bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Image-Based Mesh Generation for Constructing a Virtual Representation of Engineered Wood Product Samples
Authors: Grant Patrick , Psaltis Steven , Shirmohammadi Maryam , Turner Ian 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

The complex structure of timber has traditionally been difficult to model as it is a highly heterogeneous material. The density and material properties for structural species such as Pinus radiata (radiata pine) can vary greatly across the growth rings. Numerical simulation methods are becoming more prevalent as a method of predicting moisture migration, stress and strain distributions, and fungal/rot intrusion in engineered wood products (EWPs). All these applications require a computational mesh that captures the growth ring structure to facilitate an accurate assessment of the performance of EWPs. In this work, a low-cost image-based algorithm is developed for generating a virtual representation of a small cross laminated timber panel sample. Specifically, the proposed method results in a virtual description of an EWP sample comprised of a triangular prismatic mesh where the nodes are aligned on the growth rings of each EWP component, with specific wood material properties allocated to each mesh element. Each small sample is treated individually and we assume there is no longitudinal variation in the density, pith location, and pith angle within the mesh structure. The initial step involves analysing an image of the end grain pattern of a single clear wood sample to identify the growth rings using a spectral clustering algorithm. Next, the centre of the tree (pith) is located through an iterative constrained least-squares algorithm to determine the pith angle. Image analysis of an anatomical image combined with the pith location allows for a constant density value to be assigned to each mesh element. The capability of this framework is then demonstrated by simulating the moisture migration and heat transfer throughout a CLT sample under atmospheric and saturating boundary conditions.
Physicochemical analysis of liquid ovoproducts treated with Neutral Electrolyzed Water. Use of electrolyzed water in liquid ovoproducts.
Authors: Reyes-Ramos Susana , Ramírez-Orejel Juan , Guzmán-Olea Eduardo , Cano-Buendia Jose 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Egg is a highly consumed food worldwide because it is nutrimental characteristics; sometimes, it is used as liquid egg products (whole egg, egg whites and yolks). Although heat treatment is sufficient to eradicate possible pathogens in food, Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a microorganism that could survive up to 70°C, so it is considered possible that this bacterium resists a pasteurization process.
The present work aimed to use neutral electrolyzed water (NEW) as an antimicrobial agent in liquid egg products contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7. The percentage of bacterial reduction using NEW 2.5 ppm were 24.75%, 48.17% 65.08%. for whole egg, egg white and in yolks using NEW 5 ppm the percentages of reduction obtained were 39.65% in whole egg, 53.70% for white and 89.15% in yolks.
Physicochemical and functional study of egg products was carried where data showed that NEW did not affect parameters such as pH, acidity, color, emulsion, and foaming capacities; however, in the case of whole egg and yolks, the oxidation of lipids increased.
Speed of ethics and governance approvals in Australia before and after the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study
Authors: crosby sam patrick , Huang Liping , Jan Stephen , Holden Richard , Aksoy Yagiz , Neal Bruce 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background
Multiple Australian jurisdictions reported the introduction of measures to speed the processing of research projects addressing the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. The goal of this study was to compare the times taken for ethics committee and governance approvals of projects before and after the pandemic onset.
Methods
Data were sought from all 8 Australian states and territories for ethics and governance approvals made between 1/1/2019 and 31/12/2021 and 99% of ethics approvals and 98% of governance approvals fell within this period. Median (range) times from submission to approval were compared for pre-pandemic submissions made before 1/1/2020 and for post-pandemic submissions made after that date. For the post-pandemic period comparisons were also made between projects addressing COVID-19 and those addressing other topics. Differences in median times were tested using non-parametric tests.
Results
Data were obtained for 4876 ethics approvals from 8 states and for 4604 governance approvals from 5 states. 36% (1751) of ethics approvals and 29% (1313) of governance approvals were pre-pandemic and of the post-pandemic approvals, 6% (174) of ethics approvals and 5% (176) of governance approvals were for COVID-19 projects. The overall median time to ethics approval was 46 days (range 0-1799) pre-pandemic and 42 days (0-829) post-pandemic (p<0.001). The corresponding times for governance were 42 days (0-690) pre-pandemic and 28 days (0-716) post-pandemic (p<0.001). In the post-pandemic period, the median time for ethics approval was 22 days (0 – 804) for COVID-19 projects compared to 44 days (0 – 829) for other projects (<0.001) and the median times for governance approvals of COVID-19 projects was 19 days (0 – 333) compared to 30 days (0 – 716) for other types of projects (p<0.001).
Interpretation
Ethics and governance approval times were substantially reduced by interventions that targeted COVID-19 projects. For governance approval times, but not for ethics approval times, the interventions appear to have also benefitted non- COVID-19 projects.
