bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Satisfaction with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment: results from a multicenter, observational study
Authors: Contoli Marco , Rogliani Paola , Di Marco Fabiano , Braido Fulvio , Corsico Angelo G. , Amici Christian A. , Piro Roberto , Sarzani Riccardo , Lessi Patrizia , Scognamillo Carla , Scichilone Nicola , Santus Pierachille , Corsico Angelo Guido , Raccanelli Rita , Radovanovic Dejan , Gini Erica , Patella Vincenzo , Florio Giovanni , Garuti Silvia , Forini Giacomo , Benfante Alida , Fiorentino Giuseppe , Marotta Antonella , Alfano Fausta , Cavalli Francesco , Ruggiero Patrizia , Carone Mauro , Aliani Maria , Iannaccone Antonio , Izzo Alessandro , Polla Biago , Spannella Francesco , Micheletto Claudio , Vincenti Rigoletta , Maugeri Laura , Gulotta Carlo , Tazza Roberto , Di Re Luigi , Mimotti Paolo , Carbone Roberto , Riva Rodolfo , Fiori Giovanni , Viaggi Stefano , Ori Alessandra , Simoni Lucia , Amici Christian , Ferri Fabio , Roncari Barbara , Sala Saide , Trevisan Francesca , Lanci Nicole 
Published: November 2019

Background: Understanding the level of patients’ satisfaction with treatment and its determinants have the potential to impact therapeutic management and clinical outcome in chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A national, multicenter, longitudinal, observational study of COPD from 20 Italian pulmonary centers to explore patients’ satisfaction to treatment [assessed by the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, 9 items (TSQM-9)] and association with clinical parameters [including dyspnea score, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score, exacerbation rate], adherence to treatment [Morisky Medication-Taking Adherence Scale (MMAS-4)], illness perception [evaluated by Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ)] in a 1-year follow up. Results: A total of 401 COPD patients were enrolled [69.4% group B Global Initiative for COPD (GOLD), considering 366 patients with available GOLD 2017 classification at enrollment]. At enrollment, satisfaction with treatment was moderate, being TSQM-9 mean scores for effectiveness 64.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) 62.5–65.9], for convenience 75.8 (95% CI 74.2–77.3), and for global satisfaction 65.7 (95% CI 64.0–67.4). Global satisfaction was negatively associated with disease perception (β = −0.4709, p < 0.0001), and grade of dyspnea (β = −4.2564, p = 0.009). Satisfaction with treatment was lower in patients with poor compared with optimal adherence to treatment (β = −4.5608, p = 0.002). Changes in inhalation regimens during follow up did not modify the satisfaction with treatment. Conclusions: The results of this real-life study showed that the patients’ satisfaction with treatments is only moderate in COPD. A high grade of patients’ satisfaction is associated mainly with a low perception of the disease, high adherence to treatment and lower level of dyspnea. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02689492 The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.
Meniscal Repairs in the Adolescent Knee: Can the Number of Fixation Sites Improve Outcomes?
Authors: Schlechter John A. , Nguyen Shawn V. , Fletcher Katie L. 
Published: November 2019

