bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Poly(Vinyl Pyrrolidone) on Iodine Release from Acrylate‐Endcapped Urethane‐Based Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels as Antibacterial Wound Dressing
Authors: Mignon Arn , Gheysens Tom , Walraet Sander , Tack Pieter , Rigole Petra , Coenye Tom , Vincze Laszlo , Van Vlierberghe Sandra , Dubruel Peter
Published: November 2023

Infections are still a major cause of morbidity in burn wounds. Although silver has been used strongly in past centuries as an anti‐bacterial, it can lead to allergic reactions, bacterial resistance, and delayed wound healing. Iodine‐based antibacterials are becoming an interesting alternative. In this work, the effect of complexation with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)‐based polymers is explored by using different acrylate‐endcapped urethane‐based poly(ethylene glycol) (AUP) polymers, varying the molar mass (MM) of the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) backbone, with possible addition of PVP. The higher MM AUP outperforms the swelling potential of commercial wound dressings such as Kaltostat, Aquacel Ag, and Hydrosorb and all MM show superior mechanical properties. The addition of iodine to the polymers is compared to Iso‐Betadine Tulle (IBT). Interestingly, the addition of PVP does not lead to increased iodine complexation compared to the blank AUP polymers, while all have a prolonged iodine release compared to the IBT, which leads to a burst release. The observed prolonged release also leads to larger inhibition zones during antibacterial tests. Complexing iodine in AUP polymers with or without PVP leads to antimicrobial wound dressings which may hold potential for future application to treat infected wounds.
Development of covalent inhibitors: Principle, design, and application in cancer
Authors: Zheng Lang , Li Yang , Wu Defa , Xiao Huan , Zheng Shilong , Wang Guan , Sun Qiu
Published: November 2023

Covalent inhibitors have been a rapidly growing field in drug discovery due to their therapeutic potential and unique advantages in cancer therapy. As opposed to noncovalent inhibitory drugs, covalent inhibitors reversibly or irreversibly modify proximal nucleophilic amino acid residues on proteins, aiming to selectively recognize and bind to protein targets and addressing some of the challenges faced by noncovalent drugs. Most successful targeted covalent inhibitors depend primarily on binding‐site cysteine residues, but this has limitations for certain protein targets that lack targetable cysteine residues. Recently, the rational design of covalent inhibitors or covalent probes targeting other nucleophilic residues, such as lysine, tyrosine, serine, has turned out to be another promising strategy for cancer therapy. Thus, the development of novel strategies to extend the scope of covalent binding and improve the binding properties is required. This review gives a summary of the development of covalent inhibitors targeting noncysteine from different aspects, including target identification, structure–activity relationships, drug discovery strategies, and binding properties, in the hope of providing a scientific reference for future covalent drug discovery as a means of expanding research in cancer therapy.
Light mixed‐supervised segmentation for 3D medical image data
Authors: Yang Hongxu , Tan Tao , Tegzes Pal , Dong Xiaomeng , Tamada Rajesh , Ferenczi Lehel , Avinash Gopal
Published: November 2023

Background

Accurate 3D semantic segmentation models are essential for many clinical applications. To train a model for 3D segmentation, voxel‐level annotation is necessary, which is expensive to obtain due to laborious work and privacy protection. To accurately annotate 3D medical data, such as MRI, a common practice is to annotate the volumetric data in a slice‐by‐slice contouring way along principal axes.

Purpose

In order to reduce the annotation effort in slices, weakly supervised learning with a bounding box (Bbox) was proposed to leverage the discriminating information via a tightness prior assumption. Nevertheless, this method requests accurate and tight Bboxes, which will significantly drop the performance when tightness is not held, that is when a relaxed Bbox is applied. Therefore, there is a need to train a stable model based on relaxed Bbox annotation.

Methods

This paper presents a mixed‐supervised training strategy to reduce the annotation effort for 3D segmentation tasks. In the proposed approach, a fully annotated contour is only required for a single slice of the volume. In contrast, the rest of the slices with targets are annotated with relaxed Bboxes. This mixed‐supervised method adopts fully supervised learning, relaxed Bbox prior, and contrastive learning during the training, which ensures the network exploits the discriminative information of the training volumes properly. The proposed method was evaluated on two public 3D medical imaging datasets (MRI prostate dataset and Vestibular Schwannoma [VS] dataset).

Results

The proposed method obtained a high segmentation Dice score of 85.3% on an MRI prostate dataset and 83.3% on a VS dataset with relaxed Bbox annotation, which are close to a fully supervised model. Moreover, with the same relaxed Bbox annotations, the proposed method outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art methods. More importantly, the model performance is stable when the accuracy of Bbox annotation varies.

