bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Opportunities and Challenges of Telehealth in Disease Management during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review
Authors: Alipour Jahanpour , Hayavi-Haghighi Mohammad Hosein
Published: September 2021

Objective The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an unexpected universal problem that has changed health care access across the world. Telehealth is an effective solution for health care delivery during disasters and public health emergencies. This study was conducted to summarize the opportunities and challenges of using telehealth in health care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods A structured search was performed in the Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases, as well as the Google Scholar search engine, for studies published until November 4, 2020. The reviewers analyzed 112 studies and identified opportunities and challenges. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) protocols. Quality appraisal was done according to the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018. Thematic analysis was applied for data analysis.

Results A total of 112 unique opportunities of telehealth application during the pandemic were categorized into 4 key themes, such as (1) clinical, (2) organizational, (3) technical, and (4) social, which were further divided into 11 initial themes and 26 unique concepts. Furthermore, 106 unique challenges were categorized into 6 key themes, such as (1) legal, (2) clinical, (3) organizational, (40 technical, (5) socioeconomic, and (6) data quality, which were divided into 16 initial themes and 37 unique concepts altogether. The clinical opportunities and legal challenges were the most frequent opportunities and challenges, respectively.

Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the use of telehealth. This study could offer useful information to policymakers about the opportunities and challenges of implementing telehealth for providing accessible, safe, and efficient health care delivery to the patient population during and after COVID-19. Furthermore, it can assist policymakers to make informed decisions on implementing telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by addressing the obstacles ahead.
Mastoid Obliteration Using Bioactive Glass—Our Experience
Authors: Velusamy Anand , Hameed Nazrin , Anand Aishwarya
Published: September 2021

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical outcome of cavity obliteration with bioactive glass in patients with cholesteatoma undergoing canal wall down mastoidectomy with reconstruction of the canal wall.

Materials and Methods A prospective study was conducted over a period of 3 years on 25 patients who underwent mastoid obliteration with bioactive glass following canal wall down mastoidectomy for cholesteatoma. The primary outcome measure was the presence of a dry, low-maintenance mastoid cavity that was free of infection, assessed, and graded according to the grading system by Merchant et al at the end of 1 and 6 months postoperatively. Secondary outcome measures included presence of postoperative complications like wound infection, posterior canal wall bulge, and residual perforation.

Results Out of the 25 patients on whom this study was conducted, at the end of 1 month 60% had a completely dry ear, 28% of patients had grade 1, and 12% had grade 2 otorrhea at the end of the first month. At the end of 6 months, 72% had a completely dry ear, while 20% had grade 1 and 8% had grade 2 otorrhea. There were no cases with grade 3 otorrhea during the entire follow-up period. Postoperative complications of the posterior canal bulge were noted in two patients (8%), and one patient (4%) had a residual perforation.

Conclusion Mastoid cavity obliteration with bioactive glass is an effective technique to avoid cavity problems.
The Function and Expression of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters Proteins in the Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Aykac Asli , Sehirli Ahmet Özer
Published: September 2021

Despite many years of research, radical treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has still not been found. Amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide is known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease. AD is characterized by three main changes occurring in the central nervous system: (1) Aβ plaque accumulation that prevents synaptic communication, (2) the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau proteins that inhibit the transport of molecules inside neurons, and (3) neuronal cell loss of the limbic system. Mechanisms leading to Aβ accumulation in AD are excessive Aβ production as a result of mutations in amyloid precursor protein or genes, and impairment of clearance of Aβ due to changes in Aβ aggregation properties and/or Aβ removal processes. Human ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are expressed in astrocyte, microglia, neuron, brain capillary endothelial cell, choroid plexus, choroid plexus epithelial cell, and ventricular ependymal cell. ABC transporters have essential detoxification and neuroprotective roles in the brain. The expression and functional changes in ABC transporters contribute to the accumulation of Aβ peptide. In conclusion, the review was aimed to summarize and highlight accumulated evidence in the literature focusing on the changing functions of human ABC transporter members, in AD pathogenesis and progression.
Zukünftige Krankenhausstruktur: Was in der nächsten Legislaturperiode wirklich verändert gehört
Authors: Busse Reinhard
Published: September 2021

Die Corona-Pandemie hat die Debatte um eine Neuordnung des deutschen Krankenhaussektors neu entfacht. Können und wollen wir uns in Zukunft weiterhin so viele Kliniken leisten wie bislang – und ist dieses System zukunftsfähig? Nein, sagt Gesundheitsökonom Prof. Reinhard Busse und fordert in kma von der nächsten Bundesregierung einen grundsätzlichen Kurswechsel.
Pulsed excitation method provides path forward for tracing triplet excitons in OLEDs
Authors: Liebendorfer Adam
Published: September 2021

Measurements of angle-resolved delayed electroluminescence in the setting of triplet-triplet fusion use singlet excitons to study the kinetics of nonemissive triplets.
Exciton dispersion in para-quaterphenyl: Significant molecular interactions beyond Coulomb coupling
Authors: Graf Lukas , Krupskaya Yulia , Büchner Bernd , Knupfer Martin
Published: September 2021

