bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
P1576 Exercise echocardiography in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients with moderate or severe aortic stenosis
Authors: Peteiro Vazquez J C , Bouzas-Mosquera A , Varela-Cancelo A , Broullon J , Vazquez-Rodriguez J M 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Exercise testing is recommended in current guidelines for discovering symptoms in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) and equivocal or no symptoms at all. The additive value of imaging is controversial. We sought to assess the value of exercise echocardiographic (ExE) parameters in this setting, particularly increase in blood pressure, increase in LV ejection fraction and increase in gradients with exercise.

Methods
Retrospective analyses of prospectively collected data on 157 patients (83 males, age 70 ± 12 years) with moderate or severe AS and normal LV function (LVEF ≥ 50%) who were asymptomatic or who have equivocal symptoms. The end point was a combined event composed of overall mortality and aortic valve replacement.

Results
No complications were reported during the exercise testing. Ischemia was reported in 63 patients (40%) whereas 10 subjects had resting regional wall motion abnormalities (6%). During a median follow-up of 21 months (25th-75th percentil 7-60 months) there were 129 events, including 64 deaths. After multivariate adjustment, treatment with digoxine (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.65, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]= 1.97-10.94, p &lt; 0.001), treatment with nitrates (HR = 1.52, 95%CI = 1.00-2.32, p = 0.049) maximal age-predicted achieved heart rate (HR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.03-0.70, p = 0.02), and increase in blood pressure with exercise (HR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.98-1.00, p = 0.002) were predictors of the combined event. Increase in LVEF and increase in gradients conferred protection by univariate analyses but were not predictors after adjustment.

In conclusion
ExE is safe in patients with AS. A significant number of patients have abnormal imaging results. Most of the patients with AS and a clinically indicated ExE have events in a median follow-up time interval. Although increase in gradients and increase in LVEF were associated to less events, the "exercise part" of the ExE seems to be more powerful for predicting outcome.
Differential visible spectral influence on carbon metabolism in heterotrophic marine flavobacteria
Authors: Hameed Asif , Lai Wei-An , Shahina Mariyam , Stothard Paul , Young Li-Sen , Lin Shih-Yao , Sridhar Kandikere Ramaiah , Young Chiu-Chung 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACT
The visible spectrum of solar radiation is known to stimulate photoheterotrophic bacterial carbon metabolism. However, its impact on ‘strictly’ heterotrophic bacteria remains less explored. Here, we show that heterotrophic flavobacteria exhibit enhanced uptake and mineralization of dissolved organic carbon with increasing wavelengths of visible light, without employing any ‘known’ light-harvesting mechanisms. RNA sequencing identified blue light as a major constraint in the extracellular enzymatic hydrolysis of polymeric carbohydrates and acquisition of sugars, despite acting as a stimulus for inorganic carbon sequestration. In contrast, green–red and continuous full-spectrum lights activated diverse hydrolytic enzymes and sugar transporters, but obstructed inorganic carbon fixation. This ‘metabolic switching’ was apparent through limited nutrient uptake, suppressed light-sensitivity, oxidative stress response and promotion of inorganic carbon sequestration pathways under blue light. The visible light impact on metabolism may be of significant ecological relevance as it appears to promote cell-mediated mineralization of organic carbon in ‘green-colored’ chlorophyll-rich copiotrophic coastal seawater and inorganic carbon sequestration in ‘blue-colored’ oligotrophic open ocean. Thus, a novel regulatory role played by light on heterotrophic metabolism and a hidden potential of flavobacteria to sense and respond differentially to monochromatic lights influencing marine carbon cycling were unraveled.
White Matter Hyperintensities and the Progression of Frailty—The Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait
Authors: Siejka Timothy P , Srikanth Velandai K , Hubbard Ruth E , Moran Chris , Beare Richard , Wood Amanda , Phan Thanh , Balogun Saliu , Callisaya Michele L 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Background
The contribution of cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD) to the pathogenesis of frailty remains uncertain. We aimed to examine the associations between cSVD with progression of frailty in a population-based study of older people.

