bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Single-Shot Quadratus Lumborum Block for Postoperative Analgesia in Adults Following Total Hip Arthroplasty
Authors: Behera Bikram Kishore , Misra Satyajeet , Sarkar Satyaki , Mishra Nitasha 
Published: December 2021

Abstract

Study objective
To evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound-guided single-shot quadratus lumborum block (QLB) for postoperative analgesia in adults following total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Setting
Perioperative period.

Patients
Adult patients undergoing THA.

Methods
Studies were identified by performing searches in the following electronic databases, PubMed (Medline), Cochrane Central Registry of Trials (CENTRAL), and Google Scholar. We sought studies in adult patients undergoing THA, comparing QLB with a control group (no block, sham block or any other ultrasound guided regional nerve blocks). A total of 774 patients from 10 studies (7 randomized controlled, one controlled clinical and two retrospective study) were included in this meta-analysis.

Main results
The 24 hour opioid consumption was similar in both the groups (WMD −4.09; 95% CI [−9.00, 0.83]; P = 0.10; I2 = 95%). The pain scores at rest at 24 hours was significantly less in QLB group (WMD −0.62; 95% CI [−1.15, −0.10]; P = 0.02; I2 = 75%). The difference in pain scores was however not clinically significant. The pain scores on movement at 24 hours, time to first analgesic request, and time to discharge from hospital were similar in both the groups.

Conclusions
QLB as part of multimodal analgesia did not result in any significant analgesic benefits in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty in terms of either postoperative opioid consumption or pain scores at rest and on movement. Overall, the level of certainty is low. Further, well-designed trials are required to verify the results.
Association Among Pelvic Girdle Pain, Diastasis Recti Abdominis, Pubic Symphysis Width, and Pain Catastrophizing: A Matched Case–Control Study
Authors: Starzec-Proserpio Małgorzata , Lipa Daria , Szymański Jacek , Szymańska Agata , Kajdy Anna , Baranowska Barbara 
Published: December 2021

AbstractObjectivePregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) may persist or occur postpartum and negatively affects women’s lives. There is uncertainty regarding the association between the structures of the bony pelvis, diastasis recti abdominis (DRA), pain processing, and PGP and to what extent these factors should be considered during physical therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the differences between women with and without PGP shortly after delivery regarding the separation of a pubic symphysis, DRA, and pain catastrophizing.MethodsWomen diagnosed with PGP 24 to 72 hours after vaginal delivery were matched to pain-free controls according to age and parity. Ultrasound evaluations of diastasis recti (interrecti distance [IRD]) during rest and curl-up task and pubic symphysis (interpubic width) were performed. The Pain Catastrophizing Scale was used to assess the level of catastrophizing. A special Cox regression model was used to fit a conditional logistic regression for a 1:2 matched case–control study.ResultsThirty-five women with clinically diagnosed PGP and 70 matched controls were included in the study. The PGP group had a significantly higher pre-pregnancy body mass index than the control group. After adjusting for body mass index in multiple conditional logistic regression, the interpubic distance (odds ratio = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.22 to 2.20) and IRD during curl-up (odds ratio = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.08 to 3.74) were significantly associated with PGP. Pain catastrophizing and IRD at rest were not associated with PGP in univariable or multivariable analysis.ConclusionsPain catastrophizing is similar for women with and without PGP early postpartum. However, the degree of the pubic symphysis and rectus abdominis separation during the curl-up task are positively associated with PGP shortly after delivery.ImpactThis study indicates that a reconsideration of the way we look at DRA is warranted. The development of a more comprehensive assessment including objective measurements and a biopsychosocial understanding is needed to inform directions for further postpartum physical therapy.
Co-producing Bioethics: How Biomedical Scientists and Applied Philosophers Established Bioethics in Australia
Authors: Mayes Christopher 
Published: December 2021

