bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The inevitability of Covid-19 related distress among healthcare workers: findings from a low caseload country under lockdown
Authors: Hawari Feras Ibrahim , Obeidat Nour Ali , Dodin Yasmeen Izzat , Albtoosh Asma Salameh , Manasrah Rasha Mohammad , Alaqeel Ibrahim Omar , Mansour Asem Hamza 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTObjectivesTo characterize psychological distress and factors associated with distress in healthcare practitioners working during a stringent lockdown in a country (Jordan) with one of the lowest incidence rates of Covid-19 globally.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey sent to physicians, nurses and technicians, and pharmacists working in various hospitals and community pharmacies. Demographic, professional and psychological characteristics (distress using Kessler-6 questionnaire, anxiety, depression, burnout, sleep issues, exhaustion) were measured as were potential sources of fear. Descriptive and multivariable statistics were performed using level of distress as the key outcome.ResultsWe surveyed 1,006 practitioners (55.3% females). Approximately 63%, 13%, 17% and 7% were nurses/technicians, physicians, pharmacists, and other nonmedical personnel (respectively). 32% suffered from high distress while 20% suffered from severe distress. Exhaustion, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances were reported (in past seven days) by approximately 34%, 34%, 19%, and 29% of subjects (respectively). Being older or male, perception of effective protective institutional measures, and being satisfied at work, were significantly associated with lower distress. Conversely, suffering burnout; reporting sleep-related functional problems; exhaustion; being a pharmacist (relative to a physician) and working in a cancer center; harboring fear about virus spreading; fear that the virus threatened life; fear of alienation from family/friends; and fear of workload increases, were significantly associated with higher distress.ConclusionDespite low caseloads, Jordanian practitioners still experienced high levels of distress. Identified demographic, professional and psychological factors influencing distress should inform interventions to improve medical professionals’ resilience and distress likelihood, regardless of the variable Covid-19 situation.
Assessing the burden of COVID-19 in Canada
Authors: Bignami-Van Assche Simona , Van Assche Ari 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe burden of COVID-19 in Canada is unequally distributed geographically, with the largest number of cases and fatalities recorded in Québec and Ontario while other provinces experienced limited outbreaks. To date, however, no study has assessed how provincial epidemics have unfolded in a comparative perspective. This is essential to calibrate projections of the future course of the epidemic and plan health care resources for the second wave of infections.MethodsUsing newly released individual-level data collected by the Public Health Agency of Canada, we assess COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality across age and gender groups at the provincial level through a combination of demographic and survival analyses.ResultsQuébec has the highest absolute and per capita number of COVID-19 confirmed positive cases, hospitalizations and fatalities in all age groups. In each province, a higher number of women than men test positive for the disease, especially above age 80. Yet consistently across age groups, infected men are more likely to be hospitalized and enter intensive care than women do. These gender differences in hospitalisation rates account for the higher case fatality risk due to COVID-19 among men compared to women.InterpretationAlthough health care capacity across provinces has been sufficient to treat severe cases, we find that the main factor accounting for gender differences in COVID-19-related mortality is the need for hospitalization and intensive care, especially above age 80. This suggests a selection effect of severe cases requiring to be treated in a hospital setting that needs to be further investigated.
