bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Risk Prediction of Nosocomial and Posthospital Discharge Infections in Alcohol‐Associated Hepatitis
Authors: Penrice Daniel D. , Shah Serena , Kezer Camille A. , Peeraphatdit Thoetchai Bee , Sanyal Arun J. , Davis Brian , Mara Kristin C. , Shah Vijay H. , Kamath Patrick S. , Simonetto Douglas A. 
Published: July 2021

Alcohol‐associated hepatitis (AAH) is a severe form of liver injury with mortality as high as 30%‐40% at 90 days. As a result of altered immune function in AAH, bacterial infections are common and are associated with poor outcomes. However, determining the risk and subsequent development of infection in patients with AAH remain challenging. We performed a retrospective study of consecutive patients admitted with a diagnosis of AAH at two independent tertiary centers from 1998 to 2018 (test cohort, n = 286) who developed infections following hospitalization. The diagnosis of AAH was confirmed by manual chart review according to the recent National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism definition. Infections were categorized by location and time of diagnosis as hospital‐acquired infection (48 hours after admission until discharge) and posthospital infections (up to 6 months following discharge). The cohort was 66% men, and the median age was 48 (21‐83) years. Corticosteroids were used in 32% of all patients with AAH. The overall infection rate was 24%. Of those with infections, 46% were hospital acquired and 54% were acquired after hospitalization. Variables found to be significant risk factors for bacterial infection included the presence of ascites on admission (hazard ratio [HR], 2.06), corticosteroid administration (HR, 1.70), Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) >23 (HR, 2.61), and white blood cell (WBC) count on admission per point (HR, 1.02). Conclusion: In this multicenter cohort study of patients hospitalized with AAH, MELD score, ascites, WBC count, and use of corticosteroids were identified as significant predictors of the development of bacterial infection. We created a novel predictive equation that may be used to aid in the identification of patients with AAH at high risk of infection.
Genetic variants of CYP4F12 gene are associated with glioma susceptibility
Authors: Li Nan , Shi Hangyu , Hou Pengfei , Gao Lu , Shi Yongqiang , Mi Weiyang , Zhang Gang , Wang Ning , Dai Wei , Wei Lin , Jin Tianbo , Shi Yongzhi , Guo Shiwen 
Published: July 2021

AbstractGlioma is a common and fatal primary malignant tumor of the central nervous system, and its prognosis is poor. To determine the susceptibility markers of gliomas in Chinese population we conducted a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of glioma in the Han Chinese population, with a total of 485 glioma cases and 485 controls. Genotyping was conducted using the Applied Biosystems Axiom Precision Medicine Diversity Array. Besides, we carried out imputation using IMPUTE 2.0 software, and the 1000 Genomes Phase 3 was used as the reference panel. The logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of each SNP with glioma risk, assuming an additive genetic model, which was implemented in PLINK version 1.9. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were estimated from logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age and gender. The results revealed that the SNP (rs688755) in the exon region of CYP4F12 at 19p13.12 reached genome‐wide significance associated with gliomas (P = 2.35 × 10−8, OR = 3.55, 95% CI = 2.20‐5.74). Our findings provide deeper insight into the genetic contribution to glioma in different populations.
Curvelet and fast marching method‐based technique for efficient artifact detection and removal in dermoscopic images
Authors: Choudhary Priya , Singhai Jyoti , Yadav J. S. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractEffective detection and removal of the artifacts from dermoscopic images require the analysis of structures within lesions for accurate cancer detection. But the dermoscopic images acquired may be affected by image acquisition noise, variation in texture, color, and irrelevant structure such as hairs, air bubbles, and contour blurring around the lesion. Hence preprocessing is very essential for accurate diagnosis. The proposed algorithm includes the preprocessing, to remove acquisition noise using curvelet transform, illumination correction using contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) algorithm for image enhancement, Frangi vesselness algorithm is utilized for detection and removal of hairs and vessels like structures present in enhanced image, fast marching inpainting method is applied for repairing the information of lesion from removed hair pixels. The performance of the proposed algorithm is analyzed based on commonly used parameters such as diagnostic accuracy (DA), sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), and precision (P). The performance is evaluated on PH2 and International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI) datasets than compared with existing methods. The proposed algorithm segments the skin lesion with the highest diagnostic accuracy of 81.49% and sensitivity of 93.88% for the PH2 dataset and 75.39% and 79.34% respectively for the ISBI dataset. Results are better than existing methods. The proposed algorithm with improved preprocessing for artifact detection and removal is highly accurate and able to retrieve the hair occluded information.
Nampt affects mitochondrial function in aged oocytes by mediating the downstream effector FoxO3a
Authors: Zhuan Qingrui , Li Jun , Du Xingzhu , Zhang Luyao , Meng Lin , Cheng Keren , Zhu Shien , Hou Yunpeng , Fu Xiangwei 
Published: July 2021

