bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Frequency of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Patients with Peptic Ulcer
Referred to the Endoscopy Departments of Khorramabad City Hospitals,
Iran, During 2013-2016
Authors: Ramezani Fatemeh , Shakib Pegah , Soroush Setareh , Rezaei Faranak , Moradniani Mosayeb , Delfani Somayeh 
Published: February 2022

Background:
The present study investigated the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection
in peptic ulcer patients referred to the endoscopy departments in Khorramabad hospitals during 2013-
2016.

Methods:
The early pool of the study included all patients who had been referred to the endoscopy
department and whose endoscopic and pathology reports were available and complete. After recording
endoscopic reports, 1224 peptic ulcer (gastric or duodenal ulcer) cases, in which biopsy assays were
performed to examine the type of ulcer and the presence of Helicobacter pylori bacteria, were selected.
Pathology reports were collected by referring to the pathology departments. The information in the
pathology report, including demographic information, was included in a pre-designed questionnaire to
match the endoscopic reports, the location of the pathology sample, and other details, including the
presence or absence of Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS, version
21.

Results:
For all the 1224 patients studied, the mean age was 15.5 ± 17.5 years old. A total of 664
(54.2%) cases had gastric ulcers, 445 (36.4%) cases had duodenal ulcers, and 115 (9.4%) had both
gastric and duodenal ulcers. Among gastric ulcer patients, 512 (65.7%) had a gastric ulcer in the antrum
area, and 74.3% (579 patients) of the gastric ulcers were clean base type.

Conclusion:
The prevalence of infection was statistically significant in terms of the type, location, and
number of peptic ulcers, including both gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
A Framework for Estimating Future Traffic Operation and Safety Performance of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) Intersections
Authors: Molan Amirarsalan M. , Howard Jonathan , Islam Mouyid , Pande Anurag 
Published: February 2022

Background:
Despite numerous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) intersection design, its implementation remains uneven and close to zero in some large states, including California. This paper provides a comprehensive framework to estimate the operational and safety performance of future RCUT designs. The framework is demonstrated for a geometrically constrained intersection located on a high-speed rural expressway. The operational evaluation relies on microscopic simulation models of existing TWSC and alternate RCUT designs used to estimate network-wide performance measures.

Methods:
Two approaches are demonstrated for future safety estimation; first, an HSM-prescribed Empirical Bayes (EB) approach that uses Safety Performance Function (SPF) predictions combined with the crash history of the site. For typical applications, EB estimates may be combined with CMFs for RCUT found in the literature. This approach remains the preferred option for safety estimation. However, for geometrically constrained locations where atypical RCUT designs need to be evaluated, a surrogate measure-based approach that uses trajectory data from the simulation model is described.

Results:
Surrogate measure-based safety analysis revelated that the RCUT design with no-left turn from mainline would be the most appropriate design for this location.

Conclusion:
The framework demonstrated here may be used by agencies to estimate the future benefits of the first-time application of treatments that have been successful elsewhere.
Effectiveness of Mobile Phone and Web-Based Interventions for Diabetes and Obesity Among African American and Hispanic Adults in the United States: Systematic Review
Authors: Enyioha Chineme , Hall Matthew , Voisin Christiane , Jonas Daniel 
Published: February 2022

Background
Mobile health (mHealth) and web-based technological advances allow for new approaches to deliver behavioral interventions for chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. African American and Hispanic adults experience a disproportionate burden of major chronic diseases.

Objective
This paper reviews the evidence for mHealth and web-based interventions for diabetes and obesity in African American and Hispanic adults.

Methods
Literature searches of PubMed/Medline, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, Global Health, Scopus, and Library & Information Science Source were conducted for relevant English-language articles. Articles identified through searches were reviewed by 2 investigators and, if they met the inclusion criteria, were extracted and assessed for risk of bias. Findings were summarized in tabular and narrative format. The overall strength of the evidence was assessed as high, moderate, low, or insufficient on the basis of risk of bias, consistency of findings, directness, precision, and other limitations.

Results
Searches yielded 2358 electronic publications, 196 reports were found to be eligible for inclusion, and 7 studies met the eligibility criteria. All 7 included studies were randomized control trials. Five studies evaluated the effectiveness of an mHealth intervention for weight loss, including one that evaluated the effectiveness for diabetes and two studies focused on diabetes. Of all the studies that focused on weight loss, 3 reported significant differences in weight loss in participants in the intervention group compared with those in the usual care group. Although all studies on diabetes control showed greater improvement in glycemic control for the intervention group compared to that in the control group, only one study showed a significant difference between the 2 groups.

