bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Endotoxin stabilizes protein arginine methyltransferase 4 (PRMT4) protein triggering death of lung epithelia
Authors: Lai Yandong , Li Xiuying , Li Tiao , Nyunoya Toru , Chen Kong , Kitsios Georgios D. , Nouraie Seyed Mehdi , Zhang Yingze , McVerry Bryan J. , Lee Janet S. , Mallampalli Rama K. , Zou Chunbin
Published: September 2021

Lung epithelial cell death is a prominent feature of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS), which results from severe pulmonary infection leading to respiratory failure. Multiple mechanisms are believed to contribute to the death of epithelia; however, limited data propose a role for epigenetic modifiers. In this study, we report that a chromatin modulator protein arginineN-methyltransferase 4/coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT4/CARM1) is elevated in human lung tissues with pneumonia and in experimental lung injury models. Here PRMT4 is normally targeted for its degradation by an E3 ubiquitin ligase, SCFFBXO9, that interacts with PRMT4 via a phosphodegron to ubiquitinate the chromatin modulator at K228 leading to its proteasomal degradation. Bacterial-derived endotoxin reduced levels of SCFFBXO9thus increasing PRMT4 cellular concentrations linked to epithelial cell death. Elevated PRMT4 protein caused substantial epithelial cell death via caspase 3-mediated cell death signaling, and depletion of PRMT4 abolished LPS-mediated epithelial cell death both in cellular and murine injury models. These findings implicate a unique molecular interaction between SCFFBXO9and PRMT4 and its regulation by endotoxin that impacts the life span of lung epithelia, which may play a key role in the pathobiology of tissue injury observed during critical respiratory illness.
NudCL2 is an autophagy receptor that mediates selective autophagic degradation of CP110 at mother centrioles to promote ciliogenesis
Authors: Liu Min , Zhang Wen , Li Min , Feng Jiaxing , Kuang Wenjun , Chen Xiying , Yang Feng , Sun Qiang , Xu Zhangqi , Hua Jianfeng , Yang Chunxia , Liu Wei , Shu Qiang , Yang Yuehong , Zhou Tianhua , Xie Shanshan
Published: September 2021

Primary cilia extending from mother centrioles are essential for vertebrate development and homeostasis maintenance. Centriolar coiled-coil protein 110 (CP110) has been reported to suppress ciliogenesis initiation by capping the distal ends of mother centrioles. However, the mechanism underlying the specific degradation of mother centriole-capping CP110 to promote cilia initiation remains unknown. Here, we find that autophagy is crucial for CP110 degradation at mother centrioles after serum starvation in MEF cells. We further identify NudC-like protein 2 (NudCL2) as a novel selective autophagy receptor at mother centrioles, which contains an LC3-interacting region (LIR) motif mediating the association of CP110 and the autophagosome marker LC3. Knockout of NudCL2 induces defects in the removal of CP110 from mother centrioles and ciliogenesis, which are rescued by wild-type NudCL2 but not its LIR motif mutant. Knockdown of CP110 significantly attenuates ciliogenesis defects in NudCL2-deficient cells. In addition, NudCL2 morphants exhibit ciliation-related phenotypes in zebrafish, which are reversed by wild-type NudCL2, but not its LIR motif mutant. Importantly, CP110 depletion significantly reverses these ciliary phenotypes in NudCL2 morphants. Taken together, our data suggest that NudCL2 functions as an autophagy receptor mediating the selective degradation of mother centriole-capping CP110 to promote ciliogenesis, which is indispensable for embryo development in vertebrates.
Long-term treatment with senolytic drugs Dasatinib and Quercetin ameliorates age-dependent intervertebral disc degeneration in mice
Authors: Novais Emanuel J. , Tran Victoria A. , Johnston Shira N. , Darris Kayla R. , Roupas Alex J. , Sessions Garrett A. , Shapiro Irving M. , Diekman Brian O. , Risbud Makarand V.
Published: September 2021

Intervertebral disc degeneration is highly prevalent within the elderly population and is a leading cause of chronic back pain and disability. Due to the link between disc degeneration and senescence, we explored the ability of the Dasatinib and Quercetin drug combination (D + Q) to prevent an age-dependent progression of disc degeneration in mice. We treated C57BL/6 mice beginning at 6, 14, and 18 months of age, and analyzed them at 23 months of age. Interestingly, 6- and 14-month D + Q cohorts show lower incidences of degeneration, and the treatment results in a significant decrease in senescence markers p16INK4a, p19ARF, and SASP molecules IL-6 and MMP13. Treatment also preserves cell viability, phenotype, and matrix content. Although transcriptomic analysis shows disc compartment-specific effects of the treatment, cell death and cytokine response pathways are commonly modulated across tissue types. Results suggest that senolytics may provide an attractive strategy to mitigating age-dependent disc degeneration.
Longitudinal characterization of multispecies microbial populations recovered from spaceflight potable water
Authors: Yang Jiseon , Barrila Jennifer , Mark Ott C. , King Olivia , Bruce Rebekah , McLean Robert J. C. , Nickerson Cheryl A.
Published: September 2021

