bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The outcomes of revision surgery for a failed ankle arthroplasty
Authors: Jennison Toby , Spolton-Dean Claire , Rottenburg Hannah , Ukoumunne Obioha , Sharpe Ian , Goldberg Andrew 
Published: July 2022

Aims Revision rates for ankle arthroplasties are higher than hip or knee arthroplasties. When a total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) fails, it can either undergo revision to another ankle replacement, revision of the TAA to ankle arthrodesis (fusion), or amputation. Currently there is a paucity of literature on the outcomes of these revisions. The aim of this meta-analysis is to assess the outcomes of revision TAA with respect to surgery type, functional outcomes, and reoperations. Methods A systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cinahl, and Cochrane reviews were searched for relevant papers. Papers analyzing surgical treatment for failed ankle arthroplasties were included. All papers were reviewed by two authors. Overall, 34 papers met the inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of proportions was performed. Results Six papers analyzed all-cause reoperations of revision ankle arthroplasties, and 14 papers analyzed failures of conversion of a TAA to fusion. It was found that 26.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 15.4% to 40.1%) of revision ankle arthroplasties required further surgical intervention and 13.0% (95% CI 4.9% to 23.4%) of conversion to fusions; 14.4% (95% CI 8.4% to 21.4%) of revision ankle arthroplasties failed and 8% (95% CI 4% to 13%) of conversion to fusions failed. Conclusion Revision of primary TAA can be an effective procedure with improved functional outcomes, but has considerable risks of failure and reoperation, especially in those with periprosthetic joint infection. In those who undergo conversion of TAA to fusion, there are high rates of nonunion. Further comparative studies are required to compare both operative techniques. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2022;3(7):596–606.
Antibiotic persistence of intracellular Brucella abortus
Authors: Mode Selma , Ketterer Maren , Québatte Maxime , Dehio Christoph 
Published: July 2022

Background
Human brucellosis caused by the facultative intracellular pathogen Brucella spp. is an endemic bacterial zoonosis manifesting as acute or chronic infections with high morbidity. Treatment typically involves a combination therapy of two antibiotics for several weeks to months, but despite this harsh treatment relapses occur at a rate of 5–15%. Although poor compliance and reinfection may account for a fraction of the observed relapse cases, it is apparent that the properties of the infectious agent itself may play a decisive role in this phenomenon.

Methodology/Principal findings
We used B. abortus carrying a dual reporter in a macrophage infection model to gain a better understanding of the efficacy of recommended therapies in cellulo. For this we used automated fluorescent microscopy as a prime read-out and developed specific CellProfiler pipelines to score infected macrophages at the population and the single cell level. Combining microscopy of constitutive and induced reporters with classical CFU determination, we quantified the protective nature of the Brucella intracellular lifestyle to various antibiotics and the ability of B. abortus to persist in cellulo despite harsh antibiotic treatments.

Conclusion/Significance
We demonstrate that treatment of infected macrophages with antibiotics at recommended concentrations fails to fully prevent growth and persistence of B. abortus in cellulo, which may be explained by a protective nature of the intracellular niche(s). Moreover, we show the presence of bona fide intracellular persisters upon antibiotic treatment, which are metabolically active and retain the full infectious potential, therefore constituting a plausible reservoir for reinfection and relapse. In conclusion, our results highlight the need to extend the spectrum of models to test new antimicrobial therapies for brucellosis to better reflect the in vivo infection environment, and to develop therapeutic approaches targeting the persister subpopulation.
Prevalence and risk factors of coliform-associated mastitis and antibiotic resistance of coliforms from lactating dairy cows in North West Cameroon
Authors: Abegewi Ursula Anneh , Esemu Seraphine Nkie , Ndip Roland N. , Ndip Lucy M. 
Published: July 2022

