bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic role of plasma galectin-3 levels in acute coronary syndrome
Authors: Obeid Slayman , Yousif Nooraldaem , Davies Allan , Loretz Ruben , Saleh Lanja , Niederseer David , Noor Husam A , Amin Haitham , Mach François , Gencer Baris , Räber Lorenz , Windecker Stephan , Templin Christian , Nanchen David , Rodondi Nicolas , Muller Olivier , Matter Christian M , von Eckardstein Arnold , Lüscher Thomas F 
Published: December 2020

Aim:
Cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and galectin-3 have emerged as biomarker candidates to predict cardiovascular outcomes and mortality in the general population as well as in patients with coronary artery or renal disease. However, their predictive role and clinical utility in patients with acute coronary syndromes alone or in combination beyond currently used risk scores remains to be determined.

Methods and results:
Cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and galectin-3 were measured in plasmas of 1832 patients at the time of presentation with acute coronary syndromes requiring percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting. The primary outcomes were major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (defined as the composite of all-cause mortality, cerebrovascular events, any repeat revascularization or myocardial infarction) and all-cause mortality after 1 year and occurred in 192 (10.5%) and 78 (4.3%) of patients, respectively. All three biomarkers were increased in those with major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events compared with those without (p&lt;0.001). However, only galectin-3 (all-cause mortality: hazard ratio=1.027 (95% confidence interval (1.011–1.043); p=0.001), major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events: hazard ratio=1.025 (95% confidence interval (1.012–1.037); p&lt;0.001)) but not cystatin C nor neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin emerged as independent predictors of both major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events and death. The risks were particularly high in the highest quartile of galectin-3. The integration of galectin-3 into the global registry of acute coronary events (GRACE) score improved the prediction of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events and all-cause mortality significantly. The areas under the receiver operator characteristics curves increased from 0.6701 to 0.6932 for major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (p=0.0474) and from 0.804 to 0.8199 for all-cause mortality (p=0.0197). Finally, we applied net reclassification improvement index using different cut-offs for major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events which showed negative results (for the cut-offs of 5% and 15%, net reclassification improvement index 0.028, p=0.586, for the cut-offs of 10% and 20%, net reclassification improvement index 0.072, p=0.1132 and for the cut-offs of 10% and 30% the net reclassification improvement index is 0.0843, p=0.077).

Conclusion:
In acute coronary syndromes patients, galectin-3 has moderate prognostic accuracy, provides statistically significant incremental value in some, but not all models, and that the magnitude of any improvement would seem of questionable clinical value.
Prostate cancer in the British Asian population: A case-control study
Authors: Forster Luke R , Jelley Clare , Breeze Charles E , Singh Rajindra , Chahal Rohit , Addla Sanjai K 
Published: December 2020

Objectives: To study demographic and disease variables at presentation, diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer in British South Asian (SA) men and compare with their Caucasian counterparts. Methods: A retrospective review of prostate cancer cases between 2010 and 2015 identified patients of SA descent who were matched for age, residential location and year of diagnosis with two Caucasian patients. Disease characteristics, treatment and short-term outcomes were recorded and compared. Results: A total of 1274 patients were diagnosed, of which 50 (3.9%) were SA. SA patients had less screen-detected prostate cancer (12% versus 31%, p=0.02), more co-morbidity and more high-risk disease (57% versus 37%, p=0.03). Active surveillance was the preferred treatment option (32%) with 2% having surgery compared with 22% ( p=0.003) from the Caucasian cohort. Logistic regression showed these disparities to be related to the different presentations. Conclusion: SA men with prostate cancer are less likely to be diagnosed following asymptomatic screening and the majority have high-risk disease at presentation. These differences lead to SA men preferring active surveillance to radical surgery. Given the increasing British Asian population, the findings demonstrate a need for research and public health interventions to better understand and address the differences noted between these groups.
Joining semantic and augmented reality to design smart homes for assistance
Authors: Haidon Corentin , Pigot Hélène , Giroux Sylvain 
Published: December 2020

