bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Recovery of cardiovascular diagnostic testing in Italy 1 year after coronavirus disease-2019 outbreak compared with other countries in Europe and worldwide: results from the International Atomic Energy Agency INCAPS COVID 2 survey
Authors: Pontone Gianluca , Bremner Luca , Del Torto Alberico , Albano Domenico , Baritussio Anna , Bauckneht Matteo , Cuocolo Alberto , Frantellizzi Viviana , Gatti Marco , Gimelli Alessia , Guglielmo Marco , Leccisotti Lucia , Marcassa Claudio , Russo Vincenzo , Sciagrà Roberto , Williams Michelle C , Better Nathan , Cerci Rodrigo , Choi Andrew D , Dorbala Sharmila , Hirschfeld Cole B , Karthikeyan Ganesan , Pascual Thomas N B , Shaw Leslee J , Villines Todd C , Vitola Joao , Cohen Yosef , Malkovskiy Eli , Randazzo Michael , Pynda Yaroslav , Dondi Maurizio , Einstein Andrew J , Paez Diana 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Aims
Recovery of cardiovascular diagnostic testing in Italy after the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not been quantified. The study aims to describe cardiac diagnostic procedure volumes, centres practice and protocols, and staff members’ well-being 1 year after COVID-19 outbreak in Italy.

Methods and results
A global survey was conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency to evaluate changes in cardiac diagnostic procedure volumes in April 2021. Evaluated procedures were transoesophageal echocardiogram, coronary computed tomography angiography, coronary artery calcium scanning, nuclear medicine infection studies, invasive coronary angiography, rest and stress transthoracic echocardiogram, cardiac magnetic resonance, single-photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography, and stress electrocardiogram. Data were compared with April 2020 and March 2019. Forty-two Italian centres took part in the survey. In April 2020, there was a 72% decrease of median volumes of cardiac diagnostic procedures compared with March 2019. In April 2021, volumes of cardiac diagnostic procedures remained decreased by 3% when compared with March 2019. Stress electrocardiogram, coronary computed tomography angiography, and stress cardiac magnetic resonance volumes increased in April 2021 compared with baseline (29%, 6%, and 16%, respectively). The majority of centres had adopted physical distancing measures (93%), COVID-19 screening through questionnaires (76%), or temperature checks (93%). Twenty-five per cent of physicians at Italian responding sites reported excessive levels of psychological stress.

Conclusion
In April 2021, volumes of cardiac diagnostic procedures at Italian responding sites were still recovering. Centres had implemented several adaptations to ensure the provision of care to their patients. Even 1 year after the pandemic, a substantial minority of Italian healthcare providers were still experiencing excessive psychological stress.
Topical or oral antibiotics in childhood acute otitis media and ear discharge: a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial
Authors: Hullegie Saskia , Damoiseaux Roger A M J , Hay Alastair D , Zuithoff Nicolaas P A , van Dongen Thijs M A , Little Paul , Schilder Anne G M , Venekamp Roderick P 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background
Current guidance suggests oral antibiotics can be considered for children with acute otitis media (AOM) and ear discharge, but there is an absence of evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of antibiotic-corticosteroid eardrops.

Aim
To establish whether antibiotic-corticosteroid eardrops are non-inferior to oral antibiotics in children with AOM and ear discharge.

Design and setting
Open randomized controlled non-inferiority trial set in Dutch primary care.

Methods
Children were randomized to hydrocortisone-bacitracin-colistin eardrops (five drops, three times per day in the discharging ear(s)) or amoxicillin suspension (50 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, divided over three doses administered orally) for 7 days. The primary outcome was the proportion of children with resolution of ear pain and fever at day 3.

