bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of Median Lethal Concentration (LC50) of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Their Antigens in Vaccine Development
Authors: Saganuwan Saganuwan Alhaji 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Objective: Lack of ideal mathematical models to qualify and quantify both pathogenicity, and virulence is a dreadful setback in development of new antimicrobials and vaccines against resistance pathogenic microorganisms. Hence, the modified arithmetical formula of Reed and Muench has been integrated with other formulas and used to determine bacterial colony forming unit/ viral concentration, virulence and immunogenicity. Results: Microorganisms’antigens tested are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mice and rat, Edwardsiella ictaluri, Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas veronii in fish, New Castle Disease virus in chicken, Sheep Pox Virus, Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus and Hepatitis A virus in vitro, respectively. The LC50s for the pathogens using different routes of administrations are 1.93 x 103(sheep poxvirus) and 1.75 x 1010 for Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC29213) in rat respectively. Titer index (TI) equals N log10 LC50 and provides protection against lethal dose in graded fashion which translates to protection index. N is the number of vaccine dose that could neutralize the LC50. Hence, parasite inoculum of 103 to 1011may be used as basis for determination of LC50 and median bacterial concentrations (BC50).Pathogenic dose for immune stimulation should be sought at concentration about LC10.
Body mass index in relation to prostate specific antigen-related parameters
Authors: Lin Dandan , Liu Ting , Chen Luling , Chen Zongtao 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Purpose Only a few previous studies were conducted to assess the association between body mass index (BMI) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) related parameters which take prostate volume (PV) and blood volume (BV) into consideration. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between BMI and parameters of PSA concentrations in Chinese adult male. Methods A total of 86,930 men who have taken annual physical examination at the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2018 were included in this study. Partial Spearman correlation rank test was performed to assess the relationship between BMI, PV, BV and PSA, and analyze the correlation between BMI and PSA related parameters. Results After adjustment for age, PV (correlation coefficient = 0.227, P-value < 0.001) was positively associated with PSA levels, while BMI (correlation coefficient = -0.057, P-value < 0.001) and BV (correlation coefficient = -0.041, P-value < 0.001) were inversely correlated to PSA concentrations. The analysis also indicated that BMI positively associated with PV and BV. Furthermore, the present study identified that PSA mass (correlation coefficient = 0.001, P-value = 0.763), after adjustment for age, was not affected by obesity in Chinese men.Conclusion The findings of this large-sample, hospital-based study in China indicated that a higher BMI is associated with an increased PV and BV. BMI was negatively associated with PSA and PAS density, and no statistically significant association was found between BMI and PSA mass.
Multi-methodical study of Early Modern Age archaeological glazed ceramics from Prague
Authors: Kloužková Alexandra , Kohoutková Martina , Kolářová Mária , Blažková Gabriela , Ševců Radka , Dvořáková Pavla , Komoníčková Martina Bajeux 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
A series of scientific methods (X-ray analyses, optical and electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and thermal analyses) was used to research the ceramic bodies and glazes of forty vessels from Renaissance Prague. The set of Early Modern Age archaeological glazed ceramics contained tableware, kitchenware and technical ceramics. The main aim was to characterise ceramic materials and glazes used over two centuries. Attention was also paid to the identification of defects and corrosion products of the glazes. The research was conducted with an emphasis on the context of the original use of the ceramic artefacts and the environment of the waste pits from which they were excavated. The archaeological finds include three technical ceramic vessels (a rectifier, a bowl and a jar), which together could have formed a distillation apparatus. Since these vessels represent a rare finding, they were subjected to a detailed investigation. Based on the similarity of ceramic bodies and glazes, it was proved that the three technical ceramic vessels were made in the same workshop and were parts of one distillation apparatus. The results of the performed analyses determined that the studied vessels were manufactured from raw materials with a high content of a plastic component and that the raw materials did not change significantly during the period from the 15th to 18th centuries. The firing temperature of most of the vessels did not exceed 1000 °C. It was proved that all the glazes were medium- or high-lead content glazes and were coloured with ionic pigments.
