bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Midnight salivary cortisol secretion and the use of antidepressants were associated with abdominal obesity in women with type 1 diabetes: a cross sectional study
Authors: Melin Eva Olga , Hillman Magnus , Thunander Maria , Landin-Olsson Mona 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
Abdominal obesity is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim was to explore the influence of midnight salivary cortisol (MSC), antidepressants and sex on abdominal obesity in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We controlled for physical inactivity, smoking, depression and alexithymia.

Methods
Cross sectional study of 190 T1D patients (86 women/104 men, 18–59 years, diabetes duration 1–55 years), consecutively recruited from one specialist diabetes outpatient clinic. Anthropometrics, blood pressure, saliva and blood samples were collected, supplemented with data from electronic medical records. Depression and alexithymia were assessed by self-report instruments. MSC (nmol/l) was categorised into 3 levels: high MSC: (≥ 6.7) (n = 64); intermediate MSC: ≥ 3.7− < 6.7) (n = 64); low MSC (< 3.7) (n = 62). Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference (meters) ≥ 0.88 for women and as ≥ 1.02 for men. Multiple logistic regression analyses (Backward: Wald) were performed. The Hosmer and Lemeshow test for goodness-of-fit and Nagelkerke R2 were used to evaluate each multiple logistic regression analysis model.

Results
The prevalence of abdominal obesity was three times higher in the women than in the men (24% versus 8%) (p = 0.002). Antidepressants were used by 10% of the women and by 4% of the men (p = 0.09). The prevalence of high MSC was 1.7 times higher in the women (43% versus 26%); the prevalence of both intermediate MSC (28% versus 38%) and low MSC (29% versus 36%) were lower in the women (p = 0.048). Significant associations with abdominal obesity were for all 190 patients: female sex (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.4 (confidence interval (CI) 1.4–8.2)) and the use of antidepressants (AOR 4.3 (CI 1.2–14.8)); for the 86 women: high MSC (AOR 18.4 (CI 1.9–181)) and use of antidepressants (AOR 12.2 (CI 2.0–73.6)); and for the 104 men: alexithymia (AOR 5.2 (CI 1.1–24.9)).

Conclusions
Clear sex differences were demonstrated with a distinct higher prevalence of abdominal obesity, as well as a distinct higher prevalence of high midnight salivary cortisol in the women with type 1 diabetes. High midnight salivary cortisol secretion and the use of antidepressants were independent risk factors for abdominal obesity in the women.
Increased PTEN gene expression in patients with endometrial carcinoma from areas of high risk depleted uranium exposure
Authors: Jumaah Alaa Salah , Al-Haddad Hawraa Sahib , Mahdi Liwaa Hussein , Hatem Emad , Al-Janabi Asaad Abdul Hamza , McAllister Katherine , Yasseen Akeel Abed 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Objective
Investigate PTEN gene expression and tumor aggressiveness in endometrial carcinoma specimens from patients living in either areas of depleted uranium [DU] pollution or unpolluted regions to determine any evidence for the effect of war pollution on the rising trends of cancer incidence in Iraq.

Results
Tumor PTEN gene expression was significantly increased in patients living in the areas of high risk DU exposure, in comparison to patient tumors from low risk areas [P = 0.001]. The age distribution between the potentially DU exposed (55.09 ± 1.24) and unexposed subjects 56.38 ± 1.18) was not significant [P = 0.45]. Endometrial carcinoma aggressiveness was equivalent in both subject groups, with no significant differences in either tumour grade and [P = 0.286] stage distribution [P = 0.98]. Finally, there were no significant differences between the potentially exposed and unexposed subjects with regard to cervical [P = 0.532] or to ovarian involvement [P = 0.518]. The results linked environmental war pollutants [DU] to alterations in PTEN gene expression in endometrial carcinoma. Furthermore, this finding may explain the overall increasing cancer trends observed in Iraq. Strategies should be considered for the therapeutic targeting of cancers with elevated PTEN gene expression to improve patient outlook.
Variation of PEAR1 DNA methylation influences platelet and leukocyte function
Authors:   on behalf of Moli-family Investigators, Izzi Benedetta , Gianfagna Francesco , Yang Wen-Yi , Cludts Katrien , De Curtis Amalia , Verhamme Peter , Di Castelnuovo Augusto , Cerletti Chiara , Donati Maria Benedetta , de Gaetano Giovanni , Staessen Jan A. , Hoylaerts Marc F. , Iacoviello Licia 
Published: October 2019

