bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
NLRP3 inflammasome of renal tubular epithelial cells induces kidney injury in acute hemolytic transfusion reactions
Authors: Liu Zhixin , Chen Yaozhen , Niu Bing , Yin Dandan , Feng Fan , Gu Shunli , An Qunxing , Xu Jinmei , An Ning , Zhang Jing , Yi Jing , Yin Wen , Qin Xiangyang , Hu Xingbin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundBlood transfusion, a common basic supporting therapy, can lead to acute hemolytic transfusion reaction (AHTR). AHTR poses a great risk to patients through kidney function damage in a short time. Previous reports found that heme from destroyed red blood cells impaired kidney function, and NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome was augmented in case of kidney injury. However, the detailed mechanism regarding whether NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in kidney function injury in AHTR is not fully understood yet.MethodsHemolysis models were established by vein injection with human blood plasma or mouse heme from destroyed red blood cells. The injured renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) were evaluated by tubular damage markers staining in hemolysis models and in primary RTECs in vitro. The activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in RTECs by hemes was investigated by Western blot, ELISA, scanning electron microscopy, immunofluorescent staining, flow cytometry, and hemolysis models. NLRP3 gene knockout mice were employed to confirm these observations in vitro and in vivo. The binding between a novel inhibitor (66PR) and NLRP3 was affirmed by molecule docking and co‐immunoprecipitation. The rescue of 66PR on kidney function impairment was explored in murine hemolysis models.ResultsWe found that heme could activate NLRP3 inflammasome in RTECs to induce kidney function injury. NLRP3 gene knockout could prevent the damage of RTECs caused by hemes and recover kidney function in AHTR. Moreover, NLRP3 inflammasome chemical inhibitor, 66PR, could bind to NLRP3 protein and inhibit inflammasome activation in RTECs, which consequently relieved the injury of RTECs caused by hemes, and alleviated kidney function damage in the AHTR model.ConclusionsHemes could activate NLRP3 inflammasome in RTECs, and a novel NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor named 66PR relieved kidney function damage in AHTR. Our findings provided a new possible strategy to treat kidney function failure in AHTR.
Positive long‐term impacts of restoration on soils in an experimental urban forest
Authors: Ward Elisabeth B. , Doroski Danica A. , Felson Alexander J. , Hallett Richard A. , Oldfield Emily E. , Kuebbing Sara E. , Bradford Mark A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAs urbanization increases worldwide, investments in nature‐based solutions that aim to mitigate urban stressors and counter the impacts of global climate change are also on the rise. Tree planting on degraded urban lands—or afforestation—is one form of nature‐based solution that has been increasingly implemented in cities around the world. The benefits of afforestation are, however, contingent on the capacity of soils to support the growth of planted trees, which poses a challenge in some urban settings where unfavorable soil conditions limit tree performance. Soil‐focused site treatments could help urban areas overcome impediments to afforestation, yet few studies have examined the long‐term (>5 yr) effects of site treatments on soils and other management objectives. We analyzed the impacts of compost amendments, interplanting with shrubs, and tree species composition (six species vs. two species) on soil conditions and associated tree growth in 54 experimental afforestation plots in New York City, USA. We compared baseline soil conditions to conditions after 6 yr and examined changes in the treatment effects from 1 to 6 yr. Site treatments and tree planting increased soil microbial biomass, water holding capacity, and total carbon and nitrogen, and reduced soil pH and bulk density relative to baseline conditions. These changes were most pronounced in compost‐amended plots, and the effects of the shrub and species composition treatments were minimal. In fact, compost was key to sustaining long‐term changes in soil carbon stocks, which increased by 17% in compost‐amended plots but declined in unamended plots. Plots amended with compost also had 59% more nitrogen than unamended plots, which was associated with a 20% increase in the basal area of planted trees. Improvements in soil conditions after 6 yr departed from the initial trends observed after 1 yr, highlighting the importance of longer‐term studies to quantify restoration success. Altogether, our results show that site treatments and tree planting can have long‐lasting impacts on soil conditions and that these changes can support multiple urban land management objectives.
