bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association between serum fibroblast growth factor 21 level and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Jin Shi , Xia Ning , Han Lingling 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionWe conducted this cross-sectional study to explore the relationship between serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) level and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR).Research design and methodsA total of 654 patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) was evaluated by the bilateral retinal photography, and patients were assigned into groups of no DR (NDR) (n=345, 52.75%), non-sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (NSTDR) (n=207, 31.65%), involving patients with mild or moderate non-proliferative retinopathy (NPDR) and STDR (n=102, 15.60%), including those with severe NPDR or proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Serum FGF21 levels were quantified by a sandwich ELISA. Patients were divided into quartiles according to their serum FGF21 level.ResultsThere was a significant difference in serum FGF21 level among the three groups of patients (p<0.01). Compared with other quartiles (Q1–Q3), the patients in Q4 had a higher prevalence of DR and STDR (p<0.05). Compared with Q1, a positive association was observed between serum FGF21 level and DR in Q3 and Q4 (p<0.01). After adjusting for age, gender and other risk factors, serum FGF21 level in Q4 was found to be associated with increased risk of DR and STDR (p<0.01). Serum FGF21 level was noted as an independent risk factor for DR and STDR (p<0.01). Serum FGF21 level >478.76 pg/mL suggested the occurrence of DR and that level >554.69 pg/mL indicated STDR (p<0.01).ConclusionsSerum FGF21 level was a biomarker for the risk of developing DR or STDR. The risk of STDR increased when the serum FGF21 level of patients with type 2 diabetes was >554.69 pg/mL.
Ageing and heterogeneity regarding autism spectrum conditions: a protocol paper of an accelerated longitudinal study
Authors: Geurts Hilde M , Agelink van Rentergem Joost A , Radhoe Tulsi , Torenvliet Carolien , Van der Putten Wikke J , Groenman Annabeth P 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionAutism spectrum conditions (ASC) develop early in life and are thought to last a lifetime. However, ASC research has two major knowledge gaps that hinder progression in understanding the concept of ASC and in providing proper support for autistic adults: (1) the majority of knowledge about ASC mainly stems from childhood studies so little is known about older autistic adults and (2) while it is broadly recognised that ASC is a heterogeneous condition, we do not yet understand the differences in trajectories leading to their future outcome. We aim to fill both knowledge gaps.Methods and analysisA multistage overlapping cohort design assessing (cognitive) ageing in ASC is designed to obtain an accelerated longitudinal data set. Data, including a multitude of questionnaires, diagnostics and cognitive tests, are collected over four waves within a 10-year time frame. This will provide information regarding actual changes in quality of life, co-occurring health conditions and cognition as well as the possibility to test external validity and temporal stability in newly formed behavioural subtypes. Participants consist of three groups of adults aged 20–90 years: (1) with a clinical diagnosis of ASC, (2) with a clinical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but no ASC, (3) no ASC/ADHD (ie, comparison group). The sample size differs between waves and instruments. Detailed analysis plans will be preregistered in AsPredicted or at the Open Science Framework.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval for this study was obtained from the ethical review board of the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam (wave 1 2011-PN-1952 and 2013-PN-2668, wave 2 2015-BC-4270, waves 3 and 4 2018-BC-9285). In line with the funding policies of the grant organisation funding this study, future papers will be published open access.
Telomere length is independently associated with all-cause mortality in chronic heart failure
Authors: Romaine Simon P R , Denniff Matthew , Codd Veryan , Nath Mintu , Koekemoer Andrea , Anker Stefan D , Cleland John G , Filippatos Gerasimos , Levin Daniel , Metra Marco , Mordi Ify R , Ouwerkerk Wouter , ter Maaten Jozine M , van Veldhuisen Dirk J , Zannad Faiez , Ng Leong L , van der Harst Pim , Lang Chim C , Voors Adriaan A , Nelson Christopher P , Samani Nilesh J 
Published: March 2021

