bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effects of Low Temperature and Wind Treatment on Physiological Indexes, Rumen Microbiota, Immune Responses and Hormones in Sheep
Authors: Guo Hongran , Zhou Guangchen , Tian Guangjie , Liu Yuyang , Dong Ning , Zhang Shijun , Chai Haochen , Chen Yulin , Yang Yuxin 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Low-temperature environments can strongly affect the normal growth and health of livestock. Previous studies have shown that cold exposure can alter the intestinal microbiota and thereby affect other traits. In winter, cold weather can be accompanied by strong winds that aggravate the effects of cold on livestock. In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of low temperature and wind speed on physiological indexes, rumen microbiota, and immune responses in sheep.Methods: The sheep were divided into control group and test group according to their ambient temperature.Sheep in the test group were divided into four groups according to wind-speed treatment: no wind (average wind velocity less than 0.5 m/s), low wind velocity (average wind velocity of 3 m/s), medium wind velocity (average wind velocity of 4 m/s) and high wind velocity (average wind velocity of 5 m/s).Results: Average daily gain and the utilization of forage, especially soluble fiber, decreased with increasing wind velocity in cold temperature (P<0.05). In rumen, the enzyme activity of cellulose degradation was also lowerwith increasing wind velocity (P<0.05). The abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria showed differedamong the wind treatments (P<0.05).The large fluctuations in the amount of bacteria provided a breeding opportunity forpotentially harmful bacteria (P<0.05). In addition, there were significant decreases in the serum levels of IL-2 and IFN-γ (P<0.05) and a large increase in IL-4 level (P<0.05), which indicated that the sheep underwent immune suppressionduring the trial. The significant increase in the activities of the antioxidant enzymes SOD, GSH-PX, and CAT (P<0.05) indicated that the production of oxygen free radicals was increased.Conclusions: The cold environment significantly reduced the growth of sheep and altered the composition of rumen microbiota, reducing the utilization of soluble fiber by the rumen flora. Furthermore, the sheep produced large amounts of enzymes to resist tissue damage and experienced immune suppression in the cold environment.
Effectiveness of Hospital Emergency Department Regionalization and Categorization Policy on Appropriate Patient Emergency Care Use - A nationwide long-term observational study in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Chih-Yuan , Lee Yue-Chune 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: The goal of this study was to examine the effect of hospital emergency department (ED) regionalization policy and the categorization of hospital emergency care policy (categorization policy) on patient appropriate ED use.Methods: We conducted an observational study of the effect of emergency care policy intervention on patients' visits. Seven years of data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) were examined. Taiwan implemented a nationwide three-tiered hospital ED regionalization and categorization policies in 2007 and 2009, respectively. There were 1,835,860 ED visits found among one million random samples from the NHIRD between 2005 and 2011. ED visits were categorized by the modified New York University ED algorithm. A time series analysis was performed to examine the change in the rate of appropriate ED use after the policy took effect.Results: Total ED visits increased by 10.7% from 2005 to 2011. Average appropriate ED visit rate was 66.9% during the policy intervention. The trend in the appropriate ED visit rate showed no significant policy effect.Conclusions: Provider side of regionalization and categorization policies did increase emergency care accessibility. However, regionalization and categorization policies no significant effect on patient appropriate ED use.
iTRAQ-Based Quantitative Glutelin Proteomic Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Proteins in Physiological Metabolism Process during Endosperm Development and their Impacts on Yield and Quality in Autotetraploid Rice
Authors: Xian Lin , Long Yanxi , Yang Meng , Chen Zhixiong , Wu Jinwen , Liu Xiangdong , Wang Lan 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Autotetraploid rice, which is developed through chromosome set doubling using diploid rice, produces high-quality kernels that are rich in storage proteins. However, little information is available about the content of different proteins in autotetraploid rice and their proteomic analysis.
