bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measurement of nasalance scores without touching the philtrum for better comfort during speech assessment and therapy
Authors: Yang Xiaopeng , Pratama Gradiyan Budi , Choi Younggeun , You Heecheon , Tâm Nguyễn Phước Minh , Kim Gi-Wook , Jo Yun-Ju , Ko Myoung-Hwan 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: The Kay Pentax Nasometer uses a separator plate that touches the philtrum of a patient to separate the nasal and oral sound energies for nasalance measurement. However, the separator plate could restrict the natural movement of the patient’s upper lip and generate an unpleasant pressure to the patient’s philtrum. The present study was intended to measure nasalance scores without touching the philtrum for better comfort during speech assessment and therapy.Methods: Nasalance scores of 10 males and 10 females having no speech disorders were measured under four levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 mm) of the gap between the plate and the philtrum (denoted as plate-to-philtrum gap) using Nasometer II 6450 for nasal (Nasal Sentences) and oral (Zoo Passage) stimuli. Regression formulas were established to examine the relationships between nasalance score and plate-to-philtrum gap for the Nasal Sentences and the Zoo Passge, respectively. To provide equivalent nasalance scores measured under the 5-mm plate-to-philtrum gap to those measured under the conventional contact measurement condition (i.e., the 0-mm plate-to-philtrum gap in the present study), compensation factors were identified as the ratio of the mean nasalance measured under the 0-mm gap to that measured under the 5-mm gap for the Nasal Sentences and the Zoo Passge, respectively. The validation of the identified compensation factors was examined.Results: The nasalance scores were significantly different between the four different plate-to-philtrum gaps for the stimuli. Nonlinear and linear regression formulas were established for the relationships between nasalance score and plate-to-philtrum gap for the Nasal Sentences and the Zoo Passage, respectively. Compensation factors for the Nasal Sentences and the Zoo Passage were identified as 1.17 and 0.71, respectively. Validation results showed that the adjusted nasalance scores after mutiplying the identified compensation factors were similar to those measured under the conventional contact measurement condition for both the oral and nasal stimuli.Conclusions: The 5-mm plate-to-philtrum gap condition after multiplying the compensation factors can provide equivalent nasalance scores to the conventional contact measurement condition and better comfort in speech assessment and therapy.
Does a six-weeks of Hip-focused exercises has the effects on Time to Stabilization after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?
Authors: Tanpowpong Thanathep , Jaiharn Orawan 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: The investigation of hip muscles on knee functions has been broadly published. The deficits in proximal neuromuscular control has been identified as a contributor to valgus knee which is compromise to knee injuries. The aim of study was to determine the relationship between muscle strength and time taking to maintain the stability. Methods: Thirteen male underwent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR) participated in the six week of hip-focused exercise program. Single leg jump-landing test were performed to determine the Time to Stabilization (TTS). Concentric hip abduction-adduction and knee extension-flexion strength was evaluated muscle peak torques at 60 degree/second. Results: The study demonstrated that there was a strength improvement on both hip and knee muscles. Moreover, the IKDC score was significantly increased (82.71±15.21 to 90.80±8.44) after completed the exercise. We found no correlation between muscle peak torques and TTS. However, there was a moderate relationship between hip abduction and knee extension strength (r=0.624, p =0.023). Conclusion: The main findings suggesting that rehabilitation program targets on strengthen the hip muscles demonstrate an improvement of knee functions in individual with ACLR.
