bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of pediatric dentistry in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional survey
Authors: El Batawi Hisham Yehia , Sawalha Zain , Almomani Mai 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of COVID-19 epidemic circumstances on the practice of pediatric dentistry in the United Arab Emirates.

Methods
An online questionnaire was distributed among members of Emirates Club of Pediatric Dentistry. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: (1) dentists’ demographic characteristics, (2) general knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, (3) practice of pediatric dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic.

Results
Female pediatric dentists were double the males and the age distribution tended towards the younger age group. Most of the participants had a satisfactory level of knowledge about COVID-19 and 100% of them obtained this knowledge from the health authorities. Around one third of the participants were not confident of their ability to work safely during the epidemic. There was a marked diversity between pediatric dentists regarding the priority services to be delivered to children during the COVID-19 peak.

Conclusion
A majority of pediatric dentists in the UAE are well informed regarding COVID-19 and its prevention. The economic impact of the epidemic has disrupted pediatric dentists’ willingness to prioritize certain dental services over others. This is related to safety concerns, financial urge, and patient needs.
Partial agonists of dopamine receptors: theoretical principles of combining antipsychotics including partial agonists to treat schizophrenia
Authors: Cookson John , Pimm Jonathan , Brentnall Andrew 
Published: November 2022

SUMMARYPartial agonists such as aripiprazole are often used in addition to a full antagonist such as amisulpride, risperidone or olanzapine in an attempt to mitigate side-effects such as sedation, hyperprolactinaemia and weight gain. However, there can be unintended consequences, including worsening of psychosis. Moreover, previous exposure to a partial agonist may impair the subsequent response to a potent antipsychotic such as haloperidol used to control symptoms of relapse. To understand the mechanisms involved, a method is needed to compare potency in the pharmacological effects of different drugs used in combinations. This article is intended to explore and explain the theoretical principles based on the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia. We apply the method to analyse a recently described trial in which two full antagonists (olanzapine and amisulpride) are compared individually and in combination.
Ultrabithorax modifies a regulatory network of genes essential for butterfly eyespot development in a wing sector-specific manner
Authors: Matsuoka Yuji , Monteiro Antónia 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT
Nymphalid butterfly species often have a different number of eyespots in forewings and hindwings, but how the hindwing identity gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) drives this asymmetry is not fully understood. We examined a three-gene regulatory network for eyespot development in the hindwings of Bicyclus anynana butterflies and compared it with the same network previously described for forewings. We also examined how Ubx interacts with each of these three eyespot-essential genes. We found similar genetic interactions between the three genes in fore- and hindwings, but we discovered three regulatory differences: Antennapedia (Antp) merely enhances spalt (sal) expression in the eyespot foci in hindwings, but is not essential for sal activation, as in forewings; Ubx upregulates Antp in all hindwing eyespot foci but represses Antp outside these wing regions; and Ubx regulates sal in a wing sector-specific manner, i.e. it activates sal expression only in the sectors that have hindwing-specific eyespots. We propose a model for how the regulatory connections between these four genes evolved to produce wing- and sector-specific variation in eyespot number.
Walk Smarter, Not Harder: Effects of Cadence Manipulation on Gait Biomechanics in Patients with Patellofemoral Osteoarthritis
Authors: HART HARVI F. , BIRMINGHAM TREVOR B. , SRITHARAN PRASANNA , FISCHER LISA K. 
Published: November 2022

ABSTRACT

Purpose
This study aimed to investigate the effect of walking cadence on knee flexion angular impulse and peak external flexion moment in patients with patellofemoral osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods
Forty-eight patients with patellofemoral OA underwent repeated quantitative gait analyses on an instrumented treadmill using a randomized crossover design. Walking trials were conducted at a fixed gait speed, under three cadence conditions: (i) preferred cadence, (ii) +10% increased cadence, and (iii) −10% decreased cadence, completed in random order. Using a linear mixed model, we tested the association of cadence conditions with surrogate measures of patellofemoral load (primary outcome measure: knee flexion angular impulse) while controlling for body mass. We then repeated the analyses while sequentially replacing the dependent variable with secondary outcome measures.

