bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
YAP1 Protein Expression Has Variant Prognostic Significance in SCLC Stratified by Histological Subtypes
Authors: Wang Xin , Guo Yiying , Liu Li , Wei Jiacong , Zhang Jinyao , Xie Tongji , Dong Jiyan , Li Junling , Xing Puyuan , Yang Lin 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Purpose: Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), a nuclear effector of an inactivated HIPPO pathway, has been identified as one of four molecular subtypes of SCLC defined by the transcriptional regulatory mechanism. We aimed to explore the clinicopathological relevance and prognostic significance of YAP1 expression in SCLC stratified by histological subtypes. Methods: Tumor sections and corresponding formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples of 297 SCLC patients were retrieved from the pathological specimen repository and were subsequently reviewed by pathologists. Forty-six C-SCLCs (15.5%) and 251 P-SCLCs (84.5%) were identified respectively. YAP1 expression was examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and assessed semi-quantitatively on tumor tissue array (TMA). Propensity score was used to match C-SCLCs and P-SCLCs in a ratio of 1 to 2 to balance age, gender, tumor stage and treatment methods. Finally, 46 C-SCLCs and 92 P-SCLCs were included for prognostic analysis.Results: The positive rate of YAP1 expression was significantly higher in C-SCLCs than P-SCLCs before matching (52.2% vs 29.1%, P = 0.004). After matching by propensity score, the prescribed clinical parameters were well balanced between P-SCLCs and C-SCLCs. Expression of YAP1 was associated worse overall survival (OS) (5- year OS%, 39.0% vs. 74.9%, P = 0.013) and was an independent risk factor for OS (HR = 2.93, 95% CI: 1.01-8.51; P=0.048) exclusively in C-SCLC. Univariate survival analysis in subgroups of different clinical variables also confirmed the prognostic impact of YAP1 was most significant in C-SCLC. But for P-SCLCs, expression of YAP1 showed no prognostic impact. Conclusions: Expression of YAP1 in small cell components of C-SCLC was significantly higher than that in P-SCLC. Besides, it served as an unfavorable predictor for OS in C-SCLC but not in P-SCLC, which suggested different entities of small cell components with variant YAP1 expression and potential different targetable oncogenic pathway between C-SCLC and P-SCLC.
Quarantine Effect on Psychological Health Among People of Karachi, Pakistan Due to Pandemic of COVID-19.
Authors: Rizwan Rabeea , Shaikh Areeba , Razzak Shama , Naqvi Sadaf , Khan Rosheena Nabeel , Nusrat Butool 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background: The coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) pandemic has been substantially affecting the life of people worldwide, especially when World Health Organization declared it as a global pandemic in the second week of March 2020. It produced momentous anguish throughout the biosphere. Apart from the increased in COVID infested reports, it instigated a considerable disturbance to psychological healthiness in the affected nations. Many nation states across the world, had executed a countrywide constrainment on all human activities and jobs to control the spread of the virus. The present study is an attempt to find out psychological distress among people residing in Pakistan during the lockdown.Methods: Four hundred and forty three participants that were inhabitants of Karachi, Pakistan were asked to complete questionnaire. It was conducted online to maintain quarantine effect including questions about symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and family affluence according to Depression anxiety and stress scale 21 (DAAS-21 scale). Selection of participants was done by consecutive sampling method.Results: The results indicated that people who were economically weak and unstable to endure the lockdown were generally affected. While awareness and fear of getting COVID-19 affluence was found to be negatively correlated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Among gender females were experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression more than males and the most affected age group were adults. Conclusion: Moderate depression, severe anxiety and lower level of stress was seen in the population of Karachi during sudden first lockdown due to spread of COVID-19. Government officials and other establishments may take the support and corporation of professionals related to psychiatry and psychotherapy to assist in overwhelming the psychosocial problems among the homeland related to COVID-19 lockdown.
