bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
RAD50 germline mutations are associated with poor survival in BRCA1/2–negative breast cancer patients
Authors: Fan Cong , Zhang Juan , Ouyang Tao , Li Jinfeng , Wang Tianfeng , Fan Zhaoqing , Fan Tie , Lin Benyao , Xie Yuntao 
Published: May 2018

RAD50 is a highly conserved DNA double‐strand break (DSB) repair gene. However, the associations between RAD50 germline mutations and the survival and risk of breast cancer have not been fully elucidated. Here, we aimed to investigate the clinical impact of RAD50 germline mutations in a large cohort of unselected breast cancer patients. In our study, RAD50 germline mutations were determined using next‐generation sequencing in 7657 consecutive unselected breast cancer patients without BRCA1/2 mutations. We also screened for RAD50 recurrent mutations (L719fs, K994fs, and H1269fs) in 5000 healthy controls using Sanger sequencing. We found that 26 out of 7,657 (0.34%) patients had RAD50 pathogenic mutations, and 16 patients carried one of the three recurrent mutations (L719fs, n = 6 cases; K994fs, n = 5 cases; and H1269fs, n = 5 cases); the recurrent mutation rate was 0.21%. The frequency of the three recurrent mutations in the 5,000 healthy controls was 0.18% (9/5,000). These mutations did not confer an increased risk of breast cancer in the studied patients [odds ratios (OR), 1.16; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.51–2.63; p = 0.72]. Nevertheless, multivariate analysis revealed that RAD50 pathogenic mutations were an independent unfavourable predictor of recurrence‐free survival (RFS) [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 2.66; 95% CI, 1.18–5.98; p = 0.018] and disease‐specific survival (DSS; adjusted HR 4.36; 95% CI, 1.58–12.03; p = 0.004) in the entire study cohort. Our study suggested that RAD50 germline mutations are not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, but patients with RAD50 germline mutations have unfavourable survival compared to patients without these mutations.
Group divisible designs with block size 4 and type
Authors: Forbes A. D. , Forbes K. A. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBuilding upon the work of Wei and Ge (Designs, Codes, and Cryptography 74, 2015), we extend the range of positive integer parameters g, u, and m for which group divisible designs with block size 4 and type are known to exist. In particular, we show that the necessary conditions for the existence of these designs when and are sufficient in the following cases: , with one exception, 2651, , and .
Association of VDR gene polymorphisms and 22 bp deletions in the promoter region of TLR2Δ22 (‐196‐174) with increased risk of pulmonary tuberculosis: A case‐control study in tea garden communities of Assam
Authors: Devi Kangjam Rekha , Mukherjee Kaustab , Chelleng Pradipta Kumar , Kalita Simanta , Das Upasana , Narain Kanwar 
Published: May 2018

BackgroundA high number of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases have been reported from tea garden communities of Assam. Till date, no molecular epidemiological study was performed to investigate the association of candidate gene(s) with the risk PTB in this region. The present case‐control study was aimed to investigate the association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms and 22 bp deletion in the promoter region of toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2) gene with the risk of PTB in tea garden communities of Assam.MethodsGenotyping of VDR polymorphisms and TLR2Δ22 (‐196‐174) gene was carried out for 169 PTB cases and 227 apparently healthy community controls using blood samples by PCR‐RFLP followed by DNA sequencing. For association study, both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.ResultsThis study has shown that BsmI and FokI polymorphisms of VDR gene significantly associated with an increased risk of PTB (AOR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.64‐7.80, P < .01 for B/b genotype of BsmI and AOR = 2.44, 95% CI = 1.40‐4.24, P < .01 for F/f genotype of FokI polymorphism). No significant association of TaqI and ApaI polymorphism of VDR gene was found with the risk of PTB. Moreover, this study has revealed that person carrying deletion allele in their TLR2Δ22 (‐196‐174) gene is significantly associated with an increased risk of PTB having b/b or F/f genotypes in BsmI or FokI polymorphisms of VDR gene.ConclusionThis study has revealed that BsmI and FokI polymorphisms of VDR gene significantly associated with an increased risk of PTB.
