bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Regulation of Phoenixin: A Fascinating Multidimensional Peptide
Authors: McIlwraith Emma K , Zhang Ningtong , Belsham Denise D 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The phoenixin (PNX) peptide is linked to the control of reproduction, food intake, stress, and inflammation. However, little is known about what regulates its gene and protein expression, information that is critical to understand the physiological role of PNX. In this review, we summarize what is known about the transcriptional control of Pnx and its receptor Gpr173. A main function of PNX is as a positive regulator of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, but there is a lack of research on its control by reproductive hormones and peptides. PNX is also associated with food intake, and its expression is linked to feeding status, fatty acids, and glucose. It is influenced by environmental and hormonal-induced stress. The regulation of Pnx in most contexts remains an enigma, in part due to conflicting and negative results. An extensive analysis of the response of the Pnx gene to factors related to reproduction, metabolism, stress, and inflammation is required. Analysis of the Pnx promoter and epigenetic regulation must be considered to understand how this level of control contributes to its pleiotropic effects. PNX is now linked to a broad range of functions, but more research on its gene regulation is required to understand its place in overall physiology and therapeutic potential.
Physical Activity Levels in Six Native American Communities Using the FITT-VP Approach
Authors: Treuth Margarita S. , Poirier Lisa , Pardilla Marla , Redmond Leslie , Gittelsohn Joel 
Published: December 2021

ABSTRACT

Purpose
This study aimed to describe physical activity (PA) via the frequency, intensity, time, type, volume, and progression (FITT-VP) principles of Native Americans (NA), it is necessary to understand their current PA. The purpose was to 1) evaluate PA levels utilizing FITT-VP principles and 2) compare the patterns of PA in NA men and women.

Methods
Recruitment and evaluation (n = 586) took place as part of the OPREVENT2 study baseline evaluation. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form assessed frequency (days per week), intensity (walking, moderate, vigorous), and time (minutes per day). The total MET-minutes for the previous 7 d provided the volume of activity.

Results
The NA sample was 45.8 ± 15.1 yr of age, with a body mass index of 31.5 ± 6.4 kg·m−2. The FIT-V corresponded to 4.7 ± 2.3 d·wk−1, walking (3.3 METs intensity), 52 ± 47 min·d−1, and 2536 ± 2203 MET·min−1. The men (n = 162) reported a greater frequency of 3.2 ± 2.5 d·wk−1 (P = 0.007) of vigorous activity lasting 55 ± 50 min·d−1 compared with the women (n = 433) with 2.6 ± 2.5 d·wk−1 of vigorous activity lasting 34 ± 38 min·d−1. The men reported higher MET-minutes than did the women (P = 0.0001). Overall, 71% of men and 77% of women met the recommended PA guidelines.

Conclusions
Given that the majority of NA report adequate walking time and frequency, interventions are needed to improve moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic fitness, as well as muscular strength and endurance, neuromotor, and flexibility activities.
Evaluation of endoscopic variceal band ligation sessions in obliteration of esophageal varices
Authors: Alvi Haris , Zuberi Bader Faiyaz , Rasheed Tazeen , Ibrahim Muhammad Asad 
Published: December 2021

Objective: To determine number of sessions of Endoscopic variceal band ligation required to obliterate the esophageal varices.
Methods: This study was conducted at Civil Hospital Karachi between June 2018 to April 2019. All patients undergoing endoscopic Variceal Band Ligation (EVBL) were inducted. Number of sessions of band ligation required to obliterate the varices were recorded. Number of EVBL sessions were correlated with Child-Pugh’s Score and etiology of CLD by χ2 test, while it was compared with duration of Chronic Liver Disease (CLD) by One-way ANOVA test.
Results: One hundred ninety-two patients fulfilling selection criteria were admitted after informed consent. These included 101 (52.6%) males and 91 (47.4%) females. Most common cause of cirrhosis was HCV (66.7%) in our patients. Most of the patients were in Child Class-B (71.9%). Majority of patients (52.6%) underwent 3 sessions of EVBL while 68 (35.4%) underwent 4 sessions of EVBL. Duration of CLD was analyzed with number of sessions of EVBL by One-Way ANOVA test and it showed significant more sessions of EVBL were done with longer duration of CLD (p <0.001).
Conclusion: Most patients underwent 3-4 sessions of EVBL for obliteration of varices. Number of EVBL sessions increased significantly with duration of disease.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1144
How to cite this:Alvi H, Zuberi BF, Rasheed T, Ibrahim MA. Evaluation of endoscopic variceal band ligation sessions in obliteration of esophageal varices. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(2):37-41. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1144
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Effect of gastric residual volume monitoring on incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients admitted to intensive care unit
Authors: Faramarzi Elnaz , Mahmoodpoor Ata , Hamishehkar Hadi , Shadvar Kamran , Iranpour Afshin , Sabzevari Tara , Sanaie Sarvin 
Published: December 2021

