bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Body Mass Index and patient-reported measures of function, quality of life and treatment toxicity in women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer
Authors: Nyrop Kirsten A. , Monaco Jane , Vohra Sanah , Deal Allison , Wood William A , Shachar Shlomit S , Dees E Claire , Kimmick Gretchen G , Speca JoEllen C , Muss Hyman B 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: This study investigates whether high body mass index (BMI) in women diagnosed with early breast cancer (BC) is associated with patient-reported symptom severity during chemotherapy.Methods: Women with Stage I-III BC completed toxicity reports for 17 side effects during regularly scheduled chemotherapy infusions. Toxicity reports were compared in women with obesity (BMI >=30) versus no obesity (BMI <30). Fisher’s exact tests and 2-sample t-tests compared baseline patient characteristics. Risk ratios (RR) for women with obesity as compared to no obesity were estimated for individual symptoms that were patient-rated as moderate, severe or very severe (MSVS) severity, adjusting for marital status and race. Results: In a sample of 286 patients, Black women comprised 23% of the sample. The obesity rate was 76% among Black patients and 31% among White patients (p<.0001). Women with obesity rated an average of 6.9 side effects (standard deviation, SD 4.2) as MSVS vs 5.5 side effects (SD 3.7) among women with no obesity (p=.003). In adjusted analysis, women with obesity had significantly greater risk for MSVS fatigue (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.36), dyspnea (RR 1.71, 95% CI 1.09-2.69), arthralgia (RR 1.47, 95% CI 1.10-1.97), peripheral neuropathy (RR 1.45, 95% CI 1.01-2.08), edema of limbs (RR 1.84, 95% CI 1.18-2.88), and abdominal pain (RR 1.75, 95% CI 1.07-2.87). There were no inter-group differences in BC stage or phenotype, chemotherapy treatment modifications, or hospitalizations.Conclusions: Among women with early BC, patients with obesity reported higher chemotherapy toxicity as compared to patients without obesity; however, this did not result in differences in treatment completion.
Bleeding efficiency, carcass characteristics and meat quality assessments in broiler chickens subjected to different pre-slaughter restraining methods
Authors: Noraldin Fatima Abdulkhaliq , Sabow Azad Behnan 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
This research aimed to determine how the pre-slaughter restraint method affected broiler chickens' bleeding efficiency, carcass characteristics, and physicochemical qualities. Before slaughter, 30 male Ross broiler chickens were randomly allocated to either shackling or cone restraint. The individual blood loss of each bird was determined by comparing their body weight before and after 90 seconds of exsanguination. On the Pectoralis major muscle, meat quality measures including pH, water-holding capacity, color, tenderness, and total bacterial counts were determined. At the same time, the incidences of hemorrhage on the breast and thigh of each carcass were analysed morphologically. It was found that shackling produced less blood loss than cone restraint. Except for the final pH, shackling significantly affected the quality of the end product, as muscle lightness, shear force, drip loss, cooking loss, lipid-protein oxidation, and bacterial counts increased (p < 0.05). In addition, broiler birds held by the shackle exhibited larger (p < 0.05) hemorrhages than those restrained by the cone. The results indicated that the method of restraint might affect bleed-out and carcass and meat quality in broiler chickens; consequently, it should be examined in future research.
Echocardiographic assessment of left cardiac structure and function in ART-naive HIV- infected patients
Authors: Hu Xing , Zhang Yuan , Zhang Tong , Li Weihua , Han Jing , Zhang Xuhui , Meng Fankun 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared to the general population, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant cause of death in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Accurate assessment of the cardiac function status of HIV-infected patients is important to guide clinical treatment and improve the prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate structural and functional alterations in the left heart in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive HIV infected patients and their associated risk factors for the development of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD).Methods: We retrospectively included 105 ART-naive HIV-infected patients and 40 healthy subjects who underwent physical examination during the same period and performed echocardiography to compare the differences in the left heart structure and function between HIV-infected patients and healthy subjects. Univariate and multifactorial logistic regression were employed to explore the risk factors of the development of LVDD in ART-naive HIV-infected patients. Results: The left ventricular end-diastolic internal diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular mass index (LVMI), and left atrial volume index (LAVI) were significantly greater in HIV-infected patients than in controls (p＜0.05). Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) were not significantly different between HIV-infected patients and controls (p＞0.05). The ratio of peak early-diastolic flow velocity to peak end-diastolic flow velocity (E/A), early diastolic mitral annular velocity (e'), and deceleration time (DT) of early left ventricular filling were significantly lower in HIV-infected patients than in controls (p＜0.05). Multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that age, body mass index (BMI), and CD4+ count were independent influencing factors for LVDD in ART-naive HIV-infected patients (OR=2.094, 1.229, 0.642, p＜0.05).Conclusions: Left ventricular systolic function did not differ between HIV-infected patients and controls, and left ventricular diastolic function was lower in HIV-infected patients than in controls. Age, BMI, and CD4+ count were independent factors affecting LVDD in ART-naive HIV-infected patients.Trial registration: ChiCTR1900021008，2019/01/24
LNPEP as a Prognostic-Related Biomarker in Ovarian Cancer Correlating with Immune Infiltrates
Authors: Ma Qian , Che Lingyi , Wang Wenwen , Li Gailing , Zhang Ying , Chen Yibing , Gu Zhuoyu , Song Xiaoqin , Chang Lei 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Leucyl And Cystinyl Aminopeptidase (LNPEP) encodes a zinc-dependent aminopeptidase, which has been proved to participate in the vesicle-mediated transport and class I major histocompatibility complex-mediated antigen processing and presentation. However, the function of LNPEP in the tumor immune microenvironment of ovarian cancer (OV) and its potential molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated.Material and Methods: To analyze the expression profile, prognostic value, and immune infiltration of LNPEP, bioinformatics web resources, including Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis Gent2, HPA, Cbioportal, Kaplan–Meier Plotter, and tumor immune estimation resource, were employed. The related genes of LNPEP in OV were mined by TISIDB and LinkedOmics database. The protein-protein interaction network involving LNPEP was constructed by GeneMANIA and STRING database. Additionally, further studies of pathway and LNPEP expression were conducted through GSEA. The protein levels of LNPEP were validated by western-blot assay and immunohistochemistry.Results: The mRNA expression of LNPEP was noticeably down-regulated in OV than its expression in para-cancer tissues, contrary to the protein level. Importantly, high LNPEP expression was associated with poor prognosis in patients with OV. Furthermore, Cox regression analysis showed that LNPEP was an independent prognostic factor in OV. From the GO and KEGG pathway analyses, it was observed that the co-expressed genes of LNPEP were mainly related to a variety of immune-related pathways, including Th1 and Th2 cell differentiation, Th17 cell differentiation, and immunoregulatory interaction between a lymphoid and a non-lymphoid cell. Our data also demonstrated that LNPEP expression was strongly correlated with immune infiltration rates, immunomodulators, chemokine, and chemokine receptors.Conclusions: We identified and established a prognostic signature of immune-related LNPEP in OV, which will be important for predicting the prognosis of clinical trials and may become a new therapeutic target for immunological research and potential prognostic biomarker in OV.
Seasonal variation of antioxidant activity and properties in Ulva lactuca Linnaeus, 1753: A compression study in pre and post monsoon to the northern coasts of the Oman Sea
Authors: Abkener Ali Mahdi 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Ulva lactuca (Ul) is a green macroalgae that contains commercially valuable molecules components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare seasonal variations of antioxidant activity (AOA) of U. l. sample harvested from locations of Tang, Chabahar and Gowatr in the northern coast of the Oman Sea (IRAN). Sampling was carried out during April to May (spring) and October to November (autumn) 2020, representing pre- and post-monsoon, respectively. No significant difference (P > 0.05) were observed between samples harvested in pre- and post-monsoon from all three locations, except for the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) content. The FRAP on post-monsoon shows a significant difference between all studied locations (P < 0.05). In this season, the FRAP content was measured 69 ± 0.05; 0.60 ± 0.06 and 0.50 ± 0.06 mg GAE g− 1 for Tang, Chabahar and Gowatr, respectively (P < 0.05). However, a high linear correlation (> 0.95) was calculated for parameters showing a significant contribution by β-carotene (βC) with FRAP content (R = -0.004) in pre-monsoon, as well as total phenolic content (TPC) with anthocyanin content (ACN) (R = -0.013); Half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) with total flavonoid content (TFC) (R = -0.010) and radical scavenging activity assay (DPPH) with IC50 content (R = 0.022) in post-monsoon. AOA analysis along with PCA (principal component analysis) in pre-monsoon confirm relationships and FRAP, TPC, ACN and βC determined sample distribution along PC1 (main components 1), while DPPH, IC50 and TFC along the PC2. However, in post monsoons all parameters determined sample distribution along PC1.
