bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of conflict during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2018–2019
Authors: Kraemer Moritz U. G. , Pigott David M. , Hill Sarah C. , Vanderslott Samantha , Reiner Robert C. , Stasse Stephanie , Brownstein John S. , Gutierrez Bernardo , Dennig Francis , Hay Simon I. , Wint G. R. William , Pybus Oliver G. , Castro Marcia C. , Vinck Patrick , Pham Phuong N. , Nilles Eric J. , Cauchemez Simon 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background
The 2018–2019 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest ever recorded in the DRC. It has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The outbreak emerged in a region of chronic conflict and insecurity, and directed attacks against health care workers may have interfered with disease response activities. Our study characterizes and quantifies the broader conflict dynamics over the course of the outbreak by pairing epidemiological and all available spatial conflict data.

Methods
We build a set of conflict variables by mapping the spatial locations of all conflict events and their associated deaths in each of the affected health zones in North Kivu and Ituri, eastern DRC, before and during the outbreak. Using these data, we compare patterns of conflict before and during the outbreak in affected health zones and those not affected. We then test whether conflict is correlated with increased EVD transmission at the health zone level.

Findings
The incidence of conflict events per capita is ~ 600 times more likely in Ituri and North Kivu than for the rest of the DRC. We identified 15 time periods of substantial uninterrupted transmission across 11 health zones and a total of 120 bi-weeks. We do not find significant short-term associations between the bi-week reproduction numbers and the number of conflicts. However, we do find that the incidence of conflict per capita was correlated with the incidence of EVD per capita at the health zone level for the entire outbreak (Pearson’s r = 0.33, 95% CI 0.05–0.57). In the two provinces, the monthly number of conflict events also increased by a factor of 2.7 in Ebola-affected health zones (p value < 0.05) compared to 2.0 where no transmission was reported and 1.3 in the rest of the DRC, in the period between February 2019 and July 2019.

Conclusion
We characterized the association between variables documenting broad conflict levels and EVD transmission. Such assessment is important to understand if and how such conflict variables could be used to inform the outbreak response. We found that while these variables can help characterize long-term challenges and susceptibilities of the different regions they provide little insight on the short-term dynamics of EVD transmission.
Expression of MuRF1 or MuRF2 is essential for the induction of skeletal muscle atrophy and dysfunction in a murine pulmonary hypertension model
Authors: Nguyen Thanh , Bowen T. Scott , Augstein Antje , Schauer Antje , Gasch Alexander , Linke Axel , Labeit Siegfried , Adams Volker 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background
Pulmonary hypertension leads to right ventricular heart failure and ultimately to cardiac cachexia. Cardiac cachexia induces skeletal muscles atrophy and contractile dysfunction. MAFbx and MuRF1 are two key proteins that have been implicated in chronic muscle atrophy of several wasting states.

Methods
Monocrotaline (MCT) was injected over eight weeks into mice to establish pulmonary hypertension as a murine model for cardiac cachexia. The effects on skeletal muscle atrophy, myofiber force, and selected muscle proteins were evaluated in wild-type (WT), MuRF1, and MuRF2-KO mice by determining muscle weights, in vitro muscle force and enzyme activities in soleus and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle.

Results
In WT, MCT treatment induced wasting of soleus and TA mass, loss of myofiber force, and depletion of citrate synthase (CS), creatine kinase (CK), and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) (all key metabolic enzymes). This suggests that the murine MCT model is useful to mimic peripheral myopathies as found in human cardiac cachexia. In MuRF1 and MuRF2-KO mice, soleus and TA muscles were protected from atrophy, contractile dysfunction, while metabolic enzymes were not lowered in MuRF1 or MuRF2-KO mice. Furthermore, MuRF2 expression was lower in MuRF1KO mice when compared to C57BL/6 mice.

