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BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e055569. Epub 2022 May 19.

School of Nursing, Wachemo University, Hossana, SNNPR, Ethiopia.

Object: We assessed maternal delays and unfavourable newborn outcomes among skilled deliveries in public hospitals of Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia using 'the three maternal delays' framework.

Design: A case-control study was conducted.

Setting: Public hospitals in Hadiya Zone, southern Ethiopia. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e057343. Epub 2022 May 19.

Clinical Operational Research Unit, Department of Mathematics, University College London, London, UK.

Objectives: To link five national data sets (three registries, two administrative) and create longitudinal healthcare trajectories for patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), describing the quality and the summary statistics of the linked data set.

Design: Bespoke linkage of record-level patient identifiers across five national data sets. Generation of spells of care defined as periods of time-overlapping events across the data sets. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e056414. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, East Sussex, UK.

Introduction: Antiretroviral treatment turned HIV infection into a chronic disease and improved quality of life for people living with HIV. Dual-drug combinations have been shown to be effective in suppressing viral replication and can potentially reduce long-term drug-associated toxicities. We aim to investigate patients' perceptions and experiences on the safety, effectiveness, tolerability and unmet needs of the dual-drug combination dolutegravir/lamivudine in Brighton and Hove, UK. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e055347. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.

Introduction: Despite the potential benefits of advance care planning, uptake in older adults is low. In general, there is a lack of guidance as to how to initiate advance care planning conversations and encourage individuals to take action in planning their future care, including after emergency hospitalisation. Participatory action research methods are harnessed in health services research to design interventions that are relevant to end-users and stakeholders. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e056112. Epub 2022 May 19.

Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Objectives: Neonatal mortality is generally 20% higher in boys than girls due to biological phenomena. Only a few studies have examined more finely categorised age patterns of neonatal mortality by sex, especially in the first few days of life. The objective of this study is to examine sex differentials in neonatal mortality by detailed ages in a low-income setting. Read More

BMJ Open 2022 May 19;12(5):e058158. Epub 2022 May 19.

Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Design: Realist synthesis.

Study Background: Large-scale hospital improvement initiatives can standardise healthcare across multiple sites but results are contingent on the implementation strategies that complement them. The benefits of these implemented interventions are rarely able to be replicated in different contexts. Read More

Stroke Vasc Neurol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Objective: The long-term postoperative language outcomes for brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) have not been well characterised. With fibres scattered in the Broca's, Wernicke's and Geschwind's area, the arcuate fasciculus (AF) is considered as a crucial structure of language function. This study aimed to observe the language outcomes, determine the risk factors and construct a grading system for long-term postoperative language deficits (LDs) in patients with bAVMs involving the AF (AF-bAVMs). Read More

J Safety Res 2022 Jun 1;81:9-20. Epub 2022 Feb 1.

University of Wyoming, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering & Construction Management, 1000 E University Ave, Dept. 3295, Laramie, WY 82071, United States. Electronic address:

Introduction: Adverse weather has a considerable negative impact on safety and mobility of transportation networks. Microsimulation models are one of the potential tools that could be used to evaluate the safety and operational impacts of adverse weather. The development of a realistic microsimulation model requires the adjustment of driving behavior parameters with disaggregate trajectory-level data. Read More

J Safety Res 2022 Jun 26;81:305-312. Epub 2022 Mar 26.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, United States.

Introduction: Vehicle technologies have the potential to help address the disproportionate crash risk that teen drivers face. While crash avoidance features benefit the general population, several address crash scenarios for which teen drivers are particularly at risk, such as rear-end and lane-drift crashes. Other emerging technologies have been designed for teen drivers by addressing certain crash or injury risk factors associated with risky driving behavior, such as speeding or not wearing a seat belt. Read More

J Safety Res 2022 Jun 23;81:297-304. Epub 2022 Mar 23.

School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Huanghe Road 850, Dalian 116029 China.

Introduction: This study focused on the impact of safe driving climate among friends on prosocial and aggressive driving behaviors for young Chinese drivers, arguing for the moderating role of traffic locus of control.

Method: Three hundred and fifty-two young Chinese drivers aged 18 to 25 years agreed to participate in this study and completed the questionnaire, which included items related to safe driving climate among friends, traffic locus of control, and prosocial and aggressive driving behaviors.

Results: Safe driving climate among friends and traffic locus of control had direct effects on prosocial and aggressive driving behaviors. Read More

J Safety Res 2022 Jun 17;81:259-269. Epub 2022 Mar 17.

Cranfield Safety and Accident Investigation Centre, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK. Electronic address:

Introduction: Safety climate assessment is a key measure of organizational safety. A strong safety climate is integral to the high safety performance in aviation. Most survey instruments that purport to measure safety climate are derived from evidence obtained in developed countries in the west. Read More

J Safety Res 2022 Jun 21;81:153-165. Epub 2022 Feb 21.

Department of Political, Historical, Religious and Cultural Studies, Karlstad University, Sweden.

