bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Health Impact Evaluation of Aspirational Districts Program in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey
Authors: Agarwal Sandip K. , Mishra Shubham 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTThe Aspirational District Program (ADP) is a unique initiative of Government of India launched in 2018 that aims to reduce inter-district multidimensional inequality. ADP aims to bring the most backward districts to catch up with the rest of the other districts in the country. The program is comprehensive in its scope as it targets the improvement of several key development indicators spanning health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development and basic infrastructure indicators. Aspirational districts (ADs) are eligible for enhanced funding and priority allocation of various initiatives undertaken by the central and state governments. Our research estimates the causal impact of ADP on the targeted health and nutrition indicators using a combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences (PSM-DID). We use the fourth and fifth rounds of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data collected in 2015-16 and 2019-21 respectively which serve as the pre and post-treatment data for our analysis. Moreover, we take advantage of the transparent mechanism outlined for the identification of ADs under ADP, which we use for propensity score matching for our PSM-DID. While we observe negative impact of ADP on early initiation of breastfeeding, we believe that the impact is confounded with the effects of Covid-19 since part of NFHS-5 data was collected during the pandemic. Therefore, the negative impact of ADP on early initiation of breastfeeding disappears when we only use pre-covid data. Additionally, using pre-covid data we find a reduction in the prevalence of underweight children younger than 5 years by 2 to 4% in ADs as an impact of ADP, which is robust across multiple specification. We do not find evidence of any other positive or negative impact of ADP on any other health and nutrition indicators, which is robust. Future research efforts should be made toward impact evaluation of all the targeted indicators in order to get a comprehensive unbiased evaluation of ADP.
Identification of Outcome-Oriented Progression Subtypes from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease Using Electronic Health Records
Authors: Xu Jie , Yin Rui , Huang Yu , Gao Hannah , Wu Yonghui , Guo Jingchuan , Smith Glenn E , DeKosky Steven T , Wang Fei , Guo Yi , Bian Jiang 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex heterogeneous neurodegenerative disease that requires an in-depth understanding of its progression pathways and contributing factors to develop effective risk stratification and prevention strategies. In this study, we proposed an outcome-oriented model to identify progression pathways from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD using electronic health records (EHRs) from the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Consortium. To achieve this, we employed the long short-term memory (LSTM) network to extract relevant information from the sequential records of each patient. The hierarchical agglomerative clustering was then applied to the learned representation to group patients based on their progression subtypes. Our approach identified multiple progression pathways, each of which represented distinct patterns of disease progression from MCI to AD. These pathways can serve as a valuable resource for researchers to understand the factors influencing AD progression and to develop personalized interventions to delay or prevent the onset of the disease.
Predicting Long COVID in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative Using Super Learner
Authors: Butzin-Dozier Zachary , Ji Yunwen , Li Haodong , Coyle Jeremy , Shi Junming (Seraphina) , Philips Rachael V. , Mertens Andrew , Pirracchio Romain , van der Laan Mark J. , Patel Rena , Colford John M. , Hubbard Alan E. 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTPost-acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also known as Long COVID, is a broad grouping of a range of long-term symptoms following acute COVID-19 infection. An understanding of characteristics that are predictive of future PASC is valuable, as this can inform the identification of high-risk individuals and future preventative efforts. However, current knowledge regarding PASC risk factors is limited. Using a sample of 55,257 participants from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, as part of the NIH Long COVID Computational Challenge, we sought to predict individual risk of PASC diagnosis from a curated set of clinically informed covariates. We predicted individual PASC status, given covariate information, using Super Learner (an ensemble machine learning algorithm also known as stacking) to learn the optimal, AUC-maximizing combination of gradient boosting and random forest algorithms. We were able to predict individual PASC diagnoses accurately (AUC 0.947). Temporally, we found that baseline characteristics were most predictive of future PASC diagnosis, compared with characteristics immediately before, during, or after COVID-19 infection. This finding supports the hypothesis that clinicians may be able to accurately assess the risk of PASC in patients prior to acute COVID diagnosis, which could improve early interventions and preventive care. We found that medical utilization, demographics, anthropometry, and respiratory factors were most predictive of PASC diagnosis. This highlights the importance of respiratory characteristics in PASC risk assessment. The methods outlined here provide an open-source, applied example of using Super Learner to predict PASC status using electronic health record data, which can be replicated across a variety of settings.
