bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of clinical features and prognostic factors of AIDS-related lymphoma
Authors: Gong Yahong , Gong Xiaoming , Zhang Kai , Song Lu , Li Yipan , Ke Hengning , Lu ZhiYan 
Published: April 2022

OBJECTIVE:
To analyze the clinical characteristics, pathological characteristics, and prognostic factors of AIDS-related lymphoma (ARL).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:
This was a retrospective study of the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment process, and survival status of 32 patients with ARL. The patients were divided into a survival group and nonsurvival group according to their prognosis, and the factors affecting survival were analyzed. The patients' clinical characteristics were analyzed according to symptoms, sex, age, and laboratory indicators such as the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentration, number of CD4+ T cells, Ann Arbor stage, pathological typing, and international prognostic index (IPI) score. A univariate regression analysis was performed to compare the clinical characteristics of the treatment group and nontreatment group. The impact of chemotherapy and combined antiviral therapy on survival time was assessed.

RESULTS:
Thirty-two patients were included in the study; 31 were male and 23 were aged >40 years. The average LDH concentration was 639.8 U/L, and the average CD4+ lymphocyte count was 167 cells/μL. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was present in 40.6% (13/32) of the patients; a B-lymphocyte source accounted for 90.6% (29/32) of cases, and a T-lymphocyte source accounted for 9.4% (3/32). The proportion of patients who received anti-lymphoma treatment was 84.4% (27/32). Twenty-three patients died during follow-up and nine survived. Univariate analysis showed that the prognostic factors were age, the CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, and the IPI score. The average progression-free survival (PFS) time in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) group before chemotherapy was 4.81 months, while the average PFS time without antiviral therapy before chemotherapy was about 1.91 months. This difference was statistically significant. The median 2-year survival time in patients who received antiviral therapy before chemotherapy was 33.3 months, while that in patients who did not receive antiviral therapy was 27.3 months. Early HAART therapy combined with standardized chemotherapy was shown to improve the patients' prognosis. It also improved the overall survival (OS) rate and PFS time. However, there was no significant difference in the OS rates between 1 and 2 years.

CONCLUSION:
The CD4+ T-cell count and IPI score were key factors affecting the prognosis of patients with ARL. An increased LDH concentration was also a prognostic factor. A certain correlation between the disease severity and prognosis was found. The use of standard anti-lymphoma treatment can effectively improve the survival rate of patients.
Computed tomography findings and clinical manifestations in different clinical types of coronavirus disease 2019
Authors: Tang Fei , Huang Sihong , Xie Xingzhi , Yang Ru , Wang Xiaohong , Zhou Juan , Liu Jun 
Published: April 2022

OBJECTIVE:
Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan in 2019, the virus has spread rapidly. We investigated the clinical and computed tomography (CT) characteristics of different clinical types of COVID-19.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:
We retrospectively analyzed clinical and chest CT findings of 89 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed cases from five medical centers in China. All the patients were classified into the common (n = 65), severe (n = 18), or fatal (n = 6) type. CT features included lesion distribution, location, size, shape, edge, density, and the ratio of lung lesions to extra-pulmonary lesions. A COVID-19 chest CT analysis tool (uAI-discover-COVID-19) was used to calculate the number of infections from the chest CT images.

RESULTS:
Fatal type COVID-19 is more common in older men, with a median age of 65 years. Fever was more common in the severe and fatal type COVID-19 patients than in the common type patients. Patients with fatal type COVID-19 were more likely to have underlying diseases. On CT examination, common type COVID-19 showed bilateral (68%), patchy (83%), ground-glass opacity (48%), or mixed (46%) lesions. Severe and fatal type COVID-19 showed bilateral multiple mixed density lesions (56%). The infection ratio (IR) increased in the common type (2.4 [4.3]), severe type (15.7 [14.3]), and fatal type (36.9 [14.2]). The IR in the inferior lobe of both lungs was statistically different from that of other lobes in common and severe type patients (P < 0.05). However, in the fatal type group, only the IR in the right inferior lung (RIL) was statistically different from that in the right superior lung(RUL), right middle lung (RML), and the left superior lung (LSL) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION:
The CT findings and clinical features of the various clinical types of COVID-19 pneumonia are different. Chest CT findings have unique characteristics in the different clinical types, which can facilitate an early diagnosis and evaluate the clinical course and severity of COVID-19.
Rehabilitation of hemispatial neglect in stroke
Authors: Muhammad Tawab Khalil  , Umer Younas  , Imran Irshad  , Farooq Azam Rathore  
Published: April 2022