While sequencing technologies have revolutionized our knowledge of microbial diversity, little is known about the dynamic emergent phenotypes that arise within the context of mixed-species populations, which are not fully predicted using sequencing technologies alone. The International Space Station (ISS) is an isolated, closed human habitat that can be harnessed for cross-sectional and longitudinal functional microbiome studies. Using NASA-archived microbial isolates collected from the ISS potable water system over several years, we profiled five phenotypes: antibiotic resistance, metabolism, hemolysis, and biofilm structure/composition of individual or multispecies communities, which represent characteristics that could negatively impact astronaut health and life-support systems. Data revealed a temporal dependence on interactive behaviors, suggesting possible microbial adaptation over time within the ecosystem. This study represents one of the most extensive phenotypic characterization of ISS potable water microbiota with implications for microbial risk assessments of water systems in built environments in space and on Earth.
Constructing covalent organic nanoarchitectures molecule by molecule via scanning probe manipulation
Authors: Zhong Qigang , Ihle Alexander , Ahles Sebastian , Wegner Hermann A. , Schirmeisen Andre , Ebeling Daniel
Published: September 2021

Constructing low-dimensional covalent assemblies with tailored size and connectivity is challenging yet often key for applications in molecular electronics where optical and electronic properties of the quantum materials are highly structure dependent. We present a versatile approach for building such structures block by block on bilayer sodium chloride (NaCl) films on Cu(111) with the tip of an atomic force microscope, while tracking the structural changes with single-bond resolution. Covalent homo-dimers in cis and trans configurations and homo-/hetero-trimers were selectively synthesized by a sequence of dehalogenation, translational manipulation and intermolecular coupling of halogenated precursors. Further demonstrations of structural build-up include complex bonding motifs, like carbon–iodine–carbon bonds and fused carbon pentagons. This work paves the way for synthesizing elusive covalent nanoarchitectures, studying structural modifications and revealing pathways of intermolecular reactions.
Radiomics feature stability of open-source software evaluated on apparent diffusion coefficient maps in head and neck cancer
Authors: Korte James C. , Cardenas Carlos , Hardcastle Nicholas , Kron Tomas , Wang Jihong , Bahig Houda , Elgohari Baher , Ger Rachel , Court Laurence , Fuller Clifton D. , Ng Sweet Ping
Published: September 2021

Radiomics is a promising technique for discovering image based biomarkers of therapy response in cancer. Reproducibility of radiomics features is a known issue that is addressed by the image biomarker standardisation initiative (IBSI), but it remains challenging to interpret previously published radiomics signatures. This study investigates the reproducibility of radiomics features calculated with two widely used radiomics software packages (IBEX, MaZda) in comparison to an IBSI compliant software package (PyRadiomics). Intensity histogram, shape and textural features were extracted from 334 diffusion weighted magnetic resonance images of 59 head and neck cancer (HNC) patients from the PREDICT-HN observational radiotherapy study. Based on name and linear correlation, PyRadiomics shares 83 features with IBEX and 49 features with MaZda, a sub-set of well correlated features are considered reproducible (IBEX: 15 features, MaZda: 18 features). We explore the impact of including non-reproducible radiomics features in a HNC radiotherapy response model. It is possible to classify equivalent patient groups using radiomic features from either software, but only when restricting the model to reliable features using a correlation threshold method. This is relevant for clinical biomarker validation trials as it provides a framework to assess the reproducibility of reported radiomic signatures from existing trials.
Ascorbic acid as an adjunctive therapy in critically ill patients with COVID-19: a propensity score matched study
Authors: Al Sulaiman Khalid , Aljuhani Ohoud , Saleh Khalid Bin , Badreldin Hisham A. , Al Harthi Abdullah , Alenazi Mohammed , Alharbi Aisha , Algarni Rahmah , Al Harbi Shmeylan , Alhammad Abdullah M. , Vishwakarma Ramesh , Aldekhyl Sarah
Published: September 2021

Ascorbic acid represents an appealing option for clinicians to utilize in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic due to its proposed clinical efficacy, relative safety, and low cost. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of using ascorbic acid in supplemental doses as adjunctive therapy for patients critically ill with COVID-19. This was a two-center, non-interventional, retrospective cohort study. All critically ill adult patients admitted to ICU with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis between March 1st and December 31st, 2020, were included in the final analysis. The study was conducted at two large governmental tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The purpose was to investigate the clinical outcomes of low-dose ascorbic acid as adjunctive therapy in COVID-19 after propensity score matching using baseline severity scores, systematic use of corticosteroids, and study centers. A number of 739 patients were included in this study, among whom 296 patients were included after propensity score matching. There was no association between the administration of ascorbic acid and in-hospital mortality or the 30-day mortality [OR (95% CI) 0.77 (0.47, 1.23), p value = 0.27 and OR (95% CI) 0.73 (0.43, 1.20), p value = 0.21, respectively]. Using ascorbic acid was associated with a lower incidence of thrombosis compared with the non-ascorbic-acid group [6.1% vs. 13% respectively; OR (95% CI) 0.42 (0.184, 0.937), p value = 0.03]. Low dose of ascorbic acid as an adjunctive therapy in COVID-19 critically ill patients was not associated with mortality benefits, but it was associated with a lower incidence of thrombosis. Further studies are required to confirm these findings.
Raspberry ketone diet supplement reduces attraction of sterile male Queensland fruit fly to cuelure by altering expression of chemoreceptor genes
Authors: Khan Mohammed Abul Monjur , Deshpande Nandan P. , Shuttleworth Lucas A. , Osborne Terry , Collins Damian , Wilkins Marc R. , Gurr Geoff M. , Reynolds Olivia L.
Published: September 2021

