bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The effects of cages implantation on surgical and adjacent segmental intervertebral foramina
Authors: Wu Changyan , Yang Xiaojuan , Gao Xu , Shao Liwei , Li Fang , Sun Yunxin , Liu Xiaoyu , Yao Shuaihao , Sun Yifu 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Objection
The overarching goal of our research was to compare the clinical and radiological outcomes with different sizes of cages implantation in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), and to evaluate the effects on surgical and adjacent segmental intervertebral foramina.

Methods
The clinical data of 61 patients were analyzed retrospectively. The radiological data included the surgical intervertebral disk space height before (H0) and after surgery (H), the preoperative mean height of adjacent segments (Hm), the area and height of the surgical and adjacent segment foramen, the surgical segmental Cobb angle (α1), and C2-7Cobb angle (α2). The calculation of clinical data was conducted by Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA), the recovery rate of JOA scores and visual analog scales (VAS). In accordance with the different ranges of distraction (H/Hm), patients were classified into three groups: group A (H/Hm<1.20, n=13), group B (1.20≤H/Hm≤1.80, n=37), and group C (H/Hm>1.80, n=11).

Results
After the operation and at the final follow-up, our data has demonstrated that the area and height of surgical segmental foramen all increased by comparing those of preoperation in three groups (all P<0.05). However, except for a decrease in group C (all P<0.05), the adjacent segmental foramina showed no significant changes (all P>0.05). The area and height of the surgical segment foramen and the distraction degree were positively correlated (0<R<1, all P<0.05), while the adjacent segments were negatively correlated with it (0<R<1, P=0.002~0.067). JOA scores improved markedly in all groups with similar recovery rates. However, during the final follow-up (P=0.034), it was observed that there were significant differences in visual simulation scores among the three groups.

Conclusion
The oversize cage might give a rise to a negative impact on the adjacent intervertebral foramen in ACDF. The mean value of the adjacent intervertebral disk space height (Hm) could be used as a reference standard. Moreover, the 1.20~1.80 fold of distraction (H/Hm) with optimal cages would achieve a better long-term prognosis.
Minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis using the oblong hole of a locking plate for comminuted distal fibular fractures
Authors: Park Young Uk , Kim Sung Jae , Kim Hyong Nyun 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundNonunion is a rare complication for distal fibular fractures. However, when there is a high degree of comminution, nonunion may occur. In this article, we describe a novel technique that uses the oblong hole of a locking plate to lengthen the fibula for fracture reduction. This technique is straightforward and allows for easy control of the comminuted fracture to restore length and rotation at the time of plate application without opening the fracture site.MethodsThirty-five consecutive patients, who were treated with the minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) technique for comminuted distal fibular fractures were retrospectively studied. The study included 19 men and 16 women, with a mean age of 47.0 years (range, 20 to 72). There were 3 lateral malleolar fractures with deltoid injury, 11 bimalleolar fractures, 7 trimalleolar fractures, and 14 distal tibiofibular fractures. The quality of fracture reduction was assessed by comparing the radiologic parameters (fibular length, talocrural angle, and medial clear space) between the affected ankle and the contralateral uninjured ankle.ResultsTwo patients were not reachable and 5 declined to visit the clinic. For these 7 patients, the latest outcomes that were measured prospectively were used. Postoperative radiographs showed well-aligned ankle mortise, with fibular length restoration. The mean Olerud-Molander ankle score was 82.1 ± 10.7 at a mean of 27.2 months (range, 12 to 58). There was one case of nonunion and one case of superficial peroneal nerve injury.ConclusionThe MIPO technique, using the oblong hole of a locking plate, achieved satisfactory restoration of length and rotation, bone union, and clinical outcomes for the comminuted distal fibular fractures.
