bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Community perceptions on the effectiveness of herbal medicines and factors associated with their use in managing diarrhoea among under-five children in North-eastern Tanzania
Authors: Liheluka Edwin , Gibore Nyasiro Sophia , Lusingu John P. A. , Gesase Samwel , Minja Daniel T. R. , Lamshöft Maike , Dekker Denise , Bali Theodora 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background
The demand for herbal medicines continues to increase globally. However, community perceptions on their effectiveness and factors influencing their use have not been extensively investigated, notably in the Tanga Region, North-eastern Tanzania, where their use in treating various diseases, including paediatric diarrhoea, has flourished. According to studies, Tanga Region has a high prevalence of diarrhoea among under-five children. This study explored community perceptions on the effectiveness of herbal medicines and factors associated with their use in managing diarrhoea among under-five children in North-eastern Tanzania.

Methods
A qualitative approach and a narrative design were employed by the present study since they had the potential to reveal unrecognized or unreported research problems. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to facilitate data collection from June 2022 to February 2023. The methods were chosen since they are the most common sources of qualitative data in health research. Purposive sampling method was used to select 247 participants, which included 171 caretakers, 52 traditional healers, and 24 paediatric health workers. Interviews were conducted until the saturation point was reached. The purposive technique was considered since it was a method that enabled the researcher to select participants who were knowledgeable about the study topic. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis.

Results
Economic hardship, culture and heritage, superstitious beliefs, failure to recover after receiving hospital medication, easy accessibility of herbal medicines, and long distance to the health facility were the factors perceived to be potentially associated with persistent use of herbal medicines among caretakers. The majority of participants believed that herbal treatments were harmless and effective in treating diarrhoea.

Conclusion
Superstitious beliefs, culture, and heritage were the primary justifications for using herbal medicines. It is vital for the relevant authority to educate the community on the risk of using unproven herbal medicines in order to diminish the effects that may arise from using uninvestigated herbs. As things stand, the use of herbal medications will continue owing to their relevance to the lives of people in the study setting.
Extra-musculoskeletal manifestations driving the therapeutic decision-making in patients with Spondyloarthritis: a 12-month follow-up prospective cohort study
Authors: dos Reis Annunciato Danielle , Oliveira Thauana Luiza , Magalhães Vanessa Oliveira , de Medeiros Pinheiro Marcelo 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background
The extra-musculoskeletal manifestations (EMMs) such as recurrent acute anterior uveitis (rAAU), psoriasis (Ps), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are related to the Spondyloarthritis (SpA), as well as they are associated with disease activity and poor prognosis. However, there are no data addressing its relevance regarding therapeutic decision-making in clinical practice.

Objective
To evaluate the impact of EMMs to drive the treatment decision-making in patients with SpA in a 12-month follow-up.

Patients and methods
SpA patients, according to the axial and peripheral ASAS classification criteria, as well as CASPAR criteria, with any active EMM, defined as main entry criteria, were included in this longitudinal cohort study. Individuals with a history of any disease or condition that could be associated with some of the studied endpoints, including neoplasms and infectious diseases, were excluded. Specific tools related to each EMM, including Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), ophthalmologic evaluation, according to the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature (SUN) criteria, and gut complaints were used at baseline and during the 3-, 6- and 12-month of follow-up as outcomes measures over time. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used appropriately, including Pearson’s correlation test, chi-squared test, and ANOVA. P value less than 0.05 was considered as significant.

Results
A total of 560 patients were enrolled, of whom 472 meet the eligibility criteria. The majority (N = 274; 59.6%) had one or more EMM related to SpA umbrella concept. Among the EMM, the one that most influenced therapeutic decision-making was psoriasis (28.5%), followed by uveitis (17.5%) and IBD (5.5%), regardless of musculoskeletal manifestations. Clinical improvement of EMMs outcomes was observed in most patients over 12-month follow-up, especially in those with rAAU and IBD (P < 0.001).

Conclusion
Our results showed that EMMs guided the therapeutic decision-making in half of SpA patients, regardless of musculoskeletal condition, suggesting the inter-disciplinarity among the rheumatologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, and gastroenterologist plays a crucial role to manage them.
Cultivation system influenced the critical period for weed control in cotton field
Authors: Ghalenovi Narges , Armin Mohammad , Jami Moeini Matin 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background
The critical period of weed control (CPWC) refers to the period of time during the crop growth cycle when weeds must be controlled to prevent yield losses. Ultra-narrow row (UNR) is a method of planting of cotton in rows that are 25 cm or less apart. Amongst cultural techniques for weed control, the use of narrow row spacing is considered to be a most promising approach that can effectively suppress weed growth and provide greater yields in cotton. This cultivation system can shorten the length of the critical weed-crop interference duration and results in greater yield. The current research aimed to determination of critical time of weed control in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under conventional and ultra-narrow row spacing conditions. Field experiments were arranged as factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Factors were cultivation system (conventional (50 cm row spacing) and ultra narrow row (25 cm row spacing and weed treatment including 30, 45, 60, and 75 days weeding after emergence during the growing season (weed free), and 30, 45, 60, and 75 without weeding (weed infested) in the growing season along with weedy and weed-free from sowing to harvesting. A four-parameter log-logistic model was fit to the two sets of relating relative crop yield to data obtained from increasing durations of weed interference and lengths of weed-free period.

