bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Differential metabolism-associated gene expression of duck pancreatic cells in response to two subtypes of duck hepatitis A virus type 1
Authors: SHI Shaohua , CHEN Zhen , HUANG Yu , HUANG Cuiqin , LIU Rongchang , CHENG Longfei , FU Guanghua , CHEN Hongmei , WAN Chunhe , FU Qiuling 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background: Duck hepatitis A virus type 1 (DHAV-1) causes a highly contagious disease in domestic ducklings, which is traditionally characterized by lesions in the liver and rarely in the pancreas. However, several outbreaks of DHAV-1, which were characterized by yellow coloration and hemorrhage in pancreatic tissues, have occurred in China. The causative agent was named as pancreatitis-type DHAV-1. Genomic sequencing indicated variation rates of 3.4-6.5% in the genome of the pancreatitis-type DHAV-1 compared with those of the classical type DHAV-1. The antigenic relationship between the pancreatitis-type DHAV-1 and classical type DHAV-1 indicated large variation. However, the mechanism involved in infection of the pancreatitis-type DHAV-1 is still unclear. Results: In the present study, transcriptome analysis of duck pancreas infected with classical type DHAV-1 and pancreatitis-type DHAV-1 was carried out. Following deep sequencing with Illumina-Solexa, a total of 53.9 Gb clean data were obtained from the cDNA library of the pancreas and a total of 29,597 unigenes with an average length of 993.43 bp were generated following de novo sequence assembly. The expression levels of D-3-phosphoglyceratedehydrogenase, phosphoserine aminotransferase, phosphoserine phosphatase, which are involved in glycine, serine and threonine metabolism pathway, were significantly downregulated in the pancreatitis-type DHAV-1-infected group compared with those of the classical type DHAV-1-infected group.Conclusion: These findings provide information regarding differential expression levels of metabolism-associated genes between pancreatitis-type DHAV-1 and classical type DHAV-1, indicating that intensive metabolism disorders may contribute to different subtypes of DHAV-1-infection.
Selective CO-to-acetate electroproduction via intermediate adsorption tuning on ordered Cu-Pd sites
Authors: Ji Yali , Chen Zheng , Yang Chao , Wang Yuhang , Xu Jie , Guan Anxiang , Chen Jiatang , Sham Tsun-Kong , Luo Jun , Xu Xin , Zheng Gengfeng 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Electrochemical reduction of carbon monoxide (CO) has recently been emerging as a potential alternative for converting carbon emission into high-value multi-carbon products such as acetate. Nonetheless, the activity and selectivity for producing acetate have remained low. Herein, we developed an atomically ordered copper-palladium intermetallic compound (CuPd-IC) structure that achieved a high Faradaic efficiency of 70 ± 5% for CO-to-acetate production with a partial current density of 425 mA·cm− 2. This corresponded to an acetate production rate of 4.0 mmol·h− 1·cm− 2, and 5.3 times of enhancement in acetate production compared to pure Cu. Structural characterizations and density functional theory calculations suggested that CuPd-IC presents a high density of Cu-Pd pairs that act as the active sites to enrich the surface CO coverage, stabilize the surface ethenone as a key acetate-path intermediate, and inhibit hydrogen evolution reaction, thus promoting acetate formation. Using a membrane electrode assembly device, the CuPd-IC catalyst enabled 100 hours of CO-to-acetate operation at 500 mA·cm− 2 and an average acetate Faradaic efficiency of 43%, producing ~ 2 mol acetate.
An experiment to test the discreteness of time
Authors: Martin-Dussaud Pierre , Biagio Andrea Di , Christodoulou Marios 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Time at the Planck scale (∼10−44s) is an unexplored physical regime. It is widely believed that probing Planck time will remain for long an impossible task. Yet, we propose an experiment to test the discreteness of time at the Planck scale and show that it is not far removed from current technological capabilities.