Periplasmic synthesis and purification of the human prolactin antagonist Δ1-11-G129R-hPRL
Authors: Suzuki Miriam F. , Almeida Larissa A. , Pomin Stephanie A. , Silva Felipe D. , Freire Renan P. , Oliveira João E. , Affonso Regina , Soares Carlos R. J. , Bartolini Paolo 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe human prolactin antagonist Δ1-11-G129R-hPRL is a 21.9 kDa recombinant protein with 188 amino acids that downregulates the proliferation of a variety of cells expressing prolactin receptors. Periplasmic expression of recombinant proteins in E. coli has been considered an option for obtaining a soluble and correctly folded protein, as an alternative to cytoplasmic production. The aim of this work was, therefore, to synthesize for the first time, the Δ1-11-G129R-hPRL antagonist, testing different activation temperatures and purifying it by classical chromatographic techniques. E. coli BL21(DE3) strain was transformed with a plasmid based on the pET25b( +) vector, DsbA signal sequence and the antagonist cDNA sequence. Different doses of IPTG were added, activating under different temperatures, and extracting the periplasmic fluid via osmotic shock. The best conditions were achieved by activating at 35 °C for 5 h using 0.4 mM IPTG, which gave a specific expression of 0.157 ± 0.015 μg/mL/A600 at a final optical density of 3.43 ± 0.13 A600. Purification was carried out by nickel-affinity chromatography followed by size-exclusion chromatography, quantification being performed via high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). The prolactin antagonist was characterized by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and MALDI-TOF–MS. The final product presented > 95% purity and its antagonistic effects were evaluated in vitro in view of potential clinical applications, including inhibition of the proliferation of cancer cells overexpressing the prolactin receptor and specific antidiabetic properties, taking also advantage of the fact that this antagonist was obtained in a soluble and correctly folded form and without an initial methionine.
Inheritors of the Yellow River: the relationship of heritage making practices to cultural self-confidence in China
Authors: Zhang Wanlin , Walker Stuart , Evans Martyn , Bennett Julia 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThrough active involvement in UNESCO’s ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) programme, China has developed its own framework to support traditional making practices. To examine the ‘characteristics’ of heritage crafts preservation in China, we undertook empirical research in the Yellow River basin. Our research involved in-depth observations and key informant interviews with a range of highly accomplished craftspeople who have inherited their particular expertise from their family and have been officially designated ICH Inheritors. Through our qualitative research with inheritors, a businessperson and a government official, we identified various support mechanisms employed by the Chinese government that aim to protect traditional culture while also recognising outstanding individuals. We also found that ICH Inheritors play an important role in raising cultural awareness and enhancing cultural confidence through their creative activities and making practices, craft businesses and transfer of expertise. Based on the findings, potential areas where designers may collaborate with inheritors were identified.
Concordance of 24- and 48-h diagnostic follow-up ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear leukocyte count in the guidance of the antibiotic therapy in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
Authors: Badran Hanaa Mostafa , Elsabaawy Maha Mohammad , Mahmoud Mohamed Azazy , Ghanem Heba Samy , Alsebaey Ayman , Othman Warda 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is an ascitic fluid infection in patients with liver cirrhosis in the absence of surgical causes. The drop of the ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear leukocyte count (AFPC) ≥25% of baseline 48h post-start of antibiotics is a predictor of antibiotic response. This study was designed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of AFPC 24h of antibiotic to the standard 48h. Three hundred ninety-nine SBP patients were classified into 2 groups. Group I (31.1%) are patients that lacked ≥25% drop and group II (68.9%) the opposite.

Results
The average age was 51.99 ±11.21 years. Most patients were males (70.9%), normotensive (75.8%), non-diabetics (50.8%), and without recent intake history of proton pump inhibitors (75.8%) and B-blockers (77%). Group II patients had statistically significant (p <0.05) serum sodium 129 (7) vs. 128 (8) and history of diabetes mellitus 60.3% vs. 39.7%. The baseline AFPC did not differ statistically between groups I and II (p>0.05). Group II patients compared to group I had statistically (p =0.001) lower AFPC 24h [800 (970) vs. 1100 (1700) cell/mm3], higher percent drop of the AFPC 24h [28.09 (24) vs. −10.17 (35)], and ≥25% drop [154 (90.6%) vs. 16 (9.4%)]. The 24h AFPC >980 cell/mm3 was associated with AFPC 48h non-response (AUROC =0.634, p =0.001, 58.87% sensitivity, 64.36% specificity). The 24-h AFPC percent drop >8% was associated with AFPC 48h response (AUROC =0.849, p=0.001, 85.82% sensitivity, 80.49% specificity).

