bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey
Authors: Shalaby Mostafa , Elsheik Ahmad , Hamed Hosam ,   SURG-SAT-19 Collaborative Group
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure.
Results: 954 surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout.
There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management.
Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training.
Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov “NCT04433286” on 16/06/2020.
Relationship between macular perfusion and lesion distribution in diabetic retinopathy
Authors: Manafi Navid , Oncel Deniz , Verma Aditya , Corradetti Giulia , Kadomoto Shin , Mahmoudi Alireza , Alagorie Ahmed , Kim Ramasamy , Hemert Jano van , Yadav Naresh , Pappuru Rajeev , Tufail Adnan , Esmaeilkhanian Houri , Nittala Muneeswar , Raman Rajiv , Sadda Srinivas 
Published: March 2023

Abstract

Background/Objectives: To assess the relationship between macular vessel density metrics and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) characteristics on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and lesion distribution in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Subjects/Methods: Patients with DR who underwent both Optos ultrawidefield (UWF) pseudocolor imaging and macular OCTA (Cirrus Angioplex, 6x6 mm) were included in this cross-sectional observational study. The distribution of DR lesions was assessed by comparing each of the peripheral ETDRS extended fields (3-7) against their corresponding ETDRS field, hence eyes were defined as either having predominantly peripheral lesions (PPL) or predominantly central lesions (PCL). En face OCTA images from the superficial and deep capillary plexuses (SCP and DCP) were then analyzed using Image J software. Perfusion density (PD), vessel length density (VLD), and fractal dimensions (FD) were calculated following binarization and skeletonization of the images.
Results: Out of 344 eyes, 116 (33.72%) eyes had PPL and 228 (66.28%) eyes had PCL. For all DRSS levels, VLD, PD, and FD were not significantly different between eyes with PPL and PCL. The FAZ in eyes with PPL, however, was found to be more circular in shape compared to eyes with PCL (p=0.037).
Conclusion: Although the presence of PPL has been associated with a higher risk for diabetic retinopathy progression, the macular perfusion is similar in eyes with PPL and PCL. The FAZ is more circular in eyes with PPL, but the clinical relevance of this difference remains to be defined.
Risk factors for eight common cancers revealed from a phenome-wide Mendelian randomisation analysis of 378,142 cases and 485,715 controls
Authors: Went Molly , Sud Amit , Mills Charlie , Hyde Abi , Culliford Richard , Law Philip , Vijayakrishnan Jayaram , Gockel Ines , Maj Carlo , Schumacher Johannes , Palles Claire , Kaiser Martin , Houlston Richard 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
For many cancers there are few well-established risk factors. Summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) can be used in a Mendelian randomisation (MR) phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) to identify causal relationships. We performed a MR-PheWAS of breast, prostate, colorectal, lung, endometrial, oesophageal, renal, and ovarian cancers, comprising 378,142 cases and 485,715 controls. To derive a more comprehensive insight into disease aetiology we systematically mined the literature space for supporting evidence. We evaluated causal relationships for over 3,000 potential risk factors. In addition to identifying well-established risk factors (smoking, alcohol, obesity, lack of physical activity), we provide evidence for specific factors, including dietary intake, sex steroid hormones, plasma lipids and telomere length as determinants of cancer risk. We also implicate molecular factors including plasma levels of IL-18, LAG-3, IGF-1, CT-1, and PRDX1 as risk factors. Our analyses highlight the importance of risk factors that are common to many cancer types but also reveal aetiological differences. A number of the molecular factors we identify have the potential to be biomarkers. Our findings should aid public health prevention strategies to reduce cancer burden. We provide a R/Shiny app (https://mrcancer.shinyapps.io/mrcan/) to visualise findings.
Genome-wide characterization of the MBF1 gene family and its expression pattern in different tissues and stresses in Medicago
Authors: Zhao Yiran , Zhao Xianglong , Yan Su , Wu Yongqiang , Wang Hongjie , Liang Jiayue , Yang Guofeng 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
Multiprotein bridging factor 1 are transcription factors that play critical roles in plant life cycle and in plant tolerance to environmental stresses. Medicago sativa is an important perennial legume forage grass, whereas the potential information in the MBF1 genes associated with stress resistance remains poorly understood.
Results
Three MBF1 genes were identified from each of the M. truncatula and M. sativa genomes. Multiple sequence alignment analysis showed that all these members contain conserved MBF1 and HTH domains. The MBF1 genes showed similar exon-intron organizations, and similar architectures in their conserved motifs. A number of cis-acting elements associated with drought, MeJA and light stress were identified in their promoter regions. In addition, these MBF1 genes were shown in genechip and transcriptome data to exhibit divergent expression patterns in various tissues or in response to drought and salt treatments. In particular, qRT-PCR results showed that the expression of MtMBF1b and MtMBF1c were significantly induced by NaCl treatment, indicating that they are likely to play a role in salt stress response.
