bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Home‐based functional electrical stimulation protocol for people with chronic stroke. Efficacy and usability of a single‐center cohort
Authors: Covarrubias‐Escudero F. , Balbontín‐Miranda F. , Urzúa‐Soler B. , Ciuffardi R. , Muñoz M. , Hernández V. , Appelgren‐González J. P. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractBackgroundStroke survivors often face challenges in recovery and reintegration after acute care. Home‐based rehabilitation, incorporating advanced technologies like Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), shows promise for improving long‐term outcomes by providing more accessible, high‐intensity, and task‐oriented rehabilitation outside traditional clinical settings.MethodThis study assessed efficacy and usability of a 10‐week home‐based rehabilitation protocol for 52 individuals with chronic stroke. The intervention featured a cloud‐based platform, a mobile application, and functional electrical stimulation devices. Participants were categorized into groups for tailored exercise training and received both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. Efficacy was measured through standardized motor function tests, while usability was evaluated based on adherence, patient satisfaction, and the frequency of technical support requests.ResultsHigh adherence (74.03%) and a satisfaction of 73% were observed. On average, patients performed on average 414 min of unsupervised exercise per week. Significant improvement, including a median decrease of 6.08 s (22%) in Timed Up and Go (TUG) [z (24) = 4.17, p < 0.001], a median decrease of 4.04 s (17%) in Five Times Sit to Stand (5STS) [z (28) = 3.96, p < 0.001], Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) showed a mean increase of 3.2 ± 2.8 points, paired t‐test [t (20) = −5.01 p < 0.001] and an increase of 0.095 m/s (28%) in 10‐Meter Walk Test (10MWT) [z (24) = 3.71, p < 0.001]. Clinical relevance was observed in all outcome measures compared with the reported Minimum Detectable Change.ConclusionThis evaluation of a home‐based physiotherapy protocol indicates that integrating FES devices with virtual platforms and mobile applications can sustain high adherence while improving functional outcomes in chronic stroke rehabilitation. The prescription of high‐intensity training, significant improvements in balance, gait, and overall functionality were observed, highlighting the viability of this approach for home‐based programs.
Relationship between the full‐field stimulus test and self‐reported visual function in patients with retinitis pigmentosa: REPEAT Study report No. 3
Authors: Karuntu J. S. , Tulp S. B. A. E. , Boon C. J. F. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractPurposeTo determine the relationship between the full‐field stimulus test (FST) and self‐reported visual function using the Michigan Retinal Degeneration Questionnaire (MRDQ) in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).MethodsIn this cross‐sectional study, patients with clinically diagnosed RP (n = 31) performed FST to determine retinal sensitivity thresholds for blue, red and white stimuli. The difference between the blue and red thresholds was used to identify photoreceptor mediation type. Patients completed the MRDQ from which disability (Θ) scores were derived across seven visual function domains. Correlations between the FST thresholds and MRDQ domain Θ‐scores were analysed using Spearman's rank correlation.ResultsThe median age was 38.0 years, and photoreceptor mediation was rod‐based in 11 patients (35.5%), cone‐based in seven patients (22.6%) and mixed in 13 patients (41.9%). The highest disability scores were reported in the domains of ‘mesopic peripheral function’ and ‘scotopic function’. Significant correlations were found between all chromatic stimuli thresholds and the MRDQ domains of ‘scotopic function’, ‘mesopic peripheral function’ and ‘photopic peripheral function’. The strongest correlations of these domains were observed with the blue FST (p < 0.001). The threshold on blue stimulus FST and age were significant predictors of the domain scores on ‘scotopic function’ (p < 0.001), ‘mesopic peripheral function’ (p < 0.001) and ‘photopic peripheral function’ (p < 0.001).ConclusionsStrong correlations between MRDQ domains related to rod function and FST were found in patients with RP. These findings confirm that FST can be used as an informative and clinically relevant endpoint in RP trials when evaluating therapeutic interventions.
