bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of source material for human intestinal organoid culture for research and clinical use
Authors: Urbano Paulo C. M. , Angus Hamish C. K. , Gadeock Safina , Schultz Michael , Kemp Roslyn A. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectiveHuman intestinal organoids (hIOs) have potential as a model for investigating intestinal diseases. The hIO system faces logistic challenges including limited access to biopsies or low expression of epithelial cell types. Previous research identified the feasibility of tissue from the transverse (TC) or sigmoid colon (SC), or from cryopreserved biopsies from regions of the gastrointestinal tract. We aimed to create a protocol for robust hIO generation that could be implemented across multiple centres, allowing for development of a consistent biobank of hIOs from diverse patients.ResultsTC and SC hIOs were expanded from fresh or frozen biopsies with standard or refined media. The expression of epithelial cells was evaluated via PCR. Growth of TC and SC hIO from healthy donors was reproducible from freshly acquired and frozen biopsies. A refined media including insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 enabled the expression of epithelial cells, including higher expression of goblet cells and enterocytes compared to standard organoid media. We identified a consistent time point where hIOs generated from frozen biopsies reflect similar hIO composition from freshly acquired samples. Feasibility of hIOs as a tool for research and clinical use, including the use of frozen biopsies, was demonstrated.
Difference in the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors depending on area-level deprivation in Japan
Authors: Okui Tasuku , Park Jinsang 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Objectives
Area-level deprivation is an important factor related to mortality or health behaviors; however, a study investigating differences in hypertension prevalence depending on area-level deprivation has not been conducted in Japan. We investigated differences in the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors, i.e. obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and heavy alcohol drinking depending on area-level deprivation using nationwide health checkups data in 2018.

Results
Area-level deprivation was derived from census data. An analysis of the data by secondary medical areas revealed that the age-standardized proportions of individuals whose systolic blood pressure was ≥ 140 mmHg, those whose diastolic blood pressure was ≥ 90 mmHg, those whose body mass index was ≥ 25 or 30 kg/m2, smokers, and heavy alcohol drinkers showed an increasing trend with an increase in the deprivation level. The relative index of inequality, which can be interpreted as the ratio of the age-standardized proportion for the most deprived area compared with that for the least deprived area, was significantly greater than 1 for all proportions, except for the proportion of drinkers in women. Overall, there was a disparity in the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors depending on area-level deprivation.
Very low concentration of lipopolysaccharide can induce the production of various cytokines and chemokines in human primary monocytes
Authors: Chaiwut Ratthakorn , Kasinrerk Watchara 
Published: February 2022

AbstractObjectiveLipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria, is a potent innate immune stimulus. The interaction of LPS with innate immune cells induces the production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, thereby leading to the control of infection. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a wide range of LPS concentrations on the regulation of various proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in human primary monocytes and T lymphocytes.ResultsWe demonstrated that a very low concentration of LPS could regulate the production of cytokines and chemokines in monocytes but not T lymphocytes. Unexpectedly, very low concentrations of LPS (0.0025 and 0.005 ng/mL) could induce TNF-α and IL-6 production, respectively, in monocytes. Our findings provide evidence that in the presence of monocytes, even very low endotoxin contamination could induce cytokine production. We suggest that the recombinant proteins used to investigate immune functions must be thoroughly screened for endotoxins using a highly sensitive method.
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with anti-contactin-associated protein 1 antibody and bile duct hamartomas in the liver: a case report
Authors: Hu Shurong , Hu Yin , Du Qiang 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background
Autoantibodies targeting node of Ranvier proteins are rarely reported in China.

