bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Alterations of neural network organization during REM sleep in women: implication for sex differences in vulnerability to mood disorders
Authors: Hein Matthieu , Lanquart Jean-Pol , Loas Gwénolé , Hubain Philippe , Linkowski Paul
Published: April 2020

Background

Sleep plays an important role in vulnerability to mood disorders. However, despite the existence of sex differences in vulnerability to mood disorders, no study has yet investigated the sex effect on sleep network organization and its potential involvement in vulnerability to mood disorders. The aim of our study was to empirically investigate the sex effect on network organization during REM and slow-wave sleep using the effective connectivity measured by Granger causality.

Methods

Polysomnographic data from 44 healthy individuals (28 men and 16 women) recruited prospectively were analysed. To obtain the 19 × 19 connectivity matrix of all possible pairwise combinations of electrodes by Granger causality method from our EEG data, we used the Toolbox MVGC multivariate Granger causality. The computation of the network measures was realized by importing these connectivity matrices into EEGNET Toolbox.

Results

In men and women, all small-world coefficients obtained are compatible with a small-world network organization during REM and slow-wave sleep. However, compared to men, women present greater small-world coefficients during REM sleep as well as for all EEG bands during this sleep stage, which indicates the presence of a small-world network organization less marked during REM sleep as well as for all EEG bands during this sleep stage in women. In addition, in women, these small-world coefficients during REM sleep as well as for all EEG bands during this sleep stage are positively correlated with the presence of subclinical symptoms of depression.

Conclusions

Thus, the highlighting of these sex differences in network organization during REM sleep indicates the presence of differences in the global and local processing of information during sleep between women and men. In addition, this small-world network organization less marked during REM sleep appears to be a marker of vulnerability to mood disorders specific to women, which opens up new perspectives in understanding sex differences in the occurrence of mood disorders.
Angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor prevents skeletal muscle fibrosis in myocardial infarction mice
Authors: Kakutani Naoya , Takada Shingo , Nambu Hideo , Matsumoto Junichi , Furihata Takaaki , Yokota Takashi , Fukushima Arata , Kinugawa Shintaro
Published: April 2020

Background

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-Smad2/3 is the major signaling pathway of fibrosis, which is characterized by the excessive production and accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including collagen. Although the ECM is an essential component of skeletal muscle, fibrosis may be harmful to muscle function. On the other hand, our previous studies have shown that levels of angiotensin II, which acts upstream of TGF-β-Smad2/3 signaling, is increased in mice with myocardial infarction (MI). In this study, we found higher skeletal muscle fibrosis in MI mice compared with control mice, and we investigated the mechanisms involved therein. Moreover, we administered an inhibitor based on the above mechanism and investigated its preventive effects on skeletal muscle fibrosis.

Methods

Male C57BL/6 J mice with MI were created, and sham-operated mice were used as controls. The time course of skeletal muscle fibrosis post-MI was analyzed by picrosirius-red staining (days 1, 3, 7, and 14). Mice were then divided into 3 groups: sham + vehicle (Sham + Veh), MI + Veh, and MI + lisinopril (an angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor, 20 mg/kg body weight/day in drinking water; MI + Lis). Lis or Veh was administered from immediately after the surgery to 14 days postsurgery.

Results

Skeletal muscle fibrosis was significantly increased in MI mice compared with sham mice from 3 to 14 days postsurgery. Although mortality was lower in the MI + Lis mice than the MI + Veh mice, there was no difference in cardiac function between the 2 groups at 14 days. Skeletal muscle fibrosis and hydroxyproline (a key marker of collagen content) were significantly increased in MI + Veh mice compared with the Sham + Veh mice. Consistent with these results, protein expression of TGF-β and phosphorylated Smad2/3 in the skeletal muscle during the early time points after surgery (days 1–7 postsurgery) and blood angiotensin II at 14 days postsurgery was increased in MI mice compared with sham mice. These impairments were improved in MI + Lis mice, without any effects on spontaneous physical activity, muscle strength, muscle weight, and blood pressure.

Conclusions

ACE inhibitor administration prevents increased skeletal muscle fibrosis during the early phase after MI. Our findings indicate a new therapeutic target for ameliorating skeletal muscle abnormalities in heart diseases.
A pan-cancer analysis of the clinical and genetic portraits of somatostatin receptor expressing tumor as a potential target of peptide receptor imaging and therapy
Authors: Lee Hyunjong , Suh Minseok , Choi Hongyoon , Ha Seunggyun , Paeng Jin Chul , Cheon Gi Jeong , Kang Keon Wook , Lee Dong Soo
Published: April 2020

Purpose

Although somatostatin receptor (SST) is a promising theranostic target and is widely expressed in tumors of various organs, the indication for therapies targeting SST is limited to typical gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Thus, broadening the scope of the current clinical application of peptide receptor radiotherapy (PRRT) can be supported by a better understanding of the landscape of SST-expressing tumors.

Methods

SST expression levels were assessed in data from The Cancer Genome Atlas across 10,701 subjects representing 32 cancer types. As the major target of PRRT is SST subtype 2 (SST2), correlation analyses between the pan-cancer profiles, including clinical and genetic features, and SST2 level were conducted. The median SST2 expression level of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PCPG) samples was used as the threshold to define “high-SST2 tumors.” The prognostic value of SST2 in each cancer subtype was evaluated by using Cox proportional regression analysis.