Conclusions

The presented study proposes a method based on a mixed‐supervised learning method in 3D medical imaging. The benefit will be stable segmentation of the target in 3D images with low accurate annotation requirement, which leads to easier model training on large‐scale datasets.
Stability of unsaturated soil slope considering stratigraphic uncertainty and rotated anisotropy of soil properties
Authors: Cao Wei , Zhou Annan , Shen Shui‐Long
Published: November 2023

The stratigraphic uncertainty and rotated anisotropy of soil properties exist widely in nature. Recent studies have shown that the slope stability was significantly influenced by these two uncertainties. However, there is no proper method for simulating these two uncertainties at the same time, and the influence of the two uncertainties has not been considered in previous unsaturated soil slope stability analysis. This paper aims to propose a coupled method for characterizing the stratigraphic uncertainty and rotated anisotropy of soil properties, and investigate the unsaturated soil slope stability considering the two uncertainties. Through a slope case, the proposed method for characterizing the two uncertainties is examined. The effect of rotational angle on the slope stability and groundwater table is studied. In addition, four different uncertainty considerations are chosen to compare their influence on the slope stability and groundwater table. The results show that the proposed method can well characterize the two uncertainties at the same time. The rotational anisotropy of soil properties has a substantial impact on the slope stability and groundwater table. The rotational angles corresponding to the maximum and minimum reliability index of slope depend on the uncertainty considerations in the slope stability analysis. The slope reliability index only considering stratigraphic uncertainty is the highest, and the slope reliability index considering stratigraphic uncertainty and rotated anisotropy of soil properties is the lowest.
Improving the mechanical properties and curing characteristics of styrene‐butadiene rubber/butadiene rubber composites by incorporating silicon carbide
Authors: Zabihi Amirreza , Fasihi Mohammad , Rasouli Sajad , Wati Sharudin Rahida
Published: November 2023

Thermal conductive filler, silicon carbide (SiC), has been investigated for its effects on the mechanical properties, microstructural properties, physical properties, and kinetic characteristics of styrene‐butadiene‐rubber/butadiene rubber (SBR/BR). SBR/BR‐SiC's tensile strength, strain at break, and toughness were improved by 5 phr SiC content within the composite. Specifically, there was a 44% increase in tensile strength, a 51% increase in strain at break, and impressive 113% increase in toughness. Additionally, there was a notable reduction of approximately ~15% in the compression set. The calculated crosslink density using the Flory–Rehner equation proved that the SiC filler increased the covalent bonds between the polymer chains during the curing reaction. The rheometry results showed a reduction in the scorch and optimum curing times by ~10% via the incorporation of SiC. The addition of 5 phr SiC decreased the curing duration time by 47%. The scanning electron microscopy images taken from the samples at different magnifications showed that the particle agglomeration after SiC = 5 phr was the main factor in reducing the SiC performance in the composite.

Highlights

Tensile properties of SBR/BR were improved with high thermal conductive SiC.

SiC accelerated the rate of vulcanization reaction of SBR/BR.

The crosslink density was maximized with the addition of SiC to the compound.

Better heat transfer by SiC led to a reduction in the energy consumption of curing.

Thermal diffusivity was raised with the addition of SiC to the compound.
Phonon Blockade in A Squeezed Cavity Optomechanical System
Authors: Xie Hong , He Le‐Wei , Shang Xiao , Lin Xiu‐Min
Published: November 2023

Phonon blockade is study in a squeezed cavity optomechanical system, where the cavity mode is squeezed by a parametric driving field. The squeezed cavity mode can parametrically couple to the mechanical mode with an exponentially enhanced coupling strength, which allows one to obtain strong mechanical nonlinearity. By exploring the mechanical nonlinearity, the study researches on phonon blockade by analyzing the statistical properties of phonons, and finds that phonon blockade can be implemented with currently available optomechanical technologies. It is also shown that the phonon blockade can be detected by the measurement of correlation function of the squeezed cavity mode. The results suggest that the squeezed cavity optomechanical system could be a attractive platform for applications in the single‐phonon quantum technologies.
A comparative view of the level of agricultural sustainability – The case of European Union member states
Authors: Nowak Anna , Różańska‐Boczula Monika
Published: November 2023

The paper aims to fill the research gap in monitoring agriculture's sustainable development in the European Union (EU) member states. The assessment used a synthetic index based on indicators related to three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. The surveys have a high practical value. Not only did they reveal differences between member states regarding agricultural sustainability, but they also captured the areas of utmost attention to particular countries. The countries were classified into four groups based on the synthetic measure. Member states with the highest level of sustainability in the agricultural sector were Austria, Estonia, Belgium and Czechia. Study outcomes also made it possible to identify the indicators with the strongest impact on the four groups of countries. These included the area under organic farming, ammonia emission, pesticide sales, and labour productivity. Due to the differentiation of agriculture in the EU, the member states largely need to undertake measures towards sustainable development in this sector.
In Situ Single Particle Reconstruction Reveals 3D Evolution of PtNi Nanocatalysts During Heating
Authors: Wang Yi‐Chi , Slater Thomas J. A. , Leteba Gerard M. , Lang Candace I. , Wang Zhong Lin , Haigh Sarah J.
Published: November 2023

