bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Using the Modified Frailty Index to Predict Complications in Breast Reduction: A National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Study of 14,160 Cases
Authors: Liu Helen , Akhavan Arya , Ibelli Taylor , Alerte Eric , Etigunta Suhas , Kuruvilla Annet , Katz Abigail , Taub Peter 
Published: March 2022

Abstract

Background
Breast reduction is a generally well-tolerated procedure with high patient satisfaction and low risk of surgical site infection and other complications. Although age, obesity, and comorbidities have historically been used as surgical risk proxies, recent literature suggests “frailty” measures, such as the modified 5-item Frailty Index (mFI-5), may be a superior predictor.

Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate if mFI-5 can predict the likelihood and magnitude of 30-day complications resulting from breast reductions.

Methods
A retrospective review was performed of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database to assess patients who underwent breast reduction without other concurrent procedures, from 2013 to 2019. mFI-5 scores were calculated for each patient, and complication data were gathered. Age, BMI, number of major comorbidities, American Association of Anesthesiologists class, smoking status, diabetes, steroid use, and mFI-5 score were compared as predictors of all-cause 30-day complications, 30-day surgical site complications of any kind, length of stay, and aggregate Clavien-Dindo complication severity score. Univariate logistic, linear regressions, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate predictive value. Statistical significance was set at P &lt; 0.05.

Results
A total of 14,160 patients were analyzed. The overall complication rate was 5.6%. The mFI-5 score significantly predicted overall 30-day complications, surgical site complications, complication severity, overnight stay, and likelihood of readmission (all P &lt; 0.0001).

Conclusions
The mFI-5 is a statistically significant predictor for adverse outcomes in breast reduction surgery. The mFI-5 is a simple and reliable tool that can be efficiently used to conduct a preoperative evaluation of patients requesting breast reductions.

Level of Evidence: 4
Non-negative Independent Factor Analysis disentangles discrete and continuous sources of variation in scRNA-seq data
Authors: Mao Weiguang , Pouyan Maziyar Baran , Kostka Dennis , Chikina Maria 
Published: March 2022