Variety of Energy-Dense Foods Does Not Affect Body Mass Index but Influences Food Quantity: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study among Adolescents in Mumbai, India
Authors: Dawoodani Elina , Gokhale Chanda 
Published: August 2023

AbstractIntroductionOver the past three decades, adolescents’ share of caloric consumption from foods that are energy-dense but low in micronutrients has increased dramatically. Additionally, the rise in overweight and obesity in this age group is one of the most significant public health challenges of recent times.ObjectiveWe intended to investigate the relationship between consuming a variety of energy-dense foods and body mass index in adolescents.Research Methods and ProceduresIn this analytical cross-sectional study, 373 adolescents between the age of 13-15 years old were randomly recruited from three private schools in Mumbai, India. Data on their weekly consumption of energy-dense foods, anthropometric measurements, along with other critical information was obtained using a survey and food frequency questionnaire. Categories of energy-dense foods considered included chat (Indian savory snack) and street foods, appetizers, main course, continental foods, aerated drinks, baked foods, Indian sweets, farsan (fried Indian snack), and packaged foods.ResultsAmongst the participants (n =373, mean age 13.4 years), 39.7% were underweight, 46.1% had a normal BMI, 9.6% were overweight, and 4.5% were obese. They reported consuming an average of 4 varieties and 10.6 servings of energy-dense foods a day. Though the consumption of a variety of energy-dense foods was not found to be associated with body mass index, it was found to be significantly, positively, and strongly associated with the number of servings consumed, indicating that variety does increase total food consumption.ConclusionIn this cohort of adolescents, overall consumption of a variety of energy-dense foods does not seem to influence body mass index. Longitudinal studies are warranted to assess the impact of variety on total body composition.
Fluoroscopy time as a new predictor of short-term outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement
Authors: Cafaro Alessandro , Spione Francesco , Burattini Osvaldo , Feo Daniele De , Xhelo Alessandro , Palmitessa Chiara , D’Alessandro Maurizio , Amendola Vincenzo Pio , Rimmaudo Flavio , Guaricci Andrea Igoren , Bortone Alessandro Santo , Pestrichella Vincenzo , Contegiacomo Gaetano , Tesorio Tullio , Colonna Giuseppe , Iacovelli Fortunato 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACTObjectiveTranscatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a cine-fluoroscopic guided procedure. The amount of radiation used during the procedure is strictly related with fluoroscopy time (FT) that has been demonstrated to be associated with outcomes and complexity of procedure in percutaneous coronary interventions. The aim of our study is to demonstrate the relationship between FT and short-term outcomes after TAVR.MethodsAfter splitting 1797 consecutive patients according to tertiles of FT, the composite endpoint early safety (ES) was adjudicated according to Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC)-2 and -3 consensus documents and the composite endpoints of device success (DS) and technical success (TS) according to VARC-3 criteria.ResultsThe absence of all outcomes (TS, DS, and ES according to VARC-3 and ES according to VARC-2) was significantly associated with higher FT and this association persisted after propensity score matching analysis. Notwithstanding, after receiver operating characteristic analysis, only the FT cut-offs identified for VARC-3 TS and VARC-2 ES had adequate diagnostic accuracy in identifying the absence of these endpoints.ConclusionsLonger FT is related with peri-procedural and short-term outcomes after the procedure, especially in those that are more complex. A FT duration of more than 30 minutes has an adequate accuracy in identifying VARC-3 technical failure and absence of VARC-2 ES.What is already known on this topicFT is related with complexity and outcomes in PCI. No data is available about FT and TAVR.What this study addsFT >30 minutes has an adequate accuracy in identifying VARC-3 technical failure and absence of VARC-2 ES.How this study might affect research, practice or policyFT that lasts more than 30 minutes in TAVR is linked independently to short-term adverse outcomes after TAVR. A strict follow-up is needed in this procedural setting as FT is a new independent predictor of adverse outcome after TAVR.
Genome-wide DNA methylation-analysis delineates blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm from related entities and identifies distinct molecular features
Authors: Künstner Axel , Schwarting Julian , Witte Hanno M. , Xing Pengwei , Bernard Veronica , Stölting Stephanie , Lohneis Philipp , Janke Florian , Salehi Maede , Chen Xingqi , Kusch Kathrin , Sültmann Holger , Chteinberg Emil , Fischer Anja , Siebert Reiner , von Bubnoff Nikolas , Merz Hartmut , Busch Hauke , Feller Alfred C. , Gebauer Niklas 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBlastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) constitutes a rare and aggressive malignancy originating from plasmacytoid/common dendritic cells (pDCs/cDCs) with a primarily cutaneous tropism followed by dissemination to the bone marrow and other organs. We conducted a genome-wide analysis of the tumor methylome in an extended cohort of 45 BPDCN patients supplemented by WES (n=54) and RNA-seq (n=54) as well as ATAC-seq on selected cases (n=4). We determine the BPDCN DNA methylation profile and thereby identify a reliable means to discriminate BPDCN from AML, CMML and T-ALL. DNA methylation profiling characterizes disruption of oncogenic pathways whilst unraveling the proliferative history as well as the prognostically relevant composition of the tumor microenvironment. Beyond the two recently established BPDCN subtypes (C1/C2), we identified a transcriptional reliance on JAK/STAT and NFκB-signaling in atypical C2 versus C1-BPDCN cases through RNA-sequencing. Our integrative characterization of BPDCN offers novel molecular insights and potential diagnostic applications.