Conclusions
This analysis indicates that there are few published studies that assessed mHealth interventions among minority populations and focused on weight or diabetes. Although the overall strength of evidence was low for diabetes control, it was moderate for weight loss, and our findings suggest that mHealth and web-based interventions may provide a promising approach for interventions among African American and Hispanic adults who have obesity or diabetes.
Assessing the Legal Aspects of Information Security Requirements for Health Care in 3 Countries: Scoping Review and Framework Development
Authors: Yeng Prosper Kandabongee , Fauzi Muhammad Ali , Sun Luyi , Yang Bian 
Published: February 2022

Background
The loss of human lives from cyberattacks in health care is no longer a probabilistic quantification but a reality that has begun. In addition, the threat scope is also expanding to involve a threat of national security, among others, resulting in surging data breaches within the health care sector. For that matter, there have been provisions of various legislation, regulations, and information security governance tools such as policies, standards, and directives toward enhancing health care information security–conscious care behavior among users. Meanwhile, in a research scenario, there are no comprehensive required security practices to serve as a yardstick in assessing security practices in health care. Moreover, an analysis of the holistic view of the requirements that need more concentration of management, end users, or both has not been comprehensively developed. Thus, there is a possibility that security practice research will leave out vital requirements.

Objective
The objective of this study was to systematically identify, assess, and analyze the state-of-the-art information security requirements in health care. These requirements can be used to develop a framework to serve as a yardstick for measuring the future real security practices of health care staff.

Methods
A scoping review was, as a result, adopted to identify, assess, and analyze the information security requirement sources within health care in Norway, Indonesia, and Ghana.

Results
Of 188 security and privacy requirement sources that were initially identified, 130 (69.1%) were fully read by the authors. Subsequently, of these 188 requirement documents, 82 (43.6%) fully met the inclusion criteria and were accessed and analyzed. In total, 253 security and privacy requirements were identified in this work. The findings were then used to develop a framework to serve as a benchmark for modeling and analyzing health care security practices.

Conclusions
On the basis of these findings, a framework for modeling, analyzing, and developing effective security countermeasures, including incentivization measures, was developed. Following this framework, research results of health care security practices would be more reliable and effective than relying on incomprehensive security requirements.
Behavioral and Emotional Problems Among Jordanian and Syrian Refugee Children in Noncamp Settings
Authors: Sarsour Bayan , Aqel Sr Ashraf , Khader Yousef 
Published: February 2022

Background
Refugee children have an increased risk of physical and psychological illness. Data on behavioral and emotional problems among Jordanian and Syrian refugee children in noncamp settings are scarce.

Objective
This study aimed to assess the behavioral and emotional problems among Syrian school children refugees living outside camps in Jordan and their Jordanian counterparts.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among Syrian and Jordanian school children, aged 12-17 years, studying in the same schools in 4 Jordanian cities with the highest density of Syrian refugees. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect information about the sociodemographic characteristics of the children. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to measure behavioral and emotional problems among these children.

Results
This study included a total of 1878 Jordanian adolescents (45.6% male and 54.4% female) and 1773 Syrian refugee adolescents (43.9% male and 56.1% female). The parents of the Syrian adolescents were significantly less educated and had significantly lower total family income than Jordanian parents. More than half of the Jordanian and Syrian adolescents had peer relation problems (53.6% and 55.5%, respectively), 36.9% of Jordanian and 35.5% of Syrian adolescents had hyperactivity or inattention problems, 44.8% of Jordanian and 47.6% of Syrian adolescents had conduct problems, and 30.8% of Jordanian and 32.0% of Syrian adolescents had emotional symptoms. On the other hand, 43.0% of Jordanian and 42.5% of Syrian adolescents had prosocial behaviors. In the multivariate analysis, Jordanian and Syrian children differed significantly in emotional symptoms and peer relationship problems. Compared with Jordanian children, Syrian children were less likely to experience emotional problems (odds ratio 0.81; P=.04) and peer relationship problems (odd ratio 0.80; P=.03).

Conclusions
Emotional and behavioral problems are common among Syrian refugee schoolchildren as well as Jordanian school children. They are all in need of urgent psychosocial support.
Estimation of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure on COVID-19 Management Among Patients Treated at Home, Iraq, 2020
Authors: Abdul kader Saeed Falah , Lami Faris 
Published: February 2022

Background
There is a global consensus that the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis has had a substantial effect on health programs and health insurance, with losses of jobs and rising prices causing growing poverty.

Objective
This study aims to estimate the out-of-pocket expenditure spent on the management of patients with COVID-19 exclusively treated at home.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted, and data were collected from participating patients with COVID-19 in Iraq through snowball sampling by using a questionnaire. Enrollment occurred from November 1 to December 31, 2020, and excluded individuals who were entering the hospitals.

