bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Gout Arthritis During Admission for Decompensated Heart Failure—A Descriptive Analysis of Risk Factors, Treatment and Prognosis
Authors: Ritter Fabian , Franzeck Fabian , Geisshardt Julian , Walker Ulrich A. , Osthoff Michael 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundChronic heart failure and hospital admissions are well-known risk factors for acute gouty arthritis. However, in-depth analyses of patients admitted for decompensated heart failure (DHF) who subsequently developed a gout attack are sparse. This study aims to characterize DHF patients who developed a gout attack during their inpatient treatment and describe potential risk factors, its consequences, and its management in the setting of heart failure exacerbation.MethodsRetrospective chart review of 50 patients with an admission diagnosis of DHF who subsequently experienced a gout attack during admission at a Swiss tertiary care hospital between 2018 and 2020. Patients with a refusal of the general research consent were excluded (n = 10).ResultsA gout attack developed in 66/1,832 (3.6%) DHF admissions of whom 50 individual patients were analyzed. Patients were predominately male (76%), of advanced age (median 80.5 years), with several comorbidities including chronic kidney disease (74%), comorbid gout (70%, only 43% on urate lowering therapy) and hyperuricemia (median 547 μmol/l, IQR 434–667 μmol/l). Diuretics were intensified in all patients. Acute gout presented as polyarticular arthritis (62%) and was often accompanied by fever (30%). Joint aspiration was performed in 32%, and intra-articular steroid injections administered in 20% of patients. Median length of stay and 6-month mortality were 16 days (IQR 12–25) and 32%, respectively, compared to 9 days (IQR 6–14) and 16% for DHF patients without a gout attack.ConclusionOur study highlights features of gout attacks in the context of DHF including the absence of comorbid gout in a significant proportion of patients, the presence of polyarticular disease during the flare, and a poor prognosis. The present study identifies the necessity to better address gout as a comorbidity in DHF patients and may assist clinicians in identifying DHF patients at risk for a gout attack.
Nutritional Screening and Anthropometry in Patients Admitted From the Emergency Department
Authors: Speranza Enza , Santarpia Lidia , Marra Maurizio , Di Vincenzo Olivia , Naccarato Marianna , De Caprio Carmela , Morlino Delia , D'Onofrio Gaetano , Contaldo Franco , Pasanisi Fabrizio 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundDue to the high prevalence of malnutrition among hospitalized patients, screening and assessment of nutritional status should be routinely performed upon hospital admission. The main objective of this observational study was to evaluate the prevalence of and the risk for malnutrition, as identified by using three nutritional screening tests, and to observe whether some anthropometric and functional parameters used for nutritional evaluation were related to these test scores.MethodsThis single-center observational study included 207 patients admitted from the emergency department for hospitalization in either the internal medicine or surgery units of our institution from September 2017 to December 2018. The prevalence of malnutrition among this patient sample was evaluated by using the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002), the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. Body mass index (BMI), bioimpedance analysis (BIA), handgrip strength (HGS) and calf circumference (CC) assessments were also performed.ResultsAccording to the NRS-2002, 93% of the patients were at no risk or at low nutritional risk (NRS score &lt; 3), and 7% were at a high nutritional risk (NRS score ≥ 3). On the other hand, according to the SGA, 46.3% of the patients were well-nourished (SGA-a), 49.8% were moderately malnourished (SGA-b), and 3.9% were severely malnourished (SGA-c). Finally, according to the GLIM criteria, 18% patients were malnourished. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), phase angle (PhA), CC and HGS were significantly lower in the patients with NRS scores ≥ 3, SGA-c and in patients with stage 1 and stage 2 malnutrition, according to the GLIM criteria.ConclusionThe NRS-2002, the SGA and the GLIM criteria appear to be valuable tools for the screening and assessment of nutritional status. In particular, the lowest NRS-2002, SGA and GLIM scores were associated with the lowest PhA and CC. Nevertheless, a weekly re-evaluation of patients with better screening and assessment scores is recommended to facilitate early detection of changes in nutritional status.
