bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physical and functional performance assessment in pediatric oncology: a systematic review
Authors: Söntgerath Regine , Däggelmann Julia , Kesting Sabine V. , Rueegg Corina S. , Wittke Torge-Christian , Reich Simon , Eckert Katharina G. , Stoessel Sandra , Chamorro-Viña Carolina , Wiskemann Joachim , Wright Peter , Senn-Malashonak Anna , Oschwald Vanessa , Till Anne-Marie , Götte Miriam 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Background
Research indicates reduced physical performance from diagnosis into survivorship of pediatric cancer patients. However, there is no systematic information or guideline available on the methods to assess physical performance and function in this population. The purpose was to systematically compile and describe assessments of physical performance and function in patients and survivors of pediatric cancer, including cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, speed, balance, flexibility, functional mobility, gait and motor performance test batteries.

Methods
We searched the databases PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane Database and performed abstract and full-text selection of 2619 articles according to the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews. Information on patients characteristics, assessments, information on validity and reliability, and relevant references was extracted.

Results
In summary, 63 different assessments were found in 149 studies including 11639 participants. Most studies evaluated cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength with the majority conducted off treatment. Some outcomes (e.g. speed) and diagnoses (e.g. neuroblastoma) were severely underrepresented. With the exception of gait, leukemia patients represented the largest group of individuals tested.

Conclusions
Insufficient data and patient heterogeneity complicate uniform recommendations for assessments. Our results support researchers and practitioners in selecting appropriate assessment to meet their specific research questions or individual daily practice needs.

Impact

This systematic review includes 149 studies and provides a comprehensive summary of 63 assessments to evaluate cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle strength, speed, balance, flexibility, functional mobility, gait or motor performance test batteries in patients and survivors of pediatric cancer.

We present the most studied fields within the pediatric cancer population, which are cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength, off treatment phase, and leukemia patients.

We propose research priorities by identification of subgroups in terms of cancer type, phase of treatment, and outcome of interest that are underrepresented in studies currently available.
Comparisons of abdominal wall reconstruction for ventral hernia repairs, open versus robotic
Authors: Nguyen Barbara , David Bryan , Shiozaki Teisha , Gosch Kensey , Sorensen G. Brent 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThe surgical complexities of our current population have pushed the technological limits of healthcare, urging for minimally invasive approaches. For ventral hernias, in particular, robotic assisted laparoscopic repairs have been met with conflict. Cost and longer operative times are among the arguments against robotic surgery, although thorough evaluation of patient outcomes could potentially advocate for use of this tool. We attempted to approach this by retrospectively reviewing our own data. We reviewed charts between September 2016 and February 2017 of patients receiving complex hernia repairs, either a standard open repair (SOR) or robotic-assisted repair (RAR). Data collected included preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative care. Of the 43 patients reviewed, 16 were SOR, versus 27 RAR. Patients were comparable in age, gender, BMI, diabetes as a comorbidity; average hernia defect size was similar between the two groups. Although operative times were longer in the RAR group, estimated blood loss (EBL) was less. Hospital stay was also shorter in the RAR group, at 3.0 ± 1.9 days versus 9.6 ± 8.4 days for the OAR group. Of those requiring critical care management, only one patient had a robotic assisted repair, versus half of the patients who received an open repair. Of the patients who presented to the emergency department within 30 days of surgery, each group had four patients, and two from the OAR group required admission. Our data is consistent with other literature supporting shorter lengths of stays. Although the robotic approach did required a longer operative time, the resulting improved patient outcomes support this technique for complex ventral hernia repairs.
Identification of shell-color-related microRNAs in the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum using high-throughput sequencing of small RNA transcriptomes
Authors: Ding Jianfeng , Wen Qiang , Huo Zhongming , Nie Hongtao , Qin Yanjie , Yan Xiwu 
Published: April 2021

AbstractShell-color polymorphism is a common phenomenon in several mollusk species and has been associated with thermal capacity, developmental stability, shell strength, and immunity. Shell-color polymorphism has been related to the differential expression of genes in several signal transduction pathways; however, the functions of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) in shell-color formation remain unclear. In the present study, we compared high-quality, small-RNA transcriptomes in three strains of the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum with specific shell-color patterns, artificially selected for six generations. Totals of 114 known and 208 novel miRNAs were identified by high-throughput sequencing, of which nine known and one novel miRNA were verified by stem-loop quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction. Predicted miRNA targets were subjected to Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses. miR-137 and miR-216b and the Hedgehog signaling pathway and Wnt signaling pathway were identified as being potentially involved in pigment formation and regulation in R. philippinarum. These results may help to clarify the role of miRNAs in shell coloration and shed light on the mechanisms regulating color formation in bivalve shells.
Bio-convective and chemically reactive hybrid nanofluid flow upon a thin stirring needle with viscous dissipation
Authors: Khan Arshad , Saeed Anwar , Tassaddiq Asifa , Gul Taza , Kumam Poom , Ali Ishtiaq , Kumam Wiyada 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn this work, the thermal analysis for bio-convective hybrid nanofluid flowing upon a thin horizontally moving needle is carried out. The chemical reaction and viscous dissipation has also considered for flow system in the presence of microorganism. The hybrid nanoparticles comprising of Copper $$\left( {Cu} \right)$$

