bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
POD‐DOSI: A dedicated dosimetry system for GammaPod commissioning and quality assurance
Authors: Parsons David , Zhang You , Gu Xuejun , Lu Weiguo
Published: May 2020

Purpose

GammaPod, a stereotactic partial breast irradiator allowing highly conformal radiation dose delivery, has its unique mechanical design and treatment planning system (TPS). However, the uniqueness of the system poses challenges regarding initial GammaPod system commissioning and routine quality assurance (QA). In this study, we report POD‐DOSI, a dedicated dosimetry system for accurate and efficient commissioning and QA of GammaPod.

Materials and methods

The POD‐DOSI system consists of two subsystems, POD‐Scanner and POD‐Calculator. The POD‐Scanner is an automatic ion‐chamber positioning system driven by two translational stepper motors for anterior–posterior, longitudinal, and lateral beam scanning. The stepper motors are controlled by a microcomputer through an in‐house‐developed graphical user interface, which can be remotely accessed by a laptop via wireless connection. The POD‐Calculator is a commissioned GPU‐based Monte Carlo dose calculation engine, which calculates dose by transporting particles from phase space constructed for GammaPod. In our institution, the POD‐DOSI system was used for GammaPod TPS commissioning and dose verification. The POD‐Calculator was further developed as a secondary dose calculation tool performing patient‐specific plan QA before each treatment.

Results

The POD‐DOSI system has been fully evaluated and tested, both mechanically and dosimetrically, and applied successfully to drive the commissioning of our GammaPod system. The POD‐Scanner achieved 0.1 mm accuracy in ion‐chamber positioning tests. The POD‐Calculator generated dose profiles matched well with water phantom measurements and TPS calculations to <0.5 mm accuracy. For end‐to‐end test on 56 different treatment plans, in‐water point dose measurements by POD‐Scanner were within ±2.20% of the doses calculated by POD‐Calculator (range: −2.01% to 2.20%, mean: 0.04%, std_dev: 1.10%). Correspondingly, when switching the calculation medium from water to breast tissue, the point doses calculated by the POD‐Calculator were within ±1.60% of the point doses calculated by the GammaPOD TPS (range: −1.59% to 1.51%, mean: −0.02%, std_dev: 0.73%). The average three‐dimensional gamma passing rate between the GammaPod TPS doses and the POD‐Calculator doses was 97.10% under the 2%/1 mm gamma criteria. The POD‐DOSI system substantially shortened the GammaPod dosimetry commissioning time from weeks to days.

Conclusion

The developed POD‐DOSI system resolves the challenges and streamlines the process of GammaPod commissioning and QA. It improves the efficiency and accuracy for both GammaPod commissioning and routine patient‐specific QA.
Motor unit number index in children with later‐onset spinal muscular atrophy
Authors: Verma Sumit , Forte Jasmine , Ritchey Mary , Shah Durga
Published: May 2020

Background

Motor unit number index (MUNIX) is a validated electrophysiological biomarker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. MUNIX studies in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) are limited.

Methods

Later‐onset SMA children (n = 13; three SMN2 copy number) were evaluated for Hammersmith Motor Function Scale Expanded (HMFSE) and MUNIX of right abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles. Age‐matched healthy controls (n = 8) were enrolled to obtain normative APB and ADM MUNIX values.

Results

Mean APB and ADM MUNIX values in SMA subjects were significantly reduced (P < .001) compared with controls. HMFSE scores strongly correlated with ADM MUNIX (r 0.63).

Conclusions

APB and ADM muscle MUNIX studies are feasible in SMA type 2 children. ADM MUNIX correlated with disease severity on motor function testing. MUNIX studies in later‐onset SMA could be a potential biomarker of motor neuron loss.
Numerical solutions of the equal width equation by trigonometric cubic B‐spline collocation method based on Rubin–Graves type linearization
Authors: Yağmurlu Nuri Murat , Karakaş Ali Sercan
Published: May 2020

In this article, the equal width (EW) equation is going to be solved numerically. In order to show the accuracy of the presented method, six test problems namely single solitary wave, interaction of two solitary waves, interaction of three solitary waves, Maxwellian initial condition, undular bore, and soliton collision are going to be solved. For the first test problem, since it has exact solution, the error norms L2 and L∞ are going to be calculated and compared with some of the earlier studies existing in the literature. Moreover, the three invariants I1, I2, and I3 of the given problems during the simulations are calculated and tabulated. Besides those comparisons, the relative changes of the invariants are given. Finally, a comparison of those error norms and invariants has clearly shown that the present approach obtained compatible and better results than most of the earlier works by using the same parameters.
Molecular modeling approach for designing of amino‐derived anti‐Alzheimer agents: A computational study
Authors: Raza Muhammad Asam , Fatima Kiran
Published: May 2020

