bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Control and Implementation of 2-DOF Lower Limb Exoskeleton Experiment Platform
Authors: Chen Zhenlei , Guo Qing , Xiong Huiyu , Jiang Dan , Yan Yao 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn this study, a humanoid prototype of 2-DOF (degrees of freedom) lower limb exoskeleton is introduced to evaluate the wearable comfortable effect between person and exoskeleton. To improve the detection accuracy of the human-robot interaction torque, a BPNN (backpropagation neural networks) is proposed to estimate this interaction force and to compensate for the measurement error of the 3D-force/torque sensor. Meanwhile, the backstepping controller is designed to realize the exoskeleton's passive position control, which means that the person passively adapts to the exoskeleton. On the other hand, a variable admittance controller is used to implement the exoskeleton's active follow-up control, which means that the person's motion is motivated by his/her intention and the exoskeleton control tries best to improve the human-robot wearable comfortable performance. To improve the wearable comfortable effect, serval regular gait tasks with different admittance parameters and step frequencies are statistically performed to obtain the optimal admittance control parameters. Finally, the BPNN compensation algorithm and two controllers are verified by the experimental exoskeleton prototype with human-robot cooperative motion.
Modeling and Simulation of an Invasive Mild Hypothermic Blood Cooling System
Authors: Wang Na , Liu Qinghua , Shi Yan , Wang Shijun , Zhang Xianzhi , Han Chengwei , Wang Yixuan , Cai Maolin , Ji Xunming 
Published: February 2021

AbstractNowadays, mild hypothermia is widely used in the fields of post-cardiac arrest resuscitation, stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, large-scale cerebral infarction, and craniocerebral injury. In this paper, a locally mixed sub-low temperature device is designed, and the cold and hot water mixing experiment is used to simulate the human blood transfer process. To set a foundation for the optimization of the heat transfer system, the static characteristics are analyzed by building the mathematic model and setting up the experimental station. In addition, the affection of several key structure parameters is researched. Through experimental and simulation studies, it can be concluded that, firstly, the mathematical model proved to be effective. Secondly, the results of simulation experiments show that 14.52 °C refrigeration can reduce the original temperature of 33.42 °C to 32.02 °C, and the temperature of refrigerated blood rises to 18.64 °C, and the average error is about 0.3 °C. Thirdly, as the thermal conductivity of the vascular sheath increases, the efficiency of the heat exchange system also increases significantly. Finally, as the input cold blood flow rate increases, the mass increases and the temperature of the mixed blood temperature decreases. It provides a research basis for subsequent research on local fixed-point sub-low temperature control technology.
Factors affecting the cesium transfer factor to shiitake (Lentinula edodes) cultivated in sawdust medium
Authors: Hiraide Masakazu 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe transfer factor (TF) of radioactive cesium-137 (137Cs) to shiitake (Lentinula edodes) cultivated on bed logs varies greatly. Therefore, the present study investigated which factors affect the TF using stable cesium-133 (133Cs) and sawdust medium with 5% rice bran as a model, which had similar 133Cs TFs to bed-log cultivation. It was found that the Cs concentration and nutrient concentration (represented by the nitrogen concentration) concerned with the TF in the model sawdust medium. In addition, the TFs calculated using total 137Cs and 133Cs concentrations differed in both bed-log cultivation and the model sawdust medium cultivation, while the TFs calculated using exchangeable 137Cs and 133Cs concentrations were the same in sawdust medium cultivation, indicating that exchangeable Cs in the medium is the source of Cs for the fruiting body and the former difference was due to the presence of other chemical speciation of Cs that could not be absorbed. One purpose of the TF on the mushroom farm is to determine the fruiting body 137Cs concentration at the start of bed-log cultivation, therefore the prediction method of TF are discussed considering the future changes of 137Cs concentrations in trees.
Clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer using digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests: a systematic review and meta-analysis of sensitivity and specificity
Authors: Okpua Nelson C. , Okekpa Simon I. , Njaka Stanley , Emeh Augusta N. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
Being diagnosed with cancer, irrespective of type initiates a serious psychological concern. The increasing rate of detection of indolent prostate cancers is a source of worry to public health. Digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests are the commonly used prostate cancer screening tests. Understanding the diagnostic accuracies of these tests may provide clearer pictures of their characteristics and values in prostate cancer diagnosis. This review compared the sensitivities and specificities of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen test in detection of clinically important prostate cancers using studies from wider population.

Main body
We conducted literature search in PubMed, Medline, Science Direct, Wiley Online, CINAHL, Scopus, AJOL and Google Scholar, using key words and Boolean operators. Studies comparing the sensitivity and specificity of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen tests in men 40 years and above, using biopsy as reference standard were retrieved. Data were extracted and analysed using Review manager (RevMan 5.3) statistical software. The overall quality of the studies was good, and heterogeneity was observed across the studies. The result comparatively shows that prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity (P < 0.00001, RR 0.74, CI 0.67–0.83) and specificity (P < 0.00001, RR 1.81, CI 1.54–2.12) in the detection of prostate cancers than digital rectal examination.

Conclusion
Prostate-specific antigen test has higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting prostate cancers from men of multiple ethnic origins. However, combination of prostate-specific antigen test and standardized digital rectal examination procedure, along with patients history, may improve the accuracy and minimize over-diagnoses of indolent prostate cancers.
Empowering individual trait prediction using interactions for precision medicine
Authors: Gola Damian , König Inke R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundOne component of precision medicine is to construct prediction models with their predicitve ability as high as possible, e.g. to enable individual risk prediction. In genetic epidemiology, complex diseases like coronary artery disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 2 diabetes, have a polygenic basis and a common assumption is that biological and genetic features affect the outcome under consideration via interactions. In the case of omics data, the use of standard approaches such as generalized linear models may be suboptimal and machine learning methods are appealing to make individual predictions. However, most of these algorithms focus mostly on main or marginal effects of the single features in a dataset. On the other hand, the detection of interacting features is an active area of research in the realm of genetic epidemiology. One big class of algorithms to detect interacting features is based on the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR). Here, we further develop the model-based MDR (MB-MDR), a powerful extension of the original MDR algorithm, to enable interaction empowered individual prediction.ResultsUsing a comprehensive simulation study we show that our new algorithm (median AUC: 0.66) can use information hidden in interactions and outperforms two other state-of-the-art algorithms, namely the Random Forest (median AUC: 0.54) and Elastic Net (median AUC: 0.50), if interactions are present in a scenario of two pairs of two features having small effects. The performance of these algorithms is comparable if no interactions are present. Further, we show that our new algorithm is applicable to real data by comparing the performance of the three algorithms on a dataset of rheumatoid arthritis cases and healthy controls. As our new algorithm is not only applicable to biological/genetic data but to all datasets with discrete features, it may have practical implications in other research fields where interactions between features have to be considered as well, and we made our method available as an R package (https://github.com/imbs-hl/MBMDRClassifieR).ConclusionsThe explicit use of interactions between features can improve the prediction performance and thus should be included in further attempts to move precision medicine forward.
High infliximab trough concentrations are associated with sustained histologic remission in inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Wilson Aze , Choi Bethany , Sey Michael , Ponich Terry , Beaton Melanie , Kim Richard B. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe threshold concentration of infliximab during maintenance therapy has not been well-defined in relation to histologic remission. The aim of the study is to dentify the maintenance-phase infliximab concentration associated with histologic remission in inflammatory bowel disease patients (IBD).MethodsA prospective cohort study was carried out in 104 IBD patients seen at a tertiary care centre in London, Canada. Infliximab trough concentrations were collected during the maintenance phase of treatment and compared between participants with and without evidence of histologic remission. Participants were additionally evaluated for sustained histologic remission, and relapse to active disease.ResultsParticipants in histologic remission attained higher mean concentrations of infliximab during the maintenance phase (10.34 ± 0.69 μg/ml) compared to those with persistent disease activity (6.23 ± 0.67 μg/ml, p-value < 0.0001). Additionally, during the maintenance phase, sustained histologic remission was also associated with a higher mean concentration of infliximab (10.81 ± 5.46 μg/ml) compared to those who relapsed to active disease (5.68 ± 3.70, p < 0.001). Overall, participants with a mean infliximab trough concentration greater than 8ug/ml were more likely to have histologic remission (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, AUROC = 0.72, 95%CI = 0.65–0.84, p < 0.0001) and sustained histologic remission (AUC = 0.77, 95%CI = 0.63–0.91, p = 0.002).ConclusionMaintenance-phase infliximab trough concentrations greater than 8 μg/ml, which is higher than the currently recommended target concentration, are highly associated with histologic remission and sustained histologic remission.