Facilitators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers and the general population in Guinea
Authors: TOURE Almamy Amara , TRAORE Fodé Amara , CAMARA Gnoume , MAGASSOUBA Aboubacar Sidiki , BARRY Ibrahima , KOUROUMA Mohamed Lamine , SYLLA Younoussa , CONTE Naby Yaya , CISSE Diao , DIOUBATÉ Nafissatou , SIDIBE Sidikiba , BEAVOGUI Abdoul Habib , DELAMOU Alexandre 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Introduction The advent of the effective COVID-19 vaccine was the most eagerly expected worldwide. However, this hope quickly became hesitation and denial in many countries, including Guinea. Understanding the reasons for low vaccine coverage is essential to achieving herd immunity that will lead to disease control.MethodsWe conducted a mixed cross-sectional survey focused on healthcare workers and the general population in 4 natural regions in Guinea. The study was conducted from 23 March 2021 to 25 August 2021. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression to identify vaccination-associated factors against COVID-19, backed by classification and regression tree (CART) and thematic content analysis for the qualitative component.ResultsWe surveyed 3547 healthcare workers and 3663 general population members. The proportion of people vaccinated was 65% among healthcare workers and 31% among the general population. For health care workers: the main factors associated with vaccination against COVID-19 were as follows: absence of pregnancy AOR = 4.65 [3.23–6.78], being supportive of vaccination AOR = 1.94 [1.66–2.27] and being an adult AOR = 1.64 [1.26–2.16]. Regarding the general population, the following factors increased the odds of vaccination: absence of pregnancy AOR = 1.93 [CI: 1.01–3.91], being favourable for vaccination AOR = 3.48 [CI: 2.91–4.17], being an adult AOR = 1.72 [CI: 1.38–2.14] and being able to get the vaccine AOR = 4.67 [CI: 3.76–5.84]. Semi-interviews revealed fear, lack of trust, and hesitant perception of the government as potential barriers to vaccination.ConclusionThis study suggests that beliefs and negative perceptions are potential barriers to vaccination against COVID-19 among healthcare workers and the general population. Policies should emphasise practical strategies to mitigate these barriers among young people and pregnant women. Lastly, there is a need to improve access to vaccines in the general population.
HLA-mismatched micro-transplantation as post-remission treatment compared to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or consolidation with single agent cytarabine for favorable or intermediate risk acute myeloid leukemia
Authors: Tao Shandong , Song Lixiao , Zhou Dan , Ding Banghe , Deng Yuan , Chen Yue , He Zhengmei , Wang Chunling , Yu Liang 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
There was some heterogenity in low or intermediate risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stratified by European LeukemiaNet (ELN), the optimal post-remission treatment for an individual favorable and intermediate risk genetics AML patient has not yet been established. HLA-mismatched stem cell micro-transplantation (MST), a novel apporoach of transplantation, which may improve outcomes and avoid graft versus host disease (GVHD) in first complete remission (CR1) AML patients. We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy, safety and survival of the 63 patients with favorable or intermediate risk AML received MST, autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or cytarabine single agent (CSA) as post-remission treatment from January 2014 to August 2021. Neutrophil recovery time was shorter in the MST group than CSA group. There was no significant difference in three groups of infection and bleeding. The 2-year cumulative incidences of relapse were 27.27%, 29.41% and 41.67% in the MST, ASCT and CSA groups, respectively. During the period of follow-up, there were 21 patients (33.3%) died to relapse, including 6(9.52%), 5(7.94%) and 10 (15.84%) deaths in MST, ASCT and CSA groups, respectively. The estimated overall survival (OS) and relapse free survival (RFS) at 2 years were 62.2% vs 50.0% (P = 0.101) and 57.1% vs 50.0% (P = 0.136) in MST and CSA group (P = 0.101) for patients over 60 years. The estimated OS at 2 years was 100.0%, 66.2%, and 69.1% in MST, ASCT and CSA group ( MST vs CSA, P = 0.044), meanwhile, the estimated RFS at 2 years was 100.0%, 65.4%, and 59.8% ( MST vs CSA, P = 0.050) in patients ≤ 60 years. We concluded that MST, ASCT and CSA were all acceptable options for favorable and intermediate risk AML patients as post-remission treatment. Moreover, MST could not only improve the prognosis of the elderly but also prolong the OS and RFS of low or intermediate-risk patients ≤ 60 years.
Asthma hospital admission and readmission spikes, advancing accurate classification to advance understanding of causes
Authors: batra mehak , Erbas Bircan , Vicendese Don 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Days of high asthma admissions (HAADs) or readmissions (HARDs) create substantial acute burdens on hospital systems. An important component of asthma care is understanding potential causes of these admission spikes with potential of mitigation of risk. Crucial to this research is accurately distinguishing these events from background seasonal changes and time trends. To date, classification methods have been based on ad hoc and un-tested definitions which may hamper understanding of causes due to HAADs and HARDs misclassification. The aim of this article is to introduce an easily applied robust statistical approach, demonstrated to have high classification accuracy in other settings. It is referred to as the Seasonal Hybrid Extreme Studentized Deviate (S-H-ESD) method.Methods: We demonstrate S-H-ESD on a time series between 1996 to 2009 of all daily paediatric asthma hospital admissions from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Data set (VAED).Results: The S-H-ESD method clearly identified HAADs and HARDs without applying ad-hoc classification definitions, while appropriately accounting for seasonality and time trend. Furthermore, this was able to be done with statistical testing to provide evidence in support of their identification. Conclusion: The S-H-ESD is useful and statistically appropriate for the accurate classification of HAADs and HARDS. This method removes the need for ad-hoc approaches and presents as a means of systemizing the accurate classification and detection of high asthma admission days. This will strengthen synthesis and efficacy of research in order to understand causes of high asthma hospital admission and readmission.
