bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Preprint Highlight: ALIBY: ALFA nanobody-based toolkit for imaging and biochemistry in yeast
Authors: Subramanian Vijayalakshmi V. 
Published: November 2022

Many commonly used protein epitope tags are optimized for one or a few biological applications. The recently developed ALFA tag performs well across a broad range of cell biological applications including localization, biochemical, and functional studies but has not been available in budding yeast. This study engineers a modular plasmid-based platform to introduce ALFA tag on proteins of interest in budding yeast for detection via fluorescently tagged ALFA nanobodies. The toolkit offers excellent performance for quantitative live imaging, spatiotemporal analyses of proteins, protein kinetics, and immunoprecipitation studies, all with the same tag. These materials will be of broad interest to yeast biologists for simplified imaging and biochemical analyses. This preprint has been assigned the following badges: New Methods, New Materials. Read the preprint on bioRxiv ( Akhuli et al., 2022 ): https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.07.18.500560 .
Handgrip strength rather than chair stand test should be used to diagnose sarcopenia in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients: REStORing health of acutely unwell adulTs (RESORT)
Authors: Verstraeten Laure M G , de Haan Nina  J , Verbeet Eline , van Wijngaarden Janneke P , Meskers Carel  G M , Maier Andrea B 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Background
according to the revised sarcopenia definition proposed by the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) and revised definition of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS2019), handgrip strength (HGS) and chair stand test (CST) can be used interchangeably as initial diagnostic measures.

Objective
to assess the agreement between sarcopenia prevalence, using either HGS or CST, and their association with adverse outcomes in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients.

Methods
REStORing health of acutely unwell adulTs is an observational, longitudinal cohort of geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. Cohen’s kappa (κ) was used to assess the agreement between sarcopenia prevalence (no, probable and confirmed and severe sarcopenia) according to EWGSOP2 and AWGS2019 using either HGS or CST. Associations between HGS and CST and readmission, institutionalisation and mortality were assessed by binomial regression.

Results
patients (n = 1,250, 57% females) had a median age of 83.1 years (interquartile range: [77.5–88.3]). There was no agreement between probable sarcopenia prevalence using HGS or CST for EWGSOP2 and AWGS2019, respectively (HGS: 70.9% and 76.2%; CST: 95.5% and 98.4%; κ = 0.08 and 0.02). Agreement between confirmed and severe sarcopenia prevalence using either HGS or CST was strong to almost perfect. HGS was associated with 3-month institutionalisation and 3-month and 1-year mortality, whereas CST was not associated.

Conclusions
HGS and CST cannot be used interchangeably as diagnostic measures for probable sarcopenia in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients. CST is not useful to predict adverse outcomes in geriatric rehabilitation inpatients.
Acceptability and engagement amongst patients on oral and intravenous bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis in older adults
Authors: Narayanasamy Melanie , Bishop Simon , Sahota Opinder , Paskins Zoe , Gittoes Neil , Langley Tessa 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Background
Osteoporosis is common in older adults leading to fragility fractures at enormous individual and economic cost. Improving long-term adherence with bisphosphonate treatments reduces fracture risk, but adherence rates for first-line oral bisphosphonate alendronate remains low. Although alternative treatment regimens, including annual intravenous infusions are available, patient acceptability remains unclear. Therefore, understanding patients’ acceptability and engagement in different bisphosphonate regimens is important to ensure optimal treatment benefits.

Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 78 patients with a mean age of 69.9 years, who had taken or received bisphosphonates for osteoporosis within the last 24 months. Data analysis included iterative categorisation and used the theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA) to compare the acceptability of treatments regimens.

Results
Treatment acceptability and engagement were influenced by the extent to which patients understood the prescribed treatment, and evidence of the treatment working. Acceptability and engagement were compromised when treatment was perceived as burdensome, personal costs were incurred, and patients’ values were incompatible with the regimen. The balancing of these factors contributed to patients’ ability to cope with the treatment and their emotional responses. Intravenous treatment was generally perceived as easier to understand, more effective, less burdensome with fewer opportunity costs, and a preferable regimen compared with oral bisphosphonates.

