bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vertebral Artery Transposition and Dural Ring Reconstruction: A New Treatment Modality for Cervical Spinal Cord Compression Resulting From Aberrant Vertebral Arteries
Authors: Ji Zhe , Ma Yongjie , Feng Yueshan , Zhang Hongqi , Hu Peng 
Published: June 2022

BACKGROUND:
Two of three patients who were consecutively treated within the past 7 years using traditional methods in our center presented with recurrence and even aggravation during follow-up. Therefore, a new approach was developed to treat a recent patient to provide for complete decompression of the spinal cord.

OBJECTIVE:
To illustrate a new treatment modality for patients with cervical spinal cord compression resulting from aberrant vertebral arteries.

METHODS:
The aberrant vertebral arteries were freed after substantial dissection of their dural rings. The compression was released after moving the aberrant vertebral arteries, which were sutured to the lateral mass to the extradural space. New dural rings above the atlas were created to allow the vertebral artery to enter the dura mater into a wider subdural space.

RESULTS:
The patient experienced full relief from her initial complaints except for mild numbness of the bilateral lower extremities immediately after surgery. Postoperative imaging studies indicated successful transposition of bilateral aberrant vertebral arteries and significant decompression of the spinal cord. Her symptoms did not recur over a 6-month follow-up period. Imaging studies at the 6-month follow-up showed stable vertebral artery transposition and spinal cord decompression.

CONCLUSION:
A patient with cervical spinal cord compression resulting from aberrant vertebral arteries was successfully treated by our new technique, which includes vertebral artery transposition, fixation, and dural ring reconstruction. Our approach could be an alternative for durable spinal cord decompression in such patients.
Remote sensing and machine learning for yield prediction of lowland paddy crops
Authors: Septem Riza Lala , Yudianita Afina Hadaina , Nugraha Eki , Somantri Lili , Sitanggang Imas Sukaesih , Abu Samah Khyrina Airin Fariza , Nazir Shah 
Published: June 2022

Background: Paddy is one of the crops with the largest production worldwide, after corn and wheat. In Indonesia, paddy crops play a role as one of the main boosters of national economic growth based on their contribution to Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, it is imperative to do research aimed at predicting the yield of paddy crops. Methods: This research exploits the technology of remote sensing and machine learning methods (i.e. Gradient Boosting Regressor) to predict the yield of lowland paddy crops. Remote sensing with a Landsat 8 satellite was used to obtain the input data in the form of the vegetation index (i.e. NDVI) value, surface temperature, and total pixels of the observed area. Afterward, the input data was arranged into training data by combining paddy yield data and the paddy harvest period. Results: The obtained training data was modelled to predict the yield of paddy crops using a Gradient Boosting Regressor. The results obtained from experiments conducted in Bandung, Indonesia, showed the scenario with the best parameter combination is an estimator of 2000, a learning rate of 0.001, minimum samples split of 2, and a maximum depth of 4, which has RMSE of 9766.72. Conclusions: This research succeeded in designing a computational model to predict the yield of lowland paddy crops by involving remote sensing and Gradient Boosting Regressor.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with diabetes mellitus in East Java, Indonesia: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Triyono Erwin Astha , Wahyuhadi Joni , Prajitno Jongky Hendro , Novida Hermina , Siagian Nenci , Cahyani Cupuwatie , Putri Arinditia Triasti , Lusida Michael Austin Pradipta , Hidayat Amal Arifi , Idamusaga Karisma Septari , Intansari Nastiti Imana , Asmara Jose , Hadi Agrasenfani , Bandem I Ketut Mega Purnayasa 
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus has been perceived as the worsening factor for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), where diabetes mellitus patients with pre-existing inflammatory condition could develop acute respiratory disease syndrome as well as multi-organ dysfunction. Managing diabetes mellitus amidst severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is also a matter of concern as several antidiabetic therapies could affect the progression of COVID-19. This study aimed to provide the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with both COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus receiving blood glucose lowering therapies and COVID-19 symptomatic treatments. Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 260 medical records of patients hospitalized between May 2020 to February 2021 in East Java, Indonesia. Patients were confirmed COVID-19 positive based on the results from real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using nasal swab samples collected on hospital admission. Data included were demographic characteristics, COVID-19 symptoms, severity of COVID-19, comorbidities (other than diabetes mellitus), fasting blood glucose (FBG), and 2-hours post-prandial blood glucose (2hPBG), and outcomes. Results: Most of the patients had age range of 41–60 years old (76.1%) with more than a half of the subjects (60%) were obese. Patients with uncontrolled diabetes were distributed evenly among the COVID-19 severities (74.3% in asymptomatic group, 73.6% in mild group, and 74.1% in moderate group). There were reductions in FBG and 2hPBG levels measured before (210.75±81.38 and 271.19±100.7 mg/dL, respectively) and after the treatment (181.03±68.9 and 222.01±86.96 mg/dL, respectively). All patients received multivitamin and symptomatic treatment for COVID-19. Oral antidiabetic drug (57.6%) and insulin (28.8%) were administered to lower the blood glucose level of the patients. As many as 96.9% patients survived, while 3.1% died. Conclusion: COVID-19 could affect the blood glucose level, suggesting the importance of antihyperglycemic therapies among patients with both COVID-19 and diabetes mellitus.
Robustness of the aging effect of smiling against vertical facial orientation
Authors: Yoshimura Naoto , Yonemitsu Fumiya , Sasaki Kyoshiro , Yamada Yuki 
Published: June 2022