Summary
This article examines the emergence of bioethics at Monash University and Australia during the late-1970s and early-1980s. Unlike bioethics in the USA, which was born a decade earlier during policy debates over human experimentation and withdrawal of treatment, bioethics in Australia initially emerged in the university context via interactions among research scientists working at the forefront of reproductive medicine and philosophers seeking to address issues of public concern. These interactions occurred in a rapidly changing university sector that was moving towards research translation and a new global knowledge economy. Drawing on oral histories with philosophers and medical scientists involved in these events, as well as archival materials, this article uses a co-productionist analytic lens to critically examine how changing institutional norms encouraged mutually beneficial interactions between philosophers and scientists, which shaped the emergence of a new and distinctive field of bioethics in Australia.
Persistence of the ‘Codeless Myriad’: The Indian Contract Act and a Puzzle Surrounding Common Law Codification
Authors: Swaminathan Shivprasad 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
The drafters of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 modelled the code after the will theory and deviated from the English law in a number of areas where it ran counter to the will theory. However, when one fast-forwards by a century, one finds that the Indian courts ended up construing the Act a way that it has come to be virtually indistinguishable from English contract law, warts and all. This article seeks to examine—with a study of provisions related to consideration, privity, and stipulated sums in the Indian Contract Act—the causes for dissonance between the case law and the code. It hypothesizes that the troubles for codification—which manifest in the trajectory taken by the Indian contract code—stem from certain underlying jurisprudential features of common law adjudication which neither the adherents nor the opponents of the codification project seem to have fully grasped. These features make adjudication track the antediluvian common law rather than the ‘code’ which it is supposed to supplant. At the heart of the common law is a form of normativity (normless normativity) that at odds with the conception of normativity presupposed by a code (normativity with rules).
Study on the effect of dimple position on drag reduction of high-speed maglev train
Authors: Zhou Dan , Wu Liliang , Tan Changda , Hu Tian'en 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Transient numerical simulations were carried out by placing dimples at the top, sides and bottoms of the tail car streamline area of a high-speed maglev train. The results of an improved delayed detached eddy simulation turbulence model using three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes and shear-stress transport K-Omega double equations were compared to the results of a wind tunnel test to verify the numerical simulation accuracy, within 5% of the ground truth, which is an acceptable precision range. The results show that dimples arranged on the streamline area atop the train tail car affected the locations at which the airflow at the top and bottom of the train met and weakened the strength of the wake. The aerodynamic drag and lift coefficient decreased by 3.40% and 4.27%, respectively. When the dimples were arranged on the streamline area at the sides or bottoms of the train tail car, they had little effect on the top of the tail car, so they did not destroy the balance of the airflow at the top and bottom. They also had little influence on the development of wake topology. Therefore, the aerodynamic drag and lift of the train changed little.
An online atlas of human plasma metabolite signatures of gut microbiome composition
Authors: Dekkers Koen F. , Sayols-Baixeras Sergi , Baldanzi Gabriel , Nowak Christoph , Hammar Ulf , Nguyen Diem , Varotsis Georgios , Brunkwall Louise , Nielsen Nynne , Eklund Aron C. , Holm Jacob Bak , Nielsen H. Bjørn , Ottosson Filip , Lin Yi-Ting , Ahmad Shafqat , Lind Lars , Sundström Johan , Engström Gunnar , Smith J. Gustav , Ärnlöv Johan , Orho-Melander Marju , Fall Tove 
Published: December 2021

