bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patient Characteristics Associated With Missed Appointments in Pediatric Subspecialty Clinics
Authors: Jones Michael K. , O'Connell Nathaniel S. , Skelton Joseph A. , Halvorson Elizabeth E. 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACT

Objectives:
Missed appointments negatively affect patients, providers, and health systems. This study aimed to (1) quantify the percentage of missed appointments across 14 pediatric subspecialties in a tertiary-care children's hospital and (2) identify patient characteristics associated with missed appointments in those subspecialties.

Methods:
We extracted patient characteristics from 267,151 outpatient appointments, between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2018, across 14 subspecialty clinics. Medical complexity was categorized using the Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm. The primary outcome was appointment nonattendance. Cancellations, imaging/laboratory visits, patients older than 18 years, and duplicate visits were excluded. Characteristics associated with nonattendance were analyzed with chi-square tests and included in the multivariable model if p < .1. Missing data were addressed using random forest imputation, and assuming data were “missing at random.” Variables were considered statistically significant if p < .05.

Results:
Of the 128,117 scheduled appointments analyzed, 23,204 (18.1%) were missed. In the multivariable model, clinical nutrition had the greatest subspecialty odds of missed appointments, whereas cardiology had the lowest. Patient characteristics most strongly associated with missed appointments were public insurance, history of >2 missed appointments, appointment lead time, lesser medical complexity, Black race/ethnicity, and fewer medications.

Conclusions:
Clinical characteristics including lesser medical complexity and fewer medications are associated with missed appointments in pediatric subspecialties.
Symptom Clusters and Key Symptoms Among Midlife Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women With and Without Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Min Se Hee , Yang Qing , Docherty Sharron L. , Im Eun-Ok , Hu Xiao 
Published: March 2022

Background
Midlife perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome experience multiple symptoms concurrently.

Objective
The study objectives were to examine the relationship among symptoms through network visualization and identify and compare symptom clusters and key symptoms across symptom occurrence and symptom severity dimensions in midlife perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with and without metabolic syndrome.

Methods
Cross-sectional data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (Visit 5) were used for analysis. A machine-learning-based network analysis and the Walktrap algorithm were used to fulfill the study objectives.

Results
The number and types of symptom clusters differed between the groups. Midlife perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome experienced the psychological/somatic/genital cluster (key symptom: frequent mood change), the sleep/urinary cluster (sleep disturbance), and the vasomotor cluster (cold sweat) in the symptom occurrence dimension and the psychological/somatic/sexual cluster (anxiety), the sleep/urinary cluster (sleep disturbance), and the vasomotor/genital cluster (night sweat) in the symptom severity dimension. In contrast, midlife perimenopausal and postmenopausal women without metabolic syndrome experienced the psychological cluster (anxiety), the sleep/somatic/genitourinary cluster (sleep disturbance), and the vasomotor cluster (night sweat) in the symptom occurrence dimension and the psychological/somatic cluster (anxiety), the sleep/urinary cluster (sleep disturbance), the vasomotor cluster (night sweat), and the sexual/genital cluster (vaginal dryness) in the symptom severity dimension.

