bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rehabilitation progress following reverse total shoulder replacement or internal fixation for geriatric three and four-part proximal humerus fractures – A propensity score matched comparison
Authors: TONG Chi Him , FANG Christian Xinshuo
Published: January 2023

Background
Proximal humerus fracture is one of the most common fractures in the elderly population. However, in patients with complex fracture patterns, there is still no general consensus in the best treatment method. This study aims to evaluate the outcomes between those treated with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) and internal fixation (IF).
Methods
All geriatric patients with proximal humerus fractures undergoing surgical treatment were analysed. There were 25 patients treated with rTSA and 175 with IF. All patients followed a protocol-driven rehabilitation programme with outcome assessment at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months. Constant score, qDASH, range of motion, rate of complications and revision surgery were recorded and compared. Propensity score matching was used to select 25 matching patients from the IF group according to age and gender.
Results
25 rTSA were age and gender matched with 25 IF patients. At a mean follow up of 3, 6, 12 and 24 months respectively, average constant shoulder score was 37.7/55.2/68.1/72.8 for rTSA and 45.5/60.0/64.6/70.8 for IF. Mean qDASH scores were 50.6/18.2/11.0/4.50 for rTSA and 29.4/18.5/18.4/11.0 for IF. Mean forward flexion range was 72.9/104/136/143 for rTSA and 94.4/108/109/109 for IF. Mean shoulder abduction range was 64.0/105/125/135 for rTSA and 88.6/106/108/110 for IF. There were more complications observed for IF (3) than rTSA (1) (p = 0.297) and more re-operations for IF (3) than rTSA (1) (p = 0.297).
Conclusion
rTSA appears to yield a slower recovery before 6 months but a better outcome at 2 years. It may be the preferred treatment for geriatric three- and four-part proximal humerus fracture, for those aiming for a better long-term functional outcome.
Impact of “black rock” on clinical outcomes after endovascular therapy for de novo calcified femoropopliteal lesions
Authors: Mori Shinsuke , Yamawaki Masahiro , Shirai Shigemitsu , Makino Kenji , Chishiki Toshiki , Honda Yohsuke , Tsutsumi Masakazu , Hiraishi Mana , Kobayashi Norihiro , Ito Yoshiaki
Published: January 2023

Purpose
The relationship between severity of calcification and clinical outcomes after endovascular therapy (EVT) for femoropopliteal lesions is well known. We often encounter dense calcifications in our daily practice, which are darker than normal calcifications on angiography. Accordingly, we named it “black rock” (BR), and investigated its impact on clinical outcomes after EVT.
Materials and methods
We retrospectively analyzed 677 lesions in 495 patients who underwent EVT for de novo calcified femoropopliteal lesions at our hospital between April 2007 and June 2020. BR is defined as a calcification which is 1 cm or more in length, occupies more than half of the vessel diameter, and appears darker than the body of the femur on angiography.
Propensity score matching analysis was performed to compare clinical outcomes between lesions with BR [BR (+) group] and without BR [BR (−) group].
Results
A total of 124 matched pairs of lesions were analyzed. Primary patency at 2 years was significantly lower in the BR (+) group than in the BR (−) group (48% vs. 75%, p = .0007). Multivariate analysis revealed that BR [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.23, 95% confidence interval (CI); 1.48–3.38, p = .0001], lesion length (HR = 1.03, 95%CI; 1.00–1.06, p = .0244), and scaffold use (HR = 0.63, 95%CI; 0.42–0.94, p = .0246) were predictors of restenosis.
Conclusion
BR is independently associated with clinical outcomes after EVT for de novo calcified femoropopliteal lesions.
Level of Evidence: Level 4
Remimazolam-remifentanil causes less postoperative nausea and vomiting than remimazolam-alfentanil during hysteroscopy: A single‐centre randomized controlled trial
Authors: Zhang Xiaoqiang , Li Shuang , Liu Jing
Published: January 2023

Background: Although the operation time of hysteroscopy is short, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is high. Research shows that remimazolam besylate combined with remifentanil is safe and effective for anaesthesia during hysteroscopy. Alfentanil is a short-acting opioid drug with low respiratory inhibition, less cough and fast metabolism, thus making it suitable for daily surgical anaesthesia. Remimazolam is a new benzodiazepine drug that can be as effective in preventing PONV as midazolam. When remimazolam is compounded, it has the best compatibility with remifentanil and alfentanil to reduce PONV. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of PONV between administration of remimazolam-remifentanil and remimazolam-alfentanil during hysteroscopy.
Methods: We conducted a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Patients undergoing hysteroscopy were recruited and randomly assigned to either the remimazolam-remifentanil (Group RR) or the remimazolam-alfentanil group (Group RA).
All patients in the two groups were started with an induction dose of remimazolam besylate 0.2 mg/kg and then maintained with a dosage of 1.0 mg/kg/h. After induction with remimazolam besylate, for Group RR, remifentanil was infused using a target-controlled infusion system with a target concentration of 1.5 ng/ml and titrated throughout the procedure.
For Group RA, infusion of alfentanil was started with an initial bolus dose of 20 µg/kg over 30 s and then maintained at an initial rate of 0.16 µg/kg/min. The primary observation outcome was the incidence rate of PONV. The secondary observation outcomes were hypoxemia during the operation and other adverse effects, such as bradycardia, hypotension and body movement.
Results: A total of 204 patients were successfully included in this study. The incidence of PONV in Group RR (2/102, 2.0%) was significantly lower than that in Group RA (12/102, 11.8%) (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of other adverse events, such as low SpO2, bradycardia, hypotension and body movement, between the RR and RA groups (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Remimazolam-remifentanil causes less PONV than remimazolam-alfentanil during hysteroscopy.
Trial registration
Clinical trial registration number: ChiCTR2100044177. Full date of the frst registration: 12/03/2021.
Size and wave exposure shape parrotfish distributions and function in shallow coral reefs
Authors: Pinto Wenzel , Patel Farai Divan , Dey Mayukh , Alcoverro Teresa , Arthur Rohan
Published: January 2023

