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An approach for classification of linear codes with given parameters starting from their proper residual codes or subcodes is presented. The base of the algorithm is the concept of canonical augmentation which is important for parallel implementations. The algorithms are implemented in the programs LengthExtension and DimExtension of the package QextNewEdition. As an application, the nonexistence of binary [41, 14, 14] codes is proved.
Classification of Linear Codes by Extending Their Residuals
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the World Health Organization recommended measures to mitigate the outbreak such as social distancing and confinement. Since these measures have been put in place, anecdotal reports describe a decrease in the number of endovascular therapy (EVT) treatments for acute ischemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion. The purpose of our study was to determine the effect on EVT for patients with acute ischemic stroke during the COVID-19 confinement. In this retrospective, observational study, data were collected from November 1, 2019, to April 15, 2020, at 17 stroke centers in countries where confinement measures have been in place since March 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic (Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Canada, and United States). This study included 1600 patients treated by EVT for acute ischemic stroke. Date of EVT and symptom onset-to-groin puncture time were collected. Mean number of EVTs performed per hospital per 2-week interval and mean stroke onset-to-groin puncture time were calculated before confinement measures and after confinement measures. Distributions (non-normal) between the 2 groups (before COVID-19 confinement versus after COVID-19 confinement) were compared using 2-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test. The results show a significant decrease in mean number of EVTs performed per hospital per 2-week interval between before COVID-19 confinement (9.0 [95% CI, 7.8C10.1]) and after COVID-19 confinement (6.1 [95% CI, 4.5C7.7]), (P<0.001). In addition, there is a significant increase in mean stroke onset-to-groin puncture time (P<0.001), between before COVID-19 confinement (300.3 minutes [95% CI, 285.3C315.4]) and after COVID-19 confinement (354.5 minutes [95% CI, 316.2C392.7]). Our preliminary analysis indicates a 32% reduction in EVT procedures and an estimated 54-minute increase in symptom onset-to-groin puncture time after confinement measures for COVID-19 pandemic were put into place.
Acute Stroke Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Does Confinement Impact Eligibility for Endovascular Therapy?
BACKGROUND: Differentiating Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis (VAT) from Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) may be challenging for clinicians, yet their management currently differs. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of the Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS) to differentiate VAT and VAP. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis based on the data from 2 independent prospective cohorts. Patients of the TAVeM database with a diagnosis of VAT (n = 320) or VAP (n = 369) were included in the derivation cohort. Patients admitted to the Intensive Care Centre of Lille University Hospital between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017 who had a diagnosis of VAT (n = 70) or VAP (n = 139) were included in the validation cohort. The accuracy of the CPIS to differentiate VAT from VAP was assessed within the 2 cohorts by calculating sensitivity and specificity values, establishing the ROC curves and choosing the best threshold according to the Youden index. RESULTS: The areas under ROC curves of CPIS to differentiate VAT from VAP were calculated at 0.76 (95% CI [0.72C0.79]) in the derivation cohort and 0.67 (95% CI [0.6C0.75]) in the validation cohort. A CPIS value 7 was associated with the highest Youden index in both cohorts. With this cut-off, sensitivity and specificity were respectively found at 0.51 and 0.88 in the derivation cohort, and at 0.45 and 0.89 in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: A CPIS value 7 reproducibly allowed to differentiate VAT from VAP with high specificity and PPV and moderate sensitivity and NPV in our derivation and validation cohorts.
Accuracy of the clinical pulmonary infection score to differentiate ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis from ventilator-associated pneumonia
Informed by the educational conditions shaped by the novel coronavirus pandemic and an increased reliance upon online learning solutions and technologies, this article examines the role of personality traits and online academic self-efficacy in acceptance, actual use and achievement in Moodle on a socially distanced asynchronous university course in Japan. With a sample of 149 students the study adopts SEM path-analysis model testing procedures and shows that agreeableness and conscientious have positive direct effects on online academic self-efficacy in addition to positive indirect effects on the acceptance of Moodle. Moreover agreeableness and conscientious had an indirect effect on course achievement while none of the five-factor model personality traits had an influence on actual Moodle use. An improved respecified model further affirmed the importance of agreeableness and conscientious and their role in online academic self-efficacy, the acceptance and actual use of Moodle and course achievement outcomes. Fourteen percent of the observed variance in course achievement was explainable through the respecified model. The discussion highlights the implications to be drawn from the data in relation to the current educational landscape from the perspective of the educator.