Impact of improvement of sleep disturbance on symptoms and quality of life in patients with functional dyspepsia
Authors: Nakamura Fumihiko , Kuribayashi Shiko , Tanaka Fumio , Kawami Noriyuki , Fujiwara Yasuhiro , Iwakiri Katsuhiko , Kusano Motoyasu , Uraoka Toshio 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackground/aimsFunctional dyspepsia (FD) is often comorbid with sleep disturbance. However, it is not fully understood how sleep disturbance affects the pathophysiology of FD. We aimed to investigate the relationship between FD and sleep disturbance.MethodsWe prospectively enrolled 20 FD patients with sleep disturbance between December 2018 and July 2019. Patients took sleep aids for 4 weeks and filled out questionnaires before and after taking sleep aids. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) were used to evaluate the severity of their sleep disturbance. Modified Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (mFSSG), Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), and the Japanese version of Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life (JPAC-QOL) were used to evaluate the severity of GI symptoms. Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) was used to evaluate QOL. Pre- and post-sleep medication values of questionnaires were compared.ResultsAmong 20 enrolled patients, 16 completed the study protocol. Zolpidem, eszopiclone, and suvorexant were administered to six, nine, and one patient, respectively. Each median total score of questionnaires (pre-/post-sleep medication, respectively) was as follows: PSQI, 10.0/8.5; ESS, 12.5/5.0; AIS, 10.0/4.0; mFSSG, 21.0/16.0; GSRS, 44.0/31.0 (Pain in GSRS, 11.0/5.0); JPAC-QOL, 26.0/15.5; SF-36, 63.9/71.9. All of these results showed statistically significant differences between pre- and post-sleep medication (p < 0.05).ConclusionsImprovement of sleep disturbance by administration of sleep aids resulted in improvement of GI symptoms and QOL in patients with FD. This effect may be related to pain modification.
Lifetime prevalence of polyvictimization among older adults in Sweden, associations with ill-heath, and the mediating effect of sense of coherence
Authors: Simmons Johanna , Swahnberg Katarina 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundExperiences of violence and abuse is a prominent part of the life history of many older adults and is known to have negative health effects. However, the importance of multiple victimization over the life course, e.g., lifetime polyvictimization, is not well investigated in this age group. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of lifetime physical, emotional, and sexual victimization as well as polyvictimization among older adults in Sweden. We explored background characteristics associated with polyvictimization and hypothesized that violence victimization and especially polyvictimization would be associated with lower health status. To better understand factors that promote health in the aftermath of victimization, we also explored the effect of two resilience factors, sense of coherence (SOC) and social support, on the association between victimization and ill-health.MethodCross-sectional data from a random population sample in Sweden (womenn = 270, menn = 337) aged 60–85 was used. Respondents answered questions about exposure to violence, health status, social support, and SOC. Conditional process analysis was used to test if SOC mediates the association between victimization and health outcome, and if social support moderates the association.ResultsOverall, 24.8% of the women and 27.6% of the men reported some form of lifetime victimization and 82.1% of the female and 62.4% of the male victims were classified as polyvictims, i.e., reported experiences of more than one episode of violence. As hypothesized, we found a negative association between victimization and health status and the association was most prominent for polyvictims. We found moderated mediation for the association between polyvictimization and health status, i.e., polyvictimization was associated with lower SOC and SOC had a positive correlation with health status. Social support moderated the association, i.e., victims without social support had lower health scores.ConclusionsLifetime polyvictimization was common among older adults and associated with lower health status. To help victims of violence recover, or preferably never develop ill-health, a better understanding of what fosters resilience is warranted. This study implies that social support, and especially SOC may be factors to consider in future interventions concerning older adults subjected to violence.
