bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A qualitative exploration of autistic mothers’ experiences I: Pregnancy experiences
Authors: Hampton Sarah , Man Joyce , Allison Carrie , Aydin Ezra , Baron-Cohen Simon , Holt Rosemary
Published: November 2022

Pregnancy may pose a number of physical and healthcare-related challenges for autistic people, who experience differences in sensory processing and can face barriers to accessing healthcare. However, little research has explored autistic pregnancy experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 autistic and 21 non-autistic women during the third trimester of pregnancy. Thematic analysis revealed that the autistic group experienced heightened sensory and physical symptoms during pregnancy compared with the non-autistic group. Autistic participants were sometimes reluctant to disclose their diagnosis to healthcare professionals and felt that professionals lacked autism knowledge. While both groups appreciated clear information about their care, autistic participants further highlighted the need for detailed information and being given time to process verbal information. The autistic group also highlighted the need for sensory adjustments in healthcare settings. The findings indicate ways in which prenatal healthcare can be improved for autistic people, including sensory and communication adjustments. There is a need for greater autism-related training for prenatal healthcare professionals to ensure that autistic people receive appropriate support.

Lay abstract

Little is known about how autistic people experience pregnancy. We interviewed 24 autistic and 21 non-autistic women during pregnancy to find out about their experiences. Autistic participants had more physical difficulties, such as nausea and pain, during pregnancy than non-autistic participants. They also sometimes felt that healthcare professionals, such as midwives, did not have a good understanding of autism and they did not always feel comfortable telling professionals about their autism diagnosis. Autistic participants told us that they needed professionals to communicate with them clearly and to make changes during appointments such as dimming lights. This research shows that autistic people would benefit from changes to pregnancy appointments and that more training about autism would help maternity care professionals to support autistic people during pregnancy.
Unidirectional language bias: The Implicit Association Test with Spanish and English in Miami
Authors: Callesano Salvatore , Carter Phillip M.
Published: November 2022

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:

Automatic preferences and implicit biases toward Spanish and English in the context of Miami are tested. We investigate whether implicit language bias is conditioned by social factors (i.e., ethnicity, gender, first language) as well as different linguistic stimuli (orthographic vs oral/aural).

Design/methodology/approach:

Three Implicit Association Test (IAT) experiments were designed and implemented. IAT 1 uses semantically neutral furniture terms in English and Spanish with visual attribute words. IAT 2 uses an oral/aural condition employing US Latinx city names produced with both Spanish and English phonology. In IAT 3, we use nonce words to represent the categories of English and Spanish as well as positive/negative visual imagery for the attributes.

Data and analysis:

d-scores were automatically calculated considering response latency and accuracy. Data were subjected to linear regression for between- and within-experiment analyses as well as a post hoc regression considering participants born outside of the United States.

Findings/conclusions:

The within-experiment analysis for IAT 1 showed an effect of country of birth. The between-experiment analysis showed country of birth and the experiments themselves to be significant. Length of residency for the non-US born group was also a significant factor. Across the three experiments, none of the 89 participants demonstrated a strong automatic preference for Spanish.

Originality:

This study is conducted in the largest situation of bilingualism in the Americas and is the first study to examine nonconscious bias toward bilingual participants’ own language varieties in the United States.

Significance/implications:

Despite the popular construction of Miami as “Spanish-speaking,” results of this study demonstrate strong nonconscious automated preferences for English among participants in Miami and raise questions about language, power, and the vitality of Spanish in South Florida.
Stereotypes shape response competition when forming impressions
Authors: Hester Neil , Xie Sally Y. , Bertin Jeannine Alana , Hehman Eric
Published: November 2022

Dynamic models of impression formation posit that bottom-up factors (e.g., a target’s facial features) and top-down factors (e.g., perceiver knowledge of stereotypes) continuously interact over time until a stable categorization or impression emerges. Most previous work on the dynamic resolution of judgments over time has focused on either categorization (e.g., “is this person male/female?”) or specific trait impressions (e.g., “is this person trustworthy?”). In two mousetracking studies—exploratory ( N = 226) and confirmatory ( N = 300)—we test a domain-general effect of cultural stereotypes shaping the process underlying impressions of targets. We find that the trajectories of participants’ mouse movements gravitate toward impressions congruent with their stereotype knowledge. For example, to the extent that a participant reports knowledge of a “Black men are less [trait]” stereotype, their mouse trajectory initially gravitates toward categorizing individual Black male faces as “less [trait],” regardless of their final judgment of the target.
Typical advances of artificial intelligence in civil engineering
Authors: Xu Yang , Qian Wenliang , Li Na , Li Hui
Published: November 2022

