bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Altered gut microbiota correlated with systemic inflammation in children with Kawasaki disease
Authors: Chen Jie , Yue Yanghua , Wang Lu , Deng Zhonghua , Yuan Yonghua , Zhao Menghua , Yuan Zijie , Tan Chaochao , Cao Youde 
Published: September 2020

AbstractKawasaki disease (KD) is a multi-systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that occurs mainly in children, and the disturbance of gut microbiota is generally believed to cause a hyperimmune reaction triggering KD. The aim of the study was to investigate the alterations in the fecal microbiota and assess its relationship with systemic inflammation. Totally 30 KD children were enrolled and followed up for 6 months, with another group of 30 age- and sex-matched healthy children as controls. Phylotype profiles of fecal microbial communities were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Serum inflammatory markers were detected by flow cytometer. We showed that KD children exhibited a significant reduction in fecal microbial diversity in the acute phase compared with the healthy controls. Enterococcus, Acinetobacter, Helicobacter, Lactococcus, Staphylococcus and Butyricimonas in acute KD children were significantly higher than the healthy children. Levels of systemic inflammation biomarkers, including IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and INF-γ, were significantly elevated in the acute KD children. Altered microbiota genera Enterococcus and Helicobacter abundances were shown to be correlated positively with IL-6, which were never previously reported in KD. This study suggested that gut microbiota alteration is closely associated with systemic inflammation, which provides a new perspective on the etiology and pathogenesis of KD.
Stabilization of human telomeric RNA G-quadruplex by the water-compatible optically pure and biologically-active metallohelices
Authors: Malina Jaroslav , Scott Peter , Brabec Viktor 
Published: September 2020

AbstractRNA G-quadruplexes have been suggested to play key roles in fundamental biological processes and are linked to human diseases. Thus, they also represent good potential therapeutic targets. Here, we describe, using the methods of molecular biophysics, interactions of a series of biologically-active supramolecular cationic metallohelices with human telomeric RNA G-quadruplex. We demonstrate that the investigated metallohelices bind with a high affinity to human telomeric RNA G-quadruplex and that their binding selectivity considerably differs depending on the dimensions and overall shape of the metallohelices. Additionally, the investigated metallohelices inhibit DNA synthesis on the RNA template containing four repeats of the human telomeric sequence by stabilizing the RNA G-quadruplex structure. Collectively, the results of this study suggest that stabilization of RNA sequences capable of G-quadruplex formation by metallohelices investigated in this work might contribute to the mechanism of their biological activity.
In silico analysis predicting effects of deleterious SNPs of human RASSF5 gene on its structure and functions
Authors: Hossain Md. Shahadat , Roy Arpita Singha , Islam Md. Sajedul 
Published: September 2020

AbstractRas association domain-containing protein 5 (RASSF5), one of the prospective biomarkers for tumors, generally plays a crucial role as a tumor suppressor. As deleterious effects can result from functional differences through SNPs, we sought to analyze the most deleterious SNPs ofRASSF5as well as predict the structural changes associated with the mutants that hamper the normal protein–protein interactions. We adopted both sequence and structure based approaches to analyze the SNPs of RASSF5 protein. We also analyzed the putative post translational modification sites as well as the altered protein–protein interactions that encompass various cascades of signals. Out of all the SNPs obtained from the NCBI database, only 25 were considered as highly deleterious by six in silico SNP prediction tools. Among them, upon analyzing the effect of these nsSNPs on the stability of the protein, we found 17 SNPs that decrease the stability. Significant deviation in the energy minimization score was observed in P350R, F321L, and R277W. Besides this, docking analysis confirmed that P350R, A319V, F321L, and R277W reduce the binding affinity of the protein with H-Ras, where P350R shows the most remarkable deviation. Protein–protein interaction analysis revealed that RASSF5 acts as a hub connecting two clusters consisting of 18 proteins and alteration in the RASSF5 may lead to disassociation of several signal cascades. Thus, based on these analyses, our study suggests that the reported functional SNPs may serve as potential targets for different proteomic studies, diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.
Grey matter changes in Meige syndrome: a voxel-based morphology analysis
Authors: Liu Jiayu , Li Lei , Chen Lei , Liu Ruen , Jiang Yongan , Fang Jixia , Wang Dongliang , Liu Zhi , Ouyang Jia 
Published: September 2020

