bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Decomposing differences in the chronic disease condition between rural and urban older adults in China: a cross-sectional analysis
Authors: Zhang Jian , Zhang Yuan 
Published: January 2024

BackgroundWith the increasing in aging in China, there has been an increase in older adults suffering from chronic diseases. However, little is known about the differences in chronic disease conditions between rural and urban older adults. The objective of this study is to identify chronic disease conditions and investigate the factors that cause differences in chronic disease conditions between urban and rural older adults.MethodsThe data are from the fourth wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The coarsened exact matching (CEM) method was used to reduce the biases for a comparative study. After the CEM method, this study included 5,927 participants aged 60 and above. Chronic disease condition was used as the indicator to measure the health of older adults. Specifically, Fairlie's decomposition analysis was carried out to discover the differences in chronic disease conditions between urban and rural older adults.ResultsThe study showed that the proportion of those suffering from chronic diseases was significantly higher among urban older adults (51.26%) than rural older adults (46.56%). In those suffering from chronic diseases, there were significant differences in gender, education level, minorities, religiosities, duration of sleep, drinking alcohol, social activity, insurance, and socioeconomic status between rural and urban older adults, while in those not suffering from chronic diseases, there were significant differences in age, education level, marital status, drinking alcohol, social activity, insurance, region, and socioeconomic status between rural and urban older adults. For rural older adults, those who were widowers [Odds ratios (OR): 1.267], who drink alcohol (OR: 1.421), and having government medical insurance (OR: 4.869) had higher odds of having chronic diseases. However, those who were in high school and above (OR: 0.802), reporting a duration of sleep of 4–8 h (OR: 0.745) or above 8 h (OR: 0.649), having social activity (OR: 0.778), and having the most affluent socioeconomic status (OR: 0.778) had lower odds of having chronic diseases. As for urban older adults, those who were aged 65–74 years (OR: 1.246) and had government medical insurance (OR: 2.362) had higher odds of having chronic diseases. Fairlie's decomposition analysis indicated that 23.57% of the differences in chronic diseases conditions could be traced to duration of sleep, drinking alcohol, social activity, and region.ConclusionThis study illustrated that the proportion of chronic diseases was higher among urban older adults than rural older adults. Considering duration of sleep, drinking alcohol, region, social activity, and region, the study demonstrated health differences between urban and rural older adults and provided evidence for policy-making to narrow the health gap between urban and rural areas.
The emergence of COVID-19 over-concern immediately after the cancelation of the measures adopted by the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China
Authors: Hao Fengyi , Zhang Zhisong , Lau Sam S. S. , Chiang Soon-Kiat , Zhou Dewen , Tan Wanqiu , Tang Xiangdong , Ho Roger 
Published: January 2024

BackgroundThis study aimed to report the prevalence of COVID-19 over-concern and its associated factors after the relaxation of the health-protective measures in China.MethodsA team of seven experts in psychiatry and psychology specializing in COVID-19 mental health research from China, Hong Kong, and overseas reached a consensus on the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern. Individuals had to meet at least five of the following criteria: (1) at least five physical symptoms; (2) stocking up at least five items related to protecting oneself during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) obsessive-compulsive symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic; (4) illness anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic; (5) post-traumatic stress symptoms; (6) depression; (7) anxiety; (8) stress and (9) insomnia. An online survey using snowball sampling collected data on demographics, medical history, views on COVID-19 policies, and symptoms of COVID-19 over-concern. Multivariate linear regression was performed using significant variables from the previous regressions as independent variables against the presence of COVID-19 over-concern as the dependent variable. Breush-Pagan test was used to assess each regression model for heteroskedasticity of residuals.Results1,332 respondents from 31 regions in China participated in the study for 2 weeks from December 25 to 27, 2022, after major changes in the zero-COVID policy. After canceling measures associated with the dynamic zero-COVID policy, 21.2% of respondents fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern. Factors significantly associated with COVID-19 over-concern were poor self-rated health status (β = 0.07, p &lt; 0.001), concerns about family members getting COVID-19 (β = 0.06, p &lt; 0.001), perceived usefulness of COVID-19 vaccine (β = 0.03, p = 0.012), impact on incomes, employment and studies (β = 0.045, p &lt; 0.001) and impact on families (β = 0.03, p = 0.01).ConclusionAfter removing measures associated with the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China, approximately one-fifth of respondents met the diagnostic criteria for COVID-19 over-concern.
Intersectional analysis of inequalities in self-reported breast cancer screening attendance using supervised machine learning and PROGRESS-Plus framework
Authors: Pedrós Barnils Núria , Schüz Benjamin 
Published: January 2024

