bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Clinical presentation of acute primary angle closure during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown
Authors: Zhou Li , Wu Shaoqun , Wang Yong , Bao Xianyi , Peng Tingting , Luo Wenjing , Ortega-Usobiaga Julio 
Published: December 2022

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the clinical presentation of acute primary angle closure (APAC) during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown in Wuhan.MethodsConsecutive patients seeking APAC treatment at the Wuhan Aier Eye Hospital during the 76 days (January 23–April 8, 2020) when the lockdown policy was implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic were compared to those during the same period the following year (January 23–April 8, 2021), when the lockdown policy was not implemented. The cohorts were compared to assess demographic variables and clinical presentations.ResultsA total of 54 patients (64 eyes) were included in the 2020, compared with 46 patients (51 eyes) in the 2021. Demographic factors were similar between the groups. Significantly more patients developed blindness in the 2020 cohort (21.87%) than in the 2021 cohort (7.84%). Patients in the 2020 showed a longer time from symptom to treatment (241.84 ± 211.95 h in 2020 vs. 121.53 ± 96.12 h in 2021; P = 0.001), higher intraocular pressure at presentation (52.63 ± 12.45 mmHg in 2020 vs. 45.16 ± 9.79 mmHg in 2021; P = 0.001), larger pupil diameter (5.47 ± 1.62 mm in 2020 vs. 4.33 ± 1.27 mm in 2021; P = 0.001), and more glaucomatous optic neuropathy diagnoses [20/64 eyes (31.25%) in 2020 vs. 7/51 eyes (13.73%) in 2021; P = 0.03].ConclusionThe time between the onset of APAC symptoms and its treatment during the COVID-19 epidemic lockdown was significantly prolonged, which increased the blindness rate of APAC patients.
Association between respiratory diseases and molar-incisor hypomineralization: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Né Yago Gecy de Sousa , Frazão Deborah Ribeiro , Lopes Géssica de Oliveira , Fagundes Nathália Carolina Fernandes , Souza-Rodrigues Renata Duarte , Paula-Silva Francisco Wanderley Garcia , Maia Lucianne Cople , Lima Rafael Rodrigues 
Published: December 2022

The molar-incisor permineralização (MIH) is a qualitative enamel developing abnormality involving the occlusal and/or incisal third of one or more molars or permanent incisors, caused by systemic factors. Several systemic disorders and environmental factors, such as respiratory diseases, have been reported as probable causes of MIH. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate whether respiratory diseases and MIH are associated. The searches were carried out in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, LILACS, OpenGrey, and Google Scholar. The acronym PECO was used, in which the P (population) was humans in permanent dentition stage; (E-exposure) molar-incisor hypomineralization; (C-comparison) reference population and (O - outcome) respiratory diseases. After the search retrieval, the duplicates were removed, and the articles were evaluated by title and abstract; then, the papers were read and thoroughly assessed. After selection, the risk of bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) for observational studies. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) tool was used to assess the level of evidence. Three thousand six hundred and sixty six were found through the searches. After exclusion by duplicates, title, abstract, and full-reading, 13 articles remained. The articles included in this review evaluated the association of MIH with asthma, tonsilitis, pneumonia, and bronchitis. Most reports showed a low risk of bias. When exploring through GRADE, a very low level of evidence was found. We observed that the included studies showed that children with MIH had more respiratory diseases than the group that did not have MIH.Systematic review registrationhttps://osf.io/un76d.
Three year results of Blessed: Expanded access for DeltaRex-G for an intermediate size population with advanced pancreatic cancer and sarcoma (NCT04091295) and individual patient use of DeltaRex-G for solid malignancies (IND# 19130)
Authors: Chawla Sant P. , Wong Steven , Quon Doris , Moradkhani Ania , Chua Victoria S. , Brigham Don A. , Reed Rebecca A , Swaney William , Hall Frederick L. , Gordon Erlinda M. 
Published: December 2022

