bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Association Between Age at Initiation of Alcohol Consumption and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cohort Study of 0.5 Million Persons in China
Authors: Li Haoxin , Lv Jun , Yu Canqing , Guo Yu , Bian Zheng , Fan Junning , Yang Ling , Chen Yiping , Du Huaidong , Long Huajun , Zhang Zengzhi , Chen Junshi , Chen Zhengming , Huang Tao , Li Liming ,   for the China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group
Published: August 2020

AbstractIt is well known that alcohol consumption is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the association of age at initiation of alcohol consumption and duration of alcohol drinking with type 2 diabetes mellitus among Chinese adults is not fully understood. This study was based on data from the China Kadoorie Biobank, which included 512,712 participants aged 30–79 years who were living in China in 2004–2008. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the association of AAI and drinking duration with type 2 diabetes. After adjustment for potential covariates, ages at alcohol initiation (AAIs) of 18.1–29.0 years, 29.1–39.0 years, and &gt;39.0 years were associated with 22% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14, 30), 25% (95% CI: 17, 33), and 32% (95% CI: 24, 39) lower hazards of type 2 diabetes compared with abstaining, respectively. Drinking durations of &lt;10.1 years, 10.1–20.0 years, and 20.1–30.0 years were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, compared with abstaining. Among current (weekly) drinkers, AAI &lt;18.1 years and drinking duration &gt;30.0 years were associated with 18% (95% CI: 4, 33) and 20% (95% CI: 3, 40) higher hazards of type 2 diabetes, compared with AAI 18.1–29.0 years and drinking duration &lt;10.1 years, respectively. In conclusion, late AAI and a short drinking duration were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in this large prospective cohort study of Chinese adults, but early AAI and long drinking duration were not.
Association Between Midpregnancy Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder in a California Population-Based Case-Control Study
Authors: Lyall Kristen , Windham Gayle C , Snyder Nathaniel W , Kuskovsky Rostislav , Xu Peining , Bostwick Anna , Robinson Lucy , Newschaffer Craig J 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are critical for brain development and have been linked with neurodevelopmental outcomes. We conducted a population-based case-control study in California to examine the association between PUFAs measured in midpregnancy serum samples and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. ASD cases (n = 499) were identified through the California Department of Developmental Services and matched to live-birth population controls (n = 502) on birth month, year (2010 or 2011), and sex. Logistic regression models were used to examine crude and adjusted associations. In secondary analyses, we examined ASD with and without co-occurring intellectual disability (ID; n = 67 and n = 432, respectively) and effect modification by sex and ethnicity. No clear patterns emerged, though there was a modest inverse association with the top quartile of linoleic acid level (highest quartile vs. lowest: adjusted odds ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.49, 1.11; P for trend = 0.10). Lower levels of total and ω-3 PUFAs were associated with ASD with ID (lowest decile of total PUFAs vs. deciles 4–7: adjusted odds ratio = 2.78, 95% confidence interval: 1.13, 6.82) but not ASD without ID. We did not observe evidence of effect modification by the factors examined. These findings do not suggest a strong association between midpregnancy PUFA levels and ASD. In further work, researchers should consider associations with ASD with ID and in other time windows.
A graph auto-encoder model for miRNA-disease associations prediction