Genetic characterization of rhesus macaque populations along the southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau based on a mitochondrial ATP6 gene closely related to energy metabolism
Authors: Zhao Pu , Zhang Kechu , Jin Zuxiang , Li Diyan , Xie Meng , Ni Qingyong , Zhang Mingwang , Yao Yongfang , Xu Huailiang 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background Rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ) is widely distributed in China, across different altitudes. The mitochondrial ATP6 gene,an ATPase subunit coding gene with fast evolution rate in the mitochondrial genome, plays an important role in the energy metabolism of animals, which may be a good molecular marker for studying the adaptive evolution of animals. Herein, we detected ATP6 genes of 334 rhesus macaques of 19 populations from multiple regions in China with an elevation span of 5-4000m, and mainly carried out the population genetic and evolutionary analysis in these macaques. Our aim is to explore the molecular mechanism of rhesus macaques in adapting to different environments, especially in high altitude extreme environments. Results A total of 50 haplotypes were identified, and significant differences were found in haplotype sequences of rhesus macaque ATP6 gene at different elevations, especially in the high altitude haplotypes with multiple specific variation sites, leading to some region-specific haplotypes. Population genetic analysis showed that rhesus macaque had high genetic diversity ( Pi =0.02332 ± 0.00226, Hd =0.802 ± 0.022 and K =14.982), and there was obvious genetic differentiation among different geographical populations. Conclusions The results showed that the ATP6 gene had undergone adaptive evolution in the process of rhesus macaque adapting to different elevations, especially the high altitude environments. We also found that geographical isolation was an important factor in the genetic differentiation of rhesus macaque. Phylogenetic analysis showed that there were two subspecies of rhesus macaque in western Sichuan, namely, M. m. lasiotus and M. m. vestita , the former distributed in the western Sichuan region of the Yalong River Basin and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, while the latter distributed in the Dadu River Basin and northwest Sichuan. We speculated that the Daxueshan Mountains in western Sichuan was a critical geographical barrier for the differentiation of the two subspecies populations.
The mitochondrial genomes of Panorpidae: sequence, structure and phylogenetic analysis
Authors: Hua Yuan , Li Ning , Chen Jie , Hua Bao-Zhen , Tao Shi-Heng 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: Mitochondrial genomes play a significant role in reconstructing phylogenetic relationships and revealing molecular evolution in insects. However, only two species of Panorpidae have been documented for mitochondrial genomes in Mecoptera to date.Results: We obtained complete mitochondrial genomes of 17 species of Panorpidae. The results show that the complete mitogenome sequences of Panorpidae all contain 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNAs, 22 tRNAs) and one control region. The mitogenomes exhibit a strong AT bias. The AT-skew can either be slightly positive or slightly negative, while the GC-skew is usually negative. The 22 tRNA genes can fold into a common cloverleaf secondary structure except trnS1. The sliding window and genetic distance analyses demonstrate highly variable nucleotide diversity among the 13 protein-coding genes, with comparatively low evolutionary rate of cox1, cox2 and nad1, and high variability of nad2 and nad6. The phylogeny of Panorpidae can be presented as (Neopanorpa + Furcatopanorpa) + (Dicerapanorpa + (Panorpa debilis + (Sinopanorpa + (Cerapanorpa + Panorpa)))).Conclusions: Our analyses indicate that the genes nad2 and nad6 can be regarded as potential markers for population genetics and species delimitation in Panorpidae. Panorpa is reconfirmed a paraphyletic group.
Highly conserved genes expressed in aphid saliva are candidates for host plant adaptation in Aphis gossypii
Authors: Boissot Nathalie , Dutartre-Fricaux Leslie , Beucher Coralie , Vanlerberghe Flavie 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
BackgroundAphids are major crop pests, most species attacking crops specialize on a narrow range of plant species from a single family. By contrast, Aphis gossypii is a highly polyphagous species, for which host races specializing on particular crops have been clearly described. Salivary components, which aphids inject into the phloem via their stylets, play a key role in establishing compatible interactions between plants and aphids, and are probably involved in specialization.ResultsWe used the extensive resources available for Myzus persicae and Acyrthosiphon pisum to identify putative salivary proteins expressed in Aphis gossypii, despite the lack of genomic resources for this species. In silico, we identified 51 putative salivary proteins; we focused on 17 genes with orthologs in at least one aphid species, assuming that some of the conserved genes expressed in salivary glands are involved in host specialization. We amplified and sequenced 10 coding sequences in full, from 17 clones of Aphis gossypii specialising on plants from Malvaceae, Cucurbitaceae or Solanaceae. We reconstructed the phylogenetic tree for these genes, on which we identified a clade corresponding to all clones specializing on cucurbits. Three of these genes were under positive selection.ConclusionsFull adaptation to a particular host plant may require a combination of alleles at quantitative trait loci in aphids. The three genes we identified could potentially be part of a cocktail of effectors manipulating the immune system of cucurbits and therefore responsible for A. gossypii specialization on that plant family.
