bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The use of expanded carrier screening of gamete donors
Authors: Payne Molly R , Skytte Anne-Bine , Harper Joyce C 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

STUDY QUESTION
What are the sperm and egg donor rejection rates after expanded carrier screening (ECS)?

SUMMARY ANSWER
Using an ECS panel looking at 46/47 genes, 17.6% of donors were rejected.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
The use of ECS is becoming commonplace in assisted reproductive technology, including testing of egg and sperm donors. Most national guidelines recommend rejection of donors if they are carriers of a genetic disease. If the use of ECS increases, there will be a decline in the number of donors available.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
A review of the current preconception ECS panels available to donors was carried out through an online search. The genetic testing results of donors from Cryos International were analysed to determine how many were rejected on the basis of the ECS.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Data on gamete donors and their carrier status was provided by Cryos International, who screen donors using their own bespoke ECS panel. The ECS panels identified through the review were compared to the Cryos International panel and data.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
A total of 16 companies and 42 associated ECS panels were reviewed. There were a total of 2673 unique disorders covered by the panels examined, with a mean of 329 disorders screened. None of these disorders were common to all panels. Cryos International screen 46 disorders in males and 47 in females. From 883 candidate donors, 17.6% (155/883) were rejected based on their ECS result. Carriers of alpha-thalassaemia represented the largest proportion of those rejected (19.4%, 30/155), then spinal muscular atrophy (15.5%, 24/155) and cystic fibrosis (14.8%, 23/155).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
Panel information was found on company websites and may not have been accurate.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
This study highlights the need for consistent EU regulations and guidelines that allow genetic matching of gamete donors to their recipients, preventing the need to reject donors who are known carriers. A larger ECS panel would be most beneficial; however, this would not be viable without matching of donors and recipients.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
No specific funding was obtained. J.C.H. is the founder of Global Women Connected, a platform to discuss women’s health issues and the Embryology and PGD Academy, who deliver education in clinical embryology. She has been paid to give a lecture by Cryos in 2019. A-B.S. is an employee of Cryos International.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A
Invasive Bacterial Vaccine-Preventable Disease Surveillance: Successes and Lessons Learned in Bangladesh for a Sustainable Path Forward
Authors: Saha Senjuti , Saha Samir K 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
We have made considerable progress in setting and scaling up surveillance systems to drive evidence-based policy decisions, but the recent epidemics highlight that current systems are not optimally designed. Good surveillance systems should be coordinated, comprehensive, and adaptive. They should generate data in real time for immediate analysis and intervention, whether for endemic diseases or potential epidemics. Such systems are especially needed in low-resource settings where disease burden is the highest, but tracking systems are the weakest here due to competing priorities and constraints on available resources. In this article, using the examples of 3 large, and mostly successful, infectious disease surveillance studies in Bangladesh, we identify 2 core limitations—the pathogen bias and the vaccine bias—in the way current surveillance programs are designed for low-resource settings. We highlight the strengths of the current Global Invasive Bacterial Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Network of the World Health Organization and present case studies from Bangladesh to illustrate how this surveillance platform can be leveraged to overcome its limitations. Finally, we propose a set of criteria for building a comprehensive infectious disease surveillance system with the hope of encouraging current systems to use the limited resources as optimally as possible to generate the maximum amount of knowledge.
Clinical efficacy and safety of remdesivir in patients with COVID-19: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Lai Chih-Cheng , Chen Chao-Hsien , Wang Cheng-Yi , Chen Kuang-Hung , Wang Ya-Hui , Hsueh Po-Ren 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

Objectives
We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to provide updated information regarding the clinical efficacy of remdesivir in treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods
PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, clinical trial registries of ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched for relevant articles published up to 18 November 2020.