Artificial intelligence (AI) provides advanced mathematical frameworks and algorithms for further innovation and vitality of classical civil engineering (CE). Plenty of complex, time-consuming, and laborious workloads of design, construction, and inspection can be enhanced and upgraded by emerging AI techniques. In addition, many unsolved issues and unknown laws in the field of CE can be addressed and discovered by physical machine learning via merging the data paradigm with physical laws. Intelligent science and technology in CE profoundly promote the current level of informatization, digitalization, autonomation, and intellectualization. To this end, this paper provides a systematic review and summarizes the state-of-the-art progress of AI in CE for the entire life cycle of civil structures and infrastructure, including intelligent architectural design, intelligent structural health diagnosis, intelligent disaster prevention and reduction. A series of examples for intelligent architectural art shape design, structural topology optimization, computer-vision-based structural damage recognition, correlation-pattern-based structural condition assessment, machine-learning-enhanced reliability analysis, vision-based earthquake disaster evaluation, and dense displacement monitoring of structures under wind and earthquake, are given. Finally, the prospects of intelligent science and technology in future CE are discussed.
Occupational health patients’ parallel use of primary- and secondary-care services and linkage to work disability: A follow-up study in Finland
Authors: Reho Tiia , Atkins Salla , Korhonen Mikko , Siukola Anna , Viljamaa Mervi , Sumanen Markku , Uitti Jukka , Sauni Riitta
Published: November 2022

Aims:

This study aimed to investigate occupational health (OH) primary-care patients’ use of other health-care services and whether parallel use affects their likelihood to have sickness absences (SA) or disability pensions (DP).

Methods:

Primary-care services in Finland are provided through three parallel health-care sectors, all available to the working population: public, private and OH sectors. Patients may also be referred to secondary care. This follow-up study combines real-world medical record data containing SA data from a nationwide OH provider with health-care attendance data from public and private primary-care sectors and public secondary care, sociodemographic data and DP decisions. Patients between 18 and 68 years of age who used OH primary care at least once during the study years 2014–2016 were included. The total study population comprised 59,650 patients. Odds ratios were used to analyse association between parallel service use and SA or DP.

Results:

Females and patients with a lower educational level were more likely to use services in other health-care sectors in addition to OH than others. Those patients who used any other health-care sector in addition to OH primary care had an increased likelihood of having long SA or receiving DP.

Conclusions:

OH primary-care patients using the services of several health-care sectors in parallel have an increased likelihood of receiving disability benefits – either SA or DP. There is need for care coordination to ensure adequate measures for work-ability support.
Indoor radon concentration measurements in workplaces and their impact on health risk assessment
Authors: Loffredo Filomena , Quarto Maria
Published: November 2022

Radon is the main source of exposure to ionizing radiation for the general population. In Italy, very little has been investigated to determine occupational radon exposure in workers. In this study, radon concentrations of various workplaces type were measured for 1 year using SSNTD CR-39. Q–Q plot and Shapiro–Wilks statistical test showed that radon concentrations are not log-normally distributed. The geometric mean of radon concentration was found to be 97 Bq/m3 with a geometric standard deviation of 3. The mean effective dose to workers has been calculated and found to be 1.4 mSv/y. Finally, for estimation of cancer risks, the lifetime risk and lung cancer cases per year per million have been calculated.
Geometric and mechanical joint characterization of conventionally and tumbled self-piercing riveting joints
Authors: Wituschek Simon , Kappe Fabian , Meschut Gerson , Lechner Michael
Published: November 2022

In view of economic and ecological trends, the concepts for lightweight construction in transport systems are becoming increasingly important. These are frequently applied in the form of multi-material systems, which are characterized by the selective use of materials and geometries. One major challenge in the manufacturing of multi-material systems is the joining of the individual components to form a complete system. Mechanical joining processes such as semi-tubular self-piercing riveting are frequently used for this application but reach their limits concerning the number of combinations of geometry and material. In order to react to the requirements and to increase the versatility of semi-tubular self-pierce riveting, a process combination consisting of a tumbling process and a self-pierce riveting process has been presented previously. This process combination is used in this work to investigate the versatility and to identify the influencing parameters on it. For this purpose, experiments are conducted to identify process-side influence possibilities. The tests are performed with a dual-phase steel aluminum alloy to represent the varying mechanical characteristics of multi-material systems. Furthermore, the initial sheet thicknesses of the joining partners are varied in several steps. In addition to the geometric joint formation used to describe the undercut, the rivet head end position and the residual sheet thickness, the joining process, is also analyzed during the investigations. Further, the innovative joining process is evaluated by comparing it with a conventional self-piercing riveting process. The knowledge obtained represents a basis for the identification and evaluation of the versatility of the process combination.
Multi-layered nanofiber membranes: Preparation, characterization, and application in wastewater treatment
Authors: Islam Md Nazrul , Yıldırım Bekir , Maryska Jiri , Yalcinkaya Fatma
Published: November 2022

