bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of hepatitis C infection among the general population and high-risk groups in the EU/EEA: A systematic review update
Authors: HAN Ru , ZHOU Junwen , N Clément François , Toumi Mondher 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Background: Although significant improvement in efficacy measured by a sustained virological response, the high acquisition costs of direct-acting antivirals limit the access for patients and influence the costs of healthcare resource utilisation in hepatitis C. It is important to have the latest estimates of prevalence, especially in high-risk groups, for cost of illness, cost-effectiveness and budget impact studies.
Methods: Original studies on the estimates of the prevalence among general and high-risk populations in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) were retrieved from Medline and Embase for the period from 2015 to 2018. All included studies were evaluated for risk of selection bias and summarised together in a narrative form. Results from previous reviews and updated searches were compared per country among different populations, respectively.
Results: Among the 3871 studies identified, 46 studies were included: 20 studies were used for the estimate of the general population; 3 for men who have sex with men (MSM); 6 for prisoners; and 17 for people who inject drugs (PWID). Compared with the results reported in previous systematic reviews, the updated estimates were lower than previously in most available countries. Anti-HCV general population prevalence estimates ranged from 0.54% to 1.50% by country. The highest prevalence of anti-HCV was found among PWID (range of 7.90% - 82.00%), followed by prisoners (7.00% - 41.00%), HIV-positive MSM (1.80% - 7.10%), HIV-negative MSM (0.20% - 1.80%), pregnant women (0.10% - 1.32%) and first-time blood donors (0.03% - 0.09%).
Conclusions: Our study highlights the heterogeneity in anti-HCV prevalence across different population groups in EU/EEA. The prevalence also varies widely between European countries. There are many countries that are not represented in our results, highlighting the need for the development of robust epidemiological studies.
Physiological and transcriptome analysis reveal molecular mechanism in Salvia miltiorrhiza leaves of near-isogenic male fertile lines and male sterile lines
Authors: Wang Ruihong , Jiang Han , Zhou Ziyun , Guo Hongbo , Dong Juane 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Background:
Our previous study found that male sterility in Salvia miltiorrhiza could result in stunted growth, reduced biomass, decreased primary metabolism, and increased secondary metabolism, but their molecular mechanisms have not yet been revealed. In this article, we investigated the underlying mechanism of male sterility to plant growth and metabolic yield by using physiological analysis and mRNA sequencing (RNA-Seq).
Results:
In this study, transcriptomic and physiological analysis were performed to identify the mechanism of male sterile mutants to plant growth and metabolic yield. Through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, it was found that the pathways were mainly enriched in processes including organ development, primary metabolic process and secondary metabolic process. Physiological analysis showed that the chloroplast structure of male sterile mutants of S. miltiorrhiza was abnormally developed, which could result in decrease in leaf gas exchange (A, E and gs), chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv, Fm and Fv/Fm), and the chlorophyll content. Among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), the expression levels of 7 genes involved to photosynthesis-related pathway were down-regulated in male sterile lines of S. miltiorrhiza, which was consistent with the corresponding phenotypic changes in chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content and leaf gas exchange. Transcriptomic analysis established the role of disproportionating enzyme 1 (DPE1) as catalyzing the degradation of starch, and the role sucrose synthase 3 (SUS3) and cytosolic invertase 2 (CINV2) as catalyzing the degradation of sucrose in the S. miltiorrhiza mutants. The results also confirmed that phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL) was involved in the biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid and salvianolic acid B, and flavone synthase (FLS) was an important enzyme catalyzing steps of flavonoid biosynthesis.
Conclusions:
Our results from the physiological and transcriptome analysis reveal underlying mechanism of plant growth and metabolic yield in male sterile mutants, and provide insight into the crop yield of S. miltiorrhiza.
Manganese removal processes at 10 groundwater fed full-scale drinking water treatment plants
Authors: Breda I. L. , Ramsay L. , Søborg D. A. , Dimitrova R. , Roslev P. 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Manganese (Mn) removal in drinking water filters is facilitated by biological and physico-chemical processes. However, there is limited information about the dominant processes for Mn removal in full-scale matured filters with different filter materials over filter depth. Water and filter material samples were collected from 10 full-scale drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) to characterise the Mn removal processes, to evaluate the potential use of enhancers and to gain further insight on operational conditions of matured filters for the efficient Mn removal. The first-order Mn removal constant at the DWTPs varied from 10−2 to 10−1 min−1. The amount of Mn coating on the filter material grains showed a strong correlation with the amount of iron, calcium and total coating, but no correlation with the concentration of ATP. Inhibition of biological activity showed that Mn removal in matured filters was dominated by physico-chemical processes (59–97%). Addition of phosphorus and trace metals showed limited effect on Mn removal capacity, indicating that the enhancement of Mn removal in matured filters is possible but challenging. There was limited effect of the filter material type (quartz, calcium carbonate and anthracite) on Mn removal in matured filters, which can be relevant information for the industry when assessing filter designs and determining returns of investments.
This article has been made Open Access thanks to the kind support of CAWQ/ACQE (https://www.cawq.ca).
Biodegradation of polyvinyl alcohol by different dominant degrading bacterial strains in a baffled anaerobic bioreactor
Authors: Wu H. F. , Yue L. Z. , Jiang S. L. , Lu Y. Q. , Wu Y. X. , Wan Z. Y. 
Published: June 2019

Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is the main pollutant in printing and dyeing wastewaters. This pollutant exhibits great demand, poor biodegradability and refractory degradation. In this study, PVA wastewater treatment experiments were conducted in a stably operating baffled anaerobic bioreactor (ABR) by using simulated PVA wastewater. The PVA degradation pathway and mechanism of the mixed dominant PVA-degrading bacterial strains were identified through the analysis of their degradation products. From the results, we inferred that PVA was degraded in a stepwise process under the synergistic action of different extracellular and intracellular enzymes produced by the mixed dominant PVA-degrading bacterial strains. In this process, PVA was first degraded into ketones, fatty acids and alcohols. It was then regenerated into acetic acid, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Finally, these substances could be further utilized by methanogens. PVA was thus degraded completely. This study may serve as a reference for future works on the degradation of PVA in the ecological environment. It may also guide the sustainable development of PVA.
Dental İmplant Tedavisinde Başarı Faktörlerinin Değerlendirilmesi
Authors: ATALA Mustafa Hayati , USTAOĞLU Gülbahar , ÇETİN Hülya 
Published: June 2019

AmaçBu çalışmanın amacı, implant tedavisinde başarının, yaş, cinsiyet, sistemik durum, protetik tedavi çeşidi ve cerrahi teknik ile ilişkisini inceleyerek oluşabilecek başarısızlıkların önüne geçilmesini sağlamaktır.Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmaya 2011–2017 döneminde Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Diş Hekimliği Fakültesi’nde dental implant tedavisi görmüş toplam 877 hasta dahil edildi. Toplam 3033 adet dental implanta dair arşiv kayıtları ve radyografiler retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi.BulgularYaşa göre implant kaybetme oranları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark bulunurken (p=0,0001), implant kaybı açısından iki cinsiyet arasında anlamlı fark bulunmadı (p=0,157). Hastalar sistemik rahatsızlıkları açısından değerlendirildiğinde en yaygın görülen hastalıklar hipertansiyon, diyabet, kardiyovasküler hastalıklar, tiroit hastalıkları ve osteoporoz idi. 3033 implantın 2905’i kemik-seviyesi, 128’i doku-seviyesi implant olup, 952’si posteriyor maksilla, 398’i anteriyor maksilla, 1042’si posteriyor mandibula, 641’i anteriyor mandibulaya yerleştirilmişti. İmplant lokasyonu ile kaybedilen implant sayısı arasındaki fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmadı. Dental implantlar 513 adet tek kron, 700 köprü ve 260 hareketli protez ile restore edildi. Overdenture protezlerin 50 adeti bar bağlantılı, 210 adeti de Locator ataçman şeklindeydi. Protez tipi ve implant kayıp oranları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farkbulundu (p=0,007).Tartışma ve Sonuç: İmplant tedavisinin başarısında hastanın sistemik ve lokal açıdan dikkatlice değerlendirilmesi ve doğru bir protetik planlama büyük önem taşımaktadır.
Retroaortik sol renal venin klinik ve radyolojik önemi
Authors: AKTAŞ Fatma 
Published: June 2019

