bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sustained Improvements in EQ-5D Utility Scores and Self-rated Health Status in Patients With Ankylosing Spondylitis After Spa Treatment Including Low-dose Radon
Authors: Zee-Neuen Antje van der , Strobl Victoria , Dobias Heidemarie , Fuchs Julia , Untner Johannes , Foisner Wolfgang , Knapp Martina , Edtinger Sebastian , Offenbächer Martin , Ritter Markus , Hölzl Bertram , Gaisberger Martin 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have significantly lower quality of life (QoL) than the general population. Holistic interventions addressing QoL include spa- or balneotherapy. Inclusion of radon in spa-therapy treatments is beneficial in reducing pain and shows promising results in improving QoL in AS-patients. We aimed to explore the association of spa therapy including low-dose radon with systematically monitored QoL in AS-patients over an extended timeperiod.MethodsRegistry data collected for the “Radon indication registry for the assessment of pain reduction, increase of quality of life and improvement in body functionality throughout low-dose radon hyperthermia therapy” in the Austrian Gastein valley comprising data on QoL (EuroQol EQ-5D) directly before the treatment (baseline), directly, 3; 6 and 9 months after the treatment, age, sex and body mass index (BMI) were analysed. Two linear regression models explored the association between time of measurement with 1) EQ-5D utilities and 2) EuroQol visual analogue scale (VAS) score. Alterations of 0.05 (utilities) and 5.00 (VAS) were considered clinically relevant.ResultsTwo-hundred-ninety-one AS-patients were included in the analyses. Forty-four percent (n=128) were women, the mean age was 52 (SD 10) and the average BMI was 26 (SD 4). Utilities and VAS were significantly higher at all timepoints compared to baseline. Improvements were clinically relevant at all timepoints in case of the EQ-5D VAS and until 6 months after treatment for the utility index.ConclusionSpa therapy including radon results in significant and clinically relevant improvements in Qol of AS-patients until 6-9 months after treatment.
Genome properties of key oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) breeding populations
Authors: SEYUM Essubalew Getachew , Bille Ngalle Hermine , Abtew Wosene Gebreselassie , Rastas Pasi , Arifianto Deni , Domonhédo Hubert , Cochard Benoît , Jacob Florence , Riou Virginie , Pomiès Virginie , Lopez David , Bell Joseph Martin , Cros David 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Good knowledge about genome properties of the populations helps to optimize breeding methods, particularly genomic selection (GS). In oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), the first global source of vegetable oil, GS gave promising results. The present study considered two complex oil palm breeding populations, Deli and La Mé, with 943 individuals and 7,324 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genotyping-by-sequencing. Linkage disequilibrium (LD), haplotype sharing, effective size (Ne), and fixation index (Fst) were investigated. A genetic linkage map was constructed, including 4,252 SNPs and spanning 1,778.52 cM, with an average recombination rate of 2.85 cM/Mbp. The LD at r²=0.3, considered as the minimum to get reliable results for genomic predictions, spanned over 1.05 cM/0.22 Mbp in Deli and 0.9 cM/0.21 Mbp in La Mé. The significant degree of differentiation existing between Deli and La Mé was confirmed by the high Fst value (0.53), the pattern of correlation of SNP heterozygosity and allele frequency among populations, and the decrease of persistence of LD and of haplotype sharing among populations with increasing SNP distance. However, the level of resemblance between the two populations over short genomic distances (correlation of r values between populations >0.6 for SNPs separated by <0.5 cM or <1 kbp and percentage of common haplotypes >40% for haplotypes <3,600 bp or <0.20 cM) likely explains the superiority of GS models ignoring the parental origin of marker alleles over models taking this information into account. The two populations had low Ne (<5). Population-specific genetic maps and reference genomes are needed for future studies.
