bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Testing the Motivations and Constraints of Collaborative Consumption: An Empirical Analysis of Disruptive Innovative Business Model
Authors: Bhalla Saubhagya
Published: May 2021

The purpose of this study is to test the mediating role of attitude on the motivations and constraints for collaborative consumption and to test the impact of perceived hygiene and cleanliness issues and anticipated financial guilt in the collaborative consumption by applying behavioural reasoning theory. A descriptive research design is adopted. Responses collected from 200 responses were subjected to statistical refinement and linear regression. The findings reveal that economic benefits and perceived sustainability demonstrated an insignificant impact on the attitude. However, the institution-based trust showed a positive impact on the attitude. The attitude is a strong mediating variable. Without the attitude, the consumers have no intention. Anticipated financial guilt and perceived hygiene and cleanliness issues have a negative impact on intention, when mediated by the attitude. The study implies that marketers need to build a strong attitude towards the collaborative consumption. Also, they need to target the middle- and higher-income groups with economic appeal. Practitioners must position their products as sustainable. They must build trust by addressing the concerns of the consumers. Practitioners need to increase awareness that they are doing the business taking the utmost care of hygiene.
Promising Aging in Community Models in the U.S.: Village, Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), Cohousing, and University-Based Retirement Community (UBRC)
Authors: Hou Su-I , Cao Xian
Published: May 2021

Aging in Community (AIC) is the preferred way to age. This systematic review identified promising AIC models in the U.S. and analyzed model characteristics and push-pull factors from older adults’ perspectives. Push factors are those driving older adults to leave, while pull factors attract them to stay in a community. We conducted a two-phase search strategy using eight databases. Phase I identified promising AIC models and Phase II expanded each specific model identified. Fifty-two of 244 screened articles met the criteria and were analyzed. We identified four promising AIC models with the potential to achieve person-environment (P-E) fit, including village, naturally occurring retirement community (NORC), cohousing, and university-based retirement community (UBRC). Each has a unique way of helping older adults with their aging needs. Similar and unique push-pull factors of each AIC model were discussed. Analyses showed that pull factors were mostly program factors while push factors were often individual circumstances. Continued research is needed to address the challenges of recruiting minority older adults and those of lower socio-economic status, meeting older adults’ diverse and dynamic needs, and conducting comparative studies to share lessons learned across the globe.
Rivers, Land and State: Embankment and Ecology in Colonial North Bengal
Authors: Ghosh Tirthankar
Published: May 2021

This article seeks to investigate the mutual relationship between embankment and ecology and colonial policy in the changing dynamics of rivers and land in northern Bengal during the colonial period. Rainfall, floods and economy seem to be the most essential components in the history and politics of embankments in the area, a peripheral region intersected by numerous rivers originating in the Himalayas. The article sets colonial hydrology in North Bengal against the ecological vulnerabilities created by shifts in courses of rivers and by floods as well as embankments.
Remote Oral Doctoral Dissertation Defenses in Management, Leadership, and Business: Benefits, Pedagogy, and Practices
Authors: Allen Stuart , Williams Peter
Published: May 2021

Remote oral doctoral dissertation defenses are an alternative to face-to-face meetings when the latter are not feasible, but remote defenses also have their own advantages. This article explores the challenges and benefits of remote oral dissertation defenses and theories relevant to understanding and supporting remote defenses as a unique learning and assessment event. Drawing on the technology pedagogy content knowledge model, remote work research, and media synchronicity theory, we review key principles relevant to translating defenses from a face-to-face to a remote format. The article includes two appendices with recommended readings and detailed practical guidelines to support the planning and facilitation of remote defenses.
Protection and Tourism Utilization of Water Culture Heritage in China: A Commentary
Authors: Wang Lei
Published: May 2021

Water culture heritages in China are numerous and diverse with unbalanced regional distribution. Due to natural and human factors, some of the water culture heritages are disappearing gradually. In view of this situation, it is urgent for relevant government departments to strengthen supervision of these sites and increase investment, take measures to promote their effective protection, and encourage tourism authorities to develop China’s water culture heritage according to local conditions. It is imperative to set up protection, collection and research institutions that can sustain the national water culture heritage surveys which have been carried out over several years.
Effects of COVID‐19 on Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Training and Director Practices
Authors: Salehi Parsa P. , Torabi Sina J. , Lee Yan Ho , Azizzadeh Babak
Published: May 2021

Objectives

The objectives of this study include characterizing the practice patterns and testing strategies of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery (FPRS) fellowship directors (FDs) secondary to COVID‐19 and to quantify the impact of COVID‐19 on FPRS fellowship training.

Study Design

Cross‐sectional survey.

Setting

Online.

Methods

A survey was sent to all American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery FDs and co‐FDs in September 2020. Descriptive analyses were performed.

