bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prospective, longitudinal study to isolate the impacts of marijuana use on neurocognitive functioning in adolescents
Authors: Ren Wen , Fishbein Diana 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionPolicies to legalize possession and use of marijuana have been increasingly supported across the United States. Although there are restrictions on use in minors, many substance abuse scientists anticipate that these policy changes may alter use patterns among adolescents due to its wider availability and a softening of beliefs about its potentially harmful consequences. Despite the possibility that these policies may increase the prevalence of use among adolescents, the effects of marijuana on neurodevelopment remain unclear, clouding arguments in favor of or opposition to these policies.MethodsThe present prospective, longitudinal study was designed to isolate the neurodevelopmental consequences of marijuana use from its precursors during adolescence—a period of heightened vulnerability for both substance use and disrupted development due to environmental insults. Early adolescents who were substance-naïve at baseline (N = 529, aged 10–12) were recruited and tracked into adolescence when a subgroup initiated marijuana use during one of three subsequent waves of data collection, approximately 18 months apart.ResultsResults suggest that marijuana use may be specifically related to a decline in verbal learning ability in the short term and in emotion recognition, attention, and inhibition in the longer-term.DiscussionThese preliminary findings suggest that marijuana use has potential to adversely impact vulnerable neurodevelopmental processes during adolescence. Intensive additional investigation is recommended given that state-level policies regulating marijuana use and possession are rapidly shifting in the absence of good scientific information.
Dying with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in Australian nursing homes: a retrospective case-control study
Authors: Roach Peter , Lovell Melanie R. , Macfarlane Stephen 
Published: May 2023

ObjectivesTo identify predictors of mortality in people with active and challenging behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).DesignA retrospective case–control study was designed to compare those referred to Dementia Support Australia (DSA) who died in the 12 months to November 2016, with an equal number of controls who did not die. An audit tool was designed after literature review and expert opinion from the service. Odds ratio calculations and the Mann–Whitney U test were used to assess for difference.SettingResidents of Australian residential aged care facilities with BPSD referred to the DSA service.ParticipantsOf 476 patients referred to DSA during the study period, 44 died. 44 controls were randomly selected from those remaining matched for age and sex.ResultsSignificant differences included higher rates of benzodiazepine use, drowsiness, delirium, reduced oral intake and discussions about goals of care in those who died. Those who died were referred to the service for a shorter period and had more frequent contact between DSA and nurses at the nursing homes. Increase in opioid use and loss of skin integrity in those who died approached significance. The overall end of life course demonstrated a complex set of needs with frequent delirium, pain and frailty.ConclusionFurther study is required to determine the optimal care for those with BPSD at the end of their lives. This study would indicate complex end of life care needs and point to a role for palliative care support.
Non-invasive brain stimulation for treating catatonia: a systematic review
Authors: Xiao Hongqi , Meng Yajing , Liu Shiyu , Cao Yuan , Sun Huan , Deng Gaoju , Wang Mei , Zheng Yaozong , Qiu Changjian 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundNon-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques offer new therapeutic options for modifying pathological neuroplasticity and have been proven to be beneficial in the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the role of NIBS in treating catatonia.Materials and methodsWe conducted a systematic search to identify meta-analyses or systematic reviews on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and studies on the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on patients with catatonia from the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, China National Knowledge Internet, Wanfang, and China Science and Technology Journal databases from inception until 31 July 2022. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed with the AMSTAR2 or Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare changes in catatonia symptom scores after rTMS or tDCS.ResultsA total of 13 systematic reviews and one meta-analysis on ECT, two systematic reviews and 12 case reports on rTMS, and seven studies of 14 cases applying tDCS were identified. Systematic reviews of ECT consistently described improvement in catatonia symptoms across catatonia types and patient age groups. After treatment with rTMS (t = 4.489, p = 0.006) and tDCS (z = −3.065, p = 0.002), patients exhibited significant improvement.ConclusionECT, rTMS, and tDCS were effective in treating catatonia. Early intervention with NIBS techniques may help improve catatonia symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. It may be advantageous to use rTMS or tDCS to maintain this improvement. NIBS techniques may thus represent a promising treatment for catatonia, but additional high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed.
