bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and Safety of Different Immunosuppressive Therapies in Patients With Membranous Nephropathy and High PLA2R Antibody Titer
Authors: Deng Le , Huang Qipeng , Wang Jiang , Luo Kaiping , Liu Jiarong , Yan Wenjun , Jiang Fang , Xu Gaosi 
Published: January 2022

Background: This study aimed to evaluate clinical features and prognosis and therapy option of patients with different risk ranks based on antibody against the M-type phospholipase-A2-receptor (PLA2Rab) level in seropositive M-type phospholipase-A2-receptor (PLA2R)-associated membranous nephropathy (MN) in a large sample size, multi-center study.Method: Based on the unvalidated cut-off value of PLA2Rab above 150 RU/ml as one of the clinical criteria for high risk of progressive kidney function loss in MN according to 2020 Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) draft guidelines recommendation, a total of 447 patients who received cyclophosphamide (CTX) or tacrolimus (TAC) combined with corticosteroids treatment for 12 months were divided into high titer (&gt;150 RU/ml) group and non-high titer (20–150 RU/ml) group, which were subdivided into CTX subgroup and TAC subgroup. The overall cohort was classified into CTX group and TAC group as well. Clinical parameters levels and remission rates were recorded at 3, 6, and 12 months follow-up. PLA2Rab was tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Patients with high titer PLA2Rab were associated with more severe proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia compared to those with non-high titer antibody, accompanied by lower complete remission (CR) and total remission (TR) rates at 3, 6, and 12 months, which even took longer to remission. Similar remission rates differences between the two titer groups were observed in the CTX and TAC groups, respectively. PLA2Rab level at baseline was an independent predictive factor for CR and TR. In the high titer group, CR and TR rates in the CTX subgroup were significantly higher than those in the TAC subgroup at 12 months, although serious adverse events were more frequent in the former.Conclusion: High-risk rank patients with PLA2Rab level above 150 RU/ml have higher disease activity and worse prognosis among patients with seropositive PLA2R-associated MN, even under different immunosuppressive therapeutic models; moreover, CTX combined with corticosteroids was preferred compared to TAC plus corticosteroids, although serious adverse events were more frequent in the former. Additionally, baseline PLA2Rab level was an independent predictive factor for clinical remission.
Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Erlotinib Derivatives Linked With 1,2,3-Triazole
Authors: Deng Peng , Sun Ge , Zhao Jie , Yao Kaitai , Yuan Miaomiao , Peng Lizeng , Mao Longfei 
Published: January 2022

Cervical cancer is one of the most important cause of cancer-related death and presents a major public health problem in many countries. To search for more novel antitumor agents against cervical cancer, 14 erlotinib-linked 1,2,3-triazole compounds were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their anti-tumor activity. The compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and high-resolution mass spectra (HR MS). Antitumor activity assay results indicated that six of those compounds have remarkable inhibitory activity against human cervical cancer HeLa cells in vitro, among which compound 4m was the most potent with IC50 of 3.79 μM, and compounds 4k, 4i, 4l, 4d, and 4n also demonstrated remarkable antitumor activity with IC50 of 3.79, 4.16, 4.36, 7.02, and 8.21 μM. We found three of the most potent compounds 4d, 4k, and 4l induced potent apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HeLa cells, and compounds 4d and 4l significantly restrained the cell colony formation and showed moderate epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitory activity with IC50 of 13.01 and 1.76 μM. Therefore, these experiments indicate that these erlotinib-linked 1,2,3-triazole compounds are potential to act as effective anticancer agents against cervical cancer.
Somatosensory-Evoked Potentials as a Marker of Functional Neuroplasticity in Athletes: A Systematic Review
Authors: Maudrich Tom , Hähner Susanne , Kenville Rouven , Ragert Patrick 
Published: January 2022

