bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Opportunities to diagnose fibrotic lung diseases in routine care: A primary care cohort study
Authors: Jones Mark G. , Hillyar Christopher R.T. , Nibber Anjan , Chisholm Alison , Wilson Andrew , Maher Toby M. , Kaplan Alan , Price David , Walsh Simon , Richeldi Luca ,   RESPIRATORY EFFECTIVENESS GROUP'S INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE WORKING GROUP
Published: May 2020

Background and objective

Temporal trends of healthcare use in the period before a diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis are poorly understood. We investigated trends in respiratory symptoms and LR HRU in the 10 years prior to diagnosis.

Methods

We analysed a primary care clinical cohort database (UK OPCRD) and assessed patients aged ≥40 years who had an electronically coded diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis between 2005 and 2015 and a minimum 2 years of continuous medical records prior to diagnosis. Exclusion criteria consisted of electronic codes for recognized causes of pulmonary fibrosis such as CTD, sarcoidosis or EAA.

Results

Data for 2223 patients were assessed. Over the 10 years prior to diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis, there was a progressive increase in HRU across multiple LR‐related domains. Five years before diagnosis, 18% of patients had multiple healthcare contacts for LR complaints; this increased to 79% in the year before diagnosis, with 38% of patients having five or more healthcare contacts.

Conclusion

There are opportunities to diagnose pulmonary fibrosis at an earlier stage; research into case‐finding algorithms and strategies to educate primary care physicians is required.
WTO accession, trade expansion, and air pollution: Evidence from China’s county‐level panel data
Authors: Chen Shuai , Lin Faqin , Yao Xi , Zhang Peng
Published: May 2020

This study provides evidence that trade expansion has contributed to the degradation of air pollution in China. On the basis of different responses of counties’ trade to China's World Trade Organization accession at the end of 2001, we exploit air pollution data from NASA to construct a difference‐in‐differences predicted trade as an instrument for our identification. We document statistically significant and robust evidence on trade expansion, which accounts for approximately 60% and 20% for the increase of PM2.5 and SO2, respectively, in China. Findings on trade pollution relation are robust to various tests. Deterioration in the environment is mainly driven by scale and trade in polluting sectors.
Sensitivity to facial emotional expressions and peer relationship problems in Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant early adolescents: An exploratory study
Authors: Lan Xiaoyu , Moscardino Ughetta
Published: May 2020

This exploratory study compared sensitivity to facial emotional expressions (happiness, anger, sadness, and fear) between rural‐to‐urban migrant early adolescents and their non‐migrant counterparts, and examined whether migration status moderated the expected link between such sensitivity and peer relationship problems. Furthermore, we assessed the role of migrant youths' perceived integration in these associations. A total of 169 Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant (46.1% girls) and 157 non‐migrant (54.1% girls) early adolescents aged between 10 and 13 years participated in an emotion recognition task with videos of neutral Chinese faces gradually morphing into full‐intensity emotional expressions, while teachers rated their students' peer relationship problems. Migrant youth also reported on their level of integration. Results indicated that rural‐to‐urban early adolescents were more sensitive to facial expressions (as indicated by early recognition) of anger and sadness than their non‐migrant peers, and that migration status moderated the association between emotional sensitivity and peer relationship problems. Specifically, migrant youths reported more peer relationship problems in the presence of heightened sensitivity to anger and sadness. In addition, less integration strengthened the association between increased sensitivity to anger and peer relationship problems in the migrant group. Although further research is warranted, our findings suggest that the interplay between hypervigilance to negative facial emotional expressions and low levels of integration may contribute to explaining peer relationship problems among Chinese rural‐to‐urban migrant youth.
NaTrxh is an essential protein for pollen rejection in Nicotiana by increasing S‐RNase activity
Authors: Torres‐Rodríguez Maria D. , Cruz‐Zamora Yuridia , Juárez‐Díaz Javier A. , Mooney Brian , McClure Bruce A. , Cruz‐García Felipe
Published: May 2020

In self‐incompatible Solanaceae, the pistil protein S‐RNase contributes to S‐specific pollen rejection in conspecific crosses, as well as to rejecting pollen from foreign species or whole clades. However, S‐RNase alone is not sufficient for either type of pollen rejection. We describe a thioredoxin (Trx) type h from Nicotiana alata, NaTrxh, which interacts with and reduces S‐RNase in vitro. Here, we show that expressing a redox‐inactive mutant, NaTrxhSS, suppresses both S‐specific pollen rejection and rejection of pollen from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. Biochemical experiments provide evidence that NaTrxh specifically reduces the Cys155‐Cys185 disulphide bond of SC10‐Rnase, resulting in a significant increase of its ribonuclease activity. This reduction and increase in S‐RNase activity by NaTrxh helps to explain why S‐RNase alone could be insufficient for pollen rejection.
LcEIL2/3 are involved in fruitlet abscission via activating genes related to ethylene biosynthesis and cell wall remodeling in litchi
Authors: Ma Xingshuai , Yuan Ye , Wu Qian , Wang Jun , Li Jianguo , Zhao Minglei
Published: May 2020

