bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Internet‐guided HCV‐RNA testing: A promising tool to achieve hepatitis C micro‐elimination among men who have sex with men
Authors: Prinsenberg Tamara , Schinkel Janke , Zantkuijl Paul , Davidovich Udi , Prins Maria , van der Valk Marc 
Published: May 2022

AbstractIn the Netherlands, hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission occurs primarily in men who have sex with men (MSM). By early diagnosis and immediate treatment of acute HCV infections, HCV micro‐elimination in MSM is within reach. In cooperation with the community affected, we developed an online HCV‐RNA home‐based self‐sampling test service. This service combined online HCV self‐risk assessment with the possibility to test anonymously for HCV‐RNA. The service was available in the Netherlands from February 2018 till December 2020 and was promoted online on various dating sites and offline by community volunteers. Using website user data, test results and an online post‐test user survey, we evaluated the service and user experiences. The website page with information about testing was visited by 3401 unique users, of whom 2250 used the HCV‐risk assessment tool, 152 individuals purchased 194 HCV‐RNA tests, and 104 tests were used, of which 101 gave a conclusive result. The target population of MSM at risk was successfully reached with 44.1% of users receiving the advice to test. The test service had a satisfactory uptake (6.8%, 152/2250), a very high HCV‐RNA positivity rate (10.9%, 11/101) and was considered acceptable and easy to use by most MSM.We demonstrate that an HCV‐RNA home‐based self‐sampling test service is successful in diagnosing HCV infections among MSM. This service could be a valuable addition to existing sexual healthcare services as it may reach men who are otherwise not tested.
Pharmacokinetics of danofloxacin in freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis) after intramuscular injection
Authors: Poapolathep Saranya , Klangkaew Narumol , Wongwaipairoj Tara , Chaiyabutr Narongsak , Giorgi Mario , Poapolathep Amnart 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThe present study evaluated the pharmacokinetic profiles of danofloxacin (DNX) in freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis), following single intramuscular (i.m.) administrations at two different dosages of 6 and 12 mg/kg body weight (b.w.). Blood samples were collected at assigned times up to 168 h. DNX in the harvested crocodile plasma was extracted using liquid–liquid extraction and analyzed using a validated high‐performance liquid chromatography method equipped with fluorescence detection. The pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using a non‐compartmental approach. DNX in plasma was quantifiable from 5 min to 168 h after i.m. administration at the two dosages in freshwater crocodiles. The area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) values increased in a dose‐dependent fashion. Long elimination half‐life (48.18 and 67.29 h) and low clearance (0.024 and 0.020 ml/g h) were obtained in the high‐ and low‐dose groups, respectively. According to the pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic surrogate (AUC0–24h/MIC > 125), i.m. single administration of DNX at a dosage of 6 mg/kg b.w. is predicted to have antibacterial success for disease caused by bacteria with MIC < 0.04 μg/ml in the freshwater crocodile, C. siamensis.
The Screening of Fixation‐Related Infection in Patients Undergoing Conversion Total Hip Arthroplasty after Failed Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures: A Single‐Central Retrospective Study
Authors: Xu Hong , Liu Li , Xie Jinwei , Wang Duan , Huang Zeyu , Wang Wenqi , Zhou Zongke 
Published: May 2022

