bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rates of adverse events in patients with ischemic stroke treated at thrombectomy capable hospitals
Authors: Chaudhry Saqib A , Sadaf Humaira , Laleka Ibrahim , Nasir Wahid , Witzel Catherine , Bahiru Zelalem , Fang Yun , Ishfaq Fawad , Altaweel Laith R , Qureshi Adnan I
Published: May 2021

Objective

To identify the beneficial effects of thrombectomy capable hospitals (TCHs), by comparing the incidence of in-hospital adverse events and discharge outcomes among patients with ischemic stroke treated at thrombectomy capable and non-thrombectomy capable hospitals in the United States.

Methods

We used the data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from January 2012 to December 2017. Thrombectomy capable hospitals were identified based on the number of thrombectomy procedures performed by a hospital each year among patients with ischemic stroke. If a hospital performed 10 or more thrombectomy procedures, it was labelled a TCH. The inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years, and ischemic stroke (International Classification of Diseases 433 .x1-434.x1 (ICD-9) or I63 (ICD-10)) as primary discharge diagnosis. A comparative analysis of propensity-matched patient groups was done to study the influence of TCH admissions on in-hospital outcomes.

Results

A total of 2 826 334 patients with primary ischemic stroke were identified. In a multivariate logistic regression model after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, hospital teaching status, comorbidities, and all patients refined diagnosis-related groups-based disease severity, patients admitted to a TCH were found to have low incidence of in-hospital adverse events: pneumonia (OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.93), urinary tract infection (OR=0.87, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.91), sepsis (OR=0.91, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.02), and pulmonary embolism (OR=0.89, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.03); in-hospital death (OR=0.82, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.88); and higher rate of home discharge (OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.12).

Conclusions

A decrease in-hospital adverse events and improved discharge outcomes were observed among patients with ischemic stroke admitted to a TCH compared with a non-TCH.
Cancer incidence and mortality in the USA Astronaut Corps, 1959–2017
Authors: Reynolds Robert , Little Mark P , Day Steven , Charvat Jacqueline , Blattnig Steven , Huff Janice , Patel Zarana S
Published: May 2021

Objectives

Cancer incidence and mortality are important outcomes in the surveillance of long-term astronaut health. We compare cancer incidence rates, cancer-specific mortality rates, and cancer case-fatality ratios in US astronauts with those in the US general population.

Methods

We use standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) and standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) to index the incidence and mortality of various cancers against rates in the US general population, from the US astronaut cohort inception in April 1959 through 31 December 2017. We compare the lethality of these cancers using the relative case-fatality ratio.

Results

Overall cancer incidence and mortality were slightly lower than expected from national rates with SIR 82 (95% CI 63 to 104) and SMR 72 (95% CI 44 to 111) with a modest 14% reduction in case-fatality ratio. Prostate cancer and melanoma skin cancer had significant increases in incidence, with SIR of 162 (95% CI 109 to 232) and 252 (95% CI 126 to 452), respectively, though only melanoma had a significant increase in mortality, with SMR 508 (95% CI 105 to 1485). Lung cancer had a significant deficit of both cases and deaths, while colon cancer had sizeable (but not significant) reductions in incidence and mortality.

Conclusions

The increase in incidence of melanoma is consistent with that observed in aircraft pilots, suggesting this may be associated with ultraviolet radiation or lifestyle factors rather than any astronaut-specific exposure. Reductions in lung cancer incidence and mortality, and trends towards such reductions in colon cancer, may be explained in part by healthy lifestyle, as well as differential screening among astronauts.
Occupational exposure to high-level disinfectants and risk of miscarriage among nurses
Authors: Ding Ming , Lawson Christina , Johnson Candice , Rich-Edwards Janet , Gaskins Audrey Jane , Boiano Jim , Henn Scott , Rocheleau Carissa , Chavarro Jorge E
Published: May 2021

Objectives

To examine the association of occupational exposure to high-level disinfectants (HLDs) with risk of miscarriage among nurses.

Methods

Our study included women who enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study 3 (2010–2020) and had at least one pregnancy during follow-up. Occupational exposure to HLDs was self-reported at baseline. Every 6 months, a follow-up questionnaire was sent to participants asking for detailed information on pregnancies. We used a discrete-time Cox model to calculate the HRs and 95% CIs of miscarriage according to exposure to HLDs.

Results

Our study included 2579 nurses with a median of 5.6 years of follow-up (range: 1–9 years), and we documented 768 (19%) cases of miscarriage among 3974 pregnancies. Compared with women with no HLD exposure, the HRs of miscarriage were 1.08 (95% CI: 0.87 to 1.34) for past users and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.68 to 1.04) for HLD users. Compared with women with no HLD exposure, duration, frequency, and type of HLD and use of exposure controls were not associated with risk of miscarriage. When restricting to pregnancies that occurred within 12 months of HLD use, occupational exposure to unspecified types of HLD was significantly associated with higher risk of miscarriage (HR=1.78; 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.93).

