bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Do social relationships mediate or moderate social inequalities in health? A systematic review protocol
Authors: Khaliq Nadia , McMunn Anne , Machuca-Vargas Carolina , Heilmann Anja
Published: October 2020

IntroductionExplanations for health inequalities include material, behavioural and psychosocial pathways. Social relationships are an important determinant of health, and research has consistently found that a lack of support networks may diminish favourable health outcomes. There is some evidence that social network structures, partly shaped by socioeconomic factors, contribute to health inequalities. This protocol will summarise the systematic review process.Methods and analysesThe Systematic review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. An electronic database search of MEDLINE, Embase Classic + Embase, and PsychINFO using the OvidSP platform will be undertaken. Articles published in the English language that have quantitatively assessed the role of social relationships in mediating or moderating health inequalities will be included and any health outcome (mental/physical) will be considered. The database search will be supplemented by reference list screening of all relevant full-text articles identified through the search. Two independent reviewers will be responsible for screening of articles, data extraction and assessment of bias. Studies will be risk assessed for bias using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. It is anticipated that the eligible studies will be highly variable; therefore, a meta-analysis will only be considered if the available data of the selected studies are similar. If the studies are too heterogeneous, a narrative synthesis of the extracted data will be presented. ConclusionThe results of the systematic review will examine the link between social relationships and health inequalities. The findings of the review will identify gaps in knowledge where further research is needed. Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42020181706
BioALBERT: A Simple and Effective Pre-trained Language Model for Biomedical Named Entity Recognition
Authors: Naseem Usman , Khushi Matloob , Reddy Vinay , Rajendran Sakthivel , Razzak Imran , Kim Jinman
Published: October 2020

Background: In recent years, with the growing amount of biomedical documents, coupled with advancement in natural language processing algorithms, the research on biomedical named entity recognition (BioNER) has increased exponentially. However, BioNER research is challenging as NER in the biomedical domain are: (i) often restricted due to limited amount of training data, (ii) an entity can refer to multiple types and concepts depending on its context and, (iii) heavy reliance on acronyms that are sub-domain specific. Existing BioNER approaches often neglect these issues and directly adopt the state-of-the-art (SOTA) models trained in general corpora which often yields unsatisfactory results. Results: We propose biomedical ALBERT (A Lite Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers for Biomedical Text Mining) - bioALBERT - an effective domain-specific pre-trained language model trained on huge biomedical corpus designed to capture biomedical context-dependent NER. We adopted self-supervised loss function used in ALBERT that targets on modelling inter-sentence coherence to better learn context-dependent representations and incorporated parameter reduction strategies to minimise memory usage and enhance the training time in BioNER. In our experiments, BioALBERT outperformed comparative SOTA BioNER models on eight biomedical NER benchmark datasets with four different entity types. The performance is increased for; (i) disease type corpora by 7.47% (NCBI-disease) and 10.63% (BC5CDR-disease); (ii) drug-chem type corpora by 4.61% (BC5CDR-Chem) and 3.89 (BC4CHEMD); (iii) gene-protein type corpora by 12.25% (BC2GM) and 6.42% (JNLPBA); and (iv) Species type corpora by 6.19% (LINNAEUS) and 23.71% (Species-800) is observed which leads to a state-of-the-art results. Conclusions: The performance of proposed model on four different biomedical entity types shows that our model is robust and generalizable in recognizing biomedical entities in text. We trained four different variants of BioALBERT models which are available for the research community to be used in future research.
OTUB1 Promotes Progression and Proliferation of Prostate Cancer via Deubiquitinating and Stabling Cyclin E1
Authors: Liao Yihao , Wu Ning , Wang Keke , Wang Miaomiao , Wang Youzhi , Gao Jie , Zhong Boqiang , Ma Fuling , Wu Yudong , Jiang Ning
Published: October 2020

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is currently the most common and highest incidence of cancer in men all over the world. OTUB1 has been reported to be a critical role in various kinds of cancers, closely related with proliferation, migration and clinical prognosis. The aim of this research was to investigate the influence of OTUB1 in PCa, and to identify the mechanism underlying function.Methods: Using TCGA database, we identified OTUB1 higher expression in PCa. We observed the changes of functional behavior in PC3 and C4-2 cells through overexpression or knock down of OTUB1. Subcutaneous ectopic tumors were conducted and IHC of tumors tissue in nude mice also carried out. Western blotting and co-immunoprecipitations assays were conducted to identify that OTUB1 interacted with cyclin E1.Results: We found that the expression of OTUB1 was significant higher in PCa than in Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The overexpression of OTUB1 promoted obviously proliferation and migration in PC3 and C4-2 cells via regulating Cyclin E1 protein stability, and contrary observation in OTUB1 knock down. The nude mice experiment further explained our conclusions. We finally identified that OTUB1 promoted the progression of PCa by deubiquitinating and stabling cyclin E1.Conclusions: Our findings reveal the important role of OTUB1 in PCa, OTUB1 promoted cyclin E1 protein stability in PCa. Knock down of OTUB1 can significantly repressed development of cancer. OTUB1 might serve a newly and potential therapy target for PCa.
Exploring feelings of pleasure and purpose associated with older people’s activities using ecological momentary analysis: an observational study
Authors: Hancock K.E. , Downward P. , Sherar L.B.
Published: October 2020

