bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Pharmacological suppression of the kallikrein kinin system with KVD900: An orally available plasma kallikrein inhibitor for the on‐demand treatment of hereditary angioedema
Authors: Duckworth Edward J. , Murugesan Nivetha , Li Lily , Rushbrooke Louise J. , Lee Daniel K. , De Donatis Gian Marco , Maetzel Andreas , Yea Christopher M. , Hampton Sally L. , Feener Edward P. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundHereditary angioedema (HAE) is a rare genetic disease that leads to recurrent episodes of swelling and pain caused by uncontrolled plasma kallikrein (PKa) activity. Current guidelines recommend ready availability of on‐demand HAE treatments that can be administered early upon attack onset. This report describes the pharmacological and pharmacodynamic properties of the novel oral small‐molecule PKa inhibitor KVD900 as a potential on‐demand treatment for HAE.MethodsPharmacological properties of KVD900 on PKa and closely related serine proteases were characterized using kinetic fluorogenic substrate activity assays. Effects of KVD900 on PKa activity and kallikrein kinin system activation in whole plasma were measured in the presence of dextran sulphate (DXS)‐stimulation using a fluorogenic substrate and capillary immunoassays to quantify high molecular weight kininogen (HK), plasma prekallikrein and Factor XII cleavage. Pharmacodynamic effects of orally administered KVD900 were characterized in plasma samples from six healthy controls in a first in human phase 1 clinical trial and from 12 participants with HAE in a phase 2 clinical trial.ResultsKVD900 is a selective, competitive and reversible inhibitor of human PKa enzyme with a Ki of 3.02 nM. The association constant (Kon) of KVD900 for PKa is >10 × 106 M−1 s−1. Oral administration of KVD900 in a first‐in‐human clinical trial achieved rapid and near complete inhibition of DXS‐stimulated PKa enzyme activity and HK cleavage and reduced plasma prekallikrein and Factor XII activation in plasma. In individuals with HAE, orally administered KVD900 inhibited DXS‐stimulated PKa activity in plasma by ≥95% from 45 min to at least 4 h post‐dose and provided rapid protection of HK from cleavage.ConclusionKVD900 is a fast‐acting oral PKa inhibitor that rapidly inhibits PKa activity, kallikrein kinin system activation and HK cleavage in plasma. On‐demand administration of KVD900 may provide an opportunity to halt the generation of bradykinin and reverse HAE attacks.
Clinical and histological evaluation of the use of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) membrane in peri‐implant vertical soft tissue augmentation: A controlled clinical trial
Authors: Zang Jing , Su Li , Luan Qingxian , Liu Guojing , Li Shiyi , Yu Xiaoqian 
Published: March 2022

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this study was to clinically and histologically evaluate the efficacy of using acellular dermal matrix (ADM) for peri‐implant vertical soft tissue augmentation at implant placement.Materials and methodsTwenty patients were enrolled in this study. According to the initial thickness of vertical soft tissue, patients were assigned into the ADM group (≤2 mm) or the control group (>2 mm) prior to implant surgery +ADM grafting or implant surgery alone. Second‐stage surgery was carried out 3 months later, and a small piece of ridge membrane was harvested for histological and immunohistochemical evaluation. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF)‐BB in peri‐implant crevicular fluid (PICF) were also assessed 1 week, 1 month, and 5 months after second‐stage surgery. Clinical parameters were recorded to evaluate peri‐implant health at 1 week and 3 months after implant restoration.ResultsAll 20 implants healed uneventfully and successfully. Soft tissue thicknesses were comparable in the two groups at second‐stage surgery (3.20 ± 0.42 mm vs. 3.50 ± 0.58 mm). In the ADM group, the mean increase in soft tissue thickness was 1.85 ± 0.34 mm. Histological and immunohistochemical outcomes showed no differences between the two groups. VEGF and PDGF‐BB levels in PICF were significantly lower in the ADM group 1 week after second‐stage surgery (p < .01), yet they decreased in both groups later. The difference between the groups had disappeared by 5 months after second‐stage surgery. The clinical peri‐implant parameters were good and stable by the end of the study (3 months after restoration).ConclusionsOur results suggested that using ADM at implant placement was effective in increasing the thickness of peri‐implant vertical soft tissue and achieved comparable clinical and histological performance to the control group. However, the incremental soft tissue showed inferior angiogenic ability in the early stage of wound healing.
