bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Survival Benefit of En Bloc Transplantation of Small Pediatric Kidneys in Children
Authors: Kizilbash Sarah J. , Evans Michael D. , Chinnakotla Srinath , Chavers Blanche M. 
Published: February 2020

Background.
En bloc transplantation of small pediatric kidneys in children may help expand the existing deceased donor pool; however, studies examining the long-term outcomes of en bloc transplantation in children are few.

Methods.
We used the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients to identify 149 pediatric en bloc recipients transplanted from October 1, 1987 to December 31, 2017. We used propensity scores to match 148 en bloc with 581 non-en bloc deceased donor recipients (matching variables: transplant age, gender, race, pretransplant dialysis, transplant center, and year). We evaluated patient and graft survival using Kaplan-Meier and Fleming-Harrington weighted log-rank test and examined survival benefit of en bloc transplantation versus remaining on the waiting list using the sequential Cox approach. We divided the study period into three 10-y intervals to assess the effect of era on outcomes.

Results.
Compared with non-en bloc recipients, en bloc recipients had lower 1-y graft survival (78.9% versus 88.9%; P = 0.007); however, when stratified by transplant era, lower 1-y survival was only observed in the oldest era (1987–1997). En bloc recipients had superior 10-y patient (89.0% versus 80.4%; P = 0.04) and graft survival (51.6% versus 39.9%; P = 0.04) compared with non-en bloc recipients. After multivariate adjustment, en bloc transplantation was associated with superior patient survival compared with remaining on the waiting list (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.58; 95% confidence interval: 0.36-0.95; P = 0.03).

Conclusions.
En bloc transplantation of small pediatric kidneys in children is associated with superior long-term patient and graft survival. The increased risk of 1-y graft loss among en bloc recipients only appeared in the oldest era.
Checkerboard Visual Field Defect in Occipital Stroke
Authors: Kamal Sarah , Al Othman Bayan A. , Kini Ashwini T. , Lee Andrew G. 
Published: February 2020

Abstract:
A 74-year-old man with vasculopathic risk factors presented to the emergency room with a chief complaint of peripheral vision loss resulting from an intracranial hemorrhage in his right parietal and occipital lobes. Urgent craniotomy and ventriculostomy led to a stable clinical condition with subsequent development of a crossed quadrant homonymous hemianopsia (checkerboard visual field) due to a new right parieto-occipital infarct superimposed on a prior left occipital infarct. This uncommon visual field defect represents juxtaposed homonymous quadrantanopias that produce a striking checkerboard appearance that is almost pathognomonic for bilateral occipital lesions.
Transient Orthostatic Hypertension During Head-Up Tilt Test in Young Adults: A Phenotype of Blood Pressure Variability
Authors: Petersen Álvaro , Salas-Herrera Cecy , Lerma Claudia , Brown-Escobar Christopher , Kostin Andrei , Sierra-Beltrán Manuel , González-Hermosillo J. Antonio 
Published: February 2020

Purpose:
The mechanisms underlying orthostatic hypertension (OHT) remain poorly understood. The authors evaluated the cardiovascular, cerebrovascular dynamics, and autonomic response to head-up tilt test (HUTT) in young adults with symptoms of orthostatic intolerance and transient OHT.

Methods:
Forty-four female subjects were included (34 ± 13 years old) and categorized in three groups after a 30-minute 70° passive HUTT: symptomatic patients with OHT (surge of systolic blood pressure ≥20 mm Hg for at least 5 minutes at any given time during HUTT), orthostatic intolerance (symptomatic patients without orthostatic blood pressure changes), and healthy asymptomatic control subjects.

Results:
At baseline, OHT patients had lower systolic blood pressure than orthostatic intolerance patients (103 ± 8 vs. 116 ± 10 mm Hg, p < 0.01) and lower baroreflex sensitivity than control subjects (15.8 ± 8.3 vs. 27.1 ± 11.7 ms/mm Hg, p = 0.01). On tilt, cardiac output decreased in OHT patients from 6.1 ± 1.4 L/minute during baseline to 5.2 ± 0.8 L/minute after 10 minutes of HUTT (p = 0.01). In OHT patients at 30 minutes of HUTT, sympathetic efferent heart activity was higher (77.4 ± 14.9 normalized units or nu) than orthostatic intolerant patients (63.5 ± 11.8 nu, p = 0.02) and control subjects (65.8 ± 11.2 nu, p = 0.05). Cerebrovascular resistance in OHT was higher than control subjects after 30 minutes (2.2 ± 0.8 vs. 1.6 ± 0.3 cm/second, respectively, p = 0.02).