Results
Five RCTs, including 13 544 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. Among them, 3839 and 391 patients were assigned to the 10 day and 5 day remdesivir regimens, respectively. Patients receiving 5 day remdesivir therapy presented greater clinical improvement than those in the control group [OR = 1.68 (95% CI 1.18–2.40)], with no significant difference observed between the 10 day and placebo groups [OR = 1.23 (95% CI 0.90–1.68)]. Patients receiving remdesivir revealed a greater likelihood of discharge [10 day remdesivir versus control: OR = 1.32 (95% CI 1.09–1.60); 5 day remdesivir versus control: OR = 1.73 (95% CI 1.28–2.35)] and recovery [10 day remdesivir versus control: OR = 1.29 (95% CI 1.03–1.60); 5 day remdesivir versus control: OR = 1.80 (95% CI 1.31–2.48)] than those in the control group. In contrast, no mortality benefit was observed following remdesivir therapy. Furthermore, no significant association was observed between remdesivir treatment and an increased risk of adverse events.

Conclusions
Remdesivir can help improve the clinical outcome of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and a 5 day regimen, instead of a 10 day regimen, may be sufficient for treatment. Moreover, remdesivir appears as tolerable as other comparators or placebo.
Antimalarial primaquine for spinal sensory and motor blockade in rats
Authors: Chou An-Kuo , Chiu Chong-Chi , Wang Jhi-Joung , Chen Yu-Wen , Hung Ching-Hsia 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of the experiment was to estimate whether intrathecal antimalarial drugs could provoke spinal block, and their comparison with lidocaine.

Methods
Rats were intrathecally administrated with antimalarial agents (primaquine, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and amodiaquine) and lidocaine, and neurobehavioural examinations (nociception, proprioception and motor function) were assessed; n = 8 per group. One-way and two-way analysis of variance were designed to analyse data.

Key findings
At a concentration of 20 mM, primaquine (0.46 mg/rat) exhibited the longest duration and the most potent effect of nociceptive, proprioceptive and motor blockade (P &lt; 0.01) among five drugs, whereas the other antimalarial drugs displayed a lesser or similar potency of spinal blockade compared with lidocaine (0.29 mg/rat). In dose-dependent studies, primaquine was more potent (P &lt; 0.01) than lidocaine for spinal block. At ED25, ED50 and ED75 equipotent doses, primaquine produced a greater duration of spinal motor, proprioceptive and nociceptive blockade when compared with lidocaine (P &lt; 0.01).

Conclusions
Primaquine, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and amodiaquine produced spinal blockade. Primaquine was more potent and displayed a prolonged life of local anaesthetic effect compared with lidocaine, whereas the other antimalarial drugs displayed a lesser or similar potency compared with lidocaine.
Massively calcified aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery: an unsuccessful clipping attempt followed by successful pCONus2-assisted coil occlusion
Authors: Haj Amer , Schmidt Nils Ole , Wendl Christina , Schebesch Karl-Michael 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
We report the unique case of a 67-year-old female patient with an incidentally discovered massively calcified aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery. After interdisciplinary discussion, we decided to attempt clipping the aneurysm because interventional therapy did not seem feasible and anchoring a stent would also have been difficult because of the morphology of the aneurysm. The clipping attempt was unsuccessful because of the aneurysm’s massive calcification with strong adherence to the sphenoid planum. The aneurysm was then successfully occluded using pCONus 2-assisted coiling. We illustrate this and consecutive procedures, and we reviewed the literature on aneurysm calcification.
Surrogate Born Children’s Access to Information About Their Origins
Authors: O’Callaghan Elaine 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
This article considers the rights of surrogate born children to access information about their origins. Proposals for reform in the UK and Ireland are discussed, and it is argued that there needs to be a greater consideration of children’s rights law in this context. In particular, it is observed that restricting children’s access to identifying information until they are 18 years old must be reconsidered. There is a myriad of reasons for this, not least obligations under international human rights law, as well as evidence from research which demonstrates that children should be informed about their origins and birth story at a young age. The introduction of a minimum age limit under the age of 18 years, to access identifying information, as is evident in some jurisdictions, is considered. Children’s access to information in the context of international surrogacy arrangements is also discussed. It is concluded that legislators should seek to take a children’s rights approach, and facilitate children in accessing information about their origins during their childhood.