Background: Meniscal pathology in children and adolescents is now a common occurrence because of their ever-increasing participation in youth sports. Purpose: To investigate the outcomes of arthroscopic meniscal repair in an adolescent cohort and analyze the variables that may affect outcomes, specifically the number of fixation sites utilized during repair. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A retrospective review of all children and adolescents younger than 18 years who underwent arthroscopic meniscal repair at a single institution was performed. Patient characteristics, operative details (eg, tear pattern, tear location, method of repair, and number of fixation sites [determined based on the number of sutures used for repair]), and concomitant procedures were recorded. Results: A total of 175 primary meniscal repairs met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Of this cohort, 115 were able to be contacted and were included in the final study cohort. The mean follow-up was 41 months. The mean age of the children was 14.9 years, and 91 (79%) had concomitant anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions with their meniscal repair. The mean Pediatric International Knee Documentation Committee functional outcome score was 91 (range, 43-100), and the mean Lysholm functional outcome score was 91 (range, 47-100). Of the 115 meniscal repairs, there were a total of 19 reoperations (17%); 15 (13%) were because of meniscal repair failures. The only variable that statistically increased the risk of meniscal repair failure was low number of fixation sites, with the failure group having a mean of 1.79 sutures and the nonfailure group having a mean of 2.97 sutures ( P = .03). Conclusion: Successful meniscal repairs and a lower failure rate may be achieved with a greater number of fixation sites with promising results at a minimum 2-year follow-up. Validated functional outcome scores were good, with a 13% failure rate. Larger cohort, longer term, multicenter multisurgeon data are still needed to further elucidate the number of fixation sites needed when performing a meniscal repair in the pediatric and adolescent knee.
Attention-based recurrent neural network for influenza epidemic prediction
Authors: Zhu Xianglei , Fu Bofeng , Yang Yaodong , Ma Yu , Hao Jianye , Chen Siqi , Liu Shuang , Li Tiegang , Liu Sen , Guo Weiming , Liao Zhenyu 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Influenza is an infectious respiratory disease that can cause serious public health hazard. Due to its huge threat to the society, precise real-time forecasting of influenza outbreaks is of great value to our public.

Results
In this paper, we propose a new deep neural network structure that forecasts a real-time influenza-like illness rate (ILI%) in Guangzhou, China. Long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks is applied to precisely forecast accurateness due to the long-term attribute and diversity of influenza epidemic data. We devise a multi-channel LSTM neural network that can draw multiple information from different types of inputs. We also add attention mechanism to improve forecasting accuracy. By using this structure, we are able to deal with relationships between multiple inputs more appropriately. Our model fully consider the information in the data set, targetedly solving practical problems of the Guangzhou influenza epidemic forecasting.

Conclusion
We assess the performance of our model by comparing it with different neural network structures and other state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results indicate that our model has strong competitiveness and can provide effective real-time influenza epidemic forecasting.
ProbPFP: a multiple sequence alignment algorithm combining hidden Markov model optimized by particle swarm optimization with partition function
Authors: Zhan Qing , Wang Nan , Jin Shuilin , Tan Renjie , Jiang Qinghua , Wang Yadong 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
During procedures for conducting multiple sequence alignment, that is so essential to use the substitution score of pairwise alignment. To compute adaptive scores for alignment, researchers usually use Hidden Markov Model or probabilistic consistency methods such as partition function. Recent studies show that optimizing the parameters for hidden Markov model, as well as integrating hidden Markov model with partition function can raise the accuracy of alignment. The combination of partition function and optimized HMM, which could further improve the alignment’s accuracy, however, was ignored by these researches.

Results
A novel algorithm for MSA called ProbPFP is presented in this paper. It intergrate optimized HMM by particle swarm with partition function. The algorithm of PSO was applied to optimize HMM’s parameters. After that, the posterior probability obtained by the HMM was combined with the one obtained by partition function, and thus to calculate an integrated substitution score for alignment. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of ProbPFP, we compared it with 13 outstanding or classic MSA methods. The results demonstrate that the alignments obtained by ProbPFP got the maximum mean TC scores and mean SP scores on these two benchmark datasets: SABmark and OXBench, and it got the second highest mean TC scores and mean SP scores on the benchmark dataset BAliBASE. ProbPFP is also compared with 4 other outstanding methods, by reconstructing the phylogenetic trees for six protein families extracted from the database TreeFam, based on the alignments obtained by these 5 methods. The result indicates that the reference trees are closer to the phylogenetic trees reconstructed from the alignments obtained by ProbPFP than the other methods.