Methods
People aged between 60 and 85 years were randomly selected form the electoral roll to participate in the Tasmanian Study of Cognition and Gait. Participants underwent self-reported questionnaires, objective gait, cognitive and sensorimotor testing over three phases ranging between 2005 and 2012. These data were used to calculate a 41-item frailty index (FI) at three time points. Baseline brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed on all participants to measure cSVD. Generalized mixed models were used to examine associations between baseline cSVD and progression of frailty, adjusted for confounders of age, sex, level of education, and total intracranial volume.

Results
At baseline (n = 388) mean age was 72 years (SD = 7.0), 44% were female, and the median FI score was 0.20 (interquartile range [IQR] 0.12, 0.27). In fully adjusted models higher burden of baseline white matter hyperintensity (WMH) was associated with frailty progression over 4.4 years (β = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.05; p = .004) independent of other SVD markers. Neither baseline infarcts (p = .23), nor microbleeds at baseline (p = .65) were associated with progression of frailty.

Conclusions
We provide evidence for an association between baseline WMHs and progression of frailty. Our findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting WMH is a marker for frailty.
DMD carrier model with mosaic dystrophin expression in the heart reveals complex vulnerability to myocardial injury
Authors: Meyers Tatyana A , Heitzman Jackie A , Townsend DeWayne 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDuchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a devastating neuromuscular disease that causes progressive muscle wasting and cardiomyopathy. This X-linked disease results from mutations of the DMD allele on the X-chromosome resulting in the loss of expression of the protein dystrophin. Dystrophin loss causes cellular dysfunction that drives the loss of healthy skeletal muscle and cardiomyocytes. As gene therapy strategies strive toward dystrophin restoration through micro-dystrophin delivery or exon skipping, preclinical models have shown that incomplete restoration in the heart results in heterogeneous dystrophin expression throughout the myocardium. This outcome prompts the question of how much dystrophin restoration is sufficient to rescue the heart from DMD-related pathology. Female DMD carrier hearts can shed light on this question, due to their mosaic cardiac dystrophin expression resulting from random X-inactivation. In this work, a dystrophinopathy carrier mouse model was derived by breeding male or female dystrophin-null mdx mice with a wild type mate. We report that these carrier hearts are significantly susceptible to injury induced by one or multiple high doses of isoproterenol, despite expressing ~57% dystrophin. Importantly, only carrier mice with dystrophic mothers showed mortality after isoproterenol. These findings indicate that dystrophin restoration in approximately half of the heart still allows for marked vulnerability to injury. Additionally, the discovery of divergent stress-induced mortality based on parental origin in mice with equivalent dystrophin expression underscores the need for better understanding of the epigenetic, developmental, and even environmental factors that may modulate vulnerability in the dystrophic heart.
Clinical study of an outbreak of postoperative mediastinitis caused by Serratia marcescens in adult cardiac surgery
Authors: Fernández Angel L , Adrio Belén , Martínez Cereijo José M , Martínez Monzonis Maria Amparo , El-Diasty Mohammad M , Alvarez Escudero Julian 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Nosocomial infection caused by Serratia marcescens after cardiac surgery is rare but causes high rates of morbidity and mortality. Knowledge about postoperative mediastinitis due to S. marcescens is limited. The purpose of this work was to study the clinical presentation, management and outcome of an outbreak of postoperative sternal infection due to S. marcescens.

METHODS
During a 7-week period, a total of 54 patients underwent open heart procedures in our hospital. A postoperative wound infection caused by S. marcescens was diagnosed in 10 patients. We performed a clinical study to investigate patient characteristics and outcomes as well as the possible source of the infection.

RESULTS
The mean age of the infected patients was 74.5 ± 10 years. Mediastinitis was present in 6 cases, superficial wound infection in 3 and isolated bacteraemia in 1. Purulent exudate through the sternal incision was observed in all infected cases except in 1 patient, who presented only with bacteraemia. Serratia marcescens was isolated from the samples taken from all infected wounds. The mean time elapsed between the operation and the isolation S. marcescens was 5.9 ± 2.4 days. Response to treatment was favourable in all cases except 1, who died. Contamination of the aqueous chlorhexidine solution used to prepare the patients’ skin with S. marcescens was reported. Microbiological studies demonstrated that S. marcescens strains isolated from patients and from the aqueous chlorhexidine solution belonged to the same clone.

