bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MultimodalMRIassessment for first episode psychosis: A major change in the thalamus and an efficient stratification of a subgroup
Authors: Faria Andreia V. , Zhao Yi , Ye Chenfei , Hsu Johnny , Yang Kun , Cifuentes Elizabeth , Wang Lei , Mori Susumu , Miller Michael , Caffo Brian , Sawa Akira 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMulti‐institutional brain imaging studies have emerged to resolve conflicting results among individual studies. However, adjusting multiple variables at the technical and cohort levels is challenging. Therefore, it is important to explore approaches that provide meaningful results from relatively small samples at institutional levels. We studied 87 first episode psychosis (FEP) patients and 62 healthy subjects by combining supervised integrated factor analysis (SIFA) with a novel pipeline for automated structure‐based analysis, an efficient and comprehensive method for dimensional data reduction that our group recently established. We integrated multiple MRI features (volume, DTI indices, resting state fMRI—rsfMRI) in the whole brain of each participant in an unbiased manner. The automated structure‐based analysis showed widespread DTI abnormalities in FEP and rs‐fMRI differences between FEP and healthy subjects mostly centered in thalamus. The combination of multiple modalities with SIFA was more efficient than the use of single modalities to stratify a subgroup of FEP (individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) that had more robust deficits from the overall FEP group. The information from multiple MRI modalities and analytical methods highlighted the thalamus as significantly abnormal in FEP. This study serves as a proof‐of‐concept for the potential of this methodology to reveal disease underpins and to stratify populations into more homogeneous sub‐groups.
Can General Practitioners Be More Productive? The Impact of Teamwork and Cooperation with Nurses on GP Activities
Authors: Loussouarn Christophe , Franc Carine , Videau Yann , Mousquès Julien 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe integration of primary care organizations and interprofessional cooperation is encouraged in many countries to both improve the productive and allocative efficiency of care provision and address the unequal geographical distribution of general practitioners (GPs). In France, a pilot experiment promoted the vertical integration of and teamwork between GPs and nurses. This pilot experiment relied on the staffing and training of nurses; skill mixing, including the authorization to shift tasks from GPs to nurses; and new remuneration schemes. This article evaluates the overall impact of this pilot experiment over the period 2010–2017 on GP activities based on the following indicators: number of working days, patients seen at least once, patients registered, and visits delivered. We control for endogeneity and reduce selection bias by using a case‐control design combining coarsened exact matching and difference‐in‐differences estimates on panel data. We find a small positive impact on the number of GP working days (+1.2%) following enrollment and a more pronounced effect on the number of patients seen (+7.55%) or registered (+6.87%). However, we find no effect on the number of office and home visits. In this context, cooperation and teamwork between GPs and nurses seem to improve access to care for patients.
Improved pulmonary lung nodules risk stratification in computed tomography images by fusing shape and texture features in a machine‐learning paradigm
Authors: Sahu Satya Prakash , Londhe Narendra D. , Verma Shrish , Singh Bikesh K. , Banchhor Sumit Kumar 
Published: December 2020

AbstractLung cancer is one of the most deadly cancer in both men and women. Accurate and early diagnosis of pulmonary lung nodules is critical. This study presents an accurate computer‐aided diagnosis (CADx) system for risk stratification of pulmonary nodules in computed tomography (CT) lung images by fusing shape and texture‐based features in a machine‐learning (ML) based paradigm. A database with 114 (28 high‐risk) patients acquired from Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) is used in this study. After nodule segmentation using K‐means clustering, features based on shape and texture attributes are extracted. Seven different filter and wrapper‐based feature selection techniques are used for dominant feature selection. Lastly, the classification of nodules is performed by a support vector machine using six different kernel functions. The classification results are evaluated using 10‐fold cross‐validation and hold‐out data division protocols. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated using accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and the area under receiver operating characteristics (AUC). Using 30 dominant features from the pool of shape and texture‐based features, the proposed system achieves the highest classification accuracy and AUC of 89% and 0.92, respectively. The proposed ML‐based system showed an improvement in risk stratification accuracy by fusing shape and texture‐based features.
