bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Extreme pre‐fire drought decreases shrub regeneration on fertile soils
Authors: Werner Chhaya M. , Harrison Susan P. , Safford Hugh D. , Bohlman Gabrielle N. , Serata Rebecca
Published: October 2021

Extreme drought and increasing temperatures can decrease the resilience of plant communities to fires. Not only may extremely dry conditions during or after fires lead to higher plant mortality and poorer recruitment, but severe pre‐fire droughts may reduce the seed production and belowground vigor that are essential to post‐fire plant recovery, and may indirectly facilitate invasion. We studied survival, recruitment, and growth of shrubs and herbs in chaparral (shrubland) communities in Northern California after a 2015 fire that immediately followed California’s extreme 3‐yr drought. We followed the same protocols used to study similar, adjacent communities after a 1999 fire that did not follow a drought, and we compared the two recovery trajectories. Overall, the 2015 fire was not more severe than the 1999 fire, yet it caused higher mortality and lower growth of resprouting shrubs on fertile (sandstone) soils. In contrast, the 2015 fire did not affect the mortality or growth of resprouting shrubs on infertile (serpentine) soils, the density of shrub seedlings, or the richness or cover of native herbs differently than the 1999 fire. However, the 2015 fire facilitated a massive increase in exotic herbaceous cover, especially on fertile soils, possibly portending the early stages of a type conversion to exotic‐dominated grassland. Our findings indicate that the consequences of climate change on fire‐dependent communities will include effects of pre‐fire as well as post‐fire climate, and that resprouting shrubs are particularly likely to be sensitive to pre‐fire drought.
Ten‐year trends reveal declining quality of seeded pollinator habitat on reclaimed mines regardless of seed mix diversity
Authors: Lybbert Andrew H. , Cusser Sarah J. , Hung Keng‐Lou James , Goodell Karen
Published: October 2021

Plant–pollinator interactions represent a crucial ecosystem function threatened by anthropogenic landscape changes. Disturbances that reduce plant diversity are associated with floral resource and pollinator declines. Establishing wildflower plantings is a major conservation strategy targeting pollinators, the success of which depends on long‐term persistence of seeded floral communities. However, most pollinator‐oriented seeding projects are monitored for a few years, making it difficult to evaluate the longevity of such interventions. Selecting plant species to provide pollinators diverse arrays of floral resources throughout their activity season is often limited by budgetary constraints and other conservation priorities. To evaluate the long‐term persistence of prairie vegetation seeded to support pollinators, we sowed wildflower seed mixes into plots on a degraded reclaimed strip‐mine landscape in central Ohio, USA. We examined how pollinator habitat quality, measured as floral abundance and diversity, changed over 10 years (2009–2019) in the absence of management, over the course of the blooming season within each year, and across three seed mixes containing different numbers and combinations of flowering plant species. Seeded species floral abundance declined by more than 75% over the study, with the largest decline occurring between the fifth and seventh summers. Native and non‐native adventive flowering plants quickly colonized the plots and represented >50% of floral community abundances on average. Floral richness remained relatively constant throughout the study, with a small peak one year after plot establishment. Plots seeded with High‐Diversity Mixes averaged two or three more species per plot compared with a Low‐Diversity Mix, despite having been seeded with twice as many plant species. Within years, the abundance and diversity of seeded species were lowest early in the blooming season and increased monotonically from June to August. Adventive species exhibited the opposite trend, such that complementary abundance patterns of seeded and adventive species blooms resulted in a relatively constant floral abundance across the growing season. Seeded plant communities followed classic successional patterns in which annual species quickly established and flowered but were replaced by perennial species after the first few summers. Long‐term data on establishment and persistence of flower species can guide species selection for future‐oriented pollinator habitat restorations.
The magnitude, direction, and tempo of forest change in Greater Yellowstone in a warmer world with more fire
Authors: Turner Monica G. , Braziunas Kristin H. , Hansen Winslow D. , Hoecker Tyler J. , Rammer Werner , Ratajczak Zak , Westerling A. Leroy , Seidl Rupert
Published: October 2021