Results

Of 77 eligible FDs, 45 responded (58.4%) representing a diverse group across the United States. All but 1 FD routinely screened patients for COVID‐19 in the preoperative setting. FDs largely believed that universal preoperative testing was cost‐effective (66.7%), improved patient safety (80.0%) and health care worker safety (95.6%), and was not burdensome for patients (53.3%). With regard to volume of cosmetic/aesthetic, reconstructive, facial nerve, and trauma surgery, FDs indicated largely no change in volume (34.9%, 71.0%, 68.4%, and 80.0%, respectively) or fellow experience (67.4%, 80.6%, 84.2%, and 80.0%). Half (50.0%) of the FDs reported decreased volume of congenital/craniofacial surgery, but 75.0% did not believe that there was a change in fellow experience. Overall, of the 15 responses indicating “worsened training” across all domains of FPRS, 14 were located in the Northeast (93.33%).

Conclusions

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had the least impact on the volume of reconstructive procedures, facial nerve operations, and trauma surgery and a negative impact on congenital/craniofacial surgery volume, and it has accelerated the demand for cosmetic/aesthetic operations. Overall, the majority of FDs did not feel as though their fellows’ trainings would be adversely affected by the ongoing pandemic.
Evaluating Response Shift in Statistical Mediation Analysis
Authors: Georgeson A. R. , Valente Matthew J. , Gonzalez Oscar
Published: May 2021

Researchers and prevention scientists often develop interventions to target intermediate variables (known as mediators) that are thought to be related to an outcome. When researchers target a mediating construct measured by self-report, the meaning of the self-report measure could change from pretest to posttest for the individuals who received the intervention—which is a phenomenon referred to as response shift. As a result, any observed changes on the mediator measure across groups or across time might reflect a combination of true change on the construct and response shift. Although previous studies have focused on identifying the source and type of response shift in measures after an intervention, there has been limited research on how using sum scores in the presence of response shift affects the estimation of mediated effects via statistical mediation analysis, which is critical for explaining how the intervention worked. In this article, we focus on recalibration response shift, which is a change in internal standards of measurement and affects how respondents interpret the response scale. We provide background on the theory of response shift and the methodology used to detect response shift (i.e., tests of measurement invariance). In addition, we used simulated data sets to provide an illustration of how recalibration in the mediator can bias estimates of the mediated effect and affect Type I error and power.
SGK1 mutations in DLBCL generate hyperstable protein neoisoforms that promote AKT independence
Authors: Gao Jie , Sidiropoulou Eirini , Walker Ieuan , Krupka Joanna A. , Mizielinski Karol , Usheva Zelvera , Samarajiwa Shamith A. , Hodson Daniel J.
Published: May 2021

Serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) is one of the most frequently mutated genes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, little is known about its function or the consequence of its mutation. The frequent finding of truncating mutations has led to the widespread assumption that these represent loss-of-function variants and, accordingly, that SGK1 must act as a tumor suppressor. In this study, instead, the most common SGK1 mutations led to production of aberrantly spliced messenger RNA neoisoforms in which translation is initiated from downstream methionines. The resulting N-terminal truncated protein isoforms showed increased expression related to the exclusion of an N-terminal degradation domain. However, they retained a functional kinase domain, the overexpression of which rendered cells resistant to AKT inhibition, in part because of increased phosphorylation of GSK3B. These findings challenge the prevailing assumption that SGK1 is a tumor-suppressor gene in DLBCL and provide the impetus to explore further the pharmacological inhibition of SGK1 as a therapeutic strategy for DLBCL.
Capsule-LPI: a LncRNA–protein interaction predicting tool based on a capsule network
Authors: Li Ying , Sun Hang , Feng Shiyao , Zhang Qi , Han Siyu , Du Wei
Published: May 2021

Background

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in multiple biological processes. Identifying LncRNA–protein interactions (LPIs) is key to understanding lncRNA functions. Although some LPIs computational methods have been developed, the LPIs prediction problem remains challenging. How to integrate multimodal features from more perspectives and build deep learning architectures with better recognition performance have always been the focus of research on LPIs.

Results

We present a novel multichannel capsule network framework to integrate multimodal features for LPI prediction, Capsule-LPI. Capsule-LPI integrates four groups of multimodal features, including sequence features, motif information, physicochemical properties and secondary structure features. Capsule-LPI is composed of four feature-learning subnetworks and one capsule subnetwork. Through comprehensive experimental comparisons and evaluations, we demonstrate that both multimodal features and the architecture of the multichannel capsule network can significantly improve the performance of LPI prediction. The experimental results show that Capsule-LPI performs better than the existing state-of-the-art tools. The precision of Capsule-LPI is 87.3%, which represents a 1.7% improvement. The F-value of Capsule-LPI is 92.2%, which represents a 1.4% improvement.

