bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prognostic value of resting cardiac power index depends on mean arterial pressure in dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Morimoto Ryota , Mizutani Takashi , Araki Takashi , Oishi Hideo , Kimura Yuki , Kazama Shingo , Shibata Naoki , Kuwayama Tasuku , Hiraiwa Hiroaki , Kondo Toru , Furusawa Kenji , Okumura Takahiro , Murohara Toyoaki 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAimsIn recent decades, haemodynamic parameters have been estimated for risk stratification and determining treatment strategies for patients with non‐ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). In various invasive procedures, the cardiac pumping capability is defined as cardiac power output (CPO), which is calculated by multiplying cardiac output by the mean arterial pressure. Lower CPO values in advanced heart failure predict adverse outcomes. However, few studies discuss the prognostic value of CPO in mild‐to‐moderate phase patients. This study aimed to determine the value of the cardiac power index (CPI) obtained from the resting CPO for predicting the prognosis of patients with New York Heart Association Functional Class II or III DCM.Methods and resultsFrom March 2000 to January 2020, a total of 623 cardiomyopathy patients were evaluated for haemodynamic parameters. Patients with secondary cardiomyopathy, ischaemic cardiomyopathy, valvular heart disease, and Class IV cardiomyopathy were excluded. A total of 176 DCM patients fulfilled the criteria for inclusion. Patients were 51.7 ± 12.5 years old (mean ± standard deviation) with a mean left ventricular ejection fraction of 32.1 ± 9.2%. The patients were divided into two groups by their median CPI (CPI < 0.52, low‐CPI; CPI ≥ 0.52, high‐CPI). No significant differences were found in the left ventricular end‐diastolic diameter, left ventricular ejection fraction, or pulmonary arterial wedge pressure between the groups. The probability of cardiac event‐free survival was significantly lower for low‐CPI than for high‐CPI groups by Kaplan–Meier analysis (P = 0.012), even with no significant difference between the high and low cardiac index groups (P = 0.069). Furthermore, Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that, in addition to the CPI, the systolic and mean arterial pressure involved in CPI calculation were independent predictors of cardiac events. Indeed, among these factors, mean arterial pressure had the strongest prognostic ability.ConclusionsAlthough CPI is effective for stratifying DCM and predicting cardiac events in patients with Class II/III DCM, this prognostic value depends on mean arterial pressure.
The Akt pathway mediates the protective effects of myeloid differentiation protein 1 in pathological cardiac remodelling
Authors: Peng Jianye , Zeng Gaofeng , Zhong Peng , Wang Guangji , Lei ChangCheng , Tian Guoping , Chen Jingsong , Wu Jianfeng , Shen Caijie 
Published: May 2021

AbstractAimsMyeloid differentiation protein 1 (MD1) was shown to ameliorate pressure overload‐induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis by negatively regulating the MEK–ERK1/2 and NF‐κB pathways. However, whether MD1 modulates cardiac function and whether the Akt pathway mediates the benefits of MD1 in pressure overload‐induced cardiac remodelling remain unclear.Methods and ResultsMale cardiac‐specific transgenic MD1 (MD1‐TG) mice, MD1‐knockout (KO) mice and wild‐type (WT) littermates aged 8–10 weeks were subjected to sham operation and aortic banding (AB) for 4 weeks. Then, left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, fibrosis and function of the mice were assessed. When compared with WT‐AB mice, MD1‐TGs showed decreased cross‐sectional area (CSA) of cardiomyocytes (P < 0.001), mRNA expression of β‐myosin heavy chain (β‐MHC) (P < 0.02), ratios of heart weight/body weight and heart weight/tibia length (P < 0.04) and collagen volume fraction (P < 0.001). The LV end‐diastolic diameter was reduced, and LV ejection fraction and fractional shortening were improved in MD1‐TG‐AB mice than in WT‐AB mice (P < 0.05). In cultured H9C2 cells, adenovirus vector‐mediated MD1 overexpression decreased angiotensin II‐induced mRNA expression of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and β‐MHC and cell CSA (P < 0.002), whereas knockdown of MD1 by shRNA exhibited opposite effects (P < 0.04). Mechanistically, MD1 suppressed pathological cardiac remodelling at least partly by blocking Akt pathway. Akt inactivation by MK2206 largely offset the pro‐hypertrophic effects of MD1 deficiency in angiotensin II‐stimulated cardiomyocytes.ConclusionsThe Akt pathway mediates the protective effects of MD1 in pressure overload‐induced cardiac remodelling in mice. Targeting MD1 may provide therapeutic strategy for the treatment of pathological cardiac remodelling and heart failure.
In the Name of Racial Justice: Why Bioethics Should Care about Environmental Toxins
Authors: Ray Keisha 
Published: May 2021

