bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The association between Fc gamma RIIb expression levels and chronic hepatitis B virus infection progression
Authors: Jin Jinglan , Liu Yuwei , Xu Xiaotong , Wang Zhongfeng , Niu Junqi 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundFc gamma receptor IIb (FcγRIIb) is an important inhibitory receptor that plays vital roles in regulating various immune response processes and the pathogenesis of many infectious diseases. The purpose of our research was to evaluate FcγRIIb expression in serum and liver biopsy specimens from hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients and to explore the association of FcγRIIb with chronic HBV infection.MethodsEnzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to measure the serum FcγRIIb levels in 119 HBV-infected patients and 24 healthy controls. An immunohistochemical method was then employed to identify FcγRIIb expression in biopsy specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The integrated optical density (IOD) value was measured to represent FcγRIIb expression levels.ResultsSerum FcγRIIb levels were decreased in CHB patients compared to controls (P < 0.001). The FcγRIIb levels in the CHB patient group were remarkably lower than those in the HBV carrier group (P < 0.001). In addition, FcγRIIb levels were negatively associated with AST and ALT (r = −0.3936, P = 0.0063; r = −0.3459, P = 0.0097, respectively). The IOD values of FcγRIIb expression in the moderate and severe CHB groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (P = 0.006 and P < 0.001, respectively). The FcγRIIb level tended to be lower with pathological changes related to hepatitis. Furthermore, correlation analysis revealed that FcγRIIb had negative correlations with AST and ALT (r = −0.688, P = 0.0016; r = −0.686, P = 0.0017, respectively) but a positive association with the platelet count (r = 0.6464, P = 0.0038).ConclusionsFcγRIIb levels are significantly related to chronic HBV infection and the progression of CHB. Changes in FcγRIIb may affect the progression of liver inflammation and fibrosis in CHB patients.
Identifying youth at high risk for sexually transmitted infections in community-based settings using a risk prediction tool: a validation study
Authors: Kranzer Katharina , Simms Victoria , Dauya Ethel , Olaru Ioana D. , Dziva Chikwari Chido , Martin Kevin , Redzo Nicol , Bandason Tsitsi , Tembo Mandikudza , Francis Suzanna C. , Weiss Helen A. , Hayes Richard J. , Mavodza Constancia , Apollo Tsitsi , Ncube Gertrude , Machiha Anna , Ferrand Rashida Abbas 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackground Chlamydia trachomatis(CT) andNeisseria gonorrhoeae(NG) are the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. In the absence of affordable point-of-care STI tests, WHO recommends STI testing based on risk factors. This study aimed to develop a prediction tool with a sensitivity of > 90% and efficiency (defined as the percentage of individuals that are eligible for diagnostic testing) of < 60%.MethodsThis study offered CT/NG testing as part of a cluster-randomised trial of community-based delivery of sexual and reproductive health services to youth aged 16–24 years in Zimbabwe. All individuals accepting STI testing completed an STI risk factor questionnaire. The outcome was positivity for either CT or NG. Backwards-stepwise logistic regression was performed with p ≥ 0.05 as criteria for exclusion. Coefficients of variables included in the final multivariable model were multiplied by 10 to generate weights for a STI risk prediction tool. A maximum likelihood Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) model was fitted, with the continuous variable score divided into 15 categories of equal size. Sensitivity, efficiency and number needed to screen were calculated for different cut-points.ResultsFrom 3 December 2019 to 5 February 2020, 1007 individuals opted for STI testing, of whom 1003 (99.6%) completed the questionnaire. CT/NG prevalence was 17.5% (95% CI 15.1, 19.8) (n = 175). CT/NG positivity was independently associated with being female, number of lifetime sexual partners, relationship status, HIV status, self-assessed STI risk and past or current pregnancy. The STI risk prediction score including those variables ranged from 2 to 46 with an area under the ROC curve of 0.72 (95% CI 0.68, 0.76). Two cut-points were chosen: (i) 23 for optimised sensitivity (75.9%) and specificity (59.3%) and (ii) 19 to maximise sensitivity (82.4%) while keeping efficiency at < 60% (59.4%).ConclusionsThe high prevalence of STIs among youth, even in those with no or one reported risk factor, may preclude the use of risk prediction tools for selective STI testing. At a cut-point of 19 one in six young people with STIs would be missed.
Predictive role of lymphoscintigraphy undergoing lymphovenous anastomosis in patients with lower extremity lymphedema: a preliminary study
Authors: Kwon Hye Ryeong , Hwang Ji Hye , Mun Goo-Hyun , Hyun Seung Hyup , Moon Seung Hwan , Lee Kyung-Han , Choi Joon Young 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
We investigated whether preoperative lymphoscintigraphy could predict the treatment response of unilateral lymphovenous anastomosis (LVA) in patients with lower extremity lymphedema.

