bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transfer functions: learning about a lagged exposure-outcome association in time-series data
Authors: Mamiya Hiroshi , Schmidt Alexandra M. , Moodie Erica E. M. , Buckeridge David L. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractMany population exposures in time-series analysis, including food marketing, exhibit a time-lagged association with population health outcomes such as food purchasing. A common approach to measuring patterns of associations over different time lags relies on a finite-lag model, which requires correct specification of the maximum duration over which the lagged association extends. However, the maximum lag is frequently unknown due to the lack of substantive knowledge or the geographic variation of lag length. We describe a time-series analytical approach based on an infinite lag specification under a transfer function model that avoids the specification of an arbitrary maximum lag length. We demonstrate its application to estimate the lagged exposure-outcome association in food environmental research: display promotion of sugary beverages with lagged sales.
Is the impact of adiposity on taste perceptions moderated by chronic physical activity? An overview of the data from NHANES 2013-2014
Authors: Gauthier Alexandre-Charles , Mathieu Marie-Eve 
Published: October 2021

AbstractIntroductionTaste is a key sensory modulator of eating behaviour and thus energy intake. The effects of acute exercise has recently been confirmed especially regarding sweet and salty tastes. Physical activity is a safe and effective countermeasure to certain types of chemosensory losses, especially in older populations. Knowing that taste can be impaired with increased adiposity, it is unknown if the adoption of an active lifestyle on a regular basis can mitigate such impairments.MethodsData were extracted from NHANES 2013-2014 database. Perception of salt and bitter tastes for Tongue Tip Test and Whole Mouth Test, physical activity levels over an 8-9-day period and adiposity were analyzed. Moderation analyses were used to study the impact of adiposity on taste perceptions, with physical activity level as the moderator.ResultsThe 197 participants (130 males) included in this project had a mean±standard deviation age of 49.1±5.2 years, a mean body fat percentage of 31.7±7.6% and mean daily physical activity levels of 11 084±3531 Monitor-Independent Movement Summary unit (MIMS). The positive association between adiposity and both bitter Tongue Tip Test and overall result (salt+bitter) of Tongue Tip Test were moderated by the adoption of an active lifestyle, with better taste scores observed in individuals achieving higher physical activity levels. When moderation analysis were stratified by gender, the effect of physical activity was no longer significant.PerspectivesThis study is the first to evaluate the influence of an active lifestyle on the preservation of some taste perceptions across a wide range of adiposity levels. While differences in taste can be observed regarding body fat percentage, physical activity moderates that relation only when men and women are analysed together.
Open Imputation Server provides secure Imputation services with provable genomic privacy
Authors: Harmanci Arif O. , Kim Miran , Wang Su , Li Wentao , Song Yongsoo , Lauter Kristin E. , Jiang Xiaoqian 
Published: October 2021

AbstractSummaryAs DNA sequencing data is available for personal use, genomic privacy is becoming a major challenge. Nevertheless, high-throughput genomic data analysis outsourcing is performed using pipelines that tend to overlook these challenges.ResultsWe present a client-server-based outsourcing framework for genotype imputation, an important step in genomic data analyses. Genotype data is encrypted by the client and encrypted data are used by the server that never observes the data in plain. Cloud-based framework can benefit from virtually unlimited computational resources while providing provable confidentiality. We demonstrate server’s utility from several aspects using genotype dataset from the 1000 Genomes datasets. First, we benchmark the accuracy of common variant imputation in comparison to BEAGLE, a state-of-the-art imputation method. We also provide the detailed time requirements of the server to showcase scaling of time usage in different steps of imputation. We also present a simple correlation metric that can be used to estimate imputation accuracy using only the reference panels. This is important for filtering the variants in downstream analyses. As a further demonstration and a different use case, we performed a simulated genomewide association study (GWAS) using imputed and known genotypes and highlight potential utility of the server for association studies. Overall, our study present multiple lines of evidence for usability of secure imputation service.AvailabilityServer is publicly available athttps://www.secureomics.org/OpenImpute. Users can anonymously test and use imputation server without registration.ContactArif.O.Harmanci@uth.tmc.edu
