bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integrative medicine rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy: a study protocol for a multicenter pragmatic randomized controlled trial
Authors: Lee Mi-Joo , Yun Young-Ju , Yu Sun-ae , Shin Yong-Beom , Kim Soo-Yeon , Han Jun-hee
Published: August 2020

Background

Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has been employed for the treatment of children with cerebral palsy in Korea; however, the addition of TKM to usual rehabilitation (UR) treatment is hindered by insufficient evidence of clinical improvement with TKM in patients with cerebral palsy. In this study, we will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of integrative medicine rehabilitation (IMR) for cerebral palsy through a randomized controlled clinical study.

Methods

Eighty children (2–6 years old) diagnosed with cerebral palsy will be recruited and randomly divided into groups A and B. Patients in group A will receive IMR with UR, while those in group B will receive only UR during weeks 1–12 of the study. IMR includes acupuncture treatment (head and limb acupuncture) three times a week and the administration of herbal medicine (Yukgunza-tang and Yukmijihwang-tang extracts) twice a day in parallel with UR. Evaluations will be conducted at the beginning of the study and at 12 and 24 weeks (follow-up). The primary outcome is the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 score, and the secondary outcomes are the scores for the Goal Attainment Scale, Korean Bayley Scales of Infant Development III, and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, and adverse events.

Discussion

This will be the first pragmatic randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of IMR in children with cerebral palsy in Korea. The results will help to demonstrate if IMR is an effective therapeutic approach for cerebral palsy.

Trial registration

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety 31361 (http://www.mfds.go.kr). Registered on 29 June 2017. Clinical Research Information Service KCT0002620 (https://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/search/search_result_st01.jsp?seq=9819). Registered on 29 December 2017.
Cardiovascular disease in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH): from theory to reality—a 10-year follow-up study
Authors: Glick Karina , Novofastovski Irina , Schwartz Naama , Mader Reuven
Published: August 2020

Objective

To describe actual cardiovascular events over a decade in patients with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), without previously known CV diseases.

Methods

The medical records of patients with DISH and controls, beginning in 2006 (without known CV disease), were reviewed. Demographic, constitutional, and laboratory data were collected. Comparison of CV events following 2006 was performed according to the outcome definitions set by the Framingham score 2: coronary event demonstrated by a coronary imaging modality, acute myocardial infarction (MI), coronary death, congestive heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, and angina pectoris.

Results

Data were available for 45 patients with DISH and 47 controls without DISH from the original cohort (91.8% and 97.9% respectively). By the Framingham score, 28.6% (± 20.33) of the DISH patients were expected to be affected with CVD at 10 years of follow-up. We observed that nearly 39% of them developed CVD during that period (95% CI 23.8–53.5%). The incidence of MI over the 10-year period was significantly higher in the DISH group (P = 0.005). The DISH group had higher morbidity with a higher composite outcome of 38.8% vs 25.5% in the control cohort, and the number of non-elective hospital admissions per patient, despite neither reaching statistical significance.

Conclusion

Our study showed that the Framingham score underestimates the real risk for developing CVD in patients with DISH, specifically the risk for MI. We propose more scrutiny is warranted in evaluating CV risk in these patients, more demanding treatment target goals should be established, and earlier and more aggressive medical interventions should be undertaken, particularly primary prevention. Larger prospective studies are needed to corroborate these findings.
Discontinuation of hydroxychloroquine in older patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a multicenter retrospective study
Authors: Fernandez-Ruiz Ruth , Bornkamp Nicole , Kim Mimi Y. , Askanase Anca , Zezon Anna , Tseng Chung-E , Belmont H. Michael , Saxena Amit , Salmon Jane E. , Lockshin Michael , Buyon Jill P. , Izmirly Peter M.
Published: August 2020

Background

Although hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a mainstay of treatment for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ocular toxicity can result from accumulated exposure. As the longevity of patients with SLE improves, data are needed to balance the risk of ocular toxicity and the risk of disease flare, especially in older patients with quiescent disease. Accordingly, this study was initiated to examine the safety of HCQ withdrawal in older SLE patients.

Methods

Data were obtained by retrospective chart review at three major lupus centers in New York City. Twenty-six patients who discontinued HCQ and thirty-two patients on HCQ matched for gender, race/ethnicity, and age were included in this study. The primary outcome was the occurrence of a lupus flare classified by the revised version of the Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus: National Assessment version of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SELENA-SLEDAI) Flare composite index, within 1 year of HCQ withdrawal or matched time of continuation.

Results

Five patients (19.2%) in the HCQ withdrawal group compared to five (15.6%) in the HCQ continuation group experienced a flare of any severity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.28; 95% CI 0.31, 5.30;p = 0.73). There were no severe flares in either group. The results were similar after adjusting for length of SLE, number of American College of Rheumatology criteria, low complement levels, and SELENA-SLEDAI score, and in a propensity score analysis (OR = 1.18; 95% CI 0.23, 6.16;p = 0.84). The analysis of time to any flare revealed a non-significant earlier time to flare in the HCQ withdrawal group (log-rankp = 0.67). Most flares were in the cutaneous and musculoskeletal systems, but one patient in the continuation group developed pericarditis. The most common reason for HCQ withdrawal was retinal toxicity (42.3%), followed by patient’s preference (34.6%), other confirmed or suspected adverse effects (15.4%), ophthalmologist recommendation for macular degeneration (3.8%), and rheumatologist recommendation for quiescent SLE (3.8%).

