bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The impact of hypotestosteronemia on cardiometabolic effects of atorvastatin in men with hypercholesterolemia: a pilot study
Authors: Krysiak Robert , Kowalcze Karolina , Okopień Bogusław 
Published: April 2021

Background
Hypothyroidism, hyperprolactinemia, macroprolactinemia and low vitamin D status were found to impair pleiotropic effects of hypolipidemic agents. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether cardiometabolic effects of atorvastatin in men are determined by endogenous testosterone.

Methods
We studied three groups of men matched for age, BMI, plasma lipids and blood pressure: 19 untreated subjects with low testosterone levels (group A), 19 normotestosteronemic men receiving testosterone preparations (group B) and 21 untreated men with testosterone levels within the reference range (group C). Because of coexistent hypercholesterolemia, all subjects were managed with atorvastatin (40 mg daily) for 6 months. Glucose homeostasis markers, plasma lipids, as well as circulating levels of testosterone, uric acid, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fibrinogen, homocysteine and 25-hydroxyvitamin D were determined at the beginning and at the end of the study.

Results
At baseline, group A was more insulin-resistant and was characterized by higher levels of hsCRP, fibrinogen and homocysteine, and lower levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D than the remaining groups of patients. Despite reducing total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and hsCRP levels in all treatment groups, this effect was stronger in groups B and C than in group A. In groups B and C, atorvastatin use was also associated with a decrease in uric acid, fibrinogen and homocysteine concentrations and with an increase in 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. In group A, but not in the remaining groups, the drug decreased insulin sensitivity.

Conclusion
The obtained results suggest that untreated hypotestosteronemia may attenuate cardiometabolic effects of atorvastatin in men.
Impact of sex on outcomes of bifurcation lesion percutaneous coronary intervention: results from a single-centre prospective registry
Authors: Schamroth Pravda Nili , Perl Leor , Greenberg Gabriel , Codner Pablo , Assali Abid , Samara Abed , Porter Avital , Kornowski Ran , Vaknin-Assa Hana 
Published: April 2021

Background
Coronary bifurcation lesions are technically and clinically more challenging compared to nonbifurcation lesions. Sex-related differences in diagnostic and invasive therapeutic coronary procedures have been described in the literature. Our objective was to assess the impact of sex on outcomes of bifurcation lesion percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods
Our data were taken from a prospective registry of consecutive patients undergoing PCI for bifurcation lesions at our medical centre between 2004 and 2019. We compared rates of death and major adverse cardiac events (MACE) between men and women at 1 year and 3 years. MACE comprised cardiac death, myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization or stroke.

Results
A total of 1209 patients were included, 948 (78.4%) were male and 261 (21.6%) were female. Women were older (mean age 69.7 ± 11 years vs. 63.1 ± 11 years, P < 0.01), and had more comorbidities than men. Female patients had more angiographically calcified (38.1% vs. 30.1%, P = 0.017) lesions. At 1-year follow up, there was no significant difference of MACE (18.8 vs. 15.2%, P = 0.183) or all-cause mortality (5.7% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.242) between sexes. At 3-year follow up, there was a significantly higher rate of MACE in women (29.1% vs. 22.5%, P = 0.026), this was driven by a significantly higher all-cause mortality (13.8% vs. 6.5%, P < 0.01).

Conclusion
Women undergoing bifurcation PCI are older and have more comorbidities than their male counterparts. Intermediate term follow-up outcomes are similar between sexes. Poorer long-term outcomes of women are likely due to baseline higher risk profile.
Physical and Psychological Health Interdependence Among Dyads in Hematological Cancer
Authors: Streck Brennan Parmelee , Wardell Diane Wind , Derrick Jaye , Wood Geri LoBiondo 
Published: April 2021

Background
Hematological cancer impacts both patients and their caregivers. Although only patients experience direct physical effects from cancer, both patients and caregivers experience psychological effects from cancer-related stressors. Theories suggest that patient-caregiver dyads, although experiencing individual effects from cancer, may also indirectly affect one another's health. This is called interdependence.

