bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Leprosy among new child cases in China: Epidemiological and clinical analysis from 2011 to 2020
Authors: Peng Jiayi , Sun Peiwen , Wang Le , Wang Hongsheng , Long Siyu , Yu Mei-Wen 
Published: February 2023

Background
Leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae infection, mainly affects skin and peripheral nerves and may further lead to disability and deformity if not treated timely. The new case detection rate of leprosy in children reflects the active transmission of leprosy infection. This study aims to present the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of new leprosy cases in children in China from 2011 to 2020.

Methodology/Principal findings
All data from leprosy patients younger than 15 years old were extracted from the Leprosy Management Information System in China (LEPMIS). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12.0 was used for descriptive and analytical statistics of the epidemiological and clinical indicators by the Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Fisher’s exact test. And geographical distribution was analyzed by ArcGIS 10.5. A total of 152 pediatric new cases of leprosy were found over the last decade. The new case detection rate of pediatric leprosy cases decreased from 0.13 to 0.02 per 1,000,000 population over the last ten years. New pediatric cases had a higher new case detection rate in Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces. All but 7 provinces in China achieved zero new child case for consecutive five years. The onset of leprosy peaked between 10 and 14 years of age, and the male to female ratio was 1.71:1. Pediatric patients were predominantly infected from symptomatic household adult contacts HHCs. Multibacillary leprosy (MB) was the most common. However, a low proportion of patients developed leprosy reaction and grade 2 disability.

Conclusions/Significance
The new case detection rate of pediatric leprosy cases has decreased over the past ten years in China. Spatial analysis indicated clusters in high-endemic areas. Leprosy transmission has stopped in the majority of provinces in China. However, sporadic cases may continue to exist for a long time. Active surveillance especially contact tracing should be focused on in future plan for management of leprosy, and interventions in leprosy clusters should be prioritized.
Doublecortin and Glypican-2 concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid from infants are developmentally downregulated
Authors: Brégère Catherine , Fisch Urs , Halbeisen Florian Samuel , Schneider Christian , Dittmar Tanja , Stricker Sarah , Aghlmandi Soheila , Guzman Raphael 
Published: February 2023

Objective
Doublecortin (DCX) and glypican-2 (GPC2) are neurodevelopmental proteins involved in the differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) to neurons, and are developmentally downregulated in neurons after birth. In this study, we investigated whether the concentrations of DCX and GPC2 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from human pediatric patients reflect this developmental process or are associated with cerebral damage or inflammatory markers.

Methods
CSF was collected from pediatric patients requiring neurosurgical treatment. The concentrations of DCX, GPC2, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), S100 calcium-binding protein B (S100B), and cytokines (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IFN-γ, and TNF-⍺) were measured using immunoassays.

Results
From March 2013 until October 2018, 63 CSF samples were collected from 38 pediatric patients (20 females; 17 patients with repeated measurements); the median term born-adjusted age was 3.27 years [Q1: 0.31, Q3: 7.72]. The median concentration of DCX was 329 pg/ml [Q1: 192.5, Q3: 1179.6] and that of GPC2 was 26 pg/ml [Q1: 13.25, Q3: 149.25]. DCX and GPC2 concentrations independently significantly associated with age, and their concentration declined with advancing age, reaching undetectable levels at 0.3 years for DCX, and plateauing at 1.5 years for GPC2. Both DCX and GPC2 associated with hydrocephalus, NSE, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-8, IL-13. No relationship was found between sex, acute infection, S100B, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, TNF-α and DCX or GPC2, respectively.

