bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Relative transmissibility of shigellosis among male and female individuals: a modeling study in Hubei Province, China
Authors: Zhao Ze-Yu , Chen Qi , Zhao Bin , Hannah Mikah Ngwanguong , Wang Ning , Wang Yu-Xin , Xuan Xian-Fa , Rui Jia , Chu Mei-Jie , Yu Shan-Shan , Wang Yao , Liu Xing-Chun , An Ran , Pan Li-Li , Chiang Yi-Chen , Su Yan-Hua , Zhao Ben-Hua , Chen Tian-Mu 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundDeveloping countries exhibit a high disease burden from shigellosis. Owing to the different incidences in males and females, this study aims to analyze the features involved in the transmission of shigellosis among male (subscriptm) and female (subscriptf) individuals using a newly developed sex-based model.MethodsThe data of reported shigellosis cases were collected from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention in Hubei Province from 2005 to 2017. A sex-based Susceptible–Exposed–Infectious/Asymptomatic–Recovered (SEIAR) model was applied to explore the dataset, and a sex-age-based SEIAR model was applied in 2010 to explore the sex- and age-specific transmissions.ResultsFrom 2005 to 2017, 130 770 shigellosis cases (including 73 981 male and 56 789 female cases) were reported in Hubei Province. The SEIAR model exhibited a significant fitting effect with the shigellosis data (P <  0.001). The median values of the shigellosis transmission were 2.3225 × 108forSARmm(secondary attack rate from male to male), 2.5729 × 108forSARmf, 2.7630 × 10-8forSARfm, and 2.1061 × 10-8forSARff. The top five mean values of the transmission relative rate in 2010 (where the subscript 1 was defined as male and age ≤ 5 years, 2 was male and age 6 to 59 years, 3 was male and age ≥ 60 years, 4 was female and age ≤ 5 years, 5 was female and age 6 to 59 years, and 6 was male and age ≥ 60 years) were 5.76 × 10-8forβ61, 5.32 × 10-8forβ31, 4.01 × 10-8forβ34, 7.52 × 10-9forβ62, and 6.04 × 10-9forβ64.ConclusionsThe transmissibility of shigellosis differed among male and female individuals. The transmissibility between the genders was higher than that within the genders, particularly female-to-male transmission. The most important route in children (age ≤ 5 years) was transmission from the elderly (age ≥ 60 years). Therefore, the greatest interventions should be applied in females and the elderly.
Simultaneous detection of EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII variant using digital PCR-based method in glioblastoma
Authors: Fontanilles Maxime , Marguet Florent , Ruminy Philippe , Basset Carole , Noel Adrien , Beaussire Ludivine , Viennot Mathieu , Viailly Pierre-Julien , Cassinari Kevin , Chambon Pascal , Richard Doriane , Alexandru Cristina , Tennevet Isabelle , Langlois Olivier , Di Fiore Frédéric , Laquerrière Annie , Clatot Florian , Sarafan-Vasseur Nasrin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractEpidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification and EGFR variant III (EGFRvIII, deletion of exons 2–7) are of clinical interest for glioblastoma. The aim was to develop a digital PCR (dPCR)-based method using locked nucleic acid (LNA)-based hydrolysis probes, allowing the simultaneous detection of the EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII variant. Sixty-two patients were included. An exploratory cohort (n = 19) was used to develop the dPCR assay using three selected amplicons within the EGFR gene, targeting intron 1 (EGFR1), junction of exon 3 and intron 3 (EGFR2) and intron 22 (EGFR3). The copy number of EGFR was estimated by the relative quantification of EGFR1, EGFR2 and EGFR3 amplicon droplets compared to the droplets of a reference gene. EGFRvIII was identified by comparing the copy number of the EGFR2 amplicon to either the EGFR1 or EGFR3 amplicon. dPCR results were compared to fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and next-generation sequencing for amplification; and to RT-PCR-based method for EGFRvIII. The dPCR assay was then tested in a validation cohort (n = 43). A total of 8/19 EGFR-amplified and 5/19 EGFRvIII-positive tumors were identified in the exploratory cohort. Compared to FISH, the EGFR3 dPCR assay detected all EGFR-amplified tumors (8/8, 100%) and had the highest concordance with the copy number estimation by NGS. The concordance between RT-PCR and dPCR was also 100% for detecting EGFRvIII using an absolute difference of 10.8 for the copy number between EGFR2 and EGFR3 probes. In the validation cohort, the sensitivity and specificity of dPCR using EGFR3 probes were 100% for the EGFR amplification detection compared to FISH (19/19). EGFRvIII was detected by dPCR in 8 EGFR-amplified patients and confirmed by RT-PCR. Compared to FISH, the EGFR2/EGFR3 dPCR assay was estimated with a one-half cost value. These results highlight that dPCR allowed the simultaneous detection of EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII for glioblastoma.