Cu

and Alumina $$\left( {Al_{2} O_{3} } \right)$$

A

l
2

O
3

are considered for current flow problem. Mathematically the flow problem is formulated by employing the famous Buongiorno’s model that will also investigate the consequences of thermophoretic forces and Brownian motion upon flow system. Group of similar variables is used to transform the model equations into dimensionless form and have then solved analytically by homotopy analysis method (HAM). It has established in this work that, flow of fluid declines due to increase in bioconvection Rayleigh number, buoyancy ratio and volume fractions of nanoparticles. Thermal flow grows due to rise in Eckert number, Brownian, thermophoresis parameters and volume fraction of nanoparticles. Concentration profiles increase due to growth in Brownian motion parameter and reduces due to increase in thermophoresis parameter and Lewis number. Motile microorganism profile declines due to augmentation in Peclet and bioconvection Lewis numbers. Moreover, the percentage enhancement in the drag force and rate of heat transfer using conventional nanofluid and hybrid nanofluid are observed and discussed. The hybrid nanofluid increases the skin friction and heat transfer rate more rapidly and efficiently as compared to other traditional fluids. A comparison of the present study with the existing literature is also conducted with a closed agreement between both results for variations in thickness of the needle.
A unified survival-analysis approach to insect population development and survival times
Authors: Ma Zhanshan 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThere are two major categories of observation data in studying time-dependent processes: one is the time-series data, and the other is the perhaps lesser-recognized but similarly prevalent time-to-event data (also known as survival or failure time). Examples in entomology include molting times and death times of insects, waiting times of predators before the next attack or the hiding times of preys. A particular challenge in analyzing time-to-event data is the observation censoring, or the incomplete observation of survival times, dealing which is a unique advantage of survival analysis statistics. Even with a perfectly designed experiment being conducted perfectly, such ‘naturally’ censoring may still be unavoidable due to the natural processes, including the premature death in the observation of insect development, the variability in instarship, or simply the continuous nature of time process and the discrete nature of sampling intervals. Here we propose to apply the classic Cox proportional hazards model for modeling both insect development and survival rates (probabilities) with a unified survival analysis approach. We demonstrated the advantages of the proposed approach with the development and survival datasets of 1800 Russian wheat aphids from their births to deaths, observed under 25 laboratory treatments of temperatures and plant growth stages.
EX-vivo whole blood stimulation with A2E does not elicit an inflammatory cytokine response in patients with age-related macular degeneration
Authors: Durhuus Jon Ambæk , Rozing Maarten P. , Nielsen Marie Krogh , Molbech Christopher Rue , Keijzers Guido , Scheibye-Knudsen Morten , Rasmussen Lene Juel , Westendorp Rudi G. J. , Sørensen Torben Lykke 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a highly prevalent degenerative disease and a leading cause of vision loss worldwide. Evidence for an inflammatory component in the development of AMD exists, yet the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Bisretinoid N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E) in retinal pigmental epithelial (RPE) cells, and in extracellular deposits constitutes a hallmark of AMD, but its role in the pathology of AMD is elusive. Here, we tested the hypothesis that A2E is responsible for the heightened inflammatory activity in AMD. To this end, we measured ex vivo mRNA expression of the cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 in whole blood samples after stimulation with A2E in a clinical sample of 27 patients with neovascular AMD and 24 patients with geographic atrophy secondary to AMD. Patients’ spouses (n = 30) were included as non-affected controls. After stimulation with A2E, no statistical differences were found in the median expression level of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10 between the control group, and the neovascular AMD and the geographic atrophy group. Our findings do not support evidence for the hypothesis, that A2E per se contributes to heightened inflammatory activity in AMD.
Impact of monthly headache days on anxiety, depression and disability in migraine patients: results from the Spanish Atlas
Authors: Irimia P. , Garrido-Cumbrera M. , Santos-Lasaosa S. , Aguirre-Vazquez M. , Correa-Fernández J. , Colomina I. , Pozo-Rosich P. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIdentifying highly disabled patients or at high risk of psychiatric comorbidity is crucial for migraine management. The burden of migraine increases with headache frequency, but the number of headache days (HDs) per month after which disability becomes severe or the risk of anxiety and depression is higher has not been established. Here, we estimate the number of HDs per month after which migraine is associated with higher risk of anxiety and depression, severe disability and lower quality of life. We analysed 468 migraine patients (mean age 36.8 ± 10.7; 90.2% female), of whom 38.5% had ≥ 15 HDs per month. Our results show a positive linear correlation between the number of HDs per month and the risk of anxiety (r = 0.273; p < 0.001), depression (r = 0.337; p < 0.001) and severe disability (r = 0.519; p < 0.001). The risk of anxiety is higher in patients having ≥ 3HDs per month, and those with ≥ 19HDs per month are at risk of depression. Moreover, patients suffering ≥ 10HDs per month have very severe disability. Our results suggest that migraine patients with ≥ 10HDs per month are very disabled and also that those with ≥ 3HDs per month should be screened for anxiety.
Anti-Acanthamoeba synergistic effect of chlorhexidine and Garcinia mangostana extract or α-mangostin against Acanthamoeba triangularis trophozoite and cyst forms
Authors: Sangkanu Suthinee , Mitsuwan Watcharapong , Mahabusarakam Wilawan , Jimoh Tajudeen O. , Wilairatana Polrat , Girol Ana Paula , Verma Ajoy K. , de Lourdes Pereira Maria , Rahmatullah Mohammed , Wiart Christophe , Siyadatpanah Abolghasem , Norouzi Roghayeh , Mutombo Polydor Ngoy , Nissapatorn Veeranoot 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAcanthamoeba spp. can cause amoebic keratitis (AK). Chlorhexidine is effective for AK treatment as monotherapy, but with a relative failure on drug bioavailability in the deep corneal stroma. The combination of chlorhexidine and propamidine isethionate is recommended in the current AK treatment. However, the effectiveness of treatment depends on the parasite and virulence strains. This study aims to determine the potential of Garcinia mangostana pericarp extract and α-mangostin against Acanthamoeba triangularis, as well as the combination with chlorhexidine in the treatment of Acanthamoeba infection. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the extract and α-mangostin were assessed in trophozoites with 0.25 and 0.5 mg/mL, for cysts with 4 and 1 mg/mL, respectively. The MIC of the extract and α-mangostin inhibited the growth of A. triangularis trophozoites and cysts for up to 72 h. The extract and α-mangostin combined with chlorhexidine demonstrated good synergism, resulting in a reduction of 1/4–1/16 of the MIC. The SEM results showed that Acanthamoeba cells treated with a single drug and its combination caused damage to the cell membrane and irregular cell shapes. A good combination displayed by the extract or α-mangostin and chlorhexidine, described for the first time. Therefore, this approach is promising as an alternative method for the management of Acanthamoeba infection in the future.
Ab initio adiabatic study of the AgH system
Authors: Alrebdi Tahani A. , Souissi Hanen , Alkallas Fatemah H. , Aouaini Fatma 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn the framework of the Born–Oppenheimer (BO) method, we illustrate our ab-initio spectroscopic study of the of silver hydride molecule. The calculation of 48 electrons for this system is very difficult, so we have been employed a pseudo-potential (P.P) to reduce the big number of electrons to two electrons of valence, which is proposed by Barthelat and Durant. This allowed us to make a configuration interaction (CI). The potential energy curves (PECs) and the spectroscopic constants of AgH have been investigated for Σ+, Π and Δ symmetries. We have been determined the permanent and transition dipole moments (PDM and TDM), the vibrational energies levels and their spacing. We compared our results with the available experimental and theoretical results in the literature. We found a good accordance with the experimental and theoretical data that builds a validation of the choice of our approach.
Chemical compounds released by combustion of polymer composites flat belts
Authors: Krawiec Piotr , Warguła Łukasz , Czarnecka-Komorowska Dorota , Janik Paweł , Dziechciarz Anna , Kaczmarzyk Piotr 
Published: April 2021