CONCLUSIONS
The use of an aqueous chlorhexidine solution contaminated with S. marcescens caused an outbreak of postoperative sternal wound infections. The time elapsed between wound contamination and signs of infection was brief, but the systemic inflammatory response and tissue necrosis were limited. Alcohol-based solutions are recommended for the prevention of surgical site infections.
A direct correlation between commissural orientation and annular shape in bicuspid aortic valves: a new anatomical and computed tomography classification
Authors: Chirichilli Ilaria , Irace Francesco Giosuè , Weltert Luca Paolo , Salica Andrea , Guerrieri Wolf Lorenzo , Fusca Samuel , Ricci Alessandro , De Paulis Ruggero 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The shape of the aortic annulus is still under debate. Recent findings suggest a possible gradual spectrum of circularity from tricuspid aortic valves (TAVs), to type 1 bicuspid aortic valves (BAVs) to type 0 BAVs. BAVs have been recently classified in a symmetrical (type A), asymmetrical (type B) or very asymmetrical (type C) phenotype according to the commissural orientation (CO) (160°–180°, 140°–159° and 120°–139°, respectively). The aim of this study is to verify in BAVs the correlation between the aortic annular shape and the CO of valve cusps and to suggest a new anatomical and geometric classification of BAVs based on CO and annular shape.

METHODS
We retrospectively selected 191 consecutive patients who underwent both electrocardiography-gated computed tomography scan of the aortic root and transthoracic echocardiography between January 2016 and June 2019. The population was divided into 2 groups: 54 BAVs and 137 TAVs. We analysed the subgroup of BAV patients and divided them into group A, group B and group C depending on the CO. The shape of the aortic annulus was considered ‘circular’ or ‘elliptic’ according to the ellipticity index (EI).We studied the possible correlation between CO and annular shape in BAVs. We also analysed the subgroup of TAV patients studying their annular shape and EI.

RESULTS
After univariate linear regression, BAV patients showed a significant correlation between the CO and the EI (R = −0, 445, R2 = 0, 198, P = 0.001). As the CO decreases, the EI increases and approaches an elliptical shape. After grouping BAVs according to the CO, a mean EI of 1.10 ± 0.07 was found in group A, 1.13 ± 0.08 in group B, 1.18 ± 0.07 in group C, P = 0.0097 indicating a gradual spectrum of ellipticity with the decrease of CO. TAVs subgroup showed a mean EI of 1.27 ± 0.09, suggesting that the more the CO is reduced in BAVs, the more the annulus probably tends towards the very elliptical shape of TAVs.

CONCLUSIONS
This study shows a linear correlation between CO and annular shape in BAVs. In particular, the aortic annulus follows a continuous spectrum of ellipticity depending on the CO. These findings lay the groundwork for a new anatomical classification of BAVs based on CO and annular shape.
Adult obesity and mid-life physical functioning in two British birth cohorts: investigating the mediating role of physical inactivity
Authors: Pinto Pereira Snehal M , De Stavola Bianca L , Rogers Nina T , Hardy Rebecca , Cooper Rachel , Power Chris 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Background
Associations between obesity and physical inactivity are bi-directional. Both are associated with physical functioning (PF, ability to perform physical tasks of daily living) but whether obesity influences PF via inactivity is unknown. We investigated whether mid-adult obesity trajectories were associated with subsequent PF and mediated by inactivity.

Methods
Body mass index (BMI; kg/m²) and inactivity were recorded at: 36, 43, 53 and 60–64 years in the 1946 Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development (1946-NSHD; n = 2427), and at 33, 42 and 50 years in the 1958 National Child Development Study (1958-NCDS; n = 8674). Poor PF was defined as the lowest (gender and cohort-specific) 10% on the Short-form 36 Physical Component Summary subscale at 60–64 years (1946-NSHD) and 50 years (1958-NCDS). Estimated randomized-interventional-analogue natural direct (rNDE) and indirect (rNIE) effects of obesity trajectories on PF via inactivity are expressed as risk ratios [overall total effect (rTE) is rNDE multiplied by rNIE].