The role of personality traits and online academic self-efficacy in acceptance, actual use and achievement in Moodle
This paper suggests that the increased prevalence of eLearning across universities worldwide in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic radically reshapes how university space is utilized As a result, the manner in which place is conceptualized is also fluctuating Universities near national borders have typically developed a multifaceted sense of place in order to contend with the challenges intrinsic to their locations Using Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas as an example, this paper examines how borders can have both hybridizing and polarizing effects on community identities Especially as eLearning offers the possibility for virtual distance learning, universities may have to operate more frequently across borders Considering the challenges of eLearning to a university on the U S -Mexico border can offer points of reflection for universities worldwide that are increasingly going to be required to operate across borders It ultimately argues that while the physical boundaries associated with borders are likely to be less problematic, the ideological constraints surrounding issues of the border are far more important to consider ? 2020 IEEE
Crossing borders: Virtual learning on the u.s.-mexico border
There has been a change in people's shopping behavior, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, from what traditionally requires direct face-To-face meetings between sellers and buyers, to virtual face-To-face through various shopping media. All activities carried out by customers, click streams performed, items purchased, the number of items including the price will be recorded in a log. Activity records in the log are very useful to be able to find out the pattern of activity sequences from customers, especially the order of items purchased by customers. However, the management certainly needs more knowledge, not just the order of goods that are often purchased by customers. Does the order of items purchased also provide maximum profit? There have been many methods to get frequent sequential patterns from customer activities, but getting a pattern that chooses more quality by adding utility value needs to be considered. In this research, the method used to obtain frequent sequential patterns is using PrefixSpan (Prefix-projected Sequential PAtterN) and the method used to obtain a high-utility sequential pattern is the USpan (Utility Sequential PAtterN) method. USpan is applied to the BMS (Blue Martini DataSet) dataset, which is the dataset used in KDD (Knowledge Discovery in Databases) CUP 2000 which consists of clickstream data from an e-commerce. The experimental results show that the frequent sequential pattern will always appear in the high-utility sequential pattern but not vice versa. It is certain that a high-utility pattern must be sequential, but a sequential pattern is not necessarily a high-utility sequential. From the results of the high-utility sequential pattern, it can be used as input to provide recommendations to customers to carry out the shopping process on items that can provide greater profits. The conclusion of the research conducted is that the high-utility sequential pattern mining can produce a higher quality pattern than just getting a frequent sequential pattern. ? 2021 IEEE.
Online Retail Pattern Quality Improvement: From Frequent Sequential Pattern to High-Utility Sequential Pattern
Members of the Bunyaviridae family mature by a budding process in the Golgi complex. The site of maturation is thought to be largely determined by the accumulation of the two spike glycoproteins, G1 and G2, in this organelle. Here we show that the signal for localizing the Uukuniemi virus (a phlebovirus) spike protein complex to the Golgi complex resides in the cytoplasmic tail of G1. We constructed chimeric proteins in which the ectodomain, transmembrane domain (TMD), and cytoplasmic tail (CT) of Uukuniemi virus G1 were exchanged with the corresponding domains of either vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV G), chicken lysozyme, or CD4, all proteins readily transported to the plasma membrane. The chimeras were expressed in HeLa or BHK-21 cells by using either the T7 RNA polymerase-driven vaccinia virus system or the Semliki Forest virus system. The fate of the chimeric proteins was monitored by indirect immunofluorescence, and their localizations were compared by double labeling with markers specific for the Golgi complex. The results showed that the ectodomain and TMD (including the 10 flanking residues on either side of the membrane) of G1 played no apparent role in targeting chimeric proteins to the Golgi complex. Instead, all chimeras containing the CT of G1 were efficiently targeted to the Golgi complex and colocalized with mannosidase II, a Golgi-specific enzyme. Conversely, replacing the CT of G1 with that from VSV G resulted in the efficient transport of the chimeric protein to the cell surface. Progressive deletions of the G1 tail suggested that the Golgi retention signal maps to a region encompassing approximately residues 10 to 50, counting from the proposed border between the TMD and the tail. Both G1 and G2 were found to be acylated, as shown by incorporation of [3H]palmitate into the viral proteins. By mutational analyses of CD4-G1 chimeras, the sites for palmitylation were mapped to two closely spaced cysteine residues in the G1 tail. Changing either or both of these cysteines to alanine had no effect on the targeting of the chimeric protein to the Golgi complex.
A retention signal necessary and sufficient for Golgi localization maps to the cytoplasmic tail of a Bunyaviridae (Uukuniemi virus) membrane glycoprotein.
