bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Chronic hepatitis C liver microenvironment: role of the Th17/Treg interplay related to fibrogenesis
Authors: Rios Daniela Alejandra , Valva Pamela , Casciato Paola Cecilia , Frias Silvia , Soledad Caldirola María , Gaillard María Isabel , Bezrodnik Liliana , Bandi Juan , Galdame Omar , Ameigeiras Beatriz , Krasniansky Diana , Brodersen Carlos , Mullen Eduardo , Matteo Elena Noemí De , Preciado María Victoria 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThe role of the different lymphocyte populations in liver microenvironment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients is still matter of debate. Since Th17 and Treg have opposite functions, their balance could affect disease progression. The aim was to explore liver microenvironment and its peripheral blood counterpart in adult CHC patients. CD4+ lymphocytes were predominant in the liver, with high Foxp3+ but low IL-17A+ frequency. IL-17A+ lymphocytes and IL-17A+/Foxp3+ ratio displayed association with advanced fibrosis (p = 0.0130; p = 0.0236, respectively), while Foxp3+ lymphocytes and IL-10 expression level inversely correlated with fibrosis severity (p = 0.0381, p = 0.0398, respectively). TGF-β/IL-6 ratio correlated with IL-17A+/Foxp3+ ratio (p = 0.0036, r = 0.5944) and with IL-17A+ lymphocytes (p = 0.0093; r = 0.5203). TNF-α and TGF-β were associated with hepatitis severity (p = 0.0409, p = 0.0321). Peripheral blood lymphocyte frequency was not associated with liver damage. There are functionally different immune cell populations actively involved in liver damage, but the liver cytokine milieu actually drives the pathogenesis. The intrahepatic Foxp3+ lymphocytes predominance beside the low IL-17A+ lymphocytes frequency, delineate a skewed IL-17A+/Foxp3+ balance towards Foxp3+ lymphocytes. However, the IL-17A+ lymphocytes association with advanced fibrosis denotes their role in the pathogenesis. Therefore, the interplay between Th17 and Treg conditions liver fibrogenesis.
Significantly enhanced thermal conductivity of indium arsenide nanowires via sulfur passivation
Authors: Xiong Yucheng , Tang Hao , Wang Xiaomeng , Zhao Yang , Fu Qiang , Yang Juekuan , Xu Dongyan 
Published: October 2017

AbstarctIn this work, we experimentally investigated the effect of sulfur passivation on thermal transport in indium arsenide (InAs) nanowires. Our measurement results show that thermal conductivity can be enhanced by a ratio up to 159% by sulfur passivation. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements were performed on both unpassivated and S-passivated InAs nanowires to understand the mechanism of thermal conductivity enhancement. We observed a remarkable improvement in electrical conductivity upon sulfur passivation and a significant contribution of electrons to thermal conductivity, which account for the enhanced thermal conductivity of the S-passivated InAs nanowires.
A novel library of -arylketones as potential inhibitors of α-glucosidase: Their design, synthesis, in vitro and in vivo studies
Authors: Luthra Tania , Agarwal Rahul , Estari Mamidala , Adepally Uma , Sen Subhabrata 
Published: October 2017

Abstractα-glucosidase is an essential enzyme located at the brush border of intestines. It is an important therapeutic target for type II diabetes. Herein we have designed a library of novel α-arylketones as inhibitors of α-glucosidase (yeast origin) via scaffold hopping and bioisosteric modification of known inhibitors of α-glucosidase. The design was validated through molecular docking that revealed strong binding interactions of the newly designed compounds against α-glucosidase. A library comprising of 15 compounds was synthesized in a combinatorial fashion, where the advanced amide intermediates were accessed through “shot gun” synthesis. The final compounds were characterized by 1H, 13C-NMR and with high resolution mass spectroscopy. In vitro screening of the compounds against yeast α-glucosidase revealed substantial inhibition with IC50s in the range of 4–10 μM (the standard drug acarbose inhibits α-glucosidase with an IC50 of 9.95 μM). Reaction kinetics suggested mixed type inhibition. Finally, in vivo studies of the most active compound 3c against Streptozotocin induced male albino Wistar rats revealed that its administration in the rats for about 4 weeks lead to a highly significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the fasting blood glucose (FBG) compared to the untreated diabetic rats. Moreover, lower dose of 3c had better control over FBG in contrast to high-dose.
Tissue and plasma levels of galectins in patients with high grade serous ovarian carcinoma as new predictive biomarkers
Authors: Labrie Marilyne , De Araujo Lorenna Oliveira Fernandes , Communal Laudine , Mes-Masson Anne-Marie , St-Pierre Yves 
Published: October 2017