Introduction Smart homes for assistance help compensate cognitive deficits, thus favoring aging in place. However, to be effective, the assistance must be adapted to the abilities, deficits, and habits of the person. Beside the elder, caregivers are the ones who know the person’s needs best. This article presents a Do-it-Yourself approach for helping caregivers designing a smart home for assistance. Methods A co-construction process between a caregiver and a virtual adviser was designed. The knowledge of the virtual adviser about smart homes, activities of daily living and assistance is organized in an ontology. The caregiver interacts with the virtual adviser in augmented reality to describe the home and the resident’s habits inside it. The process is illustrated with an ordinary activity: ‘Drink water’. Results The proposed process highlights two main steps: describing the environment and determining the resident’s habits and the assistance required to improve activity performance. Visual guidance and feedback are provided to ease the process. Conclusion Designing a co-construction process with a virtual adviser allows interactive knowledge sharing with the caregivers who are experts of the person’s needs. Future work should focus on evaluating the prototype presented and providing deeper advice such as highlighting incomplete or incorrect scenarios, or navigation aid.
External Debt Distress in South Asia: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis
Authors: Abbas Shujaat , Wizarat Shahida , Mansoor Sadia 
Published: December 2020

This study is an attempt to explore social and economic determinants of external debt distress in five selected South Asian countries, that is, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, from 1980 to 2018, by using the contemporary panel fixed effect model and system generalized methods of moments. The findings revealed that the major determinants of external debt distress in selected South Asian countries are large and increasing current account deficits, lower gross capital formation, foreign direct investment and large military expenditures. Among selected socio-economic variables, the increase in life expectancy increases external debt distress, whereas urbanization reduces it considerably. The study urges selected South Asian countries to correct highly unfavourable current account balance, resolve regional conflicts leading to the reduction of the arms race and make the macroeconomic environment friendly for domestic and foreign investment to reduce exploding external debt distress. JEL Classification: C33, E22, F32, H63
Effect of nodule size on symptoms and the choice of surgical technique in patients with bladder endometriosis
Authors: Abdalla Ribeiro Helizabet Salomão , da Costa Porto Beatriz Taliberti , Bassoi Luisa , Ninomiya Graziela Y , Tomasi Mariana C , Cervantes Graziele V , Ribeiro Paulo Ayroza 
Published: December 2020

Introduction: In this study, we evaluated the relationships between symptoms of bladder endometriosis (EDT), lesion size, and the subsequent surgical technique used to excise the lesion. Methods: This is retrospective observational study of patients who underwent surgery in the Gynecological Endoscopy and Endometriosis Section at Hospital da Santa Casa of São Paulo, Brazil. A sample population of 39 women diagnosed with bladder EDT was included from 463 women presenting with deep pelvic EDT between January 2010 and March 2017. Clinical evaluations and surgical treatments for each EDT were performed. Results: Of the 39 women, 43.58% had dysmenorrhea or dyspareunia and 2.56% had hematuria. Furthermore, 21.10% presented with dysuria and endometriotic nodules on the bladder ( p < 0.04). The nodules had reached the muscle layer in 97.30% of patients, and a further 2.60% had reached the mucosal layer. In addition to bladder involvement, other pelvic regions were affected, including the left (15.8%) and right (13.2%) round ligament, left (68.4%) and right (65.8%) uterosacral ligament, retrocervical region (84.20%), and ureter (45.71%). Conclusion: The patients’ pain symptoms were found to be associated with bladder endometriosis and nodule size. Partial cystectomy with complete lesion excision might be an effective treatment option to relieve these symptoms. A study with a larger sample population is needed to confirm these findings.
Prognostic factors in High-Grade Localized Osteosarcoma of the Extremities: The Tunisian Experience
Authors: Letaief Feryel , Khrouf Salim , Yahiaoui Yosra , Hamdi Adel , Gabsi Azza , Ayadi Mouna , Mezlini Amel 
Published: December 2020

