bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rethinking regional integration in Africa for inclusive and sustainable development: Introduction to the special issue
Authors: McKay Andy , Ogunkola Olawale , Semboja Haji Hatibu 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThis article is an introduction to this Special Issue on Rethinking in Regional Integration in Africa which is based on a collaborative research project, implemented by African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the leading economic capacity building institution in Africa, and funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). This project is very timely given the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which came into force on 01 January 2021. In this introduction, we first provide a brief background on regional integration in Africa. We next describe the AERC project and the process of selection of the papers and then provide a quick summary of the ten published papers and their contributions.
Catalysing regional integration in Africa: The role of infrastructure
Authors: Chuku Chuku , Simpasa Anthony , Ekpo Akpan 
Published: November 2022

AbstractNow, more than ever, infrastructure integration in Africa has become critical to recalibrating Africa's growth strategy toward increased intraregional trade, especially in an era of global isolationism, protectionism and supply chain disruptions from COVID and the war in Ukraine. This paper investigates the extent to which infrastructure development and integration can act as a catalyst for trade, innovation and income improvements in Africa. Using panel data analysis, we show that the infrastructure sector with the strongest multiplier effect on economic activity is the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, followed by the transport sector, the electricity sector and, last, the water sector. This ranking of the catalytic role of infrastructure sectors should guide policy prioritisation on infrastructure investments to accelerate growth and unlock the potential of the AfCFTA. Benchmarking exercises on infrastructures' catalytic role in the regional economic communities (RECs) show that infrastructure has had the strongest impact on economic outcomes in the East African Community bloc, making the EAC a type of flying‐geese RECs for other regions to emulate.
Regional integration and non‐tariff barriers to Intra‐Sub‐Saharan Africa trade
Authors: Turkson Ebo , Oduro Abena D. , Baffour Priscilla Twumasi , Quartey Peter 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe paper assesses the ex‐post trade effect of sub‐regional trade agreements (RTAs), financial integration and other non‐tariff barriers on intra‐regional trade involving 43 Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. The objective is to find out if RTAs within SSA had increased trade flows to inform current efforts of establishing a successful continental free trade area in SSA. Estimating a gravity model augmented with measures of trade agreements and financial integration, the paper made use of bilateral trade flows and key gravity covariates from CEPII database over the period 1960–2015. After controlling for the endogeneity of the trade agreement dummy, multilateral price resistance and zero‐valued trade flows, we find RTAs within SSA and especially among Economic Community of West African States and Southern Africa Development Community members to have had a positive and significant impact on bilateral trade. Financially integrated trading partners also traded more, while we also found distance, landlockedness, common currency and colonial link to have an impact on trade costs and bilateral trade flows within SSA. The results indicate the need to focus on policies to expand and integrate regional markets in SSA by removing impediments to trade and improving on trade facilitation measures to significantly improve trade performance under the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area.
Odd entanglement entropy in Galilean conformal field theories and flat holography
Authors: Basak Jaydeep Kumar , Chourasiya Himanshu , Raj Vinayak , Sengupta Gautam 
Published: November 2022

AbstractThe odd entanglement entropy (OEE) for bipartite states in a class of $$(1+1)$$

(
1
+
1
)

-dimensional Galilean conformal field theories ($$GCFT_{1+1}$$

G
C
F

T

1
+
1

) is obtained through an appropriate replica technique. In this context our results are compared with the entanglement wedge cross section (EWCS) for $$(2+1)$$

(
2
+
1
)

-dimensional asymptotically flat geometries dual to the $$GCFT_{1+1}$$

G
C
F

T

1
+
1

in the framework of flat holography. We find that our results are consistent with the duality of the difference between the odd entanglement entropy and the entanglement entropy of bipartite states, with the bulk EWCS for flat holographic scenarios.
On the learnability of quantum state fidelity
Authors: Elsayed Amer Norhan , Gomaa Walid , Kimura Keiji , Ueda Kazunori , El-Mahdy Ahmed 
Published: November 2022

