bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinicians’ prescribing pattern, rate of patients’ medication adherence and its determinants among adult hypertensive patients at Jimma University Medical Center: Prospective cohort study
Authors: Simegn Bekalu Kebede , Chelkeba Legese , Alamirew Bekalu Dessie 
Published: November 2021

Background
Many studies conducted in the past focused on patients’ sociodemographic factors and medical profiles to identify the determinants of suboptimal blood pressure control. However, prescribing patterns and clinicians’ adherence to guidelines are also important factors affecting the rate of blood pressure control. Therefore, this study aimed to determine clinicians’ prescribing patterns, patients’ medication adherence, and its determinants among hypertensive patients at Jimma University Medical Center.

Methods
A general prospective cohort study was conducted among hypertensive patients who had regular follow-up at Jimma university ambulatory cardiac clinic from March 20, 2018, to June 20, 2018. Patients’ specific data was collected with a face-to-face interview and from their medical charts. Clinicians’ related data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to identify key independent variables influencing patients’ adherence. P-Values of less than 0.05 were considered statically significant.

Results
From the total of 416 patients, 237(57.0%) of them were males with a mean age of 56.50 ± 11.96 years. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were the most frequently prescribed class of antihypertensives, accounting for 261(63.7%) prescriptions. Combination therapy was used by the majority of patients, with 275 (66.1%) patients receiving two or more antihypertensive drugs. Patients’ medication adherence was 46.6%, while clinicians’ guideline adherence was 44.2%. Patients with merchant occupation (P = 0.020), physical inactivity (P = 0.033), and diabetes mellitus co-morbidity (P = 0.008) were significantly associated with a higher rate of medication non-adherence.

Conclusion
The rate of medication adherence was poor among hypertensive patients. Physicians were not-adherent to standard treatment guideline. The most commonly prescribed class of drugs were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Effective education should be given to patients to improve medication adherence. Prescribers should be trained on treatment guidelines regularly to keep them up-to-date with current trends of hypertension treatment and for better treatment outcomes.
Differential effects of four intramuscular sedatives on cardiorespiratory stability in juvenile guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus)
Authors: Sixtus Ryan P. , Pacharinsak Cholawat , Gray Clint L. , Berry Mary J. , Dyson Rebecca M. 
Published: November 2021

Background
Non-invasive physiological monitoring can induce stress in laboratory animals. Sedation reduces the level of restraint required, thereby improving the validity of physiological signals measured. However, sedatives may alter physiological equilibrium introducing unintended bias and/or, masking the experimental outcomes of interest. We aimed to investigate the cardiorespiratory effects of four short-acting sedatives in juvenile guinea pigs.

Method
12 healthy, 38 (26–46) day-old Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were included in this blinded, randomised, crossover design study. Animals were sedated by intramuscular injection using pre-established minimum effective doses of either alfaxalone (5 mg/kg), diazepam (5 mg/kg), ketamine (30 mg/kg), or midazolam (2 mg/kg) administered in random order with a minimum washout period of 48 hours between agents. Sedative depth, a composite score comprised of five assessment criteria, was observed every 5-min from dosing until arousal. Physiological monitoring of cardiorespiratory status included measures of heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and peripheral microvascular perfusion.

Results
Ketamine and alfaxalone were most effective in inducing stable sedation suitable for physiological monitoring, and diazepam less-so. Midazolam was unsuitable due to excessive hypersensitivity. All sedatives significantly increased heart rate above non-sedated control rates (P<0.0001), without altering blood pressure or microvascular perfusion. Alfaxalone and ketamine reduced respiratory rate relative to their control condition (P<0.0001, P = 0.05, respectively), but within normative ranges.

Conclusion
Ketamine and alfaxalone are the most effective sedatives for inducing short duration, stable sedation with minimal cardiorespiratory depression in guinea pigs, while diazepam is less-so. However, alfaxalone is the most appropriate sedative for longitudinal studies requiring multiple physiological timepoints.
Can vaccination roll-out be more equitable if population risk is taken into account?
Authors: Sinclair David R. , Maharani Asri , Stow Daniel , Welsh Claire E. , Matthews Fiona E. 
Published: November 2021

Background
COVID-19 vaccination in many countries, including England, has been prioritised primarily by age. However, people of the same age can have very different health statuses. Frailty is a commonly used metric of health and has been found to be more strongly associated with mortality than age among COVID-19 inpatients.

Methods
We compared the number of first vaccine doses administered across the 135 NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) of England to both the over 50 population and the estimated frail population in each area. Area-based frailty estimates were generated using the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA), a national survey of older people. We also compared the number of doses to the number of people with other risk factors associated with COVID-19: atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, learning disabilities, obesity and smoking status.