Role of blood oxygenation saturation in ovarian cancer diagnosis using multi‐spectral photoacoustic tomography
Authors: Amidi Eghbal , Yang Guang , Uddin K. M. Shihab , Luo Hongbo , Middleton William , Powell Matthew , Siegel Cary , Zhu Quing 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn photoacoustic tomography (PAT), a tunable laser typically illuminates the tissue at multiple wavelengths, and the received photoacoustic waves are used to form functional images of relative total haemoglobin (rHbT) and blood oxygenation saturation (%sO2). Due to measurement errors, the estimation of these parameters can be challenging, especially in clinical studies. In this study, we use a multi‐pixel method to smooth the measurements before calculating rHbT and %sO2. We first perform phantom studies using blood tubes of calibrated %sO2 to evaluate the accuracy of our %sO2 estimation. We conclude by presenting diagnostic results from PAT of 33 patients with 51 ovarian masses imaged by our co‐registered PAT and ultrasound system. The ovarian masses were divided into malignant and benign/normal groups. Functional maps of rHbT and %sO2 and their histograms as well as spectral features were calculated using the PAT data from all ovaries in these two groups. Support vector machine models were trained on different combinations of the significant features. The area under ROC (AUC) of 0.93 (0.95%CI: 0.90‐0.96) on the testing data set was achieved by combining mean %sO2, a spectral feature, and the score of the study radiologist.
Investigation of BiVO4 structure variations on the dichlorotoluene ammoxidation performance
Authors: Li Xiongjian , Huang Chi 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn this study, BiVO4 synthesized by hydrothermal and calcination methods were explored as catalysts in the ammoxidation of dichlorotoluenes to shed light on the structure‐reactivity correlations. The BiVO4 samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), temperature‐programmed reduction (TPR), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and UV–Vis spectrophotometry. The results showed that the catalytic activity of BiVO4 greatly relied on the structure variations. The hydrothermal prepared BiVO4 exhibited better catalytic activities as a consequence of its greater structure deformation, with maximum yields of 73.1, 72.2, and 70.8% for 3,4‐, 2,4‐ and 2,6‐ dichlorobenzonitrles, respectively.
Cabbage‐derived three‐dimensional cellulose scaffold‐induced osteogenic differentiation of stem cells
Authors: Salehi Ali , Mobarhan Mohammad A. , Mohammadi Javad , Shahsavarani Hosein , Shokrgozar Mohammad Ali , Alipour Atefeh 
Published: December 2020

AbstractHerbal‐derived three‐dimensional scaffolds have a unique structure that represents the natural cellular microenvironment and can be potentially used for tissue engineering applications. In the present study, cabbage (Cb) leaves were decellularized and then their characteristics, such as surface roughness, wettability, porosity, mechanical properties, and specific surface area, were investigated. After that, scaffold osteoinductivity was studied by bone‐marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM‐MSCs) osteogenic differentiation while growing on the decellularized Cb leaves. Cells mineralization, calcium secretion, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and expression levels of bone‐related genes were determined during the differentiation process. Our results from the structural characterization of the scaffolds demonstrated that decellularized Cb leaves are good candidates for bone differentiation in terms of surface roughness, mechanical properties, and interconnected pores. Osteogenic differentiation evaluation of the BM‐MSCs determined that the cell's ALP activity and mineralization were increased significantly while cultured on the decellularized Cb leaves compared to the cells cultured on the culture plate as a control. Besides, Runx2, ALP, collagen‐1 (Col‐I), and osteocalcin genes were expressed in cells cultured on decellularized Cb leaves significantly higher than cells cultured on the culture plate. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the decellularized Cb scaffold has great potential for promoting BM‐MSCs proliferation and osteogenic differentiation.