We have experimentally determined the momentum dependence of the electronic excitation spectra of para-quaterphenyl single crystals. The parallel arrangement of para-quaterphenyl molecules results in a strong Coulomb coupling of the molecular excitons. Such crystals have been considered to be a very good realization of the Frenkel exciton model, including the formation of H-type aggregates. Our data reveal an unexpected exciton dispersion of the upper Davydov component, which cannot be rationalized in terms of inter-molecular Coulomb coupling of the excitons. A significant reduction of the nearest neighbor coupling due to additional charge-transfer processes is able to provide an explanation of the data. Furthermore, the spectral onset of the excitation spectrum, which represents a heavy exciton resulting from exciton–phonon coupling, also shows a clear dispersion, which had been unknown so far. Finally, an optically forbidden excitation about 1 eV above the excitation onset is observed.
Improved thermal, mechanical, and electrochemical performance of bio-degradable starch/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites
Authors: Mollik Shafiqul I. , Ahmad Md. Hasive , Alam Rabeya Binta , Bari Md. Wahidujjaman , Islam Muhammad Rakibul
Published: September 2021

Bio-degradable and eco-friendly plasticized starch/reduced graphene oxide (PS/rGO) nanocomposites were made by a simple aqueous casting method. The effect of the rGO nanofiller on the structural, surface-morphological, mechanical, thermal, and electrochemical properties of the nanocomposite was studied. rGO enhances the thermal stability and significantly improves the mechanical strength of the polymer nanocomposite. The PS/rGO nanocomposite exhibits improved electrochemical performance and a specific capacitance as high as 42.25 F/g at a current density of 0.1 mA/cm2, which is about 20 times higher than that of PS (2.51 F/g). These improved thermal, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of the PS/rGO may be attributed to the good interfacial interaction and preferential orientation of rGO sheets in the nanocomposites. The PS/rGO nanocomposites with improved thermal and mechanical properties together with enhanced electrochemical performance produced from an easy and low-cost process will provide a sustainable way for the fabrication of eco-friendly energy storage devices.
Optimal design of micro-topography on natural leaf surface
Authors: Wang Lei , Zhao Feng , Tang Shousheng , Zhao Hongbin , Liu Jing
Published: September 2021

Optimal design of flexible micro-topography is of fundamental importance for numerous applications, such as in membranes, sensors, and MEMS. Different from rigid micro-topography, surfaces displaying flexible micro-topography are able to absorb external energy by transforming their shape, which makes them suitable to be used under complex operating conditions. In this study, we find that the micro-structures occurring on biological natural surfaces all have a common structural feature, namely, an ellipsoid shape. The flexible sleek micro-structures without right angles are able to decrease the stress concentration and deformation in the loading process, which may prevent the nano-structures from being damaged on the upper surfaces. To clearly understand the performance of these micro-topographies, a series model is established by force analysis. The model uncovers the design principles that lead to the mechanical enhancement of natural composites for expanding the application of flexible micro-/nano-structured membranes.
Acquisition or shift?
Authors: Dunn Vivien , Meakins Felicity , Algy Cassandra
Published: September 2021

This chapter examines the spatial description system employed by Gurindji children in Kalkaringi (Northern Territory, Australia) to describe ternary relations in small-scale space. While Gurindji is the traditional language of Kalkaringi, a new variety, Gurindji Kriol, has developed as a result of language contact, and is now the first language of young adults and children. Speakers of Gurindji use cardinal directions in descriptions of both small-scale and large-scale space, whereas cardinal terms are almost never used to describe small-scale in naturally-occurring Gurindji Kriol speech. We show that the strategies preferred by children differ from those used by their parents, who produce predominantly cardinal descriptions. Instead, Gurindji Kriol-speaking children show variable use between cardinals and landmark-based strategies.
Foundings and futures
Authors: Lim Lisa , Ansaldo Umberto
Published: September 2021

This chapter contemplates the positioning of the Peranakans (also known as Straits-born Chinese or Babas) – descendants of southern Chinese seafaring traders to the Malay archipelago who married local women, and settled in the region – across different eras and ecologies. We provide a critical digest of the contribution of scholarship on the Peranakans to Creole studies, World Englishes, and language endangerment – including a consideration of the Founder Principle in the ecology paradigm, as underscored by Mufwene, in establishing the Peranakans’ role as early adopters in the spread and evolution of English in the region. We examine sociological and communicative factors in their language practices in local, transnational, and digital ecologies, highlighting issues of postvernacular practice, authenticity indexing, and identity branding.
Detecting loan words computationally
Authors: Zhang Liqin , Fabri Ray , Nerbonne John , Nerbonne John
Published: September 2021