A deep reinforcement learning based decision‐making approach for avoiding crowd situation within the case of Covid'19 pandemic
Authors: Abdallah Wejden , Kanzari Dalel , Sallami Dorsaf , Madani Kurosh , Ghedira Khaled 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIndividuals' flow's fluidifcation in the same way as the thinning of the population's concentration remains among major concerns within the context of the pandemic crisis situations. The recent COVID‐19 pandemic crisis is a typical example of the aforementioned where on despite of the containment phases that radically isolate the population but are not applicable persistently, people have to adapt their behavior to new daily‐life situations tempering Individuals' stream, avoiding tides, and watering down population's concentration. Crowd evacuation is one of the well‐known research domains that can play a pertinent role to face the challenge of the COVID‐19 pandemic. In fact, considering the population's concentration thinning within the slant of the “crowd evacuation” paradigm allows managing the flow of the population, and consequently, decreasing the probable number of infected cases. In other words, crowd evacuation modeling and simulation with the aim of better‐exploiting individuals' flow allow the study and analysis of different possible outcomes for designing population's concentration thinning strategies. In this article, a new decision‐making approach is proposed in order to cope with the aforesaid challenges, which relies on an independent Deep Q Network with an improved SIR model (IDQN‐I‐SIR). The machine‐learning component (i.e., IDQN) is in charge of the agent's movements control and I‐SIR (improved “susceptible‐infected‐recovered” individuals) model is responsible to control the virus spread. We demonstrate the effectiveness of IDQN‐I‐SIR through a case‐study of individuals' flow's management with infected cases' avoidance in an emergency department (often overcrowded in context of a pandemic crisis).
Penile extramammary Paget disease associated with urothelial carcinoma in situ: Case report and literature review
Authors: Al Qa’qa’ Shifaa’ , Tiwari Raj , van der Kwast Theodorus 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundExtramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is an uncommon disease affecting older men and women. Clinically, it appears as a plaque lesion with an erythematous or leukoplakic background in regions with abundant apocrine glands such as female external genitalia, perineum, scrotum, and penis.MethodsWe are presenting an 85‐year‐old patient with recurrent erythematous plaque lesions involving the penis and known to have urothelial carcinoma (UC) in situ of the bladder. A literature review of EMPD secondary to UC has been conducted through PubMed and Google Scholar search engines.ResultsThe histopathologic examination revealed a proliferation of Paget cells within the surface squamous epithelium. The lesional cells displayed vesicular nuclei, clear cytoplasm, and a positive staining for CK7, CK20, HER2, GATA3 as well as p40, and negative staining for SOX10, CK5/6, and CDX2. The literature review revealed 18 more cases of EMPD associated with UC, including 4 with non‐invasive UC. Most of them were treated surgically, but the disease recurred in nine cases and death of disease was reported in at least four patients, all of them associated with invasive UC.ConclusionThe prognosis of penile EMPD seems to be dictated by the stage of the underlying UC.
