bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Japanese nurse practitioner-led care and physician trainees-led care on patients’ length of stay in a secondary emergency department: A retrospective study
Authors: Uranaka Keiichi , Takaira Hitoshi , Shinohara Ryoji , Yamagata Zentaro 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectivesWe compared nurse practitioner-led care and physician trainees-led care on patients’ length of stay in a secondary emergency department in Japan.MethodsThis observational research utilized a secondary data analysis of medical records. Participants (N = 1,419; mean age = 63.9 ± 23.4 years; 52.3% men) were patients who were transferred to the emergency department by an ambulance between April 2016 and March 2018 in western Tokyo. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed with the length of stay as the dependent variable and the factors related to the length of stay, including medical care leaders, as the independent variable to compare Japanese nurse practitioner-led care and physician trainees-led care on patients’ length of stay.ResultsApproximately half of the patients (n = 763; 53.8%) received Japanese nurse practitioner-led care. Patients’ length of stay was significantly shorter by six minutes in the Japanese nurse practitioner-led care group than the physician trainees-led care group.ConclusionPatients’ length of stay was significantly shorter by six minutes in the Japanese nurse practitioner group than the physician trainees’ group. This time difference suggests that the medical care led by Japanese nurse practitioners is more efficient. In the future, the cost-effectiveness of Japanese nurse practitioner medical care, safety, and patient satisfaction should be examined in a multi-institutional joint study.
Can intersectionality help with understanding and tackling health inequalities? Perspectives of professional stakeholders
Authors: Holman Daniel , Salway Sarah , Bell Andrew , Beach Brian , Adebajo Adewale , Ali Nuzhat , Butt Jabeer 
Published: October 2020

AbstractThe concept of ‘intersectionality’ is increasingly employed within public health arenas, particularly in North America, and is often heralded as offering great potential to advance health inequalities research and action. Given persistently poor progress towards tackling health inequalities, and recent calls to reframe this agenda in the UK and Europe, the possible contribution of intersectionality deserves attention. Yet, no existing research has examined professional stakeholder understandings and perspectives on applying intersectionality to this field. In this paper we seek to address that gap, drawing upon a consultation survey and workshop undertaken in the UK. The survey included both researchers (n=53) and practitioners (n=20) with varied roles and levels of engagement in research and evaluation. Topics included: familiarity with the term and concept ‘intersectionality’, relevance to health inequalities work, and issues shaping its uptake. Respondents were also asked to comment on two specific policy suggestions; targeting and tailoring interventions to intersectional sub-groups, and evaluating the intersectional effects of policies. 23 people attended the face-to-face workshop. The aims of the workshop were to: share examples of applying intersectionality within health inequalities research and practice; understand the views of research and practice colleagues on potential contributions and challenges; and identify potential ways to promote intersectional approaches. Findings indicated a generally positive response to the concept and a cautiously optimistic assessment that intersectional approaches could be valuable. However, opinions were mixed and various challenges were raised, especially around whether intersectionality research is necessarily critical and transformative and, accordingly, how it should be operationalised methodologically. Nonetheless, there was general agreement that intersectionality is concerned with diverse inequalities and the systems of power that shape them. We position intersectionality within the wider context of health inequalities policy and practice, suggesting potential ways forward for the approach in the UK context.
A methodological blueprint to identify COVID-19 vulnerable locales by socioeconomic factors, developed using South Korean data
Authors: Weinstein Bayarmagnai , da Silva Alan R. , Kouzoukas Dimitrios E. , Bose Tanima , Kim Gwang-Jin , Correa Paola A. , Pondugula Santhi , Kim Jihoo , Carpenter David O. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractCOVID-19 has more severely impacted socioeconomically (SES) disadvantaged populations. Lack of SES measurements and inaccurately identifying high-risk locales can hamper COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Using South Korean COVID-19 incidence data (January 20 through July 1, 2020) and established social theoretical approaches, we identified COVID-19-specific SES factors. Principal component analysis created composite indexes for each SES factor, while Geographically Weighted Negative Binomial Regressions mapped a continuous surface of COVID-19 risk for South Korea. High area morbidity, risky health behaviours, crowding, and population mobility elevated area risk for COVID-19, while improved social distancing, healthcare access, and education decreased it. Our results indicated that falling SES-related COVID-19 risks and spatial shift patterns over three consecutive time periods reflected the implementation of reportedly effective public health interventions. While validating earlier studies, this study introduced a methodological blueprint for precision targeting of high-risk locales that is globally applicable for COVID-19 and future pandemics.