A corpus-based approach to explore the stylistic peculiarity of Koji Uno’s postwar works
Authors: Liu Xueqin , Jin Mingzhe 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
This research aims to investigate the peculiarity of the postwar works of Koji Uno, a prominent Japanese littérateur, through a quantitative comparative analysis with his contemporaries. Uno’s writing career was twice subjected to interruption, first due to mental illness and second due to World War II. Literary critics hold the view that the unique writing style of Uno’s postwar works makes him easily distinguishable from other writers. However, it is difficult to understand the specificity of his writing without drawing comparison with his contemporaries. Therefore, this study conducted a comparative analysis to clarify the unique lexical and syntactic elements of Uno’s postwar works. As revealed by the analytical results, the most significant factors distinguishing Uno’s works from that of other writers comprise the exceptional application of conjunctions and symbols. Uno’s work shows more reliance on explicit conjunctions to connect sentences. He also inserted parenthetical annotations starting with such conjunctions as ‘つまり’ (in brief) and ‘あるいは’ (or) to enhance the readability of his sentences. Uno also employed punctuation marks, especially commas, to minimize the length of the element between punctuation marks.
The Alma catalogue of OB stars – II. A cross-match with Gaia DR2 and an updated map of the solar neighbourhood
Authors: Pantaleoni González M , Maíz Apellániz J , Barbá R H , Reed B Cameron 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
We cross-match the Alma catalogue of OB stars with Gaia DR2 astrometry and photometry as a first step towards producing a clean sample of massive stars in the solar neighbourhood with a high degree of completeness. We analyse the resulting colour–absolute magnitude diagram to divide our sample into categories and compare extinction estimates from two sources, finding problems with both of them. The distances obtained with three different priors are found to have few differences among them, indicating that Gaia DR2 distances are robust. An analysis of the 3D distribution of massive stars in the solar neighbourhood is presented. We show that a kinematically distinct structure we dub the Cepheus spur extends from the Orion–Cygnus spiral arm towards the Perseus arm and is located above the Galactic mid-plane, likely being related to the recently discovered Radcliffe wave. We propose that this corrugation pattern in the Galactic disc may be responsible for the recent enhanced star formation at its crests and troughs. We also discuss our plans to extend this work in the immediate future.
Galaxy formation in the brane world I: overview and first results
Authors: Hernández-Aguayo César , Arnold Christian , Li Baojiu , Baugh Carlton M 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
We carry out ‘full-physics’ hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation in the normal-branch Dvali–Gabadadze–Porrati (nDGP) braneworld model using a new modified version of the arepo code and the IllustrisTNG galaxy formation model. We simulate two nDGP models (N5 and N1) that represent, respectively, weak and moderate departures from general relativity (GR), in boxes of sizes $62$ and $25\, h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}$ using 2 × 5123 dark matter particles and initial gas cells. This allows us to explore, for the first time, the impact of baryonic physics on galactic scales in braneworld models of modified gravity and to make predictions on the stellar content of dark matter haloes and galaxy evolution through cosmic time in these models. We find significant differences between the GR and nDGP models in the power spectra and correlation functions of gas, stars and dark matter of up to ∼25 per cent on large scales. Similar to their impact in the standard cosmological model (Λ cold dark matter), baryonic effects can have a significant influence over the clustering of the overall matter distribution, with a sign that depends on scale. Studying the degeneracy between modified gravity and galactic feedback in these models, we find that these two physical effects on matter clustering can be cleanly disentangled, allowing for a method to accurately predict the matter power spectrum with baryonic effects included, without having to run hydrodynamical simulations. Depending on the braneworld model, we find differences compared with GR of up to ∼15 per cent in galaxy properties such as the stellar-to-halo-mass ratio, galaxy stellar mass function, gas fraction, and star formation rate density. The amplitude of the fifth force is reduced by the presence of baryons in the very inner part of haloes, but this reduction quickly becomes negligible above ∼0.1 times the halo radius.
Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam excavates colossal over- and underdense structures over 360 deg2 out toz= 1
Authors: Shimakawa Rhythm , Higuchi Yuichi , Shirasaki Masato , Tanaka Masayuki , Lin Yen-Ting , Hayashi Masao , Momose Rieko , Lee Chien-Hsiu , Kusakabe Haruka , Kodama Tadayuki , Yamamoto Naoaki 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTSubaru Strategic Program with the Hyper-Suprime Cam (HSC-SSP) has proven to be successful with its extremely wide area coverage in past years. Taking advantages of this feature, we report initial results from exploration and research of expansive over- and underdense structures at z = 0.3–1 based on the second Public Data Release where optical 5-band photometric data for ∼ eight million sources with i &lt; 23 mag are available over ∼360 deg2. We not only confirm known superclusters but also find candidates of titanic over- and underdense regions out to z = 1. The mock data analysis suggests that the density peaks would involve one or more massive dark matter haloes (&gt;1014 M⊙) of the redshift, and the density troughs tend to be empty of massive haloes over &gt;10 comoving Mpc. Besides, the density peaks and troughs at z ≲ 0.6 are in part identified as positive and negative weak lensing signals respectively, in mean tangential shear profiles, showing a good agreement with those inferred from the full-sky weak lensing simulation. The coming extensive spectroscopic surveys will be able to resolve these colossal structures in 3D space. The number density information over the entire survey field is available as grid-point data on the website of the HSC-SSP data release (https://hsc.mtk.nao.ac.jp/ssp/data-release/).
Arrokoth’s necklace
Authors: Katz J I , Wang S 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTFly-by images of (486958) Arrokoth (Ultima Thule, 2014 MU69) show a comparatively bright ‘necklace’ in the neck, or cleft, between its two lobes, in contrast to its generally low albedo. We suggest that the necklace may be the result of thermally controlled ice deposition. The necklace is found in the most (orbitally averaged) shaded part of the surface. It may consist of clean, high albedo, ice condensed from vapour sublimed by dirty, low albedo, ice elsewhere; ice accumulates where the maximum temperatures are the lowest. Ammonia and propane have the necessary mesovolatile vapour pressure. Surrounding gas in the proto-Solar system would facilitate redeposition of molecules sublimed by warmer parts of the surface into the cleft, as well as smoothing the surface and explaining, by hydrodynamic drag, Arrokoth’s slow (compared to its break-up rate) rotation. Alternatively, a layer of hoarfrost thick enough ($\gtrsim 0.1\, \mu$) to have a high albedo could have formed more recently.
Dust temperature in ALMA [C ii]-detected high-z galaxies
Authors: Sommovigo L , Ferrara A , Carniani S , Zanella A , Pallottini A , Gallerani S , Vallini L 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
At redshift z &gt; 5, the far-infrared (FIR) continuum spectra of main-sequence galaxies are sparsely sampled, often with a single data point. The dust temperature Td,SED, thus has to be assumed in the FIR continuum fitting. This introduces large uncertainties regarding the derived dust mass (Md), FIR luminosity, and obscured fraction of the star formation rate. These are crucial quantities to quantify the effect of dust obscuration in high-z galaxies. To overcome observation limitations, we introduce a new method that combines dust continuum information with the overlying [C $\scriptstyle \rm II$] 158 µm line emission. By breaking the Md–Td,SED degeneracy, with our method, we can reliably constrain the dust temperature with a single observation at 158 µm. This method can be applied to all Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and NOEMA [C $\scriptstyle \rm II$] observations, and exploited in ALMA Large Programs such as ALPINE and REBELS targeting [C $\scriptstyle \rm II$] emitters at high-z. We also provide a physical interpretation of the empirical relation recently found between molecular gas mass and [C $\scriptstyle \rm II$] luminosity. We derive an analogous relation linking the total gas surface density and [C $\scriptstyle \rm II$] surface brightness. By combining the two, we predict the cosmic evolution of the surface density ratio $\Sigma _{\rm H_2} / \Sigma _{\rm gas}$. We find that $\Sigma _{\rm H_2} / \Sigma _{\rm gas}$ slowly increases with redshift, which is compatible with current observations at 0 &lt; z &lt; 4.