Wave exposure is a powerful environmental filter in shallow coral reefs, influencing species distributions and mediating patterns of decline and recovery. How mobile species navigate wave regimes is often mediated by size, morphology and swimming behaviour. How species navigate turbulent wave regimes is especially important in the case of functionally important groups like parrotfish. We explored how wave exposure shapes the distribution, biomass and bioerosional role of parrotfish assemblages in coral reefs using in-water visual surveys in the Lakshadweep Archipelago. Despite being relatively fusiform, we found that parrotfish distribution was strongly influenced by wave exposure, mediated by individual size and body shape. There was a clear decoupling between density, biomass and bioerosion in relation to wave regimes. Parrotfish density was highest in shallow exposed sites, dominated by large shoals of small individuals with low body depth ratios. In contrast, biomass was highest in deeper locations, where larger individuals were most abundant. This differential filtering of species and sizes resulted in considerable heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of bioerosional processes on the reef. Our study highlights the importance of size and shape as critical traits in influencing community assembly and determining the distribution of function in parrotfish.
Case Report of Infectious endocarditis complicated by lumbar purulent spondylitis diagnosed by acute radial artery occlusion
Authors: Horie Kana , Aoyama Rie , Iidaka Kazunobu , Ishiwaki Hikaru , Okino Shinichi , Fukuzawa Shigeru , Fujii Masahiko , Sakurai Manabu , Mogi Kenji
Published: January 2023

Introduction; Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare but serious disease with a wide range of phenotypes and clinical courses. The diagnosis of IE is often difficult and must be comprehensively judged. Case Presentation; We report the case of a 78-year-old woman with back pain and fever of unknown origin, who was transferred to our hospital due to acute radial artery occlusion. We diagnosed purulent spondylitis and IE. The mobile vegetation remained in the anterior mitral valve leaflet after embolism, and the embolism to the central nervous system was relatively mild, so we decided to perform early surgery. Mitral valve replacement was performed because of embolic symptoms without further complications. Conclusions; Early evaluation by echocardiography is required for the prompt diagnosis of IE and its associated high-risk features may benefit from surgical intervention. Early diagnosis of infective endocarditis and surgical intervention are associated with better outcome in patients with large vegetations, recurrent embolisms, and heart failure. While purulent spondylitis is not commonly associated with infective endocarditis, it is important to actively suspect the existence of IE in patients who complain of back pain along with fever. Both physicians and orthopedic surgeons need to recognize IE as a common disease, especially in the elderly society.
A multidimensional thin film based PUF as new approach to Strong PUFs
Authors: Malthiery Benjamin , Wagner Estelle , Benvenuti Giacomo
Published: January 2023

Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) are expected to overcome a number of constraints mainly encountered in the security of the Internet of Things (IoT) domain. They are supposed to be an effective approach to protect objects against counterfeiting by providing unique identities to them through applications such as authentication and key generation in digital environments. To evaluate their security potential, it is essential to quantify their randomness that is intimately related to the fabrication process. It is the reason why previous works were mainly motivated by developing solutions that improved the randomness without inducing overhead on other concerns such as cost, power consumption and integrability. The present work focuses on the diversification capability offered by complex patterned oxide thin films obtained through Chemical Beam Vapour Deposition (CBVD) to be used as PUF and discusses the relevance of this solution from a conceptual point of view. A major advantage consists in the possibility to benefit from a large range of different physico-chemical properties that can additionally be evaluated by a large panel of different characterization techniques, that provide huge encoding capacity as they evaluate to different randomly distributed values at each point. As with all constructions of PUF, the challenge is then to define appropriate additional blocks to optimize the uniformity, reproducibility, and uniqueness of the PUF responses. The concept of a fully miniaturized and integrated optical PUF based on the thin film fingerprints is described, as very promising solution.
Multi-class semantic segmentation of breast tissues from MRI images using U-Net based on Haar wavelet pooling
Authors: Yang Kwang Bin , Lee Jinwon , Yang Jeongsam
Published: January 2023

