bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Unhealthy behaviours and risk of visual impairment: The CONSTANCES population-based cohort
Authors: Merle Bénédicte M. J. , Moreau Gwendoline , Ozguler Anna , Srour Bernard , Cougnard-Grégoire Audrey , Goldberg Marcel , Zins Marie , Delcourt Cécile 
Published: April 2018

AbstractUnhealthy behaviours are linked to a higher risk of eye diseases, but their combined effect on visual function is unknown. We aimed to examine the individual and combined associations of diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption with visual impairment among French adults. 38 903 participants aged 18–73 years from the CONSTANCES nationwide cohort (2012–2016) with visual acuity measured and who completed, lifestyle, medical and food frequency questionnaires were included. Visual impairment was defined as a presenting visual acuity <20/40 in the better eye. After full multivariate adjustment, the odds for visual impairment increased with decreasing diet quality (p for trend = 0.04), decreasing physical activity (p for trend = 0.02) and increasing smoking pack-years (p for trend = 0.03), whereas no statistically significant association with alcohol consumption was found. Combination of several unhealthy behaviours was associated with increasing odds for visual impairment (p for trend = 0.0002), with a fully-adjusted odds ratio of 1.81 (95% CI 1.18 to 2.79) for participants reporting 2 unhealthy behaviours and 2.92 (95% CI 1.60 to 5.32) for those reporting 3 unhealthy behaviours. An unhealthy lifestyle including low/intermediate diet quality, low physical activity and heavy smoking was associated with visual impairment in this large population-based study.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Psychoeducation for the Reduction of Menopausal Symptoms: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial
Authors: Wong Carmen , Yip Benjamin Hon-Kei , Gao Ting , Lam Kitty Yu Yuk , Woo Doris Mei Sum , Yip Annie Lai King , Chin Chloe Yu , Tang Winnie Pui Yin , Choy Mandy Mun Tse , Tsang Katrina Wai Key , Ho Suzanne C. , Ma Helen Shuk Wah , Wong Samuel Yeung Shan 
Published: April 2018

AbstractPsychological and behavioural interventions may be effective in reducing menopause-related symptoms. This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in reducing menopause-related symptoms by comparing with an active control group, the menopause education control (MEC). Symptomatic peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women with mild to moderate symptoms were recruited. The primary outcome was overall menopausal symptoms measured by modified Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS). Secondary outcomes include subscales of the GCS perceived stress, mindfulness and health related Quality of Life. All outcome measures were collected at baseline, 2 months (immediately post intervention), 5 and 8 months (3 and 6 months post intervention respectively). Both MBSR (n = 98) and MEC (n = 99) groups reported a reduction in total GCS score at 8 months. Between group analysis show significant symptom score reduction in MBSR group on Anxiety and Depression subscales of GCS. No differences were found between groups on other GCS subscales and majority of the secondary outcome measures. The findings show that menopausal symptoms in both MBSR and MEC significantly reduced over the study period. MBSR show a greater reduction of psychological symptoms of depression and anxiety above active controls but do not reduce other somatic, urogenital and vasomotor symptoms.
MitoQ supplementation prevent long-term impact of maternal smoking on renal development, oxidative stress and mitochondrial density in male mice offspring
Authors: Sukjamnong Suporn , Chan Yik Lung , Zakarya Razia , Nguyen Long The , Anwer Ayad G. , Zaky Amgad A. , Santiyanont Rachana , Oliver Brian G. , Goldys Ewa , Pollock Carol A. , Chen Hui , Saad Sonia 
Published: April 2018

