bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of SARS-COV-2 infection on outcomes in patients hospitalized for acute cardiac conditions. A prospective, multicenter cohort study (Swiss Cardiovascular SARS-CoV-2 Consortium)
Authors: Koskinas Konstantinos C. , Twerenbold Raphael , Carballo David , Matter Christian M. , Cook Stephane , Heg Dik , Frenk Andre , Windecker Stephan , Osswald Stefan , Lüscher Thomas F. , Mach Francois 
Published: October 2023

BackgroundAlthough the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) primarily affects the respiratory system, the disease entity has been associated with cardiovascular complications. This study sought to assess the effect of concomitant SARS-COV-2 infection on clinical outcomes of patients hospitalized primarily for acute cardiac conditions on cardiology wards in Switzerland.MethodsIn this prospective, observational study conducted in 5 Swiss cardiology centers during the COVID-19 pandemic, patients hospitalized due to acute cardiac conditions underwent a reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test at the time of admission and were categorized as SARS-COV-2 positive (cases) or negative (controls). Patients hospitalized on cardiology wards underwent treatment for the principal acute cardiac condition according to local practice. Clinical outcomes were recorded in-hospital, at 30 days, and after 1 year and compared between cases and controls. To adjust for imbalanced baseline characteristics, a subgroup of patients derived by propensity matching was analyzed.ResultsBetween March 2020 and February 2022, 538 patients were enrolled including 122 cases and 416 controls. Mean age was 68.0 ± 14.7 years, and 75% were men. Compared with controls, SARS-COV-2-positive patients more commonly presented with acute heart failure (35% vs. 17%) or major arrhythmia (31% vs. 9%), but less commonly with acute coronary syndrome (26% vs. 53%) or severe aortic stenosis (4% vs. 18%). Mortality was significantly higher in cases vs. controls in-hospital (16% vs. 1%), at 30 days (19.0% vs. 2.2%), and at 1 year (28.7% vs. 7.6%: p &lt; 0.001 for all); this was driven primarily (up to 30 days) and exclusively (at one-year follow-up) by higher non-cardiovascular mortality, and was accompanied by a greater incidence of worsening renal function in cases vs. controls. These findings were maintained in a propensity-matched subgroup of 186 patients (93 cases and 93 controls) with balanced clinical presentation and baseline characteristics.ConclusionsIn this observational study of patients hospitalized for acute cardiac conditions, SARS-COV-2 infection at index hospitalization was associated with markedly higher all-cause and non-cardiovascular mortality throughout one-year follow-up. These findings highlight the need for effective, multifaceted management of both cardiac and non-cardiac morbidities and prolonged surveillance in patients with acute cardiac conditions complicated by SARS-COV-2 infection.
Tutoring in the metaverse. Study on student-teachers’ and tutors’ perceptions about NPC tutor
Authors: Agrati Laura Sara 
Published: October 2023

IntroductionThe metaverse is defined as a new frontier for anyone’s everyday life and a new challenge for the training and the professional development. The extended reality of the metaverse offers a new learning environment in which additional educational roles intervene to support the teaching and learning processes.MethodsThe work explores some aspects of the metaverse as a support for the initial training of teachers. It presents a study on the perceptions that student-teachers and school tutors of a teaching qualification path have, specifically, of the so-called ‘non-player characters’ (NPC) tutor and peers, in the metaverse. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via mixed questionnaire and analyzed via descriptive statistics and QDA.ResultsThe analysis found some differences in expectations between student-teachers and school tutors with respect to the metaverse, to the new educational roles related and, specifically, to the NPC tutor role. The triangulation of the early data is highlighting a general new look at the possibilities offered by the metaverse – in monitoring the learning program and in decision-making practices – as well as expectation about the teachers training – Artificial Intelligence relationship.DiscussionThe results of study regarding the perceptions of student-teachers and school tutors on the metaverse and on the role of the NPC tutor are offered as insights to be explored, through further investigations, to those responsible for teacher training courses and to the research that today investigates the learning effects of the metaverse as a potential professional training environment.
Clinical performance and health equity implications of the American Diabetes Association’s 2023 screening recommendation for prediabetes and diabetes
Authors: O’Brien Matthew J. , Zhang Yan , Bailey Stacy C. , Khan Sadiya S. , Ackermann Ronald T. , Ali Mohammed K. , Bowen Michael E. , Benoit Stephen R. , Imperatore Giuseppina , Holliday Christopher S. , McKeever Bullard Kai 
Published: October 2023

