bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Beyond Differences: Assessing Effects of Shared Linguistic Features on L2 Writing Quality of Two Genres
Authors: Zhang Xiaopeng , Lu Xiaofei , Li Wenwen 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis study explored the relationship between linguistic features and the rated quality of letters of application (LAs) and argumentative essays (AEs) composed in English by Chinese college-level English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. A corpus of 260 LAs and 260 AEs were analyzed via a confirmatory factor analysis. Latent variables were EFL writing quality, captured by writing scores, and lexical sophistication, syntactic complexity, and cohesion, each captured by different linguistic features in the two genres of writing. Results indicated that lexical decision times, moving average type-token ratio with a 50-word window, and complex nominals per clause explained 55.5 per cent of the variance in the holistic scores of both genres of writing. This pattern of predictivity was further validated with a test corpus of 110 LAs and 110 AEs, revealing that, albeit differing in genre, higher-rated LAs and AEs were likely to contain more sophisticated words and complex nominals and exhibit a higher type-token ratio with a 50-word window. These findings help enrich our understanding of the shared features of different genres of EFL writing and have potentially useful implications for EFL writing pedagogy and assessment.
Onabotulinumtoxin Type A Dosage for Upper Face Expression Lines in Males: A Systematic Review of Current Recommendations
Authors: Kandhari Rajat , Imran Al , Sethi Nitin , Rahman Eqram , Mosahebi Afshin 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
Botulinum toxin injection is the most commonly performed minimally invasive aesthetic procedure in men. Despite various recommendations by experts on the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in the literature, distinct guidelines for its use in males and females do not exist.

Objectives
The aim of this study was to delineate safe and effective doses for the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in males for correction of upper facial expression lines.

Methods
PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, the Cochrane database, and Google Scholar were searched from 2002 to 2019 inclusive. Three researchers independently assessed trials for inclusion, extracted data, checked for accuracy, and assessed the evidence with AGREE II.

Results
Average dosing recommended for the treatment of upper face expression lines was specific to glabellar frown lines, crow’s feet, and horizontal forehead lines. Changing trends and gender variation was noted in each of the studies. Six of the 11 recommendations suggest the need to alter dosing in male patients, although do not give separate recommendations.

Conclusions
There is an urgent need for up-to-date recommendations for the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in upper face expression lines of male patients.
Fat Repositioning With a Combination of Internal Fixation and External Fixation in Transconjunctival Lower Blepharoplasty
Authors: Chen Jianwu , Zhang Tao , Zhu Xuanru , Huang Wenhua 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
Various methods on transconjunctival fat repositioning have been promoted to treat tear trough deformities in patients with eye bags.

Objectives
The authors present a modified approach based on the facial soft-tissue spaces with the combined fixation method.

Methods
A total 226 patients underwent this procedure. Through a preseptal approach, the premaxillary and prezygomatic spaces were sequentially separated. Orbital fat was repositioned into the spaces together with the septum. The proximal part of the septum-fat flap was sutured to orbital rim with internal fixation, and their distal stumps were fixed to the end of the soft spaces with externalized percutaneous sutures. Surgical outcome was assessed by surgeons based on Hirmand’s grading system. Patients’ satisfaction and quality of life were measured using FACE-Q scales. Magnetic resonance imaging was employed to assess the long-term fate of the transposed fat.

Results
Tear trough deformities were eliminated in 86.7% of cases. Scores of lower eyelid FACE-Q decreased significantly (P &lt; 0.05). Patients demonstrated enhanced social confidence (P &lt; 0.05) and high satisfaction (74.3 ± 17.2) and were satisfied with their decision to undergo blepharoplasty (78.2 ± 18.7). Undercorrection occurred in 1 patient. Additional complications included transient granulomas, dye eye, unexplained swelling, and numbness, which resolved in all patients. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed viability of the transposed fat within 6 to 8 months follow-up.

