bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment
Authors: Denckla Christy A. , Lee Sun Yeop , Kim Rockli , Spies Georgina , Vasterling Jennifer J. , Subramanian S. V. , Seedat Soraya 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThere are individual differences in health outcomes following exposure to childhood maltreatment, yet constant individual variance is often assumed in analyses. Among 286 Black, South African women, the association between childhood maltreatment and neurocognitive health, defined here as neurocognitive performance (NP), was first estimated assuming constant variance. Then, without assuming constant variance, we applied Goldstein’s method (Encyclopedia of statistics in behavioral science, Wiley, 2005) to model “complex level-1 variation” in NP as a function of childhood maltreatment. Mean performance in some tests of information processing speed (Digit-symbol, Stroop Word, and Stroop Color) lowered with increasing severity of childhood maltreatment, without evidence of significant individual variation. Conversely, we found significant individual variation by severity of childhood maltreatment in tests of information processing speed (Trail Making Test) and executive function (Color Trails 2 and Stroop Color-Word), in the absence of mean differences. Exploratory results suggest that the presence of individual-level heterogeneity in neurocognitive performance among women exposed to childhood maltreatment warrants further exploration. The methods presented here may be used in a person-centered framework to better understand vulnerability to the toxic neurocognitive effects of childhood maltreatment at the individual level, ultimately informing personalized prevention and treatment.
A new trifocal corneal inlay for presbyopia
Authors: Furlan Walter D. , Montagud-Martínez Diego , Ferrando Vicente , García-Delpech Salvador , Monsoriu Juan A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCorneal inlays (CIs) are the most recent surgical procedure for the treatment of presbyopia in patients who want complete independence from the use of glasses or contact lenses. Although refractive surgery in presbyopic patients is mostly performed in combination with cataract surgery, when the implantation of an intraocular lens is not necessary, the option of CIs has the advantage of being minimally invasive. Current designs of CIs are, either: small aperture devices, or refractive devices, however, both methods do not have good performance simultaneously at intermediate and near distances in eyes that are unable to accommodate. In the present study, we propose the first design of a trifocal CI, allowing good vision, at the same time, at far, intermediate and near vision in presbyopic eyes. We first demonstrate the good performance of the new inlay in comparison with a commercially available CI by using optical design software. We next confirm experimentally the image forming capabilities of our proposal employing an adaptive optics based optical simulator. This new design also has a number of parameters that can be varied to make personalized trifocal CI, opening up a new avenue for the treatment of presbyopia.
Quantitative analysis of internal components of the human crystalline lens during accommodation in adults
Authors: Xiang Yan , Fu Ting , Xu Qiongfang , Chen Wei , Chen Zhiqi , Guo Jinming , Deng Chaohua , Manyande Anne , Wang Ping , Zhang Hong , Tian Xuebi , Wang Junming 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTo quantitatively analyze changes in the inner components of the human crystalline lens during accommodation in adults. Eyes of 23 subjects were sequentially examined using CASIA2 Optical Coherence Tomography under 0D, − 3D and − 6D accommodation states. The anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior and posterior crystalline lens radius of the curvature (ALRC and PLRC) were obtained using built-in software. The lens thickness (LT), lenticular nucleus thickness (NT), anterior cortex thickness (ACT), posterior cortex thickness (PCT), anterior and posterior lenticular nucleus radius of the curvature (ANRC and PNRC), anterior and posterior lenticular nucleus vertex (ANV and PNV) were quantified manually with the Image-pro plus software. During accommodation, the ACD became significantly shallower and LT significantly increased. For changes in the lens, the ALRC decreased by an average magnitude (related to accommodative stimuli) 0.44 mm/D, and PLRC decreased 0.09 mm/D. There was no difference for the ACT and PCT in different accommodation states. For lenticular nucleus response, NT increased on average by 30 μm/D. Both the ANRC and PNRC decreased on average by 212 μm/D and 115 μm/D respectively. The ANV moved forward on average by 0.07 mm under − 3D accommodative stimuli and 0.16 mm for − 6D. However, there was no statistically significant difference between different accommodation states in the PNV movement. Under accommodation stimulation, lens thickness changed mainly due to the lenticular nucleus, but not the cortex. For the lenticular nucleus, both the ANRC and PNRC decreased and ANRC changed the most. The anterior surface of the nucleus moved forward while the posterior surface of the nucleus moved backward but only slightly.