Effects of Outward Foreign Direct Investment on Domestic Investment: The Cases of Brazil and China
Authors: Gondim Igor , Ogasavara Mario Henrique , Masiero Gilmar 
Published: May 2018

AbstractPolicymakers face a dilemma over their investment‐promotion strategies for becoming more competitive in international markets. Encouraging firms to invest abroad could reduce domestic economic activity. We investigate this issue by analysing the long‐ and short‐run relationships between outward foreign direct investment and domestic investment for Brazil and China. We use a time series approach, namely autoregressive distributed lag for the period between 1975 and 2013. Our findings indicate a crowding‐in effect of outward foreign direct investment on domestic investment for both countries. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chronic periodontitis and oral health‐related quality of life in Chinese adults: A population‐based, cross‐sectional study
Authors: He Songlin , Wei Shicheng , Wang Jinhua , Ji Ping 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundThis population‐based, cross‐sectional study explored the association between chronic periodontitis and oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) in Chinese adults, independently of sociodemographic factors and other common oral conditions.MethodsThe present study was carried out in a sample population of 480 adults aged 35 to 74 years from Chongqing municipality. A multi‐stage stratified random sampling approach was adopted to select participants. The Chinese version of the short‐form oral health impact profile (OHIP‐14) was used to assess OHRQoL. Chronic periodontitis was trichotomized into mild, moderate, and severe periodontitis. Logistic regression models were adopted to explore the association between the severity of chronic periodontitis and OHIP‐14 scores.ResultsAfter adjustment for sociodemographic factors and other common clinical conditions, participants with severe and moderate chronic periodontitis, respectively, had 1.63‐ (95% CI: 1.41 to 1.98) and 1.42‐fold (95% CI: 1.29 to 1.63) higher odds for the OHIP‐14 scores being above the median compared with participants without chronic periodontitis. However, participants with mild periodontitis did not have significantly higher odds for the OHIP‐14 scores being above the median than participants without chronic periodontitis. Certain sociodemographic variables, including higher age, lower education level, number of missing teeth, and current smoker, had negative associations with OHRQoL.ConclusionsChronic periodontitis was associated with poorer OHRQoL in Chinese adults. In addition, the impairment in OHRQoL showed a significant correlation with the severity of chronic periodontitis.
Lymphatic growth factors are expressed in human gingiva and upregulated in gingival fibroblasts after stimulation
Authors: Bletsa Athanasia , Abdalla Hisham , Løes Sigbjørn , Berggreen Ellen 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundThe lymphatic growth factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐C and ‐D are important for maintenance and growth of lymphatic vessels (lymphangiogenesis), but their localization in human gingiva is unknown. This study investigated the expression of VEGF‐C and ‐D in human gingiva and isolated human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs). In addition, the localization of their main receptor VEGFR‐3 was explored.MethodsNon‐inflamed gingiva from six donors was used for immunohistochemistry or isolation of HGFs. HGFs were stimulated with either E.coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or IL‐6/soluble IL‐6 receptor (sIL‐6R) complex for 1, 6, and 24 hours. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) was used to quantify the relative changes in gene expression of VEGF‐A, ‐C, and ‐D and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for quantification of protein levels.ResultsVEGF‐C, ‐D and VEGFR‐3 were seen in keratinocytes, blood vessels and in scattered single cells in gingiva. VEGFR‐3 was also found in lymphatic vessels and VEGF‐C in cells with fibroblastic appearance. Gene analysis showed no expression of VEGF‐D in the HGFs, but showed constitutive expression of VEGF‐C and ‐A. Stimulation of HGFs with LPS or IL‐6/sIL‐6R complex was followed by gene upregulation of VEGF‐C and ‐A and increased protein levels in cell culture supernatant (P ≤0.05).ConclusionsThe localization of VEGF‐C, ‐D, and VEGFR‐3 expression imply that signaling via VEGFR‐3 is linked to vascular homeostasis and keratinocyte function under normal conditions in gingiva. Inflammatory stimulation of HGFs upregulates VEGF‐C and ‐A expression and may contribute to angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis.
