bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transfusion practices in the care of pregnant women with sickle cell disease in Ouagadougou
Authors: Zamané Hyacinthe , Sanou Fabienne , Kiemtoré Sibraogo , Kain Dantola Paul , Sawadogo Arnaud Kiswendsida , Bonané‐Thiéba Blandine 
Published: September 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo study the contribution of blood transfusion management in the improvement of maternal and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women with sickle cell disease in Ouagadougou.MethodsA cross‐sectional retrospective study with data collected from February 2012 to January 2014 was used. Patients were differentiated into three groups: patients with at least one exchange transfusion, patients who received blood transfusion, and patients who did not receive any transfusion. Data were collected from patients’ patient care documents.ResultsOne hundred and sixty‐four patients were included, of whom 53 were in the first group, 32 in the second group, and 79 in the third group. Maternal complications in the last trimester of pregnancy were significantly less important (P=0.000) in the first group (58.5%) than in the second (78.5%) and third group (91.1%). The same trend was observed for postpartum maternal mortality (5.7%; 12.5%; 12.6%; P=0.009). Fetal complications such as preterm birth and early neonatal death were lower in the first group (15.1%; 1.8%) than in the second (40.6%; 23.1%) and third group (32.9%; 7.6%).ConclusionProphylactic blood transfusion is an important part of the management of pregnant patients with sickle cell disease.
Explore prognostic marker of colorectal cancer based on ceRNA network
Authors: Ke Mu‐Jing , Ji Lian‐Dong , Li Yi‐Xiong 
Published: September 2019

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. With the deepening of people's understanding of CRC at the molecular level, the survival and prognosis of CRC have been significantly improved with the help of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, molecular targeted biological therapy and early detection of diseases. The research of different disciplines and the development of multihistological analysis in recent years have proved that the occurrence and development of CRC is a complex biological process with the common action of multiple factors, which involves the huge changes of various histological levels such as the genome, transcriptome, and epigenome. At present, the abnormal expression of protein products in the transcription process has attracted more and more attention. Based on the sensitivity and timeliness of its changes, it has become a hot topic to study the occurrence and development mechanism of CRC through transcriptome changes, so as to provide markers for early diagnosis and prognosis. In recent years, competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) has become one of the hot topics in cancer research. The ceRNA hypothesis holds that transcripts such as long noncoding RNA can competitively bind microRNA (miRNA), thus preventing miRNA from binding to messenger RNA (mRNA) and thereby regulating the expression of mRNA. At present, the interaction mechanism of ceRNA in CRC is still unclear, and exploring its interaction relationship is of great significance to elucidate the occurrence and development mechanism of CRC. In this study, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA ‐ seq data of colorectal Cancer and microRnas ‐ seq data to construct colorectal Cancer ceRNA topology network to mine key RNAs that influence the prognosis of colorectal cancer, providing potential RNA biomarkers.
Relationship between serum tumor markers and Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase mutations in stage IV lung adenocarcinoma in Hubei province, Central China
Authors: Tan Qi , Huang Qi , Ma GuanZhou , LV Zhilei , Mei PeiYuan , Mao KaiMin , Wu Feng , Jin Yang 
Published: September 2019

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the predictive value of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCAg), and neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) in the prediction of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutations in advance stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Subjects and MethodsA total of 482 cases with untreated lung adenocarcinoma were retrospectively reviewed. Finally, 72 patients with stage IV were enrolled because of intact data of the detection of ALK rearrangement and serum tumor markers, as well they have not received any previous anticancer therapy. We used the one‐way ANOVA analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between the level of serum tumor markers and ALK mutations.ResultsFifteen cases with ALK mutations and 57 cases without mutations were identified. The result of the one‐way ANOVA analysis showed only CEA was significantly associated with ALK mutations (95% CI:39.05‐148.88; P = .001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of CEA was 0.705 (95%CI:0.567‐0.843; P = .015). However, no significant association was observed between CEA and ALK mutations though the result of correlation analysis (P = .069) and multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 0.988, 95% CI: 0.972‐1.003, P = .111).ConclusionsIn our study, we performed on the patients with stage IV lung adenocarcinoma in our region and found preoperative serum levels of SCCAg, CYRF21‐1, and NSE not suitable for the detection of ALK mutation. Although we observed a significant association between CEA and ALK mutations; however, it was not strong enough to distinguish ALK status for the patients in our region.
Effects of Adding Pentoxifylline to Captopril on Primary Hypertension: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
Authors: Namdar Hossein , Khani Elnaz , Pourrashid Mohammad Hassan , Entezari‐Maleki Taher 
Published: September 2019

