bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Is there respectful maternity care in Poland? Women’s views about care during labor and birth
Authors: Baranowska Barbara , Doroszewska Antonina , Kubicka-Kraszyńska Urszula , Pietrusiewicz Joanna , Adamska-Sala Iwona , Kajdy Anna , Sys Dorota , Tataj-Puzyna Urszula , Bączek Grażyna , Crowther Susan
Published: December 2019

Background

Abuse against women in labor starts with subtle forms of discrimination that can turn into overt violence. Therefore it is crucial to work towards prevention and elimination of disrespect and ill-treatment in medical facility perinatal care in which staff allows such abuse.

The aim of the study was to analyze the experiences of women related to perinatal care. Special emphasis was put on experiences that had traits indicating disrespectful and offensive care during childbirth in medical facilities providing perinatal care.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional survey. A questionnaire was prepared for respondents who gave birth in medical facilities. Information about the study was posted on the website of a non-governmental foundation dealing with projects aimed at improving perinatal care. The respondents gave online consent for processing the submitted data. 8378 questionnaires were submitted. The study was carried out between February 06 and March 20, 2018. The results were analyzed using the Chi-square independence test. The analysis was carried out at the significance level of 0.05 in Excel, R and SPSS.

Results

During their hospital stay, 81% of women in the study experienced violence or abuse from medical staff on at least one occasion. The most common abuse was having medical procedures without prior consent. Inappropriate comments made by staff related to their own or a woman’s situation were reported in 25% of situations, whilst 20% of women experienced nonchalant treatment. In the study 19.3% of women reported that the staff did not properly care for their intimacy and 1.7% of the respondents said that the worst treatment was related to feeling anonymous in the hospital.

Conclusions

The study shows that during Polish perinatal care women experience disrespectful and abusive care. Most abuse and disrespect involved violation of the right to privacy, the right to information, the right to equal treatment, and the right to freedom from violence. The low awareness of abuses and complaints reported in the study may result from women’s ignorance about relevant laws related to human rights.
Association of maternal ethnicity and urbanicity on severe pediatric disease: a nationwide cohort study
Authors: Chang Ya-Ting , Wang Huei-Shyong , Liu Jia-Rou , Tseng Chi-Nan , Chou I-Jun , Luo Shue-Fen , Kuo Chang-Fu , See Lai-Chu
Published: December 2019

Background

A healthy migrant effect on birth outcomes has been reported, however, whether this protective effect persists throughout childhood is unknown. The effect of urbanicity on child health among an immigrant population is unclear. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence rate and cumulative incidence of severe diseases among urban children of Taiwan-born mothers, rural children of Taiwan-born mothers, urban children of foreign-born mothers, and rural children of foreign-born mothers.

Methods

A nationwide cohort study was conducted for children born in Taiwan during 2004–2011 and follow-up till age 4 to 11 years old by linkage the Taiwan Birth Registry 2004–2011, Taiwan Death Registry 2004–2015, and National Health Insurance Research Database 2004–2015. Cox proportional hazards model (multivariable) was used to examine differences among the four study groups.

Results

There were 682,982 urban children of Taiwan-born mothers, 662,818 rural children of Taiwan-born mothers, 61,570 urban children of foreign-born mothers, 87,473 rural children of foreign-born mothers. Children of foreign-born mothers had a lower incidence of vasculitis, mainly Kawasaki disease. The incidences of congenital disorders did not differ between children of foreign-born mothers and children of Taiwan-born mothers. The incidence of psychotic disorders was higher in urban children. However, children in rural areas had a higher incidence of major trauma/burn and a higher mortality rate.

Conclusions

A healthy migrant effect was only seen for Kawasaki disease. The mental health of urban children born to immigrant mothers warrants concern.
Real spinal cord injury without radiologic abnormality in pediatric patient with tight filum terminale following minor trauma: a case report
Authors: Liang Qin Chuan , Yang Bo , Song Yun Hai , Gao Pin Pin , Xia Ze Yang , Bao Nan
Published: December 2019

Background

Spinal cord injury without radiographic abnormality (SCIWORA) is defined as having “clinical symptoms of traumatic myelopathy with no radiographic or computed tomographic features of spinal fracture or instability”. The mechanism of pediatric SCIWORA following minor trauma is still unclear. Tight filum terminale (TFT) has been studied in the literature, but the information regarding the predisposing factor for SCIWORA is still being defined.

Case presentation

We report three cases of thoracic and lumber SCIWORA with TFT. The trauma was potentially mild in all cases but resulted in catastrophic damage of the cord. All patients had no signs or symptoms of tethered cord syndrome prior to the minor trauma. TFT was found during operation.

