bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of community pharmacists’ communication and comfort levels when interacting with Deaf and hard of hearing patients
Authors: Chong Elizabeth Y. , Jacob Sabrina A. , Ramadas Amutha , Goh Pei H. , Palanisamy Uma D. 
Published: May 2021

Background: Deaf and hard of hearing patients who use sign language face considerable communication barriers while accessing pharmacy services. Low comfort-levels between community pharmacists and Deaf and hard of hearing patients result in poor interactions and increase patient safety risks.
Objective: 1) To examine the way community pharmacists interact with Deaf and hard of hearing patients in Malaysia, and their level of comfort in such interactions. 2) To examine how comfort-levels vary by the preferred communication methods, resources and employer support.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among registered community pharmacists practicing in Malaysia. Questionnaire items included comfort-levels of community pharmacists when interacting with Deaf and hard of hearing patients, used and preferred communication methods, necessary resources, and perceived employer’s level of support. Based on the list of registered pharmacies, the questionnaire with a pre-paid return envelope was mailed out while pharmacies close to the university were approached in person. This questionnaire was distributed online using Google Form. Comparisons between comfort-levels and study parameters were analyzed using independent t-tests and ANOVA.
Results: A total of 297 community pharmacists responded (response rate 29.2%). Higher comfort-levels were reported in those who had received between 1 to 5 prescriptions as compared to those who did not receive prescriptions from Deaf and hard of hearing patients (MD= -0.257, SD=0.104, p=0.042). More than 80% used written information and only 3.4% had used the services of a qualified sign language interpreter throughout their community pharmacist career. Significantly lower comfort-levels (p=0.0004) were reported in community pharmacists who perceived training in sign language as a necessity to interact with Deaf and hard of hearing patients (M=3.6, SD=0.9) versus those who were not interested in sign language training (M=3.8, SD=0.6).
Conclusions: The results suggest that community pharmacists were neither extremely comfortable nor averse when interacting with Deaf and hard of hearing patients. The lack of significant findings in terms of comfort-levels may indicate other potential drivers for their choice of communication method when interacting with Deaf and hard of hearing patients.
Active Immunization with Pasteurella multocida Lysate Elicits Antibody that Protects Rabbits against Virulent Pasteurella multocida and Protects Mice by Passive Immunization
Authors: Durairajan R. , Verma Harshit , Prajapati Awadhesh , Abbas Mohammed , Rawat Mayank , Verma Rishendra 
Published: May 2021

Background: Pasteurellosis is an economically important disease of livestock worldwide and vaccination is effective mean to control the disease outbreaks. One of alternative method for vaccine preparation could be the use of lytic phages as bacterial inactivating agents and employing “phage lysate immunogen” as an immunizing agent. Therefore, the study was undertaken to explore the protective immune response of novel phage lysate vaccine against Pasteurella multocida. Methods: A phage lysate vaccine of Pasteurella multocida was prepared using isolated lytic phage and subjected to vaccine response study in rabbits. In this experiment, two mouse fixed-dose of lysate was used and the prophylactic efficacies of lysates were evaluated in rabbits by passive mouse protection test (PMPT), western blotting and direct virulent challenge. Result: Passive transfer of antibodies to mice using post-immunization sera of rabbits protected the animals against the challenge with A: 1 strain (75%) and B: 2 strain (50%). In western blotting, a total number of 4 bands were observed in the region between 130 kDa to 25 kDa in the protein of the phage lysate. The study suggested the significance increase in humoral immunity by phage lysate in murine Pasteurellosis.
The “Y” Double Spiral Cord: An Anatomic Variant of Dupuytren Disease
Authors: Hubbard James , Li Sean S. , Chauhan Aakash , Abrams Reid 
Published: May 2021

Case:
We report 2 cases of a spiral nerve variant that has only 1 previously reported description in the literature. A pretendinous cord was found to branch into a “Y” configuration, extending distally on both the radial and ulnar sides of the same digit, with the radial and ulnar digital nerves spiraling around each limb of the “Y cord”.

