bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drought versus flood: What matters more to the performance of Sahel farming systems?
Authors: Elagib Nadir Ahmed , Al Zayed Islam Sabry , Khalifa Muhammad , Rahma Abbas E. , Ali Marwan M. A. , Schneider Karl 
Published: September 2023

AbstractRecent climate change has brought new patterns of extreme events in terms of both drought and heavy rainfall to the drought‐prone African Sahel. The effects of these recent extreme events on the performance of the Sahel farming systems are still weakly investigated. This study aims at assessing effects of droughts versus floods on crop yield levels and losses, focusing on the so‐called recovery period, particularly 2001–2020. A newly developed productivity‐drought condition index (PDCI) is utilized to assess agricultural productivity as related to drought or flood in a highly vulnerable region, that is, the Sudanese Sahel. Four farming systems, namely traditional rainfed, mechanized rainfed, gravity irrigated and spate irrigated systems, with sorghum and millet as staple food crops, are considered. The PDCI is defined as a function of the integrated normalized difference vegetation index (iNDVI) over the growing season. To address temporal and spatial variabilities, scaling of the PDCI is done in two dimensions: space and time. Crop statistics are used to derive yield losses. Our results show that both drought and flood episodes (seven and six episodes, respectively) can be captured using the PDCI. Drought remains the most relevant risk to Sahel's crop productivity. Some recent large‐scale floods led to yield loss. However, floods cause smaller risks to agricultural productivity compared to droughts. Floods may even result in enhanced crop yields. Based upon scaling in the time or space domain, ranking the severity of drought impacts on crop yield for individual years from 2001 to 2020 reveals least to slightly different results. Vulnerability to drought depends on the crop type and farming system. Drought effect on crop yield from the irrigated sector is clear on individual years but not as a general statistical relationship. The parameter ‘percentage area under drought’ explains around one‐third of the variation in the rainfed crop yield. The spate irrigation scheme, the gravity irrigated system and the rainfed farmlands experienced respectively 87%, 57% and 46% of area under drought on average. Irrigated systems produce much higher crop yields than rainfed systems. The mechanized system is more drought‐vulnerable than the traditional system. These results call for identifying agricultural management pathways that recognize the combined implications of both hydrological extremes for the region's food security.
Comparative impact of exercise‐based interventions for postpartum depression: A Bayesian network meta‐analysis
Authors: Wang Jing , Carru Ciriaco , Sedda Stefania , Fiori Pier Luigi , Li Zhi , Chen Zhichao 
Published: September 2023

AbstractObjectiveThe current study aimed to address and rank which exercise‐based interventions are preferable to standard care/no therapy or another exercise intervention for postpartum depression (PPD) management and provide estimates for future definitive evidence.MethodsThe authors systematically searched PubMed, Embase, the Web of Science, PsycInfo, and ClinicalTrails.gov for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on exercise‐based interventions for PPD from their inception to May 9, 2023. Included were RCTs of exercise‐based interventions for PPD with at least 4 weeks' duration. The pooled effects of intervention comparisons were generated by the Bayesian random‐effects model, and the quality of evidence was evaluated by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations framework.ResultsTwelve RCTs (1260 women; mean age, 20–35 years) comparing exercise‐based interventions with usual care/no therapy were included. Exercise effectively treats depressive symptoms (standard mean difference [SMD], −0.81 [95% confidence interval (CI), −1.20 to −0.42], P < 0.001). Pram walking was significantly associated with a reduction of depressive symptoms during the postpartum period (SMD, −1.00 [95% CI, −2.60 to −0.10], P = 0.020), as well as yoga (SMD, −0.73 [95% CI, −1.84 to −0.43], P < 0.001) and supervised mixed exercise (SMD, −0.77 [95% CI, −1.67 to −0.01], P = 0.041) compared with usual care/no therapy. In indirect comparisons, pram walking (surface under the cumulative ranking curve, 58.9%) was better than yoga (SMD, −0.28 [95% CI, −1.86 to 1.22], P = 0.322) and supervised mixed exercise (SMD, −0.23 [95% CI, −1.59 to 1.12], P = 0.358). However, the difference was not statistically significant. The confidence in evidence was very low to moderate.ConclusionIn women with PPD, all commonly prescribed physical exercises were effective alternative or complementary treatments. However, pram walking may perform better in improving the symptoms of PPD.
Effect of known pathological risk factors on the incidence of metastatic lymph nodes and survival in early‐stage vulvar cancer: SEER analysis
Authors: Nahshon Chen , Leitao Mario M. , Lavie Ofer , Segev Yakir 
Published: September 2023

