bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessing the evolution of hypertension management in Gansu, China: A comparative study of prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in 2012 and 2022
Authors: Liang Wei , Zhang Xiaowei , Wang Qiongying , Yu Heng , Yu Jing 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe aim of this study is to evaluate the developments in the treatment and prevalence of hypertension by demographic subgroups in least developed area of China in 2012 and 2022. This population‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted in 2012 and 2022, we applied stratified multistage random sampling to investigate residents aged 18 years or older in Gansu, the least developed province in the northwest of China. Questionnaires and anthropometric measurements were given to all respondents. The standardized prevalence of hypertension in adults in Gansu increased from 26.1% in 2012 to 28.8% in 2022. Compared with 2012, the control rate remains decreased despite the significantly improved awareness and treatment rates of hypertension in 2022. Apart from the reversal of the control rate, the trend of higher prevalence in men and higher awareness and treatment rates in women has not changed. There was an obviously increase in the proportion of participants who had received health education and hypertension management services from medical workers. The treatment was still primarily monotherapy, and there was no significant improvement in the prescription of medication. The prevalence of hypertension has increased mildly in the least developed region of China over the past decade, and the challenge of hypertension management has shifted from increasing awareness and treatment rates to increasing control rates. The onset and control of hypertension are affected by education methods, BMI, local economic conditions and other factors, and targeted strategies can be adopted to strengthen the management of hypertension in economically underdeveloped areas of China.
Built‐environment stocks in the context of a master‐planned city: A case study of Chandigarh, India
Authors: Mihkelson William , Arbabi Hadi , Hincks Stephen , Tingley Danielle Densley 
Published: April 2024

AbstractConstruction materials accumulate in the built environment forming material stocks (MS) of buildings and infrastructure, providing various services to society that result in a nexus of human development and environmental impact. Meanwhile, unprecedented urbanization in the Global South is set to put significant demand on the resources required to ensure adequate standards of living in new and existing urban areas. This is particularly important within India; however, no study has yet explored MS within cities in India or within master‐planned urban areas designed to accommodate urbanization and a high standard of living. The present study begins to fill these gaps and aims to investigate patterns of built‐environment MS accumulation in Chandigarh, an exceptionally quickly developed city master planned to ensure universally high standards of living through a unique urban form. We adopt a bottom‐up approach to quantify the residential building and road MS at the city and sub‐city scale. The results reveal that the master plan, while enabling high standards of living, has resulted in a relative accumulation of road‐to‐building stock that is significantly larger than in other cities. This is shown to be environmentally detrimental as future urban development is limited and promotes the demolition of existing stocks, whose composition severely limits their potential as secondary resources. The study therefore provides empirical evidence to support the integration of material stock assessments into urban planning and development to ensure resource‐efficient provisioning of key services.
The circular economy rebound effect: Reconceptualizing rebound approaches and mitigation opportunities from an ordonomic perspective
Authors: Schultz Felix Carl , Valentinov Vladislav , Reinhardt Robert Jaroslav , Pies Ingo 
Published: April 2024

AbstractRecent scholarship has advocated a conceptual investigation of rebound effect theory in the circular economy (CE) context. While the available body of knowledge on a circular economy rebound (CER) is rather scant, this forum article proposes a conceptual view of existing CER approaches. Our analysis reveals that the CER literature has largely bypassed an appreciation of how firm behavior is embedded in and canalized by governance arrangements. This forum article contributes to the literature by reconceptualizing the challenges of mitigating CERs. It proposes to re‐focus the CER debate toward: (i) the innovation need of functional collective commitments for CE to address free‐rider‐problems; (ii) the criticality of effective management of decoupling through innovative circular governance; (iii) the critical reflection of calls for degrowth and “non‐optimization” behavior; and (iv) the recognition of optimization behavior and circular governance frameworks as complementary rather than substitute approaches for facilitating CER mitigation.
Why step in? Shifting justifications for bystander behaviors through interventions with youth in the Middle East
Authors: Brenick Alaina , Zureiqi Malak , Wu Rui , Seraj Maisha , Kelly Megan Clark , Berger Rony 
Published: April 2024

AbstractResearch shows positive bystander intervention effectively mitigates bullying experiences. Yet, more evidence regarding bystander responses to bias‐based social exclusion (BSE) is needed in intergroup contexts, especially in the majority world and in areas of intractable conflict. This study assessed the effectiveness of skills and skills + contact‐based interventions for BSE among 148 Palestinian Citizens of Israel (Mage = 10.55) and 154 Jewish‐Israeli (Mage = 10.54) early adolescents (Girls = 52.32%) in Tel Aviv‐Yafo. Bystander responses were assessed by participants' reactions to hypothetical BSE scenarios over three time points. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed both interventions significantly increased positive and decreased negative bystander responses, with changes maintained at the follow‐up. The opposite result pattern emerged for the control group. Findings suggest that both interventions can effectively encourage youth to publicly challenge BSE, even amidst intractable conflict.
The effect of sedimentation on spore settlement and recruitment of the endemic Arctic kelp, Laminaria solidungula (Phaeophyceae)
Authors: Phelps Jaide , Dunton Kenneth , Konar Brenda , Umanzor Schery , Muth Arley , Iken Katrin 
Published: April 2024

