bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Multitargeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Patients With Intractable Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Gao Zhenzhen , Cao Chenxi , Bao Yi , Fan Yaohua , Chen Gang , Fu Peng 
Published: September 2020

Background: The treatment options for intractable metastatic colorectal cancer include regorafenib, trifluridine/tipiracil, and fruquintinib. In this study, we aimed to conduct a network meta-analysis for comparing the efficacy of these agents. Methods: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials databases for relevant literature, up to February 2020. The data were collected from randomized controlled trials on regorafenib, trifluridine/tipiracil, or fruquintinib, administered to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who failed on treatment with oxaliplatin, irinotecan, or fluoropyrimidine. The primary end points, namely, the overall survival and progression-free survival, were analyzed for subsequent network analysis using the Review Manager and Aggregate Data Drug Information System software for performing direct and indirect comparisons. Results: A total of 7 trials were analyzed in this study. Trifluridine/tipiracil and regorafenib proved to be superior to the placebo, with respect to the overall survival (odds ratio: 0.38, 95% confidence interval: 0.27-0.52 for trifluridine/tipiracil; odds ratio: 0.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.26-0.84 for regorafenib) and progression-free survival (odds ratio: 0.18, 95% confidence interval: 0.05-0.67 for trifluridine/tipiracil; odds ratio: 0.06, 95% confidence interval: 0.04-0.09 for regorafenib). Regorafenib (80 mg) was superior to the placebo in terms of the overall survival and progression-free survival and inferior to trifluridine/tipiracil and fruquintinib. Network analysis revealed that the efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil and fruquintinib was fundamentally similar, and both the agents were superior to regorafenib. Conclusion: Regorafenib (80 mg) was superior to the placebo, but inferior to 160 mg regorafenib, trifluridine/tipiracil, and fruquintinib. This study further revealed that the efficiency of trifluridine/tipiracil and fruquintinib is identical, but their toxicity profiles are different.
Caveats in the monitoring of fetal growth using ultrasound estimated fetal weight
Authors: Dudley Nicholas John , Varley Helen 
Published: September 2020

Introduction Ultrasound estimated fetal weight is increasingly being used in the monitoring of fetal growth. Differences between estimated fetal weight formulae, curves and measurement methods could lead to significant differences in results. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential impact of these differences on estimated fetal weight and its use in monitoring fetal growth, both by modelling and by analysis of ultrasound scan data. Methods Four estimated fetal weight curves were compared in their original form and also normalised to term weight. Estimated fetal weight was calculated from 50th centiles of widely used charts of abdominal and head circumference and femur length and plotted on a widely used estimated fetal weight curve. Fetal measurement data were used to assess the impact of fetal proportions on estimated fetal weight error and on growth trajectory when different estimated fetal weight formulae are used. Results Estimated fetal weight curves differ significantly, but after normalisation there is closer agreement. Estimated fetal weight modelled using modern measurement methods differs from the widely used estimated fetal weight growth curve. Errors in estimated fetal weight are correlated with differences in fetal proportions and this can lead to significant changes in estimated fetal weight growth trajectory if different estimated fetal weight formulae are used. Conclusions Choice of measurement methods, estimated fetal weight formulae and growth curves have a significant effect on estimated fetal weight growth trajectories relative to normal ranges. It is important to understand these caveats when using estimated fetal weight to monitor fetal growth.
Training and Support for Hybrid Closed-Loop Therapy
Authors: Boughton Charlotte K. , Hartnell Sara , Allen Janet M. , Fuchs Julia , Hovorka Roman 
Published: September 2020

Hybrid closed-loop therapy is an emerging technology transforming the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D). Research studies demonstrate glycemic and quality of life benefits of hybrid closed-loop therapy for people with T1D. Translating these outcomes into standard clinical practice is critical for reimbursement and improving access to this technology. High-quality training is essential for achieving optimal outcomes with hybrid closed-loop therapy. Basic diabetes skills and tasks are as important, or even more important, with closed-loop therapy than with standard insulin therapy and need to be reiterated. Establishing expectations of hybrid closed-loop therapy clearly at the outset promotes long-term usage and optimal outcomes. We share key aspects of training and support for users of commercially available hybrid closed-loop systems and consider who may benefit from this technology.
A Systematic Review of the Neuropathologic Findings of Post-Viral Olfactory Dysfunction: Implications and Novel Insight for the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Lee Jason C. , Nallani Rohit , Cass Lauren , Bhalla Vidur , Chiu Alexander G. , Villwock Jennifer A. 
Published: September 2020

