bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elevated Serum Levels of Soluble ST2 Are Associated With Plaque Vulnerability in Patients With Non-ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Luo Guqing , Qian Yuxuan , Sheng Xincheng , Sun Jiateng , Wu Zhinan , Liao Fei , Feng Qi , Yin Yan , Ding Song , Pu Jun 
Published: July 2021

Background: Recent studies have suggested that soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2), an inflammation-related protein receptor, is associated with atherosclerotic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the potential predictive value of sST2 on plaque vulnerability by assessing whether elevated serum levels of sST2 are associated with vulnerable plaque features in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods: A total of 120 patients with non-ST-elevation ACS (167 lesions) were prospectively enrolled and evaluated by standard coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and coronary angiography in this study. Serum sST2 levels were measured by ELISA (Presage® ST2 Assay Kit, Critical Diagnostics), and semiautomated software (QAngioCT, Medis) was used to quantify coronary plaques.Results: The included patients were divided into 4 groups by serum sST2 level quartiles. Volumetric analysis of the whole lesion revealed that patients with higher sST2 levels had a larger absolute necrotic core (NC) volume (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1, 86.16 ± 59.71 vs. 45.10 ± 45.80 mm3, P = 0.001; Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 2, 86.16 ± 59.71 vs. 50.22 ± 42.56 mm3, P = 0.002) and a higher NC percentage (Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 1, 35.16 ± 9.82 vs. 23.21 ± 16.18%, P &lt; 0.001; Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 2, 35.16 ± 9.82% vs. 22.50 ± 14.03%, P &lt; 0.001; Quartile 4 vs. Quartile 3, 35.16 ± 9.82% vs. 25.04 ± 14.48%, P &lt; 0.001). Correlation analysis revealed that serum sST2 levels were positively correlated with the NC (r = 0.323, P &lt; 0.001) but negatively correlated with dense calcium (r = −0.208, P = 0.007). Furthermore, among those with plaque calcification, patients with spotty calcification exhibited higher serum sST2 levels than those with large calcification (26.06 ± 16.54 vs. 17.55 ± 7.65 ng/mL, P = 0.002). No significant differences in plaque components at the level of the minimal lumen area (MLA) were found among the groups.Conclusions: Serum sST2 levels were correlated with different coronary plaque components in patients with non-ST-elevation ACS. A higher serum level of sST2 was correlated with plaque vulnerability.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04797819.
Porous Shallow Water Modeling for Urban Floods in the Zhoushan City, China
Authors: Li Wei , Liu Bingrun , Hu Peng , He Zhiguo , Zou Jiyu 
Published: July 2021

Typhoon-induced intense rainfall and urban flooding have endangered the city of Zhoushan every year, urging efficient and accurate flooding prediction. Here, two models (the classical shallow water model that approximates complex buildings by locally refined meshes, and the porous shallow water model that adopts the concept of porosity) are developed and compared for the city of Zhoushan. Specifically, in the porous shallow water model, the building effects on flow storage and conveyance are modeled by the volumetric and edge porosities for each grid, and those on flow resistance are considered by adding extra drag in the flow momentum. Both models are developed under the framework of finite volume method using unstructured triangular grids, along with the Harten-Lax-van Leer-Contact (HLLC) approximate Riemann solver for flux computation and a flexible dry-wet treatment that guarantee model accuracy in dealing with complex flow regimes and topography. The pluvial flooding is simulated during the Super Typhoon Lekima in a 46 km2 mountain-bounded urban area, where efficient and accurate flooding prediction is challenged by local complex building geometry and mountainous topography. It is shown that the computed water depth and flow velocity of the two models agree with each other quite well. For a 2.8-day prediction, the computational cost is 120 min for the porous model using 12 cores of the Intel(R) Xeon(R) Platinum 8173M CPU @ 2.00 GHz processor, whereas it is as high as 17,154 min for the classical shallow water model. It indicates a speed-up of 143 times and sufficient pre-warning time by using the porous shallow water model, without appreciable loss in the quantitative accuracy.
Insulin Treatment May Increase Adverse Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19 and Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Yang Yan , Cai Zixin , Zhang Jingjing 
Published: July 2021