Effect of Oleuropein on Fungal Infection for Denture Wearers
Authors: Alfahdawi Ibrahim H. , Alsewuidi Wasan Mohammed 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background: Oleuropein, the main phenolic element of extra virgin olive oil, is rising in popularity as well as relevance among scientists and the general public. Purpose: Therefore, in this study, the activity of oleuropein, a complicated phenol present in significant levels in olive tree products, against the common fungal pathogen Candida albicans was investigated. Procedures: Oleuropein is administered twice a day for two weeks to the tissue surfaces of dentures. Results: After using oleuropein, the signs and symptoms of stomatitis, such as discomfort, redness, and inflammation, progressively faded. After two days to two weeks, the denture stomatitis healed by using an oleuropein. Patients with denture stomatitis underwent inspection and assessment of the mucosa, Candidal quantification culture, and verification of the disease using three methods: Germ tube, Gram stain, and ChromAgar media after therapy.Conclusions: The use of oleuropein in dentistry is possibly the most methodologically substantiated. Periodontology, mucous membrane pathology, and oral surgery all use oleuropein, orthodontics, and prosthodontics, among other dental professions. It was proven to be significantly high efficient when applied twice a day on the fitting inside surface of the denture base for two weeks.
The Association Between Sociodemographic, Clinical Factors, Hand-grip Strength, and Erectile Dysfunction Among Men With Metabolic Syndrome Attending a Primary Care Clinic
Authors: Kadir Nik Aminah Nik Abdul , Abdul-Razak Suraya , Daher Aqil M. , Mat-Nasir Nafiza 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a serious health problem and an independent predictor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The prevalence increases with age, but little is known about the relationship between physical fitness and ED especially among men with high risk of CVD. Hence, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of ED among men with Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and its association with hand-grip strength in which is a measurement of physical fitness and muscle strength. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Malaysian men aged ≥ 40 years who had their follow-up between 1st June 2021 and 30th October 2021 at an institutional primary care clinic in Gombak district, Selangor, Malaysia. The participants were recruited via computer generated simple random sampling. Data on sociodemographic, comorbidities, anthropometry, clinical examinations including hand-grip strength (HGS) and blood chemical profiles were collected. While a validated English and Malay versions of the 5-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) were used to assess presence of ED. Multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted to determine the association between sociodemographic, comorbidities, blood chemical profiles, and HGS with ED.Results: There were 334 participants recruited in the study. The mean age was 58.8 (±8.84) years old, with majority were Malays (95.2%, n= 318) and married (98.8 %, n=330). The overall prevalence of self-reported ED was 79% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75-0.84). Multivariable analysis showed that ED was associated with elderly aged ≥ 60 years (odds ratio [OR] 3.27, 95% CI: 1.60-6.69), HGS (OR 15.34, 95% CI: 5.64-41.81) and abnormal total cholesterol (OR 0.36, 95% CI: 0.16-0.78). Conclusion: ED was highly prevalent among Malaysian men aged ≥ 40 years with MetS. Being older than 60 years of age and low HGS are associated with higher risk of ED. Robust screening of ED among men with Mets and intervention to improve muscle strength and physical fitness may be warranted.
Clinical Value of Early-pregnancy Glycated Hemoglobin, Fasting Plasma Glucose, and Body Mass Index in Screening Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Lou Yanqin , Xiang Li , Gao Xuemei , Jiang Huijun 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Objective: To investigate the clinical value of early-pregnancy glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and body mass index (BMI) in screening gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Methods: 216 pregnant women with GDM who underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24-28 weeks were selected as the study (GDM) group, and 278 cases were randomly selected as the control group. FPG and glycated hemoglobin in early pregnancy were detected, and body mass index in early pregnancy was measured. The correlation between FPG, glycated hemoglobin and BMI in early pregnancy and the incidence of GDM was analyzed by binary Logistic regression, and the value of each index in predicting GDM alone or in combination was evaluated.Results: FPG, glycated hemoglobin and BMI in early pregnancy in GDM group were higher than those in control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that FPG, glycated hemoglobin and BMI were risk factors for GDM in early pregnancy [OR values were 3.374 (P<0.05), 4.644 (P < 0.05), and 1.077 (P<0.05), respectively]. The area under the ROC curve of FBG, glycated hemoglobin and BMI in early pregnancy for predicting the occurrence of GDM were 0.647, 0.661 and 0.608, respectively, while the area under the ROC curve of the combination of FBG, HBA1C and BMI for predicting GDM was 0.736, which showed higher diagnostic efficacy than that of the single indicator.Conclusions: FPG, glycated hemoglobin and BMI in early pregnancy were risk factors for the occurrence of GDM, and their combination has certain clinical value of prediction.