Objectives: The value of gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring in ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has frequently been questioned in the past years. In this trial, the effect of GRV on the frequency of VAP was evaluated in critically ill patients under mechanical ventilation.
Methods: This descriptive study was carried out on 150 adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit over a 14-month period, from October 2015 to January 2017. GRV was measured every three hours, and gastric intolerance was defined as GRV>250 cc. The incidence of vomiting and VAP, GRV, length of mechanical ventilation and ICU stay, APACHE II and SOFA scores, and mortality rate were noted.
Results: The mean APACHEII and SOFA scores, ICU length of stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation in the GRV>250ml group were significantly higher than in the GRV≤250 ml group (P<0.05). Also, a significantly higher number of patients in the GRV>250ml group experienced infection (62.3%) and vomiting (71.7%) compared with the GRV≤250 group (P<0.01). The highest OR was observed for SOFA score >15 and APACHE II >30, which increased the risk of GVR>250 ml by 10.09 (1.01-99.97) and 8.78 (1.49-51.58), respectively. Moreover, the increase in GVR was found to be higher in the non-survivor than in the survivor group.
Conclusion: Increased GRV did not result in increased rates of VAP, ICU length of stay, and mortality. Therefore, the routine measurement of GRV as an important element of the VAP prevention bundle is not recommended in critically ill patients.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1321
How to cite this:
Faramarzi E, Mahmoodpoor A, Hamishehkar H, Shadvar K, Iranpour A, Sabzevari T, et al. Effect of gastric residual volume monitoring on incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients admitted to intensive care unit. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(2):48-53. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.2.1321
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The construction of rare disease discourse on YouTube: highlighting a disparity between policy rhetoric and patient practices around public engagement
Authors: Hanchard Matthew 
Published: December 2021

Background: Policy rhetoric around the 6,000-8,000 rare diseases affecting 300 million people worldwide often focuses on public engagement. Meanwhile, medical authorities tend either to treat patients with rare diseases as pre-categorised data sources, proffer to them notions of technological self-care as empowerment, or recruit them as advocacy allies. Conversely, people living with rare diseases often mobilise and engage with one another in self-organised communities via social media to share discussion, information, and resources. How rare disease discourse forms on specific social media platforms, the role of different actors (including medical authorities and algorithms), and its relation to public engagement policy are poorly understood. Methods: This paper examines data on YouTube video watching/sharing (gathered from YouTube’s API via DMI’s ‘Data Tools for YouTube’) through social network analysis (read through a controversy analysis lens). Results: The paper identifies eight patterns – each revolving around different levels of: focus on rare disease content; engagement between content and viewers, i.e. through likes, dislikes, and surrounding particular videos; permeability of videos between categories; and repetition in viewers watching the same video. Across six of the patterns, the paper finds a rare disease issue-network forming, where discourse is constructed through three distinct communication strategies, each garnering a different form of engagement. Conclusions: Overall, the paper highlights a disconnect between how rare disease discourse is enacted on YouTube and policy promises of public engagement, with potential spaces for dialogue often closed off by medical authorities. To close, the paper provides recommendations for how policymakers might engage with and facilitate more inclusive forms of social media interaction between specific rare disease related communities and clinicians to develop more meaningful forms of knowledge exchange.
Factors of Slowing Down the Economic Growth of Modern Russia
Authors: Basovskaya Elena , Basovskiy Leonid 
Published: December 2021

The analysis of Rosstat data made it possible to establish that the inequality of wages in a region depends on the average value of wages in this region. Based on cross-sectional data across regions, a model has been built showing that wage inequality is largely determined by the level of wages in the region. Analysis of the relationship between the level of remuneration of various categories of personnel in the region in relation to the average level of remuneration by region on the basis of cross-analysis of these regions made it possible to establish the following. The level of remuneration of managers and specialists is associated with a positive correlation with the average level of remuneration in the region, the level of remuneration of workers and employees is associated with a negative correlation with the average level of remuneration in the region.
The higher the wages in the region, the more managers and specialists gain from this and the more workers and employees lose. The level of remuneration of workers in the regions is closely related to the negative correlation with the level of remuneration of managers and specialists. The growth in the level of remuneration in the region is reflected, first of all, in the growth in the level of remuneration for managers and specialists. This is due, firstly, to the fact that in post-industrial technological structures the role of specialists increases and the role of workers in the production of goods and services decreases, which is reflected in the assessment of their contribution to value creation. In addition, the segmentation of the labor market has an impact, its division into parts, between which effective social ties do not work. The upper segment, in which the more “profitable” jobs are distributed, has more executive and specialist jobs, while the lower segment includes the majority of office and blue-collar jobs.
Flourish or Perish? The Impact of Technological Acquisitions on Contributions to Open-Source Software
Authors: Chen Wei , Jin Fujie , Xue Ling 
Published: December 2021

