bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Better renal replacement therapy to improve sexual function in female patients with end-stage renal disease: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Tjahjodjati Tjahjodjati , Steven Steven 
Published: March 2023

AbstractBackgroundSexual dysfunction is commonly observed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Sexual dysfunction in correlation with ESRD is associated with physiological and psychological problems resulting in low sexual desire, arousal, difficulties in achieving orgasm, and pain during intercourse. Studies on female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in correlation with renal replacement therapy are limited, and previous studies reporting contradictive results have indicated that the best modality for providing better outcomes (especially on FSD) remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to compare the sexual function between female patients with ESRD who were on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and those on hemodialysis (HD).Materials and methodsThis study enrolled female patients who were randomly selected from the urology and renal division of the Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinic of our hospital from January 2020 to August 2021 and divided into the following groups: predialysis, HD, CAPD, and control groups. The participants were asked to fill out the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaires, and their data were recorded and analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9.0.0.ResultsOf the 280 patients, 200 female patients were included in this study. The rate of FSD (cutoff: 26.55) was 42% in the control group, 72% in the predialysis group, 62% in the CAPD group, and 66% the in HD group. The control group had a higher mean score in all parameters (p< 0.05). The total FSFI mean score indicated no significant difference (p> 0.05) between the patients on HD and those on CAPD; the mean of each point was almost identical except for satisfaction, which was higher among patients on CAPD (p< 0.05). Significant differences in the components of desire, arousal, orgasm, and satisfaction were observed between the groups.ConclusionsPatients on CAPD had better FSFI scores than the female patients with ESRD who were on HD, and the scores of both groups of patients were better than those of the predialysis group.
Lacrimal Sac Rhinosporidiosis: Clinical Profile and Gram Stain as a Method of Preoperative Diagnosis
Authors: Maneksha Velu , Aparna KS , Kavya Setty , Debaruna Ghosh 
Published: March 2023

Purpose:
To describe the clinical profile of lacrimal sac rhinosporidiosis and to introduce a method for preoperative microbial identification of rhinosporidiosis using Gram stain.

Methods:
This is a prospective study, carried out from January 2016 to January 2022. This series included 18 patients with clinical suspicion of lacrimal sac rhinosporidiosis. All patients underwent a comprehensive eye check-up. Mucopurulent discharge collected by a sterile swab after applying pressure over the sac area and Gram staining was done. All patients underwent dacryocystectomy. The sac contents were sent for histopathology, and rhinosporidiosis was confirmed.

Results:
A total of 18 patients over a period of 6 years with suspicion of lacrimal sac rhinosporidiosis were included. There were 11 (61.1%) male patients. Ten patients (55.5 %) had a history of either regular or occasional bathing in stagnant water. Nontender doughy swelling over the lacrimal sac region was the most common presentation. Gram staining of the mucopurulent discharge revealed thick-walled sporangia with endospores suggestive of rhinosporidiosis in all these cases. All patients underwent dacryocystectomy. Hematoxylin and eosin sections confirmed the diagnosis. Two patients had recurrence within 6 months after surgery.

Conclusion:
Regurgitation of pus mixed with whitish granular particles or blood is highly suspicious of rhinosporidiosis. In clinically suspected cases, microbial diagnosis using Gram stain is an economical, office procedure, which helps the surgeon to plan for the surgery and for better counseling.
Skin-Only Versus Skin-Plus-Orbicularis Resection Blepharoplasty: An Elaborated Analysis of Early- and Long-Term Effects on Corneal Nerves, Meibomian Glands, Dry Eye Parameters, and Eyebrow Position
Authors: Dericioğlu Volkan , Şan Burçin , Sevik Mehmet Orkun , Akkaya Turhan Semra 
Published: March 2023

Purpose:
To evaluate the early- and long-term effects of 2 different blepharoplasty techniques on corneal nerves, meibomian gland morphology, clinical parameters of dry eye disease (DED), and eyebrow position.

