bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sodium–Glucose CoTransporter-2 Inhibitor Empagliflozin Ameliorates Sunitinib-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction via Regulation of AMPK–mTOR Signaling Pathway–Mediated Autophagy
Authors: Ren Changzhen , Sun Kaiqiang , Zhang Yanda , Hu Yangxi , Hu Bowen , Zhao Jian , He Zhiqing , Ding Ru , Wang Weizhong , Liang Chun 
Published: April 2021

Background: Sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have been shown to decrease the adverse cardiac events and risks of cardiovascular mortality among patients with or without diabetes, which has made these drugs promising treatment options for patients with chronic heart failure. Cardiac dysfunction is a common and severe side effect induced by cancer chemotherapies, which seriously affects the prognosis and life quality of tumor patients. However, it is not clear whether SGLT2 inhibitors have cardiovascular benefits in patients with cancer chemotherapy–related cardiac dysfunction. We aimed to determine whether empagliflozin (EMPA), an SGLT2 inhibitor, has a protective role against sunitinib (SNT)-induced cardiac dysfunction in a mouse model.Methods: Male C57BL/6J mice were randomized into control (control, n = 8), empagliflozin (EMPA, n = 8), sunitinib (SNT, n = 12), or sunitinib and empagliflozin coadministration (SNT + EMPA, n = 12) groups. EMPA, SNT, or SNT-combined EMPA was given via oral gavage for consecutive 28 days. Cardiovascular functions and pathological changes were examined, and the underlying mechanisms of EMPA’s effects were investigated in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.Results: Mice in the SNT group exhibited dramatically elevated blood pressure (systolic blood pressure [SBP] 134.30 ± 6.455 mmHg vs. 114.85 ± 6.30 mmHg) and impaired left ventricular function (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] 50.24 ± 3.06% vs. 84.92 ± 2.02%), as compared with those of the control group. However, EMPA could ameliorate SNT-induced cardiotoxicity, both in terms of SBP (117.51 ± 5.28 mmHg vs. 134.30 ± 6.455 mmHg) and LVEF (76.18 ± 5.16% vs. 50.24 ± 3.06 %). In H9c2 cardiomyocytes, SNT-induced cardiomyocyte death and cell viability loss as well as dysfunction of adenosine 5’-monophosphate–activated protein kinase–mammalian target of rapamycin (AMPK-mTOR) signaling–mediated autophagy were restored by EMPA. However, these favorable effects mediated by EMPA were blocked by the inhibition of AMPK or autophagy.Conclusion: EMPA could ameliorate SNT-induced cardiac dysfunction via regulating cardiomyocyte autophagy, which was mediated by the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway. These findings supported that SGLT2 inhibitor therapy could be a potential cardioprotective approach for cardiovascular complications among patients receiving SNT. However, these favorable effects still need to be validated in clinical trials.
Visuomotor Activation of Inhibition-Processing in Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Magnetoencephalography Study
Authors: Nishat Eman , Dockstader Colleen , Wheeler Anne L. , Tan Thomas , Anderson John A. E. , Mendlowitz Sandra , Mabbott Donald J. , Arnold Paul D. , Ameis Stephanie H. 
Published: April 2021