Theoretical chemistry involves number of steps for drug designing, which are cost and time effective. In order to remove these barriers in drug designing, computational studies are helpful. Computer‐assisted molecular modeling is valuable in drug designing. Nowadays, molecular docking is routinely used for prediction of protein−ligand interactions and to help in selecting potent molecules as a part of virtual screening of large databases. In this piece of work, we have proposed eight amino‐based estearses (AChE and BChE) inhibitors (dithiocarbamates). The hypothetical structures were optimized via density functional theory (DFT) studies using B3LYP basis set and calculated their different physical properties, which stated that these compounds may be prepared in the wet lab. The energy gap between HOMO and LUMO was ranged from 0.1517 to 0.1789. The proposed molecules were also docked with MOE, and it was depicted from docking results that they are moderate inhibitors against targeted enzymes. ADMET studies were also done for these compounds in order to check their pharmacological parameters. All these results suggested that dithiocarbamates may be good inhibitors in future.
Antibacterial coatings on vegetable ivory obtained by cold plasma jet activation of silicone and copaiba oils
Authors: Ferreira da Silva Yuri , Queiroz Vanessa de M. , Kling Isabelle C. S. , Archanjo Braulio S. , Oliveira Renata N. , Simao Renata A.
Published: May 2020

Vegetable ivory obtained from the endosperm of jarina seeds (Phytelephas macrocarpa), native to the Amazon region, has been regarded as a sustainable alternative to elephant ivory; however, it is vulnerable to biodegradation due to its mannan polysaccharide composition. In this study, vegetable ivory was coated by atmospheric air plasma jet activation of silicone and copaiba oils. Stable, smooth, and crosslinked micrometric coatings were formed after 80 s of plasma activation. Water contact angle results show that hydrophobicity was enhanced without detrimental effects on the surface reflectance. The best antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was obtained for a 1:1 mixture of both oils due to the synergetic action of silicone hydrophobicity and copaiba bioactivity.
Common mechanism of thermostability in small α‐ and β‐proteins studied by molecular dynamics
Authors: Jana Kalyanashis , Mehra Rukmankesh , Dehury Budheswar , Blundell Tom L. , Kepp Kasper P.
Published: May 2020

Protein thermostability is important to evolution, diseases, and industrial applications. Proteins use diverse molecular strategies to achieve stability at high temperature, yet reducing the entropy of unfolding seems required. We investigated five small α‐proteins and five β‐proteins with known, distinct structures and thermostability (Tm) using multi‐seed molecular dynamics simulations at 300, 350, and 400 K. The proteins displayed diverse changes in hydrogen bonding, solvent exposure, and secondary structure with no simple relationship to Tm. Our dynamics were in good agreement with experimental B‐factors at 300 K and insensitive to force‐field choice. Despite the very distinct structures, the native‐state (300 + 350 K) free‐energy landscapes (FELs) were significantly broader for the two most thermostable proteins and smallest for the three least stable proteins in both the α‐ and β‐group and with both force fields studied independently (tailed t‐test, 95% confidence level). Our results suggest that entropic ensembles stabilize proteins at high temperature due to reduced entropy of unfolding, viz., ΔG = ΔH − TΔS. Supporting this mechanism, the most thermostable proteins were also the least kinetically stable, consistent with broader FELs, typified by villin headpiece and confirmed by specific comparison to a mesophilic ortholog of Thermus thermophilus apo‐pyrophosphate phosphohydrolase. We propose that molecular strategies of protein thermostabilization, although diverse, tend to converge toward highest possible entropy in the native state consistent with the functional requirements. We speculate that this tendency may explain why many proteins are not optimally structured and why molten‐globule states resemble native proteins so much.
Effect of the measurement errors on two one‐sided Shewhart control charts for monitoring the ratio of two normal variables
Authors: Du Nguyen Huu , Phuc Tran Kim
Published: May 2020

Monitoring the ratio between two random normal variables plays an important role in many industrial manufacturing processes. In this paper, we suggest designing two one‐sided Shewhart control charts monitoring this ratio. The numerical results show that the one‐sided charts have more advantages compared with the two‐sided Shewhart chart proposed previously in the literature. Moreover, we investigate the effect of measurement error on the performance of these control charts where the measurement error is supposed to follow a linear covariate error model. The change of model parameters from an in‐control condition to an out‐of‐control is presented without using a strict assumption about the independence of the shift size from measurement errors. A valuable finding from this study is that taking multiple measurements per item is not an effective way to reduce the negative effect of measurement error on the Shewhart charts' performance.
Adaptive P‐type iterative learning radial basis function control for robot manipulators with unknown varying disturbances and unknown input dead zone
Authors: Bensidhoum Tarek , Bouakrif Farah
Published: May 2020

This article proposes an adaptive iterative learning radial basis function (RBF) scheme to solve the trajectory‐tracking problem for perturbed robot manipulators with unknown iteration varying disturbances and unknown dead‐zone input. It is well known that the presence of the dead zone in actuators and mechatronics devices gives rise to extra difficulty due to the presence of singularity in the input channels. Hence, it is interesting to take this problem into account when synthesizing a controller. This synthesis is made here. In addition, the control design is very simple in the sense that we use, only, the proportional gain. Therefore, the considerable amount noise caused by the sensors for velocity measurements of robot manipulators is avoided. Another advantage of this work is that the unknown disturbances are assumed to be time varying and also varying from iteration to iteration. Thus, the RBF neural network is used to approximate these unknown nonlinear functions. Using the Lyapunov theory, the analysis of the stability of the closed‐loop system is guaranteed when the iteration number tends to infinity. Finally, simulation results on the PUMA 560 arm are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. In order to evaluate the performance of our controller, a comparison of our results with other method is also given.
A tractable method to account for high‐dimensional nonignorable missing data in intensive longitudinal data
Authors: Yuan Chengbo , Hedeker Donald , Mermelstein Robin , Xie Hui
Published: May 2020