Materials and methods
A total of 17 patients undergoing lymphoscintigraphy subsequent to LVA was included. As qualitative lymphoscintigraphic indicators, ilioinguinal lymph node uptake, main lymphatic vessel, collateral vessel, and four types of dermal backflow patterns (absent; distal only; proximal only; whole lower limb) were evaluated. Lymph node uptake ratio, extremity uptake ratio, and injection site clearance ratio were obtained as quantitative lymphoscintigraphic indicators at 1 and 2-h after injection. To evaluate therapy response, the volume difference ratio of the whole lower limb at 3 months (early response) and 1 year (late response) was measured. Volume difference ratios (continuous variable and binary variable with a cut-off value of zero) were compared according to the lymphoscintigraphic variables.

Results
The group with whole lower limb dermal backflow had a greater volume change than the other groups (p = 0.047). The group with dermal backflow in the whole lower limb OR only in the distal part had a higher rate of volume reduction than the group with dermal backflow only in the proximal part OR absent (p = 0.050). The 2-h extremity uptake ratio was the only indicator that positively correlated with early and late volume difference ratio (p = 0.016, p = 0.001). The rate of volume decrease at 1 year was high in patients with high 2-h extremity uptake ratio (p = 0.027). As the amount of dermal backflow increases, the postoperative therapeutic effect increases (p = 0.040).

Conclusions
Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy is useful to predict both early and late therapy response in patients with lower extremity lymphedema undergoing LVA. Both dermal backflow pattern and extremity uptake ratio may be predictive lymphoscintigraphic indicators.
Pneumoconiosis computer aided diagnosis system based on X-rays and deep learning
Authors: Yang Fan , Tang Zhi-Ri , Chen Jing , Tang Min , Wang Shengchun , Qi Wanyin , Yao Chong , Yu Yuanyuan , Guo Yinan , Yu Zekuan 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to construct a computer aided diagnosis system for normal people and pneumoconiosis using X-raysand deep learning algorithms.

Materials and methods
1760 anonymous digital X-ray images of real patients between January 2017 and June 2020 were collected for this experiment. In order to concentrate the feature extraction ability of the model more on the lung region and restrain the influence of external background factors, a two-stage pipeline from coarse to fine was established. First, the U-Net model was used to extract the lung regions on each sides of the collection images. Second, the ResNet-34 model with transfer learning strategy was implemented to learn the image features extracted in the lung region to achieve accurate classification of pneumoconiosis patients and normal people.

Results
Among the 1760 cases collected, the accuracy and the area under curve of the classification model were 92.46% and 89% respectively.

Conclusion
The successful application of deep learning in the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis further demonstrates the potential of medical artificial intelligence and proves the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. However, when we further classified pneumoconiosis patients and normal subjects into four categories, we found that the overall accuracy decreased to 70.1%. We will use the CT modality in future studies to provide more details of lung regions.
Neopterin and kynurenic acid as predictors of stroke recurrence and mortality: a multicentre prospective cohort study on biomarkers of inflammation measured three months after ischemic stroke
Authors: Alme Katinka Nordheim , Ulvik Arve , Askim Torunn , Assmus Jörg , Mollnes Tom Eirik , Naik Mala , Næss Halvor , Saltvedt Ingvild , Ueland Per-Magne , Knapskog Anne-Brita 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Chronic low-grade inflammation is associated with both ischemic stroke and sedentary behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive abilities of biomarkers of inflammation and immune modulation associated with sedentary behaviour for ischemic stroke recurrence and mortality in a stroke population.