Over the last few decades, micropollutants have been found in the natural surface water, and their presence poses a series of risks to living organisms in the aquatic biotope. Nanofiber membranes have been shown as a new strategy for separating micron-size pollutants due to their tight pore size and high water permeability. Here, a high-efficient multi-layered nanofiber membrane with improved mechanical strength was prepared using the lamination technique. First, polyamide 6 (PA6), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers webs were selected. Then nanofibers were laminated on support under various temperatures. Prepared membranes were characterized using SEM, contact angle, pore size, and air permeability tests. The significance of lamination condition on membrane structure was investigated experimentally and statically. The membranes were examined for the treatment of synthetic micropollutants. According to the results, PAN and PA6 nanofiber membranes exhibited high water permeability (over 3000 L/(m2hbar)) under low pressure, whereas PVDF membranes showed zero permeability. Besides, the prepared nanofiber membranes could separate micropollutants from water with up to 99.91% separation efficiency. Prepared nanofiber membranes hold great promise for practical applications in environmental remediation.
Civil Wars in the Shadow of World War II: The Cases of Chameria/Çameria and Kosovo
Authors: Zaugg Franziska , Chandrinos Jason
Published: November 2022

This article assesses the occurrence of civil war in the Balkans during World War II and the Axis occupation. It draws on the wartime experiences in the border areas of Kosovo (‘Greater Albania’)/Serbia and Albania/Greece to illustrate the complex interrelation between ethnic tensions and political imperatives, on a local, national and transnational scale. It discusses the Italian and German occupation policy towards national minorities and armed groups as a key contributing factor to civil war and pinpoints the similarities, differences and interdependencies between the different civil war parties and agents of violence.
A worldwide survey of perspectives on demands, resources, and barriers influencing the youth-to-senior transition in academy football players
Authors: Lundqvist Carolina , Gregson Warren , Bonanno Daniele , Lolli Lorenzo , Di Salvo Valter
Published: November 2022

The youth-to-first team phase presents a number of challenges in the careers of modern football players with stagnation, inconsistent performance and dropout being reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of staff involved in professional academy football clubs around the globe, with a particular focus on youth and first team transition demands, resources as well as transitions barriers and coping among male academy football players. Participants from 29 male youth academies distributed across 29 countries took part in the survey. Our main findings suggested training and match intensity reported as being greater at the senior-level and also pressure from parents. The majority of respondents indicated their clubs having long-term strategy for player development and specific roles supporting successful player transitions. Exposure to different playing styles was deemed important to prepare players for the first team. Likewise, having the academy and the first team training on the same site was perceived to ease the transition, with the majority of respondents indicating that players are able to cope with the pressure of first team training and games. Perceptions on whether staff do not have the skills/resources to prepare players for the changes in environment and culture when players move from youth-to-senior level were unclear. Collectively, our study extends previous transition research on youth football academies suggesting the importance of a club-based playing philosophy to prepare players for the first team demands and challenges.
Prediction of disability in trigger finger: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study
Authors: Namaldi Seda , Kuru Cigdem Ayhan , Kuru Ilhami
Published: November 2022

The aim of this prospective study of 55 patients was to analyse the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between disability and physical and psychological variables after conservative treatment of trigger finger and to determine the predictive factors for the post-treatment disability score and change in disability score. The primary outcome measure was the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire. Potential predictive factors included pain, number of triggering events, depression, anxiety and kinesiophobia. Disability correlated strongly with anxiety, moderately with pain and depression and weakly with triggering and kinesiophobia. The change in depression score correlated significantly with the change in disability score. Post-treatment pain and anxiety scores accounted for 47% of the explained variance in disability score. Improvement in depression after treatment accounted for 18% of the explained variance in disability change score. Psychological variables appear to be potential predictors of disability.

Level of evidence: IV
Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of finger goniometry measured from screenshots taken via video consultation
Authors: Johnson Dane , Barradas Rodrigo , Newington Lisa
Published: November 2022

The purpose of this study was to assess the intra- and inter-rater reliability of using screenshots and handheld manual goniometers to assess range of finger movements during video consultations. Twenty-seven hand therapists measured finger joint angles from four different screenshots using two different goniometers. Results were compared within and between participants using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The ICC grading for both intra- and inter-rater reliability was moderate to excellent for all joints and both goniometers. Clinicians can measure finger joint angles from a screenshot with good reliability. The protocol used in this study can be used in remote video consultations as a no-cost substitute for in-person goniometry.

