bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Intraocular Pressure and time to blindness for Glaucoma patients at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Bar, Ethiopia; A Comparison of Separate and Joint Models
Authors: Muluneh Mitiku Wale , Tegegne Awoke Seyoum 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background

Due to the substantial increase in the number of glaucoma cases within the next several decades, glaucoma is a significant public health issue. The main objective of this study was to investigate determinants for the variation of intraocular pressure and time to blindness of glaucoma patients under treatment at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Materials and Method

A retrospective cohort study design was conducted on 328 randomly selected glaucoma patients in ophthalmology clinic at the hospital under the follow-up period from January 2014 up to December 2018. A linear mixed effects model for intraocular data, a semi-parametric survival model for the time-to-blindness data and joint modeling of the two responses were used for data analysis.
Result

The comparison of joint and separate models revealed that joint model was more adequate and efficient inferences because of its smaller standard errors in parameter estimations. This was also approved using AIC, BIC and based on a significant likelihood ratio test as well. The estimated association parameter (α) in the joint model was 0.0160 and statistically significant (p - value = 0.0349). This indicated that there was strong evidence for positive association between the effects of intraocular pressure and the risk of blindness. The result indicated that the higher value of intraocular pressure was associated with the higher risk of blindness. As age increased by one year, the average IOP of the patients was also increased by 0.0726 mmHg (p-value < 0.0001) keeping all variables constant.
Conclusion

The predictors; age, blood pressure, type of medication and cup-disk ratio were significantly associated with the two responses of glaucoma patients. Health professionals should give more attention for patients who have blood pressure and cup-disk ratio greater than 0.7 during the follow-up time to reduce the risk of blindness of glaucoma patients.
Porcine OCT4 Reporter System can Monitor Species-Specific Pluripotency During Somatic Cell Reprogramming
Authors: Kim Seung-Hun , Choi Kwang-Hwan , Lee Mingyun , Lee Dong-Kyung , Lee Chang-Kyu 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
l Background: The present study examined the activity and function of pig OCT4 enhancer in porcine reprogramming cells. Dual fluorescent protein reporter systems controlled by the upstream regulatory region of OCT4, which is one of the master regulators for pluripotency, are widely used in studies of the mechanism of pluripotency. We analyzed how this reporter system functions in FGF- or LIF-dependent reprogrammed porcine pluripotent stem cells using the previously established porcine-specific reporter system. l Results: Porcine embryonic fibroblasts were coinfected with the pOCT4-∆PE-eGFP (DE-GFP) and pOCT4-∆DE-DsRed2 (PE-RFP) vectors, and GFP and RFP expression was verified during a DOX-dependent reprogramming process. We demonstrated that the porcine OCT4 distal enhancer and proximal enhancer were activated in different expression patterns simultaneously as the changes in the expression of pluripotent marker genes during the establishment of porcine-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). l Conclusions: Porcine OCT4 upstream region-derived dual fluorescent protein reporter systems serve as live naïve/primed pluripotency indicators for porcine induced pluripotent cell establishment. This work demonstrates the applicability of the porcine OCT4 upstream region-derived dual fluorescence reporter system, which may be applied to investigations of species-specific pluripotency in porcine-origin cells. These reporter systems may be useful tools for studies of porcine-specific pluripotency, early embryo development and embryonic stem cells.
Predictive Value of Small Dense Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Remnant-like Particle Cholesterol for Cardiovascular Events in Chinese Elder Diabetes Mellitus Patients
Authors: Xu Li , Lu Feifei , Lu Jingfen , Xu Yan , Chen Nuoer , Zhou Xuewen , Xu Jianhong , Shen Hao 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
BackgroundAs a subcomponent of lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), small dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C) have been suggested to be a better predictor of cardiovascular diseases(CVD). This research was to evaluate the predictive of the sdLDL-C in cardiovascular events (CVs) in Chinese elder type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM) patients.MethodsSerum sdLDL-C measured by homogeneous method was compared in 386 consecutive type 2 DM patients between December 2014 and December 2016. Finally, 92 type 2 DM patients had CVs during the 48-month follow-up period. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used for assess the predictive value of baseline parameters to major CVs.ResultsNinety-two CVs occurred during the study period.The ROC curve manifested that sdLDL-C in the study population had a matchable discriminatory power (AUC for sdLDL-C was 0.7366, P = 0.003). In addition, kaplan-Meier event-free survival curves displayed a obvious increase of CVs risk for sdLDL-C ≧ 26 mg/dL (log-rank = 9.10,P = 0.003). This phenomenon had analogousresultsin patients who received statins at baseline (log rank = 7.336༌P = 0.007).The study discovered that the increase in HbA1c, glucose, LDL-C, sdLDL-C, non-HDL-C and ApoB and the decrease in ApoA1 were obviously interrelated with heightened CVs risk through Cox regression analysis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the increase of sdLDL-C and HbA1c was obviously correlated with CVs. The results of the study indicated that sdLDL-C (per 10 mg/dL) was a increased risk for CVs in the multivariate model (HR 1.281, 95% CI 1.225–16.032; P < 0.01).ConclusionThe consequences demonstrated that sdLDL-C was more effective than RLP-C in predicting the future CVs of Chinese elder type 2 DM patients
Diagnostic accuracy and value of chromosomal microarray analysis for chromosomal abnormalities in prenatal detection: a prospective clinical study
Authors: Huang Hailong , Wang Yan , Zhang Min , Lin Na , An Gang , He Deqin , Chen Meihuan , Chen Lingji , Xu Liangpu 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) has emerged as a primary diagnostic tool for the evaluation of developmental delay and structural malformations in children. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and diagnostic value of CMA and karyotyping on chromosomal abnormalities in Fujian province of South China.
Methods