Controlled randomized clinical trial on using Ivermectin with Doxycycline for treating COVID-19 patients in Baghdad, Iraq
Authors: Hashim Hashim A. , Maulood Mohammed F. , Rasheed Anwar M. , Fatak Dhurgham F. , Kabah Khulood K. , Abdulamir Ahmed S. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectivesCOVID-19 patients suffer from the lack of curative therapy. Hence, there is an urgent need to try repurposed old drugs on COVID-19.MethodsRandomized controlled study on 70 COVID-19 patients (48 mild-moderate, 11 severe, and 11 critical patients) treated with 200ug/kg PO of Ivermectin per day for 2-3 days along with 100mg PO doxycycline twice per day for 5-10 days plus standard therapy; the second arm is 70 COVID-19 patients (48 mild-moderate and 22 severe and zero critical patients) on standard therapy. The time to recovery, the progression of the disease, and the mortality rate were the outcome-assessing parameters.Resultsamong all patients and among severe patients, 3/70 (4.28%) and 1/11 (9%), respectively progressed to a more advanced stage of the disease in the Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 7/70 (10%) and 7/22 (31.81%), respectively in the control group (P>0.05). The mortality rate was 0/48 (0%), 0/11 (0%), and 2/11 (18.2%) in mild-moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 patients, respectively in Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 0/48 (0%), and 6/22 (27.27%) in mild-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, respectively in standard therapy group (p=0.052). Moreover, the mean time to recovery was 6.34, 20.27, and 24.13 days in mild-moderate, severe, and critical COVID-19 patients, respectively in Ivermectin-Doxycycline group versus 13.66 and 24.25 days in mild-moderate and severe COVID-19 patients, respectively in standard therapy group (P<0.01).ConclusionsIvermectin with doxycycline reduced the time to recovery and the percentage of patients who progress to more advanced stage of disease; in addition, Ivermectin with doxycycline reduced mortality rate in severe patients from 22.72% to 0%; however, 18.2% of critically ill patients died with Ivermectin and doxycycline therapy. Taken together, the earlier administered Ivermectin with doxycycline, the higher rate of successful therapy.
Community pharmacists Awareness and Attitude toward Counterfeit medicine in Khartoum Locality: Cross Sectional Survey
Authors: Wagiealla Wala W. , Shantier Shaza W. , Abureid Imad O. , Gadkariem Elrasheed A. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundCounterfeit medicines (CFMs) are a global problem with significant and well-documented consequences for global health and patient safety. Pharmacists, as healthcare professionals, have a vital role in combating CFMs via ensuring the effectiveness and safety of any imported and dispensed medicines.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to assess the extent, awareness and attitude of pharmacists in Sudan towards CFMs.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted applying pretested and structured questionnaire and the awareness and attitude were assessed statistically.ResultsA total of 229 participants have enrolled in the study. The majority of the respondents (76%) were found to be aware about the term CFMs during practice. 59% reported their ability to distinguish CFMs from the packaging feature and cost. Unavailability of medicine and inadequate regulatory bodies control were mentioned as the main leading factors for the spread of CFMs. 86% of the respondents reported knowing that there are pharmacists who deal with counterfeit medicines believing that they are unethical (76%). 69% of the respondents mentioned pharmacists to have vital role in combating CFMs spread through increasing knowledge and education. 62% of the participants were found to have a fair awareness about CFMs. Furthermore, 56% of them showed a good attitude toward CFMs.ConclusionCurrent literature includes gaps in knowledge and attitude towards CFMs. Therefore attention and concentrated efforts are required on the part of the government, drug manufacturers and health care providers’ especially pharmaceutical analysts to ensure that only drugs of acceptable quality reach the patient.