Conclusions
We propose a new multiple sequence alignment method combining optimized HMM and partition function in this paper. The performance validates this method could make a great improvement of the alignment’s accuracy.
Risk of stroke-associated pneumonia during hospitalization: predictive ability of combined A2DS2 score and hyperglycemia
Authors: Li Yang , Zhang Yu , Ma Liansheng , Niu Xiaoyuan , Chang Junsen 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is a common complication of cerebrovascular disease. The A2DS2 score has been used to predict the risk of SAP. However, hyperglycemia is not included in this scale. The purpose of the present study was to explore whether the A2DS2 scoring system and hyperglycemia could predict the risk of SAP more effectively than the conventional A2DS2 scale.

Methods
This retrospective study enrolled 2552 patients with acute ischemic stroke. The A2DS2 scores, fasting blood glucose level and blood glucose level on admission were collected. Regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors of SAP. ROC curve analysis was used to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of the combined A2DS2 score and fasting hyperglycemia for predicting SAP.

Results
Fasting hyperglycemia was an independent risk factor for SAP (OR = 2.95; 95% confidence interval: 2.11–4.12; P < 0.001). The area under curve of the combined A2DS2 score and fasting hyperglycemia was significantly higher than that of the A2DS2 score alone (0.814 vs. 0.793; P = 0.020).

Conclusion
Fasting hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for predicting SAP. Compared with the A2DS2 score, the modified A2DS2 score (combined A2DS2 score and fasting hyperglycemia) is more effective in predicting the risk of SAP.
Body composition of children with moderate and severe undernutrition and after treatment: a narrative review
Authors: Wells Jonathan C. K. 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Until recently, undernourished children were usually assessed using simple anthropometric measurements, which provide global assessments of nutritional status. There is increasing interest in obtaining more direct data on body composition to assess the effects of undernutrition on fat-free mass (FFM) and its constituents, such as muscle and organs, and on fat mass (FM) and its regional distribution.

Main text
Recent studies show that severe-acute undernutrition, categorised as ‘wasting’, is associated with major deficits in both FFM and FM that may persist in the long-term. Fat distribution appears more central, but this is more associated with the loss of peripheral fat than with the elevation of central fat. Chronic undernutrition, categorised as ‘stunting’, is associated with deficits in FFM and in specific components, such as organ size. However, the magnitude of these deficits is reduced, or – in some cases – disappears, after adjustment for height. This suggests that FFM is largely reduced in proportion to linear growth. Stunted children vary in their FM – in some cases remaining thin throughout childhood, but in other cases developing higher levels of FM. The causes of this heterogeneity remain unclear. Several different pathways may underlie longitudinal associations between early stunting and later body composition. Importantly, recent studies suggest that short children are not at risk of excess fat deposition in the short term when given nutritional supplementation.

Conclusion
The short- and long-term functional significance of FFM and FM for survival, physical capacity and non-communicable disease risk means that both tissues merit further attention in research on child undernutrition.
Withaferin A ameliorates ovarian cancer-induced cachexia and proinflammatory signaling
Authors: Straughn Alex R. , Kakar Sham S. 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths amongst women in the United States. Cachexia is the primary cause of death in approximately 30% of cancer patients, and is often evidenced in ovarian cancer patients. We tested the steroidal lactone Withaferin A to examine if it could ameliorate ovarian cancer-induced cachexia.

Methods
Six-week-old severely immunodeficient female mice were xenografted with the ovarian cancer cell line A2780 followed by treatment with Withaferin A or vehicle. Changes in functional grip strength were assessed on a weekly basis. Postmortem, H&E staining was performed on skeletal muscle sections and immunofluorescent immunohistochemistry was performed on skeletal muscle and tumor sections. The levels of NF-κB-related proinflammatory cytokines were assessed in the xenografted tumors and in resident host skeletal muscle.

