bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of Health Interventions on the Knowledge, Perception, Attitude, and Misconception of HIV Infection in an African Rural Community
Authors: Onoja Ali Johnson , Sanni Felix Olaniyi , Onoja Sheila Iye , Adamu Imam , Shaibu John , Abiodun Paul Olaiya 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Background:
Adequate knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), its modes of transmission, and methods of prevention can facilitate its prevention and control among any people. This study evaluates the impact of health interventions on the knowledge, perception, attitude, and misconception of HIV infection in Bonny Kingdom of Rivers State, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods:
This is a quantitative survey that used a structured questionnaire to determine the impact of community-based interventions (awareness education, free counseling and testing, etc.) on the prevention of HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDs) among a representative sample of the general population aged 15 to 49 years in Bonny Island, Nigeria. The data obtained include the demographics; age, sex, education, occupation, marital status, and sexual-related information. Data were analyzed by using SPSS, version 25.0.

Result:
The study comprised 1215 participants in each of the pre- and postintervention surveys. Before intervention, only 47.2% could correctly identify three transmission routes of HIV, as compared with 82.8% after the interventions (P < 0.0001). The intervention participants were 5.37 (95% CI. 4.46–6.48) more likely to have good knowledge of HIV transmission routes than respondents without interventions. The odds of misconception about HIV transmission routes before intervention were 3.52 (95% CI 2.48–5.01; P < 0.0001). About 80.7% and 45.9% believed that they were not at risk of contracting HIV at the baseline and postinterventions, respectively. Postintervention respondents were 4.04 (95% CI 3.41–4.79; P < 0.0001) willing to share meals, 4.84 (95% CI 3.94–5.94) willing to care for, 3.73 (95% CI 3.14–4.44) willing to allow teachers infected with HIV in school, and 3.14 (95% CI 2.60–7.80) willing to buy food from an infected person as compared with the preinterventions survey (P < 0.0001).

Conclusion:
This study has demonstrated the positive impacts of community-based intervention programs on the knowledge, prevention methods, and levels of misconception of HIV in Bonny Kingdom. Similar interventions are needed in other rural communities to promote the quest to end HIV/ AIDS by the year 2030.
Assessment of Protein C Antigen, Free Protein S, and Protein C Activity in Pregnancy
Authors: Okoye Helen Chioma , Nwagha Theresa Ukamaka , Ugwu Angela Ogechukwu , Eweputanna Lisa Ifenyinwa , Ugwu Emmanuel Onyebuchi 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction:
With increasing evidence of thromboembolic events among pregnant Nigerian women and associated high maternal mortality rates, there is a need to document the plasma levels of some markers of thrombosis in this population to aid prompt management of thromboembolic events.

Objectives:
To determine the plasma levels of free protein S (fPS), protein C (PC) antigen (PCAg), and PC activity (PCAc) in normal pregnancy, and any correlations with maternal age, gestational age (GA), and blood group.

Materials and Methods:
A cross-sectional study of eligible pregnant women receiving antenatal care in a tertiary hospital in south-south Nigeria. The plasma concentrations of fPS, PCAg, and PCAc were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Protac methods. Statistical analysis was both descriptive and inferential and done using SPSS, version 21, for windows. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:
Eighty pregnant women at a GA of 25–42 weeks (mean 35.4 ±5.2) were recruited with a mean age of 30.4 ± 5.1 years. The mean plasma levels and range of fPS, PCAg, and PCAc were 47.2 ± 10.3%, 77.5 ± 23.2% and 110.4 ± 27.6%, respectively. There were significant positive correlations between PCAg and GA (r = 0.229, P = 0.041), PCAc and GA (r = 0.223, P = 0.046), and fPS and maternal age (r = 0.254, P = 0.023).

Conclusion:
Plasma concentration of PCAg and PCAc increased as pregnancy advanced, although fPS was below the reference limit, it increased with advancing maternal age. This information should be considered while evaluating pregnant women.
The Impact of Diabetes Mellitus on Ventilatory Function Among South-Eastern Nigerians
Authors: Odilinye Hilary Chukwuemeka , Nlewedim Ikechukwu Paul , Nwosu Nnamdi I. , Ukwaja Kingsley N. , Onyedum Cajetan C. , Chukwuka Chinwe J. 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Background:
The pulmonary affectation by diabetes mellitus (DM) has not received adequate attention, and as such, there is paucity of data on the impact of DM on ventilatory function especially in South-Eastern, Nigeria. This study, therefore, aimed to determine the impact of type 2 DM on ventilatory function as observed at a tertiary health care facility in South-Eastern Nigeria.

