bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Utility of Fibroscan XL to assess the severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients undergoing bariatric surgery
Authors: Yang Andrew , Nguyen Melinda , Ju Irene , Brancatisano Anthony , Ryan Brendan , van der Poorten David 
Published: July 2021

AbstractSignificant weight loss can modify the progression of Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with the most convincing evidence coming from bariatric surgery cohorts. Effective ways to non-invasively characterise NAFLD in these patients has been lacking, with high Fibroscan failure rates reported. We prospectively evaluated the utility of Fibroscan using XL-probe over a two-year period. 190 consecutive patients undergoing bariatric surgery were followed as part of their routine care. All patients had Fibroscan performed on the day of surgery and at follow-up a mean of 13 months (± 6.3) later. The majority of patients were female (82%) with mean age of 42. Fibroscan was successful in 167 (88%) at baseline and 100% at follow up. Patients with a failed Fibroscan had higher body mass index (BMI) and alanine transaminase (ALT), but no difference in FIB-4/NAFLD score. Mean baseline Liver stiffness measurement was 5.1 kPa, with 87% of patients classified as no fibrosis and 4% as advanced fibrosis. Mean baseline controlled attenuation parameter was 291, with 78% having significant steatosis, 56% of which was moderate-severe. Significant fibrosis was associated with higher BMI and HbA1c. Significant steatosis was associated with higher BMI, ALT, triglycerides and insulin resistance. Mean follow up time was 12 months with weight loss of 25.7% and BMI reduction of 10.4 kg/m2. Seventy patients had repeat fibroscan with reductions in steatosis seen in 90% and fibrosis in 67%. Sixty-four percent had complete resolution of steatosis. Fibroscan can be performed reliably in bariatric cohorts and is useful at baseline and follow-up. Significant steatosis, but not fibrosis was seen in this cohort with substantial improvements post-surgery.
Breeding of Cav2.3 deficient mice reveals Mendelian inheritance in contrast to complex inheritance in Cav3.2 null mutant breeding
Authors: Papazoglou Anna , Henseler Christina , Broich Karl , Daubner Johanna , Weiergräber Marco 
Published: July 2021

AbstractHigh voltage-activated Cav2.3 R-type Ca2+ channels and low voltage-activated Cav3.2 T-type Ca2+ channels were reported to be involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes. Many of these findings are based on studies in Cav2.3 and Cav3.2 deficient mice. Recently, it has been proposed that inbreeding of Cav2.3 and Cav3.2 deficient mice exhibits significant deviation from Mendelian inheritance and might be an indication for potential prenatal lethality in these lines. In our study, we analyzed 926 offspring from Cav3.2 breedings and 1142 offspring from Cav2.3 breedings. Our results demonstrate that breeding of Cav2.3 deficient mice shows typical Mendelian inheritance and that there is no indication of prenatal lethality. In contrast, Cav3.2 breeding exhibits a complex inheritance pattern. It might be speculated that the differences in inheritance, particularly for Cav2.3 breeding, are related to other factors, such as genetic specificities of the mutant lines, compensatory mechanisms and altered sperm activity.
Mixed and nonvaccine high risk HPV types are associated with higher mortality in Black women with cervical cancer
Authors: Mendoza Rachelle P. , Haidary Tahmineh , Gabutan Elmer , Zhou Ying Yin , Bukhari Zaheer , Connelly Courtney , Lee Wen-Ching , Lee Yi-Chun , Wadgaonkar Raj , Agrawal Raag , Haseeb M. A. , Gupta Raavi 
Published: July 2021