Flourish or Perish? The Impact of Technological Acquisitions on Contributions to Open-Source Software This study examines how acquisitions of open-source software (OSS) firms may impact the internal and external contributors to the OSS projects of acquisition targets. We find that, for target firms, acquisitions hurt internal contributions from their employees to their OSS projects but attract more external contributions from outside developers. Therefore, managers of merged entities should strive to maintain the incentives of target firms’ internal developers after acquisitions, and they can also leverage acquisitions to attract external developers. We also find that acquirers with prior OSS experiences and similar OSS projects with target firms are in an advantageous position to attract contributions from both target firms’ internal developers and external developers in the OSS community. In this regard, managers of acquirers can consider building their OSS experiences and selecting appropriate target firms before acquisitions. Moreover, our study suggests that acquisitions of OSS firms can also benefit the whole OSS community by motivating the contributions of internal and external developers to other projects in the community. Therefore, for both practitioners and policy makers, acquisitions should have important implications for nourishing the entire OSS community.
Free-ranging pigs identified as a multi-reservoir of Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma congolense in the Vavoua area, a historical sleeping sickness focus of Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: Traoré Barkissa Mélika , Koffi Mathurin , N’Djetchi Martial Kassi , Kaba Dramane , Kaboré Jacques , Ilboudo Hamidou , Ahouty Bernadin Ahouty , Koné Minayégninrin , Coulibaly Bamoro , Konan Thomas , Segard Adeline , Kouakou Lingué , De Meeûs Thierry , Ravel Sophie , Solano Philippe , Bart Jean-Mathieu , Jamonneau Vincent 
Published: December 2021

BackgroundThe existence of an animal reservoir ofTrypanosoma brucei gambiense(T.b.gambiense), the agent of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), may compromise the interruption of transmission targeted by World Health Organization. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of trypanosomes in pigs and people in the Vavoua HAT historical focus where cases were still diagnosed in the early 2010’s.MethodsFor the human survey, we used the CATT, mini-anion exchange centrifugation technique and immune trypanolysis tests. For the animal survey, the buffy coat technique was also used as well as the PCR usingTrypanosomaspecies specific, including theT.b.gambienseTgsGP detection using single round and nested PCRs, performed from animal blood samples and from strains isolated from subjects positive for parasitological investigations.ResultsNo HAT cases were detected among 345 people tested. A total of 167 pigs were investigated. Free-ranging pigs appeared significantly more infected than pigs in pen. Over 70% of free-ranging pigs were positive for CATT and parasitological investigations and 27–43% were positive to trypanolysis depending on the antigen used.T.bruceiwas the most prevalent species (57%) followed byT.congolense(24%). Blood sample extracted DNA ofT.bruceipositive subjects were negative to single round TgsGP PCR. However, 1/22 and 6/22 isolated strains were positive with single round and nested TgsGP PCRs, respectively.DiscussionFree-ranging pigs were identified as a multi-reservoir ofT.bruceiand/orT.congolensewith mixed infections of different strains. This trypanosome diversity hinders the easy and direct detection ofT.b.gambiense. We highlight the lack of tools to prove or exclude with certainty the presence ofT.b.gambiense. This study once more highlights the need of technical improvements to explore the role of animals in the epidemiology of HAT.
Nonadherence in diabetes care among US adults with diabetes by stroke status
Authors: Tran Phoebe , Tran Lam , Tran Liem 
Published: December 2021

Objective
Effects of stroke (i.e., memory loss, paralysis) may make effective diabetes care difficult which can in turn contribute to additional diabetes related complications and hospitalization. However, little is known about US post-stroke diabetes care levels. This study sought to examine diabetes care levels among US adults with diabetes by stroke status.

Methods
Using 2015–2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys, the prevalence of nonadherence with the American Diabetes Association’s diabetes care measures (<1 eye exam annually, <1 foot exam annually, <1 blood glucose check daily, <2 A1C tests annually, no receipt of annual flu vaccination) was ascertained in people with diabetes by stroke status. A separate logistic regression model was run for each diabetes care measure to determine if nonadherence patterns differed by stroke status after adjustment for stroke and diabetes associated factors.

