bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Torque visuomotor feedback training versus standard eccentric exercise for the management of patellar tendinopathy: protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Selvamoorthy Ragul , Arvanitidis Michail , Negro Francesco , Pincheira Patricio , Evans David , Martinez-Valdes Eduardo 
Published: February 2025

IntroductionPatellar tendinopathy (PT) rehabilitation programmes frequently incorporate eccentric exercise (EE), where participants have limited control over the range of motion, speed, force production and load. Newly developed training protocols that employ visual feedback with specialised devices offer controlled management of loads, speeds and forces across the full range of motion, potentially providing greater benefits.ObjectiveThis protocol outlines a randomised controlled trial designed to compare the effects of a visuomotor torque feedback (TF) protocol with a traditional EE protocol on the rehabilitation of PT over a 6-week period. Our primary objective is to evaluate whether the TF protocol reduces pain and disability more effectively than the EE protocol in individuals with PT. Secondary objectives include analysing structural and architectural changes in the patellar tendon and quadriceps femoris muscles, as well as examining motor unit discharge dynamics in response to EE and TF training. Lastly, we aim to compare these dynamics and structural changes between healthy controls and individuals with PT.MethodsThirty two individuals with PT and twenty six healthy controls will be recruited. The PT group will be subdivided into an EE group, and a TF group, with both groups undergoing a 6-week training programme. The EE group will perform their exercises two times per day, while the TF group will do so 2–3 times a week. In individuals with PT, the primary outcomes will be the Victorian Institute of Sport-Patella (VISA-P) questionnaire to measure disability/physical function, and pain with a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS). To gain insights on mechanisms of action for potential improvements, motor unit discharge characteristics of the quadriceps femoris muscles will be assessed with high-density surface electromyography. Additionally, we will measure structural/architectural changes to the patellar tendon and quadriceps femoris muscles using B-mode ultrasonography and shear-wave elastography.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Ethical Review Committee from the University of Birmingham (ERN_2257-Jun2024). The results of this study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences.Trial registration numberISRCTN15821610.
COVID-19 prevention strategies and compliance among postnatal adolescent mothers with postnatal depression and generalised anxiety in rural Malawi: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tembo Chimwemwe Pindani , Burns Sharyn , Portsmouth Linda 
Published: February 2025

ObjectivesThis study examines the relationship between adolescent mothers’ mental health problems (postnatal depression and generalised anxiety) and adherence to COVID-19 public health prevention strategies in rural Malawi. It is part of a larger previously published study investigating the impact of social and cultural factors on the mental health in adolescent mothers.DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2021 to March 2022. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were used to identify the risk of postnatal depression (PND) and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), respectively. Participants also responded to questions about their perception of COVID-19 and how they practiced the recommended COVID-19 prevention strategies.SettingThe study was conducted at a rural hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi.ParticipantsAdolescent postnatal mothers aged 19 years and below, with children aged less than 1 year, who understood the study and could consent.ResultsAdolescent mothers (n=395) completed the researcher-administered survey. The mean age was±17 (SD 1.157). Most participants had recently given birth to their first child (91%, n=358). Almost half (45%, n=113) of participants agreed with the COVID-19 prevention strategies recommended by the Malawian government. However, overall adherence to public health COVID-19 prevention strategies, including hand hygiene practices, was low among adolescent mothers. Participants with probable GAD and probable PND were more likely to practice COVID-19 prevention strategies than participants with low GAD-7 or EPDS scores, except for restrictions on religious gatherings.ConclusionsAdolescent perception of the potential threats or risks of COVID-19 was low. However, adolescents with probable PND and probable GAD reported higher adherence to some COVID-19 prevention strategies than adolescents without PND and GAD. The findings support the need for policies that integrate mental health within the public health response due to the potential direct and indirect effects the pandemic might have on perinatal mothers’ mental health. Additionally, recommended pandemic responses should be appropriate and relevant to the social environment.
Economic and relationship-strengthening intervention to reduce alcohol use in couples living with HIV in Malawi: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial of Mlambe
Authors: Mkandawire James , Ssewamala Fred M , Hahn Judith A , Mulauzi Nancy , Neilands Torsten B , Tebbetts Scott , Darbes Lynae A , Brown Derek S , Conroy Amy A 
Published: February 2025