Amaç:Retroaortik
sol renal ven radyolojik görüntüleme sıklığının artması nedeniyle son yıllarda
sıklığı görece artan anatomik varyasyondur. Sıklıkla asemptomatiktir. Biz
çalışmamızda kontrastlı abdomen bilgisayarlı tomografi tetkikinde
retroaortik sol renal ven saptanan hastalarda sol renal ven ve sol
gonodal ven çaplarını ölçerek asemptomatik hastalarda vende basınç artışı olup
olmadığını göstermeyi amaçladık.Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çekilen
kontrastlı abdomen BT tetkiklerinde saptanan retroaortik sol renal veni bulunan
138 hasta ve hasta grubu ile yaş ve cinsiyet benzerliği bulunan 100 kişi dahil
edildi. Sol renal ven çapı, retroaortik sol renal venin aorta posteriorunda en
dar olduğu segmentte çapı ve sol gonadal ven çapı ölçüldü.Bulgular:Kontrol
grubu ve retroaortik sol renal ven bulunan hastaların preaortik segmentte sol
renal ven çapları karşılaştırıldığında, retroaortik sol renal ven bulunan
hastalarda anlamlı olarak daha yüksek bulundu. Aynı zamanda sol gonadal ven
çapları retroaortik sol renal ven bulunan hastalarda kontrol grubu ile
karşılaştırıldığında artmış olarak bulundu.Sonuç:

Sonuç
olarak retroaortik sol renal ven sıklıkla asemptomatik seyreden anatomik bir
varyasyon olmakla birlikte sol renal venin aorta arkasında sıkışması ile sol
renal ven ve gonadal venlerde basınç artışına neden olabilir. Bu basınç artışı
kadınlarda pelvik konjesyon erkeklerde ise varikosel etyolojisinde önemlidir.
Aynı zamanda retroaortik sıkışma sendromuna neden olarak hematüri ve yan ağrısı
gibi klinik semptomlara yol açabilir.
Identification of Quinolone and Colistin Resistance Genes in Escherichia Coli Strains Isolated from Mucosal Samples of Patients with Colorectal Cancer and Healthy Subjects
Authors: Mahmoudi Hassan , Ghiasvand Sima , Zarei Omid , Hossainpour Hadi , Alikhani Mohammad Y. 
Published: June 2019

Introduction:Antibiotic resistance and extensive use of antibiotics are amongst the major causes of failure in antibiotic treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate antibiotic resistance patterns and to identify resistance genes of quinolones and colistin in Escherichia coli. There are a very few patents on E. coli isolated from colorectal cancer. So, this study demonstrates that some bacteria resistant to ciprofloxacin have not resistance genes.Moreover, new patterns for E. coli are presented for isolates of patients with colorectal cancer.Materials and Methods:Of the three healthy people, inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients and colorectal cancer patients, 40 E. coli strains isolated after confirmation by biochemical and molecular methods. The susceptibility of isolates to antibiotics was investigated using disk diffusion test. After deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify genes encoding resistance to ciprofloxacin (qnr A, qnr B) and colistin (mcr-1).Results:The results showed that E. coli isolates from colorectal cancer patients had the highest resistance to piperacillin (67.5%), ceftazidime (47.5%), and cefepime (42.5%). Also, E. coli strains isolated from IBD patients showed resistance to antibiotic ceftazidime 13%. More than 95% of E. coli strains isolated from healthy people were susceptible to antibiotics. Based on the results, 18 (15%) E. coli strains showed resistance to ciprofloxacin. The qnr A gene was detected in 61.11% isolates; however, qnr B was detected in 9 (50%) isolates. Isolates resistant to colistin were not observed.Conclusion:These findings indicate increased resistance of E. coli to ciprofloxacin in comparison with prior studies. Further research in this field will increase our knowledge and more effective exposure to the antibiotic resistance of the pathogenic microorganisms.
Statistical Learning Models for Sleep Quality Prediction Using Electrocardiograms
Authors: Ogundare Oluwatosin 
Published: June 2019

