bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nontraditional risk factors in chronic kidney disease: correlation between creatinine clearance, Framingham risk score, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation
Authors: Tawfik Ahmed Mohamed , Tawfik Heba Mohamed 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundChronic kidney disease became a public health problem increasing healthcare burden. Our aim was to detect the relationship between cardiovascular risk, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and kidney function in chronic kidney disease patients and to detect the nontraditional factors affecting the decline in kidney functions.MethodsA cross-sectional study including 30 male and female patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3–5. Creatinine clearance and Framingham risk score points were calculated. Carotid intimal medial thickness was measured as well as absolute flow mediated dilatation in brachial artery. Highly sensitive C-reactive protein, parathyroid hormone, kidney function tests, and lipid profile were measured.ResultsFramingham risk score points and carotid intimal medial thickness increased significantly with decreasing creatinine clearance (p0.0025, 0.0285) respectively. A significant correlation was found between highly sensitive C-reactive protein and Framingham risk score points but not with carotid intimal medial thickness (p0.0043, 0.2229) respectively. An inverse correlation was found between creatinine clearance and highly sensitive C-reactive protein (p0.0174). Absolute flow mediated dilatation in brachial artery decreases with increasing Framingham risk score points and decreasing creatinine clearance (p0.0044, 0.0269) respectively.ConclusionThere is correlation between chronic kidney disease and impaired vascular function, subclinical atherosclerosis, and heightened inflammatory response. Chronic kidney disease patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular events with higher [10-]year cardiovascular risk.
Epidemiological trends of mosquito-borne viral diseases in Pakistan
Authors: Imran Muhammad , Ye Jing , Saleemi Muhammad K. , Shaheen Iqra , Zohaib Ali , Chen Zheng , Cao Shengbo 
Published: March 2022

AbstractGlobally, arboviruses are public health problems. Pakistan has seen a fast-paced increase in mosquito-borne Flavivirus diseases such as dengue because of deforestation, climate change, urbanization, poor sanitation and natural disasters. The magnitude and distribution of these diseases are poorly understood due to the lack of a competitive nationwide surveillance system. In dengue-endemic countries, the recent epidemics of chikungunya (CHIKV) and human West Nile virus (WNV) have created panic among the public and are thought to provoke an outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) in Pakistan. Recently, hospital-based surveillance has indicated the presence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which is deeply concerned by developing countries such as Pakistan. The situation could become more devastating because of poorly developed diagnostic infrastructure. To date, no licensed vaccine has been used in Pakistan, and preventive measures are mainly based on vector control. This review provides comprehensive information concerning the association of risk factors with disease occurrence, epidemiological trends, and prediction of the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, attention to new threats of ZIKV, and future perspectives by benchmarking global health policies.
Risk and Outcome of Breakthrough COVID-19 Infections in Vaccinated Patients With Cancer: Real-World Evidence From the National COVID Cohort Collaborative
Authors: Song Qianqian , Bates Benjamin , Shao Yu Raymond , Hsu Fang-Chi , Liu Feifan , Madhira Vithal , Mitra Amit Kumar , Bergquist Timothy , Kavuluru Ramakanth , Li Xiaochun , Sharafeldin Noha , Su Jing , Topaloglu Umit 
Published: March 2022

