bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An assessment of anxiety towards COVID-19 among Nigerian general population using the Fear of COVID-19 scale
Authors: ALUH DEBORAH , Mosanya Adaobi , Onuoha Chidinma , Anosike Chibueze , Onuigbo Ebele 
Published: April 2021

Aim of the studyThe study sought to assess the fear of COVID-19 among the general population and suggested ways to reduce anxiety levels.Subject or material and methodsA web-based cross-sectional survey was designed using Google forms to collect data. Participants were recruited using a convenience snowballing technique. The questionnaire contained 3 sections on Socio-demographic data, the Fear of COVID-9 scale, and an open-ended question on suggested ways to mitigate anxiety towards COVID-19. For the open-ended question, scores were grouped based on the similarity of thematic content. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0.ResultsA total of 1011 respondents completed the survey. The Mean Sum Fear of Corona was 18.28±5.909 out of a possible maximum score of 35. More than half (53.6%, n = 542) of the respondents had ‘Low fear’ of COVID-19. There was an increasing fear of COVID-19 with increasing educational qualification, however, this was not statistically significant. Respondents with health-related occupations had less anxiety towards COVID-19 compared to people in non-health related occupations (17.83±5.85 Vs. 18.54±5.91).DiscussionWhen respondents were asked to suggest ways anxiety towards COVID-19 could be reduced, one-third of them (34%, n =344) responded that public enlightenment programs with accurate information on the virus should be embarked on.ConclusionsOverall, there was a low fear of COVID-19 among the general Nigerian population surveyed in this study. Public enlightenment and limited consumption of news on COVID-19 were the most suggested ways to abate fear of the virus.
Study of correlates of depression among health care workers during COVID-19 epidemic
Authors: Patel Vishal , Pandey Sunayna , Patel Falguni , Jani Arpit , Tiwari Deepak , Thakrar Rajendrakumar 
Published: April 2021

Aim of the studyStudy aimed to find out the prevalence and risk factors of depression among the health care workers during COVID-19 outbreak.Subject or material and methodsThis was a three month, cross-sectional, observational, single center study of heath care workers of a notified COVID-19 hospital. Study objectives were explained to health care workers, and written consent was obtained. Patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), DSM-5 Criterion of major depressive disorder and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 were used to diagnose the depression. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used for analysis of variablesResultsOverall 18.78% health workers reported major depressive disorder.Nearly three fourth of the old age participants had moderate to severe depression. 20.69% of married subjects had major depression. Medical health workers reported more depression . One third of the front line workers had major depression. 51% of the participants with medical co-morbidity reported Major depression as compared to only 12% in those without any medical co-morbidity.33% of subjects watching COVID-19 news very frequently in a day had major depressionDiscussionThe prevalence of depression ranges from 9 to 35% in various studies. . Among them living in joint family, married, elderly, presence of medical illness, frontline work, frequently watching COVID-19 news, excessive fear of COVID-19, and medical health worker emerged as statistically significant variables associated with major depressionConclusionsThe prevalence of depression is high among health care workers while performing duties during COVID-19 outbreak. Early diagnosis and treatment of depression would be crucial during this difficult time.
Assessing Algorithmic Fairness with Unobserved Protected Class Using Data Combination
Authors: Kallus Nathan , Mao Xiaojie , Zhou Angela 
Published: April 2021

