bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genome-Wide Expression Difference of MicroRNAs in Basal Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Wei Hai-Peng , Zhan Song , Zhu Qing-An , Chen Zhen-Juan , Feng Xian , Chen Jun-Yuan , Zhang Qi-Lin , Zhao Jingjie , Meng Lingzhang
Published: August 2021

Distinct expression of the miRNAs has rarely been explored in basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of skin, and the regulatory role of miRNAs in BCC development remains quite opaque. Here, we collected control tissues from adjacent noncancerous skin (

n
=
15

; control group) and tissues at tumor centers from patients with cheek BCC (

n
=
15

; BCC group) using punch biopsies. After six small RNA sequencing- (sRNA-seq-) based miRNA expression profiles were generated for both BCC and controls, including three biological replicates, we conducted comparative analysis on the sRNA-seq dataset, discovering 181 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) out of the 1,873 miRNAs in BCCs. In order to validate the sRNA-seq data, expression of 15 randomly selected DEMs was measured using the TaqMan probe-based quantitative real-time PCR. Functional analysis of predicted target genes of DEMs in BCCs shows that these miRNAs are primarily involved in various types of cancers, immune response, epithelial growth, and morphogenesis, as well as energy production and metabolism, indicating that BCC development is caused, at least in part, by changes in miRNA regulation for biological and disease processes. In particular, the “basal cell carcinoma pathways” were found to be enriched by predicted DEM targets, and regulatory relationships between DEMs and their targeted genes in this pathway were further uncovered. These results revealed the association between BCCs and abundant miRNA molecules that regulate target genes, functional modules, and signaling pathways in carcinogenesis.
Bayesian Gene Selection Based on Pathway Information and Network-Constrained Regularization
Authors: Cao Ming , Fan Yue , Peng Qinke
Published: August 2021

High-throughput data make it possible to study expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously under a particular condition. However, only few of the genes are discriminatively expressed. How to identify these biomarkers precisely is significant for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. Many studies utilized pathway information to identify the biomarkers. However, most of these studies only incorporate the group information while the pathway structural information is ignored. In this paper, we proposed a Bayesian gene selection with a network-constrained regularization method, which can incorporate the pathway structural information as priors to perform gene selection. All the priors are conjugated; thus, the parameters can be estimated effectively through Gibbs sampling. We present the application of our method on 6 microarray datasets, comparing with Bayesian Lasso, Bayesian Elastic Net, and Bayesian Fused Lasso. The results show that our method performs better than other Bayesian methods and pathway structural information can improve the result.
Utilization of Rice Husk, an Abundant and Inexpensive Biomass in Porous Ceramic Membrane Preparation: A Crucial Role of Firing Temperature
Authors: Dung Tran Thi Ngoc , Nam Vu Nang , Nhan Tran Thi , Hoang Bui Nguyen , Hung Do Le Thanh , Quang Dang Viet
Published: August 2021

The influence of firing temperature on characteristics and bacterial filtration of the porous ceramic membrane prepared from rice husk (20 wt%) and kaolin has been investigated. As firing temperatures increased from 900 to 1100°C, the compressive strength of membrane increased from 555.3 N/cm2 to 2992.3 N/cm2, whereas the porosity decreased from 49.4 to 30.2% due to structural condensation and mullite formation. The condensation caused pore contraction that finally improved bacterial removal efficiency from ~90% to 99%. The results suggested that the porous ceramic membrane prepared from rice husk and kaolin should be fired at ~1050°C to attain both strength and filtration efficiency.
Research on Improved Ray Casting Algorithm and Its Application in Three‐Dimensional Reconstruction
Authors: Jia ZheShu , Chen DeYun , Wang Bo
Published: August 2021

Spinal pathology treatment has become an urgent issue to be solved. How to effectively prevent and treat spinal pathology has become a research hotspot in the field of surgery. Aiming at the problem of too long volume rendering time caused by the trilinear interpolation sampling method in the reconstruction and visualization of the vertebra 3D model, an improved ray projection algorithm is proposed to quickly reconstruct a 3D vertebra model from medical CT vertebra images. This method first classifies CT data, assigns corresponding color values and opacity transfer functions to different types of data, and then uses inverse distance‐weighted interpolation (IDWI) sampling to replace the trilinear interpolation sampling method for the voxel where the sampling point is located to accelerate the interpolation operation. The color value and opacity of the sampling points are obtained, and finally, the attributes of all the sampling points are synthesized and calculated to obtain the final rendering effect, and the reconstruction of the three‐dimensional vertebra model is completed. Experimental results show that the proposed method not only can obtain higher quality rendered images but also has a certain improvement in rendering speed compared with traditional algorithms.
Convergence of City Relational Network, Production Sector Structure, and Regional Development
Authors: Hu Zunguo , Zhou Jujing
Published: August 2021