Methods:
This prospective, interventional study included age-sex-matched blepharoplasty patients who had a skin-only resection (24 eyes of 12 patients; Group-S) or a skin-plus-orbicularis muscle resection (24 eyes of 12 patients; Group-M) procedure. Preoperative and postoperative parameters of in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCCM; corneal nerve fiber density [CNFD], nerve branch density [CNBD], and nerve fiber length), meibomian gland area loss (MGAL), DED (Schirmer I test and noninvasive tear breakup time), and eyebrow heights (lateral [LBH] and central [CBH]) were evaluated and compared between the intervention groups (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05528016).

Results:
Compared with baseline, the CNBD of Group-S (19.91 ± 7.66 vs. 16.05 ± 7.28 branches/mm2, p = 0.049) and CNFD of Group-M (19.52 ± 7.45 vs. 16.80 ± 6.95 fibers/mm2, p = 0.028) was significantly decreased at postoperative first week. However, in both groups, IVCCM parameters returned to baseline values at postoperative first month and first year (p > 0.05). A significant MGAL increase was observed in Group-S (18.47 ± 5.43 vs. 19.94 ± 5.31, p = 0.030) and Group-M (18.86 ± 7.06 vs. 20.12 ± 7.01, p = 0.023) at the postoperative first year, demonstrating meibomian gland atrophy. Only significant changes were observed in Group-M in LBH (16.17 ± 2.45 vs. 16.67 ± 2.28 mm, p = 0.044) and CBH (17.33 ± 2.35 vs. 17.96 ± 2.31 mm, p = 0.004) at postoperative first year.

Conclusions:
Blepharoplasty with or without orbicularis resection seems to have similar effects on IVCCM, DED, and MGAL parameters. However, incorporating an orbicularis muscle resection in a blepharoplasty operation could slightly elevate the eyebrow position.
Reconstruction of Anophthalmic Sockets With Pedicled Nasoseptal Flap
Authors: Gonzalias-Duque Catherinne , Ordoñez Rafael , Montaño Luis F. , Plazola-Hernandez Sara 
Published: March 2023

Purpose:
Patients who undergo eye removal often present with orbital soft-tissue insufficiency and contraction of the eye sockets. The most commonly used reconstruction strategy is grafting the orbit with free grafts, which is associated with the drawback of harvesting tissue from an unconnected site. This study describes the use of the vascularized nasoseptal flap in the reconstruction and enlargement of the contracted anophthalmic cavity in patients with severe or recurrent contracted eye sockets and evaluates its efficacy.

Methods:
A sphenopalatine-pedicled flap from the nasal septum was harvested and mobilized into the anophthalmic orbit for the reconstruction, coverage, and enlargement of the socket in 17 patients with anophthalmic socket syndrome. Data regarding the demographics, preoperative status, postoperative findings, follow-up, outcomes, dates of mutilant and reconstructive surgery, and relevant clinical or imaging were collected.

Results:
Krishna´s classification was used to assess the postoperative outcomes. The final rating improved in all patients at a median follow-up duration of 35 months. A greater impact was observed in patients who underwent reconstructive surgery before nasoseptal flap creation. Two minor complications occurred; however, major surgical intervention was not required. Implant extrusion was observed in 2 patients.

Conclusions:
The novel strategy of applying nasoseptal flaps in the reconstruction of anophthalmic sockets results in improved socket grading and a low rate of recurrence (socket contracture or implant extrusion), and complications. The vascular nature of the flap makes it suitable for use in complex cases.
Involvement of monocyte-derived extracellular vesicle-associated tissue factor activity in convallatoxin-induced hypercoagulability
Authors: Morimoto Mami , Tatsumi Kohei , Takabayashi Yoko , Sakata Asuka , Yuui Katsuya , Terazawa Ikuko , Kudo Risa , Kasuda Shogo 
Published: March 2023

Objectives
Convallatoxin (CNT) is a natural cardiac glycoside extracted from lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). Although it is empirically known to cause blood coagulation disorders, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. CNT exerts cytotoxicity and increases tissue factor (TF) expression in endothelial cells. However, the direct action of CNT on blood coagulation remains unclear. Therefore, herein, we investigated the effects of CNT on whole blood coagulation system and TF expression in monocytes.