The increasing impact of algorithmic decisions on people’s lives compels us to scrutinize their fairness and, in particular, the disparate impacts that ostensibly color-blind algorithms can have on different groups. Examples include credit decisioning, hiring, advertising, criminal justice, personalized medicine, and targeted policy making, where in some cases legislative or regulatory frameworks for fairness exist and define specific protected classes. In this paper we study a fundamental challenge to assessing disparate impacts in practice: protected class membership is often not observed in the data. This is particularly a problem in lending and healthcare. We consider the use of an auxiliary data set, such as the U.S. census, to construct models that predict the protected class from proxy variables, such as surname and geolocation. We show that even with such data, a variety of common disparity measures are generally unidentifiable, providing a new perspective on the documented biases of popular proxy-based methods. We provide exact characterizations of the tightest possible set of all possible true disparities that are consistent with the data (and possibly additional assumptions). We further provide optimization-based algorithms for computing and visualizing these sets and statistical tools to assess sampling uncertainty. Together, these enable reliable and robust assessments of disparities—an important tool when disparity assessment can have far-reaching policy implications. We demonstrate this in two case studies with real data: mortgage lending and personalized medicine dosing. This paper was accepted by Hamid Nazerzadeh, Management Science Special Section on Data-Driven Prescriptive Analytics.
The impact of routine HIV drug resistance testing in Ontario: A controlled interrupted time series study
Authors: Mbuagbaw Lawrence , Logie Carmen H. , Thabane Lehana , Smaill Fiona , Smieja Marek , Burchell Ann N. , Rachlis Beth , Tarride Jean-Eric , Kroch Abigail , Mazzulli Tony , Alvarez Elizabeth , Lawson Daeria O. , Nguyen Francis , Perez Richard , Seow Hsien 
Published: April 2021

Background
Knowledge of HIV drug resistance informs the choice of regimens and ensures that the most efficacious options are selected. In January 2014, a policy change to routine resistance testing was implemented in Ontario, Canada. The objective of this study was to investigate the policy change impact of routine resistance testing in people with HIV in Ontario, Canada since January 2014.

Methods
We used data on people with HIV living in Ontario from administrative databases of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Public Health Ontario (PHO), and ran ordinary least squares (OLS) models of interrupted time series to measure the levels and trends of 2-year mortality, 2-year hospitalizations and 2-year emergency department visits before (2005–2013) and after the policy change (2014–2017). Outcomes were collected in biannual periods, generating 18 periods before the intervention and 8 periods after. We included a control series of people who did not receive a resistance test within 3 months of HIV diagnosis.

Results
Data included 12,996 people with HIV, of which 8881 (68.3%) were diagnosed between 2005 and 2013, and 4115 (31.7%) were diagnosed between 2014 and 2017. Policy change to routine resistance testing within 3 months of HIV diagnosis led to a decreasing trend in 2-year mortality of 0.8% every six months compared to the control group. No significant differences in hospitalizations or emergency department visits were noted.

Interpretation
The policy of routine resistance testing within three months of diagnosis is beneficial at the population level.
Metabolite profiles associated with disease progression in influenza infection
Authors: Wendt Chris H. , Castro-Pearson Sandra , Proper Jennifer , Pett Sarah , Griffin Timothy J. , Kan Virginia , Carbone Javier , Koulouris Nikolaos , Reilly Cavan , Neaton James D. ,   for the INSIGHT FLU003 Plus Study Group
Published: April 2021

Background
We performed metabolomic profiling to identify metabolites that correlate with disease progression and death.

Methods
We performed a study of adults hospitalized with Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. Cases (n = 32) were defined by a composite outcome of death or transfer to the intensive care unit during the 60-day follow-up period. Controls (n = 64) were survivors who did not require transfer to the ICU. Four hundred and eight metabolites from eight families were measured on plasma sample at enrollment using a mass spectrometry based Biocrates platform. Conditional logistic regression was used to summarize the association of the individual metabolites and families with the composite outcome and its major two components.

Results
The ten metabolites with the strongest association with disease progression belonged to five different metabolite families with sphingolipids being the most common. The acylcarnitines, glycerides, sphingolipids and biogenic metabolite families had the largest odds ratios based on the composite endpoint. The tryptophan odds ratio for the composite is largely associated with death (OR 17.33: 95% CI, 1.60–187.76).

Conclusions
Individuals that develop disease progression when infected with Influenza H1N1 have a metabolite signature that differs from survivors. Low levels of tryptophan had a strong association with death.

