bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Improvement of conjunctival cytological grade and tear production in Ankylosing Spondylitis patients under TNF inhibitors: a long-term follow-up
Authors: Usuba Fany Solange , Saad Carla Gonçalves Schahin , Aikawa Nadia Emi , Novaes Priscila , Moraes Julio Cesar Bertacini , Santo Ruth Miyuki , Carvalho Jozelio Freire , Bonfá Eloisa , Alves Milton Ruiz 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDry eye disease can compromise the patient’s quality of life. Few studies assessed the ocular surface (OS) in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) patients. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and cytological findings of the OS in patients with AS, classify dry eye disease (DED) severity grade and conjunctival impression cytology (IC), and the effects of TNF inhibitors (TNFi) in a one-year follow-up. A baseline (BL) evaluation included 36 AS patients and 39 healthy controls. They fulfilled the Ocular Surface Index Disease questionnaire and underwent the Schirmer I test, break-up time, vital staining, and conjunctival IC. A DED severity grade, as well as IC rating, was applied. Fourteen of these patients received TNFi and analysis of ocular and systemic AS disease parameters occurred at BL and three months (3 M), and 12 months (12 M) after treatment. The AS patients presented a higher frequency of DED (p = 0.01), a worse score of severity (p = 0.001), and a higher frequency of altered IC (p = 0.007) when compared to controls. The 14 patients under TNFi presented an improvement in all the clinical disease activity parameters throughout the one-year treatment (p < 0.05) even as a concomitant increase in the Schirmer test (p = 0.04), and a significant amelioration in the altered IC to a normal IC (p = 0.006). DED is a frequent and under-diagnosed ocular disease in AS patients. The long-term parallel improvement of disease activity and OS parameters in AS patients receiving TNFi suggests that the OS can be an additional target of systemic inflammation in AS.
Uncoupled phytoplankton-bacterioplankton relationship by multiple drivers interacting at different temporal scales in a high-mountain Mediterranean lake
Authors: Durán-Romero Cristina , Medina-Sánchez Juan Manuel , Carrillo Presentación 
Published: January 2020

AbstractGlobal-change stressors act under different timing, implying complexity and uncertainty in the study of interactive effects of multiple factors on planktonic communities. We manipulated three types of stressors acting in different time frames in anin situexperiment: ultraviolet radiation (UVR); phosphorus (P) concentration; temperature (T) in an oligotrophic Mediterranean high-mountain lake. The aim was to examine how the sensitivity of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton to UVR and their trophic relationship change under nutrient acclimation and abrupt temperature shifts. Phytoplankton and bacteria showed a common pattern of metabolic response to UVR × P addition interaction, with an increase in their production rates, although evidencing an inhibitory UVR effect on primary production (PP) but stimulatory on bacterial production (HBP). An abrupt T shift in plankton acclimated to UVR and P addition decreased the values of PP, evidencing an inhibitory UVR effect, whereas warming increased HBP and eliminated the UVR effect. The weakening of commensalistic and predatory relationship between phyto- and bacterioplankton under all experimental conditions denotes the negative effects of present and future global-change conditions on planktonic food webs towards impairing C flux within the microbial loop.
Rumor Propagation is Amplified by Echo Chambers in Social Media
Authors: Choi Daejin , Chun Selin , Oh Hyunchul , Han Jinyoung , Kwon Ted “Taekyoung” 
Published: January 2020

AbstractSpreading rumors on the Internet has become increasingly pervasive due to the proliferation of online social media. This paper investigates how rumors are amplified by a group of users who share similar interests or views, dubbed as an echo chamber. To this end, we identify and analyze ‘rumor’ echo chambers, each of which is a group of users who have participated in propagating common rumors. By collecting and analyzing 125 recent rumors from six popular fact-checking sites, and their associated 289,202 tweets/retweets generated by 176,362 users, we find that the rumors that are spread by rumor echo chamber members tend to be more viral and quickly propagated than those that are not spread by echo chamber members. We propose the notion of an echo chamber network that represents relations among rumor echo chambers. By identifying the hub rumor echo chambers (in terms of connectivity to other rumor echo chambers) in the echo chamber network, we show that the top 10% of hub rumor echo chambers contribute to propagation of 24% rumors by eliciting more than 36% of retweets, implying that core rumor echo chambers significantly contribute to rumor spreads.