“I have nothing to complain about”: The limits of law in mitigating everyday violence in domestic workers' lives
Authors: Fleischer Friederike 
Published: December 2024

AbstractColombia has taken a leading role in Latin America in recognizing domestic workers' rights, including rights to a salary, social security, and other benefits. Nevertheless, domestic workers remain largely informal, are neither organized nor aware of their labor rights; mistreatment, and racism remain common. Drawing on discussions about domestic work and the struggles for labor organization, in this article I explore this discrepancy. Women's experiences are marked by structural, symbolic, and everyday violence. The private nature of paid domestic work, socioeconomic differences, and the local labor market create a steep power imbalance between workers and employers. Instead of demanding their rights women thus appeal to employers' conscience to treat them well. In effect, the Colombian case highlights that progressive legislation is not enough to change domestic workers' plight. I argue that we need more immediate interventions, such as a universal basic income, welfare programs, or national employment guarantees, which would strengthen women's negotiating power in the labor market. The article contributes to discussions about class, labor rights, and inequality in the Global South and beyond.
Predicting Diagnostic Conversion From Major Depressive Disorder to Bipolar Disorder: An EHR Based Study From Colombia
Authors: Service Susan K. , De La Hoz Juan F. , Diaz‐Zuluaga Ana M. , Arias Alejandro , Pimplaskar Aditya , Luu Chuc , Mena Laura , Valencia‐Echeverry Johanna , Ramírez Mauricio Castaño , Bearden Carrie E. , Sabatti Chiara , Reus Victor I. , López‐Jaramillo Carlos , Freimer Nelson B. , Olde Loohuis Loes M. 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTObjectivesMost bipolar disorder (BD) patients initially present with depressive symptoms, resulting in a delayed diagnosis of BD and poor clinical outcomes. This study aims to identify features predictive of the conversion from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to BD by leveraging electronic health record (EHR) data from the Clínica San Juan de Dios Manizales in Colombia.MethodsWe employed a multivariable Cox regression model to identify important predictors of conversion from MDD to BD.ResultsAnalyzing 15 years of EHR data from 13,607 patients diagnosed with MDD, a total of 1610 (11.8%) transitioned to BD. Predictive features of the conversion to BD included severity of the initial MDD episode, presence of psychosis and hospitalization at first episode, family history of BD, and female gender. Additionally, we observed associations with medication classes (positive associations with prescriptions of mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and negative associations with antidepressants) and a positive association with suicidality, a feature derived from natural language processing (NLP) of clinical notes. Together, these risk factors predicted BD conversion within 5 years of the initial MDD diagnosis, with a recall of 72% and a precision of 38%.ConclusionsOur study confirms previously identified risk factors identified through registry‐based studies (female gender and psychotic depression at the index MDD episode) and identifies novel ones (suicidality extracted from clinical notes). These results simultaneously demonstrate the validity of using EHR data for predicting BD conversion and underscore its potential for the identification of novel risk factors, thereby improving early diagnosis.
Effect of introduction of intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring on glycaemic control in individuals living with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with non‐insulin therapies—A randomised controlled trial
Authors: Ssemmondo Emmanuel , Shah Najeeb , Newham Milly , Rigby Alan , Buckland Rachel , Deshmukh Harshal , Sathyapalan Thozhukat 
Published: December 2024

AbstractAimsThis pilot randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of introducing isCGM on glycaemic control and diabetes distress in individuals with T2DM receiving non‐insulin therapies.Materials and MethodsForty adults with T2DM were randomised to either receive FreeStyle Libre 2 (Libre 2), an isCGM system, or FreeStyle Libre Pro iQ (Libre Pro) also known as ‘blinded’ CGM. Participants were followed for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was a fall in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of ≥5.5 mmol/mol. Diabetes distress was assessed using the two‐item diabetes distress scale (DDS2).ResultsThe median age was 59.5 years; 57.5% were male. Of the Libre 2 users, 53% achieved a ≥5.5 mmol/mol reduction in HbA1c compared to 35% in the Libre pro group (p = 0.34). Compared to Libre Pro, the use of Libre 2 was associated with an improved time in range at 12 weeks of 18 percentage points (confidence interval 2–35, p = 0.028). Participants in the Libre 2 group exhibited a non‐significant reduction in HbA1c levels of 8 mmol/mol compared to the Libre Pro group after 12 weeks. However, no significant differences were observed in other CGM metrics or diabetes distress between the study groups.ConclusionsThe use of isCGM in individuals living with T2DM on non‐insulin therapy showed promise in improving glycaemic control, as evidenced by increased TIR, albeit without a significant reduction in HbA1c or impact on diabetes distress, suggesting this could be potentially beneficial in individuals with T2DM.