Results
Walking with increased cadence decreased (adjusted mean difference [95% confidence interval]) the knee flexion angular impulse (−0.85 N·m·s−1 [−1.52 to −0.18], d = 0.20) and peak knee flexion moment (−4.11 N·m [−7.35 to −0.86], d = 0.24), whereas walking with decreased cadence increased the knee flexion angular impulse (1.83 N·m·s−1 [1.15 to 2.49], d = 0.42) and peak knee flexion moment (3.55 N·m [0.30 to 6.78], d = 0.21). Similar decreases and increases were observed for secondary outcome measures.

Conclusions
Walking with increased cadence, while maintaining a fixed gait speed, reduces knee flexion angular impulse as well as other surrogate measures of knee loading in patients with patellofemoral OA.
Effectiveness, survival and safety of guselkumab attending to basal characteristics in moderate-to-severe psoriatic patients: a cohort study
Authors: Ruiz-Villaverde Ricardo , Rodriguez-Fernandez-Freire Lourdes , Armario-Hita Jose C. , Pérez-Gil Amalia , Vasquez Chinchay Fiorella , Galán-Gutiérrez Manuel 
Published: November 2022

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease which can impact quality of life. In the past decade multiple biologic treatments have been released with encouraging results. Guselkumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting IL-23p19. Multiple randomized clinical trials have demonstrated its efficacy in psoriasis, but response differences among patient subpopulations have not been extensively reported. Furthermore, patients in real life are often non-eligible for clinical trials and their responses may differ from pivotal studies. Methods: This is a retrospective, observational study of real clinical practice of patients receiving guselkumab treatment in Spain. Patients treated with guselkumab were included between February 2019 to December 2021. This study evaluates the potential differential effect of baseline demographic and disease characteristics on therapeutic responses to guselkumab. We measured effectiveness and survival by the psoriasis area and severity index, the dermatology life quality index as well as Kaplan meier curves, respectively. Categorical and quantitative variables are reported with frequencies, and with mean and standard deviation, respectively. Differences between groups in psoriasis area and severity index and dermatology life quality index, were calculated using a mixed-effects analysis. Survival was calculated using Kaplan meier curves and log-rank tests. Results: A total of 87 patients were included. In this study, our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and survival of guselkumab attending to demographic characteristics. No differences in psoriasis area and severity index or dermatology life quality index baseline values or therapeutic responses were noted at 52 weeks of follow-up among all the subgroups analysed (age, sex, psoriasis duration, body mass index, and comorbidities). A difference in drug survival was only seen between gender groups. Conclusions: Our research has demonstrated the consistency of guselkumab effectiveness across patient subgroups. No baseline features affected the effectiveness or drug survival of guselkumab, except for lower drug survival in female patients.
Comparison of ligamentization potential between anterior cruciate ligament-derived cells and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells reseeded to acellularized tendon allograft
Authors: Park Jinsung , Jo Sungsin , Lee Myung-Kyu , Kim Tae-Hwan , Sung Il-Hoon , Lee Jin K. 
Published: November 2022