Fundamentals of Vaping-Associated Pulmonary Injury Leading to Severe Respiratory Distress
Authors: Esquer Carolina , Echeagaray Oscar , Firouzi Fareheh , Savko Clarissa , Shain Grant , Bose Pria , Rieder Abigail , Rokaw Sophie , Witon-Paulo Andrea , Gude Natalie , Sussman Mark A. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractVaping of flavored liquids has been touted as safe alternative to traditional cigarette smoking with decreased health risks. The popularity of vaping has dramatically increased over the last decade, particularly among teenagers who incorporate vaping into their daily life as a social activity. Despite widespread and increasing adoption of vaping among young adults there is little information on long term consequences of vaping and potential health risks. This study demonstrates Vaping-Induced Pulmonary Injury (VAPI) using commercial JUUL pens with flavored vape juice using an inhalation exposure murine model. Profound pathological changes to upper airway, lung tissue architecture, and cellular structure are evident within 9 weeks of exposure. Marked histologic changes include increased parenchyma tissue density, cellular infiltrates proximal to airway passages, alveolar rarefaction, increased collagen deposition, and bronchial thickening with elastin fiber disruption. Transcriptional reprogramming includes significant changes to gene families coding for xenobiotic response, glycerolipid metabolic processes, and oxidative stress. Cardiac contractile performance for systemic output is moderately but significantly impaired, and the shows severe pulmonary side structural remodeling with chamber enlargement. This VAPI model with pulmonary circuit failure demonstrates mechanistic underpinnings of vaping-related pathologic injury.
Personalizing deep brain stimulation using advanced imaging sequences
Authors: Neudorfer Clemens , Kroneberg Daniel , Al-Fatly Bassam , Goede Lukas , Kübler Dorothee , Faust Katharina , van Rienen Ursula , Tietze Anna , Picht Thomas , Herrington Todd M. , Middlebrooks Erik H. , Kühn Andrea , Schneider Gerd-Helge , Horn Andreas 
Published: October 2021

AbstractObjectiveWith a growing appreciation for interindividual anatomical variability and patient-specific brain connectivity, advanced imaging sequences offer the opportunity to directly visualize anatomical targets for deep brain stimulation (DBS). The lack of quantitative evidence demonstrating their clinical utility, however, has hindered their broad implementation in clinical practice.MethodsUsing fast gray matter acquisition T1 inversion recovery (FGATIR) sequences, the present study identified a thalamic hypointensity that holds promise as a visual marker in DBS. To validate the clinical utility of the identified hypointensity we retrospectively analyzed 65 patients (26 female, mean age: 69.1±12.7 years) who underwent DBS in the treatment of essential tremor. We characterized its neuroanatomical substrates and evaluated the hypointensity’s ability to predict clinical outcome using stimulation volume modeling and voxel-wise mapping. Finally, we determined whether the hypointensity marker could predict symptom improvement on a patient-specific level.ResultsAnatomical characterization suggested that the identified hypointensity constituted the terminal part of the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract. Overlap between DBS stimulation volumes and the hypointensity in common space significantly correlated with tremor improvement (R2=0.16, p=0.017) and distance to hotspots previously reported in the literature (R2=0.49, p=7.9e-4). In contrast, the amount of variance explained by other anatomical atlas structures was reduced. When accounting for interindividual neuroanatomical variability, the predictive power of the hypointensity increased further (R2=0.37, p=0.002).InterpretationOur findings introduce and validate a novel imaging-based marker attainable from FGATIR sequences that has the potential to personalize and inform targeting and programming in DBS for essential tremor.