ObjectivePatients with heart failure have shorter mean leucocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of biological age, compared with healthy subjects, but it is unclear whether this is of prognostic significance. We therefore sought to determine whether LTL is associated with outcomes in patients with heart failure.MethodsWe measured LTL in patients with heart failure from the BIOSTAT-CHF Index (n=2260) and BIOSTAT-CHF Tayside (n=1413) cohorts. Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed individually in each cohort and the estimates combined using meta-analysis. Our co-primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and heart failure hospitalisation.ResultsIn age-adjusted and sex-adjusted analyses, shorter LTL was associated with higher all-cause mortality in both cohorts individually and when combined (meta-analysis HR (per SD decrease in LTL)=1.16 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.24); p=2.66×10−5), an effect equivalent to that of being four years older. The association remained significant after adjustment for the BIOSTAT-CHF clinical risk score to account for known prognostic factors (HR=1.12 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.20); p=1.04×10−3). Shorter LTL was associated with both cardiovascular (HR=1.09 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.19); p=0.047) and non-cardiovascular deaths (HR=1.18 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.32); p=4.80×10−3). There was no association between LTL and heart failure hospitalisation (HR=0.99 (95% CI 0.92 to 1.07); p=0.855).ConclusionIn patients with heart failure, shorter mean LTL is independently associated with all-cause mortality.
Complete metabolic response in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer with prolonged response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy
Authors: Ferdinandus Justin , Metzenmacher Martin , Kessler Lukas , Umutlu Lale , Aigner Clemens , Kambartel Karl-Otto , Grünwald Viktor , Eberhardt Wilfried Ernst Erich , Fendler Wolfgang Peter , Herrmann Ken , Faehling Martin , Christoph Daniel Christian 
Published: March 2021

IntroductionImmunotherapy is the new standard of care in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently published data show that treatment discontinuation after 12 months of nivolumab treatment is associated with shorter survival. Therefore, the ideal duration of immunotherapy remains unclear, and finding markers of beneficial outcomes is of great importance. Here, we determine the proportion of complete metabolic responses (CMR) in patients who have not progressed after 24 months of immunotherapy.MethodsThis is a retrospective analysis of 45 patients with positron emission tomography using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose imaging for assessment of residual metabolic activity after at least 24 months. CMR was defined as uptake in tumor lesions below background levels, using mediastinum as a reference.ResultsOut of 45 patients, 29 patients had a CMR (64%). CMR was observed more frequently in non-first-line patients. Patients with CMR were younger (median 65.7 vs 75.5, p=0.03). Fourteen patients with CMR have discontinued therapy and have not progressed until time of analysis; however, median follow-up was only 5.6 (range 0.8–17.0) months.ConclusionAfter a minimum of 24 months of palliative immunotherapy for NSCLC, CMR occurred in almost two thirds of patients. Potentially, achievement of CMR might identify patients, for whom palliative immunotherapy may be safely discontinued.
The calibration challenge when inferring longitudinal track profile from the inertial response of an in-service train
Authors: Quirke Paraic , OBrien Eugene J. , Bowe Cathal , Cantero Daniel , Malekjafarian Abdollah 
Published: March 2021

An Irish Rail intercity train was instrumented for a period of one month with inertial sensors. In this paper, a novel calibration algorithm is proposed to determine, with reasonable accuracy, vehicle model parameters from the measured vehicle response data. Frequency domain decomposition (FDD) is used to find the dominant frequencies in the captured data. Randomly chosen 2 km data segments are chosen from a number of datasets, thereby averaging out the effects of variations in track longitudinal profile, track stiffness, signal noise and other unknowns. The remaining dominant peaks are taken to be vehicle frequencies. An optimization technique known as Cross Entropy is used to find vehicle mass and stiffness properties that best match modal vehicle eigenfrequencies identified in the frequency analysis. Finally, the calibrated vehicle is run over a measured track profile and the resulting model output is compared to measured data to validate the results.
Superintegrability of Kontsevich matrix model
Authors: Mironov Andrei , Morozov Alexei 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMany eigenvalue matrix models possess a peculiar basis of observables that have explicitly calculable averages. This explicit calculability is a stronger feature than ordinary integrability, just like the cases of quadratic and Coulomb potentials are distinguished among other central potentials, and we call itsuperintegrability. As a peculiarity of matrix models, the relevant basis is formed by the Schur polynomials (characters) and their generalizations, and superintegrability looks like a property$$\langle character\rangle \,\sim character$$⟨character⟩∼character. This is already known to happen in the most important cases of Hermitian, unitary, and complex matrix models. Here we add two more examples of principal importance, where the model depends onexternal fields: a special version of complex model and the cubic Kontsevich model. In the former case, straightforward is a generalization to the complex tensor model. In the latter case, the relevant characters are the celebratedQSchur functions appearing in the description of spin Hurwitz numbers and other related contexts.
Dynamics of charged particles and magnetic dipoles around magnetized quasi-Schwarzschild black holes
Authors: Narzilloev Bakhtiyor , Rayimbaev Javlon , Abdujabbarov Ahmadjon , Ahmedov Bobomurat , Bambi Cosimo 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn the present paper, we have investigated the motion of charged particles together with magnetic dipoles to determine how well the spacetime deviation parameter $$\epsilon $$
ϵ
and external uniform magnetic field can mimic the spin of a rotating Kerr black hole. Investigation of charged particle motion has shown that the deviation parameter $$\epsilon $$
ϵ
in the absence of an external magnetic fields can mimic the rotation parameter of the Kerr spacetime up to $$a/M \approx 0.5$$