Level of evidence: II
Pharmacologic Management of Central Fever: A Review of Evidence for Bromocriptine, Propranolol, and Baclofen
Authors: Reinert Justin P. , Kormanyos Zsanett
Published: November 2022

Objective: The purpose of this review was to evaluate the clinical data supporting bromocriptine, propranolol, and baclofen in the pharmacologic management of central fever. Data Sources: A comprehensive literature review was performed between January 2018 and August 2022 using the following keywords: “central fever” NOT “fever” OR “infection” OR “infectious” AND “neurocritical” OR “neurology” AND “treatment” AND “medication” OR “medicine” OR “drug” OR “pharmaceutical.” Study Selection and Data Extraction: A total of 6 case reports met specified inclusion criteria, with 2 reporting on each of the evaluated medications. Data Synthesis: Significant heterogeneity exists regarding dosing strategies and duration of treatment with these medications for the management of central fever. Although each medication demonstrated the ability to restore normothermia, the variation in underlying cause of the fever and lack of cross-over evaluation between different medications makes a definitive treatment strategy for any of these agents elusive. Conclusions: The development of a central fever has been associated with poor outcomes in patients who have suffered a critical neurologic injury. Although their exact mechanism for this indication has not been fully elucidated, anecdotal evidence seemingly supports the use of bromocriptine, propranolol, and baclofen.
Bacterial DNA amplifies neutrophilic inflammation in IL-17-exposed airways
Authors: Mues Nastaran , Martin Richard J. , Alam Rafeul , Schaunaman Niccolette , Dimasuay Kris Genelyn , Kolakowski Christena , Wright Clyde J. , Zheng Lijun , Chu Hong Wei
Published: November 2022

Background

Neutrophilic asthma (NA) is associated with increased airway interleukin (IL)-17 and abnormal bacterial community such as dominance of nontypeableHaemophilus influenzae(NTHi), particularly during asthma exacerbations. Bacteria release various products including DNA, but whether they cooperate with IL-17 in exaggerating neutrophilic inflammation is unclear. We sought to investigate the role of bacteria-derived DNA in airway neutrophilic inflammation related to IL-17-high asthma and underlying mechanisms (e.g.Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9)/IL-36γ signalling axis).

Methods

Bacterial DNA, IL-8 and IL-36γ were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of people with asthma and healthy subjects. The role of co-exposure to IL-17 and bacterial DNA or live bacteria in neutrophilic inflammation, and the contribution of the TLR9/IL-36γ signalling axis, were determined in cultured primary human airway epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages, and mouse models.

Results

Bacterial DNA levels were increased in asthma BALF, which positively correlated with IL-8 and neutrophil levels. Moreover, IL-36γ increased in BALF of NA patients. Bacterial DNA or NTHi infection under an IL-17-high setting amplified IL-8 production and mouse lung neutrophilic inflammation. DNase I treatment in IL-17-exposed and NTHi-infected mouse lungs reduced neutrophilic inflammation. Mechanistically, bacterial DNA-mediated amplification of neutrophilic inflammation is in part dependent on the TLR9/IL-36γ signalling axis.

Conclusions

Bacterial DNA amplifies airway neutrophilic inflammation in an IL-17-high setting partly through the TLR9 and IL-36γ signalling axis. Our novel findings may offer several potential therapeutic targets including TLR9 antagonists, IL-36γ neutralising antibodies and DNase I to reduce asthma severity associated with exaggerated airway neutrophilic inflammation.
Biomedical named entity recognition with the combined feature attention and fully-shared multi-task learning
Authors: Zhang Zhiyu , Chen Arbee L. P.
Published: November 2022

Background

Biomedical named entity recognition (BioNER) is a basic and important task for biomedical text mining with the purpose of automatically recognizing and classifying biomedical entities. The performance of BioNER systems directly impacts downstream applications. Recently, deep neural networks, especially pre-trained language models, have made great progress for BioNER. However, because of the lack of high-quality and large-scale annotated data and relevant external knowledge, the capability of the BioNER system remains limited.

Results

In this paper, we propose a novel fully-shared multi-task learning model based on the pre-trained language model in biomedical domain, namely BioBERT, with a new attention module to integrate the auto-processed syntactic information for the BioNER task. We have conducted numerous experiments on seven benchmark BioNER datasets. The proposed best multi-task model obtains F1 score improvements of 1.03% on BC2GM, 0.91% on NCBI-disease, 0.81% on Linnaeus, 1.26% on JNLPBA, 0.82% on BC5CDR-Chemical, 0.87% on BC5CDR-Disease, and 1.10% on Species-800 compared to the single-task BioBERT model.

Conclusion

The results demonstrate our model outperforms previous studies on all datasets. Further analysis and case studies are also provided to prove the importance of the proposed attention module and fully-shared multi-task learning method used in our model.
Population dynamics and demographic history of Eurasian collared lemmings
Authors: Lord Edana , Marangoni Aurelio , Baca Mateusz , Popović Danijela , Goropashnaya Anna V. , Stewart John R. , Knul Monika V. , Noiret Pierre , Germonpré Mietje , Jimenez Elodie-Laure , Abramson Natalia I. , Vartanyan Sergey , Prost Stefan , Smirnov Nickolay G. , Kuzmina Elena A. , Olsen Remi-André , Fedorov Vadim B. , Dalén Love
Published: November 2022

Background

Ancient DNA studies suggest that Late Pleistocene climatic changes had a significant effect on population dynamics in Arctic species. The Eurasian collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) is a keystone species in the Arctic ecosystem. Earlier studies have indicated that past climatic fluctuations were important drivers of past population dynamics in this species.