BackgroundSomatosensory-evoked potentials (SEP) represent a non-invasive tool to assess neural responses elicited by somatosensory stimuli acquired via electrophysiological recordings. To date, there is no comprehensive evaluation of SEPs for the diagnostic investigation of exercise-induced functional neuroplasticity. This systematic review aims at highlighting the potential of SEP measurements as a diagnostic tool to investigate exercise-induced functional neuroplasticity of the sensorimotor system by reviewing studies comparing SEP parameters between athletes and healthy controls who are not involved in organized sports as well as between athlete cohorts of different sport disciplines.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted across three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus) by two independent researchers. Three hundred and ninety-seven records were identified, of which 10 cross-sectional studies were considered eligible.ResultsDifferences in SEP amplitudes and latencies between athletes and healthy controls or between athletes of different cohorts as well as associations between SEP parameters and demographic/behavioral variables (years of training, hours of training per week &amp; reaction time) were observed in seven out of 10 included studies. In particular, several studies highlight differences in short- and long-latency SEP parameters, as well as high-frequency oscillations (HFO) when comparing athletes and healthy controls. Neuroplastic differences in athletes appear to be modality-specific as well as dependent on training regimens and sport-specific requirements. This is exemplified by differences in SEP parameters of various athlete populations after stimulation of their primarily trained limb.ConclusionTaken together, the existing literature suggests that athletes show specific functional neuroplasticity in the somatosensory system. Therefore, this systematic review highlights the potential of SEP measurements as an easy-to-use and inexpensive diagnostic tool to investigate functional neuroplasticity in the sensorimotor system of athletes. However, there are limitations regarding the small sample sizes and inconsistent methodology of SEP measurements in the studies reviewed. Therefore, future intervention studies are needed to verify and extend the conclusions drawn here.
Exploring the Structure of Sibling Relationships Among Preschool Children in China and Developing a Questionnaire
Authors: Jiang Meiru , Cao Xiaojun , Huang Qinqin , Wu Siqi , Chen Xu 
Published: January 2022

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine the structure of sibling relationships among preschool children in China and develop a questionnaire.MethodsThe concept of sibling relationships among preschool children in China was established through literature review, open interviews, and expert review, and the initial project was designed. Using the questionnaire survey method, with 651 mothers of preschool children as the research objects, we performed item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability and validity tests on the initial questionnaire.ResultsThe questionnaire for the sibling relationships among preschool children in China had 18 questions covering dimensions of sibling interaction, sibling acceptance, sibling warmth, and sibling rivalry. The questionnaire fitting indexes were better (χ2/df= 1.829, CFI = 0.930, TLI = 0.917, RMSEA = 0.055, SRMR = 0.053). The internal consistency coefficient between the total questionnaire and each dimension was 0.759–0.8548, and the total questionnaire significantly correlated with each dimension (r= 0.229–0.792) and the total score of parental self-efficacy (r= –0.106 to 0.338).ConclusionThe Sibling Relationship Questionnaire for Chinese Preschool Children (Parental Version) exhibited good reliability and validity, making it an effective tool for the evaluation of sibling relationships among preschool children.
A Comparison of Caregiver Burden for Different Types of Dementia: An 18-Month Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Huang Wen-Chien , Chang Ming-Che , Wang Wen-Fu , Jhang Kai-Ming 
Published: January 2022

BackgroundThis study aimed to elucidate the influence of dementia etiologies on the degree of caregiver burden and determine which factors predict a high caregiving burden.MethodsThis 18-month retrospective cohort study enrolled 630 patients and their caregivers from the Dementia Center of Changhua Christian Hospital. The care team performed face-to-face interviews every 6 months, for 18 months from when a diagnosis of dementia was made. The primary outcome was the change in Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scores. Generalized estimating equations were used for the longitudinal data analysis.ResultsParticipants with Lewy body disease (LBD) had a significantly higher caregiving burden compared with those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (β = 3.83 ± 1.47, Wald = 6.79, p = 0.009) after adjusting for patient and caregiver features. Caregivers of mixed-type dementia and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) experienced a greater burden than caregivers of AD, at 6- and 18-month follow-up. Patients with more severe dementia, neuropsychiatric symptoms, being cared for by more than two caregivers, or utilizing social resources were associated with higher ZBI scores; the depressive mood of caregiver also predicted higher ZBI scores.ConclusionThis longitudinal study demonstrated that caregiver burden was influenced by the underlying dementia etiology of patients. The dementia care team should provide personalized education and transfer patients and caregivers to appropriate resources, especially for high-risk populations.
Tracking Study on the Relapse and Aftercare Effect of Drug Patients Released From a Compulsory Isolated Detoxification Center
Authors: Liu Nian , Lu Zekai , Xie Ying 
Published: January 2022