As temperatures continue rising, the direction, magnitude, and tempo of change in disturbance‐prone forests remain unresolved. Even forests long resilient to stand‐replacing fire face uncertain futures, and efforts to project changes in forest structure and composition are sorely needed to anticipate future forest trajectories. We simulated fire (incorporating fuels feedbacks) and forest dynamics on five landscapes spanning the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) to ask the following questions: (1) How and where are forest landscapes likely to change with 21st‐century warming and fire activity? (2) Are future forest changes gradual or abrupt, and do forest attributes change synchronously or sequentially? (3) Can forest declines be averted by mid‐21st‐century stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations? We used the spatially explicit individual‐based forest model iLand to track multiple attributes (forest extent, stand age, tree density, basal area, aboveground carbon stocks, dominant forest types, species occupancy) through 2100 for six climate scenarios. Hot‐dry climate scenarios led to more fire, but stand‐replacing fire peaked in mid‐century and then declined even as annual area burned continued to rise. Where forest cover persisted, previously dense forests were converted to sparse young woodlands. Increased aridity and fire drove a ratchet of successive abrupt declines (i.e., multiple annual landscape‐level changes ≥20%) in tree density, basal area, and extent of older (>150 yr) forests, whereas declines in carbon stocks and mean stand age were always gradual. Forest changes were asynchronous across landscapes, but declines in stand structure always preceded reductions in forest extent and carbon stocks. Forest decline was most likely in less topographically complex landscapes dominated by fire‐sensitive tree species (Picea engelmannii, Abies lasiocarpa, Pinus contorta var. latifolia) and where fire resisters (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca) were not already prevalent. If current GHG emissions continue unabated (RCP 8.5) and aridity increases, a suite of forest changes would transform the GYE, with cascading effects on biodiversity and myriad ecosystem services. However, stabilizing GHG concentrations by mid‐century (RCP 4.5) would slow the ratchet, moderating fire activity and dampening the magnitude and rate of forest change. Monitoring changes in forest structure may serve as an operational early warning indicator of impending forest decline.
Determinants of the survival benefit associated with statins in patients with acute heart failure
Authors: Park Chan Soon , Hwang In‐Chang , Park Jin Joo , Park Jae‐Hyeong , Park Jun‐Bean , Cho Goo‐Yeong
Published: October 2021

Aims

The benefit of statins in patients with heart failure (HF) remains controversial and the mechanism of action is largely speculative. We investigated the determinants of the survival benefit associated with statins in HF patients.

Methods and results

We enrolled 1680 acute HF patients receiving statins and 2157 patients not receiving statins admitted between 2009 and 2016. The left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) was assessed as a measure of myocardial contractility. The primary outcome was 5 year all‐cause mortality. Statin therapy was independently associated with improved survival in patients with HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) [adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.781, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.621–0.981, P = 0.034], but not in those with HF with reduced EF (HFrEF) (adjusted HR 0.881, 95% CI 0.712–1.090, P = 0.244). Mortality reduction associated with statin therapy was significant in patients with ischaemic HF (adjusted HR 0.775, 95% CI 0.607–0.989, P = 0.040), but not in those with non‐ischaemic HF (adjusted HR 0.895, 95% CI 0.734–1.092, P = 0.275). The relative magnitude of survival benefit with statin therapy increased as LV‐EF and LV‐GLS increased, with a steeper dose–response relationship in patients with ischaemic HF. In the subgroup of patients with ischaemic HF, survival benefit with statin therapy was confined to those ≤75 years of age.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that the survival benefit of statins is confined to patients with HFpEF and those with ischaemic HF. Myocardial contractility may modulate the prognostic effects of statins in HF patients, particularly when the aetiology is ischaemic rather than non‐ischaemic.
Stress cardiomyopathy in hospitalized patients with cancer: machine learning analysis by primary malignancy type
Authors: Javaid Awad I. , Monlezun Dominique J. , Iliescu Gloria , Tran Phi , Filipescu Alexandru , Palaskas Nicolas , Lopez‐Mattei Juan , Hassan Saamir , Kim Peter , Madjid Mohammad , Cilingiroglu Mehmet , Charitakis Konstantinos , Marmagkiolis Konstantinos , Iliescu Cezar , Koutroumpakis Efstratios
Published: October 2021

Aims

Previous studies have shown that patients with stress (Takotsubo) cardiomyopathy (SC) and cancer have higher in‐hospital mortality than patients with SC alone. No studies have examined outcomes in patients with active cancer and SC compared to patients with active cancer without SC. We aimed to assess the potential association between primary malignancy type and SC and their shared interaction with inpatient mortality.

Methods and results

We analysed SC by primary malignancy type with propensity score adjusted multivariable regression and machine learning analysis using the 2016 United States National Inpatient Sample. Of 30 195 722 adult hospitalized patients, 4 719 591 had active cancer, of whom 568 239 had SC. The mean age of patients with cancer and SC was 69.1, of which 74.7% were women. Among patients with cancer, those with SC were more likely to be female and have white race, Medicare insurance, hypertension, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, obesity, cerebrovascular disease, anaemia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (P < 0.003 for all). In machine learning‐augmented, propensity score multivariable regression adjusted for age, race, and income, only lung cancer [OR 1.25; 95% CI: 1.08–1.46; P = 0.003] and breast cancer [OR 1.81; 95% CI: 1.62–2.02; P < 0.001] were associated with a significantly increased likelihood of SC. Neither SC alone nor having both SC and cancer was significantly associated with in‐hospital mortality. The presence of concomitant SC and breast cancer was significantly associated with reduced mortality (OR 0.48; 95% CI: 0.25–0.94; P = 0.032).