AbstractBecause of the key role blood viscosity plays in the regulation of blood pressure (BP) and the hemorheological effects of pentoxifylline (PTX), this study was conducted to evaluate whether PTX can reduce BP when added to captopril in patients with stage 1 hypertension. In this randomized clinical trial 62 patients with stage 1 hypertension were entered. The intervention group (n = 30) received 1200 mg PTX in 3 divided doses plus 25 mg captopril 3 times a day, whereas the control group (n = 32) received only 75 mg captopril in 3 divided doses. Measurements of BP were done at baseline and in the first and second months after entering the study. Major adverse cardiac events during this period were recorded. When the systolic BP levels in the intervention and the control groups were compared, no significant differences at baseline (150.4 ± 6.03 versus 150.4 ± 6.2, P = .98) or first (138.4 ± 9.4 versus 142.3 ± 5.6, P = .08) or second (134.6 ± 8.9 versus 137.4 ± 6.0, P = .20) month of the study were noted. Similarly no significant difference was observed in the diastolic BP at baseline (91.7 ± 3.9 versus 92.0 ± 3.7, P = .84) or first (85.5 ± 5.1 versus 86.9 ± 3.8, P = .27) or second (82.6 ± 5.7 versus 84.0 ± 3.5, P = .31) month. Based on the results of present study, adding PTX as a hemorheological agent to captopril could not significantly reduce blood pressure in the patients with stage 1 hypertension.
Spatial assessment of meteorological drought features over different climate regions in Iran
Authors: Sharafati Ahmad , Nabaei Sina , Shahid Shamsuddin 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIran has a predominantly arid and semi‐arid climate where the drought hazards and their variability are the crucial concerns for water resources management. This study assesses the characteristics and trends of meteorological droughts features in different climate regions of Iran. Monthly rainfall data are analysed using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to reconstruct meteorological droughts for different time steps (1, 3, 6, 9 and 12). The drought events are decomposed into three features, namely Severity (S), Duration (D) and Peak (P) to assess their spatial variations in different climate regions. The Mann–Kendall (MK) test is used to detect the trends in drought features in different climate regions. The percentage area (PA) of increasing/decreasing trend in drought features is computed to assess the spatial variations of trends in each region. Besides, SPI is compared with Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to understand the importance of evapotranspiration on meteorological droughts. The high correlations between SPI and SPEI indicate that the results obtained using SPI would not vary if a similar analysis is conducted using SPEI. The results obtained using SPI reveal that short‐duration droughts (6 months or less) are more frequent and severe in the northwest and the north along the Caspian plains while the longer‐duration droughts (more than 6 months) are more frequent and severe in the south, southeast and southwest. Overall, the northwest region of Iran is found most susceptible to droughts in terms of S, P and D. Moderate (40% < PA < 60%) or significant (PA > 60%) increase in the drought features are observed in all climate regions for shorter SPI (3 months or less) except northwest, while no drought feature is found to increase significantly for SPI‐12. Overall, the higher increase in drought S, P and D are found in the central arid region and at higher altitudes.
Hard and soft tissue evaluation of titanium dental implants and abutments with nanotubes in canines
Authors: Garrett Phillip W. , Johnston Gary W. , Bosshardt Dieter D. , Jones Archie A. , Sasada Yuya , Ong Joo L. , Cochran David L. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractBackgroundLittle is known regarding the interaction of dental implant surface nanotubes and oral soft and hard tissues. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both histologically and radiographically the qualitative and quantitative effects of dental implant surface nanotubes on hard and soft tissue in a canine model.MethodsThree subgroups consisting of a combination of test and control implants and abutments (Group A: control implant/control abutment, Group B: control implant/test abutment: Group C: test implant/test abutment) were placed in edentulous mandibles of six large‐breed canines. Implants and abutments were placed on one side at baseline, and on the opposite side of the mandible at week 10; sacrifice occurred at week 12. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to measure newly formed hard and soft tissues histologically and radiographically.ResultsThe mean radiographic change in marginal bone level from weeks 0 to 12 between implant groups was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Mean soft tissue contact (junctional epithelium + connective tissue) for Groups A, B, and C were 2.29, 2.33, and 2.31 mm, respectively, with no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between the groups. All connective tissue fibers were oriented parallel to the abutment regardless of surface treatment.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that healing of hard and soft tissues around implants and abutments is similar when comparing grit‐blasted surfaces to machined, turned surfaces with nanotubes. Both resulted in similar soft tissue contact values, as well as connective tissue fiber orientation.
Internal demarketing in the U.K. Civil Service since the 2007–2009 financial crisis
Authors: Brown David M. , Dey Bidit Lal , Wäppling Anders , Woodruffe‐Burton Helen 
Published: September 2019

