bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The construction and visualization of the transmission networks for COVID-19: A potential solution for contact tracing and assessments of epidemics
Authors: Luo Caiying , Ma Yue , Jiang Pei , Zhang Tao , Yin Fei 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
The WHO described coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a pandemic due to the speed and scale of its transmission. Without effective interventions, the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases would greatly increase the burden of clinical treatments. Identifying the transmission sources and pathways is of vital importance to block transmission and allocate limited public health resources. According to the relationships among cases, we constructed disease transmission network graphs for the COVID-19 epidemic through a visualization technique based on individual reports of epidemiological data. We proposed an analysis strategy of the transmission network with the epidemiological data in Tianjin and Chengdu. The transmission networks showed different transmission characteristics. In Tianjin, an imported case can produce an average of 2.9 secondary infections and ultimately produce up to 4 generations of infections, with a maximum of 6 cases generated before being identified. In Chengdu, 45 noninformative cases and 24 cases with vague exposure information made it difficult to provide accurate information by the transmission network. The proposed analysis framework of visualized transmission networks can trace the transmission source and contacts, assess the current situation of transmission and prevention, and provide evidence for the global response and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dercum’s Disease: Estimating the prevalence of a rare painful loose connective tissue disease
Authors: Munguia Natalie Corina , Mozayeni B. Robert , Wright Thomas , Herbst Karen L. 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
In the United States (US), the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 defines a rare disease as affecting less than 200,000 individuals. In Europe, a rare disease or disorder is defined as affecting 5 individuals in 10,000 which the European commission reports to be approximately 246,000 individuals. Dercum’s disease, also known as Adiposis Dolorosa, is a rare loose connective (fat) tissue disease that is characterized by painful lipomas (fatty masses). Orphanet, the National Organization for Rare Disease (NORD) and the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) have classified Dercum’s disease as a rare disorder. The prevalence of Dercum’s disease is not well studied or understood. The objective of this paper is to estimate the prevalence of Dercum’s disease, whether it is in fact a rare disease, and increase awareness for this painful disease.
Results
An in-depth literature review was conducted in PubMed, the UK Biobank, the U.S. Agency for Health Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization, by incidence of disease in medical practice, in social media forums and by internet search in order to understand, estimate and determine the prevalence of Dercum’s disease. The prevalence of Dercum’s disease was found to range from 150 to 150,000 in the US population.
Conclusion
The data collected in this paper meet the requirements of the Orphan Drug Act which requires 200,000 individuals or less to be affected by a disorder for it to be classified as rare. These conclusions may apply to Europe as supporting data was utilized from both Sweden and the UK. Further research must be conducted to better understand subclassifications of this rare disorder.
Correcting the baseline drift without human knowledge
Authors: Liu Yuanjie 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Baseline drift occurs universally in many sorts of analytical chemistry data, such as in MALDI-TOF, Raman, infrared and XRD spectra. In the era of big data, automatic correcting methods are eagerly demanded. However, traditional baseline correction methods are impossible to execute fully automatically. They always depend on some preset parameters. To build parameter-free methods, utilizing current intelligent algorithms is the best choice. However, it is a great challenge to provide a huge number of labeled samples which are required for effective training. In this article, a novel strategy has been developed to train a deep neural network successfully for baseline correction. The impossible mission of preparing millions of manually processed training samples was avoided. Under the new scheme, the power of deep learning was freely applied to achieve straightforward full automation in baseline recognition. Numerical experiments on authentic datasets indicated that the new intelligent model outperformed traditional methods.
Clinical Impact of Hypofractionated Carbon Ion Radiotherapy on Locally Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Shiba Shintaro , Shibuya Kei , Okamoto Masahiko , Okazaki Shohei , Komatsu Shuichiro , Kubota Yoshiki , Nakano Takashi , Ohno Tatsuya 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Background
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) involving a major branch of the portal or hepatic vein is in a locally advanced stage and remains difficult to cure. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of carbon ion radiotherapy (C-ion RT) in locally advanced HCC (LAHCC).
Methods
Consecutive 11 patients with LAHCC who received C-ion RT were analyzed. The C-ion RT doses of 52.8 Gy (relative biological effectiveness [RBE]) and 60.0 Gy (RBE) were delivered in four fractions for standard cases and the 60.0 Gy dose was delivered in 12 fractions for close-to-gastrointestinal-tract cases. Survival and local control probabilities were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Results
The median follow-up duration after C-ion RT was 36.4 months. The median age at the time of registration of C-ion RT was 76 years. The median tumor size was 53 mm. The number of treatment-naïve and recurrent HCC patients was 1 and 10, respectively. Direct invasion of the major branch of the portal vein, hepatic vein, or both the portal and hepatic veins was observed in three, five, and three patients, respectively. The 3-year overall survival, local control, and progression-free survival rates were 64%, 78%, and 18%, respectively. No patient developed radiation-induced liver diseases or grade 3 or higher toxicities of acute and late phases.