Right atrial thrombus complicating a right‐sided arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy
Authors: Li Xiao‐Dong , Kong Bo‐Yu , Bai Yang , Xu Hui 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThere are few studies in the literature about arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy complicated with right atrial thrombus. We report a case of right atrial thrombus complicating a right‐sided arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy detected by echocardiography. Electrocardiography showed typical Epsilon waves, and the diagnosis was further confirmed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.
MRI surveillance of boys with X‐linked adrenoleukodystrophy identified by newborn screening: Meta‐analysis and consensus guidelines
Authors: Mallack Eric J. , Turk Bela R. , Yan Helena , Price Carrie , Demetres Michelle , Moser Ann B. , Becker Catherine , Hollandsworth Kim , Adang Laura , Vanderver Adeline , Van Haren Keith , Ruzhnikov Maura , Kurtzberg Joanne , Maegawa Gustavo , Orchard Paul J. , Lund Troy C. , Raymond Gerald V. , Regelmann Molly , Orsini Joseph J. , Seeger Elisa , Kemp Stephan , Eichler Florian , Fatemi Ali 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBackgroundAmong boys with X‐Linked adrenoleukodystrophy, a subset will develop childhood cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CCALD). CCALD is typically lethal without hematopoietic stem cell transplant before or soon after symptom onset. We sought to establish evidence‐based guidelines detailing the neuroimaging surveillance of boys with neurologically asymptomatic adrenoleukodystrophy.MethodsTo establish the most frequent age and diagnostic neuroimaging modality for CCALD, we completed a meta‐analysis of relevant studies published between January 1, 1970 and September 10, 2019. We used the consensus development conference method to incorporate the resulting data into guidelines to inform the timing and techniques for neuroimaging surveillance. Final guideline agreement was defined as >80% consensus.ResultsOne hundred twenty‐three studies met inclusion criteria yielding 1285 patients. The overall mean age of CCALD diagnosis is 7.91 years old. The median age of CCALD diagnosis calculated from individual patient data is 7.0 years old (IQR: 6.0‐9.5, n = 349). Ninety percent of patients were diagnosed between 3 and 12. Conventional MRI was most frequently reported, comprised most often of T2‐weighted and contrast‐enhanced T1‐weighted MRI. The expert panel achieved 95.7% consensus on the following surveillance parameters: (a) Obtain an MRI between 12 and 18 months old. (b) Obtain a second MRI 1 year after baseline. (c) Between 3 and 12 years old, obtain a contrast‐enhanced MRI every 6 months. (d) After 12 years, obtain an annual MRI.ConclusionBoys with adrenoleukodystrophy identified early in life should be monitored with serial brain MRIs during the period of highest risk for conversion to CCALD.
Temporal transcriptomes of a marine cyanopodovirus and its Synechococcus host during infection
Authors: Huang Sijun , Sun Yingting , Zhang Si , Long Lijuan 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMarine picocyanobacteria belonging to genera Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus are genetically diverged and distributed into distinct biogeographical patterns, and both are infected by genetically closely related cyanopodoviruses. Previous studies have not fully explored whether the two virus–host systems share similar gene expression patterns during infection. Whole‐genome expression dynamics of T7‐like cyanopodovirus P‐SSP7 and its host Prochlorococcus strain MED4 have already been reported. Here, we conducted genomic and transcriptomic analyses on T7‐like cyanopodovirus S‐SBP1 during its infection on Synechococcus strain WH7803. S‐SBP1 has a latent period of 8 h and phage DNA production of 30 copies per cell. In terms of whole‐genome phylogenetic relationships and average nucleotide identity, S‐SBP1 was most similar to cyanopodovirus S‐RIP2, which also infects Synechococcus WH7803. Three hypervariable genomic islands were identified when comparing the genomes of S‐SBP1 and S‐RIP2. Single nucleotide variants were also observed in three S‐SBP1 genes, which were located within the island regions. Based on RNA‐seq analysis, S‐SBP1 genes clustered into three temporal expression classes, whose gene content was similar to that of P‐SSP7. Thirty‐two host genes were upregulated during phage infection, including those involved in carbon metabolism, ribosome components, and stress response. These upregulated genes were similar to those upregulated by Prochlorococcus MED4 in response to infection by P‐SSP7. Our study demonstrates a programmed temporal expression pattern of cyanopodoviruses and hosts during infection.
