bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Analysis of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) Management Using Interpretive Structural Modeling
Authors: Sari Agni Grandita Permata 
Published: September 2021

The Central Government and West Java Province are intensively issuing policies to increase village empowerment, especially since village funds were distributed in 2015. Although these funds have positive implications for increasing the number of BUMDes, in general, the impact of BUMDes has not been too significant for the increase of the village's original income (PADes). West Java Province as a province that is very aggressively launching programs for villages development does not have BUMDes with ‘Big’ and ‘Advanced’ status, and only one with ‘Mature’ status, namely BUMDes Niagara in Bandung Regency. This paper aims to know the management, to identify and to analyze the most influential actors, supporting and inhibiting factors, and the changes expected to improve the management of BUMDes Niagara in Bandung Regency. The method used is qualitative with an inductive approach. Data analysis used the Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) method. The results showed that the management of BUMDes Niagara was elitist in that the village head and BUMDes manager played a major role in the development of BUMDes. Furthermore, the constraint analysis shows that the low quality of human resources is the most dominant problem. On the other hand, the factor of village potential and the commitment of the village head are the supporting factors that are most decisive. The above conditions converge on the need for the involvement of other parties, especially the government in providing guidance and assistance to Niagara BUMDes.
A Pathway From Porous Particle Technology Toward Tailoring Aerogels for Pulmonary Drug Administration
Authors: Duong Thoa , López-Iglesias Clara , Szewczyk Piotr K. , Stachewicz Urszula , Barros Joana , Alvarez-Lorenzo Carmen , Alnaief Mohammad , García-González Carlos A. 
Published: September 2021

Graphical AbstractAerogel powders are advantageous porous particles in dry powder inhalers for the pulmonary drug delivery in local and systemic treatments.
Translational Physiology of Anti-Müllerian Hormone: Clinical Applications in Female Fertility Preservation and Cancer Treatment
Authors: Rodgers Rachael Jean , Abbott Jason Anthony , Walters Kirsty A. , Ledger William Leigh 
Published: September 2021

BackgroundWhilst the ability of AMH to induce the regression of the Müllerian ducts in the male fetus is well appreciated, AMH has additional biological actions in relation to steroid biosynthesis and ovarian follicle dynamics. An understanding of the physiology of AMH illuminates the potential therapeutic utility of AMH to protect the ovarian reserve during chemotherapy and in the treatment of female malignancies. The translation of the biological actions of AMH into clinical applications is an emerging focus of research, with promising preliminary results.Objective and RationaleStudies indicate AMH restrains primordial follicle development, thus administration of AMH during chemotherapy may protect the ovarian reserve by preventing the mass activation of primordial follicles. As AMH induces regression of tissues expressing the AMH receptor (AMHRII), administration of AMH may inhibit growth of malignancies expressing AMHR II. This review evaluates the biological actions of AMH in females and appraises human clinical applications.Search MethodsA comprehensive search of the Medline and EMBASE databases seeking articles related to the physiological functions and therapeutic applications of AMH was conducted in July 2021. The search was limited to studies published in English.OutcomesAMH regulates primordial follicle recruitment and moderates sex steroid production through the inhibition of transcription of enzymes in the steroid biosynthetic pathway, primarily aromatase and 17α-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase. Preliminary data indicates that administration of AMH to mice during chemotherapy conveys a degree of protection to the ovarian reserve. Administration of AMH at the time of ovarian tissue grafting has the potential to restrain uncontrolled primordial follicle growth during revascularization. Numerous studies demonstrate AMH induced regression of AMHR II expressing malignancies. As this action occursviaa different mechanism to traditional chemotherapeutic agents, AMH has the capacity to inhibit proliferation of chemo-resistant ovarian cancer cells and cancer stem cells.Wider ImplicationsTo date, AMH has not been administered to humans. Data identified in this review suggests administration of AMH would be safe and well tolerated. Administration of AMH during chemotherapy may provide a synchronistic benefit to women with an AMHR II expressing malignancy, protecting the ovarian reserve whilst the cancer is treated by dual mechanisms.
Corrosion Behavior and Passive Film Composition of Alloy 825 in High Temperature and High H2S-CO2 Containing Environment
Authors: Feng Zhe , Fan Xuehua , Wang Zhu , Yu Yong , Chen Lijuan , Du Yanxia , Dong Lei 
Published: September 2021