Methods
Patients admitted to hospital for acute stroke were recruited to the prospective multicentre cohort study, the Norwegian Cognitive Impairment After Stroke (Nor-COAST) study, from May 2015 until March 2017. Patients with ischemic stroke, blood samples available from the three-month follow-up, and no stroke recurrence before the three-month follow-up were included. Serum was analysed for C-reactive protein (CRP) with high-sensitive technique, and plasma for interleukin-6 (IL-6), neopterin, pyridoxic acid ratio index (PAr-index: 4-pyridoxic acid: [pyrioxal+pyridoxal-5′-phosphate]) and kynurenic acid (KA). Ischemic stroke recurrence and death were identified by the Norwegian Stroke Registry and the Cause of Death Registry until 31 December 2018.

Results
The study included 354 patients, 57% male, mean age 73 (SD 11) years, mean observation time 2.5 (SD 0.6) years, and median National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of 0 (IQR 1) at three months. CRP was associated with mortality (HR 1.40, CI 1.01, 1.96, p = 0.046), and neopterin was associated with the combined endpoint (recurrent ischemic stroke or death) (HR 1.52, CI 1.06, 2.20, p = 0.023), adjusted for age, sex, prior cerebrovascular disease, modified Rankin Scale, and creatinine. When adding neopterin and KA to the same model, KA was negatively associated (HR 0.57, CI 0.33, 0.97, p = 0.038), and neopterin was positively associated (HR 1.61, CI 1.02, 2.54, p = 0.040) with mortality. Patients with cardioembolic stroke at baseline had higher levels of inflammation at three months.

Conclusion
Neopterin might be a valuable prognostic biomarker in stroke patients. The use of KA as a measure of anti-inflammatory capacity should be investigated further.

Trial registration
The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02650531). First posted on 08/01/2016.
Predictors of maternal and neonatal complications in women with severe valvular heart disease during pregnancy in Tunisia: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Hammami Rania , Ibn Hadj Mohamed Ali , Mejdoub Yosra , Bahloul Amine , Charfeddine Selma , Abid Leila , Kammoun Samir , Dammak Abdallah , Chaabene Kais 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Severe valvular heart disease, especially stenosis, is a contraindication for conception according to the World Health Organization. This is still encountered in countries with a high rheumatic fever prevalence. The objective of this study was to determine predictors of maternal cardiac, obstetric and neonatal complications in pregnant women with severe valve disease.

Methods
This is an observational retrospective cohort study of all pregnant women with severe heart valvulopathy who gave birth between 2010 and 2017.

Results
We included 60 pregnancies in 54 women. Cardiac complications occurred during 37 pregnancies (61%). In multivariate analysis, parity (aOR =2.41, 95% CI[1.12–5.16]), revelation of valvulopathy during pregnancy (aOR = 6.34; 95% CI[1.26–31.77]), severe mitral stenosis (aOR = 6.98, 95% CI[1.14–41.05],) and systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (aOR =1.08, 95% CI[1.01–1.14]) were associated with cardiac complications. Obstetrical complications were noted during 19 pregnancies (31.8%). These complications were associated with nulliparity (aOR = 5.22; 95% CI[1.15–23.6]), multiple valve disease (aOR = 5.26, 95% CI[1.19–23.2]), systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (aOR =1.04, 95% CI[1.002–1.09]), and treatment with vitamin K antagonists (aOR = 8.71, 95% CI[1.98–38.2]). Neonatal complications were noted in 39.3% of newborns (n = 61) and these were associated with occurrence of obstetric complications (aOR = 16.47, 95% CI[3.2–84.3]) and revelation of valvulopathy during pregnancy (aOR = 7.33, 95% CI[1.4–36.1]).

Conclusions
Revelation of valvular heart disease during pregnancy is a predictor of not only cardiac but also neonatal complications. Valvular heart disease screening during pre-conceptional counseling is thus crucial.
A systematic review on mobile health applications for foodborne disease outbreak management
Authors: Ntshoe Genevie , Shonhiwa Andronica Moipone , Govender Nevashan , Page Nicola 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Foodborne disease outbreaks are common and notifiable in South Africa; however, they are rarely reported and poorly investigated. Surveillance data from the notification system is suboptimal and limited, and does not provide adequate information to guide public health action and inform policy. We performed a systematic review of published literature to identify mobile application-based outbreak response systems for managing foodborne disease outbreaks and to determine the elements that the system requires to generate foodborne disease data needed for public action.

