bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk factors for shoulder pain after stroke: A clinical study
Authors: Hao Na , Zhang Mingming , Li Yuling , Guo Yingnan 
Published: November 2021

Objectives: To investigate the risk factors for shoulder pain after stroke, and prevent its occurrence effectively.
Methods: The patients with stroke treated in our hospital between September 2016 and October 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. The medical records of the included patients including age, gender, lesion side, stroke duration, hospital stay, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, limitation of shoulder joint activity, alcohol abuse, smoking, type of stroke, Ashworth scale, Brunnstrom stage, sensory disorders, and motor arm score of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) were collected and analyzed to determine the risk factors for shoulder pain after stroke.
Results: A total of 1390 patients were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, consisting of 162 patients with shoulder pain after stroke and the prevalence was 11.6%. The included patients were divided into shoulder pain group and non-shoulder pain group. There were significant differences in age, stroke duration, hospital stay, diabetes, limitation of shoulder joint activity, Ashworth scale, Brunnstrom stage, sensory disorders, and motor arm score of NIHSS between the two groups (P < 0.05). Based on the multivariate regression analysis, the independent risk factors for shoulder pain after stroke included diabetes, limited shoulder joint activity, Brunnstrom grade I-III period, Ashworth 3-4 grade, motor arm score of NIHSS 3-4 points, and sensory disturbance.
Conclusion: Great emphasis should be placed on the stroke patients with diabetes, limited shoulder joint activity, Brunnstrom grade I-III period, Ashworth 3-4 grade, motor arm score of NIHSS 3-4 points, or sensory disturbance, as these patients have higher risks for shoulder pain after stroke.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4594
How to cite this:Hao N, Zhang M, Li Y, Guo Y. Risk factors for shoulder pain after stroke: A clinical study. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(1):145-149. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4594
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Sigmoidoscopic extent of ulcerative colitis and associated factors in Pakistani population
Authors: Saleem Asim , Zeeshan Mubashar , Hazoor Faryal , Mustafa Ghulam 
Published: November 2021

Objectives: To determine the extent of ulcerative colitis and associated factors in patients who underwent sigmoidoscopy at Liver Center, Jail Road, Lahore, Pakistan.
Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, patients who underwent sigmoidoscopy from July 2013 to July 2020 at Liver Clinic, Jail Road, Lahore, were categorized into two cohorts: who had ulcerative colitis confirmed on histology and who had no ulcerative colitis. Extent and severity of the disease as well as coexisting pathologies were also noted. SPSS version 25 was used. Independent sample T-test was applied to compare quantitative variables like age and weight, and chi-square test to compare qualitative variables with two cohorts. The p-value less than 0.05 was opted as significant. Odd ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) were also computed for each association.
Results: About 11.55% patients (165 out of 1428) had ulcerative colitis, whose mean age and mean weight were 38.27 ± 14.15 years and 74.08 ± 13.20 Kg respectively. Among ulcerative colitis patients, 18.2% had proctitis, 22.4% had proctosigmoiditis, 27.7% had left-sided colitis, and 31.5% had extensive colitis. May endoscopic severity score was found 0,1,2, and 3 in 12.1%, 23.6%, 31.5%, and 32.7% patients respectively. Ulcerative colitis cohort had significant association with younger age (p<0.01), female gender (p<0.01), non or former smoking (p=0.02) and presentation with bloody diarrhea (p<0.01), and no association with body weight (p=0.311), presence of diabetes mellitus (p=0.311) and family history of IBD (P=0.368).
Conclusion: Endoscopic extent and severity of ulcerative colitis is high in our studied population. Ulcerative colitis is more prevalent in younger age and female gender patients who presented with bloody diarrhea, while the presence of active smoking has negative association with finding the ulcerative colitis. However, presence of family history of IBD, diabetes mellitus and body weight of the patient has no statistical correlation with finding ulcerative colitis during sigmoidoscopic examination in our patients.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4648
How to cite this:Saleem A, Zeeshan M, Hazoor F, Mustafa G. Sigmoidoscopic extent of ulcerative colitis and associated factors in Pakistani population. Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(1):276-280. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.1.4648
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
RNfuzzyApp: an R shiny RNA-seq data analysis app for visualisation, differential expression analysis, time-series clustering and enrichment analysis
Authors: Haering Margaux , Habermann Bianca H 
Published: November 2021

