bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Government Bond Yields
Authors: Zhou Yang , Teresienė Deimantė , Keliuotytė-Staniulėnienė Greta , Kanapickiene Rasa , Dong Rebecca Kechen , Kaab Omeir Ahmad 
Published: June 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic is a real shock to society and business and financial markets. The government bond market is an essential part of financial markets, especially in difficult times, because it is a source of government funding. The majority of existing ESG studies report positive impacts on corporate financial performance regarding environmental, social, and governance. Thus, understanding governments’ financial practices and their relevant ESG implications is insufficient. This research aims to value the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on different government bond curve sectors. We try to identify the reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic in the government bond market and analyze separate tenors of government bond yields in different regions. We have chosen Germany and the United States government bond yields of 10, 5, and 3 years tenor for the analysis. As independent variables, we have chosen daily cases of COVID-19 and daily deaths from COVID-19 at the country and global levels. We used daily data from 02 January 2020–19 March 2021, and divided this period into three stages depending on the COVID-19 pandemic data. We employed the methods of correlation-regression analysis (ordinary least squares and least squares with breakpoints) and VAR-based impulse response functions to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on government bond yields both in the long and short run. Our analysis revealed the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on government bond yields differs depending on the country and the assessment period. The short-term responses vary in direction, strength, and duration; the long-term response of Germany’s yields appeared to be more negative (indicating the decrease of the yields), while the response of the United States yields appeared to be more positive (i.e., increase of yields).
Designing a Robust and Versatile System to Investigate Nutrient Exchange in, and Partitioning by, Mycorrhiza (Populus x canesces x Paxillus involutus) Under Axenic or Greenhouse Conditions
Authors: Schreider Katharina , Boy Jens , Sauheitl Leopold , Figueiredo Aline Fernandes , Andrino Alberto , Guggenberger Georg 
Published: June 2022

Phosphorus (P) bioavailability affects plant nutrition. P can be present in soils in different chemical forms that are not available for direct plant uptake and have to be acquired by different mechanisms, representing different resource niches. These mechanisms, of which many seem to be attributed to mycorrhiza, likely influence the diversity and stability of plant communities in natural ecosystems, as they also might help to overcome a future shortage of P supply in agro-ecosystems. In order to understand the mechanisms of P acquisition, the associated carbon costs, and the resource partitioning by mycorrhizal fungi, the ecosystem situation has to be mimicked in smaller scaled experiments. Here, different experimental setups are evaluated using plantlets of Populus x canescens and its functional ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungus Paxillus involututs strain MAJ. To investigate resource partitioning involving mycorrhizae, the protocols of this study describe preparation of an in vitro and a rhizotrone culture systems for studies under axenic conditions as well as a mesocosm culture system for greenhouse conditions. We also describe the construction of separate compartments containing nutrients and excluding plant roots as well as the progress that has been made in in vitro propagation of plant and ECM fungal material. The practical experience made in our study shows that the in vitro culture system is prone to desiccation and its construction and maintenance are more time consuming and complicated. In contrast, with the axenic rhizotrone culture system and the mesocosms we have created more robust and very versatile systems that are also suitable for greenhouse conditions.
Hypercholesterolemia Correlates With Glomerular Phospholipase A2 Receptor Deposit and Serum Anti-Phospholipase A2 Receptor Antibody and Predicts Proteinuria Outcome in Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy
Authors: Dong Lei , Li Yue-qiang , Guo Shui-ming , Xu Gang , Wei Wang , Han Min 
Published: June 2022