Tailoring nanoparticles’ composition and morphology is of particular interest for improving their performance for catalysis. A challenge of this approach is that the nanoparticles’ optimized initial structure often changes during use. Visualizing the three dimensional (3D) structural transformation in situ is therefore critical, but often prohibitively difficult experimentally. Although electron tomography provides opportunities for 3D imaging, restrictions in the tilt range of in situ holders together with electron dose considerations limit the possibilities for in situ electron tomography studies. Here, an in situ 3D imaging methodology is presented using single particle reconstruction (SPR) that allows 3D reconstruction of nanoparticles with controlled electron dose and without tilting the microscope stage. This in situ SPR methodology is employed to investigate the restructuring and elemental redistribution within a population of PtNi nanoparticles at elevated temperatures. The atomic structure of PtNi is further examined and a heat‐induced transition is found from a disordered to an ordered phase. Changes in structure and elemental distribution are linked to a loss of catalytic activity in the oxygen reduction reaction. The in situ SPR methodology employed here can be extended to a wide range of in situ studies employing not only heating, but gaseous, aqueous, or electrochemical environments to reveal in‐operando nanoparticle evolution in 3D.
Circular string in a black p-brane leading to chaos
Authors: Dutta Pinaki , Panigrahi Kamal L. , Singh Balbeer
Published: November 2023

Abstract

We consider a pulsating string near a non-extremal black p-brane (p=5 and p=6) and investigate the chaos in the corresponding string dynamics by examining the Fast Lyapunov indicator(FLI) and Poincare section. In our system, the energy and the charge play the role of control parameters. For generic values of these parameters, the numerical results show that the dynamics primarily fall into three modes: capture, escape to infinity, and quasiperiodic depending on the initial location (near to or far away from the black brane horizon) of the string. Finally, probing for different values of the winding number (n) the dynamics turns out to be sensitive to n. In particular, we observe the point particle (n = 0) scenario to be integrable whereas at higher n the dynamics seems to be chaotic.
Diffusion-weighted imaging for determining response to neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Bilreiro Carlos , Andrade Luísa , Marques Rui Mateus , Matos Celso
Published: November 2023

Objectives

To determine the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for predicting response to neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) in pancreatic cancer.

Materials and methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies evaluating the performance of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) to assess response to NAT. Data extracted included ADC pre- and post-NAT, for predicting response as defined by imaging, histopathology, or clinical reference standards. ADC values were compared with standardized mean differences. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Studies (QUADAS-2).

Results

Of 337 studies, 7 were included in the analysis (161 patients). ADC values reported for the pre- and post-NAT assessments overlapped between responders and non-responders. One study reported inability of ADC increase after NAT for distinguishing responders and non-responders. A correlation with histopathological response was reported for pre- and post-NAT ADC in 4 studies. DWI’s diagnostic performance was reported to be high in three studies, with a 91.6–100% sensitivity and 62.5–94.7% specificity. Finally, heterogeneity and high risk of bias were identified across studies, affecting the domains of patient selection, index test, reference standard, and flow and timing.

Conclusion

DWI might be useful for determining response to NAT in pancreatic cancer. However, there are still too few studies on this matter, which are also heterogeneous and at high risk for bias. Further studies with standardized procedures for data acquisition and accurate reference standards are needed.

Clinical relevance statement

Diffusion-weighted MRI might be useful for assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer. However, further studies with robust data are needed to provide specific recommendations for clinical practice.

Key Points

•The role of DWI with ADC measurements for assessing response to neoadjuvant therapy in pancreatic cancer is still unclear.

•Pre- and post-neoadjuvant therapy ADC values overlap between responders and non-responders.

•DWI has a reported high diagnostic performance for determining response when using histopathological or clinical reference standards; however, studies are still few and at high risk for bias.
Assessment of the ileoanal pouch for the colorectal surgeon
Authors: Celentano Valerio , Manzo Carlo Alberto
Published: November 2023

Introduction

Many pouch complications following ileoanal pouch surgery have an inflammatory or mechanical nature, and specialist colorectal surgeons are required to assess the anatomy of the ileoanal pouch in multiple settings. In this study, we report our stepwise clinical and endoscopic assessment of the patient with an ileoanal pouch.

Methods

The most common configuration of the ileoanal pouch is a J-pouch, and the stapled anastomosis is more frequently performed than a handsewn post-mucosectomy. A structured clinical and endoscopic assessment of the ileoanal pouch must provide information on 7 critical areas: anus and perineum, rectal cuff, pouch anal anastomosis, pouch body, blind end of the pouch, pouch inlet and pre-pouch ileum.

Results

We have developed a structured pro forma for step-wise assessment of the ileoanal pouch, according to 7 essential areas to be evaluated, biopsied and reported. The structured assessment of the ileoanal pouch in 102 patients allowed reporting of abnormal findings in 63 (61.7%). Strictures were diagnosed in 27 patients (26.4%), 3 pouch inlet strictures, 21 pouch anal anastomosis strictures, and 3 pre-pouch ileum strictures. Chronic, recurrent pouchitis was diagnosed in 9 patients, whilst 1 patient had Crohn’s disease of the pouch.

Conclusions

Detailed clinical history, assessment of symptoms and multidisciplinary input are all essential for the care of patients with an ileoanal pouch. We present a comprehensive reporting pro forma for initial clinical assessment of the patient with an ileoanal pouch, with the aim to guide further investigations and inform multidisciplinary decision-making.
Technical outcomes of robotic-assisted surgery versus laparoscopic surgery for rectal tumors: a single-center safety and feasibility study
Authors: Tajima Jesse Y. , Yokoi Ryoma , Kiyama Shigeru , Takahashi Takao , Hayashi Hirokata , Higashi Toshiya , Fukada Masahiro , Asai Ryuichi , Sato Yuta , Yasufuku Itaru , Tanaka Yoshihiro , Okumura Naoki , Murase Katsutoshi , Ishihara Takuma , Matsuhashi Nobuhisa
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Robot-assisted surgery has a multi-joint function, which improves manipulation of the deep pelvic region and contributes significantly to perioperative safety. However, the superiority of robot-assisted surgery to laparoscopic surgery remains controversial. This study compared the short-term outcomes of laparoscopic and robot-assisted surgery for rectal tumors.