Conclusion:
Rare spiral nerve variants exist which place the digital neurovascular bundles (NVBs) at risk. Awareness of these variants and adherence to conservative surgical principles allow the surgeon to identify these scenarios intraoperatively and safely dissect the digital NVBs free of pathologic tissue.
Giving birth and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of 827 women’s responses to an online survey in Norway
Authors: Eri Tine S. , Downe Soo , Vedeler Carina , Blix Ellen , Nilsen Anne Britt Vika 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background: When Europe was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, changes were made in maternal care to reduce infections. In hospital maternity wards, postnatal wards, and neonatal units’ companions and visitors were restricted. There is emerging evidence that changes in maternity care delivery and restrictions due to social distancing have been distressing for many childbearing women. We aimed to explore the experiences of giving birth and becoming a parent in Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study is based on the responses from women who provided in-depth qualitative comments to Babies Born Better survey version 3, December 2020. The responses were analysed with inductive thematic analysis.Results: In all, 827 women who gave birth in 42 of 45 available birthing units across Norway, regardless of parity and mode of birth, were included. The qualitative analysis resulted in four themes: 1) Waiting period filled with stress and worries; 2) Feeling lonely, isolated and disempowered without the partner; 3) Sharing experiences and becoming a family; and 4) Busy postnatal care without compassion.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on women’s experiences of giving birth and becoming a parent in Norway. The denial of companionship and postnatal visiting varied between hospitals, which suggests that some of the restrictions were related to organisational protectionism than the protection of women and babies. Early postnatal care is the area of care that seems to have been most negatively affected and clearly requires more attention. The balance between humanised healthcare and protection from infection has not been well maintained through this current pandemic.
Traceability of the Geographical Origin of Siraitia grosvenorii based on Multielement Contents coupled with Chemometric Techniques
Authors: Huang Xiao-Ping , Lei Lei , Lei Shun-Xin , Zhu Wei-Wei , Yan Jun 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Siraitia grosvenorii (LHG) is widely used as a medicinal and edible material around the world. The objective of this study was to develop an effective method for the authentication of the geographical origin of LHG in its main producing area Guangxi, China, which is identified as Chinese Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product，against other producing regions in China. The content of 14 elements (K, Na, Ca, P, Mg, Al, B, Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Sr) of 114 LHG samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Multivariate analysis was then performed to classify the geographical origin of LHG samples. The contents of multielement display an obvious trend of clustering according to the geographical origin of LHG samples based on radar plot and principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, three supervised statistical techniques, including linear discriminant analysis (LDA), k-nearest neighbours (k-NN), and support vector machine (SVM), were applied to develop classification models. Finally, 40 unknown LHG samples were used to evaluate the predictive ability of model and discrimination rate of 100%, 97.5% and 100% were obtained for LDA, k-NN, and SVM, respectively. This study indicated that it is feasible to attribute unknown LHG samples to its geographical origin based on its multielement content coupled with chemometric techniques.
A Reinforcement Learning based Computing Offloading and Resource Allocation Scheme in F-RAN
Authors: Jiang Fan , Ma Rongxin , Gao Youjun , Gu Zesheng 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This paper investigates a computing offloading policy and the allocation of computational resource for multiple user equipments (UEs) in Device-to-Device (D2D) aided fog radio access networks (F-RANs). Concerning the dynamically changing wireless environment where the channel state information (CSI) is difficult to predict and know exactly, we formulate the problem of task offloading and resource optimization as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem to maximize the total utility of all UEs. Concerning the non-convex property of the formulated problem, we decouple the original problem into two phases to solve. Firstly, a centralized deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm called Dueling Deep Q-Network (DDQN) is utilized to obtain the most suitable offloading mode for each UE. Particularly, to reduce the complexity of the proposed offloading scheme based DDQN algorithm, a pre-processing procedure is adopted. Then a distributed Deep Q-Network (DQN)algorithm based on the training result of the DDQN algorithm is further proposed to allocate the appropriate computational resource for each UE. Combining these two phases, the optimal offloading policy and resource allocation for each UE are finally achieved. Simulation results demonstrate the performance gains of the proposed scheme compared with other existing baseline schemes.
