bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Treatment of gastrointestinal tumor (GIST) of the rectum requiring abdominoperineal resection following neoadjuvant imatinib: a cost-effectiveness analysis
Authors: Farid Mohamad , Ong Johnny , Chia Claramae , Tan Grace , Teo Melissa , Quek Richard , Teh Jonathan , Matchar David 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background
Neoadjuvant imatinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) of the rectum can reduce, but may not eliminate, risk of surgical morbidity from permanent bowel diversion. We sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative strategies in rectal GIST patients requiring abdominoperineal resection following neoadjuvant imatinib.

Methods
We developed a Markov model using a healthcare payers’ perspective to estimate costs in 2017 Singapore dollars (SGD) and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) for upfront abdominoperineal resection (UAPR) versus continued imatinib until progression (CIUP) following 1 year of neoadjuvant imatinib. Transition probabilities and utilities were obtained from published data, and costs were estimated using data from the National Cancer Centre Singapore. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to probe model uncertainty. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio below SGD 50,000 per QALY gained was considered cost-effective.

Results
In the base case, UAPR dominates CIUP being both more effective (8.66 QALYS vs 5.43 QALYs) and less expensive (SGD 312,627 vs SGD 339,011). These estimates were most sensitive to 2 variables, utility of abdominoperineal resection and annual recurrence probability post-abdominoperineal resection. However, simultaneously varying the values of these variables to maximally favor CIUP did not render it the more cost effective strategy at willingness to pay (WTP) of SGD 50,000. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, UAPR had probability of being cost-effective compared with CIUP greater than 95%, reaching 100% at WTP SGD 10,000.

Conclusion
UAPR is more effective and less costly than CIUP for patients with rectal GIST requiring abdominoperineal resection following neoadjuvant imatinib, and is the strategy of choice in this setting.
Legg-Calve-Perthes disease in an 8-year old girl with Acrodysostosis type 1 on growth hormone therapy: case report
Authors: Lim Whei Ying , Germain-Lee Emily L. , Dunbar Nancy S. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background
Acrodyostosis type 1 (ACRDYS1) is a rare skeletal dysplasia, and sometimes it can be misdiagnosed as pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1A (PHP1A), a subtype of Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO), due to overlapping features. Growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) resistance with severe short stature is common in both ACRDYS1 and PHP1A (Emily L. Germain-Lee, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 88:4059–4069, 2003). Whereas growth hormone (GH) treatment has been studied in patients with PHP1a, the same is not true for the rarer ACRDYS1. Here in we report an adverse orthopedic outcome in a patient with ACRDYS1 with severe short stature treated with growth hormone. Our experience could have implications for the treatment of other patients with this disorder.

Case presentation
We report a case of Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (LCPD) in an 8-year old female with ACRDYS1 treated with GH. She initially presented with marked short stature (height Z-score − 3.46) with a low normal insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF1) level, and had biochemical evidence of thyrotropin and parathyroid hormone resistance. GH therapy was initiated at 0.35 mg/kg/week leading to increased growth velocity. After 7 months on GH, she developed right knee pain. Radiographic images revealed flattening of her right femoral head consistent with LCPD. GH was discontinued. Six weeks later, radiographs revealed further collapse of the entire femoral head. Her lesion stabilized after 8 months with conservative management and she never resumed GH. Her final adult height is 4′2″ (128 cm).