A loanword is a word that is borrowed from one language and adopted into another; examples are the English words toboggan, skunk, and hickory, all of which were borrowed from Algonquian languages. Among languages that are not (closely) related, loan words are recognizable because they are semantically related and are more similar in pronunciation than one would expect by coincidence. This chapter applies techniques for measuring pronunciation similarity, focusing on edit-distance measures and a sound-class based method. The novel issue in loan-word detection is the circumstance that loan words are normally modified to fit the phonology of the borrowing language, meaning that sensitivity in measuring pronunciation similarity may be deprecated.
Children’s socialization to multi-party interactive practices
Authors: Morgenstern Aliyah , Caët Stéphanie , Debras Camille , Beaupoil-Hourdel Pauline , Le Mené Guigourès Marine
Published: September 2021

Multiparty interactions are crucial situations to study how children can participate in collaborative talk and broaden their experience of various interactional practices. Family dinners are particularly relevant to analyze how children and adults play different participatory roles and how parents implicitly socialize their children to complex interactional competences. We present a study of dinner talk in upper-middle-class Parisian families. We conducted quantitative analyses of the interactions using systematic coding according to three features: who participates as speaker, addressee or non-addressed identifiable listener for each utterance; who children and adults refer to in their conversational contributions; whether talk is about the here and now of the dinner or not. Results from our coding are complemented with detailed analyses of chosen extracts so as to provide a fuller picture of the identified features of dinner talk.
Making unquestionable worlds
Authors: Caronia Letizia , Colla Vittoria , Galatolo Renata
Published: September 2021

Drawing on extant studies and research on language socialization and dinner talk, this chapter focuses on ordinary family interactions as socializing experiences and – at the same time – as culture-building activities. Adopting a conversation analytic approach, examples of video-recorded family dinner interactions are discussed to illustrate how cultural ideas and moral horizons are presupposed and (re)constructed in the micro-order of everyday family life. Specifically, the analysis shows how parents talk into being the cultural certainty that food is a “good that must be preserved” by treating it as an “ought to be shared” resource or as a valuable good per se. We contend that, by taking part in such ordinary dialogues, children are socialized to these cultural beliefs as if they were taken for granted, obvious and uncontestable facts of life. At the same time, it is through such unplanned dialogues that members enact the silent and almost invisible process through which individuals create – day by day – their cultural world as a quasi-natural one.
Promoting communication practices about school activities in multilingual families
Authors: Andorno Cecilia , Sordella Silvia
Published: September 2021

The low academic achievement of children with an immigrant background is a well known problem in the European context as elsewhere; multilingualism is not a drawback per se, as widely shown in the relevant literature, but the access to bilingual educational programs including both the family and the majority languages emerge in these contexts as a crucial requirement for an adequate development of academic abilities. Bilingual education programs are scarcely available in Italian schools, partly because of the children’s diversified linguistic background. From these premises, the project “Con parole mie” (In my own words) aimed at exploring an alternative way to enhance bilingual education, in promoting multilingual communication practices about school activities within the families during homework sessions. Thanks to the cooperation with teachers in the design and implementation of interactional tasks, and the tutoring role of bilingual speakers, the dialogue sessions show promising opportunities for the enhancement of children “competence-in-performance” (Weigand 2010) concerning schooling communicative practices in both the home and the school language.
What’s to bullying a bot?
Authors: Keijsers Merel , Bartneck Christoph , Eyssel Friederike
Published: September 2021

In human-chatbot interaction, users casually and regularly offend and abuse the chatbot they are interacting with. The current paper explores the relationship between chatbot humanlikeness on the one hand and sexual advances and verbal aggression by the user on the other hand. 283 conversations between the Cleverbot chatbot and its users were harvested and analysed. Our results showed higher counts of user verbal aggression and sexual comments towards Cleverbot when Cleverbot appeared more humanlike in its behaviour. Caution is warranted with the interpretation of the results however as no experimental manipulation was conducted and causality can thus not be inferred. Nonetheless, the findings are relevant for both the research on the abuse of conversational agents, and the development of efficient approaches to discourage or prevent verbal aggression by chatbot users.
Storytelling in bilingual Turkish-Swedish children
Authors: Bohnacker Ute , Lindgren Josefin , Öztekin Buket
Published: September 2021

The empirical evidence for whether narrative macrostructure skills are shared between a bilingual child’s two languages is inconclusive, and it is not known how macrostructure (overall story structure) is influenced by general language proficiency and amount of exposure. The present study investigates these issues in 100 Turkish-Swedish bilingual 4-to-7-year-old children growing up in Sweden. Oral narratives were elicited in both Turkish and Swedish with two picture-based tasks from the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) in the telling mode. We investigated to what extent the language of elicitation influences bilingual children’s macrostructure (story structure, episodic complexity), and explored effects of age, narrative task, narrative length, expressive vocabulary and language exposure, both separately and combined, on macrostructure in the respective language. Story structure and episodic complexity were found to increase similarly with age in both Turkish and Swedish from 4 to 7 years. Scores did not differ between the two MAIN storytelling tasks. Expressive vocabulary and narrative length influenced story structure scores positively and similarly in both languages. Daily language exposure and length of exposure to Swedish did not show any significant effect. The results can be interpreted in support of a carry-over of narrative macrostructural skills between the two languages.
Soliton solutions, travelling wave solutions and conserved quantities for a three-dimensional soliton equation in plasma physics
Authors: Masood Khalique Chaudry , Davies Adeyemo Oke
Published: September 2021

