bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Invitation strategies and participation in a community-based lung cancer screening programme located in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation
Authors: Goodley Patrick , Balata Haval , Alonso Alberto , Brockelsby Christopher , Conroy Matthew , Cooper-Moss Nicola , Craig Christopher , Evison Matthew , Hewitt Kath , Higgins Coral , Johnson William , Lyons Judith , Merchant Zoe , Rowlands Ailsa , Sharman Anna , Sinnott Nicola , Sperrin Matthew , Booton Richard , Crosbie Philip A J
Published: August 2023

Introduction

Although lung cancer screening is being implemented in the UK, there is uncertainty about the optimal invitation strategy. Here, we report participation in a community screening programme following a population-based invitation approach, examine factors associated with participation, and compare outcomes with hypothetical targeted invitations.

Methods

Letters were sent to all individuals (age 55–80) registered with a general practice (n=35 practices) in North and East Manchester, inviting ever-smokers to attend a Lung Health Check (LHC). Attendees at higher risk (PLCOm2012NoRacescore≥1.5%) were offered two rounds of annual low-dose CT screening. Primary care recorded smoking codes (live and historical) were used to model hypothetical targeted invitation approaches for comparison.

Results

Letters were sent to 35 899 individuals, 71% from the most socioeconomically deprived quintile. Estimated response rate in ever-smokers was 49%; a lower response rate was associated with younger age, male sex, and primary care recorded current smoking status (adjOR 0.55 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.58), p<0.001). 83% of eligible respondents attended an LHC (n=8887/10 708). 51% were eligible for screening (n=4540/8887) of whom 98% had a baseline scan (n=4468/4540). Screening adherence was 83% (n=3488/4199) and lung cancer detection 3.2% (n=144) over 2 rounds. Modelled targeted approaches required 32%–48% fewer invitations, identified 94.6%–99.3% individuals eligible for screening, and included 97.1%–98.6% of screen-detected lung cancers.

Discussion

Using a population-based invitation strategy, in an area of high socioeconomic deprivation, is effective and may increase screening accessibility. Due to limitations in primary care records, targeted approaches should incorporate historical smoking codes and individuals with absent smoking records.
From data to decision: combining Bayesian updating with a data-driven prior to forecast the settlement of embankments on soft soils
Authors: Wan Xiao , Doherty James
Published: August 2023

Applications of Bayesian updating commonly treat soil parameters as random variables. A significant issue with this is that soil parameters are highly subjective. Therefore, using traditional parameter-based models, Bayesian analysis starts from a subjective prior and it is unclear how this may influence the overall results of a study. In this paper, Bayesian updating is combined with a data-driven method, known as CRACA (i.e., CReep And Consolidation Analysis), for predicting the settlement of embankments on soft soil. Importantly, the method directly ingests measured oedometer data and, therefore, avoids the subjectivity involved in parameter selection. Because parameters are not used, scaling factors are introduced that account uncertainty associated with the laboratory measurements and the automated interpretation process. These factors have an initial value of unity (returning the prior) and are updated in a Bayesian framework as settlement monitoring data are revealed over time to improve future forecasts. The model was applied to an embankment case history and was shown to result in a rapid improvement in the accuracy and a narrowing of the 95% confidence interval as settlement monitoring data are revealed to the model.
Leaf morphology and anatomy in Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia (Myrtaceae): species circumscription and characterization of clades
Authors: Wagner Mariana de Andrade , Lucas Eve J. , Soffiatti Patrícia , Cabral William Santos , Portella Paulo Ricardo , Fiaschi Pedro
Published: August 2023

Myrcia DC., a diverse neotropical genus of Myrtaceae, encompasses 793 species. However, species of Myrcia are similar and difficult to distinguish. In Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia (O. Berg) Griseb., leaf features help distinguishing clades and species. Our aim is to provide leaf data for species of M. sect. Aulomyrcia’s clades F and G. We sampled 31 specimens of 13 species of Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia ( Myrcia amazonica DC., Myrcia eumecephylla (O. Berg) Nied., Myrcia hexasticha Kiaersk., Myrcia insularis Gardner, Myrcia magna D. Legrand, Myrcia micropetala (Mart.) Nied., Myrcia neodimorpha E. Lucas & C.E. Wilson, Myrcia neoestrellensis E. Lucas & C.E. Wilson, Myrcia obversa (D. Legrand) E. Lucas & C.E. Wilson, Myrcia pyrifolia (Desv.) Nied., Myrcia riodocensis G.M. Barroso & Peixoto, Myrcia subobliqua (Benth.) Nied., and Myrcia tetraphylla Sobral) . Samples were subjected to sectioning and staining techniques for morphological and anatomical analysis through stereo and light microscopy. Leaf blade and petiole morphological and anatomical features were described carefully for the first time for these 13 species. We provided an identification key based on leaf features. Our findings are discussed in the light of Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia systematics. We comment of the significance of petiolar and blade features, such as trichomes types and location, phyllotaxis, rhytidome peeling, periderm and lenticels, and petiole, blade, and vascular cylinder shape. Our study brings novel information on leaf structure variation in Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia, delivering much needed data for species and clades circumscription and identification.
Lights! Dance! Freeze!
Authors: Papatheodorou Theodoros , Wolpert Jessica
Published: August 2023