Momentary feelings of pleasure and purpose can be sources of intrinsic motivation, but momentary purpose is rarely studied. Activities, contexts and feelings of retired/semi-retired adults (n=67, aged 50-78y) were captured using ecological momentary assessment. Participants provided 2,065 valid responses to six daily smartphone surveys for seven days. Physical activity was measured by waist-worn Actigraph accelerometer. Pleasure (measured by affective happiness) and purpose outcomes were regressed on activities, context and potential confounding variables. Interactions between activities and contexts were explored.Participants were highly active: 98.5% met physical activity guidelines. Sedentary activities were negatively associated with sense of purpose, especially when indoors. However, social sedentary activities were positively associated with feelings of happiness. Active, social outdoor activities were positively associated with both outcomes. Less sedentary participants experienced greater happiness and purpose during all their activities. Context matters: active, social and outdoor activities seem to be more appealing to older adults.
The Effect of Fatigue on Asymmetry Between Lower Limbs in Functional Performances in Elite Child Taekwondo Athletes
Authors: GUAN YANFEI , Bredin Shannon , Jiang Qinxian , Taunton Jack , Li Yongfeng , Wu Nana , Wu Lina , Warburton Darren
Published: October 2020

Background: Inter-limb asymmetry above a certain threshold in functional performance indicates increased injury risk in sports. Fatigue has been found to increase bilateral asymmetry in lower-limb jumping performance among high-school and adult athletes, whereas this impact has not been examined for child athletes. Methods: Performance of single-leg jumps, Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), and muscle (hamstring and gastrocnemius) flexibility were measured for 13 elite male child Taekwondo athletes (aged 9.85 ± 0.80 years) at both the rested and fatigued states to examine the inter-limb asymmetry. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to examine for difference for each test and the interaction between limb (dominant, non-dominant leg) and state (rested, fatigued state). Paired t test or Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to compare the asymmetry magnitude at the rested vs. fatigued state for each test, and the variation in performance post fatigue in the dominant vs. non-dominant leg when appropriate. Results: The inter-limb asymmetry in triple-hop distance significantly (p = 0.046) increased with fatigue, whereas the asymmetry significantly (p = 0.004) decreased with fatigue in anterior (ANT) reach distance in SEBT. A significant (p = 0.027) limb by state interaction was shown for posterolateral (PL) reach distance in SEBT, wherein a significant (p = 0.005) bilateral difference was only shown at the rested state. The PL reach distance showed a significantly greater decrease (p = 0.028) post fatigue when using the dominant leg for support compared to using the non-dominant leg.Conclusion: Fatigue significantly impacts inter-limb asymmetry in jump performances and dynamic balance for child athletes, while the variation in inter-limb asymmetry post fatigue may be different across tests. For the purpose of injury prevention, practitioners should consider assessing the inter-limb asymmetry for children at both the rested and fatigued state, and be mindful of the fatigue response of each leg in functional tests.
Identification of critical pathways and potential therapeutic targets in Poorly differentiated duodenal papilla adenocarcinoma
Authors: Lu Yuanxiang , Li Wensen , Liu Ge , Xiao Erwei , Mu Senmao , Li Deyu , Yan Guoyi
Published: October 2020

Background: Duodenal papilla carcinoma (DPC) is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with high recurrence rate, and the pathogenesis of this highly malignant neoplasm is yet to be fully elucidated. This study aims to identify key genes to further understand the biology and pathogenesis underlying the molecular alterations driving DPC, which could be potential diagnostic or therapeutic targets.Methods: Tumor samples of three DPC patients were collected and integrating RNA-seq analysis of tumor tissues and matched normal tissues were performed to discover differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were carried out to understand the potential bio-functions of the DPC differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed for functional modules analysis and dentification of hub genes. Results: A total of 110 DEGs were identified from our RNA-Seq data, GO and KEGG analyses showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in multiple cancer-related functions and pathways, such as cell proliferation, IL-17signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway. The PPI network screened out six hub genes including IL-6, LEP, LCN2, CCND1, FABP4 and MMP1, which were identified as core genes in the network and potential therapeutic targets of DPC. Discussion: The current study provides new insight into the exploration of DPC pathogenesis and the screened hub genes may serve as potential diagnostic indicator and novel therapeutic target.
Validation of improved 24-hour dietary recall using a portable camera among Japanese population, having large variety of food and food preparation
Authors: Matsushita Yumi , Takahashi Tosei , Asahi Kumiko , Harashima Emiko , Takahashi Hiroko , Tanaka Hiroyuki , Tsumuraya Yoshiko , Sarukura Nobuko , Furuta Masashi , Tanaka Heizo , Yokoyama Tetsuji
Published: October 2020