MRI images for breast cancer diagnosis are inappropriate for reconstructing the natural breast shape in a standing position because they are taken in a lying position. Some studies have proposed methods to present the breast shape in a standing position using ordinary differential equation of the finite element method. However, it is difficult to obtain meaningful results because breast tissues have different elastic moduli. This study proposed a multi-class semantic segmentation method for breast tissues to reconstruct breast shape using U-Net based on Haar wavelet pooling. First, a dataset was constructed by labeling the skin, fat, and fibro-glandular tissues and the background from MRI images taken in a lying position. Next, multi-class semantic segmentation was performed using U-Net based on Haar wavelet pooling to improve the segmentation accuracy for breast tissues. The U-Net based on Haar wavelet pooling effectively extracted breast tissue features while reducing information loss of the image in a subsampling stage using multiple sub-bands. In addition, the proposed network is robust to overfitting. The proposed network showed an mIOU of 87.48 for segmenting breast tissues. The proposed networks showed high-accuracy segmentation for breast tissue with different elastic moduli to reconstruct the natural breast shape.
Perceived parenting before adolescence is associated with adult attachment among Japanese women during the perinatal period: a path models comparison
Authors: Zain Ekachaeryanti , Fukui Naoki , Watanabe Yuichiro , Hashijiri Koyo , Motegi Takaharu , Ogawa Maki , Egawa Jun , Someya Toshiyuki
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to determine how paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence affects adult attachment to a partner during the perinatal period, using three different models of attachment. We used the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and the Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) to examine perceived parenting practices and adult attachment styles, respectively. The participants included 4586 Japanese women who were pregnant and who had given birth, up until one month after childbirth. We performed structural equation modeling analysis between PBI and RQ scores with three different category models, including the four-category model (secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissing attachment) as Model 1, the two-category model (model of the self and others) as Model 2, and the single-category model (total attachment style) as Model 3. Models 1 and 2 showed a good fit. Both path models showed a significant association between adult attachment style and perceived paternal and maternal parenting before adolescence, where high care and low overprotection from both paternal and maternal parents predicted adult attachment. Our findings indicate that attachment styles are best described using the four-category and two-category models, suggesting that both paternal and maternal overprotection and care are important in forming adult attachment with a partner during the perinatal period.
Generation of rat offspring using spermatids produced through in vitro spermatogenesis
Authors: Matsumura Takafumi , Katagiri Kumiko , Yao Tatsuma , Ishikawa-Yamauchi Yu , Nagata Shino , Hashimoto Kiyoshi , Sato Takuya , Kimura Hiroshi , Shinohara Takashi , Sanbo Makoto , Hirabayashi Masumi , Ogawa Takehiko
Published: January 2023

An in vitro spermatogenesis method using mouse testicular tissue to produce fertile sperm was established more than a decade ago. Although this culture method has generally not been effective in other animal species, we recently succeeded in improving the culture condition to induce spermatogenesis of rats up to the round spermatid stage. In the present study, we introduced acrosin-EGFP transgenic rats in order to clearly monitor the production of haploid cells during spermatogenesis in vitro. In addition, a metabolomic analysis of the culture media during cultivation revealed the metabolic dynamics of the testis tissue. By modifying the culture media based on these results, we were able to induce rat spermatogenesis repeatedly up to haploid cell production, including the formation of elongating spermatids, which was confirmed histologically and immunohistochemically. Finally, we performed a microinsemination experiment with in vitro produced spermatids, which resulted in the production of healthy and fertile offspring. This is the first demonstration of the in vitro production of functional haploid cells that yielded offspring in animals other than mice. These results are expected to provide a basis for the development of an in vitro spermatogenesis system applicable to many other mammals.
Evaluation of The Treatment Outcome of Cleft Palate Patients Treated with Differential Opening Expander with Alt-RAMEC Protocol and Facemask : (a cohort clinical study )
Authors: Khalil Sarah S , Salama Ahmed E. , Mohammad Maha M. , Awad Maiada M
Published: January 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the expander with differential opening (EDO) with alternate rapid maxillary expansion and contraction (Alt-RAMEC), and Facemask Protraction in patients with cleft lip and palate using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) records.
Material and methods: Eight cleft lip and palate patients, ages 8 to12 years, were selected. All patients had maxillary permanent first molars and displayed a constricted maxillary arch, Primary lip adhesion and palatal closure were done in early childhood. All patients treated with the Alt-RAMEC protocol used EDO and a protraction facemask. CBCT scans were taken both before and six months after treatment. Maxillary transverse dimensions were measured, including the nasal cavity width, maxillary width, alveolar crest width, arch width, inclination of the molar teeth, alveolar width, alveolar crest level, and buccal and palatal bone plate thickness. A paired sample t-test for significance was used when comparing related samples. Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) test was used to assess the degree of association between two sets of variables.
Results: All maxillary transverse measurements increased significantly at the molar and premolar regions (p<0.05). Alveolar crest level and buccal bone plate thickness were slightly decreased (0.57mm) and 0.5 mm, respectively; (p<0.05). The molar teeth showed a significant increase in buccal inclination (6.36°) (P<0.001). Forward movement of the maxilla was seen in lateral cephalometric extracted from CBCT.
Conclusion: Significant maxillary expansion and advancement were achieved while using the EDO with Alt-RAMEC and facemask protraction, while there was a slight decrease in buccal bone thickness and height and significant increase in buccal molar inclination.
Registration : This trial was registered in the ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04970095 and the date of registration was July 16, 2021.
Clinical Relevance: This innovative treatment approach corrects anterior and posterior crossbite in patients with cleft lip and palate who have dentoskeletal anomalies.
Brain metastasis originated from gastric cancer: its clinicopathological characteristics and survival outcome
Authors: Zhao Bochao , Wang Jingchao , Ma Zhicheng , Wang Weiqiang , Meng Kewei , Yang Tao
Published: January 2023