BackgroundColiform bacteria are major causative agents of bovine mastitis, a disease that has devastating effect on dairy animal health and milk production. This cross-sectional study, carried out in the North West region of Cameroon, sought to determine the prevalence of bovine mastitis, coliforms associated with bovine mastitis, risk factors for infection and the antibiotic resistance pattern of coliform bacterial isolates.Materials and methodsA total of 1608 udder quarters were sampled from 411 cows using a questionnaire, clinical examination, California Mastitis Test and milk culture. Primary isolation of coliform bacteria was done on MacConkey agar while identification of coliforms employed Gram-staining and biochemical testing. Each coliform bacterial isolate was challenged with 11 antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method.ResultsThe prevalence of mastitis was 53.0% (218/411) and 33.1% (532/1608) at the cow- and quarter-levels respectively. Overall, 21.9% (90/411) cows and 8.2% (132/1608) udder quarters showed coliform mastitis.Escherichia coliwas isolated in 7.0% of mastitis milk, and other coliforms isolated wereEnterobacter cloacae(12.6%),Klebsiella pneumoniae(2.4%),Enterobacter sakazakii(1.1%),Klebsiella oxytoca(0.8%),Citrobacter freudii(0.4%),Serratia ficaria(0.4%) andSerratia liquefaciens(0.2%). Lactation stage, breed, history of mastitis and moist/muddy faeces contaminated environment were significantly associated (P-value < 0.05) with coliform mastitis. Coliform isolates (99.0%; 203/205) were resistant to at least one antibiotic tested. Amoxicillin had the highest resistance (88.8%) while norfloxacin had the least resistance (3.4%). Multidrug resistance was exhibited by 52.7% (108/205) of the isolates in a proportion of 27.8%Enterobacter cloacae, 10.7%E.coli, 6.3%Klebsiella pneumoniae, 2.9%Enterobacter sakazakii, 2.0%Klebsiella oxytoca, 1.0%Citrobacter freundii, 1.0%Serratia ficaria, 0.5%Serratia liquefaciensand 0.5%Serratia odorifera.ConclusionResults indicate a need to educate these dairy farmers about mastitis (particularly subclinical), proper hygiene methods in milking and the public health implications of consuming contaminated raw milk.
The assessment of fundus image quality labeling reliability among graders with different backgrounds
Authors: Laurik-Feuerstein Kornélia Lenke , Sapahia Rishav , Cabrera DeBuc Delia , Somfai Gábor Márk 
Published: July 2022

Purpose
For the training of machine learning (ML) algorithms, correctly labeled ground truth data are inevitable. In this pilot study, we assessed the performance of graders with different backgrounds in the labeling of retinal fundus image quality.

Methods
Color fundus photographs were labeled using a Python-based tool using four image categories: excellent (E), good (G), adequate (A) and insufficient for grading (I). We enrolled 8 subjects (4 with and 4 without medical background, groups M and NM, respectively) to whom a tutorial was presented on image quality requirements. We randomly selected 200 images from a pool of 18,145 expert-labeled images (50/E, 50/G, 50/A, 50/I). The performance of the grading was timed and the agreement was assessed. An additional grading round was performed with 14 labels for a more objective analysis.

Results
The median time (interquartile range) for the labeling task with 4 categories was 987.8 sec (418.6) for all graders and 872.9 sec (621.0) vs. 1019.8 sec (479.5) in the M vs. NM groups, respectively. Cohen’s weighted kappa showed moderate agreement (0.564) when using four categories that increased to substantial (0.637) when using only three by merging the E and G groups. By the use of 14 labels, the weighted kappa values were 0.594 and 0.667 when assigning four or three categories, respectively.

Conclusion
Image grading with a Python-based tool seems to be a simple yet possibly efficient solution for the labeling of fundus images according to image quality that does not necessarily require medical background. Such grading can be subject to variability but could still effectively serve the robust identification of images with insufficient quality. This emphasizes the opportunity for the democratization of ML-applications among persons with both medical and non-medical background. However, simplicity of the grading system is key to successful categorization.
Prediction models used in the progression of chronic kidney disease: A scoping review
Authors: Lim David K. E. , Boyd James H. , Thomas Elizabeth , Chakera Aron , Tippaya Sawitchaya , Irish Ashley , Manuel Justin , Betts Kim , Robinson Suzanne 
Published: July 2022