Background The collection of weighed food records (WFR) is a gold standard for dietary assessment. However, what a person eats changes every day, and it is practically difficult to weigh foods and drinks daily and calculate their nutrient contents. The validity of 24-hour dietary recall with the use of a portable camera (24hR-camera) was examined by comparison with the WFR.Methods The study subjects were recruited from 30 male adults who were fathers of university students and cooked rarely. For the validation of the 24hR-camera, we compared it and the WFR. The digital photographs were taken by the subjects of all food consumed during a day and a 24-h recall questionnaire was conducted by a registered dietitian who was trained on the survey methodology. An estimate of the amount of food consumed was made using a food atlas and the photographs taken by the subjects. For validation, comparison was made between the calculations, by both methods, of the levels of food group and nutrient. Results Correlation coefficients between the two methods were 0.7 or higher in most food groups but were low in food groups that are difficult to see, such as oils, fats, condiments, and spices. The intake of vegetables was significantly lower for the 24hR-camera method compared to the WFR method. For other food groups, except for algae, of which intake amount (in weight base) is very low, the percentages of mean difference between 24hR-camera and WFR s were -22.1% to 5.5%, with no significant differences between the methods. The correlation coefficients between the two methods were 0.774 for energy, and 0.855, 0.769, and 0.763 for the three major nutrients, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, respectively, demonstrating high correlation with coefficients greater than 0.75. The correlation coefficients between the two methods were 0.583 and 0.560 for salt and potassium intake, respectively, but no significant differences in intake were observed. Conclusions The method of 24-hR-canera satisfactorily estimated the intake of energy and major nutrients (except salt and potassium) in Japanese males, and was confirmed as a useful method for dietary assessment.
Effect of Liuzijue breathing exercise on patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease:a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Gao Pincao , Tang Fang , Liu Weiguo , Mo Yu
Published: October 2020

Backgrounds:Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) is a common,preventable disease of airflow limitation that accounts for the third leading deaths of any disease process in the worldwide. Health benefits of Liuzijue breathing exercise on patients with stable COPD has assessed. This study was designed to perform a systemic review and meta-analysis of the effect of Liuzijue breathing exercise on patients with stable COPD.Methods: Published articles from inception to 2020 were conducted using electronic searches. Two independents reviewers performed data extraction.The Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies.Results:A total of 16 eligible trials with 1039 patients with stable COPD were identified. Compared with control group,the pool meta-analysis of Liuzijue breathing exercise showed a significant improve in FEV1 [MD=-0.16,95%CI (0.09,0.23), P<0.00001], FEV1% [MD=9.71, 95%CI(8.44,10.98), P<0.00001], FEV1/FVC(%) [MD=4.81,95%CI(2.12,7.51),P=0.0005],6MWD [MD=21.89,95%CI（14.67, 29.11）,P<0.00001] , health-related quality of life [SMD=-0.84,95%CI（-1.12,-0.55，P<0.00001] and mMRC [MD= -0.73,95%CI (-0.96,-0.50), P<0.00001]. The observed effect was more pronounced for interventions that were short term and medium-term duration of study. Liuzijue interventions also showed improvement in the secondary outcome measures. Conclusions:In this systematic review and meta-analysis ,Liuzijue breathing exercise can improve lung function,exercise endurance and health-related quality of life of patients with stable COPD.
Inhibition of EZH2 prevents acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-associated pulmonary fibrosis by regulating the macrophage polarization phenotype
Authors: Bao Xiaowei , Liu Xiandong , Liu Na , Zhuang Shougang , Yang Qian , Ren Huijuan , Zhao Dongyang , Bai Jianwen , Zhou Xiaohui , Tang Lunxian
Published: October 2020

Background: We recently reported histone methyltransferase enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) as a key epigenetic regulator that contributes to the dysfunction of innate immune responses to sepsis and subsequent lung injury by mediating the imbalance of macrophage polarization. However, the role of EZH2 in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-associated fibrosis remains poorly understood. Methods: In this study, we investigated the role and mechanisms of EZH2 in pulmonary fibrosis in a murine model of LPS-induced ARDS and in ex-vivo cultured alveolar macrophages (MH-S) and mouse lung epithelial cell line (MLE-12) by using 3-deazaneplanocin A (3-DZNeP) and EZH2 the small interfering (si) RNA. Results: We found that treatment with 3-DZNeP significantly ameliorated the LPS-induced direct lung injury and fibroproliferation by blocking the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) through transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)/Smad signaling pathway and regulating shift of macrophage phenotypes. In the ex-vivo polarized alveolar macrophages cells, treatment with EZH2 siRNA or 3-DZNeP suppressed the M1 while promoted the M2 macrophage differentiation through modulating the STAT/SOCS signaling pathway and activating PPAR-γ. Moreover, we identified that blockade of EZH2 with 3-DZNeP suppressed EMT in co-cultured bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and mouse lung epithelial cell line through down-regulation of TGF-β1, TGF-βR1, Smad2 while up-regulation of Smad7 expression. Conclusions: These results indicate that EZH2 is involved in the pathological process of ARDS-associated pulmonary fibrosis. Targeting EZH2 may be a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent and treat pulmonary fibrosis post ARDS.
Concordance of Acquired Mutations between Metastatic Lesions and Liquid Biopsy in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated with Anti-EGFR Therapy
Authors: Taniguchi Fumitaka , Nyuya Akihiro , Toshima Toshiaki , Mori Yoshiko , Kishimoto Hiroyuki , Umeda Yuzo , Fujiwara Toshiyoshi , Nagasaka Takeshi
Published: October 2020