BackgroundThe anti-phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) antibody is a non-invasive diagnostic tool and prognosis predictor of idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). Baseline hypercholesterolemia independently predicts proteinuria outcomes in IMN patients. Thus, we investigated whether hyperlipidemia is correlated with anti-PLA2R and pathological indicators.MethodsA total of 495 IMN patients identified by kidney biopsy in Wuhan Tongji Hospital, China, from January 2016 through December 2020 were enrolled in this study. Data on clinical features, pathology findings, and outcomes were collected.ResultsTotal cholesterol (TC), non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) were positively related to proteinuria, indicating damage to the renal glomerulus [Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient = 0.432, 0.462, 0.315, and 0.289, respectively, P &lt; 0.001 for all]. In univariate logistic regression, low HDL-C [odds ratio (OR): 0.856; 95% CI: 0.778–0.939; P = 0.001] and high TG [OR: 1.025; 95% CI: 1.006–1.044; P = 0.011] were correlated with tubular atrophy, suggesting lesions on tubules. Increased TC [adjusted OR: 1.285; 95% CI: 1.119–1.475; P &lt; 0.001], non-HDL-C [adjusted OR: 1.284; 95% CI: 1.113–1.482; P = 0.001], and LDL-C [adjusted OR: 1.178; 95% CI: 1.009–1.376; P = 0.039] independently predicted glomerular PLA2R deposit; similar results were observed for lipids in predicting the seropositivity of anti-PLA2R antibodies. After treatment, increased HDL-C [adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 1.764; 95% CI: 1.241–2.507; P = 0.002] and decreased non-HDL-C [adjusted HR: 0.884; 95% CI: 0.795–0.983; P = 0.022] independently predicted proteinuria remission.ConclusionHypercholesterolemia is a potentially useful biomarker for disease severity, serum anti-PLA2R antibody, glomerular PLA2R deposit, and proteinuria outcome of IMN.
Regulation of the Cell Cycle, Apoptosis, and Proline Accumulation Plays an Important Role in the Stress Response of the Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica
Authors: Li Cui , Wang Haiyan , Guo Ximing 
Published: June 2022

BackgroundUnderstanding how organisms respond and adapt to environmental changes is central to evolutionary biology. As a sessile organism that has adapted to life in estuaries and intertidal zones, the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica can tolerate wide fluctuations in temperature and salinity and survive for weeks out of water. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the remarkable stress tolerance of the eastern oyster, we studied the transcriptomic changes induced by exposure to air and cold stress. Eastern oysters were maintained for 7 days under four conditions, namely, in seawater (normal) at 22°C, in air at 22°C, in seawater at 5°C and in air at 5°C, and then sampled for RNA sequencing.ResultsTranscriptomic analysis revealed that many genes involved in cell cycle progression and DNA replication were downregulated in oysters exposed to air and cold, which indicates that stress inhibits cell division. Exposure to air at 22°C induced a concerted inhibition of apoptosis through the upregulation of expanded inhibitors of apoptosis and the downregulation of caspases. Interactions between TNF and NF-κB signalling implied a reduction in the inflammatory response and immune functions. Key genes for proline production, fatty acid synthesis and chromosomal proteins were upregulated during exposure to low temperatures, which suggested that proline accumulation, energy conservation, and epigenetic modification of chromosomes are important for coping with cold stress. The upregulation of melatonin, FMRFamide, and neural acetylcholine receptors indicate the significance of the neurohormonal regulation of homeostasis.ConclusionThese results show that air exposure and cold stress alter the expression of key genes for cell division, apoptosis, proline accumulation, fatty acid metabolism, neurohormonal signalling, and epigenetic modifications, suggesting regulation of these processes plays an important role in the stress response of the eastern oyster and possibly other marine molluscs. This study provides new insights into molecular mechanisms of stress response that are essential for understanding the adaptive potential of marine organisms under climate change.
Rhino-Orbital-Cerebral Mycosis and Extranodal Natural Killer or/and T-Cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type
Authors: Li Dong Ming , Lun Li De 
Published: June 2022

BackgroundExtranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type is a syndrome of middle face destruction with an association to Epstein-Barr virus. Fungi have been recovered from the diseased tissue now and then but were often seen as a lymphoma-associated secondary infection. However, there are ENKTL-NT cases with the recoveries of fungi and complete recovery with antifungal therapy, which are quite similar to rhino-orbital-cerebral mycosis (ROCM) that often confuses the physicians.MethodsWe searched Medline for English-language manuscripts limited to “human” and “case reports,” “letters,” “reviews,” and “clinical conferences” from 1966 to 2022. We used MeSH terms “lymphoma, extranodal nk-t-cell” [MeSH Terms] or “lethal midline granuloma” [MeSH Terms], in combination with MeSH terms “microbiology” [subheading] or “microbiology” [all fields] or “fungi” [all fields] or “fungi” [MeSH Terms] for ENKTL-NT with infections. We used MeSH terms “Mycoses” in combination with “Nose” [Mesh] OR “Orbital Diseases” [Mesh] for rhino-orbital-cerebral fungal infections.ResultsWe appraised 149 included articles and extracted references related to ENKTL-NT and/or ROCM. Themes and subcategories were subsequently derived. Our findings revealed that ROCM and ENKTL-NT are characterized by progressive and destructive ulcers in the midline face or rhino-orbital structures. ROCM is mainly caused by fungi in the order of Mucorales, and ENKTL-NT is usually associated with Epstein-Barr virus and sometimes fungi. Radiologically, both are characterized by non-specific features of sinusitis, soft tissue infection, and necrosis. Pathologically, ROCM and ENKTL-NT share the same characteristics of inflammation, necrosis, and granuloma. ROCM is characterized by the detection of fungi in tissue, while ENKTL-NT is typically positive for NK/T-cell markers and cytotoxic granule-associated proteins, proliferation, and vascular damage of angioinvasion, which could be incited by Mucor irregularis and Rhizopus arrhizus in patients and mice.ConclusionENKTL-NT and ROCM share many similarities in clinical presentations, radiology, and histopathology, and might have the same etiology. This may explain why the two diseases are tangled together in the reported cases, and suggests the role that the fungi may play in the development of these ENKTL-NT/ROCM diseases. The reason why ENKTL-NT and ROCM are sometimes confused is that the main pathogens of ROCM, Mucor irregularis and Rhizopus arrhizus, are the fungal causative agents of ENKTL-NT.
Efficacy of Pirfenidone vs. Placebo in Unclassifiable Interstitial Lung Disease, by Surgical Lung Biopsy Status: Data From a post-hoc Analysis
Authors: Molina-Molina Maria , Kreuter Michael , Cottin Vincent , Corte Tamera J. , Gilberg Frank , Kirchgaessler Klaus-Uwe , Axmann Judit , Maher Toby M. 
Published: June 2022

Approximately 12–13% of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) are diagnosed with unclassifiable ILD (uILD), often despite thorough evaluation. A recent Phase 2 study (NCT03099187) described a significant effect of pirfenidone vs. placebo on forced vital capacity (FVC) measured by site spirometry in patients with progressive fibrosing uILD (hereafter referred to as the pirfenidone in uILD study). Here, we present the results from a post-hoc analysis of this study to assess patient baseline characteristics and the efficacy of pirfenidone vs. placebo analyzed by surgical lung biopsy (SLB) status. Mean FVC (mL) change over 24 weeks was included as a post-hoc efficacy outcome. Of 253 randomized patients, 88 (34.8%) had a SLB and 165 (65.2%) did not. Baseline characteristics were generally similar between SLB subgroups; however, patients who had a SLB were slightly younger and had a higher 6-min walk distance than those without a SLB. Mean FVC change over 24 weeks for pirfenidone vs. placebo was −90.9 vs. −146.3 mL, respectively, in patients who had a SLB, and 8.2 vs. −85.3 mL, respectively, in patients without a SLB. Overall, the results from the post-hoc analysis identified that pirfenidone may be an effective treatment in progressive fibrosing uILD over 24 weeks, irrespective of SLB status; however, caution should be taken when interpreting these data due to several limitations. There are differences in the treatment effect of pirfenidone between the subgroups that require further pathological and radiological investigation. In this manuscript, we also descriptively compared baseline characteristics from the overall pirfenidone in uILD study population with other uILD populations reported in the literature, with the aim of understanding if there are any similarities or differences within these cohorts. Most baseline characteristics for patients in the pirfenidone in uILD study were within the ranges reported in the literature; however, ranges were wide, highlighting the heterogeneity of uILD populations.Clinical Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03099187.
Combined Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Genetic Kidney Disease: Genetic Risk Identification, Assisted Reproductive Cycle, and Pregnancy Outcome Analysis
Authors: Xiao Min , Shi Hua , Rao Jia , Xi Yanping , Zhang Shuo , Wu Junping , Zhu Saijuan , Zhou Jing , Xu Hong , Lei Caixia , Sun Xiaoxi 
Published: June 2022