AbstractTo investigate the effect of maternal MitoQ treatment on renal disorders caused by maternal cigarette smoke exposure (SE). We have demonstrated that maternal SE during pregnancy increases the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult offspring. Mitochondrial oxidative damage contributes to the adverse effects of maternal smoking on renal disorders. MitoQ is a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant that has been shown to protect against oxidative damage-related pathologies in many diseases. Female Balb/c mice (8 weeks) were divided into Sham (exposed to air), SE (exposed to cigarette smoke) and SEMQ (exposed to cigarette smoke with MitoQ supplemented from mating) groups. Kidneys from the mothers were collected when the pups weaned and those from the offspring were collected at 13 weeks. Maternal MitoQ supplementation during gestation and lactation significantly reversed the adverse impact of maternal SE on offspring’s body weight, kidney mass and renal pathology. MitoQ administration also significantly reversed the impact of SE on the renal cellular mitochondrial density and renal total reactive oxygen species in both the mothers and their offspring in adulthood. Our results suggested that MitoQ supplementation can mitigate the adverse impact of maternal SE on offspring’s renal pathology, renal oxidative stress and mitochondrial density in mice offspring.
Quantitative correlation between the void morphology of niobium-tin wires and their irreversible critical current degradation upon mechanical loading
Authors: Barth C. , Seeber B. , Rack A. , Calzolaio C. , Zhai Y. , Matera D. , Senatore C. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractUnderstanding the critical current performance variation of Nb3Sn superconducting wires under mechanical loading is a crucial issue for the design of next generation accelerator and fusion magnets. In these applications, the mechanical properties of the conductors may become a limiting factor due to the strong electro-magnetic forces resulting from the combination of large magnets and intense magnetic fields. In particular, the presence of voids in the superconducting filament structure, which are formed during the fabrication and the reaction heat treatment, determines localized stress concentrations and possibly the formation of cracks. In this work, we demonstrate a quantitative correlation between the void morphology and the electro-mechanical limits measured on different Bronze route Nb3Sn wires. Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) prior to the reaction heat treatment is utilized to partially eliminate the voids. The wires’ void distributions - with and without HIP treatment - are detected and statistically analyzed using high energy X-ray micro tomography. The stress concentration due to the shape and distribution of the voids as well as their impact on the electro-mechanical properties are determined through finite element method modeling. Finally, the results are quantitatively correlated with the experimentally determined limits of the irreversible critical current degradation upon mechanical loading.
An improved deep learning approach for detection of thyroid papillary cancer in ultrasound images
Authors: Li Hailiang , Weng Jian , Shi Yujian , Gu Wanrong , Mao Yijun , Wang Yonghua , Liu Weiwei , Zhang Jiajie 
Published: April 2018

AbstractUnlike daily routine images, ultrasound images are usually monochrome and low-resolution. In ultrasound images, the cancer regions are usually blurred, vague margin and irregular in shape. Moreover, the features of cancer region are very similar to normal or benign tissues. Therefore, training ultrasound images with original Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) directly is not satisfactory. In our study, inspired by state-of-the-art object detection network Faster R-CNN, we develop a detector which is more suitable for thyroid papillary carcinoma detection in ultrasound images. In order to improve the accuracy of the detection, we add a spatial constrained layer to CNN so that the detector can extract the features of surrounding region in which the cancer regions are residing. In addition, by concatenating the shallow and deep layers of the CNN, the detector can detect blurrier or smaller cancer regions. The experiments demonstrate that the potential of this new methodology can reduce the workload for pathologists and increase the objectivity of diagnoses. We find that 93:5% of papillary thyroid carcinoma regions could be detected automatically while 81:5% of benign and normal tissue could be excluded without the use of any additional immunohistochemical markers or human intervention.
Comparative systems analysis of the secretome of the opportunistic pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus and other Aspergillus species
Authors: Vivek-Ananth R. P. , Mohanraj Karthikeyan , Vandanashree Muralidharan , Jhingran Anupam , Craig James P. , Samal Areejit 
Published: April 2018

