bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intra-articular corticosteroid injection and genicular nerve block under ultrasound guidance in pain control of knee osteoarthritis
Authors: Ragab Abdel Rahman , Hegab Sherif , Elnemr Rehab , Abdel-Kerim Amr 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Background
Chronic knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a frequent disease among the elderly. Intra-articular corticosteroid injection (IACSI) was commonly adopted to alleviate knee OA-related pains. Recently, Genicular nerve block (GNB) has emerged as a new alternative technique. The current study aimed to investigate the efficacy of those two approaches when guided with ultrasound and to determine which one offers better results. This study included 40 patients with painful chronic knee OA (Nine males and 31 females, age ranged from 44 to 65 years) and were randomly assigned to two equal groups. Groups 1 was managed with ultrasound-guided IACSI and group 2 with ultrasound-guided GNB using a mixture of lidocaine and Triamcinolone Acetonide. The baseline mean visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oxford knee score (OKS) for the group 1 were 87.10 and 51.3, while for group 2 were 87.75 and 53.25 respectively. Follow up values were obtained at 2, 4 and 8 weeks using VAS and OKS.

Results
The VAS score and OKS score were significantly lower in the GNB group and IACSI group at 2, and 4 weeks after the procedure (p < 0.001 for all), then returned near baseline values at 8 weeks. When the two groups were compared according to changes in VAS and OKS from baseline at 2, 4, and 8 weeks, GNB group showed significant alleviation of pain (mean reduction of 58.5, 53.3, and 9.25 points at 2, 4, and 8 weeks versus 44.9, 39.4, and 5.6 points at the IACSI groups, p < 0.001 at 2 and 4 weeks, p < 0.006 at 8 weeks). Similarly at the OKS, the GNB group showed significantly better results (33.50, 28.60, and 8.5 at GNB and 26.45, 20.10, 5.25 at IACSI. p < 0.001 at all periods).

Conclusions
Both GNB and IACSI are effective methods to relieve chronic knee osteoarthritis-related pains. When compared to each other, GNB showed more significant pain relief and functional improvement than IACSI.
Complete complementarity relations: Connections with Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen realism and decoherence, and extension to mixed quantum states
Authors: Basso Marcos L. W. , Maziero Jonas 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Wave-particle duality is an essential character of quantum systems. In the last few years, much progress has been made towards formally quantifying these quantum features. The properties of the quantum density matrix were shown to lead to duality inequalities for single-quanton mixed states and to triality identities, also known as complete complementarity relations (CCRs), for two-quanton pure states. In this article, we establish connections between CCRs and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (ir)realism, as formalized by Bilobran and Angelo (see Bilobran A. L. O. and Angelo R. M., EPL, 112 (2015) 40005). Besides, we show that, for tripartite pure states

, CCRs can be applied to obtain the system-environment entanglement of formation,

, through the local information of a system A and its classical correlation with an auxiliary system B. Moreover, we discuss CCRs in the context of the emergence of the pointer basis in the decoherence process identified via the constancy of system-apparatus classical correlations. We also obtain CCRs for purified mixed bipartite quantum-classical states. In addition, we derive CCRs for mixed-bipartite two-qudit quantum states and discuss its interpretations.
DO IMPRESSO AO DIGITAL: REFLEXÕES ACERCA DE RECURSOS PEDAGÓGICOS NUMA ESCOLA VULNERÁVEL
Authors: Pinto Sabrine Lino , Nery Aline Silva Dejosi , Vermelho Sônia Cristina 
Published: August 2021

Este trabalho apresenta reflexões em formas e normas de convivência promovidas pela escola no que diz respeito à utilização da biblioteca como espaço de articulação dos conteúdos trabalhados em sala de aula do ensino fundamental e da rede social Facebook como ferramenta pedagógica para as aulas de ciências, ambas visando à promoção de experiências educativas para a construção do conhecimento científico num contexto de vulnerabilidade social. Caracteriza-se como uma pesquisa qualitativa, no modo participante, apresentando resultados de um questionário realizado com os alunos, cujo objetivo foi obter respostas quanto ao uso da internet e da rede social e seu interesse com a aprendizagem de ciências, bem como seus hábitos de leitura e do uso da biblioteca escolar. Os resultados obtidos permitiram sintetizar que a biblioteca se apresenta como um local de excelência dentro da escola, seja para estudar, como local de ação cultural ou espaço potencial para os professores utilizarem em suas práticas pedagógicas. E, quanto à internet, foi apurado que um número significativo de alunos faz uso, levando-nos à criação de uma página no Facebook, a qual já conta com 35 alunos interessados e que participam por meio de visualizações, comentários e curtidas nas postagens relacionadas as ciências.
All-optical graphene-on-silicon slot waveguide modulator based on graphene’s Kerr effect
Authors: Ojaghi Saleh , Golmohammadi Saeed , Soofi Hadi 
Published: August 2021