AbstractMaternal aging can impair the quality and decrease the developmental competence of ovulated oocytes. In this study, compromised germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) was found in aged mice oocytes. Furthermore, we observed increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial Ca2+ levels, along with reduced mitochondrial temperature in aged oocytes. Maternal aging also changed the crotonylation level in oocytes. Forkhead box O3 (FoxO3a), a member of the forkhead protein family involved in the regulation of cell survival and life span reached a peak level in the metaphase II stage. Compared with a younger group, FoxO3a expression increased in aged oocytes. Intracellular localization of FoxO3a changed from the cytoplasm to chromatin in response to aging. The expression of the upstream regulator nicotinamide‐phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) peaked in the GVBD stage. Moreover, Nampt expression was increased in aged oocytes, and more intense staining of Nampt was found in aged mice ovary. To further study the role of Nampt in mitochondrial function, specific agonist P7C3 and inhibitor FK866 were applied to aged oocytes, and FK866 significantly decreased adenosine triphosphate and mitochondrial membrane potential. In conclusion, mitochondrial dysfunction in aged oocytes was associated with elevated FoxO3a, and suppression of Nampt could further impair mitochondrial function.
Combined tumor epithelial and stromal histopathology with keratin 81 expression predicts prognosis for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Authors: Park Eunhyang , Yoo Jeong Eun , Hwang Ho Kyoung , Kang Chang Moo , Lee Choong‐Kun , Kim Min Hwan , Bang Seungmin , Park Young Nyun 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundDevelopment of a pragmatic pathologic classifier of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) that reflects biological behavior is needed.MethodsThe tumor epithelial and stromal features of PDAC and molecular subtype‐related markers were evaluated in three independent cohorts.ResultsIn the non‐neoadjuvant therapy cohort (n = 108), regarding tumor‐epithelial feature, non‐gland‐forming type showed worse prognosis compared to gland‐forming type (P < .001). For tumor‐stromal feature, in gland‐forming type, the prognosis was good in order of inactivated stroma‐rich, stroma‐poor, and activated stroma‐rich (P = .027). Whereas, non‐gland‐forming type revealed no difference of prognosis according to tumor stroma. Of molecular subtype‐related markers, keratin 81 expression was correlated with non‐gland‐forming type and poor prognosis (P = .005 and P = .021, respectively). Other markers (HNF1A, c‐MET, and p53) showed no significant differences in prognosis. In the neoadjuvant therapy cohort (n = 68), non‐gland‐forming type was correlated with high residual tumor volume (≥20%) (P < .001) and gland‐forming/stroma‐poor type was not present. In the next‐generation sequencing cohort (n = 55), non‐gland‐forming type was correlated with a higher number of the KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, and SMAD4 mutations (P = .038).ConclusionCombined tumor epithelial and stromal histopathology with keratin 81 expression is suggested to be useful for predicting prognosis of PDAC.
IFNγ-mediated repression of system xc− drives vulnerability to induced ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells
Authors: Kong Rui , Wang Nan , Han Wei , Bao Wen , Lu Jie 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIFNγ released from CD8+ T cells or natural killer cells plays a crucial role in antitumor host immunity. Several studies have found that IFNγ is involved in regulating tumor cell proliferation and apoptosis. However, few studies have examined its role in cell ferroptosis. Here, we found that IFNγ treatment enhanced glutathione depletion, promoted cell cycle arrested in G0/G1 phase, increased lipid peroxidation, and sensitized cells to ferroptosis activators. Additionally, IFNγ down-regulated the mRNA and protein levels of SLC3A2 and SLC7A11, two subunits of the glutamate-cystine antiporter system xc− via activating the JAK/STAT pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines. Furthermore, IFNγ increased reactive oxygen species levels and decreased mitochondiral membrane potential in Bel7402 and HepG2 cells. These changes were accompanied by decreased system xc− activity. Cancer cells exposed to TGFβ1 for 48 h showed sensitization to IFNγ + erastin-induced ferroptosis, with decreased system xc− expression. In conclusion, IFNγ repressed system xc− activation via activating JAK/STAT signaling. Additionally, enhanced lipid peroxidation was associated with altered mitochondrial function in HCC cells. Our findings identified a role for IFNγ in sensitizing HCC cells to ferroptosis, which provided new insights for applying IFNγ as a cancer treatment.
State‐of‐the‐art overview of the Loess Palaeolithic of Poland
Authors: Valde‐Nowak Pawel , łAnczont Maria 
Published: July 2021