Conclusions

In this retrospective study of older stable patients with SLE on long-term HCQ, withdrawal did not significantly increase the risk of flares.
Undercarboxylated osteocalcin correlates with insulin secretion in Japanese individuals with diabetes
Authors: Funakoshi Shogo , Yoshimura Kumiko , Hirano Seiki , Ohmi Satoko , Amano Eri , Fukuda Yoshiharu , Terada Yoshio , Fujimoto Shimpei
Published: August 2020

Background

Undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) is a secreted protein produced by osteoblasts that regulates insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in rodents. However, the significance of these effects on glucose metabolism in human remains unknown. Moreover, the pathophysiological roles of ucOC on varying degrees of glucose intolerance, including diabetes need to be elucidated. In the present study, correlations between ucOC and indices of insulin secretion and sensitivity were analyzed in normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose metabolism (IGM), and diabetes mellitus (DM) groups.

Methods

Based on 75 g OGTT data in Japanese individuals without diabetic medication, or medications which may affect ucOC levels, individuals were classified as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose metabolism (IGM), or diabetes (DM). In each group, 25 individuals were consecutively recruited [total 75 individuals, age: 65 ± 11 (mean ± SD); BMI: 24.9 ± 3.8 kg/m2]. QUICKI and Matsuda index (MI) were calculated as insulin sensitivity indices. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-β and insulinogenic index (IGI) were calculated as insulin secretion indices. UcOC was measured using ECLIA. Normally-distributed loge-transformed (ln-) values were used for ucOC, HOMA-β, IGI, and MI.

Results

The ucOC was not significantly different among the three groups. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that ln-ucOC did not significantly correlate with age, sex, BMI, waist circumference, fasting plasma glucose, plasma glucose 120 min after glucose loading, fasting plasma immunoreactive insulin, ln-HOMA-β, QUICKI, or ln-MI in any of the three groups. Interestingly, ln-ucOC correlated with ln-IGI (r = 0.422, P = 0.0354) and HbA1c (r = − 0.574, P = 0.0027) only in the DM group. There was no significant correlation between ln-IGI and age, sex, BMI, or HbA1c in the DM group. Further, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that ln-IGI could be independently predicted by BMI (β = 0.598, P = 0.0014) and ln-ucOC (β = 0.641, P = 0.0007) in the DM group (R2 = 0.488, P = 0.0006).

Conclusion

In our study, ucOC positively correlated with insulin secretion independently of BMI in Japanese individuals with diabetes. These results suggest that ucOC plays more important roles in insulin secretion than in insulin sensitivity in individuals with diabetes.
A new nucleosomic-based model to identify and diagnose SSc-ILD
Authors: Guiot Julien , Henket Monique , Andre Béatrice , Herzog Marielle , Hardat Nathalie , Njock Makon-Sebastien , Moermans Catherine , Malaise Michel , Louis Renaud
Published: August 2020

Background

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disease associated with rapid evolving interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), driving its mortality. Specific biomarkers associated with the evolution of the lung disease are highly needed. We aimed to identify specific biomarkers of SSc-ILD to predict the evolution of the disease. Nucleosomes are stable DNA/protein complexes that are shed into the blood stream making them ideal candidates for biomarkers.

Methods

We studied circulating cell-free nucleosomes (cf-nucleosomes) in SSc patients, 31 with ILD (SSc-ILD) and 67 without ILD. We analyzed plasma levels for cf-nucleosomes and investigated whether global circulating nucleosome levels in association with or without other biomarkers of interest for systemic sclerosis or lung fibrosis (e.g., serum growth factors: IGFBP-1 and the MMP enzyme: MMP-9), could be suitable potential biomarkers for the correct identification of SSc-ILD disease.

Results

We found that H3.1 nucleosome levels were significantly higher in patients with SSc-ILD compared SSc patients without ILD (p< 0.05) and levels of MMP-9 were significantly increased in patients with SSc-ILD compared to SSc patients without ILD (p< 0.05). Conversely, IGFBP-1 was significantly reduced in patients with SSc-ILD compared to SSc without ILD (p< 0.001). The combination of cf-nucleosomes H3.1 coupled to MMP-9 and IGFBP-1 increased the sensitivity for the differential detection of SSc-ILD. High levels of accuracy were reached with this combined model: its performances are strong with 68.4% of positive predictive value and 77.2% of negative predictive value for 90% of specificity. With our model, we identified a significant negative correlation with FVC % pred (r= −0.22) and TLC % pred (r= −0.31). The value of our model at T1 (baseline) has a predictive power over the Rodnan score at T2 (after 6-18 months), showed by a significant linear regression withR2= 19% (p= 0.013). We identified in the sole group of SSc-ILD patients a significant linear regression with aR2= 54.4% with the variation of DLCO between T1 and T2 (p< 0.05).

Conclusion

In our study, we identified a new blood-based model with nucleosomic biomarker in order to diagnose SSc-ILD in a SSc cohort. This model is correlated with TLC and FVC at baseline and predictive of the skin evolution and the DLCO. Further longitudinal exploration studies should be performed in order to evaluate the potential of such diagnostic and predictive model.
Repurposed agents in the Alzheimer’s disease drug development pipeline
Authors: Bauzon Justin , Lee Garam , Cummings Jeffrey
Published: August 2020

Background

Treatments are needed to address the growing prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Clinical trials have failed to produce any AD drugs for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval since 2003, and the pharmaceutical development process is both time-consuming and costly. Drug repurposing provides an opportunity to accelerate this process by investigating the AD-related effects of agents approved for other indications. These drugs have known safety profiles, pharmacokinetic characterization, formulations, doses, and manufacturing processes.