Despite the need for sensitivity analysis to nonignorable missingness in intensive longitudinal data (ILD), such analysis is greatly hindered by novel ILD features, such as large data volume and complex nonmonotonic missing‐data patterns. Likelihood of alternative models permitting nonignorable missingness often involves very high‐dimensional integrals, causingcurse of dimensionalityand rendering solutions computationally prohibitive to obtain. We aim to overcome this challenge by developing a computationally feasible method, nonlinear indexes of local sensitivity to nonignorability (NISNI). We use linear mixed effects models for the incomplete outcome and covariates. We use Markov multinomial models to describe complex missing‐data patterns and mechanisms in ILD, thereby permitting missingness probabilities to depend directly on missing data. Using a second‐order Taylor series to approximate likelihood under nonignorability, we develop formulas and closed‐form expressions for NISNI. Our approach permits the outcome and covariates to be missing simultaneously, as is often the case in ILD, and can capture U‐shaped impact of nonignorability in the neighborhood of the missing at random model without fitting alternative models or evaluating integrals. We evaluate performance of this method using simulated data and real ILD collected by the ecological momentary assessment method.
Relationships among adverse childhood experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters, and health in women veterans
Authors: Wooldridge Jennalee S. , Bosch Jeane , Crawford Jennifer N. , Morland Leslie , Afari Niloofar
Published: May 2020

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase risk for negative health outcomes. The goal of this study was to examine the relationships among cumulative ACEs, ACEs type, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, PTSD symptom clusters, and physical health symptoms in a sample of women veterans (N = 76). Bivariate correlations were used to determine which ACE domains were associated with PTSD and physical health symptoms. Follow‐up linear regressions indicated cumulative ACEs were significantly associated with total PTSD symptoms. Cumulative ACEs were also significantly associated with the avoidance and hyperarousal symptom clusters, but not the re‐experiencing symptom cluster. Total PTSD symptoms were significantly related to physical health symptoms. Of the three symptom clusters, only hyperarousal was significantly associated with physical health symptoms. Cross‐sectional mediation analyses indicated the total and direct effects of ACEs on physical health were not significant. However, the indirect effect through PTSD was significant (b = 0.46, [95% CI: 0.02, 0.91]), as well as through the avoidance (b = 0.47, [95% CI: 0.06, 0.90]), and hyperarousal symptom clusters (b = 0.56, [95% CI: 0.11, 1.04]). This study highlights the potential impact of ACEs on PTSD symptoms and physical health and suggests that hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD, may play a potential role in the development of physical health problems.
Experimental study on seismic performance of steel‐reinforced recycled concrete frame with infill wall
Authors: Liu Zuqiang , Xue Jianyang , Qi Liangjie , Gao Liang
Published: May 2020

In order to investigate the seismic performance of steel‐reinforced recycled concrete (SRRC) frame with infill wall, low cyclic loading tests on four frames with infill wall and one frame without infill wall were conducted. The failure modes, hysteresis loops, skeleton curves, bearing capacity, ductility, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation capacity of specimens were analyzed. The seismic performance of SRRC frames with and without infill wall was compared. The influence of the aspect ratio of infill wall, the axial compression ratio of column, and the distance of horizontal reinforcements of infill wall were investigated. Test results show that compared to the SRRC frame without infill wall, the SRRC frame with infill wall had higher bearing capacity and initial stiffness, but faster stiffness degradation and worse energy dissipation capacity. With the increase of aspect ratio of infill wall and axial compression ratio of column, the bearing capacity and initial stiffness of SRRC frame with infill wall increased, whereas the ductility decreased. With the decrease of distance of horizontal reinforcements of infill wall, the initial stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of SRRC frame with infill wall increased. After the infill wall fails under earthquake, the remaining SRRC frame has good seismic performance.
Hierarchical multilabel classifier for gene ontology annotation using multihead and multiend deep CNN model
Authors: Yuan Xin , Pang Erli , Lin Kui , Hu Jinglu
Published: May 2020

Gene ontology annotation is known to be a very complicated multilabel classification task, and the hierarchical multilabel classification (HMC) approaches with local classifiers have been shown to be effective for the task. In a traditional HMC method, a set of hierarchically organized simple local classifiers are usually used, each of which for one hierarchical level separately. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical multilabel classifier implementing the whole set of hierarchically organized local classifiers in one deep convolution neural network (CNN) model with multiple heads and multiple ends (MHME). The proposed MHME CNN model consists of three parts: the body part of a deep CNN model shared by different local classifiers for feature extraction and feature mapping; the multiend part of a set of autoencoders performing feature fusion transforming the input vectors of different local classifiers to feature vectors with the same length so as to share the feature mapping part; and the multihead part of a set of linear multilabel classifiers. Furthermore, a sophisticated recursive algorithm is designed to train the MHME CNN model to realize the functions of a set of hierarchically organized local classifiers. In this way, by sharing a deep CNN with multiple local classifiers, we are able to construct more powerful local classifiers for each level with limited training samples, and to achieve better classification performance. Experiment results on various benchmark datasets show that the proposed deep CNN‐based model has better performance than the state‐of‐the‐art traditional models. Moreover, it gives rather good performance even under a transfer learning. © 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Oxygen transfer and plant‐wide energy assessment of primary screening in WRRFs
Authors: Pasini Federico , Garrido‐Baserba Manel , Ahmed Ahmed , Nakhla George , Santoro Domenico , Rosso Diego
Published: May 2020