Background Post-viral olfactory dysfunction is a common cause of both short- and long-term smell alteration. The coronavirus pandemic further highlights the importance of post-viral olfactory dysfunction. Currently, a comprehensive review of the neural mechanism underpinning post-viral olfactory dysfunction is lacking. Objectives To synthesize the existing primary literature related to olfactory dysfunction secondary to viral infection, detail the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, highlight relevance for the current COVID-19 pandemic, and identify high impact areas of future research. Methods PubMed and Embase were searched to identify studies reporting primary scientific data on post-viral olfactory dysfunction. Results were supplemented by manual searches. Studies were categorized into animal and human studies for final analysis and summary. Results A total of 38 animal studies and 7 human studies met inclusion criteria and were analyzed. There was significant variability in study design, experimental model, and outcome measured. Viral effects on the olfactory system varies significantly based on viral substrain but generally include damage or alteration in components of the olfactory epithelium and/or the olfactory bulb. Conclusions The mechanism of post-viral olfactory dysfunction is highly complex, virus-dependent, and involves a combination of insults at multiple levels of the olfactory pathway. This will have important implications for future diagnostic and therapeutic developments for patients infected with COVID-19.
Microfracture for the Treatment of Symptomatic Cartilage Lesions of the Knee: A Survey of International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society
Authors: Medina Jesus , Garcia-Mansilla Ignacio , Fabricant Peter D. , Kremen Thomas J. , Sherman Seth L. , Jones Kristofer 
Published: September 2020

Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the current practice trends for managing symptomatic cartilage lesions of the knee with microfracture among ICRS (International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Repair Society) members. Design A 42-item electronic questionnaire was sent to all ICRS members, which explored indications, surgical technique, postoperative management, and outcomes of the microfracture procedure for the treatment of symptomatic, full thickness chondral and osteochondral defects of the knee. Responses were compared between surgeons from different regions and years of practice. Results A total of 385 surgeons answered the questionnaire. There was a significant difference noted in the use of microfracture among surgeons by region ( P < 0.001). There was no association between the number of years in practice and the self-reported proportion of microfracture cases performed ( P = 0.37). Fifty-eight subjects (15%) indicated that they do not perform microfracture at all. Regarding indication for surgery, 56% of surgeons would limit their indication of microfracture to lesions measuring 2 cm2 or less. Half of the surgeons reported no upper age or body mass index limit. Regarding surgical technique, 90% of surgeons would recommend a formal debridement of the calcified layer and 91% believe it is important to create stable vertical walls. Overall, 47% of surgeons use biologic augmentation, with no significant difference between regions ( P = 0.35) or years of practice ( P = 0.67). Rehabilitation protocols varied widely among surgeons. Conclusions Indications, operative technique, and rehabilitation protocols utilized for patients undergoing microfracture procedures vary widely among ICRS members. Regional differences and resources likely contribute to these practice pattern variations.
Extracellular HMGB-1 activates inflammatory signaling in tendon cells and tissues
Authors: Zhang Chuanxin , Gu Xinfeng , Zhao Guangyi , Wang Wang , Shao Jiahua , Zhu Jun , Yuan Ting , Sun Jiuyi , Nie Daibang , Zhou Yiqin 
Published: September 2020

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that secretion of high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB-1) is functionally associated with tendinopathy development. However, the underlying effect and mechanism of extracellular HMGB-1 on tendon cells are unclear. Methods: We tested the effect of exogenous HMGB-1 on cell growth, migration, and inflammatory signaling responses with isolated rat Achilles tendon cells. Also, we studied the role of extracellular HMGB-1, when administrated alone or in combination with mechanical overloading induced by intensive treadmill running (ITR), in stimulating inflammatory effects in tendon tissues. Results: By using in vitro and in vivo models, we show for the first time that exogenous HMGB-1 dose-dependently induces inflammatory reactions in tendon cells and tendon tissue. Extracellular HMGB-1 promoted redistribution of HMGB-1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and activated canonical nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Short-term administration of HMGB-1 induced hyper-cellularity of rat Achilles tendon tissues, accompanied with enhanced immune cell infiltration. Additional ITR to HMGB-1 treatment worsens these responses, and application of HMGB-1 specific inhibitor glycyrrhizin (GL) completely abolishes such inflammatory effects in tendon tissues. Conclusion: Collectively, these results confirm that HMGB-1 plays key roles in the induction of tendinopathy. Our findings improve the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms during tendinopathy development, and provide essential information for potential targeted treatments of tendinopathy.
Low Rates of Colonoscopy Follow-up After a Positive Fecal Immunochemical Test in a Medicaid Health Plan Delivered Mailed Colorectal Cancer Screening Program
Authors: Green Beverly B. , Baldwin Laura-Mae , West Imara I. , Schwartz Malaika , Coronado Gloria D. 
Published: September 2020

