bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elevated Serum uric level is a risk factor for Acute Ischemic Stroke: A case control study from Northern India
Authors: Garg Abhishek , Bashar MD. Abu , Kapila Savita 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Background Elevated Serum uric acid (SUA) is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as dyslipidemia. It, however, is debated whether it itself is a risk factor of stroke. We therefore investigated the relation between serum UA levels and acute ischemic stroke.Material and Methods A case-control study on patients with acute ischemic stroke presenting at MM Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Mullana, Haryana, North India was carried out from July, 2019 to September, 2020. The controls consisted of normal individuals attending the OPD similar to the cases in terms of age and gender. Serum levels of uric acid, lipid profile and other biochemical investigations of the cases were carried in the first 24 hours of admission.Results Out of the total 50 cases and 50 controls, 27(54.0%) were males and rest 23(46.0%) were females. Mean ages of the cases and the controls were 60.46 ±12.30 and 60.21±12.12 years respectively. The mean serum uric acid level of the cases was 6.49±2.36 mg/dL whereas mean serum uric acid level of the controls was 5.59±0.98 mg/dL, the difference being statistically significant(p=0.01). Similarly, 22(44.0%) out of the 50 cases were hyperuricemic whereas only 8(16.0%) out of the 50 controls were hyperuricemic, the difference in prevalence being statistically significant too(p=0.002). Dyslipidaemia was found in 40 (80.0%) cases as compared to 10(20.0%) controls(p<0.0001)Conclusion Elevated SUA level is significantly associated with the occurrence of acute ischemic stroke and may be considered a risk factor for acute ischemic stroke.
Binary classification of non-specific low back pain condition based on the combination of B-mode ultrasound and shear wave elastography in multiple sites
Authors: Yu Xiaocheng , Chiang Mou-Hsun , Zhu Guowen , Xu Faying , Liu Zhenhua , Su Lin , Zheng Haiping , Zhou Chen , Chen Qiuming , Gao Fen , Lin Mengting , Xu Xiaohua , Zhou Yongjin 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Low back pain (LBP) is a problem that raises medical, social and economic concerns. Accurate and timely assessment and diagnosis of LBP, especially non-specific LBP (NSLBP), can help clinicians develop effective interventions and treatments for LBP patients. In this study, we integrated the B-mode ultrasound image feature from multiple sites with the shear wave elastography (SWE) feature of NSLBP patients, and then employed a support vector machines (SVM) model to classify NSLBP patients with the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) as the ground truth. A total of 52 subjects were recruited from the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, and an optimal feature set with the size of 48 was obtained after feature extraction and feature selection, among which the SWE elasticity feature had most contribution in the classification task. The five-fold cross-validation accuracy, precision and sensitivity were 0.85, 0.89 and 0.86, respectively, higher than the previously reported values of MRI. The experimental results preliminarily demonstrate that the proposed methods can be applied to the automatic classification of NSLBP and find out the important site and position of the muscle in the NSLBP classification task.
Statistical analysis of extreme temperatures in India in the period 1951–2020
Authors: Vieira Flavio Ferraz , Oliveira Manuela Melo , Sanfins Marcos , Garção Eugénio , Dasari Hariprasad , Dodla Venkata , Satyanarayana G.China , Costa Joaquim , Borges José 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Extreme temperatures are directly related to the occurrence of atmospheric extreme events, such as draughts, wildfires, and pollution level increases in urban areas. Policy makers, as well as society, can address such phenomenon by developing and applying methods which estimate and anticipate maximum temperature occurrences. In this research we aim to develop a spatiotemporal model which analyzes maximum temperature trends values in the Indian 543 microregions between 1951 and 2020. In 27% of those, a maximum temperature above 45°C was observed, at least in a year, with the results of the analysis testifying that 80% of the microregions have an median yearly maximum temperature above 40°C. Additionally, the results unveiled that East, Southwest and Northwest microregions were the ones where the maximum temperatures had a higher increase with 2°C being the average. The model developed is based on a Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) methodology, to estimate the maximum temperature values from 20 to 50 years. The projection for 20 years showed that in 16% of those microregions at least one occurrence of a maximum temperature above 45°C would occur; while in the 50 years one it would happen in 22% of the microregions analyzed.