Evaluation of Nutrition Status Using the Subjective Global Assessment: Malnutrition, Cachexia, and Sarcopenia
Authors: Duerksen Donald R. , Laporte Manon , Jeejeebhoy Khursheed 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe subjective global assessment (SGA) is a nutrition assessment tool that refers to an overall evaluation of a patient's history and physical examination and uses structured clinical parameters to diagnose malnutrition. The SGA is known to be a reliable and valid tool that predicts morbidity and mortality associated with malnutrition. The objective of SGA is to identify patients likely to benefit from nutrition intervention and therefore to identify persons in whom inadequate nutrition intake or absorption explain features of malnutrition, including body wasting. There are other conditions that cause weight loss, muscle wasting, and fat loss, including cachexia and sarcopenia. Acknowledging that these 2 last conditions differ in their mechanism of body wasting and consequently in the outcomes of nutrition intervention, the practitioner needs a tool to identify when malnutrition is the dominating factor to explain body wasting. The SGA form has been revised to clearly reflect the key concepts behind the diagnosis of malnutrition and help to distinguish this condition from other wasting conditions. This review presents the revised SGA form and guidance document. Using case studies, it illustrates the 3 wasting conditions, their overlap, and how the SGA identifies malnutrition as a dominating factor of body wasting and thus individuals who require nutrition intervention.
Chromatography‐Free Multicomponent Synthesis of Thioureas Enabled by Aqueous Solution of Elemental Sulfur
Authors: Németh András Gy. , Szabó Renáta , Domján Attila , Keserű György M. , Ábrányi‐Balogh Péter 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThe development of a new three‐component chromatography‐free reaction of isocyanides, amines and elemental sulfur allowed us the straightforward synthesis of thioureas in water. Considering a large pool of organic and inorganic bases, we first optimized the preparation of aqueous polysulfide solution from elemental sulfur. Using polysulfide solution, we were able to omit the otherwise mandatory chromatography, and to isolate the crystalline products directly from the reaction mixture by a simple filtration, retaining the sulfur in the solution phase. A wide range of thioureas synthesized in this way confirmed the reasonable substrate and functional group tolerance of our protocol.
Effect of Al2O3 nanofillers in basalt/epoxy composites: Mechanical and tribological properties
Authors: Vinay S. S. , Sanjay M. R. , Siengchin Suchart , Venkatesh C. V. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractIn this research, effect of Al2O3 nanofillers on mechanical, wear, and hardness characteristics of basalt/epoxy laminate composites were carried out. Composite laminates of basalt/epoxy with different percentage of Al2O3 nano fillers were manufactured by Hand layup method. Mechanical Properties which includes tensile strength, inter laminar shear strength (ILSS), flexural strength, impact strength, and hardness were investigated as per ASTM standards. Wear tests were carried out for different loads with different sliding velocities keeping sliding distance constant. It was observed that flexural strength and ILSS increases for small percentage of nanofillers, whereas tensile strength deteriorates with increase in percentage of fillers and hardness increases with increase in percentage of fillers. The wear results indicates, the addition of Al2O3 nanofillers significantly reduces the wear loss of basalt/epoxy composites. Fractured and worn surfaces were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy images which establishes a good agreement with the obtained results.
A model for modulus development of dual‐cure resin systems
Authors: Redmann Alec , Osswald Tim A. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractA phenomenological model for cure‐dependent modulus is described for materials undergoing a two‐stage curing reaction. These dual‐cure resin systems commonly use a thermally activated reaction in the second stage with temperatures exceeding the glass transition temperature of the intermediate product. This leads to a non‐linear development of the elastic modulus, with an observable softening effect and the potential for large structural deformations. In this study, the elastic modulus was measured at discrete levels of thermal conversion and processing temperatures. The results are used to determine the cure and temperature dependent‐modulus and create a model capable of following the modulus development throughout the entire thermal processing stage. Applications and a processing guideline are discussed.
