bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Need for standardization and harmonization of Helicobacter pylori antimicrobial susceptibility testing
Authors: Li Hong , Shen Yalin , Song Xiaona , Tang Xiaoqiong , Hu Renwei , Marshall Barry James , Tang Hong , Benghezal Mohammed 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackground and aimsAs with other infectious diseases, Helicobacter pylori eradication regimens should be guided by susceptibility testing to achieve excellent success rate, especially in the era of high antibiotic resistance. However, susceptibility testing for H. pylori is rarely performed, which can be partly ascribed to the current lack of standardization of testing methods and the lack of unified consensus on the antibiotic resistance breakpoints. The aim of this review was to call for an international consensus on standardization and harmonization of H. pylori susceptibility testing.MethodsWe summarize and compare the advantages and disadvantages of four different phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods (agar dilution, E‐test, disk diffusion, and broth microdilution) and the molecular susceptibility testing method for H. pylori.ResultsThe standard phenotypic testing methods and the molecular testing methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. Compared to the standard phenotypic methods, the molecular testing method does not require successful H. pylori culture, and therefore, is much more rapid and convenient for clinical use. However, the currently available molecular testing method is only suitable for detecting clarithromycin and quinolone susceptibility profiles in H. pylori. Although the standard AST is time‐consuming, it is currently the only way to test the susceptibility of H. pylori to all the commonly used antibiotics.ConclusionTo make H. pylori susceptibility testing become a clinical routine, an international consensus on standardization and harmonization of H. pylori AST is needed. Future efforts are needed for optimizing broth culture of H. pylori, and developing commercial AST plates for achieving high throughput and automated susceptibility testing for H. pylori.
Effects of enhanced education for patients with the Helicobacter pylori infection: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zha Jing , Li Yue‐yue , Qu Jun‐yan , Yang Xiao‐xiao , Han Zhong‐xue , Zuo Xiuli 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackgroundHelicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections are of serious concern due to the associated risk of gastric cancer. However, many patients have poor medication and therapy compliance, which makes it difficult to eradicate their infections. This points to the need for stronger educational interventions aimed at enhancing compliance, thus increasing the potential for treatment success. As such, this study conducted a meta‐analysis to clarify the effects of enhanced patient education (EPE) programs for H. pylori.Materials and MethodsWe searched electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on health education for patients infected with H. pylori from inception to June 2021. The primary outcome was the eradication rate of H. pylori, while the secondary outcomes included the incidence of individual adverse symptoms, treatment compliance, clinical symptom remission after treatment, and patient satisfaction. We used the fixed or random‐effects model to pool the risk ratio (RR), with 95% confidence interval. We also conducted sensitivity and subgroup analyses.ResultsOur search returned seven relevant studies across a total of 1,433 patients. Compared with controls, EPE was significantly associated with improved H. pylori eradication rates (RR = 1.16, 95%CI: 1.04–1.29, p = 0.006) and patient compliance (RR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.14–1.93, p = 0.003). A subgroup analysis also showed that EPE benefits were consistent across patients with different eradication programs, WeChat intervention plans, and intervention frequencies (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the total adverse effects, common side effects (diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, taste disorder, and skin rash), or discontinuation rate (p > 0.05).ConclusionsPatient education is inexpensive, safe, and convenient. In this context, our findings suggest that enhanced educational interventions have positive effects on both the H. pylori eradication rate and adherence among infected patients, and thus constitute promising complements to clinical treatment regimens.