Results

Here, we analysed 59 ancient and 54 modern mitogenomes from across Eurasia, along with one modern nuclear genome. Our results suggest population growth and genetic diversification during the early Late Pleistocene, implying that collared lemmings may have experienced a genetic bottleneck during the warm Eemian interglacial. Furthermore, we find multiple temporally structured mitogenome clades during the Late Pleistocene, consistent with earlier results suggesting a dynamic late glacial population history. Finally, we identify a population in northeastern Siberia that maintained genetic diversity and a constant population size at the end of the Pleistocene, suggesting suitable conditions for collared lemmings in this region during the increasing temperatures associated with the onset of the Holocene.

Conclusions

This study highlights an influence of past warming, in particular the Eemian interglacial, on the evolutionary history of the collared lemming, along with spatiotemporal population structuring throughout the Late Pleistocene.
Valosin-containing protein Asp395Gly mutation in a patient with frontotemporal dementia: a case report
Authors: Kobayashi Ryota , Naruse Hiroya , Kawakatsu Shinobu , Iseki Chifumi , Suzuki Yuya , Koyama Shingo , Morioka Daichi , Ishiura Hiroyuki , Mitsui Jun , Ohta Yasuyuki , Tsuji Shoji , Toda Tatsushi , Otani Koichi
Published: November 2022

Background

Variants in the valosin-containing protein (VCP) gene were identified as one of the causes for inclusion body myopathy associated with Paget disease of the bone and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Previously identified pathogenic variants in VCP are associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP) pathologically, but p.Asp395Gly VCP was recently reported to cause familial FTD with tauopathy characterized by neurofibrillary tau tangles (NFT) and not FTLD-TDP. We describe the clinical and genetic findings of a patient with p.Asp395Gly valosin-containing protein (VCP), who was diagnosed with FTD without a family history and in the absence of muscle or bone disease comorbidity.

Case presentation

The patient was a 62-year-old man, who developed atypical depression at the age of 37 years. Subsequently, he presented with self-centered behavior at the age of 45 years. The self-centered behavior intensified from around the age of 50 years, which was accompanied by the development of executive dysfunction; therefore, he visited our hospital at 52 years of age. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral frontal lobe atrophy. Brain perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography revealed bilateral frontal lobe hypoperfusion. The patient fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for behavioral variant of FTD. Ten years after the diagnosis, computed tomography of the trunk and limbs, muscle biopsy, and bone scintigraphy revealed the absence of concomitant muscle and bone disease. The concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) total tau and phosphorylated tau proteins were 389 pg/mL and 53.2 pg/mL (cut-off: 50 pg/mL), respectively. Genetic analyses were performed using the whole-exome and Sanger sequencing methods. We identified p.Asp395Gly VCP in this patient with pure FTD.

Conclusions

p.Asp395Gly VCP was identified in a patient with likely sporadic FTD without concomitant muscle and bone disease. The CSF analysis suggested that our patient may have FTD due to NFT accumulation similar to the familial FTD patients with p.Asp395Gly VCP recently reported. Our findings suggest that a genetic search for the pathogenic variants of VCP should be considered not only for familial FTD, but also for patients with sporadic FTD, even in the absence of comorbid muscle or bone disease.
Prognostic significance of prognostic nutritional index and systemic immune‐inflammation index in patients after curative breast cancer resection: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Xu Tai , Zhang Si-Ming , Wu He-Ming , Wen Xiao-Min , Qiu Dong-Qin , Yang Yu-Yang , Wang Li-Zhen , Zhu Wen-Biao , He Li-Shan , Li Jian-Juan
Published: November 2022

Background

Nutritional status and inflammation are closely associated with poor outcome in malignant tumors. However, the prognostic impact of postoperative in these variables on breast cancer (BC) remains inconclusive. We aimed to determine whether prognostic nutritional index (PNI), systemic immune‐inflammation index (SII), neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) affect two long-term outcomes among patients after curative resection of BC.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 508 patients with BC treated with curative surgery between February 5, 2013 and May 26, 2020. All patients were divided into 3 groups based on tertiles (T1-T3) of PNI, SII, NLR, and PLR. The effects of four indexes on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) have been evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan–Meier method.

Results

Compared with PNI-lowest cases, patients with highest PNI showed significantly longer DFS (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.37, 95% confident interval [CI] 0.19–0.70, P for trend = 0.002), whereas higher PLR seemed to be marginally associated with poorer DFS (P for trend = 0.086 and 0.074, respectively). Subgroup analyses indicate the potential modification effects of family history of BC and radiotherapy on the prognosis value of PNI to DFS in BC patients (P for interaction = 0.004 and 0.025, respectively). In addition, the levels of three inflammatory indices, namely SII, NLR, and PLR might be positively related with increased age at diagnosis (all P for trend < 0.001).

