bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Central nervous system tumors in patients coming from areas of conflict in the Middle East/North Africa region: an experience from King Hussein Cancer Center
Authors: Obeidat Mouness , Nazzal Jamil , Al Sharie Sarah , Al-Azzam Ahmed Mahmoud , Maswadeh Ahmad , Al-Abdallat Haneen , Ismail Layan , Alkderat Marah , Hzayen Ro’ya , Al-Sheble Yasmeen , Mansour Asem , Al-Hussaini Maysa 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe global cancer burden has been disproportionately shifting towards low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Limited availability and accessibility to screening, treatment and surveillance, increase in the prevalence and lack of control of risk factors, and underdeveloped healthcare infrastructures have greatly contributed to the disparity in the global cancer burden.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted that included adult and pediatric patients with an established diagnosis of Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors including brain or spinal tumors of which different demographic, clinical characteristics, and financial burden were presented.Results749 patients were included stemming from various countries in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region including Libya (34.2%), Palestine (19.8%), Iraq (15.4%), Syria (14.6%) Yemen (14.5%), and Sudan (1.5%). Most patients were adults (66%) with a median age of 34-year-old. 104 patients had died (13.9%), 80 patients were still alive (10.7%) and most of the patients (n= 565, 75.5%) were lost to follow-up. The added cost of managing these patients is 10,172,935 Jordanian Dinars (JOD), with King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) covering around 34.3% of the total cost.ConclusionOur study aimed at taking a closer look at patients coming from areas of conflict in the MENA region diagnosed and treated for CNS tumors at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) over a 12-year period. It was found that even with the contributions of the Jordanian sources almost half of the patients were faced with the entire financial burden of treatment alone.
Transcriptomic signature defines two subtypes of locally advanced PCa with distinct neoadjuvant therapy benefits
Authors: Zhu Yinjie , Fan Liancheng , Zhu Hanjing , Gong Yiming , Chi Chenfei , Wang Yanqing , Pan Jiahua , Dong Baijun , Xue Wei 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundPatients with locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPCa) received docetaxel-based neoadjuvant chemo-hormonal therapy (NCHT) had better clinical outcomes after surgery compared to neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) groups, but not all patients experienced favorable clinical outcomes with NCHT, raising the necessity for potential biomarker assessment. The transcriptomic profiling offers a unique opportunity to interrogate the accurate response to NCHT and NHT treatment and to identify the predictive biomarkers for neoadjuvant therapy.MethodsThe whole transcriptomic profiling was performed on baseline biopsies and surgical tissue specimens from 64 patients with LAPCa at Renji Hospital between 2014 and 2018. Biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS)-based gene-by-treatment interaction effects were used to identify predictive biomarkers for guiding treatment selection.ResultsComparing the transcriptome profiling of pre- and post-treatment LAPCa specimens, NHT and NCHT shared 1917 up- and 670 down-regulated DEGs at least 2-fold. Pathway enrichment analysis showed up-regulated pathways in response to NHT and NCHT were both enriched in cytokine receptor interaction pathways, and down-regulated pathways in response to NCHT were enriched in cell cycle pathways. By comprehensive transcriptome profiling of 64 baseline specimens, ten predictive markers were identified. We integrated them into the signature to evaluate the relative benefits of neoadjuvant therapy, which categorizes patients into two subgroups with relative bPFS benefits from either NHCT or NHT. In the high-score (≥ -95.798) group (n = 37), NCHT treatment led to significantly longer bPFS (P&lt; 0.0001), with a clear and early separation of the Kaplan–Meier curves. In the low-score (&lt; -95.798) group (n = 27), NHT also led to significantly longer bPFS (P=0.0025).ConclusionsIn this study, we proposed the first predictive transcriptomic signature might potentially guide the effective selection of neoadjuvant therapy in LAPCa and might provide precise guidance toward future personalized adjuvant therapy.Trial registrationThe study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Ky2019-087).