Background: Acquired mutations are detected in circulating cell-free DNA or circulating tumor cells in blood. However, there are still few reports that examine the concordance between liquid biopsy and metastatic lesions with acquired resistance. Methods: We examined the presence of acquired mutations in 7 chemoresistant metastatic lesions and blood samples obtained from a metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patient without RAS activating mutations treated with anti-EGFR treatment. The patient displayed initial early tumor shrinkage and finally progressed to disease (PD). The 7 metastatic lesions showing acquired resistance to chemotherapy were extracted at morbid autopsy. Blood samples were collected before the development of PD during first-line chemotherapy and after acquiring resistance to second- and third-line chemotherapies. Acquired mutations were analyzed using two methodologies: conventional Sanger sequencing and MEBGENTM RASKET KIT based on Luminex® technology.Results: Metastatic tumor specimens harbored diverse acquired mutations in the KRAS gene in all of the 7 (100%) metastases in the patient resistant to EGFR-targeted treatment. Of the 7 diverse acquired mutations, only one acquired mutation observed in a liver metastasis was clearly detected in the blood collected at third-line chemotherapies. Two other acquired mutations were also detected but did not reach meaningful values. Conclusions: Liquid biopsy is a successful procedure for capturing acquired mutations that may arise from progressive metastatic lesions with acquired resistance over time.
Gen Düzenleme Teknolojileri Bağlamında COVID-19 Aşı Çalışmaları ve Etik Sorunlar
Authors: TOPÇU İbrahim , NASUHBEYOĞLU Nazım
Published: October 2020

Amaç: COVID-19 (2019 koronavirüs hastalığı) pandemisi dünyada ve ülkemizde tüm dikkatleri virüslere, virüsler üzerindeki genetik modifikasyonlara ve aşı çalışmalarına çevirmiş bulunmaktadır. Bu
çalışmada gen düzenleme teknolojileri ile ilintili bu klinik araştırma ve gelişmeleri gözden geçirmek
ve de COVID-19 aşı çalışmaları ve aşıla(n)ma ile ilgili etik sorunları ele almak amaçlanmıştır.

Gereç ve Yöntemler: Gen düzenleme teknolojilerine ve COVID-19 aşı çalışmalarına dair güncel literatür; aşı güvenliği, yeterli aşı üretimi ve aşıya erişim ile ilgili sorunlar, aşılamada öncelikler ve toplum
(sürü) bağışıklığı, ve de aşı tereddütleri ve aşı karşıtlığı üzerinden tartışılmıştır.

Bulgular: Birçok ülkede bilim insanları SARS-CoV-2’ye (şiddetli akut solunum sendromu koronavirüsü 2) karşı etkili bir antiviral ilaç ve aşı bulabilmek için yoğun bir şekilde çalışmaktadır. En erken
2021’de kullanıma girebileceği tahmin edilen aşıların ne kadar koruma sağlayacağı, uzun dönem yan
etkilerinin neler olabileceği ve tüm insanlar için erişilebilir olup olmayacağı ise belirsizliğini korumaktadır. Virüsün laboratuvarda üretildiğine dair komplo teorileri klasik aşı karşıtı söylemleri beslese de,
bunların pandeminin yarattığı küresel endişe ortamında aşıya karşı ne kadar dirence neden olabileceği belirsizdir.

Tartışma ve Sonuç: Bütün boyutlarıyla küresel salgınlara karşı tecrübe tazelediğimiz böylesi bir
süreçte, gen düzenleme teknolojilerine dayanan aşı çalışmaları ve bu yenilikçi tekniklere dair etik
tartışmalar gelecekte aşılara ve hatta modern tıbba bakışımızı belirleyecek denli önemli sonuçlara
gebedir
Recent Medicinal Chemistry Approach for the Development of Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Inhibitors
Authors: Shah Bhumi M. , Modi Palmi , Trivedi Priti
Published: October 2020

Background:

Diabetes, a metabolic disease occurs due to decrease or no effect of insulin on blood glucose level.
Current oral medication stimulates insulin release, increase glucose absorption and its utilization as well decrease hepatic
glucose output. Two major incretin hormones like Glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon like
peptide – 1 (GLP -1) stimulate insulin release after meal but their action is inhibited by enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase- IV.