Hemi-spatial neglect (HSN) is a debilitating post stroke cognitive deficit resulting in reduced attention to stimuli presented in the contra-lateral hemi-visual field. It adversely impacts patient's medical recovery, activities of daily living and quality of life. Early referral to Rehabilitation Medicine specialist for thorough evaluation, prompt recognition of functional impairments and formulation of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan unique to patient is important. It is part of the comprehensive and holistic management of stroke patients with HSN. We summarize the current management strategies used for post-stroke HSN rehabilitation with the options including non-invasive brain stimulation, visuomotor feedback training, robotic rehabilitation and trans-dermal nicotine patch.
Keywords: Hemispatial neglect, Stroke, Rehabilitation, Non-invasive brain stimulation, Robotic rehabilitation.
THE CORE DETERMINANTS OF EFFECTIVE STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION: THE CASE OF RURAL AND COMMUNITY BANKS IN GHANA
Authors: Ackah Abena 
Published: April 2022

Purpose: This study investigates significant factors that influence strategy implementation in the rural banks in Ghana. It focused on leadership commitment, organizational structure, and employee involvement as the core variables influencing strategy implementation.
Methodology: The researcher used random stratification to select fifteen (15) rural banks from the southern belt, (15) from the middle belt, and 360 participants from these rural and community banks in Ghana. The study used a five-point-Likert scale designed questionnaire to elicit information for data analysis.
Findings: The results revealed that some of the moderator variables of the predictor variables significantly influenced strategy implementation. Under leadership commitment; the variables found to be significant in influencing strategy implementation were leadership communicating a clear vision to the understanding of employees with statistical significance accepted at P=0.001>0.05, leadership prioritizing the release of resources with statistical significance accepted at P=0.000>0.05, and leadership behaviours with statistical significance accepted at P=0.001>0.05. Under organizational structure; release of sufficient resources for organisational restructuring had the statistical significance of P=0.000>0.05; clearly defined roles and responsibilities P=0.000>0.05; Knowledge sharing’ P=0.001>0.05; employee involvement in the structural reforms P=0.006 >0.05, and inability to provide technical information on the job had P=0.005>0.05. Under employee involvement: the right environment, good reward systems, and training were variables found to be statistically significant in influencing strategy implementation. The statistical significance was accepted at P=0.001>0.05, P=0.005>0.05, and P=0.030>0.05 respectively.
Contribution to theory, practice, and policy/recommendation: The theoretical contribution made in this study is the investigation into strategy implementation in the rural and community banks in Ghana. There is no current literature that has examined strategy implementation in the rural and community banks in Ghana and examined the key variables used in this study to make predictions and conclusions on factors influencing strategy implementation. The study provides a framework for strategy implementation for the RCBs, with a universal applicability in the varying context of strategy implementation, contributing to the repository of knowledge in strategy implementation. The study recommends that leadership create a conducive environment to encourage creativity and idea generation to facilitate proper strategic activities to advance an effective strategy implementation, a clear vision to establish the nature, form, and content of the organizational structure that will fit the strategy, the release of resources, and a reward package for employee effort in the strategic process.
Evaluation of MealSense©: A Sensory Integration–Based Feeding Support Program for Parents
Authors: Trewin Audrey , Mailloux Zoe , Schaaf Roseann C. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Importance: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience feeding challenges related to difficulties with sensory integration.
Objective: To evaluate the content, acceptability, and usefulness of MealSense©, an online parent education program for children with ASD who have feeding challenges related to poor sensory integration.
Design: A descriptive study in which experts reviewed and rated MealSense content for consistency with Ayres Sensory Integration® (ASI) principles and evidence-based practices in feeding.
Participants: A convenience sample of expert reviewers (n = 5) and parents of children with ASD and feeding challenges (n = 5).
Results: Expert ratings (n = 5) met criteria showing that MealSense is consistent with ASI and evidence-based practices in feeding. Parent ratings (n = 5) met criteria showing that MealSense is acceptable and useful.
Conclusions and Relevance: MealSense is acceptable and useful to parents of children with ASD and is consistent with ASI and evidence-based practices in feeding.
What This Article Adds: This study provides preliminary support for MealSense as an evidence-based tool to supplement direct intervention for children with ASD and feeding difficulties. Further research is needed to determine its efficacy in improving the transfer of feeding skills into the home environment.
Diabetic ketoacidosis in Saudi Arabia: factors precipitating initial admission and readmission
Authors: Alotaibi Raghad , Alsulami Manar , Hijji Sumiah , Alghamdi Saad , Alnahdi Yasser , Alnahdi Haifa , Samargandy Shaza Ahmed 
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND:
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is one of the complications of diabetes mellitus (DM), primarily type 1 DM. To our knowledge, only one study explored DKA readmission rates in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES:
Identify and analyze precipitating factors for DKA admission and readmission.

