bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
“Dispense antiretrovirals daily!” restructuring the delivery of HIV services to optimize antiretroviral initiation among men in Malawi
Authors: Nyondo-Mipando Alinane Linda , Kapesa Leticia Suwedi , Salimu Sangwani , Kazuma Thokozani , Mwapasa Victor 
Published: February 2021

Background
Gender disparities exist in the scale-up and uptake of HIV services with men being disproportionately under-represented in the services. In Eastern and Southern Africa, of the people living with HIV infection, more adult women than men were on treatment highlighting the disparities in HIV services. Delayed initiation of antiretroviral treatment creates a missed opportunity to prevent transmission of HIV while increasing HIV and AIDS-associated morbidity and mortality. The main objective of this study was to assess the strategies that men prefer for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) initiation in Blantyre, Malawi.

Methods
This was a qualitative study conducted in 7 Health facilities in Blantyre from January to July 2017. We selected participants following purposive sampling. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with men of different HIV statuses, 17 interviews with health care workers (HCWs), and 14 focus group discussions (FGDs) among men of varying HIV statuses. We digitally recorded all the data, transcribed verbatim, managed using NVivo, and analysed it thematically.

Results
Restructuring the delivery of antiretroviral (ARVs) treatment and conduct of ART clinics is key to optimizing early initiation of treatment among heterosexual men in Blantyre. The areas requiring restructuring included: Clinic days by offering ARVs daily; Clinic hours to accommodate schedules of men; Clinic layout and flow that preserves privacy and establishment of male-specific clinics; ARV dispensing procedures where clients receive more pills to last them longer than 3 months. Additionally there is need to improve the packaging of ARVs, invent ARVs with less dosing frequency, and dispense ARVs from the main pharmacy. It was further suggested that the test-and-treat strategy be implemented with fidelity and revising the content in counseling sessions with an emphasis on the benefits of ARVs.

Conclusion
The success in ART initiation among men will require a restructuring of the current ART services to make them accessible and available for men to initiate treatment. The inclusion of people-centered approaches will ensure that individual preferences are incorporated into the initiation of ARVs. The type, frequency, distribution, and packaging of ARVs should be aligned with other medicines readily available within a health facility to minimize stigma.
The combination of MMSE with VSRAD and eZIS has greater accuracy for discriminating mild cognitive impairment from early Alzheimer’s disease than MMSE alone
Authors: Tokumitsu Keita , Yasui-Furukori Norio , Takeuchi Junko , Yachimori Koji , Sugawara Norio , Terayama Yoshio , Tanaka Nobuyuki , Naraoka Tatsunori , Shimoda Kazutaka 
Published: February 2021

Background
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is assessed by carefully examining a patient’s cognitive impairment. However, previous studies reported inadequate diagnostic accuracy for dementia in primary care settings. Many hospitals use the automated quantitative evaluation method known as the Voxel-based Specific Regional Analysis System for Alzheimer’s Disease (VSRAD), wherein brain MRI data are used to evaluate brain morphological abnormalities associated with AD. Similarly, an automated quantitative evaluation application called the easy Z-score imaging system (eZIS), which uses brain SPECT data to detect regional cerebral blood flow decreases associated with AD, is widely used. These applications have several indicators, each of which is known to correlate with the degree of AD. However, it is not completely known whether these indicators work better when used in combination in real-world clinical practice.

Methods
We included 112 participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 128 participants with early AD in this study. All participants underwent MRI, SPECT, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed by univariate analysis, and logistic regression analysis with a combination of MMSE, VSRAD and eZIS indicators was performed to verify whether the diagnostic accuracy in discriminating between MCI and early AD was improved.

Results
The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the MMSE score alone was 0.835. The AUC was significantly improved to 0.870 by combining the MMSE score with two quantitative indicators from the VSRAD and eZIS that assessed the extent of brain abnormalities.

