bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nanotechnology advances towards development of targeted-treatment for obesity
Authors: Sibuyi Nicole Remaliah Samantha , Moabelo Koena Leah , Meyer Mervin , Onani Martin Opiyo , Dube Admire , Madiehe Abram Madimabe 
Published: December 2019

AbstractObesity through its association with type 2 diabetes (T2D), cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), poses a serious health threat, as these diseases contribute to high mortality rates. Pharmacotherapy alone or in combination with either lifestyle modification or surgery, is reliable in maintaining a healthy body weight, and preventing progression to obesity-induced diseases. However, the anti-obesity drugs are limited by non-specificity and unsustainable weight loss effects. As such, novel and improved approaches for treatment of obesity are urgently needed. Nanotechnology-based therapies are investigated as an alternative strategy that can treat obesity and be able to overcome the drawbacks associated with conventional therapies. The review presents three nanotechnology-based anti-obesity strategies that target the white adipose tissues (WATs) and its vasculature for the reversal of obesity. These include inhibition of angiogenesis in the WATs, transformation of WATs to brown adipose tissues (BATs), and photothermal lipolysis of WATs. Compared to conventional therapy, the targeted-nanosystems have high tolerability, reduced side effects, and enhanced efficacy. These effects are reproducible using various nanocarriers (liposomes, polymeric and gold nanoparticles), thus providing a proof of concept that targeted nanotherapy can be a feasible strategy that can combat obesity and prevent its comorbidities.
From opiates to methamphetamine: building new harm reduction responses in Jakarta, Indonesia
Authors: Rigoni Rafaela , Woods Sara , Breeksema Joost J. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Despite the rise of stimulant use, most harm reduction programs still focus on people who inject opioids, leaving many people who use methamphetamine (PWUM) underserviced. In Asia, especially, where methamphetamine prevalence has overtaken opioids prevalence, harm reduction programs assisting PWUM are rare. The few existing innovative practices focusing on methamphetamine use lie underreported. Understanding how these programs moved their focus from opiates to methamphetamine could help inspire new harm reduction responses. Hence, this paper analyzes a newly implemented outreach program assisting methamphetamine users in Jakarta, Indonesia. It addresses the program’s critical learning points when making the transition to respond to stimulant use.

Methods
This case study is part of a more extensive research on good practices of harm reduction for stimulant use. For this case study, data was collected through Indonesian contextual documents and documents from the program, structured questionnaire, in-depth interviews with service staff and service users, a focus group discussion with service users, and in-loco observations of activities. For this paper, data was reinterpreted to focus on the key topics that needed to be addressed when the program transitioned from working with people who use opioids to PWUM.

Results
Four key topics were found: (1) getting in touch with different types of PWUM and building trust relationships; (2) adapting safer smoking kits to local circumstances; (3) reframing partnerships while finding ways to address mental health issues; and (4) responding to local law enforcement practices.

Conclusions
The meaningful involvement of PWUM was essential in the development and evaluation of outreach work, the planning, and the adaptation of safer smoking kits to local circumstances. Also, it helped to gain understanding of the broader needs of PWUM, including mental health care and their difficulties related to law enforcement activities. Operating under a broad harm reduction definition and addressing a broad spectrum of individual and social needs are preferable to focusing solely on specific interventions and supplies for safer drug use. Since many PWUM smoke rather than inject, securing funding for harm reduction focused on people who do not inject drugs and/or who do not use opioids is fundamental in keeping programs sustainable.
Demographic and clinical predictors of health-related quality of life among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus living in northern Thailand: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Khunkaew Saneh , Fernandez Ritin , Sim Jenny 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease which is growing global health problems. However, research on such prediction of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Thailand is limited, in particular on the demographic and clinical characteristic in each HRQOL domains. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the demographic and clinical predictors of health-related quality of life among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Northern Thailand.

Methods
A cross-sectional study of people with T2DM at a large teaching hospital in Northern Thailand was conducted. The HRQOL was evaluated using the Thai version of Diabetes-39. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize the demographic and HRQOL scores. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of overall HRQOL and the predictors of each D-39 dimension.

Results
A total of 502 people with T2DM were recruited. Forty-one were identified as having diabetic foot ulcers. The mean score for perception of overall HRQOL was 61.18 (SD 18.74). Scores in the D-39 questionnaire showed a poor HRQOL among people with T2DM. The predictors of demographic and clinical characteristics of people with T2DM were calculated for overall HRQOL and all six domains.

