bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Test-retest Repeatability of the Ohio Contrast Cards
Authors: Osman Mawada , Njeru Stevie M. , Hopkins Gregory R. , Brown Angela M. 
Published: September 2021

SIGNIFICANCE
The Ohio Contrast Cards are a repeatable test of contrast sensitivity, and they reveal higher contrast sensitivity for low-vision patients than is shown by the Pelli-Robson chart.

PURPOSE
This study aimed to compare the contrast sensitivity results and test/retest ±limits of agreement for the Ohio Contrast Cards and the Pelli-Robson letter contrast sensitivity chart on two challenging groups of participants, and to compare the Ohio Contrast Card results with grating acuity and the Pelli-Robson results with letter acuity.

METHODS
The Ohio Contrast Card and Pelli-Robson tests were each performed twice by two different examiners within one visit on 40 elder patients in Primary Vision Care (>65 years old) and 23 to 27 low-vision school-aged students. Grating acuity was measured using the Teller Acuity Cards (all participants), and letter acuity was measured using ClearChart (elders) or the Bailey-Lovie chart (students).

RESULTS
The ±95% limits of agreement were similar for the Ohio Contrast Cards and the Pelli-Robson chart. The elders' limits of agreement were ±0.27 (Ohio Contrast Cards) and ±0.28 (Pelli-Robson); the students' limits of agreement were ±0.42 (Ohio Contrast Cards) and ±0.51 (Pelli-Robson). However, Ohio Contrast Card results were 0.41 log10 Michelson units more sensitive than the Pelli-Robson chart (over one line on the Pelli-Robson chart) for the elders and 0.90 log10 Michelson units (three lines on the Pelli-Robson chart) more sensitive for the elders (0.11 and 0.6 log10 Weber units, respectively). The Pelli-Robson results were correlated with letter acuities and Ohio Contrast Card results for both groups, and the Ohio Contrast Card results were correlated with Teller Acuity Card acuities for the elders.

CONCLUSIONS
The Ohio Contrast Cards and Pelli-Robson chart are similarly repeatable. Both contrast sensitivity tests can provide additional clinical information that is not available through visual acuity testing, and Ohio Contrast Card may provide additional information not available from the Pelli-Robson chart.
DNA Damage Response in Glioblastoma
Authors: Bonm Alipi , Kesari Santosh 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is an intrinsically treatment-resistant tumor and has been shown to upregulate DNA damage response (DDR) components after treatment. DNA damage response signaling mediates treatment resistance by promoting cell cycle arrest in order to allow for DNA damage repair and avoid mitotic catastrophe. Therefore, targeting the DDR pathway is an attractive strategy to combat treatment resistance in GBM. In this review, we discuss the different DDR pathways and then summarize the current preclinical evidence for DDR inhibitors in GBM, as well as completed and ongoing clinical trials.
Advanced Imaging and Computational Techniques for the Diagnostic and Prognostic Assessment of Malignant Gliomas
Authors: Bapuraj Jayapalli Rajiv , Wang Nicholas , Srinivasan Ashok , Rao Arvind 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Advanced imaging techniques provide a powerful tool to assess the intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity of gliomas. Advances in the molecular understanding of glioma subgroups may allow improved diagnostic assessment combining imaging and molecular tumor features, with enhanced prognostic utility and implications for patient treatment. In this article, a comprehensive overview of the physiologic basis for conventional and advanced imaging techniques is presented, and clinical applications before and after treatment are discussed. An introduction to the principles of radiomics and the advanced integration of imaging, clinical outcomes, and genomic data highlights the future potential for this field of research to better stratify and select patients for standard as well as investigational therapies.
Toward the Next Generation of High-Grade Glioma Clinical Trials in the Era of Precision Medicine
Authors: Rahman Rifaquat 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
In the era of precision medicine, there is a desire to harness our improved understanding of genomic and molecular underpinnings of gliomas to develop therapies that can be tailored to individual patients and tumors. With the rapid development of novel therapies, there has been a growing need to develop smart clinical trials that are designed to efficiently test promising agents, identify therapies likely to benefit patients, and discard ineffective therapies. We review clinical trial design in gliomas and developments designed to address the unique challenges of precision medicine. To provide an overview of this topic, we examine considerations for endpoints and response assessment, biomarkers, and novel clinical trial designs such as adaptive platform trials in the testing of new therapies for glioma patients.
Hospital Cultural Competency and Attributes of Patient Safety Culture: A Study of U.S. Hospitals
Authors: Upadhyay Soumya , Stephenson Amber L. , Weech-Maldonado Robert , Cochran Christopher 
Published: September 2021