Conclusions
Transconjunctival fat repositioning, utilizing a combination of internal fixation and external fixation, is an effective approach to treat eye bags and tear trough deformities with good patient and surgeon satisfaction.

Level of Evidence: 4
DeFusion: a denoised network regularization framework for multi-omics integration
Authors: Wang Weiwen , Zhang Xiwen , Dai Dao-Qing 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWith diverse types of omics data widely available, many computational methods have been recently developed to integrate these heterogeneous data, providing a comprehensive understanding of diseases and biological mechanisms. But most of them hardly take noise effects into account. Data-specific patterns unique to data types also make it challenging to uncover the consistent patterns and learn a compact representation of multi-omics data. Here we present a multi-omics integration method considering these issues. We explicitly model the error term in data reconstruction and simultaneously consider noise effects and data-specific patterns. We utilize a denoised network regularization in which we build a fused network using a denoising procedure to suppress noise effects and data-specific patterns. The error term collaborates with the denoised network regularization to capture data-specific patterns. We solve the optimization problem via an inexact alternating minimization algorithm. A comparative simulation study shows the method’s superiority at discovering common patterns among data types at three noise levels. Transcriptomics-and-epigenomics integration, in seven cancer cohorts from The Cancer Genome Atlas, demonstrates that the learned integrative representation extracted in an unsupervised manner can depict survival information. Specially in liver hepatocellular carcinoma, the learned integrative representation attains average Harrell’s C-index of 0.78 in 10 times 3-fold cross-validation for survival prediction, which far exceeds competing methods, and we discover an aggressive subtype in liver hepatocellular carcinoma with this latent representation, which is validated by an external dataset GSE14520. We also show that DeFusion is applicable to the integration of other omics types.
Improvement in quality of life among Sri Lankan patients with haemorrhoids after invasive treatment: a longitudinal observational study
Authors: Keong S Y J , Tan H K , Lamawansa M D , Allen J C , Low Z L , Østbye T 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
Haemorrhoids is a common chronic disease that can significantly impact patients’ quality of life. Yet, few studies have evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with haemorrhoids before and after treatment. This study investigated the HRQoL of patients with haemorrhoids before and after treatment and the change in HRQoL from baseline.

Methods
A prospective observational study of patients with haemorrhoids was conducted at two public hospitals in Kandy, Sri Lanka. Two questionnaires assessing symptom severity and haemorrhoid-specific QoL were administered at initial consultation and at 4- and 8-week follow-ups after treatment (sclerotherapy, rubber band ligation (RBL), haemorrhoidectomy or evacuation of haematoma). The primary outcome was the least squares (LS) change of HRQoL score from baseline, measured using the Short Health Scale adapted for Haemorrhoidal Disease (4 domains: symptom load, interference with daily activities, concern, general well-being).

Results
In 48 patients selected for this study, LS mean change from baseline showed significant improvement in HRQoL across all domains and total Short Health Scale adapted for Haemorrhoidal Disease score at 4- and 8-week follow-ups (P &lt; 0.001). Difference in LS mean change from baseline also showed continued improvement of HRQoL from week 4 to week 8 (P &lt; 0.010). ‘Concern’ showed greatest improvement at 4 and 8 weeks (P &lt; 0.001). Averaged LS mean changes from baseline showed RBL had greater improvement of HRQoL compared with sclerotherapy (P = 0.004).