AbstractObjectiveThe current study was performed to evaluate the incidence of positive lymph nodes (LNs) in relation to known pathological risk factors, specifically among patients with apparent low‐grade, small tumors.MethodsWe used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to retrospectively identify patients with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnosed between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2019, with known tumor size and regional LN examined. A comparison between patients who had positive and negative LNs was conducted to identify risk factors for LN metastases in relation to survival. Subgroup analysis was conducted in patients with diagnosed grade 1 vulvar SCC and tumor size up to 2 cm according to the status of LNs.ResultsMultivariate analysis found that both grade of disease and tumor size were significant factors in predicting LN status. Among patients with low‐grade small tumors up to 2 cm, the odds ratio for positive LNs was 2.5 for those with tumor size larger than 1 cm. In a multivariate survival analysis, older age, larger tumor size, and positive LNs were independently associated with decreased survival.ConclusionsThe current study confirms that among small tumors, those larger than 1 cm have a significantly increased risk for positive nodes compared with those smaller than 1 cm, and, among this specific group, patients with positive nodes have decreased survival. Future studies are needed to answer the question of whether, in the era of the sentinel node procedure, it is safe to omit LN evaluation altogether.
Innovation in operative hysteroscopy: Use of Ellick bladder evacuator for tissue retrieval after hysteroscopic myomectomy using a resectoscope
Authors: Tariq Saboohi , McNally Aine , Rajab Hassan , Harrity Conor , Chummun Kushal 
Published: September 2023

SynopsisThe novel use of an Ellick bladder evacuator for tissue retrieval after operative hysteroscopy by electrosurgical resectoscope can reduce operative time, multiple additional scope reinsertions and possible complications.
Sex, gender, and pronoun self‐identification among obstetrics and gynecology patients
Authors: Dinelli John , Flink‐Bochacki Rachel , Margolis Benjamin 
Published: September 2023

SynopsisAmong patients surveyed at an academic Obstetrics/Gynecology clinic, 4.8% self‐identified as gender diverse. Gender diversity was not associated with reported comfort at the visit.
Comparison of intensive care unit liberation bundle adherence prior to and during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Bakare Lolade S. , Groth Christine M. , Young Mikaela , Hogan Brett , Rappaport Stephen H. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractThe intensive care unit (ICU) liberation (A–F) bundle is recommended by the Society of Critical Care Medicine guidelines as standard supportive care. Significant deviations were made to providing bundled care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The objective of the study is to describe how COVID‐19 affected bundle adherence at a single academic medical center. This is a retrospective cohort study of adult medical ICU patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) for at least 48 h and an ICU stay of at least 7 days. Patients were separated into three cohorts based on ICU admission date and COVID‐19 status from April 2019 to March 2021; pre‐pandemic (pre‐COV), pandemic COVID‐19 negative (COV‐neg), and pandemic COVID‐19 positive (COV‐pos). Primary outcomes were median average daily bundle adherence over 7 days and daily complete bundle adherence. Secondary outcomes were individual bundle component adherence rates and patient outcomes. A total of 67 patients were included. Median average daily bundle adherence (pre‐COV 68.6% vs. COV‐neg 51.4% vs. COV‐pos 32.6%; p < 0.001), median number of days with complete adherence (pre‐COV 1 [interquartile range (IQR) 0–1] vs. COV‐neg 0 [IQR 0–0] vs. COV‐pos 0 [IQR 0–0]; p < 0.001), and percentage of patients with any day of complete bundle adherence (pre‐COV 78.6% vs. COV‐neg 14.3% vs. COV‐pos 7.1%) were different among groups and individual bundle component adherence varied. Also, median duration of MV (pre‐COV: 6.3 days [IQR 5.6–9], COV‐neg: 8.9 days [IQR 7.6–14], COV‐pos: 11.6 days [IQR 8.4–21], p = 0.01) and median days alive and free from MV up to Day 30 (pre‐COV: 23 [IQR 21–24], COV‐neg: 20 [IQR 15–22], COV‐pos: 18 [IQR 7–21], p = 0.015) were significantly different between groups. ICU A–F bundle adherence was significantly reduced during the COVID‐19 pandemic in patients with and without COVID‐19 infection.
Differentiation of lung and breast cancer brain metastases: Comparison of texture analysis and deep convolutional neural networks
Authors: Gultekin Mehmet Ali , Peker Abdusselim Adil , Oktay Ayse Betul , Turk Haci Mehmet , Cesme Dilek Hacer , Shbair Abdallah T. M. , Yilmaz Temel Fatih , Kaya Ahmet , Yasin Ayse Irem , Seker Mesut , Mayadagli Alpaslan , Alkan Alpay 
Published: September 2023