The response of glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible biotypes of Echinochloa colona to carbon dioxide, soil moisture and glyphosate
Authors: Mollaee Mahboobeh , Mobli Ahmadreza , Chauhan Bhagirath Singh 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPhysiological and growth responses of two AustralianEchinochloa colonabiotypes (glyphosate-resistant and susceptible, produced from a single population) to different concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) (ambient ~450 ppm and elevated ~750 ppm) and soil moisture (well-watered and water-stressed) were analyzed. Elevated CO2and well-watered conditions resulted inE. colonaplants with greater biomass, height and numbers of tillers and leaves in both biotypes; however, no significant response was observed for seed production or the amount of photosynthesis pigments with increasing CO2at both soil moisture levels. In addition, water availability was more influential for growth than CO2concentration. The mean shoot biomass of the susceptible biotype under elevated CO2and well-watered conditions was significantly greater than the resistant biotype. Although the susceptible biotype showed more vegetative and reproductive growth than the resistant biotype, no significant difference was observed for seed production between the biotypes in the water-stressed condition. In a second experiment, different doses of glyphosate (0, 180, 360, 720 and 1440 g a.e ha−1) were applied to both biotypes grown at two soil moisture levels (well-watered and water-stressed). In the water-stressed condition, glyphosate efficacy was decreased in both biotypes. The resistant biotype in the well-watered condition had only 19% survival at 1440 g ha−1glyphosate (double the recommended rate), but this value increased in the water-stressed condition by 62%. Our study suggests that future climate change can affect the physiological and growth processes of weeds and their responses to herbicides. Knowledge of their adapting behaviors will be critical to weed management strategies.
Combined spatiotemporal and frequency-dependent shear wave elastography enables detection of vulnerable carotid plaques as validated by MRI
Authors: Marlevi David , Mulvagh Sharon L. , Huang Runqing , DeMarco J. Kevin , Ota Hideki , Huston John , Winter Reidar , Macedo Thanila A. , Abdelmoneim Sahar S. , Larsson Matilda , Pellikka Patricia A. , Urban Matthew W. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractFatal cerebrovascular events are often caused by rupture of atherosclerotic plaques. However, rupture-prone plaques are often distinguished by their internal composition rather than degree of luminal narrowing, and conventional imaging techniques might thus fail to detect such culprit lesions. In this feasibility study, we investigate the potential of ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to detect vulnerable carotid plaques, evaluating group velocity and frequency-dependent phase velocities as novel biomarkers for plaque vulnerability. In total, 27 carotid plaques from 20 patients were scanned by ultrasound SWE and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). SWE output was quantified as group velocity and frequency-dependent phase velocities, respectively, with results correlated to intraplaque constituents identified by MRI. Overall, vulnerable lesions graded as American Heart Association (AHA) type VI showed significantly higher group and phase velocity compared to any other AHA type. A selection of correlations with intraplaque components could also be identified with group and phase velocity (lipid-rich necrotic core content, fibrous cap structure, intraplaque hemorrhage), complementing the clinical lesion classification. In conclusion, we demonstrate the ability to detect vulnerable carotid plaques using combined SWE, with group velocity and frequency-dependent phase velocity providing potentially complementary information on plaque characteristics. With such, the method represents a promising non-invasive approach for refined atherosclerotic risk prediction.