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Norwegian schools: A population-wide register-based cohort study on characteristics of the index case and secondary attack rates
Authors: Rotevatn Torill Alise , Larsen Vilde Bergstad , Bjordal Johansen Tone Kristin , Astrup Elisabeth , Surén Pål , Greve-Isdahl Margrethe , Telle Kjetil 
Published: October 2021

ObjectivesTo assess transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools mainly kept open during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignPopulation-wide register-based cohort study.SettingPrimary and lower secondary schools in Norway have been open during the academic year 2020/2021 with strict infection prevention and control (IPC) measures in place. All identified contacts including student and staff members were urged to get tested following a positive SARS-CoV-2 case in a school.ParticipantsAll students and educational staff in Norwegian primary and lower secondary schools from August 2020 to June 2021.Main outcome measuresOverall secondary attack rate (SAR14) was operationalized as the number of secondary cases (among students and/or staff) in the school by 14 days after the index case, divided by the number of students and staff members in the school. Moreover, we calculated SAR14-to-students, denoting transmission from all index cases to students only, SAR14-to-school staff, denoting transmission from all index cases to staff members only. We also calculated these measures in stratified samples consisting of student index cases or school staff index cases.ResultsFrom August 2020 to June 2021 there were 4,078 index cases, 79% were students and 21% were school staff. In the majority (55%) of schools with an index case, no secondary cases were observed by 14 days, and in 16% of the schools there were only one secondary case within 14 days. Overall SAR14 was found to be 0.33% (95%CI 0.32-0.33). Staff-to-staff transmission (SAR14 0.45%, 95%CI 0.40-0.52) was found to be slightly more common than student-to-student (SAR14 0.33%, 95%CI 0.32-0.34) and student-to-staff (SAR14 0.28%, 95%CI 0.25-0.30) transmission.ConclusionsOur results confirm that schools have not been an important arena of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Norway and therefore support that schools can be kept open with IPC measures in place.
Personalized Computational Heart Models with T1-Mapped Fibrotic Remodeling Predict Risk of Sudden Death Risk in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Authors: O’Hara Ryan P. , Binka Edem , Prakosa Adityo , Zimmerman Stefan L. , Cartoski Mark J. , Abraham M. Roselle , Lu Dai-Yin , Boyle Patrick M. , Trayanova Natalia A. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractHypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) causes sudden cardiac death (SCD) due to ventricular arrhythmias (VA) manifesting from myocardial fibrosis proliferation. Current clinical risk stratification criteria inadequately identify at-risk patients in need of primary prevention of VA. Here, we use mechanistic computational modeling of the heart to analyze how HCM-specific remodeling of the heart promotes arrhythmogenesis and to develop a personalized strategy to forecast risk of VAs in these patients. We combine contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic-resonance (CMR) imaging and T1 mapping data to construct digital replicas of HCM patient hearts that represent the patient-specific distribution of focal and diffuse fibrosis and evaluate the substrate propensity to VA. Our analysis indicates that the presence of diffuse fibrosis, which is rarely assessed in these patients, increases arrhythmogenic propensity. In forecasting future VA events in HCM patients, the imaging-based computational heart approach achieved 84.6%, 76.9%, and 80.1% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy, respectively, and significantly outperformed current clinical risk predictors. This novel VA risk assessment may have the potential to prevent SCD and help deploy primary prevention appropriately in HCM patients.
Spatial patterns of dental disease in patients with low salivary flow
Authors: Proctor Diana M. , Seiler Christof , Burns Adam R. , Walker Samuel , Jung Tina , Weng Jonathan , Sastiel Shanne , Rajendran Yoga , Kapila Yvonne , Millman Meredith E. , Armitage Gary C. , Loomer Peter M. , Holmes Susan P. , Ryder Mark I. , Relman David A. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractLow salivary flow, or hyposalivation, is associated with an increased incidence of dental caries and a shift in their location from biting surfaces towards coronal and root surfaces. However, the relationship between salivary flow and periodontal disease is less clear. To identify clinical indicators of low salivary flow -- including the spatial pattern of dental and periodontal disease, features of the supra- and subgingival microbiota, and symptoms of dry mouth -- we enrolled individuals into two cohorts. The low flow cohort (N = 32) consisted of individuals with a presumptive diagnosis of the autoimmune disorder Sjögren’s Syndrome (SS) while the control cohort (N = 119) consisted of healthy controls. We constructed a series of tooth-specific linear models to quantify the extent to which patient cohort, age, and unstimulated whole salivary flow rate (UWS-FR), independent of each other, are associated with dental and periodontal disease at each tooth. While age and a diagnosis of SS correlated with the site-specific increment of disease so too did UWS-FR. Not only were lower UWS-FRs associated with a greater number of decayed, missing, or filled surfaces at 21 teeth, but they were also associated with increased recession, as measured by clinical attachment loss (CAL), at 10 teeth (adjusted p < 0.05). In addition, we examined microbiota community structure at different tooth sites using data from 427 subgingival and supragingival samples of 6 individuals and found that microbial dispersal is reduced in patients with low salivary flow, but only at supragingival and not at subgingival sites. Finally, we found that complaints by subjects of a negative impact on overall quality of life were associated with a UWS-FR less than 0.1 mL/min. Overall, our results suggest that novel predictors of hyposalivation can be identified by integrating clinical, microbial, and patient history data.
