bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Political meritocracy and policy integration: How Chinese government combats the COVID‐19?
Authors: Wang Bing 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic is fundamentally affecting the world by challenging governments. Although most countries are still combating the virus, China, as the first plagued country, has basically contained the pandemic. This review article aims to analyze and explain how the Chinese government has achieved this task. By tracing the detailed timeline of the pandemic, it dissects the political meritocracy and policy integration of the Chinese government, which are the main reasons for its policy efficiency and effectiveness. Meritocracy requires the government and politicians to respect science, knowledge, evidence, rationality, and professionalism, particularly within the background of populism and anti‐intellectualism. In a pandemic, the Chinese experience of political meritocracy and policy integration may balance conflicting public values better than liberal democratic nations. Global solidarity and cooperation during this pandemic can be better achieved if Chinese politics and policies are deeply understood.
Clinical evaluation of the potential drug–drug interactions of savolitinib: Interaction with rifampicin, itraconazole, famotidine or midazolam
Authors: Ren Song , Vishwanathan Karthick , Cantarini Mireille , Frewer Paul , Hara Indira , Scarfe Graeme , Burke Wendy , Schalkwijk Stein , Li Yan , Han David , Goldwater Ronald 
Published: July 2021

AimsWe investigated savolitinib pharmacokinetics (PK) when administered alone or in combination with rifampicin, itraconazole or famotidine, and investigated midazolam PK when administered with or without savolitinib in healthy males.MethodsSavolitinib PK was evaluated before/after: rifampicin (600 mg once daily [QD] for 5 days); itraconazole (200 mg QD for 5 days); a single dose of famotidine (40 mg QD) 2 hours before savolitinib. Midazolam PK was evaluated before/after midazolam (1 mg QD) with or without savolitinib (600 mg QD). Each study enrolled 20, 16, 16 and 14 volunteers, respectively. Plasma samples were collected to determine the effect on PK.ResultsThe geometric mean ratios (GMR, %) (90% confidence intervals [CIs]) for savolitinib alone and in combination for Cmax, AUC respectively, were 45.4 (41.4–49.9), 38.5 (34.2–43.3) in the rifampicin study (n = 18); 105.2 (87.7–126.3), 108.4 (96.3–122.1) in the itraconazole study (n = 16); and 78.8 (67.7–91.7), 87.4 (81.2–94.2) in the famotidine study (n = 16). The GMRs (90% CIs) for midazolam alone and in combination with savolitinib for Cmax, AUC respectively, were 84.1 (70.0–101.0), 96.7 (92.4–101.1) (n = 14). Savolitinib alone or in combination was well tolerated.ConclusionsCo‐dosing of rifampicin significantly reduced exposure to savolitinib vs savolitinib alone; co‐dosing of itraconazole or midazolam with savolitinib had no clinically significant effect on savolitinib or midazolam PK, respectively. Co‐dosing of famotidine with savolitinib reduced exposure to savolitinib, although this was not considered clinically meaningful. No new savolitinib‐related safety findings were observed.
Haemophilia: factoring in new therapies
Authors: Fassel Hannah , McGuinn Catherine 
Published: July 2021

SummaryHaemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder in which the haemostatic defect results from deficiency of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) in haemophilia A or factor IX (FIX) in haemophilia B. Traditional treatments for haemophilia have largely worked by directly replacing the missing coagulation factor, but face challenges due to the short half‐life of FVIII and FIX, the need for frequent intravenous access and development of neutralising antibodies to coagulation factors (inhibitors). Recent advances in haemophilia therapy have worked to eliminate these challenges. Half‐life extension of factor concentrates has lengthened the time needed between infusions, enhancing quality of life. Subcutaneous administration of therapeutics utilising alternative mechanisms to overcome inhibitors have expanded the options to prevent bleeding. Finally, initial successes with gene therapy offer a cautious hope for durable cure. In the present review, we will discuss currently available treatments, as well as highlight therapeutics in various stages of clinical development for the treatment of haemophilia A and B. In this review, we present therapies that are currently clinically available and highlight therapeutics that are in various stages of clinical development for the treatment of haemophilia A and B.