IntroductionHeavy alcohol use has the potential to derail progress towards UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets for countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Within couples, alcohol use is closely linked with factors such as intimate partner violence and economic insecurity and can result in poor adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and HIV clinical outcomes. We hypothesise that a combined economic and relationship intervention for couples that builds on the prior success of standalone economic and relationship-strengthening interventions will be efficacious for improving HIV clinical outcomes and reducing alcohol use. The synergy of these interventions has not been assessed in SSA—specifically among people living with HIV who drink alcohol. To test this hypothesis, we will testMlambe,an economic and relationship-strengthening intervention, found to be feasible and acceptable in a pilot study in Malawi. We will conduct a full-scale, randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness ofMlambe.Methods and analysisWe will enrol 250 adult married couples having at least one partner living with HIV and reporting heavy alcohol use. There will be two arms:Mlambeor an enhanced usual care control arm. Couples in the Mlambe arm will receive incentivised matched savings accounts and monthly sessions on financial literacy, relationship skills, and alcohol reduction education and counselling. Participants will be assessed at baseline, 11 months, 15 months and 20 months to examine effects on heavy alcohol use, HIV viral suppression, ART adherence and couple relationship dynamics. Study hypotheses will be tested using multilevel regression models, considering time points and treatment arms. Programmatic costs will be ascertained throughout the study and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios will be computed for each arm.Ethics and disseminationThe RCT has been approved by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (Human Research Protection Program; Protocol Number 23-40642), and the study has been approved by the National Health Sciences Research Committee (NHSRC; Protocol Number 24/05/4431) in Malawi. Adverse events and remedial actions will be reported to authorities both in Malawi and at UCSF. Results will be disseminated to study participants, local health officials and HIV policy makers and through presentations at conferences and publications in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration;NCT06367348registered on 19 April 2024;https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/. Protocol Version 1.0: 22 October 2024.
Discrimination and calibration performances of non-laboratory-based and laboratory-based cardiovascular risk predictions: a systematic review
Authors: Alemu Yihun Mulugeta , Alemu Sisay Mulugeta , Bagheri Nasser , Wangdi Kinley , Chateau Dan 
Published: February 2025

Background and objectiveThis review compares non-laboratory-based and laboratory-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction equations in populations targeted for primary prevention.DesignSystematic review.MethodsWe searched five databases until 12 March 2024 and used prediction study risk of bias assessment tool to assess bias. Data on hazard ratios (HRs), discrimination (paired c-statistics) and calibration were extracted. Differences in c-statistics and HRs were analysed. Protocol: PROSPERO (CRD42021291936).ResultsNine studies (1 238 562 participants, 46 cohorts) identified six unique CVD risk equations. Laboratory predictors (eg, cholesterol and diabetes) had strong HRs, while body mass index in non-laboratory models showed limited effect. Median c-statistics were 0.74 for both models (IQR: lab 0.77–0.72; non-lab 0.76–0.70), with a median absolute difference of 0.01. Calibration measures between laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based equations were similar, although non-calibrated equations often overestimated risk.ConclusionThe discrimination and calibration measures between laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based models show minimal differences, demonstrating the insensitivity of c-statistics and calibration metrics to the inclusion of additional predictors. However, in most reviewed studies, the HRs for these additional predictors were substantial, significantly altering predicted risk, particularly for individuals with higher or lower levels of these predictors compared with the average.
Anterior quadratus lumborum block in total hip arthroplasty: a two-center, randomized, placebo-controlled trial showing no additional benefit over multimodal analgesia
Authors: Rozier Romain , Loiseleur Anouk , Ciais Charlotte , Moulin Ophélie , Alais Baptiste , Marguerite Kewan , Badia Emmanuelle , Tran Laurie , Balbo Juliette , Maurice-Szamburski Axel 
Published: February 2025

BackgroundTotal hip arthroplasty (THA) frequently causes postoperative pain, hindering recovery and prolonging hospital stays. While multimodal analgesia aims to minimize opioid use and enhance outcomes, the optimal regional anesthesia technique is unclear due to the hip’s complex innervation.ObjectiveThis multicenter randomized placebo-controlled trial evaluated whether adding an anterior quadratus lumborum block (QLB) to multimodal analgesia with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces opioid consumption in THA patients.Methods60 adults undergoing primary unilateral THA were randomized to receive either anterior QLB with 20 mL of 0.2% ropivacaine (n = 30) or a placebo saline injection (n = 30). All participants received multimodal analgesia including NSAIDs. The primary outcome was cumulative opioid consumption in oral morphine equivalents (OMEs) within the first 24 postoperative hours. Secondary outcomes included patient experience assessed by the EVAN scale on postoperative day 1, elevated pain and opioid consumption on days 1 and 2, time to first standing, walking distance and quadriceps strength on day 1, as well as walking progression, return to sport activity and analgesic use at 3 months.ResultsNo significant difference was found in 24-hour cumulative OME consumption between groups (median 40 mg (IQR 20–50 mg) vs 31 mg (IQR 20–45 mg); p = 0.6). Patient experience, pain scores and opioid consumption were similar. Rehabilitation outcomes at 3 months also did not differ.ConclusionAdding anterior QLB to multimodal analgesia did not reduce opioid consumption or enhance postoperative pain control and functional recovery in THA patients. Anterior QLB may not provide additional benefits when combined with multimodal analgesia with NSAID for THA.Trial registration numberNCT04555291.
Inflammation in preschool cystic fibrosis is of mixed phenotype, extends beyond the lung and is differentially modified by CFTR modulators
Authors: Shanthikumar Shivanthan , Gubbels Liam , Wong Anson Tsz Chun , Walker Hannah , Ranganathan Sarath C , Neeland Melanie R 
Published: February 2025