AbstractTo investigate the changes and clinical significance of brain structural abnormalities in patients with Meige syndrome and related depressive symptoms. We retrospectively analysed clinical data, imaging examinations, and Hamilton Depression Rating scale scores in 46 patients with Meige syndrome from January 2017 to January 2019. We compared the Meige syndrome group with the healthy control group, and the definite depression group with the non-definite depression group. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to compare grey matter (GM) volumes. We conducted two-sample t-tests corrected for subject age and gender. We tested at a level of significance of p < 0.001 with a false discovery rate (FDR) correction. VBM demonstrated decreased GM volume (p < 0.001 and cluster size > 50 voxels) in the left hemisphere in the middle frontal orbital gyrus, temporal pole (superior temporal gyrus) and insula and in the right hemisphere in the temporal pole (middle temporal gyrus), precuneus, inferior parietal, inferior temporal and olfactory cortices in the Meige syndrome group. Comparing VBM-MRI measures in Meige syndrome patients with and without depression, decreased GM volume was found in the left hemisphere in the cuneus and hippocampus and in the right hemisphere in the angular gyrus, middle frontal gyrus and middle occipital gyrus in the definite depression group. Unlike other dystonia studies that have suggested an involvement of the basal ganglia and motor cortex in the pathophysiology of the disorder , we believe that the precuneus is involved in the development of Meige syndrome. Additionally, our findings suggest that the hippocampus plays a role in the pathogenesis of depression in patients with Meige syndrome.
Graphene functionalized field-effect transistors for ultrasensitive detection of Japanese encephalitis and Avian influenza virus
Authors: Roberts Akanksha , Chauhan Neha , Islam Saurav , Mahari Subhasis , Ghawri Bhaskar , Gandham Ravi Kumar , Majumdar S. S. , Ghosh Arindam , Gandhi Sonu 
Published: September 2020