Loneliness and social networks of older adults in rural communities: a narrative synthesis systematic review
Authors: Hussain Basharat , Mirza Mahrukh , Baines Rebecca , Burns Lorna , Stevens Sebastian , Asthana Sheena , Chatterjee Arunangsu 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionLoneliness has significant impacts on the health of older adults. Social networks help to improve psychosocial and quality of life outcomes among older adults. A fifth of older adults live in rural communities, where geographic isolation poses challenges to health. The dynamics of social networks of older adults in rural communities has not been explored.ObjectiveTo synthesize the literature related to loneliness and social networks of older adults in rural settings.MethodsA mixed-methods systematic review was conducted through searching six bibliographic databases to retrieve peer-reviewed literature with no time limits. We performed a methodological assessment of each study using a mixed method quality assessment tool. Findings are synthesized thematically.ResultsA total of 50 studies (32 quantitative, 15 qualitative, and 3 mixed methods) were included in this review. Studies were conducted in 17 different countries, the majority from China (n = 12), the UK (n = 9), and USA (n = 9). Findings revealed that social networks of older adults consist of family, friends and neighbors and continue to be developed through participation in various physical and social activities such as walking groups and participation in religious events. Social networks offer informational, functional, psychological and social support to older adults. Through their social networks, older adults feel socially connected and cared for. Successful interventions to improve social networks and address loneliness were those developed in groups or one-on-one with the older adults. The key ingredient to the positive impact of these interventions on reducing social isolation and loneliness was the formation of a social connection and regular engagement with the older adults. However, the review did not find any explicitly reported theory or model on which these interventions are based.ConclusionThe prevalence of loneliness among older adults in rural areas needs urgent attention. Social network theory and methods can help in developing interventions to address social isolation and loneliness among older adults in rural communities.
Methodological comparison of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid-based detection of respiratory pathogens in diagnosis of bacterium/fungus-associated pneumonia in critically ill patients
Authors: Zhang Luwen , Lu Fanbo , Wang Yuerong , Ji Juanjuan , Xu Yuanhong , Huang Ying , Zhang Min , Li Moyan , Xia Jinxing , Wang Bo 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundBacterium/fungus-associated pneumonia (BAP/FAP) is the prominent cause of high mortality and morbidity with important clinical impacts globally. Effective diagnostic methods and proper specimen types hopefully facilitate early diagnosis of pneumonia and prevent spread of drug-resistant bacteria/fungi among critically ill patients.MethodsIn the present study, 342 bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were collected from critically ill patients with pulmonary infections between November 2020 and March 2021. The BALF materials were comparatively employed to screen BAP/FAP through microscopy, culture, antigenic marker and PCR-based methods. The limit of detection (LOD) of cultures and PCR for bacteria/fungi was determined by serial dilution assays. Specimen slides were prepared with Gram staining for microscopic examinations. Microbial cultures and identifications underwent routine clinical protocols with the aid of mass spectrometry. (1,3)-β-D-glucan and galactomannan tests with BALF were carried out accordingly. Direct detection of pathogens in BALF was achieved through PCR, followed by sequencing and BLAST in GenBank database for pathogenic identification. The subjects’ demographic and clinical characteristics were well evaluated.ResultsBAP/FAP was identified in approximately 47% of the subjects by the BALF-based PCR. The PCR-based diagnostic methods showed improved detection performance for fungi with good LOD, but performed similarly for bacteria, when compared to the cultures. There was poor agreement among traditional microscopy, culture and PCR assays for bacterial detections (kappa value, 0.184 to 0.277). For overall bacterial/fungal detections, the microscopy showed the lowest detecting rate, followed by the cultures, which displayed a slightly higher sensitivity than the microscopy did. The sensitivity of PCR was much higher than that of the other means of interest. However, the traditional cultures rather than antigenic marker-based approaches were moderately consistent with the PCR-based methods in fungal species identification, particularly for Candida and Aspergillus spp. Our findings further revealed that the age, length of hospital stay, invasive procedures and cerebral diseases were likely considered as main risk factors for BAP/FAP.ConclusionScreening for BALF in critically ill patients with suspected pneumonia pertaining high risk factors using combined PCR-based molecular detection strategies would hopefully contribute to early diagnosis of BAP/FAP and improved prognosis of the patients.
Soundscape components inform acoustic index patterns and refine estimates of bird species richness
Authors: Quinn Colin A. , Burns Patrick , Hakkenberg Christopher R. , Salas Leonardo , Pasch Bret , Goetz Scott J. , Clark Matthew L. 