Conclusions
Our comprehensive analysis provides valuable information for elucidating the evolutionary process of MBF1 genes and their expression patterns in different tissues and under four stresses. This work will facilitate the application of MBF1 genes in molecular breeding of highly resistant alfalfa.
Transient Inhibition of 53BP1 Increases the Frequency of Targeted Integration in Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells
Authors: Baik Ron , Cromer M , Glenn Steve , Vakulskas Christopher , Dudek Amanda , Feist William , Shipp Suzette , Dever Danny , Porteus Matthew 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Genome editing by homology directed repair (HDR) is leveraged to precisely modify the genome of therapeutically relevant hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Here, we present a new approach to increasing the frequency of HDR in human HSPCs by the delivery of i53 recombinant protein. We show that the use of i53 peptide effectively increases the frequency of HDR-mediated genome editing at a variety of therapeutically relevant loci in HSPCs as well as other primary human cell types. We show that incorporating the use of i53 recombinant protein allows high levels of HDR to be attained while lowering the amounts of AAV6 needed by 8-fold. HDR edited HSPCs were capable of long-term and bi-lineage hematopoietic reconstitution in NSG mice, suggesting that i53 recombinant protein might be safely integrated into the standard CRISPR/AAV6-mediated genome editing protocol to gain greater numbers of edited cells for transplantation of clinically meaningful cell populations.
Comparison of the predictive refractive error and refractive outcomes using the IOLMaster 500 and Pentacam-AXL Wave
Authors: Skelton Rhys , Birrell Harry , Crayford Basil 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Cataracts are a major cause of morbidity worldwide. More so than ever, clinicians rely on the accuracy of their instruments in predicting refractive error (pred. RE) to ensure optimal post-operative outcomes. Here, we compare the pred. RE accuracy of the IOLMaster 500 against the Pentacam-AXL wave in 92 eyes receiving CNA0T0 + lenses. Our data demonstrates nil significant difference between the two instruments with the IOLMaster 500 pred. REs falling within 0.40D ± 0.31 (SD) of the objective refractive error (obj. RE), compared to 0.42 ± 0.29D (SD) when using the Pentacam-AXL wave (p-value 0.35). Nonetheless, there is a trend of the IOLMaster 500 performing marginally better than the Pentacam-AXL wave, with 71.6% vs. 66.3% and 97.8% vs. 95.7% of pred. REs falling within ± 0.50D and ± 1.00D of their obj. RE respectively. Lastly, the Pentacam-AXL wave frequently calculates more hyperopic pred. RE for a given IOL (> 92%). This results in the Pentacam-AXL wave selecting more a powerful IOLs in most cases (90%), thereby avoiding hyperopic post-operative outcomes. In conclusion, the IOLMaster 500 and Pentacam-AXL wave are comparable in terms of pred. RE accuracy. Nonetheless, clinicians wishing to avoid leaving patients hyperopic may benefit from relying on the pred. RE’s suggested by the Pentacam-AXL wave.
Exploring the Micromorphological Characteristics of Adult Lower Cervical Vertebrae Based on Micro-computed Tomography
Authors: Li Kun , Yang Yang , Wang Peng , Song Haoyu , Ma Chunying , Zhang Yansong , Dang Xingye , Shi Jun , Zhang Shaojie , Li Zhijun , Wang Xing 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Objective: we will use micro-computed tomography to scan the adult lower cervical vertebrae and measure structural and morphological parameters. Then we will analyze the data, summarize trabecular distributing patterns, and provide the anatomical theoretical basis for clinical and surgical treatment strategies.
Methods: Micro-computed Tomography scans were performed on 31 sets of lower cervical vertebrae (155 vertebrae) to observe the morphological characteristics and direction of trabeculae in the lower cervical vertebrae by outlining and reconstructing the regions of interest and to calculate the variation laws of the microstructure in the regions of interest to reveal their structural characteristics and weak areas.