Conclusion
Concordance of 24- and 48-h diagnostic follow-up ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear leukocyte count in the guidance of the antibiotic therapy.
COVID-19 and Thyroid Diseases: A Bidirectional Impact
Authors: Duntas Leonidas H , Jonklaas Jacqueline 
Published: April 2021

AbstractContextCOVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has become the most lethal and rapidly moving pandemic since the Spanish influenza of 1918-1920, is associated with thyroid diseases.MethodsReferences were identified through searches of PubMed and MEDLINE for articles published from Jan 1, 2019 to February 19, 2021 by use of the MeSH terms “hypothyroidism”, “hyperthyroidism”, “thyroiditis”, “thyroid cancer”, “thyroid disease”, in combination with the terms “coronavirus” and “COVID-19”. Articles resulting from these searches and references cited in those articles were reviewed.ResultsThough preexisting autoimmune thyroid disease appears unlikely to render patients more vulnerable to COVID-19, some reports have documented relapse of Graves’ disease (GD) or newly diagnosed GD about 1 month following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Investigations are ongoing to investigate molecular pathways permitting the virus to trigger GD or cause subacute thyroiditis (SAT). While COVID-19 is associated with non-thyroidal illness, it is not clear whether it also increases the risk of developing autoimmune hypothyroidism. The possibility that thyroid dysfunction may also increase susceptibility for COVID-19 infection deserves further investigation. Recent data illustrate the importance of thyroid hormone in protecting the lungs from injury, including that associated with COVID-19.ConclusionThe interaction between the thyroid gland and COVID-19 is complex and bidirectional. COVID-19 infection is associated with triggering of GD and SAT, and possibly hypothyroidism. Until more is understood regarding the impact of coronavirus on the thyroid gland, it seems advisable to monitor patients with COVID-19 for new thyroid disease or progression of preexisting thyroid disease.
How Marcel Proust Can Change Your Life—For Better or for Worse
Authors: Bloch R. Howard , Spitz Ellen Handler 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
This article turns around the role that Proust’s novel played—for better or worse—in my formation as a medievalist and as a full human being. In the curé’s obsession with genealogy and etymology, I recognized in the 1970s a deep medieval mental structure that coincided with contemporaneous work by historians of the Annales School on lineage and by structuralists on the linguistic patterns underpinning kinship. This led to a book, Etymologies and Genealogies: A Literary Anthropology of the French Middle Ages. But other strong strains of the Proustian sentimental orbit, doomed love, aligned chronologically and conceptually with the articulation in the 1890s of courtly love and made for dire consequences in a life lived along those lines. My wife, Ellen Handler Spitz, provides an emotionally corrective experience via the question, Was Swann in Love? Using the psychoanalytic concept of the partial object, she shows how limited Proust’s notion of love really is. We end on a note of wild admiration for Proust’s description of what it feels like to be in what he calls “love” but with a dose of skepticism with regard to his framing of the project of love itself.
The Invalid
Authors: Holleran Andrew 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
“The Invalid” is an autobiographical account of one American novelist’s reading Proust over the course of his life. After the initial impact of encountering Remembrance of Things Past as a young soldier in 1968 Germany, he is forced to wonder: Did Proust bring the novel to an end? Could there be an American equivalent to his novel? And why among writers is there a saying, “If you want to write like Proust, don’t write like Proust”? Searching for the key to Proust’s achievement, the author realizes that over the years he has possibly read more about Proust than he has Proust. And yet, as an invalid himself toward the end of his life, he can only conclude that the novel is inimitable.