Fruit crops are subject to precocious fruit abscission, during which the phytohormone ethylene (ET) acts as a major positive regulator. However, the molecular basis of ET‐induced fruit abscission remains poorly understood. Here, we show that two ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE 3‐like (EIL) homologs in litchi, LcEIL2 and LcEIL3, play a role in ET‐activated fruitlet abscission. LcEIL2/3 were significantly upregulated in the fruit abscission zone (AZ) during the ET‐induced fruitlet abscission in litchi. The presence of LcEIL2/3 in wild‐type Arabidopsis and ein3 eil1 mutants can accelerate the floral organ abscission. Moreover, the electrophoretic mobility shift assay and dual luciferase reporter analysis illustrated that LcEIL2/3 directly interacted with the gene promoters to activate the expression of cell wall remodeling genes LcCEL2/8 and LcPG1/2, and ET biosynthetic genes LcACS1/4/7 and LcACO2/3. Furthermore, we showed that LcPG1/2 were expressed in the floral abscission zone of Arabidopsis, and constitutive expression of LcPG2 in Arabidopsis promoted the floral organ abscission. In conclusion, we propose that LcEIL2/3 are involved in ET‐induced fruitlet abscission via controlling expression of genes related to ET biosynthesis and cell wall remodeling in litchi.
Cell wall composition strongly influences mesophyll conductance in gymnosperms
Authors: Carriquí Marc , Nadal Miquel , Clemente‐Moreno María J. , Gago Jorge , Miedes Eva , Flexas Jaume
Published: May 2020

Cell wall thickness is widely recognized as one of the main determinants of mesophyll conductance to CO2 (gm). However, little is known about the components that regulate effective CO2 diffusivity in the cell wall (i.e. the ratio between actual porosity and tortuosity, the other two biophysical diffusion properties of cell walls). The aim of this study was to assess, at the interspecific level, potential relationships between cell wall composition, cell wall thickness (Tcw) and gm. Gymnosperms constitute an ideal group to deepen these relationships, as they present, on average, the thickest cell walls within spermatophytes. We characterized the foliar gas exchange, the morphoanatomical traits related with gm, the leaf fraction constituted by cell walls and three main components of primary cell walls (hemicelluloses, cellulose and pectins) in seven gymnosperm species. We found that, although the relatively low gm of gymnosperms was mainly determined by their elevated Tcw, gm was also strongly correlated with cell wall composition, which presumably sets the final effective CO2 diffusivity. The data presented here suggest that (i) differences in gm are strongly correlated to the pectins to hemicelluloses and cellulose ratio in gymnosperms, and (ii) variations in cell wall composition may modify effective CO2 diffusivity in the cell wall to compensate the negative impact of thickened walls. We speculate that higher relative pectin content allows higher gm because pectins increase cell wall hydrophilicity and CO2 molecules cross the wall dissolved in water.
Exocyst mutants suppress pollen tube growth and cell wall structural defects of hydroxyproline O‐arabinosyltransferase mutants
Authors: Beuder Steven , Dorchak Alexandria , Bhide Ashwini , Moeller Svenning Rune , Petersen Bent L. , MacAlister Cora A.
Published: May 2020

HYDROXYPROLINE O‐ARABINOSYLTRANSFERASEs (HPATs) initiate a post‐translational protein modification (Hyp‐Ara) found abundantly on cell wall structural proteins. In Arabidopsis thaliana, HPAT1 and HPAT3 are redundantly required for full pollen fertility. In addition to the lack of Hyp‐Ara in hpat1/3 pollen tubes (PTs), we also found broadly disrupted cell wall polymer distributions, particularly the conversion of the tip cell wall to a more shaft‐like state. Mutant PTs were slow growing and prone to rupture and morphological irregularities. In a forward mutagenesis screen for suppressors of the hpat1/3 low seed‐set phenotype, we identified a missense mutation in exo70a2, a predicted member of the vesicle‐tethering exocyst complex. The suppressed pollen had increased fertility, fewer morphological defects and partially rescued cell wall organization. A transcriptional null allele of exo70a2 also suppressed the hpat1/3 fertility phenotype, as did mutants of core exocyst complex member sec15a, indicating that reduced exocyst function bypassed the PT requirement for Hyp‐Ara. In a wild‐type background, exo70a2 reduced male transmission efficiency, lowered pollen germination frequency and slowed PT elongation. EXO70A2 also localized to the PT tip plasma membrane, consistent with a role in exocyst‐mediated secretion. To monitor the trafficking of Hyp‐Ara modified proteins, we generated an HPAT‐targeted fluorescent secretion reporter. Reporter secretion was partially dependent on EXO70A2 and was significantly increased in hpat1/3 PTs compared with the wild type, but was reduced in the suppressed exo70a2 hpat1/3 tubes.
Ptr1 evolved convergently with RPS2 and Mr5 to mediate recognition of AvrRpt2 in diverse solanaceous species
Authors: Mazo‐Molina Carolina , Mainiero Samantha , Haefner Benjamin J. , Bednarek Ryland , Zhang Jing , Feder Ari , Shi Kai , Strickler Susan R. , Martin Gregory B.
Published: May 2020

