bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the hourly rainfall in the ECMWF forecasting over southwestern China
Authors: Yuan Weihua , Hu Xuelin , Li Yaosun
Published: July 2020

The performance of the forecasts of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts' (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) with a horizontal resolution of 0.125° is assessed through comparison with station rain‐gauge data in the warm season (May–October) in the period 2017–2018 over southwestern China. The mean state of rainfall amount, frequency and intensity, as well as the diurnal cycle of precipitation, are involved in the evaluation. The IFS can capture well the spatial distributions of rainfall amount, frequency and intensity in the gauge data, but the rainfall frequency is generally larger and the intensity is weaker in the IFS. The rainfall events of the IFS usually start and peak much earlier, and the afternoon rainfall peaks are overestimated. The discrepancy between the gauge data and the IFS is larger over the western part of southwestern China. The results indicate that the IFS forecasts show considerable uncertainty when moving to the sub‐daily scale, especially over areas with complex topography. When the IFS forecasts are applied operationally, the deviations (as revealed in this study) should be paid more attention.
Comparison of dynamic flat‐panel detector‐based chest radiography with nuclear medicine ventilation‐perfusion imaging for the evaluation of pulmonary function: A clinical validation study
Authors: Tanaka Rie , Matsumoto Isao , Tamura Masaya , Takata Munehisa , Kasahara Kazuo , Ohkura Noriyuki , Inoue Dai , Matsuura Yukihiro
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Dynamic chest radiography (DCR) is a flat‐panel detector (FPD)‐based functional lung imaging technique capable of measuring temporal changes in radiographic lung density due to ventilation and perfusion. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic performance of DCR in the evaluation of pulmonary function based on changes in radiographic lung density compared to nuclear medicine lung scans.

Methods

This study included 53 patients with pulmonary disease who underwent DCR and nuclear medicine imaging at our institution. Dynamic chest radiography was conducted using a dynamic FPD system to obtain sequential chest radiographs during one breathing cycle. The maximum change in the average pixel value (Δmax) was measured, and the percentage ofΔmax in each lung region, calculated relative to the sum of all lung regions (Δmax%), was calculated for each factor (ventilation and perfusion). The Δmax% was compared with the accumulation of radioactive agents (radioactive agents%) on ventilation and perfusion scans in each lung and lung region using correlation coefficients and scatter plots. The ratio of ventilation to perfusion Δmax% was calculated and compared with nuclear medicine ventilation‐perfusion (V/Q) findings in terms of sensitivity and specificity for V/Q mismatch in each lung region.

Results

There was a high correlation between Δmax% and radioactive agents% for each lung (Ventilation: r = 0.81, perfusion: r = 0.87). However, correlation coefficients were lower (0.37 to 0.80) when comparing individual lung regions, with the upper lung regions showing the lowest correlation coefficients. The sensitivity and specificity of DCR for V/Q mismatch were 63.3% (19/30) and 60.1% (173/288), respectively. Motion artifacts occasionally increased Δmax%, resulting in false negatives.

Conclusions

Ventilation and perfusion Δmax% correlated reasonably with radioactive agents% on ventilation and perfusion scans. Although the regional correlations were lower and the detection performance for V/Q mismatch was not enough for clinical use at the moment, these results suggest the potential for DCR to be used as a functional imaging modality that can be performed without the use of radioactive contrast agents. Further technical improvement is required for the implementation of DCR‐based V/Q studies.
SURE‐based automatic parameter selection for ESPIRiT calibration
Authors: Iyer Siddharth , Ong Frank , Setsompop Kawin , Doneva Mariya , Lustig Michael
Published: July 2020

Purpose

ESPIRiT is a parallel imaging method that estimates coil sensitivity maps from the auto‐calibration region (ACS). This requires choosing several parameters for the optimal map estimation. While fairly robust to these parameter choices, occasionally, poor selection can result in reduced performance. The purpose of this work is to automatically select parameters in ESPIRiT for more robust and consistent performance across a variety of exams.

Methods

By viewing ESPIRiT as a denoiser, Stein’s unbiased risk estimate (SURE) is leveraged to automatically optimize parameter selection in a data‐driven manner. The optimum parameters corresponding to the minimum true squared error, minimum SURE as derived from densely sampled, high‐resolution, and non‐accelerated data and minimum SURE as derived from ACS are compared using simulation experiments. To avoid optimizing the rank of ESPIRiT’s auto‐calibrating matrix (one of the parameters), a heuristic derived from SURE‐based singular value thresholding is also proposed.

Results

Simulations show SURE derived from the densely sampled, high‐resolution, and non‐accelerated data to be an accurate estimator of the true mean squared error, enabling automatic parameter selection. The parameters that minimize SURE as derived from ACS correspond well to the optimal parameters. The soft‐threshold heuristic improves computational efficiency while providing similar results to an exhaustive search. In‐vivo experiments verify the reliability of this method.

