bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sarcopenic Knee Osteoarthritis: A Risk Factor for Recurrent Falls
Authors: Iijima Hirotaka , Aoyama Tomoki 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Sarcopenia and knee osteoarthritis (OA) are major risk factors for falls in older adults. The coexistence of these two conditions may exacerbate the risk of falls through the sarcopenia-OA interaction. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that older adults with coexisting sarcopenia and knee OA, defined as “sarcopenic OA,” displayed an increased risk of falls.Methods: Patients in an orthopedics clinic (n = 298, age: 60–90 years, 78.9% women) were divided into 4 groups according to the presence of sarcopenia and radiographic knee OA: isolated sarcopenia, isolated knee OA, sarcopenic knee OA, and control (i.e., non-sarcopenia with non-OA) groups. We used questionnaires to assess fall experience in the prior 12 months. We performed binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses to evaluate the relationship between the 4 groups and falls experience.Results: Of 298 participants, 27 (9.1%) had sarcopenic knee OA. Patients with sarcopenic knee OA had 4.70 times (95% confidence interval: 1.08, 20.5) higher odds of recurrent falls (≥ 2 falls) than those with control after adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index.Conclusions: Patients with sarcopenic knee OA displayed higher frailty. This study provides novel interactive relationship between sarcopenia and knee OA in the context of recurrent falls experience.Trial registration: Not applicable.
H3 relaxin alleviated vascular injury in rats with type 1 diabetes by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation
Authors: Zhang Xiaohui , Yang Kelaier , Chi Jinyu , Chen Wenjia , Ma Xiao , Yin Xinhua 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Human recombinant relaxin-3 (H3 relaxin ),a small molecule peptide hormone, ameliorated myocardial injury after myocardial infarction or isoprenaline injection by inhibiting apoptosis and fibrosis. However, whether H3 relaxin protects vascular function in rats with type 1 diabetes and its mechanism are unknown. In type 1 diabetes rats model induced by streptozotocin (STZ), rats were subcutaneously injected H3 relaxin (2 µg/kg/d or 0.2 µg/kg/d) for 2 weeks. At 4 or 8 weeks after STZ injection, we detected the expression of fibrosis (type I and III collagen), ERS (endoplasmic reticulum stress) and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the aortas and inflammation markers in the plasma from rats with diabetes. Compared with the diabetic rats, H3 relaxin treatment exhibited markedly decreased plasma oxidative stress markers (TNF-a and MDA) levels. The protein expression levels of type I and III collagen in the aortas were increased in rats with diabetes, inhibited by H3 relaxin. H3 relaxin treatment inhibited ERS (GRP78 and CHOP) and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the aortas of diabetic rats. These results suggest that H3 relaxin inhibited fibrosis, ERS and inflammation activation in the aortas of type 1 diabetic rats.
Hydro-Geochemical Characteristics and Quality Evaluations of the Groundwater of an Irrigated Plain Region of Northwestern China
Authors: Yuan Hongying , Yang Shuqing , Wang Bo , Han Tiankai , Ding Xuehua 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Groundwater is an important resource of water in arid and semi-arid agricultural regions. In order to study the hydro-geological characteristics and water quality of groundwater in different hydro-geological conditions of plain irrigation areas, 85 groundwater samples were collected for analysis of main chemical ions and evaluation of suitability of irrigation water in Wulate Irrigation Area (WLTIA) and Shenwu Irrigation Area (SWIA). The groundwater was found to be weakly alkaline, Fresh water (47.62%) was dominant in the SWIA and brackish water (65.12%) was dominant in the WLTIA. The hydro-chemical types in the two irrigation areas were observed to be mainly Cl-Na and Cl·SO-Ca·Mg, and the ion content was in the order of Cl− > SO42− > HCO3−, Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+. The ion content in the WLTIA was found to be higher than that in the SWIA. This was determined to be mainly due to good soil permeability and groundwater mobility in SWIA but the difficulties encountered in the groundwater exchange process in the WLTIA, as well as the influencing effects of the water supply from Wuliangsuhai Lake. The groundwater resources in the two irrigation areas were jointly controlled by evaporation crystallization and rock weathering processes. The dissolution of evaporated salt rock, silicate rock, gypsum, dolomite, and calcite was also a driving factor. This study observed that the chemical compositions of the groundwater in the study area were also affected by ion exchanges and human activities. The evaluation results show that the majority of the groundwater resources in the two irrigation areas could not be directly used for irrigation since salt and alkali damages could easily occur. It was found that the potential for salt damage was relatively serious. This study’s comparison results indicated that the quality of groundwater of the SWIA was relatively higher than that of the WLTIA.
A Retrospective Study on Clinical Significance of Imaging And Endobronchial Features In Pulmonary Lymphoma Diagnosed By Bronchoscopy: When Should We Perform Bronchoscopy?
