bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Experiencias Socio Comunicativas en Adultos Mayores Usuarios de Audífonos
Authors: Castañeda Johana Estefany 
Published: May 2021

El objetivo de la investigación fue describir las experiencias socio-comunicativas en los adultos mayores usuarios de audífonos. La metodología fue cuantitativa, de tipo descriptivo, el cual contó con la participación de 20 adultos mayores, aplicando encuestas a los participantes. Se realizó revisión documental de los temas de interés, como marco de referencia y/o sustento teórico. Los resultados muestran que el 65% de la población, reporta que la experiencia con los audífonos ha sido buena o excelente. La gran mayoría de los adultos mayores presentó hipoacusia de grado moderado-severo. Se analizan los resultados teniendo en cuenta indicadores como: actividades y participación, utilización de dispositivos y técnicas de comunicación, relaciones interpersonales básicas, actividades recreativas y de ocio, actividades culturales (iglesia y grupos de apoyo).
Engineering Promiscuous Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activity of a Reductive Aminase AspRedAm for Selective Reduction of Biobased Furans
Authors: Jia Hao-Yu , Yang Zi-Yue , Chen Qi , Zong Min-Hua , Li Ning 
Published: May 2021

Catalytic promiscuity is a promising starting point for improving the existing enzymes and even creating novel enzymes. In this work, site-directed mutagenesis was performed to improve promiscuous alcohol dehydrogenase activity of reductive aminase from Aspergillus oryzae (AspRedAm). AspRedAm showed the cofactor preference toward NADPH in reductive aminations, while it favored NADH in the reduction reactions. Some key amino acid residues such as N93, I118, M119, and D169 were identified for mutagenesis by molecular docking. Variant N93A showed the optimal pH and temperature of 8 and 30°C, respectively, in the reduction of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). The thermostability was enhanced upon mutation of N93 to alanine. The catalytic efficiency of variant N93A (kcat/Km, 23.6 mM−1 s−1) was approximately 2-fold higher compared to that of the wild-type (WT) enzyme (13.1 mM−1 s−1). The improved catalytic efficiency of this variant may be attributed to the reduced steric hindrance that stems from the smaller side chain of alanine in the substrate-binding pocket. Both the WT enzyme and variant N93A had broad substrate specificity. Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells harboring plain vector enabled selective reduction of biobased furans to target alcohols, with the conversions of 35–95% and the selectivities of &gt;93%. The introduction of variant N93A to E. coli resulted in improved substrate conversions (&gt;98%) and selectivities (&gt;99%).
Comparative Proteomics Analysis for Elucidating the Interaction Between Host Cells and Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Sun Hui , Li Jin , Wang Longjiang , Yin Kun , Xu Chao , Liu Gongzhen , Xiao Ting , Huang Bingcheng , Wei Qingkuan , Gong Maoqing , Cao Jianping 
Published: May 2021

