bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retethering risk in pediatric spinal lipoma of the conus medullaris
Authors: Hayashi Toshiaki , Kimiwada Tomomi , Shirane Reizo , Tominaga Teiji
Published: November 2021

OBJECTIVE

Lipoma of the conus medullaris (LCM) causes neurological symptoms known as tethered cord syndrome (TCS). The symptoms can be seen at diagnosis and during long-term follow-up. In this report, pediatric patients with LCMs who underwent untethering surgery, under the policy of performing surgery if diagnosed regardless of symptoms, were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate long-term surgical outcomes. Possible risk factors for retethered cord syndrome (ReTCS) were evaluated in the long-term follow-up period.

METHODS

A total of 51 consecutive pediatric patients with LCMs who underwent a first untethering surgery and were followed for > 100 months were retrospectively analyzed. The surgery was performed with the partial removal technique. Pre- and postoperative clinical and radiological data were reviewed to analyze the outcomes of surgery and identify potential risk factors for ReTCS.

RESULTS

During follow-up, 12 patients experienced neurological deterioration due to ReTCS. The overall 10-year and 15-year progression-free survival rates were 82.3% and 75.1%, respectively. On univariate analysis, a lipoma type of lipomyelomeningocele (OR 11, 95% CI 2.50–48.4; p = 0.0014), patient age at the time of surgery (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.14–1.18; p = 0.0070), and the mean patient growth rate after surgery (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.12–3.41; p = 0.0040) were significant factors associated with ReTCS. Cox proportional hazard models showed that a lipoma type of lipomyelomeningocele (HR 5.16, 95% CI 1.54–20.1; p = 0.010) and the mean growth rate after surgery (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.00–3.50; p = 0.040) were significantly associated with the occurrence of ReTCS.

CONCLUSIONS

More complex lesions and a high patient growth rate after surgery seemed to indicate increased risk of ReTCS. Larger prospective studies and registries are needed to define the risks of ReTCS more adequately.
The Emergence of Liturgical Awards of the Clergy in the Russian Orthodox Church
Authors: Рудченко Алексей Андреевич
Published: November 2021

В статье повествуется о возникновении иерархических наград для духовенства Русской Православной Церкви. В данной публикации существенное внимание уделяется процессу установления основных богослужебных наград в Синодальный период. Кроме того, определяется, что изначально иерархические отличия не считались в прямом смысле наградами и возведение в определённый сан или возложение особой части богослужебного облачения на клирика сопровождалось его назначением на ответственную должность. Автор подробно рассматривает способы награждения священнослужителей первыми установленными наградами, а также акцентирует внимание на важных смысловых характеристиках каждой награды.

The article describes the emergence of hierarchical awards for the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church. In this publication, considerable attention is paid to the process of establishing the main liturgical awards in the Synodal period. In addition, it is determined that initially hierarchical differences were not considered literally awards and the erection of a certain rank or the assignment of a special part of the liturgical vestments to the cleric was accompanied by his appointment to a responsible position. The author examines in detail the ways of awarding the clergy with the first established awards and focuses on the important semantic characteristics of each award.
Етапи становлення творчої діяльності Юрія Євсюкова
Authors: Голубцова Любов , Плуталов Сергій
Published: November 2021

Мета дослідження – розглянути та проаналізувати творчу спадщину актора театру й кіно Юрія Євсюкова. Методи дослідження. Історико-біографічний – для визначення основних етапів творчого зростання актора Ю. Євсюкова; хронологічний – для розкриття послідовності висвітлення творчих здобутків митця в наукових джерелах; аналітичний – під час дослідження особливостей акторського стилю Ю. Євсюкова в театральних виставах і кінострічках різних періодів. Наукова новизна полягає в тому, що вперше проаналізовано етапи становлення творчої спадщини актора Ю. Євсюкова й окреслено жанрово-стилістичні особливості його деяких ролей у театрі та в кіно. Висновки. У статті виокремлено важливі етапи творчої спадщини актора Ю. Євсюкова. Перший – робота в Луганському обласному академічному українському музично-драматичному театрі, де заклалися основи його акторського стилю. Тут актор опанував арсенал традиційних засобів сценічної виразності, переважно в межах комедійного жанру. Для другого періоду характерною є співпраця з режисером О. Біляцьким, під час якої розкрилися нові грані обдарування митця, а саме здатність його психофізичного апарату до імпровізації. Третій – режисура А. Васильєва, що сприяла розвиткові навичок «текстової драматургії» та «текстової імпровізації» як форми «живого театру».
Виконавська інтерпретація та інтенція як види художньої діяльності у вокальному мистецтві
Authors: Могилевська Наталія
Published: November 2021

