bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drug level testing as a strategy to determine eligibility for drug resistance testing after failure of ART: a retrospective analysis of South African adult patients on second‐line ART
Authors: Hermans Lucas E , Steegen Kim , ter Heine Rob , Schuurman Rob , Tempelman Hugo A , Moraba Robert , van Maarseveen Erik , Nijhuis Monique , Pillay Taryn , Legg‐E’Silva Derryn , Snyman Tracy , Schapiro Jonathan M , Burger David M , Carmona Sergio , Wensing Annemarie MJ 
Published: June 2020

Abstract
IntroductionWhen protease inhibitor (PI)‐based second‐line ART fails, guidelines recommend drug resistance testing and individualized third‐line treatment. However, PI‐resistant viral strains are rare and drug resistance testing is costly. We investigated whether less costly PI‐exposure testing can be used to select those patients who would benefit most from drug resistance testing.MethodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of South African adults living with HIV experiencing failure of ritonavir‐boosted‐lopinavir (LPV/r)‐based second‐line ART for whom drug resistance testing results were available. We included patients who received plasma‐based drug resistance testing at a central South African reference laboratory in 2017 and patients who received dried blood spots (DBS)‐based drug resistance testing at a rural South African clinic between 2009 and 2017. PI‐exposure testing was performed on remnant plasma or DBS using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS). Additionally, a low‐cost immunoassay was used on plasma. Population genotypic drug resistance testing of the pol region was performed on plasma and DBS using standard clinical protocols.ResultsSamples from 544 patients (494 plasma samples and 50 DBS) were included. Median age was 41.0 years (IQR: 33.3 to 48.5) and 58.6% were women. Median HIV‐RNA load was 4.9 log10 copies/mL (4.3 to 5.4). Prevalence of resistance to the NRTI‐backbone was 70.6% (349/494) in plasma samples and 56.0% (28/50) in DBS. Major PI‐resistance mutations conferring high‐level resistance to LPV/r were observed in 26.7% (132/494) of plasma samples and 12% (6/50) of DBS. PI‐exposure testing revealed undetectable LPV levels in 47.0% (232/494) of plasma samples and in 60.0% (30/50) of DBS. In pooled analysis of plasma and DBS samples, detectable LPV levels had a sensitivity of 90% (84% to 94%) and a negative predictive failure of 95% (91% to 97%) for the presence of major LPV/r resistance.ConclusionsPI‐exposure testing revealed non‐adherence in half of patients experiencing failure on second‐line ART and accurately predicted the presence or absence of clinically relevant PI resistance. PI‐exposure testing constitutes a novel screening strategy in patients with virological failure of ART that can differentiate between different underlying causes of therapy failure and may allow for more effective use of limited resources available for drug resistance testing.
The denticle surface of thresher shark tails: Three‐dimensional structure and comparison to other pelagic species
Authors: Popp Meagan , White Connor F. , Bernal Diego , Wainwright Dylan K. , Lauder George V. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractShark skin denticles (scales) are diverse in morphology both among species and across the body of single individuals, although the function of this diversity is poorly understood. The extremely elongate and highly flexible tail of thresher sharks provides an opportunity to characterize gradients in denticle surface characteristics along the length of the tail and assess correlations between denticle morphology and tail kinematics. We measured denticle morphology on the caudal fin of three mature and two embryo common thresher sharks (Alopias vulpinus), and we compared thresher tail denticles to those of eleven other shark species. Using surface profilometry, we quantified 3D‐denticle patterning and texture along the tail of threshers (27 regions in adults, and 16 regions in embryos). We report that tails of thresher embryos have a membrane that covers the denticles and reduces surface roughness. In mature thresher tails, surfaces have an average roughness of 5.6 μm which is smoother than some other pelagic shark species, but similar in roughness to blacktip, porbeagle, and bonnethead shark tails. There is no gradient down the tail in roughness for the middle or trailing edge regions and hence no correlation with kinematic amplitude or inferred magnitude of flow separation along the tail during locomotion. Along the length of the tail there is a leading‐to‐trailing‐edge gradient with larger leading edge denticles that lack ridges (average roughness = 9.6 μm), and smaller trailing edge denticles with 5 ridges (average roughness = 5.7 μm). Thresher shark tails have many missing denticles visible as gaps in the surface, and we present evidence that these denticles are being replaced by new denticles that emerge from the skin below.