Conventionally, spectators enjoy films passively. This paper describes an interactive film installation that invites participants to use their entire body as a query to search and explore a large corpus of musical films in a novel way. Using an RGB camera, ML-based skeleton tracking technology and a unique pose and film indexing system, this installation tracks a participant's movements and mirrors them in real-time by finding matching poses among hundreds of thousands from well-known musicals. When the participant freezes in a pose, the installation instantly plays back the short film clip that begins with that pose, immersing them in the music and dance from musicals of different eras. This approach explores themes of tangible interfaces and the new possibilities that emerge from employing embodied interaction to traverse the dance pose space, which is traditionally difficult to index and interact with in real time. The pose indexing system and whole-body interaction we propose in this paper open new pathways for cultural participation, as they lend themselves to different datasets and require no technical skills from participants.
Immersive experience of Chinese poems and paintings
Authors: Cao Chong , Yang Lingfei , Shen Xukun
Published: August 2023

Chinese painting incorporated with poems is famous for its distinct characteristics and unspeakable moods. Ink lines are used to depict scenes in paintings while concise words are used to describe scenes and events in poems, making for a beautiful yet enigmatic art style. Such an art style requires viewers to patiently examine the details and attempt to understand the meaning, which creates a barrier for a wide audience to relish and disseminate it. The condition can be effectively improved with immersive and interactive animation techniques. In this paper, we present the design and production of an interactive 3D animation entitled "Illustrating Ten Poems" based on the famous Chinese painting with the same name. Compared with viewing the original painting, the animation provides immersive scene reconstruction in Chinese painting style, interactive characters and visual-audio experience. Rather than complete three-dimensional reconstruction, we attempted some innovative methods which proved to be effective and efficient in Chinese painting style artwork production.
Improving Generative Adversarial Network-based Vocoding through Multi-scale Convolution
Authors: Li Wanting , Chen Yiting , Tang Buzhou
Published: August 2023

Vocoding is a sub-process of text-to-speech task, which aims at generating audios from intermediate representations between text and audio. Several recent works have shown that generative adversarial network– (GAN) based vocoders can generate audios with high quality. While GAN-based neural vocoders have shown higher efficiency in generating speed than autoregressive vocoders, the audio fidelity still cannot compete with ground-truth samples. One major cause of the degradation in audio quality and spectrogram vague comes from the average pooling layers in discriminator. As the multi-scale discriminator commonly used by recent GAN-based vocoders applies several average pooling layers to capture different-frequency bands, we believe it is crucial to prevent the high-frequency information from leakage in the average pooling process. This article proposes MSCGAN, which solves the above-mentioned problem and achieves higher-fidelity speech synthesis. We demonstrate that substituting the average pooling process with a multi-scale convolution architecture effectively retains high-frequency features and thus forces the generator to recover audio details in time and frequency domain. Compared with other state-of-the-art GAN-based vocoders, MSCGAN can produce competitive audio with a higher spectrogram clarity and mean opinion score score in subjective human evaluation.
Approximating Nash Social Welfare under Submodular Valuations through (Un)Matchings
Authors: Garg Jugal , Kulkarni Pooja , Kulkarni Rucha
Published: August 2023

We study the problem of approximating maximum Nash social welfare (NSW) when allocating
m
indivisible items among
n
asymmetric agents with submodular valuations. The
NSW
is a well-established notion of fairness and efficiency, defined as the weighted geometric mean of agents’ valuations. For special cases of the problem with symmetric agents and additive(-like) valuation functions, approximation algorithms have been designed using approaches customized for these specific settings, and they fail to extend to more general settings. Hence, no approximation algorithm with a factor independent of
m
was known either for asymmetric agents with additive valuations or for symmetric agents beyond additive(-like) valuations before this work.

In this article, we extend our understanding of the
NSW
problem to far more general settings. Our main contribution is two approximation algorithms for asymmetric agents with additive and submodular valuations. Both algorithms are simple to understand and involve non-trivial modifications of a greedy repeated matchings approach. Allocations of high-valued items are done separately by un-matching certain items and re-matching them by different processes in both algorithms. We show that these approaches achieve approximation factors of
O
(
n
) and
O
(
n
log
n
) for additive and submodular cases, independent of the number of items. For additive valuations, our algorithm outputs an allocation that also achieves the fairness property of envy-free up to one item (
EF1
).