Aims To test the hypothesis that reseeded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-derived cells have a better ability to survive and integrate into tendon extracellular matrix (ECM) and accelerate the ligamentization process, compared to adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs). Methods Acellularized tibialis allograft tendons were used. Tendons were randomly reseeded with ACL-derived cells or ADMSCs. ACL-derived cells were harvested and isolated from remnants of ruptured ACLs during reconstruction surgery and cultured at passage three. Cell suspensions (200 µl) containing 2 × 106 ACL-derived cells or ADMSCs were prepared for the purpose of reseeding. At days 1, 3, and 7 post-reseeding, graft composites were assessed for repopulation with histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Matrix protein contents and gene expression levels were analyzed. Results In the graft reseeded with ACL-derived cells, a large number of elongated cells that integrated into the matrix were evident at day 3 and day 7. However, in the graft reseeded with ADMSCs, only a small number of elongated cells were found integrated into the matrix. Immunofluorescence for Ki-67 and type I collagen confirmed the pronounced production of type I collagen by Ki-67-positive ACL-derived cells integrated into the ECM. A messenger RNA (mRNA) expression assay demonstrated significantly higher gene expression levels of types I (p = 0.013) and III (p = 0.050) collagen in the composites reseeded with ACL-derived cells than ADMSCs. Conclusion ACL-derived cells, when reseeded to acellularized tendon graft, demonstrated earlier better survival and integration in the tendon ECM and resulted in higher gene expression levels of collagen, which may be essential to the normal ligamentization process compared to ADMSCs. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2022;11(11):777–786.
Service delivery atTitle Xsites inTexasduring theCOVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Burke Kristen Lagasse , Sierra Gracia , Lerma Klaira , White Kari 
Published: November 2022

AbstractContextThe important role of Title X sites in supporting publicly funded reproductive healthcare was elevated during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as many people experienced economic uncertainty and changed their fertility preferences. In this study, we assessed changes in service delivery during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic at Title X‐supported sites in Texas, a large state with a high uninsured rate and a diverse Title X network.MethodsUsing surveys of Title X‐funded organizations in Texas from April and November 2020, we examined the percentage of organizations reporting service modifications. With administrative data on 507,947 client encounters between March 2019 and March 2021, we assessed change in client volume at the onset of the pandemic and evaluated the association between regional COVID‐19 case rates and the provision of key Title X services.ResultsIn April 2020, most organizations (78%) limited in‐person operations while implementing telehealth (74%) and contactless contraception (67%). Network‐wide encounter volume declined by 26% at pandemic onset (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.65, 0.84). Health departments experienced the steepest declines in encounter volume (IRR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.36–0.50). Weekly encounters, particularly for long‐acting reversible method placement/removal and sexually transmitted infection testing, decreased as COVID‐19 rates increased.ConclusionsInvestment in public health infrastructure, including providing robust support to health departments as well as rebuilding and expanding the Title X network, is essential to safeguarding access to publicly funded reproductive healthcare during and after the pandemic.
Leveraging pleiotropy for joint analysis of genome-wide association studies with per trait interpretations
Authors: Taraszka Kodi , Zaitlen Noah , Eskin Eleazar 
Published: November 2022

We introduce pleiotropic association test (PAT) for joint analysis of multiple traits using genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics. The method utilizes the decomposition of phenotypic covariation into genetic and environmental components to create a likelihood ratio test statistic for each genetic variant. Though PAT does not directly interpret which trait(s) drive the association, a per trait interpretation of the omnibus p-value is provided through an extension to the meta-analysis framework, m-values. In simulations, we show PAT controls the false positive rate, increases statistical power, and is robust to model misspecifications of genetic effect.
Additionally, simulations comparing PAT to three multi-trait methods, HIPO, MTAG, and ASSET, show PAT identified 15.3% more omnibus associations over the next best method. When these associations were interpreted on a per trait level using m-values, PAT had 37.5% more true per trait interpretations with a 0.92% false positive assignment rate. When analyzing four traits from the UK Biobank, PAT discovered 22,095 novel variants. Through the m-values interpretation framework, the number of per trait associations for two traits were almost tripled and were nearly doubled for another trait relative to the original single trait GWAS.
Knowledge, experiences, and practices of women affected by female genital schistosomiasis in rural Madagascar: A qualitative study on disease perception, health impairment and social impact
Authors: Schuster Angela , Randrianasolo Bodo Sahondra , Rabozakandraina Oliva Onintsoa , Ramarokoto Charles Emile , Brønnum Dorthe , Feldmeier Hermann 
Published: November 2022

Background
Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS) is a neglected manifestation of urogenital schistosomiasis caused by S. haematobium. The disease presents with symptoms such as pelvic pain, vaginal discharge and bleeding and menstruation disorders, and might lead to infertility and pregnancy complications. The perspectives of women with FGS have not been studied systematically. The aim of the study was to understand knowledge, experiences, and practices of women with FGS.