Methods

This single-center, retrospective study included 273 patients with rectal tumors who underwent surgery with anastomosis between 2017 and 2021. In total, 169 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery (Lap group), and 104 underwent robot-assisted surgery (Robot group). Postoperative complications were compared via propensity score matching based on inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW).

Results

The postoperative complication rates based on the Clavien–Dindo classification (Lap vs. Robot group) were as follows: grade ≥ II, 29.0% vs. 19.2%; grade ≥ III, 10.7% vs. 5.8%; anastomotic leakage (AL), 6.5% vs. 4.8%; and urinary dysfunction (UD), 12.1% vs. 3.8%. After adjusting for the IPTW method, although AL rates did not differ significantly between groups, postoperative complications of both grade ≥ II (odds ratio [OR] 0.66, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50–0.87, p < 0.01) and grade ≥ III (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16–0.53, p < 0.01) were significantly less frequent in the Robot group than in the Lap group. Furthermore, urinary dysfunction also tended to be less frequent in the Robot group than in the Lap group (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.38–1.00; p = 0.05).

Conclusion

Robot-assisted surgery for rectal tumors provides better short-term outcomes than laparoscopic surgery, supporting its use as a safer approach.
Influence of antiresorptive/antiangiogenic therapy on changes in periodontal and oral tissue structures: a histomorphometrical analysis in rats
Authors: Ramanauskaite Ausra , Mangold Katharina , Padhye Ninad , Obreja Karina , Borschert Fanya , Dahmer Iulia , Schwarz Frank
Published: November 2023

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of various antiresorptive and antiangiogenic medications on morphological changes in periodontal and oral tissue structures.

Materials and methods

Fifty-five Wistar rats randomly received dual application (i.e., at baseline and after 12-weeks) one of the following medications: (1) amino-bisphosphonate [zoledronate (Zo)], (2) RANKL inhibitor [denosumab (De)], (3) antiangiogenic [bevacizumab (Be)], (4) Zo + Be, (5) De + Be or (6) no medication [Control (Co)]. Periodontal and oral tissue biopsies were obtained at 17 (n = 21 animals, Phase 1, (De = 3, De + Be = 3, Zo = 5, Be = 3, Zo + Be = 2, Co = 5) and 29 (n = 34 animals, (De = 8, De + Be = 6, Zo = 2, Be = 7, Zo + Be = 4, Co = 7, Phase 2) weeks after the second drug application. The following outcomes were histomorphometrically assessed: periodontal space width in the coronal (PLS-C, mm) and apical sections (PLS- A), number of empty alveolar bone lacunae in the coronal, apical sections and at the apex at respective tooth sites (EL – C, EL- A, EL- Ap), mucosal thickness at edentulous alveolar ridge areas (MT, mm), and, when present, associated areas of inflammatory cell infiltrates (ICI, mm2).

Results

Comparable mean PLS-C, PLS-A, ET-A, ET-C, ET-Ap, and MT values were observed in all experimental groups after Phases 1 and 2. The presence of ICI was identified in 3 animals in the Co group (Phase 1: 1, Phase 2: 2), and 17 animals in the test groups (Phase 1: 4; Phase 2: 14). The estimated ICI surface area was significantly higher in the Zo + Be group, followed by the Zo and Be groups compared to that measured in the Co group. The time (i.e., Phases 1 and 2) was not found to be a predictor for the extent of the ICI area. In all groups, the EL-C, EL-A, and EL-Ap values were significantly higher after Phase 2 compared to those assessed after Phase 1. The MT values were significantly reduced in all groups after Phase 2 compared to those measured after Phase 1.

Conclusions

The present evaluation was not able to find any morphological effects of different antiresorptive and antiangiogenic medications on periodontal and oral tissue structures. The presence of inflammatory cell infiltrates was more frequently observed in the animals administered with antiresorptive and antiangiogenic medications as well as combinations thereof.

Clinical relevance

Administration of antiresorptive and antiangiogenic medications may be capable of inducing inflammatory reactions in periodontal tissues.
Rapid detection of cefiderocol susceptibility/resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii
Authors: Raro Otávio Hallal Ferreira , Bouvier Maxime , Kerbol Auriane , Decousser Jean-Winoc , Poirel Laurent , Nordmann Patrice
Published: November 2023

Purpose

Due to its ability to disseminate worldwide and its multiple resistance trait, Acinetobacter baumannii is becoming a threat for public health worldwide. Cefiderocol (FDC) is a promising broad-spectrum cephalosporin recently approved for treating Gram-negative infection. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid test, namely the rapid FDC Acinetobacter baumannii NP test, for the detection of FDC susceptibility/resistance in A. baumannii since the current FDC susceptibility tests are rather time-consuming (at least 24 h).