Background and ObjectiveRecently, insulin treatment has been found to be associated with increased mortality and other adverse outcomes in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and diabetes, but the results remain unclear and controversial, therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis.MethodsFour databases, namely, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cochrane Library, were used to identify all studies concerning insulin treatment and the adverse effects of COVID-19, including mortality, incidence of severe/critical complications, in-hospital admission and hospitalization time. To assess publication bias, funnel plots, Begg’s tests and Egger’s tests were used. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to access the effect of insulin therapy on mortality, severe/critical complications and in-hospital admission. The association between insulin treatment and hospitalization time was calculated by the standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% CIs.ResultsEighteen articles, involving a total of 12277 patients with COVID-19 and diabetes were included. Insulin treatment was significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality (OR=2.10; 95% CI, 1.51-2.93) and incidence of severe/critical COVID-19 complications (OR=2.56; 95% CI, 1.18-5.55). Moreover, insulin therapy may increase in-hospital admission in patients with COVID-19 and diabetes (OR=1.31; 95% CI, 1.06-1.61). However, there was no significant difference in the hospitalization time according to insulin treatment (SMD=0.21 95% CI, -0.02-0.45).ConclusionsInsulin treatment may increase mortality and severe/critical complications in patients with COVID-19 and diabetes, but more large-scale studies are needed to confirm and explore the exact mechanism.
Highly Symptomatic Progressing Cardiac Paraganglioma With Intracardiac Extension Treated With 177Lu-DOTATATE: A Case Report
Authors: Huot Daneault Alexis , Desaulniers Mélanie , Beauregard Jean-Mathieu , Beaulieu Alexis , Arsenault Frédéric , April Geneviève , Turcotte Éric , Buteau François-Alexandre 
Published: July 2021

IntroductionPrimary cardiac paragangliomas are rare tumors. Metastatic disease is even rarer. Surgical management is technically challenging, and sometimes even impossible. Available therapeutic modalities for metastatic disease include external beam radiation therapy as well as systemic treatments, namely 131I-MIBG and more recently, peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with 177Lu-DOTATATE. To our knowledge, this is the first case of progressive unresectable cardiac paraganglioma with intracardiac extension treated with dosimetry based personalized PRRT to be reported. This case is of particular interest since it documents for the first time the efficacy, and especially the safety of the 177Lu-DOTATATE PRRT in this precarious context for which therapeutic options are limited.Case PresentationA 47-year-old man with no medical history consulted for rapidly decreasing exercise tolerance. The investigation demonstrated an unresectable progressing metastatic cardiac paraganglioma with intracardiac extension. The patient was treated with personalized 177Lu-DOTATATE PRRT and showed complete symptomatic and partial anatomical responses, with a progression-free survival of 13 months.ConclusionsPRRT with 177Lu-DOTATATE should be considered for inoperable cardiac paraganglioma. No major hemodynamic complications were experienced. Therapy resulted in safety and substantially improved quality of life.
Association Between Paternal Age and Birth Weight in Preterm and Full-Term Birth: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Mao Yiting , Zhang Chen , Wang Yinyu , Meng Yicong , Chen Lei , Dennis Cindy-Lee , Sheng Jianzhong , Wu Yanting , Huang Hefeng 
Published: July 2021

PurposeWhile it is well documented that maternal adverse exposures contribute to a series defects on offspring health according to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory, paternal evidence is still insufficient. Advanced paternal age is associated with multiple metabolism and psychiatric disorders. Birth weight is the most direct marker to evaluate fetal growth. Therefore, we designed this study to explore the association between paternal age and birth weight among infants born at term and preterm (&lt;37 weeks gestation).MethodsA large retrospective study was conducted using population-based hospital data from January 2015 to December 2019 that included 69,964 cases of singleton infant births with complete paternal age data. The primary outcome was infant birth weight stratified by sex and gestational age including small for gestational age (SGA, 10th percentile) and large for gestational age (LGA, 90th percentile). Birth weight percentiles by gestational age were based on those published in the INTERGROWTH-21st neonatal weight-for gestational-age standard. Logistic regression analysis and linear regression model were used to estimate the association between paternal age and infant birth weight.ResultsAdvanced paternal age was associated with a higher risk for a preterm birth [35–44 years: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.13, 95%CI (1.03 to 1.24); &gt;44 years: OR = 1.36, 95%CI (1.09 to 1.70)]. Paternal age exerted an opposite effect on birth weight with an increased risk of SGA among preterm infants (35–44years: OR = 1.85, 95%CI (1.18 to 2.89) and a decreased risk among term infant (35–44years: OR = 0.81, 95%CI (0.68 to 0.98); &gt;44 years: OR = 0.50, 95%CI (0.26 to 0.94). U-shaped associations were found in that LGA risk among term infants was higher in both younger (&lt;25 years) (OR = 1.32; 95%CI, 1.07 to 1.62) and older (35–44 years) (OR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.14) fathers in comparison to those who were 25 to 34 years old at the time of delivery.ConclusionsOur study found advanced paternal age increased the risk of SGA among preterm infants and for LGA among term infants. These findings likely reflect a pathophysiology etiology and have important preconception care implications and suggest the need for antenatal monitoring.
Impacts of Frailty on Prognosis in Lung Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Dai Shuiping , Yang Ming , Song Juan , Dai Sisi , Wu Jinhui 
Published: July 2021

