bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy promotes recovery of sciatic nerve injury and the role of mechanical sensitive YAP/TAZ signaling pathway for nerve regeneration
Authors: Li Hui-Xi , Zhang Zhi-Chao , Peng Jing 
Published: October 2021

Abstract

Background:
Histological and functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is of significant clinical value as delayed surgical repair and longer distances to innervate terminal organs may account for poor outcomes. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (LiESWT) has already been proven to be beneficial for injured tissue recovery on various pathological conditions. The objective of this study was to explore the potential effect and mechanism of LiESWT on PNI recovery.

Methods:
In this project, we explored LiESWT's role using an animal model of sciatic nerve injury (SNI). Shockwave was delivered to the region of the SNI site with a special probe at 3 Hz, 500 shocks each time, and 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Rat Schwann cells (SCs) and rat perineurial fibroblasts (PNFs) cells, the two main compositional cell types in peripheral nerve tissue, were cultured in vitro, and LiESWT was applied through the cultured dish to the adherent cells. Tissues and cell cultures were harvested at corresponding time points for a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining. Multiple groups were compared by using one-way analysis of variance followed by the Tukey-Kramer test for post hoc comparisons.

Results:
LiESWT treatment promoted the functional recovery of lower extremities with SNI. More nerve fibers and myelin sheath were found after LiESWT treatment associated with local upregulation of mechanical sensitive yes-associated protein (YAP)/transcriptional co-activator with a PDZ-binding domain (TAZ) signaling pathway. In vitro results showed that SCs were more sensitive to LiESWT than PNFs. LiESWT promoted SCs activation with more expression of p75 (a SCs dedifferentiation marker) and Ki67 (a SCs proliferation marker). The SCs activation process was dependent on the intact YAP/TAZ signaling pathway as knockdown of TAZ by TAZ small interfering RNA significantly attenuated this process.

Conclusion:
The LiESWT mechanical signal perception and YAP/TAZ upregulation in SCs might be one of the underlying mechanisms for SCs activation and injured nerve axon regeneration.
Histopathological Rate of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia in Clinically Suspected Pterygium Specimens: 10-Year Results
Authors: Modabber Milad , Lent-Schochet Daniella , Li Jennifer Y. , Kim Esther 
Published: October 2021

Purpose:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of histopathologically confirmed ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in clinically diagnosed pterygium samples at a tertiary center in Northern California, over a 10-year period (2009–2019).

Methods:
A retrospective chart review of patients older than 18 years with clinically diagnosed benign pterygium requiring excision was conducted. Clinically suspected pterygia were excised using standard techniques and routinely submitted to the University of California Davis for pathologic evaluation. Demographic, clinical, surgical, and pathological information were recorded and analyzed. The prevalence rate of OSSN was calculated.

Results:
A total of 348 consecutive specimens were evaluated. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 58 ± 12 years, with a near equal sex representation. A total of 57 (16%) pterygia were recurrent at initial presentation. Histopathologic results demonstrated a single case of OSSN. This patient did not have a documented history of carcinoma in other organs or any history of herpes virus, human papilloma virus, or human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Conclusions:
The prevalence of histopathological OSSN in clinically suspected pterygia within our sample was approximately 0.3%. Because of shared clinical characteristics of pterygia and OSSN, a high index of suspicion and judicious use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography enable for effective preoperative diagnosis of OSSN. However, in the absence of clinical expertise or high-resolution optical coherence tomography, routine tissue pathologic examination may be warranted.
Development and implementation of virtual clinical skills experiences for psychiatric nurse practitioner students
Authors: Davis Anjanetta , Moore Lori , Farmer Joe , Lewis Shannon 
Published: October 2021