ObjectiveTo evaluate the diagnostic values of preoperative plasma fibrinogen and platelet count for screening fixation‐related infection (FRI) in patients undergoing conversion total hip arthroplasty (cTHA) after failed internal fixation of hip fractures.MethodThis was a single‐center retrospective study. Data were retrospectively analyzed for 435 patients who underwent cTHA in our hospital from January 2008 to September 2020. They were divided into infected (n = 30) and non‐infected groups (n = 405) according to the 2013 International Consensus Meeting (ICM) criteria. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of plasma fibrinogen and platelet count were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Optimal predictive cutoffs of these two markers were determined based on the Youden index. In addition, the diagnostic value of preoperative serum C‐reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) for screening FRI were also evaluated based on the cutoffs recommended by the 2013 ICM Criteria. Finally, the diagnostic ability of various combinations of the plasma fibrinogen and platelet count as well as serum CRP and ESR was re‐assessed.ResultsThe numbers of patients with and without FRI were 30 (6.9%) and 405 (93.1%), respectively. Areas under the ROC curves were 0.770 for fibrinogen, 0.606 for platelet, 0.844 for CRP and 0.749 for ESR. The optimal predictive cutoff of fibrinogen was 3.73 g/L, which gave sensitivity of 60.0% and specificity of 90.5%. The optimal predictive cutoff for platelet was 241.5 × 109/L, which gave sensitivity of 46.7% and specificity of 83.7%. The CRP gave sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 92.5% with the predetermined cutoff of 10 mg/L, while the ESR gave sensitivity of 67.5% and specificity of 72.4% % with the predetermined cutoff of 30 mm/h. The combination of CRP and ESR showed high specificity of 93.2% but low sensitivity of 66.7%, while the corresponding values for CRP with fibrinogen were satisfied both for sensitivity of 80.0% and specificity of 78.7%. The combination of these four biomarkers gave sensitivity of 73.3% and specificity of 85.7%.ConclusionPreoperative serum CRP, ESR, plasma fibrinogen and platelet count have low sensitivity on their own for screening FRI in patients, but the combination of CRP with fibrinogen shows promise for that.
Overview of developed core and mini core collections and their effective utilization in cultivated rice and its related species (Oryza sp.)—A review
Authors: Raturi Dhananjay , Chaudhary Manju , Bhat Vishnu , Goel Shailendra , Raina Soom Nath , Rajpal Vijay Rani , Singh Apekshita 
Published: May 2022

AbstractGenus Oryza consists of two cultivated and 21 related wild species. Cultivated rice is not only the staple food of the majority of the countries in the world, but it also serves as a model crop for genomic studies. The rice germplasm is conserved in different gene banks around the world, which can be accessed for plant breeding programmes aiming to improve rice varieties. However, the ever‐increasing number of accessions poses problem of the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the germplasm. Therefore, to speed up characterization and utilization of germplasm, the concept of core collection (~10–20% of total base collection) was developed which provides maximum diversity in limited number of accessions. Similarly, a mini core collection (~1–2% of the entire collection) is constructed retaining maximum diversity to provide wider genetic coverage in manageable numbers. The present review summarizes the current information on different core and mini core sets developed for varied purposes from world rice collections using different strategies.
Advances in physiological mechanisms of selenium to improve heavy metal stress tolerance in plants
Authors: Lai X. , Yang X. , Rao S. , Zhu Z. , Cong X. , Ye J. , Zhang W. , Liao Y. , Cheng S. , Xu F. 
Published: May 2022

ABSTRACTSelenium (Se) is a metalloid mineral nutrient for human and animal health. Plants are the main foodstuff source of the Se intake of humans. For plants, the addition of an appropriate amount of Se could promotes growth and development, and improves the tolerance to environmental stress, especially stress from some of heavy metals (HM) stress, such as cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg). This paper mainly reviews and summarizes the physiological mechanism of Se in enhancing HM stress tolerance in plants. The antagonistic effect of Se on HM is a comprehensive effect that includes many physiological mechanisms. Se can promote the removal of excessive reactive oxygen species and reduce the oxidative damage of plant cells under HM elements stress. Se participates in the regulation of the transportation and distribution of HM ions in plants, and alleviates the damage caused by of HM stress. Moreover, Se combine with HM elements to form Se‐HM complexes and promote the production of phytochelatins (PCs), thereby reducing the accumulation of HM ions in plants. Overall, Se plays an important role in plant response to HM stress, but current studies mainly focus on physiological mechanism, and further in‐depth study on the molecular mechanism is essential to confirm the participation of Se in plant response to environmental stress. This review helps to comprehensively understand the physiological mechanism of Se in plant tolerance against to HM stress of plants, and provides important theoretical support for the practical application of Se in environmental remediation and agricultural development.
Can public‐private innovation partnerships improve public services? Evidence from a synthetic control approach
Authors: Alonso José M. , Andrews Rhys 
Published: May 2022