What determines the structure of short gamma-ray burst jets?
Authors: Urrutia Gerardo , De Colle Fabio , Murguia-Berthier Ariadna , Ramirez-Ruiz Enrico 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
The discovery of GRB 170817A, the first unambiguous off-axis short gamma-ray burst (sGRB) arising from a neutron star merger, has challenged our understanding of the angular structure of relativistic jets. Studies of the jet propagation usually assume that the jet is ejected from the central engine with a top-hat structure and its final structure, which determines the observed light curve and spectra, is primarily regulated by the interaction with the nearby environment. However, jets are expected to be produced with a structure that is more complex than a simple top-hat, as shown by global accretion simulations. We present numerical simulations of sGRBs launched with a wide range of initial structures, durations, and luminosities. We follow the jet interaction with the merger remnant wind and compute its final structure at distances ≳1011 cm from the central engine. We show that the final jet structure, as well as the resulting afterglow emission, depends strongly on the initial structure of the jet, its luminosity, and duration. While the initial structure of the jet is preserved for long-lasting sGRBs, it is strongly modified for jets barely making their way through the wind. This illustrates the importance of combining the results of global simulations with propagation studies in order to better predict the expected afterglow signatures from neutron star mergers. Structured jets provide a reasonable description of the GRB 170817A afterglow emission with an off-axis angle θobs ≈ 22.5°.
Modelling the UV/optical continuum time-lags in AGN
Authors: Kammoun E S , Papadakis I E , Dovčiak M 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
Thermal reverberation in accretion discs of active galactic nuclei is thought to be the reason of the continuum UV/optical time lags seen in these sources. Recently, we studied thermal reverberation of a standard Novikov-Thorne accretion disc illuminated by an X–ray point-like source, and we derived an analytic prescription for the time lags as function of wavelength. In this work, we use this analytic function to fit the time-lags spectra of seven Seyferts, that have been intensively monitored, in many wave-bands, in the last few years. We find that thermal reverberation can explain the observed UV/optical time lags in all these sources. Contrary to previous claims, the magnitude of the observed UV/optical time-lags is exactly as expected in the case of a standard accretion disc in the lamp-post geometry, given the black hole mass and the accretion rate estimates for the objects we study. We derive estimates of the disc accretion rates and corona height for a non-spinning and a maximally spinning black hole scenarios. We also find that the modelling of the continuum optical/UV time-lags can be used to estimate the black hole spin, when combined with additional information. We also find that the model under-predicts the observed X–ray to UV time-lags, but this difference is probably due to the broad X-ray auto-correlation function of these sources.
Magnetic field generation from PBH distributions
Authors: Araya I J , Rubio M E , San Martín M , Stasyszyn F A , Padilla N D , Magaña J , Sureda J 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACT
We introduce a statistical method for estimating magnetic field fluctuations generated from primordial black hole (PBH) populations. To that end, we consider monochromatic and extended Press–Schechter PBH mass functions, such that each constituent is capable of producing its own magnetic field due to some given physical mechanism. Assuming a linear correlation between magnetic field fluctuations and matter overdensities, our estimates depend on the mass function, the physical field generation mechanism by each PBH constituent, and the characteristic PBH separation. After computing the power spectrum of magnetic field fluctuations, we apply our formalism to study the plausibility that two particular field generation mechanisms could have given rise to the expected seed fields according to current observational constraints. The first mechanism is the Biermann battery and the second one is due to the accretion of magnetic monopoles at PBH formation, constituting magnetic PBHs. Our results show that, for monochromatic distributions, it does not seem to be possible to generate sufficiently intense seed fields in any of the two field generation mechanisms. For extended distributions, it is also not possible to generate the required seed field by only assuming a Biermann battery mechanism. In fact, we report an average seed field by this mechanism of about 10−47 G, at z = 20. For the case of magnetic monopoles, we instead assume that the seed values from the literature are achieved and calculate the necessary number density of monopoles. In this case, we obtain values that are below the upper limits from current constraints.