Conclusions

We observed no associations between occupational use of HLDs and miscarriage, except when we restricted to pregnancies occurring within 12 months of assessed baseline exposure. Given the observational design and limited sample size, results should be interpreted cautiously.
Knowledge and practice of home blood pressure monitoring 6 months after the risk and assessment management programme: does health literacy matter?
Authors: FU Sau Nga , Dao Man Chi , Wong Carlos K H , Cheung Bernard M Y
Published: May 2021

Background

Little is known whether patients with lower health literacy could retain the practice and knowledge of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) after an educational programme.

Methods

A cluster randomised controlled trial in five primary care clinics recruited participants with uncontrolled hypertension. Clinics were randomised either to a HBPM group education (Risk Assessment and Management Programme (RAMP-group), or individual counselling of self-management (RAMP-individual). Health literacy was assessed by the Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Chronic Care. Practice and knowledge of HBPM were surveyed by a 10-item HBPM knowledge checklist and patient record review 6 months after interventions. Predictors for regular HBPM and good HBPM knowledge were assessed by multivariate logistic regression models.

Results

287 participants (RAMP-group: 151; RAMP-individual: 136) were follow-up for 6 months. 272 participants completed the knowledge questionnaires (response rate 94.8%). 67.8% of the participants performed HBPM regularly, and there was no statistical difference between both interventions. Age more than 65 (adjusted odds ratios (aOR) 2.58, 95% CI 1.37 to 4.86, p=0.003), not working (aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.10 to 4.97, p=0.027)and adequate health literacy (aOR 2.25, 95% CI 1.28 to 3.95, p=0.005) predicted regular HBPM. Participants in RAMP-group demonstrated a significant lower body weight than those in RAMP-individual (−0.3±2.0 kg vs +0.7 ±1.7 kg, p<0.001).The RAMP-group participants were eight times more likely to have full HBPM knowledge score than the RAMP-individual participants (aOR 8.46, 95% CI 4.68 to 15.28, p<0.001).

Conclusion

Patients could retain HBPM knowledge better after RAMP-group than RAMP-individual. Older, retired and patients with adequate health literacy were more likely to continue weekly HBPM 6 months after education.

Trial registration number

NCT02551393.
Utility of nasal application of lignocaine gel using cotton tip swab versus squirting with slip-tip syringe for transnasal fibreoptic bronchoscopy: a pilot randomised controlled trial
Authors: Ray Animesh , Biswas Sagnik , Manjunath Mouna B , Meena Ved Prakash , Sethi Prayas , Sinha Sanjeev
Published: May 2021

Background

During flexible fibreoptic bronchoscopy through the nasal route, anaesthesia of the nasal passage is achieved by lignocaine gel application by a slip-tip syringe or with the help of a cotton tip swab. No studies in existing literature have compared the two techniques in terms of efficacy.

Methods

137 consecutive patients undergoing bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were recruited over a 2-year period. The patients underwent BAL after nasal anaesthesia—either by slip-tip syringe or by cotton tip swab smeared with 2% lignocaine gel. Patients were monitored for intraprocedural epistaxis, discomfort and improvement in operator visibility of nasal passage.

Results

67 patients were randomised to cotton swab and 70 patients to the gel instillation group. There were no significant differences in terms of epistaxis, 29.9% in the cotton tip swab (95% CI 19.3% to 42.3%) versus 24.3% in the gel instillation group (95% CI 14.8% to 36%) or detection of nasal blocks, 7.5% in the cotton tip swab (95% CI 2.5% to 16.6%) versus 10% in the gel instillation group (95% CI 4.1% to 19.5%) in the two groups, although a significant difference was there in terms of visibility, 73.1% in the cotton tip swab (95% CI 60.9% to 83.2%) versus 42.9% in the gel instillation group (95% CI 31.1% to 55.3%). There was no difference in the mean pain score across the two groups either during the procedure or 1 hour after it. A short systematic review of existing literature on the topic has been provided for comparison.

Conclusion

Application of 2% lignocaine gel by slip-tip syringe and cotton tip swab are equivalent in terms of observed and narrated pain experienced by patients, frequency of epistaxis and nasal blocks. Vision was better preserved in the cotton tip swab group.
Introduction to the development of complex interventions
Authors: Brewster Sarah , Holt Richard , Price Hermione
Published: May 2021

Healthcare interventions are complex, but have the potential to deliver more efficient, cost-effective care and improved health outcomes. Careful attention must be paid to their early planning and development to minimise research waste or interventions that fail to deliver what they set out to achieve. The Medical Research Council provides guidance to help intervention developers, encouraging an explicit and iterative approach. This article describes the Medical Research Council's guidance and introduces two frequently used tools that further support the process of intervention design.
Review of the published literature to characterise clinical excellence in COVID-19 care
Authors: Garibaldi Brian T , Chisolm Margaret S , Berkenblit Gail V , Feller-Kopman David , Stephens R Scott , Stewart Rosalyn W , Wright Scott M
Published: May 2021

