bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
HFEgenotypes, haemochromatosis diagnosis and clinical outcomes at age 80 years: a prospective cohort study in the UK Biobank
Authors: Lucas Mitchell R , Atkins Janice L , Pilling Luke C , Shearman Jeremy D , Melzer David 
Published: March 2024

ObjectivesHFEhaemochromatosis genetic variants have an uncertain clinical penetrance, especially to older ages and in undiagnosed groups. We estimated p.C282Y and p.H63D variant cumulative incidence of multiple clinical outcomes in a large community cohort.DesignProspective cohort study.Setting22 assessment centres across England, Scotland, and Wales in the UK Biobank (2006–2010).Participants451 270 participants genetically similar to the 1000 Genomes European reference population, with a mean of 13.3-year follow-up through hospital inpatient, cancer registries and death certificate data.Main outcome measuresCox proportional HRs of incident clinical outcomes and mortality in those withHFEp.C282Y/p.H63D mutations compared with those with no variants, stratified by sex and adjusted for age, assessment centre and genetic stratification. Cumulative incidences were estimated from age 40 years to 80 years.Results12.1% of p.C282Y+/+ males had baseline (mean age 57 years) haemochromatosis diagnoses, with a cumulative incidence of 56.4% at age 80 years. 33.1% died vs 25.4% withoutHFEvariants (HR 1.29, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.48, p=4.7×10-4); 27.9% vs 17.1% had joint replacements, 20.3% vs 8.3% had liver disease, and there were excess delirium, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease but not depression. Associations, including excess mortality, were similar in the group undiagnosed with haemochromatosis. 3.4% of women with p.C282Y+/+ had baseline haemochromatosis diagnoses, with a cumulative incidence of 40.5% at age 80 years. There were excess incident liver disease (8.9% vs 6.8%; HR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.27 to 2.05, p=7.8×10-5), joint replacements and delirium, with similar results in the undiagnosed. p.C282Y/p.H63D and p.H63D+/+ men or women had no statistically significant excess fatigue or depression at baseline and no excess incident outcomes.ConclusionsMale and female p.C282Y homozygotes experienced greater excess morbidity than previously documented, including those undiagnosed with haemochromatosis in the community. As haemochromatosis diagnosis rates were low at baseline despite treatment being considered effective, trials of screening to identify people with p.C282Y homozygosity early appear justified.
Availability of caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs): an updated international scoping review protocol
Authors: Williams Allison , Ciarloni Reed 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundThis scoping review will provide an update on the availability of caregiver-friendly workplace policies (CFWPs) internationally. As the global population continues to age, there is a growing demand for unpaid care. Many individuals providing unpaid care remain in the workforce, increasing the number of carer-employees (CEs). The goal of this review is to determine how workplaces are supporting the growing number of CEs via CFWPs compared with 5 years ago, while identifying and prioritising actions that will improve workplace support for CEs. It is expected that this scoping review will provide: valuable insights on how broader social and cultural issues shape CFWPs; identification of leading workplaces that provide CFWPs, as well as; labour sectors that require improvement. Comparative analysis between the previous published scoping reviews will allow for further conclusions with respect to the changing landscape of CFWPs over time.MethodsThis scoping review will be conducted with methodological guidance from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewers Manual, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews guidelines and checklist and the scoping review protocol checklist by JBI. As recommended by the JBI, this scoping review uses the Population/Context/Concept framework to identify main concepts and appropriate inclusionary/exclusionary criteria. This review will include literature (peer-reviewed and grey) published between 1 May 2019 and 31 May 2023, in the English language, that discuss the provision of unpaid care to older adults; workplaces deemed caregiver and/or family friendly related to CFWPs and explicit identification of the workplace/organisation by name. Results will be communicated via tables, diagrams and content analysis.Ethics approval and disseminationEthics approval for this study is not applicable. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conferences.
Varying circumstances surrounding opioid toxicity deaths across ethno-racial groups in Ontario, Canada: a population-based descriptive cross-sectional study
Authors: Campbell Tonya J , Kitchen Sophie A , Tadrous Mina , Damba Cynthia , Johnson Colin H , Smoke Ashley , Crichlow Frank , Gomes Tara 
Published: March 2024