Conclusions

This analysis demonstrates that primary malignancy type influences the likelihood of developing SC. Further studies will be necessary to delineate characteristics in patients with lung cancer and breast cancer which contribute to development of SC. Additional investigation should confirm lower mortality in patients with SC and breast cancer and determine possible explanations and protective factors.
COVID‐19 vaccination in patients with heart failure: a position paper of the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology
Authors: Rosano Giuseppe , Jankowska Ewa A. , Ray Robin , Metra Marco , Abdelhamid Magdy , Adamopoulos Stamatis , Anker Stefan D. , Bayes‐Genis Antoni , Belenkov Yury , Ben Gal Tuvia , Böhm Michael , Chioncel Ovidiu , Cohen‐Solal Alain , Farmakis Dimitrios , Filippatos Gerasimos , González Arantxa , Gustafsson Finn , Hill Loreena , Jaarsma Tiny , Jouhra Fadi , Lainscak Mitja , Lambrinou Ekaterini , Lopatin Yury , Lund Lars H. , Milicic Davor , Moura Brenda , Mullens Wilfried , Piepoli Massimo F. , Ponikowski Piotr , Rakisheva Amina , Ristic Arsen , Savarese Gianluigi , Seferovic Petar , Senni Michele , Thum Thomas , Tocchetti Carlo G. , Van Linthout Sophie , Volterrani Maurizio , Coats Andrew J.S.
Published: October 2021

Patients with heart failure (HF) who contract SARS‐CoV‐2 infection are at a higher risk of cardiovascular and non‐cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Regardless of therapeutic attempts in COVID‐19, vaccination remains the most promising global approach at present for controlling this disease. There are several concerns and misconceptions regarding the clinical indications, optimal mode of delivery, safety and efficacy of COVID‐19 vaccines for patients with HF. This document provides guidance to all healthcare professionals regarding the implementation of a COVID‐19 vaccination scheme in patients with HF. COVID‐19 vaccination is indicated in all patients with HF, including those who are immunocompromised (e.g. after heart transplantation receiving immunosuppressive therapy) and with frailty syndrome. It is preferable to vaccinate against COVID‐19 patients with HF in an optimal clinical state, which would include clinical stability, adequate hydration and nutrition, optimized treatment of HF and other comorbidities (including iron deficiency), but corrective measures should not be allowed to delay vaccination. Patients with HF who have been vaccinated against COVID‐19 need to continue precautionary measures, including the use of facemasks, hand hygiene and social distancing. Knowledge on strategies preventing SARS‐CoV‐2 infection (including the COVID‐19 vaccination) should be included in the comprehensive educational programmes delivered to patients with HF.
Monocytes mediate Salmonella Typhimurium‐induced tumor growth inhibition in a mouse melanoma model
Authors: Johnson Síle A. , Ormsby Michael J. , Wessel Hannah M. , Hulme Heather E. , Bravo‐Blas Alberto , McIntosh Anne , Mason Susan , Coffelt Seth B. , Tait Stephen W.G. , Mowat Allan McI. , Milling Simon W.F. , Blyth Karen , Wall Daniel M.
Published: October 2021

The use of bacteria as an alternative cancer therapy has been reinvestigated in recent years. SL7207: an auxotrophic Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium aroA mutant with immune‐stimulatory potential has proven a promising strain for this purpose. Here, we show that systemic administration of SL7207 induces melanoma tumor growth arrest in vivo, with greater survival of the SL7207‐treated group compared to control PBS‐treated mice. Administration of SL7207 is accompanied by a change in the immune phenotype of the tumor‐infiltrating cells toward pro‐inflammatory, with expression of the TH1 cytokines IFN‐γ, TNF‐α, and IL‐12 significantly increased. Interestingly, Ly6C+MHCII+ monocytes were recruited to the tumors following SL7207 treatment and were pro‐inflammatory. Accordingly, the abrogation of these infiltrating monocytes using clodronate liposomes prevented SL7207‐induced tumor growth inhibition. These data demonstrate a previously unappreciated role for infiltrating inflammatory monocytes underlying bacterial‐mediated tumor growth inhibition. This information highlights a possible novel role for monocytes in controlling tumor growth, contributing to our understanding of the immune responses required for successful immunotherapy of cancer.
Dyadic analysis of adolescent friendships behaviours during pain: Comparison of those with chronic pain versus those without chronic pain
Authors: Forgeron Paula A. , Chambers Christine , Dick Bruce D. , Cohen Janice , Finley G. Allen , Lamontagne Christine
Published: October 2021

Background

Social context has been found to influence pain intensity and tolerance. The aims of this study were to determine the impact of one type of social context on the painful experiences of adolescents with and without chronic pain by examining interactions within and across friendship dyads during experimental pain.

Methods

Each adolescent in 61 same‐sex friendship dyads (30 dyads with a chronic pain member) across three sites participated in the cold pressor task and acted as the observer during their friend's participation. They also completed a battery of measures to capture friendship features and pain outcomes. Pain intensity was measured using an 11‐point numeric scale. Pain tolerance was measured by the length of time in the cold pressor device. Videotapes of their interactions were coded for verbal and non‐verbal behaviours. A series of Actor Partner Independence Modelling, Hierarchical Multiple Regression and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance was used to analyse the data.

Results

Friendship features were not associated with pain intensity or tolerance. Both members of dyads with a chronic pain member used fewer non‐attending behaviours when they were observing their friend resulting in participants in those dyads having lower pain tolerance. Moreover, within dyads, one's friend's behaviours when experiencing pain influenced pain tolerance but only for those dyads with a chronic pain member.

