bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Scleral Lens Oxygen Permeability on Corneal Physiology
Authors: Dhallu Sandeep K. , Huarte Sonia Trave , Bilkhu Paramdeep S. , Boychev Nikolay , Wolffsohn James S. 
Published: September 2020

SIGNIFICANCE
This randomized, masked, crossover clinical study identifies that ≥125 Dk materials should be used for scleral lens daily wear if disruption to corneal oxygen is to be minimized.

PURPOSE
Modern scleral lens use has increased and has proven to be successful where other types and materials have previously failed. Although the required oxygen permeability has been modeled, this has not been established clinically.

METHODS
Fifteen masked participants aged 20.7 ± 2.3 years (10 female) were bilaterally fitted with five different scleral lenses (65, 100, 125, 163, and 180+ Dk) of the same shape profile and one soft silicone hydrogel lens compared with no lens wear on separate occasions in a randomized order. A masked researcher measured corneal thickness and fluid reservoir depth, corneal curvature, objective bulbar and limbal redness, corneal biomechanics, and ocular surface oxygen consumption before and after 8 hours of wear. In addition, comfort scores were obtained using a visual analog scale.

RESULTS
Scleral lenses with oxygen permeability of 65 Dk resulted in greater corneal thickness (1.37 ± 1.25%) after 8 hours of wear versus ≥100 Dk materials (0.58 ± 0.99%; F = 17.215, P < .001) because of stromal thickening; edema with ≥100 Dk materials was associated with fluid reservoir depth (r = 0.231, P = .05). Fluid reservoir depth decreased similarly with all oxygen-permeable lenses from 325.6 ± 99.1 μm to 174.2 ± 100.8 μm after 8 hours of wear (F = 0.961, P = .44). Oxygen consumption reduced with ≤125 Dk lenses (χ2 = 604.196, P < .001). Soft and scleral lens wear had no effect on corneal curvature, corneal biomechanics, or ocular hyperemia (P > .05). Soft lenses were more comfortable than all the scleral lenses (P < .05), and the 180+ Dk lenses had the best comfort among the sclerals (P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS
A ≥125 Dk is advised for safe scleral lens daily wear. Scleral lens wear leads to an increase in corneal thickness, regardless of lens-material oxygen permeability because of the fluid reservoir depth.
Safety and Efficacy of Scleral Lenses for Keratoconus
Authors: Fuller Daniel G. , Wang Yueren 
Published: September 2020

SIGNIFICANCE
This study affirms the long-term safety and efficacy of scleral contact lens use in patients with keratoconus.

PURPOSE
This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of contemporary scleral contact lenses in the visual rehabilitation of the keratoconic population.

METHODS
A retrospective study of keratoconic subjects examined between 2013 and 2018 was conducted. Subjects were included regardless of age, sex, pre-existing morbidity, or scleral lens design. Only eyes fit successfully with scleral contact lenses for ≥1 year were included. Exclusion criteria were prior corneal surgery, dystrophy, degeneration, and trauma.

RESULTS
A total of 157 eyes of 86 subjects met the study criteria. The mean Keratoconus Severity Score at initial fitting was 3.6 ± 1.0. Lenses were gas-permeable and nonfenestrated, with a mean overall diameter of 15.8 ± 0.6 mm and 70.1% toric scleral periphery. Physiological adverse events occurred in 9.6% of eyes, including microbial keratitis (0.6%), phlyctenulosis (0.6%), corneal abrasion (1.3%), contact lens–induced acute red eye (1.3%), corneal infiltrative events (1.3%), pingueculitis (1.3%), and hydrops (3.2%). Lens-related adverse events were documented in 55.4% of eyes. Adverse events related to surface issues included poor wetting in 1.9%, handling in 3.8%, reservoir fogging in 7.0%, lens intolerance in 7.6%, deposit in 8.9%, and broken lenses in 26.1% of eyes. The most common management strategies involved refits (54.0% of interventions), patient reeducation (29.5%), medical treatment (5.5%), surgical referral (6.8%), adjustment to wear time (2.5%), surface treatment (1.2%), and lens replacement (0.6%). Best-corrected distance logMAR visual acuity improved significantly from a mean of 0.50 in spectacles to a mean of 0.08 in scleral lenses (P < .0001). During the study period, 14.6% of eyes lost best-corrected scleral lens visual acuity, all from keratoconus progression.

CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with other groups, our study demonstrates excellent safety and efficacy of scleral contact lenses in subjects with keratoconus.
Aerobic Exercise After Left-Sided Stroke Improves Gait Speed and Endurance
Authors: Catapani Ligia Brancalion , dos Santos Tamyris Padovani , Toffano Giovana Cristina , Souza Hugo Celso Dutra , de Araujo João Eduardo 
Published: September 2020

Objective
The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on individuals who have had a stroke and showed baseline scores lower than the standard scores for the 6-min and 10-meter walk tests.

Design
Individuals were assigned to groups according to gait performance, defined by the standard values in the 6-min and 10-meter walk tests (standard baseline score and lower baseline score), and brain injury side. Aerobic exercise, 30 mins per day, 2 times a week, for a total of 12 wks. The 6-min and 10-meter walk tests in five assessments: initial, after 4, 8, 12 wks, and 4 wks of follow-up, analyzed by multivariate analysis, with P value of less than 0.05.

Results
The 6-min walk test data showed an increase in endurance for lower baseline score and left-brain injury, during assessments 4, and follow-up, compared with standard baseline score (F
4,84 = 14.64). Lower baseline score showed endurance increase for assessments 2, 3, 4, and follow-up compared with assessment 1 (F
4,84 = 7.70). The 10-meter walk test data showed an increase in speed for lower baseline score and left-brain injury, during assessments 3, 4, and follow-up, compared with assessment 1, 4, and follow-up, compared with assessment 2 (F
4,84 = 5.33).

Conclusions
Aerobic exercise increases gait endurance and speed in individuals who have had a stroke, with left-brain injury, and lower baseline score in the 6-min and 10-meter walk tests.
Home- and Clinic-Based Pediatric HIV Index Case Testing in Kenya: Uptake, HIV Prevalence, Linkage to Care, and Missed Opportunities
Authors: Mugo Cyrus , Wang Jiayu , Begnel Emily R. , Njuguna Irene N. , Maleche-Obimbo Elizabeth , Inwani Irene , Slyker Jennifer A. , John-Stewart Grace , Wamalwa Dalton C. , Wagner Anjuli D. 
Published: September 2020

Introduction:
Gaps in HIV testing of children persist, particularly among older children born before the expansion of the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs.

Methods:
The Counseling and Testing for Children at Home study evaluated an index-case pediatric HIV testing approach. Caregivers receiving HIV care at 7 health facilities in Kenya (index cases), who had children of unknown HIV status aged 0–12 years, were offered the choice of clinic-based testing (CBT) or home-based testing (HBT). Testing uptake and HIV prevalence were compared between groups choosing HBT and CBT; linkage to care, missed opportunities, and predictors of HIV-positive diagnosis were identified.

Results:
Among 493 caregivers, 70% completed HIV testing for ≥1 child. Most caregivers who tested children chose CBT (266/347, 77%), with 103 (30%) agreeing to same-day testing of an untested accompanying child. Overall HIV prevalence among 521 tested children was 5.8% (CBT 6.8% vs HBT 2.4%; P = 0.07). Within 1 month of diagnosis, 88% of 30 HIV-positive children had linked to care, and 54% had started antiretroviral treatment. For 851 children eligible for testing, the most common reason for having an unknown HIV status was that the child's mother was not tested for HIV or had tested HIV negative during pregnancy (82%).