COVID-19 continues to be a major source of global morbidity and mortality. It abruptly stressed healthcare systems early in 2020 and the pressures continue. Devastating hardships have been endured by individuals, families and communities; the losses will be felt for years to come. As healthcare professionals and organisations stepped up to respond to the overwhelming number of cases, it is understandable that the focus has been primarily on coping with the quantity of the demand. During a pandemic, it is not surprising that few papers have drawn attention to the quality of the care delivered to those afflicted with illness. Despite the challenges, clinicians caring for patients with COVID-19 have risen to the occasion. This manuscript highlights aspirational examples from the published literature of thoughtful and superb care of patients with COVID-19 using an established framework for clinical excellence (formulated by the Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence).
Erratum to: Sensitivity limit investigation of a Sagnac gyroscope through linear regression analysis
Authors: Di Virgilio Angela D. , Altucci Carlo , Bajardi Francesco , Basti Andrea , Beverini Nicolò , Capozziello Salvatore , Carelli Giorgio , Ciampini Donatella , Fuso Francesco , Giacomelli Umberto , Maccioni Enrico , Marsili Paolo , Ortolan Antonello , Porzio Alberto , Simonelli Andrea , Terreni Giuseppe , Velotta Raffaele
Published: May 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-09199-1
Gravitationally induced entanglement dynamics between two quantum walkers
Authors: Badhani Himanshu , Chandrashekar C. M.
Published: May 2021

Quantum walk is a synonym for multi-path interference and faster spread of a particle in a superposition of position space. We study the effects of a quantum mechanical interaction modeled to mimic quantum mechanical gravitational interaction between the two states of the walkers. The study has been carried out to investigate the entanglement generation between the two quantum walkers that do not otherwise interact. We see that the states do in fact get entangled more and more as the quantum walks unfold, and there is an interesting dependence of entanglement generation on the mass of the two particles performing the walks. With the introduction of noise into the dynamics, we also show the sensitivity of entanglement between the two walkers on the noise introduced in one of the walks. The signature of quantum effects due to gravitational interactions highlights the potential role of quantum systems in probing the nature of gravity.
A low cost, short range quantum key distribution system
Authors: Lowndes David , Frick Stefan , Hart Andy , Rarity John
Published: May 2021

We present a miniaturized quantum key distribution system, designed to augment the more mature quantum key distribution systems currently commercially available. Our device is designed for the consumer market, and so size, weight and power are more important than raw performance. To achieve our form factor, the transmitter is handheld and the receiver is a larger fixed terminal. We envisage users would bring their transmitters to centrally located receivers and exchange keys which they could use at a later point. Transmitting qubits at 80 MHz, the peak key rate is in excess of 20 kbps. The transmitter device fits within an envelope of <150 ml, weighs 65 g and consumes 3.15 W of power.
The Role of Electronic Health Records in Advancing Genomic Medicine
Authors: Linder Jodell E. , Bastarache Lisa , Hughey Jacob J. , Peterson Josh F.
Published: May 2021

Recent advances in genomic technology and widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) have accelerated the development of genomic medicine, bringing promising research findings from genome science into clinical practice. Genomic and phenomic data, accrued across large populations through biobanks linked to EHRs, have enabled the study of genetic variation at a phenome-wide scale. Through new quantitative techniques, pleiotropy can be explored with phenome-wide association studies, the occurrence of common complex diseases can be predicted using the cumulative influence of many genetic variants (polygenic risk scores), and undiagnosed Mendelian syndromes can be identified using EHR-based phenotypic signatures (phenotype risk scores). In this review, we trace the role of EHRs from the development of genome-wide analytic techniques to translational efforts to test these new interventions to the clinic. Throughout, we describe the challenges that remain when combining EHRs with genetics to improve clinical care.
Impact of Fringing Field on Shell Radius and Spacer Dielectric on Device Performance of InAs-GaSb Core-Shell Nanowire nTFET
Authors: Joseph H. Bijo , Singh Sankalp Kumar , Nagarajan Venkatesan , Anandan Deepak , Chang Edward Yi , Kakkerla Ramesh Kumar , D John Thiruvadigal
Published: May 2021

A comprehensive investigation with the help of 3D device simulation, we demonstrate the impact of fringing field on shell radius of InAs-GaSb core–shell nanowire n-channel tunnel field effect transistor (TFET) in this paper. Increase in shell radius intensifies the magnitude of fringing electric field towards shell region. This results in generation of depletion zone in the shell near the gate edge affects the device performance metrics such as on current and threshold voltage. It is demonstrated that by appropriate gate engineering the influence of fringing electric field can be circumvent. High-k spacer dielectric at the gate underlap shows improvement in device performance metrics such as on current with sub

2.3

k

B

T

q

subthreshold swing. An investigation of the effect of drain voltage on the device characteristics exhibits the privation of tunneling resistance limited region. Furthermore, the output characteristics for such an architecture bear a resemblance to long channel MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor).
Sinusoidal endotheliopathy in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: therapeutic implications
Authors: Ibrahim Samar H.
Published: May 2021

Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are distinct subtypes of endothelial cells lining a low flow vascular bed at the interface of the liver parenchyma and the circulating immune cells and soluble factors. Emerging literature implicates LSEC in the pathogenesis and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). During the evolution of NAFLD, LSEC dysfunction ensues. LSECs undergo morphological and functional transformation known as “capillarization,” as well as a pathogenic increase in surface adhesion molecules expression, referred to in this review as “endotheliopathy.” LSECs govern the composition of hepatic immune cell populations in nonalcoholic steatohepatis (NASH) by mediating leukocyte subset adhesion through specific combinations of activated adhesion molecules and secreted chemokines. Moreover, extracellular vesicles released by hepatocyte under lipotoxic stress in NASH act as a catalyst for the inflammatory response and promote immune cell chemotaxis and adhesion. In the current review, we highlight leukocyte adhesion to LSEC as an initiating event in the sterile inflammatory response in NASH. We discuss preclinical studies targeting immune cells adhesion in NASH mouse models and potential therapeutic anti-inflammatory strategies for human NASH.
Sequential Pattern Mining to Predict Medical In-Hospital Mortality from Administrative Data: Application to Acute Coronary Syndrome
Authors: Pinaire Jessica , Chabert Etienne , Azé Jérôme , Bringay Sandra , Landais Paul
Published: May 2021

Prediction of a medical outcome based on a trajectory of care has generated a lot of interest in medical research. In sequence prediction modeling, models based on machine learning (ML) techniques have proven their efficiency compared to other models. In addition, reducing model complexity is a challenge. Solutions have been proposed by introducing pattern mining techniques. Based on these results, we developed a new method to extract sets of relevant event sequences for medical events’ prediction, applied to predict the risk of in-hospital mortality in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). From the French Hospital Discharge Database, we mined sequential patterns. They were further integrated into several predictive models using a text string distance to measure the similarity between patients’ patterns of care. We computed combinations of similarity measurements and ML models commonly used. A Support Vector Machine model coupled with edit-based distance appeared as the most effective model. We obtained good results in terms of discrimination with the receiver operating characteristic curve scores ranging from 0.71 to 0.99 with a good overall accuracy. We demonstrated the interest of sequential patterns for event prediction. This could be a first step to a decision-support tool for the prevention of in-hospital death by ACS.
Effects of TheraBand and Theratube Eccentric Exercises on Quadriceps Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass in Young Adults
Authors: Anwer Shahnawaz , Jeelani Shayista I. , Khan Sohrab Ahmad , Quddus Nishat , Kalra Sumit , Alghadir Ahmad H.
Published: May 2021

Purpose. This study was aimed at comparing the effects of TheraBand and theratube eccentric exercises on quadriceps muscle strength in young adults. Methods. Thirty young adults (19 females, 11 males) participated in this pretest‐posttest experimental study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two groups: TheraBand and theratube groups. They received the training intervention 3 times a week for 4 weeks (12 sessions) with progression after 2 weeks. Maximum eccentric quadriceps strength was assessed using the Biodex isokinetic dynamometer system. Additionally, quadriceps muscle mass was measured using a tape. Results. Both groups showed a significant improvement in the peak torque of the eccentric isokinetic quadriceps’ strength after weeks 2 and 4. Strength change in the quadriceps was nonsignificant in the theratube group compared to the TheraBand group after 4 weeks of training (p < 0.05). There was no increase in muscle mass during the 4 weeks of training in any group (p > 0.05). Conclusion. Both the TheraBand and theratube are equally effective in the strengthening of the quadriceps muscle in young adults. Therefore, either the TheraBand or theratube may be used according to the availability and feasibility of the subjects for training intervention.
Multichannel Retinal Blood Vessel Segmentation Based on the Combination of Matched Filter and U‐Net Network
Authors: Ma Yuliang , Zhu Zhenbin , Dong Zhekang , Shen Tao , Sun Mingxu , Kong Wanzeng
Published: May 2021

Aiming at the current problem of insufficient extraction of small retinal blood vessels, we propose a retinal blood vessel segmentation algorithm that combines supervised learning and unsupervised learning algorithms. In this study, we use a multiscale matched filter with vessel enhancement capability and a U‐Net model with a coding and decoding network structure. Three channels are used to extract vessel features separately, and finally, the segmentation results of the three channels are merged. The algorithm proposed in this paper has been verified and evaluated on the DRIVE, STARE, and CHASE_DB1 datasets. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can segment small blood vessels better than most other methods. We conclude that our algorithm has reached 0.8745, 0.8903, and 0.8916 on the three datasets in the sensitivity metric, respectively, which is nearly 0.1 higher than other existing methods.
Experimental Investigation of MgAl‐NO2 and MgAl‐CO3 LDHs on Durability of Mortar and Concrete
Authors: Li Zhanguo , Du Huan , Wang Zigeng , Jin Caiyun , Li Yue
Published: May 2021

Two kinds of layered double hydroxides (LDHs), MgAl‐NO2 (N‐LDH) and MgAl‐CO3 (C‐LDH), were incorporated to study the durability of mortar and concrete. The LDH contents of mortar were 1%, 2%, and 4% by mass and the LDH contents of concrete were 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%, respectively. The effect of LDHs on sulfate resistance of mortar was studied through dry‐wetting cycle test, compressive strength test, and flexural strength test. In addition, the effects of LDHs on pore structure, chloride resistance, carbonation resistance, shrinkage, and creep of concrete were investigated by SEM, mercury injection test, XRD, chloride ion diffusion coefficient test, chloride salt corrosion depth test, carbonation depth test, shrinkage test, and creep test. The results showed that LDHs can improve the ability of resisting ion corrosion, carbonization, shrinkage, and creep, reduce the pore content, and optimize the pore structure of mortar and concrete to some extent. Moreover, 4% LDHs had a better effect on improving the durability of mortar and concrete compared to 0.5%, 1%, and 2% LDHs, and the effect of C‐LDH was better than N‐LDH.
The Optimal Reinsurance Strategy under Conditional Tail Expectation (CTE) and Wang’s Premium Principle
Authors: Hu Shaoyong , Hu Xingguo , Hu Jun
Published: May 2021