Conclusion
Compared with the MMSE score alone, the combination of the MMSE score with the VSRAD and eZIS indicators significantly improves the accuracy of discrimination between patients with MCI and early AD. Implementing VSRAD and eZIS does not require professional clinical experience in the treatment of dementia. Therefore, the accuracy of dementia diagnosis by physicians may easily be improved in real-world primary care settings.
Mathematical modeling of COVID-19 transmission dynamics in Uganda: Implications of complacency and early easing of lockdown
Authors: Mugisha Joseph Y. T. , Ssebuliba Joseph , Nakakawa Juliet N. , Kikawa Cliff R. , Ssematimba Amos 
Published: February 2021

Background
Uganda has a unique set up comprised of resource-constrained economy, social-economic challenges, politically diverse regional neighborhood and home to long-standing refuge crisis that comes from long and protracted conflicts of the great lakes. The devastation of the on-going global pandemic outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is likely to be escalated by these circumstances with expectations of the impact of the disease being severe.

Materials and methods
In this study, we formulate a mathematical model that incorporates the currently known disease characteristics and tracks various intervention measures that the government of Uganda has implemented since the reporting of the first case in March 2020. We then evaluate these measures to understand levels of responsiveness and adherence to standard operating procedures and quantify their impact on the disease burden. Novel in this model was the unique aspect of modeling the trace-and-isolate protocol in which some of the latently infected individuals tested positive while in strict isolation centers thereby reducing their infectious period.

Results
The study findings show that even with elimination of all imported cases at any given time it would take up to nine months to rid Uganda of the disease. The findings also show that the optimal timing of easing of lockdowns while mitigating the possibility of re-emergence of a second epidemic wave requires avoiding the scenario of releasing too-many-too-soon. It is even more worrying that enhancing contact tracing would only affect the magnitude and timing of the second wave but cannot prevent it altogether.

Conclusion
We conclude that, given the prevailing circumstances, a phased-out lifting of lockdown measures, minimization of COVID-19 transmissibility within hospital settings, elimination of recruitment of infected individuals as well as enhanced contact tracing would be key to preventing overwhelming of the healthcare system that would come with dire consequences.
Visual outcomes and prognostic factors of vitrectomy for lamellar macular holes and epiretinal membrane foveoschisis
Authors: Omoto Takashi , Asahina Yuichi , Zhou Han Peng , Fujino Ryosuke , Takao Muneyuki , Obata Ryo , Inoue Tatsuya , Asaoka Ryo , Maruyama-Inoue Maiko , Yanagi Yasuo , Kadonosono Kazuaki 
Published: February 2021

Purpose
To evaluate the visual outcomes of vitrectomy for lamellar macular hole (LMH) and epiretinal membrane (ERM) foveoschisis and to investigate the prognostic factor for postoperative visual acuity.

Methods
We retrospectively reviewed 15 LMH and 17 ERM foveoschisis eyes that had undergone a standard three-port pars plana vitrectomy with (12 eyes) or without (20 eyes) cataract surgery. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at postoperative three months and the final visit were compared to the preoperative measurements. We investigated the relationship between BCVA at the final visit and baseline parameters (age, preoperative BCVA, the presence of epiretinal proliferation [EP] and ellipsoid zone [EZ] disruption). The best explanatory variables for the final BCVA were investigated using the corrected Akaike information criterion (AICc) model selection.

