bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Impact of Demographic, Clinical, and Treatment Compliance Characteristics on Quality of Life of Venezuelan Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Authors: Carrión-Nessi Fhabián S. , Marcano-Rojas María V. , Arocha Sinibaldo R. Romero , Millán Daniela L. Mendoza , Forero-Peña David A. , Antuarez-Magallanes Allen W. , Snih Soham Al , Rodríguez Martín A. , Fuentes-Silva Yurilís J. 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
BackgroundWe have here assessed the impact of demographic, clinical, and treatment compliance characteristics on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Venezuelan patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We have used a disease-specific questionnaire, the Lupus Quality of Life (LupusQoL), validated in our patient population, to measure HRQoL.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 patients with SLE from outpatient clinic. Patients completed a form with demographic, clinical, and treatment compliance data, and the LupusQoL questionnaire. HRQoL was classified as better or worse according to the cutoff points previously established for this patient population. Spearman’s r test was used to determine the correlations between age, years of education, disease duration, SLEDAI, and SLICC-DI with the eight domains of the LupusQoL. Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare HRQoL between the two groups of patients according to treatment compliance. Binomial logistic regression using the backward successive step selection method was performed to identified the risk factors associated with each of the eight domains of the LupusQoL between patients with inactive SLE (SLEDAI < 4) and active (SLEDAI ≥ 4).ResultsHRQoL of our patients was classified as better in all domains of the LupusQoL. Age correlated negatively with all domains of the LupusQoL, except with “burden to others”, and disease activity correlated negatively with all domains of the LupusQoL, except with “intimate relationships” and “burden to others” (p < 0.05). Patients who fully complied with indicated treatment had higher scores in “physical health” domain compared to patients who did not comply with at least one of the prescribed medications (p < 0.05). In patients with active SLE, a risk factor associated with worse “planning” and “intimate relationships” was older age, while having had SLE flare-ups in the previous six months was a risk factor associated with worse “physical health” (p < 0.05).ConclusionAge and disease activity were negatively correlated with almost all domains of the LupusQoL, and treatment compliance was associated with higher score in the “physical health” domain. Disease control and treatment compliance should be the main goals for a better HRQoL in our patients with SLE.
Susceptibility of Bacterial Endophthalmitis Isolates to Vancomycin, Ceftazidime, and Amikacin
Authors: Chen Kuan-Jen , Sun Ming-Hui , Hou Chiun-Ho , Chen Hung-Chi , Chen Yen-Po , Wang Nan-Kai , Liu Laura , Wu Wei-Chi , Chou Hung-Da , Kang Eugene Yu-Chuan , Lai Chi-Chun 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Bacterial endophthalmitis is a rare intraocular infection, and prompt administration of intravitreal antibiotics is crucial for preventing severe vision loss. The retrospective study is to investigate the in vitro susceptibility to the antibiotics vancomycin, amikacin, and ceftazidime of bacterial endophthalmitis isolates in specimens at a tertiary referral center from January 1996 to April 2019 in Taiwan. Overall, 450 (49.9%) isolates were gram positive, 447 (49.6%) were gram negative, and 4 (0.4%) were gram variable. In gram-positive isolates, coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most commonly cultured bacteria (158, 35.1%), followed by streptococci (100, 22.2%), enterococci (75, 16.7%), and Staphylococcus aureus (70, 15.6%). In gram-negative isolates, they were Klebsiella pneumoniae (166, 37.1%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (131, 29.3%). All gram-positive organisms were susceptible to vancomycin, with the exception of one Enterococcus faecium isolate (1/450, 0.2%). Of the gram-negative isolates, 96.9% and 93.7% were susceptible to ceftazidime and amikacin, respectively. Nine isolates (9/447, 2.0%) were multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria, comprising Klebsiella pneumoniae (4/164, 2.4%), Acinetobacter baumannii (2/3, 67%), and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (3/18, 17%). In conclusion, in vitro susceptibility testing revealed that vancomycin remains the suitable antibiotic treatment for gram-positive endophthalmitis. Ceftazidime and amikacin provide approximately the same degree of gram-negative coverage. Multidrug-resistant bacterial endophthalmitis was uncommon.