All-optical graphene-based optical modulators have recently attracted much attention because of their ultrafast and broadband response characteristics (bandwidth larger than 100 GHz) in comparison with the previous graphene-based optical modulators, which are electrically tuned via the graphene Fermi level. Silicon photonics has some benefits such as low cost and high compatibility with CMOS design and manufacturing technology. On the other hand, graphene has a unique large nonlinear Kerr coefficient, which we calculate using graphene’s tight-binding model based on the semiconductor Bloch equations. Its real and imaginary parts are negative at the wavelength of 1.55 µm and

E
F

=
0.1

e
V

. To simultaneously use the benefits mentioned above, we present an all-optical, CMOS-compatible, and graphene-on-silicon slot (GOSS) waveguide extinction and phase modulator that consists of two different geometries. The first one consists of a one-stage GOSS waveguide with a single layer of graphene. To increase the light–graphene interaction and consequently enhance the modulation efficiency (ME), another stage of the GOSS waveguide is placed over the first one. This two-stage configuration is called a graphene-on-silicon double-slot (GOSDS) waveguide. The ME, insertion loss (IL), and modulation depth (MD) for a 12.5 µm GOSDS waveguide modulator with a double layer of graphene can reach 0.241 dB/µm, 1.31 dB, and 77%, respectively, at optical pump intensities about

9

M
W

c
m

−
2

. Our design has a smaller waveguide length (17.6 times) than the previous all-optical graphene-on-silicon ribbon waveguide extinction modulator and high MD (about 2 times) in comparison with a graphene-clad microfiber all-optical extinction modulator. Compared with an all-optical Mach–Zehnder interferometer phase modulator, our design has short graphene coated waveguide length (

≈

0.1

times) and low local optical intensities (

≈

0.043

times) needed for

π

phase shift. This study may promote the design and realization of high-performance, wideband, compact, and all-optical control on a single chip with a reasonable contrast level.
PPIDomainMiner: Inferring domain-domain interactions from multiple sources of protein-protein interactions
Authors: Alborzi Seyed Ziaeddin , Ahmed Nacer Amina , Najjar Hiba , Ritchie David W. , Devignes Marie-Dominique 
Published: August 2021

Many biological processes are mediated by protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Because protein domains are the building blocks of proteins, PPIs likely rely on domain-domain interactions (DDIs). Several attempts exist to infer DDIs from PPI networks but the produced datasets are heterogeneous and sometimes not accessible, while the PPI interactome data keeps growing.
We describe a new computational approach called “PPIDM” (Protein-Protein Interactions Domain Miner) for inferring DDIs using multiple sources of PPIs. The approach is an extension of our previously described “CODAC” (Computational Discovery of Direct Associations using Common neighbors) method for inferring new edges in a tripartite graph. The PPIDM method has been applied to seven widely used PPI resources, using as “Gold-Standard” a set of DDIs extracted from 3D structural databases. Overall, PPIDM has produced a dataset of 84,552 non-redundant DDIs. Statistical significance (p-value) is calculated for each source of PPI and used to classify the PPIDM DDIs in Gold (9,175 DDIs), Silver (24,934 DDIs) and Bronze (50,443 DDIs) categories. Dataset comparison reveals that PPIDM has inferred from the 2017 releases of PPI sources about 46% of the DDIs present in the 2020 release of the 3did database, not counting the DDIs present in the Gold-Standard. The PPIDM dataset contains 10,229 DDIs that are consistent with more than 13,300 PPIs extracted from the IMEx database, and nearly 23,300 DDIs (27.5%) that are consistent with more than 214,000 human PPIs extracted from the STRING database. Examples of newly inferred DDIs covering more than 10 PPIs in the IMEx database are provided.
Further exploitation of the PPIDM DDI reservoir includes the inventory of possible partners of a protein of interest and characterization of protein interactions at the domain level in combination with other methods. The result is publicly available at http://ppidm.loria.fr/.
A systematic review assessing the quality of patient reported outcomes measures in dry eye diseases
Authors: Recchioni Alberto , Aiyegbusi Olalekan Lee , Cruz-Rivera Samantha , Rauz Saaeha , Slade Anita 
Published: August 2021

