bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
High normal TSH is associated with lower mannan-binding lectin in women of childbearing age
Authors: Karbownik-Lewinska Malgorzata , Stepniak Jan , Marcinkowska Magdalena , Krygier Adrian , Lewinski Andrzej 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Background
Mannan-binding lectin (MBL) is a main component of the lectin pathway of the complement system. Lower MBL levels are associated with, among other conditions, hypothyroidism and adverse pregnancy outcomes. In turn, adverse pregnancy outcomes and infertility may result from hypothyroidism, even in patients with high normal Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The aim of this study was to determine if MBL level differs between women of reproductive age with low normal (< 2.5 mIU/l) and high normal (≥2.5 mIU/l) TSH. Associations with other parameters potentially affected by hypothyroidism were also evaluated.

Methods
Ninety five (95) patients with normal thyroid tests (TSH 0.27–4.2 mIU/l), aged 18–48 years, were prospectively enrolled. Several laboratory parameters were measured, including MBL level, thyroid tests and lipid profile.

Results
Serum MBL level was lower in women with TSH ≥ 2.5 mIU/l than with TSH < 2.5 mIU/l. This association was confirmed by univariate regression analysis. MBL level was significantly lower in patients with abnormally low HDLC/cholesterol ratio and a positive correlation was found between MBL level and HDL/cholesterol ratio.

Conclusion
In women of reproductive age with normal thyroid tests, lower MBL is associated with high normal TSH and with less favourable lipid profile. Therefore treatment with L-thyroxine should be considered in women of reproductive age with TSH ≥ 2.5 mIU/l.
Oxygen use and survival in patients with advanced cancer and low oxygen saturation in home care: a preliminary retrospective cohort study
Authors: Igarashi Hiroshi , Fukushi Motoharu , Nago Naoki 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe role of oxygen therapy in end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer is incompletely understood. We aimed to evaluate the association between oxygen use and survival in patients with advanced cancer and low oxygen saturation in home care.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study at a primary care practice in suburban Tokyo. Adult patients in home care with advanced cancer demonstrating first low oxygen saturation (less than 90%) detected in home visits were consecutively included in the study. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to investigate the effect of oxygen use on overall survival and survival at home, adjusted for systolic blood pressure, decreased level of consciousness, dyspnea, oral intake, performance status, and cardiopulmonary comorbidity.ResultsOf 433 identified patients with advanced cancer, we enrolled 137 patients (oxygen use,n = 35; no oxygen use,n = 102) who developed low oxygen saturation. In multivariable analysis, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of oxygen use was 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.39–1.17) for death and 0.70 (0.38–1.27) for death at home. In patients with dyspnea, the HR was 0.35 (0.13–0.89) for death and 0.33 (0.11–0.96) for death at home; without dyspnea, it was 1.03 (0.49–2.17) for death and 0.84 (0.36–1.96) for death at home.ConclusionsOxygen use was not significantly associated with survival in patients with advanced cancer and low oxygen saturation, after adjusting for potential confounders. It may not be necessary to use oxygen for prolongation of survival in such patients, particularly in those without dyspnea.
Family member information extraction via neural sequence labeling models with different tag schemes
Authors: Dai Hong-Jie 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Family history information (FHI) described in unstructured electronic health records (EHRs) is a valuable information source for patient care and scientific researches. Since FHI is usually described in the format of free text, the entire process of FHI extraction consists of various steps including section segmentation, family member and clinical observation extraction, and relation discovery between the extracted members and their observations. The extraction step involves the recognition of FHI concepts along with their properties such as the family side attribute of the family member concept.

Methods
This study focuses on the extraction step and formulates it as a sequence labeling problem. We employed a neural sequence labeling model along with different tag schemes to distinguish family members and their observations. Corresponding to different tag schemes, the identified entities were aggregated and processed by different algorithms to determine the required properties.

Results
We studied the effectiveness of encoding required properties in the tag schemes by evaluating their performance on the dataset released by the BioCreative/OHNLP challenge 2018. It was observed that the proposed side scheme along with the developed features and neural network architecture can achieve an overall F1-score of 0.849 on the test set, which ranked second in the FHI entity recognition subtask.