Conclusion
These results demonstrate that people with T2DM have a poor HRQOL. The presence of diabetic foot ulcers and smoking status were identified as significant predictors of low HRQOL in the domains relating to diabetes control, social burden and energy and mobility presence of obesity, receiving insulin injection or a combination of insulin and oral medication were predictors of poor HRQOL in the domain of other health problems and diabetes complications. These findings allow for a nursing care plan for diabetes management to achieve optimal glycaemic control and improve their HRQOL.
Assessment of quality of life among parents of children with congenital heart disease using WHOQOL-BREF: a cross-sectional study from Northwest Saudi Arabia
Authors: Khoshhal Saad , Al-Harbi Khaled , Al-Mozainy Ibrahim , Al-Ghamdi Saeed , Aselan Adnan , Allugmani Mohammad , Salem Sherif , El-Agamy Dina , Abo-Haded Hany 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background and aims
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has garnered increasing interest especially for health care providers and researchers. The study aims to evaluate the HRQOL in parents of congenital heart disease (CHD) children, and to clarify the effect of the disease severity on the outcome of the HRQOL perception. Also, to analyze the internal consistency of the Arabic version of the World Health Organization (WHO) QOL-BREEF tool in order to determine whether the tool had good validity for the target population.

Methods
A cross-sectional study. The HRQOL perception was evaluated using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire, and the internal consistency of the tool was tested using Cronbach’s alpha (α-C),

Results
The study sample consisted of 200 individuals, 120 parents of CHD children, compared to 80 parents of children with minor illnesses (mean age of participating parents = 35.1 ± 9.8 years). While evaluating the HRQOL, the group of parents of children with minor illnesses had higher scores than the total group of parents of CHD children in all domains, indicating a better HRQOL.
Class-IV subgroup of parents of CHD children showed the most significant lower total score of domains between all classes (44.47 ± 12, p < 0.001). With respect to the internal consistency of the WHOQOL-BREF, estimation of α-C values were 0.84 points for the group of parents of CHD children, and 0.87 for the group of parents of children with minor illnesses.

Conclusions
This short-term study emphasized that, HRQOL scores among parents of CHD children are compromised, and the severity of their children illness significantly affect the total score of domains in their HRQOL perception. Furthermore, the tool showed to be practical and efficient to evaluate the QOL of parents of CHD children in our population in future researches.
Measuring the outcomes of long-term care for unpaid carers: comparing the ASCOT-Carer, Carer Experience Scale and EQ-5D-3 L
Authors: Rand Stacey , Malley Juliette , Vadean Florin , Forder Julien 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe ASCOT-Carer and Carer Experience Scale are instruments designed to capture aspects of quality of life ‘beyond health’ for family carers. The aim of this study was to compare and validate these two carer care-related measures, with a secondary aim to compare both instruments to the three-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-3 L) measure of health-related quality of life.MethodsAn interview survey was conducted with 387 carers of adults who used long-term care (also known as social care) support in England. Construct validity by hypothesis testing was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Exploratory factor analysis was also applied to investigate the dimensionality of the combined items from the ASCOT-Carer and CES (as measures of carer quality of life ‘beyond health’) and the EQ-5D (as a measure of health-related quality of life).ResultsIn the construct validity analysis, hypothesised differences in correlations were observed with two exceptions. The exploratory factor analysis indicated that the ASCOT-Carer, CES and EQ-5D-3 L items loaded onto three separate factors. The first factor comprised the seven ASCOT-Carer items plus two CES items (activities outside caring, support from friends and family). The second factor comprised three of the six CES items (fulfilment from caring, control over caring and getting on with the person you care for). The third factor included four of the five EQ-5D-3 L items.ConclusionThe findings indicate that the ASCOT-Carer, CES and EQ-5D-3 L capture separate constructs of social care-related quality of life (ASCOT-Carer) and carer experience (CES), which partially overlap in relation to activities outside caring and social support, and health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-3 L). The ASCOT-Carer and CES are both promising measures for the evaluation of social care support for carers that capture aspects of quality of life ‘beyond health’. The choice of whether to use the ASCOT-Carer or CES depends on the study objectives.
Reliability and validity of Amharic version of EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 modules for assessing health-related quality of life among breast cancer patients in Ethiopia
Authors: Gadisa Diriba Alemayehu , Gebremariam Esayas Tadesse , Ali Getnet Yimer 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and it affects quality of life of those women. So far, the two most frequently used tools for assessing health related quality of life in breast cancer patients, EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 modules, were not validated in Ethiopia. Hence, the present study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the tools among Ethiopian breast cancer patients.

Methods
Institutional based longitudinal study was conducted from January 1 to May 1, 2017 GC at only nationwide oncology center, Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 146 patients who visited the facility during that period, with no missing quality of life data, were selected for analysis. The psychometric properties of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 were evaluated in terms of reliability, convergent, divergent, construct and clinical validity using SPSS version 22.