Background: Previous studies have shown that the association between smiling and youth is a misconception; smiling faces have been estimated to be older than neutral faces. Previous studies have indicated that this aging effect of smiling (AES) is due to eye wrinkles caused by the facial action of smiling. However, whether holistic processing for facial expressions is involved in AES has not been investigated. The present study aimed to clarify these issues. Methods: Participants were recruited to participate in an online experiment that had a 3 (facial expression: smiling/neutral/surprised) × 2 (facial orientation: upright/inverted) mixed design. Participants were presented with an upright or inverted face for each expression (neutral, smiling, and surprised) and were asked to estimate the individual’s age. Results: In total, 104 participants were included in the analysis. The results show that smiling faces were estimated to be older than neutral faces, whereas there was no significant difference between upright and inverted faces. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that AES is not dependent on holistic processing.
EncephalApp Stroop Test for covert hepatic encephalopathy screening in Tunisian cirrhotic patients
Authors: Hamzaoui Lamine , Mahmoudi Moufida , Mohamed Ghanem , Elloumi Hanene , Laabidi Asma , Boubaker Jalel , Boudabbous Mona , Tahri Nabil , Jemni Imen , Safer Leila , Jomni Taieb , Douggui Hedi , Trad Dorra , Gargouri Dalila , Ayadi Shema , Debbeche Radhouane , Belhouchet Sami , Marouani Ridha , Cheikh Imed , Abdelli Mohamed Nabil 
Published: June 2022