Conclusions
By comparing with the performance of conditional random fields models, the developed neural network-based models performed significantly better. However, our error analysis revealed two challenging issues of the current approach. One is that some properties required cross-sentence inferences. The other is that the current model is not able to distinguish between the narratives describing the family members of the patient and those specifying the relatives of the patient’s family members.
Siglec-15: a potential regulator of osteoporosis, cancer, and infectious diseases
Authors: Angata Takashi 
Published: January 2020

AbstractSiglec-15 is a member of the Siglec family of glycan-recognition proteins, primarily expressed on a subset of myeloid cells. Siglec-15 has been known to be involved in osteoclast differentiation, and is considered to be a potential therapeutic target for osteoporosis. Recent studies revealed unexpected roles of Siglec-15 in microbial infection and the cancer microenvironment, expanding the potential pathophysiological roles of Siglec-15. Chemical biology has advanced our understanding of the nature of Siglec-15 ligands, but the exact nature of Siglec-15 ligand depends on the biological context, leaving plenty of room for further exploration.
The association of metabolic syndrome components and chronic kidney disease in patients with hypertension
Authors: Xie Kun , Bao Liwen , Jiang Xiaofei , Ye Zi , Bing Jianping , Dong Yugang , Gao Danchen , Ji Xiaoping , Jiang Tingbo , Li Jiehua , Li Yan , Luo Suxin , Mao Wei , Peng Daoquan , Qu Peng , Song Shangming , Wang Hui , Wang Zhaohui , Xu Biao , Yin Xinhua , Yu Zaixin , Zhang Xinjun , Zhang Zixin , Zhu Zhiming , Gao Xiufang , Li Yong 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Hypertension is a highly prevalent disease and the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Metabolic syndrome could also be the risk factor for CKD. We sought to study the association between metabolic syndrome components and the prevalence of CKD in patients with hypertension.

Methods
We carried out a multi-center cross-sectional study from Apr. 2017- Apr. 2018 in 15 cities in China.

Results
A total of 2484 patients with hypertension were enrolled. Among them, 56% were male and the average age was 65.12 ± 12.71 years. The systolic BP/diastolic BP was 142 ± 18/83 ± 12 mmHg. Metabolic syndrome components turned out to be highly prevalent in patients with hypertension, ranging from 40 to 58%. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease reached 22.0%. Multi-variate logistic analysis revealed that elevated triglyceride (TG) (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.28–2.57, p < 0.01), elevated fasting blood glucose (FBG) (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.00–2.07, p = 0.05) and hypertension grades (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.00–1.44, p = 0.05) were associated with the prevalence of CKD. In sub-group analysis, elevated TG remained strongly associated with CKD in both diabetes (OR = 2.10, 95%CI 1.22–3.61, p < 0.01) and non-diabetes (OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.09–2.16, p = 0.01). In sub-group analysis of hypertension grades, there was also a graded trend between elevated TG and CKD from controlled blood pressure (BP) to hypertension grade 2 (OR = 1.81, 95%CI 1.06–3.11, p = 0.03; OR = 1.85, 95%CI 1.00–3.43, p = 0.05; OR = 2.81, 95% CI 1.09–7.28, p = 0.03, respectively).

Conclusion
Elevated TG, elevated FBG and hypertension grades were significantly associated with the prevalence of CKD in patients with hypertension. Particularly, elevated TG was strongly associated with CKD, independent of diabetes and hypertension grades.
Longitudinal association of changes in diet with changes in body weight and waist circumference in subjects at high cardiovascular risk: the PREDIMED trial
Authors: Konieczna Jadwiga , Romaguera Dora , Pereira Veronica , Fiol Miguel , Razquin Cristina , Estruch Ramón , Asensio Eva M. , Babio Nancy , Fitó Montserrat , Gómez-Gracia Enrique , Ros Emilio , Lapetra José , Arós Fernando , Serra-Majem Lluís , Pintó Xavier , Toledo Estefanía , Sorlí José V. , Bulló Monica , Schröder Helmut , Martínez-González Miguel A. 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Consumption of certain foods is associated with long-term weight gains and abdominal fat accumulation in healthy, middle-aged and young, non-obese participants. Whether the same foods might be associated with changes in adiposity in elderly population at high cardiovascular risk is less known.

