bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
MUFFIN-PTS trial, Micronized Purified Flavonoid Fraction for the Treatment of Post-Thrombotic Syndrome: protocol of a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Galanaud Jean Philippe , Abdulrehman Jameel , Lazo-Langner A , Le Gal Grégoire , Shivakumar Sudeep , Schulman Sam , Kahn Susan
Published: September 2021

Introduction

After deep vein thrombosis, up to 50% of patients develop post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS). PTS is a chronic condition that reduces quality of life (QOL). Cornerstones of PTS treatment include the use of elastic compression stockings but this treatment is usually incompletely effective and is burdensome. Venoactive drugs have been reported to be effective to treat chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). However, the level of evidence supporting their use in CVI in general and in PTS in particular is low.

Methods and analysis

The MUFFIN-PTS trial is an academic, publically funded, multicentre randomised placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of micronised purified flavonoid fraction (MPFF, Venixxa), a venoactive drug, to treat PTS. Eighty-six patients with PTS (Villalta score (VS) ≥5) and experiencing at least two of the following PTS manifestations among daily leg heaviness, cramps, pain or oedema will be randomised to receive 1000 mg of oral MPFF or a similar appearing placebo for 6 months, in addition to their usual PTS treatment. Total study follow-up will be 9 months, with visits at inclusion/baseline, 3, 6 and 9 months. Primary outcome is the proportion of patients with improvement in VS in each group, where improvement is defined as a decrease of at least 30% in VS or a VS <5 in the PTS-affected leg. Main secondary outcomes include QOL and patient satisfaction.

Ethics and dissemination

Primary ethics approval was received from Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) West-Central Montreal Research Ethics Board. Results of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific conferences.

Trial registration number

ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT03833024); Pre-results.
IL-23 blockade with guselkumab potentially modifies psoriasis pathogenesis: rationale and study protocol of a phase 3b, randomised, double-blind, multicentre study in participants with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis (GUIDE)
Authors: Eyerich Kilian , Weisenseel Peter , Pinter Andreas , Schäkel Knut , Asadullah Khusru , Wegner Sven , Muñoz-Elias Ernesto J , Bartz Holger , Taut Friedmann J H , Reich Kristian
Published: September 2021

Background

Guselkumab is an interleukin (IL)-23 pathway blocker with proven efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Early intervention with guselkumab may result in changes to the clinical disease course versus later intervention.

Methods and analysis

Here we present the rationale and design of a phase 3b, randomised, double-blind, multicentre study (GUIDE), comparing treatment effects of guselkumab in patients with short (≤2 years) or longer (>2 years) duration of plaque-type psoriasis, measured from first appearance of psoriatic plaques. Participants achieving skin clearance (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI)=0) by week 20 and maintaining complete clearance at week 28 visit (‘super-responders’ (SRe)) will be randomised to continue approved maintenance dosing every 8 weeks (q8w) versus an investigational maintenance dosing interval of 16 weeks (q16w) until week 68. Primary endpoint: proportion of participants in the q8w vs q16w arms with absolute PASI <3 at week 68. Participants with PASI <3 at week 68 will be withdrawn from guselkumab treatment for up to 48 weeks. Participants not achieving SRe criteria (non-SRe) will remain in the study with q8w guselkumab dosing through week 68. Additional to serum samples obtained from all patients, skin biopsies and whole-blood samples will be taken from SRe and non-SRe participants at various time points in optional substudies. Analyses include: genetics; immunophenotyping (fluorescence-activated cell sorting); gene and protein expression profiling; immunohistology. By merging clinical endpoints with mechanistic findings, this study aims to elucidate how IL-23 blockade with guselkumab can modify the disease course by altering molecular and cellular drivers that cause relapse after treatment withdrawal, particularly among SRe.

Ethics and dissemination

Approval obtained from ethics committee Medical Council Hamburg, Germany (PVN5925). GUIDE is compliant with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Trial registration number

Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03818035). All primary endpoint results (prespecified analyses) will be submitted to peer-reviewed, international journals within 18 months after primary completion date.
Intensive versus standard blood pressure control in type 2 diabetes: a restricted mean survival time analysis of a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Shi Sandra , Gouskova Natalia , Najafzadeh Mehdi , Wei Lee-Jen , Kim Dae Hyun
Published: September 2021

Background

Restricted mean survival time analysis offers an intuitive and robust summary of treatment effect compared with HRs.

Objective

To examine the effect of intensive versus standard blood pressure (BP) control on death or cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes.

Design

Secondary analysis of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Blood Pressure trial.

Setting

77 sites in the USA and Canada.

Participants

4733 adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk for cardiovascular events.

Interventions

Systolic BP target <120 mm Hg (n=2371) versus <140 mm Hg (n=2362).

Measurements

Composite endpoint of death, non-fatal myocardial infarction or non-fatal stroke.