Results
The mean age was 67.2 years. The mean follow-up duration was 30.7 months. Fifteen of 32 examined eyes were diagnosed as LMH and 17 eyes as ERM foveoschisis. Twelve eyes in LMH had EP and 13 eyes showed the disruption of EZ integrity. In total, BCVA significantly improved at 3 months postoperatively (p = 0.0013). A significant improvement was observed in ERM foveoschisis (p = 0.0085) but not in LMH group (p = 0.071). Comparing the BCVA between the baseline and the final visit, significant improvements were observed in total, ERM foveoschisis and LMH group (p<0.001, p<0.001 and p = 0.026, respectively). The optimal model for BCVA at the final visit included preoperative BCVA and the presence of EZ disruption (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion
Our results suggested that the final BCVA was dependent on preoperative BCVA and the presence of EZ disruption. Surgical indications might be warranted for LMHs with EZ disruption.
The West AfricanJihādMovements and the Islamic Legal Literature of the Southwestern Sahara (1650–1850)
Authors: Warscheid Ismail 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis article explores debates among Muslim jurists on the question of politico-religious authority that developed in the southwestern Sahara during the age of the West African jihād movements. I argue that scholars in present-day Mauritania and northern Mali perceived the Fulbe Imamates of ‘Abd al-Qādir Kane (d. 1807) in Futa Tooro and of Aḥmad Lobbo (d. 1845) in Masina as a possibility for establishing a true Islamic polity in the region and ending the domination of Arabic-speaking nomadic groups, the Banū Ḥassān. The various concepts and notions put forward in these debates reflect the complex ways in which legal ideas were transmitted across time and space, while helping to shape discursive action in local contexts. As such, they document the emergence of autonomous and original traditions of legal reasoning among Muslim scholars in West Africa, and how these traditions connected to the juridical and religious culture of the Islamic ecumene.
“Africa Isn’t a Testing Lab”: Considering COVID Vaccine Trials in a History of Biomedical Experimentation and Abuse
Authors: Flint Karen 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Contextualizing Africans’ skepticism of biomedicine from the colonial period, through the structural adjustment programs of the 1980s and 90s that slashed national healthcare budgets, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the testing of pharmaceuticals in Africa, and the rising influence of global health is important for understanding both populist resistance and the caution of African biomedical doctors and researchers. Studying such histories might help avoid past problems related to clinical trials, rethink means to create more equitable relations within global health, and ensure African access to and use of any known remedies or vaccines regardless of their origins.
Geração de Funcionais da Gravidade a partir de Observações Aerogravimétricas e de Modelos Geodésicos Globais
Authors: Santacruz Jaramillo Andrea Galudht , Freitas Sílvio Rogério Correia de 
Published: February 2021

A Rede Vertical de Referência do Brasil – RVRB é estruturada em dois segmentos distintos com discrepância entre si (offset). Cada qual é vinculado a um Datum Vertical – DV distinto: Imbituba e Santana. Sobre a realização 2018 da RVRB já existem determinações do offset no espaço do geopotencial com base em gravimetria e nivelamento. Estas soluções têm como pontos fracos a utilização de levantamentos sobre ramais abertos e DVs locais. A visão atual é a de que cada segmento deva ter seu offset referido a uma mesma referência global. Para tanto, é recomendada tal determinação com base em soluções do Problema do Valor de Contorno da Geodesia em referencial global. Para estas soluções são necessárias funcionais da gravidade (e.g. distúrbio da gravidade) independentes de reduções em referencias locais. Na região de conexão dos segmentos, nos estados do Pará e do Amapá, se dispõe de um extenso levantamento aerogravimétrico para finalidades geofísicas, devendo receber profunda depuração para aplicações em Geodesia. No presente trabalho são apresentadas todas as atividades de depuração e compatibilização com referencial global deste levantamento aerogravimétrico. O Modelo Digital de Altitude MERIT substituiu ao SRTM nas reduções da gravidade. O Modelo Global do Geopotencial XGM2019 em substituição ao EGM96 e a modelagem das marés permanentes, foram requisitos fundamentais para o vínculo ao espaço do geopotencial e a um único referencial global. Com as estratégias empregadas, foi obtida uma melhora significativa na aderência das funcionais geradas com modelos globais da Geodesia (RMS melhor que 7mGal).
Aproximación a las dimensiones y factores asociados al contexto de enfermedades raras o poco frecuentes
Authors: López Paz Juan Francisco 
Published: February 2021