Determinants of Vaccination Coverage Among Refugee Children Aged 12-59 Months in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in Uganda
Authors: Wesley Steven , Rabbanie Tariq 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Introduction: Forced displacement is a global issue that leads to challenges like limited healthcare and low vaccination rates, particularly for children. Despite the significant impact on health outcomes, research on vaccination coverage among refugee children in Uganda is lacking. This study aimed to bridge this gap by determining factors associated with full vaccination among refugee children aged 12 to 59 months.
Method: The study was conducted in Kyangwali refugee settlement. This unmatched case-control design included 140 fully vaccinated cases and 280 controls. Data was collected from 14 randomly selected villages. Analysis was performed, and summary tables with counts and percentages were used for univariate analysis. Bivariate analysis was conducted to attain odds ratios. Factors associated with full vaccination were determined in multivariable analysis using logistic regression. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant, and collinearity was assessed using 0.4 cutoff.
Results: Out of 420 participants, 58.6% were below 30 years old, 85.6% were from DR Congo, and 26.7% were not educated. Among index children, 84.8% were females, 45.5% aged 36-59 months, and 33.3% were fully vaccinated, with 39.1% being males. Factors associated with full vaccination included DR Congo origin (AOR: 2.15, CI: 1.08-4.28), high parental knowledge (AOR: 2.96, CI: 1.5-5.79), and receiving vaccine information from community health workers (AOR: 2.48, CI: 1.58-3.88). Proximity to health facilities also mattered, with those within 5 km having nearly 2 times higher odds of full vaccination (AOR: 1.94, CI: 1.2-3.09) than those beyond 5 km.
Conclusion:This study highlights a substantial gap in childhood vaccination within Kyangwali refugee settlements, with only 33.3% of children below 5 fully vaccinated. Significant associations with full vaccination included Congolese origin, high parental knowledge, and receiving vaccine information from community health workers. Proximity to health facilities also played a crucial role, with those within 5 km exhibiting nearly 2 times higher odds of full vaccination.
Automated Disease Classification of Veterinary Clinical Narratives for Antimicrobial Stewardship Guideline Monitoring
Authors: Farrell Sean , Singelton David , Radford Alan , Pinchbeck Gina , Noble Peter-John , Moubayed Noura Al 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global challenge for public health with increasing impacts for animal welfare. Companion animals are increasingly being recognised as critical agents in the proliferation and transmission of AMR bacteria. Existing approaches to monitoring antimicrobial utilisation, such as annual aggregate sales data, provide very limited insights into the specific disease contexts and prescribing practices driving antimicrobial use. In this study, we employ a hierarchical large language model to analyse 195,012 highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIA) prescriptions in companion animals and over 1.2 million antimicrobial non-HPCIA prescriptions, revealing the nuances of disease patterns and prescribing motivations that have previously remained obscure. Our model achieves an accuracy exceeding 88\% in identifying 39 distinct diseases associated with antimicrobial prescriptions. We demonstrate that the tool provides a robust foundation for assessing the influence of antimicrobial stewardship guidelines (ASGs) on prescribing practices. Our novel methodology advances our understanding of AMR dynamics within veterinary care by bridging the gap between what is actual practiced and guideline-aligned prescribing. We outline an actionable path towards preserving the efficacy of essential antimicrobial agents, safeguarding the health of future generations of humans and animals.
Comparative Pan- and Phylo-Genomic Analysis of Ideonella and Thermobifida Strains: Dissemination of Biodegradation Potential and Genomic Divergence
Authors: Jayapalan Saranya , Michealsamy Arockiyajainmary 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Ideonella and Thermobifida were the most promising bacterial candidates for degrading plastic polymers. A comparative pan- and phylogenomic analysis of 33 Ideonella and Thermobifida strains was done to determine their plastic degradation potential, niche adaptation and speciation. The BPGA results revealed that the greater number of accessory genes in the strains indicated phenotypic plasticity. Phylogenetic diversity among the strains was inferred using core and pan genomes. The functional roles of the core and adaptive-associated genomes were scrutinized by pathway enrichment analyses. KEGG annotation revealed that the majority of the genes were associated with the metabolism of amino acids and carbohydrates. The detailed COG analysis revealed that approximately 40% of the pan genes performed metabolic functions. The unique gene pool consisted of genes chiefly involved in "general function prediction" and "amino acid transport and metabolism". The results of the present study revealed that these strains could assist in agronomic applications in the future since they devour N- compounds. The rational selection of strains of Ideonella is far more effective at depolymerizing plastics than that of Thermobifida. A greater number of unique genes, 1701 and 692, were identified for Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 and Thermobifida alba DSM-43795, respectively. Furthermore, we examined the singletons involved in xenobiotic catabolism. The unique singleton data were used to construct a supertree. To characterize the conserved patterns, we used SMART and MEME to identify domain and transmembrane regions in the unique protein sequences. Therefore, our study unravelled the genomic insights into the ecology-driven speciation of Ideonella and Thermobifida.