Conclusions

We suggest that TFT might be a predisposing factor for SCIWORA and chronic spinal cord traction play an important role in the mechanism of pediatric thoracic and lumber SCIWORA following minor trauma. Patients who never undergo treatment for TFT likely have an elevated risk of developing SCIWORA following minor trauma.
Longitudinal associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and stress-related exhaustion, depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances
Authors: Lindegård Agneta , Wastensson Gunilla , Hadzibajramovic Emina , Grimby-Ekman Anna
Published: December 2019

Background

In the last few years, so-called “common mental disorders”, including adjustment disorder and stress-related exhaustion, have outrivalled musculoskeletal disorders as being the leading cause of long-term sick leave in Sweden. Cardiorespiratory fitness level defined as “the maximal amount of physiological work that an individual can do as measured by oxygen consumption” has in many studies shown to reduce the risk of several life-style related diseases and moreover to improve mood, well-being and physical performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate, longitudinal associations between cardiorespiratory fitness and self-reported physical activity levels and the severity of symptoms connected to stress-related exhaustion, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances among women clinically diagnosed with stress-related exhaustion disorder (ED).

Methods

The study was that of a longitudinal cohort study consisting of women (n = 88) diagnosed with stress-related ED in a specialist clinic in Gothenburg, Sweden. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured with the Åstrand indirect test of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and subjective measures of physical activity levels were rated on 4-graded physical activity scale. To measure and follow symptoms of ED over time the SMBQ-questionnaire (Shirom Melamed Burnout Questionnaire) was used. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure depression and anxiety. A proxy variable for capturing overall disturbed sleep used to measure sleep. Longitudinal associations for continuous outcome variables and the dichotomous variable sleep were analysed using mixed- effects regression models with random intercepts. Regression coefficients along with the 95% confidence interval (CI) are presented as measures of association. Both exposures and the outcome were measured simultaneously over six waves (T1–T6).

Results

The results showed statistically significant associations between level of fitness and reduced symptoms of stress-related exhaustion over time. Best improvements over time were seen in patients having a medium cardiorespiratory fitness level. No associations could be found between cardiorespiratory fitness level over time and anxiety, depression or sleep disturbances.

Conclusion

Having medium cardiorespiratory fitness was positivity associated with a more sustained reduction in symptoms of ED overtime compared to those having low or high cardiorespiratory fitness levels. The clinical implication following this result is that an individual recommendation based on a medium level of physical activity in line with the recommendations from ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) is preferable compared to recommendations including more vigorous physical activity in order to restore and sustainably reduce symptoms of exhaustion disorder over time.
Associations between household environmental factors and immature mosquito abundance in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Authors: Madewell Zachary J. , Sosa Silvia , Brouwer Kimberly C. , Juárez José Guillermo , Romero Carolina , Lenhart Audrey , Cordón-Rosales Celia
Published: December 2019

Background

Aedes aegypti-borne diseases are becoming major public health problems in tropical and sub-tropical regions. While socioeconomic status has been associated with larval mosquito abundance, the drivers or possible factors mediating this association, such as environmental factors, are yet to be identified. We examined possible associations between proximity to houses and roads and immature mosquito abundance, and assessed whether these factors and mosquito prevention measures mediated any association between household environmental factors and immature mosquito abundance.

Methods

We conducted two cross-sectional household container surveys in February–March and November–December, 2017, in urban and rural areas of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. We used principal components analysis to identify factors from 12 variables to represent the household environment. One factor which included number of rooms in house, electricity, running water, garbage service, cable, television, telephone, latrine, well, and sewer system, was termed “environmental capital.” Environmental capital scores ranged from 0 to 5.5. Risk factors analyzed included environmental capital, and distance from nearest house/structure, paved road, and highway. We used Poisson regression to determine associations between distance to nearest house/structure, roads, and highways, and measures of immature mosquito abundance (total larvae, total pupae, and positive containers). Using cubic spline generalized additive models, we assessed non-linear associations between environmental capital and immature mosquito abundance. We then examined whether fumigation, cleaning containers, and distance from the nearest house, road, and highway mediated the relationship between environmental capital and larvae and pupae abundance.

Results

We completed 508 household surveys in February–March, and we revisited 469 households in November–December. Proximity to paved roads and other houses/structures was positively associated with larvae and pupae abundance and mediated the associations between environmental capital and total numbers of larvae/pupae (p ≤ 0.01). Distance to highways was not associated with larval/pupal abundance (p ≥ 0.48). Households with the lowest and highest environmental capital had fewer larvae/pupae than households in the middle range (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

We found evidence that proximity to other houses and paved roads was associated with greater abundance of larvae and pupae. Understanding risk factors such as these can allow for improved targeting of surveillance and vector control measures in areas considered at higher risk for arbovirus transmission.
Dynamics of microbiota during mechanical ventilation in aspiration pneumonia
Authors: Otsuji Ken , Fukuda Kazumasa , Ogawa Midori , Fujino Yoshihisa , Kamochi Masayuki , Saito Mitsumasa
Published: December 2019

Background

The emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens is an urgent health-related problem, and the appropriate use of antibiotics is imperative. It is often difficult to identify the causative bacteria in patients with aspiration pneumonia because tracheal aspirate contains contaminants of oral bacteria. We investigated the dynamics of microbiota in mechanically ventilated patients with aspiration pneumonia to develop a treatment strategy.