Percutaneous Microcoil Localization of a Small, Totally Endophytic Renal Mass for Nephron-Sparing Surgery: A Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Su Tianhao , Zhang Zhiyuan , Zhao Meishan , Hao Gangyue , Tian Ye , Jin Long 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background: Small, totally endophytic renal masses present a technical challenge for surgical extirpation due to poor identifiability during surgery. The method for the precise localization of totally endophytic tumours before nephron-sparing surgery could be optimized. Case presentation: An asymptomatic 70-year-old male presented with a right-sided, 16-mm, totally endophytic renal mass on computed tomography (CT). CT-guided percutaneous microcoil localization was carried out prior to laparoscopy to provide a direction for partial nephrectomy. During the 25 minutes of the localization procedure, the patient underwent five local CT scans, and his cumulative effective radiation dosage was 5.1 mSv. The span between localization and the start of the operation was 15 hours. The laparoscopic operation time was 105 minutes, and the ischaemia time was 25 minutes. The postoperative recovery was smooth, and no perioperative complications occurred. Pathology showed the mass to be renal clear cell carcinoma, WHO/ISUP grade 2, with a 2-mm, clear surgical margin. The patient remained free of recurrence on follow-up for eleven months. To our knowledge, this application of microcoil implantation prior to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for an intrarenal mass could be the first reported localized method applied in renal surgery. Conclusions: The percutaneous microcoil localization of endophytic renal tumours is potentially safe and effective prior to laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.
Use of Chemical Nano Selenium as Antibacterial and Antifungal Agent in Quail Diets and its Effect on Growth, Carcasses, Antioxidant, Immunity and Caecal Microbe
Authors: Alagawany Mahmoud , El-Saadony M. T. , Elnesr S. S. , Farahat M. , Attia G. , Mahmoud M.A. , Madkour M. , Reda F. M. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Nano-minerals are used to enhance mineral bioavailability, which helps improve animal growth and health. The use of chemical nano-selenium (Che-SeNP) has lately attracted great scientific interest, mainly due to its potential benefits for poultry. The current study was conducted to investigate the impact of the dietary supplementation of Che-SeNPs on growth performance, carcass traits, blood constituents, antioxidant status, immunity, and gut microbiota of quails. A total of one week-old 180 Japanese quails were randomlydistributed into four equal groups, and each group consisted of 45 unsexed birds with five replications (nine birds each). The first group was fed a basal diet without supplementation (0 g/kg Che-SeNP), and the second, third, and fourth groups were fed diets containing 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 g/kg Che-SeNP, respectively. The results showed that the dietary supplementation of Che-SeNP significantly (P < 0.05) increased body weight, body weight gain, and feed conversion ratio but decreased feed intake (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. The highest values of growth performance were recorded in the group fed 0.4 g Che-SeNP g/kg feed. Che-SeNP levels did not affect carcass traits, relative organs (except liver), or blood hematology (except platelet count and hemoglobin level) of quails. Plasma total protein, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and urea values were not affected by dietary Che-SeNP, but alanine aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase values declined. Globulin and creatinine values were linearly increased with the inclusion of Che-SeNP (0.4 and 0.6 g/kg) in quail diets compared to the control. The supplementation of Che-SeNP in quail diets significantly improved (P < 0.05) the plasma lipid profile and activities of antioxidant enzymes compared to the control group. Immunoglobulin G values of Che-SeNPs (0.4 and 0.6 g/kg) were higher (P < 0.05) than those in the control group. The groups fed diets supplemented with Che-SeNP showed lower (P < 0.0001) total bacterial count, total yeast and molds count, Coliform, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter, and Salmonella colonization, and higher (P = 0.0003 and 0.0048) lactic acid bacteria counts than those in the control group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with Che-SeNP can improve the performance, lipid profile, antioxidant indices, and immunity, as well as decrease intestinal pathogens in quails.
Significance of microRNA-330/TYMS expression axis through colorectal tumorigenesis
Authors: Karimi Leila , Jaberi Milad , Asadi Milad , Zarredar Habib , Zafari Venus , Bornehdeli Soghra , Niknam Saman , Kermani Touraj Asvadi 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. MiR-330 has been reported as a cell proliferation inhibitor by suppressing thymidylate synthase (TYMS) in FOLFOX, one of the major chemotherapy regimens used to treat colorectal cancers. A number of dysregulated miRNAs have been linked to CRC progression and treatment response and are thought to be promising prognostic biomarkers for this cancer. In the current study, miR-330, TYMS, and their interactions have been investigated in the absence of this chemotherapy to evaluate their therapeutic and diagnostic value for other treatment methods.
Material and Methods