Results
Our study included 72,630 individuals, with 9.8% having had a stroke. Nonadherence levels varied for each diabetes care measure ranging from 20.4–42.2% for stroke survivors and 22.8–44.0% for those who had never had stroke. By stroke status, nonadherence with diabetes management measures was comparable except for stroke survivors having both a lower prevalence (30.2% versus 40.1%) and odds of nonadherence (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.82) with daily blood glucose check than those who had never had stroke.

Conclusion
While nonadherence with diabetes management does not vary by stroke status, considerable nonadherence still exists among stroke survivors with diabetes. Additional interventions to improve diabetes care may help to reduce risk of further diabetes complications in this population.
National attitudes of medical students towards mandating the COVID-19 vaccine and its association with knowledge of the vaccine
Authors: Mayan Danel , Nguyen Kenny , Keisler Brian 
Published: December 2021

Background
With the introduction of the novel COVID-19 vaccine, public hesitancy is being experienced with many turning to healthcare professionals for advice. As future physicians, medical students play a critical role in the public’s view of the vaccine.

Objectives
To determine the attitude of U.S. medical students toward mandating the COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers and patients, as well as whether their knowledge of the vaccine plays a role in their view.

Methods
The authors emailed a survey link to all U.S. medical schools with request to distribute it to their medical students. The survey remained open from 02/09/2021 to 03/15/2021 and included questions to determine the attitude of the medical students toward recommending the COVID-19 vaccine, and general knowledge questions about the vaccine. Chi square, Fisher’s exact test, and linear regression were conducted to determine associations between willingness to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine and general knowledge of the vaccine.

Results
Among the 1,899 responses from medical students representing 151 U.S. medical schools, 57.82% approved of making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory to healthcare workers, and 16.27% approved of making it mandatory to patients. Additionally, those who tested most knowledgeable of the vaccine were less likely to approve of making the vaccine mandatory for patients (66.67% vs. 72.70). Those that tested most knowledgeable were also more likely to personally receive the vaccine (72.35% vs 62.99%) as opposed to those that tested the least knowledgeable who were less willing to personally receive the vaccine (4.12% vs 14.17%).

Conclusions
The data revealed that a slight majority of medical students support a vaccine mandate toward healthcare workers while a minority of medical students support a vaccine mandate toward healthcare workers. Additionally, medical students that had relatively high knowledge of the vaccine correlated with not approving of making the vaccine mandatory for patients. However increased knowledge of the vaccine correlated with increased willingness to personally receive the vaccine.
‘It is not fashionable to suffer nowadays’: Community motivations to repeatedly participate in outreach HIV testing indicate UHC potential in Tanzania
Authors: de Klerk Josien , Bortolani Arianna , Meta Judith , Erio Tusajigwe , Rinke de Wit Tobias , Moyer Eileen 
Published: December 2021

Objective
This study examined people’s motivations for (repeatedly) utilizing HIV testing services during community-based testing events in urban and rural Shinyanga, Tanzania and potential implications for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Methods
As part of a broader multidisciplinary study on the implementation of a HIV Test and Treat model in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania, this ethnographic study focused on community-based testing campaigns organised by the implementing partner. Between April 2018 and December 2019, we conducted structured observations (24), short questionnaires (42) and in-depth interviews with HIV-positive (23) and HIV-negative clients (8). Observations focused on motivations for (re-)testing, and the counselling and testing process. Thematic analysis based on inductive and deductive coding was completed using NVivo software.

Results
Regular HIV testing was encouraged by counsellors. Most participants in testing campaigns were HIV-negative; 51.1% had tested more than once over their lifetimes. Testing campaigns provided an accessible way to learn one’s HIV status. Motivations for repeat testing included: monitoring personal health to achieve (temporary) reassurance, having low levels of trust toward sexual partners, feeling at risk, seeking proof of (ill)-health, and acting responsibly. Repeat testers also associated testing with a desire to start treatment early to preserve a healthy-looking body, should they prove HIV positive.

Conclusions
Community-based testing campaigns serve three valuable functions related to HIV prevention and treatment: 1) enable community members to check their HIV status regularly as part of a personalized prevention strategy that reinforces responsible behaviour; 2) identify recently sero-converted clients who would not otherwise be targeted; and 3) engage community with general prevention and care messaging and services. This model could be expanded to include routine management of other (chronic) diseases and provide an entry for scaling up UHC.