Methods

We assessed repurposed AD therapies represented in Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III of the current AD pipeline as registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as of February 27, 2020.

Results

We identified 53 clinical trials involving 58 FDA-approved agents. Seventy-eight percent of the agents in trials had putative disease-modifying mechanisms of action. Of the repurposed drugs in the pipeline 20% are hematologic-oncologic agents, 18% are drugs derived from cardiovascular indications, 14% are agents with psychiatric uses, 12% are drug used to treat diabetes, 10% are neurologic agents, and the remaining 26% of drugs fall under other conditions. Intellectual property strategies utilized in these programs included using the same drug but altering doses, routes of administration, or formulations. Most repurposing trials were supported by Academic Medical Centers and were not funded through the biopharmaceutical industry. We compared our results to a European trial registry and found results similar to those derived from ClinicalTrials.gov.

Conclusions

Drug repurposing is a common approach to AD drug development and represents 39% of trials in the current AD pipeline. Therapies from many disease areas provide agents potentially useful in AD. Most of the repurposed agents are generic and a variety of intellectual property strategies have been adopted to enhance their economic value.
Production of dengue virus-like particles serotype-3 in silkworm larvae and their ability to elicit a humoral immune response in mice
Authors: Utomo Doddy Irawan Setyo , Pambudi Sabar , Sjatha Fithriyah , Kato Tatsuya , Park Enoch Y.
Published: August 2020

To develop monovalent dengue virus-like particle for serotype 3 (DENV-LP/3), we prepared and expressed two structural polyprotein constructs using silkworm and Bm5 cells: DENV-3 Capsid-premembrane-envelope (DENV-3CprME) and premembrane-envelope (DENV-3prME). The expressed PA-tagged 3CprME and 3prME polypeptides were partially purified by PA-tag affinity chromatography and had molecular weights of 85 and 75 kDa, respectively. Expressed proteins were separately verified using the following primary antibodies: the anti-PA tag antibody, DENV premembrane polyclonal antibody, and DENV envelope polyclonal antibody. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that these DENV-3CprME and 3prME formed rough, spherical DENV-LPs (DENV-LP/3CprME and DENV-LP/3prME), respectively, with a diameter of 30–55 nm. The heparin-binding assay demonstrated that these DENV-LPs contained the envelope protein domain III on their surfaces. Both DENV-LPs showed an affinity to sera from human dengue patients and immunized mice. Immunization of mice with DENV-LP/3prME significantly induced the level of antibodies compared with DENV-LP/3CprME. These results indicate that DENV-LP/3prME is suitable as a vaccine candidate compared with DENV-LP/3CprME.
Heat shock drives genomic instability and phenotypic variations in yeast
Authors: Shen Li , Wang Yu-Ting , Tang Xing-Xing , Zhang Ke , Wang Pin-Mei , Sui Yang , Zheng Dao-Qiong
Published: August 2020

High temperature causes ubiquitous environmental stress to microorganisms, but studies have not fully explained whether and to what extent heat shock would affect genome stability. Hence, this study explored heat-shock-induced genomic alterations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using genetic screening systems and customized single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays, we found that heat shock (52 °C) for several minutes could heighten mitotic recombination by at least one order of magnitude. More than half of heat-shock-induced mitotic recombinations were likely to be initiated by DNA breaks in the S/G2 phase of the cell cycle. Chromosomal aberration, mainly trisomy, was elevated hundreds of times in heat-shock-treated cells than in untreated cells. Distinct chromosomal instability patterns were also observed between heat-treated and carbendazim-treated yeast cells. Finally, we demonstrated that heat shock stimulates fast phenotypic evolutions (such as tolerance to ethanol, vanillin, fluconazole, and tunicamycin) in the yeast population. This study not only provided novel insights into the effect of temperature fluctuations on genomic integrity but also developed a simple protocol to generate an aneuploidy mutant of yeast.
A technique of tripled coincidence points for solving a system of nonlinear integral equations in POCML spaces
Authors: Hammad Hasanen A. , La Sen Manuel De
Published: August 2020

This manuscript aims to initiate some recent theoretical consequences related to tripled coincidence points for non-self mappings via the notion ofC-type functions in partially ordered complete metric-like space (for short, POCML space). Our contributions unify and expand some previous studies in this line. Moreover, some corollaries and suitable examples are presented to demonstrate the novelty of the results established. Ultimately, two applications are given here to boost our theoretical consequences, the first one about the contributions of the integral type to obtain a triple coincidence points and the other application is about solving a system of nonlinear integral equations.
Some Hermite–Hadamard type inequalities for generalized h-preinvex function via local fractional integrals and their applications
Authors: Sun Wenbing
Published: August 2020

The concept of generalized h-preinvex function on real linear fractal sets $R^{\beta }$