Critical Complications of COVID-19: A systematic Review and Meta-Analysis study
Authors: Vakili Kimia , Fathi Mobina , Sayehmiri Fatemeh , Mohamadkhani Ashraf , Hajiesmaeili Mohammadreza , Rezaei-Tavirani Mostafa , Pezeshgi Aiyoub 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel coronavirus infection that has spread worldwide in a short period and caused a pandemic. The goal of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the prevalence of most common symptoms and complications of COVID-19.MethodsAll related studies assessing the clinical complications of COVID-19 have been identified through web search databases (PubMed and Scopus). Relevant data were extracted from these studies and analyzed by stata (ver 14) random-effects model. The heterogeneity of studies were assessed byI2index. The publication bias was examined by Funnel plots and Egger’s test.Results30 studies were in our meta-analysis including 6 389 infected patients. The prevalence of most common symptoms were: fever 84.30% (95% CI: 77.13-90.37; I2=97.74%), cough 63.01% (95% CI: 57.63-68.23; I2=93.73%), dyspnea 37.16% (95% CI: 27.31-47.57%; I2=98.32%), fatigue 34.22% (95% CI: 26.29-42.62; I2=97.29%) and diarrhea 11.47 %(95% CI: 6.96-16.87; I2=95.58%), respectively. The most prevalent complications were acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 33.15% (95% CI: 23.35-43.73; I2=98.56%), acute cardiac injury 13.77% (95% CI: 9.66-18.45; I2=91.36%), arrhythmia 16.64% (95% CI: 9.34-25.5; I2=92.29%), heart failure 11.50% (95% CI: 3.45-22.83; I2=89.48%), and acute kidney injury (AKI) 8.40 %(95% CI: 5.15-12.31; I2=95.22%, respectively. According to our analysis, mortality rate of COVID-19 patients were 12.29% (95% CI: 6.20-19.99; I2=98.29%).ConclusionWe assessed the prevalence of the main clinical complications of COVID-19 and found that after respiratory complications, cardiac and renal complications are the most common clinical complications of COVID-19.Highlights▪The most prevalent complication among critical cases of COVID-19 is ARDS.▪After pulmonary complications, cardiovascular complications (like arrhythmia, heart failure and acute cardiac injury) are the most important threats for COVID-19 patients.▪Renal complications (like AKI) happen as a result of COVID-19, but they are less prevalent than pulmonary and cardiovascular complications.
Resilience and green spaces: association with stress among contact centre agents in the Philippines
Authors: Villanueva Celine P. , Labao Richard Braulio J. , Tran Katherine Regine Anne G. , Gonzalez Nathaniel Reihann B. , Luna Joseph M. , Ochava Kristine Mallory R. , Capio Catherine M. 
Published: June 2020

ABSTRACTThe work environment in Philippine contact centres had been shown to expose employees to factors that contribute to work-related stress; health promotion strategies that could mitigate the impacts are needed. With the framework that stress is experienced as a result of the interactions of an individual with the environment, this study examined the relationship of stress with individual resilience and the presence of urban green spaces (UGS) in the environment. The study involved employees (N = 186) from six contact centres in the capital region of the Philippines, where a large number of contact centre service providers are located. A two-stage survey was administered online using standardised instruments to measure stress (10-item Perceived Stress Scale) and resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), customised questions to gather demographic information, and open-ended questions to probe on participants’ insights. Google Earth Pro was used to conduct satellite mapping of UGS, followed by on-site ocular inspection. This study revealed that participants’ average stress level was categorised as high. The percentages of UGS in the vicinity of the study sites were categorised as low. Linear regression revealed that amongst individual and environment factors, resilience, household income, and awareness of UGS in the vicinity were significant predictors of the participants’ stress levels. Health promotion in Philippine contact centres could consider strategies that include resilience building, enhancing income security, and promoting the awareness of UGS within the workplace vicinity.
Neural representation of linguistic feature hierarchy reflects second-language proficiency
Authors: Di Liberto Giovanni M. , Nie Jingping , Yeaton Jeremy , Khalighinejad Bahar , Shamma Shihab A. , Mesgarani Nima 
Published: June 2020

AbstractAcquiring a new language requires a simultaneous and gradual learning of multiple levels of linguistic attributes. Here, we investigated how this process changes the neural encoding of natural speech by assessing the encoding of the linguistic feature hierarchy in second-language listeners. Electroencephalography (EEG) signals were recorded during English story listening from native Mandarin speakers with varied English proficiency and from native English speakers. We measured the temporal response functions (TRF) for acoustic, phonemic, phonotactic, and semantic features in individual participants and found a main effect of proficiency on the linguistic encoding. This effect of second-language proficiency was particularly prominent on the neural encoding of phonemes, showing stronger encoding of “new” phonemic contrasts (i.e. English contrasts that do not exist in Mandarin) with increasing proficiency. Overall, we found that linguistic feature representation in nonnative listeners progressively converged to that of native listeners with proficiency, which enabled accurate decoding of language proficiency. This detailed view advances our understanding of the cortical processing of linguistic information in second-language learners and provides an objective measure of language proficiency.