Medication use in Italian nursing homes: preliminary results from the national monitoring system
Authors: Zito S. , Poluzzi E. , Pierantozzi A. , Onder G. , Da Cas R. , Ippoliti I. , Lunghi C. , Cangini A. , Trotta F. 
Published: May 2023

Background: The aging population has increased concerns about the affordability, quality, and nature of long-term care for older people, emphasizing the role of nursing homes. Unlike acute hospital and primary care, there is a lack of drug consumption data in long-term care to understand regional or national healthcare policies.Objectives: This study aimed to describe medication consumption by older adults and expenditure in Italian nursing homes (NHs).Methods: Data on drug consumption and costs from the administrative medicine informational flows that detect medicines packages supplied to patients in health facilities and NHs were used. Data on the characteristics of the healthcare residence were from the Italian Health Ministry. Records for the year 2019, selecting the nursing homes exclusively providing elderly or mixed (elderly and disabled) were used.Results: In 2019, the total expenditure on medicines in NHs amounted to 25.38 million euros, the average cost to 1.30 and the expenditure per bed to 436.18 euros. Cardiovascular drugs were the highest-consuming therapeutic class (177.0 defined daily doses—DDDs/100 days of NH stay; 22.2% of total) followed by drugs acting on the alimentary tract and metabolism (167.6% and 21.0%) and blood drugs (160.4% and 20.1%). The treatment of hypertension and heart failure was widely the most frequently used, with the consumption being driven mainly by furosemide and ramipril. Antiulcer drugs were used on average in more than half of the days of NH stay (58.5 DDDs/100 days of NH stay), representing a therapeutic category for which deprescribing initiatives are recommended. On average, almost all patients received a dose of benzodiazepines, antipsychotics and antidepressants (37.6, 35.9, and 17.7 DDDs/100 days of NH stay, respectively), confirming the high prevalence of use for these medicines. Antibiotics reached 6.8 DDDs/100 days of NH stay.Conclusion: The availability of data in this specific setting allows the identification of the main interventions toward improving appropriateness and represents a challenge for drug utilization research. Data from this study suggest that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), benzodiazepines and antibacterials can be areas of improving prescribing appropriateness.
Integrated machine learning and bioinformatic analyses used to construct a copper-induced cell death-related classifier for prognosis and immunotherapeutic response of hepatocellular carcinoma patients
Authors: Zhao Shuai , Chen Shuxian , Liu Wangrui , Wei Shiyin , Wu Xinrui , Cui Dan , Jiang Lifeng , Chen Siyu , Wang Jian 
Published: May 2023

Background: Copper as phytonutrient has powerful activity against health diseases. A newly discovered mechanism of cell death that affects energy metabolism by copper (“cuproptosis”) can induce multiple cuproptosis-related genes. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a poorly prognosed widespread cancer having danger of advanced metastasis. Therefore, earlier diagnosis followed by the specific targeted therapy are required for improved prognosis. The work herein constructed scoring system built on ten cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) to predict progression of tumor and metastasis more accurately and test patient reaction toward immunotherapy.Methods: A comprehensive assessment of cuproptosis patterns in HCC samples from two databases and a real-world cohort was performed on ten CRGs, that were linked to immune cell infiltration signatures of TME (tumor microenvironment). Risk signatures were created for quantifying effect of cuproptosis on HCC, and the effects of related genes on cellular function of HCC were investigated, in addition to the effects of immunotherapy and targeted therapy drugs.Results: Two distinct cuproptosis-associated mutational patterns were identified, with distinct immune cell infiltration characteristics and survival likelihood. Studies have shown that assessment of cuproptosis-induced tumor mutational patterns can help predict tumor stage, phenotype, stromal activity, genetic diversity, and patient prognosis. High risk scores are characterized by lower survival and worse treatment with anti-PD-L1/CTAL4 immunotherapy and first-line targeted drugs. Cytological functional assays show that CDKN2A and GLS promote proliferation, migration and inhibit copper-dependent death of HCC cells.Conclusion: HCC patients with high-risk scores exhibit significant treatment disadvantage and survival rates. Cuproptosis plays a non-negligible role in the development of HCC. Quantifying cuproptosis-related designs of tumors will aid in phenotypic categorization, leading to efficient personalized and targeted therapeutics and precise prediction of prognosis and metastasis.