Conclusion:
Testing uptake and HIV prevalence were moderate with nonsignificant differences between HBT and CBT. Standardized offer to test children accompanying caregivers is feasible to scale-up with little additional investment. Linkage to care for HIV-positive children was suboptimal. Lack of peripartum maternal testing contributed to gaps in pediatric testing.
CT Dosimetry
Authors: Damilakis John 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Radiation dose in computed tomography (CT) has become a hot topic due to an upward trend in the number of CT procedures worldwide and the relatively high doses associated with these procedures. The main aim of this review article is to provide an overview of the most frequently used metrics for CT radiation dose characterization, discuss their strengths and limitations, and present patient dose assessment methods. Computed tomography dosimetry is still based on a CT dose index (CTDI) measured using 100-mm-long pencil ionization chambers and standard dosimetry phantoms (CTDI100). This dose index is easily measured but has important limitations. Computed tomography dose index underestimates the dose generated by modern CT scanners with wide beam collimation. Manufacturers should report corrected CTDI values in the consoles of CT systems. The size-specific dose estimate has been proposed to provide an estimate of the average dose at the center of the scan volume along the z-axis of a CT scan. Size-specific dose estimate is based on CTDI and conversion factors and, therefore, its calculation incorporates uncertainties associated with the measurement of CTDI. Moreover, the calculation of size-specific dose estimate is straightforward only when the tube current modulation is not activated and when the patient body diameter does not change considerably along the z-axis of the scan. Effective dose can be used to provide typical patient dose values from CT examinations, compare dose between modalities, and communicate radiogenic risks. In practice, effective dose has been used incorrectly, for example, to characterize a CT procedure as a low-dose examination. Organ or tissue doses, not effective doses, are required for assessing the probability of cancer induction in exposed individuals. Monte Carlo simulation is a powerful technique to estimate organ and tissue dose from CT. However, vendors should make available to the research community the required information to model the imaging process of their CT scanners. Personalized dosimetry based on Monte Carlo simulation and patient models allows accurate organ dose estimation. However, it is not user friendly and fast enough to be applied routinely. Future research efforts should involve the development of advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to overcome drawbacks associated with the current equipment-specific and patient-specific dosimetry.
Words Matter: Political and gender analysis of speeches made by heads of government during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Dada Sara , Ashworth Henry , Bewa Marlene Joannie , Dhatt Roopa 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on political leadership and decision-making around the world. Differences in how leaders address the pandemic through public messages have practical implications for building trust and an effective response within a country.MethodsWe analyzed the public statements and speeches made by 20 heads of government around the world (Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Scotland, Sint Maarten, United Kingdom, United States, Taiwan) to highlight the differences between men and women leaders in discussing COVID-19 and pandemic response. We used a deductive analytical approach, coding speeches for specific themes based on language used and content discussed.FindingsFive primary themes emerged across a total of 122 speeches on COVID-19, made by heads of government: economics and financial relief, social welfare and vulnerable populations, nationalism, responsibility and paternalism, and emotional appeals. While all leaders described the economic impact of the pandemic, women leaders spoke more frequently about the impact on local or individual scale. Women leaders were also more often found describing a wider range of social welfare services, including addressing to: mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Both men and women from lower-resource settings described detailed financial relief and social welfare support that would impact the majority of their citizen population. While 17 of the 20 leaders used war metaphors to describe the COVID-19 virus and response, men largely used these with greater volume and frequency.ConclusionWhile this analysis does not attempt to answer whether men or women are more effective leaders in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, it does provide insight into the rhetorical tools and types of language used by different leaders during a national and international crisis. This analysis provides additional knowledge on the importance and impact of political leaders speeches, messages, and priorities to inspire citizens adhesion to the social contract in the adoption of response and recovery measures.
Characterization and Phase 1 Trial of a B Cell Activating Anti-CD73 Antibody for the Immunotherapy of COVID-19
Authors: Willingham Stephen B. , Criner Gerard , Hill Craig , Hu Shenshen , Rudnick Jenny A. , Daine-Matsuoka Barbara , Hsieh Jessica , Mashhedi Haider , Hotson Andrew N. , Brody Joshua , Marron Thomas , Piccione Emily , Buggy Joseph J. , Mahabhashyam Suresh , Jones William B. , Mobasher Mehrdad , Miller Richard A. 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTCOVID-19 is a global pandemic that has resulted in over 800,000 deaths. Robust humoral anti-viral immune responses have the potential to generate a diverse set of neutralizing antibodies to eliminate viruses and protect against re-infection, transmission, and the evolution of mutations that escape targeted therapeutics. CD73 is present on the majority of human B cells and a subset of T cells where it plays a role in lymphocyte activation and migration. CD73 also functions as an ectoenzyme that converts AMP into adenosine, which can be immunosuppressive. Here we report on CPI-006, a humanized FcγR binding-deficient IgG1 anti-CD73 antibody that blocks CD73 enzymatic activity and directly activates CD73POS B cells, inducing differentiation into plasmablasts, immunoglobulin class switching, and antibody secretion independent of adenosine. Immunophenotypic analysis of peripheral blood from advanced cancer patients receiving CPI-006 revealed evidence of B cell activation, clonal expansion, and development of memory B cells. These immune effects suggested that CPI-006 may be effective at enhancing the magnitude, diversity, and duration of humoral and cellular responses to viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. We have therefore initiated a Phase 1, single-dose, dose-escalation trial in hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The objectives of this trial are to evaluate the safety of CPI-006 in COVID-19 patients and to determine effects of CPI-006 on anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses and the development of memory B cell and T cells. Ten patients have been enrolled in the trial receiving doses of 0.3 mg/kg or 1.0 mg/kg. All evaluable patients had low pre-treatment serum levels of anti-viral antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 trimeric spike protein and its receptor binding domain, independent of the duration of their COVID-19 related symptoms prior to enrollment. Anti-viral antibody responses were induced 7 days after CPI-006 treatment and titers continued to rise past Day 56. Increases in the frequency of memory B cells and effector/memory T cells were observed 28 days after treatment. These preliminary results suggest that CPI-006 activates B cells and may enhance and prolong anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses in patients with COVID-19. This approach may be useful for treating COVID-19 or as an adjuvant to enhance the efficacy of vaccines.
Safety and Efficacy of the combined use of ivermectin, dexamethasone, enoxaparin and aspirin against COVID 19
Authors: Héctor Carvallo , Roberto Hirsch , Eugenia Farinella María 
Published: September 2020