AbstractWe studied the incidence of HPV genotypes in mostly Black women with cervical carcinoma and correlated histopathologic tumor characteristics, immune markers and clinical data with survival. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were recorded for 60 months post-diagnosis. Fifty four of the 60 (90%) patients were Black and 36 (60%) were < 55 years of age. Of the 40 patients with typeable HPV genotypes, 10 (25%) had 16/18 HPV genotypes, 30 (75%) had one of the non-16/18 HPV genotypes, and 20 (50%) had one of the 7 genotypes (35, 39, 51, 53, 56, 59 and 68) that are not included in the nonavalent vaccine. Mixed HPV infections (≥ 2 types) were found in 11/40 (27.5%) patients. Patients infected with non-16/18 genotypes, including the most common genotype, HPV 35, had significantly shorter DFS and OS. PD-L1 (p = 0.003), MMR expression (p = 0.01), clinical stage (p = 0.048), histologic grade (p = 0.015) and mixed HPV infection (p = 0.026) were independent predictors of DFS. A remarkably high proportion of cervical cancer cells in our patients expressed PD-L1 which opens the possibility of the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat these cancers. Exclusion of the common HPV genotypes from the vaccine exacerbates mortality from cervical cancer in underserved Black patients.
Informing selection of drugs for COVID-19 treatment through adverse events analysis
Authors: Guo Wenjing , Pan Bohu , Sakkiah Sugunadevi , Ji Zuowei , Yavas Gokhan , Lu Yanhui , Komatsu Takashi E. , Lal-Nag Madhu , Tong Weida , Patterson Tucker A. , Hong Huixiao 
Published: July 2021

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing pandemic and there is an urgent need for safe and effective drugs for COVID-19 treatment. Since developing a new drug is time consuming, many approved or investigational drugs have been repurposed for COVID-19 treatment in clinical trials. Therefore, selection of safe drugs for COVID-19 patients is vital for combating this pandemic. Our goal was to evaluate the safety concerns of drugs by analyzing adverse events reported in post-market surveillance. We collected 296 drugs that have been evaluated in clinical trials for COVID-19 and identified 28,597,464 associated adverse events at the system organ classes (SOCs) level in the FDA adverse events report systems (FAERS). We calculated Z-scores of SOCs that statistically quantify the relative frequency of adverse events of drugs in FAERS to quantitatively measure safety concerns for the drugs. Analyzing the Z-scores revealed that these drugs are associated with different significantly frequent adverse events. Our results suggest that this safety concern metric may serve as a tool to inform selection of drugs with favorable safety profiles for COVID-19 patients in clinical practices. Caution is advised when administering drugs with high Z-scores to patients who are vulnerable to associated adverse events.
Clinical characterization of dysautonomia in long COVID-19 patients
Authors: Barizien Nicolas , Le Guen Morgan , Russel Stéphanie , Touche Pauline , Huang Florent , Vallée Alexandre 
Published: July 2021

AbstractIncreasing numbers of COVID-19 patients, continue to experience symptoms months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19. Amongst these symptoms, several are related to neurological manifestations, including fatigue, anosmia, hypogeusia, headaches and hypoxia. However, the involvement of the autonomic nervous system, expressed by a dysautonomia, which can aggregate all these neurological symptoms has not been prominently reported. Here, we hypothesize that dysautonomia, could occur in secondary COVID-19 infection, also referred to as “long COVID” infection. 39 participants were included from December 2020 to January 2021 for assessment by the Department of physical medicine to enhance their physical capabilities: 12 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis and fatigue, 15 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis without fatigue and 12 control participants without COVID-19 diagnosis and without fatigue. Heart rate variability (HRV) during a change in position is commonly measured to diagnose autonomic dysregulation. In this cohort, to reflect HRV, parasympathetic/sympathetic balance was estimated using the NOL index, a multiparameter artificial intelligence-driven index calculated from extracted physiological signals by the PMD-200 pain monitoring system. Repeated-measures mixed-models testing group effect were performed to analyze NOL index changes over time between groups. A significant NOL index dissociation over time between long COVID-19 participants with fatigue and control participants was observed (p = 0.046). A trend towards significant NOL index dissociation over time was observed between long COVID-19 participants without fatigue and control participants (p = 0.109). No difference over time was observed between the two groups of long COVID-19 participants (p = 0.904). Long COVID-19 participants with fatigue may exhibit a dysautonomia characterized by dysregulation of the HRV, that is reflected by the NOL index measurements, compared to control participants. Dysautonomia may explain the persistent symptoms observed in long COVID-19 patients, such as fatigue and hypoxia.
Trial registration: The study was approved by the Foch IRB: IRB00012437 (Approval Number: 20-12-02) on December 16, 2020.
Word learning dogs (Canis familiaris) provide an animal model for studying exceptional performance
Authors: Fugazza Claudia , Dror Shany , Sommese Andrea , Temesi Andrea , Miklósi Ádám 
Published: July 2021

