bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Demographic and Clinical Features of ANCA-Associated Vasculitides in a Peruvian Tertiary Center
Authors: Pimentel-Quiroz Victor R. , Sánchez-Torres Alfredo , Acevedo-Vásquez Eduardo , Gamboa-Cárdenas Rocío V. , Reátegui-Sokolova Cristina , Medina-Chinchón Mariela , Zevallos Francisco , Noriega-Zapata Erika , Alfaro-Lozano José , Cucho-Venegas Jorge M. , Sánchez-Schwartz César , Rodríguez-Bellido Zoila , Perich-Campos Risto , Pastor-Asurza César A. , Alarcón Graciela S. , Ugarte-Gil Manuel F. 
Published: October 2020

Aim
The aim of this study was to identify the demographic and clinical features of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitides (AAVs) in a Peruvian tertiary referral hospital.

Methods
Medical records of patients with AAV according to classification criteria or diagnosed by an experienced rheumatologist, and covering the period between January 1990 and December 2019, were reviewed. Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), and renal-limited vasculitis (RLV) were included. Demographic factors (age at diagnosis, sex), disease duration, clinical manifestations (per organ involvement), creatinine level at diagnosis (milligram per deciliter), ANCA status, diagnosis, 2009 Five Factor Score, disease categorization, and treatment were recorded.

Results
Two hundred twelve patients were included. Their female-to-male ratio was 1.9:1 (139 [65.6%]/73 [34.4%]), and their mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 59.2 (12.5) years. One hundred fifty-eight patients (74.5%) had MPA, 42 (19.8%) GPA, 7 (3.3%) RLV, and 5 (2.4%) EGPA. Neurological, lung, and renal involvements were the most frequently affected systems. Myeloperoxidase preferentially occurred in MPA (82.5%), whereas proteinase 3 did occur in GPA (79.5%). Microscopic polyangiitis patients were older (61.1 [11.5] years). Female sex predominated in MPA and RLV (2.4:1 and 6:1, respectively), but the opposite was the case for EGPA (1:4). Ear-nose-throat and ocular involvement were more frequent in GPA (both p's < 0.001), and neurological and cardiovascular involvement were more frequent in EGPA (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively).

Conclusions
This is one of the largest series of AAV patients in Latin America. Overall, female sex predominated. Microscopic polyangiitis was the most frequent AAV, and myeloperoxidase-ANCA was the most frequent antibody in Peruvian AAV population.
Beyond the physics and demonstration of ignition
Authors: Dean Stephen O. 
Published: October 2020

Fusion holds the promise of providing growing world energy demand with a carbon-free power source having a universally available fuel source and attractive safety and environmental characteristics. A significant global effort has been underway for over 50 years aimed at the achievement of fusion by inertial confinement. The effort to date has necessarily emphasized understanding the physics of compressing and heating a small amount of fusion fuel to the high densities and temperatures required for ignition and energy gain. Though steady progress has been and is still being made to achieve the required physics understanding and energy gain, those goals have not yet quite been met. It is timely to put progress toward fusion power by inertial confinement into perspective by developing an updated roadmap. Preparing a roadmap from present achievements to the ultimate goal of commercial fusion power requires formally identifying and implementing complementary efforts on a number of fronts. These include the choice, development and demonstration of high repetition rate compression drivers (e.g. lasers) to succeed present day single-pulse sources; design, fabrication and testing of high gain targets (gain of order 100); development of mass production, cost-effective, target fabrication and delivery systems capable of inserting targets into the reaction chamber several times per second, and demonstrating ability to accurately hit and efficiently compress those targets to reliably produce the required fusion yields; design and demonstration of reaction chambers capable of handling energy yields and target debris clearing at the levels required for achieving high power plant reliability with low induced radioactivity. A robust ongoing effort on competitive power plant conceptual design is necessary to guide the implementation of a roadmap, including the timing and level of effort on the ‘beyond ignition’ demonstrations.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 1)’.
Modelling burning thermonuclear plasma
Authors: Rose S. J. , Hatfield P. W. , Scott R. H. H. 
Published: October 2020

Considerable progress towards the achievement of thermonuclear burn using inertial confinement fusion has been achieved at the National Ignition Facility in the USA in the last few years. Other drivers, such as the Z-machine at Sandia, are also making progress towards this goal. A burning thermonuclear plasma would provide a unique and extreme plasma environment; in this paper we discuss (a) different theoretical challenges involved in modelling burning plasmas not currently considered, (b) the use of novel machine learning-based methods that might help large facilities reach ignition, and (c) the connections that a burning plasma might have to fundamental physics, including quantum electrodynamics studies, and the replication and exploration of conditions that last occurred in the first few minutes after the Big Bang.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 1)’.
Direct drive with the argon fluoride laser as a path to high fusion gain with sub-megajoule laser energy
Authors: Obenschain S. P. , Schmitt A. J. , Bates J. W. , Wolford M. F. , Myers M. C. , McGeoch M. W. , Karasik M. , Weaver J. L. 
Published: October 2020