There is a strong correlation between government intervention and urban production structure in China. Particularly, the outputs of the cities partly come from the economic rent of city relational network (CRN), which is a unique regional policy and administrative hierarchy. In order to analyze the gravity flows of CRN under the nonmarket mechanism, we attempt to build a new gravity model that adopts the production sector. The new gravity produces relational data with direction, which makes it possible to use social network analysis (SNA) and overcome the endogeneity of the linear model. The empirical results show that (1) modified new gravity model can effectively capture the distribution of CRN gravity flows and the convergence of regional development in China, (2) the CRN, which especially stems from the government financial intervention, increases the share of nontradable sectors in cities, and (3) adjustment of the production sector leads to the difference of CRN gravity flows, so asymmetric flows distribution leads to the heterogeneity of regional economic performance. Cities with higher share of nontradables have relatively slower productivity growth in long-term.
On‐Site Engineering Test of Active Support Control for the PV Station and Wind Farm in the AC‐DC Hybrid Power Grid under Extreme Fault Conditions
Authors: Su Xiao-ling , Chen Lai-jun , Yang Jun , Li Zhengxi , Zhou Peng , Chen Hui
Published: August 2021

Power systems have developed significantly because of the increasing share of renewable energy sources (RESs). Despite the advantages, they also bring inevitable challenges to power system stability, especially under extreme fault conditions. This paper presents a practical active support control strategy for RESs to support the power grid under extreme fault conditions. The proof process is taken in an AC‐DC hybrid power grid integrated with large capacity of PV stations and wind farms. The on‐site engineering test results reflect that RESs bring potential risks in the AC‐DC hybrid power grid operation and validate the excellent engineering practical features of the proposed control strategy. In addition, test results also reveal predisposing factors of power system instability which are missing in the simulation and fault simulation device‐based testing results. They prove the outstanding advantages of on‐site engineering tests.
Role of Folic Acid Drugs in the Treatment with Antithrombotic and Anticoagulant Drugs for Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases Based on the Analysis of Virtual Reality Medical Data
Authors: Zhang Aiguo , Wang Jing , Jing Qiang
Published: August 2021

In recent years, with the continuous progress and development of science and technology and the increasing maturity of medical technology, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases has gradually increased with the age of the population. In the case of cardiovascular disease, proper anticoagulant therapy can effectively prevent bleeding in the occurrence of events, so a more effective treatment of cardiovascular disease is considered a difficult problem to overcome. Therefore, this article proposes the role of folic acid drugs based on virtual reality medical data analysis in the treatment of cardiovascular disease patients with antithrombotic and anticoagulant drugs, in order to improve providing help for cardiovascular disease. This study selected patients with cardiovascular disease who were admitted to the hospital and extracted 100 patients with complete data and a one-year follow-up period, covering the overall status of the patients’ cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease degree, and the occurrence of major cardiovascular adverse events. During the follow-up period, we analyzed the specific status of major cardiovascular adverse events and the occurrence of bleeding events and compared and analyzed the effects of folic acid drugs on the treatment with antithrombotic and anticoagulant drugs in patients with cardiovascular disease. Experiments have proved that the differences in the degree of cardiovascular stenosis and the number of cardiovascular disease vessels in the four groups are statistically significant (

P
<
0.01

). The degree of cardiovascular stenosis in group D was lighter than that in groups A, B, and C, and the number of cardiovascular lesions was also less than that in groups A, B, and C. The differences were statistically significant (

P
<
0.05

). This indicates that folic acid can effectively treat cardiovascular stenosis, prevent cardiovascular disease, and then treat patients with cardiovascular disease with antithrombotic and anticoagulant drugs. It provides an important basis for accurate clinical diagnosis and treatment.
Comparative Assessment of Modified
γ
-

Re

θ
t

Models for Scramjet Intake Flow Analysis
Authors: Kang Sunoh , Shin Ho Cheol , Park Soo Hyung , Park Jaeyoung , Park Donghun
Published: August 2021

The selection of an appropriate turbulence/transition model is critical when simulating the hypersonic flows based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equation. In particular, a deep understanding of the validity, reliability, and limitations of existing models is an essential prerequisite to facilitate their further development. This paper reports on the assessment of two models dedicated to hypersonic boundary layer transition analysis. Both models are compared with two other models that are widely used in this field. The double ramp and shock wave laboratory scramjet intake cases are used for the validation and evaluation of the predictive performance of both models via comparison against experimental data. The results reveal that the appropriate selection of the transition model is critical to the attainment of accurate results. Moreover, the forebody of the scramjet combustion propulsion-01 (SCP-01) flight vehicle, which is a research model, is analyzed as a case study. The air intake performance of the SCP-01, as predicted by four models, is compared and analyzed at different flight altitude and Mach number conditions. The results reveal that the accuracy of the prediction of boundary layer and separated flow transitions significantly affects the flow field and corresponding air intake performance. Furthermore, the uncertainty of results obtained using the two models increases significantly with an increase in altitude. Finally, the reliability and limitations of the transition models considered in this study are examined.
A Core Drug Discovery Framework from Large-Scale Literature for Cold Pathogenic Disease Treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Authors: Zhang Yun , Liu Yongguo , Zhu Jiajing , Chen Zhi , Li Dongxiao , Xiao Yonghua , Liu Xiaofeng , Zhai Shuangqing
Published: August 2021