Movement can mediate temporal mismatches between resource availability and biological events in host–pathogen interactions
Authors: Kürschner Tobias , Scherer Cédric , Radchuk Viktoriia , Blaum Niels , Kramer‐Schadt Stephanie 
Published: March 2021

AbstractGlobal change is shifting the timing of biological events, leading to temporal mismatches between biological events and resource availability. These temporal mismatches can threaten species’ populations. Importantly, temporal mismatches not only exert strong pressures on the population dynamics of the focal species, but can also lead to substantial changes in pairwise species interactions such as host–pathogen systems. We adapted an established individual‐based model of host–pathogen dynamics. The model describes a viral agent in a social host, while accounting for the host's explicit movement decisions. We aimed to investigate how temporal mismatches between seasonal resource availability and host life‐history events affect host–pathogen coexistence, that is, disease persistence. Seasonal resource fluctuations only increased coexistence probability when in synchrony with the hosts’ biological events. However, a temporal mismatch reduced host–pathogen coexistence, but only marginally. In tandem with an increasing temporal mismatch, our model showed a shift in the spatial distribution of infected hosts. It shifted from an even distribution under synchronous conditions toward the formation of disease hotspots, when host life history and resource availability mismatched completely. The spatial restriction of infected hosts to small hotspots in the landscape initially suggested a lower coexistence probability due to the critical loss of susceptible host individuals within those hotspots. However, the surrounding landscape facilitated demographic rescue through habitat‐dependent movement. Our work demonstrates that the negative effects of temporal mismatches between host resource availability and host life history on host–pathogen coexistence can be reduced through the formation of temporary disease hotspots and host movement decisions, with implications for disease management under disturbances and global change.
Discrete Benzotriazole‐Copper(II) Complexes in Chelated and Non‐Chelated Coordination Modes: Structural Analysis and Catalytic Application in Click and A3 Coupling Reactions
Authors: Pandey Sharmila , Mandal Tanmoy 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTwo copper(II) complexes with benzotriazole‐based ligands having pyridyl and quinolinyl arms were synthesized in good yields and characterized fully via spectroscopic and crystallographic techniques. The crystal structures of the complexes revealed different coordination environments around copper(II) centers. The difference in structure was due to the steric effect of the ligands, which resulted in an octahedral and a square pyramidal geometry of the resulting complexes in the solid state. Both the air‐stable complexes were utilized as precatalysts in catalytic click reactions and A3 coupling.
Gel‐based fluorescent proteomic tools for investigating cell redox signaling. A mini‐review
Authors: Majewska Anna M. , Mostek Agnieszka 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe specific chemical reactivity of thiol groups makes protein cysteines susceptible to reactions with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) resulting in the formation of various reversible and irreversible oxidative post‐translational modifications (oxPTMs). This review highlights a number of gel‐based redox proteomic approaches to detect protein oxPTMs, with particular emphasis on S‐nitrosylation, which we believe are currently one of the most accurate way to analyze changes in the redox status of proteins. The information collected in this review relates to the recent progress regarding methods for the enrichment and identification of redox‐modified proteins, with an emphasis on fluorescent gel proteomics. Gel‐based fluorescent proteomic strategies are low‐cost and easy‐to‐use tools for investigating the thiol proteome and can provide substantial information on redox signaling.
The Ethical Limits of Children's Participation in Clinical Research
Authors: Ross Lainie Friedman 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis essay reflects on arguments by Paul Ramsey, inThe Patient as Person: Explorations in Medical Ethics(1970) and elsewhere, that continue to challenge policy‐makers and those doing clinical and translational research involving children. Ramsey argued that parents cannot morally authorize their child's participation in research unless the research is designed to benefit the child. He acknowledged that abiding by this position could have adverse impacts on improving child health, and he concluded, in a 1976Hastings Center Reportpiece, that researchers must “sin bravely.” Many philosophers and theologians, including Richard McCormick, have argued against Ramsey. The Ramsey‐McCormick debate played out in the bioethics literature and, by invitation, at the deliberations of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research, which was tasked with developing an ethics framework and policies for human subjects protections. Although in its final recommendations, the commission sided with McCormick, the strict limitations on risks and harms to which a child can be exposed were clearly influenced by Ramsey.