Objective
The frequency and prognostic factors of brain metastasis(BM) originated from gastric cancer(GC) remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the current knowledge of BM and determine its risk factors and survival outcome.
Methods
A total of 9,278 stage IV GC patients were retrospectively identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results(SEER) database. Clinicopathological features and survival outcomes between patients with and without BM were compared, and significant prognostic factors were determined.
Results
The frequency of BM in stage IV patients was 2.2%(203/9,278), and 52.7%(107/203) of BM patients presented synchronous extracranial metastases at the time of diagnosis. Younger age(< 65 years old) and proximal GC were significantly associated with BM. The patients with BM had a shorter median cancer-specific survival(CSS)(3.0 months [95% CI: 2.21–3.79] vs 7.0 months [95% CI:6.73–7.27], P < 0.001) and overall survival(OS)(3.0 months [95%CI:2.27–3.73] vs 6.0 months [95%CI:5.77–6.23], P < 0.001) than those without BM. For patients with BM, the presence of synchronous extracranial metastases was significantly associated with shorter median CSS(3.0 months [95%CI: 2.30–3.70] vs 4.0 months [95%CI: 2.69–5.31], P = 0.031). However, there was no correlation between the number of extracranial metastatic organs and survival outcomes. Poorly differentiated/undifferentiated adenocarcinoma(HR:1.876, 95%CI:1.231–2.858, P = 0.003) and the presence of extracranial metastasis(HR:1.420, 95%CI:1.003–2.010, P = 0.048) were independent predictive factors for poor survival of patients with BM.
Conclusions
Brain metastasis originated from GC was not common, but survival outcome was extremely poor. For early detection of brain metastasis, it is necessary to pay more attention to patients with risk factors.
Development of Scalable and Generalizable Machine Learned Force Field for Polymers
Authors: Mohanty Shaswat , Stevenson James , Browning Andrea , Jacobson Leif , Leswing Karl , Halls Mathew , Afzal Mohammad Atif Faiz
Published: January 2023

Understanding and predicting the properties of polymers is vital to developing tailored polymer molecules for desired applications. Classical force fields may fail to capture key properties, for example, the transport properties of certain polymer systems such as polyethylene glycol. As a solution, we present an alternative potential energy surface, a charge recursive neural network (QRNN) model trained on DFT calculations made on smaller atomic clusters that generalizes well to oligomers comprising larger atomic clusters or longer chains. We demonstrate the validity of the polymer QRNN workflow by modeling the oligomers of ethylene glycol. We apply two rounds of active learning (addition of new training clusters based on current model performance) and implement a novel model training approach that uses partial charges from a semi-empirical method. Our developed QRNN model for polymers produces stable molecular dynamics (MD) simulation trajectory and captures the dynamics of polymer chains as indicated by the striking agreement with experimental values. Our model allows working on much larger systems than allowed by DFT simulations, at the same time providing a more accurate force field than classical force fields which provides a promising avenue for large-scale molecular simulations of polymeric systems.
Bayesian network-based risk factors analysis for diabetic retinopathy: A cross-sectional study
Authors: Gao Jian , Zhang Ruimin , Feng Yongliang , Song Wenzhu , Zhang Peigang , Chen Jing
Published: January 2023

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) represents one of the common complications of diabetes mellitus, which not only affects the quality of life of patients, but also poses a huge economic burden to their families and society.We aim to construct a Bayesian networks (BNs) to detect risk factors associated with DR, exploring their complicated network relationships, thus, providing a scientific reference for risk prediction and prevention of DR.
Methods: A questionnaire survey and clinical data were collected from 1745 patients with type 2 diabetes from 4 randomly selected communities in four regions of Shanxi Province, China. Afterwards, Elastic Net was employed to make a feature selection, after which, BNs with MMHC algorithms was constructed to discuss risk factors related to DR and their probabilistic dependencies.
Results: After feature selection, 11 variables were incorporated into BNs construction. BNs suggested that the prior probability of DR stands at 0.155. Besides, BNs showed that systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin represent parental nodes for DR, and urea nitrogen and urine protein to creatinine ratio constitute child nodes of DR. When the above parameters leaves at abnormal, the probability of DR reaches at 0.741. Besides, marital status and duration of diabetes are indirectly related to DR. Separated marital status indirectly relates to DR by affecting pressure; duration of diabetes indirectly increases the risk of DR through glycated haemoglobin.
Conclusion: The BNs constructed in this study reveals the complex network linkages between DR and its associated factors, and provides a probabilistic model of the risk for DR, allowing physicians and patients to target risk prediction and to take preventive control of DR complicated by type 2 diabetes.
Empagliflozin reduces arrhythmogenic effects in rat neonatal and human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and improves cytosolic calcium handling at least partially independent of NHE1
Authors: Santos Danúbia Silva , Turaça Lauro Thiago , Coutinho Keyla Cristiny Silva , Barbosa Raiana Andrade Quintanilha , Polidoro Juliano Zequini , Brunswick Tais Hanae Kasai , Carvalho Antonio Carlos Campos , Girardi Adriana Castello Costa
Published: January 2023