AbstractGalectins are moving closer to center stage in detecting glycosylation aberration in cancer cells. Here, we have investigated the expression of galectins in ovarian cancer (OC) and examined their potential as biomarkers in tissues and blood plasma samples of high grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSC) patients. In tissues, we found that increased protein expression of stromal gal-1 and epithelial gal-8/9 was associated with a poor response to treatment of HGSC patients. Gal-8/9 were both independent predictors of chemoresistance and overall survival (OS), respectively. This galectin signature increased the predictive value of the cancer antigen 125 (CA125) on 5-year disease-free survival (DFS), post-chemotherapy treatment and 5-year OS. In CA125LOW patients, epithelial gal-9 was associated with a lower 5-year OS while stromal gal-1 and epithelial gal-8 were both associated with a lower 5-year DFS. Such negative predictive value of gal-8 and gal-9 was also found using plasma samples. In both cases, high plasma levels of gal-8 and gal-9 was associated with a lower OS and DFS. Overall, these data suggest that galectins may be promising biomarkers to identify subgroups of HGSC patients with poorer prognosis. Our study also contributes to better define the heterogeneity of the disease.
Clustergrammer, a web-based heatmap visualization and analysis tool for high-dimensional biological data
Authors: Fernandez Nicolas F. , Gundersen Gregory W. , Rahman Adeeb , Grimes Mark L. , Rikova Klarisa , Hornbeck Peter , Ma’ayan Avi 
Published: October 2017

AbstractMost tools developed to visualize hierarchically clustered heatmaps generate static images. Clustergrammer is a web-based visualization tool with interactive features such as: zooming, panning, filtering, reordering, sharing, performing enrichment analysis, and providing dynamic gene annotations. Clustergrammer can be used to generate shareable interactive visualizations by uploading a data table to a web-site, or by embedding Clustergrammer in Jupyter Notebooks. The Clustergrammer core libraries can also be used as a toolkit by developers to generate visualizations within their own applications. Clustergrammer is demonstrated using gene expression data from the cancer cell line encyclopedia (CCLE), original post-translational modification data collected from lung cancer cells lines by a mass spectrometry approach, and original cytometry by time of flight (CyTOF) single-cell proteomics data from blood. Clustergrammer enables producing interactive web based visualizations for the analysis of diverse biological data.
Estimation of parameters for plasma glucose regulation in type‐2 diabetics in presence of meal
Authors: Biswas Prova , Sutradhar Ashoke , Datta Pallab 
Published: October 2017

In this study, the authors propose a methodology for the estimation of glucose masses in stomach (both in solid and liquid forms), intestine, plasma and tissue; insulin masses in portal vein, liver, plasma and interstitial fluid using only plasma glucose measurement. The proposed methodology fuses glucose–insulin homoeostasis model (in the presence of meal intake) and plasma glucose measurement with a Bayesian non‐linear filter. Uncertainty of the model over individual variations has been incorporated by adding process noise to the homoeostasis model. The estimation is carried out over 24 h for the healthy people as well as a type II diabetes mellitus patients. In simulation, the estimator follows the truth accurately for both the cases. Moreover, the performances of two non‐linear filters, namely the unscented Kalman filter (KF) and cubature quadrature KF are compared in terms of root mean square error. The proposed methodology will be helpful in future to: (i) observe a patient's insulin–glucose profile, (ii) calculate drug dose for any hyperglycaemic patients and (iii) develop a closed‐loop controller for automated insulin delivery system.
Effects of Recreational Noise on Threshold and Suprathreshold Measures of Auditory Function
Authors: Le Prell Colleen , Griffiths Scott , Lobarinas Edward , Fulbright Angela 
Published: October 2017