Many physical systems can be successfully modelled using equations that admit the soliton solutions. In addition, equations with soliton solutions have a significant mathematical structure. In this paper, we study and analyze a three-dimensional soliton equation, which has applications in plasma physics and other nonlinear sciences such as fluid mechanics, atomic physics, biophysics, nonlinear optics, classical and quantum fields theories. Indeed, solitons and solitary waves have been observed in numerous situations and often dominate long-time behaviour. We perform symmetry reductions of the equation via the use of Lie group theory and then obtain analytic solutions through this technique for the very first time. Direct integration of the resulting ordinary differential equation is done which gives new analytic travelling wave solutions that consist of rational function, elliptic functions, elementary trigonometric and hyperbolic functions solutions of the equation. Besides, various solitonic solutions are secured with the use of a polynomial complete discriminant system and elementary integral technique. These solutions comprise dark soliton, doubly-periodic soliton, trigonometric soliton, explosive/blowup and singular solitons. We further exhibit the dynamics of the solutions with pictorial representations and discuss them. In conclusion, we contemplate conserved quantities for the equation under study via the standard multiplier approach in conjunction with the homotopy integral formula. We state here categorically and emphatically that all results found in this study as far as we know have not been earlier obtained and so are new.
A composite micromotor driven by self-thermophoresis and Brownian rectification*
Authors: Lou Xin , Yu Nan , Chen Ke , Zhou Xin , Podgornik Rudolf , Yang Mingcheng
Published: September 2021

Brownian motors and self-phoretic microswimmers are two typical micromotors, for which thermal fluctuations play different roles. Brownian motors utilize thermal noise to acquire unidirectional motion, while thermal fluctuations randomize the self-propulsion of self-phoretic microswimmers. Here we perform mesoscale simulations to study a composite micromotor composed of a self-thermophoretic Janus particle under a time-modulated external ratchet potential. The composite motor exhibits a unidirectional transport, whose direction can be reversed by tuning the modulation frequency of the external potential. The maximum transport capability is close to the superposition of the drift speed of the pure Brownian motor and the self-propelling speed of the pure self-thermophoretic particle. Moreover, the hydrodynamic effect influences the orientation of the Janus particle in the ratched potential, hence also the performance of the composite motor. Our work thus provides an enlightening attempt to actively exploit inevitable thermal fluctuations in the implementation of the self-phoretic microswimmers.
Neural-mechanism-driven image block encryption algorithm incorporating a hyperchaotic system and cloud model
Authors: Fang Peng-Fei , Liu Han , Wu Cheng-Mao , Liu Min
Published: September 2021

An image encryption algorithm is proposed in this paper based on a new four-dimensional hyperchaotic system, a neural mechanism, a Galois field and an improved Feistel block structure, which improves the efficiency and enhances the security of the encryption algorithm. Firstly, a four-dimensional hyperchaotic system with a large key space and chaotic dynamics performance is proposed and combined with a cloud model, in which a more complex and random sequence is constructed as the key stream, and the problem of chaotic periodicity is solved. Then, the key stream is combined with the neural mechanism, Galois field and improved Feistel block structure to scramble and diffuse the image encryption. Finally, the experimental results and security analysis show that the encryption algorithm has a good encryption effect and high encryption efficiency, is secure, and can meet the requirements of practical applications.
Sleep Duration and Hypertension: Epidemiological Evidence and Underlying Mechanisms
Authors: Bock Joshua M , Vungarala Soumya , Covassin Naima , Somers Virend K
Published: September 2021

While the contribution of several physiological systems to arterial blood pressure regulation has been studied extensively, the role of normal and disrupted sleep as a modifiable determinant of blood pressure control, and in the pathophysiology of hypertension, has only recently emerged. Several sleep disorders, including sleep apnea and insomnia, are thought to contribute to the development of hypertension, although less attention is paid to the relationship between sleep duration and blood pressure independent of sleep disorders per se. Accordingly, this review focuses principally on the physiology of sleep and the consequences of abnormal sleep duration both experimentally and at the population level. Clinical implications for patients with insomnia who may or may not have abbreviated sleep duration are explored. As a corollary, we further review studies of the effects of sleep extension on blood pressure regulation. We also discuss epidemiological evidence suggesting that long sleep may also be associated with hypertension and describe the parabolic relationship between total sleep time and blood pressure. We conclude by highlighting gaps in the literature regarding the potential role of gut microbial health in the cross-communication of lifestyle patterns (exercise, diet, and sleep) with blood pressure regulation. Additionally, we discuss populations at increased risk of short sleep, and specifically the need to understand mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities in women, pregnancy, the elderly, and in African Americans.
A measure of generalized soil fertility that is largely independent of species identity
Authors: Lamontagne Xavier , Shipley Bill
Published: September 2021

Background and Aims

In 2019, Daou and Shipley produced an operational definition of ‘generalized’ soil fertility (FG) for plant community ecology and quantified FG using a structural equation model (SEM) invoking a single latent variable. We evaluate a critical assumption of this model: that FG is generalizable to any combination of plant species; i.e. that any combination of plant species will respond in the same direction to the soil ‘fertility’ gradient in terms of growth.