AbstractBackgroundPlatelet-endothelial aggregation receptor 1 (PEAR-1) is a transmembrane receptor involved in platelet activation and megakaryopoiesis whose expression is driven by DNA methylation.PEAR1variants were associated with differential platelet response to activation and cardiovascular outcomes. We aimed at investigating the link betweenPEAR1methylation and platelet and leukocyte function markers in a family-based population.ResultsWe measuredPEAR1methylation in 605 Moli-family participants with available blood counts, plasma P-selectin and C-reactive protein, whole blood platelet P-selectin, and platelet-leukocyte mixed conjugate measurements. We performed principal component analysis (PCA) to identify groups of highly correlated CpG sites. We used linear mixed regression models (using age, gender, BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, being a proband for family recruitment, being a member of myocardial infarction (MI) family as fixed effects, and family as a random effect) to evaluate associations betweenPEAR1methylation and phenotypes.PEAR1methylation Factor2, characterized by the previously identified megakaryocyte-specific CpG sites, was inversely associated with platelet-monocyte conjugates, P-selectin, and WBC counts, while positively associated with the platelet distribution width (PDW) and with leukocyte CD11b and L-selectin. Moreover,PEAR1Factor2 methylation was negatively associated with INFLAscore, a low-grade inflammation score. The latter was partially mediated by thePEAR1methylation effect on platelet variables.PEAR1methylation association with WBC measurements and INFLAscore was confirmed in the independent cohort FLEMENGHO.ConclusionsWe report a significant link between epigenetic signatures in a platelet functional gene and inflammation-dependent platelet function variability measured in two independent cohorts.
The association between caesarean section and childhood asthma: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Darabi Behzad , Rahmati Shoboo , HafeziAhmadi Mohammad Reza , Badfar Gholamreza , Azami Milad 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
Investigating the association between caesarean section (SC) and childhood asthma has shown contradictory results in different studies. The present study was conducted to determine the association between SC and childhood asthma.

Material and method
The present study was conducted based on the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All the steps of the study were conducted independently by two reviewers from the inception until February 1, 2019. In case of disagreement, the third reviewer resolved it. We searched international online databases, including Scopus, Cochrane Library, PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science (ISI), Science Direct, and Google scholar. The results of studies were combined using random effects model, and heterogeneity was measured through I2 index and Cochran’s Q test. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software was used for meta-analysis. The significance level of all tests was considered to be P < 0.05.

Results
The heterogeneity rate was high (I2 = 67.31%, P < 0.001) in 37 studies. The results showed that SC increased the risk of childhood asthma (RR (relative risk) = 1.20 [95% CI 1.15–1.25, P < 0.001]). The association between emergency and elective SC and childhood asthma was significant with RR of 1.18 (95% CI 1.07–1.29, P < 0.001) in 13 studies and 1.23 (95% CI 1.20–1.26, P < 0.001) in 13 studies, respectively. The subgroup analysis for RR of childhood asthma in SC indicated that study design (P = 0.306), prospective/retrospective studies (P = 0.470), quality of studies (P = 0.514), continent (P = 0.757), age of diagnosis (P = 0.283) and year of publication (P = 0.185) were not effective in the heterogeneity of studies. Sensitivity analysis by removing one study at a time indicated that the overall estimate is robust.

Conclusion
According to the meta-analysis, SC (overall, elective, and emergency) increased the risk of childhood asthma. Therefore, it is hoped that developing clinical guidelines and implementing appropriate management plans would diminish the risk of asthma.
Unknowing ingestion of Brugmansia suaveolens leaves presenting with signs of anticholinergic toxicity: a case report
Authors: Jayawickreme K. P. , Janaka K. V. C. , Subasinghe S. A. S. P. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
Brugmansia suaveolens is the commonest species under the Solanacea (“Angels Trumpet” in English; “Attana” in Sinhalese) plant family in Sri Lanka. It contains alkaloids like scopolamine, atropine and hyoscyamine which can cause an anticholinergic toxindrome. There have been a few reported cases of accidental ingestion of Brugmansia seeds among children, seeds being the most toxic part, but no such reported cases of Brugmansia leaves poisoning among adults.