Regulating the T7 RNA Polymerase Expression in E. coli BL21 (DE3) to Provide More Host Options for Recombinant Protein Production
Authors: Xu Ying-Shuang , Du Fei , Li Zi-Jia , Wang Yu-Zhou , Zhang Zi-Xu , Sun Xiao-Man , Huang He 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Escherichia coli is the most widely used bacterium in prokaryotic expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. In BL21 (DE3), the gene encoding the T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP) is under control of the strong lacUV5 promoter (PLacUV5), which produces more T7 RNAP than wild-type lac promoter (PLacWT) to promote the production of recombinant proteins. However, there is a resource allocated limitation between cell growth and protein production when producing autolytic proteins or membrane proteins. T7 RNAP is the key factor to solve this problem. Hence, we replaced respectively PLacUV5 with other inducible promoters: arabinose promoter (ParaBAD), rhamnose promoter (PrhaBAD), tetracycline promoter (Ptet) to optimize the production of recombinant protein by regulating the transcription level of T7 RNAP. Compared with BL21 (DE3), the constructed engineering strains had higher sensitivity to inducers, among which rhamnose and tetracycline promoters had the lowest leakage ability. In the glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) production, the engineered strains BL21 (DE3::tet) exhibited great biomass, cell survival rate and foreign protein expression level. In addition, these engineered strains had been successfully applied to the production of other membrane proteins, including E. coli cytosine transporter protein (CodB), the E. coli membrane protein insertase/foldase (YidC), and E. coli F-ATPase subunit b (Ecb). The engineering strains constructed in this paper provided more host choices for the production of recombinant proteins.
Visualization of microRNA-21 Dynamics in Neuroblastoma Cells Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based on a microRNA-21-responsive Reporter Gene
Authors: Bao Guangcheng , Sun Jun , Huang Jie , Zheng Helin , Wei Jie , Fu Yuanqiao , Qiu Jiawen , Hou Jingxin , Zou Xuefeng , Xiang Bin , Cai Jinhua 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background: MicroRNAs (miRs) have been shown to be closely associated with the occurrence and development of tumors and to have potential as diagnostic and therapeutic targets. The detection and quantification of miRs by noninvasive imaging technology is crucial for deeply understanding their biological functions. Our aim was to develop a novel miR-21-responsive gene reporter system for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visualization of the miR-21 dynamics in neuroblastoma.Methods: The reporter gene ferritin heavy chain (FTH1) was modified by the addition of 3 copies of the sequence completely complementary to miR-21 (3xC_miR-21) to its 3'-untranslated region (3' UTR) and transduced into SK-N-SH cells to obtain SK-N-SH/FTH1-3xC_miR-21 cells. Then, the antagomiR-21 was delivered into cells by graphene oxide functionalized with polyethylene glycol and dendrimer. Before and after antagomiR-21 delivery, FTH1 expression, MRI contrast and intracellular iron uptake were assayed in vitro and in vivo.Results: In the SK-N-SH/FTH1-3xC_miR-21 cells, FTH1 expression was in an “off” state due to the combination of intratumoral miR-21 with the 3' UTR of the reporter gene. AntagomiR-21 delivered into the cells bound to miR-21 and thereby released it from the 3' UTR of the reporter gene, thus “switching on” FTH1 expression in a dose-dependent manner. This phenomenon resulted in intracellular iron accumulation and allowed MRI detection in vitro and in vivo.Conclusions: MRI based on the miR-21-responsive gene reporter may be a potential method for visualization of the endogenous miR-21 dynamics.
