bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Adrenal function testing in dialysis patients – a review of the literature
Authors: Brotzer Lara , Nickler Manuela , Kim Min Jeong , Mueller Beat , Blum Claudine A. 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
Secondary adrenal insufficiency is a frequent issue in patients with renal replacement therapy. There are concerns about metabolism and clearance for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol in addition to hemoconcentration as confounding factors during hemodialysis (HD). Therefore, ACTH testing is currently performed before or in between HD sessions. This review of the literature aims to evaluate the current evidence for validity of testing for adrenal insufficiency in patients on chronic renal replacement therapy.

Methods
A literature search of PubMed database for interventional and observational clinical trials was performed. Case reports and reviews were excluded. The search included all articles published until July 2020.

Results
Of 218 potentially eligible articles, 16 studies involving 381 participants were included. Seven studies performed an ACTH test before HD or in between HD sessions. There was no data available regarding ACTH testing during HD. But there was evidence of decreased cortisol levels during HD as compared to afterwards. All included 16 studies measured basal cortisol, and seven studies performed an ACTH test. Seven trials had comparable data of baseline cortisol for a quantitative analysis. Standardized mean difference of overall cortisol was 0.18 nmol/l (95%CI − 0.08 to 0.44) in the case group.

Conclusions
In patients undergoing renal replacement therapy, basal serum cortisol values are comparable to healthy volunteers. There is limited data on the validity of stimulated cortisol in these patients, especially during HD.

Trial registration
Registration no. CRD42020199245.
Dynamic survival analysis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs): a 10-year follow-up based on conditional survival
Authors: Xu Shao-jun , Zhang Si-yu , Dong Ling-yi , Lin Guo-sheng , Zhou Yong-jian 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
The prognosis of patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is generally evaluated at the time of diagnosis but does not reflect the survival dynamics of patients in the future. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to evaluate the conditional survival (CS) of Chinese patients with GISTs after radical resection.

Methods
This retrospective study included 451 patients who underwent radical surgery for GISTs. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate the prognostic factors of disease-free survival (DFS). The 3-year conditional DFS (CDFS3) of patients who survived for x years was expressed as CDFS3=DFS(x + 3)/DFS(x).

Results
The traditional 3-year DFS rate decreased gradually from 94.0% at 3 years to 77.3% at 7 years, while the CDFS3 rate increased from 94.0 to 95.2% over the survival time of the patients. In addition, classic clinicopathological prognostic factors had different effects on CDFS3, with changes observed in survival time, but these effects were only slight or moderate (|d|<0.5). Although multivariate analysis showed that age, sex, mitotic index and tumor rupture were independent risk factors for DFS at baseline, all adverse prognostic factors, except for the mitotic index, lost their predictive significance at 5 years after operation. When the Modified NIH criteria were included, the risk staging was found to be an independent risk factor for recurrence or death. Time-dependent Cox regression analysis showed that the modified NIH criteria independently affected the recurrence or death of GIST patients within 2 years after operation.

Conclusion
CS provides detailed dynamic survival information about Chinese patients with primary resected GISTs. The mitotic index is of great clinical significance for the monitoring and follow-up of patient populations with a high risk of tumor recurrence or death until 5 years after surgery.
The association of paid medical and caregiving leave with the economic security and wellbeing of service sector workers
Authors: Goodman Julia M. , Schneider Daniel 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
Service-sector workers in the U.S. face extremely limited access to paid family and medical leave, but little research has examined the consequences for worker wellbeing. Our objective was to determine whether paid leave was associated with improved economic security and wellbeing for workers who needed leave for their own serious health condition or to care for a seriously ill loved one.

Methods
We analyzed data collected in 2020 by the Shift Project from 11,689 hourly service-sector workers across the US. We estimated the impact of taking paid leave on economic insecurity and wellbeing relative to taking unpaid leave, no leave, or not experiencing a need to take leave.

Results
Twenty percent of workers needed medical or caregiving leave in the reference period. Workers who took paid leave reported significantly less difficulty making ends meet, less hunger and utility payment hardship, and better sleep quality than those who had similar serious health or caregiving needs but did not take paid leave.

Conclusions
Access to paid leave enables front line workers to take needed leave from work while maintaining their financial security and wellbeing.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care providers trained in responding to violence against women: a pre- and post-intervention study
Authors: Arora Sanjida , Rege Sangeeta , Bhate-Deosthali Padma , Thwin Soe Soe , Amin Avni , García-Moreno Claudia , Meyer Sarah R. 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
Violence against women is a serious public health concern, and is highly prevalent globally, including in India. Health-care providers [HCPs] can play an important role in addressing and reducing negative consequences of violence against women. We implemented a pre-post intervention study of HCP training in three tertiary care facilities in Maharashtra, India.