Primary screening is gaining interest as a method to achieve removal performances comparable to primary clarification while reducing the footprint and increasing operational elasticity. Aeration efficiency indicators in a pilot sequential batch reactor (SBR) and a full scale water resource recovery facility (WRRF) were investigated after the implementation of rotating belt filters/screens (RBF). To compare the impact between screened (350 μm) and nonscreened primary influent, two identical treatment lines were monitored using off‐gas and respirometric measurements. The study provides the first result on improved oxygen transfer efficiency due to primary screening. Consistent aeration efficiency improvements of 27% and 20% between screened and nonscreened were obtained at pilot and full scale, respectively. Changes in aeration efficiency and carbon redirection were integrated into a set of models to investigate the primary screening impact on the WRRF energy balance. While the plant‐wide assessment for different scenarios improved the energy balance up to 15%, a detailed comparative analysis between various treatment schemes gained insight into the advantages and limitations of the energetic sustainability of primary screening.

Practitioner points

Aeration efficiency improved 27% at pilot scale

Aeration efficiency improved 20% at full scale.

Use of primary screening can improve the energy balance up to 15

Assessment of advantages and limitations of primary screening.
Can information and trust about organic food improve consumer's attitude toward buying in Thailand?
Authors: Sriyakul Thanaporn , Sutduean Chutipan , Sirivanh Thongvanh
Published: May 2020

Thailand is gradually becoming an attractive market for organic food as tourists from different parts of the world try to experience unique food items. However, the attitude of local consumers toward buying organic food is not encouraging. Lack of information and trust on organic food procedures are probably the main factors influencing the local consumers. In this article, the role of information need, information seeking, and consumer’s trust on attitude toward buying organic food were studied. Moreover, this study also checked the moderating role of price barrier in given relationships which was not previously discussed in literature. Data, collected from 292 tourists and residents in Thailand through questionnaire and responses, were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results highlighted that all the three independent variables, information need, information seeking, and consumer’s trust, have significant impact on attitude toward buying organic food. Price barrier only proved as a significant moderator in the relationship between information need and consumer’s attitude toward buying organic food while it proved insignificant in other two relationships. This study also includes implications in industry, consumers, academia, and future research indications.
X‐ray fluorescence determination of major elements in ferromanganese nodules
Authors: Chubarov Victor , Amosova Alena , Finkelshtein Alexander
Published: May 2020

In this article, the X‐ray fluorescence technique is proposed for the quantitative determination of major elements in ferromanganese nodules and crusts, which is a necessary stage of the oceanic ferromanganese deposits investigation and development. The research was performed using a wavelength‐dispersive spectrometer S4 Pioneer (Bruker AXS, Germany). Certified reference materials of ferromanganese nodules, cobalt‐bearing ferromanganese crusts and pelagic sediments were dried and prepared by two different techniques: the pressing of powder samples on a boric acid substrate and the homogenization by fusion with lithium tetraborate in an electric furnace at 1050°C. For each sample preparation technique, different forms of calibration curves (linear or quadratic) and methods of matrix effect correction (fundamental parameters or empirical intensities coefficients) were examined. The uncertainty of the proposed technique was assessed by analyzing the certified reference material FeMn‐1 and by comparison with the atomic absorption spectrometry, flame photometry and spectrophotometry results. Analysis of both fused beads and pressed pellets provides a quantitative determination of the major elements in the oceanic ferromanganese nodules.
BPS states for scalar field theories based on $$ \mathfrak{g} $$2 and $$ \mathfrak{su} $$(4) algebras
Authors: Luchini G. , Tassis T.
Published: May 2020

Abstract

We discuss two models in 1 + 1 dimensional space-time for real scalar field multiplets on the root space of $$ \mathfrak{g} $$
g
2 and $$ \mathfrak{su} $$
su
(4) Lie algebras. The construction of these models is presented and the corresponding BPS solutions are found.
Replica wormholes and the entropy of Hawking radiation
Authors: Almheiri Ahmed , Hartman Thomas , Maldacena Juan , Shaghoulian Edgar , Tajdini Amirhossein
Published: May 2020

Abstract

The information paradox can be realized in anti-de Sitter spacetime joined to a Minkowski region. In this setting, we show that the large discrepancy between the von Neumann entropy as calculated by Hawking and the requirements of unitarity is fixed by including new saddles in the gravitational path integral. These saddles arise in the replica method as complexified wormholes connecting different copies of the black hole. As the replica number n → 1, the presence of these wormholes leads to the island rule for the computation of the fine-grained gravitational entropy. We discuss these replica wormholes explicitly in two-dimensional Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity coupled to matter.
The metalloproteinase ADAM10 requires its activity to sustain surface expression
Authors: Seifert Anke , Düsterhöft Stefan , Wozniak Justyna , Koo Chek Z. , Tomlinson Michael G. , Nuti Elisa , Rossello Armando , Cuffaro Doretta , Yildiz Daniela , Ludwig Andreas
Published: May 2020