Low cardiac dose and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio predict overall survival in inoperable esophageal squamous cell cancer patients after chemoradiotherapy
Authors: Ho Yu-Chieh , Lai Yuan-Chun , Lin Hsuan-Yu , Ko Ming-Hui , Wang Sheng-Hung , Yang Shan-Jun , Lin Po-Ju , Chou Tsai-Wei , Hung Li-Chung , Huang Chia-Chun , Chang Tung-Hao , Lin Jhen-Bin , Lin Jin-Ching 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWe aimed to determine the prognostic significance of cardiac dose and hematological immunity parameters in esophageal cancer patients after concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). During 2010–2015, we identified 101 newly diagnosed esophageal squamous cell cancer patients who had completed definitive CCRT. Patients' clinical, dosimetric, and hematological data, including absolute neutrophil count, absolute lymphocyte count, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), at baseline, during, and post-CCRT were analyzed. Cox proportional hazards were calculated to identify potential risk factors for overall survival (OS). Median OS was 13 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.38–15.63). Univariate analysis revealed that male sex, poor performance status, advanced nodal stage, higher percentage of heart receiving 10 Gy (heart V10), and higher NLR (baseline and follow-up) were significantly associated with worse OS. In multivariate analysis, performance status (ECOG 0 & 1 vs. 2; hazard ratio [HR] 3.12, 95% CI 1.30–7.48), heart V10 (> 84% vs. ≤ 84%; HR 2.24, 95% CI 1.26–3.95), baseline NLR (> 3.56 vs. ≤ 3.56; HR 2.36, 95% CI 1.39–4.00), and follow-up NLR (> 7.4 vs. ≤ 7.4; HR 1.95, 95% CI 1.12–3.41) correlated with worse OS. Volume of low cardiac dose and NLR (baseline and follow-up) were associated with worse patient survival.
Retinitis pigmentosa is associated with shifts in the gut microbiome
Authors: Kutsyr Oksana , Maestre-Carballa Lucía , Lluesma-Gomez Mónica , Martinez-Garcia Manuel , Cuenca Nicolás , Lax Pedro 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe gut microbiome is known to influence the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. However, there has been relatively little focus upon the implications of the gut microbiome in retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Here, we investigated changes in gut microbiome composition linked to RP, by assessing both retinal degeneration and gut microbiome in the rd10 mouse model of RP as compared to control C57BL/6J mice. In rd10 mice, retinal responsiveness to flashlight stimuli and visual acuity were deteriorated with respect to observed in age-matched control mice. This functional decline in dystrophic animals was accompanied by photoreceptor loss, morphologic anomalies in photoreceptor cells and retinal reactive gliosis. Furthermore, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data showed a microbial gut dysbiosis with differences in alpha and beta diversity at the genera, species and amplicon sequence variants (ASV) levels between dystrophic and control mice. Remarkably, four fairly common ASV in healthy gut microbiome belonging to Rikenella spp., Muribaculaceace spp., Prevotellaceae UCG-001 spp., and Bacilli spp. were absent in the gut microbiome of retinal disease mice, while Bacteroides caecimuris was significantly enriched in mice with RP. The results indicate that retinal degenerative changes in RP are linked to relevant gut microbiome changes. The findings suggest that microbiome shifting could be considered as potential biomarker and therapeutic target for retinal degenerative diseases.