The mechanism of vitamin D3 in preventing colorectal cancer through network pharmacology
Authors: Rong Kang , He Qingmin , Chen Shu , Yu Yong , Mei Lu , Mi Yang , Mu Liufan , Zhu Mingyang , Nan Mengjiao , Zhang Xiaoyang , Wan Zhaoyang , Huang Huang , Zheng Pengyuan 
Published: May 2023

Objective: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common cancer that cannot be detected at an early stage and is a major challenge in oncology research. Studies have shown that vitamin D3 has some anti-cancer and preventive effects on colorectal cancer, but the exact anti-cancer mechanism is not clear. We applied the relevant research methods of network pharmacology to speculate and validate the possible potential pharmacological mechanisms of vitamin D3 for the prevention of colorectal cancer, and to provide more theoretical support for the clinical anticancer effects of vitamin D3.Methods: The relevant targets for vitamin D3 and CRC were obtained from the database of drug and disease targets, respectively. The target of vitamin D3 and the target of colorectal cancer were taken to intersect to obtain common targets. Then, the PPI network was constructed. In addition, the pathways of drug-disease interactions were predicted by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Finally, the obtained results were verified to ensure the reliability of the experiments.Results: 51 targets of vitamin D3 for the prevention of colorectal cancer were obtained. The 10 core targets were obtained from the PPI network. The 10 core targets include: ALB, SRC, MMP9, PPARG, HSP90AA1, IGF1, EGFR, MAPK1, MAP2K1 and IGF1R. The core targets were further validated by molecular docking and animal experiments. The results suggest that vitamin D3 plays a key role in the prevention of CRC through core targets, PI3K-Akt pathway, HIF-1 pathway, and FoxO pathway.Conclusion: This study will provide more theoretical support for vitamin D3 to reduce the incidence of CRC and is important to explore more pharmacological effects of vitamin D3.
Comparison of the volatile organic compounds in Citrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ peel with different drying methods using E-nose, GC-IMS and HS-SPME-GC-MS
Authors: Wang Min , Li Xue , Ding Haiyan , Chen Hongping , Liu Youping , Wang Fu , Chen Lin 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionCitrus reticulata ‘Chachi’ peel (CRCP), which is named “Guangchenpi” in China, is a geographical indication product with unique flavor properties. CRCP has been used for centuries as a traditional genuine herb because of its excellent therapeutic effects. In addition, owing to its unique odor and high nutrition, it is widely used in various food preparations. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are regarded as an important quality marker for CRCP and are highly susceptible to effects in the drying process due to their thermal instability.MethodsIn the current study, the main VOCs in CRCP were processed using different drying methods, including sun-drying, hot air drying, and vacuum-freeze drying. The VOCs were identified by the electronic nose (E-nose), gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS).ResultsThe results showed that the CRCP dried by vacuum-freeze exhibited the highest VOCs contents and retained the richest compounds compared to those dried by other methods, which indicated that vacuum-freeze drying is the most suitable for CRCP production. Furthermore, the chemometrics analysis revealed that the primary differential metabolites of the samples generated using different drying methods were terpenes and esters.DiscussionOverall, our study would help better understand the VOCs present in CRCP with different drying methods. The outcomes of the current study would guide the drying and processing of CRCP, which is beneficial for large-scale storage and industrial production of CRCP.
