bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Human cystic echinococcosis in southwest Iran: a 15-year retrospective epidemiological study of hospitalized cases
Authors: Shahriarirad Reza , Erfani Amirhossein , Eskandarisani Mehrdad , Rastegarian Mohammad , Taghizadeh Hajar , Sarkari Bahador 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundCystic echinococcosis (CE) is considered as a neglected disease with significant mortality and morbidity in most of the developing countries. The current study aimed to retrospectively assess the demographic and epidemiologic features of human CE surgical cases in a 15-year period in Fars province, southwestern Iran.MethodsA 15-year (2004–2018) retrospective study was conducted to find out the epidemiological and clinical picture of CE in patients who undergone surgeries for CE in two main hospitals in Fars Province, southwestern Iran. Hospital records were reviewed, and data were retrieved from each CE patient’s record.ResultsA total of 501 CE surgical cases were recorded during a 15-year period, corresponding to an average annual incidence of 33.4 and a surgical incidence rate of 0.74/100,000 population. Of these, 242 (48.6%) were male, and 256 (52.4%) were female. Patients’ age ranged from 2 to 96 years, with a mean age of 34.92 (± 19.87) years. A significantly higher rate of CE cases was noted in subject’s ≥ 50 years of age. The highest frequency of cases (62:12.5%) was recorded in the year 2017. The most commonly involved organs were liver (339 cases; 57.8%) and lung (279 cases; 47.6%). Concurrent involvement of two organs was seen in 58 (9.9%) cases of both lung and liver, 10 (1.6%) cases of lung and other locations (but not liver), and 23 (3.9%) cases of liver and other locations (but not lung). Reoperation was noted in 67 (13.4%) of the cases. The size of the lung hydatid cyst varied, ranging between 2 and 24 cm (mean = 7.33, SD = 3.737). The size of liver hydatid cysts ranged from 1 to 26 cm (mean 9.04, SD = 4.275).ConclusionThe findings of the current study demonstrated a nearly constant prevalence of CE during the last 15 years in southern Iran. Further studies are needed to find out the reasons behind the recurrence of the disease, which is substantial, in surgically-treated patients.
Rice stem borer species in Tanzania: a review
Authors: January Bonaventure , Rwegasira Gration M. , Tefera Tadele 
Published: June 2020

AbstractRice is an important cereal crop and is cultivated virtually in all agro-ecological zones in Tanzania. However, production capacity is far below the national requirement. One of the major reasons for the low yields of rice in Tanzania is damage by insect pests, particularly rice stem borers. Four rice stem borer species reported to infest rice crop in Tanzania includes the white stem borer, Maliarpha seperatella Ragonot, African pink borer, Sesamia calamistis Hamson, spotted stem borer, Chilo partellus Swinhoe and stalk-eyed fly, Diopsis thoracica Westwood. Inappropriately, the potential for proper management of these stem borers to enhance yield has not been fully realized due to limited information available for the respective stem borer species. Proper management of rice stem borers, therefore, is a pre-requisite for enhanced and sustainable rice production among smallholder farmers that epitomize the rice production industry in Tanzania. In this review, rice stem borers were reviewed with emphasis on occurrence and distribution, nature of damage, biology and life cycle, host plant and management options.
The role of single odontoid screw fixation in treatment of odontoid fracture type II
Authors: Elkholy Ahmed Rizk , Farid Ashraf Mohamed , Shamhoot Ebrahim Ahmed 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Odontoid fractures are the most common cervical fractures specially type II. Anterior odontoid screw fixation has many advantages with low incidence of surgical complications.

Purpose
To evaluate the role of single odontoid screw fixation in surgical treatment of odontoid fracture type II.

Study design
A retrospective clinical case series.

Patients and methods
Twelve patients with acute traumatic odontoid fracture type II were surgically treated by anterior single odontoid screw fixation. The visual analogue scale (VAS) and neck disability index (NDI) were used to evaluate the functional outcome among our patients. Plain radiography and CT cervical spine were done in all cases preoperatively and during our period of follow-up (6 months). Preoperative MRI cervical spine was done in all cases.