Conclusions
Annual intravenous zoledronate bisphosphonate treatment was generally more acceptable to patients, perceived as more straightforward to engage in, although a small portion of patients on oral bisphosphonates were satisfied with treatment. Further research is needed to identify how acceptability and engagement can be optimised.
What influences decisions to transfer older care-home residents to the emergency department? A synthesis of qualitative reviews
Authors: Marincowitz Carl , Preston Louise , Cantrell Anna , Tonkins Michael , Sabir Lisa , Mason Suzanne 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBackgroundcare home residents aged over 65 have disproportionate rates of emergency department (ED) attendance and hospitalisation. Around 40% attendances may be avoidable, and hospitalisation is associated with harms. We synthesised the evidence available in qualitative systematic reviews of different stakeholders’ experiences of decisions to transfer residents to the ED.Methodssix electronic databases, references and citations of included reviews and relevant policy documents were searched. Reviews of qualitative studies exploring factors that influenced care home staff, medical practitioners, residents’ family or residents’ experiences and factors influencing decisions to transfer residents to the ED were included. Thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings.Resultssix previous reviews were included, which synthesised the findings of 34 primary studies encompassing 152 care home residents, 283 resident family members or carers and 447 care home staff. Of the primary studies, 19 were conducted in the North America, seven in Australia, five were conducted in Scandinavia, two in the United Kingdom and one in Holland. Three themes were identified: (i) power dynamics between residents, family members, care home staff and health care professionals (external to the care home) influence decisions; (ii) admission can be necessary; however, (iii) some decisions may be driven by factors other than clinical need.Conclusiontransfer decisions are complex and are determined not just by changes in health status interventions aimed at reducing avoidable transfers need to address the key role family members have in transfer decisions, the medical legal fears of care home staff and barriers to accessing community services.
Characteristics of desirable ambulatory health and oral healthcare from the perspective of community-dwelling people aged 80 and over—a qualitative examination
Authors: Herrler Angélique , Kukla Helena , Barbe Anna Greta , Vennedey Vera , Stock Stephanie 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Background
people aged 80 and over frequently have diverse and complex health trajectories, which has been well studied. But their oral health is seldom included in care models. To realise comprehensive healthcare, both general and oral ambulatory (i.e. outpatient) healthcare need to be explored and conceptualised equally.

Objective
to elicit what matters to very old people regarding ambulatory health and oral healthcare.

Methods
interviews were conducted with non-institutionalised people aged 80 and over living in the area of Cologne, Germany. They were interviewed regarding their experiences of and views on ambulatory healthcare and oral healthcare care, respectively. Thematic analysis was performed to understand their motives and elicit relevant characteristics of desirable health services.

Results
from the interviews with 22 participants, 16 characteristics of good healthcare were described. These were generally similar for both general and oral healthcare and had a particular focus on patient–provider interaction and the organisation of care. However, regarding oral healthcare, the participants focused more strongly on the technical–medical skills of professionals and the perceptible treatment results and were more concerned about costs. It was noticeable that older people had the urge to differentiate themselves from ‘others unnecessarily using health services’. They were unaware of possible future oral health deterioration and the resulting future needs.

Conclusions
characteristics of good health and oral healthcare from the perspective of older people should be incorporated to ensure patient-centredness in care models. Older patients, as well as healthcare providers, need to be sensitised to their oral health needs to realise comprehensive healthcare.
Foraging in heterogeneous landscapes: variation in movement patterns of a tropical sand-bubbler crab
Authors: Hui Tin Yan , Williams Gray A 
Published: November 2022

AbstractAcquiring food in heterogeneous landscapes presents a challenge to many foragers, as searching for food in an optimal manner is difficult in spatially and temporally variable environments. Investigating individual foraging patterns can elucidate how environmental variations at different scales constrain or select for energy-optimizing movements, which can inform conservation and management strategies by identifying spatio-temporal variations in species’ habitat use. To test how such movements vary with environmental conditions, we investigated foraging patterns of the deposit-feeding sand-bubbler crab, Scopimera intermedia Balss, 1934 at multiple spatial and temporal scales on soft sediment shores in Hong Kong. On a broad, annual, scale the crabs produced foraging tracks of different length and foraged over different areas around their burrows between hot and cool seasons. Although foraging movements of the crabs were slower and more restricted during the cool season, probably due to low environmental temperatures, foraging areas during the hot season were larger but limited by increasing conspecific interactions. Over a smaller scale at which the crabs make movement decisions, parameters such as turning angle and speed were variable, even within individual foraging excursions. Such variations appeared to be responses to small-scale variations in sediment food patches, which resulted in the crabs employing multiple movement modes. This context-dependent foraging strategy enables the crabs to feed for a longer time in food-rich patches compared with a fixed strategy and is, therefore, critical for species living in environments such as intertidal sediments, where food distribution is heterogeneous and foraging time is constrained by the tide.
Relationships between reproductive character displacement in genital morphology and the population-level cost of interspecific mating: implications for the Templeton effect
Authors: Nishimura Taira , Terada Karen , Xia Tian , Takami Yasuoki 
Published: November 2022