Conclusions
In addition to MuRF1, inactivation of MuRF2 also provides a potent protection from peripheral myopathy in cardiac cachexia. The protection of metabolic enzymes in both MuRF1KO and MuRF2KO mice as well as the dependence of MuRF2 expression on MuRF1 suggests intimate relationships between MuRF1 and MuRF2 during muscle atrophy signaling.
The role of exposure in the treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Schopf Kathrin , Mohr Cornelia , Lippert Michael W. , Sommer Katharina , Meyer Andrea Hans , Schneider Silvia 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background
In children and adolescents, anxiety disorders (ADs) are among the most prevalent mental disorders. While there is a solid empirical foundation to support CBT as an evidence-based treatment for childhood ADs, the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of CBT are not well explored. Exposure is assumed to be vital to the efficacy of CBT in ADs, but empirical evidence (e.g., dismantling studies) showing that exposure is indeed a vital element of effective treatments is relatively scarce. The proposed meta-analysis aims to investigate the role of exposure in reducing symptoms of anxiety among children and adolescents.

Methods
A systematic search of several electronic databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Psyndex plus, Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE will be conducted (from inception onwards). We will include randomized and non-randomized clinical trials examining exposure and anxiety among children and adolescents. If feasible, we will also include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies. The primary outcome will be improvement in anxiety levels (recovery or change in anxiety rating scale) after exposure. Three reviewers will independently screen all citations, abstract data, and full-text articles. The methodological quality (or risk of bias) of individual studies will be appraised using an appropriate tool. If feasible, we will conduct mixed effects meta-analysis. Additional analyses will be conducted to explore the potential sources of heterogeneity (e.g., dose of exposure, age group, methodological quality).

Discussion
This systematic review and meta-analysis will examine the role of exposure in reducing symptoms of anxiety among youth. The review will provide information on the working mechanisms underlying the efficacy of CBT. Our findings will be of interest to mental health professionals, researchers, and policy makers who wish to support children and adolescents with anxiety disorders by guiding well-informed treatment decisions.

Systematic review registration
PROSPERO (CRD42019128667).
Preparedness for Chagas disease spreading worldwide
Authors: Liu Qin , Chen Jin , Zhou Xiao-Nong 
Published: April 2020

AbstractChagas disease remains a serious problem for public health due to the high disease burden together with its global spreading patterns. However, current treatment and vector control are highly challenged by drug and insecticide resistance. Chemotherapy and vector control have been proved to be effective attempts to minimize the disease burden. Continued efforts are necessary to keep adapting the surveillance-response systems to the dynamic health systems. More attention and investments are needed to improve appropriate strategy and technology in different settings. This may be accomplished by creating effective risk early warning, addressing vulnerability and building resilience systems, implementing a vector surveillance system, as well as innovating research and technology.
Treating implicit trauma: a quasi-experimental study comparing the EMDR Therapy Standard Protocol with a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ version within a trauma capacity building project in Northern Iraq
Authors: Farrell Derek , Kiernan Matthew D. , de Jongh Ad , Miller Paul William , Bumke Peter , Ahmad Salah , Knibbs Lorraine , Mattheß Cordula , Keenan Paul , Mattheß Helga 
Published: April 2020