The metalloproteinase ADAM10 critically contributes to development, inflammation, and cancer and can be controlled by endogenous or synthetic inhibitors. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that loss of proteolytic activity of ADAM10 by either inhibition or loss of function mutations induces removal of the protease from the cell surface and the whole cell. This process is temperature dependent, restricted to mature ADAM10, and associated with an increased internalization, lysosomal degradation, and release of mature ADAM10 in extracellular vesicles. Recovery from this depletion requires de novo synthesis. Functionally, this is reflected by loss and recovery of ADAM10 substrate shedding. Finally, ADAM10 inhibition in mice reduces systemic ADAM10 levels in different tissues. Thus, ADAM10 activity is critically required for its surface expression in vitro and in vivo. These findings are crucial for development of therapeutic ADAM10 inhibition strategies and may showcase a novel, physiologically relevant mechanism of protease removal due to activity loss.
The acid–base and redox properties of menaquinone MK-4, MK-7, and MK-9 (vitamin K2) in DMPC monolayers on mercury
Authors: Dharmaraj Karuppasamy , Román Silva Javier Ignacio , Kahlert Heike , Lendeckel Uwe , Scholz Fritz
Published: May 2020

The acid–base and redox properties of the menaquinones MK-4, MK-7, and MK-9 (vitamin K2) have been studied in DMPC monolayers on mercury electrodes. The monolayers were prepared by adhesion-spreading of menaquinone-spiked DMPC liposomes on a stationary mercury drop electrode. All three menaquinones possess $${\text{p}}K_{{\text{a}}}$$pKa constants outside the experimentally accessible range, i.e., they are higher than about 12. The standard potentials of MK-4, MK-7, and MK-9 in the DMPC monolayers are very similar, i.e., 0.351, 0.326, and 0.330 V (corresponding to the biochemical standard potentials − 0.063, − 0.088, and − 0.085 V).

Graphic abstract
Peroneus brevis as source of instability in Jones fracture fixation
Authors: Willegger Madeleine , Benca Emir , Hirtler Lena , Moser Lukas , Zandieh Shahin , Windhager Reinhard , Schuh Reinhard
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Intramedullary screw fixation is currently considered the gold standard treatment for Jones fractures in the athlete. Besides biological factors (i.e., poor vascularization), mechanical instability induced by the pull of the peroneus brevis tendon (PBT) contributes to deficient Jones fracture healing. This biomechanical study aimed to simulate loads induced by the PBT at the fifth metatarsal and to compare the stability of two intramedullary screw constructs in a Jones fracture fixation model.

Methods

Jones fractures were created in 24 human paired specimens, and fixation was achieved with either a solid Jones fracture specific screw (JFXS) (Jones Screw; Arthrex Inc., Naples FL, USA) or a cannulated headless compression screw (HCS) (HCS; DePuySynthes, Solothurn, Switzerland). The PBT was fixed to a mechanical load frame by the use of a cryoclamp. Constructs were loaded in tension for 1000 cycles, followed by an ultimate load test. Construct failure was defined by exceeding 10° of dorsal angulation.

Results

Preliminary failure occurred more often in HCS constructs (33%) compared to JFXS constructs (0%) (P = 0.044). Mean tensile load to failure reached 123.8 ± 91.4 N in the JFXS group and 91.5 ± 62.2 N in the HCS group (P = 0.337). The mean slope of the load-displacement curve was 24.2 ± 10.4 N/mm for JFXS constructs and 24.7 ± 5.5 N/mm for HCS constructs, respectively (P = 0.887).

Conclusion

This is the first study evaluating the effect of PBT pull on the mechanical stability of Jones fracture fixation. Higher preliminary failure rates of HCS were found under cyclic loading conditions compared to JFXS.
Plasma pentraxin 3 is higher in early ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome than in uncomplicated in vitro fertilization cycle of high-risk women
Authors: Korhonen Kati , Unkila-Kallio Leila , Alfthan Henrik , Hämäläinen Esa , Tiitinen Aila , Mikkola Tomi , Tapanainen Juha , Savolainen-Peltonen Hanna
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Pentraxin 3 (PTX3) is a locally secreted, quicker responsive pro-inflammatory protein than C-reactive protein (CRP). We evaluated the value of PTX3 in the prediction of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a severe complication of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Methods

This two-year prospective follow-up study included 27 women with uncomplicated IVF-cycles (IVF group) and 31 patients diagnosed with moderate or severe early OHSS (OHSS group). PTX3 was analysed from follicular fluid (FF) and serial blood samples with enzyme-linked immunoassay and CRP with particle-enhanced immunoturbidimetric assay. The value of PTX3 and CRP in detecting OHSS was examined with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and expressed as the area under the curve (AUC).

Results

The circulating PTX3 level peaked at two days after oocyte pick-up (OPU2), and in the OHSS group the level was 1.9 times higher (P = 0.006) than in the IVF group. However, in ROC curve analysis PTX3 (AUC 0.79, best cut off 1.1 µg/L) was not superior to CRP (AUC 0.87; best cut off 9.5 mg/L) in predicting early OHSS. In the IVF group, the FF-PTX3 concentration was 15–20 times higher than in the plasma. PTX3 level at OPU2 correlated with the number of punctured follicles (r = 0.56, n = 22, P = 0.006). Triggering with human chorionic gonadotrophin or early pregnancy had no effect on PTX3 level.