Conclusions

This study provides a novel and feasible LPI prediction tool based on the integration of multimodal features and a capsule network. A webserver (http://csbg-jlu.site/lpc/predict) is developed to be convenient for users.
Species and population specific gene expression in blood transcriptomes of marine turtles
Authors: Banerjee Shreya M. , Stoll Jamie Adkins , Allen Camryn D. , Lynch Jennifer M. , Harris Heather S. , Kenyon Lauren , Connon Richard E. , Sterling Eleanor J. , Naro-Maciel Eugenia , McFadden Kathryn , Lamont Margaret M. , Benge James , Fernandez Nadia B. , Seminoff Jeffrey A. , Benson Scott R. , Lewison Rebecca L. , Eguchi Tomoharu , Summers Tammy M. , Hapdei Jessy R. , Rice Marc R. , Martin Summer , Jones T. Todd , Dutton Peter H. , Balazs George H. , Komoroske Lisa M.
Published: May 2021

Background

Transcriptomic data has demonstrated utility to advance the study of physiological diversity and organisms’ responses to environmental stressors. However, a lack of genomic resources and challenges associated with collecting high-quality RNA can limit its application for many wild populations. Minimally invasive blood sampling combined with de novo transcriptomic approaches has great potential to alleviate these barriers. Here, we advance these goals for marine turtles by generating high quality de novo blood transcriptome assemblies to characterize functional diversity and compare global transcriptional profiles between tissues, species, and foraging aggregations.

Results

We generated high quality blood transcriptome assemblies for hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata),loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles. The functional diversity in assembled blood transcriptomes was comparable to those from more traditionally sampled tissues. A total of 31.3% of orthogroups identified were present in all four species, representing a core set of conserved genes expressed in blood and shared across marine turtle species. We observed strong species-specific expression of these genes, as well as distinct transcriptomic profiles between green turtle foraging aggregations that inhabit areas of greater or lesser anthropogenic disturbance.

Conclusions

Obtaining global gene expression data through non-lethal, minimally invasive sampling can greatly expand the applications of RNA-sequencing in protected long-lived species such as marine turtles. The distinct differences in gene expression signatures between species and foraging aggregations provide insight into the functional genomics underlying the diversity in this ancient vertebrate lineage. The transcriptomic resources generated here can be used in further studies examining the evolutionary ecology and anthropogenic impacts on marine turtles.
Malaria intermittent preventive treatment in Nigeria: a qualitative study to explore barriers
Authors: Muhammad Fatima Mahmud , Nedjat Saharnaz , Sajadi Haniye Sadat , Parsaeian Mahboubeh , Assan Abraham , Majdzadeh Reza
Published: May 2021

Background

While the use of sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) is effective in preventing malaria infection during pregnancy, there are challenges limiting its uptake in Nigeria. This study aimed at exploring the barriers to IPTp usage among pregnant women in Kano state - Nigeria.

Methods

This is a qualitative study. The purposive sampling strategy was used for identification and selection of 14 key informants for interviews. In addition, six focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with pregnant women (3 FGDs) and married men (3 FGDs). The conventional content analysis method was used to interpret meaning from the content of the data. MAXQDA 10 software was used for data management and analysis.

Results

Poor policy implementation, poor antenatal care attendance, inadequate access to intermittent preventive treatment at the community levels, lack of sustainable funding, and poor community engagement emerged as major barriers to IPTp use in Nigeria.

Conclusion

While the political will to allocate sufficient financial resources could help improve service delivery and IPTp usage among pregnant women, community participation is critical to sustain the gains.
Bacterial profile and drug susceptibility among adult patients with community acquired lower respiratory tract infection at tertiary hospital, Southern Ethiopia
Authors: Gebre Alemitu Beyene , Begashaw Tsegaye Alemayehu , Ormago Moges Desta
Published: May 2021

Background

Lower respiratory tract infection is a global problem accounting over 50 million deaths annually. Here, we determined the bacterial profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of lower respiratory tract infections among adult patients attending at Tertiary Hospital, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted among adult patients with lower respiratory infection at the medical outpatient department of the Hospital. A sputum sample was collected and processed for bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test. Semi structured questionnaires were used to collect data. SPSS version 22 software was used for statistical analysis and a p value of < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results

Out of 406 sputum samples of participants 136(33.5%) were culture positive for 142 bacterial isolates. Klebsiella pneumoniae 36(25.4%) was the predominant isolate followed by Pseudomonas species 25(17.6%). Gram-negative bacteria were sensitive to cefepime (86.0%) and ciprofloxacin (77.8%) antibiotics while gram-positive (76.5%) to clindamycin.