Admission Shock Index Predicts Short-Term, All-Cause In-Hospital Mortality in Patients with Acute Aortic Dissection and Intramural Hematoma
Authors: He Lingbin , Chen Yequn , Tang Junshuang , Wu Shiwan , Xu Qiongxia , She Jiaxuan , Zhang Xin , Tan Xuerui 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
BackgroundAcute aortic syndrome, mainly involving aortic dissection (AD) and intramural hematoma (IMH), is a life-threatening emergency with high mortality. Shock index (SI) well predicts poor outcomes of severely ill patients, but the ability of SI to prognose acute AD and IMH patients is not well known. This study aimed to investigate the association of admission SI with the 30-day, all-cause in-hospital mortality in acute AD and IMH patients.MethodsThis is a retrospective and single-center cohort study. According to Stanford classification, firstly, we showed the baseline characteristics in acute AD and IMH patients. Univariate and multivariate methods were used to evaluate the association between SI and the in-hospital mortality of acute AD and IMH. Then, patients were divided into two groups by their SIs (SI<0.7 vs SI≥0.7) based on previous studies and survival analysis was made by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.ResultsThis study involved 1250 consecutively recruited Chinese patients diagnosed with acute AD or IMH (Stanford A: 553 (44.2%); Stanford B: 697 (55.8%)). The 30-day, all-cause in-hospital mortality of Stanford A AD and IMH patients was 23.1% (128/553) but was 4.7% (33/697) for Stanford B AD and IMH patients. The SI significantly increased the risk of 30-day, all-cause in-hospital mortality in AD and IMH patients (Stanford A: HR 3.941, 95%CI 2.350-6.612, p<0.001; Stanford B: HR 42.213, 95%CI 8.172-218.052, p<0.001). After multivariate adjustments, the significances remained (Stanford A: HR 1.902, 95%CI 1.050-3.444, p=0.034; Stanford B: HR 21.581, 95%CI 3.818-121.969, p=0.001). The cumulative survival was significantly lower in the SI≥0.7 group than that in the SI<0.7 group (Stanford A: 61.3% vs 73.6%, p=0.0007; Stanford B: 80.5% vs 95.0%, p<0.0001). In the subgroup analysis, for those patients without surgery or TEVAR, the in-hospital mortality in the SI≥0.7 group was significantly higher than that in the SI<0.7 group (Stanford A: 52.5% vs 32.1%, p=0.003; Stanford B: 19.6% vs 4.0%, p<0.001).ConclusionIncreased admission SI can serve as a good predictor of the 30-day, all-cause in-hospital mortality in patients with acute AD and IMH, especially for the patients without surgery or TEVAR.
Modeling the Impact of Sea Level Rise on Maximum Water Elevation During Storm Surge Events; A Closer Look at Coastal Embayments
Authors: Kouhi Soroush , Hashemi M Reza , Spaulding Malcolm , Hara Tetsu 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Storm-surge models are commonly used to assess the impacts of hurricanes and coastal storms in coastal areas. Including the impact of the projected future sea level rise (SLR) in these models is a necessary step for a realistic flood risk assessment. Commonly, SLR is superimposed linearly on the estimated water elevation. This approach, while efficient, may lead to inaccuracies. Further, developing a new model with updated data that include the impacts of SLR (i.e., nonlinear approach) is time consuming. We compare the linear and nonlinear approaches to include the effect of SLR to predict Maximum Water/Flood Elevations (MWE) as a result of storm surge and SLR. After a simplified theoretical analysis, a number of idealized cases based on the typical coastal bodies of water are modeled to assess the impact of SLR on MWE using the linear superposition and nonlinear approaches. Additionally, two case studies are carried out: Narragansett Bay, RI and Long Island Sound, CT (USA). Results show that for the idealized cases with variable depth, in general, the linear superposition of SLR to MWE is conservative (i.e., predicts a larger flood elevation) relative to the nonlinear approach. However, if a constant depth is considered, results are not consistent (i.e. linear superposition can overestimate or underestimate MWE, and the results depended on the geometry). The simulated MWE from the Narragansett Bay simulation confirms the outcome of idealized cases showing that linear assumption is conservative up to 10\% relative to the nonlinear approach. For this study, Hurricane Sandy and a Synthetic Storm from {the US Army Corps of Engineers} North Atlantic Comprehensive Coastal Study (NACCS) dataset are simulated. Long Island Sound model results are also consistent with the idealized case. In general, based on the results of the idealized and real studies, a discrepancy of up to 10% between the linear and nonlinear approaches is expected in estimation of MWE which can be under- or over-estimation of flood elevation.