Elevational patterns of phylogenetic structure of angiosperms in a biodiversity hotspot in eastern Himalaya
Authors: Li Lijuan , Xu Xiaoting , Qian Hong , Huang Xianhan , Liu Pengju , Landis Jacob B , Fu Quansheng , Sun Lu , Wang Hengchang , Sun Hang , Deng Tao 
Published: March 2022

AbstractAimsThe tropical niche conservatism (TNC) hypothesis and the out of the tropics (OTT) hypothesis propose mechanisms generating patterns of species diversity across warm‐to‐cold thermal gradients at large spatial scales. These two hypotheses both integrate ecological and biogeography‐related evolutionary factors, but they predict opposite patterns for phylogenetic structure. Mount Namjagbarwa possesses one of the longest elevational gradients for flowering plant diversity in the world. We aim to analyse the elevational patterns of the phylogenetic structure of flowering plants in this mountain, and investigate underlying causes for the emergence of the patterns.LocationMt. Namjagbarwa located at the eastern edge of the Himalaya.MethodsSpecies distribution data of Mt. Namjagbarwa were extracted from specimen records in online sources, literature, herbarium and our fieldwork. Bioclimatic data were extracted from the CHELSA database. Mt. Namjagbarwa was divided into 100‐m elevational belts, which were grouped into three elevation segments (100–2000 m, 2000–4000 m and 4000–5200 m) for data analysis. We calculated phylogenetic metrics for each belt. The relationships of phylogenetic metrics with elevation and climatic factors were analysed using generalized additive models and structural equation models.ResultsA typical hump‐shaped pattern of species richness was observed along the elevational gradient of Mt. Namjagbarwa. However, the phylogenetic structure showed a zig‐zag pattern with the three elevation segments, each of which has different formation mechanisms. Temperature tolerance played important roles throughout the entire elevational gradient in species richness and phylogenetic structure.Main conclusionsNeither TNC nor OTT alone can fully explain the patterns of floristic assembly of the entire elevational gradient of Mt. Namjagbarwa. OTT and TNC are better explanation for the patterns of low and middle elevations respectively. Potential mechanisms for species assembly of different elevation segments in Mt. Namjagbarwa region alternate between niche convergence and niche conservatism. The patterns observed in this study are likely to be common across the entire Himalaya. This is important for preserving the evolutionary potential of mountain biodiversity. However, more studies are needed to determine the underlying mechanisms generating the zig‐zag pattern of the phylogenetic structure in the Himalaya.
Role of autonomic system imbalance in neurogenic pulmonary oedema
Authors: Yang Aobing , Liu Bin , Inoue Tsuyoshi 
Published: March 2022

AbstractNeurogenic pulmonary oedema (NPE) is a life‐threatening complication that develops rapidly and dramatically after an injury to the central nervous system (CNS). The autonomic system imbalance produced by severe brain damage may play an important role in the development of NPE. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system and inhibition of the vagus nerve system are essential prerequisites for autonomic system imbalance. The more severe the damage, the more pronounced the phenomenon. Sympathetic hyperactivity is associated with increased release of catecholamines from peripheral sympathetic nerve endings, which can cause dramatic changes in haemodynamics and cause pulmonary oedema. On the other hand, the abnormal inflammatory response caused by vagus nerve inhibition may also play an important role in the pathogenesis of NPE. The perspective of autonomic system imbalance seems to perfectly integrate the existing pathogenesis of NPE and can explain the entire development progression of NPE.
Ant colony based fish crowding degree optimization algorithm for magnetic resonance imaging segmentation in sports knee joint injury assessment
Authors: Song Ziyu , Yang Bowen 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe aim was to analyse the application value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the injury evaluation of posterolateral corner (PLC) caused by sports, and the ant colony‐based crowding degree of fish swarm optimization algorithm for image segmentation optimization of MRI images. The crowding degree of fish swarm was introduced to construct the ant colony optimization algorithm (ACOA), and the maximum and minimum ant system (MMAS) and ant colony algorithm based on variation features (VF‐based ACA) were introduced to compare with ACOA. Besides, ACOA was applied to the MRI diagnosis of 98 patients with PLC injuries. Then the number of Degree I, Degree II, and Degree III in PLC patients were compared. The results showed that the iteration times and running time of the optimal solution were obtained by ACOA when the number of cities was 10, which were compared with those obtained by MMAS and VF‐based ACA with no great differences (P > 0.05), and the iteration times and running time of ACOA were greater than those of MMAS and VF‐based ACA when the number of cities was 50 (P < 0.05). There were 73 patients with PLC injuries involved 2 or more structures, 11 patients with PLC injuries only involved the lateral collateral ligament (LCL), and 7 patients with PLC injuries only involved the popliteal tendon (PLT). The injury rates of LCL, medial collateral ligament, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and PLT were 87.02%, 51.33%, 72.45%, 41.75%, and 84.06%, respectively. The number of patients with PLC injuries combined with Grade I of LCL, PCL, ACL, PCL, biceps femoris tendon, and PLT was higher than that of patients with Grade II and III (P < 0.05). In conclusion, ACOA was much better than MMAS and VF‐based ACA in dealing with complex work, which effectively improved the ergodicity of search and reduced the running time. There were more common in PLC injuries combined with LCL, PCL, ACL, PCL, and PLT, MRI images based on ACOA could clearly show the degree of ligament and tendon injuries.