Comparative analysis, applications, and interpretation of electronic health record-based stroke phenotyping methods
Authors: Thangaraj Phyllis , Kummer Benjamin R , Lorberbaum Tal , Elkind Mitchell S.V. , Tatonetti Nicholas P 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Accurate identification of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patient cohorts is essential for a wide range of clinical investigations. Automated phenotyping methods that leverage electronic health records (EHRs) represent a fundamentally new approach cohort identification without current laborious and ungeneralizable generation of phenotyping algorithms. We systematically compared and evaluated the ability of machine learning algorithms and case-control combinations to phenotype acute ischemic stroke patients using data from an EHR.Materials and Methods: Using structured patient data from the EHR at a tertiary-care hospital system, we built and evaluated machine learning models to identify patients with AIS based on 75 different case-control and classifier combinations. We then estimated the prevalence of AIS patients across the EHR. Finally, we externally validated the ability of the models to detect AIS patients without AIS diagnosis codes using the UK Biobank.Results: Across all models, we found that the mean AUROC for detecting AIS was 0.963±0.0520 and average precision score 0.790±0.196 with minimal feature processing. Classifiers trained with cases with AIS diagnosis codes and controls with no cerebrovascular disease codes had the best average F1 score (0.832±0.0383). In the external validation, we found that the top probabilities from a model-predicted AIS cohort were significantly enriched for AIS patients without AIS diagnosis codes (60-150 fold over expected). Conclusions: Our findings support machine learning algorithms as a generalizable way to accurately identify AIS patients without using process-intensive manual feature curation. When a set of AIS patients is unavailable, diagnosis codes may be used to train classifier models.
Multilocus sequence analysis for the taxonomic updating and identification of the genus Proteus and reclassification of Proteus genospecies 5 O’Hara et al. 2000, Proteus cibarius Hyun et al. 2016 as later heterotypic synonyms of Proteus terrae Behrendt et al. 2015
Authors: Dai Hang , Lu Binghuai , Li Zhenpeng , Huang Zhenzhou , Cai Hongyan , Yu Keyi , Wang Duochun 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Members of the genus Proteus are mostly opportunistic pathogens that cause a variety of infections in humans. The molecular evolutionary characteristics and genetic relationships among Proteus species have not been elucidated to date. In this study, we developed a multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) approach based on five housekeeping genes (HKGs) to delineate phylogenetic relationships of species within the genus Proteus. Results: Of all 223 Proteus strains collected in the current study, the phylogenetic tree of five concatenated HKGs (dnaJ, mdh, pyrC, recA and rpoD) divided 223 strains into eleven clusters, which were representative of 11 species of Proteus. Meanwhile, the phylogenetic trees of the five individual HKGs also corresponded to that of the concatenated tree, except for recA, which clustered four strains at an independent cluster. The evaluation of inter- and intraspecies distances of HKG concatenation indicated that all interspecies distances were significantly different from intraspecies distances, which revealed that these HKG concatenations can be used as gene markers to distinguish different Proteus species. Further web-based DNA-DNA hybridization estimated by genome of type strains confirmed the validity of the MLSA, and each of eleven clusters was congruent with the most abundant Proteus species. In addition, we used the established MLSA method to identify the randomly collected Proteus and found that P. mirabilis is the most abundant species. However, the second most abundant species is P. terrae but not P. vulgaris. Combined with the genetic, genomic and phenotypic characteristics, these findings indicate that three species, P. terrae, P. cibarius and Proteus genospecies 5, should be regarded as heterotypic synonyms, and the species should be renamed P. terrae, while Proteus genospecies 5 has not been named to date. Conclusions: This study suggested that MLSA is a powerful method for the discrimination and classification of Proteus at the species level. The MLSA scheme provides a rapid and inexpensive means of identifying Proteus strains. The identification of Proteus species determined by the MLSA approach plays an important role in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of Proteus infection.
Antioxidant capacity of lipid- and water-soluble antioxidants in dogs with subclinical myxomatous mitral valve degeneration anaesthetised with propofol or sevoflurane
Authors: Tomsič Katerina , Svete Alenka Nemec , Nemec Ana , Petrič Aleksandra Domanjko , Pirman Tatjana , Rezar Vida , Vovk Tomaž , Seliškar Alenka 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Antioxidants located in both the hydrophilic and lipophilic compartments of plasma act as a defence system against reactive oxygen species (ROS). . Excessive production of ROS during anaesthesia affects the antioxidant capacity of plasma and may result in oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of lipid- (ACL) and water-soluble (ACW) antioxidants in client-owned dogs diagnosed with periodontal disease and early-stage myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD) and anaesthetised for a dental procedure with propofol and sevoflurane or with propofol only. Results: Dogs with MMVD were anaesthetised with propofol and sevoflurane (MMVD/PS, n = 8) or with propofol only (MMVD/P, n = 10). Dogs with no evidence of MMVD (PS, n = 12) were anaesthetised with propofol and sevoflurane. Blood samples for determination of ACL and ACW were collected before and 5 minutes, 60 minutes and 6 hours after induction to anaesthesia. In dogs with MMVD and anaesthetised with propofol and sevoflurane, ACL was significantly higher at all sampling times when compared to control dogs. Compared to basal values, only anaesthesia maintained with propofol significantly increased ACL at 60 minutes in dogs with MMVD. In dogs with MMVD and anaesthetised with propofol, ACW increased after induction to anaesthesia and remained elevated up to 6 hours after anaesthesia. Compared to basal values, anaesthesia maintained with sevoflurane significantly increased ACW only at 60 minutes in both dogs with and without MMVD.The only difference between propofol and propofol/sevoflurane anaesthesia in dogs with MMVD was significantly higher ACW at 60 minutes after induction to anaesthesia in the propofol group. Conclusions: Regarding antioxidant capacity, propofol could be a better choice than sevoflurane for anaesthesia of dogs with early-stage MMVD, although further studies are necessary to clarify the advantage of this antioxidant capacity.
