bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Muscle-Specific Tyrosine Kinase Antibody Positive Myasthenia Gravis With Peripheral Nerve Hyperexcitability: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Yang Li 
Published: January 2021

Objectives
Administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors can bring about peripheral nerve hyperexcitability symptom in muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody positive myasthenia gravis, but the changes in electromyography before and after drug withdrawal have not been described in detail.

Methods
Electromyography was performed on a case of muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody positive myasthenia gravis with peripheral nerve hyperexcitability correlated with the administration of pyridostigmine bromide before and after drug withdrawal, respectively.

Results
Afterdischarges close after M waves appeared on the tibial nerve, common peroneal nerve, median nerve, and ulnar nerve, and these presented unique characteristics in repetitive nerve stimulation. Ten days after pyridostigmine bromide withdrawal, the second electromyography examination was carried out and showed that the afterdischarges on all nerves disappeared dramatically and the amplitude of tibial nerve F waves was elevated than before.

Conclusions
Afterdischarges can be an important indicator of muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody positive myasthenia gravis with peripheral nerve hyperexcitability correlated with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Bitemporal Hemianopia Secondary to Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy
Authors: Zaslavsky Kirill , Eshtiaghi Arshia , Jeeva-Patel Trishal , Christakis Panos G. , Margolin Edward 
Published: January 2021

Abstract:
A 58-year-old man noticed shadows in the temporal visual field of each eye and photopsias within these scotomas for the past year. Formal visual fields demonstrated bitemporal hemianopia. MRI of the sella was normal, but fundus autofluorescence (FAF) demonstrated an area of hyperautofluorescence in the nasal retina of each eye corresponding to the loss of retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. A diagnosis of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy was made based on the presence of trizonal involvement on FAF. This case is a reminder that bitemporal hemianopia can be caused by a retinopathy involving nasal retina in each eye, and FAF is a very useful test when assessing patients with suspected outer retinal disorders.
Importance of the “Rule of the Pupil” in the Modern Neuroimaging Era
Authors: Garg Anubhav , Micieli Jonathan A. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract:
The “Rule of the Pupil” states that when aneurysms compress the oculomotor nerve, a dilated or sluggishly reactive pupil will result. In previous decades, when cerebral angiography was required to detect an intracranial aneurysm, the “Rule of the Pupil” was used to determine the relative risk of angiography and the likelihood of aneurysmal compression in patients with third nerve palsies (3NPs). Noninvasive imaging including computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography has become readily accessible and can detect all aneurysms large enough to cause 3NPs. It is therefore recommended that all patients with 3NP undergo neuroimaging regardless of pupil status because the consequences of missing an aneurysm are high. The question therefore remains as to whether the “Rule of the Pupil” still has relevance in today's era of modern neuroimaging. We describe a 73-year-old man who developed a left complete, pupil-sparing 3NP and was found to have a paraclinoid meningioma in the left cavernous sinus. As compressive lesions are expected to impair the iris sphincter muscle, no intervention was recommended and his 3NP spontaneously improved within 3 months. We also describe a 54-year-old woman with diabetes and a complete 3NP with a dilated, nonreactive pupil. Initial CTA was reported as normal, but re-review of imaging revealed a posterior communicating artery aneurysm and immediate intervention to coil the aneurysm occurred. The “Rule of the Pupil” is still important in the modern neuroimaging era as demonstrated in cases of incidentally found lesions along the course of the oculomotor nerve and missed radiological findings.
The gut microbiota metabolite propionate ameliorates intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction-mediated Parkinson’s disease via the AKT signaling pathway
Authors: Huang Tingting , Shi Hongjuan , Xu Yuanfeng , Ji Lili 
Published: January 2021

Objective
Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease. Here, we investigated the protective effect and potential mechanisms of propionate on the intestinal epithelial barrier in mice with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced Parkinson’s disease.

Methods
Gas chromatography was used to determine short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentrations in the fecal samples of Parkinson’s disease patients and healthy controls. The stepping test was used to analyze forelimb akinesia, whisker test was used to analyze sensorimotor injury, cylinder test was used to analyze sensorimotor function, and Western blotting was used to analyze protein expression.

Results
The concentrations of SCFAs, including acetate, butyrate and propionate, were significantly downregulated in the fecal samples of Parkinson’s disease patients, and among the SCFAs, propionate decreased the most. Propionate administration improved the stepping test score, whisker test score and cylinder test score of MPTP-induced Parkinson’s disease mice. Additionally, propionate administration increased the protein expression of zonula occludens-1 and occludin. Moreover, the effects of propionate on motor behavior and the intestinal epithelial barrier were dependent on the proteirrserinc-threonine kinases (AKT) signaling pathway. More importantly, treatment with SC79, a specific AKT agonist, abolished the effects of propionate on the intestinal epithelial barrier and motor behavior.