Case presentation
We present the case of a 66-year-old Chinese man who concomitantly developed chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with anti-contactin-associated protein 1 antibody and bile duct hamartomas in liver, which are rarely reported in China. The man presented with chronic progressive sensory and motor symptoms, bilateral periphery facial paralysis, and protein–cell dissociation of cerebrospinal fluid. Nerve conduction study indicated demyelinating neuropathy. Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the liver showed diffuse intrahepatic lesions, which were considered as bile duct hamartomas in the liver. He was suspected as having chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and prednisone. However, his condition got worse. One month later, he was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy associated with anti-contactin-associated protein 1 antibody. He received high-dose methylprednisolone, followed by standard plasma exchange and rituximab therapy. His sensory and motor manifestations were significantly improved at 1 year of follow-up.

Conclusions
This case reminds clinicians to be aware of antiparanodal antibodies, which are associated with specific phenotypes and therapeutic response.
A deep adversarial model for segmentation-assisted COVID-19 diagnosis using CT images
Authors: Yao Hai-yan , Wan Wang-gen , Li Xiang 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading rapidly around the world, resulting in a global pandemic. Imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease since lung infection or pneumonia is a common complication. However, training a deep network to learn how to diagnose COVID-19 rapidly and accurately in CT images and segment the infected regions like a radiologist is challenging. Since the infectious area is difficult to distinguish manually annotation, the segmentation results are time-consuming. To tackle these problems, we propose an efficient method based on a deep adversarial network to segment the infection regions automatically. Then, the predicted segment results can assist the diagnostic network in identifying the COVID-19 samples from the CT images. On the other hand, a radiologist-like segmentation network provides detailed information of the infectious regions by separating areas of ground-glass, consolidation, and pleural effusion, respectively. Our method can accurately predict the COVID-19 infectious probability and provide lesion regions in CT images with limited training data. Additionally, we have established a public dataset for multitask learning. Extensive experiments on diagnosis and segmentation show superior performance over state-of-the-art methods.
Effects of nightlife activities on urban spaces and design: a case study of Cairo, Egypt
Authors: Elshater Abeer , Abusaada Hisham 
Published: February 2022