Conclusion
Patients with haemorrhoids had improved HRQoL after invasive treatment. Haemorrhoid-specific QoL is an important component of the extent of disease and can serve as an aid to guide treatment, assess outcomes and monitor disease.
A data-driven approach to post-stroke aphasia classification and lesion-based prediction
Authors: Landrigan Jon-Frederick , Zhang Fengqing , Mirman Daniel 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAphasia is an acquired impairment in the production or comprehension of language, typically caused by left hemisphere stroke. The subtyping framework used in clinical aphasiology today is based on the Wernicke-Lichtheim model of aphasia formulated in the late 19th century, which emphasizes the distinction between language production and comprehension. The current study used a data-driven approach that combined modern statistical, machine learning, and neuroimaging tools to examine behavioural deficit profiles and their lesion correlates and predictors in a large cohort of individuals with post-stroke aphasia. First, individuals with aphasia were clustered based on their behavioural deficit profiles using community detection analysis (CDA) and these clusters were compared with the traditional aphasia subtypes. Random forest classifiers were built to evaluate how well individual lesion profiles predict cluster membership. The results of the CDA analyses did not align with the traditional model of aphasia in either behavioural or neuroanatomical patterns. Instead, the results suggested that the primary distinction in aphasia (after severity) is between phonological and semantic processing rather than between production and comprehension. Further, lesion-based classification reached 75% accuracy for the CDA-based categories and only 60% for categories based on the traditional fluent/non-fluent aphasia distinction. The results of this study provide a data-driven basis for a new approach to classification of post-stroke aphasia subtypes in both research and clinical settings.
How understudied populations have contributed to our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease genetics
Authors: Dehghani Nadia , Bras Jose , Guerreiro Rita 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
The majority of genome-wide association studies have been conducted using samples with a broadly European genetic background. As a field, we acknowledge this limitation and the need to increase the diversity of populations studied. A major challenge when designing and conducting such studies is to assimilate large samples sizes so that we attain enough statistical power to detect variants associated with disease, particularly when trying to identify variants with low and rare minor allele frequencies. In this review, we aimed to illustrate the benefits to genetic characterization of Alzheimer’s disease, in researching currently understudied populations. This is important for both fair representation of world populations and the translatability of findings. To that end, we conducted a literature search to understand the contributions of studies, on different populations, to Alzheimer’s disease genetics. Using both PubMed and Alzforum Mutation Database, we systematically quantified the number of studies reporting variants in known disease-causing genes, in a worldwide manner, and discuss the contributions of research in understudied populations to the identification of novel genetic factors in this disease. Additionally, we compared the effects of genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms across populations by focusing on loci that show different association profiles between populations (a key example being APOE). Reports of variants in APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2 can initially determine whether patients from a country have been studied for Alzheimer’s disease genetics. Most genome-wide significant associations in non-Hispanic white genome-wide association studies do not reach genome-wide significance in such studies of other populations, with some suggesting an opposite effect direction; this is likely due to much smaller sample sizes attained. There are, however, genome-wide significant associations first identified in understudied populations which have yet to be replicated. Familial studies in understudied populations have identified rare, high effect variants, which have been replicated in other populations. This work functions to both highlight how understudied populations have furthered our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease genetics, and to help us gauge our progress in understanding the genetic architecture of this disease in all populations.
Glutathione transferase Omega 1 confers protection against azoxymethane-induced colorectal tumour formation
Authors: Tummala Padmaja , Rooke Melissa , Dahlstrom Jane E , Takahashi Shuhei , Casarotto Marco G , Fernando Nilisha , Hughes Mark M , O’Neill Luke A J , Board Philip G 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by multiple alterations in cytokine expression and is a risk factor for colon cancer. The Omega class glutathione transferase GSTO1-1 regulates the release of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and interleukin 18 (IL-18) by deglutathionylating NEK7 in the NLRP3 inflammasome. When treated with azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulphate (AOM/DSS) as a model of IBD, Gsto1−/− mice were highly sensitive to colitis and showed a significant increase in the size and number of colon tumours compared with wild-type (WT) mice. Gsto1−/− mice treated with AOM/DSS had significantly lower serum IL-1β and IL-18 levels as well as significantly decreased interferon (IFN)-γ, decreased pSTAT1 and increased pSTAT3 levels in the distal colon compared with similarly treated WT mice. Histologically, AOM/DSS treated Gsto1−/− mice showed increased active chronic inflammation with macrophage infiltration, epithelial dysplasia and invasive adenocarcinoma compared with AOM/DSS treated WT mice. Thus, this study shows that GSTO1-1 regulates IL-1β and IL-18 activation and protects against colorectal cancer formation in the AOM/DSS model of IBD. The data suggest that while GSTO1-1 is a new target for the regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome-associated cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 by small molecule inhibitors, there is a possibility that anti-inflammatory drugs targeting these cytokines may potentiate colon cancer in some situations.
Elevated White Blood Cell Count Does Not Predict Clostridium difficile Nucleic Acid Testing Results
Authors: Bosch Dustin E , Mathias Patrick C , Krumm Niklas , Bryan Andrew , Fang Ferric C , Greninger Alex L 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
An elevated white blood cell count (WBC; &gt;15 000/μL) is an established prognostic marker in patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Small observational studies have suggested that a markedly elevated WBC should prompt consideration of CDI. However, there is limited evidence correlating WBC elevation with the results of C. difficile nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT).