Furthermore, we show that the
NSW
problem under submodular valuations is strictly harder than all currently known settings with an

\(\frac{\mathrm{e}}{\mathrm{e}-1}\)

factor of the hardness of approximation, even for constantly many agents. For this case, we provide a different approximation algorithm that achieves a factor of

\(\frac{\mathrm{e}}{\mathrm{e}-1}\)

, hence resolving it completely.
Efficient Malware Analysis Using Metric Embeddings
Authors: Rudd Ethan M. , Krisiloff David , Coull Scott , Olszewski Daniel , Raff Edward , Holt James
Published: August 2023

Real-world malware analysis consists of a complex pipeline of classifiers and data analysis—from detection to classification of capabilities to retrieval of unique training samples from user systems. In this article, we aim to reduce the complexity of these pipelines through the use of low-dimensional metric embeddings of Windows PE files, which can be used in a variety of downstream applications, including malware detection, family classification, and malware attribute tagging. Specifically, we enrich labeling of malicious and benign PE files with computationally-expensive, disassembly-based malicious capabilities information. Using this enhanced labeling, we derive several different types of efficient metric embeddings utilizing an embedding neural network trained via contrastive loss, Spearman rank correlation, and combinations thereof. Our evaluation examines performance on a variety of transfer tasks performed on the EMBER and SOREL datasets, demonstrating that low-dimensional, computationally-efficient metric embeddings maintain performance with little decay. This offers the potential to quickly retrain for a variety of transfer tasks at significantly reduced overhead and complexity. We conclude with an examination of practical considerations for the use of our proposed embedding approach, such as robustness to adversarial evasion and introduction of task-specific auxiliary objectives to improve performance on mission critical tasks.
A Systematic Collection of Medical Image Datasets for Deep Learning
Authors: Li Johann , Zhu Guangming , Hua Cong , Feng Mingtao , Bennamoun Basheer , Li Ping , Lu Xiaoyuan , Song Juan , Shen Peiyi , Xu Xu , Mei Lin , Zhang Liang , Shah Syed Afaq Ali , Bennamoun Mohammed
Published: August 2023

The astounding success made by artificial intelligence in healthcare and other fields proves that it can achieve human-like performance. However, success always comes with challenges. Deep learning algorithms are data dependent and require large datasets for training. Many junior researchers face a lack of data for a variety of reasons. Medical image acquisition, annotation, and analysis are costly, and their usage is constrained by ethical restrictions. They also require several other resources, such as professional equipment and expertise. That makes it difficult for novice and non-medical researchers to have access to medical data. Thus, as comprehensively as possible, this article provides a collection of medical image datasets with their associated challenges for deep learning research. We have collected the information of approximately 300 datasets and challenges mainly reported between 2007 and 2020 and categorized them into four categories: head and neck, chest and abdomen, pathology and blood, and others. The purpose of our work is to provide a list, as up-to-date and complete as possible, that can be used as a reference to easily find the datasets for medical image analysis and the information related to these datasets.
How Does Structural Racism Operate (in) the Contemporary US Criminal Justice System?
Authors: Lee Hedwig
Published: August 2023

I describe how cultural and structural racism operate the entire contemporary American criminal justice system via five features: devaluation of certain human lives, ubiquitous adaptation, networked structure, perceived neutrality, and temporal amnesia. I draw from specific historical and contemporary examples in policing, courts, and corrections to further emphasize the foundational nature of racism and its role in shaping racial/ethnic inequities not just in relationship to criminal justice outcomes but also in relationship to health, economic, and social well-being.
Algorithmic Fairness
Authors: Das Sanjiv , Stanton Richard , Wallace Nancy
Published: August 2023

This article reviews the recent literature on algorithmic fairness, with a particular emphasis on credit scoring. We discuss human versus machine bias, bias measurement, group versus individual fairness, and a collection of fairness metrics. We then apply these metrics to the US mortgage market, analyzing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data on mortgage applications between 2009 and 2015. We find evidence of group imbalance in the dataset for both gender and (especially) minority status, which can lead to poorer estimation/prediction for female/minority applicants. Loan applicants are handled mostly fairly across both groups and individuals, though we find that some local male (nonminority) neighbors of otherwise similar rejected female (minority) applicants were granted loans, something that warrants further study. Finally, modern machine learning techniques substantially outperform logistic regression (the industry standard), though at the cost of being substantially harder to explain to denied applicants, regulators, or the courts.
Circulating Biomarkers Instead of Genotyping to Establish Metabolizer Phenotypes
Authors: Tremmel Roman , Hofmann Ute , Haag Mathias , Schaeffeler Elke , Schwab Matthias
Published: August 2023

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) enables personalized treatment for the prediction of drug response and to avoid adverse drug reactions. Currently, PGx mainly relies on the genetic information of absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) targets such as drug-metabolizing enzymes or transporters to predict differences in the patient's phenotype. However, there is evidence that the phenotype-genotype concordance is limited. Thus, we discuss different phenotyping strategies using exogenous xenobiotics (e.g., drug cocktails) or endogenous compounds for phenotype prediction. In particular, minimally invasive approaches focusing on liquid biopsies offer great potential to preemptively determine metabolic and transport capacities. Early studies indicate that ADME phenotyping using exosomes released from the liver is reliable. In addition, pharmacometric modeling and artificial intelligence improve phenotype prediction. However, further prospective studies are needed to demonstrate the clinical utility of individualized treatment based on phenotyping strategies, not only relying on genetics. The present review summarizes current knowledge and limitations.
Psychological Flexibility, Chronic Pain, and Health
Authors: McCracken Lance M.
Published: August 2023

