bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Energy conservation education intervention for people with end-stage kidney disease receiving haemodialysis (EVEREST): protocol for a cluster randomised control trial
Authors: Sharma Sita , Alexander Kimberly E , Green Theresa , Wu Min-Lin (Winnie) , Bonner Ann 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionMultiple symptoms occur in people with kidney failure receiving haemodialysis (HD) and these symptoms have a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Fatigue, the most common symptom, is debilitating and difficult to manage. Educational interventions involving energy conservation strategies are helpful in reducing fatigue, however the effectiveness of energy conservation has not been previously studied in those receiving HD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an energy conservation education intervention for people with end-stage kidney disease receiving HD (EVEREST trial).Methods and analysisA pragmatic cluster randomised control trial with repeated measure will be used. One hundred and twenty-six participants from tertiary level dialysis centre will be cluster randomised to the intervention and control group according to HD treatment day. The intervention group will receive usual care along with a structured energy conservation education programme over 12 weeks comprising three individual face-to-face educational intervention sessions, one booster session and a booklet. The control group will receive usual care from their healthcare providers and a booklet at the end of the study. The primary outcome is fatigue, and the secondary outcomes are other Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) symptoms, occupational performance and HRQoL. Intention-to-treat analysis will occur and will include a change in primary and secondary outcomes.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained from the Human Research Committee of the Griffith University and Nepal Health Research Council. The results of this research will be published and presented in a variety of forums.Trial registration numberNCT04360408.
Novel tech throws knock-out punch to ECG improving GP referral decisions to cardiology
Authors: Calcagno Simone , Biondi-Zoccai Giuseppe , Stankovic Tatjana , Szabo Erzsebet , Szabo Aniko Berta , Kecskes Istvan 
Published: February 2022

PurposeIn a comparator study, designed with assistance from the Food and Drug Administration, a State-of-the-Art (SOTA) ECG device augmented with automated analysis, the comparator, was compared with a breakthrough technology, Cardio-HART (CHART).MethodsThe referral decision defined by physician reading biosignal-based ECG or CHART report were compared for 550 patients, where its performance is calculated against the ground truth referral decision. The ground truth was established by cardiologist consensus based on all the available measurements and findings including echocardiography (ECHO).ResultsThe results confirmed that CHART analysis was far more effective than ECG only analysis: CHART reduced false negative rates 15.8% and false positive (FP) rates by 5%, when compared with SOTA ECG devices. General physicians (GP’s) using CHART saw their positive diagnosis rate significantly increased, from ~10% to ~26% (260% increase), and the uncertainty rate significantly decreased, from ~31% to ~1.9% (94% decrease). For cardiology, the study showed that in 98% of the cases, the CHART report was found to be a good indicator as to what kind of heart problems can be expected (the ‘start-point’) in the ECHO examination.ConclusionsThe study revealed that GP use of CHART resulted in more accurate referrals for cardiology, resulting in fewer true negative or FP—healthy or mildly abnormal patients not in need of ECHO confirmation. The indirect benefit is the reduction in wait-times and in unnecessary and costly testing in secondary care. Moreover, when used as a start-point, CHART can shorten the echocardiograph examination time.
Mobilities of a drop and an encapsulated squirmer
Authors: Kree R. , Zippelius A. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
We have analyzed the dynamics of a spherical, uniaxial squirmer which is located inside a spherical liquid drop at general position $$\varvec{r}_s$$

r

s

. The squirmer is subject to an external force and torque in addition to the slip velocity on its surface. We have derived exact analytical expressions for the linear and rotational velocity of the squirmer as well as the linear velocity of the drop for general, non-axisymmetric configurations. The mobilities of both, squirmer and drop, are in general anisotropic, depending on the orientation of $$\varvec{r}_s$$

r

s

, relative to squirmer axis, external force or torque. We discuss their dependence on the size of the squirmer, its distance from the center of the drop and the viscosities. Our results provide a framework for the discussion of the trajectories of the composite system of drop and enclosed squirmer.