Effect of Audiovisual Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Feedback Device on Improving Chest Compression Quality
Authors: Lin Chia-Ying , Hsia Shao-Hsuan , Lee En-Pei , Chan Oi-Wa , Lin Jainn-Jim , Wu Han-Ping 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe one month survival rate after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in the paediatric population remains low. Improving survival in paediatric OHCA by enhancing the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is important. In this study, we aimed to analyse the factors associated with CPR quality by using a real-time feedback device. Participants were prospectively divided into 4 groups: paediatric research fellows, paediatric residents, medical students (clerks), and paediatric critical care nurses. Then, the participants were asked to perform 5 cycles of CPR on a paediatric simulation manikin without prompts from feedback devices, and to repeat another 5 cycles of CPR after education with the 2015 paediatric advanced life support guidelines. A total of 75 participants were evaluated. In the overall analysis, an improvement in the percentage of participants meeting the target compression rate was observed (from 49.82% to 71.23%, P  < 0.001). The percentage of participants achieving the target compression depth improved from 73.77% to 85.63% (P = 0.005). Among the 4 groups, the residents showed the most significant improvement in both compression rate (from 48.41% to 86.57%, P < 0.001) and compression depth (from 63.50% to 95.57%, P < 0.001). Inappropriate rate was a more important factor resulting in inadequate CPR performance than inappropriate depth. An excessive compression rate was also a common problem. In conclusions, the real-time CPR feedback device may help clinical physicians and nurses in improving the quality of chest compression. Excessive CPR compression rate may be a major cause of inadequate CPR performance.
Simultaneous piezoelectric noninvasive detection of multiple vital signs
Authors: Allataifeh Areen , Al Ahmad Mahmoud 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe monitoring of vital signs plays a key role in the diagnosis of several diseases. Piezoelectric sensors have been utilized to collect a corresponding representative signal from the chest surface. The subject typically needs to hold his or her breath to eliminate the respiration effect. This work further contributes to the extraction of the corresponding representative vital signs directly from the measured respiration signal. The contraction and expansion of the heart muscles, as well as the respiration activities, will induce a mechanical vibration across the chest wall. The induced vibration is then captured by the piezoelectric sensor placed at the chest surface, which produces an electrical output voltage signal conformally mapped with the respiration-cardiac activities. During breathing, the measured voltage signal is composed of the cardiac cycle activities modulated along with the respiratory cycle activity. A representative model that incorporates the cardiac and respiratory activities is developed and adopted. The piezoelectric and the convolution theories along with Fourier transformation are applied to extract the corresponding cardiac activity signal from the respiration signal. All the results were validated step by step by a conventional apparatus, with good agreement observed.
Enhancement of FAK alleviates ventilator-induced alveolar epithelial cell injury
Authors: Fang Mingxing , Liu Na , Yao Xiaoguang , Xu Tieling , Wang Zhiyong 
Published: January 2020

AbstractMechanical ventilation induces lung injury by damaging alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), but the pathogenesis remains unknown. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase that is involved in cell growth and intracellular signal transduction pathways. This study explored the potential role of FAK in AECs during lung injury induced by mechanical ventilation. High-volume mechanical ventilation (HMV) was used to create a mouse lung injury model, which was validated by analysis of lung weight, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and histological investigation. The expression of FAK and Akt in AECs were evaluated. In addition, recombinant FAK was administered to mice via the tail vein, and then the extent of lung injury was assessed. Mouse AECs were cultured in vitro, and FAK expression in cells under stretch was investigated. The effects of FAK on cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis were investigated. The results showed that HMV decreased FAK expression in AECs of mice, while FAK supplementation attenuated lung injury, reduced protein levels/cell counts in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and decreased histological lung injury and oedema. The protective effect of FAK promoted AEC proliferation and migration and prevented cells from undergoing apoptosis, which restored the integrity of the alveoli through Akt pathway. Therefore, the decrease in FAK expression by HMV is essential for injury to epithelial cells and the disruption of alveolar integrity. FAK supplementation can reduce AEC injury associated with HMV.