Results

We constructed a resource of SST expression patterns associated with clinicopathologic features and genomic alterations. It provides an interactive tool to analyze SST expression patterns in various cancer types. As a result, eight of the 31 cancer subtypes other than PCPG had more than 5% of tumors with high-SST2 expression. Low-grade glioma (LGG) showed the highest proportion of high-SST2 tumors, followed by breast invasive carcinoma (BRCA). LGG showed different SST2 levels according to tumor grade and histology. IDH1 mutation was significantly associated with high-SST2 status. In BRCA, the SST2 level was different according to the hormone receptor status. High-SST2 status was significantly associated with good prognosis in LGG patients. High-SST2 status showed a trend for association with poor prognosis in triple-negative breast cancer subjects.

Conclusion

A broad range of SST2 expression was observed across diverse cancer subtypes. The SST2 expression level showed a significant association with genomic and clinical aspects across cancers, especially in LGG and BRCA. These findings extend our knowledge base to diversify the indications for PRRT as well as SST imaging.
Senolytic compounds control a distinct fate of androgen receptor agonist- and antagonist-induced cellular senescent LNCaP prostate cancer cells
Authors: Pungsrinont Thanakorn , Sutter Malika Franziska , Ertingshausen Maren C. C. M. , Lakshmana Gopinath , Kokal Miriam , Khan Amir Saeed , Baniahmad Aria
Published: April 2020

Background

The benefit of inducing cellular senescence as a tumor suppressive strategy remains questionable due to the senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Hence, studies and development of senolytic compounds that induce cell death in senescent cells have recently emerged. Senescent cells are hypothesized to exhibit different upregulated pro-survival/anti-apoptotic networks depending on the senescent inducers. This might limit the effect of a particular senolytic compound that targets rather only a specific pathway. Interestingly, cellular senescence in prostate cancer (PCa) cells can be induced by either androgen receptor (AR) agonists at supraphysiological androgen level (SAL) used in bipolar androgen therapy or by AR antagonists. This challenges to define ligand-specific senolytic compounds.

Results

Here, we first induced cellular senescence by treating androgen-sensitive PCa LNCaP cells with either SAL or the AR antagonist Enzalutamide (ENZ). Subsequently, cells were incubated with the HSP90 inhibitor Ganetespib (GT), the Bcl-2 family inhibitor ABT263, or the Akt inhibitor MK2206 to analyze senolysis. GT and ABT263 are known senolytic compounds. We observed that GT exhibits senolytic activity specifically in SAL-pretreated PCa cells. Mechanistically, GT treatment results in reduction of AR, Akt, and phospho-S6 (p-S6) protein levels. Surprisingly, ABT263 lacks senolytic effect in both AR agonist- and antagonist-pretreated cells. ABT263 treatment does not affect AR, Akt, or S6 protein levels. Treatment with MK2206 does not reduce AR protein level and, as expected, potently inhibits Akt phosphorylation. However, ENZ-induced cellular senescent cells undergo apoptosis by MK2206, whereas SAL-treated cells are resistant. In line with this, we reveal that the pro-survival p-S6 level is higher in SAL-induced cellular senescent PCa cells compared to ENZ-treated cells. These data indicate a difference in the agonist- or antagonist-induced cellular senescence and suggest a novel role of MK2206 as a senolytic agent preferentially for AR antagonist-treated cells.

Conclusion

Taken together, our data suggest that both AR agonist and antagonist induce cellular senescence but differentially upregulate a pro-survival signaling which preferentially sensitize androgen-sensitive PCa LNCaP cells to a specific senolytic compound.
Systematic review and literature appraisal on methodology of conducting and reporting critical-care echocardiography studies: a report from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine PRICES expert panel
Authors: Huang S. , Sanfilippo F. , Herpain A. , Balik M. , Chew M. , Clau-Terré F. , Corredor C. , De Backer D. , Fletcher N. , Geri G. , Mekontso-Dessap A. , McLean A. , Morelli A. , Orde S. , Petrinic T. , Slama M. , van der Horst I. C. C. , Vignon P. , Mayo P. , Vieillard-Baron A.
Published: April 2020

Background

The echocardiography working group of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine recognized the need to provide structured guidance for future CCE research methodology and reporting based on a systematic appraisal of the current literature. Here is reported this systematic appraisal.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review, registered on the Prospero database. A total of 43 items of common interest to all echocardiography studies were initially listed by the experts, and other “topic-specific” items were separated into five main categories of interest (left ventricular systolic function, LVSF n = 15, right ventricular function, RVF n = 18, left ventricular diastolic function, LVDF n = 15, fluid management, FM n = 7, and advanced echocardiography techniques, AET n = 17). We evaluated the percentage of items reported per study and the fraction of studies reporting a single item.