Endemic chikungunya fever in Kenyan children: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Nyamwaya Doris K. , Otiende Mark , Omuoyo Donwilliams O. , Githinji George , Karanja Henry K. , Gitonga John N. , R. de Laurent Zaydah , Otieno James R. , Sang Rosemary , Kamau Everlyn , Cheruiyot Stanley , Otieno Edward , Agoti Charles N. , Bejon Philip , Thumbi Samuel M. , Warimwe George M. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundChikungunya fever (CHIKF) was first described in Tanzania in 1952. Several epidemics including East Africa have occurred, but there are no descriptions of longitudinal surveillance of endemic disease. Here, we estimate the incidence of CHIKF in coastal Kenya and describe the associated viral phylogeny.MethodsWe monitored acute febrile illnesses among 3500 children visiting two primary healthcare facilities in coastal Kenya over a 5-year period (2014–2018). Episodes were linked to a demographic surveillance system and blood samples obtained. Cross-sectional sampling in a community survey of a different group of 435 asymptomatic children in the same study location was done in 2016. Reverse-transcriptase PCR was used for chikungunya virus (CHIKV) screening, and viral genomes sequenced for phylogenetic analyses.ResultsWe found CHIKF to be endemic in this setting, associated with 12.7% (95% CI 11.60, 13.80) of all febrile presentations to primary healthcare. The prevalence of CHIKV infections among asymptomatic children in the community survey was 0.7% (95% CI 0.22, 2.12). CHIKF incidence among children < 1 year of age was 1190 cases/100,000-person years and 63 cases/100,000-person years among children aged ≥10 years. Recurrent CHIKF episodes, associated with fever and viraemia, were observed among 19 of 170 children with multiple febrile episodes during the study period. All sequenced viral genomes mapped to the ECSA genotype albeit distinct from CHIKV strains associated with the 2004 East African epidemic.ConclusionsCHIKF may be a substantial public health burden in primary healthcare on the East African coast outside epidemic years, and recurrent infections are common.
Genetic epidemiological characteristics of a Hungarian subpopulation of patients with Huntington’s disease
Authors: Despotov Katalin , Zádori Dénes , Veres Gábor , Jakab Katalin , Gárdián Gabriella , Tóth Eszter , Kincses Tamás Zsigmond , Vécsei László , Ajtay András , Bereczki Dániel , Klivényi Péter 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
Recent advances in therapeutic options may prevent deterioration related to Huntington’s disease (HD), even at the pre-symptomatic stage. Be that as it may, a well-characterized patient population is essential for screening and monitoring outcome. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of a Hungarian subpopulation of HD patients and mutation carriers diagnosed at the University of Szeged.

Methods
We conducted a search for International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code G10H0 in the local medical database for the period of 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2018.

Results
We identified 90 HD cases (male: 45, female: 45) and 34 asymptomatic carriers (male: 15, female: 19). The median age of onset was 45 years (range: 16–79). There were 3 cases of juvenile onset (3.3%), and 7 of late disease onset (7.8%). The median repeat length was 43 (range: 36–70) for the pathological and 19 for the non-pathological alleles (range: 9–35). 17.5% of the pathological alleles were in the decreased penetrance range, while 7% of non-pathological alleles were intermediate.

Conclusions
The genetic and clinical features of the population examined in the present study were in line with the previous Hungarian study, as well as with international literature. The exceptions were the higher ratio of reduced penetrance and intermediate alleles.