In this study, we take the conditional tail expectation (CTE) as the constraint condition and consider the optimal reinsurance issues under Wang’s premium principle in general insurance contracts. With the confidence level and the distortion function in Wang’s premium principle given by the insurer in advance, a threshold can be obtained. When the insurer’s risk tolerance level is greater than this value, the optimal reinsurance is a proportional reinsurance in which the deductible equals to this value, else the optimal form of reinsurance is a stop-loss reinsurance. Corresponding numerical examples and economic explanations are also given.
Melatonin Alleviates Contrast‐Induced Acute Kidney Injury by Activation of Sirt3
Authors: Zhang Chunmei , Suo Mengying , Liu Lingxin , Qi Yan , Zhang Chen , Xie Lin , Zheng Xuehui , Ma Chang , Li Jingyuan , Yang Jianmin , Bu Peili
Published: May 2021

Oxidative stress and apoptosis play a vital role in the pathogenesis of contrast‐induced acute kidney injury (CI‐AKI). The purpose of our study was to investigate the protective effects and mechanisms of melatonin against CI‐AKI in a CI‐AKI mouse model and NRK‐52E cells. We established the CI‐AKI model in mice, and the animals were pretreated with melatonin (20 mg/kg). Our results demonstrated that melatonin treatment exerted a renoprotective effect by decreasing the level of serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), lessening the histological changes of renal tubular injuries, and reducing the expression of neutrophil gelatinase‐associated lipid (NGAL), a marker of kidney injury. We also found that pretreatment with melatonin remarkably increased the expression of Sirt3 and decreased the ac‐SOD2 K68 level. Consequently, melatonin treatment significantly decreased the oxidative stress by reducing the Nox4, ROS, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content and by increasing the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) activity levels. The antiapoptotic effect of melatonin on CI‐AKI was revealed by decreasing the ratio of Bax/Bcl2 and the cleaved caspase3 level and by reducing the number of apoptosis‐positive tubular cells. In addition, melatonin treatment remarkably reduced the inflammatory cytokines of interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in vivo and in vitro. Sirt3 deletion and specific Sirt3 siRNA abolished the above renoprotective effects of melatonin in mice with iohexol‐induced acute kidney injury and in NRK‐52E cells. Thus, our results demonstrated that melatonin exhibited the renoprotective effects of antioxidative stress, antiapoptosis, and anti‐inflammation by the activation of Sirt3 in the CI‐AKI model in vivo and in vitro. Melatonin may be a potential drug to ameliorate CI‐AKI in clinical practice.
Introducing New Exponential Zagreb Indices for Graphs
Authors: Akgunes Nihat , Aydin Busra
Published: May 2021

New graph invariants, named exponential Zagreb indices, are introduced for more than one type of Zagreb index. After that, in terms of exponential Zagreb indices, lists on equality results over special graphs are presented as well as some new bounds on unicyclic, acyclic, and general graphs are obtained. Moreover, these new graph invariants are determined for some graph operations.
Research on Characteristic of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria Based on Multiscale Entropy
Authors: Wang Shujuan , Song Ping , Ma Rong , Wang Yanzhong , Yu Bin , Wang Min , Wang Meiqi , Shen Jihong , Dai Yuntao , Wang Yuming , Xie Wanqing
Published: May 2021

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common skin disease which symptom is local pruritus and pain. In medicine, researchers take a certain point that the brain is the control center of CSU, but in previous experiments, the researchers found that cerebellum also had a certain effect on CSU. In order to find out the influence of CSU in the brain and cerebellum, we collected the brain resting-state fMRI data from 40 healthy controls and 32 CSU patients and used DPABI to preprocess. We calculated the entropy values of five scales by using multiscale entropy (MSE) and the average entropy values of two groups’ BOLD signals; 15 regions with significant differences were found which not only had a more detailed impact in the brain but also had an impact in the cerebellum, such as precentral gyrus, lenticular putamen, and vermis of cerebellum. In addition, we found that compared with the healthy controls, the entropy values of CSU patients showed two trends which need further study. The advantage of our experiment is that the multiscale entropy value is used to get more influence regions of CSU in the brain and cerebellum. The results of this paper may provide some help for the pathological study of CSU.
Experimental Study on Swelling Behavior and Its Anisotropic Evaluation of Unsaturated Expansive Soil
Authors: Liu Zhengnan , Zhang Rui , Liu Zhaojing , Zhang Yuming
Published: May 2021