Preoperative detection of the TERT promoter mutations in papillary thyroid carcinomas
Authors: Nakao Tomoe , Matsuse Michiko , Saenko Vladimir , Rogounovitch Tatiana , Tanaka Aya , Suzuki Keiji , Higuchi Miyoko , Sasai Hisanori , Sano Tsutomu , Hirokawa Mitsuyoshi , Miyauchi Akira , Kawakami Atsushi , Mitsutake Norisato 
Published: July 2021

AbstractObjectiveTelomerase reverse transcriptase promoter (TERT‐p) mutations are strongly associated with tumour aggressiveness and worse prognosis in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). Since the TERT‐p mutations have been reported to be subclonal, it is unclear how accurately they can be detected by preoperative fine‐needle aspiration (FNA). The objective of this study was to analyse the concordance rate of the TERT‐p mutations between preoperative FNA and corresponding postoperative surgical specimens.Design and PatientsNinety‐six cases of PTC aged 55 years or older were studied. The mutational status of TERT‐p was detected by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assay.ResultsThe mutational status of the TERT‐p in FNA samples was highly concordant with that in postoperative formalin‐fixed and paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) specimens. The TERT‐p mutation was significantly associated with age, tumour size, extrathyroidal extension and the Ki‐67 labelling index in multivariate analysis in both FNA and FFPE samples.ConclusionsThe detection of the TERT‐p mutations using FNA samples has a good ability to predict disease aggressiveness and, therefore, could be clinically useful in the determination of PTC management.
Expression of microRNA‐21 and TIMP‐3 in paradoxical psoriasiform reactions during treatment with antitumor necrosis factor agents
Authors: Navarro Raquel , Delgado‐Jiménez Yolanda , Guinea‐Viniegra Juan , Llamas‐Velasco Mar , Daudén Esteban 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundExpression of microRNA‐21 (miR‐21) is increased in psoriasis, leading to reduced levels of epidermal tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP‐3), a highly potent inhibitor of the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) sheddase TACE (TNFα‐converting enzyme)/ADAM17. We described the profile of miR‐21 and TIMP‐3 in paradoxical psoriasiform reactions induced by anti‐TNFα drugs and in a control group to elucidate the pathogenesis of this reactions.MethodsWe performed an analytic, cross‐sectional, prospective, experimental case‐control study. We compared our findings with those of non‐induced psoriasis.ResultsWe included 15 patients with a change of morphology (plaque to guttate psoriasis) and 10 patients with induced psoriasis (six palmoplantar pustulosis and four plaque psoriasis). Consecutive patients with different subtypes of non‐induced, non‐systemically treated psoriasis were included as a control group. We found that most cases with guttate psoriasis and with induced plaque psoriasis cases showed high expression of TIMP‐3 expression and decreased or poorly increased levels of miR‐21. The expression pattern was not homogeneous in the cases of induced palmoplantar pustulosis. These profiles differ from those of non‐induced psoriasis.ConclusionWe conclude that various pro‐inflammatory cytokine profiles are involved in the pathogenesis of paradoxical psoriasiform reactions and non‐induced psoriasis.