Background: Covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) is underdiagnosed and is difficult to detect. The EncephalApp Stroop test is validated for its screening. The aim of the study was to define Tunisian norms for the test based on healthy controls norms and to estimate the prevalence of CHE in cirrhotic Tunisian patients. Methods: A prospective, multicenter, cross‐sectional study was conducted. Ambulatory or hospitalized cirrhotic patients aged 40 years and over were recruited at 11 centers. Healthy subjects aged 40 years and over were recruited at 8 centers. We used a translated Arabic version of the streamlined EncephalApp Stroop test. The task has two components: “Off” and “On” state depending on the discordance or concordance of the stimuli. Results: 142 patients were included. The mean age was 57.26 years [40–86]. 40 (28.17%) of cirrhotic patients who were included were diagnosed as having a minimal hepatic encephalopathy or CHE. Among the ineligible patients, 22 had overt hepatic encephalopathy. If we consider these patients, the overall prevalence rate of CHE was around 24.39% in cirrhotic patients. It was more frequent in women (34.21% vs 25.96%), and in patients whose level of school education is between 6 and 13 years. Its prevalence does not appear to be affected by gender, MELD score, etiology of cirrhosis and age group of patients, as these variables were independent with respective p according to the chi-square test 0.413; 0.736; 0.663 and 0.1. The stroop times (On / Off and On + Off) correlated significantly with each other, are associated significantly and positively with age (respective Pearson coefficients: 0.578; 0.567 and 0.6). The more the age increases, the more the stroop response times increases (p > 10-3). Conclusions: EncephalApp Stroop test was an efficient screening tool for CHE in Tunisian cirrhotic patients.
A systematic review on the effects of high frequency chest wall compression and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation in patients with neuromuscular disease
Authors: Giacomino Katia , Hilfiker Roger , Magnin Tina , Allet Lara 
Published: June 2022

Background: Respiratory insufficiency is the most common cause of mortality among patients with a neuromuscular disease. Methods: We followed the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews. We explored the effects of high frequency wall compression and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation, compared to a control intervention, on the lung volume and capacity, and quality of life in patients with neuromuscular disease. We further assessed the effects of these two interventions on clinical value, complications, and survival. The literature search was performed on 30/06/2020 in Embase, MEDLINE, CENTRAL, PEDro and CINAHL on 6/07/2020. Inclusion criteria: patients with neuromuscular disease; interventions of interest mentioned above; randomised controlled trials comparing these interventions with a control intervention. Results: Five studies were included, and results were presented narratively. High frequency wall compression was not shown to be superior to standard care in terms of lung volume and capacity, quality of life, complications, and survival rate. Compared with standard care, intrapulmonary percussive ventilation showed non-significant differences in terms of lung volume and capacity, and the risk of respiratory infection. Standard care was nevertheless associated with a significantly higher risk of days of hospitalisation (Incidence Rate Ratio 8.5 [1.1-67]) and of antibiotic use than intrapulmonary percussive ventilation (Incidence Rate Ratio 43 [6-333]). The assessment with the risk of bias tool 2.0 showed a high risk of bias for all outcomes. Moreover, the evidence is of very low-quality for all outcomes. Conclusions: Due to large variety of reported outcomes, missing data and limited number of studies, no meta-analysis could be conducted. The results should be interpreted with caution as the results have a very low certainty of evidence and reported outcomes have a high risk of bias. The evidence for high frequency wall compression and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation is still insufficient to draw final conclusions. Registration: PROSPERO ID: CRD42017064703.
Healing through faith: meeting a chaplain coupled with biblical readings could produce lymphocyte changes that correlate with brain activity (HEALING study)
Authors: Béres András , Emri Miklós , Aranyi Csaba , Fajtai Dániel , Nagy Ferenc , Szabó Péter , Bödecs Pál , Hörcsik Edit , Perpékné Papp Éva , Tomanek Ferenc , Kuti Márta , Petőfalviné Ágnes , Kisdeákné Hajnalka , Bíró Gergely , Kovács Dániel , Bakos Bettina , Vinczen Eszter , Gál Eszter , Sillinger Renáta , Szalai Zoltán , Szilágyi Antal , Kiss-Merki Marianna , Nagyéri György , Fodor Judit , Németh Tamás , Papp Erzsébet , Repa Imre 
Published: June 2022