AbstractAspergillus fumigatus and multiple other Aspergillus species cause a wide range of lung infections, collectively termed aspergillosis. Aspergilli are ubiquitous in environment with healthy immune systems routinely eliminating inhaled conidia, however, Aspergilli can become an opportunistic pathogen in immune-compromised patients. The aspergillosis mortality rate and emergence of drug-resistance reveals an urgent need to identify novel targets. Secreted and cell membrane proteins play a critical role in fungal-host interactions and pathogenesis. Using a computational pipeline integrating data from high-throughput experiments and bioinformatic predictions, we have identified secreted and cell membrane proteins in ten Aspergillus species known to cause aspergillosis. Small secreted and effector-like proteins similar to agents of fungal-plant pathogenesis were also identified within each secretome. A comparison with humans revealed that at least 70% of Aspergillus secretomes have no sequence similarity with the human proteome. An analysis of antigenic qualities of Aspergillus proteins revealed that the secretome is significantly more antigenic than cell membrane proteins or the complete proteome. Finally, overlaying an expression dataset, four A. fumigatus proteins upregulated during infection and with available structures, were found to be structurally similar to known drug target proteins in other organisms, and were able to dock in silico with the respective drug.
A Temporal Examination of Platelet Counts as a Predictor of Prognosis in Lung, Prostate, and Colon Cancer Patients
Authors: Sylman Joanna L. , Boyce Hunter B. , Mitrugno Annachiara , Tormoen Garth W. , Thomas I-Chun , Wagner Todd H. , Lee Jennifer S. , Leppert John T. , McCarty Owen J. T. , Mallick Parag 
Published: April 2018

AbstractPlatelets, components of hemostasis, when present in excess (>400 K/μL, thrombocytosis) have also been associated with worse outcomes in lung, ovarian, breast, renal, and colorectal cancer patients. Associations between thrombocytosis and cancer outcomes have been made mostly from single-time-point studies, often at the time of diagnosis. Using laboratory data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), we examined the potential benefits of using longitudinal platelet counts in improving patient prognosis predictions. Ten features (summary statistics and engineered features) were derived to describe the platelet counts of 10,000+ VA lung, prostate, and colon cancer patients and incorporated into an age-adjusted LASSO regression analysis to determine feature importance, and predict overall or relapse-free survival, which was compared to the previously used approach of monitoring for thrombocytosis near diagnosis (Postdiag AG400 model). Temporal features describing acute platelet count increases/decreases were found to be important in cancer survival and relapse-survival that helped stratify good and bad outcomes of cancer patient groups. Predictions of overall and relapse-free survival were improved by up to 30% compared to the Postdiag AG400 model. Our study indicates the association of temporally derived platelet count features with a patients’ prognosis predictions.
Epidemics of HIV, HCV and syphilis infection among synthetic drugs only users, heroin-only users and poly-drug users in Southwest China
Authors: Su Shu , Mao Limin , Zhao Jinxian , Chen Liang , Jing Jun , Cheng Feng , Zhang Lei 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe number of poly-drug users who mix use heroin and synthetic drugs (SD) is increasing worldwide. The objective of this study is to measure the risk factors for being infected with hepatitis C (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and syphilis among SD-only users, heroin-only users and poly-drug users. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 from a national HIV surveillance site in Southwest China, 447 poly-drug, 526 SD-only and 318 heroin-only users were recruited. Poly-drug users have higher drug-use frequency, higher rates of drug-sharing and unsafe sexual acts than other users (p < 0.05). About a third (36.7%) of poly-drug users experienced sexual arousal due to drug effects, which is higher than the rate among other drug users. Poly-drug users had the highest prevalence of HIV (10.5%) and syphilis (3.6%), but heroin-only users had the highest prevalence of HCV (66.0%) (all p < 0.05) among three groups. Logistic regression shows among poly-drug users, having sex following drug consumption and using drugs ≥1/day were the major risk factors for both HIV (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.4, 95% CI [1.8–3.4]; 2.3, [1.6–3.1]) and syphilis infection (AOR = 4.1, [2.1–6.9]; 3.9, [1.8–5.4]). Elevated risk of both HIV and syphilis infection have been established among poly-drug users.
Tilted grating phase-contrast computed tomography using statistical iterative reconstruction
Authors: Birnbacher Lorenz , Viermetz Manuel , Noichl Wolfgang , Allner Sebastian , Fehringer Andreas , Marschner Mathias , von Teuffenbach Maximilian , Willner Marian , Achterhold Klaus , Noël Peter B. , Koehler Thomas , Herzen Julia , Pfeiffer Franz 
Published: April 2018