IntroductionThe North American toxic drug crisis has been framed as an epidemic primarily affecting white people. However, evidence suggests that deaths are rising among racialised people. Accordingly, we sought to describe and compare characteristics and circumstances of opioid toxicity deaths across ethno-racial groups.MethodsWe conducted a population-based, descriptive cross-sectional study of all individuals who died of accidental opioid toxicity in Ontario, Canada between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2021. Decedents were categorised as Asian, black, Latin American or white. We summarised decedents’ sociodemographic characteristics, circumstances surrounding death and patterns of healthcare utilisation preceding death by ethno-racial group, and used standardised differences (SDs) to draw comparisons.ResultsOverall, 6687 Ontarians died of opioid toxicity, of whom 275 were Asian (4.1%), 238 were black (3.6%), 53 were Latin American (0.8%), 5222 were white (78.1%) and 899 (13.4%) had an unknown ethno-racial identity. Black people (median age: 35 years; SD: 0.40) and Asian people (median age: 37 years; SD: 0.30) generally died younger than white people (median age: 40 years), and there was greater male predominance in deaths among Asian people (86.2%; SD: 0.30), Latin American people (83.0%; SD: 0.21) and black people (80.3%; SD: 0.14) relative to white people (74.6%). Cocaine contributed to more deaths among black people (55.9%; SD: 0.37) and Asian people (45.1%; SD: 0.15) compared with white people (37.6%). Racialised people had a lower prevalence of opioid agonist treatment in the 5 years preceding death (black people: 27.9%, SD: 0.73; Asian people: 51.1%, SD: 0.22; white people: 61.9%).ConclusionsThere are marked differences in the risk factors, context and patterns of drug involvement in opioid toxicity deaths across ethno-racial groups, and substantial disparities exist in access to harm reduction and treatment services. Prevention and response strategies must be tailored and targeted to racialised people.
Characteristics of pulse oximetry and arterial blood gas in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease
Authors: Donaldson Mira A , Donohoe Kathryn , Assayag Deborah , Durand Celine , Fisher Jolene H , Johannson Kerri , Kolb Martin , Lok Stacey D , Manganas Hélène , Marcoux Veronica , Min Bohyung , Morisset Julie , Marinescu Daniel-Costin , Ryerson Christopher J 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundFibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD) is frequently associated with abnormal oxygenation; however, little is known about the accuracy of oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) compared with arterial blood gas (ABG) saturation (SaO2), the factors that influence the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) and the impact of PaCO2on outcomes in patients with fibrotic ILD.Study design and methodsPatients with fibrotic ILD enrolled in a large prospective registry with a room air ABG were included. Prespecified analyses included testing the correlation between SaO2and SpO2, the difference between SaO2and SpO2, the association of baseline characteristics with both the difference between SaO2and SpO2and the PaCO2, the association of baseline characteristics with acid-base category, and the association of PaCO2and acid-base category with time to death or transplant.ResultsA total of 532 patients with fibrotic ILD were included. Mean resting SaO2was 92±4% and SpO2was 95±3%. Mean PaCO2was 38±6 mmHg, with 135 patients having PaCO2<35 mmHg and 62 having PaCO2>45 mmHg. Correlation between SaO2and SpO2was mild to moderate (r=0.39), with SpO2on average 3.0% higher than SaO2. No baseline characteristics were associated with the difference in SaO2and SpO2. Variables associated with either elevated or abnormal (elevated or low) PaCO2included higher smoking pack-years and lower baseline forced vital capacity (FVC). Lower baseline lung function was associated with an increased risk of chronic respiratory acidosis. PaCO2and acid-base status were not associated with time to death or transplant.InterpretationSaO2and SpO2are weakly-to-moderately correlated in fibrotic ILD, with limited ability to accurately predict this difference. Abnormal PaCO2was associated with baseline FVC but was not associated with outcomes.
The role of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing post-COVID-19 thromboembolic and cardiovascular complications
Authors: Mercadé-Besora Núria , Li Xintong , Kolde Raivo , Trinh Nhung TH , Sanchez-Santos Maria T , Man Wai Yi , Roel Elena , Reyes Carlen , Delmestri Antonella , Nordeng Hedvig M E , Uusküla Anneli , Duarte-Salles Talita , Prats Clara , Prieto-Alhambra Daniel , Jödicke Annika M , Català Martí 
Published: March 2024