Objective
Using yearly repeated measurements of both food habits and adiposity parameters, we aimed to investigate how changes in the consumption of specific foods were associated with concurrent changes in weight or waist circumference (WC) in the PREDIMED trial.

Design
We followed-up 7009 participants aged 55–70 years at high cardiovascular risk for a median time of 4.8 years. A validated 137-item semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for dietary assessment with yearly repeated measurements. We longitudinally assessed associations between yearly changes in food consumption (serving/d) and concurrent changes in weight (kg) or WC (cm).

Results
Yearly increments in weight were observed with increased consumption (kg per each additional increase in 1 serving/d) for refined grains (0.32 kg/serving/d), red meat (0.24), potatoes (0.23), alcoholic beverages (0.18), processed meat (0.15), white bread (0.07) and sweets (0.04); whereas inverse associations were detected for increased consumption of low-fat yogurt (− 0.18), and low-fat milk (− 0.06).
Annual WC gain (cm per each additional increase in 1 serving/d) occurred with increased consumption of snacks, fast-foods and pre-prepared dishes (0.28), processed meat (0.18), alcoholic beverages (0.13), and sweets (0.08); whereas increased consumption of vegetables (− 0.23), and nuts (− 0.17), were associated with reductions in WC.

Conclusions
In this assessment conducted in high-risk subjects using yearly repeated measurements of food habits and adiposity, some ultra-processed foods, refined carbohydrates (including white bread), potatoes, red meats and alcohol were associated with higher weight and WC gain, whereas increases in consumption of low-fat dairy products and plant foods were associated with less gain in weight and WC.

Trial registration
This study was registered at controlled-trials.com with International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 35739639. Registration date: 5 October 2005.
IL-1β induces rod degeneration through the disruption of retinal glutamate homeostasis
Authors: Charles-Messance Hugo , Blot Guillaume , Couturier Aude , Vignaud Lucile , Touhami Sara , Beguier Fanny , Siqueiros Lourdes , Forster Valérie , Barmo Nour , Augustin Sébastien , Picaud Serge , Sahel José-Alain , Rendon Alvaro , Grosche Antje , Tadayoni Ramin , Sennlaub Florian , Guillonneau Xavier 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Background
Age-related macular degeneration is characterized by the accumulation of subretinal macrophages and the degeneration of cones, but mainly of rods. We have previously shown that Mononuclear Phagocytes-derived IL-1β induces rod photoreceptor cell death during experimental subretinal inflammation and in retinal explants exposed to IL-1β but the mechanism is unknown.

Methods
Retinal explants were culture in the presence of human monocytes or IL-1β and photoreceptor cell survival was analyzed by TUNEL labeling. Glutamate concentration and transcription levels of gene involved in the homeostasis of glutamate were analyzed in cell fractions of explant cultured or not in the presence of IL-1β. Glutamate receptor antagonists were evaluated for their ability to reduce photoreceptor cell death in the presence of IL1-β or monocytes.

Results
We here show that IL-1β does not induce death in isolated photoreceptors, suggesting an indirect effect. We demonstrate that IL-1β leads to glutamate-induced rod photoreceptor cell death as it increases the extracellular glutamate concentrations in the retina through the inhibition of its conversion to glutamine in Müller cells, increased release from Müller cells, and diminished reuptake. The inhibition of non-NMDA receptors completely and efficiently prevented rod apoptosis in retinal explants cultured in the presence of IL-1β or, more importantly, in vivo, in a model of subretinal inflammation.