The effect of high temperature on corrosion behavior and passive film composition of Ni-based alloy 825 in H2S-containing environment was investigated by Confocal Laser Microscope (CLM), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The experiment was carried out at 150 and 230°C in NaCl solution. The partial pressure of H2S was set to 1.2 MPa and CO2 was set to 3.2 MPa. The results showed that Ni-based alloy 825 presented good general corrosion resistance. Pitting corrosion was likely to occur at 230°C because of Cr depleted in the passive film. NiS appeared at high temperature and is damaging to protectiveness of passive film.
Unraveling Risk Genes of COVID-19 by Multi-Omics Integrative Analyses
Authors: Baranova Ancha , Cao Hongbao , Zhang Fuquan 
Published: September 2021

Objectives: Uncovering the genetic basis of COVID-19 may shed insight into its pathogenesis and help to improve treatment measures. We aimed to investigate the host genetic variants associated with COVID-19.Methods: The summary result of a COVID-19 GWAS (9,373 hospitalized COVID-19 cases and 1,197,256 controls) was obtained from the COVID-19 Host Genetic Initiative GWAS meta-analyses. We tested colocalization of the GWAS signals of COVID-19 with expression and methylation quantitative traits loci (eQTL and mQTL, respectively) using the summary data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) analysis. Four eQTL and two mQTL datasets were utilized in the SMR analysis, including CAGE blood eQTL data (n = 2,765), GTEx v7 blood (n = 338) and lung (n = 278) eQTL data, Geuvadis lymphoblastoid cells eQTL data, LBC-BSGS blood mQTL data (n = 1,980), and Hannon blood mQTL summary data (n = 1,175). We conducted a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) on COVID-19 with precomputed prediction models of GTEx v8 eQTL in lung and blood using S-PrediXcan.Results: Our SMR analyses identified seven protein-coding genes (TYK2, IFNAR2, OAS1, OAS3, XCR1, CCR5, and MAPT) associated with COVID-19, including two novel risk genes, CCR5 and tau-encoding MAPT. The TWAS revealed four genes for COVID-19 (CXCR6, CCR5, CCR9, and PIGN), including two novel risk genes, CCR5 and PIGN.Conclusion: Our study highlighted the functional relevance of some known genome-wide risk genes of COVID-19 and revealed novel genes contributing to differential outcomes of COVID-19 disease.
Operational Determination of Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia Using Sum of Boxes of the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale
Authors: Yang Yu-Wan , Hsu Kai-Cheng , Wei Cheng-Yu , Tzeng Ray-Chang , Chiu Pai-Yi 
Published: September 2021

Objectives: The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale is the gold standard for the staging of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the application of CDR for the staging of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in AD remains controversial. This study aimed to use the sum of boxes of the CDR (CDR-SB) plus an SCD single questionnaire to operationally determine the different stages of cognitive impairment (CI) due to AD and non-AD.Methods: This was a two-phase study, and we retrospectively analyzed the Show Chwan Dementia registry database using the data selected from 2015 to 2020. Individuals with normal cognition (NC), SCD, MCI, and mild dementia (MD) due to AD or non-AD with a CDR &lt; 2 were included in the analysis.Results: A total of 6,946 individuals were studied, including 875, 1,009, 1,585, and 3,447 with NC, SCD, MCI, and MD, respectively. The cutoff scores of CDR-SB for NC/SCD, SCD/MCI, and MCI/dementia were 0/0.5, 0.5/1.0, and 2.5/3.0, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of the test groups were 0.85, 0.90, and 0.92 for discriminating NC from SCD, SCD from MCI, and MCI from dementia, respectively. Compared with the Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument or the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the use of CDR-SB is less influenced by age and education.Conclusion: Our study showed that the operational determination of SCD, MCI, and dementia using the CDR-SB is practical and can be applied in clinical settings and research on CI or dementia.
Connected Speech Characteristics of Bengali Speakers With Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence for Language-Specific Diagnostic Markers
Authors: Bose Arpita , Dash Niladri S. , Ahmed Samrah , Dutta Manaswita , Dutt Aparna , Nandi Ranita , Cheng Yesi , D. Mello Tina M. 
Published: September 2021