Results
Between December 2017 and March 2023, 58 of the planned 350 children were recruited due to slow accrual for various reasons. Children assigned to eardrops (n = 26) had lower resolution rates of ear pain and fever at 3 days compared to those receiving oral antibiotics (n = 31): 42% vs 65%; adjusted risk difference 20.3%, 95% confidence interval −5.3% to 41.9%), longer parent-reported ear discharge (6 vs 3 days; P = .04), and slightly higher mean ear pain scores (Likert scale 0–6) over days 1–3 (2.1 vs 1.4, P = .02), but received fewer oral antibiotic courses in 3months (11 for 25 children vs 33 for 30 children), and had less GI upset and rash (12% vs 32% and 8% vs 16%, respectively).

Conclusion
Early termination stopped us from determining non-inferiority of antibiotic-corticosteroid eardrops. Our limited data, requiring confirmation, suggest that oral antibiotics may be more effective than antibiotic-corticosteroid eardrops in resolving symptoms and shortening the duration of ear discharge.
Osteocyte gene expression analysis in mouse bone: optimization of a laser-assisted microdissection protocol
Authors: Palmier Mathilde , Maître Marlène , Doat Hélène , Lesté-Lasserre Thierry , Maurel Delphine B , Boiziau Claudine 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Among bone cells, osteocytes are the most abundant, but also the most challenging to study because they are located inside a dense mineralized matrix. Due to their involvement in bone homeostasis, diverse tools are needed to understand their roles in bone physiology and pathology. This work was aimed at establishing a laser-assisted microdissection protocol to isolate osteocytes and analyze their gene expressions. The goal was to overcome the limitations of the technique currently most used: RNA extraction from the whole bone. To perform laser microdissection and subsequent gene expression analysis, the five main steps of the protocol have been adapted for the bone tissue. After testing many parameters, we found that the best options were (1) take unfixed snap-frozen tissue, (2) cryosection with a supported tape system to improve the tissue morphology if necessary, (3) microdissect regions of interest, and (4) recover the bone pieces by catapulting, if feasible, or by gravity. Finally, RNA extraction (5) was the most efficient with a precipitation method and allowed quantifying the expression of well described osteocyte genes (Gja1/Cx43, Phex, Pdpn, Dmp1, Sost). This work describes two protocols optimized for femur and calvaria and gives an overview of the many optimization options that one could try when facing difficulties with laser microdissection.
Comparative pharmacokinetics of five primary constituents in Huai-hua powder: a study on normal rats and rats with ulcerative colitis
Authors: Shi Yiwei , Zhong Guoyue , Huang Huilian , Li Nazhi , Zeng Jinxiang , Zhu Jixiao , Yuan Jinbin , Liang Jian 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Objectives
The goal of this research was to develop a fast, reliable, and sensitive method to simultaneously quantify five key components of Huai-hua Powder (HHP) in rat plasma with genistein served as the internal standard. Furthermore, the established method was used to perform a comparative evaluation of the pharmacokinetic properties of HHP in normal rats and rats with ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods
Chromatographic separation was conducted using an ACQUITY HSS T3 column held at a constant temperature of 35°C, with acetonitrile and a 0.1% formic acid solution in water employed as the mobile phases. Multiple-reaction monitoring facilitated MS operation in positive-negative-ion-switching mode. The method’s validation demonstrated exceptional linearity (with a correlation coefficient of r ≥ 0.9970), and the validation tests, encompassing precision within and between days, accuracy, recovery, matrix effect, and stability; all met the predefined acceptable criteria.

Key findings
The results revealed significant variations in the pharmacokinetic characteristics of the five components between normal and UC rats, suggesting altered drug metabolism rates and extents in the latter group.

Conclusions
These findings offer crucial scientific insights into the potential clinical application of HHP, particularly in the context of treating UC.
An Analysis of the Association of Arrival Hemoglobin With Overtransfusion at 24 Hours in a Trauma Population
Authors: Lahvic Nicholas K , Schauer Steven G , Higgins Sophie S , Johannigman Jay A , Grathwohl Kurt W 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

Background
Hemorrhage control and resuscitative concepts have evolved in recent years, leading to aggressive use of blood products in trauma patients. There is subsequently a potential risk for overtransfusion, adverse effects, and waste associated with unnecessary transfusion. Methods for conserving blood products are of particular importance in future large-scale combat operations where supply chains are likely to be strained. This study examined the association of emergency department (ED) arrival hemoglobin (HGB) with overtransfusion among survivors at 24 hours after major trauma at a military trauma center.