Methods
Studies were identified through literature searches using online databases on PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Greenfile, Library, Information Science & Technology. Search was limited to studies published in English during the period January 1990 to November 2020. Search strategy included various terms in varying combinations with Boolean phrases “OR” and “AND”. Data were collected following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. A standardised data collection tool was used to extract and summarise information from identified studies. We assessed qualities of mobile applications by looking at the operating system, system type, basic features and functionalities they offer for foodborne disease outbreak management.

Results
Five hundred and twenty-eight (528) publications were identified, of which 48 were duplicates. Of the remaining 480 studies, 2.9% (14/480) were assessed for eligibility. Only one of the 14 studies met the inclusion criteria and reported on one mobile health application named MyMAFI (My Mobile Apps for Field Investigation). There was lack of detailed information on the application characteristics. However, based on minimal information available, MyMAFI demonstrated the ability to generate line lists, reports and offered functionalities for outbreak verification and epidemiological investigation. Availability of other key components such as environmental and laboratory investigations were unknown.

Conclusions
There is limited use of mobile applications on management of foodborne disease outbreaks. Efforts should be made to set up systems and develop applications that can improve data collection and quality of foodborne disease outbreak investigations.
Contested solidarity and vulnerability in social media-based public responses to COVID-19 policies of mobility restrictions in Singapore: a qualitative analysis of temporal evolution
Authors: Ligo Val Alvern Cueco , Chang Cheng Mun , Yi Huso 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Background
Mobility restriction is the most effective measure to control the spread of infectious disease at its early stage, especially if a cure and vaccine are not available. When control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) required strong precautionary measures, lockdowns were necessarily implemented in countries around the globe. Public health risk communication about the justification and scope of a lockdown was challenging as it involved a conflict between solidarity and individual liberty and a trade-off between various values across groups with different socioeconomic statuses. In the study, we examined public responses to the government-announced “circuit breaker” (a local term for lockdown) at four-time points in Singapore: (1) entry, (2) extension, (3) exit of lockdown ‘phase 1’ and (4) entry of lockdown ‘phase 2’.

Methods
We randomly collected 100 comments from the relevant articles on new organisations’ Facebook and Instagram pages and conducted preliminary coding. Later, additional random 20 comments were collected to check the data saturation. Content analysis was focused on identifying themes that emerged from the responses across the four-time points.

Results
At the entry, public support for the lockdown was prevalent; yet most responses were abstract with uncertainty. At six weeks of lockdown, initial public responses with uncertainty turned into salient narratives of their lived experiences and hardship with lockdown and unmasking of societal weaknesses caused by COVID-19. At the entry to phase 2, responses were centred on social-economic impact, disparity, and lockdown burnout with the contested notion of continuing solidarity. A temporal pattern was seen in the rationalisation of the lockdown experience from trust, anxiety, attribution of pandemic and lockdown, blaming of non-compliant behaviours, and confusion.