Objective:

The activity of endogenous GLP-1 and GIP prolong and extend with DPP IV inhibitors which are responsible for
stimulation of insulin secretion and regulate blood glucose level. DPP IV inhibitors have shown effectiveness and endurability with neutral effect on weight as well as less chances of hypoglycemia in management of type 2 diabetes. These journeys
have been started from Sitagliptin (marketed in 2006) to Evogliptin (marketed in 2015, Korea).

Conclusion:

Treatment of type 2 diabetes includes lifestyle changes, oral medications, and insulin. Newer and superior
therapies are required than presently prescribed drugs. Various heterocyclic derivatives have been tried but due
to masking of DASH proteins, CYP enzymes and hERG channel, they showed side effects. Based on these,
study has been focused on the development of safe, influential, selective and long-lasting inhibitors of DPP IV.
Nanoparticle-Based Gene Therapy Intervention for Stroke Treatment: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ghasemi Sorayya , Alavian Kimia , Alavian Firoozeh
Published: October 2020

Ischemic stroke is one of the main causes of mortality in advanced societies. Although
gene therapy can be helpful, delivering gene therapy agents is challenging. Nanotechnology can enhance
the potential therapeutic effects and the efficiency of gene therapy for some brain disorders.
The present systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA protocol to investigate the possible
therapeutic effects of nanoparticles as the carriers of gene therapy agents in stroke therapy.
Relevant keywords were used to search from ISI Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus for relevant
publications up to April 24, 2020. The selected articles were assessed using certain scores on
the quality of the articles. Data extraction and quality judgment were carried out by the present reviewers.
Of 130 articles retrieved, seven met the inclusion criteria and were, therefore, included in
the final analysis. The outcome of the reviewing process revealed that depending on the selection
of the target genes, stroke gene therapies have acceptable therapeutic consequences. The nanoparticles
could be used to carry the gene therapy agents that are efficient targeting in stroke treatment.
Also, it appears that the use of nanoparticles such as PEGylation and PAMAM, can be a valuable
option to intensify the efficiency and specific targeting of stroke location. In conclusion, due to the
inability of brain regeneration and the importance of genes in stroke-related complications, gene
therapy seems to be a suitable treatment strategy. The use of suitable nanoparticles for transportation
ensures the efficiency and usefulness of this method.
The Synthesis and Anticancer Potentials of Quinoline Analogues: A Review of Literature
Authors: Kumar Ajay , Salahuddin  , Mazumder Avijit , Yar Mohammad Shahar , Kumar Rajnish , Ahsan Mohamed Jawed
Published: October 2020

New drugs introduced in the market each year, have privileged structures specifically
for anticancer targets, of which quinoline-based analogues also play an important role. This review
highlights quinoline and its derivatives, which have great potency against various cancer cells,
including prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, pancreas cancer, and many more. This review
describes the most preferred process-scale synthetic approaches of quinoline and its derivatives
having a specific pharmacophore for anticancer targets. It also describes the undergoing development
and recently approved drugs in tabular form. Quinoline moiety as a privileged structural
pharmacophore has the most effective activity against different cancer cell lines like prostate
cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, pancreas cancer, Colon cancer, CNS cancer, and renal cancer.
It can be used as a lead compound for further research on anticancer drug discovery.
Vitamin D Supplementation in Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Current Perspective
Authors: Kurian Shilia Jacob , Miraj Sonal Sekhar , Benson Ruby , Munisamy Murali , Saravu Kavitha , Rodrigues Gabriel Sunil , Rao Mahadev
Published: October 2020

Introduction::

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, as
it can physically and emotionally impact the person. Its management can be challenging and expensive,
depending on the severity of the wound and the presence of infection.

Background::

The fat-soluble molecule, vitamin D, has gained great importance ever since its
pleiotropism has been recognized. Its efficacy could be attributed to the presence of vitamin D receptors
in most of the body tissues. Vitamin D plays a significant role in cell proliferation, differentiation,
and immune modulation. It modulates the T and B cells resulting in the suppression of the
immunoglobulins, autoimmunity, and inflammation.

Methods::

We performed a literature search with the objective to highlight the role of vitamin D in
peripheral vascular disease and peripheral neuropathy, which are the major risk factors for DFU, as
well as evidences of its role in wound healing and management of DFU.

Results::

Preclinical and clinical studies have shown that vitamin D influences multiple phases of
wound healing and thereby accelerates the process. It modulates various cells involved in proliferation
and remodelling phases. Vitamin D also enhances the expression of antimicrobial peptides that
help to eliminate the microbes, as well as suppress the proinflammatory responses while enhancing
the anti-inflammatory responses.