Case presentation
A 60-year-old-female Sinhalese presented with acute confusion, delirium, and agitation. She had ingested a herbal drink made from leaves of an unknown plant from her garden prior to onset of symptoms. She had urinary retention, mydriasis and sinus tachycardia. She was managed supportively with activated charcoal and hydration and the delirium completely resolved within 15 hours. The presented unkown plant leaves were identified as Brugmansia suaveolens.

Conclusion
Although seeds are the most toxic plant part in most cases of Brugmansia poisoning, leaves also have a significant degree of toxicity. It is important that medical professionals promptly recognize the features of anticholinergic syndrome, and have a high index to suspect Brugmansia poisoning and start prompt treatment. It is also important to improve awareness of toxic plants among the general community to prevent toxicities and fatalities.
Pre-approval incentives to promote adoption of personalized medicine: a theoretical approach
Authors: Antoñanzas F. , Juárez-Castelló C. A. , Rodríguez-Ibeas R. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract

Background
Currently, personalised medicine is becoming more frequently used and many drug companies are including this strategy to gain market access for very specialized therapies. In this article, in order to understand the relationships between the health authority and the drug company when deciding upon the implementation of personalized medicines, we take a theoretical perspective to model it when the price and reimbursement policy follows a pay-for-performance scheme. During the development of a new drug, the firm must decide whether to generate additional knowledge by investing in additional resources to stratify the target population based on a biomarker or directly apply for marketing authorization for the new treatment without information on the characteristics of patients who could respond to it. In this context, we assume that the pricing policy is set by the health authority, and then we characterize the pricing and investment decisions contingent on the rate of response to the treatment.

Results
We find that the price when the firm carries out R&D leading to the personalized treatments is not necessarily higher than the price if the firm does not carry out the R&D investment. When the rate of response to the treatment is too low, then the new drug is not marketed. If the rate of response is too high, personalized medicine is not implemented. For intermediate values of the rate of response, the adoption of personalized medicine may occur if the investment costs are sufficiently low; otherwise, the treatment is given to all patients without additional information on their characteristics. The higher the quality of the genetic test (in terms of its sensitivity and specificity), the wider the interval for the values of the proportional responders for which personalized medicine may be implemented.