Conclusion

Community acquired lower respiratory tract Infection was highly prevalent in the study area and the isolates showed resistant to common antibiotics such as ampicillin, augmentin, ceftazidime and tetracycline. Therefore, culture and susceptibility test is vital for appropriate management of lower respiratory tract infection in the study area.
Identification of upregulated NF-κB inhibitor alpha and IRAK3 targeting lncRNA following intracranial aneurysm rupture-induced subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Leng Wei , Fan Dan , Ren Zhong , Li Qiaoying
Published: May 2021

Background

This study was performed to identify genes and lncRNAs involved in the pathogenesis of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from ruptured intracranial aneurysm (RIA).

Methods

Microarray GSE36791 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database followed by the identification of significantly different expressed RNAs (DERs, including lncRNA and mRNA) between patients with SAH and healthy individuals. Then, the functional analyses of DEmRNAs were conducted and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was also performed to extract the modules associated with SAH. Following, the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network was constructed and the gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to screen key RNA biomarkers involved in the pathogenesis of SAH from RIA. We also verified the results in a bigger dataset GSE7337.

Results

Totally, 561 DERs, including 25 DElncRNAs and 536 DEmRNAs, were identified. Functional analysis revealed that the DEmRNAs were mainly associated with immune response-associated GO-BP terms and KEGG pathways. Moreover, there were 6 modules significantly positive-correlated with SAH. The lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network contained 2 lncRNAs (LINC00265 and LINC00937) and 169 mRNAs. The GSEA analysis showed that these two lncRNAs were associated with three pathways (cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, neurotrophin signaling pathway, and apoptosis). Additionally, IRAK3 and NFKBIA involved in the neurotrophin signaling pathway and apoptosis while IL1R2, IL18RAP and IL18R1 was associated with cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway. The expression levels of these genes have the same trend in GSE36791 and GSE7337.

Conclusion

LINC00265 and LINC00937 may be implicated with the pathogenesis of SAH from RIA. They were involved in three important regulatory pathways. 5 mRNAs played important roles in the three pathways.
Using Weibo and WeChat social media channels to assess public awareness and practices related to antimicrobial resistance, China, 2019
Authors: Wang Lei , Situ Sujian , Rainey Jeanette J. , He Bin , Su Xiaoge , Moolenaar Ronald L. , Cui Ying
Published: May 2021

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global healthcare problem, including in China where high rates of resistance to common bacterial infections have been documented. In 2016, the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) in China established a comprehensive strategic plan to increase awareness about AMR through education programs.

Methods

We conducted an online survey to assess changes in public knowledge, awareness and practices related to AMR in China since 2016. The survey was administered using China’s national and provincial level 12320 Health Hotline Weibo (micro-blog site) and WeChat (text messaging service) social media accounts from April 12, 2019 to May 7, 2019. All persons ≥16 years of age able to read Chinese were eligible to participate.

Results

A total of 2773 respondents completed the survey. Of the 2633 respondents indicating recent use of antibiotics, 84% (2223) reported obtaining their course of antibiotics from a hospital or pharmacy, 9% (246) of respondents reported using antibiotics saved from a previous prescription or treatment course, and 42% (1115) of respondents reported that they had stopped taking antibiotics as soon as they started feeling better. Most respondents correctly indicated that antibiotics can effectively treat urinary tract infections (86% [2388]) and skin infections (76% [2119]), but many incorrectly indicated that antibiotics can also treat viral infections such as measles (32% [889]) or a cold or flu (26% [726]). Of all respondents, 95% (2634) had heard of ‘antibiotic resistance’. Almost half (47% [1315]) reported using antibiotics within the last 6 months.

Conclusion

While awareness of AMR was high in this survey of social media users in China, inappropriate antibiotic use remains common, including the believe that antibiotics can effectively treat viral infections. Multiple interventions targeting the correct use of antibiotics and information on the cause AMR are likely needed. The 12320 Health Hotline provides a platform for conducting routine surveys to monitor antibiotic use and knowledge about AMR.
Variability in comorbidites and health services use across homeless typologies: multicenter data linkage between healthcare and homeless systems
Authors: Trick William E. , Rachman Fred , Hinami Keiki , Hill Jennifer C. , Conover Craig , Diep Lisa , Gordon Howard S. , Kho Abel , Meltzer David O. , Shah Raj C. , Stellon Ed , Thangaraj Padma , Toepfer Peter S.
Published: May 2021

Background

Homelessness is associated with substantial morbidity. Data linkages between homeless and health systems are important to understand unique needs across homeless populations, identify homeless individuals not registered in homeless databases, quantify the impact of housing services on health-system use, and motivate health systems and payers to contribute to housing solutions.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional survey including six health systems and two Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) in Cook County, Illinois. We performed privacy-preserving record linkage to identify homelessness through HMIS or ICD-10 codes captured in electronic medical records. We measured the prevalence of health conditions and health-services use across the following typologies: housing-service utilizers stratified by service provided (stable, stable plus unstable, unstable) and non-utilizers (i.e., homelessness identified through diagnosis codes—without receipt of housing services).