Conclusion::

This review concludes vitamin D to have a protective role in the immune and vascular
system, improve glycaemic outcomes, and wound healing. Therefore, vitamin D could be a preferred
adjuvant in the management of DFU.
Current Status of Knowledge and Awareness of Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Robert Asirvatham Alwin , Al Awad Ahmad Dakeel , Al Dawish Mohamed Abdulaziz
Published: October 2020

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease, and the complications may be life-threatening;
however, with proper treatment and control measures, it can be very well-managed. Self-management
training and education of diabetes are critical in diabetes care and management. It is essential
that patients with diabetes must have a comprehensive understanding of the nature of the disease,
risk factors, complications, and possible treatment modalities to attenuate the complications.
Over the last few years, DM in Saudi Arabia has been rapidly growing at an alarming rate. It has affected
around one-fifth of the adult population, and by 2030, the numbers are predicted to rise further
and exceed more than double the present number. An estimated tenfold increase has been reported
over the past three decades in Saudi Arabia. However, there has not been much research focusing
on understanding the knowledge and awareness of DM in Saudi Arabia as compared to developed
nations. This review aims to present an overview of the current knowledge and awareness
level of DM among the population of Saudi Arabia through an extensive review of the currently
available literature. The review findings could be of immense assistance to the government, healthcare
systems, educational institutions, and researchers to develop evidence-based programs, policies,
and guidelines towards increasing the knowledge and awareness about diabetes and its management,
so that early detection and management can be ensured to control the escalating burden
of diabetes in Saudi Arabia.
Residual Stress Distribution and Microstructure Characterization of Particle Reinforced Titanium Matrix Composite After Shot Peening Treatment: A Review
Authors: Wen Yan , Wu Yaya , Liu Pu , Xie Lechun , Lu Weijie
Published: October 2020

Shot peening (SP) can modify the surface properties of titanium alloys and titanium matrix
composites (TMCs). Based on our previous work in the last ten years, the microstructure and
mechanical properties of SP treated Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) and (TiB+TiC)/TC4 are summarized in this
review. The compressive residual stress (CRS) was formed on the surface after SP. At different SP
intensities, the thickness of the surface CRS layer was improved with increasing SP intensities. During
the stress peening, the CRS increased evidently, and the increment was proportional to the prestress.
Besides, CRS’s thermal relaxation was investigated, which showed that the CRS in the whole
deformation layer was relaxed. The relaxation mechanism could be explained by the Zener-Wert-
Avrami model. The microstrain, the domain size, and the dislocation density of the peened layer
were investigated using the Voigt method. The domain size of TC4 was smaller than the composite,
and the microstrain of the TC4 was higher than the composite. The average dislocation density was
increased after SP due to the existence of reinforcements. Utilizing the Rietveld method to analyze
the microstructure after SP, the variations were similar to the Voigt method’s results. Also, the composite’s
stability was higher than TC4 because of the existence of reinforcements. Hardness analysis
revealed that the existence of reinforcements raised the hardness. In the peened layer, the surface’s
hardness was maximum, and it decreased with the increase in depth. At the same temperature, the
hardness of the TC4 was smaller than the composite counterpart. Finally, the strengthening mechanism
of SP was discussed and summarized based on the above analysis.
Stem Cell Therapy: A Promising Approach in Treatment of COVID-19
Authors: Abbaspanah Bahareh , Abroun Saeid , Zarrabi Morteza , Mozdgir Ashkan , Mollanouri Mohammad
Published: October 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis of the 21st Century. There are currently no
approved vaccines and no particular anti-viral treatment for coronavirus disease. As COVID-19
has a broad range of illnesses, it is necessary to find a safe and effective therapeutic method for
COVID-19. An attractive approach for treating COVID-19 is cell therapy. Cell therapy aims to inject
new and healthy stem cells into a patient’s body, to repair the damaged cells and tissues. Stem
cell therapy is one of the most studied and important approaches in the treatment of COVID-19 these
days. The significant clinical outcome was observed by the adoptive transfer of stem cells, specifically
mesenchymal stem cells. This study reviews the characteristics of stem cells and clinical
trials that have used stem cells in treating COVID-19.
The role of volunteerism in the prevention of chronic noncommunicable diseases and in increasing adherence to a healthy lifestyle
Authors: Chaplygina E. V. , Shlyk S. V. , Sylka O. I. , Fisunova A. N.
Published: October 2020

Medical volunteerism gives an opportunity for future specialists to provide free assistance to practical healthcare, as well as to acquire personal and professional qualities required for a student at a medical university. Medical volunteers are implementing many large-scale campaigns and projects aimed at the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases and other socially significant diseases, and at promoting a healthy lifestyle. The results of the work are to increase public awareness, as preventive measures are an important component of the healthcare system, aimed at the formation of the population's medical and social activity and motivation for a healthy lifestyle.
Long-term echocardiography results in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after pharmaco-invasive reperfusion therapy, depending on the choice of thrombolytic drug
Authors: Khripun A. V. , Кastanayan A. A. , Malevannyy M. V. , Kulikovskikh Ya. V.
Published: October 2020

Objectives: to analyze the results of echocardiography 1 year after STEMI in patients undergoing pharmaco-invasive reperfusion using various thrombolytic drugs.