Sterile male Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), fed as immature adults on the plant compound raspberry ketone (RK), show a reduced attraction to cuelure, a synthetic analogue of RK used as an attractant in Male Annihilation Technique. We hypothesized the reduced attraction of RK-fed adult males to cuelure may be a consequence of altered expression of chemoreception genes. A Y-tube olfactometer assay with RK-fed and RK-unfed sterile B. tryoni males tested the subsequent behavioural response to cuelure. Behavioral assays confirmed a significant decrease in attraction of RK-fed sterile males to cuelure. RK-fed, non-responders (to cue-lure) and RK-unfed, responders (to cue-lure) males were sampled and gene expression compared by de novo RNA-seq analysis. A total of 269 genes in fly heads were differentially expressed between replicated groups of RK-fed, cuelure non-responders and RK-unfed, cuelure responders. Among them, 218 genes including 4 chemoreceptor genes were up regulated and 51 genes were down regulated in RK-fed, cuelure non-responders. De novo assembly generated many genes with unknown functions and no significant BLAST hits to homologues in other species. The enriched and suppressed genes reported here, shed light on the transcriptional changes that affect the dynamics of insect responses to chemical stimuli.
Reduced misclosure of global sea-level budget with updated Tongji-Grace2018 solution
Authors: Wang Fengwei , Shen Yunzhong , Chen Qiujie , Sun Yu
Published: September 2021

The global sea-level budget is studied using the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) solutions, Satellite Altimetry and Argo observations based on the updated budget equation. When the global ocean mass change is estimated with the updated Tongji-Grace2018 solution, the misclosure of the global sea-level budget can be reduced by 0.11–0.22 mm/year compared to four other recent solutions (i.e. CSR RL06, GFZ RL06, JPL RL06 and ITSG-Grace2018) over the period January 2005 to December 2016. When the same missing months as the GRACE solution are deleted from altimetry and Argo data, the misclosure will be reduced by 0.06 mm/year. Once retained the GRACE C20 term, the linear trends of Tongji-Grace2018 and ITSG-Grace2018 solutions are 2.60 ± 0.16 and 2.54 ± 0.16 mm/year, closer to 2.60 ± 0.14 mm/year from Altimetry–Argo than the three RL06 official solutions. Therefore, the Tongji-Grace2018 solution can reduce the misclosure between altimetry, Argo and GRACE data, regardless of whether the C20 term is replaced or not, since the low-degree spherical harmonic coefficients of the Tongji-Grace2018 solution can capture more ocean signals, which are confirmed by the statistical results of the time series of global mean ocean mass change derived from five GRACE solutions with the spherical harmonic coefficients truncated to different degrees and orders.
Determining the microbial and chemical contamination in Ecuador’s main rivers
Authors: Vinueza Dayana , Ochoa-Herrera Valeria , Maurice Laurence , Tamayo Esteban , Mejía Lorena , Tejera Eduardo , Machado António
Published: September 2021

One major health issue is the microbial and chemical contamination of natural freshwater, particularly in Latin American countries, such as Ecuador, where it is still lacking wastewater treatment plants. This study analyzed the water quality in twelve rivers of Ecuador (Coastal, Andean, and Amazonian regions). All rivers showed levels ofE. coliand total coliforms above the maximum limit according to International and Ecuadorian legislations. The most polluted rivers were Zamora, Esmeraldas and Machángara. Also,E. colipathotypes were found in six rivers. Several physicochemical and metal parameters were detected in high levels, such as CODTOTAL(in eight rivers), TSS (in six rivers), TS (in two rivers), Al (in nine rivers), Zn (in eight rivers), Pb (in three rivers), Cu (in three rivers), Fe (in two rivers), and Mn (in Machángara River). Our results agree with other studies in Latin America (such as Colombia, Brazil, and Peru) reporting similar contamination in water resources used for agriculture, livestock, and human consumption. Overall, Guayas, Guayllabamba, and Machángara Rivers showed the highest levels of physicochemical parameters (such as CODTOTALand TSS) and metal concentrations (such as copper, zinc, aluminum, iron, and manganese). Further studies should evaluate contamination sources and public health impact.
Novel lipophosphonoxin-loaded polycaprolactone electrospun nanofiber dressing reduces Staphylococcus aureus induced wound infection in mice
Authors: Do Pham Duy Dinh , Jenčová Věra , Kaňuchová Miriam , Bayram Jan , Grossová Ivana , Šuca Hubert , Urban Lukáš , Havlíčková Kristýna , Novotný Vít , Mikeš Petr , Mojr Viktor , Asatiani Nikifor , Košťáková Eva Kuželová , Maixnerová Martina , Vlková Alena , Vítovská Dragana , Šanderová Hana , Nemec Alexandr , Krásný Libor , Zajíček Robert , Lukáš David , Rejman Dominik , Gál Peter
Published: September 2021