What We're Not Talking about When We Talk about Addiction
Authors: Pickard Hanna 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe landscape of addiction is dominated by two rival models: a moral model and a model that characterizes addiction as a neurobiological disease of compulsion. Against both, I offer a scientifically and clinically informed alternative. Addiction is a highly heterogenous condition that is ill‐characterized as involving compulsive use. On the whole, drug consumption in addiction remains goal directed: people take drugs because drugs have tremendous value. This view has potential implications for the claim that addiction is, in all cases, a brain disease. But more importantly, it has implications for clinical and policy interventions. To help someone overcome addiction, you need to understand and address why they persist in using drugs despite negative consequences. If they are not compelled, then the explanation must advert to the value of drugs for them as an individual. What blocks us from acknowledging this reality is not science but fear: that it will ignite moralism about drugs and condemnation of drug users. The solution is not to cleave to the concept of compulsion but to fight moralism directly.
Restricting Reasons: A New Battleground in Abortion Regulation
Authors: Will Jonathan F. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe latest trend in abortion restrictions in the United States targets a woman's reasons for terminating a pregnancy. Fourteen states have attempted to enact laws prohibiting abortion on the basis of fetal sex, race, and/or genetic anomaly. These laws are different from regulations tied to a government interest in protecting women's health. Laws that restrict reasons implicate a different set of government interests to be weighed against a woman's constitutional right first recognized in Roe v. Wade. These laws also seek to reframe the nature of the right asserted by the woman. To date, the Supreme Court has declined to address the constitutionality of laws that restrict reasons, and the Court's most recent abortion decisions provide little guidance.It is possible that a conservative majority of the Supreme Court would uphold a law that prohibits reasons for having an abortion that appear discriminatory. But such laws would be difficult to enforce and therefore may be relegated to policy statements rejecting discriminatory norms as opposed to being effective means of restricting access to abortion.
Checking in with Neuroethics
Authors: Farah Martha J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLike people, academic fields grow, acquire an identity, establish goals, and ultimately impact the world in various ways. Here we check in with our young friend Neuroethics—a field I want to see develop and thrive. This won't happen if it keeps returning to issues like cognitive enhancement or neural causation of behavior and responsibility, with minor adjustments of its analyses. Neuroethics is at its best when scanning the horizon for new scientific and technical developments that intersect in new ways with ethics and law. Consider the development of open‐ and closed‐loop deep brain stimulation for behavioral disorders. Under what conditions are patients responsible for their behavior when it is influenced by an implanted system? Neuroethics has also increased understanding of people's beliefs and attitudes toward neuroscience and its applications because effective policy must take empirical facts into account.
Does a Public Health Crisis Justify More Research with Incarcerated People?
Authors: Reiter Keramet 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCovid‐19 has infected thousands and killed hundreds in prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities across the United States. Responding to this crisis, leading medical researchers have called for expanding opportunities for people in prison to participate in vaccine trials. These calls, like current regulations, focus on individualized risk assessments around consent, coercion, and harm, while ignoring the unnaturalness of deprivation conditions in U.S. prisons. We need new frameworks of analysis that refocus on structural, rather than individual, risk assessments. Integrating structural perspectives—including skepticism of claims of scarcity, avoidance of representational distortions, and attention to institutional agency—into our existing, overly individualistic frameworks might permit the design of more ethical research projects involving people who are incarcerated. Still, the unnatural deprivations of incarceration might be so great that research subjects might need to be removed from prison entirely in order to ethically participate in research.