Conclusions
C-ion RT showed favorable clinical outcomes with a high rate of local control and minimal toxicities in LAHCC. Our findings suggest that C-ion RT is a promising multidisciplinary treatment option in LAHCC.
Spike protein modeling and single amino acid variant analysis might suggest reduced transmitability of SARS-CoV-2 in Jordan, Middle East
Authors: Al-Zyoud Walid , Haddad Hazem 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Spike protein (approx. 180 kDa) is the surface glycoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) necessary for the interaction of the virus with human endothelial cell receptors on the cell membrane to be engulfed causing COVID-19 disease after binding with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with an evident activation by type II transmembrane protease TMPRSS2 . Therefore, mutations and amino acid variants analysis are essential in characterizing the mechanism of binding of spike protein with its receptor, which totally gives insights on possibilities to design a peptide or nucleotide-based vaccine for COVID-19. Here, we employed Iterative Threading Assembly Refinement (I-TASSER) and Multiple Alignment using Fast Fourier Transform (MAFFT) to predict the three-dimensional structure and to analyze the amino acid variants for spike protein sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from GISAID database of samples collected from Jordan to try to find a justification for low number of confirmed COVID-19 in Jordan, Middle East. Our findings showed the molecules structurally close to the spike glycoprotein from the Enzyme Commission (EC) numbers and active sites included Isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase, Crystal structure of the tricorn protease (hydrolase); Crystal structure of the T. Thermophilus RNA polymerase holoenzyme (transferase); Crystal structure of the complex between pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductase from Desulfovibrio africanus and pyruvate (oxidoreductase); and Reovirus core (virus). Our MAFFT findings showed that Four Amino Acid Variants (SAV) founded in 20 samples of SARS-CoV-2 were not conserved residues in spike glycoprotein. What is equal to 5% of samples showed tyrosine (polar) deletion at Y144 , 62% of samples showed aspartate (polar, acidic) substitution to glycine (nonpolar) at D614G, 5% of samples showed aspartate (polar, acidic) substitution to tyrosine (polar) at D1139Y and 5% of samples showed glycine (nonpolar) substitution to serine (polar) at G1167S respectively. By using Phyre2, our findings have shown lower sensitive mutational that cannot affect the pocket region or alpha and beta-sheet in all mutations except for D614G, which has the highest mutational sensitivity score (5 out of 9) indicating a bigger effect on the function of spike protein. This might suggest, in general, a reduced transmitability of SARS-CoV-2 in Jordan, Middle East. As the crystal structure of spike protein is not revealed yet, it was not possible to compare the predicted modes versus each other.
The relation between ACEI/ARB use and COVID-19 severity in RT-PCR–confirmed cases:&nbsp;A retrospective case-control study
Authors: Amaouche Sabrina , Letaief Ziad , Buls Nico , Allard Sabine , Mey Johan de 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
One hypothesis suggests that patients undergoing Angiotensin Converting Enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or Angitensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) treatment might be at greater risk for severe COVID-19 disease. This retrospective study aims to elucidate whether patients with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)–confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection undergoing ACEI or ARB treatment present with a more severe clinical presentation or more severe lung injury than other patients, as evaluated by CT thorax scans. Comorbidities related to ACEI or ARB use, including arterial hypertension (AHT), heart disease (HD), and diabetes mellitus (DM), were found to be more frequent (p < 0.05 ) in the ACEI or ARB users’ group. The odds ratio of ACEI or ARB users for having a more severe clinical presentation was 1.12 (95% [CI] 0.59–2.13, p = 0.741). For having a severe CT severity score (with a cut-off of 12.5 on a total score of 25), the odds ratio was 1.46 (95% [CI] 0.73–2.94, p = 0.287). Furthermore, the odds ratio of the mortality outcome was 1.1 (95% [CI] 0.49–2.48, p = 0.824). Although the group of ACEI or ARB users had more comorbidities, we found no significant association between CT severity, clinical severity, or mortality and the use of these drugs. These findings bolster the argument against ACEI or ARB withdrawal in COVID-19 patients.
Computational approach for the design of potential spike protein binding natural compounds in SARS- CoV2
Authors: Basu Anamika , Sarkar Anasua , Maulik Ujjwal 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) (EC:3.4.17.23) is a transmembrane protein which is considered as receptor for spike protein binding of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2). Since no specific medication is available to treat COVID-19, designing of new drug is important and essential. In this regard, in silico method plays an important role as it is rapid, cost effective, compared to the trial and error methods using experimental studies. Natural products are safe and easily available to treat coronavirus effected patients, in the present alarming situation. In this paper five phytochemicals which belong to flavonoid and anthraquinone subclass, selected as small molecules in molecular docking study of spike protein of SARS-CoV2 with its human receptor ACE2 molecule. From the detail analysis of their molecular binding site on spike protein binding site with its receptor, hesperidin, emodin and chrysin are selected as competent natural products from both Indian and Chinese medicinal plants, to treat COVID-19.
Bone Marrow Culture Yield for the Diagnosis of Opportunistic Diseases in Patients with AIDS and Disseminated Kaposi Sarcoma
Authors: Cornejo-Juárez P. , Islas-Muñoz B. , Ramírez-Ibargüen A.F. , Rosales-Pedraza G. , Chávez-Mazari B. , Martínez-Orozco A. , Volkow-Fernández P. 
Published: June 2020