Inactivation of erythropoietin leads to defects in cardiac morphogenesis
Authors: Wu Hong , Lee Sang Hoon , Gao Jing , Liu Xin , Iruela-Arispe M. Luisa 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Erythropoietin is an essential growth factor that promotes survival, proliferation, and differentiation of mammalian erythroid progenitor cells. Erythropoietin−/− and erythropoietin receptor−/− mouse embryos die around embryonic day 13.5 due, in part, to failure of erythropoiesis in the fetal liver. In this study, we demonstrated a novel role of erythropoietin and erythropoietin receptor in cardiac development in vivo. We found that erythropoietin receptor is expressed in the developing murine heart in a temporal and cell type-specific manner: it is initially detected by embryonic day 10.5 and persists until day 14.5. Both erythropoietin−/− and erythropoietin receptor−/− embryos suffered from ventricular hypoplasia at day 12-13 of gestation. This defect appears to be independent from the general state of hypoxia and is likely due to a reduction in the number of proliferating cardiac myocytes in the ventricular myocardium. Cell proliferation assays revealed that erythropoietin acts as a mitogen in cells isolated from erythropoietin−/− mice, while it has no effect in hearts from erythropoietin receptor−/− animals. Erythropoietin−/− and erythropoietin receptor−/− embryos also suffered from epicardium detachment and abnormalities in the vascular network. Finally, through a series of chimeric analysis, we provided evidence that erythropoietin acts in a manner which is non-cell-autonomous. Our results elucidate a novel role of erythropoietin in cardiac morphogenesis and suggest a combination of anemia and cardiac failure as the cause of embryonic lethality in the erythropoietin−/− and erythropoietin receptor−/− animals.
Regulation of differential growth in the apical hook of Arabidopsis
Authors: Raz Vered , Ecker Joseph R. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Arabidopsis seedlings develop a hook-like structure at the apical part of the hypocotyl when grown in darkness. Differential cell growth processes result in the curved hypocotyl hook. Time-dependent analyses of the hypocotyl showed that the apical hook is formed during an early phase of seedling growth and is maintained in a sequential phase by a distinct process. Based on developmental genetic analyses of hook-affected mutants, we show that the hookless mutants (hls1, cop2) are involved in an early aspect of hook development. From time-dependent analyses of ethylene-insensitive mutants, later steps in hook maintenance were found to be ethylene sensitive. Regulation of differential growth was further studied through examination of the spatial pattern of expression of two hormone-regulated genes: an ethylene biosynthetic enzyme and the ethylene receptor ETR1. Accumulation of mRNA for AtACO2, a novel ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) oxidase gene, occurred within cells predominantly located on the outer-side of the hook and was tightly correlated with ethylene-induced exaggeration in the curvature of the hook. ETR1 expression in the apical hook, however, was reduced by ethylene treatment. Based on the expression pattern of ETR1 and AtACO2 in the hook-affected mutants, a model for hook development and maintenance is proposed.
Genes required for axon pathfinding and extension in the C. elegans nerve ring
Authors: Zallen Jennifer A. , Kirch Susan A. , Bargmann Cornelia I. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Over half of the neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans send axons to the nerve ring, a large neuropil in the head of the animal. Genetic screens in animals that express the green fluorescent protein in a subset of sensory neurons identified eight new sax genes that affect the morphology of nerve ring axons. sax-3/robo mutations disrupt axon guidance in the nerve ring, while sax-5, sax-9 and unc-44 disrupt both axon guidance and axon extension. Axon extension and guidance proceed normally in sax-1, sax-2, sax-6, sax-7 and sax-8 mutants, but these animals exhibit later defects in the maintenance of nerve ring structure. The functions of existing guidance genes in nerve ring development were also examined, revealing that SAX-3/Robo acts in parallel to the VAB-1/Eph receptor and the UNC-6/netrin, UNC-40/DCC guidance systems for ventral guidance of axons in the amphid commissure, a major route of axon entry into the nerve ring. In addition, SAX-3/Robo and the VAB-1/Eph receptor both function to prevent aberrant axon crossing at the ventral midline. Together, these genes define pathways required for axon growth, guidance and maintenance during nervous system development.
The In Vitro assembly of tubulins from sea-urchin eggs and rat brain: Use of heterologous seeds
Authors: Burns R. G. , Starling D. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Sea-urchin tubulins can be assembled in vitro to form microtubules provided that a suitable seed is present. Although fragments of sea-urchin microtubules fail to act as seeds, since they apparently dissociate, short pieces of rat brain microtubule will act as nucleation sites for the assembly of sea-urchin tubulins. In addition, rat brain tubulins appear to undergo a certain amount of in vitro assembly when seeded with fragments of microtubules derived from seaurchin sperm tails. Assembly on a heterologous seed indicates that the current in vitro assembly conditions may be insufficiently stringent.