Active wound dressings are attracting extensive attention in soft tissue repair and regeneration, including bacteria-infected skin wound healing. As the wide use of antibiotics leads to drug resistance we present here a new concept of wound dressings based on the polycaprolactone nanofiber scaffold (NANO) releasing second generation lipophosphonoxin (LPPO) as antibacterial agent. Firstly, we demonstrated in vitro that LPPO released from NANO exerted antibacterial activity while not impairing proliferation/differentiation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Secondly, using a mouse model we showed that NANO loaded with LPPO significantly reduced the Staphylococcus aureus counts in infected wounds as evaluated 7 days post-surgery. Furthermore, the rate of degradation and subsequent LPPO release in infected wounds was also facilitated by lytic enzymes secreted by inoculated bacteria. Finally, LPPO displayed negligible to no systemic absorption. In conclusion, the composite antibacterial NANO-LPPO-based dressing reduces the bacterial load and promotes skin repair, with the potential to treat wounds in clinical settings.
Genetic profiles of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma in Japanese patients
Authors: Tokunaga Mamoru , Okimoto Kenichiro , Akizue Naoki , Ishikawa Kentaro , Hirotsu Yosuke , Amemiya Kenji , Ota Masayuki , Matsusaka Keisuke , Nishimura Motoi , Matsushita Kazuyuki , Ishikawa Tsubasa , Nagashima Ariki , Shiratori Wataru , Kaneko Tatsuya , Oura Hirotaka , Kanayama Kengo , Ohta Yuki , Taida Takashi , Saito Keiko , Matsumura Tomoaki , Chiba Tetsuhiro , Mochizuki Hitoshi , Arai Makoto , Kato Jun , Ikeda Jun-ichiro , Omata Masao , Kato Naoya
Published: September 2021

The genetic characteristics of Barrett’s esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) in the Japanese population is unclear. This study aims to investigate the genetic characteristics from nondysplastic BE (NDBE) to early EAC in Japan. Clinical information was collected. Moreover, the genetic profile of NDBE without concurrent dysplasia, early EAC, and surrounding BE were also investigated using endoscopic biopsy samples and formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens from Japanese patients by targeted next-generation sequencing. Immunohistochemical staining for p53 was also performed for EAC lesions. Targeted NGS was performed for 33 cases with 77 specimens. No significant difference exists in the NDBE group between the number of putative drivers per lesion in the short-segment Barrett’s esophagus (SSBE) and long-segment Barrett’s esophagus (LSBE) [0 (range, 0–1) vs. 0 (range, 0–1).p = 1.00].TP53putative drivers were found in two patients (16.7%) with nondysplastic SSBE.TP53was the majority of putative drivers in both BE adjacent to EAC and EAC, accounting for 66.7% and 66.7%, respectively. More putative drivers per lesion were found in the EAC than in the NDBE group [1 (range, 0–3) vs. 0 (range, 0–1).p < 0.01]. The genetic variants ofTP53in the Japanese early EAC were similar to those in western countries. However,TP53putative drivers were detected even in Japanese patients with nondysplastic SSBE. This is significant because such nondysplastic SSBE might have higher risk of progressing to high-grade dysplasia or EAC. The risks of progression may not be underestimated and appropriate follow-ups may be necessary even in patients with SSBE.

Trial registration:This study was registered at the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN000034247).
Author Correction: Lipidomics of facial sebum in the comparison between acne and non-acne adolescents with dark skin
Authors: Okoro Obumneme Emeka , Adenle Adebomi , Ludovici Matteo , Truglio Mauro , Marini Federico , Camera Emanuela
Published: September 2021

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
A novel method to detect hPG80 (human circulating progastrin) in the blood
Authors: Cappellini Monica , Flaceliere Maud , Saywell Veronique , Soule Julien , Blanc Emilie , Belouin Fanny , Ortiz Erika , Canterel-Thouennon Lucile , Poupeau Sophie , Tigrett Sylvia , Vire Bérengère , Liaud Pierre , Blairvacq Mélina , Joubert Dominique , Prieur Alexandre
Published: September 2021

hPG80 (human circulating progastrin) is produced and released by cancer cells and can be detected in the blood using DxPG80 ELISA kit.
Role of mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum coupling in lycopene preventing DEHP-induced hepatotoxicity
Authors: Zhao Yi , Cui Jia-Gen , Zhang Hao , Li Xue-Nan , Li Mu-Zi , Talukder Milton , Li Jin-Long
Published: September 2021

DEHP is a hazardous compound that induces hepatotoxicity. LYC is a chemoprotective agent against hepatotoxicity. This work indicated that LYC prevented DEHP-induced hepatic mitochondrial dynamics and MAM disorder, which caused ER stress.
Revealing better organic sodium battery performance in ionic liquid electrolytes
Authors: Zhang Weisheng , Sun Huimin , Sun Zhaopeng , Liu Shuai , Huang Weiwei
Published: September 2021

Ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte conduced to better sodium storage performance for organic electrode materials.
Copper(ii)-catalyzed and acid-promoted highly regioselective oxidation of tautomerizable C(sp3)–H bonds adjacent to 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines using air (O2) as a clean oxidant
Authors: He Yun-Gang , Huang Yong-Kang , Fan Qi-Qi , Zheng Bo , Luo Yong-Qiang , Zhu Xing-Liang , Shi Xiao-Xin
Published: September 2021