Results

Among 11,447 homeless recipients of healthcare, nearly 1 in 5 were identified by ICD10 code alone without recorded homeless services (n = 2177; 19%). Almost half received homeless services that did not include stable housing (n = 5444; 48%), followed by stable housing (n = 3017; 26%), then receipt of both stable and unstable services (n = 809; 7%).

Setting stable housing recipients as the referent group, we found a stepwise increase in behavioral-health conditions from stable housing to those known as homeless solely by health systems. Compared to those in stable housing, prevalence rate ratios (PRR) for those without homeless services were as follows: depression (PRR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.9 to 2.5), anxiety (PRR = 2.5; 95% CI 2.1 to 3.0), schizophrenia (PRR = 3.3; 95% CI 2.7 to 4.0), and alcohol-use disorder (PRR = 4.4; 95% CI 3.6 to 5.3). Homeless individuals who had not received housing services relied on emergency departments for healthcare—nearly 3 of 4 visited at least one and many (24%) visited multiple.

Conclusions

Differences in behavioral-health conditions and health-system use across homeless typologies highlight the particularly high burden among homeless who are disconnected from homeless services. Fragmented and high use of emergency departments for care should motivate health systems and payers to promote housing solutions, especially those that incorporate substance use and mental health treatment.
Towards a needs-based design of the physical rehabilitation workforce in South Africa: trend analysis [1990–2017] and a 5-year forecasting for the most impactful health conditions based on global burden of disease estimates
Authors: Louw Q. , Grimmer K. , Berner K. , Conradie T. , Bedada D. T. , Jesus T. S.
Published: May 2021

Background

Rehabilitation can improve function in many people with chronic health conditions. It is important to consider priority conditions requiring rehabilitation, so it can be realistically positioned and costed in national health financing systems like South Africa (SA)‘s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI). This paper describes temporal trends of top-ranked conditions on years lived with disability (YLDs) rates in SA, for which physical rehabilitation can ameliorate associated disability.

Methods

This study is a systematic synthesis of publicly available Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates. The top 11 conditions contributing most to YLDs and for which evidence-based rehabilitation interventions exist were identified. Age-standardized rates per 100,000 and YLDs counts were extracted from 1990 to 2017. Significance of changes in temporal trends was determined using Mann-Kendall trend tests. Best-fit rates of yearly changes were calculated per condition, using GBD estimates (2012–2017), and extrapolated (by imposing the best-fit regression line onto results for each subsequent predicted year) as forecasts (2018–2022).

Results

Trends for YLDs counts per condition year (1990–2017) and forecasted values (2018–2022) showed an overall steady increase for all conditions, except HIV and respiratory conditions. YLDs counts almost doubled from 1990 to 2017, with a 17% predicted increase from 2017 to 2022. The proportionate contribution to YLDs counts reduced over time for all conditions, except HIV. Although age-standardized YLDs rates appear relatively stable over the analyzed periods for all conditions (except HIV, respiratory conditions and type 2 diabetes), trend changes in YLDs rates over 28 years were significant for all conditions, except neonatal (p = 0.855), hearing loss (p = 0.100) and musculoskeletal conditions (p = 0.300). Significant trend decreases were apparent for 4/9 conditions, implying that another 5/9 conditions showed trend increases over 28 years. Predicted all-age prevalence in 2022 suggests relatively large increases for cardiovascular disease and heart failure, and burns, while relative decreases are predicted for fractures and dislocations, stroke, and musculoskeletal conditions.

Conclusion

Rehabilitation needs in SA are potentially massive and unmet, highlighting the need for innovative and context-specific rehabilitation that considers current local needs and projected changes. These findings should be considered when designing the NHI and other schemes in SA to ensure human and financial resources are deployed efficiently.
A quasi-experimental intervention protocol to characterize the factors that influence the acceptance of new foods by infants: mothers’ diet and weaning method. Dastatuz project
Authors: Urkia-Susin Iratxe , Rada-Fernandez de Jauregui Diego , Orruño Estibaliz , Maiz Edurne , Martinez Olaia
Published: May 2021

Background

Children usually refuse to eat and taste fruits and vegetables; and turning unhealthy eating habits around is an important social challenge in industrialized countries. The Dastatuz project aims to study children food neophobia and to enhance fruit and vegetable acceptance.

Methods

A quasi-experimental, multicentre, controlled and prospective intervention study is proposed, in which early factors influencing new food acceptance will be studied. Mothers in the third trimester of pregnancy (n = 144) and their infants will be the study population. Experimental groups will be established based on mothers´ fruit and vegetable intake (standard or high intake) and weaning method (baby lead weaning vs spoon feeding). The project will assess the possible impact of maternal diet and complementary feeding on infants eating behaviour until 18 months of age. Outcome measures will comprise maternal diet and psychological features during pregnancy and breast-feeding (validated questionnaires). Compositional and physicochemical analysis of milk during breastfeeding will also be carried out. During weaning, until 18 months of age, children’s diet will be assessed with 24 h recalls and acceptance of new fruits and vegetables will be studied using video recording.

