bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of vascular stiffness using different modalities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a case control study
Authors: Ammar Waleed , Taha Moataz , Baligh Essam , Osama Dina 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
Background
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. Accurate risk stratification would require a simple, non-invasive index integrating all traditional and emerging risk factors. Vascular stiffness fulfills these requirements and has better predictive value for cardiovascular events than traditional risk factors in hypertensives and patients with coronary artery disease. Our aim was to determine whether arterial stiffness is increased in SLE patients compared to healthy controls and to correlate the arterial stiffness in SLE patients with cardiovascular risk factors, namely, hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

Results
This study included 50 SLE patients and 50 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals. SLE patients had higher median aortic stiffness index (SI) and lower strain and distensibility, compared to controls (p value for all < 0.001). SLE patients had significantly impaired flow-mediated dilation (FMD) compared to controls: the median (range) in SLE patients was 8.82 (2.5–21.87), compared to 19 (12–37.5) in controls (z = − 7.695, p ˂ 0.001). Regarding quality arterial stiffness (QAS) parameters, SLE patients had significantly lower median carotid distension, distensibility coefficient, and compliance coefficient, with higher median carotid SI, carotid pulse wave velocity (PWV), and augmentation index (AI), compared to controls (p value for all ≤ 0.001). SLE patients had a higher median cf-PWV 6.5 m/s (4.8–11.8), compared to a median of 4.6 m/s (3.8–6.9) in controls (z = − 8.193, p ˂ 0.001). Linear regression analysis to adjust for hypertension and diabetes mellitus yielded a statistically significant difference between both groups for all of the above parameters (p = 0.014 for maximum carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and < 0.001 for remaining parameters), with the exception of the maximum carotid augmentation index (p = 0.184).

Conclusion
SLE patients have significantly increased arterial stiffness and impaired FMD compared to healthy controls. This is true even after adjusting for hypertension and diabetes mellitus, highlighting the fact that SLE could be an independent cardiovascular risk factor. These findings emphasize the need for early management of SLE together with aggressive risk factor modification.
Development of the RMT20, a composite screener to identify common mental disorders
Authors: Batterham Philip J. , Sunderland Matthew , Carragher Natacha , Calear Alison L. 
Published: May 2020

Background
There are few very brief measures that accurately identify multiple common mental disorders.

Aims
The aim of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties of a new composite measure to screen for five common mental disorders.

Method
Two cross-sectional psychometric surveys were used to develop (n = 3175) and validate (n = 3620) the new measure, the Rapid Measurement Toolkit-20 (RMT20) against diagnostic criteria. The RMT20 was tested against a DSM-5 clinical checklist for major depression, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, with comparison with two measures of general psychological distress: the Kessler-10 and Distress Questionnaire-5.

Results
The area under the curve for the RMT20 was significantly greater than for the distress measures, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92 across the five disorders. Sensitivity and specificity at prescribed cut-points were excellent, with sensitivity ranging from 0.85 to 0.93 and specificity ranging from 0.73 to 0.83 across the five disorders.

Conclusions
The RMT20 outperformed two established scales assessing general psychological distress, is free to use and has low respondent burden. The measure is well-suited to clinical screening, internet-based screening and large-scale epidemiological surveys.
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in High-Risk Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Final Results of a Randomized Trial From Italian (ISG), Spanish (GEIS), French (FSG), and Polish (PSG) Sarcoma Groups
Authors: Gronchi Alessandro , Palmerini Emanuela , Quagliuolo Vittorio , Martin Broto Javier , Lopez Pousa Antonio , Grignani Giovanni , Brunello Antonella , Blay Jean-Yves , Tendero Oscar , Diaz Beveridge Robert , Ferraresi Virginia , Lugowska Iwona , Merlo Domenico Franco , Fontana Valeria , Marchesi Emanuela , Braglia Luca , Donati Davide Maria , Palassini Elena , Bianchi Giuseppe , Marrari Andrea , Morosi Carlo , Stacchiotti Silvia , Bagué Silvia , Coindre Jean Michel , Dei Tos Angelo Paolo , Picci Piero , Bruzzi Paolo , Casali Paolo Giovanni 
Published: May 2020

