A cautionary note on the association between meteorological parameters and COVID-19 pandemic

Will the increasing temperature and humidity stop the spread of coronavirus, like seasonal patterns seen in viruses like influenza? In the authors’ opinion, weather has little or no part to play in bringing an end to the pandemic. As soon as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 a pandemic, many published articles reported temperature and humidity as potential weather parameter that could wane off the daily confirmed COVID-19 cases [1,2]. COVID-19 pandemic has set the globe on a medical emergency by constituting a threat to human existence. A holistic and non-medically related approach to the reduction in disease burden is urgently required. Most countries have gradually tightened lockdown policies and citizens are recommended to stay at home and preserve the physical distance. On the other hand, this concept demands critical review of the meteorological parameters and its relationship with the disease transmission, morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 which has been a subject of research since its outbreak. Several postulations to the uneven disease burden in various regions were adduced to the climatic variations.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Treatment of chronic migraine with transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagal nerve (auricular t-VNS):a randomized, monocentric clinical trial

Background Aim of the study was assessment of efficacy and safety of transcutaneous stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagal nerve (t-VNS) in the treatment of chronic migraine. Methods A monocentric, randomized, controlled, double-blind study was conducted. After one month of baseline, chronic migraine patients were randomized to receive 25 Hz or 1 Hz stimulation of the sensory vagal area at the left ear by a handhold battery driven stimulator for 4 h/day during 3 months. Headache days per 28 days were compared between baseline and the last month of treatment and the number of days with acute medication was recorded The Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) questionnaires were used to assess headache-related disability. Results Of 46 randomized patients, 40 finished the study (per protocol). In the per protocol analysis, patients in the 1 Hz group had a significantly larger reduction in headache days per 28 days than patients in the 25 Hz group (−7.0 ± 4.6 vs. −3.3 ± 5.4 days, p = 0.035). 29.4 % of the patients in the 1 Hz group had a ≥50 % reduction in headache days vs. 13.3 % in the 25 Hz group. HIT-6 and MIDAS scores were significantly improved in both groups, without group differences. There were no serious treatment-related adverse events. Conclusion Treatment of chronic migraine by t-VNS at 1 Hz was safe and effective. The mean reduction of headache days after 12 weeks of treatment exceeded that reported for other nerve stimulating procedures

Early postpartum lactation effects of cesarean and vaginal birth

Objectives: Breastfeeding has positive effects for both, the mother and the infant. The purpose of the study was to ex­amine how cesarean delivery and vaginal delivery influenced subsequent breastfeeding. The study was conducted at the Kırıkkale University Medical School. Material and methods: Breastfeeding outcomes after an elective cesarean delivery and after a planned vaginal delivery were compared. The study included 169 consenting mothers who gave birth to healthy infants (86 cesarean deliveries and 83 vaginal deliveries) between March and September 2001. All cesarean deliveries were performed under regional anesthesia. Results: Elective cesarean delivery was performed at a significantly earlier gestational age as compared to vaginal delivery (p = 0.001). Maternal age in the planned vaginal delivery group was significantly lower (p = 0.003). As for the change in prolactin levels, the results were similar but not statistically significant (p = 0.21). The frequency of breastfeeding per day did not differ significantly between the groups (p = 0.20). However, women after cesarean delivery tended to breastfeed more often than after vaginal delivery (p = 0.003). Mean number of points recorded at the first breastfeeding session, according to the LATCH charting system, was lower in the group after cesarean delivery as compared to vaginal labor. The difference between the average point scores of vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery mothers was found to be meaningful in favor of the women after vaginal delivery (p = 0.05). Conclusions: Elective cesarean section has negative effects on breastfeeding. Our results indicate that cesarean section constitutes a risk factor for delayed lactogenesis

An Assessment of Stone Weapon Tip Standardization During the Clovis-Folsom Transition in the Western United States

It has long been assumed that Folsom points are more standardized than Clovis points, although an adequate test of this proposition has yet to be undertaken. Here, we address that deficiency by using data from a sample of Folsom and Clovis points recovered from sites across the western United States. We used geometric morphometric techniques to capture point shape and then conducted statistical analyses of variability associated with Clovis and Folsom point bases and blades. Our results demonstrate that Folsom bases and blades are less variable than those on earlier Clovis points, indicating an increase in point standardization during the Early Paleoindian period. In addition, despite published claims to the contrary, Clovis and Folsom point bases are no more variable than blades. Based on these results, we conducted additional analyses to examine the modularity and size of Clovis and Folsom points. The results suggest Clovis points have more integrated base and blade segments than Folsom points. We suggest that several classes of Clovis points - intended for different functions - might have been in use during the Clovis period and that the later Folsom points might have served only as weapon tips, the shape of which were constrained by the fluting process

Genome reconstructions indicate the partitioning of ecological functions inside a phytoplankton bloom in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica

© The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Microbiology 6 (2015): 1090, doi:10.3389/fmicb.2015.01090.Antarctica polynyas support intense phytoplankton blooms, impacting their environment by a substantial depletion of inorganic carbon and nutrients. These blooms are dominated by the colony-forming haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica and they are accompanied by a distinct bacterial population. Yet, the ecological role these bacteria may play in P. antarctica blooms awaits elucidation of their functional gene pool and of the geochemical activities they support. Here, we report on a metagenome (~160 million reads) analysis of the microbial community associated with a P. antarctica bloom event in the Amundsen Sea polynya (West Antarctica). Genomes of the most abundant Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria populations have been reconstructed and a network analysis indicates a strong functional partitioning of these bacterial taxa. Three of them (SAR92, and members of the Oceanospirillaceae and Cryomorphaceae) are found in close association with P. antarctica colonies. Distinct features of their carbohydrate, nitrogen, sulfur and iron metabolisms may serve to support mutualistic relationships with P. antarctica. The SAR92 genome indicates a specialization in the degradation of fatty acids and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (compounds released by P. antarctica) into dimethyl sulfide, an aerosol precursor. The Oceanospirillaceae genome carries genes that may enhance algal physiology (cobalamin synthesis). Finally, the Cryomorphaceae genome is enriched in genes that function in cell or colony invasion. A novel pico-eukaryote, Micromonas related genome (19.6 Mb, ~94% completion) was also recovered. It contains the gene for an anti-freeze protein, which is lacking in Micromonas at lower latitudes. These draft genomes are representative for abundant microbial taxa across the Southern Ocean surface.This work was performed with financial support from NSF Antarctic Sciences awards ANT-1142095 to AP

Information Structures to Secure Control of Rigid Formations with Leader-Follower Structure

This paper is concerned with rigid formations of mobile autonomous agents using a leader-follower structure. A formation is a group of agents moving in real 2- or 3- dimensional space. A formation is called rigid if the distance between each pair of agents does not change over time under ideal conditions. Sensing/communication links between agents are used to maintain a rigid formation. Two agents connected by a sensing/communication link are called neighbors. There are two types of neighbor relations in rigid formations. In the first type, the neighbor relation is symmetric. In the second type, the neighbor relation is asymmetric. Rigid formations with a leader-follower structure have the asymmetric neighbor relation. A framework to analyze rigid formations with symmetric neighbor relations is given in our previous work. This paper suggests an approach to analyze rigid formations that have a leader-follower structure

Outcomes in Combined Anterior and Posterior Fusion for 3- and 4-Level Degenerative Lumbar Disc Disease

Introduction. This study reported the clinical and functionaloutcomes in a consecutive series of patients with3- or 4-level degenerative disc disease (DDD) betweenvertebral levels L2 to S1, who were treated with combinedanterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) and posteriorspinal fusion at one-year and two-year follow-ups. Methods. A retrospective chart review was performed on allpatients who underwent long segment fusion for DDD by asingle surgeon between August 2002 and January 2012. Fiftyfivepatients were identified and 32 had complete charts for review(14 had one-year follow-up and 18 two-year follow-up).In addition to demographic data, disability (Oswestry DisabilityIndex, ODI), pain level (Visual Analog Scale, VAS), andflexion-extension range-of-motion were measured pre- andpost-operatively. Operative data also were collected, includingoperative time, blood loss, surgical implants used, surgicalapproach, operative levels treated, and complications.Results. Both VAS and ODI improved significantly postoperatively.The average VAS score improved from 6.5 ± 1.5(range: 4 - 9) to 4.4 ± 1.7 (range: 2 - 7) for one-year follow-up,and 7.0 ± 1.8 (range: 4 - 10) to 4.4 ± 2.6 (range: 1 - 9) for twoyearfollow-up. For one-year follow-up, the average ODI scoreimproved from 53 ± 19% (range: 18 - 70%) to 37 ± 17% (range:12 - 64%), and for two-year follow-up, the average improvedfrom 53 ± 18% (range: 18 - 80%) to 31 ± 24% (range: 2 - 92%).The level of improvement in pain and function was similar topreviously published data for 1- and 2-level fusions, but overallpain and function scores were worse in this study group. Conclusions. Arthrodesis for 3- and 4-level DDD is, on average,a successful surgery that shows clinically significantimprovements in function and pain similar to fusionfor 1- and 2-levels with low rates of re-operation. Patientswith involvement of 3- or 4-levels have higher disabilityand pain both pre- and post-operatively compared to shorterfusion level involvement. KS J Med 2016;9(3):50-53

Interactive Distillation of Large Single-Topic Corpora of Scientific Papers

Highly specific datasets of scientific literature are important for both research and education. However, it is difficult to build such datasets at scale. A common approach is to build these datasets reductively by applying topic modeling on an established corpus and selecting specific topics. A more robust but time-consuming approach is to build the dataset constructively in which a subject matter expert (SME) handpicks documents. This method does not scale and is prone to error as the dataset grows. Here we showcase a new tool, based on machine learning, for constructively generating targeted datasets of scientific literature. Given a small initial "core" corpus of papers, we build a citation network of documents. At each step of the citation network, we generate text embeddings and visualize the embeddings through dimensionality reduction. Papers are kept in the dataset if they are "similar" to the core or are otherwise pruned through human-in-the-loop selection. Additional insight into the papers is gained through sub-topic modeling using SeNMFk. We demonstrate our new tool for literature review by applying it to two different fields in machine learning.Comment: Accepted at 2023 IEEE ICMLA conferenc