Psychological flexibility is a model of human performance and well-being. It essentially entails an approach to life circumstances that includes openness, awareness, and engagement. It has roots in behavior analysis, and it is linked to a philosophy of science called functional contextualism and to a specific therapy approach called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. One of the earliest and most developed research areas in which this model and therapy have been applied is chronic pain. This review describes psychological flexibility and its facets in more detail, sets them in a context of relevant psychological models, and examines related assessment and treatment methods. It also examines evidence, current challenges, and future directions. It is proposed that psychological flexibility, or an expanded model very much like it, could provide a basis for integrating current research and treatment approaches in chronic pain and health generally. This, in turn, could produce improved treatments for people with chronic pain and other conditions.
Synergistic Effect of Complexing Agent TAD and Corrosion Inhibitor PZ on BTA Removal in Copper Post-CMP Cleaning
Authors: Wang Jing , Gao Baohong , Zhang Nannan , Yan Han
Published: August 2023

Benzotriazole (BTA) as a common corrosion inhibitor in the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, can effectively protect the copper (Cu) surface, but its organic residues will form a passivation film on the wafer surface to prevent the contact between the cleaning solution and the wafer surface, so the removal of BTA is a major problem in the post-CMP cleaning. In this paper, N,N’-Bis(3-aminopropyl)−1,2-ethanediamine (TAD) and pyrazole (PZ) were used as the main components in the alkaline cleaning solution and fatty alcohol polyoxy ethylene ether (JFCE) was added as an auxiliary surfactant to investigate the removal of BTA. The complexation ability of TAD and the corrosion inhibition ability of PZ were verified by electrochemical experiments, and the reaction sites of the interaction between TAD and Cu surface were analyzed by quantum chemical calculations. Meanwhile, the mechanism of the synergistic removal of BTA by TAD and PZ was investigated by electrochemical methods. The final optimized cleaning solution consisted of 1 mmol L−1 TAD, 0.1 mmol L−1 PZ and 1 wt% JFCE and its good cleaning performance was verified by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), which provided guidance for the development of the cleaning solution.
Metformin and exercise effects on postprandial insulin sensitivity and glucose kinetics in pre-diabetic and diabetic adults
Authors: Moreno-Cabañas Alfonso , Morales-Palomo Felix , Alvarez-Jimenez Laura , Mora-Gonzalez Diego , Ortega Juan Fernando , Mora-Rodriguez Ricardo
Published: August 2023

Metformin is the most prescribed oral antidiabetic medicine in the world but its mechanism of action and its interactions with exercise are not fully understood. Our stable isotope tracer data suggested that metformin reduces the rates of oral glucose entering the circulation (gut-liver effect). Exercise, in turn, tended to reduce postprandial insulin blood levels potentiating metformin improvements in insulin sensitivity. Thus, exercise potentiates metformin improvements in glycemic control and should be advised to metformin users.
Single-cell sequencing provides insights into the landscape of ovary in PCOS and alterations induced by CUMS
Authors: Zuo Wenting , Liu Xiangfei , Chen Jianhuai , Zuo Wenren , Yin Yanyun , Nie Xiaowei , Tang Peipei , Huang Yunke , Yu Qian , Hu Qiaoyun , Zhou Jie , Tan Yong , Huang Xi , Ren Qingling
Published: August 2023

In this study, we mapped the landscape of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) ovary with rat model induced by letrozole and provided a novel insight into the molecular mechanism of PCOS accompanied by chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS) at single-cell transcriptomic level. These observations highlight the importance of inflammation in the pathogenesis of PCOS, which might also be the bridge between PCOS and psychological diseases.
Action potential conduction in the mouse and rat vagus nerve is dependent on multiple voltage-gated sodium channels (NaV1s)
Authors: Nair Sanjay S. , Pavelkova Nikoleta , Murphy Claire M. , Kollarik Marian , Taylor-Clark Thomas E.
Published: August 2023

Distinct NaV1 channels are involved in action potential (AP) initiation and conduction from afferent terminals within specific organs. Here, we have identified the NaV1 necessary for AP conduction in the entire murine and rat vagus nerve. We show TTX-sensitive channels are essential for all AP conduction, predominantly NaV1.7 with NaV1.2 and NaV1.6 playing lesser roles depending on the species and fiber type. In addition, we show that NaV1.8 is also essential for most axonal AP conduction.
Cochlear aging disrupts the correlation between spontaneous rate and sound-level coding in auditory nerve fibers
Authors: Heeringa Amarins N. , Teske Fiona , Ashida Go , Köppl Christine
Published: August 2023