Objective
This study investigated physical and psychological health interdependence among patient-caregiver dyads facing hematological cancer, and whether their relationship quality was a moderator of interdependence.

Methods
Thirty patient-caregiver dyads were assessed for their self-reported physical function, anxiety, and depression using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and relationship quality using the Mutuality Scale. Data were analyzed using the Actor Partner Interdependence Model, a dyadic data methodology for estimating interdependence.

Results
Individual physical and psychological health were related within both patients and caregivers. Patients and caregivers did not significantly differ in their reported depression, anxiety, or mutuality. Partner effects were detected among caregivers' anxiety and patients' physical function and depression. Mutuality did not moderate partner effects.

Conclusions
Findings suggest that health interdependence is present among patients with hematological cancer and their caregivers. In addition, there is a strong link between physical and psychological health within individuals, regardless of role.

Implications for Practice
Healthcare teams should consider dyadic assessment in their cancer care plans to identify risks for health decline in patients with hematological cancer and their caregivers. Assessment of caregivers, especially their anxiety levels and physical health, may yield integral information about the patients' physical and psychological health status.
Is the Postsurgical Quality of Life of Patients With Esophageal or Gastric Cancer Influenced by Emotional Competence and Neoadjuvant Treatments?
Authors: Baudry Anne-Sophie , Gehenne Lucie , Grynberg Delphine , Lelorain Sophie , Piessen Guillaume , Christophe Veronique ,   the FREGAT Working Group
Published: April 2021

Background
Emotional competence (EC) via anxiety and depressive symptoms impacts the postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of esophageal and gastric cancer patients after surgery.

Objective
The aim of this study was to confirm the involvement of emotional processes in postsurgery HRQoL according to the presence or absence of neoadjuvant treatments.

Methods
After diagnosis (T1) and after surgery (T2), 271 patients completed 3 questionnaires, assessing their intrapersonal and interpersonal EC, HRQoL, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Patients were categorized into 2 groups: patients with only surgery (group 1) and patients who received neoadjuvant treatment in addition to surgery (group 2). Analyses were based on hierarchical regression analyses and the SPSS PROCESS Macro to test the indirect effect of EC on HRQoL through anxiety and depression.

Results
Results showed an increase in depressive symptoms and a decrease in both anxiety symptoms and HRQoL between diagnosis and surgery, regardless of neoadjuvant treatment. At T1 and T2, EC predicted fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms and a less impaired HRQoL in the surgery-only group (group 1). Emotional competence, particularly intrapersonal EC, showed a significant indirect effect on HRQoL after surgery via fewer depressive symptoms.

Conclusion
Emotional competence promotes fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms and less impaired HRQoL after diagnosis and after surgery, especially for patients without neoadjuvant treatments.

Implications for Practice
It is important for oncology nurses and other clinicians to consider the role of emotional processes in postsurgical HRQoL in relation to the type of received treatments and to reinforce the use of EC by cancer patients to improve their adjustment.
The onset time of Fermi’s golden rule
Authors: Debierre V. , Lassalle E. 
Published: April 2021

Fermi’s golden rule describes the decay dynamics of unstable quantum systems coupled to a reservoir, and predicts a linear decay in time. Although it arises at relatively short times, the Fermi regime does not take hold in the earliest stages of the quantum dynamics. The standard criterion in the literature for the onset time of the Fermi regime is
t

F

∼ 1/Δ
ω
, with Δ
ω
the frequency interval around the resonant transition frequency
ω
0
of the system, over which the coupling to the reservoir does not vary appreciably. In this work, this criterion is shown to be inappropriate in general for broadband reservoirs, where the reservoir coupling spectrum takes the form
R
(
ω
) ∝
ω

η

, and for which it is found that for
η
> 1, the onset time of the Fermi regime is given by
t