Establishment of an Individualized Predictive Model to Reduce the Core Number for Systematic Prostate Biopsy: A Dual Center Study Based on Stratification of the Disease Risk Score
Authors: Chen Zeyu , Qu Min , Shen Xianqi , Jiang Shaoqin , Zhang Wenhui , Ji Jin , Wang Yan , Zhang Jili , Chen Zhenlin , Lin Lu , Li Mengqiang , Wu Cheng , Gao Xu 
Published: February 2022

PurposeTo establish an individualized prostate biopsy model that reduces unnecessary biopsy cores based on multiparameter MRI (mpMRI).Materials and MethodsThis retrospective, non-inferiority dual-center study retrospectively included 609 patients from the Changhai Hospital from June 2017 to November 2020 and 431 patients from the Fujian Union Hospital between 2014 and 2019. Clinical, radiological, and pathological data were analyzed. Data from the Changhai Hospital were used for modeling by calculating the patients’ disease risk scores. Data from the Fujian Union Hospital were used for external verification.ResultsBased on the data of 609 patients from the Changhai Hospital, we divided the patients evenly into five layers according to the disease risk score. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was analyzed. Twelve-core systemic biopsy (12-SBx) was used as the reference standard. The SBx cores from each layer were reduced to 9, 6, 5, 4, and 4. The data of 279 patients with benign pathological results from the Fujian Union Hospital were incorporated into the model. No patients were in the first layer. The accuracies of the models for the other layers were 88, 96.43, 94.87, and 94.59%. The accuracy of each layer would be increased to 96, 100, 100, and 97.30% if the diagnosis of non-clinically significant prostate cancer was excluded.ConclusionsIn this study, we established an individualized biopsy model using data from a dual center. The results showed great accuracy of the model, indicating its future clinical application.
Circulating Long Non-Coding RNAs LINC00324 and LOC100507053 as Potential Liquid Biopsy Markers for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Pilot Study
Authors: Sharma Uttam , Barwal Tushar Singh , Khandelwal Akanksha , Rana Manjit Kaur , Rana Amrit Pal Singh , Singh Karuna , Jain Aklank 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundDespite the availability of advanced technology to detect and treat esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the 5-year survival rate of ESCC patients is still meager. Recently, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as essential players in the diagnosis and prognosis of various cancers.ObjectiveThis pilot study focused on identifying circulating lncRNAs as liquid biopsy markers for the ESCC.MethodologyWe performed next-generation sequencing (NGS) to profile circulating lncRNAs in ESCC and healthy individuals’ blood samples. The expression of the top five upregulated and top five downregulated lncRNAs were validated through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), including samples used for the NGS. Later, we explored the diagnostic/prognostic potential of lncRNAs and their impact on the clinicopathological parameters of patients. To unravel the molecular target and pathways of identified lncRNAs, we utilized various bioinformatics tools such as lncRnome, RAID v2.0, Starbase, miRDB, TargetScan, Gene Ontology, and KEGG pathways.ResultsThrough NGS profiling, we obtained 159 upregulated, 137 downregulated, and 188 neutral lncRNAs in ESCC blood samples compared to healthy individuals. Among dysregulated lncRNAs, we observed LINC00324 significantly upregulated (2.11-fold; p-value = 0.0032) and LOC100507053 significantly downregulated (2.22-fold; p-value = 0.0001) in ESCC patients. Furthermore, we found LINC00324 and LOC100507053 could discriminate ESCC cancer patients’ from non-cancer individuals with higher accuracy of Area Under the ROC Curve (AUC) = 0.627 and 0.668, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analysis revealed higher expression levels of LINC00324 and lower expression levels of LOC100507053 well correlated with the poor prognosis of ESCC patients with a Hazard ratio of LINC00324 = 2.48 (95% CI: 1.055 to 5.835) and Hazard ratio of LOC100507053 = 4.75 (95% CI: 2.098 to 10.76)]. Moreover, we also observed lncRNAs expression well correlated with the age (&gt;50 years), gender (Female), alcohol, tobacco, and hot beverages consumers. Using bioinformatics tools, we saw miR-493-5p as the direct molecular target of LINC00324 and interacted with the MAPK signaling pathway in ESCC pathogenesis.ConclusionThis pilot study suggests that circulating LINC00324 and LOC100507053 can be used as a liquid biopsy marker of ESCC; however, multicentric studies are still warranted.
