lorie M. 
Published: October 2016

ObjectivesTo estimate the effect of maternal body mass index (BMI) on the completion of fetal anatomic surveys before 20 weeks' estimated gestational age (GA).MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of singletons undergoing standard or detailed anatomic sonographic examinations from 2006 to 2014. Patients were categorized by ranges of BMI. The primary outcomes were completion of standard and detailed anatomic surveys before 20 weeks' estimated GA. The effect of the BMI category was assessed by the χ2 test for trends and analysis of variance.ResultsOf 15,313 patients, 5917 (38%) were obese, and 1581 (10%) had a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or higher. Standard (P < .01) and detailed (P < .01) surveys were less likely to be completed as the BMI category increased. Suboptimal visualization of the fetal chest (P < .01), abdomen (P < .01), and extremities (P < .01) significantly contributed to the decreased standard survey completion rates. Suboptimal visualization of the fetal head (P < .01) and chest (P < .01) significantly contributed to the decreased detailed survey completion rates. There was no statistically significant difference in the sensitivity of a completed standard or detailed anatomic survey for the detection of fetal anomalies.ConclusionsAn increasing BMI category was associated with decreased completion of standard and detailed anatomic surveys by 20 weeks' estimated GA. Strategies to improve early visualization of the fetal head, chest, and abdomen in obese women should be investigated to promote anomaly detection and appropriate counseling.
Annealing Induced Mechanical Reinforcement of Injection Molded iPP Parts
Authors: Pan Yamin , Liu Xianhu , Shi Suyu , Liu Chuntai , Dai Kun , Yin Rui , Schubert Dirk W. , Zheng Guoqiang , Shen Changyu 
Published: October 2016

The mechanical properties and microstructure of injection molded isotactic polypropylene parts with high orientation before and after annealing are analyzed. The mechanical properties of the annealed samples are improved effectively. Through thorough analysis of various structural characterizations, a microstructural model based on the fact that the total length of long period kept constant to analyze the variation of mechanical properties is proposed. It is suggested that the increase of overall crystallinity, the recombination of crystalline phase, and the increase of amorphous phase, respectively, are beneficial for the improvements of the strength, stiffness, and toughness of annealed samples.
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Mechanistic Investigation into Olefin Epoxidation with H2O2 Catalyzed by Aqua‐Coordinated Sandwich‐Type Polyoxometalates: Role of the Noble Metal and Active Oxygen Position
Authors: Ci Chenggang , Liu Hongsheng , Yan Likai , Su Zhongmin 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAqua‐coordinated sandwich‐type polyoxometalates (POMs), {[WZnTM2(H2O)2](ZnW9O34)2}n− (TM=RhIII, PdII, and PtII), catalyze olefin epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide and have been well established, and they present an advance toward the utilization of olefins. To elucidate the epoxidation mechanism, we systematically performed density functional calculations. The reaction proceeds through a two‐step mechanism: activation of H2O2 and oxygen transfer. The aqua‐coordinated complexes show two distinct H2O2 activation pathways: “two‐step” and “concerted”. The concerted processes are more facile and proceed with similar and rate‐determining energy barriers at the Rh‐, Pd‐, and Pt‐containing transition states, which agrees well with the experimental results. Next, the resulting TM−OH−(μ‐OOH) intermediate transfers an O atom to olefin to form an epoxide. The higher reactivity of the Rh‐containing POM is attributed to more interactions between the Rh and hydroperoxo unit. We also calculated all active oxygen positions to locate the most favorable pathway. The higher reactivity of the two‐metal‐bonded oxygen position is predominantly ascribed to its lower stereoscopic hindrance. Furthermore, the presence of one and two explicit water solvent molecules significantly reduces the energy barriers, making these sandwich POMs very efficient for the olefin epoxidation with H2O2.
Ancestry Testing and the Practice of Genetic Counseling
Authors: Kirkpatrick Brianne E. , Rashkin Misha D. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAncestry testing is a home DNA test with many dimensions; in some cases, the implications and outcomes of testing cross over into the health sphere. Common reasons for seeking ancestry testing include determining an estimate of customer's ethnic background, identifying genetic relatives, and securing a raw DNA data file that can be used for other purposes. As the ancestry test marketplace continues to grow, and third‐party vendors empower the general public to analyze their own genetic material, the role of the genetic counselor is likely to evolve dramatically. Roles of the genetic counselor may include assisting clients with the interpretation of and adaptation to these results, as well as advising the companies involved in this sector on the ethical, legal, and social issues associated with testing. This paper reviews the history, fundamentals, intended uses, and unintended consequences of ancestry genetic testing. It also discusses the types of information in an ancestry testing result, situations that might involve a clinical genetic counselor, and the benefits, limitations, and functions that ancestry genetic testing can play in a clinical genetics setting.
The effect of anthropogenic disturbance on non-native plant species in Madagascar
Authors: Gudiel A. Andrea , Nieves Shane C. , Reuter Kim E. , Sewall Brent J. 
Published: October 2016