Conclusion
Patients with ACRDYS1 on GH therapy may be at increased risk of LCPD. This has not been reported in patients with PHP1A treated with GH. Clinicians and families need to be aware of this potential complication when counseling about GH treatment.
A study of hepatic fibrosis staging methods using diffraction enhanced imaging
Authors: Wang Jing , Li Hui , Zhou Xiuling , Gao Xiao-Zhi , Wang Ming 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe early hepatic fibrosis staging is very important for timely diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of all chronic liver diseases. Diffraction-enhanced imaging, which can provide much more information on soft tissue morphology than conventional absorption radiography, might be a potential noninvasive technique to diagnose and stage hepatic fibrosis. This paper presents different feature extraction strategies and classification methods to automatically classify hepatic fibrosis using diffraction-enhanced imaging images. Texture features are obtained using a total of three methods including first order feature, gray level co-occurrence matrix, and grayscale gradient co-occurrence matrix. The fusion of these texture features is also studied. The principal component analysis is used to reduce the dimension of the features and redundant information among data. The features are classified using two popular classification techniques, namely, K-nearest neighbors and support vector machines. On the basis of the comparison of different feature strategies and classification methods, we can identify the suitable methods for grading hepatic fibrosis. The proposed approach efficiently classifies the hepatic fibrosis DEI images into four classes with the highest classification accuracy of 99.99%. We further demonstrate the potential of the DEI images in staging hepatic fibrosis.
On a system of fractional q-differential inclusions via sum of two multi-term functions on a time scale
Authors: Samei Mohammad Esmael , Rezapour Shahram 
Published: August 2020

AbstractNowadays most researchers have been focused on fractional calculus because it has been proved that fractional derivatives could describe most phenomena better than usual derivations. Numerical parts of fractional calculus such as q-derivations are considered by researchers. In this work, our aim is to review the existence of solution for an m-dimensional system of fractional q-differential inclusions via sum of two multi-term functions under some boundary conditions on the time scale $\mathbb{T}_{t_{0}}= \{ t : t =t_{0}q^{n}\}\cup\{0\}$

T

t
0

=
{
t
:
t
=

t
0

q
n

}
∪
{
0
}
, where $n\geq1$
n
≥
1
, $t_{0} \in\mathbb{R}$

t
0

∈
R
, and $q \in(0,1)$
q
∈
(
0
,
1
)
. By using the Banach contraction principle and some sufficient conditions, we guarantee the existence of solutions for the system of q-differential inclusions. Also, we provide an example, some algorithms, and a figure to illustrate our main result.
Mathematical modeling of hepatitis B virus infection for antiviral therapy using LHAM
Authors: Aniji M. , Kavitha N. , Balamuralitharan S. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAnti-viral therapy is comparatively very effective for patients who get affected by the hepatitis B virus. It is of prime importance to understand the different relations among the viruses, immune responses and overall health of the liver. In this paper, mathematical modeling is done to analyze and understand the effect of antiviral therapy using LHAM which describes the possible relation to HBV and target liver cells. The numerical simulations and error analysis are done up to a sixth-order approximation with the help of Matlab. This paper analyzes how the number of infected cells largely gets reduced and also how the liver damage can be controlled. Therefore, the treatment is successful for HBV infected patients.
Global behavior and the periodic character of some biological models
Authors: Moaaz Osama , Awrejcewicz Jan , Mahjoub Hamida 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBiological models are usually described using difference equations. As a result, we are - in this work - interested in studying a general difference model which includes two biological models as special cases. In detail, we study the qualitative behaviors (local and global stability, boundedness and periodicity character) of a general difference model. Furthermore, we apply our general results to the population model with two age classes and the flour beetle model.
Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Mechanical Performance of a Wall-beam-strut Joint with Mechanical Couplers for Prefabricated Underground Construction
Authors: Liu Tingjin , Lu Jiandong , Liu Hongyuan 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThis paper investigates the nonlinear behavior of wall-beam-strut joints with mechanical couplers, which are proposed for prefabricated underground constructions, under monotonic and cyclic loading conditions using full-scale experimental tests and three-dimensional finite element modelings. The nonlinear behavior of the joint is discussed in terms of the load–displacement curves, concrete cracking distributions, and strains in the reinforcements obtained from both the experimental tests and the numerical modeling. The comparison indicates that the trends of both load–displacement curves are similar, although the cracking, yield and ultimate loads of the joints determined by the numerical modeling are 2.5% lower, 2.6% higher and 3.8% higher, respectively, than those determined by the experimental tests. The numerical simulation can capture the concrete cracking process in the joint in the early loading stage but cannot accurately model the crack distribution in later stages. Moreover, the reinforcement strains and the skeleton curve from the numerical modeling show the same tendency as those from the experimental test, but it is difficult to compare their exact values, especially after yielding. The differences are believed due to the fact that the numerical modeling idealizes the materials and fails to model the slippage between the reinforcements and concrete after the concrete cracking. On the basis of the experimental and numerical investigations, it is concluded that the proposed wall-beam-strut joint has not only an ultimate bearing capacity that is at least 3 times higher than the design load but also a good ductility. Therefore, the design of the wall-beam-strut joint satisfies the requirements for the prefabricated underground construction.
Do olfactory and gustatory psychophysical scores have prognostic value in COVID-19 patients? A prospective study of 106 patients
Authors: Vaira Luigi Angelo , Hopkins Claire , Petrocelli Marzia , Lechien Jerome R. , Soma Damiano , Giovanditto Federica , Rizzo Davide , Salzano Giovanni , Piombino Pasquale , Saussez Sven , De Riu Giacomo 
Published: August 2020