Conclusions
The findings indicated a temporal evolution of public responses from solidarity, attribution of the sustained pandemic, increasing ambiguity towards strong precautionary measures, concerns about economic hardship and mental well-being to worsened social vulnerability, where the government’s restrictive policies were questioned with anxiety and confusion. Public health risk communication in response to COVID-19 should be transparent and address health equity and social justice to enhance individual and collective responsibility in protecting the public from the pandemic.
Identifying and evaluating clinical subtypes of Alzheimer’s disease in care electronic health records using unsupervised machine learning
Authors: Alexander Nonie , Alexander Daniel C. , Barkhof Frederik , Denaxas Spiros 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a highly heterogeneous disease with diverse trajectories and outcomes observed in clinical populations. Understanding this heterogeneity can enable better treatment, prognosis and disease management. Studies to date have mainly used imaging or cognition data and have been limited in terms of data breadth and sample size. Here we examine the clinical heterogeneity of Alzheimer's disease patients using electronic health records (EHR) to identify and characterise disease subgroups using multiple clustering methods, identifying clusters which are clinically actionable.MethodsWe identified AD patients in primary care EHR from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) using a previously validated rule-based phenotyping algorithm. We extracted and included a range of comorbidities, symptoms and demographic features as patient features. We evaluated four different clustering methods (k-means, kernel k-means, affinity propagation and latent class analysis) to cluster Alzheimer’s disease patients. We compared clusters on clinically relevant outcomes and evaluated each method using measures of cluster structure, stability, efficiency of outcome prediction and replicability in external data sets.ResultsWe identified 7,913 AD patients, with a mean age of 82 and 66.2% female. We included 21 features in our analysis. We observed 5, 2, 5 and 6 clusters in k-means, kernel k-means, affinity propagation and latent class analysis respectively. K-means was found to produce the most consistent results based on four evaluative measures. We discovered a consistent cluster found in three of the four methods composed of predominantly female, younger disease onset (43% between ages 42–73) diagnosed with depression and anxiety, with a quicker rate of progression compared to the average across other clusters.ConclusionEach clustering approach produced substantially different clusters and K-Means performed the best out of the four methods based on the four evaluative criteria. However, the consistent appearance of one particular cluster across three of the four methods potentially suggests the presence of a distinct disease subtype that merits further exploration. Our study underlines the variability of the results obtained from different clustering approaches and the importance of systematically evaluating different approaches for identifying disease subtypes in complex EHR.
Synthesis of metallic aluminum particles by electrolysis in aqueous solution
Authors: Hosoya Takefumi , Yonezawa Takehiro , Yamauchi Noriko , Nakashima Kouichi , Kobayashi Yoshio 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe present work proposes a method for fabricating metallic Al particles in aqueous solution. An aqueous colloidal solution was prepared from an aqueous aluminum nitrate nonahydrate solution by electrolysis using metallic Al plates as the anode and cathode under ultrasonic irradiation in water at 25–45 °C. The sizes of the particles in the colloidal solutions prepared at 25, 35, and 45 °C were 76.3, 77.0, and 84.7 nm, respectively. The powder obtained from the colloidal solution prepared at 25 °C was not crystalline. By contrast, the powders obtained from the colloidal solutions prepared at 35 and 45 °C had a crystal structure of cubic Al and crystal sizes of 55.7 and 59.3 nm, respectively. Thus, elevated temperatures promoted both particle growth and crystal growth, which was explained by higher temperatures increasing the frequency and energy of particle collisions. The metallic Al particles were chemically stable in both an aqueous solution and the ambient atmosphere. The chemically stable metallic Al particles are expected to be used as sources for fabricating materials related to fuels, energy storage, and pigments.
Muzułmanie w Szwecji w XXI wieku – między asymilacją a radykalizacją
Authors: Mruk Marzena 
Published: December 2021

Problem asymilacji społeczności muzułmańskiej w krajach europejskich stanowi jedno z najważniejszych wyzwań dla rządów oraz rdzennych obywateli państw, które od lat poddawane są procesowi globalizacji, a tym samym masowym migracjom ludności, co przyczynia się do zachwiania struktur społecznych. Współczesna Szwecja jest jednym z państw, które jest wybierane jako kierunek migracji społeczności muzułmańskiej z państw Afryki i Bliskiego Wschodu, co wiąże się z wieloma nowymi wyzwaniami, takimi jak kwestia radykalizacji mniejszości czy też próby dostosowania nowo przybyłych imigrantów do obowiązującego w państwie porządku społeczno-prawnego.
Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu nakreślenie czytelnikowi problematyki asymilacji mniejszości muzułmańskiej w Szwecji w XXI wieku oraz wzrastającej radykalizacji wyznawców islamu poprzez omówienie kluczowych dla zrozumienia tej problematyki zagadnień, czyli charakterystyki ludności muzułmańskiej w Szwecji, kwestii wzrastającego fundamentalizmu islamskiego, problemu integracji społeczności islamskiej z rodowitymi Szwedami, oraz omówienie kryzysu migracyjnego w 2015 roku.