bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Value of Rapid Antigen Tests to Identify Carriers of Viable SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Shidlovskaya Elena V. , Kuznetsova Nadezhda A. , Divisenko Elizaveta V. , Nikiforova Maria A. , Siniavin Andrei E. , Ogarkova Daria A. , Shagaev Aleksandr V. , Semashko Maria A. , Tkachuk Artem P. , Burgasova Olga A. , Gushchin Vladimir A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe search for effective methods to detect patients who excrete a viable virus is one of the urgent tasks of modern biomedicine. In the present study, we examined the diagnostic value of two antigen tests BIOCREDIT COVID-19 Ag (RapiGEN Inc., Korea) and SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag (Sugentech Inc., Korea) for their diagnostic value in identifying patients who excrete viable SARS-CoV-2. As part of the study, we examined samples from 106 patients who had just been admitted to the hospital, who had undergone quantitative RT-PCR and assessment of viability of SARS-CoV-2 using cell culture. Sensitivity was 0.786 (0.492–0.953) for SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag and 1 (0.768– 1) for Biocredit COVID-19 Ag. Specificity of rapid tests was significantly higher than that of RT-PCR and was 0.663 (0.557–0.758) and 0.674 (0.568–0.768) for SGTI-flex COVID-19 Ag and Biocredit COVID-19 Ag versus 0.304 (0.213–0.409) obtained for PCR. Thus, for tasks of identifying viable SARS-CoV-2 during screening of conditionally healthy people, as well as monitoring those quarantined, rapid tests show significantly better results.
Brain connectivity and motor improvements after ballet intervention in multiple sclerosis: pilot
Authors: Camacho Paul B. , Sutton Brad P. , López-Ortiz Citlali 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackground and PurposeA pilot study to determine feasibility of detecting changes in structural connectivity (SC) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) occur alongside motor improvements after participation in the Targeted Ballet Program (TBP) in adults with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).MethodsFive participants (four female) with RRMS between the ages of 38-64 with the following characteristics at baseline: Expanded Disability Status Scale 2.0-6.0, International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) > 7, Symbol-Digit Modality Test > 22, and no relapses or initiation of medications indicated to affect mobility within the past 30 days. Participants were asked to complete 12 weeks (one hour, twice per week) of the TBP. Magnetic resonance imaging data was collected pre- and post-intervention for SC and RSFC network analysis.ResultsIncreases in two RRMS-related graph theoretical measures (mean strength and mean clustering coefficient) for RSFC (p < 0.05) are detectable alongside significant reduction in ataxia (ICARS: p = 0.01012, Smoothness Index: p = 0.04995), and increase in balance (Mini-BESTest: p = 0.01474) following participation in the well-tolerated TBP.Discussion and ConclusionsSignificant increases in mean strength and mean clustering coefficient of RSFC suggest functional neurological improvements after participation in the TBP. The relationship between these network changes and clinical improvements in balance and amelioration of ataxia after participation in the TBP requires a larger randomized-controlled clinical trial of the TBP in persons with RRMS.