AbstractIn reacting to the Financial Crisis of 2007–2009, the U.K. Civil Service has sought to redefine its relationship with its employees. The U.K. Civil Service appears to have shifted to a model of employer–employee relationship which segments the workforce, markets itself to its perceived core employees, and demarkets itself to its perceived noncore employees. The findings challenge the previously held assumption that internal demarketing constitutes accidental, manager‐level, bungled, but well‐intentioned, attempts at internal marketing.
Comparative study on finance‐growth nexus in Malaysia and Indonesia: Role of institutional quality
Authors: Sohag Kazi , Shams S. M. Riad , Omar Normah , Chandrarin Grahita 
Published: September 2019

AbstractThe impact of financial development (FD) on economic growth in the context of Malaysia and Indonesia has been examined in this study regarding the role of the financial crisis and strategic changes in the institutional setup. Autoregressive distributed lags and threshold regression were applied, and time series data were analyzed for the period between 1984 and 2017 revealing that FD promoted the economic growth in both economies during this period. A nonlinear analysis also revealed that FD and economic growth follow an inverted U‐shape relation in the case of Malaysia whereas, in Indonesia, it followed a U‐shape relation. It was discovered that not all measures of FD promote economic growth. For instance, market capitalization was profound in the Malaysian economy while credit to the private sector and money supply was conducive for the Indonesian economy. The analysis demonstrated that the Asian and global financial crisis adversely affected economic growth in the case of Indonesia due to poor institutional quality (IQ), whereas in Malaysia it was relatively safe from the adversity brought about by the financial crisis due to the presence of IQ and good corporate governance. However, a positive change in IQ was found to have a much greater impact on augmenting economic growth rather than playing a mediating role in connection with FD and economic growth in Malaysia. In the context of Indonesia however, IQ was found to impede economic growth but played a positive and significant mediating role in the nexus of FD and economic growth. The spill‐over analysis revealed that Malaysian FD is positively associated with Indonesian economic growth while Indonesian FD is negatively associated with the Malaysian economy. This study provided all economic and anecdotal explanations in supporting the results of this study.
Using Ultrasound Measurement of the Achilles Tendon in Asymptomatic Runners to Assist in Predicting Tendinopathy
Authors: Kudron Christopher , Carlson Morgan Jake , Meron Adele , Sridhar Balaji , Brakke Holman Rachel 
Published: September 2019