Authors: Wang Shao-Ting 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Pulmonary lymphoma is rare while the radiographic lesions are nonspecific. The use of bronchoscopy, is controversial, and may be of limited diagnostic value for pulmonary lymphoma diagnosis.Methods: Cases of pulmonary lymphoma diagnosed by bronchoscopy were retrospectively reviewed from January 2010 till December 2020. Clinico-radiological records of these cases were retrieved and bronchoscopy was performed with histopathological evaluation of the biopsy specimens. Results: Of the 41 cases included in our study, 20 were primary pulmonary lymphoma. The majority of subtypes were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(43.9%) and extranodal marginal zone lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma(29.3%), with high percentage of underlying chronic disease. The common Computed Tomography(CT) abnormalities were mass(43.9%), consolidation(24.4%) or ground-glass opacities(24.4%). To evaluate the pulmonary lesions distribution, 41.5% patients had segmental lesions, 29.3% presences of diffuse lesions, 17.1% of local lesions and 12.2% of hilar lesions, with the maximal value of standard uptake value (SUVmax) median value of 9.6. At bronchoscopy, 41.5% lesions were identified as focal solitary mass, 22% were normal, 17.1% were mucosae asperity or edema, 9.8% were diffuse airway submucosal nodules or thickening and 9.8% were bronchiole stenosis, while certain endobronchial patterns may correspond to specific imaging features. Conclusion: The imaging features and endobronchial patterns of pulmonary lymphoma are characteristic. Bronchoscopy is still a useful tool, that is minimally invasive, to diagnose pulmonary lymphoma, while accurate analysis of the clinico-radiological records is essential before such procedure.
The Effects of Cardiometabolic Factors on the Association Between Serum Uric Acid and Chronic Kidney Disease in Chinese Middle-aged and Older Population: a Mediation Analysis
Authors: Xu Lu , Sun Hang , Liu Lili , Zhan Siyan , Wang Shengfeng , Lv Xiaozhen , Song Yongfeng 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: To explore whether dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia or hypertension has mediating effect on the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD).Methods: We conducted a mediation analysis to explore the potential mediating effects of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood glucose, triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) on the association between SUA and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The data were obtained from China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), covering 5 762 individuals. Results: SUA had a negative dose-response total effect on eGFR (β -3.11, 95% CI -3.40 to -2.82, P-value<0.001). The linear regression between SUA and seven potential mediators indicated that blood glucose (β 0.80, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.42, P-value=0.012), TG (β 10.01, 95% CI 8.22 to 11.79, P-value<0.001), TC (β 2.64, 95% CI 1.83 to 3.45, P-value<0.001), HDL-C (β -0.27, 95% CI -0.52 to -0.02, P-value=0.034) and LDL-C (β 1.15, 95% CI 0.49 to 1.80, P-value=0.001) all had significant dose-response association with SUA, but SBP and DBP showed no significant association with SUA. In terms of the association between potential mediators and eGFR, only TG did not have significant linear association with eGFR (β 0.00, 95% CI 0.00 to 0.01, P-value=0.117). The linear regression showed that SUA was directly associated with eGFR (P-value<0.001).Conclusions: This study supported that the association between SUA and the risk of CKD was not mediated by hypertension, hyperglycemia or dyslipidemia.
GSTM1 and GSTT1 Double Null Genotypes Determining Cell Fate and Proliferation as Potential Risk Factors of Relapse in Children With Hematological Malignancies After Stem Cell Transplantation. On Behalf of the Pediatric Disease Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Authors: Mlakar Simona Jurkovic , Satyanarayana Chakradhara Rao Uppugunduri , Nava Tiago , Mlakar Vid , Golay Hadrien , Robin Shannon , Waespe Nicolas , Rezgui Mohamed-Ali , Chalandon Yves , Boelens Jaap Jan , Bredius Robert G.M. , Dalle Jean-Hugues , Peters Christina , Corbacioglu Selim , Bittencourt Henrique , Krajinovic Maja , Ansari Marc 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
BackgroundRelapse is the major cause of treatment failure in children with hematological malignancies (HMs) undergoing busulfan (BU)- based allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) isoforms that participate in BU detoxification and protect cells against stress and cell death may be linked to post-HSCT outcomes. This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the genetic association of null variants of Glutathione S-transferases GSTM1 and GSTT1 with relapse incidence in children with HMs undergoing BU- containing allogeneic HSCT and to assess the impact of these variants on BU-induced cytotoxicity on the immortalized lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) and tumor THP1 GST-gene edited cell models.MethodsGSTM1- and GSTT1- null alleles were genotyped using germline DNA from whole blood prior to a conditioning BU-based regimen. Association of GSTM1- and GSTT1- null variants with relapse incidence was analyzed using multivariable competing risk analysis. BU-induced cell-death studies were conducted in GSTs- null and non-null LCLs and CRISPR-Cas9 gene-edited THP1 leukemia cell lines. ResultsCarrying GSTM1/GSTT1 double null genotype was found to be an independent risk factor for post-HSCT relapse in 86 children (adjusted HR: 6.52 [95% Cl, 2.76 - 15.42; p= 1.9 x 10-5]). BU induced cell death preferentially in THP1GSTM1(non-null) and LCLsGSTM1(non-null) as shown by decreased viability, increased necrosis and levels of the oxidized form of glutathione compared to null cells, while GSTT1 non-null cells showed increased baseline proliferation. ConclusionThe clinical association suggests that GSTM1/GSTT1 double null genotype could serve as genetic stratification biomarker for the high risk of post-HSCT relapse. Functional studies have indicated that GSTM1 status modulates BU-induced cell death. On the other hand, GSTT1 is proposed to be involved in baseline cell proliferation. Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01257854, Registered February 2008 – retrospectively registered.
Acute and Long-term Outcomes of Cryoballoon Ablation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. Primary Results of the Spanish Cryoballoon Ablation Registry (RECABA)
Authors: Loma-Osorio Ángel Ferrero , Cózar Rocío , García-Alberola Arcadio , Valles Ermengol , Barrera Alberto , Toquero Jorge , Ormaetxe Jose Miguel , Sánchez Juan Martínez , Ruiz-Granell Ricardo , Amador Pablo Bastos , Rubio Jose Manuel , Martí-Amor Julio , Pascual Patricia , Molina Irene , Martínez-Alday Jesús Daniel 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background