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) is a widely adopted affordable method for large scale gene expression profiling. However, user-friendly and versatile tools for wet-lab biologists to analyse RNA-seq data beyond standard analyses such as differential expression, are rare. Especially, the analysis of time-series data is difficult for wet-lab biologists lacking advanced computational training. Furthermore, most meta-analysis tools are tailored for model organisms and not easily adaptable to other species. With RNfuzzyApp, we provide a user-friendly, web-based R shiny app for differential expression analysis, as well as time-series analysis of RNA-seq data. RNfuzzyApp offers several methods for normalization and differential expression analysis of RNA-seq data, providing easy-to-use toolboxes, interactive plots and downloadable results. For time-series analysis, RNfuzzyApp presents the first web-based, fully automated pipeline for soft clustering with the Mfuzz R package, including methods to aid in cluster number selection, cluster overlap analysis, Mfuzz loop computations, as well as cluster enrichments. RNfuzzyApp is an intuitive, easy to use and interactive R shiny app for RNA-seq differential expression and time-series analysis, offering a rich selection of interactive plots, providing a quick overview of raw data and generating rapid analysis results. Furthermore, its assignment of orthologs, enrichment analysis, as well as ID conversion functions are accessible to non-model organisms.
COVID-19 impact: Customised economic stimulus package recommender system using machine learning techniques
Authors: Kannan Rathimala , Wang Ivan Zhi Wei , Ong Hway Boon , Ramakrishnan Kannan , Alamsyah Andry 
Published: November 2021

Background: The Malaysian government reacted to the pandemic’s economic effect with the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (ESP) to cushion the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) impact on households. The ESP consists of cash assistance, utility discount, moratorium, Employee Provident Fund (EPF) cash withdrawals, credit guarantee scheme and wage subsidies. A survey carried out by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) shows that households prefer different types of financial assistance. These preferences forge the need to effectively customise ESPs to manage the economic burden among low-income households. In this study, a recommender system for such ESPs was designed by leveraging data analytics and machine learning techniques. Methods: This study used a dataset from DOSM titled “Effects of COVID-19 on the Economy and Individual - Round 2,” collected from April 10 to April 24, 2020. Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining was followed to develop machine learning models to classify ESP receivers according to their preferred subsidies types. Four machine learning techniques—Decision Tree, Gradient Boosted Tree, Random Forest and Naïve Bayes—were used to build the predictive models for each moratorium, utility discount and EPF and Private Remuneration Scheme (PRS) cash withdrawals subsidies. The best predictive model was selected based on F-score metrics. Results: Among the four machine learning techniques, Gradient Boosted Tree outperformed the rest. This technique predicted the following: moratorium preferences with 93.8% sensitivity, 82.1% precision and 87.6% F-score; utilities discount with 86% sensitivity, 82.1% precision and 84% F-score; and EPF and PRS with 83.6% sensitivity, 81.2% precision and 82.4% F-score. Households that prefer moratorium subsidies did not favour other financial aids except for cash assistance. Conclusion: Findings present machine learning models that can predict individual household preferences from ESP. These models can be used to design customised ESPs that can effectively manage the financial burden of low-income households.
Hedging the Drift: Learning to Optimize Under Nonstationarity
Authors: Cheung Wang Chi , Simchi-Levi David , Zhu Ruihao 
Published: November 2021

