bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Intraperitoneal BromAc® Does Not Interfere with the Healing of Colon Anastomosis
Authors: Mekkawy Ahmed H. , Breakeit Mohammad , Pillai Krishna , Badar Samina , Akhter Javed , Valle Sarah J. , Morris David L.
Published: June 2023

A combination of bromelain and acetylcysteine, BromAc®, is an efficient intraperitoneal mucolytic for thick mucus secreted in pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). Patients with PMP quite often undergo colon anastomosis. Hence, we investigated the effect of the intraperitoneal delivery of BromAc® on colon-anastomosis healing in a rat model. Sixteen Wistar rats were divided into two groups (N = 8). The controls received intraperitoneal saline after anastomosis, whilst the other group received BromAc®. They were monitored for body-weight and general health parameters. Half the rats in each group (N = 4) were culled at 4 or 13 days post-surgery for assessment. The healing process of the tissues was assessed by burst pressure and collagen density with histology to assess the integrity of the internal organs. The results indicated that there was a similar pattern of weight fluctuation during the experiment, although the rats treated with the BromAc® showed slightly greater weight loss during the first 4 days. Although the burst pressure was similar in both groups, the BromAc® group at day 13 showed a slightly higher burst pressure, which was complemented by a higher collagen density (albeit not statistically significant). The histology of the internal organs was comparable to those of the controls. This study indicates that the intraperitoneal delivery of BromAc® in a rat model does not interfere with the healing process of colonic anastomosis.
Omitting Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy after Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy for Clinically Node Negative HER2 Positive and Triple Negative Breast Cancer: A Pooled Analysis
Authors: Alamoodi Munaser , Wazir Umar , Mokbel Kinan , Patani Neill , Varghese Jajini , Mokbel Kefah
Published: June 2023

Recent advances in systemic treatment for breast cancer have been underpinned by recognising and exploiting subtype-specific vulnerabilities to achieve higher rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) after neo-adjuvant systemic therapy (NAST). This down-staging of disease has permitted safe surgical de-escalation in patients who respond well. Triple-negative (TNBC) or HER2-positive breast cancer is most likely to achieve complete radiological response (rCR) and pCR after NAST. Hence, for selected patients, particularly those who are clinically node-negative (cN0) at diagnosis, the probability of disease in the sentinel node after NAST could be low enough to justify omitting axillary surgery. The aim of this pooled analysis was to determine the rate of sentinel node positivity (ypN+) in patients with TNBC or HER2-positive breast cancer who were initially cN0, achieving rCR and/or pCR in the breast after NAST. MedLine was searched using appropriate search terms. Five studies (N = 3834) were included in the pooled analysis, yielding a pooled ypN+ rate of 2.16% (95% CI: 1.70–2.63). This is significantly lower than the acceptable false negative rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and supports consideration of omission of SLNB in this subset of patients.
A Systematic Review of the Current Status of Magnetic Resonance–Ultrasound Images Fusion Software Platforms for Transperineal Prostate Biopsies
Authors: Paesano Nahuel , Catalá Violeta , Tcholakian Larisa , Trilla Enric , Morote Juan
Published: June 2023

Given this new context, our objective is to recognize the suitability of the currently available software for image fusion and the reported series using the transperineal route, as well as to generate new evidence on the complementarity of the directed and systematic biopsies, which has been established through the transrectal approach. Evidence acquisition: This systematic review, registered in Prospero (CRD42022375619), began with a bibliographic search that was carried out in PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) criteria and the studied eligibility based on the Participants, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcomes (PICO) strategy were followed. Warp analysis of selected studies was performed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. In addition, a Google search of all currently available fusion platforms was performed. Our Google search found 11 different commercially available robots to perform transperineal image fusion biopsies, of which 10 devices have published articles supporting their diagnostic effectiveness in transperineal prostate biopsies. Results: A total of 30 articles were selected and the characteristics and results of the biopsies of 11,313 patients were analyzed. The pooled mean age was 66.5 years (63–69). The mean pooled PSA level was 7.8 ng/mL (5.7–10.8). The mean pooled prostate volume was 45.4 cc. (34–56). The mean pooled PSA density was 0.17 (0.12–0.27). The overall cancer detection rate for all prostate cancers was 61.4%, while for csPCa it was 47.8%. PCa detection rate was more effective than that demonstrated in the systematic transrectal biopsy. However, the detection of csPCa in the systematic biopsy was only 9.5% in the reported series. To standardize our review, we grouped prostate cancer screening results according to the population studied and the software used. When the same populations were compared between elastic and rigid software, we found that rigid biopsies had a higher csPCa detection rate than biopsies with elastic fusion systems. Conclusion: Platforms performing prostate biopsy using transperineal image fusion have better detection rates of csPCa than systematic transrectal biopsies. Rigid fusion systems have a better csPCa detection rate than elastic ones. We found no diagnostic differences between the different types of robotic systems currently available. The complementarity of systematic biopsy has also been demonstrated in transperineal imaging fusion biopsies.
HER-2-Positive Tumors: A Continuously Evolving Field in Cancer Research
Authors: Hofheinz Ralf , Lorenzen Sylvie , Bohlmann Michael K.
Published: June 2023