Argon fluoride (ArF) is currently the shortest wavelength laser that can credibly scale to the energy and power required for high gain inertial fusion. ArF's deep ultraviolet light and capability to provide much wider bandwidth than other contemporary inertial confinement fusion (ICF) laser drivers would drastically improve the laser target coupling efficiency and enable substantially higher pressures to drive an implosion. Our radiation hydrodynamics simulations indicate gains greater than 100 are feasible with a sub-megajoule ArF driver. Our laser kinetics simulations indicate that the electron beam-pumped ArF laser can have intrinsic efficiencies of more than 16%, versus about 12% for the next most efficient krypton fluoride excimer laser. We expect at least 10% ‘wall plug' efficiency for delivering ArF light to target should be achievable using solid-state pulsed power and efficient electron beam transport to the laser gas that was demonstrated with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Electra facility. These advantages could enable the development of modest size and lower cost fusion power plant modules. This would drastically change the present view on inertial fusion energy as being too expensive and the power plant size too large.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 1)'.
LDL-apheresis as an alternate method for plasma LPS purification in healthy volunteers, dyslipidemic and septic patients
Authors: Dargent Auguste , de Barros Jean-Paul Pais , Saheb Samir , Bittar Randa , Le Goff Wilfried , Carrié Alain , Gautier Thomas , Fournel Isabelle , Rerole Anne Laure , Choubley Hélène , Masson David , Lagrost Laurent , Quenot Jean-Pierre 
Published: October 2020

AbstractLipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a key player for innate immunity activation. It is therefore a prime target for sepsis treatment, as antibiotics are not sufficient to improve outcome during septic shock. Extracorporeal removal method by polymyxin B hemoperfusion (PMX-DHP) is used in Japan, but recent trials failed to show a significant lowering of circulating LPS levels after PMX-DHP therapy. PMX-DHP has a direct effect on LPS molecules. However, LPS is not present in a free form in the circulation, as it is mainly carried by lipoproteins, including low density lipoproteins (LDL). Lipoproteins are critical for physiological LPS clearance, as LPS are carried by low density lipoproteins (LDL) to the liver for elimination. We hypothesized that LDL-apheresis can be an alternate method for LPS removal. We demonstrated first in vitro that LDL apheresis microbeads are almost as efficient as PMX beads to reduce LPS concentration in LPS-spiked human plasma, whereas it is not active in phosphate-buffered saline. We found that PMX was also adsorbing lipoproteins, although less specifically. Then, we found that endogenous LPS of patients treated by LDL-apheresis for familial hypercholesterolemia is also removed during their LDL-apheresis sessions, both with electrostatic-based devices and filtration devices. Finally, LPS circulating in the plasma of septic shock and severe sepsis patients with gram-negative bacteremia was also removed in vitro by LDL adsorption. Overall, these results underline the importance of lipoproteins for LPS clearance, making them a prime target to study and treat endotoxemia-related conditions.
Genetic correlation and causality of cancers and Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Senkevich Konstantin , Bandres-Ciga Sara , Yu Eric , Liyanage Upekha E. ,   International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC), Noyce Alastair J , Gan-Or Ziv 
Published: October 2020

AbstractBackground and objectivesMost cancers appear with reduced frequency in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the prevalence of melanoma and brain cancers are often reported to be increased. Shared genetic architecture and causal relationships to explain these associations have not been fully explored.MethodsLinkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) was applied for five cancer studies with available genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics to examine genetic correlations with PD. Additionally, we used GWAS summary statistics of 15 different types of cancers as exposures and two-sample Mendelian randomization to study the causal relationship with PD (outcome).ResultsLDSC analysis revealed a potential genetic correlation between PD and melanoma, breast cancer and prostate cancer. There was no evidence to support a causal relationship between the studied cancers and PD.ConclusionsOur results suggest shared genetic architecture between PD and melanoma, breast, and prostate cancers, but no obvious causal relationship between cancers and PD.
Forecasting COVID-19 cases in the Philippines using various mathematical models
Authors: Torres Monica C. , Buhat Christian Alvin H. , Dela Cruz Ben Paul B. , Felix Edd Francis O. , Gemida Eleanor B. , Mamplata Jonathan B. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractDue to the rapid increase of COVID-19 infection cases in many countries such as the Philippines, many efforts in forecasting the daily infections have been made in order to better manage the pandemic, and respond effectively. In this study, we consider the cumulative COVID-19 infection cases in the Philippines from March 6 to July 31,2020 and forecast the cases from August 1 - 15, 2020 using various mathematical models —weighted moving average, exponential smoothing, Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, and random forest. We then compare the results to the actual data using traditional error metrics. Our results show that the ARIMA(1,2,1) model has the closest forecast values to the actual data. Policymakers can use our result in determining which forecast method to use for their community in order to have a data-based information for the preparation of their personnel and facilities.
SARS-CoV-2-specific peripheral T follicular helper cells correlate with neutralizing antibodies and increase during convalescence
Authors: Boppana Sushma , Qin Kai , Files Jacob K , Russell Ronnie M. , Stoltz Regina , Bibollet-Ruche Frederic , Bansal Anju , Erdmann Nathan , Hahn Beatrice H. , Goepfert Paul 
Published: October 2020