Methods
Retrospective review of laboratory testing, outcomes, and treatment of 16 568 consecutive patients presenting to 4 hospitals over 4 years with NAAT and WBC testing on the same day.

Results
No significant relationship between C. difficile NAAT results and concurrent WBC in the inpatient setting was observed. Although an elevated WBC did predict NAAT results in the outpatient and emergency department populations (P &lt; .001), accuracy was poor, with receiver-operator areas under the curve of 0.59 and 0.56, respectively. An elevated WBC (&gt;15 000/μL) in CDI was associated with a longer median hospital length of stay (15.5 vs 11.0 days; P &lt; .01), consistent with leukocytosis as a prognostic marker in CDI. NAAT-positive inpatients with elevated WBC were more likely to be treated with metronidazole and/or vancomycin (relative ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–1.3) and die in the hospital (relative ratio, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.0–4.3).

Conclusions
Although WBC is an important prognostic indicator in patients with CDI, an isolated WBC elevation has low sensitivity and specificity as a predictor of fecal C. difficile NAAT positivity in the inpatient setting. A high or rising WBC in isolation is not a sufficient indication for CDI testing.
The Persistence of Underreporting of Hepatitis C as an Underlying or Contributing Cause of Death, 2011–2017
Authors: Spradling Philip R , Zhong Yuna , Moorman Anne C , Rupp Loralee B , Lu Mei , Teshale Eyasu H , Schmidt Mark A , Daida Yihe G , Boscarino Joseph A , Gordon Stuart C ,   CHeCS Investigators, Teshale Eyasu H , Spradling Philip R , Moorman Anne C , Xing Jian , Zhong Yuna , Gordon Stuart C , Lu Mei , Li Jia , Rupp Loralee B , Akkerman Nonna , Trudeau Sheri , Zhou Yueren , Boscarino Joseph A , Daar Zahra S , Smith Robert E , Daida Yihe G , Trinacty Connie Mah , Lai Jonathan W , Nie Sixiang , Wong Carmen P , Schmidt Mark A , Donald Judy L 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Using electronic health records, we found that hepatitis C virus (HCV) reporting on death certificates of 2901 HCV-infected decedents from 4 US healthcare organizations during 2011–2017 was documented in only 50% of decedents with hepatocellular carcinoma and less than half with decompensated cirrhosis. National figures likely underestimate the US HCV mortality burden.
Modeling Effectiveness of Testing Strategies to Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Nursing Homes—United States, 2020
Authors: See Isaac , Paul Prabasaj , Slayton Rachel B , Steele Molly K , Stuckey Matthew J , Duca Lindsey , Srinivasan Arjun , Stone Nimalie , Jernigan John A , Reddy Sujan C 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background
Identifying asymptomatic individuals early through serial testing is recommended to control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in nursing homes, both in response to an outbreak (“outbreak testing” of residents and healthcare personnel) and in facilities without outbreaks (“nonoutbreak testing” of healthcare personnel). The effectiveness of outbreak testing and isolation with or without nonoutbreak testing was evaluated.