Methods

We grew nine widely different species singly in each of 25 soils from southern Quebec, Canada, whose FG value had been previously quantified. The original SEM was tested using every possible combination involving from four to nine species.

Key Results

The assumption was rejected due to a subset of three species that responded to a second latent dimension. We then proposed an alternative model that includes FG plus a second latent variable that measures species’ deviations from FG due to specific adaptations to soil pH. This alternative model was consistent with every combination of up to eight species. The predictions of FG when ignoring this second dimension and when using the new model were extremely correlated (r =0.98).

Conclusions

The initial unidimensional model of Daou and Shipley was successful in non-acid soils but not in soils with extreme pH and when species specifically adapted to such extreme soils were included. The alternative two-dimensional model takes into account these exceptions and is consistent with the notion of shared physiological niche responses along a gradient of generalized soil fertility.
Principles of resilient coding for plant ecophysiologists
Authors: Stinziano Jospeh R , Roback Cassaundra , Sargent Demi , Murphy Bridget K , Hudson Patrick J , Muir Christopher D
Published: September 2021

Plant ecophysiology is founded on a rich body of physical and chemical theory, but it is challenging to connect theory with data in unambiguous, analytically rigorous and reproducible ways. Custom scripts written in computer programming languages (coding) enable plant ecophysiologists to model plant processes and fit models to data reproducibly using advanced statistical techniques. Since many ecophysiologists lack formal programming education, we have yet to adopt a unified set of coding principles and standards that could make coding easier to learn, use and modify. We identify eight principles to help in plant ecophysiologists without much programming experience to write resilient code: (i) standardized nomenclature, (ii) consistency in style, (iii) increased modularity/extensibility for easier editing and understanding, (iv) code scalability for application to large data sets, (v) documented contingencies for code maintenance, (vi) documentation to facilitate user understanding; (vii) extensive tutorials and (viii) unit testing and benchmarking. We illustrate these principles using a new R package, {photosynthesis}, which provides a set of analytical and simulation tools for plant ecophysiology. Our goal with these principles is to advance scientific discovery in plant ecophysiology by making it easier to use code for simulation and data analysis, reproduce results and rapidly incorporate new biological understanding and analytical tools.
Pollen transport networks reveal highly diverse and temporally stable plant–pollinator interactions in an Appalachian floral community
Authors: Barker Daniel A , Arceo-Gomez Gerardo
Published: September 2021

Floral visitation alone has been typically used to characterize plant–pollinator interaction networks even though it ignores differences in the quality of floral visits (e.g. transport of pollen) and thus may overestimate the number and functional importance of pollinating interactions. However, how network structural properties differ between floral visitation and pollen transport networks is not well understood. Furthermore, the strength and frequency of plant–pollinator interactions may vary across fine temporal scales (within a single season) further limiting our predictive understanding of the drivers and consequences of plant–pollinator network structure. Thus, evaluating the structure of pollen transport networks and how they change within a flowering season may help increase our predictive understanding of the ecological consequences of plant–pollinator network structure. Here we compare plant–pollinator network structure using floral visitation and pollen transport data and evaluate within-season variation in pollen transport network structure in a diverse plant–pollinator community. Our results show that pollen transport networks provide a more accurate representation of the diversity of plant–pollinator interactions in a community but that floral visitation and pollen transport networks do not differ in overall network structure. Pollen transport network structure was relatively stable throughout the flowering season despite changes in plant and pollinator species composition. Overall, our study highlights the need to improve our understanding of the drivers of plant–pollinator network structure in order to more fully understand the process that govern the assembly of these interactions in nature.
XV—‘I Wish My Speech Were Like a Loadstone’: Cavendish on Love and Self-Love
Authors: Borcherding Julia
Published: September 2021

This paper examines the surprisingly central role of sympathetic love within Margaret Cavendish’s philosophy. I show that such love fulfils a range of metaphysical functions, and highlight an important shift in Cavendish’s account vis-à-vis earlier conceptions: sympathetic love is no longer given an emanative or mechanistic explanation, but is naturalized as an active emotion. I further investigate to what extent Cavendish’s account reveals a rift between the realm of nature and the realm of human sociability, and whether this rift really prompts an inward turn as some interpreters have suggested.
Ninjin'yoeito, a traditional Japanese medicine, increases dopamine content in PC12 cells
Authors: Miyazaki Shinji , Omiya Yuji , Mizoguchi Kazushige
Published: September 2021