AbstractExceptional performance is present in various human activities but its origins are debated and challenging to study. We report evidence of exceptional performance and qualitative variation in learning object-names in dogs. 34 naïve family dogs and 6 knowledgeable individuals that knew multiple toy names, found in 2 years of search around the Globe, were exposed to 3 months of training to learn two novel toy-names and were tested in two-way choice tests. Only 1 naïve and all 6 knowledgeable dogs passed the tests. Additionally, only these dogs learned at least 10 new toy names over the 3 months, showing qualitative variation in this capacity. Although previous object-name knowledge could provide an explanation for the superior performance of the knowledgeable dogs, their rarity and the absence of previous training of this skill point to exceptional giftedness in these individuals, providing the basis to establish dogs as a model-species for studying talent.
Two human metabolites rescue a C. elegans model of Alzheimer’s disease via a cytosolic unfolded protein response
Authors: Joshi Priyanka , Perni Michele , Limbocker Ryan , Mannini Benedetta , Casford Sam , Chia Sean , Habchi Johnny , Labbadia Johnathan , Dobson Christopher M. , Vendruscolo Michele 
Published: July 2021

AbstractAge-related changes in cellular metabolism can affect brain homeostasis, creating conditions that are permissive to the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Although the roles of metabolites have been extensively studied with regard to cellular signaling pathways, their effects on protein aggregation remain relatively unexplored. By computationally analysing the Human Metabolome Database, we identified two endogenous metabolites, carnosine and kynurenic acid, that inhibit the aggregation of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ) and rescue a C. elegans model of Alzheimer’s disease. We found that these metabolites act by triggering a cytosolic unfolded protein response through the transcription factor HSF-1 and downstream chaperones HSP40/J-proteins DNJ-12 and DNJ-19. These results help rationalise previous observations regarding the possible anti-ageing benefits of these metabolites by providing a mechanism for their action. Taken together, our findings provide a link between metabolite homeostasis and protein homeostasis, which could inspire preventative interventions against neurodegenerative disorders.
High concentrations of dissolved biogenic methane associated with cyanobacterial blooms in East African lake surface water
Authors: Fazi Stefano , Amalfitano Stefano , Venturi Stefania , Pacini Nic , Vazquez Eusebi , Olaka Lydia A. , Tassi Franco , Crognale Simona , Herzsprung Peter , Lechtenfeld Oliver J. , Cabassi Jacopo , Capecchiacci Francesco , Rossetti Simona , Yakimov Michail M. , Vaselli Orlando , Harper David M. , Butturini Andrea 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe contribution of oxic methane production to greenhouse gas emissions from lakes is globally relevant, yet uncertainties remain about the levels up to which methanogenesis can counterbalance methanotrophy by leading to CH4 oversaturation in productive surface waters. Here, we explored the biogeochemical and microbial community variation patterns in a meromictic soda lake, in the East African Rift Valley (Kenya), showing an extraordinarily high concentration of methane in oxic waters (up to 156 µmol L−1). Vertical profiles of dissolved gases and their isotopic signature indicated a biogenic origin of CH4. A bloom of Oxyphotobacteria co-occurred with abundant hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic methanogens, mostly found within suspended aggregates promoting the interactions between Bacteria, Cyanobacteria, and Archaea. Moreover, aggregate sedimentation appeared critical in connecting the lake compartments through biomass and organic matter transfer. Our findings provide insights into understanding how hydrogeochemical features of a meromictic soda lake, the origin of carbon sources, and the microbial community profiles, could promote methane oversaturation and production up to exceptionally high rates.
Transcriptome architecture and regulation at environmental transitions in flavobacteria: the case of an important fish pathogen
Authors: Guérin Cyprien , Lee Bo-Hyung , Fradet Benjamin , van Dijk Erwin , Mirauta Bogdan , Thermes Claude , Bernardet Jean-François , Repoila Francis , Duchaud Eric , Nicolas Pierre , Rochat Tatiana 
Published: July 2021