Background The lack of objective data makes it difficult to establish the prognostic value of chemosensitive disorders in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We aimed to prospectively monitor patients diagnosed with COVID-19 to see if the severity of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction associates with subsequent disease severity. Methods Multicentre prospective study that recruited 106 COVID-19 subjects at diagnosis. Chemosensitive functions were assessed with psychophysical tests within 4 days of clinical onset, at 10 and 20 days. Daily body temperature and oxygen saturation were recorded as markers of disease severity alongside need for hospitalisation. The correlation between olfactory and gustatory scores and disease severity was assessed with linear regression analysis. Results At T0, 71 patients (67%) presented with olfactory dysfunction while gustatory impairment was detected in 76 cases (65.6%). Chemosensitive disorders gradually improved over the observation period. No significant correlations were found between T0 chemosensitive scores and final disease severity. The correlation between olfactory scores and fever proved significant at T2 ( p = 0.05), while the relationship with gustatory scores was significant at T1 ( p = 0.01) and T2 ( p <  0.001), however neither was clinically relevant. The correlation between chemosensitive scores and oxygen saturation was significant only for taste at T2 ( p <  0.001). Logistic regression analysis found significant correlations between olfactory impairment severity and need for hospitalization at T2 (OR 3.750, p = 0.005). Conclusions Initial objective olfactory and gustatory scores do not seem to have a significant prognostic value in predicting the severity of the COVID-19 course; however, persistence of olfactory dysfunction at 20 days, associated with a more severe course. Unfortunately, olfactory and gustatory dysfunction do not seem to hold prognostic value at the time of initial diagnosis.
Inferring the votes in a new political landscape: the case of the 2019 Spanish Presidential elections
Authors: Grimaldi Didier , Cely Javier Diaz , Arboleda Hugo 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe avalanche of personal and social data circulating in Online Social Networks over the past 10 years has attracted a great deal of interest from Scholars and Practitioners who seek to analyse not only their value, but also their limits. Predicting election results using Twitter data is an example of how data can directly influence the politic domain and it also serves an appealing research topic. This article aims to predict the results of the 2019 Spanish Presidential election and the voting share of each candidate, using Tweeter. The method combines sentiment analysis and volume information and compares the performance of five Machine learning algorithms. Several data scrutiny uncertainties arose that hindered the prediction of the outcome. Consequently, the method develops a political lexicon-based framework to measure the sentiments of online users. Indeed, an accurate understanding of the contextual content of the tweets posted was vital in this work. Our results correctly ranked the candidates and determined the winner by means of a better prediction of votes than official research institutes.
Macrophage activation syndrome and COVID-19
Authors: Otsuka Ryo , Seino Ken-ichiro 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAn emerging, rapidly spreading coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is causing a devastating pandemic. As we have not developed curative medicine and effective vaccine, the end of this life-threatening infectious disease is still unclear. Severe COVID-19 is often associated with hypercytokinemia, which is typically found in macrophage activation syndrome. SARS-CoV-2 infection causes this strong inflammation within the lung and propagates to respiratory and, ultimately, systemic organ malfunction. Although we have not fully understood the physiological and pathological aspects of COVID-19, current research progress indicates the effectiveness of anti-cytokine therapy. Here, we summarize macrophage activation syndrome and its possible contribution to COVID-19, and cytokine targeted attempts in severe COVID-19 cases.
Maintaining critical infrastructure resilience to natural hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic: hurricane preparations by US energy companies
Authors: Clark-Ginsberg Aaron , Rueda Ismael Arciniegas , Monken Jonathon , Liu Jay , Chen Hong 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to compromise the ability of critical infrastructure utilities to respond to or mitigate natural hazards like wildfires and hurricanes. This article describes the ways that an energy organization, the regional transmission operator PJM, is preparing for hurricanes during the COVID-19 pandemic. PJM is using a combination of technological and organizational processes to prepare for hurricanes during the pandemic. Activities include the development of a third control room to increase redundancy and maintaining social distance at control center, investment in more resilient communications technology to maintain connectivity, and taking a holistic approach to identifying issues related to supply chain and fuel security. With this mix of organizational and technological processes, we argue that critical infrastructure resilience should be understood as a sociotechnical construct and identify several recommendations for improving resilience. The article has implications for policymakers working to maintain infrastructure resilience to natural hazards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mental health services for single homeless people
Authors: Timms Philip , Drife Jenny 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYHomelessness has long been associated with high rates of psychosis, alcohol and substance misuse, and personality disorder. However, psychiatric services in the UK have only recently engaged actively with homeless people. This article provides some background information about homelessness and mental illness and describes the elements of inclusion health and some of the models of service for homeless people that have been established over the past 30 years.
Dabrafenib and Trametinib in Patients With Tumors With BRAFV600E Mutations: Results of the NCI-MATCH Trial Subprotocol H
Authors: Salama April K. S. , Li Shuli , Macrae Erin R. , Park Jong-In , Mitchell Edith P. , Zwiebel James A. , Chen Helen X. , Gray Robert J. , McShane Lisa M. , Rubinstein Larry V. , Patton David , Williams P. Mickey , Hamilton Stanley R. , Armstrong Deborah K. , Conley Barbara A. , Arteaga Carlos L. , Harris Lyndsay N. , O’Dwyer Peter J. , Chen Alice P. , Flaherty Keith T. 
Published: August 2020