AbstractGraphene, a two-dimensional nanomaterial, has gained immense interest in biosensing applications due to its large surface-to-volume ratio, and excellent electrical properties. Herein, a compact and user-friendly graphene field effect transistor (GraFET) based ultrasensitive biosensor has been developed for detecting Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) and Avian Influenza Virus (AIV). The novel sensing platform comprised of carboxy functionalized graphene on Si/SiO2 substrate for covalent immobilization of monoclonal antibodies of JEV and AIV. The bioconjugation and fabrication process of GraFET was characterized by various biophysical techniques such as Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis), Raman, Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The change in the resistance due to antigen–antibody interaction was monitored in real time to evaluate the electrical response of the sensors. The sensors were tested in the range of 1 fM to 1 μM for both JEV and AIV antigens, and showed a limit of detection (LOD) upto 1 fM and 10 fM for JEV and AIV respectively under optimised conditions. Along with ease of fabrication, the GraFET devices were highly sensitive, specific, reproducible, and capable of detecting ultralow levels of JEV and AIV antigen. Moreover, these devices can be easily integrated into miniaturized FET-based real-time sensors for the rapid, cost-effective, and early Point of Care (PoC) diagnosis of JEV and AIV.
Application of image processing to evidence for the persistence of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis)
Authors: Collins Michael D. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractImage processing is used to enhance apparent field marks in video footage that was obtained during three encounters with birds that were identified in the field as Ivory-billed Woodpeckers (Campephilus principalis). Previous analysis of the videos was based on characteristics that are resolved in the raw footage, such as flight path, wing motion, flap rate, behaviors, field marks, and body proportions. Adjusting parameters such as brightness, contrast, and color reveals features consistent with the left dorsal stripe, black leading edges on the dorsal surfaces of the wings, and a red crest that would be consistent with a male of the species. It may be possible to extract additional features from other parts of the videos by applying more advanced processing that allows greater control and analysis of the parameters.
Real-world analyses of therapy discontinuation of checkpoint inhibitors in metastatic melanoma patients
Authors: Machado Marina Amaral de Ávila , de Moura Cristiano Soares , Chan Kelvin , Curtis Jeffrey R. , Hudson Marie , Abrahamowicz Michal , Jamal Rahima , Pilote Louise , Bernatsky Sasha 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe ‘real-world’ patient population of metastatic melanoma is not fully represented in clinical trials investigating checkpoint inhibitors. We described therapy discontinuation in an unselected population-based cohort of adults with metastatic melanoma who started therapy with pembrolizumab, nivolumab, or nivolumab/ipilimumab from January 2015 to August 2017. Therapy discontinuation was defined as a gap between doses beyond 120 days, and/or initiation of another cancer therapy. We estimated drug-specific rate ratios for therapy discontinuation adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, health care use, and past cancer therapies. We included 876 metastatic melanoma patients initiating pembrolizumab (44.3%), nivolumab/ipilimumab (31.2%), and nivolumab (24.5%). At 12 months of follow-up, the probabilities of therapy discontinuation were 49.9% (95% confidence interval, CI 43.6–56.5) for pembrolizumab, 58.8% (95% CI 50.5–67.3) for nivolumab, and 59.2% (95% CI 51.7–66.8) for nivolumab/ipilimumab. Stratified analyses based on prior cancer therapy, brain metastases at baseline, and sex showed similar trends. In multivariable analyses, compared with pembrolizumab, patients starting nivolumab (rate ratio 1.38, 95% CI 1.08–1.77) or nivolumab/ipilimumab (rate ratio 1.30, 95% CI 1.02–1.65) were more likely to discontinue therapy. Our findings indicate frequent discontinuations of checkpoint inhibitors at one year. The lower discontinuation associated with pembrolizumab should be confirmed in further studies.
Evolution of antibiotic resistance at low antibiotic concentrations including selection below the minimal selective concentration
Authors: Stanton Isobel C. , Murray Aimee K. , Zhang Lihong , Snape Jason , Gaze William H. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDetermining the selective potential of antibiotics at environmental concentrations is critical for designing effective strategies to limit selection for antibiotic resistance. This study determined the minimal selective concentrations (MSCs) for macrolide and fluoroquinolone antibiotics included on the European Commissionʼs Water Framework Directive’s priority hazardous substances Watch List. The macrolides demonstrated positive selection for ermF at concentrations 1–2 orders of magnitude greater (>500 and <750 µg/L) than measured environmental concentrations (MECs). Ciprofloxacin illustrated positive selection for intI1 at concentrations similar to current MECs (>7.8 and <15.6 µg/L). This highlights the need for compound specific assessment of selective potential. In addition, a sub-MSC selective window defined by the minimal increased persistence concentration (MIPC) is described. Differential rates of negative selection (or persistence) were associated with elevated prevalence relative to the no antibiotic control below the MSC. This increased persistence leads to opportunities for further selection over time and risk of human exposure and environmental transmission.
Evaluation of cascaded voltage step‐up cells applied to the quasi‐Z‐source DC–DC converter
Authors: Faistel Tiago Miguel Klein , Guisso Ronaldo Antonio , Andrade António Manuel Santos Spencer 
Published: September 2020