Risk factors of adjacent segmental fractures when percutaneous vertebroplasty is performed for the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures
Authors: Liang Xinjie , Zhong Weiyang , Luo Xiaoji , Quan Zhengxue 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe study aimed to analyze the radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings that might predict the risk for adjacent segmental fractures (ASFs) when percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) is used for the treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fractures (OTFs). A total of 92 OTFs patients who underwent PV between January 2013 and January 2015 were retrospectively reviewed. The visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry-Disability Index (ODI) and radiolographic measurements were assessed. The VAS and ODI scores improved significantly at the final follow-up (FU) compared with the preoperation scores. Compared with the preoperative values, the fractured body alignment (FBA) significantly improved at the 3-month FU and the final FU, but the adjacent segment alignment (ASA) and thoracolumbar alignment (TLA) did not improve. According to the correlation analysis, the final FU TLA and the final FU ASA were correlated with the preoperative FBA, ASA, and TLA on plain radiography and were highly correlated on MRI. However, the final FU FBA was not correlated with the preoperative FBA, ASA, or TLA on plain radiography or MRI (P > 0.05). The ASFs were correlated with the 3-month FU TLA (r = 0.6044, P = 0.0037) and the final FU TLA (r = 0.5699, P = 0.007) on plain radiography, and the final TLA was more correlated with the preoperative FBA, ASA, and TLA on MRI than on plain radiography. In conclusion, the preoperative ASA and TLA on MRI were risk factors associated with ASFs in OTFs treated with PV.
A C-terminal Pfs48/45 malaria transmission-blocking vaccine candidate produced in the baculovirus expression system
Authors: Lee Shwu-Maan , Hickey John M. , Miura Kazutoyo , Joshi Sangeeta B. , Volkin David B. , King C. Richter , Plieskatt Jordan L. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte surface protein, Pfs48/45, is a potential target for malaria transmission-blocking vaccines. However, due to its size and complexity, expression of the full-length protein has been difficult, leading to focus on the C-terminal six cysteine domain (6C) with the use of fusion proteins to facilitate expression and folding. In this study, we utilized the baculovirus system to evaluate the expression of three Pfs48/45 proteins including the full-length protein, the 6C domain fragment and the 6C domain mutant to prevent glycosylation. Expression of the recombinant Pfs48/45 proteins was conducted in super Sf9 cells combined with the use of tunicamycin to prevent N-glycosylation. The proteins were then evaluated as immunogens in mice to demonstrate the induction of functionally active polyclonal antibody responses as measured in the standard membrane feeding assay (SMFA). Only the 6C protein was found to exhibit significant transmission-reducing activity. Further characterization of the biologically active 6C protein demonstrated it was homogeneous in terms of size, charge, conformation, absence of glycosylation, and containing proper disulfide bond pairings. This study presents an alternative expression system, without the need of a fusion protein partner, for the Pfs48/45 6C protein fragment including further evaluation as a potential transmission-blocking vaccine candidate.
Development of digital biomarkers for resting tremor and bradykinesia using a wrist-worn wearable device
Authors: Mahadevan Nikhil , Demanuele Charmaine , Zhang Hao , Volfson Dmitri , Ho Bryan , Erb Michael Kelley , Patel Shyamal 
Published: January 2020

AbstractObjective assessment of Parkinson’s disease symptoms during daily life can help improve disease management and accelerate the development of new therapies. However, many current approaches require the use of multiple devices, or performance of prescribed motor activities, which makes them ill-suited for free-living conditions. Furthermore, there is a lack of open methods that have demonstrated both criterion and discriminative validity for continuous objective assessment of motor symptoms in this population. Hence, there is a need for systems that can reduce patient burden by using a minimal sensor setup while continuously capturing clinically meaningful measures of motor symptom severity under free-living conditions. We propose a method that sequentially processes epochs of raw sensor data from a single wrist-worn accelerometer by using heuristic and machine learning models in a hierarchical framework to provide continuous monitoring of tremor and bradykinesia. Results show that sensor derived continuous measures of resting tremor and bradykinesia achieve good to strong agreement with clinical assessment of symptom severity and are able to discriminate between treatment-related changes in motor states.