Conclusions

Strategies aimed at improving social interactions for adolescents with chronic pain while they are experiencing pain are discussed. Research is needed to understand how different peer relationships influence pain tolerance in adolescents with chronic pain.

Significance of the research

During pain, patterns of interactions differ within and between adolescent friendship dyads when one has chronic pain (CP) versus controls. Dyads with a CP member use fewer non‐attending behaviours despite non‐attending behaviours rated as more helpful. Pain intensity was solely related to the participant's behaviour. Amongst dyads with a CP member, pain tolerance was also influenced by their friend's behaviours. Friends of adolescents with pain engage in more unhelpful behaviours perhaps decreasing the ability of CP adolescents to engage in social activities.
Second‐Guessing the Regulatory and Judicial Rules for US Energy Markets (Gas and Electricity)
Authors: Makholm Jeff D.
Published: October 2021

In the 1984 Pulitzer Prize winning biography of my late colleague Alfred E. Kahn (and three other notable US regulators—Charles Francis Adams, Louis Brandeis and James Landis), Thomas McCraw said that Kahn wrote his great 1970–1971 book, The Principles of Regulation, just at the right time. That time was when US utilities—electricity, telecom, natural gas—had generally come to the end of a long period dominated by economies of scale and declining costs. Needing for the first time ever to ask for substantial rate increases in the 1970s/1980s, utilities faced skeptical regulators and an increasingly cost‐conscious public. For this reason, Kahn's book was bound to be popular, with its scholarly emphasis on marginal‐cost pricing and economic efficiency. Other important US energy economists had written great treatises on marginal cost pricing in the late 1940s and early 1960s—but their timing was off. Not Kahn's.
Experimentelle und numerische Untersuchungen zum Kompressionsverhalten von Sand‐Schluff‐Gemischen
Authors: Tafili Merita , Knittel Lukas , Gauger Vera
Published: October 2021

Die Wahl eines geeigneten Stoffmodells für gemischtkörnige Böden ist für die Nachweisführung einer anspruchsvollen geotechnischen Konstruktion von entscheidender Bedeutung. Für die Entwicklung eines akkuraten Stoffmodells, ist wiederum die experimentelle Untersuchung des Bodens unabdingbar. Anhand von Ödometerversuchen an Mischungen mit unterschiedlichem Feinkornanteil wird das Kompressionsverhalten von Sand‐Schluff‐Gemischen untersucht. Hierbei zeigt sich, dass mit steigendem Feinkornanteil die Kompressibilität des Materials deutlich zunimmt, die jedoch unabhängig vom Feinkornanteil durch eine exponentielle Beziehung zwischen der äquivalenten Porenzahl e* und der vertikalen Dehnung beschrieben werden kann. Dabei wird das Verformungsgesetz von Ohde (1939) unter Berücksichtigung von e* auf Gemische verallgemeinert. Nachrechnungen mit dem hypoplastischen Stoffmodell für grobkörnige und dem AVISA‐Modell für feinkörnige Böden ergeben einen Bedarf für die Kopplung der Vorkonsolidierungsspannung und der Normalkonsolidierungslinie bei einem Verhältnis von 1 : 1 von Sand zu Schluff, abhängig vom Feinkornanteil.
The association between single and multiple chronic conditions and depression among older population in India: A comparative study between men and women
Authors: Meher Trupti , Muhammad Thalil , Gharge Shivani
Published: October 2021

Objective

The study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and to explore the association of specific chronic conditions as well as multi‐morbidity with depression among the older population.

Method

The study utilized data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India Wave 1 (2017–2018). The total sample size for the present study was 31,464 older adults aged 60 and above, including 14,931 males and 16,533 females. Descriptive statistics along with bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to fulfil the objectives.

Results

The overall prevalence of depression among the elderly population in India was 8.7%. Older women had shown a greater prevalence rate of depression than older men. Among chronic conditions, hypertension, stroke, and bone‐related diseases were found to be significantly associated with depression in the case of both men and women. The prevalence of depression among older adults with three or more chronic conditions was higher in males (14.5%) than in females (11.2%). The association between the number of chronic conditions and depression exhibited a linear trend with an increased odds ratio indicating a higher risk of depression among older adults with multiple chronic conditions.