Conclusions
Concentrations of DCX and GPC2 in the CSF from pediatric patients are developmentally downregulated, with the highest concentrations measured at the earliest adjusted age, and reflect a neurodevelopmental stage rather than a particular disease state.
TÜRKİYE’DE ENFLASYON VE FAİZ ORANI İLİŞKİSİ: FISHER HİPOTEZİNİN SINANMASI
Authors: SEREL Alpaslan , AKŞEHİRLİ Nurcihan 
Published: February 2023

Fisher Hipotezi, reel faiz oranının s 2abit olduğu varsayımı doğrultusunda, beklenen enflasyondaki değişikliklerin
nominal faiz oranında bire bir değişiklikler oluşturduğunu öne sürmüştür. Fisher Etkisinin, faiz oranlarının
davranışı ve finansal piyasaların rasyonalitesi ve verimliliği üzerinde önemli etkileri bulunması nedeniyle
çalışmada, Fisher Hipotezinin Türkiye için geçerliliğinin (2015: 01 – 2022: 06) dönemi için araştırılması amaçlanmıştır.
Sınama, mevduat ve kredi faiz oranları ile iki farklı modele dayalı olarak ve de Johansen eşbütünleşme
testi ile vektör hata düzeltme modeline dayalı Granger nedensellik testi yardımı ile yapılmıştır. Bulgular, Türkiye’de
Fisher Hipotezinin hem uzun hem de kısa dönemde geçerli olduğunu ve nedensellik yönünün beklenen
enflasyondan nominal faiz oranlarına doğru gerçekleştiğini ortaya koymuştur.
Failing Young and Temporary Workers? The Impact of a Disruptive Crisis on a Dual Labour Market
Authors: Nunes Carolina , Carvalho Bruno P. , Pereira dos Santos João , Peralta Susana , Tavares José 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
We study the impact of the pandemic crisis using monthly data covering the universe of individuals registered as unemployed in mainland Portuguese municipalities, complemented with electronic payments, linked employer–employee data, and furlough records. Event study designs identify a sharp increase in unemployment, driven mostly by termination of temporary contracts, and a decrease in new job placements. With triple difference-in-differences, we show that the effects are stronger in more dual municipal labour markets, i.e. with a higher share of temporary jobs, concentrated in young workers and middle educated individuals. The asymmetries are exacerbated by the duality of the municipal labour market.
An improved multi-source domain adaptation network for inter-subject mental fatigue detection based on DANN
Authors: Chen Kun , Liu Zhiyong , Li Zhilei , Liu Quan , Ai Qingsong , Ma Li 
Published: February 2023

Abstract

Objectives
Electroencephalogram (EEG) is often used to detect mental fatigue because of its real-time characteristic and objective nature. However, because of the individual variability of EEG among different individuals, tedious and time-consuming calibration sessions are needed.

Methods
Therefore, we propose a multi-source domain adaptation network for inter-subject mental fatigue detection named FLDANN, which is short for focal loss based domain-adversarial training of neural network. As for mental state feature extraction, power spectrum density is extracted based on the Welch method from four sub-bands of EEG signals. The features of the source domain and target domain are fed into the FLDANN network. The contributions of FLDANN include: (1) It uses the idea of adversarial to reduce feature differences between the source and target domain. (2) A loss function named focal loss is used to assign weights to source and target domain samples

Results
The experiment result shows that when the number of the source domains increases, the classification accuracy of domain-adversarial training of neural network (DANN) gradually decreases and finally tends to be stable. The proposed method achieves an accuracy of 84.10% ± 8.75% on the SEED-VIG dataset and 65.42% ± 7.47% on the self-designed dataset. In addition, the proposed method is compared with other domain adaptation methods and the results show that the proposed method outperforms those state-of-the-art methods.

Conclusions
The result proves that the proposed method is able to solve the problem of individual differences across subjects and to solve the problem of low classification performance of multi-source domain transfer learning.
Germination and growth of Sterculia colombiana in Arosemena Tola, Napo, Ecuador
Authors: Abril-Saltos Ricardo Vinicio , Villacis-Estrada Evelyn Aracelly , Tapuy-Andy Micela Delsy , Pillco-Herrera Briyidt Maryeli , Quishpe-Lopez Jonny David , López-Adriano Katherine Pamela 
Published: February 2023