Results
In both cohorts, most individuals (∼68%) were never obese in adulthood, 16–30% became obese and ≤11% were always obese. In 1946-NSHD, rTE of incident obesity at 43 years (vs never) on poor PF was 2.32 (1.13, 3.51); at 53 years it was 1.53 (0.91, 2.15). rNIEs via inactivity were 1.02 (0.97, 1.07) and 1.02 (0.99, 1.04), respectively. Estimated rTE of persistent obesity from 36 years was 2.91 (1.14, 4.69), with rNIE of 1.03 (0.96, 1.10). In 1958-NCDS, patterns of association were similar, albeit weaker.

Conclusions
Longer duration of obesity was associated with increased risk of poor PF. Inactivity played a small mediating role. Findings reinforce the importance of preventing and delaying obesity onset to protect against poor PF.
Asymptotic Estimates for the Willmore Flow With Small Energy
Authors: Kuwert Ernst , Scheuer Julian 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
Kuwert and Schätzle showed in 2001 that the Willmore flow converges to a standard round sphere, if the initial energy is small. In this situation, we prove stability estimates for the barycenter and the quadratic moment of the surface. Moreover, in codimension one, we obtain stability bounds for the enclosed volume and averaged mean curvature. As direct applications, we recover a quasi-rigidity estimate due to De Lellis and Müller (2006) and an estimate for the isoperimetric deficit by Röger and Schätzle (2012), whose original proofs used different methods.
Effects of vitamin B6 on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, and gene expression in weaned piglets that are fed a low-protein diet1
Authors: Yin Lanmei , Li Jun , Wang Huiru , Yi Zhenfeng , Wang Lei , Zhang Shuo , Li Xiaozhen , Wang Qiye , Li Jianzhong , Yang Huansheng , Yin Yulong 
Published: January 2020

AbstractVitamin B6 (VB6), which is an essential functional substance for biosome, plays an irreplaceable role in animal health. However, there are few studies that focus on the correlation between VB6 and intestinal health in weaned piglets. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of VB6 on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, and inflammatory cytokines and amino acid (AA) transporters mRNA expression in weaned piglets that are fed a low crude-protein (CP, 18%) diet. Eighteen crossbred piglets with initial body weights of 7.03 ± 0.17 kg (means ± SEM), weaned at 21-d age, were randomly assigned three diets with 0, 4, and 7 mg/kg VB6 supplementation, respectively. The experimental period lasted 14 days. Our results showed that there were no significant differences in growth performance, diarrhea rate, and biochemical parameters among the three treatments. In the jejunum, dietary VB6 supplementation did not affect the morphology and positive Ki67 counts. Dietary supplementation with 4 mg/kg VB6 decreased the mRNA expression of COX-2, IL-10, and TGF-β (P &lt; 0.05). Dietary supplementation with 7 mg/kg VB6 increased the mRNA expression of SLC7A1, SLC7A6, SLC16A14, and SLC38A5 (P &lt; 0.05) and 4 or 7 mg/kg VB6 decreased SLC36A1 mRNA expression (P &lt; 0.05). In the ileum, VB6 supplementation did not affect positive Ki67 counts but significantly decreased villus area (P &lt; 0.05) and tended to decrease villus height (P = 0.093). Dietary supplementation with 4 mg/kg VB6 had significantly increased the mRNA expression of IL-1β, TNF-α, COX-2, IL-10, and TGF-β (P &lt; 0.05). Dietary supplementation with 4 or 7 mg/kg VB6 had significantly decreased SLC6A20, SLC7A1, SLC7A6, SLC16A14, and SLC38A5 mRNA expression (P &lt; 0.05). These findings suggest that dietary supplementation of VB6 mainly down-regulated inflammatory cytokines and up-regulated AA transporters mRNA expression in jejunum, while up-regulated (4 mg/kg) inflammatory cytokines and down-regulated AA transporters mRNA expression in ileum, which may provide a reference for the intestinal development of weaned piglets that are fed a low-CP diet.
Application of variational mode decomposition to seismic random noise reduction
Authors: Liu Wei , Cao Siyuan , Wang Zhiming 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe have proposed a new denoising method for the simultaneous noise reduction and preservation of seismic signals based on variational mode decomposition (VMD). VMD is a recently developed adaptive signal decomposition method and an advance in non-stationary signal analysis. It solves the mode-mixing and non-optimal reconstruction performance problems of empirical mode decomposition that have existed for a long time. By using VMD, a multi-component signal can be non-recursively decomposed into a series of quasi-orthogonal intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), each of which has a relatively local frequency range. Meanwhile, the signal will focus on a smaller number of obtained IMFs after decomposition, and thus the denoised result is able to be obtained by reconstructing these signal-dominant IMFs. Synthetic examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and comparison is made with the complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition, which demonstrates that the VMD algorithm has lower computational cost and better random noise elimination performance. The application of on field seismic data further illustrates the superior performance of our method in both random noise attenuation and the recovery of seismic events.
Changes in vegetation and soil properties following 6 years of enclosure in riparian corridors
Authors: Wang Di , Zhang Yi-Ran , Feng Yu-Long , Liu Zhi , Qu Bo 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Aims
Riparian corridors play vital roles in the maintenance of biodiversity. Nonetheless, plant species diversity and vegetation coverage in riparian corridors are seriously threatened by increasing pressure owing to livestock consumption and anthropogenic disturbance; even the stability of river courses has been threatened. The establishment of enclosures is a widely used strategy to restore degraded grassland ecosystems, but its impact on degraded herbaceous riparian vegetation and soil properties remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether species composition, richness, diversity, and soil properties can be recovered by the enclosure.