Conclusion

Older individuals with a greater number of chronic illnesses have a higher risk of depression and the risk is proportional to the number of chronic conditions. This signifies the need for the identification of depressive symptoms at an early stage by focussing on the elderly suffering from chronic conditions and educating family members and the community about effective treatments and counselling.
Incorporating the Role(s) of Human Actors in Complex System Design for Safety and Security
Authors: Fleming Elizabeth S. , Williams Adam D.
Published: October 2021

Traditional systems engineering demonstrates the importance of customer needs in scoping and defining design requirements; yet, in practice, other human stakeholders are often absent from early lifecycle phases. Human factors are often omitted in practice when evaluating and down‐selecting design options due to constraints such as time, money, access to user populations, or difficulty in proving system robustness through the inclusion of human behaviors. Advances in systems engineering increasingly include non‐technical influences into the design, deployment, operations, and maintenance of interacting components to achieve common performance objectives. Such advances highlight the need to better account for the various roles of human actors to achieve desired performance outcomes in complex systems. Many of these efforts seek to infuse lessons and concepts from human factors (enhanced decision‐making through Crew Resource Management), systems safety (Rasmussen's “drift toward danger”) and organization science (Giddens' recurrent human acts leading to emergent behaviors) into systems engineering to better understand how socio‐technical interactions impact emergent system performance. Safety and security are examples of complex system performance outcomes that are directly impacted by varying roles of human actors. Using security performance of high consequence facilities as a representative use case, this article will outline the System Context Lenses to understand how to include various roles of human actors into systems engineering design. Several exemplar applications of this organizing lenses will be summarized and used to highlight more generalized insights for the broader systems engineering community.
Application of MBSAP to a Complex Problem with Social Dimensions: Utilization in Outpatient Imaging Centers
Authors: Speece Jill , Shahroudi Kamran Eftekhari
Published: October 2021

Outpatient imaging centers struggle daily to manage the negative impact of same day missed appointments. The technical component of outpatient imaging centers includes a complex IT infrastructure and advanced medical imaging equipment. The social component of outpatient imaging centers includes stakeholders that regularly interact with these technologies and one another all to help physicians diagnose their patients. The effectiveness of the technology used in outpatient imaging is dependent on operator ability and stakeholder collaboration. Problems in this type of system require intentional systems thinking to understand stakeholder needs. The Model‐Based System Architecture Process (MBSAP) provides a visually understandable framework for system development in an industry unfamiliar with Systems Engineering methods. The primary social dimensions in outpatient imaging are the Customer Dimension, Planning Dimension, Operations Dimension, and Technical Dimension. Each dimension has stakeholders with a diverse set of needs that must be well‐understood and incorporated into the requirements. This paper presents an architecture for a system that utilizes all available exam time slots without a dependency on modifying patient behavior to prevent same day missed appointments. The MBSAP artefacts are the starting point for making the system a reality with stakeholders and finding the right balance between separate social dimensional measures.
A deep transfer learning based approach to detect COVID‐19 waste
Authors: Buragohain Ayushman , Mali Bhabesh , Saha Santanu , Singh Pranav Kumar
Published: October 2021

COVID‐19 or Novel Coronavirus disease is not only creating a pandemic but also created another kind of problem, initiating a group of wastes, which is also called as COVID‐19 waste. COVID‐19 waste includes the mask, hand gloves, sanitizer bottles, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, syringes used to vaccinate people, etc. These wastes are now polluting every continent and ocean. Improper disposal of such wastes may increase the rate of spread of contamination. In this regard, we decided to build up a detection model, which will be able to detect some of the COVID‐19 wastes. We considered masks, hand gloves, and syringes as the initial wastes to get detected. We collected the dataset manually, annotated the images with these three classes, then trained different CNN models to compare the accuracies of the models for our dataset. We got the best model to be EfficientDet D0, which gives a mean average precision of 0.82. Further, we have also developed a UI to deploy the model, where general users can upload the images and can detect the wastes, controlling the threshold.
Serum exosomal long noncoding RNA CRNDE as a prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Wang Ting , Zhu Hengkai , Xiao Min , Zhou Shao
Published: October 2021

Background

Accumulating evidence has shown that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) CRNDE functions as an oncogene in many cancer types. However, its clinical value has not yet been explored in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

A total of 166 patients with HCC and 100 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The expression levels of serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE were detected in patients with HCC and controls by quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR).

Results

The serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE expression levels were significantly increased in patients with HCC compared with normal controls. High serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE expression was significantly associated with tumor size, tumor differentiation, and TNM stage. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.839, with a sensitivity and specificity of 69.3% and 85.0%. In addition, the overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) were significantly longer in patients with lower serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE expression compared to those with higher CRNDE expression. Moreover, HCC patients with cirrhosis had worse OS and DFS than those without cirrhosis. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that high serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE expression was an independent indicator of poor prognosis.

Conclusion

Taken together, serum exosomal lncRNA CRNDE might serve as a potential biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis.
Assessment of Transporter‐Mediated Drug Interactions for Enasidenib Based on a Cocktail Study in Patients With Relapse or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Authors: Cheng Yiming , Wang Xiaomin , Tong Zeen , Reyes Josephine , Carayannopoulos Leon , Zhou Simon , Li Yan
Published: October 2021