Results
The study included 12 patients, four of them (33.3%) were females, and 8 (66.7%) were males with a mean age of 41.7 ± 11.4 years. All patients had acute traumatic odontoid fracture type II, oblique fractures in 10 (83.3%) cases, and transverse fractures in 2 (16.7%) cases. All cases operated for anterior single odontoid screw fixation. During our period of follow-up, VAS and neck disability index were improved in all cases. There were 5 cases (41.7%) with transient dysphagia. Solid fusion was achieved in all cases except in one patient (8.3%) (fibrous union).

Conclusion
Single odontoid screw fixation is useful and safe procedure in surgical treatment of odontoid fractures type II. Careful attention to the technical aspects of the procedure and selection of patients are essential for good outcome.
Hyperpycnal (over density) flows and deposits
Authors: Zavala Carlos 
Published: June 2020

AbstractA hyperpycnal flow forms when a relatively dense land-derived gravity flow enters into a marine or lacustrine water reservoir. As a consequence of its excess of density, the incoming flow plunges in coastal areas, generating a highly dynamic and often long-lived dense underflow. Depending on the characteristics of the parent flow (flow duration and flow rheology) and basin salinity, the resulting deposits (hyperpycnites) can be very variable.According to flow duration, land-derived gravity flows can be classified into short-lived or long-lived flows. Short-lived gravity flows last for minutes or hours, and are mostly related to small mountainous river discharges, alluvial fans, collapse of natural dams, landslides, volcanic eruptions, jökulhlaups, etc. Long-lived gravity flows last for days, weeks or even months, and are mostly associated with medium- to large-size river discharges.Concerning the rheology of the incoming flow, hyperpycnal flows can be initiated by non-Newtonian (cohesive debris flows), Newtonian supercritical (lahars, hyperconcentrated flows, and concentrated flows) or Newtonian subcritical flows (pebbly, sandy or muddy sediment-laden turbulent flows). Once plunged, non-Newtonian and Newtonian supercritical flows require steep slopes to accelerate, allow the incorporation of ambient water and develop flow transformations in order to evolve into a turbidity current and travel further basinward. Their resulting deposits are difficult to differentiate from those related to intrabasinal turbidites. On the contrary, long-lived Newtonian subcritical flows are capable of transferring huge volumes of sediment, freshwater and organic matter far from the coast even along gentle or flat slopes. In marine settings, the buoyant effect of interstitial freshwater in pebbly and sandy hyperpycnal flows can result in lofting due to flow density reversal. Since the excess of density in muddy hyperpycnal flows is provided by silt-clay sediments in turbulent suspension, lofting is not possible even in marine/saline basins. Muddy hyperpycnal flows can also erode the basin bottom during their travel basinward, allowing the incorporation and transfer of intrabasinal sediments and organic matter. Long-lived hyperpycnal flow deposits exhibit typical characteristics that allow a clear differentiation respect to those related to intrabasinal turbidites. Main features include (1) composite beds with gradual and recurrent changes in sediment grain-size and sedimentary structures, (2) mixture of extrabasinal and intrabasinal components, (3) internal and discontinuous erosional surfaces, and (4) lofting rhythmites in marine/saline basins.
Linear mixed-effects models for estimation of pulmonary metastasis growth rate: implications for CT surveillance in patients with sarcoma
Authors: Isidro Ulysses , O'Brien Liam M , Sebro Ronnie 
Published: June 2020

Objectives:
Sarcoma patients often undergo surveillance chest CT for detection of pulmonary metastases. No data exist on the optimal surveillance interval for chest CT. The aim of this study was to estimate pulmonary metastasis growth rate in sarcoma patients.

Methods:
This was a retrospective review of 95 patients with pulmonary metastases (43 patients with histologically confirmed metastases and 52 with clinically diagnosed metastases) from sarcoma treated at an academic tertiary-care center between 01 January 2000 and 01 June 2019. Age, sex, primary tumor size, grade, subtype, size and volume of the pulmonary metastasis over successive chest CT scans were recorded. Two metastases per patient were chosen if possible. Multivariate linear mixed-effects models with random effects for each pulmonary metastasis and each patient were used to estimate pulmonary metastasis growth rate, evaluating the impact of patient age, tumor size, tumor grade, chemotherapy and tumor subtype. We estimated the pulmonary metastasis volume doubling time using these analyses.