The expression levels of miR-330 and TYMS were evaluated in-silico using TCGA datasets for colorectal cancer. Data validation was performed on a set of internal samples (100 pairs of CRC tumor specimens and adjacent non-cancerous samples) were determined utilizing RT-qPCR assay. The linkage between clinicopathological parameters and expression levels was also investigated.
Results

TCGA results illustrated that miR-330 and TYMS are significantly upregulated and downregulated through colorectal tumorigenesis, respectively. QRT-PCR results confirmed that the expression level of miR-330 was significantly higher in tumor tissues relative to margin tissues (p value = 0/0005) whereas TYMS was significantly down-regulated (p value = 0.0001). However, there was no significant association regarding TYMS and patient pathological features while miR-330 expression was associated with tumor stage and lymph node metastases.
Conclusion

The microRNA-330 inhibited cell proliferation by suppressing thymidylate synthase (TYMS) in colorectal cancer. Therefore, suggesting that they are valuable factors for further studies of alternative treatment and diagnostic methods.
Double Overexpression of Mir-19a &amp; Mir-20a in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Effectively Preserves the Left Ventricular Function tn Dilated Cardiomyopathic Rat
Authors: Sheu Jiunn-Jye , Chai Han-Tan , Sung Pei‐Hsun , Chiang John Y. , Huang Tien-Hung , Shao Pei-Lin , Wu Shun-Cheng , Yip Hon-Kan 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background: This study tested the hypothesis that double overexpression of miR-19a & miR-20a (dOex-mIRs) in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) effectively preserved left-ventricular-ejection-fraction (LVEF) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) (i.e., induced by doxorubicin) rat.Methods and Results: In vitro study was categorized into groups G1 (iPS-MSC), G2 (iPS-MSCdOex-mIRs), G3 (iPS-MSC + H2O2/100uM), and G4 (iPS-MSCdOex-mIRs + H2O2/100uM). The in vitro results showed the cell viability was significantly lower in G3 than in G1 and G2, and that was reversed in G4 but it showed no difference between G1/G2 at time points of 6h/24h/48h, whereas the flow cytometry of intra-cellular/mitochondrial oxidative stress (DCFA/mitoSOX) and protein expressions of mitochondrial-damaged (cytosolic-cytochrome-C/DRP1/Cyclophilin-D), oxidative-stress (NOX-1/NOX2), apoptotic (cleaved-caspase-3/PARP), fibrotic (p-Smad3/TGF-ß) and autophagic (ratio of LC3B-II/LC3BI) biomarkers exhibited an opposite pattern of cell-proliferation rate (all p<0.001). Adult-male SD rats (n=32) were equally divided into groups 1 (sham-operated control), 2 (DCM), 3 (DCM + iPS-MSCs/1.2 x 106 cells/administered by post-28 day’s DCM induction) and 4 (DCM + iPS-MSCdOex-mIRs/1.2 x 106 cells) and euthanized by day 60 after DCM induction. LV myocardium protein expressions of oxidative-stress signaling (p22-phox/NOX-1/NOX-2/ASK1/p-MMK4,7/p-JNK1,2/p-cJUN), upstream (TLR-4/MAL/MyD88/TRIF/TRAM/ TFRA6/IKKα/ß/NF-κB) and downstream (TNF-α/IL-1ß/MMP-9) inflammatory signalings, apoptotic (cleaved-PARP/mitochondrial-Bax), fibrotic (Smad3/TGF-ß), mitochondrial-damaged (cytosolic-cytochrome-C/DRP1/cyclophilin-D) and autophagic (beclin1/Atg5) biomarkers were highest in group 2, lowest in group 1 and significantly lower in group 4 than in group 3, whereas the LVEF exhibited an opposite pattern of oxidative stress (all p<0.0001).Conclusion: iPS-MSCdOex-mIRs therapy was superior to iPS-MSC therapy for preserving LV function in DCM rat.
“Predictive Factors of Malignancy in Pediatric Patients with Thyroid Nodules and Performance of the Italian Classification (SIAPEC 2014) in the Outcome of the Cytological FNA Categories”
Authors: Tuli Gerdi , Munarin Jessica , Agosto Erica , Matarazzo Patrizia , Quaglino Francesco , Mormile Alberto , De Sanctis Luisa 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Purpose: The rate of malignancy (ROM) among pediatric studies using the Bethesda System is 39.5% and 41.5% for atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance and for suspected follicular neoplasm, respectively. Data reported on the basis of Bethesda System system showed lower ROM in adults with indeterminate nodules (30.5% and 28.9% respectively). Studies on adults based on the Italian Society of Anatomic Pathology and Cytology (SIAPEC) classification, report ROM of 14.2 % for TIR3a and 44.6% for TIR3b category, showing greater sensitivity in detecting malignancy. To date, no performance data are available about SIAPEC classification in pediatric age.Methods: retrospective data were collected from 200 pediatric subjects with thyroid nodules in the period 2000-2020.Results: The distribution of cytological categories after fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was 7 TIR1, 4 TIR1c, 22 TIR2, 14 TIR3a, 9 TIR3b, 3 TIR4 and 16 TIR5. Surgical approach was performed in 40/200 subjects, with total ROM of 65% (0% for TIR1-TIR3a, 77.8% for TIR3b and 100 % for TIR4-TIR5). Total FNAB accuracy was 95%, while the sensibility and specificity were 92.3% and 92.6%, respectively. Conclusions: The reported data seem to confirm a greater sensitivity of SIAPEC classification to identify malignancy within the indeterminate category also in pediatric age and not only in adulthood. This finding may orient clinicians towards clinical follow-up for the indeterminate TIR3a group and towards surgical approach with total thyroidectomy in the indeterminate TIR3b group, although this indication should be confirmed in further national multicenter studies including larger cohorts.
Effect of Specimen Thickness and Compositions on the Fracture Toughness Investigations of Al7075-SiC/Al2O3 Hybrid Composites
Authors: Alhadhrami A , Prasanna B M , Doddamani Saleemsab , M Rajesh A 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The current work is to examine the effect of the parameters like specimen thickness, crack length to width ratio and composition of the reinforcements used in aluminium-silicon carbide/alumina particulate composite. The said composite is processed using the stir casting route. Taguchi's optimization techniques such as experiments, ANOVA and regression techniques have been utilized to investigate the parameters. Three factors and their levels considered are the composition of reinforcements (3, 6 and 9 wt%), the thickness of specimen (10, 12, 15 mm) and a/W ratio (0.45, 0.47 and 0.50). Results show increment in composition beyond 6wt%, and a/W ratio decreases the fracture toughness of hybrid composites. From Taguchi's analysis, for a/W ratio = 0.45, 12mm thick specimens and 6wt% of reinforcements in aluminium matrix exhibit the larger fracture toughness. Thus those parameters are considered to be optimized parameters. The analysis shows that the a/W ratio influences fracture toughness, followed by the composition and specimen thickness.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care in Asmara, Eritrea: Preliminary Report
Authors: Tecle Asmerom Seyoum , Talha Albadawi Abdelbagi , Mohamedahmed Khalid Abdelsamea , Abakar Adam Dawoud 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Background

