bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sex and race disparities in the association between work characteristics and vitamin D deficiency: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2010
Authors: Velazquez-Kronen Raquel , MacDonald Leslie A , Millen Amy E 
Published: July 2024

ObjectivesVitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent worldwide; however, few large population-based studies have examined occupational risk factors. We examined associations between shift work, work schedule, hours worked, outdoor work, occupation and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in the US working population.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 8601 workers from the 2005–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles. NHANES occupational data were supplemented with measures of outdoor work from the Occupational Information Network. Serum 25(OH)D concentration in nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) was categorised as sufficient (≥75), insufficient (50–<75), moderately deficient (30–<50) and severely deficient (<30). Age-adjusted weighted multinomial and binary logistic regression were used to examine associations between work-related factors and vitamin D status with sex-race/ethnicity stratification.ResultsShift workers had higher odds of severe vitamin D deficiency compared with day workers (OR: 1.64, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.19). Compared with those in white-collar occupations, those in natural resources were less likely to be deficient (OR: 0.31, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.52), while those in production were more likely to be deficient (OR: 2.25, 95% CI 1.48 to 3.43). Women working ≥40 hours/week compared with <40 hours/week were more likely to be moderately deficient (OR: 1.30, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.59). Black women working in sales were more likely to be deficient than those in management (OR: 1.53, 95% CI 1.03 to 2.27). Mexican American men working nights had the highest odds of deficiency (OR: 2.64, 95% CI 1.38 to 5.06).ConclusionsWork-related factors were associated with vitamin D status and there were race/ethnicity and sex differences. Targeted vitamin D screening and supplementation interventions may reduce these disparities.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding respirable silica exposure and personal protective equipment use among brick kiln workers in Nepal
Authors: Gaviola Chelsea , Nicolaou Laura , Sharma Arun K , Chandyo Ram , Parker David , Shrestha Laxman , Das Santa K , Ramachandran Gurumurthy , Thygerson Steven M , Beres Laura , Checkley William 
Published: July 2024

ObjectivesBrick kiln workers in Nepal are a neglected population who are exposed to high respirable silica concentrations, and few use interventions to reduce exposure. We aimed to characterise the prevalence of respiratory personal protective equipment (PPE) use, understand knowledge and attitudes towards kiln dust and respiratory PPE and identify factors associated with respiratory PPE use.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in Bhaktapur, Nepal. We used simple random selection to identify 10 out of 64 total kilns and stratified random sampling of 30 households to enrol workers aged ≥14 years within selected kilns. Field workers surveyed participants using structured questionnaires. Our primary outcome was to characterise the prevalence of current respiratory PPE use and secondary outcomes were summaries of knowledge, attitudes and practice of PPE use.ResultsWe surveyed 83 workers (mean age 30.8 years, 77.1% male). Of these, 28.9% reported current respiratory PPE use at work, 3.6% heard of silicosis prior to the survey and 24.1% correctly identified the best respiratory PPE (N95, compared with surgical masks and barrier face coverings) for reducing dust exposure. Respiratory PPE users had higher income (mean monthly household income US$206 vs US$145; p=0.04) and education levels (25% vs 5.1% completed more than primary school; p=0.02) compared with non-users.ConclusionsRespiratory PPE use was low. Workers had poor knowledge of kiln dust health effects and proper respiratory PPE. We highlight important barriers to PPE use, particularly knowledge gaps, which can guide future investigations to reduce the silicosis burden among brick kiln workers.
Mechanisms of end-of-life communication contributing to optimal care at the end of life: a review of reviews
Authors: Khonsari Sahar , Johnston Bridget , Patterson Hannah , Mayland Catriona 
Published: July 2024