AbstractEnvironmental changes associated with rapid climate change in the Arctic, such as the increased rates of sedimentation from climatic or anthropogenic sources, can enhance the impact of abiotic stressors on coastal ecosystems. High sedimentation rates can be detrimental to nearshore kelp abundance and distribution, possibly due to increased mortality at the spore settlement stage. Spore settlement and viability of the Arctic kelp Laminaria solidungula were examined through a series of lab‐based sedimentation experiments. Spores were exposed to increasing sediment loads in three experimental designs simulating different sedimentation scenarios: sediment deposition above settled spores, settlement of spores on sediment‐covered substrate, and simultaneous suspension of spores and sediments during settlement. Spore settlement was recorded upon completion of each experiment, and gametophyte abundance was assessed following a growth period with sediments removed to examine short‐term spore viability via a gametophyte‐to‐settled‐spore ratio. In all three types of sediment exposure, the addition of sediments caused a 30%–40% reduction in spore settlement relative to a no‐sediment control. Spore settlement decreased significantly between the low and high sediment treatments when spores were settled onto sediment‐covered substrates. In all experiments, increasing amounts of sediment had no significant effect on spore viability, indicating that spores that had settled under different short‐term sediment conditions were viable. Our results indicate that depending on spore‐sediment interaction type, higher rates of sedimentation resulting from increased sediment loading could affect L. solidungula spore settlement success with potential impacts on the long‐term persistence of a diverse and productive benthic habitat.
Assessment of clinical validity of KPG index for 3D classification of impacted maxillary canines by cone beam computed tomography in patients
Authors: Bajjad A. A. , Ahemad M. S. , Gupta S. , Mehjabeen F. , Guin S. , Mehra S. , Rajesh R. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractObjectivesThe primary objective of this study was to assess the validity of the KPG index in predicting the difficulty of treatment involving impacted maxillary canines. The secondary objective was to assess the reliability and reproducibility of the index.Materials and MethodsA retrospective study was conducted on 96 maxillary impacted canines (MIC) in 60 patients aged 13–35 years. Cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were used to predict the treatment difficulty of MIC using the KPG index. Patient case files were assessed for the actual difficulty encountered in treating MIC. Cohen's kappa correlation coefficient was used for intra‐observer reliability and Kendell's W test was used for inter‐observer reliability. Spearman's correlation coefficient test was used to assess the correlation between predicted and actual treatment.ResultsEasy and moderately difficult cases exhibited a moderate correlation between actual and predicted treatment outcomes, whereas difficult cases displayed a weak correlation. The perfect correlation was observed exclusively in extremely difficult cases. The intra‐observer reliability for assessing CBCT scans using the KPG guide was found to be 0.88, and the inter‐rater reliability was 0.94.ConclusionThe KPG index displayed 87%, 71%, 50% and 100% validity in easy, moderately difficult, difficult, and extremely difficult cases, respectively. This index showed good reliability and reproducibility. However, it is imperative to consider a multitude of other factors, including the patient's age, presence of associated root resorption in adjacent teeth, and duration of treatment, to make an informed decision between surgical exposure and extraction.
Gaze and behavioural metrics in the refractive correction of presbyopia
Authors: Smith Sarah L. , Maldonado‐Codina Carole , Morgan Philip B. , Read Michael L. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractPurposeTo investigate gaze and behavioural metrics at different viewing distances with multifocal contact lenses (MFCLs), single vision contact lenses (SVCLs) and progressive addition lenses (PALs).MethodsFifteen presbyopic contact lens wearers participated over five separate study visits. At each visit, participants were randomly assigned to wear one of five refractive corrections: habitual PAL spectacles, delefilcon A (Alcon Inc.) MFCLs and three separate pairs of delefilcon A single vision lenses worn as distance, intermediate and near corrections. Participants wore a Pupil Core headset to record eye and head movements while performing three visual tasks: reading, visual search and scene observation. Data were investigated using linear regression and post‐hoc testing. Parameters of interest included gaze (fixation duration, head movement) and behavioural (reading speed, reading accuracy, visual search time) metrics.ResultsReading speed in SVCLs was significantly faster than in MFCLs and PAL spectacles (F = 16.3, p < 