Results

From January 2000 till December 2017 a total of 209 articles were included after systematic search and screening, 97 for LVSF, 48 for RVF, 51 for LVDF, 36 for FM and 24 for AET. Shock and ARDS were relatively common among LVSF articles (both around 15%) while ARDS comprised 25% of RVF articles. Transthoracic echocardiography was the main echocardiography mode, in 87% of the articles for AET topic, followed by 81% for FM, 78% for LVDF, 70% for LVSF and 63% for RVF. The percentage of items per study as well as the fraction of study reporting an item was low or very low, except for FM. As an illustration, the left ventricular size was only reported by 56% of studies in the LVSF topic, and half studies assessing RVF reported data on pulmonary artery systolic pressure.

Conclusion

This analysis confirmed sub-optimal reporting of several items listed by an expert panel. The analysis will help the experts in the development of guidelines for CCE study design and reporting.
The new spectral conjugate gradient method for large-scale unconstrained optimisation
Authors: Wang Li , Cao Mingyuan , Xing Funa , Yang Yueting
Published: April 2020

The spectral conjugate gradient methods are very interesting and have been proved to be effective for strictly convex quadratic minimisation. In this paper, a new spectral conjugate gradient method is proposed to solve large-scale unconstrained optimisation problems. Motivated by the advantages of approximate optimal stepsize strategy used in the gradient method, we design a new scheme for the choices of the spectral and conjugate parameters. Furthermore, the new search direction satisfies the spectral property and sufficient descent condition. Under some suitable assumptions, the global convergence of the developed method is established. Numerical comparisons show better behaviour of the proposed method with respect to some existing methods for a set of 130 test problems.
Global structure of one-sign solutions for a simply supported beam equation
Authors: Yan Dongliang , Ma Ruyun , Su Xiaoxiao
Published: April 2020

In this paper, we consider the nonlinear eigenvalue problem
$$\begin{gathered} u''''= \lambda h(t)f(u),\quad 0< t< 1, \\ u(0)=u(1)=u''(0)=u''(1)=0, \\ \end{gathered} $$u′′′′=λh(t)f(u),0<t<1,u(0)=u(1)=u″(0)=u″(1)=0, where $h\in C([0,1], (0,\infty))$h∈C([0,1],(0,∞)); $f\in C(\mathbb{R},\mathbb{R})$f∈C(R,R) and $sf(s)>0$sf(s)>0 for $s\neq0$s≠0, and $f_{0}=f_{\infty}=0$f0=f∞=0, $f_{0}=\lim_{|s|\rightarrow0}f(s)/s$f0=lim|s|→0f(s)/s, $f_{\infty}=\lim_{|s|\rightarrow\infty}f(s)/s$f∞=lim|s|→∞f(s)/s. We investigate the global structure of one-sign solutions by using bifurcation techniques.
Existence of positive solution for BVP of nonlinear fractional differential equation with integral boundary conditions
Authors: Li Min , Sun Jian-Ping , Zhao Ya-Hong
Published: April 2020

This paper is concerned with the following boundary value problem of nonlinear fractional differential equation with integral boundary conditions:
$$ \textstyle\begin{cases} ({}^{C}D_{0+}^{q}u)(t)+f(t,u(t))=0,\quad t\in [0,1], \\ u^{\prime \prime }(0)=0, \\ \alpha u(0)-\beta u^{\prime }(0)=\int _{0}^{1}h_{1}(s)u(s)\,ds, \\ \gamma u(1)+\delta ({}^{C}D_{0+}^{\sigma }u)(1) =\int _{0}^{1}h_{2}(s)u(s)\,ds, \end{cases} $${(CD0+qu)(t)+f(t,u(t))=0,t∈[0,1],u″(0)=0,αu(0)−βu′(0)=∫01h1(s)u(s)ds,γu(1)+δ(CD0+σu)(1)=∫01h2(s)u(s)ds, where $2< q\leq 3$2<q≤3, $0<\sigma \leq 1$0<σ≤1, $\alpha , \gamma , \delta \geq 0$α,γ,δ≥0, and $\beta >0$β>0 satisfying $0<\rho :=(\alpha +\beta )\gamma + \frac{\alpha \delta }{\varGamma (2-\sigma )}<\beta [\gamma + \frac{\delta \varGamma (q)}{\varGamma (q-\sigma )} ]$0<ρ:=(α+β)γ+αδΓ(2−σ)<β[γ+δΓ(q)Γ(q−σ)]. ${}^{C}D_{0+}^{q}$D0+qC denotes the standard Caputo fractional derivative. First, Green’s function of the corresponding linear boundary value problem is constructed. Next, some useful properties of the Green’s function are obtained. Finally, existence results of at least one positive solution for the above problem are established by imposing some suitable conditions on f and $h_{i}$hi ($i=1,2$i=1,2). The method employed is Guo–Krasnoselskii’s fixed point theorem. An example is also included to illustrate the main results of this paper.
Persistence and extinction of a stochastic predator–prey model with modified Leslie–Gower and Holling-type II schemes
Authors: Zhou Dengxia , Liu Meng , Liu Zhijun
Published: April 2020

In this paper, we use an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process to describe the environmental stochasticity and propose a stochastic predator–prey model with modified Leslie–Gower and Holling-type II schemes. For each species, sharp sufficient conditions for persistence in the mean and extinction are respectively obtained. The results demonstrate that the persistence and extinction of the species have close relationships with the environmental stochasticity. In addition, the theoretical results are numerically illustrated by some simulations.
Explicit solutions of initial value problems for systems of linear Riemann–Liouville fractional differential equations with constant delay
Authors: Hristova S. , Agarwal Ravi , O’Regan D.
Published: April 2020