Background Follow-up colonoscopy after a positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is necessary for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening to be effective. We report colonoscopy follow-up rates after a positive FIT overall and by population characteristics in the BeneFIT demonstration pilot, a Medicaid health insurance plan-delivered mailed FIT outreach program. Methods In 2016, 2 health insurance plans in Oregon and in Washington state mailed FIT kits to Medicaid patients who, based on claims data, were overdue for CRC screening. We report follow-up colonoscopy completion rates after positive FIT, and differences in completion rates by age, sex, race, ethnicity, preferred language, and number of primary care visits in the prior year. This research was human subjects approved with a waiver of consent for data collection. Results The FIT positivity rates in Health Plan Oregon and Health Plan Washington were 7.9% (39/488) and 14.6% (125/857), respectively. Colonoscopy completion rates within 12 months of the positive test were 35.9% (14/41) in Health Plan Oregon and 32.8% (41/125) in Health Plan Washington. Colonoscopy completion rates were higher among individuals who preferred a language other than English (Non-English speakers 70.0%, English speakers 31.3%, P = .04). Conclusion In a health plan-delivered mailed FIT outreach program, follow-up colonoscopy rates after a positive test were low. Additional interventions are needed to assure colonoscopy after a positive FIT test and to reap the benefits of screening.
Local Autograft Versus Iliac Crest Bone Graft PSF-Augmented TLIF in Low-Grade Isthmic and Degenerative Lumbar Spondylolisthesis
Authors: Abou-Madawi Ali M. , Ali Sherif H. , Abdelmonem Ahmed M. 
Published: September 2020

Study Design: Prospective randomized controlled cohort study. Objective: To compare the outcome of local autograft versus iliac crest bone graft (ICBG) stand-alone transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) in lumbar spondylolisthesis. Methods: One hundred eight patients with low-grade single-level spondylolisthesis underwent operation with pedicular screw fixation (PSF)-augmented stand-alone TLIF. Patients were randomly divided into groups according to bone graft: group I, autograft group; and group II, ICBG group, with 54 patients each. Fifty-nine patients had isthmic spondylolisthesis and 49 had degenerative spondylolisthesis. Clinical outcome parameters included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and patient’s satisfaction, while the radiological parameters included fusion rate, slip reduction, segmental angle, and disc height. The mean follow-up period was 38 ± 19 months, with a minimum 24 of months. Results: The preoperative VAS of back pain improved from 8 ± 3.1 to 3.4 ± 2.9 and from 8 ± 3.2 to3.6 ± 2.6 in group I and group II, respectively. The preoperative ODI improved from 41.4 ± 8 to 12.3 ± 7 and from 39 ± 9 to 13 ± 8 in group I and group II, respectively. The fusion rate was 93% in group I and 94.5% in group II. The percentage of slip was reduced from 26.7 ± 7.1% to 16.5 ± 6.1% in group I and from 27.4 ± 8.25 to 15.8 ± 5.2% in group II. Intervertebral disc height increased from 25.27 ± 14.62 to 46.38 ± 15.41 in group I and from 22.29 ± 13.72 to 45.15 ± 16.77 in group II. Segmental angle improved from 10.5 ± 8.1° to 16.7 ± 5.4° in group I and from 11.6 ± 5.3° to 15.9 ± 6.2° in group II. There was no significant difference of the above-mentioned parameters between the 2 groups. Conclusion: Patients with single-level low-grade spondylolisthesis can be effectively treated with PSF-augmented stand-alone TLIF using either local autograft or ICBG with no outcome differences between the 2 groups.
Accurate prediction of DNA N4-methylcytosine sites via boost-learning various types of sequence features
Authors: Zhao Zhixun , Zhang Xiaocai , Chen Fang , Fang Liang , Li Jinyan 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background
DNA N4-methylcytosine (4mC) is a critical epigenetic modification and has various roles in the restriction-modification system. Due to the high cost of experimental laboratory detection, computational methods using sequence characteristics and machine learning algorithms have been explored to identify 4mC sites from DNA sequences. However, state-of-the-art methods have limited performance because of the lack of effective sequence features and the ad hoc choice of learning algorithms to cope with this problem. This paper is aimed to propose new sequence feature space and a machine learning algorithm with feature selection scheme to address the problem.