BackgroundEarly-life inflammation has long been recognised as a key pathophysiological process in the evolution of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease. Despite this, no CF-specific anti-inflammatory treatments have been developed. This is crucial even in the era of highly effective modulator therapy as recent evidence suggests that modulators alter, but may not fully resolve, pulmonary inflammation.MethodsIn this study, we used clinical microbiology data, high-dimensional flow cytometry and multiplex immunoassays to compare pulmonary (bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)) and systemic immunity in 70 preschool children with CF and a total of 32 age-matched preschool controls.ResultsWe show that inflammation in the early-life CF lung is characterised by innate cell infiltration (neutrophils: 31.31 vs 1.8% of BAL in CF compared with controls, FDRp=0.0001; eosinophils: 0.55 vs 0.06%, FDRp=0.001, and monocytes: 1.91 vs 0.45%, FDRp=0.004) and widespread upregulation of both traditional and type 2 inflammatory soluble signatures (40 analytes significantly elevated in BAL of CF compared with controls, all FDRp<0.1). Key targetable features of this response included pulmonary interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-13 which were most significantly associated with neutrophilic and eosinophilic infiltration, respectively (IL-8 and neutrophils; Spearman rho=0.68, FDRp=0.002: IL-13 and eosinophils; Spearman rho=0.75, FDRp=0.01). Signatures of type 2 inflammation, as identified by REACTOME pathway analysis, including IL-4, IL-13 and FGF-2, were highly elevated in both the lungs and circulation in early CF. When exploring the efficacy of Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator modulators to resolve pulmonary and systemic inflammation in early life, we showed that different classes of modulators have varying effects on inflammation, with ivacaftor showing a more significant effect in the lungs and circulation than lumacaftor/ivacaftor. Finally, we showed that CF children with pathogen colonisation had similar levels of pulmonary inflammation as CF children without pathogen colonisation (no significant differences), and that inflammation was evident during infancy even without evidence of colonisation (as observed by significant increases in levels of SDF-1alpha, M-CSF, IL-2, IL-9, IL-12p40, IL-17, MCP-1 and LIGHT/TNFSF14, all FDRp<0.1), highlighting a role for intrinsic dysregulation of inflammation that begins in early life.ConclusionsWe provide a rationale for targeted anti-inflammatory intervention in early-life CF.
Ceiba: An Efficient and Scalable DNN Scheduler for Spatial Accelerators
Authors: Wang Fuyu , Shen Minghua , Lu Yutong , Xiao Nong 
Published: February 2025