The junction of the bones of the orbit, caudal maxilla and zygoma intersect to form an anatomically intricate region known as the orbitozygomaticomaxillary complex (OZMC). Given the critical role of the OZMC in the structure, function and esthetics of the skull and midface, tumors in this region present unique challenges to the oromaxillofacial surgeon. Attempts to achieve histologically clean tumor margins in a cosmetically pleasing manner requires excellent intra-operative visualization. Additionally, minimized intra-operative and post-opertive complications is of paramount importance. In this manuscript we describe a combined intra- and extraoral approach to extensive tumors of the OZMC that incorporates orbital exenteration as a technique, which allows for excellent intra-operative visualization and mitigate intra- and post-operative complications. In addition, we describe our experience utilizing the technique in five clinical cases.
Excision of Extensive Orbitozygomaticomaxillary Complex Tumors Combining an Intra- and Extraoral Approach With Transpalpebral Orbital Exenteration.
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) 7a protein, which is not expressed by other known coronaviruses, can induce apoptosis in various cell lines. In this study, we show that the overexpression of Bcl-XL, a prosurvival member of the Bcl-2 family, blocks 7a-induced apoptosis, suggesting that the mechanism for apoptosis induction by 7a is at the level of or upstream from the Bcl-2 family. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments showed that 7a interacts with Bcl-XL and other prosurvival proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-w, Mcl-1, and A1) but not with the proapoptotic proteins (Bax, Bak, Bad, and Bid). A good correlation between the abilities of 7a deletion mutants to induce apoptosis and to interact with Bcl-XL was observed, suggesting that 7a triggers apoptosis by interfering directly with the prosurvival function of Bcl-XL. Interestingly, amino acids 224 and 225 within the C-terminal transmembrane domain of Bcl-XL are essential for the interaction with the 7a protein, although the BH3 domain of Bcl-XL also contributes to this interaction. In addition, fractionation experiments showed that 7a colocalized with Bcl-XL at the endoplasmic reticulum as well as the mitochondria, suggesting that they may form complexes in different membranous compartments.
Induction of apoptosis by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 7a protein is dependent on its interaction with the Bcl-XL protein.
We report the endovascular stenting of an outflow tract thrombosis in a left ventricular assist device in a patient with relative contraindications to sternotomy and pump exchange. This report highlights the importance of simultaneous prevention of stroke using filter devices in the common carotid arteries.
Endovascular Stenting of a LVAD Outflow Graft Thrombosis.
With the exception of toxins, bioterrorism agents are mainly microorganisms, many of which cause serious infectious diseases. Up-converting phosphor technology-based point-of-care testing (UPT-POCT) can detect bioterrorism agents from various samples with high sensitivity and specificity, in particular it shows robust performance for complicated samples, such as food, powder, viscera and grains. The tolerance of UPT-POCT to sample is based on the physical and luminescence stability of UCNPs, the stable covalent interaction between UCNPs and antibody, as well as the strong buffering capacity of the detection system. Reliable results can be obtained in a short time period using a portable biosensor by nonprofessionals owing to the simple nature of UPT-POCT operation and sample pre-treatment.
Application of UPT-POCT in Anti-bioterrorism and Biosecurity
Purpose>This study explores impacts of innovation-adoption characteristics, food choice motives, segmentation and socio-demographics on consumer adoption of online-to-offline food delivery services (O2O-FDS) in a Western developed country C New Zealand C and an Asian developing country C China.Design/methodology/approach>An online survey of 1,185 consumers provides data that the authors analyse using factor analyses, structural equation modelling and cluster analysis.Findings>The following innovation-adoption characteristics and food choice motives have statistically significant effects on consumers' attitudes and/or purchase intentions towards O2O-FDS in the pooled sample and/or the samples of two countries: perceived incentive, perceived complexity, processed convenience, cheapness, taste appeal, safety-assured and purchase convenience. Three consumer segments are recognized: conservatives (26.6%), food-value seekers (40.8%) and pioneers (32.6%). Significant differences are found in marital status, age, household income, education level, household size, occupation, country and residential areas across the three segments.Originality/value>This is the first study to systematically understand significant influencing factors for the O2O-FDS adoption by using a sample set composed of both Eastern and Western consumers.