Robustness in spiking networks: a geometric perspective
Authors: Calaim Nuno , Dehmelt Florian Alexander , Gonçalves Pedro J. , Machens Christian K. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractNeural systems are remarkably robust against various perturbations, a phenomenon that still requires a clear explanation. Here, we graphically illustrate how neural networks can become robust. We study spiking networks that generate low-dimensional representations, and we show that the neurons’ subthreshold voltages are confined to a convex region in a lower-dimensional voltage subspace, which we call a ‘bounding box.’ Any changes in network parameters (such as number of neurons, dimensionality of inputs, firing thresholds, synaptic weights, or transmission delays) can all be understood as deformations of this bounding box. Using these insights, we show that functionality is preserved as long as perturbations do not destroy the integrity of the bounding box. We suggest that the principles underlying robustness in these networks—low-dimensional representations, heterogeneity of tuning, and precise negative feedback—may be key to understanding the robustness of neural systems at the circuit level.
Nuclear and cellular, micro and nano calcification in Alzheimer’s disease patients and correlation to phosphorylated Tau
Authors: Tsolaki Elena , Csincsik Lajos , Xue Jing , Lengyel Imre , Bertazzo Sergio 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBrain calcification (calcium phosphate mineral formation) has been reported in the past 100 years in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. However, the association between calcification and AD, the triggers for calcification, and its role within the disease are not clear. On the other hand, hyperphosphorylated tau protein (pTau) tangles have been widely studied and recognized as an essential factor in developing AD. In this work, calcification in the brains of AD patients is characterized by advanced electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. Results are then compared to samples from cognitively healthy, age-matched donors, and the colocalization of calcification and pTau is investigated. Here, we show that AD patients’ brains present microcalcification associated with the neural cell nuclei and cell projections, and that these are strongly related to the presence of pTau. The link between microcalcification and pTau suggests a potential new mechanism of brain cell damage. Together with the formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, microcalcification in neuronal cells adds to a better understanding of the pathology of AD. Finally, the presence of microcalcification in the neuronal cells of AD patients may assist in AD diagnosis, and may open new avenues for developing intervention strategies based on inhibition of calcification.
Recombinant T cell receptors specific for HLA-A*02:01-restricted neoepitopes containing KRAS codon 12 hotspot mutations
Authors: Rive Craig M. , Yung Eric , Hughes Christopher S. , Brown Scott D. , Sharma Govinda , Dreolini Lisa , Mawji Nasrin M. , Warren Cassia , Karasinska Joanna M. , Loree Jonathan M. , Yapp Donald T. , Morin Gregg B. , Renouf Daniel J. , Schaeffer David F. , Turcotte Simon , Holt Robert A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractKRAS codon 12 mutations are among the most common hotspot mutations in human cancer. Using a functional screening platform we set out to identify αβ T-cell receptors (TCRs) as potential targeting reagents for KRASG12Dand/or KRASG12Vneoepitopes presented by the prevalent HLA-A*02:01 allele. Here we describe isolation and characterization of three distinct CD8+T cell clones from a pre-treated 76 year old patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). One clone was KRASG12Vreactive and two clones were KRASG12Dreactive. Tetramer staining showed high specificity of each T cell clone for its cognate HLA-A*02:01 restricted KRASG12Vor KRASG12Dneoepitope (>98% tetramer positive) without appreciable cross-reactivity to wild-type KRAS (<2% tetramer positive). We amplified and sequenced the full-length TCR alpha and beta chains from each of the three T cell clones and determined that these three TCRs comprised distinct combinations of two different TCR alpha chains and two distinct TCR beta chains. We resynthesized these TCR alpha and beta chain nucleotide sequences and reconstituted the original pairs in healthy donor CD8+T cells by lentiviral transduction, substituting the human αβ TCR constant gene segments with murine αβ TCR constant gene segments to prevent mispairing with endogenous TCR subunits. Tetramer analysis and IFN-γ ELISpot analysis confirmed the specificity of each reconstituted TCR for its cognate HLA-A*02:01 restricted KRAS neoepitope. To test cytolytic activity TCR-transduced healthy donor CD8+T cells were co-cultured with KRASG12V, KRASG12Dor KRASwtpeptide-pulsed K562-HLA-A*02:01 antigen presenting cells at an effector to target cell ratio of 4:1. Under these conditions we observed neoepitope-specific killing of 16.5% to 19.0% of target cell populations. To assessin vivoactivity we developed a KRASG12V/A*02:01 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse model. Over a 56-day period, PDX bearing mice infused with human TCR-transduced T cells had significantly reduced tumor growth and longer survival compared to mice infused with non-transduced control T cells. In conjunction with other therapeutic approaches, immune effector cell therapies expressing these TCRs may improve outcomes for HLA-A*02:01 patients with KRASG12Vand/or KRASG12Dpositive tumors.
