bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Mothers of 0–3‐year‐old children with Down syndrome: Effects on quality of life
Authors: Senses Dinc Gulser , Cop Esra , Tos Tulay , Sari Eyup , Senel Saliha 
Published: July 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) of mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS) and the factors related to it.MethodsSeventy‐five DS child–mother diads and 54 healthy child–mother diads were included in this study. The brief World Health Organization Quality of Life scale – Turkish version (WHOQOL‐BREF‐TR), Symptom Check List‐90‐Revised (SCL‐90‐TR), Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were completed by mothers to assess maternal QoL, burnout, anxiety, depression and general psychiatric symptoms.ResultsMothers of DS children had significantly higher SCL‐90 general symptom index scores, Beck depressive symptom scores and higher scores in all domains of the brief World Health Organization Quality of Life scale – (WHOQOL‐BREF‐TR) except the WHOQOL‐BREF‐TR‐psychological health domain. MBI personal achievement scores were weakly correlated with psychological health in mothers of DS children. There was a reverse correlation between comorbid disorders and the WHOQOL‐BREF‐TR psychological health domain, and a weak correlation between sex (having a baby girl with DS) and increased WHOQOL‐BREF‐TR physical health domain score. Number of offspring was negatively correlated with maternal social quality of life.ConclusionMothers of children with DS are negatively affected in terms of QoL and mental health, even in the early period. It would be useful to systematically screen these mothers and to refer them for appropriate intervention at an early stage.
Environmental and irrigation conditions can mask the effect of Magnaporthiopsis maydis on growth and productivity of maize
Authors: Ortiz‐Bustos C. M. , López‐Bernal A. , Testi L. , Molinero‐Ruiz L. 
Published: July 2019

Maize production in temperate countries is threatened by late wilt, caused by Magnaporthiopsis maydis. Plant infection occurs early after sowing, but symptoms appear from flowering onwards. The disease is mainly controlled by genetic resistance, which is often partially expressed in the field. Development of disease symptoms is also highly dependent on environmental conditions. This study looked at whether production and growth of susceptible maize are affected by M. maydis under environmental conditions that are suboptimal for disease development. In addition, the effect of water availability on disease development under optimal conditions was determined. Pot experiments were conducted in an open‐air enclosure in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Under unfavourable conditions for disease (low air temperature and relatively high air humidity), aboveground symptoms did not appear in the plants despite growth and production variables being clearly altered by the fungus. When air temperatures and humidity were optimal for disease development (air temperatures relatively high and humidity rather low), leaf symptoms on inoculated plants became apparent but with secondary importance compared to decreases in growth and production. The pathogen also affected the root:aboveground biomass ratio to a greater extent when the plants were under good water conditions than under deficit irrigation. Under optimal conditions and with good soil water content, the infected crop may end its cycle without symptoms, with the disease undetected, although reductions in yield and aboveground biomass can occur.
Costs of civil war and fragile states in Africa
Authors: Dunne John Paul , Tian Nan 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThis paper provides an analysis of the costs of conflict for the countries that are most affected by it, namely low‐income and fragile countries in Africa. It provides an analysis of the impact of conflict on economic growth using a panel of African countries and investigates the differences between those categorized as fragile and others. It finds that there are significant differences, with fragile countries most affected by conflict. It also considers the potential spillover effects of conflict and finds that fragile states also suffer more from conflicts within neighboring states. Finally, it considers whether the results are robust to endogeneity of the conflict variable. Using instrumental variable estimation confirms the negative effect of conflict and the larger effects on fragile states and gives even larger coefficient estimates.
Unraveling the Structure of the Mycobacterial Envelope
Authors: Daffé Mamadou , Marrakchi Hedia 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACT

The mycobacterial cell envelope consists of a typical plasma membrane of lipid and protein surrounded by a complex cell wall composed of carbohydrate and lipid. In pathogenic species, such as
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
, an outermost “capsule” layer surrounds the cell wall. This wall embraces a fundamental, covalently linked “cell-wall skeleton” composed of peptidoglycan, solidly attached to arabinogalactan, whose penta-saccharide termini are esterified by very-long-chain fatty acids (mycolic acids). These fatty acids form the inner leaflet of an outer membrane, called the mycomembrane, whose outer leaflet consists of a great variety of non-covalently linked lipids and glycolipids. The thickness of the mycomembrane, which is similar to that of the plasma membrane, is surprising in view of the length of mycoloyl residues, suggesting dedicated conformations of these fatty acids. Finally, a periplasmic space also exists in mycobacteria, between the plasma membrane and the peptidoglycan. This article provides a comprehensive overview of this biologically important and structurally unique mycobacterial cell compartment.
Surface Proteins ofStaphylococcus aureus
Authors: Foster Timothy J. 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACTThe surface ofStaphylococcus aureusis decorated with over 20 proteins that are covalently anchored to peptidoglycan by the action of sortase A. These cell wall-anchored (CWA) proteins can be classified into several structural and functional groups. The largest is the MSCRAMM family, which is characterized by tandemly repeated IgG-like folded domains that bind peptide ligands by the dock lock latch mechanism or the collagen triple helix by the collagen hug. Several CWA proteins comprise modules that have different functions, and some individual domains can bind different ligands, sometimes by different mechanisms. For example, the N-terminus of the fibronectin binding proteins comprises an MSCRAMM domain which binds several ligands, while the C-terminus is composed of tandem fibronectin binding repeats. Surface proteins promote adhesion to host cells and tissue, including components of the extracellular matrix, contribute to biofilm formation by stimulating attachment to the host or indwelling medical devices followed by cell-cell accumulation via homophilic interactions between proteins on neighboring cells, help bacteria evade host innate immune responses, participate in iron acquisition from host hemoglobin, and trigger invasion of bacteria into cells that are not normally phagocytic. The study of genetically manipulated strains using animal infection models has shown that many CWA proteins contribute to pathogenesis. Fragments of CWA proteins have the potential to be used in multicomponent vaccines to preventS. aureusinfections.
Role of diet in type 2 diabetes incidence: umbrella review of meta-analyses of prospective observational studies
Authors: Neuenschwander Manuela , Ballon Aurélie , Weber Katharina S , Norat Teresa , Aune Dagfinn , Schwingshackl Lukas , Schlesinger Sabrina 
Published: July 2019

Abstract

Objective
To summarise the evidence of associations between dietary factors and incidence of type 2 diabetes and to evaluate the strength and validity of these associations.

Design
Umbrella review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses of prospective observational studies.

Data sources
PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase, searched up to August 2018.

Eligibility criteria
Systematic reviews with meta-analyses reporting summary risk estimates for the associations between incidence of type 2 diabetes and dietary behaviours or diet quality indices, food groups, foods, beverages, alcoholic beverages, macronutrients, and micronutrients.

Results

53 publications were included, with 153 adjusted summary hazard ratios on dietary behaviours or diet quality indices (n=12), food groups and foods (n=56), beverages (n=10), alcoholic beverages (n=12), macronutrients (n=32), and micronutrients (n=31), regarding incidence of type 2 diabetes. Methodological quality was high for 75% (n=115) of meta-analyses, moderate for 23% (n=35), and low for 2% (n=3). Quality of evidence was rated high for an inverse association for type 2 diabetes incidence with increased intake of whole grains (for an increment of 30 g/day, adjusted summary hazard ratio 0.87 (95% confidence interval 0.82 to 0.93)) and cereal fibre (for an increment of 10 g/day, 0.75 (0.65 to 0.86)), as well as for moderate intake of total alcohol (for an intake of 12-24 g/day
v
no consumption, 0.75 (0.67 to 0.83)). Quality of evidence was also high for the association for increased incidence of type 2 diabetes with higher intake of red meat (for an increment of 100 g/day, 1.17 (1.08 to 1.26)), processed meat (for an increment of 50 g/day, 1.37 (1.22 to 1.54)), bacon (per two slices/day, 2.07 (1.40 to 3.05)), and sugar sweetened beverages (for an increase of one serving/day, 1.26 (1.11 to 1.43)).