Background:The sleep quality prediction has implications beyond trivial. It enables the holistic management of the clinical ramifications of treating sleep disorders, which include providing a foundational framework for mitigating sleep medication abuse and sleep medication dosage control due to the foreknowledge of the quality of a future sleep episode. Sleep Quality (SQ) is presented as a function of sleep stages and as such, predicting sleep quality will involve predicting the future realization of a sleep episode in terms of transition between different sleep stages. Electrocardiograms (ECG) provided by the National Sleep Research Resource (NSRR) are analyzed and a Sleep Quality (SQ) value is predicted on an interval (0,1).Methods:This research uses Support Vector Machines (SVM) and a polynomial regression model to forecast the Sleep Quality (SQ) of a future sleep episode. The statistical learning models are trained on the features extracted from the Electrocardiograms (ECG) signals in the training set. The datasets are composed of ECG signal from patients in the NSSR Sleep Health Heart Study (SHHS).Results:A confusion matrix comparing measuredvs. predicted is presented as a measure of the performance of the SVM sleep stage as well as the comparison of the observedvs. predicted hypnogram in some cases. The Sleep Quality (SQ) values derived from classified forecasted PSD is compared with the measured Sleep Quality (SQ) values. Finally, a paired t-test is used to compare the predicted Sleep Quality (SQ) with the measured Sleep Quality (SQ) to determine if the difference between the two sets is significant.Conclusion:This research presents a simple method to forecast Sleep Quality (SQ) values. Consequently, it can be used to establish a personal Sleep Quality (SQ) history for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Quality of Water Used in Selected Poultry Farms in the Ashanti Region of Ghana
Authors: Osei Frank B. , Boamah Vivian E. , Agyare Christian , Abaidoo Robert C. 
Published: June 2019

Background:
Water plays an important role in both domestic and commercial settings. However, some physicochemical properties and biological contaminants could render water unsafe for use. Contaminated water from various sources is used as drinking water and for processing of animal products in animal farms, which has resulted in infections among animals, including poultry, and contaminated animal products on the market.

Objective:
To determine the physicochemical properties and microbial quality of water used as drinking water in selected poultry farms in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Methods:
The pH, turbidity, conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and total hardness of poultry-drinking-water from 100 farms were assessed following WHO guidelines. The presence of total coliforms and faecal Enterococci was determined using the membrane filtration method. The presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative Staphylococci were determined using selective culture media and their identities confirmed using biochemical tests.

Results:
pH of the samples ranged from 3.76 to 8.90, turbidity from 0.20 to 617 NTU, conductivity from 23.6 to 1114.0 µS/cm, TDS from 11.3 to 557 mg/L and total hardness from 17.1 to 192.0. Total coliforms and faecal Enterococci were present in 97% and 56% samples respectively. Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus and non-coagulase staphylococci were isolated from four samples.

Conclusion:
Water used on poultry farms has varied physicochemical properties and could also be a potential source of pathogenic organisms. There should be regular monitoring and checks on the quality of water used in animal husbandry in order to prevent the use of contaminated water for drinking and processing of animal products.
A Questionnaire-based Assessment of Dietary Adherence and Identification of Barriers to Healthy Eating
Authors: Bishop Karen S. , Yi Weiming , Piper-Jarrett Isabella , Henning Marcus A. 
Published: June 2019

