bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
P635 Assessment of sarcopenia and nutritional status in a cohort of patients with Crohn’s disease
Authors: Nardone O M , de Sire R , Ponsiglione A , Rispo A , Testa A , Villani G , Camera L , Castiglione F 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
Altered body composition may negatively impact on the clinical outcome and quality of life of patients with IBD. Sarcopenia, defined as a progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, is commonly observed in patients with IBD and can be reliably assessed by computed tomography (CT) which allows accurate and reproducibile quantification of both abdominal adipose tissues (subcutaneous and visceral), as well as skeletal muscles. We aimed to assess the prevalence of sarcopenia in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients undergoing contrast-enhanced CT(CECT). We further investigated the associations of sarcopenia with visceral fat parameters, disease severity and surgery

Methods
40 CD patients (22F, aged 44±16 yrs; BMI 20.8±3.7) who underwent CECT for clinical assessment were retrospectively enrolled. CECT was performed using a 64-rows multi-detector equipment after i.v. injection of non ionic iodinated contrast media with a tailored scan delay.
Demographic and clinical data were collected at the date of abdominal CT. Clinical outcome included the rate of surgery within one year. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) at the level of third lumbar vertebra was used to assess sarcopenia defined as a SMI&lt;38.5cm2/m2 in women and &lt;42cm2/m2 in men (Fig1).Clinical malnutrition was defined by a BMI&lt;18.5 kg/m2, while visceral obesity as a visceral fat area ≥130cm2

Results
Mean duration of disease was 117 months ± 84. Most patients 60% had a moderate-severe clinical activity based on Harvey Bradshaw index (HBI) &gt;8, whereas 35% had a mild activity (HBI 5–7) and 5% were in remission (HBI&lt;5). Overall, 17(42.5%) patients were sarcopenic. In detail, 14 out of 22 (63.6%) females and only 3 out of 18 (16.6%) males (p=0.04). The majority (65%) had moderate activity of inflammation with a mean of HBI 9.2 ± 1.6. Malnutrition occurred in 41,2% sarcopenic patients with a mean BMI of 16.5±3.75. A significant correlation was observed between BMI and sarcopenia (r=0.4,p&lt;0.001). A total of 25 (62.5%) patients underwent surgery within one year. Among them, 40% patients were sarcopenic, while 60% non sarcopenic (p=0.7). In the total population the mean of visceral fat was 48,03±58.04 and only 4 patients had a visceral fat area ≥104 cm2. The ratio between visceral fat and subcutaneous fat area (VFA/SFA) was 0,57±0.5. The correlation between SMI and visceral fat was significant (r=0.4,p=0.02),while it was not significant with VFA/SFA (p=0.7). For all IBD patients, univariate analysis revealed that female sex (p=0.002) and low BMI (p=0.003) were significantly associated with sarcopenia

Conclusion
Approximately 42.5%CD patients were sarcopenic. Female sex and low BMI were significantly associated with sarcopenia but this latter did not correlate with the clinical outcome
P671 Effect of genetic polymorphisms in the folate pathway on the efficacy and safety of methotrexate in Crohn’s disease
Authors: Salazar J , Gordillo Abalos J , Fernández A , Esteve M , Pérez Gisbert J , Busquets D , Lucendo A , Márquez L , Guardiola J , Martin M D , Iglesias E , Monfort D , Villoria A , Cañete F , Bell O , Ricart E , Zabana Y , Domènech E , Garcia-Planella E 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
Methotrexate (MTX) is currently used in steroid-dependent patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (CD) when thiopurines have failed or are contraindicated. Although its efficacy has been proved for both induction and maintenance of remission, its use is limited due to the rate of associated adverse events. Polymorphisms in the folate pathway might predict the efficacy and toxicity of MTX. Our aims were to evaluate the predictive value of these polymorphisms of MTX efficacy and safety in CD.

Methods
Patients from ENEIDA registry of GETECCU who were treated with MTX on monotherapy and of whom genomic DNA was available, were identified. Clinical efficacy and MTX-related toxicity were collected, and 10 variants from ATIC, DHFR, MTHFR, RFC1, ABCB1 and ABCC3 genes were genotyped with TaqMan assays.