Results: The images showed that the trabeculae in the lower cervical pedicle near the medial and lateral cortices were relatively dense, and their bone plates were lamellar. There were cavities between the superior and inferior articular processes where the ossification centers had not been absorbed after ossified. The lamellar trabeculae in the vertebral plates near the cortical bones were only 1-2 layers, extended and transformed into rod-shaped trabeculae in a radial shape toward the medullary space. The lamellar trabeculae of the vertebral plate extend over the spinous process near the cortical bone. The statistical results of the trabeculae's morphological parameters showed significant differences in bone volume fraction values among the four parts (P<0.05). There were substantial differences in BS/BV, except for no differences between the pedicle and the vertebral plate (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in trabecular pattern factor values between the articular process, the spinous process, and the vertebral plate (P<0.05) and a significant difference between the pedicle, the spinous process, and the vertebral plate (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in trabecular bone thickness and trabecular space values among the four parts (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The anatomical microstructural perspective confirms that the optimal choice is internal fixation via the pedicle. If using pedicle screws, the nail tract needs to be placed into the spinous process to increase its holding power and resistance to extraction.
Cold-inducible RNA binding protein ameliorates oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced hippocampal neuron injury through anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative pathways
Authors: Chen Lihui , Yao Fen , Cheng Huixian , Guo Min , Gao Yu , Cai Shenquan , Duan Man-lin 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Therapeutic hypothermia (HT) is an important treatment after cardiac arrest to mitigate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. Studies have shown that cold-inducible RNA binding protein (CIRP), as a stress-response protein, exerts key role on improvement of neurological outcome after therapeutic hypothermia treatment in the global ischemia. Thus, this study focused on investigating the role of CIRP in hippocampal neuronal injury induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) and exploring relative mechanisms. In our study, the results of biochemical detection, flow cytometry and western blot showed that HT could significantly inhibit OGD/R-induced neuronal apoptosis and oxidative stress. The results of RT-PCR and western blot indicated that HT could induce CIRP over-expression in neurons and reverse the down-regulation of CIRP induced by OGD/R. In addition, over-expression of CIRP could reduce the release of ROS induced by OGD/R through reducing MDA levels and increasing the level of SOD and GSH, and alleviated OGD/R-induced neuronal apoptosis by down-regulating Caspase-3 expression and up-regulating Bcl-2 expression. Furthermore, CIRP silencing enhanced neuronal OGD/R-induced apoptosis and oxidative stress. Meanwhile, neuron ultrastructure was visualized by transmission electron microscope (TEM). As expected, neurons were seriously damaged and mitochondrial membrane ruptured after OGD/R injury, which were attenuated by CIRP over-expression or HT. Taken together, our results showed that CIRP resisted OGD/R-induced neuronal injury by exhibiting anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative properties. To sum up, targeting CIRP offers potential therapeutic implications in the treatment of brain I/R injury.
Deep Learning Application in the Detection of Pathological Exposure of Pulp Using Periapical Radiographs: A Retrospective Multicentric Study
Authors: Altukroni Abdulbadea , Alsaeedi Abdullah , Gonzalez-Losada Cristina , Lee Jae-Hong , Alabudh Mohamed , Mirah Mahir , El-Amri Sakina , El-Deen Omar Ezz 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Background
Introducing artificial intelligence into the medical field proved to be beneficial in automating tasks and streamlining the practitioners’ lives. Hence, this study was conducted to design and evaluate an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called Make Sure Caries Detector and Classifier (MSc) for detecting pathological exposure of pulp on digital periapical radiographs and to compare its performance with dentists.
Methods
This study was a retrospective multi-centric study, with over 3461 digital periapical radiographs from different countries’ and centers. MSc was built using Yolov5-x model, which was used for exposed and unexposed pulp caries detection. The dataset was split into train, validate, and test datasets; the ratio was 8-1-1 to prevent overfitting. 345 images with 752 labels were randomly allocated to test MSc. The performance metrics used to test MSc performance included mean average precision (mAP), precision, F1 score, recall, and area under receiver operating characteristic Curve (AUC). The metrics used to compare the performance with that of 10 certified dentists were: right detection exposed, right detection not exposed, false detection exposed, false detection not exposed, missed diagnosis, and over diagnosis.
Results
MSc achieved a performance of more than 90% in all metrics examined: an average precision of 0.928, recall of 0.918, F1-score of 0.922, and an mAP@ .5 (AUC) of 0.956 (P < .05). The results showed a higher mean for all right diagnosis parameters in MSc group while a higher mean for all wrong diagnosis parameters in the dentists group (P < .05).
Conclusions
The designed MSc tool proved itself reliable in the detection and differentiating between Exposed and Unexposed pulp. It also showed a better performance when compared to the 10 dentists.