Conclusions

A high PNI was associated with better DFS, supporting its roles as prognostic parameters for patients with BC. The nutritional status and systemic immune may exert great effects on patient prognosis. Further studies are warrant to explore the prognosis value of PLR.
Outcomes and predictors of functioning, mental health, and health-related quality of life in adults born with very low birth weight: a prospective longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Wollum Arnt Erik Karlsen , Berdal Elias Kjølseth , Iversen Johanne Marie , Indredavik Marit S. , Evensen Kari Anne I.
Published: November 2022

Background

Very low birth weight (VLBW: ≤1500 g) is associated with multiple short and long-term complications. This study aimed to examine outcomes and predictors of functioning, mental health, and health-related quality of life in adults born with VLBW.

Methods

In this prospective longitudinal cohort study, 67 VLBW and 102 control participants were assessed using the Adult Self-Report of the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment and Global Assessment of Functioning at 26 years, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Short Form-36 at 28 years of age. Associations between perinatal and childhood predictors and adult functioning were assessed using linear regression.

Results

Compared with controls, the VLBW group had lower mean raw scores on the Function and Symptom subscales of the Global Assessment of Functioning at 26 years, a higher sum score of symptoms of anxiety and depression due to more depressive symptoms, and poorer mental health-related quality of life at 28 years. The mean group differences ranged from 0.42 to 0.99 SD. Within the VLBW group, lower birth weight and gestational age, a higher number of days with respiratory support and poorer motor function at 14 years were associated with a higher sum score of symptoms of anxiety and depression at 28 years. Days with respiratory support and motor function at 14 years were also predictive of Global Assessment of Functioning scores at 26 years, and mental health-related quality of life at 28 years. Poorer motor and cognitive function at five years were associated with poorer physical health-related quality of life at 28 years. Parental socioeconomic status was related to mental and physical health-related quality of life.

Conclusion

In this study, VLBW adults reported poorer functioning and mental health-related quality of life, and more depressive symptoms than their term born peers. Days with respiratory support and adolescent motor function predicted most of the adult outcomes. This study explicates perinatal and developmental markers during childhood and adolescence which can be target points for interventions.
Shared component modelling of early childhood anaemia and malaria in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda
Authors: Roberts Danielle J. , Zewotir Temesgen
Published: November 2022

Background

Malaria and anaemia contribute substantially to child morbidity and mortality. In this study, we sought to jointly model the residual spatial variation in the likelihood of these two correlated diseases, while controlling for individual-level, household-level and environmental characteristics.

Methods

A child-level shared component model was utilised to partition shared and disease-specific district-level spatial effects.

Results

The results indicated that the spatial variation in the likelihood of malaria was more prominent compared to that of anaemia, for both the shared and specific spatial components. In addition, approximately 30% of the districts were associated with an increased likelihood of anaemia but a decreased likelihood of malaria. This suggests that there are other drivers of anaemia in children in these districts, which warrants further investigation.

Conclusions

The maps of the shared and disease-specific spatial patterns provide a tool to allow for more targeted action in malaria and anaemia control and prevention, as well as for the targeted allocation of limited district health system resources.
Neonatal Lupus presenting with neonatal hemochromatosis-like liver disease that responded to steroids: a case report
Authors: Khayat Ammar Abdulaziz , Alkhaldi Amani Jaboor
Published: November 2022

Background

Neonatal lupus erythematosus is a rare multisystem autoimmune disorder that predominantly involves the heart with congenital heart block but can involve other organs including the liver. The disease results from passage of maternal autoantibodies to the fetus and manifests in various forms depending on the organ involved. Neonatal lupus liver disease manifestations range from benign elevation in aminotransferases to fatal hepatic insufficiency with iron deposition that does not respond to therapy. Only a handful of cases have been reported to date. The antibodies implicated are Sjogren Syndrome types A and B antibodies. Other non-specific autoantibodies can be positive as well such as antinuclear antibodies. Smooth muscle antibodies are classically considered specific to autoimmune hepatitis, and while they have been described in other chronic liver diseases, they have not been described in neonatal lupus liver disease. Herein we report a rare case of neonatal cholestasis due to neonatal lupus liver disease that presented with a positive smooth muscle antibodies in addition to a biochemical picture of neonatal hemochromatosis, with a remarkably elevated ferritin, that responded well to steroid therapy.