AbstractT-cell immunity is likely to play a role in protection against SARS-CoV-2 by helping generate neutralizing antibodies. We longitudinally studied CD4 T-cell responses to the M, N, and S structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 in 21 convalescent individuals. Within the first two months following symptom onset, a majority of individuals (81%) mount at least one CD4 T-cell response, and 48% of individuals mount detectable SARS-CoV-2-specific peripheral T follicular helper cells (pTfh, defined as CXCR5+PD1+ CD4 T cells). SARS-CoV-2-specific pTfh responses across all three protein specificities correlate with antibody neutralization with the strongest correlation observed for S protein-specific responses. When examined over time, pTfh responses increase in frequency and magnitude in convalescence, and robust responses with magnitudes greater than 5% were detected only at the second convalescent visit, an average of 38 days post-symptom onset. These data deepen our understanding of antigen-specific pTfh responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting that M and N protein-specific pTfh may also assist in the development of neutralizing antibodies and that pTfh response formation may be delayed in SARS-CoV-2 infection.Author SummarySince December 2019, the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most currently licensed vaccines are understood to protect against infection by inducing neutralizing antibodies. As such, ongoing COVID-19 vaccine trials have focused on antibody neutralization as a primary immunologic endpoint. It is well established that T follicular helper cells are essential to the development of neutralizing antibodies and that a subset of these cells, peripheral T follicular helper cells (pTfh), can be studied in the blood. However, little is known about Tfh responses mounted in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we studied pTfh to three major structural proteins in individuals recovered from COVID-19. We find that SARS-CoV-2-specific pTfh frequencies correlate with neutralizing antibody responses, especially those directed against the spike protein. We also find that pTfh responses to SARS-CoV-2 increase over time. Our findings suggest that pTfh responses against proteins other than the spike protein may contribute to the development of neutralizing antibodies and suggests that formation of pTfh responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection may be delayed.
Variability of Salivary and Nasal Specimens for SARS-CoV-2 Detection
Authors: Manabe Yukari C. , Reuland Carolyn , Yu Tong , Azamfirei Razvan , Church Taylor , Brown Diane M. , Sewell Thelio T. , Hardick Justin P. , Blair Paul W. , Heaney Chris D. , Pekosz Andrew , Thomas David L. 
Published: October 2020