PURPOSE BRAFV600 mutations are commonly found in melanoma and thyroid cancers and to a lesser degree in other tumor types. Subprotocol H (EAY131-H) of the NCI-MATCH platform trial sought to investigate the selective BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib and the MEK1/2 inhibitor trametinib in patients with solid tumors, lymphomas, or multiple myeloma whose tumors harbored a BRAFV600 mutation. PATIENTS AND METHODS EAY131-H is an open-label, single-arm study. Patients with melanoma, thyroid, or colorectal cancer were excluded; patients with non–small-cell lung cancer were later excluded in an amendment. Patients received dabrafenib 150 mg twice per day and trametinib 2 mg per day continuously until disease progression or intolerable toxicity. The primary end point was centrally assessed objective response rate (ORR); secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS), 6-month PFS, and overall survival. RESULTS Thirty-five patients were enrolled, and 29 were included in the primary efficacy analysis as prespecified in the protocol. Median age was 59 years, and 45% of the patients had received ≥ 3 lines of therapy. The confirmed ORR was 38% (90% CI, 22.9% to 54.9%) with P < .0001 against a null rate of 5%, and PFS was 11.4 months (90% CI, 8.4 to 16.3 months); responses were seen in 7 distinct tumor types. Seven patients had a duration of response of > 12 months, including 4 patients with a duration of response of > 24 months. An additional 8 patients had a PFS > 6 months. The median overall survival was 28.6 months. Reported adverse events were comparable to those noted in previously reported profiles of dabrafenib and trametinib. CONCLUSION This study met its primary end point, with an ORR of 38% ( P < .0001) in this mixed histology, pretreated cohort. This promising activity warrants additional investigations in BRAFV600-mutated tumors outside of currently approved indications.
Outcome-Based Pricing for New Pharmaceuticals via Rebates
Authors: Adida Elodie 
Published: August 2020