Auditory nerve fibers, which connect the cochlea to the central auditory system, change their encoding of sound level in aged gerbils. In addition to a general shift to higher levels, indicative of decreased sensitivity, level coding was also differentially affected in fibers with low- and high-spontaneous rates. Loss of low-spontaneous rate fibers, combined with a general decrease of spontaneous rate, further blurs the categorization of auditory nerve fiber types in the aged gerbil.
Alpha-synuclein Affects Certain Iron Transporters of BV2 Microglia Cell through its ferric reductase activity
Authors: Li Yinghui , Shi Chengkui , Liu Rong , Yang Jiahua , Xie Junxia , Wang Jun
Published: August 2023

Abstract: Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) is a major component of lewy bodies, which is biomarker of Parkinson's disease (PD). It accumulates in substantia nigra pars compacts (SNpc) to form insoluble aggregates and cause neurotoxicity, which is often accompanied by iron deposition. In this study, we compared the iron reductase activity between monomeric α-syn (M-α-syn) and oligomeric α-syn (O-α-syn), investigated the effect of α-syn on iron metabolism of BV2 microglia cells as well. We found that α-syn had ferric reductase activity, and O-α-syn had stronger enzyme activity than M-α-syn. M-α-syn upregulated iron uptake protein, divalent metal transporter1 (DMT1) expression and iron influx, but did not regulate iron release protein, ferroportin1 (FPN1) expression and iron efflux. O-α-syn elevated the expression of both DMT1 and FPN1, thus increased the iron influx and efflux in BV2 microglial cells, but the expressions of iron regulatory protein1 and hypoxia inducible factor2α have no significant change. Moreover, both M-α-syn and O-α-syn could increase the mRNA expressions of TNF-α and IL-1β in BV2 microglia cells. Taken together, our data suggest that both types of α-syn can activate microglia, which leads to increased expressions of pro-inflammatory factors. α-syn can affect DMT1 and FPN1 expressions in BV2 microglia cells, which might be through its ferric reductase activity.
Identification of Functional Modules and Key Pathways Associated with Innervation in Graft Bone—CGRP Regulates the Differentiation of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells via p38 MAPK and Wnt6/β-Catenin
Authors: Wu Ziqian , Wang Xudong , Shi Jingcun , Gupta Anand , Zhang Yuhan , Zhang Bingqing , Cao Yang , Wang Lei
Published: August 2023

Bone resorption occurs after bone grafting, however, contemporaneous reconstruction of the innervation of the bone graft is a potential treatment to maintain the bone mass of the graft. The innervation of bone is an emerging research topic. To understand the potential molecular mechanisms of bone innervation after bone grafting, we collected normal iliac bone tissue as well as bone grafts with or without innervation from nine patients 1 year after surgery and performed RNA sequencing. We identified differentially expressed genes) from these samples and used the gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases for functional enrichment and signaling pathway analysis. In parallel, we established protein–protein interaction networks to screen functional modules. Based on bioinformatic results, we validated in vitro the osteogenic differentiation potential of rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) after calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) stimulation and the expression of p38 MAPK and Wnt6/β-catenin pathways during osteogenesis. Our transcriptome analysis of bone grafts reveals functional modules and signaling pathways of innervation which play a vital role in the structural and functional integration of the bone graft. Simultaneously, we demonstrate that CGRP regulates the differentiation of BMMSCs through p38 MAPK and Wnt6/β-catenin.
Assessing Socket Fit Effects on Pressure and Shear at a Transtibial Residuum/Socket Interface
Authors: Devin Kirstie M. , Tang Jinghua , Moser David , Jiang Liudi
Published: August 2023

Fluctuations in residuum volume during daily activities are known to occur in lower-limb amputees. This can cause frequent changes to fit, which cannot be accommodated by commonly-used prosthetic sockets. The real-time effects, if any, of these minor socket fit changes on interface biomechanics have not been studied extensively. Amputees commonly use different layers of socks to accommodate frequent volume fluctuations, enabling adjustment of socket fit. We, thus, altered socket fit levels via addition/removal of sock layers to a transtibial amputee who habitually-donned two-sock layers to mimic relatively looser and tighter socket fits. Interface pressure and shear sensors were placed at known prominent load-bearing sites of the transtibial residuum/socket interface, i.e., patellar tendon (PT), popliteal fossa (PF), and anterior–distal (AD) end, to measure real-time biomechanical interactions during standing and level walking. Although socket fit level was only slightly modified, changes in interface pressure and shear across anatomical sites were still observed. Tighter fit corresponds to notable pressure reduction at AD during early stance and pressure increase at PT during terminal stance due to the residuum being pushed up. Shear-to-pressure ratios were used to assess comfort, while pressure– and shear–time integrals were used to assess tissue health. We observed more notable changes at tissue sites (e.g., AD and PF). Combined evaluation of pressure and shear, including shear-to-pressure ratio and time integrals, may offer insight for residuum care.
Accuracy of Diagnostic Tests for Detecting Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Feleke Daniel Getacher , Alemu Yonas , Bisetegn Habtye , Debash Habtu
Published: August 2023