Methods
Twenty long-term monitoring sample plots were set in the Liaohe main stream river, Liaohe main stream river was enclosed for grazing and farmland exclusion in 2012. The height, coverage and individual numbers of plant were recorded for species richness and diversity evaluation from 2012 to 2017; soil nutrients were measured for comparative analysis in 2012 and 2017. We examined the effects of the establishment of enclosures on plant species diversity and soil properties from 2012 to 2017 in the riparian corridors of the Liaohe River system in China.

Important Findings
Plant species richness and diversity significantly increased from 2012 to 2017. The dominance of Asteraceae plants increased, while the abundance of Gramineae plants decreased over time. The difference in abundance increased each year since enclosure was implemented in 2012. The concentrations of phosphorus and potassium in the soil significantly decreased as a result of the combined effects of vegetation restoration and prohibition of farming practices following the establishment of enclosures. There was also a lag time related to the response of soil organic matter to the establishment of enclosures. In conclusion, our study provides new evidence regarding the response of species diversity, species composition and soil properties following riparian vegetation restoration efforts through enclosure development.
On the secondary’s rotation in a synchronous binary asteroid
Authors: Wang H S , Hou X Y 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACT
This article studies the secondary’s rotation in a synchronous binary asteroid system in which the secondary enters the 1:1 spin-orbit resonance. The model used is the planar full two-body problem, composed of a spherical primary plus a triaxial ellipsoid secondary. Compared with classical spin-orbit work, there are two differences: (1) influence of the secondary’s rotation on the mutual orbit is considered and (2) instead of the Hamiltonian approach, the approach of periodic orbits is adopted. Our studies find the following. (1) The genealogy of the two families of periodic orbits is the same as that of the families around triangular libration points in the restricted three-body problem. That is, the long-period family terminates on to a short-period orbit travelling N times. (2) In the limiting case where the secondary’s mass is negligible, our results can be reduced to classical spin-orbit theory, by equating the long-period orbit with free libration and the short-period orbit with the forced libration caused by orbit eccentricity. However, the two models show obvious differences when the secondary’s mass is non-negligible. (3) By studying the stability of periodic orbits for a specific binary asteroid system, we are able to obtain the maximum libration amplitude of the secondary (which is usually less than 90°) and the maximum mutual orbit eccentricity that does not break the secondary’s synchronous state. We also find an anti-correlation between the secondary’s libration amplitude and the orbit eccentricity. The (65803) Didymos system is taken as an example to show the results.