AbstractCurrent quantum processing technology is generally noisy with a limited number of qubits, stressing the importance of quantum state fidelity estimation. The complexity of this problem is mainly due to not only accounting for single gates and readout errors but also for interactions among which. Existing methods generally rely on either reconstructing the given circuit state, ideal state, and computing the distance of which; or forcing the system to be on a specific state. Both rely on conducting circuit measurements, in which computational efficiency is traded off with obtained fidelity details, requiring an exponential number of experiments for full information. This paper poses the question: Is the mapping between a given quantum circuit and its state fidelity learnable? If learnable, this would be a step towards an alternative approach that relies on machine learning, providing much more efficient computation. To answer this question, we propose three deep learning models for 1-, 3-, and 5-qubit circuits and experiment on the following real-quantum processors: ibmq_armonk (1-qubit), ibmq_lima (5-qubit) and ibmq_quito (5-qubit) backends, respectively. Our models achieved a mean correlation factor of 0.74, 0.67 and 0.66 for 1-, 3-, and 5-qubit random circuits, respectively, with the exponential state tomography method. Additionally, our 5-qubit model outperforms simple baseline state fidelity estimation method on three quantum benchmarks. Our method, trained on random circuits only, achieved a mean correlation factor of 0.968 while the baseline method achieved 0.738. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of dynamic noise on state fidelity estimation. The correlation factor substantially improved to 0.82 and 0.74 for the 3- and 5-qubit models, respectively. The results show that machine learning is promising for predicting state fidelity from circuit representation and this work may be considered a step towards efficient end-to-end learning.
Faithful Journeys: Unpacking the Religious Luggage of Senegalese Murid Migrants in Europe
Authors: Kaag Mayke 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
This contribution aims to approach the theme of a traveling Islam by starting from moving people and considering how their religious “luggage”—in terms of beliefs, ideas, and practices—travels with them and what this means for the circulation of religious ideas in Africa and beyond. The paper focuses particularly on Senegalese migrants of the Murid Sufi order residing in Italy and the Netherlands; it investigates how their religious luggage is important to them in the migration context and may circulate further from there. In addition, it explores how their religious luggage is moulded in, and through, their migration experiences: for instance, its meaning may change, or another layer may be added. Finally, ideas on (the force of) the Muridiyya may travel back to Senegal, adding other layers to the meaning of religion there as well.
Elucidating the role of circNFIB in myocardial fibrosis alleviation by endogenous sulfur dioxide
Authors: Liu Jia , Zhang Ranran , Wang Dahai , Lin Yi , Bai Cui , Nie Nana , Gao Shan , Zhang Qiuye , Chang Hong , Ren Chongmin 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBackgroundTo investigate the role of circNFIB in the alleviation of myocardial fibrosis by endogenous sulfur dioxide (SO2).MethodsWe stimulated cultured neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts with transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and developed an in vitro myocardial fibrosis model. Lentivirus vectors containing aspartate aminotransferase 1 (AAT1) cDNA were used to overexpress AAT1, and siRNA was used to silence circNFIB. The SO2, collagen, circNFIB, Wnt/β-catenin, and p38 MAPK pathways were examined in each group.ResultsIn the in vitro TGF-β1-induced myocardial fibrosis model, endogenous SO2/AAT1 expression was significantly decreased, and collagen levels in the cell supernatant and type I and III collagen expression, as well as α-SMA expression, were all significantly increased. TGF-β1 also significantly reduced circNFIB expression. AAT1 overexpression significantly reduced myocardial fibrosis while significantly increasing circNFIB expression. Endogenous SO2alleviated myocardial fibrosis after circNFIB expression was blocked. We discovered that circNFIB plays an important role in the alleviation of myocardial fibrosis by endogenous SO2by inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin and p38 MAPK pathways.ConclusionEndogenous SO2promotes circNFIB expression, which inhibits the Wnt/β-catenin and p38 MAPK signaling pathways, consequently alleviating myocardial fibrosis.
Biomarkers for isolated congenital heart disease based on maternal amniotic fluid metabolomics analysis
Authors: Yuan Xuelian , Li Lu , Kang Hong , Wang Meixian , Zeng Jing , Lei Yanfang , Li Nana , Yu Ping , Li Xiaohong , Liu Zhen 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Introduction
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most prevalent birth defects in the world. The pathogenesis of CHD is complex and unclear. With the development of metabolomics technology, variations in metabolites may provide new clues about the causes of CHD and may serve as a biomarker during pregnancy.

