bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of avoiding extended antimicrobial drain prophylaxis on Clostridioides difficile and postprocedural infection rates: a 5-year retrospective
Authors: Marino Alexandria C. , Robinson Evan D. , Durden Jakob A. , Cox Heather L. , Mathers Amy J. , Shaffrey Mark E. 
Published: February 2022

OBJECTIVE
Postprocedural infection is a consequential complication of neurosurgical intervention. Periprocedural antimicrobial prophylaxis is routinely administered to prevent infection, and in some cases, continued for extended periods while surgical drains remain in place. However, there is little evidence that extended antimicrobial administration is necessary to reduce postprocedural infection, and extended antimicrobials can be associated with harm, such as Clostridioides difficile infection. The authors sought to evaluate whether shortening the duration of postprocedural antimicrobial prophylaxis would decrease the incidence of C. difficile infection without increasing the incidence of postprocedural infection.

METHODS
In this retrospective study, two general neurosurgical cohorts were examined. In one cohort, postoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis was limited to 24 hours; in the other, some patients received extended postoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis while surgical drains or external ventricular drains (EVDs) remained in place. Rates of infection with C. difficile as well as postprocedural infection after surgery and EVD placement were compared.

RESULTS
Seven thousand two hundred four patients undergoing 8586 surgical procedures and 413 EVD placements were reviewed. The incidence of C. difficile infection decreased significantly from 0.5% per procedural encounter to 0.07% with the discontinuation of extended postprocedural antibiotics within 90 days of a procedure. Rates of postprocedural infection and EVD infection did not significantly change. Results were similar in subgroups of patients with closed suction drains as well as cranial and spine subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS
Discontinuation of extended antimicrobial prophylaxis was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of C. difficile infection without a concomitant change in postprocedural infections or EVD-associated infection. This study provides evidence in support of specialtfy-wide discontinuation of extended postoperative antimicrobial prophylaxis, even in the presence of closed suction drains.
Understanding the Representation of Pastoralism in Livestock-Related Climate Adaptation Policies in Ghana and Nigeria: a Review of Key Policy Documents
Authors: Tinsley Jonathan H.I. , Gwiriri Lovemore C. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Within Nigeria and Ghana, pastoralists face increasing adversity from climate change and marginalisation due to a complex combination of factors, further amplified by highly sensitive and increasingly violent conflicts with farmers. While climate change exacerbates the vulnerability of pastoralists, this remains largely unaccounted for in current Nigerian and Ghanaian pastoral livestock policy. Employing a thematic analytical approach, the article assesses the representation of pastoralists within climate change adaptation strategies in Ghana and Nigeria, and the impact of this on their livelihoods. Our findings indicate that pastoralists are poorly represented in current policy, which is inclined towards transitions to intensive sedentary systems. This risks enhancing the vulnerability of pastoralists to climate impacts by constraining mobility. We conclude that improved clarity on how these policies account for climate change in transitioning pastoral systems into intensive sedentary systems could encourage compliance and buy-in by pastoralists and farmers. It is recommended that future livestock policies address climate change and bolster producer mobility to better support the livelihoods of pastoralists.
Safety culture in emergency medicine: An exploratory qualitative study
Authors: Alshyyab Muhammad Ahmed , Borkoles Erika , Albsoul Rania Ali , Kinnear Frances B. , FitzGerald Gerard 
Published: February 2022

BACKGROUND: Safety culture in Emergency Departments (EDs) requires special attention due to unique operational feature of the ED environment. Which may influence a culture of patients’ safety in the ED. OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors that influence patient safety culture in EDs. METHODS: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 12 ED staff was carried out in two Australian EDs. The data was thematically analysed to identify and describe the factors perceived by staff as influencing patient safety culture. RESULTS: The findings revealed four super-ordinate themes and 19 categories. The themes were the following: (1) Environmental and Organisational; (2) Healthcare Professional (3) Managerial factors; and (4) Patients factors. CONCLUSIONS: Safety culture in the ED is influenced by complex set of factors. The results of this study may help ED workers with improving patient safety culture and healthcare quality in the ED.
A systematic review of how adherence to caregiver facilitated therapeutic activities for children are assessed and reported in published research
Authors: Alonge Victor O. , Kostaki Angeliki 
Published: February 2022