Background: Innovative treatments are urgently needed for metastatic cancer. DeltaRex-G, a tumor-targeted retrovector encoding a dominant-negative/cytocidal cyclin G1 (CCNG1 gene) inhibitor construct—has been tested in over 280 cancer patients worldwide in phase 1, phase 2 studies and compassionate use studies, demonstrating long term (&gt;10 years) survivorship in patients with advanced cancers, including pancreatic cancer, osteosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, breast cancer, and B-cell lymphoma.Patient and Methods: Endpoints: Survival, response, treatment-related adverse events. Study one is entitled “Blessed: Expanded Access for DeltaRex-G for Advanced Pancreatic Cancer and Sarcoma (NCT04091295)”. Study two is entitled “Individual Patient Use of DeltaRex-G for Solid Malignancies (Investigational New Drug#19130). In both studies, patients will receive DeltaRex-G at 1-3 x 10e11 cfu i.v. over 30–45 min, three x a week until significant disease progression or unacceptable toxicity or death occurs.Results: Seventeen patients were enrolled, nine sarcoma, two pancreatic adenocarcinoma, one non-small cell lung cancer, two breast carcinoma, one prostate cancer, one cholangiocarcinoma and one basal cell carcinoma and actinic keratosis. Three patients were enrolled in Study 1 and 14 patients were enrolled in Study 2. Twelve of 17 enrolled patients were treated with DeltaRex-G monotherapy or in combination with United States Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer therapies. Five patients died before receiving DeltaRex-G. Efficacy Analysis: Of the 12 treated patients, 5 (42%) are alive 15–36 months from DeltaRex-G treatment initiation. Two patients with early-stage HR + HER2+ positive or triple receptor negative invasive breast cancer who received DeltaRex-G as adjuvant/first line therapy are alive in complete remission 23 and 16 months after DeltaRex-G treatment initiation respectively; three patients with metastatic chordoma, chondrosarcoma and advanced basal cell carcinoma are alive 36, 31, and 15 months after DeltaRex-G treatment initiation respectively. Safety Analysis: There were no treatment-related adverse events reported.Conclusion: Taken together, the data suggest that 1) DeltaRex-G may evoke tumor growth stabilization after failing standard chemotherapy, 2) DeltaRex-G may act synergistically with standard chemotherapy/targeted therapies, and 3) Adjuvant/first line therapy with DeltaRex-G for early-stage invasive carcinoma of breast may be authorized by the USFDA when patients refuse to receive toxic chemotherapy.
Flexibility of in vitro cortical circuits influences resilience from microtrauma
Authors: Adegoke Modupe A. , Teter Olivia , Meaney David F. 
Published: December 2022

BackgroundSmall clusters comprising hundreds to thousands of neurons are an important level of brain architecture that correlates single neuronal properties to fulfill brain function, but the specific mechanisms through which this scaling occurs are not well understood. In this study, we developed an in vitro experimental platform of small neuronal circuits (islands) to probe the importance of structural properties for their development, physiology, and response to microtrauma.MethodsPrimary cortical neurons were plated on a substrate patterned to promote attachment in clusters of hundreds of cells (islands), transduced with GCaMP6f, allowed to mature until 10–13 days in vitro (DIV), and monitored with Ca2+ as a non-invasive proxy for electrical activity. We adjusted two structural factors–island size and cellular density–to evaluate their role in guiding spontaneous activity and network formation in neuronal islands.ResultsWe found cellular density, but not island size, regulates of circuit activity and network function in this system. Low cellular density islands can achieve many states of activity, while high cellular density biases islands towards a limited regime characterized by low rates of activity and high synchronization, a property we summarized as “flexibility.” The injury severity required for an island to lose activity in 50% of its population was significantly higher in low-density, high flexibility islands.ConclusionTogether, these studies demonstrate flexible living cortical circuits are more resilient to microtrauma, providing the first evidence that initial circuit state may be a key factor to consider when evaluating the consequences of trauma to the cortex.
Detection of pulmonary embolism severity using clinical characteristics, hematological indices, and machine learning techniques
Authors: Su Hang , Han Zhengyuan , Fu Yujie , Zhao Dong , Yu Fanhua , Heidari Ali Asghar , Zhang Yu , Shou Yeqi , Wu Peiliang , Chen Huiling , Chen Yanfan 
Published: December 2022

IntroductionPulmonary embolism (PE) is a cardiopulmonary condition that can be fatal. PE can lead to sudden cardiovascular collapse and is potentially life-threatening, necessitating risk classification to modify therapy following the diagnosis of PE. We collected clinical characteristics, routine blood data, and arterial blood gas analysis data from all 139 patients.MethodsCombining these data, this paper proposes a PE risk stratified prediction framework based on machine learning technology. An improved algorithm is proposed by adding sobol sequence and black hole mechanism to the cuckoo search algorithm (CS), called SBCS. Based on the coupling of the enhanced algorithm and the kernel extreme learning machine (KELM), a prediction framework is also proposed.ResultsTo confirm the overall performance of SBCS, we run benchmark function experiments in this work. The results demonstrate that SBCS has great convergence accuracy and speed. Then, tests based on seven open data sets are carried out in this study to verify the performance of SBCS on the feature selection problem. To further demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of the SBCS-KELM framework, this paper conducts aided diagnosis experiments on PE data collected from the hospital.DiscussionThe experiment findings show that the indicators chosen, such as syncope, systolic blood pressure (SBP), oxygen saturation (SaO2%), white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil percentage (NEUT%), and others, are crucial for the feature selection approach presented in this study to assess the severity of PE. The classification results reveal that the prediction model’s accuracy is 99.26% and its sensitivity is 98.57%. It is expected to become a new and accurate method to distinguish the severity of PE.
Network-based approach for targeting human kinases commonly associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and cancer
Authors: Khatoon Fatima , Haque Shafiul , Hashem Anwar , Mahmoud Ahmad , Tashkandi Hanaa , Mathkor Darin , Harakeh Steve , Alghamdi Badra , Kumar Vijay 
Published: December 2022

BackgroundAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a rare progressive and chronic motor neuron degenerative disease for which at present no cure is available. In recent years, multiple genes encode kinases and other causative agents for ALS have been identified. Kinases are enzymes that show pleiotropic nature and regulate different signal transduction processes and pathways. The dysregulation of kinase activity results in dramatic changes in processes and causes many other human diseases including cancers.MethodsIn this study, we have adopted a network-based system biology approach to investigate the kinase-based molecular interplay between ALS and other human disorders. A list of 62 ALS-associated-kinases was first identified and then we identified the disease associated with them by scanning multiple disease-gene interaction databases to understand the link between the ALS-associated kinases and other disorders.ResultsAn interaction network with 36 kinases and 381 different disorders associated with them was prepared, which represents the complexity and the comorbidity associated with the kinases. Further, we have identified 5 miRNAs targeting the majority of the kinases in the disease-causing network. The gene ontology and pathways enrichment analysis of those miRNAs were performed to understand their biological and molecular functions along with to identify the important pathways. We also identified 3 drug molecules that can perturb the disease-causing network by drug repurposing.ConclusionThis network-based study presented hereby contributes to a better knowledge of the molecular underpinning of comorbidities associated with the kinases associated with the ALS disease and provides the potential therapeutic targets to disrupt the highly complex disease-causing network.
Undernutrition and associated factors among pregnant women in East Borena Zone, Liban District, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia
Authors: Arero Godana 
Published: December 2022

BackgroundUndernutrition is cellular imbalance between supply of nutrients, energy and body’s demand to ensure growth, maintenance, and specific function. However, there was no study conducted earlier on this topic in East Borena Zone.ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of undernutrition and associated factors among pregnant women in East Borena Zone, Liban District.MethodA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 420 study participants from November 20 to December 2021. The systematic sampling technique and simple random sampling methods were used to select study participants. Data were double entered into Epi-info software version 7 and SPSS version 21 software for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of study participants. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were carried out to identify the association between independent and dependent variables by measuring the adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.ResultsPrevalence of undernutrition among pregnant women was about (44.9%) of family monthly income [AOR = 8.72 (4.80, 15.83)], women’s decision-making autonomy [AOR = 0.40 (0.19, 0.82)], skipping meal [AOR = 2.62 (1.41, 4.89)], substance use [AOR = 2.01 (1.07, 3.77)], household food insecurity [AOR = 2.01 (1.06, 3.80)], lack of prenatal dietary advice [AOR = 2.73 (1.53, 4.89)], absence of household latrine [AOR = 9.23 (3.48, 24.46)], not participating health development army’s meeting at village level [AOR = 3.01 (1.57, 5.72)] and hand washing habit [AOR = 6.55 (3.02, 14.20)] had shown statistically significant association with undernutrition.ConclusionThe prevalence of undernutrition among pregnant women was high income. Women’s decision-making autonomy, skipping meals, substances use, household food insecurity, lack of prenatal dietary advice, poor hand washing habit, lack household of latrine, and not participation in health development army’s meeting were found to be predictors of the undernutrition.
States of quinolinic acid excess in urine: A systematic review of human studies
Authors: Saade Marie Christelle , Clark Amanda J. , Parikh Samir M. 
Published: December 2022

IntroductionQuinolinic acid is an intermediate compound derived from the metabolism of dietary tryptophan. Its accumulation has been reported in patients suffering a broad spectrum of diseases and conditions. In this manuscript, we present the results of a systematic review of research studies assessing urinary quinolinic acid in health and disease.MethodsWe performed a literature review using PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus databases of all studies reporting data on urinary quinolinic acid in human subjects from December 1949 to January 2022.ResultsFifty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. In most of the reported studies, compared to the control group, quinolinic acid was shown to be at increased concentration in urine of patients suffering from different diseases and conditions. This metabolite was also demonstrated to correlate with the severity of certain diseases including juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, graft vs. host disease, autism spectrum disorder, and prostate cancer. In critically ill patients, elevated quinolinic acid in urine predicted a spectrum of adverse outcomes including hospital mortality.ConclusionQuinolinic acid has been implicated in the pathophysiology of multiple conditions. Its urinary accumulation appears to be a feature of acute physiological stress and several chronic diseases. The exact significance of these findings is still under investigation, and further studies are needed to reveal the subsequent implications of this accumulation.
Prediction of bile duct injury after transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: Model establishment and verification
Authors: Guo Jianxi , Zhang Xueying , Kong Jian 
Published: December 2022

