bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Are sperm parameters able to predict the success of assisted reproductive technology? A retrospective analysis of over 22,000 assisted reproductive technology cycles
Authors: Villani Maria Teresa , Morini Daria , Spaggiari Giorgia , Falbo Angela Immacolata , Melli Beatrice , La Sala Giovanni Battista , Romeo Marilina , Simoni Manuela , Aguzzoli Lorenzo , Santi Daniele 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBackgroundAn explosive increase in couples attending assisted reproductive technology has been recently observed, despite an overall success rate of about 20%–30%. Considering the assisted reproductive technology‐related economic and psycho‐social costs, the improvement of these percentages is extremely relevant. However, in the identification of predictive markers of assisted reproductive technology success, male parameters are largely underestimated so far.Study designRetrospective, observational study.ObjectivesTo evaluate whether conventional semen parameters could predict assisted reproductive technology success.Materials and methodsAll couples attending a single third‐level fertility center from 1992 to 2020 were retrospectively enrolled, collecting all semen and assisted reproductive technology parameters of fresh cycles. Fertilization rate was the primary end‐point, representing a parameter immediately dependent on male contribution. Pregnancy and live birth rates were considered in relation to semen variables. Statistical analyses were performed using the parameters obtained according to the World Health Organization manual editions used for semen analysis.ResultsNote that, 22,013 in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles were considered. Overall, fertilization rate was significantly lower in patients with abnormal semen parameters compared to normozoospermic men, irrespective of the World Health Organization manual edition. In the in vitro fertilization setting, both progressive motility (p = 0.012) and motility after capacitation (p = 0.002) significantly predicted the fertilization rate (statistical accuracy = 71.1%). Sperm motilities also predicted pregnancy (p < 0.001) and live birth (p = 0.001) rates. In intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles, sperm morphology predicted fertilization rate (p = 0.001, statistical accuracy = 90.3%). Sperm morphology significantly predicted both pregnancy (p < 0.001) and live birth (p < 0.001) rates and a cut‐off of 5.5% was identified as a threshold to predict clinical pregnancy (area under the curve = 0.811, p < 0.001).DiscussionInterestingly, sperm motility plays a role in predicting in vitro fertilization success, while sperm morphology is the relevant parameter in intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles. These parameters may be considered reliable tools to measure the male role on ART outcomes, potentially impacting the clinical management of infertile couples.
Adult versus paediatric undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver: a SEER database analysis
Authors: Pan Lu , Yin Lu , Liu Xin‐Chun , Ying Rong‐Chao , Kong Wen‐Cheng 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBackgroundUndifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver (UESL) is a rare liver tumour that occurs mainly in children. Herein, we aimed to identify any differences in clinical characteristics and survival between adult and paediatric patients with UESL.MethodsFrom 1975 to 2015 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, patients diagnosed with UESL were identified and divided into paediatric (<18 years) and adult (≥18 years) groups. We then compared the clinical characteristics, management, and overall survival (OS) of adults and children diagnosed with UESL.ResultsWe analysed 113 patients with UESL (81 children and 32 adults). UESL was significantly more common in adult male than paediatric male patients (71.9% vs. 48.2%; P = 0.022). When compared to adult patients, paediatric patients were more likely to receive chemotherapy (93.8% vs. 65.6%; P < 0.001). Adults had a significantly worse OS than paediatric patients (5‐year OS, 30.0% vs. 81.2%; P < 0.001). Univariate analysis found that adult age, surgical therapy and chemotherapy were associated with OS. Multivariate analysis revealed that adult age, SEER summary stage and surgical therapy were independent prognostic factors for OS.ConclusionsUESL had a male predominance among adult patients. Moreover, the prognosis of adult patients with UESL was significantly worse than that of paediatric patients. Surgery and chemotherapy should be considered in the treatment of patients with UESL.
Multi‐holed biplane drill guide‐assisted percutaneous anterior odontoid screw fixation
Authors: Xin Xin , Li Guoqing , Yue Chen , Liu Xinxin 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe use of percutaneous anterior screw fixation for odontoid fractures has been widely reported. Because the anatomical characteristics of the odontoid and the screw occupy three‐dimensional space, it is challenging to establish the screw trajectory quickly and correctly during the operation.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to introduce a multi‐holed biplane drill guide that can be used to optimize the guide needle trajectory in percutaneous anterior odontoid screw fixation.MethodsTwenty‐one patients with type II or rostral type III odontoid fractures were treated with percutaneous anterior single screw fixation. Of these, 12 patients had an unsatisfactory initial guide needle position. A drill guide was used to provide a variety of guide needle tracks.ResultAll 12 patients successfully underwent guided screw placement without vascular or neurological complications. Postoperative X‐ray and/or CT scans showed that the internal fixation position was satisfactory. At the end of the follow‐up period, all patients exhibited bony union without loosening or fractures of the internal fixation.ConclusionWith the imperfect initial position of the guide needle as a reference, the multi‐holed biplane drill guide can provide a variety of needle trajectory options in the sagittal and coronal planes for percutaneous anterior odontoid screw fixation. The operator can quickly obtain the ideal guide needle trajectory.
Cognitive fatigue in young, middle‐aged, and older: Breaks as a way to recover
Authors: Gilsoul Jessica , Libertiaux Vincent , Collette Fabienne 
Published: November 2021