R
β

($0 < \beta \le 1$
0
<
β
≤
1
) is introduced, which extends generalized preinvex, generalized s-preinvex, generalized Godunova–Levin preinvex, and generalized P-preinvex functions. In addition, some Hermite–Hadamard type inequalities for these classes of functions involving local fractional integrals are established. Lastly, the upper bounds for generalized expectation, generalized rth moment, and generalized variance of a continuous random variable are given to illustrate the applications of the obtained results.
Characterization and modeling of an edge computing mixed reality workload
Authors: Toczé Klervie , Lindqvist Johan , Nadjm-Tehrani Simin
Published: August 2020

The edge computing paradigm comes with a promise of lower application latency compared to the cloud. Moreover, offloading user device computations to the edge enables running demanding applications on resource-constrained mobile end devices. However, there is a lack of workload models specific to edge offloading using applications as their basis.In this work, we build upon the reconfigurable open-source mixed reality (MR) framework MR-Leo as a vehicle to study resource utilisation and quality of service for a time-critical mobile application that would have to rely on the edge to be widely deployed. We perform experiments to aid estimating the resource footprint and the generated load by MR-Leo, and propose an application model and a statistical workload model for it. The idea is that such empirically-driven models can be the basis of evaluations of edge algorithms within simulation or analytical studies.A comparison with a workload model used in a recent work shows that the computational demand of MR-Leo exhibits very different characteristics from those assumed for MR applications earlier.
Profiling of miRNAs in porcine Sertoli cells
Authors: Chen Xiaoxu , Zheng Yi , Li Xueliang , Gao Qiang , Feng Tongying , Zhang Pengfei , Liao Mingzhi , Tian Xiu’e , Lu Hongzhao , Zeng Wenxian
Published: August 2020

Background

Sertoli cells (SCs) create a specialized environment to support and dictate spermatogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a kind of ~ 22 nt small noncoding RNAs, have been reported to be highly abundant in mouse SCs and play critical roles in spermatogenesis. However, the miRNAs of porcine SCs remain largely unknown.

Methods

We isolated porcine SCs and conducted small RNA sequencing. By comparing miRNAs in germ cells, we systematically analyzed the miRNA expression pattern of porcine SCs. We screened the highly enriched SC miRNAs and predicted their functions by Gene Ontology analysis. The dual luciferase assay was used to elucidate the regulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR)-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) by ssc-miR-149.

Results

The analysis showed that 18 miRNAs were highly expressed in SCs and 15 miRNAs were highly expressed in germ cells. These miRNAs were predicted to mediate SC and germ cell functions. In addition, ssc-miR-149 played critical roles in SCs by targeting TRAF3.

Conclusion

Our findings provide novel insights into the miRNA expression pattern and their regulatory roles of porcine SCs.
Autonomous underwater videography and tracking of basking sharks
Authors: Hawkes L. A. , Exeter O. , Henderson S. M. , Kerry C. , Kukulya A. , Rudd J. , Whelan S. , Yoder N. , Witt M. J.
Published: August 2020

Background

Biologging studies have revealed a wealth of information about the spatio-temporal movements of a wide range of vertebrates large enough to carry electronic tracking tags. Advances in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs or UAVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones), which can carry far larger payloads of sensor technologies, have revealed insights into the environment through which animals travel. Some AUVs have been used to film target animals, but are generally limited to periods as long as a drone operator can actively follow an animal. In the present study, we use an AUV, the REMUS-100 SharkCam, paired with a custom transponder tag attached to the shark, to autonomously follow three basking sharks for a cumulative total of 10.9 h to collect video and environmental data on their sub-surface behaviour. The basking shark is the second largest fish in the world and is endangered globally, but despite being subject to various biologging studies, little is known of this species breeding ecology and their mating grounds remain unknown.

Results

We detail the first successful autonomous tracking of basking sharks, comprising three missions that filmed basking sharks in mid-water and close to benthic habitats. Sharks spent very little time feeding, and travelled relatively close to sandy, rocky and algae-covered benthos. One basking shark was observed defecating. Conspecifics were not observed in the three missions, nor were courtship or breeding behaviours. AUV offset distances for videography were determined iteratively through tracking. These offsets varied depending on the trade-off of between water clarity and proximity of the AUV for obtaining useful video data and directly influencing shark behaviour.

Conclusions

The present study is the first successful use of an AUV to gain insight into the sub-surface behaviour of basking sharks.
Application of pharmacogenetics in oncology
Authors: Miteva-Marcheva Nelly N. , Ivanov Hristo Y. , Dimitrov Dimitar K. , Stoyanova Vili K.
Published: August 2020

The term “pharmacogenetics” is used to describe the study of variability in drug response due to heredity. It is associated with “gene – drug interactions”. Later on, the term “pharmacogenomics” has been introduced and it comprises all genes in the genome that can define drug response. The application of pharmacogenetics in oncology is of a great significance because of the narrow therapeutic index of chemotherapeutic drugs and the risk for life-threatening adverse effects. Many cancer genomics studies have been focused on the acquired, somatic mutations; however, increasing evidence shows that inherited germline genetic variations play a key role in cancer risk and treatment outcome. The aim of this review is to summarize the state of pharmacogenomics in oncology, focusing only on germline mutations. Genetic polymorphisms can be found in the genes that code for the metabolic enzymes and cellular targets for most of the chemotherapy drugs. Nevertheless, predicting treatment outcome is still not possible for the majority of regimens. In this review, we discuss the most comprehensively studied drug-gene pairs – present knowledge and current limitations. However, further studies in larger groups of cancer patients are necessary to be conducted with precise validation of pharmacogenetic biomarkers before these markers could be routinely applied in clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Compliance with the north American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology guidelines on amiodarone monitoring in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: a retrospective charts review study
Authors: Albassam Bander Ahmed , Almutairi Nouf Mohammed , Aldosari Sarah Fahad , Almodaimegh Hind Saleh
Published: August 2020

Background

Amiodarone is known for its efficacy as an antiarrhythmic agent; however, its extensive side-effect profile requires careful selection of patients and frequent monitoring. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of the baseline tests before initiating amiodarone therapy and the on-going monitoring based on the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology guidelines recommendations.