Methods
We performed a qualitative study with seventy-six women diagnosed of having FGS, in the Ambanja district in Northwest Madagascar. Data collection was either through focus group discussion (N = 60) or in an individual semi-structured interview (N = 16). FGS was diagnosed by colposcopy. The data was analysed using Mayring´s qualitative content analysis.

Results
Knowledge on how the disease is acquired varied and ideas on prevention remained vague. Patients suffered from vaginal discharge and pelvic complaints. Some women expressed unbearable pain during sexual intercourse and compared their pain to an open wound being touched. FGS considerably impaired women´s daily activities and their quality of life. Infertility led to resignation and despair, conflicts with the partner and to social exclusion from the community. Women fearing to sexually transmit FGS refrained from partnership and sexual relations. Many women with FGS reported stigmatisation. A coping strategy was to share strain with other women having similar complaints. However, concealing FGS was a common behaviour which led to social isolation and delayed health care seeking.

Conclusions
Our study underlines that FGS has an important impact on the sexual health of women and on their social life in the community. Our results highlight the importance of providing adequate health education and structural interventions, such as the supply of water and the provision of sanitation measures. Further, correct diagnosis and treatment of FGS in adolescent girls and women should be available in all S. haematobium-endemic areas.

Trial registration
The qualitative study was embedded in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in which two doses of praziquantel were compared (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04115072).
Evaluation of plasma viral-load monitoring and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in three health facilities of the Littoral region of Cameroon
Authors: Kafack Etienne Verlain Fouedjio , Fokam Joseph , Nana Theophile Njamen , Saniotis Arthur , Halle-Ekane Gregory Edie 
Published: November 2022

Background
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) has reduced HIV incidence among new-borns. However, PMTCT remains concerning in sub-Saharan Africa due to bottlenecks including viral load (VL) monitoring during pregnancy. We assessed VL coverage and materno-foetal outcomes of pregnancy among HIV-infected women within the Cameroonian context.

Methods
A hospital-based study was conducted among HIV-infected mothers and their babies in three facilities of the Littoral region of Cameroon from January 2019 to May 2021. Maternal VL-coverage was monitored during pregnancy (VL>1000 copies/ml or unknown were classified as MTCT high-risk group); HIV early infant diagnosis (EID) was evaluated by PCR at six-weeks after birth, and EID results were analysed according to maternal VL; p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results
Of 135 HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled (median [IQR] age 39 [27–37] years), VL-coverage during antenatal care (ANC) was 50.4% (68/135), with a lower VL-coverage in 2019 (37.5% vs. 61.9%, p = 0.0069). Married women vs. single (61.8% vs. 42.5%, p = 0.0275) and those on treatment before vs. during pregnancy (56.7% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.0043) had a higher VL-coverage, respectively. Among those with known VL, 10.3% (7/68) had high (VL>1000 copies/mL), 22.1% (15/68) had low (50–1000 copies/mL), and 67.6% (46/68) had undetectable (<50 copies/mL) VL, suggesting an overall viral suppression (<1000copies/mL) of 89.7% (61/68). Vaginal delivery was 80.75% (109/135) regardless of VL, including 81.1% (59/74) women in the high-risk group. EID coverage was 88.1% (119/135) and the rate of HIV-1 MTCT was 1.68% (2/119). Both HIV-positive infants were from the high-risk group, had prolonged labour, had vaginal delivery and were breastfed.