Predicting the WHO/ISUP Grade of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Through CT-Based Tumoral and Peritumoral Radiomics
Authors: Ma Yanqing , Guan Zheng , Liang Hong , Cao Hanbo 
Published: February 2022

ObjectivesThis study aims to establish predictive logistic models for the World Health Organization/International Society of Urological Pathology (WHO/ISUP) grades of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) based on tumoral and peritumoral radiomics.MethodsA cohort of 370 patients with pathologically confirmed ccRCCs were included in this retrospective study between January 2014 and December 2020 according to the WHO/ISUP grading system. The volume of interests of triphasic computed tomography images were depicted manually using the “itk-SNAP” software, and the radiomics features were calculated. The cohort was segmented into the training cohort and validation cohort with a random proportion of 7:3. After extraction of radiomics features by analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Mann-Whitney U test, correlation analysis, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method, the logistic models of tumoral radiomics (LR-tumor) and peritumoral radiomics (LR-peritumor) were developed. The LR-peritumor was subdivided into LR-peritumor-2mm, LR-peritumor-5mm, and LR-peritumor-10mm, and the LR-peritumor-2mm was subdivided into LR-peritumor-kid and LR-peritumor-fat based on the neighboring tissues of ccRCCs. Finally, an integrative model of tumoral and peritumoral radiomics (LR-tumor/peritumor) was built. The value of areas under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUCs) was calculated to assess the efficacy of the models.ResultsThere were 209 low-grade and 161 high-grade ccRCCs enrolled. The AUCs of LR-tumor in CT images of venous phase were 0.802 in the training cohort and 0.796 in the validation cohort. The AUCs were higher in the LR-peritumor-2mm than those in LR-peritumor-5mm and LR-peritumor-10mm (training cohort: 0.788 vs. 0.788 and 0.759; validation cohort: 0.787 vs. 0.785 and 0.758). Moreover, the AUCs of LR-peritumor-fat were higher compared with those of LR-peritumor-kid. The LR-tumor/peritumor displayed the highest AUCs of 0.812 in the training cohort and 0.804 in the validation cohort.ConclusionsThe tumoral and peritumoral radiomics helped to predict the WHO/ISUP grades of ccRCCs. On the diagnostic performance of peritumoral radiomics, better results were seen for the LR-peritumor-2mm and LR-peritumor-fat.
Restorative Effects of Inulin From Codonopsis pilosula on Intestinal Mucosal Immunity, Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Gut Microbiota of Immunosuppressed Mice
Authors: Zou Yuan-Feng , Li Cen-Yu , Fu Yu-Ping , Feng Xin , Peng Xi , Feng Bin , Li Li-Xia , Jia Ren-Yong , Huang Chao , Song Xu , Lv Cheng , Ye Gang , Zhao Ling , Li Yang-Ping , Zhao Xing-Hong , Yin Li-Zi , Yin Zhong-Qiong 
Published: February 2022

An inulin (CPPF), isolated from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine Codonopsis pilosula, was characterized and demonstrated with potential prebiotic activity in vitro before. Based on its non-digested feature, the intestinal mucosa and microbiota modulatory effects in vivo on immunosuppressed mice were investigated after oral administration of 200, 100 and 50 mg/kg of CPPF for 7 days. It was demonstrated that the secretions of sIgA and mucin 2 (Muc2) in ileum were improved by CPPF, and the anti-inflammatory activities in different intestine parts were revealed. The intestine before colon could be the target active position of CPPF. As a potential prebiotic substance, a gut microbiota restorative effect was also presented by mainly modulating the relative abundance of Eubacteriales, including Oscillibacter, unidentified Ruminococcus and Lachnospiraceae after high-throughput pyrosequencing of V4 region of 16S rRNA analysis. All these results indicated that this main bioactive ingredient inulin from C. pilosula was a medicinal prebiotic with enhancing mucosal immune, anti-inflammatory and microbiota modulatory activities.