A system of linear Riemann–Liouville fractional differential equations with constant delay is studied. The initial condition is set up similar to the case of the ordinary derivative. Explicit formulas for the solutions are obtained for various initial functions.
Generalization of intensity distribution of medical images using GANs
Authors: Lee Dong-Ho , Li Yan , Shin Byeong-Seok
Published: April 2020

The performance of a CNN based medical-image classification network depends on the intensities of the trained images. Therefore, it is necessary to generalize medical images of various intensities against degradation of performance. For lesion classification, features of generalized images should be carefully maintained. To maintain the performance of the medical image classification network and minimize the loss of features, we propose a method using a generative adversarial network (GAN) as a generator to adapt the arbitrary intensity distribution to the specific intensity distribution of the training set. We also select CycleGAN and UNIT to train unpaired medical image data sets. The following was done to evaluate each method’s performance: the similarities between the generalized image and the original were measured via the structural similarity index (SSIM) and histogram, and the original domain data set was passed to a classifier that trained only the original domain images for accuracy comparisons. The results show that the performance evaluation of the generalized images is better than that of the originals, confirming that our proposed method is a simple but powerful solution to the performance degradation of a classification network.
The incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of rhabdomyolysis associated with fenoverine prescription: a retrospective study in South Korea (1999–2014)
Authors: Cho Junhyeong , Na Jeonggu , Bae Eunjin , Lee Tae Won , Jang Ha Nee , Cho Hyun Seop , Chang Se-Ho , Park Dong Jun
Published: April 2020

Background

Fenoverine is a spasmolytic drug that has been used to treat abdominal pain. Although sporadic case reports or case series of rhabdomyolysis associated with fenoverine have been published, there are no studies evaluating the incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of rhabdomyolysis associated with fenoverine prescription.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 22 patients admitted with rhabdomyolysis associated with fenoverine from January 1999 to December 2014, while excluding other well-known risk factors of rhabdomyolysis. This period was subdivided into two periods, January 1999–December 2007 and January 2008–December 2014. We analyzed the clinical and laboratory characteristics, and the prognosis of fenoverine associated with rhabdomyolysis for these times.

Results

The incidence of rhabdomyolysis associated with fenoverine was 0.27% during the total period (22/8257), 0.34% in the first period (18/5298), and 0.14% in the second period (4/2959) (p < 0.001). Rhabdomyolysis occurred in 19 liver cirrhosis (LC) patients (2.03%), whereas only 3 cases (0.04%) occurred in non-LC patients (p < 0.001). Drug duration, total dose, muscle enzymes, and clinical characteristics were not different between the LC and non-LC groups. Acute renal failure (ARF) occurred in 5 patients in the LC group and 2 patients in the non-LC group (p = 0.227). Severity of hepatic derangement according to the Child-Pugh classification was not different between the ARF group and non-ARF group (p = 0.227). Four patients died, having complications of oliguric ARF (p = 0.005) and underlying severe LC (p = 0.017). Higher serum lactate dehydrogenase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and potassium levels but lower serum sodium levels were found in the group that died (p = 0.001).

Conclusions

Physicians should carefully prescribe fenoverine because it may cause rhabdomyolysis, especially in patients with LC.
Dual anti-platelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention in a population of patients with thrombocytopenia at baseline: a meta-analysis
Authors: Long Manyun , Ye Ziliang , Zheng Jing , Chen Wuxian , Li Lang
Published: April 2020

Background

In this meta-analysis, we aimed to systematically compare the post percutaneous coronary interventional (PCI) adverse bleeding events, stent thrombosis, stroke and other cardiovascular outcomes in a population of patients with and without thrombocytopenia at baseline who were followed up on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT).

Methods

Relevant English language articles which were published before June 2019 were retrieved from MEDLINE, http://www.ClinicalTrials.com, EMBASE, Cochrane central, and Google scholar briefly using specific terms such as percutaneous coronary intervention or dual antiplatelet therapy, and thrombocytopenia. All the participants were followed up on DAPT following discharge. Specific endpoints including bleeding events, stent thrombosis, stroke and other adverse cardiovascular events were assessed. The latest version of the RevMan software was used for the statistical assessment. Odd ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) based on a fixed or a random statistical model were used to represent the data graphically.

Results

A total number of 118,945 participants (from 8 studies) were included with 37,753 suffering from thrombocytopenia at baseline. Our results showed post procedural bleeding (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.16–3.07; P = 0.01), access site bleeding (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.15–2.39; P = 0.006), intra-cranial bleeding (OR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.30–2.43; P = 0.0003), gastro-intestinal bleeding (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.14–1.82; P = 0.002) and any major bleeding (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.42–1.97; P = 0.00001) to be significantly higher in thrombocytopenic patients treated with DAPT after PCI. Total stroke (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.18–1.78; P = 0.0004) specifically hemorrhagic stroke (OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.30–2.14; P = 0.0001) was also significantly higher in these patients with thrombocytopenia at baseline. All-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events were also significantly higher. However, overall total stent thrombosis (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.90–1.55; P = 0.24) including definite and probable stent thrombosis were not significantly different compared to the control group.