How Often Do Patients Need Retreatment After Surgery for Subdural Hematoma? A Nationwide Readmission Database Analysis
Authors: Nazari Pouya , Golnari Pedram , Metcalf-Doetsch William Nathaniel , Potts Matthew B. , Jahromi Babak S. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackground and purposeThe incidence of subdural hematoma (SDH) is increasing as the average age in the US rises, with reported high recurrence and reoperation rates. We therefore aimed to have a better understanding of retreatment following surgical evacuation of SDH in real-world practice.MethodsData were extracted from the latest available Nationwide Readmissions Database (2016-2019). Adult patients diagnosed with SDH who had burr-hole or craniotomy were included in the study.ResultsRetreatment rates were relatively low in both cohorts, with patients in the burr-hole cohort having a slightly higher rate of retreatment compared to the craniotomy cohort (8.4% vs 6.6%, p<0.001). The majority (>95%) of retreatments occurred within 90 days of initial treatment, and further follow up did not demonstrably increase retreatment on Kaplan Meier analysis. Retreatment rates remained consistent during the four-year study period in both burr-hole (7.2%-10.4%), and craniotomy cohorts (6.4%-6.8%).ConclusionsAnalysis of a large national database of unselected patients shows retreatment rates after surgery for SDH are lower than suggested by prior studies. Almost all retreatments occur within 90 days after initial treatment, which may have implications for length of follow up for such patients.
CLINICAL AND SEROLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF POST COVID-19 CONDITION – FINDINGS FROM A CANADIAN PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY
Authors: Collins Erin , Galipeau Yannick , Arnold Corey , Bhéreur Anne , Booth Ronald , Buchan Arianne C. , Cooper Curtis , Crawley Angela M. , McCluskie Pauline S. , McGuinty Michaeline , Pelchat Martin , Rocheleau Lynda , Saginur Raphael , Gravel Chris , Hawken Steven , Langlois Marc-André , Little Julian 
Published: August 2023

AbstractIntroductionMore than three years into the pandemic, there is persisting uncertainty as to the etiology, biomarkers, and risk factors of Post COVID-19 Condition (PCC). Serological research data remain a largely untapped resource. Few studies have investigated the potential relationships between post-acute serology and PCC, while accounting for clinical covariates.MethodsWe compared clinical and serological predictors among COVID-19 survivors with (n=102 cases) and without (n=122 controls) persistent symptoms ≥12 weeks post-infection. We selected four primary serological predictors (anti-nucleocapsid (N), anti-Spike, and anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG titres, and neutralization efficiency), and specified clinical covariates a priori.ResultsSimilar proportions of PCC-cases (66.7%, n=68) and infected-controls (71.3%, n=87) tested positive for anti-N IgG. More cases tested positive for anti-Spike (94.1%, n=96) and anti-RBD (95.1%, n=97) IgG, as compared with controls (anti-Spike: 89.3%, n=109; anti-RBD: 84.4%, n=103). Similar trends were observed among unvaccinated participants. Effects of IgG titres on PCC status were non-significant in univariate and multivariate analyses. Adjusting for age and sex, PCC-cases were more likely to be efficient neutralizers (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.11 – 4.49), and odds was further increased among cases to report deterioration in quality of life (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.64 – 7.31). Clinical covariates found to be significantly related to PCC included obesity (OR 2.3, p=0.02), number of months post COVID-19 (OR 1.1, p<0.01), allergies (OR 1.8, p=0.04), and need for medical support (OR 4.1, p<0.01).ConclusionDespite past COVID-19 infection, approximately one third of PCC-cases and infected-controls were seronegative for anti-N IgG. Findings suggest higher neutralization efficiency among cases as compared with controls, and that this relationship is stronger among cases with more severe PCC. Cases also required more medical support for COVID-19 symptoms, and described complex, ongoing health sequelae. More data from larger cohorts are needed to substantiate results, permit subgroup analyses of IgG titres, and explore for differences between clusters of PCC symptoms. Future assessment of IgG subtypes may also elucidate new findings.