Spatial accelerators are domain-specific architectures to elevate performance and energy efficiency for deep neural networks (DNNs). They also bring a large number of schedule parameters to determine computation and data movement patterns of DNNs. Previous works formulate the schedule problem as design space exploration or integer linear programming. However, these advanced techniques face the challenge of efficiency or scalability.
In this paper, we propose Ceiba, which is a deep reinforcement learning-based DNN scheduler for spatial accelerators. Ceiba observes the running DNN computation as well as the spatial architecture to make schedule decisions. Then, Ceiba receives a reward to learn and produce the best-fit policy. To provide efficient and scalable scheduling, Ceiba constructs a DNN-architecture-specific action space. It is defined by upper and lower bounds to exclude invalid and sub-optimal schedule candidates. Extensive experiments demonstrate that Ceiba generally provides better performance for spatial accelerators under a fixed number of searching steps or a fixed amount of time. Specifically, Ceiba achieves an average 2.2 × speedup for the Simba accelerator, compared with the state-of-the-art scheduler. When scaling the batch size and the hardware architecture up by 64 ×, the performance gains of Ceiba are 1.8 × and 1.2 × on average, respectively. Moreover, Ceiba exhibits better scalability for the Eyeriss accelerator.
HAITCH: A framework for distortion and motion correction in fetal multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRI
Authors: Snoussi Haykel , Karimi Davood , Afacan Onur , Utkur Mustafa , Gholipour Ali 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is pivotal for probing the microstructure of the rapidly-developing fetal brain. However, fetal motion during scans and its interaction with magnetic field inhomogeneities result in artifacts and data scattering across spatial and angular domains. The effects of those artifacts are more pronounced in high-angular resolution fetal dMRI, where signal-to-noise ratio is very low. Those effects lead to biased estimates and compromise the consistency and reliability of dMRI analysis. This work presents High Angular resolution diffusion Imaging reconsTruction and Correction approacH (HAITCH), the first and the only publicly available tool to correct and reconstruct multi-shell high-angular resolution fetal dMRI data. HAITCH offers several technical advances that include a blip-reversed dual-echo acquisition for dynamic distortion correction, advanced motion correction for model-free and robust reconstruction, optimized multi-shell design for enhanced information capture and increased tolerance to motion, and outlier detection for improved reconstruction fidelity. The framework is open-source, flexible, and can be used to process any type of fetal dMRI data, including single-echo or single-shell acquisitions, but is most effective when used with multi-shell multi-echo fetal dMRI data that cannot be processed with any of the existing tools. Validation experiments on real fetal dMRI scans demonstrate significant improvements and accurate correction across diverse fetal ages and motion levels. HAITCH successfully removes artifacts and reconstructs high-fidelity fetal dMRI data suitable for advanced diffusion modeling, including fiber orientation distribution function estimation. These advancements pave the way for more reliable analysis of the fetal brain microstructure and tractography under challenging imaging conditions.
The macaque ventral intraparietal functional connectivity patterns reveal an anterio-posterior specialization mirroring that described in human ventral intraparietal area
Authors: Sheng Wei-An , Clavagnier Simon , Froesel Mathilda , Vanduffel Wim , Heed Tobias , Ben Hamed Suliann 
Published: February 2025

Abstract
The macaque monkey’s ventral intraparietal area (VIP) in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) responds to visual, vestibular, tactile, and auditory signals and is involved in higher cognitive functions, including the processing of peripersonal space. In humans, VIP appears to have expanded into three functionally distinct regions. Macaque VIP has been divided cytoarchitonically into medial and lateral parts; however, no functional specialization has so far been associated with this anatomical division. Functional MRI suggests a functional gradient along the anterior-posterior axis of the macaque IPS: anterior VIP shows visio-tactile properties and face preference, whereas posterior VIP responds to large-field visual dynamic stimuli. This functional distinction matches with functional differences among the three human VIP regions, suggesting that a regional specialization may also exist within macaque VIP. Here, we characterized the macaque ipsilateral, whole-brain functional connectivity, assessed during awake resting state, along VIP’s anterior-posterior axis by dividing VIP into three regions of interest (ROIs). The functional connectivity profiles of the three VIP ROIs resembled anatomical connectivity profiles obtained by chemical tracing. Anterior VIP was functionally connected to regions associated with motor, tactile, and proprioceptive processing and with regions involved in reaching, grasping, and processing peripersonal space. Posterior VIP had the strongest functional connectivity to regions involved in motion processing and eye movements. These profiles are consistent with the connectivity profiles of the anterior and posterior VIP areas identified in humans. Intermediate VIP did not exhibit specific connectivity profiles. Viewed together, resting-state functional connectivity, task-related fMRI, and anatomical tracing consistently suggest specific functional specializations of macaque anterior and posterior VIP.
Phenomenography in the 21st Century
Authors: S. Åkerlind Gerlese 
Published: February 2025

Phenomenography offers a distinctive approach to studying human experience of the world, by highlighting different ways in which the same phenomena (concepts, objects, events) are experienced within any group of people. Phenomenography focuses on the relationship between meaning—people’s holistic understanding of phenomena—and structure, that is the part-whole structure of people’s awareness of phenomena. This structure of awareness then forms the basis for identifying differences in the experienced meaning of phenomena, and how awareness needs to change to allow new meanings to emerge—whether educationally, historically, culturally or socially.
Over its 50-year history, there have been substantial advancements in the methods and theoretical assumptions underlying phenomenographic research, but these developments are not always recognised. This book details how the 21st-century practice of phenomenography differs from its earlier iterations, emphasising that earlier works can be misleading when used to justify current research practices.
Phenomenography is a developing, not static, approach to social science research, and this book introduces further methodological and theoretical extensions to the research. Although most commonly used in educational research, the potential of phenomenography to contribute to research in other social science disciplines is increasingly being recognised and is further emphasised in this book. In this way, this book is not only essential reading for doctoral students, but will also be of interest to those already experienced in phenomenography, and to social science researchers within and outside the field of education.