Advancing research to eliminate mental illness stigma: an interventional study to improve community attitudes towards depression among University students in Singapore
Authors: GOH Chong Min Janrius , SHAHWAN Shazana , LAU Jue Hua , ONG Wei Jie , TAN Gregory Tee Hng , SAMARI Ellaisha , KWOK Kian Woon , SUBRAMANIAM Mythily , CHONG Siow Ann 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundAfter decades of anti-stigma initiatives, the Advancing Research To Eliminate Mental Illness Stigma (ARTEMIS) intervention study is one of the first in Singapore to evaluate the effects of an anti-stigma intervention on attitudes towards depression in university students.Methods390 university students from a local university in Singapore were voluntarily recruited for the study. The ARTEMIS intervention comprises an educational and social contact component, as well as a question and answer (Q&A) session with experts in the area of mental health. The Community Attitudes towards Mental Illness (CAMI) scale was administered at baseline, post-intervention and at 3-months follow-up. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted.ResultsThe CFA identified a 3-factor model for the CAMI with a decent fit (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.93, SRMR = 0.06). Favourable shifts in attitudes across the factors were observed immediately after the intervention (p <  0.001). Gender (β = − 1.19, 95% CI: − 2.10, − 0.27,p = 0.01) and nationality (β = − 1.23, 95% CI: − 2.35, − 0.11,p = 0.03) were identified as significant correlates for the community mental health ideology (CMHI) factor. Linear effects indicated that having a close social contact with mental illness observed a smaller decrease in authoritarianism scores from pre- to post-intervention (β = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.18, 1.53,p = 0.01); whereas quadratic effects found a greater decrease in scores from post-intervention to after 3-months for benevolence (β = − 0.34, 95% CI: − 0.52, − 0.16,p <  0.001) and CMHI (β = − 0.22, 95% CI: − 0.45, − 0.002,p = 0.048).ConclusionThe anti-stigma intervention shows promising short-term results across the CAMI dimensions even after adjusting for sociodemographic correlates. However, the intervention did not observe the sustained attitude shifts after 3-months. Recommendations for future anti-stigma interventions were also considered.
Surgical outcomes of two kinds of demineralized bone matrix putties/local autograft composites in instrumented posterolateral lumbar fusion
Authors: Chang Dong-Gune , Park Jong-Beom , Han Yangjun 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundThis study aimed to assess the surgical outcomes of two kinds of demineralized bone matrix (DBM) putties/local autograft composites in instrumented posterolateral lumbar fusion (PLF).MethodsTwenty-seven fusion segments of 19 patients, who underwent decompression and instrumented PLF for lumbar spinal stenosis or degenerative spondylolisthesis less than grade 1, were included in this study. The PLF mass consisted of different two kinds of DBMs (Grafton® and DBX®) and local autograft. Next, 7.5 cc of Grafton® DBM/local autograft composite was implanted on the left side, and the same amount of DBX® DBM/local autograft composite was implanted on the right side in the same patient. The PLF masses of 54 total sides (27 Grafton® sides and 27 DBX® sides) were assessed for fusion based on both flexion/extension lateral radiographs and computed tomography images at 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Clinical symptoms were also evaluated.ResultsAt 12 months postoperatively, the fusion rates for the Grafton® and DBX® sides were 59.5 and 51.9%, respectively; the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.425). At 24 months postoperatively, the fusion rates for the Grafton® and DBX® sides increased to 70.4 and 66.7%, respectively, but the difference was still not statistically significant (P = 0.574). Diabetes mellitus, smoking, and obesity (body mass index ≥25) negatively affected the fusion rate of both the Grafton® and DBX® sides. Visual analog scores for lower back pain and leg pain and Oswestry Disability Index were significantly improved after surgery (both,P < 0.01). No deep or superficial infections occurred postoperatively. No patients underwent revision surgery due to nonunion during follow-up.ConclusionsOur results suggest that two kinds of DBMs/local autograft composites might be considered as useful bone graft substitute in instrumented posterolateral fusion for lumbar spinal stenosis or degenerative spondylolisthesis less than grade 1.