Materials and Methods
We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who had a “major trauma” activation and received any red blood cells. Overtransfusion was defined as a HGB level ≥11.0 g/dL at 24 hours (outcome variable). Multivariable logistic regression statistics were used to compare groups and adjust for confounders (injury severity score, arrival modified shock index, injury type, age, and gender). A receiver operating characteristic was constructed with overtransfusion at 24 hours as the outcome (binary) and arrival HGB (continuous) as the independent variable.

Results
A total of 382 patients met inclusion criteria. Overtransfusion occurred in 30.4% (n = 116) of patients, with mean ED HGB levels of 13.2 g/dL (12.9 to 13.6) versus 11.6 g/dL (11.3 to 11.8, P &lt; .001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that ED HGB was highly sensitive (0.931) for predicting 24-hour overtransfusion. In our multivariable logistic regression analysis, when adjusting for injury severity score, arrival modified shock index, injury type, age, and gender, we found that the ED HGB value had a per-unit odds ratio of 1.60 (95% CI, 1.38 to 1.86) for 24-hour overtransfusion. Hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, mechanical ventilator days, and mortality did not increase.

Conclusion
We found that the arrival HGB value was associated with overtransfusion among 24-hour survivors in a civilian trauma setting. Our findings will inform future prospective studies that investigate blood sparing clinical practice guidelines.
Increased Metabolic Demand During Nighttime Walking in Hilly Forest Terrain While Wearing Night Vision Goggles
Authors: Norrbrand Lena , Johannesson Björn , Grönkvist Mikael 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Foot-borne soldiers sometimes carry out nighttime operations. It has previously been reported an elevated metabolic demand and impaired walking economy during outdoor walking on a gravel road in darkness wearing night vision goggles (NVG), compared with wearing a headlamp. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of wearing NVG while walking in a hilly forest terrain and compare the results between experienced and inexperienced NVG users.

Materials and Methods
At nighttime, two different groups, inexperienced (five men and six women) and experienced (nine men) NVG users, walked 1.1 km at a self-selected comfortable pace in a hilly forest. Part I was mainly uphill, and Part II was mainly downhill. Walks were performed wearing a headlamp (light), monocular NVG (mono), binocular NVG (bino), or mono with a 25 kg extra weight (backpack). Walking economy calculated from oxygen uptake in relation to body mass and covered distance (V̇O2 (mL/[kg · km])), heart rate, gait, and walking speed were measured.

Results
In both groups, walking economy was deteriorated in all three conditions with limited vision (mono, bino, and backpack) compared to the light condition, both during Part I (mono/bino, experienced: +26/+25%, inexperienced: +34/+28%) and Part II (mono/bino, experienced: +44/+46%, inexperienced: +63/+49%). In the backpack condition, the relative change of walking economy was greater for the inexperienced group than the experienced group: Part I (experienced: +46%, inexperienced: +70%), Part II (experienced: +71%, inexperienced: +111%). Concurrently, the step length was shorter in all three conditions with limited vision during Part I (mono/bino/backpack, experienced: −7/−7/−15%, inexperienced: −12/−12/−19%) and Part II (mono/bino/backpack; experienced: −8/−8/−14%, inexperienced: −17/−15/−24%) than in the light condition. The experienced NVG users walked faster during all conditions, but there was no difference in heart rate between groups.