Methods
The study used a pre-post intervention design with assessment of HCPs’ (n = 201) knowledge, attitudes, perceived preparedness and practice at three time points: before training, after training and at 6 months follow- up.

Results
Total median score of knowledge about common signs and symptoms of violence (8.89 vs, 10.00), attitudes towards acceptability of violence (9.05 vs. 10.00), individual (6.74 vs. 10.00) and system level preparedness (6.11 vs. 8.14) improved from pre to post- training. The generalized estimating equation [GEE] model, adjusted for age, sex, site and department, showed an improvement in knowledge, attitudes and preparedness post- training. The change from pre to 6 months follow- up was not significant for attitude.

Conclusions
This package of interventions, including training of HCPs, improved HCPs’ knowledge, attitudes and practices, yet changes in attitudes and preparedness did not sustain over time. This study indicates feasibility and positive influence of a multi-component intervention to improve HCP readiness to respond to violence against women in a low-resource setting. Future phases of intervention development include adapting this intervention package for primary and secondary health facilities in this context, and future research should assess these interventions using a rigorous experimental design. Finally, these results can be used to advocate for multi-layered, systems-based approaches to strengthening health response to violence against women.
The evaluation of bone marrow edema in sacroiliac joint in patients with ankylosing spondylitis using magnetic resonance imaging Dixon sequence
Authors: Du Ming-Shan , Xiong Xuan-Qi , Liu He , Qin Xin , Hu Xiao-Fei , Chen Wei 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
Bone marrow edema of the sacroiliac joint is the early imaging manifestation, an indicator of inflammatory activity of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (Yang R, et. al. Medicine (Baltimore) 98:e14620, 2019).

Objective
The aim of the study was to investigate the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Dixon sequence in the diagnosis of marrow edema of the sacroiliac joint in patients with AS.

Methods
Forty-five patients with AS admitted in our hospital between November 2016 and February 2019 were selected retrospectively as the case group. Forty-five healthy subjects recruited between November 2016 and February 2019 served as the control group. Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index (BASDAI), Bath ankylosing spondylitis functional index (BASFI), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were recorded after admission to the hospital. The Dixon sequence water-fat ratio of the iliac and sacral surfaces of the bilateral sacroiliac joints in the study group were compared with indicators above in order to find the correlation.

Results
The water-fat ratio under the bilateral sacroiliac joints on Dixon sequence images in the case group was significantly higher than that in the healthy control group (P<0.05). The Dixon sequence water-fat ratio of the iliac and sacral surfaces of the bilateral sacroiliac joints in the study group were positively correlated with spinal arthritis research (SPARCC), BASFI and BASDAI score (all P < 0.05), but did not correlate with ESR and CRP.

Conclusion
The water-fat ratio of magnetic resonance Dixon sequence can be used as a reference index to evaluate the degree of bone marrow edema in active stage of sacroiliac arthritis.
The contribution of musculoskeletal factors to physical frailty: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tembo Monica C. , Mohebbi Mohammadreza , Holloway-Kew Kara L. , Gaston James , Sui Sophia X. , Brennan-Olsen Sharon L. , Williams Lana J. , Kotowicz Mark A. , Pasco Julie A. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBackgroundMusculoskeletal conditions and physical frailty have overlapping constructs. We aimed to quantify individual contributions of musculoskeletal factors to frailty.MethodsParticipants included 347 men and 360 women aged ≥60 yr (median ages; 70.8 (66.1–78.6) and 71.0 (65.2–77.5), respectively) from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Frailty was defined as ≥3, pre-frail 1–2, and robust 0, of the following; unintentional weight loss, weakness, low physical activity, exhaustion, and slowness. Measures were made of femoral neck BMD, appendicular lean mass index (ALMI, kg/m2) and whole-body fat mass index (FMI, kg/m2) by DXA (Lunar), SOS, BUA and SI at the calcaneus (Lunar Achilles Insight) and handgrip strength by dynamometers. Binary and ordinal logistic regression models and AUROC curves were used to quantify the contribution of musculoskeletal parameters to frailty. Potential confounders included anthropometry, smoking, alcohol, prior fracture, FMI, SES and comorbidities.ResultsOverall, 54(15.6%) men and 62(17.2%) women were frail. In adjusted-binary logistic models, SI, ALMI and HGS were associated with frailty in men (OR = 0.73, 95%CI 0.53–1.01; OR=0.48, 0.34–0.68; and OR = 0.11, 0.06–0.22; respectively). Muscle measures (ALMI and HGS) contributed more to this association than did bone (SI) (AUROCs 0.77, 0.85 vs 0.71, respectively). In women, only HGS was associated with frailty in adjusted models (OR = 0.30 95%CI 0.20–0.45, AUROC = 0.83). In adjusted ordinal models, similar results were observed in men; for women, HGS and ALMI were associated with frailty (ordered OR = 0.30 95%CI 0.20–0.45; OR = 0.56, 0.40–0.80, respectively).ConclusionMuscle deficits appeared to contribute more than bone deficits to frailty. This may have implications for identifying potential musculoskeletal targets for preventing or managing the progression of frailty.
A mixture model for signature discovery from sparse mutation data
Authors: Sason Itay , Chen Yuexi , Leiserson Mark D.M. , Sharan Roded 
Published: November 2021