Results
The dynamic changes in four storage proteins, albumin, globulin, prolamin, and glutelin, were analyzed in the endosperm of autotetraploid rice (AJNT-4x) and in that of its diploid counterpart (AJNT-2x) for comparison. The contents of the four proteins were all higher during endosperm development in AJNT-4x than in AJNT-2x, but their change and composition were almost the same in the two materials. Then, iTRAQ was employed to analyze the glutelin profiles of AJNT-4x and AJNT-2x at 10 DAF, 15 DAF, and 20 DAF. A total of 1,326 proteins were identified in AJNT-4x and AJNT-2x using high-throughput LC-MS/MS. Among the 1,326 identified proteins, there were 362 DEPs in AJNT-4x compared with those in AJNT-2x and 372 DEPs between different development stages in AJNT-4x. Eight important upregulated proteins were identified by qRT-PCR, including B8AM24, B8ARJ0, B8AQM6, A2ZCE6, and Q40689. Among them, B8AM24 and B8ARJ0 were related to the lysine biosynthesis process. GO enrichment analysis revealed that the critical functions of DEPs exhibited little overlap between the 10, 15, and 20 DAF groups. Endosperm glutelin accumulation was regulated mainly by different DEPs during the late stage, and 15 DAF was a critical regulating point for glutelin accumulation. KEGG pathway analysis showed that ribosomal proteins were significantly higher in AJNT-4x than in AJNT-2x at 10 DAF, and the protein processing, biosynthesis, and metabolism of amino acids were higher and more active in AJNT-4x at 15 DAF, while the peroxisome was richer in AJNT-4x at 20 DAF. The PPI network showed that ribosomal proteins gradually decreased with increasing endosperm development.
Conclusions
These results provide new insights into dynamic glutelin expression differences during endosperm development in autotetraploid rice, which will help in developing rice cultivars with increased yield and improved grain nutritional quality.
Performance Evaluation of design and operational parameters of Conventional Combine Harvester for Basmati Rice (Oryza Sativa)
Authors: Bhardwaj Manvendra , Dogra Ritu , Javed Mohammed , Singh Manjeet , Dogra Baldev 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Among all the food grains, Basmati rice (Oryza sativa) has significant export potential. At present, majority of harvesting and threshing of basmati is accomplished manually because of high quality of grain. Manual harvesting and threshing operation is quite costly and mostly done by hired labour, threshing cost and family labour. Labour in harvesting has become scarce due to industrialization. The commercially available machines for paddy harvesting and threshing are not suitable for basmati varieties because of relatively delicate nature. There is no data available regarding design and operational parameters for harvesting basmati with conventional combine harvester. Therefore, this study has been planned to study the effect of selected design and operational parameters of threshing mechanism of conventional combine harvester for basmati crop and to compare the performance with prevalent practice. Field evaluation of experiment was carried out to assess the influence of independent design variable i.e., arrangement of spikes (AS) and independent operational parameters namely concave clearance (CC) and cylinder speed (CS). The study was aimed to quantify various combining losses viz., extent of grain damage (visible and invisible), unthreshed and clean grain losses in straw walker at different arrangement of spikes, concave clearance and cylinder speed. Initial testing of conventional combine harvester on PUSA Basmati-1121 to reduce the visible as well invisible losses had been carried out at PAU Regional Research Station, Gurdaspur (Punjab) during the year 2017.