Toxoplasma gondii, a representative model organism belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, can infect almost all warm-blooded organisms, including humans. The invasion of host cells via host–parasite interaction is the key step for T. gondii to complete its life cycle. Herein we performed tandem mass tag analysis to investigate global proteomic changes in host cells (human foreskin fibroblasts, HFFs) [HFFs infected with T. gondii (HT) vs. HFFs (H)] and T. gondii [HT vs. T. gondii (T)] during intracellular infection. Overall, 3477 and 1434 proteins were quantified, of which 375 and 1099 proteins were differentially expressed (adjusted p-value &lt; 0.05 and &gt;1.5 or &lt;0.67-fold change) in host cells and T. gondii, respectively. T. gondii invasion relies on the secretion of numerous secretory proteins, which originate from three secretory organelles: micronemes, rhoptries, and dense granules. In the HT vs. T group, few secretory proteins were upregulated, such as microneme proteins (MICs: MIC6, MIC10), rhoptry bulb proteins (ROPs: ROP5, ROP17), and dense granule proteins (GRAs: GRA4, GRA5, GRA12). In contrast, dozens of known secretory proteins were significantly downregulated in T. gondii-infected HFFs. In HFFs, gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses revealed a large number of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) enriched in metabolic processes and immune-associated signaling pathways, such as NF-κB, cAMP, and Rap1 signaling pathways. Further, in case of T. gondii, DEPs were involved in ribosome biogenesis, citrate cycle, and galactose metabolism, indicating that cell biosynthesis and metabolism of T. gondii were altered after host cell invasion. These findings reveal novel modifications in the proteome of host cells as well as T. gondii, helping us better understand the mechanisms underlying host–parasite interaction.
Pro-inflammatory Monocyte Phenotype During Acute Progression of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease
Authors: Noz Marlies P. , Telgte Annemieke ter , Wiegertjes Kim , Tuladhar Anil M. , Kaffa Charlotte , Kersten Simone , Bekkering Siroon , van der Heijden Charlotte D. C. C. , Hoischen Alexander , Joosten Leo A. B. , Netea Mihai G. , Duering Marco , de Leeuw Frank-Erik , Riksen Niels P. 
Published: May 2021

Background: The etiology of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) remains elusive, though evidence is accumulating that inflammation contributes to its pathophysiology. We recently showed retrospectively that pro-inflammatory monocytes are associated with the long-term progression of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs). In this prospective high-frequency imaging study, we hypothesize that the incidence of SVD progression coincides with a pro-inflammatory monocyte phenotype.Methods: Individuals with SVD underwent monthly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for 10 consecutive months to detect SVD progression, defined as acute diffusion-weighted imaging-positive (DWI+) lesions, incident microbleeds, incident lacunes, and WMH progression. Circulating inflammatory markers were measured, cytokine production capacity of monocytes was assessed after ex vivo stimulation, and RNA sequencing was performed on isolated monocytes in a subset of participants.Results: 13 out of 35 individuals developed SVD progression (70 ± 6 years, 54% men) based on incident lesions (n = 7) and/or upper quartile WMH progression (n = 9). Circulating E-selectin concentration (p &lt; 0.05) and the cytokine production capacity of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 (p &lt; 0.01) were higher in individuals with SVD progression. Moreover, RNA sequencing revealed a pro-inflammatory monocyte signature including genes involved in myelination, blood–brain barrier, and endothelial–leukocyte interaction.Conclusions: Circulating monocytes of individuals with progressive SVD have an inflammatory phenotype, characterized by an increased cytokine production capacity and a pro-inflammatory transcriptional signature.
Cerebrospinal Fluid IL-17A Could Predict Acute Disease Severity in Non-NMDA-Receptor Autoimmune Encephalitis
Authors: Levraut Michael , Bourg Véronique , Capet Nicolas , Delourme Adrien , Honnorat Jérôme , Thomas Pierre , Lebrun-Frenay Christine 
Published: May 2021