Serum hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and uterine artery Doppler ultrasound during the first trimester for prediction of preeclampsia
Authors: Tianthong Wasinee , Phupong Vorapong 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe objective of this study was to determine the predictive value of serum hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) combined with uterine artery Doppler in singleton pregnancy during 11–13+6 weeks of gestation for preeclampsia. This prospective observational study was conducted in singleton pregnant women at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation who visited the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University for antenatal care between February 2019 and May 2020. Serum HIF-1α levels and uterine artery Doppler ultrasound were performed. Pregnancy outcomes were recorded. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of these tests at the optimal cut-off values were determined to predict preeclampsia. A total of 385 participants were analyzed. Of these, 31 cases had preeclampsia (8.1%), and 6 cases of them had early-onset preeclampsia (1.6%). Preeclamptic women had significantly higher serum HIF-1α levels than normal pregnant women (median 1315.2 pg/ml vs. 699.5 pg/ml, p < 0.001). There was no difference in the mean pulsatility (PI) of the uterine artery. Serum HIF-1α levels were higher than 1.45 multiple of median for the gestational age as a cut-off value for predicting preeclampsia; the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 66.7%, 71.5%, 17.2%, and 96.2%, respectively. When a combination of abnormal serum HIF-1α levels and abnormal uterine artery Doppler PI (above the 95th percentile) were used as a predictive value to predict preeclampsia, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 74.2%, 67.2%, 16.6%, and 96.8%, respectively. This study showed that the serum HIF-1α levels with or without uterine artery Doppler at 11–13+6 weeks of gestation were effective in predicting preeclampsia.
Comparative evaluation of metformin and liraglutide cardioprotective effect in rats with impaired glucose tolerance
Authors: Simanenkova Anna , Minasian Sarkis , Karonova Tatiana , Vlasov Timur , Timkina Natalya , Shpilevaya Oksana , Khalzova Aleksandra , Shimshilashvili Anzhelika , Timofeeva Valeria , Samsonov Daniil , Borshchev Yury , Galagudza Michael 
Published: March 2021

AbstractImpaired glucose tolerance (IGT) increases cardiovascular risk and can enlarge myocardial infarction (MI) incidence and severity. There is lack of information about cardioprotective potential of glucose-lowering drugs in IGT. We aimed to evaluate the sustainability of myocardium to ischemia–reperfusion injury in diabetic and IGT rats and to study cardioprotective action of metformin and liraglutide. Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and IGT were modelled in Wistar rats by high-fat diet and streptozotocin + nicotinamide. 4 weeks after rats were divided into 4 groups: DM (without treatment) (n = 4), IGT (without treatment) (n = 4), IGT + MET (metformin 200 mg/kg per os once daily 8 weeks) (n = 4), IGT + LIRA (liraglutide 0.06 mg/kg s.c. once daily for 8 weeks) (n = 4). Control (n = 6) and high-fat diet (n = 8) groups were made for comparison. After 8 weeks ischemia–reperfusion injury in isolated hearts was performed. Hemodynamic parameters were evaluated and MI size was measured by staining of myocardium slices in triphenyltetrazolium chloride solution. Blood glucose level was measured during the study. Both IGT and DM led to similar worsening of hemodynamic parameters during ischemia–reperfusion period, in comparison with control group. MI size in IGT (56.76 (51.58; 69.07) %) and DM (57.26 (45.51; 70.08) %) groups was significantly larger than that in control group (42.98 (33.26; 61.84) %) and did not differ between each other. MI size in high-fat diet group (56.98 (47.11; 62.83) %) was as large as in IGT and DM groups (p > 0.05). MI size in IGT + MET (42.11 (38.08; 71.96) %) and IGT + LIRA (42.50 (31.37; 60.40) %) was smaller than in both DM and IGT groups (p < 0.05 for multiple comparison). Myocardium damage size did not differ in IGT + MET and IGT + LIRA groups (p >  0.05). Only LIRA, but not MET administration to IGT rats led to ischemic contracture reduction. Glycemic control was similarly satisfactory in IGT, IGT + MET, IGT + LIRA groups. Thus, IGT and DM have similarly pronounced negative influence on hemodynamics and MI size in rat transient global ischemia ex vivo. Obesity development also has negative impact on the MI size. Both MET and LIRA have infarct-limiting effect independent on their influence on glucose level. LIRA, but not MET, diminishes ischemic contracture in IGT rats.