BackgroundBreast cancer is a critical public health concern in Spain, and organized screening programs have been in place since the 1990s to reduce its incidence. However, despite the bi-annual invitation for breast cancer screening (BCS) for women aged 45–69, significant attendance inequalities persist among different population groups. This study employs a quantitative intersectional perspective to identify intersectional positions at risk of not undergoing breast cancer screening in Spain.MethodsWomen were selected from the 2020 European Health Interview Survey in Spain, which surveyed the adult population (&gt; 15 years old) living in private households (N = 22,072; 59% response rate). Inequality indicators based on the PROGRESS-Plus framework were used to disentangle existing social intersections. To identify intersectional groups, decision tree models, including classification and regression trees (CARTs), chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID), conditional inference rees (CITs), and C5.0, along with an ensemble algorithm, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), were applied.ResultsXGBoost (AUC 78.8%) identified regional differences (Autonomous Community) as the most important factor for classifying BCS attendance, followed by education, age, and marital status. The C5.0 model (balanced accuracy 81.1%) highlighted that the relative importance of individual characteristics, such as education, marital status, or age, for attendance differs based on women’s place of residence and their degree of interaction. The highest risk of not attending BCS was observed among illiterate older women in lower social classes who were born in Spain, were residing in Asturias, Cantabria, Basque Country, Castile and León, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, La Rioja, or Valencian Community, and were married, divorced, or widowed. Subsequently, the risk of not attending BCS extends to three other groups of women: women living in Ceuta and Melilla; single or legally separated women living in the rest of Spain; and women not born in Spain who were married, divorced, or widowed and not residing in Ceuta or Melilla.ConclusionThe combined use of decision trees and ensemble algorithms can be a valuable tool in identifying intersectional positions at a higher risk of not utilizing public resources and, thus, can aid substantially in developing targeted interventions to increase BCS attendance.
Infant regulatory problems and the quality of dyadic emotional connection—a proof-of-concept study in a multilingual sample
Authors: Jaekel Julia , Dathe Anne-Kathrin , Brasseler Maire , Bialas Johanna , Jokiranta-Olkoniemi Elina , Reimann Margarete , Ludwig Robert J. , Hane Amie A. , Welch Martha G. , Huening Britta M. 
Published: January 2024

Background and aimsClose autonomic emotional connections with others help infants reach and maintain homoeostasis. In recent years, infant regulatory problems (RPs, i.e., crying, sleeping, and feeding or eating problems) have surged. This study has two aims: (1) Provide proof-of-concept that dyadic autonomic emotional connection between infants and parents can be reliably assessed with a brief screening, irrespective of language and culture. (2) Assess in a heterogeneous pilot sample whether the persistence of RPs during infancy is negatively associated with the quality of dyadic autonomic emotional connection.Methods30 children aged 3–68 months (47% female) and their parents (83% mothers) were assessed during regular neonatal follow-up visits in Germany. Seven (23%) dyads were immigrants whose primary language was not German. At each assessment, paediatricians asked parents about infant's crying, sleeping, and feeding or eating problems. Dyadic interactions were rated by a multilingual team with the standardised universal Welch Emotional Connection Screen (uWECS) on four dimensions (attraction, vocalisation, facial communication, sensitivity/reciprocity).ResultsAim 1: An international team of raters was trained remotely to rate the uWECS. Reliability of α &gt; .90 with standard raters was achieved irrespective of language mismatches (i.e., all raters scored several videos with languages they did not understand). Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) among five main raters for the four uWECS dimensions ranged from .98–.99. Aim 2: Infants (n = 15 assessed longitudinally) had mean RP scores of 1.20 (SD = 1.26). Dyads had mean uWECS scores of 7.06 (SD = 2.09). Linear regression analysis showed that more persistent RPs in infancy were associated with lower uWECS scores [β = -.53, 95% CI = (-1.47, -.18), p = .017], after controlling for child sex and gestational age.ConclusionThis study provides proof-of-concept that the quality of mutual autonomic emotional connection among socio-culturally and linguistically heterogeneous samples can be reliably assessed with the uWECS, a brief screening that can be easily implemented in clinical practice. Pilot data suggests that persistent RPs during infancy are negatively associated with the quality of dyadic autonomic emotional connection. Replication of these findings in larger samples is warranted. Future studies need to address how to facilitate successful emotion regulation for today's children and future generations.
Using CFIR framework for understanding barriers and facilitators to implementation of community tuberculosis program in Burkina Faso
Authors: Donessouné Flore M. Gisèle , Sossa Olivier G. , Kouanda Seni 
Published: January 2024