ObjectiveThis study aimed to establish and validate a predictive model for bile duct injury in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 284 patients with HCC treated with DEB-TACE at our hospital between January 2017 and December 2021, of whom 63 patients experienced postoperative bile duct injuries. Univariate and logistic multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for bile duct injury, as well as establish and internally validate the nomogram model. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test, decision curve analysis (DCA), and clinical impact curve (CIC) were used to assess the predictive power, clinical value, and practicability of the nomogram model.ResultsThe incidence of bile duct injuries after DEB-TACE was 22.18% (63/284), with one injury occurring in every 2.86 sessions of DEB-TACE treatment. Univariate and logistic multivariate regression analyses indicated that a history of hepatectomy (odds ratio [OR]=2.285; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.066–4.898; P&lt;0.05), subjective angiographic chemoembolization endpoint level (OR=1.832; 95% CI=1.258–2.667; P&lt;0.05), alkaline phosphatase (OR=1.005; 95% CI=1.001–1.010; P&lt;0.05), and platelet count (OR=1.005; 95% CI=1.001–1.009; P&lt;0.05) were independent risk factors for bile duct injury after DEB-TACE among patients with HCC. The risk nomogram model based on the above four variables was validated using the bootstrap method, showing consistency between the predicted and experimental values. Furthermore, the model performed well in the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test (2=3.648; P=0.887). The AUC of this model was 0.749 (95% CI=0.682–0.817), with an overall accuracy of 69.01%, a positive predictive value of 73.02%, a negative predictive value of 67.87%, a sensitivity of 73.0%, and a specificity of 67.90%, suggesting that the nomogram model had good accuracy and discrimination. In addition, DCA and CIC revealed a high clinical value and practicability of the model.ConclusionBile duct injury in patients with HCC treated with DEB-TACE is caused by multiple factors rather than a single factor. The nomogram prediction model used in this study had a good fitting degree and prediction efficacy, with high clinical value and practicability.
Direct Comparison of Schlieren and Soot Foil Measurements of Detonation Cell Sizes
Authors: Carter Mick , Blunck David L. 
Published: December 2022

Detonation-based combustion cycles have the potential to have higher thermodynamic efficiencies than the more common deflagration-based combustion cycles because the pressure of the products is higher than that of the reactants. The geometry to which a detonation is confined can have a strong influence on the detonation’s behavior, or even prevent a detonation from occurring. A key measurement that can be used to design detonation-based engines is the cell size of the mixture. The cell size is a characteristic length scale of a chemical mixture. For the first time, this study compares two methods of collecting cell size measurements within a single tube. This approach controls for the effects of tube geometry and surface roughness, which may confound studies whose schlieren and soot foil measurements have been collected from different tubes. This study indicates that measurements taken using the two measurement techniques agree to within experimental uncertainty (a difference of 1.3 mm, or 7%). Soot foil methods are generally preferable for detonation cell size measurements because soot foils provide larger triple point sample sizes per detonation and lower instrumentation costs relative to schlieren methods. Various sources of uncertainty are extensively analyzed and reported for the two techniques.
Nonsurgical molding of congenital auricular deformities and analysis of the correction outcomes: A single-center, retrospective study in east China
Authors: Liu Chuanbo , Wo Peibin , Zhang Jufang , Li Jinsheng 
Published: December 2022

ObjectiveOur research was carried out to provide a clinical reference for the application of nonsurgical therapy in newborns with congenital auricular deformities in east China.MethodsA retrospective study of consecutive newborns using noninvasive ear molding was conducted in Hangzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province. The demographic and clinical information and photographs of the ear before and after treatment were taken. The diagnosis of each auricular deformity was identified, and the treatment outcome was evaluated.ResultsA total of 224 patients including 356 congenital ear anomalies received noninvasive ear molding. The median age of infants to initiate treatment was 39.5 days. The median treatment duration was 42.5 days. The median follow-up time was 137.0 days. The overall treatment effective rate of all infants with nonoperative ear molding was 92.1%, and mild skin irritation and ulceration occurred in 34 ear deformities (9.6%). It confirmed that the treatment efficiency was satisfactory and the complication rate was still acceptable despite the late initiation treatment of neonates in east China. Further analysis of treatment outcomes among three subgroups of infants (the ages to initiate the ear molding were respectively less than or equal to 28, 29–56, and more than 57 days) revealed that initiation treatment was significantly related to the treatment results and the earlier the initiation treatment, the higher the effective rate and the lower the complication incidence.ConclusionOur study hints that newborns in east China may have a longer period for correction. What is more, although our study affirmed a longer period for noninvasive molding, early diagnosis and treatment are still recommended to improve therapy efficiency and reduce treatment duration and complications.