Genomic prediction of yield components in soybean under Asian rust pressure for early-generation selection
Authors: de Carvalho Claudio Guilherme Portela , Cruz Cosme Damião , Arias Carlos Alberto Arrabal , Lorenz Aaron Joel 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Asian soybean rust (ASR) has the potential do severely reduce soybean productivity in numerous regions of the world. Developing productive cultivars under disease pressure in genetic breeding programs is limited by low precision in the early stages and the large number of genotypes evaluated in more advanced stages. Information about their subsequent generations can increase genetic gain through selection and reduce the number of segregating lines carried forward in programs. The objective of this work was to predict the average soybean yield components in the F2:3 and F2:5 families and the 50% best lines of each F2:5 family (F2:5(50%)). Genotyping of the F2 generation from the cross of two elite breeding lines and phenotyping of advanced generations (F2:3 and F2:5) under ASR pressure were used to obtain and validate genomic prediction models. Phenotypes included seed yield per plant, 50-seed weight, days to maturity, and plant height. The genomic prediction models used were G-BLUP, principal component regression, Bagging, and Bayes C[[EQUATION]]. Bagging and Bayes C[[EQUATION]] most often showed the highest predictive ability. Phenotyping of F2:3 as opposed to F2 only increased the predictive above of 50-seed weight, but not for the other traits. Phenotyping of F2:5 and F2:5(50%) allowed us to obtain predictive abilities greater than 0.50 for all traits. Using these models for early-generation selection in a target population will allow better adaptation of the logistical structure of breeding programs to develop productive soybean genotypes under ASR pressure and increase selection gain.
Determine Robust Procedure for Testing Variance Equality Using Type l Error Rate and Power
Authors: Patrick Adebayo. O. , I Ahmed. 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

A comparison was made between seven different procedures used to determine variance homogeneity. The seven tests that were chosen for this comparison are Bartlett's test, Levene's test (mean), Levene's test (median), Levene's test (trimmed mean), the O'Brien test, the Cochran test, and Fligner's test. Data were simulated to compare the procedures using different distributions (Normal, Beta, and Uniform), sample sizes (5, 10, 50, and 100), equal samples (n_1 = n_2=...=n_k), and five (5) levels (i.e., k = 5). The power of the test and type l error rate were used to compare the selected procedures at a significant level of 0.05. The findings of the comparison showed that the Fligner technique is superior to all other procedures when the dataset is normally distributed. On the other hand, the Bartlett procedure is superior regardless of sample size when the dataset is not normally distributed.
Community Pharmacists in Vaccines Delivery Services in Nigeria: Perspectives from Stakeholders and Implications for Policy Reform
Authors: Okafor Ukamaka Gladys , Oseni Yejide Olukemi , Odukoya Taofik Oladipupo , Oluyedun Hamidu Adediran , Ajibade Abiodun , Yusuff Azeez Olarenwaju , Okonu Abigail , Adetunji Oladapo 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Vaccination has proven to be one of the most potent ways of achieving disease prevention and consequently reducing the number of global deaths due to diseases. As a result, vaccination coverage must be prioritised in public health. Community pharmacists are pitched as being critical to reaching wider vaccination coverage in Nigeria due to their position as the most accessible healthcare professionals in the country. However, the factors affecting the involvement of these professionals as vaccine administrators have not been adequately established. This study was thus conducted as a collaborative action qualitative research via the interview of regulatory and professional stakeholders to ascertain this involvement and propose steps to be taken towards the progress of integrating the pharmacists into immunisation programmes. The study results showed that while pharmacists are not directly restricted to administering vaccines, they also are not enabled to do so by law. Also, the uptake of vaccine administrator role by pharmacists would be beneficial to the Nigerian health system and efforts are geared towards the official incorporation of pharmacists as such. To this end, the support of the Government via funding and policymaking is solicited for better outcomes.