Reduced methane emissions in former permafrost soils driven by vegetation and microbial changes following drainage
Authors: Keuschnig Christoph , Larose Catherine , Rudner Mario , Pesqueda Argus , Doleac Stéphane , Elberling Bo , Björk Robert G. , Klemedtsson Leif , Björkman Mats P. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn Arctic regions, thawing permafrost soils are projected to release 50 to 250 Gt of carbon by 2100. This data is mostly derived from carbon‐rich wetlands, although 71% of this carbon pool is stored in faster‐thawing mineral soils, where ecosystems close to the outer boundaries of permafrost regions are especially vulnerable. Although extensive data exists from currently thawing sites and short‐term thawing experiments, investigations of the long‐term changes following final thaw and co‐occurring drainage are scarce. Here we show ecosystem changes at two comparable tussock tundra sites with distinct permafrost thaw histories, representing 15 and 25 years of natural drainage, that resulted in a 10‐fold decrease in CH4 emissions (3.2 ± 2.2 vs. 0.3 ± 0.4 mg C‐CH4 m−2 day−1), while CO2 emissions were comparable. These data extend the time perspective from earlier studies based on short‐term experimental drainage. The overall microbial community structures did not differ significantly between sites, although the drier top soils at the most advanced site led to a loss of methanogens and their syntrophic partners in surface layers while the abundance of methanotrophs remained unchanged. The resulting deeper aeration zones likely increased CH4 oxidation due to the longer residence time of CH4 in the oxidation zone, while the observed loss of aerenchyma plants reduced CH4 diffusion from deeper soil layers directly to the atmosphere. Our findings highlight the importance of including hydrological, vegetation and microbial specific responses when studying long‐term effects of climate change on CH4 emissions and underscores the need for data from different soil types and thaw histories.
Exploring the socioeconomic drivers of COVID‐19 mortality across various spatial regimes
Authors: Grekousis George , Lu Yi , Wang Ruoyu 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIdentifying the socioeconomic drivers of COVID‐19 deaths is essential for designing effective policies and health interventions. However, how the significance and impact of these factors varies across different spatial regimes has been scantly explored. In this ecological cross‐sectional study, we apply the spatial lag by regimes regression model to examine how the socioeconomic and health determinants of COVID‐19 death rate vary across (a) metropolitan vs. non‐metropolitan, (b) shelter‐in‐place vs. no‐shelter‐in‐place order, and (c) Democratic vs. Republican US counties. A total of 20 variables were studied across 3108 counties in the contiguous US for the first year of the pandemic (6 February 2020 to 5 February 2021). The results show that the COVID‐19 death rate not only depends on a complex interplay of the population demographic, socioeconomic and health‐related characteristics, but also on the spatial regime that the residents live, work and play. Household median income, household size, percentage of African Americans, percentage aged 40–59 and heart disease mortality are significant to metropolitan but not to non‐metropolitan counties. We identified lack of insurance access as a significant driver across all regimes except for Democratic. We also showed that the political orientation of the governor might have impacted COVID‐19 death rates due to the public response (i.e., shelter‐in‐place vs. no‐shelter‐in‐place order). The proposed analysis allows for understanding the socioeconomic context in which public health policies can be applied, and importantly, it presents how COVID‐19 death related factors vary across different spatial regimes.