Structural analysis of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase bound to high density lipoprotein particles
Authors: Manthei Kelly A. , Patra Dhabaleswar , Wilson Christopher J. , Fawaz Maria V. , Piersimoni Lolita , Shenkar Jenny Capua , Yuan Wenmin , Andrews Philip C. , Engen John R. , Schwendeman Anna , Ohi Melanie D. , Tesmer John J. G. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractLecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) catalyzes a critical step of reverse cholesterol transport by esterifying cholesterol in high density lipoprotein (HDL) particles. LCAT is activated by apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), which forms a double belt around HDL, however the manner in which LCAT engages its lipidic substrates and ApoA-I in HDL is poorly understood. Here, we used negative stain electron microscopy, crosslinking, and hydrogen-deuterium exchange studies to refine the molecular details of the LCAT–HDL complex. Our data are consistent with LCAT preferentially binding to the edge of discoidal HDL near the boundary between helix 5 and 6 of ApoA-I in a manner that creates a path from the lipid bilayer to the active site of LCAT. Our results provide not only an explanation why LCAT activity diminishes as HDL particles mature, but also direct support for the anti-parallel double belt model of HDL, with LCAT binding preferentially to the helix 4/6 region.
Chemosensitization of prostate cancer stem cells in mice by angiogenin and plexin-B2 inhibitors
Authors: Li Shuping , Goncalves Kevin A. , Lyu Baiqing , Yuan Liang , Hu Guo-fu 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCancer stem cells (CSCs) are an obstacle in cancer therapy and are a major cause of drug resistance, cancer recurrence, and metastasis. Available treatments, targeting proliferating cancer cells, are not effective in eliminating quiescent CSCs. Identification of CSC regulators will help design therapeutic strategies to sensitize drug-resistant CSCs for chemo-eradication. Here, we show that angiogenin and plexin-B2 regulate the stemness of prostate CSCs, and that inhibitors of angiogenin/plexin-B2 sensitize prostate CSCs to chemotherapy. Prostate CSCs capable of self-renewal, differentiation, and tumor initiation with a single cell inoculation were identified and shown to be regulated by angiogenin/plexin-B2 that promotes quiescence and self-renewal through 5S ribosomal RNA processing and generation of the bioactive 3′-end fragments of 5S ribosomal RNA, which suppress protein translation and restrict cell cycling. Monoclonal antibodies of angiogenin and plexin-B2 decrease the stemness of prostate CSCs and sensitize them to chemotherapeutic agents in vitro and in vivo.
Discovery of tumoricidal DNA oligonucleotides by response-directed in vitro evolution
Authors: Mamet Noam , Amir Yaniv , Lavi Erez , Bassali Liron , Harari Gil , Rusinek Itai , Skalka Nir , Debby Elinor , Greenberg Mor , Zamir Adva , Paz Anastasia , Reiss Neria , Loewenthal Gil , Avivi Irit , Shimoni Avichai , Neev Guy , Abu-Horowitz Almogit , Bachelet Ido 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDrug discovery is challenged by ineffectiveness of drugs against variable and evolving diseases, and adverse effects due to poor selectivity. We describe a robust platform which potentially addresses these limitations. The platform enables rapid discovery of DNA oligonucleotides evolved in vitro for exerting specific and selective biological responses in target cells. The process operates without a priori target knowledge (mutations, biomarkers, etc). We report the discovery of oligonucleotides with direct, selective cytotoxicity towards cell lines, as well as patient-derived solid and hematological tumors. A specific oligonucleotide termed E8, induced selective apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. Polyethylene glycol-modified E8 exhibited favorable biodistribution in animals, persisting in tumors up to 48-hours after injection. E8 inhibited tumors by 50% within 10 days of treatment in patient-derived xenograft mice, and was effective in ex vivo organ cultures from chemotherapy-resistant TNBC patients. These findings highlight a drug discovery model which is target-tailored and on-demand.