BackgroundEnd-of-life communication is an essential component of high-quality care, but its potential mechanisms for improving care are not well understood.ObjectivesTo summarise the potential mechanisms by which end-of-life communication may contribute to enhanced end-of-life care in any setting.DesignAn overview of systematic reviews, with a narrative synthesis of results. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Study quality was assessed using the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Reviews) tool.Data sourcesCINAHL, MEDLINE, Cochrane, SSCI and PsycINFO databases, were searched from inception to January 2024. Manual searches were also conducted.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesSystematic reviews (published in English) related to end-of-life communication, where the target population was adult patients in their last year of life, relatives, caregivers and/or healthcare professionals involved in communicating with dying patients.ResultsWe reviewed 35 eligible studies. The reviews suggest potential mechanisms of effective end-of-life communication including collaborative decision-making, tailoring communication to individuals, using effective communication strategies and incorporating communication skills into practice. The reviews also highlighted barriers related to patients, professionals and organisations.ConclusionThis review highlights a nuanced understanding of potential mechanisms of end-of-life communication, emphasising the need for tailored training, policy enhancements and interprofessional collaboration. It calls on healthcare professionals to reflect on their practices, advocating for co-designing a person-centred communication model that addresses patient preferences at the end of life. Importantly, in culturally diverse contexts, there is a need for a communication paradigm that embraces diversity to provide truly empathetic and effective end-of-life care. This concise roadmap may foster compassionate, dignified and effective end-of-life communication.Trial registration numberProtocol registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022271433, 29 March 2022).
Hospice inpatient care models: cross-sectional inequality survey
Authors: Tween Suzanne , Smith Roger William , Chamberlain Charlotte , Gibbins Jane 
Published: July 2024

ObjectivesHospices provide a range of services including inpatient units (IPUs) and care in people’s homes. 40 000–50 000 patients use IPUs in the UK per year. Little published data exist on IPU models. This paper explores the structure and funding of IPU across the Southwest (SW) of England (population 5.6 million), alongside impact of COVID-19.MethodsAn electronic survey of all 13 IPUs. Data collated, tabulated and compared with national commissioning guidance.ResultsA 92% survey response rate revealed large variation in bed availability per 250 000 of SW population: 2.5–18.2. Referrals and admissions per IPU bed per year ranged from 16 to 38.2 (or 39–127 per 100 000 population) and 21.7 (mean), respectively. There was significant workforce variability: 1.3–12.7 nurses per 7.5 hospice beds, 1.2–7.2 consultants per 20 hospice beds, varying multidisciplinary team members with many unfilled posts. National Health Service (NHS) funding ranged from 10% to 75% of total costs. During COVID-19, 4 of 12 hospices reduced bed capacity, while half described increased integration with other teams outside of the hospice.ConclusionThere is significant regional variability suggesting inequality in hospice bed availability per 250 000 population. There is also considerable variability in workforce, alongside the proportion of NHS funding. Such variability implies little is known about the optimal IPU model. This provides new meaningful information about the structure and funding of hospices, with further research needed to consider these differences on the impact on patient and family experiences and outcomes. The sustainability and opportunities of integration and collaboration across care settings are also paramount.
SQL2FPGA: Automated Acceleration of SQL Query Processing on Modern CPU-FPGA Platforms
Authors: Lu Alec , Narendra Agrawal Jahanvi , Fang Zhenman 
Published: July 2024

Today’s big data query engines are constantly under pressure to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for faster processing of more complex workloads. In the past few years, FPGA-based database acceleration efforts have demonstrated promising performance improvement with good energy efficiency. However, few studies target the programming and design automation support to leverage the FPGA accelerator benefits in query processing. Most of them rely on the SQL query plan generated by CPU query engines and manually map the query plan onto the FPGA accelerators, which is tedious and error-prone. Moreover, such CPU-oriented query plans do not consider the utilization of FPGA accelerators and could lose more optimization opportunities.
In this article, we present SQL2FPGA, an FPGA accelerator-aware compiler to automatically map SQL queries onto the heterogeneous CPU-FPGA platforms. Our SQL2FPGA front-end takes an optimized logical plan of an SQL query from a database query engine and transforms it into a unified operator-level intermediate representation. To generate an optimized FPGA-aware physical plan, SQL2FPGA implements a set of compiler optimization passes to (1) improve operator acceleration coverage by the FPGA, (2) eliminate redundant computation during physical execution, and (3) minimize data transfer overhead between operators on the CPU and FPGA. Furthermore, it also leverages machine learning techniques to predict and identify the optimal platform, either CPU or FPGA, for the physical execution of individual query operations. Finally, SQL2FPGA generates the associated query acceleration code for heterogeneous CPU-FPGA system deployment. Compared to the widely used Apache Spark SQL framework running on the CPU, SQL2FPGA—using two AMD/Xilinx HBM-based Alveo U280 FPGA boards and Ver.2020 AMD/Xilinx FPGA overlay designs—achieves an average performance speedup of 10.1x and 13.9x across all 22 TPC-H benchmark queries in a scale factor of 1 GB (SF1) and 30 GB (SF30), respectively. While evaluated on AMD/Xilinx Alveo U50 FPGA boards, SQL2FPGA using Ver. 2022 AMD/Xilinx FPGA overlay designs also achieve an average speedup of 9.6x at SF1 scale factor.
Unveiling the Thermal Stability of Sodium Ion Pouch Cells Using Accelerating Rate Calorimetry
Authors: Chak Chanmonirath (Michael) , Jayakumar Rishivandhiga , Shipitsyn Vadim , Bass Ean , McCloskey Reece , Zuo Wenhua , Le Phung M. L. , Xu Jun , Ma Lin 
Published: July 2024