Dementia is exacerbated by loss of appetite and amotivation, and recent studies have indicated that ninjin'yoeito improves anorexia and amotivation. Previous studies suggest that ninjin'yoeito inhibits dopamine-metabolizing enzymes and enhances dopamine signaling. However, whether ninjin'yoeito increases dopamine content in living cells remains unclear. Here, PC12 cells were used to examine whether ninjin'yoeito affects the dopamine metabolic pathway. Dopamine content significantly increased 3 h after treatment ninjin'yoeito extract. Concomitantly, the levels of 3-methoxytyramine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid were significantly reduced. The effects of components of ninjin'yoeito on the dopamine metabolic pathway were also assessed. Treatment with onjisaponin B, nobiletin, and schisandrin, and the ingredients of Polygalae Radix, Citri Unshiu Pericarpium, and Schisandrae Fructus increased dopamine content and decreased its metabolite content in the culture media. Our findings suggest that ninjin'yoeito improves anorexia and amotivation by inhibiting metabolic enzyme and increasing the dopamine content in cells.
TGSA: protein–protein association-based twin graph neural networks for drug response prediction with similarity augmentation
Authors: Zhu Yiheng , Ouyang Zhenqiu , Chen Wenbo , Feng Ruiwei , Chen Danny Z , Cao Ji , Wu Jian
Published: September 2021

Motivation

Drug response prediction (DRP) plays an important role in precision medicine (e.g. for cancer analysis and treatment). Recent advances in deep learning algorithms make it possible to predict drug responses accurately based on genetic profiles. However, existing methods ignore the potential relationships among genes. In addition, similarity among cell lines/drugs was rarely considered explicitly.

Results

We propose a novel DRP framework, called TGSA, to make better use of prior domain knowledge. TGSA consists of Twin Graph neural networks for Drug Response Prediction (TGDRP) and a Similarity Augmentation (SA) module to fuse fine-grained and coarse-grained information. Specifically, TGDRP abstracts cell lines as graphs based on STRING protein–protein association networks and uses Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for representation learning. SA views DRP as an edge regression problem on a heterogeneous graph and utilizes GNNs to smooth the representations of similar cell lines/drugs. Besides, we introduce an auxiliary pre-training strategy to remedy the identified limitations of scarce data and poor out-of-distribution generalization. Extensive experiments on the GDSC2 dataset demonstrate that our TGSA consistently outperforms all the state-of-the-art baselines under various experimental settings. We further evaluate the effectiveness and contributions of each component of TGSA via ablation experiments. The promising performance of TGSA shows enormous potential for clinical applications in precision medicine.

Availability and implementation

The source code is available at https://github.com/violet-sto/TGSA.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Visual communication in social play of a hierarchical carnivore species: the case of wild spotted hyenas
Authors: Nolfo Andrea Paolo , Casetta Grazia , Palagi Elisabetta
Published: September 2021

Communication relies on signals that can be produced via different sensory modalities to modify receivers’ behavior. During social interactions, the possibility to perceive subtle visual cues enhances the use of facial expressions to exchange information. One of the most appropriate fields to explore the specific design features of visual signals is play fighting. Here, we explored the production and potential role of Relaxed Open Mouth (ROM) and Head Bobbing (HB) in regulating play fighting of wild spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta, a highly hierarchical carnivore species. In accordance with the assumptions of the signal optimization theory, wild hyenas produced ROM and HB almost exclusively when the sender was in direct visual contact with the receiver thus suggesting that senders were attentive to the playmates’ face. Contrary to HB, the sequential analysis revealed that ROM often anticipated offensive patterns such as play biting thus supporting the hypothesis that ROM, but not HB, is a metacomunicative signal. Moreover, when the offensive patterns were biased toward one of the 2 players, the session was punctuated by a higher number of ROMs. Our findings support the general hypothesis that these 2 visual signals can play different roles in the management of play fighting in this carnivore species. The complementary use of ROM and HB would suggest that spotted hyenas are highly competent and fast in processing facial displays of different nature to correctly “read others’ intentions” and respond with appropriate motor actions to avoid misunderstanding during one of the most multifaceted and risky social interaction.
111 CLINICAL IMPORTANCE OF MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME AS A PROGNOSTIC MARKER AFTER ESOPHAGECTOMY FOR ESOPHAGEAL CANCER
Authors: Yoshida Naoya , Harada Kazuto , Tokunaga Ryuma , Eto Kojiro , Iwatsuki Masaaki , Nagai Yohei , Baba Yoshifumi , Baba Hideo
Published: September 2021

High MCV is suggested to be relevant to the incidence and prognosis of several malignancies. However, few studies investigating the correlation between MCV and survival outcome of esophageal cancer have been conducted.

Methods

This study included 570 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent radical esophagectomy between April 2005 and December 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to the standard value of pretreatment MCV: normal (83–99 fL) and high (>99 fL) groups. Clinical backgrounds, short-term outcomes, and prognostic outcomes post-esophagectomy were retrospectively compared between the groups.