Almost 25 years ago, trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), was licensed for the treatment of patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer in the United States of America (USA) [...]
Prognostic Values of Systemic Inflammatory Immunological Markers in Glioblastoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Jarmuzek Pawel , Kozlowska Klaudia , Defort Piotr , Kot Marcin , Zembron-Lacny Agnieszka
Published: June 2023

Background. Neutrophils are an important part of the tumor microenvironment, which stimulates inflammatory processes through phagocytosis, degranulation, release of small DNA fragments (cell-free DNA), and presentation of antigens. Since neutrophils accumulate in peripheral blood in patients with advanced-stage cancer, a high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio can be a biomarker of a poor prognosis in patients with glioblastoma. The present study aimed to explore the prognostic value of the preoperative levels of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), systemic immune inflammation index (SII), systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to better predict prognostic implications in the survival rate of glioblastoma patients. Methods. The meta-analysis was carried out according to the recommendations and standards established by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Databases of PubMed, EBSCO, and Medline were systematically searched to select all the relevant studies published up to December 2022. Results. Poorer prognoses were recorded in patients with a high NLR or PLR when compared with the patients with a low NLR or PLR (HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.24–1.83, p < 0.0001 and HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.10–1.63, p < 0.01, respectively). Similarly, a worse prognosis was reported for patients with a higher cfDNA (HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.27–4.36, p < 0.01). The SII and SIRI values were not related to glioblastoma survival (p = 0.0533 and p = 0.482, respectively). Conclusions. Thus, NLR, PLR, and cfDNA, unlike SII and SIRI, appeared to be useful and convenient peripheral inflammatory markers to assess the prognosis in glioblastoma.
Radiation-Induced Cellular Senescence Reduces Susceptibility of Glioblastoma Cells to Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus
Authors: Storozynsky Quinn T. , Han Xuefei , Komant Shae , Agopsowicz Kate C. , Potts Kyle G. , Gamper Armin M. , Godbout Roseline , Evans David H. , Hitt Mary M.
Published: June 2023

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a malignant brain cancer refractory to the current standard of care, prompting an extensive search for novel strategies to improve outcomes. One approach under investigation is oncolytic virus (OV) therapy in combination with radiotherapy. In addition to the direct cytocidal effects of radiotherapy, radiation induces cellular senescence in GBM cells. Senescent cells cease proliferation but remain viable and are implicated in promoting tumor progression. The interaction of viruses with senescent cells is nuanced; some viruses exploit the senescent state to their benefit, while others are hampered, indicating senescence-associated antiviral activity. It is unknown how radiation-induced cellular senescence may impact the oncolytic properties of OVs based on the vaccinia virus (VACV) that are used in combination with radiotherapy. To better understand this, we induced cellular senescence by treating GBM cells with radiation, and then evaluated the growth kinetics, infectivity, and cytotoxicity of an oncolytic VACV, ∆F4LΔJ2R, as well as wild-type VACV in irradiated senescence-enriched and non-irradiated human GBM cell lines. Our results show that both viruses display attenuated oncolytic activities in irradiated senescence-enriched GBM cell populations compared to non-irradiated controls. These findings indicate that radiation-induced cellular senescence is associated with antiviral activity and highlight important considerations for the combination of VACV-based oncolytic therapies with senescence-inducing agents such as radiotherapy.
Effect of Explicit Water Molecules on the Electrochemical Hydrogenation of CO2 on Sn(112)
Authors: Wang Jia , Cui Chaonan , Zhu Xinli , Wang Hua , Ge Qingfeng
Published: June 2023

Water is typically treated as an implicit solvent in modeling electrochemical reactions in an aqueous environment. Such treatment may not be adequate, as a series of concerted or sequential proton-electron transfer steps that explicitly involve water molecules are likely to play important roles in a reaction, such as the electrochemical hydrogenation of CO2. Herein, we use the electrochemical hydrogenation of CO2 on the Sn(112) surface as a model, and employ the density functional theory (DFT) method to examine the effect of up to 12 explicit water molecules on the stability of the hydrogenation intermediates. Our results show that six water molecules are needed to account for the local interaction between an intermediate and the water solvent. Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding interaction between the explicit water molecules and intermediates causes a significant stabilization to the O-containing intermediates, such as the HCOO* and CHO* + OH* species. The inclusion of explicit water molecules also altered the prediction of the potential-limiting step from the formation of H* atoms without the explicit water molecules to the formation of H2COO* in the presence of water molecules and increased selectivity towards methane. This work provides useful insights into the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of CO2, emphasizing the importance of including explicit water molecules to account for the hydrogen bonding interaction between solvent water molecules and the reaction intermediates.
The Role of Aquaporins in Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Garcia Terese A. , Jonak Carrie R. , Binder Devin K.
Published: June 2023