AbstractIn a large cohort of ambulatory confirmed COVID-19 patients with multiple self-collected sample time points, we compared 202 matched nasal-oropharyngeal swabs and oral salivary fluid sample pairs by RT-PCR. Nasal-oropharyngeal swabs were more sensitive than this salivary sample type (oral crevicular fluid) suggesting that not all saliva sample types have equivalent sensitivity. However, all samples that were Vero E6-TMPRSS2 cell culture positive (e.g., infectious virus) were also oral fluid RT-PCR positive suggesting that oral fluid may find the patients most likely to transmit disease to others.
Estimated Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Among Adults in Orange County, California
Authors: Bruckner Tim A. , Parker Daniel M. , Bartell Scott M. , Vieira Veronica M. , Khan Saahir , Noymer Andrew , Drum Emily , Albala Bruce , Zahn Matthew , Boden-Albala Bernadette 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundClinic-based estimates of SARS-CoV-2 may considerably underestimate the total number of infections. Access to testing in the US has been heterogeneous and symptoms vary widely in infected persons. Public health surveillance efforts and metrics are therefore hampered by underreporting. We set out to provide a minimally biased estimate of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among adults for a large and diverse county (Orange County, CA, population 3.2 million).MethodsWe implemented a surveillance study that minimizes response bias by recruiting adults to answer a survey without knowledge of later being offered a SARS-CoV-2 test. Several methodologies were used to retrieve a population-representative sample. Participants (n=2,979) visited one of 11 drive-thru test sites from July 10thto August 16th, 2020 (or received an in-home visit) to provide a finger pin-prick sample. We applied a robust SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Microarray technology, which has superior measurement validity relative to FDA-approved tests.FindingsParticipants include a broad age, gender, racial/ethnic, and income representation. Adjusted seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was 11.5% (95% CI: 10.5% to 12.4%). Formal bias analyses produced similar results. Prevalence was elevated among Hispanics (vs. other non-Hispanic: prevalence ratio [PR]= 1.47, 95% CI: 1.22 to 1.78) and household income <$50,000 (vs. >$100,000: PR= 1.42, 95% CI: 1.14 to 1.79).InterpretationResults from a diverse population using a highly specific and sensitive microarray indicate a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence of ∼12 percent. This population-based seroprevalence is seven-fold greater than that using official County statistics. In this region, SARS-CoV-2 also disproportionately affects Hispanic and low-income adults.FundingOrange County Healthcare Agency
High use of the emergency department shows typical features of complex systems: analysis of multicentre linked data
Authors: Burton Christopher , Stone Tony , Oliver Phillip , Dickson Jon M , Lewis Jen , Mason Suzanne 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTObjectiveHigh use of the ED is a worldwide problem. We hypothesised that high use of the ED could be understood as a feature of a complex system comprising patients, healthcare and society. Complex systems have characteristic statistical properties, with stable patterns at the level of the system emerging from unstable patterns at the level of individuals who make up the system.MethodsAnalysis of a linked dataset of routinely collected health records from all 13 hospital trusts providing ED care in the Yorkshire and Humber region of the UK (population 5.5 million). We analysed the distribution of attendances per person in each of three years and measured the transition of individual patients between high, low and non-attendance. We fitted data to power law distributions typically seen in complex systems using maximum likelihood estimation.ResultsThe data included 3.6 million attendances at EDs in 13 hospital trusts. 29/39 (74.3%) analyses showed a statistical fit to a power law; 2 (5.1%) fitted an alternative distribution.. All trusts’ data fitted a power law in at least one year. Differences over time and between hospital trusts were small and partly explained by demographics. In contrast, individual patients’ high use was unstable between years.ConclusionsED attendance patterns are stable at the level of the system, but unstable at the level of individual high users. Attendances follow a power law distribution typical of complex systems. Interventions to address ED high use need to consider the whole system and not just the individual high users.
COVID-19 susceptibility and severity risks in a survey of over 500,000 individuals
Authors: Knight Spencer C. , McCurdy Shannon R. , Rhead Brooke , Coignet Marie V. , Park Danny S. , Roberts Genevieve H.L. , Berkowitz Nathan D. , Zhang Miao , Turissini David , Delgado Karen , Pavlovic Milos ,   AncestryDNA Science Team, Haug Baltzell Asher K. , Guturu Harendra , Rand Kristin A. , Girshick Ahna R. , Hong Eurie L. , Ball Catherine A. 
Published: October 2020

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe enormous toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the urgency of collecting and analyzing population-scale datasets in real time to monitor and better understand the evolving pandemic.MethodsThe AncestryDNA COVID-19 Study collected self-reported survey data on symptoms, outcomes, risk factors, and exposures for over 563,000 adult individuals in the U.S. in just under four months, including over 4,700 COVID-19 cases as measured by a self-reported positive test.ResultsWe replicated previously reported associations between several risk factors and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity outcomes, and additionally found that differences in known exposures accounted for many of the susceptibility associations. A notable exception was elevated susceptibility for males even after adjusting for known exposures and age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = (1.19, 1.55)). We also demonstrated that self-reported data can be used to build accurate risk models to predict individualized COVID-19 susceptibility (area under the curve [AUC]=0.84) and severity outcomes including hospitalization and critical illness (AUC=0.87 and 0.90, respectively). The risk models achieved robust discriminative performance across different age, sex, and genetic ancestry groups within the study.ConclusionThe results highlight the value of self-reported epidemiological data to rapidly provide public health insights into the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.THUMBNAILWhat is already known on this subjectThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a historic toll on human lives, healthcare systems and global economies, with over 83 million cases and over 1.8 million deaths worldwide as of January 2021.COVID-19 risk factors for susceptibility and severity have been extensively investigated by clinical and public health researchers.Several groups have developed risk models to predict COVID-19 illness outcomes based on known risk factors.What this study addsWe performed association analyses for COVID-19 susceptibility and severity in a large, at-home survey and replicated much of the previous clinical literature.Associations were further adjusted for known COVID-19 exposures, and we observed elevated positive test odds for males even after adjustment for these known exposures.We developed risk models and evaluated them across different age, sex, and genetic ancestry cohorts, and showed robust performance across all cohorts in a holdout dataset.Our results establish large-scale, self-reported surveys as a potential framework for investigating and monitoring rapidly evolving pandemics.