bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of COVID-19 mitigation measures on the incidence of preterm birth: a national quasi-experimental study
Authors: Been Jasper V , Ochoa Lizbeth Burgos , Bertens Loes CM , Schoenmakers Sam , Steegers Eric AP , Reiss Irwin KM 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIntroductionPreterm birth is the leading cause of child mortality globally, with many survivors experiencing long-term adverse consequences. Preliminary evidence suggests that preterm births dropped dramatically following implementation of policy measures aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsWe undertook a national quasi-experimental difference-in-regression-discontinuity approach to study the impact of the COVID-19 mitigation measures implemented in the Netherlands in a stepwise fashion on 9, 15, and 23 March 2020 on the incidence of preterm birth. We used data from the neonatal dried blood spot screening programme (2010−2020) and cross-validated these against national perinatal registry data. Stratified analyses were conducted according to gestational age subgroups, and sensitivity analyses to assess robustness of the findings. We explored potential effect modification by neighbourhood socio-economic status.ResultsData on 1,599,547 singleton newborns were available, including 56,720 post-implementation births. Consistent reductions in preterm birth were seen across various time windows surrounding implementation of the 9 March COVID-19 mitigation measures: ±2 months (n=531,823): odds ratio 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.66–0.91), p=0.002; ±3 months (n=796,531): 0.85 (0.73–0.98), p=0.028; ±4 months (n=1,066,872): 0.84 (0.73–0.97), p=0.023. Decreases observed following the 15 March measures were of smaller magnitude and not statistically significant. No changes were observed after 23 March. Preterm birth reductions after 9 March were consistent across gestational age strata and robust in sensitivity analyses. They appeared confined to high-socioeconomic status neighbourhoods, but effect modification was not statistically significant.ConclusionIn this national quasi-experimental study, initial implementation of COVID-19 mitigation measures was associated with a 15-23% drop in preterm births in the following months, in agreement with preliminary observations in other countries. It is now of pivotal importance that integration of comparable data from across the globe is undertaken to further substantiate these findings and start exploring the underlying mechanisms.
Role of Flipped Classroom Method in Short and Long Term Retention in Anatomy
Authors: Kasat Payal Arvind , Deshmukh Vishwajit , Muthiyan Gayatri , Gugapriya T.S. , Tarnekar Aaditya , Sontakke Bharat , Sorte Smita 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIntroductionMedical education is changing towards more flexible, effective, active and student-centered teaching strategies that reduces the limitations of traditional methods of education. Recently, the flipped classroom method has been suggested to support this transition. However, research on the use of flipped classroom method in medical education is at its early stage and little is known about its effect on students learning in relation to short and long-term retention of the topics.AimsThe present paper aims to study the comparative effect of traditional and flipped classroom method on short-term and long-term memories of first MBBS students in Anatomy with the aid of technology to promote learning.Materials and methods50 first year MBBS students were subjected to traditional and flipped classroom module separately. Immediate assessments were done at the completion of the module. Followed by a gap of 2 months, the students were again assessed on the content taught in the module as a part of formative assessment. The data so obtained was compared and analyzed statistically.ResultThe assessment scores showed differences between the two methods of teaching in short as well as long term. The flipped classroom method was observed to have significant long-term retention which was evident by assessment scores.ConclusionThe study concludes that flipped classroom method serves as an advantageous tool and motivating factor for effective learning, understanding and retention of conceptual and factual anatomical content.