Do carbonated beverages reduce bleeding from gill injuries in angled Northern Pike?: In Prep for North American Journal of Fisheries Management
Authors: Trahan Alexandria , Chhor Auston , Lawrence Michael J. , Brownscombe Jacob W. , Glassman Daniel , Reid Connor H. , Abrams Alice E.I. , Danylchuk Andy J. , Cooke Steven J. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe premise of catch-and-release angling is that most fish survive fisheries interactions. Therefore, it is common for anglers, management agencies, and other organizations to share information on handling practices and other strategies that are believed to improve fish welfare and survival. Recent media coverage has sensationalized the use of carbonated beverages to treat bleeding fish, an intervention that is purported to stop bleeding but has yet to be validated scientifically. We captured Northern Pike (Esox lucius) via hook and line, experimentally injured their gills in a standardized manner, and treated them with either Mountain Dew, Coca Cola, or carbonated lake water and observed the duration and intensity of bleeding, as well as overall blood loss (using gill colour as a proxy) while the fish was held in a lake water bath. As a control, we had a group of experimentally injured fish that did not have liquid poured over their gills before the observation period. All treatments and the control were conducted at two different water temperatures (11-18 °C and 24-27 °C) to determine if the effects of pouring carbonated beverages over injured gills is temperature dependent. When compared to the control, we found that the duration and intensity of bleeding increased regardless of the type of carbonated beverages used in this study, and there was no effect of water temperature. Use of chilled versus ambient temperature beverages similarly had no influence on outcomes. As such, there is no scientific evidence to support the use of carbonated beverages for reducing or stopping blood loss for fish that have had their gills injured during recreational angling based on the context studied here. This study reinforced the need to scientifically test angler anecdotes and theories when it comes to best practices for catch-and-release fishing.
Immune Selection Pressure Contributes to Pancreatic Cancer Immune Evasion
Authors: Ajina Reham , Zuo Annie , Wang Shangzi , Moussa Maha , Cooper Connor J. , Shen Yue , Johnson Quentin R. , Parks Jerry M. , Smith Jeremy C. , Catalfamo Marta , Fertig Elana J. , Jablonski Sandra A. , Weiner Louis M. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Pancreatic tumors are minimally infiltrated by T cells and are largely refractory to immunotherapy. Accordingly, the role of T cell immunity in pancreatic cancer has been somewhat overlooked. Here, we hypothesized that immune evasion in pancreatic cancer is induced in response to T cell-based immune selection pressure, and that understanding how pancreatic tumors respond to immune attack may facilitate the development of more effective therapeutic strategies. We now provide the first evidence that T cell-dependent host immune responses induce a PDAC-derived myeloid mimicry phenomenon and stimulate immune evasion. mT3-2D cells derived from aKras+/LSL-G12D;Trp53+/LSL-R172H;Pdx1-Cre(KPC) mouse model of pancreatic cancer were grown in immunocompetent and immunodeficient C57BL/6 mice, and analyzed to determine the impacts of adaptive immunity specifically on malignant epithelial cells as well as on whole tumors. We found that immune selection pressure, via signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1), stimulates malignant epithelial pancreatic cells to induce the expression of genes typically expressed by myeloid cells and alters intratumoral immunosuppressive myeloid cell profiles. Targeting the Janus Kinase (JAK)/STAT signaling pathway using the FDA approved drug, ruxolitinib, overcomes these tumor-protective responses and improves anti-PD1 antibody therapeutic efficacy. These findings provide future directions for treatments that specifically disable this mechanism of resistance in PDAC.