Results
One hundred and twenty nine patients were included, 55% were female and 31% active smokers. MTX was used as first and second-line therapy in 10% and 60% of patients, respectively, at a mean dose of 22 mg and for a median time of 14 months. Thirty-seven per cent of patients achieved clinical remission, whereas 34% were non-responders (MTX failure). Forty patients (30%) developed MTX-related toxicity, with nausea and vomiting, myelotoxicity and hepatotoxicity as the most frequent adverse events (37%, 15% and 15%, respectively). MTX was discontineud in 19% of the patients due to toxicity. In the multivariable analysis, patients with the AA genotype for the rs408626 DHFR variant was predictive of a higher efficacy as compared to the G allele carriers (RR 0.372, p=0.026), and smoking was associated with a higher risk of MTX therapy failure (RR 2.676, p=0.015). Moreover, the CC genotype for the rs1476413 MTHFR variant and the TT genotype for the rs4793665 ABCC3 variant were independently associated with a higher risk of MTX toxicity (RR 2.357, p=0.038 and RR 2.368, p=0.044, respectively).

Conclusion
Genetic polymorphisms related to the folate pathway (mainly the variant rs408626 of DHFR, rs1476413 of MTHFR and rs4793665 of ABCC3) seem to impact on MTX efficacy and toxicity in CD. Smoking could also influence MTX efficacy.
P677 Fungal abundance is related to inflammatory status in Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Herrera De Guise C M , Sarrabayrouse G , Varela E , Robles V , Borruel N , Mayorga L F , Casellas F , Ibarz A , Perez Z , Robles M , Guarner F 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
Fungi account for approximately 0.1% of the total microorganisms in the gut. Despite the vast body of literature on the bacterial component of the gut microbiota, little has been published on the fungal microbiota. Fungal-bacterial interactions may be significant in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with several lines of evidence linking fungi and IBD. Our study aimed to explore and compare the fungal and bacterial loads in fecal samples from different ulcerative colitis (UC) patients’ groups.

Methods
Using two qPCR systems to amplify the ITS2 sequence from fungi and the 16srRNA gene from bacteria, we characterized and compared fungal and bacterial loads in 3 groups: 1) UClr: UC patients in long-term remission (≥5 years of flare-free disease, clinical, endoscopic and histological remission at inclusion); 2) UCsr: UC patients in short-term remission (3 months in clinical remission at inclusion and previously more than one relapse/year); 3) UCfl: UC patients with active disease (CAI &gt;4 at inclusion). We obtained two frozen fecal samples from all subjects, except for the UCfl group from which we obtained 1 sample at flare onset. Results were expressed in copies/g of feces.

Results
We included 87 UC patients, 29 in UClr, 20 in UCsr, and 38 in UCfl groups. Median age was 39 years, women comprised 52%. Fecal samples contained a significantly lower number of ITS2 gene copies (median 9.27E+05) than 16srRNA gene copies (median 4.28E+11). 16s rRNA gene copies were similar among the different groups with a median 3.88E+11 for UClr, median 5.29E+11 for UCsr, and median 4.315E+11 for UCfl patients (FDR p=0.65). In contrast, copies of ITS2 gene were increased in UCfl (median 1.95E+06) when compared to UClr (3.68E+04, FDR p=0.0036) but not significantly different to UCsr (5.24E+05 copies, FDR p=0.20). We analyzed the variation between samples over time; we compared the number of copies of ITS2 and 16s rRNA genes in fecal samples collected at two different time points: basal versus 8-weeks. We calculated overall fold changes that reflect stability over time. We found a trend for a more significant variation in the quantity of the ITS2 gene than the 16srRNA gene, but this was not significant. Analysis of the ITS2/16S rRNA ratio assessing the frequency of fungi compared to bacteria showed that this ratio was higher in UCfl (median 6.94E-06) when compared to UClr (median 2.63E-07, FDR p=0.0005) and UCsr patients (median 5.60E-07, FDR p=0.0072), there were no differences between UClr and UCsr patients.

Conclusion
Fungal abundance was increased in UC flare patients compared to UC patients in long remission, while there were no differences in bacterial abundance. This high number of fungi could be involved in the inflammatory response of UC patients.
P459 Expression of SerpinE1, a potential new disease activity marker, reflects therapeutic response in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: Jójárt B , Molnár T , Szabó V , Varga Á , Resál T , Szántó K , Kata D , Földesi I , Molnár T , Maléth J , Farkas K 
Published: May 2021

Abstract

Background
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) occurs as a consequence of abnormal immune response generating unbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory signalling. Analysis of cytokine profiles in view of different cytokine targeting or immunosuppressive therapy may open up new therapeutic targets and may reveal biological profiles that distinguish responders from non-responders before initiating therapy.
The aim of present study was to determine cytokine profile of IBD patients and identify cytokines with predictive potential.

