bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A study of the sequential treatment of acute heart failure with sacubitril/valsartan by recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide
Authors: Pang Zhihua , Pan Chang , Yao Zhuhua , Ren Ying , Tian Liuyang , Cui Jian , Liu Ximei , Zhang Lijun , Chen Ying 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of the basic treatment for heart failure and sequential treatment with rh-brain natriuretic peptide (rhBNP) alone or the combination of rhBNP and sacubitril/valsartan. Cardiac structure, pulmonary artery pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with acute heart failure were evaluated.
Three hundred patients with acute heart failure were included. According to the random number table method, the patients were divided into 3 groups of 100 patients per group: the standard treatment group (treated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, β receptor blocker, and corticosteroid antagonist), rhBNP group (basic treatment combined with rhBNP) and sequential treatment group (basic treatment for heart failure combined with rhBNP followed by sacubitril/valsartan). The changes in NT-probrain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels, cardiac structure, pulmonary artery pressure, and the levels inflammatory factors and oxidative stress factors were compared among the 3 groups at 1, 4, 12, and 36 weeks after treatment.
The sequential treatment group displayed superior outcomes than the standard treatment group and the rhBNP group in terms of left atrium diameter, left ventricular end diastolic volume, left ventricular ejection fraction, pulmonary artery pressure, NT-proBNP levels, and cTnT levels, which respond to damage to the heart structure and myocardium. This result may be related to the decreased levels of inflammatory factors and the correction of oxidative stress imbalance.
Sacubitril/valsartan significantly reduce the serum levels of inflammatory factors in patients with acute heart failure while decreasing the levels of oxidizing factors and increasing the levels of antioxidant factors. These changes may be one of the explanations for the better cardiac structure and better pulmonary artery pressure observed in the sequential treatment group.
Evaluation of clinical trials for natural products used in diabetes
Authors: Ahmad Rizwan , AlLehaibi Lina Hussain , AlSuwaidan Hind Nasser , Alghiryafi Ali Fuad , Almubarak Lyla Shafiq , AlKhalifah Khawlah Nezar , AlMubarak Hawra Jassim , Alkhathami Majed Ali 
Published: April 2021

Abstract

Background relevance:
A plethora of literature is available regarding the clinical trials for natural products however; no information is available for critical assessments of the quality of these clinical trials.

Aim of study:
This is a first time report to critically evaluate the efficacy, safety and large scale applications of up-to-date clinical trials for diabetes, based on the three scales of Jadad, Delphi, and Cochrane.

Methodology:
An in-depth and extensive literature review was performed using various databases, journals, and books. The keywords searched included, “clinical trials,” “clinical trial in diabetes,” “diabetes,” “natural products in diabetes,” “ethnopharmacological relevance of natural products in diabetes,” etc.

Results:
Based on eligibility criteria, 16 plants with 74 clinical trials were found and evaluated. Major drawbacks observed were; “non-randomization and blindness of the studies,” “non-blindness of patients/healthcare/outcome assessors,” “lack of patient compliance and co-intervention reports,” “missing information regarding drop-out/withdrawal procedures,” and “inappropriate baseline characteristics.” Principal component analysis and Pearson correlation revealed four components with %variability; PC1: 23.12, PC2: 15.83, PC3: 13.11, and PC4: 11.38 (P ≤ .000). According to descriptive statistics, “non-blinding of outcome assessors” was the major drawback (82%) whereas, “not mentioning the timing of outcome assessment” was observed lowest (6.8%). An in-house quality grading (scale 0–24) classified these clinical trials as; poor (67.6%), acceptable (19.9%), and good quality trials (13.5%).

Conclusion:
Proper measures in terms of more strict regulations with pharmacovigilance of plants are utmost needed in order to achieve quality compliance of clinical trials.
Clinical Neurophysiology Fellowship Program Directors Survey on a Standardized Fellowship Match Process: A Call for Action
Authors: Karakis Ioannis , Liu Lynn , Bensalem-Owen Meriem , LaRoche Suzette M. , Lopez Jaime R. , Schmitt Sarah E. , Britton Jeffrey W. , Nuwer Marc R. , Lee Leslie H. , Rubin Devon I. , Laughlin Ruple S. , Sinha Saurabh R. 
Published: April 2021

Purpose:
To survey US Clinical Neurophysiology (CNP) fellowship program directors on the nature of CNP and related training programs, current recruitment cycle, and views for a standardized process.