Мета дослідження – обґрунтувати наявність і важливість виконавської інтерпретації та інтенції як основних видів художньої творчості у вокальному мистецтві. Методи дослідження. У процесі розв’язання завдань статті використано загальнонаукові, зокрема аналіз, синтез, інтерпретацію та узагальнення результатів, та спеціальні методи дослідження. Міждисциплінарне використання методологічного інструментарію мистецтвознавства, психолінгвістики, філософії мистецтва тощо дало змогу обґрунтувати наявність і значення виконавської інтерпретації та інтенції в мистецтві вокаліста. Зокрема, для концептуалізації уявлення про інтерпретацію та інтенції вокаліста застосовано психосемантичні методи, які досліджують свідомість, мотивацію, емоції особистості. Наукова новизна полягає в обґрунтуванні наявності та важливості виконавської інтерпретації та інтенції в мистецтві вокаліста. Висновки. Зазвичай музично-пісенний твір дає змогу виконавцю-вокалісту насамперед виразити власні погляди, переживання, відчуття, наміри і т. ін. Тому вираження свого внутрішнього світу, свого світовідчуття, утвердження свого «я» опосередковано (через інтерпретацію музичного твору) – чи не основне завдання, яке має розв’язати виконавець. Часто саме так музично-пісенний текст, який інтерпретує вокаліст, передусім стає засобом вираження його глибинних ментально-когнітивних намірів, тобто інтенцій. Тому в закладах підготовки майбутніх вокалістів повинні звертати увагу на забезпечення умов для ментально-ціннісного розвитку студентів і формування у них відповідного духовного світогляду.
Plasma CircRNAs for First Trimester Prediction of Preeclampsia and Potential Biomarkers
Authors: Lu Jie
Published: November 2021

ABSTRACT This study investigated expression profiles and mechanisms of circular RNAs on preeclampsia patients between 7-14 weeks. RNA sequencing demonstrated 12,579 circRNAs (7,684 upregulated and 4,895 downregulated) expressed differentially in 8 pairs of plasma samples from preeclampsia patients and healthy controls. Predicted 15 upregulated and 9 downregulated circRNAs then were assessed through qRT-PCR in 50 preeclampsia patients and 30 controls. Differentially expressed circRNAs in preeclampsia patients and controls were analyzed by RNA sequencing and gene ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network analyzed data. Hsa_circ_0046677 and hsa_circ_0029703 were markedly increased in preeclampsia patients. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis indicated the area under the curve was 0.083 for hsa_circ_0046677 and 0.965 for hsa_circ_00429703 while the sensitivity and specificity of these two genes were 78 percent, 88 percent and 83 percent, 93 percent, respectively. Hsa_circ_0046677 and hsa_circ_00429703 had enormous potentials for diagnosing preeclampsia of pregnant women in the first trimester.
OFFENSE VERSUS CONTRAVENTION IN NATIONAL FORESTRY LAW
Authors:   Transilvania University of Braşov, Aldea Adrian
Published: November 2021

According to a recent legislative amendment, unauthorized felling of trees, including when wood damage is up to five times the average price of one cubic meter of wood, per foot, constitutes a criminal offense. At the same time, a contraventional law is in force and is applying to a similar act. Thus, the question is whether the new rule is sufficiently clear to achieve the purpose of criminal proceedings.
POLITICAL PARTIES’ ACCESS TO ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE
Authors:   Transilvania University of Braşov, Barbu S. G. , Florescu C.M. ,   Court of Appeal, Romania.
Published: November 2021

A decision on interpretation issued in 2020 by the High Court of Cassation and Justice established that legal persons under private law cannot directly invoke in administrative court the infringement of a public interest, as they would replace the prosecutor, whose mission is to protect the general interests of the society and to defend the rights and freedoms of the citizens. The political parties are persons under public law. Can a political party act against an authority (most often a political opponent) in order to protect the general interests and to defend the rule of law, as well as the rights and freedoms of the citizens?
IT’S NOT WHAT IT SEEMS! THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRAIT-ANXIETY AND INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Authors:   Hyperion University, Bucharest 2 National University of Administrative and Political Studies, Bucharest,, ȚÂNCULESCU-POPA Livia
Published: November 2021

The current research is aimed at studying the relationship between trait anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty, with its both facets: the inhibitory and the prospective anxiety and to establish whether or not the general self-efficacy plays a mediating role between the trait-anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. Results show that a partial mediation takes part when general self-efficacy mediates the relationship between the intolerance of uncertainty, inhibitory anxiety, but a limited mediation when general selfefficacy interferes in the relationship between the trait-anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty, perspective anxiety. The main benefit of this paper is to demystify the impact of self-efficacy especially in unexpected, unknown situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Evaluation of the diagnostic efficiency of systemic immune-inflammation index in prostate biopsy
Authors: DEMİR Mehmet , YAĞMUR İsmail , PELİT Eyyup Sabri , KATI Bülent , ALBAYRAK İbrahim Halil , ÇİFTÇİ Halil
Published: November 2021

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who have undergone prostate biopsy and have a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value of 4–10 ng/ml.

Material and Method: In this study we included patients with a PSA value of 4–10 ng/mL, who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided 12-core prostate biopsy between January 2010 and March 2021. The patients were divided into two groups as those with and without cancer. Those with cancer were divided into two groups as low grade (grade 1 and 2) and high grade (grade 3–5) according to the International Society of Urologic Pathologists (ISUP) grades. PSA, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), prostate volume, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and SII were compared between the groups.