Methods

Twenty-two intubated patients with aspiration pneumonia were recruited. Saliva and tracheal aspirate of the subjects were collected at three time points: (A) within 2 h after intubation, (B) just before administration of antibiotics, and (C) 48-72 h after administration of antibiotics. The microbiota in each specimen was analyzed by using the 16S rRNA gene clone library sequencing method. Bacterial floras of the samples were analyzed by principal component analysis.

Results

Principal component analysis based on the composition of genus revealed that although the changes of microbiota in the saliva from (A) to (B) were not clear, the composition of anaerobes in the tracheal aspirate (B) was lower than (A). In fact, the reduction of anaerobes, not in the saliva but in the tracheal aspirate from (A) to (B), was confirmed by incident rate ratios estimated by a multilevel Poisson regression model (p < 0.001). The extent of decrease in anaerobes was fully dependent on the time difference between the sampling of tracheal aspirate (A) and (B)—in particular, over 3 h of mechanical ventilation. This indicates that the alterations of microbiota (involving the reduction of anaerobes in the lower respiratory tract) occurred during mechanical ventilation prior to the administration of antibiotics. After the administration of antibiotics, Enterobacter spp., Corynebacterium spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Granulicatera adiacens were predominantly detected in the tracheal aspirate (C).

Conclusion

The microbiota of the lower respiratory tract changes dynamically during mechanical ventilation and during the administration of antibiotics in intubated patients with aspiration pneumonia. Antibiotics should be selected on the premise that dynamic changes in microbiota (involved in the reduction of anaerobes) may occur during the mechanical ventilation in these patients.
Relational continuity of oral health care in Indigenous communities: a qualitative study
Authors: Shrivastava Richa , Couturier Yves , Simard-Lebel Stefanik , Girard Felix , Aguirre Nadia Verenna Bendezu , Torrie Jill , Emami Elham
Published: December 2019

Background

The relational continuity of care is an essential function of primary health care. This study reports on the perspectives of Cree communities and their primary health care providers regarding the barriers and enablers of relational continuity of oral health care integrated at a primary health care organization.

Methods

A multiple case study design within a qualitative approach and developmental evaluation methodology were used to conduct this research study in Cree communities of Northern Québec. Maximum variation sampling and snowball techniques were used to recruit the participants. Data collection consisted of individual interviews and focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was conducted which included transcription, debriefing, codification, data display, and interpretation. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative studies (COREQ) were used to guide the reporting of study findings.

Results

A total of six focus group discussions and 36 individual interviews were conducted. Five major themes emerged from the thematic analyses for barriers (two) and enablers (three). Themes for barriers included impermanence and lack of effective communication, whereas themes for enablers included culturally competent professionals, working across professional boundaries, and proactive organizational engagement.

Conclusions

Based on these findings, relational continuity can be empowered by effective strategies for overcoming barriers and encouraging enablers, such as recruitment of permanent professionals, organizing cultural competency training, development of a Cree language dental glossary, encouraging inter-professional collaboration, and promoting the organization’s efforts.
Muscle fatigue detection and treatment system driven by internet of things
Authors: Ma Bin , Li Chunxiao , Wu Zhaolong , Huang Yulong , van der Zijp-Tan Ada Chaeli , Tan Shaobo , Li Dongqi , Fong Ada , Basetty Chandan , Borchert Glen M. , Benton Ryan , Wu Bin , Huang Jingshan
Published: December 2019

Background

Internet of things is fast becoming the norm in everyday life, and integrating the Internet into medical treatment, which is increasing day by day, is of high utility to both clinical doctors and patients. While there are a number of different health-related problems encountered in daily life, muscle fatigue is a common problem encountered by many.

Methods

To facilitate muscle fatigue detection, a pulse width modulation (PWM) and ESP8266-based fatigue detection and recovery system is introduced in this paper to help alleviate muscle fatigue. The ESP8266 is employed as the main controller and communicator, and PWM technology is employed to achieve adaptive muscle recovery. Muscle fatigue can be detected by surface electromyography signals and monitored in real-time via a wireless network.

Results

With the help of the proposed system, human muscle fatigue status can be monitored in real-time, and the recovery vibration motor status can be optimized according to muscle activity state.

Discussion

Environmental factors had little effect on the response time and accuracy of the system, and the response time was stable between 1 and 2 s. As indicated by the consistent change of digital value, muscle fatigue was clearly diminished using this system.