Conclusion
Our results demonstrated that propionate, which was decreased in the fecal samples of Parkinson’s disease patients, exerted beneficial effects on intestinal epithelial barrier function and improved motor behavior in MPTP-induced Parkinson’s disease mice through the AKT signaling pathway.
Complement activity in myasthenia gravis is independent of autoantibody titer and disease severity
Authors: Fichtner Miriam L. , Hoarty Michelle D. , Vadysirisack Douangsone D. , Nowak Richard J. , O’Connor Kevin C. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAcetylcholine receptor (AChR) autoantibodies, found in patients with autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG), can directly contribute to disease pathology through activation of the classical complement pathway. Accordingly, complement inhibitors are used as a therapeutic strategy, but the response can be heterogeneous even though AChR autoantibodies are present. The mechanisms underlying the variable response are not defined. Yet there is a need for further understanding so that responses can be better predicted. There is a broad spectrum of circulating complement activity levels activity among MG patients. It is not clear whether this activity associates with disease burden or the circulating levels of autoantibodies. We measured complement activity and investigated these associations in MG patients as a means to explore candidate biomarkers. Most study subjects had complement activity within the range defined by healthy controls and no association between this activity and disease burden or AChR autoantibody titer was observed. Assays measuring the complement activating properties of AChR autoantibodies are needed to identifying patients expected to respond to complement inhibitor-based treatments.
Estimating Effect-sizes to Infer if COVID-19 transmission rates were low because of Masks, Heat or High because of Air-conditioners, Tests
Authors: Sruthi C. K. , Biswal Malay Ranjan , Saraswat Brijesh , Joshi Himanshu , Prakash Meher K. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractHow does one interpret the observed increase or decrease in COVID-19 case rates? Did the compliance to the non-pharmaceutical interventions, seasonal changes in the temperature influence the transmission rates or are they purely an artefact of the number of tests? To answer these questions, we estimate the effect-sizes from these different factors on the reproduction ratios (Rt) from the different states of the USA during March 9 to August 9. Ideally Rt should be less than 1 to keep the pandemic under control and our model predicts many of these factors contributed significantly to the Rt’s: Post-lockdown opening of the restaurants and nightclubs contributed 0.04 (CI 0.04-0.04) and 0.11 (CI. 0.11-0.11) to Rt. The mask mandates helped reduce Rt by 0.28 (CI 0.28-0.29)), whereas the testing rates which may have influenced the number of infections observed, did not influence Rt beyond 10,000 daily tests 0.07 (CI -0.57-0.42). In our attempt to understand the role of temperature, the contribution to the Rt was found to increase on both sides of 55 F, which we infer as a reflection of the climatization needs. A further analysis using the cooling and heating needs showed contributions of 0.24 (CI 0.18-0.31) and 0.31 (CI 0.28-0.33) respectively. The work thus illustrates a data-driven approach for estimating the effect-sizes on the graded policies, and the possibility of prioritizing the interventions, if necessary by weighing the economic costs and ease of acceptance with them.
Development and validation of a multiple-choice question-based delirium care knowledge quiz for critical care nurses
Authors: Ho Mu-Hsing 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTAimsTo develop and psychometrically test a multiple choice questions (MCQs)-based quiz of delirium care knowledge for critical care nurses.DesignInstrument development and psychometric evaluation study.MethodsThe development and validation process including two phases. Phase I focused on the quiz development, conducted by the following steps: (1) generated initial 20-item pool; (2) examined content validity and (3) face validity; (4) conducted pilot testing, data were collected from 217 critical care nurses via online survey during 01 October to 07 November, 2020; (5) performed item analysis and eliminated items based on the item difficulty and discrimination indices. The MCQs quiz was finalised through the development process. Then, phases II emphasised the quiz validation, to estimate the internal consistency, split-half and test-retest reliability, and construct validity using parallel analysis with the exploratory factor analysis (EFA).ResultsA final 16-item MCQs quiz was emerged from the item analysis. The Kuder– Richardson Formula 20 coefficient for the overall quiz showed good internal consistency (0.85), and the intraclass correlation coefficient with a 30-day interval also indicated that the questionnaire had satisfactory stability (0.96). The EFA confirmed appropriate construct validity for the quiz, four factors could explain the total variance of 60.87%.ConclusionThis study developed the first MCQs quiz for delirium care knowledge and it is a reliable and valid tool that can be implemented to assess the level of delirium care knowledge.ImpactThis study offers an evidence-based quiz designed for future research and education purposes in delirium care that has significant implications for knowledge test by using MCQs in clinical practice.
Individual-Specific Areal-Level Parcellations Improve Functional Connectivity Prediction of Behavior
Authors: Kong Ru , Yang Qing , Gordon Evan , Xue Aihuiping , Yan Xiaoxuan , Orban Csaba , Zuo Xi-Nian , Spreng Nathan , Ge Tian , Holmes Avram , Eickhoff Simon , Yeo B.T. Thomas 
Published: January 2021