Results: The mean age of the 182 patients included in the study was 63.4±8.0 years, and the mean PSA value was 6.69±2.45 ng/mL. Benign prostate disease were detected in 142 (78%) of the patients and PCa in 40 (22%) patients. PSA, PLR, NLR and SII did not differ in those with cancer. Low ISUP grade cancer was detected in 80% of the patients and high ISUP grade cancer in 20%. PSA and PLR values were significantly higher in patients with high ISUP grade PCa compared to those with low ISUP grade (p < 0.05). There was no difference in SII values between the two groups. PSA, PLR and SII values of patients with high ISUP grade PCa were significantly higher than those without cancer (p
How Does Preschoolers’ Conformity Relate to Parental Style, Anonymous Sharing, and Obedience?
Authors: Hellmer Kahl , Stenberg Gunilla , Fawcett Christine
Published: November 2021

Children, just like adults, conform to peer testimony when making ostensibly easy decisions. Yet, some are more prone to conform than others and little is known about which factors contribute to this variability. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the reasons for individual differences in conformity by examining potential correlates of experimentally-elicited conformity in a sample of Swedish 3.5-year-olds (N = 55; 56%girls). Specifically, we asked whether conformity was socialized by parents via their parental style and whether conformity is correlated with the behaviors of anonymous sharing or obedience, which might each share a common motivation with conformity. Our data showed that children’s conformity was associated with fathers’, but not mothers’, authoritarian parental style and with anonymous sharing, but not obedience. The findings lend support to the notions that authoritarian parental style encourages conformist behavior, and that conformity is correlated with anonymous sharing behavior.
Investigating Neurophysiological Markers of Symptom Severity in Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Hoy Kate E. , Emonson Melanie R.L. , Bailey Neil W. , Humble Gregory , Coyle Hannah , Rogers Caitlyn , Fitzgerald Paul B.
Published: November 2021

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive functioning for which there is a stark lack of effective treatments. Investigating the neurophysiological markers of symptom severity in AD may aid in the identification of alternative treatment targets. Objective: In the current study we used a multimodal approach to investigate the association between functional connectivity (specifically between scalp electrodes placed over frontal and parietal regions) and symptom severity in AD, and to explore the relationship between connectivity and cortical excitability. Methods: 40 people with AD (25 mild severity, 15 moderate severity) underwent neurobiological assessment (resting state electroencephalography (EEG) and prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with EEG) and cognitive assessment. Neurobiological outcomes were resting state functional connectivity and TMS-evoked potentials. Cognitive outcomes were scores on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, Mini-Mental Status Examination, and a measure of episodic verbal learning. Results: Greater contralateral functional theta connectivity between frontal scalp electrodes and parietal scalp electrodes was associated with poorer cognitive performance. In addition, significant correlations were seen between the contralateral theta connectivity and the N100 and P60 TMS-evoked potentials measured from electrodes over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Conclusion: Together these findings provide initial support for the use of multimodal neurophysiological approaches to investigate potential therapeutic targets in AD. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
A Biological Index to Screen Multi-Micronutrient Deficiencies Associated with the Risk to Develop Dementia in Older Persons from the Community
Authors: Neuffer Jeanne , Gourru Marjorie , Thomas Aline , Lefèvre-Arbogast Sophie , Foubert-Samier Alexandra , Helmer Catherine , Delcourt Cécile , Féart Catherine , Samieri Cécilia
Published: November 2021

Background: Low blood status in several nutritional compounds, including long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA), carotenoids, and vitamin D, have been associated with a higher risk to develop dementia. Nutritional deficiencies may potentiate each other regarding dementia risk; yet the association of multiple nutritional deficiencies with dementia has been little explored. Objective: To develop an index of micronutritional biological status (MNBS) for the screening of multi-micronutritional deficiencies associated with the risk of dementia in a prospective population-based cohort of older persons. Methods: We included participants from the Bordeaux Three-City study, who were free of dementia at baseline, had blood measurements of LC n-3 PUFA, carotenoids, and 25(OH)D, and who were followed for up to 18 years for dementia. We used penalized splines in Cox models to model dose-response relationships of each nutritional component with the risk of dementia and construct a risk index. Results: 629 participants with an average age of 73.1 years were included in the study. Each increase of 1 SD of the MNBS index was associated with a 46%higher risk of dementia (HR = 1.46, 95%CI 1.23; 1.73). Participants with highest index ([mean+1SD; max]) had a 4-fold increased risk of dementia compared with participants with a low index ([min; mean-1SD]) (HR = 4.17, 95%CI 2.30; 7.57). Conclusion: This index of assessment of micronutritional biological status is a practical tool that may help identify populations with inadequate nutritional status, screen eligible individuals for nutritional prevention in primary care, or for supplementation in preventive trials of dementia.
No Influence of Age-Related Hearing Loss on Brain Amyloid-β
Authors: Sarant Julia Z. , Harris David C. , Busby Peter A. , Fowler Christopher , Fripp Jurgen , Masters Colin L. , Maruff Paul
Published: November 2021

