bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
NLRP3 is dispensable for D-galactosamine/Lipopolysaccharide-induced fulminant hepatitis
Authors: Zhang Wen , Tao Shou-Song , Wang Ting , Li Ya-Ting , Chen Hui , Zhan Yi-Qun , Yu Miao , Ge Chang-Hui , Li Chang-Yan , Ren Guang-Ming , Yin Rong-Hua , Yang Xiao-Ming 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: The NOD-like receptor family protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is involved in the progression of liver inflammation. NLRP3 inactivation has been shown to protect mice against multiple types of experimental liver injury. However, it is unclear whether NLRP3 contributes to D-Galactosamine (DGalN) plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced fatal hepatitis. This study aims to examine the function of NLRP3 inflammasome in DGalN/LPS induced acute liver failure.Method: The expression of inflammasomes was detected by quantitative PCR. Wild type (WT) mice and NLRP3 knockout mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of DGalN plus LPS. Liver damage was examined at 6 h post DGalN/LPS administration by histological analysis and serum aminotransferases measurement. Hepatocyte apoptosis and pyroptosis was detected with TUNEL assay, immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining, and western blot. Hepatic macrophages (F4/80+) and neutrophils (Ly6G+) were analyzed by IHC staining. The proinflammatory cytokines levels in serum and liver were examined using cytometric bead array and quantitative PCR. Hepatic IL1β level was further detected by western blot.Result: The hepatic NLRP3 activity was upregulated in WT mice treated with DGalN/LPS. Nlrp3−/− and WT mice showed similar mortality against lethal dose of DGalN/LPS. Serum aminotransferases levels and liver necrosis area of Nlrp3−/− mice did not differ from that in WT mice after DGalN/LPS injection. The numbers of liver TUNEL positive cells and cleaved caspase3 positive hepatocytes were comparable between Nlrp3−/− and WT mice. The hepatic GSDMDNterm peptide production also showed no difference between Nlrp3−/− and WT mice. Mice treated with DGalN/LPS displayed significantly increased numbers of intrahepatic F4/80+ cells and Ly6G+ cells, but the cell numbers in Nlrp3−/− mice livers were similar to those in WT mice. Consistently, serum and hepatic TNFα, IL6, and MCP-1 levels were similar between Nlrp3−/− and WT mice upon DGalN/LPS administration, but serum IL1β and hepatic mature IL1β level in Nlrp3−/− mice was reduced.Conclusions: NLRP3 ablation does not protect mice from DGalN/LPS induced acute liver failure, nor affect hepatocyte apoptosis and pyroptosis. Deficiency of NLRP3 has a limited effect on intrahepatic inflammatory response induced by DGalN/LPS treatment. NLRP3 inflammasome does not appear to be a major contributor to DGalN/LPS induced fatal hepatitis.
The physical and mental health for the medical staff caring for patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital: A structural equation modeling
Authors: Wang Jinyao , Li Dan-Hong , Bai Xiu-Mei , Cui Jun , Yang Lu , Mu Xin , Yang Rong 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Early in the epidemic of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Chinese government had recruited a portion of military healthcare workers to support the designated hospital (Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital) to relieve the front-line workload in Wuhan, China. It was reported that the majority of the front-line medical staff (FLMS) suffered from adverse effects, but their physical and psychological health status and its relationship were still unknown. Hence, a structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to establish and test the latent relationship among variables.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Totally 115 convenience samples of military medical staff from Xinqiao Hospital in Chongqing were enrolled during February 17th to February 29th, 2020. The medical staff assisting in Huoshenshan Hospital were selected as experimental group(n=55), the other medical staff were control group(n=60). Self-reported sleep status, fatigue status, resilience status and anxiety status were examined.Results: During COVID-19, the medical staff underwent some impairments of physical and psychological health. The anxiety score of experimental group was (42.84±9.44), the fatigue score was (52.85±9.33), and the resilience score was (67.58±11.75). And the score of anxiety, fatigue, resilience of control group were (46.27±9.94), (49.33±11.20), (65.42±14.54) respectively. For experimental group, we found the different working duration and different attitude to work in Wuhan both had significant differences in fatigue scores (P<0.05); As for resilience scores and anxiety scores, only different current perceived health status of participants showed a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). The SEM results indicated the direct path from resilience to fatigue (β=-0.129, P=0.032) and anxiety (β=-0.026, P=0.043) were both significant, it revealed that resilience were negatively associated with the level of fatigue and anxiety, and the indirect path showed fatigue had a significant mediating effect between resilience and anxiety (β=-0.146, P=0.039) of the Huoshenshan Hospital medical staff.Conclusion: During an explosive pandemic, motivating the effect of individual’s internal resilience and making use of proper external interventions is a promising way to protect the physical and mental health of the front-line medical staff.