Poor neutralization and rapid decay of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 variants in vaccinated dialysis patients
Authors: Bassi Jessica , Giannini Olivier , Silacci-Fregni Chiara , Pertusini Laura , Hitz Paolo , Terrot Tatiana , Franzosi Yves , Muoio Francesco , Saliba Christian , Meury Marcel , Dellota Exequiel A. , Dillen Josh , Hernandez Patrick , Czudnochowski Nadine , Cameroni Elisabetta , Beria Nicola , Ventresca Mariangela , Badellino Alberto , Lavorato-Hadjeres Soraya , Lecchi Elisabetta , Bonora Tecla , Mattiolo Matteo , Trinci Guido , Garzoni Daniela , Bonforte Giuseppe , Forni-Ogna Valentina , Giunzioni Davide , Berwert Lorenzo , Gupta Ravindra K. , Ferrari Paolo , Ceschi Alessandro , Cippà Pietro , Corti Davide , Lanzavecchia Antonio , Piccoli Luca 
Published: October 2021

AbstractPatients on dialysis are at risk of severe course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding the neutralizing activity and coverage of SARS-CoV-2 variants of vaccine-elicited antibodies is required to guide prophylactic and therapeutic COVID-19 interventions in this frail population. By analyzing plasma samples from 130 hemodialysis and 13 peritoneal dialysis patients after two doses of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccines, we found that 35% of the patients had low-level or undetectable IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S). Neutralizing antibodies against the vaccine-matched SARS-CoV-2 and Delta variant were low or undetectable in 49% and 77% of patients, respectively, and were further reduced against other emerging variants. The fraction of non-responding patients was higher in SARS-CoV-2-naïve hemodialysis patients immunized with BNT162b2 (66%) than those immunized with mRNA-1273 (23%). The reduced neutralizing activity correlated with low antibody avidity. Patients followed up to 7 months after vaccination showed a rapid decay of the antibody response with an average 21- and 10-fold reduction of neutralizing antibodies to vaccine-matched SARS-CoV-2 and Delta variant, which increased the fraction of non-responders to 84% and 90%, respectively. These data indicate that dialysis patients should be prioritized for additional vaccination boosts. Nevertheless, their antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 must be continuously monitored to adopt the best prophylactic and therapeutic strategy.
A Cross-sectional Comparison of Utilization of Medical Crowdfunding for Global Health
Authors: Siemens Andie , Rustja Samantha , Doiron R. Christopher , Siemens D. Robert 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe online solicitation of public donations has become an important financing option for health care expenses, intensified by increasing costs and deficits of universal public systems (1). With growing internet access and success of the largest social crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, online appeals for medical causes have grown significantly over the last decade in low-to high-income countries. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively describe the use of GoFundMe as a crowdfunding platform for global health initiatives given its supremacy in the social crowdfunding market. Three different cohorts (n=100 each) of online solicitation were examined as a cross-section comparing global health appeals to those for personal health care and animal activism. Variables included the purpose for crowdfunding, the characteristics of beneficiaries and campaigns, and the factors associated with funding success. Our cross-sectional review found that global health campaigns were focused on voluntourism opportunities compared to more specific, individualized appeals for those in need. Global health campaigns appeared to be the least ambitious and generally the least successful of those reviewed. Grouping the most and least successful campaigns between the different cohorts, global health appears to be more successful when targeting a larger population to donate smaller amounts of money and relying on sharing via social media. We suggest that compared to online solicitation for personal health and animal activism objectives, crowdfunding on GoFundMe has unrealized potential as a tool for global health initiatives. More work should be conducted using different crowdfunding platforms and a more longitudinal review in order to expand on these findings and their implications on health care provision in the countries examined. Furthermore, future inquiry is needed to understand the social and ethical implications of online solicitation for global health endeavors in order to inform policy and promote discussion around equity and accessibility.