AbstractResting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) allows estimation of individual-specific cortical parcellations. We have previously developed a multi-session hierarchical Bayesian model (MS-HBM) for estimating high-quality individual-specific network-level parcellations. Here, we extend the model to estimate individual-specific areal-level parcellations. While network-level parcellations comprise spatially distributed networks spanning the cortex, the consensus is that areal-level parcels should be spatially localized, i.e., should not span multiple lobes. There is disagreement about whether areal-level parcels should be strictly contiguous or comprise multiple non-contiguous components, therefore we considered three areal-level MS-HBM variants spanning these range of possibilities. Individual-specific MS-HBM parcellations estimated using 10min of data generalized better than other approaches using 150min of data to out-of-sample rs-fMRI and task-fMRI from the same individuals. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) derived from MS-HBM parcellations also achieved the best behavioral prediction performance. Among the three MS-HBM variants, the strictly contiguous MS-HBM (cMS-HBM) exhibited the best resting-state homogeneity and most uniform within-parcel task activation. In terms of behavioral prediction, the gradient-infused MS-HBM (gMS-HBM) was numerically the best, but differences among MS-HBM variants were not statistically significant. Overall, these results suggest that areal-level MS-HBMs can capture behaviorally meaningful individual-specific parcellation features beyond group-level parcellations. Multi-resolution trained models and parcellations are publicly available (https://github.com/ThomasYeoLab/CBIG/tree/master/stable_projects/brain_parcellation/Kong2022_ArealMSHBM).
Combined Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (EBPR) and Nitrite Accumulation for Treating High-strength Wastewater
Authors: Yuan Zhihang , Kang Da , Li Guangyu , Lee Jangho , Han IL , Wang Dongqi , Zheng Ping , Reid Matthew C. , Gu April Z. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) has been widely applied in treating domestic wastewater, while the performance on high-strength P wastewater is less investigated and the feasibility of coupling with short-cut nitrogen removal process remains unknown. This study first achieved the simultaneous high-efficient P removal and stable nitrite accumulation in one sequencing batch reactor for treating the synthetic digested manure wastewater. The average effluent P could be down to 0.8 ± 1.0 mg P/L and the P removal efficiency was 99.5 ± 0.8%.CandidatusAccumulibacter was the dominant polyphosphate accumulating organism (PAO) with the relative abundance of 14.2-33.1% in the reactor. Examination of the micro-diversity ofCandidatusAccumulibacter using 16s rRNA gene-based oligotyping analysis revealed one unique Accumulibacter oligotype that different from the conventional system, which accounted for 64.2-87.9% of the total Accumulibacter abundance. The presence of high-abundant glycogen accumulating organisms (GAO) (15.6-40.3%,DefluviicoccusandCandidatusCompetibacter) did not deteriorate the EBPR performance. Moreover, nitrite accumulation happened in the system with the effluent nitrite up to 20.4 ± 6.4 mg N/L and the nitrite accumulation ratio was nearly 100% maintained for 140 days (420 cycles).Nitrosomonaswas the dominant ammonia-oxidizing bacteria with relative abundance of 0.3-2.4% while nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were almost undetected (<0.1%). The introduction of extended anaerobic phase and high volatile fatty acid concentrations were proposed to be the potential selector forces to promote partial nitrification. This is the first study that combined EBPR with nitrite-accumulation for digested manure wastewater treatment, and it provided new sights in strategies to combine the EBPR and short-cut nitrogen removal via nitrite to achieve simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal.
Cognitive function and vitamin B12 and D in elders from Ecuador
Authors: Veloz Andrés Fernando Vinueza , Arias Tannia Valeria Carpio , Mejía Jenifer Sthefania Vargas , Veloz Estephany Carolina Tapia , Andrade Jefferson Santigo Piedra , Cifuentes Tomás Marcelo Nicolalde , Aguirre Susana Isabel Heredia , Veloz María Fernanda Vinueza 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIntroductionCurrent evidence still does not support the role of vitamin B12 or vitamin D in age-associated cognitive impairment.ObjectiveEvaluate the association between vitamin B12 and D and cognitive function in elders.MethodologySample included 1733 individuals 60 years old and older, who participated in the SABE study that was carried out in Ecuador. Cognitive function was measured using abbreviated version of minimental state examination (MMSE). Vitamin B12 and D were measured in blood. Data were analyzed through linear regression models with restricted cubic splines (RCSs). Models were adjusted by sex, years of education, region (urban highland, urban coast, rural highlands, rural coast), socioeconomic status, and ethnicity.ResultsIndependently from sex, age, years of education, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and geographical zone of residence, we found that vitamin B12 but not vitamin D levels were associated with cognitive function in a representative group of Ecuadorian elders. Elders with lower levels of vitamin B12 showed lower MMSE scores in comparison to elders with higher levels of vitamin B12. Moreover, a statically significant non linear interaction was found between vitamin B12 and age with respect to cognitive function. In this way, we observed that in elders 75 years old and older whose levels of vitamin B12 were 271 pg/ml or less, the drop of cognitive function was particularly steep in comparison to elders whose levels of vitamin B12 were 647 pg/ml or more.ConclusionsLow levels of vitamin B12 but not of vitamin D are associated with low cognitive functioning.
Accounting for fragments of unexpected origin improves transcript quantification in RNA-seq simulations focused on increased realism
Authors: Srivastava Avi , Zakeri Mohsen , Sarkar Hirak , Soneson Charlotte , Kingsford Carl , Patro Rob 
Published: January 2021