Characterising cellular and molecular features of human peripheral nerve degeneration
Authors: Wilcox Matthew B. , Laranjeira Simão G , Eriksson Tuula M. , Jessen Kristjan R. , Mirsky Rhona , Quick Tom J. , Phillips James B. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractNerve regeneration is a key biological process in those recovering from neural trauma. From animal models it is known that the regenerative capacity of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) relies heavily on the remarkable ability of Schwann cells to undergo a phenotypic shift from a myelinating phenotype to one that is supportive of neural regeneration. In rodents, a great deal is known about the molecules that control this process, such as the transcription factors c-Jun and early growth response protein 2 (EGR2/KROX20), or mark the cells and cellular changes involved, including SOX10 and P75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR). However, ethical and practical challenges associated with studying human nerve injury have meant that little is known about human nerve regeneration.The present study addresses this issue, analysing 34 denervated and five healthy nerve samples from 27 patients retrieved during reconstructive nerve procedures. Using immunohistochemistry and Real-Time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR), the expression of SOX10, c-Jun, p75NTR and EGR2 was assessed in denervated samples and compared to healthy nerve. Nonparametric smoothing linear regression was implemented to better visualise trends in the expression of these markers across denervated samples.It was found, first, that two major genes associated with repair Schwann cells in rodents, c-Jun and p75NTR, are also up-regulated in acutely injured human nerves, while the myelin associated transcription factor EGR2 is down-regulated, observations that encourage the view that rodent models are relevant for learning about human nerve injury. Second, as in rodents, the expression of c-Jun and p75NTR declines during long-term denervation. In rodents, diminishing c-Jun and p75NTR levels mark the general deterioration of repair cells during chronic denervation, a process thought to be a major obstacle to effective nerve repair. The down-regulation of c-Jun and p75NTR reported here provides the first molecular evidence that also in humans, repair cells deteriorate during chronic denervation.
Analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of stem bark of Anogeissus latifolia Roxb
Authors: Sharma Vikas Chandra , Kaushik Atul , Dey Yadu Nandan , Srivastava Bhavana , Wanjari Manish , Jaiswal Bhagat 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackgroundStem bark ofAnogeissus latifoliaRoxb (family: Combretaceae) is used traditionally and ethnomedicinally to alleviate pain, inflammation and fever conditions. The current study investigates the analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities of ethanolic extract of stem bark ofAnogeissus latifoliaRoxb.MethodThe HPLC studies were carried out to standardize the stem bark ethanolic extract ofAnogeissus latifolia(ALEE) using ellagic acid as a marker. ALEE was screened for analgesic (formalin-induced pain and acetic acid induced writhing) and anti-inflammatory (formalin and carrageenan-induced paw oedema) activities in Wistar rats. Before 1 h of acetic acid or formalin or carrageenan injection, rats were orally fed with ALEE (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg), Aspirin (100 mg/kg) or Indomethacin (10 mg/kg). Antipyretic effect was studied in brewer’s yeast-induced pyrexia model in rats using Paracetamol (100 mg/kg) as a standard drug.ResultsHPLC analysis of ALEE revealed the presence of ellagic acid. ALEE treatment (200 and 400 mg/kg) significantly inhibited pain response in both models. ALEE treatments prevented the raise of paw volume in both in-vivo models with percent inhibition of 44.40 and 46.21, respectively at 5 h. ALEE also showed a significant reduction of yeast-induced pyrexia till 4 h of treatment.ConclusionALEE exhibited analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic property in experimental models and validates traditional use of ALEE in pain, inflammation and fever.
“PROUD to have been involved”: an evaluation of participant and community involvement in the PROUD HIV prevention trial
Authors: Gafos Mitzy , South Annabelle , Hanley Bec , Brodnicki Elizabeth , Hodson Matthew , McCormack Sheena , Witzel T. Charles , Harbottle Justin , Vale Claire 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background
The PROUD trial, a HIV prevention trial in men who have sex with men and trans women, set out to involve community representatives and trial participants in several ways. PROUD also aimed to evaluate participant involvement, to learn lessons and make recommendations for future clinical trials.