Conclusions

Using SURE to determine ESPIRiT parameters allows for automatic parameter selections. In‐vivo results are consistent with simulation and theoretical results.
Behavioral comorbidity, overweight, and obesity in children with incontinence: An analysis of 1638 cases
Authors: von Gontard Alexander , Mattheus Hannah , Anagnostakou Aikaterini , Sambach Heike , Breuer Michaela , Kiefer Kathrin , Holländer Teresa , Hussong Justine
Published: July 2020

Aims

Children with nocturnal enuresis (NE), daytime urinary incontinence (DUI), and fecal incontinence (FI) are at risk for behavioral problems, overweight, and obesity. The aim of this study was to analyze the specific behavioral and weight comorbidity in subtypes of incontinence.

Methods

A total of 1638 consecutive patients presented to a tertiary incontinence clinic from 2012 to 2018 was examined prospectively according to ICCS criteria. Behavioral symptoms were measured with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed according to ICD‐10 criteria. Weight categories were calculated according to WHO recommendations.

Results

The mean age was 7.8 years, 67% of patients were male. Fifty‐seven percent had NE (n = 934), 33% DUI (n = 547), and 40% FI (n = 656). Boys had significantly higher rates of NE and FI than girls. Of all children, 39.2% (n = 539) had a clinically relevant CBCL total score. A total of 28.3% (n = 463) had an ICD‐10 psychiatric diagnosis, mainly ODD and ADHD, and 28.6% (n = 463) were overweight or obese. Boys were more often affected by behavioral symptoms, psychiatric disorders, and overweight/obesity. Children with NE had the highest rate of overweight/obesity. Except for primary nonmonosymptomatic NE, subtypes of incontinence did not differ regarding behavioral symptoms and weight categories. However, overweight/obesity was significantly associated with behavioral and psychiatric parameters.

Conclusions

Behavioral symptoms and psychiatric disorders, as well as overweight/obesity are important risk factors associated with incontinence, but the interaction between these factors is complex. In clinical settings, all children with incontinence should be screened with behavioral questionnaires. Also, weight should be measured, and overweight/obesity should be addressed.
Optimal policies for stochastic clearing systems with time‐dependent delay penalties
Authors: He Qi‐Ming , Bookbinder James H. , Cai Qishu
Published: July 2020

We study stochastic clearing systems with a discrete‐time Markovian input process, and an output mechanism that intermittently and instantaneously clears the system partially or completely. The decision to clear the system depends on both quantities and delays of outstanding inputs. Clearing the system incurs a fixed cost, and outstanding inputs are charged a delay penalty, which is a general increasing function of the quantities and delays of individual inputs. By recording the quantities and delays of outstanding inputs in a sequence, we model the clearing system as a tree‐structured Markov decision process over both a finite and infinite horizon. We show that the optimal clearing policies, under realistic conditions, are of the on‐off type or the threshold type. Based on the characterization of the optimal policies, we develop efficient algorithms to compute parameters of the optimal policies for such complex clearing systems for the first time. We conduct a numerical analysis on the impact of the nonlinear delay penalty cost function, the comparison of the optimal policy and the classical hybrid policy (ie, quantity and age thresholds), and the impact of the state of the input process. Our experiments demonstrate that (a) the classical linear approximation of the cost function can lead to significant performance differences; (b) the classical hybrid policy may perform poorly (as compared to the optimal policies); and (c) the consideration of the state of the input process makes significant improvement in system performance.
LGB+ identification and donations to Hurricane Irma victims: The role of empathy
Authors: Chan Eugene Y.
Published: July 2020

Extant literature finds that discrimination promotes empathy towards other people in similar predicaments. We propose that discrimination increases empathy more generally—namely, LGB+ individuals, because of their experience with discrimination in society, which promotes empathy, are more charitable than heterosexual individuals. We recruited 5,131 American respondents of whom 378 identified as LGB+. LGB+ ‐identifying respondents scored higher on empathy, increasing their monetary donations to victims of Hurricane Irma, relative to heterosexual respondents. Importantly, greater experience with discrimination enhanced LGB+ respondents' empathy and charity. We situate our results within literature that has studied the charitable behaviors of LGB+ individuals. We acknowledge limitations to our study and suggest ideas for further research.
The choroid plexus stroma constitutes a sanctuary for paediatric B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the central nervous system
Authors: Fernández‐Sevilla Lidia M , Valencia Jaris , Flores‐Villalobos Miguel A , Gonzalez‐Murillo África , Sacedón Rosa , Jiménez Eva , Ramírez Manuel , Varas Alberto , Vicente Ángeles
Published: July 2020