Edema formation following traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) exacerbates secondary injury, and the severity of edema correlates with worse neurological outcome in human patients. To date, there are no effective treatments to directly resolve edema within the spinal cord. The aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel is found on plasma membranes of astrocytic endfeet in direct contact with blood vessels, the glia limitans in contact with the cerebrospinal fluid, and ependyma around the central canal. Local expression at these tissue–fluid interfaces allows AQP4 channels to play an important role in the bidirectional regulation of water homeostasis under normal conditions and following trauma. In this review, we consider the available evidence regarding the potential role of AQP4 in edema after SCI. Although more work remains to be carried out, the overall evidence indicates a critical role for AQP4 channels in edema formation and resolution following SCI and the therapeutic potential of AQP4 modulation in edema resolution and functional recovery. Further work to elucidate the expression and subcellular localization of AQP4 during specific phases after SCI will inform the therapeutic modulation of AQP4 for the optimization of histological and neurological outcomes.
Sex-Based Disparities in Leukocyte Migration and Activation in Response to Inhalation Lung Injury: Role of SDF-1/CXCR4 Signaling
Authors: Chatterjee Tanima , Lewis Terry L. , Arora Itika , Gryshyna Anastasiia E. , Underwood Lilly , Masjoan Juncos Juan Xavier , Aggarwal Saurabh
Published: June 2023

The aim of the study was to determine whether sex-related differences exist in immune response to inhalation lung injury. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to Cl2 gas (500 ppm for 15, 20, or 30 min). Results showed that male mice have higher rates of mortality and lung injury than females. The binding of the chemokine ligand C-X-C motif chemokine 12 (CXCL12), also called stromal-derived-factor-1 (SDF-1), to the C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) on lung cells promotes the migration of leukocytes from circulation to lungs. Therefore, the hypothesis was that elevated SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling mediates exaggerated immune response in males. Plasma, blood leukocytes, and lung cells were collected from mice post-Cl2 exposure. Plasma levels of SDF-1 and peripheral levels of CXCR4 in lung cells were higher in male vs. female mice post-Cl2 exposure. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and elastase activity was significantly increased in leukocytes of male mice exposed to Cl2. Lung cells were then ex vivo treated with SDF-1 (100 ng/mL) in the presence or absence of the CXCR4 inhibitor, AMD3100 (100 nM). SDF-1 significantly increased migration, MPO, and elastase activity in cells obtained from male vs. female mice post-Cl2 exposure. AMD3100 attenuated these effects, suggesting that differential SDF-1/CXCR4 signaling may be responsible for sex-based disparities in the immune response to inhalation lung injury.
A Novel-Structure LC Resonant Passive Wireless Sensor for NO2 Sensing
Authors: Liu Zhiyang , Shen Yanbai , Zhao Sikai , Bai Jinzhou , Ma Ruixue , Gao Shuling , Liu Wengang , Zhao Qiang
Published: June 2023

This work presents an LC resonant passive wireless gas sensor with a novel structure designed to mitigate the negative impact of substrate. The LC sensor antenna in the new structure, and the reader antenna, were designed and optimized utilizing HFSS software to improve the transfer efficiency. The superiority of the designed structure compared with general examples is highlighted and verified. The change in the substrate capacitance essentially makes no interference with the parameters of the LC sensor to be measured. The sensor for the new structure was prepared by combining etching and sputtering methods. The ZnO nanowires (NWs) were characterized to confirm their high purity and wurtzite crystal structure. The LC gas sensors demonstrated excellent wireless sensing performance, including a low detection limit of 0.5 ppm NO2, high response of 1.051 and outstanding stability at 180 °C. The newly developed sensor structure not only prevented interference from the substrate during gas sensing testing, but also expanded the choice of sensor substrates, playing a critical role in the development of sensors based on the LC resonance principle.
Aromatic Terpenes and Their Biosynthesis in Dendrobium, and Conjecture on the Botanical Perfumer Mechanism
Authors: Du Zhihui , Yang Xiyu , Zhou Shuting , Jin Yuxuan , Wang Weize , Xia Kuaifei , Chen Zhilin
Published: June 2023

This review presents a systematic analysis of the studies on volatiles in Dendrobium. Among the various components, aromatic terpenes are a crucial component in the development of the aromatic characteristics of Dendrobium and other plants. Recent advancements in detection and sequencing technology have resulted in a considerable rise in research on the biosynthetic processes of aromatic terpenes in Dendrobium and other flowering plants. Nevertheless, the inquiry into the precise means by which plants regulate the proportion of diverse aromatic terpenes in their floral scent, thereby preserving their olfactory traits, requires further investigation. A conjecture on the botanical perfumer mechanism, which condensed the findings of earlier studies, was put forward to address this area of interest. Specific transcription factors likely govern the coordinated expression of multiple key terpene synthase (TPS) genes during the flowering stage of plants, thereby regulating the proportional biosynthesis of diverse aromatic terpenes and sustaining the distinctive aromatic properties of individual plants. This review serves as a significant theoretical reference for further investigations into aromatic volatile compounds in Dendrobium.
The Timing of the Melatonin Onset and Phase Angle to Sleep Onset in Older Adults after Uncontrolled vs. Controlled Lighting Conditions
Authors: Arrona-Palacios Arturo , Lee Jung-Hie , Czeisler Charles A. , Duffy Jeanne F.
Published: June 2023