Discussion
The study findings may serve as a knowledge basis for effective assessment and management of symptom clusters and key symptoms in clinical settings and provide directions for future development of targeted symptom management interventions.
Prevalence of intraventricular haemorrhage and determinants of its early outcomes among preterm neonates at the newborn unit of a teaching hospital in Western Kenya
Authors: Sisenda Gloria Namubuya , Njuguna Festus Muigai , Nyandiko Winstone Mokaya 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTIntraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) screened using cranial ultrasounds (cUS) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among preterm neonates. Despite the adverse neonatal outcomes attributed to IVH, there are limited studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa on IVH occurrence and determinants of early outcomes. This study assessed the proportion of neonates with IVH, its determinants and the early outcomes of preterm neonates with the condition. A prospective descriptive study conducted at the newborn unit of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Western Kenya between March 2020 to March 2021. The neonates sampled systematically had their clinical characteristics and that of their mothers collected from medical records. A cUS screening was conducted on the third and fourteenth day of life while hydrocephalus was screened using serial weekly measurements of head circumference and mortality assessed within the first 28 days of life. Bivariate analysis was used to test for an association between patient characteristics, occurrence of IVH and early outcomes. Confounders were controlled using a multivariate logistic regression model. We enrolled 201 pre-term neonates of whom 105 (52.2%) were male and 68 (33.8%) had IVH. Among neonates with IVH, 46 (67.6%) had mild while 22 (32.4%) had severe IVH. Antenatal steroids significantly reduced the risk of IVH while extreme/very low gestational age and extremely low birthweight significantly increased the risk of IVH two and three-fold respectively. Neonates with thrombocytopenia and on mechanical ventilation were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with IVH. Early outcomes of IVH were hydrocephalus (4.0%) and mortality (19.1%). Intraventricular haemorrhage was seen in one-third of neonates enrolled with majority of them presenting with the lower IVH grades. The IVH risk significantly increased among neonates with very low gestational age and extremely low birthweight but was lowered by antenatal steroid use. Mortality rates were significantly higher among neonates with thrombocytopenia.
Assessment of prescribing in under-five pediatric outpatients in Nigeria: an application of the POPI (Pediatrics: Omission of Prescription and Inappropriate Prescription) tool
Authors: Ahwinahwi Ufuoma Shalom , Odili Valentine U , Nwachukwu Destiny Obiajulu 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundEnsuring the right drug for the right clinical condition in children under five years of age will dramatically reduce morbidity and mortality rates in developing countries where these values are alarmingly high. This study evaluated prescribing in children under the age of five attending pediatric outpatient clinics at three Central hospitals in Delta State, Nigeria, using the Pediatics: Omission of Prescriptions and Inappropriate Prescription (POPI) tool.MethodsThis was a prospective descriptive study of prescriptions made to children from 0 to 59 months who attended the clinics between August and November 2018.Prescriptions were evaluated using the POPI tool, occurrence of potentially inappropriate prescriptions and prescribing omissions were reported as percentages and inappropriate prescription types and prescription omissions were also reported as frequencies. Relationship between inappropriate prescriptions, omissions of prescriptions, and categorical variables of age group and sex, p <.05 were considered significant.ResultsA total of 1,327 prescriptions from the three centers were analyzed. There was a preponderance of infants (> 1 month-12 months of age) in the study (43.0%) and a somewhat even gender distribution. Exactly 29.8% of all the prescriptions studied had at least one occurrence of inappropriate prescription. The use of H1 antagonists with sedative or atropine-like effects accounted for the majority of inappropriate prescriptions (49.5%), while the prescription of drinkable amoxicillin or other antibiotics in doses other than mg was the most frequent omission of prescription (97.2%). There was a significant relationship between the occurrence of inappropriate prescription and age group (p> 0.001).ConclusionThe occurrence of inappropriate prescriptions and omissions of prescriptions was high and effectively detected by the POPI tool. Measures should be taken to improve prescribing in order to reduce morbidity and mortality in children below five years.
QTLs analysis for cold tolerance in rice (Oryza sp.) at the seedling stage using F2 population developed from cross between the genotypes NERICA L-19 and Diamante