Methods

A retrospective descriptive charts review study included all patients who are 18 years of age and older and were started on oral amiodarone with a primary diagnosis of any type of cardiac arrhythmia from January 2016 to December 2018 in King Abdualziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The medical charts were reviewed and evaluated based on the performance of the recommended baseline and follow-up of chest X-ray (CXR), liver function test (LFT), thyroid function test (TFT) and electrocardiogram (ECG). The continuous variables were analyzed and presented as mean ± SD and the categorical variables were presented as percentages.

Results

Over the study period, 143 eligible participants on amiodarone therapy were included, with an average of 165 ± 207 days on amiodarone. Of patients, 36.4% had the entire recommended baseline assessments before initiating amiodarone. Our results indicated optimal compliance rates to the baseline tests of CXR (79.7%), LFT (79.7%) and ECG (86.7%). However, there was a lower compliance rate to TFT recommendations (40.6%). The compliance rate to the guideline recommendations related to the follow-up tests was minimal. On-going monitoring performance rates were 47.6% of CXR, 49% of LFT, 54.5% of ECG and 22.4% of TFT.

Conclusion

The compliance with the guideline recommendations related to amiodarone baseline assessments was optimal for all the baseline tests, except for TFT. However, the proportion of patients who received all the recommended baseline assessments was minimal. In addition, the performance of on-going monitoring was suboptimal for all the follow-up tests. Improvements could be made by establishing a local protocol for amiodarone monitoring and pharmacists participating in amiodarone therapy assessments.
Angle-to-angle and spur-to-spur distance analysis with high-resolution optical coherence tomography
Authors: Montés-Micó Robert , Tañá-Rivero Pedro , Aguilar-Córcoles Salvador , Ruiz-Santos María , Rodríguez-Carrillo María Dolores , Ruiz-Mesa Ramón
Published: August 2020

Background

To measure angle-to-angle (ATA) and spur-to-spur (STS) distances along six meridians using high-resolution swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and to compare those values with horizontal white-to-white (WTW) distance.

Methods

68 eyes from 68 patients were quantitatively assessed with the Anterion SS-OCT (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). ATA and STS distances were measured with the SS-OCT’s B-Scan in six cross-sectional images corresponding to the vertical (6–12 o’clock), 1–7 o’clock, 2–8 o’clock, horizontal (3–9 o’clock), 4–10 o’clock and 5–11 o’clock meridians. WTW was measured horizontally with the device’s infrared camera. A Pearson correlation analysis was carried out to compare ATA and STS distances with WTW.

Results

The largest values were found for the vertical meridian and the shortest for the 2–8 o’clock meridian, both for ATA and STS distances. No statistically significant differences were found between WTW, ATA and STS along the horizontal meridian (p > 0.1). However, ATA and STS showed statistically significant differences elsewhere, except for the horizontal and the 2–8 o’clock meridians (p > 0.05). Moreover, we found that ATA and STS varied significantly depending on the meridian being assessed, except for ATA at 4–10 versus 3–9 o’clock and for STS at 4–10 versus 3–9 o’clock and at 3–9 versus 2–8 o’clock (p > 0.1). R2 values ranged from 0.49 to 0.75 for ATA and STS at the different meridians, showing the best correlation at 3–9 o’clock meridian (0.64 and 0.75, respectively) and the worst at 6–12 o’clock meridian (R2 = 0.49 for both ATA and STS).

Conclusions

ATA and STS distances vary radially, thus showing that the anterior chamber is vertically oval. Therefore, it is advisable to measure these two distances along the meridian to be used.
Potential of sea buckthorn-based ingredients for the food and feed industry – a review
Authors: Vilas-Franquesa Arnau , Saldo Jordi , Juan Bibiana
Published: August 2020

Food industries seek to incorporate nutritious ingredients as they could bring added value to the final food products. One of the most interesting options is that sea buckthorn contains high concentrations of vitamin C, carotenoids, tocopherols, and other bioactive compounds, in addition to the unique lipid profile in the berry pulp, seed, and peel. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art of potential applications of sea buckthorn within the food and feed industry based on previously described applications. Products such as cheese, yoghurt or beverages already benefit from its application. Moreover, using sea buckthorn in feed products also derives into higher quality final products (e.g. meat quality, egg quality). Poultry, pig, and fish farming have been studied for that purpose. Despite all the accumulated articles depicted in the present review, the use of this fruit in food product formulation is nowadays scarce. New options for food product development with sea buckthorn are herein discussed.