The main aim of this study was to explore how melatonin onset timing and phase angle to bedtime in healthy older adults are impacted by prior light exposure. A total of 13 healthy older (ages 56–74) individuals were studied on two successive evenings. Prior to the first evening, the participants were in self-selected lighting conditions for the first 4–6 h of the day and then were in dim light (3 lux) until their scheduled bedtime. On the second day, individuals from Project A remained in the dim lighting conditions throughout the entire day but those in Project B were in more typical indoor lighting (~90 lux) throughout the day. On both evenings, hourly blood samples were collected and assayed for melatonin, and melatonin onset timing and phase angle to sleep onset was determined. Overall, melatonin onset was earlier and the phase angle was larger on Night 1 than on Night 2. In Project A there was no significant difference between melatonin onset on night 1 vs. night 2. However, in Project B melatonin onset was significantly later on Night 2 (in typical indoor lighting) than on Night 1 (in dim lighting). Our results suggest that in older people, uncontrolled bright light early in the day did not impact the timing of dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) when assessed later that same evening. However, in older adults, exposure to ordinary room light during melatonin phase assessment appeared to suppress melatonin, leading to a later observed time of melatonin onset, as has been reported previously for young adults.
SiC/Si Hybrid Substrate Synthesized by the Method of Coordinated Substitution of Atoms: A New Type of Substrate for LEDs
Authors: Kukushkin Sergey A. , Markov Lev K. , Pavlyuchenko Alexey S. , Smirnova Irina P. , Osipov Andrey V. , Grashchenko Alexander S. , Nikolaev Andrey E. , Sakharov Alexey V. , Tsatsulnikov Andrey F. , Sviatets Genadii V.
Published: June 2023

This paper proposes a new type of substrate for manufacturing LEDs based on AlInGaN heterostructures. Instead of depositing SiC layers on the surface of Si using the conventional method, a new method involving the coordinated substitution of atoms (MCSA) to form the SiC layer is proposed. This new approach enables the growth of epitaxial GaN layers with low defect content and facilitates transfer to any surface. The paper details the technology of manufacturing LEDs on SiC/Si substrates obtained by the MCSA and elaborates on the benefits of using these substrates in LED production. Additionally, the advantages of the growth interface between SiC and Si materials are discussed. Moreover, it is found that thinner SiC layers (<200 nm) contribute to the scattering of the LED’s own radiation in the heterostructure waveguide, which decreases its absorption by silicon. For flip-chip LEDs with the substrate removed, substrates with thicker SiC layers (~400 nm) and a growth porous layer of several microns at the SiC-Si interface is utilized to simplify Si substrate removal and enhance the manufacturing process’s cost-effectiveness.
Study on Dynamic Contact Behavior of Multi-Component Droplet and Dust Surface
Authors: Guo Jingzhong , Jin Longzhe , Yang Yuanzhong , Cui Ruoyu , Khan Naseer Muhammad , Li Ming , Zhang Qipeng , Yue Xinran
Published: June 2023

The dynamic contact behavior between multi-component droplets and the surface of iron ore dust was taken as the research object, analysis of the maximum spreading coefficient, maximum acting diameter, maximum acting area, and maximum bouncing height of solid-liquid contact, from a microscopic perspective, using high-speed photography and image analysis and processing technology. The experimental results indicate that (1) with the particle size of dust particles decreases, the solid-liquid contact behavior sequentially manifests as spread immediately after broken, retraction, negative bounce, primary bounce, and secondary bounce. (2) When the surface tension of the droplets decreases from 55.5 to 34.8 mN/m, the maximum spreading diameter of the droplet has increased by 30% to 40%, the maximum bounce heights (coefficients) decreased by 100%, 57.14%, and 53.57%, respectively, the maximum spreading coefficient of the droplet exhibits no obvious pattern. (3) With decreasing droplet surface tension, the unidirectional acting diameter and the maximum acting area increase when the dust surface size is over 100 μm. When the surface particle size is less than 100 μm, there is no significant change in the unidirectional acting diameter and maximum acting area despite decreasing surface tension. Thus, droplet diffusion is mainly influenced by particle size. These findings contribute to enhancing the theory of water mist dust removal and improving dust removal efficiency.
Tunable Thermal, Mechanical, and Tribological Properties of Polybenzoxazine-Based Composite for Vehicle Applications
Authors: Guo Yue , Chen Xuhui , Wu Guorong , Huang Shiwen
Published: June 2023