ABSTRACT
The educational preparation of nurse practitioner (NP) students includes didactic content and clinical experiences. These clinical experiences can be via clinical rotations or simulation. Although there is no specific list of clinical skills to prepare NP students for professional practice, the National Organization for Nurse Practitioner Faculties identifies core competencies for the basic education of NP students. These core competencies can be fulfilled through simulated clinical experiences. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions had to develop alternate methods of facilitating simulated clinical experiences for their NP students. Because of national, state, and university guidelines to transition all face-to-face educational activities to a virtual format, a Southeastern university simulation program developed and implemented virtual clinical skills experiences for psychiatric mental health NP students. Based on student survey results, the utilization of standardized patients in this virtual clinical skills experience proved beneficial and improved NP students' interviewing and communication skills via a telehealth format.
Extramedullary Infiltration in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia on Surveillance Magnetic Resonance Imaging and its Relationship With Established Risk Factors
Authors: Kim Eu Hyun , Im Soo Ah , Lee Jae Wook , Kim Seongkoo , Cho Bin 
Published: October 2021

Purpose:
Extramedullary infiltration (EMI) is a rare condition defined by the accumulation of myeloid tumor cells beyond the bone marrow. The clinical significance is still controversial. This study was aimed to evaluate the incidence, characteristics, and prognostic significance of EMI on complete magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigation in newly diagnosed pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who are asymptomatic without clinical evidence to suspect EMI.

Materials and Methods:
Retrospective clinical and radiologic review of 121 patients with MRI examination at the time of initial diagnosis of AML without any clinical evidence suggestive of EMI was performed. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the presence or absence of EMI, and the relationship between EMI and established risk factors was analyzed. Initial white blood cell count, the occurrence of an event (including relapse, death, and primary refractory disease), survival status, and detailed information on cytogenetic/molecular status was performed by a thorough review of electronic medical records system. All patients underwent full imaging evaluation with the contrast-enhanced whole body and some regional MRI at the time of initial diagnosis.

Results:
The median age at diagnosis was 10.77 years (range, 0.37 to 18.83 y). Based on the risk stratification system of AML, 36, 45, and 40 patients are classified as low-risk, intermediate-risk, and high-risk groups, respectively. MRI at the time of the initial diagnosis of AML revealed 35 of 121 patients (28.9%) with EMI. The most common site of EMI was a skull, followed by the lower extremity bone and meninges of the brain. The median age at diagnosis was significantly younger in patients with EMI (7.87 vs. 11.08 y, P=0.0212). Low incidence of FLT3/ITD mutation, low incidence of AML-ETO gene rearrangement, and the larger extent and more severe degree of bone marrow involvement was related with EMI. However, there was no significant prognostic difference in event-free survival and overall survival regardless of the presence of EMI in the overall patient population and each risk group. The location of EMI occurrence was also not related to prognosis.

Conclusions:
Even if EMI symptoms are not evident, surveillance MRI scans at the initial diagnosis of pediatric AML patients are very helpful in detecting a significant number of EMIs. Younger age, some molecular features, and more severe bone marrow involvement of AML patients were related with EMI. However, there was no significant prognostic difference between patients with or without EMI regardless of risk group. Further prospective investigation is necessary to validate the prognostic effect of EMI in a larger group of patients with different risk groups.
Mindfulness-based intervention in preterm young adolescents: benefits on neurobehavioural functioning and its association with white-matter microstructural changes
Authors: Siffredi Vanessa , Liverani Maria Chiara , Van De Ville Dimitri , Freitas Lorena G. A. , Tolsa Cristina Borradori , Hüppi Petra Susan , Leuchter Russia Hà-Vinh 
Published: October 2021