Methods
Blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers to measure plasma thrombin–antithrombin complex (TAT) concentration using ELISA and to perform rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM) and whole-blood extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated TF (EV-TF) analysis. The effects of CNT were also investigated using the monocytic human cell line THP-1. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting were performed, and PD98059, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor, was used to elucidate the action mechanism of CNT-mediated TF production.

Results
CNT treatment increased EV-TF activity, shortened the whole blood clotting time in rotational thromboelastometry analysis, and increased TAT levels, which is an index of thrombin generation. Furthermore, CNT increased TF mRNA expression in THP-1 cells and EV-TF activity in the cell culture supernatant. Therefore, CNT may induce a hypercoagulable state with thrombin generation, in which elevated EV-TF activity derived from monocytes might be involved. These procoagulant effects of CNT were reversed by PD98059, suggesting that CNT-induced TF production in monocytes might be mediated by the MAPK pathway.

Conclusions
The findings of the present study have further clarified the procoagulant properties of CNT.
Variability in Celiac Serology Testing by Provider Type: A Single-Center Experience
Authors: Chugh Ankur , Lo Stanley F. 
Published: March 2023

Objective:
To evaluate the ordering practices of celiac disease (CD) serologies by providers at a tertiary, academic, Children’s Hospital and compare them to guidelines and best practices.

Methods:
We analyzed celiac serologies ordered in 2018 by provider type (pediatric gastrointestinal (GI) specialists, primary care providers (PCPs), and nonpediatric GI specialists), and identified causes for variability and nonadherence.

Results:
The antitissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG) IgA was ordered (n = 2504) most frequently by gastroenterologists (43%), endocrinologists (22%), and other (35%). Total IgA was ordered with tTG IgA for screening purposes in 81% of overall cases, but endocrinologists ordered it only 49% of the time. The tTG IgG was ordered infrequently (1.9%) compared with tTG IgA. Antideaminated gliadin peptide (DGP) IgA/IgG levels were also infrequently ordered (5.4%) compared with tTG IgA. The antiendomysial antibody was ordered sparingly (0.9%) compared with tTG IgA, but appropriately by providers with expertise in CD, similar to ordering for celiac genetics (0.8%). Of the celiac genetic tests, 15% were ordered in error. The positivity rate of the tTG IgA ordered by PCPs was 4.4%.

Conclusions:
The tTG IgA was appropriately ordered by all types of providers. Endocrinologists inconsistently ordered total IgA levels with screening labs. DGP IgA/IgG tests were not commonly ordered but were inappropriately ordered by one provider. The low number of ordered antiendomysial antibody and celiac genetic tests suggests under-utilization of the nonbiopsy approach. The positive yield of tTG IgA ordered by PCPs was higher compared with previous studies.
Tissue Oximetry as a Potential Alternative to Indocyanine Green (ICG) Perfusion Assessment in Colorectal Anastomotic Cases
Authors: Gonzalez-Jacobo Alexander , Chandler Paul , Martz Joseph , Sherwinter Danny 
Published: March 2023

Introduction:
Anastomotic margin tissue perfusion is recognized as critical to successful colorectal anastomosis creation. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) is the most common modality used by surgeons as an adjunct to clinical assessment in confirming the adequacy of tissue perfusion. Tissue oxygenation as a surrogate for tissue perfusion has been described in a variety of surgical specialties but its use in colorectal surgery has been limited. Here, we report our experience using a handheld tissue-oxygen meter, IntraOx, for the evaluation of colorectal tissue bed oxygen saturation (StO2) and compared its utility with NIR-ICG in identifying the viability of colonic tissue before anastomosis in a range of colorectal procedures.

Materials and Methods:
This was an institutional review board–approved multicenter trial consisting of 100 patients undergoing elective colon resections. After specimen mobilization, a clinical margin was chosen based on the oncologic, anatomic, and clinical assessment as per the clinicians’ standard technique. The IntraOx device was then used to take a baseline reading of colonic tissue oxygenation on a normal segment of perfused colon. Following this, measurements were taken circumferentially at 5 cm intervals along the bowel proximally and distally to the clinical margin. A StO2 margin was then determined based on the point at which the StO2 dropped off by ≥10 percentage points. This was then compared with the NIR-ICG margin using the Spy-Phi system.