Despite current central nervous system‐directed therapies for childhood B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, relapse at this anatomical site still remains a challenging issue. Few reports have addressed the study of the specific cellular microenvironments which can promote the survival, quiescence, and therefore chemoresistance of B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells in the central nervous system. Herein, we showed by immunofluorescence and electron microscopy that in xenotransplanted mice, leukaemic cells infiltrate the connective tissue stroma of the choroid plexus, the brain structure responsible for the production of cerebrospinal fluid. The ultrastructural study also showed that leukaemia cells are able to migrate through blood vessels located in the choroid plexus stroma. In short‐term co‐cultures, leukaemic cells established strong interactions with human choroid plexus fibroblasts, mediated by an increased expression of ITGA4 (VLA‐4)/ITGAL (LFA‐1) and their ligands VCAM1/ICAM1. Upon contact with leukaemia cells, human choroid plexus fibroblasts acquired a cancer‐associated fibroblast phenotype, with an increased expression of α‐SMA and vimentin as well as pro‐inflammatory factors. Human choroid plexus fibroblasts also have the capacity to reduce the proliferative index of leukaemic blasts and promote their survival and chemoresistance to methotrexate and cytarabine. The inhibition of VLA‐4/VCAM‐1 interactions using anti‐VLA‐4 antibodies, and the blockade of Notch signalling pathway by using a γ‐secretase inhibitor partially restored chemotherapy sensitivity of leukaemia cells. We propose that the choroid plexus stroma constitutes a sanctuary for B‐cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells in the central nervous system. © 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of The Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
“Living life as if I never had cancer”: A study of the meaning of living well in adolescents and young adults who have experienced cancer
Authors: Schreiner Katherine , Grossoehme Daniel H. , Friebert Sarah , Baker Justin N. , Needle Jennifer , Lyon Maureen E.
Published: July 2020

Background

Cancer diagnoses pose challenges to adolescents’ and young adults’ (AYA) physical, mental, and emotional health, and developmental tasks. In order for AYAs, caregivers, clinicians, and other collaborators to optimize health outcomes (coproduction of health), understanding what living well means for AYAs who have experienced cancer is necessary. The objective was to develop an empirical definition of “living well” for AYAs who have experienced cancer to broadly understand AYA values and priorities. This definition may ultimately guide future conversations between caregivers and AYAs, eliciting thorough, personal definitions of living well from individual AYAs. Such conversations may enhance AYA participation in coproducing their health.

Procedure

Qualitative analysis using a phenomenological approach of N = 30 structured Respecting Choices interviews conducted with AYAs (14‐21 years; mean 84.2 [SD 69] months postcancer diagnosis with 21% on active treatment) from four tertiary pediatric hospitals in the context of a primary study of a pediatric advance care planning intervention trial.

Results

AYAs who have experienced cancer conceptualized “living well” as maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as engaging in purposeful, age‐appropriate activities with people important to them. Living well had three components: living mindfully, living an identity as a healthy AYA, and spending time with friends and family.

Conclusions

Conversations with AYAs who have experienced cancer elicited rich, complex concepts of “living well.” Provider initiation of discussions about living well may facilitate personalized goals of care conversations. This study may serve as the basis to design and prototype future clinical interventions to enhance AYA engagement.
Preparation and characterization of viscose composites fiber and its enhancing effect in photothermal conversion property
Authors: Jiang Yunjing , Li Changlei , Jiang Peiqing , Li Wenbin
Published: July 2020

Environmental concerns, such as global warming caused by fossil burning, have drawn attention from people and make it necessary to develop photothermal conversion materials that can utilize clean and renewable solar energy. In this study, a novel viscose fiber with photothermal conversion ability was prepared by adding graphene oxide (GO) to viscose solution before wet spinning process. The light‐to‐heat conversion property of modified fibers was measured by a self‐assembly structure. The results indicate that compared with pure viscose sample (ΔT = ~30.8°C), the viscose fabric with 4 wt% GO showed larger temperature rise (ΔT = ~112°C) within the same exposure time under infrared light. Moreover, it can be verified from ultraviolet‐visible‐near‐infrared spectroscopy and heat conduction property measurements that both optical absorption and thermal conductivity of GO‐viscose fibers were enhanced significantly. Additionally, scanning electron microscope, energy disperse spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and thermogravimetric were used to characterize basic features of the composite fiber. Furthermore, It was observed that the doping of low concentration of GO has little effect on fiber strength and stretchability. Consequently, the modified GO‐viscose composite is a promising photothermal conversion material for various applications involving solar energy collection and heat supply for architecture.
An Overview of the Treatment of Less Common Non–Lactose‐Fermenting Gram‐Negative Bacteria
Authors: Spencer Hannah K. , Spitznogle Sarah L. , Borjan Jovan , Aitken Samuel L.
Published: July 2020

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia cepacia complex, Elizabethkingia spp., Chryseobacterium spp., Achromobacter spp., and Alcaligenes spp. are less‐common non–lactose‐fermenting bacteria that have emerged as important opportunistic pathogens. Patients at the highest risk for these infections include the immunocompromised, those with cystic fibrosis, and the critically ill. These opportunistic pathogens are frequently drug resistant through the expression of β‐lactamases, multidrug efflux pumps, aminoglycoside‐modifying enzymes, and target site alterations discussed in detail throughout this review. As a result, treatment is extremely challenging. For each pathogen, this review will examine the epidemiology, mechanisms of resistance, and in vitro and in vivo data including that for novel β‐lactam/β‐lactamase inhibitors and cefiderocol. Treatment recommendations are provided based on the available literature.
Tautomeric and E‐Z equilibria of the herbicide clethodim in water and organic solvents: A nuclear magnetic resonance and theoretical study
Authors: Caputo Maricel , Colasurdo Diego D. , Allegretti Patricia E. , Laurella Sergio L.
Published: July 2020