Cryoablation is safe and effective for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) in controlled clinical trials, but contemporary real-world usage and outcomes are limited.
Objectives

The Report of the Spanish Cryoballoon Ablation Registry (RECABA) was designed to evaluate acute and 12-month outcomes of cryoballoon ablation for the treatment of AF in Spain.
Methods

Patients from 27 Spanish centers were prospectively enrolled. Patients were treated with cryoballoon ablation and managed according to standard of care protocols at each center. Theprimary endpoint was ≥ 30 sec freedom from AF at 12-mo after a 3-mo blanking period. Secondary endpoints included a description of patient characteristics, cryoablation procedural strategy and safety, and predictors of efficacy.
Results

In total, 1742 patients (71.4% PAF, 68.8% male, mean age 58.02 ± 10.40 years, 76.1% overweight or obese, CHA2DS2-VASc index 1.40 ± 1.28) were enrolled. Patients received 7.2 ± 2.67 cryoapplications. PV potentials could be detected in 61% of the PVs during ablation, with a mean time to block of 52.9 ± 37.02 seconds. Acute PVI was observed in 97% of PVs with 75.8% isolated with the first cryoapplication. Mean procedural time was 113 ± 41 minutes. Acute complications occurred in 4.4% of the cases21. With follow-up in 1628 patients, AF-free survival was 78.5% (PAF: 80.6% vs PersAF 73.3%; p < 0.001). Left atrium enlargement, female sex, non-PAF, and early recurrence were independent predictors of AF recurrence (p < 0.05).
Conclusions