An electricity-generating bacteria separated from oil sludge microbial fuel cells and its environmental adaptability
Authors: Guo Haiying , Shuixiang Xie , Chunfeng Huang , Shanfa Tang , Xiaoheng Geng , Xinlei Jia 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Electricity-generating bacteria as biocatalysts for microbial fuel cells (MFCs), and their species and power generation performance determine the performance of the MFC for pollution control and power generation. For that purpose, an electricity-generating bacteria isolated from the oily sludge MFCs, and adjusted the adaptability of nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio (3.67:1, 4.67:1, 5.67:1, and 6.67:1), temperature (5 ℃, 10 ℃, 15 ℃, 20 ℃, 25 ℃, 30 ℃, 35 ℃) and pH (pH = 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8). The results of this study showed that electricity-generating bacteria was identified as Bacillus cereus, with a rod-shaped cell, about 0.5-1.0 µm in length. The optimal nitrogen-phosphorus ratio, temperature and pH of MFCs were 4.67:1, 25 ℃ and pH = 7, respectively, and its output voltage was up to 168.05 mV. The study of this functional bacteria will provide beneficial assistance for the improvement of oil removal and power generation performance of oily sludge MFCs.
SMC4 enhances the chemoresistance of hepatoma cells by promoting autophagy
Authors: Zhou Bo , Zhang Shi-Ran , Li Jie , Chen Jing-Xiang , Chen Geng , Chen Jun-Ying , Fu Hang-Wei 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
BackgroundDrug resistance is a major factor that contributes to the failure of chemotherapy treatment in primary liver cancer patients. However, the exact mechanism underlying the chemoresistance of primary liver cancer is still unknown. MethodsHepG2 cells were incubated with different concentrations of 5-FU, and the CCK-8 assay was used to test the cell survival rate. The expression level of SMC4 in drug-resistant cells were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting . Immunofluorescence to detect the LC3B level in HepG2/5-FU cells to assess autophagy. To further study the upstream regulation of miR-219/SMC4, a gene chip assay was performed. A luciferase reporter assay was used to determine whether lncRNA-XIST may function as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for miR-219. Cellular proliferation was evaluated by MTT assays and colony formation assays, wound healing and invasion assays were performed to study the invasion and migration ability of the cells, and flow cytometry assays were also performed to evaluated the apoptosis of the cells.ResultsIn the present study, we established a drug-resistant hepatoma cell line named HepG2/5-FU, and we confirmed that structural maintenance of chromosome 4 (SMC4) may play an important role in hepatoma cell autophagy and could promote autophagy to increase the drug resistance of hepatoma cells. We demonstrated that lncRNA-XIST may competitively bind to miR-219 by acting as a miRNA sponge, thereby preventing miR-219 from effectively reducing the expression of SMC4 and further affecting the autophagy and drug resistance of hepatoma cells.ConclusionOur study suggests that SMC4 may be a potential marker of a poor primary liver cancer response to chemotherapy and a novel therapeutic target for primary liver cancer chemotherapy.
A new polarization direction measurement via local Radon transform and error correction
Authors: Wang Wei , Gao Chao , Yan Xingwei , Shi Jianhua 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Spatially polarizaion modulation based on the vectorial optical field was widely studied for polarization measurement due to its simple system structure. It was therefore necessary to estimate the polarization direction from the images once the polarization information encoded. The classical methods were with poor computational efficiency, and hence could not meet the increasing demand of practical applications. To address this issue, a new image processing method, combing the rapidity of local radon transform (LRT) and the precision of error correction (EC), was proposed. The polarization direction of the light was first coarsely estimated. Then, the LRT of input image was completed while the coarsely estimated direction was the center angle for LRT. Finally, the EC was conducted to get the accurate direction depending on the quantitative link between the error of the coarse estimation and the correlation between the LRTs. Experiments on synthetic and real data demonstrated that, compared to the other state-of-the-art methods, our proposed algorithm is more robust and less time consuming.