AbstractTranscript and gene quantification is the first step in many RNA-seq analyses. While many factors and properties of experimental RNA-seq data likely contribute to differences in accuracy between various approaches to quantification, it has been demonstrated (1) that quantification accuracy generally benefits from considering, during alignment, potential genomic origins for sequenced fragments that reside outside of the annotated transcriptome.Recently, Varabyou et al. (2) demonstrated that the presence of transcriptional noise leads to systematic errors in the ability of tools — particularly annotation-based ones — to accurately estimate transcript expression. Here, we confirm the findings of Varabyou et al. (2) using the simulation framework they have provided. Using the same data, we also examine the methodology of Srivastava et al.(1) as implemented in recent versions of salmon (3), and show that it substantially enhances the accuracy of annotation-based transcript quantification in these data.
The variability in potential biomarkers for cochlear synaptopathy after recreational noise exposure
Authors: Maele Tine Vande , Keshishzadeh Sarineh , Poortere Nele De , Dhooge Ingeborg , Keppler Hannah , Verhulst Sarah 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTPurposeSpeech-in-noise tests and suprathreshold auditory evoked potentials are promising biomarkers to diagnose cochlear synaptopathy (CS) in humans. This study investigated whether these biomarkers changed after recreational noise exposure.MethodThe baseline auditory status of 19 normal hearing young adults was analyzed using questionnaires, pure-tone audiometry, speech audiometry and auditory evoked potentials. Nineteen subjects attended a music festival and completed the same tests again at day one, day three and day five after the music festival.ResultsNo significant relations were found between lifetime noise-exposure history and the hearing tests. Changes in biomarkers from the first session to the follow-up sessions were non-significant, except for speech audiometry, that showed a significant learning effect (performance improvement).ConclusionsDespite the individual variability in pre-festival biomarkers, we did not observe changes related to the noise-exposure dose caused by the attended event. This can indicate the absence of noise-exposure-driven cochlear synaptopathy in the study cohort, or reflect that biomarkers were not sensitive enough to detect mild CS. Future research should include a more diverse study cohort, dosimetry and results from test-retest reliability studies to provide more insight into the relationship between recreational noise-exposure and cochlear synaptopathy.
Context and Phase Dependent Effects of Delta transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Dynamic Attending
Authors: Shelp Adam , Mioni Giovanna , Wiener Martin 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAttention requires the allocation of limited resources to properly interpret our environment, making it ultimately unsustainable. Dynamic Attending Theory suggests that, in order to realistically maintain vigilance to our surroundings, attention likely fluctuates between high and low energetic states, such that information can be processed more quickly and accurately during attentional peaks and vice versa. Additionally, prior studies have suggested that the phase of delta oscillations (1-4 Hz) are critically involved in the entrainment of attention. We investigated the physiological and behavioral entrainment of attention and the role that delta phase plays to moderate the benefits of this attending. Participants (N=28) passively listened to a background auditory rhythm and were required to complete a visual discrimination task while undergoing 2 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). The task involved identifying an image, either upright or inverted, presented either on or before the final beat, while receiving delta stimulation that was either aligned or unaligned with image presentation. As expected, reaction times (RTs) were faster for on-beat than off-beat stimuli, and for upright images than inverted. Crucially, tACS phase-aligned with the beat led to faster RTs over out-of-phase stimulation, but only for upright images; remarkably, this pattern was reversed for inverted images presented on-beat, with slower RTs for inverted stimuli during in-phase tACS. These results suggest that the effects of delta tACS are both phase and context dependent, and mediate a potential form of speed-accuracy tradeoff in the allocation of attentional resources during rhythmic entrainment.