The Ptr1 (Pseudomonas tomato race 1) locus in Solanum lycopersicoides confers resistance to strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato expressing AvrRpt2 and Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum expressing RipBN. Here we describe the identification and phylogenetic analysis of the Ptr1 gene. A single recombinant among 585 F2 plants segregating for the Ptr1 locus was discovered that narrowed the Ptr1 candidates to eight nucleotide‐binding leucine‐rich repeat protein (NLR)‐encoding genes. From analysis of the gene models in the S. lycopersicoides genome sequence and RNA‐Seq data, two of the eight genes emerged as the strongest candidates for Ptr1. One of these two candidates was found to encode Ptr1 based on its ability to mediate recognition of AvrRpt2 and RipBN when it was transiently expressed with these effectors in leaves of Nicotiana glutinosa. The ortholog of Ptr1 in tomato and in Solanum pennellii is a pseudogene. However, a functional Ptr1 ortholog exists in Nicotiana benthamiana and potato, and both mediate recognition of AvrRpt2 and RipBN. In apple and Arabidopsis, recognition of AvrRpt2 is mediated by the Mr5 and RPS2 proteins, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis places Ptr1 in a distinct clade compared with Mr5 and RPS2, and it therefore appears to have arisen by convergent evolution for recognition of AvrRpt2.
A Study of the Development and Promotion of Chinese Opera Movie in Rural Areas: An Investigation and Reflection on Hunan Rural Movie of Local Opera Project in China
Authors: Yang Xiu-Feng , Zheng Wei
Published: May 2020

Chinese opera movie is a special form of art developed from the combination of traditional Chinese opera and cinematographic art. In the inheritance and development model represented by “Hunan Rural Movie of Local Opera Project”（also called “Hunan Local Opera Movie Project”）, Chinese public administrators, traditional opera artists and opera movie makers target rural areas, adhere to traditional opera culture, and explore new ways to develop and promote opera movie. They put effort into upholding orthodox opera and innovating for audience, conducting a beneficial practice of making traditional culture resonate by current rural audience again in way of producing and disseminating opera movies. Their practice has contributed to the creative development of opera movie in rural areas.
Endemic bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of Colombia: State of knowledge, distribution, and conservation
Authors: Ramírez-Chaves Héctor E. , Noguera-Urbano Elkin A. , Morales-Martínez Darwin M. , Zurc Danny , Vargas-Arboleda Andrés Felipe , Mantilla-Meluk Hugo
Published: May 2020

Colombia, with 209 species, is one of the richest countries in terms of bat diversity. This high bat diversity is comprised in nine families and 72 genera. A total of eight species of the families Emballonuridae (n = 1) and Phyllostomidae (n = 7) are listed as endemic to the country. In spite the relevance of Colombiain bat diversity, little is known of these endemic species which are mostly known from the type locality (n=4), whereas for others (n = 2), their taxonomic status is uncertain. Here, available information of endemic bats from Colombia is compiled, and new information on their distribution and conservation is provided. The most included species in publications including the original description (n = 15) was Lonchorhina marinkellei. The only distribution pattern observed for the species evaluated was for Carollia monohernandezi and Vampyressa sinchi that might overlap distributions in the eastern slopes of the Eastern Cordillera. Most endemic species are from the Andean and inter-Andean regions of the country (n = 6). At national level, there are no endemic species in any threatened category; however, at least one species (Lonchorhina marinkellei) is considered as Vulnerable (VU) and one (Saccopteryx antioquensis) as Endangered (EN) by the International Union forConservation of Nature-IUCN.
VALIDATION OF AN ANALYTICAL METHOD FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF GIBERELLIC ACID IN MAIZE SEEDS (Zea mays L.) BY HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY
Authors: Rivera Juan D , Torres Javier , Correa-Navarro Yaned M
Published: May 2020

Gibberellic acid is a phytohormone that triggers the germination of seeds in a state of dormancy. Through the quantification of this hormone, the physiological condition of seeds of economic importance can be studded. In this work we validated a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography method to quantify gibberellic acid in germinated maize (Zea mays L.) seeds. Chromatographic conditions included the use of a C-18 reversed-phase column, acetonitrile-formic acid (1 : 9 %) as the mobile phase, flow of 0.5 mL·min-1, and detection at 195 nm. We evaluated our method for seven analytical parameters. The method was linear for gibberellic acid concentrations from1.0 mg·kg-1 to 50.0 mg·kg-1. The method’s limits were 0.3 mg·kg-1 and1.0 mg·kg-1 for detection and quantification, respectively. The method was highly precise; we obtained variable but low relative standard deviations (2.62 % - 12.66 %) for the studied gibberellic acid concentrations. We assessed accuracy through recovery percentages, ranging from 52.85 % - 63.68 %, for three gibberellic acid concentrations. We conclude that our analytical method can be used to measure gibberellic acid during the early stages of maize germination. In addition, the method could be used for the analysis of other types of plant matrices.
The big unknown: The asymptomatic spread of COVID-19
Authors: Anguelov Roumen , Banasiak Jacek , Bright Chelsea , Lubuma Jean , Ouifki Rachid
Published: May 2020

The paper draws attention to the asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases of COVID-19, which, according to some reports, may constitute a large fraction of the infected individuals. These cases are often unreported and are not captured in the total number of confirmed cases communicated daily. On the one hand, this group may play a significant role in the spread of the infection, as asymptomatic cases are seldom detectedВ  and quarantined. On the other hand, it may play a significant role in disease extinction by contributing to the development of sufficient herd immunity.
A Microthermal Sensor for Cryoablation Balloons
Authors: Natesan Harishankar , Tian Limei , A. Rogers John , Bischof John
Published: May 2020