Materials and Methods:
This was a comparative cross-sectional study of 100 consenting type 2 DM patients aged between 30 and 65 years, and 100 consenting, normal, adequately matched subjects. Anthropometric parameters were obtained from both study groups, and spirometry was done using spirolab III, version 1.7. Predicted ventilatory parameters were calculated using Nigerian equations. SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis.

Results:
A total of 100 type 2 DM patients and 100 normal control subjects were studied. There were 49 males and 51 females with type 2 DM. Comparatively, 51 of the control group were males while 49 were females. The mean FVC, FEV1, FEF25-75, and PEFR, were significantly lower in the type 2 DM group than in the control group (P values of 0.010, 0.015, <0.001, 0.006 respectively). Likewise percentage predicted FVC, FEV1 and PEFR were significantly lower in the type 2 DM patients (P values <0.05). As much as 22% of the type 2 DM subjects had restrictive pattern while 2% had obstructive pattern. Long duration of DM (10 years or more) was associated with increased likelihood of developing restrictive ventilatory pattern (P < 0.001, odds ratio 14.224).

Conclusion:
Type 2 DM is associated with restrictive ventilatory dysfunction. Duration of DM of 10 years or more is an independent predictor of restrictive ventilatory pattern among type 2 DM subjects.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Orthopedic Practice in Nigeria
Authors: Anyaehie Udo Ego , Muoghalu Obiora Nonso , Eyichukwu Gabriel Okey , Edomwonyi Edwin Omon , Onuminya John Enekele 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Background:
COVID-19 pandemic is a global emerging viral disease caused by SARS- COV-2, 2019. It is a respiratory disease first reported in China in December 2019. It impacts on global health, economic, and social life with tremendous challenges. This study evaluates the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on orthopedic practice in Nigeria.

Materials and Methods:
A cross-sectional electronic survey of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on orthopedic practice among orthopedic surgeons in Nigeria was done. The demographic characteristics, attitudes of orthopedic surgeons, available infrastructures, equipment, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their practices were assessed.

Results:
A total of 87 respondents participated. The age of respondents ranged between 30 and 70 years with most involved being between 41 and 50 years age group (51.72%). Males constituted 96.5%. Majority, 47 (54%), of the respondents were not satisfied with the level of preparedness of their hospitals for COVID-19 pandemic. There was inadequate laboratory testing for COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE), and water supply. Elective surgical services were suspended and only emergency surgical interventions were allowed in many of their hospitals. Though the outpatient clinics were open, services were scaled down in the majority of hospitals to reduce workloads and maximize the use of scarce hospital consumables and resources.

Conclusion:
The impact of COVID-19 on orthopedic practice in Nigeria is huge with many unresolved challenges, absence of laid down protocols, basic equipment, testing materials, and PPE required for the management of COVID-19 pandemic. We recommend that the government provides adequate facilities and resources in hospitals to ensure optimal care during this pandemic.
Correlates of Inter-Rectus Distance in Nigerian Parous Women
Authors: Ojukwu Chidiebele Petronilla , Ezeigwe Anne Uruchi , Ezeigwe Chukwudi Francis , Onuchukwu Chioma Linda , Agwagu Ikechukwu Mellitus 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACT

Background:
Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA) or increased inter-rectus distance (IRD) is among the most common pregnancy-related physical disorders in women. Studies are scarce on its correlates in an African population.

Objectives:
The aim of this study was to determine anthropometric and maternal correlates of DRA in Nigerian parous women.

Materials and Methods:
Eighty nine (89) consenting parous women (20–45 years) participated in this observational study. The IRD was measured with an electronic digital caliper at the umbilical level alongside other anthropometric measurements (weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC)). Information on participants’ age, mode of delivery (MOD), parity, and age of last child (AOLC) was obtained. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of Pearson’s and Spearman’s rank correlations, respectively, with subsequent linear regression analysis at an alpha level of P < 0.05.