Introduction. The Amazon region has a great plant diversity, but studies on their propagation and growth have been carried out in few species. Objective. To evaluate the in situ and ex situ germination of Sterculia colombiana and its growth characteristics after planting in ground covers of primary forest and intervened areas. Materials and methods. The study was carried out in Napo, Ecuador, in the period 2019-2020. The germination of S. colombiana was characterized in the variables: days and percentage to emergence, plant height, stem diameter and number of leaves, under greenhouse conditions and planted at the collection site. The plants obtained in the germination test were transplanted to a ground cover of primary forest (in situ) and an intervened area with replacement vegetation (ex situ). Linear, quadratic, cubic, exponential, and logarithmic growth models for stem height and diameter were evaluated. The air and soil temperature and the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil were recorded. An analysis of variance was performed to determine differences in growth and survival between the plantation sites and between the plants obtained in the in situ and ex situ tests. Results. The seedlings obtained from greenhouses reported fewer days to emergence and higher values in the rest of the variables evaluated than those grown in situ. The plants developed in the different evaluated covers, without significant differences in growth at the end of the study, only a significant correlation at 5 % between stem diameter and air temperature was reported. Conclusions. Sterculia colombiana germinated in a greenhouse and developed in the transplant sites, without this influencing its growth. Temperature was the only factor that reported significant correlations with growth at the end of the evaluation period.
Retinal arterial macroaneurysm in a patient with arterial hypertension
Authors: Masten Matejka , Hudovernik Mojca , Pahor Dušica 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: To present a case of retinal arterial macroaneurysm in a 48–year–old male patient with systemic arterial hypertension.
Case report: A 48–year–old male was admitted to our department because of progressive deterioration of visual acuity in his right eye. He reported diplopia and blurred central field vision. The patient was treated for systemic arterial hypertension and had no other known medical problems. Medical treatment, examination results, and therapy were presented in this case report.
Conclusions: In the treatment of patients with retinal arterial macroaneurysm a holistic approach is important. In an attempt to optimize the final outcome of the patient's treatment, both the ocular symptoms and systemic risk factors should be treated. Therapeutic interventions for eyes with retinal arterial macroaneurysm include laser photocoagulation, pneumatic displacement of haemorrhage, vitreoretinal surgical techniques, the use of neodymium–doped yttrium aluminium garnet or argon laser, and intravitreal injections of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor drugs. Their precise roles should be evaluated in further studies.
Giant symptomatic hydatid cyst requiring pneumonectomy
Authors: Crnjac Anton , Hojski Aljaž , Greif Boris , Petek Tadej , Vidovič Damjan 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: This paper discusses the diagnostic approach, treatment and certain complications in the treatment of patients with hydatid lung disease. The objective of surgical treatment is removal of the cyst and preservation of the healthy lung parenchyma. In cases of overgrowth of the pulmonary artery, which are rare, it is sometimes necessary to remove the lung;this is linked with the possibility of serious postoperative complications.
Case report: We present the case of a 27–year–old patient with a hydatid cyst overgrowing the pulmonary artery and requiring removal of the left lung. After the surgery, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) developed in the remaining right lung. Extracorporeal membrane oxidation (ECMO) was required. Despite a serious complication of the extensive surgical resection, the patient left the hospital after four weeks without major health problems.
Conclusion: In patients with giant pulmonary hydatidcysts it is possible to perform surgery, preserve the lung and continue treatment with the addition of albendazole therapy. The removal of the lung, on account of overgrowth of the pulmonary artery, can significantly affect the course of postoperative treatment. When planning the surgical procedure, a precise image of the pulmonary hilar structures is essential.
Mechanisms and Prevention of Open Globe Eye Injuries
Authors: Kuhta Katja , Pahor Dušica 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Open globe injuries are a frequent cause of unilateral vision loss. The purpose of our study was to determine the epidemiological data of open globe injuries during a 15-year period in Central East Slovenia.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of 219 patients (219 eyes) with open globe injuries admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology in the University Clinical Centre Maribor, Slovenia, from January 1999 to January 2014 was performed. We analyzed the following parameters: sex, age, month of injury, place of injury, type of injury, and mechanism of injury, grouped according to sex.
Results: The majority of patients were male (186 patients, 85%). The mean age of male patients was 38 years with almost 45% of injuries occurring in the age interval between 30 and 50 years. Most injuries occurred during the colder part of the year from October to January. The most common place of injuries was the home (126 eyes, 66.5%). The most common open globe injuries were penetrating injuries (126 eyes, 57.6%) and rupture of the globe (49 eyes, 22.4%). Males most frequently experienced open globe injuries as a result of sharp objects (86 eyes, 46%), while in females, the most common causes of injuries were falls (10 eyes, 31%) and blunt objects (10 eyes, 31%).
Conclusions: The vast majority of eye injuries are preventable. Studying the causes of injuries for a determined region is important to provide for preventable measures, like the use of eye protection, and to provide health education, to prevent severe vision loss or blindness.
Preparing patients to undergo surgery
Authors: Rakovec Felser Zlatka , Planinc Špela , Matvoz Marjanca , Vidovič Lea 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate patient anxiety levels and ways of coping, while they are waiting in the hospital to undergo surgery.