Conclusions:
This study demonstrates that transient OHT can occur at any given time during HUTT. These patients exhibit a decrease in cardiac output and a hyperadrenergic response to tilt.
Maintenance DNA methylation is essential for regulatory T cell development and stability of suppressive function
Authors: Helmin Kathryn A. , Morales-Nebreda Luisa , Torres Acosta Manuel A. , Anekalla Kishore R. , Chen Shang-Yang , Abdala-Valencia Hiam , Politanska Yuliya , Cheresh Paul , Akbarpour Mahzad , Steinert Elizabeth M. , Weinberg Samuel E. , Singer Benjamin D. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractRegulatory T (Treg) cells require Foxp3 expression and induction of a specific DNA hypomethylation signature during development, after which Treg cells persist as a self-renewing population that regulates immune system activation. Whether maintenance DNA methylation is required for Treg cell lineage development and stability and how methylation patterns are maintained during lineage self-renewal remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the epigenetic regulator Uhrf1 is essential for maintenance of methyl-DNA marks that stabilize Treg cellular identity by repressing effector T cell transcriptional programs. Constitutive and induced deficiency of Uhrf1 within Foxp3+cells resulted in global yet non-uniform loss of DNA methylation, derepression of inflammatory transcriptional programs, destabilization of the Treg cell lineage, spontaneous inflammation, and enhanced tumor immunity. These findings support a paradigm in which maintenance DNA methylation is required in distinct regions of the Treg cell genome for both lineage establishment and stability of identity and suppressive function.
Epidemiology of pediatric cancer in the Northwest Region of Cameroon
Authors: Borah Rohit , Kouya Francine 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe epidemiological scale of cancer in Cameroon is still relatively unknown, as public health research in sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally focused on infectious and/or communicable disease. As awareness for chronic disease such as cancer has risen, so, too, have diagnoses and incidence. In order to ensure more effective care and quality of life for children at greater risk for cancer diagnoses, specific and effective research must be conducted in order to institute effective policy and protocols.ObjectiveTo comprehensively review all pediatric cancer cases seen in the Northwest Region of Cameroon in order to provide novel, current epidemiological data on pediatric cancer in the region.MethodsThe authors retrospectively reviewed each individual pediatric cancer case seen from January 1, 2016, through November 30, 2017, in the three largest hospitals in the Northwest Region of Cameroon: Mbingo Baptist Hospital, Bamenda Provincial Hospital, and Banso Baptist Hospital.Results173 cases of pediatric cancer were identified as being treated in one of the three hospitals in question over the 25-month study period. The average age of the patients was 6.23 years (SD = ± 3.93), and 58.4% of the patients were male. The three most common types of cancer diagnosed in these pediatric patients were Burkitt lymphoma, retinoblastoma, and Wilms tumor. Of the 173 cases, 105 of the patients were originally from the Northwest Region. The incidence of pediatric cancer originating from the Northwest Region of Cameroon is 5.92 cases (95% CI: 4.79 – 7.05) per 100,000 persons per year.ConclusionThis study is the first extensive examination of pediatric cancer epidemiology in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Children in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by cancer in comparison with their counterparts in the developed world. As the body of literature continues to grow in the years to come, more effective care both preventive and curative can affect the lives of millions.
Mapping and identification of soft corona proteins at nanoparticles and their impact on cellular association
Authors: Mohammad-Beigi Hossein , Hayashi Yuya , Zeuthen Christina Moeslund , Eskandari Hoda , Scavenius Carsten , Juul-Madsen Kristian , Vorup-Jensen Thomas , Enghild Jan J. , Sutherland Duncan S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe current understanding of the biological identity that nanoparticles may acquire in a given biological milieu is mostly inferred from the hard component of the protein corona (HC). The composition of soft corona (SC) proteins and their biological relevance have remained elusive due to the lack of analytical separation methods. Here, we identified a set of specific corona proteins with weak interactions at silica and polystyrene nanoparticles by using an in situ click-chemistry reaction. We show that these SC proteins are present also in the HC, but are specifically enriched after the capture, suggesting that the main distinction between HC and SC is the differential binding strength of the same proteins. Interestingly, the weakly interacting proteins in the SC are revealed as modulators of nanoparticle-cell association, in spite of their short residence time. We therefore highlight that weak interactions of proteins at nanoparticles should be considered when evaluating nano-bio interfaces.
Reliable data collection in participatory trials to assess digital healthcare apps
Authors: Park Junseok , Park Seongkuk , Kim Kwangmin , Kim Gwangmin , Jung Jaegyun , Yoo Sungyong , Yi Gwan-su , Lee Doheon 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe number of digital healthcare mobile apps on the market is increasing exponentially owing to the development of the mobile network and widespread usage of smartphones. However, only a few of these apps have undergone adequate validation. As with many mobile apps, healthcare apps are generally considered safe to use, making them easy for developers and end-users to exchange them in the marketplace. The existing platforms are not suitable to collect reliable data for evaluating the effectiveness of the apps. Moreover, these platforms only reflect the perspectives of developers and experts, not of end-users. For instance, data collection methods typical of clinical trials are not appropriate for participant-driven assessment of healthcare apps because of their complexity and high cost. Thus, we identified a need for a participant-driven data collection platform for end-users that is interpretable, systematic, and sustainable —as a first step to validate the effectiveness of the apps. To collect reliable data in the participatory trial format, we defined distinct stages for data preparation, storage, and sharing. Interpretable data preparation consists of a protocol database system and semantic feature retrieval method to create a protocol without professional knowledge. Collected data reliability weight calculation belongs to the systematic data storage stage. For sustainable data collection, we integrated the weight method and the future reward distribution function. We validated the methods through statistical tests conducted on 718 human participants. The validation results demonstrate that the methods have significant differences in the comparative experiment and prove that the choice of the right method is essential for reliable data collection. Furthermore, we created a web-based system for our pilot platform to collect reliable data in an integrated pipeline. We validate the platform features with existing clinical and pragmatic trial data collection platforms. In conclusion, we show that the method and platform support reliable data collection, forging a path to effectiveness validation of digital healthcare apps.