Methods:
A 23-question electronic survey was sent to all 93 US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited CNP fellowship program directors from December 2020 to January 2021.

Results:
The response rate was 60%. There was great variability in the number of CNP positions and CNP tracks offered. The following tracks were identified: 48% EEG dominant, 26% EMG dominant, 22% split equally between EEG and EMG, and 2% and 1% were neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring and autonomic dominant, respectively. Of the responding institutions, 43% offered a second year of training options to CNP fellows, mainly in conjunction with Epilepsy fellowship, which was pursued by 25% of CNP fellows. Many programs indicated flexibility in their design between different CNP tracks or between CNP and other related training programs based on the available candidates. The median percentage of CNP fellowship positions filled over the last 5 years was 80%, and there was great variation in the recruitment timeline across institutions. Overall, 86% of program directors favored a universal timeline and 71% favored a formal match for CNP. The respondents were split between an independent CNP match (39%) and joining the initiatives of affiliate societies on a standardized process (61%).

Conclusions:
There is significant heterogeneity in the makeup of the CNP fellowship programs and the recruitment process. The majority of CNP program directors are in favor of standardization of the recruitment process.
Machine Learning Prediction of Surgical Intervention for Small Bowel Obstruction
Authors: Turpin Miles , Watson Joshua , Engelhard Matthew , Henao Ricardo , Thompson David , Carin Lawrence , Kirk Allan 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTSmall bowel obstruction (SBO) results in >350,000 operations and >$2 billion annual health care expenditures in the US. Prompt, effective identification of patients at high/low surgery risk could improve survival, lower complication rates, and shorten hospitalization lengths. SBO surgery prediction models were developed based on SBO-related encounters in the Duke University Health System between 2013 and 2017. A total of 3,910 encounters among 3,374 unique patients were identified. Performance was assessed in each hour after admission when predicting whether patients will (a) receive surgery within 24 hours, and (b) receive surgery during the current encounter. Potential benefits of model-based discharge were assessed using the incorrect discharge rate and average reduction in hospital stay. Model-based discharge of low-risk patients was projected to reduce the average length of stay among patients not receiving surgery by >60 hours while maintaining an incorrect discharge rate lower than the observed readmission rate (9.3%). AUROC for the 24-hour prediction task increased from 0.644 to 0.779 at 12 and 72 hours post-admission, respectively. Future work will prospectively explore the benefits of model deployment in an inpatient setting.
Reference intervals of amino acid for newborns in North Asia: Diagnosing Inborn Errors of Metabolism Using Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Bairova T.A. , Belskikh A.V. , Atalyan A.V. , Bugun O.V. , Nemchinova N.V. , Rychkova L.V. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTAimTo establish reference intervals (RI) for blood amino acids (AA) in healthy newborns of North Asia measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and evaluate their differences from respective reference values for newborns from other populations.ObjectivesA cross-sectional study of 381 healthy newborns was conducted. De-identified dried blood spots annotated by age, birth-weight, and sex were obtained from 381 healthy newborns aged 0–7 days. Data was collected from April to May of 2020.MethodsDried blood spots collected from filtered paper were used to analyze and measure of 13 derivatized amino acids using LC-MS/MS method. Nonparametric statistical approaches were used to generate 2.5th–97.5th percentile distributions for newborns in North Asia in accordance with CLSI EP28-A3c.ResultsReference intervals (RI) for phenylalanine, tyrosine, citrulline, alanine, ornithine, proline in North Asian newborns differ slightly from those of newborns in other countries around the world. This allows for the use of universal RI in the diagnosis of congenital metabolic disorders of the indicated amino acids (AA) in different populations around the world. The RI for branched-chain essential AA (valine, leucine, and isoleucine are metabolic criteria for maple syrup disease) are higher in North Asian infants as compared to infants in other populations. In addition, the RI for arginine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid in North Asian newborns are higher than in newborns in other countries around the world. In our study, the RI for methionine in newborns were lower than in many countries worldwide [McHugh D, 2011]. For optimal clinical practice, RI for certain AA in newborns (valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid) should be determined for specific populations-further augmenting the diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism.
Combining Indoor Positioning Using Wi-Fi Round-trip Time with Dust Measurement in the Field of Occupational Health
Authors: Ando Hajime , Sekoguchi Shingo , Ikegami Kazunori , Yoshitake Hidetaka , Baba Hiroka , Myojo Toshihiko , Ogami Akira 
Published: April 2021