Epidemiology Helicobacter pylori infection in children in the Tyva Republic (Russia)
Authors: Polivanova Tamara Vladimirovna , Malaty Hoda , Vshivkov Vitaliy Alekseevich 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundTyva Republic is a small mountainous area at the geographical center of Asia in southern Siberia, with a high incidence of gastric cancer. Aim: We examined the prevalence of H. pylori and associated risk factors among children in Tyva. Methods: Cross‐sectional study was conducted among Tuvan children who had upper gastrointestinal symptoms and underwent upper gastroscopy with gastric biopsies. Informed consent was obtained from the parents and assent from the children. Demographic information, ethnicity, parents’ education and employment status, and family size were collected. H. pylori infection was diagnosed by histologic examination. Results: There were 270 children between the ages 7 and 17 years (mean 13.4 ± 2.7); 64% girls; 147e Tuvan and 123 Caucasians. The overall prevalence of H. pylori was high and similar between boys and girls (55 vs. 57%, respectively, p = 0.42). The infection was highest in Tuvan children (67%. vs. 43%, respectively (OR = 2.4; 95%CI = 1.9.4–3), p = 0.05. H. pylori prevalence increased with age from 44% among 7 to 10 years and 64% among those 14 to 17 (OR = 3.0; 95%CI = 1.6–5.8), p = 0.0.005; the pattern was consistent among both ethnic groups. The prevalence of the infection among Caucasian children was inversely correlated with the level of mother's education (44%, vs. 61%) (i.e., for with and without a college education the OR = 2.3; 95%CI = 1.2–3.7), p = 0.02. Neither the total number of children nor adults living in the same household correlated with H. pylori prevalence. Conclusions: Strategies to reduce the incidence of gastric cancer in Tyva will need to start in childhood.
Direct monitoring of immediate release of Zn from zinc‐doped bioactive glass
Authors: Galusková Dagmar , Kaňková Hana , Švančárková Anna , Buňová Lenka , Galusek Dušan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractZinc‐doped bioactive glass prepared by conventional melting was tested in simulated body fluid (SBF) to quantitatively determine zinc ion release at the early stage of dissolution of bioactive glass. The analysis of the leaching solution was performed in a flow‐through arrangement, with the reaction cell connected directly to the nebulizer of the ICP OES. Possible formation of zinc silicate and zinc phosphate as alteration products precipitating from SBF solution along with hydroxyapatite was evaluated using the PHREEQC modeling code. Direct monitoring in the first 10‐min interval of contact of the glass with SBF contributed to determination of the immediate quantity of zinc leached from the glass and confirmed burst release of zinc from material, with a maximum after ∼4.5 min of contact with the SBF.
Study on the relationship between the degradation degrees of glutinous rice starch extruded with different α‐amylases and the qualities of Chinese rice wine
Authors: Guan Zhongjing , Zhang Zhuoyi , Ren Xiaoru , Bian Shichao , Xu Enbo , Jin Zhengyu , Jiao Aiquan 
Published: March 2022

SUMMARYIn view that enzymatic extrusion can change the degradation degree of raw materials, this paper studied the regulation rules of four indexes of degradation degree of enzymatically extruded glutinous rice flour and the correlation between these indexes and the quality indexes of brewed Chinese rice wine. The results showed that at appropriate water content, dextrose equivalent (DE) and water solubility index (WSI) were linearly related to the enzyme content in extrusion with thermostable α‐amylase (TS‐αA) and mesophilic α‐amylase (MS‐αA), respectively. But water absorption index (WAI) was not significantly affected by enzyme content. The percentages of each degree of polymerisation (DP) (1–7) and that of the sum of the rest DPs called other DP were the fundamental reasons for different DE values, WSI, WAI and quality indexes of Chinese rice wine. DP1 was significantly positively correlated with alcohol degree, and negatively correlated with total acid. DP2–DP7 (except DP4) was significantly positively correlated with amino acid nitrogen. Besides, other DP was significantly positively correlated with total sugar and total acid. The percentages of DP1, DP2–DP7 and other DP could be respectively adjusted by changing enzyme content in extrusion with MS‐αA, MS‐αA/TS‐αA and TS‐αA to control the related quality indexes of Chinese rice wine.
Dialogues or polemics: Social science expertise and welfare reform in Quebec
Authors: Noël Alain 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe development of social assistance and poverty reduction policies has been informed by social scientific knowledge. Social scientists, however, are not of one mind on such matters. They tend to be divided along disciplinary and ideological lines and may even foster political divisions and conflicts. This article draws on the author's experience as an academic policy adviser to the Quebec government to analyse from up close the institutional context that facilitates knowledge utilisation in the policy process. Two reform processes are considered: the first one, between 1995 and 1998, was less collaborative and led to divisions, and the second, between 1997 and 2009, involved more interactions with the civil service and proved more fruitful. In both cases, experts were divided, as were politicians and civil servants, but their capacity to reach a consensus was fostered, in the second case, by better support and collaboration from the government.