Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Semin Thromb Hemost 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Institute of Cardiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland.

Fibrinolysis is of paramount importance in maintaining or regaining the patency of veins and pulmonary arteries obstructed by thrombi. Growing experimental and clinical evidence indicates that impaired fibrinolysis mediated by multiple complex mechanisms is involved in venous thromboembolism (VTE). Global plasma fibrin clot lysis markers, especially clot lysis time, have been reported to predict recurrent deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Read More

Am J Perinatol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

As intrapartum fevers are not always infectious in origin, determining whether antibiotics are indicated is challenging. We previously sought to create a point-of-care calculator using clinical data available at the time of an intrapartum fever to identify the subset of women who require antibiotic treatment to avoid maternal and neonatal morbidity. Despite the use of a comprehensive dataset from our institutions, we were unable to propose a valid and highly predictive model. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2021 Apr 17;425:117447. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Neurology Research Group, UCT Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address:

Data regarding the risk of tuberculosis (TB) in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy is limited, and the benefit of TB preventative therapy in these patients is uncertain. We audited observational data collected at an MG clinic in South Africa over a ~ 10-year period, of cases who received immunosuppressive therapy. The total time that the cohort was at risk (patient-years) was used as the denominator to calculate TB incidence after immunosuppressive therapy initiation. Read More

Phys Med 2021 Apr 17;84:80-84. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT, UK.

Artifacts arising when differential phase images are integrated is a common problem to several X-ray phase-based experimental techniques. The combination of noise and insufficient sampling of the high-frequency differential phase signal leads to the formation of streak artifacts in the projections, translating into poor image quality in the tomography slices. In this work, we apply a non-iterative integration algorithm proven to reduce streak artifacts in planar (2D) images to a differential phase tomography scan. Read More

J Environ Manage 2021 Apr 17;290:112367. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Research Institute for the Development of Shanghai, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, 200433, China. Electronic address:

Air pollution currently poses a serious threat to human health and sustainable development in China. In an attempt to reduce nitrogen oxides (NO) emissions which are the major anthropogenic contributors to air pollution, China initiated an electricity price subsidy (EPS) policy in November 2011 for incentivizing coal-fired power plants to install denitrification units. However, the effectiveness of the policy in the reduction of NO emissions and its sustainability are yet to be investigated. Read More

Forensic Sci Int Genet 2021 Apr 6;53:102516. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address:

Forensic DNA typing typically relies on the length-based (LB) separation of PCR products containing short tandem repeat loci (STRs). Massively parallel sequencing (MPS) elucidates an additional level of STR motif and flanking region variation. Also, MPS enables simultaneous analysis of different marker-types - autosomal STRs, SNPs for lineage and identification purposes, reducing both the amount of sample used and the turn-around-time of analysis. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021 Apr 17;557:213-220. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, 315100, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.

In this study, we evaluated the anti-tumor effects of dioscin, a steroidal saponin, on melanoma cells. Dioscin significantly inhibited cell viability and induced cell death of melanoma cells in a time- and dose- dependent manner. Furthermore, dioscin increased the concentration of intracellular ferrous irons, MDA and ROS. Read More

Addict Behav 2021 Mar 8;119:106897. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Denmark.

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of parental substance use disorder (PSUD) in the general population based on young adults' reports adjusted for non-participation using register-based indicators of PSUD.

Design: A national sample survey study combined with a retrospective register-based study. Setting Denmark. Read More

Cancer Treat Rev 2021 Apr 9;97:102205. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Division of New Drugs and Early Drug Development, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; Departement of Hematology and Oncology (DIPO), University of Milan, Milan, Italy. Electronic address:

The role of adjuvant chemotherapy (aCT) for patients with localized lobular breast cancer (ILC) is still controversial. It is unclear what is the magnitude of benefit of the CT in this setting. In this systematic review of the literature and metanalysis, we aimed to estimate the benefit of aCT in addition to the standard treatments in the early ILC setting. Read More

J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2021 Apr 17;30(7):105791. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Neurology, Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, Chikami 5-3-1, Minami-ku, Kumamoto, Japan. Electronic address:

Objectives: The Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (ASPECTS) is a promising tool for the evaluation of stroke expansion to determine suitability for reperfusion therapy. The aim of this study was to validate deep learning-based ASPECTS calculation software that utilizes a three-dimensional fully convolutional network-based brain hemisphere comparison algorithm (3D-BHCA).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively collected head non-contrast computed tomography (CT) data from 71 patients with acute ischemic stroke and 80 non-stroke patients. Read More