DESIGN:
Medical record review.

SETTING:
Tertiary care center.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:
We identified all patients aged 15 years and older admitted with DKA from 2018 to 2020. Descriptive factors and uni-and multivariate analyses are presented for associations with initial admission and readmission.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Relationships between precipitating factors and initial admission and readmission.

SAMPLE SIZE:
176 patients.

RESULTS:

Most of the patients had type 1 DM (n=157). The median (interquartile percentiles) for duration of DM was 6.0 (1.0-12.0) years. The mean (SD) HbA1C (%) was 11.8 (2.6). The factors that precipitated DKA were most commonly treatment nonadherence (55.1%), followed by infections (31.8%) and nonadherence to diet (25.6%). The most common symptoms were nausea and vomiting (87.5%), followed by abdominal pain (72.7%). During the study period, 32.4% of the sample were read-mitted with DKA. The median (interquartile range) duration between the first and second admission was 12 (4-25) weeks. In the multivariate analysis, increased odds of readmission for DKA were associated with type 1 DM and medication nonadherence (
P
=.038,
P
=.013, respectively). The severity of the initial DKA and the control of DM were not associated with the readmission rate.

CONCLUSION:
Treatment nonadherence is the leading precipitating factor of DKA in our region. Patient education and counseling play a major role in addressing this preventable complication and its medical and financial burden. We advocate more efforts dedicated toward patient education and logistic support.

LIMITATIONS:
Retrospective-single center.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
None.
Neurological outcomes in adult drowning patients in China
Authors: Zhou Peisen , Xu Huaqing , Li Bingccan , Yang Chenbing , Zhou Zhiliang , Shi Jincun , Li Zhangping 
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND:
Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional death worldwide. The epidemiological characteristics of adult drownings are rarely reported.

OBJECTIVE:
Investigate factors associated with neurological prognosis in adult drowning inpatients.

DESIGN:
Multicenter medical record review.

SETTING:
Tertiary health care institutions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:
We collected demographic and clinical data on patients who drowned but survived between September 2006 and January 2020. Neurological prognosis was compared in patients with and without cardiac arrest.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Neurological outcomes.

SAMPLE SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS:
142 patients with mean age of 50.6 (19.8) years, male/female ratio of 1.54:1.

RESULT:

Forty-five patients (31.7%) received CPR, 90 patients (63.4%) experienced unconsciousness, and 59 patients (41.5%) received endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the initial blood lactic acid level (OR: 7.67, 95%CI: 1.23-47.82,
P
=.029) was associated with a poor neurological prognosis in patients without cardiac arrest. The incidence of ICU admission (OR: 16.604, 95%CI: 1.15-239.49,
P
=.039) was associated with a poor neurologic prognosis in patients with cardiac arrest.