Conclusions
Despite that foveal vision using NVG is adequate, it appears that the mechanical efficiency during nighttime walking in hilly terrain was markedly lower while wearing NVG than with full vision, regardless of whether the soldier was an experienced or inexperienced NVG user. Moreover, the walking economy was even more affected when adding the 25-kg extra weight. It is probable that the deteriorated mechanical efficiency was partly due to the shorter step length in all three conditions with limited vision.
Long-term Mortality and Hospital Readmissions Among Survivors of Sepsis in Sweden: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Authors: Inghammar Malin , Linder Adam , Lengquist Maria , Frigyesi Attila , Wetterberg Hanna , Sundén-Cullberg Jonas , Nilsson Anton 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background
Survivors of sepsis may experience long-term risk of increased morbidity and mortality, but estimations of cause-specific effects beyond 1 year after a sepsis episode are lacking.

Method
This nationwide population-based cohort study linked data from national registers to compare patients aged ≥18 years in Sweden admitted to an intensive care unit from 2008 to 2019 with severe community-acquired sepsis. Patients were identified through the Swedish Intensive Care Registry, and randomly selected population controls were matched for age, sex, calendar year, and county of residence. Confounding from comorbidities, health care use, and socioeconomic and demographic factors was accounted for by using entropy-balancing methods. Long-term mortality and readmission rates, total and cause specific, were compared for 20 313 patients with sepsis and 396 976 controls via Cox regression.

Results
During the total follow-up period, 56% of patients with sepsis died, as opposed to 26% of the weighted controls. The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality was attenuated with time but remained elevated in all periods: 3.0 (95% CI, 2.8–3.2) at 2 to 12 months after admission, 1.8 to 1.9 between 1 and 5 years, and 1.6 (95% CI, 1.5–1.8) at &gt;5 years. The major causes of death and readmission among the sepsis cases were infectious diseases, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. The hazard ratios were larger among those without underlying comorbidities.

Conclusions
Severe community-acquired sepsis was associated with substantial long-term effects beyond 1 year, as measured by mortality and rehospitalization. The cause-specific rates indicate the importance of underlying or undetected comorbidities while suggesting that survivors of sepsis may face increased long-term mortality and morbidity not explained by underlying health factors.
Coronary Artery Outcomes in Kawasaki Disease by Treatment Day Within 10 Days of Fever Onset
Authors: Karandikar Vedika M , Khan Huthaifah , Kim Kwang-Youn A , Kociolek Larry K , Jhaveri Ravi , Shulman Stanford T , Rowley Anne H 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background
Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of childhood that can lead to coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) and myocardial infarction. Intravenous immunoglobulin reduces the prevalence of CAA when given to patients with KD within 10 days of fever onset. Children with KD may undergo evaluation for other diagnoses before treatment, particularly those with incomplete KD criteria. If KD outcomes are improved with early treatment, a delay in treatment while evaluating for other causes might place these patients at risk.

Methods
We performed a retrospective cohort study of children treated for KD within the first 10 days of illness at our KD center from 2014 to 2021 to determine the prevalence of CAA by day of treatment.

Results
A total of 290 patients met the study criteria. No statistically significant difference was found in the odds of developing a maximum z score ≥2.5 for each day of delayed treatment within 10 days of fever onset (adjusted odds ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, .72–1.05; P = .13). Subgroup analyses by age, sex, and year of treatment did not reveal a significant association between treatment day and maximum z score ≥2.5, although the number of patients &lt;6 months of age was small.