In this study, a series of composites comprising polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polybenzoxazine for high-temperature friction materials for vehicle brake applications were developed using a high-temperature compression molding technique. The objective of this research was to systematically investigate the thermal, mechanical (tensile and flexural), and tribological performance of friction materials made from polybenzoxazine-based composites by varying the PEEK/CF mass ratio. Our study reveals the substantial improvement effect of the increased content of PEEK fibers on the thermal conductivity, the coefficient of friction, and the friction strength of the polybenzoxazine-based composite materials. Meanwhile, the introduction of carbon fibers was found to have a monotonic positive effect on the mechanical (tensile and flexural) properties and wear performance of the polybenzoxazine-based composites. The polybenzoxazine-based composites exhibit high mechanical strength, with a tensile strength of 50.1–78.6 MPa, Young’s modulus of 10.2–24.3 GPa, a flexural strength of 62.1–88.3 MPa, and a flexural modulus of 13.1–27.4 GPa. In addition, the polybenzoxazine-based composite with a PEEK/CF mass ratio of 75:25 exhibits a high and stable coefficient of friction (0.33) and a specific wear rate (1.79 × 10−7 cm3/Nm at room temperature). Subsequent to the wear test at ambient temperature, the worn surfaces of five polybenzoxazine-based composite samples with various PEEK/CF mass ratios were studied using electron microscopy technology (SEM). The observation of small cracks and tiny grooves on the worn surfaces indicates a combined abrasive and adhesive wear mechanism of the material. Our experimental results clearly reveal superior mechanical properties and excellent tribological characteristics. As a result, these composites show promising potential for the application of friction materials in terms of vehicle braking system applications.
Optical Properties of Reactive RF Magnetron Sputtered Polycrystalline Cu3N Thin Films Determined by UV/Visible/NIR Spectroscopic Ellipsometry: An Eco-Friendly Solar Light Absorber
Authors: Márquez E. , Blanco E. , García-Gurrea M. , Cintado Puerta M. , Domínguez de la Vega M. , Ballester M. , Mánuel J. M. , Rodríguez-Tapiador M. I. , Fernández S. M.
Published: June 2023

Copper nitride (Cu3N), a metastable poly-crystalline semiconductor material with reasonably high stability at room temperature, is receiving much attention as a very promising next-generation, earth-abundant, thin film solar light absorber. Its non-toxicity, on the other hand, makes it a very attractive eco-friendly (greener from an environmental standpoint) semiconducting material. In the present investigation, Cu3N thin films were successfully grown by employing reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature with an RF-power of 50 W, total working gas pressure of 0.5Pa, and partial nitrogen pressures of 0.8 and 1.0, respectively, onto glass substrates. We investigated how argon affected the optical properties of the thin films of Cu3N, with the aim of achieving a low-cost solar light absorber material with the essential characteristics that are needed to replace the more common silicon that is currently in present solar cells. Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements were taken at three different angles, 50∘, 60∘, and 70∘, to determine the two ellipsometric parameters psi, ψ, and delta, Δ. The bulk planar Cu3N layer was characterized by a one-dimensional graded index model together with the combination of a Tauc–Lorentz oscillator, while a Bruggeman effective medium approximation model with a 50% air void was adopted in order to account for the existing surface roughness layer. In addition, the optical properties, such as the energy band gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and absorption coefficient, were all accurately found to highlight the true potential of this particular material as a solar light absorber within a photovoltaic device. The direct and indirect band gap energies were precisely computed, and it was found that they fell within the useful energy ranges of 2.14–2.25 eV and 1.45–1.71 eV, respectively. The atomic structure, morphology, and chemical composition of the Cu3N thin films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The Cu3N thin layer thickness, profile texture, and surface topography of the Cu3N material were characterized using scanning electron microscopy.
A Facile Preparation Method for Corrosion-Resistant Copper Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Ordered Microstructures by Etching
Authors: Bai Zigang , Zhu Jiyuan
Published: June 2023

Superhydrophobic surfaces wit ordered hierarchical microstructures were prepared on copper substrates by combining thermal transfer and etching. The surface morphology, wettability, chemical composition and corrosion resistance were, respectively, characterized via scanning electron microscopy, a three-dimensional confocal microscope, contact angle measurement, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electrokinetic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. The contact angle of the obtained superhydrophobic surface is up to 153.3° with a reduction in the corrosion current density from 3.9105 × 10−5 A/cm2 to 3.5421 × 10−6 A/cm2 via the electrokinetic polarization curve test, and the maximum capacitive arc radius of the superhydrophobic surface is about 2.5 × 104 Ω cm2 via the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that of bare copper substrate, and the maximum modulus value |Z| is also two orders of magnitude higher than that of bare copper substrate, indicating that the superhydrophobic surface has better corrosion resistance. This method provides an effective etching approach toward preparing superhydrophobic surfaces with ordered microstructures.
Stealth Literacy Assessments via Educational Games
Authors: Fang Ying , Li Tong , Huynh Linh , Christhilf Katerina , Roscoe Rod D. , McNamara Danielle S.
Published: June 2023