Isofurans and isoprostanes as markers of delayed brain injury and mitochondrial dysfunction following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. A prospective observational study
Authors: Gomes Joao A. , Milne Ginger , Kallianpur Asha , Shriver Leah 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIntroductionF2-Isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs) and Isofurans (IsoF), specific markers of lipid peroxidation in vivo, have been reported to be elevated and have prognostic implications following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Platelet activation and vasoconstriction are attributed to these compounds. Elevated IsoF: F2-IsoPs ratios have been previously suggested as indicative of mitochondrial dysfunction. In this small study we examined their performance as specific biomarkers for delayed brain injury (DBI) development following SAH. We also explored if evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction could be found in a cohort of SAH patients.MethodsEighteen patients with SAH and 7 controls with normal neuroimaging and CSF analysis results underwent CSF sampling and abstraction of clinical, demographic, and laboratory data. Samples (two) of CSF were collected on day 1 and once on days 5-8 post-bleed. F2-IsoP and IsoF assays were performed at Vanderbilt Eicosanoid Core Lab by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Levels are expressed in median (IQR) for non-parametric data. Repeated sample measurement were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, whereas the Mann Whitney test was used for other non-parametric data.ResultsMean age was 61.2 + 15.7 (SAH cases) vs. 47.6 + 10 (controls) years, and 80% of SAH patients were female. Median Hunt-Hess score was 3 (2-4) and modified Fisher scale 3 (3-4). Thirty nine percent of patients developed DBI. F2-IsoP were significantly higher in SAH cases than in controls [47.5 (30.2-53.5) vs. 26.0 (21.2-34.5) pg/mL]. No significant differences were observed in patients with or without DBI [41 (33.5-52) vs. 44 (28.5-55.5) pg/mL]. IsoF were elevated in the second CSF sample in 9 patients, but undetectable in the remainder cases and all controls. Patients who developed DBI had significantly higher IsoF than cases who did not [(57 (34-72) vs. 0 (0-34) pg/mL]. Patients who met criteria for delayed injury had a significantly higher IsoF: F2IsoPs ratio on the late CSF sample [1.03 (1-1.38) vs. 0 (0-0.52)].ConclusionsPreliminary findings from this study suggest that IsoF may represent a specific biomarker predicting DBI following SAH and provide possible evidence of CNS mitochondrial dysfunction in SAH. Future studies to further explore the value of IsoF as biomarkers of secondary brain injury and the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and ferroptosis to clinical outcomes following SAH seem warranted.
Infections in childhood and subsequent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disability: a register-based cohort study
Authors: Karlsson Håkan , Sjöqvist Hugo , Brynge Martin , Gardner Renee , Dalman Christina 
Published: March 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo explore the associations between childhood infections and subsequent diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID) and their co-occurrence.MethodsThe association between specialized care for any infection, defined by ICD-codes and later ASD or ID was investigated in a register-based cohort of 556,732 individuals born 1987-2010, resident in Stockholm County, followed from birth to their 18th birthday or December 31, 2016. We considered as potential confounders children’s characteristics, family socioeconomic factors, obstetric complications, and parental histories of both treatment for infection and psychiatric disorders in survival analyses with extended Cox regression models. Residual confounding by shared familial factors was addressed in sibling analyses using within-strata estimation in Cox regression models. Sensitivity analyses with exclusion of congenital causes of ASD/ID and documented risk for infections were also performed.ResultsCrude estimates indicated that infections during childhood were associated with later ASD and ID with largest risks observed for diagnoses involving ID. Inclusion of covariates, exclusion of congenital causes of ASD/ID from the population and sibling comparisons highlighted the potential for confounding by both heritable and non-heritable factors, though risks remained in all adjusted models. In adjusted sibling comparisons, excluding congenital causes, infections were associated with later ‘ASD without ID’ (HR 1.24, 95%CI 1.15-1.33), ‘ASD with ID’ (1.57, 1.35-1.82) and ‘ID without ASD’ (2.01, 1.76-2.28). Risks associated with infections varied by age at exposure and by age at diagnosis of ASD/ID.ConclusionsInfections during childhood cannot be excluded in the etiology of ASD, particularly ASD with co-occurring ID.