Transcriptome profiling analyzes the characteristics of hairy root and reveals the role of AhGLK1 in response to drought stress and post-drought recovery in peanut
Authors: Liu Xing , Su Liangchen , Li Limei , Zhang Zhi , Liang Qingjian , li ling , Li Xiaoyun 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: HR (hairy root) has emerged as a valuable tool for the rapid characterization of plant gene function and enzyme activity in vivo. AhGLK1 (Arachis hypogaea L. golden2-like 1) is found to play a role in post-drought recovery. However, it is unclear whether HR has properties that are distinct from those of PR (primary root) and which gene networks are regulated by AhGLK1 in response to drought stress and recovery in peanut. Results: We found that cells of the cortex were larger in HR than in PR and a total of 9293 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in HR compared to PR. 183 out of these DEGs related to chlorophyll and photosynthesis were up-regulated in HR. In addition, AhGLK1-OX hairy roots exhibited green, and had a higher relative water content than 35S::eGFP during drought stress. RNA-seq analysis showed that 124 DEGs were involved both in drought and post-drought recovery process, significantly enriched in taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, alpha-linolenic acid metabolism, cutin, suberine and wax biosynthesis and galactose metabolism pathway. GO terms enrichment analysis revealed that 46.77%, 36.61% and 20.62% of DEGs were mapped to biological process (BP), molecular functions (MF) and cellular components (CC), respectively. Furthermore, 56 DEGs involved in drought stress and/or recovery were uniquely expressed in AhGLK1-OX hairy root, which were significantly enriched in photosynthesis-antenna proteins, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism and monoterpenoid biosynthesis pathway. GO analysis showed that 46.82%, 21.82% and 31.36% of DEGs were involved in BP, MF and CC, respectively. Fortunately, 532 and 288 DEGs were found in 35S::eGFP and AhGLK1-OX hairy roots under drought stress and recovery compared to control.Conclusions: Our data reveals that HR has some characteristics of leaves, indicating that HR is suitable for studying genes that are mainly expressed in leaves. RNA-seq results are consistent with previous studies that chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis are critical for AhGLK1 improving post-drought recovery growth in peanut. These findings provide in-depth insights that will be of great utility for the exploration of candidate gene functions for drought tolerance and/or recovery ability in peanut.
Human-Prosthesis Cooperation: Combining Adaptive Prosthesis Control with Visual Feedback Guided Gait
Authors: Fylstra Bretta L. , Lee I-Chieh , Li Minhan , Lewek Michael , Huang He 
Published: May 2022

Abstract
Background: Personalizing prosthesis control is often structured as human-in-the-loop optimization. However, gait performance is influenced by both human control and intelligent prosthesis control. Hence, we need to consider both human and prosthesis control to achieve desired gait patterns. We developed a novel paradigm that engages human gait control via visual feedback (FB) of stance time to cooperate with automatic prosthesis tuning. Three questions were studied: 1.) does user control of gait timing (via visual FB) help the prosthesis tuning algorithm to converge faster? 2.) in turn, does the prosthesis control influence the user’s ability to reach and maintain the feedback goal? and 3.) does the prosthesis control parameters tuned with extended stance time on prosthesis side allow the user to maintain this potentially beneficial behavior even after feedback is removed (short- and long-term retention)?Methods: A reinforcement learning algorithm was used to achieve prosthesis control to meet normative knee kinematics in walking. A visual FB system was used to cue human control of stance time to facilitate the prosthesis tuning goal. Seven individuals without amputation (ND) and four individuals with transfemoral amputation (TFA) walked with a powered knee prosthesis on a treadmill. Participants completed prosthesis autotuning with three visual feedback conditions: no FB, self-selected stance time FB (SS FB), and increased stance time FB (Inc FB). The retention of FB effects was studied by comparing the gait performance across three different prosthesis controls, tuned with different visual FB.Results: 1) Human control of gait timing reduced the tuning duration in individuals without amputation, but not for individuals with TFA. 2) The change of prosthesis control did not influence users’ ability to reach and maintain the visual FB goal. 3) All participants increased their prosthesis-side stance time with the feedback and maintain it right after feedback was removed. However, in the post-test, the tuned prosthesis control parameters with visual FB only supported a few participants with longer stance time and better stance time symmetry. Conclusions: The study gained insights on human-prosthesis cooperation, which may guide the future successful adoption of this paradigm in prosthesis control personalization or human-in-the-loop optimization for improved gait performance.