Treatment of atrial fibrillation by cryoablation of the pulmonary vein (PV) suffers from an inability to assess probe contact, tissue thickness, and freeze completion through the wall. Unfortunately, clinical imaging cannot be used for this purpose as these techniques have resolutions similar in scale (∼1 to 2 mm) to PV thickness and therefore are unable to resolve changes within the PV during treatment. Here, a microthermal sensor based on the “3ω” technique which has been used for thin biological systems is proposed as a potential solution and tested for a cryoablation scenario. First, the sensor was modified from a linear format to a serpentine format for integration onto a flexible balloon. Next, using numerical analyses, the ability of the modified sensor on a flat substrate was studied to differentiate measurements in limiting cases of ice, water, and fat. These numerical results were then complemented by experimentation by micropatterning the serpentine sensor onto a flat substrate and onto a flexible balloon. In both formats (flat and balloon), the serpentine sensor was experimentally shown to: (1) identify tissue contact versus fluid, (2) distinguish tissue thickness in the 0.5 to 2 mm range, and (3) measure the initiation and completion of freezing as previously reported for a linear sensor. This study demonstrates proof of principle that a serpentine 3ω sensor on a balloon can monitor tissue contact, thickness, and phase change which is relevant to cryo and other focal thermal treatments of PV to treat atrial fibrillation.
Analytical and Numerical Modeling of Soil Cutting and Transportation During Auger Drilling Operation
Authors: Abdeldayem Mohamed A. A. , Mabrouk Mohamed H. , Abo-Elnor Mootaz
Published: May 2020

Soil drilling operation has become one of the most important interests to researchers due to its many applications in engineering systems. Auger drilling is one of the ideal methods in many applications such as pile foundation engineering, sampling test for geological, and space sciences. However, the dominant factor in determination of drilling parameters drilling operations experience. Therefore, soil-drilling process using auger drilling is studied to obtain the controlling parameters and to optimize these parameters to improve drilling performance which enables proper selection of machine for a required job. One of the main challenges that faces researchers during using of modeling techniques to define the soil drilling problem is the complex nonlinear behavior of the drilled medium itself due to its discontinuity and heterogeneous formation. This article presents two models that can be used to predict the total resistive forces which affect the auger during soil drilling operations. The first proposed model discusses the problem analytically in a way that depends on empirical data that can be collected from previous experience. The second model discusses the problem numerically with less depending on empirical experienced data. The analytical model is developed using matlab® interface, while the numerical model is developed using discrete element method (DEM) using edem software. A simplified auger drilling machine is built in the soil–tool interaction laboratory, Military Technical College to obtain experimental results that can be used to verify the presented models. Data acquisition measuring system is established to obtain experimental results using a labview® software which enables displaying and recording the measured data collected mainly from transducers planted in the test rig. Both analytical and numerical model results are compared to experimental values to aid in developing the presented parametric study that can be used to define the working parameters during drilling operations in different types of soils. Uncertainty calculations have been applied to ensure the reliability of the models. The combined calculated uncertainty leads to the level of confidence of about 95%.
Local Heat Transfer of Saturated Flow Boiling in Vertical Narrow Microchannel
Authors: Li Junye , Lin Yuhao , Li Wei , Zhou Kan
Published: May 2020

An experimental study of saturated flow boiling in a high-aspect-ratio one-side-heating rectangular microchannel was conducted with de-ionized water as the working fluid. ZnO microrods with the average diameter of about 1 μm and length of about 7 μm were synthesized on the Ti wafer surface, which was used to fabricate the heated bottom surface of the microchannel. The ZnO microrod surface appeared to be hydrophobic and the capillary wetting effect on the surface was found after being wet. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of saturated flow boiling in the microchannel were studied and the flow patterns were photographed with a high-speed camera. Almost all the flow patterns observed in this experiment featured the main annular flow and abrupt flush of bubbly flow. Because of the capillary wetting effect on the ZnO microrod surface, the local dryout and rewetting phenomenon did not appear in this study. However, due to the numerous nucleation sites on ZnO microrod surface, the abrupt bubble flow caused much more disruption to the liquid film of annular flow when compared to the regular silicon surface. The abrupt bubble flow flushed through the annular liquid film and caused the fluctuation and nonuniformity of the liquid film and heat transfer deterioration, which was severer in the high heat flux conditions. Otherwise, the capillary effect on the ZnO microrod surface was able to restrict the nonuniformity of the liquid film under high heat flux and low mass flux conditions; thus, the deterioration of heat transfer performances diminished.
Accurate Thermal Diffusivity Measurements Using a Modified Ångström's Method With Bayesian Statistics
Authors: Hu Yuan , Fisher Timothy S.
Published: May 2020

This work reports a custom instrument that employs a modified Ångström's method to measure the thermal diffusivity of foil-like materials in which heat propagates in one dimension. This method does not require a semi-infinite medium assumption as compared to the original Ångström's method, which also has been typically performed in vacuum. However, in this work, temperature measurements are performed in laboratory ambient conditions, which are more convenient for most experiments. To quantify and reduce uncertainties due to temperature fluctuations in noisy ambient conditions, a Bayesian framework and Metropolis algorithm are employed to solve the inverse heat transfer problem and to obtain a probability distribution function for thermal diffusivity. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the custom instrument, the thermal diffusivity of a copper 110 foil (25.0 mm long, 7.0 mm wide, and 76.2 μm thick) was measured in ambient conditions, and the results match well with previous studies performed in vacuum conditions on much longer samples.
Visualization of Quench Front Propagation on Heated Rod Through Single Jet Impingement
Authors: Gupta Vivek , Ghosh Pradyumna
Published: May 2020