Results
In both years and cultivation systems, the relative yield of cotton decreased with the increasing duration of weed-interference but increased with the increasing duration of weed-free period. Ultra-narrow row cultivation delayed the beginning of the CPWC in cotton. Under ultra-narrow row condition, the CPWC ranged from 21 to 99 days after germination in 2021 and 23 to 91 days in 2022 based on the 5% acceptable yield loss. Under conventional cultivation CPWC ranged from 17 to 102 days after emergence in 2021 and 18 to 95 days after emergence in 2022.

Conclusions
Under both conventional and Ultra-narrow row conditions, weed interference reduces seed yield. Under ultra-narrow row condition, weed interference until 21.1–23.5 days after cotton emergence and under conventional condition, weed interference until 16.9–18.5 days after cotton emergence had not significant reduction on cotton yield.
Role of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging in assessment of back muscles in young adults with chronic low back pain
Authors: Shady Magda Mohammed , Abd El-Rahman Rehab Mostafa , Saied Ahmed Mostafa Mohamed , Taman Saher Ebrahim 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
Background
Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints and considered as the most disabling condition among general population. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred modality in imaging of LBP. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a version of MRI that can detect tissue microstructure changes occurring in different pathologies. The commonly used parameters are fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). We aimed in this study to evaluate the role of DTI in the assessment of back muscles in young adults with chronic LBP with no major neurological or orthopedic disorders.

Results
There was a statistically significant difference in MD values of back muscles between patients and control groups. At the ROC curve, for psoas muscle, the AUC was 0.906 with a cutoff point of 0.951. Sensitivity and specificity were 89.2% and 90.9% with accuracy 89.8%. For multifidus muscle, the AUC was 0.919 with a cutoff point of 1.29. Sensitivity and specificity were 91.9% and 90.9% with accuracy 91.4%. For erector spinae muscle, the AUC was 0.834 with a cutoff point of 1.224. Sensitivity and specificity were 81.1% and 72.7% with accuracy 77.9%. There was a statistically significant difference in FA values of back muscles between the patients and control groups. At the ROC curve, for psoas muscle, the AUC was 0.840 with a cutoff point of 0.546. Sensitivity and specificity were 81.1% and 72.7% with accuracy 77.97%. For multifidus muscle, the AUC was 0.875 with a cutoff point of 0.415. Sensitivity and specificity were 81.1% and 90.9% with accuracy 84.7%. For erector spinae muscle, the AUC was 0.805 with a cutoff point of 0.437. Sensitivity and specificity were 81.1% and 77.3% with accuracy 79.7%.

Conclusions
DTI is a valuable promising noninvasive tool in the assessment of back muscles quality in patient with chronic low back pain, with no detected neurological or orthopedic pathologies. This is due to its sensitivity to microscopic intracellular changes that could not be detected on conventional imaging, allowing better tissue characterization.
Impact of financial inclusion on household welfare in Ethiopia
Authors: Hussen Mohammed Seid , Mohamed Mustafe Abdi 
Published: August 2023

AbstractDespite the overwhelming consensus on the positive effect of financial inclusion on economic outcomes, there is limited rigorous micro-econometric evidence on the causal impact of financial inclusion on household welfare in Ethiopia. This study uses the 2018 Ethiopian Socioeconomic Survey data and an endogenous switching regression model to investigate the determinants and the causal impact of financial inclusion on multiple measures of household welfare. The results suggest that households headed by older, more educated, wage or self-employed people in the non-agricultural sector are more likely to access financial services, as are those headed by non-Muslims. In addition, greater financial access appears to be associated with membership in a local social group (iddir), ownership of mobile phones, credit information, and knowledge of how to open bank accounts, but negatively associated with the distance from the household’s residence to the nearest formal financial institution. This study further indicates that financial inclusion has a positive and statistically significant impact on multiple household welfare indicators. The most considerable impact of access to formal financial institutions is on utility spending, followed by total expenditure, food expenditure, and education spending. These findings thus suggest that policies geared toward improving household access to formal financial institutions are essential to enhance household welfare in Ethiopia.
Three-dimensional distributed acoustic sensing at the Sanford Underground Research Facility
Authors: Cunningham Erin , Lord Neal , Fratta Dante , Chavarria Andres , Thurber Cliff , Wang Herb 
Published: August 2023