DeMoS: Dense Module based Gene Signature Detection through Quasi-Clique: An Application to Cervical Cancer Prognosis
Authors: Saha Suparna , Mallik Saurav , Bandyopadhyay Sanghamitra 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: Gene signature is useful to represent the molecular alternation in the disease genomes at specified conditions and is often used to distinguish samples into various groups for better research prospective as well as better clinical treatment. There is lack of efficient techniques that can take into account the complex gene expression profile and able to identify the most relevant signatures. Methods: In this article, we presented a new framework to identify Dense Module based gene Signature (DeMoS) and their targeting miRNAs through Quasi-Clique detection algorithm and their application in prognosis survival study. Here we applied a cervical cancer data repository with prognosis clinical data to conduct our experiment. We first performed Empirical Bayes test using Limma method to identify dysregulated genes (or, miRNAs). MiRNA-mediated dysregulated target genes had been extracted from those dysregulated miRNAs. Thereafter, We detected dense co-expressed modules using Quasi-Clique identification technique. The average correlation coefficient was then computed for each resultant module. The module containing the highest correlation was formulated as the resultant gene signature. Next, We applied three well-known classifiers (SVM, PAM and Random Forest (RF)) using 10-fold cross-validation, and obtained AUC. Finally, we performed survival prognosis study for the resultant gene signature. Results: The resultant signature consisted of ten genes, FGF9, FGF18, PPP1R9A, ERBB4, DCDC2, TOX3, ARMC3, DNALI1, RGL3 and ENPP3. In addition, We identified a total of eight dysregulated miRNAs that targeted the aforementioned gene signature. Hsa-mir-34c was found to be strongly associated with the genes signature since its out-degree centrality score was highest. On the other hand, the p-value of the Cox regression in the prognosis study for the resultant gene signature was found to be significant (=4.2e-02). Finally, DeMoS evaluated the highest AUC values (viz., 0.95 for SVM, 0.955 for RF, 0.955 for PAM) for our resultant gene signature in compared to the other state-of-the-art techniques. Conclusions: Our framework estimated most promising gene signature that could classify multiple groups/subtypes of samples with higher AUC as well as statistically significant p-value in regression based prognosis analysis. Our method is useful to determine signature for any RNA-seq profile. Code is available at https://github.com/sahasuparna/DeMoS.
Large scale analysis of violent death count in daily newspapers to quantify bias and censorship
Authors: casolino marco 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Editorial bias and censorship can be quantified studying how the occurrence of the word ‘killed’ (‘morti’ in Italian) changes over time and reported location. To this purpose, we have analyzed the complete online archives of the major US newspaper (The New York Times - NYT) and the three major Italian ones (Il Corriere della Sera - CDS, La Repubblica - REP, La Stampa - STA).
After 1960 we find a common trend of decreasing coverage given to violent events in all three Italian newspapers (NYT is more stable), opposite to the growing perceived threat of violence in Italy.
In all Italian newspapers we also find that the female/male ratio is about 30% and roughly constant over the years, with only La Repubblica showing an increase of reporting of female deaths of about 3% /year . Even accounting for the lower female casualty rate, especially in work-related accidents, this hints to the presence of some gender bias in the reporting of violent deaths.
Historically, we show evidence of censorship in Italian newspapers during WW1 and Italian Fascist regime and estimate that in the period 1923-1943 ’ 57,000 articles (75%) featuring domestic deaths were censored in Italy.