Results

The mean event-free survival time over 5 years (1825 days) was similar between intensive and standard BP control (1716 vs 1714 days; mean difference, 1.3 (95% CI −18.1 to 20.7) days). However, intensive BP treatment was more beneficial for those assigned to standard glycaemic control (1725 vs 1697 days; mean difference, 28.1 (95% CI 0.4 to 55.9) days), but not for those assigned to intensive glycaemic control (1706 vs 1731 days; mean difference, −25.2 (95% CI −52.3 to 1.9) days) (p=0.008 for interaction). In subgroup analysis, the mean event-free survival time difference between intensive and standard BP treatment was −76.0 (95% CI –131.8 to –20.3) days for those with cognitive impairment and 21.8 (95% CI −24.0 to 67.5) days for those with normal cognitive function (p=0.008 for interaction). The effect was not different by age, sex and baseline cardiovascular disease status.

Conclusions

Intensive BP treatment may reduce death and cardiovascular events among patients with type 2 diabetes receiving standard glycaemic treatment and without cognitive impairment.

Trial registration number

NCT00000620; Post-results.
Impact of COVID-19 on patient health and self-care practices: a mixed-methods survey with German patients
Authors: Fiske Amelia , Schneider Antonius , McLennan Stuart , Karapetyan Siranush , Buyx Alena
Published: September 2021

Objective

This study aimed to examine German patients’: (1) self-estimation of the impact of the pandemic on their health and healthcare; and (2) use of digital self-care practices during the pandemic.

Design

Cross-sectional mixed-methods survey.

Setting and participants

General practice patients from four physicians’ offices located in urban and rural areas of Bavaria, Germany, between 21 July 2020 and 17 October 2020. A total of 254 patients participated (55% response rate); 57% (262 of 459) identified as female and participants had an average age of 39.3 years. Patients were eligible to participate if they were 18 years or older and spoke German, and had access to the internet.

Results

(1) Healthcare for patients was affected by the pandemic, and the mental health of a small group of respondents was particularly affected. The risk of depression and anxiety disorder was significantly increased in patients with quarantine experience. (2) Self-care practices have increased; more than one-third (39%) of participants indicated that they started a new or additional self-care practice during the pandemic, and about a quarter (23%) of patients who were not previously engaged in self-care practices started new self-care activities for the first time; however, such practices were not necessarily digital.

Conclusions

Further investigation is required to understand the relationship between digital self-care and public health events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and to develop strategies to alleviate the burden of the quarantine experience for patients.
Implementation and 1-year follow-up of the cardiovascular ICU standardised handover
Authors: Lupei Monica , Munshi Nishkruti , Kaizer Alexander M , Patten Luke , Wahr Joyce
Published: September 2021

Background

Miscommunication during clinical handover can lead to partial information transfer and healthcare provider dissatisfaction. We hypothesised that a quality improvement project to standardise the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) handover could improve healthcare provider satisfaction and reduce information omission.

Methods

After institutional review board approval, the operating room (OR) to CVICU handover was audited prior, post and 1 year after standardisation implementation. The medical information transferred, healthcare provider participation and satisfaction, and patient outcome data were collected. Additionally, surveys were sent to the OR and CVICU staff by email.

Results

There were 68 handover processes observed. The odds of greater satisfaction with handover for providers were 18 times higher with the process post implementation (p<0.0001) and 26 times higher 1 year after implementation (p<0.0001). There was statistically significant difference between intensive care unit resident presence (45% vs 76% vs 91%, p=0.004), surgical faculty presence (10% vs 36% vs 45%, p=0.034) and surgical fellow presence (15% vs 64% vs 62%, p=0.001) between the three time periods. More information related to the surgeon (5% vs 52% vs 27%, p=0.002), the medical history (65% vs 96% vs 91%, p=0.014) and the cardiopulmonary bypass (47% vs 88% vs 76%, p=0.017) was conveyed. The duration of mechanical ventilation was shorter after implementation (2.2±2.6 days vs 1.2±1.9 days vs 0.5±1.2 days, p=0.026).

Conclusions

One year after the OR to CVICU standardised handover implementation, the healthcare provider satisfaction remained increased, more team members participated and the information transfer increased. Although some clinical outcomes improved, further studies are recommended to prove causality.
Associations between remote patient monitoring programme responsiveness and clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19
Authors: Steinberg Rebecca , Anderson Bjorn , Hu Ziyue , Johnson Theodore M , O’Keefe James B , Plantinga Laura C , Kamaleswaran Rishi , Anderson Blake
Published: September 2021

Objective

To assess whether engagement in a COVID-19 remote patient monitoring (RPM) programme or telemedicine programme improves patient outcomes.

Methods

This is a retrospective cohort study analysing patient responsiveness to our RPM survey or telemedicine visits and outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daily text message surveys and telemedicine consultations were offered to all patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at our institutional screening centres. Survey respondents with alarm responses were contacted by a nurse. We assessed the relationship between virtual engagement (telemedicine or RPM survey response) and clinical outcomes using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Between 10 July 2020 and 2 January 2021, 6822 patients tested positive, with 1230 (18%) responding to at least one survey. Compared with non-responders, responders were younger (49 vs 53 years) and more likely to be white (40% vs 33%) and female (65% vs 55%) and had fewer comorbidities. After adjustment, individuals who engaged virtually were less likely to experience an emergency department visit, hospital admission or intensive care unit–level care.