Materials and Methods: 240 patients with STEMI after pharmaco-invasive reperfusion were included in an open-label prospective cohort study. Depending on the thrombolytic agent used, the patients were divided into 4 groups: in the 1st (n = 73) — lysis was performed with alteplase; in the 2nd (n = 40) — tenecteplase; in the 3rd (n = 95) — forteplase; in the 4th (n = 32) — streptokinase. Depending on the fibrin-specificity of the thrombolytic, all patients were presented with 2 groups: the group of fibrin-specific thrombolytics (FST, n = 208) and the group of fibrin-nonspecific streptokinase (FNST, n = 32). Echocardiography was assessed 1 year after reperfusion.

Results: after 1 year, there was a slight violation of the global LV systolic function, while the EF between the groups did not differ (p = 0.420). A higher EF was recorded in the FST group compared with FNST (49.8 ± 7.4 % versus 47.4 ± 6.8 %; p = 0.048). After 1 year, violations and local LV contractility persisted in each of the four groups (p = 0.161). At the same time, lower WMSI were recorded in the FST group compared to FNST (1.19 [1.06; 1.38] versus 1.25 [1.175; 1.5]; p = 0.029). In the FST group, significantly lower iEDV were recorded (p = 0.048), and iESV (p = 0.022) and LA size (p = 0.007) compared with FNST. In dynamics, 1 year after reperfusion in the FST group, there was a significant increase in EF by 5.5 % (p = 0.000) and a decrease in LV WMSI by 5 % (p = 0.000) compared with the FNST group.

Conclusions: pharmaco-invasive treatment of STEMI with the use of thrombolytic drugs after 1 year of follow-up is characterized by comparable echocardiography parameters. After 1 year of follow-up, patients undergoing pharmaco-invasive treatment with fibrin-specific drugs had significantly higher EF, as well as lower WMSI, iEDV, iESV, and LA size compared to fibrin-nonspecific streptokinase.
Scientific Publication Patterns of Mobile Technologies and Apps for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment: Bibliometric Co-Word Analysis
Authors: Kulakli Atik , Shubina Ivanna
Published: October 2020

Background

Mobile apps are viewed as a promising opportunity to provide support for patients who have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The development of mobile technologies and apps shows similar trends in PTSD treatment. Therefore, this emerging research field has received substantial attention. Consequently, various research settings are planned for current and further studies.

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the scientific patterns of research domains related to mobile apps and other technologies for PTSD treatment in scholarly publications, and to suggest further studies for this emerging research field.

Methods

We conducted a bibliometric analysis to identify publication patterns, most important keywords, trends for topicality, and text analysis, along with construction of a word cloud for papers published in the last decade (2010 to 2019). Research questions were formulated based on the relevant literature. In particular, we concentrated on highly ranked sources. Based on the proven bibliometric approach, the data were ultimately retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate Analytics).

Results

A total of 64 studies were found concerning the research domains. The vast majority of the papers were written in the English language (63/64, 98%) with the remaining article (1/64, 2%) written in French. The articles were written by 323 authors/coauthors from 11 different countries, with the United States predominating, followed by England, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, and Vietnam. The most common publication type was peer-reviewed journal articles (48/64, 75%), followed by reviews (8/64, 13%), meeting abstracts (5/64, 8%), news items (2/64, 3%), and a proceeding (1/64, 2%). There was a mean of 6.4 papers published per year over the study period. There was a 100% increase in the number of publications published from 2016 to 2019 with a mean of 13.33 papers published per year during this latter period.

Conclusions

Although the number of papers on mobile technologies for PTSD was quite low in the early period, there has been an overall increase in this research domain in recent years (2016-2019). Overall, these findings indicate that mobile health tools in combination with traditional treatment for mental disorders among veterans increase the efficiency of health interventions, including reducing PTSD symptoms, improving quality of life, conducting intervention evaluation, and monitoring of improvements. Mobile apps and technologies can be used as supportive tools in managing pain, anger, stress, and sleep disturbance. These findings therefore provide a useful overview of the publication trends on research domains that can inform further studies and highlight potential gaps in this field.
Identification of Semantically Similar Sentences in Clinical Notes: Iterative Intermediate Training Using Multi-Task Learning
Authors: Mahajan Diwakar , Poddar Ananya , Liang Jennifer J , Lin Yen-Ting , Prager John M , Suryanarayanan Parthasarathy , Raghavan Preethi , Tsou Ching-Huei
Published: October 2020

Background

Although electronic health records (EHRs) have been widely adopted in health care, effective use of EHR data is often limited because of redundant information in clinical notes introduced by the use of templates and copy-paste during note generation. Thus, it is imperative to develop solutions that can condense information while retaining its value. A step in this direction is measuring the semantic similarity between clinical text snippets. To address this problem, we participated in the 2019 National NLP Clinical Challenges (n2c2)/Open Health Natural Language Processing Consortium (OHNLP) clinical semantic textual similarity (ClinicalSTS) shared task.

Objective

This study aims to improve the performance and robustness of semantic textual similarity in the clinical domain by leveraging manually labeled data from related tasks and contextualized embeddings from pretrained transformer-based language models.