Background: Frailty is a common geriatric syndrome and is described as a limited ability to compensate and recover from stressors. Lung cancer is largely diagnosed in old age, when frailty is common and might have predictive value on prognosis. Therefore, we performed a systematic review to evaluate the prognostic role of frailty in lung cancer.Methods: The online PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI and Wanfang literature databases were searched to identify all related articles that reported the predictive value of frailty for mortality and therapeutic toxicity. Review Manager 5.3 was used to analyze results by standard meta-analysis methodology.Results: Seven studies were included in this review, and only six studies with 2,359 patients were enrolled in meta-analysis. Patients in two studies received chemotherapy, two studies radiotherapy, two studies surgery, one study not reported. Compared to non-frail patients, frail patients had a higher risk of overall mortality [Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.32–1.87], and therapeutic toxicity [Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.60, 95% CI, 0.82–8.24]. Prefrail patients also showed higher overall mortality and therapeutic toxicity than non-frail patients (HR = 1.20, 95% CI, 1.05–1.38; OR = 1.72, 95% CI, 1.18–2.51, respectively).Conclusions: Frailty is a powerful predictor of overall mortality and therapeutic toxicity in lung cancer patients.
Developing a Radiomics Signature for Supratentorial Extra-Ventricular Ependymoma Using Multimodal MR Imaging
Authors: Safai Apoorva , Shinde Sumeet , Jadhav Manali , Chougule Tanay , Indoria Abhilasha , Kumar Manoj , Santosh Vani , Jabeen Shumyla , Beniwal Manish , Konar Subhash , Saini Jitender , Ingalhalikar Madhura 
Published: July 2021

Rationale and Objectives: To build a machine learning-based diagnostic model that can accurately distinguish adult supratentorial extraventricular ependymoma (STEE) from similarly appearing high-grade gliomas (HGG) using quantitative radiomic signatures from a multi-parametric MRI framework.Materials and Methods: We computed radiomic features on the preprocessed and segmented tumor masks from a pre-operative multimodal MRI dataset [contrast-enhanced T1 (T1ce), T2, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)] from STEE (n = 15), HGG-Grade IV (HGG-G4) (n = 24), and HGG-Grade III (HGG-G3) (n = 36) patients, followed by an optimum two-stage feature selection and multiclass classification. Performance of multiple classifiers were evaluated on both unimodal and multimodal feature sets and most discriminative radiomic features involved in classification of STEE from HGG subtypes were obtained.Results: Multimodal features demonstrated higher classification performance over unimodal feature set in discriminating STEE and HGG subtypes with an accuracy of 68% on test data and above 80% on cross validation, along with an overall above 90% specificity. Among unimodal feature sets, those extracted from FLAIR demonstrated high classification performance in delineating all three tumor groups. Texture-based radiomic features particularly from FLAIR were most important in discriminating STEE from HGG-G4, whereas first-order features from T2 and ADC consistently ranked higher in differentiating multiple tumor groups.Conclusions: This study illustrates the utility of radiomics-based multimodal MRI framework in accurately discriminating similarly appearing adult STEE from HGG subtypes. Radiomic features from multiple MRI modalities could capture intricate and complementary information for a robust and highly accurate multiclass tumor classification.
Sex Differences are Reflected in Microstructural White Matter Alterations of Musical Sophistication: A Diffusion MRI Study
Authors: Mehrabinejad Mohammad-Mehdi , Rafei Parnian , Sanjari Moghaddam Hossein , Sinaeifar Zeinab , Aarabi Mohammad Hadi 
Published: July 2021

Background: The human-specified ability to engage with different kinds of music in sophisticated ways is named “Musical Sophistication.” Herein, we investigated specific white matter (WM) tracts that are associated with musical sophistication and musicality in both genders, separately, using Diffusion MRI connectometry approach. We specifically aimed to explore potential sex differences regarding WM alterations correlated with musical sophistication.Methods: 123 healthy participants [70 (56.9%) were male, mean age = 36.80 ± 18.86 year], who were evaluated for musical sophistication using Goldsmiths Musical Sophistication Index (Gold-MSI) self-assessment instrument from the LEMON database, were recruited in this study. The WM correlates of two Gold-MSI subscales (active engagement and music training) were analyzed. Images were prepared and analyzed with diffusion connectometry to construct the local connectome. Multiple regression models were then fitted to address the correlation of local connectomes with Gold-MSI components with the covariates of age and handedness.Results: a significant positive correlation between WM integrity in the corpus callosum (CC), right corticospinal tract (CST), cingulum, middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP), bilateral parieto-pontine tract, bilateral cerebellum, and left arcuate fasciculus (AF) and both active engagement [false discovery rate (FDR) = 0.008] and music training (FDR = 0.057) was detected in males. However, WM integrity in the body of CC, MCP, and cerebellum in females showed an inverse association with active engagement (FDR = 0.046) and music training (FDR = 0.032).Conclusion: WM microstructures with functional connection with motor and somatosensory areas (CST, cortico-pontine tracts, CC, cerebellum, cingulum, and MCP) and language processing area (AF) have significant correlation with music engagement and training. Our findings show that these associations are different between males and females, which could potentially account for distinctive mechanisms related to musical perception and musical abilities across genders.
Relationship Between Dairy Products Intake and Risk of Endometriosis: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis
Authors: Qi Xiangying , Zhang Wenyan , Ge Mingxiu , Sun Qiang , Peng Lei , Cheng Wenke , Li Xuepeng 
Published: July 2021