Quench front characteristics and flow physics have been observed for single jet impingement using de-ionized (DI) water and various oxide-based nanofluids. Quench front velocity, shape, intensities of sputtering, and postquench front phenomenon have been observed through the high-speed camera. Quench front velocity is higher in the case of nanofluids than DI water due to the presence of nanoparticles in nanofluids. However, quench front shape also differs in the case of nanofluids due to the rupture of the boundary layer, which depends on agglomeration characteristics and the nanomicroporous layer formed on the solid surface of the heater. A better understanding of quench behavior, for a very low concentration of nanofluids, will make it a viable technology for emergency core cooling system (ECCS) for upcoming nuclear reactors in India.
Hypersonic Plasma Setup for Oxidation Testing of Ultrahigh Temperature Ceramic Composites
Authors: Paterniani Rita Cristian Cley , Miranda Felipe de Souza , Caliari Felipe Rocha , Rocha Rosa , Essiptchouk Alexei , Charakhovski Leonid , Petraconi Filho Gilberto
Published: May 2020

In this study, a hypersonic plasma setup was constructed based on a vortex plasma heater with prenozzle gas-dynamic insertion. The prenozzle allows the improvement of the characteristics of the vacuum system according to the necessities of the experiments. The plasma setup produces a hypersonic thermal flow, which is capable to test the thermal oxidation of ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTC) composites, such as zirconium diboride (ZrB2). Thereby, ZrB2 samples were prepared with a variation of 10, 20, and 30% of silicon carbide (SiC) in volume, in order to investigate the oxidation mechanisms and microstructural properties of the samples tested under hypersonic thermal flow. The results of the oxidation tests showed that the samples with 10 and 30% of SiC undergo to the active oxidation and forms an unstable and fragile ZrO2 oxide. The formed ZrO2 does not withstand the drag force and the thermal flux of the hypersonic plasma jet, partially volatilizing the oxide layer, causing an accentuated loss of mass. For the oxidation tests of the sample with 20% of SiC, the gain of mass was observed due to the formation of ZrSiO4 passivation layer, which is a stable oxide and promotes mechanical resistance, and low degradation rate. These results can be associated with the variation of SiC, which demonstrates an ideal proportion of 20% of SiC in ZrB2, which influences the oxidation mechanisms and produce a protective layer.
A rare case of pericardial lymphoma in a heart transplantation recipient
Authors: Wu Chun , Zhang Li , Li Yuman , Xie Mingxing
Published: May 2020

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Medical Student Ultrasound Education, a WFUMB Position Paper, Part II. A consensus statement of ultrasound societies
Authors: Hoffmann Beatrice , Blaivas Michael , Abramowicz Jacques , Bachmann Michael , Badea Radu , Braden Barbara , Cantisani Vito , Chammas Maria C. , Cui Xin-Wu , Dong Yi , Gilja Odd Helge , Hari Roman , Lamprecht Hein , Nisenbaum Harvey , Nolsøe Christian Pállson , Nürnberg Dieter , Prosch Helmut , Radzina Maija , Recker Florian , Sachs Alexander , Saftoiu Adrian , Serra Andreas , Vinayak Sudhir , Westerway Sue , Chou Yi-Hong , Dietrich Christoph F
Published: May 2020

Ultrasound is becoming a fundamental first-line diagnostic tool for most medical specialties and an innovative tool to teach anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology to undergraduate and graduate students. However, availability of structured training programs during medical school is lagging behind and many physicians still acquire all their ultrasound skills during postgraduate training.There is wide variation in medical student ultrasound education worldwide. Sharing successful educational strategies from early adopter medical schools and learning from leading education programs should advance the integration of ultrasound into the university medical school curricula. In this overview, we present current approaches and suggestions by ultrasound societies concerning medical student educa-tion throughout the world. Based on these examples, we formulate a consensus statement with suggestions on how to integrate ultrasound teaching into the preclinical and clinical medical curricula.
Early Oral Antibiotic Switch for
Staphylococcus aureus
Bacteremia: Many Are Called, but Few Are Chosen
Authors: Holland Thomas L.
Published: May 2020

Staphylococcus aureus
bacteremia (SAB) is a complicated, high-risk disease. For selected low-risk SAB, the role of oral antibiotic stepdown therapy is unknown. Bupha-Intr et al. report a retrospective cohort of low-risk SAB patients who did well with a short duration of intravenous antibiotics, followed by an additional ∼10 days of oral antibiotics, primarily using beta-lactams. Prospective trials will help further define the efficacy of this approach.
Inactivation Kinetics and Membrane Potential of Pathogens in Soybean Curd Subjected to Pulsed Ohmic Heating Depending on Applied Voltage and Duty Ratio
Authors: Cho Eun-Rae , Kim Sang-Soon , Kang Dong-Hyun
Published: May 2020