AbstractFrom the first outbreak in Wuhan (China) in December 2019, until today the number of deaths worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic exceeds eight hundred thousand people and the number of infected people arises to more than 25 million.No treatment tested worldwide has shown unquestionable efficacy in the fight against COVID 19, according to NICE reports.We have designed an experimental treatment called IDEA based on four affordable drugs already available on the market in Argentina, based on the following rationale:
- Ivermectin solution at a relatively high dose to lower the viral load in all stages of COVID 19- Dexamethasone 4-mg injection, as anti-inflammatory drug to treat hyperinflammatory reaction to COVID-infection- Enoxaparin injection as anticoagulant to treat hypercoagulation in severe cases.- Aspirin 250-mg tablets to prevent hypercoagulation in mild and moderate casesExcept for Ivermection oral solution, which was used in a higher dose than approved for parasitosis, all other drugs were used in the already approved dose and indication. Regarding Ivermectin safety, several oral studies have shown it to be safe even when used at daily doses much higher than those approved already.A clinical study has been conducted on COVID-19 patients at Eurnekian Hospital in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The study protocol and its final outcomes are described in this article. Results were compared with published data and data from patients admitted to the hospital receiving other treatments.None of the patient presenting mild symptoms needed to be hospitalized. Only one patient died (0.59 % of all included patients vs. 2.1 % overall mortality for the disease in Argentina today; 3.1 % of hospitalized patients vs. 26.8 % mortality in published data). IDEA protocol appears to be a useful alternative to prevent disease progression of COVID-19 when applied to mild cases and to decrease mortality in patients at all stages of the disease with a favorable risk-benefit ratio.
Attention and reinforcement learning in Parkinson’s disease
Authors: McCoy Brónagh , Lawson Rebecca P. , Theeuwes Jan 
Published: September 2020