Natural Language Processing and Network Analysis in Patients Withdrawing From Life-Sustaining Treatments: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Tsai Wei-Chin , Tsai Yun-Cheng , Kuo Kuang-Cheng , Cheng Shao-Yi , Chiu Tai-Yuan , Huang Hsien-Liang 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Background: Providing palliative care to patients withdrawing from life-sustaining treatments is crucial; however, delays or the absence of such services are common. This study aimed to use natural language processing and network analysis to identify the role of medications as early palliative care referral triggers.Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of 119 adult patients under specialized palliative care after withdrawal of the endotracheal tube in intensive care units of a Taiwan-based medical center between July 2016 and June 2018. Patients were categorized into the early integration and late referral groups based on the median survival time. Using natural language processing, we analyzed free texts from electronic health records. The Palliative Trigger Index was also calculated for comparison, and network analysis was performed to determine the co-occurrence of terms between the two groups.Results: The results indicated that broad-spectrum antibiotics, antifungal agents, diuretics, and opioids had a high palliative trigger index. The most common co-occurrences in the early integration group occurred with micafungin and voriconazole (co-correlation = 0.75). In the late referral group, piperacillin and penicillin (correlation coefficient = 0.843) were the most common co-occurrences.Conclusion: Treatments for severe infection, chronic illness, and analgesics are possible triggers for specialized palliative care consultation. The Palliative Trigger Index and network analysis both indicated the need for palliative care for patients withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. This study recommends establishing a therapeutic control system based on computerized order entry and integrating it into the shared-decision model.Trial registration: Not applicable
In Oleic Acid-Induced ARDS, Effects of Tocilizumab and Dexamethasone on the Downregulation of Proinflammatory Cytokines and Upregulation of Antioxidants in the lung.
Authors: Terzi Funda , Demirci Beste , Çınar İrfan , Alhilal Mohammad , Erol Hüseyin Serkan 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Background Acute respiratory shortage syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening disease formed by the induction of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the lungs. There is a dearth of drug treatments that can be used to prevent cytokine storms in ARDS treatment. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of tocilizumab and dexamethasone on oxidative stress, antioxidant parameters, and cytokine storm in acute lung injury caused by oleic acid in rats. MethodsAdult male rats, CN (healthy, n=6), OA (oleic acid, n=6), OA+TCZ-2 (Oleic acid and Tocilizumab 2mg/kg, n=6), OA + TCZ- 4 (Oleic acid and Tocilizumab 4 mg/kg, n=6), and OA+DEX-10 (Oleic acid and Dexamethasone 10mg/kg, n=6) were divided into five groups. All animals were sacrificed for histopathological, immunohistochemical, biochemical, PCR analyses, and SEM imaging.ResultsThe expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 cytokines in rats with acute lung injury with oleic acid was downregulated in the TCZ and DEX groups compared to the OA group. (P<0.05). The MDA level in the lung tissue was statistically lower in the OA+TCZ-4 group compared to the OA group. It was determined that SOD, GSH, and CAT levels decreased in the OA group and increased in the TCZ and DEX groups (P<0.05). Histopathological findings such as thickening of the alveoli, hyperemia, and peribronchial cells were found to be similar to the control group in TCZ and DEX group rat lung tissue. With SEM imaging of the lung tissue, it was found that the alveolar lining layer became indistinct in the OA, OA+TCZ-2 and OA+TCZ-4 groups.ConclusionsIn the acute lung injury model caused by oleic acid, tocilizumab and dexamethasone are thought to be effective in preventing cytokine storm by downregulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8. Against the downregulation of antioxidant parameters such as SOD and GSH in the lung tissue caused by oleic acid, tocilizumab and dexamethasone upregulated and showed a protective effect in cell damage.