Summary paragraphThe human gut microbiota produces a variety of small compounds, some of which enter the bloodstream and impact host health. Conversely, various exogenous nutritional and pharmaceutical compounds affect the gut microbiome composition before entering circulation. Characterization of the gut microbiota–host plasma metabolite interactions is an important step towards understanding the effects of the gut microbiota on human health. However, studies involving large and deeply phenotyped cohorts that would reveal such meaningful interactions are scarce. Here, we used deep metagenomic sequencing and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography linked to mass spectrometry for detailed characterization of the fecal microbiota and plasma metabolome, respectively, of 8,584 participants invited at age 50 to 64 of the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS). After adjusting for multiple comparisons, we identified 1,008 associations between species alpha diversity and plasma metabolites, and 318,944 associations between specific gut metagenomic species and plasma metabolites. The gut microbiota explained up to 50% of the variance of individual plasma metabolites (mean of 4.7%). We present all results as the searchable association atlas “GUTSY” as a rich resource for mining associations, and exemplify the potential of the atlas by presenting novel associations between oral medication and the gut microbiome, and microbiota species strongly associated with levels of the uremic toxin p-cresol sulfate. The association atlas can be used as the basis for targeted studies of perturbation of specific bacteria and for identification of candidate plasma biomarkers of gut flora composition.
Autism spectrum disorder trios from consanguineous populations are enriched for rare biallelic variants, identifying 32 new candidate genes
Authors: Harripaul Ricardo , Rabia Ansa , Vasli Nasim , Mikhailov Anna , Rodrigues Ashlyn , Pastore Stephen F. , Muhammad Tahir , Madanagopal Thulasi Thiruvallur , Hashmi Aisha Nasir , Tran Clinton , Stan Cassandra , Aw Katherine , Zai Clement , Azam Maleeha , Mahmood Saqib , Heidari Abolfazl , Qamar Raheel , French Leon , Tripathy Shreejoy , Agha Zehra , Iqbal Muhammad , Ghadami Majid , Santangelo Susan L. , Bozorgmehr Bita , Al Ayadhi Laila , Sasanfar Roksana , Maqbool Shazia , Knowles James A. , Ayub Muhammad , Vincent John B 
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects about 1 in 36 children in the United States, imposing enormous economic and socioemotional burden on families and communities. Genetic studies of ASD have identifiedde novocopy number variants (CNVs) and point mutations that contribute significantly to the genetic architecture, but the majority of these studies were conducted in populations unsuited for detecting autosomal recessive (AR) inheritance. However, several ASD studies in consanguineous populations point towards AR as an under-appreciated source of ASD variants.MethodsWe used whole exome sequencing to look for rare variants for ASD in 115 proband-mother-father trios from populations with high rates of consanguinity, namely Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. Consanguinity was assessed through microarray genotyping.ResultsWe report 84 candidate disease-predisposing single nucleotide variants and indels, with 58% biallelic, 25% autosomal dominant/de novo, and the rest X-linked, in 39 trios. 52% of the variants were loss of function (LoF) or putative LoF (pLoF), and 47% nonsynonymous. We found an enrichment of biallelic variants, both in sixteen genes previously reported for AR ASD and/or intellectual disability (ID) and 32 previously unreported AR candidate genes (includingDAGLA,ENPP6,FAXDC2,ILDR2,KSR2,PKD1L1,SCN10A,SHH, andSLC36A1). We also identified eight candidate biallelic exonic loss CNVs.ConclusionsThe significant enrichment for biallelic variants among individuals with high Frohcoefficients, compared with low Froh, either in known or candidate AR genes, confirms that genetic architecture for ASD among consanguineous populations is different to non-consanguineous populations. Assessment of consanguinity may assist in the genetic diagnostic process for ASD.
Intrahost evolution of the HIV-2 capsid correlates with progression to AIDS
Authors: Boswell M. T. , Nazziwa J. , Kuroki K. , Palm A. , Karlson S. , Månsson F. , Biague A. , da Silva Z. J. , Onyango C.O. , de Silva T.I. , Jaye A. , Norrgren H. , Medstrand P. , Jansson M. , Maenaka K. , Rowland-Jones S. L. , Esbjörnsson J. ,   the SWEGUB CORE group
Published: December 2021