The quality of working life: gap between perception and idealization impact of gender and status
Authors: Salès-Wuillemin Edith , Minondo-Kaghad Brigitte , Chappé Julien , Gélin Morgan , Dolard Adrien 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundMany studies show the existence of gender inequalities at work. For example, in France, only 37% of women have a managerial role, which is far from parity. Among these gender inequalities, the present study considers the Quality of Working Life (QWL) for women and managers.MethodThis study measures the Quality of Working Life (QWL) perceived by individuals according to their gender (Women vs. Men) and their status (Managers vs. Co-workers). A questionnaire was distributed to 1,321 employees. It comprised two scales: the WRQoL scale and the QUALTRA-Scale. The QUALTRA-Scale permits the calculation of an index δ that measures the gap between the ideal QWL and the perceived QWL.ResultsThe ANOVA (2×2) revealed an impact of status on the perceived QWL on both scales. There was no gender effect. However, there was an effect of both gender and status on the index δ of the QUALTRA-Scale. In particular, for the Women group, δ was higher for the Social Relationships at Work whereas for the Co-workers, it was higher for the Work Environment.ConclusionThese results are discussed, highlighting the value of measuring the ideal QWL as a reference point for assessing the QWL.
Resting state connectivity in people living with HIV before and after stopping heavy drinking
Authors: Gullett Joseph M. , DeFelice Jason , Richards Veronica L. , Porges Eric C. , Cohen Ronald A. , Govind Varan , Salan Teddy , Wang Yan , Zhou Zhi , Cook Robert L. 
Published: May 2023

BackgroundHeavy alcohol use in people living with HIV (PLWH) has widespread negative effects on neural functioning. It remains unclear whether experimentally-induced reduction in alcohol use could reverse these effects. We sought to determine the effects of 30-days drinking cessation/reduction on resting state functional connectivity in people with and without HIV.MethodsThirty-five participants (48.6% PLWH) demonstrating heavy alcohol use attempted to stop drinking for 30 days via contingency management (CM). MRI was acquired at baseline and after thirty days, and functional connectivity across five resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) networks was calculated with the Conn toolbox for Matlab and examined in relation to transdermal alcohol concentration (TAC) recorded by the ankle-worn secure continuous remote alcohol monitor (SCRAM) and self-reported alcohol use (timeline follow-back; TLFB). Associations between alcohol use and reduction, HIV status, functional connectivity, and change in functional connectivity across five major rsfMRI networks were determined relative to the pre- and post-CM timepoints.ResultsBaseline resting-state functional connectivity was not significantly associated with average TAC-AUC during the pre-CM period, though higher self-reported alcohol use over the preceding 30 days was significantly associated with higher baseline connectivity within the Dorsal Attention Network (DAN; p-FDR &lt; 0.05). Baseline connectivity within the Salience network was significantly negatively related to objective drinking reduction after intervention (DAN; p-FDR &lt; 0.05), whereas baseline connectivity within the Limbic network was positively associated with self-reported drinking reduction (p-FDR &lt; 0.05). Change in between-networks functional connectivity after intervention was significantly positively associated with biosensor-confirmed drinking reduction such that higher reduction was associated with stronger connectivity between the limbic and fronto-parietal control networks (p-FDR &lt; 0.05). PLWH with lower DAN connectivity at baseline demonstrated poorer alcohol reduction than those with higher DAN connectivity at baseline.DiscussionLower resting-state functional connectivity of the Salience network significantly predicted stronger drinking reduction across all participants, suggesting a potential biomarker for reduced susceptibility to the environmental and social cues that often make alcohol use reduction attempts unsuccessful. Increased between-networks connectivity was observed in participants with higher alcohol reduction after CM, suggesting a positive benefit to brain connectivity associated with reduced drinking. PLWH with lower baseline DAN connectivity may not benefit as greatly from CM for alcohol reduction.