Enhanced Gait Variability Index in Older Asian Adults and Increased Physiological Fall Risk: Results from the Yishun Study
Authors: Jabbar Khalid Abdul , Seah Wei-Ting , Lau Lay Khoon , Pang Benedict Wei-Jun , Ng Daniella Hui-Min , Tan Queenie Lin-Ling , Chen Kexun Kenneth , Jagadish Mallya Ullal , Ng Tze-Pin , Wee Shiou-Liang 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Gait variability (GV) of various spatiotemporal parameters has been investigated in association with falls as well as physical and cognitive decline. However, the lack of consensus regarding the best approach to quantify GV as well as the lack of a composite score to represent the variabilities of the various spatiotemporal gait parameters, had dampened the reporting and acceptance of GV, especially among Asian researchers. The main objective of this study was to derive an Enhanced Gait Variability Index (EGVI) and reference values in an Asian population and to evaluate its validity as an indicator of physiological fall risk.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a large residential town of Yishun in Singapore. Random sample of community-dwelling adults (N = 511, 21 – 90 years old) categorized into 3 groups – reference group (N = 268, 21 – 64 years), low fall-risk (N = 182, ≥ 65 years) and high fall-risk (N = 61, ≥ 65 years). Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) score of ≥ 2.0 was used to differentiate high fall-risk and low fall-risk groups. EGVI were derived from 5 spatiotemporal parameters: step length(cm), step time(s), stance time(s), single support time(s) and stride velocity(cm/s), with reference values from among participation less than 65 years of age.Results: Our Asian population showed greater overall gait variability than the European cohort in which the original EGVI was derived. This Asian EGVI displayed a non-linear relationship with both ageing and gait speed – significant changes in the EGVI were observed for those older than 60 years of age and in those whose habitual gait speed was lesser than 120cm/s. The EGVI discriminated between older adults with and without high fall risk and showed weak to moderate correlation with a number of the functional mobility and balance tests in both high and low fall risk groups.Conclusion: We derived an Asian Enhanced Gait Variability Index and reference values and validated its performance to discriminate high fall-risk and low fall-risk among older adults.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Leprosy and the Effects of its Control in Chongqing, China, 1949-2018
Authors: Wu Mingyue , Xiao Peng , Xiao Dayong , Yuan Yi , Xie Jiaja , Wang Yi , Du Jielin , Huang Wenjing , Deng Dan 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Objective: To analyse the epidemiological characteristics of leprosy in Chongqing from 1949 to 2018 and evaluate the prevention and treatment effects over time to provide a basis for improving leprosy prevention and treatment strategies in Chongqing.Methods: Epidemiological indicators such as the incidence rate, prevalence rate, and annual estimated percentage change (EAPC) were used to evaluate the prevalence of leprosy. The prevention and treatment of leprosy patients were evaluated by indexes representing delay in diagnosis, the cure rate and the course of the disease. The statistical software used mainly include SPSS20.0, GraphPad Prism 8, ArcGIS 10.7.Results: From 1949 to 2018, a total of 3698 cases of leprosy were reported in Chongqing, with a sex ratio (male:female) of 3.814:1. The incidence of leprosy in the city peaked at 0.848/105 people in 1960 and remained below 0.100/105 people after 2004, achieving the World Health Organization (WHO) standard for the elimination of leprosy. The mortality rate remained at or below 0.100 per 100,000 people. The median time between disease onset and diagnosis in the whole population was 3.576(1.435, 7.621) years.The early detection rate was 31.314%, and the rate of patients with grade 2 disability was 31.989%, which decreased significantly over time (χ2=5.063, P=0.024). Compared with dapsone(DDS), multidrug therapy (MDT) was associated with a higher cure rate and a shorter disease course (χ2=608.346, P=0.000).Conclusions: Currently, leprosy in Chongqing remains in a low epidemic state. However, to maintain the status of meeting the WHO standards for the elimination of leprosy, there are some challenges that should not be overlooked by leprosy prevention workers. For example, the early detection of leprosy and the prevention and treatment of related disability still need to be strengthened.