Conclusions
Our study emphasizes the importance of inflammation in the deregulation of glutamate homeostasis and provides a comprehensive mechanism of action for IL-1β-induced rod degeneration.
Reliability, validity and discriminant ability of a robotic device for finger training in patients with subacute stroke
Authors:   the FDG Robotic Rehabilitation Group, Germanotta Marco , Gower Valerio , Papadopoulou Dionysia , Cruciani Arianna , Pecchioli Cristiano , Mosca Rita , Speranza Gabriele , Falsini Catuscia , Cecchi Francesca , Vannetti Federica , Montesano Angelo , Galeri Silvia , Gramatica Furio , Aprile Irene 
Published: January 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe majority of stroke survivors experiences significant hand impairments, as weakness and spasticity, with a severe impact on the activity of daily living. To objectively evaluate hand deficits, quantitative measures are needed. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability, the validity and the discriminant ability of the instrumental measures provided by a robotic device for hand rehabilitation, in a sample of patients with subacute stroke.Material and methodsIn this study, 120 patients with stroke and 40 controls were enrolled. Clinical evaluation included finger flexion and extension strength (using the Medical Research Council, MRC), finger spasticity (using the Modified Ashworth Scale, MAS) and motor control and dexterity during ADL performance (by means of the Frenchay Arm Test, FAT). Robotic evaluations included finger flexion and extension strength, muscle tone at rest, and instrumented MAS and Modified Tardieu Scale. Subjects were evaluated twice, one day apart, to assess the test-retest reliability of the robotic measures, using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). To estimate the response stability, the standard errors of measurement and the minimum detectable change (MDC) were also calculated. Validity was assessed by analyzing the correlations between the robotic metrics and the clinical scales, using the Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient (r). Finally, we investigated the ability of the robotic measures to distinguish between patients with stroke and healthy subjects, by means of Mann-Whitney U tests.ResultsAll the investigated measures were able to discriminate patients with stroke from healthy subjects (p < 0.001). Test-retest reliability was found to be excellent for finger strength (in both flexion and extension) and muscle tone, with ICCs higher than 0.9. MDCs were equal to 10.6 N for finger flexion, 3.4 N for finger extension, and 14.3 N for muscle tone. Conversely, test-retest reliability of the spasticity measures was poor. Finally, finger strength (in both flexion and extension) was correlated with the clinical scales (r of about 0.7 with MRC, and about 0.5 with FAT).DiscussionFinger strength (in both flexion and extension) and muscle tone, as provided by a robotic device for hand rehabilitation, are reliable and sensitive measures. Moreover, finger strength is strongly correlated with clinical scales. Changes higher than the obtained MDC in these robotic measures could be considered as clinically relevant and used to assess the effect of a rehabilitation treatment in patients with subacute stroke.
Is aggregated synthetic amorphous silica toxicologically relevant?
Authors: Murugadoss Sivakumar , van den Brule Sybille , Brassinne Frederic , Sebaihi Noham , Mejia Jorge , Lucas Stéphane , Petry Jasmine , Godderis Lode , Mast Jan , Lison Dominique , Hoet Peter H. 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Background
The regulatory definition(s) of nanomaterials (NMs) frequently uses the term ‘agglomerates and aggregates’ (AA) despite the paucity of evidence that AA are significantly relevant from a nanotoxicological perspective. This knowledge gap greatly affects the safety assessment and regulation of NMs, such as synthetic amorphous silica (SAS). SAS is used in a large panel of industrial applications. They are primarily produced as nano-sized particles (1–100 nm in diameter) and considered safe as they form large aggregates (> 100 nm) during the production process. So far, it is indeed believed that large aggregates represent a weaker hazard compared to their nano counterpart. Thus, we assessed the impact of SAS aggregation on in vitro cytotoxicity/biological activity to address the toxicological relevance of aggregates of different sizes.

Results
We used a precipitated SAS dispersed by different methods, generating 4 ad-hoc suspensions with different aggregate size distributions. Their effect on cell metabolic activity, cell viability, epithelial barrier integrity, total glutathione content and, IL-8 and IL-6 secretion were investigated after 24 h exposure in human bronchial epithelial (HBE), colon epithelial (Caco2) and monocytic cells (THP-1). We observed that the de-aggregated suspension (DE-AGGR), predominantly composed of nano-sized aggregates, induced stronger effects in all the cell lines than the aggregated suspension (AGGR). We then compared DE-AGGR with 2 suspensions fractionated from AGGR: the precipitated fraction (PREC) and the supernatant fraction (SuperN). Very large aggregates in PREC were found to be the least cytotoxic/biologically active compared to other suspensions. SuperN, which contains aggregates larger in size (> 100 nm) than in DE-AGGR but smaller than PREC, exhibited similar activity as DE-AGGR.