We also find that the number of casualties is often (up to 26%) artificially increased to the next multiple of 5 or 10 to emphasize the importance of the article. The only exception to this editorial practice is found in domestic articles by Italian newspapers during the Fascist regime, another effect of censorship trying to downplay domestic casualties.
Furthermore, we find that in all newspapers, the distribution Nk of the number of articles involving k persons killed is described by a power law Nk =A*k^(-γ) for 2≤k≤1E6. The value of γ decreases
in wartime and increases in peacetime and reflecting how the state of belligerence of a country is being reported.
In foreign events, editorial bias results in a break of the power law for 2≤k≤10 resulting in up to 100% articles missing in comparison to what would be expected by a pure power law distribution, which
describes the distribution of all domestic articles.
The suppression of low casualties articles grows with geographical distance from the publishing nation with a rate higher by a factor 5 in the Italian newspapers than in NYT and by a factor 2 - 4 when
considering only countries in Europe (for the Italian newspapers) or America (for NYT), sign that the geographical distance plays a strong role when reporting among countries that share common social traits.
These techniques can be be applied in a wider context, e.g. toward specific ethnic groups and contribute to quantitatively assess the freedom of press in a given country.
Comparative Study of FPA and NFPA: The relationship between the clinical characteristics and visual function impairment in patients with pituitary adenoma
Authors: Qin Jiayin , Li Kai , Wang Xijuan , Bao Yongzhen 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background To investigate the relationship between the clinical characteristics and visual function impairment in patients with functioning pituitary adenoma (FPA) and non-functioning pituitary adenoma(NFPA). Methods Case series study. The medical records of pituitary adenomas patients were reviewed retrospectively. Cases with ophthalmic evaluation were enrolled. Tumor types were confirmed by histologic analysis in all cases. The diameter measured on MRI were recorded. The tumor volume was calculated. All the observation indexes of the two groups were compared. The correlation between visual field and tumor volume was studied and the scatter plot was drawn. Results 30 in FPA and 43 in NFPA group were enrolled. There were 23% of FPA and 41.9% of NFPA had the first symptom in eyes, the former was higher than the latter. The best corrected visual acuity of FPA was better than that of NFPA group. There were 34 (56.7%) and 73 (84.9%) eyes had visual field defect respectively. The visual field defect of FPA was lighter than that of NFPA. Except for the anteroposterior diameter, there was no difference in the other dimensions of tumor diameter between the two groups. The tumor volume of FPA was smaller than that of NFPA group. The tumor size exhibited positive correlation with MD and negative correlation with MS in both groups. Conclusions The tumour growth of FPA was slower and less visual function deficiency than that of NFPA. Special attention on multi-types of visual field defects caused by FPA and NFPA Is needed.
Power Vector Analysis of Corneal Astigmatism among Chinese over Fifty Years Old: a retrospective cross-sectional study
Authors: Pang Yilin , Cao Xiaoguang , Hou Xianru , Yuan Li , Bao Yongzhen 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: To investigate the relationship between corneal astigmatism and age, axial length (AL) among Chinese over fifty years old. Methods: This study enrolled 1,082 right eyes of age-related cataract patients over 50 years old in the clinic of Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, China. Axial length, magnitude and meridian of anterior corneal astigmatism were measured by IOLMaster. Restricted cubic splines and Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to investigate the relationship of the magnitude of cornea astigmatism to age and AL. Power vector analysis method and linear regression analysis were used to assess the relationship of the meridian of astigmatism to age and AL. Results: For this study , mean age, AL, and corneal astigmatism value were 72.45 ±9.28 years, 23.90±1.93mm, and 1.12±0.74D, respectively. The magnitude of corneal astigmatism was 0.75D or higher in 63.8% eyes. The magnitude of corneal astigmatism increased with age after 65 years old. This correlation was statistically significant when AL was between 22.00mm and 26.00mm. The vector value in J 0 was inversely correlated with age. The mean vector value change from with-the-rule (WTR) to against-the-rule (ATR) corneal astigmatism was 0.22D/10 years during 50-65 years old and 0.15D/10 years during 65-85 years old, and was 0.22D/10 years in male and 0.12D/10 years in female, respectively. Conclusions: A large proportion of elderly Chinese cataract patients over 50 years old have corneal astigmatism more than 0.75D . There was a non-linear trend from WTR astigmatism towards ATR astigmatism with age, which was more obvious in elder age and in male. When AL is between 22.00mm and 26.00mm, the magnitude of corneal astigmatism increases with age after 65 years old.