Rapid Carbapenem Inactivation Method&nbsp;(rCIM): A New Phenotypic Method for Rapidly Detecting Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales
Authors: Liu Yameng , Luan Liang , Liu Jing , Wan Nan 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Rapid and accurate methods for detecting carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) are essential for improving patient prognosis and preventing the spread of these microbes. In this study, 103 carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) isolates were collected from clinical specimens; of these, 55 CRE isolates were included in the retrospective analysis, and 48 CRE isolates were included in the prospective evaluation. Using sequencing results as the gold standard, we evaluated the performance of the rapid carbapenem inactivation method (rCIM) for detecting carbapenemases in comparison with the modified carbapenem inactivation method (mCIM) and CNPt-Direct test. In rCIM, the test isolate was incubated with meropenem (MEM) disks, and the supernatant obtained via centrifugation was incubated with the indicator strain Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Growth of the indicator strain was monitored using a nephelometer. Results: The cut-off value of rCIM was 0.50 McFarland units. In retrospective analysis, the percent positive agreement and percent negative agreement of rCIM for detecting carbapenemase were 97.1% and 100%, respectively, and these values were higher than those for mCIM and the CNPt-Direct test. In the prospective evaluation, rCIM was linked to a sensitivity and specificity of 96.4% and 95%, respectively. Conclusion: rCIM may be a rapid (<3 h), economical, simple, and reliable method for screening CPE isolates, and it is expected to be routinely implemented in clinical microbiology laboratories.
Detection of Legionella Species and the Influence of Precipitation on the Amount of Legionella DNA Present in Aerosols from Outdoor Sites Near Asphalt Roads in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, with Microbiome Analysis
Authors: Kanatani Jun-ichi , Watahiki Masanori , Kimata Keiko , Kato Tomoko , Uchida Kaoru , Kura Fumiaki , Amemura-Maekawa Junko , Isobe Junko 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Legionellosis can be caused by the inhalation of aerosolized water contaminated with Legionella. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of Legionella species in aerosols collected from outdoor sites near asphalt roads, bathrooms in public bath facilities, and other indoor sites such as buildings and private homes using culture methods, quantitative PCR with ethidium monoazide treatment (EMA-qPCR), and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results: Legionella species were not detected in culture. However, Legionella DNA was detected in 114/151 (75.5%) air samples collected near roads (geometric mean ± standard deviation was 1.80 ± 0.52 log10 copies/m3); these numbers were comparable to those obtained from bathrooms [15/21 (71.4%), 1.82 ± 0.50] and higher than those obtained from other indoor sites [11/30 (36.7%), 0.88 ± 0.56] (P < 0.05). By EMA-qPCR, Legionella DNA was detected in 20/30 (66.7%) samples collected near roads, indicating the presence of membrane-intact Legionella cells in the air. The amount of Legionella DNA correlated with the monthly total precipitation (r = 0.25, P < 0.01). It was also directly and inversely correlated with the daily total precipitation for seven days (r = 0.21, P = 0.01) and one day (r = −0.29, P < 0.01) before the sampling day, respectively. In addition, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that the three most abundant bacterial genera in the samples collected near roads were Sphingomonas (21.1%), Streptococcus (14.6%), and Methylobacterium (1.6%); Legionella species were detected in 9/30 samples (30%) collected near roads (mean proportion of reads, 0.11%). At the species level, L. pneumophila was detected in 2/30 samples collected near roads (mean proportion of reads, 0.11% and 0.09% in the detected samples).Conclusions: DNA from Legionella species, including Legionella pneumophila, were widely detected in aerosols collected from outdoor sites near asphalt roads, especially during the rainy season. Our findings suggest that there may be a risk of exposure to Legionella species in the areas surrounding asphalt roads.