Abstract:Non-native species impact tropical ecosystems, but the role of different anthropogenic disturbances on the success of non-natives remains unclear, especially in island tropical forests. We sought to understand the influence of anthropogenic habitat degradation and disturbance on non-native plant species in Madagascar. Specifically, we evaluated how densities of non-native species of woody shrub (Lantana camara), climber (Mucuna pruriens) and tree (Mangifera indica,Albizia lebbeck,Tamarindus indica) varied with forest habitat degradation and by disturbance type. We surveyed 60400 m2, recording 482 instances of disturbance and 903 non-native plants in and around the Ankarana National Park. Non-native plant densities were higher in degraded than primary forest. Within degraded forest, densities of non-native trees increased with disturbance. Tree densities correlated with extent of tree damage only inTamarindus indica, never correlated with extent of tree removal, and always correlated with proximity to roads and trails. Our results suggest roads and trails have relatively greater importance in facilitating the success of non-native tree species than structural changes to habitat. In contrast, densities ofLantana camaraandTamarindus indicadid not correlate with any measured type of disturbance; other unmeasured or historical factors may be more important drivers of these smaller, faster-reproducing species.
Impact of sedimentary processes on white-sand vegetation in an Amazonian megafan
Authors: Cordeiro Carlos L. O. , Rossetti Dilce F. , Gribel Rogério , Tuomisto Hanna , Zani Hiran , Ferreira Carlos A. C. , Coelho Luiz 
Published: October 2016

Abstract:Amazonian white-sand vegetation has unique tree communities tolerant to nutrient-poor soils of interest for interpreting processes of adaptation in neotropical forests. Part of this phytophysionomy is confined to Late Quaternary megafan palaeo-landforms, thus we posit that sedimentary disturbance is the main ecological factor controlling tree distribution and structuring in this environment. In this study, we characterize the topographic trend of one megafan palaeo-landform using a digital elevation model and verify its relationship to the forest by modelling the canopy height with remote sensing data. We also compare the composition and structure (i.e. canopy height and diameter at breast height) of tree groups from the outer and inner megafan environments based on the integration of remote sensing and floristic data. The latter consist of field inventories of trees ≥ 10 cm dbh using six (500 × 20 m) plots in várzea, terra firme and igapó from the outer megafan and 20 (50 × 20 m) plots in woodlands and forests from the inner megafan. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and the non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) were applied for clustering and dissimilarity analyses, respectively. The megafan is a sand-dominated triangular wetland with a topographic gradient of < 15 cm km−1, being more elevated along its axis. The outer megafan has a higher number of tree species (367), taller canopy height (mean of 14.1 m) and higher diameter at breast height (mean of 18.2 cm) than the white-sand forest. The latter records 89 tree species, mean canopy height of 8.4 cm and mean diameter at breast height of 15.3 cm. Trees increase in frequency closer to channels and toward the megafan's axis. The flooded and nutrient-poor sandy megafan substrate favoured the establishment of white-sand vegetation according to the overall megafan topography and morphological heterogeneities inherent to megafan sub-environments.
A formal functional representation methodology for conceptual design of material-flow processing devices
Authors: Chen Yong , Zhao Meng , Liu Ying , Xie Youbai 
Published: October 2016

AbstractAlthough there has been considerable computer-aided conceptual design research, most of the proposed approaches are domain specific and can merely achieve conceptual design of energy flows-processing systems. Therefore, this research is devoted to the development of a general (i.e., domain-independent) and knowledge-based methodology that can search in a wide multidisciplinary solution space for suitable solution principles for desired material-flow processing functions without designers' biases toward familiar solution principles. It first proposes an ontology-based approach for representing desired material-flow processing functions in a formal and unambiguous manner. Then a rule-based approach is proposed to represent the functional knowledge of a known solution principle in a general and flexible manner. Thereafter, a simulation-based retrieval approach is developed, which can search for suitable solution principles for desired material-flow processing functions. The proposed approaches have been implemented as a computer-aided conceptual design system for test. The conceptual design of a coin-sorting device demonstrates that our functional representation methodology can make the proposed computer-aided conceptual design system to effectively and precisely retrieve suitable solution principles for a desired material-flow processing function.
Discourse analysis based segregation of relevant document segments for knowledge acquisition
Authors: Madhusudanan N. , Chakrabarti Amaresh , Gurumoorthy B. 
Published: October 2016

