bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The evaluation of the reporting quality of observational studies in Master of Public Health’s dissertations in China
Authors: Dai ShuangYang , Zhou Xiaobin , Xu Hong , Li Beibei , Zhang JinGao 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Backgrounds Master of public health (MPH) plays an important role in Chinese medical education, and the dissertations is an important part of MPH education. In MPH dissertations, most are observational studies. Compared with randomized controlled trial (RCT), observational studies are more prone to information bias. So, the reporting of the observational studies should be transparent and standard. But, no research on evaluating the reporting quality of the MPH dissertation has been found. Methods A systematic literature search was performed in the Wanfang database from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2019. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observation Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement was adopted to evaluate the reporting quality of the selected studies. Articles that met the following criteria were selected: (1) observational studies, including cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, and cohort studies; (2) original articles; (3) studies on humans, including both adults and children. Results The Median of compliance to individual STROBE items was 74.79%. The mean (standard deviation) of STROBE score was 14.29 (1.84). Five items/sub-items were 100% reported (“reported” and “partly reported” were combined): background, objectives, study design, report numbers of individuals at each stage, and key result. Fifteen items/sub-items were reported by 75% or more. Reporting of methods and results was often omitted: missing data (6.67%), sensitivity analyses (3.63%), flow diagram (15.15%), and absolute risk (0%). Logistic regression analysis indicated that cohort studies (OR=3.41, 95% CI=1.27-9.16), funding support (OR=4.37, 95% CI=1.27-9.16) and more published papers during postgraduate period (OR=3.46, 95% CI=1.40-8.60) were related to high reporting quality. Conclusion In short, the reporting quality of observational studies in MPH’s dissertations in China is suboptimal. However, it’s necessary to improve the reporting of method and results sections. We recommend that authors should be stricter to adhere STROBE statement when conducting observational studies.
Sickle cell disease in Sri Lanka: Clinical and molecular basis and the unanswered questions about disease severeity.
Authors: Darshana Thamal , Bandara Dayananda , Nawarathne Upul , de Silva Udaya , Costa Yasinta , Pushpakumara Kalavitigoda , Pathirage Sumithra , Basnayake Seuwandi , Epa Chamila , Dilrukshi Pradeepa , Wijayawardena Maheshaka , Anthony Angela A. , Rodrigo Rexan , Manamperi Aresha , Smith Frances , Allen Angela , Menzel Stephan , Rees David , Premawardhena Anuja 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background Though case reports and limited case series of Sickle cell disease in Sri Lanka have been reported previously, no attempt has been made hitherto to undertake a comprehensive genotypic-phenotypic analysis of this “rare” group of patients. Results All accessible Sickle cell disease patients, totaling 60, including, 51 Sickle β-thalassaemia and 9 homozygous sickle patients were enrolled from seven thalassaemia treatment centres between December 2016 - March 2019. The majority of patients were of Sinhalese ethnicity (n=52, 86.67%). Geographically, two prominent clusters were identified and the distribution of Sickle haemoglobin in the island contrasted markedly with the other haemoglobinopathies. 3/ 9 homozygous sickle patients and 3/ 51 Sickle β-thalassaemia patients were receiving regular transfusion. Joint pain was the commonest clinical presentation among all sickle cell disease patients (n=39, 65.0%). Dactylitis was significantly more common in homozygous sickle patients compared with the Sickle β-thalassaemia groups (p 0.027). Two genetic backgrounds sickle mutation were identified namely, Arab Indian and Benin. Among the regulators of Foetal hemoglobin in Sickle patients of the present study rs1427407 G>T seemed to be the most prominent modifier, with a significant association with Foetal haemoglobin levels (p 0.04). Conclusions Overall, the clinical course of the Asian version of Sickle cell disease in Sri Lanka appears to be milder than that described in India.
Association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and extrahepatic cancers: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Liu Shou-Sheng , Ma Xue-Feng , Zhao Jie , Du Shui-Xian , Zhang Jie , Dong Meng-Zhen , Xin Yong-Ning 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background NAFLD is tightly associated with various diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and cancer. Previous studies had investigated the association between NAFLD and various extrahepatic cancers, but the available data to date is not conclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between NAFLD and various extrahepatic cancers comprehensively. Methods Searches were conducted of various electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, and the Cochrane Library) to identify observational studies published between 1996 and January 2020 which investigated the association between NAFLD and extrahepatic cancers. The pooled OR/HR/IRR of the association between NAFLD and various extrahepatic cancers were analyzed. Results A total of 26 studies were included to investigate the association between NAFLD and various extrahepatic cancers. As the results shown, the pooled OR values of the risk of colorectal cancer and adenomas in patients with NAFLD were 1.72 (95%CI: 1.40-2.11) and 1.37 (95%CI: 1.29-1.46), respectively. The pooled OR values of the risk of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in patients with NAFLD were 2.46 (95%CI: 1.77-3.44) and 2.24 (95%CI: 1.58-3.17), respectively. The pooled OR value of the risk of breast cancer in patients with NAFLD was 1.69 (95%CI: 1.44-1.99). In addition, NAFLD was also tightly associated with the risk of gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and esophageal cancer. Conclusions NAFLD could significantly increase the development risk of colorectal adenomas and cancer, intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, breast, gastric, pancreatic, prostate, and esophageal cancer. NAFLD could be considered as one of the influencing factors during the clinical diagnosis and treatment for the extrahepatic cancers.