Methods
Two structured surveys, one of participant and community representatives involved in the PROUD study, and the other of researchers from the PROUD team, were carried out in 2017. The results from the surveys were reviewed quantitatively and qualitatively, and themes emerging from the data identified and synthesised.

Results
Survey invitations were sent to 88 involved participants, 11 community representatives and 10 researchers. The overall response rate was 55% (60/109). Overall, participants were younger than community representatives, and the majority were from Greater London. As expected, participants were predominantly involved in participant involvement meetings and community representatives in management committees.
Participants and community representatives cited different motivations for getting involved in PROUD. Overall, participants were positive about their involvement; only two participants rated their experience unfavourably. Community representatives were also broadly positive. Most participants and all community representatives felt their involvement made a difference to the trial, themselves and / or the organisations they represented. However, some participant answers reflected the impact of participation in the trial rather than involvement in PPI activities.
Researchers felt that PPI had positive impact across the entire trial cycle. Half felt they would have liked there to have been more PPI activity in PROUD. Researchers noted some challenges and recommendations for the future, including need for adequate funding, more engagement in PPI by all researchers, the need for PPI expertise to facilitate involvement activities and training and mentoring in PPI.

Conclusions
Involving clinical trial participants and wider community representatives as active partners in PPI is feasible and valuable in trials. Researchers are encouraged to consider and appropriately resource participant involvement and prospectively evaluate all PPI within their trials.
Deep learning detection and quantification of pneumothorax in heterogeneous routine chest computed tomography
Authors: Röhrich Sebastian , Schlegl Thomas , Bardach Constanze , Prosch Helmut , Langs Georg 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Background
Automatically detecting and quantifying pneumothorax on chest computed tomography (CT) may impact clinical decision-making. Machine learning methods published so far struggle with the heterogeneity of technical parameters and the presence of additional pathologies, highlighting the importance of stable algorithms.

Methods
A deep residual UNet was developed and evaluated for automated, volume-level pneumothorax grading (i.e., labelling a volume whether a pneumothorax was present or not), and pixel-level classification (i.e., segmentation and quantification of pneumothorax), on a retrospective series of routine chest CT data. Ground truth annotations were provided by radiologists. The fully automated pixel-level pneumothorax segmentation method was trained using 43 chest CT scans and evaluated on 9 chest CT scans with pixel-level annotation basis and 567 chest CT scans on a volume-level basis.

Results
This method achieved a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98, an average precision of 0.97, and a Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) of 0.94. This segmentation performance resulted to be similar to the inter-rater segmentation accuracy of two radiologists, who achieved a DSC of 0.92. The comparison of manual and automated pneumothorax quantification yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.996. The volume-level pneumothorax grading accuracy was evaluated on 567 chest CT scans and yielded an AUC of 0.98 and an average precision of 0.95.