Cold pathogenic disease is a widespread disease in traditional Chinese medicine, which includes influenza and respiratory infection associated with high incidence and mortality. Discovering effective core drugs in Chinese medicine prescriptions for treating the disease and reducing patients’ symptoms has attracted great interest. In this paper, we explore the core drugs for curing various syndromes of cold pathogenic disease from large-scale literature. We propose a core drug discovery framework incorporating word embedding and community detection algorithms, which contains three parts: disease corpus construction, drug network generation, and core drug discovery. First, disease corpus is established by collecting and preprocessing large-scale literature about the Chinese medicine treatment of cold pathogenic disease from China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Second, we adopt the Chinese word embedding model SSP2VEC for mining the drug implication implied in the literature; then, a drug network is established by the semantic similarity among drugs. Third, the community detection method COPRA based on label propagation is adopted to reveal drug communities and identify core drugs in the drug network. We compute the community size, closeness centrality, and degree distributions of the drug network to analyse the patterns of core drugs. We acquire 4681 literature from China national knowledge infrastructure. Twelve significant drug communities are discovered, in which the top-10 drugs in every drug community are recognized as core drugs with high accuracy, and four classical prescriptions for treating different syndromes of cold pathogenic disease are discovered. The proposed framework can identify effective core drugs for curing cold pathogenic disease, and the research can help doctors to verify the compatibility laws of Chinese medicine prescriptions.
Investigation on the Deformation Law of Inner Waste Dump Slope in an Open‐Pit Coal Mine: A Case Study in Southeast Inner Mongolia of China
Authors: Cao Bo , Wang Shuai , Song Danqing , Du Han , Guo Weiqiang
Published: August 2021

The settlement and deformation of an open‐pit mine waste dump were investigated by using field monitoring and numerical methods. The creep parameters of fine soil sand in the dump fill were inverted using the steady Burgers creep model, and FLAC3D software was used to simulate the dumping soil construction and development program. The results show that the settlement displacement of the dump increases with the time of dumping soil and tends to be stable after 4 years. In the creep attenuation stage of the creep process, there is a big difference between the numerical calculation and the field monitoring results in the inversion process of fine‐grained soil sand parameters. In the steady‐state creep stage, the numerical calculation is consistent with the field monitoring value. The height of the fill has an influence on the settlement of the fill body of the dump and the time to reach the stability. The higher the filling height is, the greater the postconstruction settlement will be, and the longer it will take to reach stability. The pushing position of the fill body has a great influence on the settlement displacement of the dump. The time and efficiency of soil discharge can be shortened by optimizing the safe distance between the filling body and the river. Based on the numerical calculation results and the empirical settlement function, an analytical method for river channel location selection of internal dump is proposed.
Variations and Determinants of Anemia among Reproductive Age Women in Five Sub‐Saharan Africa Countries
Authors: Nti Josephine , Afagbedzi Seth , da-Costa Vroom Frances Baaba , Ibrahim Noor Akma , Guure Chris
Published: August 2021

Background. The Ghana Demographic and Health Survey 2014 report indicates that anemia among women in their reproductive age in the country stood at 42 percent, making it a severe public health problem according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification. WHO Global Observatory data indicates that some sub‐Saharan African countries have been able to reduce the prevalence of anemia among women of reproductive age compared to Ghana in 2016. To inform policy decisions, data from the Demographic and Health Surveys 2014–2018 were analyzed to determine the disparities in the prevalence of anemia and related factors among women of reproductive age in Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Methods. This research utilized data from the Demographic and Health Surveys 2014, 2016, 2014‐2015, 2015‐2016, and 2016 from Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively. Respondents were women aged between 15 and 49 years. Hemoglobin levels were measured by HemoCue hemoglobin meter. 45,299 women data were extracted from the five countries with 4,644, 14,923, 6,680, 13,064, and 5,988 from Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively. Association between anemia and selected predictive variables was assessed using Pearson’s chi‐square test statistic. Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to estimate the prevalence rate ratios of developing anemia. The deviance goodness of fit test was employed to test the fit of the Poisson model to the data set. Results. There was a statistically significant difference in prevalence of 1,962 (42.3%), 3,527 (23.6%), 1,284 (19.3%), 5,857 (44.8%), and 1,898 (31.7%) for Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively, χ2 = 2,181.86 and p value < 0.001. Parity, pregnancy status, and contraceptives significantly increased the prevalence rate ratio of a woman developing anemia. Women in Ethiopia with a parity of six or more were 58% more likely to develop anemia than those with parity of zero. Tanzanian women who were pregnant had a 14% increased rate ratio of developing anemia. Factors that significantly decreased anemia in this study were wealth index, women’s age, and women’s highest level of education. Women who were in the higher education category in Ethiopia were 57% less likely to develop anemia. Ugandan women in the richest category of the wealth index were 28% less likely to develop anemia. Rwandan women in the middle category of the wealth index were 20% less likely to develop anemia. Women who were within the 45‐49 age category in Ethiopia were 48% less likely to develop anemia. Conclusion. The individual country governments should encourage the implementation of increasing female enrollment in higher education. Women in their reproductive age should be encouraged to use modern contraceptives to reduce their anemia prevalence.
The Dynamics of a Spatial Economic Model with Bounded Population Growth
Authors: Zhong Yue
Published: August 2021