Evaluation of swelling behavior is important for designing structures in expansive soils areas, especially for highway that the swelling pressure generated upon pavement and retaining structures in both vertical and horizontal directions due to infiltration. In this study, modification was made on unsaturated consolidation oedometer to provide synchronized measurement of vertical swelling strain (VSS) and lateral pressure (LP) of expansive soil under constant net normal stress and controlled matric suction. Vertical swelling (VS) test and lateral swelling (LS) test were conducted to investigate the anisotropic swelling behavior. The influence of mean net stress and net stress ratio on VSS was investigated, and the anisotropic swelling behavior of unsaturated expansive soil was characterized using anisotropic swelling ratio. The results show that the VSS nonlinearly decreased as the mean net stress increased and increased as the net stress ratio increased. The expansive soil would rapidly enter the passive state due to lateral swelling pressure under relatively low surcharge, with major principal axis rotating from vertical direction to lateral direction, which advances the possibility of passive failure for light retaining structures. The anisotropic swelling behavior objectively exists and varies with matric suction and net normal stress, which should not be ignored for engineering application.
An Internet of Things Evaluation Algorithm for Quality Assessment of Computer-Based Teaching
Authors: Huang Jing
Published: May 2021

Internet of Things has the ability to revolutionize computer-based teaching and assess the quality of teaching at the same time. The assessment of teaching efficiency is hampered by two issues: the evaluation index method (EIS) is insufficient, and the assessment framework is incapable of dealing with complicated fuzzy indexes. To address these issues, the theory of fuzzy stratification from IoT perspective is presented for the first time in this paper. This theory is based on the related theory of fuzzy assessment by measuring the teaching quality evaluation index. Initially, theoretical analysis and model measurement were merged to build a better multiangle EIS for teaching quality. To manage fuzzy indexes, a teaching quality assessment model was developed using both quantitative and qualitative studies. The suggested EIS and fuzzy assessment model can effectively evaluate the standard of teaching in schools, colleges, universities, and institutes, according to implementation results. This qualitative assessment approach is empirical and rational, and it strongly promotes the quality enhancement of educational effectiveness, based on our experimental and simulation results.
CT Image Segmentation Method of Liver Tumor Based on Artificial Intelligence Enabled Medical Imaging
Authors: Liu Liping , Wang Lin , Xu Dan , Zhang Hongjie , Sharma Ashutosh , Tiwari Shailendra , Kaur Manjit , Khurana Manju , Shah Mohd Asif
Published: May 2021

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made various developments in the image segmentation techniques in the field of medical imaging. This article presents a liver tumor CT image segmentation method based on AI medical imaging-based technology. This study proposed an artificial intelligence-based K-means clustering (KMC) algorithm which is further compared with the region growing (RG) method. In this study, 120 patients with liver tumors in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research Hospital, Chandigarh, India, were selected as the research objects, and they were classified according to liver function (Child–Pugh), with 58 cases in grade A and 62 cases in grade B. The experimentation indicates that liver tumor showed low density on plain CT scan, moderate enhancement in the arterial phase of the enhanced scan, and low-density filling defect in the involved blood vessel in the portal venous phase (PVP). It was observed that the CT examination is more sensitive to liver metastasis than hepatocellular carcinoma (

P
<
0.05

). The outcomes obtained depict the good deposition effect of lipiodol chemotherapy emulsion (LCTE) in the contrast group with rich blood type accounted for 53.14% and the patients with the poor blood type accounted for 25.73% showed poor deposition effect. The comparison with the state-of-the-art method reveals that the segmentation effect of the KMC algorithm is better than that of the conventional RG method.
PD‐1 Coexpression Gene Analysis and the Regulatory Network in Endometrial Cancer Based on Bioinformatics Analysis
Authors: Wang Lina , Liu Zhen , Zhang Wenwen , Zhang Aihua , Qu Pengpeng
Published: May 2021

Gynecological malignancies are tumors of the female reproductive system, mainly cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecological malignant tumor in developed countries. The aim of this study was to construct a network of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1) coexpressed genes through bioinformatics analysis and screen the potential biomarkers of PD‐1 in endometrial cancer. In addition, genes and pathways involved in PD‐1 and modulating tumor immune status were identified. We select the EC transcriptomic dataset in TCGA to retrieve gene sets on the cBioPortal platform, and the PD‐1 coexpressed genes were obtained on the platform. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of coexpressed genes was performed using the DAVID database. The target protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software, and the hub genes were then screened. A total of 976 coexpression genes were obtained. The enrichment analysis showed that PD‐1 coexpressed genes were significantly enriched in overall components of the cell structure, the interaction of cytokines with cytokine receptors, chemokine signaling pathways, and cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). Ten hub genes were obtained by node degree analysis. CD3E gene is involved in the prognosis and immune process of EC, and the expression level is related to PD‐1 (Pearson correlation coefficient is 0.82, P < 0.01). Patients with low CD3E gene expression in EC have a poor prognosis. The coexpression hub genes of PD‐1 are related to immunity, in which CD3E is a prognostic marker that is involved in the PD‐1/PD‐L1‐induced tumor immune escape. This study provides a new area to study the mechanism of PD‐1/PD‐L1 in EC and the precise treatment with targeted drugs.
Identification of Isoflavonoid Biosynthesis-Related R2R3-MYB Transcription Factors in Callerya speciosa (Champ. ex Benth.) Schot Using Transcriptome-Based Gene Coexpression Analysis
Authors: Yu Linchan , Huang Ding , Gu Jinyuan , Pan Dongjin , Tan Yong , Huang Rongshao , Yao Shaochang
Published: May 2021