Results
The feature importance score distributions in datasets of six species are firstly reported and analyzed. Then the impact of the feature selection on model performance is evaluated by independent testing on benchmark datasets, where ACC and MCC measurements on the performance after feature selection increase by 2.3% to 9.7% and 0.05 to 0.19, respectively. The proposed method is compared with three state-of-the-art predictors using independent test and 10-fold cross-validations, and our method outperforms in all datasets, especially improving the ACC by 3.02% to 7.89% and MCC by 0.06 to 0.15 in the independent test. Two detailed case studies by the proposed method have confirmed the excellent overall performance and correctly identified 24 of 26 4mC sites from the C.elegans gene, and 126 out of 137 4mC sites from the D.melanogaster gene.

Conclusions
The results show that the proposed feature space and learning algorithm with feature selection can improve the performance of DNA 4mC prediction on the benchmark datasets. The two case studies prove the effectiveness of our method in practical situations.
Genome-wide identification, phylogeny and expression analysis of the SPL gene family in wheat
Authors: Zhu Ting , Liu Yue , Ma Liting , Wang Xiaoying , Zhang Dazhong , Han Yucui , Ding Qin , Ma Lingjian 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background
Members of the plant-specific SPL gene family (squamosa promoter-binding protein -like) contain the SBP conserved domain and are involved in the regulation of plant growth and development, including the development of plant flowers and plant epidermal hair, the plant stress response, and the synthesis of secondary metabolites. This family has been identified in various plants. However, there is no systematic analysis of the SPL gene family at the genome-wide level of wheat.

Results
In this study, 56 putative TaSPL genes were identified using the comparative genomics method; we renamed them TaSPL001 - TaSPL056 on their chromosomal distribution. According to the un-rooted neighbor joining phylogenetic tree, gene structure and motif analyses, the 56 TaSPL genes were divided into 8 subgroups. A total of 81 TaSPL gene pairs were designated as arising from duplication events and 64 interacting protein branches were identified as involve in the protein interaction network. The expression patterns of 21 randomly selected TaSPL genes in different tissues (roots, stems, leaves and inflorescence) and under 4 treatments (abscisic acid, gibberellin, drought and salt) were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Conclusions
The wheat genome contains 56 TaSPL genes and those in same subfamily share similar gene structure and motifs. TaSPL gene expansion occurred through segmental duplication events. Combining the results of transcriptional and qRT-PCR analyses, most of these TaSPL genes were found to regulate inflorescence and spike development. Additionally, we found that 13 TaSPLs were upregulated by abscisic acid, indicating that TaSPL genes play a positive role in the abscisic acid-mediated pathway of the seedling stage. This study provides comprehensive information on the SPL gene family of wheat and lays a solid foundation for elucidating the biological functions of TaSPLs and improvement of wheat yield.
Prevalences and associated factors of electrocardiographic abnormalities in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study
Authors: Yu Liping , Ye Xiaojun , Yang Zhaojun , Yang Wenying , Zhang Bo ,   on behalf of the China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study Group
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background
Electrocardiogram (ECG) is widely used to screen cardiac diseases. To date, no large population study has provided estimates of the prevalences of ECG findings in China. We aim to investigate the prevalences and associated factors of ECG abnormalities in a general population of Chinese adults.

Methods
ECG data were obtained from 34,965 participants in the 2007–2008 China National Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Study. ECG abnormalities were classified according to the Minnesota coding (MC) criteria. Prevalences of variant ECG abnormalities were calculated. The associations between ECG abnormalities and gender, age and other risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression test.

Results
The prevalences of major arrhythmias were 1.70, 2.37 and 1.04% in the whole population, men and women, respectively. Atrial fibrillation/flutter was found in 0.35% of men and 0.20% of women. ST depression and T abnormalities accounted for 10.96, 7.54 and 14.32% in the whole population, men and women, respectively. Independent of gender and other CVD risk factors, older age significantly increased the odds of having atrial fibrillation/flutter, complete left bundle branch block, complete right bundle branch block, sinus tachycardia, atrial/junctional/ventricular premature beats, ST depression and T abnormalities, tall R wave left, left/right atrial hypertrophy, left axis deviation and low voltage. Hypertension, overweight, obesity and hypercholesterolemia all independently increased the odds of having ST depression and T abnormalities. History of cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases was positively associated with major arrhythmias, ST depression and T abnormalities and tall R wave left.

Conclusions
This study provides estimates of the prevalences of ECG findings in a large population of Chinese adults. Gender, age, CVD risk factors and history of cardiovascular/cerebrovascular diseases were significantly associated with ECG abnormalities.