AbstractMaintaining productivity is of primary importance in organizational settings. Nowadays, the pressure for work efficacy is required until advanced age given the increased longevity in western societies. Worryingly, performing a work for a long‐lasting duration may induce cognitive fatigue, which can alter job performance or cause work accidents. Regarding laboratory studies, cognitive fatigue, as induced in Time‐on‐Task designs, has been shown to increase reaction times (RTs). According to the Effort‐Recovery Model (ERM), work breaks are able to relieve cognitive fatigue and to maintain performance. However, few studies have investigated age‐related effects in such a context. In this study, young, middle‐aged, and older people performed a 160‐min Stroop task in a “NoBreak” or a “Breaks” condition. To assess changes in RTs with Time‐on‐Task, the task duration was divided into four 40‐min blocks in which the ex‐Gaussian τ parameter (i.e., an index of longer RTs) was extracted from individual RT data. Our main results showed that young and middle‐aged people increased their τ with Time‐on‐Task while older people did not. Importantly, participants in the NoBreak condition increased their τ with Time‐on‐Task while those in the Breaks condition kept this parameter constant, suggesting a beneficial effect of breaks independently of age.
Conflicted or close: Which relationships to the deceased are associated with loss‐related psychopathology?
Authors: Sekowski Marcin , Prigerson Holly G. 
Published: November 2021

ObjectivesPrior studies have shown that pre‐loss closeness and conflict with a deceased person are associated with the severity of symptoms of prolonged grief and/or depression. Nevertheless, mechanisms underlying these relationships are not well understood. We propose a theoretical model in which past closeness and conflict are related to prolonged grief and depression via concrete and symbolic continuing bonds (CB). The aim of our study was to test this model in a sample of bereaved family members.MethodsIndividuals (N = 244) who had lost a family member from 0.5 to 8.0 years before the survey completed the Quality of Relationships Inventory‐Bereavement Version, the Continuing Bonds Scale, the Prolonged Grief Disorder‐13 scale, and the Patient Health Questionnaire‐9.ResultsThe findings partially confirmed our model. Closeness was positively and moderately associated with symptoms of prolonged grief but not with symptoms of depression. Conflict was positively and weakly associated with symptoms of depression and prolonged grief. All of these relationships were only partially mediated by concrete/maladaptive and symbolic/adaptive CB.ConclusionsThe differences in the relationship of past closeness and conflict to prolonged grief and depression symptoms suggest that inter‐ and intrapersonal mechanisms of prolonged grief and depressive symptoms may be distinct. If future, especially longitudinal studies, confirm our model, CB would be a possible target for interventions for bereaved persons who had a close and/or conflicted relationship with a deceased family member and experience loss‐related psychopathology.Practitioner points

Continuing bonds (CB) are a potential target of interventions for bereaved persons who had a close and/or conflicted relationship with a deceased family member and experience symptoms of prolonged grief and/or depression.

Internalization of the capacity to care for yourself and feel autonomous in a safe and stable therapeutic relationship may lead to increased self‐confidence, promote working through past experiences in the relationship with the deceased, and gradual reduction of concrete forms of CB.

Increasing awareness and acceptance of emotional experiences may contribute to the appreciation of past relationship with a deceased person and the growth of symbolic forms of CB.