Unlearned adaptive responses to heterospecific referential alarm calls in two bird species from separate evolutionary lineages
Authors: Ha Jungmoon , Lee Keesan , Yang Eunjeong , Kim Woojoo , Song Hokyung , Hwang Injae , Lee-Cruz Larisa , Park Jinseok , Song Jihyeon , Park Chan-ryeol , Lee Wooshin , Jablonski Piotr , Lee Sang-Im 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
The interspecific responses to alarm signals may be based on unlearned mechanisms but research is often constrained by the difficulties in differentiating between unlearned and learned responses in natural situations. In a field study of two Paridae species, Parus minor and Sittiparus varius, who originated from a common ancestor 8 million years ago, we found a considerable degree of between-species overlap in acoustic properties of referential snake-alarm calls. Playback of these calls triggered unlearned adaptive fledging behavior in conspecific and heterospecific naive nestlings, suggesting a between-species overlap in the hypothetical unlearned neural templates involved in nestlings’ reactions to alarm calls in both species. This suggests that similar calls and similar unlearned sensitivity might have been present in the common ancestor of the two species, and possibly in the ancestor of the whole family Paridae that originated 10–15 million years ago in warm Asian regions rich in snakes.
Perceptions of the roles, impact, challenges and needs of community drug distributors in the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases in difficult-to-access communities in Ghana
Authors: Forson Akua Obeng , Awuah Raphael Baffour , Mohammed Abdul Rahim , Owusu-Asenso Christopher Mfum , Atakora Sefa Bonsu , Akosah-Brempong Gabriel , Abdulai Anisa , Sr Isaac Kwame , Dhikrullahi Shittu B. , Attah Simon K. , Afrane Yaw Asare 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
The success of mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns to control and eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Ghana depends, to a large extent, on the essential role community drug distributors (CDDs) play. This study aimed to investigate community’s perceptions of CDDs’ roles, impact of CDDs’ work, challenges faced by CDDs and views on resources required to enhance CDDs’ work to sustain MDA campaigns. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study employing the use of focus group discussions (FGDs) with community members and CDDs in selected NTD endemic communities together with individual interviews with district health officers (DHOs)was conducted. We interviewed 104 people aged 18 and over, purposively selected, through eight individual interviews, and 16 focus group discussions. Results: Participants in the community FGDs noted that health education and distribution of drugs were the main roles of CDDs. Participants also perceived that the work of CDDs had prevented the onset of NTDs, treated symptoms of NTDs and generally reduced the incidence of infections. In the interviews with CDDs and DHOs, lack of cooperation/non-compliance by community members, demands by community members, lack of working resources and low financial motivation were mentioned as the main challenges to the work of CDDs. Moreover, provision of logistics and financial motivation for CDDs were identified as factors that will enhance their work. Conclusions: Incorporating more attractive schemes shall incentivise CDDs to improve output. Addressing the challenges highlighted is an important step for the work of CDDS to be effective in controlling NTDs in difficult-to-access communities in Ghana.
Polygenic scores for tobacco use provide insights into systemic health risks in a diverse EHR-linked biobank in Los Angeles
Authors: Venkateswaran Vidhya , Boulier Kristin , Ding Yi , Johnson Ruth , Bhattacharya Arjun , Pasaniuc Bogdan 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Tobacco use is a major risk factor for multiple diseases and is heavily influenced by environmental factors with significant underlying genetic contributions. Here, we evaluated the predictive performance, risk stratification, and potential systemic health effects of tobacco use disorder (TUD) predisposing germline variants using a European- ancestry derived polygenic score (PGS) in 24,202 participants from the multi-ancestry, hospital-based UCLA ATLAS biobank. Among genetically inferred ancestry groups (GIAs), TUD-PGS was significantly associated with TUD in European American (EA) (OR: 1.20, CI: [1.16, 1.24]), Hispanic/Latin American (HL) (OR:1.19, CI: [1.11, 1.28]), and East Asian American (EAA) (OR: 1.18, CI: [1.06, 1.31]) GIAs but not in African American (AA) GIA (OR: 1.04, CI: [0.93, 1.17]). Similarly, TUD-PGS offered strong risk stratification across PGS quantiles in EA and HL GIAs and inconsistently in EAA and AA GIAs. In a cross-ancestry phenome-wide association meta-analysis, TUD-PGS was associated with cardiometabolic, respiratory, and psychiatric phecodes (17 phecodes at P < 2.7E-05). In individuals with no history of smoking, the top TUD-PGS associations with obesity and alcohol-related disorders (P = 3.54E-07, 1.61E-06) persist. Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis provides evidence of a causal association between adiposity measures and tobacco use. Inconsistent prediction of TUD-PGS across GIAs motivates the inclusion of multiple ancestry populations at all levels of genetic research of tobacco use for equitable clinical translation of TUD-PGS. Phenome associations suggest that TUD-predisposed individuals may require comprehensive tobacco use prevention and management approaches to address underlying addictive tendencies.