AbstractNoise exposure that causes a temporary threshold shift but no permanent threshold shift can cause degeneration of synaptic ribbons and afferent nerve fibers, with a corresponding reduction in wave I amplitude of the auditory brainstem response (ABR) in animals. This form of underlying damage, hypothesized to also occur in humans, has been termed synaptopathy, and it has been hypothesized that there will be a hidden hearing loss consisting of functional deficits at suprathreshold stimulus levels. This study assessed whether recreational noise exposure history was associated with smaller ABR wave I amplitude and poorer performance on suprathreshold auditory test measures. Noise exposure histories were collected from 26 men and 34 women with hearing thresholds ≤ 25 dB hearing loss (HL; 250 Hz to 8 kHz), and a variety of functional suprathreshold hearing tests were performed. Wave I amplitudes of click-evoked ABR were obtained at 70, 80, 90, and 99 dB (nHL) and tone-burst evoked ABR were obtained at 90 dB nHL. Speech recognition performance was measured in quiet and in competing noise, using the Words in Noise test, and the NU-6 word list in broadband noise (BBN). In addition, temporal summation to tonal stimuli was assessed in quiet and in competing BBN. To control for the effects of subclinical conventional hearing loss, distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitude, an indirect measure of outer hair cell integrity, was measured. There was no statistically significant relationship between noise exposure history scores and ABR wave I amplitude in either men or women for any of the ABR conditions. ABR wave I amplitude and noise exposure history were not reliably correlated with suprathreshold functional hearing tests. Taken together, this study found no evidence of noise-induced decreases in ABR wave I amplitude or signal processing in noise in a cohort of subjects with a history of recreational noise exposure.
More to Lose? Noise-Risk Perceptions of Young Adults with Hearing Impairment
Authors: Black Deborah , Carter Lyndal 
Published: October 2017

AbstractThis study investigated the attitudes and behaviors of young adults with hearing impairment (HI), in relation to leisure noise. It was hypothesized that young people with HI would have more negative perceptions of noise exposure than their peers with nonimpaired (normal) hearing (NH) and would engage more frequently in self-protective behaviors. Questionnaires were administered as part of a larger study of young Australians with: (1) preadult onset HI and (2) NH. Data from adults (age range 18 to 24 years; n = 79 with HI, n = 131 with NH) were selected for the current analysis. Attitudes data for HI and NH groups were compared using chi-square tests, and the reported use of hearing aids and personal hearing protectors (PHPs) in leisure environments was quantified. Most participants with HI and NH regarded leisure noise as a health hazard but rated their own noise-injury risk as lower than that of their peer group. The use of PHPs was low overall, and many participants with HI reported using hearing aids (switched on) during noisy leisure activities. An equal and substantial proportion of participants with HI and NH reported dislike and avoidance of loud activities. Systematic noise management in leisure environments would address noise-injury risk and also enhance social participation.
Clostridium-difficile-assozierte Kolitis – Neue Entwicklungen
Authors: Jochum Christoph 
Published: October 2017

Was ist neu
Epidemiologie Seit 2016 gilt eine erweiterte Meldepflicht.
Klinik und Risikofaktoren Cephalosporine und Protonenpumpenhemmer (PPI)-Therapie erhöhen das Risiko.
Diagnostik Immuntests (Antigen und Toxin im Stuhl) machen eine rasche Diagnose möglich.
Therapie Leitlinien empfehlen eine abgestufte Therapie nach Schweregrad und Rezidiv (-risiko). Mit Bezlotoxumab ist ein neuer Antikörper zur Prävention von Rezidiven zugelassen. In Metaanalysen zeigt sich eine leichte Überlegenheit von Fidaxomicin gegenüber Vancomycin und Metronidazol.
Prophylaxe und Hygiene Antibiotika-Stewardship kann die Inzidenz um 50 %, Probiotikagabe sogar um 60 % senken.
Herausforderungen beim älteren Rheumapatienten
Authors: Mayet Werner-Johannes 
Published: October 2017