AbstractPublic‐Private Innovation (PPI) Partnerships can generate innovative approaches to improving public services. However, incomplete contract theories point to difficulties in making public‐private collaborations work effectively and efficiently. Drawing on these theories, we analyze the transfer of the management of a children's social services department in a large metropolitan government in England to an “improvement partnership” between the local government and two private firms. Using a synthetic control method approach, we find little evidence of improved health or educational outcomes for looked after children during the years following the creation of the partnership. However, there appears to be an increase in the costs of providing children's social services, which documentary evidence suggests may be attributable to weak contract management capacity, difficulties embedding performance monitoring, and additional expenditures on the partnership's reform programme. Our findings therefore highlight that effective supervision of PPI partnerships is essential for making them a success.
Contracting out public participation to external consultants: Observations on epistemic justice
Authors: Levin Lia 
Published: May 2022

AbstractRecent years have seen a rapidly growing trend of outsourcing elements of public participation from public institutions to external citizen engagement consultants (CECs). This study examined this phenomenon using the theoretical framework of epistemic in/justice. It is based on a sequential deductive‐inductive analysis of interviews with public administrators, private CECs, and citizens, all involved in participative initiatives in localities across Israel. While previous research on public participation has focused primarily on the dyadic relationship between governing institutions and selected beneficiaries of their services, the findings of the present study enable offering some observations about what happens when this dyad turns into a triad. A critical review of the findings suggests that while outsourcing public participation is often presented using discourses of progress and inclusion, in fact, it may preserve, or even deepen, epistemic injustices, especially for citizens belonging to vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Maximizing social equity as a pillar of public administration: An examination of cannabis dispensary licensing in Pennsylvania
Authors: Hannah Alfred Lee , Mallinson Daniel J. , Azevedo Lauren 
Published: May 2022

AbstractPublic administration upholds four pillars of an administrative practice: economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and social equity. The question arises, however, how do administrators balance effectiveness and social equity when implementing policy? Can the values contributing to administrative decisions be measured? This study leverages the expansion of medical cannabis programs in the states to interrogate these questions. The awarding of dispensary licenses in Pennsylvania affords the ability to determine the effect of social equity scoring on license award decisions, relative to criteria that represent the other pillars. The results show that safety and business acumen were the most important determining factors in the awarding of licenses, both effectiveness concerns. Social equity does not emerge as a significant determinant until the second round of licensing. This study then discusses the future of social equity provisions for cannabis policy, as well as what the findings mean for social equity in public administration.
Contemporary Concise Review 2021: Pulmonary nodules from detection to intervention
Authors: Stone Emily , Leong Tracy L. 
Published: May 2022

Summary of key points
The US Preventive Task Force (USPSTF) has updated screening criteria by expanding age range and reducing smoking history required for eligibility; the International Lung Screen Trial (ILST) data have shown that PLCOM2012 performs better for eligibility than USPSTF criteria.
Screening adherence is low (4%–6% of potential eligible candidates in the United States) and depends upon multiple system and patient/candidate‐related factors.
Smoking cessation in lung cancer improves survival (past prospective trial data, updated meta‐analysis data); smoking cessation is an essential component of lung cancer screening.
Circulating biomarkers are emerging to optimize screening and early diagnosis.
COVID‐19 continues to affect lung cancer treatment and screening through delays and disruptions; specific operational challenges need to be met.
Over 70% of suspected malignant lesions develop in the periphery of the lungs. Bronchoscopic navigational techniques have been steadily improving to allow greater accuracy with target lesion approximation and therefore diagnostic yield.
Fibre‐based imaging techniques provide real‐time microscopic tumour visualization, with potential diagnostic benefits.
With significant advances in peripheral lung cancer localization, bronchoscopically delivered ablative therapies are an emerging field in limited stage primary and oligometastatic disease.
In advanced stage lung cancer, small‐volume samples acquired through bronchoscopic techniques yield material of sufficient quantity and quality to support clinically relevant biomarker assessment.
Evidence of non‐site‐specific agricultural management effects on the score of visual soil quality indicators
Authors: Teixeira Fernando , Lemann Tatenda , Ferreira Carla , Glavan Matjaž , Zoltán Tóth , Hermann Tamás , Lipiec Jerzy , Frąc Magdalena , Reintam Endla , Xu Minggang , Fan Hongzhu , Ritsema Coen 
Published: May 2022