IntroductionIn 2020, there were nearly 9.9 million new Tuberculosis cases and 1.3 million deaths, with about 95% occurring in developing nations. Burkina Faso implemented a community Tuberculosis program, involving Civil Society Organizations, to increase screening and improve treatment outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors influencing the implementation of community interventions involving these organizations in the fight against TB in Burkina Faso.MethodThis qualitative study conducted semi-structured key informant interviews with a purposive sample of health providers from the ministry of health and community health workers. We used framework (the consolidated framework for implementation research was used method to identify barriers and facilitators to implementation of community tuberculosis program in Burkina Faso.ResultsA total of 23 interviews were conducted. The results of this research shed light on several key factors that either contributed to or hindered the program's success. Among the facilitating factors, we identified close collaboration between national and international stakeholders, as well as remarkable program flexibility to adapt to local conditions. Furthermore, continuous training and support for community health workers proved crucial for the program's implementation. However, significant challenges were also unveiled. These challenges encompassed insufficient financial resources, difficulties related to the recruitment and management of civil society associations, and issues regarding program ownership at the peripheral level. Additionally, irregular payments to community health workers had a detrimental impact on their motivation and commitment.ConclusionsOur study conducted a comprehensive examination of the obstacles and facilitators encountered in the implementation of a community-based tuberculosis control program in Burkina Faso. The results of this research shed light on several key factors that either contributed to or hindered the success implementation of program. Measures should be taken to mobilize national resources, strengthen the capacities of associations, and promote local ownership of the program. Special attention should also be given to improving financial management and resolving issues related to the recruitment and compensation of community health workers. For such community-based tuberculosis programs to succeed in Burkina Faso and in similar context it is essential to address these obstacles and facilitators.
Model-free control for autonomous prevention of adverse events in robotics
Authors: Narayan Meenakshi , Majewicz Fey Ann 
Published: January 2024

Introduction: Preventive control is a critical feature in autonomous technology to ensure safe system operations. One application where safety is most important is robot-assisted needle interventions. During incisions into a tissue, adverse events such as mechanical buckling of the needle shaft and tissue displacements can occur on encounter with stiff membranes causing potential damage to the organ.Methods: To prevent these events before they occur, we propose a new control subroutine that autonomously chooses a) a reactive mechanism to stop the insertion procedure when a needle buckling or a severe tissue displacement event is predicted and b) an adaptive mechanism to continue the insertion procedure through needle steering control when a mild tissue displacement is detected. The subroutine is developed using a model-free control technique due to the nonlinearities of the unknown needle-tissue dynamics. First, an improved version of the model-free adaptive control (IMFAC) is developed by computing a fast time-varying partial pseudo derivative analytically from the dynamic linearization equation to enhance output convergence and robustness against external disturbances.Results and Discussion: Comparing IMFAC and MFAC algorithms on simulated nonlinear systems in MATLAB, IMFAC shows 20% faster output convergence against arbitrary disturbances. Next, IMFAC is integrated with event prediction algorithms from prior work to prevent adverse events during needle insertions in real time. Needle insertions in gelatin tissues with known environments show successful prevention of needle buckling and tissue displacement events. Needle insertions in biological tissues with unknown environments are performed using live fluoroscopic imaging as ground truth to verify timely prevention of adverse events. Finally, statistical ANOVA analysis on all insertion data shows the robustness of the prevention algorithm to various needles and tissue environments. Overall, the success rate of preventing adverse events in needle insertions through adaptive and reactive control was 95%, which is important toward achieving safety in robotic needle interventions.
Food safety in Latin American informal food establishments
Authors: Pariza Teodora , Cho Min Jung 
Published: January 2024