DABC-Net for robust pneumonia segmentation and prediction of COVID-19 progression on chest CT scans
Authors: Zhang Xiao-Yong , Yu Ziqi , Han Xiaoyang , Zhao Botao , Zhuo Yaoyao , Ren Yan , Xue Xiangyang , Lamm Lorenz , Feng Jianfeng , Marr Carsten , Shan Feng , Peng Tingying 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Currently, reliable, robust and ready-to-use CT-based tools for prediction of COVID-19 progression are still lacking. To address this problem, we present DABC-Net, a novel deep learning (DL) tool that combines a 2D U-net for intra-slice spatial information processing, and a recurrent LSTM network to leverage inter-slice context, for automatic volumetric segmentation of lung and pneumonia lesions. We evaluate DABC-Net on more than 10,000 radiologists-labeled CT slices from four different cohorts. Compared to state-of-the-art segmentation tools, DABC-Net is much faster, more robust, and able to estimate segmentation uncertainty. Based only on the first two CT scans within 3 days after admission from 656 longitudinal CT scans, the AUC of our DBAC-Net for disease progression prediction reaches 93%. We release our tool as a GUI for patient-specific prediction of pneumonia progression, to provide clinicians with additional assistance to triage patients at early days after the diagnosis and to optimize the assignment of limited medical resources, which is of particular importance in current critical COVID-19 pandemic.
Intraoperative mapping of pre-central motor cortex and subcortex: a proposal for supplemental cortical and novel subcortical maps to Penfield’s motor homunculus
Authors: Ghimire Prajwal , Lavrador Jose , Mirza Asfand , Pereira Noemia , Keeble Hannah , Borri Marco , Furlanetti Luciano , Brogna Christian , Jarosz Jozef , Gullan Richard , Vergani Francesco , Bhangoo Ranj , Ashkan Keyoumars 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Introduction: Penfield’s motor homunculus describes a caricaturised yet useful representation of the map of various body parts on the pre-central cortex. We propose a supplemental map of the clinically represented areas of human body in pre-central cortex and a novel subcortical corticospinal tract map that are accurate and essential for safe surgery in patients with eloquent brain lesions. Materials and methods: A single-institution retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent craniotomy for motor eloquent lesions with intraoperative motor neuromonitoring (cortical and subcortical) between 2015 and 2020 was performed. All positive cortical and subcortical stimulation points were taken into account and cartographic maps were produced to demonstrate cortical and subcortical areas of motor representation and their configuration. A literature review in PubMed was performed. Results: 180 patients (58.4% male, 41.6% female) were included in the study with 81.6% asleep and 18.4% awake craniotomies for motor eloquent lesions (gliomas 80.7%, metastases 13.8%) with intraoperative cortical and subcortical motor mapping. Based on the data, we propose a supplemental clinical cortical and a novel subcortical motor map to the original Penfield’s motor homunculus, including demonstration of localisation of intercostal muscles both in the cortex and subcortex which has not been previously described. Conclusion: The supplementary clinical cortical and novel subcortical motor maps of the homunculus presented here have been derived from a large cohort of patients undergoing direct cortical and subcortical brain mapping. The information will have direct relevance for improving the safety and outcome of patients undergoing resection of motor eloquent brain lesions.
Insights into Phylogenetic Relationships and Genome Evolution of Subfamily Commelinoideae (Commelinaceae Mirb.) Inferred from Complete Chloroplast Genomes
Authors: Jung Joonhyung , Kim Changkyun , Kim Joo-Hwan 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
BackgroundCommelinaceae (Commelinales) comprise 41 genera and widely distributed in both the Old and New Worlds except Europe. The relationships among genera in this family have been suggested in several morphological and molecular studies. However, it is difficult to explain their relationships due to high morphological variations and low support values. Nowadays, many researchers are commonly using complete chloroplast genome data for inferring evolution of land plants. In this study, we completed 15 new chloroplast genome sequences of subfamily Commelinoideae using Mi-seq platform. We utilized genome data for the first time to reveal the structural variations and reconstruct the problematic positions of genera.Results All examined species of Commelinoideae have three pseudogenes (accD, rpoA, and ycf15) and former two genes might be a synapomorphy within the Commelinales. Only four species in tribe Commelineae appear IR expansion which affected duplication of rpl22 gene. We identified inversions which range from approximately 3 to 15 kb from four taxa (Murdannia, Streptolirion, Amischotolype, and Belosynapsis). The phylogenetic analyse using 77 chloroplast protein coding genes with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and the Bayesian inference suggest that Palisota connected with tribe Commelineae with high support values, differ from recent classification of Commelinaceae. Also, we resolved unclear position of Streptoliriinae and monophyly of Dichorisandrinae.Conclusions In this study, we provide detailed information of the 15 plastid genomes of Commelinaceae taxa. We identified characteristic pseudogenes and nucleotide diversity, which can be used for inferring evolutionary history about this family. Also, we need a further research to revise position of Palisota in recent classification.