Novel adaptive path-smoothening optimization method for mobile robots
Authors: Duan Shuyong , Zhang Linxin , Han Xu , Li Yule , Wang Fang , Liu G.R. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract

A safe and smooth operating path is a prerequisite for mobile robots to accomplish tasks. Although the existing path optimization methods improve the smoothness of the planned path by introducing Bézier curve to locally optimize the path with regard to turning points, most of these methods manually select the position of control points and subjectively analyze the feasibility of the optimized path. It is argued unfavourably that it exhibits strong subjectivity and cumbersome selection process. To this gap, an adaptive path-smoothening optimization method is proposed in this study, which combines neural network, genetic algorithm, and Bézier curve to effectively resolve the problems of strong subjectivity, cumbersome steps, and thus low efficiency in the selection process of control points. To start with, the data set corresponding to the position of the control point and the path offset are constructed. Based on the actual working conditions, the value space of control point position is derived. Latin hypercube sampling is used to sample the control point position of the second-order Bézier curve, which is input into the Bézier curve solution model to calculate the corresponding path offset. The data set corresponding to the position of control point and path offset are thus acquired. Based on the data set, the neural network algorithm is used to train it, and the prediction model of path offset is constructed. Subsequently, with reference to the prediction model of path offset, a performance evaluation function is formulated by comprehending multiple influential factors of mobile robot motion safety and path smoothness. The genetic algorithm is then introduced to detect the optimal control points in different environments. The proposed method is verified by experiments in different operating environments. The study results show that the currently proposed adaptive path-smoothening optimization method exhibits remarkably superior applicability and effectiveness compared to the currently prevailing methods. It demonstrates advantages of fast path planning, reduced path turning points, and desirable path smoothness. In addition, it can also ensure the safety of mobile robot along the planned path as availed by a pre-set criterion.
Metformin confers longitudinal cardiac protection by preserving mitochondrial homeostasis following myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury
Authors: Tian Jing , Zheng Yaqi , Mou Tiantian , Yun Mingkai , Tian Yi , Lu Yao , Bai Yujie , Zhou Yihan , Hacker Marcus , Zhang Xiaoli , Li Xiang 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with systemic oxidative stress, cardiac mitochondrial homeostasis, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Metformin was recognized to attenuate cardiomyocyte apoptosis. However, the longitudinal effects and pathomechanism of metformin on the regulation of myocardial mitohormesis following I/R treatment remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal effects and mechanism of metformin in regulating cardiac mitochondrial homeostasis by serial imaging with the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) tracer 18F-FDPA.
Methods
Myocardial I/R injury was established in Sprague-Dawley rats, which were treated with or without metformin (150 mg/kg per day). Serial gated 18F-FDG and 18F-FDPA PET imaging were performed at 1, 4, and 8 weeks after surgery, followed by analysis of ventricular remodelling and cardiac mitochondrial homeostasis. After PET imaging, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, immunostaining, and western blot analysis were performed to analyse the spatio-temporal effects and pathomechanism of metformin for cardiac protection after myocardial I/R injury.
Results
Oxidative stress and apoptosis increased one week after myocardial I/R injury (before significant progression of ventricular remodelling). TSPO co-localized with inflammatory CD68+ macrophages in the infarct area, and upregulation of AMPK-p/AMPK and down-regulation of Bcl-2/Bax were observed. However, these effects were reversed with metformin treatment. Eight weeks after myocardial I/R injury (representing the advanced stage of heart failure), 18F-FDPA uptake activity in myocardial cells in the distal non-infarct area increased without CD68+ expression, whereas the activity decreased with metformin treatment.