Literacy assessment is essential for effective literacy instruction and training. However, traditional paper-based literacy assessments are typically decontextualized and may cause stress and anxiety for test takers. In contrast, serious games and game environments allow for the assessment of literacy in more authentic and engaging ways, which has some potential to increase the assessment’s validity and reliability. The primary objective of this study is to examine the feasibility of a novel approach for stealthily assessing literacy skills using games in an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) designed for reading comprehension strategy training. We investigated the degree to which learners’ game performance and enjoyment predicted their scores on standardized reading tests. Amazon Mechanical Turk participants (n = 211) played three games in iSTART and self-reported their level of game enjoyment after each game. Participants also completed the Gates–MacGinitie Reading Test (GMRT), which includes vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension measures. The results indicated that participants’ performance in each game as well as the combined performance across all three games predicted their literacy skills. However, the relations between game enjoyment and literacy skills varied across games. These findings suggest the potential of leveraging serious games to assess students’ literacy skills and improve the adaptivity of game-based learning environments.
Agent-Based Modeling to Simulate Aerosolized Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 inside Small Ventilated Spaces
Authors: Gaddis Matthew , Manoranjan Valipuram , Streipel Jakob
Published: June 2023

Deterministic and stochastic models for aerosol virus spread have become aplenty in the last several years. We believe it is important to explore all avenues of models and look to expand the current repertoire of models in this domain using a simple stochastic agent-based method. The goal is to understand if this type of agent model is applicable to real-life scenarios and to discuss possible policy implications of our findings on disease spread through aerosols in small spaces with ventilation using our developed model. We apply our agent model to see how different spatial organizations of an infected individual impact infections and their distributions. We also perform some sensitivity analysis with regard to both how different vectors of infection change overall infectivity rates but also how different levels of ventilation and filtration can impact infectivity as well. Our findings show that the simple stochastic movement of particles should be explored further with regard to agent-based disease spread models, and that filtration plays a large role in determining the overall infection rate of people in small spaces with an infector. We also found that placement of the index infector with regard to other susceptible people and ventilation play an impactful role in how a disease may spread in a short time frame within small confines.
360 Health Analysis (H360)—A Comparison of Key Performance Indicators in Breast Cancer Management across Health Institution Settings in Portugal
Authors: Rego Inês Brandão , Coelho Sara , Semedo Patrícia Miguel , Cavaco-Silva Joana , Teixeira Laetitia , Sousa Susana , Reis Joana , Dinis Rui , Schmitt Fernando , Afonso Noémia , Fougo José Luís , Pavão Francisco , Baptista Leite Ricardo , Costa Luís
Published: June 2023

Background: The increased focus on quality indicators (QIs) and the use of clinical registries in real-world cancer studies have increased compliance with therapeutic standards and patient survival. The European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists (EUSOMA) established QIs to assess compliance with current standards in breast cancer care. Methods: This retrospective study is part of H360 Health Analysis and aims to describe compliance with EUSOMA QIs in breast cancer management in different hospital settings (public vs. private; general hospitals vs. oncology centers). A set of key performance indicators (KPIs) was selected based on EUSOMA and previously identified QIs. Secondary data were retrieved from patients’ clinical records. Compliance with target KPIs in different disease stages was compared with minimum and target EUSOMA standards. Results: A total of 259 patient records were assessed. In stages I, II, and III, 18 KPIs met target EUSOMA standards, 5 met minimum standards, and 8 failed to meet minimum standards. Compliance with KPIs varied according to the type of hospital (particularly regarding diagnosis) and disease stage. Although small differences were found in KPI compliance among institutions, several statistical differences were found among treatment KPIs according to disease stage, particularly in stage III. Conclusions: This study represents the first assessment of the quality of breast cancer care in different hospital settings in Portugal and shows that, although most QIs meet EUSOMA standards, there is room for improvement. Differences have been found across institutions, particularly between oncology centers and general hospitals, in diagnosis and compliance with KPIs among disease stages. Stage III showed the greatest variability in compliance with treatment KPIs, probably related to the lower specificity of the guidelines in this disease stage.
Unexpected Records of Newborn and Young Sharks in Ligurian and North Tyrrhenian Seas (North-Western Mediterranean Basin)
Authors: Mancusi Cecilia , Serena Fabrizio , Neri Alessandra , Scacco Umberto , Baino Romano Teodosio , Voliani Alessandro , Marsili Letizia
Published: June 2023

Between 2007 and 2022, 112 specimens of newborn and young pelagic sharks were recorded in the waters of Tuscany Region, in the South Ligurian–North Tyrrhenian Seas (north-western Mediterranean basin). The sharks belonged to the Carcharhinus plumbeus (n = 14), Prionace glauca (n = 66), Isurus oxyrinchus (n = 16), Mobula mobular (n = 5) Alopias vulpinus (n = 7) and Hexanchus griseus (n = 4) species. Each animal was correctly identified thanks to the photographs or videos collected. All specimens were incidentally captured with set nets in inshore shallow waters, except bluntnose six-gill sharks, which were bycatch of deep-water bottom-trawl fishery. Body mass, sex, total length and biometric measurements were recorded in 34 baby sharks following the Mediterranean Large Elasmobranches Monitoring (MEDLEM) protocol. The presence of very evident and often non-healed umbilical scar confirmed that some of the sample specimens were newborn. Further confirmation came from the comparison between the total length observed and the size at birth known for the sampled species as reported in the literature. Some baby sharks were preserved in the Museums of Natural History of Pisa and Florence University collections. The importance of the coastal area studied as a possible shark nursery is discussed.
pH, the Fundamentals for Milk and Dairy Processing: A Review
Authors: Aydogdu Tugce , O’Mahony James A. , McCarthy Noel A.
Published: June 2023