AbstractMotivationSingle-cell RNA-seq analysis has emerged as a powerful tool for understanding inter-cellular heterogeneity. Due to the inherent noise of the data, computational techniques often rely on dimensionality reduction (DR) as both a pre-processing step and an analysis tool. Ideally, DR should preserve the biological information while discarding the noise. However, if the DR is to be used directly to gain biological insight it must also be interpretable—that is the individual dimensions of the reduction should correspond to specific biological variables such as cell-type identity or pathway activity. Maximizing biological interpretability necessitates making assumption about the data structures and the choice of the model is critical.ResultsWe present a new probabilistic single-cell factor analysis model, Non-negative Independent Factor Analysis (NIFA), that incorporates different interpretability inducing assumptions into a single modeling framework. The key advantage of our NIFA model is that it simultaneously models uni- and multi-modal latent factors, and thus isolates discrete cell-type identity and continuous pathway activity into separate components. We apply our approach to a range of datasets where cell-type identity is known, and we show that NIFA-derived factors outperform results from ICA, PCA, NMF and scCoGAPS (an NMF method designed for single-cell data) in terms of disentangling biological sources of variation. Studying an immunotherapy dataset in detail, we show that NIFA is able to reproduce and refine previous findings in a single analysis framework and enables the discovery of new clinically relevant cell states.Availability and implementationNFIA is a R package which is freely available at GitHub (https://github.com/wgmao/NIFA). The test dataset is archived at https://zenodo.org/record/6286646.Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Face recognition improvements in adults and children with face recognition difficulties
Authors: Bate Sarah , Dalrymple Kirsten , Bennetts Rachel J. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWhile there have been decades of clinical and theoretical interest in developmental and acquired face recognition difficulties, very little work has examined their remediation. Here, we report two studies that examined the efficacy of an existing face training programme in improving face-processing skills in adults and children with developmental face recognition impairments. The programme has only been trialled in typical children to date, where 2 weeks of perceptual training (modelled on an adapted version of the popular family game Guess Who?) resulted in face-specific improvements for memory but not perception after 2 weeks of training. In Study 1, we performed a randomized, parallel groups, placebo-controlled trial of the same programme in 20 adults with a pre-existing diagnosis of developmental prosopagnosia. Assessment tasks were administered immediately before and after training, and 2 weeks later. Face-specific gains in memory (but not perception) were observed in the experimental group and were greatest in those with the poorest face recognition skills at entry. These gains persisted 2 weeks after training ceased. In Study 2, a case-series approach was used to administer the experimental version of the training programme to four children who presented with difficulties in face recognition. Improvements in face memory were observed in three of the participants; while one also improved at face perception, there was mixed evidence for the face specificity of these gains. Together, these findings suggest plasticity in the human face recognition system through to at least mid-adulthood and also pave the way for longer-term implementations of the face training programme that will likely elicit greater gains in both adults and children.
ImmuMethy, a database of DNA methylation plasticity at a single cytosine resolution in human blood and immune cells
Authors: Qi Huiying , Song Shibin , Wang Pingzhang 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Differential DNA methylation is a feature of numerous physiological and pathological processes. However, the extent to which single-base cytosine methylation modifies cellular responses to various stimuli has not been well characterized. In this study, we carried out a systematic analysis of methylome data derived from human blood and immune cells and constructed the ImmuMethy database. ImmuMethy allows interrogation of DNA methylation plasticity (MPL) at the single cytosine level. MPL, which refers to the variability of DNA methylation, is quantitatively measured in multiple ways, such as quartiles and standard deviations. ImmuMethy comprises over 36 000 samples from the Human Methylation450 and MethylationEPIC BeadChips platforms and provides multiple applications, such as an overview of methylation status and plasticity, differential methylation analysis, identification of methylation markers and sample stratification. An analysis of all datasets revealed that DNA methylation is generally stable, with minimal changes in beta values. This further supports the characteristics of DNA methylation homeostasis. Based on the beta value distribution, we identified three types of methylation sites: methylation tendency sites, unmethylation tendency sites and dual tendency or nonbiased methylation sites. These sites represent different methylation tendentiousness of DNA methylation across samples. The occurrence of multiple methylation tendencies in a site means split methylation, which generally corresponds to high MPL. Inverted methylation tendencies from methylation tendency sites to unmethylation tendency sites, or vice versa, represent strong differential methylation in response to conditions. All these sites can be identified in ImmuMethy, making it a useful tool for omics-based data-driven knowledge discovery.
Database URL: http://immudb.bjmu.edu.cn/immumethy/
Performance-based risk-sharing arrangements for devices and procedures in cardiac electrophysiology: an innovative perspective
Authors: Boriani Giuseppe , Vitolo Marco , Svennberg Emma , Casado-Arroyo Ruben , Merino Josè L , Leclercq Christophe 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
There is an increasing pressure on demonstrating the value of medical interventions and medical technologies resulting in the proposal of new approaches for implementation in the daily practice of innovative treatments that might carry a substantial cost. While originally mainly adopted by pharmaceutical companies, in recent years medical technology companies have initiated novel value-based arrangements for using medical devices, in the form of ‘outcomes-based contracts’, ‘performance-based contracts’, or ‘risk-sharing agreements’. These are all characterized by linking coverage, reimbursement, or payment for the innovative treatment to the attainment of pre-specified clinical outcomes. Risk-sharing agreements have been promoted also in the field of electrophysiology and offer the possibility to demonstrate the value of specific innovative technologies proposed in this rapidly advancing field, while relieving hospitals from taking on the whole financial risk themselves. Physicians deeply involved in the field of devices and technologies for arrhythmia management and invasive electrophysiology need to be prepared for involvement as stakeholders. This may imply engagement in the evaluation of risk-sharing agreements and specifically, in the process of assessment of technology performances or patient outcomes. Scientific Associations may have an important role in promoting the basis for value-based assessments, in promoting educational initiatives to help assess the determinants of the learning curve for innovative treatments, and in promoting large-scale registries for a precise assessment of patient outcomes and of specific technologies’ performance.
The antioxidant activity, α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity, and chemical composition of Paeonia delavayi petal
Authors: Song Jing , Zhang Huaibi , Wang Zhenxing , Wang Juan 
Published: March 2022

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to evaluate the functional activity and phytochemical composition in the flower petals of Paeonia delavayi (P. delavayi) in different colors.

Materials and Methods
P. delavayi petal extracts were prepared by maceration in methanol, including purple petal extract (PPE), red petal extract (RPE), and yellow petal extract (YPE), and their antioxidant activity and α-glucosidase and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activities were evaluated. To correlate these measured activities to phytochemicals in the petals, an ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS)-based metabolomics method was applied to profile the compositions in the petals of different colors. Finally, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathways database was used to identify the related metabolic pathways that are responsible for the production of these polyphenolic phytochemicals in the petals.