High-water-activity food products, such as soybean curd, are vulnerable to microbial contamination, which causes fatal foodborne diseases and food spoilage. Inactivating microorganisms inside food is difficult because the transfer of thermal energy is slower inside than it is outside the food. POH is an adequate sterilization technique because of its rapid and uniform heating without causing electrode corrosion. To elucidate the electrical factors associated with POH performance in the inactivation of pathogens, the effects of the applied voltage and duty ratio on POH were investigated. In this study, we verified that a high applied voltage (80 Vrms) at a duty ratio of 0.1 caused thermal and nonthermal effects on pathogens that led to an approximately 4-log-unit reduction in a significantly short time. Therefore, the results of this research corroborate database predictions of the inactivation efficiency of POH based on pathogen control strategy modeling.
Carboxylic Acid Transporters in
Candida
Pathogenesis
Authors: Alves Rosana , Sousa-Silva Maria , Vieira Daniel , Soares Pedro , Chebaro Yasmin , Lorenz Michael C. , Casal Margarida , Soares-Silva Isabel , Paiva Sandra
Published: May 2020

Opportunistic pathogens such as
Candida
species can use carboxylic acids, like acetate and lactate, to survive and successfully thrive in different environmental niches. These nonfermentable substrates are frequently the major carbon sources present in certain human body sites, and their efficient uptake by regulated plasma membrane transporters plays a critical role in such nutrient-limited conditions. Here, we cover the physiology and regulation of these proteins and their potential role in
Candida
virulence.
CD8+T Cell Immunity Is Compromised by Anti-CD20 Treatment and Rescued by Interleukin-17A
Authors: Fiocca Vernengo Facundo , Beccaria Cristian G. , Araujo Furlan Cintia L. , Tosello Boari Jimena , Almada Laura , Gorosito Serrán Melisa , Gazzoni Yamila , Montes Carolina L. , Acosta Rodríguez Eva V. , Gruppi Adriana
Published: May 2020

Monoclonal antibody targeting the CD20 antigen on B cells is used to treat the majority of non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients and some autoimmune disorders. This therapy generates adverse effects, notably opportunistic infections and activation of viruses from latency. Here, using the infection murine model with the intracellular parasiteTrypanosoma cruzi, we report that anti-CD20 treatment affects not only B cell responses but also CD8+T cell responses, representing the most important immune effectors involved in control of intracellular pathogens. Anti-CD20 treatment, directly or indirectly, affects cytotoxic T cell number and function, and this deficient response was rescued by the cytokine IL-17A. The identification of IL-17A as the cytokine capable of reversing the poor response of CD8+T cells provides information about a potential therapeutic treatment aimed at enhancing defective immunity induced by B cell depletion.
Herpesvirus Entry Mediator Binding Partners Mediate Immunopathogenesis of Ocular Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection
Authors: Park Seo J. , Riccio Rachel E. , Kopp Sarah J. , Ifergan Igal , Miller Stephen D. , Longnecker Richard
Published: May 2020

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), a ubiquitous human pathogen, is capable of causing a progressive inflammatory ocular disease called herpes stromal keratitis (HSK). HSV-1 ocular infection leads to persistent inflammation in the cornea resulting in outcomes ranging from significant visual impairment to complete blindness. Our previous work showed that herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) promotes the symptoms of HSK independently of viral entry and that HVEM expression on CD45+cells correlates with increased infiltration of leukocytes into the cornea during the chronic inflammatory phase of the disease. Here, we elucidated the role of HVEM in the pathogenic Th1 response following ocular HSV-1 infection and the contribution of HVEM binding partners in HSK pathogenesis. Investigating the molecular mechanisms of HVEM in promoting corneal inflammation following HSV-1 infection improves our understanding of potential therapeutic targets for HSK.
Recombinant HcGAPDH Protein Expressed on Probiotic
Bacillus subtilis
Spores Protects Sheep from
Haemonchus contortus
Infection by Inducing both Humoral and Cell-Mediated Responses
Authors: Yang Yi , Zhang Guiheng , Wu Jie , Chen Xueqiu , Tong Danni , Yang Yimin , Shi Hengzhi , Yao Chaoqun , Zhuang Lenan , Wang Jianbin , Du Aifang
Published: May 2020

Initial analyses of the abomasal microbiota of sheep using 16S rRNA sequencing suggested that probiotic bacteria played a protective role in against
H. contortus
infection. A recombinant
Bacillus subtilis
expressing a fusion protein CotB-HcGAPDH on its spore’s surface induced strong Th1 immune response in a murine model. The same probiotic recombinant, upon only one oral application, protected sheep against
H. contortus
infection by reducing egg shedding and decreasing adult worm loads of the parasite and increasing body weight gain of infected sheep. Both Th1 and Th2 immune responses were evident in these immunized sheep.
Impact of device landing zone calcification patterns on paravalvular regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve replacement with different next-generation devices
Authors: Mauri Victor , Frohn Thomas , Deuschl Florian , Mohemed Kawa , Kuhr Kathrin , Reimann Andreas , Körber Maria Isabel , Schofer Niklas , Adam Matti , Friedrichs Kai , Kuhn Elmar W , Scholtz Smita , Rudolph Volker , Wahlers Thorsten C W , Baldus Stephan , Mader Navid , Schäfer Ulrich , Rudolph Tanja K
Published: May 2020

Objective

Residual paravalvular regurgitation (PVR) has been associated to adverse outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). This study sought to evaluate the impact of device landing zone (DLZ) calcification on residual PVR after TAVR with different next-generation transcatheter heart valves.