Conclusion
In these Cameroonian settings, VL-coverage remains suboptimal (below 90%) among ANC attendees, and women at high-risk of MTCT mainly have vaginal delivery. Viral suppression rate remains below the target (below 90%) for accelerating the elimination of MTCT. HIV-MTCT persists, and might be driven essentially by poor VL monitoring. Thus, achieving an optimal PMTCT performance requires a thorough compliance to virologic assessment during ANC.
Effect of a one-time financial incentive on linkage to chronic hypertension care in Kenya and Uganda: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hickey Matthew D. , Owaraganise Asiphas , Sang Norton , Opel Fredrick J. , Mugoma Erick Wafula , Ayieko James , Kabami Jane , Chamie Gabriel , Kakande Elijah , Petersen Maya L. , Balzer Laura B. , Kamya Moses R. , Havlir Diane V. 
Published: November 2022

BackgroundFewer than 10% of people with hypertension in sub-Saharan Africa are diagnosed, linked to care, and achieve hypertension control. We hypothesized that a one-time financial incentive and phone call reminder for missed appointments would increase linkage to hypertension care following community-based screening in rural Uganda and Kenya.MethodsIn a randomized controlled trial, we conducted community-based hypertension screening and enrolled adults ≥25 years with blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg on three measures; we excluded participants with known hypertension or hypertensive emergency. The intervention was transportation reimbursement upon linkage (~$5 USD) and up to three reminder phone calls for those not linking within seven days. Control participants received a clinic referral only. Outcomes were linkage to hypertension care within 30 days (primary) and hypertension control <140/90 mmHg measured in all participants at 90 days (secondary). We used targeted minimum loss-based estimation to compute adjusted risk ratios (aRR).ResultsWe screened 1,998 participants, identifying 370 (18.5%) with uncontrolled hypertension and enrolling 199 (100 control, 99 intervention). Reasons for non-enrollment included prior hypertension diagnosis (n = 108) and hypertensive emergency (n = 32). Participants were 60% female, median age 56 (range 27–99); 10% were HIV-positive and 42% had baseline blood pressure ≥160/100 mmHg. Linkage to care within 30 days was 96% in intervention and 66% in control (aRR 1.45, 95%CI 1.25–1.68). Hypertension control at 90 days was 51% intervention and 41% control (aRR 1.22, 95%CI 0.92–1.66).ConclusionA one-time financial incentive and reminder call for missed visits resulted in a 30% absolute increase in linkage to hypertension care following community-based screening. Financial incentives can improve the critical step of linkage to care for people newly diagnosed with hypertension in the community.
McLuhan’s Techno-Sensorium City: Coming to Our Senses in a Programmed Environment, Jaqueline McLeod Rogers (2020)
Authors: Nayar Sheila J. 
Published: November 2022

Review of: McLuhan’s Techno-Sensorium City: Coming to Our Senses in a Programmed Environment, Jaqueline McLeod Rogers (2020)
Washington, DC: Lexington Books, 192 pp.,
ISBN-13 978-1-79360-524-5, h/bk, USD 95.00
High-Order Compact Finite Difference Methods for Solving the High-Dimensional Helmholtz Equations
Authors: Wang Zhi , Ge Yongbin , Sun Hai-Wei 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
In this paper, the sixth-order compact finite difference schemes for solving two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) Helmholtz equations are proposed.
Firstly, the sixth-order compact difference operators for the second-order derivatives are applied to approximate the Laplace operator.
Meanwhile, with the original differential equation, the sixth-order compact difference schemes are proposed.
However, the truncation errors of the proposed scheme obviously depend on the unknowns, source function and wavenumber.
Thus, we correct the truncation error of the sixth-order compact scheme to obtain an improved sixth-order compact scheme that is more accurate.
Theoretically, the convergence and stability of the present improved method are proved.
Finally, numerical tests verify that the improved schemes are more accurate.
Error Estimates for the Numerical Approximation of Unregularized Sparse Parabolic Control Problems
Authors: Casas Eduardo , Mateos Mariano 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
We study the numerical approximation of a control problem governed by a semilinear parabolic problem, where the usual Tikhonov regularization term in the cost functional is replaced by a non-differentiable sparsity-promoting term.