Abstract
The family Flavobacteriaceae (phylum Bacteroidetes) is a major component of soil, marine and freshwater ecosystems. In this understudied family, Flavobacterium psychrophilum is a freshwater pathogen that infects salmonid fish worldwide, with critical environmental and economic impact. Here, we report an extensive transcriptome analysis that established the genome map of transcription start sites and transcribed regions, predicted alternative sigma factor regulons and regulatory RNAs, and documented gene expression profiles across 32 biological conditions mimicking the pathogen life cycle. The results link genes to environmental conditions and phenotypic traits and provide insights into gene regulation, highlighting similarities with better known bacteria and original characteristics linked to the phylogenetic position and the ecological niche of the bacterium. In particular, osmolarity appears as a signal for transition between free-living and within-host programs and expression patterns of secreted proteins shed light on probable virulence factors. Further investigations showed that a newly discovered sRNA widely conserved in the genus, Rfp18, is required for precise expression of proteases. By pointing proteins and regulatory elements probably involved in host–pathogen interactions, metabolic pathways, and molecular machineries, the results suggest many directions for future research; a website is made available to facilitate their use to fill knowledge gaps on flavobacteria.
Nonword Repetition Performance of Arabic-Speaking Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder: A Study on Diagnostic Accuracy
Authors: Taha Juhayna , Stojanovik Vesna , Pagnamenta Emma 
Published: July 2021

PurposeThis study evaluates the effectiveness of a nonword repetition (NWR) task in discriminating between Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and age-matched typically developing (TD) children.MethodParticipants were 30 children with DLD aged between 4;0 and 6;10 (years;months) and 60 TD children aged between 4;0 and 6;8 matched on chronological age. The Arabic version of a Quasi-Universal NWR task was administered. The task comprises 30 nonwords that vary in length, presence of consonant clusters (CCs) and wordlikeness ratings. Responses were scored using an item-level scoring method to assess the diagnostic accuracy of the task. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted to determine the best cutoff point with the highest sensitivity and specificity values, and likelihood ratios were calculated.ResultsChildren with DLD scored significantly lower on the NWR task than their age-matched TD peers. Only the DLD group was influenced by the phonological complexity of the nonwords, with nonwords with two CC being more difficult than nonwords with no or only one CC. For both groups, three-syllable nonwords were repeated less accurately than two- and one-syllable nonwords. Also, high word-like nonwords were repeated more accurately than nonwords with low wordlikeness ratings. The best cutoff score had sensitivity and specificity of 93% and highly informative likelihood ratios.ConclusionsNWR was an area of difficulty for Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with DLD. NWR showed excellent discriminatory power in differentiating Arabic-speaking children diagnosed with DLD from their age-matched TD peers. NWR appears to hold promise for clinical use as it is a useful indicator of DLD in Arabic. These results need to be further validated using population-based studies.Supplemental Materialhttps://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14880360
Skin tribology in sport
Authors: MacFarlane Maxwell James , Theobald Peter 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis review describes the principles of skin friction and wear for the benefit of sports scientists, engineers and clinicians. Skin exhibits complex behaviour, defying tribological laws for dry contact; hence, its friction and wear characteristics are affected by sliding speed, normal load, and contact area. Some sports seek to increase skin friction to enhance performance; however, this needs to be offset against injury risk given that skin abrades when slid across a rough and hard surface, delaminates when slid across a smooth and hard surface, and chafes or blisters when repeatedly rubbed against some fabrics. Whilst skin interactions can both define and hinder athlete performance, there exists a need to better understand skin biomechanics to optimise the balance of risk versus reward.
Average BER performance of MPSK with noisy phase reference in Nakagami‐m fading channel
Authors: Jang Yeonsoo 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThis letter derives an approximate average bit error rate (BER) expression of M‐ary phase shift keying with a noisy phase reference in a Nakagami‐m fading channel. The proposed closed‐form expression is general for the M‐ary case, including previous results for both binary and quadrature phase shift keying. The accuracy of the proposed average BER expression is verified through a comparison with the exact BER.
A multiport superconducting fault‐current‐limiting circuit breaker for a flexible DC power grid
Authors: Wang Weiru , Wang Limeng , He Zhiyuan , Xin Yechun , Li Guoqing 
Published: July 2021