Graphical Abstract
On brane cosmological behaviors of Starobinsky inflationary model
Authors: Belhaj A. , Benali M. , Hassouni Y. , Oualaid M. , Sedra M. B. 
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we first study the brane cosmological behaviors of Starobinsky inflationary model. In particular, we compute the associated parameters including the perturbation ones. Among others, we find that the spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio are in a good agreement with Planck observational and BICEP/Keck data. Varying the five-dimensional Planck mass [Formula: see text] values, we investigate the thermal behaviors. Concretely, we calculate and examine the reheating cosmological parameters. For a specific value of the stringy parameter, we provide good predictions of the involved quantities. Taking [Formula: see text] TeV, we obtain acceptable reheating temperatures.
Short-Term Load Forcasting for Smart Power Systems Using Swarm Intelligence Algorithm
Authors: Prakash N. , Vaikundaselvan B. , Sivaraju S. S. 
Published: February 2022

In order to succeed in our everyday life, efficient performance of the power system is of utmost importance, and hence, all the sub-sectors of the power system should be analyzed for the purpose of achieving efficiency and accuracy. It must also be remembered that load forecasting assists a lot to improve the power system. Moreover, it contributes substantially to formulate logical approaches for emerging short-term load forecasting (STLF) for all days including the distinct days and make them follow a uniform standard. Of all the techniques which have been applied so far, honey bee-optimized Euclidean norm, based on fuzzy inference system, is used for identifying the problems, and in addition, support vector classifier is utilized to prepare the STLF models. Parameters — temperature, humidity, monsoons, wind, cloud density, dew point, season, hour of the day, day of the week, distinct day, and holiday — have been taken into account for the current study. A well-prepared database can be used for regression which will be of immense help to forecast the load using artificial intelligence. For every day of a month, the MAPE is computed (using the forecasted and actual hourly values) in order to observe the accuracy of STLF. The planned method has been very successful for the load forecast of all days for all seasons. The forecast has been done using the technique for a real time data of one year (test forecast year) with a historical dataset collected for a period of two years, and the results obtained for all seasons have been found to be satisfactory. STLF has helped to find better values due to its pace, and become healthier than other methods already in practice. With the advent of smart grid, the data will be accessible at more granular level as smart meters have capability to provide consumer load, usage data on-line and this facility will be of great help to utility operators and planners for operations on-line. How to use the data available from smart meters for better STLF is a challenging task and it would draw much attention for future research.
Restoration Algorithm-Based Ultrasound Image in Evaluating the Effect of Dexmedetomidine on Patients with Neurological Disorder Anesthetized by Sevoflurane
Authors: Yao Yingying , Sun Zhihui , Huang Yanming , Zhou Xiaoqin , Xia Daolin 
Published: February 2022

The study focused on the application value of ultrasound images processed by restoration algorithm in evaluating the effect of dexmedetomidine in preventing neurological disorder in patients undergoing sevoflurane anesthesia. 90 patients undergoing tonsillectomy anesthesia were randomly divided into normal saline group, propofol group, and dexmedetomidine group. The ultrasound images were processed by restoration algorithm, and during the postoperative recovery period, ultrasound images were used to evaluate. The results showed that the original ultrasonic image was fuzzy and contained interference noise, and that the image optimized by restoration algorithm was clear, without excess noise, and the image quality was significantly improved. In the dexmedetomidine group, the extubation time was

10.6
±
2.3

minutes, the recovery time was

8.4
±
2.2

minutes, the average pain score during the recovery period was

2.6
±
0.7

, and the average agitation score was

7.2
±
2.4

. Of 30 patients, there were 13 cases with vertigo and 1 case with nausea and vomiting. The vascular ultrasound imaging showed that, in the dexmedetomidine group, the peak systolic velocities (PSV) of the bilateral vertebral arteries during the recovery period were