F

∝ (
ω
X
/
ω
0
)

η
−1

× 1/
ω
0
where
ω
X
is the high-frequency cutoff of the reservoir. Therefore, the onset of the Fermi regime can take place at times orders of magnitude larger than those predicted by the standard criterion. This phenomenon is shown to be related to the excitation of the off-resonant frequencies of the reservoir at short times. For broadband reservoirs with
η
≤ 1, and for narrowband reservoirs, it is shown that the standard criterion is correct.
On a mixed energetic–dissipative constitutive law for non-proportional loading, with focus on small-scale plasticity
Authors: Bardella Lorenzo 
Published: April 2021

We analyse the mixed energetic–dissipative potential (MP) recently proposed by our group to predict, within higher-order strain gradient plasticity (SGP), reliable size-dependent responses under general loading histories. Such an MP follows former proposals by Chaboche, Ohno and co-workers for nonlinear kinematic hardening in the context of size-independent metal plasticity. The MP is given by
M
quadratic addends that each transitions, at a different threshold value, into a linear dissipative contribution. Hence, the MP involves 2
M
positive material parameters, given by the
M
threshold values and the
M
moduli weighing each quadratic recoverable term. We analytically demonstrate that, under proportional loading, the MP limit for
M
→ ∞ converges to a
less-than-quadratic
potential with well-defined properties. This result is of crucial importance for identifying the material parameters of any model adopting the MP. Moreover, our analysis provides a formula for the characterization of the energetic and dissipative parts of any possible MP limit, showing that, regarding the capability to describe the effect of diminishing size within SGP, the MP can be selected such that its contribution to the strengthening (i.e. an increase in yield point) is mostly dissipative, whereas its contribution to the increase in strain hardening is mostly recoverable.
Brain Networks Associated With COVID-19 Risk: Data From 3,662 Participants
Authors: Abdallah Chadi G. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundOur behavioral traits, and subsequent actions, could affect the risk of exposure to the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The current study aimed to determine whether unique brain networks are associated with the COVID-19 infection risk.MethodsThis research was conducted using the UK Biobank Resource. Functional magnetic resonance imaging scans in a cohort of general population (n=3,662) were used to compute the whole-brain functional connectomes. A network-informed machine learning approach was used to identify connectome and nodal fingerprints that are associated with positive COVID-19 status during the pandemic up to February 4th, 2021.ResultsThe predictive models successfully identified 6 fingerprints that were associated with COVID-19 positive, compared to negative status (all p values < 0.005). Overall, lower integration across the brain modules and increased segregation, as reflected by internal within module connectivity, were associated with higher infection rates. More specifically, COVID-19 positive status was associated with 1) reduced connectivity between the central executive and ventral salience, as well as between the dorsal salience and default mode networks; 2) increased internal connectivity within the default mode, ventral salience, subcortical and sensorimotor networks; and 3) increased connectivity between the ventral salience, subcortical and sensorimotor networks.ConclusionIndividuals are at increased risk of COVID-19 infections if their brain connectome is consistent with reduced connectivity in the top-down attention and executive networks, along with increased internal connectivity in the introspective and instinctive networks. These identified risk networks could be investigated as target for treatment of illnesses with impulse control deficits.
Industry and workplace characteristics associated with the use of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan: a nation-wide employee survey
Authors: Ishimaru Tomohiro , Ibayashi Koki , Nagata Masako , Hino Ayako , Tateishi Seiichiro , Tsuji Mayumi , Ogami Akira , Matsuda Shinya , Fujino Yoshihisa ,   for the CORoNaWork Project
Published: April 2021