ObjectiveTo provide a review of prediction models that have been used to measure clinical or pathological progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD).DesignScoping review.Data sourcesMedline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus from the year 2011 to 17thFebruary 2022.Study selectionAll English written studies that are published in peer-reviewed journals in any country, that developed at least a statistical or computational model that predicted the risk of CKD progression.Data extractionEligible studies for full text review were assessed on the methods that were used to predict the progression of CKD. The type of information extracted included: the author(s), title of article, year of publication, study dates, study location, number of participants, study design, predicted outcomes, type of prediction model, prediction variables used, validation assessment, limitations and implications.ResultsFrom 516 studies, 33 were included for full-text review. A qualitative analysis of the articles was compared following the extracted information. The study populations across the studies were heterogenous and data acquired by the studies were sourced from different levels and locations of healthcare systems. 31 studies implemented supervised models, and 2 studies included unsupervised models. Regardless of the model used, the predicted outcome included measurement of risk of progression towards end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) of related definitions, over given time intervals. However, there is a lack of reporting consistency on details of the development of their prediction models.ConclusionsResearchers are working towards producing an effective model to provide key insights into the progression of CKD. This review found that cox regression modelling was predominantly used among the small number of studies in the review. This made it difficult to perform a comparison between ML algorithms, more so when different validation methods were used in different cohort types. There needs to be increased investment in a more consistent and reproducible approach for future studies looking to develop risk prediction models for CKD progression.
Descriptive transcriptome analysis of tendon derived fibroblasts following in-vitro exposure to advanced glycation end products
Authors: Patel Shivam H. , Mendias Christopher L. , Carroll Chad C. 
Published: July 2022

Background
Tendon pathologies affect a large portion of people with diabetes. This high rate of tendon pain, injury, and disease appears to manifest independent of well-controlled HbA1c and fasting blood glucose. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are elevated in the serum of those with diabetes. In vitro, AGEs severely impact tendon fibroblast proliferation and mitochondrial function. However, the extent that AGEs impact the tendon cell transcriptome has not been evaluated.

Objective
The purpose of this study was to investigate transcriptome-wide changes that occur to tendon-derived fibroblasts following treatment with AGEs. We propose to complete a descriptive approach to pathway profiling to broaden our mechanistic understanding of cell signaling events that may contribute to the development of tendon pathology.

Methods
Rat Achilles tendon fibroblasts were treated with glycolaldehyde-derived AGEs (200μg/ml) for 48 hours in normal glucose (5.5mM) conditions. In addition, total RNA was isolated, and the PolyA+ library was sequenced.

Results
We demonstrate that tendon fibroblasts treated with 200μg/ml of AGEs differentially express 2,159 gene targets compared to fibroblasts treated with an equal amount of BSA-Control. Additionally, we report in a descriptive and ranked fashion 21 implicated cell-signaling pathways.

Conclusion
Our findings suggest that AGEs disrupt the tendon fibroblast transcriptome on a large scale and that these pathways may contribute to the development and progression of diabetic tendinopathy. Specifically, pathways related to cell cycle progression and extracellular matrix remodeling were affected in our data set and may play a contributing role in the development of diabetic tendon complications.
Influences of parental monitoring and school connectedness on age at first sexual debut among unmarried female youth in Bedele town, Ethiopia: A survival analysis of timing using accelerated failure time model
Authors: Debele Gebiso Roba , Tsegaye Dereje , Gemechu Teshale , Siraj Sabit Zenu 
Published: July 2022

Background
The age of first sexual debut among youth continues to attract interest as it marks the start of their exposure to a variety of sexual and reproductive health problems. Parental monitoring (PM) and school connectedness (SC) has been found to have an effect on this problem. Despite this fact, there is a dearth of literature on implications of PM and SC on age at first sexual debut in Ethiopia. Therefore, this paper examined the influences of PM and SC age at first sexual debut among female youth.

Methods
A retrospective follow-up study was conducted on 470 randomly selected female youth in Bedele town, Oromia regional state, southwest Ethiopia from February 1 to March 30, 2021. The age at first sexual debut was asked in full years for respondents who ever engaged in sexual debut at a time of data collection. Data were entered using Epi-Data version 4.6 and analyzed using Stata version 14. All variables at P-values less than 0.2 in bivariable analysis were exported to multivariable analysis. Multivariable Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) regression analyses using Weibull distribution were used to examine the association of age at first sexual debut with PM and SC at 5% level of significance.