The thermal stability of ∼420 mAh Na0.97Ca0.03[Mn0.39Fe0.31Ni0.22Zn0.08]O2 (NCMFNZO)/hard carbon (HC) pouch cells was investigated using accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC) at elevated temperatures. 1 m NaPF6 in propylene carbonate (PC):ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (1:1 by volume) was used as a control electrolyte. Adding 2 wt% fluoroethylene carbonate to the electrolyte improves the cell’s thermal stability by decreasing the self-heating rate (SHR) across the whole testing temperature range. The selected states-of-charge (SoC), including 70%, 84%, and 100%, exhibit minimal impact on the exothermic behavior, except for a slight decrease in SHR after ∼275 °C at 70% SoC. When compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries operating at 100% SoC, NCMFNZO/HC pouch cells demonstrate inferior thermal stability compared to LiFePO4 (LFP)/graphite pouch cells, displaying a higher SHR from 220 to 300 °C. LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2/graphite + SiOx pouch cells exhibit the worst safety performance, with an early onset temperature of ∼100 °C and the highest SHR across the entire temperature range. These results offer a direct comparison of the impact of SoC and electrolyte compositions on the thermal stability of SIBs at elevated temperatures, highlighting that there is still room for improvement in SIBs safety performance compared to LFP/graphite chemistry.
Atrial Fibrillation: Prevalence and Association With Outcome in Patients With Stroke Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy in the United States
Authors: Otite Fadar Oliver , Patel Smit D. , Hoffman Haydn , Aneni Ehimen , Anikpezie Nnabuchi , Akano Emmanuel Oladele , Wee Claribel , Burke Devin , Albright Karen , Beutler Timothy , Latorre Julius Gene , Sonig Ashish , Singla Amit , Morris Nicholas , Chaturvedi Seemant , Khandelwal Priyank 
Published: July 2024

Background
How the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) has changed over time in various demographic subgroups of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) undergoing mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in the United States is unknown. Whether in‐hospital outcomes differ between patients with AF versus patients without AF after MT remains uncertain.

Methods
We conducted a serial cross‐sectional study using all primary AIS discharges in the 2010 to 2020 National Inpatient Sample. Discharges with MT codes were identified (n = 155 277), and the proportion with AF in various age, sex, and racial subgroups were computed. We used multivariable‐adjusted negative binomial regression to compare AF prevalence between demographic subgroups and joinpoint regression to evaluate trends over time. Multivariable‐adjusted generalized linear models were used to evaluate the association of AF with in‐hospital outcomes.

Results
Across the study period, 45.0% of AIS discharges with MT had AF, but prevalence varied by age, sex, and race or ethnicity. After multivariable adjustment, AF prevalence was 4% higher in women versus men (prevalence rate ratio, 1.04 [95% CI, 1.01–1.07]) and was lower in Black versus White (prevalence rate ratio, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.77–0.84]) but higher in Asian compared with White discharges (prevalence rate ratio, 1.11 [95% CI, 1.05–1.18]). Prevalence increased with age (prevalence rate ratio for ≥80 years versus 18–39 years, 5.23 [95% CI, 4.28–6.39]). Following joinpoint regression, prevalence increased by 3.2% (95% CI, 1.3%–5.2%) annually across the period 2010 to 2015 but declined by −2.2% (95% CI −2.9% to −1.4%) from 2015 to 2020. AF was associated with 22% lower odds of in‐hospital death (odds ratio, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.71–0.85]) and 13% greater odds of routine home discharge (odds ratio, 1.13 95% CI, 1.04–1.22]) compared with no AF.