COVIDXception-Net: A Bayesian Optimization Based Deep Learning Approach to Diagnose COVID-19 from X-Ray Images
Authors: Arman Shifat E , Rahman Sejuti , Deowan Shamim Ahmed 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is highly contagious and spreading around the world like wildfire. For this reason, fast and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19 is of tremendous importance. Chest X-rays can be used to diagnose COVID-19 but there is a global shortage of radiologists who can interpret X-rays. This study aims to develop an artificial intelligence system that can diagnose COVID-19 from chest X-rays with no human intervention.Methods: In this study, we used four pre-trained architectures - VGG16, MobileNetV2, InceptionV3 and Xception to detect COVID-19 from chest x-ray images. The architectures are optimized using Bayesian optimization and we used a weighted loss function to get better generalization capability in our models.Results: Of the four architectures we optimized, our proposed model called COVIDXception-Net performed best on the test set with an accuracy 0.94, precision 0.95, recall 0.94, and F1-score 0.94. It outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods in terms of these evaluation metrics on similar datasets. In the ablation studies, we found that the accuracy of our model dropped from 0.994 to 0.950 when we used random search instead of Bayesian optimization and 0.994 to 0.983 when we used regular loss function instead of a weighted loss function. Conclusions: In this study, we developed a model called COVIDXception-Net to diagnose COVID-19 from X-ray images. We hope that our research will assist all those involved in handling this pandemic.
Prerequisites for provision of spiritual care in the neonatal intensive care unit in Iran: a qualitative study
Authors: Heidari Haideh , Mehrnoush Nasrin , Karimollahi Mansoureh 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Spiritual care in line with the holistic and comprehensive care is the important need for families with children who are hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Objectives: This study aimed to explore perceptions of health care providers' regarding the spiritual care of parents with a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit in Iran.Materials/Patients and Methods: This study was conducted using qualitative content analysis which includes open coding, creating classification, and abstraction. Eight nurses and one doctor were chosen to be interviewed by a purposeful sampling method.Results: Based on data analysis three categories of nurses' support need for spiritual care and the necessity of changes in structural conditions were identified.Conclusions: Hospital administrators must adopt measures to change the neonatal intensive care unit circumstances. Also, it is mandated that nurse managers plan training about the importance of providing spiritual care to patients and families.
Dynamic buoyancy-the cause of aircraft lift
Authors: zhou yanhui 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
The stone floating in the rapids and airplane rising in the air should follow the same principle. Through analyzing and calculating the problem that high-speed water flow makes the stone float, puts forward the concept of dynamic buoyancy, proves that dynamic buoyancy is the cause of stone floating, and applies this result to the problem of aircraft lift, the calculation formula of aircraft lift is derived, namely FX=ρv2Sx/2+ρgV, and solves the defects of current lift theory. Dynamic buoyancy is the cause of the lift produced by the aircraft.