ABSTRACTDopamine is known to be involved in several important cognitive processes, most notably in learning from rewards and in the ability to attend to task-relevant aspects of the environment. Both of these features of dopaminergic signalling have been studied separately in research involving Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, who exhibit diminished levels of dopamine. Here, we tie together some of the commonalities in the effects of dopamine on these aspects of cognition by having PD patients (ON and OFF dopaminergic medication) and healthy controls (HCs) perform two tasks that probe these processes. Within-patient behavioural measures of distractibility, from an attentional capture task, and learning performance, from a probabilistic classification reinforcement learning task, were included in one model to assess the role of distractibility during learning. Dopamine medication state and distractibility level were found to have an interactive effect on learning performance; less distractibility in PD ON was associated with higher accuracy during learning, and this was altered in PD OFF. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired during the learning task furthermore allowed us to assess multivariate patterns of positive and negative outcomes in fronto-striatal and visual brain regions involved in both learning processes and the executive control of attention. Here, we demonstrate that while PD ON show a clearer distinction between outcomes than OFF in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and putamen, PD OFF show better distinction of activation patterns in visual regions that respond to the stimuli presented during the task. These results demonstrate that dopamine plays a key role in modulating the interaction between attention and learning at the level of both behaviour and activation patterns in the brain.
Are we there yet? An adaptive SIR model for continuous estimation of COVID-19 infection rate and reproduction number in the United States
Authors: Shapiro Mark B , Karim Fazle , Muscioni Guido , Augustine Abel Saju 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe dynamics of the COVID-19 epidemic vary due to local population density and policy measures. When making decisions, policy makers consider an estimate of the effective reproduction numberwhich is the expected number of secondary infections by a single infected individual. We propose a simple method for estimating the time-varying infection rate and reproduction numberusing a sliding window approach applied to a Susceptible-Infectious-Removed model. The infection rate is estimated using the reported cases for a seven-day window to obtain continuous estimation of. We demonstrate that the proposed adaptive SIR (aSIR) model can quickly adapt to an increase in the number of tests and associated increase in the reported cases of infections. Our results also suggest that intensive testing may be one of the effective methods of reducing. TheaSIRmodel was applied to data at the state and county levels.
Somatic mutations in Parkinson disease are enriched in synaptic and neuronal processes
Authors: Lobon Irene , Solís-Moruno Manuel , Juan David , Muhaisen Ashraf , Abascal Federico , Esteller-Cucala Paula , García-Pérez Raquel , Martí Maria Josep , Tolosa Eduardo , Ávila Jesús , Rahbari Raheleh , Casals Ferran , Marques-Bonet Tomas , Soriano Eduardo 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe role of somatic mutations in complex diseases, including neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, is becoming increasingly clear. To explore their relevance in sporadic Parkinson disease, we performed whole-exome sequencing in blood and four brain regions of ten patients. We identified 59 candidate somatic single nucleotide variants (sSNVs) through sensitive calling and extensive filtering. We validated 27 of them with amplicon-based deep sequencing, with a 70% validation rate for the highest-confidence variants. Most of the sSNVs were exclusively called in blood but were also found in the brain tissues with the ultra-deep amplicon sequencing, demonstrating the strength of multi-tissue sampling designs. We could confirm between 0 and 6 sSNVs per patient and generally those with a shorter lifespan carried more variants. Remarkably, the validated sSNVs are enriched in genes with synaptic functions that are co-expressed with genes previously associated with Parkinson disease.