The herbicide clethodim can exist as different tautomeric forms and also as E‐Z isomers. Previous works have made some approach to the matter of tautomerization and have always stated that the E form was the only one stable. In this work, the investigation on the tautomeric equilibrium of clethodim is carried out in solution by means of proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), carbon‐13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR), and correlation spectroscopy (COSY) experiments in four solvents (CDCl3, acetone‐d6, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO)‐d6, and D2O). Major tautomeric species have been identified, and equilibrium constants have been calculated from the integration of hydrogens of the chloroallyl radical of clethodim. E‐ketoenolimine is the only detectable tautomer in CDCl3. Mixtures of E‐ketoenolimine and E‐diketoenamine tautomers are observed in acetone‐d6 and DMSO‐d6 (in ratios of 8:92 and 53:47, respectively). In water, the most abundant neutral tautomers are E‐ketoenolimine, E‐diketoenamine, and Z‐ketoenolimine (with a tautomeric ratio of 66:20:14). Identification of the E and Z tautomers is reported. Thermodynamic parameters (obtained by analysis of the effect of temperature) and theoretical calculations (energies and chemical shifts) support the assignations and tautomeric ratios when considering specific clethodim‐solvent hydrogen bonds. In the case of water, calculations suggest double bonded complexes that would be the cause of stability of the tautomers. These new observations on the structure of clethodim in solution open a new series of questions on its absorption mechanism, and they are also a tool for further chemical modification of this herbicide.
Thermal transport and chemical effects of fillers on free‐radical frontal polymerization
Authors: Gary Daniel P. , Bynum Samuel , Thompson Baylen D. , Groce Brecklyn R. , Sagona Anthony , Hoffman Imogen M. , Morejon‐Garcia Catherine , Weber Corey , Pojman John A.
Published: July 2020

Frontal polymerization (FP) is a process in which a front propagates in a localized reaction zone, converting monomer into polymer through the coupling of thermal diffusion with the Arrhenius kinetics of an exothermic reaction. Fillers are added to control the rheological properties of the formulation and to enhance the mechanical properties of the product. However, the thermal and chemical effects of these fillers on the front propagation have not been thoroughly explored. Herein we report the thermal and chemical effects of fillers on free‐radical frontal polymerization. It was found that fillers with high thermal diffusivities, such as milled carbon fiber and boron nitride increased the front velocity. Despite their high thermal diffusivities, fillers such as aluminum and alumina decreased the front velocity. This is likely due to the radical‐scavenging ability of aluminum oxide, which was explored with clay minerals. It was found that the presence of water within clay fillers can also decrease the front velocity. To probe the chemical effects, acid‐activated clay minerals were utilized. The results demonstrate that some fillers can increase front velocity through their high thermal diffusivities while others decrease it by acting as radical scavengers.
Identifying and treating ROBO1−ve/DOCK1+ve prostate cancer: An aggressive cancer subtype prevalent in African American patients
Authors: Ferrari Marina G. , Ganaie Arsheed A. , Shabenah Ashraf , Mansini Adrian P. , Wang Li , Murugan Paari , Davicioni Elai , Wang Jinhua , Deng Yibin , Hoeppner Luke H. , Warlick Christopher A. , Konety Badrinath R. , Saleem Mohammad
Published: July 2020

Background

There is a need to develop novel therapies which could be beneficial to patients with prostate cancer (CaP) including those who are predisposed to poor outcome, such as African‐Americans. This study investigates the role of ROBO1‐pathway in predicting outcome and race‐based disparity in patients with CaP.

Methods and Results

Aided by RNA sequencing‐based DECIPHER‐testing and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis of tumors we show that ROBO1 is lost during the progressive stages of CaP, a prevalent feature in African‐Americans. We show that the loss of ROBO1 predicts high‐risk of recurrence, metastasis and poor outcome of androgen‐deprivation therapy in radical prostatectomy‐treated patients. These data identified an aggressive ROBO1deficient/DOCK1+ve sub‐class of CaP. Combined genetic and IHC data showed that ROBO1 loss is accompanied by DOCK1/Rac1 elevation in grade‐III/IV primary‐tumors and Mets. We observed that the hypermethylation of ROBO1‐promoter contributes to loss of expression that is highly prevalent in African‐Americans. Because of limitations in restoring ROBO1 function, we asked if targeting the DOCK1 could be an ideal strategy to inhibit progression or treat ROBO1deficient metastatic‐CaP. We tested the pharmacological efficacy of CPYPP, a selective inhibitor of DOCK1 under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Using ROBO1−ve and ROBO1+ve CaP models, we determined the median effective concentration of CPYPP for growth. DOCK1‐inhibitor treatment significantly decreased the (a) Rac1‐GTP/β‐catenin activity, (b) transmigration of ROBO1deficient cells across endothelial lining, and (c) metastatic spread of ROBO1deficient cells through the vasculature of transgenicfl Zebrafish model.