senSCOPE: Modeling radiative transfer and biochemical processes in mixed canopies combining green and senescent leaves with SCOPE
Authors: Pacheco-Labrador Javier , El-Madany Tarek S. , van der Tol Christiaan , Martin M. Pilar , Gonzalez-Cascon Rosario , Perez-Priego Oscar , Guan Jinhong , Moreno Gerardo , Carrara Arnaud , Reichstein Markus , Migliavacca Mirco 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSemi-arid grasslands and other ecosystems combine green and senescent leaves featuring different biochemical and optical properties, as well as functional traits. Knowing how these properties vary is necessary to understand the functioning of these ecosystems. However, differences between green and senescent leaves are not considered in recent models representing radiative transfer, heat, water and CO2exchange such as the Soil-Canopy Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE). Neglecting the contribution of senescent leaves to the optical and thermal signal of vegetation limits the possibilities to use remote sensing information for studying these ecosystems; as well as neglecting their lack of photosynthetic activity increases uncertainty in the representation of ecosystem fluxes. In this manuscript we present senSCOPE as a step towards a more realistic representation of mixed green and senescent canopies. senSCOPE is a modified version of SCOPE model that describes a canopy combining green and senescent leaves with different properties and function. The model relies on the same numerical solutions than SCOPE, but exploits the linear nature of the scattering coefficients to combine optical properties of both types of leaf. Photosynthesis and transpiration only take place in green leaves; and different green and senescent leaf temperatures are used to close the energy balance. Radiative transfer of sun-induced fluorescence (SIF) and absorptance changes induced by the xanthophyll cycle action are also simulated. senSCOPE is evaluated against SCOPE both using synthetic simulations, forward simulations based on observations in a Mediterranean tree-grass ecosystem, and inverting dataset of ground measurements of reflectance factors, SIF, thermal radiance and gross primary production on a heterogeneous and partly senescent Mediterranean grassland. Results show that senSCOPE outputs vary quite linearly with the fraction of green leaf area, whereas SCOPE does not respond linearly to the effective leaf properties, calculated as the weighted average of green and senescent leaf parameters. Inversion results and pattern-oriented model evaluation show that senSCOPE improves the estimation of some parameters, especially chlorophyll content, with respect SCOPE retrievals during the dry season. Nonetheless, inaccurate knowledge of the optical properties of senescent matter still complicates model inversion. senSCOPE brings new opportunities for the monitoring of canopies mixing green and senescent leaves, and for improving the characterization of the optical properties of senescent material.
Relating quantitative 7T MRI across cortical depths to cytoarchitectonics, gene expression and connectomics: a framework for tracking neurodegenerative disease
Authors: McColgan Peter , Helbling Saskia , Vaculčiaková Lenka , Pine Kerrin , Wagstyl Konrad , Attar Fakhereh Movahedian , Edwards Luke , Papoutsi Marina , Wei Yongbin , Van den Heuvel Martijn Pieter , Tabrizi Sarah , Rees Geraint , Weiskopf Nikolaus 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCortical layer-specific ultra-high field MRI has the potential to provide anatomically precise biomarkers and mechanistic insights into neurodegenerative disease. Here we compare cortical layer-specificity for a 7T multi-parametric mapping (MPM) 500μm whole brain acquisition to the von Economo and Big Brain post-mortem histology atlases. We also investigate the relationship between 7T MPMs, layer-specific gene expression and Huntington’s disease related genes, using the Allen Human Brain atlas. Finally we link MPM cortical depth measures with white matter connections using high-fidelity diffusion tractography from a 300mT/m Connectom MRI system. We show that R2* across cortical depths is highly correlated with layer-specific cell number, cell staining intensity and gene expression. Furthermore white matter connections were highly correlated with grey matter R1 and R2* across cortical depths. These findings demonstrate the potential of combining 7T MPMs, gene expression and white matter connections to provide an anatomically precise framework for tracking neurodegenerative disease.
Estimation of the propensity for sexual selection in a cyclical parthenogen
Authors: Duneau David , Altermatt Florian , Ferdy Jean-Baptiste , Ben-Ami Frida , Ebert Dieter 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCyclical parthenogenesis is a widespread reproductive strategy in which organisms go through one or multiple rounds of clonal reproduction before sexual reproduction. Because sexual reproduction is typically less common than parthenogenesis in populations of the planktonic cladoceranDaphnia magna,it is not frequently studied. Here we examine the sexual process ofD. magnaand its relation to sexual selection inDaphniarockpool populations by observing natural mating in these shallow habitats where sex generally occurs throughout the summer. Although microsatellite markers were found to reveal no evidence of disassortative mating or, thus, of inbreeding avoidance, body length and infection status did reveal assortative mating, suggesting sexual selection to act. When two males mated with a single female, the larger male was observed to remain longer, possibly giving it an advantage in sperm competition. Indirect evidence points at the brood pouch as the likely site of fertilization and thus, sperm competition. Sperm length was as variable within ejaculates as it was among males from different populations. Our data provide firm evidence that sexual selection is present in this species, most likely manifesting itself through a combination of female choice and male–male competition.
Generation of twenty four induced pluripotent stem cell lines from twenty four members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936
Authors: Toombs Jamie , Panther Lindsay , Ornelas Loren , Liu Chunyan , Gomez Emilda , Martín-Ibáñez Raquel , Cox Simon R. , Ritchie Stuart J. , Harris Sarah E. , Taylor Adele , Redmond Paul , Russ Tom C. , Murphy Lee , Cooper James D. , Burr Karen , Selvaraj Bhuvaneish T. , Browne Cathy , Svendsen Clive N. , Cowley Sally A. , Deary Ian J. , Chandran Siddharthan , Spires-Jones Tara , Sareen Dhruv 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCognitive decline is among the most feared aspects of ageing. We have generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from 24 people from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, whose cognitive ability was tested in childhood and in older age. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were reprogrammed using non-integrating oriP/EBNA1 backbone plasmids expressing six iPSC reprogramming factors (OCT3/4 (POU5F1), SOX2, KLF4, L-Myc, shp53, Lin28, SV40LT). All lines demonstrated STR matched karyotype and pluripotency was validated by multiple methods. These iPSC lines are a valuable resource to study molecular mechanisms underlying individual differences in cognitive ageing and resilience to age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Attractor-like spatial representations in the Subicular Complex network
Authors: Sharma Apoorv , Nair Indrajith R. , Doreswamy Yoganarasimha 
Published: February 2020