Background: Osteosarcoma is the most frequent bone cancer occurring in children and adolescents aged 10–20 years. Several prognostic factors have been identified by studies done at western centers. The aim of our study was to identify the prognostic factors in Tunisian patients in order to improve their management. Methods: We reviewed the data of localized limb osteosarcoma patients treated in Salah Azaïz Institute from January 1980 to December 2018. Patient’s treatment and survival variables were assessed. Patients received a neoadjuvant chemotherapy and underwent surgery in an expert center. They received afterward an adjuvant chemotherapy depending on the tumor necrosis assessed by Huvos. Results: Eighty-five patients were enrolled. Mean duration of follow-up was 30 months (range 1–297 months). Males were 1.6 times more frequent, median age was 17 (from 1 to 62 years). Conventional osteoblastic osteosarcoma was the most frequent histological subtype (77%). Median tumor size was 10 cm. Femoral location was the most frequent (60%). The overall average history of symptoms was 103 days (4 to 423 days). The 5-year overall-survival was 38% and the event free survival 32%. Tumor site, lactate dehydrogenase levels, high methotrexate levels at 24 h, clinical evaluation of the tumor perimeter, surgery type and delay of relapse were found to affect overall survival. Tumor site, Lactate dehydrogenase levels and clinical evaluation of the tumor perimeter affected the progression free survival. Conclusion: Demographic characteristics of Tunisian patients are mainly the same than worldwide. Femoral site, normal level of lactate dehydrogenase, a clinical response during neoadjuvant treatment, an R0 surgery, a delay of relapse over 2 years and Median H24 Methotrexate level superior to 4.4 µmol/l were associated with a better prognosis in our study.
Bone Marrow Concentrate Injection Treatment Improves Short-term Outcomes in Symptomatic Hip Osteoarthritis Patients: A Pilot Study
Authors: Whitney Kaitlyn E. , Briggs Karen K. , Chamness Carolyn , Bolia Ioanna K. , Huard Johnny , Philippon Marc J. , Evans Thos A. 
Published: December 2020

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States, the hip being the second most affected weightbearing joint. Autologous bone marrow concentrate (BMC) is a promising alternative therapy to conventional treatments, with the potential to mitigate inflammation and improve joint function. Purpose: To investigate the effectiveness of a single intra-articular BMC injection for patients with symptomatic hip OA. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A total of 24 patients diagnosed with symptomatic hip OA who elected to undergo a single BMC injection were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients were excluded if they reported a preinjection Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score for pain with activity of <6 points out of 10. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Hip Outcome Score–Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL), 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and NRS pain scores were collected before and after the procedure (6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months). Joint space and Tönnis OA grade scores were recorded on preinjection anteroposterior pelvis radiographs. Results: A total of 18 hips from 16 patients (7 male and 9 female) (mean age, 57.6 ± 11; mean body mass index, 25.9 ± 3.6 kg/m2) were used in the final analysis. Significant improvements were observed in NRS pain with activity (from 8 to 4.5; P < .001) and without activity (from 5 to 1; P < .001), WOMAC (from 31 to 16; P = .006), mHHS (from 63 to 80; P = .004), and HOS-ADL (from 71 to 85; P = .014) over 6 months. At 6 months, all patients maintained their improvements and did not return to preprocedure status. BMI significantly correlated with baseline WOMAC scores ( P = .012) and inversely correlated with 6-month SF-12 Physical Component Summary ( P = .038). Tönnis grades 2 and 3 were inversely correlated with 6-week SF-12 Mental Component Summary ( P = .008) and 3-month pain with activity ( P = .032). No serious adverse events were reported from the BMC harvest or injection procedure. Conclusion: A single BMC injection can significantly improve subjective pain and function scores up to 6 months in patients with symptomatic hip OA. Further studies are warranted to evaluate BMC treatment against other therapeutics in a larger sample size and compare the biological signature profiles that may be responsible for the therapeutic effect.
Sustainable Development Goals as a Framework for Postgraduate Future Research Following COVID-19 Pandemic: A New Norm for Developing Countries
Authors: Useh Ushotanefe 
Published: December 2020