This systematic review assessed four measurement properties of measures (instruments) used by researchers to assess adherence to caregiver facilitated therapeutic activities (CFTA) for children in published research. The measurement properties considered in this systematic review were dyadic considerations, interpretability, reliability, and validity of the instruments used to assess adherence or compliance. Two databases (http://www.pubmed.gov and EMBASE) were searched for studies that reported adherence or compliance to CFTA prescribed by physiotherapists or occupational therapists or speech and language therapists. Papers included in this review were those that studied children less than 18 years old and or their primary caregivers. Data were extracted by the authors using a data extraction table adapted from the work of Bollen and colleagues (2014) and by rating the measurement properties of the adherence measures identified based on predefined rating criteria (see supplementary file and Table 1 respectively). The authors relied only on the published research articles and any associated published supplementary files/data. None of the 40 adherence instruments identified wholly fulfilled all the criteria of the four measurement properties assessed. The results of this systematic review show that the measures used by researchers for assessing adherence to CFTA generally lack validity, reliability, and dyadic considerations.
Training with optic flow stimuli promotes recovery in cortical blindness
Authors: Awada Asmara , Bakhtiari Shahab , Legault Catherine , Odier Celine , Pack Christopher C. 
Published: February 2022

Background: Cortical blindness is a form of severe vision loss that is caused by damage to the primary visual cortex (V1) or its afferents. This condition has devastating effects on quality of life and independence. While there are few treatments currently available, accumulating evidence shows that certain visual functions can be restored with appropriate perceptual training: Stimulus sensitivity can be increased within portions of the blind visual field. However, this increased sensitivity often remains highly specific to the trained stimulus, limiting the overall improvement in visual function. Objective: Recent advances in the field of perceptual learning show that such specificity can be overcome with training paradigms that leverage the properties of higher-level visual cortical structures, which have greater capacity to generalize across stimulus positions and features. This targeting can be accomplished by using more complex training stimuli that elicit robust responses in these visual structures. Methods: We trained cortically blind subjects with a complex optic flow motion stimulus that was presented in a location of their blind field. Participants were instructed to train with the stimulus at home for approximately 30 minutes per day. Once performance plateaued, the stimulus was moved deeper into the blind field. A battery of pre- and post-training measures, with careful eye tracking, was performed to quantify the improvements. Results: We show that 1) optic flow motion discrimination can be relearned in cortically blind fields; 2) training with an optic flow stimulus can lead to improvements that transfer to different tasks and untrained locations; and 3) such training leads to a significant expansion of the visual field. The observed expansion of the visual field was present even when eye movements were carefully controlled. Finally, we show that regular training is critical for improved visual function, as sporadic training reduced the benefits of training, even when the total numbers of training sessions were equated. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that complex training stimuli can improve outcomes in cortical blindness, provided that patients adhere to a regular training regimen. Nevertheless, such interventions remain limited in their ability to restore functional vision.
The Impact of Covid 19 Pandemic on the Cattle Sales
Authors: Harly Resolinda , Mulyani Sri 
Published: February 2022

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the order of life and affected all sectors of life, including the livestock sub-sector. Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (2020) stated that the need for cattle farming in Indonesia reaches 700 thousand tons, while the existing livestock can only meet the needs of 400 thousand tons. This means that cattle farming still has a great opportunity to develop. Based on data, existing cattle farms are dominated by smallholder farms (97.7%). This study aims to see how the condition of smallholder cattle farms during the pandemic in terms of; 1. How is the level of cattle sales during the pandemic, 2. Maintenance system. The research design used in this study was a survey method conducted in the district of 50 cities of Lareh Sago Halaban. Sampling was carried out by purposive random sampling method. The results of research conducted on smallholder cattle farms during the pandemic on sales at the beginning of the pandemic in March-May 2020, are 56% in the following three months June-August 2020 as many as 52% in the third of Sept-Nov 2020 is 96% and at 52% for the month of Dec-Feb 2021. Sales are also influenced by policies taken by the government at the regional level. The cattle rearing system has been 72% intensively carried out by farmers, the availability of forage is still at a sufficient level for a cattle scale of 1-3 heads, but more than that amount if farmers do not have grass land is not sufficient. The cattle business during the pandemic can still run well and can be used as a business opportunity for youth.
Optimization of Culture Conditions for Secretory Production of 3-Hydroxybutyrate Oligomers Using Recombinant Escherichia coli
Authors: Sakurai Tetsuo , Mizuno Shoji , Miyahara Yuki , Hiroe Ayaka , Taguchi Seiichi , Tsuge Takeharu 
Published: February 2022