Conclusion

We suggest that ROBO1 status forms as predictive biomarker of outcome in high‐risk populations such as African‐Americans and DOCK1‐targeting therapy has a clinical potential for treating metastatic‐CaP.
Host searching and host preference of resident pupal parasitoids of Drosophila suzukii in the invaded regions
Authors: Wolf Sarah , Barmettler Elias , Eisenring Michael , Romeis Jörg , Collatz Jana
Published: July 2020

BACKGROUND

In its invaded regions, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is a novel host for the community of resident parasitoids of Drosophila. To attain a high parasitization rate on the novel host, the parasitoids have to locate it and accept it in the presence of other Drosophila hosts. We conducted a laboratory choice experiment and a semifield trial to investigate host searching and host preference of the three pupal parasitoid species Trichopria drosophilae (Perkins), Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani) and Spalangia erythromera Förster.

RESULTS

All three parasitoid species preferred D. suzukii over two common native hosts in the choice experiment. In field cages, most parasitoid offspring emerged from D. suzukii hosts. While P. vindemmiae mainly parasitized hosts in the foliage, most T. drosophilae offspring emerged from pupae presented on the ground.

CONCLUSIONS

Both P. vindemmiae and T. drosophilae have the potential to find and parasitize D. suzukii in the field. If released early in the season, possible nontarget effects on native Drosophila should be minimal.
Mesenchymal stem cells for restoring endometrial function: An infertility perspective
Authors: Rungsiwiwut Ruttachuk , Virutamasen Pramuan , Pruksananonda Kamthorn
Published: July 2020

Background

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be derived from several tissues such as bone marrow, placenta, adipose tissue, or endometrial tissue. MSCs gain a lot of attention for cell‐based therapy due to their characteristics including differentiation ability and immunomodulatory effect. Preclinical and clinical studies demonstrated that MSCs can be applied to treat female infertility by improving of the functions of ovary and uterus. This mini‐ review focuses on the current study of treatment of endometrial infertility by using MSCs.

Methods

The present study performed a literature review focusing on the effect of MSCs for treatment of women infertility caused by endometrial dysfunction.

Results

Bone marrow‐, umbilical cord‐, adipose‐, amniotic‐, and menstruation‐derived MSCs enhance endometrial cell proliferation, injury repairs as well as reducing scar formation. The beneficial mechanism probably via immunomodulatory, cell differentiation, stimulates endometrial cell proliferation and down‐regulation of fibrosis genes. The major advantage of using MSCs is to improve endometrial functions resulting in increased implantation and pregnancy.

Conclusions

MSCs exhibit a potential for endometrial infertility treatment. Adipose‐ and menstruation‐derived stem cells show advantages over other sources because the cells can be derived easily and do not causes graft rejection after autologous transplantation.
High stretch cycling inhibits the morphological and biological decidual process in human endometrial stromal cells
Authors: Saito Ryohei , Kajihara Takeshi , Takamura Masashi , Tochigi Hideno , Sato Tsuyoshi , Ishihara Osamu
Published: July 2020

Purpose

Subendometrial myometrium exerts wave‐like activity throughout the menstrual cycle, and uterine peristalsis is markedly reduced during the implantation phase. We hypothesized that abnormal uterine peristalsis has an adverse effect on the endometrial decidualization process. We conducted an in vitro culture experiment to investigate the effect of cyclic stretch on the morphological and biological endometrial decidual process.

Methods

Primary human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) were isolated from hysterectomy specimens and incubated with or without 8‐bromo‐cyclic adenosine monophosphate (8‐br‐cAMP) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) for 3 days. After decidualization, cultures were continued for 24 hours with or without cyclic stretch using a computer‐operated cell tension system.

Results

Cyclic stretch significantly repressed expression of decidual markers including insulin‐like growth factor‐binding protein 1 (IGFBP1), prolactin (PRL), forkhead box O1 (FOXO1), and WNT4 on decidualized HESCs. In addition, cyclic stretch of decidualized HESCs affected the decidual morphological phenotype to an elongated shape. The alternation of F‐actin localization in decidualized HESCs was not observed in response to cyclic stretch.

Conclusions

These data suggest that cyclic stretch inhibits the morphological and biological decidual process of HESCs. Our findings imply that uterine abnormal contractions during the implantation period impair endometrial decidualization and contribute to infertility.
Smoothed time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic curve for right censored survival data
Authors: Beyene Kassu Mehari , El Ghouch Anouar
Published: July 2020

The prediction reliability is of primary concern in many clinical studies when the objective is to develop new predictive models or improve existing risk scores. In fact, before using a model in any clinical decision making, it is very important to check its ability to discriminate between subjects who are at risk of, for example, developing certain disease in a near future from those who will not. To that end, the time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is the most commonly used method in practice. Several approaches have been proposed in the literature to estimate the ROC nonparametrically in the context of survival data. But, except one recent approach, all the existing methods provide a nonsmooth ROC estimator whereas, by definition, the ROC curve is smooth. In this article we propose and study a new nonparametric smooth ROC estimator based on a weighted kernel smoother. More precisely, our approach relies on a well‐known kernel method used to estimate cumulative distribution functions of random variables with bounded supports. We derived some asymptotic properties for the proposed estimator. As bandwidth is the main parameter to be set, we present and study different methods to appropriately select one. A simulation study is conducted, under different scenarios, to prove the consistency of the proposed method and to compare its finite sample performance with a competitor. The results show that the proposed method performs better and appear to be quite robust to bandwidth choice. As for inference purposes, our results also reveal the good performances of a proposed nonparametric bootstrap procedure. Furthermore, we illustrate the method using a real data example.
Systematic Study of Alkali Cations Intercalated Titanium Dioxide Effect on Sodium and Lithium Storage
Authors: Huang Man , Xi Baojuan , Shi Nianxiang , Wei Ruchao , Li Haibo , Feng Jinkui , Xiong Shenglin
Published: July 2020