Nash equilibrium analysis and determination of the main factor of collusion in the game between taxpayers and tax auditors
Authors: Salimian Salah 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Collusive corruption, like tax evasion, is one of the most important and widespread forms of illegal behavior, which brings destructive and irreparable effects in terms of negative externalities, both in the economic and social dimensions. In this paper, the modeling of the collusion game between taxpayers and tax auditors in two states inclined willing and unwilling to collude designed for each of the two mentioned players and the results were analyzed. For this purpose, for each player, two states of willing and unwilling to collude and a total of four possible states have been examined and the equilibrium for each cell has been specially examined and interpreted. The most important results are presented in the form of two theorems, which are: If the amount proposed by the taxpayers is high enough for collusion, then the tax auditors will recognize the expressed tax as equal to the declared tax of the taxpayers! And that, like the Granger causality test, taxpayers' willingness to collude is the main condition for collusion in the game between taxpayers and tax auditors.
Deep vein thrombosis in severe community-acquired pneumonia patients undergoing thromboprophylaxis: Prevalence, risk factors, and outcome
Authors: Cui Na , Wang Jing , Feng Xiaokai , Zhang Liming , Yang Yuanhua 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background:
Even with adherence to thromboprophylaxis recommended by guidelines, the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) remains high among patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). There is an urgent need to identify the risk factors for DVT in these patients to optimize preventive strategies.
Study Design and Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 309 adults with SCAP admitted to Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2023. All patients received guideline-recommended thromboprophylaxis and lower extremity venous compression ultrasound scanning. Clinical characteristics, including demographic information, clinical history, vital signs, laboratory findings, treatments, complications, and outcomes, were analyzed for patients with and without DVT in these two cohorts.
Results: Of the 309 patients, 110 (35.6%) developed 1ower extremity DVT. There was no significant difference in the incidence of DVT among the different prophylactic measures (P = 0.393). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed an association between a history of VTE (OR, 20.056, 95% CI: 3.740 ~ 107.540; P < 0.001), longer bedridden time (3 days < bedridden times ≤ 7 days: OR, 6.580, 95% CI: 1.884 ~ 22.988, P = 0.003; bedridden times ≥ 7 days: OR, 32.050, 95% CI: 9.629 ~ 106.675, P < 0.001), D-dimer levels ≥ 1.0 µg/mL(OR, 2.433, 95% CI: 1.123 ~ 5.272; P = 0.024), LDH levels ≥ 400 U/L (OR, 2.269, 95% CI: 1.002 ~ 5.138; P = 0.049), IMV (OR, 2.248, 95% CI: 1.081 ~ 4.672; P = 0.030) and the occurrence of DVT. A new prediction model, including age, history of VTE, bedridden time, D-dimer levels, LDH levels and IMV, showed a better performance in predicting DVT (AUC = 0.830; 95% CI: 0.746 ~ 0.913; sensitivity: 66.1%; specificity: 90.0%) than Padua prediction score (AUC = 0.666) and Caprini prediction score (AUC = 0.688) for patients with SCAP. The 30-day mortality and in-hospital mortality in the DVT group were significantly higher than those in the non-DVT group.
Conclusions: Even received guideline-recommended thromboprophylaxis, the prevalence of DVT among patients with SCAP remains unexpectedly high which is also associated with a poor prognosis. It is necessary to identify people at high risk of DVT early and refine the preventive strategies accordingly to improve patient outcomes.
Quantitative evaluation and analysis of policy texts on Chinese Traditional Medicine’s participation in public health system construction: Based on grounded theory and PMC index model
Authors: Wang Pingping , Yao Jin , Li Yaqiong , Zhai Yuqiang , Tong Xinan , Lu Shouting , Sun Meixia , Deng Chenhui , Li Yingxue , Huang Xiaorong 
Published: May 2024

Abstract

Background: China has put forward higher requirements for the role of traditional Chinese medicine in promoting the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases and emergency response to public health emergencies, and has therefore introduced relevant policies.
Method: This study is based on the PMC (Policy Measurement and Coding) index model combined with Grounded theory to quantitatively evaluate and analyze the policy texts of Chinese traditional medicine participating in the construction of the public health system.
Result: Firstly, under the guidance of grounded theory, it was used to conduct in-depth analysis of policy texts, explore key themes that exist, and construct a preliminary theoretical framework. Secondly, the PMC index model was used to encode and measure policy texts related to traditional Chinese medicine, and the relevant policy texts on the participation of traditional Chinese medicine in the construction of the public health system were evaluated. The results showed that except for 2 of the 29 policy samples that received poor ratings, all others received acceptable or above ratings, and four received superb ratings.
Conclusion: The study found that the policy text of China's traditional Chinese medicine participation in public health construction covers many aspects of the development of traditional Chinese medicine, including policy support, industrial development, medical services, scientific and technological innovation, talent training, international exchanges and cooperation, etc., reflecting the national pay attention to and support the cause of traditional Chinese medicine. However, the evaluation of the PMC index model adopted in this article shows that no special documents have been issued for construction work, and relevant content is only scattered in various documents on traditional Chinese medicine policies.