Biocompatible MIP-202 Zr-MOF tunable sorbent for cost-effective decontamination of anionic and cationic pollutants from waste solutions
Authors: Diab Kamal E. , Salama Eslam , Hassan Hassan Shokry , Abd El-moneim Ahmed , Elkady Marwa F. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis reported work aims to fabricate an eco-friendly Zr bio-based MOF and assessment its adsorption efficiency towards the cationic and anionic dye pollutants including methylene blue (MB) and direct red 81 (DR-81), respectively. Also, its adsorption tendency for the highly toxic heavy metal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) was compared with dyes. The adsorption performance of bio-MOF showed that the maximum monolayer adsorption capacities were recorded as 79.799 mg/g for MB, 36.071 mg/g for DR-81, and 19.012 mg/g for Cr(VI). Meanwhile, the optimum dosage of as-synthesized MIP-202 bio-MOF was 0.5, 1, and 2 g L−1 for MB, DR-81, and Cr(VI), respectively. Thermodynamic analysis demonstrated the spontaneous, thermodynamically, and endothermic nature of the decontamination processes onto the fabricated Zr bio-based MOF. The adsorption data were fitted by Langmuir isotherm model compared with Freundlich and Temkin models for all studied water pollutants. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model was a fit model for description of the adsorption kinetics of the different cationic and anionic pollutants onto Zr bio-based MOF. These outcomes indicated that Zr bio-based MOF has potential application for adsorption of different types of industrial water pollutants including cationic and anionic dyes and heavy metals.
Carrying asymptomatic gallstones is not associated with changes in intestinal microbiota composition and diversity but cholecystectomy with significant dysbiosis
Authors: Frost Fabian , Kacprowski Tim , Rühlemann Malte , Weiss Stefan , Bang Corinna , Franke Andre , Pietzner Maik , Aghdassi Ali A. , Sendler Matthias , Völker Uwe , Völzke Henry , Mayerle Julia , Weiss Frank U. , Homuth Georg , Lerch Markus M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractGallstone disease affects up to twenty percent of the population in western countries and is a significant contributor to morbidity and health care expenditure. Intestinal microbiota have variously been implicated as either contributing to gallstone formation or to be affected by cholecystectomy. We conducted a large-scale investigation on 404 gallstone carriers, 580 individuals post-cholecystectomy and 984 healthy controls with similar distributions of age, sex, body mass index, smoking habits, and food-frequency-score. All 1968 subjects were recruited from the population-based Study-of-Health-in-Pomerania (SHIP), which includes transabdominal gallbladder ultrasound. Fecal microbiota profiles were determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. No significant differences in microbiota composition were detected between gallstone carriers and controls. Individuals post-cholecystectomy exhibited reduced microbiota diversity, a decrease in the potentially beneficial genus Faecalibacterium and an increase in the opportunistic pathogen Escherichia/Shigella. The absence of an association between the gut microbiota and the presence of gallbladder stones suggests that there is no intestinal microbial risk profile increasing the likelihood of gallstone formation. Cholecystectomy, on the other hand, is associated with distinct microbiota changes that have previously been implicated in unfavorable health effects and may not only contribute to gastrointestinal infection but also to the increased colon cancer risk of cholecystectomized patients.
A high-resolution real-time quantification of astrocyte cytokine secretion under shear stress for investigating hydrocephalus shunt failure
Authors: Khodadadei Fatemeh , Liu Allen P. , Harris Carolyn A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIt has been hypothesized that physiological shear forces acting on medical devices implanted in the brain significantly accelerate the rate to device failure in patients with chronically indwelling neuroprosthetics. In hydrocephalus shunt devices, shear forces arise from cerebrospinal fluid flow. The shunt’s unacceptably high failure rate is mostly due to obstruction with adherent inflammatory cells. Astrocytes are the dominant cell type bound directly to obstructing shunts, rapidly manipulating their activation via shear stress-dependent cytokine secretion. Here we developed a total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy combined with a microfluidic shear device chip (MSDC) for quantitative analysis and direct spatial-temporal mapping of secreted cytokines at the single-cell level under physiological shear stress to identify the root cause for shunt failure. Real-time secretion imaging at 1-min time intervals enabled successful detection of a significant increase of astrocyte IL-6 cytokine secretion under shear stress greater than 0.5 dyne/cm2, validating our hypothesis and highlighting the importance of reducing shear stress activation of cells.