Deep Learning for Non-Invasive Cortical Potential Imaging
Authors: Razorenova Alexandra , Yavich Nikolay , Malovichko Mikhail , Fedorov Maxim , Koshev Nikolay , Dylov Dmitry V. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractElectroencephalography (EEG) is a well-established non-invasive technique to measure the brain activity, albeit with a limited spatial resolution. Variations in electric conductivity between different tissues distort the electric fields generated by cortical sources, resulting in smeared potential measurements on the scalp. One needs to solve an ill-posed inverse problem to recover the original neural activity. In this article, we present a generic method of recovering the cortical potentials from the EEG measurement by introducing a new inverse-problem solver based on deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) in paired (U-Net) and unpaired (DualGAN) configurations. The solvers were trained on synthetic EEG-ECoG pairs that were generated using a head conductivity model computed using the Finite Element Method (FEM). These solvers are the first of their kind, that provide robust translation of EEG data to the cortex surface using deep learning. Providing a fast and accurate interpretation of the tracked EEG signal, our approach promises a boost to the spatial resolution of the future EEG devices.
Characterization and validation of 16 α-synuclein conformation-specific antibodies using well-characterized preparations of α-synuclein monomers, fibrils and oligomers with distinct structures and morphology: How specific are the conformation-specific α-synuclein antibodies?
Authors: Kumar Senthil T. , Jagannath Somanath , Francois Cindy , Vanderstichele Hugo , Stoops Erik , Lashuel Hilal A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIncreasing evidence suggests that alpha-synuclein (α-syn) oligomers are obligate intermediates in the pathway involved in α-syn fibrillization and Lewy body (LB) formation, and may also accumulate within LBs in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies. Therefore, the development of tools and methods to detect and quantify α-syn oligomers has become increasingly crucial for mechanistic studies to understand the role of these oligomers in PD, and to develop new diagnostic methods and therapies for PD and other synucleinopathies. The majority of these tools and methods rely primarily on the use of aggregation state-specific or conformation-specific antibodies. Given the impact of the data and knowledge generated using these antibodies on shaping the foundation and directions of α-syn and PD research, it is crucial that these antibodies are thoroughly characterized, and their specificity or ability to capture diverse α-syn species is tested and validated. Herein, we describe an antibody characterization and validation pipeline that allows a systematic investigation of the specificity of α-syn antibodies using well-defined and well-characterized preparations of various α-syn species, including monomers, fibrils, and different oligomer preparations that are characterized by distinct morphological, chemical and secondary structure properties. This pipeline was used to characterize 18 α-syn antibodies, 16 of which have been reported as conformation- or oligomer-specific antibodies, using an array of techniques, including immunoblot analysis (slot blot and Western blot), a digital ELISA assay using single molecule array technology and surface plasmon resonance. Our results show that i) none of the antibodies tested are specific for one particular type of α-syn species, including monomers, oligomers or fibrils; ii) all antibodies that were reported to be oligomer-specific also recognized fibrillar α-syn; and iii) a few antibodies showed high specificity for oligomers and fibrils but did not bind to monomers. These findings suggest that the great majority of α-syn aggregate-specific antibodies do not differentiate between oligomers and fibrils, thus highlighting the importance of exercising caution when interpreting results obtained using these antibodies. Our results also underscore the critical importance of the characterization and validation of antibodies before their use in mechanistic studies and as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. This will not only improve the quality and reproducibility of research and reduce costs but will also reduce the number of therapeutic antibody failures in the clinic.