Conclusions
We proposed a deep learning method for the detection and quantification of pneumothorax in heterogeneous routine clinical data that may facilitate the automated triage of urgent examinations and enable treatment decision support.
Presence of VEGF-R3 in the serum of metastatic malignant melanoma patients: Relationship with clinicobiological parameters
Authors: Mouawad R. , Meric J. , Spano J. , Khayat D. , Auclerc G. , Rixe O. , Soubrane C. 
Published: April 2020

18004 Background: The presence of metastases is a strong indicator of poor survival in many types of cancer. It has recently been shown that vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C), and its receptor Flt-4 (VEGF-R3) are increased in a variety of tumours and may play a pivotal role in the promotion of metastasis. We previously demonstrated that high soluble VEGF-C level was correlated to high tumor burden. Objectives: This study was designed to i) detect and evaluate whether soluble VEGF-R3 play a role in metastatic malignant melanoma patients ii) to determine if they have any relationship with clinicobiological parameters, clinical response and survivals. Methods: Using a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, VEGF-R3 was retrospectively measured in sera of 60 patients with a fully documented history of melanoma disease in comparison with 30 healthy controls. Disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from the beginning of treatment until either the progression (DFS) or death (OS) and analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Pretreatment circulating VEGF-R3 was detectable in all samples from either melanoma patients or healthy donors. Furthermore, median level of sVEGF-R3 was significantly higher (p = 0.000015) in melanoma patients as compared to healthy donors. (38890 vs 30773 pg/ml respectively). No significant association was noted between sVEGF-R3 levels and gender, age or LDH level. Median serum VEGF-R3 level was significantly higher in patients with high tumor burden as compared to patients with low tumor burden (p = 0.045). The pretreatment sVEGF-R3 level was significantly different (p = 0.025) between responder (n = 27) and non-responding patients (n = 33). Lastly, the relapse-free survival was higher in the group with low sVEGF-R3 concentration compared to the high one’s (14.1 vs 11,9 months) as well as for OS (14.3 Vs 12.6 months) but theses differences were not significant (χ2 = 2,30, p = 0.12 & χ2 = 0.74, p = 0.37 respectively). Conclusion: these results suggest that high pretreatment sVEGF-R3 level is related to bad prognosis in melanoma patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Health-care utilization and cost for the treatment of melanoma in the six months following diagnosis
Authors: Taylor D. C. , Zhou Z. , Haider S. , Thompson D. 
Published: April 2020

18005 Background: The objective of this study was to use a 5% sample of Medicare claims data to estimate health-care utilization and cost for the treatment of melanoma. Methods: Data for this study were obtained from national administrative Medicare files. Adult patients were selected for the analysis if they were newly diagnosed with melanoma between July 1, 1999 and June 30, 2001. Patients with diagnoses of other cancers prior to melanoma as well as those who did not have data available for at least six months of continuous follow-up were excluded from the analysis. Patients were identified as having Stage 0-II or Stage III-IV melanoma based on the absence or receipt, respectively, of lymph node dissection, chemotherapy, and/or radiation therapy. Study measures included the type, cost, and duration of melanoma treatment. Results: A total of 1,465 patients were identified for the study, including 1,291 with Stage 0-II melanoma and 174 with Stage III-IV melanoma. The mean age was 73.9 years, 54% were female. Overall, 98.3% of patients underwent a surgical procedure, 3.1% underwent chemotherapy, 2.3% had inpatient treatment, 1.2% received radiation, and 1.5% had home health treatment for melanoma in the first six months after diagnosis. Corresponding percentages by disease stage were 100%, 0%, 1.2%, 0%, and 0.9% for Stage 0-II patients, and 85.6%, 25.9%, 10.9%, 10.3%, and 6.3% for Stage III-IV patients. The average total six-month Medicare cost of care was $2,395 ($2,065 outpatient, $330 inpatient) per patient; the average per-patient cost of care was $1,402 ($1,292 outpatient, $110 inpatient) for Stage 0-II patients and was $9,756 ($7,800 outpatient, $1,956 inpatient) for Stage III-IV patients. Conclusions: Treatment costs for melanoma are substantial in the first six months following diagnosis, especially for those patients with Stage III-IV disease. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Oblimersen in combination with dacarbazine prolongs prognostic factor-adjusted overall survival
Authors: Haluska F. G. , Bedikian A. Y. , Pavlick A. C. , Millward M. , Gore M. , Pehamberger H. , Trefzer U. , Eggermont A. 
Published: April 2020