Conclusion

Telemedicine and RPM programme engagement (vs no engagement) were associated with better outcomes, but this was likely due to differences in groups at baseline rather than the efficacy of our intervention alone.
Effect of a personalised mHealth home-based training application on physical activity levels during and after centre-based cardiac rehabilitation: rationale and design of the Cardiac RehApp randomised control trial
Authors: Vonk Thijs , Bakker Esmee A , Zegers Erwin S , Hopman Maria T E , Eijsvogels Thijs M H
Published: September 2021

Many patients lapse into a physically inactive lifestyle within months after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programme completion. A mobile-health (mHealth) home-based training application can be used to intensify and/or prolong the CR programme to induce long-lasting improvements of habitual physical activity levels. This study will assess the effect of an additional home-based training module during CR and post-CR on habitual physical activity levels among coronary artery disease patients. A total of 132 patients (>18 years old) will be recruited in an 18-week randomised controlled trial with four arms: (1) 6 weeks centre-based CR (ie, standard care), (2) 6 weeks combined centre-based+mHealth home-based CR, (3) 6 weeks centre-based CR followed by 12 weeks mHealth home-based CR, (4) 6 weeks combined centre-based+mHealth home-based CR followed by 12 weeks mHealth home-based CR. The intervention groups will receive a daily and personalised exercise training using a smartphone application (Virtual Training) in addition to and/or as extension of the centre-based CR programme. The participants will be assessed prior to the centre-based CR programme, after completion of the 6-week CR programme and after the 12 weeks extension. Primary outcome will be objectively measured habitual physical activity levels expressed as moderate to vigorous intensity activities (min/week). Secondary outcome parameters include sedentary behaviour, physical fitness (estimated VO2max), handgrip strength, cardiovascular risk profile, quality of life and cardiac anxiety scores. The findings of the Cardiac RehApp study will provide insight into the added value of a personalised mHealth home-based training application on physical activity levels during and after centre-based CR. Trial registration number: NL72182.091.019.
How to analyse the injury based on 24Model: a case study of coal mine gas explosion injury
Authors: Li Jing , Qin Yaru , Wang Zhen , Xin Yanli
Published: September 2021

Background

Coal mine gas explosion injury has caused mass casualties, which have resulted in widespread concern.

Methods

In order to prevent gas explosion injury in coal mine, 24Model is proposed to analyse the risk in this paper. 24Model is a human-oriented and organisation-oriented risk analysis method. Based on the 24Model, we propose a general procedure for analysing the causes of injury within the organisation.

Results

A coal mine gas explosion case was analysed using the 24Model and the proposed analysis method, and the evolution of injury and the interaction of various causes was showed, and 6 unsafe conditions, 25 unsafe acts, 13 safety knowledge, 13 safety management systems and 13 safety cultures were obtained.

Conclusion

Case analysis results show that by using the 24Model and analysis method the proposed effect can help employees to clearly see the evolution and identify the causes of the injury, to better understand the logical relationship with the causes of the injury, improve the effectiveness of training and effectively prevent similar injury. The case study provides a practical procedure for injury investigation and analysis, and thus, preventive measures can be made according to the various causations at different levels.
Exploring the low $$\tan \beta $$ region of two Higgs doublet models at the LHC
Authors: Su Wei , White Martin , Williams Anthony G. , Wu Yongcheng
Published: September 2021

Current interpretations of the LHC results on two Higgs doublet models (2HDM) underestimate the sensitivity due to neglecting higher order effects. In this work, we revisit the impact of these effects using the current cross-section times branching ratio limits of the $$A\rightarrow hZ, H \rightarrow VV$$

A
→
h
Z
,
H
→
V
V

and $$H\rightarrow hh$$

H
→
h
h

channels. With a degenerate heavy Higgs mass $$m_\varPhi $$

m
Φ

, we find that the LHC searches gain sensitivity to the small $$\tan \beta $$

tan
β

region after including loop corrections, even close to $$\cos (\beta -\alpha )=0$$

cos
(
β
-
α
)
=
0

which is not reachable at tree level for all types of 2HDM. For a benchmark point with $$m_\varPhi =300$$

m
Φ

=
300

GeV, $$\tan \beta <1.8(1.2)$$

tan
β
<
1.8
(
1.2
)

can be probed for the Type-I(II) 2HDM model for $$\cos (\beta -\alpha )=0$$

cos
(
β
-
α
)
=
0

. When the deviation from $$\cos (\beta -\alpha )=0$$

cos
(
β
-
α
)
=
0

is larger, the region for which current searches have exclusion potential becomes larger.
Dipolariton propagation in a van der Waals TMDC with Ψ-shaped channel guides and buffered channel branches
Authors: Serafin Patrick C. , Kolmakov German V.
Published: September 2021