Authors: Li Zhengwei , Li Jiashu , Nie Ru , You Zhu-Hong , Bao Wenzheng 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Emerging evidence indicates that the abnormal expression of miRNAs involves in the evolution and progression of various human complex diseases. Identifying disease-related miRNAs as new biomarkers can promote the development of disease pathology and clinical medicine. However, designing biological experiments to validate disease-related miRNAs is usually time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, it is urgent to design effective computational methods for predicting potential miRNA-disease associations. Inspired by the great progress of graph neural networks in link prediction, we propose a novel graph auto-encoder model, named GAEMDA, to identify the potential miRNA-disease associations in an end-to-end manner. More specifically, the GAEMDA model applies a graph neural networks-based encoder, which contains aggregator function and multi-layer perceptron for aggregating nodes’ neighborhood information, to generate the low-dimensional embeddings of miRNA and disease nodes and realize the effective fusion of heterogeneous information. Then, the embeddings of miRNA and disease nodes are fed into a bilinear decoder to identify the potential links between miRNA and disease nodes. The experimental results indicate that GAEMDA achieves the average area under the curve of $93.56\pm 0.44\%$ under 5-fold cross-validation. Besides, we further carried out case studies on colon neoplasms, esophageal neoplasms and kidney neoplasms. As a result, 48 of the top 50 predicted miRNAs associated with these diseases are confirmed by the database of differentially expressed miRNAs in human cancers and microRNA deregulation in human disease database, respectively. The satisfactory prediction performance suggests that GAEMDA model could serve as a reliable tool to guide the following researches on the regulatory role of miRNAs. Besides, the source codes are available at https://github.com/chimianbuhetang/GAEMDA.
Mindfulness Improves Brain–Computer Interface Performance by Increasing Control Over Neural Activity in the Alpha Band
Authors: Stieger James R , Engel Stephen , Jiang Haiteng , Cline Christopher C , Kreitzer Mary Jo , He Bin 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) are promising tools for assisting patients with paralysis, but suffer from long training times and variable user proficiency. Mind–body awareness training (MBAT) can improve BCI learning, but how it does so remains unknown. Here, we show that MBAT allows participants to learn to volitionally increase alpha band neural activity during BCI tasks that incorporate intentional rest. We trained individuals in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR; a standardized MBAT intervention) and compared performance and brain activity before and after training between randomly assigned trained and untrained control groups. The MBAT group showed reliably faster learning of BCI than the control group throughout training. Alpha-band activity in electroencephalogram signals, recorded in the volitional resting state during task performance, showed a parallel increase over sessions, and predicted final BCI performance. The level of alpha-band activity during the intentional resting state correlated reliably with individuals’ mindfulness practice as well as performance on a breath counting task. Collectively, these results show that MBAT modifies a specific neural signal used by BCI. MBAT, by increasing patients' control over their brain activity during rest, may increase the effectiveness of BCI in the large population who could benefit from alternatives to direct motor control.
Efficacy and safety of rituximab in adult frequent-relapsing or steroid-dependent minimal change disease or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Xue Cheng , Yang Bo , Xu Jing , Zhou Chenchen , Zhang Liming , Gao Xiang , Dai Bing , Yu Shengqiang , Mao Zhiguo , Mei Changlin , Xu Chenggang 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Background
The efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) in adult frequent-relapsing (FR) or steroid-dependent (SD) nephrotic syndrome (NS), including minimal change disease (MCD) or focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), are still inconclusive.