This study presents a set of four cascaded step‐up DC–DC converter with the quasi‐Z source (qZS). By associating the voltage step‐up cells at the input that qZS converter, depending on the configuration, their gain can multiply different factors that each cell with the qZS converter voltage gain. In addition, voltage and current stresses on components change. To evaluate the proposed converters the following characteristics are observed: the principle of operation, the voltage gain of the converters, low voltage and comparative evaluation. In order to demonstrate the simplicity of operation of the proposed converters to higher‐order topology, qZS with boost factor and super‐lift cells is modelled and controlled. Finally, to validate the theoretical analyses, two prototypes of 200 W were implemented experimentally.
Towards an algebraic method of solar cycle prediction
Authors: Nagy Melinda , Petrovay Kristóf , Lemerle Alexandre , Charbonneau Paul 
Published: September 2020

An algebraic method for the reconstruction and potentially prediction of the solar dipole moment value at sunspot minimum (known to be a good predictor of the amplitude of the next solar cycle) was suggested in the first paper in this series. The method sums up the ultimate dipole moment contributions of individual active regions in a solar cycle: for this, detailed and reliable input data would in principle be needed for thousands of active regions in a solar cycle. To reduce the need for detailed input data, here we propose a new active region descriptor called ARDoR (Active Region Degree of Rogueness). In a detailed statistical analysis of a large number of activity cycles simulated with the 2 × 2D dynamo model we demonstrate that ranking active regions by decreasing ARDoR, for a good reproduction of the solar dipole moment at the end of the cycle it is sufficient to consider the top N regions on this list explicitly, where N is a relatively low number, while for the other regions the ARDoR value may be set to zero. For example, with N = 5 the fraction of cycles where the dipole moment is reproduced with an error exceeding ±30% is only 12%, significantly reduced with respect to the case N = 0, i.e. ARDoR set to zero for all active regions, where this fraction is 26%. This indicates that stochastic effects on the intercycle variations of solar activity are dominated by the effect of a low number of large “rogue” active regions, rather than the combined effect of numerous small ARs. The method has a potential for future use in solar cycle prediction.
Imaging of Carpal Instabilities
Authors: Grunz Jan-Peter , Gietzen Carsten Herbert , Grunz Katharina , Bley Thorsten , Schmitt Rainer 
Published: September 2020

Background The term “carpal instability” describes different debilitating wrist conditions, in which the carpus is unable to maintain its physiological range of motion and load transfer. Depending on the cause and location of the dysfunction, four groups can be defined: dissociative, non-dissociative, complex, and adaptive carpal instability. As the most common form by far, dissociative carpal instability can further be categorized as dorsal or palmar intercalated segment instability, contingent on the afflicted interosseous ligament.Method This review article outlines the different entities of carpal instability, their pathophysiology, and their clinical presentation. It further discusses the diagnostic significance of different imaging methods as well as the established treatment options for each form of instability in context with the current literature.Results and Conclusion Early detection and treatment of carpal instability are essential for preventing carpal osteoarthritis. Traumatic lesions of the scapholunate interosseous ligament are the most frequent cause of instability. They can occur in an isolated fashion or in context with other carpal injuries. While stress imaging and fluoroscopy facilitate the differentiation between dynamic and static forms of carpal instability, only MRI and CT/MR arthrography can directly reveal the extent of ligament discontinuity.Key Points:Citation Format
Five Reasons for the Failure to Diagnose Aldosterone Excess in Hypertension
Authors: Piaditis George P. , Kaltsas Gregory , Markou Athina , Chrousos George P. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPrimary hyperaldosteronism (PA) is a well-known cause of hypertension although its exact prevalence amongst patients with apparent essential hypertension has been a matter of debate. A number of recent studies have suggested that mild forms of PA may be relatively common taking into consideration factors that were previously either overestimated or ignored when developing diagnostic tests of PA and when applying these tests into normotensive individuals. The performance characteristics and diagnostic accuracy of such tests are substantially increased when the adrenocorticotrophin effect, inappropriate potassium levels and their application in carefully selected normotensive individuals are considered. In the present review, we critically analyze these issues and provide evidence that several, particularly mild, forms of PA can be effectively identified exhibiting potentially important clinical implications.
Cross-insitutional standardization of imaging protocols – A pilot study within the scope of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Lower Saxony
Authors: Römermann Inka , Al-Bourini Omar , Seif Amir Hosseini Ali , Hinrichs Jan B. , Wacker Frank K. , Lotz Joachim , Ringe Kristina I. 
Published: September 2020

