bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Extensive Genetic Variation at the Sr22 Wheat Stem Rust Resistance Gene Locus in the Grasses Revealed Through Evolutionary Genomics and Functional Analyses
Authors: Md. Hatta M. Asyraf , Ghosh Sreya , Athiyannan Naveenkumar , Richardson Terese , Steuernagel Burkhard , Yu Guotai , Rouse Matthew N. , Ayliffe Michael , Lagudah Evans S. , Radhakrishnan Guru V. , Periyannan Sambasivam K. , Wulff Brande B. H. 
Published: August 2020

In the last 20 years, severe wheat stem rust outbreaks have been recorded in Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. This previously well controlled disease, caused by the fungus Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, has reemerged as a major threat to wheat cultivation. The stem rust (Sr) resistance gene Sr22 encodes a nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat receptor which confers resistance to the highly virulent African stem rust isolate Ug99. Here, we show that the Sr22 gene is conserved among grasses in the Triticeae and Poeae lineages. Triticeae species contain syntenic loci with single-copy orthologs of Sr22 on chromosome 7, except Hordeum vulgare, which has experienced major expansions and rearrangements at the locus. We also describe 14 Sr22 sequence variants obtained from both Triticum boeoticum and the domesticated form of this species, T. monococcum, which have been postulated to encode both functional and nonfunctional Sr22 alleles. The nucleotide sequence analysis of these alleles identified historical sequence exchange resulting from recombination or gene conversion, including breakpoints within codons, which expanded the coding potential at these positions by introduction of nonsynonymous substitutions. Three Sr22 alleles were transformed into wheat cultivar Fielder and two postulated resistant alleles from Schomburgk (hexaploid wheat introgressed with T. boeoticum segment carrying Sr22) and T. monococcum accession PI190945, respectively, conferred resistance to P. graminis f. sp. tritici race TTKSK, thereby unequivocally confirming Sr22 effectiveness against Ug99. The third allele from accession PI573523, previously believed to confer susceptibility, was confirmed as nonfunctional against Australian P. graminis f. sp. tritici race 98-1,2,3,5,6. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .
Role of Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase inhibitors beyond BReast CAncer Gene-mutated ovarian tumours: definition of homologous recombination deficiency?
Authors: Gourley Charlie , Miller Rowan E. , Hollis Robert L. , Ledermann Jonathan A. 
Published: August 2020

Purpose of reviewPARP inhibitors have transformed the management of BRCA mutant (BRCAmut) high-grade serous and endometroid ovarian cancer (HGOC). However, it is clear that the benefit can be extended beyond this subgroup, particularly to those cancers with homologous recombination repair deficiency (HRD). We review emerging molecular and clinical data to support the use of PARP inhibitors in HRD HGOC and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of different HRD assays.Recent findingsSeveral phase 3 trials support the use of PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy beyond those patients with BRCAmutin the first-line and platinum-sensitive relapse setting. Many of these studies included HRD testing and it is clear, regardless of the assay used, that an incremental reduction in benefit is observed from BRCAmuttumours to HRD to homologous recombination proficient tumours. However, although currently available HRD assays predict the magnitude of benefit from PARP inhibitors, they consistently fail to identify a subgroup of patients who do not benefit.SummaryClinical data support the use of PARP inhibitor maintenance therapy beyond BRCAmutpatients. Current HRD tests lack negative predictive value and more research is required to develop a composite HRD assay that provides a dynamic readout of HRD status.
Overcoming key challenges in cancer immunotherapy with engineered T cells
Authors: Arcangeli Silvia , Mestermann Katrin , Weber Justus , Bonini Chiara , Casucci Monica , Hudecek Michael 
Published: August 2020

Purpose of review
A number of clinical trials are currently testing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) and T cell receptor (TCR) engineered T cells for the treatment of haematologic malignancies and selected solid tumours, and CD19-CAR-T cells have produced impressive clinical responses in B-cell malignancies. Here, we summarize the current state of the field, highlighting the key aspects required for the optimal application of CAR and TCR-engineered T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

Recent findings
Toxicities, treatment failure and disease recurrence have been observed at different rates and kinetics. Several strategies have been designed to overcome these hurdles: the identification and combination of known and new antigens, together with the combination of immunotherapeutic and classical approaches may overcome cancer immune evasion. New protocols for genetic modification and T cell culture may improve the overall fitness of cellular products and their resistance to hostile tumour immunomodulatory signals. Finally, the schedules of T cell administration and toxicity management have been adapted to improve the safety of this transformative therapeutic approach.