Consumer adoption of online-to-offline food delivery services in China and New Zealand
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on other health programmes in countries, including on malaria, and is currently under much discussion. As many countries are accelerating efforts to eliminate malaria or to prevent the re-establishment of malaria from recently eliminated countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to cause major interruptions to ongoing anti-malaria operations and risk jeopardizing the gains that have been made so far. Sri Lanka, having eliminated malaria in 2012, was certified by the World Health Organization as a malaria-free country in 2016 and now implements a rigorous programme to prevent its re-establishment owing to the high receptivity and vulnerability of the country to malaria. Sri Lanka has also dealt with the COVID-19 epidemic quite successfully limiting the cumulative number of infections and deaths through co-ordinated efforts between the health sector and other relevant sectors, namely the military, the Police Department, Departments of Airport and Aviation and Foreign Affairs, all of which have been deployed for the COVID-19 epidemic under the umbrella of a Presidential Task Force. The relevance of imported infections and the need for a multi-sectoral response are features common to both the control of the COVID-19 epidemic and the Prevention of Re-establishment (POR) programme for malaria. Sri Lankas malaria POR programme has, therefore, creatively integrated its activities with those of the COVID-19 control programme. Through highly coordinated operations the return to the country of Sri Lankan nationals stranded overseas by the COVID-19 pandemic, many from malaria endemic countries, are being monitored for malaria as well as COVID-19 in an integrated case surveillance system under quarantine conditions, to the success of both programmes. Twenty-three imported malaria cases were detected from February to October through 2773 microscopic blood examinations performed for malaria in quarantine centres, this number being not much different to the incidence of imported malaria during the same period last year. This experience highlights the importance of integrated case surveillance and the need for a highly coordinated multi-sectoral approach in dealing with emerging new infections. It also suggests that synergies between the COVID-19 epidemic control programme and other health programmes may be found and developed to the advantage of both.
Preventing the re-establishment of malaria in Sri Lanka amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
We investigate the role of global value chains in the declines of manufacturing employment and output in the U.S. during COVID-19. Specifically, we identify the role of global value chains by exploiting heterogeneity across industries in cross-country sourcing patterns and its interaction with exogenous cross-country variation in the containment policies introduced to combat the virus. We find that global value chains played a significant role in the decline of output and employment across U.S. manufactures. Moreover, we find a modest impact of diversifying or renationalizing global value chains in mitigating the economy's exposure to foreign shocks.
Global Value Chains and US Economic Activity During COVID-19
Many business sectors and households face an unprecedented loss of income in the current COVID-19 recession, triggering financial distress, separations, and bankruptcy Rather than stimulating demand, government policys main aim should be to provide insurance to firms and workers to avoid undue scarring that will hamper a recovery once the pandemic is past We develop a corporate finance framework to guide interventions in credit markets to avoid such scarring We emphasize three main results First, policy should inject liquidity into small and medium-sized firms that are liquidity constrained and for which social costs of bankruptcy are high Second, large firms for whom solvency is the dominant issue require a more nuanced approach Debt overhang creates a distortion, leading these firms to fire workers, forgo expenditures that maintain enterprise value, and delay filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy longer than is socially efficient Government resources toward reducing the legal and financial costs of bankruptcy are unambiguously beneficial Policies that reduce funding costs are only socially desirable if the pandemic is expected to be short-lived and if bankruptcy costs are high Last, transfers necessary to avoid bankruptcy allow borrowers to continue paying their mortgages or credit card bills and ultimately benefit owners of assets such as real estate or credit card receivables Taxes to fund transfers should be raised from these asset owners ? 2020, Brookings Institution Press All rights reserved
Corporate debt overhang and credit policy
Background Conversations are influenced by cultural perceptions, beliefs and values. Debriefing is a learning conversation. Without cross-cultural engagement or culturally relevant teaching, learning may be compromised and may result in an outcome opposite of that intended. Objective This systematic review explores cultural considerations in healthcare simulation debriefing. We sought to explore findings that could help debriefers create culturally responsive and inclusive debriefings. Study selection Studies were included if they were peer-reviewed articles in any language and focused on healthcare simulation debriefing and global cultural considerations. Research study methods included qualitative, quantitative or both. The review included any health-related profession and level of learner. Findings Three studies met the criteria. The purposes of the three studies were significantly different and did not directly study cultural considerations in debriefing. Conclusions The learner-educator relationship is at risk and learning may be negatively impacted without addressing cultural awareness. More studies are needed to fully describe the effect of culture on successful debriefing.
Cultural considerations in debriefing: a systematic review of the literature.