Background: Response inhibition engages the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuit, which has been implicated in children, and youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). This study explored whether CSTC engagement during response inhibition, measured using magnetoencephalography (MEG), differed in a sample of medication-naïve youth with OCD, compared to typically developing controls (TDC).Methods: Data was analyzed in 17 medication-naïve children and youth with OCD (11.7 ± 2.2 SD years) and 13 TDC (12.6 ± 2.2 SD years). MEG was used to localize and characterize neural activity during a Go/No-Go task. Task performance on Go/No-Go conditions and regional differences in amplitude of activity during Go and No-Go condition between OCD vs. TDC were examined using two-sample t-tests. Post-hoc analysis with Bayesian t-tests was used to estimate the certainty of outcomes.Results: No differences in Go/No-Go performance were found between OCD and TDC groups. In response to the visual cue presented during the Go condition, participants with OCD showed significantly increased amplitude of activity in the primary motor (MI) cortex compared to TDC. In addition, significantly reduced amplitude of PCu was found following successful stopping to No-Go cues in OCD vs. TDC during No-Go task performance. Bayesian t-tests indicated high probability and large effect sizes for the differences in MI and PCu amplitude found between groups.Conclusion: Our preliminary study in a small medication-naïve sample extends previous work indicating intact response inhibition in pediatric OCD. While altered neural response in the current study was found during response inhibition performance in OCD, differences localized to regions outside of the CSTC. Our findings suggest that additional imaging research in medication-naïve samples is needed to clarify regional differences associated with OCD vs. influenced by medication effects, and suggest that MEG may be sensitive to detecting such differences.
Social-Cognitive Determinants of HIV Testing Among Tuberculosis Infected Patients in Kassala State, Sudan
Authors: Idris Almutaz M. , Crutzen Rik , Van den Borne Hubertus W. 
Published: April 2021

Background: Use of HIV testing and counselling (HTC) services remains low among TB patients in Sudan. Identifying the social-cognitive (sub) determinants associated with HTC uptake is essential before developing interventions to promote uptake. This study aims to assess the sub-determinants of intention to use and actual behaviour of using HTC services among TB patients in Sudan and to ascertain the most relevant beliefs to inform future interventions.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in five health facilities selected randomly in Kassala State. First, a small elicitation study (N = 25) was conducted to inform the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) based questionnaire. A total of 411 TB patients completed the survey questionnaire. Confidence Interval Based Estimation of Relevance analysis (CIBER) was employed to establish the sub-determinants' relevance.Result: The studied beliefs explained 38–52% of the variance in the intention and 20–35% in the behaviour variance. The beliefs that “Using HTC services increases my fear of being tested positive for HIV” and “Using HTC services increases my fear of losing my partner if I have a positive test result” were negatively associated with intentions and use of HTC services; and both were highly relevant for intervention. The belief “If I use HTC services, I would know my HIV status” was positively associated with intentions and use of HTC services. However, it was less relevant for intervention. Perceived susceptibility to HIV infection was not associated with intention and only weakly associated with use of HTC services. Its relevance was low for intervention.Conclusions: The study showed that the social-cognitive beliefs (sub-determinants) vary in their relationship with the intention and use of HTC services among TB patients; with variable relevance for intervention. Interventions to enhance the use of HTC services should address the most relevant beliefs to maximise the effectiveness of interventions. Further studies are needed to identify other relevant sub-determinants of HTC use behaviour.
E-Learning in Teaching Emergency Disaster Response Among Undergraduate Medical Students in Malaysia
Authors: Saiboon Ismail M. , Zahari Fareena , Isa Hisham M. , Sabardin Dazlin M. , Robertson Colin E. 
Published: April 2021

Introduction: Teaching disaster response medicine (DRM) to medical students requires considerable resources. We evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning in teaching emergency disaster response (ELITE-DR), a novel initiative, in educating medical students of the cognitive aspect of DRM.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study among pre-clinical year medical students was carried out to determine their knowledge on DRM and perception regarding the ELITE-DR initiative using a validated online questionnaire. A three-part self-learning video covering the principles and medical management of DRM were distributed before answering the questionnaire served as the training.Results: A total of 168 students participated in the study. Their overall knowledge showed a significant increase in between pre-and-post-interventions. Recall and simple decision-making knowledge aspects were better than complex decision-making knowledge. It appeared that participants assimilate knowledge better from visual rather than audio stimuli. Participants with high perception-scores demonstrated better knowledge-scores. However, e-learning was not preferred as a substitute for face-to-face (F2F) teaching.Conclusion: ELITE-DR shows promise in teaching DRM. Simple recall and comprehension levels of knowledge were well-served through this technique. However, for more complex decision-making knowledge, a different approach might be required. ELITE-DR offers flexibility, accessibility, and personalized learning. The content presentation is improved by using several different visual stimuli. This approach is useful for cognitive aspect learning, but it should not replace standard F2F teaching.
Before, Between, and After: Enriching Robot Communication Surrounding Collaborative Creative Activities
Authors: Savery Richard , Zahray Lisa , Weinberg Gil 
Published: April 2021