Materials and methods

The rapid test is based on the reduction of resazurin to resorufin product by bacterial viable cells, thus detecting bacterial growth in the presence of FDC (38.4 mg/L). A color change from blue (resazurin) to violet or pink (resorufin) represents visual detection of bacterial growth. 95 randomly selected A. baumannii isolates were used to evaluate the performance of the rapid FDC Acinetobacter baumannii NP test.

Results

The test showed 95.5% (95% CI 78.2–99.2%) and 100.0% (95% CI 95.0–100.0%) of sensitivity and specificity, respectively. All the results were obtained within 4 h30–4 h45 incubation time at 35 °C ± 2 °C, saving virtually one day when compared with currently-used antimicrobial susceptibility tests. The test showed only a single very major error, an isolate with a MIC of 8 mg/L.

Conclusions

The rapid FDC Acinetobacter baumannii NP test can be a valuable method which is easier and faster to interpret when compared with the gold standard broth microdilution method. The test showed remarkable performances; hence, it may be suitable for implementation in clinical microbiology routine laboratories.
Heat Transfer Analysis of Full-Scale Safe Rooms Exposed to Bushfire Conditions
Authors: Hendawitharana Sahani , Ariyanayagam Anthony , Mahendran Mahen
Published: November 2023

Sheltering in place is identified as an accepted behaviour during disasters while safe rooms are purpose-built buildings used for sheltering or storage of valuables under these circumstances. However, ensuring the integrity of safe rooms in bushfires is complex and challenging due to many factors. This study aims to advance the understanding of the bushfire fire heat transfer in steel framed bushfire safe rooms using a numerical modelling approach. Both small-scale models of individual external walls and full-scale models of safe rooms were developed and validated using the results of an experimental study of a full-scale safe room. Then the study was extended to address the identified challenges in the design of safe rooms influenced by the factors such as, the fire exposed area, internal compartment arrangement, location of the safe room in the bushfire-prone areas, and the external environmental temperatures during summer on the tenability requirements. The results of this study provide considerable details of the performance of above-ground bushfire safe rooms detached from the associated dwelling under realistic fire conditions. They showed that the integrity of the doors is very important and that having multiple internal compartments is favourable for the bushfire performance of safe rooms. This study shows that safe rooms can be constructed using available building materials to satisfy the bushfire heat transfer requirements and provides conditions for their usage. Furthermore, the modelling methods emphasise their applicability to evaluate safe rooms and modular buildings in bushfire and building fire related scenarios.
Competition on hold? How competing discourses shape academic organisations in times of crisis
Authors: Buschkamp Leonie , Seidenschnur Tim
Published: November 2023

This research deals with the question of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected discourses on competition in higher education organisations and how other discourses occurred and gained power. Additionally, it focusses on changes which take place in windows of opportunities that occur through discursive change in times of crisis. We show that discourses on competition have been highly influential in the field of academia. However, the pandemic rapidly introduced or empowered new or different discourses. These discourses either replaced existing discourses on competition, ascribed different meanings or redefined the frame under which a specific discourse is important. We merge our observations of such processes into the argument that the Covid-19 crisis has put competition discourses on hold during the first stage of the pandemic. At later stages, we show that competition discourses regained power. To make these contributions, we analyse interviews conducted at two universities at the organisational leadership level and in different departments in subjects such as social sciences, product design, music and engineering. We also examine official statements by the German rectors’ conference and further documents such as emails and press releases at two stages of the pandemic crisis. The first stage took place during the lockdowns in 2020 and gives us rich insights into the changes during the pandemic. The second stage took place in 2022 when organisations returned at least partly to their pre-pandemic routines allowing us to analyse changes over time.
The Role of Wearable Sensors in the Future Primary Healthcare – Preferences of the Adult Swiss Population: A Mixed Methods Approach
Authors: Matti Corinne , Essig Stefan , Föhn Zora , Balthasar Andreas
Published: November 2023

Wearable sensors have the potential to increase continuity of care and reduce healthcare expenditure. The user concerns and preferences regarding wearable sensors are the least addressed topic in related literature. Therefore, this study aimed first, to examine the preferences of the adult Swiss population regarding the use of wearable sensors in primary healthcare. Second, the study aimed to explain and learn more about these preferences and why such wearable sensors would or would not be used. An explanatory sequential design was used to reach the two aims. In the initial quantitative phase preferences of a nationwide survey were analyzed descriptively and a multivariable ordered logistic regression was used to identify key characteristics, that influence the preferences. In the second phase, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted. The cleaned study sample of the survey included 687 participants, 46% of whom gave a positive rating regarding the use of wearable sensors. In contrast, 44% gave a negative rating and 10% were neutral. The interviews showed that sensors should be small, not flashy and be compatible with everyday activities. Individuals without a current health risk or existing chronic disease showed lower preferences for using wearable sensors, particularly because they fear losing control over their own body. In contrast, individuals with increased risk or with an existing chronic disease were more likely to use wearable sensors as they can increase the personal safety and provide real-time health information to physicians. Therefore, an important deciding factor for and against the use of wearable sensors seems to be the perceived personal susceptibility for potential health problems.
Benchmark Glycan Profile of Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies Produced by Mammalian Cell Expression Systems
Authors: Luo Shen , Zhang Baolin
Published: November 2023

Purpose

This study aims to establish a benchmark glycan profile for commercial therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Methods

We conducted a rigorous comparison of glycosylation data from the regulatory submissions for FDA-approved therapeutic antibodies up to May 2023. This analysis includes over 150 mAbs produced by various mammalian cell expression systems.