Conclusions

Experiments show that environmental factors have little effect on the response time and accuracy of the system. The response time is stably between 1 and 2 s, and, as indicated by the consistent change of digital value, our systems clearly diminishes muscle fatigue. Additionally, the experimental results show that the proposed system requires minimal power and is both sensitive and stable.
Outcomes of aortic aneurysm surgery in England: a nationwide cohort study using hospital admissions data from 2002 to 2015
Authors: Aber Ahmed , Tong Thaison , Chilcott Jim , Maheswaran Ravi , Thomas Steven M. , Nawaz Shah , Michaels Jonathan
Published: December 2019

Background

The United Kingdom aortic aneurysms (AA) services have undergone reconfiguration to improve outcomes. The National Health Service collects data on all hospital admissions in England. The complex administrative datasets generated have the potential to be used to monitor activity and outcomes, however, there are challenges in using these data as they are primarily collected for administrative purposes. The aim of this study was to develop standardised algorithms with the support of a clinical consensus group to identify all AA activity, classify the AA management into clinically meaningful case mix groups and define outcome measures that could be used to compare outcomes among AA service providers.

Methods

In-patient data about aortic aneurysm (AA) admissions from the 2002/03 to 2014/15 were acquired. A stepwise approach, with input from a clinical consensus group, was used to identify relevant cases. The data is primarily coded into episodes, these were amalgamated to identify admissions; admissions were linked to understand patient pathways and index admissions. Cases were then divided into case-mix groups based upon examination of individually sampled and aggregate data. Consistent measures of outcome were developed, including length of stay, complications within the index admission, post-operative mortality and re-admission.

Results

Several issues were identified in the dataset including potential conflict in identifying emergency and elective cases and potential confusion if an inappropriate admission definition is used. Ninety six thousand seven hundred thirty-five patients were identified using the algorithms developed in this study to extract AA cases from Hospital episode statistics. From 2002 to 2015, 83,968 patients (87% of all cases identified) underwent repair for AA and 12,767 patients (13% of all cases identified) died in hospital without any AA repair. Six thousand three hundred twenty-nine patients (7.5%) had repair for complex AA and 77,639 (92.5%) had repair for infra-renal AA.

Conclusion

The proposed methods define homogeneous clinical groups and outcomes by combining administrative codes in the data. These methodologically robust methods can help examine outcomes associated with previous and current service provisions and aid future reconfiguration of aortic aneurysm surgery services.
Health professionals’ perceptions of how gender sensitive care is enacted across acute psychiatric inpatient units for women who are survivors of sexual violence
Authors: O’Dwyer Carol , Tarzia Laura , Fernbacher Sabin , Hegarty Kelsey
Published: December 2019

Background

Sexual violence is a global public health issue. It is a form of gender-based violence commonly experienced by women accessing mental health services. The biomedical model has been the dominant model of care in acute psychiatric units, however, there has been a global movement towards more gender-sensitive and trauma-informed models. To date, only a small amount of research has focused on evaluating these models of care and health professionals’ experiences of providing this care. The aim of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare professionals’ perceptions of how Gender Sensitive Care (GSC) is enacted across acute psychiatric inpatient units for women who are survivors of sexual violence.

Methods

This study used case study methodology and the Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) conceptual framework. NPT is a practical framework that can be used to evaluate the implementation of complex models of care in health settings. It included semi-structured interviews with 40 health professionals, document and policy reviews, and observations from four psychiatric inpatient units within a large Australian public mental health organisation. Data were examined using thematic and content analysis.

Results

Themes were developed under the four NPT core constructs; 1) Understanding GSC in acute psychiatric units: “Without the corridors there’s not a lot we can do”, 2) Engagement and Commitment to GSC in acute psychiatric units: “There are a few of us who have that gender sensitive lens”, 3) Organising, relating and involvement in GSC: “It’s band aid stuff”, 4) Monitoring and Evaluation of GSC in acute psychiatric units: “We are not perfect, we have to receive that feedback”.

Discussion

Many health professionals held a simplistic understanding of GSC and avoided the responsibility of implementing it. Additionally, the competing demands of the biomedical model and a lack of appraisal has resulted in an inconsistent enactment of GSC.

Conclusions

Health professionals in this study enacted GSC to varying levels. Our findings suggest the need to address each NPT construct comprehensively to adequately implement GSC.
Heterogeneous network embedding enabling accurate disease association predictions
Authors: Xiong Yun , Guo Mengjie , Ruan Lu , Kong Xiangnan , Tang Chunlei , Zhu Yangyong , Wang Wei
Published: December 2019

Background

It is significant to identificate complex biological mechanisms of various diseases in biomedical research. Recently, the growing generation of tremendous amount of data in genomics, epigenomics, metagenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, nutriomics, etc., has resulted in the rise of systematic biological means of exploring complex diseases. However, the disparity between the production of the multiple data and our capability of analyzing data has been broaden gradually. Furthermore, we observe that networks can represent many of the above-mentioned data, and founded on the vector representations learned by network embedding methods, entities which are in close proximity but at present do not actually possess direct links are very likely to be related, therefore they are promising candidate subjects for biological investigation.