Conclusions
Overall, the association between dietary factors and type 2 diabetes has been extensively studied, but few of the associations were graded as high quality of evidence. Further factors are likely to be important in type 2 diabetes prevention; thus, more well conducted research, with more detailed assessment of diet, is needed.

Systematic review registration
PROSPERO CRD42018088106.
Blood lead level risk factors and reference value derivation in a cross-sectional study of potentially lead-exposed workers in Iran
Authors: Nakhaee Sareh , Amirabadizadeh Alireza , Nakhaee Samaneh , Zardast Mahmood , Schimmel Jonathan , Ahmadian-Moghadam Jalil , Akbari Ayob , Mohammadian Darmian Homeira , Mohammadi Maryam , Mehrpour Omid 
Published: July 2019

ObjectivesThis exploratory investigation aimed to measure blood lead levels and associated risk factors in exposed workers in Iran, and to derive appropriate reference values for blood lead in this population as a means of epidemiological comparison.DesignCross-sectional.SettingManufacturing plants with potential lead exposure in Southern Khorasan Province, Iran.ParticipantsThe study included 630 workers, selected through stratified random sampling.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary measures in this exploratory investigation were venous blood lead concentration (BLC) and associated risk factors of age, gender, work experience, cigarette smoking and history of opium use. The secondary measures were symptoms associated with lead toxicity. Data analyses were conducted using Student’s t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation coefficient and regression analysis.ResultsMean and median BLCs were 6.5±8.1 μg/dL and 3.9 μg/dL (IQR: 2.9–5.8), respectively. Of the subjects, 85 (13.5%) had BLC ≥10 μg/dL. The derived reference BLC value in this study was 30 μg/dL for men and 14 μg/dL for women. Increasing work experience and age were associated with BLC >10 μg/dL. Radiator manufacturers were up to 12.9 times (95% CI 4.6 to 35, p<0.005) more likely than painters to have BLC >10 μg/dL. Most subjects reported multiple symptoms.ConclusionsThe mean BLC was above the maximum recommended concentration. There was a significant relationship between higher BLC and age or working in a printing factory or radiator manufacturing. These findings can direct efforts towards reducing occupational lead exposure.
Identification of mental health and quality of life outcomes in primary care databases in the UK: a systematic review
Authors: Carreira Helena , Williams Rachael , Strongman Helen , Bhaskaran Krishnan 
Published: July 2019

ObjectivesTo summarise the definitions and combinations of codes used to identify outcomes of anxiety, depression, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction (including mild cognitive dysfunction and dementia), sexual dysfunction, pain, sleep disorders, and fatal and non-fatal self-harm in studies using electronic health records from primary care databases in the UK.DesignSystematic review.Data sourcesMedline, Embase and lists of publications of the main primary care databases in the UK.Eligibility criteriaIncluded data from a UK primary care database and studied outcome(s) of interest.Data extraction and synthesisWe abstracted information on the outcomes definition and codelists. When necessary, authors were contacted to request codelists.Results120 studies were eligible. Codelists were available for 17/42 studies of depression; 21/41 studies of fatal and non-fatal self-harm; 17/27 studies of dementia/cognitive dysfunction; 5/12 studies of anxiety; 4/8 studies of pain; 3/6 studies of fatigue and sexual dysfunction; 1/2 studies of sleep disorders. Depression was most often defined using codes for diagnoses (37/42 studies) and/or antidepressants prescriptions (21/42 studies); six studies reported including symptoms in their definition. Anxiety was defined with codes for diagnoses (12/12 studies); four studies also reported including symptoms. Fatal self-harm was ascertained in primary care data linked to the Office for National Statistics mortality database in nine studies. Most studies of cognitive dysfunction included Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular and frontotemporal dementia. Fatigue definitions varied little, including chronic fatigue syndrome, neurasthenia and postviral fatigue syndrome. All studies of sexual dysfunction focused on male conditions, principally erectile dysfunction. Sleep disorders included insomnia and hypersomnia. There was substantial variability in the codelists; validation was carried out i21/120 studies.ConclusionsThere is a need for standardised definitions and validated list of codes to assess mental health and quality of life outcomes in primary care databases in the UK.
Barriers and facilitators to data quality of electronic health records used for clinical research in China: a qualitative study
Authors: Ni Kaiwen , Chu Hongling , Zeng Lin , Li Nan , Zhao Yiming 
Published: July 2019