AbstractGrating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (GBPC-CT) enables increased soft tissue differentiation, but often suffers from streak artifacts when performing high-sensitivity GBPC-CT of biomedical samples. Current GBPC-CT setups consist of one-dimensional gratings and hence allow to measure only the differential phase-contrast (DPC) signal perpendicular to the direction of the grating lines. Having access to the full two-dimensional DPC signal can strongly reduce streak artefacts showing up as characteristic horizontal lines in the reconstructed images. GBPC-CT with gratings tilted by 45° around the optical axis, combining opposed projections, and reconstructing with filtered backprojection is one method to retrieve the full three-dimensional DPC signal. This approach improves the quality of the tomographic data as already demonstrated at a synchrotron facility. However, additional processing and interpolation is necessary, and the approach fails when dealing with cone-beam geometry setups. In this work, we employ the tilted grating configuration with a laboratory GBPC-CT setup with cone-beam geometry and use statistical iterative reconstruction (SIR) with a forward model accounting for diagonal grating alignment. Our results show a strong reduction of streak artefacts and significant increase in image quality. In contrast to the prior approach our proposed method can be used in a laboratory environment due to its cone-beam compatibility.
A thin ice layer segregates two distinct fungal communities in Antarctic brines from Tarn Flat (Northern Victoria Land)
Authors: Borruso Luigimaria , Sannino Ciro , Selbmann Laura , Battistel Dario , Zucconi Laura , Azzaro Maurizio , Turchetti Benedetta , Buzzini Pietro , Guglielmin Mauro 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBrines are hypersaline solutions which have been found within the Antarctic permafrost from the Tarn Flat area (Northern Victoria Land). Here, an investigation on the possible presence and diversity of fungal life within those peculiar ecosystems has been carried out for the first time. Brines samples were collected at 4- and 5-meter depths (TF1 and TF2, respectively), from two brines separated by a thin ice layer. The samples were analyzed via Illumina MiSeq targeting the ITS region specific for both yeasts and filamentous fungi. An unexpected high alpha diversity was found. Beta diversity analysis revealed that the two brines were inhabited by two phylogenetically diverse fungal communities (Unifrac value: 0.56, p value < 0.01; Martin’s P-test p-value < 0.001) characterized by several specialist taxa. The most abundant fungal genera were Candida sp., Leucosporidium sp., Naganishia sp. and Sporobolomyces sp. in TF1, and Leucosporidium sp., Malassezia sp., Naganishia sp. and Sporobolomyces sp. in TF2. A few hypotheses on such differentiation have been done: i) the different chemical and physical composition of the brines; ii) the presence in situ of a thin layer of ice, acting as a physical barrier; and iii) the diverse geological origin of the brines.
Human-Pathogenic Enterocytozoon bieneusi in Captive Giant Pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in China
Authors: Li Wei , Zhong Zhijun , Song Yuan , Gong Chao , Deng Lei , Cao Yuying , Zhou Ziyao , Cao Xuefeng , Tian Yinan , Li Haozhou , Feng Fan , Zhang Yue , Wang Chengdong , Li Caiwu , Yang Haidi , Huang Xiangming , Fu Hualin , Geng Yi , Ren Zhihua , Wu Kongju , Peng Guangneng 
Published: April 2018

AbstractHuman and animal infections of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi) have consistently been reported worldwide, garnering public attention; however, the molecular epidemiology of E. bieneusi in the giant panda remains limited. We surveyed captive giant pandas in China for the presence of E. bieneusi by using PCR and sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) revealing a 34.5% positive rate, with seven known genotypes (SC02, EpbC, CHB1, SC01, D, F, and Peru 6) and five novel genotypes (SC04, SC05, SC06, SC07, and SC08) identified. We similarly analyzed water samples, and E. bieneusi was detected in two samples, with genotype SC02 identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CHB1 did not cluster with any recognized group, while the remaining genotypes belonged to group 1. The predominance of zoonotic group 1 genotypes indicates a public health threat that giant pandas could spread E. bieneusi to humans. The identification of E. bieneusi in water samples suggests giant pandas could contribute to water contamination. Effective control measures are therefore needed to minimize the contamination of the water and prevent a human microsporidiosis outbreak.
Core rotation braking on the red giant branch for various mass ranges
Authors: Gehan C , Mosser B. , Michel E. , Samadi R. , Kallinger T. 
Published: April 2018