AbstractThis study investigates 11 agricultural management practices (AMPs) and their effects on seven visual soil quality indicators and soil aggregate stability. The survey carried out across eight pedoclimatic zones in Europe and China was based on visual soil assessments (New Zealand VSA method) performed on soils subject to different soil management practices and nearby similar soils, under similar farming features, without the distinctive soil management practice (control). Fisher's exact test was used to test if the management treatment was independent of the score of each visual soil quality indicator and to test if the management treatment produced a higher frequency of the score ‘good’. The results showed a statistically significant (α < .05) higher frequency of the score ‘good’ for ‘soil structure and consistency’ and/or ‘soil porosity’ for six AMPs. For no‐till AMP, the null hypothesis can also be rejected for ‘susceptibility to erosion’ and ‘soil stability’ and for ‘mulching + permanent soil cover’ AMP, for the ‘presence of tillage pan’ and ‘soil colour’. The hypothesis that the management treatment was independent of the score of each indicator was rejected for ‘soil structure and consistency’ of three AMPs, for ‘soil porosity’ of three AMPs, for ‘soil colour’ of one AMP and for the ‘presence of tillage pan’ of one AMP. This study demonstrates that farming systems sharing a common influential soil management practice at different locations and with different soil types significantly affect the score of some visual soil quality indicators.
Demand and usage of unrelated donor products for allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry analysis
Authors: Allan David S. , Green Meagan , Morris Gail , Weiss Jason , Dibdin Nicholas , Mercer Dena , Seftel Matthew 
Published: May 2022

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesUnderstanding changes in the demand and usage of unrelated allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) donors during the COVID‐19 pandemic is needed to optimize pandemic preparedness of registry and donor collection services. The aim of this study was to understand the extent to which the pandemic has impacted the demand and usage of unrelated donors and cord blood units (CBUs) at Canadian Blood Services (CBS).Materials and MethodsData regarding stem cell donor interest and product usage for unrelated allogeneic HCT were retrieved from the database at CBS using de‐identified anonymous information.ResultsUnrelated donor searches for Canadian patients remained unchanged by the pandemic, reflecting stable demand. The number of unrelated allogeneic transplants performed within Canada also remained stable, while the number of cord blood transplants increased, chiefly for paediatric patients. Requests for donor verification typing, a first signal of potential interest, increased from domestic centres during the first 6 months of the pandemic and decreased from international centres, before returning to baseline levels. The proportion of transplants for Canadian patients who used stem cell products procured from Canadian donors increased between 3 and 6 months after the start of the pandemic before returning to baseline and appears to be increasing again more than 1 year after the start of the pandemic. Use of CBUs for Canadian paediatric patients increased and remains elevated.ConclusionDemand for unrelated adult HCT donors has remained stable despite the evolving pandemic with a transient and recurring increased interest and usage of domestic adult donors. Use of CBUs for paediatric patients has increased and remains elevated. Registries and donor collection centres should maintain the capacity to expand services for domestic donor collection during pandemics to offset threats to international donor usage.
Groundwater quality analyses in off‐grid tropical island
Authors: Espaldon Achilles E. , Yu Jeco‐Espaldon Bernice Mae , Sado Tomoyasu , Tenebro Chuckcris P. , Dalisay Doralyn S. , Oguma Kumiko , Saludes Jonel P. 
Published: May 2022