AbstractHyper-diversity in old communities should be rehabilitated to address various man-made changes that threaten sustainability and viability at night. This study elucidates this argument by reviewing and synthesising theoretical and empirical evidence about urban governance support regarding the participation of neighbourhood residents to improve or eliminate nightlife. The method is based on a systematic review, direct observation and interview with random samples of residents, workers and visitors in commercial and recreational places. This study criticises changes in the public space of the Al-Hussein Mosque, which led to changes in urban forms and affected the nightlife in Old Cairo. However, it asserts that the hyper-diversity of activities in public spaces because of the lack of urban governance controls should consider changes in terms of the participation of vulnerable groups in nightlife. A new conceptual framework for interpreting stakeholders’ positive and negative responses is proposed, which operates across four overlapping steps of urban governance: predicting, proposing, preparing and preventing.
Semantic context driven language descriptions of videos using deep neural network
Authors: Naik Dinesh , Jaidhar C. D. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe massive addition of data to the internet in text, images, and videos made computer vision-based tasks challenging in the big data domain. Recent exploration of video data and progress in visual information captioning has been an arduous task in computer vision. Visual captioning is attributable to integrating visual information with natural language descriptions. This paper proposes an encoder-decoder framework with a 2D-Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model and layered Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) as the encoder and an LSTM model integrated with an attention mechanism working as the decoder with a hybrid loss function. Visual feature vectors extracted from the video frames using a 2D-CNN model capture spatial features. Specifically, the visual feature vectors are fed into the layered LSTM to capture the temporal information. The attention mechanism enables the decoder to perceive and focus on relevant objects and correlate the visual context and language content for producing semantically correct captions. The visual features and GloVe word embeddings are input into the decoder to generate natural semantic descriptions for the videos. The performance of the proposed framework is evaluated on the video captioning benchmark dataset Microsoft Video Description (MSVD) using various well-known evaluation metrics. The experimental findings indicate that the suggested framework outperforms state-of-the-art techniques. Compared to the state-of-the-art research methods, the proposed model significantly increased all measures, B@1, B@2, B@3, B@4, METEOR, and CIDEr, with the score of 78.4, 64.8, 54.2, and 43.7, 32.3, and 70.7, respectively. The progression in all scores indicates a more excellent grasp of the context of the inputs, which results in more accurate caption prediction.
Semen collection, evaluation, and cryopreservation in the bonobo (Pan paniscus)
Authors: Gerits Ilse , Wydooghe Eline , Peere Sofie , Vercammen Francis , Stevens Jeroen M. G. , Ververs Cyriel 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBackgroundCaptive breeding of bonobos (Pan paniscus)has proven to be successful, but maintaining genetic diversity remains a challenge. Cryopreservation of semen is an important potential tool to maintain genetic diversity by preserving current genetic material for future use, as well as facilitating the transport and exchange of genetic material. This study aimed to develop a protocol for semen collection and cryopreservation in the bonobo. Semen was collected from four healthy adult bonobos under general anesthesia during management translocation procedures. Semen collection utilizing urethral catheterization was not successful (n = 1), however, all males (n = 4) responded well to rectal probe electro-ejaculation. Immediately after collection, ejaculates were evaluated for color and admixtures, volume, motility, and concentration. Eosin-Nigrosin staining was prepared to evaluate morphology and viability. Ejaculates were split into two equal volumes and cryopreserved in two different extenders, using a one-step and a two-step approach. Ejaculates were gradually cooled to 4 °C in two hours, subsequently stored in liquid nitrogen vapor for twenty minutes (0.25 ml straws), and finally dropped into liquid nitrogen.ResultsPre-freeze evaluation showed thick, white samples with an average ejaculate volume of 450 µl (100-1000 µl), total motility of 59% (40–80%), viability of 69% (38–85%) and 58% (46–72%) normal spermatozoa. Mainly head (22%) and tail (19%) defects were detected on the Eosin-Nigrosin stain. Ejaculates were highly concentrated, nevertheless, due to the coagulum that caused high viscosity and non-homogenous fractions, only estimations of concentration could be made (1000 million/ml). After 24 h of storage, the post-thaw evaluation showed a loss of quality with an average post-thaw total motility of 15% (5–25%) using the one-step freezing medium, and 19% (5–30%) using the two-step medium. Average post-thaw viability was 15% (4–24%) and 21% (15–29%), respectively.ConclusionsThis report on ejaculates from bonobos obtained by rectal probe electro-ejaculation shows that semen parameters of this species are not completely similar to those of its sibling species, the chimpanzee. Further studies are necessary to develop an optimal protocol for the processing and cryopreservation of bonobo spermatozoa.
Entrepreneurial, institutional and financial strategies for FinTech profitability
Authors: Carbó-Valverde Santiago , Cuadros-Solas Pedro J. , Rodríguez-Fernández Francisco 
Published: February 2022

AbstractNotwithstanding the emergence of FinTech startups in the financial services industry, most of these companies face significant difficulties in breaking even and surviving. This study examines the main managerial, institutional, and financial drivers of FinTech profitability and the time it takes for these firms to break even. The database includes relevant qualitative factors, such as foundational characteristics, the technological profile of the startup, and its funding structure. Using the full population of FinTech startups operating in Spain from 2005 to 2017, we observe that most of these firms are unprofitable within three years of their inception. Combining panel data and survival analyses, we empirically find that large and solvent FinTech firms founded by single entrepreneurs in an incubator or accelerator program are more likely to be profitable and prevail. FinTech firms reach their break-even points faster if they receive funding through seed capital.
Vasoconstriction and hyperperfusion syndrome after carotid artery stenting
Authors: Kobayashi Yuya , Morizumi Teruya , Okumura Gaku , Nagamatsu Kiyoshiro , Shimizu Yusaku , Sasaki Tetsuo , Sato Atsushi 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background
Common complications of carotid artery stenting (CAS) are cerebral ischemia and hyperperfusion syndrome. To date, only a few cases of late-onset cerebral vasoconstriction occurring several hours after CAS have been reported. However, there are no reports of developed vasoconstriction and hyperperfusion syndrome.