Glucose-level dependent brain hypometabolism in type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity
Authors: Képes Zita , Aranyi Csaba , Forgács Attila , Nagy Ferenc , Kukuts Kornél , Hascsi Zsolt , Esze Regina , Somodi Sándor , Káplár Miklós , Varga József , Emri Miklós , Garai Ildikó 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background: Metabolic syndrome and its individual components lead to wide-ranging consequences, many of which affect the central nervous system. In this study, we compared the [18F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals.Methods: In our prospective study 51 patients with controlled T2DM (ages 50.6 ± 8.0 years) and 45 non-DM obese participants (ages 52.0 ± 9.6 years) were enrolled. Glucose levels measured before PET/CT examination (pre-PET glucose) as well as laboratory parameters assessing glucose and lipid status were determined. NeuroQ application (NeuroQTM 3.6, Syntermed, Philips) was used to evaluate regional brain metabolic differences. [18F]FDG PET/CT (AnyScan PC, Mediso) scans, estimating brain metabolism were transformed to MNI152 brain map after T1 registration and used for SPM-based group comparison of brain metabolism corrected for pre-PET glucose, and correlation analysis with laboratory parameters. Results: NeuroQ analysis did not reveal significant regional metabolic defects in either group. Voxel-based group comparison revealed significantly (pFWE<0.05) decreased metabolism in the region of the precuneus and in the right superior frontal gyrus (rSFG) in the diabetic group as compared to the obese patients. Data analysis corrected for pre-PET glucose level showed a hypometabolic difference only in the rSFG in T2DM. Voxel-based correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation of the metabolism in the following brain regions with pre-PET glucose in diabetes: precuneus, left posterior orbital gyrus, right calcarine cortex and right orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus; while in the obese group only the right rolandic (pericentral) operculum proved to be sensitive to pre-PET glucose level.Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first study to perform pre-PET glucose level corrected comparative analysis of brain metabolism in T2DM and obesity. We also examined the pre-PET glucose level dependency of regional cerebral metabolism in the two groups separately. Large-scale future studies are warranted to perform further correlation analysis with the aim of determining the effects of metabolic disturbances on brain metabolism.
Analysis of nutritional inequalities in children under five in Togo
Authors: Tossou Yaovi 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background: Malnutrition is a widespread public health problem in Togo. The aim of this article is to identify the risk factors for malnutrition in children under five and the variations between socio-economic factors. Methods: We conducted a simultaneous quantile regression analysis to identify the risk factors of malnutrition in Togo. In addition, concentration curves were constructed to explore the nature of variability in malnutrition. We identified risk factors at the child level such as child gender, age, health insurance, wealth index that explain the risk of stunting and underweight. Results: The decomposition results show that the mother's education contributes about 0.07% of the variability for stunting and underweight for secondary or higher education. Simultaneous quantile regression results show that children of mothers with primary education have a lower risk of stunting (q.0.2 coef 0.2, p-value 0.041) while health insurance is associated with a lower risk of severe stunting in children under five years of age (q0.5, coef = 0.348, p-value .032). Finally, health insurance contributed about 0.17% and living in an urban area contributed 0.12% to the variability in stunting and underweight respectively. Conclusion: Critical risk factors for malnutrition can help in formulating policies for children's nutritional health. The results suggest that there is a need to encourage critical policies aimed at improving female literacy and universal health coverage to reduce child malnutrition.
Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization and Evolution of BBX Gene Family in Cotton
Authors: Gao Jun-Shan , Wang Pei-pei , Sun Na , Jessica-Maguy  , NKODIA MIENANDI , Wu Yong , Guo Ning , Li Da-Hui 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background: The B-BOX (BBX) proteins have important functions in the regulation of photomorphogenesis. The BBX gene family has been identified in several plants, such as rice, Arabidopsis and tomato. However, there still lack a genome-wide survey of BBX genes in cotton. Results: In our present study, 63 GhBBX genes were identified in cotton. The analyses of phylogenetic evolution and gene structure showed that the GhBBX genes were divided into five subfamilies, and contained B-box conserved domains. qRT-PCR analysis releaved that both GhBBX27 and GhBBX33 had potential roles in proanthocyanidin synthesis of brown cotton fibers.Conclusions: This study provides a genome-wide survey of the BBX gene family in cotton and highlights its role in proanthocyanidin synthesis. This result will help us to further understand the complexity of the BBX gene family and the functional characteristics of its members.
Puncture and Dose Accuracies of Navigation-Assisted 3D-Printing Templates Combined with Computed Tomography Guided Radioactive Iodine-125 Seed Implantation in the Treatment of Malignant Tumors
Authors: Ji Zhe , Jiang Yuliang , Sun Haitao , Guo Fuxin , Fan Jinghong , Wang Junjie 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Objective: To preliminarily verify the accuracy of navigation-assisted seed implantation by comparing preoperative and actual differences in puncture characteristics and dosimetry in computed tomography-guided, navigation-assisted radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation using 3D-printed templates for the treatment of malignant tumors. Methods: A total of 27 tumor patients who were treated with seed implantation under combination guidance in our hospital between December 2018 to December 2019 were enrolled in this study. Navigation needles (n=1–3) were placed in each patient to obtain preoperative and intraoperative puncture information, including angle, depth, insertion point, and tip position; we also investigated the dosimetry parameters in the preoperative and postoperative plans, including D90, V100, V150, V200, minimum peripheral dose (MPD), conformal index, external index, and homogeneity index of the target area. The t-tests and nonparametric correlation tests were used for analysis (P<0.05 was considered significant). Results: The means errors of the angle, depth, insertion point, and tip position were 0.47 ± 0.521°, 0.35 ± 0.238 cm, 1.7 ± 0.99 mm, and 3.1 ± 1.75 mm, respectively. There were no significant differences between the intraoperative and preoperative angles (P = 0.271), but there was a significant difference in depth (P = 0.002). Errors of the angle, depth, and insertion point were larger for the pelvic/retroperitoneal area than for the head and neck/chest wall (P < 0.05). With the exception of MPD, there was no significant difference in dosimetry indices between the postoperative and preoperative plans (P > 0.05). The MPD in the postoperative plan was higher than that in the preoperative plan (mean: 72.1 Gy and 63.8 Gy, respectively; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Seed implantation under combination guidance showed good accuracy, and the actual intraoperative puncture information and postoperative doses were in good agreement with those in the preoperative plan, thereby demonstrating promising prospects for further development.
Echocardiography-Based Screening for Coronary Heart Disease Using an Ensemble Machine Learning Approach
Authors: Zhang Jingyi , Zhu Huolan , Chen Yongkai , Yang Chenguang , Cheng Huimin , Li Yi , Zhong Wenxuan , Wang Fang 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Background: Extensive clinical evidence suggests that a preventive screening of coronary heart disease (CHD) at an earlier stage can greatly reduce the mortality rate. We use 64 two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) features and seven clinical features to predict whether one has CHD. Methods: We develop a machine learning approach that integrates a number of popular classification methods together by model stacking, and generalize the traditional stacking method to a two-step stacking method to improve the diagnostic performance. Results: By borrowing strengths from multiple classification models though the proposed method, we improve the CHD classification accuracy from around 70% to 87.7% on the testing set. The sensitivity of the proposed method is 0.903 and the specificity is 0.843, with an AUC of 0.904, which is significantly higher than those of the individual classification models. Conclusions: Our work lays a foundation for the deployment of speckle tracking echocardiography-based screening tools for coronary heart disease.