Summary
In order to develop effective adoptive T cell treatments for cancer, therapeutic optimization of engineered CAR and TCR T cells is crucial, by simultaneously focusing on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This review focuses on the innovative approaches designed and tested to overcome the hurdles encountered so far in the clinical practice, with new excitement on novel laboratory insights and ongoing clinical investigations.
Remote corneal suturing wet lab: microsurgical education during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Pasricha Neel D. , Haq Zeeshan , Ahmad Tessnim R. , Chan Lawrence , Redd Travis K. , Seitzman Gerami D. , Parikh Neeti , Kim Tyson N. , Schallhorn Julie M. , Ramanathan Saras 
Published: August 2020

Purpose:
To study the feasibility and efficacy of a new remote wet lab for microsurgical education using a corneal suturing task.

Setting:
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.

Design:
Prospective randomized controlled study.

Methods:
Ten ophthalmology residents were stratified by postgraduate year and randomized to perform a corneal suturing task consisting of placing the 4 cardinal sutures for a penetrating keratoplasty in porcine eyes with or without remote ophthalmology attending feedback. Subsequently, both groups repeated the same task without remote feedback to test whether initial remote feedback affected subsequent performance. Finally, the group without feedback was crossed over to repeat the same corneal suturing task with remote feedback. The effectiveness of the remote wet lab was assessed subjectively by survey and objectively by grading each suture pass.

Results:
Resident-reported comfort with corneal suturing improved significantly after the remote wet lab for all residents. Residents and attendings rated the remote wet lab as equally or more effective compared with previous in-person wet labs and overall effective in corneal suturing. Attendings rated the remote wet lab as effective in multiple domains of microsurgical education using a modified microsurgical global rating scale. Objective corneal suturing performance was similar for both groups.

Conclusions:
The remote wet lab was feasible and effective for training ophthalmology residents in corneal suturing. This represents a new social distancing compliant platform for microsurgical education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Improving Utilization of Vaccine Two-Dimensional (2D) Barcode Scanning Technology Maximizes Accuracy Benefits
Authors: Reed Jenica H. , Evanson Heather V. , Cox Regina , Williams Warren W. , Vallero Judi , Caughron Seth , Rodgers Loren , Greene Michael , Koeppl Patrick , Gerlach Ken 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACT

Background:
Recording vaccine data accurately can be problematic in medical documentation, including blank and inaccurate records. Vaccine two-dimensional (2D) barcode scanning has shown promise, yet scanner use to record vaccine data is limited. We sought to identify strategies to improve scanning rates and assess changes in accuracy.

Methods:
Between January and June 2017, 27 pilot sites within a large health system were assigned to one of four groups to test strategies to maximize scanner use: training only, commitment card, scanning report, or combination. Seventy-two thousand vaccine records were assessed for completeness, accuracy, and scanning.

Results:
Significant increases in vaccinator scanning rates found with commitment card and scanning report inclusion (alone and paired) compared with the training-only group. Record completeness and accuracy significantly improved with use of scanning. When manually entered, about 1 in 9 records had a missing or inaccurate expiration date; when scanned, this dropped to 1 in 5,000.

Conclusions:
Pilot findings indicate 2D scanning has the potential to eliminate most omissions and inaccuracies in vaccine records. Such data are critical during a recall or need to trace specific vaccines or patients.