Methods
We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis registered in PROSPERO (CRD42019148102) by pooling data of cohort studies or case series on adult patients with difficult-to-treat NS. Steroid-resistant NS was excluded. The primary outcomes were the complete remission (CR) rate and the relapse rate. Partial remission (PR) rate, no response (NR) rate and adverse events were the secondary outcomes. A random-effects model was performed for all the outcomes.

Results
We included 21 studies involving 382 adult MCD/FSGS subjects with a median follow-up duration from 12 to 43 months. RTX treatment induced a pooled 84.2% CR rate [95% confidence interval (CI): 67.7–96.3%], while MCD patients had a high 91.6% CR rate and FSGS patients a moderate 43% CR rate. However, 27.4% (95% CI 20.7–34.5%) of the patients relapsed during the follow-up. The pooled PR and NR rates were 5.8% (95% CI 1.2–12.5%) and 5.2% (95% CI 0.0–15.0%), respectively. RTX was associated with trivial adverse events and good tolerance.

Conclusions
In summary, by pooling results of current pilot studies, RTX may be an effective and relatively safe alternative for most adult FR or SD MCD/FSGS to displace calcineurin inhibitors or prednisone in the hierarchy of treatment. More clinical trials comparing RTX with other immunosuppressants and concerning the long-term adverse events are needed.
Choice of Statistical Tools for Outlier Removal Causes Substantial Changes in Analyte Reference Intervals in Healthy Populations
Authors: Hickman Peter E , Koerbin Gus , Potter Julia M , Glasgow Nicholas , Cavanaugh Juleen A , Abhayaratna Walter P , West Nic P , Glasziou Paul 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Background
Reference intervals are an important aid in medical practice as they provide clinicians a guide as to whether a patient is healthy or diseased.
Outlier results in population studies are removed by any of a variety of statistical measures. We have compared several methods of outlier removal and applied them to a large body of analytes from a large population of healthy persons.

Methods
We used the outlier exclusion criteria of Reed-Dixon and Tukey and calculated reference intervals using nonparametric and Harrell-Davis statistical methods and applied them to a total of 36 different analytes.

Results
Nine of 36 analytes had a greater than 20% difference in the upper reference limit, and for some the difference was 100% or more.

Conclusions
For some analytes, great importance is attached to the reference interval. We have shown that different statistical methods for outlier removal can cause large changes to reported reference intervals. So that population studies can be readily compared, common statistical methods should be used for outlier removal.
Influence of BMI percentile on craniofacial morphology and development in children and adolescents
Authors: Danze Adam , Jacox Laura Anne , Bocklage Clare , Whitley John , Moss Kevin , Hardigan Patrick , Garcia-Godoy Cristina E , Jackson Tate Harris 
Published: August 2020

SummaryBackgroundThe prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity is increasing worldwide. Reports suggest that elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with larger craniofacial dimensions and advanced dental and skeletal development. Such an association is important for timing orthodontic treatment relative to pubertal growth and dental eruption.Materials and MethodsTo evaluate associations between BMI, craniofacial morphology, dental age, and cervical vertebrae maturation staging (CVMS), 400 participants were consecutively selected (8–15 years, n = 200 overweight and obese BMI &gt;85%, 200 normal weight) from the University of North Carolina database. Records were analysed for cephalometric measures, Demirjian index values, and CVMS. Bivariate statistics and linear regression analysis evaluated whether CVMS, dental age, and cephalometric dimensions varied with BMI.ResultsOverweight/obese children and adolescents had a proportionally larger bimaxillary prognathic skeletal pattern compared to those of normal weight. These cephalometric measurements [articulare–gnathion (Ar–Gn), condylion–anterior nasal spine (Co–ANS), sella–gonion (S–Go), nasion–menton (N–Me), anterior nasal spine–menton (ANS–Me), sella-nasion-A point (SNA), sella-nasion-B point (SNB), and sella-nasion-pogonion (SNPg)] were significantly different [statistically (P &lt; 0.05) and clinically (&gt;2 mm or &gt;2 degrees)] between the two study groups, with a linear relationship between BMI percentile and craniofacial dimension. The overweight/obese BMI group had a mean dental age 1.4 years advanced relative to the normal weight group (P &lt; 0.05), with an advancement of nearly one CVM stage between the ages of 12 and 14 (P &lt; 0.05).LimitationsThe study is retrospective.ConclusionsObese/overweight children and adolescents have proportionally larger antero-posterior and vertical dimensions and are more likely to experience advanced dental and skeletal maturation. Obese/overweight subjects may enter their growth spurt at a younger age and have earlier eruption of teeth, affecting treatment timing. BMI percentile should be a consideration for orthodontic treatment in growing patients.
Loss of daptomycin susceptibility in clinical Staphylococcus epidermidis infection coincided with variants in WalK
Authors: Brazeau Nicholas F , Levinson Kara J , Schranz Asher , Moser Kara A , Hollis Ian , Iyer Prashanth , Chien Christopher , Bowen Amanda , van Duin David , Lachiewicz Anne , Andermann Tessa , Jones Melissa , Miller Melissa , Juliano Jonathan J , Bartelt Luther A 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Daptomycin (DAP) is key in treating multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus infections. Diminished susceptibility to DAP is emerging among Staphylococcus epidermidis strains although mechanisms for non-susceptibility (NS) remain poorly understood. We report a case of persistent S. epidermidis bacteremia in which loss of DAP susceptibility arose during prolonged treatment. Whole genome sequencing identified two mutations, Q371del and P415L, in a single-affected gene, WalK, that coincided with the emergence of DAP-NS. Protein modeling of the mutations predicted a disruption of WalK protein configuration. The emergence of mutations in a single-gene during DAP exposure raises concerns in an era of increasingly treatment-resistant infections.
Lay summary: Daptomycin is an important antibiotic for fighting Staphylococcus infections. We identified variants in the WalK gene that were coincident with resistance in a clinical Staphylococcus epidermidis infection. Clinicians, hospital epidemiologists, and microbiology laboratories need to be aware of the potential for the evolution of drug resistance during prolonged daptomycin therapy.
Subjective Aging and Incident Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Stephan Yannick , Sutin Angelina R , Wurm Susanne , Terracciano Antonio 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Objectives
Subjective aging, including subjective age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA), predicts health-related outcomes in older adults. Despite its association with cardiovascular risk factors, little is known about the association between subjective aging and the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the present study examined whether subjective age and SPA are related to the incidence of heart conditions and stroke.