A2B-COVID: A method for evaluating potential SARS-CoV-2 transmission events
Authors: Illingworth Christopher J. R. , Hamilton William L. , Jackson Chris , Popay Ashley , Meredith Luke , Houldcroft Charlotte J. , Hosmillo Myra , Jahun Aminu , Routledge Matthew , Warne Ben , Caller Laura , Caddy Sarah , Yakovleva Anna , Hall Grant , Khokhar Fahad A. , Feltwell Theresa , Pinckert Malte L. , Georgana Iliana , Chaudhry Yasmin , Curran Martin , Parmar Surendra , Sparkes Dominic , Rivett Lucy , Jones Nick K. , Sridhar Sushmita , Forrest Sally , Dymond Tom , Grainger Kayleigh , Workman Chris , Gkrania-Klotsas Effrossyni , Brown Nicholas M. , Weekes Michael P. , Baker Stephen , Peacock Sharon J. , Gouliouris Theodore , Goodfellow Ian , Angelis Daniela De , Török M. Estée 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIdentifying linked cases of infection is a key part of the public health response to viral infectious disease. Viral genome sequence data is of great value in this task, but requires careful analysis, and may need to be complemented by additional types of data. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for analytical methods which bring together sources of data to inform epidemiological investigations. We here describe A2B-COVID, an approach for the rapid identification of linked cases of coronavirus infection. Our method combines knowledge about infection dynamics, data describing the movements of individuals, and novel approaches to genome sequence data to assess whether or not cases of infection are consistent or inconsistent with linkage via transmission. We apply our method to analyse and compare data collected from two wards at Cambridge University Hospitals, showing qualitatively different patterns of linkage between cases on designated Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 wards. Our method is suitable for the rapid analysis of data from clinical or other potential outbreak settings.
What does the COVID-19 pandemic mean for the next decade of onchocerciasis control and elimination?
Authors: Hamley Jonathan I.D. , Blok David J. , Walker Martin , Milton Philip , Hopkins Adrian D. , Hamill Louise C. , Downs Philip , de Vlas Sake J. , Stolk Wilma A. , Basáñez Maria-Gloria 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackgroundMass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin for onchocerciasis has been disrupted by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mathematical modelling can help predict how missed/delayed MDA will affect short-term epidemiological trends and elimination prospects by 2030.MethodsTwo onchocerciasis transmission models (EPIONCHO-IBM and ONCHOSIM) are used to simulate microfilarial prevalence trends, elimination probabilities, and age-profiles of Onchocerca volvulus microfilarial prevalence and intensity, for different treatment histories and transmission settings, assuming no interruption, a 1-year (2020) or 2-year (2020–2021) interruption. Biannual MDA or increased coverage upon MDA resumption are investigated as remedial strategies.ResultsProgrammes with shorter MDA histories and settings with high pre-intervention endemicity will be the most affected. Biannual MDA is more effective than increasing coverage for mitigating COVID-19’s impact on MDA. Programmes which had already switched to biannual MDA should be minimally affected. In high transmission settings with short treatment history, a 2-year interruption could lead to increased microfilarial load in children (EPIONCHO-IBM) or adults (ONCHOSIM).ConclusionsProgrammes with shorter (annual MDA) treatment histories should be prioritised for remedial biannual MDA. Increases in microfilarial load could have short- and long-term morbidity and mortality repercussions. These results can guide decision-making to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on onchocerciasis elimination.