Efficacy of double‐balloon enteroscopy‐assisted endoscopic balloon dilatation combined with stent deployment for hepaticojejunostomy anastomotic stricture
Authors: Tomoda Takeshi , Kato Hironari , Ueki Toru , Ogawa Tsuneyoshi , Hirao Ken , Akimoto Yutaka , Matsumoto Kazuyuki , Horiguchi Shigeru , Tsutsumi Koichiro , Okada Hiroyuki 
Published: July 2021

BackgroundHepaticojejunostomy anastomotic stricture (HJAS) is a significant complication of biliary reconstruction surgery. Endoscopic management of HJAS using double‐balloon enteroscopy has expanded; however, retrospective reports in this setting are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic balloon dilatation combined with stent deployment for HJAS.MethodsThis was a single‐arm prospective clinical trial involving 40 patients with treatment‐naïve HJAS enrolled between March 2016 and August 2019 at four endoscopy units in Japan. For HJAS, plastic stents combined with balloon dilatation were placed for 6 months after initial stenting. The primary outcome was HJ anastomosis patency 12 months after stent removal.ResultsThe technical success rate was 97.5% (39/40). The failed case required percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage using the rendezvous technique. All cases achieved successful endoscopic treatment. During the treatment period, four of 40 patients (10%) ended the study protocol due to unrelated causes and were excluded from the primary analysis. Among the 36 patients, clinical success was achieved in 34 (94.4%) patients. The remaining two patients achieved HJAS resolution after an additional 3 months. All 36 patients achieved HJAS resolution. Adverse events were observed in two patients (5.0%) who developed moderate cholangitis. During a median follow‐up of 21.3 months, HJAS recurrence was observed in 8.3% (3/36) with a median time to recurrence of 4.3 months and HJ anastomosis patency at 12 months was 94.4%.ConclusionsEndoscopic balloon dilatation combined with plastic stent deployment for 6 months was a safe and effective strategy for HJAS. (Clinical Trial Registry no. UMIN000020613).
Heparan sulfate proteoglycan molecules, syndecan and perlecan, have distinct roles in the maintenance of Drosophila germline stem cells
Authors: Hayashi Yoshiki , Shibata Arisa , Kamimura Keisuke , Kobayashi Satoru 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe Drosophila female germline stem cell (GSC) niche provides an excellent model for understanding the stem cell niche in vivo. The GSC niche is composed of stromal cells that provide growth factors for the maintenance of GSCs and the associated extracellular matrix (ECM). Although the function of stromal cells/growth factors has been well studied, the function of the ECM in the GSC niche is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of syndecan and perlecan, molecules of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG) family, as the main constituents of the ECM. We found that both of these genes were expressed in niche stromal cells, and knockdown of them in stromal cells decreased GSC number, indicating that these genes are important niche components. Interestingly, our genetic analysis revealed that the effects of syndecan and perlecan on the maintenance of GSC were distinct. While the knockdown of perlecan in the GSC niche increased the number of cystoblasts, a phenotype suggestive of delayed differentiation of GSCs, the same was not true in the context of syndecan. Notably, the overexpression of syndecan and perlecan did not cause an expansion of the GSC niche, opposing the results reported in the context of glypican, another HSPG gene. Altogether, our data suggest that HSPG genes contribute to the maintenance of GSCs through multiple mechanisms, such as the control of signal transduction, and ligand distribution/stabilization. Therefore, our study paves the way for a deeper understanding of the ECM functions in the stem cell niche.
A systematic review of outcome reporting for interventions to treat people with diabetic foot ulceration
Authors: Dovell George , Staniszewska Aleksandra , Ramirez Jozel , Murray Ines , Ambler Graeme K. , Twine Christopher P. , Hinchliffe Robert J. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundDiabetic foot ulceration (DFU) is a challenging clinical problem that affects up to a quarter of patients with diabetes in their lifetime. An agreed set of outcomes for assessing treatments or interventions for DFU has not previously been considered. The aim of this study was to identify outcomes that are reported in clinical studies assessing a treatment or intervention for DFU, to inform the development of a core outcome set (COS).MethodsSystematic literature searches were performed between January 2016 and March 2019. The search strategy was pre‐registered with PROSPERO (CRD42019128250). Two authors independently screened abstracts for full text review. Outcomes were extracted from selected papers verbatim and categorized into domains according to established taxonomy. Consistency of outcome reporting was assessed. Overlapping outcomes were merged independently to condense the extracted list of outcomes for use in forthcoming consensus processes.ResultsOf 4645 abstracts identified, 114 studies met the inclusion criteria. There were 69 randomized studies, 40 prospective studies and 5 protocols. Some 948 outcomes were extracted verbatim. Outcome reporting was consistent for 474 (53%) outcomes. De‐duplication left 714 unique verbatim outcomes across 33 domains. Merging of overlapping unique verbatim outcomes established 95 merged outcomes.ConclusionThis study describes contemporary outcomes reported in studies assessing interventions for DFU. Outcome reporting is considered to be poor as it was consistent in just over half of outcomes extracted. Merging of outcomes has identified 95 outcomes that can be taken forward in the development of a COS.