Background: Hearing loss is independently associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline in older adults and has been identified as a modifiable risk factor for dementia. The mechanism for this association is unknown, and there has been limited exploration of potential casual pathology. Objective: Our objective was to investigate whether there was an association between degree of audiometrically measured hearing loss (HL) and brain amyloid-β (Aβ) in a pre-clinical sample. Methods: Participants of the Australian Imaging and Biomarker Longitudinal Study (AIBL; n = 143) underwent positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and objective measurement of hearing thresholds within 5 years of imaging, as well as cognitive assessment within 2 years of imaging in this observational cohort study. Results: With one exception, study participants who had cognitive assessments within 2 years of their PET imaging (n = 113) were classified as having normal cognition. There was no association between cognitive scores and degree of hearing loss, or between cognitive scores and Aβ load. No association between HL and Aβ load was found once age was controlled for. As previously reported, positive Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) carrier status increased the risk of being Aβ positive (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Degree of HL was not associated with positive Aβ status.
Effects of the adjacent channels on IP3 and IP5 of RF amplifier
Authors: Lin Qian , Wu Hai-Feng , Liu Lin-Sheng , Cao Chun
Published: November 2021

This paper discusses the impact of the adjacent channels on the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 of Radio Frequency (RF) amplifier by n-tone test. By combining the theoretical derivation and software simulation, the model analysis for the third/five order polynomial nonlinear amplifier has been achieved. Moreover, the control variable method is adopted to draw the curves for the input/output signals. The research shows that the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 drop as n increases, and they all have symmetry for a given n. The fifth-order polynomial nonlinear amplifier model is proposed, the research shows that the adjacent channels have a great impact on the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 of the desired channel. This effect must be taken into account in actual RF amplifier designs and wireless communication architectures.
Pseudo-siamese networks with lexicon for Chinese short text matching
Authors: Shi Jiawen , Li Hong , Wang Chiyu , Pang Zhicheng , Zhou Jiale
Published: November 2021

Short text matching is one of the fundamental technologies in natural language processing. In previous studies, most of the text matching networks are initially designed for English text. The common approach to applying them to Chinese is segmenting each sentence into words, and then taking these words as input. However, this method often results in word segmentation errors. Chinese short text matching faces the challenges of constructing effective features and understanding the semantic relationship between two sentences. In this work, we propose a novel lexicon-based pseudo-siamese model (CL2 N), which can fully mine the information expressed in Chinese text. Instead of utilizing a character-sequence or a single word-sequence, CL2 N augments the text representation with multi-granularity information in characters and lexicons. Additionally, it integrates sentence-level features through single-sentence features as well as interactive features. Experimental studies on two Chinese text matching datasets show that our model has better performance than the state-of-the-art short text matching models, and the proposed method can solve the error propagation problem of Chinese word segmentation. Particularly, the incorporation of single-sentence features and interactive features allows the network to capture the contextual semantics and co-attentive lexical information, which contributes to our best result.
Conflicting evidence combination based on Belief Mover’s Distance
Authors: Bai Shenshen , Li Longjie , Chen Xiaoyun
Published: November 2021

The Dempster-Shafer evidence theory has been extensively used in various applications of information fusion owing to its capability in dealing with uncertain modeling and reasoning. However, when meeting highly conflicting evidence, the classical Dempster’s combination rule may give counter-intuitive results. To address this issue, we propose a new method in this work to fuse conflicting evidence. Firstly, a new evidence distance metric, named Belief Mover’s Distance, which is inspired by the Earth Mover’s Distance, is defined to measure the difference between two pieces of evidence. Subsequently, the credibility weight and distance weight of each piece of evidence are computed according to the Belief Mover’s Distance. Then, the final weight of each piece of evidence is generated by unifying these two weights. Finally, the classical Dempster’s rule is employed to fuse the weighted average evidence. Several examples and applications are presented to analyze the performance of the proposed method. Experimental results manifest that the proposed method is remarkably effective in comparison with other methods.
Passenger comfort evaluation of the stowing and unloading luggage task in high-speed trains: Fusion of R-DEMATEL and FNN
Authors: Zhao Hang , Chu Jianjie , Mo Rong , Chen Chen , Ding Ning
Published: November 2021

At present, high-speed trains have become popular modern transportation. As a significant part of the high-speed train riding activity, the stowing and unloading luggage task has its characteristics. To comprehensively and reasonably evaluate passenger comfort of the stowing and unloading luggage task in high-speed trains. In this paper, passenger behavior characteristics are firstly analyzed by the author, the theoretical architecture of passenger comfort evaluation is constructed with the perspective of product aesthetics and ergonomics, and then the process of the passenger comfort evaluation is put forward. Secondly, a combination of Rough Number (RN) and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) (i.e. R-DEMATEL) is utilized to solve the centrality degree of comfort influencing factors and determine comfort evaluation indexes. Furthermore, the passenger comfort evaluation model with Fuzzy Neural Network (FNN) is constructed and trained. After that, the sample data of the evaluation are collected through the simulated experiment of the stowing and unloading luggage task, and they are trained with FNN comparing to Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN). Eventually, the result of examples testing is verified that the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Serum Neurofilament Light Chain as a Marker of Progression in Parkinson’s Disease: Long-Term Observation and Implications of Clinical Subtypes
Authors: Ygland Rödström Emil , Mattsson-Carlgren Niklas , Janelidze Shorena , Hansson Oskar , Puschmann Andreas
Published: November 2021