Beware of white matter hyperintensities causing systematic errors in FreeSurfer gray matter segmentations!
Authors: Dadar Mahsa , Potvin Olivier , Camicioli Richard , Duchesne Simon ,   for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Published: March 2021

AbstractVolumetric estimates of subcortical and cortical structures, extracted from T1‐weighted MRIs, are widely used in many clinical and research applications. Here, we investigate the impact of the presence of white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) on FreeSurfer gray matter (GM) structure volumes and its possible bias on functional relationships. T1‐weighted images from 1,077 participants (4,321 timepoints) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative were processed with FreeSurfer version 6.0.0. WMHs were segmented using a previously validated algorithm on either T2‐weighted or Fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery images. Mixed‐effects models were used to assess the relationships between overlapping WMHs and GM structure volumes and overall WMH burden, as well as to investigate whether such overlaps impact associations with age, diagnosis, and cognitive performance. Participants with higher WMH volumes had higher overlaps with GM volumes of bilateral caudate, cerebral cortex, putamen, thalamus, pallidum, and accumbens areas (p < .0001). When not corrected for WMHs, caudate volumes increased with age (p < .0001) and were not different between cognitively healthy individuals and age‐matched probable Alzheimer's disease patients. After correcting for WMHs, caudate volumes decreased with age (p < .0001), and Alzheimer's disease patients had lower caudate volumes than cognitively healthy individuals (p < .01). Uncorrected caudate volume was not associated with ADAS13 scores, whereas corrected lower caudate volumes were significantly associated with poorer cognitive performance (p < .0001). Presence of WMHs leads to systematic inaccuracies in GM segmentations, particularly for the caudate, which can also change clinical associations. While specifically measured for the Freesurfer toolkit, this problem likely affects other algorithms.
An improved predictive model for postoperative pulmonary complications after free flap reconstructions in the head and neck
Authors: Smith Derek K. , Freundlich Robert E. , Shinn Justin R. , Wood C. Burton , Rohde Sarah L. , McEvoy Matthew D. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundCommonly used predictive models for postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) do not perform when applied to head and neck cases. A head and neck‐specific risk prediction tool is needed.MethodsData on 794 free flap head and neck surgery cases at a single center were abstracted from the electronic medical record. Each case was reviewed for the development of PPCs. A predictive model was developed and was then compared to existing predictive models for PPCs.ResultsThe least absolute shrinkage and selection operator procedure identified age, alcohol use, history of congestive heart failure, preoperative packed cell volume, preoperative oxygen saturation, and preoperative metabolic equivalents as predictors of PPCs in the head and neck population. The model demonstrated an area under the receiving operating characteristic curve of 0.75 (0.69–0.80) with moderately good calibration. Comparisons to the performance of existing models demonstrate superior performance.ConclusionsThe model for the development of PPCs developed in this article displays superior performance to existing models.
Personalising lung cancer screening: An overview of risk‐stratification opportunities and challenges
Authors: ten Haaf Kevin , van der Aalst Carlijn M. , de Koning Harry J. , Kaaks Rudolf , Tammemägi Martin C. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractRandomised clinical trials have shown the efficacy of computed tomography lung cancer screening, initiating discussions on whether and how to implement population‐based screening programs. Due to smoking behaviour being the primary risk‐factor for lung cancer and part of the criteria for determining screening eligibility, lung cancer screening is inherently risk‐based. In fact, the selection of high‐risk individuals has been shown to be essential in implementing lung cancer screening in a cost‐effective manner. Furthermore, studies have shown that further risk‐stratification may improve screening efficiency, allow personalisation of the screening interval and reduce health disparities. However, implementing risk‐based lung cancer screening programs also requires overcoming a number of challenges. There are indications that risk‐based approaches can negatively influence the trade‐off between individual benefits and harms if not applied thoughtfully. Large‐scale implementation of targeted, risk‐based screening programs has been limited thus far. Consequently, questions remain on how to efficiently identify and invite high‐risk individuals from the general population. Finally, while risk‐based approaches may increase screening program efficiency, efficiency should be balanced with the overall impact of the screening program. In this review, we will address the opportunities and challenges in applying risk‐stratification in different aspects of lung cancer screening programs, as well as the balance between screening program efficiency and impact.