Purpose and Significance: Education is regarded as the key to economic development, and COVID-19 has provided all universities the unique opportunity to urgently address their fitness for purpose. Universities can play a significant role in contributing to a more sustainable world by mainstreaming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at postgraduate levels. The opportunity to utilize United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) as the framework for postgraduate projects in solving real world’s challenges in our communities after the COVID-19 pandemic was explored. Main Body: One way of ensuring concomitant attainments of the SDGs with community development is that post-COVID-19 postgraduate projects should be purposively driven to address UN SDGs to make positive social impact in our communities. Through this, higher education institutions (HEIs) will be contributing in no little measures to human capital and social development with sustainable developments driven through interdisciplinary approach. Conclusion: The research products upon the completion of master’s and doctoral studies from our different universities should be purposively designed in accordance with the UN SDGs and universities’ visions to solve real-life challenges and therefore make social impacts in our communities. All HEIs should embrace an integrated approach by designing courses with learning objectives that are clearly focused on holistic approaches to sustainable societal development.
Iatrogenic Subretinal Triamcinolone During Primary Surgical Repair of a Retinal Detachment With a Giant Retinal Tear
Authors: Xu Kunyong , Chin Eric K. , Almeida David R.P. 
Published: December 2020

Purpose: We describe the outcome of a 23-year-old man undergoing vitreoretinal surgery for a macula-off rhegmatogenous retinal detachment secondary to a giant retinal tear. Methods: Patient underwent combined 25- gauge 3-port pars plana vitrectomy with scleral buckle, perfluorocarbon liquid, and perfluoropropane gas tamponade. During surgery, triamcinolone inadvertently entered the subretinal space and was retained. Results: The subretinal triamcinolone deposits spontaneously absorbed over a 2-month period. No adverse sequelae were associated with this complication. Conclusion: This may support avoiding aggressive mechanical removal of iatrogenic subretinal triamcinolone in the context of retinal detachment repair.
What is the role of technology in improving patient safety? A French, German and UK healthcare professional perspective
Authors: Astier Alain , Carlet Jean , Hoppe-Tichy Torsten , Jacklin Ann , Jeanes Annette , McManus Steve , Pletz Mathias W , Seifert Harald , Fitzpatrick Ray 
Published: December 2020

Patient safety in hospitals can be compromised by preventable adverse events (AE). Among the preventable AEs, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are one of the most burdensome, contributing to not only poorer patient outcomes but institutional burden through direct financial losses and increased patient length of stay.  Technological innovations can enhance patient safety by automating tasks, introducing medication alerts, clinical reminders, improved diagnostic and consultation reports, facilitating information sharing, improving clinical decision-making, intercepting potential errors, reducing variation in practice, and managing workforce shortages as well as making complete patient data available.  A multidisciplinary working group from three European countries was convened to discuss how to optimise the use of technology to reduce preventable AEs in acute care hospitals. The working group identified examples where they felt there were opportunities to streamline patient pathways, including antimicrobial stewardship, point of care testing, microbiology test reporting to streamline time from sample-taking to clinical decision and mobile automated dispensing systems, which can reduce the burden on overworked staff. The working group also discussed key factors that were critical to ensuring different stakeholders, both within and outside the hospital, could meaningfully contribute to improving patient safety. They agreed that technological approaches and advances would have limited impact without meaningful cultural changes at all levels of healthcare infrastructure to implement the benefits offered by current or future technologies.
Strategizing Under Economic Uncertainties: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Indian Auto Sector
Authors: Bhatt Pratyush , Varghese Sumeet 
Published: December 2020