ObjectivesThe Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the human body, and Achilles tendinopathy is common in athletes due to the stress imparted by repetitive forces. The prevalence of Achilles tendon abnormalities in asymptomatic elite runners is unknown. Since there is a substantial risk of developing symptomatic tendinopathy in those with abnormal tendons, identifying those asymptomatic athletes with abnormal tendons and characterizing baseline characteristics of elite runners using ultrasound (US) are valuable injury prevention tools.MethodsThis study used US to evaluate the Achilles tendons of 27 asymptomatic National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I cross‐country athletes and performed correlations between dominant and nondominant side tendon size (cross‐sectional area [CSA] and thickness) and athlete characteristics. Tendons were also assessed for signs of abnormalities that were suggestive of Achilles tendinopathy.ResultsThe prevalence of tendon abnormalities in asymptomatic collegiate runners was 11%. Among the participants included in this study, dominant and nondominant Achilles tendons did not vary significantly in thickness or CSA (P > .05). The CSA was found to correlate with height, weight, sex, body mass index, and miles run per week (P < .05). Thickness was found to correlate best with miles run per week (P < .05).ConclusionsA US evaluation of the Achilles tendon has potential to identify changes in tendon size in addition to abnormalities consistent with tendinopathy. As more normative values are identified among various populations, tendon size may have prognostic value for collegiate athletes in the evaluation of Achilles tendinopathy.
Accuracy of Resident‐Performed Point‐of‐Care Lung Ultrasound Examinations Versus Chest Radiography in Pneumothorax Follow‐up After Tube Thoracostomy in Rwanda
Authors: Shumbusho Jean Paul , Duanmu Youyou , Kim Sung H. , Bassett Ingrid V. , Boyer Edward W. , Ruutiainen Alexander T. , Riviello Robert , Ntirenganya Faustin , Henwood Patricia C. 
Published: September 2019

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and timeliness of resident‐performed point‐of‐care lung ultrasound (LUS) examinations for the follow‐up of pneumothorax (PTX) after tube thoracostomy.MethodsAfter brief training, Rwandan surgical residents blinded to chest radiography (CXR) performed and interpreted LUS examinations for PTX in participants undergoing CXR for PTX follow‐up. Treating clinicians interpreted CXR for the presence of PTX for therapeutic decisions. Lung ultrasound was later reviewed by ultrasound experts, and CXR was reviewed by a radiologist. We defined expert LUS interpretation as the reference standard. The sensitivity and specificity of resident‐performed LUS examinations for diagnosing PTX were calculated. We assessed agreement between trained resident versus expert LUS and clinician versus radiology CXR using the Cohen κ coefficient. We compared the time to results between LUS and CXR.ResultsOver an 8‐month period, 51 participants were enrolled. Compared to expert LUS interpretation, the sensitivity and specificity (95% confidence intervals) of resident LUS were 100% (85%–100%) and 96% (82%–100%), respectively, whereas the sensitivity and specificity of clinician‐interpreted CXR were 48% (27%–69%) and 100% (88%–100%). The agreement between resident and expert LUS was excellent (κ = 0.96), whereas the agreement between clinician and radiologist CXR was only moderate (κ = 0.60). The time to results was significantly longer for CXR than LUS (mean, 1335 versus 396 minutes; P = .0001).ConclusionsA resident‐performed LUS examination was a quicker imaging modality with superior sensitivity compared to clinician‐interpreted CXR for PTX follow‐up after tube thoracostomy in this Rwandan study. Lung ultrasound can be a valuable imaging tool for PTX follow‐up, especially in resource‐limited settings.
Docking‐based approach for identification of mutations that disrupt binding between Bcl‐2 and Bax proteins: Inducing apoptosis in cancer cells
Authors: Raghav Pawan Kumar , Kumar Rajesh , Kumar Vinod , Raghava Gajendra P. S. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractBackgroundInducing apoptosis in cancer cells is an important step for the successful treatment of cancer patients. Bcl‐2 is an antiapoptotic protein which determines apoptosis by interacting with proapoptotic members of the Bcl‐2 family. Exome sequencing has identified Bcl‐2 and Bax missense mutations in more than 40 cancer types. However, a little information is available about the functional impact of each Bcl‐2 and Bax mutation on the pathogenesis of cancer.MethodsThe mutational data from cancer tissues and cell lines were retrieved from the cBioPortal web resource. The 13 mutated Bcl‐2 and wild‐type Bax complexes with experimentally verified binding were identified from previous studies wherein, binding for all complexes was reportedly disrupted except one. Several protein–protein docking methods such as ClusPro, HDOCK, PatchDock, FireDock, InterEVDock2 and several mutation prediction methods such as PolyPhen‐2, SIFT, and OncoKB have been used to predict the effect of mutation to disrupt the binding between Bcl‐2 and Bax. The result obtained was compared with the known experimental data.ResultsThe protein–protein docking method, ClusPro, employed in the present study confirmed that the binding affinity of 11 out of 13 complexes decreases. Similarly, binding affinity computed for all the 10 wild‐type Bcl‐2 and mutated Bax complexes agreed with experimentally verified results.ConclusionSeveral methods like PolyPhen‐2, SIFT, and OncoKB have been developed to predict cancer‐associated or deleterious mutations, but no method is available to predict apoptosis‐inducing mutations. Thus, in this study, we have examined the mutations in Bcl‐2 and Bax proteins that disrupt their binding, which is crucial for inducing apoptosis to eradicate cancer. This study suggests that protein–protein docking methods can play a significant role in the identification of hotspot mutations in Bcl‐2 or Bax that can disrupt their binding with wild‐type partner to induce apoptosis in cancer cells.
A novel TTN deletion in a family with skeletal myopathy, facial weakness, and dilated cardiomyopathy
Authors: Roggenbuck Jennifer , Rich Kelly , Morales Ana , Tan Christopher A. , Eck Douglas , King Wendy , Vatta Matteo , Winder Thomas , Elsheikh Bakri , Hershberger Ray E. , Kissel John T. 
Published: September 2019