Methods: One hundred fifty-four patients were included from four different surgical departments (62 females and 92 males), 24–86 years of age (mean age [M] = 58.8 years). The following instruments were applied: a semi-structured interview; the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety; and The Brief Cope Inventory.
Results: One-half of the patients (50%) expressed a fear to undergo surgery; 28 % of the patients said that they were afraid of anaesthesia, regarderless of the type of anaesthesia, and 54% of patients expressed a fear and worry about the outcome of surgery. Women (Mas ± SDas =32.58±8.01; Mat ± SDat =35.16±8.97; in general, Ma ± SDa =67.74±15.44) had state and trait anxiety significantly more often than men (Mas ± SDas =28.11±6.21; Mat ± SDat =30.29±7.48; in general Ma ± SDa=58.40±12.74). Elderly males fall due to the received weak social support into the risk group of patients. They less often/less directly express their needs and emotions, and are less active in searching for information or advice in the social environment. In stressful situations, elderly males also frequently give up the attempt to obtain the goals with which the stressor is interfering.
Conclusion: Patients who wait to undergo surgery should not suffer anxiety needlessly because it is known that anxiety has a negative impact on the course and outcome of surgical procedures. The pre-operative management of a patient’s anxiety is therefore important and a well-educated medical care team should be familiar with the appearance of anxiety, communication skills, and relaxation treatment.
A Comparison of Incidence of Patient Aggression in the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana and at the Department of Psychiatry of the University Medical Centre Maribor
Authors: Žgavec Nace , Kores Plesničar Blanka 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Management of aggressive behaviour in patients with psychiatric diagnoses presents a challenge and burden for health staff. The present study compared two psychiatric institutions (the Department of Psychiatry of the University Medical Centre Maribor and the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana) in terms of frequency and consequences of patient aggression. We compared frequencies of aggression between male and female patients, patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and other diagnoses, previously aggressive patients and patients who were aggressive for the first time. We also compared the use of special protective measures in both institutions.
Methods: This study was retrospective and included the analysis of documentation of patients who were hospitalised at both institutions from 1 January 2012 to 31 June 2012. We identified patients with aggressive behaviour and acquired their sociodemographic data, diagnosis, number of hospitalisations, presence of alcohol or psychoactive substances and presence of aggressive behaviour. For assessment of aggressive behaviour, the Overt aggression scale was used.
Results: One-hundred and forty-seven patients met the criteria for aggressive behaviour. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of aggression between genders or diagnoses. However, there was a statistically significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) in the frequency of aggression in patients who had previously been aggressive compared to those patients who had not exhibited such behaviour. There was no statistically significant difference in the use of special protective measures between the two institutions.
Conclusions: Two hypotheses were confirmed: patients who had exhibited previous aggression were more frequently aggressive than those with no previous aggressive behaviour while the use of special protective measures between the two institutions was similar.
Beliefs and viewpoints of family medicine physicians on approaches to identify and treat medically unexplained symptoms
Authors: Ivetić Vojislav , Poplas Susič Tonka , Pašić Klemen , Selič Polona 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to identify the beliefs and viewpoints of family medicine physicians (FMPs) on the approaches to identify and treat medically unexplained symptoms (MUS).
Methods: We used qualitative and quantitative research methods, and prepare a purposive sample for the implementation of five focus groups (three in Maribor and two in Ljubljana) between July and September 2011. The findings were used as questions in the quantitative part of the study applying random sampling (n = 90). FMPs were invited throughout Slovenia to participate in our study (January – March 2012). Analysis of qualitative material was performed using ATLAS.ti 7 software, and quantitative data were statistically processed using SPSS 21.0.
Results: In the process of coding, we created 64 codes, which were categorized into 8 categories. In the quantitative part, we received responses from 63 (70%) of the invited FMPs, 84.1% (n = 53) and 77.8% (n = 49) of whom stressed the importance of MUS prevention and treatment, and the importance of good communication, respectively. Of the 63 FMPs, 93.7% (n = 59) were of the opinion that patients with MUS leave feeling exhausted. As potential reasons for MUS, FMPs described problems in patients’ interactions with their surroundings (100%, n = 63), past and current stressful events (96.8%, n=61), and occult psychiatric diseases (68.3%, n = 43). The quality of MUS patient care would improve with more education in the field of basic psychotherapeutic techniques, difficult patient approaches (95.2%, n = 60), and communication skills (95.2%, n = 60).
Conclusion: We found that Slovenian FMPs place a strong emphasis on prevention and treatment of patients with MUS, and these patients generally leave them feeling tired and frustrated.
Progressive muscle weakness due to lumbar disc herniation in pregnancy: A case report
Authors: Rečnik Gregor 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Low back pain with radiculopathy caused by lumbar disc herniation is a rare presentation in pregnancy. Appropriate management is based on helping the gravida, while protecting her unborn offspring.
Case report: A case of a 35–year–old pregnant woman in the 15th week of pregnancy with disabling pain and progressive motor weakness due to L4–L5 disc herniation is presented. Surgical decompression was performed with an aim to alleviate disabling pain and improve muscle strength.
Conclusions: Treatment of disc herniation in pregnancy is conservative in the majority of cases. In the rare likelihood of permanent neurologic sequelae, surgical decompression is indicated, taking into account the specific physiologic condition of pregnancy.
From the editorial to the Book of Portraits on its Way / Iz uvodnika Knjigi portretov na pot
Authors: Kranjc Ivan 
Published: February 2023