Results:
Maximal primary tumor size at diagnosis (LRT statistic = 2.58, df = 2, p = 0.275), tumor grade (LRT statistic = 1.13, df = 2, p = 0.567), tumor type (LRT statistic = 7.59, df = 6, p = 0.269), and patient age at diagnosis (LRT statistic = 0.735, df = 2, p = 0.736) were not statistically significant predictors of pulmonary nodule growth from baseline values. Chemotherapy decreased the rate of pulmonary nodule growth from baseline (LRT statistic = 7.96, df = 2, p = 0.0187). 95% of untreated pulmonary metastases are expected to grow less than 6 mm in 6.4 months. There was significant intrapatient and interpatient variation in pulmonary metastasis growth rate. Pulmonary metastasis volume growth rate was best fit with an exponential model in time. The volume doubling time for pulmonary metastases assuming an exponential model in time was 143 days (95% CI (104, 231) days).

Conclusions:
Assuming a 2 mm nodule is the smallest reliably detectable nodule by CT, the data suggest that an untreated pulmonary metastasis is expected to grow to 8 mm in 8.4 months (95% CI (4.9, 10.2) months). Tumor size, grade and sarcoma subtype did not significantly alter pulmonary metastasis growth rate. However, chemotherapy slowed the pulmonary metastasis growth rate.

Advances in knowledge:
CT surveillance intervals for pulmonary metastases can be estimated based on metastasis growth rate. There was significant variation in the pulmonary metastasis growth rate between metastases within patient and between patients. Pulmonary nodule volume growth followed an exponential model, linear in time.
Major Septal Defects: Comparative Study of Down Syndrome and Non-Down Syndrome Infants, Before and After Surgery
Authors: Aziz Saleha , Ayub Maaha , Masood Laiba , Amanullah Muneer , Hameed Rukhsana , Hashmi Shiraz , Ahmad Waris 
Published: June 2020

Objective: To compare pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative parameters in Down syndrome (DS) and non-DS patients with atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD) and inlet ventricular septal defects (VSD) in a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective study at Aga Khan University, Pakistan. All complete atrioventricular septal defect (CAVSD), partial atrioventricular septal defect (PAVSD), and VSD with inlet extension surgical cases from January 2007 to January 2019 were included. Patients with congenital heart diseases other than those listed above were excluded.
Results: In 61 cases, 18 had DS. Median age, mean body surface area (BSA), and height were lower in DS patients compared to non-DS patients: 7.0 vs 23.0 months, 0.311 vs 0.487 m2, and 63 vs 82 cm, respectively. Bypass duration, aortic cross clamp time, post-operative ventilator hours, dose of inotropes, CICU stay, and total hospital stay were all significantly higher in the DS group. The odds ratio (95% CI) for mortality in DS babies was 6.2 (1.4, 27.1), p=0.015, after adjusting for age, weight, and height. The overall morbidity was comparable between the two groups, demonstrating no significant difference after adjusting for confounders.
Conclusion: DS babies with AVSD and inlet VSD are at a greater risk of mortality compared to non-DS babies, particularly those with CAVSD. Furthermore, DS babies undergo surgery at a younger age and require more aggressive post-operative therapy and monitoring due to the development of complications.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1743
How to cite this:Aziz S, Ayub M, Masood L, Amanullah M, Hameed R, Hashmi S, et al. Major Septal Defects: Comparative study of Down Syndrome and Non-Down Syndrome Infants, before and after surgery. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(5):925-929. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.1743
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.
Frequency and determinants of timely arrival among patients of acute myocardial infarction at a public sector tertiary care hospital in Karachi
Authors: Jalbani Faryal Akbar , Shaikh Shiraz , Fatima Subhani 
Published: June 2020