AbstractBackgroundPathogenic variants in TTN (OMIM 188840), encoding the largest human protein, are known to cause dilated cardiomyopathy and several forms of skeletal myopathy. The clinical interpretation of TTN variants is challenging, however, due to the frequency of missense changes, variable testing and reporting practices in commercial laboratories, and incomplete understanding of the spectrum of TTN‐related disease.MethodsWe report a heterozygous TTN deletion segregating in a family with an unusual skeletal myopathy phenotype associated with facial weakness, gait abnormality, and dilated cardiomyopathy.ResultsA novel 16.430 kb heterozygous deletion spanning part of the A‐ and M‐bands of TTN was identified in the proband and his symptomatic son, as well as in an additional son whose symptoms were identified on clinical evaluation. The deletion was found to be de novo in the proband.ConclusionPathogenic variants in TTN may be an unrecognized cause of skeletal myopathy phenotypes, particularly when accompanied by dilated cardiomyopathy.
Tropical and Subtropical Parasitic Diseases: Targets for a New Approach to Virtual Screening
Authors: Yunta Maria J. R. , Dietrich Roque Carlos 
Published: September 2019

AbstractComputational techniques are widely used to reduce costs associated with new drug development with the ability to bind a specific molecular target. These studies need a Brookhaven protein data bank structure sample of the enzyme interaction with an inhibitor of adequate size. In this context, a new computational methodology is postulated to be used when there are no published samples fulfilling this requirements. In this study, 7 compounds, which showed anti‐T. cruzi, L. donovani and L. infantum properties, and proved to be inhibitors of their Fe‐SOD enzymes, have been theoretically evaluated against related parasites Fe‐SOD enzymes, which have been proposed as targets for antiparasitic drugs. This methodology may be applied to similar cases and also to generate starting structures to be used with different CADD methods
Uzawa methods for a class of block three‐by‐three saddle‐point problems
Authors: Huang Na , Dai Yu‐Hong , Hu QiYa 
Published: September 2019

SummaryIn this work, we consider numerical methods for solving a class of block three‐by‐three saddle‐point problems, which arise from finite element methods for solving time‐dependent Maxwell equations and some other applications. The direct extension of the Uzawa method for solving this block three‐by‐three saddle‐point problem requires the exact solution of a symmetric indefinite system of linear equations at each step. To avoid heavy computations at each step, we propose an inexact Uzawa method, which solves the symmetric indefinite linear system in some inexact way. Under suitable assumptions, we show that the inexact Uzawa method converges to the unique solution of the saddle‐point problem within the approximation level. Two special algorithms are customized for the inexact Uzawa method combining the splitting iteration method and a preconditioning technique, respectively. Numerical experiments are presented, which demonstrated the usefulness of the inexact Uzawa method and the two customized algorithms.