We introduce data-driven decision-making algorithms that achieve state-of-the-art dynamic regret bounds for a collection of nonstationary stochastic bandit settings. These settings capture applications such as advertisement allocation, dynamic pricing, and traffic network routing in changing environments. We show how the difficulty posed by the (unknown a priori and possibly adversarial) nonstationarity can be overcome by an unconventional marriage between stochastic and adversarial bandit learning algorithms. Beginning with the linear bandit setting, we design and analyze a sliding window-upper confidence bound algorithm that achieves the optimal dynamic regret bound when the underlying variation budget is known. This budget quantifies the total amount of temporal variation of the latent environments. Boosted by the novel bandit-over-bandit framework that adapts to the latent changes, our algorithm can further enjoy nearly optimal dynamic regret bounds in a (surprisingly) parameter-free manner. We extend our results to other related bandit problems, namely the multiarmed bandit, generalized linear bandit, and combinatorial semibandit settings, which model a variety of operations research applications. In addition to the classical exploration-exploitation trade-off, our algorithms leverage the power of the “forgetting principle” in the learning processes, which is vital in changing environments. Extensive numerical experiments with synthetic datasets and a dataset of an online auto-loan company during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic period demonstrate that our proposed algorithms achieve superior performance compared with existing algorithms. This paper was accepted by George J. Shanthikumar, Management Science Special Section on Data-Driven Prescriptive Analytics.
Incomplete Contracts in Multi-period Procurement
Authors: Gretschko Vitali , Pollrich Martin 
Published: November 2021

We analyze the problem of a buyer who purchases a long-term project from one of several suppliers. A changing state of the world influences the costs of the suppliers. We distinguish between complete contracts conditioning on all future realizations of the state of the world and incomplete contracts renegotiated whenever the state of the world changes. We provide conditions such that incomplete contracting does not pose a problem. If the changing state of the world is publicly observable and the buyer cannot switch between suppliers during the lifetime of the project, the buyer achieves the same surplus irrespective of whether contracts are complete or incomplete. An English auction followed by renegotiation whenever the state of the world changes is optimal. To identify conditions when buyers should consider drafting complete contracts, we extend the analysis by considering private information about the changing state of the world and supplier switching. In both cases, incomplete contracting poses a problem. In a survey of procurement consultants, we confirm that publicly observable states of the world via price indexes play an important role in procurement. Moreover, the consultants confirm that supplier switching is infrequent in procurement practice. Thus, incomplete contracting is less of a problem in a considerable share of procurement projects. However, complete contracts are useful and could be used more often. This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis.
Defining Length Stability in Paediatric Femoral Shaft Fractures Treated with Titanium Elastic Nails
Authors: Shieh Alvin K. , Saiz Augustine M. , Hideshima Kelsey S. , Haus Brian M. , Leshikar Holly B. 
Published: November 2021

Introduction Optimal paediatric femoral shaft fracture patterns or lengths amenable to titanium elastic nail stabilization have not been well defined. The purpose of this study is to identify radiographic parameters predictive of treatment failure with flexible intramedullary nails based upon fracture morphology. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all femoral shaft fractures treated with flexible intramedullary nails over a five-year period. All patients with at least six weeks of postoperative radiographic imaging were included. Fracture characteristics included location, pattern, length, obliquity, angulation, translation and shortening. Postoperative radiographs were reviewed to determine shortening and angulation. Results There were 58 patients with 60 femoral shaft fractures stabilized with titanium nails, with 46 healing within acceptable parameters and 14 considered malunions. Six of the 14 malunions developed complications requiring early unplanned intervention. No patients in the treatment success group had a complication. Between the treatment success and failure groups, fracture pattern, location, length, obliquity, angulation, translation or shortening were not statistically different. Mean nail canal fill was significantly lower in the failure group (0.72 versus 0.81; p = 0.0146), with a receiver operating characteristic curve identifying canal fill 76% as the optimal threshold. Conclusion This is the first study to measure the length and obliquity of paediatric femoral shaft fractures and to determine their relationship to radiographic alignment after healing. None of the preoperative fracture characteristics were predictive of malalignment or shortening. We recommend the use of larger nail sizes in the treatment of paediatric femoral shaft fractures, especially if there is concern for residual instability. Level of evidence IV
Intensity-interrogated magnetic sensor based on S-tapered and multimode fiber integrated with ferrofluids
Authors: Duan Shaoxiang , Liu Bo , Zhang Hao , Liu Haifeng , Lin Wei , Wu Jixuan , Song Binbin 
Published: November 2021