Discussion

If the intervention is effective, this research work would have a high potential to be transferred to future public health programs or nutrition guidelines, as a feasible solution to achieve a higher intake of fruits and vegetables among children.

Trial registration

This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: NCT04262102. Registration date: February 10, 2020 - Retrospectively registered.
Successful laparoscopic resection of ovarian abscess caused by Staphylococcus aureus in a 13-year-old girl: a case report and review of literature
Authors: Murata Tsuyoshi , Endo Yuta , Furukawa Shigenori , Ono Atsushi , Kiko Yuichiroh , Soeda Shu , Watanabe Takafumi , Takahashi Toshifumi , Fujimori Keiya
Published: May 2021

Background

Ovarian abscesses, which occur mostly in sexually active women via recurrent salpingitis, occur rarely in virginal adolescent girls. Here, we present a case of an ovarian abscess in a virginal adolescent girl who was diagnosed and treated by laparoscopy.

Case presentation

A 13-year-old healthy girl presented with fever lasting for a month without abdominal pain. Computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging indicated a right ovarian abscess. Laparoscopic surgery revealed a right ovarian abscess with intact uterus and fallopian tubes. The abscess was caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The patient recovered completely after excision of the abscess, followed by antibiotic treatment.

Conclusions

Ovarian abscess may occur in virginal adolescent girls; Staphylococcus aureus, an uncommon species causing ovarian abscess, may cause the infection.
Women’s empowerment and female genital mutilation intention for daughters in Sierra Leone: a multilevel analysis
Authors: Ameyaw Edward Kwabena , Anjorin Seun , Ahinkorah Bright Opoku , Seidu Abdul-Aziz , Uthman Olalekan A. , Keetile Mpho , Yaya Sanni
Published: May 2021

Background

Female genital mutilation is common in Sierra Leone. Evidence indicates that empowering women provides protective benefits against female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Yet, the relationship between women’s empowerment and their intention to cut their daughters has not been explored in Sierra Leone. The aim of this study was to assess the association between women’s empowerment and their intention to have their daughters undergo FGM/C in the country.

Methods

Data for this study are from the 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey. A total of 7,706 women between the ages of 15 and 49 were included in the analysis. Analysis entailed generation of descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages), and estimation of multi-level logistic regression models to examine the association between women’s empowerment, contextual factors and their intentions to cut their daughters.

Results

A significantly higher proportion of women who participated in labour force reported that they intended to cut their daughters compared to those who did not (91.2%, CI = 90.4–91.9 and 86.0%, CI = 84.1–87.8, respectively). Similarly, the proportion intending to cut their daughters was significantly higher among women who accepted wife beating than among those who rejected the practice (94.9%, CI = 93.8–95.8 and 86.4% CI = 84.9–87.8, respectively). A significantly higher proportion of women with low decision-making power intended to cut their daughters compared to those with high decision-making power (91.0%, CI = 89.0–92.8 and 85.0% CI = 82.2–87.4, respectively). Results from multivariate regression analysis showed that the odds of intending to cut daughters were significantly higher among women who participated in labour force (aOR = 2.5, CI = 1.3–4.7) and those who accepted wife beating than among those who did not (aOR = 2.7, CI = 1.7–4.5). In contrast, the likelihood of intending to cut daughters was significantly lower among women with high than low knowledge (aOR = 0.4, CI = 0.3–0.7), and among those aged 45–49  than among those aged 15–19  (aOR = 0.2, CI = 0.0–0.6).

Conclusion

The findings underscore the need to align anti-FGM/C policies and programmes to women who have undergone FGM/C, those with low knowledge, women who support wife beating and young women. Such interventions could highlight the adverse implications of the practice by stressing the psychological, health and social implications of FGM/C on its survivors.
Exploring drivers of patient satisfaction using a random forest algorithm
Authors: Simsekler Mecit Can Emre , Alhashmi Noura Hamed , Azar Elie , King Nelson , Luqman Rana Adel Mahmoud Ali , Al Mulla Abdalla
Published: May 2021

Background

Patient satisfaction is a multi-dimensional concept that provides insights into various quality aspects in healthcare. Although earlier studies identified a range of patient and provider-related determinants, their relative importance to patient satisfaction remains unclear.

Methods

We used a tree-based machine-learning algorithm, random forests, to estimate relationships between patient and provider-related determinants and satisfaction level in two of the main patient journey stages, registration and consultation, through survey data from 411 patients at a hospital in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Radar charts were also generated to determine which type of questions—demographics, time, behaviour, and procedure—influence patient satisfaction.