a
/
M
≈
0.5

. The combination of an external magnetic field and deviation parameter can do even a better job mimicking the rotation parameter up to $$a/M\simeq 0.93$$

a
/
M
≃
0.93

, which corresponds to the rapidly rotating case. Study of the dynamics of the magnetic dipoles around quasi-Schwarzschild black holes in the external magnetic field has shown that there are degeneracy values of the ISCO radius of test particles at $$\epsilon _{cr}>\epsilon \ge 0.35$$

ϵ

cr

>
ϵ
≥
0.35

which may lead to two different values of the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) radius. When the deviation parameter is in the range of $$\epsilon \in (-1,\ 1)$$

ϵ
∈
(
-
1
,

1
)

, it can mimic the spin of a rotating Kerr black hole in the range $$a/M \in (0.0537, \ 0.3952)$$

a
/
M
∈
(
0.0537
,

0.3952
)

for magnetic dipoles with values of the magnetic coupling parameter $$\beta \in [-0.25,\ 0.25]$$

β
∈
[
-
0.25
,

0.25
]

in corotating orbits.
Introduction: subsurface sand remobilization and injection
Authors: Hurst Andrew , Grippa Antonio , Silcock Simone Y. , Huuse Mads , Bowman Mike , Cobain Sarah L. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Observation of basin-scale networks of sandstone intrusions are described from subsurface studies and outcrop locations. Regional scale studies are prevalent in the volume and two new regionally significant subsurface sand injection complexes are described. Higher resolution studies, both outcrop and subsurface, show the small-scale complexity but high level of connectedness of sandstone intrusions. Discordance with bedding at all scales is diagnostic of sandstone intrusions. The propensity of hydraulic fractures to develop and fill with fluidized sand in a broad range of host rocks is demonstrated by examples from metamorphic and magmatic basement, and lignite. Terminology used to describe sandstone intrusions and other elements of sand injection complexes is diverse.
Hardground, gap and thin black shale: spatial heterogeneity of arrested carbonate sedimentation during the Jenkyns Event (T-OAE) in a Tethyan pelagic Basin (Gerecse Mts, Hungary)
Authors: Müller Tamás , Price Gregory D. , Mattioli Emanuela , Leskó Máté Zs. , Kristály Ferenc , Pálfy József 
Published: March 2021

Abstract

The Jenkyns Event or Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event was an episode of severe environmental perturbations reflected in carbon isotope and other geochemical anomalies. Although well studied in the epicontinental basins in NW Europe, its effects are less understood in open marine environments. Here we present new geochemical (carbon isotope, CaCO
3
, [Mn]) and nannofossil biostratigraphic data from the Tölgyhát and Kisgerecse sections in the Gerecse Hills (Hungary). These sections record pelagic carbonate sedimentation near the margin of the Tethys Ocean. A negative carbon isotope excursion of
c.
6‰ is observed in the Tölgyhát section, in a condensed clay and black shale layer where the CaCO
3
content drops in association with the Jenkyns Event. At Kisgerecse, bio- and chemostratigraphic data suggest a gap in the lower Toarcian. The presence of an uppermost Pliensbachian hardground, the absence of the lowermost Toarcian Tenuicostatum ammonite zone and the condensed record of the Jenkyns Event at Tölgyhát, together with a condensed Tenuicostatum Zone and the missing negative carbon isotope anomaly at Kisgerecse, imply arrested carbonate sedimentation. A calcification crisis and sea-level rise together led to a decrease in carbonate production and terrigenous input, suggesting that volcanogenic CO
2
-driven global warming may have been their common cause.
Real-time Assistive Reader Pen for Arabic Language
Authors: Alzubaidi Mohammad A. , Otoom Mwaffaq , Ahmad Nouran S. 
Published: March 2021