ObjectiveTo study the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of post-COVID-19 cardiac and thromboembolic complications.MethodsWe conducted a staggered cohort study based on national vaccination campaigns using electronic health records from the UK, Spain and Estonia. Vaccine rollout was grouped into four stages with predefined enrolment periods. Each stage included all individuals eligible for vaccination, with no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccine at the start date. Vaccination status was used as a time-varying exposure. Outcomes included heart failure (HF), venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thrombosis/thromboembolism (ATE) recorded in four time windows after SARS-CoV-2 infection: 0–30, 31–90, 91–180 and 181–365 days. Propensity score overlap weighting and empirical calibration were used to minimise observed and unobserved confounding, respectively.Fine-Gray models estimated subdistribution hazard ratios (sHR). Random effect meta-analyses were conducted across staggered cohorts and databases.ResultsThe study included 10.17 million vaccinated and 10.39 million unvaccinated people. Vaccination was associated with reduced risks of acute (30-day) and post-acute COVID-19 VTE, ATE and HF: for example, meta-analytic sHR of 0.22 (95% CI 0.17 to 0.29), 0.53 (0.44 to 0.63) and 0.45 (0.38 to 0.53), respectively, for 0–30 days after SARS-CoV-2 infection, while in the 91–180 days sHR were 0.53 (0.40 to 0.70), 0.72 (0.58 to 0.88) and 0.61 (0.51 to 0.73), respectively.ConclusionsCOVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of post-COVID-19 cardiac and thromboembolic outcomes. These effects were more pronounced for acute COVID-19 outcomes, consistent with known reductions in disease severity following breakthrough versus unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Posterior condylar canal dural arteriovenous fistula: anatomical, symptomatological, and therapeutic considerations in comparison with hypoglossal canal dural arteriovenous fistula
Authors: Maekawa Hidetsugu , Lindgren Antti , Krings Timo 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundPosterior condylar canal dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) are extremely rare.MethodsWe report a case series and literature review of posterior condylar canal dAVFs and discuss similarities and differences between posterior condylar and hypoglossal canal dAVFs with respect to the related vascular anatomy, angioarchitecture of the fistula, presentation, and treatment.ResultsFour cases of posterior condylar canal dAVF were identified at our institutions and six cases were identified in the literature. Posterior condylar canal dAVFs were predominantly frequent in relatively young women. All patients presented with pulsatile tinnitus. There was no history of hemorrhage as there was no cortical venous reflux. This is different from hypoglossal canal dAVFs which can present with myelopathy or hemorrhage from cortical venous reflux. Transvenous embolization was safe and eliminated the symptoms. Palliative transarterial embolization can be an option to mitigate the symptoms, although there is a potential risk of cranial nerve palsy or lateral medullary stroke.ConclusionsPosterior condylar canal dAVFs are generally benign lesions. However, intolerable tinnitus may require intervention. Transvenous embolization is effective and safe.
Smoking prevalence and purchasing of menthol cigarettes since the menthol flavour ban in Great Britain: a population-based survey between 2020 and 2023
Authors: Buss Vera Helen , Tattan-Birch Harry , Cox Sharon , Bauld Linda , Shahab Lion , Brown Jamie 
Published: March 2024

BackgroundMenthol cigarettes have been banned in Great Britain (GB) since May 2020. Still, menthol accessories and unlabelled cigarettes perceived as mentholated are available, and people can buy menthol cigarettes overseas or illicitly. This study assessed: trends in smoking menthol cigarettes among all adults and 18–24-year-olds in GB between October 2020 and March 2023; trends in and differences between England, Scotland and Wales during the same period and purchase sources among people smoking menthol versus non-flavoured cigarettes.MethodsPopulation-weighted data were from a monthly cross-sectional survey of adults in GB. Among people smoking cigarettes, we calculated the proportion smoking menthol cigarettes across all adults and 18–24-year-olds, and prevalence ratios (PR) between the first and last quarter. We also calculated the proportions of people smoking menthol/non-flavoured cigarettes by purchase source (including illicit sources).ResultsIn the first quarter, 16.2% of adults smoking cigarettes reported menthol cigarette smoking with little to no decline throughout the study (PR 0.85, 95% CI 0.71 to 1.01), while it declined among 18–24-year-olds (PR 0.75, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.89). The prevalence of menthol cigarette smoking fell by two-thirds in Wales (PR 0.36, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.62) but remained relatively stable in England (PR 0.88, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.06) and Scotland (PR 0.94, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.53). The main purchasing sources were licit (93.9%), 14.8% reported illicit sources and 11.5% cross-border purchases, without notable differences from people smoking non-flavoured cigarettes.ConclusionsRoughly one million adults in GB still smoke menthol cigarettes and, with the exception of Wales and young people, there were no noteworthy changes in the post-ban period. There was no indication that the overall persistence of menthol smoking was driven by illicit purchases.
Cross-section of the $$^{95}$$Nb production on natural molybdenum at the bremsstrahlung end-point energy up to 95 MeV
Authors: Timchenko I. S. , Deiev O. S. , Olejnik S. M. , Potin S. M. , Kushnir V. A. , V. Mytrochenko V. , Perezhogin S. A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe photoproduction of $$^{95\mathrm m}$$