Conclusion
AF prevalence in patients undergoing MT in the United States is approximately twice that of the general AIS population. AF prevalence in MT increased from 2010 to 2015 but declined from 2015 to 2020. In the subset of patients with AIS undergoing MT, AF is associated with reduced in‐hospital death.
Long‐Term Hemorrhagic Morbidity for Children With Moyamoya Treated With Revascularization Surgery in a Single Center Retrospective Cohort
Authors: See Alfred P. , Kocher Sophia D. , Piwowarczyk Paulina , Alexandrescu Sanda , Ligon Keith L. , Orbach Darren B. , Smith Edward R. , Lehman Laura L. 
Published: July 2024

Background
Children with moyamoya arteriopathy have reduced subsequent ischemic risk after revascularization surgery and it is also suggested that hemorrhagic risk may also be reduced by minimizing hemodynamic stress on collateral vasculature recruited within the brain parenchyma, but this has been studied only in intermediate follow‐up or follow‐up for more than a decade in East Asian populations. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke in long‐term follow‐up and identify at‐risk subpopulations.

Methods
A single surgeon's personal case series with decades of follow‐up was reviewed for children (18 years or younger) treated with revascularization surgery. This included medical records and the surgeon's personal correspondence.

Results
Hemorrhagic stroke occurred in 2.6% of 302 children followed for a median of 21 years after surgery. Occurring at a median of 19 years (interquartile range 14–22.75) after surgery, these hemorrhages would not be recognized in series that discontinue follow‐up at transition from pediatric to adult neurosurgical care. There was a higher proportion (5.5‐fold hazard, 95% CI, 1.1–27.6) of patients who had prior radiation therapy in the group with hemorrhagic stroke compared with the overall group. Close retrospective evaluation of vascular imaging suggests aneurysms of the collateral periventricular vessels as a common culprit.

Conclusion
Children who have moyamoya treated with revascularization surgery remain at long‐term risk of hemorrhagic stroke during adulthood, even though their ischemic stroke risk is significantly mitigated. These patients would benefit from continued clinical and radiological follow‐up, potentially with advanced imaging modalities.
Exploring the Potential of Off-the-Shelf Tools as Digital Probes: Appropriation of a Mobile Diary App
Authors: Aytaç Aysun , Junginger Sabine , Rogers Jon 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
When cultural probes emerged in 1999, they were, for the most part, crafted from physical, non-digital, materials used to explore people's lives through playful co-creation and ambiguity. They have since become an important method for design researchers to generate insights into user behavior. Today, there is a growing need for user research to involve remote alternatives, something that was very much amplified during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The ubiquity of smartphones has given researchers the potential to have a remote window into people's lives like never before. This raises questions about the probe-like qualities of smartphone apps from a design research perspective. What options are available to design researchers? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What criteria matter? How can we improve on them? We share what we learned while using a mobile diary app for a remote in-home study with 31 households. We discuss the limitations of the app we ended up using and identify the need for an easy-to-adapt, off-the-shelf digital probe suitable for design researchers. The results and findings are intended to encourage designers to work toward digital probes and provide guidance for those who depend on commercially available mobile dairy apps in the meantime.
Multimode Design and Analysis of an Integrated Leg-Arm Quadruped Robot with Deployable Characteristics
Authors: Zhao Fuqun , Wu Yifan , Yang Xinhua , Ding Xilun , Xu Kun , Guo Sheng , Jin Xiaodong 
Published: July 2024