67.7
±
14.3

and

67.9
±
15.2

cm
/
s

, respectively; the end-diastolic velocities (EDV) of the bilateral vertebral arteries were

27.8
±
6.7

and

24.69
±
5.9

cm
/
s

, respectively; the PSV in bilateral internal carotid artery systolic peak velocities were

67.2
±
13.9

and

67.8
±
12.7

cm
/
s

, respectively; the EDV in bilateral internal carotid arteries were

27.7
±
5.3

and

26.9
±
4.9

cm
/
s

, respectively; bilateral vertebral artery resistance indexes (RIs) were

0.6
±
0.02

and

0.71
±
0.08

, respectively; the bilateral internal carotid artery RIs were

0.57
±
0.04

and

0.58
±
0.06

, respectively, all better than the normal saline group (

12.1
±
2.5

minutes,

10.1
±
2.3

minutes,

3.9
±
0.6

,

10.6
±
3.7

, 15 cases, 11 cases,

81.5
±
13.6

,

80.7
±
11.6

cm
/
s

,

29.3
±
6.8

,

28.9
±
6.7

cm
/
s

,

74.3
±
10.2

,

73.9
±
12.5

cm
/
s

,

29.1
±
4.3

,

29
±
4.5

cm
/
s

,

0.84
±
0.06

,

0.83
±
0.05

,

0.8
±
0.04

, and

0.81
±
0.05

) and the propofol group (

11.4
±
2.1

minutes,

9.0
±
2.1

minutes,

3.4
±
0.8

,

8.5
±
2.3

, 12 cases, 9 cases,

72.5
±
12.9

,

73.4
±
11.8

cm
/
s

,

28.6
±
5.4

,

26.5
±
5.1

cm
/
s

,

72.1
±
11.4

,

73.5
±
10.6

cm
/
s

,

28.8
±
5.6

,

27.3
±
4.7

cm
/
s

,

0.78
±
0.07

,

0.82
±
0.06

,

0.76
±
0.03

, and

0.78
±
0.05

), and the differences were statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). In conclusion, ultrasound images processed by restoration algorithm have high image quality and high resolution. The dexmedetomidine can prevent neurological disorder in patients with sevoflurane anesthesia and is suggested in postoperative rehabilitation.
Expatriação e adaptação de voleibolistas ao novo contexto social
Authors: Tertuliano Ivan Wallan , Montiel José Maria , Bartholomeu Daniel , Villela Marina Cristina , Machado Afonso Antonio 
Published: February 2022

O objetivo do presente manuscrito foi analisar a adaptação dos atletas de Voleibol ao novo contexto social, após mudarem de equipe e cidade para continuarem a carreira, tanto no contexto internacional, como no nacional. Participaram 68 pessoas (48 atletas e 20 ex-atletas), sendo 43 homens e 25 mulheres, com média de idade de 27,29 anos. Os participantes foram divididos em 2 grupos de investigação: G1 (Atletas Internacionais) e G2 (Atletas Nacionais). Utilizou-se um instrumento com questões estruturadas, as quais poderiam ter respostas abertas ou fechadas com respostas em escala do tipo Likert de 5 pontos. O instrumento utilizado foi desenvolvido e avaliado enquanto evidência de validade via TRI, utilizando-se do ajuste ao modelo de Rasch. No presente manuscrito, apenas as questões pertinentes ao objetivo do manuscrito foram analisadas. Para as análises entre grupos, utilizou-se do teste t para amostras independentes e para análise intragrupo, utilizou-se da frequência absoluta e relativa das respostas, Anova one-way, teste t dependente e Correlação de Pearson. Os resultados, demonstraram que os dois grupos apresentaram boa adaptação ao novo contexto social, muito inﬂuenciados pela facilidade dos serviços oferecidos pelas cidades e pela não discriminação. Além disso, os participantes dos dois grupos conseguiram constituir novas amizades, o que facilitou seu convívio no novo contexto social, passeios e relações extra clube. Diante de tais resultados, pode-se concluir que os participantes desse estudo demonstraram recursos pessoais adequados para adaptação, frente as mudanças de contexto, muito possivelmente, por terem utilizado estratégias de coping para esse enfrentamento social.
WHO Imunology Research and Training Centre em São Paulo, um marco na história da imunologia na América do Sul.
Authors: Monteiro Paulo Henrique , Alves Olga Sofia Fabergé , Marques Cristiano Correa de Azevedo 
Published: February 2022