Perspective: Hippocampal theta rhythm as a potential vestibuloacoustic biomarker of anxiety
Authors: Bosecke Corey , Ng Marcus , Dastgheib Zeinab , Lithgow Brian John 
Published: December 2024

AbstractAnxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses — afflicting 19% of Americans every year and 31% within their lifetimes — yet diagnoses remain based on symptom checklists because existing technologies have yet to produce biomarkers sufficiently robust for clinical use. Some techniques provide superior spatial resolution of deep brain regions implicated in anxiety but have poor time resolution; while others measure signals in real time but lack spatial resolution. Often, the goal of probing deep brain regions in humans for anxiety research is to measure a putative analogue of a mammalian brain rhythm linked to behaviour that is suggestive of anxiety. This 4–12 Hz, 1–2 mV, behaviourally modulated, nearly sinusoidal “hippocampal theta rhythm” (hTheta) is one of the largest normal extracellular synchronous signals in mammals and although it has been linked to anxiety processes, its function remains unclear. This paper reviews the literature on hTheta as it relates to anxiety and sensory, in particular vestibuloacoustic, signals, concludes that hTheta can modulate sensory signals during anxiety and posits that such modulation of vestibular signals may be an anxiety biomarker that could be detected non‐invasively in humans.
Towards a Design of the Best Practices for AR‐Guided Oral Communication Development: A Systematic Review of Selected Research Published From 2000 to 2023
Authors: Hsu Keng‐Chih , Liu Gi‐Zen 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundAugmented reality (AR) emerges as a technology with considerable promise and substantial potential for pedagogical integration within language education contexts. However, there remains a scarcity of review studies exploring the best practices and principles for oral communication facilitation based on robust theoretical models or research‐proven theories.ObjectivesThis paper aims to explore the major constituents for achieving the successful outcomes of AR‐assisted oral communication, grounded in the theory‐based design model, and formulate theoretical guidelines to enhance the best practice facilitation process.MethodsStarting from 255 sources, 25 studies from the ISI Web of Science were selected through rigorous screening processes based on the guidelines of the PRISMA statement. Furthermore, the researchers adopted qualitative content analysis and complementary quantitative descriptive analysis for data synthesis in accordance with four key variables of the established model.Results and ConclusionsThe results showed that the guided learner‐directed learning approach supported by constructionists and reflective learning mechanisms was identified as an effective pedagogical design. Additionally, educational practitioners could employ hybrid learning strategies, including situated, collaborative, self‐regulated and game‐based learning strategies, to facilitate effective verbal communication. Finally, besides augmenting location‐based content and facilitating contextual information and discussion, AR designers were advised to integrate personalised features such as self‐monitoring and evaluating and learner manipulation of virtual objects into system development to promote learners' locus of control and embodied cognition.