AbstractMutational signatures are key to understanding the processes that shape cancer genomes, yet their analysis requires relatively rich whole-genome or whole-exome mutation data. Recently, orders-of-magnitude sparser gene-panel-sequencing data have become increasingly available in the clinic. To deal with such sparse data, we suggest a novel mixture model, . In application to simulated and real gene-panel sequences, is shown to outperform current approaches and yield mutational signatures and patient stratifications that are in higher agreement with the literature. We further demonstrate its utility in several clinical settings, successfully predicting therapy benefit and patient groupings from MSK-IMPACT pan-cancer data. Availability: https://github.com/itaysason/Mix-MMM.
Determinants of the continuous operations of micro and small enterprises during COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia
Authors: Kassa Erstu Tarko 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThe main objective of this study is to assess determinant factors for the continuous operations of micro and small enterprises during COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, with both descriptive and explanatory research design. To achieve the objectives of the study, 276 respondents were selected from 890 micro and small enterprise owners. The sample of the study was selected through proportional stratified random sampling technique from the business types (manufacturing, construction, urban agriculture, service and trade). To collect the primary data, questionnaires were dispatched to owners/operators of micro and small enterprises. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive, correlation and regression analysis techniques. The finding of the study revealed that people and administrative factors, regulatory factors, economic factors, partnerships, leadership of owner have a positive relationship to micro–small enterprise continuous operations during COVID-19 pandemic with the value of r = 0.457, 0.558, 0.572, 0.519 and 0.654, respectively. The study regression analysis result assured that partnership, economic factors, and leadership of the owner has a positive statistical significant effect on the continuous operations of the micro and small enterprise during COVID-19 pandemic with the value of (p < 0.05). The researcher recommended that strenghtening partnership with stakeloders and excersing best leadership practices are essential to ensure the continuous operations of the micro and small enterpreses.
The effect of the family presence on anxiety and agitation of patients under mechanical ventilation after open heart surgery: a randomized clinical trial
Authors: Nouri Jamileh Mokhtari , Safaeipour Leila , Vafadar Zohreh , Moradian Seyed Tayeb 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
Family-centered care has been considered as a philosophy of care. Family presence in intensive care units (ICUs), especially in the acute phase of the disease is controversial. This study has been carried out in order to determine the effect of the family presence on anxiety and agitation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

Materials and methods
In a clinical trial, 70 patients were randomly allocated into groups of experimental and control. In the experimental group, during the weaning process from the mechanical ventilation, a family member was present at the bedside. The degree of anxiety and Richmond’s Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS) were compared in seven consecutive time stages, including the time of entry into the ICU, the first respiratory drive, the family entrance, 20 min and 1 h after the presence of the family member, the time of extubation, and 1 h after extubation.

Results
There was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean scores of the anxiety scale in the first (P =0.008), second (P=0.002), and third stages (P =0.005). This difference was not significant in the fourth to seventh stages (P>0.05). As the baseline anxiety levels were different, a covariate adjustment was used for comparisons between treatments, adjusting the main analyses for baseline anxiety levels. Analysis showed that groups were not different. Also, there was no significant difference in the mean scores of RASS between the two experimental and control groups at any of the seven stages (P> 0.05).

Conclusion
According to the findings of the present study, the presence of a family member does not reduce the level of anxiety and agitation of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. However, it can be concluded that this intervention is feasible in acute and complex situations after open heart surgeries.

Trial registration
This study has been registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials with the code IRCT201609014299N4.
Isolation and characterization of neural stem/progenitor cells in the subventricular zone of the naked mole-rat brain
Authors: Yamamura Yuki , Kawamura Yoshimi , Oiwa Yuki , Oka Kaori , Onishi Nobuyuki , Saya Hideyuki , Miura Kyoko 
Published: November 2021

Abstract
Background
The naked mole-rat (NMR) is the longest-lived rodent with a maximum lifespan of more than 37 years and shows a negligible senescence phenotype, suggesting that tissue stem cells of NMRs are highly capable of maintaining homeostasis. However, the properties of NMR tissue stem cells, including neural stem cells (NSCs), are largely unclear.