Background: Biochemical and clinical biomarkers correlate with progression rate and disease severity in Parkinson’s disease (PD) but are not sufficiently studied in late PD. Objective: To examine how serum neurofilament light chain (S-NfL) alone or combined with clinical classifications predicts PD outcome in later disease stages. Methods: Eighty-five patients with 7.9±5.1 years of PD duration were included in an observational cohort. Clinical scores were obtained at two separate examinations 8.2±2.0 years apart. S-NfL levels were determined with single molecule array (SiMoA). Five predefined disease progression milestones were assessed. After affirming combination potential of S-NfL and either of two clinical classifications, three combined models were constructed based on these factors and age at onset in different combinations. Results: S-NfL levels showed significant hazard ratios for four out of five disease progression milestones: walking-aid usage (HR 3.5; 95% CI 1.4–8.5), nursing home living (5.1; 2.1–12.5), motor end-stage (6.2; 2.1–17.8), and death (4.1; 1.7–9.7). Higher S-NfL levels were associated with lower ability in activities of daily living and poorer cognition at baseline and/or at follow-up. Combined models showed significantly improved area under receiver operating characteristic curves (0.77–0.91) compared to S-NfL levels alone (0.68–0.71) for predicting the five disease milestones. Conclusion: S-NfL levels stratified patients according to their likelihood to reach clinically relevant progression milestones during this long-term observational study. S-NfL alone reflected motor and social outcomes in later stages of PD. Combining S-NfL with clinical factors was possible and exploratory combined models improved prognostic accuracy.
Massive perinatal left ventricle infarction treated with tissue plasminogen activator: No ECMO – A case report
Authors: Buysse J. , Khan R. , Aldoss O. , Vijayakumar N. , Karimi M. , Mohammad Nijres B.
Published: November 2021

Neonatal myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombus is a rare cause of acute heart failure and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. We present a rare case of a full-term newborn who developed coronary artery thrombus treated with intracoronary recombinant tissue plasminogen activator infusion while undergoing therapeutic hypothermia. Also, we describe a unique treatment strategy to support systemic circulation sparing the patient from neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and its complications. Neonatal myocardial infarction should be suspected and ruled out in sick newborns.
Recurrent late-onset neonatal sepsis traced to breast milk: A case report
Authors: Stepanovich G. , Donn S.M.
Published: November 2021

Breast milk feeding is an important late-onset sepsis reduction strategy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). However, multiple studies have reported transfer of bacteria-contaminated breast milk to infants. We describe a case of culture-positive breast milk resulting in persistent Enterococcus bacteremia in an infant. Beyond the development of an infant’s innate and specific immunity as well as colonization of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with commensal organisms, the risk of bacterial translocation from the GI tract into the bloodstream is shaped and modified by maternal health, birth history, and an infant’s NICU course. While freezing and/or pasteurizing breast milk reduces or eliminates its bacterial load, it also diminishes its immunologic and nutritional benefits.
Respiratory outcomes in children with congenital myotonic dystrophy
Authors: Omura Jaclyn , Chen Maida , Haviland Miriam , Apkon Susan
Published: November 2021

PURPOSE: Congenital myotonic dystrophy (CDM) results in hypotonia and acute respiratory distress at birth. Previous studies show that prolonged periods of intubation (>4 weeks) correlate with increased mortality rates. The objective is to describe the use and duration of respiratory support in newborns with CDM and how these relate to mortality. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed at a tertiary pediatric hospital among children with confirmed diagnosis of CDM. The main outcome measures were: mortality, duration of invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and non-invasive partial pressure ventilation (NIPPV), along with long-term use of respiratory support and equipment. RESULTS: A total of 18 subjects met inclusion criteria, 83%.f which had documented respiratory distress at birth, 39%.equired NIPPV, and 50%.equired intubation in the neonatal period. The earliest NIPPV was initiated at day one of life, and the latest extubation to NIPPV was at 17 days of life. CONCLUSION: This cohort required IMV for shorter periods with earlier transitions to NIPPV which suggests a possible change in practice and earlier transition to NIPPV recently. Further data are needed to determine if there is a possible correlation between the need for NIPPV/IMV and mortality rates.
Best Research Practice Implementation: The Experience of the N.N. Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery
Authors: Danilov Gleb , Shifrin Michael , Strunina Yulia , Ishankulov Timur , Zagidullin Timur , Makashova Elizaveta , Pronin Igor , Konovalov Nikolay , Potapov Alexander
Published: November 2021

Implementing the best research principles initiates an important shift in clinical research culture, improving efficiency and the level of evidence obtained. In this article, we share our own view on the best research practice and our experience introducing it into the scientific activities of the N.N. Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery (Moscow, Russian Federation). While being adherent to the principles described in the article, the percentage of publications in the international scientific journals in our Center has increased from 7% to 27%, with an overall gain in the number of articles by 2 times since 2014. We believe it is important that medical informatics professionals equally to medical experts involved in clinical research are familiar with the best research principles.
Transfer of Clinical Drug Data to a Research Infrastructure on OMOP – A FAIR Concept
Authors: Reinecke Ines , Zoch Michéle , Wilhelm Markus , Sedlmayr Martin , Bathelt Franziska
Published: November 2021