Conclusions

According to the results of this analysis, DAPT might have to be cautiously be used following PCI in a population of patients with thrombocytopenia at baseline due to the significantly higher bleeding rate including gastro-intestinal, intra-cranial bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke. Hence, special care might have to be taken when considering anti-platelet agents following PCI in these high risk patients. However, considering the present limitations of this analysis, this hypothesis will have to be confirmed in future trials.
Spontaneous diffusiophoretic separation in paper-based microfluidic device
Authors: Lee Dokeun , Kim Sung Jae
Published: April 2020

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) for separating particles have been playing a key role for point-of-care diagnostics in the area of remote settings. While splendid separation methods using μPADs have been explosively developed, they still require external devices inducing external field. In this work, the spontaneous separation method in μPADs was suggested by leveraging convective flow (the imbibition of paper and nanoporous medium) and diffusiophoresis by ion exchange medium. Especially, the paper’s fast imbibition was utilized as driving particles at the first stage, which results in fast overall processing in contrast to the spontaneous separation method of microfluidic chip integrated with only ion exchange medium. Therefore, our novel spontaneous selective preconcentration method based on μPADs would have key potential to be used in portable point-of-care devices in remote settings.
Preoperative assessment of lymph node metastasis in Colon Cancer patients using machine learning: a pilot study
Authors: Eresen Aydin , Li Yu , Yang Jia , Shangguan Junjie , Velichko Yury , Yaghmai Vahid , Benson Al B. , Zhang Zhuoli
Published: April 2020

Background

Preoperative detection of lymph node (LN) metastasis is critical for planning treatments in colon cancer (CC). The clinical diagnostic criteria based on the size of the LNs are not sensitive to determine metastasis using CT images. In this retrospective study, we investigated the potential value of CT texture features to diagnose LN metastasis using preoperative CT data and patient characteristics by developing quantitative prediction models.

Methods

A total of 390 CC patients, undergone surgical resection, were enrolled in this monocentric study. 390 histologically validated LNs were collected from patients and randomly separated into training (312 patients, 155 metastatic and 157 normal LNs) and test cohorts (78 patients, 39 metastatic and 39 normal LNs). Six patient characteristics and 146 quantitative CT imaging features were analyzed and key variables were determined using either exhaustive search or least absolute shrinkage algorithm. Two kernel-based support vector machine classifiers (patient-characteristic model and radiomic-derived model), generated with 10-fold cross-validation, were compared with the clinical model that utilizes long-axis diameter for diagnosis of metastatic LN. The performance of the models was evaluated on the test cohort by computing accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating curve (AUC).

Results

The clinical model had an overall diagnostic accuracy of 64.87%; specifically, accuracy of 65.38% and 62.82%, sensitivity of 83.87% and 84.62%, and specificity of 47.13% and 41.03% for training and test cohorts, respectively. The patient-demographic model obtained accuracy of 67.31% and 73.08%, the sensitivity of 62.58% and 69.23%, and specificity of 71.97% and 76.23% for training and test cohorts, respectively. Besides, the radiomic-derived model resulted in an accuracy of 81.09% and 79.49%, sensitivity of 83.87% and 74.36%, and specificity of 78.34% and 84.62% for training and test cohorts, respectively. Furthermore, the diagnostic performance of the radiomic-derived model was significantly higher than clinical and patient-demographic models (p < 0.02) according to the DeLong method.

Conclusions

The texture of the LNs provided characteristic information about the histological status of the LNs. The radiomic-derived model leveraging LN texture provides better preoperative diagnostic accuracy for the detection of metastatic LNs compared to the clinically accepted diagnostic criteria and patient-demographic model.
Evaluation of the efficacy of drug treatment based on measurement of the oxidative stress, using reactive oxygen metabolites and biological antioxidant potential, in children with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Authors: Kitaoka Taisuke , Morimoto Masahito , Hashimoto Toshiaki , Tsuda Yoshimi , Nakatsu Tadanori , Kyotani Shojiro
Published: April 2020

Background

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, mainly characterized by impairment of social communication and restricted interests. ASD is frequently accompanied by attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is characterized by carelessness, hyperactivity and impulsivity (ASD/ADHD). It has been suggested that ASD and ADHD are associated with oxidative stress, that is, that patients with ASD/ADHD are in a state of increased oxidative stress. There are currenr tly no objective or biological test criteria for evaluating the efficacy of drug therapy in these patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether oxidative stress markers [serum reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) levels and biological antioxidant potential (BAP)] can be used as objective indicators for evaluating the efficacy of drug treatment in ASD/ADHD patients.

Methods

The subjects of this study subjects were 50 Japanese patients with ASD/ADHD aged 4 to 14 years old. Serum samples were obtained from the patients to measure the serum levels of d-ROMs and the serum BAP. The study subjects were divided into two age groups: preschool children (4 to 6 years old) and school-age children (7 to 14 years old), and the serum levels of d-ROMs, serum BAP, serum BAP/d-ROMs ratio (hereinafter, the prefix serum will be dropped), and scores on the Parent-interview ASD Rating Scales-Text Revision (PARS-TR) and ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) were determined before and after drug therapy and compared between the two groups. In addition, changes in the d-ROMs, BAP and BAP/d-ROMs ratio and changes in the scores on the PARS-TR and ADHD-RS after treatment were also analyzed.