Conclusion
Taken together, these results show that prolonged metformin treatment has pleiotropic protective effects against myocardial I/R injury associated with a regional and temporal dynamic balance between mitochondrial homeostasis and cardiac outcome, which were assessed by TSPO-targeted imaging during cardiac remodelling.
Mutation identification and prediction for severe cardiomyopathy in Alström syndrome, and review of the literature for cardiomyopathy
Authors: Dedeoglu Savas , Dede Elif , Oztunc Funda , Gedikbasi Asuman , Yesil Gozde , Dedeoglu Reyhan 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Objective: Alström syndrome (ALMS1)(OMIM# 203800) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the well-recognized feature of the syndrome ranging from sudden-onset infantile DCM, to adult onset cardiomyopathy, sometimes of the restrictive hypertrophic form with a poor prognosis. We aimed to evaluate severe cardiomyopathy in Alström syndrome in infancy and display susceptible specific mutations of the disease, which may be linked to severe DCM. Secondarily we reviewed published mutations of ALMS1 with cardiomyopathies in the literature. Method: In this patient cohort, we represent new mutagenic alleles related with severe cardiomyopathy and cardiac outcome. We evaluated echocardiographic studies of nine Turkish patients diagnosed with Alström syndrome (between 2014 and 2020, at age two weeks to twenty years). Thus, we made a detailed examination of the cardiac manifestations of a single-center prospective series of nine children with specific ALMS1 mutations and multisystem involvement. All patients underwent genetic testing, biochemical testing, electrocardiogram, and echocardiographic imaging with speckle tracking to evaluate systolic strain.Results: Four of the patients died with cardiomyopathy. Three patients (including three of the four fatalities) with the same novel mutation (c.7911dupC [p. Asn2638Glnfs*24]) had cardiomyopathy with intra-familial variability in severity of cardiomyopathy. Global longitudinal strain, a measure of systolic contractile function, was abnormal in all of patients that can be measured.Conclusion: Cardiac function in ALMS1 patients with infantile cardiomyopathy appears to have different clinical spectrums depending on the mutagenic allele. The c.7911dupC (p. Asn2638Glnfs*24) mutation can be related to severe cardiomyopathy. Parents can be informed and consulted about the progression of serious cardiomyopathy in child carrying this mutagenic allele.
Comprehensive analysis of m6A methylation modification in chronic spinal cord injury in mice
Authors: Li Chengjun , Zhao Jinyun , Qin Tian , Jin Yuxin , Duan Chunyue , Wu Tianding , Cao Yong , Lu Hongbin , Hu Jianzhong 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Chronic spinal cord injury (CSCI) is a catastrophic disease of the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in partial or complete loss of neurological function. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common form of reversible posttranslational modification at the RNA level. However, the role of m6A modification in CSCI remains unknown. In this study, we established a CSCI model using a water-absorbable polyurethane polymer, with behavioral assessment, electrophysiological analysis, and histochemical staining for validation. Methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (meRIP-seq) and mRNA sequencing (mRNA-seq) were jointly explored to compare the differences in CSCI spinal tissue and normal spinal tissue. Furthermore, qRT–PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining were used to analyze m6A modification-related proteins. We found that water-absorbable polyurethane polymer well simulated chronic spinal cord compression. BMS scores and electrophysiological analysis showed continuous neurological function decline after chronic compression of the spinal cord. meRIP-seq identified 642 differentially modified m6A genes, among which 263 genes were downregulated and 379 genes were upregulated. mRNA-seq showed that 1544 genes were upregulated and 290 genes were downregulated after CSCI. Gene Ontology (GO) terms and enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were also identified. qRT–PCR, western blotting, and immunofluorescence staining showed that Mettl14 was significantly upregulated after CSCI. Our study revealed a comprehensive profile of m6A modifications in CSCI and may provide a valuable tool for further research on CSCI.