Objective
Given the increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the United States, hospitals face challenges in providing safe and high-quality care to minority patients. Cultural competency fostered through engagement in diversity programs can be used as a resourceful strategy to provide safe care and improve the patient safety culture. This article examined the association of cultural competency and employee’s perceived attributes of safety culture.

Methods
A longitudinal study design was used with 283 unique hospital observations from 2014 to 2016. The dependent variables were percent composite scores for 4 attributes of perceived safety culture: (1) management support for patient safety, (2) teamwork across units, (3) communication openness, and (4) nonpunitive response to an error. The independent variable was an engagement in diversity programs, considered in 3 categories: (1) high, (2) medium, and (3) low. Controls included hospital characteristics, market characteristics, and percent. Ordinal logistic regression was used for imputation, whereas multiple linear regression was used for analyses.

Results
Results indicate that hospitals with high engagement have 4.64% higher perceptions of management support for safety, 3.17% higher perceptions of teamwork across units, and 3.97% higher perceptions of nonpunitive response, as compared with hospitals that have a low engagement in diversity programs (P < 0.05).

Conclusions
Culturally competent hospitals have better safety culture than their counterparts. Cultural competency is an important resource to build a safety culture so that safe care for patients from minority and diverse backgrounds can be delivered.
Factors Associated With Children Diagnosed With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and 30-Day Follow-up Care With Practitioners Among Medicaid Recipients in Georgia
Authors: Yin Henry , Ibe Brendan , Parr Tiffany L. , Csukas Seema , Jones Bobby L. , Thompson Sandra 
Published: September 2021

Background and Objectives:
It is important that children prescribed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication get timely follow-up care. In 2018, only 44% of US Medicaid recipients attended a follow-up visit within 30 days of their first ADHD prescription. The objective of this study was to identify the member and practitioner-related predictors that were associated with children who were diagnosed with ADHD and had a follow-up visit within 30 days (initiation phase) of their first prescription of ADHD medication (Index Prescription Start Date, or IPSD).

Methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the independent predictors of a follow-up visit within 30 days and 2 follow-up visits within 270 days after the initiation phase (continuation and maintenance phase, or C&M phase) for Medicaid recipients. Predictive factors examined included race, school age group, gender, geography of residence, Medicaid service region, newly diagnosed ADHD, hospital admission, emergency department (ED) visit, types of ADHD medication, other psychosocial or behavioral diagnoses, psychosocial or behavioral therapy, prescriber specialty, and school season.

Results:
There were 2369 members eligible for the initiation phase measure, of whom 330 members were eligible for the C&M phase measure. Multiple regression analysis found that unmet 30-day follow-up was significantly associated with African American children with an existing diagnosis of ADHD (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64-2.76), middle school-aged children (AOR = 1.49; 95% CI, 1.23-1.80), rural residence (AOR = 1.27; 95% CI, 1.05-1.55), no ED visit (AOR = 1.57; 95% CI, 1.16-2.12), no psychosocial or behavioral therapy prior to the IPSD (AOR = 2.30; 95% CI, 1.65-3.21), and primary care practitioners (AOR = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.45-2.44).