Interaction Study of Pasteurella Multocida with Culturable Aerobic Bacteria Isolated from Porcine Respiratory Tracts using Coculture in Conditioned Media
Authors: Hanchanachai Nonzee , Chumnanpuen Pramote , E-KOBON Teerasak 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: The porcine respiratory tract harbours various microorganisms, and the interactions between these organisms could be associated with animal health status. Pasteurella multocida is a culturable facultative anaerobic bacterium isolated from healthy and diseased porcine respiratory tracts. The interaction between P. multocida and other aerobic commensal bacteria in the porcine respiratory tract is not well understood. This study aimed to determine the interactions between porcine P. multocida capsular serotype A and D strains and other culturable aerobic bacteria isolated from porcine respiratory tracts using a coculture assay in conditioned media followed by calculation of the growth rates and interaction parameters.Results: One hundred and sixteen bacterial isolates from five porcine respiratory tracts and 93 isolates were phylogenetically classified into fourteen genera based on 16S rRNA sequences. Fifteen representative isolates were selected for coculture with P. multocida. From 17x17 interaction pairs, the majority of 220 pairs had negative interactions indicating competition for nutrients and space, while 17 pairs were identified as mild cooperative or positive interactions indicating their coexistence. All conditioned media, except those of Acinetobacter, could inhibit P. multocida growth. Conversely, the conditioned media of P. multocida also inhibited the growth of nine isolates plus themselves. Conclusion: Healthy porcine provides conditions to maintain the balance of these aerobic commensal communities and has an inhibitory effect on pathogens. Therefore, the conditioned media in this study might be further analysed to identify critical molecules. The study proposed the possibility of using these molecules in conditioned media to control P. multocida diseases and enhance porcine health.
Measuring Efficiency of Public Hospitals in Iran: A Comparative Study Using Extended Data Envelopment Analysis, 2012-2016
Authors: Mohamadi Efat , Takian Amirhossein , Manesh Alireza Olyaee , Majdzadeh Reza , Lotfi Farhad Hosseinzadeh , Sharafi Hamid , Abad Leila Hosseini Qavam , Kiani Mohammad Mehdi , Yusefzadeh Hasan , Ehsani-Chimeh Elham , Arabloo Jalal , Sajadi Haniye Sadat , Goodarzi Zahra , Hekmat Somayeh Noori 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Aiming to enhance quality of care and increase efficiency, public hospitals have undergone several reforms in the course of last two decades in Iran. This paper reports the result of a national research that aimed to measure the technical efficiency and productivity change of public hospitals during 2012-2016 in Iran. Methods: We used Extended Data Envelopment Analysis (Extended-DEA) (an innovative modification to conventional DEA) to measure technical efficiency and productivity of 568 public hospitals. Nationally representative data were extracted from the official annual health reports. Data were analysed using GAMS software 24.3. Results: The average efficiency score of all hospitals was 0.733. 10.1% of all hospitals were efficient while 2.68% of them were under 0.2. The Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) progressed in 49.3% of hospitals, remained constant in 2.3%, while 48.2% of hospitals regressed during 2015-2016. The average of MPI was 1.07 over the period of analysis. Conclusions: Extra efforts seem to be essential to enhance the efficient use of resources and develop appropriate policy solutions and tools. In particular, to increase the return to scale, we advocate the merger of small-size district hospitals towards establishing bigger efficient hospitals in various geographical regions across the country.