Disability is an impairment affecting an individual's livelihood and independence. Assistive technology enables the disabled cohort of the community to break the barriers to learning, access information, contribute to the community, and live independently. This article proposes an assistive device to enable people with visual disabilities and learning disabilities to access printed Arabic material in real-time, and to help them participate in the education system and the professional workforce.
This proposed assistive device employs Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Text To Speech (TTS) conversion, using concatenation synthesis. OCR is achieved using image processing, character extraction, and classification, while Arabic speech synthesis is achieved through concatenation synthesis, followed by Multi Band Re-synthesis Overlap-Add (MBROLA). Waveform generation in the second phase produces vocal output for the disabled user to hear. OCR character and word accuracy tests were conducted for nine Arabic fonts. The results show that six fonts were recognized with over 60% character accuracy and two fonts were recognized with over 88% accuracy. A Mean Opinion Score (MOS) test for speech quality was conducted. The results showed an overall MOS score of 3.53/5 and indicated that users were able to understand the speech. A real-time usability testing was conducted with 10 subjects. The results showed an overall average of agreements scores of 3.9/5 and indicated that the proposed Arabic reader pen meets the real-time constraints and is pleasant and satisfying to use and can contribute to make printed Arabic material accessible to visually impaired persons and people with learning disabilities.
Sex and Race‐Ethnic Disparities in Door‐to‐CT Time in Acute Ischemic Stroke: The Florida Stroke Registry
Authors: Polineni Sai P. , Perez Enmanuel J. , Wang Kefeng , Gutierrez Carolina M. , Walker Jeffrey , Foster Dianne , Dong Chuanhui , Asdaghi Negar , Romano Jose G. , Sacco Ralph L. , Rundek Tatjana ,   for the Florida Stroke Registry
Published: March 2021

Background
Less than 40% of acute stroke patients have computed tomography (CT) imaging performed within 25 minutes of hospital arrival. We aimed to examine the race‐ethnic and sex differences in door‐to‐CT (DTCT) ≤25 minutes in the FSR (Florida Stroke Registry).

Methods and Results
Data were collected from 2010 to 2018 for 63 265 patients with acute ischemic stroke from the FSR and secondary analysis was performed on 15 877 patients with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator‐treated ischemic stroke. Generalized estimating equation models were used to determine predictors of DTCT ≤25. DTCT ≤25 was achieved in 56% of cases of suspected acute stroke, improving from 36% in 2010 to 72% in 2018. Women (odds ratio [OR], 0.90; 95% CI, 0.87–0.93) and Black (OR, 0.88; CI, 0.84–0.94) patients who had strokes were less likely, and Hispanic patients more likely (OR, 1.07; CI, 1.01–1.14), to achieve DTCT ≤25. In a secondary analysis among intravenous tissue plasminogen activator‐treated patients, 81% of patients achieved DTCT ≤25. In this subgroup, women were less likely to receive DTCT ≤25 (0.85, 0.77–0.94) whereas no significant differences were observed by race or ethnicity.