Results

We incorporate six public biological databases to construct a heterogeneous biological network containing three categories of entities (i.e., genes, diseases, miRNAs) and multiple types of edges (i.e., the known relationships). To tackle the inherent heterogeneity, we develop a heterogeneous network embedding model for mapping the network into a low dimensional vector space in which the relationships between entities are preserved well. And in order to assess the effectiveness of our method, we conduct gene-disease as well as miRNA-disease associations predictions, results of which show the superiority of our novel method over several state-of-the-arts. Furthermore, many associations predicted by our method are verified in the latest real-world dataset.

Conclusions

We propose a novel heterogeneous network embedding method which can adequately take advantage of the abundant contextual information and structures of heterogeneous network. Moreover, we illustrate the performance of the proposed method on directing studies in biology, which can assist in identifying new hypotheses in biological investigation.
A network embedding model for pathogenic genes prediction by multi-path random walking on heterogeneous network
Authors: Xu Bo , Liu Yu , Yu Shuo , Wang Lei , Dong Jie , Lin Hongfei , Yang Zhihao , Wang Jian , Xia Feng
Published: December 2019

Background

Prediction of pathogenic genes is crucial for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. But traditional genetic localization methods are often technique-difficulty and time-consuming. With the development of computer science, computational biology has gradually become one of the main methods for finding candidate pathogenic genes.

Methods

We propose a pathogenic genes prediction method based on network embedding which is called Multipath2vec. Firstly, we construct an heterogeneous network which is called GP−network. It is constructed based on three kinds of relationships between genes and phenotypes, including correlations between phenotypes, interactions between genes and known gene-phenotype pairs. Then in order to embedding the network better, we design the multi-path to guide random walk in GP−network. The multi-path includes multiple paths between genes and phenotypes which can capture complex structural information of heterogeneous network. Finally, we use the learned vector representation of each phenotype and protein to calculate the similarities and rank according to the similarities between candidate genes and the target phenotype.

Results

We implemented Multipath2vec and four baseline approaches (i.e., CATAPULT, PRINCE, Deepwalk and Metapath2vec) on many-genes gene-phenotype data, single-gene gene-phenotype data and whole gene-phenotype data. Experimental results show that Multipath2vec outperformed the state-of-the-art baselines in pathogenic genes prediction task.

Conclusions

We propose Multipath2vec that can be utilized to predict pathogenic genes and experimental results show the higher accuracy of pathogenic genes prediction.
CDK1 and CCNB1 as potential diagnostic markers of rhabdomyosarcoma: validation following bioinformatics analysis
Authors: Li Qianru , Zhang Liang , Jiang Jinfang , Zhang Yangyang , Wang Xiaomeng , Zhang Qiaochu , Wang Yang , Liu Chunxia , Li Feng
Published: December 2019

Background

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), a common soft-tissue malignancy in pediatrics, presents high invasiveness and mortality. However, besides known changes in the PAX3/7-FOXO1 fusion gene in alveolar RMS, the molecular mechanisms of the disease remain incompletely understood. The purpose of the study is to recognize potential biomarkers related with RMS and analyse their molecular mechanism, diagnosis and prognostic significance.

Methods

The Gene Expression Omnibus was used to search the RMS and normal striated muscle data sets. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were filtered using R software. The DAVID has become accustomed to performing functional annotations and pathway analysis on DEGs.

The protein interaction was constructed and further processed by the STRING tool and Cytoscape software. Kaplan–Meier was used to estimate the effect of hub genes on the ending of sarcoma sufferers, and the expression of these genes in RMS was proved by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Finally, the expression of CDK1 and CCNB1 in RMS was validated by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Results

A total of 1932 DEGs were obtained, amongst which 1505 were up-regulated and 427were down-regulated. Up-regulated genes were largely enriched in the cell cycle, ECM-receptor interaction, PI3K/Akt and p53 pathways, whilst down-regulated genes were primarily enriched in the muscle contraction process. CDK1, CCNB1, CDC20, CCNB2, AURKB, MAD2L1, HIST2H2BE, CENPE, KIF2C and PCNA were identified as hub genes by Cytoscape analyses. Survival analysis showed that, except for HIST2H2BE, the other hub genes were highly expressed and related to poor prognosis in sarcoma. RT-PCR validation showed that CDK1, CCNB1, CDC20, CENPE and HIST2H2BE were significantly differential expression in RMS compared to the normal control. IHC revealed that the expression of CDK1 (28/32, 87.5%) and CCNB1 (26/32, 81.25%) were notably higher in RMS than normal controls (1/9, 11.1%; 0/9, 0%). Moreover, the CCNB1 was associated with the age and location of the patient’s onset.

