bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Actions of annatto-extracted tocotrienol supplementation on obese postmenopausal women: study protocol for a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomised trial
Authors: Aryaie Amir , Tinsley Grant , Lee Jaehoon , Watkins Bruce A , Moore Lane , Alhaj-Saleh Adel , Shankar Kartik , Wood Sarah R , Wang Rui , Shen Chwan-Li 
Published: March 2020

IntroductionObesity is a major health concern in postmenopausal women, and chronic low-grade inflammation contributes to the development of obesity. Cellular studies and high-fat-diet-induced obese mouse model mimicking obesity show the antiobesity effect of annatto-extracted tocotrienols (TT) with antioxidant capability. We aim to assess the safety and efficacy of TT consumption for lipid-related parameters in obese postmenopausal women.Methods and analysisEligible obese postmenopausal women will be randomly assigned to placebo group (430 mg olive oil) and TT group (DeltaGold Tocotrienol 70%) for 24 weeks. In the present study, the primary outcome is total/regional fat mass and visceral adipose tissue. The secondary outcomes include lipid profile in serum, mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A in fat tissue, oxylipins and endocannabinoids in plasma and adipose tissue, abundance and composition of intestinal microbiome in faeces, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in serum and leptin in serum. Every participant will be evaluated at 0 (prior to starting intervention) and 24 weeks of intervention, except for serum lipid profile and hs-CRP at 0, 12 and 24 weeks. ‘Intent-to-treat’ principle is employed for data analysis. Hierarchical linear modelling is used to estimate the effects of dietary TT supplementation while properly accounting for dependency of data and identified covariates. To our knowledge, this is the first randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded study to determine dietary TT supplementation on an obese population. If successful, this study will guide the future efficacy TT interventions and TT can be implemented as an alternative for obese population in antiobesity management.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock. An informed consent form will be signed by a participant before enrolling in the study. The results from this trial will be actively disseminated through academic conference presentation and peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberNCT03705845.
Complications and discomfort after research bronchoscopy in the MicroCOPD study
Authors: Leiten Elise Orvedal , Eagan Tomas Mikal Lind , Martinsen Einar Marius Hjellestad , Nordeide Eli , Husebø Gunnar Reksten , Knudsen Kristel Svalland , Lehmann Sverre , Svanes Øistein , Bakke Per Sigvald , Nielsen Rune 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundData on discomfort and complications from research bronchoscopy in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma is limited. We present complications and discomfort occurring within a week after bronchoscopy, and investigate personal and procedural risk factors.Methods239 subjects with COPD, asthma or without lung disease underwent research bronchoscopies as part of a microbiome study of the lower airways (the MicroCOPD study). Bronchoscopy was done in the supine position with oral scope insertion with the option of light conscious alfentanil sedation. Sampling consisted of protected specimen brushes, bronchoalveolar lavage, small volume lavage and for some, endobronchial biopsies. Bleeding, desaturation, cough, haemodynamic changes, dyspnoea and other events that required an unplanned intervention or early termination of bronchoscopy were prospectively recorded. Follow-up consisted of a telephone interview where subjects rated discomfort and answered questions about fever sensation and respiratory symptoms in the week following bronchoscopy.ResultsAn unplanned intervention or early termination of bronchoscopy was required in 25.9% of bronchoscopies. Three subjects (1.3%) experienced potentially severe complications, of which all recovered without sequelae. COPD subjects experienced more dyspnoea than controls. Sedation and lower age was associated with less unplanned intervention or premature termination. About half of the subjects (47.7%) reported fever. Discomfort was associated with postprocedural fever, dread of bronchoscopy, higher score on the COPD Assessment Test and never-smoking. In subjects undergoing more than one bronchoscopy, the first bronchoscopy was often predictive for complications and postprocedural fever in the repeated bronchoscopy.ConclusionResearch bronchoscopies were not associated with more complications or discomfort in COPD subjects. 47.7% experienced postbronchoscopy fever sensation, which was associated with discomfort.