Trends and seasonal variation of hospitalization and mortality of interstitial lung disease in the United States from 2006 to 2016.
Authors: Ho An , Shmelev Artem , Charbek Edward 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: In the recent years, the overall trends in hospital admission and mortality of interstitial lung disease (ILD) are unknown. In addition, there was some evidence that interstitial lung disease death rate highest in the winter but this finding was only available in one study. This study will investigate the trend and seasonal variations in hospital admission and mortality rates of ILD from 2006 to 2016.Method: From the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, we collected all cases with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 or ICD-10 codes of ILD excluding identifiable external causes (drug, organic or inorganic dusts) from 2006 to 2016. Hospitalization rates of each year were calculated based on U.S Census population data. Monthly hospitalization and in-hospital mortality rates were analyzed by seasonal and trend decomposition. Subgroups of idiopathic interstitial fibrosis (IPF), acute respiratory failure (ARF), pneumonia were analyzed. Results: From 2006 to 2016, all-cause hospital admission rate of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and IPF-only subgroup declined but their overall mortality remained unchanged (except IPF subgroup and acute respiratory failure subgroup). Acute respiratory failure related admission account for 23% of all causes and pneumonia 17.6%. Mortality of ILD in general and subgroup of ILD with ARF was highest in winter, up to 8.13% ± 0.60% and 26.3% ± 10.2% respectively. The seasonal variations of hospital admission and mortality of ILD in general was not changed when infectious pneumonia cases were ruled out. All cause admission rates were highest in months from January to April. Subgroup analysis also showed seasonal variations with highest hospitalization rates for all subgroups (IPF, ARF, pneumonia) in the months from December to April (winter to early Spring).Conclusion: From 2006 to 2016, admission rates of ILD of all causes and IPF subgroup declined but in-hospital mortality remained unchanged. Mortality of IPF subgroup and acute respiratory failure subgroup trended down. All-cause hospital admissions and mortality of ILD have a strong seasonal variation. Hospitalization rates for all subgroups (IPF, ARF, pneumonia) were highest in the months from December to April.
Tumor Response Prediction in 90Y Radioembolization with PET-based Radiomics Features and Absorbed Dose Metrics
Authors: Wei Lise , Cui Can , Xu Jiarui , Kaza Ravi , Naqa Issam El , Dewaraja Yuni K 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Purpose Evaluate whether lesion radiomics features and absorbed dose metrics extracted from post-therapy 90Y PET can be integrated to better predict outcome in microsphere radioembolization of liver malignancies. Methods Given the noisy nature of 90Y PET, first, a liver phantom study with repeated acquisitions and varying reconstruction parameters was used to identify a subset of robust radiomics features for the patient analysis. In 36 radioembolization procedures, 90Y PET/CT was performed within a couple of hours to extract 46 radiomics features and estimate absorbed dose in 105 primary and metastatic liver lesions. Robust radiomics modeling was based on bootstrapped multivariate logistic regression with shrinkage regularization (LASSO) and Cox regression with LASSO. Nested cross-validation and bootstrap resampling were used for optimal parameter/feature selection and for guarding against overfitting risks. Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze feature associations. Area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve (AUC) was used for lesion response (at first follow-up) analysis while Kaplan-Meier plots and c-index were used to assess progression model performance. Models with absorbed dose only, radiomics only and combined models were developed to predict lesion outcome.Results The phantom study identified 15/46 reproducible and robust radiomics features that were subsequently used in the patient models. A lesion response model with zone percentage (ZP) and mean absorbed dose achieved an AUC of 0.729 (95%CI: 0.702-0.758) and a progression model with zone size nonuniformity (ZSN) and absorbed dose achieved a c-index of 0.803 (95% CI: 0.790-0.815) on nested cross validation (CV). The combined models outperformed the radiomics only and absorbed dose only models.Conclusion We have developed new lesion-level response and progression models using textural radiomics features, derived from 90Y PET combined with mean absorbed dose for predicting outcome in radioembolization. These encouraging results may need further validation in independent datasets prior to clinical adoption.