Results
We estimate that after 79 days of the vaccine program, across all Clinical Commissioning Group areas, the number of people who received a first vaccine per frail person ranged from 4.4 (95% CI 4.0-4.8) and 20.1 (95% CI 18.3-21.9). The prevalences of other risk factors were also poorly associated with the prevalence of vaccination across England.

Conclusions
Vaccination with age-based priority created area-based inequities in the number of doses administered relative to the number of people who are frail or have other risk factors associated with COVID-19. As frailty has previously been found to be more strongly associated with mortality than age for COVID-19 inpatients, an age-based priority system may increase the risk of mortality in some areas during the vaccine roll-out period. Authorities planning COVID-19 vaccination programmes should consider the disadvantages of an age-based priority system.
COVID-19 vaccination perceptions and intentions of maternity care consumers and providers in Australia
Authors: Bradfield Zoe , Wynter Karen , Hauck Yvonne , Sweet Linda , Wilson Alyce N. , Szabo Rebecca A. , Vasilevski Vidanka , Kuliukas Lesley , Homer Caroline S. E. 
Published: November 2021

Introduction
Vaccination against COVID-19 is a key global public health strategy. Health professionals including midwives and doctors support and influence vaccination uptake by childbearing women. There is currently no evidence regarding the COVID-19 vaccination perceptions and intentions of those who receive or provide maternity care in Australia. The aim of this study was to address this gap in knowledge and explore the perceptions and intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination from consumers and providers of maternity care in Australia.

Methods
A national cross-sectional online study conducted in early 2021 in Australia, a country that has had a very low number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Recruitment was undertaken through parenting and health professional social media sites and professional college distribution lists. A total of 853 completed responses, from women (n = 326), maternity care providers including doctors (n = 58), midwives (n = 391) and midwifery students (n = 78).

Findings
Personal intention to be vaccinated ranged from 48–89% with doctors most likely and women least likely. Doctors and midwifery students were significantly more likely to recommend the vaccine to pregnant women in their care than midwives (p<0.001). Fewer doctors (2%) felt that women should wait until breastfeeding had concluded before being vaccinated compared with 24% of midwives and 21% of midwifery students (p<0.001). More than half of the midwives (53%) had concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine for the women in their care compared with 35% of doctors and 46% of midwifery students. Despite national guidelines recommending vaccination of breastfeeding women, 54% of practitioners were unlikely to recommend vaccination for this group.

Conclusion
This is the first study to explore the perceptions and intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination from the perspective of those who receive and provide maternity care in Australia. Findings have utility to support targeted public health messaging for these and other cohorts.
Pattern of Alpha Fetoprotein and Activities of Liver Enzymes in Type 2 Diabetic Patients Attending Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria.
Authors: Ogbodo Emmanuel Chukwuemeka , Ezeugwunne Ifeoma Priscilla , Idris Stephen Shehu , Nnaemeka Wurola Serah , DavidIbimere Obinna , Elosuba Nwanneka Victoria , Myke-Mbata Blessing K. , Edward Ukamaka , Nnamdi Johnjude Chinonso , Nwanguma Eberechi D. 
Published: November 2021

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, which has become health problem of global interest, linked to renal disease. The study is to assess the activities of some liver enzymes and alpha fetoprotein level in type 2 diabetic patients. 81 participants comprised 38 diabetics and 43 controls were randomly recruited. Informed, oral and written consent was obtained from the participants. Ethical approval was obtained. 6mls of fasting blood samples were collected. Plasma glucose, alpha feto-protein (AFP) levels; serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) activities were analyzed using standard laboratory methods. The results showed significantly increased plasma glucose level in the diabetics than in controls (p=0.000), as well as in male diabetics than in female diabetics (p=0.048). But, the mean age, AFP, ALT, AST, ALP and GGT activities were the same in the diabetics and the controls; and in male and female diabetics at p>0.05 in each case. Relatively strong positive significant correlation was observed between ALT Vs AST (r=0.566; p=0.000) and a weaker negative association exist between ALT Vs Age (r= -0.353; p=0.022) in diabetics but no associations were observed with other parameters studied. In conclusion the positive association between ALT and AST may reveal transaminase derangements in liver status of type 2 diabetic subjects studied.
Handwritten Signature Biometric Data Analysis for Personality Prediction System Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Gornale Shivanand S. , Kumar Sathish , Hiremath Prakash S. 
Published: November 2021

Handwritten signature has been considered as one of the most widely accepted behavioral personal trait in Biometric security system; and It contains various dynamic and innate behavioral traits like shapes and patterns which can certainly find a person’s soft characteristics like age, gender, Personality, handedness and many more. Person’s signature or handwriting determines the state of the person’s mind or personality characteristics at the time of writing. This paper provides a personality prediction system of different characteristics determining the personality of a person based on offline handwritten signature Images. Experiments are carried out using supervised learning techniques. Results shows a significant recognition rate and validates the effectiveness against the state-of-art techniques in comparison to similar works.
The Representations of Chinese Characters: Evidence from Sublexical Components
Authors: Liu Xiaodong , Wisniewski David , Vermeylen Luc , Palenciano Ana F. , Liu Wenjie , Brysbaert Marc 
Published: November 2021

