bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Factors Associated With Use of Telemedicine for Follow-up of SLE&nbsp;in the COVID-19&nbsp;Outbreak
Authors: SO Ho , CHOW Evelyn , Cheng Isaac T , LAU Sze-Lok , Li Tena K , SZETO Cheuk-Chun , TAM Lai-Shan 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background Telemedicine has become an essential tool to manage patients with chronic disease during the COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world, and its widespread use will likely go beyond the outbreak. However, there is no study examining the factors associated with telemedicine use for follow-up of patients with SLE.Methods Consecutive patients followed up at the lupus nephritis clinic were contacted for their preference in changing the coming consultation to telemedicine in the form of videoconferencing. The demographic, socioeconomic and disease data of the first 140 patients opted for telemedicine and 140 control patients preferred to continue standard in-person follow-up were compared. Results The mean age of the 280 recruited patients was 45.6 ± 11.8 years. The mean disease duration was 15.0 ± 9.2 years. The majority of them had lupus nephritis class III, IV or V (88.2%) and were on prednisolone (90%). Three quarters of the patients (67.1%) were on immunosuppressants. The mean SLEDAI-2k was 4.06 ± 2.54, physician global assessment (PGA) was 0.46 ± 0.62 and SLICC/ACR damage index was 1.11 ± 1.36. A significant proportion of the patients (72.1%) had one or more comorbidities. It was found that patients with higher mean PGA (telemedicine: 0.54±0.63 vs control: 0.38±0.59, p=0.025) and family monthly income > USD3, 800 (telemedicine: 51/140, 36.4% vs control: 33/140, 23.6%; p=0.028) preferred telemedicine, while full-time employees (telemedicine: 56/140, 40.0% vs control: 71/140, 50.7%; p=0.041) preferred in-person follow-up. These predictors remained significant after controlling for age in the multivariate analysis. PGA was positively correlated with the perception that TM could reduce and routine visit could increase the risk of COVID-19 during the outbreak. No other clinical factors were found to be associated with the preference of telemedicine follow-up. Conclusions When choosing the mode of care delivery between telemedicine and physical clinic visit for patients with SLE, the subjective disease activity as well as patient’s employment and economic status appeared to be important.
Fabrication and Characterization of Zeolite ZSM-12@MOF-74 Nanoporous Coordination Polymer Nanocomposite for removal of environmental toxic substances
Authors: Albouyeh Azita , Pourahmad Afshin , Kefayati Hassan 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
White rice husk silica (RHS) was used as a silica source for ZSM-12 (MTW) zeolite synthesis. The ZSM-12 zeolite derived from RHS was prepared by hydrothermal method at 150°C. MOF-74(Zn) metal–organic framework (MOF) as a shell was growth over zeolite ZSM-12 as a core at room temperature. The ZSM-12@MOF-74 core@shell was used as a visible light driven photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue (MB). The materials were characterized using a range of techniques. The ZSM-12@MOF-74 core@shell indicated the highest photocatalytic activity. Degradation mechanism was attributed to electrons and holes are generated in the organic ligand. The core@shell was extremely stable during five cycle test and did not demonstrate any explicit loss of photocatalytic activity during five cycle tests. The used adsorbent can be reused for adsorptive removal through simply washing.
Peculiar Histopathological Alterations of Enterocytes in A Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patient with Mycobacterial Tuberculosis Co-Infection
Authors: AL-Zaidi Rana , AL-Noor Nasir , Habbash Adel 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: The ongoing novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is principally defined by its respiratory symptoms. While it is clear that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can affect the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 is better understood, the exact pathological alterations following infection require further investigation. The purpose of this paper is to report and share our histopathological findings from a right hemicolectomy specimen of a confirmed COVID-19 positive case, which exhibited a Mycobacterium Tuberculosis co-infection.Methods:Microscopic sections from right hemicolectomy specimen were appropriately stained and studied by two anatomical pathologists. Additionally, we searched PubMed and Google Scholar databases for reports/observations regarding pathological alterations of the intestine following COVID-19 infection.Results:Histological sections showed novel peculiar pathological alterations in the terminal ileal mucosa involving principally absorptive enterocytes with evidence of striking cellular injury as well as prominent erythrophagocytosis in the mesenteric lymph nodes. No specific pathological alterations were observed in the appendix or colon. The characteristic pathological features of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis infection were also observed throughout the specimen.Conclusions:Our observations showed that the novel SARS-CoV-2 can affect the gastrointestinal tract, causing epithelial injury and pathological alterations attributed to its ability to infect absorptive enterocytes by interacting with the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor. These pathological findings could be regarded as viral cytopathic changes and should be considered when evaluating gastrointestinal specimens from COVID-19 infected patients.