Results
Among 589 participating patients with COVID-19, 328 (55.7%) were female. Female patients spent more than male patients to get cured of the illness; the mean amount of money spent by women was statistically higher than men (IQD 644,617 [US $402] and IQD 461,653 [US $307], respectively). The average total money expenditures spent was IQD 643,304 (US $428; range IQD 505,096-5,595,000 [US $336-US $3730]) among patients exclusively treated at home. The average money spent by patients with inadequate monthly income (IQD 901,424 [US $600], range IQD 220,000-5,260,000 [US $140-US $3500]) was significantly more than patients with adequate monthly income (IQD 613,252 [US $400], range IQD 48,000-5,500,000 [US $32-US $3600]). Patients with COVID-19 (25.5%) who had chronic diseases spent significantly more money (IQD 696,330 [US $460]) than those without the chronic disease (IQD 625,185 [US $416]).

Conclusions
Financial burdens affected the purchasing power and the economic situation on the management of patients with COVID-19 exclusively treated at home.
Sex-Based Variations in the Clinical Manifestations, Comorbidities, and Outcomes of Patients With COVID-19 in Baghdad, Iraq, 2020
Authors: Ali Nameer A , Lami Faris 
Published: February 2022

Background
A higher incidence of COVID-19 in males has been widely reported. However, whether clinical manifestations, comorbidities, severity, and outcomes differ between males and females remains an area of active investigation.

Objective
We aimed to compare the clinical features, comorbidities, severity, and outcomes between male and female patients with COVID-19 from Baghdad, Iraq, in 2020.

Methods
We performed a records-based cross-sectional study by extracting sociodemographic, clinical manifestation, severity, and outcome data from the records of patients with COVID-19 admitted to 2 COVID-19 hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, between June and August 2020.

Results
We reviewed a total of 2111 patient records with a history of COVID-19, and 1175 (55.7%) patients were males. We found that respiratory symptoms, sore throat, and gastrointestinal manifestations were significantly more common among females. In contrast, males had significantly more “other” manifestations. No significant difference was noted for fever, nasal congestion, conjunctival congestion, headache, and musculoskeletal manifestations. Generally, female patients had a significantly higher proportion of comorbidities than males (42.7% vs 36%; P=.002). The proportion of severe and critical cases was not different between males and females. The mean time from diagnosis to the outcome was significantly longer in females (P=.03), but the duration of the hospital stay was not significantly different between males and females. Finally, the case fatality ratio was higher in males (16.1%) than in females (13.2%).

Conclusions
Sex affects the clinical course and outcomes of patients with COVID-19. Male patients may need more attention, considering the higher case fatality ratio.
Role of Rapid Response Teams in Response to Outbreaks in Yemen, 2020: Descriptive Study
Authors: Qaserah Abdulqawi , Anam Labiba , Alyosfi Reema 
Published: February 2022

Background
Yemen has been increasingly reporting public health emergencies (eg, cholera). The Ministry of Public Health and Population (MoPH&P) has put in place the Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) mechanism from the national to district level to investigate and initiate the response to public health emergencies. An RRT is a technical, multidisciplinary team that is readily available for quick mobilization and deployment in case of emergencies.

Objective
The aim of this analysis was to summarize the role of RRTs in response to outbreaks in Yemen during 2020.

Methods
Data were obtained from the electronic Diseases Early Warning System (eDEWS) in Excel format covering the period from January to December 2020, including governorates, diseases, and other variables. Data were cleaned and analyzed using Excel 2013. Qualitative data are summarized as percentages. Data are presented using tables, graphs, and maps.

Results
A total of 39,451 field descents were performed. Nearly half of the activities (n=18,565, 47.06%) were for outbreak investigation of various infectious diseases, including cholera (n=9030), severe acute respiratory infection (n=1949), diphtheria (n=1532), measles (n=1328), malaria (n=1012), dengue fever (n=1008), pertussis (n=803), mumps (n=676), chickenpox (n=583), acute flaccid paralysis (n=482), and meningitis (n=162). Approximately 1747 (4.43%) supervision visits were implemented. Regarding health education, 19,139 (48.51%) health education sessions were executed, with 3419 (17.86%) performed at health facilities and 15,720 (82.14%) performed outside health facilities (eg, schools and outdoors). A total of 559,805 people attended the health education sessions.

