bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fatality rate and predictors of mortality in a large Italian cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients
Authors: Team COVID-UPO Clinical , Sainaghi Pier Paolo 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Substantial discrepancies are evident in the clinical features and natural history of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), among different countries, so we aimed to evaluate the fatality rate and to identify predictors of mortality in a cohort of hospitalized patients. We performed a retrospective multicenter cohort study on medical records of patients admitted between 1st March and 28th April 2020, involving three hospitals in Northern Italy. We included 1697 patients older than 18 years of age and with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). During the study period we observed 504 deaths, with a CFR of 29.7%. We further looked for predictors of mortality in a subset of 486 patients (239 males, 59%); the median age of the study population was 71 [58-80] years. Among demographic and clinical variables considered, age, a diagnosis of cancer, obesity and current smoking independently predicted mortality. When laboratory data were added to the model, age, the diagnosis of cancer, and the baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio were independent predictors of mortality. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the CFR of hospitalized patients in Northern Italy was high, approaching 30%. The identification of mortality predictors might contribute to better stratification of individual patient risk.
Estimation of flood frequency using statistical method: Mahanadi River basin, India
Authors: Samantaray Sandeep , Sahoo Abinash 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Estimating stream flow has a substantial financial influence, because this can be of assistance in water resources management and provides safety from scarcity of water and conceivable flood destruction. Four common statistical methods, namely, Normal, Gumbel max, Log-Pearson III (LP III), and Gen. extreme value method are employed for 10, 20, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70, 75, 100, 150 years to forecast stream flow. Monthly flow data from four stations on Mahanadi River, in Eastern Central India, namely, Rampur, Sundargarh, Jondhra, and Basantpur, are used in the study. Results show that Gumbel max gives better flow discharge value than the Normal, LP III, and Gen. extreme value methods for all four gauge stations. Estimated flood values for Rampur, Sundargarh, Jondhra, and Basantpur stations are 372.361 m3/sec, 530.415 m3/sec, 2,133.888 m3/sec, and 3,836.22 m3/sec, respectively, considering Gumbel max. Goodness-of-fit tests for four statistical distribution techniques applied in the present study are also evaluated using Kolmogorov–Smirov, Anderson–Darling, Chi-squared tests at critical value 0.05 for the four proposed gauge stations. Goodness-of-fit test results show that Gen. extreme value gives best results at Rampur, Sundergarh, and Jondhra gauge stations followed by LP III, whereas LP III is the best fit for Basantpur, followed by Gen. extreme value.
Optimal hydropower operation of multi-reservoir systems: hybrid cellular automata-simulated annealing approach
Authors: Azizipour Mohamad , Sattari Ali , Afshar Mohammad Hadi , Goharian Erfan , Solis Samuel Sandoval 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Hydropower operation of multi-reservoir systems is very difficult to solve mostly due to their nonlinear, nonconvex and large-scale nature. While conventional methods are long known to be incapable of solving these types of problems, evolutionary algorithms are shown to successfully handle the complexity of these problems at the expense of very large computational cost, particularly when population-based methods are used. A novel hybrid cellular automata-simulated annealing (CA-SA) method is proposed in this study which avoids the shortcomings of the existing conventional and evolutionary methods for the optimal hydropower operation of multi-reservoir systems. The start and the end instances of time at each operation period is considered as the CA cells with the reservoir storages at these instances are taken as the cell state which leads to a cell neighborhood defined by the two adjacent periods. The local updating rule of the proposed CA is derived by projecting the objective function and the constraints of the original problem on the cell neighborhoods represented by an optimization sub-problem with the number of decision variables equal to the number of reservoirs in the system. These sub-problems are subsequently solved by a modified simulated annealing approach to finding the updated values of the cell states. Once all the cells are covered, the cell states are updated and the process is iterated until the convergence is achieved. The proposed method is first used for hydropower operation of two well-known benchmark problems, namely the well-known four- and ten-reservoir problems. The results are compared with the existing results obtained from cellular automata. Genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization indicating that the proposed method is much more efficient than existing algorithms. The proposed method is then applied for long-term hydropower operation of a real-world three-reservoir system in the USA, and the results are presented and compared with the existing results.
Application of the watershed sustainability index in the Piranhas-Açu watershed
Authors: Costa e Silva D. D. , Chaves H. M. L. , Curi W. F. , Baracuhy J. G. V. , Cunha T. P. S. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe current worldwide water resources issue is one of the crucial matters to overcome obstacles to sustainable development. This problem, formerly tackled in a sectored manner, is now pointing towards an analysis directed to treating the watershed as a management unit, with regards to all dimensions of knowledge and, especially, to the public participation in the decision-making processes. As an alternative to measure its performance, it has been sought out to develop indexes aimed to measure its sustainability, but there is still a lack of the use of composed efficient methodologies that also enable public participation in decision-making. This research presents a methodology comprising 15 indexes for the calculation of the Watershed Sustainability Index (WSI), followed by the application of the PROMETHEE multi-criteria analysis method and the COPELAND multi-decision-maker method. The methodology was applied to evaluate the performance of subwatersheds of the Piranhas-Açu watershed, located in the Brazilian northeast semi-arid region. The performance ordering, obtained through the application of the methods, emphasizes that subwatersheds' performances are uneven. It can be noticed that the subwatersheds' performances are still far from ideal in relation to water resources management, even in the ones that displayed satisfactory index levels.
O diagnóstico diferencial na Síndrome de Sjögren: Síndrome Linfocítica Infiltrativa Difusa em pacientes HIV positivos
Authors: Spinelli Julia 
Published: June 2020