AbstractBackgroundHIV-2 infection will progress to AIDS in most patients without treatment, albeit at approximately half the rate of HIV-1 infection. HIV-2 p26 amino acid variations are associated with lower viral loads and enhanced processing of T cell epitopes, which may lead to protective Gag-specific CTL responses common in slower disease progressors. Lower virus evolutionary rates, and positive selection on conserved residues in HIV-2 env have been associated with slower progression to AIDS. We therefore aimed to determine if intrahost evolution of HIV-2 p26 is associated with disease progression.MethodsTwelve treatment-naïve, HIV-2 mono-infected participants from the Guinea-Bissau Police cohort with longitudinal CD4+ T cell data and clinical follow-up were included in the analysis. CD4% change over time was analysed via linear regression models to stratify participants into relative faster and slower disease progressor groups. Gag amplicons of 735 nucleotides which spanned the p26 region were amplified by PCR and sequenced. We analysed p26 sequence diversity evolution, measured site-specific selection pressures and evolutionary rates, and determined if these evolutionary parameters were associated with progression status. Amino acid polymorphisms were mapped to existing p26 protein structures.ResultsIn total, 369 heterochronous HIV-2 p26 sequences from 12 male patients with a median age of 30 (IQR: 28–37) years at enrolment were analysed. Faster progressors had lower CD4% and faster CD4% decline rates. Median pairwise sequence diversity was higher in faster progressors (5.7×10−3 versus 1.4×10−3 base substitutions per site, P<0.001). p26 evolved under negative selection in both groups (dN/dS=0.12). Virus evolutionary rates were higher in faster than slower progressors – synonymous rates: 4.6×10−3 vs. 2.3×10−3; and nonsynonymous rates: 6.9×10−4 vs. 2.7×10−4 substitutions/site/year, respectively. Virus evolutionary rates correlated negatively with CD4% change rates (ρ = -0.8, P=0.02), but not CD4% level. However, Bayes factor (BF) testing indicated that the association between evolutionary rates and CD4% kinetics was supported by weak evidence (BF=0.5). The signature amino acid at p26 positions 6, 12 and 119 differed between faster (6A, 12I, 119A) and slower (6G, 12V, 119P) progressors. These amino acid positions clustered near to the TRIM5α/p26 hexamer interface surface.ConclusionsFaster p26 evolutionary rates were associated with faster progression to AIDS and were mostly driven by synonymous substitutions. Nonsynonymous evolutionary rates were an order of magnitude lower than synonymous rates, with limited amino acid sequence evolution over time within hosts. These results indicate the HIV-2 p26 may be an attractive vaccine or therapeutic target.
COVID-19 mRNA Booster Vaccines Elicit Strong Protection Against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Patients with Cancer
Authors: Zeng Cong , Evans John P. , Chakravarthy Karthik , Qu Panke , Reisinger Sarah , Song No Joon , Rubinstein Mark P. , Shields Peter G. , Li Zihai , Liu Shan-Lu 
Published: December 2021

AbstractFollowing its emergence in late November of 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant has caused major global public health concerns. We recently demonstrated that in healthy adults the Omicron variant exhibits strong resistance to immunity induced by two doses of the mRNA vaccines, but a booster mRNA vaccine dose can provide strong protection against Omicron. However, it is currently unknown how well these mRNA vaccine boosters protect immunocompromised groups, including cancer patients, from the Omicron variant. Here we show that (1) neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers against the Delta and Omicron variants in cancer patients after two-dose mRNA vaccines are 4.2-fold and 21.3-fold lower, respectively, compared to the ancestral D614G, and (2) nAb titers against the Delta and Omicron variants in boosted cancer patients are 3.6-fold and 5.1-fold lower, respectively, compared to D614G. Our findings highlight the effectiveness and need for booster vaccination strategies in immunocompromised groups including cancer patients to protect from the Omicron variant.
A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Estimating Mitochondria DNA Copy Number and Heteroplasmy Levels from Whole Genome Sequencing Data
Authors: Battle Stephanie L , Puiu Daniela ,   TOPMed mtDNA Working Group, Boerwinkle Eric , Taylor Kent D , Rotter Jerome I , Rich Stephan S , Grove Megan L , Pankratz Nathan , Fetterman Jessica L , Liu Chunyu , Arking Dan E 
Published: December 2021