We investigate a spatial economic growth model with bounded population growth to obtain the asymptotic behavior of detrended capital in a continuous space. The formation of capital accumulation is expressed by a partial differential equation with corresponding boundary conditions. The capital accumulation interacts with the morphology to affect the optimal dynamics of economic growth. After redrafting the spatial growth model in the infinite dimensional Hilbert space, we identify the unique optimal control and value function when the bounded population growth is considered. With nonnegative initial distribution of capital, the explicit solution of the model is obtained. The time behavior of the explicit solution guarantees the convergence issue of the detrended capital level across space and time.
miR-766-5p Targets Super-Enhancers by Downregulating CBP and BRD4
Authors: Gen Yasuyuki , Muramatsu Tomoki , Inoue Jun , Inazawa Johji
Published: August 2021

Super-enhancers (SE) are clusters of transcription enhancers that drive gene expression. SEs are typically characterized by high levels of acetylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27ac), which is catalyzed by the histone lysine acetyltransferase CREB binding protein (CBP). Cancer cells frequently acquire tumor-specific SEs at key oncogenes, such as MYC, which induce several hallmarks of cancer. BRD4 is recruited to SEs and consequently functions as an epigenetic reader to promote transcription of SE-marked genes in cancer cells. miRNAs can be potent candidates for nucleic acid therapeutics for cancer. We previously identified miR-766-5p as a miRNA that downregulated MYC expression and inhibited cancer cell growth in vitro. In this study, we show that miR-766-5p directly targets CBP and BRD4. Concurrent suppression of CBP and BRD4 cooperatively downregulated MYC expression in cancer cells but not in normal cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that miR-766-5p reduced levels of H3K27ac at MYC SEs via CBP suppression. Moreover, miR-766-5p suppressed expression of a BRD4-NUT fusion protein that drives NUT midline carcinoma. In vivo administration of miR-766-5p suppressed tumor growth in two xenograft models. Collectively, these data suggest that targeting SEs using miR-766-5p–based therapeutics may serve as an effective strategy for the treatment of MYC-driven cancers.

Significance:

This study demonstrates that miR-766-5p targets CBP and BRD4, which can mitigate the protumorigenic consequences of SEs and oncogenic fusion proteins.
First Regulatory Qualification of a Novel Digital Endpoint in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on the Impact for Patients and for Drug Development in Neuromuscular Diseases
Authors: Servais Laurent , Camino Eric , Clement Aude , McDonald Craig M. , Lukawy Jacek , Lowes Linda P. , Eggenspieler Damien , Cerreta Francesca , Strijbos Paul
Published: August 2021

Background: Functional outcome measures used to assess efficacy in clinical trials of investigational treatments for rare neuromuscular diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are performance-based tasks completed by the patient during hospital visits. These are prone to bias and may not reflect motor abilities in real-world settings. Digital tools, such as wearable devices and other remote sensors, provide the opportunity for continuous, objective, and sensitive measurements of functional ability during daily life. Maintaining ambulation is of key importance to individuals with DMD. Stride velocity 95th centile (SV95C) is the first wearable acquired digital endpoint to receive qualification from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to quantify the ambulation ability of ambulant DMD patients aged ≥5 years in drug therapeutic studies; it is also currently under review for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) qualification. Summary: Focusing on SV95C as a key example, we describe perspectives of multiple stakeholders on the promise of novel digital endpoints in neuromuscular disease drug development.
Cold Pressor Test Influences the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index in Healthy Overweight Young Adults
Authors: Kulthinee Supaporn , Nernpermpisooth Nitirut , Poomvanicha Montatip , Satiphop Jidapa , Chuang-ngu Thizanamadee , Kaleeluan Napaporn , Thawnashom Kittisak , Manin Anuchit , Kongchan Rosarin , Yinmaroeng Kingkarn , Kitipawong Peerapong , Chotimol Phatiwat
Published: August 2021