Retinal Morphological Changes during the Two Years of Follow-Up in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Atum Mahmut , Demiryurek Bekir Enes 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: The study aims to investigate the relationship between the progression of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and retinal morphology. Methods: The study was carried out with 23 patients diagnosed with early-stage IPD (phases 1 and 2 of the Hoehn and Yahr scale) and 30 age-matched healthy controls. All patients were followed up at least two years, with 6-month intervals (initial, 6th month, 12th month, 18th month, and 24th month), and detailed neurological and ophthalmic examinations were performed at each follow-up. Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS Part III) scores, Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) scores, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, central macular thickness (CMT) and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were analyzed at each visit. Results: The average age of the IPD and control groups was 43.96 ± 4.88 years, 44.53 ± 0.83 years, respectively. The mean duration of the disease in the IPD group was 7.48 ± 5.10 months at the start of the study (range 0-16). There was no statistically significant difference in BCVA and IOP values between the two groups during the two-year follow-up period (p> 0.05, p> 0.05, respectively). Average and superior quadrant RNFL thicknesses were statistically different between the two groups at 24 months and there was no significant difference between other visits (p = 0.025, p=0.034, p> 0.05, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference in CMT between the two groups during the follow-up period (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Average and superior quadrant RNFL thicknesses were significantly thinning with the progression of IPD.
Development of a patient-reported outcome questionnaire for aplastic anemia and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PRO-AA/PNH)
Authors: Weisshaar Kimmo , Ewald Hannah , Halter Jörg P. , Gerull Sabine , Schönfeld Sandra , Senft Yuliya , Martinez Maria , Leuppi-Taegtmeyer Anne B. , Khanna Nina , Maier Birgit , Risitano Antonio M. , de Latour Regis Peffault , Tichelli Andre , Passweg Jakob R. , Drexler Beatrice 
Published: March 2020

Abstract
Background: The introduction of new therapy modalities has significantly improved the outcome of aplastic anemia (AA) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) patients. However, relatively little is known about the exact disease burden of AA/PNH since standardized assessments of symptoms including health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are frequently missing or inadequately designed for this rare patient group. We aimed to develop an AA/PNH-specific questionnaire for self-reporting of symptoms, which could be included in electronic platforms for data collection and patient care. Methods: By scoping review, we extracted any reported symptoms in AA/PNH and their prevalence from the literature (Phase I). Consensus rounds with patients and medical experts were conducted to identify core symptoms reported in the literature and to add missing items (Phase II). Ultimately, an AA/PNH-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaire including the selected measures was designed (Phase III). Results: Sixty-one symptoms in AA and 45 symptoms in PNH were extracted from the literature. Twenty-four patients and seven medical experts identified 11 core symptoms including HRQoL issues after three consensus rounds. Significant differences in the symptom ranking of patients versus medical experts could be observed. We determined a compromise between experts’ opinions on physical constraints and patients’ frequent demands on HRQoL. These items built the basis for the development of two PRO questionnaires separate for AA and PNH following the concepts of validated instruments. Conclusion: The development of a symptom self-reporting questionnaire for AA and PNH was feasible and the PRO questionnaire can now be validated within a web-based workflow in a subsequent feasibility study.