Objective: Diet lifestyle can influence the risk of endometriosis. Therefore, we conducted a systematic meta-analysis to investigate the association between dairy products and the risk of endometriosis. Besides, we performed a dose-response meta-analysis to evaluate the amount of dairy intake affecting the risk of endometriosis.Methods: Relevant studies were searched from Pubmed, Embase databases, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from the inception to November 6th, 2020. Also, the dose-response meta-analysis was conducted. All the pooled results were performed by risk ratios (RRs).Results: Finally, seven high-quality studies were included in the present meta-analysis. Total dairy intake was inversely associated with the risk of endometriosis, and the risk of endometriosis tended to decrease with a decrease in the risk of endometriosis when dairy products intake was over 21 servings/week (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.76–1.00; pnon−linearity = 0.04). Similarly, people who consumed more than 18 servings of high-fat dairy products per week had a reduced risk of endometriosis (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76–0.96). When stratified-analyses were conducted based on specific dairy product categories, it indicated that people with high cheese intake might have a reduced risk of endometriosis (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.74–1.00). Other specific dairy products such as whole milk (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.72–1.12), reduced-fat/skim milk (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.50–1.73), ice cream (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.50–1.73), and yogurt (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.62–1.11) have not shown significant evidence of an association with the risk of endometriosis. However, there is a higher risk of endometriosis in the females with high butter intake compared to females with low butter intake (1.27, 95% CI 1.03–1.55).Conclusions: Overall, dairy products intake was associated with a reduction in endometriosis, with significant effects when the average daily intake ≥3 servings. When analyzed according to the specific type of dairy product, it was shown that females with higher high-fat dairy and cheese intake might have a reduced risk of endometriosis. However, high butter intake might be associated to the increased risk of endometriosis. More future studies are needed to validate and add to this finding.
Dietary Interventions in Patients With Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Houttu Veera , Csader Susanne , Nieuwdorp Max , Holleboom Adriaan G. , Schwab Ursula 
Published: July 2021

Background: With no approved pharmacotherapy to date, the present therapeutic cornerstone for non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD) is a lifestyle intervention. Guidelines endorse weight loss through dietary modifications, physical exercise, or both. However, no consensus exists on the optimal dietary treatment.Objectives: The aim of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize and assess the evidence for applied types of dietary interventions on the liver and metabolic outcomes in patients with NAFLD, aside from any effects of exercise intervention.Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement guidelines. The search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases in February 2020. Included were only dietary interventions without exercise. This study was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42020203573.Results: Eight randomized controlled trials, seven with endpoint reduction of hepatic steatosis, one with an assessment of endpoint fibrosis, were included in this systematic review, five of which were included in the meta-analysis. Mediterranean dietary interventions without energy restriction (n = 3) showed significant reduction of intrahepatic lipid content (IHL) (SDM: −0.57, 95% CI: −1.04, −0.10), but there was no significant change in alanine transaminase (ALT) (SDM: 0.59, 95% CI: −0.5, −1.68). Hypocaloric dietary interventions with foods high in unsaturated fatty acids (n = 2) led to a significant decrease in ALT (SDM: −1.09, 95% CI: −1.49, −0.69) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (SDM: −0.75, 95% CI: −1.27, 0.23); yet effects on steatosis could not be aggregated due to different assessment techniques. Mediterranean diet did not lead to significant changes in concentrations of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (γGT), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (TG), fasting glucose or insulin, or homeostatic assessment for insulin resistance.Conclusions: In patients with NAFLD, Mediterranean and hypocaloric dietary interventions favoring unsaturated fatty acids result in improvements in IHL and transaminases. Since many dietary intervention studies are combined with exercise interventions and there is a paucity of ample-sized studies examining dietary interventions on the more advanced and clinically relevant stages of NAFLD, that is active and fibrotic NASH, with multiparametric imaging and liver histology as outcome measures, the optimal dietary invention in NAFLD remains to be defined.