Conclusions

These results show that these hub genes, especially CDK1 and CCNB1, may be potential diagnostic biomarkers for RMS and provide a new perspective for the pathogenesis of RMS.
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist mitigates ventilator-induced diaphragm injury in rabbits
Authors: Shimatani Tatsutoshi , Shime Nobuaki , Nakamura Tomohiko , Ohshimo Shinichiro , Hotz Justin , Khemani Robinder G.
Published: December 2019

Background

Ventilator-induced diaphragmatic dysfunction is a serious complication associated with higher ICU mortality, prolonged mechanical ventilation, and unsuccessful withdrawal from mechanical ventilation. Although neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) could be associated with lower patient-ventilator asynchrony compared with conventional ventilation, its effects on diaphragmatic dysfunction have not yet been well elucidated.

Methods

Twenty Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into four groups, (1) no ventilation, (2) controlled mechanical ventilation (CMV) with continuous neuromuscular blockade, (3) NAVA, and (4) pressure support ventilation (PSV). Ventilated rabbits had lung injury induced, and mechanical ventilation was continued for 12 h. Respiratory waveforms were continuously recorded, and the asynchronous events measured. Subsequently, the animals were euthanized, and diaphragm and lung tissue were removed, and stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin to evaluate the extent of lung injury. The myofiber cross-sectional area of the diaphragm was evaluated under the adenosine triphosphatase staining, sarcomere disruptions by electron microscopy, apoptotic cell numbers by the TUNEL method, and quantitative analysis of Caspase-3 mRNA expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Results

Physiological index, respiratory parameters, and histologic lung injury were not significantly different among the CMV, NAVA, and PSV. NAVA had lower asynchronous events than PSV (median [interquartile range], NAVA, 1.1 [0–2.2], PSV, 6.8 [3.8–10.0], p = 0.023). No differences were seen in the cross-sectional areas of myofibers between NAVA and PSV, but those of Type 1, 2A, and 2B fibers were lower in CMV compared with NAVA. The area fraction of sarcomere disruptions was lower in NAVA than PSV (NAVA vs PSV; 1.6 [1.5–2.8] vs 3.6 [2.7–4.3], p < 0.001). The proportion of apoptotic cells was lower in NAVA group than in PSV (NAVA vs PSV; 3.5 [2.5–6.4] vs 12.1 [8.9–18.1], p < 0.001). There was a tendency in the decreased expression levels of Caspase-3 mRNA in NAVA groups. Asynchrony Index was a mediator in the relationship between NAVA and sarcomere disruptions.

Conclusions

Preservation of spontaneous breathing using either PSV or NAVA can preserve the cross sectional area of the diaphragm to prevent atrophy. However, NAVA may be superior to PSV in preventing sarcomere injury and apoptosis of myofibrotic cells of the diaphragm, and this effect may be mediated by patient-ventilator asynchrony.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Degradation of long non-coding RNA-CIR decelerates proliferation, invasion and migration, but promotes apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells
Authors: Liu Shiwei , Li Jingchao , Kang Liang , Tian Yueyang , Xue Yuan
Published: December 2019

Background

Over the years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been clarified in malignancies, this research was focused on the role of lncRNA cartilage injury-related (lncRNA-CIR) in osteosarcoma cells.

Methods

LncRNA-CIR expression in osteosarcoma tissues and cells, and adjacent normal tissues and normal osteoblasts was determined, then the relations between lncRNA-CIR expression and the clinicopathological features, and between lncRNA-CIR expression and the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients were analyzed. Moreover, the MG63 and 143B cells were treated with silenced or overexpressed lncRNA-CIR, and then the proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis of the cells were evaluated by gain- and loss-of-function approaches. The tumor growth, and proliferation and apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vivo were observed by subcutaneous tumorigenesis in nude mice.

Results

We have found that lncRNA-CIR was up-regulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cells, which was respectively relative to adjacent normal tissues and normal osteoblasts. The expression of lncRNA-CIR was evidently correlated with disease stages, distant metastasis and differentiation of osteosarcoma patients, and the high expression of lncRNA-CIR indicated a poor prognosis. Furthermore, the reduction of lncRNA-CIR could restrict proliferation, invasion and migration, but promote apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vitro. Meanwhile, inhibited lncRNA-CIR also restrained tumor growth and osteosarcoma cell proliferation, whereas accelerated apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells in vivo.