Introduction: Faith and systems of beliefs are known to impact not only the emotional, but also the immunological state of believers in ways that we are just starting to understand. Moreover, clinical implications of previous studies are limited. The aim of the “HEALING” (Hospital-based Ecumenical and Linguistic Immuno-NeuroloGic) Study was to examine immunological and neurological changes in hospitalized patients after meeting a chaplain coupled with biblical readings. Methods: Hospitalized patients were pre-screened to find those who were the most in need of an intervention. A passage from the Bible was read to them during a meeting with the chaplain at the bedside (n= 20) or in the chapel (n= 18). No meeting occurred in the randomized control group (n=19). Blood samples were taken 30 minutes prior, and 60 minutes after the meeting to measure white blood cells (WBC), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgA, IgG, and complement 3 (C3). A subgroup of the visited patients was subjected to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), where they were played an audiotape of readings of the same passage from the Bible (n=21). Results: Lymphocyte counts increased more often after the more successful visits, but the immunological changes were not significant. Conversely, a significant (pfwe=0.003) correlation was revealed between changes in lymphocytes and activation of the angular gyrus (left BA39) during fMRI, a brain area involved in word recognition. Conclusions: Although limited by the sample size and cohort study design, the findings suggest the depth of psycho-immunological changes could depend on the degree to which the chaplains’ main message is understood.
Evaluating whole HIV-1 genome sequence for estimation of incidence and migration in a rural South African community
Authors: Nascimento Fabrícia F , Ragonnet-Cronin Manon , Golubchik Tanya , Danaviah Siva , Derache Anne , Fraser Christophe , Volz Erik 
Published: June 2022

Background: South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the world, with HIV prevalence and transmission patterns varying greatly between provinces. Transmission between regions is still poorly understood, but phylodynamics of HIV-1 evolution can reveal how many infections are attributable to contacts outside a given community. We analysed whole genome HIV-1 genetic sequences to estimate incidence and the proportion of transmissions between communities in Hlabisa, a rural South African community. Methods: We separately analysed HIV-1 for gag, pol, and env genes sampled from 2,503 PLWHIV. We estimated time-scaled phylogenies by maximum likelihood under a molecular clock model. Phylodynamic models were fitted to time-scaled trees to estimate transmission rates, effective number of infections, incidence through time, and the proportion of infections imported to Hlabisa. We also partitioned time-scaled phylogenies with significantly different distributions of coalescent times. Results: Phylodynamic analyses showed similar trends in epidemic growth rates between 1980 and 1990. Model-based estimates of incidence and effective number of infections were consistent across genes. Parameter estimates with gag were generally smaller than those estimated with pol and env. When estimating the proportions of new infections in Hlabisa from immigration or transmission from external sources, our posterior median estimates were 85% (95% credible interval (CI) = 78%–92%) for gag, 62% (CI = 40%–78%) for pol, and 77% (CI = 58%–90%) for env in 2015. Analysis of phylogenetic partitions by gene showed that most close global reference sequences clustered within a single partition. This suggests local evolving epidemics or potential unmeasured heterogeneity in the population. Conclusions: We estimated consistent epidemic dynamic trends for gag, pol and env genes using phylodynamic models. There was a high probability that new infections were not attributable to endogenous transmission within Hlabisa, suggesting high inter-connectedness between communities in rural South Africa.
A General Framework for Learning Mean-Field Games
Authors: Guo Xin , Hu Anran , Xu Renyuan , Zhang Junzi 
Published: June 2022

This paper presents a general mean-field game (GMFG) framework for simultaneous learning and decision making in stochastic games with a large population. It first establishes the existence of a unique Nash equilibrium to this GMFG, and it demonstrates that naively combining reinforcement learning with the fixed-point approach in classical mean-field games yields unstable algorithms. It then proposes value-based and policy-based reinforcement learning algorithms (GMF-V and GMF-P, respectively) with smoothed policies, with analysis of their convergence properties and computational complexities. Experiments on an equilibrium product pricing problem demonstrate that two specific instantiations of GMF-V with Q-learning and GMF-P with trust region policy optimization—GMF-V-Q and GMF-P-TRPO, respectively—are both efficient and robust in the GMFG setting. Moreover, their performance is superior in convergence speed, accuracy, and stability when compared with existing algorithms for multiagent reinforcement learning in the N-player setting. Funding: X. Guo acknowledges the generous support from Coleman Fung Chair endowment fund and the Tsinghua-Berkeley-Shenzhen-Institute.
Structure of Nests and Colony Sizes of the European Hornet (Vespa crabro) and Saxon wasp (Dolichovespula saxonica) (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) in Urban Conditions
Authors: Nadolski Jerzy 
Published: June 2022