Imaging the electrical activity of organelles in living cells
Authors: Matamala Ella , Castillo Cristian , Vivar Juan P. , Rojas Patricio A. , Brauchi Sebastian E. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractEukaryotic cells are complex systems compartmentalized in membrane-bound organelles. Visualization of organellar electrical activity in living cells requires both a suitable reporter and non-invasive imaging at high spatiotemporal resolution. Here we present hVoSorg, an optical method to monitor changes in the membrane potential of subcellular membranes. This method takes advantage of a FRET pair consisting of a membrane-bound voltage-insensitive fluorescent donor and a non-fluorescent voltage-dependent acceptor that rapidly moves across the membrane in response to changes in polarity. Compared to the currently available techniques, hVoSorg has advantages including simple and precise subcellular targeting, the ability to record from individual organelles, and the potential for optical multiplexing of organellar activity.
A cascade deprotonation/intramolecular aldol reaction of α-carbonyl sulfonium ylides with 2-mercaptoindole-3-carbaldehydes and 2-mercaptobenzaldehydes to access thieno[2,3-b]indoles and benzothiophenes
Authors: Yang Lei , Zhou Shun , Zhao Jian-Qiang , You Yong , Wang Zhen-Hua , Zhou Ming-Qiang , Yuan Wei-Cheng 
Published: March 2021

An efficient cascade deprotonation/intramolecular aldol reaction of α-carbonyl sulfonium ylides with 2-mercaptoindole-3-carbaldehydes and 2-mercaptobenzaldehyde was developed for the synthesis of thieno[2,3-b]indoles and benzothiophenes.
Auditory Sensory Gating of Speech and Nonspeech Stimuli
Authors: Miller Sharon E. , Graham Jessica , Schafer Erin 
Published: March 2021

PurposeAuditory sensory gating is a neural measure of inhibition and is typically measured with a click or tonal stimulus. This electrophysiological study examined if stimulus characteristics and the use of speech stimuli affected auditory sensory gating indices.MethodAuditory event-related potentials were elicited using natural speech, synthetic speech, and nonspeech stimuli in a traditional auditory gating paradigm in 15 adult listeners with normal hearing. Cortical responses were recorded at 64 electrode sites, and peak amplitudes and latencies to the different stimuli were extracted. Individual data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance.ResultsSignificant gating of P1–N1–P2 peaks was observed for all stimulus types. N1–P2 cortical responses were affected by stimulus type, with significantly less neural inhibition of the P2 response observed for natural speech compared to nonspeech and synthetic speech.ConclusionsAuditory sensory gating responses can be measured using speech and nonspeech stimuli in listeners with normal hearing. The results of the study indicate the amount of gating and neural inhibition observed is affected by the spectrotemporal characteristics of the stimuli used to evoke the neural responses.
Analysis on the vehicle‐induced path loss for millimetre‐wave V2V communication
Authors: Feng Zhou , Rui Ji , Jinglu Sun , Kai Cheng , Wei Xu , Xiangyang Zhang 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMillimetre wave (mmWave) has great potential in vehicle‐to‐vehicle (V2V) communication to provide wide bandwidth and low latency. However, the biggest challenge for the use of mmWave is the high propagation path loss and susceptibility to blockage among vehicles, especially in urban streets. Vehicle shadow fading is quite common in the actual V2V communication. The non‐line‐of‐sight scenarios are considered and the impacts of blocking vehicles on the characteristics of the V2V wireless channels are studied. The measurements are conducted for two scenarios. For the first scenario, a blocking truck is placed between transmitting and receiving cars. For the second scenario, a car is added as a reflector beside the truck. Based on the measurement results, a path loss model for the V2V communication is developed. In order to further verify the effects of building scattering, a simulation is setup and the results are consistent with the measured results.
Modelling of GaN high electron mobility transistor on diamond substrate
Authors: Jarndal Anwar , Du Xuekun , Xu Yuehang 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA reliable small‐signal modelling approach has been developed and applied on GaN‐on‐diamond high electron mobility transistor. The extrinsic elements' extraction procedure was improved to provide an accurate characterization for the quasistatic behaviour of the intrinsic transistor. The frequency independence of the intrinsic elements at active multibias condition has been considered as another objective in addition to measurements' fitting. Physical relevant values for the model elements have been obtained. The model accuracy was also validated by means of S‐parameters simulation, which showed a very good fitting of the measured data.