Demographic changes in US trampoline-related injuries from 1998 to 2017: cause for alarm
Authors: Fitzgerald Ryan E , Freiman Serena M , Kulwin Robert , Loder Randall 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundRecreational sports facilities with trampolines have become increasingly popular, and trampoline-related injuries incurred have been increasing. The goal of this study was to determine impact of recreational sports facilities on trampoline-associated injuries.MethodsAn epidemiological study was performed using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). All patients in the NEISS database coded for trampoline injury were included. Statistical analyses were performed comparing home trampoline injuries (HTIs) and recreational sports facilities-related trampoline injuries (RSIs) for standard demographic variables using appropriated weighted statistical methods.ResultsThere were an estimated 1 376 659 emergency department (ED) visits for trampoline related injuries from 1998 to 2017; 125 811 were RSIs and 1 227 881 were HTIs. Between 2004 and 2017, the number of RSIs increased rapidly, while HTIs decreased. RSIs more often presented to large hospitals and HTIs to smaller ones. Strain/sprains were more associated with RSIs, whereas HTIs sustained more internal organ injuries. Lower extremity fractures occurred more frequently in RSIs and upper extremity fractures in HTIs. There was a greater percentage of RSIs in 15–34 years old age group (28.2% vs 13.6%). There were no differences by gender and race between HTIs and RSIs.ConclusionsThe rapid expansion in recreational sports facilities with trampolines coincided with increasing RSIs. RSIs differed from HTIs regarding changes over time, hospital size, diagnosis and injury location. Recreational sports facilities with trampolines pose a public health hazard.
Pathogenic variants in TNRC6B cause a genetic disorder characterised by developmental delay/intellectual disability and a spectrum of neurobehavioural phenotypes including autism and ADHD
Authors: Granadillo Jorge Luis , P.A. Stegmann Alexander , Guo Hui , Xia Kun , Angle Brad , Bontempo Kelly , Ranells Judith D , Newkirk Patricia , Costin Carrie , Viront Joleen , Stumpel Constanze T , Sinnema Margje , Panis Bianca , Pfundt Rolph , Krapels Ingrid P C , Klaassens Merel , Nicolai Joost , Li Jinliang , Jiang Yuwu , Marco Elysa , Canton Ana , Latronico Ana Claudia , Montenegro Luciana , Leheup Bruno , Bonnet Celine , M. Amudhavalli Shivarajan , Lawson Caitlin E , McWalter Kirsty , Telegrafi Aida , Pearson Richard , Kvarnung Malin , Wang Xia , Bi Weimin , Rosenfeld Jill Anne , Shinawi Marwan 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundRare variants in hundreds of genes have been implicated in developmental delay (DD), intellectual disability (ID) and neurobehavioural phenotypes. TNRC6B encodes a protein important for RNA silencing. Heterozygous truncating variants have been reported in three patients from large cohorts with autism, but no full phenotypic characterisation was described.MethodsClinical and molecular characterisation was performed on 17 patients with TNRC6B variants. Clinical data were obtained by retrospective chart review, parent interviews, direct patient interaction with providers and formal neuropsychological evaluation.ResultsClinical findings included DD/ID (17/17) (speech delay in 94% (16/17), fine motor delay in 82% (14/17) and gross motor delay in 71% (12/17) of subjects), autism or autistic traits (13/17), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (11/17), other behavioural problems (7/17) and musculoskeletal findings (12/17). Other congenital malformations or clinical findings were occasionally documented. The majority of patients exhibited some dysmorphic features but no recognisable gestalt was identified. 17 heterozygous TNRC6B variants were identified in 12 male and five female unrelated subjects by exome sequencing (14), a targeted panel (2) and a chromosomal microarray (1). The variants were nonsense (7), frameshift (5), splice site (2), intragenic deletions (2) and missense (1).ConclusionsVariants in TNRC6B cause a novel genetic disorder characterised by recurrent neurocognitive and behavioural phenotypes featuring DD/ID, autism, ADHD and other behavioural abnormalities. Our data highly suggest that haploinsufficiency is the most likely pathogenic mechanism. TNRC6B should be added to the growing list of genes of the RNA-induced silencing complex associated with ID/DD, autism and ADHD.