Higher levels of IL‐6 early after tocilizumab distinguish survivors from nonsurvivors in COVID‐19 pneumonia: A possible indication for deeper targeting of IL‐6
Authors: Quartuccio Luca , Sonaglia Arianna , Pecori Davide , Peghin Maddalena , Fabris Martina , Tascini Carlo , De Vita Salvatore 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIntroductionThe most serious COVID‐19 deriving from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 causes a cytokine release storm and it is associated with worse outcomes. In COVID‐19 patients, interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) levels are significantly elevated. Blocking IL‐6 preliminarily resulted in the improvement of this hyperinflammatory state. It is unknown which patients could require higher doses of tocilizumab to get out of the cytokine storm.Materials and MethodsTwenty‐four patients affected by COVID‐19 pneumonia were included. All the patients underwent tocilizumab 8 mg/kg intravenously and were tested for serum IL‐6 24 to 48 hours before and 12 to 48 hours after tocilizumab infusion. Comparisons between survivors and nonsurvivors were performed.ResultsEighteen patients were discharged, while six patients died, with no clinical or laboratory differences between the two groups at baseline. IL‐6 was not different at baseline (P = .41), while 24 to 48 hours post‐tocilizumab IL‐6 serum levels were significantly higher in nonsurvivors than in survivors (2398.5 [430.5‐9372] vs 290.5 [58.5‐1305.5] pg/mL, P = .022). Serum IL‐6 post‐tocilizumab showed a good predictive ability to discriminate survivors from nonsurvivors (area under the curve, 0.815; 95% confidence interval, 0.63‐0.99, P = .02).ConclusionRepeated measurement of the serum level of IL‐6 early after tocilizumab may distinguish nonsurvivors from survivors and support the choice of deeper targeting IL‐6 in COVID‐19 pneumonia.
Variable step size fractional incremental conductance for MPPT under changing atmospheric conditions
Authors: Usman Khan Fahad , Gulzar Muhammad Majid , Sibtain Daud , Usman Hafiz Muhammad , Hayat Aamir 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThis paper presents a new modified variable step size Fractional Order Incremental Conductance (FOIC) with maximum power point tracking using Fractional Order PID controller tuned by bio‐inspired Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to find optimal gain values of fractional integrator order (λ) and fractional derivative order (μ). The classical incremental conductance and FOIC show drawbacks under changing irradiance, oscillation around maximum power point (MPP) which decreases its convergence speed. To resolve these prone a variable step size FOIC is proposed to achieve an adaptive duty cycle via tuning of FOPID through PSO. The robustness of the proposed technique is judged by its steady‐state and dynamic response with fast converges, less response time, overshoot, and ripples under changing environmental conditions. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed technique is evaluated by comparing it with a fixed step size conventional incremental conductance algorithm and FOIC.
Changes and uncertainties of surface mean temperature over China under global warming of 1.5 and 2°C
Authors: Wu Fangying , You Qinglong , Zhang Ziyin , Zhang Ling 
Published: June 2020

AbstractChina has experienced rapid warming in recent decades and is projected to warm at similar rates throughout the remainder of this century. In this study, the projected changes and uncertainties of surface mean temperature over China and four subregions (Northern China, Northwestern China, Southern China, and Tibetan Plateau) are investigated under global warming of 1.5 and 2°C above pre‐industrial levels under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios from 21 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) model simulations and their multimodel ensemble mean (MMEM). In comparison with the observations over China, the most CMIP5 models can capture the observed warming patterns while the MMEM of surface mean temperature has a cold bias. Under global warming of 1.5/2°C, the MMEM of surface mean temperature over China, Northern China, Northwestern China, Southern China, and Tibetan Plateau under RCP4.5 (RCP8.5) will increase by 1.82/2.6°C (1.83/2.52°C), 1.8/2.57°C (1.85/2.56°C), 1.99/2.76°C (1.97/2.76°C), 1.43/2.13°C (1.43/2.04°C), and 2.11/2.96°C (2.1/2.85°C), respectively. This study suggests that surface mean temperature over China will exceed the 1.5 and 2°C target earlier than the global mean, with the earlier regions over the Tibetan Plateau. Under global warming of 1.5 and 2°C, the model uncertainty is the dominant source over China and four subregions, followed by both internal variability and scenario uncertainty. Future work should improve climate model simulations and reduce the uncertainty over China before investigating warming changes and patterns under different global warming levels.