Registry
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01056185
Smoking may be more harmful to vasospastic angina patients who take antiplatelet agents due to the interaction: Results of Korean prospective multi-center cohort
Authors: Cho Seong-Sik , Jo Sang-Ho , Kim Hyun-Jin , Lee Min-Ho , Seo Won-Woo , Kim Hack-Lyoung , Lee Kwan Yong , Yang Tae-Hyun , Her Sung-Ho , Han Seung Hwan , Lee Byoung-Kwon , Park Keun-Ho , Rha Seung-Woon , Gwon Hyeon-Cheol , Choi Dong-Ju , Baek Sang Hong 
Published: April 2021

Background
The interaction between smoking and the use of antiplatelet agents on the prognosis of vasospastic angina (VA) is rarely investigated.

Methods
VA-Korea is a nation-wide multi-center registry with prospective design (n = 1812). The primary endpoint was the composite occurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), symptomatic arrhythmia, and cardiac death. Log-rank test and Cox proportional hazard model were for statistical analysis. Also, we conducted interaction analysis in both additive and multiplicative scales between smoking and antiplatelet agents among VA patients. For additive scale interaction, relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was calculated and for multiplicative scale interaction, the ratio of hazard ratio (HR) was calculated. All statistical analysis conducted by Stata Ver 16.1.

Results
Patients who were smoking and using antiplatelet agents had the highest incidence rate in the primary composite outcome. The incidence rate was 3.49 per 1,000 person-month (95% CI: 2.30-5.30, log-rank test for primary outcome p = 0.017) and HR of smoking and using antiplatelet agents was 1.66 (95%CI: 0.98-2.81). The adjusted RERI of smoking and using antiplatelet agents was 1.10 (p = 0.009), and the adjusted ratio of HR of smoking and using antiplatelet agents was 3.32 (p = 0.019). The current study observed the interaction between smoking and using antiplatelet agents in both additive and multiplicative scales.

Conclusions
Smoking was associated with higher rates of unfavorable clinical outcomes among VA patients taking antiplatelet agents. This suggested that VA patients, especially those using antiplatelet agents should quit smoking.
Operating bedside cardiac ultrasound program in emergency medicine residency: A retrospective observation study from the perspective of performance improvement
Authors: Kim Ki Hong , Jung Jae Yun , Park Joong Wan , Lee Min Sung , Lee Yong Hee 
Published: April 2021

Background
Point-of-care ultrasound is one of useful diagnostic tools in emergency medicine practice and considerably depends on physician’s performance. This study was performed to evaluate performance improvements and favorable attitudes through structured cardiac ultrasound program for emergency medicine residents.

Methods
Retrospective observational study using the point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) database in one tertiary academic-teaching hospital emergency department has been conducted. Cardiac ultrasound education and rotation program has been implemented in emergency medicine residency program. Structured evaluation sheet for cardiac ultrasound and questionnaire toward PoCUS have been developed. An early-phase and a late-phase case were selected randomly for each participant. Two emergency medicine specialists with expertise in PoCUS evaluated saved images independently. We used a paired t-test to compare the performance score of each phase and the results of the questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between the characteristics of participants and performance improvements.

Results
During the study period, a total of 1,652 bedside cardiac ultrasounds were administered. Forty-six examinations conducted by 23 emergency medicine residents were randomly selected for analysis. The performance score increased from 39.5 to 56.1 according to expert A and 45.3 to 62.9 according to expert B (p-value <0.01 for both). The average questionnaire score, which was analyzed for 17 participants, showed improvement from 18.9 to 20.7 (p-value <0.01). In multivariable linear regression analysis, younger age, higher early-phase score and higher confidence had a negative association with a greater improvement of performance, while the number of examinations had a positive association.