Conclusion

The elevated PTX3 concentration in OHSS at OPU2, when freeze-all embryos strategy is still possible to consider, indicates that PTX3 level could provide additional benefit in the risk assessment for early OHSS.
Micrometer-resolution X-ray tomographic full-volume reconstruction of an intact post-mortem juvenile rat lung
Authors: Borisova Elena , Lovric Goran , Miettinen Arttu , Fardin Luca , Bayat Sam , Larsson Anders , Stampanoni Marco , Schittny Johannes C. , Schlepütz Christian M.
Published: May 2020

In this article, we present an X-ray tomographic imaging method that is well suited for pulmonary disease studies in animal models to resolve the full pathway from gas intake to gas exchange. Current state-of-the-art synchrotron-based tomographic phase-contrast imaging methods allow for three-dimensional microscopic imaging data to be acquired non-destructively in scan times of the order of seconds with good soft tissue contrast. However, when studying multi-scale hierarchically structured objects, such as the mammalian lung, the overall sample size typically exceeds the field of view illuminated by the X-rays in a single scan and the necessity for achieving a high spatial resolution conflicts with the need to image the whole sample. Several image stitching and calibration techniques to achieve extended high-resolution fields of view have been reported, but those approaches tend to fail when imaging non-stable samples, thus precluding tomographic measurements of large biological samples, which are prone to degradation and motion during extended scan times. In this work, we demonstrate a full-volume three-dimensional reconstruction of an intact rat lung under immediate post-mortem conditions and at an isotropic voxel size of (2.75 µm)3. We present the methodology for collecting multiple local tomographies with 360° extended field of view scans followed by locally non-rigid volumetric stitching. Applied to the lung, it allows to resolve the entire pulmonary structure from the trachea down to the parenchyma in a single dataset. The complete dataset is available online (https://doi.org/10.16907/7eb141d3-11f1-47a6-9d0e-76f8832ed1b2).
Adaptations to strength training differ between endurance-trained and untrained women
Authors: Vikmoen Olav , Raastad Truls , Ellefsen Stian , Rønnestad Bent R.
Published: May 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate if endurance athletes, sustaining their normal endurance training, experience attenuated adaptations to strength training compared to untrained individuals.

Methods

Eleven non-strength-trained female endurance athletes (E + S) added 11 weeks of strength training to their normal endurance training (5.1 ± 1.1 h per week), and 10 untrained women (S) performed the same strength training without any endurance training. The strength training consisted of four leg exercises [3 × 4 − 10 repetition maximum (RM)], performed twice a week for 11 weeks.

Results

E + S and S displayed similar increases in 1RM one-legged leg press (E + S 39 ± 19%, S 42 ± 17%, p < 0.05), maximal isometric torque in knee extension (E + S 12 ± 11%, S 8 ± 10%, p < 0.05) and lean mass in the legs (E + S 3 ± 4%, S 3 ± 3%, p < 0.05). However, S displayed superior increases in peak torque in knee extension at an angular velocity of 240° sec−1 (E + S 8 ± 5%, S 15 ± 7%, p < 0.05) and maximal squat jump height (E + S 8 ± 6%, S 14 ± 7%, p < 0.05).

Conclusions

In this study, concurrent training did not impair the adaptations in the ability to develop force at low contraction velocities or muscle hypertrophy. However, concurrent training attenuated strength training-associated changes in the ability to develop force at higher muscular contraction velocities.
Tolerability of non-ergot oral and transdermal dopamine agonists in younger and older Parkinson’s disease patients: an European multicentre survey
Authors:   EUROPAR and the IPMDS Non-Motor PD Study Group, Rizos A. , Sauerbier A. , Falup-Pecurariu C. , Odin P. , Antonini A. , Martinez-Martin P. , Kessel B. , Henriksen T. , Silverdale M. , Durner G. , Ray Chaudhuri K.
Published: May 2020

In older patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), the use of dopamine agonists (DA) has been limited due to uncertainties related to their tolerability in spite of potential gains with the advent of longer acting or transdermal therapies. Comparative real-life data addressing the tolerability of DA therapy across age ranges are currently sparse. This study addressed the tolerability (Shulman criteria, continued intake of DA therapy for at least 6 months) in PD patients across several European centres treated with long-acting and transdermal DA (Rotigotine skin patch, Ropinirole extended release, or Pramipexole prolonged release) as part of routine clinical care in younger and older PD patients. A medical record-based retrospective data capture and clinical interview-based follow-up survey of patients initiating or initiated on DA treatment (short and long acting) in a real-life setting. 425 cases were included [mean age 68.3 years (range 37–90), mean duration of disease 7.5 years (range 0–37), 31.5% older age (≥ 75 years of age)]. Tolerability was above 90% irrespective of age, with no significant differences between younger and older patients. Based on our findings, we suggest that long-acting/transdermal DA are tolerated in non-demented older patients, as well as in younger patients, however, with lower daily dose in older patients.
Investigation of Silica-Based Shear Thickening Fluid in Enhancing Composite Impact Resistance
Authors: Rizzo F. , Pinto F. , Meo M.
Published: May 2020