BACKGROUND Thousands of children require mechanical ventilation each year. Although mechanical ventilation is lifesaving, it is also associated with adverse events if not properly managed. The systematic implementation of evidence-based practice through the use of guidelines and protocols has been shown to mitigate risk, yet variation in care remains prevalent. Advances in health-care technology provided the ability to stream data about mechanical ventilation and therapeutic response. Through these advances, a computer system was developed to enable the coupling of physiologic and ventilation data for real-time interpretation. Our aim was to assess the feasibility and utility of a newly developed patient categorization and scoring system to objectively measure compliance with standards of care. METHODS We retrospectively categorized the ventilation and oxygenation statuses of subjects within our pediatric ICU utilizing 15 rules-based algorithms. Targets were predetermined based on generally accepted practices. All patient categories were calculated and presented as a percent score (0-100%) of acceptable ventilation, acceptable oxygenation, barotrauma-free, and volutrauma-free states. RESULTS Two hundred twenty-two subjects were identified and analyzed encompassing 1,578 d of mechanical ventilation. Median age was 3 y, median ideal body weight was 14.7 kg, and 63% were male. The median acceptable ventilation score was 84.6%, and the median acceptable oxygenation score was 70.1% (100% being maximally acceptable). Potential for ventilator-induced lung injury was broken into 2 components: barotrauma and volutrauma. There was very little potential for barotrauma, with a median barotrauma-free state of 100%. Median potential for a volutrauma-free state was 56.1%. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the first patient categorization system utilizing a coordinated data-banking system and analytics to determine patient status and a surveillance of mechanical ventilation quality. Further research is needed to determine whether interventions such as visual display of variance from goal and patient categorization summaries can improve outcomes. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration NCT02184208.).
Categorization in Mechanically Ventilated Pediatric Subjects: A Proposed Method to Improve Quality.
The article reports that disciplinary development is fundamentally challenged to redesign the profession for the future. Topics include risk can cascade and spread across global systems, with implications for multiple aspects of societal stability;and the polarization of the COVID-19 virus, with hostility toward nurses and other healthcare providers from individuals and groups.
A Bevy of Black Swan Events: Existential Threats to the Future of Nursing
COVID-19 is generally a benign or asymptomatic infection in children, but can occasionally be severe or fatal Delayed presentation of COVID-19 with hyperinflammation and multi-organ involvement was recently recognized, designated the Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Six children with MIS-C with molecular and serologic evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection were admitted to our hospital between May 5, 2020 and June 25, 2020 All had fever and weakness;4/6 presented with gastrointestinal symptoms Two children had features of complete Kawasaki disease, 3 had incomplete Kawasaki disease, while 1 had terminal ileitis with delayed onset of circulatory shock Treatment consisted of intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin for Kawasaki-like disease Remdesivir, corticosteroids, and infliximab were used when indicated Median hospitalization was 7 days Immediate treatment resulted in rapid clinical improvement In children presenting with hyperinflammatory syndromes without cardiac manifestations, testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies, with close cardiac monitoring should be pursued due to the manifold presentations of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children
Diversity of Cardiac and Gastrointestinal Presentations of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with COVID-19: A Case Series
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are ubiquitously distributed persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in marine environments. Phytoplankton are the entrance of PBDEs entering to biotic environments from abiotic environments, while the responding mechanisms of phytoplankton to PBDEs have not been full established. Therefore, we chose the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana in this study, by integrating whole transcriptome analysis with physiological-biochemical data, to reveal the molecular responding mechanisms of T. pseudonana to the toxicity of BDE-47. Our results indicated the changes of genes expressions correlated to the physiological-biochemical changes, and there were multiple molecular mechanisms of T. pseudonana responding to the toxicity of BDE-47: Gene expressions evidence explained the suppression of light reaction and proved the occurrence of cellular oxidative stress; In the meanwhile, up-regulations of genes in pathways involving carbon metabolisms happened, including the Calvin cycle, glycolysis, TCA cycle, fatty acid synthesis, and triacylglycerol synthesis; Lastly, DNA damage was found and three outcome including DNA repair, cell cycle arrest and programmed cell death (PCD) happened, which could finally inhibit the cell division and population growth of T. pseudonana. This study presented the most complete molecular responding mechanisms of phytoplankton cells to PBDEs, and provided valuable information of various PBDEs-sensitive genes with multiple functions for further research involving organic pollutants and phytoplankton.
The molecular response mechanisms of a diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana to the toxicity of BDE-47 based on whole transcriptome analysis