Results
Satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α coefficients > 0.7) was confirmed, except for cognitive function (α = 0.516) of EORTC QLQ-C30 and body image (α = 0.510) of EORTC QLQ-BR23. Multiple-trait scaling analysis demonstrated a good convergent and divergent validity. No scaling errors were observed. Most items in EORTC QLQ-BR23 possessed a weak or no correlation with its own dimension in EORTC QLQ-C30 (r < 0.4) except with some of symptom scales. A statistically significant chemotherapy induced quality of life scores changes (P ≤ 0.05) were observed in all dimensions of both instruments between baseline and the end of first cycle chemotherapy, except for body image (P = 0.985) and sexual enjoyment (P = 0.817) of EORTC QLQ-BR23, indicating clinical validity.

Conclusion
Amharic version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 modules are valid and adequately reliable tool and can be used for clinical and epidemiological cancer researches to study the health related quality of life (HRQoL) of women with breast cancer in Ethiopia.
Clinical analysis of adrenal lesions larger than 5 cm in diameter (an analysis of 251 cases)
Authors: Zhang Zongzong , Wang Lina , Chen Jing , Li Xiunan , Liu Dikuan , Cao Tianyu , Yang Xuehan , Huang Hongwei , Wang Xuejian , Song Xishuang , Yang Deyong , Wang Jianbo 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
To describe the pathological distribution, imaging manifestations, and surgical managements and prognosis of large adrenal tumors (LATs) ≥ 5 cm

Methods
A total of 251 patients with LATs were analyzed on the basis of pathological or clinical diagnosis. Regarding surgery, open adrenalectomy was performed on 89 patients, and laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed on 89 patients. Thirty-two patients with bilateral tumors were analyzed in terms of clinical characteristics. The survival rate was determined for 43 patients with adrenal metastases and 29 patients with primary adrenal malignancies. The CT characteristics including tumor diameter, shape, edge, heterogeneity, necrosis, calcification, pre-contrast attenuation, and contrast attenuation were analyzed for 117 patients.

Results
The majority of LATs were still benign, but they had a higher probability to be malignant. Benign LATs made up 68.13% of all cases, mainly adrenal cysts (19.52%), pheochromocytoma (18.73%), benign adenoma (16.73%), and myelolipoma (7.17%). Malignant LATs accounted for 28.69% of cases, mainly including adrenocortical carcinoma (8.76%) and metastases (17.13%). Laparoscopic surgery was found to involve less trauma than open surgery. It was also safer and postoperative recovery was faster, but it had drawbacks and could not completely replace open surgery. CT features had obvious specificity for the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors. For example, benign adenomas had a smaller pre-contrast (< 10 Hu) whereas malignant adrenal tumors had, on the contrary, higher attenuation. Regarding adrenal malignant carcinoma, adrenal primary malignant tumors showed a better prognosis than adrenal metastases (mean survival of 19.17 months vs 9.49 months). Primary adrenal cortical carcinoma without metastasis had a better prognosis than primary adrenal cortical carcinoma metastasis (mean survival of 23.71 months vs 12.75 months), and adrenal solitary metastasis had a better prognosis than general multiple metastatic carcinoma (mean survival of 14.95 months vs 5.17 months).

Conclusion
LATs were more likely to be benign; however, they still had a high probability of being a malignant tumor. Understanding the clinicopathological characteristics of LATs can facilitate selection of more effective clinical treatment options.
Natural course of diffuse large B cell lymphoma—a manifestation in buccal mucosa
Authors: Batta Nishant , Shukla Mridula , Pandey Manoj 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Transformation and progression of lymphoma after treatment is well known; however, since the advent of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, progression in untreated lymphoma is seldom seen. We present a case which was misdiagnosed and treated as abdominal tuberculosis later presented with progression and involvement of oral cavity.

Case presentation
A 41-year-old male who presented with urinary symptoms and abdominal pain was diagnosed as abdominal tuberculosis and treated. Two years later, he presented with B symptoms and oral cavity lesion that was diagnosed as diffuse large B cell lymphoma. The patient was treated with R-CHOP chemotherapy with complete regression of the lesion.

Conclusion
Involvement of extranodal sites in predominantly nodal disease does occur; however, involvement of oral cavity is rare. Though primary extranodal lymphoma is reported to occur in oral cavity and oropharynx, natural progression in untreated disease is seldom documented.
The precarization of the Mexican nursing labor market: a repeated cross-sectional analysis for the period 2005–2018
Authors: Aristizabal Patricia , Nigenda Gustavo , Serván-Mori Edson 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Precarization of labor conditions has been expanding over the last three decades as a consequence of global economic transformations. The health workforce labor market is exposed to these transformations as well. In Mexico, analyses of the nursing labor market have documented high levels of unemployment and underemployment; however, precarization has been not considered as a relevant indicator in these analyses. In this study, precarization is analyzed using a quantitative approach to show its prevalence and geographic distribution between 2005 and 2018.