Conclusions
Our findings show that pre-approval incentives (prices) to promote the personalized treatments depend on the specific characteristics of the disease and the efficacy of the treatment. The model gives an intuitive idea about what to expect in terms of price incentives when the possibility of personalizing treatments becomes a strategic decision for the stakeholders.
Seroprevalence of influenza D virus in selected sample groups of Irish cattle, sheep and pigs
Authors: O’Donovan Tom , Donohoe Leah , Ducatez Mariette F. , Meyer Gilles , Ryan Eoin 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Influenza D virus (IDV) is a new member of the Orthomyxoviridae family. It was first reported in swine in 2011 and isolated from bovine samples received for routine respiratory disease diagnosis in Ireland during 2014–2016. The goal of this study was to determine the seroprevalence in selected populations of IDV in cattle, pigs and sheep. Results showed a high prevalence of IDV in cattle sampled at slaughter (94.6%) or for diagnostic reasons (64.9%), whereas prevelance in samples taken for diagnostic reasons from sheep (4.5%) and pigs (5.8%) was much lower. This study suggests that IDV is widespread in Irish cattle.
SF-Assemblin genes in Paramecium: phylogeny and phenotypes of RNAi silencing on the ciliary-striated rootlets and surface organization
Authors: Nabi Ashikun , Yano Junji , Valentine Megan S. , Picariello Tyler , Van Houten Judith L. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractBackgroundCilia emanate from basal bodies just underneath the cell membrane. Basal bodies must withstand torque from the ciliary beat and be appropriately spaced for cilia to beat in metachronal waves. Basal body rootlets provide stability for motile cilia.Parameciumhas three. Our focus is on the largest one, the striated rootlet (SR).Parameciumbasal bodies align in straight rows. Previously we found a potential role for the SR in this alignment. Here we present a phylogeny of theParameciumhomologs of theSF-Assemblingene of the SR ofChlamydomonas,and the organization of these genes. We describe the phenotypes from RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of genes and gene groups.MethodsPhenotypes of the RNAi depletions were characterized by immunofluorescence (IF), electron microscopy, and mass spectrometry.ResultsWe found 30 genes forParameciumSF-Assemblin homologs (SFA) organized into 13 Paralog Groups (further categorized in five Structural Groups). Representatives of Paralog Groups were found in the SRs. Silencing the transcripts of any of the Structural Groups correlates with misaligned rows of basal bodies, SRs, and cortical units. The silencing of Structural Groups was key and gave us the ability to systematically disrupt SR structures and cell surface organization.ConclusionsSilencing ofSFAgenes and Paralog Groups shows no effects on the SR or the cell surface organization. Silencing of the larger Structural Groups has an enormous impact on rows of basal bodies, SRs and cortical units, and SR striations, and length. Misaligned basal bodies have cilia causing the cells to swim in abnormal paths.
Cost-effective multi-standard video transform core using time-sharing architecture
Authors: Tseng Yun-Hua , Chen Yuan-Ho 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This paper presents a cost-effective two-dimensional (2-D) inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) for supporting multiple standards of MPEG 1/2/4, H.264, VC-1, and HEVC. The proposed approach employs a time allocation scheme to enable the simultaneous processing of the first and second dimensions in order to enhance data throughput and attain hardware utilization of 100%. The proposed one-dimensional (1-D) IDCT uses distributed arithmetic (DA) in conjunction with factor sharing (FS) within a hardware sharing architecture. Four parallel computation streams are employed to enhance the throughput rate as four times of operation frequency. The efficacy of this approach was verified by fabricating a test chip using the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) 90 nm Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) process. The inverse transform core has an operating frequency of 200 MHz and a throughput of 800 M-pels/s with a gate count of 27.2 K.
Robust object tracking via online discriminative appearance modeling
Authors: Liu Wei , Sun Xin , Li Dong 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
A robust object tracking algorithm is proposed in this paper based on an online discriminative appearance modeling mechanism. In contrast with traditional trackers whose computations cover the whole target region and may easily be polluted by the similar background pixels, we divided the target into a number of patches and take the most discriminative one as the tracking basis. With the consideration of both the photometric and spatial information, we construct a discriminative target model on it. Then, a likelihood map can be got by comparing the target model with candidate regions, on which the mean shift procedure is employed for mode seeking. Finally, we update the target model to adapt to the appearance variation. Experimental results on a number of challenging video sequences confirm that the proposed method outperforms the related state-of-the-art trackers.
Long-term integrity protection of genomic data
Authors: Buchmann Johannes , Geihs Matthias , Hamacher Kay , Katzenbeisser Stefan , Stammler Sebastian 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Genomic data is crucial in the understanding of many diseases and for the guidance of medical treatments. Pharmacogenomics and cancer genomics are just two areas in precision medicine of rapidly growing utilization. At the same time, whole-genome sequencing costs are plummeting below $ 1000, meaning that a rapid growth in full-genome data storage requirements is foreseeable. While privacy protection of genomic data is receiving growing attention, integrity protection of this long-lived and highly sensitive data much less so.We consider a scenario inspired by future pharmacogenomics, in which a patient’s genome data is stored over a long time period while random parts of it are periodically accessed by authorized parties such as doctors and clinicians. A protection scheme is described that preserves integrity of the genomic data in that scenario over a time horizon of 100 years. During such a long time period, cryptographic schemes will potentially break and therefore our scheme allows to update the integrity protection. Furthermore, integrity of parts of the genomic data can be verified without compromising the privacy of the remaining data. Finally, a performance evaluation and cost projection shows that privacy-preserving long-term integrity protection of genomic data is resource demanding, but in reach of current and future hardware technology and has negligible costs of storage.
Maximum likelihood approach to DoA estimation using lens antenna array
Authors: Jiang Zheng-Ming , Zhang Peichang , Rihan Mohamed , Huang Lei , Zhang Jihong 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Massive antenna array has been proposed to improve the spectral efficiency and link reliability in wireless communication systems. However, using large antenna arrays incurs additional cost in terms of signal processing and hardware complexity. The electromagnetic (EM) lens-focusing antennas are introduced as a promising technique to reduce the hardware complexity and cost. On the other hand, determining the location of users in terms of their direction-of-arrival (DoA) using these lens array becomes of great interest for different 5G services. This paper addresses the issue of DoA estimation by adopting lens antenna array (LNA). We firstly derive an expression for the received signal with the adoption of LNA, and then a maximum likelihood (ML) estimator for the DoA has been obtained. Depending on the ability of the lens array to focus the signal power on a subset of antennas as a function of DoA. We propose using the antenna selection (AS) technology to select an antenna subset aiming to reduce the number of radio frequency (RF) chains and accordingly reducing the hardware cost. The simulation results show the the capability of the proposed method to avoid the phase ambiguity problem and provide high accurate DoA estimation of signals.
Existence of solutions for a nonhomogeneous Dirichlet problem involving $p(x)$-Laplacian operator and indefinite weight
Authors: Marcos Aboubacar , Abdou Aboubacar 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
We obtain multiplicity and uniqueness results in the weak sense for the following nonhomogeneous quasilinear equation involving the $p(x)$
p
(
x
)
-Laplacian operator with Dirichlet boundary condition:
$$ -\Delta _{p(x)}u+V(x) \vert u \vert ^{q(x)-2}u =f(x,u)\quad \text{in }\varOmega , u=0 \text{ on }\partial \varOmega , $$
−