The ability to measure and capture real-time unit operational data has significant benefits during dairy processing, whether it is the basics, such as measuring temperature, pressure, and flow rates, or more recent developments in the case of in-line viscosity and product-compositional measurements. This rapid data collection has helped increase profitability by reducing energy costs, minimizing product loss, and allowing automated control. Advances in technology have allowed for in-line measurements of the composition and some physical attributes such as particle size and viscosity; however, an attribute that spans both compositional and physical attributes is pH, directly influenced by composition but also environments, such as temperature and dry matter content. pH is measured for a plethora of reasons, such as a measure of milk quality (microbial spoilage), acidification of casein, cheese production, maintaining optimum conditions during protein hydrolysis, etc. However, very little is published on the fundamentals of pH and pH measurement in dairy processing; rather, it is usually a cause-and-effect phenomenon. This review visits one of the oldest analytical considerations in the dairy industry and re-examines how it is affected by product composition and processing conditions.
Ejection Fraction Estimation from Echocardiograms Using Optimal Left Ventricle Feature Extraction Based on Clinical Methods
Authors: Batool Samana , Taj Imtiaz Ahmad , Ghafoor Mubeen
Published: June 2023

Echocardiography is one of the imaging systems most often utilized for assessing heart anatomy and function. Left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) is an important clinical variable assessed from echocardiography via the measurement of left ventricle (LV) parameters. Significant inter-observer and intra-observer variability is seen when LVEF is quantified by cardiologists using huge echocardiography data. Machine learning algorithms have the capability to analyze such extensive datasets and identify intricate patterns of structure and function of the heart that highly skilled observers might overlook, hence paving the way for computer-assisted diagnostics in this field. In this study, LV segmentation is performed on echocardiogram data followed by feature extraction from the left ventricle based on clinical methods. The extracted features are then subjected to analysis using both neural networks and traditional machine learning algorithms to estimate the LVEF. The results indicate that employing machine learning techniques on the extracted features from the left ventricle leads to higher accuracy than the utilization of Simpson’s method for estimating the LVEF. The evaluations are performed on a publicly available echocardiogram dataset, EchoNet-Dynamic. The best results are obtained when DeepLab, a convolutional neural network architecture, is used for LV segmentation along with Long Short-Term Memory Networks (LSTM) for the regression of LVEF, obtaining a dice similarity coefficient of 0.92 and a mean absolute error of 5.736%.
Aging Affects Insulin Resistance, Insulin Secretion, and Glucose Effectiveness in Subjects with Normal Blood Glucose and Body Weight
Authors: Huang Li-Ying , Liu Chi-Hao , Chen Fang-Yu , Kuo Chun-Heng , Pitrone Pietro , Liu Jhih-Syuan
Published: June 2023

Aim: Several studies have demonstrated that factors including diabetes, including insulin resistance (IR), glucose effectiveness (GE), and the first and second phase of insulin secretion (FPIS, SPIS) could easily be calculated using basic characteristics and biochemistry profiles. Aging is accompanied by deteriorations of insulin resistance (IR) and insulin secretion. However, little is known about the roles of aging in the different phases of insulin secretion (ISEC), i.e., the first and second phase of insulin secretion (FPIS, SPIS), and glucose effectiveness (GE). Methods: In total, 169 individuals (43 men and 126 women) recruited from the data bank of the Meei-Jaw (MJ) Health Screening Center and Cardinal Tien Hospital Data Access Center between 1999 and 2008, with a similar fasting plasma glucose (FPG: 90 mg/dL) and BMI (men: 23 kg/m2, women 22 kg/m2) were enrolled. The IR, FPIS, SPIS, and GE were estimated using our previously developed equations shown below. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the correlations between age and four diabetes factors (DFs: IR, FPIS, SPIS, and GE). The equations that are used to calculate the DF in the present study were built and published by our group. Results: The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 78 years. Men had higher FPIS but lower HDL-C levels than women (2.067 ± 0.159, 1.950 ± 0.186 μU/min and 1.130 ± 0.306, 1.348 ± 0.357 mmol/dl, accordingly). The results of the Pearson correlation revealed that age was negatively related to the IR and GE in both genders (IR: r = −0.39, p < 0.001 for men, r = −0.24, p < 0.003 for women; GE: r = 0.66, p < 0.001 for men, r = 0.78, p < 0.001 for women). At the same time, the FPIS was also only found to be negatively correlated with age in females (r = −0.238, p = 0.003), but there was no difference in the SPIS and age among both genders. Conclusions: We have found that in Chinese subjects with a normal FPG level (90 mg/dL) and body mass index (men: 23 kg/m2, women: 22: kg/m2), age is negatively related to the IR and GE among both genders. Only the FPIS was found to be negatively related to age in women. The tightness of their relationships, from the highest to the lowest, are GE, FPIS, and IR. These results should be interpreted with caution because of the small sample size.
Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence Applied to Model Speech and Language in Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Escobar-Grisales Daniel , Ríos-Urrego Cristian David , Orozco-Arroyave Juan Rafael
Published: June 2023