Feasibility of a high-dose behavioural exercise intervention on upper limb motor function in chronic stroke survivors
Authors: van der Groen Onno , Garcia-Vega Jimena , van Rijn Kirsten , Edwards Dylan 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundStroke is a leading cause of adult disability and high-dose interventions may help reduce it. However, current practice does not allow for this.PurposeThis study tests the feasibility of a high-dose upper limb therapy in chronic stroke survivors using a neuroanimation therapy (NAT).MethodsFour chronic stroke survivors underwent 20 NAT sessions, 3 or 5 times a week for 90 minutes time-on-task. Feasibility was assessed with compliance to number of sessions and total time-on-task. Secondary outcomes included Fugle-Meyer Upper Extremity motor score (FM-UE), Action Research Arm Test (ARAT), grip strength, movement kinematics and cognition assessed using robotic technology.ResultsAll participants attended the 20 prescribed sessions on the 3-day per week schedule. Two completed 90 minutes time-on-task in all sessions. Two showed clinical improvements in their FM-UE and ARAT. Movement kinematic analysis demonstrated improvements in motor control and cognition, however these changes did not seem to last when re-tested 1 month after the last training session.Conclusion20 sessions of NAT is feasible in the chronic phase of stroke recovery with a 3-day per week schedule. Clinical improvements in arm function were observed in this high-dose upper limb NAT therapy, in one mild and one moderately affected stroke survivor.
Automated artifact injection into sensing-capable brain modulation devices for neural-behavioral synchronization and the influence of device state
Authors: Alarie Michaela E , Provenza Nicole R , Herron Jeffrey A , Asaad Wael F 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundSensing-enabled deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices enable opportunities to investigate correlations between neural activity and behavior. Unfortunately, these devices do not allow straightforward synchronization of neural data with external events.ObjectiveTo implement and assess an automated neural-behavioral synchronization system for a fully implanted DBS system.Methods and ResultsWe describe a synchronization strategy that relies on computer-driven artifact injection via event-triggered transcutaneous stimulation (TS). We validated the temporal accuracy of the approach in two patients receiving DBS for treatment of Parkinson’s disease, observing consistently low jitter between task events and subsequent TS artifacts during DBS OFF (± 22.9ms) and ON (± 9.08ms) conditions. Notably, we observed that event-triggered TS was modulated by device state, where active circuitry during specific streaming modes influenced artifact injection in the data.ConclusionWe describe a rigorous approach for neural-behavioral alignment using fully implanted DBS systems and demonstrate how accuracy of alignment depends on device state.
Exploring Disparities and Novel Insights into Metabo-Nutritional Comorbidities among COVID-19 Patients in Mexico
Authors: López-Cuevas Ariel , Martínez-García Mireya , Hernández-Lemus Enrique , de Anda-Jáuregui Guillermo 
Published: August 2023

AbstractDuring the previous years, particularly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential role of metabo-nutritional comorbidities in the severity and lethality of SARS-CoV2 infection has been widely discussed, often describing ambiguous outcomes. Here we investigate the prevalence of metabo-nutritional comorbidities among COVID-19 patients in Mexico. Using a retrospective observational study design, data was collected from official databases of COVID-19 patients admitted to public and private hospitals in Mexico City. Our study found a discordant prevalence of metabo-nutritional comorbidities among COVID-19 patients, particularly obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. Discordance consists in geographic location-dependent over and under-representation phenomena, that is the prevalence of such comorbidities in COVID-19 patients was significantly over or under the reported value for the general population in each location. These findings highlight the importance of screening for metabo-nutritional comorbidities in COVID-19 patients and suggest the need for tailored interventions for this population. The study also provides insights into the complex relationships between COVID-19 and metabo-nutritional comorbidities, which may inform future research and clinical practice.
Do we need to reconsider knee valgus as a sole risk factor for second ACL injury? Exploratory analysis of individual Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) items with three year follow-up
Authors: van Melick Nicky , van Rijn Lisa , Bogie Rob , Hoogeboom Thomas J. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackgroundIt remains unclear which movement quality items are associated with second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries after ACL reconstruction.Hypotheses1) Movement quality measured with the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) is not associated with second ACL injury in soccer players who returned to sports after ACL reconstruction. 2) In an exploratory analysis, soccer players with and without second ACL injuries display differences in individual LESS items.MethodsFourteen male recreational ACL-reconstructed soccer players had non-fatigued and fatigued movement quality measurement with LESS score three years ago and were now interviewed by phone about soccer participation and second ACL injuries.ResultsTwo soccer players did not return to soccer and were therefore excluded from analysis. Six of twelve (50%) included soccer players had a second ACL injury. There was no association between the non-fatigued (p=1.000) and fatigued (p=0.455) LESS score and second ACL injuries. However, when exploring individual LESS items, we found 50% of the soccer players with second ACL injury landing with little trunk and knee flexion displacement in combination with knee valgus, while none of the soccer players without second ACL injury had this combination of LESS errors. This difference was only seen in the fatigued state.ConclusionsIt might be the combination of little knee and trunk flexion displacement with knee valgus during landing which predisposes an athlete to a second ACL injury, especially in a fatigued state.Clinical relevanceWhen screening athletes after ACL reconstruction for second ACL injury risk, combining measurement of knee valgus with knee and trunk flexion displacement in a fatigued state might be give more insight into risk than using the complete LESS score or evaluating knee valgus as a sole risk factor.