Using a computational approach based on the driven diffusion equation for dipolariton wave packets, we simulate the diffusive dynamics of dipolaritons in an optical microcavity embedded with a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) heterogeneous bilayer encompassing a [Formula: see text]-shaped channel. By considering exciton-dipolaritons, which are a three-way superposition of direct excitons, indirect excitons and cavity photons, we are able to drive the dipolaritons in our system by the use of an electric voltage and investigate their diffusive properties. More precisely, we study the propagation of dipolaritons present in a MoSe2-WS2 heterostructure, where the dipolariton propagation is guided by a [Formula: see text]-shaped channel. We also consider the propagation of dipolaritons in the presence of a buffer in the [Formula: see text]-shaped channel and study resulting changes in efficiency. We introduce designs for optical routers at room-temperature as well as show that system parameters including driving forces of [Formula: see text] eV/mm and electric field angles of [Formula: see text] optimize the dipolariton redistribution efficiencies in our channel guide.
Effects of Brace Stiffness and Nonlinearity of Viscous Dampers on Seismic Performance of Structures
Authors: Li Siyuan , Chen Yung-Tsang , Chai Y. H. , Li Bo
Published: September 2021

In the applications of supplemental dampers for seismic hazard mitigation, the supporting braces for the dampers are considered an important component for ensuring an efficient energy dissipation in the structure. Despite their importance, studies on the effects of the brace stiffness and the velocity exponent in the case of nonlinear viscous dampers are rather limited. In this paper, a numerical time-stepping method is developed for computing the seismic response of the structure with supporting braces and nonlinear viscous dampers. Using the proposed method, effects of the parameters of the nonlinear damper-brace systems are investigated, using first a single-story structure, followed by multi-story buildings. Results indicated that the design parameters for the dampers and supporting braces may be combined in numerous ways to satisfy a given set of structural performance objectives, but the brace stiffness can be minimized to achieve design efficiency in the range of velocity exponent commonly used for seismic applications of nonlinear viscous dampers. Results also indicated that for a set brace stiffness, if the dampers are optimally designed, the velocity exponent has an insignificant effect on the structural seismic performance objectives considered in this paper.
Congruences on glrac semigroups (I)
Authors: Liu Haijun , Guo Xiaojiang
Published: September 2021

The theory of congruences on semigroups is an important part in the theory of semigroups. The aim of this paper is to study (2,1)-congruences on a glrac semigroup. It is proved that the (2,1)-congruences on a glrac semigroup become a complete sublattice of its lattice of congruences. Especially, the structures of left restriction semigroup (2,1)-congruences and the projection-separating (2,1)-congruences on a glrac semigroup are established. Also, we demonstrate that they are both complete sublattice of (2,1)-congruences and consider their relations with respect to complete lattice homomorphism.
Electromagnetic interaction with the Klein–Gordon equation in the framework of GUP
Authors: Khosropour B.
Published: September 2021

In this work, according to the generalized uncertainty principle, we study the Klein–Gordon equation interacting with the electromagnetic field. The generalized Klein–Gordon equation is obtained in the presence of a scalar electric potential and a uniform magnetic field. Furthermore, we find the relation of the generalized energy–momentum in the presence of a scalar electric potential and a uniform magnetic field separately.
CO
2
injection and storage in porous rocks: coupled geomechanical yielding below failure threshold and permeability evolution
Authors: Tsopela Alexandra , Bere Adam , Dutko Martin , Kato Jun , Niranjan S. C. , Jennette Benjamin G. , Hsu Sheng-Yuan , Dasari Ganeswara R.
Published: September 2021

With the increasing demand for CO
2
storage in the subsurface, it is important to recognize that candidate formations may present complex stress conditions and material characteristics. Consequently, modelling of CO
2
injection requires the selection of the most appropriate constitutive material model for the best possible representation of the material response. The authors focus on modelling the geomechanical behaviour of the reservoir material, coupled with a multiphase flow solution of CO
2
injection into a saline-saturated medium. It is proposed that the SR3 critical-state material model is used, which considers a direct link between strength–volume–permeability that evolves during the simulation; furthermore, the material is considered to yield prior to reaching a peak strength in agreement with experimental observations. Verification of the material model against established laboratory tests is conducted, including multiphase flow accounting for relative permeabilities and fluid densities. Multiphase flow coupled to advanced geomechanics provides a holistic approach to modelling CO
2
injection into sandstone reservoirs. The resulting injection pressures, CO
2
migration extent and patterns, formation dilation, and strength reduction are compared for a range of
in situ
porosities and incremental material enhancements. This work aims to demonstrate a numerical modelling framework to aid in the understanding of geomechanical responses to CO
2
injection for safe and efficient deployment, and is particularly applicable to CO
2
sequestration in less favourable aquifers with a relatively low permeability, receiving CO
2
from a limited number of injection wells at high flow rates. The proposed framework can also enable additional features to be incorporated into the model such as faults and detailed overburden representation.