PURPOSETo provide real-world evidence on risks and outcomes of breakthrough COVID-19 infections in vaccinated patients with cancer using the largest national cohort of COVID-19 cases and controls.METHODSWe used the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) to identify breakthrough infections between December 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021. We included patients partially or fully vaccinated with mRNA COVID-19 vaccines with no prior SARS-CoV-2 infection record. Risks for breakthrough infection and severe outcomes were analyzed using logistic regression.RESULTSA total of 6,860 breakthrough cases were identified within the N3C-vaccinated population, among whom 1,460 (21.3%) were patients with cancer. Solid tumors and hematologic malignancies had significantly higher risks for breakthrough infection (odds ratios [ORs] = 1.12, 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.23 and 4.64, 95% CI, 3.98 to 5.38) and severe outcomes (ORs = 1.33, 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.62 and 1.45, 95% CI, 1.08 to 1.95) compared with noncancer patients, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, smoking status, vaccine type, and vaccination date. Compared with solid tumors, hematologic malignancies were at increased risk for breakthrough infections (adjusted OR ranged from 2.07 for lymphoma to 7.25 for lymphoid leukemia). Breakthrough risk was reduced after the second vaccine dose for all cancers (OR = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.05), and for Moderna's mRNA-1273 compared with Pfizer's BNT162b2 vaccine (OR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.70), particularly in patients with multiple myeloma (OR = 0.35; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.72). Medications with major immunosuppressive effects and bone marrow transplantation were strongly associated with breakthrough risk among the vaccinated population.CONCLUSIONReal-world evidence shows that patients with cancer, especially hematologic malignancies, are at higher risk for developing breakthrough infections and severe outcomes. Patients with vaccination were at markedly decreased risk for breakthrough infections. Further work is needed to assess boosters and new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Artificial intelligence can detect left ventricular dilatation on contrast-enhanced thoracic computer tomography relative to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Asif Ashar , Charters Pia F. P. , Thompson Charlotte A. S. , Komber Hend M. E. I. , Hudson Benjamin J. , Rodrigues Jonathan Carl Luis 
Published: March 2022

Objectives:
To assess the diagnostic accuracy of an automated algorithm to detect left ventricular (LV) dilatation on non-ECG gated CT, using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) as reference standard.

Methods
Consecutive patients with contrast-enhanced CT thorax and CMR within 31 days (2016–2020) were analysed (n = 84). LV dilatation was defined against age-, sex- and body surface area-specific values for CMR. CTs underwent automated artificial intelligence(AI)-derived analysis that segmented ventricular chambers, presenting maximal LV diameter and volume. Area under the receiver operator curve (AUC-ROC) analysis identified CT thresholds with ≥90% sensitivity and highest specificity and ≥90% specificity with highest sensitivity. Youden’s Index was used to identify thresholds with optimised sensitivity and specificity.

Results:
Automated diameter analysis was feasible in 92% of cases (77/84; 45 men, age 61 ± 14 years, mean CT to CMR interval 10 ± 8 days). Relative to CMR as a reference standard, 45% had LV dilatation. In males, an automated LV diameter measurement of ≥55.5 mm was ≥90% specific for CMR-defined LV dilatation (positive predictive value (PPV) 85.7%, negative predictive value (NPV) 61.2%, accuracy 68.9%). In females, an LV diameter of ≥49.7 mm was ≥90% specific for CMR-defined LV dilatation (PPV 66.7%, NPV 73.1%, accuracy 71.9%). AI CT volumetry data did not significantly improve AUC performance.

Conclusion:
Fully automated AI-derived analysis LV dilatation on routine unselected non-gated contrast-enhanced CT thorax studies is feasible. We have defined thresholds for the detection of LV dilatation on CT relative to CMR, which could be used to routinely screen for dilated cardiomyopathy at the time of CT.

Advances in knowledge:
We show, for the first time, that a fully-automated AI-derived analysis of maximal LV chamber axial diameter on non-ECG-gated thoracic CT is feasible in unselected real-world cases and that the derived measures can predict LV dilatation relative to cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, the non-invasive reference standard for determining cardiac chamber size. We have derived sex-specific cut-off values to screen for LV dilatation on routine contrast-enhanced thoracic CT. Future work should validate these thresholds and determine if technology can alter clinical outcomes in a cost-effective manner.
Exact Solution Algorithms for the Chordless Cycle Problem
Authors: Pereira Dilson Lucas , Lucena Abilio , Salles da Cunha Alexandre , Simonetti Luidi 
Published: March 2022