Needs assessment for health service design for people with back pain in a hospital setting: A qualitative study
Authors: Gorgon Edward , Maka Katherine , Kam Andrew , Nisbet Gillian , Sullivan Justin , Regan Gerard , Pourkazemi Fereshteh , Lin Jianhua , Mohamed Mahmoud , Leaver Andrew 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackgroundThere is a need for effective health service solutions to provide greater structure and support for implementing evidence‐based practice in back pain care. Patient involvement in developing these solutions is crucial to increase relevance, acceptability and uptake.ObjectivesTo determine patients' perceived needs and barriers to best‐practice back pain care, and potential solutions to better address care needs. The study is the third in a series of needs assessment studies feeding into the ‘idea generation’ for service design in a large teaching hospital in a culturally and linguistically diverse community in metropolitan Sydney, Australia.DesignWe conducted a combination of focus groups and in‐depth interviews using an interpretive description approach. We used inductive thematic analysis to identify the main themes.Setting and ParticipantsWe purposively sampled patients with diverse characteristics from the neurosurgery and physiotherapy outpatient clinics, in particular those whose primary language was English, Arabic, Persian or Mandarin. Non‐English audio recordings were translated and transcribed by bilingual researchers.ResultsThere were 24 participants (focus groups = 9; individual interviews = 15) when data saturation was reached. The analysis identified three key themes with several subthemes around what service designers needed to understand in helping people with back pain in this setting: (1) This is who I am; (2) It's not working for me; and (3) What I think I need.Discussion and ConclusionThis study highlights that perceived unmet needs of patients are underpinned by unhelpful beliefs about the causes of and solutions for back pain, misaligned care expectations, unclear expectations of the hospital role and fragmentations in the health system. To design and implement a service that can deliver better back pain care, several solutions need to be integrated around: developing new resources that challenge unhelpful beliefs and set realistic expectations; improving access to education and self‐management resources; focusing on individualized care; using a collaborative multidisciplinary approach within the hospital; and better connecting with and directing primary health care services.Patient or Public ContributionA consumer representative of the Western Sydney Local Health District provided input during study conceptualisation and is duly recognized in the Acknowledgements section.
Barriers and facilitators of implementing an information system for health grey literature in Iran: Experts’ views and perspectives
Authors: Mirzaei Abbas , Panahi Sirous , Langarizadeh Mostafa , Sedghi Shahram 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackgroundDespite the importance of health grey literature, there is not a comprehensive information system for managing these valuable resources in Iran.ObjectivesThis study aimed at identifying the barriers to and facilitators of implementing a comprehensive national information system for health grey literature.Material and methodThis study applied the qualitative research method. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted among 19 experts in related fields. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data in MAXQDA. The data were codified and revised constantly and classified in some selected main and sub‐categories based on their relative similarities and differences.ResultsData analysis identified some barriers to the implementation of an information system for health grey literature in Iran, including two main categories (and some sub‐categories): managerial issues (performance related issues, coordination issues, monitoring and supervision issues and attitudinal issues) and issues on data integration (data collecting issues, data recording issues, quality control issues, and issues on data organization, dissemination and use).ConclusionDesigning a national system for health grey literature in Iran needs a powerful authority, removing possible intersectional conflicts, a selection committee, written policies and strict quality control criteria, and protocols for storage, access, retrieval and metadata evaluation.
Hepatitis C virus micro‐elimination within a clinic for people with HIV: challenges in the home stretch
Authors: Hanna Jaklin , Sufian Jihan , Suh Jin S. , Jimenez Humberto R. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectivesTo describe a pharmacist‐led campaign aimed at reducing the proportion of people with HIV with ongoing chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and delineating barriers to HCV care in this patient population.MethodsAn electronic report and retrospective chart review were used to identify patients who remained with HCV infections after a previous treatment initiative. A clinical pharmacist and pharmacy resident approached the remaining HCV patients during their routine visits for HIV care to offer and coordinate direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) treatment. The primary end‐point was to compare the prevalence of chronic HCV before and after the intervention period. Barriers to care were also evaluated, with logistic regression performed to identify predictors of sustained virologic response (SVR) attainment.ResultsForty‐six patients were included in the analysis (4.2% of clinic population), with HCV prevalence falling to 0.6% (six patients) by the end of the study (p < 0.0001). The HCV care cascade in the cohort was as follows: 70% agreed to and received DAA therapy, 63% initiated therapy, and 50% achieved SVR. The top barriers to care at baseline included recreational drug use (67%), poor engagement in care (61%), and mental health disorders (28%). Poor engagement in care and active recreational drug use were associated with decreased odds of achieving SVR in bivariate analysis.ConclusionsA coordinated effort can make strides towards reducing the overall burden of HCV in this challenging population. The HCV care cascade remains tied to the HIV continuum of care, with poor engagement in care remaining an important rate‐limiting step impeding micro‐elimination.