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] is the most representative polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), which is a storage polyester for prokaryotic cells. P(3HB)-producing recombinant Escherichia coli secretes diethylene glycol (DEG)-terminated 3HB oligomers (3HBO-DEG) through a PHA synthase-mediated chain transfer and alcoholysis reactions with externally added DEG. The purpose of this study was to optimize the culture conditions for the secretory production of 3HBO-DEG with jar fermenters. First, the effects of culture conditions, such as agitation speed, culture temperature, culture pH, and medium composition on 3HBO-DEG production, were investigated in a batch culture using 250-ml mini jar fermenters. Based on the best culture conditions, a fed-batch culture was conducted by feeding glucose to further increase the 3HBO-DEG titer. Consequently, the optimized culture conditions were reproduced using a 2-L jar fermenter. This study successfully demonstrates a high titer of 3HBO-DEG, up to 34.8 g/L, by optimizing the culture conditions, showing the feasibility of a new synthetic strategy for PHA-based materials by combining secretory oligomer production and subsequent chemical reaction.
Radiomics of Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography: A Potential Biomarker for Pretreatment Prediction of the Response to Bacillus Calmette-Guerin Immunotherapy in Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Authors: Ye Lei , Chen Yuntian , Xu Hui , Wang Zhaoxiang , Li Haixia , Qi Jin , Wang Jing , Yao Jin , Liu Jiaming , Song Bin 
Published: February 2022

Background:Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) instillation is recommended postoperatively after transurethral resection of bladder cancer (TURBT) in patients with high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). An accurate prediction model for the BCG response can help identify patients with NMIBC who may benefit from alternative therapy.Objective: To investigate the value of computed tomography (CT) radiomics features in predicting the response to BCG instillation among patients with primary high-risk NMIBC.Methods: Patients with pathologically confirmed high-risk NMIBC were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who underwent contrast-enhanced CT examination within one to 2 weeks before TURBT and received ≥5 BCG instillation treatments in two independent hospitals were enrolled. Patients with a routine follow-up of at least 1 year at the outpatient department were included in the final cohort. Radiomics features based on CT images were extracted from the tumor and its periphery in the training cohort, and a radiomics signature was built with recursive feature elimination. Selected features further underwent an unsupervised radiomics analysis using the newly introduced method, non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), to compute factor factorization decompositions of the radiomics matrix. Finally, a robust component, which was most associated with BCG failure in 1 year, was selected. The performance of the selected component was assessed and tested in an external validation cohort.Results: Overall, 128 patients (training cohort, n = 104; external validation cohort, n = 24) were included, including 12 BCG failures in the training cohort and 11 failures in the validation cohort each. NMF revealed five components, of which component 3 was selected for the best discrimination of BCG failure; it had an area under the curve (AUC) of .79, sensitivity of .79, and specificity of .65 in the training set. In the external validation cohort, it achieved an AUC of .68, sensitivity of .73, and specificity of .69. Survival analysis showed that patients with higher component scores had poor recurrence-free survival (RFS) in both cohorts (C-index: training cohort, .69; validation cohort, .68).Conclusion: The study suggested that radiomics components based on NMF might be a potential biomarker to predict BCG response and RFS after BCG treatment in patients with high-risk NMIBC.
Involvement of Abnormal Gut Microbiota Composition and Function in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity
Authors: Huang Jie , Wei Shanshan , Jiang Chuanhao , Xiao Zijun , Liu Jian , Peng Weijun , Zhang Bikui , Li Wenqun 
Published: February 2022