Wastewater Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 across 40 U.S. states
Authors: Wu Fuqing , Xiao Amy , Zhang Jianbo , Moniz Katya , Endo Noriko , Armas Federica , Bushman Mary , Chai Peter R , Duvallet Claire , Erickson Timothy B , Foppe Katelyn , Ghaeli Newsha , Gu Xiaoqiong , Hanage William P , Huang Katherine H , Lee Wei Lin , Matus Mariana , McElroy Kyle A , Rhode Steven F , Wuertz Stefan , Thompson Janelle , Alm Eric J 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWastewater-based disease surveillance is a promising approach for monitoring community outbreaks. Here we describe a nationwide campaign to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater of 159 counties in 40 U.S. states, covering 13% of the U.S. population from February 18 to June 2, 2020. Out of 1,751 total samples analyzed, 846 samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, with overall viral concentrations declining from April to May. Wastewater viral titers were consistent with, and appeared to precede, clinical COVID-19 surveillance indicators, including daily new cases. Wastewater surveillance had a high detection rate (>80%) of SARS-CoV-2 when the daily incidence exceeded 13 per 100,000 people. Detection rates were positively associated with wastewater treatment plant catchment size. To our knowledge, this work represents the largest-scale wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 monitoring campaign to date, encompassing a wide diversity of wastewater treatment facilities and geographic locations. Our findings demonstrate that a national wastewater-based approach to disease surveillance may be feasible and effective.
Model Based Estimation of the SARS-CoV-2 Immunization Level in Austria and Consequences for Herd Immunity Effects
Authors: Bicher Martin , Rippinger Claire , Schneckenreither Günter , Weibrecht Nadine , Urach Christoph , Zechmeister Melanie , Brunmeir Dominik , Huf Wolfgang , Popper Niki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSeveral systemic factors indicate, that worldwide herd immunity against COVID-19 will probably not be achieved in 2021. Vaccination programs are limited by availability of doses, the number of people already infected is still too low to have a disease preventing impact and new emerging variants of the virus seem to partially neglect developed antibodies from previous infections. Nevertheless, after one year of COVID-19 observing high numbers of reported cases in most European countries, we might expect that the immunization level should have an impact on the spread of SARS-CoV-2. We used an agent-based simulation model to reproduce the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria to estimate the immunization level of the population as of February 2021. We ran several simulations of an uncontrolled epidemic wave with varying initial immunization scenarios to assess the effect on the effective reproduction number. We also used a classic differential equation SIR-model to cross-validate the simulation model. As of February 2021, 14.7% of the Austrian population has been affected by a SARS-CoV-2 infection which causes a 9% reduction of the effective reproduction number and a 24.7% reduction of the prevalence peak compared to a fully susceptible population. This estimation is now recomputed on a regular basis to publish model based analysis of immunization level in Austria also including the fast growing effects of vaccination programs. This provides substantial information for decision makers to evaluate the necessity of NPI-measures based on the estimated impact of natural and vaccinated immunization.
Differential Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns on PM2.5 across the United States
Authors: Chen Kevin L. , Henneman Lucas R.F. , Nethery Rachel C. 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic has induced large-scale social, economic, and behavioral changes, presenting a unique opportunity to study how air pollution is affected by unprecedented societal shifts. At each of 455 PM2.5 monitoring sites across the United States, we conduct a causal inference analysis to determine the impacts of COVID-19 interventions and behavioral changes (“lockdowns”) on PM2.5 concentrations. Our approach allows for rigorous confounding adjustment and provides highly spatio-temporally resolved effect estimates. We find that, with the exception of the Southwest, most of the US experienced increases in PM2.5 during lockdown, compared to the concentrations expected under business-as-usual. To investigate possible drivers of this phenomenon, we use regression to characterize the relationship of many environmental, geographical, meteorological, mobility, and socioeconomic factors with the lockdown-attributable changes in PM2.5. Our findings have immense environmental policy relevance, suggesting that large-scale mobility and economic activity reductions may be insufficient to substantially and uniformly reduce PM2.5.
