bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Meniscal substitution, a developing and long-awaited demand
Authors: Winkler Philipp W. , Rothrauff Benjamin B. , Buerba Rafael A. , Shah Neha , Zaffagnini Stefano , Alexander Peter , Musahl Volker 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe menisci represent indispensable intraarticular components of a well-functioning knee joint. Sports activities, traumatic incidents, or simply degenerative conditions can cause meniscal injuries, which often require surgical intervention. Efforts in biomechanical and clinical research have led to the recommendation of a meniscus-preserving rather than a meniscus-resecting treatment approach. Nevertheless, partial or even total meniscal resection is sometimes inevitable. In such circumstances, techniques of meniscal substitution are required. Autologous, allogenic, and artificial meniscal substitutes are available which have evolved in recent years. Basic anatomical and biomechanical knowledge, clinical application, radiological and clinical outcomes as well as future perspectives of meniscal substitutes are presented in this article. A comprehensive knowledge of the different approaches to meniscal substitution is required in order to integrate these evolving techniques in daily clinical practice to prevent the devastating effects of lost meniscal tissue.
Delayed ankle muscle reaction time in female amateur footballers after the first 15 min of a simulated prolonged football protocol
Authors: Fong Daniel T. P. , Leung Wing-Ching , Mok Kam-Ming , Yung Patrick S. H. 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Purpose
Ankle sprain injury rate is reported to be higher towards the end of a football match. Muscle fatigue may contribute to the delayed muscle reaction and subsequent injury. This study investigated the ankle muscle reaction time during a simulated, prolonged football protocol.

Methods
Seven amateur female football players participated in a 105-min simulated, prolonged football protocol. An ankle muscle reaction test was conducted with a pair of ankle sprain simulators at a scheduled interval every 15-min. The reaction times of peroneus longus, tibialis anterior, and lateral gastrocnemius were collected using an electromyography system sampling at 1000 Hz. Repeated measures one-way multivariate analysis of variance with post-hoc paired t-tests were conducted to evaluate if the reaction time at each time point significantly differed from baseline. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 level.

Results
Reaction times started from 40.5–47.7 ms at baseline and increased to 48.6–55.7 ms at the end. Reaction times significantly increased in all muscles after the first 15 min except for the dominant lateral gastrocnemius. Increased reaction times were seen in the non-dominant limb after 60 min for tibialis anterior, after 75 min for peroneus longus, and after 90 min for the lateral gastrocnemius.

Conclusions
Delayed reaction time of the ankle muscles were found after the first 15 min and in the final 45 min of a simulated prolonged football protocol. Strategies for injury prevention should also focus on tackling the delayed ankle muscle reaction time in the acute phase (the first 15 min), in addition to the latter minutes in the second half.

Level of evidence
Controlled laboratory study, Level V.
The effect of positive end-expiratory pressure on cardiac output and oxygen delivery during cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Authors: Levenbrown Yosef , Hossain Md Jobayer , Keith James P. , Burr Katlyn , Hesek Anne , Shaffer Thomas 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Background
Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is used to optimize oxygenation by preventing alveolar collapse. However, PEEP can potentially decrease cardiac output through cardiopulmonary interactions. The effect of PEEP on cardiac output during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is not known.

Methods
This was a preclinical randomized, controlled, animal study conducted in an animal research facility on 25 Landrace-Yorkshire pigs. After inducing cardiac arrest, CPR was performed with LUCAS 3. During CPR, pigs were ventilated at a PEEP of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 cmH2O (randomly determined via lottery) for 9 min. Cardiac output, obtained via ultrasound dilution, and PaO2 were measured, and oxygen delivery calculated for each PEEP.

Results
A mixed-effects repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare the baseline value adjusted mean cardiac output, PaO2, and oxygen delivery between PEEP groups. Least significant difference test was used to conduct pairwise comparisons between PEEP groups. To determine optimum PEEP, Gaussian mixture model was applied to the adjusted means of cardiac output and oxygen delivery. Increasing PEEP to 10 and higher resulted in significant declines in cardiac output. A PEEP of 15 and higher resulted in significant declines in oxygen delivery. As PEEP was increased from 0 to 20, PaO2 increased significantly. Gaussian mixture model identified the 0–5 PEEP group as providing optimal cardiac output and oxygen delivery, with PEEP of 5 providing the highest oxygen delivery.