A novel Cu(ii)-catalyzed and acid-promoted highly regioselective oxidation of tautomerizable C(sp3)–H bonds adjacent to 1-Bn-DHIQs was developed. This method was successfully applied in the first total synthesis of canelillinoxine.
A non-peptide probe for detecting chymotrypsin activity based on protection–deprotection strategy in living systems
Authors: Zou Xiang , Zhao Yuping , Lai Chaofeng , Liang Yun , Lin Weiying
Published: September 2021

A non-peptide probe for detecting chymotrypsin activity based on a protection–deprotection strategy in living systems.
Dynamic stochastic joint expansion planning of power systems, natural gas networks, and electrical and natural gas storage
Authors: Gholami Arash , Nafisi Hamed , Askarian Abyaneh Hossein , Jahanbani Ardakani Ali
Published: September 2021

Over the last decades, electricity generation from natural gas has substantially increased, mostly driven by low natural gas prices due to fracturing and lower extraction costs. The geographic distance between natural gas resources and load centers calls for a holistic tool for joint expansion of power systems and natural gas networks. In this paper, a Dynamic Stochastic Joint Expansion Planning (DSJEP) of power systems and natural gas networks is proposed to minimize the investment and operational costs of power and natural gas systems. Electrical and natural gas storage (ENGS) are considered as an option for decision‐makers in the DSJEP problem. The proposed approach takes into account long‐term uncertainties in natural gas prices and electric and natural gas demands through scenario realizations. In dynamic planning, more scenario needs more time for computation; therefore, scenario reduction is implemented to eschew unnecessary scenarios. The proposed formulation is implemented on a four‐bus electricity system with a five‐node natural gas network. To demonstrate the efficiency and scalability of the proposed approach, it is also tested on the IEEE 118‐bus system with a 14‐node natural gas network. The numerical results demonstrate that ENGS can reduce the total investment cost, up to 52% in the test cases, and operational cost, up to 3%. In this paper, co‐planning of power and natural gas systems considering natural gas and electrical storage is represented. Also, electrical and natural gas load growth uncertainties are taken into account to model the real situations. The purpose of the model is to minimize investing and operational costs.
Amphiphilic peroxo polyoxometalate as reaction control phase transfer catalyst for efficient epoxidation of olefins
Authors: Wu Jinghui , Zheng Hongwei , Wang Chi , Wang Xianze , Wang Xiaohong , Huo Mingxin
Published: September 2021

A peroxo polyoxometalate‐based catalyst was synthesized, characterized, and employed as a catalyst in the epoxidation of olefins with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). During the reaction, the insoluble catalyst became soluble and an emulsion formed to promote the epoxidation process. Then the emulsion broke and the catalyst precipitated for reuse easily.
Cooperative decentralized peer‐to‐peer electricity trading of nanogrid clusters based on predictions of load demand and PV power generation using a gated recurrent unit model
Authors: Lee Sangkeum , Jin Hojun , Vecchietti Luiz Felipe , Hong Junhee , Park Ki‐Bum , Son Pham Ngoc , Har Dongsoo
Published: September 2021

This paper presents an approach to the power management of nanogrid clusters assisted by a novel form of peer‐to‐peer (P2P) electricity trading. DC nanogrids have lower power loss in real time and are suitable for P2P trading. Here, cost of electricity for clusters involving different kinds of photovoltaic (PV) power production (as a secondary source) is reduced by a newly proposed P2P trading scheme. For power management of individual clusters, multi‐objective optimization is applied to minimize simultaneously total power consumption, grid power consumption, and total delay incurred locally by scheduling. The temporal surplus of self‐supplied PV power of a cluster can be sold through P2P trading to another cluster subjected to a temporal power shortage. In P2P trading, a cooperative game model is used for buyers and sellers to maximize their welfare. To increase P2P trading efficiency, prediction of load demand and PV power production is considered for power management of each cluster to resolve instantaneous imbalances between load demand and PV power production. A gated recurrent unit network is used to forecast future load demand and PV power production in nanogrid cluster could reduce electricity cost by 29.2%.
Two-dimensional simulations of solar-like models with artificially enhanced luminosity
Authors: Baraffe I. , Pratt J. , Vlaykov D. G. , Guillet T. , Goffrey T. , Le Saux A. , Constantino T.
Published: September 2021