Repeated Testing Necessary: Assessing Negative Predictive Value of SARS-CoV-2 qPCR in a Population of Young Adults
Authors: Thompson Elaine E. , Rosenthal Joseph H. , Wren James , Seetao Erik , Olson Niels H. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDetermining when individuals should be released from quarantine is critical for successfully managing a COVID-19 outbreak and local protocols frequently call for testing during the quarantine period, generally after a reasonable incubation period, which raises a question about the interpretation of test results during the quarantine period. We report the negative predictive value of SARS-CoV-2 qPCR tests based on a retrospective longitudinal analysis of 5349 qPCR tests collected from 1227 US service members infected with COVID-19 aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier. In our retrospective evaluation of recovering qPCR-positive quarantined crew members undergoing repeated testing, the negative predictive value is 80% for tests occurring as late as seven weeks following an initial positive qPCR test result. Repeated qPCR testing is necessary to ensure that a once-infected person is no longer shedding viral RNA. When deciding the stringency of exit criteria, we recommend considering local operational and community risk factors.
Evaluating risk detection methods to uncover ontogenic-mediated adverse drug effect mechanisms in children
Authors: Giangreco Nicholas P. , Tatonetti Nicholas P. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundIdentifying adverse drugs effects (ADEs) in children is essential for preventing disability and death from marketed drugs. At the same time, however, detection is challenging due to dynamic biological processes during growth and maturation, called ontogeny, that alter pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. As a result, current data mining methodologies have been limited to event surveillance and have not focused on investigating adverse event mechanisms. There is an opportunity to design data mining methodologies to identify and evaluate drug event patterns within observational databases for ontogenic-mediated adverse event mechanisms. The first step of which is to establish statistical models that can identify temporal trends of adverse effects across childhood.ResultsUsing simulation, we evaluated a population stratification method (the proportional reporting ratio or PRR) and a population modeling method (the generalized additive model or GAM) to identify and quantify ADE risk at varying reporting rates and dynamics. We found that GAMs showed improved performance over the PRR in detecting dynamic drug event reporting across child developmental stages. Moreover, GAMs exhibited normally distributed and robust ADE risk estimation at all development stages by sharing information across child development stages.ConclusionsOur study underscores the opportunity for using population modeling techniques, which leverages drug event reporting across development stages, to identify adverse drug effect risk resulting from ontogenic mechanisms.
A Dynamical Map to Describe COVID-19 Epidemics
Authors: dos Reis Eduardo V. M. , Savi Marcelo A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractNonlinear dynamics perspective is an interesting approach to describe COVID-19 epidemics, providing information to support strategic decisions. This paper proposes a dynamical map to describe COVID-19 epidemics based on the classical susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered (SEIR) differential model, incorporating vaccinated population. On this basis, the novel map represents COVID-19 discrete-time dynamics by adopting three populations: infected, cumulative infected and vaccinated. The map promotes a dynamical description based on algebraic equations with a reduced number of variables and, due to its simplicity, it is easier to perform parameter adjustments. In addition, the map description allows analytical calculations of useful information to evaluate the epidemic scenario, being important to support strategic decisions. In this regard, it should be pointed out the estimation of the number death cases, infectious rate and the herd immunization point. Numerical simulations show the model capability to describe COVID-19 dynamics, capturing the main features of the epidemic evolution. Reported data from Germany, Italy and Brazil are of concern showing the map ability to describe different scenario patterns that include multi-wave and plateaus behaviors. The effect of vaccination is analyzed considering different campaign strategies, showing its importance to control the epidemics.
A single motor neuron determines the rhythm of early motor behaviour inCiona
Authors: Akahoshi Taichi , Oonuma Kouhei , Murakami Makoto , Horie Takeo , Kusakabe Takehiro G. , Oka Kotaro , Hotta Kohji 
Published: March 2021

AbstractVertebrate rhythmic motor behaviour is generated by the central pattern generator (CPG) located in the spinal cord. However, the development of the CPG has not been elucidated at the single-neuron level. We found that a single pair of motor neurons (A10.64/MN2) constitutes the CPG and regulates rhythmic early motor behaviour in the proto-chordate,Ciona. This pair of cells exhibited Ca2+oscillation with an 80-sec interval at the mid-tailbud stage and 25 sec at the late tailbud stage. The Ca2+oscillation occurred independently in a dissociated single cell. In the late tailbud stage, the Ca2+oscillation began to coincide in phase with the ipsilateral tail muscle contraction, which corresponds to rhythmic early motor behaviour. Interestingly, the number and frequency of tail muscle contractions gradually coincided with spikes in the burst of membrane potential as the embryos developed toward late tailbud stage. Photoablation of A10.64/MN2 abolished the rhythmic early motor behaviour. These findings indicate that the early spontaneous rhythmic motor behaviour ofCionais directly regulated by A10.64/MN2 as an essential component of the CPG. Our findings shed light on the development and evolution of chordate rhythmic behaviours.