As a first‐in‐class, selective, potent inhibitor of the isocitrate dehydrogenase‐2 (IDH2) mutant protein, enasidenib was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with an isocitrate dehydrogenase‐2 mutation. An in vitro study showed that enasidenib at clinically relevant concentrations has effects on multiple drug metabolic enzymes and transporters, including inhibition of P‐glycoprotein, breast cancer resistance protein, organic anion transporter (OAT) P1B1, and OATP1B3 transporters. Therefore, a drug‐drug interaction study was conducted to assess the impact of enasidenib at steady state on the pharmacokinetics of several probe compounds in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, including the probes herein described in this article, digoxin and rosuvastatin. Results from 8 patients (all Asian) with a mean age of 67.1 years showed that following coadministration of enasidenib (100 mg, 28‐day once‐daily schedule) for 28 days (at steady state), digoxin's (0.25 mg) area under the plasma concentration–time curve from time 0 to 30 days was 1.2‐fold (90% confidence interval, 0.9‐1.6), compared with digoxin alone. Following coadministration of enasidenib (100 mg, 28‐day once‐daily schedule) for 28 days (at steady state), rosuvastatin's (10 mg) area under the plasma concentration–time curve from time 0 to infinity was 3.4‐fold (90% confidence interval, 2.6‐4.5) compared with rosuvastatin alone. These results should serve as the basis for dose recommendations for drugs that are substrates of P‐glycoprotein, breast cancer resistance protein, OATP1B1, and OATP1B3 transporters, when used concomitantly with enasidenib.
Design and optimization of extractive distillation of benzene–n‐propanol with ionic liquid as entrainer
Authors: Li Wenxiu , Wang Lida , Zhang Yu , Feng Huisheng , Guo Hongfan , Zhang Tao
Published: October 2021

BACKGROUND

The binary benzene–n‐propanol azeotrope can be formed in chemical production. Extractive distillation is an important azeotrope separation technology and an ionic liquid is a type of excellent entrainer. Aspen Plus software was used to simulate the extractive distillation process. The separation performance of ionic liquids was evaluated in terms of total annual cost of the extractive distillation process. The separation mechanism of the azeotrope was quantitatively explained using intermolecular interaction energy.

RESULTS

The thermodynamic properties databases of 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate, trioctylmethylammonium acetate and 1‐decyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate were established in Aspen Plus software. The extractive distillation process was established through combining the thermodynamic properties of the three ionic liquids and the vapor–liquid equilibrium data of benzene–n‐propanol–ionic liquid. The optimal operating conditions were obtained by minimizing the total annual cost of the separation process through a sequential iterative method. The interaction energy was calculated using density functional theory through Gaussian 09 software and used to explain the principle of the benzene–n‐propanol azeotropic system separation.

CONCLUSIONS

1‐Octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate has the best separation performance among the three ionic liquids. The interaction energy can be used to screen and design ionic liquids in the process of benzene–n‐propanol extractive distillation separation. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).
Signposts to decolonial futures in understanding and addressing our present crises
Authors: Pickren Graham W. , Pickren Wade E.
Published: October 2021

We introduce the special issue “Our Present Crises: Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Social Inequality” by highlighting how histories of the social and behavioral sciences can contribute to a multifaceted understanding of the links among the climate crisis, massive biodiversity loss, and social and economic inequities of nearly every kind. We propose that although the epistemological and ontological bases of these disciplines are themselves entangled with modernity/coloniality, there are, nonetheless, critical insights to be gained by exposing these entanglements. These insights may help generate visions of decolonial futures which eschew destructive dualisms in favor of relational ontologies which honor the living ecosystem of the earth.
More remittances, fewer kids—Impact of remittances on fertility in Morocco
Authors: Ben Atta Oussama , Kasmaoui Kamal , Mughal Mazhar Yasin , Makhlouf Farid
Published: October 2021

This study examines the role played by remittances in Morocco's spectacular fertility decline over the 1975–2018 period. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds approach, we find a significant negative association between remittances to the country and total fertility rate. This relationship is stronger in the long term than in the short term, suggesting that the human capital‐accumulation channel is probably more important than the income effect. Findings of the study highlight the contribution of Morocco's large overseas migrant community to the country's demographic transition.
Iron deprivation restrains the differentiation and pathogenicity of T helper 17 cell
Authors: Li Lin , Xia Yuting , Yuan Shijie , Li Fei , Xie Xiaorong , Luo Yuan , Yang Xiang-Ping , He Ran
Published: October 2021

Iron plays a critical role in immune responses. However, its role in T helper cell differentiation and function remains poorly understood. In this study, it is shown that the restraint of iron availability through blocking CD71-mediated iron endocytosis impaired the differentiation and pathogenicity of TH17 cells. Administrations of anti-CD71 mAb could relieve the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Mechanistically, the iron deficiency due to the blocking of CD71 enhanced IL-2 expression, which further restrained the differentiation of TH17 cells. Meanwhile, CD71 blockade impaired histone modifications of Il17 gene and reduced the recruitment of RORγt to Il17a locus. In sum, the findings reveal that iron plays a pivotal role in regulating TH17 cell differentiation and function in autoimmune diseases.
Barriers of Chinese Gay Men to Counseling
Authors: Lin Chichun , Moore Darren D. , Espinoza Sandra A. , Nylund David
Published: October 2021

This study explored Chinese gay men's barriers to counseling services through a basic interpretive qualitative methodology. Twelve participants attended interviews of 40 to 75 minutes in length. The found barriers were rooted in (a) practical obstacles, (b) limited information and worries, (c) cultural impacts, and (d) learned coping skills. The major limitations were from the participants' characteristics. The results can be used to optimize policies aimed at reducing barriers to counseling.