AbstractNatural selection against maladaptive interspecific reproductive interactions may cause greater divergence in mating traits between sympatric populations than between allopatric populations in a pair of species, known as reproductive character displacement (RCD) which is evidence for the lock-and-key hypothesis of genital evolution. However, the relative importance of various processes contributing to RCD in genital morphology (e.g. reinforcement, reproductive interference, and population filtering or the Templeton effect) is not clear. Here, we examined hypotheses for RCD in genital morphology, with a special focus on the Templeton effect (which predicts that only highly differentiated populations can exist in sympatry). We examined population-level fitness costs in interspecific mating between Carabus maiyasanus and Carabus iwawakianus with RCD in genital morphology. A mating experiment using populations with various degrees of RCD in genital morphology showed no evidence for consistently lower interspecific mating costs in C. maiyasanus populations in contact with displacement in genital morphology than in remote populations, contrary to the predictions of the Templeton effect. Alternatively, interspecific mating costs varied among populations. Observed relationships between the sizes of genital parts concerning isolation and interspecific mating costs across populations suggested that population-level fitness costs do not necessarily decrease during the process leading to RCD. Our results provide insight into ecological and evolutionary processes during secondary contact in closely related species.
IV estimation of spatial dynamic panels with interactive effects: large sample theory and an application on bank attitude towards risk
Authors: Cui Guowei , Sarafidis Vasilis , Yamagata Takashi 
Published: November 2022

Summary
This paper develops a new instrumental variables estimator for spatial, dynamic panels with interactive effects under large N and T asymptotics. For this class of models, most approaches available in the literature are based on quasi-maximum likelihood estimation. The approach put forward here is appealing from both a theoretical and a practical point of view for a number of reasons. First, it is linear in the parameters of interest and computationally inexpensive. Second, the IV estimator is free from asymptotic bias. Third, the approach can accommodate endogenous regressors as long as external instruments are available. The IV estimator is consistent and asymptotically normal as $N,T\rightarrow \infty$, such that $N/T \rightarrow c$, where $0\lt c\lt \infty$. We study the determinants of risk attitude of banking institutions. The results show that the capital regulation introduced by the Dodd–Frank Act has succeeded in influencing banks’ behaviour.
Semi-parametric inference on Gini indices of two semi-continuous populations under density ratio models
Authors: Yuan Meng , Li Pengfei , Wu Changbao 
Published: November 2022

SummaryThe Gini index is a popular inequality measure with many applications in social and economic studies. This paper studies semi-parametric inference on the Gini indices of two semi-continuous populations. We characterise the distribution of each semi-continuous population by a mixture of a discrete point mass at zero and a continuous skewed positive component. A semi-parametric density ratio model is then employed to link the positive components of the two distributions. We propose the maximum empirical likelihood estimators of the two Gini indices and their difference, and further investigate the asymptotic properties of the proposed estimators. The asymptotic results enable us to construct confidence intervals, and perform hypothesis tests for the two Gini indices and their difference. The proposed method is also applicable to cases without excessive zero values. The superiority of our proposed method over some existing methods is shown theoretically and numerically. Two real-data applications are presented for illustration.
The population-attributable fraction for time-to-event data
Authors: von Cube Maja , Schumacher Martin , Timsit Jean Francois , Decruyenaere Johan , Steen Johan 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Background
Even though the population-attributable fraction (PAF) is a well-established metric, it is often incorrectly estimated or interpreted not only in clinical application, but also in statistical research articles. The risk of bias is especially high in more complex time-to-event data settings.

Methods
We explain how the PAF can be defined, identified and estimated in time-to-event settings with competing risks and time-dependent exposures. By using multi-state methodology and inverse probability weighting, we demonstrate how to reduce or completely avoid severe types of biases including competing risks bias, immortal time bias and confounding due to both baseline and time-varying patient characteristics.

Results
The method is exemplarily applied to a real data set. Moreover, we estimate the number of deaths that were attributable to ventilator-associated pneumonia in France in the year 2016. The example demonstrates how, under certain simplifying assumptions, PAF estimates can be extrapolated to a target population of interest.