resumo: a Sídrome de sjögren, uma doença de ampla incidência mundial e considerada subdiagnosticada por especialistas, é clinicamente muito semelhante à síndrome linfocítica infiltrativa difusa, uma patologia também considerada subdiagnosticada e relacionada ao vírus da aids. o presente estudo, dessa forma, objetiva difundir o conhecimento acerca de ambas as doenças autoimunes, além de compará-las para melhor diagnosticar os pacientes, direcionando o tratamento e promovendo-lhes um controle mais acertivo de suas comorbidades.
palavras-chave: Síndrome Linfocítica Infiltrativa Difusa; Síndrome de Sjögren; HIV.
Molecular Expression of Bioactive Recombinant Methionine Sulfoxide Reductase A (MsrA)
Authors: Indhu M.S. , Nanjundappa Shruthi , Muttu Ramamoorthy , Vikramaditya Upmanyu , Mahawar Manish , Sarkar Mihir , Guttula Taru Sharma , Bhure Sanjeevkumar 
Published: June 2020

Background:The increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during cryopreservation of semen, leads to oxidation of biomolecules affecting the functionality of spermatozoa. Methionine residues in proteins are highly prone to oxidation and get converted into methionine sulfoxide (MetO). Methionine sulfoxide reductase A (MsrA) can improve the functionality of spermatozoa by reducing the MetO to methionine restoring the lost functionality of the affected proteins.Objective:The expression of catalytically active recombinant MsrA (rMsrA).Methods:The msrA gene was PCR amplified, cloned and sequenced. Further, the recombinant clone was used for protein expression and purification. The protein was getting precipitated during dialysis in Tris-buffer. Hence, the purified rMsrA was dialyzed at 4°C against the Tris-buffer pH 7.5 containing MgCl2, KCl, NaCl, urea and triton X-100. During dialysis, changes of buffer were done at every 12 h interval with stepwise reduction in the concentrations of NaCl, urea and triton X-100. The final dialysis was done with buffer containing 10 mM MgCl2, 30 mM KCl, and 150 mM NaCl, 25 mM Tris–HCl pH 7.5. The activity of the rMsrA was checked spectrophotometrically.Results:The protein BLAST of buffalo MsrA with bovine sequence showed 14 amino acid mismatches. The rMsrA has been purified under denaturing conditions as it was forming inclusion bodies consistently during protein expression. After renaturation, the purified 33 kDa rMsrA was catalytically active by biochemical assay.Conclusion:The rMsrA expressed in prokaryotic system is catalytically active and can be used for supplementation to semen extender to repair the oxidatively damaged seminal plasma proteins that occur during cryopreservation.
Antagonistic Effect of Truncated Fragments of Bacillus thuringiensis Vip3Aa on the Larvicidal Activity of its Full-length Protein
Authors: Boonyos Patcharaporn , Trakulnalueamsai Chutchanun , Rungrod Amporn , Chongthammakun Sukumal , Promdonkoy Boonhiang 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Vip3Aa is a vegetative insecticidal protein produced by Bacillus
thuringiensis. The protein is produced as an 88-kDa protoxin that could be processed by insect gut
proteases into a 22-kDa N-terminal and a 66-kDa C-terminal fragments. The C-terminal part could
bind to a specific receptor while the N-terminal part is required for toxicity and structural stability.