Can post stroke walking improve via telerehabilitation? A systematic review in adults with stroke
Authors: Deshmukh Shravni , Madhavan Sangeetha 
Published: May 2023

ObjectivesThe purpose of this systematic review is to analyze primary studies investigating the effects of telerehabilitation on walking outcomes for the treatment of adult stroke survivors.MethodsData sources included PubMed, Embase and CINAHL searched until August 2022, using combinations of several keywords such as “telerehabilitation”, “stroke”, and “gait”. Studies were required to have bidirectional form of videoconferencing with assessor presence, and include assessment of walking function (speed, endurance and/or balance). Data extraction was performed from each full text by one author, and quality and bias were assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro).ResultsEight studies involving 248 participants met the inclusion criteria. Seven reported significant improvements in outcomes of balance and two showed improvements in endurance after telerehabilitation. Two studies observed greater balance improvements in the telerehabilitation group compared to control and/or in-person therapy. Differences in frequency, training duration, intervention type, and absence of an in-person therapy control group were identified as causes of variation between studies.ConclusionsThe effectiveness of telerehabilitation as a mode of therapy for walking could not be definitively determined due to the limited number of studies that directly measured walking speed or endurance. However, strong evidence was found for the use of telerehabilitation for balance improvements, which has implications for walking recovery.Impact statementTelerehabilitation appears to be safe, feasible and demonstrated high adherence. Our results highlighted limited studies using real-time supervision to administer telerehabilitation and lack of studies focusing on outcomes of walking speed and endurance, needed to fully determine the role of telerehabilitation for gait recovery.Systematic review registration numberPROSPERO number CRD42021238197.
Towards a circular built environment – Focus on the new M.Sc. program in real estate and facility management
Authors: Wrase Isabelle , Haase Matthias , Wang-Speiser Zifei 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionThe sustainability transformation of the built environment is one of the mega tasks of the twenty first century. Real estate professionals who manage sustainability transformation must be acknowledged in all disciplines that reside around the lifecycle of a property. In addition, these managers must have expert knowledge of the megatrend of sustainability and possess the highest level of interpersonal skills to enable society and organizations to manage the associated change.MethodsConsidering the current challenges and the critical role of education to empower real estate (RE) and facility management (FM) students to explore new paths of sustainable development and grow into active citizens, conscious producers, and consumers, this contribution investigates new and elective ways of teaching sustainability concepts, specifically circular economy (CE). To this end, 122 European university degree programs were examined based on a review of all course titles to determine whether the relevant keywords and content for enabling future real estate managers to drive the sustainability transformation toward a circular built environment are present.ResultsThe results show that topics on sustainability are covered significantly. Graduates are empowered in several disciplines that evolve around the real estate lifecycle, but not in all the required ones. There seem to be gaps in teaching especially in the subject area of CE.DiscussionThe extent to which students are also socially empowered is hard to trace. Furthermore, this article describes and critically discusses how the introduction of a holistic approach to the management of real estate for master-level students could help them gain a sustainability perspective and prepare them to act circularly in the future.
Humans need only 200 ms to generate posture-specific muscle activation patterns for successful vertical jumps in reaction to an auditory trigger
Authors: Bobbert Maarten F. , Koopman Axel S. 
Published: May 2023

IntroductionIt is currently unknown how the central nervous system controls ballistic whole-body movements like vertical jumps. Here we set out to study the time frame of generating muscle activation patterns for maximum-effort jumps from different initial postures.MethodsWe had ten healthy male participants make a slow countermovement from an upright position and initiate a maximal vertical jump as soon as possible following an auditory trigger. The trigger was produced when hip height dropped below one of three preselected values, unknown in advance to the participant, so that the participant was uncertain about the posture from which to initiate the jump. Furthermore, we determined the ensuing bottom postures reached during jumps, and from these postures had the participants perform maximum-effort squat jumps in two conditions: whenever they felt ready, or as soon as possible following an auditory trigger. Kinematics and ground reaction forces were measured, and electromyograms were collected from gluteus maximus, biceps femoris, rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius and soleus. For each muscle, we detected activation onsets, as well as reaction times defined as the delay between trigger onset and activation onset.ResultsIn the jumps preceded by a slow countermovement, the posture from which to initiate the jump was unknown before trigger onset. Nevertheless, in these jumps, posture-specific muscle activation patterns were already released within 200 ms after trigger onset and reaction times were not longer and jump heights not less than in squat jumps from corresponding bottom postures.DiscussionOur findings suggest that the generation of muscle activation patterns for jumping does not start before trigger onset and requires only about 200 ms.