Clinical Implementation of PLANET®Dose for Dosimetric Assessment after 177Lu-DOTATATE: Comparison with Dosimetry Toolkit® and OLINDA/EXM® V1.0
Authors: Santoro Lore , Pitalot Laurine , Trauchessec Dorian , Mora-Ramirez Erick , Kotzki Pierre-Olivier , Bardiès Manuel , Deshayes Emmanuel 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Recently, commercial software tools have become available for dosimetry evaluations in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to compare a commercial dosimetry workstation (PLANETâDose) and the dosimetry approach (GE Dosimetry Toolkit® and OLINDA/EXM® V1.0) currently used in our department for quantification of the absorbed dose in organs at risk after peptide receptor radionuclide therapy with 177Lu-DOTATATE.Methods: First, an evaluation on phantom, with data acquisition at 5 time points, was performed to determine the SPECT calibration factor variations over time and to compare the Time Integrated Activity Coefficients (TIACs) and absorbed doses obtained with the two tools. Then, the two tools were used for dosimetry evaluation in 21 patients with neuroendocrine tumours after the first and second injection of 7.2 ± 0.2 GBq of 177Lu-DOTATATE (40 dosimetry analyses with each software). SPECT/CT images were acquired at 4h, 24h, 72h and 192h after 177Lu-DOTATATE injection and were reconstructed using the Xeleris software (General Electric). The liver, spleen and kidney masses, TIACs and absorbed doses were calculated using i) GE Dosimetry Toolkit® (DTK) and OLINDA/EXM® V1.0 and ii) the Local Deposition Method (LDM) or Dose voxel-Kernel convolution (DK) on PLANETâDose. Results: With the phantom, the 3D calibration factors showed a slight variation (0.8% and 3.3%) over time and TIACs of 225.19h and 217.52h were obtained with DTK and PLANETâDose, respectively. In patients, the mean of the relative standard deviations was -1% for the organ masses, 5.6%, for the TIACs, and 4.4% for the absorbed doses. The Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient was 0.99 and the Bland-Altman plot analysis estimated that the difference of absorbed dose values between methods ranged from -0.58 Gy to 0.84 Gy for approximately 95% of the 40 dosimetry analyses. A difference of 2.2% was obtained between the absorbed doses to organs at risk calculated with LDM and DK (PLANETâDose). Conclusions: The absorbed doses to organs at risk obtained with the new workstation are concordant with those calculated with the currently used software and in agreement with the literature. These results validate the use of PLANETâDose in clinical routine for patient dosimetry after targeted radiotherapy with 177Lu-DOTATATE.
Association between non-motor symptoms and health-related quality of life for patients with Parkinson’s disease: Evidence from a smartphone-based survey
Authors: Fan Xiaojing , Zhao Yaxin , Luo Huanyuan , James Ben , Wang Duolao , Hellman Bruce 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background

This study aims to explore the association between the total number of non-motor symptoms and the Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients’ health-related quality of life quantitatively, using data from one of the largest smartphone-powered studies and a simplified version of 8-item Parkinson’s disease Quality of life Questionnaire (PDQ-8).
Methods

The data used for analysis constitutes one part of a dataset derived from the project named ‘100 for Parkinson’s’. 1246 patients were included in the baseline survey. The 30-item Non-Motor Symptom (NMS-30) Questionnaire and PDQ-8 Summary Index (PDQ-8 SI) were used to measure health-related quality of life and a generalized linear model was used to analyze the association of the non-motor symptoms and quality of life.
Results

The mean number of NMS per patient was 11.81 ± 5.53. For patients with limited ability to work: the key symptoms were urgency (77.4%), sad or blue (71.05%) and difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep (70.90%). After controlling for the life-style determinants and psychological symptoms prior PD diagnosis determinants, GLM presented the total sum of NMS-30 questions had the strongest positive influence on health-related quality of life as measured by the PDQ-8 SI. Where the sum of NMS scores increases by 1 point, the PDQ-8 SI will increase by 1.33 points (95%CI: 1.13, 1.52; P < 0.001). For patients without limited ability to work: urgency (62.45%), difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep (59.81%) and getting up regularly at night to pass urine (55.09%) were the most frequent symptoms. GLM showed that where the total sum of NMS scores increases by 1 point, the PDQ-8 SI will increase by 1.56 points (95%CI: 1.37, 1.76; P < 0.001) after controlling for other confounders.
Conclusions

This smartphone-based study finds a higher total number of non-motor symptoms is related to a lower health-related quality of life for PD patients. It provides useful evidence for the PDQ-8 instrument and is helpful for a multidisciplinary approach to patient care and facilitate the provision of more comprehensive education for patients and caregivers.