AbstractPurposeMetastases are the most common neoplasm in the adult brain. In order to initiate the treatment, an extensive diagnostic workup is usually required. Radiomics is a discipline aimed at transforming visual data in radiological images into reliable diagnostic information. We aimed to examine the capability of deep learning methods to classify the origin of metastatic lesions in brain MRIs and compare the deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) methods with image texture based features.MethodsOne hundred forty three patients with 157 metastatic brain tumors were included in the study. The statistical and texture based image features were extracted from metastatic tumors after manual segmentation process. Three powerful pre‐trained CNN architectures and the texture‐based features on both 2D and 3D tumor images were used to differentiate lung and breast metastases. Ten‐fold cross‐validation was used for evaluation. Accuracy, precision, recall, and area under curve (AUC) metrics were calculated to analyze the diagnostic performance.ResultsThe texture‐based image features on 3D volumes achieved better discrimination results than 2D image features. The overall performance of CNN architectures with 3D inputs was higher than the texture‐based features. Xception architecture, with 3D volumes as input, yielded the highest accuracy (0.85) while the AUC value was 0.84. The AUC values of VGG19 and the InceptionV3 architectures were 0.82 and 0.81, respectively.ConclusionCNNs achieved superior diagnostic performance in differentiating brain metastases from lung and breast malignancies than texture‐based image features. Differentiation using 3D volumes as input exhibited a higher success rate than 2D sagittal images.
Real‐world treatment patterns of Finnish adult patients with atopic dermatitis: From topicals to systemic therapy
Authors: Kiiski Ville , Vikkula Johanna , Ukkola‐Vuoti Liisa , Lassenius Mariann I. , Kopra Jaakko 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin condition with varying persistence and intensity. In mild cases, topical therapies usually suffice to prevent flares. However, systemic treatment options may be required in the moderate to severe forms of AD. In the lack of comprehensive real‐world data, exhaustive descriptions of the overall treatment practice of AD are still missing.ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to describe the real‐world treatment patterns of AD in Finland. Further, the study aimed to provide an in‐depth understanding of the treatment of severe AD.MethodsThis retrospective registry study utilized nationwide data from both primary and secondary healthcare electronic health records. All patients (128,428) with AD diagnosis code or reimbursement for AD medication from 2005 to 2019 were collected. Treatments, switches, persistence and time to next treatment (TTNT) were investigated. Severity of AD was assessed based on registry data.ResultsThe majority of patients (83%) had used at least one treatment for AD during the study time. Irrespective of AD severity, the amounts of reimbursed topicals appeared low (topical calcineurin inhibitors 66 g, topical corticosteroids 110 g and emollients 1 kg per year) when compared to the care recommendations. Most patients with severe AD managed their condition with topical treatment options. Only 7.2% of patients with severe AD purchased systemic medication, of which methotrexate and cyclosporine were the most common options. The TTNT for systemic treatment ranged from several years up to decades, and the median treatment persistence ranged from 4 to 9 months depending on the selected therapy.ConclusionsThe use of systemic medication was rare in the AD population, and the detected treatment persistence among patients receiving systemic medication was low. The amount of topical treatment use detected in this study suggests potentially suboptimal levels of basic treatment of AD.
High‐Sucrose Diet Accelerates Arthritis Progression in a Collagen‐Induced Rheumatoid Arthritis Model
Authors: Min Yunhui , Heo Yunji , Feng Fang , Kim Dahye , Kim Mangeun , Yang Jiwon , Kim Hyo Jin , Jee Youngheun , Ghosh Mrinmoy , Kang Inhae , Son Young‐Ok 
Published: September 2023