Background and aimInformal food establishments are an important source of food due to their increased affordability of products and convenience. Food security and safety are two key factors that must coexist for a proper functioning of the food system. In Latin America, the safety of food is less analyzed than food security, although it is central to people’s health, as well as to their personal sustainability. Since informal food establishments are popular food sources in Latin America, this research aims to examine the presence of foodborne pathogens in food products from such establishments.MethodsThis research will be conducted as narrative literature review, collecting data from all publications in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America between January 1, 2018, and May 31, 2023. The databases searched were PubMed and Web of Science. The search included pathogens such as bacteria, parasites and viruses. The languages of the articles assessed were English and Spanish.ResultsThe analysis was based on 32 articles focusing on seven of all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. The pathogens found belonged either to a bacteria type, or to a parasite. No viruses were investigated within the selection of articles. The widest variety of pathogens was among bacteria. The most frequently identified bacteria belonged to the family Enterobacteriaceae. The food products examined ranged from animal products to fruit and vegetables, fish, seafood and already-prepared dishes or juices. The informal food establishments where the studies conducted their analyses were markets, backyard selling points, street establishments or convenience food stores.ConclusionIdentifying pathogens in food products commercialized at different informal retail points has impacts for the safety of the food from personal sustainability viewpoint. Therefore, efforts need to be directed toward better support of the informal food sector in their provision of safe food. Further investigation could trace the exact sources of infection, while public health officials can implement safety programs in cooperation with food vendors.
Analysis of low-carbon rice farming behavior and its influencing factors in farmers under the distributed cognition perspective—empirical study based on 2,173 farmers in Jiangxi Province
Authors: Huang Qinglong , Chen Meiqiu , Zhang Ting , Zhang Fulin , Zhang Jie 
Published: January 2024

IntroductionRice production is the core component of the food security strategy in China, but it is also a major source of methane and nitrous oxide. Promoting low-carbon rice farming (LCRF) to increase the carbon sink, decrease carbon emissions, and achieve low-carbon, high-yield production is an inevitable “win-win” choice for achieving “double carbon” targets and guaranteeing national food security. This study contributes to the advancement of research on farmers’ adoption decisions and fills gaps in LCRF’s technical research on farmers’ decision-making behavior. The results also provide a basis for formulating policies to encourage LCRF and protect cultivated land.MethodsThis study conducted field research on 2,173 farming households in Jiangxi Province, a traditional agricultural province in China, and examined the effects of personal forces, local forces, and cultural forces on LCRF adoption behavior by introducing the distributed cognition theoretical framework based on a status quo analysis and employing the multivariate ordinal logistic model.Results and discussionThe results of the study showed that: 1) the overall acceptance of LCRF behavior is currently not very high. In the 2173 questionnaires, the mean number of LCRF behavior items accepted by farmers was 3.10 items; 153 farmers did not adopt any LCRF behavior, and only 77 farmers adopted all LCRF behaviors. Most farmers (n = 535) adopted three LCRF behaviors. 2) In distributed cognition affecting LCRF behavior, acceptance was primarily affected by cultural forces, followed by local forces, while the effects of personal forces were limited. Therefore, it is recommended that training and promotion should be increased, policy subsidies should be increased, the land market should be improved, and LCRF demonstrations should be carried out to increase the acceptance of LCRF behavior among rice farmers.
Sagittal sequence and clinical efficacy of cervical disc replacement and hybrid surgery in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a retrospective study
Authors: Zheng Bin , Xu Shuai , Lu Tianliang , Wu Yonghao , Li Haoyuan , Guo Chen , Haiying Liu 
Published: January 2024

BackgroundHybrid surgery (HS) combines anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with cervical disc replacement (CDR) is gradually being more frequently implemented, but there are few studies reporting the safety and effectiveness of hybrid surgery in three levels cervical spondylotic myelopathy.MethodsThe clinical and radiographic data of patients with three-segment cervical spondylosis, who underwent CDR, ACDF and HS in our hospital from February 2007 to February 2013 were analyzed. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) were used to evaluate the clinical efficacy post surgery. Cervical spine x-rays were conducted to assess ROM, CL, T1S and relevant outcomes.ResultsA total of 94 patients were included in the study: 26 in the CDR group, 13 in the HS1 group, 31 in the HS2 group, and 24 in the ACDF group. Most patients in the CDR group were younger. There was no difference in the follow-up duration, blood loss volume or surgery time (P &gt; 0.05). Four groups reported improvements in JOA and NDI scores compared to baseline. There was no significant difference in the final JOA, final NDI or recovery rate among the 4 groups. The final ROM was smaller in the ACDF group than in the other 3 groups. There was no difference among the four groups in the final UROM, final LROM or their changes. There was no difference in the final T1S, final SVA or their change among the four groups. All groups showed similar changes in CL and T1S-CL.ConclusionsThere was no difference in the clinical outcomes of ACDF, CDR, or hybrid surgery. CDR can better preserve the mobility of the cervical spine. Neither CDR nor hybrid surgery was significantly advantageous over ACDF in restoring the sagittal sequence in patients with three-level CSM.