Results

Significant decrease of the d-ROMs, BAP, and scores on the PARS-TR and ADHD-RS, with a significant increase of the BAP/d-ROMs ratio, was observed after treatment. In addition, a significant correlation was observed between the changes in the d-ROMs and changes in the scores on the PARS-TR and ADHD-RS after treatment in the school-age ASD/ADHD children.

Conclusion

Our results suggest the possibility that the serum level of d-ROMs may be useful as an objective assessment marker to supplement the subjective assessment of the effects of drug treatment in school-age children with ASD/ADHD.
Testing the governance-performance relationship for the Tunisian banks: a GMM in system analysis
Authors: Djebali Nesrine , Zaghdoudi Khemais
Published: April 2020

Rationale

This study aims to contribute to settling the lack of consensus regarding the determinants of bank performance, not only by considering bank governance, but also by including factors such as CEO compensation and risk management committee. Previous literature has included bank governance and considered only large banks in their surveys. The exclusion of other factors such as small- and medium-size banks may render the findings of these studies limited in applicability.

Objective

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of internal governance on bank performance.

Methodology

To achieve this goal, we used annual data of a sample of ten Tunisian commercial banks listed in the Tunisian Stock Exchange observed during the period 1998–2015. We use the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to estimate the parameters of our econometric model.

Results

Our study finds that the correlation between the size of the board of directors, the state’s inclusion, and the presence of independent directors is positive and significant. On the other hand, we have found that CEO compensation, as well as foreign and institutional investors negatively affect the performance of the banks.

Conclusions and implications

Tunisian banks are invited to broaden their size through appropriate restructuring, adopt new remuneration policies and define the optimal number of directors representing the state within the board of directors. Our results suggest managerial implications that can be of great value to ensuring the success of Tunisian banks. The latter should favor a higher presence of independent directors to reduce the bank control ineffectiveness caused by having a significant number of foreign and institutional investors in the board of directors.
Understanding the relationship between slicing and measured fill density in material extrusion 3D printing towards precision porosity constructs for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications
Authors: Ravi Prashanth
Published: April 2020

Background

Fill density is a critical parameter affecting the functional performance of 3D printed porous constructs in the biomedical and pharmaceutical domain. Numerous studies have reported the impact of fill density on the mechanical properties, diffusion characteristics and content release rates of constructs. However, due to the way in which slicing toolpath calculations are performed, there is substantial deviation between the measured and slicing fill density for relatively small sized constructs printed at low fill densities (high porosities). The purpose of the current study was to investigate this discrepancy using a combination of mathematical modeling and experimental validation.

Methods

The open source slicer Slic3r was used to 3D print 20 mm × 20 mm × 5 mm constructs at three identified slicing fill density values, 9.58%, 20.36% and 32.33% (exact values entered into software), in triplicates. A mathematical model was proposed to accurately predict fill density, and the measured fill density was compared to both the predicted as well as the slicing fill density. The model was further validated at two additional slicing fill densities of 15% and 40%. The total material within the construct was analyzed from the perspective of material extruded within the beads as well as the bead to bead interconnects using the predictive model.

Results

The slicing fill density deviated substantially from measured fill density at low fill densities with absolute errors larger than 26% in certain instances. The proposed model was able to predict fill density to within 5% of the measured fill density in all cases. The average absolute error between predicted vs. measured fill density was 3.5%, whereas that between slicing vs. measured fill density was 13%. The material extruded in the beads varied from 86.5% to 95.9%, whereas that extruded in the interconnects varied from 13.5% to 4.1%.

Conclusions

The proposed model and approach was able to predict fill density to a reasonable degree of accuracy. Findings from the study could prove useful in applications where controlling construct fill density in relatively small sized constructs is important for achieving targeted levels of functional criteria such as mechanical strength, weight loss and content release rate.
Patient-reported outcomes and experiences from the perspective of colorectal cancer survivors: meta-synthesis of qualitative studies
Authors: Rutherford Claudia , Müller Fabiola , Faiz Nasiba , King Madeleine T. , White Kate
Published: April 2020

Background

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is prevalent in the developed world. Favourable survival rates highlight the need to better understand CRC survivors’ experiences of long-term impacts of treatment, which can in turn inform decision making. This systematic review aimed to identify and synthesise CRC survivors’ experiences of long-term impacts on health-related quality of life.

Methods

We searched Medline, Embase and PsychINFO from inception to January 2019. Qualitative studies describing CRC survivors’ experiences at least 1-year post-treatment were included. Study eligibility, quality assessment (COREQ guidelines), and data synthesis was performed independently by two reviewers and discussed with the study team.