ScopeHigh dietary sugar and sweeteners are suspected to cause the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms through the induction of proinflammatory cytokine release. However, the mechanisms by which increased dietary sugar affects RA etiology are not yet fully understood. The study uses a mouse model of collagen‐induced RA (CIA) to investigate the relationship between excessive sugar consumption and RA risk.Methods and resultsRA‐associated pathological features are assessed in the nonimmunized (NI) control group, the CIA‐positive control group, and the CIA + high‐sucrose diet (CIA+HS, 63% calories from sucrose) group. Compared with the CIA group, the CIA+HS group shows a greater increase in paw thickness and clinical scores, as well as, a higher degree of pannus formation and inflammation in the knee, ankle, and sole tissues. Moreover, the infiltration of immune cells is increased in the CIA+HS group. Although the expression of hepatic lipogenic genes, is not altered, that of toll‐like receptor (TLR4) and IL‐1β is considerably elevated in the CIA+HS group.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that excessive sucrose consumption causes hepatic fibrosis and inflammation, contributing to the pathophysiology of RA.
Pure shift FESTA: An ultra‐high resolution NMR tool for the analysis of complex fluorine‐containing spin systems
Authors: Mycroft Coral , Smith Marshall J. , Nilsson Mathias , Morris Gareth A. , Castañar Laura 
Published: September 2023

AbstractNMR measurements of molecules containing sparse fluorine atoms are becoming increasingly common due to their prevalence in medicinal chemistry. However, the presence of both homonuclear and heteronuclear scalar couplings severely complicates their analysis by NMR. In complex systems, FESTA, a heteronuclear spectral editing method, allows simplified 1H NMR spectra to be obtained containing only 1H signals from the same spin system as a chosen 19F. Despite spectral simplification, signal overlap due to the presence of scalar couplings is often a problem in FESTA spectra. Here, we report a new experiment that combines FESTA and pure shift methods to provide fully decoupled ultra‐high resolution FESTA spectra showing a single signal for each 1H chemical environment. The utility of the method is demonstrated for the analysis of two complex fluorine‐containing mixtures of pharmaceutical and biochemical interest.
A typology of disintermediated giving and asking in the non‐profit sector
Authors: MacQuillin Ian , Kottasz Rita , Locilento Juniper , Gallaiford Neil 
Published: September 2023