Azithromycin exposure induces transient microbial composition shifts and decreases the airway microbiota resilience from PM2.5 stress in healthy adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Du Sisi , Zou Xiaohui , Deng Xiaoyan , Shang Lianhan , Sun Aihua , Mu Shengrui , Zhao Jiankang , Wang Yimin , Feng Xiaoxuan , Li Binbin , Wang Chunlei , Liu Shuai , Lu Binghuai , Liu Yingmei , Zhang Rongrong , Tong Yigang , Wang Chen , Cao Bin 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Background: Azithromycin, widely used in recent years, can change the airway microbiota in patients with chronic lung diseases. Little data exists regarding the effects of azithromycin administration on airway microbiota among healthy adults. Therefore, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the process of variation and re-establishment of the airway microbiota after azithromycin exposure in healthy adults. Methods: Forty-eight healthy volunteers were enrolled and randomly assigned into two groups. 500mg azithromycin or placebo was administered once daily for 3 days. We collected the induced sputum at the day before the drugs administration (D0), the day after the treatment course was completed (D4), 14 days, 30 days and 60 days post-dosing. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantification were applied to the induced sputum samples. We collected the environmental information including air quality data [particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and PM 10 , air quality index (AQI) values] that might have an influence on the airway microbiota during the study. The subjects’ respiratory tract infection (RTI) events during sampling were recorded. Results: Azithromycin didn’t alter bacterial load but significantly reduced species richness and Shannon index. Azithromycin exposure resulted in decrease in the detection rate and relative abundance of different families belonging to Veillonellaceae , Pasteurellaceae , Leptotrichiaceae , Neisseriaceae and Fusobacteriaceae . By contrast, the relative abundance of taxa belonging to Streptococcus increased immediately after azithromycin intervention. The shifts in the microbial community composition require about 14 days to recover while alpha-diversity recovered later. The high concentration of PM 2.5 contributed to a novel variability in microbial community composition of azithromycin group at D30 (30 days after baseline). The network analysis found that azithromycin altered the microbial interactions within airway microbiota. The influence was still obvious at D14 when the relative abundance of most taxa had returned to the baseline level. Conclusions: Azithromycin has transient effect in airway microbiota of healthy adults and decreases the ability of the airway microbiota resilient from PM 2.5 stress. The influence of azithromycin on microbial interactions is noteworthy though the airway microbiota has returned to the near-baseline level.Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800018494), September, 2018. http://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=31269&htm=4
Examining the use of radiation therapy for cholangiocarcinoma: benefits through modern techniques
Authors: Gattermann Felix , Oertel Michael , Scobioala Sergiu , Wilms Christian , Schmidt Hartmut , Pascher Andreas , Haverkamp Uwe , Eich Hans Theodor 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
BackgroundCholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare malignant tumor of the bile duct epithelium. At first diagnosis, only a minority of patients is eligible for surgery, which is regarded as the only curative treatment. This study examines the role of radiation therapy (RT) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in the definitive and adjuvant treatment situation.MethodsThe monocentric retrospective analysis included 39 patients (31 males, 8 females) with CCA undergoing 53 RT series. Data was collected from January 2005 to September 2018. There were 11 cases of CRT, 6 of which were definitive. Surgery was either palliative (n=6) or radical (n=15).ResultsAfter RT, median overall survival (OS) was 10.4 months (mo; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.6-14.2), median progression-free survival (PFS) was 5.6 mo (95% CI 3-8.2), median duration of local control (DOLC) was 8.9 mo (95% CI 4.7-13.1) and 1-year OS rate was 44.7%. There was a significant difference between patients with and without locoregional lymph node metastasis (OS: 4.3 mo vs. 15.4 mo, p=0.031; PFS: 2.1 mo vs. 11.5 mo, p<0.0005; DOLC: 4.2 mo vs. 12.3 mo, p=0.02). After treatment of a primary tumor, DOLC was about twice as long as in the recurrent situation (10.4 mo vs. 5.4 mo, p=0.032). Conservative therapy significantly elevated the risk of local recurrence compared to radical surgery in univariate (HR 11.04, p=0.004) and multivariate (HR 98.34, p=0.024) analysis. Tomotherapy may be advantageous with respect to local recurrence and survival.Side effects were mostly classified as grade I-II according to CTCAE. There were 10 toxicities of grade III and 4 of grade IV, all affecting blood parameters. Termination of RT and increased glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) were significantly less frequent after stereotactic body radiation therapy and hypofractionation.ConclusionRT can achieve local control in patients with CCA. However, since overall prognosis remains poor, effective combination therapies are needed. Toxicities of RT are manageable but require close clinical and laboratory follow-up.