bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the Gut Microbiome in Wild Rocky Mountainsnails (Oreohelix strigosa)
Authors: Chalifour Bridget , Li Jingchun 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
BackgroundThe Rocky Mountainsnail (Oreohelix strigosa) is a terrestrial gastropod of ecological importance in the Rocky Mountains of western United States and Canada. Across the animal kingdom, including in gastropods, gut microbiomes have profound effects on the health of the host. Current knowledge regarding snail gut microbiomes, particularly throughout various life history stages, is limited. Understanding snail gut microbiome composition and dynamics can provide an initial step toward better conservation and management of this species. ResultsIn this study, we employed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to examine gut bacteria communities in wild-caught O. strigosa populations from the Front Range of Colorado. These included three treatment groups: (1) adult and (2) fetal snails, as well as (3) sub-populations of adult snails that were starved prior to ethanol fixation. Overall, O. strigosa harbors a high diversity of bacteria. We sequenced the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene on an Illumina MiSeq, and obtained 2,714,330 total reads. We identified a total of 7,056 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to 36 phyla. The core gut microbiome of four unique OTUs accounts for roughly half of all sequencing reads returned and may aid the snails’ digestive processes. Significant differences in microbial composition, as well as richness, evenness, and Shannon Indices were found across the three treatment groups.ConclusionsComparisons of gut microbiomes in O. strigosa adult, fetal, and starved samples provide evidence that the host internal environments influence bacterial community compositions, and that bacteria may be transmitted vertically from parent to offspring. This work provides the first comprehensive report on the structure and membership of bacterial populations in the gastropod family Oreohelicidae and reveals similarities and differences across varying life history metrics. Strong differentiation between these life history metrics demonstrates the need for wider sampling for studies of dynamics of the snail gut microbiome.
Geographic Variation of Mercury in Breeding Tidal Marsh Sparrows of the Northeastern United States
Authors: Sayers Christopher J. , Roeder Mackenzie R. , Forrette Lindsay , Roche Daniel , Dupont Gaetan L.B. , Apgar Sam E. , Kocek Alison R. , Cook Alexandra M. , Shriver W. Gregory , Elphick Chris S. , Olsen Brian , Bonter David N. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Saltmarsh sparrows ( Ammospiza caudacuta ) and seaside sparrows ( A. maritima ) are species of conservation concern primarily due to global sea-level rise and habitat degradation. Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination may present additional threats to their reproductive success and survival. To assess site-specific total mercury (THg) exposure and identify environmental correlates of THg detection across a large portion of the breeding range where these species co-occur, we sampled blood from adult male saltmarsh and seaside sparrows at 27 marsh sites from Maine to Virginia, USA. The mean THg concentration (±1 SD) throughout the entire sampling range was 0.531 ± 0.287 µg/g wet weight (ww) for saltmarsh sparrows and 0.442 ± 0.316 µg/g ww for seaside sparrows. Individual THg concentrations ranged from 0.135–1.420 µg/g ww for saltmarsh sparrows and 0.153–1.530 µg/g ww for seaside sparrows. Model averaging from a suite of linear mixed models supported species-based differences in blood THg. On average, saltmarsh sparrows had 20.1% higher blood THg concentrations than seaside sparrows. We hypothesize that species-specific THg concentrations are influenced by differences in diet or foraging preferences between these species. We did not detect any correlations between sparrow THg concentrations and land cover characteristics surrounding sampled marshes or cumulative average annual precipitation.