El panorama interdisciplinar de los últimos 40 años pretende facilitar y promover la integración de conocimientos y la coordinación de esfuerzos de distintas disciplinas implicadas en el área de la salud. La salud es un componente básico de la calidad de vida y bajo este marco se deben contemplar, principalmente, tres significados relevantes: por un lado, el descriptivo que es aquello que convierte a una persona en una entidad concreta, individualizándola y diferenciándola de los demás seres. El segundo significado está basado en el aspecto cuantitativo, medible por indicadores objetivos; y, finalmente, el significado ético, de respeto a la vida. En general, la salud va unida comúnmente con el bienestar, protección y progreso social.
Esta conexión se descompensa, desequilibra o se rompe cuando aparecen realidades como las propias enfermedades raras o poco frecuentes. La OMS, en este sentido, recoge cinco grandes bloques de factores intervinientes, principalmente, socioeconómico, estado patológico, tratamiento, sistema de salud y entidad individual del paciente o afectado.
El hecho de enfermar y, especialmente, con una patología poco frecuente debe conllevar necesariamente la comprensión de la misma y su proceso no puede formalizarse de una manera simple y unívoca. Su diagnóstico y abordaje han de estar fundados en perspectivas pluridimensionales y diferenciadas, en concreto, biológica, psicológica, social y asistencial; y, todas ellas han de ser integradoras, sistémicas.
On the 100 Gbps DWDM with Optical Carrier Suppression Modulation
Authors: Huszaník Tomáš , Turán Ján , Ovseník Ľuboš 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
This paper investigates the transmission performance of 16-channel DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) system with two complex Optical Differential Quadrature Phase Shift Keying modulator configurations using 2 LiNb MZM (Mach-Zehnder Modulator) and 3 LiNb MZM. The link performance is evaluated for 100 Gbps data rate per channel in a total 750 km single mode fiber link. The perfomance is analyzed in terms of forward power, reflected power and bit-error rate of the received signal. From the simulation results we prove, that the link performance can be improved by adopting the high efficiency optical modulation.
The look at the various uses of VR
Authors: Voštinár Patrik , Horváthová Dana , Mitter Martin , Bako Martin 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality (VR, AR and MR) infiltrated not only gaming, industry, engineering, live events, entertainment, real estate, retail, military, etc., but as surveys indicate, also healthcare and education. In all these areas there is a lack of software development experts for VR, AR and MR to meet the needs of practice. Therefore, our intention at the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, is to focus on the education and enlightenment of these areas. The aim of this article is to show the role of interactivity in different VR applications and its impact on users in three different areas: gaming, healthcare and education. In the case of one application of Arachnophobia, we also present the results of the research using a questionnaire.
Three Stream Network Model for Lung Cancer Classification in the CT Images
Authors: Arumuga Maria Devi T. , Mebin Jose V. I. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Lung cancer is considered to be one of the deadly diseases that threaten the survival of human beings. It is a challenging task to identify lung cancer in its early stage from the medical images because of the ambiguity in the lung regions. This paper proposes a new architecture to detect lung cancer obtained from the CT images. The proposed architecture has a three-stream network to extract the manual and automated features from the images. Among these three streams, automated feature extraction as well as the classification is done using residual deep neural network and custom deep neural network. Whereas the manual features are the handcrafted features obtained using high and low-frequency sub-bands in the frequency domain that are classified using a Support Vector Machine Classifier. This makes the architecture robust enough to capture all the important features required to classify lung cancer from the input image. Hence, there is no chance of missing feature information. Finally, all the obtained prediction scores are combined by weighted based fusion. The experimental results show 98.2% classification accuracy which is relatively higher in comparison to other existing methods.
The Use of Crisis Communication Strategies in Emergency Management
Authors: Haupt Brittany 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAs emergency management evolved to encompass a focus on supporting safe growth and development for communities, the role and responsibilities of government became increasingly complex with aspects of emergency management becoming quintessential. Issues with communication uncovered the need to understand how managers collect, disseminate, and adapt critical information through understanding crisis type and local community needs. This paper examines the use of crisis communication strategies in emergency management practice and how these strategies have been impacted by Situational Crisis Communication Theory. This theory’s prescriptive approach connects leaders’ response to strategies emphasizing adaptation to local community needs and crisis type. Utilizing structural equation modeling and qualitative analysis, results from a nationwide survey of county, and county-equivalent, emergency managers in the United States is included. The survey focused on the relationship between crisis communication strategies, local community needs, crisis type, and perceived resilience. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significant indicators impacting use of crisis communication strategies by emergency managers along with critical importance of adaptation to local community needs and crisis type. In addition, the paper unveils practical recommendations for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in the field of emergency management and its counterparts.
Relationship between insulin-like growth factor-1, insulin resistance and metabolic profile with pre-obesity and obesity in children
Authors: Jaksic Marina , Martinovic Milica , Gligorovic-Barhanovic Najdana , Antunovic Tanja , Nedovic-Vukovic Mirjana 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Objectives
Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition with alarmingly high rates worldwide. There is controversy regarding the relationship between insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and pediatric obesity. We investigated the relationship between IGF-1, insulin resistance and metabolic profile with childhood pre-obesity/obesity.