Identification of Crucial Methylation Genes Associated With Immune Cell Infiltration in Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome Using Co-methylation Analysis
Authors: Li Chuang , Wang Yuan , Liu Caixia , Yin Shaowei 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background: DNA methylation (DNAm), is an important transcriptional regulation mechanism, relevant to various diseases. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a complication in twin pregnancies resulting from disproportionate blood circulation. Survivors of TTTS show a high risk of neurodevelopmental abnormalities, particularly in the hippocampus, which is important in learning and memory. Here, we investigate gene expression and DNAm in hippocampus tissues of TTTS specimens. Methods: DNAm and gene expression levels were compared among the three groups: 10 recipients, 10 donors, and 10 matched control, using methylation microarray. We further explored the immune infiltration of six immune cell sub-populations using EpiDISH analysis. The methylated sites related to immune cell infiltration were identified using the WGCNA package. We explored the core methylation genes in the protein-protein interaction network using the MCODE plugin in Cytoscape software. Results: There were 188 differential methylation sites among three groups. Based on WGCNA, we found that the turquoise module containing 174 CpG sites is significantly related to the immune infiltration level. And four hub genes correlated with immune infiltration level, namely, PTPRJ, FYN, LYN, and AKT1, and were identified using gene sub-network analysis. Conclusions: We identify the four hub methylation genes related to immune infiltration in the TTTS. The molecular function of hub genes is still explored in the future research.
An Empirical Study on the Evaluation of the RDF Storage Systems
Authors: mahria bilal ben , Chaker Ilham , Zahi Azeddine 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
In this paper, we introduce three new implementations of non-native methods for storing RDF data. These methods named RDFSPO, RDFPC and RDFVP, are based respectively on the statement table, property table and vertical partitioning approaches. As important, we consider the issue of how to select the most relevant strategy for storing the RDF data depending on the dataset characteristics. For this, we investigate the balancing between two performance metrics, including load time and query response time. In this context, we provide an empirical comparative study between on one hand the three proposed methods, and on the other hand the proposed methods versus the existing ones by using various publicly available datasets. Finally, in order to further assess where the statistically significant differences appear between studied methods, we have performed a statistical analysis, based on the non-parametric Friedman test followed by a Nemenyi post-hoc test. The obtained results clearly show that the proposed RDFVP method achieve highly competitive computational performance against other state-of-the-art methods in terms of Load Time and Query Response Time.
Prognostic Significance of Preoperative Serum Uric Acid to Lymphocyte Ratio in Advanced Gastric Cancer A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis
Authors: Liu Li Heng , Hu Shan Shan , Liao Cheng Lei , wang ziwei 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Purpose: Gastric cancer ranks sixth and second in incidence and mortality among all cancer. The purpose of our research was to evaluate the prognostic value of uric acid to lymphocyte ratio (ULR) for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) patients after gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy.Methods: In this research, we included 287 AGC patients underwent gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. These patients were followed up for 5 years, and their clinicopathological data were collected. All patients were divided into two groups based on the preoperative ULR level. Then we established the propensity score matching (PSM) cohort to confirm our results. Finally, The clinical characteristics and survival indexes of the two groups in the PSM cohort and the entire cohort were compared. Results：We found that age and gender were significantly correlated with the ULR level. Multivariate analysis for the entire cohort and PSM cohort showed that high levels of ULR, poor differentiation, postoperative pathology of T4 stage, and regional lymph node metastasis were independent prediction factors for poor outcomes of overall survival (OS) and Disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with AGC after gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy. Survival analysis showed that the OS and DFS in the high level ULR group were significantly shorter than in the low level ULR group (log-rank P < 0.001). Conclusion: High level ULR is a poor predictive factor for patients with AGC underwent gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy, and high levels of ULR predict shorter OS and DFS.