Effect of insulin degludec versus insulin glargine U100 on time in range: SWITCH PRO, a crossover study of basal insulin‐treated adults with type 2 diabetes and risk factors for hypoglycaemia
Authors: Goldenberg Ronald M. , Aroda Vanita R. , Billings Liana K. , Christiansen A. Sia Louise , Meller Donatsky Anders , Parvaresh Rizi Ehsan , Podgorski Gracjan , Raslova Katarina , Klonoff David C. , Bergenstal Richard M. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAimsTo compare time in range (TIR) with use of insulin degludec U100 (degludec) versus insulin glargine U100 (glargine U100) in people with type 2 diabetes.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a randomized, crossover, multicentre trial comparing degludec and glargine U100 in basal insulin‐treated adults with type 2 diabetes and ≥1 hypoglycaemia risk factor. There were two treatment periods, each with 16‐week titration and 2‐week maintenance phases (with evaluation of glucose using blinded professional continuous glucose monitoring). The once‐weekly titration (target: 3.9–5.0 mmol/L) was based on pre‐breakfast self‐measured blood glucose. The primary endpoint was percentage of TIR (3.9─10.0 mmol/L). Secondary endpoints included overall and nocturnal percentage of time in tight glycaemic range (3.9–7.8 mmol/L), and mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and glucose levels.ResultsAt baseline, participants (n = 498) had a mean (SD) age of 62.8 (9.8) years, a diabetes duration of 15.1 (7.7) years and an HbA1c level of 59.6 (11.0) mmol/mol (7.6 [1.0]%). Noninferiority and superiority were confirmed for degludec versus glargine U100 for the primary endpoint, with a mean TIR of 72.1% for degludec versus 70.7% for glargine U100 (estimated treatment difference [ETD] 1.43% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12, 2.74; P = 0.03] or 20.6 min/d). Overall time in tight glycaemic range favoured degludec versus glargine U100 (ETD 1.5% [95% CI: 0.15, 2.89] or 21.9 min/d). Degludec also reduced nocturnal time below range (TBR; <3.9 mmol/L) compared with glargine U100 (ETD −0.88% [95% CI: −1.34, −0.42] or 12.7 min/night; post hoc) and significantly fewer nocturnal hypoglycaemic episodes of <3.0 mmol/L were observed.ConclusionsDegludec, compared with glargine U100, provided more TIR and time in tight glycaemic range, and reduced nocturnal TBR in insulin‐treated people with type 2 diabetes.
Temporal prediction elicits rhythmic preactivation of relevant sensory cortices
Authors: Barne Louise Catheryne , Cravo André Mascioli , de Lange Floris P. , Spaak Eelke 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBeing able to anticipate events before they happen facilitates stimulus processing. The anticipation of the contents of events is thought to be implemented by the elicitation of prestimulus templates in sensory cortex. In contrast, the anticipation of the timing of events is typically associated with entrainment of neural oscillations. It is so far unknown whether and in which conditions temporal expectations interact with feature‐based expectations, and, consequently, whether entrainment modulates the generation of content‐specific sensory templates. In this study, we investigated the role of temporal expectations in a sensory discrimination task. We presented participants with rhythmically interleaved visual and auditory streams of relevant and irrelevant stimuli while measuring neural activity using magnetoencephalography. We found no evidence that rhythmic stimulation induced prestimulus feature templates. However, we did observe clear anticipatory rhythmic preactivation of the relevant sensory cortices. This oscillatory activity peaked at behaviourally relevant, in‐phase, intervals. Our results suggest that temporal expectations about stimulus features do not behave similarly to explicitly cued, nonrhythmic, expectations, yet elicit a distinct form of modality‐specific preactivation.