Results

Of all patients, 410 (71.9%) had normal MCV, and 160 (28.1%) had high MCV. High MCV was significantly associated with lower body mass index, higher frequency of habitual alcohol and tobacco use, and higher incidence of multiple primary malignancies other than esophageal cancer. High MCV also correlated with higher incidence of postoperative morbidity of the Clavien–Dindo classification ≥II and pulmonary morbidity. Overall survival was significantly worse in patients with high MCV. Multivariate analysis suggested that high MCV was an independent risk factor for worse survival outcome (hazard ratio, 1.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.098–2.151; p = 0.012).

Conclusion

Patients with high MCV have various disadvantages in clinical background that can adversely affect both short-term and long-term outcomes after esophagectomy. MCV can become a predictive marker to estimate survival outcome after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.
221 THORACOSCOPIC ESOPHAGECTOMY WITH OR WITHOUT SMALL THORACOTOMY FOR ADVANCED THORACIC ESOPHAGEAL CARCINOMA IN THE LEFT LATERAL DECUBITUS POSITION
Authors: Sato Hiroshi , Miyawaki Yutaka , Fujiwara Naoto , Sugita Hirofumi , Sakuramoto Shinichi , Okamoto Kojun , Yamaguchi Shigeki , Koyama Isamu
Published: September 2021

Standardized thoracoscopic esophagectomy for thoracic esophageal carcinoma in the left lateral decubitus position under artificial pneumothorax is slightly more difficult to dissect the middle and lower mediastinum than in prone position, but it is possible to operate the upper mediastinum with good visual field. In salvage surgery after definitive chemoradiotherapy, it is difficult to complete the operation only by throscopic surgery, and it is thought that sometimes small thoracotomy can be performed safely and reliably.

Methods

If this procedure is considered feasible, start with thoracoscopic surgery. If it is decided that the procedure cannot be completed, add a small thoracotomy of about 10–15 cm to allow one hand. Thoracoscopy not only reduced invasiveness, shared detailed anatomy, but also improved operability by taping the esophagus and ensured emergency safety.

Results

This standardized procedure is applied to salvage surgery after definitive chemoradiotherapy from January 2016 to March 2019. Thoracoscopic surgery was performed in 14 of the 27 cases (52%). Thoracoscopic surgery was completed in 10 cases and small thoracotomy was used in 4 cases. There are no serious complications such as bleeding.

Conclusion

Starting surgery with a thoracoscopy and adding small thoracotomy as appropriate can share the advantages of thoracotomy and throcoscopic surgery. This technique has the advantage that it can be easily converted to thoracotomy even in an emergency, and is considered to be superior to advanced cancer.

Video

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/47jcqu3palpsfvg/AAC4PvReWDP_WPBkJufxWU3da?dl=0.
224 A RETROSPECTIVE CASE–CONTROL STUDY ASSESSING THE CLINICAL AND ENDOSCOPIC CHARACTERISTICS OF EOSINOPHILIC ESOPHAGITIS IN JAPAN
Authors: Imamura Kazumi , Haruma Ken , Matsumoto Hiroshi , Maruyama Yasuhiko , Ayaki Maki , Tazaki Shuhei , Hisamoto Nobumi , Manabe Noriaki , Kamada Tomoari , Nakamura Jun , Kawamoto Hirofumi
Published: September 2021

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergy-associated clinicopathologic condition gaining an increasing amount of recognition in various areas of the world. While the clinical definition and characteristics may differ depending on country and region, sufficient studies have not yet been performed in Japan. To assess the prevalence of EoE among the Japanese population and the clinical features and the prognosis associated with the disease.

Methods

Medical data from January 2012 to October 2018 was gathered from nine Japanese clinical institutes. EoE, defined as more than 15 intraepithelial eosinophils per high power field, was determined based on esophageal biopsies. Clinical and endoscopic patterns in the cases with EoE were investigated and compared with 186 age- and sex-matched controls. We also analyzed the treatment and prognosis of an individual patient.

Results

From 130,013 upper endoscopic examinations, 66 cases of EoE were identified (0.051%; mean age: 45.2 years (range 7-79); 45 males). Patients with EoE had more symptoms (69.7 vs. 10.8%; P < 0.01) such as dysphagia and food impaction, and more allergies (63.6 vs. 23.7%; P < 0.01) compared with the controls. The prevalence of atrophic gastritis was lower in EoE patients than in the controls (20.0% vs. 33.3%). In 55 patients analyzed, 32 patients (78.0%) received proton pump inhibitors with or without swallowed topical corticosteroids. During the follw-up period (mean 23 months), no patient got worse regarding clinical and endoscopic findings.

Conclusion

The prevalence of EoE in the Japanese population was 0.051% which was comparable with previous reports in Japan. Male predominance, a history of allergies, and the absence of Helicobacter pylori infection might be risk factors for EoE. Our study also indicated that the prognosis of EoE might be relatively good in Japanese populations.
378 REDO LAPAROSCOPIC FUNDOPLICATON IN A PATIENT WITH WRAP MIGRATION FOLLOWING TWICE FAILED NISSEN FUNDOPLICATION
Authors: Parshad Rajinder , Verma Eshan , Goyal Ankur
Published: September 2021

Re-operation for wrap failure is a complex procedure required in 3–6% of patients. This video demonstrates a successful laparoscopic redo fundoplication in a patient who had previously undergone laparoscopic Nissen's fundoplication twice for GERD in another institution, first for GERD in 2014 and then for recurrence of reflux. Patient presented to us with dysphagia and regurgitation. The work-up revealed wrap migration into the right pleural cavity. A successful redo laparoscopic Toupet fundoplication was performed.