ABSTRACTIn Poland, loess mainly occurs in the southern part of the country, in the Polish Uplands, and on the northern foreland of the Sudetes and the Carpathians. Most of these sediments come from the time of the last glaciation–the Vistulian (Weichselian) glaciation. Thin covers of loess from the penultimate glaciation have been preserved in Upper Silesia. Only a few sites from the Middle Palaeolithic remain in the loess. In the eastern part of Poland loess creates profiles several metres high. Discoveries in this zone represent the cultural sequence from the transition from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. We know more traces of various cultures from the Upper Palaeolithic exist. The study attempts to synchronise profiles from selected archaeological open‐air sites, outlines of the history of research on loess sites, and attempts to explain terminological and conceptual issues. The issue of loess in the cave site profiles will not be discussed in the article.
Benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide‐induced transformed cells identify the significance of hsa_circ_0051488, a ERCC1‐derived circular RNA in pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Xiao Mingyang , Cui Su , Zhang Liang , Yu Tao , Zhang Guopei , Li Liuli , Cai Yuan , Jin Cuihong , Yang Jinghua , Wu Shengwen , Li Qingchang , Lu Xiaobo 
Published: July 2021

AbstractERCC1 is a gene for repairing DNA damage whose function is related to carcinogenic‐induced tumorigenesis and the effectiveness of platinum therapies. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are products of posttranscriptional regulation with pleiotropic effects on the pathogenesis of lung cancer. We aim to identify that specific circRNAs derived from ERCC1 can regulate key biological processes involved in the development of lung cancer. We performed bioinformatics analysis, in vitro experiments, and analyzed clinical samples, to determine the biological features of a certain ERCC1‐derived circRNA termed as hsa_circ_0051488 in benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide‐induced malignant transformed cell and lung cancer cell. The well‐established model of transformed cells provided an ideal platform for analyzing the molecular characteristics of this circRNA in the malignant transformation of lung epithelial cell, which supports that hsa_circ_0051488 functions in the onset and growth of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Further analysis indicates that the absence of hsa_circ_0051488 promoted the proliferation of cells with the malignant phenotype. Extensive experiments confirm that hsa_circ_0051488 is present in the cytoplasm and functioned as a competing endogenous RNA. In particular, hsa_circ_0051488 binds to mir‐6717‐5p, thereby modulating the expression of SATB2 gene, a lung cancer suppressor. Furthermore, our in silico experiments indicate that SATB2 can inhibit multiple tumor pathways and its expression positively correlated with the tumor suppressor gene CRMP1. These findings suggest a possible regulatory mechanism of hsa_circ_0051488 in LUSC, and that the newly discovered hsa_circ_0051488/miR‐6717‐5p/SATB2 axis may be a potential route for therapeutic intervention of LUSC.
The Association Between Coffee Consumption and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in the South Korean General Population
Authors: Tan Li‐Juan , Jung Hyein , Kim Seong‐Ah , Shin Sangah 
Published: July 2021