Protein Phosphatase 2A Inhibits Gastric Cancer Cell Glycolysis by Reducing MYC Signaling
Authors: Zhang Wei , Cai Zhenhua , Zhou Ruiqing , Liu Xiaohui , Wang Yuhong , Feng Yunzhang 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: The Warburg effect is closely associated malignant phenotypes and poor prognosis in cancer patients. PP2A is a highly conserved eukaryotic serine/threonine protein phosphatase that functions as a tumor suppressor in a variety of human cancers. However, the relationship between PP2A and the Warburg effect has yet to be fully understood. Methods: The expression profile of two endogenous inhibitors of PP2A, SET and CIP2A, are detected by real-time qPCR. Loss-of-function and gain-of-function are performed to demonstrate the roles of PP2A in gastric cancer cell proliferation and glycolysis. Cell biological, molecular, and biochemical approaches are used to uncover the underlying mechanism. Results: In this study, we find that SET and CIP2A are overexpressed in gastric cancer and associates a decreased PP2A activity. Pharmacological activation of PP2A with FTY-720 and DT-061 significantly reduces gastric cancer cell proliferation and glycolytic ability. Importantly, inhibition of PP2A activity by genetic silencing of PPP2R5A induces a growth advantage, which can be largely compromised by addition of the glycolysis inhibitor 2-Deoxy-D-glucose, suggesting a glycolysis-dependent effect of PP2A in gastric cancer. Mechanistically, the well known transcription factor and glycolysis regulator c-Myc is discovered as the functional mediator of PP2A in regulating cell glycolysis. Ectopic expression of a phosphorylation-mutant c-Myc resistant to PP2A (MycT58A) restores the inhibitory effect of FTY-720 and DT-061 on the lactate production and glucose uptake. Furthermore, there is a close association between SET and CIP2A expression and c-Myc gene signatures in gastric cancer samples. Conclusions: This study provides strong evidence of the involvement of PP2A in the Warburg effect and indicates that it could be a novel antitumor strategy to target tumor metabolism in gastric cancer.
How can we compare multispecies livestock rearing households? – An analysis of the impact of health and production parameters on multispecies livestock rearing outcomes
Authors: Win Tu Tu Zaw , Campbell Angus , Magalhaes Ricardo J. Soares , Oo Kyaw Naing , Henning Joerg 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: The Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Myanmar is a critical region of livestock production. This region supports 10 million people whose livelihoods depend on small-scale, dry-land agriculture, but it is also one of the poorest regions of Myanmar. Little is known about the constraints to animal health in multi-species livestock farms in this region or the relationships between husbandry practices and measures of the success of livestock rearing such as income, and successful health management.Results: In this study, we describe associations between husbandry practices and animal health problems affecting different body systems. We also develop a biosecurity and livestock disease prevention index that can be compared between livestock species, estimate the income generated from livestock production, and identify factors influencing these parameters. Cross-sectional study was used to collect data on livestock production and health from cattle, sheep, goat and village chicken farmers in 40 villages of the CDZ. Survey-design based techniques and F-statistics, ordinal, and binomial regression were used for data analysis. Our results indicate that a significant proportion of farmers’ income in the CDZ comes from crop production (43.2%) and livestock production (23.1%) and the rest of the farmers’ income is derived from trading, supported by other relatives and employment. Our results indicate that animal health management practices, herd/flock size, and experience of farmers contributed significantly to the presence of animal health problems, in particular related to the physical, respiratory and digestive systems. Animal health management was usually conducted in traditional ways. Among different livestock species farms, cattle farms (cattle median BDPI: 45; IQR: 35-55) practised better biosecurity than other livestock species farms (i.e. small ruminant and village chicken farms) (small ruminant and village chicken BDPI: 10; IQR: 0-20). Interestingly, the ownership groups (i.e. rearing singly or multispecies) did not show any impact on biosecurity and disease prevention index of the farms.Conclusions: This study identified good practice households and these findings will be useful for designing intervention trials to improve the production and health outcomes evaluated in this study.