Conclusion

We have found in this study that the inhibited lncRNA-CIR could decelerate proliferation, invasion and migration, but accelerate apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells, which may provide a novel target for osteosarcoma treatment.
Adherence to low carbohydrate diet and prevalence of psychological disorders in adults
Authors: Ebrahimpour-Koujan Soraiya , Keshteli Ammar Hassanzadeh , Afshar Hamid , Esmaillzadeh Ahmad , Adibi Peyman
Published: December 2019

Background

Although individual macronutrients were studied in relation to mental health, no information exist about the association between adherence to low carbohydrate diet and psychological disorders. This study was conducted to investigate the association between adherence to a low carbohydrate diet and prevalence of psychological disorders among Iranian adults.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study on 3362 adult men and women, dietary intakes were examined by the use of a validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Low carbohydrate diet (LCD) score was computed for each participant based on deciles of percentages of energy from macronutrients. Then the scores of carbohydrate, protein and fat intake for each participant were summed up to achieve the overall LCD score, which ranged from 3 (highest carbohydrate intake and lowest fat and protein intakes) to 30 (lowest carbohydrate intake and highest fat and protein intakes). Anxiety, depression, and psychological distress were assessed by validated Iranian versions of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and General Health Questionnaire-12.

Results

Prevalence of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in the whole population were 28.0, 13.3 and 22.6%, respectively. No significant differences were observed in the distribution of depression, anxiety and psychological distress across different quartiles of LCD score. After controlling for potential confounders, no significant association was seen between LCD score and prevalence of depression (OR for the highest vs. the lowest quartile of LCD score: (1.15; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.39). Consumption of LCD was not also associated with increased risk of anxiety (0.82; 95% CI: 0.59, 1.14) and psychological distress (0.92; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.16). These associations did not alter when the analyses were done stratified by gender or BMI status.

Conclusion

Adherence to the low carbohydrate diet, which contains high amount of fat and proteins but low amounts of carbohydrates, was not associated with increased odds of psychological disorders including depression, anxiety and psychological distress. Given the cross-sectional nature of the study which cannot reflect causal relationships, longitudinal studies, focusing on types of macronutrients, are required to clarify this association.
Study on the biomechanical responses of the loaded bone in macroscale and mesoscale by multiscale poroelastic FE analysis
Authors: Yu WeiLun , Wu XiaoGang , Cen HaiPeng , Guo Yuan , Li ChaoXin , Wang YanQin , Qin YiXian , Chen WeiYi
Published: December 2019

Background

Bone is a hierarchically structured composite material, and different hierarchical levels exhibit diverse material properties and functions. The stress and strain distribution and fluid flow in bone play an important role in the realization of mechanotransduction and bone remodeling.

Methods

To investigate the mechanotransduction and fluid behaviors in loaded bone, a multiscale method was developed. Based on poroelastic theory, we established the theoretical and FE model of a segment bone to provide basis for researching more complex bone model. The COMSOL Multiphysics software was used to establish different scales of bone models, and the properties of mechanical and fluid behaviors in each scale were investigated.

Results

FE results correlated very well with analytical in macroscopic scale, and the results for the mesoscopic models were about less than 2% different compared to that in the macro–mesoscale models, verifying the correctness of the modeling. In macro–mesoscale, results demonstrated that variations in fluid pressure (FP), fluid velocity (FV), von Mises stress (VMS), and maximum principal strain (MPS) in the position of endosteum, periosteum, osteon, and interstitial bone and these variations can be considerable (up to 10, 8, 4 and 3.5 times difference in maximum FP, FV, VMS, and MPS between the highest and the lowest regions, respectively). With the changing of Young’s modulus (E) in each osteon lamella, the strain and stress concentration occurred in different positions and given rise to microscale spatial variations in the fluid pressure field. The heterogeneous distribution of lacunar–canalicular permeability (klcp) in each osteon lamella had various influence on the FP and FV, but had little effect on VMS and MPS.

Conclusion

Based on the idealized model presented in this article, the presence of endosteum and periosteum has an important influence on the fluid flow in bone. With the hypothetical parameter values in osteon lamellae, the bone material parameters have effect on the propagation of stress and fluid flow in bone. The model can also incorporate alternative material parameters obtained from different individuals. The suggested method is expected to provide dependable biological information for better understanding the bone mechanotransduction and signal transduction.
m6A mRNA methylation regulates CTNNB1 to promote the proliferation of hepatoblastoma
Authors: Liu Li , Wang Jing , Sun Guifeng , Wu Qiong , Ma Ji , Zhang Xin , Huang Nan , Bian Zhixuan , Gu Song , Xu Min , Yin Minzhi , Sun Fenyong , Pan Qiuhui
Published: December 2019

Background

N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) modification has been implicated in many biological processes. It is important for the regulation of messenger RNA (mRNA) stability, splicing, and translation. However, its role in cancer has not been studied in detail. Here we investigated the biological role and underlying mechanism of m6A modification in hepatoblastoma (HB).