Case presentation

An 8-day old full-term baby girl was referred to our center for evaluation of neonatal bradycardia and generalized jaundice that started in the first day of life. Prenatal history was significant for fetal bradycardia. Examination was unremarkable except for bradycardia and generalized jaundice. Laboratory findings included elevated alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, Alkaline Phosphatase, and total and direct bilirubin. Her ferritin was markedly elevated along with triglycerides. Sjogren syndrome antibodies were positive in addition to antinuclear and anti-smooth muscle antibodies. The diagnosis of cardiac neonatal lupus was given, and her liver disease was attributed to lupus despite the biochemical picture of neonatal hemochromatosis. She was started on oral prednisolone for which her liver function parameters showed a dramatic response and continued to be within the normal limits several weeks after discontinuation of steroids.

Conclusion

Neonatal lupus liver disease is a rare cause of neonatal cholestasis that can rarely present with neonatal hemochromatosis picture which unlike other causes of neonatal hemochromatosis can be reversed with steroid therapy.
Anxiety and depression in the post-pandemic era: concerns about viral mutation and re-outbreak
Authors: Li Zedong , Li Jin , Li Yamin , Tian Feng , Huang Jin , Wang Zhihong , Wang Mingming
Published: November 2022

Background

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has been raging for more than 20 months, putting significant strain on public health systems around the world. Despite the fact that the pandemic has been effectively managed in certain countries, regional outbreaks and viral mutations continue to pose a threat to people's lives. The likelihood of post-pandemic changes in people's psychological situations warrants more investigation.

Design and participants

This study was conducted in the context of another outbreak in Zhangjiajie, China, respondents (infected patients, healthy population) were required to complete self-administered questions and standardized questionnaires, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (BIPQ).

Measures

We conducted an anonymous questionnaire survey of infected patients (excluding critically ill patients) in the confirmed COVID-19 ward of Zhangjiajie City People's Hospital's East Hospital from August 14 to 24, 2021, and used convenience sampling to survey medical staff and the general public to assess the psychological reactions of different populations during the delta variant outbreak pandemic. Differences in anxiety and depression severity were compared between groups, with logistic regression models constructed to explore potential factors associated with scoring clinical significant levels of depression and/or anxiety.

Results

There is no significant difference (p value = 0.228) between anxiety and depression in patients (n = 53), general public (n = 97), medical personnel (n = 103), and support workers (n = 65). Females reported higher scores on the GAD-7 and the BIPQ, reduced communication with family and friends appeared to be a risk factor for clinically significant anxiety and depression.

Conclusions

There were no significant differences in anxiety and depression across populations explored in this study, but females had higher anxiety and illness perception than males, and effective communication may help improve mental health.
Understanding the rural–urban disparity in acute respiratory infection symptoms among under-five children in Sub-Saharan Africa: a multivariate decomposition analysis
Authors: Tesema Getayeneh Antehunegn , Worku Misganaw Gebrie , Alamneh Tesfa Sewunet , Teshale Achamyeleh Birhanu , Yeshaw Yigizie , Alem Adugnaw Zeleke , Ayalew Hiwotie Getaneh , Liyew Alemneh Mekuriaw , Tessema Zemenu Tadesse
Published: November 2022

Background

Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) account for more than 6% of the worldwide disease burden in children under the age of five, with the majority occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural children are more vulnerable to and disproportionately affected by ARIs. As a result, we examined the rural–urban disparity in the prevalence of ARI symptoms and associated factors among children under the age of five in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods

We used the most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from 36 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study included 199,130 weighted samples in total. To identify variables associated with ARIs symptoms, a multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted. The Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% CI was used to determine the statistical significance and strength of the association. To explain the rural–urban disparity in ARI prevalence, a logit-based multivariate decomposition analysis was used.

Results

Being female, ever breastfeeding, belonging to a poorer, better wealth status, and having better maternal educational status were significantly associated with lower odds of ARIs among under-five children. Whereas, small size or large size at birth, not taking vitamin A supplementation, being severely underweight, having diarrhea, didn’t have media exposure, never had the vaccination, being aged 36–47 months, and being aged 48–59 months were significantly associated with higher odds of ARIs among under-five children. The multivariate decomposition analysis revealed that the difference in characteristics (endowment) across residences explained 64.7% of the overall rural–urban difference in the prevalence of ARIs, while the difference in the effect of characteristics (change in coefficient) explained 35.3%.

Conclusion

This study found that rural children were highly affected by ARIs in SSA. To reduce the excess ARIs in rural children, public health interventions aimed at impoverished households, home births, and unvaccinated and malnourished children are crucial.
The efficacy and safety of uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery on the treatment for stage II-III tuberculous empyema: a single-arm clinical retrospective study from 2016 to 2021 in a thoracic surgery center in China
Authors: Sun Wenwen , Yin Guidong , Cai Haomin , Zhou Yiming , Gu Jin , Chen Shanhao , Fan Lin
Published: November 2022

Background

Surgery is an important adjuvant treatment for tuberculous empyema(TE). We thus conducted a single arm-clinical retrospective study of stage II-III TE patients who underwent uniportal video-assisted thoracic surgery (Uni-VATS) over a 5-year period to evaluate the efficacy and safety of surgery on TE, so as to provide the evidence for the optimal clinical strategies.