AbstractMitochondrial diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders that can be caused by mutations in the nuclear or mitochondrial genome. Mitochondrial DNA variants may exist in a state of heteroplasmy, where a percentage of DNA molecules harbor a variant, or homoplasmy, where all DNA molecules have a variant. The relative quantity of mtDNA in a cell, or copy number (mtDNA-CN), is associated with mitochondrial function, human disease, and mortality. To facilitate accurate identification of heteroplasmy and quantify mtDNA-CN, we built a bioinformatics pipeline that takes whole genome sequencing data and outputs mitochondrial variants, and mtDNA-CN. We incorporate variant annotations to facilitate determination of variant significance. Our pipeline yields uniform coverage by remapping to a circularized chrM and recovering reads falsely mapped to nuclear-encoded mitochondrial sequences. Notably, we construct a consensus chrM sequence for each sample and recall heteroplasmy against the sample’s unique mitochondrial genome. We observe an approximately 3-fold increased association with age for heteroplasmic variants in non-homopolymer regions and, are better able to capture genetic variation in the D-loop of chrM compared to existing software. Our bioinformatics pipeline more accurately captures features of mitochondrial genetics than existing pipelines that are important in understanding how mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to disease.
Differential regulation of prelimbic and thalamic transmission to the basolateral amygdala by acetylcholine receptors
Authors: Tryon Sarah C. , Bratsch-Prince Joshua X. , Warren James W. , Jones Grace C. , McDonald Alexander J. , Mott David D. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe amygdalar anterior basolateral nucleus (BLa) plays a vital role in emotional behaviors. This region receives dense cholinergic projections from basal forebrain which are critical in regulating neuronal activity and synaptic transmission. Cholinergic signaling in BLa is thought to occur through both a slow mode of volume transmission as well as a rapid, phasic mode. However, the relative effect of each mode of signaling in BLa is not understood. Here, we used electrophysiology and optogenetics in mouse brain slices to compare regulation of afferent input from cortex and thalamus to the BLa by these two modes of transmission. Phasic ACh release evoked by single pulse stimulation of cholinergic terminals had a biphasic effect on glutamatergic transmission at cortical input, producing rapid nicotinic receptor-mediated facilitation followed by slower muscarinic receptor (mAChR)-mediated depression. In contrast, tonic elevation of ACh through application of the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine suppressed glutamatergic transmission at cortical inputs through mAChRs only. This suppression was not observed at thalamic inputs to BLa. In agreement with this pathway-specificity, the mAChR agonist, muscarine more potently suppressed transmission at inputs from prelimbic cortex (PL) than thalamus. Muscarinic inhibition at PL input was dependent on presynaptic M4 mAChRs, while at thalamic input it depended upon M3 mAChR-mediated stimulation of retrograde endocannabinoid signaling. Muscarinic inhibition at both pathways was frequency-dependent, allowing only high frequency activity to pass. These findings demonstrate complex cholinergic regulation of afferent input to BLa that depends upon the mode of ACh release and is both pathway specific and frequency dependent.Significance statementCholinergic modulation of the basolateral amygdala regulates formation of emotional memories, but the mechanisms underlying this regulation are not well understood. Here, we show, using mouse brain slices, that ACh differentially regulates afferent transmission to the BLa depending on the mode of cholinergic signaling. Rapid, phasic ACh produces a biphasic excitatory-inhibitory regulation of glutamatergic transmission mediated by nicotinic and muscarinic receptors, respectively. In contrast, slow, tonic ACh produces muscarinic inhibition only. Tonic regulation is pathway specific with cortical input regulated more strongly than thalamic input. This disparity is caused by differential regulation by M4 and M3 receptors at the two inputs. Specific targeting of these receptors may thus provide a therapeutic strategy to bias amygdalar processing and regulate emotional memory.
Extreme-Value Analysis of Intracellular Cargo Transport by Motor Proteins
Authors: Naoi Takuma , Kagawa Yuki , Nagino Kimiko , Niwa Shinsuke , Hayashi Kumiko 
Published: December 2021

ABSTRACTExtreme-value analysis (EVA) deals with deviations in the data from the median of the probability distributions. EVA serves various purposes such as predicting disasters and analyzing sports records. Herein, we extended the use of EVA to investigate the motility functions of nanoscale motor proteins in neurons of the living wormCaenorhabditis elegans(C. elegans). Motor proteins, such as kinesin and dynein, move along microtubules anterogradely and retrogradely, respectively, to deliver the cargo-containing materials needed for the cells. Although the essential difference between the two motors could not be inferred from the mean velocity values, the return-level EVA plots obtained from the velocity data revealed a difference. Shape parameters of the generalized extreme value distribution of EVAξ< 0 for anterograde transport andξ≥ 0 for retrograde transport. Our findings extend the possibility and applicability of EVA for analyzing motility data of nanoscale proteinsin vivo.