95
m

Nb on $${^\textrm{nat}\textrm{Mo}}$$

nat

Mo

was studied using the electron beam of the LUE-40 linac RDC ”Accelerator” NSC KIPT. Measurements were performed using activation and off-line $$\gamma $$
γ
-ray spectrometric techniques. The experimental flux-averaged cross-section $$\langle {\sigma (E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})}\rangle _\mathrm{{m}}$$

⟨

σ
(

E

γ
max

)

⟩

m

for the $${^{\textrm{nat}}\textrm{Mo}}(\gamma ,x\mathrm np)^{95\mathrm m}$$

nat

Mo

(
γ
,
x
n
p
)

95
m

Nb reaction at the bremsstrahlung end-point energy range of 38–93 MeV has been first time obtained. The estimated values $$\langle {\sigma (E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})}\rangle _\mathrm{{g}}$$

⟨

σ
(

E

γ
max

)

⟩

g

for the formation of $$^{95}$$

95

Nb in the ground state and total cross-sections $$\langle {\sigma (E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})}\rangle _\mathrm{{tot}}$$

⟨

σ
(

E

γ
max

)

⟩

tot

for the studied reaction were determined. The theoretical values of the yields $$Y_\textrm{m,g,tot}(E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})$$

Y
m,g,tot

(

E

γ
max

)

and flux-averaged cross-sections $$\langle {\sigma (E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})}\rangle _\mathrm{{m,g,tot}}$$

⟨

σ
(

E

γ
max

)

⟩

m
,
g
,
tot

for the $${^{\textrm{nat}}\textrm{Mo}}(\gamma ,x\mathrm np)^{95\mathrm m,g,tot}$$

nat

Mo

(
γ
,
x
n
p
)

95
m
,
g
,
t
o
t

Nb reactions were calculated using the cross-sections $$\sigma (E)$$

σ
(
E
)

from the TALYS1.95 code for six different level density models. The comparison showed a significant excess of the experimental results over the theoretical $$\langle {\sigma (E_\mathrm{{\gamma max}})}\rangle _\mathrm{{m,g,tot}}$$

⟨

σ
(

E

γ
max

)

⟩

m
,
g
,
tot

values.
Exact solutions based on Segre classification in the f(R) modified theory of gravity
Authors: Afzal Wardah Aroosh , Feroze Tooba 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIn this article, the Segre classification approach is used to obtain some new solutions for spherically symmetric static spacetime metric corresponding to Segre types [(1, 111)], [1, (111)], [(1, 1)(11)], or [1, 1(11)]. The eigenvalue degeneracy in these situations correlates to timelike and spacelike eigenvectors and their primary null direction, which identify the kind of matter distribution in space and aid in the consideration of novel solutions for the corresponding energy momentum tensor. The isotropic Segre type [(1, 111)] in modified theory provides the Schwarzschild de-Sitter/anti-de-Sitter solutions, whereas in types [1, (111)] and [1, 1(11)] depending upon matter distribution new obtained solutions adhere all the physical conditions and present the viable trends of energy and causality conditions. Moreover, the profiles of the adiabatic index, surface, and gravitational redshift are observed along with the hydrostatic equilibrium using the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation. Additionally, for these types the solution is compared with observational data, and numerical values are calculated for central and surface densities and central pressure of compact star candidates $$KS 1731-260$$