AbstractObjectivesTo combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many countries have used contact tracing apps, including Japan’s voluntary-use contact-confirming application (COCOA). The current study aimed to identify industry and workplace characteristics associated with the use of this COVID-19 contact tracing app.MethodsThis cross-sectional study of full-time workers used an online survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of industry and workplace characteristics with contact tracing app use.ResultsOf the 27,036 participants, 25.1% had downloaded the COCOA. Workers in the public service (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14–1.45) and information technology (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.20–1.58) industries were more likely to use the app than were those in the manufacturing industry. In contrast, app usage was less common among workers in the retail and wholesale (aOR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76–0.99) and food/beverage (aOR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70–0.94) industries, but further adjustment for business size attenuated these associations. Workers at larger companies were more likely to use the app. Compared with permanent employees, the odds of using the app were higher for managers and civil servants but lower for those who were self-employed.ConclusionsOne possible reason for the under-implementation of the contact tracing app in the retail and wholesale and food/beverage industries is small business size, as suggested by the fully adjusted model results. An awareness campaign should be conducted to promote the widespread use of the contact tracing app in these industries.
Pre-pandemic mental health and disruptions to healthcare, economic, and housing outcomes during COVID –19: evidence from 12 UK longitudinal studies
Authors: Gessa Giorgio Di , Maddock Jane , Green Michael J. , Thompson Ellen J. , McElroy Eoin , Davies Helena L. , Mundy Jessica , Stevenson Anna J. , Kwong Alex S.F. , Griffith Gareth J. , Katikireddi Srinivasa Vittal , Niedzwiedz Claire L. , Ploubidis George B. , Fitzsimons Emla , Henderson Morag , Silverwood Richard J. , Chaturvedi Nish , Breen Gerome , Steves Claire J. , Steptoe Andrew , Porteous David J , Patalay Praveetha 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and associated virus suppression measures have disrupted lives and livelihoods and people already experiencing mental ill-health may have been especially vulnerable.AimTo quantify mental health inequalities in disruptions to healthcare, economic activity and housing.Method59,482 participants in 12 UK longitudinal adult population studies with data collected prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within each study we estimated the association between psychological distress assessed pre-pandemic and disruptions since the start of the pandemic to three domains: healthcare (medication access, procedures, or appointments); economic activity (employment, income, or working hours); and housing (change of address or household composition). Meta-analyses were used to pool estimates across studies.ResultsAcross the analysed datasets, one to two-thirds of participants experienced at least one disruption, with 2.3-33.2% experiencing disruptions in two or more domains. One standard deviation higher pre-pandemic psychological distress was associated with: (i) increased odds of any healthcare disruptions (OR=1.30; [95% CI:1.20–1.40]) with fully adjusted ORs ranging from 1.24 [1.09–1.41] for disruption to procedures and 1.33 [1.20– 1.49] for disruptions to prescriptions or medication access; (ii) loss of employment (OR=1.13 [1.06–1.21]) and income (OR=1.12 [1.06 –1.19]) and reductions in working hours/furlough (OR=1.05 [1.00–1.09]); (iii) no associations with housing disruptions (OR=1.00 [0.97–1.03]); and (iv) increased likelihood of experiencing a disruption in at least two domains (OR=1.25 [1.18–1.32]) or in one domain (OR=1.11 [1.07–1.16]) relative to no disruption.ConclusionPeople experiencing psychological distress pre-pandemic have been more likely to experience healthcare and economic disruptions, and clusters of disruptions across multiple domains during the pandemic. Failing to address these disruptions risks further widening the existing inequalities in mental health.
Network Diffusion Embedding Reveals Transdiagnostic Subnetwork Disruption and Potential Treatment Targets in Internalizing Psychopathologies