Methods
IBD patients with clinically active disease were enrolled in study. Blood and biopsy samples were obtained from 22 IBD patients and 5 healthy controls. Biopsies were taken from inflamed and non-inflamed part of colon of IBD patients. Total protein and mRNA were isolated from biopsy samples. Cytokine Array was used to analyse cytokine expression patterns. Serum and mucosal SerpinE1 levels were measured by ELISA and qRT-PCR.

Results
In samples from IBD patients, remarkable discrimination between inflamed, or non-inflamed areas was observed, whereas no pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected in control samples. SerpinE1 was presented in every inflamed biopsy samples, which was analyzed in more details. Mucosal expression of SerpinE1 differed significantly in healthy subjects compared to IBD patients with active disease (0 vs 24.06 pg/mg, p=0.02). After therapy induction a remarkable decrease was observed in the mucosal SerpinE1 concentration in responders (45.5 vs 9.7 pg/mg, p=0.02) versus non-responders (45 vs 61.2 pg/mg, p=0.3). Moreover, mean value of mucosal SerpinE1 did not differ significantly in healthy subjects compared to responders (5.7 vs. 0 pg/mg, p=0.12). In non-responders the fold changes of SerpinE1 gene expressions were significantly (p=0.001) higher than in responders. Lowest expression of SerpinE1 gene was measured in control samples, whereas the highest in untreated, inflamed biopsy samples. Serum and mucosal SerpinE1 concentrations were significantly higher in patients with active disease compared to inactive (tissue: 5 vs 47.4 pg/mg, p=0.00003; serum: 22.4 vs 25.94 mg/ml, p=0.022). Correlation analysis revealed that serum SerpinE1 correlates with disease activity (p&lt;0,01, cut-off value: 22 mg/ml, sensitivity=80%, specificity=60%, accuracy=74%), whereas no correlation was observed between the mucosal SerpineE1 concentration and the disease activity (p&gt;0.1, sensitivity=72%, specificity=77.8%, accuracy=73.5%).

Conclusion
These results suggest that serum and mucosal SeprinE1 expression reflects endoscopic activity of IBD. Correlation of SerpinE1expression between the blood and the bowel mucosa would open up new possibilities in non-invasive disease monitoring of IBD.
Wave propagation in the poro-viscoelastic orthorhombic two-phase media: plane-wave theory and wavefield simulation
Authors: Cheng Shijun , Mao Weijian , Zhang Qingchen , Xu Qianru 
Published: May 2021