Thematic collection:
This article is part of the Geoscience for CO
2
storage collection available at:
https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/geoscience-for-co2-storage
Linguistic Resources for Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili: Statistics about Them, Their Similarity Estimates, and Baselines for Three Applications
Authors: Mundotiya Rajesh Kumar , Singh Manish Kumar , Kapur Rahul , Mishra Swasti , Singh Anil Kumar
Published: September 2021

Corpus preparation for low-resource languages and for development of human language technology to analyze or computationally process them is a laborious task, primarily due to the unavailability of expert linguists who are native speakers of these languages and also due to the time and resources required. Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili, languages of the Purvanchal region of India (in the north-eastern parts), are low-resource languages belonging to the Indo-Aryan (or Indic) family. They are closely related to Hindi, which is a relatively high-resource language, which is why we compare them with Hindi. We collected corpora for these three languages from various sources and cleaned them to the extent possible, without changing the data in them. The text belongs to different domains and genres. We calculated some basic statistical measures for these corpora at character, word, syllable, and morpheme levels. These corpora were also annotated with parts-of-speech (POS) and chunk tags. The basic statistical measures were both absolute and relative and were expected to indicate linguistic properties, such as morphological, lexical, phonological, and syntactic complexities (or richness). The results were compared with a standard Hindi corpus. For most of the measures, we tried to match the corpus size across the languages to avoid the effect of corpus size, but in some cases it turned out that using the full corpus was better, even if sizes were very different. Although the results are not very clear, we tried to draw some conclusions about the languages and the corpora. For POS tagging and chunking, the BIS tagset was used to manually annotate the data. The POS-tagged data sizes are 16,067, 14,669, and 12,310 sentences, respectively, for Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Maithili. The sizes for chunking are 9,695 and 1,954 sentences for Bhojpuri and Maithili, respectively. The inter-annotator agreement for these annotations, using Cohen’s Kappa, was 0.92, 0.64, and 0.74, respectively, for the three languages. These (annotated) corpora have been used for developing preliminary automated tools, which include POS tagger, Chunker, and Language Identifier. We have also developed the Bilingual dictionary (Purvanchal languages to Hindi) and a Synset (that can be integrated later in the Indo-WordNet) as additional resources. The main contribution of the work is the creation of basic resources for facilitating further language processing research for these languages, providing some quantitative measures about them and their similarities among themselves and with Hindi. For similarities, we use a somewhat novel measure of language similarity based on an n-gram-based language identification algorithm. An additional contribution is providing baselines for three basic NLP applications (POS tagging, chunking, and language identification) for these closely related languages.
Endocannabinoid-Based Therapies
Authors: Piomelli Daniele , Mabou Tagne Alex
Published: September 2021

The endocannabinoids are lipid-derived messengers that play a diversity of regulatory roles in mammalian physiology. Dysfunctions in their activity have been implicated in various disease conditions, attracting attention to the endocannabinoid system as a possible source of therapeutic drugs. This signaling complex has three components: the endogenous ligands, anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl- sn-glycerol (2-AG); a set of enzymes and transporters that generate, eliminate, or modify such ligands; and selective cell surface receptors that mediate their biological actions. We provide an overview of endocannabinoid formation, deactivation, and biotransformation and outline the properties and therapeutic potential of pharmacological agents that interfere with those processes. We describe small-molecule inhibitors that target endocannabinoid-producing enzymes, carrier proteins that transport the endocannabinoids into cells, and intracellular endocannabinoid-metabolizing enzymes. We briefly discuss selected agents that simultaneous-ly interfere with components of the endocannabinoid system and with other functionally related signaling pathways.
Effects of Distribution Zone Design on Flow Uniformity and Pressure Drop in PEMFC
Authors: Yu Yuan , Zhan Zhigang , He Luyan , Yang Xiaoxiang , Wan Xiongbiao , Sui Pang-Chieh , Pan Mu
Published: September 2021

A typical flow field plate of proton exchange membrane fuel cells has a distribution zone that connects the input ports and main channel region where major reactions take place. In this study, the effects of two distribution zone designs, i.e., the channel-ridge distribution zone (CRDZ) and dot matrix distribution zone (DMDZ), on the gas distribution uniformity and pressure drop are investigated numerically. For the flow fields with CRDZ, the theoretical mass flow rates and pressure distributions are found to agree with numerical results well. The flow rate distributions in the flow fields become more uniform when the turning angle increases to special angle. To design the flow fields with CRDZ, the channels can be arranged with simple geometry lines in the first step and then optimised with CFD considering the actual size to achieve a more uniform distribution and suitable pressure drop. For the flow fields with DMDZ, the uniformity of gas distribution depends on the shunt and dispersion effects of dot matrix, and the rectification and expansion effects of the distribution chamber. With an increase in porosity of DMDZ, the gas distribution gets better, and it is the most uniform when the distribution zone is an empty chamber.
Role of mTOR Signaling for Tubular Function and Disease
Authors: Grahammer Florian , Huber Tobias B. , Artunc Ferruh
Published: September 2021