Implications:
Consistent use and expanded adoption of 2D scanning can meaningfully improve the quality of vaccine records and clinical practices.
A Multicenter Focus Group Analysis of Medicare Beneficiaries Perception of Annual Wellness Visits
Authors: Solinsky Paul , Rochester-Eyeguokan Charmaine , Brandt Nicole , Pincus Kathleen J. 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACT
National utilization of Medicare's Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) benefit is low. Few studies have evaluated how beneficiaries perceive this service. This study aimed to characterize beneficiaries' opinion on the value of AWVs, preventive care services offered by Medicare, and barriers and facilitators to receiving those services. This qualitative study used semistructured focus group interviews of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older with a standardized facilitator guide. Four focus groups were conducted with 30 Medicare beneficiaries in an assisted-living facility, senior housing apartments, and a primary care office. Qualitative thematic analysis of focus group responses revealed that preventive healthcare was valued, but access to quality preventive care remains an issue for patients. Most participants did not know about AWVs and reported confusion over the terminology “wellness visit” compared with checkup or physical. Medicare beneficiaries are not commonly aware of AWVs. Increased promotion of AWV services by healthcare professionals may increase the number of beneficiaries participating in these preventive visits.
Psychosocial support interventions for cancer caregivers: reducing caregiver burden
Authors: Treanor Charlene J. 
Published: August 2020

Purpose of review
Informal caregivers of individuals affected by cancer undertake a range of activities and responsibilities throughout the course of the cancer care trajectory. This role is often undertaken alongside employment and other caring roles and can contribute to caregiver burden, which may be ameliorated through psychosocial intervention.

Recent findings
Fifteen new studies investigating the potential of psychosocial interventions for reducing caregiver burden were identified from the period January 2019 to February 2020. Studies were mostly quasi-experimental or randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Psychoeducation was the main intervention identified, though content varied, psychoeducation was associated with improvements in burden, quality of life (QoL) domains and psychological symptoms for caregivers. A small number of counselling/therapeutic interventions suggest that caregivers supporting patients with advanced cancer or cancers with high symptom burden may experience reduced psychological symptoms and QoL benefits. There was a paucity of evidence for other psychosocial interventions (e.g. mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy) and methodological quality was variable across all intervention types.

Summary
Psychosocial interventions may help to reduce burden for informal caregivers of individuals affected by cancer, though there remains a need for rigorously designed, multicentred RCTs and to examine the long-term impact of psychosocial interventions for caregivers.
Second-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor-therapy after immunotherapy-failure
Authors: Deuker Marina , Chun Felix K.H. , Karakiewicz Pierre I. 
Published: August 2020

Purpose of review
Most contemporary metastatic renal-cell carcinoma patients receive first-line immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combination or immunotherapy–immunotherapy combination, as first-line standards of care. However, second-line therapy choices are less well established. To address this void, we examined existing evidence supporting second and subsequent-line treatment options after immunotherapy-based combination therapy.

Recent findings
Evidence regarding efficacy of second-line therapy after immunotherapy-based combination is mainly retrospective, except for axitinib, which is the only TKI with prospective efficacy data in this setting. Cabozantinib demonstrated excellent second-line progression-free survival (PFS) that remained in third or later line use, albeit based on small numbers of observations. Moreover, pazopanib demonstrated excellent PFS, but showed wider variability in PFS rates. Sunitinib's PFS rates appeared lower than for axitinib, cabozantinib or pazopanib. Finally, inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin pathway appeared to offer even lower efficacy than any TKI after immunotherapy-based therapy combinations.