Introduction. Schistosomiasis is causing high morbidity and significant mortality in endemic areas. Kato‐Katz stool examination and urine filtration techniques are the conventional methods for the detection of intestinal and urinary schistosomiasis. The most appropriate diagnostic tools for the detection of schistosomiasis especially in low‐prevalence settings should be used. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating the diagnostic accuracy of S. mansoni and S. haematobium diagnostic tools in sub‐Saharan Africa. Methods. Electronic databases such as PubMed, PubMed Central/Medline, HINARI, Scopus, EMBASE, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library were reviewed. The pooled estimates and heterogeneity were determined using Midas in Stata 14.0. The diagnostic accuracy of index tests was compared using the hierarchical summary of the receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) curve in Stata 14.0. Results. Twenty‐four studies consisting of 12,370 individuals were tested to evaluate the accuracy of antigen, antibody, and molecular test methods for the detection of S. mansoni and S. haematobium. The pooled estimate of sensitivity and specificity of CCA was 88% (95% CI: 83‐92) and 72 (95% CI: 62‐80), respectively, when it is compared with parasitological stool examination for S. mansoni detection. On the other hand, ELISA showed a pooled estimate of sensitivity and specificity of 95% (95% CI: 93‐96) and 35% (95% CI: 21‐52), respectively, for the examination of S. mansoni using stool examination as a reference test. With regard to S. haematobium, the pooled estimate of sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction was 97% (95% CI: 78‐100) and 94% (95% CI: 74‐99), respectively. Moreover, the sensitivity and specificity of urine CCA vary between 41‐80% and 55‐91%, respectively, compared to urine microscopy. Conclusion. The effort of schistosomiasis elimination requires accurate case identification especially in low‐intensity infections. This study showed that CCA had the highest sensitivity and moderate specificity for the diagnosis of S. mansoni. Similarly, the sensitivity of ELISA was excellent, but its specificity was low. The diagnostic accuracy of PCR for the detection of S. haematobium was excellent compared to urine microscopic examination.
Bridge Damage Detection Using Ambient Loads by Bayesian Hypothesis Testing for a Parametric Subspace of an Autoregressive Model
Authors: Goi Yoshinao , Kim Chul-Woo
Published: August 2023

This study explores a change detection method in modal properties to automate and generalize in-service damage detection for vibration-based structural health monitoring of bridges. The noisy conditions caused by ambient loading pose difficulty for in-service damage detection because the load-induced noise often masks the difference in the modal properties. The proposed method directly converts measured time series into a simplified anomaly indicator robust against load-induced noise. This study adopts a vector autoregressive model to represent the vibration of bridges. Bayesian inference produces a posterior probability distribution function of the model parameters. Principal component analysis extracts a subspace comparable to the modal properties in the model parameters. Bayesian hypothesis testing quantifies anomalies in the extracted subspace. The feasibility of the proposed method is assessed with vibration data from field experiments conducted on an actual steel truss bridge. The field experiment includes damage severing the truss members. The modal frequencies and mode shapes estimated from the principal component analysis correspond well to earlier reported results. The proposed damage detection method successfully indicated all damage considered in the experiment.
Niosome as an Effective Nanoscale Solution for the Treatment of Microbial Infections
Authors: Barani Mahmood , Paknia Fatemeh , Roostaee Maryam , Kavyani Batoul , Kalantar-Neyestanaki Davood , Ajalli Narges , Amirbeigi Alireza
Published: August 2023

Numerous disorders go untreated owing to a lack of a suitable drug delivery technology or an appropriate therapeutic moiety, particularly when toxicities and side effects are a major concern. Treatment options for microbiological infections are not fulfilled owing to significant adverse effects or extended therapeutic options. Advanced therapy options, such as active targeting, may be preferable to traditional ways of treating infectious diseases. Niosomes can be defined as microscopic lamellar molecules formed by a mixture of cholesterol, nonionic surfactants (alkyl or dialkyl polyglycerol ethers), and sometimes charge‐inducing agents. These molecules comprise both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties of varying solubilities. In this review, several pathogenic microbes such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Plasmodium, Leishmania, and Candida spp. have been evaluated. Also, the development of a proper niosomal formulation for the required application was discussed. This review also reviews that an optimal formulation is dependent on several aspects, including the choice of nonionic surfactant, fabrication process, and fabrication parameters. Finally, this review will give information on the effectiveness of niosomes in treating acute microbial infections, the mechanism of action of niosomes in combating microbial pathogens, and the advantages of using niosomes over other treatment modalities.
Figure S1 from A Genomic Analysis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Eastern Africa
Authors: Van Loon Katherine , Mmbaga Elia J. , Mushi Beatrice P. , Selekwa Msiba , Mwanga Ally , Akoko Larry O. , Mwaiselage Julius , Mosha Innocent , Ng Dianna L. , Wu Wei , Silverstein Jordyn , Mulima Gift , Kaimila Bongani , Gopal Satish , Snell Jeff M. , Benz Stephen Charles , Vaske Charles , Sanborn Zack , Sedgewick Andrew J. , Radenbaugh Amie , Newton Yulia , Collisson Eric A.
Published: August 2023