Background:Disseminated Kaposi sarcoma (DKS) is present in patients with advanced HIV infection in whom co-infection with other opportunistic pathogens can occur. Bone marrow (BM) aspirate and biopsy comprises a robust diagnostic tool in patients with fever, cytopenias, and abnormal liver tests. However, the yield in patients with DKS has not been determined.Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of BM aspirate and biopsy in patients with DKS.Methods:We included 40 male patients with recent diagnosis of DKS. BM aspirate and biopsy was performed as part of the workup to rule out co-infections.Results:In four patients, Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) was recovered from culture. In another four patients, intracellular yeasts were observed in the Grocott stain, diagnosed as Histoplasma. The yield of BM was calculated in 20%. Only 12 patients (30%) had fever and 11 (27.5%) had pancytopenia. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) above normal values and C-reactive protein (CRP) were higher in patients with positive results for BM than in those with negative results (63% vs. 21.9%, and 3.0 vs. 1.2 mg/L; p = 0.03 in both comparisons). No differences were found on comparing complete blood-count abnormalities.Conclusion:We recommend performing a BM aspirate for stains, culture, and biopsy in all HIV patients with DKS, as this will permit the early diagnosis of co-infections and prevent further complications in those who receive chemotherapy.
Agrochemicals Residues in Human Milk, Scientific Evidence or Overestimated Risk?
Authors: Raimundo Rodrigo D. , da Silva Tamara M. , Ferreira Amanda V. , Santos Bárbara S. , Carvalho Tatiana D. , Fonseca Ricardo L.A. , da Silva Odair R. , Castanha Cyntia S.C. , Daboin Blanca E.G. , Fonseca Fernando L.A. 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Exposures to agrochemicals can be directly through the handling of
chemicals as well as indirectly when consuming food containing residues of them. Such exposure
may affect the health of the population if accumulated in the human body, including in human milk.