We performed two-dimensional, fully compressible, time-implicit simulations of convection in a solar-like model with the MUSIC code. Our main motivation is to explore the impact of a common tactic adopted in numerical simulations of convection that use realistic stellar conditions. This tactic is to artificially increase the luminosity and to modify the thermal diffusivity of the reference stellar model. This work focuses on the impact of these modifications on convective penetration (or overshooting) at the base of the convective envelope of a solar-like model. We explore a range of enhancement factors for the energy input (or stellar luminosity) and confirm the increase in the characteristic overshooting depth with the increase in the energy input, as suggested by analytical models and by previous numerical simulations. We performed high-order moments analysis of the temperature fluctuations for moderate enhancement factors and find similar flow structure in the convective envelope and the penetration region, independently of the enhancement factor. As a major finding, our results highlight the importance of the impact of penetrative downflows on the thermal background below the convective boundary. This is a result of compression and shear which induce local heating and thermal mixing. The artificial increase in the energy flux intensifies the heating process by increasing the velocities in the convective zone and at the convective boundary, revealing a subtle connection between the local heating of the thermal background and the plume dynamics. This heating also increases the efficiency of heat transport by radiation which may counterbalance further heating and helps to establish a steady state. We suggest that the modification of the thermal background by penetrative plumes impacts the width of the overshooting layer. Additionally, our results suggest that an artificial modification of the radiative diffusivity in the overshooting layer, rather than only accelerating the thermal relaxation, could also alter the dynamics of the penetrating plumes and thus the width of the overshooting layer. Results from simulations with an artificial modification of the energy flux and of the thermal diffusivity should thus be regarded with caution if used to determine an overshooting distance.
Sequential Use of Romiplostim after Eltrombopag for Refractory Thrombocytopenia in Hydrocarbon-Induced Myelodysplasia
Authors: Morales Luis F. , Miyara Santiago J. , Guevara Sara , Metz Christine N. , Shoaib Muhammad , Watt Stacey , Zafeiropoulos Stefanos , McCann-Molmenti Alexia , Hayashida Kei , Takegawa Ryosuke , Shinozaki Koichiro , Choudhary Rishabh C. , Brindley Elena C. , Nishikimi Mitsuaki , Kressel Adam M. , Alsalmay Yaser M. , Mazzotta Elvio A. , Cho Young Min , Aranalde Gabriel I. , Grande Daniel A. , Zanos Stavros , Shore-Lesserson Linda , Becker Lance B. , Molmenti Ernesto P.
Published: September 2021

We describe the clinical course of a 65-year-old male patient who suffered from hydrocarbon-induced myelodysplasia and was successfully treated with the thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA), romiplostim. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, cytopenias, and increased risk of leukemic transformation. Here, we present a clinical vignette of MDS-associated thrombocytopenia refractory to first-line drugs as well as the TPO-RA, eltrombopag. To date, romiplostim is an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and thrombocytopenia secondary to liver disease. Of note, currently the FDA advises against its use in MDS based on previous long-term safety concerns. Since the therapeutic options for thrombocytopenia in MDS patients are sparse, repurposing and reassessing romiplostim in this setting have been the focus of recent studies. At the time of writing, no published double-blind randomized clinical trials have conducted a head-to-head comparison between romiplostim and eltrombopag in thrombocytopenic MDS patients. To the best of our knowledge, for a thrombocytopenic patient in the setting of MDS, this is the first documented report of refractory clinical response after a 2-year use of eltrombopag in which replacement of treatment with romiplostim resulted in sustained physiological counts of thrombocytes within four weeks.
New Standards for Clinical Decision Support: A Survey of The State of Implementation
Authors: Taber Peter , Radloff Christina , Del Fiol Guilherme , Staes Catherine , Kawamoto Kensaku
Published: September 2021

Objectives: To review the current state of research on designing and implementing clinical decision support (CDS) using four current interoperability standards: Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR); Substitutable Medical Applications and Reusable Technologies (SMART); Clinical Quality Language (CQL); and CDS Hooks.

Methods: We conducted a review of original studies describing development of specific CDS tools or infrastructures using one of the four targeted standards, regardless of implementation stage. Citations published any time before the literature search was executed on October 21, 2020 were retrieved from PubMed. Two reviewers independently screened articles and abstracted data according to a protocol designed by team consensus.

Results: Of 290 articles identified via PubMed search, 44 were included in this study. More than three quarters were published since 2018. Forty-three (98%) used FHIR; 22 (50%) used SMART; two (5%) used CQL; and eight (18%) used CDS Hooks. Twenty-four (55%) were in the design stage, 15 (34%) in the piloting stage, and five (11%) were deployed in a real-world setting. Only 12 (27%) of the articles reported an evaluation of the technology under development. Three of the four articles describing a deployed technology reported an evaluation. Only two evaluations with randomized study components were identified.

Conclusion: The diversity of topics and approaches identified in the literature highlights the utility of these standards. The infrequency of reported evaluations, as well as the high number of studies in the design or piloting stage, indicate that these technologies are still early in their life cycles. Informaticists will require a stronger evidence base to understand the implications of using these standards in CDS design and implementation.
Managing Pandemics with Health Informatics
Authors: Dixon Brian E. , Holmes John H. ,   Section Editors for the IMIA Yearbook Section on Managing Pandemics with Health Informatics
Published: September 2021

Objective: To summarize significant research contributions on managing pandemics with health informatics published in 2020.

Methods: An extensive search using PubMed and Scopus was conducted to identify peer-reviewed articles published in 2020 that examined health informatics systems used during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The selection process comprised three steps: 1) 15 candidate best papers were first selected by the two section editors; 2) external reviewers from internationally renowned research teams reviewed each candidate best paper; and 3) the final selection of three best papers was conducted by the editorial committee of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook.

Results: Selected best papers represent the important and diverse ways that health informatics supported clinical and public health responses to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Selected papers represent four groups of papers: 1) Use of analytics to screen, triage, and manage patients; 2) Use of telehealth and remote monitoring to manage patients and populations; 3) Use of EHR systems and administrative systems to manage internal operations of a hospital or health system; and 4) Use of informatics methods and systems by public health authorities to capture, store, manage, and visualize population-level data and information.