The majority of human infections with Toxoplasma produce no symptoms, but in congenitally infected children can cause devastating effects including eye blindness, brain damage, or miscarriage. Transmission to the fetus occurs predominantly in women who acquire their primary infection during gestation.
Objective

The study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of T. gondii among pregnant women attending Antenatal Care (ANC) in different sites of Asmara, Eritrea, and to identify possible risk factors associated with Toxoplasma infection among pregnant women attending the antenatal center.
Methods

The study has followed a cross-sectional laboratory-based survey. The data were collected from 210 pregnant women in four health facilities. Voluntary sampling technique and a structured questionnaire were used to collect associate factors and socio-demographic information. Cobas e411 clinical chemistry Analyzers was used to test the blood serum for IgG and IgM antibodies. Epi-Info (V 7.0) was used for data entry and SPSS (V 20.0) was used for data analysis.
Results

From the 210 samples, 53.6% (112) samples were seropositive and 46.4% (97) samples were seronegative for toxoplasma specific IgG antibody. Furthermore, 2.9% (6) samples were seropositive and 97.1% (203) samples were seronegative for toxoplasma-specific IgM antibodies.
Conclusion

The seroprevalence was considerably high, 53.6% IgG antibody and 2.9% IgM antibody which requests attention, in order to introduce preventive control measures, screening tests, and health education.