Methods

642 patients underwent TAVR with a SAPIEN 3 (S3; n=292), ACURATEneo(NEO; n=166), Evolut R (ER; n=132) or Lotus (n=52). Extent, location and asymmetry of DLZ calcification were assessed from contrast-enhanced CT imaging and correlated to PVR at discharge.

Results

PVR was ≥moderate in 0.7% of S3 patients, 9.6% of NEO patients, 9.8% of ER patients and 0% of Lotus patients (p<0.001), and these differences remained after matching for total DLZ calcium volume. The amount of DLZ calcium was significantly related to the degree of PVR in patients treated with S3 (p=0.045), NEO (p=0.004) and ER (p<0.001), but not in Lotus patients (p=0.698). The incidence of PVR ≥moderate increased significantly over the tertiles of DLZ calcium volume (p=0.046). On multivariable analysis, calcification of the aortic valve cusps, LVOT calcification and the use of self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) prostheses emerged as predictors of PVR.

Conclusions

The susceptibility to PVR depending on the amount of calcium was mainly observed in self-expanding TAVI prostheses. Thus, DLZ calcification is an important factor to be considered in prosthesis selection for each individual patient, keeping in mind the trade-off between PVR reduction, risk of new pacemaker implantation and unfavourable valve ha emodynamics.
Minor change in initial PEEP setting decreases rates of ventilator-associated events in mechanically ventilated trauma patients
Authors: Ferrel Ethan , Chapple Kristina M , Calugaru Liviu Gabriel , Maxwell Jennifer , Johnson Jessica A , Mezher Andrew W , Bogert James N , Soe-Lin Hahn , Weinberg Jordan A
Published: May 2020

Background

Surveillance of ventilator-associated events (VAEs) as defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is performed at many US trauma centers and considered a measure of healthcare quality. The surveillance algorithm relies in part on increases in positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) to identify VAEs. The purpose of this cohort study was to evaluate the effect of initiating mechanically ventilated trauma patients at marginally higher PEEP on incidence of VAEs.

Methods

Analysis of level-1 trauma center patients mechanically ventilated 2+ days from 2017 to 2018 was performed after an institutional ventilation protocol increased initial PEEP setting from 5 (2017) to 6 (2018)cm H2O. Incidence of VAEs per 1000 vent days was compared between PEEP groups. Logistic regression modelling was performed to evaluate the impact of the PEEP setting change adjusted to account for age, ventilator days, injury mechanism and injury severity.

Results

519 patients met study criteria (274 PEEP 5 and 245 PEEP 6). Rates of VAEs were significantly reduced among patients with initial PEEP 5 versus 6 (14.61 per 1000 vent days vs. 7.13 per 1000 vent days; p=0.039). Logistic regression demonstrated that initial PEEP 6 was associated with 62% reduction in VAEs.

Conclusions

Our data suggest that an incrementally increased baseline PEEP setting was associated with a significantly decreased incidence of VAEs among trauma patients. This minor change in practice may have a major impact on a trauma center’s quality metrics.

Level of evidence

IV.
Mild dehydration impaired intermittent sprint performance and thermoregulation in females
Authors: Driscoll Rachel L. , McCarthy Devin G. , Palmer Matthew S. , Spriet Lawrence L.
Published: May 2020

The effects of mild dehydration during ice hockey are well-studied in males but not females. In a randomized, crossover design, 11 female varsity hockey players drank no fluid (1.7% ± 0.3% body mass loss) or water to maintain hydration during simulated-hockey exercise. Core temperature (P < 0.01) and perceived fatigue (P = 0.02) were higher and sprint power lower (P < 0.01) when mildly dehydrated. Thus, mild dehydration may impair hockey performance and thermoregulation while increasing perceived fatigue in females.

Novelty Female stop-and-go sport athletes may benefit their in-game sprint performance and thermoregulation by following personalized in-game hydration to prevent becoming mildly dehydrated.
Experimental investigation of RC columns confined with Ni–Ti shape memory alloy wires versus CFRP sheets
Authors: Abdelrahman Khaled , El-Hacha Raafat
Published: May 2020

The critical need to enhance existing strengthening methods with more efficient and effective ones has led to the evolvement of smarter and innovative class of materials termed shape memory alloys (SMA). The SMAs possess unique characteristic properties that lie in their ability to undergo large deformations and return to their undeformed shape through stress removal or heating process. Limited research studies conducted using SMAs have shown high potential for their use in building industry. Results presented in this research study are from an experimental study that investigated the compressive behaviour of uniaxial concentrically loaded nickel–titanium (Ni–Ti) SMA-spirally confined RC columns and compared with RC columns confined with conventional carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The compression tests revealed that actively confining the concrete column with Ni–Ti SMA spiral wires increased the performance of the concrete dramatically. Additionally, the active Ni–Ti SMA-confinement system exhibited superior performance compared to the conventional passive CFRP-confinement system.
Thermodynamic extended phase space and $$P-V$$ criticality of black holes at Pure Lovelock gravity
Authors: Estrada Milko , Aros Rodrigo
Published: May 2020

