bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predictors of mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Shi Changcheng , Wang Limin , Ye Jian , Gu Zhichun , Wang Shuying , Xia Junbo , Xie Yaping , Li Qingyu , Xu Renjie , Lin Nengming 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high mortality rate, especially in patients with severe illness. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the potential predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19.Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and three electronic Chinese databases were searched from December 1, 2019, to April 29, 2020. Eligible studies reporting potential predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19 were identified. Unadjusted prognostic effect estimates were pooled using the random-effects model if data from at least two studies were available. Adjusted prognostic eﬀect estimates were presented by qualitative analysis.Results: Thirty-six observational studies were identified, of which 27 were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 106 potential risk factors were tested and the following important predictors were associated with mortality: advanced age, male sex, current smoking status, preexisting comorbidities (especially chronic kidney, respiratory, and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases), symptoms of dyspnea, complications during hospitalization, corticosteroid use and a severe condition. Additionally, a series of abnormal laboratory biomarkers of hematologic parameters, hepatorenal function, inflammation, coagulation, and cardiovascular injury were also associated with fatal outcome.Conclusion: We identified predictors of mortality in patients with COVID-19. These findings could help healthcare providers take appropriate measures and improve clinical outcomes in such patients.
One-stage posterior debridement, titanium mesh cage bone grafting and single-segment fixation for treating mono-segmental lumbar and lumbosacral spinal tuberculosis in adult patients following minimum 5-year follow-up
Authors: Xu Zhenchao , Wang Xiyang , Liu Zheng 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
To evaluate the mid-long term outcomes of surgical management of mono-segmental lumbar and lumbosacral spinal tuberculosis (TB) by one-stage posterior debridement, titanium mesh cage bone grafting and single-segment fixation.
Methods
A total of 62 patients with mono-segmental lumbar or lumbosacral spinal tuberculosis were enrolled. One-stage posterior debridement, titanium mesh cage bone grafting and single-segment fixation was performed. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were compared and analyzed.
Results
All patients were followed up for an average of 75.0 ± 11.5 months and completely cured at the final follow-up. C-reactive protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) returned to normal within three months postoperatively. Postoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability index (ODI) were significantly improved compared with preoperative values. Bony fusion occurred after an average of 9.8 ± 2.6 months. The lordosis angle and lumbosacral angle were increased from preoperative 20.4 ± 2.9° and 14.7 ± 3.4°to postoperative 32.8 ± 3.6° and 22.4 ± 5.5°, with the angle loss of 1.0 ± 0.7° and 0.8 ± 0.7° at the final follow-up, respectively. No significant differences between preoperative and postoperative adjacent segment disc height (DH) were found.
Conclusions
one-stage posterior debridement, titanium mesh cage bone grafting and single-segment fixation can be an effective and feasible treatment option for mono-segmental lumbar and lumbosacral spinal tuberculosis in adults. It may preserve lumbar normal motor units and decrease adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) with the advantages of minimally invasion and rapid postoperative rehabilitation.
Forecasting Covid-19 epidemic in Isfahan using a dynamic modeling approach
Authors: Moein Shiva , Nickaeen Niloofar , Roointan Amir , Borhani Niloofar , Heidari Zarifeh , Javanmard Shaghayegh Haghjooy , Ghaisari Jafar , Gheisari Yousof 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
The multidimensional destructions caused by Covid-19 have been compared to that of World War II. What makes the situation even more complicated is the ambiguity regarding the duration and the final size of the pandemic. It is critical especially for the governments, healthcare systems, and economic sectors to have an estimation of the future of this disaster. Using a dynamic model, we have here simulated the epidemic in Isfahan province, Iran for the episode of Feb 14th to April 11th and also have forecasted the remaining course with three scenarios which differ in terms of the stringency of social distancing. Results of this study indicate that in a “good scenario”, the epidemic could be overcome by following a strict lockdown for some weeks. Notably, even partial restrictions in the “feasible scenario” decline hospital admissions and mortality rates by one third compared to the “bad scenario” in which no limitation is imposed. Taken together, inattention to preventive strategies will result in a dramatic increase of the medical, social, and economical burden of the outbreak.
Si-rich Mg-sursassite Mg4Al5Si7O23(OH)5 with octahedrally coordinated Si: A new ultrahigh-pressure hydrous phase
Authors: Bindi Luca , Welch Mark D. , Bendeliani Aleksandra A. , Bobrov Andrey V. 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
The crystal structure of a new high-pressure hydrous phase, Si-rich Mg-sursassite, of ideal composition Mg4Al5Si7O23(OH)5, that was produced by sub-solidus reaction at 24 GPa and 1400 °C in an experiment using a model sedimentary bulk composition, has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The phase was found to be topologically identical to Mg-sursassite, Mg5Al5Si6O21(OH)7, and has space group P21/m and lattice parameters a = 8.4222(7), b = 5.5812(3), c = 9.4055(9) Å, b = 106.793(8)°, V = 423.26(6) Å3, and Z = 1. The empirical formula determined by electron microprobe analysis of the same crystal as was used in the X-ray experiment is [Mg3.93(3)Fe0.03(1)]Σ3.96[Al4.98(3)Cr0.04(1)]S5.02 Si7.02(4)O23(OH)5, with hydroxyl content implied by the crystal-structure analysis. The most significant aspect of the structure of Si-rich Mg-sursassite is the presence of octahedrally coordinated Si. Its structural formula is M1,VIIMg2M2,VIMg22+M3,VI(Al0.5Si0.5)2M4,VIAl2M5,VIAl2T1,IVSi2T2,IVSi2T3,IVSi2 O23(OH)5. Si-rich Mg-sursassite joins the group of hydrous ultrahigh-pressure phases with octahedrally coordinated Si that have been discovered by experiment, and that may play a significant role in the distribution and hosting of water in the deep mantle at subduction zones. The reactions defining the stability of Si-rich Mg-sursassite are unknown, but are likely to be fundamentally different from those of Mg-sursassite, and involve other ultrahigh-pressure dense structures such as phase D, rather than phase A.
Insights on Engineered Microbes in Sustainable Agriculture: Biotechnological Developments and Future Prospects
Authors: Sudheer Surya , Bai Renu Geetha , Usmani Zeba , Sharma Minaxi 
Published: June 2020