Methods

We used Reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blotting to determine the expression of m6A related factors. And we clarified the effects of these factors on HB cells using cell proliferation assay, colony formation, apoptotic assay. Then we investigated of methyltransferase-like 13 (METTL3) and its correlation with clinicopathological features and used xenograft experiment to check METTL3 effect in vivo. m6A-Seq was used to profiled m6A transcriptome-wide in hepatoblastoma tumor tissue and normal tissue. Finally, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP) assay, RNA remaining assay to perform the regulator mechanism of MEETL3 on the target CTNNB1 in HB.

Results

In this research, we discovered that m6A modifications are increased in hepatoblastoma, and METTL3 is the main factor involved with aberrant m6A modification. We also profiled m6A across the whole transcriptome in hepatoblastoma tumor tissues and normal tissues. Our findings suggest that m6A is highly expressed in hepatoblastoma tumors. Also, m6A is enriched not only around the stop codon, but also around the coding sequence (CDS) region. Gene ontology analysis indicates that m6A mRNA methylation contributes significantly to regulate the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Reduced m6A methylation can lead to a decrease in expression and stability of the CTNNB1.

Conclusion

Overall our findings suggest enhanced m6A mRNA methylation as an oncogenic mechanism in hepatoblastoma, METTL3 is significantly up-regulated in HB and promotes HB development. And identify CTNNB1 as a regulator of METTL3 guided m6A modification in HB.
Effect of atorvastatin treatment on circulating adiponectin: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Liu Xiaoyu , Zhang Wei , Zhao Ming , Jia Guowei , Sun Rongguo
Published: December 2019

Background

Influences of atorvastatin on atherosclerosis and glycemic metabolism may be related to its potential impact on circulating adiponectin, an adipocyte that exerts anti-inflammatory, ant-atherosclerotic, and anti-oxidative effects. However, results of previous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were not consistent. We performed a meta-analysis of RCTs to systematic evaluate the influence of atorvastatin on circulating adiponectin.

Methods

Relevant studies were identified via search of electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane’s Library. A random-effect model was applied to pool the results via incorporating the potential heterogeneity. Predefined meta-regression and subgroup analyses were used to evaluate the influences of study characteristics on the outcome.

Results

Fourteen datasets from ten RCTs including 931 patients were included. Pooled results showed that atorvastatin did not significantly affect circulating adiponectin as compared with controls (weighed mean difference = − 0.27 μg/mL, 95% confidence interval: − 0.89 to 0.35 μg/mL, p = 0.39). Results of univariate meta-regression analyses showed that study characteristics including number of patients, mean age, proportion of male patients, body mass index, dose of atorvastatin, or treatment duration did not significantly affect the outcome (p all > 0.05). Moreover, subgroup analyses showed that atorvastatin did not significantly affect circulating adiponectin in studies stratified according to these study characteristics (p all > 0.05).

Conclusions

Atorvastatin treatment does not significantly affect circulating adiponectin. Influences of atorvastatin on atherosclerosis and glycemic metabolism are not likely to be mediated by modulation of circulating adiponectin.
The construct validity of the Child Health Utility 9D-DK instrument
Authors: Petersen Karin Dam , Ratcliffe Julie , Chen Gang , Serles Dorthe , Frøsig Christine Stampe , Olesen Anne Vingaard
Published: December 2019

Background

Relative to their application with adults there is currently little information about the application of preference-based health-related quality of life (HRQL) instruments among populations of young people. The Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) is a paediatric-specific generic preference-based HRQL instrument, recently translated and linguistically validated into Danish (CHU9D-DK). The purpose of this study was to investigate the construct validity of the CHU9D-DK in a sample of Danish high school students.

Methods

All students attending a Danish High School were invited to participate in a web-based survey in January 2018 (N = 272). The survey included the CHU9D-DK, the young adult version of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales (PedsQL), self-reported health status, presence/absence of disability/chronic diseases, life satisfaction, and socio-economic questions. CHU9D-DK utility scores were generated by employing the two scoring algorithms developed from adults in the UK and adolescents in Australia, respectively. Internal consistency, reliability and construct validity of the CHU9D-DK instrument were investigated.

Results

Two hundred and twenty-eight (84%) students consented to participate and completed the survey. The mean ± (standard deviation) values of the CHU9D-DK utilities were 0.84 (0.11) when the UK adult algorithm was applied and 0.70 (0.22), when the Australian adolescent algorithm was applied. The mean PedsQL score was 82.32 (13.14). The CHU9D-DK showed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.803). Higher levels of health status and life satisfaction were significantly associated with higher CHU9D-DK utility scores regardless of which scoring algorithm was applied (p-values < 0.001). Students living with a disability/chronic disease exhibited significantly lower utility scores relative to their healthy peers (p-values < 0.05). Higher socio-economic status (approximated by financial situation and frequency of family vacations) was also associated with higher utility scores (p-values < 0.005).

Conclusion

The CHU9D-DK demonstrated good psychometric performance overall and shows potential as a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the HRQL of Danish young people.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03391999, Registered 15 October 2017.