RECABA provides detailed insight into current dosing practices and demonstrates cryoablation is safe and effective in real-world use.
Efficacy and Cost Effectiveness of Universal Preoperative Iron Studies in Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Varghese Viju Daniel , Liu David , Ngo Donald , Edwards Suzanne 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background

Prevalence of anaemia in patients planned for total hip and knee arthroplasty is about 20%. Optimising preoperative haemoglobin levels by iron supplementation has been shown to decrease transfusion rates, complications and associated morbidity. The need for universal screening with iron studies of all elective arthroplasty patients is not clearly defined at present.
Methods

Retrospective review of 2 sequential cohorts of patients undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty by a single surgeon at a single centre between January 2013 and December 2017. The first group of patients underwent pre-operative iron studies only if found to be anaemic, with a haemoglobin below 12g/dL. From January 2015 all patients irrespective of the presence of anaemia were screened with a complete iron profile before surgery. Patients with a confirmed iron deficiency were administered with intravenous iron prior to surgery. The 2 cohorts were compared with regards to blood transfusion rate post-operatively and cost efficiency for universal screening with iron studies.
Results

There was a net decrease in allogenic blood transfusion rate from 4.76–2.92% when universal iron studies were introduced but the difference was not statistically significant. Obtaining universal pre-operative iron studies is cost neutral with the price of allogenic blood transfusion in a similar cohort. We also diagnosed 5 patients with occult malignancies.
Conclusions