SUMMARY
Most researches on the Biot-squirt (BISQ) model are limited to the poroelastic transverse isotropic (TI) media. Actually, the poro-viscoelasticity and the orthorhombic anisotropy are closer to the realistic properties of many reservoir media. Therefore, we expand the BISQ model theory to the poro-viscoelastic orthorhombic media and develop the corresponding constitutive relation and 3-D wave equations in the time domain. Here, the generalized Zener linear body model is introduced to describe the relaxation effect of the solid skeleton, and the pore fluid is assumed to be saturated. The expressions of the complex and phase velocities for two quasi-compressional waves qP fast (qP1) and qP slow (qP2), and two quasi-shear waves qS1 and qS2 are obtained from the homogeneous plane-wave analysis, respectively. While introducing the viscoelasticity to our model, the attenuation value predicted by the conventional quality factor is not accurate, and the group velocity representing the position of the wave front in the poroelastic model becomes meaningless. So we derive the novel quality factor and the energy velocity expression by invoking the energy balance equation and the Poynting theorem. Two examples are implemented. First, the 3-D multicomponent wavefield is simulated. The snapshots show the orthorhombic anisotropy and viscoelastic effects lead to significant changes in the wavefield. The comparison to the synthetic seismogram in the poroelastic model indicates that the relaxed skeleton can describe the strong attenuation of seismic waves in the seismic exploration band. Secondly, the variations in the velocities and the quality factor curves with propagation direction, frequency and porosity are analysed. Both examples present the characteristics of wave propagation in the poro-viscoelastic orthorhombic media and validate the correctness of the proposed theory and equations.
The mysterious meeting between Carl Schmitt and Josef Redlich
Authors: Bassok Or 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
In 1934, Carl Schmitt, then the crown jurist of the Third Reich, wrote in an essay titled “National Socialist Legal Thought” about “[a] conversation with a world-famous, world travelled, experienced scholar of more than seventy years of age from the United States [which] belongs to the major experiences and encounters which led me as a jurist to National Socialism.” Schmitt never disclosed the identity of the scholar whom he met. Based on Schmitt’s diaries, I reveal that the scholar was Josef Redlich. Born to a Jewish family in 1869, Redlich was the Fairchild Professor of Comparative Public Law at Harvard Law School at the time he met Schmitt in 1931. According to Schmitt’s 1934 essay, the conversation focused on the indeterminacy of legal norms and on a nihilist understanding of the era. Even after discovering the identity of the scholar to whom Schmitt refers in his essay and analyzing the ideas discussed in their meeting, the story of the encounter between Schmitt and Redlich remains mysterious. For some reason, the ideas of a scholar of Jewish descent, who believed in an Austrian multi-national, federal state, inspired and played a profound role in the formulation of a blatantly antisemitic essay promoting National Socialist legal thought by the crown jurist of the Nazi regime. Schmitt repeated the tale of his meeting with an American scholar—without disclosing his identity—in a lecture he gave in Italian, two years after publishing his essay. Based on an analysis of this obscure lecture, his 1934 essay, and various other materials written both by Schmitt and Redlich, I offer three possible explanations for why Schmitt viewed his encounter with Redlich as so influential on his road to National Socialism.
Consistency analysis of the Grünwald–Letnikov approximation in a bounded domain
Authors: Sousa Ercília 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The Grünwald–Letnikov approximation is a well-known discretization to approximate a Riemann–Liouville derivative of order $\alpha&gt;0$. This approximation has been proved to be a consistent approximation, of order $1 $, when the domain is the real line, using Fourier transforms. However, in recent years, this approximation has been applied frequently to solve fractional differential equations in bounded domains and the result proved for the real line has been assumed to be true in general. In this work we show that when assuming a bounded domain, the Grünwald–Letnikov approximation can be inconsistent, for a large number of cases, and when it is consistent we have mostly an order of $n-\alpha $, for $n-1&lt;\alpha &lt;n$.
Effect of a novel consensus bacterial 6-phytase variant in grower pigs fed corn-soybean meal-based diets formulated with a full nutrient matrix and no added inorganic phosphorus
Authors: Velayudhan D E , Gracia M , Casabuena Rincón O , Marchal L , Dersjant-Li Y 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The capacity of a novel consensus bacterial 6-phytase variant (PhyG) to entirely replace dietary inorganic phosphorus (Pi) source in grower pigs fed diets with reduction of calcium (Ca), net energy (NE), and digestible amino acids (AA) was evaluated, using growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients as outcome measures. A total of 352 mixed-sex pigs (initial BW 23.4 kg) were randomized to 4 treatments, 8 pigs/pen, and 11 pens/treatment. Diets were corn-soybean meal-based and formulated by phase (grower 1, 25 to 50 and grower 2, 50 to 75 kg BW). The positive control diet (PC) provided adequate nutrients and a negative control diet (NC) was formulated without Pi (1.2 g/kg ATTD P) and reduced in Ca (-0.12 to -0.13 percentage points), NE (-32 kcal/kg), and digestible essential AA (-0.004 to -0.026 percentage points) vs. PC. Two further treatments comprised the NC plus 500 or 1,000 FTU/kg of PhyG. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, mean contrasts and orthogonal polynomial regression. Nutrient reductions in the NC reduced (P &lt; 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) during grower 1 and overall (73 to 136 d of age), increased (P &lt; 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) during grower 1 and overall and tended to reduce (P &lt; 0.1) average daily feed intake (ADFI) during grower 2 and overall, vs. PC. Phytase supplementation improved (P &lt; 0.05) FCR during grower 1, ADG during grower 2 and overall, ATTD of DM and P, and tended to improve DE (P = 0.053) in a linear dose-dependent manner. PhyG at 1,000 FTU/kg resulted in growth performance (all measures, all phases) equivalent to PC. The findings demonstrate that PhyG at 1,000 FTU/kg totally replaced Pi in complex grower pig diets containing industrial co-products, compensated a full nutrient matrix reduction and maintained performance.
Identification of Chemicals AssociatedGambusia affinis(Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae), and Their Effect on Oviposition Behavior ofCulex tarsalis(Diptera: Culicidae) in the Laboratory
Authors: Why Adena M , Choe Dong-Hwan , Walton William E 
Published: May 2021