In the study, 410 samples were obtained from pregnant women between March 2015 and December 2016, including 3 villus (0.73%, 3/410), 296 amniotic fluid (72.20%, 296/410), and 111 umbilical cord blood (27.07%, 111/410). Each sample was screening for chromosomal abnormalities by both using CMA and karyotyping.
Results

The success rates of CMA and karyotyping were 100% (410/410) and 99.27% (407/410), respectively. 61 (14.88%, 61/410) samples were presented with chromosomal abnormalities using CMA, whereas 47 (11.46%, 47/410) samples were shown with chromosomal abnormalities using karyotyping. 31 (7.56%, 31/410) samples with normal karyotypes were found to have chromosomal abnormalities using CMA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of CMA on the diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities was 0.93, with 90.68% sensitivity and 94.40% specificity. The AUC of karyotyping on the diagnosis of chromosomal abnormalities was 0.90, with 87.56% sensitivity and 91.22% specificity.
Conclusions

Our data demonstrated that CMA has a better diagnostic value for screening chromosomal abnormalities, especially for pregnant women with normal karyotypes.
To Ascertain the True or Faking and Ingredients of Silver-Coins by Using Specific Weight
Authors: Huang Kuo Ming , Hsu Ming-Hung , Wang Jang-Ping 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The early twenty-first century has witnessed forgeries of antique silver coins (including Japanese coins, Qing Dynasty coins, Yuan-Shikai-era coins, and Republic of China coins). Some forgers wallow in extravagant profits from illegal trading in fake coins with correct weights that combine some silver with cheaper metals. Exceptional forgers can deceive coin collectors by delivering mostly silver pieces of the same weights and sizes as genuine silver coins. Specific gravity is the ratio of masses for equal volumes of different substances; even though numerous forgers understand coin weights and thus deliver fake products with the correct weights, the aforementioned forgery process cannot counterfeit the specific gravity values of silver coins. Hence, the specific gravity values of silver products can be used to distinguish genuine coins from counterfeits. This paper explains a multistep process for distinguishing genuine from counterfeit silver coins. Calculations of specific gravity are combined with a nonlinear constraint method to estimate the ingredients of alleged silver coins. When the ingredients of a coin have been ascertained, whether a coin is genuine or counterfeit can be proven.
Institutional Based Quantitative Cross-Sectional Study on Toxoplasmosis Sero-Prevalence, Awareness and Risk Behavior Among Pregnant Women Following Antenatal Care in Asella Teaching and Referral Hospital, Asella, Ethiopia 2018/19.
Authors: Elemo Shimeles Adugna 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Toxoplasmosis is caused by infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an obligate intracellular parasite. The infections produced a wide range of clinical syndromes in humans, land and sea mammals, and various bird species. Toxoplasmosis is especially important among Immune-compromised patients and pregnant women. Infection of mothers during pregnancy by Toxoplasma gondii may have serious consequences for fetus ranging from miscarriage, central nervous system involvement, retinochoroditis, or at birth subclinical infection.Objective: To determine Toxoplasmosis sero-prevalence, awareness and risk behavior among pregnant women following antenatal care in Asella Teaching and Referral Hospital, Asella, Ethiopia.Methods: An institutional based quantitative cross sectional study design was conducted on sample size of 384 from December 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Structured, a pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the demographic and risk factor related data. Serum sample, collected was tested for Toxoplasma Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Toxoplasma Immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies using anti- IgG and IgM antibodies by Toxoplasma immune-chromatographic test (ICT) IgG-IgM test. A bivariable and multivariable logistic regression model was applied to show association between the dependent and independent variables considering P < 0.05 and the 95% confidence interval. Result: The overall sero prevalence of T. gondii in the study area was 81.8 %. Three hundred and fourteen (81.8 %) of the pregnant women were IgG seropositive, fifty women (13 %) were IgM seropositive. fifty women were