A Systematic Review of the Self‐Medication Hypothesis in the Context of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Problematic Alcohol Use
Authors: Hawn Sage E. , Cusack Shannon E. , Amstadter Ananda B. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly co‐occur and are associated with many negative public health outcomes. There are several etiological models that explain the overlap between PTSD and AUD, including shared genetic risk and phenotypic causality, but the predominant model of etiologic association is the drinking‐to‐cope self‐medication model. Although the self‐medication model is conceptually appealing and has been widely accepted within the literature examining alcohol use and anxiety (e.g., PTSD) phenotypes, the findings are inconsistent and there is a lack of rigorous empirical evidence in support of this model. This review, which was, to our knowledge, the first systematic review of the self‐medication model in relation to PTSD to date, aimed to synthesize the current literature on the association between PTSD and problematic alcohol use within the context of the self‐medication model. In total, 24 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review and assessed the self‐medication hypothesis using a variety of measurement instruments and data analytic approaches, such as mediation, moderation, and regression. Overall, the included studies provide evidence for the self‐medication hypothesis but are limited in rigor due to methodological limitations. These limitations, which include issues with the operationalization (or lack thereof) of trauma‐related drinking to cope, are discussed, and directions for future research are presented.
Retracted: The Impact of Treatment Description Format on Patient Preferences for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment
Authors: Harik Juliette M. , Grubbs Kathleen M. , Hamblen Jessica L. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe present study examined how the format in which treatment information is presented impacts individuals’ preferences for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatments. Adults who screened positive for PTSD (N = 301) were randomized into groups to learn about five first‐line treatments; participants either read sequential text descriptions or reviewed a comparison chart that presented side‐by‐side information. Participants rated treatment acceptability, rank ordered treatments from most to least preferred, and indicated their confidence in this ranking. Compared with participants in the text group, those in the chart group assigned more favorable acceptability ratings to prolonged exposure therapy (PE) and more moderate ratings to medications. Cognitive processing therapy was the most common first‐choice treatment (43.6%). Forced‐choice treatment rankings were similar across conditions, although participants in the chart group ranked PE more favorably than those in the text group, odds ratio (OR) = 0.54, 95% CI [0.35, 0.82], p = .004. Confidence in treatment rankings did not differ across conditions. The results suggest that perceptions of treatment acceptability can be influenced by the format in which treatment information is presented. In settings where the goal is to increase treatment acceptability, side‐by‐side formats may offer an advantage over sequential descriptions of each treatment.
Micro‐Transfer‐Printed III‐V‐on‐Silicon C‐Band Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers
Authors: Haq Bahawal , Kumari Sulakshna , Van Gasse Kasper , Zhang Jing , Gocalinska Agnieszka , Pelucchi Emanuele , Corbett Brian , Roelkens Gunther 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe micro‐transfer‐printing of prefabricated C‐band semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) on a silicon waveguide circuit is reported. The SOAs are 1.35 mm in length and 40 µm in width. Dense arrays of III‐V SOAs are fabricated on the source InP wafer. These can then be micro‐transfer‐printed on the target SOI photonic circuits in a massively parallel fashion. Additionally, this approach allows for greater flexibility in terms of integrating different epitaxial layer structures on the same SOI waveguide circuit. The technique allows integrating SOAs on a complex silicon photonic circuit platform without changing the foundry process‐flow. Two different SOA designs with different optical confinement factor in the quantum wells of the III‐V waveguide are discussed. This allows tuning the small‐signal gain and output saturation power of the SOA. The design with higher optical confinement in the quantum wells has a small‐signal gain of up to 23 dB and an on‐chip saturation power of 9.2 mW at 140 mA bias current and the lower optical confinement factor design has a small‐signal gain of 17 dB and power saturation of 15 mW at 160 mA of bias current.