A Giant Left Atrial Appendage Aneurysm With Incessant Atrial Tachycardia
Authors: Wei Hui‐Qiang , Xue Yumei , Wu Shulin , Liao Hongtao 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTIntroductionLeft atrial appendage aneurysm (LAAA) is a rare congenital cardiac anomaly that involves the progressive dilatation of the left atrial appendage (LAA), predisposing the patient to serious complications such as atrial tachyarrhythmias, life‐threatening systemic thromboembolism, and cardiac dysfunction.Methods and ResultsWe described a case of a 36‐year‐old woman with incessant atrial tachycardia (AT) originating from LAAA, which surgical intervention successfully terminated AT after attempted ablation failed. The AT terminated after the LAA was excised. There was no recurrence at the follow‐up period of 3 months.ConclusionWe present and discuss the management of rare incessant AT arising from giant LAAA where the localization was confirmed on electroanatomic mapping. LAA resection via video‐assisted thoracoscopic surgery is minimally invasive approach to manage the LAAA AT, uniformly considered safe and successful.
Opening the Black Box of ‘Convergence’ in the European Monetary Union: A Discursive Analysis
Authors: Alonso Simón Guillermo 
Published: December 2024

Abstract‘Convergence’ stands out as a prominent signifier in discourse about the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), recently also gaining prominence in debates within Comparative Political Economy (CPE) studies on the Eurozone crisis. However, these studies neglect the concept's endogenous deployment in EMU discourse and, therefore, how it influences capitalist restructuring efforts within it. This article tackles the latter by providing a critical policy discourse analysis of key texts throughout the Union's history, linking the use of the term to the institutional development of the EMU. By doing so, not only does it identify the concept's constitutive discursive role as a frame and problem of monetary integration, but it also showcases its limitations from a CPE perspective, specifically by combining insights from the aforementioned studies with those of Europeanisation research and by subsequently criticising the neoclassical and neofunctionalist assumptions guiding ‘convergence’ efforts in EMU.
Classifying and mapping gender ideologies globally: Gender attitudes in 47 countries at the turn of the 21st century
Authors: Shu Xiaoling , Zhu Bowen , Meagher Kelsey D. 
Published: December 2024

AbstractObjectiveThis paper analyzed cross‐national variations in two dimensions of gender attitudes in 47 countries at the turn of the 21st century: beliefs about vertical gender equality and horizontal gender differentiation.BackgroundWe argue that societies do not experience universal, unidirectional progress toward nontraditional gender attitudes. The distribution of global attitudes toward horizontal and vertical gender differentiation displays uneven patterns across nations.MethodUsing data from the World Values Surveys (N = 72,304) and employing machine learning, multilevel linear models, and multilevel multinomial models to analyze individual‐ and country‐level influences.ResultsWe mapped gender ideologies globally by classifying individuals into four domains of ideological space—three varieties of egalitarianism: liberal egalitarian, egalitarian essentialist, and flexible traditionalist values, and one traditional ideology of traditional essentialist.ConclusionsThe liberal egalitarian gender ideology was widespread globally including in Muslim‐majority countries, and country characteristics correlated with gender ideologies in divergent ways. Female labor force participation was associated with three nontraditional ideologies that are progressive at least on one dimension. Economic development was linked with liberal egalitarian and egalitarian essentialist attitudes, both supporting gender equality. Generous public‐funded parental leave policies correlated with flexible traditionalist ideology that buttressed women's dual roles but not gender equality.ImplicationsThese results demonstrated an uneven societal transition in gender attitudes globally. Global gender ideologies charted three divergent trajectories toward multiple forms of non‐traditionalism. Although people in social democratic welfare states, liberal and conservative welfare states, former socialist countries, and Muslim‐majority countries occupied four distinct domains of gender ideology, different nation‐states were not monoliths conforming to the prevailing ideologies of their societies.