The R2R3-MYB family is one of the largest plant transcription factor (TF) families playing vital roles in defense, plant growth, and secondary metabolism biosynthesis. Although this gene family has been studied in many species, isoflavonoid biosynthesis-related R2R3-MYB TFs in Callerya speciosa (Champ. ex Benth.) Schot, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, are poorly understood. Here, a total of 101 R2R3-MYB TFs were identified from C. speciosa transcriptome dataset. 25 clades divided into five functional groups were clustered based on the sequence similarity and phylogenetic tree. Conserved motifs and domain distribution, expression patterns, and coexpression networks were also employed to identify the potential R2R3-MYB TFs in the regulation of isoflavonoid biosynthesis. In silico evaluation showed that the deduced R2R3-CsMYB proteins contain highly conserved R2R3 repeat domain at the N-terminal region, that is the signature motif of R2R3-type MYB TFs. Eight potential TFs (CsMYB17, CsMYB36, CsMYB41, CsMYB44, CsMYB45, CsMYB46, CsMYB72, and CsMYB81) had high degrees of coexpression with four key isoflavonoid biosynthetic genes (CsIFS, CsCHS7, CsHID-1, and CsCHI3), in which CsMYB36 as a potential regulator possessed the highest degree. HPLC analysis showed that formononetin and maackiain contents were significantly increased during the development of tuberous roots, which might be controlled by both related R2R3-CsMYBs and structural genes involved in the isoflavonoid biosynthesis pathway. The transcriptome data were further validated by reverse transcription real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis, and similar expression profiles between TFs and key structural genes were identified. This study was the first step toward the understanding of the R2R3-MYB TFs regulating isoflavonoid biosynthesis in C. speciosa. The results will provide information for further functional analysis and quality improvement through genetic manipulation of these potential R2R3-CsMYB genes in C. speciosa.
Expression-EEG Bimodal Fusion Emotion Recognition Method Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Lu Yu , Zhang Hua , Shi Lei , Yang Fei , Li Jing
Published: May 2021

As one of the key issues in the field of emotional computing, emotion recognition has rich application scenarios and important research value. However, the single biometric recognition in the actual scene has the problem of low accuracy of emotion recognition classification due to its own limitations. In response to this problem, this paper combines deep neural networks to propose a deep learning-based expression-EEG bimodal fusion emotion recognition method. This method is based on the improved VGG-FACE network model to realize the rapid extraction of facial expression features and shorten the training time of the network model. The wavelet soft threshold algorithm is used to remove artifacts from EEG signals to extract high-quality EEG signal features. Then, based on the long- and short-term memory network models and the decision fusion method, the model is built and trained using the signal feature data extracted under the expression-EEG bimodality to realize the final bimodal fusion emotion classification and identification research. Finally, the proposed method is verified based on the MAHNOB-HCI data set. Experimental results show that the proposed model can achieve a high recognition accuracy of 0.89, which can increase the accuracy of 8.51% compared with the traditional LSTM model. In terms of the running time of the identification method, the proposed method can effectively be shortened by about 20 s compared with the traditional method.
Contamination Features and Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in the River Sediments around a Lead-Zinc Mine: A Case Study in Danzhai, Guizhou, China
Authors: Sun Rongguo , Gao Yue , Xu Jing , Yang Yang , Zhang Yutao
Published: May 2021

The spatial patterns, ecological risks, and sources of heavy metals (HMs), including Pb, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cd, Hg, and As in river sediments, were identified around a lead-zinc mine of Danzhai, Guizhou, China. The concentrations of selected HMs and their coefficient variations indicated that the river sediments around this typical lead-zinc mine were obviously contaminated with HMs. Anthropogenic activities had further enhanced the accumulation of HMs. The higher contents of the most common selected HMs were mainly distributed in the area close to the lead-zinc mine. Based on the combined evaluations of the single factor pollution index, geo-accumulation index, and potential ecological risk index, it indicated that the ecological risks of Hg, Cd, Zn, and Pb were high or extremely high, and of Mn, Cu, and As were slight or none in the sediments around this lead-zinc mine. It was found that lead-zinc mining and smelting activities, coal mining activities, and agricultural activities (livestock and poultry breeding) are the primary sources of selected HMs, based on the results of correlation analysis together with principal component analysis (PCA) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The pollution of HMs in the river sediments around a lead-zinc mine was predominantly caused by lead-zinc mining and smelting activities. Therefore, for environmental persistence, lead-zinc mining and smelting activities should be given careful consideration and under close surveillance.
High Response Rate and Durability Driven by HLA Genetic Diversity in Patients with Kidney Cancer Treated with Lenvatinib and Pembrolizumab
Authors: Lee Chung-Han , DiNatale Renzo G. , Chowell Diego , Krishna Chirag , Makarov Vladimir , Valero Cristina , Vuong Lynda , Lee Mark , Weiss Kate , Hoen Doug , Morris Luc , Reznik Ed , Murray Samuel , Kotecha Ritesh , Voss Martin H. , Carlo Maria I. , Feldman Darren , Sachdev Pallavi , Adachi Yusuke , Minoshima Yukinori , Matsui Junji , Funahashi Yasuhiro , Nomoto Kenichi , Hakimi A. Ari , Motzer Robert J. , Chan Timothy A.
Published: May 2021