IntroductionMost of our knowledge into autoimmune encephalitis (AE) comes from N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. The concentrations of cytokines in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) including IL-17A have been found to be increased and associated with poor outcome. However, data on the cytokine concentration in CSF and its correlation with outcome is lacking for other types of AE.ObjectiveTo report the concentrations of CSF sIL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and IL-17A and to correlate it with acute disease severity and the 1-year outcome in non-NMDAR AE.MethodsWe measured the CSF concentration of each cytokine in 20 AE patients, and compared IL-6 and IL-17A concentrations with 13 patients with CNS demyelinating diseases and 20 non-inflammatory controls. Patients were &gt; 18yr and had at least 1-year clinical follow-up. Intracellular and NMDAR antibody (Ab) -mediated encephalitis were excluded. A mRS ≤ 2 was retained as a 1-year good outcome.ResultsThe IL-17A concentration in CSF was higher in AE patients than in both control groups (p&lt;0.01). No difference was observed in CSF concentration of IL-6 between groups. At disease onset, a high CSF IL-17A concentration correlated with a high modified Rankin Scale (p&lt;0.05), a high Clinical Assessment Scale for Autoimmune Encephalitis score (p&lt;0.001) and ICU admission (p&lt;0.01). There was no correlation between the concentration of all CSF cytokines and the 1-year clinical outcome.ConclusionOur results show that CSF IL-17A could be interesting to assess initial severity in non-NMDAR AE. Thus, CSF IL-17A could be an interesting therapeutic target and be useful to assess early selective immunosuppressive therapy.
Serum Folate Status Is Primarily Associated With Neurodevelopment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Aged Three and Under—A Multi-Center Study in China
Authors: Li Qiu , Yang Ting , Chen Li , Dai Ying , Wu Li-Jie , Jia Fei-Yong , Hao Yan , Li Ling , Zhang Jie , Ke Xiao-Yan , Yi Ming-Ji , Hong Qi , Chen Jin-Jin , Fang Shuan-Feng , Wang Yi-Chao , Wang Qi , Jin Chun-Hua , Dong Zhi-Fang , Chen Jie , Li Ting-Yu 
Published: May 2021

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder. Folate has been demonstrated to be associated with ASD. However, current studies on the correlation between folate and symptoms of children with ASD have inconsistent conclusions, use mainly small samples, and lack age-stratified analysis. This study aimed to explore the association between serum folate and symptoms of autistic children at different age groups from a multi-center perspective.Methods: We enrolled 1,300 children with ASD and 1,246 typically developing (TD) children under 7 years old from 13 cities in China. The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Childhood autism rating scale (CARS) were used to evaluate the symptoms of children with ASD. China neuropsychological and Behavior Scale-Revision 2016 (CNBS-R2016) scale was used to evaluate the neurodevelopment of children with ASD. Serum folate was measured by chemiluminescence assay in the two groups.Results: The serum folate levels of children with ASD were lower than that of TD children. In terms of core symptoms of ASD, we found that the serum folate levels were not associated with ABC, SRS, and CARS scores in ASD children of all ages but negatively associated with communication warning behavior scores of CNBS-R2016 in ASD children aged three and under. Concerning development quotients, it was at the age of three and under that serum folate levels were positively associated with gross motor, fine motor, language, and general quotient of ASD children. These ASD children aged three and under were further divided into two groups according to the median of serum folate (14.33 ng/mL); we found that compared to ASD children with folate ≤ 14.33 ng/mL, those with folate &gt;14.33 ng/mL had lower communication warning behavior score and higher gross motor, fine motor, adaptive behavior, language, person-social, and general development quotients.Conclusion: We found that serum folate status was primarily associated with the neurodevelopment of children with ASD aged three and under. Furthermore, relatively higher serum folate levels may be more beneficial for children with ASD. Our results suggest that folate level should be paid more attention in ASD children, especially in early life, to better promote the intervention of ASD children.
Combining Multiparametric MRI Radiomics Signature With the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) Score to Preoperatively Differentiate Muscle Invasion of Bladder Cancer
Authors: Zheng Zongtai , Xu Feijia , Gu Zhuoran , Yan Yang , Xu Tianyuan , Liu Shenghua , Yao Xudong 
Published: May 2021