AbstractFacilities that emit hazardous toxins, such as toxic landfills, oil refineries, and chemical plants, are disproportionately located in predominantly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous neighborhoods. Environmental injustices like these threaten just distribution of health itself, including access to health that is not dependent on having the right skin color, living in the right neighborhood, or making the right amount of money. Facilities that emit environmental toxins wrongly make people's race, ethnicity, income, and neighborhood essential to who is allowed to breathe clean air and drink clean water, and thus, who is allowed to be healthy. This can be seen in the environmental crises in Louisiana; Mississippi; Houston, Texas; and Flint, Michigan. Since bioethics purports to concern itself with the principle of justice as applied to individuals and increasingly to populations, the field ought to concern itself more with environmental injustice.
What Has Covid‐19 Exposed in Bioethics? Four Myths
Authors: Wolf Susan M. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe Covid‐19 pandemic has exposed four myths in bioethics. First, the flood of bioethics publications on how to allocate scarce resources in crisis conditions has assumed authorities would declare the onset of crisis standards of care, yet few have done so. This leaves guidelines in limbo and patients unprotected. Second, the pandemic's realities have exploded traditional boundaries between clinical, research, and public health ethics, requiring bioethics to face the interdigitation of learning, doing, and allocating. Third, without empirical research, the success or failure of ethics guidelines remains unknown, demonstrating that crafting ethics guidance is only the start. And fourth, the pandemic's glaring health inequities require new commitment to learn from communities facing extraordinary challenges. Without that new learning, bioethics methods cannot succeed. The pandemic is a wake‐up call, and bioethics must rise to the challenge.
Ant Cuckoo Search Optimization‐based deep learning classifier for image enhancement in spinal cord images
Authors: Saminathan Priya , Samuel Letitia 
Published: May 2021

AbstractImage enhancement has been paid great attention in several areas, and various image enhancement approaches are introduced by the researchers to enhance the images clearer from the degraded images. Accordingly, this paper presents the proposed ACSO‐based IE‐CGAN for image enhancement. Initially, an effective noisy pixel identification based on image enhancement is developed, which employs circular‐based searching for improving the input image from several noises, like salt and pepper noise, speckle (impulse) noise, Gaussian noise, and random noise. Once the noisy pixels are identified, the pixel enhancement is done using the circular‐based search. The noise removal is done using a statistical model, where the best threshold value is determining using the proposed Ant Cuckoo Search Optimization (ACSO) algorithm. The ACSO algorithm is newly designed by integrating Ant Lion Optimization (ALO) and the Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO) algorithm. After that, the contrast enhancement is carried out using Image Enhancement Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (IE‐CGAN), which is trained by the proposed ASCO algorithm. The experimentation is carried out using an osteoporotic vertebral fracture dataset, and the performance of image enhancement using ACSO‐based IE‐CGAN is evaluated based on Peak Signal to Noise ratio (PSNR), Structural Similarity Index (SSIM), and Second Derivative like Measure of Enhancement (SDME). The developed method achieves the maximal PSNR of 33.50 dB with salt and pepper noise, maximal SDME 41.38 dB with random noise, and maximal SSIM of 0.967 with salt and pepper noise.
Establishment of clinical diagnostic models using glucose, lipid, and urinary polypeptides in gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Hu Zhiying , Zhang Man 
Published: May 2021

AbstractBackgroundGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has many adverse outcomes that seriously threaten the short‐term and long‐term health of mothers and infants. This study comprehensively analyzed the clinical diagnostic value of GDM‐related clinical indexes and urine polypeptide research results, and established comprehensive index diagnostic models.MethodsIn this study, diagnostic values from the clinical indexes of serum triglyceride (TRIG), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and 7 GDM‐related urinary polypeptides were analyzed retrospectively. The multiple logistic regression equation, multilayer perceptron neural network model, radial basis function, and discriminant analysis function models of GDM‐related indexes were established using machine language.ResultsThe results showed that HbA1c had the highest diagnostic value for GDM, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.769. When the cut‐off value was 4.95, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 70.5% and 70.0%, respectively. Among the seven GDM‐related urinary polypeptides, human hemopexin (HEMO) had the highest diagnostic value, with an AUC of 0.690. When the cut‐off value was 368.5, the sensitivity and specificity were 79.5% and 43.3%, respectively. The AUC of the multilayer perceptron neural network model was 0.942, followed by binary logistic regression (0.938), radial basis function model (0.909), and the discriminant analysis function model (0.908).ConclusionThe establishment of a GDM diagnostic model combining blood glucose, blood lipid, and urine polypeptide indexes can lay a foundation for exploring machine language and artificial intelligence in diagnostic systems.
Dental education during the pandemic: Cross‐sectional evaluation of four different teaching concepts
Authors: Goob Janosch , Erdelt Kurt , Güth Jan‐Frederik , Liebermann Anja 
Published: May 2021

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the advantages of student satisfaction with and functionality of three digital teaching concepts during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic compared to a conventional lecture setup.MethodsThis cross‐sectional study was a survey‐based e‐learning research among dental students in the clinical study phase of a department of prosthetic dentistry at a German university hospital. A total of 44 questions were answered in four main sections: 1. general technical components; 2. acceptance; 3. evaluation and functionality; and 4. overall evaluation and grades of the various digital concepts. The use of Zoom conference, livestream, and prerecorded PowerPoint was compared to the conventional lecture setup (control group/CG). Data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov test, followed by an exploratory data analysis and Cronbach's alpha test (α = 0.05).ResultsStudents were very satisfied with the provision, quality, and benefit of the digital concepts. The asynchronous concept was significantly more satisfying than the synchronous concepts in many aspects but was less successful in interactions. In the overall evaluation and grading, the asynchronous concept was rated significantly better than the other synchronous concepts (p ≤ 0.007), followed by Zoom conference, conventional lecture (CG), and livestream, while Zoom conference and the conventional lecture showed no significant difference (p = 0.784).ConclusionsStudents significantly preferred the asynchronous concept to the synchronous concepts. The results suggested that asynchronous concepts are an effective and functional form of distance education during a pandemic. In general, digital teaching concepts are currently widely accepted for maintaining university education.
A new D‐galactose treatment monitoring index for PGM1‐CDG
Authors: Perales‐Clemente Ester , Liedtke Kristen , Studinski April , Radenkovic Silvia , Gavrilov Dimitar , Oglesbee Devin , Matern Dietrich , Rinaldo Piero , Tortorelli Silvia , Morava Eva , Raymond Kimiyo 
Published: May 2021

AbstractPhosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1) catalyzes the interconversion of glucose‐6‐phosphate to glucose‐1‐phosphate and is a key enzyme of glycolysis, glycogenesis, and glycogenolysis. PGM1 deficiency (OMIM: 614921) was initially defined as a glycogen storage disorder (type XIV), and later re‐classified as a PGM1‐congenital disorder of glycosylation (PGM1‐CDG). Serum transferrin (Tf) glycan isoform analysis by liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) is used as a primary diagnostic screen tool, and reveals a very unique CDG profile described as a mixture of CDG‐type I and CDG‐type II patterns. Oral d‐galactose supplementation shows significant clinical and metabolic improvements, which are indicated by the Tf glycan isoform normalization over time in patients with PGM1‐CDG. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers to guide d‐galactose dosage in patients in order to maintain effective and safe drug levels. Here, we present a simplified algorithm called PGM1‐CDG Treatment Monitoring Index (PGM1‐TMI) for assessing the response of PGM1‐CDG patients to d‐galactose supplementation. For our single‐center cohort of 16 PGM1‐CDG patients, the Tf glycan profile analysis provided the biochemical diagnosis in all of them. In addition, the PGM1‐TMI was reduced in PGM1‐CDG patients under d‐galactose supplementation as compared with their corresponding values before treatment, indicating that glycosylation proceeds towards normalization. PGM1‐TMI allows tracking Tf glycan isoform normalization over time when the patients are on d‐galactose supplementation.
Reduced serum miR‐202 may promote the progression of Alzheimer's disease patients via targeting amyloid precursor protein
Authors: Dong Li‐Hua , Sun Lei , Zhang Wen‐Jing , Wang Xiao‐Yan , Li Jia‐Mei 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe current study investigated whether the expression of miR‐202 was abnormal in the serum of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and evaluated the potential clinical significance, thereby shedding light on the diagnosis of AD. Here, our data showed that the level of miR‐202 decreased significantly in the serum of AD patients (n = 121) compared with that of healthy controls (n = 86). Further analysis showed that the level of serum miR‐202 was gradually decreased in the mild AD group (n = 31), moderate AD group (n = 52) and severe AD group (n = 38) compared with the healthy control group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that serum miR‐202 could differentiate AD patients from healthy controls, with an AUC of 0.892. Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum miR‐202 was positively correlated with the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE). Based on TargetScan, a conserved binding site was identified in the 3′UTR of amyloid precursor protein (APP). The dual luciferase assay showed that miR‐202 suppressed the relative luciferase activity of pmirGLO‐APP‐3′UTR. Western blot assays indicated that overexpression of miR‐202 suppressed the expression of APP, while the expression of APP was enhanced after inhibition of miR‐202 in PC12 cells, indicating that APP was a possible target gene of miR‐202. Moreover, the cell apoptosis induced by transfection of miR‐202 inhibitor was abolished by silencing APP. In summary, we showed novel data that downregulation of serum miR‐202 may be used as a potential biomarker for AD and may promote the development of AD by targeting APP.
Knockdown of ZNF479 inhibits proliferation and glycolysis of gastric cancer cells through regulating β‐catenin/c‐Myc signaling pathway
Authors: Jin Xiao‐Sheng , Ji Ting‐Ting , Shi Zheng‐Chao , Zhang Qing‐Qing , Ye Fang‐Peng , Yu Wei‐Lai , Li Rong‐Zhou 
Published: May 2021

AbstractGastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy and the third most deadly tumor in the world. Zinc finger protein 479 (ZNF479) has been demonstrated to play crucial roles in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the function of ZNF479 in gastric cancer remains to be clarified. The current study aimed to investigate the role of ZNF479 in gastric cancer progression and elucidate the potential molecular mechanism. In this study, Cell Count Kit‐8 and colony formation assays demonstrated that knockdown of ZNF479 inhibited cell proliferation in AGS and SGC‐7901 cells. Of note, knockdown of ZNF479 hinders tumor growth of xenograft tumor mice. What is more, knockdown of ZNF479 inhibited glucose uptake, lactate production, adenosine triphosphate level, and extracellular acidification ratio; increased oxygen consumption ratio in gastric cancer cells; and decreased the expression of glycolytic proteins both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, analysis mechanism suggests that ZNF479 participated in the regulation of gastric cancer progression through affecting the β‐catenin/c‐Myc signaling pathway. Collectively, ZNF479 plays a role as an oncogene through modulating β‐catenin/c‐Myc signaling pathway in the development of gastric cancer, which provides a new research target for future studies.
A Tool to Locate Parathyroid Glands Using Dynamic Optical Contrast Imaging
Authors: Hu Yong , Han Albert Y. , Huang Shan , Pellionisz Peter , Alhiyari Yazeed , Krane Jeffrey F. , Shori Ramesh , Stafsudd Oscar , St. John Maie A. 
Published: May 2021