In this work the chemistry of asymptotically AdS black hole, for the charged and uncharged solutions of Pure Lovelock gravity, is discussed. The charged case behaves as a Van der Waals fluid and whose first order phase transitions, between small stable/large stable black holes, are analogous to the liquid/gas phase transitions as in AdS black hole for Einstein Hilbert theory. However, the thermodynamics behavior differs from the generic Lovelock theory, because there is a unique critical point, unlike the generic case where there may be more than one critiackcal point. Also, it is shown that the thermodynamics behavior of the Pure Lovelock black holes (in the extended phase space) can be represented by variables that are analytic functions of n and d, where n corresponds to the highest power of the Riemann tensor in the Lagrangian and d corresponds to the number of dimensions. This allows to obtain several results. For instance, the critical compressibility factor Z is a function of n and d that satisfies $$Z<1$$Z<1 strictly, matching the behaviour of a real gas, but the new values computed differ from the 3/8 value of a Van der Waals gas except for $$d=4$$d=4 and $$n=1$$n=1. New versions of the Smarr formula and equation of state and its behavior near the critical points are computed, which are also functions of n, d and Z. For all the cases the critical exponent are similar to those of the Van der Waals fluid. The first law of thermodynamics, in the extended space, is deduced by the variation of parameters of the Pure Lovelock solution. The entropy, volume and electric potential are consistent with the previously known results in the literature.
Relativistic reflection spectra of super-spinning black holes
Authors: Zhou Biao , Tripathi Ashutosh , Abdikamalov Askar B. , Ayzenberg Dimitry , Bambi Cosimo , Nampalliwar Sourabh , Zhou Menglei
Published: May 2020

We construct a relativistic reflection model in a non-Kerr spacetime in which, depending on the value of the deformation parameter of the metric, there are black hole solutions with spin parameter $$|a_*| > 1$$|a∗|>1. We apply our model to fit Suzaku data of four Seyfert galaxies (Ton S180, Ark 120, 1H0419–577, and Swift J0501.9–3239). These galaxies host at the center supermassive black holes that were previously interpreted as near-extremal Kerr black holes. For Ton S180 and 1H0419–577, our measurements are still consistent with the Kerr hypothesis. For Ark 120 and Swift J0501.9–3239, the Kerr solution is not recovered at 3-$$\sigma $$σ. We discuss our results and possible systematic uncertainties in the model.
The PHY-NGSC-Based ORT Run Length Encoding Scheme for Video Compression
Authors: Girishwaingankar Poorva , Joshi Sangeeta Milind
Published: May 2020

This paper proposes a compression algorithm using octonary repetition tree (ORT) based on run length encoding (RLE). Generally, RLE is one type of lossless data compression method which has duplication problem as a major issue due to the usage of code word or flag. Hence, ORT is offered instead of using a flag or code word to overcome this issue. This method gives better performance by means of compression ratio, i.e. 99.75%. But, the functioning of ORT is not good in terms of compression speed. For that reason, physical- next generation secure computing (PHY-NGSC) is hybridized with ORT to raise the compression speed. It uses an MPI-open MP programming paradigm on ORT to improve the compression speed of encoder. The planned work achieves multiple levels of parallelism within an image such as MPI and open MP for parallelism across a group of pictures level and slice level, respectively. At the same time, wide range of data compression like multimedia, executive files and documents are possible in the proposed method. The performance of the proposed work is compared with other methods like accordian RLE, context adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC) and context-based arithmetic coding (CBAC) through the implementation in Matlab working platform.
Text Region Extraction From Scene Images Using AGF and MSER
Authors: Soni Rituraj , Kumar Bijendra , Chand Satish
Published: May 2020

The natural scene images contain text as an integral part of that image that supplies paramount knowledge about it. This information and knowledge can be used in the variety of purposes like image-based searching, automatic number plate recognition, robot navigation, etc. but text region extraction and detection in scenery images could be quite a challenging job due to image blur, distortion, noise, etc. In this paper, we discuss a method for extraction of text regions by generating prospective components by applying maximally stable extremal regions (MSER) and boundary smoothing by Alternating guided image filter, which is one of the newest filters to deal with noise and halo effect elimination. The separation of non-text & text components is achieved by AdaBoost classifier that separates text and non-text on the basis of the three text specific features namely maximum stroke width ratio, compactness, color divergence. The proposed method assist in extracting text regions from the blurred and low contrast natural scene images effectively. The ICDAR 2013 training and testing dataset is applied for the experiments and evaluation of the method. The evaluation is carried out using deteval software for calculating precision, f-measure, recall for the detected, and extracted text regions.
Design and Implementation of Content-Based Natural Image Retrieval Approach Using Feature Distance
Authors: Arunlal S. L. , Santhi N. , Ramar K.
Published: May 2020

Generally, the database is a gathering of data that is arranged for simple storage, retrieval and modernize. This data comprises of numerous structures like text, table, and image, outline and chart and so on. Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) is valuable for calculating the huge amount of image databases and records and for distinguishes retrieving similar images. Rather than text-based searching, CBIR effectively recovers images that are similar like query image. CBIR assumes a significant role in various areas including restorative finding, industry estimation, geographical information satellite frameworks (GIS frameworks), and biometrics; online searching and authentic research, etc. Here different medical database images are considered to the CBIR procedure is done by the proposed strategy. The proposed method considers the input features are shape, texture feature, wavelet feature, and SIFT feature. To retrieve the input image based on the features, the suggested method utilizes artificial neural network (ANN) structure. Back-propagation technique, which is an organizational structure for learning is utilized for training the neural network framework. Trial demonstrates that the proposed work improves the results of the retrieval system. From the outcomes minimizes the image retrieval time and maximum Precision 87.3% in distance based ANN process.