Objective:
To demonstrate the antagonistic effect of truncated fragments on the insecticidal activity
of the full-length Vip3Aa.

Methods:
The full-length protein (Vip3Aa), a 66-kDa C-terminal fragment (Vip3Aa-D199) and a
predicted carbohydrate binding module (CBM) were produced in Escherichia coli. Purified proteins
were mixed at different ratios and fed to Spodoptera litura and Spodoptera exigua larvae.
Mortality was recorded and compared between larvae fed with individual toxin and mixtures of the
full-length and truncated toxins.

Results:
Production level of the Vip3Aa-D199 was significantly decreased comparing to that of the
full-length protein. Vip3Aa-D199 and CBM fragment were not toxic to insect larvae whereas
Vip3Aa showed high toxicity with LC50 about 200 ng/cm2. Feeding the larvae with mixtures of the
Vip3Aa and Vip3Aa-D199 at different ratios revealed antagonistic effect of the Vip3Aa-D199 on
the toxicity of Vip3Aa. Results showed that the lethal time (LT 50 and LT 95) of larvae fed the mixture
toxins was longer than those fed the Vip3Aa alone. In addition, a CBM fragment could inhibit
toxicity of the full-length Vip3Aa.

Conclusion:
Our results demonstrated that the Vip3Aa-D199 and a CBM fragment could complete
for the membrane binding thus rendering activity of the full-length Vip3Aa.
Cinnamyl Sulfonamide Hydroxamate Derivatives Inhibited LPS-Stimulated NF-kB Expression in RAW 264.7 Cells In Vitro and Mitigated Experimental Colitis in Wistar Rats In Vivo
Authors: Joshi Mit , Reddy Neetinkumar D. , Kumar Nitesh , Sumalatha Suhani , Chamallamudi Mallikarjuna Rao 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition has been found to be effective in the treatment
of inflammatory bowel disease. Previous studies have reported that Cinnamyl sulfonamide hydroxamate derivatives
possess non-selective HDAC inhibition.

Objective:
The present study was designed to screen three selected Cinnamyl sulfonamide hydroxamate derivatives,
NMJ-1, NMJ-2, and NMJ3, for in vitro anti-inflammatory response by assessing the expression of pNF-κB
in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory changes on RAW 264.7 cells, and in vivo anti-inflammatory
response in acetic acid (AA) and 2.4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB)-induced colitis models in Wistar rats.

Method:
AA-induced colitis was produced in Wistar rats by intra-colonic administration of 1 ml AA. DNCBinduced
colitis was produced by spraying 250 μL DNCB in acetone (20g/L) on the nape of the rats for 14 days,
followed by the intracolonic administration on day 15. Drugs were administered for three days after the induction
of colitis.

Results:
In vitro anti-inflammatory effect was observed by NMJ1 and NMJ2 through a significant decrease in
pNF-κB overexpression-induced by LPS. Similar effect was observed in anti-colitis response by NMJ2 in both
models by reversing the colitis-induced changes in length, weight, anti-oxidant profile and histopathology of the
colon.