18006 Backgound: In a stratified randomized study comparing dacarbazine (DTIC) and oblimersen (Obl) with DTIC alone in metastatic melanoma, overall survival (OS) was increased in the Obl+DTIC group (P = .077). We report results from a multivariate analysis, including prognostic factors. Methods: The study enrolled 771 patients; 2.2% data were missing. Stratification factors included elevated LDH (>1.1 ULN), performance status (PS) >0, and metastatic site (MET): MET A = liver, MET B = other visceral, MET C = skin, subcutaneous, or lymph nodes only. Each stratification factor was evaluated using monovariate analysis for treatment interaction. Cox model included treatment, any identified factor, gender, or interaction term for OS and progression-free survival (PFS), and a logistic regression for response rate (RR). Results: The stratification factor with the greatest impact on survival was elevated LDH (HR 2.212, P < .0001), followed by PS > 0 (HR 1.497, P < .0001), MET A (HR 1.456, P < .0001), and MET C (HR 0.670, P < .0004). Interaction significance between treatment and LDH, PS, MET A, and MET C were 0.023, NS (0.279), NS (0.419), and NS (0.329), respectively. MET B was used as the reference category for MET A and MET C. Conclusion: As expected, all stratification factors were prognostic, with LDH being the most important factor (HR 2.2). The addition of Obl to DTIC treatment improved outcomes for all efficacy end points. A statistical interaction between Obl treatment and LDH was found for survival. Multivariate analysis was significant in all efficacy end points. Patients with abnormal baseline LDH, already understood to have a poor prognosis, were unlikely to benefit from this therapy and should not be included in future trials of combination oblimersen treatments. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.
YKL-40 expression in naevocellular naevi, carcinomas and melanomas of the skin
Authors: Schmidt H. , Roslind A. , Johansen J. S. , Nielsen D. L. , Price P. A. , Balslev E. 
Published: April 2020

18019 Background: Elevated serum levels of the protein YKL-40 are associated with a poor prognosis in several solid tumors including melanoma (H. Schmidt, JCO 2006, Cancer 2006 in press). YKL-40 is secreted by cancer cells, macrophages and neutrophils. The function of YKL-40 is only poorly understood. It may be a growth or differentiation factor, play a role in angiogenesis or protect against apoptosis. The aim was to describe the tissue expression of YKL-40 in naevocellular naevi, carcinomas and melanomas of the skin by immunohistochemistry. Methods: Paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 40 patients with different naevocellular naevi, carcinomas and melanomas of the skin were developed with EnVision+ System-HRP K4007 (DakoCytomation) using a monoclonal antibody against YKL-40. The intensity of YKL-40 staining was scored using a semi-quantitative method. Results: YKL-40 protein expression appeared as a cytoplasmic, granular staining with no staining of membranes, nuclei or extracellular matrix. In normal skin the basal epithelial layer stained weakly positive. Melanocytes and melanophages stained negative. Macrophages and leucocytes stained positive. Hair follicles, sebaceous glands and sweat glands stained positive. Three basal cell carcinomas all stained positive. In 10 squamous cell carcinomas, the epidermal components stained positive and the invasive tumor islands were negative. In 3 keratoacanthomas, the epithelial components as well as the infiltrative tumor islands stained positive. In naevi (2 junctional, 5 compound and 1 intradermal) the epithelial components stained positive, the intradermal components stained negative. In melanomas the tumor cells stained positive in 9 of 10 specimens. Both the epidermal and the invasive components of melanomas stained positive. Three melanoma metastases all stained positive. Conclusions: YKL-40 is expressed in normal skin and in benign and malignant lesions of the skin. Generally, YKL-40 expression is increased in cells of high activity, although the invasive tumor islands of squamous cell carcinomas stain negative. In melanomas, the tumor cells may be a source of the elevated YKL-40 serum levels observed in these patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.