bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Safety and Homing of Human Dental Pulp Stromal Cells in Head and Neck Cancer
Authors: Merckx Greet , Monaco Melissa Lo , Lambrichts Ivo , Himmelreich Uwe , Bronckaers Annelies , Wolfs Esther 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) is one of the most common cancers, associated with a huge mortality and morbidity. In order to improve patient outcomes, more efficient and targeted therapies are essential. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSCs) express tumour homing capacity, which could be exploited to target anti-cancer drug delivery to the tumour region and reduce adverse side-effects. Nevertheless, dental pulp stromal cells (DPSCs), an MSC-like population present in teeth, could offer important clinical benefits because of their easy isolation and superior proliferation compared to BM-MSCs. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the tumour homing and safe usage of DPSCs to treat HNC. Methods: The in vivo survival as well as the effect of intratumourally administered DPSCs on tumour aggressiveness was tested in a HNC xenograft mouse model by using bioluminescence imaging (BLI), (immuno)histology and qRT-PCR. Furthermore, the in vitro and in vivo tumour homing capacity of DPSCs towards a HNC cell line were evaluated by a transwell migration assay and BLI, respectively. Results: Intratumourally injected DPSCs survived for at least two weeks in the tumour micro-environment and had no significant influence on tumour morphology, growth, angiogenesis and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. In addition, DPSCs migrated towards tumour cells in vitro, which could not be confirmed after their in vivo intravenous, intraperitoneal or peritumoural injection under the tested experimental conditions. Conclusions: Our research suggests that intratumourally delivered DPSCs might be used as safe factories for the continuous delivery of anti-cancer drugs in HNC. Nevertheless, further optimization as well as efficacy studies are necessary to understand and improve in vivo tumour homing and determine the optimal experimental set-up of stem cell-based cancer therapies, including dosing and timing.
Quantitative Effect of Metal Artefact Reduction on CT-Based Attenuation Correction in FDG PET/CT in Patients With Hip Prosthesis
Authors: Haemels Maarten , Vandendriessche Delphine , De Geeter Jeroen , Velghe James , Vandekerckhove Maxence , De Geeter Frank Willem 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background Metal artefact reduction (MAR) techniques still are in limited use in positron emission tomography / computed tomography (PET/CT). This study aimed to investigate the effect of Smart MAR on quantitative PET analysis in the vicinity of hip prostheses.Material and methods Activities were measured on PET/CT images in 6 sources with 10-fold activity concentration contrast to background, attached to the head, neck and the major trochanter of a human cadaveric femur, and in the same sources in similar locations after a hip prosthesis (titanium cup, ceramic head, chrome-cobalt stem) had been inserted into the femur. Measurements were compared between PET attenuation corrected using either conventional or MAR CT. In 46 patients harbouring 61 hip prostheses, standardized uptake values (SUV) in 6 periprosthetic regions and the bladder, were compared between PET attenuation corrected with either conventional or MAR CT. Results Using conventional CT, measured activity decreased from 2 to 13% when the prosthesis was inserted. Use of MAR CT increased measured activity by up to 11 12% compared with conventional CT and reduced the relative difference with the reference values to under 5% in all sources.In all regions, to the exception of the prosthesis shaft, SUVmean increased significantly (p<0.001) by use of MAR CT. Median (interquartile range) percentual increases of SUVmean were 1.9 (0.0-4.5), 3.9 (1.8-7.8), 7.0 (3.4-11.1), 1.7 (0.9-3.7), 1.5 (0.8-3.3) in acetabulum, lateral neck, medial neck, lateral diaphysis and medial diaphysis, respectively. Except for the shaft, the coefficient of variation did not increase significantly. Except for the erratic changes in the prosthesis shaft, decreases of SUVmean were rare and small. Bladder SUVmean increased by 1% in patients with unilateral and by 4% in patients with bilateral prosthesis. Conclusions In a realistic hip prosthesis phantom, Smart MAR restores quantitative accuracy by recovering counts in underestimated sources. In patient studies, Smart MAR increases SUV in all areas surrounding the prosthesis, most markedly in the femoral neck region. This proves that underestimation of activity is the most prevalent metal artefact in hip prostheses. Smart MAR increases SUV in the urinary bladder, indicating effects at a distance from the prosthesis.
Measuring The Impact of Spatial Perturbations on The Relationship Between Data Privacy and Validity of Descriptive Statistics