Background:Background: Enhanced agricultural production is essential for increasing demand of the growing world population. At the same time, to combat the adverse effects caused by conventional agriculture practices to the environment along with the impact on human health and food security, a sustainable and healthy agricultural production needs to be practiced using beneficial microorganisms for enhanced yield. It is quite challenging because these microorganisms have rich biosynthetic repositories to produce biomolecules of interest; however, the intensive research in allied sectors and emerging genetic tools for improved microbial consortia are accepting new approaches that are helpful to farmers and agriculturists to meet the ever-increasing demand of sustainable food production. An important advancement is improved strain development via genetically engineered microbial systems (GEMS) as well as genetically modified microorganisms (GMOs) possessing known and upgraded functional characteristics to promote sustainable agriculture and food security. With the development of novel technologies such as DNA automated synthesis, sequencing and influential computational tools, molecular biology has entered the systems biology and synthetic biology era. More recently, CRISPR/Cas has been engineered to be an important tool in genetic engineering for various applications in the agri sector. The research in sustainable agriculture is progressing tremendously through GMOs/GEMS for their potential use in biofertilizers and as biopesticides.Conclusion:In this review, we discuss the beneficial effects of engineered microorganisms through integrated sustainable agriculture production practices to improve the soil microbial health in order to increase crop productivity.
Antiproliferative Activity of 8-methoxy Ciprofloxacin-Hydrozone/Acylhydrazone Scaffolds
Authors: Wang Li-Ping , Xu Zhi , Deng Gui-Ying , Xu Sha-Li 
Published: June 2020

Aims:
A series of 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin- hydrazone/acylhydrazone hybrids were evaluated
for their activity against a panel of cancer cell lines including HepG2 liver cancer cells, MCF-7, doxorubicin-
resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/DOX) breast cancer cells, DU-145 and multidrug-resistant DU145
(MDR DU-145) prostate cancer cells to seek for novel anticancer agents.