AbstractThe western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis (Baird & Girard), has been used worldwide for the control of larval mosquitoes for more than 100 yr. We found that the western encephalitis mosquito, Culex tarsalis Coquillett (Diptera: Culicidae), can detect the presence of G. affinis in oviposition sites based on associated chemicals, leading to a decrease in the number of egg rafts laid. Three volatile chemical compounds were identified in the headspace above the water where G. affinis had been held for 24 h. Oviposition bioassays conducted using standards of the volatile compounds identified (dimethyl disulfide [DMDS], dimethyl trisulfide [DMTS], and S-methyl methanethiosulphonate) found that females reduced oviposition only when low concentrations of DMTS were present, but this response was not consistent across all trials and concentrations tested. DMDS, DMTS, and S-methyl methanethiosulphonate are known bacterial metabolic waste products and may be the source of the compounds. Two nonvolatile compounds of interest were found to be present in the Gambusia-exudate water. After tasting Cx. tarsalis were deterred from ovipositing onto Gambusia-treated water from which the bacteria had been removed by filtration, indicating that the kairomone may consist of nonvolatile compound(s). One of the nonvolatile compounds isolated from the Gambusia-treated water has a benzene ring structure similar to that of cholesterol but the structure of the two nonvolatile deterrents remains to be fully characterized. Our research shows that three volatile compounds and two nonvolatile compounds are present in water associated with G. affinis (Poeciliidae: Gambusia) and affect the oviposition behavior of Cx. tarsalis in laboratory bioassays.
Towards realistic estimates of solar global oscillation mode-coupling measurement noise
Authors: Woodard M F 
Published: May 2021

ABSTRACT
Time series of the medium-l spherical-harmonic decomposition of SOHO/MDI Doppler images were used to investigate the noise of solar-oscillation mode-coupling measurements and to reveal the coupling signatures of global-scale Rossby-waves and magnetic activity. A theoretical model of mode-coupling noise was developed starting from the assumption that the Doppler oscillation signal obeys Gaussian statistics. The measured coupling noise was found to agree with the model noise at the level of 20 per cent. The noise of mode-coupling measurements obtained from MDI data turns out to be considerably larger than that of hypothetical, ‘ideal’ measurements, which could only be obtained from observations with more coverage of the Sun’s surface than current instruments provide. The noise analysis was carried out for a simple suboptimal mode-coupling estimation procedure which is described in some detail. A more rigorous, maximum-likelihood, approach to mode-coupling measurement, which generalizes a method currently used to extract global oscillation mode information, is also described and its relationship to the simple mode-coupling analysis is discussed.
Cosmology from weak lensing alone and implications for the Hubble tension
Authors: Hall Alex 
Published: May 2021

ABSTRACT
We investigate the origin of Lambda cold dark matter parameter constraints in weak lensing, with a focus on the Hubble constant. We explain why current cosmic shear data are sensitive to the parameter combination $S_8 \propto \sigma _8 \Omega _{\rm m}^{0.5}$, improving upon previous studies through use of the halo model. Motivated by the ongoing discrepancy in measurements of the Hubble constant from high and low redshifts, we explain why cosmic shear provides almost no constraint on H0 by showing how the lensing angular power spectrum depends on physical length-scales in the dark matter distribution. We derive parameter constraints from galaxy lensing in KiDS and cosmic microwave background weak lensing from Planck and SPTpol, separately and jointly, showing how degeneracies between σ8 and Ωm can be broken. Using lensing and big bang nucleosynthesis to calibrate the sound horizon measured in projection by baryon acoustic oscillations gives $H_0 = 67.4 \pm 0.9 \,\, \mathrm{km} \, \mathrm{s}^{-1} \, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, consistent with previous results from Planck and the Dark Energy Survey. We find that a toy Euclid-like lensing survey provides only weak constraints on the Hubble constant due to degeneracies with other parameters that affect the shape of the lensing correlation functions. If external priors on ns, the baryon density, and the amplitude of baryon feedback are available, then sub-per cent H0 constraints are achievable with forthcoming lensing surveys.