The fast development of electrochemical energy storage devices necessitates rational design of the high‐performance electrode materials and systematic and deep understanding of the intrinsic energy storage processes. Herein, the preintercalation general strategy of alkali ions (A = Li+, Na+, K+) into titanium dioxide (A‐TO, LTO, NTO, KTO) is proposed to improve the structural stability of anode materials for sodium and lithium storage. The different optimization effects of preintercalated alkali ions on electrochemical properties are studied systematically. Impressively, the three electrode materials manifest totally different capacities and capacity retention. The efficiency of the energy storage process is affected not only by the distinctive structure but also by the suitable interlayer spacing of Ti‐O, as well as by the interaction effect between the host Ti‐O layer and alien cations with proper size, demonstrating the pivotal role of the sodium ions. The greatly enhanced electrochemical performance confirms the importance of rational engineering and synthesis of advanced electrode materials with the preintercalation of proper alkali cations.
Hydrogen‐Etched Bifunctional Sulfur‐Defect‐Rich ReS2/CC Electrocatalyst for Highly Efficient HER and OER
Authors: Pang Qing‐Qing , Niu Zhu‐Lin , Yi Sha‐Sha , Zhang Shuo , Liu Zhong‐Yi , Yue Xin‐Zheng
Published: July 2020

The design on synthesizing a sturdy, low‐cost, clean, and sustainable electrocatalyst, as well as achieving high performance with low overpotential and good durability toward water splitting, is fairly vital in environmental and energy‐related subject. Herein, for the first time the growth of sulfur (S) defect engineered self‐supporting array electrode composed of metallic Re and ReS2 nanosheets on carbon cloth (referred as Re/ReS2/CC) via a facile hydrothermal method and the following thermal treatment with H2/N2 flow is reported. It is expected that, for example, the as‐prepared Re/ReS2‐7H/CC for the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under acidic medium affords a quite low overpotential of 42 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and a very small Tafel slope of 36 mV decade−1, which are comparable to some of the promising HER catalysts. Furthermore, in the two‐electrode system, a small cell voltage of 1.30 V is recorded under alkaline condition. Characterizations and density functional theory results expound that the introduced S defects in Re/ReS2‐7H/CC can offer abundant active sites to advantageously capture electron, enhance the electron transport capacity, and weaken the adsorption free energy of H* at the active sites, being responsible for its superior electrocatalytic performance.
Swietenine extracted from Swietenia relieves myocardial hypertrophy induced by isoprenaline in mice
Authors: Ding Jingjing , Liu Shoubai , Qian Weichun , Wang Jiacheng , Chu Chunyan , Wang Juejin , Li Kai , Yu Youjia , Xu Guanhong , Mao Zhengsheng , Xiao Pingxi , Yu Yanfang , Chen Feng
Published: July 2020

As a traditional plant medicine in tropical areas, Swietenia macrophylla seeds are usually applied for some chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, and so on. Few studies have been carried out to identify the effective elements in seed extract and their indications. In this study, we first investigated the functions of the swietenine, an extract from S. macrophylla seeds, using a model of myocardial hypertrophy induced by isoprenaline (ISO). At cellular level, H9c2 cell hypertrophy was also established through the treatment with ISO. The cardiac pathological remodeling was evaluated by echocardiography and histological analysis. Western blot and RT‐qPCR were used to detect the expression of possible hypertrophy‐promoting genes. Here, our results indicated that swietenine remarkably attenuated ISO‐induced myocardial hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, Akt phosphorylation, ANP and BNP mRNA expression were efficiently decreased. Based on these findings, we concluded that swietenine might be a promising anti‐hypertrophic agent against cardiac hypertrophy.
Mechanisms of nanoparticle radiosensitization
Authors: Kempson Ivan
Published: July 2020

Metal‐based nanoparticles applied to potentiating the effects of radiotherapy have drawn significant attention from the research community and are now available clinically. By improving our mechanistic understanding, nanoparticles are likely to evolve to provide very significant improvements in radiotherapy outcomes with only incremental increase in cost. This review critically assesses the inconsistent observations surrounding physical, physicochemical, chemical and biological mechanisms of radiosensitization. In doing so, a number of needs are identified for continuing research and are highlighted. The large degree of variability from one nanoparticle to another emphasizes that it is a mistake to generalize nanoparticle radiosensitizer mechanisms. Nanoparticle formulations should be considered in an analogous way as pharmacological agents and as a broad class of therapeutic agents, needing to be considered with a high degree of individuality with respect to their interactions and ultimate impact on radiobiological response. In the same way that no universal anti‐cancer drug exists, it is unlikely that a single nanoparticle formulation will lead to the best therapeutic outcomes for all cancers. The high degree of complexity and variability in mechanistic action provides notable opportunities for nanoparticle formulations to be optimized for specific indications.