Conclusions
Defining and estimating the PAF in advanced time-to-event settings within a framework that unifies causal and multi-state modelling enables to tackle common sources of bias and allows straightforward implementation with standard software packages.
Energy, economic and environmental analysis of solar-assisted air source heat pump system: a case study in university town
Authors: Dou Zhenlan , Zhang Chunyan , Yang Yongwen , Li Qifen , Cai Jingyong 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
The integration of solar collector and air source heat pump is solar-assisted air source heat pump system (SA-ASHP), which is regarded as a promising technology in carbon emission reduction and energy saving. In this paper, a SA-ASHP system is designed to supply bathing water for the university town in Shanghai, which can alternately operate with solar-assisted (SA) mode and air-source (AS) mode. The energy performance of SA-ASHP system is simulated with mathematic model, on this basis, its financial benefits and environmental impact have been evaluated and compared with gas boiler water heater. The results indicate that the performance in AS mode and SA mode are affected by the environmental conditions, and the impact on AS mode is more significant. To achieve the optimal performance, the SA-ASHP system operates in AS mode from April to October and operates in SA mode from November to March. As the price of natural gas is higher than electricity and heat pump has good energy-saving effect, the operation cost of gas boiler water heater is much higher than that of SA-ASHP system. After the start of carbon trading, the operation of gas boiler will bring great amount of pollutant emission cost, and SA-ASHP can bring the environmental benefit of ¥ 1 165 654.
Influence of thermochromic coatings on the thermal performance of the multi-layer wall by numerical simulation
Authors: Liu Shuhan , Wang Jing , Meng Xi 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
The conventional coating cannot always play better performance due to the seasonal change in a year, especially in the hot-summer and cold-winter zones. To overcome this drawback, the thermochromic coating was proposed, and its color varied with its temperature and featured different solar radiation absorption. To explore the application feasibility of thermochromic coating on exterior multi-layer walls, a numerical model was developed for an exterior insulation wall covered with thermochromic coatings, while the influence of the thermochromic coating was analyzed on the thermal performance of exterior walls by a reference of conventional coating. Numerical results showed that different from the conventional coating, the thermochromic coating showed low absorptivity in summer and high absorptivity in winter. Compared to conventional coating, the peak temperature in outer surface could be reduced by 11.2°C–16.7°C in summer and increased by 7.8°C–10.2°C in winter, while the peak heat flows in the outer surface were reduced by 22.4–38.9 W/m2 in summer and increased by 21.3–26.7 W/m2. It showed the thermochromic coating had the interesting capability to dampen the heat gains in summer, while promoting the heat gain in winter. Employing thermochromic coating reduced the cooling load by 24.28% and the heating load by 21.36%.
Sparse recovery by reduced variance stochastic approximation
Authors: Juditsky Anatoli , Kulunchakov Andrei , Tsyntseus Hlib 
Published: November 2022

AbstractIn this paper, we discuss application of iterative Stochastic Optimization routines to the problem of sparse signal recovery from noisy observation. Using Stochastic Mirror Descent algorithm as a building block, we develop a multistage procedure for recovery of sparse solutions to Stochastic Optimization problem under assumption of smoothness and quadratic minoration on the expected objective. An interesting feature of the proposed algorithm is linear convergence of the approximate solution during the preliminary phase of the routine when the component of stochastic error in the gradient observation, which is due to bad initial approximation of the optimal solution, is larger than the ‘ideal’ asymptotic error component owing to observation noise ‘at the optimal solution’. We also show how one can straightforwardly enhance reliability of the corresponding solution using Median-of-Means-like techniques.We illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithms in application to classical problems of recovery of sparse and low-rank signals in the generalized linear regression framework. We show, under rather weak assumption on the regressor and noise distributions, how they lead to parameter estimates which obey (up to factors which are logarithmic in problem dimension and confidence level) the best known accuracy bounds.
The cost of dispensing errors in Iranian health system: a retrospective evaluation
Authors: Yousefi Nazila , Asadi Farideh , Sharif Zahra , Khani Akram , Baymaninezhad Dana , Salamzade Jamshid , Peiravian Farzad 
Published: November 2022

Abstract

Objective
The problem of medication errors (MEs) has constantly been receiving considerable attention worldwide due to their health impact and costly consequences. MEs occur in all phases of prescription, preparation, administration, distribution and delivery to the patient; however, dispensing errors are more common in this study, we have attempted to identify various MEs that occurred by pharmacists and calculate their financial and physical harm costs.

Design
This was a 8-year retrospective study.

Setting
This study evaluated the costs of MEs in the Iranian health system caused by dispensing mistakes from 2012 to 2019. We retrieved documents and reports from the Tehran Medical Council Archive. Then, we extracted dispensing error data from ME record forms and analyzed them using SPSS software.

Main outcome Measures
Cost of dispensing errors.

Results
Among 3000 available MEs documents, only 2.6% of cases were dispensing errors. Errors included dispensing of wrong medication (75.6%), delivering expired medicines (11.5%), wrong medication order (9%), wrong medicine compounding (2.6%) and wrong dose of medication (1.3%). The most common cause of dispensing errors was physicians’ poor handwriting (23.1%). Legal reactions, due to MEs, occurred in a range of actions from written reprimand in the professional records to some months of deprivation from professional activities.

Conclusion
The analysis of the MEs that lead to the legal prosecution in the Iranian Medical Council shows that most cases, according to the severity of harm, were dispensing wrong medicines which caused temporary patients harm.