Δ

p
(
x
)

u
+
V
(
x
)
|
u

|

q
(
x
)
−
2

u
=
f
(
x
,
u
)

in
Ω
,
u
=
0
on
∂
Ω
,
where Ω is a smooth bounded domain in $\mathbb{R}^{N}$

R
N

, V is a given function with an indefinite sign in a suitable variable exponent Lebesgue space, $f(x,t)$
f
(
x
,
t
)
is a Carathéodory function satisfying some growth conditions. Depending on the assumptions, the solutions set may consist of a bounded infinite sequence of solutions or a unique one. Our technique is based on a symmetric version of the mountain pass theorem.
Boundary linear stabilization of the modified generalized Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers equation
Authors: Smaoui Nejib , Chentouf Boumediène , Alalabi Ala’ 
Published: October 2019

AbstractThe linear stabilization problem of the modified generalized Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers equation (MGKdVB) is considered when the spatial variable lies in$[0,1]$[0,1]. First, the existence and uniqueness of global solutions are proved. Next, the exponential stability of the equation is established in$L^{2} (0,1)$L2(0,1). Then, a linear adaptive boundary control is put forward. Finally, numerical simulations for both non-adaptive and adaptive problems are provided to illustrate the analytical outcomes.
Dynamical analysis and control strategies in modelling Ebola virus disease
Authors: Mhlanga A. 
Published: October 2019

AbstractEbola virus disease (EVD) is a severe infection with an extremely high fatality rate spread through direct and indirect contacts. Recently, an outbreak of EVD in West Africa brought public attention to this deadly disease. We study the spread of EVD through a two-patch model. We determine the basic reproduction number, the disease-free equilibrium, two boundary equilibria and the endemic equilibrium when the disease persists in the two sub-populations for specific conditions. Further, we introduce time-dependent controls into our proposed model. We analyse the optimal control problem where the control system is a mathematical model for EVD that incorporates educational campaigns. The control functions represent educational campaigns in their respective patches, with one patch having more effective controls than the other. We aim to study how these control measures would be implemented for a certain time period, in order to reduce or eliminate EVD in the respective communities, while minimising the intervention implementation costs. Numerical simulations results are provided to illustrate the dynamics of the disease in the presence of controls.