Results
The results showed that PPE had the highest total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and the strongest 2,2ʹ-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical scavenging ability, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition ability in all three samples, while YPE showed the strongest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity and α-glucosidase inhibition ability. A total of 232 metabolites were detected in the metabolomic analysis, 198 of which were flavonoids, chalcones, flavonols, and anthocyanins. Correlation analysis indicated that peonidin-3-O-arabinoside and cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside were the major contributors to the antioxidant activity. Principal component analysis showed a clear separation among these three petals. In addition, a total of 38, 98, and 96 differential metabolites were identified in PPE, RPE, and YPE, respectively. Pathway enrichment revealed 6 KEGG pathways that displayed significant enrichment differences, of which the anthocyanin biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis were the most enriched signaling pathways, revealing a potential reason for the differences in metabolic and functional levels among different colors of P. delavayi petal.

Conclusions
P. delavayi petals in different colors have different metabolite contents and functional activities, of which the anthocyanin, flavone, and flavonol metabolites are critical in its functional activities, suggesting the anthocyanin biosynthesis, flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathways are the key pathways responsible for both petal color and bioactive phytochemicals in P. delavayi flowers.
High-Resolution Estimates of Crossover and Noncrossover Recombination from a Captive Baboon Colony
Authors: Wall Jeffrey D. , Robinson Jacqueline A. , Cox Laura A. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Homologous recombination has been extensively studied in humans and a handful of model organisms. Much less is known about recombination in other species, including nonhuman primates. Here, we present a study of crossovers (COs) and noncrossover (NCO) recombination in olive baboons (Papio anubis) from two pedigrees containing a total of 20 paternal and 17 maternal meioses, and compare these results to linkage disequilibrium (LD) based recombination estimates from 36 unrelated olive baboons. We demonstrate how COs, combined with LD-based recombination estimates, can be used to identify genome assembly errors. We also quantify sex-specific differences in recombination rates, including elevated male CO and reduced female CO rates near telomeres. Finally, we add to the increasing body of evidence suggesting that while most NCO recombination tracts in mammals are short (e.g., &lt;500 bp), there is a non-negligible fraction of longer (e.g., &gt;1 kb) NCO tracts. For NCO tracts shorter than 10 kb, we fit a mixture of two (truncated) geometric distributions model to the NCO tract length distribution and estimate that &gt;99% of all NCO tracts are very short (mean 24 bp), but the remaining tracts can be quite long (mean 4.3 kb). A single geometric distribution model for NCO tract lengths is incompatible with the data, suggesting that LD-based methods for estimating NCO recombination rates that make this assumption may need to be modified.
Blood DNA Methylation Patterns in Older Adults With Evolving Dementia
Authors: Pérez Raúl Fernández , Alba-Linares Juan José , Tejedor Juan Ramón , Fernández Agustín Fernández , Calero Miguel , Román-Domínguez Aurora , Borrás Consuelo , Viña José , Ávila Jesús , Medina Miguel , Fraga Mario Fernández 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Dementia and cognitive disorders are major aging-associated pathologies. The prevalence and severity of these conditions are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Reflecting this, epigenetic alterations have been associated with each of these processes, especially at the level of DNA methylation, and such changes may help explain the observed interindividual variability in the development of the 2 pathologies. However, the importance of epigenetic alterations in explaining their etiology is unclear because little is known about the timing of when they appear. Here, using Illumina MethylationEPIC arrays, we have longitudinally analyzed the peripheral blood methylomes of cognitively healthy older adults (&gt;70 year), some of whom went on to develop dementia while others stayed healthy. We have characterized 34 individuals at the prediagnosis stage and at a 4-year follow-up in the postdiagnosis stage (total n = 68). Our results show multiple DNA methylation alterations linked to dementia status, particularly at the level of differentially methylated regions. These loci are associated with several dementia-related genes, including PON1, AP2A2, MAGI2, POT1, ITGAX, PACSIN1, SLC2A8, and EIF4E. We also provide validation of the previously reported epigenetic alteration of HOXB6 and PM20D1. Importantly, we show that most of these regions are already altered in the prediagnosis stage of individuals who go on to develop dementia. In conclusion, our observations suggest that dementia-associated epigenetic patterns that have specific biological features are already present before diagnosis, and thus may be important in the design of epigenetic biomarkers for disease detection based on peripheral tissues.
Living Arrangements and Dementia Among the Oldest Old: A Comparison of Mexicans and Mexican Americans
Authors: Cantu Phillip A , Kim Jiwon , López-Ortega Mariana , Rote Sunshine , Mejia-Arango Silvia , Angel Jacqueline L 
Published: March 2022

Abstract

Background and Objectives
The growing population of adults surviving past age 85 in the United States and Mexico raises questions about the living arrangements of the oldest old and those living with dementia. This study compares Mexican and Mexican American individuals aged 85 and older to identify associations with cognitive status and living arrangements in Mexico and the United States.