Plant-pollinator specialization: Origin and measurement of curvature
Authors: Boehm Mannfred M.A. , Jankowski Jill E. , Cronk Quentin C.B. 
Published: October 2021

AbstractA feature of biodiversity is the abundance of curves displayed by organs and organisms. Curvature is a widespread, convergent trait that has important ecological and evolutionary implications. In pollination ecology, the curvature of flowers and pollinator mouthparts (e.g. hummingbird bills) along the dorsiventral plane has been associated with specialization, competition, and species co-existence. Six methods have historically been used to measure curvature in pollination systems; we provide a solution to this inconsistency by defining curvature using well-established concepts from differential geometry. Intuitively, curvature is the degree to which a line is not straight, but more formally, it is the rate at which the tangent of a curve changes direction with respect to arc length. Here, we establish a protocol wherein a line is fitted against landmarks placed on an image of a curved organ or organism, then curvature is computed at many points along the fitted line and the sum taken. The protocol is demonstrated by studying the development of nectar spur curvature in the flowering plant genusEpimedium(Berberidaceae). By clarifying the definition of curvature, our aim is to make the language of comparative morphology more precise and broadly applicable to capture other curved structures in nature.
Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 trimetric spike protein associated to Poly(I:C) plus Alum
Authors: dos-Santos Júlio Souza , Firmino-Cruz Luan , Fonseca-Martins Alessandra Marcia da , Oliveira-Maciel Diogo , Perez Gustavo Guadagini , Pereira Victor A. R. , Dumard Carlos H. , Guedes-da-Silva Francisca H. , Santos Ana C. Vicente , Leandro Monique dos Santos , Machado Ferreira Jesuino Rafael , Guimarães-Pinto Kamila , Conde Luciana , Rodrigues Danielle A. S. , de Mattos Silva Marcus Vinicius , Alvim Renata G. F. , Lima Tulio M. , Marsili Federico F. , Abreu Daniel P. B. , Ferreira Orlando , Borges Ronaldo da Silva Mohana , Tanuri Amilcar , Souza Thiago Moreno L. , Rossi-Bergamnn Bartira , Vale André M. , Silva Jerson Lima , de Oliveira Andrea Cheble , Filardy Alessandra D’Almeida , Gomes Andre M. O. , Leonel de Matos Guedes Herbert 
Published: October 2021

AbstractThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a social and economic impact worldwide, and vaccination is an efficient strategy for diminishing those damages. New adjuvant formulations are required for the high vaccine demands, especially adjuvant formulations that induce a Th1 phenotype. Herein we assess a vaccination strategy using a combination of Alum and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly(I:C)) adjuvants plus the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a prefusion trimeric conformation by an intradermal (ID) route. We found high levels of IgG anti-spike antibodies in the serum by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and high neutralizing titers against SARS-CoV-2in vitroby neutralization assay, after one or two boosts. By evaluating the production of IgG subtypes, as expected, we found that formulations containing Poly(I:C) induced IgG2a whereas Alum did not. The combination of these two adjuvants induced high levels of both IgG1 and IgG2a. In addition, cellular immune responses of CD4+and CD8+T cells producing interferon-gamma were equivalent, demonstrating that the Alum + Poly(I:C) combination supported a Th1 profile. Based on the high neutralizing titers, we evaluated B cells in the germinal centers, which are specific for receptor-binding domain (RBD) and spike, and observed that more positive B cells were induced upon the Alum + Poly(I:C) combination. Moreover, these B cells produced antibodies against both RBD and non-RBD sites. We also studied the impact of this vaccination preparation (spike protein with Alum + Poly(I:C)) in the lungs of mice challenged with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus. We found a production of IgG, but not IgA, and a reduction in neutrophil recruitment in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of mice, suggesting that our immunization scheme reduced lung inflammation. Altogether, our data suggest that Alum and Poly(I:C) together is a possible adjuvant combination for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 by the intradermal route.