Respiratory viral infections by Non-influenza viruses are associated with more adverse clinical outcome in patients with underlying liver disease: a single centre laboratory based study
Authors: Gupta Ekta , Padhi Abhishek , Agarwal Kavita , Ramachandran Krithiga , Agarwal Reshu , Rao Pasupuleti Samba Siva , Bhattacharyya Debajyoti , Maiwall Rakhi , Sarin Shiv Kumar 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundRespiratory viral infections are an important cause of acute respiratory tract infections. They are caused by both Influenza and non influenza viruses. Respiratory viral infections are known to be associated with severe clinical outcome especially in the critically ill. A constant surveillance is needed for early etiological identification which can help in timely and appropriate management and will further help in prevention of indiscriminate use of antibiotics in patients with viral etiology.MethodsIn this retrospective study, clinical records of all adult liver disease patients with clinically confirmed ARI, whose request for respiratory viral testing were received in the virology laboratory during September 2016 - March 2019 were reviewed. Respiratory viruses were identified by real time PCR on FilmArray 2.0 instrument (BioFire Diagnostics, Utah, USA) using Respiratory panel as per the manufacturer’s instructions.ResultsOf the 603 patients of liver disease with clinically confirmed influenza like illness, over all incidence of respiratory viral infection was 24.3% (n= 147). Infections by non-influenza viruses (87, 59.1%) were more than influenza group of viruses. Mortality was higher in non influenza group (43, 49.4%) as compared to influenza (24, 40%) [p=0.015] being maximum in Rhinovirus, 22 (32.8%). Two peaks were observed in both influenza and non influenza groups, first in the months of January and February and the other one in August and October.ConclusionWith the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 it has now become imperative for a constant surveillance of the non influenza viruses for early etiological identification of the respiratory viral infection for proper and timely management in the critically ill.HighlightsPatients with liver cirrhosis having Respiratory viral infections have a poor outcome in terms of morbidity and mortality.Mortality associated with non influenza viruses (NIV) is more as compared to influenza virus infections.COVID-19 pandemic and higher mortality in NIVs warrants a constant monitoring of respiratory viral infections.
Genome-wide association and Mendelian randomization analysis prioritizes bioactive metabolites with putative causal effects on common diseases
Authors: Qin Youwen , Méric Guillaume , Long Tao , Watrous Jeramie D. , Burgess Stephen , Havulinna Aki S. , Ritchie Scott C. , Brożyńska Marta , Jousilahti Pekka , Perola Markus , Lahti Leo , Niiranen Teemu , Cheng Susan , Salomaa Veikko , Jain Mohit , Inouye Michael 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBioactive metabolites are central to numerous pathways and disease pathophysiology, yet many bioactive metabolites are still uncharacterized. Here, we quantified bioactive metabolites using untargeted LC-MS plasma metabolomics in two large cohorts (combined N≈9,300) and utilized genome-wide association analysis and Mendelian randomization to uncover genetic loci with roles in bioactive metabolism and prioritize metabolite features for more in-depth characterization. We identified 118 loci associated with levels of 2,319 distinct metabolite features which replicated across cohorts and reached study-wide significance in meta-analysis. Of these loci, 39 were previously not known to be associated with blood metabolites. Loci harboring SLCO1B1 and UGT1A were highly pleiotropic, accounting for >40% of all associations. Two-sample Mendelian randomization found 46 causal effects of 31 metabolite features on at least one of five common diseases. Of these, 15, including leukotriene D4, had protective effects on both coronary heart disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis. We further assessed the association between baseline metabolite features and incident coronary heart disease using 16 years of follow-up health records. This study characterizes the genetic landscape of bioactive metabolite features and their putative causal effects on disease.
Implication of backward contact tracing in the presence of overdispersed transmission in COVID-19 outbreak
Authors: Endo Akira ,   Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases (CMMID) COVID-19 Working Group, Leclerc Quentin J , Knight Gwenan M , Medley Graham F , Atkins Katherine E , Funk Sebastian , Kucharski Adam J 
Published: August 2020

AbstractUnlike forward contact tracing, backward contact tracing identifies the source of newly detected cases. This approach is particularly valuable when there is high individual-level variation in the number of secondary transmissions. By using a simple branching process model, we explored the potential of combining backward contact tracing with more conventional forward contact tracing for control of COVID-19.