PURPOSETo determine whether the administration of histology-tailored neoadjuvant chemotherapy (HT) was superior to the administration of standard anthracycline plus ifosfamide neoadjuvant chemotherapy (A+I) in high-risk soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of an extremity or the trunk wall.PATIENTS AND METHODSThis was a randomized, open-label, phase III trial. Patients had localized high-risk STS (grade 3; size, ≥ 5 cm) of an extremity or trunk wall, belonging to one of the following five histologic subtypes: high-grade myxoid liposarcoma (HG-MLPS); leiomyosarcoma (LMS), synovial sarcoma (SS), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS). Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive three cycles of A+I or HT. The HT regimens were as follows: trabectedin in HG-MLPS; gemcitabine plus dacarbazine in LMS; high-dose prolonged-infusion ifosfamide in SS; etoposide plus ifosfamide in MPNST; and gemcitabine plus docetaxel in UPS. Primary and secondary end points were disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS), estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using Cox models adjusted for treatment and stratification factors. The study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT01710176 ).RESULTSBetween May 2011 and May 2016, 287 patients (UPS: n = 97 [33.8%]; HG-MLPS: n = 65 [22.6%]; SS: n = 70 [24.4%]; MPNST: n = 27 [9.4%]; and LMS: n = 28 [9.8%]) were randomly assigned to either A+I or HT. At the final analysis, with a median follow-up of 52 months, the projected DFS and OS probabilities were 0.55 and 0.47 (log-rank P = .323) and 0.76 and 0.66 (log-rank P = .018) at 60 months in the A+I arm and HT arm, respectively. No treatment-related deaths were observed.CONCLUSIONIn a population of patients with localized high-risk STS, HT was not associated with a better DFS or OS, suggesting that A+I should remain the regimen to choose whenever neoadjuvant chemotherapy is used in patients with high-risk STS.
Congenital Hypoparathyroidism Associated With Elevated Circulating Nonfunctional Parathyroid Hormone Due to Novel PTH Mutation
Authors: Gild Matti L , Bullock Martyn , Luxford Catherine , Field Michael , Clifton-Bligh Roderick J 
Published: May 2020

Abstract

Context
Familial hypoparathyroidism has a heterogeneous presentation where patients usually have low parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels due to impaired production or secretion. This contrasts with pseudohypoparathyroidism, in which PTH resistance is usually associated with an elevated serum PTH. High levels of circulating PTH can also be due to bioinactive PTH, which is difficult to distinguish from pseudohypoparathyroidism on biochemical grounds.

Case Description
We report on 2 sisters from consanguineous parents who presented with tetany at birth and were diagnosed with congenital hypocalcemia. Serum PTH levels were normal for many years, but progressively increased in midadulthood to greater than 100x the upper limit of normal on multiple assays. Homozygosity mapping was performed on 1 sister that demonstrated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) around PTH. Sequencing revealed a previously unreported variant, c.94T&gt;C, predicting a codon change of p.Ser32Pro that is biologically inactive.

Conclusions
This case report shows a previously unreported unusual biochemical phenotype of a rising PTH in the context of a novel PTH mutation. This expands the evolving genotypes associated with hypoparathyroidism without established gene mutations.
Human embryoid bodies as a 3D tissue model of the extracellular matrix and α-dystroglycanopathies
Authors: Nickolls Alec R. , Lee Michelle M. , Zukosky Kristen , Mallon Barbara S. , Bönnemann Carsten G. 
Published: May 2020

ABSTRACT
The basal lamina is a specialized sheet of dense extracellular matrix (ECM) linked to the plasma membrane of specific cell types in their tissue context, which serves as a structural scaffold for organ genesis and maintenance. Disruption of the basal lamina and its functions is central to many disease processes, including cancer metastasis, kidney disease, eye disease, muscular dystrophies and specific types of brain malformation. The latter three pathologies occur in the α-dystroglycanopathies, which are caused by dysfunction of the ECM receptor α-dystroglycan. However, opportunities to study the basal lamina in various human disease tissues are restricted owing to its limited accessibility. Here, we report the generation of embryoid bodies from human induced pluripotent stem cells that model the basal lamina. Embryoid bodies cultured via this protocol mimic pre-gastrulation embryonic development, consisting of an epithelial core surrounded by a basal lamina and a peripheral layer of ECM-secreting endoderm. In α-dystroglycanopathy patient embryoid bodies, electron and fluorescence microscopy reveal ultrastructural basal lamina defects and reduced ECM accumulation. By starting from patient-derived cells, these results establish a method for the in vitro synthesis of patient-specific basal lamina and recapitulate disease-relevant ECM defects seen in the α-dystroglycanopathies. Finally, we apply this system to evaluate an experimental ribitol supplement therapy on genetically diverse α-dystroglycanopathy patient samples.
This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.
The OxymiR response to oxygen limitation: a comparative microRNA perspective
Authors: Hadj-Moussa Hanane , Storey Kenneth B. 
Published: May 2020