AbstractTropical islands typically have limited access to safe water. In many cases, people in these communities source their drinking water from groundwater without quality evaluation and treatment. Thus, we determined the physico‐chemical and microbial characteristics of groundwater samples. Results showed substantial non‐compliance of parameters including microbial quality with the local and World Health Organization quality standards for drinking water. Significant seasonal differences were observed for turbidity, total iron (Fe), colour, hardness, Escherichia coli and total coliforms (n = 88; p < 0.0203), whereas the effect of elevation has moderate‐to‐strong correlations with pH (r = 0.73, p < 0.001), total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity (r > −0.65, p < 0.001). The microbial profile revealed elevated levels up to a detectable limit of 5000 CFU/100 mL of E. coli. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis identified a potentially new strain with a 98.5% similarity to Shigella flexneri, having the presence of multidrug‐resistant and virulent genes.
Nurse practitioner‐led lung cancer screening clinic: An evidence‐based quality improvement evaluation
Authors: Schlabach Tyra , King Tara Spalla , Browning Kristine K. , Kue Jennifer 
Published: May 2022

AbstractBackgroundLung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Screening for lung cancer using low‐dose computed tomography of the chest (LDCT) can reduce mortality associated with lung cancer. LDCT is an under‐ordered screening study.AimsTo evaluate the use of a nurse practitioner‐led lung cancer screening clinic (LCSC).MethodsThe absolute number of LDCT for lung cancer screenings obtained 12 months before implementing the nurse practitioner‐led LCSC was compared to the 12 months after clinic implementation using a casual comparison design. An electronic survey was conducted to assess the LCSC key stakeholders' perceptions of the clinic.ResultsAn increase of 60% in the total number of LDCT for lung cancer screenings was observed. Qualitative data obtained through stakeholder evaluation of the clinic revealed that 85% of participants (n = 13) expressed that the LCSC was addressing barriers to lung cancer screening.Linking Evidence to ActionA dedicated nurse practitioner‐led LCSC is a practical way to increase lung cancer screening by addressing established barriers to screening in the community setting.
Development of a Low-Cost Terrestrial Mobile Mapping System for Urban Vegetation Detection Using Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Vestena Kauê De Moraes , Santos Daniel Rodrigues dos 
Published: May 2022

Urbanization brought a lot of pollution-related issues that are mitigable by the presence of urban vegetation. Therefore, it is necessary to map vegetation in urban areas, to assist the planning and implementation of public policies. As a technology presented in the last decades, the so-called Terrestrial Mobile Mapping Systems - TMMS, are capable of providing cost and time effective data acquisition, they are composed primarily by a Navigation System and an Imaging System, both mounted on a rigid platform, attachable to the top ofa ground vehicle. In this context, it is proposed the creation of a low-cost TMMS, which has the feature of imaging in the near-infrared (NIR) where the vegetation is highly discriminable. After the image acquisition step, it becomes necessary for the semantic segmentation of vegetation and non-vegetation. The current state of the art algorithms in semantic segmentation scope are the Convolutional Neural Networks - CNNs. In this study, CNNs were trained and tested, reaching a mean value of 83% for the Intersection Over Union (IoU) indicator. From the results obtained, which demonstrated good performance for the trained neural network, it is possible to concludethat the developed TMMS is suitable to capture data regarding urban vegetation.
Design, Analysis, and Experiment of an Underactuated Robotic Gripper Actuated by Linear Series Elastic Actuator
Authors: Hua Hongliang , Liao Zhenqiang , Zhao Jingbo 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
The primary motivation of this study is to develop a cost-effective, safe, easily controlled, and passively adaptive robotic gripper. A novel linear series elastic actuated robotic gripper (LSEA-RG) is proposed to accomplish the aforementioned goals. The LSEA-RG has the ability to adaptively grasp objects with different shapes and sizes by grasping force control. First, the mechanical design, including the transmission scheme, the finger mechanism, and the actuating mechanism is presented. Subsequently, the kinematic analysis is performed to explore the transmission characteristic of the actuating displacement and force. Then a model-free control method based on the lookup functions of the kinematic transmission characteristics is presented to achieve the grasping range and force control. Finally, several grasping experiments are carried out based on the LSEA-RG prototype to evaluate the grasping performance. The results demonstrate that the presented grasping control method which based on the lookup functions is valid. The LSEA-RG could estimate the grasping force without the help of a fingertip force sensor and grasp objects with different shapes and hardness adaptively.