Este estudio exploró las barreras que limitan el acceso de hombres gais chinos a servicios de consejería a través de una metodología cualitativa interpretativa básica. Doce participantes asistieron a entrevistas de entre 40 y 75 minutos de duración. Las barreras halladas tenían su origen en (a) obstáculos prácticos, (b) información limitada y preocupaciones, (c) impactos culturales y (d) habilidades de afrontamiento aprendidas. Las características de los participantes causaron las mayores limitaciones. Se pueden usar los resultados para optimizar las políticas orientadas a la reducción de barreras a la consejería.
Relationship between the development of a convective mixed layer and dust weather in arid and semi‐arid regions of East Asia
Authors: Nakamae Kumi , Takemi Tetsuya
Published: October 2021

Mineral dust affects global and regional climates through radiative forcing. Herein the relationship between convective mixed layers and dust weather over arid and semi‐arid regions in East Asia is statistically analysed using operational surface‐station observation data and the lifting condensation level (LCL) height as a substitute for the mixed layer height. We divided the East Asia area into five regions (west/east Taklamakan Desert, west/east Gobi Desert and northeast China) and classified dust weather into three categories (floating dust, blowing dust and dust storm). Floating dust is the most frequent in the west Taklamakan Desert. All dust weather types are observed in the Taklamakan Desert even at low wind speeds but are seldom observed if the daily maximum LCL height is less than about 1,000 m. The floating dust events observed inside the Tarim basin seem to spread widely. In the Gobi Desert, when the maximum LCL height reaches about 3,000 m, all the dust weather types spread within the region. In all regions, the daily maximum LCL heights are higher in dust weather categories than in the no‐dust weather category. When a severe dust weather is observed in the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts, the daily maximum LCL height reaches around 4,000–5,000 m above the mean sea level under higher wind conditions, suggesting that dust particles are easily raised from the boundary layer into the free troposphere during dust events in well‐developed mixed layer conditions. In the Gobi region, the frequency and areal extent of the blowing dust and the dust storm are higher than those of the floating dust. Therefore, the role of the deep mixed layers in the Gobi Desert is more important than that in the Taklamakan Desert.
Optimization of Process‐Control Parameters for the Diameter of Electrospun Hydrophilic Polymeric Composite Nanofibers
Authors: Alfares Fawzan S. , Guler Ece , Alenezi Hussain , Cam Muhammet Emin , Edirisinghe Mohan
Published: October 2021

A composite nanofiber composed of three polymers, namely polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl pyrrolidone/polyethylene oxide, is produced. The experiments are constructed using three design of experiment techniques, Taguchi L9, Taguchi L27, and Screening method. The experiments are verified using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method and later a mathematical model is developed using the regression method. The impact of electrospun processing parameters, namely applied voltage, flow rate, and working distance, on nanofibers' diameter is measured. The working distance is a significant factor in controlling the size of the fiber diameter, while the applied voltage has the lowest effect on it. As a result of the regression equation, a Genetic algorithm is used to find the optimum variables for the required fiber diameter, which is 156 nm for flow rate = 0.001 mL h−1, voltage = 30 kV, and distance = 200 mm with a 3% difference from the experimental fiber diameter.
Genetic Stratification of Age‐Dependent Parkinson's Disease Risk by Polygenic Hazard Score
Authors: Pihlstrøm Lasse , Fan Chun C. , Frei Oleksandr , Tan Manuela , Karunamuni Roshan A. , Blauwendraat Cornelis , Bandres‐Ciga Sara , Gan‐Or Ziv , Grosset Donald G. ,   International Parkinson's Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC), Dale Anders M. , Seibert Tyler M. , Andreassen Ole A.
Published: October 2021

Background

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a highly age‐related disorder, where common genetic risk variants affect both disease risk and age at onset. A statistical approach that integrates these effects across all common variants may be clinically useful for individual risk stratification. A polygenic hazard score methodology, leveraging a time‐to‐event framework, has recently been successfully applied in other age‐related disorders.

Objectives

We aimed to develop and validate a polygenic hazard score model in sporadic PD.

Methods

Using a Cox regression framework, we modeled the polygenic hazard score in a training data set of 11,693 PD patients and 9841 controls. The score was then validated in an independent test data set of 5112 PD patients and 5372 controls and a small single‐study sample of 360 patients and 160 controls.

Results

A polygenic hazard score predicts the onset of PD with a hazard ratio of 3.78 (95% confidence interval 3.49–4.10) when comparing the highest to the lowest risk decile. Combined with epidemiological data on incidence rate, we apply the score to estimate genetically stratified instantaneous PD risk across age groups.

