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Forum Health Econ Policy 2020 Nov 25;23(2):1-23. Epub 2020 Nov 25.

AbbVie, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, 1 North Waukegan Rd, D-GMH1, AP31-1E, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.

Objectives: Quantify the value of functional status (FS) improvements consistent in magnitude with improvements due to levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) treatment, among the advanced Parkinson's disease (APD) population.

Methods: The Health Economic Medical Innovation Simulation (THEMIS), a microsimulation that estimates future health conditions and medical spending, was used to quantify the health and cost burden of disability among the APD population, and the value of quality-adjusted life-years gained from FS improvement due to LCIG treatment compared to standard of care (SoC). A US-representative Parkinson's disease (PD)-comparable cohort was constructed in THEMIS based on observed PD patient characteristics in a nationally representative dataset. Read More

Biol Chem 2021 May 13. Epub 2021 May 13.

Institute of Preventive Genomic Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi'an710069, China.

The molecular pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been widely investigated in recent years. Accumulating evidence has indicated that microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation participates in the processes of driving CRC initiation and progression. Aberrant expression of miR-1301 has been found in various tumor types. Read More

Physiol Meas 2021 May 13. Epub 2021 May 13.

Northeastern University College of Information Science and Engineering, Shenyang, 110819, CHINA.

Objective: Electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most common means to diagnose arrhythmia according to different waveforms clinically. Although there are advanced classification methods such as deep learning, the single view feature cannot meet the demand of classification accuracy for new individuals. To this end, a classification model based on multiview fusion was proposed. Read More

J Phys Condens Matter 2021 May 13. Epub 2021 May 13.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University College of Engineering, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Seoul, 08826, Korea (the Republic of).

The linewidth broadening caused by various physicochemical effects does limit the well-known advantage of ultrahigh color purity of metal halide perovskites (MHPs) for use in next-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We have theoretically examined the quantum- and dielectric-confinement effects of a quantum dot (QD) on the degree of photoluminescence (PL) linewidth broadening (〖∆λ〗_QC). It is predicted that Δλ_QC is mainly contributed by the two competing effects: (i) the linewidth broadening due to the repulsive kinetic energy of confined excitons (∆λ_QC^((KE) )) and (ii) the overall linewidth narrowing caused by the attractive Coulomb interaction (∆λ_QC^((Coul) )). Read More

JMIR Med Inform 2021 May 12. Epub 2021 May 12.

Ubicomp Lab, Department of Computer Science, Marquette University, 1422 W Kilbourn Ave102, Milwaukee, US.

Background: Care for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be challenging for families and medical care systems. This is especially true in Low-and-Middle-Income-countries (LMIC) like Bangladesh. To improve family-practitioner communication and developmental monitoring of children with ASD, [spell out] (mCARE) was developed. Read More

Phys Med 2021 May 10;85:87-97. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Neuroimaging and Analysis, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Research Center for Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Purpose: Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) can be a factor to identify brain tissue's disability in epileptic patients. This study aimed to assess the OEF's level measurement in refractory epileptic patients (REPs) using a quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) method and to determine whether the OEF parameters change.

Methods: QSM-OEF maps of 26 REPs and 16 healthy subjects were acquired using 3T MRI with a 64-channel coil. Read More

Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2021 Apr 20;205:106636. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4.

Background: One in three patients with epilepsy are medication-refractory and may benefit from investigations and operative treatment at a comprehensive epilepsy center. However, while these centers have capabilities for advanced seizure monitoring and surgical intervention, they are not required to have a functional neurosurgeon who is primarily focused in epilepsy surgery. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the impact of having a sub-specialized, epilepsy-focused functional neurosurgeon on patient outcomes. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2021 May 5;417:126029. Epub 2021 May 5.

School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China.

Peroxydisulfate (PDS) is a promising oxidant for sulfate radical based advanced oxidation processes (SAOPs), however its efficient activation is still a challenge. In this study, biochar-supported nano-zerovalent iron (nZVI) and copper oxide (CuO) nanocomposite (nZVI/CuO@BC), derived from low-cost wastes including scrap iron filings, copper leaching solution and corn stalks, was successfully fabricated for PDS activation to enhance tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) degradation in alkaline environment. Under the conditions of 100 mg/L nZVI/CuO@BC, 0. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2021 May 5;417:125985. Epub 2021 May 5.

State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, PR China. Electronic address:

Elucidating the enantiomeric chemistry and enantioselective fate of the novel chiral triazole fungicide mefentrifluconazole is of vital importance for agroecosystem safety and human health. The absolute configuration of mefentrifluconazole was identified firstly as S-(+)-mefentrifluconazole and R-(-)-mefentrifluconazole on a cellulose tris(3-chloro-4-methylphenylcarbamate) chiral phase. A baseline resolution (Rs, 2. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Apr 27;286:117238. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.