Research Design and Methods
This study includes 419 Mexican Americans in 5 southwestern states (Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly) and 687 Mexicans from a nationally representative sample (Mexican Health and Aging Study). It examines characteristics associated with living alone using logistic regression and describes the living arrangements of older adults with probable dementia in each country.

Results
Older adults with dementia were significantly less likely to live alone than with others in the United States while there were no relationships between dementia and living arrangements in Mexico. However, a substantial proportion of older adults with dementia lived alone in both nations: 22% in the United States and 21% in Mexico. Among Mexican Americans with dementia, those living alone were more likely to be women, childless, reside in assisted living facilities, and less likely to own their homes. Similarly, Mexican individuals with dementia who lived alone were also less likely to be homeowners than those living with others.

Discussion and Implications
Contextual differences in living arrangements and housing between the United States and Mexico pose different challenges for aging populations with a high prevalence of dementia.
Analysis of temporal variations of seismicity through non-extensive statistical physics
Authors: Rotondi R , Bressan G , Varini E 
Published: March 2022

SUMMARYIn recent years, there has been increasing interest in theoretical descriptions of seismicity in terms of statistical physics. Most aspects of these studies are encompassed by the concept of ‘intermittent criticality’, in which a region alternately approaches and retreats from a critical point. In this study, we analyse a descriptor of seismic activity that acts as a measure of the criticality of a system, such that its variations can be associated with changes in the state of the system. As some classical methods of analysis are not suitable for dealing with some of the features of complex systems such as the Earth’s crust, we derive the probability distribution of the magnitude by maximizing a non-extensive generalization of the Boltzmann–Gibbs entropy given by the Tsallis entropy. In particular, the shape parameter q of this distribution, called the entropic index, characterizes the subadditive q &gt; 1 and superadditive q &lt; 1 regimes. Following the Bayesian approach for parameter estimation, we examine the seismic activity that has affected two seismogenic areas in central Italy that were hit recently by destructive earthquakes: L’Aquila in 2009, and Amatrice–Norcia in 2016. To analyse in detail the variations of the q index and the entropy, we estimate these for time windows of a fixed number of events that shift at each new event. Both the q index and the Tsallis entropy show significant and lasting decreases before the first strong earthquake in the sequences, and sudden increases after them. This indicates that these quantities can be considered as indicators of the level of concentration of energy, and hence of the activation state of the systems. More reliable results need to come from further studies of different cases in different seismotectonic settings.
Greenhouse Chrysanthenums, Green Peach Aphid Control
Authors: Appleby James E. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
INDIANA, 1975: Chrysanthenum plants growing in greenhouse benches were in the bud stage with some flower color showing when the tests were conducted. All the stems were heavily infested with all stages of the aphid prior to treatment application. A 3-gallon pressurized hand sprayer was used to apply the treatments as foliar sprays until runoff. Each treatment was applied onto 12 plants of each of 5 cultivars. A stem was considered infested if a live wingless aphid was found on it. The greenhouse temperature was 72°F when nSe treatments were applied on March 14, 1975. Two days after application the number of aphid-infested stems were counted in each treatment.
Juniper, Bagworm Control, Zanesville, Ohio, 1975
Authors: Nielsen D. G. , Balderston C. P. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
A commercial planting of 5'-7' tall junipers with a uniform infestation of middle-instar bagworm larvae was selected for insecticide evaluation. Population density was ca. 1 larva/10 cm of branch tip. Larvae carried bags ca. 1-1.5 cm long at time of application. Treatments were applied to each of 4 single tree replicates July 7, 1975, under sunny skies, 85°F and calm. A Myers hydraulic sprayer operating at 200 psi was used to apply ca. 1 gallon of finished spray/tree (= spraying to runoff). Treatment effectiveness was evaluated July 10, by inspecting ten 20 cm tips/tree.
Goldcourse Turf,

P

.

Japonica

Control, Madison, Connecticut, 1975
Authors: Dunbar Dennis M. 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Insecticides were applied on August 28, 1975, to 100 ft2 plots at Madison Country Club, Madison, Ct. Each treatment was replicated 4 times in a randomized complete block design. The infestation of P. japonica was considered heavy (53.9/ft2). Larvae were in the 2nd and 3rd stages. Granular formulations were mixed with sifted sand to increase bulk and applied with a push-type fertilizer spreader. Liquid and wettable powder formulations were mixed in water and applied in 1 gal total volume/plot (= 10 gal/1000 ft2). All plots received fairway irrigation for 5 minutes before treatment and 30 minutes after treatment. Soil type was Hinckley gravelly sandy loam with 3% organic matter. Treatments were evaluated 32 days after treatment on September 29, 1975. Data are based on six 0.23 ft2 diggings/plot. Total rainfall between treatment and evaluation was 7.95 inches.