Deep Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Utilizing Recurrent Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Sarikhani Rahil , Keynia Farshid 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Cognitive Radio (CR) network was introduced as a promising approach in utilizing spectrum holes. Spectrum sensing is the first stage of this utilization which could be improved using cooperation, namely Cooperative Spectrum Sensing (CSS), where some Secondary Users (SUs) collaborate to detect the existence of the Primary User (PU). In this paper, to improve the accuracy of detection Deep Learning (DL) is used. In order to make it more practical, Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) is used since there are some memory in the channel and the state of the PUs in the network. Hence, the proposed RNN is compared with the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), and it represents useful advantages to the contrast one, which is demonstrated by simulation.
A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Digital Therapy for Diabetes Prevention Among High Risk Individual: Study Protocol (the Mydipp Trial)
Authors: Fauzi Nurul Fatihah Mohd , Wafa Sharifah Wajihah , Raj Naresh Bhaskar , Abdullah Mohd Ibrahim , Yusof Barakatun Nisak Mohd , Rawi Norkhairani Abdul , Hassan Nurulhuda Mat 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background: Approximately 37% of the individuals with prediabetes will have diabetes in four years if they do not change their lifestyle through any intervention. Lifestyle modification intervention has shown to be effective in reducing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among high-risk individuals. Some intervention approaches integrate human coaching into technology using phone or email to enable wider reach, known as digital therapy. It is considered as a scalable method to reach a larger population who are at risk, convenient and accessible. This study aims to determine the feasibility and efficacy of lifestyle intervention to prevent type 2 diabetes among adults who are at risk of developing diabetes, an assessor-blinded, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial using the Malaysia Diabetes Prevention Programme (MyDiPP) app.Methods: ‘MyDiPP’ is a 12-month lifestyle intervention digital therapy with multiple approaches (weight loss, dietary modification, physical activity and quality of life). Eligible adults are aged 18-65 years, overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 23 kgm2) and athigh-risk for type2diabetes (American Diabetes Association(ADA) Diabetes Risk Score ≥ 5, or HbA1c of 5.6-6.2%). Each participant will be randomly assigned to one oftwo study groups in 1:1 ratio using simple randomisation to intervention or usual care control groups. The primary outcome is the change in weight at 6 months and 12 months, while the secondary outcomes are changes in HbA1c level, physical activity level, dietary intake and quality of life. The MyDiPP programme is an assessor-blinded, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial, in which the app consists of educational lessons, group, technology-enabled discussions, tools to track nutritional intake, physical activity, body weight and blood glucose level as well as platform to communicate with the health coaches. Discussion: This study is necessary to determine to what extent the intervention programme reduces risks of diabetes risk in comparison to the usual care.Trial registration details:This trial was prospectively registered with Clinical Trial Registry (CTR) on 21st June 2019 with trial registration number NCT03997656.
Multiple Imputation with Missing Indicators as Proxies for Unmeasured Variables: Simulation Study
Authors: Sperrin Matthew , Martin Glen P. 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background: Within routinely collected health data, missing data for an individual might provide useful information in itself. This occurs, for example, in the case of electronic health records, where the presence or absence of data is informative. While the naive use of missing indicators to try to exploit such information can introduce bias, its use in conjunction with multiple imputation may unlock the potential value of missingness to reduce bias in causal effect estimation, particularly in missing not at random scenarios and where missingness might be associated with unmeasured confounders.Methods: We conducted a simulation study to determine when the use of a missing indicator, combined with multiple imputation, would reduce bias for causal effect estimation, under a range of scenarios including unmeasured variables, missing not at random, and missing at random mechanisms. We use directed acyclic graphs and structural models to elucidate a variety of causal structures of interest. We handled missing data using complete case analysis, and multiple imputation with and without missing indicator terms.Results: We find that multiple imputation combined with a missing indicator gives minimal bias for causal effect estimation in most scenarios. It does not introduce bias in missing (completely) at random scenarios, while reducing bias in missing not at random scenarios where the missing mechanism depends on the missing variable itself. The incorporation of a missing indicator can reduce or increase bias when unmeasured confounding is present.Conclusion: In the presence of missing data, careful use of missing indicators, combined with multiple imputation, can improve causal effect estimation when missingness is informative, and is not detrimental when missingness is at random.