ABSTRACT
From squid at the bottom of the ocean to humans at the top of mountains, animals have adapted to diverse oxygen-limited environments. Surviving these challenging conditions requires global metabolic reorganization that is orchestrated, in part, by microRNAs that can rapidly and reversibly target all biological functions. Herein, we review the involvement of microRNAs in natural models of anoxia and hypoxia tolerance, with a focus on the involvement of oxygen-responsive microRNAs (OxymiRs) in coordinating the metabolic rate depression that allows animals to tolerate reduced oxygen levels. We begin by discussing animals that experience acute or chronic periods of oxygen deprivation at the ocean's oxygen minimum zone and go on to consider more elevated environments, up to mountain plateaus over 3500 m above sea level. We highlight the commonalities and differences between OxymiR responses of over 20 diverse animal species, including invertebrates and vertebrates. This is followed by a discussion of the OxymiR adaptations, and maladaptations, present in hypoxic high-altitude environments where animals, including humans, do not enter hypometabolic states in response to hypoxia. Comparing the OxymiR responses of evolutionarily disparate animals from diverse environments allows us to identify species-specific and convergent microRNA responses, such as miR-210 regulation. However, it also sheds light on the lack of a single unified response to oxygen limitation. Characterizing OxymiRs will help us to understand their protective roles and raises the question of whether they can be exploited to alleviate the pathogenesis of ischemic insults and boost recovery. This Review takes a comparative approach to addressing such possibilities.
Novel Zinc-Based Infinite Coordination Polymer for Highly Selective Ammonia Gas Sensing at Room Temperature
Authors: Zhao Yuming , Shao Lei , Li Linlin , Wang Sha , Song Guoshuai , Gao Zhimin , Zhang Xuemin , Wang Tieqiang , Li Yunong , Zhang Liying , Li Wenze , Meng Fanbao , Fu Yu 
Published: May 2020

Abstract
A novel zinc-based infinite coordination polymer (Zn-ICP) with functionalized ligand is fabricated by a simple dripping method under mild conditions. Zn-ICP as sensing material shows fast response and high selectivity to ammonia at room temperature due to different metal nodes compared with isomorphic Ni-ICP.
Advantages, Limitations and Recommendations for online learning during COVID-19 pandemic era
Authors: Mukhtar Khadijah , Javed Kainat , Arooj Mahwish , Sethi Ahsan 
Published: May 2020

Objective: During COVID-19 pandemic, the institutions in Pakistan have started online learning. This study explores the perception of teachers and students regarding its advantages, limitations and recommendations.Methods: This qualitative case study was conducted from March to April 2020. Using maximum variation sampling, 12 faculty members and 12 students from University College of Medicine and University College of Dentistry, Lahore were invited to participate. Four focus group interviews, two each with the faculty and students of medicine and dentistry were carried out. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed using Atlas Ti.Results: The advantages included remote learning, comfort, accessibility, while the limitations involved inefficiency and difficulty in maintaining academic integrity. The recommendations were to train faculty on using online modalities and developing lesson plan with reduced cognitive load and increased interactivities.Conclusion: The current study supports the use of online learning in medical and dental institutes, considering its various advantages. Online learning modalities encourage student-centered learning and they are easily manageable during this lockdown situation.
doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2785
How to cite this:Mukhtar K, Javed K, Arooj M, Sethi A. Advantages, Limitations and Recommendations for online learning during COVID-19 pandemic era. 2020;36(COVID19-S4):COVID19-S27-S31. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2785
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A review of the nature of the virus, impacts and implications for preparedness
Authors: Badu Kingsley , Thorn Jessica P.R. , Goonoo Nowsheen , Dukhi Natisha , Fagbamigbe Adeniyi Francis , Kulohoma Benard W. , Oyebola Kolapo , Abdelsalam Sara I. , Doorsamy Wesley , Awe Olawale , Sylverken Augustina Angelina , Egeru Anthony , Gitaka Jesse 
Published: May 2020

Background: COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in different countries across the world, claiming thousands of lives, increasing morbidity and disrupting lifestyles. The global scientific community is in urgent need of relevant evidence, to understand the challenges and knowledge gaps, as well as the opportunities to contain the spread of the virus. Considering the unique socio-economic, demographic, political, ecological and climatic contexts in Africa, the responses which may prove to be successful in other regions may not be appropriate on the continent. This paper aims to provide insight for scientists, policy makers and international agencies to contain the virus and to mitigate its impact at all levels. Methods: The Affiliates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), came together to synthesize the current evidence, identify the challenges and opportunities to enhance the understanding of the disease. We assess the potential impact of this pandemic and the unique challenges of the disease on African nations. We examine the state of Africa’s preparedness and make recommendations for steps needed to win the war against this pandemic and combat potential resurgence. Results: We identified gaps and opportunities among cross-cutting issues which is recommended to be addressed or harnessed in this pandemic. Factors such as the nature of the virus and the opportunities for drug targeting, point of care diagnostics, health surveillance systems, food security, mental health, xenophobia and gender-based violence, shelter for the homeless, water and sanitation, telecommunications challenges, domestic regional coordination and financing. Conclusion: Based on our synthesis of the current evidence, while there are plans for preparedness in several African countries, there are significant limitations. Multi-sectoral efforts from the science, education, medical, technological, communication, business and industry sectors as well as local communities is required in order to win this fight.
Analyses of spike protein from first deposited sequences of SARS-CoV2 from West Bengal, India
Authors: Begum Feroza , Mukherjee Debica , Thagriki Dluya , Das Sandeepan , Tripathi Prem Prakash , Banerjee Arup Kumar , Ray Upasana 
Published: May 2020