Authors: Broen Kelly , Trangucci Rob , Zelner Jon 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Background: Like many scientific fields, epidemiology is addressing issues of research reproducibility. Spatial epidemiology, which often uses the inherently identifiable variable of participant address, must balance reproducibility with participant privacy. In this study, we assess the impact of several different data perturbation methods on key spatial statistics and patient privacy. Methods: We analyzed the impact of perturbation on spatial patterns in the full set of address- level mortality data from Lawrence, MA during the period from 1911-1913. The original death locations were perturbed using seven different published approaches to stochastic and deterministic spatial data anonymization. Key spatial descriptive statistics were calculated for each perturbation, including changes in spatial pattern center, Global Moran’s I, Local Moran’s I, distance to the k-th nearest neighbors, and the L-function (a normalized form of Ripley’s K). A spatially adapted form of k-anonymity was used to measure the privacy protection conferred by each method, and the its compliance with HIPAA privacy standards. Results: Random perturbation at 50 meters, donut masking between 5 and 50 meters, and Voronoi masking maintain the validity of descriptive spatial statistics better than other perturbations. Grid center masking with both 100x100 and 250x250 meter cells led to large changes in descriptive spatial statistics. None of the perturbation methods adhered to the HIPAA standard that all points have a k-anonymity > 10. All other perturbation methods employed had at least 265 points, or over 6%, not adhering to the HIPAA standard. Conclusions: Using the set of published perturbation methods applied in this analysis, HIPAA- compliant de-identification was not compatible with maintaining key spatial patterns as measured by our chosen summary statistics. Further research should investigate alternate methods to balancing tradeoffs between spatial data privacy and preservation of key patterns in public health data that are of scientific and medical importance.
Transforming Acidic Coiled-coil Protein-3: A Novel Marker for Differential Diagnosis and Prognosis Prediction in Endocervical Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Wen YanLin , Yan Shu-Mei , Wei Wei , Yang Xia , Zhang Shi-Wen , Yun Jing-Ping , Liu Li-Li , Luo Rong-Zhen 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
BackgroundEndocervical adenocarcinoma (ECA) is classified as human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated (HPVA) or non-HPVA (NHPVA) type in the International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification (IECC). Of them, HPVA is recognized as the representative ECA subtype, which is related to typical molecular characteristics. Transforming acidic coiled-coil protein-3 (TACC3) is an oncogene with frequent abnormal expression, and it also represents a vital biomarker for various human malignancies. This work aimed to examine the role of TACC3 in the diagnosis and prognosis of ECA. MethodsWe analyzed 264 ECA patients who underwent surgical resection, and tumors were classified into HPVA and NHPVA subtypes. The expression levels of TACC3, P16, MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, MSH6, Ki-67 in tumor were evaluated on tissue microarray by immunohistochemistry (IHC). HPV subtypes were detected on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) ECA tissues by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). ResultsAs suggested by IHC, ECA samples showed increased TACC3 level relative to related non-carcinoma samples. TACC3 expression was also elevated in HPVA compared with NHPA. In HPVA subtype, high TACC3 expression was significantly correlated with P16-positive, Ki-67-high expression. Furthermore, TACC3 level was remarkably related to the histological type (P=0.006), nerve invasion (P=0.003), differentiation (P=0.004), surgical margin (P=0.012), parametrium invasion (P=0.040), Ki-67 (P=0.004) and P16 (P=0.000). Besides, upon Kaplan-Meier analysis, the up-regulated TACC3 was tightly related to the poor overall survival (OS, P= 0.001), disease-free survival (DFS, P< 0.001) as well as recurrence survival (P< 0.001). Moreover, upon multivariate analysis, the elevated TACC3 level served as the marker to independently predict ECA prognosis. ROC curve analyses indicate that TACC3, P16 and HPV subtype showed similar results for distinguishing HPVA from NHPVA, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.640, 0.649 and 0.675, respectively. The combination of TACC3 and HPV subtypes improved diagnostic performance for ECA compared with TACC3, P16 and HPV subtype alone.ConclusionsTaken together, findings in this work reveal that TACC3 may be used as the new biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of ECA.
Development and Validation of A Competitive ELISA Based on Virus-Like Particles of Serotype Senecavirus A to Detect Serum Antibodies
Authors: Bai Manyuan , Wang Rui , Sun Shiqi , Zhang Yun , Dong Hu , Guo Huichen 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are high-priority antigens with highly ordered repetitive structures, which are similar to natural viral particles. We have developed a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) for detecting antibodies directed against Senecavirus A (SVA). Our assay utilizes SVA VLPs that were expressed and assembled in an Escherichia coli expression system as the coating antigens. VLPs have better safety and immunogenicity than intact viral particles or peptides. The VLP-based cELISA was used to test 342 serum samples collected from different pig farms, and the results showed that its specificity and sensitivity were 100% and 94%, respectively. The consistency rates of cELISA with the BIOSTONE AsurDx™ Senecavirus A (SVA) Antibody Test Kit and an indirect immunofluorescent assay were 90.0% and 94.2%, respectively. Therefore, this VLP-based cELISA can be effectively and reliably used for the detection and discrimination of SVA infection in serum samples.
Molecular Characterization of Echovirus 30 Isolated from Environment in North India
Authors: Tiwari Sarika , Dhole Tapan N 
Published: September 2020