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) forms two distinct intracellular multiprotein complexes that control a multitude of intracellular processes linked to metabolism, proliferation, actin cytoskeleton, and survival. Recent studies have identified the importance of these complexes for transport regulation of ions and nutrients along the entire nephron. First reports could link altered activity of these complexes to certain disease entities, i.e. diabetic nephropathy, acute kidney injury or hyperkalemia.
Follicular Helper CD4+ T Cells, Follicular Regulatory CD4+ T Cells, and Inducible Costimulator and Their Roles in Multiple Sclerosis and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Authors: Zhang Xue , Ge Ruli , Chen Hongliang , Ahiafor Maxwell , Liu Bin , Chen Jinbo , Fan Xueli
Published: September 2021

Follicular helper CD4+ T (TFH) cells are a specialized subset of effector T cells that play a central role in orchestrating adaptive immunity. TFH cells mainly promote germinal center (GC) formation, provide help to B cells for immunoglobulin affinity maturation and class-switch recombination of B cells, and facilitate production of long-lived plasma cells and memory B cells. TFH cells express the nuclear transcriptional repressor B cell lymphoma 6 (Bcl-6), the chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 5 (CXCR5), the CD28 family members programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) and inducible costimulator (ICOS) and are also responsible for the secretion of interleukin-21 (IL-21) and IL-4. Follicular regulatory CD4+ T (TFR) cells, as a regulatory counterpart of TFH cells, participate in the regulation of GC reactions. TFR cells not only express markers of TFH cells but also express markers of regulatory T (Treg) cells containing FOXP3, glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR), cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4), and IL-10, hence owing to the dual characteristic of TFH cells and Treg cells. ICOS, expressed on activated CD4+ effector T cells, participates in T cell activation, differentiation, and effector process. The expression of ICOS is highest on TFH and TFR cells, indicating it as a key regulator of humoral immunity. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system and results in disability, mediated by autoreactive T cells with evolving evidence of a remarkable contribution from humoral responses. This review summarizes recent advances regarding TFH cells, TFR cells, and ICOS, as well as their functional characteristics in relation to MS.
Short Assay Design for Micronucleus Detection in Human Lymphocytes
Authors: Rincón Guido , Sánchez Claudia
Published: September 2021

There has been a constant need to develop new and faster cytogenetic assays to measure the instability induced by genotoxic agents in the field of cytogenetic research, an example of which is the micronucleus assay. Micronuclei are fragments or complete chromosomes that remain in the cytoplasm during mitosis. With their high sensitivity and specificity detection, their presence can indicate environmental and occupational genotoxic effects. However, the prolonged periods of cell incubation this assay necessitates are costly and extensive. Hence, it is essential to develop an improved assay that can achieve standardization by being reproducible in practice. The standard protocol for the detection of micronuclei in lymphocytes uses a total assay time of 72 hours. Theoretically, it is possible to reduce the incubation period, and consequently, the total assay time, considering a lymphocyte, completes its mitosis in 24 hours. This study, after careful review of literature, proposes an experimental design to reduce the incubation period and demonstrates its usefulness in practice through the design of a collaborative trial.
Research on the Differential Mechanisms of Knowledge Cross-Border Searching on Firms’ Dual Innovation in the Digital Context: Based on Simulation of System Dynamics Model
Authors: Huiping Zhou , Yuxin Yang
Published: September 2021

Acquiring and combining heterogeneous knowledge resources across organizational boundaries are an important path for the success of enterprises’ innovation. From the perspective of the relation attributes between knowledge elements, this paper divides knowledge cross-border searching into two types: domain knowledge searching and architectural knowledge coupling searching. Then, we construct a system dynamics model and use Vensim PLE software to carry out simulation analysis to explore the differential mechanisms of knowledge cross-border searching influence firms’ dual innovation in the context of digital transformation. The analysis results show that domain knowledge searching positively affects firms’ iterative innovation, while there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between architectural knowledge searching and firms’ disruptive innovation, indicating that different types of knowledge cross-border searching have differential effects on firms’ dual innovation. The simulation results also address that digital resources can promote enterprises' dual innovation in the process of knowledge cross-border searching. The research results reveal that the internal laws of knowledge cross-border searching affect enterprises' dual innovation in the context of digital transformation and provide a theoretical reference for enterprises to effectively use digital technology to adopt knowledge searching activities.
[Retracted] Human Skeleton Detection and Extraction in Dance Video Based on PSO‐Enabled LSTM Neural Network
Authors: Li Dingxin
Published: September 2021

With the significant increase of social informatization, the emerging information technology represented by machine vision has been applied to more and more scenes. Among them, the detection and extraction of human skeleton in a dance video based on this technology has a huge market demand in education and training. However, the existing detection and extraction technology has the problems of slow recognition speed and low extraction accuracy. Therefore, this paper proposes a neural network based on particle swarm optimization to detect and extract human skeletons in a dance video. Through the research and test on different data sets, it is found that the neural network based on particle swarm optimization algorithm has good detection and extraction ability and has high accuracy for the detection and recognition of human skeleton points. Among them, on all MPII data sets, the average accuracy of PSO‐LSTM proposed in this paper is 3.9% higher than that of other optimal algorithms; on the PoseTrack data set, the average accuracy of detection and extraction is improved by 2.3%. The above results show that the neural network based on particle swarm optimization has fast detection speed and good extraction accuracy and can be used for the detection and extraction of human skeleton in a dance video.
Preliminary Study on the Evaluation of Multimodal Effects of Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy
Authors: Zhao Huandong
Published: September 2021