Background:
Ciprofloxacin with excellent pharmacokinetic properties as well as few side effects, is one
of the most common used antibacterial agents. Notably, Ciprofloxacin could induce cancer cells apoptosis,
and cell cycle arrest at the S/G2 stage. The structure-activity relationship reveals that the introduction
of the methoxy group into the C-8 position of the fluoroquinolone moiety has resulted in a greater
binding affinity to the binding site, and 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin derivatives have proved a variety of
biological activities even against drug-resistant organisms. However, to the best of our current knowledge,
there are no studies that have reported the anticancer activity of 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin derivatives
so far. Furthermore, many fluoroquinolone-hydrazone/acylhydrazone hybrids possess promising
anticancer activity. Thus, it is rational to screen the anticancer activity of 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin derivatives.

Objective:
To enrich the structure-activity relationship and provide new anticancer candidates for further
investigations.

Methods:
The desired 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin-hydrazone/acylhydrazone hybrids 5 and 6 were screened
for their in vitro anticancer activity against liver cancer cells HepG2, breast cancer cells MCF-7,
MCF7/DOX, prostate cancer cells DU-145 and MDR DU-145 by MTT assay.

Results:
Some of 8-methoxy ciprofloxacin-hydrazone hybrids showed potential activity against HepG2,
MCF-7, MCF-7/DOX, DU-145 and MDR DU-145 cancer cell lines, low cytotoxicity towards VERO
cells and promising inhibitory activity on tubulin polymerization.

Conclusion:
Compounds 5d and 5f showed promising anticancer activity, low cytotoxicity, and potential
tubulin polymerization inhibitory activity, were worthy of investigation.

Other:
The structure-activity relationship was enriched.
Computational Evaluation and In Vitro Validation of New Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors
Authors: Gómez-Ganau Sergi , Castillo Josefa , Cervantes Andrés , de Julián-Ortiz Jesus Vicente , Gozalbes Rafael 
Published: June 2020

Background:The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is a transmembrane protein that acts as a receptor of extracellular protein ligands of the epidermal growth factor (EGF/ErbB) family. It has been shown that EGFR is overexpressed by many tumours and correlates with poor prognosis. Therefore, EGFR can be considered as a very interesting therapeutic target for the treatment of a large variety of cancers such as lung, ovarian, endometrial, gastric, bladder and breast cancers, cervical adenocarcinoma, malignant melanoma and glioblastoma.Methods:We have followed a structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) procedure with a library composed of several commercial collections of chemicals (615,462 compounds in total) and the 3D structure of EGFR obtained from the Protein Data Bank (PDB code: 1M17). The docking results from this campaign were then ranked according to the theoretical binding affinity of these molecules to EGFR, and compared with the binding affinity of erlotinib, a well-known EGFR inhibitor. A total of 23 top-rated commercial compounds displaying potential binding affinities similar or even better than erlotinib were selected for experimental evaluation. In vitro assays in different cell lines were performed. A preliminary test was carried out with a simple and standard quick cell proliferation assay kit, and six compounds showed significant activity when compared to positive control. Then, viability and cell proliferation of these compounds were further tested using a protocol based on propidium iodide (PI) and flow cytometry in HCT116, Caco-2 and H358 cell lines.Results:The whole six compounds displayed good effects when compared with erlotinib at 30 μM. When reducing the concentration to 10μM, the activity of the 6 compounds depends on the cell line used: the six compounds showed inhibitory activity with HCT116, two compounds showed inhibition with Caco-2, and three compounds showed inhibitory effects with H358. At 2 μM, one compound showed inhibiting effects close to those from erlotinib.Conclusion:Therefore, these compounds could be considered as potential primary hits, acting as promising starting points to expand the therapeutic options against a wide range of cancers.
Carbon Nanotubes Inhibit the Pepsin Activity at High Ionic Strength
Authors: Jasem Khlowd M. , Al-Hakeim Hussein K. , Al-Shams Jawad K. 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common chronic gastrointestinal
disorder in adults that occurs as the stomach contents reflux and come up into the esophagus
due to a dysfunction in the lower oesophageal sphincter. One approach commonly used to treat
GERD is inhibition of the activity of pepsin enzyme. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nanoparticles of
carbon atoms that possess numerous interesting physical and chemical properties. CTNs functionalization
expands the range of their properties to make them soluble in biological fluids and to confer
the property of carrying drug or biological macromolecules which increase the scope of their applications
in biomedical science.