DblurDoseNet: A Deep Residual Learning Network for Voxel Radionuclide Dosimetry Compensating for SPECT Imaging Resolution
Authors: Li Zongyu , Fessler Jeffrey A. , Mikell Justin K. , Wilderman Scott J. , Dewaraja Yuni K. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
PurposeCurrent methods for patient specific voxel-level dosimetry in radionuclide therapy suffer from a trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency. Monte Carlo (MC) radiation transport is considered as the gold standard but is computationally expensive, while faster dose voxel kernel (DVK) convolution can be sub-optimal in the presence of tissue heterogeneities. Furthermore, the accuracies of both these methods are limited by the spatial resolution of the reconstructed emission image. To overcome these limitations, this paper takes a novel approach of constructing a single deep convolutional neural network (CNN) named as DblurDoseNet that learns to produce dose-rate maps while compensating for the limited resolution of SPECT images.MethodsTo mitigate the effects of poor SPECT resolution and reconstruction artifacts on dosimetry, we trained our CNN using MC-generated dose-rate maps that directly corresponded to the true activity maps in virtual patient phantoms. We applied residual learning such that our CNN only learned the difference between the true dose-rate map and DVK dose-rate map with density scaling. The network consists of a depth feature extractor and a 2D U-Net, where the input was 11 slices (3.3 cm) of Lu-177 SPECT/CT images and the output was the dose-rate map corresponding to the center slice. In addition to phantoms, 42 SPECT/CT scans of patients who underwent Lu-177 DOTATATE therapy were also used for testing.ResultsIn test phantoms, the lesion/organ mean dose-rate error and the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) relative to ground-truth for the CNN method was consistently lower than DVK and MC. In particular, for CNN compared to DVK/MC, the average improvement in mean dose error was 55%/53% and 66%/56%; and in NRMSE was 18%/17% and 10%/11% for lesion and kidney, respectively. Line profiles and dose-volume histograms demonstrated compensation for SPECT resolution effects in the CNN generated dose-rate maps. Noise, determined from multiple Poisson realizations, showed an average improvement of 21%/27% compared to DVK/MC. In patients, a high concordance was observed between CNN and MC in joint histogram analysis. The trained residual CNN took ~ 30 seconds on GPU to generate a (\(512\times 512\times 130\)) dose-rate map for a patient.ConclusionThe proposed CNN is well-suited for real-time patient-specific dosimetry for clinical treatment planning due to its demonstrated improvement in accuracy, resolution, noise and speed over the current gold-standard.
The Airway Microbiota Signatures of Infection and Rejection in Lung Transplant Recipients
Authors: Su Jin , Li Chun-xi , Liu Hai-yue , Chen Ao , You Zhi-xuan , Lian Qiao-yan , Li Kun , Cai Yu-hang , Lin Yan-xia , Pan Jian-bing , Zhang Guo-xia , He Jian-xing , Ju Chun-rong , You Chang-xuan 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
BackgroundInfection and rejection are the two most common complications after lung transplantation (LT) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The differential diagnosis of infection and rejection is sometimes difficult due to similar clinical manifestations. However, few studies have investigated the airway microbiota between lung transplant recipients (LTRs) with infection and rejection. ResultsA total of 181 sputum samples (event-free, n=47; infection, n=103; rejection, n=31) were collected from 59 LTRs. A distinct airway microbiota was observed among clinically stable (or event-free) recipients and those with infection or acute rejection after LT. Alpha and beta diversity were significantly different between event-free and rejection recipients and between infection and rejection recipients. Ten differential genera were identified by linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe), with Corynebacterium, unclassified Enterococcaceae and unclassified Lactobacillales enriched in recipients with infection, and Rothia, Granulicatella, Neisseria, Actinomyces, Leptotrichia, Lactobacillus and unclassified Aerococcaceae more abundant in LTRs with acute rejection. Random forest analyses indicated that the combination of the 10 microbiota constituents and procalcitonin (PCT) and T-lymphocyte levels showed AUCs of 0.894, 0.955 and 0.913 to differentiate between event-free and infection, event-free and rejection, and infection and rejection recipients, respectively. ConclusionsOur study is the first to compare the airway microbiota between LTRs with infection and acute rejection. The airway microbiota, especially combined with PCT and T-lymphocyte levels, showed satisfactory predictive efficiency in discriminating among clinically stable recipients and those with infection and acute rejection, suggesting that the airway microbiota was an indicator to differentiate between infection and acute rejection after LT.