Generating evidence based on real-world data is gaining importance in research not least since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Common Data Model of Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) is a research infrastructure that implements FAIR principles. Although the transfer of German claim data to OMOP is already implemented, drug data is an open issue. This paper provides a concept to prepare electronic health record (EHR) drug data for the transfer to OMOP based on requirements analysis and descriptive statistics for profiling EHR data developed by an interdisciplinary team and also covers data quality issues. The concept not only ensures FAIR principles for research, but provides the foundation for German drug data to OMOP transfer.
Automated Modeling of Clinical Narrative with High Definition Natural Language Processing Using Solor and Analysis Normal Form
Authors: Resnick Melissa P. , LeHouillier Frank , Brown Steven H. , Campbell Keith E. , Montella Diane , Elkin Peter L.
Published: November 2021

Objective: One important concept in informatics is data which meets the principles of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability (FAIR). Standards, such as terminologies (findability), assist with important tasks like interoperability, Natural Language Processing (NLP) (accessibility) and decision support (reusability). One terminology, Solor, integrates SNOMED CT, LOINC and RxNorm. We describe Solor, HL7 Analysis Normal Form (ANF), and their use with the high definition natural language processing (HD-NLP) program. Methods: We used HD-NLP to process 694 clinical narratives prior modeled by human experts into Solor and ANF. We compared HD-NLP output to the expert gold standard for 20% of the sample. Each clinical statement was judged “correct” if HD-NLP output matched ANF structure and Solor concepts, or “incorrect” if any ANF structure or Solor concepts were missing or incorrect. Judgements were summed to give totals for “correct” and “incorrect”. Results: 113 (80.7%) correct, 26 (18.6%) incorrect, and 1 error. Inter-rater reliability was 97.5% with Cohen’s kappa of 0.948. Conclusion: The HD-NLP software provides useable complex standards-based representations for important clinical statements designed to drive CDS.
Interoperability Standards for Data Sharing as a Basis to Fill in a Tailored EHR for Undiagnosed Rare Diseases
Authors: Maggi Norbert , Boaglio Ariam , Ruggiero Carmelina , Fancellu Roberto , Cocchiara Francesco , Coviello Domenico , Capanna Deborah , Giacomini Mauro
Published: November 2021

Undiagnosed rare diseases include diseases with a well-characterised phenotype, diseases with unknown molecular causes or due to non-genetic factors, and pathological condition that cannot be named. Several initiatives have been launched for healthcare of patients with undiagnosed rare diseases. A project for development of medical records with special reference to the HL7 standards is being carried out in Genoa (Italy), taking into account regional and national regulations. The project is based on the integration of functionality related to patient diagnostics, taking into account omic sciences for disease prevention and risk assessment. Considering the evolution of standards, the use of FHIR is being considered in order to increase the elasticity of the system also in view of foreseeable adoption of this standard by the Italian healthcare system.
Semantics Management for a Regional Health Information System in Italy by CTS2 and FHIR
Authors: Gazzarata Roberta , Maggi Norbert , Magnoni Luca Douglas , Monteverde Maria Eugenia , Ruggiero Carmelina , Giacomini Mauro
Published: November 2021

An infrastructure for the management of semantics is being developed to support the regional health information exchange in Veneto – an Italian region which has about 5 million inhabitants. Terminology plays a key role in the management of the information fluxes of the Veneto region, in which the management of electronic health record is given great attention. An architecture for the management of the semantics of laboratory reports has been set up, adopting standards by HL7. The system has been initially developed according to the common terminology service release 2 (CTS2) standard and, in order to overcome complexities of CTS2 is being revised according to the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard, which has been subsequently introduced. Aspects of CST2 and of FHIR have been considered in order to retain most suitable aspects of both. This integration can be regarded as most worthwhile.
Making EHRs Reusable: A Common Framework of Data Operations
Authors: Pedrera Miguel , Garcia Noelia , Rubio Paula , Cruz Juan Luis , Bernal José Luis , Serrano Pablo
Published: November 2021

Reuse of EHRs requires data extraction and transformation processes are based on homogeneous and formalized operations in order to make them understandable, reproducible and auditable. This work aims to define a common framework of data operations for obtaining EHR-derived datasets for secondary use. Thus, 21 operations were identified from different data-driven projects of a 1,300-beds tertiary Hospital. Then, ISO 13606 standard was used to formalize them. This work is the starting point to homogenize ETL processes for the reuse of EHRs, applicable to any condition and organization. In future studies, defined data operations will be implemented and validated in projects of different purposes.
Utilising the FOXS Stack for FAIR Architected Data Access
Authors: Meredith John , Whitehead Nik , Dacey Michael
Published: November 2021