Abstract
BackgroundEchovirus 30 (E30) causes acute aseptic meningitis. Enteroviruses (EVs) are responsible for 30,000 to 50,000 hospitalizations for aseptic meningitis per year in the United States. E30 is one of the most frequently isolated EVs, causing extensive outbreaks in temperate climates in several countries. MethodsE30 used in this study was isolated from environmental specimens. The virus was confirmed by RT-PCR with specific primers (1). Virus stock was prepared by infecting RD cells in 25 cm2 flasks (Corning Inc. USA). Virus infected and mock infected cells were incubated at 36.5 ºC with 2% MEM. After 48 h of infection, the culture was aliquoted and kept at-80 ºC for further use.ResultsThis present work analyzed the E30 genetic diversity in a fragment of 217 nucleotides of the VP1 region, of environmental strains. The environmental samples of echovirus 30 show mutation in the nonfunctional polyprotein protein (Fig. 1). The result suggested that the information may be obtained by analyzing only a part of the VP1 region.ConclusionThe present study showed that the E30 environmental sample is more divergent to prototype Bastianni strain.
Association between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Bone Mineral Density in HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Long-term TDF-Based Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Xu Zhijie , He Pengyuan , Xian Jianzhong , Lu Wuzhu , Shu Jingxian , Luo Wentao , Gan Chongjie , Ke Ruoman , Xia Jinyu , Han Zongping , Huang Mingxing 
Published: September 2020