Context. Asteroseismology allows us to probe stellar interiors. In the case of red giant stars, conditions in the stellar interior are such as to allow for the existence of mixed modes, consisting in a coupling between gravity waves in the radiative interior and pressure waves in the convective envelope. Mixed modes can thus be used to probe the physical conditions in red giant cores. However, we still need to identify the physical mechanisms that transport angular momentum inside red giants, leading to the slow-down observed for red giant core rotation. Thus large-scale measurements of red giant core rotation are of prime importance to obtain tighter constraints on the efficiency of the internal angular momentum transport, and to study how this efficiency changes with stellar parameters.
Aims. This work aims at identifying the components of the rotational multiplets for dipole mixed modes in a large number of red giant oscillation spectra observed by Kepler. Such identification provides us with a direct measurement of the red giant mean core rotation.
Methods. We compute stretched spectra that mimic the regular pattern of pure dipole gravity modes. Mixed modes with the same azimuthal order are expected to be almost equally spaced in stretched period, with a spacing equal to the pure dipole gravity mode period spacing. The departure from this regular pattern allows us to disentangle the various rotational components and therefore to determine the mean core rotation rates of red giants.
Results. We automatically identify the rotational multiplet components of 1183 stars on the red giant branch with a success rate of 69% with respect to our initial sample. As no information on the internal rotation can be deduced for stars seen pole-on, we obtain mean core rotation measurements for 875 red giant branch stars. This large sample includes stars with a mass as large as 2.5 M⊙, allowing us to test the dependence of the core slow-down rate on the stellar mass.
Conclusions. Disentangling rotational splittings from mixed modes is now possible in an automated way for stars on the red giant branch, even for the most complicated cases, where the rotational splittings exceed half the mixed-mode spacing. This work on a large sample allows us to refine previous measurements of the evolution of the mean core rotation on the red giant branch. Rather than a slight slow-down, our results suggest rotation is constant along the red giant branch, with values independent of the mass.
Usage multiple des ancrages squelettiques : mise à profit des mini-vis d’ancrage pour améliorer l’esthétique lors du traitement actif et lors de la contention
Authors: Renger Stéphane , Gremeret Mélanie , Gebeile-Chauty Sarah 
Published: April 2018

Introduction : Les principaux échecs de tractions canines sont dus à un défaut d’ancrage, une direction de traction inadéquate, une force non contrôlée. Une adolescente (10 ans et 9 mois) se présente avec 13 et 23 incluses en position palatine ; 12 et 22 présentent une anomalie de taille par défaut. Deux mini-vis, insérées en mésio-palatin de 16 et 26, permettent de sécuriser la traction de 13 et 23, l’appareil multi-attache n’étant installé que dans un second temps. Après la dépose du multi-attache, les mini-vis sont laissées en place. Elles permettent d’assurer la contention en stabilisant la plaque palatine, d’éviter arcs et crochets métalliques parfois sources d’instabilités occlusales et souvent inesthétiques lors du sourire. Discussion : Les alternatives sont discutées : Ballista spring, mini-vis fixée dans la suture palatine, arc de Nance… Conclusion : L’utilisation à des fins multiples des ancrages squelettiques temporaires lors de traction de canine incluse palatine (spécifiquement dans les cas d’inclusions bilatérales) ouvre des possibilités intéressantes en sécurisant le déplacement canin, en permettant de s’affranchir quasiment de la coopération du patient (absence de perte d’ancrage antéro-postérieure). Le confort du patient (diminution de l’encombrement lié à l’appareil) et celui de son praticien (activations facilitées) sont ainsi augmentés. La durée globale de traitement avec multi-attache peut être diminuée et la contention est rendue plus efficace et plus esthétique lors du sourire.