The antidiabetic agent class of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors confer unprecedented cardiovascular benefits beyond glycemic control, including reducing the risk of fatal ventricular arrhythmias. However, the impact of SGLT2 inhibitors on the electrophysiological properties of cardiomyocytes exposed to stimuli other than hyperglycemia remains elusive. This investigation tested the hypothesis that the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin (EMPA) affects cardiomyocyte electrical activity under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Rat neonatal and human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes incubated or not with the hypoxia-mimetic agent CoCl2 were treated with EMPA (1 µM) or vehicle for 24 h. Action potential records obtained using intracellular microelectrodes demonstrated that EMPA reduced the action potential duration at 30%, 50%, and 90% repolarization and arrhythmogenic events in rat and human cardiomyocytes under normoxia and hypoxia. Analysis of Ca2+ transients using Fura-2-AM and contractility kinetics showed that EMPA increased Ca2+ transient amplitude and decreased the half-time to recover Ca2+ transients and relaxation time in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes. We also observed that the combination of EMPA with the NHE1 inhibitor cariporide (10 µM) exerted a more pronounced effect on Ca2+ transients and contractility than either EMPA or cariporide alone. Besides, EMPA, but not cariporide, increased phospholamban phosphorylation at serine 16. Collectively, our data reveal that EMPA reduces arrhythmogenic events, decreases the action potential duration in rat neonatal and human cardiomyocytes under normoxic or hypoxic conditions, and improves cytosolic calcium handling at least partially independent of NHE1. Moreover, we provided further evidence that SGLT2 inhibitor-mediated cardioprotection may be partly attributed to its cardiomyocyte electrophysiological effects.
Investigations of the spin-Hamiltonian parameters and defect structure for the (TiO 4 ) 5− tetrahedral clusters in ZrSiO 4 : Ti 3+ crystal
Authors: Mei Yang
Published: January 2023

The spin-Hamiltonian parameters (g factors g//, g⊥ and hyperfine structure constants 47Ai, 49Ai, where i = // or ⊥, 47Ai and 49Ai denote the values of isotopes 47Ti3+ and 49Ti3+) of the Ti3+ ions at the tetrahedral Si4+ sites in ZrSiO4 crystal are computed from the high-order perturbation formulas based on the cluster approach where the contributions due to both the d orbitals of central dn ion and p orbitals of ligand ion are considered. The calculated results are reasonably coincident with the experimental values. The defect structure of (TiO4)5− impurity cluster which differs from the replaced host (SiO4)4− cluster in ZrSiO4 is evaluated in the calculation. The results are discussed.
HepaRG cells undergo increased levels of post-differentiation patterning in physiologic conditions when maintained as 3D cultures in paper-based scaffolds
Authors: Diprospero Thomas J. , Brown Lauren G. , Fachko Trevor D. , Lockett Matthew R.
Published: January 2023

Monolayer cultures of hepatocytes lack many aspects of the liver sinusoid, including a tissue-level organization that results from extracellular matrix interactions and gradients of soluble molecules that span from the portal triad to the central vein. We measured the activity and transcript levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes in HepaRG cells maintained in three different culture configurations: as monolayers, seeded onto paper scaffolds that were pre-loaded with a collagen matrix, and when seeded directly into the paper scaffolds as a cell-laden gel. Drug metabolism was significantly decreased in the presence of the paper scaffolds compared to monolayer configurations when cells were exposed to standard culture conditions. Despite this decreased function, transcript levels suggest the cells undergo increased polarization and adopt a biliary-like character in the paper scaffolds, including the increased expression of transporter proteins (e.g.,ABCB11andSLOC1B1) and theKRT19cholangiocyte marker. When exposed to representative periportal or perivenous culture conditions, we observed in vivo zonal-like patterns, including increased cytochrome P450 (CYP) activity and transcript levels in the perivenous condition. This increased CYP activity is more pronounced in the laden configuration, supporting the need to include multiple aspects of the liver microenvironment to observe the post-differentiation processing of hepatocytes.
IGF2BP3 is associated with HPV status and tight junction in HPV-related cervical cancer
Authors: Han Xiu , Han# Qignzhen , Wu Xiangwei , Geng Haiying , Wang Lin , Gong Aihua
Published: January 2023