Case presentation
A 79-year-old man developed vasoconstriction 1 day after carotid artery stenting. Vasoconstriction improved immediately with glucocorticoid. However, a week later, the patient developed hyperperfusion syndrome.

Conclusions
Postoperative vasoconstriction and hyperperfusion syndrome is an unrecognized complication and surgeons should be aware of it.
Added value of fetal MRI as a complementary method to antenatal ultrasound in the assessment of non-CNS fetal congenital anomalies
Authors: Eshiba Samar Mohamed , Zahran Mohamed Hamdy , Elnekeidy Abdelaziz Mohamed , Abdeldayem Tamer M. , Hassan Hebatallah Hassan Mamdouh 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background
Birth defects and congenital anomalies are different words used to describe developmental abnormalities that occur at birth. Congenital anomalies diagnosis during pregnancy is a difficult topic to which ultrasonography has made significant contributions. The availability of a generally safe, independent technique in the evaluation of prenatal anomalies would be a welcomed clinical and scientific alternative. Ultrasound (US) is the predominant modality for evaluating disorders related to fetus and pregnancy. In most situations, this examination by a professional operator offers sufficient information about fetal morphology, surroundings, and well-being. The abnormalities revealed by ultrasound can be subtle or inconclusive at times. MRI has been demonstrated to be useful in such circumstances in various studies. So the effective use of fetal MRI in the evaluation of non-CNS abnormalities of the body is a reason for adopting fetal MRI as an adjunct to US in obstetric imaging. This study aimed to examine the role of fetal MRI as a complementary method to the antenatal US in assessing non-CNS anomalies and how it changed or modified the diagnosis of anomalies.

Results
By analyzing the data of 30 pregnant females with fetal non-CNS congenital anomalies, the diagnostic accuracy of prenatal ultrasound alone in the detection of congenital anomalies was 76%, with a sensitivity of about 76%. And diagnostic accuracy of MRI alone was 96.6%, with a sensitivity of approximately 96.6%. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy of combined prenatal US and prenatal MRI in the detection of congenital anomalies was 100%, with sensitivity about 100% and PPV about 100%.

Conclusion
Fetal MRI raises confidence in non-CNS malformation assessment. Compared to US, MRI overcomes many of the obstacles faced by the antenatal US. MRI is superior to the US in refining, changing, or adding more diagnostic information about the disease.
Resequencing and genome-wide association studies of autotetraploid potato
Authors: Zhang Feng , Qu Li , Gu Yincong , Xu Zhi-Hong , Xue Hong-Wei 
Published: February 2022

AbstractPotato is the fourth most important food crop in the world. Although with a long history for breeding approaches, genomic information and association between genes and agronomic traits remain largely unknown particularly in autotetraploid potato cultivars, which limit the molecular breeding progression. By resequencing the genome of 108 main cultivar potato accessions with rich genetic diversity and population structure from International Potato Center, with approximate 20-fold coverage, we revealed more than 27 million Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and ~ 3 million Insertion and Deletions with high quality and accuracy. Domestication analysis and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified candidate loci related to photoperiodic flowering time and temperature sensitivity as well as disease resistance, providing informative insights into the selection and domestication of cultivar potato. In addition, GWAS with GWASploy for 25 agronomic traits identified candidate loci by association signals, especially those related to tuber size, small-sized tuber weight and tuber thickness that was also validated by transcriptome analysis. Our study provides a valuable resource that facilitates the elucidation of domestication process as well as the genetic studies and agronomic improvement of autotetraploid potato.
Kinesin motor KIFC1 is required for tubulin acetylation and actin-dependent spindle migration in mouse oocyte meiosis
Authors: Shan Meng-Meng , Zou Yuan-Jing , Pan Zhen-Nan , Zhang Hao-Lin , Xu Yi , Ju Jia-Qian , Sun Shao-Chen 
Published: February 2022