Graphical abstract
Role, path, and vision of “5G + BDS/GNSS”
Authors: Liu Jingnan , Gao Kefu , Guo Wenfei , Cui Jingsong , Guo Chi
Published: August 2020

Communication, positioning, navigation, and decision-making abilities have evolved into Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) intelligence during the long process of human migration and hence promoted human evolution. This article defines intelligence and smartness from the perspective of biological intelligence. New requirements as a result of the development of communication, navigation, time service, and decision making are identified in this study. The article points out that there are many radio PNT service methods, such as 5G, the new-generation high-speed communication networks and the low-latency and ubiquitous mobile communication networks as well as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), but the integrated application is especially important in providing technical support for the adjustment and control of the physical world by intelligent sensing, cognition, decision-making, and precise coordination. The fusion of 5G and GNSS [including BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)] information with the corresponding equipment can be embedded into a machine to make it intelligent. Furthermore, the fused information of 5G and GNSS together with the environment information may extend human perception and physical world control ability in terms of time and space scale. It will help to develop critical information infrastructure in the age of intelligence, which will also extend the definition of artificial intelligence. Additionally, the “5G + BDS/GNSS” fusion path is analyzed explicitly herein in terms of realization methods, information processing, and new application services. On the whole, the application of “5G + BDS/GNSS + satellite-based communication” as a critical infrastructure for land, sea, air, space and network spatiotemporal control rights is proposed.
Pharmacological management of comorbid obsessive–compulsive disorder and chronic non-affective psychosis
Authors: Udo Itoro , McDaniel Carol , Chima Chidi
Published: August 2020

The comorbidity of obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS) in the context of schizophrenia is often not recognised by clinicians, and patients may not report these symptoms until they become severe. However, there is a reported prevalence of 10–24% for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) in schizophrenia and related disorders. The onset of OCS/OCD has been noted to occur both before and after the diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. It has also been known to occur following commencement of treatment with antipsychotic medications, especially clozapine. Current literature provides limited guidance for treatment. Review of the current evidence supports: addition of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to antipsychotics; addition of aripiprazole, amisulpride or lamotrigine; or reduction in the dosage of clozapine. There is also evidence supporting the addition of cognitive–behavioural therapy and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The SSRIs that are evidenced to be useful are fluvoxamine, escitalopram, sertraline and paroxetine. More studies are needed to expand the evidence base. Early targeted interventions are recommended.
Virtual psychiatric care fast-tracked: reflections inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Rosic Tea , Lubert Sandra , Samaan Zainab
Published: August 2020

For many patients and healthcare providers, the move to virtual psychiatric care has been fast-tracked by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, we consider a patient perspective and a provider perspective on the transition to virtual psychiatric care and its strengths and limitations, as well as a call for much-needed future research.
Switch Control Inhibition of KIT and PDGFRA in Patients With Advanced Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: A Phase I Study of Ripretinib
Authors: Janku Filip , Abdul Razak Albiruni R. , Chi Ping , Heinrich Michael C. , von Mehren Margaret , Jones Robin L. , Ganjoo Kristen , Trent Jonathan , Gelderblom Hans , Somaiah Neeta , Hu Simin , Rosen Oliver , Su Ying , Ruiz-Soto Rodrigo , Gordon Michael , George Suzanne
Published: August 2020

PURPOSE

In advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), there is an unmet need for therapies that target both primary and secondary mutations of pathogenic KIT/PDGFRA oncoproteins. Ripretinib is a novel switch-control kinase inhibitor designed to inhibit a wide range of KIT and PDGFRA mutations.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This first-in-human, to our knowledge, phase I study of ripretinib (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02571036) included a dose-escalation phase and subsequent expansion phase at the recommended phase II dose (RP2D). Eligible patients included those with advanced GIST, intolerant to or experienced progression on ≥ 1 line of systemic therapy, and other advanced malignancies. Safety, dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), and preliminary antitumor activity were evaluated.

RESULTS

At data cutoff (August 31, 2019), 258 patients (n = 184 GIST) were enrolled, with 68 patients in the dose-escalation phase. Three DLTs were reported: grade 3 lipase increase (n = 2; 100 mg and 200 mg twice a day) and grade 4 increased creatine phosphokinase (n = 1; 150 mg once daily). MTD was not reached (maximum dose evaluated, 200 mg twice a day); 150 mg once daily was established as the RP2D. The most frequent (> 30%) treatment-emergent adverse events in patients with GIST receiving ripretinib 150 mg once daily (n = 142) were alopecia (n = 88 [62.0%]), fatigue (n = 78 [54.9%]), myalgia (n = 69 [48.6%]), nausea (n = 65 [45.8%]), palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (n = 62 [43.7%]), constipation (n = 56 [39.4%]), decreased appetite (n = 48 [33.8%]), and diarrhea (n = 47 [33.1%]). Objective response rate (confirmed) of 11.3% (n = 16/142) ranging from 7.2% (n = 6/83; fourth line or greater) to 19.4% (n = 6/31; second line) and median progression-free survival ranging from 5.5 months (fourth line or greater) to 10.7 months (second line), on the basis of investigator assessment, were observed.