Long-term outcomes of grade I/II skull base chondrosarcoma: an insight into the role of surgery and upfront radiotherapy
Authors: Hasegawa Hirotaka , Vakharia Kunal , Graffeo Christopher S , Carlson Matthew L , Pollock Bruce E , Brown Paul D , Perry Avital , Gompel Jamie J Van , Driscoll Colin L. W. , Link Michael J 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
PurposeTo clarify the need for post-operative radiation treatment in skull base chondrosarcomas (SBCs).MethodsA retrospective analysis of patients with grade I or II SBC. Patients were divided according to post-surgical treatment strategies: (A) planned upfront radiotherapy and (B) watchful waiting. Tumor control and survival were compared between the treatment groups. The median follow-up after resection was 105 months (range, 9-376).ResultsThirty-two patients (Grade 1, n = 16; Grade 2, n = 16) were included. The most frequent location was petroclival (21, 64%). A gross total resection (GTR) was achieved in 11 patients (34%). Fourteen (44%) underwent upfront radiotherapy (group A) whereas 18 (56%) were followed with serial MRI alone (group B). The tumor control rate for the entire group was 77% and 69% at 10- and 15-year, respectively. Upfront radiotherapy (P = 0.25), extent of resection (P = 0.11) or tumor grade (P = 0.83) did not affect tumor control. The majority of Group B patients with recurrent tumors (5/7) obtained tumor control with repeat resection (n = 2), salvage radiotherapy (n = 2), or a combination of both (n = 1). The 10-year disease-specific survival was 95% with no difference between the group A and B (P = 0.50). ConclusionFor patients with grade I/II SBC, a reasonable strategy is deferral of radiotherapy after maximum safe resection until tumor progression or recurrence. At that time, most patients can be successfully managed with salvage radiotherapy or surgery. Late recurrences may occur, and life-long follow-up is advisable.
A Simple Method of Simultaneously Endowing Paper or Fluff Pulp With Both High Softness or Appropriate Fluffing Properties and Antimicrobial Properties
Authors: Xu Yongjian , Shi Yun , Chen Xuyong , Liu Fenfen , Zhao Wei 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
As the living standard improve, disposable sanitary and living paper requires not only softness or easy to fluff in a dry state, but also good antibacterial property. In this study, a series of alkyl quaternary ammonium salts (AQAS), a kinds of antibacterial-debonding agents, were synthesized by using a two-step process. The SN2 nucleophilic substitution reaction was designed between triethanolamine and sulfoxide chloride, and followed subsequent quaternization by tertiaryamines with different long alkyl chains. The obtained products can be used as an antibacterial and softening/debonding agent for improving the performance of paper or fluff pulp. The results showed that these new compounds can endow antibacterial function and high softness to paper or control appropriate burst strength to fluff pulp board. These AQAS products can be not only used in daily disposable sanitary products, but also have potential applications in other products such as glass spacer paper, advanced household paper, or antibacterial tissue products to prevent microbial contamination.
Everolimus Versus Sirolimus for Angiomyolipoma Associated with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex: A Multi-Institutional Retrospective Study in China
Authors: cong luo , Zhang Yu-shi , Zhang Ming-Xin , Chen Min-Feng , Li Yuan , Qi Lin , Li Han-Zhong , Zu Xiong-Bin , cai yi 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of everolimus and sirolimus in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex-associated angiomyolipomas (TSC-AML).
Materials and Methods

We performed a multi-institutional
retrospective study of TSC-AML patients treated with oral
everolimus or sirolimus.

Angiomyolipoma volume was estimated using orthogonal measurements by MRI or CT. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events. All analyses were performed using SPSS 19.0 software.