ObjectivesThere is an increasing trend in the use of electronic health records (EHRs) for clinical research. However, more knowledge is needed on how to assure and improve data quality. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions of barriers and facilitators of data quality of EHR-based studies in the Chinese context.SettingFour tertiary hospitals in Beijing, China.ParticipantsNineteen healthcare professionals with experience in using EHR data for clinical research participated in the study.MethodsA qualitative study based on face-to-face semistructured interviews was conducted from March to July 2018. The interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis was performed using the inductive thematic analysis approach.ResultsThe main themes included factors related to healthcare systems, clinical documentation, EHR systems and researchers. The perceived barriers to data quality included heavy workload, staff rotations, lack of detailed information for specific research, variations in terminology, limited retrieval capabilities, large amounts of unstructured data, challenges with patient identification and matching, problems with data extraction and unfamiliar with data quality assessment. To improve data quality, suggestions from participants included: better staff training, providing monetary incentives, performing daily data verification, improving software functionality and coding structures as well as enhancing multidisciplinary cooperation.ConclusionsThese results provide a basis to begin to address current barriers and ultimately to improve validity and generalisability of research findings in China.
Study of a multisite prospective adverse event surveillance system
Authors: Forster Alan J , Huang Allen , Lee Todd C , Jennings Alison , Choudhri Omer , Backman Chantal 
Published: July 2019

BackgroundWe have designed a prospective adverse event (AE) surveillance method. We performed this study to evaluate this method’s performance in several hospitals simultaneously.ObjectivesTo compare AE rates obtained by prospective AE surveillance in different hospitals and to evaluate measurement factors explaining observed variation.MethodsWe conducted a multicentre prospective observational study. Prospective AE surveillance was implemented for 8 weeks on the general medicine wards of five hospitals. To determine if population factors may have influenced results, we performed mixed-effects logistic regression. To determine if surveillance factors may have influenced results, we reassigned observers to different hospitals midway through surveillance period and reallocated a random sample of events to different expert review teams.ResultsDuring 3560 patient days of observation of 1159 patient encounters, we identified 356 AEs (AE risk per encounter=22%). AE risk varied between hospitals ranging from 9.9% of encounters in Hospital D to 35.8% of encounters in Hospital A. AE types and severity were similar between hospitals—the most common types were related to clinical procedures (45%), hospital-acquired infections (21%) and medications (19%). Adjusting for age and comorbid status, we observed an association between hospital and AE risk. We observed variation in observer behaviour and moderate agreement between clinical reviewers, which could have influenced the observed rate difference.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that it is possible to implement prospective surveillance in different settings. Such surveillance appears to be better suited to evaluating hospital safety concerns within rather than between hospitals as we could not definitively rule out whether the observed variation in AE risk was due to population or surveillance factors.
Reducing unnecessary sedative-hypnotic use among hospitalised older adults
Authors: Fan-Lun Chris , Chung Clarissa , Lee Eun Hye Grace , Pek Elisabeth , Ramsden Rebecca , Ethier Cheryl , Soong Christine 
Published: July 2019