Agreement between DSM-IV and DSM-5 measures of substance use disorders in a sample of adult substance users
Authors: Livne Ofir , Stohl Malka , Shmulewitz Dvora , Mannes Zachary , Hasin Deborah 
Published: October 2020

AbstractAimIn DSM-5, definitions of substance use disorders (SUD) were changed considerably from DSM-IV, yet little is known about how well DSM-IV and DSM-5 SUD diagnoses agree with each other within a series of individuals with substance use problems.MethodsPrevalences and chance-corrected agreement of DSM-5 SUD and DSM-IV substance dependence were evaluated in 588 adult substance users, interviewed by clinician interviewers using the semi-structured Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders (PRISM-5). Alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, opioid, sedative, and stimulant use disorders were examined. Cohen’s kappa was used to assess agreement between DSM-5 and DSM-IV SUD (including abuse or dependence), DSM-5 SUD and DSM-IV dependence, and DSM-5 moderate-to-severe SUD and DSM-IV dependence.ResultsAgreement between DSM-5 and DSM-IV SUD was excellent for alcohol, cocaine, heroin, opioids, sedatives, and stimulants (κ=0.84; 0.91; 0.99; 0.96; 0.92; 0.97; respectively) and substantial for alcohol and tobacco (κ=0.75; 0.80, respectively). Agreement between DSM-5 SUD and DSM-IV substance dependence was excellent for cocaine, heroin, opioids, sedatives, and stimulants (κ=0.89; 0.97; 0.90; 0.88; 0.94, respectively) and substantial for alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis (κ=0.75; 0.69; 0.63, respectively). Agreement between moderate and severe DSM-5 SUD and DSM-IV dependence was excellent across all substances.ConclusionFindings suggest that while care should always be used in interpreting the results of studies using different methods, studies relying on DSM-IV or DSM-5 SUD diagnostic criteria can be considered to offer similar information and thus can be compared when accumulating a body of evidence on a particular issue regarding substance use.
Validation of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4) and reference norms in a French-Canadian population with traumatic brain injury receiving rehabilitation
Authors: Guerrette Marie-Claude , McKerral Michelle 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo validate the factor structure and establish internal consistency reliability of the French-Canadian version of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (MPAI-4), using a Canadian sample of adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) receiving post-acute rehabilitation services.DesignPsychometric analysis of prospectively collected French-Canadian MPAI-4 data.SettingInpatient and outpatient TBI rehabilitation programs.ParticipantsAdults (N = 1012) with a mild, moderate or severe TBI who received inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation interventions and for whom a first French-Canadian MPAI-4 measure was completed between 2016 and 2020.InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasureFrench-Canadian MPAI-4 questionnaire.ResultsTo evaluate the factor structure of the French-Canadian MPAI-4, an exploratory factor analysis using a varimax rotation method was conducted on z-scores for all items. The final and best solution was a three-factor solution, which accounted for 48.68% of the variance. The internal consistency of the French-Canadian MPAI-4 was determined using Cronbach’s alpha and all three subscales showed good internal consistency (all .70 ≤ α ≤ .89). Reference norms for the TBI sample are provided in the form of T scores for subscales and total score, as well as descriptive raw data according to sex, age, TBI severity and rehabilitation setting.ConclusionsThe three factors extracted using data from the French-Canadian MPAI-4 are similar, but not entirely identical to the three subscales of the original MPAI-4. Overall, the French-Canadian MPAI-4 factor structure is validated. The questionnaire shows good psychometric properties and represents a suitable tool to measure functional evolution and social participation of TBI adults receiving rehabilitation services in a French-Canadian context. The provided reference norms will also help guide the clinical use of the MPAI-4 in French-Canadian TBI populations.
Vaccine hesitancy and non-vaccination in an Irish paediatric outpatient population
Authors: Whelan SO , Moriarty F , Lawlor L , Gorman K , Beamish J 
Published: October 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo administer the Parent Attitudes Childhood Vaccines (PACV) questionnaire to assess vaccine hesitancy and its relationship with non-vaccination.DesignA cross-sectional study using the 15-item PACV questionnaire, with sociodemographic questions.SettingOutpatient department in a tertiary paediatric hospital, Dublin, Ireland.ParticipantsParents/caregivers of children attending general paediatric clinics.Main outcome measuresPACV score and reported non-vaccination. We assessed sociodemographic factors associated with PACV score and accuracy of the PACV in predicting non-vaccination.ResultsIn total, 436 participants completed the questionnaire. 5.5% of our population reported non-vaccination. HPV and MMR vaccines were the most commonly cited vaccines of concern (11.5% and 6.7% respectively) and autism spectrum disorder was the most commonly side effect of concern (4.3%). Mean PACV score was 26.9 (SD 19.1), with a significant difference between non-vaccinators and vaccinators (53.2 vs 25.3, p<0.001). Safety and efficacy concerns were the major contributor to non-vaccination. 14.4% of our population were vaccine-hesitant using the conventional cut-off score, which increased to 22% when using an optimal cut-off which maximised sensitivity and specificity. The accuracy of the PACV score to identify non-vaccination was good (area under the ROC curve = 0.827) and the optimal cut-off had a high negative predictive value (98.5%).ConclusionsPACV identified non-vaccination with high accuracy in our population. It may be useful to screen vaccine hesitant parents who could benefit from interventions to improve uptake.