BackgroundThe treatment and prognosis for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) are different. We aimed to construct a nomogram based on the multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) radiomics signature and the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) score for the preoperative differentiation of MIBC from NMIBC.MethodThe retrospective study involved 185 pathologically confirmed bladder cancer (BCa) patients (training set: 129 patients, validation set: 56 patients) who received mpMRI before surgery between August 2014 to April 2020. A total of 2,436 radiomics features were quantitatively extracted from the largest lesion located on the axial T2WI and from dynamic contrast-enhancement images. The minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR) algorithm was used for feature screening. The selected features were introduced to construct radiomics signatures using three classifiers, including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), support vector machines (SVM) and random forest (RF) in the training set. The differentiation performances of the three classifiers were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to develop a nomogram based on the optimal radiomics signature and clinical characteristics. The performance of the radiomics signatures and the nomogram was assessed and validated in the validation set.ResultsCompared to the RF and SVM classifiers, the LASSO classifier had the best capacity for muscle invasive status differentiation in both the training (accuracy: 90.7%, AUC: 0.934) and validation sets (accuracy: 87.5%, AUC: 0.906). Incorporating the radiomics signature and VI-RADS score, the nomogram demonstrated better discrimination and calibration both in the training set (accuracy: 93.0%, AUC: 0.970) and validation set (accuracy: 89.3%, AUC: 0.943). Decision curve analysis showed the clinical usefulness of the nomogram.ConclusionsThe mpMRI radiomics signature may be useful for the preoperative differentiation of muscle-invasive status in BCa. The proposed nomogram integrating the radiomics signature with the VI-RADS score may further increase the differentiation power and improve clinical decision making.
Serum hsa_tsr016141 as a Kind of tRNA-Derived Fragments Is a Novel Biomarker in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Gu Xinliang , Ma Shuo , Liang Bo , Ju Shaoqing 
Published: May 2021

BackgroundGastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors globally and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Currently, the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic markers for GC are low, so it is urgent to find new biomarkers with higher sensitivity and specificity. tRNA-derived small RNAs are a kind of small non-coding RNAs derived from tRNAs. It is abundant in cancer cells and body fluids. Our goal is to find the differentially expressed tRNA-derived small RNAs in GC to explore their potential as a GC biomarker.MethodsQuantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression level of hsa_tsr016141. The molecular characteristics of hsa_tsr016141 were verified by agarose gel electrophoresis, Sanger sequencing, Actinomycin D Assay, and Nuclear and Cytoplasmic RNA Separation Assay. The diagnostic efficiency of hsa_tsr016141 was analyzed through receiver operating characteristic.ResultsThe expression level of hsa_tsr016141 in GC tissues and serum was significantly increased. The serum expression level showed a gradient change between GC patients, gastritis patients, and healthy donors and was positively correlated with the degree of lymph node metastasis and tumor grade. ROC analysis showed that the serum expression level of hsa_tsr016141 could significantly distinguish GC patients from healthy donors or gastritis patients. Besides, the expression level of hsa_tsr016141 in GC patients decreased significantly after the operation (P&lt;0.0001).ConclusionsSerum hsa_tsr016141 has good stability and specificity and can be used for dynamic monitoring of GC patients, suggesting that serum hsa_tsr016141 can be a novel biomarker for GC diagnosis and postoperative monitoring.
Effect of F-Actin Organization in Lamellipodium on Viscoelasticity and Migration of Huh-7 Cells Under pH Microenvironments Using AM-FM Atomic Force Microscopy
Authors: Chen Miao , Zhu Wenpeng , Liang Zhihua , Yao Songyou , Zhang Xiaoyue , Zheng Yue 
Published: May 2021