AbstractVery preterm (VPT) young adolescents are at high risk of executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties. Previous research has shown significant evidence of the benefits of mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on these abilities. This study aims to assess the association between the effects of MBI on neurobehavioral functioning and changes in white-matter microstructure in VPT young adolescents who completed an 8-week MBI program. Neurobehavioural assessments and multi-shell diffusion MRI were performed before and after MBI in 32 VPT young adolescents. Combined diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) measures were extracted on well-defined white matter tracts (TractSeg). A multivariate data-driven approach (partial least squares correlation) was used to explore associations between MBI-related changes on neurobehavioural measures and microstructural changes. Our finding showed an enhancement of global executive functioning after MBI that was associated with a general pattern of significant increase in fractional anisotropy (FA) and decrease in axonal dispersion (ODI) in white-matter tracts involved in executive processes. Young VPT adolescents with lower gestational age at birth showed the greatest gain in white-matter microstructural changes after MBI.HighlightsVery preterm adolescents (VPT) completed an 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (MBI)Improvement in overall executive functioning was observed after MBIExecutive gain was associate with white-matter microstructural changesThe increase in microstructural properties was in tracts involved in executive processesVPT with lower gestational age show bigger gains in microstructural changesCRediT rolesVanessa Siffredi:Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Software; Visualization; Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing -Maria Chiara Liverani:Conceptualization; Data curation; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Writing - review & editing.- Dimitri Van De Ville: Methodology; Resources; Software; Supervision; Writing - review & editing.- Lorena Freitas:Data curation; Investigation; Writing - review & editing. -Cristina Borradori Tolsa:Conceptualization; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Validation; Writing - review & editing. -Petra Susan Hüppi:Conceptualization; Funding acquisition; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Validation; Writing - review & editing. -Russia Hà-Vinh Leuchter:Conceptualization; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Supervision; Validation; Writing - review & editing.
COVID-19 Vaccine Perceptions and Uptake in a National Prospective Cohort of Essential Workers
Authors: Lutrick Karen , Groom Holly , Fowlkes Ashley L. , Groover Kimberly , Gaglani Manjusha , Rivers Patrick , Naleway Allison L. , Nguyen Kimberly , Herring Meghan , Dunnigan Kayan , Phillips Andrew , Parker Joel , Lamberte Julie Mayo , Prather Khaila , Thiese Matthew S. , Baccam Zoe , Tyner Harmony , Yoon Sarang 
Published: October 2021

ABSTRACTIntroductionIn a multi-center prospective cohort of essential workers, we assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) by vaccine intention, prior SARS-CoV-2 positivity, and occupation, and their impact on vaccine uptake over time.MethodsInitiated in July 2020, HEROES-RECOVER cohort provided socio-demographics and COVID-19 vaccination data. Using follow-up two surveys approximately three months apart, COVID-19 vaccine KAP, intention, and receipt was collected; the first survey categorized participants as reluctant, reachable, or endorsers.ResultsA total of 4,803 participants were included in the analysis. Most (70%) were vaccine endorsers, 16% were reachable, and 14% were reluctant. By May 2021, 77% had received at least one vaccine dose. KAP responses strongly predicted vaccine uptake, particularly positive attitudes about safety (aOR=5.46, 95% CI: 1.4-20.8) and effectiveness (aOR=5.0, 95% CI: 1.3-19.1). Participants prior SARS-CoV-2 infection were 22% less likely to believe the COVID-19 vaccine was effective compared with uninfected participants (aOR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64-0.96). This was even more pronounced in first responders compared with other occupations, with first responders 42% less likely to believe in COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (aOR=0.58, 95% CI 0.40-0.84). KAP responses shifted positively, with reluctant and reachable participant scores modestly increasing in positive responses for perceived vaccine effectiveness (7% and 12%, respectively) on the second follow-up survey; 25% of initially reluctant participants received the COVID-19 vaccine.DiscussionOur study demonstrates attitudes associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake and a positive shift in attitudes over time. First responders, despite potential high exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and participants with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection were more vaccine reluctant.ConclusionsCOVID-19 vaccine KAP responses predicted vaccine uptake and associated attitudes improved over time. Perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine can shift over time. Targeting messages about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in reducing SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and illness severity may increase vaccine uptake for reluctant and reachable participants.
Developing better digital health measures of Parkinson’s disease using free living data and a crowdsourced data analysis challenge
Authors: Sieberts Solveig K. , Borzymowski Henryk , Guan Yuanfang , Huang Yidi , Matzner Ayala , Page Alex , Bar-Gad Izhar , Beaulieu-Jones Brett , El-Hanani Yuval , Goschenhofer Jann , Javidnia Monica , Keller Mark S. , Li Yan-chak , Venuto Charles S. , Saqib Mohammed , Smith Greta , Stanescu Ana , Zielinski Robbie ,   the BEAT-PD DREAM Challenge Consortium, Jayaraman Arun , Evers Luc J.W. , Foschini Luca , Mariakakis Alex , Pandey Gaurav , Shawen Nicholas , Synder Phil , Omberg Larsson 
Published: October 2021