Background:Adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with an extensive list of health benefits for people both with and without a disease.Objective:The objective of this study was to develop/modify a questionnaire to investigate the current adherence to a Mediterranean-style dietary eating pattern amongst the New Zealand male population, and to assess the association between perceived barriers to change and behaviours.Methods:The development of this questionnaire was based upon a modified 14-point validated Mediterranean diet adherence screener (PREDiMED) and included an additional section wherein we explored the reasons behind men’s food choices and barriers to healthy eating. Questionnaires were analysed from 295 men. Descriptive analyses were used to determine major barriers to change.Results:The modification of the PREDiMED questionnaire resulted in a 23 question questionnaire encompassing adherence, demographics and barriers to change. We found that 90.8% of respondents had either low or intermediate adherence to a Mediterranean style diet. Significant associations also existed between adherence and smoking (p=0.003), age (p< 0.01) and opinion of the importance of healthy eating (p< 0.01). We found participants felt the ‘major’ barrier to consume a healthy diet, to be a busy lifestyle, and the most common influencer of food choices was people.Conclusion:Through identifying how New Zealand men consume food and how they consider their barriers to change, we can better direct policy to aid changes in behaviour and integrate the Mediterranean style diet to complement the New Zealand food culture.
Synthesis, Characterization and Antifungal Assessment of Optically Active Bis-organotin Compounds Derived from (S)-BINOL Diesters
Authors: Costantino Andrea R. , Neudörfl Jörg M. , Ocampo Romina A. , Svetaz Laura A. , Zacchino Susana A. , Koll Liliana C. , Mandolesi Sandra D. 
Published: June 2019

Background:Organotin(IV) derivatives have appeared recently as potential biologically active metallopharmaceuticals exhibiting a variety of therapeutic activities. Hence, it is important to study the synthesis of new organotin compounds with low toxicity that may be of pharmacological interest.Objectives:This study focuses on the synthesis of new bis-stannylated derivatives withC2symmetry that could be tested as antifungal agents against two clinical important fungal species,Cryptococcus neoformansandCandida albicans.Methods:The radical addition of triorganotin hydrides (R3SnH) and diorganotin chlorohydrides (R2ClSnH) to bis-α,β-unsaturated diesters derived from (S)-BINOL led to the corresponding new bis-stannylated derivatives withC2symmetry. Nine pure organotin compounds were synthesized with defined stereochemistry. Four of them were enantiomerically pure and four were diastereoisomeric mixtures.Results:All new organotin compounds were fully characterized, those with phenyl ligands bonded to tin were the most active compounds against both the strains (Cryptococcus neoformansandCandida albicans), with activity parameters of IC50close to those of the reference drug (amphotericin B).Conclusion:Nine pure organotin compounds with C2 symmetry were synthesized with defined stereochemistry and their antifungal properties were tested against two clinical important fungi with IC values close to those of the reference drug. The structure-containing preferably two or three phenyl groups joined to the tin atom were highly active against both the strains compared with those possessing tri-n-butyl groups.
FPGA Implementation of Vedic Squarer for Communication Systems
Authors: Khan Angshuman , Halder Sudip , Saha Souvik , Arya Rajeev 
Published: June 2019

Background:
The squarer or squaring circuit is extensively used in communication systems
as a mathematical function with applications of frequency doublers, Finite Impulse Response
(FIR) filters, peak amplitude detectors, digital processors and analog multipliers, etc. and especially
for square law detection circuits.

Objective:
Vedic multipliers are popular mainly for their simplicity in the literature of digital
multipliers.

Methods:
Recently, proposed 2-bit square calculator or self-multiplier already gained the attraction
of the researchers.

Results & Conclusion:
In this paper, two bits squarer or self-multiplier or square calculator has
been successfully coded using VHDL, verified in Xilinx tool and finally implemented in popular
FPGA Spartan kit.
The Effect of Spatial Distance and Domain Knowledge Distinctiveness on Auditor Reliance on IT Specialists
Authors: Hirsch Rina M. 
Published: June 2019

ABSTRACT
Due to limitations in IT expertise, auditors frequently rely upon IT specialists during audit engagements. Does social similarity between the auditor and an IT specialist induce social biases that affect the auditor's reliance on the specialist? Using an experiment with 60 auditors, I examine how financial auditors' reliance on IT specialists is affected by two dimensions of social similarity: the IT specialist's spatial distance (in-house office location versus sourcing from another office) and domain knowledge distinctiveness (distinct versus overlapping) relative to financial auditors. My findings provide evidence of a possible boundary condition to the widely accepted social identity theory by documenting the interaction of two dimensions of social similarity on auditor behavior. Specifically, when IT specialists possess distinct (overlapping) domain knowledge, auditors place greater (similar) reliance on out-of-office specialists relative to in-house specialists.