bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk factors, risk assessment, and prognosis in patients with gynecological cancer and thromboembolism
Authors: Wang Xindan , Huang Jing , Bingbing Zhao , Li Shape , Li Li 
Published: December 2019

Objective This study aimed to investigate a suitable risk assessment model to predict deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients with gynecological cancer. Methods Data from 212 patients with gynecological cancer in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were risk-stratified with three different risk assessment models individually, including the Caprini model, Wells DVT model, and Khorana model. Results The difference in risk level evaluated by the Caprini model was not different between the DVT and control groups. However, the DVT group had a significantly higher risk level than the control group with the Wells DVT or Khorana model. The Wells DVT model was more effective for stratifying patients in the DVT group into the higher risk level and for stratifying those in the control group into the lower risk level. Receiver operating curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of the Wells DVT, Khorana, and Caprini models was 0.995 ± 0.002, 0.642 ± 0.038, and 0.567 ± 0.039, respectively. Conclusion The Wells DVT model is the most suitable risk assessment model for predicting DVT. Clinicians could also combine the Caprini and Wells DVT models to effectively identify high-risk patients and eliminate patients without DVT.
Kyphoplasty for occult and non-occult osteoporotic vertebral fractures: a retrospective study
Authors: Zhou Zhangzhe , Sun Zhiyong , Wang Yimeng , Zhu Xiaoyu , Qian Zhonglai 
Published: December 2019

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of kyphoplasty in the treatment of occult and non-occult osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OOVF). Material and Methods From 2015 to 2017, 82 OOVF and 105 non-occult osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (N-OOVF) were evaluated with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and vertebral height preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and one year postoperatively. Operative time, fluoroscopy time, and cement injection volume were recorded. Results Compared with the preoperative VAS and ODI scores, the scores of both groups were significantly improved after surgery. Preoperative ODI and VAS scores of the OOVF were lower than those of the N-OOVF. The operative time, fluoroscopy time, and bone cement injection volume of the OOVF were significantly lower than those of the N-OOVF. Vertebral height of the N-OOVF improved significantly after surgery. There were differences in cement leakage and adjacent vertebral fractures between the two groups. Conclusion Compared with N-OOVF, OOVF are safer with kyphoplasty, and it is necessary to diagnose OOVF in a timely manner.
The efficacy and safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A in painful knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Zhai Shuchao , Huang Botao , Yu Kai 
Published: December 2019

Objective A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A in painful knee osteoarthritis. Methods The EMBASE and MEDLINE databases were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of Botulinum Toxin Type A in the treatment of painful knee osteoarthritis. The references of included literature were also searched. Results Five articles involving 5 RCTs including 314 patients were included in this analysis. There was a significant difference between Botulinum Toxin Type A and placebo in the visual analog scale (VAS) pain scale and Western Ontario & McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaire score in both the short-term (≤4 weeks) and long-term (≥8 weeks) treatment period. There were no serious adverse events in the Botulinum Toxin Type A groups. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that Botulinum Toxin Type A is effective and safe in the painful knee OA treatment. However, high-quality randomized controlled studies are still needed to further confirm our findings.
Evaluation of Antibiotic Utilization in a Rural, Outpatient Clinic: An Antimicrobial Stewardship Initiative
Authors: Giles Amber B. , Sarbacker G. Blair , Anderson Kathryn , King Courtney , Goodbar Neal , Shealy Kayce 
Published: December 2019

Background: Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) and acute otitis media (AOM) and may be unnecessary at times. The aim of this study was to evaluate prescribing practices for UTIs and AOM in a rural ambulatory care setting and to identify areas for improvement. Methods: In a single-center, retrospective review conducted at a rural clinic, patients diagnosed with uncomplicated UTI and AOM were included. Patients were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Tenth (ICD-10) codes, and data were collected for visits between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. The primary outcome was to assess adherence of antimicrobial prescribing to current treatment guidelines. Results: Of the 76 patients identified, 28 met inclusion criteria. Of the 28 patients, 75% received an agent recommended first line in the treatment guidelines, and 18 of the 21 received a recommended dose. Only 17% of patients were prescribed an appropriate duration of treatment. Conclusion: Opportunities exist for antimicrobial stewardship interventions for uncomplicated UTIs and AOM. Prescribers are not consistently adhering to guidelines in regard to antibiotic choice, dose, or duration. Additional education and stewardship interventions are crucial considering the increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance.
S-100β in predicting the need of hyperbaric oxygen in CO-induced delayed neurological sequels
Authors: Hafez Amal SAF , El-Sarnagawy Ghada N 
Published: December 2019