Conclusions
In the FSR, there was considerable improvement in acute stroke care metric DTCT ≤25 in 2018 in comparison to 2010. However, sex and race‐ethnic disparities persist and require further efforts to improve performance and reduce these disparities.
Treatment Intensification for Elevated Blood Pressure and Risk of Recurrent Stroke
Authors: Kim Beom Joon , Cho Yong‐Jin , Hong Keun‐Sik , Lee Jun , Kim Joon‐Tae , Choi Kang Ho , Park Tai Hwan , Park Sang‐Soon , Park Jong‐Moo , Kang Kyusik , Lee Soo Joo , Kim Jae Guk , Cha Jae‐Kwan , Kim Dae‐Hyun , Lee Byung‐Chul , Yu Kyung‐Ho , Oh Mi‐Sun , Kim Dong‐Eog , Ryu Wi‐Sun , Choi Jay Chol , Kim Wook‐Joo , Shin Dong‐Ick , Sohn Sung Il , Hong Jeong‐Ho , Lee Ji Sung , Lee Juneyoung , Han Moon‐Ku , Gorelick Philip B. , Bae Hee‐Joon 
Published: March 2021

Background
It remains unclear whether physicians' attitudes toward timely management of elevated blood pressure affect the risk of stroke recurrence.

Methods and Results
From a multicenter stroke registry database, we identified 2933 patients with acute ischemic stroke who were admitted to participating centers in 2011, survived at the 1‐year follow‐up period, and returned to outpatient clinics ≥2 times after discharge. As a surrogate measure of physicians' attitude, individual treatment intensification (TI) scores were calculated by dividing the difference between the frequencies of observed and expected medication changes by the frequency of clinic visits and categorizing them into 5 groups. The association between TI groups and the recurrence of stroke within 1 year was analyzed using hierarchical frailty models, with adjustment for clustering within each hospital and relevant covariates. Mean±SD of the TI score was −0.13±0.28. The TI score groups were significantly associated with increased risk of recurrent stroke compared with Group 3 (TI score range, −0.25 to 0); Group 1 (range, −1 to −0.5), adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 13.43 (95% CI, 5.95–30.35); Group 2 (range, −0.5 to −0.25), adjusted HR 4.59 (95% CI, 2.01–10.46); and Group 4 (TI score 0), adjusted HR 6.60 (95% CI, 3.02–14.45); but not with Group 5 (range, 0–1), adjusted HR 1.68 (95% CI, 0.62–4.56). This elevated risk in the lowest TI score groups persisted when confining analysis to those with hypertension, history of blood pressure‐lowering medication, no atrial fibrillation, and regular clinic visits and stratifying the subjects by functional capacity at discharge.

Conclusions
A low TI score, which implies physicians' therapeutic inertia in blood pressure management, was associated with a higher risk of recurrent stroke. The TI score may be a useful performance indicator in the outpatient clinic setting to prevent recurrent stroke.
Consensus Transcriptional Landscape of Human End‐Stage Heart Failure
Authors: Ramirez Flores Ricardo O. , Lanzer Jan D. , Holland Christian H. , Leuschner Florian , Most Patrick , Schultz Jobst‐Hendrik , Levinson Rebecca T. , Saez‐Rodriguez Julio 
Published: March 2021

Background
Transcriptomic studies have contributed to fundamental knowledge of myocardial remodeling in human heart failure (HF). However, the key HF genes reported are often inconsistent between studies, and systematic efforts to integrate evidence from multiple patient cohorts are lacking. Here, we aimed to provide a framework for comprehensive comparison and analysis of publicly available data sets resulting in an unbiased consensus transcriptional signature of human end‐stage HF.

Methods and Results

We curated and uniformly processed 16 public transcriptomic studies of left ventricular samples from 263 healthy and 653 failing human hearts. First, we evaluated the degree of consistency between studies by using linear classifiers and overrepresentation analysis. Then, we meta‐analyzed the deregulation of 14 041 genes to extract a consensus signature of HF. Finally, to functionally characterize this signature, we estimated the activities of 343 transcription factors, 14 signaling pathways, and 182 micro RNAs, as well as the enrichment of 5998 biological processes. Machine learning approaches revealed conserved disease patterns across all studies independent of technical differences. These consistent molecular changes were prioritized with a meta‐analysis, functionally characterized and validated on external data. We provide all results in a free public resource (
https://saezlab.shinyapps.io/reheat/
) and exemplified usage by deciphering fetal gene reprogramming and tracing the potential myocardial origin of the plasma proteome markers in patients with HF.

Conclusions
Even though technical and sampling variability confound the identification of differentially expressed genes in individual studies, we demonstrated that coordinated molecular responses during end‐stage HF are conserved. The presented resource is crucial to complement findings in independent studies and decipher fundamental changes in failing myocardium.