Objectives/HypothesisIdentification of parathyroid glands and adjacent tissues intraoperatively can be quite challenging because of their small size, variable locations, and indistinct external features. The objective of this study is to test the efficacy of the dynamic optical contrast imaging (DOCI) technique as a tool in specifically differentiating parathyroid tissue and adjacent structures, facilitating efficient and reliable tissue differentiation.Study DesignProspective study.MethodsBoth animal and human tissues were included in this study. Fresh specimens were imaged with DOCI and subsequently processed for hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. The DOCI images were analyzed and compared to the H&E results as ground truth.ResultsIn both animal and human experiments, significant DOCI contrast was observed between parathyroid glands and adjacent tissue of all types. Region of interest analysis revealed most distinct DOCI values for each tissue when using 494 and 572 nm‐specific band pass filter for signal detection (P < .005 for porcine tissues, and P = .02 for human specimens). Linear discriminant classifier for tissue type prediction based on DOCI also matched the underlying histology.ConclusionsWe demonstrate that the DOCI technique reliably facilitates specific parathyroid gland localization. The DOCI technique constitutes important groundwork for in vivo precision endocrine surgery.Level of Evidence4 Laryngoscope, 131:2391–2397, 2021
Mosaicism for Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Activation in a Glioblastoma Involving Both PDGFRA Amplification and NTRK2 Fusion
Authors: Shepherd Daniel J. , Miller Tyler E. , Forst Deborah A. , Jones Pamela , Nardi Valentina , Martinez-Lage Maria , Stemmer-Rachamimov Anat , Gonzalez Ramon G. , Iafrate A. John , Ritterhouse Lauren L. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Rearrangements involving the neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene family have been reported in diverse tumor types, and NTRK-targeted therapies have recently been approved. In this article, we report a case of a 26-year-old man with an NTRK2-rearranged isocitrate dehydrogenase-wild-type glioblastoma who showed a robust but temporary response to the NTRK inhibitor larotrectinib. Rebiopsy after disease progression showed elimination of the NTRK2-rearranged tumor cell clones, with secondary emergence of a PDGFRA-amplified subclone. Retrospective examination of the initial biopsy material confirmed rare cells harboring PDGFRA amplification. Although mosaic amplification of multiple receptor tyrosine kinase genes in glioblastoma has been previously described, mosaicism involving a fusion gene driver event has not. This case highlights the potential efficacy of NTRK-targeted treatment in glioblastoma and the implications of molecular heterogeneity in the setting of targeted therapy.

Key Points
Development of high thermally conductive and electrically insulated epoxy nanocomposites with high mechanical performance
Authors: Wang Shuo , Cai Rui , Xue Hongqian , Liu Tianqing , Han Sensen , Zhou Zhiqiang , Hu Zonghao , Meng Qingshi 
Published: May 2021

AbstractDeveloping polymer‐based nanocomposites with high thermal conductivity, mechanical performance, and electrical insulation becomes a huge challenge in both academia and industry. In this article, the synergistic effects of boron nitride (BN) nanosheets and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of epoxy nanocomposite adhesives were investigated. The results showed that the addition of one‐dimensional CNTs and two‐dimensional BN nanosheets into the epoxy matrix contributes to the formation of a three‐dimensional network and a larger contact surface between the nanofillers and the epoxy matrix. The hybrid filler of BN and CNTs provided significant improvements in thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposite adhesives. At 1.06 vol% of BN‐CNTs, epoxy nanocomposite adhesives provide higher Young's modulus, fracture toughness (K1C), energy release rate (G1C), lap shear strength, and thermal stability compared with epoxy/BN nanocomposite adhesives. The thermal conductivity of epoxy/BN‐CNT nanocomposites recorded its maximum values of 0.49 K m−1 k−1 at 3.79 vol% and increased by 335% compared with 133% in case of epoxy/BN at the same fraction of 3.79 vol%.
Envelopes with microplastics generated from recycled plastic bags for crude oil sorption
Authors: Martins Larissa S. , Zanini Noelle C. , Botelho Alexandre L. S. , Mulinari Daniella R. 
Published: May 2021

AbstractOil spill accidents in marine environments and the lack of disposal of post‐consumer plastic are environmental problems worldwide. This study presents a sustainable alternative for both issues through envelopes filled with microplastics (MPs) from recycled bags for the sorption of spilled crude oil. Through particle size analysis by three different sieves (4, 9, and 20 mesh), different MP sizes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), density, contact angle (CA), and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). According to their sizes, the MPs were distributed in envelopes and submitted to crude oil sorption capacity and efficiency evaluation. Three MP particle sizes were obtained (from the largest to the smallest, according to the sieve mesh, MP4, MP9, and MP20). SEM images of samples exhibited irregular and porous surfaces, and MP4 had the smallest pore size (8.6 μm). BET showed that MP4 had the highest surface area (0.074 m2/g). The CA > 90° exposed that all samples were hydrophobic. FTIR spectrum demonstrated that the samples from the recycled bags were made of high density polyethylene (HDPE). The MP4 envelopes also had the best crude oil sorption results in capacity and efficiency (1.73 g/g and 68%, respectively), being a promising recycled sorbent in crude oil spillage applications.