AbstractMachines and devices for the production, transport and segregation of products are placed in production and storage rooms. Flat conveyor and drive belts are very often used for their construction. Due to heavy loads and difficult operating conditions, these belts can catch fire and, as a result, become the main source of air contaminants harmful to human health and life. This article examines the emission level of toxic chemical compounds most often produced during the thermal decomposition and combustion of flat drive and conveyor belts. Six types of flat belts, which were made of various polymer materials, i.e., polyamide, rubber, and polyurethane, and were pyrolyzed in a tube furnace at 950 °C, were tested for emission. Using an Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy gas analyser, five gaseous products of combustion were identified, i.e., carbon mono oxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen bromide and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Chemical analysis showed that SO2 compounds and hydrogen bromide were present in only two samples. The test results indicate that gas emission concentration limits for all the tested belts were significantly exceeded. A comparative analysis of the concentration limits of V-belts described in the authors' earlier works shows that flat belts demonstrate lower emission levels of harmful compounds than V-belts. In addition, research has shown that compared to traditional rubber-based belts, belts made of modern materials exhibit no emission of hydrogen chloride compounds during thermal decomposition and combustion.
Characterizing unsuccessful animal adoptions: age and breed predict the likelihood of return, reasons for return and post-return outcomes
Authors: Powell Lauren , Reinhard Chelsea , Satriale Donya , Morris Margaret , Serpell James , Watson Brittany 
Published: April 2021