CONCLUSIONS:
For the drowning patients with cardiac arrest, ICU admission was associated with neurological function prognosis in these patients. Among the patients without cardiac arrest, the initial lactate value was associated with neurological function prognosis of these patients.

LIMITATIONS:
Retrospective.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
None.
Benign nodules of the thyroid gland and 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels in euthyroid patients
Authors: Bolat Hacı , Erdoğan Aliriza 
Published: April 2022

BACKGROUND:
The presence of nodules in the thyroid gland is common in iodine-deficient areas of the world. Recently, vitamin D levels were found to be lower than normal and sometimes deficient in malignant nodules of the thyroid.

OBJECTIVE:
Evaluate the relationship between the serum vitamin D levels and benign thyroid nodules in euthyroid patients.

DESIGN:
Cross-sectional.

SETTING:
Tertiary care center in Turkey.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Patients referred to the general surgery outpatient clinic and diagnosed with thyroid nodules were the study group. The control group consisted of healthy individuals without thyroid nodules. Age, BMI, thyroid ultrasonography, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, free T3, free T4, thyroid stimulating hormone, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, total protein, albumin, glucose, creatinine levels and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were compared between groups.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels and size of the thyroid nodules.

SAMPLE SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS:
Of 849 individuals, 453 were patients with thyroid nodules and 396 were healthy individuals.

RESULTS:

The mean serum vitamin D levels of patients with thyroid nodules were significantly lower than controls (
P
<.001). Serum vitamin D levels along with serum total protein levels and eGFR were independent variables associated with the presence of a thyroid nodule (
P
<.001, p=.005 and
P
=.017, respectively).

CONCLUSION:
These findings suggest vitamin D deficiency might be one of the pathophysiologic factors in development of thyroid nodules.

LIMITATION:
Single-center and possible information bias.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
None.
Wind speed influences corrected Autocalibrated Soil Evapo-respiration Chamber (ASERC) evaporation measures
Authors: Zawilski Bartosz M. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract. Soil evaporation concerns water and our life support sources, which are important for agriculture or for climate change prediction science.
A simple instrument based on the nonsteady-state (NSS) technique for soil
evaporation measurement appears suitable. However, because the NSS chamber
technique is highly invasive, special care should be provided to correct the
wind speed influence on the evaporation process. Soil evaporation is a
complex process that involves many soil and air characteristics. Measurement
chamber installation on the soil and its head deployment may perturb these
characteristics. We therefore had to minimize differences or to correct the
measurements. Most of the differences between bare soil and soil with a
deployed chamber head can be minimized, except for the wind speed influences
that are not reproducible inside a chamber head. Meanwhile, as the wind
influences depend on numerous variables that are not monitorable in real time, a self-calibrating chamber with a
corresponding protocol called the Autocalibrated Soil Evapo-respiration
Chamber (ASERC) was developed to
make the measurements easily corrigible on bare soil with a unique variable (wind speed, WS), regardless of the soil composition, soil texture, and other
soil or air meteorological variables. A simple protocol followed by this chamber
allows us to determine the soil evaporation wind speed susceptibility (Z)
and to correct the measurements achieving 0.95 as the coefficient of
determination. Some interesting findings on sandy and clayey soil
evaporation measured during laboratory calibration and “slow” sensor
simulation will also be reported in the two appendices.
Perspective from 2021 Iodine Nutrition in Africa in 2021
Authors: Andersson Maria , Brown Amal Tucker 
Published: April 2022

Diets in many countries cannot provide adequate iodine without iodine fortification of salt. Over the past 20 years, the global proportion of households using iodized salt has increased from 70 percent to 89 percent. The number of countries with adequate iodine intake has nearly doubled, from 67 in 2003 to 118 in 2021, reflecting the effectiveness of national salt iodization programs. However, nine countries in Africa still have no or unknown legislation mandating salt iodization. Here we provide an update of iodine nutrition since 2013 (the date of our previous Sight and Life article) in the 54 countries on the African continent.
Perspective from 2021 Translating Omics Discoveries into Public Health Application
Authors: Lee Sun Eun 
Published: April 2022