Formulating business strategies in times of economic uncertainty can be a challenging exercise because of rapid changes in market assumptions, projections, and conditions. Studies have shown that the repertory of strategic choices that businesses explore, to handle uncertain economic environments, is not highly varied. This article reviews the strategic responses that leading Indian auto manufacturers have adopted in order to handle the dip in demand post COVID-19. Given that the Indian automobile industry has been facing headwinds since 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic could not have hit the sector at a more inopportune time. This article aims to review how firms in the sector ride through an economic slump and also sheds light on strategic decision-making patterns The article exclusively focuses on leading automobile firms and does not analyze actions taken by comparatively smaller players to stay afloat. Hence, this article does not delve into the actions that suppliers and dealers are exploring. Most importantly, this article contains a comprehensive analysis of the financial performance of a few auto majors. This article seeks to piece together a picture of firm-level strategies on the basis of publicly accessible financial statements and news reports.
Describing the end-of-life doula role and practices of care: perspectives from four countries
Authors: Krawczyk Marian , Rush Merilynne 
Published: December 2020

Background: End-of-life doulas are emerging as a potentially important new form of community-based caregiving in the global North, yet we know little about this form of care. The aim of our study was to solicit the perspective of key stakeholders and early innovators in community-based end-of-life care about the development and practices of end-of-life doulas. Methods: We conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with participants in four countries where end-of-life doulas are most active: Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Findings: This article focuses on participants’ description of the end-of-life doula role and attendant practices, and our findings provide the first detailed taxonomy of the end-of-life doula role and specific services on the basis of the perspective of subject experts in four countries. We situate our findings within literature on the professionalization of caregiving, with particular attention to nomenclature, role flexibility and boundary blurring, and explicit versus tacit knowledge. We also discuss the importance of jurisdictional considerations as the end-of-life doula movement develops. Discussion: We speculate that the end-of-life doula role is potentially experiencing common developmental antecedents similar to other now-professionalized forms of caregiving. Our findings contribute substantial new information to the small body of empirical research about the end-of-life doula role and practices, provide critical firsthand insight as the movement develops, and are the first research to explore end-of-life doulas from a comparative international perspective.
Constitutive activation of Lyn kinase enhances BCR responsiveness, but not the development of CLL in Eµ-TCL1 mice
Authors: Kohlhas Viktoria , Hallek Michael , Nguyen Phuong-Hien 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
The treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been improved dramatically by inhibitors targeting B-cell receptor (BCR)–associated kinases. The tyrosine kinase Lyn is a key modulator of BCR signaling and shows increased expression and activity in CLL. To evaluate the functional relevance of Lyn for CLL, we generated a conditional knockin mouse model harboring a gain-of-function mutation of the Lyn gene (LynY508F), which was specifically expressed in the B-cell lineage (Lynup-B). Kinase activity profiling revealed an enhanced responsiveness to BCR stimulation in Lynup-B B cells. When crossing Lynup-B mice with Eµ-TCL1 mice (TCL1tg/wt), a transgenic mouse model for CLL, the resulting TCL1tg/wt Lynup-B mice showed no significant change of hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, bone marrow infiltration, or overall survival when compared with TCL1tg/wt mice. Our data also suggested that TCL1 expression has partially masked the effect of the Lynup-B mutation, because the BCR response was only slightly increased in TCL1tg/wt Lynup-B compared with TCL1tg/wt. In contrast, TCL1tg/wt Lynup-B were protected at various degrees against spontaneous apoptosis in vitro and upon treatment with kinase inhibitors targeting the BCR. Collectively, and consistent with our previous data in a Lyn-deficient CLL model, these data lend further suggest that an increased activation of Lyn kinase in B cells does not appear to be a major driver of leukemia progression and the level of increased BCR responsiveness induced by Lynup-B is insufficient to induce clear changes to CLL pathogenesis in vivo.