Published: May 2023

Ecoacoustic monitoring has proliferated as autonomous recording units (ARU) have become more accessible. ARUs provide a non-invasive, passive method to assess ecosystem dynamics related to vocalizing animal behavior and human activity. With the ever-increasing volume of acoustic data, the field has grappled with summarizing ecologically meaningful patterns in recordings. Almost 70 acoustic indices have been developed that offer summarized measurements of bioacoustic activity and ecosystem conditions. However, their systematic relationships to ecologically meaningful patterns in varying sonic conditions are inconsistent and lead to non-trivial interpretations. We used an acoustic dataset of over 725,000 min of recordings across 1,195 sites in Sonoma County, California, to evaluate the relationship between 15 established acoustic indices and sonic conditions summarized using five soundscape components classified using a convolutional neural network: anthropophony (anthropogenic sounds), biophony (biotic sounds), geophony (wind and rain), quiet (lack of emergent sound), and interference (ARU feedback). We used generalized additive models to assess acoustic indices and biophony as ecoacoustic indicators of avian diversity. Models that included soundscape components explained acoustic indices with varying degrees of performance (avg. adj-R2 = 0.61 ± 0.16; n = 1,195). For example, we found the normalized difference soundscape index was the most sensitive index to biophony while being less influenced by ambient sound. However, all indices were affected by non-biotic sound sources to varying degrees. We found that biophony and acoustic indices combined were highly predictive in modeling bird species richness (deviance = 65.8%; RMSE = 3.9 species; n = 1,185 sites) for targeted, morning-only recording periods. Our analyses demonstrate the confounding effects of non-biotic soundscape components on acoustic indices, and we recommend that applications be based on anticipated sonic environments. For instance, in the presence of extensive rain and wind, we suggest using an index minimally affected by geophony. Furthermore, we provide evidence that a measure of biodiversity (bird species richness) is related to the aggregate biotic acoustic activity (biophony). This established relationship adds to recent work that identifies biophony as a reliable and generalizable ecoacoustic measure of biodiversity.
Comparative study of quality of life 9 months post-COVID-19 infection with SARS-CoV-2 of varying degrees of severity: impact of hospitalization vs. outpatient treatment
Authors: Maslova Olga , Vladimirova Tatiana , Videnin Arseny , Gochhait Saikat , Pyatin Vasily 
Published: May 2023

PurposeThis experimental study was conducted during the post-COVID-19 period to investigate the relationship between the quality of life 9 months after and the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in two scenarios: hospitalization (with/without medical oxygen) and outpatient treatment.MethodsWe employed the EQ-5D-5L Quality of Life tests and the PSQI as a survey to evaluate respondents' quality of life 9 months after a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection of varying severity.ResultsWe identified a clear difference in the quality of life of respondents, as measured on the 100-point scale of the EQ-5D-5L test, which was significantly lower 9 months after a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection for Group 1 (n = 14), respondents who had received medical attention for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a hospital with oxygen treatment, compared to those with the SARS-CoV-2 infection who were treated without oxygen treatment (Group 2) (n = 12) and those who were treated on an outpatient basis (Group 3) (n = 13) (H = 7.08 p = 0.029). There were no intergroup differences in quality of life indicators between hospitalized patients (Group 2) and groups 1 and 3. PSQI survey results showed that “mobility,” “self-care,” “daily activities,” “pain/discomfort,” and “anxiety/ depression” did not differ significantly between the groups, indicating that these factors were not associated with the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. On the contrary, the respondents demonstrated significant inter-group differences (H = 7.51 p = 0.023) and the interdependence of respiratory difficulties with the severity of clinically diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study also demonstrated significant differences in the values of sleep duration, sleep disorders, and daytime sleepiness indicators between the three groups of respondents, which indicate the influence of the severity of the infection. The PSQI test results revealed significant differences in “bedtime” (H = 6.00 p = 0.050) and “wake-up time” (H = 11.17 p = 0.004) between Groups 1 and 3 of respondents. At 9 months after COVID-19, respondents in Group 1 went to bed at a later time (pp = 0.02727) and woke up later (p = 0.003) than the respondents in Group 3.ConclusionThis study is the first of its kind in the current literature to report on the quality of life of respondents 9 months after being diagnosed with COVID-19 and to draw comparisons between cohorts of hospitalized patients who were treated with medical oxygen vs. the cohorts of outpatient patients. The study's findings regarding post-COVID-19 quality of life indicators and their correlation with the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 infection can be used to categorize patients for targeted post-COVID-19 rehabilitation programs.