Methods
Sixty-five amniotic fluid samples (28 cases and 37 controls) during the second and third trimesters were utilized in this study. The metabolomics of CHD and normal fetuses were analyzed by untargeted metabolomics technology. Differential comparison and randomForest were used to screen metabolic biomarkers.

Results
A total of 2472 metabolites were detected, and they were distributed differentially between the cases and controls. Setting the selection criteria of fold change (FC) ≥ 2, P value < 0.01 and variable importance for the projection (VIP) ≥ 1.5, we screened 118 differential metabolites. Within the prediction model by random forest, PE(MonoMe(11,5)/MonoMe(13,5)), N-feruloylserotonin and 2,6-di-tert-butylbenzoquinone showed good prediction effects. Differential metabolites were mainly concentrated in aldosterone synthesis and secretion, drug metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism pathways, which may be related to the occurrence and development of CHD.

Conclusion
This study provides a new database of CHD metabolic biomarkers and mechanistic research. These results need to be further verified in larger samples.
Analysis of the incidence and influencing factors associated with binary restenosis of target lesions after drug-coated balloon angioplasty for patients with in-stent restenosis
Authors: Xue Weihao , Ma Jun , Yu Xiaojie , Ruan Zhisheng , Sun Yuanxue , Wu Tianbo , Zhang Xinmin , Wu Lianpin 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background
Drug-coated balloon (DCB) is a novel and effective device for coronary artery disease patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR). However, the incidence and possible influencing factors associated with binary restenosis have not yet been adequately assessed.

Methods
The data are extracted from a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial. A total of 211 patients with ISR were enrolled at 13 centers from August 2017 to October 2018 and treated with DCB. At the 9-month coronary angiographic follow-up, patients were divided into restenosis and non-restenosis groups, and demographic data, lesion features, and laboratory tests were retrospectively reviewed. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis was used to identify possible influencing factors.

Results
All patients successfully underwent treatment, and 166 patients with 190 lesions took part in angiography follow-ups at 9 months. Of these, 41 patients with 44 target lesions developed restenosis following treatment, and the incidence of ISR was 24.7%. There were significant differences in the average length of target lesions and the number of multivessel lesions and fasting plasma glucose (FBG) between the two groups (p < 0.05). Demographic data, cardiac risk factors, left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF), blood routine tests, biochemical tests, and other features of devices and lesions showed no difference. Logistic regression analyses showed that FBG > 6.1 mmol/L (OR: 7.185 95% CI: 2.939–17.567 P < 0.001) and length of lesion (OR:1.046 95% CI: 1.001–1.093 P = 0.046) were associated risk factors.

Conclusions
The longer length of lesions, more target lesions and FBG > 6.1 mmol/L per individual may be characteristics of patients showing ISR following treatment. Studies with larger sample size, and more complete follow-up data are needed in the future to expend on these findings.

Trial registration
No.: NCT04213378, first posted date (30/12/2019).
Neutrophilic granulocyte percentage is associated with anxiety in Chinese hospitalized heart failure patients
Authors: Ma Qian , Zhang Feng-bo , Yao En-sheng , Pan Shuo 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background
In patients with heart failure, anxiety disorder is common and associated with adverse prognosis. This study intended to find more confounding factors of Chinese heart failure patients.