The molecular structure and role of CCL2 (MCP‐1) and C‐C chemokine receptor CCR2 in skeletal biology and diseases
Authors: Zhu Sipin , Liu Mei , Bennett Samuel , Wang Ziyi , Pfleger Kevin D. G. , Xu Jiake 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMonocyte chemoattractant protein‐1, also called chemokine (C‐C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) or small inducible cytokine A2, is an inflammatory mediator capable of recruiting monocytes, memory T cells, and dendritic cells. CCL2 is a member of the CC chemokine superfamily, which binds to its receptor, C‐C motif chemokine receptor‐2 (CCR2), for the induction of chemotactic activity and an increase of calcium influx. It exerts multiple effects on a variety of cells, including monocytes, macrophages, osteoclasts, basophils, and endothelial cells, and is involved in a diverse range of diseases. This review discusses the molecular structure and role of CCL2 and CCR2 in skeletal biology and disease. Molecular structure analyses reveal that CCL2 shares a conserved C‐C motif; however, it has only limited sequence homology with other CCL family members. Likewise, CCR2, as a member of the G‐protein‐coupled seven‐transmembrane receptor superfamily, shares conserved cysteine residues, but exhibits very limited sequence homology with other CCR family members. In the skeletal system, the expression of CCL2 is regulated by a variety of factors, such as parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone‐related peptide, interleukin 1b, tumor necrosis factor‐α and transforming growth factor‐beta, RANKL, and mechanical forces. The interaction of CCL2 and CCR2 activates several signaling cascades, including PI3K/Akt/ERK/NF‐κB, PI3K/MAPKs, and JAK/STAT‐1/STAT‐3. Understanding the role of CCL2 and CCR2 will facilitate the development of novel therapies for skeletal disorders, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteolysis and other inflammatory diseases related to abnormal chemotaxis.
Silicone‐induced lymphadenopathy mimicking recurrence of breast cancer on positron emission tomography‐computed tomography, correctly diagnosed on ultrasound
Authors: Cho Eun , Lee Jin Hwa , Park Eun Hwa , Byun Kyung Do , Roh Mee Sook , Baek Hye Jin , Ryu Kyeong Hwa 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSilicone‐induced lymphadenopathy is a rare complication associated with silicone breast implants. It is usually asymptomatic and found incidentally during imaging. We report a case of silicone lymphadenopathy in a patient who had undergone a mastectomy and breast reconstruction for breast cancer. During follow‐up, a positron emission tomography‐computed tomography examination revealed lymph nodes that were suspicious for cancer recurrence. However, sonography was able to correctly diagnose silicone‐induced lymphadenopathy and exclude cancer metastasis.
Nonsubsampled contourlet transform based tone‐mapping operator to optimize the dynamic range of diatom shells
Authors: Singh Harbinder , Cristobal Gabriel , Blanco Saul , Bueno Gloria , Sanchez Carlos 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe diatoms have intricate silica‐based cell walls with multi‐scale patterns. High dynamic range (HDR) imaging is widely used to examine the three‐dimensional structure of diatoms for recovering the wide range of contrast and brightness. In order to construct a HDR image of a diatom, multiple images of the specimen are taken at different exposure settings with bright or dark field microscopy. In the proposed method, multi‐scale decomposition based on nonsubsampled contourlet transform is adopted to separate the structured and detailed information of the HDR image. And then, by processing all layers independently, the tone‐mapped image is reconstructed to retain details present in the dark and light regions. Quantitative and qualitative analysis is performed in order to assess the performance of the proposed and seven existing tone‐mapping operators. In analysis, the study indicates that the proposed method enhances the diatom frustules to extract more details.