Results:
StO2 was found to have a sensitivity and specificity of 94.8% and 93.1%, respectively, and a positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 93.5% and 94.5%, respectively when compared with NIR-ICG. At the 4-week follow-up, no significant complications or leaks were reported.

Conclusions:
The IntraOx handheld device was found to be similar to NIR-ICG in identifying a well-perfused margin of colonic tissue while having the added benefits of high portability and reduced costs. Further studies looking at the effect of the IntraOx on preventing colonic anastomotic complications such as leak and stricture are warranted.
Evaluation of Long-term Performance of the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial in the Treatment of Inguinal Hernias
Authors: Grantham David W. , Doerhoff Carl R. , Linn John G. , Mallico Eric J. , Washington Raymond G. 
Published: March 2023

Background:
The objective of this study was to analyze device safety and clinical outcomes of inguinal hernia repair with the GORE SYNECOR Intraperitoneal Biomaterial device, a hybrid composite mesh.

Methods:
This retrospective case review analyzed device/procedure endpoints beyond 1 year in patients treated for inguinal hernia repair with the device. Three objectives were evaluated: procedural endpoint—incidence through 30 days of surgical site infection, surgical site occurrence (SSO), ileus, readmission, reoperation, and death; device endpoint—serious device incidence of mesh erosion, infection, excision/removal, exposure, migration, shrinkage, device-related bowel obstruction and fistula, and hernia recurrence through 12 months; and patient-reported outcomes of the bulge, physical symptoms, and pain.

Results:
A total of 157 patients (mean age: 67±13 y) with 201 inguinal hernias (mean size: 5.1±5 cm2) were included. Laparoscopic approach and bridging repair were performed in 99.4% of patients. All device location was preperitoneal. No procedure-related adverse events within 30 days were reported. No surgical site infection or SSO events or device-related hernia recurrence occurred through 12 months. Procedure-related serious adverse events occurred in 6 patients; 5 recurrent inguinal hernias (at 1 and 2 y) and 1 scrotal hematoma (at 6 mo). Through 24 months, no SSO events requiring procedural intervention occurred. Through 50 months, 6 (2.98%) patients had confirmed hernia recurrence and 4 (1.99%) patients had hernia reoperation. The patient-reported outcome for pain was reported by 7.9% (10/126) of patients who completed the questionnaire.

Conclusions:
In this study, inguinal hernia repair with the hybrid composite mesh was successful in most patients and the rate of recurrence was low, further supporting the long-term safety and device performance.
Neuroprotective effects of different doses of Maresin1 pretreatment in aged rats after anesthesia/surgery
Authors: Li Xiuhua , Han Xu , Gao Yubo , Tang Shaling , Yang Yanfang , Zhang Chun , Ni Xinli 
Published: March 2023

Objective
The study is to investigate the neuroprotective effect of different doses of Maresin1 pretreatment in aged rats after anesthesia/surgery and the related mechanisms.

Methods
Aged male rats were randomly divided into a control group, an anesthesia/surgery group, and low, medium, and high-dose Maresin1 pretreatment groups, and the hippocampus was taken for study. The Morris water maze was performed to detect the cognitive ability of rats. Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and central nervous system-specific protein (S100β). The ultrastructure of astrocytes was observed by a transmission electron microscope. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the relative expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α mRNA.

Results
Compared with the control group, the cognition of rats in the anesthesia/surgery group was significantly reduced. The expression of astrocyte markers (GFAP and S100β) in the hippocampus of rats in the anesthesia/surgery group was increased. The levels of hippocampal inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) were also higher in the anesthesia/surgery group than in the control group. After pretreatment with different doses of Maresin1, the cognitive impairment of rats was alleviated to varying degrees. Maresin1 pretreatment decreased the expression of astrocyte markers and inflammatory factors in the hippocampus of rats after anesthesia/surgery, and improve the microstructures of activated astrocytes, especially in the medium-dose group.