Methods
We enrolled 284 hospitalized heart failure patients, whose New York Heart Association (NYHA) classed as II-IV and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 45%. All the patients were scaled in Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (14-items) (HAM-A14). Ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association of correlated factors with anxiety disorder.

Results
There were 184 patients had anxiety accounting for 64.8% of all 284 hospitalized heart failure patients. The neutrophilic granulocyte percentage, urea nitrogen, total bilirubin and brain natriuretic peptide were positively associated with HAM-A14 score, meanwhile, the hemoglobin, red blood cells counts, albumin and LVEF were negatively associated with HAM-A14 score (All P < 0.05). After the adjustments of sex, hemoglobin, urea nitrogen, total bilirubin, albumin and brain natriuretic peptide, the neutrophilic granulocyte percentage was significantly associated with anxiety (OR = 43.265, P = 0.012). The neutrophilic granulocyte percentage was 0.616 ± 0.111, 0.640 ± 0.102, 0.681 ± 0.106 and 0.683 ± 0.113 in heart failure patients with no anxiety, possible anxiety, confirmed anxiety and obvious anxiety, respectively.

Conclusions
Neutrophilic granulocyte percentage as well as the traditional risk factors such as sex, urea nitrogen and brain natriuretic peptide is associated with anxiety in hospitalized heart failure patients.
Management of breech presentation with a large pelvic hydatid cyst in late pregnancy in Tibet: a case report
Authors: Li Ping , Wang Yang , Yang Qi , Ni Ma , Fan Jianhui , Huang Zeping 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background
Hydatid cystic disease (HCD) is primarily a disease of sheep and cattle. Human beings are accidental hosts. It is prevalent in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China. In pregnancy, it can cause many complications.

Case presentation
We present a multigravida with breech presentation at 37 weeks of pregnancy in whom a large pelvic hydatid cyst and multiple hepatic hydatids were diagnosed by ultrasonography. The large pelvic hydatid cyst was drained through the posterior fornix under the guidance of ultrasound, and an external cephalic version was performed. A healthy baby was delivered vaginally with head presentation at term.

Conclusion
HCD during pregnancy presents with management difficulty. It is important to formulate individualized treatment plans according to the actual situation of the patient and the local level of treatment.
Preoperative chemotherapy combined with para-aortic lymph node dissection has clinical value in the treatment of gastric cancer with para-aortic lymph node metastases
Authors: Yu Pengcheng , Hu Can , Wang Yi , Bao Zhehan , Zhang Ruolan , Cao Mengxuan , Zhang Yanqiang , Cheng Xiangdong , Xu Zhiyuan 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background
Lymph node metastases often occur in advanced gastric cancer, with some patients presenting with metastases in the para-aortic lymph nodes. There are persistent Controversies about the benefit of para-aortic lymph node dissection (PAND). Our purpose is to probe whether PAND following preoperative chemotherapy had any clinical significance in individuals with PALNs in gastric cancer.

Material and methods
To retrospectively analyze the clinical data of 86 gastric cancer patients (40 in the D2 + PAND group and 46 in the D2 group) who attended the abdominal surgery department of Zhejiang Cancer Hospital between September 1, 2008, and July 30, 2018.

Results
In the D2 + PAND group (40 cases), the average number of lymph nodes cleared per case was 4.3 in group 16 (16a2, 16b1), and the postoperative pathology confirmed lymph node positivity in 16 cases, with a metastasis rate of 40%. The median overall survival times were 63 and 34 months for the patients in the D2 + PAND group and D2 group, respectively. The 3-year overall survival (OS) compared to the D2 group (D2 + PAND 69.1% vs. D2 50%, P = 0.012) and a statistically significant difference in 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) (D2 + PAND 69.6% vs. D2 38.3%, P = 0.007). Lymph node dissection extent and recurrence of para-aortic lymph nodes were independent prognostic variables for the patients. The recurrence rate was reduced in the D2 + PAND group compared to the D2 group (D2 + PAND 7.5% vs. D2 26.1%, p = 0.023).