Objective:
This literature review aims to assess the potential impact of agrochemical residues in human
milk as a barrier to breastfeeding.

Methods:
The search followed PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta Analyses), by selecting original articles published between 1995 and 2019, extracted
from the free access databases PubMed, Scielo, Web of Sciences and Scopus using as keywords: agrochemicals,
pesticides, breastfeeding, human milk, contamination and infant. Medical Subject Headings
(MeSH) were used as descriptors.

Results:
We selected 11 studies. Taking as inclusion criteria those most aligned with the objective of
our study.

Conclusion:
The studies presented in this review ratified the benefits of breastfeeding compensating
for the potential risks of agrochemical residues in human milk.
Liver Cirrhosis Complications Management at the Emergency Department
Authors: Scarpellini Emidio , Luigiano Carmelo , Svegliati-Baroni Gianluca , Dumitrascu Dan , Larussa Tiziana , Santori Valeria , Luzza Francesco , Abenavoli Ludovico 
Published: June 2020

Background and Aims:
Liver cirrhosis (LC) of any origin has always been a source of
several emergencies for physicians working at the Emergency Department (ER). LC patients can
present with several complications that are sometimes difficult to recognize and treat.

Thus, we reviewed the literature evidence for the diagnosis and management of several LC related
emergencies.

Methods:
We conducted a search on the main medical databases for papers, reviews, metanalyses,
case series, and RCTs using the following keywords and their associations: liver cirrhosis, variceal
hemorrhage, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepato-renal syndrome,
emergency.

Results:
Main LC emergencies are upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage, decompensated ascites and
spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic encephalopathy, hepato-renal syndrome. Their management
is partly medical and interventional. Very often, the final cure of some complications, such as
hepato-renal syndrome, is represented by liver transplantation.

Conclusions:
Although LC prevalence is going to fall in the following years, due to HBV and HCV
optimized treatments, its complications represent a significant admission percentage at the ER and
challenge for physicians’ skills.
Topiramate Decelerates Bicarbonate-Driven Acid-Elimination of Human Neocortical Neurons: Strategic Significance for its Antiepileptic, Antimigraine and Neuroprotective Properties
Authors: Bonnet Udo , Wiemann Martin 
Published: June 2020

Background:
Mammalian central neurons regulate their intracellular pH (pHi) strongly and even slight pHi-fluctuations
can influence inter-/intracellular signaling, synaptic plasticity and excitability.

Objective:
For the first time, we investigated topiramate´s (TPM) influence on pHi- behavior of human central neurons representing a
promising target for anticonvulsants and antimigraine drugs.

Methods:
In slice-preparations of tissue resected from the middle temporal gyrus of five adults with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy, BCECF-AM-loaded neocortical pyramidal-cells were investigated fluometrically. The pHi-regulation was estimated by using the
recovery-slope from intracellular acidification after an ammonium-prepulse (APP).

Results:
Among 17 pyramidal neurons exposed to 50 µM TPM, seven (41.24%) responded with an altered resting-pHi (7.02±0.12),
i.e. acidification of 0.01-0.03 pH- units. The more alkaline the neurons, the greater the TPM-related acidifications (r=0.7, p=0.001,
n=17). The recovery from APP-acidification was significantly slowed under TPM (p<0.001, n=5). Further experiments using nominal
bicarbonate-free (n=2) and chloride-free (n=2) conditions pointed to a modulation of HCO3(-)-driven pHi-regulation by TPM, favoring the stimulation of the passive Cl(-)/HCO3(-)- antiporter (CBT) - an acid-loader predominantly in more alkaline neurons.