Objective:
This study aims to utilize CNTs as a pepsin inhibitor and as a new medication for the
treatment of GERD.

Methods:
The pepsin activity before and after the addition of an exact amount of the CNTs to the reaction
mixture was measured colorimetrically.

Results:
The results showed that both Vmax and Km changed after the addition of CNTs to the pepsin
solution indicating a mixed inhibition of pepsin activity. This finding pointed to the ability of
CNTs to bind with the pepsin molecule and pepsin-protein complex, therefore inhibiting the enzyme
activity.

Conclusion:
The findings also demonstrated a complete inhibition of pepsin activity by CNTs when
increasing the ionic strength of the reaction mixture. It can be inferred that using CNTs at a high concentration
of NaCl at 37°C is the optimal condition for pepsin inhibition.
Nanoemulsion: A Novel Drug Delivery Approach for Enhancement of Bioavailability
Authors: Pandey Parijat , Gulati Nisha , Makhija Manish , Purohit Deepika , Dureja Harish 
Published: June 2020

Background:Poor bioavailability and solubility of drugs in aqueous phase are the most important problems of newly developed chemical entities that can be improved by nanoemulsion.Objectives:BCS class II and IV which are poorly soluble in water demonstrate various problems in conventional dosage forms. For the improvement of solubility, bioavailability and getting the best therapeutic effect of poorly soluble drugs nanoemulsion is the best solution.Methods:Nanoemulsion are thermodynamically unstable isotropic system with droplet size 1-100 nm in which two immiscible fluids are combined together to form one phase by using an emulsifying agent. Nanoemulsion can be designed to promote the bioavailability of API by trapping them inside.Results:Nanoemulsion can be developed in many dosage forms such as oral, parenteral, topical, ophthalmic dosage form in large scale using common operation at a very low cost. Large range of lipophilic drugs can be easily incorporated in nanoemulsion.Conclusion:In this review, attention is focused on the type of nanoemulsions, their advantages over other dosage form, method for their preparation, characterization, applications and patents in various fields.
Analysis of Ion and pH Effects on Iron Response Element (IRE) and mRNA-Iron Regulatory Protein (IRP1) Interactions
Authors: Khan Mateen A. 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Cellular iron uptake, utilization, and storage are tightly controlled
through the action of iron regulatory proteins (IRPs). IRPs achieve this control by binding to
IREs-mRNA in the 5'- or 3'-end of mRNAs that encode proteins involved in iron metabolism.
The interaction of iron regulatory proteins with mRNAs containing an iron responsive
element plays a central role in this regulation. The IRE RNA family of mRNA regulatory
structures combines absolutely conserved protein binding sites with phylogenetically conserved
base pairs that are specific to each IREs and influence RNA/protein stability. Our
previous result revealed the binding and kinetics of IRE RNA with IRP1. The aim of the present
study is to gain further insight into the differences in protein/RNA stability as a function
of pH and ionic strength.

Objective:
To determine the extent to which the binding affinity and stability of protein/RNA
complex was affected by ionic strength and pH.

Methods:
Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize IRE RNA-IRP protein interaction.

Results:
Scatchard analysis revealed that the IRP1 protein binds to a single IRE RNA molecule.
The binding affinity of two IRE RNA/IRP was significantly changed with the change in
pH. The data suggests that the optimum binding of RNA/IRP complex occurred at pH 7.6.
Dissociation constant for two IRE RNA/IRP increased with an increase in ionic strength,
with a larger effect for FRT IRE RNA. This suggests that numerous electrostatic interactions
occur in the ferritin IRE RNA/IRP than ACO2 IRE RNA/IRP complex. Iodide quenching
shows that the majority of the tryptophan residues in IRP1 are solvent-accessible, assuming
that most of the tryptophan residues contribute to protein fluorescence.