Methods
The study involved 201 children aged 7–15 years, divided in three groups according to their nutritional status (International Obesity Task Force criteria): normal-weight (n=84), pre-obese (n=82), obese (n=35). Laboratory IGF-1, insulin, fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid (UA), anthropometric and body composition parameters were analyzed. Body mass index and IGF-1 standard deviation score (SDS), waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) score were calculated.

Results
Pre-obese/obese children had significantly higher IGF-1 SDS, FBG, insulin, HOMA-IR, UA, ALT, triglycerides, and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c); obese group had higher WtHR and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) compared to controls (p<0.05). In obese group, IGF-1 SDS was positively correlated with fat free/muscle mass, total body water (p<0.05) and negatively correlated with LDL-c (p<0.05). In pre-obese/obese HOMA-IR and insulin were positively correlated with age, total body fat (TBF) (p<0.05) and negatively correlated with HDL-c (pre-obese) (p<0.05). Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that IGF-1 SDS (OR=1.94; 95%CI: 1.21–3.11), TBF (OR=1.37; 95%CI: 1.21–1.54) were predictors of nutritional status (p<0.001). FBG (OR=42.39; 95%CI: 2.31–77.2) and UA (OR=1.03; 95%CI: 1.01–1.05) were predictors of IR (p<0.001).

Conclusions
IGF-1 SDS and TBF were predictors of nutritional status. Further studies are required to clarify the role of IGF-1 in pathophysiology of obesity and its comorbidities.
Unique Effects of Social Defeat Stress in Adolescent Male Mice on the Netrin-1/DCC Pathway, Prefrontal Cortex Dopamine and Cognition
Authors: Vassilev Philip , Pantoja-Urban Andrea Haree , Giroux Michel , Nouel Dominique , Hernandez Giovanni , Orsini Taylor , Flores Cecilia 
Published: February 2021

AbstractFor some individuals, social stress is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders characterized by adolescent onset, prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction and cognitive impairments. Social stress may be particularly harmful during adolescence when dopamine (DA) axons are still growing to the PFC, rendering them sensitive to environmental influences. The guidance cue Netrin-1 and its receptor, DCC, coordinate to control mesocorticolimbic DA axon targeting and growth during this age. Here, we adapted the accelerated social defeat (AcSD) paradigm to expose male mice to social stress in either adolescence or adulthood and categorized them as “resilient” or “susceptible” based on social avoidance behavior. We examined whether stress would alter the expression of DCC and Netrin-1 in mesolimbic DA regions and would have enduring consequences on PFC DA connectivity and cognition. While in adolescence the majority of mice are resilient but exhibit risk-taking behavior, AcSD in adulthood leads to a majority of susceptible mice without altering anxiety-like traits. In adolescent, but not adult mice, AcSD dysregulates DCC and Netrin-1 expression in mesolimbic DA regions. These molecular changes in adolescent mice are accompanied by changes in PFC DA connectivity. Following AcSD in adulthood, cognitive function remains unaffected, but all mice exposed to AcSD in adolescence show deficits in inhibitory control when they reach adulthood. These findings indicate that exposure to AcSD in adolescence versus adulthood has substantially different effects on brain and behavior and that stress-induced social avoidance in adolescence does not predict vulnerability to deficits in cognitive performance.