AbstractDocuments are a useful source of expert knowledge in organizations and can be used to foresee, in an earlier stage of a product's life cycle, potential issues and solutions that might occur in later stages of its life cycle. In this research, these stages are, respectively, design and assembly. Even if these documents are available online, it is rather difficult for users to access the knowledge contained in these documents. It is therefore desirable to automatically extract the knowledge contained in these documents and store them in a computer accessible or manipulable form. This paper describes an approach for the first step in this acquisition process: automatically identifying segments of documents that are relevant to aircraft assembly, so that they can be further processed for acquiring expert knowledge. Such identification of relevant segments is necessary for avoiding processing of unrelated information that is costly and possibly distracting for domain relevance. The approach to extracting relevant segments has two steps. The first step is the identification of sentences that form a coherent segment of text, within which the topic does not shift. The second step is to classify segments that are within the topics of interest for knowledge acquisition, that is, aircraft assembly in this instance. These steps filter out segments that are unrelated, and therefore need not be processed for subsequent knowledge acquisition. The steps are implemented by understanding the contents of documents. Using methods of discourse analysis, in particular, discourse representation theory, a list of discourse entities is obtained. The difference in discourse entities between sentences is used to distinguish between segments. The list of discourse entities in a segment is compared against a domain ontology for classification. The implementation and results of validation on sample texts for these steps are described.
Prevalence, risk factors, and the desire for help of distressed newly diagnosed cancer patients: A large-sample study
Authors: Wang Ging-Long , Cheng Chih-Tao , Feng An-Chen , Hsu Sheng-Hui , Hou Yi-Chen , Chiu Chiu-Yuan 
Published: October 2016

ABSTRACTObjective:Beginning in 2007, all newly diagnosed cancer patients at the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center (KF–SYSCC) were screened for psychosocial distress. Our social workers, as part of the psychosocial care team (PCT), have engaged in proactive outreach with patients identified as distressed. The goal of the present study was to assess the prevalence of psychosocial distress and the extent of contact between the PCT and distressed patients.Method:Newly diagnosed patients who were treated at KF–SYSCC between 2007 and 2010 for cancer were eligible if there were at least 100 patients with the same type of cancer. Before treatment began, they were screened with the Pain Scale and the Distress Thermometer (DT) and had the option to specify a desire for help. The rates of distress were analyzed by cancer type and by probable related factors. Information regarding contact with the PCT was retrieved from computerized databases.Results:Overall, some 5,335 cancer patients representing 12 major cancer types were included in our study. Of these, 1,771 (33.20%) were significantly distressed. By multivariate logistic regression, younger age, female gender, higher pain score, and disease stage, but not cancer type, were found to be associated with higher rates of distress. Among these distressed patients, 628 (36%) had some contact with the PCT.Significance of results:This Taiwanese study with a large sample size revealed a prevalence rate of psychosocial distress similar to rates found in Western countries. Contact with the PCT was established in only 36% of significantly distressed patients, despite a proactive outreach program. It is very important to have screening results made available in a timely fashion to the psycho-oncology team so that appropriate care can be offered promptly.
Self-assembled fibre optoelectronics with discrete translational symmetry
Authors: Rein Michael , Levy Etgar , Gumennik Alexander , Abouraddy Ayman F. , Joannopoulos John , Fink Yoel 
Published: October 2016

AbstractFibres with electronic and photonic properties are essential building blocks for functional fabrics with system level attributes. The scalability of thermal fibre drawing approach offers access to large device quantities, while constraining the devices to be translational symmetric. Lifting this symmetry to create discrete devices in fibres will increase their utility. Here, we draw, from a macroscopic preform, fibres that have three parallel internal non-contacting continuous domains; a semiconducting glass between two conductors. We then heat the fibre and generate a capillary fluid instability, resulting in the selective transformation of the cylindrical semiconducting domain into discrete spheres while keeping the conductive domains unchanged. The cylindrical-to-spherical expansion bridges the continuous conducting domains to create ∼104 self-assembled, electrically contacted and entirely packaged discrete spherical devices per metre of fibre. The photodetection and Mie resonance dependent response are measured by illuminating the fibre while connecting its ends to an electrical readout.