The distribution of concanavalin a receptor sites on the membrane of chromaffin granules
Authors: Eagles P. A. M. , Johnson L. N. , Horn C. Van 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
The distribution of concanavalin A (con A) receptor sites on the membranes of chromaffin granules has been investigated by binding studies using 125I-labelled con A and by electron-microscope studies using ferritin-labelled con A. In both experiments con A was observed to bind to chromaffin granule membranes but not to intact granules. The ferritin-con A particles bind to only one of the two possible surfaces of the chromaffin granule membranes. These results are in agreement with previous observations concerning the asymmetric distribution of saccharide residues on the surfaces of a number of different plasma membranes. They suggest that for the intracellular membrane of the chromaffin granule the saccharide sites, like those in plasma membranes, are not exposed to the cell cytoplasm. Further work is necessary to establish whether these sites are on the inner surface of the membrane or whether they are unmasked during the conversion of granules to membrane ghosts.
Mg2+-Dependent electrical control of flagellar activity in Euglena
Authors: Nichols Kathleen M. , Rikmenspoel Robert 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
When a Euglena gracilis in a Ca2+-containing medium is impaled with a microelectrode, the flagellum is instantly ejected. In a Ca2+-free medium to which 1mM EGTA has been added, the flagellum remains attached to the organism, but it loses activity upon impalement. Externally added ATP at a concentration of 10 mM will sustain normal flagellar activity (at approximately 20 Hz) of an impaled Euglena. If negative direct current of several tenths of a microamp is injected through the impaling microelectrode, the flagellar activity is stopped or much reduced. When the current injection is turned off the flagellum returns to its initial activity. This cyclo can be repeated many times on the same animal, independent of whether Mg2+ is present in the external medium or not. If 1 μM of gramicidin is added to Ca2+-free medium containing 1mM EGTA and 10 mM ATP, the flagellar activity becomes dependent on external Mg2+. Without external Mg2+ no flagellar activity is present after one or two current injection cycles as described above. With 1 mM Mg2+ present in the external medium many cycles (up to 10) can be produced. This Mg2+-dependent flagellar activity shows a smooth dependence on the amount of current injected. Observations taken by high speed cinemicrography show that in the third injection cycle the average frequency of the flagellar motion is 16 ·3 Hz at 0 μA, is 8 Hz at 0 ·2 μA, and is ≈ 0 at 0 ·6 μA of negative current. The injection of positive current results in an increase in flagellar frequency dependent on the amount of current injected. The data indicate that the control of motility of Euglena flagella is dependent on an electrically activated Mg2+ pump.
Mechanochemical coupling in flagella : V. effects of viscosity on movement and atp-dephosphorylation of triton- demembranated sea-urchin spermatozoa
Authors: Brokaw C.J. , Simonick T. F. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
Improved techniques have been used to measure movement-coupled ATP-dephosphorylation by suspensions of motile, reactivated sea-urchin spermatozoa. The results confirm that the movement-coupled ATP-dephosphorylation is proportional to beat frequency under conditions where the bend angle remains constant. Some observations suggest that the rate of ATP- dephosphorylation is also related to the amplitude of sliding between flagellar tubules, but our attempts to measure this relationship have been unsuccessful.
Phase-randomized laser illumination for microscopy
Authors: Hard Robert , Zeh Robert , Allen Robert D. 
Published: April 2021

ABSTRACT
A simple apparatus is described that phase randomizes the output of a continuous argon ion laser, so that it may be used as a source of high intensity, monochromatic light for microscopy. The phase-randomizing device can be used with any laser, polarized or unpolarized, and of any desired power output and wavelength, including dye lasers for spectral studies. The randomizing system can be adapted to any light microscope and any optical system including bright-field, phase-contrast, Nomarski differential-interference, dark-field, and split-beam interference systems such as the Jamin-Lebedeff System. It can be used for a variety of photometric and photographic studies. The 514-nm wavelength appears to be relatively harmless to a variety of cells.