Methods
Neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) were isolated from the subventricular zone of the neonate NMR brain (NMR-NS/PCs) and cultured in neurosphere and adherent culture conditions. Expression of NSC markers and markers of neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes was analyzed by immunocytochemistry. In adherent culture conditions, the proliferation rate and cell cycle of NMR-NS/PCs were assessed and compared with those of NS/PCs from mice (mouse-NS/PCs). The DNA damage response to γ-irradiation was analyzed by immunocytochemistry and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR.

Results
NMR-NS/PCs expressed several NSC markers and differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. NMR-NS/PCs proliferated markedly slower than mouse-NS/PCs, and a higher percentage of NMR-NS/PCs than mouse-NS/PCs was in G0/G1 phase. Notably, upon γ-irradiation, NMR-NS/PCs exhibited a faster initiation of the DNA damage response and were less prone to dying than mouse-NS/PCs.

Conclusions
NMR-NS/PCs were successfully isolated and cultured. The slow proliferation of NMR-NS/PCs and their resistance to DNA damage may help to prevent stem cell exhaustion in the brain during the long lifespan of NMRs. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanism underlying delayed aging of NMRs. Further analysis of NMR tissue stem cells may lead to the development of new strategies that can prevent aging in humans.
Transparency order versus confusion coefficient: a case study of NIST lightweight cryptography S-Boxes
Authors: Li Huizhong , Yang Guang , Ming Jingdian , Zhou Yongbin , Jin Chengbin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractSide-channel resistance is nowadays widely accepted as a crucial factor in deciding the security assurance level of cryptographic implementations. In most cases, non-linear components (e.g. S-Boxes) of cryptographic algorithms will be chosen as primary targets of side-channel attacks (SCAs). In order to measure side-channel resistance of S-Boxes, three theoretical metrics are proposed and they are reVisited transparency order (VTO), confusion coefficients variance (CCV), and minimum confusion coefficient (MCC), respectively. However, the practical effectiveness of these metrics remains still unclear. Taking the 4-bit and 8-bit S-Boxes used in NIST Lightweight Cryptography candidates as concrete examples, this paper takes a comprehensive study of the applicability of these metrics. First of all, we empirically investigate the relations among three metrics for targeted S-boxes, and find that CCV is almost linearly correlated with VTO, while MCC is inconsistent with the other two. Furthermore, in order to verify which metric is more effective in which scenarios, we perform simulated and practical experiments on nine 4-bit S-Boxes under the non-profiled attacks and profiled attacks, respectively. The experiments show that for quantifying side-channel resistance of S-Boxes under non-profiled attacks, VTO and CCV are more reliable while MCC fails. We also obtain an interesting observation that none of these three metrics is suitable for measuring the resistance of S-Boxes against profiled SCAs. Finally, we try to verify whether these metrics can be applied to compare the resistance of S-Boxes with different sizes. Unfortunately, all of them are invalid in this scenario.
Are we creating a new phenotype? Physiological barriers and ethical considerations in the treatment of hereditary transthyretin-amyloidosis
Authors: Dohrn Maike F. , Medina Jessica , Olaciregui Dague Karmele R. , Hund Ernst 
Published: November 2021

AbstractHereditary transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis (ATTRv) is an autosomal dominant, systemic disease transmitted by amyloidogenic mutations in theTTRgene. To prevent the otherwise fatal disease course, TTR stabilizers and mRNA silencing antisense drugs are currently approved treatment options. With 90% of the amyloidogenic protein produced by the liver, disease progression including polyneuropathy and cardiomyopathy, the two most prominent manifestations, can successfully be halted by hepatic drug targeting or—formerly—liver transplantation. CertainTTRvariants, however, favor disease manifestations in the central nervous system (CNS) or eyes, which is mostly associated with TTR production in the choroid plexus and retina. These compartments cannot be sufficiently reached by any of the approved medications. From liver-transplanted patients, we have learned that with longer lifespans, such CNS manifestations become more relevant over time, even if the underlyingTTRmutation is not primarily associated with such. Are we therefore creating a new phenotype? Prolonging life will most likely lead to a shift in the phenotypic spectrum, enabling manifestations like blindness, dementia, and cerebral hemorrhage to come out of the disease background. To overcome the first therapeutic limitation, the blood–brain barrier, we might be able to learn from other antisense drugs currently being used in research or even being approved for primary neurodegenerative CNS diseases like spinal muscular atrophy or Alzheimer’s disease. But what effects will unselective CNS TTR knock-down have considering its role in neuroprotection? A potential approach to overcome this second limitiation might be allele-specific targeting, which is, however, still far from clinical trials. Ethical standpoints underline the need for seamless data collection to enable more evidence-based decisions and for thoughtful consenting in research and clinical practice. We conclude that the current advances in treating ATTRv amyloidosis have become a meaningful example for mechanism-based treatment. With its great success in improving patient life spans, we will still have to face new challenges including shifts in the phenotype spectrum and the ongoing need for improved treatment precision. Further investigation is needed to address these closed barriers and open questions.