ScopeTo identify the cross‐sectional and prospective association between coffee consumption and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among South Korean adults.Methods and ResultsParticipants are selected from the Health Examinees study. NAFLD is defined using three non‐invasive indexes: fatty liver index (FLI), hepatic steatosis index, and fibrosis‐4 calculator (FIB‐4). In the cross‐sectional analysis, higher habitual coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk for NAFLD, define using the FLI, (men, odds ratio [OR] 0.702; women, OR 0.810) compared with non‐consumers. Participants who consumed coffee with sugar and creamer also have a lower risk for NAFLD, defined using the FIB‐4, compared with non‐coffee‐consumers (men, OR 0.739; women, OR 0.807). A prospective analysis indicated that higher coffee consumption is associated with a lower incidence of NAFLD, defined using the FLI, in men (hazard ratio, 0.706). In both men and women, a lower FIB‐4 index score is associated with higher coffee consumption regardless of coffee type (all p‐value <0.05).Conclusions Coffee consumption of >3 cups per day has a protective effect against the development of NAFLD to a certain extent, and a negative association is found between coffee consumed with sugar and creamer and the FIB‐4 index score in South Korean adults.
Predicting diurnal outdoor performance and degradation of organic photovoltaics via machine learning; relating degradation to outdoor stress conditions
Authors: David Tudur Wyn , Soares Gabriela Amorim , Bristow Noel , Bagnis Diego , Kettle Jeff 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAccurate prediction of the future performance and remaining useful lifetime of next‐generation solar cells such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is necessary to drive better designs of materials and ensure reliable system operation. Degradation is multifactorial and difficult to model deterministically; however, with the advent of machine learning, data from outdoor performance monitoring can be used for understanding the relative impact of stress factors and could provide a powerful method to interpret large quantities of outdoor data automatically. Here, we propose the use of artificial neural networks and regression models for forecasting OPV module performance and their degradation as a function of climatic conditions. We demonstrate their predictive capability for short‐term energy forecasting of OPV modules, showing that energy yield can be predicted if climatic conditions are known. In addition, the model has been extended so that the impact of climatic conditions on degradation can be predicted. The combined model has been validated on unseen OPV module data and is able to predict energy yield to within 4% accuracy.
Neonatal FeNO, risk factors, and respiratory morbidity in infants: A cohort study
Authors: Goth Fanny E. M. , Schmidt Birgitte J. , Green Kent , Jensen Andreas K. , Agertoft Lone , Jørgensen Inger M. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractBackgroundRespiratory symptoms in infancy are more common in premature infants. Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in prenatal and neonatal lung development. Measurement of exhaled NO is easy and well‐tolerated by neonates. We investigated whether neonatal exhaled NO can be used to predict subsequent respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, we sought to determine prenatal and postnatal factors associated with increased respiratory symptom risk during the first year of life in premature and mature infants.MethodsTidal fractional exhaled NO (FeNO) was measured in a birth cohort (n = 135) of premature and mature infants, up to six times during the first month of life. Primary outcomes were troublesome respiratory symptoms (TRS) and doctor‐diagnosed asthmatic bronchitis (AB) at 1 year of age.FindingsThe correlation between FeNO and TRS changed significantly in an age‐dependent pattern in moderately premature infants (p = .02). Moderately premature infants with a low FeNO of 2 ppb on postnatal Day 3 had a 48% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17%–80%) probability of TRS, compared with a probability of 12% (95% CI: 1%–64%) for otherwise similar infants with a FeNO of 11 ppb. Respiratory syncytial virus infection and parental smoking significantly increased the TRS risk in premature infants. Parental asthma and maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy significantly increased the TRS risk in mature infants.InterpretationAn age‐specific association between neonatal FeNO and respiratory symptoms was seen in moderately premature infants. TRS risk was associated with postnatal factors in premature and prenatal factors in mature infants.
Viscoelastic Properties of Inert Solid Rocket Propellants Exposed to a Shock Wave
Authors: Bentil Sarah A. , Jackson William J. , Williams Christopher , Miller Timothy C. 
Published: July 2021