Background: Delayed neurological sequels (DNS) have been described after carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. There is a need to find a new prognostic marker to guide the use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy. Aim: To evaluate serum S-100β level in patients presenting with acute CO poisoning as an indicator of poisoning severity and predictor of DNS occurrence and HBO need in those patients. Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients with acute CO poisoning. On admission, carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and S-100β levels were measured. Patients were followed up for 6 months for signs of DNS. Results: Out of 50 patients, 6 only developed DNS. The mean of S-100β levels was significantly higher in patients with severe poisoning and those with DNS. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed that S-100β had an area under the curve 0. 871; at a cutoff value ≥ 0.67 µg/L, its sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 77.3%, respectively. The sensitivity of S-100β was significantly higher than that of COHb, while its specificity and overall accuracy were significantly higher than those of HBO criteria. Conclusion: Serum S-100β level on admission could be a marker of poisoning severity and a predictor of CO-induced DNS development that guides the use of HBO therapy.
Relationship of arteriovenous fistula stenosis and thrombosis with the platelet–lymphocyte ratio in hemodialysis patients
Authors: Sarioglu Orkun , Capar Ahmet Ergin , Belet Umit 
Published: December 2019

Background: The platelet–lymphocyte ratio, which was reported to have a strong relationship with chronic inflammation and thrombosis, is a useful biomarker. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the platelet–lymphocyte ratio, arteriovenous stenosis, and thrombosis in patients with chronic renal failure. Methods: Patients who were referred to our interventional radiology department due to arteriovenous fistula dysfunction from dialysis units between August 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. In the study, 95 patients with arteriovenous fistula access problems were included. Patients were divided into two groups: stenosis ( n = 52) and thrombosis ( n = 43). Thirty-six subjects with a patent left radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula proven by both color Doppler ultrasonography and clinically were added to the control group. Blood samples were obtained on the same day before the fistulography. Results: Platelet counts, lymphocyte counts, and platelet–lymphocyte ratio were found to be significantly different between the three groups. After the Bonferroni post hoc analysis, there was a significant difference between the stenosis and control group ( p = 0.017), and the thrombosis and control group ( p < 0.001) in terms of the platelet–lymphocyte ratio. No significant difference for any parameter was found between stenosis and thrombosis group. Conclusion: High levels of the platelet–lymphocyte ratio may be a supportive finding of arteriovenous fistula stenosis and thrombosis and can be taken into consideration during hemodialysis-dependent patients’ follow-up.
Use CT Imaging to Predict the Short-Term Outcome of Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Patients With Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Cao Xiaolan , Li Xindi , Wang Xiaoyue , Duan Jinghao , Zhu Shouhui , Zeng Haiyan , Yin Yong , Yuan Shuanghu , Hu Xudong 
Published: December 2019

Objective: To extract the computed tomography (CT) imaging features of the primary lesions in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and to study whether these imaging features can predict the short-term outcome after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods: From January 2014 to December 2015, a total of 49 patients with locally advanced ESCC who underwent CCRT were analyzed retrospectively. They were randomly categorized into the training and validation groups. Collection of CT imaging of patients before and intermediate stage undergoing radiotherapy. The correlations between imaging characteristics and short-term outcome were analyzed. The accuracy of cutoff value was verified by imaging characteristics of patients in validation group. Result: There were 38 patients in the training group and 11 patients in the validation group. 13 patients in the training group were classified as responders and 25 patients as nonresponders. According to the CT imaging before radiotherapy, there are no significant differences between responders and nonresponders. According to the CT imaging in the middle stage of radiotherapy, responders showed significantly higher Roundness than nonresponders ( P = .004, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.0419-0.212). The areas under the ROC curves for the ability to predict significantly tumor response were 0.768 for Roundness ( P = .001, 95% CI = 0.603-0.889). The cutoff value of Roundness is 0.3099. Roundness showed no significant associations with survival parameters. Conclusions: Computed tomography imaging in the middle stage of radiotherapy can predict the short-term outcome of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for patients with locally advanced ESCC but have no predictive effect on the total survival time.
The impact of a school-based tooth-brushing program on dental caries: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Tashiro Yuri , Nakamura Keiko , Seino Kaoruko , Ochi Shiro , Ishii Hiroshi , Hasegawa Masaru , Kawauchi Yoshimichi , Chiba Mitsuyuki 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Promotion of oral health in children is recognized as one of the components of health-promoting schools (HPSs). However, few studies have addressed supportive school environments for children’s oral health. This study aimed to evaluate the status of dental caries in school children at HPSs, with the objective of examining the impact of a supportive school environment for oral health, considering the lifestyles of individual children and the socioeconomic characteristics of their communities.