positive for both IgG and IgM. None of the pregnant women were positive exclusively for IgG and IgM ani-bodies. eating raw meat (COR=3.480, 95%CI: 1.450-8.352; P= 0.005, AOR=3.798, 95%CI: 1.249-11.550, P=0.19), using unpasteurized milk(COR=3.860, 95%CI: 2.118-7.037; P= 0.000, AOR=3.907, 95%CI:1.744-8.751, P=0.001), having three or more children(COR=2.194, 95%CI: 1.065-4.518; P= 0.033) and Consumption of raw egg(COR=2.042, 95%CI: 1.049-3.974; P= 0.036)Conclusion: The sero-prevalence of T. gondii antibodies was high among the pregnant women. Those who consumed raw meat and egg, unpasteurized milk and those who have three or more children were at higher risk of T. gondii infection. Hence, blood screening for Toxoplasmosis, health education and awareness creation among pregnant women should be done during antenatal follow up.
Boron Carbide Nanowires from Castor Oil for Optronic Applications: A Low-Temperature Greener Approach
Authors: Devi H. V. Saritha , Swapna M. S. , SANKARARAMAN S 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The development of one-dimensional nanostructures has revolutionized electronic and photonic industries because of their unique properties. The present paper reports the low-temperature green synthesis of boron carbide nanowires, of diameter 14 nm and length 750 nm, by the condensation method using castor oil as the carbon precursor. The nanowires synthesized exhibit beaded chain morphology, and bandgap energy of 2.08 eV revealed through the Tauc plot analysis. The structure of boron carbide nanowires is revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. The photoluminescence study reveals the nanowire's blue light emission capability under ultraviolet excitation, which is substantiated by the CIE plot suggesting its potential in photonic applications.
Real-time credible online health information inquiring: a novel search engine misinformation notifier extension (SEMiNExt) during COVID-19-like disease outbreak
Authors: Hussein Molla Rashied , Shams Abdullah Bin , Rahman Ashiqur , Raihan Mohsin Sarker , Mostari Shabnam , Siddika Nazeeba , Kabir Russell , Apu Ehsanul Hoque 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Public health-related misinformation spread rapidly in online networks, particularly, in social media during any disease outbreak. Misinformation of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) drug protocol or presentation of its treatment from untrusted sources have shown dramatic consequences on public health. Authorities are utilizing several surveillance tools to detect, and slow down the rapid misinformation spread online, still millions of misinformation are found online. However, there is no currently available tool for receiving real-time misinformation notification during online health or COVID-19 related inquiries. Our proposed novel combinational approach, where we have integrated machine learning techniques with novel search engine misinformation notifier extension (SEMiNExt), helps to understand which news or information is from unreliable sources in real-time. The extension filters the search results and shows notification beforehand; it is a new and unexplored approach to prevent the spread of misinformation. To validate the user query, SEMiNExt transfers the data to a machine learning algorithm or classifier which predicts the authenticity of the search inquiry and sends a binary decision as either true or false. The results show that the supervised learning algorithm works best when 80% of the data set have been used for training purpose. Also, 10-fold cross-validation demonstrate a maximum accuracy and F1-score of 84.3% and 84.1% respectively for the Decision Tree classifier while the K-nearest-neighbor (KNN) algorithm shows the least performance. The SEMiNExt approach has introduced the possibility to improve online health communication system by showing misinformation notifications in real-time which enables safer web-based searching while inquiring on health-related issues.
Therapeutic Potential of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Renal Progenitor Cells in Experimental Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Ribeiro Patrícia de Carvalho , Lojudice Fernando Henrique , Fernandes-Charpiot Ida Maria Maximina , Baptista Maria Alice Sperto Ferreira , Araújo Stanley de Almeida , Mendes Gloria Elisa Florido , Sogayar Mari Cleide , Abbud-Filho Mario , Caldas Heloisa Cristina 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
BackgroundChronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a global public health problem. Regenerative medicine using pluripotent stem cells represents an attractive therapeutic approach for the treatment of CKD.MethodsWe transplanted Mitomycin C (MMC)-treated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and renal progenitors cells (RPCs) into a CKD rat model system. The RPCs and hiPSCs cells were characterized by immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR. Untreated 5/6 nephrectomized rats were compared to CKD animals receiving the same amount of MMC-treated hiPSCs or RPCs. Renal function, histology and immunohistochemistry were evaluated 45 days post-surgery. ResultsWe successfully generated hiPSCs from peripheral blood and differentiated them into RPCs expressing renal progenitor genes (PAX2, WT1, SIX2, and SALL1) and podocyte-related genes (SYNPO, NPHS1). RPCs also exhibited reduced OCT4 expression, confirming the loss of pluripotency. After cell transplantation into CKD rats, the body weight change was significantly increased in both hiPSC and RPC groups, in comparison with the control group. Creatinine clearance (CCr) was preserved only in the hiPSC group. Similarly, the number of macrophages in the kidneys of the hiPSC group reached a statistically significant reduction, when compared to control rats. Both treatments reduced positive staining for the marker α-smooth muscle actin. Histological features showed decreased tubulointerstitial damage (interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy) as well as a reduction in glomerulosclerosis in both iPSC and RPC groups.ConclusionsIn conclusion, we describe that both MMC-treated hiPSCs and RPCs exert beneficial effects in attenuating CKD progression. Both cell types were equally efficient to reduce histological damage and weight loss caused by CKD. hiPSCs seems to be more efficient than RPCs, possibly due to an anti-inflammatory mechanism triggered by hiPSCs. These results demonstrate that the use of MMC-treated hiPSCs and RPCs improve clinical and histological CKD parameters, avoided tumor formation, and therefore may be a promising cell therapy strategy for CKD.
Exploring the role of meteorological factors in predicting incident pulmonary tuberculosis: A time-series study in eastern China
Authors: Li Zhongqi , Pan Hongqiu , Liu Qiao , Song Huan , Wang Jianming 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
BackgroundMany studies have compared the performance of time-series models in predicting pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Few studies regarding the role of meteorological factors in predicting PTB are available. This study aims to explore whether incorporating meteorological factors can improve the performance of time series models in predicting pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB).MethodsWe collected the monthly number of PTB cases registered in three cities of China from 2005 to 2018, and data of six meteorological factors in the same period. We constructed three time-series models, including the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, the ARIMA with exogenous variables (ARIMAX) model, and the recurrent neural network (RNN) model. The construction of the ARIMA model did not incorporate meteorological factors, while the construction of ARIMAX and RNN models incorporated meteorological factors. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were used to compare the performance of models in predicting the monthly number of PTB cases in 2018.ResultsBoth the cross-correlation analysis and spearman rank correlation test showed that PTB was related to meteorological factors in the three cities. The prediction performance of both ARIMA and RNN models was improved after incorporating the meteorological factors. The MAPEs of the ARIMA, ARIMAX, and RNN models were 12.536%, 11.957%, and 12.360% in Xuzhou, 15.568%, 11.155%, and 14.087% in Nantong, and 9.700%, 9.660% and 12.501% in Wuxi, respectively. The RMSEs of the three models were 36.194, 33.956 and 34.785 in Xuzhou, 34.073, 25.884 and 31.828 in Nantong, and 19.545, 19.026 and 26.019 in Wuxi, respectively.ConclusionsOur study revealed a possible link between PTB and meteorological factors. Taking meteorological factors into consideration may increase the accuracy of time series models in predicting PTB.
The role of emergency medicine for postgraduate year one undifferentiated physician: a qualitative analysis of trainees' perspective
Authors: Shen Ching-Yi , Huang Chih-Chun , Tsai Weide , Liao Chen-Hao , Lin NaiHui , Hsu Chih-Chun , Kuo Kuan-Chih 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background