Authors: Thomas Paul J. , Leow Alex , Klumpp Heide , Phan K. Luan , Ajilore Olusola 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTNetwork diffusion models are a common and powerful way to study the propagation of information through a complex system and they offer straightforward approaches for studying multimodal brain network data. We developed an analytic framework to identify brain subnetworks with perturbed information diffusion capacity using the structural basis that best maps to resting state functional connectivity and applied it towards a heterogenous dataset of internalizing psychopathologies (IPs), a set of psychiatric conditions in which similar brain network deficits are found across the swath of the disorders, but a unifying neuropathological substrate for transdiagnostic symptom expression is currently unknown. This research provides preliminary evidence of a transdiagnostic brain subnetwork deficit characterized by information diffusion impairment of the right area 8BM, a key brain region involved in organizing a broad spectrum of cognitive tasks, that may underlie previously reported dysfunction of multiple brain circuits in the IPs. We also demonstrate that models of neuromodulation involving targeting this brain region normalize IP diffusion dynamics towards those of healthy controls. These analyses provide a framework for multimodal methods that identify both brain subnetworks with disrupted information diffusion and potential targets of these subnetworks for therapeutic neuromodulatory intervention based on previously well-characterized methodology.
Mean time to infection by small diffusing droplets containing SARS-CoV-2 during close social contacts
Authors: Dobramysl U. , Sieben C. , Holcman D. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAirborne viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 are partly spreading through aerosols containing viral particles. Inhalation of infectious airborne particles can lead to infection, a route that can even be more predominant compared with droplet or contact transmission. To study the transmission between a susceptible and an infected person, we estimate the distribution of arrival times of small diffusing aerosol particles to the inhaled region located below the nose until the number of particles reaches a critical threshold. Our results suggest that although contamination by continuous respiration can take around 90 minutes at a distance of one meter, it is reduced to a few minutes when coughing or sneezing. Interestingly, there is not much differences between outdoors and indoors when the air is still. When a window is open inside an office, the infection time is reduced. Finally, wearing a mask leads to a delay in the time to infection. To conclude, diffusion analysis provides several key time scale of viral airborne transmission.
Predicting the severity of disease progression in COVID-19 at the individual and population level: A mathematical model
Authors: Chirmule Narendra , Nair Pradip , Desai Bela , Khare Ravindra , Nerurkar Vivek , Gaur Amitabh 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACTThe impact of COVID-19 disease on health and economy has been global, and the magnitude of devastation is unparalleled in modern history. Any potential course of action to manage this complex disease requires the systematic and efficient analysis of data that can delineate the underlying pathogenesis. We have developed a mathematical model of disease progression to predict the clinical outcome, utilizing a set of causal factors known to contribute to COVID-19 pathology such as age, comorbidities, and certain viral and immunological parameters. Viral load and selected indicators of a dysfunctional immune response, such as cytokines IL-6 and IFNα, which contribute to the cytokine storm and fever, parameters of inflammation d-dimer and ferritin, aberrations in lymphocyte number, lymphopenia, and neutralizing antibodies were included for the analysis. The model provides a framework to unravel the multi-factorial complexities of the immune response manifested in SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals. Further, this model can be valuable to predict clinical outcome at an individual level, and to develop strategies for allocating appropriate resources to mitigate severe cases at a population level.
Clusterin in Alzheimer’s disease: an amyloidogenic inhibitor of amyloid formation
Authors: Spatharas Panagiotis M. , Nasi Georgia I. , Tsiolaki Paraskevi L. , Theodoropoulou Marilena K. , Papandreou Nikos C. , Hoenger Andreas , Trougakos Ioannis P. , Iconomidou Vassiliki A. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractClusterin is a heterodimeric glycoprotein (α- and β-chain), which has been described as an extracellular molecular chaperone. In humans, clusterin is an amyloid associated protein, co-localizing with fibrillar deposits in several amyloidoses, including Alzheimer’s disease. To clarify its potential implication in amyloid formation, we located aggregation-prone regions within the sequence of clusterin α-chain, via computational methods. We had peptide-analogues of each region chemically synthesized and experimentally demonstrated that all of them can form amyloid-like fibrils. We also provide evidence that the same peptide-analogues can inhibit amyloid-β fibril formation. These findings elucidate parts of the molecular mechanism in which clusterin inhibits amyloid formation. At the same time, they hint that molecular chaperones with amyloidogenic properties might have a role in the regulation of amyloid formation, essentially acting as functional amyloids.