Results

The study identified nine prevalent glycan epitopes across all FDA-approved monoclonal antibodies produced by different expression systems. These epitopes include terminal N-acetylglucosamine, core fucose, terminal galactose, high mannose, α-galactose, terminal α2,3-linked N-acetylneuraminic acid, terminal α2,6-linked N-glycolylneuraminic acid, triantennary structure, and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine, thus establishing a benchmark glycan profile.

Conclusions

The findings of this study have significant implications for therapeutic antibody development, quality control, and regulatory compliance. The benchmark glycan profile enables the assessment of glycosylation consistency and comparability across a diverse range of antibody products, ensuring improved product quality within the biopharmaceutical industry.
Product Market Cooperation, Foreign Direct Investment and Consumer Welfare
Authors: Mukherjee Arijit , Sinha Uday Bhanu
Published: November 2023

Cooperation among rival firms raises serious skepticism among economists, policymakers, and legal experts, since it generally hurts consumers. We show that this may not be the case in an open economy with strategic foreign direct investment (FDI). Under Cournot competition, increased cooperation among firms reduces the domestic welfare, but it may benefit the consumers by attracting FDI. Under Bertrand competition with differentiated goods, increased cooperation may increase consumer surplus, and it may increase or decrease the domestic welfare by attracting FDI.
Functional diffusion maps
Authors: Barroso M. , Alaíz C. M. , Torrecilla J. L. , Fernández A.
Published: November 2023

Nowadays many real-world datasets can be considered as functional, in the sense that the processes which generate them are continuous. A fundamental property of this type of data is that in theory they belong to an infinite-dimensional space. Although in practice we usually receive finite observations, they are still high-dimensional and hence dimensionality reduction methods are crucial. In this vein, the main state-of-the-art method for functional data analysis is Functional PCA. Nevertheless, this classic technique assumes that the data lie in a linear manifold, and hence it could have problems when this hypothesis is not fulfilled. In this research, attention has been placed on a non-linear manifold learning method: Diffusion Maps. The article explains how to extend this multivariate method to functional data and compares its behavior against Functional PCA over different simulated and real examples.
Dimension-independent spectral gap of polar slice sampling
Authors: Rudolf Daniel , Schär Philip
Published: November 2023

Polar slice sampling, a Markov chain construction for approximate sampling, performs, under suitable assumptions on the target and initial distribution, provably independent of the state space dimension. We extend the aforementioned result of Roberts and Rosenthal (Stoch Model 18(2):257–280, 2002) by developing a theory which identifies conditions, in terms of a generalized level set function, that imply an explicit lower bound on the spectral gap even in a general slice sampling context. Verifying the identified conditions for polar slice sampling yields a lower bound of 1/2 on the spectral gap for arbitrary dimension if the target density is rotationally invariant, log-concave along rays emanating from the origin and sufficiently smooth. The general theoretical result is potentially applicable beyond the polar slice sampling framework.
Efficient probabilistic reconciliation of forecasts for real-valued and count time series
Authors: Zambon Lorenzo , Azzimonti Dario , Corani Giorgio
Published: November 2023

Hierarchical time series are common in several applied fields. The forecasts for these time series are required to be coherent, that is, to satisfy the constraints given by the hierarchy. The most popular technique to enforce coherence is called reconciliation, which adjusts the base forecasts computed for each time series. However, recent works on probabilistic reconciliation present several limitations. In this paper, we propose a new approach based on conditioning to reconcile any type of forecast distribution. We then introduce a new algorithm, called Bottom-Up Importance Sampling, to efficiently sample from the reconciled distribution. It can be used for any base forecast distribution: discrete, continuous, or in the form of samples, providing a major speedup compared to the current methods. Experiments on several temporal hierarchies show a significant improvement over base probabilistic forecasts.
Phytotoxic impact of bifunctionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-Cit-L-Cys) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) on chronically exposed callus cultures of Populus nigra L.
Authors: Iori Valentina , Muzzini Valerio Giorgio , Venditti Iole , Casentini Barbara , Iannelli Maria Adelaide
Published: November 2023

Owing to the unique physicochemical properties and the low manufacturing costs, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have gained growing interest and their application has expanded considerably in industrial and agricultural sectors. The large-scale production of these nanoparticles inevitably entails their direct or indirect release into the environment, raising some concerns about their hazardous aspects. Callus culture represents an important tool in toxicological studies to evaluate the impact of nanomaterials on plants and their potential environmental risk. In this study, we investigated the chronic phytotoxic effects of different concentrations of novel bifunctionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-Cit-L-Cys) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) on callus culture of Populus nigra L., a pioneer tree species in the riparian ecosystem. Our results showed that AgNPs-Cit-L-Cys were more toxic on poplar calli compared to AgNO3, especially at low concentration (2.5 mg/L), leading to a significant reduction in biomass production, accompanied by a decrease in protein content, a significant increase in both lipid peroxidation level, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and catalase (CAT) enzymatic activities. In addition, these findings suggested that the harmful activity of AgNPs-Cit-L-Cys might be correlated with their physicochemical properties and not solely attributed to the released Ag+ ions and confirmed that AgNPs-Cit-L-Cys phytoxicity is associated to oxidative stress.
Overcoming Obstacles: Barriers to Virtual Care Use Among Video-Enabled Tablet Recipients in the Veterans Health Administration
Authors: Wray Charlie M. , Ferguson Jacqueline M. , Greene Liberty , Griffin Ashley , Van Campen James , O’Shea Amy MJ , Slightam Cindie , Zulman Donna M.
Published: November 2023