EpiGraphDB: A database and data mining platform for health data science
Authors: Liu Yi , Elsworth Benjamin , Erola Pau , Haberland Valeriia , Hemani Gibran , Lyon Matt , Zheng Jie , Gaunt Tom R 
Published: August 2020

AbstractMotivationThe wealth of data resources on human phenotypes, risk factors, molecular traits and therapeutic interventions presents new opportunities for population health sciences. These opportunities are paralleled by a growing need for data integration, curation and mining to increase research efficiency, reduce mis-inference and ensure reproducible research.ResultsWe developed EpiGraphDB (https://epigraphdb.org/), a graph database containing an array of different biomedical and epidemiological relationships and an analytical platform to support their use in human population health data science. In addition, we present three case studies that illustrate the value of this platform. The first uses EpiGraphDB to evaluate potential pleiotropic relationships, addressing mis-inference in systematic causal analysis. In the second case study we illustrate how protein-protein interaction data offer opportunities to identify new drug targets. The final case study integrates causal inference using Mendelian randomization with relationships mined from the biomedical literature to “triangulate” evidence from different sources.AvailabilityThe EpiGraphDB platform is openly available athttps://epigraphdb.org. Code for replicating case study results is available athttps://github.com/MRCIEU/epigraphdbas Jupyter notebooks using the API, andhttps://mrcieu.github.io/epigraphdb-rusing the R package.Contactyi6240.liu@bristol.ac.uk,ben.elsworth@bristol.ac.uk,Tom.Gaunt@bristol.ac.uk
Morphometrical brain markers of sex difference
Authors: Brennan Daniel , Wu Tingting , Fan Jin 
Published: August 2020

AbstractMany major neuropsychiatric pathologies, some of which appear in adolescence, show differentiated prevalence, onset, and symptomatology across the biological sexes. Therefore, mapping differences in brain structure between males and females during this critical developmental period may provide information about the neural mechanisms underlying the dimorphism of these pathologies. Utilizing a large dataset collected through the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, we investigated the differences of adolescent (9-10 years old) male and female brains (n= 8325) by using a linear Support-Vector Machine Classifier to predict sex based on morphometry and image intensity values of structural brain imaging data. The classifier correctly classified the sex of 86% individuals with the insula, the precentral and postcentral gyri, and the pericallosal sulcus as the most discernable features. The role of these significant dimorphic features in psychopathology was explored by testing them as mediators between sex and clinical symptomology. The results demonstrate the existence of morphometrical brain markers of sex difference.Significance StatementMany psychiatric pathologies express differently across the sexes. Therefore, an understanding of the differences in brain structure between males and females during the critical developmental period of adolescence may provide the insights about the dimorphism of clinical symptomology and the general functions of the dimorphic brain structures. Using machine learning, we successfully classified males and females with a high accuracy based on morphometry and image intensity data extracted from structural MRI scans. The features which significantly contributed to classification were examined to determine brain regions which are dimorphic during adolescence. The relevance of these brain regions to the expression of psychopathology symptoms was also explored.