Conclusion: Health informatics played a critical role in managing patients and populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care and public health organizations both leveraged available information systems and standards to rapidly identify cases, triage infected individuals, and monitor population trends. The selected best papers represent a fraction of the body of knowledge stemming from COVID-19, most of which is focused on pandemic response. Future work will be needed to help the world recover from the pandemic and strengthen the health information infrastructure in preparation for the next pandemic.
Human Factors and Organizational Issues in Health Informatics: Innovations and Opportunities
Authors: Marquard Jenna
Published: September 2021

Objective: Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) frameworks and methods are becoming embedded in the health informatics community. There is now broad recognition that health informatics tools must account for the diverse needs, characteristics, and abilities of end users, as well as their context of use. The objective of this review is to synthesize the current nature and scope of HF/E integration into the health informatics community.

Methods: Because the focus of this synthesis is on understanding the current integration of the HF/E and health informatics research communities, we manually reviewed all manuscripts published in primary HF/E and health informatics journals during 2020.

Results: HF/E-focused health informatics studies included in this synthesis focused heavily on EHR customizations, specifically clinical decision support customizations and customized data displays, and on mobile health innovations. While HF/E methods aimed to jointly improve end user safety, performance, and satisfaction, most HF/E-focused health informatics studies measured only end user satisfaction.

Conclusion: HF/E-focused health informatics researchers need to identify and communicate methodological standards specific to health informatics, to better synthesize findings across resource intensive HF/E-focused health informatics studies. Important gaps in the HF/E design and evaluation process should be addressed in future work, including support for technology development platforms and training programs so that health informatics designers are as diverse as end users.
Clinical Information Systems Research in the Pandemic Year 2020
Authors: Hackl W. O. , Hoerbst A. ,   Section Editors of the IMIA Yearbook Section on Clinical Information Systems
Published: September 2021

Objective: In this synopsis, we give an overview of recent research and propose a selection of best papers published in 2020 in the field of Clinical Information Systems (CIS).

Method: As CIS section editors, we annually apply a systematic process to retrieve articles for the International Medical Informatics Association Yearbook of Medical Informatics. For seven years now, we use the same query to find relevant publications in the CIS field. Each year we retrieve more than 2,400 papers which we categorize in a multi-pass review to distill a preselection of 15 candidate papers. External reviewers and yearbook editors then assess the selected candidate papers. Based on the review results, the IMIA Yearbook editorial board chooses up to four best publications for the section at a selection meeting. To get an overview of the content of the retrieved articles, we use text mining and term co-occurrence mapping techniques.

Results: We carried out the query in mid-January 2021 and retrieved a deduplicated result set of 2,787 articles from 1,135 different journals. We nominated 15 papers as candidates and finally selected four of them as the best papers in the CIS section. As in the previous years, the content analysis of the articles revealed the broad spectrum of topics covered by CIS research. Thus, this year we could observe a significant impact of COVID-19 on CIS research.

Conclusions: The trends in CIS research, as seen in recent years, continue to be observable. What was very visible was the impact of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has affected not only our lives but also CIS.
A Review of Recent Work in Transfer Learning and Domain Adaptation for Natural Language Processing of Electronic Health Records
Authors: Laparra Egoitz , Mascio Aurelie , Velupillai Sumithra , Miller Timothy
Published: September 2021

Objectives: We survey recent work in biomedical NLP on building more adaptable or generalizable models, with a focus on work dealing with electronic health record (EHR) texts, to better understand recent trends in this area and identify opportunities for future research.

Methods: We searched PubMed, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) anthology, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) proceedings, and Google Scholar for the years 2018-2020. We reviewed abstracts to identify the most relevant and impactful work, and manually extracted data points from each of these papers to characterize the types of methods and tasks that were studied, in which clinical domains, and current state-of-the-art results.

Results: The ubiquity of pre-trained transformers in clinical NLP research has contributed to an increase in domain adaptation and generalization-focused work that uses these models as the key component. Most recently, work has started to train biomedical transformers and to extend the fine-tuning process with additional domain adaptation techniques. We also highlight recent research in cross-lingual adaptation, as a special case of adaptation.

Conclusions: While pre-trained transformer models have led to some large performance improvements, general domain pre-training does not always transfer adequately to the clinical domain due to its highly specialized language. There is also much work to be done in showing that the gains obtained by pre-trained transformers are beneficial in real world use cases. The amount of work in domain adaptation and transfer learning is limited by dataset availability and creating datasets for new domains is challenging. The growing body of research in languages other than English is encouraging, and more collaboration between researchers across the language divide would likely accelerate progress in non-English clinical NLP.
Clinical Decision Support Systems and Computerized Provider Order Entry: Contributions from 2020
Authors: Borbolla Damian , Ficheur Grégoire ,   Section Editors for the IMIA Yearbook Section on Decision Support
Published: September 2021

Objectives: To summarize research contributions published in 2020 in the field of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) and computerized provider order entry (CPOE), and select the best papers for the Decision Support section of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Yearbook 2021.

Methods: Two bibliographic databases were searched for papers referring to clinical decision support systems. From search results, section editors established a list of candidate best papers, which were then peer-reviewed by seven external reviewers. The IMIA Yearbook editorial committee finally selected the best papers on the basis of all reviews including the section editors’ evaluation.