Sporadic, Trauma-Induced Pancreatic Desmoid Tumor: Case Report of a Rare Disease and Literature Review
Authors: zhu zhongfei , Song Bin , Jin Gang 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background:Desmoid tumor (DT) is a rare neoplasm. It is a benign tumor, but it has the potential to become invasive. The number of reported intra-abdominal DT cases does not exceed 100. The etiology is usually associated with a surgery, with the tumor occurring especially at the surgical margins. Cases induced by trauma have not been reported before. Case presentation:Here we report of a case of a 15-year-old boy who fell and was hit in his abdomen by his bicycle’s handle. He was referred to our unit due to the yellowing of the skin and sclera. We assumed it to be pancreatic adenocarcinoma because he had obstructive jaundice, a high level of the carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and the diagnosis of abdominal magnetic resonance imaging scan, which demonstrated pancreatic cancer.Elective surgery was performed based on a presumptive diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical analysis on the resected tumor concluded a diagnosis of pancreatic DT. After 48 months of follow up, the patient still shows no sign of recurrence. Conclusion:Based on the reviewed literature, curative resection is the recommended treatment for pancreatic DT, and the rate of recurrence for sporadic pancreatic DT is low.
Serial Circulating Tumor DNA Identification Associated with the Efficacy and Prognosis of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer
Authors: Zhou Yidong , Xu Yaping , Wang Changjun , Gong Yuhua , Zhang Yanyan , Yao Ru , Li Peng , Zhu Xiuli , Bai Jing , Guan Yanfang , Xia Xuefeng , Yang Ling , Yi Xin , Sun Qiang 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) provides a promising noninvasive alternative to evaluate the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) in breast cancer. Methods: Herein, we collected 63 tissue (aspiration biopsies and resected tissues) and 206 blood samples (baseline, during chemotherapy (Chemo), after chemotherapy (Post-Chemo), after operation (Post-Op), during follow-up) from 32 patients, and preformed targeted deep sequencing with a customed 1,021-gene panel. Results: As the results, TP53 (43.8%) and PIK3CA (40.6%) were the most common mutant genes in the primary tumors. At least one tumor-derived mutation was detected in the following number of blood samples: 21, baseline; 3, Chemo; 9, Post-Chemo; and 5, Post-Op. Four patients with pathologic complete response had no tissue mutation in Chemo and Post-Chemo blood. Compared to patients with mutation-positive Chemo or Post-Chemo blood, the counterparts showed a superior primary tumor decrease (median, 86.5% versus 54.6%) and lymph involvement (median, one versus 3.5). All five patients with mutation-positive Post-Op developed distant metastases during follow-up, and the sensitivity of detecting clinically relapsed patients was 71.4% (5/7). The median DFS was 9.8 months for patients with mutation-positive Post-Op but not reached for the others (HR 23.53; 95% CI, 1.904–290.9; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Our study shows that sequential monitoring of blood ctDNA was an effective method for evaluating NCT efficacy and patient survival. Integrating ctDNA profiling into the management of LABC patients might improve clinical outcome.Trial registration: This prospective study recruited LABC patients at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02797652).
Spatial Accessibility to Primary Care in Dual Public-Private Health System in Malaysia: A Case Study in Rural Selangor
Authors: Hamid Jabrullah Ab , Juni Muhamad Hanafiah , Manaf Rosliza Abdul , Ismail Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed , Lim Poh Ying 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background:Disparities of access to health services in rural areas is a global health issue, especially in middle income countries including Malaysia. Recent method called enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) exhibit promising results in quantifying the health care accessibility. This study aimed to describe and explore the pattern of spatial accessibility to primary care services based on secondary data.Methods:The E2SFCA method were adapted to measure the level of accessibility to primary care across rural area in Selangor state of Malaysia, with slight modification to suit our local context considering for public and private providers as well as incorporating clinic’s availability factor into the original formula. For each provider, spatial pattern of accessibility scores was mapped, spatial autocorrelation local Moran’s I and Getis-Ord-Gi* was performed and the degree of equality was computed based on Gini index.Results:Areas with high E2SFCA scores mainly concentrated encircling the periphery of the large urban areas at the centre of the state, largely contributed by the private sector whereas low E2SFCA scores areas observed predominantly at the northern region and along the coastal region. As a whole, the E2SFCA scores across rural Selangor population was fairly equal but lower degree of equality was observed at the northern region of the state.Conclusions:The level and distribution of E2SFCA scores reflects the performance of the primary health care. Findings from this study provides insight for the health authorities to identify disparities of access to primary care services and areas that need attention, hence would be basis for future health care planning and resource distribution.
Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW) as novel inflammatory marker with prognostic significance in COVID-19 patients
Authors: Riva Giovanni , Castellano Sara , Nasillo Vincenzo , Ottomano Anna Maria , Bergonzini Giuliano , Paolini Ambra , Lusenti Beatrice , Milić Jovana , Biasi Sara De , Gibellini Lara , Cossarizza Andrea , Busani Stefano , Girardis Massimo , Guaraldi Giovanni , Mussini Cristina , Manfredini Rossella , Luppi Mario , Tagliafico Enrico , Trenti Tommaso 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background: Monocyte Distribution Width (MDW), a new cytometric parameter correlating with cytomorphologic changes occurring during massive monocyte activation, has recently been described as promising early biomarker of sepsis. Similar to sepsis, in SARS-CoV-2-associated disease (COVID-19) monocyte/macrophage subsets are considered key mediators of the life-threatening hyper-inflammatory disorder –commonly defined as ‘cytokine storm’– which is part of the complex infection-associated immune dysregulation observed in severe COVID-19 cases (possibly constituting a kind of viral sepsis). Therefore, in this work, we aimed at investigating, for the first time, possible roles of MDW testing in the monitoring of COVID-19 patients.Methods: We longitudinally measured MDW values (readily available along with automated blood cell count) in a cohort of 87 patients with COVID-19 diagnosis, consecutively admitted to our clinics in early 2020, due to aggravation of their clinical status. Statistical analyses were then applied to correlate MDW values with inflammatory markers, disease severity, clinical trajectories and final outcome.Results: We initially found significant direct correlations between MDW and different inflammatory markers routinely assessed during hospitalization, namely CRP (p<0.001), fibrinogen (p<0.001) and ferritin (p<0.01). Moreover, high MDW values resulted remarkably associated with fatal outcome of severe COVID-19 patients (AUC=0.76, 95% CI: 0.66-0.87, sensitivity 0.75, specificity 0.70, MDW threshold 26.4; RR=4.91, 95% CI: 1.73-13.96; OR=7.14, 95% CI: 2.06-24.71). Furthermore, when evaluating MDW dynamics in COVID-19 cases with longer follow-up, we frequently observed progressive MDW increment in patients with worsening inflammation, while clinical recovery was consistently associated with MDW decrease. Of note, MDW evaluation may also help to assess the response to immunomodulatory treatments, such as tocilizumab. Conclusions: Our pilot study shows that MDW can be useful in the monitoring of COVID-19 patients, as this innovative hematologic biomarker is (i) easy and rapid to obtain, (ii) directly related to the activation state of a fundamental inflammatory cell subset (i.e. monocytes, pivotal in both cytokine storm and sepsis immunopathogenesis), (iii) well correlated with clinical severity of COVID-19-associated inflammatory disorder, and, in turn, (iv) endowed with relevant prognostic significance. Additional studies are needed to define further the clinical impact of MDW testing in the management of COVID-19 patients.
Comparing the Diagnostic Accuracy of HbA1c for Pre-Diabetes and Diabetes Between Foreign-Born and Swedish-Born Primary Healthcare Patients
Authors: Taloyan Marina , Salminen Helena , Melin Fredrik , Steiner Kristin Hjörleifdottir , Östenson Claes-Göran 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of HbA1c in detecting individuals with abnormally elevated blood glucose levels between foreign-born and Swedish-born primary healthcare patients. The secondary aim was to approximate appropriate HbA1c cut off values for the different populations to yield better sensitivity and specificity.MethodsData analysed in this study was collected in the Programme 4D (Four Diagnoses). Patients aged 18-74 years visiting Flemingsberg and Jakobsberg healthcare centres between years 2013-2015 were inquired about inclusion in the study. Exclusion criteria included having a diagnosis of diabetes. Screening included HbA1c, OGTT (including fasting plasma glucose) and questionnaires regarding country of birth as well as prediabetes/diabetes risk assessment questionnaires. In order to calculate diagnostic accuracy of HbA1c-testing, subjects with either both OGTT and HbA1c results and both fP-glucose and HbA1c results were included in the calculation. This totalled in 757 out of the 830 patients.ResultsOnly 22 of 623 patients had elevated results on all three tests. For Swedish-born patients an HbA1c cut off of 42 mmol/mol yielded 12.7% sensitivity and the ROC (Receiver Operating Curve) analysis gave an AUC (Area Under Curve) of 0.756 (0.702-0.810 [95% CI]). For foreign-born patients, an HbA1c cut off value of 42 mmol/mol yielded 19.7% sensitivity and the ROC analysis gave an AUC of 0.6975 (0.646-0.749 [95% CI]).ConclusionsThe diagnostic accuracy for HbA1c in detecting prediabetes and diabetes might be better for the Swedish-born than the foreign-born group. For both groups, an HbA1c cut off value of 34 mmol/mol would yield a sensitivity of >70% which can be considered for further investigation. Comparing the AUC for the two groups might indicate greater diagnostic accuracy for the test in the Swedish-born population than the foreign-born population.
Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Agbr Photocatalyst via Constructing Heterogeneous Junctions With Reduced Graphene
Authors: Zhang Tongtong , Yin Qi , Zhang Menghan , Zhang Siyu , Shao Yanning , Fang Liyu , Yan Qishe , Sun Ximeng 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
A series of rGO/AgBr heterojunction photocatalysts were fabricated through a facile solvothermal method. The rGO/AgBr heterostructures were characterized by XPS, XRD, UV-Vis DRS, SEM, TEM, PL and the transient photocurrent responses. The XRD, SEM, XPS and TEM analyzes indicated that the graphene and silver bromide were successfully compounded without other impurities. The UV-Vis DRS exhibited that the composites have better optical properties than pure silver bromide. The PL and the transient photocurrent responses demonstrated that the addition of graphene significantly promotes the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Subsequently, the photocatalytic activities of rGO/AgBr composites were studied by degrading Rhodamine B (RhB). It turned out that the degradation rate of RhB by the rGO/AgBr heterojunction photocatalysts were significantly higher than that by pure AgBr. What’s more, to study the photocatalytic degradation mechanism of RhB by rGO/AgBr heterostructures, the trapping experiments were used to identify the main active components. This work confirmed that the photocatalytic degradation performance of the catalyst was greatly improved after doping graphene, which provided certain data support for degradation of organic contaminants in water.
Discrimination in Healthcare, Experiences of Nurses, Physicians and Patients: A Qualitative Content Analysis
Authors: Hosseinabadi-farahani Mohammad javad , Fallahi-khoshknab Masoud , Arsalani Narges , Hosseini Mohammadali , Mohammadi Eesa 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background: Justice in health is one of the main concerns of health organizations, and discrimination in health care is one of the negative outcomes to achieving this goal. Hence, a full understanding of the phenomenon of discrimination in health care and adopting strategies to eliminate it is necessary. The present study was conducted to determine the experiences of nurses, physicians, and patients of discrimination in health care. Methods: The present qualitative content analysis study was conducted between 2019 and 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 18 participants (2 physicians, 3 nursing supervisors, 2 head nurses, 4 clinical nurses, 2 nursing assistants, and 3 hospitalized patients) in one public and one private hospital in the city of Tehran. The participants were selected by purposive sampling, which continued until saturation of data. Data obtained were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman method.Results: Four main categories and 14 subcategories were extracted from data analysis: 1) Habitual discrimination (everyday discrimination in health centers, ignoring patient rights, low levels of trust in medical staff); 2) interpersonal relationships (expectations of associates, respect for colleagues and friends, the possibility of the occurrence of similar situations, reciprocating people’s favors); 3) shortage of health care resources (shortage of medical equipment, heavy workload, infrastructures of medical centers, lack of access to physicians); and 4) Favoritism (ethnicity, favoritism as a common method, and as the ultimate solution to problems).Conclusion: The present study revealed certain dimensions of discrimination in health care that remain hidden in many quantitative studies. Thus, it appears that health system managers will be able to move towards eliminating discrimination in health care and providing ethical care by considering these issues and adopting appropriate strategies.