Methods

The ClinicalSTS data set consists of 1642 pairs of deidentified clinical text snippets annotated in a continuous scale of 0-5, indicating degrees of semantic similarity. We developed an iterative intermediate training approach using multi-task learning (IIT-MTL), a multi-task training approach that employs iterative data set selection. We applied this process to bidirectional encoder representations from transformers on clinical text mining (ClinicalBERT), a pretrained domain-specific transformer-based language model, and fine-tuned the resulting model on the target ClinicalSTS task. We incrementally ensembled the output from applying IIT-MTL on ClinicalBERT with the output of other language models (bidirectional encoder representations from transformers for biomedical text mining [BioBERT], multi-task deep neural networks [MT-DNN], and robustly optimized BERT approach [RoBERTa]) and handcrafted features using regression-based learning algorithms. On the basis of these experiments, we adopted the top-performing configurations as our official submissions.

Results

Our system ranked first out of 87 submitted systems in the 2019 n2c2/OHNLP ClinicalSTS challenge, achieving state-of-the-art results with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.9010. This winning system was an ensembled model leveraging the output of IIT-MTL on ClinicalBERT with BioBERT, MT-DNN, and handcrafted medication features.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that IIT-MTL is an effective way to leverage annotated data from related tasks to improve performance on a target task with a limited data set. This contribution opens new avenues of exploration for optimized data set selection to generate more robust and universal contextual representations of text in the clinical domain.
Effects of Acute Exercise on Drug Craving, Self-Esteem, Mood, and Affect in Adults with Polysubstance Use Disorder: Protocol for a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)
Authors: Ellingsen Maren Mikkelsen , Johannesen Sunniva Launes , Martinsen Egil Wilhelm , Dahl Sandra Rinne , Hallgren Mats
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

Novel treatments for substance use disorders are needed. Acute bouts of exercise can improve mood states and craving in nonclinical populations. Exercise effects in those with polysubstance dependence are understudied; controlled trials are needed.

OBJECTIVE

This protocol describes a clinical study examining the short-term psychological effects of 2 types of physical activity, soccer and circuit training, in patients with substance use disorders. Effects will be compared with a nonexercise control group. Specific aims are to investigate whether there are differences between the activities and the duration of changes.

METHODS

This study is a short-term multicenter randomized control trial with a crossover design. Patients consecutively admitted to 4 inpatient treatment centers were invited to participate in 3 conditions, each lasting 45 minutes, within one week. The order of the conditions was randomized. There were a total of 5 assessments, taken at baseline, immediately before each condition, immediately after each condition, and 1, 2, and 4 hours postintervention, enabling patterns of change over time to be observed. Psychological effects were assessed with self-report questionnaires, which included scales for craving, state anxiety, positive and negative affect, self-esteem, and mood. Exercise intensity was assessed with the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale and a heart rate monitor (Polar M200; Polar Electro Ltd). Cortisol was assessed in saliva before and 4 hours after the intervention.

RESULTS

A total of 39 patients were included in the study. Data collection was completed in 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

We anticipate larger improvements in the intervention groups than among controls, indicating positive psychological effects during and after exercise. The study will add clinically relevant information about the short-term psychological effects of exercise in the treatment of substance use disorders, using activities that are easily accessible in different clinical settings.

CLINICALTRIAL

German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00018869; https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00018869

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT

DERR1-10.2196/18553
AQUEDUCT Intervention for Crisis Team Quality and Effectiveness in Dementia: Protocol for a Feasibility Study (Preprint)
Authors: Broome Emma Elizabeth , Coleston-Shields Donna Maria , Dening Tom , Moniz-Cook Esme , Poland Fiona , Stanyon Miriam , Orrell Martin
Published: October 2020

BACKGROUND

Specialist community teams often support people with dementia who experience crisis. These teams may vary in composition and models of practice, which presents challenges when evaluating their effectiveness. A best practice model for dementia crisis services could be used by teams to improve the quality and effectiveness of the care they deliver.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of conducting a large-scale randomized controlled trial comparing the AQUEDUCT (Achieving Quality and Effectiveness in Dementia Using Crisis Teams) Resource Kit intervention to treatment as usual.

METHODS

This is a multisite feasibility study in preparation for a future randomized controlled trial. Up to 54 people with dementia (and their carers) and 40 practitioners will be recruited from 4 geographically widespread teams managing crisis in dementia. Quantitative outcomes will be recorded at baseline and at discharge. This study will also involve a nested health economic substudy and qualitative research to examine participant experiences of the intervention and acceptability of research procedures.

RESULTS

Ethical approval for this study was granted in July 2019. Participant recruitment began in September 2019, and as of September 2020, all data collection has been completed. Results of this study will establish the acceptability of the intervention, recruitment rates, and will assess the feasibility and appropriateness of the outcome measures in preparation for a large-scale randomized controlled trial.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of crisis intervention teams for older people with dementia. This is the first study to test the feasibility of an evidence-based best practice model for teams managing crisis in dementia. The results of this study will assist in the planning and delivery of a large-scale randomized controlled trial.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT

DERR1-10.2196/18971