Economic Burden of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Iran
Authors: Rajabi Marziyeh , Rezaee Mehdi , Omranikhoo Habib , Khosravi Abdolrasool , Keshmiri Saeed , Ghaedi Hossien 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background: The outbreak of COVID -19 has had destructive influences on social and economic systems as well as many aspects of human life. In this study, we aimed to estimate the economic effects of COVID-19 at the individual and societal levels during a fiscal year.Methods: This is an economic evaluation study conducted as cross-sectional. Data of the COVID-19 patients referred to the hospitals affiliated to Bushehr University of Medical Sciences between March 2020 and 2021 were collected through the hospital information system (HIS). Cost of illness analysis was used to estimate the economic burden of COVID-19 for the province and Iran. The study methodology was based upon the human capital approach and bottom-up technic. Results: The COVID -19 pandemic has resulted in 9711 confirmed hospital cases and 767 deaths in Bushehr province during the study period. The direct medical costs were estimated to be 439,774,265,491 Rials ($ 27,893,839) in total with mean cost of 45,286,198 Rials ($ 2872) per patient. Hospitalization, drugs and ICU costs were the highest with 36.44, 30.80 and 26.88% of total direct costs respectively. Indirect costs, including income loss due to hospitalization, recovery period at home and premature death were 20,884,492,800 ($ 1,324,654), 62,058,707,200 ($ 3,936,237) and 854,181,793,653 ($ 54,178,726) Rials. Finally economic burden for the province and country was estimated to be 1,376,899,259,144 Rials ($ 87,333,455) and 83,957,271,899,024 Rials ($ 5,325,210,700).Conclusion: The results showed that the economic burden of this disease particularly premature deaths costs is remarkably high. In addition, direct costs could go beyond the health system capacity. Therefore, in order to increase the resiliency of the health system and the stability in services delivery, preventive-oriented strategies have to be more seriously considered by policymakers.
Familial Affective Responsiveness Mediates the Relations Between Parental Perfectionistic Self-Presentation and Adolescent Psychological Maladjustment
Authors: Chen Chang , Brugnera Agostino , Hewitt Paul L. , Caelian Carmen F. , Flett Gordon L. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Parental perfectionism (e.g., perfectionistic concerns) has been strongly implicated in adolescent psychological maladjustment such as depression and anxiety. However, little is known about the links between parental perfectionistic self-presentation (i.e., the interpersonal expressions of perfectionism) and adolescent psychological outcomes. According to the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (Hewitt et al., 2017), people with elevated perfectionistic self-presentation engage in social behaviors characterized by a lack of emotional sensitivity or responsiveness, which then increases one’s risk of social disconnection and psychological maladjustment. This theory has seldom been tested in the context of parent-adolescent and family relationships. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to explore the mediational role of familial affective responsiveness in the associations between parental perfectionistic self-presentation and adolescent psychological outcomes. Participants were 58 dyads of clinically depressed adolescents (Mage = 15.52; 74.5% female) and their primary caregivers (Mage = 46.08; 51 mothers). Path analysis indicated that the overall model fit the data well. Congruent with the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model, analyses showed that adolescent but not parent-reported family dysfunction in affective responsiveness mediated the relations between parental perfectionistic self-presentation and adolescent depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and alcohol-related problems, even after controlling for parental depression. Taken together, our findings provide new information for the role of parental perfectionistic self-presentation in adolescent psychological maladjustment and highlight parental perfectionistic self-presentation as a potential target for therapeutic intervention in adolescent depression.