Background:
Tenofovir (TDF) has a detrimental effect on bone mineral density (BMD),
while nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with a lower BMD.

Objective:
To help understand the mutual effects of NAFLD and TDF on BMD, this study was designed
to explore the potential association between NAFLD and BMD in HIV-infected patients receiving
long-term TDF-based antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods:
A total of 89 HIV-infected patients who received TDF-based ART for more than three
years were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. We measured BMD using an ultrasonic bone density
apparatus, and liver ultrasonography was performed to determine the severity of the fatty liver.
The association of NAFLD with BMD was examined using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results:
Patients with NAFLD showed a worse BMD status than those without NAFLD. The incidence
rates of osteopenia (42.86% versus 25.93%) and osteoporosis (17.14% versus 3.70%) were
significantly higher in HIV-infected patients with NAFLD than in those without NAFLD. After
multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio (OR) for patients with NAFLD exhibiting a worse BMD status
compared with those without NAFLD was 4.49 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.42, 14.15).

Conclusion:
Based on our results, NAFLD was significantly associated with a worse BMD status,
including osteopenia and osteoporosis, in HIV patients after receiving long-term TDF-based ART.
Furthermore, we may want to avoid using TDF for ART in HIV-infected patients with NAFLD.
Computational Insights into the Structure and Dynamics of the Human Serotonin Transporter N-Terminus by Microsecond Molecular Dynamics
Authors: Draga Sorin , Olariu Laura , Avram Speranta 
Published: September 2020

Background:
The human serotonin transporter is an important drug target for the treatment
of various medical conditions of which depression is the most important, but also include attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, social anxiety disorder and irritable bowel syndrome,
among others. The transmembrane portion of the human transporter has been studied extensively
and was first crystalized in 2016. However, the dynamical nature of the N-terminal segment
of protein and its post-translational modifications remain insufficiently explored.

Objective:
The present study aims to evaluate the structure and dynamics of the N-terminal segment
of the human serotonin transporter and the presence and stability of possible secondary structure
elements along with its post-translational modifications and disorder propensity.

Methods:
The segment was investigated using a combination of bioinformatics tools for physicochemical
characterization, secondary structure prediction, post-translational modifications and disorder
prediction, followed by ab initio modeling and microsecond long explicit solvent molecular
dynamics.

Results:
Our study reveals the presence of metastable secondary structure elements, namely two alpha helices and a beta-sheet, throughout the molecular dynamics run and identifies numerous sites with high probability for post-translational mod-ifications.

Conclusion:
Our results show that, despite the intrinsically unstructured nature, the N-terminus
adopts a stable conformation with stable secondary structure elements, that could indicate an important
functional role for the segment. Also, there is a high probability that the segment undergoes
multiple post-translational modifications.
Perspectives of Infrared Spectroscopy in Quantitative Estimation of Proteins
Authors: Verma Kritika , Semwal Ankit , Soni Pankaj , Bhatia Rohit 
Published: September 2020

Background:
Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a well-established technique for the structural
elucidation of simple as well complex molecules. It has wide applications in the qualitative as
well as quantitative determination of proteins in different samples. It provides a clear picture of the
primary, secondary, or tertiary structure of a protein. Infrared radiations are used to assess different
vibrational modes arise from variations in the structural components of a protein.

Methods:
Various research reports were collected from search engines like Sciencedirect, Pubmed, Researchgate and
Google Scholar. These were further studied thoroughly and important findings/data were compiled and represented with the
help of tables and figures. The procured data which includes band width, frequency and intensity has been employed to
elucidate the structure of a protein.

Results:
It was found from various reports that fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) has been widely utilized for
prediction of secondary structure of protein in the past few years. FTIR has the ability to trace out various structural
modifications in the protein structure which arise due to interactions with other materials. It is also evident it can be utilized
to quantify the proteins in variety of samples.

Conclusion:
The present review describes the basic principle and the instrumentation of IR spectroscopy along with its
advancements. Beyond this, various applications of this technique in determination of protein structure and quantification
in different materials such as foods stuffs, biotechnological products and biological fluids have also been summarized.
PsePSSM-based Prediction for the Protein-ATP Binding Sites
Authors: Qian Li , Jiang Yu , Xuan Yan Yu , Yuan Chen , SiQiao Tan 
Published: September 2020

Background:
Predicting the protein-ATP binding sites is a highly unbalanced binary classification
problem, and higher precision prediction through the machine learning methods is of great significance
to the researches on proteins’ functions and the design of drugs.

Objective:
Most existing researches typically select 17aa as the length of window by experience, and
extract features by the Position-specific Scoring Matrix (PSSM), and then construct models predicting
with SVC. However, the independent prediction values obtained in these researches are either over-high
(ACC) or lower (MCC), and there is therefore a larger improvement room in the prediction precision.

Methods:
This paper utilizes the mutual information, I, to define the window length of 15aa, and the
Pseudo Position Specific Scoring Matrix (PsePSSM), which is more fault-tolerance, to extract the features,
and then train multiple 1:1 SVC classifiers to model, and finally perform the simple votings.