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a valuable tool for monitoring seismic signals as it provides high spatial and temporal resolution strain sensing along the length of a fiber-optic cable. DAS records the seismic wavefields essentially synchronously at each sensing location (i.e., sensing channel with gauge lengths) because the interrogator senses the distributed strain at the speed of light in the fiber. Unlike traditional seismic sensors, DAS has an intrinsic directional sensitivity to the axial strain change along the fiber, leading to difficulties when using standard seismic analysis and interpretations that rely on 3D particle velocity sensing. In addition, cable deployments on the surface can be dominated by high-amplitude wind or urban noise, impeding the detection of low-amplitude distant seismic sources. Here we investigate the capabilities of a unique 3D array with spiral-like portions in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), the former Homestake Mine, between 1250 m (4100 ft) and 1488 m (4850 ft) in depth for detecting local, regional, and teleseismic sources of ground vibrations. Our pilot array finds that DAS records high frequency (above 5 Hz) vibration sources well, such as mine activities and local and regional blasting events. Furthermore, our deployment method (fiber resting on the surface with rocks placed every meter or so) may contribute to low-frequency noise that contaminates the interpretation of teleseismic waves, particularly lower frequency S-wave arrivals. Nevertheless, this 3D DAS array provides significant data for future analysis as well as the basis for improving and expanding the array in SURF.
Financial Toxicity Monitoring in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Patient-Reported Outcomes During Cancer Treatment (Alliance AFT-39)
Authors: Blinder Victoria S. , Deal Allison M. , Ginos Brenda , Jansen Jennifer , Dueck Amylou C. , Mazza Gina L. , Henson Sydney , Carr Philip , Rogak Lauren J. , Weiss Anna , Rapperport Anna , Jonsson Mattias , Spears Patricia A. , Cella David , Gany Francesca , Schrag Deborah , Basch Ethan 
Published: August 2023

PURPOSE Financial toxicity (FT) affects 20% of cancer survivors and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. No large-scale programs have been implemented to mitigate FT. We evaluated the effect of monthly FT screening as part of a larger patient-reported outcomes (PROs) digital monitoring intervention. METHODS PRO-TECT (AFT-39) is a cluster-randomized trial of patients undergoing systemic therapy for metastatic cancer. Practices were randomly assigned 1:1 to digital symptom monitoring (PRO practices) or usual care (control practices). Digital monitoring consisted of between-visit online or automated telephone patient surveys about symptoms, functioning, and FT (single-item screening question from Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity) for up to 1 year, with automated alerts sent to practice nurses for concerning survey scores. Clinical team actions in response to alerts were not mandated. The primary outcome of this planned secondary analysis was development or worsening of financial difficulties, assessed via the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 financial difficulties measure, at any time compared with baseline. A randomly selected subset of patients and nurses were interviewed about their experiences with the intervention. RESULTS One thousand one hundred ninety-one patients were enrolled (593 PRO; 598 control) at 52 US community oncology practices. Overall, 30.2% of patients treated at practices that received the FT screening intervention developed, or experienced worsening of, financial difficulties, compared with 39.0% treated at control practices ( P = .004). Patients and nurses interviewed stated that FT screening identified patients for financial counseling who otherwise would be reluctant to seek, or unaware of the availability of, assistance. CONCLUSION In this report of a secondary outcome from a randomized clinical trial, FT screening as part of routine digital patient monitoring with PROs reduced the development, or worsening, of financial difficulties among patients undergoing systemic cancer therapy.
Effect of a Community Health Worker–Led Intervention Among Low-Income and Minoritized Patients With Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Patel Manali I. , Kapphahn Kris , Wood Emily , Coker Tumaini , Salava Deborah , Riley Angela , Krajcinovic Ivana 
Published: August 2023

PURPOSE
To determine whether a community health worker (CHW)–led intervention could improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL; primary outcome) more than usual care among low-income and racial and ethnic minoritized populations newly diagnosed with cancer.

METHODS
This randomized clinical trial was conducted from November 1, 2018, until August 31, 2021, in outpatient cancer clinics in Atlantic City, NJ, and Chicago, IL. Hourly low-wage worker members of an employer union health fund age 18 years or older with newly diagnosed solid tumor and hematologic malignancies were randomly assigned 1:1 to usual care (control group) or usual care augmented with a trained CHW for 12 months (intervention group). The CHW assisted participants with advance care planning (ACP), proactively screened symptoms, and referred participants to community-based resources for identified health-related social needs. Usual care comprised nurse case management and benefits redesign (waived copayments and free transportation for any cancer care received at preferred oncology clinics in each city). The primary outcome was HRQoL. Secondary outcomes included patient activation, satisfaction with decision, ACP documentation, health care use, total health care costs, and overall survival.