Objective: To determine the time from onset of symptoms to start of fibrinolysis and treatment in acute ST elevated myocardial infarction patients and identify the factors which cause delay in treatment.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi on 360 conveniently selected patients of ST elevated myocardial infarction from July to September in the year 2017. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain detailed information on socio-demographics, factors which cause delay and timing of onset of symptoms to arrival of patient in emergency ward.
Results: Overall, the total average time from the start of symptoms to initiation of treatment was 119.85±63.32 minutes. Only 5.1% patient reached within one hour while 57.7% reached within two hours. Old age group of 60 and above was positively associated with timely arrival (OR=2.75, 95% CI 1.33-5.68, p=0.006). Significant positive association of using personal car as mode of transport to reach the hospital (OR=5.25, 95% CI 2.94-9.35, p<0.001) was also found as compared to using ambulance. Distance from facility was suggestive of negative association in the model but was statistically insignificant.
Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, more than one third of patients reached the hospital within two hours of initiation of symptoms while only 5.1% reached within one hour. The delay was mostly pre-hospital attributed to arranging transport, stay at first medical contact and time taken from first medical contact to the hospital.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2104
How to cite this:Jalbani FA, Shaikh S, Fatima S. Frequency and determinants of timely arrival among patients of acute myocardial infarction at a public sector tertiary care hospital in Karachi. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(5):914-919. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2104
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.
The Polish adaptation of the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire (DTQ)
Authors: Rzeszutek Marcin , Lis-Turlejska Maja , Pięta Małgorzata , Szumiał Szymon , Kabas Małgorzata , Kaźmierczak Izabela , Drapała Iwona 
Published: June 2020

Cel pracyKonstrukt ujawnienia traumy (ang. trauma disclosure) jest jednym z najważniejszych elementów społeczno-interpersonalnego modelu zaburzenia po stresie traumatycznym (PTSD). Celem niniejszego badania było stworzenie polskiej adaptacji Kwestionariusza Ujawnienia Traumy (ang. Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire; DTQ).MetodaW badaniu wzięło udział 120 uczestników, 51 kobiet i 69 mężczyzn, w wieku w przedziale 18–58 lat (M = 34.52; SD = 9.95). Rzetelność DTQ zmierzono przy wykorzystaniu współczynników alfa Cronbacha i współczynników korelacji wewnątrzklasowej. Trafność DTQ została sprawdzona przy pomocy konfirmacyjnej analizy czynnikowej oraz analizy korelacji wyników DTQ z wynikami Skali Samooceny PTSD według kryteriów DSM-5 (ang. PTSD Diagnostic Scale for DSM-5; PDS-5), Skali Wpływu Zdarzeń (ang. Impact of Event Scale; IES), Kwestionariusza Społecznego Uznania (ang. Social Acknowledgment Questionnaire; SAQ) oraz Skali Depresji Becka (ang. Beck Depression Inventory; BDI).WynikiWartości współczynników alfa Cronbacha były równe:.87 dla podskali niechęć do rozmowy,.74 dla podskali potrzeba rozmowy,.85 dla podskali reakcji emocjonalnych oraz.85 dla wyniku całkowitego DTQ. Uzyskano wysokie wartości współczynników korelacji wewnątrzklasowej:.83 dla niechęci do rozmowy,.71 dla potrzeby rozmowy,.77 dla reakcji emocjonalnych i.76 dla wyniku całkowitego DTQ. Struktura czynnikowa DTQ została potwierdzona przy użyciu konfirmacyjnej analizy czynnikowej. Tak jak oczekiwano, wyniki podskal DTQ były dodatnio skorelowane z nasileniem symptomów PTSD i symptomów depresji oraz brakiem społecznego uznania.WnioskiOtrzymane wyniki empiryczne potwierdziły zadowalające własności psychometryczne DTQ. Narzędzie to może być wykorzystywane do głębszego zrozumienia relacji pomiędzy ujawnieniem traumy i społecznym kontekstem radzenia sobie ze zdarzeniami traumatycznymi.
Slow-light-assisted electrical tuning in hollow optical waveguide via carrier depletion in silicon and indium tin oxide subwavelength gratings
Authors: Rajput Swati , Kaushik Vishal , Jain Sourabh , Kumar Mukesh 
Published: June 2020

An electrically tunable hollow optical waveguide based on
silicon-indium tin oxide (ITO) gratings is proposed to achieve phase
modulation. The hollow waveguide consisting of Si-ITO gratings as top
and bottom reflectors supports the propagation of slow-light mode with
a high group index of 71 and a loss of 0.1 dB/cm in a narrow 1 µm
thick air-core at 1550 nm. Carrier depletion in

p

-type Si and

n

-type ITO enables electrically
controlled phase modulation of the guided slow-light mode. With the
slow-light effect, 180° phase modulation is obtained in a short device
length of 3 mm with a maximum reverse bias of