AbstractOne of the promising opportunities of digital health is its potential to lead to more holistic understandings of diseases by interacting with the daily life of patients and through the collection of large amounts of real world data. Validating and benchmarking indicators of disease severity in the home setting is difficult, however, given the large number of confounders present in the real world and the challenges in collecting ground truth data in the home. Here we leverage two datasets with continuous wrist-worn accelerometer data coupled with frequent symptom reports in the home setting, to develop digital biomarkers of symptom severity. Using these data, we performed a public benchmarking challenge in which participants were asked to build measures of severity across 3 symptoms (on/off medication, dyskinesia, and tremor). 42 teams participated and performance was improved over baseline models for each subchallenge. Additional ensemble modeling across submissions further improved performance, and the top models validated in a subset of patients whose symptoms were observed and rated by trained clinicians.
Clinical characteristics of pregnant women infected with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in China: a nationwide case-control study
Authors: Li Qin , Chen Lian , Jiang Hai , Zheng Danni , Wang Yuanyuan , Mei Jie , Ma Xudong , Wei Yuan , Zhao Yangyu , Qiao Jie 
Published: October 2021

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVETo formally compare the clinical course of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in pregnant women with their nonpregnant counterparts.METHODSClinical data of pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 in the designated hospitals of mainland China were retrieved up to April 12, 2020 through an epidemic reporting system maintained at the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic China. Each pregnant patient was randomly matched to a nonpregnant woman with confirmed COVID-19 in the same hospital as control, then their clinical courses were formally compared.RESULTS138 pregnant women had been identified as confirmed COVID-19 cases. Among them, 17 severe cases and 1 maternal death were recorded, which was less than their nonpregnant peers (23 severe cases and 3 death). 57.2% had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the third trimester, including 13 severe cases and 1 maternal death. 7.3% of pregnant patients had diarrhea and 3.6% had nausea or vomiting, compared with related proportion as 15.2% (OR: 0.38, 95%CI: 0.15, 0.96) and 10.1% (OR: 0.25, 95%CI: 0.07, 0.89) in nonpregnant patients. Pregnant patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in early pregnancy presented similar laboratory tests with their nonpregnant peers, however, with pregnancy progresses, increased inflammation, coagulation and hepatic injury markers happened more and more frequently (p<0.001) in pregnant patients.CONCLUSIONSBeing pregnant did not represent a risk for severe condition when compared with their nonpregnant peers. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in early pregnancy were even at lower risk of severe illness than those infected in late pregnancy.What are the novel findings of this work?Compared with non-pregnant COVID-19 patients, pregnant patients tend to present less symptom, had unique laboratory findings, and tend to at lower risk of COVID-19–related death. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the early pregnancy tend to be in the less severe condition of illness than those infected in late pregnancy.What are the clinical implications of this work?Vital comparisons of the clinical course upon COVID-19 between pregnant and nonpregnant women in childbearing age are, unfortunately, lacking. Through formally comparisons between the two groups, the present study provides more reliable evidence towards the management of pregnant women with COVID-19.
Autoimmune conditions following mRNA (BNT162b2) and inactivated (CoronaVac) COVID-19 vaccination: a descriptive cohort study among 1.1 million vaccinated people in Hong Kong
Authors: Li Xue , Gao Le , Tong Xinning , Chan Vivien K.Y. , Chui Celine S.L. , Lai Francisco T.T. , Wong Carlos K.H. , Wan Eric Y.F. , Chan Esther W.Y. , Lau Kui Kai , Lau Chak Sing , Wong Ian C.K. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractBackgroundConcerns regarding the autoimmune safety of COVID-19 vaccines may negatively impact vaccine uptake. We aimed to describe the incidence of autoimmune conditions following BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccination and compare these with age-standardized incidence rates in non-vaccinated individuals.MethodsThis is a descriptive cohort study conducted in public healthcare service settings. Territory-wide longitudinal electronic medical records of Hong Kong Hospital Authority users (≥16 years) were linked with COVID-19 vaccination records between February 23, 2021 and June 30, 2021. We classified participants into first/second dose BNT162b2 groups, first/second dose CoronaVac groups and non-vaccinated individuals for incidence comparison. The study outcomes include hospitalized autoimmune diseases (16 types of immune-mediated diseases across six body systems) within 28 days after first and second dose of vaccination. Age-standardized incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with exact 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Poisson distribution.ResultsThis study included around 3.9 million Hong Kong residents, of which 1,122,793 received at least one dose of vaccine (BNT162b2: 579,998; CoronaVac: 542,795), and 721,588 completed two doses (BNT162b2: 388,881; CoronaVac: 332,707). Within 28 days following vaccination, cumulative incidences for all autoimmune conditions were below 9 per 100,000 persons, for both vaccines and both doses. None of the age-standardized incidence rates were significantly higher than the non-vaccinated individuals, except for an observed increased incidence of hypersomnia following the first dose of BNT162b2 (standardized IRR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.10–1.94).ConclusionsAutoimmune conditions requiring hospital care are rare following mRNA and inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccination with similar incidence to non-vaccinated individuals. The association between first dose BNT162b2 vaccination and immune-related sleeping disorders requires further research. Population-based robust safety surveillance is essential to detect rare and unexpected vaccine safety events.FundingResearch Grant from the Food and Health Bureau, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ref. No. COVID19F01).
The Wolbachia CinB Nuclease is Sufficient for Induction of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility
Authors: Sun Guangxin , Zhang Mengwen , Chen Hongli , Hochstrasser Mark 
Published: October 2021