Background
Although m6A modification was known to have broad effects on malignant tumors by participating in tumor proliferation, differentiation, tumorigenesis, invasion and metastasis, as oncogenes or anti-oncogenes, their effects of microbes in cancers have been rarely disputed. To investigate the function of IGF2BP3, one of the indispensable regulators of m6A, in HPV virus invading and transmitting, integrative analyses was performed in this study and identified that it was highly expressed in tumors and was related to the poor prognosis in CESC.
Methods
We investigate the expresseion level of IGF2BP3 and its prognostic value in CESC via multiple datasets including TCGA, GTEx datasets and TIMER. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses of differentially expressed genes were performed using GOplot, org.Hs.eg.db and clusterProfiler packages and visualized using the ggplot2 package
Results
In HPV-positive tumors, IGF2BP3 was positively associated with tumor HPV status. Further analysis demonstrated that IGF2BP3 high status was correlated with signaling pathways related to cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions, including receptor ligand activity, neuroactive ligand receptor interaction and chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation. Moreover, correlation analysis showed that IGF2BP3 would impair the formation of cell polarity and cell-cell contacts by dysregulating the expression of tight junction molecules.
Conclusions
Our results identified that IGF2BP3 high status, is associated with poor prognosis and HPV status, and IGF2BP3 serves as a mediator of the tight junction formation in HPV-associated cancer, which provides a promising therapeutic target for anti-cancer schedule.
Improved metamodels for predicting high-dimensional outputs by accounting for the dependence structure of the latent variables: application to marine flooding
Authors: Rohmer Jeremy , Sire Charlie , Lecacheux Sophie , Idier Deborah , Pedreros Rodrigo
Published: January 2023

Metamodelling techniques have shown high performance to overcome the computational burden of numerical hydrodynamic models for fast prediction of key indicators of marine flooding (e.g. total flooded area). To predict flood maps (e.g. spatial distribution of maximum value of water depth during a flood event), a commonly-used approach is to rely on principal component analysis to reduce the high dimensionality of the flood map (related to the number of pixels typically of several 1,000s) by transforming the spatial output into a low number of latent variables (typically <10). One commonly-used approach is to build one metamodel per latent variable by assuming independence between the latent variables. Using two real cases of marine flooding, we show that the predictive performance of the metamodelling approach (relying on kriging metamodels) can significantly be improved when the dependence structure of the latent variables is accounted for. Our tests show that the most efficient approach relies on the clustering in the space of the latent variables (here with k-means algorithm). Complementing the approach with a kriging metamodel specifically dedicated to handle vector-valued variables allows an additional increase of predictability for the case with the larger size of the training dataset.
Anthropogenic Contamination in the Free Aquifer of the San Luis Potosi Valley
Authors: Rivera Sonia Torres , Hernández José Ramón Torres , Lozada Simón Eduardo Carranco , Arreola María Elena García , Doncel Rubén Alfonso López
Published: January 2023

The valley of San Luis Potosí is an endorheic basin formed by three aquifers: shallow hanging, alluvial material on a hardened horizon known as "tepetate", two deep, free and confined type. Population growth has led to gradual contamination of the surface aquifer. Recent studies documented anthropogenic, biogenic and heavy metal contamination. A recent phenomenon of settlement has affected houses and buildings in the urban area, extending to parts of the valley that are still used for agriculture, developing "faults" affecting the tepetate that supports the superficial aquifer, facilitating the infiltration of contaminated water into the aquifer. free type. This investigation reports detection of nitrogen (N-NO3), with a concentration of 15 mg/L (milligram liter) its maximum allowable limit is 10 mg/L. Twelve samples with fecal coliforms from 5 to 17 MPN/100 (the most probable number in one hundred milliliters of the sample). Thirteen samples showed total coliform concentrations, one sample reported a too high concentration of 150 NMP/100, compared to the rest with concentrations of 5 to 17 NMP/100, indicating less contamination. Some trace elements with concentrations in parts per million (ppm) that were also detected were manganese (Mn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Results that give the first sign of attention to the contamination of the deep free aquifer, derived from anthropic activity in the valley of San Luis Potosí.
Construction and evaluation of a tailwater treatment system for intensive aquaculture—a case study on bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) farming
Authors: Xie Dan Dan , Hu Jie Hua , Lin Li Ru , Huang Xiao Mei , Xie Chang Sheng , He Hai Bin
Published: January 2023