Ex vivo study of IL‐6 expression and function in immune cell subsets from human periapical lesions
Authors: Džopalić Tanja , Tomić Sergej , Bekić Marina , Vučević Dragana , Mihajlović Dušan , Eraković Mile , Čolić Miodrag 
Published: February 2022

AbstractAimEven though IL‐6 is a key inflammatory cytokine in periapical lesions (PLs), its function in stable periapical disease is unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the following: first, the ex vivo production of IL‐6 by clinically different PLs; next, subsets of immune cells expressing IL‐6 in PLs according to their inflammatory status and finally, modulatory effect of IL‐6 on T‐cell cytokine production in cell cultures.MethodologyInflammatory cells were isolated from a total of 95 human PLs. Detection of IL‐6+ cells within the myeloid and lymphoid populations was performed by multicolour flow cytometry. ELISA and FlowCytomix Microbeads Assay were used to measure cytokine levels in culture supernatants. To study the role of IL‐6 in PLs, mononuclear cells (MNC) from symptomatic (Sy) or asymptomatic (Asy) PLs were treated with IL‐6 or Tocilizumab, an IL‐6R blocking antibody. The differences between groups were tested by unpaired t‐test, Mann–Whitney or Friedman tests.ResultsThe levels of IL‐6 in PL MNC culture supernatants were significantly higher compared with total PL cells and PL granulocytes (p < .001). MNC from Sy PLs produced significantly higher levels of IL‐6 than MNC from Asy PLs (p < .001). Flow cytometry analysis showed that NKT cells, CD8+ T cells and M2 macrophages (MØ), were dominant IL‐6+ cells, in contrast to CD4+ T cells. However, CD8+ and CD4+ T cells contributed the most to IL‐6 production. IL‐6hi producing MNC cultures had higher levels of Th1 (IFN‐γ), Th17 (IL‐17A), Tfh (IL‐21) and RANKL, whereas Th2 (IL‐4) and Tregs cytokines (IL‐10, TGF‐β) were lower compared with IL‐6low‐producing cultures. Exogenous IL‐6 stimulated 17A, IL‐21 and RANKL, independently of PL activation status, but decreased IFN‐γ, IL‐4 and IL‐33 levels in IL‐6hi‐producing cultures. Tocilizumab increased IL‐10 and TGF‐β in IL‐6low‐producing cultures. All differences were p < .05.ConclusionsMost immune cells from Sy PLs expressed higher levels of IL‐6 compared with Asy PLs, which correlated with IL‐6 production in culture. Analysis of cytokines suggested a dominant pro‐inflammatory T‐cell response and osteodestructive function of IL‐6 in PLs judging by Th17/Tfh cell activation, Tregs inhibition and increased RANKL/OPG ratio. Excessive IL‐6 production decreased Th1/Th2 responses.
Preparation and characterization of Nextel 720/alumina ceramic matrix composites via an improved prepreg process
Authors: Li Hao , Yang Fucai , Zhang Bo‐xing , Guo Ying , Han Weijian , Zhao Tong , Qiu Wenfeng 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn this work, the Nextel 720 continuous fiber reinforced alumina ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) were prepared by an improved prepreg process. The alumina matrix was derived from aqueous slurry, which consisted of organic glue, alumina sol, nanometer alumina powders, and micrometer alumina powders. This design provided a densely packed matrix for the CMC, and made the whole process relatively simple. The ratio of different alumina components in aqueous slurry was optimized to obtain good sintering activity, high thermal resistance, and excellent mechanical properties simultaneously. Furthermore, a preceramic polymer of mullite was used to strengthen the ceramic matrix through a multiple infiltration process. The final CMC sample achieved a high flexural strength of 255 MPa and a good high‐temperature stability. After 24 h of heat treatment at 1100°C, 85% of the maximum flexural strength still had been retained.
Consumers’ brand personality perceptions in a digital world: A systematic literature review and research agenda
Authors: Ghorbani Mijka , Karampela Maria , Tonner Andrea 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn a digital world, it is becoming increasingly important for marketing researchers and practitioners to understand how consumers attribute humanlike characteristics and personality traits to brands, as the brand's personality has a significant influence on consumers’ behavior and their brand relationships. However, despite a growth in research interest over the past two decades, the literature on consumers’ digital brand personality perceptions remains fragmented and dispersed across digital contexts. Thus, now is an opportune time to take stock of the field and build a knowledge foundation for future research to establish the domain of digital brand personality. To this end, this systematic literature review, based on the TCCM framework, identifies dominant theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies used to study consumers’ digital brand personality perceptions by systematically reviewing 107 peer‐reviewed journal articles published between 2005 and 2021. Using an in‐depth content analysis of the articles, this review integrates research findings from different digital contexts and provides a new conceptual framework of digital brand personality. The review concludes with a comprehensive research agenda that highlights the need to broaden the theoretical groundings of the field (theory); identifies numerous digital touchpoints and new technologies that remain underexplored (context); reveals inconsistencies and knowledge gaps regarding dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of digital brand personality (characteristics); and suggests diverse, digital‐based research approaches (methodology) to further advance the study of consumers’ digital brand personality perceptions.