Conclusions
Our study supports current recommendations. We found similar odds of developing adverse coronary outcomes regardless of treatment day within 10 days from fever onset.
Ludomusical Autobiography and the Indie Composer-Developer
Authors: Gibbons William 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
William Gibbons focuses on music in the development of independent (indie) video games, especially games created by a single developer, to uncover how audio can factor into game design when the composer is also the person developing and structuring all other elements of the game. In particular, the chapter deals with how indie creators can use solo-developed games to present autobiographical narratives, and how elements of the creator’s identity can be revealed or reflected through musical choices. Through case studies of Jason Rohrer’s Gravitation (2008), Melos Han-Tani’s All Our Asias (2018), and Tamara Duplantis’s Atchafalaya Arcade (2017), Gibbons explores how, and if, music plays a role in the construction of “ludomusical autobiography.”
Video Game Sound Design and the Fetish of Realism
Authors: Grimshaw-Aagaard Mark 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
An attack on the fetish of realism in video game sound design is the topic of Mark Grimshaw-Aagaard’s chapter. In addition to discussing the lure of appeals to realism as an historical tool for marketing various forms of media—something still used today to market video games—he also differentiates realism from the related terms “fidelity,” “authenticity,” and “verisimilitude.” Establishing the distinct notions of realism of form and realism of content, Grimshaw-Aagaard argues that, in contrast to fidelity to, and authenticity of, sound source, it is the former that is most important for persuading a player of the game world’s verisimilitude.
Indigenous-Designed Pixels, Circuits, and Game Music and Sound
Authors: Galloway Kate 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Kate Galloway tackles the topic of Indigenous video games and the newly important debates surrounding the use of audio and representation of Indigenous timbres and instrumentation in such games. Galloway uncovers a number of issues, such as the mislabeling of some games as Indigenous and the use of stereotypical sound design, which reinforce problematic and factually inaccurate perceptions of “primitive cultures disconnected from contemporary society.” The chapter focuses on a number of recent Indigenous-made video games, and, in doing so, illustrates how Indigenous game designers use sound and music to re-present their histories more accurately, promoting and preserving Indigenous language and culture, while also presenting more equitable and speculative future scenarios.
Listening to the Gerudo and the Desert in The Legend of Zelda Series
Authors: Park Hyeonjin 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Hyeonjin Park tackles the problem of Otherness in video game music through the lens of Orientalism. Specifically, the chapter analyzes received notions of authenticity and other discourses surrounding perceptions of the Gerudo—a race consisting almost entirely of women—and the desert in four titles from The Legend of Zelda series: Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Breath of the Wild. Park considers sources including fan reception in conjunction with music analysis to elucidate the interconnected nature between the Gerudo women and the desert. Ultimately, the use of “exotic” music informs a relationship between the game world and the “real” that seeks to illuminate “conversations about appropriation and (in)authenticity.”
Sound, Extended Reality, and the Cinematic-Interactive Dichotomy
Authors: Garner Tom A. 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
In his chapter, Tom A. Garner tracks the close association between video game sound design and effect and film sound. His particular focus is the new affordances of extended reality (XR) and what they offer game sound designers. Garner discusses the concepts “cinematic” and “cinematic sound” with regard to video games and highlights what he terms the “cinematic-interactive dichotomy” by asking how video games can be both cinematic and interactive. The chapter’s argument is that XR technologies, in particular, biosensing and the use of environmental data, offer both cinematic and interactive affordances to game sound designers, and thus game sound design using these technologies must perforce be integrative, not only within the cinematic-interactive dichotomy but also across other aspects of game production.
Video Game Musicology in Practice
Authors: Summers Tim 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Within the context of the development over the past decades of a new musicology that shifts the focus away from the autonomous work of art, Tim Summers proposes fifteen “awkward questions” for video game music scholars within the new field. Summers poses the questions rhetorically as a means for self-reflection. The questions are presented in seven thematic sections: sources for studying game music, value and canon, issues connected with linear histories, analytical approaches, conceptualizations of the listener/the player, culture and context, and, finally, audiences and education. He highlights several questions and challenges of methodology within the new musicology that must be grappled with by video game music scholars.
A Creative System in Action
Authors: McIntyre Phillip , Velikovsky J. T. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractPhillip McIntyre and J. T. Velikovsky propose a systems-based approach to understanding creative practice in the production of music and sound in the video games industry. McIntyre and Velikovsky base their approach not on the Romantic view of creativity springing mysteriously from inspiration but on an evidence-based, rationalist view, traceable to Aristotle: creativity derives from a discoverable set of pre-existing conditions. Creative work in music and sound for video games arises from the interplay of three factors: structured knowledge of games and audio providing a symbol system to the agent; a judgment-based social organization; and the choice-making composer or sound designer as agent.