Authors: Effa Effa Branly Wilfried , Manneh Baboucarr 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTRice (Oryza sp.) is the most important food crop of the developing world and the staple food of more than half of the world population. It is produced in about 110 countries, including Africa under traditional production systems where field conditions are often variable and yield is low. This is due to the preponderance of abiotic stresses such as cold in these systems. The aim of this study was to identify QTLs associated with cold tolerance at the seedling stage. It was obtained: a phylogenetic tree showing individuals tolerant and sensitive to cold in the Sahel conditions at the seedling stage; 5 majors QTLs associated with cold tolerance located on chromosome 4; QTLs associated with cold tolerance at the seedling stage using F2 population developed from cross between NERICA L-19 X Diamante. All these results are interesting, because to pass local varieties sensitive to cold tolerant varieties through the identification of QTLs associated with cold tolerance that might be introduced. This will enable African producers; especially small producers which have low resource to buy a plant material adapted to the cold period to optimize their rice yields.
Gill developmental program in the teleost mandibular arch
Authors: Thiruppathy Mathi , Gillis J. Andrew , Crump J. Gage 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWhereas no known living vertebrate possesses gills derived from the jaw-forming mandibular arch, it has been proposed that the jaw arose through modifications of an ancestral mandibular gill. Here we show that the zebrafish pseudobranch, which regulates blood pressure in the eye, develops from mandibular arch mesenchyme and first pouch epithelia and shares gene expression, enhancer utilization, and developmental gata3 dependence with the gills. Combined with work in chondrichthyans, our findings in a teleost fish point to the presence of a mandibular pseudobranch with serial homology to gills in the last common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, consistent with a gill origin of vertebrate jaws.
Inherent Dynamics of Maltose Binding Protein (MBP) are Immune to the Native Environment
Authors: Thoma Johannes , Burmann Björn M. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBiophysical characterizations of proteins typically rely on a reductionistic approach, studying proteins in a highly purified from and in absence of their natural cellular environment. Little is known about how the highly crowded conditions prevalent within living cells influence the dynamic structures proteins on the molecular level. To address this outstanding question, we characterize here the dynamic behavior of the periplasmic model protein MBP fromEscherichia coli in situ, confined in the native lumen of bacterial outer membrane vesicles. To this end we determine the dynamics of side-chain methyl groups of MBP across several timescales and compare them to purifiedin vitroMBP. We find that the inherent dynamics of MBP are surprisingly insensitive to the native cellular environment and that the molecular motion of the protein is mainly impacted on a global level.
DNA methylation signatures of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology in the cortex are primarily driven by variation in non-neuronal cell-types
Authors: Shireby Gemma , Dempster Emma , Policicchio Stefania , Smith Rebecca G , Pishva Ehsan , Chioza Barry , Davies Jonathan P , Burrage Joe , Lunnon Katie , Seiler-Vellame Dorothea , Love Seth , Thomas Alan , Brookes Keeley , Morgan Kevin , Francis Paul , Hannon Eilis , Mill Jonathan 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive accumulation of amyloid-beta and neurofibrillary tangles of tau in the neocortex. Utilizing extensive neuropathology data from the Brains for Dementia Research (BDR) cohort we performed the most systematic epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of multiple measures of AD neuropathology yet undertaken, profiling DNA methylation in two cortical regions from 631 donors. We meta-analyzed our results with those from previous studies of DNA methylation in AD cortex (total n = 2,013 donors), identifying 334 cortical differentially methylated positions (DMPs) associated with AD pathology including methylomic variation at novel loci not previously implicated in dementia. We subsequently characterized DNA methylation in purified nuclei populations - enriched for neurons, oligodendrocytes and microglia - exploring the extent to which cortex AD-associated DMPs reflect differences manifest in specific cell populations. We find that the majority of DMPs identified in ‘bulk’ cortex tissue actually reflect DNA methylation differences occurring in non-neuronal cells, with dramatically increased effect sizes observed in microglia-enriched nuclei populations. Our study highlights the power of utilizing multiple measures of neuropathology to identify epigenetic signatures of AD and the importance of characterizing disease-associated variation in purified neural cell-types.
Integration of visual and antennal mechanosensory feedback during head stabilization in hawkmoths
Authors: Chatterjee Payel , Prusty Agnish Dev , Mohan Umesh , Sane Sanjay P. 
Published: March 2022