Treatment of tailwater in intensive aquaculture has been a major issue that affects the utilization efficiency and pollution of water resources. In this study, the intensive farming of bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) was taken as an example to construct a tailwater treatment system consisting of a flotation tank, a biochemical tank and wetlands. The operating conditions of the biochemical tank were first optimized. The results showed that at an influent flow rate of 250 m3·h− 1, a hydraulic retention time of 6 h, and an aeration intensity of 2000 m3 h− 1, the levels of CODCr, ammoniacal nitrogen and total phosphorus in the effluent of the biochemical tank were reduced by 70%, 43% and 42%, respectively. Under these operating conditions, the efficiencies of the flotation tank, biochemical tank and constructed wetlands were 8.3%, 67.3% and 5.6% for CODCr removal, 4.2%, 40.4% and 70.5% for ammoniacal nitrogen removal, and 16.8%, 42.1% and 59.4% for total phosphorus removal, respectively. After one month of continuous operation, the following treatment results were obtained: 71.7% and 90% removal for CODCr and BOD5, 83% and 92% removal for ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrite nitrogen, 86.7% and 76.5% removal for reactive phosphorus and total phosphorus, and 95.1% removal of suspended solids. The dissolved oxygen level increased from 1.2 mg·L− 1 (influent) to 3.5 mg·L− 1 (effluent), indicating significantly improved water quality that met the Grade 1 national wastewater discharge standard and the criteria of recycled water utilization in bullfrog farming. This system thus realized the regeneration and utilization of tailwater in intensive aquaculture.
Estimating daily actual evapotranspiration using gap-filled satellite retrievals
Authors: Veysi Shadman , Motlagh Aryan Heidari , Nasrolahi Ali Heidar , Safi Abdur Rahim
Published: January 2023

Appropriate determination of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) is crucial to improve crop water productivity and optimizing water resource consumption. Satellite data enables us to calculate ETa for a large spatial extent with higher granularity, but the temporal frequency of non-commercial satellite data is often a limitation. This research proposes a method that combines crop coefficients with satellite data to fill temporal data gaps and calculate ETa on a daily basis. The study was conducted on sugarcane crops in the Amirkabir Agro-industries area in the southern part of Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran. First, Landsat-8 data with the 8- day temporal resolution is acquired to estimate Land Surface Temperature (LST) using Single-Channel Algorithm. The estimated LST is validated with the in-situ canopy temperature measurement via Infrared Thermometer (IRT). Then, the validated LST is used to predict the crop stress coefficient (Ks) based on its relationship with the crop water stress index (CWSI). The crop coefficient (Kc) is obtained from the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) algorithm. The predicted Ks and Kc with the 8-day temporal resolution are assumed to be constant during the eight days and are utilized to calculate daily ETa by multiplying by the daily reference evapotranspiration (ET0) obtained from local meteorological data. The calculated Ks based on the LST result showed that nRMSE ranged from 0.03 to 0.07 from April to September. The results indicate that the crop coefficients of sugarcane in the initial and mid-stage are 12% and 18%, respectively, higher than the proposed figures by the FAO56 guideline. The aggregated decadal and monthly ETa have shown remarkable similarity with the WaPOR datasets, represented by an RMSE of 8.7 and 1.93 mm, respectively. We think this naval approach can significantly overcome the challenge of remote sensing data availability with the desired higher temporal resolution.
A Lightweight Clock Synchronization Technique for Wireless Sensor Networks: A Randomization-Based Secure Approach
Authors: Kara Mostefa
Published: January 2023

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are receiving significant attention. In which, there is a large number of studies are being done to address the problem of clock synchronization; where an adversary attacks a node and it can prevent the network from running certain clock-based applications. Due to the low capacity of wireless sensors, we propose in this article a new technique to synchronize the nodes of a system, through the random selection of a subset of neighbors instead of taking into account all the neighbors. Thanks to the proposed technique, we reduce the influence of malicious nodes, reduce the storage space, computation time, and energy consumption.
Model construction and verification of nozzle range calculation
Authors: Tuo Yunfei , Ding Mingjing , Wang Zhaoyi , Zheng Yang , Shi Xiaolan , Liu Xiangning , Liang Jiaping , Liu Xiaogang , Xiang Ping , Yang Qiliang
Published: January 2023

To determine Calculation method of sprinklerand micro-sprinklers, computational models for sprinkler range model is constructed, based on hydraulic parameters of nozzle diameter, working pressure, Installation Heights, spray elevation angle, discharge coefficient, wind direction and speed, water flow regime, and water droplet motion in air, etc., as well by Newton's second law of motion, aerodynamics, and fluid mechanics principles, and by experimental verification for common sprinkler range, nozzle diameter, working pressure, spray elevation angle, Installation Heights, discharge coefficient, and wind direction and speed. The results indicate that sprinkler range with nozzle diameter, working pressure, Installation Heights, spray elevation angle, discharge coefficient, wind direction and speed, water flow regime, and droplet motion in air was in highly significant correlation, the sprinkler range Progressive decreases around the sprinkler along the sprinkler range direction, as well increases by 5.2342%~10.6278% in the downwind direction and decreases by 4.6897%~9.8623% in the headwind direction compared with no wind. The wind speed increases, then the range decreases, and the wind direction shifts, then the range shifts, so the wind direction wind speed changes then the range changes. The coefficients of determination, the consistency Index, the root mean square error, absolute error, relative error between calculated Values and Measured Values of computational models are 0.9146, 0.9205, 8.7748%, 10.4980%, 8.2524% and 8.1421%, respectively. The smaller coefficients of determination and the consistency Index of calculated Values and Measured Values of computational model under windy conditions comparing with no wind, as well the larger root error, deviation, absolute error and relative error. The calculation model in this paper has a clear principle, comprehensive influence factors, complete physical meaning, high calculation accuracy, small error, and wide applicability. This calculation model can effectively reflect the nozzle range change law. This study provides theoretical basis for determining the sprinkler hydraulic performance and provides technology support for Planning and Design of sprinkler irrigation system.
Follistatin-like 1 Prevents Renal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Inhibition of Apoptosis via Upregulating AMPK/PPAR-δ Pathway
Authors: Luo Wenbin , Zhang Ziyue , Chen Shengnan , Luo Hao , Li Xiaoping , Qu Shuang , Zheng Shuo , He Duofen , Zeng Chunyu , Chen Ken
Published: January 2023