Results

Of 1363 papers retrieved, 20 reporting 15 studies met eligibility. Thematic synthesis produced 12 themes: symptoms, physical, social, psychological and sexual functioning, impact on relationships, informal care needs provided by family/friend, supportive care needs provided by healthcare professional, health care experiences, health behaviour, financial toxicity and occupational experiences. Stoma problems (e.g. leakage, skin irritation) were common in ostomates. Survivors with no/reversed stoma experienced unexpected, long-term altered and unpredictable bowel functioning. Survivors often regulated timing, amount and foods consumed to manage bowel functioning. Less common symptoms included fatigue, impaired sleep and anal pain. Stoma problems and altered bowel functioning impaired survivors’ physical, social, sexual and psychological functioning. Cognitive functioning and heredity issues were not reported in any paper.

Conclusion

CRC survivors experience ongoing symptoms and functioning impairments more than 1-year post-treatment completion. Many survivors find their own ways to manage symptoms rather than seek professional help. Follow-up care for CRC survivors should integrate screening for long-term effects and provide targeted supportive care.
Familial Aggregation and Heritability of Nonmedullary Thyroid Cancer in an Asian Population: A Nationwide Cohort Study
Authors: Lin Huan-Tang , Liu Fu-Chao , Lin Shu-Fu , Kuo Chang-Fu , Chen Yu-Ying , Yu Huang-Ping
Published: April 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to assess the extent of familial aggregation of nonmedullary thyroid cancer (NMTC) and the relative risks (RRs) of chronic thyroid diseases and common malignancies in first-degree relatives of NMTC patients.

Methods

In the National Health Insurance Research database of Taiwan, all eligible individuals in 2016 were analyzed (n = 23 696 659) and the family structures of 38 686 patients diagnosed with NMTC between 1997 and 2016 were identified. The prevalence and RRs of NMTC, chronic thyroid diseases, and common malignancies in individuals with first-degree relatives with NMTC were examined. The accountability of heritability and environmental factors to NMTC susceptibility was estimated using the polygenic liability model.

Results

The prevalence of NMTC was 0.16% in the general population and 0.64% in individuals with first-degree relatives with NMTC. Regarding affected relatives, the RR (95% CI) for NMTC was 20.12 (4.86-83.29) for twins, 6.43 (4.80-8.62) for siblings, 5.24 (4.55-6.03) for offspring, 5.07 (4.41-5.81) for parents, and 2.07 (1.53-2.81) for spouses. The estimated genetic, common environmental, and nonshared environmental contributions to NMTC were 28.0%, 14.3%, and 57.7%, respectively. A family history of NMTC was associated with higher risks of thyroid nodules (RR, 2.26; 95% CI, 2.18-2.35), Hashimoto thyroiditis (2.11; 1.89-2.36), Graves disease (1.49; 1.42-1.57), lung cancer (1.56; 1.32-1.85), and leukemia and lymphoma (1.24; 1.03-1.50).

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate the importance of genetic and environmental contributions to NMTC susceptibility and highlight the coaggregation of chronic thyroid diseases and multiple malignancies with NMTC.
Mutational Analysis of the Putative Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) Binding Interface on its Type II Receptor, AMHR2
Authors: Hart Kaitlin N , Pépin David , Czepnik Magdalena , Donahoe Patricia K , Thompson Thomas B
Published: April 2020

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or Müllerian inhibiting substance is a unique member of the TGF-β family responsible for development and differentiation of the reproductive system. AMH signals through its own dedicated type II receptor, anti-Müllerian hormone receptor type II (AMHR2), providing an exclusive ligand-receptor pair within the broader TGF-β family. In this study, we used previous structural information to derive a model of AMH bound to AMHR2 to guide mutagenesis studies to identify receptor residues important for AMH signaling. Nonconserved mutations were introduced in AMHR2 and characterized in an AMH-responsive cell-based luciferase assay and native PAGE. Collectively, our results identified several residues important for AMH signaling within the putative ligand binding interface of AMHR2. Our results show that AMH engages AMHR2 at a similar interface to how activin and BMP class ligands bind the type II receptor, ACVR2B; however, there are significant molecular differences at the ligand interface of these 2 receptors, where ACVR2B is mostly hydrophobic and AMHR2 is predominately charged. Overall, this study shows that although the location of ligand binding on the receptor is similar to ACVR2A, ACVR2B, and BMPR2; AMHR2 uses unique ligand-receptor interactions to impart specificity for AMH.
Anesthesia Considerations and Infection Precautions for Trauma and Acute Care Cases During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Recommendations From a Task Force of the Chinese Society of Anesthesiology
Authors: Gong Yahong , Cao Xuezhao , Mei Wei , Wang Jun , Shen Le , Wang Sheng , Lu Zhijie , Yu Chunhua , Che Lu , Xu Xiaohan , Tan Juan , Ma Hong , Huang Yuguang
Published: April 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread worldwide. During the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, most hospitals have postponed elective surgeries. However, some emergency surgeries, especially for trauma patients, are inevitable. For patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, a standard protocol addressing preoperative preparation, intraoperative management, and postoperative surveillance should be implemented to avoid nosocomial infection and ensure the safety of patients and the health care workforce. With reference to the guidelines and recommendations issued by the National Health Commission and Chinese Society of Anesthesiology, this article provides recommendations for anesthesia management of trauma and emergency surgery cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effects of routine physiotherapy with and without neuromobilization in the management of internal shoulder impingement syndrome: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Akhtar Muhammad , Kirimi Hossein , Gilani Syed Amir , Ahmad Ashfaq
Published: April 2020

Background & Objective: Routine physiotherapy has been advocated was an effective treatment for internal shoulder impingement syndrome. However, there is lack of best exercise treatment and lots of studies are under consideration. The objective of the study was to compare the effects of Neuromobilization and routine physiotherapy on pain in patients having shoulder internal impingement syndrome.