AbstractThe fault current of the high‐voltage and large‐capacity flexible DC power grid has the characteristics of a fast rising rate, high peak value, and large influence area; therefore, fault current suppression equipment suitable for the flexible DC power grid has become a research hotspot. First, the fault mechanism and fault current calculation associated with the DC converter are analysed in this study; subsequently, a multiport superconducting fault‐current‐limiting circuit breaker (SFCLCB) suitable for a flexible DC power grid is designed. The circuit breaker adopts ground drainage to transfer the fault current. It only needs to be equipped with a single‐way conduction power electronic switch group and the number of switches is not affected by the number of DC lines, considerably improving the cost effectiveness of the equipment. In addition, the workflow and current‐limiting principle of SFCLCB are analysed, and the optimal matching method is determined with respect to the resistance of the superconducting current limiter and the power electronic devices of the main circuit breaker. Afterwards, the four‐terminal flexible DC transmission simulation system is observed to exhibit high efficiency in suppressing the fault current and high cost effectiveness based on comparative simulations. Finally, its engineering applicability is verified by the digital physical and hybrid simulation platform.
Grouping of dynamic electricity consumption behaviour: An f‐divergence based hierarchical clustering model
Authors: Zhang Yufan , Ai Qian , Li Zhaoyu 
Published: July 2021

AbstractUnder the digitalization trend in the energy sector, utilities are devoted to providing better service to their customers by mining knowledge in fine‐grained electricity consumption data. Understanding the group behaviour of customers by clustering method is essential to achieving this end. Different from shape‐based clustering methods, an f‐divergence based hierarchical clustering model is proposed to group customers by their dynamic electricity consumption patterns. Modelling the electricity consumption by Markov chains, the customers’ consumption patterns are first summarized into transition probability matrixes. Then, dissimilarity measures based on f‐divergence are calculated. Specifically, due to their superiority, squared Hellinger distance and total variation distance are used. The hierarchical clustering is then conducted based on the obtained distance matrixes. Using real‐world smart meter dataset, the proposed method is compared with other dynamic clustering candidates by using the revised silhouette score. And consumers’ dynamic consumption patterns are not only analysed from the global to local levels, but also the relationship between clustering results and external factors are delved into. The results show that the proposed method can produce highly representative clusters, and is able to provide insights on the implementation of the demand‐side management program.
Multi-frequency characterisation of remnant radio galaxies in the Lockman Hole field
Authors: Jurlin N. , Brienza M. , Morganti R. , Wadadekar Y. , Ishwara-Chandra C. H. , Maddox N. , Mahatma V. 
Published: July 2021

Context.Remnant radio galaxies represent an important phase in the life-cycle of radio active galactic nuclei. It is suggested that in this phase, the jets have switched off and the extended emission is fading rapidly. This phase is not well-studied due to the lack of statistical samples observed at both low and high frequencies.Aims.In this work, we study a sample of 23 candidate remnant radio galaxies previously selected using the Low Frequency Array at 150 MHz in the Lockman Hole field. We examine their morphologies and study their spectral properties to confirm their remnant nature and revise the morphological and spectral criteria used to define the initial sample.Methods.We present new observations with theKarl G. JanskyVery Large Array at 6000 MHz at both high and low resolution. These observations allowed us to observe the presence or absence of cores and study the spectral curvature and steepness of the spectra of the total emission expected at these high frequencies for the remnant candidates.Results.We confirm 13 out of 23 candidates as remnant radio sources. This corresponds to 7% of the full sample of active, restarted, and remnant candidates from the Lockman Hole field. Surprisingly, only a minority of remnants reside in a cluster (23%). The remnant radio galaxies show a range of properties and morphologies. The majority do not show detection of the core at 6000 MHz and their extended emission often shows ultra-steep spectra (USS). However, there are also remnants with USS total emission and a detection of the core at 6000 MHz, possibly indicating a variety of evolutionary stages in the remnant phase. We confirm the importance of the combination of morphological and spectral criteria and this needs to be taken into consideration when selecting a sample of remnant radio sources.