K
S
1731
-
260

and $$PSR J1614-2230$$

P
S
R
J
1614
-
2230

. Segre type [(1, 1)(11)] relates to a non-null electromagnetic field that corresponds to models with anisotropy in dark energy, which is demonstrated by graphical analysis. Dark energy does not behave as an ordinary matter resulting in the violation of strong energy condition and the causality condition.
On the optimality of quantum circuit initial mapping using reinforcement learning
Authors: Elsayed Amer Norhan , Gomaa Walid , Kimura Keiji , Ueda Kazunori , El-Mahdy Ahmed 
Published: March 2024

AbstractQuantum circuit optimization is an inevitable task with the current noisy quantum backends. This task is considered non-trivial due to the varying circuits’ complexities in addition to hardware-specific noise, topology, and limited connectivity. The currently available methods either rely on heuristics for circuit optimization tasks or reinforcement learning with complex unscalable neural networks such as transformers. In this paper, we are concerned with optimizing the initial logical-to-physical mapping selection. Specifically, we investigate whether a reinforcement learning agent with simple scalable neural network is capable of finding a near-optimal logical-to-physical mapping, that would decrease as much as possible additional CNOT gates, only from a fixed-length feature vector. To answer this question, we train a Maskable Proximal Policy Optimization agent to progressively take steps towards a near-optimal logical-to-physical mapping on a 20-qubit hardware architecture. Our results show that our agent coupled with a simple routing evaluation is capable of outperforming other available reinforcement learning and heuristics approaches on 12 out of 19 test benchmarks, achieving geometric mean improvements of 2.2% and 15% over the best available related work and two heuristics approaches, respectively. Additionally, our neural network model scales linearly as the number of qubits increases.
Training Generative Adversarial Networks with Adaptive Composite Gradient
Authors: Qi Huiqing , Li Fang , Tan Shengli , Zhang Xiangyun 
Published: March 2024

ABSTRACT
The wide applications of Generative adversarial networks benefit from the successful training methods, guaranteeing that an object function converges to the local minimum. Nevertheless, designing an efficient and competitive training method is still a challenging task due to the cyclic behaviors of some gradient-based ways and the expensive computational cost of acquiring the Hessian matrix. To address this problem, we proposed the Adaptive Composite Gradients(ACG) method, linearly convergent in bilinear games under suitable settings. Theory analysis and toy-function experiments both suggest that our approach alleviates the cyclic behaviors and converges faster than recently proposed SOTA algorithms. The convergence speed of the ACG is improved by 33% than other methods. Our ACG method is a novel Semi-Gradient-Free algorithm that can reduce the computational cost of gradient and Hessian by utilizing the predictive information in future iterations. The mixture of Gaussians experiments and real-world digital image generative experiments show that our ACG method outperforms several existing technologies, illustrating the superiority and efficacy of our method.
A Public Theological Reflection on Biblical Antecedents of Protocols for Managing Pandemics
Authors: Amissah Patrick Kofi 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
This article is a public theological discourse, arguing that the protocols, such as handwashing, social distancing, and face-covering, used to halt the spread of COVID-19, have biblical antecedents. Some observers contend that church leaders failed to inspire biblical hope, faith and courage when they focused on promoting the preventive protocols. It can be argued that promoting these protocols was a means of promoting biblical hope, faith, and courage in the face of the pandemic. In the Hebrew Bible, priests were commanded to wash their hands and feet before going into the tent of meeting. Isolation or quarantine was imposed on anyone with a suspected skin disease until examinations confirmed the disease or otherwise. Though these protocols were mostly for religious ceremonial and ritualistic purposes, they might have helped to halt the spread of infectious diseases. The article thus provides an exegesis of Exodus 30:17–21 and Leviticus 13:1–8, 45–46.
Reconstructing Love for God vis-à-vis Religious Intolerance in Nigeria through the Philosophy of Samae Spirit
Authors: Kaunda Chammah J. , Ejike Cyril Emeka 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
This article addresses the question of how the spirit of love, as articulated in the Samae spirit (three loves – divine, humanity and environment), can offer a concrete approach to translating divine-love into actionable expressions in a volatile religious pluralistic context, such as Nigeria. Drawing lessons from the theory of the Samae Spirit, we argue that love for God should not be considered in isolation from divine-love for the world and the religious other. We conclude that the all-embracing and concrete interpretation and understanding of divine-love has the potential to foster and nurture life-giving religious pluralism, making divine-love a force immanent in Nigeria.