Laminated composite structures have attracted the interest of the modern industry due to their high performances and reduced weight when compared to traditional structural materials. However, they are very sensitive towards out-of-plane dynamic loading that can generate Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) within the structure and cause a drastic detriment of mechanical properties. One solution is proposed to overcome this problem by the hybridisation of the laminate stacking sequence using Shear Thickening Fluids (STFs) for absorption of large fractions of impact energy with a minimal damage generation. This work numerically investigated the impact response of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) when a silica-based STF is embedded within the lamination sequence utilising an innovative Ls-Dyna-based Finite-Element Model (FEM). This was developed using an Arbitrary Lagrangian Element (ALE) approach in a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) analysis and calibrated with an experimental impact campaign to determine the best impact resistance as a function of the STF position along the thickness of the laminate. The results showed an improvement in impact resistance for all the hybrid configurations identifying the optimal STF location in the upper portion of the laminate with a reduction in absorbed energy of ~ 42%, damaged area of ~ 35% alongside an increase in contact force (~ 36%) with respect to conventional laminate with same stacking sequence and number of plies. The results showed that STF/CFRP structures can be successfully employed for applications in several advanced sectors including aerospace, automotive and energy (wind blades) representing an important step-up in the development of high-impact resistant hybrid composite structures.
Length Polymorphisms in the Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Gene and the Serotonin-Transporter-Linked Polymorphic Region Constitute a Risk Haplotype for Depression in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease
Authors:   for the SPIRR-CAD Investigators, Meyer Thomas , Rothe Isabel , Staab Julia , Deter Hans-Christian , Fangauf Stella V. , Hamacher Stefanie , Hellmich Martin , Jünger Jana , Ladwig Karl-Heinz , Michal Matthias , Petrowski Katja , Ronel Joram , Söllner Wolfgang , Weber Cora , de Zwaan Martina , Williams Redford B. , Albus Christian , Herrmann-Lingen Christoph
Published: May 2020

Genetic variations affecting the course of depressive symptoms in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have not yet been well studied. Therefore, we set out to investigate whether distinct haplotypes of the two insertion/deletion polymorphisms in the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene located on chromosome 17 can be identified as risk factors for trajectories of depression. Clinical and genotyping data were derived from 507 depressed CAD patients participating in the randomized, controlled, multicenter Stepwise Psychotherapy Intervention for Reducing Risk in Coronary Artery Disease (SPIRR-CAD) trial, of whom the majority had an acute cardiac event before study inclusion. Depression scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were assessed at baseline and at five follow-up time points up to 2 years after study entrance. At baseline, depression scores did not significantly differ between patients carrying the risk haplotype ACE D/D, 5-HTTLPR I/I (n = 46) and the non-risk haplotypes (n = 461, 10.9 ± 2.7 versus 10.4 ± 2.5, p = 0.254). HADS-depression scores declined from study inclusion during the first year irrespective of the genotype. At each follow-up time point, HADS-depression scores were significantly higher in ACE D/D, 5-HTTLPR I/I carriers than in their counterparts. Two years after study inclusion, the mean HADS depression score remained 1.8 points higher in patients with the risk haplotype as compared to subjects not carrying this haplotype (9.9 ± 4.2 versus 8.1 ± 4.0, p = 0.009). In summary, the presence of the ACE D/D, 5-HTTLPR I/I haplotype may be a vulnerability factor for comorbid depressive symptoms in CAD patients.
Measuring crystal orientation from etched surfaces via directional reflectance microscopy
Authors: Wang Xiaogang , Gao Shubo , Jain Ekta , Gaskey Bernard , Seita Matteo
Published: May 2020

Mapping crystal orientation has always been the domain of diffraction-based techniques. However, these measurements have limited throughput and require specialized equipment. In this work, we demonstrate crystal orientation mapping on chemically etched aluminum samples using a simple and inexpensive optical technique called directional reflectance microscopy (DRM). DRM quantifies surface reflectance as a function of illumination angle. We identify directional reflectance characteristics of grains with (111) out-of-plane orientation and infer their surface topography to calculate their underlying crystal orientation. We confirm the surface topography using atomic force microscopy and validate DRM orientation measurements with electron backscatter diffraction.
Nanoparticle number concentration measurements by multi-angle dynamic light scattering
Authors: Austin Jake , Minelli Caterina , Hamilton Douglas , Wywijas Magdalena , Jones Hanna Jankevics
Published: May 2020