Was ist neu?
Der alte Rheumapatient Eine adäquate Versorgung von alten Rheumapatienten sollte multimodal, interdisziplinär und patientenorientiert erfolgen. Bei Patienten mit rheumatoider Arthritis (RA) ist die kardiovaskuläre Mortalität im Vergleich zur Allgemeinbevölkerung 5fach erhöht. Geriatrische Patienten können als Folge des Abbaus fettfreier Körpermasse eine „rheumatoide Kachexie“ erleiden. Ein Body-Mass-Index von unter 20 kg/m2 hat sich dabei als kritisch erwiesen.
Besonderheiten rheumatischer Erkrankungen im Alter Die „late onset rheumatoid arthritis“ (LORA) in höherem Lebensalter (> 60) manifestiert sich häufiger mit einem oligoartikulären Muster mit Bevorzugung größerer Gelenke. Die Therapie der LORA hat sich entscheidend gewandelt: Die Langzeittherapie mit Glukokortikoiden wurde durch eine altersadaptierte Basistherapie verdrängt. In über 90 % der Fälle sind Patienten mit Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) älter als 60 Jahre. Sonografisch nachweisbare Bursitiden werden mittlerweile als wichtigste Ursache angenommen. Prednisolon ist zwar weiter der Goldstandard der Therapie der PMR, aber initiale Dosen < 7,5 oder > 30 mg/Tag gelten nun als obsolet. Durch den Einsatz der hochauflösenden Farbdopplersonografie kann bei der Riesenzellarteriitis mittlerweile fast die Aussagekraft einer Biopsie der A. temporalis erreicht werden.
Rheumatherapie im Alter Als wichtige Ursache einer gesteigerten Toxizität pharmakologischer Wirkstoffe im Alter gilt mittlerweile ein Abfall der Eiweißbindungskapazität. Bei älteren Rheumapatienten wird dieser durch einen Albuminmangel bedingt. Die früher häufig praktizierte „Low-dose“-Glukokortikoidtherapie der RA Älterer wird nicht mehr empfohlen. Die Kombination mehrerer Basistherapeutika ist bei älteren Rheumapatienten risikoreich, sodass der Übergang auf Biologika oft der sicherere Weg ist.
500 Jahre Reformation: Zur Historie der Pathographie Martin Luthers und ethischen Implikationen
Authors: Braun Birgit , Loew Thomas 
Published: October 2017

Zusammenfassung
Einleitung Das 500-jährige Reformationsjubiläum bildet den Anlass, die Historie der Pathographie Martin Luthers (1483–1546) zu
skizzieren und mögliche Schlussfolgerungen für die psychiatrische Praxis abzuleiten.
Methode Relevantes Schrifttum wurde ausgewertet.
Ergebnisse Luther wurde als manisch-depressiv diagnostiziert, er wurde pathologisiert zum Syphilitiker und Alkoholkranken. Es
existieren sogar Suizid-Spekulationen.
Diskussion Die Verhaltenskomplexität einer historischen Persönlichkeit lässt sich weder aus Quellen noch aus Schrifttum objektiv
bewerten. Dem gedanklichen Durchdringen und emotionalen Durchleben der eigenen Theologie mag neben Gesellschaftszwängen,
reformatorentypischen Charaktereigenschaften und schwerwiegenden somatischen Erkrankungen eine essentielle Rolle bei der Ausgestaltung von
Luthers Psychogramm zukommen.
Schlussfolgerung Luthers Resilienz trotz somatischer und psychischer Krisen kann die heilsame Wirkung von Religiosität auf die Psyche
unterstreichen.
Ciguatera oder wieso bei der Kälteallodynie nach dem Fischverzehr gefragt werden sollte
Authors: Friedemann Miriam , Doberauer Claus , Fink Gereon R. , Burghaus Lothar 
Published: October 2017

ZusammenfassungCiguatoxine sind potente, von Mikroalgen produzierte, marine Biotoxine, die sich in tropischen Raubfischen, lokal und saisonal
unterschiedlich stark, anreichern können. Kurze Zeit nach dem Fischverzehr treten gastrointestinale, neurologische und/oder kardiovaskuläre
Vergiftungssymptome auf. Durch die hohe Affinität der Toxine zu neuronalen Natriumkanälen sind neurologische Symptome für
Ciguatera-Vergiftungen charakteristisch. Nahezu pathognomonisch ist dabei die Kälteallodynie, bei der kalte Oberflächen als heiß,
schmerzhaft oder extrem unangenehm empfunden werden. Durch Importe von Tropenfisch tritt Ciguatera zunehmend auch in gemäßigten Klimazonen
auf. Wir erläutern anhand zweier Fälle die Besonderheiten dieser Fischvergiftung.
Clinical characteristics and outcome of 60 pediatric patients with malignant melanoma registered with the German Pediatric Rare Tumor Registry (STEP)
Authors: Offenmueller Sonja , Leiter Ulrike , Bernbeck Benedikt , Garbe Claus , Eigentler Thomas , Borkhardt Arndt , Classen Carl Friedrich , Corbacioglu Selim , Dirksen Uta , Ebetsberger-Dachs Georg , Heinzerling Lucie , Jorch Norbert , Kuhlen Michaela , Lawlor Jennifer , Niggli Felix , Streiter Monika , Schneider Dominik T , Brecht Ines 
Published: October 2017