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder in the world, and it is characterized by the production of different motor and non-motor symptoms which negatively affect speech and language production. For decades, the research community has been working on methodologies to automatically model these biomarkers to detect and monitor the disease; however, although speech impairments have been widely explored, language remains underexplored despite being a valuable source of information, especially to assess cognitive impairments associated with non-motor symptoms. This study proposes the automatic assessment of PD patients using different methodologies to model speech and language biomarkers. One-dimensional and two-dimensional convolutional neural networks (CNNs), along with pre-trained models such as Wav2Vec 2.0, BERT, and BETO, were considered to classify PD patients vs. Healthy Control (HC) subjects. The first approach consisted of modeling speech and language independently. Then, the best representations from each modality were combined following early, joint, and late fusion strategies. The results show that the speech modality yielded an accuracy of up to 88%, thus outperforming all language representations, including the multi-modal approach. These results suggest that speech representations better discriminate PD patients and HC subjects than language representations. When analyzing the fusion strategies, we observed that changes in the time span of the multi-modal representation could produce a significant loss of information in the speech modality, which was likely linked to a decrease in accuracy in the multi-modal experiments. Further experiments are necessary to validate this claim with other fusion methods using different time spans.
Intradiscal Gelified Ethanol Nucleolysis versus Endoscopic Surgery for Lumbar Disc Herniation Radiculopathy
Authors: Gogos Christos , Filippiadis Dimitrios K. , Velonakis Georgios , Kelekis Nikolaos , Papagelopoulos Panayiotis , Kelekis Alexis
Published: June 2023

The purpose of this study was to retrospectively compare efficacy and safety between intradiscal injection of a gelified ethanol product and tubular discectomy in the treatment of intervertebral disk herniation. A bi-central institutional database research identified forty (40) patients suffering from symptomatic contained disc herniation. Nucleolysis Group included 20 patients [mean 50.05 ± 9.27 years-of-age (male/female 14/6–70/30%)] and Surgery Group included 20 patients [mean 48.45 ± 14.53 years-of-age, (male/female 12/8–60/40%)]. Primary outcome was overall 12-month improvement over baseline in leg pain (NVS units). Procedural technical outcomes were recorded, and adverse events were evaluated at all follow-up intervals. CIRSE classification system was used for complications’ reporting. Mean pre-operative pain score in Nucleolysis Group was 7.95 ± 0.94 reduced to 1.25 ± 1.11 at month 1 and 0.45 ± 0.75 NVS units at year 1. Mean pre-operative pain score in Surgery Group was 7.65 ± 1.13 reduced to 1.55 ± 1.79 at month 1 and 0.70 ± 1.38 NVS units at year 1. Pain decrease was statistically significant after both procedures (p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference between pain reduction in both groups (p = 0.347). The decrease differences of the pain effect upon general activities, sleeping, socializing, walking, and enjoying life in the follow-up period between the two groups were not statistically significant. No complications were noted in both groups. Results from the current study report that intradiscal injection of a gelified ethanol and tubular discectomy were equally effective on terms of efficacy and safety for the treatment of symptomatic lumbar intervertebral disc herniation regarding the 12-month mean leg pain improvement. Both achieved similar rapid significant clinical improvement persisting throughout follow-up period.
High-Resolution Network with Dynamic Convolution and Coordinate Attention for Classification of Chest X-ray Images
Authors: Li Qiang , Chen Mingyu , Geng Jingjing , Adamu Mohammed Jajere , Guan Xin
Published: June 2023

The development of automatic chest X-ray (CXR) disease classification algorithms is significant for diagnosing thoracic diseases. Owing to the characteristics of lesions in CXR images, including high similarity in appearance of the disease, varied sizes, and different occurrence locations, most existing convolutional neural network-based methods have insufficient feature extraction for thoracic lesions and struggle to adapt to changes in lesion size and location. To address these issues, this study proposes a high-resolution classification network with dynamic convolution and coordinate attention (HRCC-Net). In the method, this study suggests a parallel multi-resolution network in which a high-resolution branch acquires essential detailed features of the lesion and multi-resolution feature swapping and fusion to obtain multiple receptive fields to extract complicated disease features adequately. Furthermore, this study proposes dynamic convolution to enhance the network’s ability to represent multi-scale information to accommodate lesions of diverse scales. In addition, this study introduces a coordinate attention mechanism, which enables automatic focus on pathologically relevant regions and capturing the variations in lesion location. The proposed method is evaluated on ChestX-ray14 and CheXpert datasets. The average AUC (area under ROC curve) values reach 0.845 and 0.913, respectively, indicating this method’s advantages compared with the currently available methods. Meanwhile, with its specificity and sensitivity to measure the performance of medical diagnostic systems, the network can improve diagnostic efficiency while reducing the rate of misdiagnosis. The proposed algorithm has great potential for thoracic disease diagnosis and treatment.