Conclusion:
NMJ2 was found to be most effective among the tested compounds as an anti-inflammatory agent in
both in vitro and in vivo inflammatory studies.
The Relationship between Social Cognition and Executive Functions in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Systematic Review
Authors: dos Santos Tatiana T.B.A. , de Carvalho Raquel L.S. , Nogueira Marcela , Baptista Maria A.T. , Kimura Nathália , Lacerda Isabel B. , Dourado Marcia C.N. 
Published: June 2020

Introduction:
Social Cognition (SC) is a complex construct that reflects a wide variety of
implicit and explicit cognitive processes. Many neurocognitive domains are associated with SC and the
Executive Function (EF) is the most representative one. We conducted a systematic review aiming at
clarifying whether SC impairments are associated with dysfunction on EF in people with Alzheimer
Disease (AD).

Methods:
The search, based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-
Analyses (PRISMA), was undertaken between January 2007 and December 2019 using Pubmed,
SciELO, BIREME and Thomson Reuters Web of Science electronic databases. The keywords were SC,
AD, EF, Neuropsychological functioning and Executive Disorder.

Results:
One hundred thirty-six articles were identified and fifteen were included. These studies are not
in agreement about the extent of SC deficits in AD, mainly in the mild stage of the disease. EF deficits,
specifically inhibition and the ability to manipulate verbal information, are associated with the impairment
in SC in AD. SC decreases with the disease progression, a relationship explained by global cognition
impairment and SC specific symptoms.

Conclusion:
SC impairment is associated with disease progression, mainly because of the decline in EF.
Studies on SC components are unequal, contributing to a frequent generalization of Theory of Mind results,
and often hampering the investigation of other components, mainly empathy. More precise knowledge
about SC functioning in AD may contribute to a better understanding of the behavioral changes
and interpersonal interactions.
Identification of a Pathogenic PSEN1 Ala285Val Mutation Associated with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease
Authors: Vo Van Giau , Pyun Jung-Min , Bagyinszky Eva , An Seong S.A. , Kim Sang Y. 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Presenilin 1 (PSEN1) was suggested as the most common causative gene of
early onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

Methods:
Patient who presented progressive memory decline in her 40s was enrolled in this study. A
broad battery of neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging was applied to make the diagnosis. Genetic
tests were performed in the patient to evaluate possible mutations using whole exome sequencing. The
pathogenic nature of missense mutation and its 3D protein structure prediction were performed by in
silico prediction programs.

Results:
A pathogenic mutation in PSEN1 (NM_000021.3: c.1027T>C p.Ala285Val), which was found
in a Korean EOAD patient. Magnetic resonance imaging scan showed mild left temporal lobe atrophy.
Hypometabolism appeared through 18F-fludeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET)
scanning in bilateral temporal and parietal lobe, and 18F-Florbetaben-PET (FBB-PET) showed increased
amyloid deposition in bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal lobe and hence presumed preclinical
AD. Protein modeling showed that the p.Ala285Val is located in the random coil region and could result
in extra stress in this region, resulting in the replacement of an alanine residue with a valine. This
prediction was confirmed previous in vitro studies that the p.Trp165Cys resulted in an elevated
Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio in both COS-1 and HEK293 cell lines compared that of wild-type control.

Conclusion:
Together, the clinical characteristics and the effect of the mutation would facilitate our
understanding of PSEN1 in AD pathogenesis for the disease diagnosis and treatment. Future in vivo
study is needed to evaluate the role of PSEN1 p.Ala285Val mutation in AD progression.
Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship Study for Prediction of Boiling
Point and Enthalpy of Vaporization of Alkenes
Authors: Ghaemdoost Fatemeh , Shafiei Fatemeh 
Published: June 2020

Introduction:
Quantitative structure- property relationships (QSPRs) models have been widely
developed to derive correlation between chemical structures of molecules to their known properties. In this
study, QSPR models have been carried out on 91 alkenes to develop a robust model for the prediction of
enthalpy of vaporization at standard condition (∆H°vap/kJ.mol-1) and normal temperature of boiling points
(T˚bp /K) of alkenes.