Abstract
Background Malignant melanoma (MM) is a common malignancy in adults while it is rare in children. Thus, information on clinical behavior of pediatric MM is incomplete.
Patients The German Pediatric Rare Tumor Registry (STEP) presents a prospective analysis of 60 childhood MM cases diagnosed between June 2006 and December 2014.
Method Patients’ ages ranged between 0 and 17 years at initial diagnosis (median age 9.6 years). Information on patient’s and tumor characteristics was obtained by standardized documentation. Three-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier test.
Results Follow-up ranged from 0 to 116 months with a median of 36.5 months, however, univariate analysis was performed for 46 cases with a follow-up > 3 months, only. Cases with spitzoid histotype (40%) did not show a significantly different outcome compared to cases with non-spitzoid MM. Breslow thickness ≤ 2.00 mm was identified in 30% of the cases and 18% were Clark level I to III. Adjuvant therapy was used in 45% of cases. OS at 3 years was 100%, EFS 95.2%.
Conclusion We present a series of cases with a high number of spitzoid malignant melanoma and advanced pediatric melanoma, but surprisingly good overall survival rates. Spitzoid and non-spitzoid MM do not differ in clinical behavior and survival.
Evolution of stochastic demography with life history tradeoffs in density-dependent age-structured populations
Authors: Lande Russell , Engen Steinar , Sæther Bernt-Erik 
Published: October 2017

SignificanceWe derive a univariate approximation for the growth of a density-dependent age-structured population in a fluctuating environment. Its accuracy is demonstrated by comparison with simulations of the age-structured model under assumptions applicable to many vertebrate populations. This facilitates extension to age-structured populations of recent theory on the evolution of stochastic population dynamics, showing that evolution tends to maximize a simple function of three key population parameters: the maximum population growth rate and carrying capacity in the average environment,r0andK, and the variance of population growth rate,σe2. Regardless of the complexity of trade-offs among these parameters, for the classical logistic model of population growth, evolution in a fluctuating environment tends to maximize the average population size.
The topography of the environment alters the optimal search strategy for active particles
Authors: Volpe Giorgio , Volpe Giovanni 
Published: October 2017

Significance
Adopting the right search strategy is of critical importance in a broad range of natural and man-related activities. For example, when foraging in an environment with scarce resources, the search strategy used by animals to look for nourishment is a matter of life or death. It is generally accepted that, under most conditions, the optimal strategy alternates ballistic and diffusive steps. This, however, does not take into account that many search spaces feature complex topographies with boundaries, barriers, and obstacles. Here, we show that the presence of such complexity shifts the optimal strategy toward less ballistic and more diffusive searches.
Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (o-VEMPs) testing in cervicogenic vertigo and its relation to radiological findings
Authors: Kotait Mona A. , Younes Rasha L. 
Published: October 2017

Background:
The term cervicogenic vertigo is reserved for cases where the suspected mechanism is proprioceptive. For a diagnosis of cervicogenic vertigo, it is essential to exclude other causes of vertigo. Generally, the patient has no hearing complaints and characteristically the symptoms are elicited by neck massage or neck vibration. The ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (o-VEMP) is a test for utricular function that has been introduced and validated.

Objectives:
To assesses o-VEMPs in patients with cervicogenic vertigo using 500 Hz tone bust stimuli at 95 dB nHL. Consequently, correlate the relation between o-VEMPs test results and radiological imaging, in the form of MRI cervical spine and CT angiography of the vertebral artery.

Subjects:
Fifty two subjects participated in the study; the group comprised 32 patients with diagnosed cervicogenic vertigo and also included 20 healthy matched adults.

Methods:
A random sample of consenting case and control subjects were obtained. MRI cervical spine with CT angiography of vertebral artery was done with o-VEMPs recordings.

Results:
Abnormal MRI cervical spines were found in all study group participants. The results for the CT angiography were variable with abnormal o-VEMPs latencies.

Conclusion:
A link co-exists between utricle and superior vestibular nerve in patients with cervicogenic vertigo. This may play a role in the pathogenesis of vertigo in these affected patients.