Summary
All available contemporary evidence about TKI efficacy after immunotherapy-based therapy combinations is based on institutional studies. No major differences in efficacy for the examined TKIs after immunotherapy-based combination therapies were recorded. In general, these showed similar efficacy to their efficacy data recorded in first-line.
A Classification Approach for Predicting COVID-19 Patient’s Survival Outcome with Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Osi Abdulhameed Ado , Abdu Mannir , Muhammad Usman , Ibrahim Auwalu , Isma’il Lawan Adamu , Suleiman Ahmad Abubakar , Abdulkadir Hasssan Sarki , Sada Safiya Sani , Dikko Hussaini Garba , Ringim Muftahu Zubairu 
Published: August 2020

AbstractCOVID-19 is an infectious disease discovered after the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. COVID-19 is still becoming an increasing global threat to public health. The virus has been escalated to many countries across the globe. This paper analyzed and compared the performance of three different supervised machine learning techniques; Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) on COVID-19 dataset. The best level of accuracy between these three algorithms was determined by comparison of some metrics for assessing predictive performance such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, F-score, Kappa index, and ROC. From the analysis results, RF was found to be the best algorithm with 100% prediction accuracy in comparison with LDA and SVM with 95.2% and 90.9% respectively. Our analysis shows that out of these three classification models RF predicts COVID-19 patient’s survival outcome with the highest accuracy. Chi-square test reveals that all the seven features except sex were significantly correlated with the COVID-19 patient’s outcome (P-value < 0.005). Therefore, RF was recommended for COVID-19 patient’s outcome prediction that will help in early identification of possible sensitive cases for quick provision of quality health care, support and supervision.
COVID-19 and Mental Health: A Study of its Impact on Students in Maharashtra, India
Authors: Moghe Kshipra , Kotecha Disha , Patil Manjusha 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThis study identifies and analyzes the personal, social and psychological impact of COVID - 19 on the mental health of students of age group 16 to 25. A response from N= 351 students provided a comparative analysis based on the gender, and background via t-test with significance factor of p ≤ 0.5, to understand the pandemic’s impact. The results show that female students are more concerned about health, and future, and are more prone to psychological issues like feelings of uncertainty, helplessness and outbursts than male students. Urban student’s population is more mentally affected than their rural counterparts. An increase is seen in need for solitude, being withdrawn and self-harm in male students. A shift in perception from seeing family as a source of support to that of a restriction is indicated, although the benefits of a collectivistic society are undisputed.Impact StatementThis study performs an analysis of the student’s response to questions based on social and self-perception as a result of COVID-19. It also discusses the nature of adaptive strategies espoused by them and their effectiveness in dealing with the pandemic, isolation, and the new normal.
Digoxin is Associated with Increased Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation without Concomitant Heart Failure
Authors: Tysarowski Maciej , Nigri Rafael , Patel Brijesh , Suero-Abreu Giselle A. , Pratap Balaji , Bastawrose Joseph , Aziz Joshua , Kim Hyoeun , Herzog Eyal , Aziz Emad F. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIntroductionAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice and is a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke and death. Digitalis has been used for more than 200 years to treat heart conditions, including AF, and its use remains controversial due to uncertain long-term morbidity and mortality.MethodsWe conducted a cohort study of hospitalized patients with AF assessing the effects of digoxin on longterm all-cause mortality. Patients were divided into two groups: with and without heart failure (HF). We performed multivariable Cox regression analysis to assess hazard ratios (HR) for all-cause mortality depending on digoxin treatment and used propensity score matching to adjust for differences in background characteristics between treatment groups.ResultsAmong 2179 consecutive patients hospitalized with AF, the median age was 73 ± 14, and 52.5% of patients were male, 49% had HF, and 18.8% were discharged on digoxin. Median left ventricular ejection fraction in the whole cohort was 60 (IQR 40-65). Among patients with HF, 34.5% had preserved, 17.3% had mid-range and 48.1% had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. The mean follow-up time was 3 ± 2.05 years. In patients without HF there was a statistically significant increased mortality in the digoxin subgroup after propensity score matching (HR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.42-3.51, p < 0.001). In contrast, in patients with HF, there was no difference in mortality between the treatment groups (p = 0.92).ConclusionsDigoxin use in our study was associated with increased mortality in patients with AF and without concomitant HF.
Switching from algorithm-based to universal admission screening for COVID-19 in hospital settings
Authors: Donker Tjibbe , Grundmann Hajo , Bürkin Fabian , Hengel Hartmut , Bürkle Hartmut , Hammer Thorsten , Wenz Frederik , Kern Winfried 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDetection of COVID-19 positive cases on admission to hospitals is crucial to protect patients and staff at the same time. While universal admission screening can prevent more undetected introductions than the algorithm-based screening, which preselects patient based on their symptoms and exposure, it is a more costly strategy as it involves testing a large number of patients.We construct a simple tool to help determine when the benefit of additionally found cases outweighs the cost of the additionally tested patients, based on the numbers of patients to be screened in an acceptable time span to find an additional case when screening all admitted patients.
Naturally acquired Rift Valley fever virus neutralizing antibodies predominantly target the Gn glycoprotein
Authors: Wright Daniel , Allen Elizabeth R. , Clark Madeleine H.A. , Gitonga John N. , Karanja Henry K. , Hulswit Ruben , Taylor Iona , Biswas Sumi , Marshall Jennifer , Mwololo Damaris , Muriuki John , Bett Bernard , Bowden Thomas A. , Warimwe George M. 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTRift Valley fever (RVF) is a viral haemorrhagic disease first discovered in Kenya in 1930. Numerous animal studies have demonstrated that protective immunity is acquired following RVF virus (RVFV) infection, and that this correlates with acquisition of virus neutralizing antibodies (nAb) that target the viral envelope glycoproteins. However, naturally acquired immunity to RVF in humans is poorly described. Here, we characterized the immune response to the viral envelope glycoproteins, Gn and Gc, in RVFV-exposed Kenyan adults. Long-lived IgG (dominated by IgG1 subclass) and T cell responses were detected against both Gn and Gc. However, antigen-specific antibody depletion experiments showed that Gn-specific antibodies dominate the RVFV nAb response. IgG avidity against Gn, but not Gc, correlated with nAb titers. These data are consistent with the greater level of immune accessibility of Gn on the viral envelope surface and confirm the importance of Gn as an integral component for RVF vaccine development.
Retrieving Lab Test Related Questions from Social Q&A Sites by Combining Shallow Features and Deep Representations
Authors: Lu Yu , Luo Xiao , Zhang Zhan , Ding Haoran , He Zhe 
Published: August 2020