0.0001). Refractive correction worn did not influence visual search times (F = 0.16, p = 0.85). Fixation duration was significantly affected by the type of visual task (F = 60.2, p < 0.001), and an interaction effect was observed between viewing distance and refractive correction (F = 4.3, p = 0.002). There was significantly more horizontal and vertical head movement (F = 3.2, p = 0.01 and F = 3.3, p = 0.01, respectively) during visual search tasks when wearing PAL spectacles compared to SVCLs or MFCLs.ConclusionThis work showed that the type of refractive correction affects behavioural metrics such as reading speed and gaze behaviour by affecting horizontal and vertical head movements. The findings of this study suggest that under certain conditions, wearers of MFCLs make fewer head movements compared to PAL spectacles. Gaze behaviour metrics offer a new approach to compare and understand contact lens and spectacle performance, with potential applications including peripheral optical designs for myopia management.
SARS‐CoV‐2 immunoassays in a predominantly vaccinated population: Performances and qualitative agreements obtained with two analytical approaches and four immunoassays
Authors: Renaud Christian , Lewin Antoine , Gregoire Yves , Simard Nathalie , Vallières Émilie , Paquette Maude , Drews Steven J. , O'Brien Sheila F. , Di Germanio Clara , Busch Michael P. , Germain Marc , Bazin Renée 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) serosurveys are typically analysed by applying a fixed threshold for seropositivity (‘conventional approach’). However, this approach underestimates the seroprevalence of anti‐nucleocapsid (N) in vaccinated individuals—who often exhibit a difficult‐to‐detect anti‐N response. This limitation is compounded by delays between the onset of infection and sample collection. To address this issue, we compared the performance of four immunoassays using a new analytical approach (‘ratio‐based approach’), which determines seropositivity based on an increase in anti‐N levels.Materials and MethodsTwo groups of plasma donors and four immunoassays (Elecsys total anti‐N, VITROS total anti‐N, Architect anti‐N Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and in‐house total anti‐N) were evaluated. First‐group donors (N = 145) had one positive SARS‐CoV‐2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result and had made two plasma donations, including one before and one after the PCR test (median = 27 days post‐PCR). Second‐group donors (N = 100) had made two plasma donations early in the Omicron wave.ResultsAmong first‐group donors (97.9% vaccinated), sensitivity estimates ranged from 60.0% to 89.0% with the conventional approach, compared with 94.5% to 98.6% with the ratio‐based approach. Among second‐group donors, Fleiss's κ ranged from 0.56 to 0.83 with the conventional approach, compared with 0.90 to 1.00 with the ratio‐based approach.ConclusionWith the conventional approach, the sensitivity of four immunoassays—measured in a predominantly vaccinated population based on samples collected ~1 month after a positive test result—fell below regulatory agencies requirement of ≥95%. The ratio‐based approach significantly improved the sensitivities and qualitative agreement among immunoassays, to the point where all would meet this requirement.
Non‐chemical weed management for sustainable rice production in the Ebro Delta
Authors: Palma‐Guillén Alfred , Salicrú Miquel , Nadal Ariadna , Serrat Xavier , Nogués Salvador 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWeed control is one of the major challenges in rice cultivation, and the use of agrochemicals for this crop is severely restricted under the new European agricultural policy. Therefore, new effective non‐chemical weed control techniques are the key to sustain European rice production. We investigated four non‐chemical weed management strategies in the Ebro Delta in north‐eastern Spain, two in dry‐seeded rice fields and two in water‐seeded rice fields. In addition, two controls per sowing condition were included: a positive control consisting of chemical herbicides treatment and a negative control consisting of no weeding and no seeding. Mechanical weeding using a rotary harrow placed in front of the seeder was the best weeding technique for dry seeding, while ‘stale seed bed’ and transplanting was the best performing technique for wet seeding. Both techniques were as effective as the chemical weeding control, reducing the density of weeds and the supplementary manual weeding time needed for those weed species more abundant in Ebro Delta rice fields (i.e., Echinochloa oryzoides, Echinochloa crus‐galli, Bolboschoenus maritimus and Heteranthera reniformis). Thus, non‐chemical weeding alternatives have been proven effective for both, transplanting and dry seeding field management strategies.
Prospective validation of a model-informed precision dosing tool for vancomycin treatment in neonates
Authors: Kalamees Riste , Soeorg Hiie , Ilmoja Mari-Liis , Margus Kadri , Lutsar Irja , Metsvaht Tuuli 
Published: April 2024