Prediction of intensive care unit mortality based on missing events
Authors: Shoji Tatsuma , Yonekura Hiroshi , Sato Yoshiharu , Kawashiki yohei 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
BackgroundThe increasing availability of electronic health records has made it possible to construct and implement models for predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality using machine learning. However, the algorithms used are not clearly described, and the performance of the model remains low owing to several missing values, which is unavoidable in big databases.MethodsWe developed an algorithm for subgrouping patients based on missing event patterns using the Philips eICU Research Institute (eRI) database as an example. The eRI database contains data associated with 200,859 ICU admissions from many hospitals (>400) and is freely available. We then constructed a model for each subgroup using random forest classifiers and integrated the models. Finally, we compared the performance of the integrated model with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) scoring system, one of the best known predictors of patient mortality, and the imputation approach-based model.ResultsSubgrouping and patient mortality prediction were separately performed on two groups: the sepsis group (the ICU admission diagnosis of which is sepsis) and the non-sepsis group (a complementary subset of the sepsis group). The subgrouping algorithm identified a unique, clinically interpretable missing event patterns and divided the sepsis and non-sepsis groups into five and seven subgroups, respectively. The integrated model, which comprises five models for the sepsis group or seven models for the non-sepsis group, greatly outperformed the APACHE IV or IVa, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.89–0.92) compared with 0.79 (0.76–0.81) for the APACHE system in the sepsis group and an AUROC of 0.90 (0.89–0.91) compared with 0.86 (0.85–0.87) in the non-sepsis group. Moreover, our model outperformed the imputation approach-based model, which had an AUROC of 0.85 (0.83–0.87) and 0.87 (0.86–0.88) in the sepsis and non-sepsis groups, respectively.ConclusionsWe developed a method to predict patient mortality based on missing event patterns. Our method more accurately predicts patient mortality than others. Our results indicate that subgrouping, based on missing event patterns, instead of imputation is essential and effective for machine learning against patient heterogeneity.Trial registrationNot applicable.
Estimating the Broader Fiscal Consequences of Acute Hepatic Porphyria (AHP) in Belgium Using a Public Economic Analytic Framework
Authors: Connolly Mark , Kotsopoulos Nikos , Vermeersch Sebastian , Patris Julien , Cassiman David 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background Acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) is a rare, debilitating disease characterized by potentially life-threatening attacks often resulting in chronic symptoms that negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. Symptoms of AHP prevent many individuals from working and achieving lifetime work averages. The aim of this study was to apply a public economic framework to evaluate AHP in Belgium, taking into consideration a broad range of costs that are relevant to government in relation to social benefit payments and lifetime taxes paid. Methodology A public economic framework was developed exploring lifetime costs for government attributed to an individual with AHP in Belgium. Work-activity and lifetime direct taxes paid, indirect consumption taxes and requirements for public benefits were estimated based on established clinical pathways for AHP and compared to the general population (GP). The model includes AHP-related healthcare costs and non-AHP healthcare costs for the GP. Results Lifetime earnings are reduced in an individual with AHP by €347,802 per person (p.p.), translating to reduced lifetime taxes paid of €183,187 for an AHP individual compared to the GP. We estimate increased lifetime disability benefit support of €247,242 for an AHP individual compared to GP. Lifetime healthcare costs for a person with AHP were estimated to be €3,030,316 due to frequent hospitalisations associated with porphyria attacks compared to the GP. The lifetime costs for a person with 12 attacks per annum factoring in transfers, taxes and healthcare costs are estimated to be €3,460,745 p.p. Eliminating AHP attacks after 10 years of active disease, thus, enabling a person to return to work increases lifetime earnings by €224,575. Increased work activity in this cohort would generate an estimated €118,284 p.p. over their lifetime. The elimination of AHP attacks could also lead to reductions in disability payments of €179,184 p.p. and healthcare cost savings of €1,511,027. Conclusions Due to severe disability resulting from constant attacks, AHP patients incur significant public costs. Lifetime taxes paid are reduced as these attacks occur during peak earning and working years. Reducing AHP attacks can confer significant fiscal benefits for government, including reduced healthcare costs, reduced disability payments and improved tax revenue.
Predicting Gene Interactions in Tumor Microenvironment using Patient Derived Spheroid Primary Cell Culture
Authors: Abdullah Murdani , Utari Amanda Pitarini , Nursyirwan Saskia Aziza , Noor Dimas Ramadhian 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Objective

Cancer is a heterogenic disease from genetic to individual levels, which induced a variety of therapheutical research and disease progression. Cancer heterogeneity were also observed in most of solid tumors including colorectal cancer. Tumor growth depends on intra-tumoral complexity in which tumor cells surrounded by several cells in their nische known as tumor microenvironment. In this study, we are using spheroid derived primary culture derived from patients to predict expression pattern of tumor growth in their microenvironment in vitro. The gene list were data which obtained from our other “on going publications”
Results

In this study, we cultured patient-derived primary cells for 7 days and analyzed 24 genes that positively expressed in this in vitro system. Using STRING, we presented interactions between proteins which later may predict the interaction between the cells. The result shown that the cells actively using carbon metabolism to maintain energy, to produce several protection mechanism against oxidative stress to evade apoptosis, and to stimulate several protein related to epithelial to mesenchymal transition and angiogenesis in vitro.