RESULTS
A total of 160 participants were enrolled. Intervention group participants had a greater increase in mean HRQoL scores at 4-month and 12-month follow-up as compared with baseline than control group participants (expected mean difference, 11.25 [95% CI, 7.28 to 15.22]; 11.29 [95% CI, 6.96 to 15.62], respectively).

CONCLUSION
In this randomized trial, a CHW-led intervention significantly improved HRQoL for low-income and racial and ethnic minoritized patients with cancer more than usual care alone.
Susceptibility to Low Vitamin B6 Diet–induced Gestational Diabetes Is Modulated by Strain Differences in Mice
Authors: Spinelli Philip , Fields Ashley M , Falcone Sierra , Mesaros Clementina , Susiarjo Martha 
Published: August 2023

AbstractGestational diabetes is a common pregnancy complication that adversely influences the health and survival of mother and child. Pancreatic islet serotonin signaling plays an important role in β-cell proliferation in pregnancy, and environmental and genetic factors that disrupt serotonin signaling are associated with gestational diabetes in mice. Our previous studies show that pregnant C57BL/6J mice fed a diet that is low in vitamin B6, a critical co-factor in serotonin synthesis, develop hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance, phenotypes that are consistent with gestational diabetes in humans. The current study shows that, unlike in the C57BL/6J mice, low vitamin B6 diet does not alter glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in pregnant DBA/2J mice. The hypothesis to be tested in the current study is that pregnant DBA/2J mice are protected against low vitamin B6–induced gestational diabetes due to their higher expression and enzymatic activities of tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (ALPL) relative to C57BL/6J. ALPL is a rate-limiting enzyme that regulates vitamin B6 bioavailability. Interestingly, treating pregnant DBA/2J mice with 7.5 mg/kg/day of the ALPL inhibitor SBI-425 is associated with glucose intolerance in low vitamin B6–fed mice, implying that inhibition of ALPL activity is sufficient to modulate resilience to low vitamin B6–induced metabolic impairment.
Beyond Bananas
Authors: Raby Megan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFrom 1926 to 1974, the United Fruit Company operated the Lancetilla Experiment Station near Tela, Honduras. As a laboratory and botanical garden where one of the world's largest living collections of tropical fruits could be found, it stood in apparent contrast to the vast banana monocultures of the surrounding area. While United Fruit's infamous plantations depended on the application of pesticides and chemical knowledge to produce a single commodity crop, its Lancetilla Experiment Station pursued a broad research program oriented toward agricultural diversification. This essay examines the history of Lancetilla to explore the company's sponsorship of science and the multiple, shifting meanings of “diversification” within this prototypical transnational agribusiness. The history of experimentation at Lancetilla reveals a range of contested visions of economic development in twentieth-century Latin America, and it is a history that has left surprising traces in both local Honduran landscapes and the face of global agribusiness today. Ultimately, by introducing oil palm to Central America, United Fruit's crop diversification project served to replace one monoculture with another.
Diversifying Description
Authors: Curry Helen Anne 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The organization of sweet potato research across global regions began in earnest in the 1980s. Leading international institutions, notably the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, recognized the potential for science-driven development of a “neglected” crop. Sweet potato was second only to potato in root crop cultivation worldwide and the top tuber in Asia yet had not been subject to the internationally coordinated research that its importance merited. This article explores how scientists involved in sweet potato research attempted to respond to the call for new international research and development efforts while avoiding the limitations of predecessor programs associated with the Green Revolution. It highlights the challenges inherent in this work by focusing on ambitions for—and challenges to—providing standardized information about samples of varieties used in research and entered into gene bank collections. As scientists and institutions grappled with critiques of the top-down model of development, many sought to address these through more inclusive research practices. As the article shows, accommodating diversity in crops and among cultivators and cultures entailed costs that ultimately limited the longevity and effectiveness of some enterprises that sought to maximize inclusivity.
“We Are the Ones That Make the Treaty”: Michi Saagiig Lands and Islands in Southeastern Ontario
Authors: Murray Laura J. 
Published: August 2023

Abstract
The 1783 “Crawford Purchase” of Michi Saagiig (Mississauga) Anishinaabe lands at the northeast end of Lake Ontario is generally recognized as the first treaty in Upper Canada for purposes of settlement. Lacking deed, map, or signed treaty, it fails to meet the Crown’s own requirements for validity. More importantly, central elements do not match Michi Saagiig interests or understandings. Nineteenth-century testimony by Michi Saagiig leaders reveals a consistent claim to islands and other key shoreline spaces. These spaces had, and have, many dimensions of value, and Michi Saagiig claim to them demonstrates and enables the ongoing resilience of Michi Saagiig memory practices, political structures, and ecological relationships.