Conclusion
Overall, aggregation resulted in reduced toxicological activity of SAS. However, when comparing aggregates of different sizes, it appeared that aggregates > 100 nm were not necessarily less cytotoxic than their nano-sized counterparts. This study suggests that aggregates of SAS are toxicologically relevant for the definition of NMs.
Trends and predictors of mortality in unstable pelvic ring fracture: a 10-year experience with a multidisciplinary institutional protocol
Authors: Chen Hsien-Te , Wang Yu-Chun , Hsieh Chen-Chou , Su Li-Ting , Wu Shih-Chi , Lo Yuan-Shun , Chang Chien-Chun , Tsai Chun-Hao 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundPelvic ring fracture is often combined with other injuries and such patients are considered at high risk of mortality and complications. There is controversy regarding the gold standard protocol for the initial treatment of pelvic fracture. The aim of this study was to assess which risk factors could affect the outcome and to analyze survival using our multidisciplinary institutional protocol for traumatic pelvic ring fracture.Material and methodsThis retrospective study reviewed patients who sustained an unstable pelvic ring fracture with Injury Severity Score (ISS) ≥ 5. All patients were admitted to the emergency department and registered in the Trauma Registry System of a level I trauma center from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2017. The annular mortality rate after the application of our institutional protocol was analyzed. Patients with different systems of injury and treatments were compared, and regression analysis was performed to adjust for factors that could affect the rate of mortality and complications.ResultsDuring the 10-year study period, there were 825 unstable pelvic ring injuries, with a mean ISS higher than that of other non-pelvic trauma cases. The annual mortality rate declined from 7.8 to 2.4% and the mean length of stay was 18.1 days. A multivariable analysis showed that unstable initial vital signs, such as systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg (odds ratio [OR] 2.53; confidence interval [CI] 1.11–5.73), Glasgow Coma Scale < 9 (OR 3.87; CI 1.57–9.58), 24 > ISS > 15 (OR 4.84; CI 0.85–27.65), pulse rate < 50 (OR 11.54; CI 1.21–109.6), and diabetes mellitus (OR 3.18; CI 1.10–9.21) were associated with higher mortality. No other specific system in the high Abbreviated Injury Scale increased the rates of mortality or complications.ConclusionPoor initial vital signs and Glasgow Coma Scale score, higher ISS score, and comorbidity of diabetes mellitus affect the mortality rate of patients with unstable pelvic ring fractures. No single system of injury was found to increase mortality in these patients. The mortality rate was reduced through institutional efforts toward the application of guidelines for the initial management of pelvic fracture.
Controlling CO2 emissions for each area in a region: the case of Japan
Authors: Tamaki Tetsuya , Nozawa Wataru , Managi Shunsuke 
Published: December 2019

Abstract
Background
Global warming is the most serious problem we face today. Each country is expected to ensure international cooperation toward minimizing risk. To evaluate the countermeasures, many researchers have developed integrated assessment models (IAMs). Then, how can each country achieve its emission quota? This study proposes models that analyze the economic impact of global warming in a region based on the results obtained by the global model. By using these suggested models, we perform a comparative analysis on three policy cases: a different regulations case, a unified regulation case, and an output redistribution case.

Results
We analyzed Japan as one of the case studies and found that more developed areas should implement stricter regulations in all scenarios. In addition, the case of applying different regulations by area (in a region) is not always preferable to using unified regulations in the region. Alternatively, the output gap between the output redistribution case and the different regulations case is much higher than the gap between the unified regulation case and the different regulations case. In all scenarios, the present values of the output of the output redistribution case are also higher than the other cases.

Conclusions
The different regulations case and the unified regulation case are based on the model without capital transfer between areas, whereas the output redistribution case is based on the model with free capital transfer between areas. Although both models are extreme situations, the regions close to the without capital transfer situation possibly have an incentive to use the different regulations policy, depending on the emission target. The regions close to the situation with free capital transfer would probably prefer unified regulation.