Results

Our results showed that the ‘age’ attribute, a patient-related determinant, is the leading driver of patient satisfaction in both stages. ‘Total time taken for registration’ and ‘attentiveness and knowledge of the doctor/physician while listening to your queries’ are the leading provider-related determinants in each model developed for registration and consultation stages, respectively. The radar charts revealed that ‘demographics’ are the most influential type in the registration stage, whereas ‘behaviour’ is the most influential in the consultation stage.

Conclusions

Generating valuable results, the random forest model provides significant insights on the relative importance of different determinants to overall patient satisfaction. Healthcare practitioners, managers and researchers can benefit from applying the model for prediction and feature importance analysis in their particular healthcare settings and areas of their concern.
Association between HIV infection and hypertension: a global systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies
Authors: Davis Katherine , Perez-Guzman Pablo , Hoyer Annika , Brinks Ralph , Gregg Edward , Althoff Keri N. , Justice Amy C. , Reiss Peter , Gregson Simon , Smit Mikaela
Published: May 2021

Background

Improved access to effective antiretroviral therapy has meant that people living with HIV (PLHIV) are surviving to older ages. However, PLHIV may be ageing differently to HIV-negative individuals, with dissimilar burdens of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension. While some observational studies have reported a higher risk of prevalent hypertension among PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals, others have found a reduced burden. To clarify the relationship between HIV and hypertension, we identified observational studies and pooled their results to assess whether there is a difference in hypertension risk by HIV status.

Methods

We performed a global systematic review and meta-analysis of published cross-sectional studies that examined hypertension risk by HIV status among adults aged > 15 (PROSPERO: CRD42019151359). We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health and Cochrane CENTRAL to August 23, 2020, and checked reference lists of included articles. Our main outcome was the risk ratio for prevalent hypertension in PLHIV compared to HIV-negative individuals. Summary estimates were pooled with a random effects model and meta-regression explored whether any difference was associated with study-level factors.

Results

Of 21,527 identified studies, 59 were eligible (11,101,581 participants). Crude global hypertension risk was lower among PLHIV than HIV-negative individuals (risk ratio 0.90, 95% CI 0.85–0.96), although heterogeneity between studies was high (I2 = 97%, p < 0.0001). The relationship varied by continent, with risk higher among PLHIV in North America (1.12, 1.02–1.23) and lower among PLHIV in Africa (0.75, 0.68–0.83) and Asia (0.77, 0.63–0.95). Meta-regression revealed strong evidence of a difference in risk ratios when comparing North American and European studies to African ones (North America 1.45, 1.21–1.74; Europe 1.20, 1.03–1.40).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that the relationship between HIV status and prevalent hypertension differs by region. The results highlight the need to tailor hypertension prevention and care to local contexts and underscore the importance of rapidly optimising integration of services for HIV and hypertension in the worst affected regions. The role of different risk factors for hypertension in driving context-specific trends remains unclear, so development of further cohorts of PLHIV and HIV-negative controls focused on this would also be valuable.
Locking compression plates versus locking plates for tibial plateau levelling osteotomy in dogs: progression of osteoarthritis, bone healing score and lameness degree
Authors: Macrì Francesco , Cicero Luca , Angileri Vito , Biondi Vito , Miele Piero , Scaletta Lorenzo , Costa Giovanna Lucrezia , Cassata Giovanni , Di Pietro Simona
Published: May 2021

Background

The partial or complete cranial cruciate ligament rupture is a common skeletal disease affecting the stifle joint in dogs. The tibial plateau levelling osteotomy, performed with several synthesis systems, changed the approach to its treatment in dogs. The aim of this study was to compare two types of fixation implants, locking compression system and locking system, evaluating radiographically the progression of osteoarthritis of the stifle joint in dogs with complete cranial cruciate ligament deficiency treated surgically with tibial plateau levelling osteotomy. Moreover, we evaluated bone healing and lameness scores to show biomechanical effects by the implant used. Twenty-eight dogs, who met the inclusion criteria, were divided into two groups. Group A: 14 dogs treated using locking compression plates; Group B: 14 dogs treated using locking plates. Radiographic osteoarthritis scores were evaluated up to 1 year following tibial plateau levelling osteotomy. At each visit, animals were clinically and radiographically assessed. Each dog was evaluated before (T0) and after two (T2) and twelve (T12) months after the surgery. At T2 the stage of bone healing was evaluated. The clinical follow up was performed before the surgery and at 10, 15 and 20 days after the surgery, grading the lameness at walk and trot.

Results

An increase in osteoarthritis score at T12 versus T0 in both groups was detected. A decrease of the lameness score was observed in Group A versus Group B. The healing score system at T2 showed a lower score in Group A versus Group B.