Future research should focus on verifying the effectiveness of the attachment‐informed therapeutic approach to working with CB.
When and why does political trust predict well‐being in authoritarian contexts? Examining the role of political efficacy and collective action among opposition voters
Authors: Acar Yasemin Gülsüm , Uluğ Özden Melis 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPrevious research indicates that trust in the political system increases well‐being. Drawing from prior collective action research, we posit that a) the relationship between political trust and well‐being would be mediated by collective action participation (mediation hypothesis) and b) political efficacy would moderate the indirect effect of political trust on well‐being through collective action participation (moderated mediation hypothesis). In two studies (N = 704), we tested these relationships among opposition voters in Turkey before two highly contested elections. The findings of Study 1 showed a significant indirect effect of political trust on well‐being through collective action participation and supported our mediation hypothesis. However, unlike democratic contexts, the relationship between collective action and well‐being was negative. In addition, we did not find support for our moderated mediation hypothesis. In Study 2, we used more nuanced measures of political efficacy (voting efficacy and online/offline protest efficacy) and collective action (both offline and online collective action). In addition to replicating the findings of Study 1 with respect to the mediatory role of collective action participation (but only for online collective action participation), Study 2 again did not support our moderated mediation hypotheses with respect to the four moderators. Results highlight the importance of online and offline collective action among ideologically marginalized people with low trust in the political system in maintaining well‐being.
Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating safety, exposure and pharmacodynamics of BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib (PRN2246, SAR442168)
Authors: Owens Timothy D. , Smith Patrick F. , Redfern Andrew , Xing Yan , Shu Jin , Karr Dane E. , Hartmann Sonja , Francesco Michelle R. , Langrish Claire L. , Nunn Philip A. , Gourlay Steven G. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), expressed in B cells and cells of innate immunity, including microglia, is an essential signaling element downstream of the B‐cell receptor and Fc‐receptors. Tolebrutinib (PRN2246, SAR442168) is a potent BTK inhibitor that covalently binds the kinase, resulting in durable inhibition with the potential to target inflammation in the periphery and central nervous system (CNS). Tolebrutinib crosses the blood‐brain barrier and potently inhibits BTK in microglial cells isolated from the CNS. A first‐in‐human randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study of tolebrutinib was conducted. The trial design consisted of five single ascending dose arms with oral administration of a single dose of 5, 15, 30, 60, and 120 mg (n = 6 per arm, n = 2 placebo), five multiple ascending dose arms with oral administration of 7.5, 15, 30, 60, and 90 mg (n = 8 per arm, n = 2 placebo) over 10 days, and one arm (n = 4) in which cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) exposure was measured 2 h after a single 120 mg dose. Tolebrutinib was well‐tolerated in the study and all treatment‐related treatment emergent adverse events were mild. Tolebrutinib was rapidly absorbed following oral administration with a rapid half‐life of ~ 2 h. Peripheral BTK occupancy was assessed at various timepoints by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay‐based readout using an irreversible probe. Assessments demonstrated extensive and prolonged peripheral BTK occupancy at steady‐state with once daily doses as low as 7.5 mg. Further, CSF exposure was demonstrated 2 h after administration at 120 mg.
Characterisation of motor cortex organisation in patients with different presentations of persistent low back pain
Authors: Elgueta‐Cancino Edith , Sheeran Liba , Salomoni Sauro , Hall Leanne , Hodges Paul W. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractPersistence of low back pain is thought to be associated with different underlying pain mechanisms, including ongoing nociceptive input and central sensitisation. We hypothesised that primary motor cortex (M1) representations of back muscles (a measure of motor system adaptation) would differ between pain mechanisms, with more consistent observations in individuals presumed to have an ongoing contribution of nociceptive input consistently related to movement/posture. We tested 28 participants with low back pain sub‐grouped by the presumed underlying pain mechanisms: nociceptive pain, nociplastic pain and a mixed group with features consistent with both. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to study M1 organisation of back muscles. M1 maps of multifidus (deep and superficial) and longissimus erector spinae were recorded with fine‐wire electromyography and thoracic erector spinae with surface electromyography. The nociplastic pain group had greater variability in M1 map location (centre of gravity) than other groups (p < .01), which may suggest less consistency, and perhaps relevance, of motor cortex adaptation for that group. The mixed group had greater overlap of M1 representations between deep/superficial muscles than nociceptive pain (deep multifidus/longissimus: p = .001, deep multifidus/thoracic erector spinae: p = .008) and nociplastic pain (deep multifidus/longissimus: p = .02, deep multifidus/thoracic erector spinae: p = .02) groups. This study provides preliminary evidence of differences in M1 organisation in subgroups of low back pain classified by likely underlying pain mechanisms. Despite the sample size, differences in cortical re‐organisation between subgroups were detected. Differences in M1 organisation in subgroups of low back pain supports tailoring of treatment based on pain mechanism and motor adaptation.
Re‐writing race in early modern European medicine
Authors: Murphy Hannah 
Published: November 2021