No início da década de 1960 a Organização Mundial de Saúde reconhece no campo da imunologia uma perspectiva para o controle de doenças infectocontagiosas, no que diz respetio às áreas diagnóstica e de imunização. Em 1963 foi estabelecido um programa em escala mundial voltado ao desenvolvimento de pesquisas em imunologia com a formação de Centros de Pesquisa e Treinamento em Imunologia, entre estes estava o de São Paulo. O presente artigo tem como objetivo descrever o contexto de criação desse centro, seus objetivos e conteúdos, público-alvo e atividades, identificar os principais personagens e sua repercussão no cenário da ciência e tecnologia. Método: Estudo descritivo utilizando pesquisa documental e entrevistas com docente e ex-alunos do IRTC. Resultados: Inicialmente instalado na Escola Paulista de Medicina no ano de 1966, foi transferido para o Instituto Butantan em 1969 onde manteve suas atividades até 1987. Essas se assentavam no binômio ensino-pesquisa, com aulas teóricas e práticas laboratoriais. Nos dez primeiros anos de funcionamento foram recebidos 21 professores estrangeiros, de 18 instituições de sete países. Conclusão: Entre 1966 e 1983 formaram-se pelo menos 131 imunologistas brasileiros e latino americanos. Isto significou um importante aporte na formação de uma massa crítica para a consolidação desta disciplina no País e na América do Sul.
Multi-modal Pain Control Protocol Decreases Narcotic Consumption in an Inpatient Trauma Population
Authors: Biester Joel M L , Mentzer Caleb J , Caswell Shayne R , Morrow Charles E , Mount Micheal G , Thurston Brian C , Compton Bari S , Bendyk Heather A , Frye Sarah W , Mohorn Phillip L , Lombardozzi Kristine A 
Published: February 2022

Introduction Opioid use after surgery or trauma has been implicated as a contributing factor to opioid dependence. The Acute Care Surgery (ACS) service at our community-based trauma center instituted an opioid-minimizing, multi-modal pain control (MMPC) protocol. The classes of pain medication included a non-opioid analgesic, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a gabapentinoid, a skeletal muscle relaxant, and a topical anesthetic. We hypothesize that the MMPC will result in lower opioid consumption compared with the prior STP as evidenced by lower morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per day Methods All adult patients (≥18 years) admitted to the ACS service from Jan 2014 to Dec 2015 and Jan 2018 to Dec 2019 were screened for inclusion. The standard pain control group (STP) and MMPC groups were defined by the year of admission. The primary outcome is opioid use per day, calculated in MME received. Secondary outcomes of the study include daily pain scores, incidence of opioid-related complications, death, ventilator days, intensive care unit length of stay, and hospital length of stay (HLOS) days. Results Multi-modal pain control protocol group was older and less injured than STP group. Daily opioid utilization was significantly less in the MMPC group (22.5 MMEs/d vs 60MMEs/d in the STP group, P < .0001). Additionally, daily pain scores were not different between groups. Secondary outcomes did not vary between the two groups. Conclusion This study shows that implementation of a MMPC protocol resulted in lower opioid consumption in injured patients. Pain was equivalently controlled during the MMPC protocol period as demonstrated by similar pain scores.
Successful remunicipalization processes in Italian waste management: Triggers, key success factors, and results
Authors: Romano Giulia , Marciano Claudio , Minoja Mario 
Published: February 2022