The root coverage esthetic score: Intra‐examiner reliability among dental students and dental faculty
Authors: Isaia Federica , Gyurko Robert , Roomian Tamar C. , Hawley Charles E. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundThe root coverage esthetic score (RES) was published in 2009 as an esthetic scoring system to measure visible final outcomes of root coverage procedures performed on Miller I and II recession defects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra‐examiner, intra‐group, and inter‐examiner reliability of the RES when used among periodontal faculty, post‐graduate students in periodontology, and pre‐doctoral DMD students when using the RES at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM).MethodsThirty‐three participants (12 second‐year DMD students, 11 periodontal residents, and 10 faculty members) were assembled to evaluate 25 baseline and 6‐month post‐treatment outcomes of mucogingival surgeries using the RES. Each projection was shown for 30 seconds during which the participants were asked to use the RES scoring system to evaluate the surgical outcomes. The results were then recorded on a standardized worksheet grid. To test intra‐examiner reliability, seven of the 25 projections were shown twice. Intra‐examiner reliability and inter‐examiner reliability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient using a two‐way mixed effect model, and stratified by education level.ResultsPost‐graduate (PG) residents had the highest tendency to agree with each other with an interclass correlation (ICC) of 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36 to 0.74). DMD students had an ICC: 0.51 (95% CI: 0.33 to 0.75), and PG faculty members produced an ICC: 0.41 (95% CI: 0.24 to 0.64). There was no statistically significant difference in ICC among the three groups of participants (Kruskal‐Wallis test, P = 0.2440). When the data for each RES element were then combined, the mean ICC for the total inter‐rater agreement for RES was 0.48 (95% CI: 0.32 to 0.71). This corresponds to an overall moderate agreement among all participants using the RES to evaluate the 25 surgical outcomes. The intra‐examiner reliability within each of the three groups was quite high. The highest mean ICC was produced by PG faculty (0.908). The mean ICCs for PG residents was 0.867, and the mean ICC for DMD students was 0.855. The Kruskal‐Wallis test (P = 0.46) failed to find any statistical difference in intra‐examiner reliability among the three groups of participants.ConclusionsThe RES is a “moderately” reliable scoring system for mucogingival treatments in a dental school setting and can be used even by operators with different levels of periodontal experience. This scoring system can be repeated by the same examiner to obtain reliable results.
Prevalence of daily flossing among adults by selected risk factors for periodontal disease—United States, 2011–2014
Authors: Fleming Eleanor B. , Nguyen Duong , Afful Joseph , Carroll Margaret D. , Woods Phillip D. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundDaily flossing prevalence was determined among adults ≥30 years old in the United States, by demographic and risk factors for periodontal disease, including current tobacco use and diabetes.MethodsData from the 2011–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed for 8,356 adults. Flossing prevalence was estimated. Logistic regression analysis examined the association between daily flossing and demographic and risk factors for periodontal diseases.ResultsDaily flossing among adults was 31.6% (standard error [SE] = 0.8). There were significant differences among the categories of flossing according to age, sex, race/Hispanic origin, poverty status, education, current tobacco use, and diabetes status. In adjusted analyses, current tobacco users (odds ratio [OR]: 0.82; 95% confidence index [CI] 0.68, 0.99) had lower odds of daily flossing than non‐tobacco users; there was no significant difference between adults with and without diabetes (OR 0.75; 95% CI 0.52, 1.08).ConclusionApproximately one‐third of adults in the United States reported that they floss daily. Daily flossing was higher among women, those with higher income, and non‐Hispanic Asian and Hispanic adults, but it was lower among current tobacco users.