Dynamic encoding of saccade sequences in primate frontal eye field
Authors: Jia Jing , Puyang Zhen , Wang Qingjun , Jin Xin , Chen Aihua 
Published: August 2020

AbstractFrontal eye field (FEF) is a key part of oculomotor system, with dominant responses to the direction of single saccades. However, whether and how FEF contributes to sequential saccades remain largely unknown. Here by training rhesus monkeys to perform sequential saccades and recording the neuronal activities in FEF, we found that the sequence-related activities are clearly represented in FEF, and many neurons’ selectivity to saccade direction undergoes dynamic changes during sequential task. In addition, the sequence-related activities are context-dependent, with different firing activities during memory- versus visually-guided sequence. Supra-threshold microstimulation in FEF evokes saccade without altering the overall sequence structure. Pharmacological inactivation of FEF severely impaired the monkey’s performance of sequential saccades, with different effects on the same actions at different positions within the sequence. These results reveal the context-dependent dynamic encoding of saccade direction in FEF, and underscore a critical role of FEF in planning and execution of sequential saccades.InBriefJia, Puyang et al. employed in vivo recording to reveal the dynamic encoding of sequential saccades in primate frontal eye field (FEF), then used electric microstimulation and reversible inactivation to demonstrate the causal role of FEF in controlling saccade sequences.HighlightsFEF neurons respond differently during sequential vs. single saccadesSequence-related FEF activity is context-dependentFEF microstimulation induced saccade without altering sequence structureFEF inactivation severely impaired the performance of sequential saccades
Timely Epidemic Monitoring in the Presence of Reporting Delays: Anticipating the COVID-19 Surge in New York City, September 2020
Authors: Harris Jeffrey E. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDuring a fast-moving epidemic, timely monitoring of case counts and other key indicators of disease spread is critical to an effective public policy response. We describe a nonparametric statistical method, originally applied to the reporting of AIDS cases in the 1980s, to estimate the distribution of reporting delays of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York City during the late summer and early fall of 2020. During August 15 - September 26, the estimated mean delay in reporting was 3.3 days, with 87 percent of cases reported by 5 days from diagnosis. Relying upon the estimated reporting-delay distribution, we projected COVID-19 incidence during the most recent three weeks as if each case had instead been reported on the same day that the underlying diagnostic test had been performed. Applying our delay-corrected estimates to case counts reported as of September 26, we projected a surge in new diagnoses that had already occurred but had yet to be reported. Our projections were consistent with counts of confirmed cases subsequently reported by November 7. The resulting estimate of recently diagnosed cases could have had an impact on timely policy decisions to tighten social distancing measures. While the recent advent of widespread rapid antigen testing has changed the diagnostic testing landscape considerably, delays in public reporting of SARS-CoV-2 case counts remain an important barrier to effective public health policy.
Identification of genetic factors influencing metabolic dysregulation and retinal support for MacTel, a retinal disorder
Authors: Bonelli R , Jackson VE , Prasad A , Munro JE , Heeren TFC , Pontikos N , Scheppke L , Friedlander M ,   MacTel Consortium, Egan CA , Allikmets R , Ansell BRE , Bahlo M 
Published: August 2020

AbstractMacular Telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel) is a rare degenerative retinal disease with complex genetic architecture. We performed a genome-wide association study on 1,067 MacTel patients and 3,799 controls, which identified eight novel genome-wide significant loci (p<5E-8), and confirmed all three previously reported loci. Using MAGMA, eQTL and transcriptome-wide association analysis, we prioritised 48 genes implicated in serine-glycine biosynthesis, metabolite transport, and retinal vasculature and thickness. Mendelian randomization indicated a likely causative role of serine (FDR=3.9E-47) and glycine depletion (FDR=0.006) as well as alanine abundance (FDR=0.009). Polygenic risk scoring achieved an accuracy of 0.74 and was associated in UKBiobank with retinal damage (p=0.009). This represents the largest genetic study on MacTel to date, and further highlights genetically-induced systemic and tissue-specific metabolic dysregulation in MacTel patients, which impinges on retinal health.
Using Real-World Data to Rationalize Clinical Trials Eligibility Criteria Design: A Case Study of Alzheimer’s Disease Trials
Authors: Li Qian , Guo Yi , He Zhe , Zhang Hansi , George Thomas J , Bian Jiang 
Published: August 2020

AbstractLow trial generalizability is a concern. The Food and Drug Administration had guidance on broadening trial eligibility criteria to enroll underrepresented populations. However, investigators are hesitant to do so because of concerns over patient safety. There is a lack of methods to rationalize criteria design. In this study, we used data from a large research network to assess how adjustments of eligibility criteria can jointly affect generalizability and patient safety (i.e the number of serious adverse events [SAEs]). We first built a model to predict the number of SAEs. Then, leveraging an a priori generalizability assessment algorithm, we assessed the changes in the number of predicted SAEs and the generalizability score, simulating the process of dropping exclusion criteria and increasing the upper limit of continuous eligibility criteria. We argued that broadening of eligibility criteria should balance between potential increases of SAEs and generalizability using donepezil trials as a case study.