Conclusions
RRTs support the MoPH&P in reducing or “slowing down” disease transmission as quickly as possible through various activities such as outbreak investigations and health education. Therefore, there is a strong need to continue supporting the RRTs financially and logistically by donors. In addition, governmental financial support to the RRTs is highly recommended to ensure the sustainability of the program.
Public Health Workers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding COVID-19: The Impact of the Field Epidemiology Training Program in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Authors: Sami Sahar , Lami Faris , Rashak Hiba Abdulrahman , Al Nsour Mohannad , Eid Alaa , Khader Yousef , Afifi Sr Salma , Elfadul Maisa , Ghaleb Yasser , Letaief Hajer , Ben Alaya Nissaf , Ikram Aamer , Akhtar Hashaam , Barkia Sr Abdelaziz , Taha Hana Ahmad , Adam Reema , Islam Saeed Sr Khwaja Mir , Almudarra Sami , Hassany Mohamed , Abu El Sood Hanaa , ur Rahman Fazal , Saaed Falah Abdul-kader , Hlaiwah Mohammed Sameer 
Published: February 2022

Background
Globally, there is a growing need for public health professionals skilled in preventing and responding to the surge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. This is particularly important to the Eastern Mediterranean countries that are facing emergencies in addition to the increased public health risks of unprecedented scale during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health professionals are instrumental in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of detecting and monitoring new cases, conducting investigations, tracing contacts, ensuring patients are being tested, applying isolation and quarantine protocols, providing up-to-date information, educating the community, and producing statistics and models to track disease progression.

Objective
This study aims to compare knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding COVID-19 between public health workers (PHWs) that attended the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP trained) and those who did not attend FETP (non-FETP trained).

Methods
A multicountry cross-sectional survey was conducted among PHWs who participated in the COVID-19 pandemic in 10 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. An online questionnaire that included demographic information and KAP regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was distributed among PHWs. The scoring system was used to quantify the answers; bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to compare FETP-trained with non-FETP–trained PHWs.

Results
Overall, 1337 PHWs participated, with 835 (62.4%) <40 years of age and 851 (63.6%) male participants. Of them, 423 (31.6%) were FETP trained, including 189 (44.7%) at an advanced level, 155 (36.6%) at an intermediate level, and 79 (18.7%) had basic level training. Compared to non-FETP–trained participants, FETP-trained participants were older and had higher KAP scores. FETP participation was low in infection control and public health laboratories. KAP mean scores for intermediate-level attendees were comparable to the advanced level.

Conclusions
FETP-trained participants had better KAP than non-FETP–trained PHWs. Expanding the intermediate level, maintaining the rapid response training, and introducing the laboratory component are recommended to maximize the benefit from the FETP. Infection control, antimicrobial resistance, and coordination are areas where training should be included.
Evaluation of the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Elsahel District, Cairo Governorate, Egypt, 2020
Authors: Girgis Neven , Elnahry Wessam , Afifi Salma , El Shourbagy Sahar , Abu Elsood Hanaa , Eid Alaa 
Published: February 2022

Background
The Egypt National Disease Surveillance is a routine system established in 2002. The system electronically reports on 41 infectious diseases including COVID-19. Reporting sites include all Egyptian governorates, districts, governmental infectious disease hospitals, and primary health units. Surveillance is essential during the pandemic to detect cases early, describe the epidemiology of health problems, guide priority setting, and plan and evaluate public health policy and strategies.

Objective
This study aims to evaluate the surveillance system during the pandemic to assess its effectiveness in achieving its objectives and to find and fill the gaps.

Methods
The evaluation was performed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the qualitative attributes including simplicity, flexibility, and acceptability through interviewing surveillance teams at the central level, health directorate, and Sahel district. Quantitative attributes, including completeness, timeliness, and predictive positive value, were performed using COVID-19 surveillance data of Sahel district in March-December 2020. Data were assessed for completeness and accuracy. The usefulness of surveillance was assessed in terms of achieving its objectives and use of data.

Results
Of 33 respondents, 90% thought that the system was simple, and 77% thought it was acceptable; work overload reduced the acceptability rate. The system is funded by the Ministry of Health and Population and was operational 53% of the time due to connectivity problems. The system was flexible when adapting to include COVID-19 in a short time with minimal cost. It is quite representative, as it covers 60% of the population. Completeness was 82%, positive value predictive was 58%, and data validity was 86%. The median duration between patient admissions and reporting was 2.7 days.

Conclusions
The evaluation of the Egypt COVID-19 surveillance system indicated that the system partly achieved its objectives in the area of simplicity and flexibility with adequate data quality. There is a need to improve acceptability and timeliness through increasing manpower and to enhance stability through effective connectivity. Expansion of the system to cover all of the Egyptian population is recommended to improve representativeness.