A formulation, a heuristic, and branch-and-cut algorithms are investigated for the chordless cycle problem. This is the problem of finding a largest simple cycle for a given graph so that no edge between nonimmediately subsequent cycle vertices is contained in the graph. Leaving aside procedures based on complete enumeration, no previous exact solution algorithm appears to exist for the problem, which is relevant both in theoretical and practical terms. Extensive computational results are reported here for randomly generated graphs and for graphs originating from the literature. Under acceptable CPU times, certified optimal solutions are presented for graphs with as many as 100 vertices. Summary of Contribution: Finding chordless cycles of a graph, also known as holes, is relevant, among others, to graph theory, to the design of polyhedral based exact solution algorithms to integer programming (IP) problems, and to the practical applications that benefit from these algorithms. For instance, perfect graphs do not contain odd holes. Additionally, odd hole inequalities are valid for strengthening the formulations to numerous problems that are directly defined over graphs. Furthermore, these inequalites, in association with applicable conflict graphs, are used by all modern IP solvers to preprocess and strengthen virtually any IP formulation submitted to them.
The Hidden Cost of Worker Turnover: Attributing Product Reliability to the Turnover of Factory Workers
Authors: Moon Ken , Loyalka Prashant , Bergemann Patrick , Cohen Joshua 
Published: March 2022

Product reliability is a key concern for manufacturers. We examine worker turnover as a significant but underrecognized determinant of product reliability. Our study collects and integrates (1) data reporting factory worker staffing and turnover from within a major consumer electronics producer’s supply chain and (2) traceable data reporting the component quality and field failures—that is, replacements and repairs—of nearly 50 million consumer mobile devices over four years of customer usage. Devices are individually traced back to the factory conditions and staffing, down to the assembly line–week, under which they were produced. Despite the manufacturer’s extensive quality control efforts, including stringent testing, each percentage point increase in the weekly rate of workers quitting from an assembly line (its weekly worker turnover) is found to increase field failures by 0.74%–0.79%. In the high-turnover weeks following paydays, eventual field failures are strikingly 10.2% more common than for devices produced during the lowest turnover weeks immediately before paydays. In other weeks, the assembly lines experiencing higher turnover produce an estimated 2%–3% more field failures on average. The associated costs amount to hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars. We demonstrate that staffing and retaining a stable factory workforce critically underlies product reliability and showcase the value of traceability coupled with connected workplace and product data in supply chain operations. This paper was accepted by Charles Corbett, operations management.
Global Disaster Risk Matters
Authors: Chen Jian , Yao Jiaquan , Zhang Qunzi , Zhu Xiaoneng 
Published: March 2022

This article examines the cross-country asset pricing implications of disaster risk concerns. We construct a new disaster risk index, relying on six news-implied rare disaster proxies of Manela and Moreira (2017) , and show that this index is a powerful predictor for stock returns and other asset returns in international markets both in and out of sample. By further disentangling a global common component from our rare disaster index, we find evidence supporting theories that emphasize globally shared disaster risk as the important driving force of asset price fluctuations. Moreover, we conduct a return decomposition analysis and find that the global disaster risk drives stock returns primarily through the discount rate channel. This paper was accepted by Karl Diether, finance. Funding: This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [72132002, 71903112, 72192842, U1811462, and 71502152], the Basic Scientific Center of National Science Foundation of China [71988101], the National Social Science Foundation [21&ZD088 and 20&ZD102], SIIFE [2018110262], and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics [2018110698]. Supplemental Material: The data files and e-companion are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.4328 .
Understanding Alpha Decay
Authors: Pénasse Julien 
Published: March 2022

I study the importance of alpha decay for the measurement of realized and conditional expected returns in asset pricing studies. Alpha decay refers to the reduction in abnormal expected returns (relative to an asset pricing model) in response to an anomaly becoming widely known among market participants. As decreases in alpha are associated (ceteris paribus) with positive realized returns, the econometrician may misinterpret these repricing returns as evidence that the anomaly will persist in the future. Because alpha decay is generally a nonstationary phenomenon, asset pricing tests that impose stationarity may lead to biased inference. I illustrate the importance of alpha decay using the most commonly studied anomalies in the asset pricing literature and find that the measured alpha differs from the true alpha by about 1.4% per year. I provide a simple formula to correct for this bias and show how to incorporate alpha decay tests into the standard asset pricing toolkit. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, finance.
Talon Cusp Management: A Case Series
Authors: Butt Razia , Aspinall Andrea , Tanday Ajit , Brown Catriona J 
Published: March 2022