Conclusions
A PEEP of 0–5 resulted in the optimal oxygen delivery and cardiac output during CPR, with PEEP of 5 resulting in higher oxygen delivery, and a slightly lower, statistically insignificant cardiac output than PEEP of 0.
First record of Columbus crab Planes minutus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Grapsidae) Linnaeus, 1758 for the northwestern Indian Ocean
Authors: Yaghmour Fadi , Al Naqbi Halima 
Published: July 2020

AbstractPlanes minutus Linnaeus, 1758 is a species of grapsid crab that is known to be symbiotically associated with various species that include but are not limited to sea turtles. This specie is known to occur in tropical and subtropical oceans. In this study, we report a P.minutus specimen from a stranded loggerhead sea turtle from the Sea of Oman coast of the United Arab Emirates, signifying the first record of this specie from the Northwestern Indian Ocean.
Spatial anxiety mediates the sex difference in adult mental rotation test performance
Authors: Alvarez-Vargas Daniela , Abad Carla , Pruden Shannon M. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractMental rotation ability is associated with successful advances in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and occupations. Meta-analyses have shown consistent sex disparities in mental rotation, where men outperform women on one measure of mental rotation ability, theMental Rotations Test(MRT). Spatial anxiety, or the fear and apprehension felt when completing a task that requires spatial thinking, was proposed as a mechanism explaining the relation between sex and mental rotation test performance. This study modified theSpatial Anxiety Scale(SAS) to include questions about how anxious individuals feel when they must mentally rotate items to accomplish a task (e.g., playing Tetris). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess the factorial structure of the modified spatial anxiety scale. Three factor loadings were extracted representing the ability to navigate, mentally rotate objects, and visualize objects. Furthermore, we analyzed the role of spatial anxiety and trait anxiety as potential mediators of the relation between participant sex and mental rotation performance. Spatial anxiety partially mediated the link between the sex of the participants and the MRT performance controlling for trait anxiety. Only navigation and mental rotation anxiety significantly mediated the relation between participant sex and mental rotation performance. We posit spatial anxiety as a barrier to efficient and accurate spatial thinking, and suggest that reducing spatial anxiety has the potential to improve spatial skills and reduce sex differences in mental rotation test performance. To ascertain this, an experimental design can determine whether a reduction in spatial anxiety causes changes in mental rotation test scores.
Research on the reform of county-level Fangguanfu in ethnic regions in China —a case study of the Fangguanfu Reformation at Ongniud Banner
Authors: Fang Yong , Zhou Jinghong , Zhang Shaochun , WuRigexiletu  , Shao Lei , Liang Xin 
Published: July 2020

AbstractOngniud Banner, as a mixed agricultural and pastoral county-level administrative region within the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, actively promotes an improved level of government services, especially the Fangguanfu Reform promoted by the central government of China. The banner government actively sought to overcome difficulties related to the foundation, technical conditions, and institutional constraints, and thus solidly promoted the Fangguanfu Reform in the county, achieving significant results in “decentralization”, increased awareness of “supervision”, and “service”. The initial creation of the service system and the positive impact of significantly improved efficiency have enabled government services to increasingly reflect the political concept of governing for the people, effectively optimizing the environment for local development.
Adductor canal block versus femoral nerve block in unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: a randomized, double blind, prospective, comparative study
Authors: Armanious Simon H. , Botros Joseph M. , EL Ganzoury Ibrahim M. , Abdelhameed Gamal A. 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Background
Minimally invasive knee replacement surgery has grown in early twenty-first century to join international trend of ambulatory joint surgery. Both ultrasound-guided femoral nerve block (FNB) and adductor canal block (ACB) have excellent postoperative analgesia following uni-knee replacement. Minimal motor power affection facilitates early patient ambulation and rehabilitation. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate and compare the functional recovery and analgesic efficacy of both techniques in uni-knee arthroplasty.

Methods
After University Review Board approval, informed written consent to participate in the study was obtained. Patients scheduled for unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) with combined spinal-epidural anesthesia were eligible for enrollment in this double blind, randomized trial. Patients received either FNB or ACB with a 20 cc of 0.5% of bupivacaine with 5 μg/ml epinephrine. Quadriceps muscle strength was measured as primary outcome using Medical Research Council scale (MRC). Postoperative pain with visual analog scale (VAS) and total morphine consumption was considered as secondary outcome, all recorded for 48 h post-anesthesia administration.

Results
Eighty patients were analyzed; quadriceps strength was significantly lower in the FNB group compared with ACB group especially at 12 postoperative hour (2 versus 4), respectively, p value < 0.05. There was no difference between the groups regarding postoperative. VAS at rest except at 24 h was significantly lower in FNB group with p value 0.003. The gate disturbance and the number of falls were significantly lower in the ACB group than the FNB group (2 compared to 9), respectively. There was no difference between groups regarding postoperative nausea, vomiting, and itching.