AbstractDisintermediation is the ability to sell products and services directly to consumers without these having to pass or go through a ‘middleman’, such as travel agent or record company. With no product or service to sell to consumers, disintermediation in the non‐profit sector has been conceived as the giving of money directly to beneficiaries/end users, without the need to go through a ‘middleman’ charity—in other words, it is disintermediated giving. However, there is no consensus definition of what ‘disintermediated giving’ is or to what it applies. Much of the academic literature has focused on one form of disintermediated giving: crowdfunding, which is generally conducted on digital platforms. However, not all crowdfundraising/crowdfunding disintermediates charities from the process of giving; and not all disintermediation of charities from the giving process is accomplished via digital crowdfunding platforms. Further, there are examples of various forms of disintermediated giving, particularly, but not solely via crowdfunding platforms, that have raised questions about its practices, ethics, regulation and accountability. Finding robust and sustainable solutions to these issues first requires a coherent conceptualisation of disintermediation/disintermediated giving in the non‐profit sector. This paper attempts to do that by providing a typology of disintermediation/disintermediated giving. We examine the phenomenon of disintermediation in organisations that adopt the ‘traditional charity model’ (those which ask for and then convert donations into goods and services for beneficiaries) and look to see which functions and processes are subjected to disintermediation. This can be either the whole or part of that asking/converting process, which is replaced or bypassed by a different entity (individuals, commercial fundraising entities, or companies or charities that adopt an alternative approach to the ‘traditional charity model’). Our typology contains three main types of disintermediation: (A) the charity is disintermediated, with donations and support given directly by donors to beneficiaries; (B) the charity's fundraising function is disintermediated; (C) the charity's service provision to beneficiaries is disintermediated. Each of these raises ethical and regulatory issues, which we briefly explore.
Obstetrical outcomes following amniocentesis performed after 24 weeks of gestation: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Nassr Ahmed A. , Hessami Kamran , D’Alberti Elena , Giancotti Antonella , Meshinchiasl Nazlisadat , Evans Mark I. , Di Mascio Daniele , Shamshirsaz Alireza A. 
Published: September 2023

AbstractTo evaluate obstetrical outcomes for women having late amniocentesis (on or after 24 weeks). Electronic databases were searched from inception to January 1st, 2023. The obstetrical outcomes evaluated were gestational age at delivery, preterm birth (PTB) < 37 weeks, PTB within 1 week from amniocentesis, premature prelabor rupture of membranes (pPROM), chorionamnionitis, placental abruption, intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) and termination of pregnancy (TOP). The incidence of PTB <37 weeks was 4.85% (95% CI 3.48–6.56), while the incidence of PTB within 1 week was 1.42% (95% CI 0.66–2.45). The rate of pPROM was 2.85% (95% CI 1.21–3.32). The incidence of placental abruption was 0.91% (95% CI 0.16–2.25), while the rate of IUFD was 3.66% (95% CI 0.00–14.04). The rate of women who underwent TOP was 6.37% (95%CI 1.05–15.72). When comparing amniocentesis performed before or after 32 weeks, the incidence of PTB within 1 week was 1.48% (95% CI 0.42–3.19) and 2.38% (95% CI 0.40–5.95). Amniocentesis performed late after 24 weeks of gestation is an acceptable option for patients needing prenatal diagnosis in later gestation.
Drug‐facilitated sexual assault in Africa: A scoping review of empirical evidence
Authors: Amzat Jimoh , Kanmodi Kehinde Kazeem , Aminu Kafayat , Egbedina Eyinade Adeduntan 
Published: September 2023

AbstractBackgroundSexual assault has been a major social problem worldwide. Drug‐facilitated sexual assault (DFSA) is a form of sexual assault facilitated by psychoactive substances. DFSA is highly prevalent worldwide, though it is usually underreported. To understand the situation of DFSA in Africa, there is a need to map the available empirical evidence on DFSA in Africa. Hence, this scoping review was conducted to summarize the existing empirical knowledge and gaps in the literature and inform future research on DFSA in Africa.MethodsThis study adopted the design by the Arksey and O'Malley's guideline for scoping reviews. Without year limiters, literatures were retrieved through a systematic search of the 11 electronic databases using appropriate search terms and Boolean operators. The retrieved literatures were deduplicated and screened, using Rayyan, to identify eligible literature for inclusion into the review. Only those articles that met the eligibility criteria were included for data charting, collation, and summarization. Four articles were included in this review.ResultsFour articles were included in this review. The studies reported the characteristics of offenders and the context in which DFSA occurred. In the reviewed studies, rape of men was only reported among South Africans. Sedatives and alcohol are the most reported substances used in such rape. Perceptions of date rape, as documented by sexual assault survivors, suggest the pervasiveness of victim blaming. Typical DFSA cases appear opportunistic in nature, and an acquaintance is often the culprit. However, disaggregating DFSA as a specific sexual assault requires some logistics, including forensic and toxicological investigations.ConclusionDFSA is a significant dimension of gender‐based sexual violence. Infrastructure development should be improved to support systematic toxicological analyses and services to investigate and understand DFSA.