In recent years, many countries have experienced remunicipalization in the public service sector, especially in the fields of water and urban waste management. Using a multiple-case design, examining five successful urban waste management remunicipalizations in Italy, this study investigates the triggers, key success factors, and results of this process. We find that remunicipalization is triggered by the simultaneous occurrence of motivations and opportunities, and the presence of one or a few fully committed actors. This process, in turn, results in significant improvements in a company’s performance from a triple bottom line perspective, provided that certain key success factors—regarding the municipality, the utility and its management, and stakeholder relationships—are met. The external context provides legal and institutional conditions that affect the overall process, triggers, and results. Points for practitioners Remunicipalization debate needs an in-depth analysis of municipalities that have experienced this process and insights into the triggers, processes, and impact of remunicipalisation. Experiences unfold through three main phases. Efficiency and meeting performance targets are important but should be balanced with other values linked with the well-being of communities. The process is triggered by simultaneous motivations and opportunities and by one or a few fully committed key actors. Remunicipalization induces significant firm performance improvements from a triple bottom line perspective.
Towards More Human and Humane Testing: The Role of the Device Supplier Industry
Authors: Cuanalo-Contreras Karina , Benkmann Dennis 
Published: February 2022

In vivo testing has been the gold standard for preclinical drug development and toxicology. However, animal-based methods often lack human relevance and have a low predictability rate, not to mention the enormous ethical and financial concerns associated with their use. For instance, according to the US Congressional Budget Office ( cbo.gov ), it takes an average of 10.5 years to take a compound from the preclinical phase to the market, with a cost of US$1–US$2 billion. 90% of drugs that are tested in animals and enter clinical trials fail due to lack of safety and efficacy — this fact questions the significance of in vivo testing. Cells in culture can recapitulate certain aspects of physiology and disease, as well as indicate drug responses and toxicity. Thus, they represent a sophisticated human-relevant and humane alternative. With advances in the in vitro field, it is anticipated that confidence will be gained towards a move away from traditional in vivo models. Specialised supplier industries have been a driving force in the transition to non-animal research, by translating new approach methodologies into scalable products that have been adopted by the regulatory and testing industries — but we are still at the beginning. In this article, we introduce the perspective of the device supplier industry on the current challenges and opportunities surrounding the adoption of new in vitro methods, with the goal of promoting effective co-operation with scientists and other stakeholders. In addition, we highlight some examples of where non-animal approaches have been used in regulatory submissions, as well as listing some educational and training resources that can help when selecting the most appropriate assay.
Sexual health and closeness in couples coping with advanced cancer: Results of a multicenter observational study (eQuiPe)
Authors: van Roij Janneke , Raijmakers Natasja , Johnsen Anna Thit , Hansen Maiken Bang , Thijs-Visser Martine , van de Poll-Franse Lonneke 
Published: February 2022

Background: Cancer and its treatment can severely affect sexual health. It is unknown how this may relate to the feelings of closeness between patients and their partners. Aim: To assess the association between sexual health and closeness in the relationship in couples coping with advanced cancer. Design: This study was part of a prospective multicentre longitudinal observational cohort study on experienced quality of care and quality of life in patients with advanced cancer and their relatives (eQuiPe). Setting/participants: Baseline data regarding sexual health and closeness in people with advanced cancer and their partners. Results: Out of the 566 dyads, 14 were same-sex couples. Especially male partners showed an interest in sex, but more than half of all patients and partners were not sexually active. Approximately one third experienced sexual dysfunction to be a problem but did not seek specialized support (<10%). There was a positive association between own sexual satisfaction and feelings of closeness in the relationship, which was stronger for partners compared to patients ( p < 0.001). Sexual satisfaction of the other person was also related to own feelings of closeness ( p = 0.003). Conclusions: Couples coping with advanced cancer clearly face challenges regarding sexual health but are not likely to seek specialized support. When discussing sexual health, it is crucial that health care professionals pay attention to the aspects of sexual health that may contribute to feeling close to each other and suggest specialized care if necessary. Trial registration: The eQuiPe study is registered as NTR6584 in the Netherlands Trial Register.