Purpose Cross-institutional establishment of standardized protocols for CT and MR imaging of primary liver and pancreas tumors in an oncological center.
Materials and Methods This prospective dual-institution study was approved by the local IRBs. Minimum requirements (phases, sequences, slice thickness) for imaging of primary liver and pancreas tumors were defined and implemented at both sites. Between 06/19 and 08/19 in-house examinations were evaluated in terms of compliance with defined protocols and image quality. In addition, extramural examinations that were demonstrated at interdisciplinary tumor board meetings in the same study period were reviewed. Results were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, and differences between centers, modalities and organs assessed (Fisher-exact Test, p < 0.05 deemed significant).
Results 480 data sets (397 internal, 83 extramural) were included in this study and analyzed. Overall protocol compliance for in-house examinations was 93.5 % (371/397 datasets), without statistical significant difference between the two institutions (p = 0.0615). External studies met minimum requirements in 48.2 % (40/83 datasets). Regarding in-house imaging, significant differences were observed between CT of the liver and the pancreas (p < 0.05) and between CT and MRI of the pancreas (p < 0.05).
Conclusion As demonstrated in this pilot project, cross-institutional establishment of standardized imaging protocols is feasible with a compliance rate of more than 90 %. Standardized imaging protocols may serve as a quality indicator in oncological imaging, and over time, improve cross-institutional patient care.
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Exposure to Mosquito Repellents Causes Profound Development Defects and Induces Oxidative Stress in Zebrafish
Authors: Prabhakara Aprathi , Nanjappa Dechamma Pandyanda , Babu Nishith , Kalladka Krithika , Chakraborty Anirban , Chakraborty Gunimala 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Objective The study was designed to investigate the effects of commercially available mosquito repellents on embryonic development of zebrafish.
Materials and Methods Transfluthrin is a type I pyrethroid present in all commercial mosquito and insect repellents. Pyrethrins are neurotoxins that target the nervous system of insects. Three popular brands of liquid vaporizer repellents coded as compound A, B, and C that contained transfluthrin, ranging from 0.88 to 1.6% w/w, were used in this study. The effects of these compounds on the embryonic development of zebrafish were investigated. In addition, the ability of transfluthrin to induce oxidative stress was examined by analyzing the generation of reactive oxygen species in exposed embryos.
Results The exposure to mosquito repellents resulted in extensive morphological defects in zebrafish embryos. The severity of the anomalies correlated with the concentration of transfluthrin in the repellents. Exposure to pure transfluthrin generated high levels of reactive oxygen species in zebrafish embryos, suggesting the induction of oxidative stress.
Conclusion Liquid vaporizer repellents are generally used for control of mosquitos and are common in many households. This study demonstrated that its exposure to mosquito repellents causes severe morphological defects and embryonic lethality in zebrafish. The study also showed that transfluthrin, the active insecticide in these repellents, induces oxidative stress in zebrafish.
Our need for associative coherence
Authors: Afiki Yael , Bar Moshe 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe world around us consists of typical settings manifested as statistical regularities and stored as associations. These associations are beneficial for performance, and we rely on them as a source of stability in our perception of a coherent surrounding. What happens when such associativity is not apparent? We presented pairs of associated images and pairs of non-associated images and compared their corresponding effect on subsequent performance in three different visual perception paradigms: contrast-sensitivity, global vs. local perception, and critical-flicker-fusion. In all three experiments, performance was significantly inferior when preceded by images with no clear associative connection. We propose that these results reflect the need to find coherence in our environment. When such coherence is not easily detected, we seem to persist in seeking for it, which in turn poses a lingering cognitive load that taxes performance even in low-level perception.