ObjectivesDoxorubicin (Dox), a chemotherapeutic anthracycline agent for the treatment of a variety of malignancies, has a limitation in clinical application for dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the composition/function of the gut microbiota and Dox-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC).MethodsC57BL/6J mice were injected intraperitoneally with 15 mg/kg of Dox, with or without antibiotics (Abs) administration. The M-mode echocardiograms were performed to assess cardiac function. The histopathological analysis was conducted by H&amp;E staining and TUNEL kit assay. The serum levels of creatine kinase (CK), CK-MB (CK-MB), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) were analyzed by an automatic biochemical analyzer. 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples were used to explore the gut microbiota composition and function.Key FindingsDox caused left ventricular (LV) dilation and reduced LV contractility. The levels of cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial enzymes were elevated in Dox-treated mice compared with the control (Con) group. 16S rRNA gene sequencing results revealed significant differences in microbial composition between the two groups. In the Dox group, the relative abundances of Allobaculum, Muribaculum, and Lachnoclostridium were significantly decreased, whereas Faecalibaculum, Dubosiella, and Lachnospiraceae were significantly increased compared with the Con group at the genus level. Functional enrichment with Cluster of orthologous groups of proteins (COG) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses showed that the Dox mice displayed different clusters of cellular processes and metabolism from the Con mice. The different species and their functions between the two groups were associated with the clinical factors of cardiac enzymes. Moreover, depletion of the gut microbiota could alleviate Dox-induced myocardial injury and cardiomyocyte apoptosis.ConclusionsThe study here shows that composition imbalance and functional changes of the gut microbiota can be one of the etiological mechanisms underlying DIC. The gut microbiota may serve as new targets for the treatment of cardiotoxicity and cardiovascular diseases.
Updated Insights on Cardiac and Vascular Risks of Proton Pump Inhibitors: A Real-World Pharmacovigilance Study
Authors: Zhai Yinghong , Ye Xiaofei , Hu Fangyuan , Xu Jinfang , Guo Xiaojing , Lin Zhen , Zhou Xiang , Guo Zhijian , Cao Yang , He Jia 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundProton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely prescribed medications in clinical practice. However, there are also concerns about the potential risks of long-term PPI use. The present study aimed to examine the safety of PPIs and summarize their potential cardiac and vascular risks in a real-world setting.MethodsThis pharmacovigilance study extracted records between January 2015 and December 2019 from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database. The association of seven PPI medications with cardiac and vascular events (CVEs) were evaluated. Two established pharmacovigilance methods, reporting odds ratio (ROR) and information components (IC) based statistical shrinkage, were used to measure disproportionality.ResultsIn total 62,140 CVE records associated with PPI use were investigated. Women showed a higher proportion (54.37%) of PPI-associated CVEs. The median time from PPI initiation to CVE onset was 97 [interquartile range (IQR): 8–491] days, with the shortest median time of 42 days (IQR: 2–277 days) for esomeprazole, and the longest time of 389 days (IQR: 0–525 days) for dexlansoprazole. Although PPIs were not associated with elevated CVE risks compared those of the whole database (IC025/ROR025 = −0.39/0.74), various signals emerged. Despite some similarities exist between the PPIs, their cardiac and vascular safety profiles varied significantly. Pantoprazole showed the broadest spectrum of signals, from thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (IC025/ROR025 = 0.01/1.08) to renal haemangioma (IC025/ROR025 = 3.14/9.58). Esomeprazole showed the second-broadest spectrum of toxicities, ranging from duodenal ulcer hemorrhage (IC025/ROR025 = 0.07/1.28) to hypertensive nephropathy (IC025/ROR025 = 4.09/18.72). Vascular signals were more dominant than cardiac signals, suggesting that vascular function was more heavily affected. Hypertensive nephropathy, renal haemangioma, renal artery stenosis, and renal infarct had strong signals across most PPI regimens and merited further attention.ConclusionsPPIs may inflict various CVEs, particularly those involving the vascular system, on the users. Given the wide range of onset times and different toxicity profiles for various PPI medications, they should be prescribed with caution.
Vitamin C May Improve Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hemilä Harri , Chalker Elizabeth , de Man Angelique M. E. 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundVitamin C deprivation can lead to fatigue, dyspnea, oedema and chest pain, which are also symptoms of heart failure (HF). In animal studies vitamin C has improved contractility and mechanical efficiency of the heart. Compared with healthy people, patients with HF have lower vitamin C levels, which are not explained by differences in dietary intake levels, and more severe HF seems to be associated with lower plasma vitamin C levels. This meta-analysis looks at the effect of vitamin C on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).MethodsWe searched for trials reporting the effects of vitamin C on LVEF. We assessed the quality of the trials, and pooled selected trials using the inverse variance, fixed effect options. We used meta-regression to examine the association between the effect of vitamin C on LVEF level and the baseline LVEF level.ResultsWe identified 15 trials, three of which were excluded from our meta-analysis. In six cardiac trials with 246 patients, vitamin C increased LVEF on average by 12.0% (95% CI 8.1–15.9%; P &lt; 0.001). In six non-cardiac trials including 177 participants, vitamin C increased LVEF on average by 5.3% (95% CI 2.0–8.5%; P = 0.001). In meta-regression analysis we found that the effect of vitamin C was larger in trials with the lowest baseline LVEF levels with P = 0.001 for the test of slope. The meta-regression line crossed the null effect level at a baseline LVEF level close to 70%, with progressively greater benefit from vitamin C with lower LVEF levels. Some of the included trials had methodological limitations. In a sensitivity analysis including only the four most methodologically sound cardiac trials, the effect of vitamin C was not substantially changed.ConclusionsIn this meta-analysis, vitamin C increased LVEF in both cardiac and non-cardiac patients, with a strong negative association between the size of the vitamin C effect and the baseline LVEF. Further research on vitamin C and HF should be carried out, particularly in patients who have low LVEF together with low vitamin C intake or low plasma levels. Different dosages and different routes of administration should be compared.
Sedimentology and Geochemistry of the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation Shan 23 Submember Transitional Shale, Eastern Ordos Basin, North China
Authors: Gu Yifan , Li Xingtao , Qi Lin , Li Shuxin , Jiang Yuqiang , Fu Yonghong , Yang Xiaoshuai 
Published: February 2022