Methods
The sample comprises 10,695 participants aged 50–100 years from the Health and Retirement Study. Subjective age, SPA, demographic factors, and health-related behaviors, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, and depressive symptoms were assessed at baseline. Self-reported physician diagnosis of heart conditions and stroke were assessed biennially over up to 9 years of follow-up.

Results
Controlling for demographic factors, an older subjective age and more negative SPA were related to a higher risk of incident heart conditions and stroke. Feeling older and holding negative SPA were associated with around 40% higher risk of experiencing heart conditions over time. An older subjective age and negative SPA were related to almost twofold and 30% higher risk of incident stroke, respectively. Health risk behaviors, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, and depressive symptoms accounted for part of the associations between subjective aging and heart diseases and stroke.

Conclusions
Consistent with the literature on subjective aging and cardiovascular risk factors, this large prospective study indicates that an older subjective age and negative SPA increase the risk of incident stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
A web-based health education module and its impact on the preventive practices of health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Abbas Kiran , Nawaz S Muhammad A , Amin Nazish , Soomro Fareena M , Abid Kanza , Ahmed Moiz , Sayeed Khalid A , Ghazanfar Shamas , Qureshi Noorulain 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Proper training on the preventive measures against COVID-19 among health-care workers is crucial for mitigating the spread of viral infection. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a brief web-based module on the practice of hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette among respective health-care workers. A comparative study was conducted with a total of 500 participants. A self-reported questionnaire was used for both pre- and post-intervention evaluation. The post-intervention assessment was conducted 1–2 weeks following the intervention. The difference in the practice of hand hygiene and respiratory etiquettes during work hours was recorded. We found that the intervention resulted in an evident difference in the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer by the participating doctors before examining the patient. Interns showed a much higher propensity to wash their hands for at least 20 s, relative to other health-care workers. The difference between pre- and post-intervention handwashing for &gt;5 times/day was 6.5% in females and 4.5% in males. In short, the study was able to demonstrate that a web-based health education module is an effective tool for the education and promotion of preventative measures in hospital setups, which may ultimately aid in halting the spread of COVID-19 among health-care workers.
Promotion of somatic CAG repeat expansion by Fan1 knock-out in Huntington’s disease knock-in mice is blocked by Mlh1 knock-out
Authors: Loupe Jacob M , Pinto Ricardo Mouro , Kim Kyung-Hee , Gillis Tammy , Mysore Jayalakshmi S , Andrew Marissa A , Kovalenko Marina , Murtha Ryan , Seong IhnSik , Gusella James F , Kwak Seung , Howland David , Lee Ramee , Lee Jong-Min , Wheeler Vanessa C , MacDonald Marcy E 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Recent genome-wide association studies of age-at-onset in Huntington’s disease (HD) point to distinct modes of potential disease modification: altering the rate of somatic expansion of the HTT CAG repeat or altering the resulting CAG threshold length-triggered toxicity process. Here, we evaluated the mouse orthologs of two HD age-at-onset modifier genes, FAN1 and RRM2B, for an influence on somatic instability of the expanded CAG repeat in Htt CAG knock-in mice. Fan1 knock-out increased somatic expansion of Htt CAG repeats, in the juvenile- and the adult-onset HD ranges, whereas knock-out of Rrm2b did not greatly alter somatic Htt CAG repeat instability. Simultaneous knock-out of Mlh1, the ortholog of a third HD age-at-onset modifier gene (MLH1), which suppresses somatic expansion of the Htt knock-in CAG repeat, blocked the Fan1 knock-out-induced acceleration of somatic CAG expansion. This genetic interaction indicates that functional MLH1 is required for the CAG repeat destabilizing effect of FAN1 loss. Thus, in HD, it is uncertain whether the RRM2B modifier effect on timing of onset may be due to a DNA instability mechanism. In contrast, the FAN1 modifier effects reveal that functional FAN1 acts to suppress somatic CAG repeat expansion, likely in genetic interaction with other DNA instability modifiers whose combined effects can hasten or delay onset and other CAG repeat length-driven phenotypes.
Community-level impacts of trawl selectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea assessed using an ecosystem modelling approach
Authors: Saygu İsmet , Heymans Johanna J , Fox Clive , Özbilgin Hüseyin , Bentley Jacob W , Eryaşar Ahmet Raif , Gökçe Gökhan 
Published: August 2020