This article is categorized under:

Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies

Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology
Hope During Conflict
Authors: Leshem Oded Adomi , Halperin Eran
Published: July 2020

The most deeply rooted international conflicts are termed intractable conflicts. Intractable conflicts are violent disputes that demand extensive investment from the rival parties and persist for a long time. These conflicts also share a more subjective quality: those embroiled in such severe disputes perceive them as innately irresolvable. Unsurprisingly, after decades of intergroup violence and hostility, citizens’ hope for peace is almost absent. Yet hope is an essential component in the pursuit of any political change, including the pursuit of peace. To promote the resolution of intractable conflicts, it is vital to accurately assess the levels of hope for peace in these severe disputes and explore hope’s origins and broader political consequences. This chapter addresses some of these issues by presenting the findings of a large-scale survey on hope for peace administered in one of the most longstanding intractable disputes today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The survey is part of a larger global attitudes project that aims to map the hopes for peace of citizens living in conflict zones. Examining hope for peace among Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and Jews from Israel, this chapter reaveals some of the demographic and sociopolitical antecedes of hope for peace and demonstrate hope’s effect on braoder political attitudes. Overall, findings suggest that hope is not only an obvious outcome of a successful peace process; it is also one of its sources.
An Ontology of Human Flourishing: Economic Development and Epistemologies of Faith, Hope, and Love
Authors: van Vliet Jan
Published: July 2020

This chapter demonstrates that the presence of poverty, and its associated pathologies, is of concern to all humankind whose innate desire is to seek the flourishing of fellow humanity. The traditional, often unsuccessful, methods of poverty alleviation have been challenged in creative, bold, and refreshing ways that are superior in both identifying poverty and moving agencies and pathways toward greater success. This involves a technical application of quantitative microeconomics which is paired with expertise and insights on human behavior gleaned from the behavioral sciences. It turns out that human behavior is often better explained by behavioral categories such as hope than by traditional assumptions of rationality. Drawing from the western philosophical and Christian theistic traditions (between which there is considerable overlap), this innate desire to hope is explained as part of that triad of virtues—faith, hope, and love—that comprise the epicenter of the human condition. The Christian-theistic tradition postulates that this condition of hope for a physically and metaphysically-redeemed humanity requires certain lived behaviors in the present, even as we approach, ultimately, the very telos of our existence. Paramount among these behaviors is the pursuit of socio-economic justice. Much use is made of narratives to illustrate the lived reality of those living in desperation but buoyed by hope.
Hope in Theology
Authors: Elliot David
Published: July 2020

As social, civic, and global anxieties mount, the need to overcome despair has become urgent. This chapter draws on St. Thomas Aquinas and virtue ethics to propose the theological virtue of hope as a powerful source of rejuvenation. It argues for the necessary place of theology in reflection on hope due to the religious origins of hope as a central human aspiration and virtue capable of resilience. The virtue of hope, it is suggested, sustains us from the sloth and despair that threaten amid injustice, tragedy, and death; it provides an ultimate meaning and transcendent purpose to our lives; and it encourages us “on the way” (in via) with the prospect of eternal beatitude. Rather than degrading this life and world, hope ordains earthly goods to our eschatological end, forming us to pursue justice and social tasks with a resilience and vitality that transcend widespread cynicism and disillusionment. While hope ultimately seeks the kingdom of God, it can be concluded that it contributes richly to personal happiness and the common good, even in this life, and that this may be affirmed by those who do not share the theological premises.
Hope in Economics
Authors: Pleeging Emma , Burger Martijn
Published: July 2020

As a topic of research in economics, hope has not been very prevalent. Following the neo-classical paradigm, economists have tended to focus on rationality, self-interest, and universals. A normative and subjective experience such as hope was not believed to fit well with this perspective. However, the development of several heterodox economic approaches over the past decades, such as behavioral economics, has led to renewed attention being given to emotion, subjectivity, and normativity. Economic research on concepts related to hope, such as anticipatory feelings, (consumer) confidence, expectations and aspirations has consequently increased. In general, these studies find that hopeful feelings have a strong motivating power for (economic) behavior. By and large, the effects of hope seem to be positive, ranging from longevity and health to innovation and well-being. Nonetheless, there have also been indications that prompt caution, for example when it comes to false hopes, disappointment, or possible manipulation of societal hope. The field of economics has gained much valuable insight from existing research but we argue that it could gain from further definitional clarity. We discuss the difference between hope and related concepts such as optimism, in particular when it comes to economic research, and suggest topics for future research that could benefit from a focus on hope.
Analysis of EQ-5D Values
Authors: Devlin Nancy , Parkin David , Janssen Bas
Published: July 2020