The price of new brand-name prescription drugs has been rising fast in the United States. For example, the Amgen cholesterol drug Repatha had an initial list price of $14,523 per year. Patients, even with insurance coverage, must pay out of pocket a significant portion of this price. The treatment might not be successful, and this possibility reduces risk-sensitive patients’ incentives to purchase the drug. The high price together with the chance of negative treatment outcomes may lead payers to deny coverage for the drug. Outcome-based pricing has been proposed as a way to reallocate the risks and improve both payer resource allocation and patient access to drugs. According to an outcome-based rebate contract between Amgen and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, if a patient on Repatha suffers a heart attack or a stroke, both patient and insurer are refunded the cost of the drug. We use a stylized model to analyze the effect of outcome-based pricing via rebates. Our model captures the interaction between heterogenous, price-sensitive, risk-sensitive patients who decide whether to purchase the drug; a payer deciding whether to provide coverage for the drug; and a price-setting pharmaceutical firm seeking to maximize expected profits. We find that, in many cases, a pharmaceutical firm and payer cannot simultaneously benefit from outcome-based pricing, and who will benefit is determined by the probability of treatment success. Outcome-based pricing thus appears unlikely to solve the issues of high drug prices and high payer expenditures. However, supplementing outcome-based pricing with a transfer payment from firm to payer can make payer and firm (but not necessarily the patients) better off than under uniform pricing when the drug has a low chance of success. This paper was accepted by Stefan Scholtes, healthcare management.
The value of calprotectin in synovial fluid for the diagnosis of chronic prosthetic joint infection
Authors: Zhang Zeyu , Cai Yuanqing , Bai Guochang , Zhang Chaofan , Li Wenbo , Yang Bin , Zhang Wenming 
Published: August 2020

Aims This study aimed to evaluate calprotectin in synovial fluid for diagnosing chronic prosthetic joint infection (PJI) . Methods A total of 63 patients who were suspected of PJI were enrolled. The synovial fluid calprotectin was tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Laboratory test data, such as ESR, CRP, synovial fluid white blood cells (SF-WBCs), and synovial fluid polymorphonuclear cells (SF-PMNs), were documented. Chi-squared tests were used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of calprotectin and laboratory tests. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was calculated to determine diagnostic efficacy. Results The median calprotectin level was 776 μg/ml (interquartile range (IQR) 536.5 to 1132) in the PJI group and 54.5 μg/ml (IQR, 38.75 to 78.25) in the aseptic failure (AF) group (p < 0.05). Using a threshold of 173 ug/ml, the sensitivity was 95.2%, with a 97.6% specificity, and the AUC was 0.993. The sensitivity of calprotectin of the antibiotic-treated PJI group was 100% versus 90.9% of the non-antibiotic-treated PJI group. Although 47.6% (ten cases) of the patients in the PJI group received antibiotics before aspiration, the diagnostic efficacy of calprotectin was not affected. The sensitivity and specificity of ESR, CRP, SF-WBCs, and SF-PMNs ranged from 76.2% to 90.5% and 64.3% to 85.7%, respectively. Conclusion Calprotectin in synovial fluid has great diagnostic efficacy for PJI diagnosisand outperformed ESR, CRP, SF-WBCs, and SF-PMNs. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2020;9(8):450–456.