Conclusions
Bedside cardiac ultrasound performance and attitudes toward PoCUS have been improved through structured residency program.
Comparison of seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections with cumulative and imputed COVID-19 cases: Systematic review
Authors: Byambasuren Oyungerel , Dobler Claudia C. , Bell Katy , Rojas Diana Patricia , Clark Justin , McLaws Mary-Louise , Glasziou Paul 
Published: April 2021

Background
Accurate seroprevalence estimates of SARS-CoV-2 in different populations could clarify the extent to which current testing strategies are identifying all active infection, and hence the true magnitude and spread of the infection. Our primary objective was to identify valid seroprevalence studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection and compare their estimates with the reported, and imputed, COVID-19 case rates within the same population at the same time point.

Methods
We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane COVID-19 trials, and Europe-PMC for published studies and pre-prints that reported anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, IgM and/or IgA antibodies for serosurveys of the general community from 1 Jan to 12 Aug 2020.

Results
Of the 2199 studies identified, 170 were assessed for full text and 17 studies representing 15 regions and 118,297 subjects were includable. The seroprevalence proportions in 8 studies ranged between 1%-10%, with 5 studies under 1%, and 4 over 10%—from the notably hard-hit regions of Gangelt, Germany; Northwest Iran; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Stockholm, Sweden. For seropositive cases who were not previously identified as COVID-19 cases, the majority had prior COVID-like symptoms. The estimated seroprevalences ranged from 0.56–717 times greater than the number of reported cumulative cases–half of the studies reported greater than 10 times more SARS-CoV-2 infections than the cumulative number of cases.

Conclusions
The findings show SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence is well below “herd immunity” in all countries studied. The estimated number of infections, however, were much greater than the number of reported cases and deaths in almost all locations. The majority of seropositive people reported prior COVID-like symptoms, suggesting that undertesting of symptomatic people may be causing a substantial under-ascertainment of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Validation of a Polish version of the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale: Do moderate psychometric properties affect its clinical utility?
Authors: Wiśniewski Adam , Filipska Karolina , Puchowska Marlena , Piec Katarzyna , Jaskólski Filip , Ślusarz Robert 
Published: April 2021

BackgroundThe National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) is a validated tool for assessing the severity of stroke. It has been adapted into several languages; however, a Polish version with large-scale psychometric validation, including repeatability and separate assessments of anterior and posterior stroke, has not been developed. We aimed to adapt and validate a Polish version of the NIHSS (PL-NIHSS) while focusing on the psychometric properties and site of stroke.MethodsThe study included 225 patients with ischemic stroke (102 anterior and 123 posterior circulation stroke). Four NIHSS-certified researchers estimated stroke severity using the most appropriate scales to assess the psychometric properties (including internal consistency, homogeneity, scalability, and discriminatory power of individual items) and ultimately determine the reliability, repeatability, and validity of the PL-NIHSS.ResultsThe PL-NIHSS achieved Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.6885, which indicates moderate internal consistency and homogeneity. Slightly more than half of the individual items provided sufficient discriminatory power (r > 0.3). A favorable coefficient of repeatability (0.6267; 95% confidence interval: 0.5737–0.6904), narrow limits of inter-rater agreement, and excellent intraclass correlation coefficients or weighted kappa values (> 0.90), demonstrated high reliability of PL-NIHSS. Highly significant correlations with other tools confirmed the validity and predictive value of the PL-NIHSS. In posterior stroke, the PL-NIHSS achieved the required Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.71070). Additionally, stroke location did not affect other psychometric features or instrument reliability and validity.ConclusionsWe developed a valid and reliable tool for assessing stroke severity in Polish-speaking participants. Moderate psychometric features were emphasized without limiting its clinical applications.
Impact of a telephone triage service for non-critical emergencies in Switzerland: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Thierrin Chloé , Augsburger Aurélie , Dami Fabrice , Monney Christophe , Staeger Philippe , Clair Carole 
Published: April 2021

Introduction
Telephone triage services (TTS) play an increasing role in the delivery of healthcare. The objective of this study was to characterize the adult users of a TTS for non-critical emergencies, describe the types of advice given and their subsequent observation, and assess the influence of TTS on the use of the healthcare system in a sanitary region of Switzerland.