Background
Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can provide valuable insights on the impact of a disease or treatment on a patient’s health-related quality of life. In ophthalmology, particularly in dry eye disease (DED) and ocular surface disease (OSD), it is unclear whether the available PROMs were developed using comprehensive guidelines. To address this, we evaluated the methodological quality of studies assessing the psychometric properties of PROMs in DED and OSD [PROSPERO registration number CRD42019142328].

Methods
Four databases were searched; reference list and citation searching of included studies was also conducted. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist was used to appraise the quality of the studies evaluating the psychometric properties of PROMs used in DED and OSD.

Results
The search strategy (S3 Table) retrieved 5,761 records, 573 duplicates were removed, 5,188 abstracts were screened and 127 full-text articles were retrieved for further review. Of these, 118 full-text articles did not meet the eligibility criteria and were excluded. Reference list and citation searching, identified an additional 8 articles bringing the total numbers of papers reviewed to 17. In general, psychometric properties such as content validity, measurement error and structural validity were not assessed by the studies included in this review. Studies reviewing The Impact of Dry Eye on Everyday Life (IDEEL) presented with the highest quality scores together with the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire.

Conclusions
The quality of studies evaluating PROMs in DED and OSD was considered using the COSMIN standards. The majority of the studies evaluating PROMs included in this review did not meet the recommended COSMIN criteria and the quality of the PROMs evaluated is not assured. Further evaluation of their psychometric properties is required if these are going to be used in clinical practice or research.
PReventing Idiopathic SCOliosis PROgression (PRISCOPRO): A protocol for a quadruple-blinded, randomized controlled trial comparing 3D designed Boston brace to standard Boston brace
Authors: Diarbakerli Elias , Charalampidis Anastasios , Abbott Allan , Gerdhem Paul 
Published: August 2021

Introduction
Idiopathic scoliosis is the most common spinal deformity in children. Treatment strategies aim to halt progression of the curve. Patients are treated mainly with thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) if indicated. This form of brace treatment has been shown to be cumbersome and tough on growing individuals. However, computer aided design and manufactured (CAD/CAM) braces might increase comfortability and ultimately outcome if compliance is improved. In a multicenter, randomized controlled trial, we aim to compare CAD/CAM designed Boston 3D-brace to standard Boston brace.

Methods
Subjects: 170 previously untreated and skeletally immature children diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, aged 9–17 years of age (curve magnitude Cobb 25–40 degrees) will be included. Interventions: Both groups will receive a physical activity prescription according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Randomization will be performed 1:1 to a 3D CAD/CAM designed Boston 3D-brace or a standard Boston brace, both with prescribed daily wear time of 20 hours. Outcome: The subjects will participate in the study until curve progression or until skeletal maturity. The primary outcome variable is failure of treatment, defined as progression of the Cobb angle more than 6 degrees compared to the baseline x-ray. The progression is confirmed if seen on two consecutive standing spinal x-rays. Radiographs will be taken at each six-month follow-up. Secondary outcome measures include patient and clinical reported outcomes, including number of individuals requiring surgical intervention.

Discussion
This study will show if efficacy in brace treatment can be improved with new brace designs.

Trial registration
The protocol has been registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04805437.
Provider-perceived benefits and constraints of complete adherence to antenatal care guideline among public health facilities, Ethiopia: A qualitative study
Authors: Seyoum Tewodros , Alemayehu Mekuriaw , Christensson Kyllike , Lindgren Helena 
Published: August 2021

Background
In Ethiopia, health care providers’ level of adherence to the national Antenatal Care (ANC) guideline is relatively low. The reasons why they do not follow the guidelines are not well known. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the provider-perceived benefits and constraints associated with using the guideline for ANC in public health facilities in Gondar town.