Gene discoveries in autism are biased towards comorbidity with intellectual disability
Authors: Jensen Matthew , Smolen Corrine , Girirajan Santhosh 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundAutism typically presents with highly heterogeneous features, including frequent comorbidity with intellectual disability (ID). The overlap between these phenotypes has confounded the diagnosis and discovery of genetic factors associated with autism. We analysed pathogenic de novo genetic variants in individuals with autism who had either ID or normal cognitive function to determine whether genes associated with autism also contribute towards ID comorbidity.MethodsWe analysed 2290 individuals from the Simons Simplex Collection for de novo likely gene-disruptive (LGD) variants and copy-number variants (CNVs), and determined their relevance towards IQ and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) measures.ResultsIndividuals who carried de novo variants in a set of 173 autism-associated genes showed an average 12.8-point decrease in IQ scores (p=5.49×10−6) and 2.8-point increase in SRS scores (p=0.013) compared with individuals without such variants. Furthermore, individuals with high-functioning autism (IQ >100) had lower frequencies of de novo LGD variants (42 of 397 vs 86 of 562, p=0.021) and CNVs (9 of 397 vs 24 of 562, p=0.065) compared with individuals who manifested both autism and ID (IQ <70). Pathogenic variants disrupting autism-associated genes conferred a 4.85-fold increased risk (p=0.011) for comorbid ID, while de novo variants observed in individuals with high-functioning autism disrupted genes with little functional relevance towards neurodevelopment.ConclusionsPathogenic de novo variants disrupting autism-associated genes contribute towards autism and ID comorbidity, while other genetic factors are likely to be causal for high-functioning autism.
Transradial approach for neurointerventions: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Joshi Krishna C , Beer-Furlan André , Crowley R Webster , Chen Michael , Munich Stephan A 
Published: March 2020

BackgroundDespite the recent increase in the number of publications on diagnostic cerebral angiograms using transradial access (TRA), there have been relatively few regarding TRA for neurointerventional cases. Questions of feasibility and safety may still exist among physicians considering TRA for neurointerventional procedures.MethodsA systematic literature review was performed following PRISMA guidelines. Three online databases (MedLine via PubMed, Scopus and Embase) were searched for articles published between January 2000 and December 2019. Search terms included “Transradial access”, “Radial Access”, “Radial artery” AND “Neurointerventions". The reference lists of selected articles and pertinent available non-systematic analysis were reviewed for other potential citations. Primary outcomes measured were access site complications and crossover rates.ResultsTwenty-one studies (n=1342 patients) were included in this review. Two of the studies were prospective while the remaining 19 were retrospective. Six studies (n=616 patients) included TRA carotid stenting only. The rest of the studies included treatment for cerebral aneurysms (n=423), mechanical thrombectomy (n=127), tumor embolization (n=22), and other indications (n=154) such as angioplasty and stenting for vertebrobasilar stenosis, balloon test occlusion, embolization of dural arteriovenous fistula and arteriovenous malformation, chemotherapeutic drug delivery, intra-arterial thrombolysis, and arterial access during a venous stenting procedure. Two (0.15%) major complications and 37 (2.75%) minor complications were reported. Sixty-four (4.77%) patients crossed over to transfemoral access for completion of the procedure. Seven (0.52%) patients crossed over due to access failure and 57 (4.24%) patients crossed over to TFA due to inability to cannulate the target vessel.ConclusionThis systematic review demonstrates that TRA has a relatively low rate of access site complications and crossovers. With increasing familiarity, development of TRA-specific neuroendovascular devices, and the continued reports of its success in the literature, TRA is expected to become more widely used by neurointerventionalists.