Conclusion
ACB preserved quadriceps muscle strength more than FNB, with reduced number of falls and without significant difference in pain relief. Therefore, ACB considered an alternative to FNB when given as supplemental postoperative pain control after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

Trial registration
This clinical trial was registered in the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) http://www.pactr.org/ as a prospective trial with the identification number PACTR201907788767332.
Botany, pharmacology and conservation status of wonder flower: Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana (Nees) T. Anderson ex Benth)
Authors: Bera Soumen , Das Sibsankar , Kalindi Dharmadas 
Published: July 2020

AbstractStrobilanthes kunthiana (Nees) T. Anderson ex Benth locally known as Neelakurinji is an endemic to Western Ghat, India and belongs to the Acanthaceae family. It has a unique flowering pattern to bloom every 12 years. The objective of this review is to highlight the taxonomy, distribution, ecology, biology, pharmacological properties, and conservation status of Strobilanthes kunthiana. The plant S. kunthiana is a rich source of pharmacological constituents and can act as herbal alternatives for various disorders. This review discusses the unique botany specifically the flowering pattern for in-depth study to conserve not only for tourism but also for exploring its pharmacological properties and usefulness in apiary. Finally, this review highlights the potential research areas that should be interlinked with promotion of tourism with Neelakurinji attraction as well as its potential use in apiary.
Short- and long-term outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention in hepatitis C virus seropositive patients
Authors: Hussein Ahmed , Abdel Ghany Mohamed , Mahmoud Hossam Eldin M. 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Background
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is progressively recognized as a potential atherogenic condition that is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD). Factors that affect the cardiovascular system as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia also may affect the outcomes following PCI. So, HCV infection may have an impact on the outcomes following PCI. We aimed to investigate the impact of HCV seropositivity on the outcomes following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Results
We conducted a multi-center prospective cohort study on 400 patients candidate for elective PCI using drug-eluting stents; 200 patients were HCV seropositive and did not received antiviral treatment, and 200 patients were HCV seronegative. The patients were followed up for 1 year for the development of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and clinical in-stent restenosis. Multivariate Cox hazard regression analyses for MACEs and clinical in-stent restenosis at 12 months after adjustment for confounding factors showed that HCV seropositivity did not present a higher hazard upon MACEs (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.74; 95% CI 0.41–1.32; p value 0.302), the individual cardiovascular outcomes (target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), myocardial infarction (MI), cerebrovascular stroke (CVS), stent thrombosis, major bleeding, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), cardiac death, and non-cardiac death), or the incidence of clinical in-stent restenosis (adjusted HR was 1.70; 95% CI 0.64–4.51; p value 0.28) compared to seronegative patients.

Conclusion
HCV seropositivity had no impact on MACEs, individual cardiovascular outcomes, or clinical in-stent restenosis following PCI for a 1 year follow-up period.
Assessment of the role of fractional exhaled nitric oxide as a predictor of airway eosinophilia and corticosteroid responsiveness in patients with chronic cough
Authors: Shebl Eman , Abdel-moety Hanaa 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Background
Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) can be used as a rapid indicator of eosinophilic airway inflammation and steroid responsiveness in patients with bronchial asthma, but this role in chronic cough is still questionable. So, this study was carried out to assess the role FeNO as a predictor of airway eosinophilia and inhaled steroids responsiveness in patients with chronic cough. This prospective study included 70 patients with undiagnosed chronic cough and 20 healthy non-smoker control group. Sputum eosinophils % and FeNO were measured before and after a 4-week treatment trial with high dose inhaled corticosteroids. The optimal cut-off value of FeNO to predict sputum eosinophilia and the responsiveness of cough for corticosteroids were determined.

Results
Forty-five patients (64.3%) of the studied 70 patients with chronic cough responded to the 4-week trial of inhaled steroids. In the steroid responder group, FeNO and sputum eosinophils % were significantly higher than in the non-responder group. There was a significant positive correlation between FeNO and sputum eosinophils %. The optimal cut-off value of FeNO to detect airway eosinophilia was 33 ppb (with 65% sensitivity and 80% specificity) The ROC AUC was 0.757 and the optimal cut-off value of FeNO to predict corticosteroids responsiveness was 34.5 ppb (with 85% sensitivity and 90% specificity). The ROC AUC was 0.835.