Conclusions

The osteoarthritis score following tibial plateau levelling osteotomy did not differ when comparing the two different fixation systems. The locking compression system allowed a more rapid functional recovery of the limb and a quicker bone healing than the locking system. Locking compression system should be carefully considered for dogs subjected to tibial plateau levelling osteotomy surgery, because it may reduce the recovery time.
SGLT2 inhibitors and lower limb complications: the diuretic-induced hypovolemia hypothesis
Authors: Potier Louis , Mohammedi Kamel , Velho Gilberto , Roussel Ronan
Published: May 2021

In a recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in patients with diabetes, Lin and colleagues showed a positive association between SGLT2i-induced blood pressure and weight reduction and the risk of lower limb events. These results support the potential mechanism of a volume depletion effect of SGLT2i to explain the increase risk of amputation observed with this pharmacological class. Since the first result of the CANVAS trial raised a concern regarding the risk of amputation with SGLT2i, this hypothesis emerged from studies showing a higher incidence of amputations in patients with diabetes using diuretics. Furthermore, recent data found that copeptin, a surrogate marker of hydration status was also associated with lower limb outcomes. In conclusion, this assumption of diuretic-induced hypovolemia explanation highlights the fact that medications that induce a contraction of plasma volume, both traditional and novel agents with a diuretic mode of action should be introduced cautiously in patients with diabetes at high risk of diabetic foot events.
Oncolytic virotherapy reverses the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and its potential in combination with immunotherapy
Authors: Zhang Yalei , Li Ye , Chen Kun , Qian Ling , Wang Peng
Published: May 2021

It has been intensively reported that the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) results in tumor resistance to immunotherapy, especially immune checkpoint blockade and chimeric T cell antigen therapy. As an emerging therapeutic agent, oncolytic viruses (OVs) can specifically kill malignant cells and modify immune and non-immune TME components through their intrinsic properties or genetically incorporated with TME regulators. Strategies of manipulating OVs against the immunosuppressive TME include serving as a cancer vaccine, expressing proinflammatory factors and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and regulating nonimmune stromal constituents. In this review, we summarized the mechanisms and applications of OVs against the immunosuppressive TME, and strategies of OVs in combination with immunotherapy. We also introduced future directions to achieve efficient clinical translation including optimization of preclinical models that simulate the human TME and achieving systemic delivery of OVs.
CircMEMO1 modulates the promoter methylation and expression of TCF21 to regulate hepatocellular carcinoma progression and sorafenib treatment sensitivity
Authors: Dong Zhao-Ru , Ke Ai-Wu , Li Tao , Cai Jia-Bing , Yang Ya-fei , Zhou Wei , Shi Guo-Ming , Fan Jia
Published: May 2021

Background

Cirrhosis is a recognized risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Few studies have reported the expression profile of circRNAs in HCC samples compared to paratumour dysplastic nodule (DN) samples.

Methods

The Arraystar Human circRNA Array combined with laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to analyse the expression profile of circRNAs in HCC samples compared to paratumour DN samples. Then, both in vitro and in vivo HCC models were used to determine the role and mechanism of key circRNA in HCC progression and treatment sensitivity.

Results

We found that circMEMO1 was significantly downregulated in HCC samples and that the level of circMEMO1 was closely related to the OS and disease-free survival (DFS) of HCC patients. Mechanistic analysis revealed that circMEMO1 can modulate the promoter methylation and gene expression of TCF21 to regulate HCC progression by acting as a sponge for miR-106b-5p, which targets the TET family of genes and increases the 5hmC level. More importantly, circMEMO1 can increase the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib treatment.

Conclusion

Our study determined that circMEMO1 can promote the demethylation and expression of TCF21 and can be considered a crucial epigenetic modifier in HCC progression.
Nanoscopic quantification of sub-mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics in living cells derived from patients with mitochondrial diseases
Authors: Zou Weiwei , Chen Qixin , Slone Jesse , Yang Li , Lou Xiaoting , Diao Jiajie , Huang Taosheng
Published: May 2021

SLC25A46 mutations have been found to lead to mitochondrial hyper-fusion and reduced mitochondrial respiratory function, which results in optic atrophy, cerebellar atrophy, and other clinical symptoms of mitochondrial disease. However, it is generally believed that mitochondrial fusion is attributable to increased mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), which is inconsistent with the decreased OXPHOS of highly-fused mitochondria observed in previous studies. In this paper, we have used the live-cell nanoscope to observe and quantify the structure of mitochondrial cristae, and the behavior of mitochondria and lysosomes in patient-derived SLC25A46 mutant fibroblasts. The results show that the cristae have been markedly damaged in the mutant fibroblasts, but there is no corresponding increase in mitophagy. This study suggests that severely damaged mitochondrial cristae might be the predominant cause of reduced OXPHOS in SLC25A46 mutant fibroblasts. This study demonstrates the utility of nanoscope-based imaging for realizing the sub-mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics in living cells, which may be particularly valuable for the quick evaluation of pathogenesis of mitochondrial morphological abnormalities.