Shanxi Formation Shan 23 Submember transitional shale in Eastern Ordos Basin is characterized by high TOC value, wide distribution, and large single-layer/cumulative thickness. In this study, based on section division of Shan 23 Submember, petrographic, mineralogical, and high-resolution geochemical analyses were integrated to reveal sedimentary environment, detrital influx, paleoclimate, paleosalinity, and paleoredox conditions. Results indicate that Shan 23 Submember is divided into four sections (Shan 23-1, Shan 23-2, Shan 23-3, and Shan 23-4). The upper part of the Shan 23-1 section is dominated by bay facies, which is characterized by high TOC value (2.75%–10.96%, avg. 6.98%), low detrital influx proxies (Zr, 97–527 ppm, avg. 310 ppm; Ti, 1985–7591 ppm, avg. 3938 ppm), relatively dry paleoclimate condition (CIA*, 41.96–92.58, avg. 75.55; Sr/Cu, 6.23–14.49, avg. 8.87), high paleosalinity proxies (Sr/Ba, 0.39–1.29, avg. 0.62), and relatively anoxic reduction condition (UEF, 0.83–3.00, avg. 1.67; MoEF, 3.95–27.00, avg. 15.56). By comparison, the other three sections are dominated by a combination of transitional facies, including barrier island, lagoon, tidal flat, and swamp. In this interval, shale is deposited in lagoon facies. The paleoclimate gradually tends to be warm and humid, which results in increasing the chemical weathering intensity. Meanwhile, the detrital influx increases, and the paleoredox condition tends to be oxic. The above conditions are not conducive to the preservation of organic matter in lagoon facies shale.