Pack Years and Lower Lung Function is Associated With Ultra-short Telomeres in Copd: Evidence From Lung Tissue
Authors: Cagsin Huseyin , Serakinci Nedime , Uzan Ali , Rasmussen Finn 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is driven by a complicated mix of factors such as lifestyle and environmental exposures. Tobacco smoking is the main risk factor for forming chronic inflammation in COPD. Association between cigarette smoking and the role of telomere shortening in COPD has been studied mainly based on the assessment of mean telomere length on leukocytes instead of lung tissue where the primary damage occurs. Here we investigate this association in bronchoalveolar samples by using a new assay that specifically evaluates critically short telomeres, namely, ultra-short telomeres that have sizes less than 1.5kb.MethodsThe study was carried out on materials from the patients eligible for bronchoscopy as well as mild to severe persistent airway obstruction, defined as a post-bronchodilator ratio of less than 70%. Bronchial washing (BW) and leukocyte samples were collected from 32 patients diagnosed with COPD. Telomere length evaluation was done with isolated DNA using Universal STELA to specifically identify the presence of ultra-short telomeres in samples. A t-Student, ANOVA, Chi2, and Paired Sample T-test were used to test differences in means and proportions in statistical analysis. Two-tailed p-values ≤ 0.05 were considered significantResultsThe location of BW did not show a significant difference when compared in terms of the presence of ultra-short telomeres (p>0.05). Higher total pack-years was found amongst patients with ultra-short telomeres (32 packyears versus 16 packyears; p=0.045), lower lung function (FEV1%) (51% versus 82%; p<0.001) when compared with subjects with telomere length more than 1.5kbs in BW. An increasing number of total pack-years, older age and lower FEV1% was observed through the groups comprising subjects with ultra-short telomeres in both BW and leukocytes, subjects with ultra-short telomeres only in BW and subjects with telomeres longer than 1.5kbs(all p<0.01) ConclusionsOur results emphasize the role of ultra-short telomeres in COPD, in vivo, especially when the lung tissue instead of leukocytes is investigated. Additionally, our results demonstrated a dose-response association between pack-years of smoking, low lung function, and ultra-short telomere length in COPD.
The relation between dietary phytochemical index and metabolic syndrome and its components in a large sample of Iranian adults: A population-based study
Authors: Vasmehjani Aazam ahmadi , Darabi Zahra , Nadjarzadeh azadeh , Mirzaei masoud , Hosseinzadeh Mahdieh 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Phytochemicals are natural non-nutritive bioactive compounds in plant foods. There is growing agreement that plant foods-based phytochemicals have a protective role against chronic diseases. The purpose of current study was to appraise Dietary Phytochemical Index (DPI) with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components.Methods: This study was conducted on 2326 participants (1097 men and 1220 women), aged 20-70 years of the recruitment phase of Yazd Health Study (YaHS), a population-based cohort study on Iranian adults. Dietary intake was prepared using a validated and reliable food frequency questionnaire. DPI is calculated based on dietary energy derived from phytochemical-rich food sources (kcal)/ total daily energy intake (kcal). The odds ratio of MetS and its components were assessed across DPI quartiles by binary logistic regression models.Results: After adjustment for all potential confounders, the risk of MetS (OR=0.63, 95% CI=0.41-0.96, P=0.03) and elevated blood pressure (OR=0.62, 95% CI=0.40-0.96, P=0.03) in second category of DPI compared to the first significantly decreased. After full adjustment for confounders, women in the highest quartile of DPI compared with the lowest, had 59% lower risk of MetS (OR=0.41, 95% CI=0.22-0.76, P=0.005). In second quartiles of DPI, the risk of MetS decreased by 62% (OR=0.38, 95% CI=0.16-0.90, P=0.02) in participants with normal BMI and 29% in subjects with high BMI (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.52-0.99, P=0.04), and also 57% in men (OR=0.43, 95%CI=0.23-0.83, P=0.01). Independent of variables including age, sex and total energy intake, subjects in second and fourth quartiles of DPI had 30% and 25% lower risk of abdominal obesity, respectively.Conclusions: Greater adherence to phytochemical-rich diet could reduce odds of MetS and some components especially in women. Further studies with intervention approaches are required to discover causal relations and relevant underlying mechanisms.