Abstract[Objectives]The measurement of personal exposure has been attracting increased attention for the control of hazardous substances. Although the combination of location information and personal exposure is considered highly useful, to-this-date, no simple or highly accurate indoor positioning method has been presented. Recently, Wi-Fi round-trip time (RTT) has attracted scientific attention as a highly accurate indoor positioning method. In this study, we investigated the possibility of the use of a combination of this indoor positioning method and small-dust sensors.[Methods]We measured indoor positioning and dust concentration three times during a walk in a simulated factory. A wearable particle monitor was worn on both upper arms, and a smartphone was attached to the helmet for positioning. An ultrasonic humidifier was used to spray sodium chloride solution in the factory. The measurements were conducted three times on different routes on foot (Experiment A, B, C).[Results]In indoor positioning, the error percentages, i.e., measurements that were outside the correct measurement area were 7% (49 s/700 s) in Experiment A, 2.3% (15 s/660 s) in Experiment B, and 7.8% (50 s/645 s) in Experiment C. The dust measurements were also taken without interruption. A heat map was created based on the results of both measurements.[Conclusions]Wi-Fi RTT was able to implement indoor positioning with high accuracy. Thus, the combination of indoor positioning and various sensors can be considered useful for occupational health.
Assess the Benefit of Interventional Radiologist Performing an Image Guided Biopsy
Authors: Rozenberg Radu , Shahi Niharika , Burute Nishigandha , Kotb Ahmed , Shahrour Walid , Kisselgoff David , van der Pol Christian B. , Shuster Anatoly 
Published: April 2021