Research in creative robotics continues to expand across all creative domains, including art, music and language. Creative robots are primarily designed to be task specific, with limited research into the implications of their design outside their core task. In the case of a musical robot, this includes when a human sees and interacts with the robot before and after the performance, as well as in between pieces. These non-musical interaction tasks such as the presence of a robot during musical equipment set up, play a key role in the human perception of the robot however have received only limited attention. In this paper, we describe a new audio system using emotional musical prosody, designed to match the creative process of a musical robot for use before, between and after musical performances. Our generation system relies on the creation of a custom dataset for musical prosody. This system is designed foremost to operate in real time and allow rapid generation and dialogue exchange between human and robot. For this reason, the system combines symbolic deep learning through a Conditional Convolution Variational Auto-encoder, with an emotion-tagged audio sampler. We then compare this to a SOTA text-to-speech system in our robotic platform, Shimon the marimba player.We conducted a between-groups study with 100 participants watching a musician interact for 30 s with Shimon. We were able to increase user ratings for the key creativity metrics; novelty and coherence, while maintaining ratings for expressivity across each implementation. Our results also indicated that by communicating in a form that relates to the robot’s core functionality, we can raise likeability and perceived intelligence, while not altering animacy or anthropomorphism. These findings indicate the variation that can occur in the perception of a robot based on interactions surrounding a performance, such as initial meetings and spaces between pieces, in addition to the core creative algorithms.
Exploring the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Dental Team: Preparedness, Psychological Impacts and Emotional Reactions
Authors: Humphris Gerry , Knights Jennifer , Beaton Laura , Araujo Marianna , Yuan Siyang , Clarkson Jan , Young Linda , Freeman Ruth 
Published: April 2021

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed increased demands on clinical staff in primary dental care due to a variety of uncertainties. Current reports on staff responses have tended to be brief enquiries without some theoretical explanation supported by developed measurement systems.Aim: To investigate features of health and well-being as an outcome of the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 for dentists and dental health professionals in primary dental care and for those in training. In addition, the study examined the well-being indices with reference to normative values. Finally a theoretical model was explored to explain depressive symptoms and investigate its generalisability across dentists and dental health professionals in primary dental care and those in postgraduate training.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of dental trainees and primary dental care staff in Scotland was conducted in June to October 2020. Assessment was through “Portal,” an online tool used for course bookings/management administered by NHS Education for Scotland. A non-probability convenience sample was employed to recruit participants. The questionnaire consisted of four multi-item scales including: preparedness (14 items of the DPPPS), burnout (the 9 item emotional exhaustion subscale and 5 items of the depersonalisation subscale of the MBI), the 22 item Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and depressive symptomatology using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. Analysis was performed to compare the levels of these assessments between trainees and primary dental care staff and a theoretically based path model to explain depressive symptomology, utilising structural equation modelling.Results: Approximately, 27% of all 329 respondents reported significant depressive symptomology and 55% of primary care staff rated themselves as emotionally exhausted. Primary care staff (n = 218) felt less prepared for managing their health, coping with uncertainty and financial insecurity compared with their trainee (n = 111) counterparts (all p's &lt; 0.05). Depressive symptomology was rated higher than reported community samples (p &lt; 0.05) The overall fit of the raw data applied to the theoretical model confirmed that preparedness (negative association) and trauma associated with COVID-19 (positive association) were significant factors predicting lowered mood (chi-square = 46.7, df = 21, p = 0.001; CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.06, SRMR = 0.03). Burnout was indirectly implicated and a major path from trauma to burnout was found to be significant in primary care staff but absent in trainees (p &lt; 0.002).Conclusion: These initial findings demonstrate the possible benefit of resourcing staff support and interventions to assist dental staff to prepare during periods of high uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Auditoría operacional como solución gerencial para incrementar la eficiencia en gestión de inventarios
Authors: Ortega María 
Published: April 2021