Interaction of micropatterned topographical and biochemical cues to direct neurite growth from spiral ganglion neurons
Authors: Truong Kristy , Leigh Braden , Vecchi Joseph T. , Bartholomew Reid , Xu Linjing , Guymon C. Allan , Hansen Marlan R. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractFunctional outcomes with neural prosthetic devices, such as cochlear implants, are limited in part due to physical separation between the stimulating elements and the neurons they stimulate. One strategy to close this gap aims to precisely guide neurite regeneration to position the neurites in closer proximity to electrode arrays. Here, we explore the ability of micropatterned biochemical and topographic guidance cues, singly and in combination, to direct the growth of spiral ganglion neuron (SGN) neurites, the neurons targeted by cochlear implants. Photopolymerization of methacrylate monomers was used to form unidirectional topographical features of ridges and grooves in addition to multidirectional patterns with 90° angle turns. Microcontact printing was also used to create similar uni- and multi-directional patterns of peptides on polymer surfaces. Biochemical cues included peptides that facilitate (laminin, LN) or repel (EphA4-Fc) neurite growth. On flat surfaces, SGN neurites preferentially grew on LN-coated stripes and avoided EphA4-Fc-coated stripes. LN or EphA4-Fc was selectively adsorbed onto the ridges or grooves to test the neurite response to a combination of topographical and biochemical cues. Coating the ridges with EphA4-Fc and grooves with LN lead to enhanced SGN alignment to topographical patterns. Conversely, EphA4-Fc coating on the grooves or LN coating on the ridges tended to disrupt alignment to topographical patterns. SGN neurites respond to combinations of topographical and biochemical cues and surface patterning that leverages both cues enhance guided neurite growth.
The optimal spatial arrangement of ON and OFF receptive fields
Authors: Jun Na Young , Field Greg , Pearson John 
Published: March 2021

Many sensory systems utilize parallel ON and OFF pathways that signal stimulus increments and decrements, respectively. These pathways consist of ensembles or grids of ON and OFF detectors spanning sensory space. Yet encoding by opponent pathways raises a question: How should grids of ON and OFF detectors be arranged to optimally encode natural stimuli? We investigated this question using a model of the retina guided by efficient coding theory. Specifically, we optimized spatial receptive fields and contrast response functions to encode natural images given noise and constrained firing rates. We find that the optimal arrangement of ON and OFF receptive fields exhibits a transition between aligned and anti-aligned grids. The preferred phase depends on detector noise and the statistical structure of the natural stimuli. These results reveal that noise and stimulus statistics produce qualitative shifts in neural coding strategies and provide novel theoretical predictions for the configuration of opponent pathways in the nervous system.Significance StatementAcross a wide variety of species, cells in the retina specialized for signaling either increases (ON) or decreases (OFF) in light represent one of the most basic building blocks of visual computation. These cells coordinate to form mosaics, with each cell responsible for a small, minimally-overlapping portion of visual space, but the ways in which these mosaics could be spatially coordinated with each other are relatively unknown. Here, we show how efficient coding theory, which hypothesizes that the nervous system minimizes the amount of redundant information it encodes, can predict the relative spatial arrangement of ON and OFF mosaics. The most information-efficient arrangements are determined both by levels of noise in the system and the statistics of natural images.