Conclusion
Pretreatment with Maresin1 (especially at medium-dose) showed neuroprotective effects in aged rats after anesthesia/surgery, which may be related to the inhibition of astrocyte activation.
Generalized cumulative shrinkage process priors with applications to sparse Bayesian factor analysis
Authors: Frühwirth-Schnatter Sylvia 
Published: March 2023

The paper discusses shrinkage priors which impose increasing shrinkage in a sequence of parameters. We review the cumulative shrinkage process (CUSP) prior of Legramantiet al.(Legramantiet al. 2020Biometrika107, 745–752. (doi:10.1093/biomet/asaa008)), which is a spike-and-slab shrinkage prior where the spike probability is stochastically increasing and constructed from the stick-breaking representation of a Dirichlet process prior. As a first contribution, this CUSP prior is extended by involving arbitrary stick-breaking representations arising from beta distributions. As a second contribution, we prove that exchangeable spike-and-slab priors, which are popular and widely used in sparse Bayesian factor analysis, can be represented as a finite generalized CUSP prior, which is easily obtained from the decreasing order statistics of the slab probabilities. Hence, exchangeable spike-and-slab shrinkage priors imply increasing shrinkage as the column index in the loading matrix increases, without imposing explicit order constraints on the slab probabilities. An application to sparse Bayesian factor analysis illustrates the usefulness of the findings of this paper. A new exchangeable spike-and-slab shrinkage prior based on the triple gamma prior of Cadonnaet al.(Cadonnaet al. 2020Econometrics8, 20. (doi:10.3390/econometrics8020020)) is introduced and shown to be helpful for estimating the unknown number of factors in a simulation study.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bayesian inference: challenges, perspectives, and prospects’.
Mathematical theory of Bayesian statistics for unknown information source
Authors: Watanabe Sumio 
Published: March 2023

In statistical inference, uncertainty is unknown and all models are wrong. That is to say, a person who makes a statistical model and a prior distribution is simultaneously aware that both are fictional candidates. To study such cases, statistical measures have been constructed, such as cross validation, information criteria and marginal likelihood; however, their mathematical properties have not yet been completely clarified when statistical models are under- or over-parametrized. We introduce a place of mathematical theory of Bayesian statistics for unknown uncertainty, which clarifies general properties of cross validation, information criteria and marginal likelihood, even if an unknown data-generating process is unrealizable by a model or even if the posterior distribution cannot be approximated by any normal distribution. Hence it gives a helpful standpoint for a person who cannot believe in any specific model and prior. This paper consists of three parts. The first is a new result, whereas the second and third are well-known previous results with new experiments. We show there exists a more precise estimator of the generalization loss than leave-one-out cross validation, there exists a more accurate approximation of marginal likelihood than Bayesian information criterion, and the optimal hyperparameters for generalization loss and marginal likelihood are different.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bayesian inference: challenges, perspectives, and prospects’.
Bayesian approaches to include real-world data in clinical studies
Authors: Müller P. , Chandra N. K. , Sarkar A. 
Published: March 2023

Randomized clinical trials have been the mainstay of clinical research, but are prohibitively expensive and subject to increasingly difficult patient recruitment. Recently, there is a movement to use real-world data (RWD) from electronic health records, patient registries, claims data and other sources in lieu of or supplementing controlled clinical trials. This process of combining information from diverse sources calls for inference under a Bayesian paradigm. We review some of the currently used methods and a novel non-parametric Bayesian (BNP) method. Carrying out the desired adjustment for differences in patient populations is naturally done with BNP priors that facilitate understanding of and adjustment for population heterogeneities across different data sources. We discuss the particular problem of using RWD to create a synthetic control arm to supplement single-arm treatment only studies. At the core of the proposed approach is the model-based adjustment to achieve equivalent patient populations in the current study and the (adjusted) RWD. This is implemented using common atoms mixture models. The structure of such models greatly simplifies inference. The adjustment for differences in the populations can be reduced to ratios of weights in such mixtures.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bayesian inference: challenges, perspectives, and prospects’.