Harmful Mutation Load in the Mitochondrial Genomes of Cattle Breeds&nbsp;
Authors: Subramanian Sankar 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
ObjectiveDomestication of wild animals results in a reduction in the effective population size and this could affect the deleterious mutation load of domesticated breeds. Furthermore, artificial selection will also contribute to accumulation deleterious mutations due to the increased rate of inbreeding among these animals. The process of domestication, founder population size, and artificial selection differ between cattle breeds, which could lead to a variation in their deleterious mutation loads. We investigated this using mitochondrial genome data from 252 animals belonging to 15 cattle breeds of the world. ResultsOur analysis revealed more than fivefold difference in the deleterious mutation load among cattle breeds. We also observed a negative correlation between the neutral heterozygosity and the ratio of amino acid changing diversity to silent diversity. This suggests a proportionally higher amino acid changing variants in breeds with low diversity. Our results highlight the magnitude of difference in the deleterious mutations present in the mitochondrial genomes of various breeds. The results of this study could be useful in predicting the rate of incidence of genetic diseases in different breeds.
Intrabronchial Application of Extracellular Histones Shows No Proinflammatory Effects in Swine in a Translational Pilot Study
Authors: Ruemmler Robert , Ziebart Alexander , Britten Elisabeth , Gosling Moritz , Rissel Rene , Hartmann Erik K. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Objective: Extracellular histones have been identified as one molecular factor that can cause and sustain alveolar damage and were linked to high mortality rates in critically ill patients. In this pilot study, we wanted to validate the proinflammatory in vivo effects of local and systemic histone application in a prospective translational porcine model. This was combined with the evaluation of an experimental acute lung injury model using intrabronchial lipopolysaccharides, which has been published previously.Results: The targeted application of histones was successful in all animals. Animals showed decreased oxygenation after instillation, but no differences could be detected between the sham and histone treatments. Additionally, intravenous histone injection had no effect. The histologic analyses and inflammatory responses indicated that there were no differences in tissue damage between the groups.
Intron size minimisation in teleosts
Authors: Jakt Lars Martin , Dubin Arseny , Johansen Steinar Daae 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
BackgroundSpliceosomal introns are parts of primary transcripts that are removed by RNA splicing. Although introns apparently do not contribute to the function of the mature transcript, in vertebrates they comprise the majority of the transcribed region increasing the metabolic cost of transcription. The persistence of long introns across evolutionary time suggests functional roles that can offset this metabolic cost. The teleosts comprise one of the largest vertebrate clades. They have unusually compact and variable genome sizes and provide a suitable system for analysing intron evolution. ResultsWe have analysed intron lengths in 172 vertebrate genomes and show that teleost intron lengths are relatively short, highly variable and bimodally distributed. Introns that were long in teleosts were also found to be long in mammals and were more likely to be found in regulatory genes and to contain conserved sequences. Our results argue that intron length has decreased in parallel in a non-random manner throughout teleost evolution and represent a deviation from the ancestral state.ConclusionOur observations indicate an accelerated rate of intron size evolution in the teleosts and that teleost introns can be divided into two classes by their length. Teleost intron sizes have evolved primarily as a side-effect of genome size evolution and small genomes are dominated by short introns ( < 256 bp). However, a non-random subset of introns has resisted this process across the teleosts and these are more likely have functional roles in all vertebrate clades
Renoprotective effects of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes patients with decompensated heart failure
Authors: Nakagaito Masaki , Imamura Teruhiko , Joho Shuji , Ushijima Ryuichi , Nakamura Makiko , Kinugawa Koichiro 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) reduces the risk of the composite renal endpoint and weakens the progressive decline in renal function in patients with chronic heart failure (HF). However, a detailed mechanism of SGLT2i on renal function and outcome remains uninvestigated.
Methods

We prospectively included 40 type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) patients (median 68 years old, 29 male) who were hospitalized for decompensated HF and received SGLT2i during the index hospitalization. Of them, 24 patients had increases in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 12-month follow-up and 16 had decreases in eGFR. We investigated the factors associating with the improvement in renal function of SGLT2i therapy in participants.
Results

Lower plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level and the use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitor (RASI) were independently associated with increases in eGFR during the follow-up period (p < 0.05 for both). Patients with both low plasma BNP levels and uses of RASI had significant increases in eGFR irrespective of the HbA1c levels.
Conclusions

Lower plasma BNP level and the use of RASI at baseline were associated with the renoprotective effect of SGLT2i among patients with decompensated HF and T2DM.