AbstractSwitching from the traditional 40- or 44-mm diamond mesh codends to 50-mm diamond mesh (D50) or 40-mm square mesh (S40) codends is known to improve the size selection for commercial species and reduce discarding in the Mediterranean demersal trawl fisheries. This change has been recommended in the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean and European Commission regulations. However, ecosystem-based assessment of improved selectivity still remains a challenge, and that is the aim of this study. For this purpose, an Ecopath model was developed and used to initialize dynamic simulations in Ecosim. The simulations changed gear-specific fishing mortality rates to represent the shifting from traditional codend to alternative codends. Our results suggest that the use of D50 or S40 codends would have a positive impact on the ecosystem as a whole and on the stock status of several commercial and non-commercial groups. Mixed trophic impact analysis indicated that, for species, like red mullet, the S40 codend was significantly better than the D50 codend. This information can be useful to policymakers, particularly for the areas where red mullet is the main target species and could inform trawl mesh options in the eastern Mediterranean.
Optimal error estimates and recovery technique of a mixed finite element method for nonlinear thermistor equations
Authors: Gao Huadong , Sun Weiwei , Wu Chengda 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
This paper is concerned with optimal error estimates and recovery technique of a classical mixed finite element method for the thermistor problem, which is governed by a parabolic/elliptic system with strong nonlinearity and coupling. The method is based on a popular combination of the lowest-order Raviart–Thomas mixed approximation for the electric potential/field $(\phi , \boldsymbol{\theta })$ and the linear Lagrange approximation for the temperature $u$. A common question is how the first-order approximation influences the accuracy of the second-order approximation to the temperature in such a strongly coupled system, while previous work only showed the first-order accuracy $O(h)$ for all three components in a traditional way. In this paper, we prove that the method produces the optimal second-order accuracy $O(h^2)$ for $u$ in the spatial direction, although the accuracy for the potential/field is in the order of $O(h)$. And more importantly, we propose a simple one-step recovery technique to obtain a new numerical electric potential/field of second-order accuracy. The analysis presented in this paper relies on an $H^{-1}$-norm estimate of the mixed finite element methods and analysis on a nonclassical elliptic map. We provide numerical experiments in both two- and three-dimensional spaces to confirm our theoretical analyses.