In order to explore the factors of patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy (DN), in this paper, 257 patients with type 2 diabetic nephropathy in Zhejiang province were observed, with 156 males and 101 females. The age range was 53–69 years old. According to the ratio of urine albumin/creatinine, it was divided into two groups: the diabetic nephropathy group and the nondiabetic nephropathy group. Age, diabetic course, hypertension, body mass index, glycated hemoglobin, total gallbladder alcohol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein were compared. The results showed that diabetic diseases, hypertension, HBA1C, and LDL-C were independent risk factors for diabetic nephropathy, and HDL-C was the independent protection factor of DKD (

P
<
0.05

). Therefore, malnutrition and microinflammatory state are the risk causes of the quality of life and survival rate of type 2 diabetic nephropathy MHD patients and actively improve nutritional status. Reducing the status of microinflammatory disease is especially important.
Energy of Nonsingular Graphs: Improving Lower Bounds
Authors: Shooshtari Hajar , Rodriguez Jonnathan , Jahanbani Akbar , Shokri Abbas
Published: September 2021

Let

G

be a simple graph of order

n

and

A

be its adjacency matrix. Let

λ

1

≥

λ

2

≥
…
≥

λ

n

be eigenvalues of matrix

A

. Then, the energy of a graph

G

is defined as

ε

G

=

∑

i
=
1

n

λ

i

. In this paper, we will discuss the new lower bounds for the energy of nonsingular graphs in terms of degree sequence, 2-sequence, the first Zagreb index, and chromatic number. Moreover, we improve some previous well-known bounds for connected nonsingular graphs.
Measuring Activated Clotting Time during Cardiac Catheterization and PCI: The Effect of the Sampling Site
Authors: Heemelaar J. C , Berkhout T. , Heestermans A. A. C. M. , Zant J. C. , de Vos A. M. J. , Verouden N. J. W. , Dirksen M. T. , van Ramshorst J.
Published: September 2021

Background/Purpose. We aimed to investigate the influence of the sampling site on the variability of ACT measurement. Activated clotting time (ACT) has been used for decades in cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology to assess unfractionated heparin activity. However, standardized protocols for the use of ACT measurement in the catheterization laboratory are lacking. Methods/Materials. After elective cardiac catheterization, ACT measurements were collected in simultaneously obtained blood samples from three different sample sites: the arterial catheter, arterial sheath, and peripheral intravenous line. Measurements were performed using the i-Stat® device (Abbott, Princeton, NJ, USA). The study was conducted with approval of the local medical ethical committee. Results. In 100 patients (mean age 67.1, 65% male), no significant differences were observed in ACT values obtained from the guiding catheter and arterial sheath (mean difference (MD) −18.3 s; standard deviation (SD) 96 s;

P
=
0.067

). Contrarily, ACT values obtained from the intravenous line were significantly lower as compared to values obtained from the guiding catheter (MD 25.7 s; SD 75.5;

P
=
0.003

) and arterial sheath (MD 39 s; SD 102.8;

P
<
0.001

). Furthermore, ACT measurements from the arterial sheath showed a statistically significant proportional bias when compared to the other sampling sites (sheath vs. catheter, r = 0.761,

P
=
0.001

; sheath vs. IVL, r = 1.013,

P
<
0.001

). Conclusions. The present study shows statistical significance and possibly clinically relevant variations between ACT measurements from different sample sites. Bias in ACT measurements may be minimized by using uniform protocols for ACT measurement during cardiac catheterization.
Deep Learning-Based CT Imaging in Diagnosing Myeloma and Its Prognosis Evaluation
Authors: Wang Jinzhou , Shi Xiangjun , Yao Xingchen , Ren Jie , Du Xinru
Published: September 2021

Imaging examination plays an important role in the early diagnosis of myeloma. The study focused on the segmentation effects of deep learning-based models on CT images for myeloma, and the influence of different chemotherapy treatments on the prognosis of patients. Specifically, 186 patients with suspected myeloma were the research subjects. The U-Net model was adjusted to segment the CT images, and then, the Faster region convolutional neural network (RCNN) model was used to label the lesions. Patients were divided into bortezomib group (group 1, n = 128) and non-bortezomib group (group 2, n = 58). The biochemical indexes, blood routine indexes, and skeletal muscle of the two groups were compared before and after chemotherapy. The results showed that the improved U-Net model demonstrated good segmentation results, the Faster RCNN model can realize the labeling of the lesion area in the CT image, and the classification accuracy rate was as high as 99%. Compared with group 1, group 2 showed enlarged psoas major and erector spinae muscle after treatment and decreased bone marrow plasma cells content, blood M protein, urine 24 h light chain, pBNP, ß-2 microglobulin (β2MG), ALP, and white blood cell (WBC) levels (