Methods
Data from a TTS based in the French part of Switzerland were analyzed. This service consists of a medical contact center for non-critical emergencies, with trained nurses available 24/7. A random selection of 2,034 adult calls was performed between July and December 2018. Research students contacted users 2 to 4 weeks after the initial call and assessed sociodemographic and clinical data, as well as the impact of the advice received on the use of the healthcare system.

Results
A sample of 412 users was included in the analyses. The average age was 49.0 (SD 20.4) years; 68.5% were women and 72.8% of Swiss origin. The two main recommendations provided by nurses were to consult the emergency department (ED) (44.6%, n = 184) and to contact a physician on duty (33.2%, n = 137). The majority of users followed the advice given by the nurses (substantial agreement [k = 0.79] with consulting the ED and perfect agreement [k = 0.87] with contacting a physician on duty). We calculated that calling the TTS could decrease the intention to visit the ED by 28.1%.

Conclusion
TTS for non-critical emergencies have the potential to decrease the use of ED services.
Therapeutic effect of local photothermal heating of gold nanoparticle-coated self-expandable metallic stents for suppressing granulation tissue formation in the mouse colon
Authors: Heo Yeong-Cheol , Han Dong-Kyoon , Kim Min Tae 
Published: April 2021

Purpose
To investigate the therapeutic effect of local photothermal (PT) heating on suppression of stent-induced granulation tissue formation in mouse colon.

Materials and methods
A gold nanoparticle (GNP)-coated self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) was prepared using a two-step synthesis process for local PT heating under near-infrared laser irradiation. Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into two groups of 12 and subjected to SEMS placement in the colon. Group A received a GNP-coated SEMS without local heating and Group B received a GNP-coated SEMS and underwent local heating at 55°C after SEMS placement. The therapeutic effect of local heating was assessed by comparing the histopathological, immunohistochemical, and endoscopic results.

Results
Four mice were excluded because of stent migration (n = 3, group B) or death (n = 1, group A). Stent-induced granulation tissue-related variables were significantly lower in group B than in group A (p < 0.001). In vivo endoscopic images, 4 weeks after stent placement, showed granulation tissue formation over the wire mesh in group A and relatively good patency of the stented colon with no definite irregularities in group B. There was more vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) positivity in group A than in group B.

Conclusion
Local PT heating suppresses granulation tissue formation after stent placement in mouse colon.
Natural autoantibodies to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor in polycystic ovarian syndrome
Authors: Sattler Lisa-Marie , Schniewind Hanna A. , Minich Waldemar B. , Haudum Christoph W. , Niklowitz Petra , Münzker Julia , Kovács Gábor L. , Reinehr Thomas , Obermayer-Pietsch Barbara , Schomburg Lutz 
Published: April 2021

Context
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a complex disease with different subtypes and unclear etiology. Among the frequent comorbidities are autoimmune diseases, suggesting that autoantibodies (aAb) may be involved in PCOS pathogenesis.

Objective
As the gonadal axis often is dysregulated, we tested the hypothesis that aAb to the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GnRH-R) are of diagnostic value in PCOS.

Design
An in vitro assay for quantifying aAb to the GnRH-R (GnRH-R-aAb) was established by using a recombinant fusion protein of full-length human GnRH-R and firefly luciferase. A commercial rabbit antiserum to human GnRH-R was used for standardization. Serum samples of control subjects and different cohorts of European PCOS patients (n = 1051) were analyzed.

Results
The novel GnRH-R-aAb assay was sensitive, and signals were linear on dilution when tested with the commercial GnRH-R antiserum. Natural GnRH-R-aAb were detected in one control (0.25%) and two PCOS samples (0.31%), and 12 samples were slightly above the threshold of positivity. The identification of samples with positive GnRH-R-aAb was reproducible and the signals showed no matrix interferences.

Conclusion
Natural GnRH-R-aAb are present in a very small fraction of adult control and PCOS subjects of European decent. Our results do not support the hypothesis that the GnRH-R constitutes a relevant autoantigen in PCOS.