AbstractPsychological trauma is a silent epidemic which presents as a global public health issue, often in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is an empirically supported treatment intervention for PTSD and has been used as part of trauma-capacity building, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). For some survivor’s, their trauma experiences cannot be spoken of: they may be alluded to, suggested and though not directly expressed. There are several factors as to why these implicit trauma experiences are ‘unspoken’, for example, when the trauma involves a deep-rooted sense of shame or guilt, a distorted sense of over-responsibility or when to speak of the trauma engenders fear of retribution, reprisal and consequence. This paper will explore the effectiveness of using two protocol variations of EMDR Therapy—standard versus a ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol version as part of a quasi-experimental study which took place in Northern Iraq. The study contains two projects and subsequently tested several hypotheses regarding safety, effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the ‘Blind 2 Therapist’ protocol within EMDR Therapy. Results indicated support for the B2T protocol intervention with various trauma populations including Yezidi survivors of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—also known as Daesh.
Association between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene rs1801131 A/C polymorphism and urinary tumors’ susceptibility
Authors: Xu Shuaili , Zuo Li 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) rs1801131 A/C variant results in a decrease in MTHFR enzymatic activity, which may play an important role in folate metabolism and is also an important source of DNA methylation and DNA synthesis. Several case-control studies have been conducted to assess the association of MTHFR rs1801131 polymorphism with the risk of urinary cancers, yet with conflicting conclusions. To derive a more precise estimation of above relationship, the association between the MTHFR rs1801131 A/C polymorphism and the risk of urinary cancer was performed.MethodsA total of 28 case-control studies was identified. The odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was calculated to assess.ResultsOn one hand, we found that the MTHFR rs1801131 A/C polymorphism was associated with increased whole urinary cancers’ risk (for example CA vs. AA: OR = 1.12. 95%CI = 1.01–1.24). On the other hand, we found that the MTHFR rs1801131 A/C polymorphism might increase bladder cancer risk both in Asian (C-allele vs. A-allele: OR = 1.35. 95%CI = 1.15–1.60) and African populations (CA vs. AA: OR = 1.63. 95%CI = 1.17–2.25).ConclusionsOur current analysis suggested that MTHFR rs1801131 A/C is associated with urinary cancers, especially bladder cancer.
Mental disorders on admission to jail: A study of prevalence and a comparison with a community sample in the north of France
Authors: Fovet Thomas , Plancke Laurent , Amariei Alina , Benradia Imane , Carton Fanny , Sy Aminata , Kyheng Maeva , Tasniere Grégory , Amad Ali , Danel Thierry , Thomas Pierre , Roelandt Jean-Luc 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Background.
The aim of the present study was to estimate prevalence rates of psychiatric and substance use disorders in male and female prisoners on admission to prison in the north of France and compare the frequency of these disorders to the general population.

Methods.
This cross-sectional survey on Mental Health in the Prison Population (MHPP), conducted between March 2014 and April 2017, interviewed 653 randomly selected men and women who had recently been committed to the French general population prison system in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. For each subject, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), a standardized psychiatric interview, was used to screen for psychiatric and substance use disorders. The prevalence rates were then compared with data from the Mental Health in the General Population (MHGP) survey, a general population survey that used the same assessment methodology as MHPP in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. A control sample was taken from the MHGP survey with a ratio of one case (MHPP) to three controls (MHGP) matching on age and sex.

Results.
The sample was primarily composed of French men, most of them single with low educational levels at the time of imprisonment. The mean age was 31.7 (standard deviation = 9.9; min = 18; max = 67). Most of the subjects included were first-time prisoners. The prevalence of affective disorders among newly incarcerated individuals was 31.2% with higher rates for major depressive disorder (27.2%). The prevalence of anxiety disorders was 44.4% with higher rates for generalized anxiety disorder (25.2%). The prevalence of psychotic syndromes was 6.9%. The prevalence of substance use disorders was 53.5% and a suicide risk was identified in 31.4% of the prisoners interviewed. Higher prevalence rates were found in the MHPP when compared with the MHGP for all psychiatric and substance use disorders assessed except for dysthymia and current isolated psychotic syndrome.

Conclusions.
Our study shows very high levels of prevalence for psychiatric and substance use disorders in recently committed French prisoners.
Prevalence and incidence of clinical outcomes in patients presenting to secondary mental health care with mood instability and sleep disturbance
Authors: McDonald Keltie , Smith Tanya , Broadbent Matthew , Patel Rashmi , Geddes John R. , Saunders Kate E. A. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract

Background.
Mood instability and sleep disturbance are common symptoms in people with mental illness. Both features are clinically important and associated with poorer illness trajectories. We compared clinical outcomes in people presenting to secondary mental health care with mood instability and/or sleep disturbance with outcomes in people without either mood instability or sleep disturbance.

Methods.
Data were from electronic health records of 31,391 patients ages 16–65 years presenting to secondary mental health services between 2008 and 2016. Mood instability and sleep disturbance were identified using natural language processing. Prevalence of mood instability and sleep disturbance were estimated at baseline. Incidence rate ratios were estimates for clinical outcomes including psychiatric diagnoses, prescribed medication, and hospitalization within 2-years of presentation in persons with mood instability and/or sleep disturbance compared to individuals without either symptom.