High serum procalcitonin levels in patients with periodontitis and chronic migraine
Authors: Leira Yago , Ameijeira Pablo , Domínguez Clara , Leira Rogelio , Blanco Juan 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackgroundTo evaluate the contribution of chronic periodontitis (CP) to serum procalcitonin (proCT) levels in chronic migraine (CM) patients in a cross‐sectional study.MethodsWe included 138 subjects divided into 4 groups based on clinical features of CM and periodontal parameters: systemically and periodontally healthy individuals (n = 37), systemically healthy and CP patients (n = 19), CM and periodontally healthy patients (n = 34), and CM+CP patients (n = 48). Demographic, neurological, clinical data as well as full‐mouth periodontal records were obtained. ProCT and high sensitive C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) serum levels were determined from blood samples taken during migraine interictal period.ResultsPatients from the CP+CM group (0.056±0.006 ng/mL) had significantly higher serum proCT levels in comparison with the systemically and periodontally healthy group (0.029±0.019 ng/mL), CM group (0.041±0.002 ng/mL), or CP group (0.034±0.014 ng/mL) (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in hs‐CRP between groups (p = 0.081). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that CP was associated with increased proCT levels in CM patients (R2 = 0.293, p < 0.001).ConclusionsCP independently contributes to elevated serum proCT levels in CM patients. These findings suggest that CP could play a role in migraine chronification.
Thiol‐ene click derived structurally well‐defined per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated cationic cyclodextrin separation material for achiral and chiral chromatography
Authors: Tang Xiaoying , Li Xiaoxuan , Sun Yuwei , Xiao Yin , Wang Yong 
Published: May 2018

AbstractIn this work, a novel single sulfoether‐bridged cationic per(3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoylated‐β‐cyclodextrin separation material was prepared by thiol‐ene click chemistry and characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy, solid‐state 13C NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, which confirmed the correct structure. The separation material exhibited a good achiral separation performance for benzene homologues and phenylamine analogs, especially o‐xylene and m‐xylene, and m‐phenylenediamine and o‐phenylenediamine can be discriminated by the (3,5‐dimethyl)phenylcarbamoyl cyclodextrins. The chiral resolving ability of the separation material was evaluated by discriminating various isoxazolines, flavonoids, and β‐blockers in reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography. For isoxazolines, the material showed the best chiral discrimination toward 3‐aryl‐5‐(2‐oxopyrrolidin‐1‐yl)‐isoxazolines, where the resolution for 3ClPh‐OPr reached 6.03. For flavonoids, it exhibited more efficient separation to the ones with more hydrophobic substituents, with a resolution of 5.93 for 6‐hydroxyflavanone. β‐Blockers were also enantioseparated satisfactorily on the material. The as‐prepared separation material is a good member of the thiol‐ene click derived cyclodextrin stationary phase family.