Growth stunted in half a litter of puppies due to intestinal parasitism
Authors: Frada Maria , Machado João , Coutinho Teresa , Lopes Ana Patrícia , Ginja Mario M D 
Published: March 2020

Four puppies of Estrela mountain dog breed, out of a litter of nine, eight weeks of age, and with poor body condition, poor appetite, pica (geophagia) and stunted growth from the fifth week of age, were attended at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. On physical examination, it was concluded that the puppies were severely underweight. Rectal examination showed dark faeces. Nevertheless, the puppies were alert, responsive and interested in wet food. Haematological, biochemical, faecal, radiographic, ultrasonographic and CT studies were performed. The main abnormalities detected were mild anaemia and intestinal parasitism caused by Giardia species and coccidia. The puppies started to be fed with wet food and were treated with metronidazole, sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim for intestinal parasitism. The puppies regained their appetite and growth, and their body condition gradually improved. At 12 weeks of age the puppies were completely healthy, without evidence of sequela, and living with their new owners.
Inclusion of female participants in cardiovascular research: a case study of Ontario NSERC-funded programs
Authors: Wilson Ria , Adams Mary Louise , Pyke Kyra E. 
Published: March 2020

This study explored inclusion of female participants in Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant (NSERC-DG)-funded human cardiovascular research at Ontario universities between 2010–2018. Ninety-six publications were examined and 4 principal investigators were interviewed. Females were excluded/underrepresented in 63% of publications with 49% male-only and 5% female-only samples. The sex-bias appears to be explained by dependence on research knowledge and methodologies that maintain and reproduce a firmly established discourse of the male norm.Novelty Female participants were underrepresented in NSERC DG-funded cardiovascular research at Ontario universities between 2010–2018.
Testing fundamental physics with photon frequency shift
Authors: Buoninfante Luca , Lambiase Gaetano , Stabile Antonio 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe propose a high precision satellite experiment to further test Einstein’s General Relativity and constrain extended theories of gravity. We consider the frequency shift of a photon radially exchanged between two observers located on Earth and on a satellite in circular orbit in the equatorial plane. In General Relativity there exists a peculiar satellite-distance at which the static contribution to the frequency shift vanishes since the effects induced by pure gravity and special relativity compensate, while it can be non-zero in modified gravities, like in models with screening mechanisms. As an experimental device placed on the satellite we choose a system of hydrogen atoms which can exhibit the 1 s spin-flip transition from the singlet (unaligned proton-electron spins) to the triplet (aligned proton-electron spins) state induced by the absorption of photons at 21.1 cm. The observation of an excited state would indicate that the frequency of the emitted and absorbed photon remains unchanged according to General Relativity. On the contrary, a non-zero frequency shift, as predicted in extended theories of gravity, would prevent the spin-flip transition and the hydrogen atoms from jumping into the excited state. Such a detection would signify a smoking-gun signature of new physics beyond special and general relativity.
Growth index of matter perturbations in the light of Dark Energy Survey
Authors: Basilakos Spyros , Anagnostopoulos Fotios K. 
Published: March 2020

AbstractWe study how the cosmological constraints from growth data are improved by including the measurements of bias from Dark Energy Survey (DES). In particular, we utilize the biasing properties of the DES Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) and the growth data provided by the various galaxy surveys in order to constrain the growth index ($$\gamma $$γ) of the linear matter perturbations. Considering a constant growth index we can put tight constraints, up to $$\sim 10\%$$∼10% accuracy, on $$\gamma $$γ. Specifically, using the priors of the Dark Energy Survey and implementing a joint likelihood procedure between theoretical expectations and data we find that the best fit value is in between $$\gamma =0.64\pm 0.075$$γ=0.64±0.075 and $$0.65\pm 0.063$$0.65±0.063. On the other hand utilizing the Planck priors we obtain $$\gamma =0.680\pm 0.089$$γ=0.680±0.089 and $$0.690\pm 0.071$$0.690±0.071. This shows a small but non-zero deviation from General Relativity ($$\gamma _{\mathrm{GR}}\approx 6/11$$γGR≈6/11), nevertheless the confidence level is in the range $$\sim 1.3-2\sigma $$∼1.3-2σ. Moreover, we find that the estimated mass of the dark-matter halo in which LRGs survive lies in the interval $$\sim 6.2 \times 10^{12} h^{-1} M_{\odot }$$∼6.2×1012h-1M⊙ and $$1.2 \times 10^{13} h^{-1} M_{\odot }$$1.2×1013h-1M⊙, for the different bias models. Finally, allowing $$\gamma $$γ to evolve with redshift [Taylor expansion: $$\gamma (z)=\gamma _{0}+\gamma _{1}z/(1+z)$$γ(z)=γ0+γ1z/(1+z)] we find that the $$(\gamma _{0},\gamma _{1})$$(γ0,γ1) parameter solution space accommodates the GR prediction at $$\sim 1.7-2.9\sigma $$∼1.7-2.9σ levels.