Results.
Mood instability was present in 9.58%, and sleep disturbance in 26.26% of patients within 1-month of presenting to secondary mental health services. Compared with individuals without either symptom, those with mood instability and sleep disturbance showed significantly increased incidence of prescription of any psychotropic medication (incidence rate ratios [IRR] = 7.04, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 6.53–7.59), and hospitalization (IRR = 5.32, 95% CI 5.32, 4.67–6.07) within 2-years of presentation. Incidence rates of most clinical outcomes were considerably increased among persons with both mood instability and sleep disturbance, relative to persons with only one symptom.

Conclusions.
Mood instability and sleep disturbance are present in a wide range of mental disorders, beyond those in which they are conventionally considered to be symptoms. They are associated with poor outcomes, particularly when they occur together. The poor prognosis associated with mood instability and sleep disorder may be, in part, because they are often treated as secondary symptoms. Mood instability and sleep disturbance need better recognition as clinical targets for treatment in their own right.
Oncology Fellow–Led Quality Improvement Project to Improve Rates of Palliative Care Utilization in Patients With Advanced Cancer
Authors: Sedhom Ramy , Gupta Arjun , Shah Mirat , Hsu Melinda , Messmer Marcus , Murray Joseph , Browner Ilene , Smith Thomas J. , Marrone Kristen 
Published: April 2020

PURPOSE: ASCO guidelines recommend palliative care (PC) referral for patients with advanced or metastatic cancer. Despite this, implementation has considerable hurdles. First-year oncology fellows at our institution identified low rates of PC utilization in their longitudinal clinic as a metric needing improvement. METHODS: A fellow-led multidisciplinary team aimed to increase PC utilization for patients with advanced cancer followed in he first-year fellows’ clinic from a baseline of 11.5% (5 of 43 patients, July to December of 2018) to 30% over a 6-month period. Utilization was defined as evaluation in the outpatient PC clinic hosted in the cancer center. The team identified the following barriers to referral: orders difficult to find in the electronic medical record (EMR), multiple consulting mechanisms (EMR, by phone, or in person), EMR request not activating formal consult, no centralized scheduler to contact or confirm appointment, and poor awareness of team structure. Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented based on identified opportunities. Data were obtained from the EMR. RESULTS: The first PDSA cycle included focus groups with stakeholders, standardizing referral process via single order set, identifying a single scheduler with bidirectional communication, and disseminating process changes. PDSA cycles were implemented from January to June of 2019. Rates of PC use increased from 11.5% before the intervention to 48.4% (48 of 99 patients) after the intervention. CONCLUSION: A multidisciplinary approach and classic quality improvement methodology improved PC use in patients with advanced cancer. The pilot succeeded given the small number of fellows, buy-in from stakeholders, and institutional and leadership support. Straightforward EMR interventions and ancillary staff use are effective in addressing underreferrals.
Standardization of Mark Tables and USCI-CF (Unit Subduced Cycle Indices with Chirality Fittingness) Tables Derived from Different D3h-Skeletons
Authors: Fujita Shinsaku 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Combined-permutation representations (CPRs) for characterizing D3h-skeletons (i.e., a cyclopropane skeleton, a trigonal bipyramidal skeleton, an iceane skeleton, and so on) are constructed by starting from respective sets of generators, where the permutation of each generator is combined with a mirror-permutation of 2-cycles to give the CPR of degree 8 (= 6 + 2) for the cyclopropane skeleton, the CPR of degree 7 (= 5 + 2) for the trigonal bipyramidal skeleton, the CPR of degree 14 (= 12 + 2) for the iceane skeleton, and so on. Mark tables (tables of marks) of these CPRs are different in the alignment of subgroups from each other when they are produced as primary mark tables by the GAP system. On the other hand, the GAP functions MarkTableforUSCI and constructUSCITable, which have been previously developed to systematize the concordant construction of a standard mark table and a standard USCI-CF (unit-subduced-cycle-index-with-chirality-fittingness) table, are capable of constructing the standard mark table and the standard USCI-CF table even if we start from any of these CPRs. After a set of PCI-CFs (partial cycle indices with chirality fittingness) is calculated for each skeleton by means of the newly-developed GAP functions, symmetry-itemized combinatorial enumeration is conducted by means of the PCI method of Fujita’s USCI approach (S. Fujita, Symmetry and Combinatorial Enumeration in Chemistry, Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 1991).
Haemorrhagic versus non haemorrhagic ascites in cirrhosis: Their relationship and impact on prognosis of liver cirrhosis
Authors: Naqvi Iftikhar , Mahmood Khalid , Talib Abu 
Published: April 2020