The mediating role of parental embodied mentalizing in the longitudinal association between prenatal spousal support and toddler emotion recognition
Authors: Afek Einav , Lev‐Wiesel Rachel , Federman Dita , Shai Dana 
Published: February 2022

AbstractEmotion recognition is an important developmental achievement in early childhood. Grounded in theoretical concepts of family systems theory and the spillover effect, the goal of the current study was to examine whether prenatal spousal support predicts toddler emotion recognition at 24 months, and whether this association is mediated by parental embodied mentalizing (PEM) at 6 months. PEM refers to the parent's capacity to understand the infant's mental states from his or her whole‐body kinesthetic expressions and adjust their own kinesthetic patterns accordingly. One hundred and five families expecting their first child were included in the study. Results indicated that maternal PEM mediated the relationship between prenatal dyadic positive and overall support and toddler emotion recognition. Paternal PEM was not found to be related to either dyadic support or to toddler emotion recognition, and it did not mediate the relationship between the two. The findings of the current study support the importance of including both parents’ embodied mentalizing and a systemic approach to illuminate child development. A significant clinical implication from this study is the usefulness of prenatal couple interventions to improve mutual support and communication as it can promote parents’ parental mentalizing and ultimately the child's emotion recognition capacity.
Sustainable development amidst technological innovation and tourism activities in sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Alola Uju Violet , Bekun Festus Victor , Alola Andrew Adewale , Ahmed Zafar U 
Published: February 2022

AbstractFollowing global debate on clean and responsible access to energy (electricity), access to recreation (tourism), technological innovation, and economic growth for sustainable development as captured by the Human Development Index (HDI), the present study is motivated by the inconclusive guidance found in the literature on technology, tourism industry, and energy. This study adopts the Pedroni residual cointegration test to investigate the cointegration properties of the variables under consideration, while the mean group (MG), dynamic fixed effect (DFE), and the pooled mean group (PMG) estimators are employed for simultaneous short‐ and long‐run analysis. The study is based on annual frequency data from 1995 to 2016 with the adoption of panel analysis to show that technological innovation, tourism development, and access to electricity affected the HDI significantly in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) over the investigated study period. This is instructive for policymakers, as the highlighted sectors are good predictors of sustainable development. Furthermore, consolidating the results that tourism development, electricity access, and technological innovation improves economic development. On the other hand, the growth‐induced, HDI‐fitted model reflects the importance of the examined variables in the sustainable development agenda of the continent. For instance, a 1% increase in tourism increases economic growth by 0.0195%. Similarly, a 1% increase in access to electricity and technological development increases economic growth by 0.0019% and 0.0009%, respectively. In conclusion, this study highlights the multifaceted merits that can be gleaned from access to electricity, tourism, and technological innovation in SSA, as they improve economic growth and HDI indicators that comprise life expectancy, quality education, and per capita income level.
Hoplonemertean larvae are planktonic predators that capture and devour active animal prey
Authors: von Dassow George , Mendes Cecili B. , Robbins Kara , Andrade Sónia C. S. , Maslakova Svetlana A. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe superficially simple ciliated planktonic larvae of hoplonemerteans have been assumed to be lecithotrophic direct developers, even though many develop from such small eggs that it is hard to imagine how they could give rise to a viable juvenile without some phase of larval feeding. Indeed, attempts to raise such larvae to settlement without food invariably fail. Observations that some hoplonemertean larvae are found in plankton samples at a range of sizes, and much larger than hatchlings, suggest that they must indeed feed somehow. Because these so‐called planuliform larvae lack apparent means to concentrate suspended algae or other unicellular food, one alternative hypothesis is that they are planktonic predators that hunt large prey. Here we provide direct evidence that this is indeed the case for six distinct species of hoplonemerteans. We recorded wild‐caught larvae of Paranemertes californica, Paranemertes sp., Gurjanovella littoralis, Emplectonema viride, Carcinonemertes epialti, and Ototyphlonemertes sp. attacking, subduing, and devouring pelagic crustaceans, including barnacle nauplii, cyprids, copepods and their nauplii, and others. Although there is no doubt that some hoplonemerteans are genuine lecithotrophs, our evidence suggests that many species in this group both feed and grow during an extended planktonic larval period. This conclusion has important consequences for biogeographic and life history studies in this group, because it implies enhanced potential for long‐distance dispersal. More broadly, the possibility that many animal larvae are actually carnivores invites reconsideration of prevailing stereotypes about metazoan developmental modes and the trade‐offs between them.