Healthcare Integrated Approach as a Dynamic Process leading Innovation and Inclusive growth: Conceptual Framework based on Care Puglia (Italy)
Authors: Orlando Rosa , Viola Carmine , Benvenuto Marco 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background Societal challenges introduced by Horizon 2020 and global challenges around health and environment expressed by seventeen sustainable development goals seek a mission-oriented agenda. Healthcare evaluation require a portfolio of projects with bottom-up experimentation. Current economic evaluations do not include a social component within the analysis. This study describes an integrated care model involving several stakeholders across healthcare sectors primary, secondary, tertiary, private and community sectors. The new integrated care framework has the aim encompass social welfare. Methods The existing evidence about the economic impact of integrated care available in the thin scientific literature is inconclusive. A European programme called Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems Phase 3 presented 24 projects of integrated care service. Those studies were set in fourteen different European countries at exception of Israel and USA. Those projects included telehealth, telecare and independent solutions for older patients with chronic conditions. Those studies mainly identified drivers and barriers of the organizational models to integrate healthcare and social care, they stress the role of Information and Communication technology in facilitating the integration of healthcare and social care. Results Care Puglia based on Assisted Diagnostic & Therapeutic Pathway (PDTA) developed a chronic care clinical network in the southern region of Italy. This study is going to implement a Situational Awareness Team (SAT) with the ability to fuse different types of information generating a real-time sense-check and understanding barriers to change while unfolding the properties of the model. The new framework is going to focus on the Socio-Economic aspect of the Integrated Care system fostering Management Performance, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Sustainability Plan. A well-informed local health authority system counts of better transparency upon local governance. The mainstay of this new integrated approach to healthcare is engaging the process of building organisations to becoming learning organisations. Integrated care results being a dynamic approach to the assessment of health policies to replace the more static cost-benefit approach. This pillar is about a smart thinking allowing innovation and inclusive growth.
Phylogeny of Terrestrial Isopods Based on the Complete Mitochondrial Genomes, Subvert the Monophyly of Oniscidea
Authors: Zhang Rui , Chen Ruru , An Jianmei , Santamaria Carlos A. 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background: Oniscidea is the only truly terrestrial taxon within the Crustacea, and vital to soil formation. However, the monophyly of suborder Oniscidea has been in dispute since 1995, with different studies disagreeing on whether the coastal Ligiidae are included within the suborder. To clarify the phylogenetic hypothesis of suborder Oniscidea, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of Ligia exotica (Roux, 1828) and Mongoloniscus sinensis (Dollfus, 1901).Results: Like most metazoan, the complete mitogenomes of two species with circular double strands. The structure and characters of mitogenomes of these two species are analyzed. The constructed phylogenetic analyses show that Oniscidea is polyphyletic group, with Ligia being more closely related to marine isopods (Valvifera + Cymothoida + Sphaeromatidea).Conclusions: We elevate the taxonomic status of the family Ligiidae to the suborder Ligiaidea which are with parallel rank with Oniscidea. Ligiaidea is much primitive than other exact terrestrial isopods. Crinocheta are strongly monophyly, family Agnaridae is more closely related to Porcellionidae rather than Armadillididae.
Antioxidant Effects of Ocimum Gratissimum Leaf Essential Oils as a Supplement to Extender on Chilled Canine Sperm Quality
Authors: Nguyen Vui Van , Ponchunchoovong Samorn , Kupittayanant Sajeera , Kupittayanant Pakanit 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background:Oxidative stress during chilled storage is a major problem withcanine sperm. To improve the quality of chilled canine sperm during storage, many synthetic antioxidants have been examined, but different outcomes were investigated depending on antioxidant properties. The bioactive compounds of essential oils fromOcimum gratissimumleaves are known as a natural antioxidant source. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant effects of essential oils from Ocimum gratissimumleavesas a supplement in extender on chilled canine sperm during 12 days of storage. Results:The results showed thatlow concentrations of Ocimum gratissimum essential oils (25, 50, and 100µg/mL) have beneficial effectson sperm quality, whereasOcimum gratissimumessential oils athigh levels (above 200µg/mL) have harmful effects. Specifically, the addition of 100µg/mL ofOcimum gratissimum essential oilsto the extender had the greatestbeneficial effect in improving the quality of chilled canine sperm, and had a significant difference in all sperm quality parameters except motility when compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions:Ocimum gratissimum essential oilshave an impact on chilled canine sperm quality in a dose-dependent manner, and the best results areachieved with a maximum dose ofOcimum gratissimum essential oils of 100µg/mL.