miR-145-5p Mimic Inhibits Bone Metastasis of Prostate Cancer Via the Regulation of Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition
Authors: Luo Bingfeng , Yuan Yuan , Hou Jian , Kuang Guanming , Li Ping , Zhu Yifei , Yi Xiang , Xing Yaping , Lo Richard , Lu Zhenquan 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background: The bone is the most common site of distant metastasis in prostate cancer. However, treatments for the bone metastasis of prostate cancer remain unsatisfactory. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that play a variety of critical roles in tumor development and progression. Studies have confirmed that miRNA mimics could regulate the response to therapy in many cancers. Methods: In this study, a set of forty-four miRNAs were reduced in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases by high-throughput sequencing analysis. Wound healing, transwell assays and western blotting analysis were used to explore the role of miRNA mimic in prostate cancer bone metastasis. Results: Further gene ontology and pathway analysis showed that these miRNAs target genes are mainly involved in cellular metabolic process, intracellular membrane-bounded organelle, as well as proteoglycans in cancer and focal adhesion. Therefore, these down-regulated miRNAs may play a key role for prostate cancer bone metastasis treatment, including hsa-miR-221-3p, hsa-miR-222-3p, hsa-miR-133a-3p, hsa-miR-222-5p, hsa-miR-204-3p, hsa-miR-145-5p, hsa-miR-3681-5p, hsa-miR-184, hsa-miR-144-3p, hsa-miR-204-5p, and hsa-miR-221-5p. To further investigate the role of these miRNA mimics on prostate cancer bone metastasis, miR-145-5p was randomly selected for validation. Bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-145-5p target genes significantly affected TGF-beta and adherens junction signaling pathway. Wound healing and transwell assays and western blotting analysis revealed that miR-145-5p mimic inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion. Importantly, miR-145-5p mimic increased the expression of E-cadherin and reduced the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and 9. These results revealed that miR-145-5p mimic mediated epithelial mesenchymal transition. Meanwhile, miR-145-5p mimic enhanced the level of caspase 9, which is an important promoter of apoptosis. Conclusions: These results indicate that miR-145-5p mimic could inhibit the progress of prostate cancer bone metastasis via regulation of epithelial mesenchymal transition. In addition, miR-145-5p mimic could induce the apoptosis of prostate cancer cells with bone metastases. In summary, the miR-145-5p mimic is expected to become a novel strategy for the treatment of tumor metastasis.
Near-Source Magnitude Scaling of Spectral Accelerations: Analysis and Update of Kotha et al. (2020) Model
Authors: Kotha Sreeram Reddy , Weatherill Graeme , Bindi Dino , Cotton Fabrice 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Ground-motion models (GMMs) are often used to predict the random distribution of spectral accelerations (SAs) at a site due to an earthquake at a distance. In probabilistic seismic hazard and risk assessment, large earthquakes occurring close to a site are considered as critical scenarios. GMMs are expected to perform well for such rare scenarios i.e., to predict realistic SAs with low prediction uncertainty. However, the datasets used to regress GMMs are usually deficient of data from rare/critical scenarios. The Kotha et al. (2020) GMM developed from the Engineering Strong Motion (ESM) dataset was found to predict decreasing short-period SAs with increasing \({M}_{W}\ge {M}_{h}=6.2\), and with large within-model uncertainty at near-source distances \({R}_{JB}\le 30km\). In this study, we analysed and updated the parametrisation of the GMM based on non-parametric and parametric analyses of ESM and the NEar Source Strong motion (NESS) datasets. By reducing \({M}_{h}\) to 5.7, we could rectify the \({M}_{W}\) scaling issue, while also reducing the within-model uncertainty on predictions at \({M}_{W}\ge 6.2\). We then evaluated the updated GMM against NESS data, and found that the SAs from a few large, thrust-faulting events in California, New Zealand, Japan, and Mexico are significantly higher than GMM median predictions. However, near-source recordings of these events were mostly made on soft-soil geology and contain anisotropic pulse-like effects. A more thorough non-ergodic treatment of NESS was not possible because most sites sampled unique events in very diverse tectonic environments. Therefore, for now, we provide an updated set of GMM coefficients, within-model uncertainty, and heteroskedastic variance models.
Transarterial Chemoembolization Improves Survival in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Treated with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Plus Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Authors: Hu Yue , Pan Tao , Cai Xi , He Quansheng , Zheng Yubao , Hu Bing , Jiang Ting , Huang Mingsheng , Jiang Zaibo , Chen Junwei , Wu Chun 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
BackgroundThe survival benefit and safety of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) for advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is unclear. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of TACE combined with TKIs and ICIs the treatment of advanced HCC. MethodsIn this study, the conditions of 147 patients with advanced HCC who underwent TKIs plus ICIs treatment between July 2017 and April 2020 were evaluated. We divided these patients into the TACE group and non-TACE group based on whether they were treated with TACE during TKIs plus ICIs treatment, and compared their survival outcomes, especially overall survival (OS), and whether they were exposed to unexpected toxicities. ResultsIn this study, a total of 98 patients who underwent TACE during TKIs plus ICIs treatment were included in the TACE group, while the other 49 patients were included in the non-TACE group. According to the Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST), the objective response rate (ORR) of the TACE group was higher than that of the non-TACE group (ORR 74.5% vs. 40.8%, p ＜0.001). The OS of the TACE group was significantly longer than the non-TACE group (OS 19.3 months vs. 10.8 months, p = 0.010). The incidence of grade 3-4 toxicities in the TACE group was similar to that in the non-TACE group (33.7% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.532). ConclusionsThe TACE treatment combined with TKIs plus ICIs resulted in longer OS compared to the treatment of systemic TKIs plus ICIs without TACE during the process of advanced HCC.