Compare the Initial Result of One Screw or Two Screws Fixation for Proximal Crescentic Metatarsal Osteotomy with Distal Soft Tissue Reconstruction in Severe Hallux Valgus Treatment
Authors: Wang Linger , Yao Liwei , Dong Wenwei , Mao Haijiao 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background: Proximal crescentic metatarsal osteotomy and distal soft tissue reconstruction have been introduced to correct severe hallux valgus (HV). The intrinsically unstable proximal first crescentic osteotomy depends on enough force fixation for stability. It is necessary to judge the number of fixation’s screw for osteotomy.Methods: Fifty two feet from 50 adult patients with severe HV were included in this study. The treatment was proximal crescentic metatarsal osteotomy with a single screw and distal soft tissue reconstruction in Group 1. The fixation with two screws with distal soft tissue reconstruction in Group 2. Clinical and radiological follow-ups were assessed after 4 and 12 months of operation.Methods: In Group 1, hallux valgus angle (HVA) was decreased from 46.4 ±3.28 to 19.9 ±4.70 after 12 months of operation. HVA was decreased from 45.1 ±3.45 to19.1 ±4.70 for group 2. For intermetatarsal angle (IMA) in Group 1, it was changed from 18.5 ±1.98 to 9.25 ±1.11 after 12 months of operation. For group 2, it was decreased from 18.3 ±1.81 to 9.53 ±1.70. Meanwhile, the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score was improved from 63.1 to 83.9 after 12 months of operation for group1, and was improved from 64.3 to 82.8 for group2. Furthermore, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score was reduced from 4.5±1.01 to 1.7± 0.43 for group 1, and it was reduced from 4.7±0.92 to 1.7±0.55 for group 2 after 12 months of operation.Conclusions: The first metatarsal dorsal elevation was occurred in 4 feet in Group1, and no metatarsal dorsal elevation was occurred in Group 2. There were no significant differences identified among Group1 and Group 2 in terms of VAS and AOFAS scores, and HVA and IMA measurements. However, there is less complication in two-screw fixation for crescentic osteotomy compared to a single screw fixation.
FC_ACCEL: Enabling Efficient, Low-Latency and Flexible Inference in DNN Fully Connected Layers, using Optimized Checkerboard Block matrix decomposition, fast scheduling, and a resource efficient 1D PE array with a custom HBM2 memory subsystem
Authors: Iliev Nick , Trivedi Amit R 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
This article presents a novel low latency CMOS hardware accelerator for fully connected (FC) layers in deep neural networks (DNNs). The accelerator, FC-Accel, is based on 128 8x8 or 16x16 processing elements (PEs) for matrix-vector multiplication, and 128 multiply-accumulate (MAC) units integrated with 16 High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) stack units for storing the pre-trained weights. A dedicated non-blocking crossbar switch is not used in our low-latency page-bus demultiplexer-based interconnect between the 16 HBMs and the 128 PE array. We show near-linear speedup, reduction in space complexity, and reduction in time complexity with respect to traditional parallel matrix-vector multiplication with a checkerboard block decomposition algorithm, using a novel matched HBM2 memory subsystem for weights and input feature storage; we perform 16-bit fixed-point computation on the key kernels for DNN FC layer computation : FC kernel with KxM tiles which can be scaled for different FC layer sizes. We have designed a flexible processing element, PE, which implements the scalable kernel, in an 1D array of PEs to conserve resources. PE reconfiguration can be done as required by the layer being processed (FC6,FC7,FC8 in AlexNet of VGG16 for example). Micro-architectural details for CMOS ASIC implementations are presented and simulated performance is compared to recent hardware accelerators for DNNs for AlexNet and VGG_16. When comparing simulated processing latency for the FC8 layer, FC-Accel is able to achieve 108 GOPS (non-pipelined, with a 100 MHz clock) and 1048 GOPS (pipelined, with a 662 MHz clock) which improves on a recent EIE accelerator quoted at 102 GOPS with a 800 MHz clock and using compression for the same FC8 layer. When compared to Tensaurus, a recent accelerator of Sparse-Dense Tensor computations, FC-Accel (clocked at 662 MHz) delivers a 2.5 increase in throughput over Tensaurus (clocked at 2 GHz) for VGG16 FC8. The Xilinx Versal-ACAP VC1902 FPGA has an FC8 inferencing latency of 158 usec at 1.33 GHz, which is much slower than FC-Accel’s FC8 latency of 8.5 usec. When compared with an NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier GPU running inference on VGG-16 FC8, FC-Accel reduces FC8 inferencing latency from the GPU’s average of 120 usec to 8.5 usec. Intel’s Arria-10 DLA FPGA achieves 26 usec for the VGG16 FC8 layer which is 3 times the latency of the proposed solution.