Objective: To investigate the burden of pedestrian injuries, including pedestrian fall injuries (PFI), compared to other transport-related injuries in Sweden and document their characteristics in terms of demographics, causes, type of injuries, and severity level with a focus on long-term consequences.

Methods: Data were retrieved from the national Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition register. A total of 361,531 fatalities and injuries were reported by emergency hospitals during 2010-2019, of which 127,804 were pedestrians (35%). Read More

Anal Chim Acta 2022 Jun 4;1211:339907. Epub 2022 May 4.

School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, 213164, PR China. Electronic address:

A three-dimensional g-CN/MWNTs/GO hybrid modified electrode was constructed as an electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA). Due to the high conductivity of MWCNTs and the strong synergy between g-CN and GO, the combination of the three effectively improved the electrocatalytic activity of the modified electrode for the oxidation of AA, DA, and UA, and solved the problems such as overlapping anodic peaks. The electrochemical performance of the as-constructed sensor was investigated and optimized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Read More

Anal Chim Acta 2022 Jun 3;1211:339905. Epub 2022 May 3.

Division of Chemical Metrology and Analytical Science, National Institute of Metrology, Beijing, 100029, PR China.

Modern advances in multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) have greatly promoted the investigation of copper isotopes in various research fields. To meet the demand, an improved calibrated mass spectrometry for the absolute determination of copper isotopic composition was developed in this study. The method has made progress in the investigation of instrumental mass bias correction factor for copper isotopic analysis using MC-ICPMS through employing two independent strategies. Read More

Anal Chim Acta 2022 Jun 27;1211:339216. Epub 2021 Oct 27.

The Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV) of the Network of Chemistry and Technology (REQUIMTE) - the Portuguese Research Centre for Sustainable Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address:

This tutorial demonstrates how to exploit the second-order advantage on excitation-emission fluorescence matrices (EEFMs) acquired from sensing platforms based on analyte-triggered semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) fluorescence modulation (quenching/enhancing). The advantage in processing such second-order EEFMs data from complex samples, seeking successful quantification, is comprehensively addressed. It is worth emphasizing that, aiming to exploit the second-order advantage, the selection of the most appropriate advanced chemometric model should rely on the matching between the data structure and the physicochemical chemometric model assumption. Read More

Methods Enzymol 2022 25;668:3-23. Epub 2022 Feb 25.

School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom; Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Vitamin B, cobalamin, belongs to the broader cobamide family whose members are characterized by the presence of a cobalt-containing corrinoid ring. The ability to detect, isolate and characterize cobamides and their biosynthetic intermediates is an important prerequisite when attempting to study the synthesis of this remarkable group of compounds that play diverse roles across the three kingdoms of life. The synthesis of cobamides is restricted to only certain prokaryotes and their structural complexity entails an equally complex synthesis orchestrated through a multi-step biochemical pathway. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2022 May;7(5)

Department of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Background: There has been insufficient attention to a fundamental force shaping healthcare policies-conflicts of interest (COI). We investigated COI, which results in the professional judgement of a policymaker or healthcare provider being compromised by a secondary interest, in relation to antimicrobial use, thereby illuminating challenges to the regulation of medicines use more broadly. Our objectives were to characterise connections between three groups-policymakers, healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies-that can create COI, and elucidate the impacts of COI on stages of the policy process. Read More

Compend Contin Educ Dent 2022 May;43(5):288-291

Clinical Associate Professor, and Director, Advanced Education Program in Periodontics, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Periodontics and Endodontics, Buffalo, New York.

An association between ankyloglossia and periodontitis has not previously been reported. This case series describes three sisters who each had ankyloglossia and a molar/incisor pattern of localized periodontitis. The concurrent presentation of both conditions within the family suggests that further investigation of genetic factors that might concurrently affect the pathogenesis of both disorders may be warranted. Read More

J Radiat Res 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Radiation Oncology and Image-Applied Therapy, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan.

The lung volume receiving low-dose irradiation has been reported to increase in volumetric-modulated arc radiotherapy (VMAT) compared with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) for thoracic esophageal cancer, which raises concerns regarding radiation pneumonitis (RP) risk. This single institutional retrospective cohort study aimed to explore whether VMAT for thoracic esophageal cancer was associated with RP. Our study included 161 patients with thoracic esophageal cancer, of whom 142 were definitively treated with 3DCRT and 39 were treated with VMAT between 2008 and 2018. Read More

Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2022 May 16:111233. Epub 2022 May 16.

Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, P-4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; Universidad de Alcalá (UAH), Department of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, E-28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.

Studies which quantify the influence of abiotic factors on physiological variation are paramount to comprehend organismal responses to diverse environments. We studied three physiological aspects of metabolism in two sympatric and ecologically similar European lizard species, Podarcis muralis and Iberolacerta horvathi, across an 830-m elevational gradient. We collected blood samples and tail tips from adult lizards, which were analyzed for parasitemia, hemoglobin concentration, potential metabolic activity and catalase activity. Read More

Ophthalmol Retina 2022 May 16. Epub 2022 May 16.