Little research has been done about the neural substrate of the sublexical level of Chinese word recognition. In particular, it is unclear how radicals participate in Chinese word processing. We compared two measures of radical combinability, position-general radical combinability (GRC) and position-specific radical combinability (SRC) depending on whether the position of the radical is taken into account. We selected characters with embedded target radicals that had different GRC and SRC measures. These measures were used as predictors in a parametric modulation analysis and a multivariate representational similarity analysis. Human participants with native Mandarin speakers (17 males and 24 females) were asked to read words in search of animal words. Results showed that SRC is a better predictor than GRC in decoding the neural patterns. Whole-brain analysis indicated that SRC is encoded bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, pars opercularis, and pars triangularis), the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and a region on the border of the superior parietal lobule and the inferior parietal lobule (SPL/IPL). Region-of-interest-based RSA confirmed the results of the whole-brain analysis. Furthermore, we observed a correlation of another sublexical variable, logographeme composition, with bilateral activity in SPL. Logographemes refer to the basic stroke combinations that form radicals and characters. Finally, we observed involvement of bilateral cerebellum activity in Chinese word recognition. Our findings confirm the importance of sublexical components (SRC and logographeme composition) in Chinese word recognition and also confirm that Chinese word recognition involves more bilateral processing than word recognition in alphabetical languages.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTChinese is a logographic language. However, characters contain informative subword components (radicals, logographemes, and strokes). We investigated whether the position of the radical is important. We presented carefully selected words and looked where brain activity correlated with subword information. Results indicate that position-dependent radicals predict brain encoding in a network of regions associated with Chinese word recognition, including higher order regions such as bilateral IFG, MFG, and SPL/IPL. Logographeme composition had an effect as well. Our findings provide strong evidence (1) for the importance of position-specific radical information and logographemes in Chinese word recognition, (2) that current brain imaging techniques are best suited to study these, and (3) that confirms the interactive nature of Chinese character recognition.
Bulling and Cyberbullying: Problem of the Modern Teenager
Authors: Anufrieva Elena V. , Naboychenko Evgenya S. , Kovtun Olga P. 
Published: November 2021

Background. Russia is one of the top ten European countries with high level of bullying and ranks second in cyberbullying among adolescents. Involvement in bullying and virtual aggression has immediate and long-term consequences for all parties to the conflict, including witnesses. Immediate consequences can be manifested as violation in adaptation and socialization of children and adolescents; long-term consequences can be mental disorders in emotionally labile schoolchildren. School bullying is always distinguished by its cruelty and intransigence.Objective. The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying among boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years studying in educational organizations in Yekaterinburg and to create the complex of preventive guidelines.Methods. Sociological cross-sectional study was carried out using the questionnaire with questions from the international questionnaire Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC). Analysis of the results was carried out for different age and gender groups, the results of comparative analysis with the data of the international HBSC study are also presented.Results. The main characteristics of bullying are presented: prevalence, age and social features. High involvement of adolescents in bullying (11.7%) and cyberbullying (18.2%) was revealed. The ratio of adolescents who have repeatedly been the victims of physical, psychological and virtual aggression was significantly higher (21.7 and 31.8%, respectively). Boys are more likely to be aggressors and victims of abusive behaviour (physical and psychological aggression) than girls. Moreover, number of schoolchildren who became victims of bullying decreases with age, this indicator is more significant among boys, while the number of cyberbullying victims increases among older adolescents.Conclusion. The high prevalence of bullying in adolescents has negative impact on both, victims and aggressors. Bullying affects the physical and mental health of children and adolescents, leads to psychological and social maladaptation, as well as the development of sustainable models of problematic and most often aggressive behavior. Educational organizations have to become the basis for implementation of future programs on bullying and cyberbullying prevention. They should not only provide safe environment but also help children to establish open and friendly relationship with peers and adults and to clearly understand their actions and their consequences.
RILEM Standard: testing methods for determination of the double-K criterion for crack propagation in concrete using wedge-splitting tests and three-point bending beam tests, recommendation of RILEM TC265-TDK
Authors: Xu Shilang , Li Qinghua , Wu Yao , Dong Lixin , Lyu Yao , Reinhardt Hans W. , Leung Christopher K. Y. , Ruiz Gonzalo , Kumar Shailendra , Hu Shaowei 
Published: November 2021