Hydrogen‐induced stress corrosion cracking studied by the novel tuning‐fork test method
Authors: Latypova Renata , Nyo Tun Tun , Kauppi Timo , Pallaspuro Sakari , Mehtonen Saara , Hänninen Hannu , Kömi Jukka 
Published: June 2020

AbstractA novel tuning‐fork test method was developed to study hydrogen‐induced stress corrosion cracking of high‐strength steels. Special tuning‐fork specimens are designed to enable accurate stress adjustment via constant displacement under cathodic hydrogen charging conditions. In this study, the testing method is further developed, making the potentiostatic hydrogen charging possible through the modifications of the corrosion cell. Different direct‐quenched, low‐ and medium‐carbon steel grades, with a hardness range of 300–550 HBW, are investigated with both galvanostatic and potentiostatic hydrogen charging techniques. For each steel grade, the lowest fracture stress and highest no‐fracture stress are determined. Both hydrogen charging techniques produce similar results, and it is observed that the fracture stress decreases with the increase in hardness. However, the potentiostatic technique produces larger differences between the lowest fracture stress results, thus having a better resolution.
Hydrogel Synthesis and Stabilization via Tetrazine Click‐Induced Secondary Interactions
Authors: Holt Samantha E. , Rakoski Amanda , Jivan Faraz , Pérez Lisa M. , Alge Daniel L. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe discovery of tetrazine click‐induced secondary interactions is reported as a promising new tool for polymeric biomaterial synthesis. This phenomenon is first demonstrated as a tool for poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel assembly via purely non‐covalent interactions and is shown to yield robust gels with storage moduli one to two orders of magnitude higher than other non‐covalent crosslinking methods. In addition, tetrazine click‐induced secondary interactions also enhance the properties of covalently crosslinked hydrogels. A head‐to‐head comparison of PEG hydrogels crosslinked with tetrazine‐norbornene and thiol‐norbornene click chemistry reveals an approximately sixfold increase in storage modulus and unprecedented resistance to hydrolytic degradation in tetrazine click‐crosslinked gels without substantial differences in gel fraction. Molecular dynamic simulations attribute these differences to the presence of secondary interactions between the tetrazine‐norbornene cycloaddition products, which are absent in the thiol‐norbornene crosslinked gels.