Long‐term effect of biochar on physical properties of agricultural soils with different textures at pre‐industrial charcoal kiln sites in Wallonia (Belgium)
Authors: Zanutel Martin , Garré Sarah , Bielders Charles L. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBesides its carbon (C) sequestration potential, biochar is being promoted as an amendment to improve soil quality. Burying biochar in soils is known to affect soil physical quality in the short‐term (<5 years), although the intensity of these effects depends on soil texture and biochar concentration especially. However, the long‐term effects of biochar remain largely unknown, yet are important to quantify given biochar's persistency in soils. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the long‐term effect of biochar on physical properties as a function of biochar concentration for soils with differing textures. For this purpose, soil physical properties were measured in the topsoil of three fields (silt loam, loam and sandy loam textures) in Wallonia (southern Belgium) presenting former kiln sites containing charcoal more than 150 years old. Particle density and bulk density slightly decreased as a function of charcoal‐C content but the presence of charcoal in kiln sites did not affect total porosity. The water retention curve measurements revealed that water content was mostly affected in the mesopore range by the century‐old charcoal‐C content. This effect was strongest for the sandy loam. On the other hand, the presence of century‐old charcoal increased the hydraulic conductivity for pF values between 1.5 and 2 for the silt loam, whereas no effect of charcoal was observed for the loamy and sandy loam soils. Results are discussed with respect to biochar characteristics and the various ways in which biochar particles could be distributed within soils. Overall, the present study highlights a limited effect of century‐old charcoal on the pore size distribution (at constant porosity) and on the resulting soil physical properties.Highlights
The effect of century‐old biochar on physical properties was investigated for 3 different soil textures.
Water retention was affected mostly in the mesopore range by biochar.
Small effect of biochar on hydraulic conductivity was observed for silt loam soil only.
Overall, there was a limited effect of century‐old biochar on soil physical properties.
COVID‐19 diagnosis system by deep learning approaches
Authors: Bhuyan Hemanta Kumar , Chakraborty Chinmay , Shelke Yogesh , Pani Subhendu Kumar 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has been a severe health issue affecting the respiratory system and spreads very fast from one human to other overall countries. For controlling such disease, limited diagnostics techniques are utilized to identify COVID‐19 patients, which are not effective. The above complex circumstances need to detect suspected COVID‐19 patients based on routine techniques like chest X‐Rays or CT scan analysis immediately through computerized diagnosis systems such as mass detection, segmentation, and classification. In this paper, regional deep learning approaches are used to detect infected areas by the lungs' coronavirus. For mass segmentation of the infected region, a deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is used to identify the specific infected area and classify it into COVID‐19 or Non‐COVID‐19 patients with a full‐resolution convolutional network (FrCN). The proposed model is experimented with based on detection, segmentation, and classification using a trained and tested COVID‐19 patient dataset. The evaluation results are generated using a fourfold cross‐validation test with several technical terms such as Sensitivity, Specificity, Jaccard (Jac.), Dice (F1‐score), Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), Overall accuracy, etc. The comparative performance of classification accuracy is evaluated on both with and without mass segmentation validated test dataset.
Corporate social responsibility and shareholder wealth: New insights from information spillovers
Authors: Ge Qi , Li Ting 
Published: July 2021

AbstractUtilizing comprehensive business news data, we examine the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and shareholder wealth through the information spillovers of news announcements. Specifically, we leverage competitor's news as an exogenous shock to peer firms' stock returns and explore how the resulting abnormal returns may be explained by their respective CSR performance. Our findings not only confirm an inverse relationship between CSR engagement and the size of stock market reactions but also suggest that such dampening effect may extend beyond the traditional product differentiation strategy and can be magnified with respect to the types and salience of news.