Results
Overall, 132(28.1%) youths were begun sexual activities of which 79.54% was an early (vaginal penetrative sex before 18 years old). The incidence rate was 15.58/1000 PY with 95% CI of [13.14, 18.47]. The result shows that, female youth start first sexual debut as early as 10 year and mean age was 16.89±2.82. Only 27.97% of those who began sexual debut used contraception during first sex. Multivariable Weibull AFT regression analyses adjusted for different variables showed that high PM (Adjusted Time Ratio (ATR) 1.13: 95%CI; [1.04, 1.21]) and good SC (ATR: 1.14: 95% CI; [1.06, 1.22] significantly delays the age at first sexual debut.

Conclusions
Overall, four out of every five premarital sexual activities were early sexual debuts. High PM and high SC significantly decrease early sexual debut by delaying the age of sexual initiation. Therefore, family and school involvement focused on PM and SC of the youth is recommended as an important mechanism for preventing youths’ risky sexual behaviour, including early sexual debut.
Association between visceral fat and influenza infection in Japanese adults: A population-based cross-sectional study
Authors: Kinoshita Keita , Ozato Naoki , Yamaguchi Tohru , Mori Kenta , Katsuragi Yoshihisa , Yasukawa Takuji , Murashita Koichi , Nakaji Shigeyuki , Ihara Kazushige 
Published: July 2022

Background
Several studies have reported that obesity is associated with influenza infection; however, the role of visceral fat remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between visceral fat and influenza infection in community-dwelling Japanese adults.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was performed using data from an annual community-based health check-up conducted from May to June in 2019. In total, 1,040 Japanese adults aged 20–89 years were enrolled in this study. Influenza infection status was determined by participants’ responses to a self-administered questionnaire. The visceral fat area (VFA) was measured using a bioimpedance-type visceral fat meter. Participants were classified into four groups using the following cut-off points: VFA < 100 cm2 was set as the reference category according to the Japanese criteria, 100 ≤ VFA < 150 cm2, 150 ≤ VFA < 200 cm2, and 200 cm2 ≤ VFA. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between VFA and influenza infection.

Results
In total, 119 participants had influenza infections in the past year. In the multivariate adjusted model, a higher VFA was significantly associated with increased influenza infection; the adjusted odds ratio for 200 cm2 ≤ VFA was 5.03 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07–23.6], that for 150 ≤ VFA < 200 cm2 was 1.97 (95% CI: 0.71–5.45), and that for 100 ≤ VFA < 150 cm2 was 1.62 (95% CI: 0.84–3.12), compared with that for VFA < 100 cm2 (p for trend = 0.049). These findings were confirmed in the same cohort the following year.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that visceral fat accumulation is associated with influenza infection. Large-scale prospective studies using diagnostic information for influenza infection are required to confirm this association.
Cardiac ion channel expression in the equine model ‐ In‐silico prediction utilising RNA sequencing data from mixed tissue samples
Authors: Premont Antoine , Saadeh Khalil , Edling Charlotte , Lewis Rebecca , Marr Celia M. , Jeevaratnam Kamalan 
Published: July 2022