Introduction

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) distributes video-enabled tablets to individuals with barriers to accessing care. Data suggests that many tablets are under-used. We surveyed Veterans who received a tablet to identify barriers that are associated with lower use, and evaluated the impact of a telephone-based orientation call on reported barriers and future video use.

Methods

We used a national survey to assess for the presence of 13 barriers to accessing video-based care, and then calculated the prevalence of the barriers stratified by video care utilization in the 6 months after survey administration. We used multivariable modeling to examine the association between each barrier and video-based care use and evaluated whether a telephone-based orientation modified this association.

Results

The most prevalent patient-reported barriers to video-based care were not knowing how to schedule a visit, prior video care being rescheduled/canceled, and past problems using video care. Following adjustment, individuals who reported vision or hearing difficulties and those who reported that video care does not provide high-quality care had a 19% and 12% lower probability of future video care use, respectively. Individuals who reported no interest in video care, or did not know how to schedule a video care visit, had an 11% and 10% lower probability of being a video care user, respectively. A telephone-based orientation following device receipt did not improve the probability of being a video care user.

Discussion

Barriers to engaging in virtual care persist despite access to video-enabled devices. Targeted interventions beyond telephone-based orientation are needed to facilitate adoption and engagement in video visits.
Forschungsethische Praxis in der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft – ein Einblick in die Sicht der Forschenden
Authors: Roehse Eva-Maria , Möhring Wiebke , Zillich Arne Freya , Schlütz Daniela , Link Elena
Published: November 2023

In der (fach-)öffentlichen Debatte der quantitativ forschenden deutschen Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft spielten forschungsethische Fragen bisher eine eher untergeordnete Rolle. Im Kontext von fachinternen Methodenentwicklungen und gesellschaftlichen Diskursen über gute wissenschaftliche Praxis rücken derzeit jedoch auch forschungsethische Fragen in den Blick des Fachs. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden Ergebnisse einer Online-Befragung von empirisch forschenden Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaftler*innen (N = 186) vorgestellt. Sie entstanden im Rahmen des vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung geförderten Verbundprojekts „Forschungsethik in der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft“. Die Ergebnisse ermöglichen Einsicht in den Stellenwert und den Umgang mit forschungsethischen Fragen im Kontext eigener Forschung, Lehre und Betreuung. Auch mögliche Einflussfaktoren werden untersucht. Insgesamt zeigte sich, dass die Befragten der Forschungsethik einen gewissen Stellenwert beimessen und weitgehend Konsens darüber besteht, dass ihre Relevanz in Zukunft noch zunehmen wird. Dennoch wird das Thema auch kontrovers gesehen.
Karriereaspirationen und Kompetenzniveaus im pädagogischen Wissen: Zum Zusammenhang zwischen motivationalen Merkmalen und Erwerb professionellen Wissens von (angehenden) Lehrkräften
Authors: Klemenz Stefan , König Johannes
Published: November 2023

Während die einzelnen Komponenten professioneller Kompetenz von Lehrer*innen – affektiv-motivationale Merkmale und professionelles Wissen – bereits Gegenstand mehrerer Forschungsarbeiten waren, wurde das Verhältnis zwischen ihnen bislang noch nicht intensiv untersucht. Im Anschluss daran werden in dem Beitrag Zusammenhänge zwischen Karriereaspirationen als Teil beruflicher Motivation von (angehenden) Lehrer*innen und dem Erwerb pädagogischen Wissens in den Fokus gerückt. Verwendet wird eine Stichprobe von 321 angehenden sowie bereits berufstätigen Lehrkräften aus Deutschland und Österreich, deren pädagogisches Wissen über drei Messzeitpunkte im Turnus von zwei Jahren mit dem TEDS‑M Testinstrument erfasst wurde. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Karriereaspirationen mit Bezug zu professioneller Entwicklung und Weiterbildung einen positiven Zusammenhang zum Wissensaufbau aufweisen. Dies trifft auf Führungsaspirationen und den anvisierten Verbleib im Lehrer*innenberuf nicht zu. Ferner verdeutlichen Analysen auf Basis eines Kompetenzniveaumodells, dass Karriereaspirationen besonders stark in Zusammenhang mit der Erreichung des höchsten Kompetenzniveaus, das als wichtige Grundlage für die professionelle Entwicklung von Lehrer*innen angesehen werden kann, stehen.
Molecular pathogenesis, mechanism and therapy of Cav1 in prostate cancer
Authors: Bian Qiang , Li Bei , Zhang Luting , Sun Yinuo , Zhao Zhankui , Ding Yi , Yu Honglian
Published: November 2023