Universal screening with pre-operative iron studies and iron infusion in elective arthroplasty patients may reduce allogenic blood requirements and is cost neutral. An additional benefit is the potential to diagnose asymptomatic malignancies. Further studies are required to show the true benefit of universal pre-operative iron screening.
Biosurfactant Production by Marine Actinomycetes Isolates Streptomyces Althioticus RG3 and Streptomyces Californicus RG8 as a Promising Source of Antimicrobial and Antifouling Effects
Authors: Al-agamy Mohamed , Hamed Moaz M , Alhuzani Mohammad R , Youssif Asmaa M 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background: Because of the ability of their bioactive metabolites production, many researchers were attracted to investigate and isolating marine actinomycetes from unique location with a unique environment. Information on antimicrobial activity and antifouling agents by Streptomyces sp. from the Ras Garib area, Gulf of Suez, Egypt is limited. One of the metabolites produced by the actinomycetes was biosurfactant. This paper describes the possibility of marine actinomycetes isolates for the production of biosurfactants, In addition to the possibility of using it as antimicrobial and antifouling agents.Results: Marine actinobacterial isolates RG3 and RG8 had emulsification indexes of 76 and 68%, respectively. The two marine actinobacterial isolates were identified using 16srDNA as Streptomyces althioticus RG3 and Streptomyces californicus RG8, and submitted in the database of genetic information with accession number MW661230 and MW661234, respectively. Biosurfactants were stable at 10% NaCl, in case of Streptomyces althioticus RG3 and stable at 10%–15% NaCl in the case of Streptomyces californicus RG8. A temperature of 35℃ was suitable for the stability of biosurfactants produced by both strains. Both strains produced the most biosurfactant when exposed to alkaline conditions. We characterized the biosurfactants produced by both strains including features such as the chemical composition of the biosurfactants and FTIR analysis. The antimicrobial activity of biosurfactants extract evaluated using a well diffusion method against Vibrio alginolyticus MK170250, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 4027, and Staphylococcus aureus ATTC 25923. Streptomyces althioticus RG3 biosurfactants have been shown to have better antimicrobial activity than Streptomyces californicus RG8, indicating that they may be used in pharmaceutical industries and in the manufacture of antifouling products.Conclusions: Streptomyces althioticus RG3 and Streptomyces californicus RG8, isolated from Ras Garib, Gulf of Suez, Egypt, were able to develop very stable biosurfactants under stress conditions, which could be useful in a variety of industries such as pharmaceuticals and antifouling manufacturing.
Soil microbes increase switchgrass germination but not seedling growth under drought
Authors: Ulbrich Tayler , Bell-Dereske Lukas , Ervin Harry , Hilborn Shanna , Evans Sarah E. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Purpose Soil microbial communities can mitigate the negative effects of drought on early-stage plant growth. However, the magnitude of this benefit may depend on both the microbial community’s previous host associations and the plant’s developmental stage.Methods We conducted a greenhouse experiment to investigate how microbial presence (autoclaved bulk vs. live bulk soils) and the microbial community’s association history (bulk soil vs. rhizosphere soil) affect germination and seedling growth during drought, as well as how drought and life-stage alter the assembly of the inoculated communities. Our focal plant was switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a target bioenergy crop frequently used in native prairie restorations.Results We found that drought reduced growth by 59% and germination by 41% compared to ambient conditions, and that microbial presence altered drought responses. Seeds with microbes (live bulk soil) had 83% greater germination and 72% higher survival than seeds in autoclaved soils, and these effects were similar under both precipitation regimes. In contrast to microbial presence, the inoculated communities’ association history did not affect plant responses. We did find that plant growth-stage altered bacterial community assembly; bulk and rhizosphere bacterial communities were initially similar, and responded similarly to drought, but they diverged at the end of the experiment only with a germinating seed.Conclusion We show that soil microbes can increase germination and mitigate early-stage drought stress but that microbial association history may not strongly affect plant drought responses. Furthermore, interactions between soil community history and germination may be a critical, yet understudied, driver of microbiome assembly.
Long Short Term Memory Networks (LSTM)-Monte-Carlo Simulation of Surface Ionization using Radon
Authors: Muhammed Ahmad , Külahcı Fatih , Salh Hemn , Rashid Pishtiwan Akram Hama 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Earthquake events are usually associated with the atmospheric processes modification. Some of the important events in seismic periods include the atmospheric electricity/conductivity modification, which is often related to the ion population in the earthquake preparation area vicinity. Radon, together with cosmic radiation is the major ionization sources in the lower troposphere. The ion-pair production rate is estimated as caused by radon in Erzincan, a city along the North Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey. Long short term memory and Monte Carlo methods are proposed to account for uncertainty in the estimations and also in the radon data to simulate the ion production rate. The advantage of the LSTM model is taken to study radon anomalies during the M=5 Girlevik earthquake, Erzincan. Radon concentration in Erzincan is found to be very high when compared to other regions, and this might relate to the geological settings of the region. Radon concentration is found to increase prior to the 5.0 Girlevik earthquake. According to estimations, 23×109 ion-pairs m-3s-1 were generated during the earthquake. The ion production estimation rate due to radon and its progeny in Erzincan is at the order of 109 ion-pairs m-3s-1. When added to other ionization sources more pronounced conditions could favor ionospheric perturbations. Ionospheric disturbance simulations would be significant in regions with high radon concentration for understanding atmospheric processes.
High third-order optical nonlinear performance in CMOS devices integrated with 2D graphene oxide films
Authors: Moss David , wu jiayang , zhang yuning 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
We report enhanced nonlinear optics in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible photonic platforms through the use of layered two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) films. We integrate GO films with silicon-on-insulator nanowires (SOI), high index doped silica glass (Hydex) and silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides and ring resonators, to demonstrate an enhanced optical nonlinearity including Kerr nonlinearity and four-wave mixing (FWM). The GO films are integrated using a large-area, transfer-free, layer-by-layer method while the film placement and size are controlled by photolithography. In SOI nanowires we observe a dramatic enhancement in both the Kerr nonlinearity and nonlinear figure of merit (FOM) due to the highly nonlinear GO films. Self-phase modulation (SPM) measurements show significant spectral broadening enhancement for SOI nanowires coated with patterned films of GO. The dependence of GO’s Kerr nonlinearity on layer number and pulse energy shows trends of the layered GO films from 2D to quasi bulk-like behavior. The nonlinear parameter of GO coated SOI nanowires is increased 16 folds, with the nonlinear FOM increasing over 20 times to FOM > 5. We also observe an improved FWM efficiency in SiN waveguides integrated with 2D layered GO films. FWM measurements for samples with different numbers of GO layers and at different pump powers are performed, achieving up to ≈ 7.3 dB conversion efficiency (CE) enhancement for a uniformly coated device with 1 layer of GO and ≈ 9.1 dB for a patterned device with 5 layers of GO. These results reveal the strong potential of GO films to improve the nonlinear optics of silicon, Hydex and SiN photonic devices.