Methods
Data of 2043 5th-grade students in 21 elementary schools in Ichikawa city between 2008 and 2013 were analyzed. Children’s oral health status was evaluated using the decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index. A self-reported lifestyle questionnaire, a survey of the school environment promoting tooth-brushing, and community socioeconomic characteristics derived from the National Census data were included in the analyses. Bivariate analyses were conducted to evaluate the children’s DMFT status, and zero-inflated negative binominal (ZINB) regression was used to assess the relationships between DMFT and other variables.

Results
Prevalence of dental caries in the permanent teeth of 5th-grade children (aged 10–11 years) was 33.3%, with a mean DMFT score (± SD) of 0.83 ± 1.50. According to multilevel ZINB regression analysis, children from schools with after-lunch tooth-brushing time showed a higher odds ratio (OR) for excess zero DMFT (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.00–2.15, P = 0.049) as compared to those from schools without it. Neither bivariate analysis nor ZINB model analysis revealed any significant influence of children’s gender or use of a toothpaste with fluoride.

Conclusions
The school-based environment supportive of oral health was significantly associated with a zero DMFT status in children. School-based efforts considering the socioeconomic characteristics of the area warrant attention even with declining prevalence of dental caries.
Benchmarking the PEPOP methods for mimicking discontinuous epitopes
Authors: Demolombe Vincent , de Brevern Alexandre G. , Molina Franck , Lavigne Géraldine , Granier Claude , Moreau Violaine 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundComputational methods provide approaches to identify epitopes in protein Ags to help characterizing potential biomarkers identified by high-throughput genomic or proteomic experiments. PEPOP version 1.0 was developed as an antigenic or immunogenic peptide prediction tool. We have now improved this tool by implementing 32 new methods (PEPOP version 2.0) to guide the choice of peptides that mimic discontinuous epitopes and thus potentially able to replace the cognate protein Ag in its interaction with an Ab. In the present work, we describe these new methods and the benchmarking of their performances.ResultsBenchmarking was carried out by comparing the peptides predicted by the different methods and the corresponding epitopes determined by X-ray crystallography in a dataset of 75 Ag-Ab complexes. The Sensitivity (Se) and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) parameters were used to assess the performance of these methods. The results were compared to that of peptides obtained either by chance or by using the SUPERFICIAL tool, the only available comparable method.ConclusionThe PEPOP methods were more efficient than, or as much as chance, and 33 of the 34 PEPOP methods performed better than SUPERFICIAL. Overall, “optimized” methods (tools that use the traveling salesman problem approach to design peptides) can predict peptides that best match true epitopes in most cases.
Alignment-free genomic sequence comparison using FCGR and signal processing
Authors: Lichtblau Daniel 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundAlignment-free methods of genomic comparison offer the possibility of scaling to large data sets of nucleotide sequences comprised of several thousand or more base pairs. Such methods can be used for purposes of deducing “nearby” species in a reference data set, or for constructing phylogenetic trees.ResultsWe describe one such method that gives quite strong results. We use the Frequency Chaos Game Representation (FCGR) to create images from such sequences, We then reduce dimension, first using a Fourier trig transform, followed by a Singular Values Decomposition (SVD). This gives vectors of modest length. These in turn are used for fast sequence lookup, construction of phylogenetic trees, and classification of virus genomic data. We illustrate the accuracy and scalability of this approach on several benchmark test sets.ConclusionsThe tandem of FCGR and dimension reductions using Fourier-type transforms and SVD provides a powerful approach for alignment-free genomic comparison. Results compare favorably and often surpass best results reported in prior literature. Good scalability is also observed.
Expression analysis of Rab11 during zebrafish embryonic development
Authors: Zhang Haijun , Gao Yu , Qian Peipei , Dong Zhangji , Hao Wenjin , Liu Dong , Duan Xuchu 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Rab proteins are GTPases responsible for intracellular vesicular trafficking regulation. Rab11 proteins, members of the Rab GTPase family, are known to regulate vesicular recycling during embryonic development. In zebrafish, there are 3 rab11 paralogues, known as rab11a, rab11ba and rab11bb, sharing high identity with each other. However, the expression analysis of rab11 is so far lacking.