Objective: The cold pressor test (CPT) has been shown a potential sympathoexcitatory stimulus which increases aortic pulse wave velocity and the aortic augmentation index, suggesting that noninvasively, arterial stiffness parameters are altered by the CPT. The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is widely used for reflecting arterial stiffness, and the ankle-brachial index (ABI) for evaluating peripheral artery disease in obesity. We aimed to assess CAVI and ABI in overweight young adults in the context of sympathetic activation by using the CPT. Methods: 160 participants were divided into 2 groups: 86 normal-weight (body mass index [BMI] 18.50–22.99 kg/m2) and 74 overweight (BMI ≥23 kg/m2). The CPT was performed by immersing a participant’s left hand into cold water (3–5°C) for 3 min, and CAVI and ABI assessment. Results: At baseline, the CAVI in the overweight group was significantly less than that in the normal-weight group (5.79 ± 0.85 vs. 6.10 ± 0.85; p < 0.05). The mean arterial pressure (MAP) for overweight was significantly greater than that for normal-weight subjects (93.89 ± 7.31 vs. 91.10 ± 6.72; p < 0.05). During the CPT, the CAVI increased in both normal-weight and overweight subjects, the CAVI value was greater during the CPT in overweight subjects by 14.36% (6.62 ± 0.95 vs. 5.79 ± 0.85, p < 0.05) and in normal-weight subjects by 8.03% (6.59 ± 1.20 vs. 6.10 ± 0.85, p < 0.05) than those baseline values. The CPT evoked an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), heart rate (HR,) and pulse pressure (PP) in both groups. After a 4-min CPT period, the CAVI returned values similar to the baseline values in both groups, and the SBP, DBP, MAP, and PP in overweight participants were significantly higher than those in normal-weight participants. However, there was no significant difference in the ABI at baseline, during CPT, and post-CPT in either group. Conclusions: Our results indicated that the CAVI was influenced by sympathetic activation response to the CPT in both normal-weight and overweight young adults. Specifically, during the CPT, the percentage change of the CAVI in overweight response was greater in normal-weight participants than baseline values in each group. The ABI was not found significantly associated with CPT. These findings suggesting that sympathoexcitatory stimulus by CPT influence CAVI results.
The Potential Role of Changes in the Glucose and Lipid Metabolic Pathways in Gastrointestinal Cancer Progression: Strategy in Cancer Therapy
Authors: Ferns Gordon A. , Shahini Shams Abadi Milad , Raeisi Ahmad , Arjmand Mohammad-Hassan
Published: August 2021

Background: Changes in cell metabolism are a well-known feature of some cancers, and this may be involved in the etiology of tumor formation and progression, as well as tumor heterogeneity. These changes may affect fatty acid metabolism and glycolysis and are required to provide the increase in energy necessary for the high rate of proliferation of cancer cells. Gastrointestinal cancers remain a difficult-to-treat cancer, particularly as they are usually diagnosed at a late stage of disease and are associated with poor outcomes. Summary: Recently, the changes in the metabolic pathways, including the expression of the rate-limiting enzymes involved, have been considered to be a potential target for therapy for gastrointestinal tumors. Key Message: A combination of routine chemotherapy drugs with metabolic inhibitors may improve the effectiveness of treatment.
Complication Rate after Radical Cystectomy Depends on the Surgical Technique and Patient’s Clinical Status
Authors: Adamczyk Przemysław , Pobłocki Paweł , Kadlubowski Mateusz , Ostrowski Adam , Mikołajczak Witold , Drewa Tomasz , Juszczak Kajetan
Published: August 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the complication rates of radical cystectomy in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer and identify potential risk factors. Methods: A total of 553 patients were included: 131 were operated on via an open approach (ORC), 242 patients via a laparoscopic method (LRC), and 180 by a robot-assisted procedure (RARC). Patient age, gender, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, urinary diversion type, preoperative albumin level, body mass index (BMI), pathological (TNM) stage, and surgical times were collected. The severity of complications was classified according to the Clavien-Dindo scale (Grades 1–5). Results: The surgical technique was significantly related to the number of complications (p < 0.00005). Grade 1 complications were observed most frequently following LRC (52.5%) and RARC (51.1%), whereas mostly Grade 2 complications were detected after ORC (78.6%). Those with less severe complications had significantly higher albumin levels than those with more severe complications (p < 0.05). Patients with an elevated BMI had fewer complications if a minimally invasive approach was used rather than ORC. The patient’s general condition (ASA score) did not impact the number of complications, and urinary diversion type did not affect the severity of the complications. Mean surgical time differed according to the urinary diversion type in patients with a similar TNM stage (p < 0.005); however, no difference was found in those with more locally advanced disease. Longer operation time and lower protein concentration were associated with higher probability of complication rate, that is, Clavien-Dindo score 3–5. Conclusions: The risk of complications after RC is not related to the type of urinary diversion, and can be reduced by using a minimally invasive surgical technique, especially in patients with high BMI.
Reopening Selves: Phenomenological Considerations on Psychiatric Spaces and the Therapeutic Stance
Authors: Thoma Samuel , Schwänzl Isabelle , Galbusera Laura
Published: August 2021