Cerebral Hemodyanamics in Stable Preterm Infants Before and After Packed Cell Transfusion
Authors: Chetan Chinmay , Zaw Nyein , Suryawanshi Pradeep , Banait Nishant , Pareek Prince , Deshpande Sujata , Gupta Bhvya , Garegrat Reema , Verma Arjun 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
BACKGROUND In a year around 3.5 million preterm deliveries occur in India alone. Some of these babies will require packed cell volume (PCV) transfusion. There is a paucity of robust data on effect of blood transfusions on the cerebral hemodynamic from India. This study was done to see the effect of PCV transfusion on blood flow velocities and resistive index (RI) of anterior cerebral artery (ACA) in stable preterm infants. METHOD A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Pune, India. All stable preterm infants (<37 weeks) receiving PCV transfusion were enrolled. USG Doppler study of ACA was done before and after PCV transfusion. Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV) and RI were measured pre and post PCV transfusion. RESULTS Thirty infants were included in the study, with median gestation age of 28.8 [interquartile range {IQR}, 27-30.55] weeks and median birth weight of 970 [interquartile range {IQR}, 869.5-1190] grams. There was a significant decrease in PSV pre and post PCV transfusion - 58.46 (±18.44) cm/sec and 46.34 (±13.93) cm/sec respectively (p value <0.001). Changes in RI and EDV were non-significant.CONCLUSION PCV transfusion significantly decreased PSV, reflecting improved cerebral oxygenation, and decreased cardiac output after correction of anaemia. Laboratory threshold for PCV transfusion in stable preterm infants are not known. USG Doppler study has the potential to provide one of the objective criteria for PCV transfusion in these infants though large scale randomized controlled trials are needed to prove its efficacy.
Correlation Between Choroidal Structure and Smoking in Eyes With Central Serous Chorioretinopathy
Authors: Inoue Tatsuya , Okawa Kazuyoshi , Asaoka Ryo , Azuma Keiko , Obata Ryo , Arasaki Rei , Ikeda Shouko , Ito Arisa , Maruyama-Inoue Maiko , Yanagi Yasuo , Kadonosono Kazuaki 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
A smoking habit is associated with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). Although CSC is caused by an abnormal circulation of the choroid, how smoking habit affects the choroid remains elusive. Therefore, to investigate the effect of smoking on the choroidal structure in patients with CSC, the current study analyzed two important choroidal morphological parameters in 75 consecutive CSC patients with/without a smoking habit; i.e., subfoveal choroidal thickness [SFCT] and the choroidal vascular index (CVI), the ratio of the luminal area to the total choroidal area. The results demonstrated that although other baseline parameters (age or refractive error expressed by the spherical equivalent [SE]) was not different between the smoking group and the non-smoking group, the SFCT was thicker in smoking group compared with non-smoking group (382.0 ± 68.2 μm vs. 339.3 ± 52.3 μm, p = 0.0038). No significant difference was observed in the CVI (p = 0.32). The optimal model for SFCT included the variables of age, SE and a history of smoking among the baseline parameters. Additionally, increased pack years was associated with increased SFCT. Taken together, cigarette smoking is associated with an increased SFCT in patients with CSC. Thicker choroid in smoking CSC patients may be an important modulator of the disease.
First-Passage Times to Quantify and Compare Structural Correlations and Heterogeneity in Complex Systems
Authors: Bassolas Aleix , Nicosia Vincenzo 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Virtually all the emergent properties of complex systems are rooted in the non-homogeneous nature of the behaviours of their elements and of the interactions among them. However, heterogeneity and correlations appear simultaneously at multiple relevant scales, making it hard to devise a systematic approach to quantify them. We develop here a scalable and non-parametric framework to characterise the presence of heterogeneity and correlations in a complex system, based on normalised mean first passage times between pre-assigned classes of nodes. We showcase a variety of concrete applications, including the quantification of polarisation in the UK Brexit referendum and the roll-call votes in the US Congress, the identification of key players in disease spreading, and the comparison of spatial segregation of US cities. These results show that the diffusion structure of a system is indeed a defining aspect of the complexity of its structure and function.