SummaryDuring flight maneuvers, insects exhibit compensatory head movements which are essential for stabilizing the visual field on their retina, reducing motion blur, and supporting visual self-motion estimation. In Diptera, such head movements are mediated via visual feedback from their compound eyes that detect retinal slip, as well as rapid mechanosensory feedback from their halteres - the modified hindwings that sense the angular rates of body rotations. Because non-Dipteran insects lack halteres, it is not known if mechanosensory feedback about body rotations plays any role in their head stabilization response. Diverse non-Dipteran insects are known to rely on visual and antennal mechanosensory feedback for flight control. In hawkmoths, for instance, reduction of antennal mechanosensory feedback severely compromises their ability to control flight. Similarly, when the head movements of freely-flying moths are restricted, their flight ability is also severely impaired. The role of compensatory head movements as well as multimodal feedback in insect flight raises an interesting question: in insects that lack halteres, what sensory cues are required for head stabilization? Here, we show that in the nocturnal hawkmoth Daphnis nerii, compensatory head movements are mediated by combined visual and antennal mechanosensory feedback. We subjected tethered moths to open-loop body roll rotations under different lighting conditions, and measured their ability to maintain head angle in the presence or absence of antennal mechanosensory feedback. Our study suggests that head stabilization in moths is mediated primarily by visual feedback during roll movements at lower frequencies, whereas antennal mechanosensory feedback is required when roll occurs at higher frequency. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that control of head angle results from a multimodal feedback loop that integrates both visual and antennal mechanosensory feedback, albeit at different latencies. At adequate light levels, visual feedback is sufficient for head stabilization. However, under dark conditions, antennal mechanosensory feedback is essential for the control of head movements.HighlightsVisual feedback contributes to head stabilization primarily during slower body rotation in hawkmoths.Antennal mechanosensors contribute to head stabilization primarily during faster body roll.Antennal mechanosensory feedback in head stabilization is mediated via Johnston’s organ.Restricting head movements affects flight control.
Selective visuoconstructional impairment following mild COVID-19 with inflammatory and neuroimaging correlation findings
Authors: de Paula Jonas Jardim , Pereira de Paiva Rachel Elisa Rodrigues , e Silva Nathália Gualberto Souza , Rosa Daniela Valadão , de Souza Duran Fabio Luis , Coimbra Roney Santos , de Souza Costa Danielle , Dutenhefner Pedro Robles , Dutra Oliveira Henrique Soares , Camargos Sarah Teixeira , Mendes Vasconcelos Herika Martins , de Oliveira Carvalho Nara , da Silva Juliana Batista , Silveira Marina Bicalho , Malamut Carlos , Oliveira Derick Matheus , Molinari Luiz Carlos , de Oliveira Danilo Bretas , Januário José Nélio , Silva Luciana Costa , De Marco Luiz Armando , Magalhães Queiroz Dulciene Maria de , Meira Wagner , Busatto Geraldo , Miranda Débora Marques , Romano-Silva Marco Aurélio 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTPeople recovered from COVID-19 may still present complications including respiratory and neurological sequelae. In other viral infections, cognitive impairment occurs due to brain damage or dysfunction caused by vascular lesions and inflammatory processes. Persistent cognitive impairment compromises daily activities and psychosocial adaptation. Some level of neurological and psychiatric consequences were expected and described in severe cases of COVID-19. However, it is debatable whether neuropsychiatric complications are related to COVID-19 or to unfoldings from a severe infection. Nevertheless, the majority of cases recorded worldwide were mild to moderate self-limited illness in non-hospitalized people. Thus, it is important to understand what are the implications of mild COVID-19, which is the largest and understudied pool of COVID-19 cases. We aimed to investigate adults at least four months after recovering from mild COVID-19, which were assessed by neuropsychological, ocular and neurological tests, immune markers assay, and by structural MRI and 18FDG-PET neuroimaging to shed light on putative brain changes and clinical correlations. In approximately one-quarter of mild-COVID-19 individuals, we detected a specific visuoconstructive deficit, which was associated with changes in molecular and structural brain imaging, and correlated with upregulation of peripheral immune markers. Our findings provide evidence of neuroinflammatory burden causing cognitive deficit, in an already large and growing fraction of the world population. While living with a multitude of mild COVID-19 cases, action is required for a more comprehensive assessment and follow-up of the cognitive impairment, allowing to better understand symptom persistence and the necessity of rehabilitation of the affected individuals.
General Framework for Evaluating Outbreak Prediction, Detection, and Annotation Algorithms
Authors: Abbood Auss , Ghozzi Stéphane 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and accelerated the use of algorithmic-decision support for public health. The latter’s potential impact and risk of bias and harm urgently call for scrutiny and evaluation standards. One example is the early detection of local infectious disease outbreaks. Whereas many statistical models have been proposed and disparate systems are routinely used, each tai-lored to specific data streams and use, no systematic evaluation strategy of their performance in a real-world context exists.One difficulty in evaluating outbreak prediction, detection, or annotation lies in the scales of different approaches: How to compare slow but fine-grained genetic clustering of individual samples with rapid but coarse anomaly detection based on aggregated syndromic reports? Or alarms generated for different, overlapping geographical regions or demographics?We propose a general, data-driven, user-centric framework for evaluating hetero-geneous outbreak algorithms. Discrete outbreak labels and case counts are defined on a custom data grid, associated target probabilities are then computed and compared with algorithm output. The latter is defined as discrete “signals” are generated for a number of grid cells (the finest available in the benchmarking data set) with different weights and prior outbreak information from which then estimated outbreak label probabilities are derived. The prediction performance is quantified through a series of metrics, including confusion matrix, regression scores, and mutual information. The dimensions of the data grid can be weighted by the user to reflect epidemiological criteria.
Did national holidays accelerate COVID-19 diffusion in Bangladesh? A case study
Authors: Khan Mohammad Radid , Mottakin Sayem , Kabir Md. Ahsan , Hoque Md. Enamul , Amin Mohammad Ruhul , Islam Md. Shariful 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBangladesh registered 1573828 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and the death toll crossed the grim milestone of 27946 across the country as of 9th December, 2021. Despite the enforcement of stringent COVID-19 measures, including nationwide lockdowns, travel bans, tighter curbs on nonessential activities, and social distancing, the country witnessed an accelerated diffusion of coronavirus cases during the national events and festivals in 2020. The present study aims to examine the association between the national events / festivals and the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 by looking at the instantaneous reproduction number, Rt, of the 64 districts in Bangladesh. We further illustrate the COVID-19 diffusion explicitly in Dhaka Division at the first phase of the pandemic. The comprehensive analysis shows an escalation of Rt value in Dhaka and in all industrialized cities during the major events such as, Garments reopening and religious holidays in Bangladesh. Based on the analysis, a set of array measurements has been also suggested to evade the future pandemic risks while running the national festival activities.HighlightsBangladesh confirmed 1573828 coronavirus cases and 27946 deaths due to the current COVID-19 outbreak.Country observed significant COVID-19 diffusion in its business hubs during national holidays.Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is the epicenter of the ongoing pandemic.Calculated Rt value illustrates its escalation in Dhaka and its neighboring cities at the time of national events.Bangladesh Government needs to consider interdisciplinary approaches and contextual policies to contain the future pandemic during any national events.