ABSTRACT

We recruited 48 neonates (50 vancomycin treatment episodes) in a prospective study to validate a model-informed precision dosing (MIPD) software. The initial vancomycin dose was based on a population pharmacokinetic model and adjusted every 36–48 h. Compared with a historical control group of 53 neonates (65 episodes), the achievement of a target trough concentration of 10–15 mg/L improved from 37% in the study to 62% in the MIPD group (
P
= 0.01), with no difference in side effects.
Understanding the language barriers to translating informed consent documents for maternal health trials in Zambia: a qualitative study
Authors: Beardmore-Gray Alice , Simwinga Musonda , Vwalika Bellington , Chinkoyo Sebastian , Chappell Lucy , Sandall Jane , Shennan Andrew 
Published: April 2024

ObjectiveProviding comprehensible information is essential to the process of valid informed consent. Recruitment materials designed by sponsoring institutions in English-speaking, high-income countries are commonly translated for use in global health studies in other countries; however, key concepts are often missed, misunderstood or ‘lost in translation’. The aim of this study was to explore the language barriers to informed consent, focusing on the challenges of translating recruitment materials for maternal health studies into Zambian languages.DesignWe used a qualitative approach, which incorporated a multistakeholder workshop (11 participants), in-depth interviews with researchers and translators (8 participants) and two community-based focus groups with volunteers from community advisory boards (20 participants). Content analysis was used to identify terms commonly occurring in recruitment materials prior to the workshop. The framework analysis approach was used to analyse interview data, and a simple inductive thematic analysis approach was used to analyse focus group data.SettingThe study was based in Lusaka, Zambia.ResultsThe workshop highlighted difficulties in translating research terms and pregnancy-specific terms, as well as widespread concern that current templates are too long, use overly formal language and are designed with little input from local teams. Framework analysis of in-depth interviews identified barriers to participant understanding relating to design and development of recruitment materials, language, local context and communication styles. Focus group participants confirmed these findings and suggested potential solutions to ensure the language and content of recruitment materials can be better understood.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that the way in which recruitment materials are currently designed, translated and disseminated may not enable potential trial participants to fully understand the information provided. Instead of using overly complex institutional templates, recruitment materials should be created through an iterative and interactive process that provides truly comprehensible information in a format appropriate for its intended participants.
Chronic loneliness and chronic social isolation among older adults: a study protocol for a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression
Authors: Hajek André , Posi Giuliana , König Hans-Helmut 
Published: April 2024

IntroductionThere are around 20 studies identifying the prevalence of chronic loneliness and chronic social isolation in older adults. However, there is an absence of a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression that consolidates the available observational studies. Therefore, our objective was to address this knowledge gap. Here, we present the study protocol for this upcoming work. Such knowledge can help in addressing older individuals at risk for chronic loneliness and chronic social isolation.Methods and analysisEstablished electronic databases will be searched. Observational studies reporting the prevalence of chronic loneliness and chronic social isolation among individuals aged 60 years and over will be included. Disease-specific samples will be excluded. The focus of data extraction will be on methods, sample characteristics and key findings. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) standardised critical appraisal instrument for prevalence studies will be used for assessing the quality of the studies. Two reviewers will be responsible for carrying out the study selection, data extraction and assessment of study quality. The results will be presented through the use of figures, tables, narrative summaries and a meta-analysis and meta-regression.Ethics and disseminationNo primary data will be collected. Thus, there is no need for approval from an ethics committee. We intend to share our results through publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Predictive value of anthropometric and biochemical indices in non-alcoholic fatty pancreas disease: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Xiao Yang , Wang Han , Han Lina , Huang Zhibin , Lyu Guorong , Li Shilin 
Published: April 2024

ObjectivesTriglyceride (TG), triglyceride-glucose index (TyG), body mass index (BMI), TyG-BMI and triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein ratio (TG/HDL) have been reported to be reliable predictors of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, there are few studies on potential predictors of non-alcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD). Our aim was to evaluate these and other parameters for predicting NAFPD.DesignCross-sectional study design.SettingPhysical examination centre of a tertiary hospital in China.ParticipantsThis study involved 1774 subjects who underwent physical examinations from January 2016 to September 2016.Primary and secondary outcome measuresFrom each subject, data were collected for 13 basic physical examination and blood biochemical parameters: age, weight, height, BMI, TyG, TyG-BMI, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, TG, fasting plasma glucose, TG/HDL and uric acid. NAFPD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography. A logistic regression model with a restricted cubic spline was used to evaluate the relationship between each parameter and NAFPD. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the area under the curve for each parameter.ResultsHDL was negatively correlated with NAFPD, height was almost uncorrelated with NAFPD and the remaining 11 parameters were positively correlated with NAFPD. ROC curve showed that weight-related parameters (weight, BMI and TyG-BMI) and TG-related parameters (TyG, TG and TG/HDL) had high predictive values for the identification of NAFPD. The combinations of multiple parameters had a better prediction effect than a single parameter. All the predictive effects did not differ by sex.ConclusionsWeight-related and TG-related parameters are good predictors of NAFPD in all populations. BMI showed the greatest predictive potential. Multiparameter combinations appear to be a good way to predict NAFPD.