AbstractDistinct computations are performed at multiple brain regions during encoding of the spatial environments. Neural representations in the hippocampal, entorhinal and head direction (HD) networks during spatial navigation have been clearly documented, while the representational properties of the Subicular Complex (SC) network is rather unexplored, even though it has extensive anatomical connections with various brain regions involved in spatial information processing. Here, we report a global cue controlled highly coherent representation of the cue-conflict environment in the SC network, along with strong coupling between HD cells and Spatial cells. We propose that the attractor dynamics in the SC network might play a critical role in orientation of the spatial representations, thus providing a “reference map” of the environment for further processing at other networks.
Disapproval from romantic partners, friends and parents: source of criticism regulates prefrontal cortex activity
Authors: Neoh Michelle Jin-Yee , Azhari Atiqah , Mulatti Claudio , Bornstein Marc H. , Esposito Gianluca 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe prevalence of criticism in everyday social situations, and its empirically demonstrated association with psychopathology, highlight the importance of understanding neural mechanisms underlying the perception and response of individuals to criticism. However, neuroimaging studies to date have been limited largely to maternal criticism. The present study aims to investigate neural responses to criticism originating from three different relationship types: romantic partners, friends, and parents. Perceived criticism ratings for these relationships from 49 participants were collected. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure changes in oxygenated haemoglobin levels in the prefrontal cortex when participants read vignettes describing three different scenarios of criticism. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups where the given description of the relationship of the protagonist to the source of criticism for each vignette was randomised. A significant interaction between relationship type and perceived criticism ratings for mothers was found in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Compared to low perceived criticism, high perceived criticism individuals showed increased activation reading vignettes describing criticism from romantic partners and parents but decreased activation for those from friends. Findings contribute to understanding neural responses to criticism as observed from a third-party perspective. Future studies can look into differentiating neural responses of personalised experiences of criticism and third-party observations.