Prescription Rates, Polypharmacy and Prescriber Variability in Swiss General Practice—A Cross-Sectional Database Study
Authors: Rachamin Yael , Jäger Levy , Meier Rahel , Grischott Thomas , Senn Oliver , Burgstaller Jakob M. , Markun Stefan 
Published: February 2022

Purpose: The frequency of medication prescribing and polypharmacy has increased in recent years in different settings, including Swiss general practice. We aimed to describe patient age- and sex-specific rates of polypharmacy and of prescriptions of the most frequent medication classes, and to explore practitioner variability in prescribing.Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study based on anonymized electronic medical records data of 111 811 adult patients presenting to 116 Swiss general practitioners in 2019. We used mixed-effects regression analyses to assess the association of patient age and sex with polypharmacy (≥5 medications) and with the prescription of specific medication classes (second level of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System). Practitioner variability was quantified in terms of the random effects distributions.Results: The prevalence of polypharmacy increased with age from 6.4% among patients aged 18–40 years to 19.7% (41–64 years), 45.3% (65–80 years), and 64.6% (81–92 years), and was higher in women than in men, particularly at younger ages. The most frequently prescribed medication classes were antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products (21.6% of patients), agents acting on the renin-angiotensin system (19.9%), analgesics (18.7%), and drugs for acid related disorders (18.3%). Men were more often prescribed agents targeting the cardiovascular system, whereas most other medications were more often prescribed to women. The highest practitioner variabilities were observed for vitamins, for antiinflammatory and antirheumatic products, and for mineral supplements.Conclusion: Based on practitioner variability, prevalence, and risk potential, antiinflammatory drugs and polypharmacy in older patients appear to be the most pressing issues in current drug prescribing routines.
Identification of Medicinal Bidens Plants for Quality Control Based on Organelle Genomes
Authors: Wu Liwei , Nie Liping , Guo Shiying , Wang Qing , Wu Zhengjun , Lin Yulin , Wang Yu , Li Baoli , Gao Ting , Yao Hui 
Published: February 2022

Bidens plants are annuals or perennials of Asteraceae and usually used as medicinal materials in China. They are difficult to identify by using traditional identification methods because they have similar morphologies and chemical components. Universal DNA barcodes also cannot identify Bidens species effectively. This situation seriously hinders the development of medicinal Bidens plants. Therefore, developing an accurate and effective method for identifying medicinal Bidens plants is urgently needed. The present study aims to use phylogenomic approaches based on organelle genomes to address the confusing relationships of medicinal Bidens plants. Illumina sequencing was used to sequence 12 chloroplast and eight mitochondrial genomes of five species and one variety of Bidens. The complete organelle genomes were assembled, annotated and analysed. Phylogenetic trees were constructed on the basis of the organelle genomes and highly variable regions. The organelle genomes of these Bidens species had a conserved gene content and codon usage. The 12 chloroplast genomes of the Bidens species were 150,489 bp to 151,635 bp in length. The lengths of the eight mitochondrial genomes varied from each other. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the presence of 50–71 simple sequence repeats and 46–181 long repeats in the organelle genomes. By combining the results of mVISTA and nucleotide diversity analyses, seven candidate highly variable regions in the chloroplast genomes were screened for species identification and relationship studies. Comparison with the complete mitochondrial genomes and common protein-coding genes shared by each organelle genome revealed that the complete chloroplast genomes had the highest discriminatory power for Bidens species and thus could be used as a super barcode to authenticate Bidens species accurately. In addition, the screened highly variable region trnS-GGA-rps4 could be also used as a potential specific barcode to identify Bidens species.