Influence of Coracoglenoid Space on the Stability of Scapular Neck Fractures: Biomechanical Study
Authors: Chen Junfeng , Zhang Wei , Pang Gang , Meng Qingling , Zhu Youyu , Deng Xuefei 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background: The anatomical variation of the coracoglenoid space has the potential to influence the stability of scapular neck fractures. This paper aimed to investigate the path-mechanical mechanisms of different types of coracoglenoid space on the scapular neck fractures by morphometric analysis and biomechanical experiments.Methods: A total of 68 dry scapulae (left: 36; right: 32) were collected, the types of coracoglenoid space delimited by a boundary based on the ratio of the mean values of CGD to the mean values of CGN. Each specimen of a different type was under static axial compressive load test to failure. The average failure loads, stiffness, and energy for each specimen were calculated.Results: Two types of coracoglenoid space were identified. The incidence of Type Ⅰ (2.4 < ratio ≤ 3.5) (‘‘hook’’ shape) was found to be 53%, that of Type Ⅱ (3.5 < ratio ≤ 5.0) (‘‘square bracket’’ shape) was found to be 47%. There was no statistically significant difference in the two types between different body sides (P > 0.05). The average maximum failure load of these two types was 1270.82 ± 318.85 N and 1529.18 ± 467.29 N, respectively (P = 0.011). The measures of the average failure stiffness and energy of Type Ⅱ were significantly higher than Type Ⅰ (896.75 ± 281.14 N/mm vs. 692.91 ± 217.9 5N/mm, P = 0.001; 2100.38 ± 649.54 N⋅mm vs. 1712.71 ± 626.02 N⋅mm, P = 0.015, respectively).Conclusions: The variation of coracoglenoid space is large in different individuals, hook-like space is associated with fewer forces, stiffness, and energy, which constitute an anatomical predisposition to the scapular neck fractures.
Real-time Nonlinear Parameter Estimation and Tracking Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Closed-Loop
Authors: Imran Imil Hamda , Stolkin Rustam , Montazeri Allahyar 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The real-time unknown parameter estimation and adaptive tracking control problem are investigated in this paper for a six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) of under-actuated quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A virtual proportional derivative (PD) is designed to maintain the translational dynamics. Two adaptive schemes are developed to handle the attitude dynamics of UAV with several unknown parameters. In the beginning, a classical adaptive scheme using the certainty equivalence principle is proposed and designed. The idea is to design a controller for an ideal situation by assuming the unknown parameter was known. Then the unknown parameter is replaced by its estimation. A theoretical analysis is provided to ensure the trajectory tracking of the adaptive controller. However, an inherent drawback of this scheme is that there is no guarantee for the estimated parameters to converge to the actual values. To address this issue, a new adaptive approach is developed as the next step by adding a continuous function to the control structure. The proposed technique guarantees handling of parametric uncertainties with an appropriate design manifold. The rigorous analytical proof and numerical simulation analyses are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control design.
MiR-4303 relieves chondrocyte inflammation by targeting ASPN in osteoarthritis
Authors: Wang Chunyu , Li Wang , Guan Xingfa , Yue Changfeng 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a severe articular cartilage disease whose pathogenesis involves the inflammation of chondrocytes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered to be effective inflammation regulators. However, the regulatory mechanism of miRNAs in osteoarthritis needs to be further elucidated. In this paper, we aim to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which miR-4303 regulates osteoarthritis.