Conclusion:
Pediatrics was the most common specialty prescribing ADHD medications. Managed care organizations can focus intervention efforts to improve compliance with 30-day follow-up among Medicaid children by targeting the high-risk categories identified above. They can also focus on facilitating communication between behavioral health practitioners and pediatricians about several key points: (1) the importance of using behavioral health therapy prior to prescribing medication; (2) the importance of timely follow-up care; and (3) the importance of medication management in combination with behavioral health therapy.
Six-Month Outcomes of Reimplantation of a Coin-Sized Tibial Nerve Stimulator for the Treatment of Overactive Bladder Syndrome With Urgency Urinary Incontinence
Authors: Kaaki Bilal , English Sharon , Gilling Peter , Meffan Patrick , Lucente Vincent , MacDiarmid Scott , Clark Matthew , Sen Subhro K. 
Published: September 2021

Objective
The eCoin (Valencia Technologies Corporation, Valencia, CA) is a battery-powered, nickel-sized and shaped neuromodulation device for the treatment of overactive bladder, and it is implanted in the lower leg in a short office or outpatient procedure under local anesthesia. A follow-on trial was conducted to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of eCoin reimplantation.

Methods
This was a prospective, single-arm, open-label study, including 23 participants with refractory urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) who were previously participants in the eCoin clinical feasibility trial. This follow-on study was conducted at 7 sites in the United States and New Zealand. Participants were reimplanted with a new eCoin device and activated after 4 weeks. Bladder diary data and validated quality-of-life instruments, collected at 12 weeks and 24 weeks postactivation, were compared with baseline.

Results
Participants of the study were considered responders if they reported a ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in episodes of UUI on a 3-day voiding diary. At 12 weeks of treatment, 74% (95% confidence interval [CI], 52%–90%) of participants were considered responders. At 24 weeks of treatment, 82% (95% CI, 60%–95%) of participants were considered responders with 36% (95% CI, 20%–57%) of participants achieving complete continence. There were no device-related serious adverse events reported during the study.

Conclusions
The reimplantation of eCoin was both safe and effective in treating UUI associated with overactive bladder syndrome. The demonstrated significant reduction or resolution of symptoms with no serious safety concern suggests that eCoin is a convenient and maintainable therapeutic device.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obliterative Procedures for the Treatment of Vaginal Prolapse
Authors: Winkelman William D. , Hacker Michele R. , Anand Malika , Lefevre Roger , Richardson Monica L. 
Published: September 2021

Objectives
Although racial disparities are well documented for common gynecologic surgical procedures, few studies have assessed racial disparities in the surgical treatment of vaginal prolapse. This study aimed to compare the use of obliterative procedures for the treatment of vaginal prolapse across racial and ethnic groups.

Study Design
This is a retrospective cohort study of surgical cases from 2010 to 2018 from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, a nationally validated database. Cases were identified by Current Procedural Terminology codes. Modified Poisson regression was used to calculate risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for potential confounders selected a priori.

Results
We identified 45,865 surgical cases, of which 10% involved an obliterative procedure. In the unadjusted model, non-Hispanic Asian and non-Hispanic Black patients were more likely to undergo an obliterative procedure compared with non-Hispanic White patients (risk ratio [95% confidence interval], 2.4 [2.1–2.7] and 1.2 [1.03–1.3], respectively). These relative risks were largely unchanged when controlling for age, body mass index, diabetes, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, and concurrent hysterectomy.

Conclusions
Although both obliterative and reconstructive procedures have their respective risks and benefits, the proportion of patients undergoing each procedure differs by race and ethnicity. It is unclear whether such disparities may be attributable to differences in preference or inequity in care.
T cell dysfunction in glioblastoma: a barrier and an opportunity for the development of successful immunotherapies
Authors: Jansen Josephina A. , Omuro Antonio , Lucca Liliana E. 
Published: September 2021

Purpose of review
Immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade have revolutionized cancer treatment, but current approaches have failed to improve outcomes in glioblastoma and other brain tumours. T cell dysfunction has emerged as one of the major barriers for the development of central nervous system (CNS)-directed immunotherapy. Here, we explore the unique requirements that T cells must fulfil to ensure immune surveillance in the CNS, and we analyse T cell dysfunction in glioblastoma (GBM) through the prism of CNS-resident immune responses.