Results:
The IRD significantly correlated with WC (r= 0.213, P = 0.045) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), (r = 0.357, P = 0.001). Significant regression equations were determined for the prediction of IRD based on WC and WHR. However, the other variables studied showed no significant (P > 0.05) correlation with IRD.

Conclusion:
WC and WHR are predictors of IRD in parous women, and these should be considered as important variables in the management of DRA associated with pregnancy.
Selection of Optimal Bioinformatic Tools and Proper Reference for Reducing the Alignment Error in Targeted Sequencing Data
Authors: Nodehi Hannane Mohammadi , Tabatabaiefar Mohammad Amin , Sehhati Mohammadreza 
Published: January 2021

Background:
Careful design in the primary steps of a next-generation sequencing study is critical for obtaining successful results in downstream analysis.

Methods:
In this study, a framework is proposed to evaluate and improve the sequence mapping in targeted regions of the reference genome. In this regard, simulated short reads were produced from the coding regions of the human genome and mapped to a Customized Target-Based Reference (CTBR) by the alignment tools that have been introduced recently. The short reads produced by different sequencing technologies aligned to the standard genome and also CTBR with and without well-defined mutation types where the amount of unmapped and misaligned reads and runtime was measured for comparison.

Results:
The results showed that the mapping accuracy of the reads generated from Illumina Hiseq2500 using Stampy as the alignment tool whenever the CTBR was used as reference was significantly better than other evaluated pipelines. Using CTBR for alignment significantly decreased the mapping error in comparison to other expanded or more limited references. While intentional mutations were imported in the reads, Stampy showed the minimum error of 1.67% using CTBR. However, the lowest error obtained by stampy too using whole genome and one chromosome as references was 3.78% and 20%, respectively. Maximum and minimum misalignment errors were observed on chromosome Y and 20, respectively.

Conclusion:
Therefore using the proposed framework in a clinical targeted sequencing study may lead to predict the error and improve the performance of variant calling regarding the genomic regions targeted in a clinical study.
Bone Age Assessment of Iranian Children in an Automatic Manner
Authors: Dehghani Farzaneh , Karimian Alireza , Sirous Mehri , Rasti Javad , Soleymanpour Ali 
Published: January 2021

Background:
Bone age assessment (BAA) is a radiological process with the aim of identifying growth disorders in children. The objective of this study is to assess the bone age of Iranian children in an automatic manner.

Methods:
In this context, three computer vision techniques including histogram of oriented gradients (HOG), local binary pattern (LBP), and scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) are applied to extract appropriate features from the carpal and epiphyseal regions of interest. Two different datasets are applied here: the University of Southern California hand atlas for training this computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system and Iranian radiographs for evaluating the performance of this system for BAA of Iranian children. In this study, the concatenation of HOG, LBP, and dense SIFT feature vectors and background subtraction are applied to improve the performance of this approach. Support vector machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbor are used here for classification and the better results yielded by SVM.

Results:
The accuracy of female radiographs is 90% and of male is 71.42%. The mean absolute error is 0.16 and 0.42 years for female and male test radiographs, respectively. Cohen's kappa coefficients are 0.86 and 0.6, P < 0.05, for female and male radiographs, respectively. The results indicate that this proposed approach is in substantial agreement with the bone age reported by the experienced radiologist.

Conclusion:
This approach is easy to implement and reliable, thus qualified for CAD and automatic BAA of Iranian children.
Epidemiology of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury in the Netherlands: Emergency Medical Service, Hospital, and Functional Outcomes
Authors: Niemeyer Menco J.S. , Lokerman R.D. , Sadiqi S. , van Heijl M. , Houwert R.M. , van Wessem K.J.P. , Post M.W.M. , van Koppenhagen C.F. 
Published: January 2021

Background:
Evaluating treatment of traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCIs) from the prehospital phase until postrehabilitation is crucial to improve outcomes of future TSCI patients.

Objective:
To describe the flow of patients with TSCI through the prehospital, hospital, and rehabilitation settings and to relate treatment outcomes to emergency medical services (EMS) transport locations and surgery timing.