AbstractTo improve locomotion and operation integration, this paper presents an integrated leg-arm quadruped robot (ILQR) that has a reconfigurable joint. First, the reconfigurable joint is designed and assembled at the end of the leg-arm chain. When the robot performs a task, reconfigurable configuration and mode switching can be achieved using this joint. In contrast from traditional quadruped robots, this robot can stack in a designated area to optimize the occupied volume in a nonworking state. Kinematics modeling and dynamics modeling are established to evaluate the mechanical properties for multiple modes. All working modes of the robot are classified, which can be defined as deployable mode, locomotion mode and operation mode. Based on the stability margin and mechanical modeling, switching analysis and evaluation between each mode is carried out. Finally, the prototype experimental results verify the function realization and switching stability of multimode and provide a design method to integrate and perform multimode for quadruped robots with deployable characteristics.
Unsupervised modeling of mutational landscapes of adeno-associated viruses viability
Authors: De Leonardis Matteo , Fernandez-de-Cossio-Diaz Jorge , Uguzzoni Guido , Pagnani Andrea 
Published: July 2024

AbstractAdeno-associated viruses 2 (AAV2) are minute viruses renowned for their capacity to infect human cells and akin organisms. They have recently emerged as prominent candidates in the field of gene therapy, primarily attributed to their inherent non-pathogenic nature in humans and the safety associated with their manipulation. The efficacy of AAV2 as gene therapy vectors hinges on their ability to infiltrate host cells, a phenomenon reliant on their competence to construct a capsid capable of breaching the nucleus of the target cell. To enhance their infection potential, researchers have extensively scrutinized various combinatorial libraries by introducing mutations into the capsid, aiming to boost their effectiveness. The emergence of high-throughput experimental techniques, like deep mutational scanning (DMS), has made it feasible to experimentally assess the fitness of these libraries for their intended purpose. Notably, machine learning is starting to demonstrate its potential in addressing predictions within the mutational landscape from sequence data. In this context, we introduce a biophysically-inspired model designed to predict the viability of genetic variants in DMS experiments. This model is tailored to a specific segment of the CAP region within AAV2’s capsid protein. To evaluate its effectiveness, we conduct model training with diverse datasets, each tailored to explore different aspects of the mutational landscape influenced by the selection process. Our assessment of the biophysical model centers on two primary objectives: (i) providing quantitative forecasts for the log-selectivity of variants and (ii) deploying it as a binary classifier to categorize sequences into viable and non-viable classes.
Concurrent of compound heterozygous variant of a novel in-frame deletion and the common hypomorphic haplotype in TBX6 and inherited 17q12 microdeletion in a fetus
Authors: Li Guoqiang , Chen Yiyao , Han Xu , Li Niu , Li Shuyuan 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Background
TBX6, a member of the T-box gene family, encodes the transcription factor box 6 that is critical for somite segmentation in vertebrates. It is known that the compound heterozygosity of disruptive variants in trans with a common hypomorphic risk haplotype (T-C-A) in the TBX6 gene contribute to 10% of congenital scoliosis (CS) cases. The deletion of chromosome 17q12 is a rare cytogenetic abnormality, which often leads to renal cysts and diabetes mellitus. However, the affected individuals often exhibit clinical heterogeneity and incomplete penetrance.

Methods
We here present a Chinese fetus who was shown to have CS by ultrasound examination at 17 weeks of gestation. Trio whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed to investigate the underlying genetic defects of the fetus. In vitro functional experiments, including western-blotting and luciferase transactivation assay, were performed to determine the pathogenicity of the novel variant of TBX6.

Results
WES revealed the fetus harbored a compound heterozygous variant of c.338_340del (p.Ile113del) and the common hypomorphic risk haplotype of the TBX6 gene. In vitro functional study showed the p.Ile113del variant had no impact on TBX6 expression, but almost led to complete loss of its transcriptional activity. In addition, we identified a 1.85 Mb deletion on 17q12 region in the fetus and the mother. Though there is currently no clinical phenotype associated with this copy number variation in the fetus, it can explain multiple renal cysts in the pregnant woman.

Conclusions
This study is the first to report a Chinese fetus with a single amino acid deletion variant and a T-C-A haplotype of TBX6. The clinical heterogeneity of 17q12 microdeletion poses significant challenges for prenatal genetic counseling. Our results once again suggest the complexity of prenatal genetic diagnosis.