Conclusions

We demonstrate the feasibility of a polygenic hazard approach in PD, integrating the genetic effects on disease risk and age at onset in a single model. In combination with other predictive biomarkers, the approach may hold promise for risk stratification in future clinical trials of disease‐modifying therapies, which aim at postponing the onset of PD. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Autopsy Validation of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy‐Predominant Speech/Language Disorder Criteria
Authors: Hokelekli Fatma Ozlem , Duffy Joseph R. , Clark Heather M. , Utianski Rene L. , Botha Hugo , Ali Farwa , Stierwalt Julie A. , Machulda Mary M. , Reichard R. Ross , Dickson Dennis W. , Whitwell Jennifer L. , Josephs Keith A.
Published: October 2021

Background

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may present as a speech/language disorder (PSP‐SL).

Objective

We assessed pathological correlates of patients with PSP‐SL who retained the suggestive of PSP‐SL (s.o. PSP‐SL) diagnosis versus those who progressed to possible/probable (poss./prob.) PSP.

Methods

Thirty‐four prospectively recruited patient with s.o. PSP‐SL completed comprehensive speech/language and neurological assessments longitudinally, died, and underwent autopsy.

Results

Twelve patients (35%) evolved to poss./prob PSP, while 22 (65%) remained as s.o. PSP‐SL. Pathological diagnoses differed across the groups (P = 0.025). Patients with s.o. PSP‐SL had four different neuropathologies (corticobasal degeneration [59%], PSP [13%], Pick's disease [14%], and frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP‐43 [14%]), while all patients with poss./prob. PSP had a 4R‐tauopathy (PSP [67%] and corticobasal degeneration [33%]). Development of poss./prob. PSP increased the chance of having PSP pathology by 2.38 times.

Conclusions

PSP‐SL is associated with heterogenous pathologies. Evolution of PSP‐SL into poss./prob. PSP is more predictive of underlying PSP pathology than s.o. PSP‐SL. © 2021 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Analytical solution for temperature distribution in functionally graded cylindrical shells under convective cooling
Authors: Emamian Amin , Amiri Delouei Amin , Karimnejad Sajjad , Jing Dengwei
Published: October 2021

In the current study, an analytical solution for the temperature distribution in a cylindrical shell that is made of functionally graded material is obtained. The general boundary condition is considered for achieving the solution, and particularly convective cooling plays the dominant role in this problem. The obtained solution is first verified against the numerical data, and then, the credibility of the solution for studying practical problems is tested employing two illustrative test cases with various boundary conditions. Parametric studies are done to evaluate some significant parameters, including material constant, boundary conditions, and convection on temperature distribution. It is seen that boundary condition plays a dominant role in the cooling rate. Material constant does not have a significant effect on the temperature distribution. The current study can be hired to better the design and production process of cylindrical shells made of functionally graded material.
Second‐order impulsive differential systems with mixed delays: Oscillation theorems
Authors: Santra Shyam Sundar , Ghosh Apurba , Dassios Ioannis
Published: October 2021

In this work, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the oscillation of solutions of a second‐order neutral differential equation with impulses. Two examples are provided to show the effectiveness and feasibility of the main results. Our main tool is the Lebesgue's Dominated Convergence theorem.
A proof of the convexity of a set of lamination parameters
Authors: Akian Jean‐Luc
Published: October 2021

In this paper we show that the proof of the convexity of the set of lamination parameters given by J.L. Grenestedt and P. Gudmundson, which is extensively cited in the literature, is not correct. We give a proof of the convexity of this set when the class of layup functions is the set of step functions. Moreover we give a proof of the non‐convexity of this set when the class of layup functions is the set of step functions where the layers have the same thickness and the number of layers is not fixed.
Partial Fourier reconstruction of complex MR images using complex‐valued convolutional neural networks
Authors: Xiao Linfang , Liu Yilong , Yi Zheyuan , Zhao Yujiao , Xie Linshan , Cao Peibei , Leong Alex T. L. , Wu Ed X.
Published: October 2021

Purpose

To provide a complex‐valued deep learning approach for partial Fourier (PF) reconstruction of complex MR images.

Methods

Conventional PF reconstruction methods, such as projection onto convex sets (POCS), uses low‐resolution image phase information from the central symmetrically sampled k‐space for image reconstruction. However, this smooth phase constraint undermines the phase estimation accuracy in presence of rapid local phase variations, causing image artifacts and limiting the extent of PF reconstruction. Using both magnitude and phase characteristics in big complex image datasets, we propose a complex‐valued deep learning approach with an unrolled network architecture for PF reconstruction that iteratively reconstructs PF sampled data and enforces data consistency. We evaluate our approach for reconstructing both spin‐echo and gradient‐echo data.

Results

The proposed method outperformed the iterative POCS PF reconstruction method. It produced better artifact suppression and recovery of both image magnitude and phase details in presence of local phase changes. No noise amplification was observed even for highly PF reconstruction. Moreover, the network trained on axial brain data could reconstruct sagittal and coronal brain and knee data. This method could be extended to 2D PF reconstruction and joint multi‐slice PF reconstruction.

Conclusion

Our proposed method can effectively reconstruct MR data even at low PF fractions, yielding high‐fidelity magnitude and phase images. It presents a valuable alternative to conventional PF reconstruction, especially for phase‐sensitive 2D or 3D MRI applications.