Background and aim: Speech and language characteristics of connected speech provide a valuable tool for identifying, diagnosing and monitoring progression in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Our knowledge of linguistic features of connected speech in AD is primarily derived from English speakers; very little is known regarding patterns of linguistic deficits in speakers of other languages, such as Bengali. Bengali is a highly inflected pro-drop language from the Indo-Aryan language family. It is the seventh most spoken language in the world, yet to date, no studies have investigated the profile of linguistic impairments in Bengali speakers with AD. The aim of this study was to characterize connected speech production and identify the linguistic features affected in Bengali speakers with AD.Methods: Participants were six Bengali speaking AD patients and eight matched controls from the urban metropolis, Kolkata, India. Narrative samples were elicited in Bengali using the Frog Story. Samples were analyzed using the Quantitative Production Analysis and the Correct Information Unit analyses to quantify six different aspects of speech production: speech rate, structural and syntactic measures, lexical measures, morphological and inflectional measures, semantic measures and measure of spontaneity and fluency disruptions.Results and conclusions: In line with the extant literature from English speakers, the Bengali AD participants demonstrated decreased speech rate, simplicity of sentence forms and structures, and reduced semantic content. Critically, differences with English speakers' literature emerged in the domains of Bengali specific linguistic features, such as the pro-drop nature of Bengali and its inflectional properties of nominal and verbal systems. Bengali AD participants produced fewer pronouns, which is in direct contrast with the overuse of pronouns by English AD participants. No obvious difficulty in producing nominal and verbal inflections was evident. However, differences in the type of noun inflections were evident; these were characterized by simpler inflectional features used by AD speakers. This study represents the first of its kind to characterize connected speech production in Bengali AD participants and is a significant step forward toward the development of language-specific clinical markers in AD. It also provides a framework for cross-linguistic comparisons across structurally distinct and under-explored languages.
Spatiotemporal Trends in the Incidence of Gastrointestinal Neoplasms in Wuwei City of Northwestern China From 1995 to 2016: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Observational Study
Authors: Liu Kun , Song Shuxuan , Fu Ting , Liu Yiwen , Zhang Hui , Yan Min , He Zhen , Zhang Weilu , Su Haixia , Li Zhao , Ji Zhaohua , Shao Zhongjun 
Published: September 2021

ObjectiveTo determine the characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution of major gastrointestinal (GI) neoplasms in inpatients from 1995 to 2016 in Wuwei city, northwestern China.MethodData from all paper and electronic medical records entered between 1995 and 2016 at 12 major public hospitals in Wuwei city were retrospectively collected. Patients with GI neoplasms were identified and classified according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10. Trends in the incidence of major GI neoplasms were expressed as an annual percentage change (APC), and the Z test was used to assess the time fluctuation trends. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs) were also calculated and the corresponding APC was estimated by the Joinpoint software for long-term trend analysis. Thematic maps of annual incidence at the township level were produced.ResultsAmong the 19,137 new inpatients identified with GI neoplasms in Wuwei, gastric cancer was the leading cause of morbidity, followed by cancers of the esophagus, colorectum, gastric cardia, liver, and pancreas with ASIRs of 21.8, 11.0, 5.8, 5.7, 4.4, and 1.7 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Overall, there was a steady increase in the ASIR for all GI neoplasms, and male cases were 2.1 times more frequent than female cases. The ASIR significantly increased by 12.2% per year from 1995 to 2009 for all GI neoplasms, and the increase rates ranged 9.4%-16.7% per year for the individual GI neoplasm. Despite an increase by 1.4% per year from 2009 to 2016, the ASIR decreased for esophageal and gastric cardia cancers by 4.6% and 17.3% per year, respectively. The annual incidence of all GI neoplasms showed significantly differential geographic distributions among different townships of the city during the study period.
Patterns of Failure in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Authors: Chai Rong , Yin Yipengchen , Cai Xuwei , Fu Xiaolong , Zhang Qin 
Published: September 2021