Classical and contemporary phenomenological approaches in psychiatry describe schizophrenia as a disorder of common sense and self-affection. Although taking into account intersubjectivity, this conceptualization still puts forward an individualistic view of the disorder, that is, the intersubjective deficit resides within the person. To overcome such individualism, in this article, we first propose that schizophrenic experience might be understood as arising from a dialectic relation between the self’s loss of openness to the world and the world’s loss of openness to the self. To show the relevance of social factors at the onset of schizophrenic experience, we propose a phenomenological analysis of trigger situations. In the second and main part of this article, we then focus on the implications of these phenomenological insights for the clinical practice: we argue that if schizophrenia is understood as a loss of openness between self and social world, psychiatric institutions should be transformed into spaces that enable a reopening of selves. We first describe enclosing phenomena such as coercive treatment to then, in contrast, present particular forms of open psychiatric spaces such as open door approaches and open dialogue. Besides the institutional-structural level, we also highlight aspects of openness at the intersubjective level of the individual agents, thus particularly emphasizing the role of an open therapeutic stance. We thus speak of (re)opening selves as we believe that the reopening of the patients’ self cannot but be related to and fostered by a reopening of the professionals’ self and stance. We thus argue that openness in the therapeutic stance is key to initiating the further process of recovery, which we describe as a reattunement of selves both at the bodily and narrative level. Last but not least, we sketch out possibilities for future phenomenological research on the question of psychiatric space and draw some broader societal implications.
Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Retroperitoneal Renal Artery Aneurysm Repair: A Rare Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Wu Qikai , Yang Xiao , Yuan Baorui , Cai Lingkai , Zhuang Juntao , Feng Dexiang , Li Pengchao , Cao Qiang , Lu Qiang
Published: August 2021

Introduction: The treatment of renal artery aneurysms (RAAs) includes surgical repair and endovascular techniques. Surgical repair is divided into open surgery repair and laparoscopic surgery repair. Laparoscopic RAA has fewer postoperative complications than open surgery. Some experiences with robotic RAA repair via transperitoneal access have been recently reported. However, no report could be found on the treatment of retroperitoneal RAA with the da Vinci robot-assisted surgery thus far. Case Presentation: Here, the surgical management of an 8.6-mm right-sided RAA via robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal approach in a 58-year-old man who presented with flank discomfort is reported. The aneurysm was resected, and the renal artery was reconstructed. The total operative time was 2 h with a warm ischemia time of 25 min, and the estimated surgical blood loss was 50 mL. The patient resumed a regular diet on postoperative day 2, and the hospital stay lasted 5 days. No intraoperative nor postoperative morbidity was reported. Follow-up imaging and functional analysis demonstrated resolution of the aneurysm and preservation of renal function after 2.5 months. Conclusions: Robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal RAA repair is flexible and safe. The greatest advantage of retroperitoneal surgery is direct access to the renal artery. Furthermore, it could reduce the injury in the abdominal organs and avoid abdominal adhesion. This approach may also allow for improved postoperative recovery, reduce the morbidity correlated with transperitoneal RAA, and thus may be considered as an alternative to transperitoneal surgery for RAAs in the future.
Influence of Ethnicities and Skin Color Variations in Different Populations: A Review
Authors: Naik Piyu Parth , Farrukh Syed Nadir
Published: August 2021

Background: In the world scientific tradition, skin color is the primary physical characteristic used to divide humans into groups. Human skin has a wide range of tones and colors, which can be seen in a wide range of demographic populations. Many factors influence the color of people’s skin, but the pigment melanin is by far the most important. Melanin is produced by cells called melanocytes in the skin and is the primary determinant of skin color in people with darker skin. Indeed, >150 genes have now been identified as having a direct or indirect effect on skin color. Vitamin D has recently been discovered to regulate cellular proliferation and differentiation in a variety of tissues, including the skin. The mechanisms through which the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (or calcitriol) affects keratinocyte development are numerous and overlap with the mechanisms by which calcium influences keratinocyte differentiation. Ultraviolet (UV) is the most major modifiable risk factor for skin cancer and many other environmental-influenced skin disorders when it is abundant in the environment. Although the UV component of sunlight is known to cause skin damage, few researches have looked at the impact of non-UV solar radiation on skin physiology in terms of inflammation, and there is less information on the role of visible light in pigmentation. Summary: The quantity and quality of melanin are regulating by the expression of genes. The enzyme tyrosinase is primarily responsible for the genetic mechanism that controls human skin color. Genetics determines constitutive skin color, which is reinforced by facultative melanogenesis and tanning reactions. High quantities of melanin and melanogenic substances are typically accepted in darker skin to protect against UV radiation-induced molecular damage. Previous research has proposed that skin color variation is caused by a dynamic genetic mechanism, contributing to our understanding of how population demographic history and natural selection shape human genetic and phenotypic diversity. However, the most significant ethnic skin color difference is determined by melanin content. This current review aimed to assess the influence of skin color variations in skin structure and functions as well as difference in dermatological disease patterns. Also, this article reviewed several cases of skin color adaptation in different populations. Key Messages: Skin color impacts the composition and activity. Therefore, the contrast of dermatological ailments between distinct race-related categories is remarkable. Skin color adaptation is a challenging procedure. Refinement of skin color is an age-old craving of humans with ever-evolving drifts.
Pequeña ofrenda cariñosa: uma carta de Juana de Ibarbourou para Manoelito de Ornellas
Authors: Gonçalves Matheus Rodrigues
Published: August 2021