Neuromodulation to Treat Substance Use Disorders in People With Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses: A Systematic Review
Authors: Johnstone Samantha , Sorkhou Maryam , Al-Saghir Nada , Lowe Darby J. E. , Steele Vaughn R. , Pearlson Godfrey D. , Castle David J. , George Tony P. 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundSubstance use disorders (SUDs) are a common yet poorly studied comorbidity in individuals with psychotic disorders. The co-occurrence of the two complicates recovery and interferes with pharmacological and behavioral treatment response and adherence. Recently, researchers have been exploring both invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation techniques as potential treatment methods for SUDs. We review the evidence that neuromodulation may reduce substance craving and consumption in individuals with schizophrenia.MethodsA comprehensive literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO databases was conducted (N = 1,432). Of these, we identified seven studies examining the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and two studies using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on drug consumption and craving in schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorders.ResultsDespite the limited number of studies in this area, the evidence suggests that rTMS to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) may reduce cannabis and tobacco use in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Findings with tDCS, however, were inconclusive.DiscussionOur systematic review suggests that rTMS applied to DLPFC is a safe and promising therapeutic technique for the management of comorbid schizophrenia and SUDs, with the majority of the evidence in tobacco use disorder. However, there was substantial heterogeneity in study methods, underscoring the need to optimize stimulation parameters (e.g., frequency, duration, and target regions). Larger clinical trials are needed to establish the efficacy of rTMS in reducing drug consumption and craving in psychotic patients, ideally in comparison to existing pharmacological and behavioral interventions.
A Cross-Sectional Study on the Cross-Talk of the COVID-19-Related Degree of Loneliness and the Etiological Factors Among the Elderly in Central China
Authors: Ju Jie , Qi Wen-bo , Zhang Jia , Cao Zhi-Jun , Tsai Chi-Lun , Liu Peng 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 has undoubtedly influenced the normal lifestyle of people worldwide, including the Chinese population. This study attempted to do supplementary research to the current situation of loneliness as well as the related risk factors among the elderly in the province in central Chinese during the COVID-19.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in one of the central Chinese provinces (Henan Province) from December 2020 to March 2021 using a multistage sampling method, and 568 elderly people without cognitive impairment were interviewed. The UCLA Loneliness Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), and Quality of Life Questionnaire SF-36 were adopted to collect information. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regressions to analyze the factors resulting in severe loneliness among the elderly with seldom or regular participation in physical exercises.ResultsDuring the epidemic in central China, the elderly suffering from loneliness syndrome accounted for 34.2%, of which 15.5% were severely lonely. Risk factors for severe loneliness were quality of life (OR: 7.129), sleep quality (OR: 3.778), seldom exercise (OR: 4.170), poor economic status (OR: 1.769), and negative attitude toward the prospects for the epidemic control (OR: 4.033). By grouping the participants in terms of physical activity, we found that the quality of life (OR:5.778) was a significant risk factor than sleep quality (OR:2.939) in the seldom exercise group, while the only risk factor in the regular exercise group was the quality of life (OR: 5.021).ConclusionThere was an increase in the degree of loneliness among the elderly during the epidemic, and physical activity played an active role in relieving the severe loneliness of the elderly. Therefore, for the sake of the elderly, regular participation in physical exercises should be encouraged during the duration of the epidemic.
Family Function Impacts Relapse Tendency in Substance Use Disorder: Mediated Through Self-Esteem and Resilience
Authors: Xia Yuwei , Gong Yu , Wang Hanbin , Li Shen , Mao Fuqiang 
Published: February 2022

BackgroundSubstance abuse has been a public health concern, and even after detoxification treatment, the relapse rate is still high. Family function is closely related to substance dependence. However, studies on psychological mechanisms between them are rare.ObjectivesWe aimed to explore the mediating role of self-esteem and resilience in the pathway that family function impacts the relapse tendency among patients with substance use disorder (SUD).MethodsA total of 282 SUD patients were recruited, and standard questionnaires were administered for each patient. The relapse tendency, family function, self-esteem and resilience were assessed by the family care index questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson resilience scale, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the relapse tendency questionnaire. Bootstrap method was conducted for mediation analysis to test the effects of how family function affects relapse tendency mediated through self-esteem and resilience.ResultsThe average score of relapse tendency of the patients was 28.47 (SD = 11.89). Intermediary analysis found that self-esteem played an intermediary role in the relationship between family function and relapse tendency. Resilience plays an intermediary role in the relationship between family function and relapse tendency. Further, the path analysis showed that family function not only had a direct association with relapse tendency, but also indirectly related to relapse tendency through self-esteem and resilience.ConclusionsSelf-esteem and resilience are the key factors in the relationship between family function and relapse tendency of SUD patients.