A FOXS stack assembles HL7 FHIR, openEHR, IHE XDS and SNOMED CT as an operational clinical data platform to build digital systems. This paper analyses its applicability for FAIR-enabled medical research based on a summary of key principles. It highlights the benefit of the blended approach to operational technology stacks for health systems, and a need for industry standard technologies to enable greater semantic coherence for primary/secondary data use.
Chios Hospital Information System Assessment
Authors: Karitis Konstantinos , Gallos Parisis , Triantafyllou Ioannis S. , Plagianakos Vassilis
Published: November 2021

A very important aspect for organizations that provide healthcare services is to have fully functional and successful information systems. A successful hospital information system can contribute to high quality healthcare services provided to the patients of the hospital. In this paper, is presented the evaluation of the information system of Chios Hospital, “Skylitsio”. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire which consists demographic questions and questions that measure the factors of the DeLone & McLean success model. The participants of the survey were 71 users of the clinical information system. Cronbach’s alpha reliability test, descriptive statistics, and further data analyses to investigate the relations between the factors of the DeLone & McLean success model were performed. Based on the results, the users of the information system are satisfied with it, as well as they find the system useful and easy to use. The average value of the “information quality” is 3.78 out of 5, the “system quality” is 3.61, the “service quality” is 3.45, the “use” is 3.83, the “user satisfaction” is 3.46, and the “user benefit” is 3.76. The research concludes with a validation of the DeLone & McLean success model and it seems that the information system of the General Hospital of Chios is successful based on the users’ opinions.
Predicting individual acclimation to the cross-coupled illusion for artificial gravity
Authors: Bretl Kathrine N. , Clark Torin K.
Published: November 2021

BACKGROUND: The cross-coupled (CC) illusion and associated motion sickness limit the tolerability of fast-spin-rate centrifugation for artificial gravity implementation. Humans acclimate to the CC illusion through repeated exposure; however, substantial inter-individual differences in acclimation exist, which remain poorly understood. To address this, we investigated several potential predictors of individual acclimation to the CC illusion. METHODS: Eleven subjects were exposed to the CC illusion for up to 50 25-minute acclimation sessions. The metric of acclimation rate was calculated as the slope of each subject’s linear increase in spin rate across sessions. As potential predictors of acclimation rate, we gathered age, gender, demographics, and activity history, and measured subjects’ vestibular perceptual thresholds in the yaw, pitch, and roll rotation axes. RESULTS: We found a significant, negative correlation (p = 0.025) between subjects’ acclimation rate and roll threshold, suggesting lower thresholds yielded faster acclimation. Additionally, a leave-one-out cross-validation analysis indicated that roll thresholds are predictive of acclimation rates. Correlations between acclimation and other measures were not found but were difficult to assess within our sample. CONCLUSIONS: The ability to predict individual differences in CC illusion acclimation rate using roll thresholds is critical to optimizing acclimation training, improving the feasibility of fast-rotation, short-radius centrifugation for artificial gravity.
Ações afirmativas como instrumento de promoção da igualdade de recursos
Authors: Torres Ligia Ohashi , Dias Jean Carlos , Filho José Claudio Monteiro de Brito
Published: November 2021

O artigo busca apresentar o processo de ingresso diferenciado para as minorias raciais como proposta de implementação de uma igualdade com base na teoria dworkiniana, abordando especificamente o processo seletivo criado pela rede varejista Magazine Luiza para o seu programa de trainee, restrito a candidatos negros. Dados demonstram que os negros estão em piores condições que os brancos em relação a bens e recursos no Brasil, havendo um cenário de exclusão social que os leva à condição de vulneráveis. O combate às práticas discriminatórias deve abranger, além de estratégias repressivas, medidas compensatórias que possam acelerar o processo da busca pela igualdade. A pesquisa, de cunho eminentemente teórico, envolvendo o método dedutivo, abordagem qualitativa e técnica de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, conclui que as ações afirmativas, tais como a implementada pela Magazine Luiza, funcionam como instrumentos para a promoção da igualdade de recursos, nos termos propostos por Ronald Dworkin.
PENANAMAN ETIKA KOMUNIKASI BISRI MUSTOFA DALAM PROSES PEMBELAJARAN DI MA NURUL ISLAM BOYOLALI
Authors: Rizqi Wahid Tuftazani
Published: November 2021

This study aims to explore Bisri Mustofa's conception of the ethics of community communication and its application in MA Nurul Islam Boyolali. This research is a qualitative field research with a case study approach. The paradigm used is constructivism-interpretive paradigm. The data analysis technique goes through three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions. The concept used in this research is the learning concept of Bisri Mustofa. The results conclude that: Bisri Mustofa's conception in education is to pay special attention to how to convey information to others in good language, and the absence of one's feelings in communicating. This conception can be instilled in the community through education by paying attention to learning, learning methods, and evaluating learning objectives. In its application, Madrasah Aliyah Nurul Islam Boyolali seeks to apply this conception by paying attention to the learning implementation plan and also the learning process.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) PT. GRAB INDONESIA DI ERA NEW NORMAL MASA PANDEMI COVID-19
Authors: Damayanti Novita , Dewi Yuni Retna
Published: November 2021