Conclusion
FeNO can be used as a rapid and non-invasive diagnostic tool of airway eosinophilic inflammation and as a predictor for steroid responsiveness in patients with chronic cough.
Efficacy of Levamisole in children with Frequent Relapsing and Steroid Dependent Nephrotic Syndrome at Tertiary Care Center-Karachi
Authors: Moorani Khemchand Netaram , Zubair Aasia Mohammad , Veerwani Nanga Ram , Hotchandani Harnam Jaichand 
Published: July 2020

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of levamisole in maintaining remission of proteinuria in children with frequent relapsing and steroid dependent nephrotic syndrome (FR/SDNS).
Methods: This observational study on 81 children with FR /SDNS was carried out from June 2007 - June 2017 at The Kidney Center-Postgraduate Training Institute, Karachi-Pakistan. Levamisole (leva) along with low dose prednisolone on alternate day (AD) was used after induction of remission with daily oral prednisolone in children with FR/ SDNS for 6-36 months. Patients with steroid resistance were excluded. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: Eighty-one patients with FR (66) or SD (15) received levamisole treatment. Mean age at diagnosis was 3.72 ±2.33 years. Levamisole was used on AD in 59.25% and daily in 40.74% of cases. Twenty-four could not complete six months and were excluded, 57 patients completed treatment duration of 15.68±9.93 months and 51 post-leva follow-up of 11.70±11.23 months. Mean cumulative prednisolone dose per patient before, on-leva and post-leva was 3389.81±2785.22, 2471.97±2024.98 and 661.37± 905.37 mg respectively. Mean relapse rate per year before leva, on -leva and post -leva was 3.30 ±0.50,0.98± 1.1and 0.79±1.27 respectively. Levamisole was effective in 90% of patients. During post-leva follow up, 76.4% patients, maintained remission, whereas 23.5% behaved as FR/SD and require further immunosuppressive therapy.
Conclusions: Levamisole was effective in maintaining remission in 90% while on treatment, whereas it maintained remission after discontinuation in 76.4% cases. Levamisole may be used as first steroid sparing agent before other immunosuppressive therapies in children with FR/SDNS. Further studies are required for optimal duration and dosage schedule.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.6.2337
How to cite this:Moorani KN, Zubair AM, Veerwani NR, Hotchandani HJ. Efficacy of Levamisole in Children with Frequent Relapsing and Steroid Dependent Nephrotic Syndrome at Tertiary Care Center-Karachi. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(6):1193-1198. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.6.2337
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Extrapulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex infections in immunocompetent patients
Authors: Yim Vivian , Sotello David , Nugent Kenneth 
Published: July 2020

The Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) includes ubiquitous bacteria that typically cause infection in immunocompromised patients. This paper reviews the presentation, diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment of extrapulmonary MAC infections in immunocompetent patients by compiling information from case reports identified by a PubMed search. Mycobacterium avium complex infections in immunocompetent patients can present primarily with extrapulmonary symptoms, and this makes the diagnosis of MAC infection in these patients more difficult. The American Thoracic Society has not established criteria for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary MAC infections; testing for MAC should be based on clinical suspicion or after the exclusion of all other causative agents. Methods of testing should include molecular and biochemical tests, since these tests provide more definitive identification than routine cultures. Extrapulmonary presentations usually respond well to macrolide based multi-drug regimens started as soon as a MAC infection is identified.
Key words: Mycobacterium avium, infection, diagnosis, treatment
The Business Case for Automating Data Management
Authors: Hobart Mark 
Published: July 2020

Back in 2016, IDC forecast a ten-fold increase on business data processed globally by 2025. Combine this with increasing regulatory compliance and demand for quality data, then it is perhaps not a surprise to find that many businesses are feeling somewhat over-whelmed by the enormity of the data management and governance task they face. But, don’t despair, there is a compelling business case, both in terms of efficiency gains and tangible financial savings in adopting a strategy for centralising information governance and automating the management of your data.
This paper will explore the emerging problem domain of data and look at the business case for use of automated data management tools to better prepare your organisation for the tsunami of data coming its way.
Phantom Epistasis in Genomic Selection: On the Predictive Ability of Epistatic Models
Authors: Schrauf Matías F , Martini Johannes W R , Simianer Henner , de los Campos Gustavo , Cantet Rodolfo , Freudenthal Jan , Korte Arthur , Munilla Sebastián 
Published: July 2020

Abstract
Genomic selection uses whole-genome marker models to predict phenotypes or genetic values for complex traits. Some of these models fit interaction terms between markers, and are therefore called epistatic. The biological interpretation of the corresponding fitted effects is not straightforward and there is the threat of overinterpreting their functional meaning. Here we show that the predictive ability of epistatic models relative to additive models can change with the density of the marker panel. In more detail, we show that for publicly available Arabidopsis and rice datasets, an initial superiority of epistatic models over additive models, which can be observed at a lower marker density, vanishes when the number of markers increases. We relate these observations to earlier results reported in the context of association studies which showed that detecting statistical epistatic effects may not only be related to interactions in the underlying genetic architecture, but also to incomplete linkage disequilibrium at low marker density (“Phantom Epistasis”). Finally, we illustrate in a simulation study that due to phantom epistasis, epistatic models may also predict the genetic value of an underlying purely additive genetic architecture better than additive models, when the marker density is low. Our observations can encourage the use of genomic epistatic models with low density panels, and discourage their biological over-interpretation.