Finite‐time annular domain stability and stabilization for stochastic Markovian switching systems driven by Wiener and Poisson noises
Authors: Zhong Shiyu , Zhang Weihai , Yan Zhiguo 
Published: December 2020

AbstractThis paper studies finite‐time annular domain stability (FTADS) and stabilization for stochastic Markovian switching systems driven by both Wiener and Poisson noises. Firstly, new sufficient conditions, based on the common parameter approach (CPA)/mode‐dependent parameter approach (MDPA), are presented to make the stochastic Markovian switching systems FTADS. Secondly, the finite‐time annular domain stabilization (FTAD‐stabilization) is discussed. The state feedback controller (SFC) and the dynamic output feedback controller (DOFC) are designed by CPA/MDPA, respectively, and some new sufficient conditions are given for the existence of these controllers. Moreover, an algorithm is presented to find the value ranges of some parameters, which shows the superiority of MDPA. Finally, a numerical example is supplied to verify the validity of our results.
Using propensity scores to estimate effects of treatment initiation decisions: State of the science
Authors: Webster‐Clark Michael , Stürmer Til , Wang Tiansheng , Man Kenneth , Marinac‐Dabic Danica , Rothman Kenneth J. , Ellis Alan R. , Gokhale Mugdha , Lunt Mark , Girman Cynthia , Glynn Robert J. 
Published: December 2020

AbstractConfounding can cause substantial bias in nonexperimental studies that aim to estimate causal effects. Propensity score methods allow researchers to reduce bias from measured confounding by summarizing the distributions of many measured confounders in a single score based on the probability of receiving treatment. This score can then be used to mitigate imbalances in the distributions of these measured confounders between those who received the treatment of interest and those in the comparator population, resulting in less biased treatment effect estimates. This methodology was formalized by Rosenbaum and Rubin in 1983 and, since then, has been used increasingly often across a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In this review article, we provide an overview of propensity scores in the context of real‐world evidence generation with a focus on their use in the setting of single treatment decisions, that is, choosing between two therapeutic options. We describe five aspects of propensity score analysis: alignment with the potential outcomes framework, implications for study design, estimation procedures, implementation options, and reporting. We add context to these concepts by highlighting how the types of comparator used, the implementation method, and balance assessment techniques have changed over time. Finally, we discuss evolving applications of propensity scores.
Strategic management during the financial crisis: How firms adjust their strategic investments in response to credit market disruptions
Authors: Flammer Caroline , Ioannou Ioannis 
Published: December 2020

AbstractResearch summaryThis study investigates how companies adjusted their investments in key strategic resources—that is, their workforce, capital expenditures, R&D, and CSR—in response to the sharp increase in the cost of credit (the “credit crunch”) during the financial crisis of 2007–2009. We compare companies whose long‐term debt matured shortly before versus after the credit crunch to obtain (quasi‐)random variation in the extent to which companies were hit by the higher borrowing costs. We find that companies that were adversely affected followed a “two‐pronged” approach of curtailing their workforce and capital expenditures, while maintaining their investments in R&D and CSR. We further document that firms that followed this two‐pronged approach performed better post‐crisis.Managerial summaryWe study how companies adjusted their key strategic investments during the financial crisis of 2007–2009. As financial markets collapsed—and the cost of financing skyrocketed—managers had to rethink their strategic investments. We find that, on average, managers pursued a two‐pronged approach of (i) “saving their way out of the crisis” by curtailing the company's workforce and capital expenditures and (ii) “investing their way out of the crisis” by maintaining the company's investments in R&D and CSR. Moreover, we find that firms that followed this two‐pronged approach performed better in the post‐crisis years. Overall, these findings suggest that investments in innovation and stakeholder relationships are instrumental in sustaining competitiveness during and beyond times of crisis.