Methods

Patients diagnosed as TE with withdrawal of anti-tuberculosis-VATS were retrospectively enrolled from January 2016 to December 2021. All patients were followed up untill 12 months after withdrawal of anti-tuberculosis treatment (ATT). Clinical characteristics and surgical details were observed and analyzed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the minimally invasive surgery.

Results

Totally 439 cases met included criteria were enrolled, no deaths were reported. The mean operative time was 2.6 (1.9, 4.3) hours and the mean intraoperative blood loss was 356 (240, 940) ml. Blood transfusion was performed in 20.50% (90/439) of patients and additional pneumonectomy was occurred in 9.89%(37/439)of patients .The mean postoperative drainage time was 12 (7, 49) days and the mean hospital stay was 6 (4,12) days. All stage II TE achieved complete lung re-expansion after surgery while 84.22%(315/374) of stage III achieved complete lung re-expansion, p 0.00. 15.78% (59/374) of stage III TE achieved incomplete re-expansion, 4 of which underwent a second decortication by Uni-VATS. Recurrences rate was 2.96% (13/439), including 11 cases of early recurrence and 2 cases of late recurrence at TE stage III, 5 of which underwent a second decortication by Uni-VATS.

Conclusion

Uni-VATS is highly effective safe and minimally invasive for patients with TE, which could be recommended as the mainstream operation in areas with high TB burden.
Circulating endocannabinoid levels in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus: a case–control study
Authors: Bazyar Hadi , Nasiri Khadijeh , Ghanbari Parisa , Mohammadi Elahe , Yagin Neda Lotfi , Khazdouz Maryam , Aghamohammadi Vahideh , Asgarzadeh Shafagh Ali
Published: November 2022

Background

The role of the Endocannabinoids (ECs) in insulin resistance, and their association with visceral obesity and metabolic profile have been studied extensively. Since the association between ECs and metabolic factors in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) are not clear, we aimed to evaluate the levels of N-Arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA) and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and their association with C-reactive protein (CRP), glycemic indices, blood pressure, and anthropometric indices in pregnant women with GDM.

Methods

The present case–control study was conducted among 96 singleton pregnant women aged 18–40 years, including 48 healthy pregnant women (control group) and 48 women with a positive diagnosis of GDM (case group). Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for GDM were checked according to endocannabinoids and anthropometric indices using Multivariable Logistic Regression.

Results

AEA was significantly associated with increased risk of GDM in models 1, 2 and 3 (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.06–1.41; OR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.19–1.97; OR = 1.46, 95% CI:1.11–1.91). A positive but no significant association was found for AEA in model 4 (OR = 1.38,95% CI: 0.99–1.92). Similar to AEA, 2-AG was also positively associated with the likelihood of GDM in Models 1, 2, and 3 but the association attenuated to null in model 4 (OR = 1.25; 95% CI: 0.94- 1.65).

Conclusions

Our findings showed that levels of ECs were significantly higher in pregnant women with GDM compared to healthy ones. Also, ECs levels were associated with the likelihood of GDM, independent of BMI and weight gain.
A comparison of four quasi-experimental methods: an analysis of the introduction of activity-based funding in Ireland
Authors: Valentelyte Gintare , Keegan Conor , Sorensen Jan
Published: November 2022

Background

Health services research often relies on quasi-experimental study designs in the estimation of treatment effects of a policy change or an intervention. The aim of this study is to compare some of the commonly used non-experimental methods in estimating intervention effects, and to highlight their relative strengths and weaknesses. We estimate the effects of Activity-Based Funding, a hospital financing reform of Irish public hospitals, introduced in 2016.

Methods

We estimate and compare four analytical methods: Interrupted time series analysis, Difference-in-Differences, Propensity Score Matching Difference-in-Differences and the Synthetic Control method. Specifically, we focus on the comparison between the control-treatment methods and the non-control-treatment approach, interrupted time series analysis. Our empirical example evaluated the length of stay impact post hip replacement surgery, following the introduction of Activity-Based Funding in Ireland. We also contribute to the very limited research reporting the impacts of Activity-Based-Funding within the Irish context.

Results

Interrupted time-series analysis produced statistically significant results different in interpretation, while the Difference-in-Differences, Propensity Score Matching Difference-in-Differences and Synthetic Control methods incorporating control groups, suggested no statistically significant intervention effect, on patient length of stay.

Conclusion

Our analysis confirms that different analytical methods for estimating intervention effects provide different assessments of the intervention effects. It is crucial that researchers employ appropriate designs which incorporate a counterfactual framework. Such methods tend to be more robust and provide a stronger basis for evidence-based policy-making.