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of haemorrhagic ascites on prognosis of patients with advance cirrhosis, this study was further aimed to assess the relationship between haemorrhagic ascites and advance cirrhosis and its effect on prognosis.
Methods: Eight hundred and thirty-eight patients having liver cirrhosis with ascites were analyzed retrospectively (over three years) while segregated into two groups haemorrhagic and non haemorrhagic ascites. Patient outcome variables were identified among both groups and independent predictors for survival were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates determined survival rate comparison between groups.
Results: Haemorrhagic ascites was detected in (26.6%) patients. Spontaneous haemorrhagic ascites (79%) was the main cause of haemorrhagic ascites followed by hepatocellular carcinoma (14%) and iatrogenic (7.6%). Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and acute kidney injury were statistically significant (p= 0.0001, 0.0001) among groups. Overall mortality at year three was higher (83%) in haemorrhagic ascites group. Survival among both groups (haemorrhagic versus non haemorrhagic) at one month, one year and three year was found to be significant (p= 0.000, 0.000 and 0.000).
Conclusion: Haemorrhagic ascites impact overall survival with more mortality in comparison to non haemorrhagic ascites. Haemorrhagic ascites was an independent predictor of survival. Haemorrhagic ascites is possibly considered another predictor of survival among advance cirrhosis.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.2075
How to cite this:Naqvi IH, Mahmood K, Talib A. Haemorrhagic versus non haemorrhagic ascites in cirrhosis: Their relationship and impact on prognosis of liver cirrhosis. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):603-608. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.2075
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Psychopathic traits, psychological resilience and coping with stress in socially maladjusted youth
Authors: Nowakowski Krzysztof , Wróbel Katarzyna 
Published: April 2020

Cel pracyPodstawowym celem badań była analiza zależności pomiędzy cechami psychopatii w ujęciu modelu triarchicznego (zuchwałością, bezdusznością, rozhamowaniem) a poziomem prężności psychicznej oraz preferowanym stylem radzenia sobie ze stresem w grupie adolescentów naruszających normy prawne. Przyjęto założenie, że kluczową rolę w tej relacji będą odgrywać symptomy psychopatii zawarte na wymiarze zuchwałości.MetodaGrupa badana składała się łącznie ze 111 dziewcząt i chłopców wieku 16-18 lat przebywających w młodzieżowych ośrodkach wychowawczych. Do pomiaru nasilenia cech psychopatycznych wykorzystano polską adaptację kwestionariusza TriPM. Struktura prężności psychicznej oraz style radzenia sobie ze stresem w badanej grupie zostały zmierzone przy użyciu metod typu self-report, odpowiednio: Skali Prężności Psychicznej/SPP-18 oraz kwestionariusza CISS.WynikiOgólny poziom prężności psychicznej okazał się mediatorem pomiędzy zuchwałością a zadaniowym stylem radzenia sobie ze stresem. Zuchwałość jako składowa psychopatii powiązana była również ze wszystkimi skalami prężności psychicznej. Wymiar rozhamowania psychopatii łączył się z niskimi wskaźnikami prężności psychicznej oraz z częstszym wybieraniem stylu radzenia sobie skoncentrowanego na emocjach. Różnice międzypłciowe zaobserwowano w zakresie nasilenia bezduszności oraz radzeniu sobie w sytuacji stresowej w oparciu o emocje.WnioskiPodjęte badania przemawiają za traktowaniem psychopatii u młodzieży jako złożonego i wielowymiarowego konstruktu. Otrzymane dane potwierdzają także, że pewne cechy psychopatii mogą wiązać się ze wskaźnikami dobrego przystosowania.