AbstractWolbachia are obligate intracellular bacteria that can alter reproduction of their arthropod hosts, often through a mechanism called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). In CI, uninfected females fertilized by infected males yield few offspring, but if both are similarly infected, normal embryo viability results (called ‘rescue’). CI factors (Cifs) responsible for CI are pairs of proteins encoded by linked genes. The downstream gene in each pair encodes either a deubiquitylase (CidB) or a nuclease (CinB). The upstream gene products, CidA and CinA, bind their cognate enzymes with high specificity. Expression of CidB or CinB in yeast inhibits growth, but growth is rescued by expression of the cognate CifA protein. By contrast, transgenic Drosophila male germline expression of both cifA and cifB was reported to be necessary to induce CI-like embryonic arrest; cifA expression alone in females is sufficient for rescue. This pattern, seen with genes from several Wolbachia strains, has been called the ‘2-by-1’ model. Here we show male germline expression of the cinB gene alone, from a distinct clade of cif genes from wNo Wolbachia, is sufficient to induce nearly complete loss of embryo viability. This male sterility is fully rescued by cognate cinAwNo expression in the female germline. The proteins behave similarly in yeast. CinBwNo toxicity depends on its nuclease active site. These results demonstrate that highly divergent CinB nucleases can induce CI, that rescue by cognate CifA factors is a general feature of Wolbachia CI systems, and that CifA is not required in males for CI induction.ImportanceWolbachia are bacteria that live within the cells of many insects. Like mitochondria, they are only inherited from females. Wolbachia often increase the number of infected females to promote spread of infection using a type of male sterility called cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI): when uninfected females mate with infected males, most embryos die; if both are similarly infected, embryos develop normally, giving infected females an advantage in producing offspring. CI is being used against disease-carrying mosquitoes and agricultural pests. Wolbachia proteins called CifA and CifB, which bind one other, cause CI, but how they work has been unclear. Here we show that a CifB protein singly produced in fruit fly males causes sterility in crosses to normal females, but this is rescued if the females produce the CifA partner. These findings clarify a broad range of observations on CI and will allow more rational approaches to using it for insect control.