The University of Sydney, Sydney Medical School, Discipline of Ophthalmology, Save Sight Institute, New South Wales, Australia.

Purpose: To report the estimated incidence, probability, risk factors and one-year outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in eyes receiving intravitreal injections (IVT) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors for various retinal conditions in routine clinical practice.

Design: Retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively designed observational outcomes registry: the Fight Retinal Blindness!

Project:

Participants: Eyes starting IVT with VEGF inhibitors (ranibizumab, aflibercept or bevacizumab) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) or retinal vein occlusion (RVO) from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2020. All eyes that developed RRD within 90 days of an intravitreal injection were defined as RRD cases and were matched with control eyes. Read More

J Acad Nutr Diet 2022 May 16. Epub 2022 May 16.

Associate Professor, Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, MS 4013, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA.

Background: During pregnancy, Latina/x people experience nutrition and nutrition-related health inequities. Nutrition literacy is a potential factor impacted by these inequities. However, the nutrition literacy level of Latina/x people during pregnancy is not well investigated. Read More

J Proteomics 2022 May 16:104613. Epub 2022 May 16.

CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal. Electronic address:

Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei) is a venomous European viper endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, recognised as medically important by the World Health Organization. To date, no comprehensive characterisation of this species' venom has been reported. Here, we analysed the venoms of juvenile and adult specimens of V. Read More

Fitoterapia 2022 May 16:105220. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Guizhou Province and School of Pharmacy, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou 563000, China; Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of Ministry of Education and Joint International Research Laboratory of Ethnomedicine of Ministry of Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563000, China. Electronic address:

Four previously undescribed compounds, including three glucosyloxybenzyl 2-isobutylmalates (1-3), one phenolic glycoside (4), along with ten known compounds were isolated from the flowers of Bletilla striata. The structures and absolute configurations of the undescribed compounds were elucidated on the basis of HR-ESIMS, NMR spectroscopy, optical rotation value, and acid hydrolysis experiment. Cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds against A549, HCT-116, and SW1990 cells and protective effects of t-BHP-induced L02 cytotoxic were assayed. Read More

Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022 May 16:107523. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, CA 90032-8201, U.S.A. Electronic address:

Host shifting in insect-plant systems was historically important to the development of ecological speciation theory, yet surprisingly few studies have examined whether host shifting drives diversification of marine herbivores. When small-bodied consumers feed and also mate on a preferred host, disruptive selection can split a population into host races despite gene flow. Support for host shifts is notably lacking for invertebrates associated with macroalgae, where the scale of dispersal by planktonic larvae often far exceeds the grain of host patchiness, and adults are typically less specialized than terrestrial herbivores. Read More

Bioresour Technol 2022 May 16:127332. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj 211004, Uttar Pradesh, India. Electronic address:

This work studied the co-pyrolysis of wheat straw (WS) and polyethylene (PE) via thermogravimetric experiments from room temperature to 1000 °C at various heating rates (10, 20, and 30 °C/min). Thermal behavior revealed that the maximum decomposition of WS, PE, and their blend occurred in three temperature ranges, viz. 250 - 496, 200 - 486, and 200 - 501 °C. Read More

Ann Vasc Surg 2022 May 16. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Vascular Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China. Electronic address:

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the influence of abdominal aortic calcification on the distal extent, blood supply, and mid-term outcomes of acute aortic dissection (AAD).

Methods: This single-centre retrospective study was conducted from August 2014 to May 2021. The aortic calcification index (ACI) was used to evaluate abdominal aortic calcification. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2022 May 16:115389. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Physics, Chemistry and Material Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Namibia, Private Bag, 13301, Windhoek, Namibia. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Eight indigenous medicinal plants which are used traditionally for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and associated symptoms, were selected for this study.

Aim Of Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiplasmodial and antimycobacterial activities of the organic and aqueous crude extracts of different plant parts, by comparing the activities of subfractions (lead-like enhanced [LLE] extracts and methanol fractions) prepared from the bioactive crude extracts.

Materials & Methods: Crude aqueous and organic extracts were prepared for 25 different plant parts obtained from eight plant species. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2022 May 16:188736. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Biomedical Science, CHA University, Gyeonggi-Do 13488, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is the primary regulatory module of various cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, and stress responses. This pathway converts external stimuli to cellular responses via three major kinases: mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK), and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK). Ubiquitination is a post-translational modification of proteins with ubiquitin, which results in the formation of mono- or poly-ubiquitin chains of substrate proteins. Read More

J Microbiol Methods 2022 May 16:106491. Epub 2022 May 16.

Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address:

Lentinus crinitus (Basidiomycota: Polyporales) is a saprophytic fungus with biotechnological importance described more than 20 years ago. However, there are few studies on the long-term preservation of this basidiomycete. Cryopreservation is a long-term storage technique that reduces the metabolic activity of microorganisms, but its success depends on the adjustment of the freezing process, the cryoprotectants, and the protective substrates for each species. Read More