Results
Xenografting of the A2780 cell line resulted in a significant rate of mortality, which was attenuated by a therapeutic dosage of Withaferin A. Mice that received vehicle treatment following xenografting exhibited functional muscle decline over the course of the study. The therapeutic dosage Withaferin A treatment attenuated this reduction in grip strength, whereas the supratherapeutic dosage of Withaferin A was found to be toxic/lethal and demonstrated a further decline in functional muscle strength and an increased rate of mortality on par with vehicle treatment. At a histological level, the vehicle treated tumor-bearing mice exhibited a profound reduction in myofibrillar cross-sectional area compared to the vehicle treated tumor-free control group. The atrophic changes induced by the xenografted tumor were significantly ameliorated by treatment with Withaferin A. The combination of functional muscle weakening and induction of myofibrillar atrophy corroborate a cachectic phenotype, which was functionally rescued by Withaferin A. Further, treatment completely abolished the slow-to-fast myofiber type conversion observed in the settings of cancer-induced cachexia. In both host resident skeletal muscle and the xenografted tumors, we report an increase in NF-κB-related proinflammatory cytokines that was reversed by Withaferin A treatment. Finally, we demonstrated that Withaferin A significantly downregulates cytosolic and nuclear levels of phospho-p65, the active canonical NF-κB transcription factor, in xenografted tumors.

Conclusions
Cumulatively, our results demonstrate a previously overlooked role of Withaferin A in a xenograft model of ovarian cancer. We propose mechanisms by which Withaferin A reduces NF-κB-dependent pro-inflammatory cytokine production leading to an attenuation of the cachectic phenotype in an i.p. xenograft model of ovarian cancer.
Association between decreased HDL levels and cognitive deficits in patients with bipolar disorder: a pilot study
Authors: Hui Li , Yin Xiao Li , Chen Jie , Yin Xu Yuan , Zhu Hong Liang , Li Jin , Yin Guang Zhong , Xu Xiao Wen , Yang Xiao Nan , Qian Zheng Kang , Jiang Cai Xia , Tang Zhen , Yang Hai Bing , Cheung Eric F. C. , Chan Raymond C. K. , Jia Qiu Fang 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBackgroundCognitive deficits are common in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Abnormal high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels have been implicated in cognitive deficits associated with ageing and neurodegenerative disorders. The present study aimed to investigate serum HDL levels, cognitive deficits and their association in patients with BD.MethodsThirty-seven patients with BD and 37 gender- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in a case–control study. Cognition was assessed using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), and serum HDL levels were measured using enzymatic colourimetry.ResultsThere was no difference in serum HDL levels between patients with BD and HCs after adjusting for gender, age, education and body mass index (BMI). Cognitive test scores in patients with BD were significantly lower than those in HCs except for the visuospatial/constructional index after adjusting for confounding variables. Serum HDL levels were positively correlated with RBANS total score and language score in patients with BD. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that serum HDL levels were significantly correlated with RBANS total score and subscale scores on immediate memory and language in patients with BD after adjusting for confounding factors.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that patients with BD had poorer cognitive performance than HCs except for the visuospatial/constructional domain, and decreased serum HDL levels were correlated with cognitive deficits, especially in immediate memory and language domains in patients with BD.
Developing student 21st Century skills in selected exemplary inclusive STEM high schools
Authors: Stehle Stephanie M. , Peters-Burton Erin E. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractBackgroundThere is a need to arm students with noncognitive, or 21stCentury, skills to prepare them for a more STEM-based job market. As STEM schools are created in a response to this call to action, research is needed to better understand how exemplary STEM schools successfully accomplish this goal. This conversion mixed method study analyzed student work samples and teacher lesson plans from seven exemplary inclusive STEM high schools to better understand at what level teachers at these schools are engaging and developing student 21stCentury skills.ResultsWe found of the 67 lesson plans collected at the inclusive STEM high schools, 50 included instruction on 21stCentury skills. Most of these lesson plans designed instruction for 21stCentury skills at an introductory level. Few lesson plans encouraged multiple 21stCentury skills and addressed higher levels of those skills. Although there was not a significant difference between levels of 21stCentury skills by grade level, there was an overall trend of higher levels of 21stCentury skills demonstrated in lesson plans designed for grades 11 and 12. We also found that lesson plans that lasted three or more days had higher levels of 21stCentury skills.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that inclusive STEM high schools provide environments that support the development of 21stCentury skills. Yet, more can be done in the area of teacher professional development to improve instruction of high levels of 21stCentury skills.
Correlation between exercise, personal income level and health-related quality of life in patients with newly diagnosed stable angina
Authors: Wang Yi , Huang Lei , Zhou Lai-Xin 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Stable angina is one of the most common clinical types of coronary artery disease (CAD) and associated with poor health-related quality of life (HRQL). However, few studies have evaluated the risk factors associated with HRQL in patients with newly diagnosed stable angina.

Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 342 consecutive outpatients with newly diagnosed stable angina from October 2017 to January 2018 at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University, Chongqing, China. Eight dimensions of HRQL were evaluated via the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey, including physical functioning, role limitation due to physical problems, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role limitation due to emotional problems, and mental health. Physical and mental component summaries were calculated. Multiple stepwise regression was performed to determine the factors associated with HRQL.

Results
Patients who were older, were females, did not exercise, had lower educational levels, had lower monthly incomes, had smoking/drinking habits, and had diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipemia showed lower physical HRQL scores, while those who were older with lower educational levels and lower monthly incomes showed lower mental HRQL scores. The results of the multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that physical and mental HRQL were positively correlated with exercise and monthly income and negatively associated with age. Patients with monthly income ≥5000 Yuan showed higher HRQL scores than those with monthly income < 5000 Yuan. Sleep quality and drinking were negatively associated with physical, but not mental HRQL.

Conclusions
Our findings indicated that exercise and personal income level, both modifiable factors, were positively associated with physical and mental HRQL. These findings could have implications for clinical suggestions and strategies to improve HRQL in patients with stable angina.
Anesthetic management of a patient with sodium-channel myotonia: a case report
Authors: Matsumoto Naohisa , Nishimoto Rei , Matsuoka Yoshikazu , Takeda Yoshimasa , Morimatsu Hiroshi 
Published: November 2019

Abstract
Background
Sodium-channel myotonia (SCM) is a nondystrophic myotonia, characterized by pure myotonia without muscle weakness or paramyotonia. The prevalence of skeletal muscle channelopathies is approximately 1 in 100,000, and the prevalence of SCM is much lower. To our knowledge, this is the first report on anesthetic management of a patient with SCM.

Case presentation
A 23-year-old woman with congenital nasal dysplasia and SCM was scheduled to undergo rhinoplasty with autologous costal cartilage. Total intravenous anesthesia without muscle relaxants was administered followed by continuous intercostal nerve block. Although transient elevation of potassium level in the blood was observed during surgery, the patient did not show exacerbation of myotonic or paralytic symptoms in the postoperative period.

Conclusion
Total intravenous anesthesia and peripheral nerve block can be administered safely to a patient with SCM. However, careful monitoring of the symptoms and electrolytes is recommended.
The authentic balut: history, culture, and economy of a Philippine food icon
Authors: Alejandria Maria Carinnes P. , De Vergara Tisha Isabelle M. , Colmenar Karla Patricia M. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe practice of making and eating fertilized duck eggs is a widely known practice in Asia. In the Philippines, “balut” is a popularly known Filipino delicacy which is made by incubating duck eggs for about 18 days. However, criticisms against its authenticity and the unstable demand for balut in the market pose challenges to the development of the Philippine balut industry. Consequently, this research aims to trace the history of balut production and consumption in the Philippines by specifically looking into the following. First, it explores the factors that contribute to the discovery and patronage of balut. Second, it identifies the localities that popularized the balut industry. Third, this includes the key industries that started the large scale production of balut. Fourth, it discusses the local ways of balut-making practices in the country. Lastly, it also provides an account of the ways of balut consumption. Through content analysis of secondary data, this research argues that balut remains an authentic Filipino food despite shared patronage in several Asian countries through the localized meanings associated with its consumption, preparation, and distribution.