Results
Here, by phylogeny analysis, we found the three rab11 genes are highly conserved especially for their GTPase domains. We examined the expression patterns of rab11a, rab11ba and rab11bb using RT-PCR and in situ hybridization. We found that all the three genes were highly enriched in the central nervous system, but in different areas of the brain. Apart from brain, rab11a was also expressed in caudal vein, pronephric duct, proctodeum, pharyngeal arches and digestive duct, rab11ba was detected to express in muscle, and rab11bb was expressed in kidney, fin and spinal cord. Different from rab11a and rab11ba, which both have maternal expressions in embryos, rab11bb only expresses during 24hpf to 96hpf.

Conclusions
Our results suggest that rab11 genes play important but distinct roles in the development of the nervous system in zebrafish. The findings could provide new evidences for better understanding the functions of rab11 in the development of zebrafish embryos.
The geography of evolutionary divergence in the highly endemic avifauna from the Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexico
Authors: Rocha-Méndez Alberto , Sánchez-González Luis A. , González Clementina , Navarro-Sigüenza Adolfo G. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundMesoamerica is a remarkable region with a high geological and ecological complexity. Within northern Mesoamerica, the biotic province of the Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) in southwestern Mexico harbors exceptionally high avian endemism and diversity. Herein, we searched for spatially and temporally concordant phylogeographic patterns, in four bird genera from three distinct avian orders co-distributed across Mesoamerica and investigated their causes through hypothesis testing regarding historical processes. Selected species include endemic and differentiated populations across the montane forests of Mesoamerica, and particularly within the SMS.ResultsWe gathered mitochondrial DNA sequences for at least one locus from 177 individuals across all species. We assessed genetic structure, demographic history, and defined a framework for the coalescent simulations used in biogeographic hypothesis testing temporal and spatial co-variance. Our analyses suggested shared phylogeographic breaks in areas corresponding to the SMS populations, and between the main montane systems in Mesoamerica, with the Central Valley of Oaxaca and the Nicaragua Depression being the most frequently shared breaks among analyzed taxa. Nevertheless, dating analyses and divergence patterns observed were consistent with the hypothesis of broad vicariance across Mesoamerica derived from mechanisms operating at distinct times across taxa in the SMS.ConclusionsOur study provides a framework for understanding the evolutionary origins and historical factors enhancing speciation in well-defined regions within Mesoamerica, indicating that the evolutionary history of extant biota inhabiting montane forests is complex and often idiosyncratic.
Morphology and evolutionary significance of phosphatic otoliths within the inner ears of cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes)
Authors: Schnetz Lisa , Pfaff Cathrin , Libowitzky Eugen , Johanson Zerina , Stepanek Rica , Kriwet Jürgen 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundChondrichthyans represent a monophyletic group of crown group gnathostomes and are central to our understanding of vertebrate evolution. Like all vertebrates, cartilaginous fishes evolved concretions of material within their inner ears to aid with equilibrium and balance detection. Up to now, these materials have been identified as calcium carbonate-bearing otoconia, which are small bio-crystals consisting of an inorganic mineral and a protein, or otoconial masses (aggregations of otoconia bound by an organic matrix), being significantly different in morphology compared to the singular, polycrystalline otolith structures of bony fishes, which are solidified bio-crystals forming stony masses. Reinvestigation of the morphological and chemical properties of these chondrichthyan otoconia revises our understanding of otolith composition and has implications on the evolution of these characters in both the gnathostome crown group, and cartilaginous fishes in particular.ResultsDissections ofAmblyraja radiata,Potamotrygon leopoldi, andScyliorhinus canicularevealed three pairs of singular polycrystalline otolith structures with a well-defined morphology within their inner ears, as observed in bony fishes. IR spectroscopy identified the material to be composed of carbonate/collagen-bearing apatite in all taxa. These findings contradict previous hypotheses suggesting these otoconial structures were composed of calcium carbonate in chondrichthyans. A phylogenetic mapping using 37 chondrichthyan taxa further showed that the acquisition of phosphatic otolith structures might be widespread within cartilaginous fishes.ConclusionsDifferences in the size and shape of otoliths between taxa indicate a taxonomic signal within elasmobranchs. Otoliths made of carbonate/collagen-bearing apatite are reported for the first time in chondrichthyans. The intrinsic pathways to form singular, polycrystalline otoliths may represent the plesiomorphic condition for vertebrates but needs further testing. Likewise, the phosphatic composition of otoliths in early vertebrates such as cyclostomes and elasmobranchs is probably closely related to the lack of bony tissue in these groups, supporting a close relationship between skeletal tissue mineralization patterns and chemical otolith composition, underlined by physiological constraints.