Post-operative pulmonary complications after thoracic and upper abdominal procedures at referral hospitals in Amhara region, Ethiopia: a multi-center study
Authors: Admass Biruk Adie , Ego Birhanu Yilma , Tawye Hailu Yimer , Ahmed Seid Adem 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundThoraco-abdominal surgery cuts through muscle, disrupting the normal structure and function of the respiratory muscles, resulting in lower lung volumes and a higher risk of developing post-operative pulmonary complications (PPC). PPC remains an important cause of post-operative morbidity and mortality and impacts the long-term outcomes of patients after hospital discharge. This study was aimed at determining the incidence and factors associated with postoperative pulmonary complications among patients who underwent thoracic and upper abdominal surgery in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.MethodsA multi-center follow-up study was conducted from April 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022, at comprehensive specialized hospitals in Amhara regional state, northwest Ethiopia. 424 patients were consecutively included in this study, with a response rate of 100%. A chart review and patient interview were used to collect data. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the strength of the association of independent variables with postoperative pulmonary complications.The crude odds ratio (COR) and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval were computed. Variables with a p-value of &lt;0.05 were considered statistically significant predictors of the outcome variable.ResultsThe incidence of postoperative pulmonary complication was 24.5%. Emergency procedures, preoperative SpO2 &lt; 94%, duration of surgery &gt;2 h, patients with a nasogastric tube, intraoperative blood loss &gt;500 ml and post-operative albumin &lt;3.5 g/dl were factors associated with pulmonary complications. The most common complications were pneumonia (9.9%) followed by respiratory infection (4.2%).ConclusionThe incidence of postoperative pulmonary complication after thoracic and upper abdominal surgery remains high. Preoperative SpO2, duration of surgery, patients having a nasogastric tube, intraoperative blood loss and post-operative albumin were factors associated with post-operative pulmonary complications.
Development of Self-Passivating, High-Strength Ferritic Alloys for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) and Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Applications
Authors: Aarab Fadoua , Kuhn Bernd 
Published: May 2023

Concentrating solar power (CSP) and thermal energy storage (TES) based on molten salts still lacks economic feasibility, with the material investment costs being a major drawback. Ferritic stainless steels are a comparatively cheap class of materials that could significantly contribute to cost reductions. The addition of aluminum to ferritic steel can result in self-passivation by forming a compact Al2O3 top layer, which exhibits significantly higher corrosion resistance to solar salt compared to the Cr2O3 surface layers typically formed on expensive structural alloys for CSP and TES, such as austenitic stainless steels and Ni-base super alloys. However, to date, no ferritic stainless steel combining Al2O3 formation and sufficient structural strength is available. For this reason, cyclic salt corrosion tests under flowing synthetic air were carried out on seven Laves phase-forming, ferritic model alloys (17Cr2-14Al0.6-1Nb2.6-4W0.25Si), using “solar salt” (60 wt. % NaNO3 and 40 wt. % KNO3). The Al content was varied to investigate the influence on the precipitation of the mechanically strengthening Laves phase, as well as the impact on the formation of the Al-oxide top layer. The W and Nb contents of the alloys were increased to examine their influence on the precipitation of the Laves phase. The salt corrosion experiments demonstrated that simultaneous self-passivation against a molten salt attack and mechanical strengthening by precipitation of fine Laves phase particles is possible in novel ferritic HiperFerSCR (salt corrosion-resistant) steel. Microstructural examination unveiled the formation of a compact, continuous Al2O3 layer on the surface of the model alloys with Al contents of 5 wt. % and higher. Furthermore, a stable distribution of fine, strengthening Laves phase precipitates was achieved in the metal matrix, resulting in a combination of molten salt corrosion resistance and potentially high mechanical strength by a combination of solid solution and precipitation strengthening. These results show that high-strength ferritic alloys are suitable for use in CSP applications.
Application of Multi-Software Engineering: A Review and a Kinetic Parameter Identification Case Study
Authors: Csendes Viktória Flóra , Egedy Attila , Leveneur Sébastien , Kummer Alex 
Published: May 2023

Limitations regarding process design, optimization, and control often occur when using particular process simulators. With the implementation of connection methodologies, integrated tools could be made by coupling popular process simulation software with each other or with programming environments. In the current paper, we summarized and categorized the existing research regarding the application of multi-software engineering in the chemical industry, with an emphasis on software connections. CAPE-OPEN, COM, OPC, and native integration were discussed in detail, with the intention to serve as a guide for choosing the most suitable software combination and connection. These hybrid systems can handle complex user-defined problems and can be used for decision support, performing custom unit operations, operator training, process optimization, building control systems, and developing digital twins. In this work, we proposed the use of process simulator Aspen HYSYS linked together with the numeric computing platform MATLAB to solve a reaction kinetic parameter identification problem regarding the production of γ-valerolactone.