BackgroundBenzodiazepines and sedative hypnotics (BSH) have numerous adverse effects that can lead to negative outcomes, particularly in vulnerable hospitalised older adults. At our institution, over 15% of hospitalised older adults are prescribed sedative-hypnotics inappropriately. Of these prescriptions, 87% occurred at night to treat insomnia and almost 20% came from standard admission order sets.MethodsWe conducted a time-series study from January 2015 to August 2016 among medical and cardiology inpatients following the implementation in August 2015 of a sedative reduction bundle (education, removal of BSH from available admission order sets and non-pharmacological strategies to improve sleep). Preintervention period was January–July 2015 and postintervention period was August 2015–August 2016. A surgical ward served as control. Primary outcome was the proportion of BSH-naive (not on BSH prior to admission) patients 65 years or older discharged from medical and cardiology wards who were prescribed any new BSH for sleep in hospital. Data were analysed on statistical process control (SPC) p-charts with upper and lower limits set at 3δ using standard rules. Secondary measures included Patient-reported Median Sleep Quality scores and rates of fall and sedating drug prescriptions that may be used for sleep (dimenhydrinate).ResultsDuring the study period, there were 5805 and 1115 discharges from the intervention and control units, respectively. From the mean baseline BSH prescription rate of 15.8%, the postintervention period saw an absolute reduction of 8.0% (95% CI 5.6% to 10.3%; p<0.001). Adjusted for temporal trends, the intervention produced a 5.3% absolute reduction in the proportion of patients newly prescribed BSH (95% CI 5.6% to 10.3%; p=0.002). BSH prescription rates remained stable on the control ward. Patient-reported measure of sleep quality, falls and use of other sedating medications remained unchanged throughout the study duration.ConclusionA comprehensive intervention bundle was associated with a reduction in inappropriate BSH prescriptions among older inpatients.
Experimental dynamic sediment behavior under storm waves with a 50 year recurrence interval in the Yellow River Delta
Authors: Liu Xiaolei , Zhang Shuyu , Zheng Jiewen , Zhang Hong , Jia Yonggang 
Published: July 2019

Abstract
The dynamic response of marine sediment from the Yellow River under extreme sea conditions is attracting increasing academic and engineering attention because of the high occurrence frequency of geologic hazards. To simulate the dynamic response process of sediment samples under waves with a 50 year recurrence interval, we collected undisturbed sediment samples from six sites on the intertidal flats of the Yellow River Delta and performed dynamic triaxial experiments to analyze the pore-water pressure and liquefaction process. The empirical patterns of pore-water pressure generation and ranges of sediment parameters were determined, and the factors affecting sediment liquefaction were discussed. Under the cyclic loading of waves with a 50 year recurrence interval, the pore pressure response of sediments at a depth of 4 m could be generalized into three stages: rapid growth, slow growth, and stable maintenance. Moreover, the build-up of pore-water pressure was effectively represented by a logarithmic growth model. The liquefaction characteristics of sediment in the Yellow River Delta were more related to its plasticity index, mean particle size, and clay, silt, and sand contents, as well as the sedimentary history. These factors should be considered in the development of disaster assessment models in coastal environments of the Yellow River Delta.
Novel Identity-Based Hash Proof System with Compact Master Public Key from Lattices in the Standard Model
Authors: Lai Qiqi , Yang Bo , Xia Zhe , Li Yannan , Chen Yuan , Li Zhenlong 
Published: July 2019

As the progress of quantum computers, it is desired to propose many more efficient cryptographic constructions with post-quantum security. In the literatures, almost all cryptographic schemes and protocols can be explained and constructed modularly from certain cryptographic primitives, among which an Identity-Based Hash Proof System (IB-HPS) is one of the most basic and important primitives. Therefore, we can utilize IB-HPSs with post-quantum security to present several types of post-quantum secure schemes and protocols. Up until now, all known IB-HPSs with post-quantum security are instantiated based on latticed-based assumptions. However, all these lattice-based IB-HPSs are either in the random oracle model or not efficient enough in the standard model. Hence, it should be of great significance to construct more efficient IB-HPSs from lattices in the standard model. In this paper, we propose a new smooth IB-HPS with anonymity based on the Learning with Errors (LWE) assumption in the standard model. This new construction is mainly inspired by a classical identity-based encryption scheme based on LWE due to Agreawal et al. in Eurocrypt 2010. And our innovation is to employ the algorithm SampleGaussian introduced by Gentry et al. and the property of random lattice to simulate the identity secret key with respect to the challenge identity. Compared with other existing IB-HPSs in the standard model, our master public key is quite compact. As a result, our construction has much lower overheads on computation and storage.