Ingestion of food or cereal products contaminated by deoxynivalenol (DON) and related derivatives poses a threat to the health of humans and animals. However, the toxicity and underlying mechanisms of 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-Ac-DON), an acetylated form of deoxynivalenol, have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we showed that 3-Ac-DON caused significant oxidative damage, as shown by elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum, increased lipid peroxidation products, such as hydrogen peroxide (HO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Read More

Comput Biol Med 2021 May 6;134:104428. Epub 2021 May 6.

Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore; Department of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan; International Research Organization for Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan.

Emotion is interpreted as a psycho-physiological process, and it is associated with personality, behavior, motivation, and character of a person. The objective of affective computing is to recognize different types of emotions for human-computer interaction (HCI) applications. The spatiotemporal brain electrical activity is measured using multi-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Read More

J Surg Res 2021 May 10;266:44-53. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN.

Background: Preoperative optimization is increasingly emphasized for high-risk surgical patients. One critical component of this includes preoperative advanced care planning to promote goal-concordant care. We aimed to define a subset of patients that might benefit from preoperative palliative care consult for advanced care planning. Read More

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 2021 Apr 18;262:13-20. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Gynecologic Cancer Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of adding bevacizumab to dose-dense adjuvant chemotherapy with bevacizumab maintenance after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and interval debulking surgery (IDS) for stage III/IV ovarian, tubal, and primary peritoneal cancer.

Study Design: This phase II clinical trial using Simon's minimax two-stage design was conducted. At the first stage, 13 subjects were enrolled, and the trial would proceed to second stage if ≤3 subjects discontinued treatment for study-defined significant adverse events (AEs). Read More

ESMO Open 2021 May 10;6(3):100149. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynaecological malignancies and tends to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. Similar to many malignancies, surgery plays a critical role in many aspects of ovarian cancer management. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) involves the induction of hyperthermia and delivery of intraperitoneal chemotherapy directly into the peritoneal cavity. Read More

ESMO Open 2021 May 10;6(3):100118. Epub 2021 May 10.

Hematology and Oncology, Englander Institute for Precision Medicine Weill Cornell Medicine, New York-Presbyterian, New York, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Reliable and affordable prognostic and predictive biomarkers for urothelial carcinoma treated with immunotherapy may allow patients' outcome stratification and drive therapeutic options. The SAUL trial investigated the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab in a real-world setting on 1004 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who progressed to one to three prior systemic therapies.

Patients And Methods: Using the SAUL Italian cohort of 267 patients, we investigated the prognostic role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and the best performing one of these in combination with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) with or without lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Read More

ESMO Open 2021 May 10;6(3):100152. Epub 2021 May 10.

Englander Institute for Precision Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, Meyer Cancer Center, New York, USA.

Background: The impact of pretreatment factors on immune checkpoint inhibition in platinum-refractory advanced urothelial cancer (aUC) deserves further evaluation. The aim was to study the association of Bellmunt risk factors, time from last chemotherapy (TFLC), previous therapy and PD-L1 expression with atezolizumab efficacy in platinum-refractory aUC.

Patients And Methods: This was a post-hoc analysis of patients who had received prior cisplatin or carboplatin in the prospective, single-arm, phase IIIb SAUL study (NCT02928406). Read More

ESMO Open 2021 May 10;6(3):100147. Epub 2021 May 10.

Oncological Palliative Medicine, Clinic Oncology/Hematology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Background: Integration of specialist palliative care (PC) into standard oncology care is recommended. This study investigated how integration at the Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen (KSSG) was manifested 10 years after initial accreditation as a European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Designated Center (ESMO-DC) of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care. Read More

Clin Imaging 2021 Apr 29;77:194-201. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Experimental Imaging Center, Radiology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy; School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.

Background: The aim of this study was to quantify COVID-19 pneumonia features using CT performed at time of admission to emergency department in order to predict patients' hypoxia during the hospitalization and outcome.

Methods: Consecutive chest CT performed in the emergency department between March 1st and April 7th 2020 for COVID-19 pneumonia were analyzed. The three features of pneumonia (GGO, semi-consolidation and consolidation) and the percentage of well-aerated lung were quantified using a HU threshold based software. Read More

Food Chem 2021 Apr 20;358:129877. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Vegetable Crops, Agricultural Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus. Electronic address:

Rising temperature and solar radiation drive the mobilization and depletion of crown-deposited metabolites harnessed for asparagus spear regeneration during the spring harvest season. We presently examined how successive same-season harvests impact the sensory, nutritive and bioactive composition of select green asparagus genotypes. Soluble carbohydrates were analyzed by HPLC-RI, organic acids and polyphenols by HPLC-DAD and metals by ion chromatography. Read More

Biomaterials 2021 May 4;274:120843. Epub 2021 May 4.

ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science & Technology, and Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia; Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia. Electronic address:

Water-soluble poly(cyclic imino ether)s (PCIEs) have emerged as promising biocompatible polymers for nanomedicine applications in recent years. Despite their generally accepted stealth properties, there has been no comprehensive evaluation of their interactions with primary immune cells in human blood. Here we present a library of core cross-linked micelles (CCMs) containing various PCIE shells. Read More

Int J Paleopathol 2021 May 10;33:209-219. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Anthropology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.

Objective: The current study evaluates the feasibility of using clinical cranial computed tomography (CT) scans for assessing the presence and morphology of porous cranial lesions (cribra orbitalia, porotic hyperostosis).

Methods: Observers (n = 4) conducted three independent evaluations of porous cranial lesions based on photographs, 2-D CT, and 3-D CT scans of archaeological crania. Evaluations of the crania from each viewing scenario were compared to findings from direct macroscopic observation. Read More

Neurobiol Aging 2021 Apr 20;104:92-101. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.

Enriching early life experiences (e.g., sport, art, music, volunteering, language learning) during a critical period of brain development may promote structural and functional brain changes that are still present decades later (>60 years). Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021 May 10;204:111822. Epub 2021 May 10.

National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China. Electronic address:

Biomineralization approaches have been increasingly adopted to synthesizing advanced materials with superior properties. Nevertheless, the potential influence of inorganic trace elements on the mineralization process of collagen has been rarely reported, despite of the significant progress achieved on exploiting the critical roles of organic polymers in regulating the collagen mineralization. To this aim, the potential roles of Si, Zn and Sr in regulating the mineralization of gelatin-hydroxyapatite (HA) composite fibers have been examined in this study. Read More

Eur J Oncol Nurs 2021 Apr 18;52:101961. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Via Antonio Pastore, 1, 16132, Genoa, Italy. Electronic address:

Purpose: Unmet needs for advanced-disease cancer patients are fatigue, pain, and emotional support. Little information is available about the feasibility of interventions focused on patient-reported outcome measurement developed according to the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework in advanced-disease cancer patients. We aimed to pilot a nurse-led complex intervention focused on QoL assessment in advanced-disease cancer patients. Read More

Water Res 2021 Apr 26;199:117184. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address:

Methane bioconversion to value-added liquid chemicals has been proposed as a promising solution to augment the petroleum-dominated chemical market. Recent investigations have reported that various electron acceptors (e.g. Read More

Water Res 2021 Apr 22;199:117166. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA). Carrer Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona, Spain; University of Girona. Plaça de Sant Domènec 3, 17004 Girona, Spain. Electronic address:

Impacts from urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to receiving riverine surface water bodies (SWBs) depend on the load of contaminants discharged, as well as on their dilution capacity. Yet, climate change impacts on such dilution capacity and ultimately on the SWBs ecological status remain unclear. Here, we assess SWBs dilution capacity across the European continent to identify most vulnerable areas using information from centralized European databases. Read More

J Trace Elem Med Biol 2021 May 7;67:126774. Epub 2021 May 7.

Genetics and Bioengineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Yeditepe University, Ataşehir, Istanbul, 34755, Turkey; Oregon Health and Science University, The Knight Cancer Research Institute, Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research (CEDAR) Center, Portland, OR, 97239, USA; Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Tuzla, Istanbul, 34956, Turkey. Electronic address:

Background: Wound healing is an essential physiological process involving many cell types and their products acting in a marvellous harmony to repair damaged tissues. During the healing process, cellular proliferation and extracellular matrix remodelling stages could be interrupted by undesired factors including microorganisms and altered metabolic activities. In such a case, the process requires some external stimulants to accelerate or remediate the healing stages. Read More

J Pain Symptom Manage 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Hematology and Oncology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.

Context: The opioid epidemic spurred guidelines intended to reduce inappropriate prescribing. Although acute cancer-related pain was excluded from these recommendations, studies demonstrate reduced opioid prescribing for patients hospitalized with advanced cancer.

Objectives: We performed a matched case-control analysis to determine how a history of opioid use disorder (OUD) affects inpatient management of cancer pain. Read More

Am J Kidney Dis 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan.

Biochimie 2021 May 10. Epub 2021 May 10.

Drug Discovery and Design Center, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, PR China; Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, And School of Life Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 200031, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China. Electronic address:

The recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has had a profound effect on the world. Similar to that in SARS-CoV, the entry receptor of SARS-CoV-2 is ACE2. The binding of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to ACE2 is the critical to the virus infection. Read More