Methods: This is a single blinded randomized control clinical trial that was conducted at Social Security Hospital Gujranwala in which 80 patients with SIS were participated. The duration of study was from September 2016 to March 2018. Patients were recruited after giving an informed consent and were randomly assigned to either control or experimental group which was treated with routine physiotherapy and routine physiotherapy plus neuromobilization respectively; pain was assessed by Numeric Rating Scale at base line, 5th and 11th week.

Results: The experimental group compared with control group at 11th week had lower mean pain score 2.15(1.66-2.64) vs 4.90(4.41-5.40); between group difference, 1.82; 95% (CI), -2.38 to -1.25; P < 0.001 and Partial ŋ2=0.33. These results show that pain score is much improved in experimental group.

Conclusion: Neuromobilization along with physical therapy is more effective as compared to physiotherapy alone.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1545

How to cite this:Akhtar M, Karimi H, Gilani SA, Ahmad A. Effects of routine physiotherapy with and without neuromobilization in the management of internal shoulder impingement syndrome: A randomized controlled trial. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):596-602.  doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1545

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in evaluation of obstructive jaundice with MRCP as gold standard
Authors: Hanif Hina , Khan Sohail Ahmed , Muneer Sobia , Adil Syed Omair
Published: April 2020

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in obstructive jaundice taking MRCP as gold standard.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Dow Institute of Radiology (DIR), Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), Karachi from 2nd May 2018 till 2nd November 2018. Both male and female patients aged 30 to 80 years with suspected obstructive jaundice were included. Patients already diagnosed with obstructive jaundice were excluded. MRCP and ultrasound were performed in suspected patients. Diagnostic accuracy including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of obstructive jaundice were calculated using contingency tables using MRCP findings as gold standard.

Results: Mean age of the patients was 54.73 ± 12.65 years. In causes of obstruction, choledocholothiasis was responsible for 85 (35.1%), stricture 61 (25.2%), carcinoma of head of pancreas 39 (16.1%), periampullary carcinoma 21 (8.7%), cholangiocarcinoma 10 (4.1%) and gallbladder carcinoma 26 (10.7%) of the cases. Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in obstructive jaundice taking MRCP findings as gold standard showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value (PPV), negative predicted value (NPV) and overall diagnostic accuracy as 84.57%, 79.10%, 91.36%, 66.25% and 83.06%.

Conclusion: Ultrasound has a high sensitivity, moderate specificity, and high diagnostic accuracy in diagnosis of obstructive jaundice.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1665

How to cite this:Hanif H, Khan SA, Muneer S, Adil SO. Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in evaluation of obstructive jaundice with MRCP as gold standard. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):652-656. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.1665

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Analysis of inflammatory markers in apparently healthy automobile vehicle drivers in response to exposure to traffic pollution fumes
Authors: Ahmed Hina Riaz , Manzoor Syed Binafsha , Laghari Zulfiqar , Pirzada Suleman
Published: April 2020

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate pattern of markers of inflammation in apparently healthy drivers who exposed to traffic fumes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2016 to January 2017 at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro. It looked into the effects of traffic pollutants on markers of inflammation including CRP, Leukocytes count, IL-6, TNF-α, TNF-β of healthy human volunteers. Eighty-seven, apparently healthy, non-smoking automobile vehicle drivers, having daily contact of traffic exhaust for at least six hours, aged between 18-40 years recruited for this study. Levels of traffic-generated pollutants P.M2.5, P.M10, NOx were recorded in different areas of Hyderabad City.

Results: P.M2.5 found to be positively correlated with markers of inflammation including IL-6 (rs = 0.99), TNF-α (rs = 0.41), CRP mg/dl (rs = 0.99) , neutrophils (rs = 0.29), lymphocytes (rs = 0.31), eosinophils (rs = 0.20), monocytes (rs = 0.42) and basophils (rs = 0.16). Positive correlation present among IL-6 (rs = 0.21), TNF-α (rs = 0.49) and CRP mg/dl (rs = 0.22) (rs = -0.31), Leukocytes (rs = 0.14) neutrophils (rs = 0.31), lymphocytes (rs = 0.21), monocytes (rs = 0.50), basophils (rs = 0.17) with P.M10. NOx showed positive correlation with IL-6 (rs = 0.22), TNF-α (rs = 0.48), CRP (rs = 0.22), neutrophils (rs = 0.31), lymphocytes (rs = 0.13), basophils (rs = 0.17) and monocytes (rs = 0.48).

Conclusion: Findings of our study suggest that almost all markers of inflammation are positively correlated with traffic pollutants and this condition might raise the risk of systemic diseases.

doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.2025

How to cite this:Riaz H, Syed BM, Laghari Z, Pirzada S. Analysis of inflammatory markers in apparently healthy automobile vehicle drivers in response to exposure to traffic pollution fumes. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(4):657-662. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.4.2025

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.