Talon cusps are well-defined additional cusps on the palatal or labial surface of an anterior incisor. They typically extend half the distance from the cemento-enamel junction to the incisal edge and are primarily composed of enamel and dentine with varying degrees of pulpal involvement. Talon cusps can cause clinical problems such as caries, pulpal pathology and aesthetic concerns. This case series details the management of three cases involving complete removal of the talon cusps followed by partial pulpotomy. Follow up, ranging from 6 to 24 months, showed affected teeth responded positively to sensibility testing with no clinical symptoms or radiographic changes. CPD/Clinical Relevance: Management of talon cusps may require a multidisciplinary team approach.
Acromegaly and Dentistry: A Review
Authors: Brown Timothy , Anderson William , Keys William 
Published: March 2022

Acromegaly is a progressive, multi-system disease caused by excessive growth hormone production that, if untreated, may lead to significant morbidity, mortality and impact on a sufferer's quality of life. Changes to the orofacial complex are a prominent feature of the disease, meaning the dental profession is in a unique position to be able to recognize the condition early. This article discusses its presentation, diagnosis and management with a particular focus on the potential effects on the orofacial complex, leading to an exploration of the difficulties that may be encountered when dental rehabilitation is required.CPD/Clinical Relevance: Dental professionals may be the first to recognize the orofacial changes associated with acromegaly.
Descending Necrotizing Mediastinitis: A Potential Consequence of Odontogenic Infection
Authors: Walshaw Emma G , Taylor Richard , Parmar Jiten 
Published: March 2022

Descending necrotizing mediastinitis is a potential consequence of cervicofacial infection, which can promptly progress into a life-threatening disease, with the sequelae of severe sepsis, organ failure and death. This article highlights the importance of this pathology and discusses key signs and symptoms that may be identified when performing an assessment on a patient with a large cervicofacial swelling. This article also describes the case of a young and healthy patient who experienced this pathology from an odontogenic source. CPD/Clinical Relevance: Descending necrotizing mediastinitis, although rare, is a potentially life threatening consequence of odontogenic infection and awareness of it is imperative for dental professionals.
Akzeptierte Geschäftsprozesse gestalten und implementieren
Authors: Drewes Lars , Nissen Volker 
Published: March 2022

ZusammenfassungGemäß der Prozessakzeptanztheorie hat die Akzeptanz von Prozessen einen Einfluss auf deren korrekte Ausführung. Sollen Abweichungen und Manipulationen in der Prozessausführung, die auch ethisch negativ konnotiert sein können, verhindert werden, ist es notwendig zu verstehen, welche Faktoren einen Einfluss auf die Akzeptanz aufweisen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der Einfluss von Selbstheilungsfähigkeiten im Prozess sowie der Einfluss eines damit verbundenen Verlustes der Kontrolle der Beteiligten über die Daten in zwei Experimenten untersucht. Dadurch, dass ein Algorithmus die Kontrolle über den Prozess übernimmt, ist hier die digitale Ethik betroffen. Die Basis für das Experiment bildet ein generischer Einkaufsprozess, der online über Amazon’s Mechanical Turk bereitgestellt wird. Die Prozessakzeptanz wird mit Hilfe eines Fragebogens aufgeteilt in die drei Dimensionen der Einstellung (kognitiv, affektiv, konativ) gemessen. Das erste Experiment zeigt, dass es einen signifikanten Unterschied in der Akzeptanz von Prozesse mit und ohne Selbstheilungsmechanismen gibt. Die Ergebnisse der Tests deuten darauf hin, dass die Selbstheilung nicht automatisch besser akzeptiert wird als wiederholte manuelle Anstrengungen. Dieses Ergebnis ist auch praktisch sehr wichtig, denn automatisierte Rekonstruktionen nehmen heute eine wichtige Rolle in der IT-gestützten Ausführung von Geschäftsprozessen ein. Eine vorläufige Erklärung ist, dass ein Verlust der Kontrolle der Teilnehmer über die Daten zu diesem scheinbar kontra-intuitiven Ergebnis führt. Im zweiten Experiment wird daher der Kontrollverlust untersucht. Es konnte dahingehend keine Signifikanz festgestellt werden, allerdings deutet die gemessene Teststärke darauf hin, dass das gewählte Testdesign möglicherweise nicht sensibel genug war, solche Unterschiede messen zu können. Weitere Untersuchungen sind daher nötig.
How do women prepare for pregnancy in a low-income setting? Prevalence and associated factors
Authors: Mwase-Musicha Loveness , Chipeta Michael G. , Stephenson Judith , Hall Jennifer A. 
Published: March 2022