Methods

RT-qPCR is performed to detect the levels of miR-4303, ASPN, PDIA3, PIK3CA, and TRAF3; CCK-8 assay is conducted to evaluate chondrocyte viability; EdU assay was carried to assess chondrocyte proliferation; western blot is conducted to measure the levels of ASPN, PCNA, Ki-67, CyclinA1, CyclinB1, CyclinD2, p27, Bax, Bcl-2, cleaved caspase-3, and Cleaved caspase-9 proteins; FACs is performed to detect the distribution of chondrocytes in each cell cycle and chondrocyte apoptosis; ELISA is conducted to assess the levels of TNF-β, IL-1β and IL-6 in the supernatant of chondrocytes; the potential binding sites of miR-4303 and ASPN are predicted by miRDB software, which is confirmed by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay.
Results

Our findings illustrated that miR-4303 was down-regulated in arthritic tissues and LPS-induced chondrocytes; miR-4303 overexpression rescued LPS-induced chondrocyte viability, proliferation and cell cycle and alleviated LPS-induced chondrocyte apoptosis; miR-4303 overexpression inhibited the release of inflammatory factors in LPS-induced chondrocytes; miR-4303 targeted ASPN and miR-4303 relieved chondrocyte inflammation via targeting ASPN.
Conclusion

MiR-4303 serves as a prognostic biomarker and relieves chondrocyte inflammation via targeting ASPN. Our findings provide novel prognostic biomarkers in predicting the progression and prognosis of osteoarthritis.
Medial Temporal Lobe Contributions to Resting-State Networks
Authors: Seoane Sara , Modroño Cristián , Mora José Luis González , Janssen Niels 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The medial temporal lobe (MTL) is a set of interconnected brain regions that have been shown to play a central role in behavior as well as in neurological disease. Recent studies using resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rsfMRI) have attempted to understand the MTL in terms of its functional connectivity with the rest of the brain. However, the exact characterization of the whole-brain networks that co-activate with the MTL as well as how the various sub-regions of the MTL are associated with these networks remains poorly understood. Here we attempted to advance these issues by exploiting the high spatial-resolution 7T rsfMRI dataset from the Human Connectome Project with a data-driven analysis approach that relied on Independent Component Analysis (ICA) restricted to the MTL. We found that four different well-known resting-state networks co-activated with a unique configuration of MTL subcomponents. Specifically, we found that different sections of the parahippocampal cortex were involved in the default mode, visual and dorsal attention networks, sections of the hippocampus in the somatomotor and default mode networks, and the lateral entorhinal cortex in the dorsal attention network. We replicated this set of results in a validation sample. These results provide new insight into how the MTL and its subcomponents contribute to known resting-state networks. The participation of the MTL in an expanded range of resting-state networks requires a rethink of its presumed role in behavior and disease.
Association of Epicardial Adipose Tissue with Essential Hypertension: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Zou Xinyu , Li Yingrui , She Qiang , Liu Bin 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
Background and aims: Increased epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has been proposed as a risk factor for essential hypertension (EH). The aim of this study was to investigate the association of EAT with EH.Methods and results: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were systematically reviewed to identify relevant studies assessing the association of EAT thickness (EAT-t) and volume (EAT-v) with EH. There were 39 observational studies and 8,983 subjects included in the meta-analysis. The analysis indicated that hypertensive patients had a higher mean of EAT-t (SMD=0.64, 95% CI: 0.44-0.83, p<0.001) and EAT-v (SMD: 0.69, 95% CI:0.34-0.1.05, p<0.001) than normotensive individuals. Accordingly, we calculated pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association of EAT with EH, and the results showed that EAT-t (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.09–2.33, P<0.001) and EAT-v (OR: 1.82, 95% CI: 1.33–2.19, P<0.001) were associated with essential hypertension. Additionally, higher mean of EAT-t (SMD=0.85, 95% CI=0.49-0.1.21, p<0.001) and EAT-v (SMD=0.83, 95% CI=0.31-1.34, p=0.002) were found in non-dipper hypertensive patients than those in dipper patients, but we didn’t find significant difference in EAT-t among patients with different grades of hypertension. We also investigated the association of EAT with complications in hypertensive patients, and the results showed that EAT was increased in patients with arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction than those without. Conclusions: The increase in EAT was associated with the occurrence and complications of EH. The findings provide new information regarding the occurrence and complications of EH.