Background and AimsThere are no accurate statistical data on the relapse rate of drug abstainers after compulsory detoxification in China. This study aimed to collect relapse data for drug abstainers through follow-up visits, verify the effectiveness of professional social worker services and explore significant factors affecting relapse.Design and SettingThe drug abstainers released from Guangzhou T Compulsory Isolated Detoxification Center were randomly divided into two groups. The difference between the experimental group and the control group is that assistance services were provided by social workers to the former.ParticipantsThe study included 510 drug abstainers released from T Center, including 153 in the experimental group and 357 in the control group.MeasurementsDemographic information, history of drug abuse, and motivation for drug rehabilitation (SOCRATES) were collected 1 month prior to drug abstainer release from compulsory detoxification. Then, the relapse situation after their release was tracked according to fixed time points.FindingsThe overall relapse rate of 510 drug abstainers after their release from compulsory detoxification was 47.6%. The average survival time to relapse based on survival analysis was 220 days (N = 486), as calculated with Bayesian estimation by the MCMC method. The average survival times to relapse of the experimental group and control group were 393 and 175 days, respectively. By taking the specific survival time as the dependent variable and the group as the control variable (OR = 25.362), logistic regression analysis showed that marital status (OR = 2.666), previous compulsory detoxification experience (OR = 2.329) and location of household registration (OR = 1.557) had a significant impact on the survival time to relapse.ConclusionsThe occurrence of relapse among drug patients released from compulsory detoxification can be delayed effectively through the intervention of professional social worker services. Regardless of whether patients receive aftercare after compulsory detoxification, drug-using patients who are single, have multiple detoxification experiences and whose households are registered in other provinces deserve special attention. Relevant suggestions to avoid relapse are provided.
Profile and Predictors of Maternal Quality of Life During Physiological Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Analysis
Authors: Ishaq Rabia , Shoaib Maryam , Baloch Nosheen Sikander , Sadiq Abdul , Raziq Abdul , Huma Zil e , Raza Shanaz , Batool Fakhra , Haider Sajjad , Saleem Fahad , Ahmad Nafees , Iqbal Qaiser , Khan Amer Hayat 
Published: January 2022

BackgroundQuality of Life (QoL) and its determinants are significant in all stages of life, including pregnancy. The physical and emotional changes during pregnancy affect the QoL of pregnant women, affecting both maternal and infant health. Hence, assessing the QoL of pregnant women is gaining interest in literature. We, therefore, aimed to describe the QoL of pregnant women during physiological pregnancy and to identify its associated predictors in women attending a public healthcare institute of Quetta city, Pakistan.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of Sandeman Provincial Hospital Quetta city, Pakistan. The respondents were asked to answer the Urdu (lingua franca of Pakistan) version of the Quality of Life Questionnaire for Physiological Pregnancy. Data were coded and analyzed by SPPS v 21. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to establish normality of the data and non-parametric tests were used accordingly. Quality of Life was assessed as proposed by the developers. The Chi-square test was used to identify significant associations and linear regression was used to identify the predictors of QoL. For all analyses,p&lt; 0.05 was taken significantly.ResultsFour hundred and three pregnant women participated in the study with a response rate of 98%. The mean QoL score was 19.85 ± 4.89 indicating very good QoL in the current cohort. The Chi-Square analysis reported a significant association between age, education, occupation, income, marital status, and trimester. Education was reported as a positive predictor for QoL (p= 0.006, β = 2.157). On the other hand, trimester was reported as a negative predictor of QoL (p= 0.013, β = −1.123).ConclusionImproving the QoL among pregnant women requires better identification of their difficulties and guidance. The current study highlighted educational status and trimester as the predictors of QoL in pregnant women. Health care professionals and policymakers should consider the identified factors while designing therapeutic plans and interventions for pregnant women.
A Modified Memetic Algorithm with an Application to Gene Selection in a Sheep Body Weight Study
Authors: Miao Maoxuan , Wu Jinran , Cai Fengjing , Wang You-Gan 
Published: January 2022