A 5‐Year Longitudinal Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3
Authors: Piccinin Camila Callegari , Rezende Thiago Junqueira Ribeiro , de Paiva Jean Levi Ribeiro , Moysés Pedro Cury , Martinez Alberto Rolim Muro , Cendes Fernando , França Marcondes Cavalcante 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe natural history of neurodegeneration in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado Joseph disease is still unclear. Here, we built a long‐term longitudinal clinical and neuroimaging study to address this point.MethodsTwenty‐three patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado Joseph disease and 22 healthy controls underwent 3T MRI twice 5.0 years apart. T1 and diffusion tensor imaging sequences were obtained. We used T1 multiatlas, diffusion tensor imaging multiatlas, SpineSeg, and CERES‐SUIT for cerebral gray and white matter, spinal cord and cerebellar analyses, respectively. Clinical severity was assessed with scale for assessment and rating of ataxia. Analysis of covariance evaluated longitudinal between‐group changes. Effect sizes were calculated for each significant result.ResultsProgressive volumetric abnormalities were most evident in the cerebellum (Lobule X and Crus II; effect size, 2.0), followed by the basal ganglia (effect size, 0.7). The cerebellar peduncles had the largest white‐matter diffusivity changes (effect size, 1.29). Scale for assessment and rating of ataxia–related effect size was 0.82. We failed to identify progressive spinal cord abnormalities.ConclusionsLongitudinal changes in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado Joseph disease are more evident in the cerebellum and connections, followed by the basal ganglia. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
MeteoExplorer: Visual data analysis software for atmospheric and geoscientists
Authors: Yu Lianqing 
Published: June 2020

AbstractOver recent years, several visualization tools that offer advanced three‐dimensional (3D) rendering techniques, while still showing good performance for large data sets, have been developed. However, how to provide an intuitive way to combine traditional two‐dimensional (2D) methods essential in operational weather forecasting and new 3D techniques welcomed in atmospheric research is not fully investigated, if not overlooked, in these tools. The paper presents MeteoExplorer: a software tool designed to analyse and visualize atmospheric and geoscience data. It consists of a developer‐orientedcross‐platform foundation framework and several applications built upon the framework. The framework is developed with C++ on the central processing unit side and shader languages on the graphics processing unit (GPU) side. Modules in the framework are loosely coupled with minimum interdependencies to facilitate code reuse and improve code efficiency. Compared with other software tools, the framework provides distinctive features, including a unified framework that integrates both 2D and 3D rendering context, comprehensive support of popular data formats and computing platforms, decent rendition quality via the export of vector graphics and page layout customization, and interactive composition of synoptic charts. Based on the foundation libraries, the software can develop web, desktop and mobile applications for meteorological purposes. These applications support the analysis and visualization of numerous data set types, as well as the interactive content creation. MeteoExplorer is an exploratory project that provides forecasters with new techniques for climate diagnosis and forecasts.
Dysregulated expression of androgen metabolism genes and genetic analysis in hypospadias
Authors: Chen Zhongzhong , Lin Xiaoling , Wang Yaping , Xie Hua , Chen Fang 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe aberrant expression of genes involved in androgen metabolism and genetic contribution are unclear in hypospadias.MethodsWe compared gene expression profiles by RNA sequencing from five non‐hypospadiac foreskins, five mild hypospadiac foreskins, and five severe hypospadiac foreskins. In addition, to identify rare coding variants with large effects on hypospadias risk, we carried out whole exome sequencing in three patients in a hypospadias family.ResultsThe average expression of androgen receptor (AR) and CYP19A1 were significantly decreased in severe hypospadias (p < .01) and mild hypospadias (p < .05), whereas expression of several other androgen metabolism enzymes, including CYP3A4, HSD17B14, HSD3B7, HSD17B7, CYP11A1 were exclusively significantly expressed in severe hypospadias (p < .05). Compound rare damaging mutants of AR gene with HSD3B1 and SLC25A5 genes were identified in the different severe hypospadias.ConclusionsIn conclusion, our findings demonstrated that dysregulation of AR and CYP19A1 could play a crucial role in the development of hypospadias. Inconsistent AR expression may be caused by the feedback loop of ESR1 signaling or combined genetic effects with other risk genes. This findings complement the possible role of AR triggered mechanism in the development of hypospadias.
Regularized minimal residual method for permittivity reconstruction in microwave imaging
Authors: Magdum Amit , Erramshetty Mallikarjun , Jagannath Ravi Prasad K. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIn this paper, a regularized reconstruction based on the minimal residual method is proposed for microwave imaging applications. The method provides optimum regularization parameter to estimate the distribution of permittivity values of unknown scatterers under test. Initially, the method is applied to Born approximated linear model for weak scatterers. The performance of this approach is compared with the commonly adopted Morozov's discrepancy principle used in conjunction with the Tikhonov regularization. The effectiveness of the method is assisted by simulating the various numerical examples of synthetic and experimental data. The results of numerical simulations validate that the proposed method is highly effective. Thereafter, a non‐linear inverse problem based on the inexact Newton method is examined for the estimation of strong scatterers. Here also, the proposed method is found to be helpful in terms of improving the image accuracy.