Transl Oncol 2021 Apr 17;14(7):101094. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430000, China. Electronic address:

Background: Many studies have demonstrated that autophagy plays a significant role in regulating tumor growth and progression. However, the effect of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) on the prognosis have rarely been analyzed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: We obtained differentially expressed ARGs from HNSCC mRNA data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Read More

Clin Microbiol Infect 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Renal Research Institute, New York, NY, USA; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address:

Background: Pool testing strategies combine samples from multiple people and test them as a group. A pool testing approach may shorten the screening time and increase the test rate during times of limited test availability and inadequate reporting speed. Pool testing has been effectively used for a wide variety of infectious disease screening settings. Read More

Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia. Electronic address:

Objective: To evaluate if returning to pivoting sport following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is associated with longitudinal structural and symptomatic osteoarthritis outcomes.

Design: Eighty-one adults aged 18-50 years were followed prospectively 1- to 5-years post-ACLR. Return to pivoting sport was assessed at 1-, 3- and 5-years. Read More

World Neurosurg 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Interventional Neuroradiology, CHU Lille, Lille, France. Electronic address:

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) using the EmboTrap® Revascularization Device (EmboTrap) in patients with ischemic stroke treated >6-24 hours after stroke onset.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from a prospective registry of consecutive stroke patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion (LVO) treated by stent-retriever thrombectomy with EmboTrap II in a single stroke center in France from 2016 to 2017. Patients were divided into late treatment window (>6-24 hours after stroke onset) or early treatment window (≤6 hours) groups. Read More

World Neurosurg 2021 Apr 17. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Center for Spine Health, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland OH, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland OH, USA.

Introduction: The goal of this study was to identify predictors of prolonged operative time (OT) in patients receiving P/TLIF and examine the relationship between prolonged OT and perioperative outcomes in this population.

Methods: The ACS-NSQIP database was queried for patients undergoing single-level P/TLIF (CPT code) between 2012 and 2018. Multivariable linear regression models were constructed to identify factors independently associated with changes in OT and examine the relationship between prolonged OT and perioperative outcomes (Overall complications, surgical complications, medical complications, 30-day readmission, 30-day reoperation, length of stay [LOS]). Read More

Virus Res 2021 Apr 17:198408. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Virology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Human rhinovirus (HRV) is one of the most common viruses, causing mild to severe respiratory tract infections in children and adults. Moreover, it can lead to patients' hospitalization. Nowadays, evaluation of gene expression alterations in host cells due to viral respiratory infections considered essential to understand the viral effects on cells. Read More

Neuroimage 2021 Apr 17:118076. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Background: The hippocampus plays a central role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) pathogenesis, and the majority of neuroimaging research on PTSD has studied the hippocampus in its entirety. Although extensive literature demonstrates changes in hippocampal volume are associated with PTSD, fewer studies have probed the relationship between symptoms and the hippocampus' functionally and structurally distinct subfields. We utilized data from a longitudinal study examining post-trauma outcomes to determine whether hippocampal subfield volumes change post-trauma and whether specific subfields are significantly associated with, or prospectively related to, PTSD symptom severity. Read More

Prev Med 2021 Apr 17:106564. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Agent-Based Modelling Laboratory, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. Electronic address:

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused severe outbreaks in Canadian long-term care facilities (LTCFs). In Canada, over 80% of COVID-19 deaths during the first pandemic wave occurred in LTCFs. We sought to evaluate the effect of mitigation measures in LTCFs including frequent testing of staff, and vaccination of staff and residents. Read More

J Immunol Methods 2021 Apr 17:113057. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Pain Research Group, Pain Center, Odense University Hospital, Heden 9, Odense DK-5000, Denmark; Department of Clinical Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Winsløwparken 19, Odense DK-5000, Denmark.