BackgroundGenetic kidney disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in neonates and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in children and adolescents. Genetic diagnosis provides key information for early identification of congenital kidney disease and reproductive risk counseling. Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disease (PGT-M) as a reproductive technology helps prospective parents to prevent passing on disease-causing mutations to their offspring.Materials and MethodsA retrospective cohort of couples counseled on PGT who had a risk to given birth to a child with genetic kidney disease or had a history of prenatal fetal kidney and urinary system development abnormalities from 2011 to 2021. Through a combination of simultaneously screening for aneuploidy and monogenic kidney disease, we achieved reproductive genetic intervention.ResultsA total of 64 couples counseled on PGT for monogenic kidney disease in a single reproductive center during the past 10 years, of whom 38 different genetic kidney diseases were identified. The most frequent indications for referral were autosomal recessive disease (54.7%), then autosomal dominant disease (29.7%), and X-linked disease (15.6%). Polycystic kidney disease was the most common diseases counted for 34.4%. After oocyte-retrieval in all of 64 females, a total of 339 embryos were diagnosed and 63 embryos were transferred in succession. Among 61 cycles of frozen-embryo transfer (FET), ongoing pregnancy/live birth rate (OP/LBR) reached 57.38%. The cumulative OP/LBR in our cohort for the 64 couples was 54.69%. In addition, we have carried out expanded carrier screening (ECS) in all the in vitro fertilization (IVF) couples performed PGT covering 7,311 individuals. The carrier frequency of the candidate genes for monogenic kidney diseases accounted for 12.19%.ConclusionOverall, the customization PGT-M plan in our IVF center is pivotal to decreasing the morbidity and implementing reproductive genetic intervention of genetic kidney disease.
Circulating Vitamin D Concentrations and Risk of Atrial Fibrillation: A Mendelian Randomization Study Using Non-deficient Range Summary Statistics
Authors: Zhang Nan , Wang Yueying , Chen Ziliang , Liu Daiqi , Tse Gary , Korantzopoulos Panagiotis , Letsas Konstantinos P. , Goudis Christos A. , Lip Gregory Y. H. , Li Guangping , Zhang Zhiwei , Liu Tong 
Published: June 2022

Background and AimsVitamin D deficiency is a common disorder and has been linked with atrial fibrillation (AF) in several observational studies, although the causal relationships remain unclear. We conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to determine the causal association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and AF.Methods and ResultsThe analyses were performed using summary statistics obtained for single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified from large genome-wide association meta-analyses conducted on serum 25(OH)D (N = 79,366) and AF (N = 1,030,836). Six SNPs related to serum 25(OH)D were used as instrumental variables. The association between 25(OH)D and AF was estimated using both the fixed-effect and random-effects inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. The MR analyses found no evidence to support a causal association between circulating 25(OH)D level and risk of AF using random-effects IVW (odds ratio per unit increase in log 25(OH)D = 1.003, 95% CI, 0.841–1.196; P = 0.976) or fixed-effect IVW method (OR = 1.003, 95% CI, 0.876–1.148; P = 0.968). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. No heterogeneity and directional pleiotropy were detected.ConclusionUsing summary statistics, this MR study suggests that genetically predicted circulating vitamin D concentrations, especially for a non-deficient range, were not causally associated with AF in the general population. Future studies using non-linear design and focusing on the vitamin D deficiency population are needed to further evaluate the causal effect of vitamin D concentrations on AF.
A Gene Variation at the ZPR1 Locus (rs964184) Interacts With the Type of Diet to Modulate Postprandial Triglycerides in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: From the Coronary Diet Intervention With Olive Oil and Cardiovascular Prevention Study
Authors: Alcala-Diaz Juan F. , Arenas-de Larriva Antonio P. , Torres-Peña Jose D. , Rodriguez-Cantalejo Fernando , Rangel-Zuñiga Oriol A. , Yubero-Serrano Elena M. , Gutierrez-Mariscal Francisco M. , Cardelo Magdalena P. , Luque Raul M. , Ordovas Jose M. , Perez-Martinez Pablo , Delgado-Lista Javier , Lopez-Miranda Jose 
Published: June 2022