Fac-símile de uma correspondência enviada pela poetisa uruguaia Juana de Ibarbourou ao intelectual sul-rio-grandense Manoelito de Ornellas.
Roxadustat Does Not Affect Platelet Production, Activation, and Thrombosis Formation
Authors: Zhao Jiaxin , Xu Yanyan , Xie Jingyuan , Liu Junling , Zhang Ruiyan , Yan Xiaoxiang
Published: August 2021

Objective:

Roxadustat is a new medication for the treatment of renal anemia. EPO (erythropoietin)—the current treatment standard—has been reported to enhance platelet activation and production. However, to date, the effect of roxadustat on platelets is unclear. To address this deficiency, herein, we have evaluated the effect of roxadustat on platelet production and function.

Approach and Results:

We performed several mouse platelet functional assays in the presence/absence of in vitro and in vivo roxadustat treatment. Both healthy and 5/6 nephrectomized mice were utilized. The effect of roxadustat on platelet function of healthy volunteers and chronic kidney disease patients was also evaluated. For platelet production, megakaryocyte maturation and proplatelet formation were assayed in vitro. Peripheral platelet and bone marrow megakaryocyte counts were also determined. We found that roxadustat could not stimulate washed platelets directly, and platelet aggregation, spreading, clot retraction, and P-selectin/JON/A exposure were similar with or without in vitro or in vivo roxadustat treatment among both healthy and 5/6 nephrectomized mice. In vivo mouse thrombosis models were additionally performed, and no differences were detected between the vehicle and roxadustat treatment groups. EPO, which was considered a positive control in the present study, promoted platelet function and production as reported previously. Megakaryocyte maturation and proplatelet formation were also not significantly different between control mice and those treated with roxadustat. After receiving roxadustat for 14 days, no difference in the peripheral platelet count was observed in the mice.

Conclusions:

Administration of roxadustat has no significant impact on platelet production and function.
Abstractive Text Summarization: Enhancing Sequence-to-Sequence Models Using Word Sense Disambiguation and Semantic Content Generalization
Authors: Kouris Panagiotis , Alexandridis Georgios , Stafylopatis Andreas
Published: August 2021

Nowadays, most research conducted in the field of abstractive text summarization focuses on neural-based models alone, without considering their combination with knowledge-based approaches that could further enhance their efficiency. In this direction, this work presents a novel framework that combines sequence-to-sequence neural-based text summarization along with structure and semantic-based methodologies. The proposed framework is capable of dealing with the problem of out-of-vocabulary or rare words, improving the performance of the deep learning models. The overall methodology is based on a well-defined theoretical model of knowledge-based content generalization and deep learning predictions for generating abstractive summaries. The framework is composed of three key elements: (i) a pre-processing task, (ii) a machine learning methodology, and (iii) a post-processing task. The pre-processing task is a knowledge-based approach, based on ontological knowledge resources, word sense disambiguation, and named entity recognition, along with content generalization, that transforms ordinary text into a generalized form. A deep learning model of attentive encoder-decoder architecture, which is expanded to enable a coping and coverage mechanism, as well as reinforcement learning and transformer-based architectures, is trained on a generalized version of text-summary pairs, learning to predict summaries in a generalized form. The post-processing task utilizes knowledge resources, word embeddings, word sense disambiguation, and heuristic algorithms based on text similarity methods in order to transform the generalized version of a predicted summary to a final, human-readable form. An extensive experimental procedure on three popular data sets evaluates key aspects of the proposed framework, while the obtained results exhibit promising performance, validating the robustness of the proposed approach.
CTE Teacher Licensure and Long-Term Student Outcomes
Authors: Chen Bingjie , Dougherty Shaun , Goldhaber Dan , Holden Kristian , Theobald Roddy
Published: August 2021

We use longitudinal data from Massachusetts that link high school course-taking records in career and technical education (CTE) to postsecondary student outcomes to provide the first empirical evidence linking characteristics of CTE teachers to later student outcomes. We find that CTE teachers who received better scores on subject performance tests required for licensure tend to have students with higher longer-term earnings than CTE teachers who received lower scores on these tests, controlling for other factors. Specifically, we estimate that a 1 standard deviation increase in teacher performance on these tests is associated with about a $1,000 increase in average expected earnings for the teacher's students five years after their expected graduation date, controlling for licensure test area and observable differences between students.
Neural Oscillations Reflect Meaning Identification for Novel Words in Context
Authors: Momsen Jacob Pohaku , Abel Alyson D.
Published: August 2021