AbstractPurposeTo determine whether there is any benefit in diagnostic accuracy, reduction in periprocedural complications, when image-guided biopsies are performed by interventional radiologist as compared to a general radiologist or other physician without prior special interventional training.Patients and MethodsThis study is a retrospective chart review of all consecutive patients that underwent imaging-guided core biopsies during one year in our hospital. Information collected included: patient age, gender, coagulation status, organ biopsied, imaging modality and equipment used, number of samples obtained, post-biopsy complications, histopathological results, and previous interventional training of a physician performing the biopsy. The quantitative data from patient charts was analyzed using a statistical program, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).Results449 patients were included in this study: 132 were performed using Computed Tomography guidance and 317 were performed under ultrasound guidance. The success rate of core biopsies was compared between different specialists, and was measured based on periprocedural complications, necessity of medical intervention and/or hospitalization after biopsy procedure, true positive histopathology results, and need to perform repeat biopsy of the same lesion owing to inconclusive results. Overall, IR had a success rate of 88.13%, non-IR had a success rate of 61.07%, and nephrologists had a success rate of 77.65%. The post biopsy complication rates were 5.48%, 27.52%, and 17.65% for procedures performed by IR, non-IR, and nephrologists respectively.ConclusionOur study shows an overall higher success rate and improved patient outcome when image guided biopsies were performed by IR, as compared to other non-IR physicians.
A Real World Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of the Covishield vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV- 19 Corona Virus Vaccine (Recombinant) in Health Care Workers (HCW) in National Capital Region (NCR) of India: A preliminary report
Authors: Kataria Sushila , Sharma Pooja , Deswal Vikas , Kumar Kuldeep , Singh Manish , Alam Sazid , Gupta Vaibhav , Singh Padam , Phogat Rashmi , Sarma Smita , Patil Nipun , Dutt Rohit , Saxena Renu , Trehan Naresh 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has severely impacted health systems, economic and social progress globally in 2020. The rollout of vaccines in several parts of the world is being hailed as a solution to the crisis. With newer and more virulent serotypes on the horizon and limited vaccine available, evaluation of safety and immunogenicity is critical for rationalization of vaccine use in public health.ObjectiveTo evaluate real world safety, and, immunogenicity of the Covishield vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccine (Recombinant) in Health Care Workers (HCW) during the national vaccine roll out in the NCR, New Delhi. The safety is evaluated through Adverse Events and Serious Adverse Events reported though enhanced pharmacovigilance protocols, and, the immunogenicity by quantitative determination of anti-S1 and anti-S2 specific IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in serum samples collected before the receipt of the vaccine and 14 days after dose 1, using the fully automated LIAISON® SARS-CoV-2 S1/S2 IgG test using the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA)ResultsIn the two weeks after immunization with the Covishield vaccine {ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccine (Recombinant)}, none of the 1638 evaluated participants reported any serious adverse events (ie require hospitalization or emergency room visit). Solicited adverse events reported via daily diary cards included pain (62.7%) and soreness (24.1%) at injection site as most common, whereas fever (48.4%), headache (43.4%), myalgia (38.4%), fatigue (33.4%), joint pain (27.0%) and nausea (16.0%) were most common solicited systemic adverse events on day 1. Majority of local and systemic adverse events were seen in first 2 days post vaccination and thereafter they resolved. Lesser reactogenicity was observed in subjects with age >50 years. No major difference was observed in adverse events when subjects were stratified based on history of COVID 19 disease or baseline seropositivity. In our study serostatus improved from 48.2% positive at baseline to 79.0% positive 2 weeks following first dose of vaccination. After first dose of vaccination overall higher percentage (98.2%) of seropositivity rates were observed in those with past history of COVID 19 diseaseConclusionThe Covishield vaccine {ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Corona Virus Vaccine (Recombinant)}, was safe and reported mild self limiting adverse events over 2-4 days and had an good early (within 2 weeks) seroresponse. This holds the promise of far reaching impact on vaccine availability for a larger population and thereby providing a widespread coverage.
Diagnostic accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen detection testing in symptomatic and asymptomatic children in the clinical setting