Methods
A qualitative study was conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The interview was conducted among a purposive sample of nine health care providers working in four public health facilities in Gondar town. After the interviews were transcribed and coded, a content analysis was done using Atlas ti version 7.5 software packages.

Result
Decreasing provider’s workload and maximizing performance, improving safe motherhood, and improving the process of service delivery were reported as the perceived benefits of following ANC guideline. Organizational problems, care providers’ existing knowledge, attitude, and skills and availability of training and mentorship were the three main identified groups of factors that hinder complete providers’ adherence to ANC guideline.

Conclusion
Although providers acknowledged the benefits of following ANC guideline, the guideline is not fully implemented. Refresher training should be given at the start of the updated eight-contact ANC guideline and continuing education and supervision throughout the implementation process. Health care providers call for profound and urgent revisions of the supply chain system for supplies and equipment.
Multimorbidity and its effect on perceived burden, capacity and the ability to self-manage in a low-income rural primary care population: A qualitative study
Authors: Hardman Ruth , Begg Stephen , Spelten Evelien 
Published: August 2021

IntroductionMultimorbidity is increasing in prevalence, especially in low-income settings. Despite this, chronic conditions are often managed in isolation, potentially leading to burden-capacity imbalance and reduced treatment adherence. We aimed to explore, in a low-income population with common comorbidities, how the specific demands of multimorbidity affect burden and capacity as defined by the Cumulative Complexity Model.Materials and methodsQualitative interviews with thirteen rural community health centre patients in Victoria, Australia. Participants were aged between 47–72 years and reported 3–10 chronic conditions. We asked about perceived capacity and burden in managing health. The Theory of Patient Capacity was used to analyse capacity and Normalisation Process Theory to analyse burden. All data specifically associated with the experience of multimorbidity was extracted from each burden and capacity domain.ResultsThe capacity domains of biography, resource mobilisation and work realisation were important in relation to multimorbidity. Conditions causing functional impairment (e.g. chronic pain, depression) interacted with physical, psychological and financial capacity, leading to biographical disruption and an inability to realise treatment and life work. Despite this, few people had a treatment plan for these conditions. Participants reported that multimorbidity affected all burden domains. Coherence and appraisal were especially challenging due to condition interactions, with clinicians providing little guidance.DiscussionThe capacity and burden deficits highlighted by participants were not associated with any specific diagnosis, but were due to condition interactions, coupled with the lack of health provider support to navigate interactions. Physical, psychological and financial capacities were inseparable, but rarely addressed or understood holistically. Understanding and managing condition and treatment interactions was a key burden task for patients but was often difficult, isolating and overwhelming. This suggests that clinicians should become more aware of linkages between conditions, and include generic, synergistic or cross-disciplinary approaches, to build capacity, reduce burden and encourage integrated chronic condition management.
A Discalculia e sua Influência na Aprendizagem da Química: Um Estudo de Caso em duas Escolas de Ensino Médio no Distrito Federal - DF
Authors: Sousa José Francisco de 
Published: August 2021