AbstractThis short article explores the role of medical practitioners from across Europe in the practice of slavery and in the making of early modern race. Medical practitioners were present from the earliest moments of European encounters with African slavery. As the slave trade developed, their participation developed and became more formal. From their role on board ship, to their bureaucratic role in the process of inspecting enslaved peoples, to their practices within colonial administration, the nascent arena of the slave trade depended on a transnational network of medical practitioners. The politics of their expertise linked the practice of slavery with the production of scientific ideas about race. Drawing together the current literature along two lines of theory and practice, I suggest that the construction of the slave trade relied on thousands of such medical encounters. Examining this process reveals a history of enslavement and race as intimate practices, defined in a case‐by‐case manner, by people, rather than systems. Ultimately, I suggest that thinking about medicine and slavery through categories of knowledge and practice provides insight into the intimate and embodied way in which racial categories of difference were constructed.
Formation mechanism of Al2O3‐YAG amorphous ceramic coating deposited via atmospheric plasma spraying
Authors: Zhang Zheyi , Ai Yizhaotong , Zhong Xinghua , Zhuang Yin , Sheng Jing , Ni Jinxing , Tao Shunyan , Yang Kai 
Published: November 2021

AbstractAl2O3‐YAG (Al5Y3O12) amorphous ceramic coatings exhibit excellent crack propagation resistance under harsh wear services due to the amorphous phase contributing to the plastic deformation performance of the coating. However, the formation mechanism of the amorphous phase is ambiguous. This study mainly investigated the formation mechanism of Al2O3‐YAG amorphous coating prepared by atmospheric plasma spraying from the perspective of crystallization chemistry. Nano and microsized powders with low eutectic point ratio were selected as feedstock for comparison. X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and electron backscattered diffraction were used to analyze the phase composition, morphologies, phase distribution, and structure of the coating. It is concluded that the significant thermodynamically stable structure of polycompound with high coordination numbers of cations prioritized crystallizing in the Al2O3‐YAG melt, but it needed more time to crystallize and hardly crystallized in the limited time during plasma spraying. Therefore, the selection of as‐sprayable powder should also be considered the critical factor for preparing amorphous coatings. The nanoscale or submicro scale powder distributed uniformly with low eutectic point ratio was chosen as the feedstock to ensure the powder droplets diffuse sufficiently during deposition.
Proton‐pump inhibitor use and the risk of peritoneal dialysis associated peritonitis
Authors: Walia Nirbaanjot , Rao Nisha , Garrett Michael , Yates Karen , Malone Sarah , Holmes Christian 
Published: November 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe use of proton‐pump inhibitors (PPI) has been associated with an increased risk of developing spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with cirrhosis. Whether PPI use confers a similar risk in developing peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients remains unclear.AimTo assess whether PPI use is associated with an increased risk of PD peritonitis.MethodsPatients on PD were retrospectively identified. Data such as PPI use during PD, underlying diagnoses, comorbidities, and baseline serum tests were collected. Univariable and multivariable analysis was conducted using logistic regression to assess whether PPI use and other factors were associated with PD peritonitis.ResultsFifty‐seven patients were identified with a median (interquartile range (IQR)) age of 65.0 (51.5–74.0) years. The median (IQR) time on PD was 29.0 (17.5–45.0) months. Twenty‐eight patients were on a PPI during PD. Fifty‐seven percent of the PPI group went on to develop peritonitis, compared with 31% of patients without PPI exposure (odds ratio (OR) = 2.96; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.00, 8.78; P = 0.050). Months on PD (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.06; P = 0.026), serum urea (OR = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.80, 0.97; P = 0.017), congestive cardiac failure (OR = 5.44; 95% CI: 1.29, 23.00; P = 0.021) and renovascular disease (OR = 14.59; 95% CI: 1.68, 126.67; P = 0.015) were identified as possible risk factors for peritonitis on univariable analysis. Following adjustment for covariates, serum urea, but not PPI use, was associated with PD peritonitis (OR = 0.87; 95% CI: 0.78, 0.98; P = 0.020).ConclusionPPI use during PD was not associated with peritonitis. Due to the small number of patients and the limited number of studies investigating the effect of PPI use on PD peritonitis, further research is needed.
Family‐based treatments for disruptive behavior problems in children and adolescents: An updated review of rigorous studies (2014–April 2020)
Authors: Sheidow Ashli J. , McCart Michael R. , Drazdowski Tess K. 
Published: November 2021

AbstractDisruptive behavior problems in youth are common and costly, lead to adverse outcomes, and are often left untreated. This article builds on previous work by providing an updated evaluation of family‐based treatments based on results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for three populations: (1) children with disruptive behavior, (2) adolescents with disruptive behavior, and (3) adolescents with juvenile justice involvement. Using a comprehensive process, 28 new reports on 27 RCTs were identified for the 2014–April 2020 period, which when combined with the prior evidence base of all rigorous RCTs, resulted in 3 well‐established, 11 probably efficacious, and 7 possibly efficacious family‐based treatment categories. Many of the RCTs lent further support to existing treatment categories, more countries were represented, and several RCTs incorporated technology. Notable issues that remain include a limited number of family‐based treatments for adolescents and for youth with juvenile justice involvement, as well as methodological concerns.