AbstractIn this recommendation, standard testing methods for determination of the double-K criterion for Mode I crack propagation in concrete using wedge-splitting tests and three-point bending beam tests are specified for the fracture parameters of the initial cracking toughness $$K_{Ic}^{ini}$$

K

Ic

ini

and the unstable fracture toughness $$K_{Ic}^{un}$$

K

Ic

un

. Along with the recommendation of the standard testing methods, the theoretical background of the double-K criterion, the calculation methods and the results of round-robin testing for determining the double-K fracture parameters are presented in technical reports [1, 2]. The recommendation of the standard testing methods includes geometry for specimens, fabrication of specimens, testing machine, load transmission system and supports, measuring instruments, determination of initial cracking load Pini, determination of measured maximum load Pmax and initial compliance ci, calculation methods for wedge-splitting test and three-point bending beam test, as well as the testing results and testing report forms. According to these methods, the measured fracture parameters of double-K criterion can be used to describe the onset of cracking, and the onset of unstable cracking or failure for predicting crack initiation, structure failure and crack stability in concrete structures.
The effects of supplemented sericin on in vitro maturation and preimplantation development of mouse embryos: An experimental study
Authors: Banafshi Omid , Nasseri Sherko , Farhadi Leila , Alasvand Masoud , Bagher Khadem-Erfan Mohammad , Hosseini Javad , Miraki Saber , Fathi Fardin 
Published: November 2021

Background: Mouse embryo culture condition is an essential part of transgenic, reproductive and developmental biology laboratories. Mouse embryonic culture media may have a high risk of serum contamination with pathogens.
Objective: To investigate the effect of sericin as an embryo culture medium supplement on in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and development of the preimplantation embryo in mice.
Materials and Methods: The effects of sericin at three concentrations (subgroups) of 0.1%, 0.5%, and 1% as a medium supplement on IVM, IVF, and in vitro development of mouse embryos were separately investigated and compared with a sericin-free (control) group. The cumulative effect of the three concentrations was evaluated for IVM + in vitro development and IVF + in vitro development as follow-up groups.
Results: In the IVM group, compared to the control group, the number of oocysts reaching the MII stage was significantly higher when 1% sericin was used (161/208 = 77.4%). No significant results were observed in the IVF and in vitro development groups with different concentrations of sericin compared to the control group. Among the follow-up groups, in the IVM + in vitro development group, the number of oocytes was higher after passing the IVM and IVF and reaching the blastocysts stage when 1% sericin was used, compared with other sericin subgroups. A significant difference was also noted when compared with the control group (p = 0.048). The IVF + in vitro development study group, on the other hand, did not show any significant relationship.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that 1% sericin can be used as a supplement in mouse embryo cultures to improve the IVM rate. Also, based on the findings, sericin appears to be an effective supplement which can have a positive effect on the development of embryos derived from IVM.
Key words: Sericin, In vitro maturation, In vitro fertilization, Preimplantation embryo, Culture medium, Mice.
Effect of modification on the physical, mechanical and relaxation properties of the polymer - nanodispersed graphite system
Authors: Sichkar T.G. , Rokytskyi M.O. , Yanchevsky L.K. , Rokytska H.V. , Ursul K.V. , Shut N.I. 
Published: November 2021

The paper analyzes the physical, mechanical and relaxation properties of the polychlortrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) - modified nanodispersed graphite (TEG) system. It has been shown that the modification of the surface of conducting carbon nanoplates with ultradispersed dielectric silicon dioxide (SiO2) (30%) leads to a nontrivial effect - an increase in the electrical conductivity of the PCTFE - 2.5% TEG/30% SiO2 composite by more than two orders of magnitude in comparison with the PCTFE - TEG composites, containing unmodified carbon nanoplates.
The functionalization of carbon nanoplates was carried out by treating the particle surface with an active solution of chlorosilane in an organic solvent, that in case of hydrophobization of the filler surface, leads to an increase in the system percolation threshold. It is shown that the method of hydrolyzation of the filler surface can be highly effective due to a directed change in some, in particular, shielding, properties of polymer composites based on nanocarbon.
It is established that the modification of the nanofiller (dispersed thermoexpanded graphite) increases the intermolecular interaction of the filler-matrix. Depending on the concentration of the filler, the structure of the matrix and the system as a whole demonstrates dynamic transformations in the size of the heterogeneity of the structure.
Ultrasonic studies of composites have shown that the smallest size of structure inhomogeneity is achieved in the range of concentrations of percolation development, and the change in the size of system structure inhomogeneity is associated with the transition from inhomogeneity as the size of crystallites activated by nanofiller at low concentrations associated with coagulation of nanoparticles at concentrations exceeding the percolation threshold.
Thus, in the case of nanofillers, it is impractical to use concentrations that significantly exceed the percolation threshold, as this leads to coagulation of the filler particles and the relative loosening of the matrix.