AbstractA considerable number of adopted animals are returned to animal shelters post-adoption which can be stressful for both the animal and the owner. In this retrospective analysis of 23,932 animal records from a US shelter, we identified animal characteristics associated with the likelihood of return, key return reasons, and outcomes post-return for dogs and cats. Binary logistic regression models were used to describe the likelihood of return, return reason and outcome based on intake age, intake type, sex, breed and return frequency. Behavioral issues and incompatibility with existing pets were the most common return reasons. Age and breed group (dogs only) predicted the likelihood of return, return reason and post-adoption return outcome. Adult dogs had the greatest odds of post-adoption return (OR 3.40, 95% CI 2.88–4.01) and post-return euthanasia (OR 3.94, 95% CI 2.04–7.59). Toy and terrier breeds were 65% and 35% less likely to be returned compared with herding breeds. Pit bull-type breeds were more likely to be returned multiple times (X2 = 18.11,p = 0.01) and euthanized post-return (OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.47–4.61). Our findings highlight the importance of animal behavior in the retention of newly adopted animals and provide useful direction for allocation of resources and future adoption counselling and post-adoption support services.
Transcriptional changes and preservation of bone mass in hibernating black bears
Authors: Goropashnaya Anna V. , Tøien Øivind , Ramaraj Thiruvarangan , Sundararajan Anitha , Schilkey Faye D. , Barnes Brian M. , Donahue Seth W. , Fedorov Vadim B. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractPhysical inactivity leads to losses of bone mass and strength in most mammalian species. In contrast, hibernating bears show no bone loss over the prolonged periods (4–6 months) of immobility during winter, which suggests that they have adaptive mechanisms to preserve bone mass. To identify transcriptional changes that underlie molecular mechanisms preventing disuse osteoporosis, we conducted a large-scale gene expression screening in the trabecular bone and bone marrow, comparing hibernating and summer active bears through sequencing of the transcriptome. Gene set enrichment analysis showed a coordinated down-regulation of genes involved in bone resorption, osteoclast differentiation and signaling, and apoptosis during hibernation. These findings are consistent with previous histological findings and likely contribute to the preservation of bone during the immobility of hibernation. In contrast, no significant enrichment indicating directional changes in gene expression was detected in the gene sets of bone formation and osteoblast signaling in hibernating bears. Additionally, we revealed significant and coordinated transcriptional induction of gene sets involved in aerobic energy production including fatty acid beta oxidation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and mitochondrial metabolism. Mitochondrial oxidation was likely up-regulated by transcriptionally induced AMPK/PGC1α pathway, an upstream stimulator of mitochondrial function.
Dual carbon-confined Sb2Se3 nanoparticles with pseudocapacitive properties for high-performance lithium-ion half/full batteries
Authors: Han Xu , Ang Edison Huixiang , Zhou Chengyan , Zhu Fengyaun , Zhang Xiaoli , Geng Hongbo , Cao Xueqin , Zheng Junwei , Gu Hongwei 
Published: April 2021

N-CNTs encapsulated Sb2Se3 nanoparticles on rGO nanosheets with rapid electron/ions transfer kinetics manifest greatly boosted electrochemical performance in terms of high reversible capacity, stable cycling and good rate performances.
Strong circularly polarized luminescence of mixed lanthanide coordination polymers with control of 4f electronic structures
Authors: Islam Md Jahidul , Kitagawa Yuichi , Tsurui Makoto , Hasegawa Yasuchika 
Published: April 2021

This paper reports chiral mixed Eu(iii)–Ln(iii) coordination polymers (Ln = Gd and Sm) for the enhancement of the emission quantum yield (Φtot ≥ 50%), achieved via control of 4f electronic structures.
Unaligned inductance calculation using flux tube approach for rotor conducting screen‐based SRM
Authors: Abdel‐Aziz Aly A. , Ahmed Khaled H. , Massoud Ahmed M. , Williams Barry W. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractThis article investigates the effect of utilising rotor conducting screens within a switched reluctance machine (SRM). Conducting, non‐magnetic materials such as aluminium or copper are inserted into the interpole regions of the rotor. The effective unaligned inductance decreases, which increases the conversion area allowing the machine to develop more power. Predicting machine performance implies knowing the value of the unaligned inductance. A procedure for calculating the effective unaligned inductance for screened motors using the flux tube method is presented. Finite element analysis results establish the validity of the proposed calculation method. A detailed design procedure for screened SRM is presented.