ABSTRACT
Mammalian oocyte maturation is a unique asymmetric division, which is mainly because of actin-based spindle migration to the cortex. In the present study, we report that a kinesin motor KIFC1, which is associated with microtubules for the maintenance of spindle poles in mitosis, is also involved in actin dynamics in murine oocyte meiosis, co-localizing with microtubules during mouse oocyte maturation. Depletion of KIFC1 caused the failure of polar body extrusion, and we found that meiotic spindle formation and chromosome alignment were disrupted. This might be because of the effects of KIFC1 on HDAC6 and NAT10-based tubulin acetylation, which further affected microtubule stability. Mass spectroscopy analysis revealed that KIFC1 also associated with several actin nucleation factors and we found that KIFC1 was essential for the distribution of actin filaments, which further affected spindle migration. Depletion of KIFC1 leaded to aberrant expression of formin 2 and the ARP2/3 complex, and endoplasmic reticulum distribution was also disturbed. Exogenous KIFC1 mRNA supplement could rescue these defects. Taken together, as well as its roles in tubulin acetylation, our study reported a previously undescribed role of kinesin KIFC1 on the regulation of actin dynamics for spindle migration in mouse oocytes.
New Drosophila models to uncover the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that mediate the toxicity of the human prion protein
Authors: Myers Ryan R. , Sanchez-Garcia Jonatan , Leving Daniel C. , Melvin Richard G. , Fernandez-Funez Pedro 
Published: February 2022

ABSTRACT
Misfolding of the prion protein (PrP) is responsible for devastating neurological disorders in humans and other mammals. An unresolved problem in the field is unraveling the mechanisms governing PrP conformational dynamics, misfolding, and the cellular mechanism leading to neurodegeneration. The variable susceptibility of mammals to prion diseases is a natural resource that can be exploited to understand the conformational dynamics of PrP. Here we present a new fly model expressing human PrP with new, robust phenotypes in brain neurons and the eye. By using comparable attP2 insertions, we demonstrated the heightened toxicity of human PrP compared to rodent PrP along with a specific interaction with the amyloid-β peptide. By using this new model, we started to uncover the intrinsic (sequence/structure) and extrinsic (interactions) factors regulating PrP toxicity. We described PERK (officially known as EIF2AK3 in humans) and activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) as key in the cellular mechanism mediating the toxicity of human PrP and uncover a key new protective activity for 4E-BP (officially known as Thor in Drosophila and EIF4EBP2 in humans), an ATF4 transcriptional target. Lastly, mutations in human PrP (N159D, D167S, N174S) showed partial protective activity, revealing its high propensity to misfold into toxic conformations.
A genetic screen inDrosophilareveals the role of fucosylation in host susceptibility toCandidainfection
Authors: Glittenberg Marcus T. , Kounatidis Ilias , Atilano Magda , Ligoxygakis Petros 
Published: February 2022

ABSTRACTCandida infections constitute a blind spot in global public health as very few new anti-fungal drugs are being developed. Genetic surveys of host susceptibilities to such infections using mammalian models have certain disadvantages in that obtaining results is time-consuming, owing to relatively long lifespans, and these results have low statistical resolution because sample sizes are usually small. Here, we report a targeted genetic screening of 5698 RNAi lines encompassing 4135 Drosophila genes with human homologues, several of which we identify as important for host survival after Candida albicans infection. These include genes in a variety of functional classes encompassing gene expression, intracellular signalling, metabolism and enzymatic regulation. Analysis of one of the screen hits, the infection-induced α-(1,3)-fucosylase FucTA, showed that N-glycan fucosylation has several targets among proteins involved in host defence, which provides multiple avenues of investigation for the mechanistic analysis of host survival to systemic C. albicans infection.