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has substantially improved the outcomes of patients with many types of cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Initially studied as monotherapy, immunotherapy-based combination regimens have improved the clinical benefit achieved by ICB monotherapy and have revolutionized RCC treatment. While biomarkers like PD-L1 and tumor mutational burden (TMB) are FDA approved as biomarkers for ICB monotherapy, there are no known biomarkers for combination immunotherapies. Here, we describe the clinical outcomes and genomic determinants of response from a phase Ib/II clinical trial on patients with advanced RCC evaluating the efficacy of lenvatinib, a multi-kinase inhibitor mainly targeting VEGFR and FGFR plus pembrolizumab, an anti-PD1 immunotherapy. Concurrent treatment with lenvatinib and pembrolizumab resulted in an objective response rate of 79% (19/24) and tumor shrinkage in 96% (23/24) of patients. While tumor mutational burden (TMB) did not predict for clinical benefit, germline HLA-I diversity strongly impacted treatment efficacy. Specifically, HLA-I evolutionary divergence (HED), which measures the breadth of a patient's immunopeptidome, was associated with both improved clinical benefit and durability of response. Our results identify lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab as a highly active treatment strategy in RCC and reveal HLA-I diversity as a critical determinant of efficacy for this combination. HED also predicted better survival in a separate cohort of patients with RCC following therapy with anti-PD-1–based combination therapy.

Implications:

These findings have substantial implications for RCC therapy and for understanding immunogenetic mechanisms of efficacy and warrants further investigation.
Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Protects Mitochondria from Lipid Peroxidation in Glioblastoma
Authors: Puca Francesca , Yu Fei , Bartolacci Caterina , Pettazzoni Piergiorgio , Carugo Alessandro , Huang-Hobbs Emmet , Liu Jintan , Zanca Ciro , Carbone Federica , Del Poggetto Edoardo , Gumin Joy , Dasgupta Pushan , Seth Sahil , Srinivasan Sanjana , Lang Frederick F. , Sulman Erik P. , Lorenzi Philip L. , Tan Lin , Shan Mengrou , Tolstyka Zachary P. , Kachman Maureen , Zhang Li , Gao Sisi , Deem Angela K. , Genovese Giannicola , Scaglioni Pier Paolo , Lyssiotis Costas A. , Viale Andrea , Draetta Giulio F.
Published: May 2021

Glioblastoma (GBM) is highly resistant to chemotherapies, immune-based therapies, and targeted inhibitors. To identify novel drug targets, we screened orthotopically implanted, patient-derived glioblastoma sphere-forming cells using an RNAi library to probe essential tumor cell metabolic programs. This identified high dependence on mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. We focused on medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD), which oxidizes medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), due to its consistently high score and high expression among models and upregulation in GBM compared with normal brain. Beyond the expected energetics impairment, MCAD depletion in primary GBM models induced an irreversible cascade of detrimental metabolic effects characterized by accumulation of unmetabolized MCFAs, which induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, irreversible mitochondrial damage, and apoptosis. Our data uncover a novel protective role for MCAD to clear lipid molecules that may cause lethal cell damage, suggesting that therapeutic targeting of MCFA catabolism may exploit a key metabolic feature of GBM.

Significance:

MCAD exerts a protective role to prevent accumulation of toxic metabolic by-products in glioma cells, actively catabolizing lipid species that would otherwise affect mitochondrial integrity and induce cell death. This work represents a first demonstration of a nonenergetic role for dependence on fatty acid metabolism in cancer.

This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2659
It’s About Time: Time-Dependent Tissue Damage in the Adult Porcine Retina After Enucleation
Authors: Svare Frida , Åkerström Bo , Ghosh Fredrik
Published: May 2021

The ex vivo large animal retina is extensively used in research ranging from discovery of disease mechanisms to future treatment paradigms. Due to limited standardization when harvesting the tissue, the time after enucleation is often extended for several hours, a factor that so far has not yet been fully characterized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between time after enucleation and retinal tissue damage. Adult, porcine retinal explants were dissected and fixed 90 or 240 min after enucleation. In a separate experiment, explants were cultured for 48 h, following dissection either 90 or 240 min after enucleation. Retinas were analyzed morphologically using hematoxylin and eosin for overall tissue damage, TUNEL staining for detection of apoptosis, and RBPMS immunohistochemistry for evaluation of ganglion cell survival. In addition, medium from the cultured explants was sampled after 2, 24, and 48 h of culture and assessed for the cell damage marker lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Retinas examined 240 min after enucleation displayed a significant increase in overall tissue damage, increased apoptosis, and decreased ganglion cell survival compared with 90-min counterparts. In the culture experiment, no significant difference in overall tissue damage was found between the 2 groups, however, apoptosis was significantly increased, and ganglion cell survival decreased in the cultured 240-min group. In addition, a significantly increased LDH medium activity was found in the 240-min group compared with the 90-min counterpart at all time points. The adult porcine retina is relatively resistant to tissue damage 90 min after enucleation but displays distinct signs of injury after 240 min. The importance of these time points is further highlighted when retinal explants are cultured. Our results strongly suggest that time after enucleation is a crucial factor that should be considered in experiments involving the ex vivo adult porcine retina.