IntroductionThe American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends screening for prediabetes and diabetes (dysglycemia) starting at age 35, or younger than 35 years among adults with overweight or obesity and other risk factors. Diabetes risk differs by sex, race, and ethnicity, but performance of the recommendation in these sociodemographic subgroups is unknown.MethodsNationally representative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2015-March 2020) were analyzed from 5,287 nonpregnant US adults without diagnosed diabetes. Screening eligibility was based on age, measured body mass index, and the presence of diabetes risk factors. Dysglycemia was defined by fasting plasma glucose ≥100mg/dL (≥5.6 mmol/L) or haemoglobin A1c ≥5.7% (≥39mmol/mol). The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the ADA screening criteria were examined by sex, race, and ethnicity.ResultsAn estimated 83.1% (95% CI=81.2-84.7) of US adults were eligible for screening according to the 2023 ADA recommendation. Overall, ADA’s screening criteria exhibited high sensitivity [95.0% (95% CI=92.7-96.6)] and low specificity [27.1% (95% CI=24.5-29.9)], which did not differ by race or ethnicity. Sensitivity was higher among women [97.8% (95% CI=96.6-98.6)] than men [92.4% (95% CI=88.3-95.1)]. Racial and ethnic differences in sensitivity and specificity among men were statistically significant (P=0.04 and P=0.02, respectively). Among women, guideline performance did not differ by race and ethnicity.DiscussionThe ADA screening criteria exhibited high sensitivity for all groups and was marginally higher in women than men. Racial and ethnic differences in guideline performance among men were small and unlikely to have a significant impact on health equity. Future research could examine adoption of this recommendation in practice and examine its effects on treatment and clinical outcomes by sex, race, and ethnicity.
A bibliometric analysis: Ca2+ fluxes and inflammatory phenotyping by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells
Authors: Brun Camille , Chalet Lucie , Moulin Florentin , Bochaton Thomas , Ducreux Sylvie , Paillard Melanie , Crola Da Silva Claire 
Published: October 2023

BackgroundThe immune system, composed of organs, tissues, cells, and proteins, is the key to protecting the body from external biological attacks and inflammation. The latter occurs in several pathologies, such as cancers, type 1 diabetes, and human immunodeficiency virus infection. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry is the method of choice for diagnosing these pathologies. Under inflammatory conditions, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are partially activated and generate intracellular pathways involving Ca2+-dependent signaling cascades leading to transcription factor expression. Ca2+ signaling is typically studied by microscopy in cell lines but can present some limitations to explore human PBMCs, where flow cytometry can be a good alternative.ObjectiveIn this review, we dived into the research field of inflammation and Ca2+ signaling in PBMCs. We aimed to investigate the structure and evolution of this field in a physio-pathological context, and then we focused our review on flow cytometry analysis of Ca2+ fluxes in PBMCs.MethodsFrom 1984 to 2022, 3865 articles on inflammation and Ca2+ signaling in PBMCs were published, according to The Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) database used in this review. A bibliometric study was designed for this collection and consisted of a co-citation and bibliographic coupling analysis.ResultsThe co-citation analysis was performed on 133 articles: 4 clusters highlighted the global context of Ca2+ homeostasis, including chemical probe development, identification of the leading players in Ca2+ signaling, and the link with chemokine production in immune cell function. Next, the bibliographic coupling analysis combined 998 articles in 8 clusters. This analysis outlined the mechanisms of PBMC activation, from signal integration to cellular response. Further explorations of the bibliographic coupling network, focusing on flow cytometry, revealed 21 articles measuring cytosolic Ca2+ in PBMCs, with only 5 since 2016. This final query showed that Ca2+ signaling analysis in human PBMCs using flow cytometry is still underdeveloped and investigates mainly the cytosolic Ca2+ compartment.ConclusionOur review uncovers remaining knowledge gaps of intracellular players involved in Ca2+ signaling in PBMCs, such as reticulum and mitochondria, and presents flow cytometry as a solid option to supplement gold-standard microscopy studies.
Correcting for measurement error in assessing gestational age in a low-resource setting: a regression calibration approach
Authors: Agogo George O. , Verani Jennifer R. , Otieno Nancy A. , Nyawanda Bryan O. , Widdowson Marc-Alain , Chaves Sandra S. 
Published: October 2023