India has recently started sequencing SARS-CoV2 genome from clinical isolates. Currently only few sequences are available from three states in India. Kerala was the first state to deposit complete sequence from two isolates followed by one from Gujarat. On April 27, 2020, the first five sequences from the state of West Bengal (Eastern India) were deposited on GISAID, a global initiative for sharing avian flu data. In this study, we have analysed the spike protein sequences from all five isolates and also compared their similarities or differences with other sequences reported in India and with isolates of Wuhan origin. We report one unique mutation at position 723 and another at 1124 in the S2 domain of spike protein of the isolates from West Bengal only. There was one mutation downstream of the receptor binding domain at position 614 in S1 domain which was common with the sequence from Gujarat (a state of western India). Mutation in the S2 domain showed changes in the secondary structure of the spike protein at region of the mutation. We also studied molecular dynamics using normal mode analyses and found that this mutation decreases the flexibility of S2 domain. Since both S1 and S2 are important in receptor binding followed by entry in the host cells, such mutations may define the affinity or avidity of receptor binding.
A snapshot of the ongoing clinical research on COVID-19
Authors: Piovani Daniele , Pansieri Claudia , Peyrin-Biroulet Laurent , Danese Silvio , Bonovas Stefanos 
Published: May 2020

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents an unprecedented challenge to rapidly develop new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies. Currently, thousands of new COVID-19 patients are quickly enrolled in clinical studies. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of the COVID-19 studies registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and report the extent to which they have incorporated features that are desirable for generating high-quality evidence. On April 28, 2020, a total of 945 studies on COVID-19 have been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov; 586 studies are interventional (62.0%), the most frequent allocation scheme is the parallel group assignment (437; 74.6%), they are open-label and the most common primary purpose is the research on treatment. Too many of the ongoing interventional studies have a small expected sample size and may not generate credible evidence at completion. This might lead to a delayed recognition of effective therapies that are urgently needed, and a waste of time and resources. In the COVID-19 pandemic era, it is crucial that the adoption of new diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies is based upon evidence coming from well-designed, adequately powered and carefully conducted clinical trials.
Organizational and Pedagogical Conditions for Teaching Native Languages That Have the Status of State Languages of the Republics in Basic General Education
Authors: Savvinova Anna 
Published: May 2020

One of the necessary conditions for the successful functioning of a balanced system of language education is a quality study of Russian and native languages. The study of the mother tongue in high school is based on the education of a person who knows and respects his mother tongue, the formation of language competence, which includes the necessary elements of knowledge about the language system. The formation and increase of motivation to learn the native language of students is carried out with the targeted creation of organizational and pedagogical conditions and their effective management.
The article discusses the issue of creating organizational and pedagogical conditions for teaching native languages that have the status of the state languages of the republics. The main organizational and pedagogical conditions that are of paramount importance for the formation of balanced bilingualism in children in organizations of basic general education, conducting educational activities in their native languages: motivational, organizational, personnel, material and technical, control and evaluation are identified. The results of a study of the current state of functioning of native languages in the republics of Altai, Komi, Sakha (Yakutia), Tatarstan, Tyva are presented. The concepts of «organizational and pedagogical conditions» and its components are clarified. Based on the results obtained, methodological recommendations have been developed for creating the organizational and pedagogical conditions for teaching mother tongues in educational institutions where two state languages are taught.
Feature-Based Dynamic Pricing
Authors: Cohen Maxime C. , Lobel Ilan , Paes Leme Renato 
Published: May 2020

We consider the problem faced by a firm that receives highly differentiated products in an online fashion. The firm needs to price these products to sell them to its customer base. Products are described by vectors of features and the market value of each product is linear in the values of the features. The firm does not initially know the values of the different features, but can learn the values of the features based on whether products were sold at the posted prices in the past. This model is motivated by applications such as online marketplaces, online flash sales, and loan pricing. We first consider a multidimensional version of binary search over polyhedral sets and show that it has a worst-case regret which is exponential in the dimension of the feature space. We then propose a modification of the prior algorithm where uncertainty sets are replaced by their Löwner-John ellipsoids. We show that this algorithm has a worst-case regret which is quadratic in the dimension of the feature space and logarithmic in the time horizon. We also show how to adapt our algorithm to the case where valuations are noisy. Finally, we present computational experiments to illustrate the performance of our algorithm. This paper was accepted by Yinyu Ye, optimization.