Role of TSP-1 as prognostic marker in various cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Sun Shengjie , Dong Huiyu , Yan Tao , Li Junchen , Liang Chao , Liu Bianjiang , Shao Pengfei , Li Jie 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background Published studies present conflicting data regarding the impact of Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) expression on prognosis of various cancers. We performed this meta-analysis to clarify the preliminary predictive value of TSP-1. Methods Twenty-four studies with a total of 2379 patients were included. A comprehensive literature search was performed by using PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and hand searches were also conducted of relevant bibliographies. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for patient survival and disease recurrence were initially identified to explore relationships between TSP-1 expression and patient prognosis. Results A total of 24 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. Our results showed that high level of TSP-1 was correlated significantly with poor overall survival (OS) (HR=1.40, 95% CI: 1.17~1.68; P＜0.001). However, high TSP-1 expression predicted no significant impact on progression-free survival (PFS)/ metastasis-free survival (MFS) (HR=1.35, 95%CI: 0.87-2.10; P=0.176) and disease-free survival (DFS)/ recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR = 1.40, 95%CI: 0.77–2.53; P=0.271). In addition, we performed subgroup analyses which showed that high TSP-1 expression predicted poor prognosis in breast cancer and gynecological cancer. Limitations Among the selected studies, heterogeneity was noted and determining a standard expression cutoff value was difficult. Additionally, the relatively small number of studies on PFS/MFS and DFS/RFS is a limitation. The data extracted through Kaplan-Meier curves may not be accurate. Moreover, only English articles were included in this article, which may cause deviations in the results.Conclusions Our findings indicated high TSP-1 expression may serve as a promising biomarker of poor prognosis in cancers, especially in breast cancer and gynecological cancer.
Plantar pressure sensors indicate women to have a significantly higher peak pressure on the hallux, toes, forefoot, and medial of the foot compared to men
Authors: Yamamoto Tetsuya , Hoshino Yuichi , Kanzaki Noriyuki , Nukuto Koji , Yamashita Takahiro , Ibaraki Kazuyuki , Nagai Kanto , Nagamune Kouki , Araki Daisuke , Matsushita Takehiko , Kuroda Ryosuke 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Sex-related differences of plantar pressure distribution during activities should be thoroughly inspected as it can help establish treatment and prevention strategies for foot and ankle problems. In-shoe measurement systems are preferable without space and activity restrictions; however, previously reported systems are still heavy and bulky and induce unnatural movement. Therefore, a slim and light plantar pressure sensor was newly developed to detect the effect of sex difference on plantar pressure during standing and walking.Methods: One-hundred healthy adult volunteers (50 women and 50 men) were recruited. Ten plantar pressure sensors were implanted in a 1-mm thick insole, with a total weight of 29 g. Plantar pressure was recorded with 200 Hz during 3 seconds of standing and while walking 10 steps. The maximum loads during standing and walking were analyzed in each sensor, and the results were compared between different areas of the foot in the antero-posterior direction and the medio-lateral direction and between different time points. The movement of the center of pressure (COP) during walking was also evaluated. Results were compared between sexes by converting body mass index (BMI) to 22.Results: The movement of COP was constant for both sexes. In all cases, the maximum load was observed on the medial of the foot. Women had a significantly higher peak pressure on the hallux, toes, forefoot, and medial of the foot compared to men while standing and walking (P < .05).Conclusions: A newly introduced in-shoe plantar pressure sensor demonstrated a typical loading transition pattern of the foot. Furthermore, higher plantar pressure in the forefoot was detected in healthy women as compared to men during standing and walking activities.
The clinical, immunological and genetic features of 12 Chinese patients with STAT3 mutations
Authors: Lin Li , Wang Ying , Sun Bijun , Liu Luyao , Ying Wenjing , Wang Wenjie , Zhou Qinhua , Hou Jia , Yao Haili , Hu Liyuan , Sun Jinqiao , Wang Xiaochuan 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background: Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is one of the causes of STAT3 hyperimmunoglobulin E (IgE) syndrome (STAT3-HIES), while gain-of-function (GOF) mutations in STAT3 lead to immune dysregulation diseases. We retrospectively analyzed the age, common clinical symptoms, immunologic and molecular manifestations in 11 patients with LOF STAT3 mutations and 1 patient with a GOF STAT3 mutation.Methods: Twelve patients were enrolled in our study. Serum immunoglobulin measurements, lymphocyte subset detection and whole-exome sequencing were performed.Results: The median age at diagnosis of STAT3-HIES patients was 4.74 years. Eczema, recurrent respiratory infections, fevers, abscesses and Staphylococcus aureus infections were the classic manifestations. Elevated serum IgE levels are not always observed in conjunction with high eosinophil counts. A moderate viral DNA load was also measured in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We noticed that c. 1144C>T was the most common mutation site, followed by c.1311C>A. Additionally, c.1311C>A and c. 1826G>C are two novel mutations. Eight patients achieved notable improvement after receiving intravenous immunoglobulin. Conclusion: We updated the current knowledge of this topic. We found an earlier median age at diagnosis, a higher survival rate, and a general lack of nonimmunological abnormalities; we also described the treatment details and novel mutations involve in STAT3-HIES and compared STAT3 LOF and GOF mutations.