A typology of US parents' mental loads: Core and episodic cognitive labor
Authors: Weeks Ana Catalano , Ruppanner Leah 
Published: December 2024

AbstractObjectiveThis article examines whether domestic cognitive labor functions like other forms of domestic labor as a means to “do gender.”BackgroundDomestic cognitive labor is increasingly conceptualized as the invisible thinking work associated with childcare and housework. A critical question for this growing literature is the gender distribution of cognitive labor tasks: do women do it all, or does domestic cognitive labor follow similar patterns to other forms of domestic physical labor (e.g., childcare and housework), cleaving by separate spheres of activity? In this regard, is domestic cognitive labor another way parents “do gender” at home?MethodsApplying unique survey data from a sample of US parents (N = 3000), we assess a 21‐item battery measuring different domestic cognitive labor tasks. We first apply exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to identify whether domestic cognitive labor holds underlying constructs. Second, we estimate whether gender differences in these indices are robust in regression models net of a range of sociodemographic factors.ResultsWe identify that domestic cognitive labor, like other forms of domestic labor, forms two distinct facets, with mothers holding the bulk of the core Daily tasks related to family well‐being and fathers holding the Episodic tasks related to maintenance and finances. Further, we document that, consistent with previous housework literature, question wording structures parents' reported contributions by gender.ConclusionUltimately, our study expands our theoretical, conceptual, and methodological understanding of domestic cognitive labor and points to the value of “doing gender” perspectives.
Invasive Buffelgrass, Cenchrus ciliaris, Balances Opportunistic Acquisition of Foliar fungi With Host and Environmental Filtering in Its Introduced Range
Authors: Bowman Elizabeth A. , Hawkes Christine V. , Jones Nathan , Plowes Robert M. , Martins Dino J. , Gilbert Lawrence E. 
Published: December 2024

ABSTRACTPlants host diverse assemblages of fungi on their foliar tissues, both in internal compartments and on exterior surfaces. When plant distributions shift, they can move with their fungal associates (i.e., co‐introduction) or acquire new associates present in the novel environment (host‐jumping). The fungal communities that plants acquire influence a plant's ability to establish and spread in this new environment. Here, we aimed to assess whether invasive C. ciliaris hosts similar groups of fungi in its native and introduced ranges and to evaluate community overlap of fungi associated with foliar tissue of C. ciliaris and native and non‐native plants within the introduced range. In the introduced range, the majority of OTUs associated with C. ciliaris were not found in its native range, although 3.2% of OTUs were common to both ranges. Of these shared OTU, 77.6% were found on co‐occurring natives and non‐natives in the introduced range, whereas 22.4% were unique to C. ciliaris indicating a possible co‐introduction. Fungal communities within the introduced range contained a higher proportion of generalist symbionts and increased heterogeneity of foliar communities than in its native range. Within the introduced range, host phylogenetic distance explained more variation than native status. Our findings provide evidence that non‐natives acquire fungi opportunistically from their environment, although host and environmental filtering is present suggesting that successful invasive plants may be able to limit the effect of poor symbionts and select for better ones. Future experimental work will be needed to confirm the occurrence of host selection and identify its mechanisms.
Concurrent Fabry disease and IgA nephropathy in a patient with Crohn's disease: A case report
Authors: Choi Heejung , Yim Hyunee , Park Inwhee 
Published: December 2024

AbstractWe present a unique case of concurrent Fabry disease (FD) and IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in a 27‐year‐old female with a 10‐year history of Crohn's disease (CD). The patient presented to the nephrology clinic with microscopic haematuria and proteinuria on routine tests. A kidney biopsy revealed mesangial matrix widening, mesangial cell proliferation, and podocyte enlargement with prominent lacy and clear cytoplasm, as observed with haematoxylin and eosin staining. Immunofluorescence staining demonstrated diffuse immunoglobulin A deposits in the mesangium. Electron microscopy identified myelin‐like figures in the cytoplasm of podocytes and electron‐dense deposits in the mesangium, confirming IgAN and suggesting FD. Subsequent testing showed low alpha‐galactosidase A (α‐gal) enzyme activity in the patient's white blood cells, confirming the FD diagnosis. Enzyme replacement therapy was initiated following the diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of the coexistence of FD, IgAN, and CD in a single patient. This case highlights the importance of considering FD in patients with proteinuria, emphasising the need for comprehensive diagnostic evaluations in complex cases.