The Risk of Bias in Iranian Randomized Controlled Trials Included in Cochrane Reviews
Authors: Kabir Ali , Sofi-Mahmudi Ahmad , Behnagh Arman Karimi , Eidkhani Vahid , Baradaran Hamid Reza , Kabiri Payam , Haghdoost Ali Akbar , Mesgarpour Bita 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundRandomised controlled trials (RCT) provide the highest level of evidence among interventional studies. However, RCTs may be susceptible to the risk of bias (RoB). Therefore, systematic reviews appraise the RoB in all included studies in a review by using evaluation tools. This study aimed to describe the main characteristics of RCTs conducted in Iran and included in Cochrane Reviews (CRs) by focusing on their RoB.MethodsWe searched “Iran” by selecting the “Search All Text” field and “Review” in the Cochrane Database of systematic Review within Ovid. We retrieved CRs that included Iranian controlled trials. We selected trials only if they had involved human subjects, described as a controlled clinical trial, included in CRs and therefore the review authors assessed their RoBs. The characteristics of trials have been extracted by looking at the table “Characteristics of included studies” in each CRs as well as the relevant papers. To addressing RoB, we collected the judgment of the review authors according to the table of RoB assessments in CRs.ResultsThere were 1166 Iranian RCTs included in 571 CRs. From all these studies, 44.9% were at low RoB for random sequence generation, 20.8% for allocation concealment, 32.3% for blinding of participants/personnel, 36.5% for blinding of outcome assessors, 56.3% for incomplete outcome data, 41.3% selective reporting, and 53.8% for other bias.ConclusionRoB was mainly high or unclear in Iranian RCTs. Special attention must be paid to methodological quality of RCTs in Iran accordingly.
Comparing the impact on COVID-19 mortality of self-imposed behavior change and of government regulations across 13 countries
Authors: Jamison Julian C. , Bundy Donald , Jamison Dean T. , Spitz Jacob , Verguet Stéphane 
Published: August 2020

SummaryBackgroundCountries have adopted different approaches, at different times, to reduce the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Cross-country comparison could indicate the relative efficacy of these approaches. We assess various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) over time, comparing the effects of self-imposed (i.e. voluntary) behavior change and of changes enforced via official regulations, by statistically examining their impacts on subsequent death rates in 13 European countries.Methods and findingsWe examine two types of NPI: the introduction of government-enforced closure policies over time; and self-imposed alteration of individual behaviors in response to awareness of the epidemic, in the period prior to regulations. Our proxy for the latter is Google mobility data, which captures voluntary behavior change when disease salience is sufficiently high. The primary outcome variable is the rate of change in COVID-19 fatalities per day, 16-20 days after interventions take place. Linear multivariate regression analysis is used to evaluate impacts. Voluntarily reduced mobility, occurring prior to government policies, decreases the percent change in deaths per day by 9.2 percentage points (95% CI 4.5-14.0 pp). Government closure policies decrease the percent change in deaths per day by 14.0 percentage points (95% CI 10.8-17.2 pp). Disaggregating government policies, the most beneficial are intercity travel restrictions, cancelling public events, and closing non-essential workplaces. Other sub-components, such as closing schools and imposing stay-at-home rules, show smaller and statistically insignificant impacts.ConclusionsThis study shows that NPIs have substantially reduced fatalities arising from COVID-19. Importantly, the effect of voluntary behavior change is of the same order of magnitude as government-mandated regulations. These findings, including the substantial variation across dimensions of closure, have implications for the phased withdrawal of government policies as the epidemic recedes, and for the possible reimposition of regulations if a second wave occurs, especially given the substantial economic and human welfare consequences of maintaining lockdowns.