AbstractInert solid rocket propellant samples were subjected to dynamic inflation experiments, to characterize the viscoelastic response at high strain rates. An oxyacetylene‐driven shock tube created the shock wave, which was used to dynamically pressurize the surface of the samples during the inflation experiments. Two high‐speed cameras captured the deforming samples, which were speckled to measure the full‐field surface displacements using the digital image correlation (DIC) algorithm. An inverse finite element analysis (iFEA) was used to calibrate parameters of a generalized Maxwell model (i. e. Prony series), which was used to characterize the propellants’ viscoelastic response to shock wave exposure. The viscoelastic parameters calibrated using a Prony series with one Maxwell branch provided a better fit with the out‐of‐plane displacement data from DIC. At least 50 % of the energy dissipated, within the inert solid rocket propellant, occurred within 5 ms following shock wave exposure. The softening phenomenon, due to debonding of the particles embedded in the inert solid rocket propellant, occurred since there was a decrease in instantaneous elastic modulus with increased strain rate. The results of this study will add to the limited knowledge of the linear viscoelastic behavior of inert HTPB propellant at high strain rates and may improve the predictive capabilities of health‐monitoring sensors that assess the solid rocket propellant's structural integrity.
Histidine protonation states are key in the LigI catalytic reaction mechanism
Authors: Zhao Li Na , Mondal Dibyendu , Li Weifeng , Mu Yuguang , Kaldis Philipp 
Published: July 2021

AbstractLignin is one of the world's most abundant organic polymers, and 2‐pyrone‐4,6‐dicarboxylate lactonase (LigI) catalyzes the hydrolysis of 2‐pyrone‐4,6‐dicarboxylate (PDC) in the degradation of lignin. The pH has profound effects on enzyme catalysis and therefore we studied this in the context of LigI. We found that changes of the pH mostly affects surface residues, while the residues at the active site are more subject to changes of the surrounding microenvironment. In accordance with this, a high pH facilitates the deprotonation of the substrate. Detailed free energy calculations by the empirical valence bond (EVB) approach revealed that the overall hydrolysis reaction is more likely when the three active site histidines (His31, His33 and His180) are protonated at the ɛ site, however, protonation at the δ site may be favored during specific steps of the reaction. Our studies have uncovered the determinant role of the protonation state of the active site residues His31, His33 and His180 in the hydrolysis of PDC.
Effects of Story Read‐Aloud Lessons on Literacy Development in the Early Grades: Experimental Evidence From Nigeria
Authors: Moussa Wael , Koester Emily 
Published: July 2021

ABSTRACTResearch has indicated that reading aloud to young students can enhance their foundational reading skills and their reading motivation, but such research has been lacking in African contexts. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of story read‐aloud lessons in improving students’ foundational reading skills in Nigeria. The experiment took place in a cluster randomized trial of 199 schools in Northern Nigeria. In treatment schools, second‐grade teachers conducted weekly read‐aloud lessons as an addition to the core learning curriculum. In control schools, second‐grade teachers implemented only the core curriculum, without weekly read‐aloud lessons. We found that story read‐alouds led to positive effects on listening comprehension, letter sound recognition, nonword decoding, and reading fluency, with effect sizes between 0.17 and 0.33 standard deviations. These outcomes suggest that enhanced student motivation from read‐alouds may enhance text‐based skills. To identify the effects of increased teacher experience on read‐aloud effectiveness, we employed a two‐period difference‐in‐differences approach. We found that increased teacher experience explained between 26% and 51% of the overall read‐aloud effect, depending on the literacy subskill. We also found that the read‐aloud effects coupled with increased teacher experience had an equalizing effect on the reading outcomes of students from divergent home literacy environments.