Results:
The prediction results over two protein-ATP binding site datasets, the ATP168 and the
ATP227, are totally superior to the independent prediction results obtained in the Reference Feature Extraction
Approach. And in our approach, the MCC values are respectively improved, from the range of
0.3110 ~ 0.5360 and the range of 0.3060 ~ 0.553, to 0.7512 and 0.7106.

Conclusion:
Further, we explain why the PsePSSM approach is more fault-tolerance. This approach
has a promising application prospect in the feature-extraction of protein sequences.
Study and Development of an Anthroposophical Formula Based on Phosphorus and Formica rufa for Onychomycosis´s Treatment
Authors: Rodrigues Ana Maria , de Figueiredo Sônia Maria , La Santrer Emanoelle Fernandes Rutren , Assunção Claudia Barbosa , Soares de Abreu Amanda Gabrielle , Johann Susana , Caligiorne Rachel Basques 
Published: September 2020

:
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nail plate or nail bed that leads to the gradual
destruction of the nail. The main difficulties in the treatment of onychomycosis refer to the duration
of treatments and their side effects. Thus, it becomes relevant to look for new therapeutic alternatives
in the treatment of such common diseases that are efficient without causing the undesirable
side effects on the patient's body. In this way, the objective of this study was to develop an anthroposophical
formula for the treatment of onychomycosis, based on Phosphorus and Formica rufa,
from an extensive bibliographic survey on the functions of these components, evaluating within the
principles of Anthroposophy. Considering the set of knowledge and practices on the use of these
components, it was possible to arrive at a proposal therapy that can be effective for the treatment of
onychomycosis. After an extensive review of several existing patents, it was observed that formulations
containing Phosphorus and Formica rufa together have not been described in other studies.
Subsequently, our research group published a patent of the anthroposophical formula using these
two components, with the number BR1020180750755, which will be efficient to help the recovery
of nails, and facilitate normal growth.
Evaluation of the Knowledge and Awareness of Dental Patients in Saudi Arabia on Periodontal Health and Diseases
Authors: Allam Eman , Alshibani Nouf , Alshibani Yara , Alkattan Reem 
Published: September 2020

Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the periodontal health knowledge and awareness among a cohort of dental patients in Saudi Arabia.

Methods:
One thousand adult patients attending King Khaled University Hospital and the Dental Hospital, King Saud University, in Riyadh, KSA, were recruited to the study. The subjects completed a questionnaire that aimed to evaluate their level of awareness on etiology, risk factors, and preventive measures related to periodontal disease.

Results:
The study sample showed adequate awareness and general knowledge on signs and symptoms of periodontal diseases as well as risk factors for their development. Data also suggested great knowledge of oral hygiene measures for maintaining good oral hygiene. However, a low level of awareness was reported for the exact etiology of periodontal disease, as indicated by the fact that about 65% of respondents did not know or declined the fact that plaque causes periodontal disease. The participants also demonstrated a low level of awareness of the association between periodontal diseases and systemic conditions, such as coronary heart diseases and premature birth.

Conclusion:
The results of this study showed extensive variations and knowledge gaps between different aspects related to periodontal disease. In order for comprehensive oral health educational programs to be effective and to achieve their goals, they should be designed to fulfill these knowledge gaps and tailored to target the areas of least awareness, such as etiology and systemic conditions association.
Misinformation About COVID-19 and Confidential Information Leakage: Impacts on the Psychological Well-being of Indians
Authors: Borra Surekha , Dey Nilanjan 
Published: September 2020

:
Misinformation, in most cases, is the reconfigured content using basic tools. Fake information
related to casualties, infections, contacts, lockdowns, investments, exam schedules, and
immigration, leads to confusion, fears, phobophobia, discrimination, harassment, physical injuries,
deaths, financial damages, reputational losses, and many more long-lasting side effects.

Objective:
The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the many ways in which misinformation
and information leakage related to COVID-19 can influence the stakeholders, such that it gives
policymakers and citizens a greater understanding of both direct and indirect risks and harms when
assessing the challenges their countries are facing.

Methods:
An extensive literature review was done on the prevalence of the COVID-19 related misinformation
and its associated significant psychological, reputational, physical, and societal implications
on Indians. The novel and possible approaches to fight against the misinformation are described.