Resumo. À partir do surgimento das neurociências descobriu-se como o funcionamento do cérebro influencia a educação, e consequentemente, a aprendizagem e com isso auxiliar professores e pesquisadores. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a relação entre os distúrbios de aprendizagem matemática e sua consequente influência no entendimento da Química e sua aprendizagem uma vez que esta área do conhecimento necessita para o seu entendimento de cálculos, sendo esta a hipótese de pesquisa. Trata-se de uma estudo descritivo, quantitativo, realizado com dados de 400 alunos estudantes do ensino médio de ambas as séries de duas escolas públicas do DF, localizadas no Plano Piloto de Brasília. Os resultados mostraram que mesmo com problemas neurológicos, dependendo o tamanho do comprometimento, a aprendizagem da Química é possível, e até agradável, não necessariamente lúdico, mas que permita uma melhor compreensão do que seja a Química, seu objeto de estudo e como ela está presente no cotidiano, assim como a matemática e demais ciências e áreas do conhecimento.
A Gilded Cage? Nnamdi Azikiwes Pan-Africanism as Governor-General of Nigeria, 1960–63
Authors: Reeves Mark 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Historians have wrongly ignored the period when Nnamdi Azikiwe served as governor-general of Nigeria, just after its independence (1960-63). Archival materials in Britain, the United States, and Azikiwe’s own papers in Nigeria reveal that he played a dynamic role in Nigeria’s new government, struggling against the constitutional limits of his chosen position, especially concerning Nigeria’s role in convening pan-African conferences that would lead to the creation of the Organization of African Unity in 1963. Despite being on the margins of official policymaking, Azikiwe used his reputation as Nigeria’s preeminent pan-Africanist since the 1930s to shape the role Nigeria would play in Africa’s new age of independence.
La période durant laquelle Nnamdi Azikiwe était gouverneur général du Nigéria juste après son indépendance (1960-63) a été ignorée, à tort, par les historiens. En effet, des documents d’archives en Grande-Bretagne, aux États-Unis et les propres documents d’Azikiwe au Nigéria révèlent qu’il a joué un rôle dynamique dans le nouveau gouvernement du Nigéria. Effectivement, Azikiwe a lutté contre les limites constitutionnelles de sa position de gouverneur, en particulier en ce qui concernait le rôle du Nigéria dans la convocation de conférences panafricaines qui conduiraient à la création de l’Organisation de l’unité africaine en 1963. Bien qu‘étant en marge de l‘élaboration des politiques officielles, Azikiwe a utilisé sa réputation de panafricaniste par excellence du Nigéria depuis les années 1930 pour façonner le rôle que le Nigéria jouerait dans le nouvel âge de l’indépendance de l’Afrique.
Insulin resistance is positively associated with plasma cathepsin D activity in NAFLD patients
Authors: Ding Lingling , De Munck Toon. J. I. , Oligschlaeger Yvonne , Verbeek Jef , Koek Ger. H. , Houben Tom , Shiri-Sverdlov Ronit 
Published: August 2021

Abstract
Previous studies associated plasma cathepsin D (CTSD) activity with hepatic insulin resistance in overweight and obese humans. Insulin resistance is a major feature of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and is one of the multiple hits determining the progression towards non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). In line, we have previously demonstrated that plasma CTSD levels are increased in NASH patients. However, it is not known whether insulin resistance associates with plasma CTSD activity in NAFLD. To increase our understanding regarding the mechanisms by which insulin resistance mediates NAFLD, fifty-five liver biopsy or MRI-proven NAFLD patients (BMI>25kg/m2) were included to investigate the link between plasma CTSD activity to insulin resistance in NAFLD. We concluded that HOMA-IR and plasma insulin levels are independently associated with plasma CTSD activity in NAFLD patients (standardized coefficient β: 0.412, 95% Cl: 0.142~0.679, p=0.004 and standardized coefficient β: 0.495, 95% Cl: 0.236~0.758, p=0.000, respectively). Together with previous studies, these data suggest that insulin resistance may link to NAFLD via elevation of CTSD activity in plasma. As such, these data pave the way for testing CTSD inhibitors as a pharmacological treatment of NAFLD.
A cohort-based emergency plan to maintain functionality in a clinical laboratory during the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic outbreak
Authors: Pütz Gerhard , Müller Manuela , Winkler Karl 
Published: August 2021

Abstract

Objectives
Clinical laboratory analyses are essential part of critical care. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-confirmed cases were doubling in Germany every 3 days during March 2020. Health care systems are preparing for an epidemic crisis.

Methods
We outline a cohort-based emergency planning. The plan is based on three independent self-sufficient cohorts that maintain duty for 7 days, followed by quarantine-like rest for 14 days. COVID-19-infected and otherwise ill personnel will be replaced by a tactical reserve, which is again replaced by recovered staff.

Results
We switched to the outlined system when incidence of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 50/100,000 residents. Our parameter spectrum was reduced to the essential analyses in agreement with our clinical colleagues. So far the system works well. In model calculations, the system is robust to maintain essential laboratory functionality even when incidence of COVID-19 is higher than that currently observed in the most severely hit countries.

Conclusions
We outline a cohort-based emergency planning to maintain essential functionality of a clinical laboratory while minimizing the risk of spreading infection with COVID-19 among our workforce during the COVID-19 epidemic faced in 2020.