Supplementary Figure S1. Measurement of RNA Quantity and Quality using PAXgene tissue container vs. RNAlater.
Supplementary Table S5 from Prediagnostic Prescription Antibiotics Use and Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Swedish National Register-based Study
Authors: Lu Sai San Moon , Rutegård Martin , Ahmed Maghfoor , Häggström Christel , Gylfe Åsa , Harlid Sophia , Van Guelpen Bethany
Published: August 2023

Supplementary Table S5: Antibiotics use in relation to overall and cancer specific survival among stage IV colorectal cancer patients by sex
Supplementary Table 2 from Changes in Geographic Variation and Socioeconomic Inequalities in Esophageal Cancer Mortality in China, 1973–2017
Authors: Ran Xianhui , Zheng Rongshou , Zeng Hongmei , Zhang Siwei , Sun Kexin , Han Bingfeng , Wang Shaoming , Chen Ru , Li Li , Wei Wenqiang , He Jie
Published: August 2023

Supplementary Table 2 shows the change in esophageal cancer mortality rates in counties with and without screening programs.
Supplementary Figure S3 from Prediagnostic Prescription Antibiotics Use and Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: A Swedish National Register-based Study
Authors: Lu Sai San Moon , Rutegård Martin , Ahmed Maghfoor , Häggström Christel , Gylfe Åsa , Harlid Sophia , Van Guelpen Bethany
Published: August 2023

Supplementary Figure S3: Kaplan-Meier estimates for antibiotics use in relation to overall and cancer-specific survival in stageI-III and stage IV colorectal cancer.Prediagnostic antibiotics use was categorized as no use, any use, low use (1-10 days), moderate use (11-60days), high use (61-180 days) and very high use (>180 days), based on defined daily doses. Antibiotics use duringone year before colorectal cancer diagnosis was excluded to account to account for potential use due toundiagnosed but clinically manifest colorectal cancer. P represents P-value for the log-rank test.
Data from Changes in Geographic Variation and Socioeconomic Inequalities in Esophageal Cancer Mortality in China, 1973–2017
Authors: Ran Xianhui , Zheng Rongshou , Zeng Hongmei , Zhang Siwei , Sun Kexin , Han Bingfeng , Wang Shaoming , Chen Ru , Li Li , Wei Wenqiang , He Jie
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackground:
Geographic variability in esophageal cancer has been reported in China, but data are lacking at the local level. We aimed to investigate changes in disparities in esophageal cancer–related mortality among Chinese counties and whether county-level socioeconomic status was associated with this variation.
Methods:
We used data from a nationwide survey and population-based cancer registries to calculate esophageal cancer–related mortality rates for 782 Chinese counties for the periods of 1973–1975 and 2015–2017. We performed hotspot analysis to identify spatial clusters. We used a multivariable negative binomial regression model to estimate the associations between county-level socioeconomic factors and mortality.
Results:
From 1973–1975 to 2015–2017, the age-standardized esophageal cancer–related mortality rate decreased from 27 to 8 per 100,000 person-years in China. By county, 577 (74%) of 782 counties experienced decreasing mortality. Geographic disparities in mortality substantially narrowed, with the gap in mortality rates between 90th and 10th percentile counties decreasing from 55 per 100,000 person-years in 1973–1975 to 16 in 2015–2017. However, clusters of elevated rates persisted across north-central China. Rurality [adjusted mortality rate ratio (MRR) 1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10–1.21], per capita gross domestic product (adjusted MRR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91–0.98), and percentage of people with a high-school diploma (adjusted MRR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.84–0.87) in a county were significantly associated esophageal cancer–related mortality rates.
Conclusions:
China has made substantial progress in reducing esophageal cancer–related mortality and disparities, but the intercounty differences remain large.
Impact:
Continued efforts are needed to address the geographical and socioeconomic disparities in esophageal cancer.
Supplementary Data File S2 from USP1 Expression Driven by EWS::FLI1 Transcription Factor Stabilizes Survivin and Mitigates Replication Stress in Ewing Sarcoma
Authors: Mallard Halle J. , Wan Shibiao , Nidhi Prakriti , Hanscom-Trofy Yvan D. , Mohapatra Bhopal , Woods Nicholas T. , Lopez-Guerrero Jose Antonio , Llombart-Bosch Antonio , Machado Isidro , Scotlandi Katia , Kreiling Natasha F. , Perry Megan C. , Mirza Sameer , Coulter Donald W. , Band Vimla , Band Hamid , Ghosal Gargi
Published: August 2023

Analysis of TMT-MS data; Page 2: DAVID pathway analysis of differentially expressed proteins identified by TMT-MS.
Figure S4 from USP1 Expression Driven by EWS::FLI1 Transcription Factor Stabilizes Survivin and Mitigates Replication Stress in Ewing Sarcoma
Authors: Mallard Halle J. , Wan Shibiao , Nidhi Prakriti , Hanscom-Trofy Yvan D. , Mohapatra Bhopal , Woods Nicholas T. , Lopez-Guerrero Jose Antonio , Llombart-Bosch Antonio , Machado Isidro , Scotlandi Katia , Kreiling Natasha F. , Perry Megan C. , Mirza Sameer , Coulter Donald W. , Band Vimla , Band Hamid , Ghosal Gargi
Published: August 2023