Method:
Consecutive TSCI admissions to a level I trauma center (L1TC) in the Netherlands between 2015 and 2018 were retrospectively identified. Corresponding EMS, hospital, and rehabilitation records were assessed.

Results:
A total of 151 patients were included. Their median age was 58 (IQR 37–72) years, with the majority being male (68%) and suffering from cervical spine injuries (75%). In total, 66.2% of the patients with TSCI symptoms were transported directly to an L1TC, and 30.5% were secondarily transferred in from a lower level trauma center. Most injuries were due to falls (63.0%) and traffic accidents (31.1%), mainly bicycle-related. Most patients showed stable vital signs in the ambulance and the emergency department. After hospital discharge, 71 (47.0%) patients were admitted to a rehabilitation hospital, and 34 (22.5%) patients went home. The 30-day mortality rate was 13%. Patients receiving acute surgery (&lt;12 hours) compared to subacute surgery (&gt;12h, &lt;2 weeks) showed no significance in functional independence scores after rehabilitation treatment.

Conclusion:
A surge in age and bicycle-injuries in TSCI patients was observed. A substantial number of patients with TSCI were undertriaged. Acute surgery (&lt;12 hours) showed comparable outcomes results in subacute surgery (&gt;12h, &lt;2 weeks) patients.
Early Trauma Indicators and Rehabilitation Outcomes in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Slocum Chloe , Shea Cristina , Goldstein Richard , Zafonte Ross 
Published: January 2021

Objectives:
To investigate the relationship between early trauma indicators and neurologic recovery after traumatic SCI using standardized outcome measures from the ISNCSCI examination and standardized functional outcome measures for rehabilitation populations.

Methods:
This is a retrospective review of merged, prospectively collected, multicenter data from the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) database and institutional trauma databases from five academic medical centers across the United States. Functional status at inpatient rehabilitation discharge and change in severity and level of injury from initial SCI to inpatient rehabilitation discharge were analyzed to assess neurologic recovery for patients with traumatic SCI. Linear and logistic regression with multiple imputation were used for the analyses.

Results:
A total of 209 patients were identified. Mean age at injury was 47.2 ± 18.9 years, 72.4% were male, 22.4% of patients had complete injuries at presentation to the emergency department (ED), and most patients were admitted with cervical SCI. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 124.1 ± 29.6 mm Hg, mean ED heart rate was 83.7 ± 19.9 bpm, mean O2 saturation was 96.8% ± 4.0%, and mean Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was 13.3 ± 3.9. The average Injury Severity Score (ISS) in this population was 22.4. Linear regression analyses showed that rehabilitation discharge motor FIM was predicted by motor FIM on admission and ISS. Requiring ventilatory support on ED presentation was negatively associated with improvement of ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) grade at rehabilitation discharge compared with AIS grade after initial injury. Emergency room physiologic measures (SBP, pulse, oxygen saturation) did not predict discharge motor FIM or improvement in AIS grade or neurological level of injury.

Conclusion:
Our study showed a positive association between discharge FIM and ISS and a negative association between ventilatory support at ED presentation and AIS improvement. The absence of any significant association between other physiologic or clinical variables at ED presentation with rehabilitation outcomes suggests important areas for future clinical research.
Nghiên cứu một số đặc điểm của chỉ số huyết học ở bệnh nhân mắc bệnh tim mạch người lớn được điều trị tại Trung tâm Tim mạch - Bệnh viện E từ năm 2019 đến năm 2020
Authors: Nga Dao Thi Thanh 
Published: January 2021

Tổng quan: Bệnh lý tim mạch người lớn có thể xuất hiện một số thay đổi trên các chỉ số tổng phân tích tế bào máu ngoại vi. Mục tiêu của nghiên cứu: tìm hiểu sự thay đổi của một số chỉ số tổng phân tích tế bào máu ngoại vi ở bệnh nhân mắc bệnh tim mạch người lớn.
Đối tượng và phương pháp :7038 bệnh nhân người lớn mắc bệnh tim mạch được tiến hành nghiên cứu các chỉ số tế bào máu ngoại vi.
Kết quả: thiếu máu chiếm 28,4%, RDW tăng chiếm 30,4%, số lượng bạch cầu tăng chiếm 15,2%, số lượng bạch cầu trung tính tăng chiếm 26,6%, số lượng tiểu cầu bình thường chiếm 93,6%. Kết luận: một số thay đổi chỉ số tế bào máu ngoại vi đã được mô tả ở những bệnh nhân người lớn mắc bệnh tim mạch.
Greenland climate simulations show high Eemian surface melt which could explain reduced total air content in ice cores
Authors: Plach Andreas , Vinther Bo M. , Nisancioglu Kerim H. , Vudayagiri Sindhu , Blunier Thomas 
Published: January 2021