Cytokine networks in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are important to our understanding of several neuroinflammatory diseases. Knowledge about optimal handling of samples is limited but important to minimize bias and reduce costs in CSF biomarker studies. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of storage temperature and time delay from CSF sample collection until freezing on the concentration of 11 different cytokines thought to be associated with chronic pain. Read More

Arch Biochem Biophys 2021 Apr 17:108885. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Biotechnology, Daegu University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38453, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

Induction of white fat browning (beiging) and activation of brown fat has been considered a promising strategy to treat obesity and associated metabolic complications. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating brown and beige fat-mediated thermogenesis remains unclear. Our study aimed to identify genes with a hitherto unknown mechanism in the metabolic functions of adipocytes and identified family with sequence similarity 107, member A (FAM107A) as a factor that interferes with fat browning in white adipocytes. Read More

Curr Biol 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK; MARUM, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Electronic address:

Analysis of ancient environmental DNA (eDNA) has revolutionized our ability to describe biological communities in space and time, by allowing for parallel sequencing of DNA from all trophic levels. However, because environmental samples contain sparse and fragmented data from multiple individuals, and often contain closely related species, the field of ancient eDNA has so far been limited to organellar genomes in its contribution to population and phylogenetic studies. This is in contrast to data from fossils where full-genome studies are routine, despite these being rare and their destruction for sequencing undesirable. Read More

Ann Clin Psychiatry 2021 May;33(2):93-100

Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Anesthesia, Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.

Background: We aimed to confirm the association between slow brain wave activity typically described as "diffuse slowing" on standard electroencephalogram (EEG) and patient outcomes, including mortality.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted with patient chart data from March 2015 to March 2017 at a tertiary care academic hospital in the midwestern United States. In total, 1,069 participants age ≥55 years on an inpatient floor or ICU received a standard 24-hour EEG. Read More

J R Soc Interface 2021 Apr 21;18(177):20200947. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.

Viral tests including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are recommended to diagnose COVID-19 infection during the acute phase of infection. A test should have high sensitivity; however, the sensitivity of the PCR test is highly influenced by viral load, which changes over time. Because it is difficult to collect data before the onset of symptoms, the current literature on the sensitivity of the PCR test before symptom onset is limited. Read More

J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Objectives: Paradoxical sleep deprivation has been associated with impaired salivary secretion in rats. However, the mechanism that underlies this is not known. Therefore, this study assessed salivary and serum oxidative stress levels following paradoxical sleep deprivation in rats. Read More

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.

Objective: It remains debated whether patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) are at greater risk of mortality. We aimed to determine the magnitude of all-cause mortality risk in patients with pSS compared with the general population through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: We searched Pubmed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for studies published from inception to October 2020. Read More

J Athl Train 2021 Apr;56(4):408-417

University of Delaware, Newark.

Context: Approximately 72% of patients with an ankle sprain report residual symptoms 6 to 18 months later. Although 44% of patients return to activity in less than 24 hours after experiencing a sprain, residual symptoms should be evaluated in the long term to determine if deficits exist. These residual symptoms may be due to the quality of ligament tissue and motion after injury. Read More

Am J Epidemiol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Monitoring survival in cancer is a common concern for patients, physicians, and public health researchers. The traditional cohort approach for monitoring cancer prognosis has a timeliness problem. In this paper, we propose a survivorship-period-cohort (SPC) model for examining the effects of survivorship, period, and year-of-diagnosis cohort on cancer prognosis and to predict future trends in cancer survival. Read More

Am J Epidemiol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado, United States.

Hypothesis generation is a critical, but challenging, step in a foodborne outbreak investigation. The pathogens that contaminate food have many diverse reservoirs, resulting in seemingly limitless potential vehicles. Identifying a vehicle is particularly challenging for clusters detected through national pathogen-specific surveillance, as cases can be geographically dispersed and lack an obvious epidemiological link. Read More

Rheumatology (Oxford) 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, McGill University and Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Research Institute-McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Objectives: To understand the perspectives of patients and rheumatologists for tapering DMARDs in RA.

Methods: Using semi-structured interview guides, we conducted individual interviews and focus groups with RA patients and rheumatologists, which were audiotaped and transcribed. We conducted a pragmatic thematic analysis to identify major themes, comparing and contrasting different views on DMARD tapering between patients and rheumatologists. Read More

J Food Prot 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Michigan State University 524 S. Shaw Ln UNITED STATES East Lansing 48824 1-517-432-7703.

Recent revisions to USDA FSIS compliance and safe harbor guidelines for ready-to-eat meat and poultry products addressed process humidity requirements. Given the lack of prior data for impingement-cooked products, this project aimed to evaluate the impact of process humidity on Salmonella lethality at the product core and surface, and compliance of the results with USDA FSIS lethality performance standards. Whole muscle beef strips, ground beef patties, whole muscle chicken breast fillets, and breaded ground chicken patties were inoculated with an 8-serovar cocktail of Salmonella. Read More