Results: A total of 1,919 articles were retrieved. 15 best paper candidates were selected, the reviews of which resulted in the selection of two best papers. One paper reports on the use of electronic health records to support a public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The second paper proposes a combination of CDSS and telemedicine as a technology-based intervention to improve the outcomes of depression as part of a cluster trial.

Conclusions: As shown by the number and the variety of works related to clinical decision support, research in the field is very active. This year's selection highlighted the application of CDSS to fight COVID-19 and a combined technology-based strategy to improve the treatment of depression.
Robotic Surgery for Complicated Diverticular Disease
Authors: Ali Fadwa , Raskin Elizabeth
Published: September 2021

Diverticular disease is common, and increasing in prevalence worldwide. The treatment for acute and chronic diverticular disease has a huge clinical and economic burden. Surgery is standard for complicated diverticulitis, and there are several benefits to using robotic surgery in these cases. Complicated diverticular disease can result in fistula, fibrosis, and deranged anatomy, which present technical challenges to the surgeon. Understanding and anticipating these anatomical challenges is key to successful surgery. While fears of conversion in complicated cases may stop surgeons from using traditional laparoscopic surgery, robotic surgery is especially promising for enhancing dexterity, visualization, and facilitating completely minimally invasive surgery in these complicated cases. In this chapter, we review end-to-end technical strategies of robotic colorectal surgery for complicated diverticular disease, including cases with colovesicular, colovaginal, and colocutaneous fistulae.
Preoperative Diagnosis of Suprasellar Hemangioblastoma with Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography Angiography: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Tong Yi , Sirhan Denis , Cortes Maria
Published: September 2021

Purpose Our case report presents the first case of suprasellar hemangioblastoma diagnosed preoperatively with dynamic computed tomography angiography (four-dimensional [4D] CTA) in a patient without Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. We illustrate the imaging characteristics of these exceedingly rare tumors and discuss the role of 4D CTA in confirming this diagnosis and guiding surgical management. Finally, we present a literature review of imaging findings, differential diagnosis, management, and prognosis.

Case A 39-year-old woman known for diabetes mellitus type II and dyslipidemia presented with headache, bitemporal hemianopsia, and mild hyperprolactinemia. Initial diagnosis of suprasellar meningioma separate from pituitary gland was revised to definitive diagnosis of suprasellar hemangioblastoma after 4D CTA.

Conclusion Suprasellar hemangioblastomas are extremely rare, often associated to VHL disease. They present as enhancing as suprasellar mass with prominent intra- and peritumoral vascular flow-voids on magnetic resonance imaging. 4D CTA confirms their vascular nature, demonstrates characteristic rapid shunting with feeding arteries, and enlarged draining veins, and is important in guiding surgical management.
Governance in the era of Blockchain technology in Qatar: a roadmap and a manual for Trade Finance
Authors: Ibrahim Imad Antoine , Truby Jon
Published: September 2021

Nations worldwide have sought to capitalize on the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) including Blockchain, but struggled to strike a balance between encouraging investment and innovation in the technology while addressing the challenges and uncertainties through regulation. Through its FinTech (Financial Technology) Strategy, Qatar has sought to embrace DLT, but its regulatory approach also remains cautious. Trade Finance is an ideal business process to be disrupted through the benefits of DLT and especially Blockchain technology, since its processes remain antiquated, inefficient and lack digitization. Blockchain as a form of DLT particularly offers the Trade Finance process not only more rapid, secure, cost-effective and efficient procedures, but importantly completely assures trust between importers and exporters and removes the requirement to place such trust in third-party intermediaries. Qatar can reap considerable economic benefits through the enhancement of its Trade Finance regulations enabling the adoption of such Blockchain technology. As such, the authors propose a roadmap and manual for the governance of the Trade Finance Blockchain ecosystem in Qatar. The authors propose multi-layered governance approach to the regulation of Blockchain in Qatar by (1) embracing international regulations and standards; (2) replicating foreign regional and national rules that are appropriate and innovative; and (3) applying sandbox regulations to Blockchain products and services.
Dielectric slot-coupled half-Maxwell fisheye lens as octave-bandwidth beam expander for terahertz-range applications
Authors: Headland Daniel , Klein Andreas Kurt , Fujita Masayuki , Nagatsuma Tadao
Published: September 2021

We present a paradigm for integrated photonic devices based on broadband slab-confined collimated beams that are launched with half-Maxwell fisheye lenses. Although it is challenging to match to the low-index focus of the lens while maintaining adequate field confinement for a close approximation of a point source, integrated dielectric slot waveguides prove highly suitable, yielding collimators of 90% efficiency and bandwidth greater than one octave. Terahertz technology will benefit from such broadband slab-confined beams to replace free-space optics toward compact, mass-producible systems that do not require manual optical alignment. We present two prototype systems to demonstrate the versatility of this concept, namely, a diagonally set distributed Bragg reflector as a frequency-division diplexer for terahertz communications and an attenuated total reflection-based liquid sensor. Both are enabled by oblique in-slab reflections that are collected at a location other than the originating lens, which is not attainable using ordinary single-mode channel waveguides.