Genome-wide interaction study implicates VGLL2 and alcohol exposure and PRL and smoking in orofacial cleft risk
Authors: Carlson Jenna C. , Shaffer John R. , Deleyiannis Fred , Hecht Jacqueline T. , Wehby George L. , Christensen Kaare , Feingold Eleanor , Weinberg Seth M. , Marazita Mary L. , Leslie Elizabeth J. 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTNon-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is a common birth defect, affecting approximately 1 in 700 births. NSCL/P has complex etiology including several known genes and environmental factors; however, known genetic risk variants only account for a small fraction of the heritability of NSCL/P. It is commonly suggested that gene-by-environment (G×E) interactions may help explain some of the “missing” heritability of NSCL/P. We conducted a genome-wide G×E interaction study in European cases and controls with three common maternal exposures during pregnancy: alcohol, smoking, and vitamin use using a two-stage design. After selecting 127 loci with suggestive 2df tests for gene and G x E effects, 40 loci showed significant G x E effects after correcting for multiple tests. Notable interactions included SNPs of 6q22 near VGLL2 with alcohol and 6p22.3 near PRL with smoking. These interactions could provide new insights into the etiology of CL/P and new opportunities to modify risk through behavioral changes.
Mieap forms membrane-less organelles to compartmentalize and facilitate cardiolipin metabolism
Authors: Ikari Naoki , Honjo Katsuko , Sagami Yoko , Nakamura Yasuyuki , Arakawa Hirofumi 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBiomolecular condensates (BCs) are formed by proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) via liquid–liquid phase separation. Mieap/Spata18, a p53-inducible protein, participates in suppression of colorectal tumors by promoting mitochondrial quality control. However, the regulatory mechanism involved remains unclear. Here, we report that Mieap is an IDR-containing protein that drives formation of BCs involved in cardiolipin metabolism. Mieap BCs specifically phase separate the mitochondrial phospholipid, cardiolipin. Mieap directly binds to cardiolipinin vitro. Lipidomic analysis of cardiolipin suggests that Mieap promotes enzymatic reactions in cardiolipin biosynthesis and remodeling. Accordingly, four cardiolipin biosynthetic enzymes, TAMM41, PGS1, PTPMT1, and CRLS1, and two remodeling enzymes, PLA2G6 and TAZ, are phase-separated by Mieap BCs. Mieap-deficient cells exhibit altered crista structure, leading to decreased respiration activity and ATP production in mitochondria. These results suggest that Mieap may form membrane-less organelles to compartmentalize and facilitate cardiolipin metabolism, thus potentially contributing to mitochondrial quality control.
Symbiont-Screener: a reference-free filter to automatically separate host sequences and contaminants for long reads or co-barcoded reads by unsupervised clustering
Authors: Xu Mengyang , Guo Lidong , Shi Chengcheng , Liu Xiaochuan , Chen Jianwei , Liu Xin , Fan Guangyi 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDecontamination is necessary for eliminating the effect of foreign genomes on the symbiont studies and biomedical discoveries. However, direct extraction of host sequencing reads with no references remains challenging. Here, we present a triobased method to classify the host error-prone long reads or sparse co-barcoded reads prior to assembly, free of any alignments against DNA or protein references. This method first identifies high-confident host reads by haplotype-specifick-mers inherited from parents, and then groups remaining host reads by the unsupervised clustering. Experimental results demonstrated that this approach successfully classified up to 97.38% of the host human long reads with the precision rate of 99.9999%, and 79.95% host co-barcoded reads with the precision rate of 98.36% using an artificially mixed data. Moreover, the tool also exhibited a good performance on the decontamination of the real algae data. The purified reads reconstructed two haplotypes and improved the assembly with larger contig NGA50 value and less misassemblies. Symbiont-Screener can be freely downloaded athttps://github.com/BGI-Qingdao/Symbiont-Screener.