(The book will come out in the publishing house Faculty of Medicine University of Maribor)
In 2014, on the tenth anniversary of operations of the University of Maribor Faculty of Medicine, we published the monograph "Ten Years of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Maribor". In the monograph, we provided a description of the creation and operation of the second Slovenian medical faculty. Much has happened since the first decade and we have already advanced into the second. An attentive observer would not have missed the important milestones of our development from the establishment of the Bologna Reform to our greatest achievement—building an urgently needed faculty on the right riverbank of the Drava River. Following the ideas of the Architecture Professor Boris Podrecca, the faculty is attached to the city and the university. All along, especially since September 2013, we have monitored the development of our medical studies, introduced new features to the program, and developed or renewed basic research studies. Novel appropriate premises and stateof- the-art medical equipment have been the basis for the formation of numerous innovations and changes.
Infracochlear approach to the petrous apex: a report of two cases
Authors: Rebolj Janez , Milojković Vojin , Cvetić Goran 
Published: February 2023

Purpose: Presentation of the infracochlear approach to the petrous apex of the temporal bone, based on two clinical cases.
Case report: Infracochlear approach to the petrous apex of the temporal bone was performed on two patients with cholesterol granuloma and plasmocytoma. The procedure was performed through the external auditory meatus, the tympanomeatal flap was raised, and the triangular/rectangular window bounded by the internal carotid artery, jugular vein, and round window of the cochlea was drilled out to the petrous apex.
Conclusion: Infracochlear approach to petrous apex is a safe operating procedure that preserves the normal external auditory canal and middle ear conductive mechanism. It is the most direct and least invasive of all procedures to reach the petrous apex, and it is suitable for both drainage procedures and biopsy of lesions in the petrous apex of the temporal bone.