Studies of different groups of insects in urban areas sometimes show large populations, greater than in non-urban areas. The reason for this is a presence in the cities some of dominating species which often occur almost en masse.This group includes, inter alia, hymenopterans and especially social wasps (Vespinae). Colonies and nests of two wasp species, the European hornet (Vespa crabro) and Saxon wasp (Dolichovespula saxonica) in areas of the city of Łódź in Poland were studied. Whole colonies positioned both in buildings as well in natural places, size of societies, parameters their nests, differentiation of cells in combs and their location were investigated. We also studied the correlation between the size of the nest and societies of these insects. It was found that nests established in the buildings are much larger, produced more individuals of reproductive castes and thus obtained a better reproductivesuccess especially for the hornet colonies whose queens prefer the buildings as a place to nest.
36  Hz integral linewidth laser based on a photonic integrated 4.0  m coil resonator
Authors: Liu Kaikai , Chauhan Nitesh , Wang Jiawei , Isichenko Andrei , Brodnik Grant M. , Morton Paul A. , Behunin Ryan O. , Papp Scott B. , Blumenthal Daniel J. 
Published: June 2022

Laser
stabilization sits at the heart of many precision scientific
experiments and applications, including quantum information science,
metrology, and atomic timekeeping. Many of these systems narrow the
laser linewidth and stabilize the carrier by use of Pound–Drever–Hall
(PDH) locking to a table-scale, ultrahigh quality factor (Q), vacuum
spaced Fabry–Perot reference cavity. Integrating these cavities to
bring characteristics of PDH stabilization to the chip scale is
critical to reducing their size, cost, and weight, and enabling a wide
range of portable and system-on-chip applications. We report a
significant advance in integrated laser linewidth narrowing,
stabilization, and noise reduction by use of a photonic integrated
4.0 m long coil resonator to stabilize a semiconductor laser. We
achieve a 36 Hz

1

/

π

-integral linewidth, Allan deviation
of

1.8

×

10

−
13

at 10 ms measurement time, and a
2.3 kHz/s drift—to the best of our knowledge, the lowest integral
linewidth and highest stability demonstrated for an integrated
waveguide reference cavity. This performance represents over an order
of magnitude improvement in integral linewidth and frequency noise
over previous integrated waveguide PDH stabilized reference cavities
and bulk-optic and integrated injection locked approaches, and over
two orders of magnitude improvement in frequency and phase noise than
integrated injection locked approaches. Two different wavelength coil
designs are demonstrated, stabilizing lasers at 1550 nm and 1319 nm.
The resonator is bus-coupled to a 4.0 m long coil, with a 49 MHz free
spectral range, mode volume of

1.0

×

10

10

µ

m

3

, and 142 million intrinsic

Q

, fabricated in a CMOS compatible,
ultralow loss silicon nitride waveguide platform. Our measurements and
simulations show that the thermorefractive noise floor for this
particular cavity is reached for frequencies down to 20 Hz in an
ambient environment with simple passive vibration isolation and
without vacuum or thermal isolation. The thermorefractive noise
limited performance is estimated to yield an 8 Hz

1

/

π

-integral linewidth and Allan
deviation of

5

×

10

−
14

at 10 ms, opening a stability regime
that heretofore has been available only in fundamentally
non-integrated systems. These results demonstrate the potential to
bring the characteristics of laboratory-scale stabilized lasers to the
integrated, wafer-scale compatible chip scale, and are of interest for
a number of applications in quantum technologies and atomic,
molecular, and optical physics, and with further developments below
10 Hz linewidth, can be highly relevant to ultralow noise microwave
generation.