Results

There were high response rates in both two groups. With the prolonged medication time, the therapeutic efficacy of two agents became more significant. Everolimus had a more significant TSC-AML volume reduction after 6 and 12 months than sirolimus. More than 1/2 of everolimus patients had ≥ 50% reduction and approximately 80% of them had ≥ 30% reduction, higher than that of the sirolimus patients. Regarding safety, there was no significant difference in the incidence of AEs between the two groups.
And the most common AE was oral
mucositis.
Conclusions

Both everolimus and sirolimus are excellent therapeutic choices for TSC-AML. However, everolimus had a better therapeutic efficacy than sirolimus, especially in reducing TSC-AML volume. Therefore, everolimus is recommended as the first choice.
Case of Breast Cancer Discovered by Repeated Hematomas After Blunt Trauma to the Breast
Authors: Wang Zhaorui , Wang Jingjing , Sun Qiang , Pei Jing 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: Breast hematoma is a manifestation of blunt force injury to the breast. Hematomas without obvious clinical complications were treated conservatively and most of them were self-healing. If there is no history of tumor and no need for emergency treatment, the possibility of tumor is often ignored by clinicians due to the history of trauma. The repeated hematoma in this case did not attract the attention of the clinician, and the lack of cytological and histological examination is a mistake. This case gives us more clues that recurrent hematomas in the breast need to be looked for abnormal causes.Case presentation: This study describes a 62-year-old woman who underwent 6 times of puncture drainage and local compression bandaging for a breast hematoma caused by blunt chest trauma. After each treatment, hematoma was restored to its original size and about 200 ml of blood was drained each time. Hematoma resection was performed 7 months later and the patient was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cytology and histological examination were not performed during the seven months, and patient’s early diagnosis and treatment were delayed. Conclusions: Recurring hematoma of the breast requires active search for the cause of abnormal bleeding, and tumor bleeding is a key point that cannot be ignored.
G-Cocktail: An Algorithm to Address Cocktail Party Problem of Gujarati Language using CatBoost
Authors: Gupta Monika , Singh R K , Singh Sachin 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
The pandemic caused due to COVID-19, has seen things going online. People tired of typing prefer to give voice commands. Most of the voice based applications and devices are not prepared to handle the native languages. Moreover, in a party environment it is difficult to identify a voice command as there are many speakers. The proposed work addresses the Cocktail party problem of Indian language, Gujarati. The voice response systems like, Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant as of now work on single voice command. The proposed algorithm G- Cocktail would help these applications to identify command given in Gujarati even from a mixed voice signal. Benchmark Dataset is taken from Microsoft and Linguistic Data Consortium for Indian Languages(LDC-IL) comprising single words and phrases. G-Cocktail utilizes the power of CatBoost algorithm to classify and identify the voice. Voice print of the entire sound files is created using Pitch, and Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC). Seventy percent of the voice prints are used to train the network and thirty percent for testing. The proposed work is tested and compared with K-means, Naïve Bayes, and LightGBM.
From Waste to Reuse: Manufacture of Ecological Composites Based on Biopolyethylene/Wood Powder with PE-g-MA and Macaíba oil
Authors: Silva Fabiano Santana da , Luna Carlos Bruno Barreto , Siqueira D D , Ferreira Eduardo , Araujo Edcleide Maria 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
This work aimed to investigate the biopolyethylene (BioPE)/wood powder (WP) composites compatibilized with polyethylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA), using macaíba oil (OM) as a processing aid. The composites were prepared, initially, in an internal mixer and, later, the crushed flakes were molded by injection. Mechanical properties (impact, tensile, flexural and Shore D hardness), heat deflection temperature (HDT), Vicat softening temperature, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG), water absorption, torque rheometry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were evaluated. The addition of 30% wood powder to the BioPE matrix increased the elastic modulus (tensile and flexural), Shore D hardness and heat deflection temperature (HDT), compared to neat BioPE. These properties were improved when 10% of the PE-g-MA compatibilizer was added, compared to neat BioPE and the non-compatibilized composite. There was a significant reduction in the torque of the composites with the addition of macaíba oil, indicating that it improved the processability. In addition, the incorporation of macaíba oil into the composites helped to reduce water absorption, as well as to increase impact strength. SEM micrographs illustrated a greater degree of interfacial adhesion when PE-g-MA and macaiba oil were added.