Selecting the minimal best subset out of a huge number of factors for influencing the response is a fundamental and very challenging NP-hard problem because the presence of many redundant genes results in over-fitting easily while missing an important gene can more detrimental impact on predictions, and computation is prohibitive for exhaust search. We propose a modified memetic algorithm (MA) based on an improved splicing method to overcome the problems in the traditional genetic algorithm exploitation capability and dimension reduction in the predictor variables. The new algorithm accelerates the search in identifying the minimal best subset of genes by incorporating it into the new local search operator and hence improving the splicing method. The improvement is also due to another two novel aspects: (a) updating subsets of genes iteratively until the no more reduction in the loss function by splicing and increasing the probability of selecting the true subsets of genes; and (b) introducing add and del operators based on backward sacrifice into the splicing method to limit the size of gene subsets. Additionally, according to the experimental results, our proposed optimizer can obtain a better minimal subset of genes with a few iterations, compared with all considered algorithms. Moreover, the mutation operator is replaced by it to enhance exploitation capability and initial individuals are improved by it to enhance efficiency of search. A dataset of the body weight of Hu sheep was used to evaluate the superiority of the modified MA against the genetic algorithm. According to our experimental results, our proposed optimizer can obtain a better minimal subset of genes with a few iterations, compared with all considered algorithms including the most advanced adaptive best-subset selection algorithm.
Real-Time Sensing of Output Polymer Flow Temperature and Volumetric Flowrate in Fused Filament Fabrication Process
Authors: Badarinath Rakshith , Prabhu Vittaldas 
Published: January 2022

In this paper we addressed key challenges in engineering an instrumentation system for sensing and signal processing for real-time estimation of two main process variables in the Fused-Filament-Fabrication process: (i) temperature of the polymer melt exiting the nozzle using a thermocouple; and (ii) polymer flowrate using extrusion width measurements in real-time, in-situ, using a microscope camera. We used a design of experiments approach to develop response surface models for two materials that enable accurate estimation of the polymer exit temperature as a function of polymer flowrate and liquefier temperature with a fit of R2=99.96% and 99.39%. The live video stream of the deposition process was used to compute the flowrate based on a road geometry model. Specifically, a robust extrusion width recognizer REXR algorithm was developed to identify edges of the deposited road and for real-time computation of extrusion width, which was found to be robust to filament colors and materials. The extrusion width measurement was found to be within 0.08 mm of caliper measurements with an R2 value of 99.91% and was found to closely track the requested flowrate from the slicer. This opens new avenues for advancing the engineering science for process monitoring and control of FFF.
Efficacy of Probiotics in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Spondyloarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Sanchez Pauline , Letarouilly Jean-Guillaume , Nguyen Yann , Sigaux Johanna , Barnetche Thomas , Czernichow Sébastien , Flipo René-Marc , Sellam Jérémie , Daïen Claire 
Published: January 2022