In this study, a high-sensitivity intensity-interrogated fiber sensor integrated with ferrofluids is proposed for the measurement of a weak magnetic field (MF) with resolved temperature cross-sensitivity. The MF sensor is fabricated simply by an offset tapering single-mode fiber concatenated with a multimode fiber (MMF), which is then encapsulated into a capillary tube filled with ferrofluids. In the presence of MMF, stronger mode coupling could be achieved over the S-tapered fiber region. Its spectral response to variations in the applied MF intensity and ambient temperature have been investigated in detail. The proposed sensor shows a high MF sensitivity up to

−

0.1130

d
B

/

O
e

for the measurement range of 40 to 120 Oe, which, to our best knowledge, is higher than other previously reported MF sensors. And moreover, the measurement errors caused by temperature cross-sensitivity have been corrected by using a sensing matrix for the temperature range of 25°C to 35°C. Our proposed MF sensor possesses the advantages of high sensitivity, low cost, and applicability for applications in weak MF measurements.
Modelling the spatial and temporal constrains of the GABAergic influence on neuronal excitability
Authors: Lombardi Aniello , Luhmann Heiko J. , Kilb Werner 
Published: November 2021

GABA (γ-amino butyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the adult brain that can mediate depolarizing responses during development or after neuropathological insults. Under which conditions GABAergic membrane depolarizations are sufficient to impose excitatory effects is hard to predict, as shunting inhibition and GABAergic effects on spatiotemporal filtering of excitatory inputs must be considered. To evaluate at which reversal potential a net excitatory effect was imposed by GABA (EGABAThr), we performed a detailed in-silico study using simple neuronal topologies and distinct spatiotemporal relations between GABAergic and glutamatergic inputs.These simulations revealed for GABAergic synapses located at the soma an EGABAThrclose to action potential threshold (EAPThr), while with increasing dendritic distance EGABAThrshifted to positive values. The impact of GABA on AMPA-mediated inputs revealed a complex temporal and spatial dependency. EGABAThrdepends on the temporal relation between GABA and AMPA inputs, with a striking negative shift in EGABAThrfor AMPA inputs appearing after the GABA input. The spatial dependency between GABA and AMPA inputs revealed a complex profile, with EGABAThrbeing shifted to values negative to EAPThrfor AMPA synapses located proximally to the GABA input, while for distally located AMPA synapses the dendritic distance had only a minor effect on EGABAThr. For tonic GABAergic conductances EGABAThrwas negative to EAPThrover a wide range of gGABAtonicvalues. In summary, these results demonstrate that for several physiologically relevant situations EGABAThris negative to EAPThr, suggesting that depolarizing GABAergic responses can mediate excitatory effects even if EGABAdid not reach EAPThr.
Stroke risk associated with NSAIDs uses in women with dysmenorrhea: A population-based cohort study
Authors: Lin Ya-Wen , Wang Jong-Yi , Lin Ming-Hung 
Published: November 2021

ObjectiveDysmenorrhea is among the most common type of gynecological problem, affecting young women across the globe. This study assessed the comparative risk of stroke associated with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and non-NSAIDs in women with dysmenorrhea while taking into account the following factors such as age, history of pregnancy, NSAIDs uses and its duration of use, and selected comorbidities.MethodologyWe used a quantitative research approach based on a comparative case-control study design. The study data was selected from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) 2000, of the Taiwan National Health Research Institutes. Among the estimated 23.4 million insured Taiwanese, who were covered by the Taiwan health insurance system, in the 2000 registry of beneficiaries, one million individuals were randomly selected from the database. A total of 24,955 females suffering from dysmenorrhea were selected for the study. Out of those 3238 (13%) participated in the study group and 21,717 (87%) were randomly distributed into the controls group. Women in the age range, 15–49 years, who did not have any history of stroke, hysterectomy, and/or ovariectomy, were included in the study. A comparative proportional distribution analysis was used for data analysis.ResultsAge and use of NSAIDs and its duration of usage were factors associated with an increased incidence of stroke. The stroke incidence rate was 12.77 per 10,000 person-years, and 1.83-fold higher in NSAIDs use cohort than in comparisons with adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.47 (95% CI = 0.93–2.32). Among women with dysmenorrhea use of NSAIDs, the stroke incidence increased to 2.29-fold (aHR 95% CI = 1.36–3.84) in those use for ≧24 days per month and to 0.51-fold (aHR 95% CI = 0.13–2.10) in those use for 6–12 days per month.ConclusionsWomen with dysmenorrhea who use NSAIDs have a higher risk of stroke. Especially young women, the risk of stroke is further increased, and the longer the medication, the higher the risk of stroke. Every woman with symptoms of dysmenorrhea deserves specialized outpatient treatment and care.
Cost-effectiveness analysis of apixaban versus vitamin K antagonists for antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation after acute coronary syndrome or percutaneous coronary intervention in Spain
Authors: Rivolo Simone , Di Fusco Manuela , Polanco Carlos , Kang Amiee , Dhanda Devender , Savone Mirko , Skandamis Aristeidis , Kongnakorn Thitima , Soto Javier 
Published: November 2021