Authors: L’Huillier Arnaud G. , Lacour Matthieu , Sadiku Debora , Gadiri Mehdi A. , De Siebenthal Loraine , Schibler Manuel , Eckerle Isabella , Pinösch Selina , Kaiser Laurent , Gervaix Alain , Glangetas Alban , Galetto-Lacour Annick , Lacroix Laurence 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTImportanceAntigen-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have shown good sensitivity for SARS-CoV-2 detection in adults and are used in children despite the lack data from children.ObjectiveWe evaluated the diagnostic performance of the Panbio™-COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device (P-RDT) in symptomatic and asymptomatic children against reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS).DesignProspective diagnostic study from 11.2020 to 03.2021.SettingSingle-center.ParticipantsConsecutive symptomatic and asymptomatic participants 0-16yo.InterventionTwo NPS for both RT-PCR and P-RDT.Main outcomeP-RDT sensitivity and specificity.ResultsEight-hundred and twenty-two participants completed the study, of which 533 (64.9%) were symptomatic. Among the 119 (14.5%) RT-PCR positive patients, the overall P-RDT sensitivity was 0.66 (95%CI 0.57-0.74). Mean viral load (VL) was higher among P-RDT positive than negative ones (p<0.001). Sensitivity was 0.87 in specimens with VL>1.0E6 copies/mL (95%CI 0.87-1.00), which is the accepted cut-off for the presence of infectious virus, and decreased to 0.67 (95%CI 0.59-0.76) for specimens >1.0E3 copies/mL.Among symptomatic participants, the P-RDT displayed a sensitivity of 0.73 (95%CI 0.64-0.82), which peaked at 1.00 at 2 days post onset of symptoms (DPOS; 95%CI 1.00-1.00), then decreased to 0.56 (95%CI 0.23-0.88) at 5 DPOS. There was a trend towards lower P-RDT sensitivity in symptomatic children <12 years (0.62 [95%CI 0.45-0.78]) versus ≥12 years (0.80 [95%CI 0.69-0.91]; p=0.09). VL which was significantly lower in asymptomatic participants than in symptomatic ones (p<0.001). The P-RDT displayed a sensitivity of 0.43 (95%CI 0.26-0.61).Specificity was 1.00 in symptomatic and asymptomatic children (95%CI 0.99-1.00).Conclusion and relevanceThe overall respective 73% and 43% sensitivities of P-RDT in symptomatic and asymptomatic children was below the 80% cut-off recommended by the World Health Organization. These findings are likely explained by lower VLs in children at the time of diagnosis. As expected, we observed a direct correlation between VL and P-RDT sensitivity as well as variation of sensitivity according to DPOS, a major determinant of VL. These data highlight the limitations of RDTs both in symptomatic and asymptomatic children, with the potential exception in early symptomatic children ≥12yrs where sensitivity reached 80%.
A novel proneural function of Asense, integrated with of L’sc and Notch, promotes the Neuroepithelial to Neuroblast transition
Authors: Martin Mercedes , Shaikh Mirja N. , Gutierrez-Avino Francisco , Tejedor Francisco J. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTIn the developingDrosophilaoptic lobe, neuroepithelial (NE) cells are transformed progressively into neurogenic progenitors called neuroblasts (NBs). The progenitors undergoing this transition are identified by the expression of the Acheate Scute Complex (AS-C) factor Lethal of Scute (L’sc).Here we found that Asense (Ase), another AS-C factor, presents a peak of expression in the cells neighboring those transition L’sc expressing cells. This peak of Ase identifies a new transition step and it is necessary and sufficient to promote the NE to NB transition. Thus, our data provide the first direct evidence for a proneural role of Ase in CNS neurogenesis. Furthermore, we found that the peak of Ase is induced in a non-cell autonomous manner by L’sc through the activation of Notch signaling in the adjacent cells. This suggests that the two classic proneural activities, promoting neurogenesis and Notch signaling, have been split between Ase and L’sc. Thus, our data fit with a model in which the key proneural role of Ase is integrated with Notch and L’sc activities, facilitating the progressive transformation of NE cells into NBs.SUMMARY STATEMENTThe switch of progenitor cells towards neuron production is crucial for proper brain development. The transcription factor Asense promotes this transition through a mechanism integrated with timing and neurogenic signals.
ODACH: A One-shot Distributed Algorithm for Cox model with Heterogeneous Multi-center Data
Authors: Luo Chongliang , Duan Rui , Chen Yong 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTObjectiveWe developed and evaluated a privacy-preserving One-shot Distributed Algorithm for Cox model to analyze multi-center time-to-event data without sharing patient-level information across sites, while accounting for heterogeneity across sites by allowing site-specific baseline hazard functions and feature distributions.Materials and MethodsWe constructed a surrogate likelihood function to approximate the Cox log partial likelihood function which is stratified by site, using patient-level data from a single site and aggregated information from other sites. The ODAC estimator was obtained by maximizing the surrogate likelihood function. We evaluated and compare the performance of ODACH with meta-analysis by extensive numerical studies.ResultsThe simulation study showed that ODACH provided estimates close to the pooled estimator, which is obtained by directly analyzing patient-level data from all sites via a stratified Cox model. The relative bias was <1% across all scenarios. As a comparison, the meta-analysis estimator, which was obtained by the inverse variance weighted average of the site-specific estimates, had substantial bias when the event rate is <5%, with the relative bias reaching 12% when the event rate is 1%.ConclusionsODACH is a privacy-preserving and communication-efficient method for analyzing multi-center time-to-event data, which allows the baseline hazard functions as well as the distribution of covariate variables to vary across sites. It provides estimates that is close to the pooled estimator and substantially outperforms the meta-analysis estimator when the event is rare. It is thus extremely suitable for studying rare events with heterogeneous baseline hazards across sites in a distributed manner.