CONCLUSION

Ripretinib is a well-tolerated, novel inhibitor of KIT and PDGFRA mutant kinases with promising activity in patients with refractory advanced GIST.
Lumbar Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation Lead Placement Using an Outside-In Technique in 4 Patients With Failed Back Surgery Syndrome: A Case Series
Authors: Chapman Kenneth B. , Nagrani Sohan , Patel Kiran V. , Yousef Tariq , van Helmond Noud
Published: August 2020

Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG-S) has shown promise as a treatment for low back pain. The traditional anterograde placement of DRG-S leads can be challenging in patients with anatomical changes from prior back surgery. We describe an “outside-in” placement technique of DRG-S leads in 4 patients with histories of multiple lumbar surgeries, which made the traditional anterograde placement not feasible. At long-term follow-up, the patients experienced substantial pain relief and improvement in quality of life, with no complications. The outside-in lead placement technique may be an efficacious alternative to the traditional techniques in patients with anomalous anatomy from prior surgery.
Outtakes of ’68
Authors: Harris Laura
Published: August 2020

If ’68 marks the emergence of seemingly new kinds of radical practices pursued by new revolutionary subjects, this essay asks how we might understand a strike undertaken by Appalachian coal miners in the early 1970s and its documentation in the film Harlan County, USA. Is this strike best understood apart from ’68, as a disconnected, outmoded activity pursued by retrograde subjects who, after ’68, can only be represented by and for nostalgic or reactionary political projects? In the strike’s abandonment of political and auterist representation, in the commitment not to any one endpoint but to the ongoing, performative reorganization of social life that the strike and its documentation come to entail, and finally, in the tenuous but still open connections between this strike and other radical practices in and beyond Appalachia, in and beyond ’68, this essay discerns another model for insurgency and for a history without subjects.
Brazil’s Deferred 1968
Authors: Wells Sarah Ann
Published: August 2020

The consignment of industrial wage labor and its central figures to the status of ruins has become something of a cliché in contemporary scholarship and artistic practice. On this view, its demise first became apparent in the 1970s, the precise moment when Brazilian labor movements experienced their first significant gains. This article identifies, describes, and analyzes the emergence of a cinema-labor cycle in São Paulo (1977–82) that constitutes a key instance of Brazil’s “deferred 1968”: a complex response to the distinct pressures of a repressive military regime, entrenched paternalistic union structures, and the auteurist legacy in cinema. In their efforts to apprehend the largest strikes in recent history, filmmakers in the cinema-labor cycle attempted what had seemed elusive in Brazilian cinema up until this point: a mutually constituting alliance between cinema and labor. This article focuses above all on the new understandings of time—including urgency, immediacy, the present tense, and the belated—forged in these films, and the new relationships that emerged among artists and worker-activists as a result. Ultimately, an analysis of this film cycle queries attempts to inscribe both cinema and labor in the past tense.
Preliminary Remarks toward a Formal Understanding of Revolution
Authors: Aronson Oleg
Published: August 2020

In this essay, Oleg Aronson proposes to view the protests of 1968 as a continuation of the social revolutionary processes initiated by the French Revolution. The author interprets revolution not as an event of historical rupture but as a process of long duration (in the sense of Fernand Braudel’s longue durée). Signs of such revolution are found beyond the regime of human perception and contemplation, beyond the categories of space and time, in the zone of common sense (sensus communis), which Kant saw in such manifestations as the enthusiasm that joins a universal audience (the public) when it is enchanted by the spectacle of revolution. The article attempts to show how, as mass society develops, the revolution shifts from action to spectacle. However, if we view mass society itself as an effect of the revolutionary process of long duration, then freedom, equality, and fraternity (commonality) turn out to be less values affirmed by revolution than invariants of a common sense, outside of which they are unthinkable and unimaginable. Being unrepresentable, they constantly receive representative equivalents, which constitute the spectacle. The author proposes to use them as social imaginaries (in the sense of imaginary numbers in mathematics), which indicate the dynamics of processes that exceed the framework of individual and historical (albeit still anthropometric) understanding. Such an analysis of revolution as a process, and not as a concrete historical event, allows us to see it less as a transformation of society than as the surmounting of the human order itself, of the world of values that are understood as immutable and whose violation always looks like lawlessness.
Radical Play
Authors: Sorenson Kaitlyn Tucker
Published: August 2020

Kaitlyn Tucker Sorenson’s “Radical Play” analyzes how one Slovene official’s response to student movements in June 1968 (“Changes—yes, circus— no!”) established a formula that structured relations between official and alternative culture in Ljubljana. Borrowed from de Gaulle’s famous remark in May ’68 (“La réforme, oui, la chienlit, non”), the Slovene translation captured the essence of a new mode of cultural production, both playful and political, which was beginning to emerge in Ljubljana and which would come to dominance in the late socialist period. In addition to framing the distinction between mainstream and avant-garde cultures in Ljubljana, this response became a catchphrase that was reappropriated in various contexts in order to articulate social conflict. This article traces that history in order to consider how this Slovene story contributes to broader debates about 1968.
What Has Happened to the Left Revolutionary Project?
Authors: Buck-Morss Susan , Flatley Jonathan , Petrovsky Helen
Published: August 2020

This interview documents an email exchange between Susan Buck-Morss, Jonathan Flatley, and Helen Petrovsky on the occasion of the publication of Buck-Morss’s Revolution Today.
Diverse cellular functions of barrier-to-autointegration factor and its roles in disease
Authors: Sears Rhiannon M. , Roux Kyle J.
Published: August 2020

Barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF; encoded by BANF1) is a small highly conserved, ubiquitous and self-associating protein that coordinates with numerous binding partners to accomplish several key cellular processes. By interacting with double-stranded DNA, histones and various other nuclear proteins, including those enriched at the nuclear envelope, BAF appears to be essential for replicating cells to protect the genome and enable cell division. Cellular processes, such as innate immunity, post-mitotic nuclear reformation, repair of interphase nuclear envelope rupture, genomic regulation, and the DNA damage and repair response have all been shown to depend on BAF. This Review focuses on the regulation of the numerous interactions of BAF, which underlie the mechanisms by which BAF accomplishes its essential cellular functions. We will also discuss how perturbation of BAF function may contribute to human disease.
Discrimination of small sugar concentration differences helps the nectar-feeding bat Leptonycteris yerbabuenae cover energetic demands
Authors: Walter Michael H. , Verdong Aaron , Olmos Vanessa , Weiss Christina C. , Vial Lisa-Ruth , Putra Ahilan , Müller Jan , Tschapka Marco , Schnitzler Hans-Ulrich
Published: August 2020

Every day nectar-feeding animals face an energetic challenge during foraging: they must locate and select flowers that provide nectar with adequate amounts of sugar to cover their very high energy needs. To understand this decision-making process, it is crucial to know how accurately sugar concentration differences can be discriminated. In a controlled laboratory setting, we offered the nectar-specialist bat Leptonycteris yerbabuenae the choice between different sugar solutions covering the entire concentration range of bat-pollinated plants (3–33%). When feeding on solutions below 10% sugar concentration Leptonycteris yerbabuenae was unable to cover its energetic demands due to physiological constraints. Their capability to discriminate sugar concentrations outperformed any other nectar-feeding animal studied to date. At sugar concentrations below 15%, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae can discriminate solutions differing by only 0.5%. The bats may utilize this fine-tuned ability to select nectar from flowers with reward qualities that provide them with the necessary amount of energy.
Συμβουλευτική γονέων χαρισματικών παιδιών: αναγκαιότητα, προσεγγίσεις, στόχοι, σύγχρονες τάσεις.
Authors: Καλογιάννη Σοφία
Published: August 2020

Χαρισματικά νοούνται τα παιδιά που διαθέτουν το δυναμικό να πετύχουν μια ιδιαίτερα υψηλή επίδοση σε έναν ή περισσότερους τομείς. Πρόκειται για μια ετερογενή ομάδα ατόμων με ιδιαίτερες γνωστικές, κοινωνικές και συναισθηματικές ανάγκες που θέτει μοναδικές προκλήσεις στους γονείς ως προς την αποτελεσματική διαχείριση και ανατροφή τους. Η συμβουλευτική διαδικασία που έχει ως στόχο την βοήθεια του συμβουλευόμενου ώστε να καταστεί ικανός να προλαμβάνει μελλοντικές δυσκολίες, να αναπτύσσει το σύνολο των δυνατοτήτων του και να επιλύει προβληματικές καταστάσεις φαίνεται να λειτουργεί υποστηρικτικά στον ρόλο αυτών των οικογενειών. Η παρούσα εισήγηση θα επικεντρωθεί στην αναγκαιότητα και τους στόχους της συμβουλευτικής υποστήριξης της οικογένειας των χαρισματικών μαθητών, καθώς αυτή (η οικογένεια) αποτελεί πρωταρχικό και καθοριστικό παράγοντα στην εξέλιξη του ταλέντου, την επιτυχία στο σχολείο, την ολόπλευρη ανάπτυξη και ευημερία τους. Σύμφωνα με την διεθνή βιβλιογραφία οι συμβουλευτικές προσεγγίσεις για την οικογένεια μπορούν να διακριθούν σε δυο κατηγορίες: i)καθοδήγηση γονέων (parent guidance) και ii)οικογενειακή θεραπεία (family therapy). Στην πρώτη κατηγορία οι γονείς λαμβάνουν υποστήριξη σε αναπτυξιακά θέματα κοινά στα χαρισματικά παιδιά (εκπαίδευση, ιδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικά και ανάγκες, κοινωνική και συναισθηματική ανάπτυξη), στον γονεϊκό τους ρόλο, στην αναγνώριση της χαρισματικότητας, στην σημαντικότητα ενός εμπλουτισμένου οικογενειακού περιβάλλοντος ενώ στην δεύτερη προσεγγίζεται η οικογένεια ως σύστημα με έμφαση στις δυναμικές της οικογένειας, τις σχέσεις των αδελφών, και την διαχείριση ειδικών περιπτώσεων χαρισματικών μαθητών (π.χ. υποεπίδοση, διπλή χαρισματικότητα). Η σύγχρονη ερευνητική δραστηριότητα επισημαίνει πως οι εκπαιδευτικοί αποτελούν την «πρώτη γραμμή» συμβουλευτικής υποστήριξης προς τους γονείς και κρίνεται ωφέλιμο να διαθέτουν και αυτοί την απαραίτητη ευαισθησία, γνώσεις, και δεξιότητες. Αναδεικνύονται ακόμη, οι σύγχρονες τάσεις στη συμβουλευτική προσέγγιση των οικογενειών χαρισματικών μαθητών (π.χ. ομάδες και σχολές γονέων). Συμπερασματικά, γίνεται εμφανής η ανάγκη παροχής τέτοιων υπηρεσιών στους γονείς προκειμένου να ανταποκριθούν ικανοποιητικά στον πολύπλοκο και απαιτητικό τους ρόλο.