It is my great pleasure to congratulate Sight and Life on its 35th anniversary of globally advocating innovative solutions for healthier diets and good nutrition. The Frontiers in Nutrition (2015) and Technology and Entrepreneurship (2017) issues exemplified Sight and Life’s continuous emphasis on revealing and addressing malnutrition through rapidly evolving technologies. In my essay in 2017, Omics Innovations and Applications for Public Health Nutrition, I proposed that omics approaches are poised to greatly expand knowledge and reveal road maps of biological pathways affected by nutrition. While this appears more inevitable than ever before, how far have we progressed during the past 5 years, and what more is needed to accelerate the path toward public health application?
2012 Ritual Fluids in Relation to Early Child Nutrition in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Authors: Doak Colleen M. , Peters Leonie , Ponce Maiza Compos 
Published: April 2022

Guatemala has the highest prevalence of one of the main forms of childhood malnutrition in Latin America, with 49% of children chronically undernourished, i.e., stunted. Bhutta et al2 show that education about complementary feeding can increase height-for-age Z score by 0.25. Nutrition-related interventions can also reduce stunting at 36 months by 36%, and mortality between birth and 36 months by about 25%. Adherence to the World Health Organization (WHO) Complementary Feeding Guidelines has also been shown to prevent weanling diarrhea. (The guidelines are related to better micronutrient status and growth.) In addition to having the highest chronic undernutrition in the Americas, Guatemala also scores most poorly on adherence to complementary feeding guidelines. Ruel and Menon attributed the low score for complementary feeding practices to the relative poverty of Guatemala. Together, lack of complementary feeding practices and poverty may explain Guatemala’s high rate of stunting as shown in the surveys included (42% and 39% in 1995 and 1999, respectively). On the other hand, recent research (completed and published), supported in part by a Sight and Life grant to the Center for Studies of Sensory Impairment, Aging and Metabolism (CESSIAM), shows that in Guatemala, the intakes of most micronutrients were near recommended levels.
2018 An Innovation Evolution
Authors: Torgerson Senoe , Matthias Dipika 
Published: April 2022

One of the greatest public health success stories is also one of the least known. It started with a beautifully simple innovation: putting iodine into table salt. Salt is regularly consumed around the world by rich and poor alike, and so by fortify ing salt with iodine, most people’s daily iodine needs could be met at a negligible cost with no change in behavior. In the 1990s, 113 countries were classified as iodine-deficient; that number is now 20. The impact of Universal Salt Iodization (USI) on human capital development is staggering when one considers that iodine deficiency is the most common cause of preventable mental retardation worldwide and that it can reduce IQ scores by an average of 13.5 points. The global scale-up of USI inspired the establishment of new institutions in the early 2000s to extend the success of USI into the fortification of edible oils and cereals such as wheat, maize, and rice to address other micronutrient deficiencies in low- and middle-income countries. With that amplification, the global infrastructure for reaching nutritionally vulnerable groups in developing countries with fortified foods was born.
temporary reduction in VAT under the Second Corona Tax Assistance Act:
Authors: Hübner Martin 
Published: April 2022

The economic consequences of the Covid19 pandemic are increasingly hitting the economic system of the Federal Republic of Germany with full force. As of June 2020, the annual average gross domestic product recorded a significant decline and an increase in the unemployment rate.
In this article we examine the current research concerning the question of the temporary reduction in VAT because of the COVID19 pandemic. We aim to answer the question if this temporary reduction is an unnecessary burden or rather a real relief for involved companies. By the method of qualitative evaluation of relevant research and by the analysis of surveys on the topic, we show that the significant burdens on businesses as a result of the temporary reduction in VAT rates under the Second Corona Tax Assistance Act are absolutely contrary to the objective of creating a countercyclical catalyst to stimulate consumption and thus to positively influence the economy.