Today, the social responsibility of a company or better known as CSR has become the subject of discussion among the public and business people. PT. Grab Indonesia, as an Indonesian online transportation application, together with the government, carried out a covid 19 vaccination as an implementation of CSR in the New Normal era of the Covid-19 pandemic in several regions in Indonesia for the elderly and online transportation drivers. This study aims to determine the implementation of Grab Indonesia's "vaccine for the country" Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) during the new normal period of the covid-19 pandemic. The study uses the CSR concept from John Elkington which reveals the triple bottom line concept, namely profit, people, and planet. This research uses a case study approach. The results showed PT Grab Indonesia in the new normal era carried out CSR by holding a covid-19 vaccination together with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy and several other companies such as Fatigon, Good Doctor, Teh Pucuk as vaccine centers in Bali, Palembang, Banten, West Java and other areas.
PERENCANAAN DAN STRATEGI KOMUNIKASI DALAM MENINGKATKAN ADAPTIFITAS SUMBERDAYA MANUSIA DAN KEUNGGULAN KOMPETITIF LEMBAGA
Authors: Pranawukir Iswahyu
Published: November 2021

Planning and communication strategies are one of the keys in increasing adaptability in an institution or organization, including Islamic boarding schools. The purpose of this study is to determine the planning and communication strategies in increasing the adaptability of human resources and competitiveness of the Madinatul Qur'an Islamic boarding school in Depok. Through qualitative descriptive method, the results of planning and communication strategies are obtained according to the stages.  The planning stage is to formulate the scientific, capacity and character building.  The strategy formulation stage produces an aggressive strategy, involving HR target as partners with various stimuly, refresher strategy through social service practices, growth strategy through the development of intellectual, religious, humanist and adaptive character; defensive strategies through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary training. Furthermore, the stages of personal competence, through improving communication, managerial and business skills, control stages that focus on the uniqueness of tahfidz, the supervision stage, in the form of optimizing the role of HR and the evaluation stage, in order to encourage the sensitivity of HR to technological developments. Lastly is the communication strategy stage. The graduates of Ma'had Aly will be facilitated with a bachelor degree In order to fulfill the stakeholders’ demand.
Impacto da Recusa Alimentar em Pacientes com Câncer: Revisão Integrativa da Literatura
Authors: Tiezerin Carolina Schmitz , Souza Daniely Hackbarth de , Gonçalves Laura Faustino , Haas Patrícia
Published: November 2021

Introdução: O câncer é uma das principais causas de morte no mundo, podendo ser motivado tanto por fatores externos como internos. A recusa alimentar está frequentemente associada à desnutrição em pacientes oncológicos e, muitas vezes, à caquexia, levando ao aumento da mortalidade. Objetivo: Apresentar evidências científicas, com base em uma revisão integrativa, para avaliar o impacto da recusa alimentar em pacientes oncológicos. Método: Para a seleção dos estudos, foi utilizada uma combinação de termos indexados no Medical Subject Heading Terms (MeSH). Foram utilizadas as bases de dados MEDLINE (PubMed), LILACS, SciELO, Scopus, Web of Science, Microsoft Academic Search, Cochrane, RCAAP e BIREME para a seleção de manuscritos, sem restrição de idioma, período de publicação e localização geográfica. A escala utilizada para avaliar os estudos foi o protocolo para pontuação qualitativa. Resultados: Foram recuperados dez artigos com potencial de inclusão, sendo que três responderam à pergunta norteadora que consistiu em verificar o impacto da recusa alimentar em indivíduos com câncer. Os estudos selecionados obtiveram pontuação maior do que seis no protocolo para avaliação da sua qualidade. Conclusão: Os estudos relataram indicadores frequentes de recusa alimentar em pacientes oncológicos associada à desnutrição, ao medo de se alimentar e ao apetite limitado.
A Leap of Academic Faith and Resilience: Nontraditional International Students Pursuing Higher Education in the United States of America
Authors: Hunter-Johnson Yvonne
Published: November 2021

International students pursuing higher education in the United States are faced with a multiplicity of challenges such as navigating an unfamiliar educational system, relocating to an unfamiliar country, overcoming negative stereotypes associated with being an educational student, and, in some instances, having to learn a foreign language. Despite such challenges, international students remain motivated to pursue higher education in the United States. This qualitative study, utilizing Schlossberg’s adult transition model as a theoretical framework, explored the lived experiences of 16 international students pursuing higher education in the United States. Emphasis was placed on their transitional experiences in relation to their learning. The major theme that emerged was “major adjustment.” Subthemes that emerged regarding these students’ adjustment included (a) diversity and cultural differences in the learning environment, (b) comparative differences in the learning environment, (c) language barriers, and (d) combatting stereotypes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Heralding a new era
Authors: Srinivasan D. , Kannan G. K. , Menon Jayakumar
Published: November 2021

The domains of Psychiatry and Neurosciences have progressed from being poor cousins of Medicine to becoming one of the frontier fields in modern medicine, incorporating cutting edge science and research initiatives and influencing diverse areas like management, humanities, conflict resolution, development, organisational systems, astronomy, sports etc. After the decade of the brain, it seems the field has taken off to hitherto unimagined heights. Needless to say, we are in exciting times.