ObjectiveThe advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has rapidly transformed the treatment paradigm of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Despite the durability of response to ICIs, the vast majority of patients will later develop progression. However, the failure patterns of ICI treatment are unknown. Here, our study explored the failure patterns in advanced NSCLC patients treated with ICIs.MethodsA cohort of 156 IIIB or IV NSCLC patients treated with first-/second-line ICIs were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who experienced clinical benefit and then developed progression were identified. The disease progression patterns were divided into three categories: progression in new sites, progression in existing sites, and combined progression. The number of progression sites was also recorded.ResultsBefore the cutoff date, 91 (77.1%) patients had experienced disease progression; 34% of patients had progressed in the last 9 months of the first year. Fifty-three (58.2%) patients had developed progression at existing lesions, and 56 (61.5%) patients had shown ≤2 progression sites (oligo-progression). In patients with oligo-progression, the median time of disease progression was 8.23 months and the counterpart (systemic progression) was 5.97 months. The oligo-progression patients showed prolonged median overall survival (27.23 months) compared with patients with systemic progression (18.87 months).ConclusionsFailure patterns of ICI therapy were predominantly “existing” sites, and the most common lesions of progression were the lung and lymph nodes. Most patients experienced oligo-progression which occurred later than systemic progression and showed prolonged overall survival. The control of the local lesions might be beneficial to improve ICI treatment efficacy.
Little Hearts Are Affected by COVID19: Importance of the Myocardial Systolic Evaluation
Authors: Mamishi Setareh , Zeinaloo Aliakbar , Haji Esmaeil Memar Elmira , Khodabandeh Mahmoud , Mirzaaghayan Mohammad Reza , Abdolsalehi Mohammad Reza , Eshaghi Hamid , Gorji Mojtaba , Ghamari Azin , Aghaei Moghadam Ehsan 
Published: September 2021

Background: Identifying the cardiac changes could help design measures to recover the cardiovascular system and lessen the mortality and morbidity rate. Accordingly, this cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the echocardiography indices which are indicators of the cardiac alterations of the children with COVID19 infection.Methods: This study was performed as a cross-sectional study evaluating echocardiography indices in children infected with COVID19. Fifteen children, known cases of the COVID19, and 14 healthy children were enrolled. Evaluated parameters include left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricle end-diastolic diameter (LVED), mitral valve Sa (MV Sa), Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and laboratory parameters.Results: The participants' mean age and weight were 62.8 (±48.0) months and 19.95 (±15.67) kg, respectively. None of the laboratory and echocardiography parameters differed between males and females, between patients with and without positive past medical history, between the patients with and without respiratory tract symptoms, and between patients with and without GI tract symptoms (P.0.05). Patients had significantly higher TAPSE (p = 0.027), although MV Sa (p = 0.01) was significantly higher among healthy children. LV EF (p = 0.425) and LVED diameter (p = 0.603) were not different significantly. None of the patients had pericardial effusion, pleural effusion, and cardiac tamponade.Conclusion: The heart can be involved during the disease course in children, even at the level of echocardiography indices. This could contribute to a worse prognosis, higher morbidity, and mortality rate, especially in patients with overt myocardial involvement. Non-classic indicators, including LVEF, may not be conclusive for cardiac involvement in non-symptomatic patients.
Renal ROCK Activation and Its Pharmacological Inhibition in Patients With Diabetes
Authors: Matoba Keiichiro , Sekiguchi Kensuke , Nagai Yosuke , Takeda Yusuke , Takahashi Hiroshi , Yokota Tamotsu , Utsunomiya Kazunori , Nishimura Rimei 
Published: September 2021

Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) is a serine/threonine kinase with essential roles in cytoskeletal functions. Substantial evidence implicates ROCK as a critical regulator in the inception and progression of diabetic nephropathy through a mechanism involving mesangial fibrosis, podocyte apoptosis, and endothelial inflammation. Despite these experimental observations, human data is lacking. Here we show that the phosphorylated form of myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (MYPT1), a ROCK substrate, was increased in both the glomerular and tubulointerstitial areas in patients with histologically confirmed diabetic nephropathy. We also conducted a retrospective pilot analysis of data from patients with diabetes to assess the renoprotective effects of fasudil, an ATP-competitive ROCK inhibitor licensed in Japan for the prevention of vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage. Fifteen subjects (male, n = 8; female, n = 7; age 65.7 ± 14.7 years; body height, 161.1 ± 12.6 cm; body weight, 57.6 ± 13.7 kg; body mass index, 22.4 ± 3.7 kg/m2) were enrolled to evaluate blood pressure and the renal outcome after fasudil treatment. Of note, proteinuria was significantly reduced at the end of the fasudil treatment without affecting the blood pressure or estimated glomerular filtration rate. Taken together, these findings suggest that the administration of fasudil could be associated with a better renal outcome by inhibiting the ROCK activity in patients with diabetes.
Sub-Acute Toxicity Effects of Methanolic Stem Bark Extract of Entada abyssinica on Biochemical, Haematological and Histopathological Parameters in Wistar Albino Rats
Authors: Obakiro Samuel Baker , Kiprop Ambrose , Kigondu Elizabeth , K’owino Isaac , Kiyimba Kenedy , Drago Kato Charles , Gavamukulya Yahaya 
Published: September 2021

Background: Whereas the efficacy of Entada abyssinica (fabaceae) extracts against various ailments has been scientifically validated, its safety has not been established. This study was undertaken to evaluate the toxicity effects of methanolic stem bark extract of E. abyssinica on biochemical, haematological and histological parameters of Wistar albino rats following repeated oral administration.Methods: Wistar albino rats of both sexes were randomized into groups and orally administered daily with determined doses (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg) of E. abyssinica methanolic extract using 1% tween 80 in distilled water as a control for 28 days. On the 29th day, all the animals were sacrificed and dissected to collect blood and selected organs. The serum and whole blood were assayed for biochemical and haematological parameters respectively while selected organs were examined for histopathological lesions. Numerical data was analyzed using graph pad prism and expressed as mean ± standard error of mean. The differences between the treatment and control groups were tested for statistical significance using one-way analysis of variance and/or Student’s t-test.Results: In repeated daily oral doses (150, 300 and 600 mg/kg), the methanolic stem bark extract of E. abyssinica did not cause significant alteration in majority of the biochemical and hematological indices. However, the extract significantly elevated the level of uric acid (all doses), aspartate aminotransferase (300 and 600 mg/kg), low density lipoproteins (150 mg/kg) and mean corpuscular heamoglobin concentration (all doses). On the other hand, the extracts reduced high density lipoproteins (150 and 300 mg/kg), mean corpuscular volume (all doses), haematocrit (150 and 600 mg/kg), mean platelet volume (150 and 600 mg/kg) and procalcitonin (150 mg/kg). In the vital organs, there were no significant lesions observed except at the highest dose (600 mg/kg) where there was mild evidence of lymphocyte infiltration in the liver and focal interstitial nephritis.Conclusion: The methanolic stem bark extract of E. abyssinica is relatively safe in Wistar albino rats when repetitively administered orally in small doses for a prolonged period of time. We recommend more chronic toxicity studies and clinical trials on herbal remedies containing this plant to ensure that its use is free of potential toxicity to humans.