Conclusions
For patients with gastric cancer whose imaging suggests metastasis in the para-aortic lymph nodes, preoperative chemotherapy combined with PAND is an effective and safe treatment that may benefit patient survival.
Antibiotic prescription after tooth extraction in adults: a retrospective cohort study in Austria
Authors: Sheikh Rezaei Safoura , Litschauer Brigitte , Anderle Karolina , Maurer Stephanie , Beyers Patrick Jan , Reichardt Berthold , Wolzt Michael 
Published: November 2022

AbstractBackgroundBroad spectrum antibiotics are often used for the prophylaxis of infectious endocarditis and treatment of odontogenic infections, but there are limited data related to antibiotic use and adherence to prescription guidelines. MethodsData from patients with tooth extraction between 2014 and 2018 were selected from a database of a regional health insurance fund. We created three data sets, one based on all tooth extractions, one on multiple teeth extractions, and one including only single tooth extraction. After data collection, descriptive analysis was carried out. The differences in prescription pattern of antibiotic medicine were tested by χ2test, Student´s t-test or ANOVA.ResultsFrom 43,863 patients with tooth extraction, 53% were female, and 3,983 patients (9.1%) filled a prescription for antibiotic medicine. From 43,863 patients, 157 patients (0.4%) had endocarditis risk, but only 8 patients of these (5.1%) filled an antibiotic prescription. In total, 9,234 patients had multiple and 34,437 patients had only one tooth extraction. Patients with more than one tooth extraction received more often antibiotic treatment (10.7%) compared to those with single tooth extractions (χ2 = 36;p < 0,001). Patients with more than one tooth extraction were older, however, younger patients received antibiotics more frequently (t = 28,774,p = 0.001). There was no relationship with endocarditis risk status. Clindamycin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid were the most frequently prescribed antibiotic medicines.ConclusionsIn this retrospective cohort study, dentists did not discriminate prophylactic antibiotic prescription with regard to endocarditis risk status. A factor influencing prescribing behaviour of antibiotic medicines was the number of extracted teeth.
Do improved structural surroundings reduce restrictive practices in psychiatry?
Authors: Harpøth Astrid , Kennedy Harry , Terkildsen Morten Deleuran , Nørremark Bettina , Carlsen Anders Helles , Sørensen Lisbeth Uhrskov 
Published: November 2022

Abstract
Background and objectives
There is sparse evidence that modern hospital architecture designed to prevent violence and self-harm can prevent restrictive practices (RP). We examine if the use of RPs was reduced by the structural change of relocating a 170-year-old psychiatric university hospital (UH) in Central Denmark Region (CDR) to a new modern purpose-built university hospital.

Methods
The dataset includes all admissions (N = 19.567) and RPs (N = 13.965) in the self-contained CDR one year before and after the relocation of the UH. We compare RPs at the UH a year prior to and after relocation on November 16th (November 2017, November 2019) with RPs at the other psychiatric hospitals (RH) in CDR. We applied linear regression analysis to assess the development in the monthly frequency of RPs pre- and post-relocation and examine underlying trends.

Results
At UH, RPs performed decreased from 4073 to 2585 after relocation, whereas they remained stable (from 3676 to 3631) at RH. Mechanical restraint and involuntary acute medication were aligned at both UH and RH. Using linear regression analysis, we found an overall significant decrease in the use of all restrictive practices at UH with an inclination of -9.1 observations (95% CI − 12.0; − 6.3 p < 0.0001) per month throughout the two-year follow-up. However, the decrease did not deviate significantly from the already downward trend observed one year before relocation. Similar analyses performed for RH showed a stable use of coercion.

Conclusion
The naturalistic features of the design preclude any definitive conclusion whether relocation to a new purpose-built psychiatric hospital decreased the RPs. However, we argue that improving the structural environment at the UH had a sustained effect on the already declining use of RPs, particularly mechanical restraint and involuntary acute medication.