Surgical management of neck pain and headache associated with pediatric hashimoto's thyroiditis
Authors: Krakovitz Paul , Cairns Christine , Schweiger Bahareh Michelle , Burkey Brian 
Published: May 2018

Objectives/HypothesisCase reports of a painful variant of Hashimoto's thyroiditis exist in the literature; however, these cases have only been documented in adult patients and there are no standard treatment guidelines. The aim of this study was to describe an alternative management for Hashimoto's thyroiditis associated with medically intractable head and neck pain in the pediatric population.Study DesignCase series with chart review.MethodsThe study was conducted in the Section of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Cleveland Clinic. We retrospectively analyzed pediatric patients (ages 0–18 years) with painful thyroiditis and/or headache who underwent total thyroidectomy from 2005 to 2014 with a clinical diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. A thorough chart review was performed, including medical and family history, presenting symptoms, laboratory values, medical and surgical treatment strategies, operative reports, and surgical pathology.ResultsThere were 0.02% of patients (5 of 305) who met the criteria of intractable head and or neck pain. All five underwent total thyroidectomy with confirmation of Hashimoto's thyroiditis on surgical pathology. Surgical treatment resulted in complete cervical pain relief and improved headaches with a minimum follow‐up of 36 months.ConclusionsHashimoto's thyroiditis is a relatively common form of autoimmune thyroiditis in pediatric patients that uncommonly results in intractable neck pain or headache. In this case series, thyroidectomy was an effective alternative treatment in the pediatric population for medical failures in chronic painful Hashimoto's thyroiditis.Level of Evidence4. Laryngoscope, 128:2213–2217, 2018
Recent advances in the discovery and development of factor XI/XIa inhibitors
Authors: Al‐Horani Rami A. , Afosah Daniel K. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractFactor XIa (FXIa) is a serine protease homodimer that belongs to the intrinsic coagulation pathway. FXIa primarily catalyzes factor IX activation to factor IXa, which subsequently activates factor X to factor Xa in the common coagulation pathway. Growing evidence suggests that FXIa plays an important role in thrombosis with a relatively limited contribution to hemostasis. Therefore, inhibitors targeting factor XI (FXI)/FXIa system have emerged as a paradigm‐shifting strategy so as to develop a new generation of anticoagulants to effectively prevent and/or treat thromboembolic diseases without the life‐threatening risk of internal bleeding. Several inhibitors of FXI/FXIa proteins have been discovered or designed over the last decade including polypeptides, active site peptidomimetic inhibitors, allosteric inhibitors, antibodies, and aptamers. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), which ultimately reduce the hepatic biosynthesis of FXI, have also been introduced. A phase II study, which included patients undergoing elective primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty, revealed that a specific FXI ASO effectively protects patients against venous thrombosis with a relatively limited risk of bleeding. Initial findings have also demonstrated the potential of FXI/FXIa inhibitors in sepsis, listeriosis, and arterial hypertension. This review highlights various chemical, biochemical, and pharmacological aspects of FXI/FXIa inhibitors with the goal of advancing their development toward clinical use.
Errors in 1H‐MRS estimates of brain metabolite concentrations caused by failing to take into account tissue‐specific signal relaxation
Authors: Gasparovic Charles , Chen Hongji , Mullins Paul G. 
Published: May 2018

Accurate measurement of brain metabolite concentrations with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐MRS) can be problematic because of large voxels with mixed tissue composition, requiring adjustment for differing relaxation rates in each tissue if absolute concentration estimates are desired. Adjusting for tissue‐specific metabolite signal relaxation, however, also requires a knowledge of the relative concentrations of the metabolite in gray (GM) and white (WM) matter, which are not known a priori. Expressions for the estimation of the molality and molarity of brain metabolites with 1H‐MRS are extended to account for tissue‐specific relaxation of the metabolite signals and examined under different assumptions with simulated and real data. Although the modified equations have two unknowns, and hence are unsolvable explicitly, they are nonetheless useful for the estimation of the effect of tissue‐specific metabolite relaxation rates on concentration estimates under a range of assumptions and experimental parameters using simulated and real data. In simulated data using reported GM and WM T1 and T2 times for N‐acetylaspartate (NAA) at 3 T and a hypothetical GM/WM NAA ratio, errors of 6.5–7.8% in concentrations resulted when TR = 1.5 s and TE = 0.144 s, but were reduced to less than 0.5% when TR = 6 s and TE = 0.006 s. In real data obtained at TR/TE = 1.5 s/0.04 s, the difference in the results (4%) was similar to that obtained with simulated data when assuming tissue‐specific relaxation times rather than GM–WM‐averaged times. Using the expressions introduced in this article, these results can be extrapolated to any metabolite or set of assumptions regarding tissue‐specific relaxation. Furthermore, although serving to bound the problem, this work underscores the challenge of correcting for relaxation effects, given that relaxation times are generally not known and impractical to measure in most studies. To minimize such effects, the data should be acquired with pulse sequence parameters that minimize the effect of signal relaxation.