−

5

volts and 3 dB modulation bandwidth
of 63 GHz.
Single-channel high-transmission optical band-pass filter based on plasmonic nanocavities
Authors: Najafabadi Masoud Mardani , Vahidi Samane , Ghafoorifard Hassan , Valizadeh Mahsa 
Published: June 2020

This paper is concerned with the investigation of an optical band-pass filter based on subwavelength surface plasmon polaritons. The transmission characteristics are numerically analyzed by the finite-difference time-domain method, and simulation results reveal that the structure has a band-pass filtering characteristic. The metal–insulator–metal plasmonic nanostructure is implemented by several vertical rectangular cavities across an optical waveguide. The metal and dielectric materials utilized for the realization of the filter are silver and air, respectively. Furthermore, the performance can be efficiently modified by tuning the geometric parameters such as the cavities’ length and width and the coupling distance between them. The output transmission spectrum shows a single transmission peak over a wide wavelength range of 400 to 2000 nm, while the full width at half-maximum is about 200 nm. The high extinction ratio beyond 40 dB with the low insertion loss makes this filter comparable to those of other proposed band-pass filters. Besides, the operating wavelength of this filter can be expeditiously tuned by adjusting the geometric parameters, mainly the length of the center cavity. The small footprint of the structure contributes to the achievement of wavelength selection systems for optical communications in ultradense plasmonic integrated circuits.
Investigation of C-band pumping for extended L-band EDFAs
Authors: Lei Chengmin , Feng Hanlin , Messaddeq Younès , LaRochelle Sophie 
Published: June 2020

In this study, we present systematic numerical and experimental analysis of high-power C-band light pumping in extended L-band erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). We investigate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, how C-band light sources can be used as pump sources to extend the bandwidth of L-band EDFAs beyond 1610 nm. Results show that, when using a C-band light source as the sole pump, efficient amplification is obtained over the extended L-band, but at the expense of a higher noise figure. However, the advantage of C-band pumping in terms of power conversion efficiency can be exploited when using a two-stage EDFA, with a first stage pumped by 1480 nm to maintain good noise figure performance and a high-power C-band light source (up to several hundred mW) as the pump source for the second stage. Thus, a 20 dB gain covering 1570–1618 nm with a maximum noise figure of 5.7 dB is demonstrated.
Experimental comparison of silica fibers for laser cooling
Authors: Knall Jennifer , Engholm Magnus , Ballato John , Dragic Peter D. , Yu Nanjie , Digonnet Michel J. F. 
Published: June 2020

Laser cooling in silica has recently been demonstrated, but there is still a lack of understanding on how fiber composition, core size, and

O
H

−

contamination influence cooling performance. In this work, six Yb-doped silica fibers were studied to illuminate the influence of these parameters. The best fiber cooled by

−

70

m
K

with only 170 mW/m of absorbed pump power at 1040 nm, which corresponds to twice as much heat extracted per unit length compared to the first reported laser cooling in silica. This new fiber has an extremely low

O
H

−

loss and a higher Al concentration (2.0 wt.% Al), permitting a high Yb concentration (2.52 wt.% Yb) without incurring significant quenching. Strong correlations were found between the absorptive loss responsible for heating and the loss measured at 1380 nm due to absorption by

O
H

−

.
Scaling and cascading compact metamaterial photonic waveguide filter blocks
Authors: Xu Pengfei , Zhang Yanfeng , Zhang Shuzailong , Chen Yujie , Yu Siyuan 
Published: June 2020

In this work, we reported the design and fabrication of a compact and scalable metamaterial longpass filter with an ultrasmall footprint of

5.1

µ

m

×
5.1

µ

m

. In the stopband, light transmission can be blocked and reflected with

∼

25

d
B

attenuation. In the passband, light can pass through with a low insertion loss around

−

0.28

d
B

. The transition band can be redshifted or blueshifted by scaling up or down the filter block; i.e., scaling down 1% can produce a transition band blueshift of 11.4 nm. The power roll-off can be enhanced by cascading multiple filter blocks, i.e., 1.34 dB/nm by cascading three filters. These results demonstrate the great potential of the metamaterial-based waveguide devices for scalable photonic filtering applications.