Methods:
A training set of 81 structurally diverse alkenes was randomly selected and used to construct QSPR
models. These models were optimized using backward -multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis.
The Genetic algorithm and multiple linear regression analysis (GA-MLR) were used to select the suitable
descriptors derived from the Dragon software.

Results :
The multicollinearity properties of the descriptors contributed in the QSPR models were tested and
several method were used for testing the predictive models power such as Leave-One-Out (LOO) crossvalidation(Q2 LOO), the five-fold cross-validation techniques, external validation parameters (Q2F1, Q2F2,
Q2F3), the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) and the predictive parameter R2m .

Conclusion:
The predictive ability of the models were found to be satisfactory, and the five descriptors in
three blocks namely connectivity, edge adjacency indices and 2D matrix-based descriptors could be used to
predict the mentioned properties of alkenes.
Evaluation of Risk Factors for Development of Anti-Tubercular Therapy Induced Hepatotoxicity: A Prospective Study
Authors: Subbalaxmi Malladi V.S. , Soanker Radhika , Lakshmi Arivittur V. 
Published: June 2020

Background:Incidence of Antitubercular Therapy (ATT)-induced hepatotoxicity is higher in India when compared to Western countries. As the occurrence of ATT-induced hepatotoxicity is unpredictable, serial intensive monitoring of hepatic function is now being recommended by the American Thoracic Society in individuals at high risk. This study was done to evaluate the risk factors for the development of ATT induced hepatotoxicity in India.Methodology:In this prospective, observational study, patient characteristics of microbiologically/ radiologically/ histopathologically confirmed tuberculosis were prospectively compiled. Serial liver function tests were done once a month in all patients. Patients who developed ATT-induced hepatotoxicity were considered as the study group and those who did not develop the event as a control group. The primary outcome measure was to estimate the hazard ratios associated with risk factors for the development of ATT induced hepatotoxicity. Cox Regression Analysis was done using SPSS 20.Results:: A total of 200 patients were enrolled in the study, of them, 14% developed ATT-induced hepatotoxicity and 86% did not develop the event. The baseline liver function tests in the study group and control group were within normal limits. Female gender, alcoholism, HIV co-infection and age >35 yrs were identified to have a higher risk for development of ATT-induced hepatotoxicity, while cases with pulmonary tuberculosis were found to be at lower risk of developing event.Conclusion:Intensive liver function monitoring needs to be done in patients with these risk factors, female gender, alcoholism, HIV co-infection, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and age >35 yrs.
SNPs of Metabolic Syndrome are Associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Development and Progression in Chinese Population
Authors: Xu Ding , Lin Xiaoling , Qian Xiaoqiang , Qi Jun 
Published: June 2020

Objective:
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease prevalent in elderly
men, but the genetic determinants of BPH still remain unclear. Since metabolic syndrome, especially
diabetes, may influence the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia, we investigated whether
susceptibility loci for diabetes would increase the risk of BPH development and progression in
elderly Chinese men.

Material and Methods:
Fifteen SNPs associated with the diabetes risk in a Chinese population were
genotyped in 377 BPH cases (152 aggressive and 225 non-aggressive BPH cases) and 1,008
controls. The association between the SNPs and the risk of BPH development was evaluated through
logistic regression. Additionally, the effects of the 15 SNPs on BPH related clinical parameters,
including Body Mass Index (BMI) International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Quality of Life
(QoL) and Prostate Volume (PV) were also evaluated.

Results:
SNP rs9864104 in IGF2BP2 at 3q27 (OR=1.24, P =0.0148) was significantly associated
with BPH development. In addition, SNP rs9863780, rs9864104, rs10229583 and rs17727841 were
significantly associated with baseline clinical parameters in BPH patients. Moreover, the risk allele
of rs6763887 (C) and rs17727841 (C) was significantly associated with the change of storage score
and voiding score after treatment. No SNPs were associated with the risk of BPH progression.

Conclusions:
This is a systematic investigation of the contributions of diabetes susceptibility loci to
the risk of BPH development and progression. Our findings advance the understanding of the
genetic basis of BPH and provide new insights into the genetic determinants shared between BPH
and metabolic syndrome.