We present the use of Multi-angle Dynamic Light Scattering (MADLS®) for the measurement of nanoparticle concentration. We describe the theory of the method and its application to nanoparticles made of gold, silica and polystyrene, with diameters ranging from 30 to 400 nm, and demonstrate some of the limitations with particles of sizes 500 nm and above. We evaluate the method accuracy, linearity and reproducibility, as well as the operational nanoparticle concentration and size range. We show that the concentration working range depends on the material’s optical properties, size and concentration. Here it is shown that the level of accuracy that can be expected for the concentration of particles is typically within 50% of the nominal value across a range of materials and sizes and, for some samples, within 20%. The repeatability of the measurements, in terms of relative standard deviation, is typically below 30%. A linearity of within 40% across a concentration range of 3·108to 2·1011 mL−1for concentration measurements was also demonstrated by using gold nanoparticles and gravimetric dilutions for method validation. Overall, we show that MADLS® is a rapid and straightforward method for the reproducible measurement of particle concentration, as well as size, requiring minimal sample preparation, without the need to calibrate using a pre-determined concentration series, and applicable to a broad range of materials. These features make it an ideal tool to support both development and quality control of particle materials for a broad range of applications.
Numerical simulation of TEM images for In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots with various shapes
Authors: Maltsi Anieza , Niermann Tore , Streckenbach Timo , Tabelow Karsten , Koprucki Thomas
Published: May 2020

We present a mathematical model and a tool chain for the numerical simulation of TEM images of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). This includes elasticity theory to obtain the strain profile coupled with the Darwin–Howie–Whelan equations, describing the propagation of the electron wave through the sample. We perform a simulation study on indium gallium arsenide QDs with different shapes and compare the resulting TEM images to experimental ones. This tool chain can be applied to generate a database of simulated TEM images, which is a key element of a novel concept for model-based geometry reconstruction of semiconductor QDs, involving machine learning techniques.
Impact of D2O on the peptidization of L-alanine
Authors: Fulczyk Agnieszka , Łata Eliza , Talik Ewa , Dolnik Milos , Kowalska Teresa , Sajewicz Mieczysław
Published: May 2020

This is our fifth consecutive study carried out in an order to collect experimental evidence on the impact of heavy water (D2O) on the spontaneous peptidization of proteinogenic α-amino acids and this time its subject matter is L-alanine (L-Ala). Our four earlier studies have been focused on the two sulfur-containing α-amino acids (i.e., L-cysteine (L-Cys) and L-methionine (L-Met)), and on two structurally related α-amino acids (i.e., L-proline (L-Pro) and L-hydroxyproline (L-Hyp)). It seemed interesting to assess the effect exerted by D2O on L-Ala, the simplest chiral (endogenous and proteinogenic) α-amino acid with as low molar weight, as 89.09 g mol−1only. As analytical techniques, we used high-performance liquid chromatography with the diode array detection (HPLC–DAD), mass spectrometry (MS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results make it clear that the impact of heavy water on the dynamics of the spontaneous peptidization of L-Ala is even stronger than with the four other α-amino acids discussed earlier (although in all five cases, heavy water significantly hampers spontaneous oscillatory peptidization). Unlike in the four previous cases, though, the solubility of L-Ala in pure D2O is quite low and it takes twice as much time to dissolve it in D2O than in MeOH + X, 70:30 (v/v). Consequently, the peptidization of L-Ala in heavy water is even more obstructed than it was the case with the other investigated α-amino acids and it results in considerable yields of the L-Ala crystals (most probably at least partially deuterated) at the expense of the L-Ala-derived peptides. Perhaps it might be interesting to add that out of five α-amino acids investigated so far, which can be divided into two groups of endogenous and exogenous species, two endogenous species (L-Cys and L-Pro) undergo spontaneous oscillatory peptidization in an aqueous-organic solvent (i.e., in the absence of D2O) following the circadian rhythm, whereas two exogenous ones (i.e., L-Met and L-Hyp) do not. The third endogenous species (L-Ala) first undergoes two initials oscillations which are damped (not periodic) and the oscillatory changes are on a scale of ca. 10 h (as estimated with use of the Fourier transform approach) and after that, the system reaches a steady state.
DeepSeg: deep neural network framework for automatic brain tumor segmentation using magnetic resonance FLAIR images
Authors: Zeineldin Ramy A. , Karar Mohamed E. , Coburger Jan , Wirtz Christian R. , Burgert Oliver
Published: May 2020

Purpose

Gliomas are the most common and aggressive type of brain tumors due to their infiltrative nature and rapid progression. The process of distinguishing tumor boundaries from healthy cells is still a challenging task in the clinical routine. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI modality can provide the physician with information about tumor infiltration. Therefore, this paper proposes a new generic deep learning architecture, namely DeepSeg, for fully automated detection and segmentation of the brain lesion using FLAIR MRI data.

Methods

The developed DeepSeg is a modular decoupling framework. It consists of two connected core parts based on an encoding and decoding relationship. The encoder part is a convolutional neural network (CNN) responsible for spatial information extraction. The resulting semantic map is inserted into the decoder part to get the full-resolution probability map. Based on modified U-Net architecture, different CNN models such as residual neural network (ResNet), dense convolutional network (DenseNet), and NASNet have been utilized in this study.

Results

The proposed deep learning architectures have been successfully tested and evaluated on-line based on MRI datasets of brain tumor segmentation (BraTS 2019) challenge, including s336 cases as training data and 125 cases for validation data. The dice and Hausdorff distance scores of obtained segmentation results are about 0.81 to 0.84 and 9.8 to 19.7 correspondingly.

Conclusion

This study showed successful feasibility and comparative performance of applying different deep learning models in a new DeepSeg framework for automated brain tumor segmentation in FLAIR MR images. The proposed DeepSeg is open source and freely available at https://github.com/razeineldin/DeepSeg/.