Background: We aimed to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of probiotics supplementation on symptoms and disease activity in patients with chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases (rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondylarthritis (SpA), or psoriatic arthritis). Methods: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis from RA and SpA randomized controlled trials were conducted searching for articles in MEDLINE/PubMed and abstracts from recent international rheumatology meetings. The control group was a placebo or another dietary intervention. The risk of bias of the selected studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration tool and the Jadad scale. Results: The initial search yielded 173 articles. Of these, 13 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, 8 concerning a total of 344 RA patients and 2 concerning a total of 197 SpA patients. Three meta-analyses were also analyzed. Probiotic strains and quantities used were different among trials (5 studies using Lactobacillus sp., 1 trial Bacillus coagulans and the others a mix of different probiotic strains). Time to assess response ranged from 8 weeks to one year. Two studies associated probiotic supplementation with a dietary intervention. Meta-analysis showed a statistically significant decrease of C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration (mean difference (MD)) −3.04 (95% CI −4.47, −1.62) mg/L, p < 0.001; I2 = 20%, n patients = 209) with probiotics in RA. However, after excluding high-risk-of-bias trials of meta-analysis, there was no difference between probiotics and placebo on DAS28 (standard MD −0.54; 95% CI −1.94 to 0.85, p = 0.45, I2 93%, n patients = 143). The two studies on SpA patients showed no efficacy of probiotics. Conclusions: Probiotic supplementation might decrease RA activity with a moderate decrease effect on CRP, but lack of evidence and studies’ heterogeneity do not allow us to propose them to patients with inflammatory arthritis to control their disease. Further RCTs are required in the future to determinate the efficacy of probiotics and the optimal administration design.
Analysis of methods for hydraulic calculation of surface runoff disposal systems
Authors: Тен А.Э. 
Published: January 2022

В условиях совершенствования новых отечественных и зарубежных технологий, материалов и очистного оборудования, применяемых для защиты окружающей природной среды от загрязнений техногенного происхождения, особую актуальность приобретает разработка новых систем отвода и очистки поверхностных сточных вод и методов их расчета, позволяющих использовать последние достижения отраслевой науки и техники и оптимизировать алгоритм выполнения операций и практических приемов их гидравлического расчета. В настоящее время на российский рынок вышли отечественные и зарубежные фирмы, предлагающие инновационные конструкции открытых систем водоотвода поверхностных сточных вод, имеющие широкую область применения благодаря их конструкционным и эксплуатационным особенностям и способности выдерживать большие нагрузки. Примером такой инновационной конструкции открытых систем водоотвода является система АСО Qmax. Приведен анализ зарубежных и отечественных подходов к гидравлическому расчету систем отведения поверхностных сточных вод, возможности их адаптации для российских условий.
In the context of the improvement of advanced domestic and international technologies, materials and treatment equipment used to protect the environment from anthropogenic pollution, designing new systems for the removal and treatment of surface runoff and methods for their calculation that involve the latest achievements of the sectoral science and technology and optimization of the algorithm for performing operations and practical techniques for their hydraulic calculation, is of special actuality. Currently, domestic and international companies have entered the Russian market offering innovative designs of surface runoff disposal systems that have a wide range of applications owing to their design, operational features and the ability to withstand heavy loads. An example of such an innovative design of an open surface runoff disposal systems is ASO Qmax system. The analysis of international and domestic approaches to the hydraulic calculation of surface runoff disposal systems, of the possibility of their adaptation to the Russian conditions is presented.
Experimental demonstration on long-range time-reversal multiple-input/multiple-output underwater acoustic communication over tens of kbps in 12.5 km range
Authors: Kida Yukihiro , Deguchi Mitsuyasu , Shimura Takuya 
Published: January 2022

AbstractIn this paper, the adaptive time reversal (ATR) technique combined with a single channel decision feedback equalizer (DFE) is applied to an at-sea experiment of the underwater acoustic multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) communication utilizing the signal bandwidth of 4.5–8.5 kHz over the distance of 12.5 km. This paper focuses on the demonstration of the effectiveness of the spatial division multiplexing MIMO using ATR-DFE schemes in time-varying real sea environment, and how much the communication rate could be achieved, with changing the signal parameters. We report that the communication quality is dependent on the duration from the channel probing for ATR process to signal reception, and we found that the output signal-to-noise ratio of the demodulated results highly correlated to the temporal coherence of the acoustic channel. Finally, the relationship between the effective data rate and the bit error rate is evaluated. As a result, the achievable data rate in the experiment of this study would be a remarkable considering the distance of the communication.