Recent findings
Using comprehensive and unbiased techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing, multiple studies have dissected the transcriptional state of CNS-resident T cells that patrol the homeostatic brain. A similar approach has revealed that in GBM, tumour-infiltrating T cells lack the hallmarks of antigen-driven exhaustion typical of melanoma and other solid tumours, suggesting the need for better presentation of tumour-derived antigens. Consistently, in a mouse model of GBM, increasing lymphatic drainage to the cervical lymph node was sufficient to promote tumour rejection.

Summary
For the success of future immunotherapy strategies, further work needs to explore the natural history of dysfunction in GBM tumour-infiltrating T cells, establish whether these originate from CNS-resident T cells and how they can be manipulated therapeutically.
Contact surveys reveal heterogeneities in age-group contributions to SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in the United States
Authors: Chin Taylor , Feehan Dennis M. , Buckee Caroline O. , Mahmud Ayesha S. 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 is spread primarily through person-to-person contacts. Quantifying population contact rates is important for understanding the impact of physical distancing policies and for modeling COVID-19, but contact patterns have changed substantially over time due to shifting policies and behaviors. There are surprisingly few empirical estimates of age-structured contact rates in the United States both before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that capture these changes. Here, we use data from six waves of the Berkeley Interpersonal Contact Survey (BICS), which collected detailed contact data between March 22, 2020 and February 15, 2021 across six metropolitan designated market areas (DMA) in the United States. Contact rates were low across all six DMAs at the start of the pandemic. We find steady increases in the mean and median number of contacts across these localities over time, as well as a greater proportion of respondents reporting a high number of contacts. We also find that young adults between ages 18 and 34 reported more contacts on average compared to other age groups. The 65 and older age group consistently reported low levels of contact throughout the study period. To understand the impact of these changing contact patterns, we simulate COVID-19 dynamics in each DMA using an age-structured mechanistic model. We compare results from models that use BICS contact rate estimates versus commonly used alternative contact rate sources. We find that simulations parameterized with BICS estimates give insight into time-varying changes in relative incidence by age group that are not captured in the absence of these frequently updated estimates. We also find that simulation results based on BICS estimates closely match observed data on the age distribution of cases, and changes in these distributions over time. Together these findings highlight the role of different age groups in driving and sustaining SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the U.S. We also show the utility of repeated contact surveys in revealing heterogeneities in the epidemiology of COVID-19 across localities in the United States.
Epidemiology, Clinico-Pathological Characteristics, and Comorbidities of SARS-CoV-2 infected Pakistani Patients
Authors: Omer Saadia , Sarwar Muhammad Bilal , Roman Muhammad , Usman Muhammad , Alam Muhammad , Afzal Nadeem , Qaiser Tanveer Ahmed , Yasir Muhammad , Shahzad Faheem , Tahir Romeeza , Ayub Saima , Akram Javid , Jahan Shah 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 is a causative agent for COVI-19 disease, initially reported from Wuhan, China. Infected Patients experienced mild to severe symptoms, resulting in several fatalities due to a weak understanding of its pathogenesis, which is the same even to date. This cross-sectional study has been designed on four hundred and fifty-two symptomatic, mild-to-moderate, and severe/critical patients to understand the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with their comorbidities and response to treatment. The mean age of studied patients was (58±14.42) years, and the overall male to female ratio was 61.7 to 38.2%, respectively. 27.3% of the patients had a history of exposure, 11.9% travel history, while for 60% of patients, the source of infection was unknown. The most prevalent signs and symptoms in ICU patients were dry coughs, myalgias, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal discomfort, and abnormal Chest X-ray (p<0.001), along with the high percentage of hypertension (p=0.007) and COPD (p=0.029) as leading comorbidities. Complete Blood Counts indicators were significantly increased in severe patients, while the Coagulation Profile and D-dimer values were significantly higher in mild-to-moderate (non-ICU) patients (p < 0.001). Serum Creatinine (1.22 umole L-1; p = 0.016) and LDH (619 umol L-1; p < 0.001) indicators were significantly high in non-ICU patients while, raised values of Total Bilirubin (0.91 umol L-1; p = 0.054), CRP (84.68 mg L-1; p = 0.001) and Ferritin (996.81 mg L-1; p < 0.001) were found in ICU patients. Drug Dexamethasone was the leading prescribed and administrated medicine to the COVID-19 patients, followed by Remdesivir, Meropenem, Heparin, and Tocilizumab, respectively. A characteristic pattern of Ground glass opacities (GGO), consolidation, and interlobular septal thickening were prominent in severely infected patients. These findings could be used for future research, control, and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients.
Deactivation of SARS-CoV-2 surrogate porcine epidemic diarrhea virus with electron beam irradiation under the cold chain transportation condition
Authors: Liu Yan , Shao Yang , Wang Lu , Lu Weilai , Li Shihua , Xu Diandou , Fu Yu Vincent 
Published: September 2021

AbstractSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has prevailed all over the world and emerged as a significant public health emergency. The rapid outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 is largely due to its high transmission capacity. Studies implied that the cold chain logistics would be a potential route for the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The low temperature condition of the cold chain is conducive to survival and transmission of virus. Thus, the virus disinfection in cold chain should not be neglected for controlling COVID-19. However, due to the low temperature feature of the cold-chain, the virus disinfecting methods suitable in cold chain are limited. Here the high-energy electron beam irradiation is proposed to disinfect the SARS-CoV-2 in cold chain logistics. We evaluated the impact of high-energy electron beam irradiation on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), an enveloped virus surrogate for SARS-CoV-2, and explored the possible mechanism of the action of high-energy electron beam irradiation on PEDV. The irradiation dose of 10 kGy inactivated 98.1 % PEDV on the both top and bottom surfaces of various packaging materials under cold chain frozen condition. High-energy electron beam inactivated PEDV by inducing damages on viral genome or even capsid.
Comparative genomics reveals electron transfer and syntrophic mechanisms differentiating methanotrophic and methanogenic archaea
Authors: Chadwick Grayson L , Skennerton Connor T , Laso-Pérez Rafael , Leu Andy O , Speth Daan R , Yu Hang , Morgan-Lang Connor , Hatzenpichler Roland , Goudeau Danielle , Malmstrom Rex , Brazelton William J , Woyke Tanja , Hallam Steven J , Tyson Gene W , Wegener Gunter , Boetius Antje , Orphan Victoria J 
Published: September 2021

AbstractThe anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to sulfate reduction is a microbially mediated process requiring a syntrophic partnership between anaerobic methanotrophic (ANME) archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). Based on genome taxonomy, ANME lineages are polyphyletic within the phylumHalobacterota, none of which have been isolated in pure culture. Here we reconstruct 28 ANME genomes from environmental metagenomes and flow sorted syntrophic consortia. Together with a reanalysis of previously published datasets, these genomes enable a comparative analysis of all marine ANME clades. We review the genomic features which separate ANME from their methanogenic relatives and identify what differentiates ANME clades. Large multiheme cytochromes and bioenergetic complexes predicted to be involved in novel electron bifurcation reactions are well-distributed and conserved in the ANME archaea, while significant variations in the anabolic C1 pathways exists between clades. Our analysis raises the possibility that methylotrophic methanogenesis may have evolved from a methanotrophic ancestor.