Methods

The video describes the procedure of laparoscopic re do fundoplication.

Results

Patient is doing well at a follow up of 16 months.

Conclusion

Re-do laparoscopic fundoplication can be successfully accomplished through laparoscopic approach.

Video

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Perelnr0fwGIk1kiAexYvXnJY01cO98C/view?usp=sharing.
389 THE BEST PRACTICE OF RECONSTRUCTION METHODS AFTER ESOPHAGECTOMY WITHOUT STOMACH
Authors: Narumiya Kosuke , Kudo Kenji , Maeda Shinsuke , Toyoshima Yukinori , Ogawa Kyohei , Ide Hiroko , Osugi Harushi , Yamamoto Masakazu
Published: September 2021

Generally we use the stomach after esophagectomy as an organ of reconstruction. But we could not use it after we performed gastrectomy.

We investigated the usefulness of the reconstruction with pedicled jejunum or pedicled right colon.

Methods

We performed esophagectomy from 2000 to 2015.15 patients use the reconstruction with pedicled jejunum as a A.10 patients use the reconstruction with pedicled right colon as a B.We study (1) background (2) complication.

Results

Average Age A:67.1 B:65.5 location(upper:middle:Lower)A:0:14:1 B:1:4:5 depth of tumor invasion (T1:T2:T3:T4)A:9:3:3:0 B:3:5:2 Stage(0:I:II:III:IVa)A:2:6:4:3:0 B:0:1:3:4:2 Reconstruction route(posterior mediastinal:retrosternal:antethoracic)A:4:2:9 B:0:5:5 The reason of the gastrectomy (ulcer: cancer)A 10:5 B 0:10 (distal gastrectomy:total gastrectomy)A:15:0 B:4:6 Reconstruction(BillrothI法:BillrothII法:Roux-Y) A:12:3:0 B:2:2:6 Complication (leakage)A:B = 3:0.

(ileus)A:B = 2:0(weight loss)A:B = 10:0 (diarrhea)A:B = 3:5.

Conclusion

The best practice of reconstruction method is a reconstruction with pedicled jejunum without stomach. We can use the jejunum without damage of the vessel in the mesenteri of the jejunum. I want to show you our video.
464 IS OPEN LEFT THORACO-ABDOMINAL ESOPHAGECTOMY A VIABLE OPTION IN THE ERA OF MINIMALLY INVASIVE ESOPHAGECTOMY?
Authors: Klevebro Fredrik , Boshier Piers R , Mueller Carmen , Cools-Lartigue Jonathan , Ferri Lorenzo , Low Donald E
Published: September 2021

The aim of the study was to evaluate short-term and oncological outcomes of left thoracoabdominal esophagectomy (LTE) compared to minimally invasive esophagectomy for cancer of the esophagus and gastroesophageal junction.

LTE facilitates complete resection of esophageal cancer particularly for bulky tumors, but there are concerns that this approach is associated with significant morbidity.

Methods

Prospectively entered esophagectomy databases from two high volume North American centers were reviewed for patients undergoing LTE or MIE in the 2012–2018. Patient demographics, tumour characteristics, operative outcomes, postoperative outcomes, and pathologic surrogates of oncologic efficacy (R0 resection rate, and number of resected lymph nodes) were compared. In total 247 patients were included in the study, LTE was applied in 170 (68.8%) patients, and MIE in 77 (31.2%) patients.

Results

LTE patients had more neoadjuvant treatment (LTE = 78.2%, MIE = 34.2%, P < 0.001). There was no difference in overall postoperative complications (LTE = 56.9%, MIE = 55.0%, P = 0.799), severe complications (Clavien Dindo>2—LTE = 26.1%, MIE17.0%, P = 0.184), pulmonary complications (LTE = 31.9%, MIE = 20.0%, P = 0.085), pneumonia (LTE = 15.2%, MIE = 13.6%, P = 0.768), anastomotic leak (LTE = 7%, MIE = 10%, P = 0.396), or postoperative mortality (LTE = 0%, MIE = 1.3%, P = 0.140). Median length of stay was 7 days in both groups. R0 resection rate was 93.8% and 95.5% respectively (P = 0.631). Median number of resected lymph nodes was 24 for LTE and 22 for MIE (P = 0.226). LTE had more stage II-IV tumors (LTE = 67.8%, MIE = 40.7%, P < 0.001), and more node positive resections (LTE = 52.5%, MIE = 31.4%, P = 0.003).

Conclusion

LTE was used for larger tumors with greater lymph node burden in patients that were more likely to have received neoadjuvant treatment compared to MIE. Despite this the postoperative morbidity was equal to that of MIE, with no difference in short-term or oncological results in this cohort.