IntroductionMeasurement error in gestational age (GA) may bias the association of GA with a health outcome. Ultrasound-based GA is considered the gold standard and is not readily available in low-resource settings. We corrected for measurement error in GA based on fundal height (FH) and date of last menstrual period (LMP) using ultrasound from the sub-cohort and adjusted for the bias in associating GA with neonatal mortality and low birth weight (&lt; 2,500 grams, LBW).MethodsWe used data collected from 01/2015 to 09/2019 from pregnant women enrolled at two public hospitals in Siaya county, Kenya (N = 2,750). We used regression calibration to correct for measurement error in FH- and LMP-based GA accounting for maternal and child characteristics. We applied logistic regression to associate GA with neonatal mortality and low birth weight, with and without calibrating FH- and LMP-based GA.ResultsCalibration improved the precision of LMP (correlation coefficient, ρ from 0.48 to 0.57) and FH-based GA (ρ from 0.82 to 0.83). Calibrating FH/LMP-based GA eliminated the bias in the mean GA estimates. The log odds ratio that quantifies the association of GA with neonatal mortality increased by 29% (from −0.159 to −0.205) by calibrating FH-based GA and by more than twofold (from −0.158 to −0.471) by calibrating LMP-based GA.ConclusionCalibrating FH/LMP-based GA improved the accuracy and precision of GA estimates and strengthened the association of GA with neonatal mortality/LBW. When assessing GA, neonatal public health and clinical interventions may benefit from calibration modeling in settings where ultrasound may not be fully available.
Different responses of abundant and rare bacterial composition to groundwater depth and reduced nitrogen application in summer maize field
Authors: Bai Fangfang , Guo Wei , Li Ping , Qiao Dongmei , Du Zhenjie , Qi Xuebin 
Published: October 2023

IntroductionIt is well known that reduced nitrogen application and groundwater depth can change soil microbial communities, but the associated difference in the response of abundant and rare bacterial composition to these local environmental changes remains unclear.MethodsIn this study a lysimeter experiment was carried out to examine the impact of reduced nitrogen and groundwater depth on the composition of abundant and rare bacteria.Results and discussionOur results demonstrated that the summer maize field soil species composition of rare bacterial sub-communities was significantly regulated by reduced nitrogen application, groundwater depth change and their interactions. However, only reduced nitrogen application had a significant influence on the species composition of abundant bacterial sub-communities. The structural equation model (SEM) indicated that reduced nitrogen application and groundwater depth change also could indirectly regulate the species composition of abundant and rare bacteria by altering soil attributes. The changes in soil pH and TSN had the most significant effects on the community composition of abundant and rare bacteria, respectively. More importantly, rare bacterial sub-communities were more sensitive to the changes in nitrogen input, groundwater depth and soil factors. Collectively, our study first demonstrated that abundant and rare microbial sub-communities responded differently to reduced nitrogen application and groundwater depth change. This study highlights that summer maize farmland production management should take nitrogen input and groundwater depth into consideration to maintain the compositional stability of soil rare microbial sub-communities.
Unraveling the connection between gut microbiota and Alzheimer’s disease: a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis
Authors: Zeng Huiqiong , Zhou Kaixia , Zhuang Yu , Li Aidong , Luo Baiwei , Zhang Ye 
Published: October 2023

PurposeStudies have shown a close relationship between gut microbiota (GM) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the causal relationship between them remains unclear.MethodsWe conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using publicly available summary statistics data for GM and AD. We extracted independent genetic loci significantly associated with GM relative abundances as instrumental variables based on predefined thresholds (p &lt; 1*e−5). The inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method was primarily used for causal relationship assessment. Additional analyses, including MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode, were performed as supplementary analyses.ResultsIVW analysis revealed significant correlations between certain microbial taxa and the risk of AD. Higher abundances of Actinobacteria at the class level, phylum. Actinobacteria, class. Deltaproteobacteria, order. Desulfovibrionales, genus. Oscillospira, and genus. Ruminococcaceae UCG004 (p &lt; 0.048) was found to be positively associated with an elevated risk of AD. However, within the genus-level taxa, Ruminococcus1 (p = 0.030) demonstrated a protective effect on lowering the risk of AD. In addition, to ensure the robustness of the findings, we employed Cochrane’s Q test and leave-one-out analysis for quality assessment, while the stability and reliability of the results were validated through MR-Egger intercept test, MR-PRESSO global test, and sensitivity analysis.ConclusionThis study provided a comprehensive analysis of the causal relationship between 211 GM taxa and AD. It discerned distinct GM taxa linked to the susceptibility of AD, thereby providing novel perspectives on the genetic mechanisms governing AD via the GM. Additionally, these discoveries held promise as valuable biomarkers, enabling the identification of potential therapeutic targets and guiding forthcoming AD investigations.
High-throughput autoantibody screening identifies differentially abundant autoantibodies in autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Mesleh Areej , Ehtewish Hanan , Lennard Katie , Abdesselem Houari B. , Al-Shaban Fouad , Decock Julie , Alajez Nehad M. , Arredouani Abdelilah , Emara Mohamed M. , Albagha Omar , Stanton Lawrence W. , Abdulla Sara A. , Blackburnand Jonathan M. , El-Agnaf Omar M. A. 
Published: October 2023