Methods
Using published SARS-CoV-2 transmission parameters, the fraction of SARS-CoV-2 transmissions prevented through serial testing (weekly, every 3 days, or daily) and isolation of asymptomatic persons compared with symptom-based testing and isolation was evaluated through mathematical modeling using a Reed-Frost model to estimate the percentage of cases prevented (ie, “effectiveness”) through either outbreak testing alone or outbreak plus nonoutbreak testing. The potential effect of simultaneous decreases (by 10%) in the effectiveness of isolating infected individuals when instituting testing strategies was also evaluated.

Results
Modeling suggests that outbreak testing could prevent 54% (weekly testing with 48-hour test turnaround) to 92% (daily testing with immediate results and 50% relative sensitivity) of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Adding nonoutbreak testing could prevent up to an additional 8% of SARS-CoV-2 infections (depending on test frequency and turnaround time). However, added benefits of nonoutbreak testing were mostly negated if accompanied by decreases in infection control practice.

Conclusions
When combined with high-quality infection control practices, outbreak testing could be an effective approach to preventing COVID-19 in nursing homes, particularly if optimized through increased test frequency and use of tests with rapid turnaround.
Angiotensin II receptor 1 controls profibrotic Wnt/β-catenin signalling in experimental autoimmune myocarditis
Authors: Czepiel Marcin , Diviani Dario , Jaźwa-Kusior Agnieszka , Tkacz Karolina , Rolski Filip , Smolenski Ryszard T , Siedlar Maciej , Eriksson Urs , Kania Gabriela , Błyszczuk Przemysław 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Aims
Angiotensin (Ang) II signalling has been suggested to promote cardiac fibrosis in inflammatory heart diseases; however, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Using Agtr1a-/- mice with genetic deletion of angiotensin receptor type 1 (ATR1) and the experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) model, we aimed to elucidate the role of Ang II-ATR1 pathway in development of heart-specific autoimmunity and post-inflammatory fibrosis.

Methods and results
EAM was induced in wild-type (WT) and Agtr1a-/- mice by subcutaneous injections with alpha myosin heavy chain peptide emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant. Agtr1a-/- mice developed myocarditis to a similar extent as WT controls at day 21 but showed reduced fibrosis and better systolic function at day 40. Crisscross bone marrow chimaera experiments proved that ATR1 signalling in the bone marrow compartment was critical for cardiac fibrosis. Heart infiltrating, bone-marrow-derived cells produced Ang II, but lack of ATR1 in these cells reduced transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)-mediated fibrotic responses. At the molecular level, Agtr1a-/- heart-inflammatory cells showed impaired TGF-β-mediated phosphorylation of Smad2 and TAK1. In WT cells, TGF-β induced formation of RhoA-GTP and RhoA-A-kinase anchoring protein-Lbc (AKAP-Lbc) complex. In Agtr1a-/- cells, stabilization of RhoA-GTP and interaction of RhoA with AKAP-Lbc were largely impaired. Furthermore, in contrast to WT cells, Agtr1a-/- cells stimulated with TGF-β failed to activate canonical Wnt pathway indicated by suppressed activity of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3)β and nuclear β-catenin translocation and showed reduced expression of Wnts. In line with these in vitro findings, β-catenin was detected in inflammatory regions of hearts of WT, but not Agtr1a-/- mice and expression of canonical Wnt1 and Wnt10b were lower in Agtr1a-/- hearts.

Conclusion
Ang II-ATR1 signalling is critical for development of post-inflammatory fibrotic remodelling and dilated cardiomyopathy. Our data underpin the importance of Ang II-ATR1 in effective TGF-β downstream signalling response including activation of profibrotic Wnt/β-catenin pathway.