Cytoskeleton is responsible for fundamental cellular processes and functions. The filamentous actin (F-actin) is a key constituent of the cytoskeleton system which is intrinsically viscoelastic and greatly determines the mechanical properties of cells. The organization and polymerization of F-actin are relevant to the viscoelasticity distribution and the migration of living cells responding to pH microenvironments. Recently, progression in various diseases such as cancers have been found that cellular migration is related to the alterations in the viscoelasticity of lamellipodium. However, the correlation among F-actin organization, viscoelastic properties and cellular migration of living cancer cells under different pH microenvironments are still poorly understood. Conventional experimental methods of optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) can neither break the trade-off between resolution and rate in cytoskeleton imaging, nor achieve the structural characterization and the mechanical measurement simultaneously. Although multifrequency AFM with amplitude modulation-frequency modulation (AM–FM) enables us to probe both the surface topography and the viscoelasticity distribution of cells, it is difficult to image the cytoskeletal filaments with the diameter down to the scale of tens of nanometers. Here, we have improved the AM-FM AFM by employing the high damping of cell culture medium to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and achieve a stable imaging of F-actin with the resolution down to 50 nm underin situmicroenvironment. The approach that can successfully visualize the structures of cytoskeletal filaments and measure the distribution of mechanical properties simultaneously enable us to understand the relationship between the organization of F-actin and the viscoelasticity of living Huh-7 cancer cells under different pH values. Our experimental results have demonstrated that, unlike the randomly distributed F-actin and the homogeneous viscoelasticity at the normal pH level of 7.4, the living Huh-7 cancer cells with the reduced pH level of 6.5 show highly oriented and organized F-actin along the lamellipodium direction associated with the significant gradient increase both in elasticity and viscosity, which are confirmed by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy. The F-actin organization and the gradient viscoelasticity of lamellipodium provide structural and mechanical understanding on the adhesion and migration of living cancer cells that undergo metastasis and malignant transformation.
Network-Based Online Survey Exploring Self-Reported Depression Among University and College Students During the Early Days of the COVID-19 Outbreak
Authors: Jing Yurong , Han Wantong , Wang Yali , Zhang Jiao , Qin Wenzhe , Jing Xiang , Niu Aimin , Xu Lingzhong 
Published: May 2021

Background: The psychology of university and college students is immature, they are thus more likely to suffer from depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to investigate the self-reported depression status of Chinese university and college students and explore its influencing factors.Methods: We conducted a network-based online survey, and a total of 17,876 participants completed the questionnaire. Depression was measured by the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic analysis were performed to explore the influencing factors of self-reported depression symptoms.Results: The proportion of self-reported depression symptoms, mild self-reported depression symptoms, and moderate to severe (M/S) self-reported depression symptoms was 65.2, 53.7, and 11.5%, respectively. The mean score of self-reported depression was 54.8 ± 9.0. Female, personality type of partial introversion, junior college educational level, “moderate” or “high” self-perceived risk of infection, “moderately” or “highly” impacted by the outbreak, and being eager to go back to school were risk factors for M/S self-reported depression symptoms (p &lt; 0.05). While, “moderate” or “high” concern about the outbreak, “moderate” or “high” satisfaction with pandemic prevention and control measures, and having health literacy on communicable diseases were protective factors for M/S self-reported depression symptoms (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusion: The status of self-reported depression symptoms among university and college students was severer than expected, and the influencing factors were multifaceted. Government and school administrators should strengthen the dissemination of knowledge on disease prevention and control. Moreover, much attention should be paid to female and junior college students.
Chatbots as a Tool to Scale Mentoring Processes: Individually Supporting Self-Study in Higher Education
Authors: Neumann Alexander Tobias , Arndt Tamar , Köbis Laura , Meissner Roy , Martin Anne , de Lange Peter , Pengel Norbert , Klamma Ralf , Wollersheim Heinz-Werner 
Published: May 2021

Like most curricula in the humanities and social sciences, the curriculum of pre-service teacher training in educational sciences often includes time-consuming reading and writing tasks, which require high quality support and feedback in a timely manner. A well-known way to provide this support to students is one-to-one mentoring. However, limited time and resources in the German university context require to effectively scale the benefits of individual feedback. The use of scalable technologies to support learning processes seems to be promising, but its development usually requires a deep technical understanding. With an interdisciplinary approach, this contribution investigates how personal mentoring can be made available to as many students as possible, taking into account the didactic, organizational and technical frameworks at universities. We describe the development and implementation process of two chatbots that both aim to support students of educational sciences in their self-study of the seminar topics and literature. The chatbots were used by over 700 students during the course of 1 year and our evaluations show promising results that bear the potential to improve the availability of digital mentoring support for all students.