Matrine-chitosan hydrogels for treating subclinical bovine mastitis by intramammary infusion—effect on milk microbiome and metabolites
Authors: Wu Fuxin , Zhang Hua , Niu Hui , Xiong Benhai , Tong Jinjin , Jiang Linshu 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
BackgroundThe metabolic processes of cows undergo significant changes during subclinical mastitis, but their molecular mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. This study investigated the changes in milk metabolites after intramammary infusion of matrine, a plant alkaloid with anticancer properties, in the form of a chitosan hydrogel into bovine mammary glands with subclinical mastitis. Infusions were continued for seven days, and milk samples were collected on day 1 and day 7 for analysis of the microbiome by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.ResultsMatrine-chitosan hydrogels (MCHs) significantly decreased the somatic cell count on day 7 and the Simpson index indicated that microbial diversity was significantly lower on day 7 than on day 1. On day 7, the numbers of Aerococcus, Corynebacterium_1 and Staphylococcus were significantly lower, while the abundance of Firmicutes was very significantly decreased. The numbers of Probacteria increased, however. In milk samples, we identified 74 differentially expressed metabolites and the MCH infusion group had the most significantly upregulated metabolites including sphingolipids, glycerophospholipids, flavonoids and fatty acyls. Principal component analysis and the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant test confirmed good separation of the milk metabolites. The identification of active milk metabolic pathways after MCH treatment supported the known antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties of matrine that are associated with glycerophospholipid metabolism and the sphingolipid metabolic signaling pathways.Conciusions﻿These insights into the mechanisms and the corresponding biological responses to matrine demonstrate its potential immunoregulatory activity and emphasize the need for continued investigation.
Health Anxiety of Pregnant Women and Its Related Factors During the Pandemic of Corona Virus
Authors: Saadati Najmieh , Afshari Poorandokht , Boostani Hatam , Beheshtinasab Maryam , Abedi Parvin , Maraghi Elham 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
The pandemic of COVID-19 affected many countries as well as Iran. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health anxiety of the Iranian pregnant women in time of the pandemic of the corona virus.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study 300 pregnant women in different trimesters (n = 100 in each trimester) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire and the Health Anxiety questionnaire were used to collect data. Because of quarantine data were collected through social media groups. The chi-square, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to analyze data.
Results
The total score of anxiety was 22.3 ± 9.5, 24.6 ± 9.3 and 25.4 ± 10.6 in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy. Totally 9%, 13% and 21% of the women had severe anxiety or scores ≥ 35 in the first, second and third trimester of pregnancy respectively. Pregnant women in the third trimester significantly had more health anxiety score than the first trimester ones. Pregnant women in the third trimester had significantly higher scores of “total health anxiety”, in comparison with that of first trimester (p = 0.045).
Conclusion
At the time of the pandemic of COVID-19, women in the second and third trimester of pregnancy were more worry about consequences of disease, but the total score of health anxiety was significantly more in the women in the third trimester of pregnancy. Health care providers should pay more attention to the mental health of pregnant women in times of crises such as Corona pandemic.
The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on Sectoral Growth and Poverty in Africa
Authors: Chukwu Anayochukwu Basil , Adewuyi Adeolu O 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background

This study examines the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) on sectoral growth and poverty reduction in Africa. The transfer of technology into different sectors of economy through FDI has enabled many developing and emerging economies to achieve sustained economic growth and development. However, this is not the case with Africa’s growth architecture and poverty levels. A look at the region’s growth and welfare structure revealed that the FDI-growth-welfare relationship is weak when compared with those of other developing continents such as Asia and Latin America.
Methods

The study adopted recent causality method and simultaneous equation as well as dynamic threshold models to analyze the effect of FDI on sectoral growth and poverty. We accounted for sectoral spillover effect, heterogeneity, simultaneity and cross section dependence in our modeling.
Results

Main findings from our results suggest that FDI promotes outputs of manufacturing and service sectors, but hinders that of agricultural sector, while it fosters human development. Also, the results showed that, while human development promotes output of the agricultural sector, it deters output of manufacturing and service sectors. Further results revealed that only agricultural output improves human development and welfare among countries. The dynamic threshold regression analysis showed that FDI promotes output growth in all sectors with larger effect at levels beyond the optimal HDI.
Conclusions

Africa’s growth architecture is weak to stimulate poverty reduction. For the region to improve its sectoral output growth and welfare using the FDI as a catalyst, a policy framework towards attracting more FDI into the three key productive sectors (especially in the manufacturing and services) is desirable for increased output and poverty reduction. However, to achieve the desired level of poverty reduction, policies should be targeted to sectors with inter-sectoral linkages especially between agricultural and manufacturing sectors along the local and international value chain.