AbstractPatients face challenges in accurately interpreting their lab test results. To fulfill their knowledge gap, patients often turn to online resources, such as Community Question-Answering (CQA) sites, to seek meaningful information and support from their peers. Retrieving the most relevant information to patients’ queries is important to help patients understand lab test results. However, few studies investigated the retrieval of lab test-related questions on CQA platforms. To address this research gap, we build and evaluate a system that automatically ranks questions about lab tests based on their similarity to a given question. The system is tested using diabetes-related questions collected from Yahoo! Answers’ health section. Experimental results show that the regression-weighted combination of deep representations and shallow features was most effective in the Yahoo! Answers dataset. The proposed system can be extended to medical question retrieval, where questions contain a variety of lab tests.
Association between Abnormal Fetal Head Growth and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Regev Ohad , Cohen Gal , Hadar Amnon , Schuster Jenny , Flusser Hagit , Michaelovski Analya , Meiri Gal , Dinstein Ilan , Hershkovitch Reli , Menashe Idan 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDespite evidence for prenatal onset of abnormal head growth in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), fetal ultrasound studies in ASD are limited and controversial. We conducted a longitudinal matched case-sibling-control study on fetal ultrasound biometric measures from 174 ASD children, their own typically developed siblings (TDS; n=178) and other population-based typically developed children (TDP; n=176). During second trimester, ASD and TDS fetuses had significantly smaller biparietal diameter (BPD) than TDP fetuses (aORzBPD=0.685, 95%CI=0.527-0.890 and aORzBPD=0.587, 95%CI=0.459-0.751, respectively). Interestingly, sex had a significant effect on head growth with males having larger heads than females within and across groups. Also, males and females with ASD showed different head shapes which were inversely correlated with ASD severity across different gestation periods. Our findings suggest that abnormal fetal head growth is a familial trait of ASD, which is modulated by sex and is associated with the severity of the disorder.