During language processing, people make rapid use of contextual information to promote comprehension of upcoming words. When new words are learned implicitly, information contained in the surrounding context can provide constraints on their possible meaning. In the current study, EEG was recorded as participants listened to a series of three sentences, each containing an identical target pseudoword, with the aim of using contextual information in the surrounding language to identify a meaning representation for the novel word. In half of the trials, sentences were semantically coherent so that participants could develop a single representation for the novel word that fit all contexts. Other trials contained unrelated sentence contexts so that meaning associations were not possible. We observed greater theta band enhancement over the left hemisphere across central and posterior electrodes in response to pseudowords processed across semantically related compared to unrelated contexts. Additionally, relative alpha and beta band suppression was increased prior to pseudoword onset in trials where contextual information more readily promoted pseudoword meaning associations. Under the hypothesis that theta enhancement indexes processing demands during lexical access, the current study provides evidence for selective online memory retrieval for novel words learned implicitly in a spoken context.
Why Decision-making Capacity Matters
Authors: Schwan Ben
Published: August 2021

Decision-making Capacity (dmc) matters to whether a patient’s decision should determine her treatment. But why it matters in this way isn’t clear. The standard story is that dmc matters because autonomy matters. And this is thought to justify dmc as a gatekeeper for autonomy – whereby autonomy concerns arise if but only if a patient has dmc. But appeals to autonomy invoke two distinct concerns: concern for authenticity – concern that a choice is consistent with an individual’s commitments; and concern for sovereignty – concern that an individual exercises control over that which is hers to control. Here, I argue, neither concern can alone explain why dmc matters. Instead, dmc matters because it indicates a harmony between the two concerns – the demands of each concern are more likely to agree if a patient has dmc. This vindicates the standard story, but also makes clear that dmc is an inappropriate gatekeeper for autonomy.
A checklist of Indonesian scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha)
Authors: ZARKANI AGUSTIN , APRIYANTO DWINARDI , TURANLI FERIT , ERCAN CANSU , KAYDAN MEHMET BORA
Published: August 2021

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Sternorryncha: Coccomorpha) are a very important insect group containing numerous pests of woody and herbaceous plants worldwide. The only complete study of any scale insects in Indonesia was by D.J. Williams on the mealybugs (Pseudococcidae sensu lato), published in 2004; the other scale insect families have only been documented in various small publications. Here we provide a complete checklist of the scale insects of Indonesia, which now contains 364 species belonging to 136 genera in 16 families. The family Diaspididae is the most diverse, with 158 species belonging to 44 genera, followed by Pseudococcidae with 105 species belonging to 32 genera, and Coccidae with 65 species belonging to 22 genera. The other families are, in order of size: Monophlebidae (26 species belonging to 9 genera), Rhizoecidae (12 species belonging to 4 genera), Asterolecaniidae (11 species belonging to 5 genera), Leconodiaspidae (7 species belonging to 3 genera), Cerococcidae (5 species belonging to 3 genera), Xenococcidae (5 species belonging to 2 genera), Ortheziidae (4 species belonging to 3 genera), Eriococcidae (4 species belonging to 2 genera), Aclerdidae (2 species belonging to 1 genus), and Kermesidae (1 species belonging to 1 genus).
A new species of Dixella, the first Mexican record of Dixella shannoni, and a summary of dixid records from Mexico (Diptera: Dixidae)
Authors: HUERTA HERON , IBÁÑEZ-BERNAL SERGIO
Published: August 2021

We describe a new species of the genus Dixella Dyar & Shannon of Mexico. Specimens were collected in Lagunas de Santo Domingo, Municipality of Huatusco, Veracruz, a small vegetation-lined lake within an increasingly relictual mountain cloud forest. This species is most closely related to Dixella cumbrica Peters & Cook, 1966, based upon the shape of the apical lobe of the gonocoxite and flattened gonostylus. Also, we include the first record of Dixella shannoni (Lane, 1942), in Mexico, based upon specimens collected in Santiago Yaveo, Oaxaca. Additionally, we present a list of all localities in which dixids have been collected in Mexico.
miR-340 Inhibits the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Down-Regulating Akt Signaling Pathway
Authors: Xu Tangpeng , Ruan Changli , Bin Xu , Hu Mengxue
Published: August 2021

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious threat to human health. miR-340 participates in HCC pathogenesis, but its specific mechanism is not completely clear. Therefore, our study assessed the mechanism by how miR-340 involves in HCC. The cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues
of HCC patients were collected. miR-340 mimics/NC and Akt siRNA were transfected into HepG2 cells followed by analysis of miR-304 and EMT-related molecules expression by Real-time PCR, cell invasion and migration by Transwell assay, cell proliferation ability by CCK8 assay as well as p-Akt
and p-mTOR level by Western blot. miR-340 in HCC tissues was significantly downregulated compared to adjacent tissues (P <0.001). With increased pathological grade, miR-340 expression was decreased gradually. p-Akt and p-mTOR in HCC tissues was significantly upregulated and elevated
gradually with increased pathological grade. p-Akt and p-mTOR was negatively associated with miR-340 (P <0.001). After overexpression of miR-340, HepG2 cell proliferation, invasion, migration and epithelialization were significantly inhibited, and p-Akt and p-mTOR was reduced. When
Akt expression was interfered with siRNA, cell proliferation and epithelialization was further inhibited. miR-340 inhibits the development of hepatocellular carcinoma through Akt signaling pathway.