Methods
A repeated cross-sectional study was carried out with data from the population-based National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE in Spanish) which is administered quarterly to people 15 years or older in over 120 000 households. All individuals who reported having nursing training (technical or university level) were selected for this study. Our main variable was labor precariousness, which included three dimensions: (i) economic, (ii) regulatory, and (iii) occupational safety. We show the evolution of the relative weight of nursing activity between the years 2005 and 2018, the main socio-demographic characteristics of nurses as well as their main labor conditions, and the geographic distribution of precariousness for the 32 federal states in México.

Results
Four of the five indicators of labor precariousness increased among the group of nurses analyzed: (a) the percentage of people with no written contract, (b) the percentage of people with incomes lower than two times the minimum wage, (c) the percentage of nurses without social security, and (d) the percentage of nurses without social benefits. The percentage of nurses that work under some condition of work precariousness increased from 46% in 2005–2006 to 54% in 2018. Finally, the number of states with high precariousness level increased from seven in 2005–2006 to 17 in 2018.

Conclusions
Throughout Mexico, nursing precariousness has expanded reaching 53% by 2018. The advancement of precarization of nursing jobs implies a reduction in the capacity of the Mexican health system to reach its coverage and care goals as nurses represent 52% of all available workers that provide direct services to the population.
Organisational factors that facilitate research use in public health policy-making: a scoping review
Authors: Jakobsen Mette Winge , Eklund Karlsson Leena , Skovgaard Thomas , Aro Arja R. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundAlthough important syntheses and theoretical works exist in relation to understanding the organisational factors that facilitate research use, these contributions differ in their scope and object of study as well as their theoretical underpinnings. Therefore, from an exploratory angle, it may be useful to map out the current literature on organisational factors of research use in public health policy-making when revisiting existing theories and frameworks to gain further theoretical insights.MethodsHerein, a scoping review technique and thematic content analysis were used to bring together findings from both synthesised and empirical studies of different types to map out the organisational factors that facilitate research use in public health policy-making.ResultsA total of 14 reviews and 40 empirical studies were included in the analysis. These were thematically coded and the intra-organisational factors reported as enabling research use were examined. Five main categories of organisational factors that advance research use in policy organisations – (1) individual factors, (2) the management of research integration, (3) organisational systems and infrastructures of research use, (4) institutional structures and rules for policy-making, and (5) organisational characteristics – were derived as well as 18 subcategories and a total of 64 specific factors, where 27 factors were well supported by research.ConclusionsUsing a scoping review methodology, the intra-organisational factors influencing research use in policy-making (including individual factors) were systematically mapped and the theories applied in this area of research were assessed. The review findings confirm the importance of an intra-organisational perspective when exploring research use, showing that many organisational factors are critical facilitators of research use but also that many factors and mechanisms are understudied. The synthesis shows a lack of studies on politicians and the need for more theoretically founded research. Despite increased efforts to update the existing evidential and theoretical basis of research use, we still need frameworks that combine different approaches and theories to help us grasp the complex organisational mechanisms that facilitate research use in policy settings.
A literature review of knowledge translation and partnership research training programs for health researchers
Authors: Tait Hannah , Williamson Anna 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Researchers and policy-makers are increasingly working together with the goal of creating research that is focused on solving real-world problems; however, knowledge translation (KT) activities, and the partnerships they often require, can be challenging. The aim of this review is to determine the extent of the literature on training programs designed to improve researcher competency in KT and to describe existing training methods that may be used by those hoping to build capacity for partnership research.

Methods
MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched for peer review articles published between January 2000 and July 2019. Studies were eligible for inclusion in the review if they described the development of, curriculum for, or evaluation of KT and/or partnership research training programs. Data extraction included information on evaluation methods, outcomes and implications as well as the format, aims and themes of each capacity-building program.

Results
The review identified nine published articles that met inclusion criteria – four papers described training events, two papers described participant experiences of specific learning sessions within a larger training course, two papers described part time secondments for KT capacity-building and one paper described a plan for KT training embedded within an existing research training course. All programs were delivered face-to-face, all included practical skills-building opportunities, and all employed multiple learning modalities such as seminars and small group discussions. Evaluation of the training programs was primarily conducted through qualitative interviews or feedback surveys.

Conclusion
To date, few KT training initiatives have been described in the literature and none of these have been rigorously evaluated. The present review offers insights into the planning, development and participant experiences associated with the small number of training initiatives that have been described. There is insufficient evidence available at present to identify the most effective models for training researchers in KT and partnership skills.