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo general proponer un plan de estrategia para la evaluación del control interno en los lineamientos de auditoría operacional como solución gerencial para incrementar la eficiencia en la gestión de inventarios en una empresa distribuidora de embutidos, utilizando para ello una investigación basada en un Proyecto Factible, cuyo diseño es una combinación de una investigación de campo con una documental. A través de los resultados obtenidos se propuso una evaluación de los métodos de control de inventarios, que permita alcanzar la confiabilidad de la información respecto a sus existencias y el correcto abastecimiento, de acuerdo a sus requerimientos y al diagnóstico de la situación actual de la organización, con el propósito de que la empresa obtenga información sobre la calidad de sus acciones y de esta manera incrementar la eficiencia y eficacia operativa, así como la optimización de sus procesos.
ABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to propose a strategy plan for the evaluation of internal control in the guidelines of operational audit as a management solution to increase the efficiency in the management of inventories, in a company distributing embedded and sausages products, using a research based on a feasible project, the design of which is a combination of a field research with a documentary. Through the results obtained, an evaluation of the methods of inventory control was proposed, which allows to reach the reliability of the information regarding their stocks and the correct supply, according to their requirements and the diagnosis of the current situation of the organization, with the purpose that the company obtain information on the quality of its actions and in this way increase the efficiency and operative efficiency, as well as the optimization of its processes.
Gestión del cuidado de enfermería basada en la evidencia
Authors: Tumbaco-Quimis Katty Lorena , Tumbaco-Quimiz Yanina Maribel , Jaime-Pincay Natalia Maribel , Jaime-Villafuerte Mayra Yariza 
Published: April 2021

Objetivo: Describir la importancia de la gestion del cuidado de enfermería basada en la evidencia. Metodología: De tipo documental; bajo el enfoque del método hermenéutico. El corpus de la investigación la constituyeron los documentos bibliográficos seleccionados que permitieron describir la importancia de las variables en estudio. Conclusión: Existe buena atención al desarrollo disciplinario en la gestion del cuidado de la enfermería, generando la necesidad de una integración efectiva entre las concepciones o postulados teóricos y sus proyecciones sobre la práctica cotidiana de la enfermería.
Docencia universitaria y metodologías activas: una propuesta para generar aprendizaje significativo
Authors: Ormaza-Ulloa Luis Miguel , Garcia-Herrera Darwin Gabriel , Erazo-Álvarez Juan Carlos , Narváez-Zurita Cecilia Ivonne 
Published: April 2021

La investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar el uso de metodologías activas por parte de docentes universitarios de las ciencias médicas con la finalidad de generar un aprendizaje significativo en los estudiantes. Mediante un tipo descriptiva correlacional en un universo de 90 docentes de la Carrera de Medicina de la Universidad Católica de Cuenca. Los resultados indican que la frecuencia del uso de metodologías activas en clases con las principales dificultades observadas en sus alumnos no se encontró relación estadísticamente significativa, a la vez se verifico las variables de preparación académica en pedagogía en los docentes, denotando valores superiores de quienes no tenían dicha preparación, de la misma forma resulto sobresaliente el uso del Trabajo Colaborativo y el ABP como método de enseñanza más usado, aunque en las variables analizadas la frecuencia de uso de las metodologías es alta en comparación de la preparación pertinente del docente.
Algoritma Artificial Neural Network pada Text-based Chatbot Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) Web Kuliah Universitas Nasional
Authors: Mustakim Feri , Fauziah Fauziah , Hayati Nur 
Published: April 2021