Conclusion:
The results obtained from this study clearly indicate that IRE RNA/IRP complex
is destabilized by the change in pH and ionic strength. These observations suggest that
both pH and ion are important for the assembly and stability of the IRE RNA/IRP complex
formation.
Social, Behavioral, and Cultural factors of HIV in Malawi: Semi-Automated Systematic Review
Authors: Thiabaud Amaury , Triulzi Isotta , Orel Erol , Tal Kali , Keiser Olivia 
Published: June 2020

BackgroundDemographic and sociobehavioral factors are strong drivers of HIV infection rates in sub-Saharan Africa. These factors are often studied in qualitative research but ignored in quantitative analyses. However, they provide in-depth insight into the local behavior and may help to improve HIV prevention.ObjectiveTo obtain a comprehensive overview of the sociobehavioral factors influencing HIV prevalence and incidence in Malawi, we systematically reviewed the literature using a newly programmed tool for automatizing part of the systematic review process.MethodsDue to the choice of broad search terms (“HIV AND Malawi”), our preliminary search revealed many thousands of articles. We, therefore, developed a Python tool to automatically extract, process, and categorize open-access articles published from January 1, 1987 to October 1, 2019 in the PubMed, PubMed Central, JSTOR, Paperity, and arXiV databases. We then used a topic modelling algorithm to classify and identify publications of interest.ResultsOur tool extracted 22,709 unique articles; 16,942 could be further processed. After topic modelling, 519 of these were clustered into relevant topics, of which 20 were kept after manual screening. We retrieved 7 more publications after examining the references so that 27 publications were finally included in the review. Reducing the 16,942 articles to 519 potentially relevant articles using the software took 5 days. Several factors contributing to the risk of HIV infection were identified, including religion, gender and relationship dynamics, beliefs, and sociobehavioral attitudes.ConclusionsOur software does not replace traditional systematic reviews, but it returns useful results to broad queries of open-access literature in under a week, without a priori knowledge. This produces a “seed dataset” of relevance that could be further developed. It identified known factors and factors that may be specific to Malawi. In the future, we aim to expand the tool by adding more social science databases and applying it to other sub-Saharan African countries.
Predicting Current Glycated Hemoglobin Levels in Adults From Electronic Health Records: Validation of Multiple Logistic Regression Algorithm
Authors: Alhassan Zakhriya , Budgen David , Alshammari Riyad , Al Moubayed Noura 
Published: June 2020

Background
Electronic health record (EHR) systems generate large datasets that can significantly enrich the development of medical predictive models. Several attempts have been made to investigate the effect of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) elevation on the prediction of diabetes onset. However, there is still a need for validation of these models using EHR data collected from different populations.

Objective
The aim of this study is to perform a replication study to validate, evaluate, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of replicating a predictive model that employed multiple logistic regression with EHR data to forecast the levels of HbA1c. The original study used data from a population in the United States and this differentiated replication used a population in Saudi Arabia.

Methods
A total of 3 models were developed and compared with the model created in the original study. The models were trained and tested using a larger dataset from Saudi Arabia with 36,378 records. The 10-fold cross-validation approach was used for measuring the performance of the models.

Results
Applying the method employed in the original study achieved an accuracy of 74% to 75% when using the dataset collected from Saudi Arabia, compared with 77% obtained from using the population from the United States. The results also show a different ranking of importance for the predictors between the original study and the replication. The order of importance for the predictors with our population, from the most to the least importance, is age, random blood sugar, estimated glomerular filtration rate, total cholesterol, non–high-density lipoprotein, and body mass index.

Conclusions
This replication study shows that direct use of the models (calculators) created using multiple logistic regression to predict the level of HbA1c may not be appropriate for all populations. This study reveals that the weighting of the predictors needs to be calibrated to the population used. However, the study does confirm that replicating the original study using a different population can help with predicting the levels of HbA1c by using the predictors that are routinely collected and stored in hospital EHR systems.