PGY1 program was initiated in 2003 for undifferentiated physicians in Taiwan, the program aimed to improve the general competency gap exposed during the SARS epidemic breakout in physicians. Many published studies discussed the effectiveness of the program. We were interested in the learning impacts gained from the physicians' perspectives during EM rotation in the PGY1 program, and little was known regarding this subject.
Methods

This retrospective study used grounded theory data analysis methods. 201 PGY1 physicians rotated in the emergency department from August 2014 to July 2017 answered three open-ended post-rotation survey questions and resulted in a dataset of 603 comments. A three-member team for code development reviewed all comments and established the code themes with the consensus of the team members. A four-member coding team coded applicable comments accordingly.
Results

We coded 563 (96%) comments and sorted 32 themes essential to characterize the clinical experiences into two categories. Twenty-six codes were relevant to professional development; 6 were related to the emotional issue. In the professional development category, patient care (33%) was the most frequently coded domains in the sub-level of six core competencies, followed by system-based practice (25%) and interpersonal and communication skills (19%). Senses of growth and improvement were the most frequently coded theme in the emotional issue category, followed by pressure at the workplace and on-the-spot-feedback. The top 3 lessons learned by physicians' perception were decision-making, team and patient communication, and prioritize tasks.
Conclusions

EM rotation had a productive role in professional development for undifferentiated physicians before receiving specialty discipline training. Gaining experiences on clinical judgment and communication were the strengths of the EM PGY1 program. This model of analysis might be used as a novel way of assessment on the achievement of learning objectives from the trainee's perspective. However, a prospective standardized study protocol is needed for a further affirmative conclusion.
LDL-C/HDL-C is Associated With Ischaemic Stroke in Patients With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Case-Control Study
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Xue , Wei Meng , Shang Lu-Xiang , Lu Yan-Mei , Zhang Ling , Li Yao-Dong , Zhang Jiang-Hua , Xing Qiang , Tu-Erhong Zu Kela , Tang Bao-Peng , Zhou Xian-Hui 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background
This study explored relationships between low-/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LDL-C/HDL-C) and other clinical indicators and ischaemic stroke (IS) in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients in Xinjiang, which could provide a theoretical and therapeutic basis for patients with NVAF.
Methods
NVAF patients who were admitted to 10 medical centres across Xinjiang were divided into the stroke (798 patients) and control (2671 patients) groups according to whether acute IS occurred. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the independent risk factors for IS in NVAF patients. We used factor analysis and principal component regression analysis to analyse the main influencing factors of IS. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the optimal cut-off value of LDL-C/HDL-C in predicting IS.
Results
Multivariate logistic regression showed that the risk of IS in the highest quartile of LDL-C/HDL-C (≥ 2.73) was 16.23-fold that in the lowest quartile (< 1.22); IS risk was 2.27-fold higher in obese patients (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2) than in normal-weight subjects; IS risk was 3.15-fold higher in smoking than in non-smoking patients. The area under the ROC curve of LDL-C/HDL-C was 0.76, optimal critical value was 2.33, sensitivity was 63.53%, and specificity was 76.34%. Principal component regression analysis showed that LDL-C/HDL-C, age, smoking, drinking, LDL-C and hypertension were risk factors for IS in NVAF patients.
Conclusions
LDL-C/HDL-C > 1.22, smoking and BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 were independent risk factors for IS in NVAF patients, of which LDL-C/HDL-C was the main risk factor.