Background
Despite growing evidence of pregnancy preparation benefits, there is little knowledge on how women in developing countries prepare for pregnancy and factors influencing their preparedness for pregnancy. Here, we determine how women in Malawi prepare for pregnancy and factors associated with pregnancy preparation.

Methods
We used data from a previous cohort study comprising 4,244 pregnant mothers, recruited between March and December 2013 in Mchinji district, Malawi. Associations of pregnancy preparation with socio-demographic and obstetric factors were tested for using mixed effects ordinal regression, with the likelihood ratio and Wald’s tests used for variable selection and independently testing the associations.

Results
Most mothers (63.9%) did not take any action to prepare for their pregnancies. For those who did (36.1%), eating more healthily (71.9%) and saving money (42.8%) were the most common forms of preparation. Mothers who were married (adjusted odds-ratio (AOR 7.77 (95% CI [5.31, 11.25]) or with no or fewer living children were more likely to prepare for pregnancy (AOR 4.71, 95% CI [2.89,7.61]. Mothers with a period of two to three years (AOR 2.51, 95% CI [1.47, 4.22]) or at least three years (AOR 3.67, 95%CI [2.18, 6.23]) between pregnancies were more likely to prepare for pregnancy than women with first pregnancy or shorter intervals. On the other hand, teenage and older (≥ 35 years old) mothers were less likely to prepare for pregnancy (AOR 0.61, 95%CI [0.47, 0.80]) and AOR 0.49 95%CI [0.33, 0.73], respectively).

Conclusion
While preconception care may not be formally available in Malawi, our study has revealed that over a third of mothers took some action to prepare for pregnancy before conception. Although this leaves around two thirds of women who did not make any form of pregnancy preparation, our findings form a basis for future research and development of a preconception care package that suits the Malawian context.
AI-driven quantification of ground glass opacities in lungs of COVID-19 patients using 3D computed tomography imaging
Authors: Saha Monjoy , Amin Sagar B. , Sharma Ashish , Kumar T. K. Satish , Kalia Rajiv K. 
Published: March 2022

Objectives
Ground-glass opacity (GGO)—a hazy, gray appearing density on computed tomography (CT) of lungs—is one of the hallmark features of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 patients. This AI-driven study is focused on segmentation, morphology, and distribution patterns of GGOs.

Method
We use an AI-driven unsupervised machine learning approach called PointNet++ to detect and quantify GGOs in CT scans of COVID-19 patients and to assess the severity of the disease. We have conducted our study on the “MosMedData”, which contains CT lung scans of 1110 patients with or without COVID-19 infections. We quantify the morphologies of GGOs using Minkowski tensors and compute the abnormality score of individual regions of segmented lung and GGOs.

Results
PointNet++ detects GGOs with the highest evaluation accuracy (98%), average class accuracy (95%), and intersection over union (92%) using only a fraction of 3D data. On average, the shapes of GGOs in the COVID-19 datasets deviate from sphericity by 15% and anisotropies in GGOs are dominated by dipole and hexapole components. These anisotropies may help to quantitatively delineate GGOs of COVID-19 from other lung diseases.

Conclusion
The PointNet++ and the Minkowski tensor based morphological approach together with abnormality analysis will provide radiologists and clinicians with a valuable set of tools when interpreting CT lung scans of COVID-19 patients. Implementation would be particularly useful in countries severely devastated by COVID-19 such as India, where the number of cases has outstripped available resources creating delays or even breakdowns in patient care. This AI-driven approach synthesizes both the unique GGO distribution pattern and severity of the disease to allow for more efficient diagnosis, triaging and conservation of limited resources.