Modeling of micro-grid with the consideration of total harmonic distortion analysis
Authors: Alhamrouni Ibrahim , Wahab Wira , Salem M. , Rahman Nadia H. A. , Awalin Lili 
Published: March 2020

<p>With the rapid expansion of electricity grid, there yet still places to be covered considering their remote location. Micro-grid (MG) is a solution in this scenario, in fact, there is actually many cases where MG is used in case of emergency and act as a backup to the main electrical grid. By disconnecting itself from the larger grid, a grid that can have many problems, the micro-grid becomes much more flexible in its operations and by continuing to power households and communities alike. Besides grid-connected mode, it is necessary for the MG to operate in autonomous mode. By operating in islanded mode, micro-grids must be able to supply critical load without interruption, run at specific values for voltage and power and extract the maximum power from the distributed generations (DG). Therefore, the modeling of microgrid network considering solar photovoltaic(PV) and wind turbine generation (WTG) system as the distributed generation have been modeled using Matlab/Simulink in this research. Apart from that, the observation of total harmonic distortion(THD) between two operation modes of grid-connected and the islanded-mode is presented in order to analyze the power quality stability towards two operations MG network with same loads size and network parameters.</p>
Design of metal plate temperature sensor based on fiber bragg grating (FBG)
Authors: Fadzlina Naim Nani , Anuar Nur Shahira , Sarnin Suzi Seroja , Yaa’cob Norsuzila 
Published: March 2020

<p>This paper presents the design and characterization for metal plate temperature sensor based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG). Five types of FBGs were used such as Acrylate FBG, Bare FBG, Bimetallic Acrylate FBG, Bimetallic Bare FBG and Ceramic FBG to determine the sensitivity on four different plates at 23℃ to 70℃, experimentally. The four different plates are Aluminium, Aluminium Coating, Zinc and Zinc Coating has been used because of their excellent thermal conductivity. Two metals which are Copper and Zinc have been chosen to design the Bimetallic Strips FBG due to the Coefficient Thermal Expansion (CTE) to improve their sensitivity. The results show that Ceramic FBG has been chosen as the best temperature sensor because it has the highest sensitivity compared to other FBGs with sensitivity value of 50.4 and 59.7 pm <!--?mso-application progid=&quot;Word.Document&quot;?--> 16(â„ƒ)-1"&gt; when in contact with Aluminium and Zinc plates, respectively. In addition, Aluminium and Zinc plates has been chosen as the most reliable metal plates where it can transfer heat efficiently due to high thermal conductive which is 237 W/mK and 116 W/mK thus it gives the highest sensitivity when measured using Bimetallic Acrylate, Bimetallic Bare and Ceramic FBG.</p>
Automated brain tumor segmentation and classification for MRI analysis system
Authors: Mohd Saad Norhashimah , Faizal Yaakub Muhamad , Abdullah Abdul Rahim , Mohd Noor Nor Shahirah , Zainal Nur Azmina , Mohd Saad Wira Hidayat 
Published: March 2020

<span>This paper proposed a new analysis technique of brain tumor segmentation and classification for Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI). 25 FLAIR MRI images were collected from online database of Multimodal Brain Tumor Segmentation Challenge 2015 (BRaTS’15). The analysis comprised four stages which are preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction and classification. Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) was proposed for brain tumor segmentation. Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, area and perimeter were calculated and utilized as the features to be fed into a rule-based classifier. The segmentation performances were assessed based on Jaccard, Dice, False Positive and False Negative Rates (FPR and FNR). The results indicate that FCM offered high similarity indices which were 0.74 and 0.83 for Jaccard and Dice indices, respectively. The technique can possibly provide high accuracy and has the potential to detect and classify brain tumor from FLAIR MRI database.</span>