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by defects in two core domains, social/communication skills and restricted/repetitive behaviors or interests. There is no approved biomarker for ASD diagnosis, and the current diagnostic method is based on clinical manifestation, which tends to vary vastly between the affected individuals due to the heterogeneous nature of ASD. There is emerging evidence that supports the implication of the immune system in ASD, specifically autoimmunity; however, the role of autoantibodies in ASD children is not yet fully understood.Materials and methodsIn this study, we screened serum samples from 93 cases with ASD and 28 healthy controls utilizing high-throughput KoRectly Expressed (KREX) i-Ome protein-array technology. Our goal was to identify autoantibodies with differential expressions in ASD and to gain insights into the biological significance of these autoantibodies in the context of ASD pathogenesis.ResultOur autoantibody expression analysis identified 29 differential autoantibodies in ASD, 4 of which were upregulated and 25 downregulated. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) and network analysis showed that the proteins of these autoantibodies are expressed in the brain and involved in axonal guidance, chromatin binding, and multiple metabolic pathways. Correlation analysis revealed that these autoantibodies negatively correlate with the age of ASD subjects.ConclusionThis study explored autoantibody reactivity against self-antigens in ASD individuals' serum using a high-throughput assay. The identified autoantibodies were reactive against proteins involved in axonal guidance, synaptic function, amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and chromatin binding.
Head-to-head comparison of azvudine and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir for the hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a real-world retrospective cohort study with propensity score matching
Authors: Wei An-Hua , Zeng Lu , Wang Lu , Gui Lin , Zhang Wen-Ting , Gong Xue-Peng , Li Juan , Liu Dong 
Published: October 2023

Background: Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir and azvudine have been approved for the early treatment of COVID-19 in China, however, limited real-world data exists regarding their effectiveness and safety.Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving the hospitalized COVID-19 patients in China between December 2022 and January 2023. Demographic, clinical, and safety variables were recorded.Results: Among the 6,616 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, we included a total of 725 patients including azvudine recipients (N = 461) and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (N = 264) recipients after exclusions and propensity score matching (1:2). There was no significant difference in the composite disease progression events between azvudine (98, 21.26%) and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (72, 27.27%) groups (p = 0.066). Azvudine was associated with a significant reduction in secondary outcomes, including the percentage of intensive care unit admission (p = 0.038) and the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (p = 0.035), while the in-hospital death event did not significantly differ (p = 0.991). As for safety outcomes, 33 out of 461 patients (7.16%) in azvudine group and 22 out of 264 patients (8.33%) in nirmatrelvir/ritonavir group experienced drug-related adverse events between the day of admission (p = 0.565).Conclusion: In our real-world setting, azvudine treatment demonstrated similar safety compared to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Additionally, it showed slightly better clinical benefits in this population. However, further confirmation through additional clinical trials is necessary.
Identification of psychological constructs for a positive psychology intervention to assist with the adjustment to closed loop technology among adolescents living with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Kruger Sylvia , Deacon Elmari , van Rensburg Esmé , Segal David 
Published: October 2023

AimAdolescents have been identified as the group who struggle most with successful adjustment to closed loop technology. This study aims to identify the psychological constructs that should form part of a positive psychology intervention to assist with the adjustment to closed loop technology among adolescents living with type 1 diabetes.MethodQualitative document analysis was employed to integrate findings from two documents: a published ongoing intervention study and a recent phenomenological study by the authors. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify themes from the documents.FindingsThe following themes were identified as important psychological constructs that aid adjustment: the importance of knowledge and education; the process of positive adjustment to closed loop technology; a positive outlook; and building a relationship with diabetes.ConclusionInterventions are needed to assist adolescents in their adjustment to closed loop technology. The psychological constructs identified served as a starting point in designing an effective, evidence-based intervention grounded in data and theory. Knowledge and education, responsibility, identity, positive affect, gratitude, support, and trust are psychological constructs that need to be included in an intervention program.
Changes in insight throughout the natural four-year course of obsessive-compulsive disorder and its association with OCD severity and quality of life
Authors: Wolf Nadja , du Mortier Johanna A. M. , van Oppen Patricia , Hoogendoorn Adriaan W. , van Balkom Anton J. L. M. , Visser Henny A. D. 
Published: October 2023

ObjectivePatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and poor insight show higher symptom severity, lower quality of life (QoL), and a reduced treatment response compared to patients with good insight. Little is known about changes in insight. This study explored the course of insight and its association with OCD severity and QoL among 253 patients with OCD participating in the prospective naturalistic Netherlands Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Association (NOCDA) Study.ResultsIn 70% of the participants with available insight data, the level of insight changed during the four-year course. Insight was most variable in participants with poor insight. Improvement of insight scores was statistically significantly associated with improvement of Y-BOCS scores (r = 0.19), but not with changes in QoL scores. Change in insight in the first 2 years was not statistically significantly predictive of OCD severity or QoL at four-year follow-up.ConclusionThese findings suggest that patients’ levels of insight may change during the natural four-year course of OCD and that improvement in the level of insight have a positive association with improvement in OCD severity.