The technology development increase the number of automation system in indudustry. One of them is Chatbot application in education industry. This automation technology is able to lessen university's service in order to facilitate the students' need of information whenever and wherever they are. Lack of student literacy regarding the functions and use of the web in conducting online lectures causes the same number of questions repeatedly to the university, which are actually frequently asked questions that have been written in a list of frequently asked questions (Faq), such as: assignment submission, forget passwords, lectures online, video conference lectures and lecture web applications on android. Chatbot will automatically answer students' question in university web page by providing information and suggesting a proper answer suit to the question. This research will develop Chatbot type based on text by applying Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm . The applied data set while conducting the Chatbot coaching is the questions data which frequently being asked (FAQ) in the study web, 25 questions with its answer which is divided into 16 labels or classes. The testing is conducted by using 110 different conversations from the dataset but have the same intention. From those 110 conversation, the Chatbot succed in answering 107 questions precisely and made 3 wrong conversation. The testing result shows a good result by having 97,27% accuracy and 2,72% error.Keywords:Chatbot, Artificial Neural Network, ANN, Text-based.
Additions to the lichen genus Rhizocarpon in Pakistan and their comparative analysis
Authors: Habib Kamran , Zulfiqar Rizwana , Khalid Abdul Nasir 
Published: April 2021

As part of a comprehensive study of lichen diversity of northern areas of Pakistan using molecular and morphological approaches, we found four species of the genus Rhizocarpon. The analysis revealed two new species in the lichen biota of Pakistan namely, Rhizocarpon lavatum and Rhizocarpon petraeum, while the other two, Rhizocarpon disporum and Rhizocarpon geminatum are reported for the second time, from new localities. In comparison to literature information and GenBank sequences of the same taxa, variation in the morpho-anatomical features and nucleotide differences in the ITS marker of nrDNA have been documented. Descriptions and phylogenetic analysis of the taxa are given, along with information on ecology and distribution.
Penerapan Supervisi Kolaboratif untuk Meningkatkan Kompetensi Profesional Guru dalam Mengembangkan Bahan Ajar
Authors: Jasmin Jasmin 
Published: April 2021

Tujuan penelitian untuk mendeskripsikan: 1) perkembangan proses supervisi kolaboratif untuk meningkatkan kompetensi profesional guru dalam mengembangkan bahan ajar ; 2) peningkatan kompetensi profesional guru di SMA Negeri 1 Bunyu setelah diterapkan pendekatan supervisi kolaboratif. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif, dengan pendekatan deskriptif kualitatif fenomenologik. Data kualitatif diperoleh dari lembar observasi serta wawancara. Sedangkan data kuantitatif diperoleh dari hasil tes. Tes terdiri atas dua siklus. Data dianalisis menggunakan, model Kemmis dan Mc. Taggart yang merupakan model pengembangan dari model Kurt Lewin. Dikatakan demikian, karena di dalam suatu siklus terdiri atas empat komponen, keempat komponen tersebut, meliputi: (1) perencanaan, (2) aksi/ tindakan, (3) observasi, dan (4) refleksi. Manfaat dari Penelitian ini bisa menjadi rujukan untuk dijadikan sebagai alternatif pendekatan supervisi untuk meningkatkan kompetensi guru dan kualitas sekolah sebagai dampak meningkatnya kualitas kerja guru dalam melaksanakan tugas profesionalnya.
The importance of flowcytometry study with the first aspirate taken during bone marrow aspiration in the diagnosis of multiple myeloma and follow-up of minimal residual disease
Authors: Eser Ali 
Published: April 2021

Objective: Flow cytometry (FC) is a diagnostic method supporting traditional morphological examination in disease follow-up and the diagnosis of Multiple myeloma (MM). Normal and atypical plasma cells (PCs) can be told apart from each other by means of FC method. The plasma cell rate is the highest in the blood obtained in the first aspirate during bone marrow aspiration in MM.
Material and methods: A total of 60 patients that have been diagnosed with MM between 2018 and 2020, including 30 patients whom flow cytometry was studied with the first aspirate during bone marrow aspiration, and 30 patients whom FC was studied with the second aspirate were included in our study. The characteristics of the patients were analyzed retrospectively from their files.
Results: The median ratio of plasma cells (PCs) detected by FC and bone marrow biopsy was 17,5% and 44%, respectively. While this rate was median 37,5% in patients that flow cytometric study was performed with the first aspirate, the rate was found to be median 7% in patients that FC was performed with the second sample. The PCs rates were statistically significantly higher with the flow cytometric study with the first aspirate than the second one (p=0.000).
Conclusion: Flow cytometric study with the first aspirate during bone marrow aspiration in patients with MM is diagnostically important.