Abstract. This study presents simulations of Greenland surface melt for the
Eemian interglacial period (∼130 000 to 115 000 years
ago) derived from regional climate simulations with a coupled surface
energy balance model. Surface melt is of high relevance due to its
potential effect on ice core observations, e.g., lowering the
preserved total air content (TAC) used to infer past surface
elevation. An investigation of surface melt is particularly
interesting for warm periods with high surface melt, such as the
Eemian interglacial period. Furthermore, Eemian ice is the deepest and
most compressed ice preserved on Greenland, resulting in our inability
to identify melt layers visually. Therefore, simulating Eemian melt
rates and associated melt layers is beneficial to improve the
reconstruction of past surface elevation. Estimated TAC, based on
simulated melt during the Eemian, could explain the lower TAC
observations. The simulations show Eemian surface melt at all deep
Greenland ice core locations and an average of up to
∼30 melt days per year at Dye-3, corresponding to
more than 600 mm water equivalent (w.e.) of annual melt. For higher
ice sheet locations, between 60 and 150 mmw.e.yr-1 on average
are simulated. At the summit of Greenland, this yields a refreezing
ratio of more than 25 % of the annual accumulation. As a
consequence, high melt rates during warm periods should be considered
when interpreting Greenland TAC fluctuations as surface elevation
changes. In addition to estimating the influence of melt on past TAC
in ice cores, the simulated surface melt could potentially be used to
identify coring locations where Greenland ice is best preserved.
Shipborne measurements of XCO2, XCH4, and XCO above the Pacific Ocean and comparison to CAMS atmospheric analyses and S5P/TROPOMI
Authors: Knapp Marvin , Kleinschek Ralph , Hase Frank , Agustí-Panareda Anna , Inness Antje , Barré Jérôme , Landgraf Jochen , Borsdorff Tobias , Kinne Stefan , Butz André 
Published: January 2021

Abstract. Measurements of atmospheric column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of carbon dioxide
(XCO2), methane (XCH4), and carbon monoxide (XCO) have been collected
across the Pacific Ocean during the Measuring Ocean REferences 2 (MORE-2) campaign in June
2019. We deployed a shipborne variant of the EM27/SUN Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) on
board the German R/V Sonne which, during MORE-2, crossed the Pacific Ocean
from Vancouver, Canada, to Singapore. Equipped with a specially manufactured fast solar tracker,
the FTS operated in direct-sun viewing geometry during the ship cruise reliably delivering solar
absorption spectra in the shortwave infrared spectral range (4000 to 11000 cm−1). After
filtering and bias correcting the dataset, we report on XCO2, XCH4, and
XCO measurements for 22 d along a trajectory that largely aligns with 30∘ N of
latitude between 140∘ W and 120∘ E of longitude. The dataset has been scaled to the
Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) station in Karlsruhe, Germany, before and after the
MORE-2 campaign through side-by-side measurements. The 1σ repeatability of hourly means of
XCO2, XCH4, and XCO is found to be 0.24 ppm, 1.1 ppb, and
0.75 ppb, respectively. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) models
gridded concentration fields of the atmospheric composition using assimilated satellite
observations, which show excellent agreement of 0.52±0.31 ppm for XCO2,
0.9±4.1 ppb for XCH4, and 3.2±3.4 ppb for XCO (mean
difference ± SD, standard deviation, of differences for entire record) with our
observations. Likewise, we find excellent agreement to within 2.2±6.6 ppb with the
XCO observations of the TROPOspheric MOnitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5
Precursor satellite (S5P). The shipborne measurements are accessible at
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.917240 (Knapp et al., 2020).