Despite the potential richness of the EQ-5D descriptive system demonstrated in the previous chapters, the instrument was originally developed as a measure of health status that could serve as the basis for summarising and comparing health outcomes (Williams 2005).
Concomitants of ternary quartics and vector-valued Siegel and Teichmüller modular forms of genus three
Authors: Cléry Fabien , Faber Carel , van der Geer Gerard
Published: July 2020

We show how one can use the representation theory of ternary quartics to construct all vector-valued Siegel modular forms and Teichmüller modular forms of degree 3. The relation between the order of vanishing of a concomitant on the locus of double conics and the order of vanishing of the corresponding modular form on the hyperelliptic locus plays an important role. We also determine the connection between Teichmüller cusp forms on$$\overline{\mathcal {M}}_{g}$$M¯gand the middle cohomology of symplectic local systems on$${\mathcal {M}}_{g}\,$$Mg. In genus 3, we make this explicit in a large number of cases.
BRAIDED COMMUTATIVE ALGEBRAS OVER QUANTIZED ENVELOPING ALGEBRAS
Authors: LAUGWITZ ROBERT , WALTON CHELSEA
Published: July 2020

We produce braided commutative algebras in braided monoidal categories by generalizing Davydov’s full center construction of commutative algebras in centers of monoidal categories. Namely, we build braided commutative algebras in relative monoidal centers$$ {\mathcal{Z}}_{\mathrm{\mathcal{B}}}\left(\mathcal{C}\right) $$ZℬCfrom algebras in ℬ-central monoidal categories$$ \mathcal{C} $$C, where ℬ is an arbitrary braided monoidal category; Davydov’s (and previous works of others) take place in the special case when ℬ is the category of vector spaces$$ {\mathbf{Vect}}_{\mathbbm{K}} $$VectKover a field$$ \mathbbm{K} $$K. Since key examples of relative monoidal centers are suitable representation categories of quantized enveloping algebras, we supply braided commutative module algebras over such quantum groups. One application of our work is that we produce Morita invariants for algebras in ℬ-central monoidal categories. Moreover, for a large class of ℬ-central monoidal categories, our braided commutative algebras arise as a braided version of centralizer algebras. This generalizes the fact that centers of algebras in$$ {\mathbf{Vect}}_{\mathbbm{K}} $$VectKserve as Morita invariants. Many examples are provided throughout.
Exploring sample preparation and data evaluation strategies for enhanced identification of host cell proteins in drug products of therapeutic antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins
Authors: Esser-Skala Wolfgang , Segl Marius , Wohlschlager Therese , Reisinger Veronika , Holzmann Johann , Huber Christian G.
Published: July 2020

Manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals involves recombinant protein expression in host cells followed by extensive purification of the target protein. Yet, host cell proteins (HCPs) may persist in the final drug product, potentially reducing its quality with respect to safety and efficacy. Consequently, residual HCPs are closely monitored during downstream processing by techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or high-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The latter is especially attractive as it provides information with respect to protein identities. Although the applied HPLC-MS/MS methodologies are frequently optimized with respect to HCP identification, acquired data is typically analyzed using standard settings. Here, we describe an improved strategy for evaluating HPLC-MS/MS data of HCP-derived peptides, involving probabilistic protein inference and peptide detection in the absence of fragment ion spectra. This data analysis workflow was applied to data obtained for drug products of various biotherapeutics upon protein A affinity depletion. The presented data evaluation strategy enabled in-depth comparative analysis of the HCP repertoires identified in drug products of the monoclonal antibodies rituximab and bevacizumab, as well as the fusion protein etanercept. In contrast to commonly applied ELISA strategies, the here presented workflow is process-independent and may be implemented into existing HPLC-MS/MS setups for drug product characterization and process development.
Equivariant K-Theory and Refined Vafa–Witten Invariants
Authors: Thomas Richard P.
Published: July 2020

In Maulik and Thomas (in preparation) the Vafa–Witten theory of complex projective surfaces is lifted to oriented $${\mathbb {C}}^*$$

C

∗

-equivariant cohomology theories. Here we study the K-theoretic refinement. It gives rational functions in $$t^{1/2}$$

t

1
/
2

invariant under $$t^{1/2}\leftrightarrow t^{-1/2}$$

t

1
/
2

↔

t

-
1
/
2

which specialise to numerical Vafa–Witten invariants at $$t=1$$

t
=
1

. On the “instanton branch” the invariants give the virtual $$\chi ^{}_{-t}$$

χ

-
t

-genus refinement of Göttsche–Kool, extended to allow for strictly semistable sheaves. Applying modularity to their calculations gives predictions for the contribution of the “monopole branch”. We calculate some cases and find perfect agreement. We also do calculations on K3 surfaces, finding Jacobi forms refining the usual modular forms, proving a conjecture of Göttsche–Kool. We determine the K-theoretic virtual classes of degeneracy loci using Eagon–Northcott complexes, and show they calculate refined Vafa–Witten invariants. Using this Laarakker (Monopole contributions to refined Vafa–Witten invariants. arXiv:1810.00385) proves universality results for the invariants.