Microwave-assisted synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic performance of Bi2O2CO3 nanoplates
Authors: Plubphon Nitjawan , Thongtem Somchai , Phuruangrat Anukorn , Randorn Chamnan , Thongtem Titipun 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
In this research, Bi2O2CO3 (BOC) nanoplates as a semiconductor-based photocatalyst composed of [Bi2O2]2+ configuration layers were used for environmental treatment. Highly crystalline and pure phase of BOC nanoplates were successfully synthesized by a microwave-assisted method. Effect of irradiation time and microwave heating power on phase, purity, crystallinity, particle size and morphology of the as-synthesized products was investigated. The as-synthesized BOC nanoplates were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. Upon increasing microwave heating power, purity and crystallinity of the as-synthesized products were improved. Due to the existence of double internal electric field, the separation of photo-induced charged carriers was enhanced, leading to promote photocatalytic activity of the BOC nanoplates in degrading of methyl orange (MO) under UV radiation. The highest photocatalytic performance was achieved by using the BOC nanoplates synthesized by 600 W microwave for 60 min. A formation mechanism of BOC nanoplates was also proposed and discussed according to the experimental results.
Higher PEEP versus Lower PEEP Strategies for Patients in ICU without Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Yi Hongyu , Li Xiaoming , Mao Zhi , Liu Chao , Hu Xin , Song Rengjie , Qi Shuang , Zhou Feihu 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background: The application of high PEEP remains to be a controversial issue when it comes to ICU patients underwent ventilation. There are studies supporting the usage of high PEEP in patients with ARDS, while for those without ARDS, the conclusion is of great ambiguity. We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the effects of high and low level of PEEP on ICU patients without ARDS.Methods: We searched public databases (including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Clinicaltrial.gov) to find eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary outcomes included in this meta-analysis were in-hospital mortality, 28-day mortality and the duration of ventilation, ICU stay, and hospital stay. We used the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool to evaluate risk of bias. Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA) was conducted. Results: We included 2307 patients from 24 trials using high and low PEEP. Although no significant difference was found between high and low PEEP applications in in-hospital mortality (risk ratio[RR] 0.98, 95% confidence interval[CI] [0.81, 1.19], P=0.87), 28-day mortality (RR 0.68, 95% CI [0.33, 1.40], P=0.30) and the duration of ventilation (mean difference[MD] -0.30, 95% CI [-0.64, 0.04], P=0.09), ICU stay (MD -0.38, 95% CI [-1.03, 0.27], P=0.25), and hospital stay (MD -0.56, 95% CI [-1.44, 0.32], P=0.22), high PEEP indeed increased the level of PaO2/FIO2 (MD 32.39, 95% CI [13.06, 51.72], P=0.001), and therefore decreased the incidences of ARDS (RR 0.57, 95% CI [0.37, 0.89], P=0.01) and hypoxaemia (RR 0.60, 95% CI [0.41, 0.88], P=0.009). In addition, although total results did not reveal the advantage of high PEEP on other secondary outcomes regarding atelectasis, barotrauma, ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), hypotension, mean arterial pressure (MAP), SaO2 and lactate, subgroup analysis seemed to obtain different results. The TSA results suggested more RCTs were needed. Conclusion: Ventilation with high PEEP in ICU patients without ARDS may improve the level of oxygenation (PaO2/FIO2) resulting in low incidences of ARDS and hypoxaemia. Nevertheless, other clinical outcomes including in-hospital and 28-day mortality, duration of ventilation, ICU stay and hospital stay, pulmonary complications, hemodynamics and post-operative fluid balance did not show any significant difference.