Follistatin-like 1 (FSTL-1), a secreted glycoprotein, is upregulated in the serum of patients with acute kidney injury. However, it is unknown whether it protects against renal ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Our present study found that treatment with FSTL-1 (100 mg/kg) intravenous injection alleviated renal injury, as evidenced by reduced serum creatinine (Scr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, along with reduced histopathological kidney damage. Moreover, FSTL-1 treatment reduced the number of apoptotic cells and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during I/R injury. The protective effect of FSTL-1 was via AMPK/PPAR-δ pathway, because, after blockade of AMPK/PPAR-δ pathway by individual inhibitor (GSK0660, a PPAR-δ antagonist, or compound C, an AMPK inhibitor), the protective effects of FSTL-1 on oxidative stress and apoptosis were blocked. Taken together, our results reveal that FSTL-1 attenuates renal I/R injury by inhibiting apoptosis in renal tubular epithelial cells, which is meditated by activating AMPK/PPAR-δ pathway.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for acute pulmonary embolism after postoperative craniocerebral trauma: A case report
Authors: Liao Xiaozu , Chen Xiaojuan , Zhong Shi , Wen Junlin , Li Binfei
Published: January 2023

Massive pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening complication of major surgery with a mortality rate of up to 50%. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is primarily used for respiratory and circulatory support. Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) was used to stabilize patients with acute massive PE. Acute brain injury, vascular disease, and immunosuppression, as proposed in the 2021 ELSO guidelines, are contraindications to ECMO. We report a case of a patient with craniocerebral trauma whose postoperative course was complicated by massive PE and subsequent cardiac arrest that required emergent VA‐ECMO, followed by anticoagulation with heparin. The patient showed hemodynamic improvement. The patient was discharged 68 days after hospitalization.
Modeling household expenditure in Rwanda using Neural Network
Authors: REBERO Patrick , NKURUNZIZA Joseph
Published: January 2023

The household expenditure patterns and the factors related to them caught the attention of policymakers for social programs. Household consumption is the key component for living standards and a good economy. The objective of this research is to estimate the factors influencing household expenditure patterns concerning household residence area for each household on basis of the social-economic as well as demographic factors. The data was obtained from the Fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV 5) 2016/2017. The neural network method has been used in the analysis of the data. The results on household characteristics and component expenditure, independent variables play a crucial role in discriminating the household expenditure categories i.e low and high expenditure in Rwanda. The component expenditure analysis on rural and urban residence areas revealed that there is a disparity between rural and urban residential areas. In rural residence areas, the household expenditure is significantly estimated by Household assets (durable goods), food, and household size while in the urban residence area, the household expenditure is significantly estimated by Household assets (durable goods), non-food, and education costs. When the residence area is taken as an explanatory variable, the order of importance has been changed as follows Household assets (durable goods), non-food, education cost, food, household size, and Age. All independent variables considered in this study are important in estimating household expenditure.
Analyses of the materials and techniques used in the “Tian Di Chang Chun” horizontal plaque inscribed by the patriotic general Feng Yü-hsiang
Authors: Zheng Liping , Wang Liqin , Zhao Xing , Xi Zhoukuan , Wu Xianzhu , Fan Xiaopan
Published: January 2023

The “Tian Di Chang Chun” horizontal plaque inscribed by the general Feng Yü-hsiang in R.O.C. 25 (1936) shows his patriotic, compassionate, fair, and just thoughts and ideals. It has significant educational value for contemporary society. However, due to the aging of the materials and some factors in the preservation environment, the coloured decorative coating on the surface of the plaque has shed. The digital microscope system, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (µ-FTIR) were used to analyse the materials and techniques used on this plaque. It has been showed that the decorative layer of the plaque consists of a red Chinese lacquer film layer on the surface and a ground layer. The red lacquer film layer comprises Chinese lacquer, tung oil, and cinnabar. The materials used for the ground layer are the blood putty made of the blood product, youman (flour-oil-lime mixture), and brick powder. The technique used is the SDH (San Dao Hui) layer technique in ancient buildings. This study provides physical evidences regarding the materials and techniques used in inscribed plaque relics, and also provides technical supports to further protect and restore the plaque.