Background and Aimsrs964184 variant in the ZPR1 gene has been associated with blood lipids levels both in fasting and postprandial state and with the risk of myocardial infarction in high-risk cardiovascular patients. However, whether this association is modulated by diet has not been studied.ObjectiveTo investigate whether the type of diet (low-fat or Mediterranean diets) interacts with genetic variability at this loci to modulate fasting and postprandial lipids in coronary patients.Materials and MethodsThe genotype of the rs964184 polymorphism was determined in the Cordioprev Study population (NCT00924937). Fasting and Postprandial triglycerides were assessed before and after 3 years of dietary intervention with either a Mediterranean or a low-fat diet. Postprandial lipid assessment was done by a 4-h oral fat tolerance test (OFTT). Differences in triglycerides levels were identified using repeated-measures ANCOVA.ResultsFrom 523 patients (85% males, mean age 59 years) that completed the OFTT at baseline and after 3 years of intervention and had complete genotype information, 125 of them were carriers of the risk allele G. At the start of the study, these patients showed a higher fasting and postprandial triglycerides (TG) plasma levels. After 3 years of dietary intervention, G-carriers following a Mediterranean Diet maintained higher fasting and postprandial triglycerides, while those on the low-fat diet reduced their postprandial triglycerides to similar values to the population without the G-allele.ConclusionAfter 3 years of dietary intervention, the altered postprandial triglyceride response induced by genetic variability in the rs964184 polymorphism of the ZPR1 gene can be modulated by a low-fat diet, better than by a Mediterranean diet, in patients with coronary artery disease.
Association of Dietary Carrot/Carotene Intakes With Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial
Authors: Jiang Zongze , Chen Huilin , Li Ming , Wang Wei , Fan Chuanwen , Long Feiwu 
Published: June 2022

Background:The evidence of dietary carrot/carotene intake's effect on the association with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk is conflicted. We sought to examine the association of carrot/carotene intake with CRC incidence and mortality in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer (PLCO) Screening cohort.MethodsIn all, 101,680 participants were enrolled between November 1993 and July 2001 from the PLCO cohort. We employed the multivariable Cox regression analyses to estimate the hazard ratios and 95% confidence interval. Subgroup analyses and interaction tests were performed to examine the potential effect modifiers. We further applied the generalized additive model to explore the non-linear trend of the exposure to cancer-related outcomes.ResultsA total of 1,100 CRC cases and 443 cancer-related deaths were documented. We noted that the 4th quintile of dietary carrot intakes was associated with a 21% lower risk of CRC incidence, compared with the lowest quintile group (full-adjusted HRquintile4vs.quintile1 = 0.79, 95%CI = 0.65–0.97, p for trend = 0.05), while the adjusted-HR was 0.95 (95%CI = 0.89–1.02) with per SD increment of carrot intakes, and no statistically significant associations were detected between dietary α-, and β-carotene intake and CRC incidence. There were no statistically significant associations observed between carrot/carotene intakes and CRC mortality. Furthermore, there were no non-linear dose-response relationships between dietary carrot, α-, and β-carotene intake and CRC incidence and mortality (all pnonlinearity &gt; 0.05). Of note, smoking status as a modifier on the association of dietary carrot intakes with CRC incidence but not mortality was observed.ConclusionsIn summary, this large U.S. prospective cohort study indicated that a moderate consumption of carrots was associated with a lower CRC incidence, which suggested that a certain dose-range of carrots consumed might contribute to a potential cancer-prevention effect, not the more the better.