Conclusion:
TPM modulated the bicarbonate-driven pHi-regulation just as previously described in adult guinea-pig hippocampal
neurons. We discussed the significance of the resulting subtle acidifications for beneficial antiepileptic, antimigraine and neuroprotective effects as well as for unwanted cognitive deficits.
Study Limitations: Although these results are the only available pHi-measurements of human brain neurons to this issue, to the best
of our knowledge, the study is limited by the small number of cells analyzed due to limited human material. Thus, the results presented here are preliminary data. Greater sample size is required to reach more reliable conclusions.”
The Role of Interferences in the Increasing Incidence of Vitamin D Deficiency
Authors: Gonel Ataman , Kirhan Idris , Koyuncu Ismail , Bayraktar Nihayet , Karadag Mujgan Ercan , Karadag Mehmet 
Published: June 2020

Objective:
Lipemia is one of the causes of interference in immunoassay and LC-MS/MS
methods. Increased prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the US, where obesity is gradually increasing,
raises the suspicion that high levels of fat diet and blood lipid levels interfere with vitamin D
measurement results. The focus of this study was to investigate the effect of blood lipid profiles on
vitamin D results and prevent the matrix effect.

Material and Methods:
In this study, 25OH vitamin D3 (25OHD3) levels of 100 samples consecutively
accepted to biochemistry laboratory regardless of age and sex were measured by the LC-MS/MS
method, and each sample was restudied after 1/10 dilution. After dilution restudy, two groups were
obtained-group 1 (results deviating below 20%) and group 2 (results deviating above 20%)—and the
difference between the groups was investigated. There were 79 patients in group 1 and 21 patients in
group 2. In our study, lipid profiles (triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL) from the same samples
of consecutive vitamin D patients were studied.

Results:
It was observed that the triglyceride, total cholesterol HDL, LDL, and 25OHD3 measurements
of group 1 and group 2 were similar (p > 0.05). While the mean vitamin D value in the second
group was 9.94 ± 7.85, the mean vitamin D value after dilution was measured as 39.23 ± 18.13 and
was statistically significant. 25OHD3 concentrations of 21 patients out of 100 were found to be falsely
low. Measurements were repeated to confirm the results.

Conclusion:
The matrix effect caused by exogenous and endogenous interferences in the blood could
be a hidden factor increasing the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency by causing falsely low 25OHD3
values. Suspicious results should be remeasured by a dilution study.
Legal Issues and Challenges in Managing Kuala Lumpur as a Tourism Destination: A case study of the Silang Street
Authors: Sulaiman Siti Sarah , Rahmat Nur Ezan , Azizun Najwa 
Published: June 2020

Kuala Lumpur is a historical city with heritage significance for tourism destination. However, the heritage significance of the city may be challenged by several issues. One of which is the number of immigrants who have manipulated business activities in the busy street which is known as Silang Street. The issue of immigrants at Silang Street is not only on the matter of licence to operate business, but also involved the immigration aspect. This paper highlights the challenges faced by the stakeholders in regulating business activities conducted by the immigrants at Silang Street and possible improvements are suggested.
Keywords: heritage; Kuala Lumpur; legal issues; tourism destination.
eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5iSI1.2321
Securing Proprietary Rights for Buyers of Unascertained Fungible Goods in a Bulk in Malaysia
Authors: Chuah John  Chong Oon , Khalid Azlena 
Published: June 2020

The research aims to ascertain the most effective methods to protect the rights of buyers of unascertained fungible goods who have paid under a contract of sale subject to the Malaysian Sale of Goods Act 1957. The research method is doctrinal. The findings reveal that in the event the seller becomes insolvent, the buyer as unsecured creditors would need to compete with the other creditors for the price of the goods. The trust device and the adoption of section 20A and 20B of the English Sale of Goods Act 1979 could provide adequate protection by conferring proprietary rights to buyers.
Keywords: Contract; Sale of unascertained goods; Proprietary rights; Trusts.
eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5iSI1.2323