Figure S4 shows Identification of novel potential USP1 substrates.
Figure S1 from USP1 Expression Driven by EWS::FLI1 Transcription Factor Stabilizes Survivin and Mitigates Replication Stress in Ewing Sarcoma
Authors: Mallard Halle J. , Wan Shibiao , Nidhi Prakriti , Hanscom-Trofy Yvan D. , Mohapatra Bhopal , Woods Nicholas T. , Lopez-Guerrero Jose Antonio , Llombart-Bosch Antonio , Machado Isidro , Scotlandi Katia , Kreiling Natasha F. , Perry Megan C. , Mirza Sameer , Coulter Donald W. , Band Vimla , Band Hamid , Ghosal Gargi
Published: August 2023

Figure S1 shows EWS::FLI1 and USP1 expression in EWS cell lines.
Competing Engagement of β-arrestin Isoforms Balances IGF1R/p53 Signaling and Controls Melanoma Cell Chemotherapeutic Responsiveness
Authors: Cismas Sonia , Pasca Sylvya , Crudden Caitrin , Trocoli Drakensjo Iara , Suleymanova Naida , Zhang Simin , Gebhard Benjamin , Song Dawei , Neo Shiyong , Shibano Takashi , Smith Terry J. , Calin George A. , Girnita Ada , Girnita Leonard
Published: August 2023

Constraints on the p53 tumor suppressor pathway have long been associated with the progression, therapeutic resistance, and poor prognosis of melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Likewise, the insulin-like growth factor type 1 receptor (IGF1R) is recognized as an essential coordinator of transformation, proliferation, survival, and migration of melanoma cells. Given that β-arrestin (β-arr) system critically governs the anti/pro-tumorigenic p53/IGF1R signaling pathways through their common E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase MDM2, we explore whether unbalancing this system downstream of IGF1R can enhance the response of melanoma cells to chemotherapy. Altering β-arr expression demonstrated that both β-arr1-silencing and β-arr2-overexpression (-β-arr1/+β-arr2) facilitated nuclear-to-cytosolic MDM2 translocation accompanied by decreased IGF1R expression, while increasing p53 levels, resulting in reduced cell proliferation/survival. Imbalance towards β-arr2 (-β-arr1/+β-arr2) synergizes with the chemotherapeutic agent, dacarbazine, in promoting melanoma cell toxicity. In both 3D spheroid models and in vivo in zebrafish models, this combination strategy, through dual IGF1R downregulation/p53 activation, limits melanoma cell growth, survival and metastatic spread. In clinical settings, analysis of the TCGA-SKCM patient cohort confirms β-arr1−/β-arr2+ imbalance as a metastatic melanoma vulnerability that may enhance therapeutic benefit. Our findings suggest that under steady-state conditions, IGF1R/p53-tumor promotion/suppression status-quo is preserved by β-arr1/2 homeostasis. Biasing this balance towards β-arr2 can limit the protumorigenic IGF1R activities while enhancing p53 activity, thus reducing multiple cancer-sustaining mechanisms. Combined with other therapeutics, this strategy improves patient responses and outcomes to therapies relying on p53 or IGF1R pathways.

Implications:

Altogether, β-arrestin system bias downstream IGF1R is an important metastatic melanoma vulnerability that may be conductive for therapeutic benefit.
Supplementary Table 4 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Table S4
Supplementary Table 1 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Antibodies used for in vitro and in vivo assays, and experimental model
Supplementary Figure 6 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Feladilimab-mediated ICOS co-stimulation results in differential phenotypic changes and cytokine production in CD4+ non-Treg and Treg populations.
Supplementary Figure 2 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Flow cytometry gating strategy for ICOS on individual T cell populations.
Supplementary Figure 10 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Rationale for combination of feladilimab with anti–PD-1 blockade.
Supplementary Figure 1 from Activating Inducible T-cell Costimulator Yields Antitumor Activity Alone and in Combination with Anti-PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade
Authors: Yadavilli Sapna , Waight Jeremy D. , Brett Sara , Bi Meixia , Zhang Tianqian , Liu Yao-Bin , Ellis Catherine , Turner David C. , Hahn Ashleigh , Shi Hong , Seestaller-Wehr Laura , Jing Junping , Xie Qing , Shaik Jafar Sadik , Ji Xiao , Gagnon Robert , Fieles William , Hook Laura , Grant Steven , Hopley Stephanie , DeYoung M. Phillip , Blackwell Christina , Chisamore Michael , Biddlecombe Robert , Figueroa David J. , Hopson Christopher B. , Srinivasan Roopa , Smothers James , Maio Michele , Rischin Danny , Olive Daniel , Paul Elaine , Mayes Patrick A. , Hoos Axel , Ballas Marc
Published: August 2023

Exemplar flow cytometry gating strategy.