Background/ObjectiveAUGUSTUS trial demonstrated that, for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) having acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), an antithrombotic regimen with apixaban and P2Y12 resulted in less bleeding, fewer hospitalizations, and similar ischemic events than regimens including a vitamin K antagonist (VKA), aspirin, or both. This study objective was to evaluate long-term health and economic outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of apixaban over VKA, as a treatment option for patients with AF having ACS/PCI.MethodsA lifetime Markov cohort model was developed comparing apixaban versus VKA across multiple treatment strategies (triple [with P2Y12 + aspirin] or dual [with P2Y12] therapy followed by monotherapy [apixaban or VKA]; triple followed by dual and then monotherapy; dual followed by monotherapy). The model adopted the Spanish healthcare perspective, with a 3-month cycle length and costs and health outcomes discounted at 3%.ResultsTreatment with apixaban resulted in total cost savings of €883 and higher life years (LYs) and quality-adjusted LYs (QALYs) per patient than VKA (net difference, LYs: 0.13; QALYs: 0.11). Bleeding and ischemic events (per 100 patients) were lower with apixaban than VKA (net difference, –13.9 and –1.8, respectively). Incremental net monetary benefit for apixaban was €3,041, using a willingness-to-pay threshold of €20,000 per QALY. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, apixaban was dominant in the majority of simulations (92.6%), providing additional QALYs at lower costs than VKA.ConclusionsApixaban was a dominant treatment strategy than VKA from both the Spanish payer’s and societal perspectives, regardless of treatment strategy considered.
Blood transfusion and the risk for infections in kidney transplant patients
Authors: Massicotte-Azarniouch David , Sood Manish M. , Fergusson Dean A. , Chassé Michaël , Tinmouth Alan , Knoll Greg A. 
Published: November 2021

Background
Receipt of a red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) post-kidney transplantation may alter immunity which could predispose to subsequent infection.

Methods
We carried out a single-center, retrospective cohort study of 1,258 adult kidney transplant recipients from 2002 to 2018 (mean age 52, 64% male). The receipt of RBCT post-transplant (468 participants transfused, total 2,373 RBCT) was analyzed as a time-varying, cumulative exposure. Adjusted cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for outcomes of bacterial or viral (BK or CMV) infection.

Results
Over a median follow-up of 3.8 years, bacterial infection occurred in 34% of participants at a median of 409 days post-transplant and viral infection occurred in 25% at a median of 154 days post-transplant. Transfusion was associated with a step-wise higher risk of bacterial infection (HR 1.35, 95%CI 0.95–1.91; HR 1.29, 95%CI 0.92–1.82; HR 2.63, 95%CI 1.94–3.56; HR 3.38, 95%CI 2.30–4.95, for 1, 2, 3–5 and >5 RBCT respectively), but not viral infection. These findings were consistent in multiple additional analyses, including accounting for reverse causality.

Conclusion
Blood transfusion after kidney transplant is associated with a higher risk for bacterial infection, emphasizing the need to use transfusions judiciously in this population already at risk for infections.