Prostate cancer is the second incidence of malignant tumors in men worldwide. Its incidence and mortality are increasing year by year. Enhanced expression of Cav1 in prostate cancer has been linked to both proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells, influencing disease progression. Dysregulation of the Cav1 gene shows a notable association with prostate cancer. Nevertheless, there is no systematic review to report about molecular signal mechanism of Cav1 and drug treatment in prostate cancer. This article reviews the structure, physiological and pathological functions of Cav1, the pathogenic signaling pathways involved in prostate cancer, and the current drug treatment of prostate cancer. Cav1 mainly affects the occurrence of prostate cancer through AKT/mTOR, H-RAS/PLCε, CD147/MMPs and other pathways, as well as substance metabolism including lipid metabolism and aerobic glycolysis. Baicalein, simvastatin, triptolide and other drugs can effectively inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. As a biomarker of prostate cancer, Cav1 may provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of prostate cancer.
The Arctic Rivers Project: Using an Equitable Co‐Production Framework for Integrating Meaningful Community Engagement and Science to Understand Climate Impacts
Authors: Herman‐Mercer Nicole , Andre Alestine , Buschman Victoria , Blaskey Dylan , Brooks Cassandra , Cheng Yifan , Combs Evelynn , Cozzetto Karen , Fitka Serena , Koch Joshua , Lawlor Aine , Moses Elizabeth , Murray Emily , Mutter Edda , Newman Andrew J. , Prince Charles , Salmon Patricia , Tlen Jenessa , Toohey Ryan , Williams Michael , Musselman Keith N.
Published: November 2023

As the Arctic and its rivers continue to warm, a better understanding of the possible future impacts on people would benefit from close partnership with Indigenous communities and scientists from diverse fields of study. We present efforts by the Arctic Rivers Project to conduct community‐engaged research to increase collective understanding of the historical and potential future impacts of climate change on rivers, fish, and Indigenous communities. Working in central to northern Alaska and the Yukon Territory in Canada, the project seeks to engage with Indigenous communities in ethical and equitable ways to produces science that is useful, useable, and used that may serve as an example for future research efforts. Toward this goal, we formed an Indigenous Advisory Council and together developed project‐specific knowledge co‐production protocols. This paper provides a novel model of design and implementation to co‐produce knowledge with communities across a large study domain.
Methane Source Attribution in the UK Using Multi‐Year Records of CH4 and δ13C
Authors: Woolley Maisch Ceres A. , Fisher Rebecca E. , France James L. , Lowry David , Lanoisellé Mathias , Bell Thomas G. , Forster Grant , Manning Alistair J. , Michel Sylvia E. , Ramsden Alice E. , Yang Mingxi , Nisbet Euan G.
Published: November 2023

Isotopic measurements of atmospheric methane are valuable for the verification of bottom‐up atmospheric emissions inventories. The balance of sources in emissions inventories must be consistent with the δ13C‐CH4 isotopic record in the air. Long‐term records of both methane mole fraction and δ13C from five sites across the UK are presented, showing post‐2007 growth in CH4 and negative trend in δ13C, consistent with global background sites. Miller‐Tans analyses of atmospheric measurements identified that the δ13C signature of the methane source mix varied between −50.1 and −56.1‰, with less depleted δ13C signatures at sites receiving air from urban areas, consistent with an increased proportion of thermogenic sources. Isotopic signatures calculated for all sites are more enriched than those expected from the bottom‐up emissions inventory, suggesting that inventories for the UK either underestimate contributions of thermogenic/pyrogenic emissions or overestimate biogenic sources.
Bulk CsPbClxBr3-x (1 ≤ x ≤ 3) perovskite nanocrystals/polystyrene nanocomposites with controlled Rayleigh scattering for light guide plate
Authors: Liu Chongming , Zhu Zhicheng , Pan Kaibo , Fu Yuan , Zhang Kai , Yang Bai
Published: November 2023

Perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs)/polymer nanocomposites can combine the advantages of each other, but extremely few works can achieve the fabrication of PNCs/polymer nanocomposites by bulk polymerization. We originally adopt a two-type ligand strategy to fabricate bulk PNCs/polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites, including a new type of synthetic polymerizable ligand. The CsPbCl3 PNCs/PS nanocomposites show extremely high transparency even the doping content up to 5 wt%. The high transparency can be ascribed to the Rayleigh scattering as the PNCs distribute uniformly without obvious aggregation. Based on this behavior, we first exploit the potential of PNCs to serve as scatters inside light guided plate (LGP), whose surface illuminance and uniformity can be improved, and this new kind of LGP is compatible with the advanced liquid crystal display technology. Thanks to the facile composition adjustment of CsPbClxBr3-x (1 ≤ x ≤ 3) PNCs, the Rayleigh scattering behavior can also be adjusted so as to the performance of LGP. The best-performing 5.0-inch LGP based on CsPbCl2.5Br0.5 PNCs/PS nanocomposites shows 20.5 times higher illuminance and 1.8 times higher uniformity in display than the control. The LGP based on PNCs/PS nanocomposite exhibits an enormous potential in commercialization no matter based on itself or combined with the LGP-related technology.