P
<
0.05

). In conclusion, deep learning is suggested in the segmentation and classification of CT images for myeloma, which can lift the detection accuracy. Two different chemotherapy regimens both improve the prognosis of patients, but the effects of non-bortezomib chemotherapy are better.
A New Class of Analytic Normalized Functions Structured by a Fractional Differential Operator
Authors: Alarifi Najla M. , Ibrahim Rabha W.
Published: September 2021

Newly, the field of fractional differential operators has engaged with many other fields in science, technology, and engineering studies. The class of fractional differential and integral operators is considered for a real variable. In this work, we have investigated the most applicable fractional differential operator called the Prabhakar fractional differential operator into a complex domain. We express the operator in observation of a class of normalized analytic functions. We deal with its geometric performance in the open unit disk.
A Cornflower Extract Containing N-Feruloylserotonin Reduces Inflammation in Human Skin by Neutralizing CCL17 and CCL22 and Inhibiting COX-2 and 5-LOX
Authors: Carola Christophe , Salazar Andrew , Rakers Christin , Himbert Franck , Do Quoc-Tuan , Bernard Philippe , von Hagen Joerg
Published: September 2021

Thymus and Activation-Regulated Chemokine (TARC/CCL17) and Macrophage-Derived Chemokine (MDC/CCL22) are two key chemokines exerting their biological effect via binding and activating a common receptor CCR4, expressed at the surface of type 2 helper T (Th2) cells. By recruiting Th2 cells in the dermis, CCL17 and CCL22 promote the development of inflammation in atopic skin. The aim of this research was to develop a plant extract whose biological properties, when applied topically, could be beneficial for people with atopic-prone skin. The strategy which was followed consisted in identifying ligands able to neutralize the biological activity of CCL17 and CCL22. Thus, an in silico molecular modeling and a generic screening assay were developed to screen natural molecules binding and blocking these two chemokines. N-Feruloylserotonin was identified as a neutraligand of CCL22 in these experiments. A cornflower extract containing N-feruloylserotonin was selected for further in vitro tests: the gene expression modulation of inflammation biomarkers induced by CCL17 or CCL22 in the presence or absence of this extract was assessed in the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line. Additionally, the same cornflower extract in another vehicle was evaluated in parallel with N-feruloylserotonin for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzymatic cellular inhibition. The cornflower extract was shown to neutralize the two chemokines in vitro, inhibited COX-2 and 5-LOX, and demonstrated anti-inflammatory activities due mainly to the presence of N-feruloylserotonin. Although these findings would need to be confirmed in an in vivo study, the in vitro studies lay the foundation to explain the benefits of the cornflower extract when applied topically to individuals with atopic-prone skin.
Impact of Allogeneic Leukocyte-Depleted Red Blood Cell Transfusion on Inflammatory Response and Blood Coagulation in Patients with Recurrence of Colon Cancer after Operation
Authors: Geng Yan , Liu Liyan
Published: September 2021

Objective. Anemia inevitably affects the survival of cancer patients. In clinical practice, patients with anemia and decreased blood volume are treated by component blood transfusion. Through targeted blood transfusion therapy, the efficacy of blood transfusion treatment can be validly improved, which renders clinical benefits in reducing transfusion-induced adverse reactions (ARs). This research project mainly investigated the impact of allogeneic leukocyte-depleted red blood cell (LDRBC) transfusion on inflammatory response and coagulation status of patients with postoperative recurrence of colon cancer (CC). Methods. A total of 80 patients with postoperative recurrence of CC admitted to Changzhou Second People's Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from September 2017 to December 2020 were selected as the study subjects. 36 patients with allogeneic suspended red blood cell (RBC) transfusion were used as the control group (CG), and 44 patients receiving allogeneic LDRBC transfusion served as the observation group (OG). The two groups were compared regarding alterations in pretransfusion and posttransfusion serum inflammatory factors, stress indicators and coagulation function, incidence of ARs, postoperative infection, and average incision healing time. Results. After blood transfusion, serum tumor necrosis interleukin- (IL-) 6, IL-10, factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) decreased in both cohorts, with lower parameters in CG (

P
<
0.05

); the stress indexes, adrenocortical hormone (ACTH), adrenaline (AD), norepinephrine (NE), and cortisol (Cor) increased, especially in CG (

P
<
0.05

); prothrombin time (PT), thrombin time (TT), and activated partial prothrombin time (APTT) in CG were lower than those in OG, and FIB was higher than that in OG with significant differences between two cohorts (all

P
<
0.05

). The two groups had similar cases of lung infection and wound infection (

P
>
0.05

), but the incision healing time was evidently shorter in OG as compared to CG (9.73 ± 1.86 vs 14.67 ± 2.39 d,

P
<
0.05

). The total incidence of ARs was 16.7% in CG and 6.9% in OG, with no significant difference (

P
>
0.05

). Conclusions. In the blood transfusion treatment for patients with postoperative recurrence of CC, LDRBC transfusion renders significant clinical benefits, which can effectively improve the coagulation function of patients, reduce stress reaction, and shorten incision healing time without increasing ARs during treatment and postoperative infection rate, which is worth popularizing.