AbstractUnderstanding cardiomyocyte ion channel expression is crucial to understanding normal cardiac electrophysiology and underlying mechanisms of cardiac pathologies particularly arrhythmias. Hitherto, equine cardiac ion channel expression has rarely been investigated. Therefore, we aim to predict equine cardiac ion channel gene expression. Raw RNAseq data from normal horses from 9 datasets was retrieved from ArrayExpress and European Nucleotide Archive and reanalysed. The normalised (FPKM) read counts for a gene in a mix of tissue were hypothesised to be the average of the expected expression in each tissue weighted by the proportion of the tissue in the mix. The cardiac‐specific expression was predicted by estimating the mean expression in each other tissues. To evaluate the performance of the model, predicted gene expression values were compared to the human cardiac gene expression. Cardiac‐specific expression could be predicted for 91 ion channels including most expressed Na+ channels, K+ channels and Ca2+‐handling proteins. These revealed interesting differences from what would be expected based on human studies. These differences included predominance of NaV1.4 rather than NaV1.5 channel, and RYR1, SERCA1 and CASQ1 rather than RYR2, SERCA2, CASQ2 Ca2+‐handling proteins. Differences in channel expression not only implicate potentially different regulatory mechanisms but also pathological mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis.
التبادل والتكامل بين الثقافتين الصينية والعربية الوسطي والتوفيقية من منظور / Inter-communication and Mutual Reference Between Chinese and Arab Civilizations: Based on the Perspective of the Golden Mean and Conciliation
Authors: Minyan Wu 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
The two ideas of moderation and syncretism are among the most distinctive ideas about the Chinese and Arab cultures, as they are similar in many aspects, such as the historical ground of their formation and development, the problems they are trying to address and the questions they raise, and moral, spirit and values that can be read through them. Comparing these two ideas contributes to a deep understanding of the values and ideas they share, as this comparison provides a solid basis for achieving exchange and integration between them. This kind of communication and exchange is particularly urgent in the context of realizing the “Belt and Road” slogan and the slogan of “A common future for mankind.” At the same time, it is necessary to recognize the differences between the two cultures when making the comparison, so the path leading to the integration of the Chinese and Arab cultures must be through adherence to the ideas of mutual understanding and openness advocated by both moderation and syncreticism, with awareness of their own identity.
التبادل الصيني العربي والثقافة العربية في الصين في عهد أسرتي مينغ وتشينغ / The Friendly Exchanges Between China and Arab Countries During Ming and Qing Dynasties
Authors: Yueyang Chen 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
The friendly exchanges between China and Arab countries have a long history. During Ming and Qing Dynasties, the cultural exchange between China and Arab countries was gradually shifted from the material level in Tang and Song Dynasties to the spiritual level. During that period, with the increase in the number of Muslims in China, and the deepening of Chinese people’s interest to the Arab world, research on the history and geography of Arab countries was strengthened, and traditional Chinese Confucian ideology was combined with the ideology of Arab Islamic culture, which promoted the integration and dialogue between Chinese Muslims and people who believed in Confucianism, and made Arab Islamic culture and Chinese culture have a deeper integration.
The effect of cutoff angle on the head pressure underneath dams constructed on soils having rectangular void
Authors: Musa Taghreed Abd-Almahdee , Shlash Marwah Abdullah , Mohammed Hayder Sami 
Published: July 2022

Abstract
In this research, a hydraulic model is used to find the effect of the cutoff angle and dimensions of the void in the soil on the head pressure and leakage under the dam, and finding the best angle and size of the void will have a positive effect. The model was designed with a cutoff that can be moved in three angles (45°, 90° and 135°) in the center of the dam and three ratios of void dimensions (width of the void (W)/the dam width (b) = 0, 0.34 and 0.69) were taken. Head pressure was measured using a piezometer installed in the front of the model. When the flow reached the balance, leakage and pressure head were measured. From the results, it was observed that the lowest head pressure value occurs when the angle is 90° and the void ratio is 0.69. The principles of dimensional analysis and non-linear regression by using IBM SPSS 19 were used to find an empirical formula for the computation of the head pressure depending on the angle of the cutoff and the size of the void.
Heterogeneous capital tax competition in a federation with asymmetric tax compliance
Authors: Grazzini Lisa , Petretto Alessandro 
Published: July 2022

AbstractIn a federal country with two regions, consumers can decide not only the region where to invest, but also the type of capital investment. We analyse how such decision is affected by the fact that a first type of capital is taxed at a regional level while a second one is taxed at a federal level with tax compliance for federal taxation varying across regions. A standard horizontal tax competition arises for the first type of capital across regions. Instead, vertical tax competition arising between the regional and the federal level is not standard because there is not tax base overlap between the two tiers of government. However, both regional and federal tax bases are affected by tax policies decided by each level of government via capital movements from one type of capital towards the other one. Our main result shows under which conditions an increase in federal taxation in response to an increase in tax noncompliance may be less severe than in a set-up with only one type of capital because of capital flights arising not only across regions, but also across different types of capital investment.